Not so long ago...

The door steel doors whistled open to give way to the Lord Marshal and another two members of the Grand Master's Royal Guard. Technically, the GMRG was supposed to guard the Grand Master; at the present time, however, the Grand Master was absent. Taking into account the current situation, using Royal Guard-members as riot control seemed to be a pretty intelligent decision.

Gathered in the main briefing room of the Victory-class Star Destroyer Kormandal were the Consuls of all of the Brotherhood's seven Clans. Or they had been if Kir Katarn, Taldryan's Consul and Gui Long, Tarentum's, hadn't been late. McKenna had summoned them all for an important meeting, establishing a forced cease-fire for at least a limited time. That being said, the general mood was rather icy.

"Good evening, Gentlemen", the Lord Marshal greeted them, settling on the form-chair at the front facing of the long, dark table from mahogany-imitate. Shoving the cowboy hat onto his neck, he breathed out and looked at the audience. Then McKenna began trying to salvage what he could.

"Even though two of us are still missing, I'll begin. You can fill in the others when they arrive. As you all may have noticed, there have been a couple of bloody incidents happening over the last days. Not only do we see infighting between the Clans but also brethren turning against each other. Masters slaying their apprentices, old friends killing themselves without reason, strangers who've never met ganging up on each other - and that not between warring factions but inside of their own Clans."

Gord Darkonian and Malik Sadow exchanged knowing looks, Vail Unteminar scratching a non-existing itch at his right temples. JaM3z Arconae, Arcona's Consul, leaned back, arms crossed in front of his chest, and shoot a fiery glance towards Khan Kunar, Exar Kun's Consul, who ignored him.

"These incidents", McKenna continued, "are far from mysterious. We have learned that a number of Brotherhood-members are infected with a certain disease that causes them to turn on their brethren, apparently multiplying their aggressions and hatred normally kept under strict control. This disease is contagious - which is the reason for the infected's new code-name, 'Charlie' - it spreads mainly through fluid exchange, mainly within combat. This, however, means we're facing a sever epidemic which will not only cost us half of our brethren but will also kill the other half as the infected turn against us."

The Lord Marshal shifted in his seat and continued to speak.

"The Order Leaders, Telaris Cantor and myself are working on a cure. These efforts have been met with rather... limited success so far. I've not only summoned you today to inform you, but also to rally you against an upcoming battle against the infected. You must put your differences aside and ally against a foe far worse than anything the Brotherhood has seen. If we do not form a common front against Charlie, they will overrun and destroy us. The future of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood is at stake - and only you and the right decision stand between us and the gaping rift of oblivion."

None of the Consul said anything, some being startled by this announcement, some already having anticipated something like - and some already knowing. James McKenna was looking at each Consul seperatley, trying to gauge their intentions, swaying them to his cause.

He was about to start talking again, when the steel doors behind him whistled open. Turning around and looking over his back, the Lord Marshal noticed two hooded figures entering the room unison, their robes marking them as Exarch and Dark Side Adept.

"Ah, it looks like the Consuls Taldryan and Tarentum have finally made it, too", James remarked. Kir Katarn and Gui Long reached for their hoods and dropped them on their shoulders, revealing their faces. They looked at each other...

...when suddenly their hands flew to their hips, lightsabers revealing and igniting. Two crimson blades exploded to life, sparking the room in red light, just a split second before the two Force-wielders lunged at the Lord Marshal.

James McKenna's eyes widened. He kicked into the floor, catapulting himself backwards and down onto the room's ground, the deadly blade of Gui Long's weapon searing through the air where the older man's head had been just a second ago.

"They're infected! Charlie spotted!" JaM3z yelled, thrusting his index finger at the two Consuls. Malik looked at him indignantly, sitting right next to him and now being half deaf. Kir Katarn jumped onto the table, the other sitting Consuls jumping from their seats, their sabers flaring to life finally, too.

James McKenna fell to the ground, Qui Long jumping after him. Saber high above the head, he sent it flying down at the Lord Marshal who rolled to the left side, barely avoiding the deadly blade. Reaching for his hat, he rolled to the other side, evading another deadly gash when finally Gord Darkonian jumped to the Council member's aid. His azure blade flashed and blocked Qui Long's crimson colored one just when it came down in another wide arc. McKenna rolled away, pushing up to his feet and igniting his own one, Khan Kunar stepping at his side, bringing up his weapon as well.

On the other side of the room, a furious Kir Katarn was assaulting the rest of the other Consuls. Driven back under the onslaught, Malik and Vail made sure to put up a wall the Taldryan wasn't able to break. JaM3z jumped into the breach stopping Kir's attack and, supported by the other two, began fighting him back.

"You puny mortal!" Gui Long back at the table exclaimed, pulling his lightsaber over Khan's blade in a wide arc, sending it flying towards his shoulder and gashing him deeply. The Exar Kun Consul screamed out, holding the wound, staggering back. James swiveled his crimson blade into Gui Long's way, forcing him to stop a fatal blow and turning his attention back to his two new opponents. Spit was running down the edges of his mouth, flying into all directions as he growled, primal rage flaming in his eyes and extinguishing any humanity. In the background, the two guardsmen sank to the ground dead, their breastcages split by Gui Long's and Kir Katarn's initial gashes.

Now their advantage was gone, however. Both infected Consuls faced a triple threat, no chance for a quick victory left. Within a couple of seconds they had retreated towards the door, fending off their opponent's attacks.

"This time you were lucky, scum!" Gui Long yelled, stepping into the corridor behind the doors. "But your time will come! YOU WILL ALL DIE!"

With that they turned on their heels and skidded down the floor with inhuman speed.