Theron rubbed his hands together while he waited for the large holo map to reveal the location of the mysterious super-weapon. Snowflakes swirled around him, he shivered a little when he felt the snow touch his scalp. He allowed himself to take another look of Copero – the beaches at the feet of the mountains, the shimmering ocean and the lush flora and of course the majestic Cling'geam'riro alps … but it gave him no joy.

He had betrayed the man he loved … he had betrayed his sweet Saikrâm. He didn't deserve to be happy, not anymore. He couldn't allow himself to enjoy this beautiful scenery. Theron glanced at the map, it was slowly recalibrating – the blue light of the holo painted the tower in an cold light.

"Let's see where you're hiding," he said loudly in an attempt to distract himself from his bleak thoughts.

"It won't take much longer," replied Valss. He sounded pleased.

Theron glanced at the tall Chiss at his side. He made an effort to appear equally pleased. Suddenly the map stopped and a planet was marked in deep red.

"There it is – of all the planets in the galaxy …" whispered Theron and gulped.

"Then our objective is clear?"

"Y-yeah." Theron attempted to smile.

Valss patted on his shoulder. "Trust in my vision, Theron. You will not fail."

The hand felt heavy and Theron felt a lump in his throat. He pulled a detonator out of his pocket and rigged the map. While he set the timer Theron pulled himself together: There was no need to wallow in self-pity. He did it for the galaxy, he did it for Sai – he would find out what the Heralds of Zildrog were up to and stop them!

He had been truthful when he had told Sai back on Umbara that he just wanted to bring peace to the galaxy. Since he had joined the Alliance he had dreamed about lasting peace … he knew that Sai was the one to do it – a lightsided Sith with pull in the Empire and the Republic.

He blinked and tried to suppress the images of Sai that played out before his inner eye: Sai smiling at him, his bright orange eyes glowing, he golden piercings in his lips that felt so good against his skin, Sai drooling on his pillow, Theron tracing the ridges on his chest-

"Theron – we have to hurry," said Valss.

He activated the timer and stood up. "Of course – let's go."

Valss led the way to the shuttle and Theron followed him with brisk steps. He did it for him, Sai would move on – certainly he could find a better match than an former SIS-agent past his prime. His Sith would be happy without him, that was enough for him – it had to be.

They boarded the shuttle and Theron was about to head for the cockpit when a blaster bolt grazed past him, he drew his blaster and turned on his heel: a human woman in Chiss uniform had almost taken his head off.

Theron narrowed his eyes: She wasn't alone – Sai stood next to her down in the temple courtyard. He had his lightsaber drawn, his red robes made a stark contrast to the white snow covering the ground. Theron's heart leaped up to his throat and he felt a sting in his chest as he felt Sai's stare upon him. For a moment he thought he felt him but-

Valss ignited his yellow-bladed lightsaber and jumped out of the shuttle.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" he yelled.

"No! You'll never win!" screamed Theron in despair. Sai would kill him! And he was to blame for leading the Chiss to his death!

The automated shuttle doors closed and the auto-pilot started with the take off. Theron cursed and hit the door with his fist. He knew that it was too late for Valss – he had to follow the plan. He could still make it work! For Sai … for his dream of peace.

ooOOoo

When he finally reached the secret base of operations on Odessen he was debriefed by the Exalted. After the rather trying questioning he was tired. He was about to retreat to his paltry quarters when he heard a familiar voice calling out his name.

"Theron!"

Dread crept about him as he slowly turned around. Valss jogged towards him, a broad smile plastered on his face. "There you are! I just came back."

"I-I didn't think you would make it," stammered Theron.

Valss handed him a lightsaber, Theron recognized it right away. Time seemed to slow down as he felt the cold metal in his hand. He could barely hear Valss talking.

"A strong opponent, but he was unfocussed and one of our stealth assassins managed to shoot him in the back. Not the way I usually prefer to win but it got the job done."

Theron grabbed the lightsaber so hard that his knuckles turned white. He had to blink tears away … he felt cold, but this time it wasn't due to the weather.