7
"Let's go, babe," Darrdan Nal Craroc grabbed her around the waist. For his trouble, he received a girlish grunt from his companion. The unregistered transport – colloquially known as a pirate ship – awaited them in the spaceport on Padomere.
"You're such a charmer." Bald, pale and excitable, Kavia planted a kiss on his forehead. "Do I have a surprise waiting for you," she added as the doors of the ship closed behind them.
"Glad you could join us," the pirate captain said, giving them a mock bow. Several of her companions wore blasters on their hips and Darrdan didn't like the way the Force felt in the tight quarters.
In another moment, he understood why. The pirates grabbed their weapons as the ship roared off the landing pad. "You'll get me and my crew a good ransom from the Jedi Council," their captain said.
"Pity you won't live to spend it." Now, Kavia growled, pushing away from Darrdan, her red lightsaber sparkling in the pale lighting.
Darrdan ignited his emerald blade and batted a few blaster bolts. His focus was on Kavia. The way she moved – graceful and deadly – made him feel she reacted to an unheard symphony. He felt more alive than ever in her presence. It was a feeling he never intended to give up, not for the Jedi, and especially not for the Sith.
When the captain's cronies were dead, the captain herself tried to flee to safety. She certainly knew her own vessel far better than Darrdan or his companion, but they could track her through the Force. A false panel in the cargo bay was easily torn from the frame.
Green and crimson mingled as the blades hummed harmoniously in the captain's face.
"We can cut a deal," the captain said. "I got credits."
"Don't worry; we'll find them," Kavia said and made to strike.
"Wait," Darrdan said. He pulled her aside. "She's defenseless now. We shouldn't."
She glared at him – milky white pupils studying him intently – then dropped her gaze to the floorboards. "All right, Darrdan," she said quietly. It was brave of her to try and leave her Sith ways behind her.
"Where's the credits?" Darrdan said when he returned to the pirate. "And where are your other hidden compartments?"
"And you'll let me go?" The captain hesitated before coming out of the compartment she'd stuffed herself in.
"Do you have an escape pod?" Kavia asked.
The pirate's glance told Darrdan the direction of her hidden stash. If it was full – of spice, or whatever smuggled goods – then he might have the money to do what had been on his mind for some time.
"There," the captain said, but Darrdan was already heading to the other side of the cargo bay. This second false panel was better concealed. Perhaps the scoundrel never intended to use the first, except as a decoy.
"Spice," Darrdan said. "A good portion, too. The credits we make off this will come in handy to finance the Knights."
"Agreed," Kavia said. She turned, her blade slicing through the air until it hovered close, too close to the captain's throat. "Now, you mentioned credits, too?"
"In the cockpit, hidden panel beneath the co-pilot's seat." The pirate licked dry lips, tried not to tremble too much.
"Don't go anywhere," Darrdan said and went to check. These last few weeks had been the best of his life. The Jedi were relics of ancient mistakes. They'd trained him in their ways, refusing to tell him fully of the rich past that Force users held.
The first Great Schism was caused by adherents to the light – or so they told themselves, as Darrdan had come to learn they weren't as 'good' as history recorded them to be. They refused to allow experiments outside what they considered 'right', telling others they had to conform or face censure.
The Legion of Lettow was formed by those who wished to learn all the ways of the Force, not just the rigid applications of the Jedi. And, for their trouble, they were ruthlessly slaughtered by the Jedi.
Now, the Force, rather than help expand the minds of those born to this galaxy, drew others to it. Frags, they called them. They were a blight, a final insult to all those who would have their own minds about how best to use the Force. The Sith and Jedi were bad enough, but Frags brought an unstable, unpredictable element to the galaxy.
Through Kavia, that delightfully free woman, he learned there was far more to the Force than either the Jedi or Sith wanted their disciples to know. She had rejected the Dark Side, or at least the part the Sith taught her, and reached for something unknown. Learning was all about testing the waters, so to speak, examining everything and taking what you decided was right for you from it.
The hidden cashbox was right where the scoundrel said it would be. Darrdan took it back to the cargo bay, showed its contents to his love. "There must be two thousand credits, babe," he said. "That spice is worth probably three times that."
"S-should be enough to buy one girl's freedom," the captain said. "I have an escape pod I can use."
Darrdan saw the blood lust in Kavia's eyes. She wanted to slice her up. He reached to her through their bond, stripping away some of the heat, like he'd strip away layers of clothing soon enough.
He recognized the moment she decided to let the smuggler go. Pale eyes, which had been fixed on the pirate's neck, dropped to the floor, swung over to Darrdan. The red blade disappeared into the hilt and she swung it from her belt again. The captain let out the breath she'd been holding, relaxed a little.
They stuffed her into the tiny escape pod and slammed the door. The pod launched into the cold of space.
"It's not like we did her a favor," Darrdan said. "How likely is it anyone will come along to rescue her?"
That thought spread a wicked smile across Kavia's sensuous lips. Darrdan hadn't known such sexual feelings could exist within him, not after what the Jedi had done to him. A life without passion, a life without exploration or discovery was death.
"You know how to cheer me up, lover," Kavia said and pounced on him. Their kiss deepened as she drew him closer. When she leaned back to regard him, her grin was mischievous. "Is that a crystal in your robe or are you happy to see me?"
He felt his own grin widen as he kissed her neck. "Let's set the navicomputer to autopilot," he said, his voice muffled. "Then we can enjoy ourselves."
"I'll go set it." Kavia bounded toward the cockpit. "You get comfy in the crew quarters." She still hadn't told him where they were headed, or what this surprise she had waiting for him was.
When she returned from the cockpit, all his questions vanished as they each peeled layers of clothing from the other. They took their time, and he enjoyed every delightful moment of it. Never before had he experienced such passion as when he was with Kavia.
Up in the cockpit, the hyperdrive disengaged. When they were dressed again, they each sat in a seat, stared out at the green-grey world coming up in the viewer.
"Metalorn?" Darrdan asked. It was an industrial world, but they were far from the Core Worlds. Metalorn was neither in the Sith Empire, nor in the Old Republic.
"I've already made a deal for a secluded spot near the north pole," Kavia said. She grabbed the controls, pulling the pirate ship into a turn. "The spice, we can sell after we make the place our own."
As he pondered the meaning of her cryptic words, the ship entered the atmosphere, dove toward a landing pad. The north magnetic pole faced the sun most of the year, making its climate a bit warm. At least they wouldn't have to deal with snow.
An inland sea surrounded the small landmass at the pole. Most of the planet's land was taken up by sprawling metropolises, but the pole had some pristine, grass covered hills and a crystalline lake. It was quite beautiful and Darrdan saw it through new eyes, impassioned eyes.
The small enclave they landed near rose from a hill. Covered in sod, it seemed to blend in with the surrounding hillsides, similarly to the enclave he'd built on Dantooine.
"You've done an excellent job making me feel at home, babe," Darrdan said, drew her close to peck her on the cheek.
"I try, lover," she said and shrugged. "Since we're both giving up all we've known, I wanted you to have a little taste of home."
"It's a pleasant surprise," Darrdan said, smiling happily.
"The best is inside, lover." Kavia grinned widely. They hurried in. A couple of new recruits Darrdan had met only once milled about, taking care of the day to day operations. Upon seeing Darrdan and Kavia, they stopped what they were doing, crossed their right arms, fists closed, over their chests and bowed. "Lettow Craroc, Lettow Ghent, we salute you," they chorused.
"Bring the prisoner," Kavia said when they finished the new ritual. They hurried away.
"I like the title," Darrdan said. "The Knights of Lettow will one day rise to become a rival of both the Jedi and Sith. We will show them the follies of their strictness."
When the Knights led a third, bound at the ankles and wrists, Darrdan stared. A Frag had an unmistakable aura which surrounded them. Having midichlorians infused into their DNA long after birth was traumatic and left them with a unique Force presence.
Beside him, Kavia's face lit up. "This was one of the mad, one who thought to make himself a fine Sith," she growled. "He rejected the Jedi, but sought out the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban, convinced he could gain power over other Sith. I give him to you as a present, dear Darrdan."
Not just the Jedi, not only the Sith, it was Darrdan's duty to rid the galaxy of Frags. They were dangerous, too often falling to the Dark Side. Most said the Force brought them to this galaxy with a purpose in mind. Darrdan felt betrayed by the Force, like those born to it weren't good enough. That the Force had a will of its own hurt him; he needed to correct this blight on the galaxy.
His green blade hummed. Here was a helpless prisoner. Everything he'd learned since being taken as an initiate at four years old told him to never harm someone vulnerable. But Frags drew others to their causes. Frags were dangerous, far too dangerous to let live.
A feeling of satisfaction washed over him as the body lay strewn on the marbled floor. The Knights dragged away the lifeless husk.
"Excellent, lover." Kavia's hiss in his ear steamed. It made him hot under the collar. "I know of many who would join us," she said. "I'm sure you can think of a few from the Jedi who don't exactly fit in. Now that the Knights of Lettow have formally been established, we should turn to recruitment."
"You're right." Darrdan was calm, at peace. He'd been taught that striking down an unarmed opponent would lead to the Dark Side. This didn't feel dark. It felt free. "We should also focus on Teräs Käsi," he said. "The blade is for the weak; we should encourage our Knights to be less reliant on it." The holocron Kavia had first enticed him with held ancient secrets to the Teräs Käsi – a form of hand to hand which was far deadlier than anything the Jedi taught. It was what had first drawn him to Kavia: the experience of learning something new.
"Of course, lover," Kavia said, a song in her words.
This was the beginning of something grand.
