A/N: Edited May 31, 2017
Chapter 1: The Collapsing Cavern
"Jaesa! Go!"
At first, she was frozen. During the split second between Draagh's last word and the movement of his hands to the detonator switch, Jaesa Willsaam was sure she felt her heart stop. A moment later, a rush of twisted emotions nearly consumed her concentration. Instead, her mind reeled. No…no! How could this have happened? That traitor! Jaesa had started running the moment Draagh had punched the detonator switch, with her master a step behind her. They sprinted towards the exit, legs pumping and burning pure adrenaline, but the tunnel stretched out before them, seemingly lengthening by the minute despite their best efforts to close the distance.
Her mind was still in shock and the rest of her was running on autopilot. Jaesa cursed silently, refusing to waste precious breath on expletives when it could be put to a much better use fueling her burning lungs with oxygen. Of course Baras would turn on them! Didn't Lord Khryden say that it would happen sooner or later? She just hadn't expected it to be now. Why now? Why not kill Lord Khryden himself when they were in his presence on Drommund Kaas?
The walls were collapsing all around them, each deteriorating stone tumbling down and narrowly missing their heads. With each piece that fell, the light at the entrance so far ahead of them dwindled. Fear shot through her. This was not how she had expected to die. "We're not going to make it!" she gasped.
As soon as the words left her lips, a particularly large piece of rock broke from the ceiling and shot straight for her head, propelled by gravity. Her gasp bottled up in her throat and the only sound she could make was something in between a cough and a scream. Throwing her weight forward and hoping her legs would be able to catch up with her, Jaesa's head narrowly missed the herald of death. The rock wasn't done with her yet, however, as it struck her shoulder on the way down. Thrown off balance, she was sure that was the end of her until an iron hand latched onto her arm. Khryden gripped her bicep firmly, roughly pulling her along until she got her feet back under her and managed to match his speed.
Even her master's breath was coming in short, stressed gasps. "Don't talk! Run!" Khryden snarled.
Despite being constantly pummeled by dust and small chips of crumbling rock, they pushed on, feet pounding rhythmically. A rumbling had started behind them and convincing herself it was strictly necessary, Jaesa risked a look back. Though she managed to keep her footing this time, the shock at what she saw jolted her to her core. The cavern was completely collapsing, with them inside!
She flung her gaze forward, too afraid to risk another glance, and pushed her tired legs to pump faster, but the cave mouth was too far away. It was a fist sized oval of light that was rapidly being overshadowed by an increasing number of dropping rocks. They would never make it in time.
Panic zipped through her and she turned to the one man she trusted with her life. "Khryden!" Though she wasn't proud of the way her voice cracked with fear and desperation or the wild look in her eye, none of those things mattered right now. Living mattered right now and she was rapidly losing faith that they could make it through this.
The rumbling grew louder as larger chunks of rock plummeted closer to them. The complete collapse of the cavern was almost upon them and they were still a hundred meters away from the exit. Fearing the agony of death, Jaesa closed her eyes reflexively, bracing for a boulder to crush her bones like twigs.
Suddenly, a hand planted firmly on her back and shoved, launching her forward with strength augmented by the Force, throwing her the last fifty or so meters, clear of the danger zone. Her feet refused to respond to her attempts at staying upright and Jaesa stumbled, tumbling over and rolling to a stop in the dust. Instinctively, she curled up, covering her head with her arms, feeling smaller rocks pound her body.
Then, it stopped. Silence reigned.
All she could hear was her wheezing breaths and a few smaller rocks contacting the ground. Jaesa's eyes slowly opened. She wasn't dead, but everything hurt like hell and she could tell that she had some broken ribs along with the myriad of bruises she could already see. Groaning painfully, she rolled to her knees and climbed unsteadily to her feet, cradling her broken ribs. A mere few meters away lay the cavern's gaping mouth and just beyond that, Quesh's sun shone over a field of brownish green grass. Despite the obvious poisoning in the grass, at that particular moment, nothing looked more appealing. She took one staggering step towards the tantalizing sunshine before she jolted to a halt, forcing her brain to process something else besides the pain radiating from all corners of her body.
Wait. Where was Khryden?
Wobbling on tremulous legs, she swung around, peering through the settling dust, trying to catch a glimpse of…oh no.
His body was under a large boulder, which was crushing his right arm up to nearly his shoulder. His ankle was bent slightly in the wrong direction, as were most of the fingers on his left hand. A large piece of a stalactite had broken off and pierced his abdomen, and red blood was pooling slowly around his limp form. Fear choked her as Jaesa limped over to him and collapsed to her knees at his side, moaning. "Oh, Force…Oh no…"
Her bruised and cut hands hovered uncertainly over his body, trembling with the aftereffects of the adrenaline rush. She bit her lip, her brain finally catching up. He pushed me. He pushed me out of the way. He saved my life. She swallowed arduously on her parched throat, suddenly aware that her master's wellbeing depended solely on her next actions. I need…I need to save his. I can do this. First I have to move that rock.
Standing up as straight as she could with broken ribs, she summoned forth memories of those long hours spent in the fields in front of the Jedi Temple raising boulders to demonstrate her mastery of the Force to her Jedi teachers.
Jedi, she scoffed, rooting her knowledge of the Force into her budding anger and guiding it with her recollections. They never let me reach my full potential. I am strong now. Strong enough to make my own destiny, strong enough to save him!
Raising a hand, Jaesa concentrated, focusing her Force power and slowly levitating the rock off her master's body. As soon as it was clearly off him, she flung it against the cavern wall with a crash. She did the same with the stalactite piece, the chunk of rock leaving Khryden's body with a wet slurping sound. Immediately, blood began to gush from the wound and Jaesa quickly darted forward to bind it with the remains of her field medkit and gave him their last shot of kolto.
This won't last, she thought worriedly as blood began to stain the bandage. I need to get him to a med center. Where is the nearest one?
She frantically tried to remember, but all thought fled her mind as Khryden groaned softly and tried to move.
"Lord Khryden?" Jaesa fell to her knees beside him, placing a tremulous hand lightly on his shoulder. "Master, wake up."
Funny how I never felt this kind of devotion to any of my Jedi masters, she thought idly. Maybe it's because I never loved them.
She froze. Wait. Loved? Did she love him? Shaking her head violently, she let out a low hiss, furious with herself. No, this is not the time to worry about this! He needs a med center! Ask yourself such silly questions later!
A shuddering beneath her palm suddenly jolted from her reverie. His breath came in shallow gasps, but Khryden's eyes flickered open, clouded with a haze of pain. "Jaesa?"
Trepidation squeezed her throat. His voice sounded so weak...Biting her lip, Jaesa maneuvered her hands over the blood-soaked bandages, trying to convince herself that pressure would stop the bleeding. "I'm here, master." Quickly, before she could lose her nerve, she pressed down on his stomach wound, flinching when he gasped aloud in pain.
"Are you…ok?" He was having trouble drawing breath, causing panting pauses in his speech.
Jaesa swallowed down her panic. She needed to be strong, for his sake. "I'm fine, master," she said, forcing her voice to be steady. "I'm more worried about you."
He groaned against clenched teeth, face creasing in agony. "I…will live. It's…just a scratch. Ah…I need…kolto."
Just a scratch? She fought back the sudden hysterical urge to laugh. In any other situation, she might had given in, but this one was too tense. Licking her lips nervously, she refused to look at the blood staining her hands, instead electing to carefully watch his face. "I already gave you the last of our supplies, master. All we have left are a few bandages and some stims."
"Fine." He panted for a moment, eyes wild and sweat sheening his brow. "Do we have…stims left?"
Her shoulder throbbed where she had landed on it as she fumbled with the medkit. "Yes, master. Two left."
He gritted his teeth, a muscle in his jaw straining against the pain. "Shoot me with two of…the stims, then get over here and…help me up. I think I can…make it to the speeder outside…with a little assistance."
Jaesa complied, her hands having stopped trembling for now. She shoved aside her incredulousness—should he even be moving?—and gripped his shoulder, helping him sit up. "Take it easy, master. Your leg doesn't look so good. Try not to put much weight on it."
She slung Khryden's better arm around her shoulders, carefully avoiding his mangled fingers, and pulled him up slowly. The warrior moaned as his abdomen was stretched tight, but the kolto and stims had done their job and he was able to put a little weight on his twisted foot. She could tell that he was trying not to lean on her too much, mindful of her own injuries, but it just made her want to scream at him. He was a lot worse off than she was. He should be the one taking it easy! Despite that, there were no complaints to be heard. They made slow, halting progress to the mouth of the cave, and Jaesa helped him into the copilot seat of the speeder. She supported his body with hers, leaning him against the center console
"Stay strong, master," she encouraged with false cheerfulness as she slipped into the pilot's seat, glancing fearfully at his pasty face.
"Drugs are good," he mumbled, clearly out of it and nearly unconscious. "Get to…the Imperial Outpost. They have…a med center."
Of course! She started the speeder and sped off, leaving a cloud of dust and a few drops of blood outside the cave.
But he wasn't done and he gripped her forearm weakly. "Call…Quinn and…Pierce. Have them…met us there. I don't trust those…medical officers not to…finish the job. Don't know…who's been compromised."
"Of course, master," Jaesa said evenly, but inside her heart was racing. Of course Draagh or Baras could have bribed the medical officials to 'finish the job' as Khryden put it. Thank the Force they had a resident medical officer on board.
Releasing one handle of the speeder, Jaesa dug her holocommunicator out of her pocket and tossed it on the console, tapping it furiously. "Jaesa calling Fury, come in Fury."
"Jaesa?" It was Quinn, and Jaesa thought that she had never been happier to hear his voice.
She barely allowed herself the time to let out a sigh of relief. "Quinn! Thank the stars! We've had a problem, and I'm getting Lord Khryden to the Imperial Outpost med center. We need you and Pierce to meet us there right now. Understand?"
"Understood." Quinn's military precision forced him to snap a sharp salute, but almost instantly, his tone turn worried. "But what happened, Jaesa? Where's Lord Khryden now?"
She shook her head roughly, a part of her annoyed by his lack of haste. "A betrayal happened," she snapped, jerking the controls to avoid a pothole. "Draagh set us up and collapsed a cavern on us. Lord Khryden's hurt bad. Don't trust anyone, they might be on Baras's payroll. Just get to the med center, and bring Pierce."
"Affirmative. We'll be there in moments." Quinn gave her one last nod and signed off.
Swearing under her breath at the situation, Jaesa gripped the speeder controls with white knuckles. She needed to focus on not flipping the speeder while driving. That would be detrimental to both of them. Khryden coughed weakly, sagging against her as the kolto and stims began to wear off. She could tell he was wavering in and out of consciousness, and pushed the speeder to go faster. He was losing too much blood. Oh, the things she was going to do to Draagh when she caught him….
"Master, stay with me," she called loudly, voice wavering slightly with panic.
In response, she felt a gentle hum in the Force and Khryden's breathing slowed. She relaxed slightly as she recognized a Force trance to reduce his body's consumption of valuable resources.
What seemed like hours later, she sped into the camp, spraying dust everywhere as she pulled right up to the med center, ignoring the calls for identification and purpose.
Snarling, she batted away a line of blaster rifles, sending them into the dust with a push of the Force. "Get out of my goddamn way! I'm a Sith apprentice, damn it! My master is injured, get out of my way!"
Clearing a path with her shouted words, Jaesa spotted Quinn sprinting out of the med center with Pierce close behind him and breathed a sigh of relief. Quinn immediately took charge of the situation, gesturing to Pierce. "Lieutenant. Get our lord into the med center. There's a bed in the corner. I need to assess the damage before I prep him for the kolto tank."
There was a sudden bustle of activity as people leapt into action and Jaesa felt herself getting bombarded on all sides as shock finally decided to set in. The noise around her faded as she limped over to the med center's door, watching Quinn work fervently on Lord Khryden, assisted in random intervals by Pierce. She felt useless. You've done your part, she tried to tell herself, but that didn't change what she felt. Why did she feel so drawn to him? Was it guilt? Or something…more? She wrapped her fingers into fists, digging her nails into her palms. She hated feeling useless, and she hated not knowing what that feeling was. Steeling herself against the pain, she straightened up, feeling her ribs grind agonizingly together, and strode in with the posture and confidence of a Sith apprentice.
"What can I do to help," she demanded.
Quinn didn't even look up. "Hand me that syringe," he said immediately, pointing. She snatched it up and passed it to him. "Now put your hands where mine are. Press down hard."
Jaesa followed Quinn's commands without question, mind whirling. Lord Khryden's face looked pale…so pale. Did she actually love him? They had flirted, yes, two dominant personalities clashing in a way that resembled flirting, anyway. But love?
"Jaesa." Quinn dragged her from her thoughts and she looked up, meeting his serious eyes. "Do you know any Force healing?"
Her mind flashed back to her years on Tython. "A little."
Quinn's voice was tight. "Do what you can. Quickly."
Quinn bound Jaesa's ribs as soon as they got Lord Khryden into the kolto tank. He had insisted on looking her over, citing not wanting an angry master when the warrior woke up. She protested at first, but quickly realized that the ingrained Jedi sacrificial instincts would do her no good here, and eventually allowed the examination. She stared off into space as Quinn worked efficiently to clean her cuts and bind her wounds.
"Jaesa? What happened?" Quinn's voice softly broke her reverie and she shook her head, dragging herself from deep thoughts.
"As I stated before, it was a betrayal. Baras has made his move and tried to kill Khryden through Draagh. The weak bastard collapsed the cavern on top of us. We barely made it out." Her voice sounded flat and uninviting, even to her ears.
"Yes, I see, but…" Quinn licked his lips nervously, but forged ahead. "All I meant was you had less severe injuries than my lord did. I wondered if there had been a duel of some sort."
Jaesa whipped her head around to glare at the Imperial captain. "Are you insinuating that I left my lord there to die? That I was somehow uninjured because I did not assist him in a fight?" Her voice rose. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing?!"
Quinn held up his hands in a placating motion, backing down immediately. "Apologies, Jaesa, I did not mean it that way. I was merely remarking on an observation of mine. I meant no disrespect."
Looking in that direction, her eyes were immediately drawn from Quinn to the kolto tank behind him and the floating form it contained. Feeling her anger suddenly dissipating, Jaesa's shoulders slumped and she looked down at her hands, clasping them in her lap. "We were running to the exit, but there was no way we were both going to make it in time. Khryden… he pushed me ahead of him with the Force, saved me from the worst of it while he sacrificed his arm and…"
Suddenly, she had a difficult time swallowing around the knot in her throat but she kept her gaze fixed firmly on her clenched hands. "I couldn't save him." Two drops fell from her eyes and slid unnoticed down her cheeks. "I failed him. I was supposed to keep him safe and instead, he is severely injured. Am I unworthy to accompany him into battle? Am I so weak that he must look after me to ensure my survival?" Her soft voice quivered with emotion. "Am I even worth it? What good is this emotion if I cannot wield it?"
Quinn gulped, very much aware of the increasingly delicate situation he found himself in. Anxiously, he swiped the tip of his tongue over his lips as he cautiously chose his words. "Jaesa, I know my lord values your skills very much. But it is his way to protect his companions in battle. My lord knows the value of a loyal servant and he will do his best to protect his own in and out of combat. If you have gained his respect—and I daresay you have, many times over—then he will keep you alive." Quinn hesitated for a second, fleetingly debating whether or not to say this next part, then forged on ahead. "Especially you, Jaesa. He is doubly aware of your presence, both on the battlefield and off. Perhaps it is your status as his apprentice or the value he places on your special sight, but either way it does not matter why. He values you, Jaesa. You are useful to him, and he is your master. Remember, it is not you who determines your worth, but our master, Lord Khryden."
Having perhaps damned himself with impertinence, Quinn stilled with nervous anticipation as Jaesa inhaled a shaky breath. Her fists carefully unclenched in her lap and slowly, she nodded. "You…are right, Captain. As per usual. He determines my worth, not I. And if I am still here at his side, he must see something in me."
Keeping her head bowed, she waved a hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, Quinn, I need to meditate on what my role is. I must regain my emotional high and embrace the darkness."
Breathing out a near silent sigh of relief, Quinn gave a short bow. "I'll be back in a few hours to check on your injuries and Lord Khryden."
Taking their lord out of the kolto tank for the last time was an arduous process. Every time before this one, it had been for checkups and reconstructive surgery on his crushed arm and while it was just as tough, this time they had to worry about damaging the delicate medical work that Quinn had spent many long hours on. Subsequently, the captain made it quite clear that if anyone twisted Lord Khryden's wrist too hard and stretched the wirings before their lord had a chance to try it out, there would be hell to pay.
Pierce, fascinated by the reconstructed arm, was leaning over the Sith to admire it when Khryden woke up violently, lashing out as he regained consciousness and nearly striking the soldier. Pierce yelped and stumbled backwards, barely avoiding Khryden's arm. The Sith's eyes glowed brightly due to latent Force rage and one hand immediately went to his belt for his lightsaber, but grabbed air. Though Pierce managed to avoid the strike, he insisted on staying a couple of paces away while the Sith calmed down. As Khryden perceived his surroundings and his company, the rage faded from his eyes and they returned to their normal molten gold. His tense muscles relaxed and his hand dropped from his side.
"For a moment there, my lord, I thought you were going to behead us all," Pierce remarked hesitantly moving back to Khryden's bedside.
The Sith lord licked his lips and cleared his throat before speaking, his voice slightly hoarse. "I… apologize, Lieutenant. But you should never be in close proximity to a Sith who's been incapacitated and then wakes up. It is quite dangerous. We're more likely to lash out before fully examining our situation."
Pierce rubbed the back of his neck. "Point taken. Never do that again."
"That would be preferable." Khryden swung his legs off of the recovery bed and stood carefully. He quickly inventoried his muscles and limbs, frowning when he examined his right arm. "My arm feels different. Lighter, almost. And stronger."
Quinn stepped forward promptly. "That is because, my lord, I was forced to perform reconstructive surgery to your arm and replaced most of your bones with metallic compound inserts. They will not interfere with your combat in any way, as they are lighter, as you indeed ascertained, and stronger. It might take a little time to get used to them, but I had the feeling that you would prefer this to a cybernetic arm. I wanted to wait until you woke up before I made the final adjustments, so please tell me if anything feels different or wrong."
Khryden flexed his arm, clenching his hand into a fist, and then relaxing. His gaze traveled up and down its length as if examining the musculature, then dropped his hand to his side and nodded. "Very well, Quinn. I suppose that was a job well done. You should be commended on your perception of the situation."
Quinn straightened his rigid posture even more. "Thank you, my lord."
"However, your adjustments will have to wait for the moment." He touched his belt again, glancing around. "Lightsabers?"
"Here, my lord." Jaesa stepped forward, the marauder's twin saber hilts gleaming in her palms.
Khryden picked them up slowly, reverently, and activated them, their fiery orange-red hue lighting up the starkly contrasting medical room. He crossed them, hearing their hum and feeling their vibrations as they pressed against each other, and thus satisfied, deactivated them and clipped them to his belt.
His eyes traveled over Jaesa, then slid down to her wrapped midsection, bandages visible due to her midriff baring armor, and a frown creased his face slightly. "You were injured."
It wasn't a question, but Jaesa responded anyway. "Only a few cracked ribs and some minor cuts and bruises, my lord. I can still fight. You saved me from the worst of it."
His burning gaze traveled slowly up from her bandaged ribs to capture hers. His golden eyes sparked with protectiveness and predatory desire. Deeper within housed the tempered emotions of helplessness as the cave had collapsed upon them, fear that it would happen again, and unrestrained drive to kill both Baras and Draagh before the two traitors had a chance to strike at him and his crew again. Captivated by the swirling mass of emotion and power she saw in their depths, she entered a trance-like state until Khryden blinked and looked away.
"Right then. I have a command center to raid. Jaesa, are you sure you can battle?"
Her gaze sharpened fiercely with anticipation. "Absolutely, master."
"You're with me, then. We're storming the Imperial Forward Command Center to find and repay the idiot that sent us into that trap in the first place. It'll be the perfect situation to work on your interrogation training."
Jaesa rubbed her hands together, a cruel smile curving her lips. Her meditation dwelling on the anger she felt from betrayal would serve her well. "I can't wait, master."
"You two," Khryden said, turning to Quinn and Pierce, "go back to the ship and start finding out all you can on Baras's and Draagh's whereabouts. Recruit Vette if she's not keeping an eye on the comm channels to browse the holonet. With any luck, Jaesa and I won't take long and we can leave this thrice-cursed planet by nightfall."
Merely approaching the Command Center activated Khryden's anger, ending all previous discussion on whether or not to keep Baras and Draagh alive until they could be brought before the Dark Council.
"No," Khryden said decisively, eyes glowing with Force Rage. "I will make them pay. They will suffer for betraying me!"
He stalked into the room, Jaesa a step behind him, and froze. She almost ran into him, but stepped quickly to the side, peering around his armor's bulk.
Two Sith Purebloods stood in the middle of the Forward Command Center, with no one else in sight. There was no blood and no bodies, but Jaesa could immediately feel their mystique, even without using her power. She unclipped her double-bladed saber hilt from her belt, but held it unlit in her hand and kept one eye on Khryden, waiting to see how he'd play this.
"We are impressed," one of the Purebloods said. "You are worthy to be the Emperor's Wrath."
Slowly, her master stalked forward. She examined his predatory grace out of the corner of her eye as he paused before the two Purebloods. He wasn't attacking or acting aggressively…
"I was betrayed," he said tightly. "How is that at all impressive?"
"Though the trap was masterful, the consequences have been adverted." The bare-headed Pureblood nodded. "You survived."
Khryden folded his arms. "Barely. Not with any help from you."
Jaesa frowned slightly, thoroughly confused by the proceedings. Did he know them? Were they in the cave? Or had they somehow allowed Draagh to push the detonator and Khryden had found out about it?
The same Pureblood smiled slightly. "We are unable to interfere directly. All we could do was appear to you and let you know that we were watching."
"I was barely conscious!" Khryden snapped. "I thought I hallucinated the whole thing. You are shadows. Rarely seen and even more rarely heard. I thought I dreamt you."
"And yet here we are." The Pureblood spread his hands.
Jaesa's master glared at the two Purebloods, eyes smoldering angrily. "What do you want with me? You'll forgive me if I sound a bit impatient. I just had a cavern dropped on me, I spent way too long in a kolto tank, and I have a dozen murders to plan."
"You will need assistance." The Pureblood eyed Khryden as the Human Sith lord started pacing. "Both Darth Baras and Lord Draagh think you are dead. We have taken steps to shield those at the Outpost medical center from outside influence. You have been summoned, Lord Khryden."
Jaesa's master paused midstride.
"You have been called," the hooded Pureblood said, picking up directly where the first had left off. "The Emperor has tasked the Hand with a great undertaking and you are to become his Wrath."
"Darth Baras has seized power against the Emperor's wishes," the other Pureblood explained. "You will stop him."
"He will die," Khryden said, eyes flashing red with Force rage. "Along with anyone who helped him. That is already certain."
"The betrayer has motivated the Wrath," the hooded Pureblood remarked to the other one.
"The Dark Council is tarnished," the hoodless Pureblood stated. "The Voice of the Emperor has been silenced, and many are eager to hear it again. If Darth Baras lays claim to the position, few will oppose him. He believes you to be dead and therein lies our advantage. Your crew has been informed of these developments and are waiting for you on your ship. Go now. We will contact you once you arrive."
Khryden nodded, paused, then bowed shallowly as an afterthought. Spinning on his heel he stalked outside. Jaesa hurried after him, reeling from the encounter, and touched his emotions gently. Anger and frustration were most prevalent, but there was also pensiveness and a small sliver of apprehension.
"Who were they, master?" Jaesa asked.
Khryden flinched, as if he had forgotten she was there. Nevertheless, he answered swiftly and impatiently. "Servant One and Servant Two. They are part of the Emperor's Hand."
The Emperor's Hand. Jaesa had read about them. Things made a bit more sense now. No wonder her master hadn't attacked them.
"And they—"
He held up a hand, his face creasing tiredly. "Please, Jaesa, not right now. I need to…we need to get back to the ship. I'll answer your questions after I meditate."
They drove back to the spaceport in silence. Khryden never spoke, so Jaesa was left to her own thoughts.
Servant Two glanced to Servant One as the warrior and his companion leave. "And so the Wrath is unleashed… but the Wrath's apprentice remains tethered."
One returned Two's gaze. "For only so much longer. Twice-felt betrayal shall free her emotions. And just in time for the final showdown."
Two bowed his head and clasped his hands together as if in prayer, speaking reverently.
"Freedom through pain. This is the way of the Sith."