An addendum to Rule 3 regarding fan-translated works of things such as Web Novels has been made. Please see here for details.
We've issued a clarification on our policy on AI-generated work.
Our mod selection process has completed. Please welcome our new moderators.

Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.
The rules regarding NSFW links have been updated. See here for details.

The True Dark: A SWTOR Fic

Solus Brack · 2025-11-07T22:11:51+00:00

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. A Fury Class Interceptor zipped through the Outer-Rim, making a beeline towards the planet Korriban. Within the ship, a sleek droid rose out of the pilot's seat and made its way to its master's quarters. It took a turn and stared at a man wearing dark gray armor, seated at a desk with his eyes closed and hands clasped. He had short cropped black hair, and a full goatee. A red tattoo sits over his right eye. "My Lord, we have just exited hyperspace, and I calculate an hour before we land planetside" the droid stated with a synthetic accent. "However, I must inquire as to why you ordered me to bring us out of hyperspace so early". The man opened his eyes, but did not look at the droid. "I wanted to be able to gradually sense Korriban approach, and bask in its ancient darkness. And I hope to feel a presence that stands out among its populace," the man replied, still staring at the wall. He then turned to the droid, "I want you to monitor the communication channel, no doubt someone will recognize the ship and hail it incessantly. I trust you know what to do then, right DX-85?" "Of course. Retrieving Memory Banks: Priority Order from Darth Fallenskir- If anyone comms me and it isn't one of the Overseers or from the Council, ignore it. And if it is from the Council, tell them I'm busy," the droid rattled off, imitating the voice of the man as he repeated the orders he had received. "This order is effective until stated otherwise." Fallenskir nodded, satisfied with his droid's response. DX-85 took a deep bow and returned to the cockpit to continue working. Fallenskir himself remained in place, once more closing his eyes and fading back into a trance. Most Sith would rather simply steep in their own darkness and hatred, but Fallenskir found that to be far too simplistic. He believed that through a modified meditation, one could deepen their own connection to the dark side through resonance with outside sources like Korriban. Korriban was the ancient homeworld of the Sith, which made it a prime target for dark resonance, as well as being the place where acolytes live hoping to become Sith. Fallenskir's journey was for that very reason, to find a new apprentice. A memory sprang unbidden while he was meditating on the idea of a new apprentice, the memory of the apprentice he had before. That Apprentice was also Fallenskir's first apprentice. She was a female human, but was not taken in as an acolyte like a normal Sith. She was a Jedi Padawan who was turned after Fallenskir cut her master in two. He was about to end her as well when she lashed out with the dark side, trying to keep him at bay. Fallenskir was intrigued by the speed of her fall, so he decided to try his hand at teaching. He lifted up his hand and used the Force to send her across the room, knocking her out almost immediately. "This shall be interesting," is all that he said. As time passed, his Apprentice adapted to the dark side and her general situation, but it manifested into an almost complete shift in personality. And that personality was problematic. Fallenskir prided himself on being one of the few Sith who did not slaughter subordinates on a single failure… he killed them when they failed 3 times within close succession. His Apprentice on the other hand, killed men if they even looked at her wrong, much less made a mistake. It required almost constant intervention, but the breaking point happened when she tried to kill his favorite officer, Lieutenant Keslo, for taking a Jedi prisoner. Fallenskir had to grab her with the Force and throw her to the other side of the room, in a startlingly similar fashion to when he first claimed her. Perhaps she realized that, and maybe that was where she remembered the Sith tradition of succession, the murdering of the master by the apprentice. The Apprentice acted as if nothing happened for a few weeks and even stopped attacking subordinates, but she made her move during a mission on Nar Shaddaa. Fallenskir and his apprentice were moving through the underground to a meeting with the Shadow Syndicate, one of the many being held to help convince them to form an alliance with the Sith Empire. They were around halfway there when Fallenskir felt a shift in the Force and leaped to the side, avoiding what would have been decapitation at the hands of his apprentice. "Kriff me, how did you dodge that?!" she exclaimed. "It seems that you've been avoiding your meditations," Fallenskir replied coolly. "I told you to do them regularly and you might learn something." "Do you think I was born yesterday? There is no way in the nine hells that your meditation does anything, all that matters is my anger and hatred!" she spat. "I've done my research and I'm convinced that there is no longer any reason for me to serve as your Apprentice, because it's time to become the master." The Apprentice raised her lightsaber high over her head to cleave Fallenskir's head, but he ignited his own maroon lightsaber and brought it up to block her blow. He heaved her off and she shifted into a Juyo stance, ready to unleash an onslaught of strikes. She was confused when her ex-master got into his stance, as it was not one she had seen before. "I sense your confusion, this is Dun Möch, the ancient Sith form of disruption." Fallenskir explained unprompted. "I believe this is the perfect time for a lesson." Dashing forward, the Apprentice swung her bright red saber with everything she had. Only to be deflected with dizzying accuracy that twisted her wrist in pain. She expected Fallenskir to strike at her immediately, but watched in surprise as he stood there waiting for her next move. "I took you in as my apprentice not only to see what you could become, but to also test myself. To see if I was prepared to teach a real apprentice." Fallenskir announced and she froze at his words. "You have shown me everything I need to watch out for and curb for when I take in a proper acolyte," he continued. "N-no… no… No… NO!" she muttered, escalating into a scream. She began to swing frantically at Fallenskir, trying to find some gap, some hesitation in his guard. "You are irresponsible," he said, deflecting a swing downward. "Far too quick to anger" he said, ducking under a kick. "Childish" he glared, using the Force to deflect a barrel sent flying at his head. "And worst of all, a fool" he finished, sending the Apprentice's saber across the hallway. The Apprentice breathed heavily, she didn't understand. Everything hurt, her wrists, her knees, her shoulders, every joint felt like they had been twisted out of place. Her every connection to the Force had been shaken, unable to focus on anything. That was until she felt something tingling in her fingertips, something that had always been there subconsciously but had always been smothered by her other force abilities. As Fallenskir slowly made his way over to his defeated apprentice, she suddenly turned to him with her hands outstretched. "GRRRR-AAAAAAAAAAA!!" she screamed, and Sith lightning blasted out of her fingertips at Fallenskir. He was genuinely surprised to see her unlock a new ability, but that was quickly overridden by the pain of being hit by said lightning. Seeing that he was stunned, the Apprentice retrieved her lightsaber and swung it down upon him once more. Fallenskir barely managed to stop it in time, but had no strength to push her off, so she gradually inched closer and closer to his face. "Hah… Hah… HA-HA-HA-HA!" she began to cackle. "I WIN!" *PA-CHONG* The Apprentice's relentless press against Fallenskir suddenly disappeared, and he did not fail to notice it. He immediately pushed her back and she collapsed onto her knees. There was a smoking hole in the back of her non-dominant leg, a blaster hole. Standing behind her was a DX Assassin droid, lowering a blaster rifle, its barrel cooling. "I received your communication Darth Fallenskir, but I did not expect that you would be in the middle of a duel." The droid chuckled. The Apprentice looked from her master to the droid with wide eyes, finally noticing the comm unit in Fallenskir's hand. He lifted it up and gave it a little shake "Let me give you some advice, apprentice, make use of every possible tool you have, and as soon as you get the advantage, move with fury." Fallenskir stepped forward and picked up the Apprentice's fallen lightsaber and placed it onto his hip. "If this did not give me a personal reason to want to have the Shadow Syndicate as an ally, it does now," Fallenskir said to the droid. "Your timing was impeccable." He turned once more to his apprentice and knelt down in front of her hunched form. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck and lifted her head up to look at him. "I did not claim you to cast you away, as you are thinking. I truly wanted you to become something, but you spat on the chance I gave you," Fallenskir said solemnly. "As you just felt yourself, you had definite potential, but you are wrong to think that you held even a modicum of power even for a second." Fallenskir tightened his grip, but was still far from choking her. "Personally, I never had any skill in the projection of Sith lightning, but I certainly mastered other ways of employing it," Fallenskir said with a smirk. "Specifically, I consider myself to be a veritable master when it comes to the Imbuement of Sith lightning." She felt her breath hitch, and neither missed it. With a kind smile, He drew upon the Force and began to cycle it within his body. The Apprentice watched as Fallenskir's arm seemingly began to vibrate. "This is true lightning, and true power. Enjoy" Fallenskir stated, voice full of finality, like the bang of a gavel. The Apprentice screamed. She had never felt pain like this in her entire existence, not even in her nightmares. It felt like her every atom was being filled with energy and then rent. Her skin began to darken before flaking away, and her scream began to die out, vocal cords either giving out from the screams or going the way of her skin. She felt as if she was being electrocuted from the inside out. Then, her vision went black. Fallenskir lifted his hand away and shook it, sending dust flying off of it. In front of him was a blackened object, in the vague shape of a person. A moment afterwards, it collapsed into itself, ending up as a pile of ash. With a wave of his hand, Fallenskir used the Force to send the ashes flying out into the underworld of Nar Shaddaa. He turned to the droid that had given its timely assistance. "Now with that over with, why don't we get down to business with the negotiation." Fallenskir said with a smile as if he had not just electrocuted someone into ashes. "My thoughts exactly, my friend. I believe that this may be the beginning of a wonderful alliance." The droid agreed. "Ah, before that, might I get your designation? It's not fair that you should know mine and I don't know yours." Fallenskir said and held up his hand to shake. The droid took his hand and stood straight, "I am the representative of the Annihilator Network, a branch of the Shadow Syndicate, Designation: DX-85."