What Was Not

Ahri Raas scrambled to the SoroSuub yacht in the hangar of Sinkhole Station, fleeing as fast as he could from Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker. With the entire Sith strike team sent to kill the Skywalkers now dead–including the girl that Ahri loved, Vestara Khai–the young Keshiri had no choice but to flee. It would have been so much more satisfying to have stayed, fight, and maybe die gloriously in combat for what it was worth; Ahri could at least attempt a chance of vengeance for the lives lost, especially Vestara.

But that would have been fruitless; fruitless as the plans of Ahri's master Yuvar Xal, who plotted to overthrow Lady Olaris Rhea so he could take control of the strike team. Xal decided to enact this coup, of all times, during the battle against the Skywalkers; a plan that Ahri thought was stupid to pull off then, and which had resulted in almost all of the team members' deaths. His better judgment overcame his conditioned instincts to obey even those who would superfluously betray their own masters, and that saw to Ahri's survival.

Had he followed Xal's orders like a good little Sith should have, or at least would have, his death would have meant that no one would be able to tell the rest of the Lost Tribe back on Kesh that they would need greater numbers if they were to defeat the Jedi, especially the Skywalkers. The only thing that mattered right now was reaching that SoroSuub yacht, taking off, and heading back to Kesh so that the Skywalkers, and subsequently the rest of the Jedi Order, would surely suffer the vengeance that Ahri wanted to mete out against them.

In moments, he was aboard the yacht and its boarding ramp was closed just as Ahri was beginning to start the ship up. Not even Master Skywalker could stop him now.

That thought merely fuelled the newfound mix of pride and arrogance in Ahri brought upon by the fact that he managed to cut Skywalker and get his blood all over him; it showed that this Jedi who the Circle of Lords feared so much was just a man.

In spite of the strike team's failure, and more importantly, to Ahri at least, Vestara's death, he would be looked upon as a hero for this once he returned to Kesh.

~o~

Several days later, Ahri dropped the SoroSuub out of hyperspace and he was greeted by the pleasant appearance of his homeworld of Kesh.

Along with an armada of warships in orbit.

"Unidentified SoroSuub yacht," a velvety female voice said over the comm; Ahri recognized it as belonging to fellow Keshiri and Sith Saber Tola Annax. "Identify yourself or we will open fire on you."

"This is Tyro Ahri Raas, last remaining member of the strike team sent to retrieve the Sith Meditation Sphere known as Ship," Ahri replied immediately into the comm. "I'm reporting in to report that although we have found Ship, he had abandoned us and left us to die aboard a space station by the hands of the Jedi Skywalkers several days ago."

"And so you were the only one to have escaped alive, Tyro Raas?" Annax asked.

"I repeat, yes, I am," Ahri replied.

"This is grave news, Tyro Raas," Annax commented evenly. "Grand Lord Vol will not..." Her voice trailed off.

"Saber Annax?" Ahri inquired after a moment.

"Tyro Raas, during your escape from the Skywalkers, did you at all attempt a search for some kind of tracking beacon aboard your commandeered vessel?" Annax asked.

Ahri raised an eyebrow curiously. While the thought had never occurred to him after he left Sinkhole Station, he didn't think that Skywalker would have managed to put a tracking beacon on his ship. He thought about lying then, even though a Sith as experienced as Annax would see through his façade anyway through the Force. But he decided to stall as he decided to begin a hull test to check for a beacon with the scanners in front of him even as he asked, "Why?" He then noticed several Sith fighters flying in his direction.

"Because there is a ship several thousand miles behind you," Annax said even as the fighters soared past the SoroSuub. Then Annax asked, "I see that you had not previously conducted such a test."

Ahri didn't bother to hide his surprise from Annax in the Force. "I didn't think..."

"Of course you didn't," Annax said with a restrained tone of contempt in her voice. She was clearly angered about Ahri's incompetence in attempting to cover his tracks from any followers. The younger Keshiri thought that Annax would issue an execution warrant for his idiocy before she said, "It's a moot point either way. We conducted that test for you already and we found no tracking beacons to speak of."

Ahri released a sigh of relief before he cancelled his own sensor sweep of the hull. Then his eyes widened in shock when something quickly came to mind. "Wait, did you say a ship came out of hyperspace just after I did?"

"Yes," Annax replied simply. "And even as we speak, the squadron of fighters that High Lord Taalon has sent for it is going after it. Given your proximity to the area, Tyro Raas, you would do well to contribute to the capture of that vessel and remedy your idiocy."

"Understood, Saber Annax," Ahri said through his barely-controlled anger before he cut the communication with the other Keshiri. He didn't care what she thought then; he would do what she said, so he turned the SoroSuub away from Kesh and faced the direction of the squadron of fighters chasing the distant vessel in the distance.

Ahri throttled the SoroSuub yacht forward to help the fighters capture the ship. In a few moments, he was only a few dozen meters behind them when they finally began firing upon their charge. The young Keshiri spared a glance at his sensors, which told him that the vessel's name was Jade Shadow.

Ahri gasped in shock. His mind flashed back to his escape from Sinhkole Station. During his fleeing from Luke Skywalker, he passed by a ship whose name, etched in words at its side, was Jade Shadow. He had noted in passing that the Shadow was being helmed by the younger Skywalker, whose name was a mystery to the Lost Tribe of the Sith. But regardless of his name, Ahri marked him off as the one who ultimately ended Vestara's life.

Nevertheless, the thought that ran through Ahri's mind now was that he had led the Skywalkers here to Kesh, the homeworld of the Sith, Ahri realized in horror. But how? Annax herself said that there was no tracking beacon on the SoroSuub, so how could the Skywalkers have followed him?

Then something came to mind. Ahri looked down at his bloodied tunic. It was still stained with Skywalker's blood. The young Keshiri took a moment to himself before realizing that somehow, the elder Jedi had used his own blood to track Ahri down. That way, he could inadvertently lead them back to the Lost Tribe!

How could I have been so stupid! Ahri thought.

But before he could help out the fighters in trying to stop the Skywalkers by even firing a laser, the Jade Shadow disappeared back into hyperspace.

With that, Ahri figured, unless all of the Lost Tribe of the Sith moved off of Kesh, they were doomed.

And it would be all his fault!

If he told anyone in the Lost Tribe of this, he would surely be punished. Maybe he would even be executed. But if he didn't, not only would he be doomed, but his entire people; and not just the Keshiri, but the Sith and all their non-Force-sensitive comrades and families. The Jedi would soon arrive in the system in full force with an army, no doubt, and wipe out Kesh in a single stroke, rendering it uninhabitable for even a microbe to live off of.

Ahri had this bad feeling that this fleet wouldn't be sufficient to protect Kesh; the entire Lost Tribe was only spaceborne for two years! How could they possibly hope to defeat a force that was experienced in space combat? They'd be slaughtered like cattle!

Even if it meant his death, he should probably tell his people. Even if he were executed, at least the Lost Tribe of the Sith had a chance to live. Sure, it would abandoning their homeworld of their own safety, but at least they would still be alive; if not as a whole at least, then as little pockets around the galaxy at most.

On the other hand, he could just cut his losses and just abandon the Lost Tribe. What would he have to gain from this if he were to literally forfeit his life before Grand Lord Darish Vol and the Circle of Lords? Sith like Ahri were trained from the earliest of their childhood to strive for the excellence of their own beings, even at the cost of their fellow Sith. And while it was true that they were also meant to obediently serve their masters, Ahri thought that at this point, it wouldn't matter. Even if the Lost Tribe were to survive scattered out through the galaxy, it wouldn't probably wouldn't survive long anyway when the Jedi find them out and begin an active extermination for all Sith who wouldn't surrender. And besides, with Vestara gone, what good could there be in pledging further obeisance to the Sith, even if it meant the end of his life?

The one thing that would keep Ahri living would be to avenge Vestara's death by killing both Skywalkers. He would find a way to train himself if he had to if it meant that one day, he would have both Jedi at his boot heels, at his mercy, before he severed their heads from their bodies; just as the younger one had done to Vestara.

So, with that, he blew past the fighters and, having already laid a hyperspace course in, had the SoroSuub disappear into the blue velvet that took him out of the Kesh system. Let the Lost Tribe die, he thought. If it meant the continuity of his survival and the assurance of his vengeance, then so be it.

The Skywalkers would pay. Especially the younger one.

How he was going to do that, he did not know.