Pencils: Dave Ross
Inks: Mark McKenna
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Michael Heisler
Cover Artist: Benjamin Carré

During a battle on Begeren, the Sith Teneb Kel orchestrates a victory by killing the Republic governor and his guards in the palace. But with the invasion complete, the Dark Council insists that he return to Dromund Kaas and face judgment for the crimes his master, Lord Calypho, has committed. Meanwhile, on Peragus, a servant of the Sith Emperor provides confidential information to the Republic, thereby seling out her people. On Dromund Kaas, Kel comes before the Dark Council to find Calypho before them. His crime was overstepping his bounds and taking power that he didn't earn, and his punishment is death at the hands of Kel. Kel duels Calypho, but before he can kill him he is stopped and Calypho is taken away. Kel professes that Calypho is no longer his master and he is given the task of finding the Emperor's apprentice Exal Kressh and killing her. The Emperor tells Kel that she can be found in the Lenico system and then touches Kel. Kel awakens in a ship with his servant and immediately begins to carry out his mission. At Lenico IV he follows tips and his hunches to track Kressh to the stasis chambers she has been sleeping in where he confronts her and she defeats him easily, causing him to run. The aftermath of their battle causes the colony to crash to the planet, taking Kel with it but Kressh is able to escape to return to her home. Kel's Abyssin servant attempts to perform some repairs on their ship as Kel travels to the remains of the colony to scavenge parts for the ship. While he is searching, he approaches death and has a vision. In the vision he learns that the Emperor plans to hollow out many people and make them nothing more than extensions of his own will. As he awakens from his vision, he encounters a Jedi named Jerbhen Hulis who was on the colony looking for Exal Kressh as well. Hulis agrees to tell Kel what Kressh's plans were in exchange for helping the survivors of the colony crash get to the ruins and Kel agrees because he feels they need to leave the planet very soon. Returning to his ship, he kills Hulis' padawan and they travel to Korriban where the Republic and Empire are engaged in battle. Dropping to the planet, Kel begins hunting again for Kressh in the Sith Academy grounds. Finding her, they duel again and this time he kills her at the last minute, determined that the Emperor will have his "children". He returns to Dromund Kaas where he demands that the Dark Council make him a master and takes his name of Darth Thanaton.