Chapter 1: Disappointment

Darth Jadus, Lord of the Sith, member of the Sith Empire's Dark Council, and Head of the Pyramid of Imperial Intelligence was currently located in his private chambers on Dromund Kaas.

He was tall, built strong, and dressed in dark violet and black robes befitting of a Sith Sorcerer. However, his most iconic feature was a metal mask that completely covered his face, hiding his features and his thoughts from all but himself, with an ominous red light going right down the center.

At the moment, his masked face was gazing down at the crumpled and slightly twitching form of a young Sith Apprentice.

"Do you know why I am displeased with you, my son?" Jadus asked in a cold, emotionless tone as he continued to stare down at the barely conscious form of his son, Rhal.

Rhal was currently wearing the red and gray armor that was common to new Sith Apprentices, but there were a few parts of the armor that were black and smoking. Rhal was younger than Jadus' daughter Zhorrid but, where his daughter had continuously failed to meet his expectations, his son had proven himself to be far more useful to him even before becoming Sith.

Which only made this recent incident all the more disappointing.

Rhal looked up at his father and, while his face showed he was in pain, Jadus could easily sense the near overwhelming hatred coming from the boy. It pleased him. "Because I killed Overseer-"

Jadus interrupted his son with a blast of force lighting, causing Rhal's body to spasm and convulse but, where others would have cried out in pain, Rhal only groaned slightly as the lighting continued to engulf his body. 'Good.' Jadus thought, approving of his son's tolerance and ending the barrage of lightning after several seconds.

"No." Jadus said in the same cold tone. "The Overseer was weak and replaceable. You used your hatred of him to fuel your power as you should have but, instead of using that power for something productive, you lashed out like a child and attacked the very thing that was giving you your power in the first place."

His son, wisely, said nothing and Jadus saw that his son was visibly considering his words. He also sensed the boy's anger being stored away within him, gaining another flicker of approval from Jadus.

"You are far stronger than any of your peers, my son. However, even the weak can bring down a powerful foe if that foe does not understand his strength or the strength of his enemies." Jadus lectured. He had no doubt that his son was carefully listening to each word he spoke. Rhal had only ever dared to ignore his words once in the past. After receiving a lesson on the consequences of disregarding and disrespecting his father's words, Rhal had never once failed to listen to exactly what Jadus told him. "I sense your frustration, my son. You wonder why you must answer to those who are weaker than yourself." Jadus stated.

Again, Rhal said nothing. But after a moment, he was able to look up slightly and gave a slight nod and, while his face was expressionless, Jadus could still see some fire burning in Rhal's eyes. 'Good.'

"While your strength in the force is considerable, there are many talents you lack that others possess. Many, who have little to no strength in the force, do possess great strength in other areas that many Sith consider irrelevant or beneath them. A common flaw found in most Sith in these times." Jadus said with a touch of irritation entering his voice.

Darth Jadus knew that, despite his immense power, many on the Dark Council looked down on him for his unusual beliefs and practices. He knew that, in order for the Empire to find its true strength, the ways of the Sith must be spread to all its people, not just the powerful and the privileged, but all citizens of the Empire.

Unfortunately, very few Sith were willing to even consider his beliefs. Jadus knew perfectly well why. The Sith had always hoarded power for themselves alone and the very idea of sharing such power with others, especially those they considered beneath them, was considered unthinkable to most.

Jadus, while in far better control of his emotions than most Sith, had nearly flown into a rage more than once at the blind foolishness of the Dark Council. Their complete waste of resources in seeing their rivals and potential threats in the Empire brought low, and their unwillingness to accept aliens into their ranks was, to Jadus, the Empire's greatest weakness.

Blood purity might have served the Empire in the past, but Jadus knew that time was over and that the Empire could not continue looking down on those species they considered 'lesser', nor could they continue wasting the Empire's power and resources playing their petty games.

"You must learn that strength in the force, my son, is not in itself enough." Jadus said with his voice returning to its emotionless tone. "There are many the Dark Council can and will overlook due to perceived weakness. Such individuals can have many uses as soldiers, spies, assassins, or a number of other things. However, you must be able to determine for yourself what individuals are the most useful to you and how you can use them to the best of their abilities. If you lash out whenever you are angered or disappointed, you will be no different than those other fools who call themselves Sith. Do you understand, my son?"

Rhal didn't answer immediately as he was visibly considering what he'd just heard and thinking of the best ways to answer. After a few moments of silence he spoke. "Yes father, I understand that my actions were rash and ill thought out. It will not happen again."

"I know it will not." Jadus stated before unleashing another barrage of force lighting on his son who had seemingly almost recovered enough to rise now spasmed as his body was once again engulfed by pain.

While it may not look like it to outsiders, Jadus did not enjoy disciplining his son in such a way nor did he despise doing it. Truthfully, he felt nothing as he unleashed waves of lightning on his son. He knew that pain and fear were excellent tools to ensure loyalty and obedience and he was fully prepared to use both to ensure his son and new apprentice fully understood this lesson as well as his father's displeasure.

'The boy will learn.' Jadus thought as he continued his lesson.

'He will learn, or he will die.'

…

Rhal was dismissed from his father's chambers a few minutes later and slowly made his way to his personal chambers in the Citadel, hoping that no one he encountered would notice his weakened state. His sister would rather crash into a star than seek medical treatment willingly, but Zhorrid was a mad fool and he was not so he had no problems keeping some kolto in his chambers.

'Maybe not mad, but I am a fool.' Rhal thought as he felt his rage grow once more. 'I knew the Overseer was goading me and I killed him anyway.'

He'd just recently finished his time in the Korriban Academy. He'd already been trained for years by his father, but even the mighty Darth Jadus could not take him officially as an apprentice until he'd completed his trials. It was perhaps the one and only tradition that all Sith followed.

Now, Rhal was a full Sith Apprentice with his father, Darth Jadus as his master. 'As if it could have been anyone else.' Rhal thought with more than a little anger since, despite now being Sith, he was still forced to answer to his father.

His father, Darth Jadus.

The most powerful Sith in the Sith Empire's Dark Council. He'd heard several individuals on Korriban saying that his father's power was second only to the Emperor himself. It was a fact that Rhal knew better than anyone was true. His father was easily the most powerful being he'd ever seen in his life, even compared to some of the other Dark Council members Rhal had briefly encountered over the years. 'If I should ever meet the Emperor, then I'll know for sure who's the strongest being in the galaxy.'

"Dear Brother!" A seemingly sweet voice calls out and Rhal silently curses. 'This just gets better and better.'

Turning around, Rhal faces the one person he'd been hoping to avoid more than any other but, knowing her like he did, she likely sensed his pain and weakness and started searching for him immediately.

His sister, Lord Zhorrid, makes her way towards him with a smile on her pale face that is deceptively innocent. Rhal knew that more than a few had been tricked by his sister's supposed kindness in the past and had learned all too late just how completely insane Darth Jadus' eldest child was.

The two of them were only three years apart and most wouldn't even be able to tell who was older or even that the two were siblings since both looked so different. They did both share the same black hair and blue eyes, but that's where the similarities ended.

Rhal was tall but not quite as tall as his father, had lean muscles and a fair complexion while his sister was short and could have been considered beautiful if her skin wasn't so pale that she looked sickly and the scars on her mouth as well as the dark veins that were a clear sign of dark side corruption didn't help.

She practically skipped over to her brother, all the while wearing that same twisted smile on her face. Rhal took a moment to mentally prepare himself, knowing that this upcoming conversation was going to tax him.

"Sister." He greeted her in a flat tone as she reached him.

Zhorrid looked almost hurt by the greeting. "Oh, are you not happy to see me brother?" 'No.' He thought simply without bothering to answer. He'd played his sister's games enough by now to know that not answering her questions was the best way to get her to leave sooner.

When she saw he wouldn't answer, she made a show of looking him over before giggling. "Why brother, you don't look so well." She said with what almost sounded like genuine concern. "Was father angry with you about something?" She asked with a look in her eyes that told him she already knew the answer, which wasn't surprising since Rhal killing his Korriban instructor wasn't exactly secret. 'Even if it was, father still would have found out anyway.' Rhal thought with certainty.

His father was the Dark Council member in charge of overseeing Imperial Intelligence and Rhal knew that his father used Intelligence's agents and resources to watch anything and everything he deemed important and he knew his and his sister's activities were considered such.

Seeing that, once again, she wouldn't receive an answer, a flash of rage and madness appeared on Zhorrid's face before it disappeared and her smile turned sharp and threatening. "Well, perhaps now you'll remember your place." She said with all traces of kindness or innocence disappearing faster than water on Tatooine. "I'm Darth Jadus' heir not you. I am the eldest and the strongest, perhaps you'll remember that a little bit easier from now on."

Rhal might have been tempted to laugh if he hadn't already heard these same words from his crazy sister hundreds of times before. Now, hearing them repeated just annoyed him.

Normally, when a Dark Council member died, the next member would usually be the former member's strongest or longest serving apprentice, a Sith that had been nominated by the former member before their death, or, if there was no apprentice or nominee, another Sith chosen by the remaining members. However, the final decision ultimately came from the Dark Council. So even if, for some completely unfathomable reason, their father truly did name Zhorrid as his heir and successor, it was unlikely that the other members of the council would accept her into their ranks.

Rhal knew his father wasn't exactly popular with other members of the Dark Council and Zhorrid's madness and disturbing habits weren't exactly secret.

Not to mention that, between the two, Rhal was certain he was the stronger.

When she was younger, Zhorrid wasn't at all the madwoman she was now. She was kind, gentle, shy, and very much loved their father. All terrible flaws. 'Though perhaps that was a sign that she was already mad.' Rhal thought as he wondered, not for the first time, how anyone could possibly love a being like Darth Jadus.

Zhorrid hadn't even done any sort of training until she was sixteen and their father finally broke her during her performance at the Kaas City Opera House, where her beautiful singing voice and her love for their father was completely shattered.

She might have thrown herself into her Sith training afterwards, but it didn't change the fact that she'd neglected her training for years beforehand.

Rhal hadn't made the same mistakes his sister had, especially not when it came to his feelings on his father. Even in his earliest years he'd learned very quickly that his father was not a man that desired, deserved, or even understood love. Oh, Rhal respected his father's power of course, but he hated just about everything else about Darth Jadus.

Hated that he was just born to be used as his father's tool.

Hated that his mother had been too blind and foolish to recognize she was only a puppet.

Hated that he had to have a sister so unhinged that even most Sith Lords were wary around her.

From an early age, Rhal knew very strongly how to hate Darth Jadus. 'I suppose that was just more proof of my sister's madness, she needed to learn to hate him. I never did.'

"Anything else, sister?" Rhal asked in an annoyed tone. His father's most recent lesson left him drained and in a great deal of pain. At the moment, Zhorrid's actions did little more than tire and annoy him.

Zhorrid's face again changed from predatory to one of joy. "No brother, have a good day!" She said before walking away and giving a slight wave as she did.

Only once she'd rounded the corner and Rhal sensed she was actually moving away from him did he turn and continue on his way. He'd already had many similar encounters with his sister over the years and now that he was officially their father's apprentice like her, Rhal knew that the encounters would likely increase going forward. 'Joy.'

Walking through the Citadel, Rhal took note that everyone he passed was either a human or a Sith Pureblood. This was one of the frustrating points he and his father agreed on, the Empire's xenophobia against alien species was a weakness.

His father had used many alien species for a variety of tasks over the years and, while his father didn't exactly share all of his plans with his children, Rhal knew that many of those agents had exceeded expectations because they possessed some sort of advantage or skill that others did not. Ignoring those beings' talents and advantages just because of their species was foolish and wasteful.

Unfortunately, many on the Dark Council held tight to the old ways. There were a few influential Sith that did desire change, but they were far outnumbered by those that were too blind and set in their ways. It didn't help that many other influential Imperials also held the same views and were spreading them to their subordinates.

Rhal also knew something that he suspected his father didn't. Darth Jadus was attempting to change the Sith all on his own, hoping that power and fear alone would be enough to affect change. 'Perhaps it could, but not if he does it alone.'

Rhal knew his father despised Sith politics and power plays among the dark lords but, rather than find a way to use them to his advantage, he ignored them almost entirely. Rhal believed this was a mistake. 'If you truly want to change the game, you have to play it.'

His father might be powerful enough that the Dark Council was willing to ignore his untraditional ways for now, but Rhal knew that his father had bigger plans. He had no idea what those plans were but he had the feeling that they likely wouldn't be overlooked by the council, not forever. Eventually, his father would overstep and, despite his great power, Rhal doubted even Darth Jadus could take on the whole Sith Empire and hope to win.

Regardless of his father's intentions, Rhal had very different plans for the Empire. However, he was still just an apprentice and knew that he'd have to advance in order to gain the reputation and influence he needed to secure his place among the Sith.

Rhal was broken out of his thoughts as he reached the door to his chambers and entered. It was a simple room with a metal bed, desk, and a single light overhead. There was a small washroom off to the side but that wasn't where his kolto was located.

Moving towards the corner of his room, Rhal used the force to lift and move a metal section of the floor revealing a hidden compartment with a medpack inside. Pulling it out, Rhal takes out a kolto syringe and injects it into his arm, feeling his pain begin to fade away. He considers a second dose but, knowing his father wouldn't allow him to skip his duties to rest, dismisses the idea and returns the medpack to the compartment before concealing it again. He still feels more than a little pain but, knowing that lightsaber training is next, plans to use the pain to his advantage and increase the power of his attacks.

Sure enough, a few moments later his door opened and in stepped in one of his father's abominations, his dark guardians, beings that had been completely hollowed out until they were little more than droids. 'Ironic that father hates droids yet the beings in his image are basically just that, droids.'

"The master commands you to report to the training room." The dark guardian said in a droid like voice before turning and leaving the way he'd entered. 'No doubt to carry out yet another of his master's wishes.' Rhal thought with a slight shake of his head before walking towards the training rooms, slightly curious as to which of his instructors he'd be dueling today.

He arrives at the training rooms quickly and is disappointed to see Commander Jakker standing and waiting in the center of the room and he wonders if his father had purposefully sent Jakker because he knew how much his training annoyed him.

The Commander had once been an assassin that had been paid to kill his father. However, instead of killing the man, as his father easily could have, Darth Jadus instead recruited him as one of his personal guards due to the Commander's clever assassination attempt and a surprising lack of fear after having failed said attempt and being confronted.

Jakker had obviously realized just how lucky he'd gotten to not only escape punishment but also receive a place under a member of the Dark Council and devoted himself to serving well, which he had, having completed several assignments for Darth Jadus and quickly rising through the ranks.

The Commander was an excellent example of someone that most Sith would overlook. Nothing remarkable in his appearance, not a drop of force sensitivity, and no sort of connection to anyone among the Sith or Imperial ranks.

Yet, after having trained with the man for over five years, Rhal was aware that the Commander was an excellent fighter and someone worthy of his position. 'Now if only he'd lose the blaster and pick up a blade for once.'

Commander Jakker was excellent with a blaster but had no skill with a blade. So Rhal's training under him was practicing defense only, he was not permitted to attack nor was he allowed to redirect the Commander's blaster bolts back at him, something he found more than slightly irritating. His father had warned him that there would be severe consequences if he ever harmed one of his followers without his consent and it was a warning that Rhal had taken to heart as he'd been an unfortunate witness to his father's rare rage in the past. 'Thank the Emperor that the Overseer I killed wasn't one of my father's. His 'lesson' and my punishment likely would've been far more severe if he had been.'

"My lord." The commander greeted with a slight bow before grabbing his blaster and pointing it at him. "Are you ready to begin?"

Rhal grasped the hilt of his lightsaber, unhooked it from his belt, took a fighting stance, and activated it to reveal an amethyst blade

"Let's begin."

A.N.

I've actually been thinking about this story and have even been writing some ideas for it for a little while now and, deciding to try another Star Wars story, here we are. Rhal will be our main character for this story. I hope you like the name because I wasn't sure about it myself, but I'll be including quite a few other characters from SWTOR. Some well known and others that likely aren't even thought of by most. Considering that Rhal is Jadus' son, you can expect he'll be quite powerful but not for a while yet. This first chapter might be a bit short but I wanted to kind of start and show Rhal's relationships with his father and sister. To put it simply, they're not good. Rhal hates both his father and sister, his father only views him as a tool to be used, and Zhorrid likes to play games. This first chapter is taking place a few years before the start of the main story, but we'll be getting a timeskip next chapter so you won't have to wait long for some familiar faces to start showing up. If you liked the story and have any sort of ideas for it moving forward, feel free to let me know and we'll see what happens. Thanks to anyone and everyone who took the time to view this story and I'll get the next update out as soon as I can. Have a great day everyone!