Disclaimer: Star Wars fanfiction is based upon the Star Wars movies of the same name. All characters and situations other than my own are the property of George Lucas, 20th Century Fox and whoever else makes a ton of cash with that outstanding evolutional franchise.

STAR WARS: THE DOMINUS PLOT

Chapter 1: Attack and audience

Darth Dominus leaned forward on his throne and stared with disbelief at the security monitors. Something dangerous was smashing through the outer defenses of his citadel and slaughtering his guards. Until now, the Sith Master had considered his lair both hidden and impenetrable, but the dark-robed figure that slipped effortlessly through the corridors had dissolved that impression.

"Could it be a Jedi?" asked his son Erader beside the throne. "I've never seen one so violent."

"Or another Sith lord?" asked Stigator, his second son.

Dominus slowly shook his head. "None of my rivals have lived to carry a vengeance."

Klaxons blared from the inner perimeter of the sanctum. The lone attacker had destroyed an automated blaster turret just twenty meters from his audience chamber.

"We will give him a proper greeting," snarled Erader.

"Remain calm, my son," replied the father. "We have time. Learn all you can from an aggressive enemy, even during an onslaught."

"Are you not outraged, father?" Stigator inquired. "Our hidden base has been revealed!"

Dominus permitted a slight grin, waved a hand at the monitors. "Then where is the siege? Where is the usual fanfare I've come to expect from a military assault? And why are we pestered by a single warrior?"

Stigator took a deep breath and glanced at the monitors. His father was correct. The skies above were empty of fighters and drop ships. Enemy dreadnoughts were missing from orbit. Dominus's army of prized mercenaries camped right outside his ramparts, but had not spotted any shock troops. There was no bombardment from above or blasts from below. Only a single intruder in black garb was spotted by the security cameras.

A pair of sentry droids met the dark one outside his chamber. Their blaster rifles spat angry bolts down the corridor. The figure drew a familiar energy weapon and moved with alarming speed against them. His glowing red blade deflected each blast and cut through the robots.

"A red lightsaber," Stigator exclaimed. "How interesting."

"That's a Sith lord out there!" shouted Erader, reaching the conclusion with less speed than his sibling. The apprentice stomped up to the chamber doors with his own lightsaber drawn and humming at his side.

The doors were suddenly wrenched open by a powerful, invisible power, and the black-clad warrior stepped into the audience chamber. His red lightsaber was held casually to the side. His features were hidden by a low hood, but identity was not directly important. It took a fraction of a second for the Sith lords to sense that this intruder was armed with the Force. The apprentices prepared for immediate death.

Darth Erader roared in anger and barreled in on the attacker. Their energy beams crunched and crackled together. The figure bowed slightly under the weight of the blow, but did not retreat. There was no need for discourse here. Their red sabers did the talking for them.

Dominus watched the whirling melee with steady eyes, picking details out of the martial display. He was not alarmed and refused to leave his throne. The mysterious attacker had cut his way through a hundred droids and guards. If exhaustion did not claim him, he would be smothered by Erader's vast reservoir of strength. His son was incredibly powerful for an apprentice. Dominus had taught him to convert his emotions into pistons of offensive energy. The intruder only stoked that hateful furnace.

Erader pushed the warrior into the doorway, grunting like a bear protecting its den. The cloaked adversary parried without a sound. He feigned a retreat into the corridor, but dropped into a spin kick that took Erader's legs out from under him. The robed figure flipped over the apprentice and landed back in the audience chamber. Chastened, Erader leaped up and ran after him.

Dominus was honestly impressed by this opponent. His son unleashed a broadside of skillful strikes, but was forced on the defensive. The unknown warrior was swift and forceful, even artistic in his use of a lightsaber. But there were complications to this match. It moved too quickly, nothing but a flurry of uncertain death. The Sith Master began to doubt the outcome.

He watched Stigator creep around the fighters like a hunting cat, waiting for a moment to pounce. His second son was cooler-headed, but no less deadly. Stigator would murder anyone if the opportunity presented itself. Perhaps the treacherous apprentice would push aside his brother and deliver the death stroke for him.

The hooded opponent sensed the near presence of the other Sith behind him. He parried another of Erader's mighty blows, dashed away and raised a hand in salute to Dominus. The non-violent gesture surprised the defenders.

"Hail, Dominus!" cried the figure. "I've come a long way to see you."

Expecting trickery, Stigator moved the last step into striking range. The heated Erader raised his lightsaber for another attack, but the mystery warrior kept his distance. The apprentices placed themselves in front of their father.

"Come now, Darth Erader," spoke the figure to the hot-headed apprentice. "I don't intend to kill you or your brother. I wish to speak with your father."

Dominus lifted a hand to halt his apprentices. He did not rely entirely on brute force. Wisdom and experience were more useful tools for a Sith Master to control this situation. The danger to Dominus was minimal. The invader was under the watchful gaze of his apprentices, and could be vaporized with a hidden blaster turret at the touch of a button on his throne.

"You have carved a path of destruction up to my doorstep," he said to the warrior. "This is not a courtesy call."

"Violence is a form of communication in our trade," replied the hooded figure. "Your minions refused me. But a wealthy master can easily replace such losses. And if it pleases my lord, I might suggest some improvements to your substandard defenses."

"Most amusing!" chuckled the Sith Master. "Who would dare trespass in my domain and accost my students only to put his head in the lion's mouth?"

"One who would stand under your banner, my lord."

Dominus stiffened in irritation. He was unable to fully penetrate the mind of this creature with the Force. He sensed only clouds and haze. This warrior was not to be trusted. He considered triggering his hidden weapons, but his curiosity was also piqued.

"You salute me with your sword hand, stranger. If you don't intend violence on me, then disarm yourself."

"Alas, I could never surrender my own blade."

"Then deactivate your lightsaber!"

To his surprise, the hooded figure quickly complied. The menacing lightsaber was switched and slipped under his cloak.

"Reveal yourself," Dominus commanded.

The person pulled the hood from his head. Dominus looked upon the sharp features of a human male, some forty years in age. Hard, predatory eyes measured the Sith Master in return. There were no features that caused him to be immediately recognizable.

"Who are you?"

"I am Orlivan Torval."

A lightsaber flashed into Stigator's hand. "Torval from Crathattick? You're a damned Jedi!"

The brothers recoiled like snakes. Dominus restrained them again with a hand signal.

"Not yet, Stigator," commanded the dark lord. "This man has obeyed my instructions. He gives me the courtesy of a sheathed weapon. What are you doing on my planet, Jedi?"

"I was summoned to this planet by the dark side."

"Lies," Stigator hissed.

"I speak truthfully, Darth Dominus. I have journeyed across a great rift to find my destiny. I am cleansed of my former life. I walk a path that has taken me far away from the Jedi Order."

The man's name cemented in Dominus's awareness. The prowess of Orlivan Torval was well known among the dark sects. This was the Jedi knight who helped win the Battle of Crathattick. This was the warrior who killed a Sith Master and three apprentices in a single conflict.

There were curious rumors about him in the Sith archives. He was an eccentric. "Torval the Tinkerer" is what some called him. He once served as an armorer for the Jedi Order on Coruscant and played with lightsaber construction. He was one of a handful of knights summoned to capture a Sith stronghold on Crathattick. It was a dreadfully messy affair. Torval watched his master fall to the bloodthirsty sect that controlled the planet. Torval was enraged. Perhaps that was the very inertia that led to his success in battle. The loss of a teacher could have lured him to the dark side. Dominus wondered if Torval now tinkered with a few of those gifts. Was the knight truly corrupted? Dark Jedi were rare finds, but the Sith Master was not a fool. He would not trust a man who brought only questions with him.

"There are other dark lords in the galaxy," said Dominus. "What made you come to me?"

"Crusades are pointless without a proper leader behind them, my lord. You are among the wisest of the Sith Masters. I wouldn't pledge myself to anyone without accepting his superiority and the prospects of his endeavors."

"Treachery, Father!" shouted Erader. "He means to deceive us!"

Torval shrugged. "Deception requires the deceived to exhibit a weakness of character. Your father has no such weaknesses."

"We have no reason to believe you," rasped Stigator.

The warrior chuckled in response. "Treachery is a testy subject with the Sith, isn't it? But answer me this, Stigator. Why would your father teach the ways of the dark side to both of his sons? Doesn't he know the risks? Assassination, even conducted within one's own bloodline, is an unfortunate pastime in your culture. But a Sith Master who takes more than one pupil knows a thing or two about value. He trusts his sons for the good of his cause. Such a leader is worth following."

"But I haven't seen the value in you," remarked Dominus. "Why should I admit the Jedi champion of Crathattick, the enemy who vanquished four of us in one night?"

The brothers glared at the man with newfound caution. They didn't know that part of the story.

Torval bowed his head. "That was an unfortunate affair. The Sith vanguard that held the stronghold were extremists, as my lord is undoubtedly aware. They were berserkers, and had poor teachers. The engagement was brief."

"No one can defeat a Sith lord!" Erader insisted.

Torval shot a stern glance at the student. "I was just a padawan learner when it happened, boy. The Jedi were overpowered and outnumbered. Do you want to know how they won? They counted on the chronic overconfidence of the Sith. Their apprentices charged us too quickly. The Sith clouded their own instincts, leaving few resources with which to anticipate our attack."

"I don't need a Jedi to lecture me on military history," Stigator growled.

"History makes you stronger. See what you can learn from it!"

Torval's saber was back in the blink of an eye. Stigator moved in to strike, sensed a trap and leaped aside. A second lightsaber appeared in Torval's other hand.

"Attack, attack!" cried the attacking Jedi. "That's all you ever do! There's more to combat than constant onslaught!"

Erader howled as he leaped into the fray, but Torval shook him off with a well placed kick. The Jedi kept the brothers at bay with a dazzling assortment of slashes and thrusts. Dominus grew fascinated as the fighters danced around the chamber. This rogue provided the unexpected in the blink of an eye.

"Move freely!" snapped the stranger. "Flow from parry to strike! Predict the motions of your enemy in the nexus of violence. Let his actions bring opportunity to you!"

To prove his point, Torval provoked the brothers to lunge at him simultaneously. He ducked as their sabers smashed together, negating their own attack. Torval was back on them in a fury. The Sith students began to back frantically over the floor.

It was a brilliant demonstration, but Dominus grew weary of the spectacle. He slapped a panel on his chair, and a blaster turret dropped from the ceiling. The barrels swung toward the black-clad figure.

"Enough!" bellowed Dominus. All three combatants moved apart at the sound of his thunderous voice. The brothers went back on guard, but Torval showed greater restraint. He took one look at the automatic blaster and put away his lightsabers.

"Forgive me," said Torval. "I would never harm your sons. It would be a pity if my chance to serve you was snuffed out."

The Sith Master drummed his fingers near the button that would blast the warrior from his audience chamber. Stigator and Erader moved away from the Jedi, expecting their father to do the obvious thing.

"You were correct about one thing," said Dominus. "Trust is not a word in our lexicon. The Sith do not recognize that kind of integrity when it comes to conquest. I earned this planet and its fiefdom from my master after he perished in battle. He came to power by killing another dark lord. Backstabbing, as you say, is a consequence of our philosophy. Have you, a self-proclaimed follower of the dark side, come to test this?"

Torval detected the sarcasm in the Sith's voice. "I am not interested in treachery, sire. It pleases me to see such devotion in your sons. You value each other. This is why you would not allow me to harm them. You have never committed soldiers in battle unless the prize is worth the sacrifice."

Dominus pointed a finger at him. "What do you know of my battles?"

"You have conquered two systems. You engineered the destruction of the Akkavian Consortium and undermined key campaigns in the Galactic Republic. These have highlighted your reputation."

The Sith Master contemplated the words of this apparent defector. His sons looked at the blaster controls on his father's throne, wondering if Dominus had forgotten that convenient feature. They wanted him to disintegrate the intruder and be done with it. Dominus found it tempting. But he could also see the value in things as Torval had suggested, and the skills of this renegade were not something to throw away.

"There is never any certainty in the Force," he said after a moment. "Even with our gifts, it is impossible to tell everything about an enemy. Our perceptions do not register any one way. Since we do not believe in trust, I have no reason to accept you at all. But the Sith have ways to discern the righteous from the deceptive. I speak of trials, Master Torval. If you truly wish to follow the Banner of Dominus and learn the dark side, then you must face a horrible ordeal. Your true nature will pulled into the open for all to see. You may regret your decision."

Torval was not bothered by this warning. "There is nothing left of my former self but conviction. I will serve you as retainer."

"Proud words," sneered Darth Stigator, "but they are just words."

Dominus pressed another button and withdrew the blaster turret. "Escort him to quarters, my sons. He may keep his weapons."

The apprentices were unhappy with the decision, but followed their orders. Torval bowed before Lord Dominus and exited the audience chamber, flanked by the Sith brothers. They passed a sizzling heap of scrap metal that used to be a diligent pair of sentry droids.

"Do not get too comfortable, Jedi," Erader hissed as they left. "Pray that torture is not among our chosen measures."