Chapter Text
Like the Venator-class cruisers built during the Clone Wars, the Imperial-class Star Destroyers were equipped with training rooms that prepared troops for hand-to-hand combat and weapons sparring. This was important for the older ships as they almost always carried Jedi Knights: warriors by tradition, loyal to the Republic.
Though after the reformation of the Republic into the Empire, and the fall of the Jedi Order. The training rooms were not used as often as elite warriors in the Empire numbered far fewer than the Jedi. Few force-wielders still existed within imperial space who were loyal to the Empire, while those not in service to the dominant galactic government were considered enemies, like the remaining Jedi, and were thus hunted to near extinction.
One of the few groups of force-wielders loyal to the Empire was the Inquisitors: darksiders trained to hunt the remaining Jedi and other threats to the Empire. They were armed with modified, spinning, crimson, double-bladed lightsabers. They typically used the training rooms within Star Destroyers when travelling through hyperspace on route to their targets.
The First Brother was doing just that. Deflecting bolts from hovering remotes with one of the blades of his lightsaber while being watched by Lord Vader from a balcony above.
The inquisitors were a project long in the making. While Anakin had been Sidious's primary focus in turning to the dark side, he wasn't the Dark Lord's only target. Using his vast network of spies within the galaxy, and even within the Jedi Order itself, Sidious had put together a list of potential Jedi who could be manipulated and turned into loyal darksiders.
Vader had only learned of them shortly after becoming Sidious's apprentice. To be blunt, he wasn't fond of them.
While the inquisitors had embraced the dark side, they weren't as powerful as the Sith. This made them easier to control, yet they still acted like they were the most powerful beings in the galaxy. Like the Jedi that they'd been before the rise of the Empire, they were full of themselves. Blind to their failings, limited by their training, and unable to grasp the full concept of the dark side. They were underlings, minions, and, above all else, pawns.
They reminded Vader so much of the Jedi, and he hated them for that. They were useful, yet at the same time, a thorn in Vader's thigh.
The inquisitor that Sidious had assigned to Vader's mission to Felucia was a former Jedi Padawan. Having survived the initial stages of Order Sixty-Six, alongside his mentor – Jedi Council member – Master Coleman Kcaj.
Vader had tracked both master and apprentice down to the Mid Rim, where he engaged the two in a heated lightsaber duel. But it wasn't Vader who finished the Jedi Master off. Instead, his own apprentice literally stabbed the master in the back before kneeling before the Dark Lord and pledging himself to him.
While Vader hadn't been impressed with the boy, he accepted him into the Inquisitorius. If only because he'd expected him to die shortly into his training as a darksider. Which Vader could use as an example to the other feeble inquisitors.
Several months later, despite facing the cruelty of Vader's teachings, Marrok, now known as the First Brother, had not only survived his training but had gone on to kill two Jedi Masters and somehow also gain the interest of Sidious himself. It's how he'd ended up being assigned to the mission to Felucia by the Emperor personally.
These factors did not change how Vader viewed the rookie or the other inquisitors. Nor would this mission change his mind.
Before the rise of the Empire, Marrok had been a Jedi Padawan, apprenticed to one of the members of the Jedi High Council, Master Coleman Kcaj. When he was younger, Marrok had been ready to serve the Order and the glorious Republic. But that all changed after spending several years of travelling the galaxy, seeing the corruption that plagued the stars and the Jedi's unwillingness to do anything other than fight a bloodbath for a government whose only true objective was to keep corrupt politicians in power.
It was no surprise to see the people support the extermination of Marrok's Order when the Council was accused of attempting to assassinate the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.
When he and his master had gone into hiding, Master Kcaj had repeatedly denied the claims of the Jedi Council's alleged coup. The Jedi Master had insisted to his apprentice that the Jedi Order would never turn against the Republic that they'd served for over a thousand generations. Yet despite these claims, Marrok's doubts worsened as he watched innocents suffer on the backwater systems that he and his master attempted to hide on during their flight from the Republic's successor state, the Galactic Empire.
They were eventually caught by the Sith Lord Darth Vader, known as the Empire's chief enforcer. Marrok had been no match for the Sith, who slashed one of the padawan's lightsabers in a swift, decisive motion before nearly slicing himself in half, too. It was only thanks to his master, who stepped in between Marrok and Vader, that the padawan was allowed to survive, and even allowed him to flee from the fight. Yet Marrok didn't. He watched in awe as Vader, a being shrouded in darkness, used powerful attacks and Force techniques to break through Master Kcaj's defences. Without any signs of difficulty, the Dark Lord was on the verge of striking Kcaj down. But before Vader could deal the killing blow, Marrok had intervened and finished the job himself, thus ending the life of his master and one of the last remaining members of the former Council.
Marrok had been amazed by the power that had poured from Vader. It was dark, yes, but it would have won the battle had Marrok not intervened. Besides, from what Marrok had heard, this darkness had won across the galaxy, beating countless other Jedi, including those who were said to be the most powerful beings in the galaxy.
The moment that Kcaj's lifeless body fell to the ground, Marrok had stepped forward, kneeling before the Dark Lord and offering his allegiance to the true power of the Force.
The offer had been accepted, and Marrok was named the First Brother, a member of the Empire's elite hunters, the Inquisitors, whose primary purpose was to assist Lord Vader in eliminating the remaining Jedi survivors.
Donning a set of armour that paid tribute to his new master and shrouded his former identity, the former Jedi, once known as Marrok, began his new mission to eradicate the Jedi and bring about a new era of peace and order.
Like all other inquisitors within the Imperial hierarchy, the First Brother was looked down upon by the non-Force wielders. Their disdain for the Jedi, combined with their lack of understanding of the Force, led them to question the need for the inquisitors. However, this didn't bother the First Brother. Throughout the Clone Wars, he watched people look at him as if he were an outsider despite his attempts to help them. Instead, he'd learned to absorb the negative emotions of the imperial "underlings" like a sponge absorbing water. Using it to fuel his power within the dark side of the Force. Thus making him far stronger than any Jedi.
Less than a year since embracing the dark side, and already the First Brother had defeated two highly skilled Jedi Masters in hand-to-hand combat: Masters Kelleran Beq and Dass Jennir. Their deaths had given the young inquisitor a sense of triumph unlike the battles he and his former master had won during the Clone Wars. The fight against feeble battle droids unthinkingly following the failed ideology of a political idealist was nothing compared to the true challenge of facing warriors with power that posed an actual threat to galactic order.
Still, the First Brother hungered for more. He wanted to put his spinning lightsaber against more Jedi survivors, killing them and thus unlocking further power within the dark side. And it appeared that the Force had heard his request and granted it. According to the Emperor himself, he was accompanying Lord Vader to Felucia – a well-known battle front throughout the Clone Wars – where they were expected to find a band of Jedi rebels who thought they could oppose the Empire.
This was the opportunity that he'd been waiting for. Not just to be able to face more Jedi in combat, but to fight alongside Vader himself. The Dark Lord was a beast in battle. Capable of breaking any defences of whatever warrior stood in his way. And then crushing them with the snap of a fist.
Since pledging himself to the Empire, the First Brother had hoped to train under Vader, yet the Dark Lord preferred to keep his distance from all the inquisitors as if they were contaminated by aplague.
Though this only fueled the young inquisitor's determination. Encouraging him to train harder as he was doing at that very moment. Fighting the training remotes provided by the Empire. Deflecting their blaster bolts that were set at their highest setting. Not stun but kill. Even with only one blade activated and not in spinning mode, the First Brother blocked every shot. Redirecting them at his opponents and destroying droid after droid, only for more to take their place. But the First Brother did not grow tired. He lived for the rush of battle, the feel of the triumph of victory. And until the victory was achieved, he would not stop fighting.
In the midst of his training exercise, he felt his presence. A cold, shadow engulfed the air around him. Fueled by the very emotions of darkness, fear, anger, hate, and suffering, Vader had appeared, watching from above on a balcony overlooking the training room.
Though his metal mask hid his true thoughts as he watched the inquisitor fight, the First Brother suspected that Vader was not impressed.
Deciding to show his potential further, he ignited his second blade, activating his lightsaber's spinning mode, and began tearing apart every one of the training remotes. Within minutes, all the sphere-shaped droids were nothing but smouldering pieces of metal that littered the training ground. After deactivating his lightsaber, the First Brother looked up at the Dark Lord, hoping to have gained at least an acknowledgement of his success. Instead, the mighty Sith looked down on the inquisitor in silence. When Vader did spoke, however, his words exposed his obvious disdain for the young darksider.
"Did you really believe that gutting a few measly training droids would gain the prestige that you believe is worthy of a true champion of darkness?"
For several moments, the First Brother contemplated what to say in response to the Dark Lord—seeking a response that would defend his actions and also appease the Sith Lord. Unfortunately, his mind wasn't fast enough to come up with the right answer. As before he could respond, Vader had leaped down from the balcony, landing on the metal ground with a hard clank that echoed throughout the training room.
The words that came out of his mechanized voice only further showed his disdain. "If you truly understood the dark side, you'd have spoken immediately."
There was a long pause of silence that followed. Vader remained motionless, like a metal statue—waiting for the young inquisitor to respond.
Unable to find the right words, the First brother decided that perhaps actions would speak louder than words. Reactivating one of his lightsaber's twin blades, the First Brother attempted to strike at Vader, only for an invisible grip to seize hold of his blade before it could strike the Dark Lord's head.
"Predictable," Vader coldly remarked. And without so much as lifting a hand, the Dark Lord used his own powers to shove the First Brother off his feet, across the room. His back hit the hard metal wall hard, the impact causing several bones, perhaps even his spine, to break before he fell face down onto the floor.
As he tried to get back up, pain from his back burning throughout the rest of his body, he felt Vader's presence come closer. Looking up, he saw the Dark Lord standing above just as he'd had when he'd stood on the balcony.
The First Brother couldn't help but gulp right before he felt his throat tighten, air leaving his body slowly, while he simultaneously felt the warm taste of his own blood filling his mouth. Vision from his eyes began to fade, and for a faint moment, he thought he might actually die. Killed by the master he'd betrayed his mentor for.
"Lord Vader," a voice called out. This redirected the Sith Lord's attention as he released his grip over the inquisitor, turning his head around to face Colonel Yularen.
"What is it, Colonel?" Vader demanded in a voice that expressed no emotions whatsoever, even though he'd just been slowly killing an inquisitor; something that greatly disturbed the ISB officer. Yet Yularen kept his posture strong and neutral. Speaking with a professional voice that showed no level of fear.
"One of our communications officers on the bridge has just received a distress signal from Felucia," Yularen revealed. "Whoever sent it used imperial codes."
A moment passed with the only sound in the room coming from the breathing of Vader's life support suit. In that time, Yularen had taken a glance towards the inquisitor. His body twitched, yet he showed no signs of attempting to get up.
"Very well. Come with me, Colonel. We shall see if this message is of any use to us," Vader instructed before he began marching out of the training room.
Yularen hesitated a moment before following Vader and leaving behind a damaged warrior on the edge of death. In his soul, the First Brother felt only one emotion, one that was the only thing keeping him alive: hatred!