Tirass Prime – Construction Zone Gamma
The sky over Tirass Prime was a pale violet bruise, shrouded in static clouds.
Deep beneath its surface, Kael oversaw the first phase of the Skybreaker Projector: a gravitational rift generator with the power to fracture planetary crusts or disable entire orbital fleets through sheer force compression.
Over 800 labor units moved in precision.
Kael watched the fusion core pulse.
Beside him, the Echo Mind construct fed him real-time data. He spoke aloud:
"Progress?"
"48% integrity threshold reached," the AI replied.
"Rift control coils stabilizing. Estimated time to activation: 6.3 days."
Kael's eyes gleamed.
"Prepare a combat field test.
I want Jedi blood on its birth."
System Alert: New Operation – Jedi Bait Protocol Enabled
Target Parameters Met:
Force-sensitive confirmed near Outer Rim colony Brenthaal Station
Rank: Jedi Knight (Unknown Padawan accompanying)
Mission: Mediating border conflict between two mining guilds
Mission Objective:
Capture or kill Jedi Knight
Extract Padawan (optional)
Combat efficiency rating increases with live Force-user proximity
Kael smiled.
"Begin the Hunt."
Brenthaal Station – Outer Rim Border
The air was thick with tension. Two rival mining guilds stood yards apart in a stalemate over rare ore rights. The Jedi assigned to mediate, Knight Elaris Tane, was already on edge.
Tall, mid-thirties, dark blue robes and a silver saber. She moved with grace but suspicion.
Her Padawan, a younger human boy named Derrin Sol, flanked her silently.
"They're too quiet," she murmured.
"Something's off."
She wasn't wrong.
Three kilometers away, a disguised freighter broadcasted a distress call—a fabricated emergency keyed to Jedi compassion.
Elaris narrowed her eyes at the signal.
"Padawan. Stay here. I'll investigate."
"Master—"
"That's an order."
She moved toward the signal alone.
And Kael's trap closed.
Forest Perimeter – 900 Meters from Signal Origin
Elaris stepped through the underbrush, saber unlit but ready.
Then… silence.
Too late, she realized: no birds. No wind.
She stopped—
—and Kael stepped out from the fog, slow, calm, eyes cold.
No weapon drawn. Just presence.
Elaris ignited her saber.
"Who are you?"
Kael didn't answer.
"Where's the distress beacon's source?"
Still nothing.
She narrowed her eyes.
"I feel nothing from you. No presence. No emotion. No darkness. Nothing."
Kael spoke.
"That's the problem, isn't it?"
He vanished.
To her perception, he blinked out of existence and reappeared behind her, striking with a vibroblade charged with kinetic disruption.
She barely parried.
And then the fight began.
Combat Sequence: Kael vs. Jedi Knight Elaris Tane
Kael (Level 23)
Strength: 15
Agility: 18
Midichlorian: 9,000
Unique Passive: Hidden Presence
Weapon: Dual-phase vibroblade, Force-breaker rounds
Skill: Blink Strike (Level 6)
Elaris Tane
Jedi Knight, Form IV combat specialist
Force Push, Saber Throw, Foresight (low-range)
They exchanged six strikes in under two seconds. Elaris's lightsaber passed through nothing—Kael moved without Force signature, without prediction.
His blink-strike ability short-circuited her precognition.
She gritted her teeth.
"What are you?"
Kael's vibroblade stabbed her side—shallow, but enough.
"Not part of your story."
He raised his palm.
System Skill: Force Suppressant Grenade – Activated.
The blast sent a compression wave into her mind—muting her connection for three seconds.
Just long enough for Kael to land a final strike.
The blade pierced her shoulder and out the back.
She gasped. Fell.
Kael stood over her, breathing evenly.
"One."
System Alert: Target Acquired – Jedi Knight Neutralized
+5,200 XP
LEVEL UP! (Level 24)
Stat Points +5
Skill Point +1
New Achievement: Jedi Slayer I
+10% damage against Force-users
+20% XP from elite Jedi-class targets
System Notice: Empire Tier Progress – Objective 1 Complete
Obsidian Listening Node – Denor IV
Agent Calla watched her terminal spike with unusual data.
She tapped into Republic communications—just in time to intercept a burst message from Brenthaal.
"Jedi Knight down.
Unknown attacker. No known species. No visible presence.
Requesting urgent reinforcements."
She encoded the signal.
Kael received it within seconds.
He spoke only one word:
"Bury her."
Back on Feron-4 – The Awakening
Iralith stood alone in the Lament Chamber.
She raised her palm to the wall of the crystal console and whispered in a tongue that hadn't been spoken in 3,000 years.
The crystal glowed.
And the room began to hum.
Not with light.
But with music.
One note. Deep. Twisting.
The Lament Engine was responding.
"Not yet," Kael warned from the doorway.
"It remembers me," she said, half-smiling. "It wants to sing again."
Kael nodded once.
"Soon. But first… we finish Phase I."