Suicide by Cantina
Ananias was still alive, amazingly. And everything around him just seemed to be so very normal, people still going about their everyday business. How could it be just another day? Didn't they realize that everything had changed? No, for them, life went on. It was only his life that had been turned upside down and shaken until it all fell apart. And today was the first day in a long time that he felt alone. He wasn't sure if it felt good, or so very isolating.
It was only early afternoon, he'd chosen to throw his life away in the morning, just hours ago, and now he was in the tiny cantina that served the Academy. He carefully balanced his newly empty shot glass on the growing tower before him, balefully staring at the shaking glass, just daring it to fall. It didn't, and he leaned back, ankle on his knee, head rolled back, eyes closed. He didn't need to watch the patrons, he could feel them. Intoxication didn't affect his reaction times, and his body had risen to the challenge he'd thrown at it, burning through the alcohol almost as fast as he could drink it.
"Suicide by cantina, boss?" The speaker sat across from him, and he sat up, meeting the newcomer's concerned gaze. Surely Niko didn't think he could kill himself with alcohol, did he? It would take so much more than what he could manage here to even make the attempt.
"I do not follow." He judged Niko, trying to peer through many layers of concern, but it was difficult. That was what he was overwhelmingly hit with, and it didn't shake off easily. Of course, if he fell, there was a big chance he'd take Niko with him. There was a big chance he'd take all of them with him, those who had stood behind him. Only that didn't seem to be on the horizon...today, at least. Complacency was a dangerous thing indeed. "Suicide by cantina?"
"Yeah. Suicide by cantina. Where you kill yourself by appearing out in the open, alone in a cantina, and wait for those who are after you to come gun you down. Look, we can just leave. I know places we can run to. Hide. Vanish...yes, even you."
"Why would I leave Korriban? We just arrived." Some perverse corner of himself refused to believe what had happened. Telling Niko would be accepting it, and he wasn't certain he truly believed it himself.
"You were supposed to go to the Council chambers. End this, or..."
Die trying. "It was not smart of you to come here, Niko." No, in fact it was damned foolish. If things had gone badly, the life of every single person who had supported him, helped him, would be forfeit. And Niko would be top of that list, but... "I went to the Council chambers this morning. The Kaggath is done."
"It's...over? Thanaton?" Niko's dark eyes grazed over the subdued group in the cantina as if he was expecting an immediate ambush.
"Is dead." There was a finality in that statement, he hadn't known just how long this had been hanging over his head until it was lifted. The relief had lasted mere minutes, but now he was left trying to make sense of everything that had come after.
"You killed him."
"No. But he is dead." The killing blow had not been his, he wasn't quite certain what he made of that. Had he been victorious? Or was it simply over? What had come after Thanaton's death certainly sounded victorious to him, but he hadn't seen any of that coming and needed time to digest it. To follow the strands of meaning and weight behind Mortis and Marr's proclamations. "And his defeat during the duel is what finally ended in his death. I just wasn't the one who took the final blow."
"So you won. We won." Niko sounded appropriately dubious, he'd been in Ananias's service for long enough to understand that so many things came with an underflow, manipulations behind the scenes. Things he'd never understand. That fact that he trusted someone else to deal with them spoke volumes.
"It appears to be so." That was as committal as Ananias was willing to get at the moment. "The Kaggath is done." And that was what he needed to focus on at this moment. While he couldn't relax, he could be slightly less vigilant knowing he no longer had a Darth, a member of the Dark Council, agitating for his destruction and the destruction of those who had put their lives in danger to stand behind him.
"I'd expect you to be a little more enthusiastic about that. You can go back to digging up holes here instead of raising your own army to defeat a Dark Council member bent on your death." Niko shrugged, leaning back to watch the cantina. It had never been a raucous one, most of the people at the Academy were students, and it was stupid to drop one's guard when all of one's classmates would love an opportunity to cut out a competitor.
Oh, if life was only that easy.
"Hmmmph." He replied, waving at the waitress and holding up two fingers. "A drink. I insist."
"When have I ever turned down a free drink? Even from a guy who smells like an overloaded battery? That's you, isn't it? Or is the cantina about to burn down?"
"That would be me. At least I have stopped smoking." He hoped.
"Bad shit happened. Damnit, I should have known it wouldn't be that easy..."
That easy. Facing down a Darth, a Dark Council member, at least twice his age and experience in combat, scrutinized by the remainder of the Council, and Niko considered that easy. Ananias would hate to know what he considered to be difficult...
"The other Council members are pissed. Boss, I was serious about what I said. I really do know places where even you can vanish. What's it going to take to get a shuttle off of Korriban? Who do we bribe? Who do we kill?"
Ananias shook his head, pulling out his datapad and checking. Yes. It had gone through. To the Empire, Lord Ananias Kallig had ceased to exist, replaced with... He sighed, resting it face down on the tabletop and picking up the next shot as quickly as the waitress put it down in front of him. "It will be no trouble to get a shuttle off of Korriban." In fact, his last instructions had been fairly clear, he was expected to leave Korriban. The fact he hadn't left yet could be suspect...
"You're scaring me, Boss. For real." Niko frowned. "Let's get out of here...go someplace you can talk in."
"That sounds like a plan." And it was certainly a better plan than sitting in the cantina in the Sith Academy, trying to overwhelm a metabolism that laughed at the very idea. And he really was stinking up the place, although he doubted that he was the first, or would be the last, singed and smoking Sith to seek solace here. He rose to his feet, towering over the smaller pilot, his face obscured in the depths of his hood, and began the walk to the shuttle pad. He could have procured a ride, but he needed the calm that the Valley had always given him, the peace that Korriban surrounded him with. Home. It was home, the birthplace of his people. He had been graced with the ability to stand upon its ground, blessed with the privilege of learning his calling at its Academy.
Now that he had Ananias moving, Niko seemed content to remain safely silent, trailing in his wake, playing as the eminently respectful servant.
The Korriban shuttle pad was tiny, just a clear spot with two idling shuttles and a small ground crew staff. The actual spaceport, with facilities and Ananias's Fury, was far above his head...in geosynchronous orbit over the Valley. The fewer non aware personnel they had on this holy ground, the better.
"Milord!" The first ground crew member to see him called out, warning his compatriots to Ananias's approach. Don't make me introduce myself. I...just can't do that right now. It was beyond stupid, but his mind still refused to go there. He needed time to come to grips with what had happened, but time was a luxury Sith lords were rarely afforded. And he'd run out of it the moment he set foot on the Fury. Too many people's lives hung in the balance of what had happened today, they deserved to know. They'd be demanding to know.
"Good afternoon." The man almost stepped backwards at Ananias's pleasant tone, he almost looked wary. "Next shuttle departure is scheduled for when?"
Now. The dark, arrogant part of his soul muttered. Even without the events of this morning, he warranted an immediate dust off. But there had been a meeting of the Dark Council here today, he could understand a delay if those who had arrived in the flesh... Marr, Mortis, Ravage... had departed Korriban ahead of him.
"Who you are. what you are, has always served you well, my boy. Do not change. Be what they chose to follow, stay what they respect. Look at where it has taken you."
Finally, a voice. And one not tearing him apart. They were still with him, although many of the spirits he carried within him were distantly, measuringly silent now. They waited. To see.
"We're ready for immediate lift off, milord. This way, if you please." The man moved quickly, but with great precision, showing them to their seats, running through the last flight checks before giving the go ahead for take off and locking down the hatch as he exited. It was a quick and silent trip, Ananias could sense that Niko wanted answers, but was unwilling to pursue them yet. This was still all too public.
As was the trip through the orbital spaceport, their progress carefully avoided by most of those who were there to see them pass by. No one wanted to be the poor soul noticed by a random, unidentified Sith lord moving through like a storm bank.
It was blessedly safe to vanish up the Fury's plank, and into her depths, hidden from view. He dropped his charred, stinking robes as he strode forward...they were a complete loss, but it would give the ship's droid some purpose. He was not surprised to see an insistently blinking light on the holoterminal when he passed by it on the way to his cabin...half of the galaxy probably wanted to speak to him. They'd waited this long, they could keep waiting until he'd showered and changed...as could Niko.
He scrubbed quickly, and dressed, shrugging into a plain, black robe before returning to the center of the ship, and the persistent blinking light. He sighed, took a deep breath, and touched the link button.
"It's obvious that something untoward has happened." Abend's voice, her tone carefully neutral, emanated from the speakers. She had chosen to go voice only, a usual precaution for her. "We...oh, good afternoon, milord."
Openly visible on the holo, the image of the man she'd been speaking to spun to face Ananias. Moff Pyron, resplendent in uniform, agitation clear on his features. He was speechless for a moment, before he bowed slightly. "Milord. We have been extremely concerned. It has been hours..."
"It's been more than hours, Lord Kallig. Why has the Dark Council declared you as no longer existing, yet has left you alive?" While Abend sounded merely pleasantly curious, Ananias was not fooled for one moment. Her mind was churning through what little information she had access to, working to put it all together, and she was hardly alone on her end. Imperial Intelligence would be all over this.
"I exist. I have merely...lost my name." Merely was a false statement. Merely implied that it was a small loss, when in fact, it was a monumental one. Until this morning, Ananias's family name had been the most valuable facet of his identity. He prized it almost as much as he prized his force awareness, almost as much as he prized his greatest friendship. That name had been a gift, a duty, something to aspire to. It had given him worth when he'd still be struggling to see his own value. And now, he stepped beyond it?
"Such is the natural order of things. You brought honor to our name again. Held it high."
"Do I need to move the fleet back to a more secure location? The Kaggath is still in play? Is the Dark Council now involved? Darth Marr?" Pyron demanded, obviously less than concerned about the loss of a name, and more concerned about concrete things...like the lives of his people.
"The Kaggath is done. Thanaton is dead. There will be no retaliation from the Dark Council. I thank you for your support." And I will repay you for it. Both of you. All of you.
"So." Abend's voice had become, if possible, even more calm and steady. "If Lord Kallig no longer exists, what should I call you now?"
"By order of the Dark Council, and in light of your reputation of service to the Empire, you are now Darth Imperius."
Of course, he'd aspired to become a Darth, what Sith lord did not? But that had, until this morning, been a future goal. And he'd come out this so much more than just a Darth... "Your seat, milord."
"Darth Imperius." "You just killed a Dark Council member in fair combat. What did you expect?" A fair enough question, looking back at it, but his goal had simply been to end the Kaggath, the grinding duel against him that Thanaton had started, without losing his life or those of his supporters. And, Ananias understood all too well what had hung in the balance, his own ancestor had lost the Kaggath brought against him, and the family had still been paying for it generations later. That was the reason why he, Ananias, had been born into slavery.
"Congratulations, milord." Pyron visibly relaxed, of course, he'd just supported the winning side...he had reason to relax. He'd made an ally, helped to obliterate his enemy. Niko was grinning, but Abend was notably silent. He could feel her pondering, perhaps conversing with Keeper on her end.
"So, Darth Imperius." She began slowly, savoring the new name. "Darth Thanaton's council seat... He was an inquisitor, as you are. You shared much in common, for two that would collide against each other. If he hadn't been so determined to see you as something you are not, the two of you would have been formidable working together. But, it does bring the rather obvious question up..."
He'd been so blinded, so focused, and then so relieved when he had thought it was over. It had sidetracked his usual penchant to over-analyze things. But she saw right through it. "The answer to that is yes. I am." He could feel Niko's sharp attention, Pyron's measuring eyes.
"You are...what, exactly? You'll need to say it eventually. Better sooner than later."
He sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. She was right, of course. He had to say it, he had to own it, wear it, become it, or he'd have one of the shortest ascensions on record. He couldn't have the shortest, he'd already beaten that...
"I am Darth Imperius, Dark Councilor, head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge." It was worth it to see the stunned incomprehension on Niko's face and the sudden thrill on Pyron's. The man had backed a winner, beyond what he had been hoping for.
"We await your return to Dromund Kaas, milord. Norr, out." Abend was gone, gone to do whatever Imperial intelligence agents did when they got a hold of a juicy tidbit. Although they didn't... his mind swamped slightly...fall under his Sphere, any change in the Dark Council made ripples throughout the Empire.
"Congratulations, milord. I can think of few that deserve the honor and are capable of handling the responsibility, but you are certainly on that list. It is a fine day for the Empire. And yes, we await your return to us. Pyron out."
And they were gone, leaving him in silence. He rested the palms of his hands against the holoterminal and closed his eyes, trying in vain to gather his thoughts into some sort of cohesive truth. "Your turn, Niko."
"This wasn't part of the plan, was it?"
"No, but I can see where it became inevitable." He'd killed Thanaton's apprentices during the Kaggath. He was the next obvious choice to fill the Council seat he'd made empty. He'd been so blind. But his only other choice had been to die, and destroy those who supported him. To have let Thanaton win. He hadn't started this fight, he'd merely finished it. "To leave a Council seat empty..." It wasn't as imperative as say, Marr's Sphere of Defense of the Empire, or the Spheres of Military Offense and Military Strategy in the immediate scheme of the war, but the very fluidity of the Council was disturbing. There had been four heads of the Sphere of Military Offense in Ananias's very short career as a trained Sith. What have I gotten myself into? Nothing. This had all been forced upon him. But he intended to win it, in spite of that. This was what he wanted, it had just come much earlier than he could have ever dreamed of. "So is this it? For you?"
"I ain't leaving, Boss. You need us more than ever, now. Back to Dromund Kaas?"
"Yes. Back to Dromund Kaas." Was there a manual for this? "Send word for Khem to meet me at the spaceport." He'd always prided himself on his small household, flying under the radar, surrounding himself with the bare minimum of support...until this damned Kaggath had forced him to start digging in and courting allies. The idea that he'd suddenly become a target was just one more thing he didn't want to consider, but must.
"And Adolphus? You're going to need everything you've got, Boss. He needs to be at Dromund Kaas, waiting for us."
"If he'll come." It was a sad, sad thought that he might not answer Ananias's request and arrive in support. But things were not as they had been when they were young. "He is the Emperor's Wrath." And he'd made it very clear that he held little respect for the Dark Council...the same Dark Council that now counted Ananias as a member.
"He'll come...if you call." Niko stated solidly, then shrugged. "You know better than I do. I'll be in the cockpit if you need me. Do I hold for messages?"
"Yes."
Relief chased across Niko's dark eyes and he nodded slowly. "Let me know when you're ready to make the jump." He strode away, and was gone...leaving Ananias alone with the holoterminal. Well, there was only one way to know for certain, and that was to make the call. He's not going to answer...
He answered, and he answered quickly, appearing on the holoterminal almost as quickly as Ananias could make the connection. "Nye." The face, more familiar than his own, the voice, a balm of concern. Ananias had done his best to keep him out of this, to distance him from it. To bring the Emperor's Wrath into a Kaggath had seemed a dangerous thing indeed, and walked the edge of disgrace, or of forfeiture.
"I need you."
"Where? When?" Adolphus's gaze shifted quickly off of Ananias's face, and he knew that stare was the beginnings of an order.
"Dromund Kaas. I am leaving Korriban immediately, headed there..." And with that, the holo died, the call terminated on Adolphus's end. He hadn't even hesitated, or asked. "Niko, we're good to jump." Unfortunately, the transit from Korriban to Dromund Kaas was a very short one. He'd be there in just a handful of hours, and Adolphus had not made any hint that he would be delayed.
And he wasn't delayed, his Fury sliding into a guarding position the moment that Ananias's arrived over Dromund Kaas. It shadowed him all of the way down, until it was forced to break off to take its own landing bay.
Determine the loyalty of your followers.
That shouldn't be difficult, Ananias had always surrounded himself with those he... well, trusted implicitly was a strong phrase...but it came close. He didn't need sycophants, he didn't like them, either.
They were waiting for him when he stepped off of the ramp; Adolphus, relaxed in the way he only got when he sensed violence approaching, Adolphus's wife, Jaesa, standing back...measuring. Khem Val, hulking in the doorway, an impenetrable barrier, his glowing red eyes locked on Ananias. Oddly, he was the one to speak first, his gravelly voice filling the echoing landing bay. "You have failed the Kaggath?" There was something beneath the words...regret, perhaps. Outrage? Disappointment? It was always difficult to tell with something whose stance was a constant threat to devour his 'master'. And he was inscrutable, impossible to read.
"Kaggath? What Kaggath?" Much of Adolphus's relaxation evaporated with the word. "Thanaton? Only Thanaton would go that route. Everybody else would be content to just kill you...only he would make a spectacle out of it."
"Thanaton challenged me to a Kaggath, yes. And I went to answer it on Korriban. The Kaggath is over, done. I am victorious." He spat the last at Khem Val, daring the dashade to contest that. "Thanaton lies dead."
"Yay?" Jaesa questioned, moving up to stand next to Adolphus. "If the Kaggath is already done and over with, why do you call for help...now? Not that we'd ever deny you help, of course."
"I killed Thanaton in the middle of the Dark Council chambers, in fair combat..."
Khem began to laugh, his voice rising into a pealing, mocking crescendo of mirth. No, not Khem, but the other spirit locked into his body. The one who was probably the manual that Ananias needed, if she could be convinced to help. "You killed a Dark Councilor. In the chambers. In front of the rest of the Council? Who was there? Physically present?"
"Marr. Mortis. Ravage."
"Mortis. You won a Kaggath against a Dark Councilor, in front of Mortis."
"Yes." He stated solidly. Zash had gotten it already. She'd put all of the pieces together and come up with the right number. "Talk to me, Zash." I need your help.
"And did Marr interfere? After the Kaggath?"
"No. He..." Most certainly did not. "Supported..."
"So, in this landing bay, we have the Emperor's Wrath." She spun the dashade's massive body to stalk towards Adolphus, but stopped well clear of him. "And a Dark Councilor. Who trained at Korriban, together. Who have always supported each other. Fate ties us together in interesting ways, my apprentice. Fate moves the Empire in interesting ways. We should go, so much needs to be done, and there's not much time to do it."
Fate ties us together in interesting ways. Fate moves the Empire. He nodded, that, at least, rang true. And she was right, he shouldn't stay here like this...there was now too much importance contained in this landing bay. Like Niko had said, there was suicide by cantina...and just as easily, suicide by landing bay.