2 Years after the Emperor's death
"So then I told him, "You're right. I'm not a Jedi. I'm the Emperor's Wrath," and walked away."
"Oh! Seyje, you didn't!"
"Saiyah, you should've seen the look on his face! I had to practically run before someone heard me laughing! And before someone caught me."
"You're crazy! You're lucky you even made it back to the spaceport."
The two sisters conversed over the holo, each sitting in their own ships on opposite sides of Nar Shaddaa's glowing atmosphere. It was one of the shadiest planets in the galaxy, and under control of the Hutt Cartel. Both the Empire and Republic had tried numerous times to convince the Hutts to join their side, but the slugs remained vigilantly neutral; which was fine with the Davire's. Any neutral planet provided a haven for them to meet, though Nar Shaddaa had the least amount of Empire and Republic lackeys who could potentially spy on them. Ironically enough, that made it the safest place for them despite the constant criminal activity. Still, even on Nar Shaddaa, the sight of a Jedi and a Sith talking and laughing like the two of them were would draw suspicions.
"Wait, wait, Saiyah, that's not even the best part. Two hours later, I'm walking by this market stand to get to the taxi, and this man standing there asks me the same question. So what do I tell him?"
"Let me guess. You told him you're the Emperor's Wrath too."
"Wrong. I told him I was you!"
"Seyje!"
"And he actually believed me!"
The two of them burst out laughing, leaning back in their chairs as they giggled uncontrollably. They kept these conversations to the privacy of their quarters even though their crews were well aware of the sisters' relationship. Sergeant Rusk and Lieutenant Pierce were the only two that strongly disapproved. Lord Scourge and Broonmark didn't like it, but they chose to ignore the situation as much as possible. T7-01 and Vette enjoyed the interaction between the factions, while Kira and Jaesa were overjoyed to be able to see each other once again.
As for Doc and Quinn, it was a bit more complicated. They had both come from the war on Balmorra, and had fought each other on the battlefield years ago before Saiyah and Seyje arrived. They wanted their wives to be happy, but the mutual strain between them had proven very hard to erase. Doc was more lenient about it than Quinn, who had actually given Seyje the silent treatment for a few days when he first found out.
"Oh my Force, you cannot ever do that again! Now the next time I land on Coruscant, I'm going to get all kinds of questions about why I was wandering the streets in a dancers outfit," Saiyah groaned in exasperation.
"Don't forget stumbling around half-drunk in the Old Galactic Market sector for three hours," her sister reminded.
"I'm going to kick your ass, Seyje."
"Hey, I enjoyed myself. I can't help it that we look like twins!"
"How am I going to explain this to Chancellor Saresh?"
"Bah, don't worry about her. She's a pain in the ass anyway. Just have Master Satele cover for you; she likes me," Seyje said with a grin.
"After that performance, you'll be lucky she doesn't put out an APB on you," Saiyah remarked, raising a brow at the holoimage.
"Meh, she wouldn't be the first," Seyje shrugged.
A knock at the door caught the Sith's attention. She turned in her chair, smiling at her husband in the entryway.
"Am I interrupting?" he asked politely, an amused smile on his face.
Seyje chuckled. "Not at all, Quinn. Come in. How was Valisea's first trial?"
He walked in, pulling up a chair next to her personal console. "She exceeded Overseer Rance's expectations," he said beaming. "Much like you did during your time as an acolyte."
Seyje chuckled, intertwining her fingers into his hand. "I hope her trials go by swiftly. The sooner she's off that planet, the better."
"Aw, come on sis, you should be proud of your daughter!" Saiyah interjected with a grin. Her expression clouded as she said, "I'll admit, I'm surprised you two chose to have a child, considering you're practically on the frontlines all the time."
A bright red blush rose on Seyje's cheeks. "Ah ha, well, actually Saiyah, it was…not exactly a conscious choice," she explained with a chuckle, noting how Quinn stiffened up next to her.
Saiyah gasped, her hand flying up to cover her face. "Oh my god, Seyje, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to–"
"Saiyah, relax, its fine," Seyje said, waving it off with a smile. "Even though it was a bit…unexpected, Valisea has been a blessing to our lives." She turned to Quinn. He wore a proud smile, and she leaned across to kiss him lightly on the cheek.
A thought crossed Quinn's mind, and he laughed once. "I take it you've told her of your drunken adventures on Coruscant?" he said exasperatedly.
"Ha! I forgot to tell you, Saiyah. Quinn was with me the entire time. You should hear him try to impersonate a Republic accent while intoxicated!" Seyje exclaimed, bursting out laughing.
Quinn rolled his eyes, dragging a hand through his hair before smoothing it back down. "I was under the impression I had been given a pure Sonic Screwdriver. I had no idea you were going to spike it with Vosh and then drag me into the Dealer's Den with you."
Saiyah's image disappeared from the holo as her chair rolled away, the sound of her cackling coming from the background. As she returned, she wiped a tear from her eye while asking, "How in the world did no one find out you were an Imperial? You have one of the strongest accents ever."
"I gave him one of the fur-lined overcoats I borrowed from Ved'ma's ship. Ruffle up his hair a bit," Seyje did just that, "Add some alcohol, and he looks and sounds just like another smuggler in a cantina." Quinn frowned, pushing her hand off his head, though she caught the smile on his face as he turned away to fix his hair.
Saiyah raised a brow at her sister, her tone simultaneously anxious and impressed. "You stole something from her and got away with it?"
"It wasn't too hard," Seyje said with a shrug. "All I had to do was–"
Breep! Breep!
The holocom in the Fury's lounge rang with an incoming transmission. Seyje sighed. "Give me one sec to answer this and I'll be right back."
Saiyah nodded. "That's fine. I'll have–"
Breep! Breep!
This time, it was the holocom in the Defender's lounge that rang. Seyje paused in her seat, glancing up at Saiyah with confusion. Both of them getting a call at the same time?
"I hope nothing's wrong," Saiyah said worriedly.
"Don't bet on it," Seyje remarked as she stood up.
She left the console and headed into the lounge to answer. Vette and Jaesa were standing next to the holocom, looking expectantly towards the hall where the Sith appeared.
"It's coming in on the emergency channel," Jaesa told her.
Seyje frowned. Something wasn't right about this. An uneasy feeling washed over her as she pressed the call button, and a panicky soldier appeared on the holo. He had burns on his armor, and a large crack down the front of his helmet. The sounds of blaster fire and lightsabers could be heard in the background.
"Wrath! Korriban is under attack!" he shouted. A huge explosion disrupted the call, and the soldier stumbled out of the holo momentarily before finding his way back. "Please! You have to help! Darth Acina implores you!"
Seyje's jaw dropped. Korriban? Under attack? Her gut started doing summersaults. "Who would dare do such a thing?" she snarled angrily.
"The Republic! Their Barsen'thor is leading the charge!" the soldier explained, dodging as a piece of shrapnel flew over his shoulder. The enemy was getting closer.
"What?" Seyje roared. An anger began to rise in her stomach, one that she knew was strong enough to trigger the Curse. Her fingers gripped the edge of the holocom, slowing digging into the metal. How dare she…how dare she attack my territory so blatantly. "Hold your position, soldier, and tell your officers I'm on my way," she barked.
"I'll try, sir, but I don't know how much longer we can – aarghh!" An explosion cut the transmission short.
Seyje slammed the edge of the holocom. "Damn it! Quinn, get us to Korriban now."
"Right away, my lord."
She whirled around, rushing into her quarters. Saiyah reappeared on the holo right as she was in her chair.
"Seyje! Ved'ma is attacking Tython!" she exclaimed.
Seyje stopped. "That's impossible. Valara is destroying Korriban as we speak!"
"What? How?"
The Sith's head began to spin. Simultaneous attacks on both the Empire and Republic homeworlds? Occurring within just a few minutes of each other? This was too much to just be a coincidence.
"Does it matter? God damn it, what the hell is going on, Saiyah? How did we not know about these attacks?" she said angrily, pacing the floor in front of the console.
"We can talk about this later, Seyje. Right now, we have to stop our sisters," Saiyah said urgently.
Seyje grit her teeth. Ved'ma and Valara were immersed in the Dark Side more than any other Force-users she knew. If they were leading the attacks, it was going to take everything her and Saiyah had to stop them.
Suddenly, Seyje froze in place. "Oh no," she murmured. "Valisea. She's on Korriban right now!"
Saiyah's eyes widened. "Seyje…if she finds her–"
"Quinn!" Seyje roared, whirling around. "Jump to hyperspace now! Valisea is in trouble!" A cold fear wormed its way into her system, much like what she had felt during her battle with her old Master. Only this time, it was much worse.
Korriban was lost. Piles of rubble littered the entire Sith Academy from the bombs and blaster fire. Entire pillars had collapsed, blocking off every hallway except for the one leading to the Dark Council chambers, which were nothing more than a wreckage.
In the center of the room, next to the body of Darth Soverus, stood Jedi Master Valara Davire, Barsen'thor of the Jedi Order. Her red eyes glowed with the Dark Side, a sickening, gleeful smile donned her pale face. Her skin was corrupted to the point where it looked cracked around her eyes, lips, and on her neck – and that was only on her face. The Balanced Combatant armor she wore was dyed red with black edges, and it was virtually untouched from the battle.
"Barsen'thor," a voice said, and she turned around to see Commander Jensyn enter the room with a circle of soldiers. In the middle of them was a group of Sith acolytes. "The Sith Academy is under our control. My men found these Sith hiding in storage closets. What are your orders?"
A dark, twisted sneer crossed her face. She approached the initiates, her double-bladed lightsaber glowing black and red in her hand. Scanning the group, she saw one young brunette glaring at her defiantly. "Give me that girl," Valara said, pointing at her. "And kill the rest. We will send a clear message to the Empire by littering the courtyard with their bodies." "As you say," Jensyn replied, waving his men away to complete their given task.
Valara approached her target, grabbing her roughly by the hair and pulling her to her feet. The girl grunted, unable to fight back due to the Force-binders around her wrists. "You're the daughter of the Emperor's Wrath, no?" Valara said tauntingly. "Your death will strike quite a blow to your mother. I have waited a long time for my chance."
"Why are you doing this?" Valisea growled, struggling against the Jedi's grip. Valara yanked her head forward, and she slipped, falling to her knees. The red lightsaber hummed inches away from her throat. Valara leaned in close to her ear and whispered a single word.
"Revenge."
Across the galaxy, a deafening wail echoed through the walls of a ship as a Sith collapsed to her knees.
From the surface of Tython, tears fell from a Jedi's eyes in remorse.