Rise of the Dark Side

Harry opened his eyes, slightly dazed. He was sure he had dreamed of a ghost, spaceships and aliens. He watched the place around him, and immediately noticed that it was not his poorly decorated room. He then saw through a window, stars parading like rays of light.

"So, it was not a dream?" He said aloud.

"No, it was not a dream." Fit a voice.

Harry yelped and fell from his bed, his feet up. He then heard a snort, and when he got up, it was to see the amused face of his ancestor looking at him.

"As you can see, my dear apprentice, it's not a dream." Said Valkorion then.

"So much the better then, I did not really want to stay on this backwater rock!" Harry answered with conviction.

Valkorion's eyes lit up with approval and he smiled, satisfied by the will of his descendant.

"Very well, in that case, wash up and join me on the bridge, we'll be here soon." Ordered the old Emperor before disappearing.

Harry blinked, then slapped himself. 'Nope, I'm still here, so it's not a dream,' he thought. He then headed for the shower, or rather, what looked like a shower. He took off his clothes and entered the shower stall. It was then that he noticed one thing: He could read what was written, although he knew full well that it was not English, nor one of the other languages of the Earth. He blinked several times, but the words did not change. Maybe he should check with his master after his shower.

He concentrated on the shower, and he could read two buttons. On one was written WATER, while on the other was written SONIC. Harry watched this funny button, and considering that anyway, and being present in a shower, it certainly had nothing dangerous, so he could use it. He pressed it. He heard then like a noise, then felt like a draft. He noticed with astonishment that all the dirt had disappeared, but yet he did not feel clean. Surely he was too used to water, not to sonic showers, he thought. He shrugged and lit the water. He was delighted to see that the water was at the perfect temperature, and he showered quickly, using soap in the cabin. Once that was done, he got out of the cabin and quickly dried himself, before getting dressed with clothes that were miraculously his size. 'Surely 2V-R8', he thought.

Thus, wearing a dress, trousers and a pair of boots, he left the place to reach the bridge. When he left his room, he was greeted by none other than HK-55.

"Greetings: Hello, Master," greeted the droid.

"Hello, HK," Harry replied.

He then left in the direction of the bridge, closely followed by his guard droid. Hardly had it happened that he was greeted by 2V-R8.

"Greetings, Master, Oh, I see that the clothes are your size, I'm happy, can I offer you a breakfast?" Said the protocol droid.

"I'm fine, thanks, and I'd love to have some breakfast." Harry replied.

2V-R8 nodded before leaving the bridge, leaving the ship on autopilot. It was then that the ghost of Valkorion resurfaced.

"We'll be here soon, I already feel the dark side seeping off of Dromund Kaas from here." Then said the ghost.

Harry decided to take the opportunity to ask the question that had been bothering him for a while.

"Master, I noticed that I was able to read and understand the languages written on this ship, although I never learned them. Is this normal?" Asked the young apprentice.

Valkorion looked at him, satisfied with the question, before nodding his head.

"Indeed, my young descendant, when you agreed to become my apprentice, I gave you the basic language of the galaxy, as well as the Sith language, for the rest, I will teach you what you need, and you will also use holocrons to deepen your knowledge." Replied Valkorion.

Harry just nodded, satisfied with the answer. After all, he was not going to spit on such a present, Hm? He was interrupted in his thoughts by 2V-R8 who brought him, as agreed, a solid breakfast consisting of toast, a large hot chocolate and pastries. Harry blinked, because in front of him was his favorite breakfast.

"How ..." Harry started, startled, looking at the droid with astonishment and a slight touch of gratitude.

"It is my duty to provide for my master, as well as to make his life as pleasant as possible." Just said the droid seeing the questioning look of his master, before returning to the controls.

Valkorion snorted slightly.

"This droid is scared, and he's right, so he'll do everything to keep you happy and avoid being punished." Exclaimed the old emperor.

"And must I punish him?" Harry asked, puzzled, not noticing the stiffness of the droid at the mention of punishment.

"Only when he disrespects you or fails in his tasks, my young apprentice, the Sith, and even the Zakelians, believe in the just punishment, severe, but always deserved. Some get carried away by their anger during the punishments, but you'll soon realize that when you let yourself be controlled by your emotions, then we lose sight of our goal, a real Sith controls his emotions with perfection, drawing on them to master the Force." Then explained Valkorion.

Harry nodded, finding this explanation quite logical. Emotions are used to gain more power, but we must always remain the master, under penalty of losing sight of our objective and being knocked down by an enemy due to our lack of judgment.

He decided to quickly consume his breakfast on the captain's seat, under the watchful eye of his ancestor. It was then that he felt like a strange sensation, just after finishing his meal. The sensation was truly exceptional, like a warm blanket hugging him from all sides, giving him a feeling of euphoria and power like never before. His gaze went straight to the image in front of him.

Then finally appeared the planet of the Esstran sector, Dromund Kaas.

Harry's eyes widened in amazement at the beauty of this green planet, covered with vegetation. But what astonished him most was the feeling of euphoria that became very strong, making him want to laugh, shout, or do something. He felt somewhat lost in the face of such sensations, and Valkorion noticed him, amused.

"What you feel, my apprentice, is nothing but the power of the dark side of Dromund Kaas ... It's not for nothing that I chose this planet to build my Empire so long ago. This planet, young Harry, is a nexus of the Force, a nexus dedicated only to the dark side, rivaled only by Korriban." Then explained the ghost.

"And what about Zakel?" Harry asked curiously.

"Zakel is different, it's a very powerful, but above all, neutral planet, and unlike the Jedi or the Sith, you do not have to have an alignment to control the Force. On Zakel, for example, the knights had no alignment, using the Force only as a tool of martial prowess, allowing them to be resistant and to fight without a priori." Replied Valkorion, pleased with his apprentice's thirst for knowledge.

"And what are the benefits of alignments?" Harry asked.

"I'll tell you more when we get to the citadel, apprentice, now droid, fly the ship to Kaas City and land in front of the Imperial Citadel!" Ordered Valkorion.

2V-R8 trembled slightly before shaking his head, preferring not to answer under pain of suffering. After all, Valkorion was also known to be cruel. He then plunged the ship into the atmosphere of Dromund Kaas, carefully avoiding a Republican station that seemed to guard the area, surely to avoid one day, the Sith come back. Fortunately the occultation system allowed to pass their detectors without the slightest problem.

They then came over a vast lush and dark forest, with stormy weather, inherent to the planet. Harry was amazed when he saw in the distance a gigantic city of abandoned metal. However, it was something else that caught his attention. He saw a sort of pyramid in the distance.

"Master, this pyramid in the distance, would it be the temple you told me about?" Harry asked, very intrigued.

"Indeed, apprentice, it is the Dark Temple, and the focal point of the dark side of this planet, but it has been damaged and much of it has collapsed, you're not ready to go yet because the spirits who lives there are very powerful, some being my enemies. It is in this temple that the spirit of Darth Nox is, trapped by his ignorance after having defeated me. When I noticed that I wouldn't survive on Zakel after trying to take over his body, I anchored his spirit in this temple so that at his death, he will be trapped there forever as punishment." Valkorion then answered, with a sadistic gleam in his eyes and a scary grin.

Harry understood at that moment that Valkorion had not usurped his title, and that he was extremely resentful. It must have been a family trait, since Harry was just as much resentful as Valkorion. Maybe it was part of the Sith genome? He thought it might be interesting to learn more about Sith genetics, and therefore, his own in a way.

He came out of his thoughts when the ship entered Kaas City, flying over dozens of abandoned metal buildings covered with vegetation. The ship then headed for the huge citadel standing at the back of Kaas City, overlooking the entire city. Harry noticed that in some parts of the city there were stranded ships or pieces of ships. And he finally noticed that some buildings were in fact much damaged, leaving only the immense citadel intact, to his astonishment.

"The defenses of the Citadel are very important, and unlike the defenses of the rest of Kaas City, those of the Citadel are fueled by the Force." Explained Valkorion, who had noticed Harry's astonishment.

Harry just nodded. He then observed the Imperial Citadel they were approaching, and then noticed that the ship was heading straight for the center of the huge Citadel, finally landing on a metal platform.

"We have arrived, Master Harry." Just announced 2V-R8.

"Thanks 2V-R8. And now?" Harry said.

"And now, apprentice, we enter the Citadel, follow me." Valkorion ordered before leaving the bridge.

They both alighted from the ship, whose ramp had lowered, followed closely by HK-55, while 2V-R8 remained on the ship to take care of it. Harry raised his head when he heard a resounding CRAC, and then he saw lightning strike the lightning rods of the Citadel, surely contributing to power the place.

He followed quietly his master inside the Citadel, very interested, and above all, curious. He then observed the surroundings, admiring the beauty of the place, and especially, its military side. For a moment, it reminded him of the Roman Empire, known to be very rigorous. Finally, he noticed a huge symbol standing over the entrance to the Citadel. It was a white hexagon with a white six-pointed star inside, on a red background. He understood then that it was the famous symbol of the Sith Empire, or in any case, the Empire at the time of his ancestor. He wondered what the symbol of the Empire of Zakuul might look like.

He continued to follow his ancestor into the Citadel, and when he entered, he was very surprised to see equipment in excellent condition. His eyes widened as he saw a dome in the center of the room, with a tube above it carrying a huge electrical flow to the dome. Around the dome, dozens of images floated with varied information, and he heard Valkorion sniffing with pleasure.

"Excellent, it seems that the whole Citadel is fully fueled, and all the data of the Empire has been saved here." Then say the ghost out loud.

"Master, what is it, exactly?" Harry asked curiously.

"What you see, my dear apprentice, is the huge server of the Citadel, compiling and recording all the information of the Empire, and connected to the holonet of the whole galaxy. Of course, few could have access because we are currently in the Sith Sanctum, authorized only to the Siths and members of the Dark Council." Valkorion then briefly explained, before continuing on his way.

Harry nodded, and continued to follow him with his trusty HK-55. They finally arrived in front of a huge turbolift in which they went up. Valkorion then ordered him to press the button toward the top of the tower, and Harry complied. The turbolift rose quickly, making them cross the whole tower in less than a minute, to finally get them to the top of the Citadel where were located the personal quarters of the Emperor.

Valkorion knew that his quarters had not been inhabited since he was defeated, and that Darth Acina, the one who succeeded him, had to move into the lower quarters. After all, he had never planned to die, and therefore, to no longer be emperor. He had secured his quarters so that only those of his blood could enter.

"Put your hand on the door!" Ordered Valkorion.

Harry did what his master ordered him. He felt a little sting, and he realized that a sample of his blood had been taken to verify, he supposed, his identity. There were no sentences or anything, just a beep sound, and the door opened. The place was very spacious, with various artifacts, a throne capable of flying, a huge bed, but also a large training room with mannequins and another room, quite bizarre. Surprisingly, it was towards this weird room that Valkorion made his way, ordering his apprentice and descendant to follow him.

This room was very different from the rest of the floor because it looked like a laboratory. There were test tubes, computers and consoles, as well as a medical bed. Valkorion ordered Harry to lie down on the table, and then levitated a strange syringe. He looked at the syringe with interest before explaining what he was going to do.

"I'm going to administer to you the contents of this syringe, the product inside is one of my many inventions, when I was looking to create more Force sensitive persons. The purpose of this product is to awaken in you Siths cells, and if all goes well, then your Sith genome should wake up, supplanting your human genome, you'll gain strength, agility, endurance, and so on, but we'll see the results when you wake up because once administered, your body will enter a state of sleep to ease the transition, did you understand?" Asked Valkorion.

"Yes, master, but will I keep my magical powers?" Harry asked.

Valkorion reflects on the question before answering.

"Normally yes, although 'magic' is a different kind of energy that allows you to change the universe, it's still an alternative version, which I call a bastardly version of the Force. That's not to say that it is underdeveloped or useless, but it remains derived from the Force. Magic, from what I have been able to observe, makes it possible to circumvent the intrinsic laws of the Universe, while Force makes it possible to use the energy of the Universe, but by obeying certain laws. I think that the mixture of these two forms of energy will allow you to completely dominate the laws of the universe, in order to bend them to your will. But we will see that in due course." Explained Valkorion.

Harry nodded, and the syringe levitated to him, before sinking into his right arm and injecting the product. Harry suddenly felt dizzy, and he slowly closed his eyes, only seeing as a last image the bright orange eyes of his ancestor.

It was three days later that Harry awoke, somewhat disoriented, thirsty and hungry. When he opened his eyes, it was to see the world with more clarity. It seemed that he no longer needed his glasses, which rested quietly beside him. He did not waste time and got up.

"Excellent, I see that everything went as planned, and I advise you to go and see yourself in one of the mirrors in the room." Exclaimed Valkorion, who had just appeared without warning.

Harry jumped slightly before nodding his head and leaving his medical bed. He noticed that he was feeling slightly tight in his clothes, and when he entered the room to look at himself in the mirror, he understood why.

Harry had completely changed, to become a pure-blooded sith. His skin had become completely slightly dark red. He also noticed that he was slightly taller, and that his hair had turned red, but remained mostly dark. When he moved his arms, he noticed that he had some kind of ridges and spurs on his body. He then decided to remove his clothes completely to better observe himself, and what he saw shocked him.

His body was completely red, and apart from his haircut, all the hairs had disappeared. He also noticed that in some places, like the torso and the back, the ridges were more pronounced. He let out a little cry of surprise at seeing his penis.

"What the fuck?!" He shouted in shock as Valkorion snickered in his corner.

Indeed, Harry had noticed that even his penis had ridges, on the top and the bottom of the penis. He then decided to focus on his face, and oddly, he was thoroughly satisfied with what he saw. His eyes were now orange, like Valkorion, and his face had no more imperfections. On the other hand, he noticed some kind of peaks at the bottom of his chin, like mini tendrils, giving him a noble appearance, and that amused him slightly. Finally, he opened his mouth, and he was surprised to see that, apart from his two flat front teeth, all the others had become sharper, surely to chew meat with more ease. And when he pulled out his tongue, it was to notice that it was now pointed.

"You are now a true Sith to the pureblood, my apprentice. I was able to analyze your DNA, and it would seem that the serum has mostly purged your body of your human blood, keeping only a bit of human blood. It could in the future manifest as facial hair, but this is only a possibility." Announced then Valkorion, greatly satisfied by the appearance of his descendant.

Harry turned around before smiling, happy. When HK-55 approached, the droid exclaimed.

"Exclamation: Master, you have changed!" Said the robot, "Compliment: This look is much better, master, you can now breathe terror into the hearts of your enemies. Oh, what a joy to be able to eliminate so much parasites soon."

"The droid of Revan was much more fun." Then commented Valkorion.

"Oh really?" Harry asked, curious.

"Indeed, Revan's droid, an HK-47, named organic beings as meat bags, which was a lot of fun." Valkorion explained quickly.

Harry had a genius idea.

"HK-55, from now on you will have to refer to the organic beings besides me as Meat Bags!" Harry ordered the droid.

"Update: Order accepted and registered, master. When should we eliminate the Meat Bags?" Then exclaimed HK-55.

"Soon very soon." Harry answered simply.

Valkorion nodded, satisfied by Harry's behavior. He then ordered him to follow him to another room, completely empty, if not a sofa.

"This is where I'm going to teach you all there is to know, my young apprentice, and we'll start right now." Explained Valkorion.

"Very well, master." Harry replied, attentive.

"First of all, I decided to teach you the Sith philosophy, but you also have to learn Jedi philosophy, I'll teach you both Jedi philosophies, and then I'll explain why." Started Valkorion.

"First of all, we have the first Jedi philosophy, the one that was created thousands of years ago, when it started on Tython, the Jedi mother planet.

Emotion, yet peace.

Ignorance, yet knowledge.

Passion, yet serenity.

Chaos, yet harmony.

Death, yet the Force.

This first Jedi code, which was the original, was based on self-control, but allowed romantic relationships, weddings and many other things. The only thing that was forbidden was the romantic relationship between a Jedi and a Padawan. This was the code used by the Jedi during my Empire's time, which is during the old Republic, when the Jedi were important members of the Republic, were very numerous and directed their armies." Valkorion explained.

Harry nodded, finding this code quite simple.

"Then we have the second Jedi code, a refined version of the first, by a certain Odan-Urr, which was created well before my war against the Jedi, but was not put in place until well afterwards.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force.

Unlike the other Jedi code, this one proscribes intimate relationships, marriages and forces the Jedi to celibacy. That's why they've been so weak, because now the Jedi do not have families anymore. They did not understand that Force-sensitive people are more likely to have equally sensitive children." Valkorion continued, amused.

Harry frowned at this version of the Jedi code. Why would there be no passion? And no emotions? He found this code completely absurd.

"Finally, we have the Sith code. This code was developed a long time ago by one of the first Dark Jedi, Sorzus Syn, 6,864 years ago, the code is as follows:

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.

This code is based on the use of feelings, our passions and our rage, allowing us to defeat our enemies without difficulty. In a way, this code tells us to make the most of what life has to offer." Valkorion finished.

Harry nodded, perfectly understanding this code. The passion and the feelings cannot be repressed, and they allow us to fight better, because they give us a reason to live. The power makes it possible to decide what one wants to do, thus allowing us to break our chains binding us to a life of servitude and obedience. But Harry noticed something.

"But master, if we follow exactly the Sith code, does not that mean that only one person can be free from his chains? Whereas if we are all free, we become equal, and therefore we become chained again. Then only one person may be free from his chains, and this person is usually the most powerful, so ... the Emperor?" Harry said thoughtfully.

Valkorion's smile widened at Harry's reflection, and he nodded.

"You understand perfectly, my apprentice, in the end, only one person is really free, but the Sith code is subject to interpretation, after all, you can feel free by continuing to obey something stronger than yourself. Thus why it is important to know how to differentiate between the will to be free, and the greediness for power." Explained Valkorion.

Harry nodded, because everything seemed logical. After all, we can for example be free from our chains, like a slave freed from his masters, but we can always continue to obey others, like a former slave obeying a government, without feeling like chained.

"Your first lesson, apprentice, will be to meditate on the first and the third code, because as you can see, the first was also right, we are the Force, as I prove by my presence. So, which one do you think is the better code?" Asked Valkorion, curious.

"I think none of the three codes is right." Answered Harry.

"Fine, and would you have any idea of the right code?" Asked Valkorion.

"I have a little idea, and I think the code should be:

Emotions and Passions are bound in Peace

Knowledge leads to strength

Strength and Serenity Lead to Power

Power and Harmony Lead to Victory

I release myself from my chains and join the Force

That is my interpretation of a good code. I fully adhere to the Sith code, but in my opinion, it takes much more than passion to gain strength, but also knowledge and some self-control, to better manipulate the world around us. Finally, when we reach our goal, we break free from our chains, and then we can become one with the Force to achieve a higher plane of existence." Harry exclaimed then.

Valkorion stayed quiet for a few seconds, shocked by Harry's response. He did not think Harry would offer his own version of the Sith and Jedi dogmatic codes. And yet, the latter had managed to mix the two codes. He snickered then, noting that Harry's code matched Valkorion's way. After all, it was by being serene that he could create the Eternal Empire.

"Your vision of things is very interesting, young apprentice, and I must admit that for the first time in millennia, I am pleasantly surprised. I think that to make you my heir will be a pleasure. You will be the one to resurrect the Eternal Empire, I am sure of it. " Announced then Valkorion.

Harry was delighted to receive a compliment from his master, and he blushed under the compliment. It was the first time in his life that he received a compliment, after all. He said to himself that his life had really changed.