Star Wars: The Emperor's Wrath (Act II:Jedi Hunter)

The Knight of Taris

The destroyed world of Taris was in a brutal war between the two factions, Republic and Imperial. They fought for control of the planet with the sole purpose of obtaining the rare chemical energy sourse: Siantine. One galactic ounce of it was enough to power an entire city, so one can imagine the reactions of the galaxy's factions at the discovery of the energy.

Zalos touched down at Brell Station, the Imperial staging base. The information they sliced from the fallen Jedi's hut on Dantooine pointed them in this direction. Apparently, the Taris Valliance Jedi was a knight, whereas the former was his padawan. He would be more of a challenge.

Instead of wearing a cloak, he simply left with his bare minimum armor that had been grafted into him, leaving his chest and shoulders mostly bare. Taris was a tropical-esque world, so overheating was an issue. Zalos was among his people here, so he didn't need to conceal who he was. Accompanied by Kayla, he entered the outpost. As he went in, it became dead silent, with the only sounds metallic clicking of their boots and the Stalker's breathing system.

An obviously nervous officer approached them.
"M-my lord Wrath." He stammered. "What an uh, unexpected pleasure."
"Cut the pleasantries, commander." Zalos said, cutting him off. "I need access to a computer terminal and a squadron of your best, along with access to a orbital striker." The officer cleared his throat and gestured to the command center.
"Uhm, yes of course, this way." Zalos followed the commander through the door.

He quickly logged into the coordinate station and typed in the numbers: Taris City, the core of the Jedi residence on Taris. Figures that the one Jedi they needed was in the center of Jedi activity. He searched until he found the necessary address, then Zalos programmed it into his helmet via wrist comm. Knight Baran: The Knight of Taris was his name. He had butchered dozens of Sith in their initial invasion, and hundreds of soldiers. Zalos motioned to Kayla to follow. "Commander, I needed that squad yesterday."

Zalos and Kayla rode in back of a transport, BlackOps soldiers around them. He began to have flashbacks to the nightmare on Mustafar. He felt the flames on his flesh, the heat on his skin. He quietly groaned and shook his head, and Kayla rested her hand on her master's shoulder. "My lord?"
"I'm..I'm okay Kayla."

They parked their vehicles just outside the outer ring of Taris City. The target was in the dead center, which meant going through a gauntlet of enemies: three rings in total. Zalos stepped out and pulled out his sabers. He clicked a button on the side of his helmet, which brought up a HUD with a map, then gestured with his head. "This way, mates." The squadron, along with Kayla, consisted of fifteen soldiers, BlackOps, and combat droids.

The battle was long and fierce, but the Imperial battlers had the nerves of steel to do it. Ring after ring they fought, killing dozens of troopers and Jedi alike. Kayla proved her strength as a Sith, and an apprentice. The duo were flawless in their technique, often conjoining in their strikes. Kayla would leap into the air, and Zalos would force toss her into a crowd of troopers, evicerating any in her path. Zalos was more robotic with his strikes, using the Force to pull in crowds, and ripping them apart with his sabers or sending them flying in a dark force bomb.

Hours passed, and eventually the squad broke into the third circle. The BlackOps and soldiers kept the forces distracted, while the Sith and combat droids snuck towards their target.

Baran watched from the Temple's tower as the Sith ravaged his home, the town he and his people had sworn to protect. From a report he had discovered that it was the Stalker, which meant he was the target. His apprentice gave his life on Dantooine, and dozens, if not hundreds, of soldiers had been slaughtered for him. Enough was enough. Baran put on his battle armor and clipped his saberstaff to his belt. He pulled his hood up, then went outside. The Stalker was waiting for him. He stood there motionless. Baran would have thought he was a statue if it weren't for the breathing emiting from him. He pulled out his saberstaff and ignited it, staring down the Sith Stalker. The Sith responded the same, pulling out his sabers and holding them backwards, as per his style. The two readied themselves, the Stalker crouching into his battlestance. "Turn back, dark one, you need not forfeit your life for vengeance." The Stalker simply replied,
"My life is already forfeit." and attacked.

Each of Zalos' blades crashed on Baran's saberstaff, making a crackling, searing sound as the two pushed with their full strength. Zalos slammed down, catching his blade on the Jedi's cloak. Baran tossed off his outer jacket as it went up in smoke, and the two continued. Zalos smashed the knight's through the wall, force lifted him up and slammed him into the opposite wall. The Jedi retaliated by tossing his saberstaff, which Zalos cut clean in half. The Jedi started to panic, tossing furniture at him. Zalos snapped his blades together, and spun them around, slashing the projectiles apart. Then, Zalos force pushed him into the wall, and pushed over and over again, slamming him deeper into the wall. Baran did his best to fight back, but was hardly strong enough to combat the pure rage the Sith had manifested into power. The Jedi fell to his knees and bowed his head, gasping for breath. Zalos approached, his saber raised above his head. Suddenly, Baran lunged at him, stabbing him in the side with a dagger. Zalos growled in anger and pain, grabbed the Jedi by his throat, and slammed him into the ground. He stomped on his chest, then tore the blade out of his side and tossed it away. "Where is Master Carmina?" He demanded.
"I'll...I'll never talk!" Gasped the dying Jedi. Zalos growled and grabbed the sides of his face and squeezed, the claw fingers digging into his skull. "Ahhh! Ahh! Corellia!  She's on Corellia!" Zalos sneered and crushed his skull, then tossed the corpse away. He stepped out to the waiting Kayla and nodded. "Corellia, lets go." And headed for Brell Station.  The imperial military quickly overthrew the Jedi occupation, and took Taris.

Corellia...he was from there. Ironic.