Chapter 3 – Sith Home World

The pull into hyperspace was quick and sudden. It jerked the young apprentice off his feet again before he realized what happened. He stood back up in embarrassment but who was there to laugh. Renin was finally in deep space.

Renin watched the view screen as the ship leaped through space blurring the stars as they passed. He finally did it. He made it to hyperspace and could see the traveling star cluster wakes as they passed between star systems.

Naboo was his home world and Renin had never left it once. He had read many tech manuals on star ship design and navigation instruments. This was the real thing.  

When the Dawn's Chariot slowed out of hyperspace it came upon a blockade of ships around a planet. The planet appeared to be wrapped in a cloud of smoke.

Kobold stood up from the captains chair and started to pace.

He began whispering to himself, "They knew I was returning. I should have used another ship to sneak by them. Blast it!"

Kobold ran to the cargo bay without a word. When he got to the cargo bay he stopped and looked around. He walked over to the long work bench and rummaged through all the weapons. He turned his head back and forth with his disappointment growing stronger.

Kobold looked under the center work bench and found a small chest. The chest was all black. When you looked directly at it, it seemed to disappear.  At first the under part of the desk seemed to be consumed in shadow but now with the chest removed it is more visible and not the black-hole it was before.

Kobold opened the small chest and a beam of light gleamed bright across Kobold' face. Kobold reached in and pulled out a small object.  The object was small and pyramid shaped. It fit perfectly in Kobold's hand. Kobold ran with it down the corridor towards the bridge. When he returned to the bridge he had a smile on his face.  Renin wondered what that was Kobold had in his hand. The pyramid was black but it had an evident red glow. Kobold sat it down on the ledge next to the view port. Renin's curiosity was overwhelming so he asked, "What do you plan on doing with that?" Kobold shook a finger in the air and replied, "That is not the right question you should be asking my young apprentice to be. The right question is "What is that master?"

Renin didn't mind Kobold' arrogance but he replied with assurance, "I wanted to know if you planned on blasting these ships apart because I could offer a better solution...master." The lead blockade ship was a star fighter. Renin knew this by the slot in the back of the fighter left empty for Astromech droids. The holocron started to glow a bright red.
"What is that master?" Renin asked.
"It is a Sith Holocron I found on a dead planet. I dated it at nearly 2,000 years.
"You plan on using that in a lethal way?"

"But of course my new apprentice." Kobold laughed.

Renin was worried since his new master was acting like he was in the middle of an intergalactic battle. He hoped it wasn't going to be fierce battles everyday in the life of being a Sith. Renin walked closer to the view screen.

"Those fighters can be taken out with a false Astromech signal that we could generate. They should know they need Astromech droids in those pods at all times or they could be hijacked. Kobold, can I take over the control?"

Kobold stepped aside and swung his hands towards the captain’s chair beckoning for young Renin to take a seat. Renin obliged and took the helm of the Amora class ship.

"Please Master, can you bring me my knap sack? I have something in there that will prove very useful."

Renin searched the command station. Doing what engineers do, he was now on the floor under the console removing a large panel marked SYSTEM ACCESS.

"Here it is. That's odd how this seems to be an original part like the Amora was born with an access port. Could that mean we adapted access ports from these things probably thousands of years ago.” Renin thought to himself.

Renin sat back in the captain's chair thinking of the possibilities.

Kobold threw the nap sack at Renin's head. He caught it with both hands and knew he had done something to irritate his master.

Kobold said in a low tone, "No time for thinking. Get us out of this before we're dead."

Renin had no idea if his master was serious so he just continued with his plan. He reached in the sack and pulled out the Astromech droid dome and tentacle like spinal attachment. He grabbed the spinal cord firmly and then pulled an access port coupler from his sack. He attached to the spine and quickly fused it together with a pocket laser torch. He flipped the torch in his fingers to show off. He looked back at Kobold who was behind him looking down totally expressionless.
Kobold spoke again, "If I die today I will make sure that you die first."

Renin took the hint and immediately jammed the spinal access link in the ships access panel. Nothing happened.

"You have to give it a jolt, boy. It won't uplink with no power" Kobold explained. "Let me try something."

Kobold lifted his hands and pointed them at the dome with deliberate intensity. Renin was amazed at what happened next. Sparks of force lightning jumped from Kobolds finger tips and danced around the Astromech dome. The dome now lit up with a few sensor lights and a definite power boost was noticed.

Renin spoke the commands into the dome, "Issue override command 7232946."

The dome lights flashed momentarily and the eye port spun around 2 full cycles almost to take a second look at the room. It bleeped, chirped and whistled like it was excited. This was odd since it was a blank factory droid processor. It almost felt like it was alive.

Renin continued his commands, "Root access level A. Reset for 10 minute maintenance cycle. Command execute."

Kobold looked out the view port and all the fighters went dead. Their movement slowed and all lights were out. Kobold was amazed. The command ship also was powering down.

"How is this possible?", Kobold exclaimed.

Renin said with a smug look on his face, "These command ships automate their droid commands and leave a direct link to their command core. Once all ships were shut down it shut itself down. Basic machine level protocol."

Kobold turned to Renin and a reddish glow could be seen in his eyes. As if there were dimly lit red lights coming from inside him.

He asked Renin, "Can you issue a self destruct command?"

Renin thought about this for a moment. He knew it was possible but he would not kill innocent people. He didn't know the details of their conflict with Kobold but he wasn't going to be a pawn in this war. Renin swallowed deeply and said, "No those commands have to be issued locally. No outside command protocols will trigger that."

Kobold put his hood over his head and walked back into the ship. He yelled back some instructions to Renin, "Take us down to the planet. The ship knows the way."

As they descended to the planet Renin could see the tall statues throughout the mountain ranges. There were little cities spread out between the mountains. The entire planet looked like a dormant volcano with all the molten lava glowing in the veins of the mountain tops. This would be his new home for the next 6 cycles.

The Sith home world was very cold. It wasn't wintery cold like Renin had been told about the seasons in the Hoth System. This cold felt lifeless. The planet did not have a soul. Renin could sense the lack of energy and life in the air. He immediately knew this was a bad idea to travel to an unknown place so far from home.

The Next Day…

Kobold asked Renin “Before we begin today can you get that Astromech droid up and running. I could use it for a few missions I have planned. Attach it to a body and upload some software so it can function and become intuitive for future work.”

Renin reluctantly setup the droid for Kobold. He downloaded his Renin 2.0 software into the droid since he didn’t have another artificial intelligence with him. He worked caring on the droid and made sure to verify the transfer of the software.

He found a white and red Astromech shell in Kobold’s warehouse. He thought to himself this would be perfect for his new droid but the red colors would have to be changed to blue, his favorite color. He had no time to start the paint job but agreed he would do it another time. 

He tested the voice command interface and gave his first command to his friend.

“Obey Kobold.” said Renin. And then he parted ways with his best and only friend.

Kobold took Renin to the training site. It was emphasized by Kobold for Renin to drink as much water as possible because today would begin his training with the Sith trials.

They were at the base of a tall dark mountain. The mountains earthy brown tone merged with the sky at the top. It gave the illusion that the mountains height was infinite. Small caves were visible with shimmering flames coming from them.

Kobold said, "This is Bane. It was named after one of the greatest Sith lords to reign on this planet. Your trials begin here. I must first tell you the ways of the Sith. This is your final opportunity to quit. The only way to leave after you have begun the trials is through death."

Kobold looked up at the mountain and pointed at one of the caves.

"Do you see the flames?"

"Yes." said Renin.

"Those flames are the burning corpses of defeated travelers all trying to master the mountain. Your task is to ascend the mountain and achieve a kill. You will encounter other off worlders like yourself and you will also see indigenous Sith. They are all engaged in the pilgrimage. When you kill someone you burn their remains and if you should feel the need, you can burn yourself for repentance. You can kill as many as you want but you must return by nightfall. If you return without a kill we will return every morning until you do. This is the way of the Sith. You can not be afraid of death. You can not be afraid to kill. Such is the order of the universe and we will not stop the growth of the ever expanding darkness.”

“Must I start with this task my master?” Renin asked.

“I will continue your training but we will return to this task in the near future. Come let me show you the shrine of Darth Bane." Kobold said was contempt.

Renin followed Kobold to a hidden chamber at the base of the mountain. Kobold waves a hand and a giant stone slides to the side to reveal an entrance trimmed with red gems. This led to a lower tomb which resembled the inside of a ships command center. This command center replica housed the shrine to Darth Bane.  

Renin looked around as Kobold was unlocking a small anti-chamber at the feet of what might have been the remains of Darth Bane.

“What are you doing master?” Renin asked.

Kobold continued without responding to Renin. He reached into the chamber and removed a small chest that resembled the chest Renin had seen on the ship. This chest obviously contained another holocron. He delicately opened the chest and pulled out the holocron. This one glowed a brighter red then the other holocron. Kobold gazed at it with great intrigue.  

Renin stared in awe of his master but had no idea what else to ask. Kobold placed the chest is his back-pack and sealed the small chamber.

“OK, have you seen enough of Darth Bane’s Shrine? I got what I came for and you must get on with your training.” Said Kobold.

Renin looked confused but started to ask Kobold “But what about…”

Kobold interrupted and said “Your training starts now. You will either make a kill or sit at the base of the mountain and meditate. You must do this for 7 days. I will return then.”

Renin watched as his master walked away from the training site. Before Kobold disappeared he saw his master tend to Renin 2.0.

It was hard to believe but as he observed Kobold’s actions he saw him place the holocron in the droid and attach it to the core processor. This was unusual but it was apparent Renin must find out how these objects work and the extent of their power.

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