The Rebel Faction

The wastelands of Korriban howled with a heavy wind, dust and coarse sand ripping across desert plains and through ravines that littered the planets surface. Within such a canyon, its depth constantly altering due to uneven wear at the rock walls, rested a tomb. Upon the ancient stone slab, which protected the tomb entrance from intrusion, were the carvings of Sith hieroglyphs; each angled, vile looking word telling of the past, of the Sith Lord who rested in death within the tomb walls. The large pillars, which held the signs of ages of weathered damage, still stood tall with intricate archaic figures chiselled into the workings of rock. The tomb hailed from a time when the dark side was a power to be feared; yet, after many centuries, the tomb was nothing but a reminder of what had been...

For so long, the Sith had remained a slowly dying entity; their existence serving as the last death throws of an Empire long since dead. Members of the Sith Order from years passed were trying in vain to uphold the ideals of teachings passed down through the ages, and it came as no surprise when even their presence began to diminish; becoming nothing but a hollow shadow of what they sought so hard to keep alive.

The age of the Sith was all but at an end.

The reality of such was evident. Where there had once been legions of Sith, from masters, knights and down, there was now nothing that showed how powerful the Order had been. Except for a select few dark disciples devoted to themselves, the Sith Order remained no longer, it was simply the Sith. No brotherhood, no galaxy spanning conquests of domination, no leadership to be witnessed... simply individuals holding onto their titles.

No doubt the flourishing Jedi were pleased.

The Jedi Order had since grown, doubled, tripled and continued growing. Those in the galaxy saw that the Knights of the old Republic had overcome the depression which had thinned their ranks, the destruction which had been rained down upon their heads; and still they continued to grow.

It was enough to make Vance Jas sick.

Leaning against one of the tombs pillars, Vance continued to stare at the large tomb slab. Around his body his black robes flapped and snapped in the wind, the only movement coming from the Sith. Icy blue eyes studied the ancient text of the tomb, reading as easily as any being could read their own language; this tomb belonged to Darth Nethos, one of the founders of the Sith Empire over a millennia gone.

It was still a source of great power; Power which would aid in bringing about a new age of Sith, a Sith Order.

Crossing his arms, Vance waited. He waited for his brothers, those of the Sith who would bring about the new Sith Order.

They will come... If they wish to take back that which they are entitled, they will come.

Dust flew on the open plain of korriban where there was only deserted land far as the eye could see, a speeder flew trough the plains and the engine kept on a small humming sound. Orion`s robe flapped in the wind as the he accelerated towards the canyon a head where the tomb was, he knew little about korriban except for what he had been told. Alltough he had been in Korriban once he didn`t remember anything, his memories were clouded except for his expriences of the force and pain. Perfectness was what his master had required of him and the scars told how many times he had failed, he even had almost lost his horn on korriban as a eleven years old boy when he had been on koriban. Therac had tought him the history of the sith and he had forgotten one of sith lords name, then his master had been furious and already had pulled out his lightsaber until Orion had remembered the name. Therac wasn`t still going to calm down, but the only thing had gotten him to the his senses was Orion`s words.

"If you cut my horn you`ll take away my pride and are going to train a student who has no pride? Because you know that one day I will leave you and are going have a bad reputation because of this?"

Then Therac had calmed down alltough he had been a stubborn man, his pride allways won his stubborness. Orion had saved his horn, but not his skin which had another ugly scar to remind him of his failure. That was history and now the he would meet his brothers like the siths of the past had on korriban, the time of the sith would come again and the galaxy would once again know their name. Orion drives into a canyon and slows down a litle, but still drives a quickly enjoying the dangerous driving. Finally he sees the tomb before him and feels that the two had already arrived, he slows and stops before the tomb. He turns the engine down and turns to sight towards the tomb, he watches it for while with a grim grin on his face and jumps down from the speeder. Then he notices the 2 other siths and walks to them throwing his hood on his head at the same time, when he arrives to them he looks them both in the eyes with respect.

"So once again we three are together. Aren`t there any others? I tried to find more of us after we met on Naboo, I had some of my dead masters records and contacts as my help...I found no one. The jedi have been hunting as down like birds or the others have found good places to hide and you musn`t trouble your minds by thinking, that any of the contacts would have followed me or told the jedi about me. It´s kind of hard after you have had a lightsaber in your chest..." Orion smiles

Orion reaches out his hand and puts his finger tips against the door feeling the force tingling beneath his fingers and contrates. They all worked together and Orion had slight trouble until he began to smiles, when the door opened. Orion looked at the others and they stepped in the tomb, which was dusty after the ages it had been closed. Orion looks around with respect to the magnifisent temple where statues guard the doors to the next rooms glooming over those who dare to enter the place and the pilars standing silently in peace holding the roof. Orion had never actually seen these tombs from the inside only from the outside and some stories what these tombs would hold inside them. His master had honored the dead sith and made many trips to Korriban leaving Orion mostly to train by himself on the valley where his master had lived. Escape would have been futile cause he`s master would have returned and hunted him down. The stone walls had ancient sith writings and sculptures made with skill, Orion looks at the others and nods to Vance to lead on...

OOC: I hope thats enough.. im not very resourceful in this subject..

Vance walked slowly down the long hallways of the tomb, his eyes following the carvings that were only found within the unsealed vault of knowledge. The dark stone was polished, despite the age of the structure built within the cliff outside. There was a slowly descending feel to the passageways, which told Vance that the group were going downward; as could be expected from a tomb, considering.

With a shake of his head, Vance noticed Shadow rushing ahead, attempting to reach some destination without any care for potential traps or dangers along the way. Though, judging from what Vance had read about the tomb's master, the old Sith Lord believed himself to be one of the greatest in power; this was a debated claim, of course, within the Sith ranks. It was also possible that Vance and his brothers had gained entry to the tomb, simply because the ancient seal had lessened in power.

That remained to be seen.

Following the lit walkway through the dark tunnels, Vance finally found himself in the open chamber of the tomb. It was large, with a grand platform in the middle of the hall which connected with the back chamber wall. There was a narrow walkway which led to the dias from the corridor entrance Vance stood within; the hovering platform that held the tomb was actually being supported by large chains which were connected to the chambers walls. Around those chains, large statues were carved, appearing to be holding tightly to that which supported their master. Walking out onto the narrow bridge, Vance took the long walk under the watchful eyes of the statues at a quick pace. He did not wish to fall into the dark depths around the platform, if by chance some trap was activated.

Looking to Shadow, Vance could see the the other Sith looking over various weapons and armor, his eyes wide with anticipation. Upon reaching the other Sith, Vance placed a gloved hand onto his shoulder, his voice low as he spoke...

"Beware, for what you see may not be that which you expect upon touch."

Vance looked back toward the central sarcophagus, which held a human sized statue of its prize at the head of the sealed crypt. The statue was looking down, almost as if in a never ending state of constant guarding. Running his gloved fingers along the tomb top, Vance looked with narrowed eyes at the old text; he couldn't quite understand the language used, and he doubted that any of his fellow Sith would either... though, judging by the non-human appearance of the master's statue, it could very well have been marked in his native tongue.

Vance paused as his finger brushed against a slight imperfection on the sarcophagus edge, a narrowly raised portion of stone no larger than his fingernail. Looking closely, Vance studied the marking, and upon closer inspection saw that there were a good number placed across the polished surface. Each seemed loose and able to withdraw into the itself.

Pressure pads?

Stepping back quickly, Vance looked to Shadow and then to Orion. "Touch nothing!" He half shouted, his voice cutting through the void of sound coming from within the burial chamber. "And be mindful of where you step... I have found the makings of possible traps."

Scanning around his boots, Vance found no immediate pressure stones. Looking toward Shadow, the young man winced. "Shadow... you have stepped on one of the pressure stones with your left foot." And walking carefully to his friend's side, Vance crouched down to look. "Do not move it just yet. I have the feeling we've stumbled onto a trap designed for tomb raiders, those who can't use the force and must physically touch most things they wish to take."

Stepping back, Vance stalked back to the sarcophagus, giving it an evil eye before coming to a stop at the foot of the old coffin. Reaching into the Force, Vance held out his hands, wrapping the invisible touch of energy around the sarcophagus lid; and lifting, was surprised nothing happened. Increasing the flow of power from his hands, Vance gritted his teeth as the lid shook with barely any results, and releasing his hold, Vance took a moment to think...

"Something is stopping me from removing the lid with the Force." Vance said aloud, looking to Orion. "There must be a reason for this somewhere..."

Vance looked up at the masters statue, his blue eyes staring into the gem filled orbs of the stone carving. It was almost as if the sarcophagus was solid, the lid not actually anything of the sort; though surely if this was the case, where had they missed the real coffin of the Sith Lord?

Walking slowly, Vance continued to stare at the statue, thinking. The dim red gems used for the eyes were interesting, not wholly common considering that most other Sith statues were made completely with one substance; in fact, the red eyes were the only difference to any of the carved beings around... Moving around the rear of the master, Vance looked up.

Ah.

Directly on the back of the skull, below the braided top knot of the statue, were another pair of eyes, made of the same gem design. These eyes, if followed from the source, were facing the rear chamber wall; just beyond where Shadow stood with his precious weapons...

"I believe this is simply the anti-chamber, that the real sarcophagus may be just beyond this large hall."

And suddenly it all became clear: The Sith Lord had issued a false crypt made, one which the lid did not open, so that any who raided the tomb would be forced to increase their efforts in trying to pry the coffin open; which in turn resulted in more hands being used, and eventually the pushing of pressure stones as whoever tried to lever the lid open by grasping the sides.

Walking quickly to the rear chamber wall, Vance pushed his palm against the old stone. If he guessed, it was made from the same cliff substance that the burial chamber was tunneled into. Looking back to the statue, Vance followed the eyes, using himself as a point of reference, before he found where they stared. Running his fingers over the area, the young man found two pressure stones, each the same size as those on the crypt, but hidden within the rough surface of the wall.

Pushing the two stones with his index and middle fingers, Vance stepped back the wall before him began rumbling and shaking. Stopping himself, Vance cursed at his stupidity, glancing over his shoulder; and just behind his boot heel, he saw another pressure stone. Looking back to the wall, Vance watched as it began crumbling, pieces of stone falling outward, away from him; and as a ten by ten foot hole was rattled away from the main portion of chamber wall, Vance looked ahead at the real burial chamber...

Smiling, he stepped forward. "Shadow, Orion, wait there... I will be done shortly. I suggest you both gather as much as you can carry." Vance glanced over his shoulder. "Just be mindful of pressure traps." And disappearing into the slowly settling dust, Vance entered the Sith Lord's tomb...

Sion's cruiser came out of hyperspace slightly out of the pull of the bleak brown planet. It had been so many years since he had looked upon the seemingly desolate surface of Korriban. Since he had awoken he had felt it's pull coercing him towards it.
"Prepare the dock at the nearest open spot. I want to get as close to the ruins as you can without going inside the valley." Sion said to the Navicomputer. It winked in acceptance.

The Old Republic ship landed in a large open plain several hundred yards from the entrance to the Valley. Sion walked to the edge and looked down at the gorge. Tombs of ancient Sith masters lined the canyon walls. The pillars that once stood erect were no crumbled. Some of the tombs had collapsed entrances, probably from Tomb Raiders.

Sion paced through the Valley, looking upon the skeletons of ancient sith and raiders alike. He looked at each of the tombs, most of them collapsed or decaying, but others still felt almost living. As he passed one he felt a twinge. Something was in. No, there were several in there. He had felt it before. Sith. He chuckled to himself as he walked towards the cave.