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Now, on to the chapter!

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“So, this Darth Nihilus lives on a broken down ship?” May squinted at the Ravager’s pitted, scarred appearance and shook her head. “What’s with the Sith and their edgy houses?”

 

“They’re almost all crazy, mentally stunted children,” Dan laughed as they drifted toward the silent vessel’s docking bay. His eyes probed the ship, until he met the absent gaze of the last of the Sith Triumvirate. “Nihilus is no exception, but his power might actually make this a challenge.”

 

With the Handmaiden and Atris now under their command, only Visas remained. Dan broke his eye contact with Nihilus and gave the rest of the ship a once over. The Miralurka woman was in meditation, deep in the crew quarters of the ship. She shivered and cast her covered gaze around the room as he inspected her.

 

“We should work together and deal with Nihilus, before we extract our target,” Dan led the way through empty corridors. May would be key in this battle, since the Lord of Hunger could feed on their infinite lifeforce without magical safeguards. “Remember the plan?”

 

“You engage him up close, while I suppress his absorption ability,” May smiled, eyes already filled with half-visible runes. She’d been casting defensive magic since their arrival, a barrier against Nihilus’ power. “He’s already poking at us, but my spell has him confused.”

 

Dan nodded and picked up the pace. Any minions that lurked aboard were pointless to waste time on, only Nihilus had any chance against them. Several twists and turns of the rusted, broken down corridors later, and they stood in a large chamber. Viewports covered the walls and ceilings, a backdrop of stars that framed the black clad man in the centre of the room.

 

 “Greetings, Lord of Hunger,” Dan gave a small bow of his neck, a sign of respect to the powerful Sith. The man was depraved, but his might still earned him something. “Any last words, before the end?”

 

A crimson lightsaber blossomed to life in Nihilus’ grasp, while an unintelligible voice filled the air with murmurs and shadow. The Sith strode forward, sabre in a single hand. The other extended toward Dan and May, accompanied by an uncomfortable buzz at the base of his skull.

 

May pulled her staff from the air and slammed it against the ground. A runic circle expanded to fill the room, filled with a comfortable white light. The pressure vanished, driven back by her spell, as Nihilus howled in agony.

 

The Sith dropped to one knee, lightsaber barely held above the floor. Black steam poured from under his robes, dissipated to nothingness as it entered May’s spell. Dan raised an eyebrow and glanced at May, whose face was tilted in surprise.

 

“It’s just an area of effect cleansing spell…” May shook her head as Nihilus continued to screech. “Cal would be capable of casting the same, if given enough time.”

 

The Sith kept his mask fixed on them both, even as agony forced the air from his lungs. Dan shrugged and walked to face the downed man. They would have to test this spell's effect on other dark side Force users, but Nihilus at least was dealt critical damage. Cleansing magic neutralised negative energies and it seemed the dark side of the force was no exception.

 

“Sorry, it looks like you won’t get a glorious final battle after all,” Dan raised his fist and gave the Lord of Hunger a pitiable once over. Underneath his robe and mask, he was just a man. “I hope your victims find justice from your death…”

 

Faster than light, Dan’s fist speared through Nihilus’ masked face and out the other side. A quick shake cast the fallen Sith aside, before he exploded into a wash of electric blue. Another shake cleared the blood from his hand as Dan turned to May.

 

“Let’s grab Visas and get off this ship, Nihilus was the only thing keeping it together,” Dan floated from the deck and let a line of heat extend from his eyes. The beam carved a path straight to the woman’s position that Dan and May slipped through at high speeds. “Just grab her and jump back to the temporary colony, I have a stop to make before I head home.”

 

“Alright, but once she’s home, your quest should be done,” May stuck out her tongue as they appeared by the startled Visas’ side. She clasped the woman by the shoulder and gave Dan a smile. “Don’t forget, you promised me a vacation!”

 

“Understood!” Dan leaned in for a final kiss, before May and Visas vanished in a flash of light. He trusted May to turn the newest recruit to the banner of Krypton and he had a final bit of work to do before they could kick back and relax. “It’s time to visit the sentient machines of Lokath.”

 

---

 

 

A vast, bronze toned sphere, hung in space like an impossible object. As large as the goldilocks zone of an average sized star, it glinted in the dim light of the stars. Dan drifted closer, eyes focused on the emptiness of the system. Nothing, no hidden stations or stealthed fleets. Just the megastructure of Lokath itself.

 

“It seems inactive, but I should still move quickly,” Dan flew toward one of the many gateways that lined the sphere, large enough for even a deathstar to squeeze through. The builders of this place had a mastery over technology that rivalled the Celestials, but they focused on the creation of super weapons. “We’re going to possess everything here, leave no biological or mechanical life form outside of your control.”

 

Dan spread his arms and launched a vast tide of symbiote clones. They rained down upon the habitable domes and machinery of the dyson sphere, a black downpour that seeped into the structure and vanished from sight. Hidden in the clones were a large number of Venom’s children, the beginnings of a new Hive.

 

They would grow and multiply, before they took up mechanical bodies to carry out the will of Krypton. Dan spent more than an hour at his work, before he was satisfied with the number of clones. He scanned the vast surface, until his eyes fell onto an oversized group of sealed machines. The ‘Six Gods’ of Lokath, ancient creations that inspired worship and fear so great it still persisted in certain areas of the galaxy.

 

“Alright, Venom… let’s see if you can control these hyper advanced A.I.,” Dan let more clones fall, targeted specifically toward the imprisoned droids. If Venom failed, he would destroy these weapons before they could be freed into the galaxy. “If you can, these will be your main avatars while I’m away.”

 

With Dan and all other Kryptonians soon to leave this universe, Venom’s children and clones would be the primary force of Krypton left behind. They would multiply and expand, in control of the endless Hives of Killiks and the legions of droids that Lokath could produce. Even if they remained separated from the main Empire for thousands of years, they would be fully capable of dominating any threat to Krypton and the galaxy.

 

“We have connected… their minds are formidable, but deep in slumber,” Venom chortaled at the back of Dan’s mind as it interfaced with the dangerous machines. “We have stripped their minds and made them our own… perhaps we can do the same to Ultron, when we return home?”

 

Dan snorted and shook his head. Ultron had the All-Spark and years of time to upgrade himself. Venom might be capable of influencing or controlling the A.I., but he wouldn’t bet on it. His A.I. servant would only grow stronger, once he introduced him to the Lokath of their home galaxy. 

 

The only reason he’d waited, was because the technology here would make the A.I. far more powerful than the All-Spark alone. Now that Dan was set to reach his prime physical age, he was less worried about what Ultron would do in the future. His power soared every day, an exponential curve that only required sunlight to continue.

 

“Make sure you copy the data from this place, just in case,” Dan gave the impressive structure a final glance. In the future, perhaps Kryptonians would live in such spheres. “Our Lokath is much older, and it took damage during a conflict with the Republic.”

 

Information gained here would help them repair the megastructure. Not only that, but it would be the foundation of any they constructed for themselves. Dan shook his head and engaged his phantom drive. Those were thoughts for the future, right now it was time to let Venom do his work. He had a vacation to plan, a long term break that would also test Venom’s ability to manage the basics of the Empire.

 

“Now, where should we go first…”