A Discussion in Nox's Foyer

Darth Nox and Khem Val, entering the vestibule of the condominiums, were greeted by 2V-R8.

"Good evening, Master. Darth Xalek and Captain Drellik have been awaiting your arrival. They are in the foyer of your residential suite on the third level."

Nox spoke wearily, "Very well. Fix me something to eat. I'm hungry. I'm sure Khem Val wants something too. I'm certain he's famished."

Khem Val said, regretfully, "I should not have thrown my food at that Jedi."

2V-R8 said to Nox, "I will prepare a wonderfully nutritious and satisfying dinner for you, Master."

Darth Nox, Khem Val, and 2V-R8 entered the turbo lift.

In the lift, the Dashade growled at the droid, "What dinner will you prepare for me, or do you wish to become a twisted pile of scrap and smoking circuits?"

2V-R8 merely replied, "I have your favorite food on hand, Master Khem. Shall I prepare that for you, or did you want something different?"

Khem Val kept his eyes forward as the doors to the lift opened to Nox's apartment, replying, "No, that will do."

As the three exited the lift, 2V-R8 replied, "As you wish, Master Khem."

To Darth Nox, it was normal for 2V-R8 to fix dinner for everyone of his servants in his most inner circle. It never occurred to him to ask 2V-R8 whose corps was being made into Khem Val's dinner, nor from where the droid had acquired it.

Later that night, as Khem feasted on the beautiful cuts of meat, he would think to himself, "This meat is overcooked..."

Nox was greeted by Xalek as he stepped off the lift and entered the foyer.

"My Master, I have wonderful news, and I have terrible news."

Talos opened his eyes wide in shock at Nox's disheveled appearance. He would have asked Nox what had happened, if Xalek hadn't spoken first.

Nox replied quickly, before Xalek could say more, "Not here. As you may be aware, Lieutenant Millie Kine was arrested on charges of espionage. She's been here to deliver a report to me."

Xalek sensed Nox's anger as he spoke about the spy and basked in Nox's hate infused fury as it washed over him. Talos wore several Sith artifacts under his uniform tunic that allowed him to endure Nox's oppressive malevolence, which radiated from him from time to time. Talos remained silent, fighting to keep his composure. Nox's malign aura had grown more powerful since that terrible day on the ship, and his dark aura had begun to overcome Talos' Sith talismans.

Xalek, addressing Nox's concern, said, "My master, I ordered Major Riv Danthk to sweep your two apartment buildings for spy devices. As you have suspected, two were found and removed from your personal quarters."

Nox, having been stung hard by the knowledge that his secret search was no longer secret, persisted, "But can we even talk here?"

Khem Val, looking at Xalek, said, "It was wise to choose to wait here. This place is away from windows and is closed off from other rooms with all of the doors shut." He turned to look at Nox and said, "We can talk here, my master."

Xalek nodded agreement.

Darth Nox, satisfied with Khem Val's and Xalek's assessment, said, "Very well. Give me an update. What have you learned so far."

Xalek got strait to the point, "Since you know about Lieutenant Kine, my lord, then you already know the terrible news."

Nox expressed his dissatisfaction with that answer, and demanded, "Don't leave it at that. Tell me what you know about how bad things are."

Xalek said simply, "They know everything we've discussed in that office."

Nox said grimly, shaking his head in disgust, "Which means they know it all."

Xalek shifted his eyes quickly between Khem Val and Nox. He hesitated before saying, "We should discuss the rest privately, my master."

Nox got to the point as he revealed, "Khem figured it out. He's too good at sniffing out secrets to keep them from him for too long. Go ahead, speak."

Talos looked stunned at hearing that revelation, but he kept silent as his eyes shifted to Khem Val.

Xalek pointedly kept his eyes on Nox as he spoke, "They do not know the nature of what it is you seek, only that it is an ancient Rakata artifact."

He hesitated to say more as his eyes shifted to Khem Val and then back to Nox again.

Nox ordered Xalek, "Continue your report, Darth Xalek."

Xalek obeyed, saying, "We have discovered the name of the spaceport. It is Olaris Spaceport, and we've found it's location. That much we spoke of in the office. We have also located several warehouses in the vicinity, and have isolated the likeliest one based on your recollections. This we also discussed in the office, but not precisely which warehouse. However, a little searching along the street may be all they need to find it before us, Dark Lord."

Nox, glad for a little good news, said, "That you've found its location is some good news, but that they too will know where to search means that we must act quickly."

Nox's fury waned as he looked forward to searching for the relic at the ruins. Talos Drellik sweated under his military uniform, but with Nox's receding dark aura, combined with the barely adequate help of the Sith made amulets he wore under his uniform, he was able to breath again.

Talos took this window of opportunity to speak, advising Nox, "Dark Lord, I caution against assuming the relic is still there. We may have discovered the location in question, but it is still possible that what we seek has been shipped off-world."

Nox, conceded the point, and asked, "Are you still sifting through the shipping manifests to determine that?"

Talos nodded and said, "Yes, my lord. We still are."

Nox simply acknowledged, "Good."

Talos decided he needed to do more research on other amulets and talismans that could better guard against Nox's oppressively malign aura.

He thought to himself, "Obviously, the ones I have on now are not doing the job!" He asked himself, "I wonder if the Jedi have anything that can protect against Dark Side energy?"

He decided to look into the matter at his first opportunity.

Thinking of the massive security failure at Vulgren's headquarters, Nox asked Xalek and Talos, "Can you convert your apartments into your work center, or are the facilities here inadequate?"

Talos answered first, "We can get work done, but security will be a major problem. These buildings are a sieve when it comes to computer data coming and going. They'll be able to read whatever comes and goes from here. It's all wireless, my lord."

Xalek hid his annoyance at Talos for answering before he could, adding, "It is so, my master. The computer networks in these buildings only have civilian grade security hardware and protocols implemented."

Nox turned to look at Khem Val, but before Nox could ask him, Khem Val announced, "I will set the security at the office at the headquarters."

Nox, nodding his satisfaction, said, "Good."

Xalek said to his master, "On your order, we are ready to go search. Shall I inform Shahn Lunn, my lord?"

Nox, already forming a plan, said, "No. Tell her to come to the Settlement. I will meet with her and the rest of you at the office tomorrow. We will discuss it then."

Xalek then announced his intentions to Nox, "Then I will need to commandeer a shuttle to fetch her tonight, my lord."

Nox, nodding his approval, said, "Then do it."

Xalek bowed his head and said, "I will go now, Dark Lord."

Xalek lifted his head and walked past Darth Nox to the turbolift and left the apartment.

Nox turned to Talos and demanded, "Tell me the truth. Did you do all of the work and discover the information, or did Darth Xalek do any of the work himself?"

Talos, bowing from the waist and becoming disappointed that Nox doubted his apprentice, Xalek, answered, "My lord, Darth Nox, Darth Xalek split the work load evenly between the two of us. I was the lucky one to find the relevant data."

Nox, sensing and ignoring Talos' feelings, said, "Good. Then I shall reward both of you appropriately for your hard work. Go now to your apartment and rest. I shall give new orders at the office in the morning."

Talos asked with doubt in his voice, "My lord, do you still intend to use that office? The SIS...,"

Nox interrupted, saying, "I think the new security manager has been thorough. I believe he will be vigilant, and Khem Val will increase security as well."

Talos replied, "As you say, Dark Lord." As Talos walked past Nox on his way to the turbo lift, he said, "I shall sleep like a stone tablet in a tomb, my lord."

The lift doors closed, and Talos was gone.

Nox immediately turned to face Khem Val and said, "I want Zash as my apprentice. I have found a candidate body for this purpose. I don't want you and Zash fighting anymore."

Khem Val was silent for a long time. He determined to discover if his master intended to betray him. If he was not satisfied with Nox's answer, he was prepared to kill him.

Then he finally spoke, expressing his fears, saying, "When that witch returns to my body, I know we shall always fight, Master."

Nox told Khem Val, "No, Khem. You are not the candidate. I have found someone else more appropriate. That is why I don't want you fighting. I don't want you to kill Zash, Khem. Do you understand me?"

Khem asked, "And what if she attacks me, Master?"

Nox replied, "Then knock sense into her. Break her arms. I don't care, but do not kill her – and do not render her a mindless vegetable."

Nox's answer was enough for him to determine that Nox had no intention of giving his body back to his hated enemy. Yet, it vexed him greatly that Nox would not allow him to kill her.

Khem Val exclaimed angrily, "Cruel fate laughs at me again! The day of my vengeance nears, but you have forbidden it, Master! Even if I do not like this, it is your will, my master. I will obey, but if I find myself betrayed..." Khem leaned forward slightly and continued, "I will kill you, my master."

Nox, not backing down, answered, "I am strong. My power is unmatched. I don't need to betray to get what I want or what I need." Nox lied, and he knew Khem Val knew it was a lie, but he continued speaking, "However, I must always be ready for betrayal, even from those loyal to me." Nox looked pointedly into Khem's eyes and said, "You will die before you ever taste a drop of my blood."

Khem stood back and laughed, "Ha! It may be true that I will never eat your flesh, but before I die, I will have tasted your blood - again."

Nox, remembering their first and only battle, recalled that Khem Val had indeed licked his blood from his weapon when Nox had fought for his life in the tombs of Korriban.

Nox laughed mirthlessly, then said, "You are right, Khem Val. You have already tasted my blood," His false smile degraded into a fierce sneer as he spoke with a warning in his tone, "but even so, I will be sure it is your last taste of anything if you betray me now."

The two stood, silently taking the measure of the other. Each trying to decide whether he should attack the other. Both regretted that their comradeship seemed to be at an end. Khem Val's face twitched. Nox knew that signaled Khem Val's irritation at the impasse that had seemed to develop.

Nox spoke into the tense silence, "I know who my enemies are, and I know who my friends are, my old friend. How can you doubt me?"

Khem Val's answer stung him, but Darth Nox had to concede the truth in his words.

"Because you are a Dark Lord of The Sith, my master. I know you have no friends. Your only companions are servants and enemies. I serve you willingly, faithfully, proudly. I watch for all of your enemies, yet I have never forgotten to watch my own back. You are my greatest danger, my master, even as you are my greatest benefactor."

Nox smiled warmly. The warmth of that smile had reached his eyes, which was very, very rare for him to do. He reserved that smile for his dead wife Ashara and for his children whenever he was with them. It was the first time he'd shared that smile with Khem Val, and it gave him pause.

Nox said, "I need your strength, old friend. I find myself the target of a powerful rival, now become my greatest enemy. It is why I seek the strength of my former master. Trust me, Khem."

Khem Val, realizing that a battle had been avoided, changed the subject, "Then I do not need to warn you not to trust that fat snake with the dead eyes."

Nox laughed, saying, "Darth Komo? If he's wise, he will heed his own advice. I don't fear Komo, but I am wary of Acina. Be alert for her servants, Khem. They are likely on their way here, too."

Khem Val nodded his acknowledgment. Nox, sensed that a battle had been averted.

To end the confrontation, he said to Khem Val, "Go to the office and work on the security there. Then, in the morning, report to the office for your orders."

Khem Val replied, "I will go to increase the security at the office now, Master, but..." Khem leaned forward a little and pointed an impudent finger at Nox's chest, and said with a warning, "Know that I shall watch you closely. If you betray me, I shall sever my bonds to you and shall kill you, my master."

Khem Val didn't wait for Darth Nox's reply. He simply took the lift down and left Nox's apartment building.

Nox thought to himself. "That was entirely too easy, Khem. I've got both of my eyes on you, my morose monster."

2V-R8 returned to the foyer and announced, "Master, your dinner is ready. Shall I serve it in the dining room, or will you dine in the study?"

Nox replied tiredly, "I'll eat in the dining room."

Nox left the foyer and entered his dining room as 2V-R8 followed its master, prattling on, "An excellent choice, Master! I've heard it said that food tastes much better when eaten without distractions, such as studying..."

Nox paid no attention. He didn't hear a thing. He was lost in his own thoughts as he sat at the dining room table. He'd been considering that Khem Val's reluctance to attack him, upon discovering that he sought to free Zash, might have been a sign of his affection for Nox.

Almost amused by something that he'd never considered before, Nox thought, "Khem is a real friend to me."

Nox was about to put the first bite of food into his mouth, when 2V-R8 announced, "Master, Imperial soldiers have brought a prisoner, Millie Kine, here. Shall I let them enter?"

Nox's fury rose to a terrible crescendo as he put down the fork, the morsel of food uneaten at the end of the fork. The entire area became enveloped in his Dark Side energy. His withering wrath could be felt all the way down to the apartment building's door step outside.

The malign aura was unbearable. The troops, three flights below, backed well away from the turbolift doors, and Millie began to weep. 2V-R8 was oblivious to any of that. He was fortunate to be only a machine.

Nox rose to his feet as he left the dinner table, saying, "Send her in."

The droid replied, "Yes, Master."

Then it left Nox's side to open the door for Millie Kine.