"Byz was taken, by a Sith," Ferros explained to the Jedi Council via holo. "He came out of nowhere."

"He probably used Korriban's natural dark side alignment to cloud your senses, Ferry," Kayla told her. "What happened exactly?"

"He moved so quickly we couldn't even sense him," the girl explained. Her normally delicate, pretty features were swollen and bruised badly, her long brown hair untied and messed up. "He knocked Byz unconscious and held me in stasis. You were right about the voices too, Master Kayla. I could hardly concentrate with all that going on at the same time."

"Do you know what he looked like?" Runice asked. "I may be able to identify him."

Ferros nodded as the fierce Korriban winds blew her hair messily to her right, covering her face before she hastily brushed it out of the way.

"He was tall, maybe an inch or two taller than Byz, but really solid. Much bigger than Byz. He was bald, with a square jaw, and he seems to really dislike women, even more than he disliked Jedi."

"Artaith," Runice frowned.

"That's the one!" Ferros exclaimed. "His breath was horrible."

"Unfortunately his breath is one of his more pleasant qualities," Runice said. "He's a Dark Council member. Byz might already be dead."

"With all due respect, I doubt it, Master Arriah," Ferros shouted over the howling wind. "For one thing, I can still feel Byz in the Force. Secondly, he said he only wants me, and he wants me alive. It's clearly a trap to capture me instead."

"We have to send someone to help her," Lenny said. "She can't go in there alone."

"Is there a fleet nearby? I could use some military assistance."

Kayla shook her head. "There's a fleet in the Raxus system, but we can't ask for help from them."

"Why not?" Ferros asked in disbelief.

"Because there's enough pressure on us in the senate already," Ashlyn explained. "The Republic will never allow us to take part of a fleet to recover a single Jedi."

"We can send someone to help you," Kayla offered. "A Jedi. Lenny could go."

Ferros shook her head vehemently. "It'll take too long. By the time anyone else gets here either Artaith will have come back for me or Byz will be on his way to Dromund Kaas. If that happens, we can kiss him goodbye. If Dromund Kaas has anything like the number of Sith on it that we suspect it does, there's no possibility of getting him back by then. And if Artaith is going to come after me anyway, then I may as well just go straight in after him."

"No!" Kayla warned. "Why play into his hands like that? You said yourself that he wants you, not Byz."

"And as I said, Master Kayla, if I let him go, Byz could end up on the Sith Capital. I won't abandon him like that. He's my best friend."

"It's a risk we'll have to take," Runice told her. "If they want you so badly, they'll keep Byz alive until you're captured. We don't intend to lose anyone, Ferry, but to do that we need you to be patient."

Ferros thought for a few moments, then shook her head. "It's too risky. I'm going after Byz right now."

Before any of the masters could object, Ferros cut the transmission.

"I'm going to help her," Runice said. "I'll take my Padawan with me."

"I don't think that's wise, Runice," Kayla advised, folding her arms across her chest. "If the Sith are after Ferry, there's a good chance they'll take Gavin too."

"Good point," Runice conceded. "I hadn't considered that. You're right, Gavin should stay here."

"May the Force be with you," Kayla said warmly. "And make sure you take an X-Wing. Anything else won't get there in time. I'm going to tell the Chancellor about all this."

Kayla entered the Chancellor's office and as usual, made a mental note that it was still very sparsely decorated. Good, she thought to herself. It's not getting to his head yet.

"Kayla Talus," Makrus Golan smiled, spreading his arms wide in a gesture of embrace, his three-fingered Ansionian hands poking out from the sleeves of his regal blue robe. "What can I do for you today?"

The two embraced quickly before getting down to business. Kayla explained the situation on Korriban, and what Byz and Ferros had found.

"Oh dear," Golan said, sitting back heavily in his chair. "That's not good at all. I always liked little Ferros. She's a good girl, but very Mandalorian sometimes."

"No kidding," Kayla agreed. "She's a bit like I was not so long ago."

"It seems like yesterday, doesn't it," Golan sighed. "I was just entering office after Jaru's term was up, the Jedi were recruiting more and more little younglings and the Chiss War was slowing down to a halt."

"Only a few things have changed, Makrus," Kayla smiled. "The Order is still growing, your term still has quite some time left, and the Chiss are still largely leaving us alone."

"This is quite true," Golan agreed. "Sometimes it's hard to see the bigger picture when there are so many little obstacles in your way. In any case, I think knowing this information about Dromund Kaas will greatly benefit our intelligence network."

"I hope so," Kayla sighed. "I just wish it would help our cause in the senate. I can't believe they won't take the Sith threat seriously."

"Unfortunately, the Sith are wise enough to let the Chiss take the blame for everything."

"Which brings me to another point, if you don't mind hearing me talk some more," Kayla started.

"Of course."

"It's this 'Cold War'," Kayla said, using her fingers to emphasise the quote. "It has the whole Order worried. We think the Sith are responsible for quite a lot more than-"

"I hope you weren't about to justify another unprovoked attack, Master Talus."

The interruption came from Taneel Versca, who had just stepped into the office. She wore a typically Kuati dress: regal, but suggestive. She was tall – around six feet, and thin, with model good-looks. She had features that were typical for most Kuati women, complete with emphasised high cheek bones and outrageously over-styled dark brown hair.

"Senator Versca," Kayla faked a smile. "What a lovely surprise."

"A pleasure as always, Master Talus," Versca curtsied.

"Master Talus and I were discussing a new discovery the Jedi have made on Korriban," Golan said quickly before there was any chance for an awkward silence.

"I do so enjoy a good fairy tale," Versca said, rubbing her hands together as if staring at a delectable treat.

Kayla scowled inwardly. Fairy tale. Really.

"Yes," Golan continued. "It seems that the location of the Sith planet of Dromund Kaas has been revealed to us."

"Ah yes, the Sith," Versca said sarcastically. "One of my favourites."

"I don't mind if you don't believe me, Senator," Kayla smiled condescendingly. "But spare me the attitude."

"It's a good thing you aren't a senator, Master Talus, or that tongue of yours may get you into much bigger trouble than you'll ever see as a sorcerer."

"A sorcerer!" Kayla laughed. "Available for younglings' parties too, I should think. Always in tall, pointy hats with stars on them."

"You may mock all you like, Jedi," Versca smiled pleasantly with the practised face of a Core-world senator, "but if you think I will allow your 'discovery' to prevent us pursuing peace with the Chiss Ascendancy, you are gravely mistaken. Your warmongering tactics will not last long enough to cause any more death or financial loss for the Republic, and I will make sure of it in the senate. Mark my words."

"Oh believe me, Versca, I'll mark your words," Kayla smiled sweetly and totally sarcastically. "I do so love it when you threaten the people who freed the Chancellor's homeworld. But I tire of this mouth-flapping nonsense. Talking is quite often a waste of precious energy. Good day, Senator Versca. I hope this part of your cycle ends promptly."

Versca's mouth dropped open in unuttered rage as Kayla stood on the tip of her toes to give Chancellor Golan a peck on his yellow Ansionian cheek.

"We can continue our discussion another time, Chancellor, when perhaps we have a little more privacy away from the ears of the common folk."

Kayla winked at Versca before leaving, and felt Golan stifle a pang of laughter through the Force.


"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about earlier, Kayla?" Golan asked.

The Chancellor had taken leave of his duties for the day and gone straight to the Jedi Temple, where Masters Jens Blekkard, Ashlyn Valos and Devin Rokanh joined Kayla and himself. They walked along an inner corridor inside the Temple ziggurat which ran north to south. On their left were Finnschall's Halls of Healing, on their right was the Reconciliation Quarter, which was more or less the 'public quarter' of the Temple, and housed the Order's administration, kitchens, member records and civilian law enforcement offices.

"It's about something we've sensed through the Force, something we haven't been able to sense clearly enough until recently," Kayla explained. "We think there's a plot in place to dethrone the Republic."

"It's strange you should say that," Golan said, "because after you left, Senator Versca elaborated to me about a plot she sensed about the Jedi plotting to overthrow the Republic."

"And you believed her?" Ashlyn asked.

"Of course not, Master Valos," Golan laughed. "It was utter, utter garbage. But unfortunately, it does make a good deal of sense, from a certain point of view."

"How so?"

"Well, the Sith have only revealed themselves to the Jedi, have they not? Nobody else has ever met one apart from a few soldiers."

Kayla and the other masters were starting to see a pattern forming.

"Let me guess," Devin grinned. "We're to continue talking about the threat of the Sith, gradually asking for more money and more control over the military and eventually cause an insurrection and assume control of the senate?"

"Precisely," Golan answered, unflustered by Devin's correct guess of every detail.

"She senses that, does she?" Jens laughed. "What a remarkable lady. With soothsaying powers of that magnitude, who needs us anyway? Not even we realised we were going to do that."

"Don't worry about Versca," Golan assured the masters. "Not yet, anyway. I need to remain impartial, as Chancellor, but I doubt she will ever gain the recognition required to have any real impact."

"We're not so sure about that," Devin said. "This is where the actual plot steps in."

Golan flared his singular nostril in an Ansionian confused expression.

"We think the Sith are behind everything that's transpired so far," Kayla explained. "The Chiss, the war, everything."

She came to a halt, and the other masters along with Golan all stopped along with her.

"We think the ultimate goal is to weaken the Republic military forces using the Chiss, weaken the Jedi and public opinion using people like Jarvis and Versca, and then the Sith will step in and take control afterwards. Public opinion of the Jedi Order and the senate has waned pretty badly recently."

"Yes," Golan agreed with a nod. "After Jarvis announced that Ord Mantell was leaving the Republic, quite a few worlds went with it. I remember feeling quite sorry for poor Jaru. He had to face all of that, and people still think that's why he stepped down as Chancellor."

"People like Jarvis are dangerous," Devin said. "It's why we think Versca is too. Versca holds real material power in the senate. Kuat is a big money spinner, and along with their shipyards, they'd do a great deal towards crumbling the Republic all by themselves if they leave."

"What we think," Ashlyn continued, placing a hand on Golan's shoulder, "is that ideally, she'll try to remove the Jedi, either have us all arrested or killed, most likely. After we're gone, she's free to ruin your reputation enough to call a vote of no confidence, and have herself instated."

"And you think she's controlled by the Sith?" Golan asked, starting to piece the whole thing together.

"Absolutely," Jens confirmed. "There can be no doubt. And don't think for a second that she won't use your Ansionian heritage against you. The fact that you're so close to us is something she can and will exploit before she's done."

Golan was speechless. It all made so much sense now that it was laid out in front of him. When Versca had explained her version of it, it was only just viable. It sounded a bit ridiculous, but there was enough credence to it that it somewhat made sense. This, though…Golan could almost see it happening in front of his eyes.

"Are you okay, Makrus?" Ashlyn asked, her red Togruta hand squeezing his shoulder gently.

"Yes…yes, I'm fine, thankyou Master Valos," he answered hesitantly, clapping his hand on top of hers in a gesture of reassurance. "The reality of our situation just hit me suddenly, that's all. I wish I had foresight like yours, sometimes," he smiled warmly, like someone's kindly grandfather.

"The essence of it," Kayla said, "is that basically, watch out for Taneel Versca and people like her. They're only out to stir up trouble, and they're not to be trusted. The Republic needs to remain strong if we're to survive this, and we can't do that by dividing our people or becoming complacent. The Sith are in possession of many Sith Holocrons, and we have no idea how many they number."

"Yes…" Golan agreed, his eyes glazed over. "This is most terrible…you know, I think it would be in our best interests if we set up dedicated communications between my office and the Temple. We would be able to discuss such things at more length without raising the ire of people who believe I'm too close to the Order already."

"I think that would be a very good idea, Chancellor Golan," Jens smiled.

"I'll get on it right away then, in secret of course." Golan began walking off towards the exit. "Oh and masters," he added, stopping and turning around again. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of sending one of the Second Fleet's Corellian Interdictors from its post in the Raxus system and placing it in the Horuset system. Hopefully that will give Master Arriah plenty of time to intervene and assist little Ferros."

Kayla smiled to herself as Golan walked off. I really hope that idiot Versca doesn't push him out of office. What a sensational person.


"This is Captain Hansdorf hailing Jedi Hekla, come in Jedi Hekla."

"This is Ferros Hekla, go ahead Captain."

"Nice to hear your voice again, little Ferry. It's been too long."

"Always a pleasure, Hansdorf," Ferros said with a smile to herself, despite the desperation and helplessness she felt knowing that Byz was in terrible danger. "What can I do for you?"

"This time it's what I can do for you, little Ferry. Why don't you look directly up into the sky."

Ferros did so, and saw a flashing object between the distant stars. It was clearly a large ship of some sort. But what would a ship be doing all the way out here?

"How is that possible?"

"Chancellor Golan contacted Fleet Admiral Deugan directly, and asked that the Prohibitor be placed in the Horuset system to prevent anyone fleeing that old Sith Rock you're on."

"An interdictor cruiser?" Ferros asked rhetorically. "That's brilliant!"

"We had to leave in a bit of a hurry though, so I'm afraid we don't have many troops aboard, not enough to be of any use to you anyway. I'm sorry, Ferry."

"It's okay, this is Korriban, anyway. I doubt your troops would last too long. An interdictor is all I wanted."

"Then consider my debt to you repaid, Ferry. Whoever has Jedi Akkon won't make it ten feet without being disabled if they try and leave. You have my word."

"There was never a debt, Captain," Ferros smiled. "We're comrades, I'd die for any of our warriors."

"You guys are a breed apart. If the proverbial ever hits the fan with the senate, I swear the Second Fleet will stand proudly alongside the Jedi Knights. It will never be said that we abandoned you."

"Hopefully there's no fan then, Hansdorf. I'm gonna go find my best mate now, let me know if anything interesting happens, and may the Force be with you."

"Will do, little Ferry. And may the Force be with you too."

Ferros grinned widely as she deactivated her wrist comlink. You legend, Chancellor Golan. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!

With ten times the confidence she'd had a few minutes ago, Ferros Force pushed the heavy stone seal aside and stepped into the tomb of Marka Ragnos. She scanned the Force for Byz, and found him still alive but massively weakened, but definitely still on planet and inside the tomb. The whispers began almost instantly, and Ferros found herself trying to figure out what they were saying. She counted at least eight different voices all at once before she remembered Kayla's advice. 'Don't listen to the dead', she'd told them. But if I block them out, I might not sense everything going on around me…that could be even worse in a place like this. The dark side is so strong here…

She decided she would simply not heed their words. Focusing on Byz, she walked onwards using her violet and purple sabers for light. She heard a moaning sound coming from a few dozen metres ahead, around a corner. It was unlike anything she'd ever heard before. It was like a beast of some sort, but somehow almost sad sounding. It sounded desperate. She felt almost nothing in the Force at first, but then she expanded her senses to include a wider area and she felt it straight away. She stopped dead in her tracks as the moaning got louder and louder, then the source of the noise rounded the corner and saw her.

She could feel a faint dark side aura from the creature, but no vital signs. Nothing. Not even any brain activity or a heartbeat. Yet still it came, slowly edging itself closer to her, dragging its badly broken right ankle behind it as it shuffled along. It raised a blaster rifle and slowly brought it to aim as Ferros just stood perfectly still, horrified.

It's human, she thought to herself. But that's just not possible…humans can't survive like that. What the hell is going on in here?

About twenty more of them suddenly rounded the corner, some holding weapons, all of them moaning like wounded beasts. The first creature levelled its rifle directly at the centre of Ferros' face. She just stood there dumbly, shaking her head in disbelief even as the blaster fired.


Runice's X-Wing landed next to Ferros and Byz's X-Wings comfortably despite the ferocious winds of Korriban's Valley of the Dark Lords. As soon as she alighted the fighter she scanned for the familiar Force presence that Ferros and her apprentice Gavin both shared – being from the same family – but with subtle differences that were easily distinguishable to her. She felt Ferros in one of the tombs nearby, and immediately recognised it as the tomb of Marka Ragnos: a Sith Lord who had died more than eleven thousand years ago, and one of the few to be able to manifest himself physically and maintain his consciousness after death. A cold shiver ran up her spine as she remembered her own experiences within that tomb, but she scolded herself and entered anyway, reminding herself that she was here to help Ferros.

First she noticed the heavy stone seal was already pushed aside and slipped through, igniting her dark purple saberstaff for a source of light. Within fifty metres of the entrance she noticed the bodies: all rotten and decayed. She knelt down to inspect them further, knowing what to expect already. Sure enough, the wounds were fresh. The first corpse had been sliced in half at the waist, and half its head was severed. The rest of the corpses from then on had all been stabbed through the face or had their heads sliced in half.

After what she knew was about three kilometres, she'd passed at least a thousand corpses, all with fresh wounds, and began to hear the familiar sound of moving lightsabers from up ahead. She began to jog, stepping between the fallen bodies as deftly as a dancer, as if they weren't even there. Before long she saw purple and violet light flashing off the walls, and after rounding another corner she spotted Ferros on her knees, collapsed in exhaustion, surrounded by dozens of corpses.

"Master Runice," she panted, her lightsabers dipping from her hands and superheating the stone floor. "I felt your presence when you arrived. It's good to see you."

Runice smirked. "After all the chopping you've done, I suppose it would be good to see a friendly face."

"What are these things? They keep getting up unless you destroy their brains."

"They're called Korriban Zombies," she answered. "Corpses reanimated by the dark side of the Force."

"You've seen them before?"

"I was once a Sith too," she answered flatly. "Of course I have. I know enough about them to understand they're a waste of time as an army, too."

"Oh, I don't know," Ferros smiled. "I'm pretty tired."

"In an open space they'd be infinitely easier to fight, especially since you wouldn't have to worry so much about the horrible voices and claustrophobic dark side forces. Frankly I'm surprised you made it this far without turning back."

"I suppose you're right." Ferros kept panting, her injuries from fighting Darth Artaith had taken a lot out of her, and taking out all the creatures had made it even worse.

"Let me take a look at you," Runice said, bringing her half-lit saberstaff closer to Ferros' face. The dark purple blade wasn't ideal, but it showed enough that she could see the heavy bruising and swelling on the young Jedi's face. She'd clearly used a healing trance, but her injuries were pretty extensive and there was only so much the trance could achieve in a short time.

"Sit still for a moment," Runice instructed. "I'm going to try something."

She sat in a meditative position and closed her eyes, deactivating her saberstaff.

"What are you doing?" Ferros asked.

"It's similar to the healing trance," she explained. "Technically, it's the opposite of a dark side ability known as Death Field. In its normal use, I'd transfer some of an enemy's life force to myself; sort of healing myself while injuring them. What I'm doing now is draining my own life force and transferring it to you."

"Master Runice…you shouldn't, you'll need it to fight Artaith."

"I'm not going to fight Artaith," she answered.

"You're not?" Ferros sounded confused. "Then why did you come?"

"I was planning on helping you fight, but now that I'm here I can sense a trap. I know Artaith, and I sense deception. He knows I'm coming, and he expects me to fight him. If I do, he'll probably try and take off with you somehow. This way, I can free Byz while you keep him occupied, and if he tries anything I'll be ready."

Before long Runice was done. Both girls felt far less than perfect health, but after a few minutes of the Jedi healing trance they were ready to press onwards.

"Not far now, we're almost at the sarcophagus room," Runice told Ferros.

"Good," Ferros said fiercely. "I can't wait to take that shabuir down."

"Let's not rush into this," Runice said calmly. "Remember, he's a Dark Council member, and you're injured. This isn't going to be easy."

"I won't fail, especially not when Byz's life is at stake."

"Just don't try anything stupid," Runice warned. "He might want you alive, but he's still Darth Artaith. He hates nice people and he hates women even more. You're about as offensive as a person can be to him. The only thing he hates more is me. Don't think for a second that he won't just kill us all and make up a story about having no choice."

"I'm not scared of people like him," Ferros said, her squeaky, girly voice belying the confidence she spoke with.

Runice smiled and chuckled. "You remind me of Kayla so much sometimes. Such a tiny girl, but so fierce and so tough."

"Let's just see how tough I really am," she replied as the two Jedi reached another sealed door.

Ferros pushed it aside slightly using the Force, then slammed it hard, hard enough to shake the whole tomb a tiny fragment. Dust rained down on them as Darth Artaith grinned wickedly from behind Byz. The young Jedi Knight was held to an operating table by electrobinders, and his Jedi robes were all but destroyed, the tattered remnants of which were covered with what appeared to be scorch marks from electricity. He was barely conscious and through the Force he felt as though he was mere inches from death. The room itself was lit by several dozen glow rods, bathing the room in bright yellowish light. In the centre of the room was the sarcophagus of the ancient and powerful Sith Lord Marka Ragnos, the stone top seal of which was slightly ajar.

"Welcome," Artaith sneered. "As you can see, this is the ancient resting place of the great Sith Lord Marka Ragnos. Unfortunately, the artefacts have all been removed from this place long ago, and there is little left to gain anymore. But the dark side is very powerful here; here, you will perish."

Runice stepped forwards then and looked Artaith up and down.

"You were foolish to return to face me, Vorcyl," Artaith mocked. "You were weak when you were a Sith, and you have become so much weaker as a Jedi."

Runice smiled and gestured in a tickling motion with her left hand. "I'm not here to fight you, Artaith. I just came to observe."

Artaith began to shudder, eventually dropping to his knees. "Your tricks won't work on me, Vorcyl."

"I don't know," Runice chuckled. "They seem to be working pretty well right now. Does that feel nice? Can you stand up?"

Artaith fell to the floor and his body convulsed for a few moments, his breathing stuttered and heavy, his body covered in sweat, before he composed himself and stood up again.

"You cannot know how much I hate you, Vorcyl."

"Most men like it when I do that to them," Runice sighed. "Would you prefer that kind of pleasure to come from another man instead?"

Artaith growled like an animal, his face quickly going red with pure rage. "Your tricks…you're nothing more than a seductress. You're pathetic." He lit his crimson red saberstaff and dropped into Shien form.

"Oh I can do much more than that, I just wanted to see if it still worked," Runice mocked. "And by the way, it's not Vorcyl anymore, it's Runice. Master Arriah to you."

"To me, you are and always will be a tramp, as all women are. And now you will die, as you should have years ago on Csilla."

Artaith leapt at Runice from behind the operating table, clearing it easily. He was intercepted in mid-air by a Force push from Ferros which sent him hurtling into a wall so hard it left an impression.

"Mistake number one, mate," Ferros grinned as she took up a Juyo guard. "Never leave yourself open to attack."

Artaith screamed in fury as he got back to his feet. His eyes were glowing yellow and seemed to be almost aflame. The veins in his head bulged so much that Ferros thought for a moment he might have a stroke and she wouldn't have to bother fighting him.

"You're not even worthy of my words," he fumed as he Force choked Ferros, lifting her high off the ground.

Ferros retaliated with a flick of her wrists, sending her two sabers spinning through the air straight at him, forcing him to quickly duck out of the way and release her. Ferros fell to her feet again and grabbed her returning sabers before charging across the room, catching Artaith by the throat with her two forearms and slamming him into the wall. She'd caught him by surprise, and continued with a flurry of kicks at his chest and stomach that caused him to cough blood before he used the Force to swipe her aside. Ferros crashed into a broken statue, but recovered quickly and leapt at him again. Artaith was ready this time, and Ferros was met by a heavy punch that knocked her straight to the floor again.

She winced as she hit the ground hard, painfully landing on her left shoulder and dropping her lightsabers. She reactively blasted him with Force lightning, the force of her attack sending him hurtling across the room on his back. Ferros quickly called her sabers to her hands and sprinted over, but Artaith was already on his feet again and striking methodically with his saberstaff. Ferros blocked each blow, but the sheer power behind his strikes was almost overwhelming. She began deflecting the strikes slightly away with her twin blades rather than absorbing the entire force of each blow, but soon enough she found herself backed up against the sarcophagus. Artaith grinned cruelly as he prepared for a killing blow, but Ferros' blade-work was much faster than his and she quickly slashed across Artaith's torso, scoring a shallow cut that made him recoil in pain. She kicked him in the chest and he staggered backwards off-balance. As he hit the wall again, he saw out of the corner of his eye that the operating table was empty.

"You lose, Sith Lord," Ferros grinned smugly.

Artaith howled in anger as he saw Runice standing in the doorway supporting Byz. He began stomping his way towards them before Ferros' violet lightsaber hit the ceiling of the chamber, causing it to crumble and then collapse in front of him

"We haven't got much time," Runice said. "It won't hold him for long."

"You get Byz to his ship, I'll take care of Artaith," Ferros told her.

"No! It's too dangerous in here," Runice protested. "He was already pretty mad before. Now he's realised he's been deceived, and you just dropped a whole roof on his head. This whole place will collapse if he gets out of here before we do. Now let's go!"

Ferros looked back at the sarcophagus chamber hesitantly, then relented.

"Fine," she said. "Let me help you with Byz."

The two girls moved as fast as they could manage, taking it in turns to Force push the corpses of the Korriban zombies aside. They kept this up for several kilometres, not stopping for a break even once, until they eventually reached the entrance to the tomb. Both girls took huge gulps of air, revelling in the relative peace of the Valley of the Dark Lords.

"It almost feels pleasant out here," Ferros remarked.

"Almost," Runice puffed. "Coruscant is much nicer though. We haven't got time, we have to go, Ferry. Artaith will be right behind us."

The two girls carried Byz all the way to his X-Wing, then hopped into their own and instructed their droids to take off. Ferros instructed Byz's droid Little to follow her trajectory off-planet, and as the three Jedi fighters broke free of Korriban's atmosphere she contacted Captain Hansdorf.

"Little Ferry, how did you go down there?" he asked as his hologram image took shape in front of Ferros.

"I'll tell you all about it once we're on board, Captain. For now, just plot a course back to the Raxus System so we can meet back up with the Second Fleet. Have the medbay prepared too."

"Is everything okay?"

"Byz got hurt pretty bad, but he'll be okay," Runiceadvised. "Let's just get everyone on board the Prohibitor and get out of here. I've had enough of this damn planet."

"I couldn't agree more, Master Arriah. Awaiting your arrival."

"Little, just follow us to the Prohibitor's hangar, okay?"

The little astromech droid whistled an affirmative and the three X-Wings proceeded on towards the Prohibitor.


"Master, can I talk to you about something?" Ferros asked.

"Sure," Runice smiled. "What's up?"

Ferros turned to face her, looking down at her filthy, ruined boots.

"Is Darth Artaith really a Dark Council member?"

Runice raised an eyebrow. "He was when I was with the Sith, I assume he still is. I guess he'd be dead otherwise."

"He seems a little…I dunno, weak?"

"I don't know if I'd call him weak, exactly-"

"For a Dark Council member, he didn't seem all that strong, though," Ferros said as she folded her arms across her chest, her long brown hair cascading messily over them. "I really expected him to be pretty much unstoppable, you know? A few months ago, I was still a Padawan. There's no way I should be able to hold my own against someone like him, let alone defeat him."

Runice frowned in contemplation, folding her own arms across her chest.

"I didn't want to think so, but maybe you're right," she relented. "The Sith are always competing for power, killing each other to make sure only the strong survive. If Artaith has survived all these years as a Dark Council member, then that can only mean that nobody else is strong enough to challenge him yet."

"If they're all weaker than him, they might not be as much of a threat as we thought," Ferros suggested.

"Let's not be too presumptuous," Runice said. "He still managed to capture Byz and injure you both pretty badly."

"Only after he'd caught us both by surprise, and even then he had to keep one of us out of the fight. He couldn't handle both of us at the same time too well, and both Byz and I passed the trials only recently. Artaith is meant to be pretty much your equivalent."

Runice put one hand to her chin and contemplated what Ferros was saying.

"I'm not suggesting we should attack Dromund Kaas or anything like that, not at all. All I'm saying is that maybe my theory about them not being as powerful as we thought might be true."

"It's quite possible," Runice agreed. "I never went to Dromund Kaas, and I hardly met any of the Sith. They never really even told me anything about their plans or anything, so it's hard for me to say for certain. I don't think they trusted me with that kind of information."

"But it's possible," Ferros insisted. "Maybe they're training too many new Sith and trying to overwhelm us with numbers; spreading themselves too thinly. Or maybe the Sith Emperor is trying to keep a lid on them all so they don't become more powerful than him. Either way, if I can be a challenge for a Dark Council member, they haven't got a chance against someone like you."

Runice frowned again and uttered a 'hmm' as she thought some more.

"It makes a lot of sense…I'm just worried about assuming too much. I don't want to become complacent, but I can't ignore the fact that you pretty much stopped Artaith on your own."

"With some help from you, Master," Ferros reminded her.

"All I did was make him mad. I didn't do any of the actual fighting, you did that on your own." Runice sighed loudly and put her hands on her hips. "Look, I think we're best off talking to the whole Council about this. Captain Hansdorf has a room prepared for us so we can speak to them in private. After that, I say we grab something to drink and wait for Byz to wake up."