Chapter Text
Plagueis kept his gaze centered on the Holorecording. After years of searching, he had finally found it. The long lost Republic report on what had happened to the Sith lord, Darth Scabrous.
The hologram was of a young woman with short blond hair. She was dressed in a Republic Navel uniform that to Plagueis looked ancient.
The hologram crackled and faded in and out. Her voice was jumbled, but amid the static noise Plagueis was able to make out parts of her report.
“Odacer-Faustin…. Sith Academy.. Destroyed…. Experiment gone wrong….. Darth Scabrous is confirmed dead….”
The hologram surged for one final time, then dissipated.
Plagueis had never heard of a Sith Academy on Osacer-Faustin, but that wasn't much of a surprise. Even before Darth Bane had begun the Rule of Two, there had been so much knowledge from the ancient Sith that was now gone. Anything from the secrets of immortality, to more basic things like locations of long lost Sith Academies.
Places like Korriban had been ravaged by scavengers and treasure hunters, rendering them useless to the modern Sith. Abandoned Academies that the Jedi and Republic had missed, however, provided an opportunity to re-acquire some of the Sith's lost knowledge.
Normally, Plagueis would not have bothered with a task such as this. The Sith's focus should be on completing the Grand Plan, not scavenging for scraps.
However, this was different. Although Darth Scabrous was a minor Sith Lord from the days of the Great Galactic War, there were rumors and Legends about his experiments. And they all claimed that he had achieved the impossible:
He could raise the dead.
Plagueis had always believed they were exaggerations, but this Holorecording proved that Scabrous had not only existed, but that his experiments had resulted in the destruction of an entire Academy.
“11-4D, ready the ship.”
“Yes sir.”
The wind blew furiously against Plagueis’ cloak. Snow flakes darted past his face, while ice sheets glimmered in the dull red dusk of fading sunlight.
Odacer-Faustin was an ice planet, forever locked in an eternal bone-chilling winter. Not that Plagueis was bothered by the cold harsh weather, it was where he worked best.
Plagueis closed his eyes, and called out to the Darkside. If a Sith Academy had once truly been here, then it would've left its stain upon the Force. A stain that not even thousands of years of slumber would've blotted out. After a few moments, Plagueis found the stain. Then, the stain called back to Plagueis.
These are the true ways of the Sith…
Plagueis walked forward, followed closely by 11-4D. Plagueis said nothing as they walked, and 11-4D stayed silent as well.
Snow and bits of ice crunched beneath their feet, and the ground beneath them began to slope, revealing a small valley.
These are the true ways of the Sith…
The voice was coming from there, in the center of the valley. No, not a valley. Plagueis now recognized he was standing in a crater. The Sith Academy must have stood here once. Whatever was left of it, must have been with the Darkside stain he sought up ahead. He pushed on, deeper into the crater, until he arrived at its center.
At first, Plagueis saw nothing. Then, he took hold of the Darkside once more and sensed his surroundings. Directly beneath him was an underground temple. He lifted frozen boulders away with the Force, and found an entrance.
He descended the ancient stone staircase, followed closely by his droid.
The presence of the Darkside was growing stronger, thicker, more concentrated. Reaching the bottom of the staircase, Plagueis entered a vast chamber. In front of him sat a stone altar.
These are the true ways of the Sith…
The voice was loud now, and Plagueis felt they were coming from right behind the altar. Upon approaching it, he found something odd. It was a corpse, rotted, long since frozen, and curled up into a fetal position. It laid right next to the altar, its black eye-sockets seemed to stare at the Sith. Then, Plagueis heard the voice one last time.
These ways… are kill and eat… KILL AND EAT!
The corpse rose and lunched itself at Plagueis.