Dromund Kaas, Sphere of Mysteries' Quarters, 28 BEA
"I need to learn to close my mind."
Red eyes focused on yellow ones, but Victoria didn't allow the old Sith's glare to deter her. At least with her master, she was indeed staring into a real, flesh-and-blood face, and not a motionless mask of durasteel.
Serpentis was the first to blink, albeit from surprise, or perhaps due to a hint of a guilty conscience.
"Sorry, young dragon, reading the thoughts of those around me has become a habit over the years", the older inquisitor answered slowly. "It's neither meant as an insult, nor as a sign of special distrust…"
But the younger assassin only passed over the explanation with a wave of her hand.
"I'm not complaining about you, my master", she answered. "If I had issues with that, I would certainly not ask the culprit for help, would I?"
Memories stirred, and Victoria made a fist, as electricity surged around her. "It's… somebody else. And I'm quite positive that he hasn't read my thoughts, ever, but he's way too adept in picking up my general state of mind without it. I therefore wish to learn to make my face into an unreadable mask that betrays nothing. I wish to be able to mimic your smile, master, that special expression that could frighten a Krayt dragon. I wish to be able to sever a Force bond, to hide my emotions from…"
Serpentis blinked again, her face virtually covered in big question marks.
"Wait a second, young dragon. Force bond? Who exactly are we talking about here?"
Blast it. Of course a master assassin would catch on the details.
"Does it matter?" Victoria countered, and sought refuge in her best 'ask further questions and you'll need new furniture' expression. "I'm sick of it, anyway."
"And why is that?"
Red flames started to waft through the inquisitor's mind again, as further memories surfaced.
"Because I am not a Kath hound, to be trained, ignored, or unleashed at another's whim. I am no simple resource, to be used for whatever noble or nefarious purpose, or to be manipulated past my conscious thoughts. I do not wish others to wield the power over me to calm me down with some simple sentences or gestures of comfort or understanding, even when I am beyond normal fear and terror…"
"Excuse me, but what exactly had you terrified to that extend, Lord Kell?"
Blast it.
"Never mind. I don't want my face to be an open book, so gaping wide that others don't even need to read my thoughts to know what I feel. I am no reusable thermal detonator, to be primed with some comments, set off on enemies, and then to be disarmed again with a light touch. I…"
"Touch?!"
"Shoulder. Never mind! I just can't stand it any more! I want to stop seeing his silhouette drawn in dark flames through walls as thick as ten inches of Mandalorian Iron! I want to stop feeling his very presence from whole sectors away! I want to stop my nerves to react to his voice alone, no matter his words, and I most certainly want to stop the drea… err… dread… whatever."
Victoria had actually had to change her daily routine some months ago. First point on her daily schedule was, by now, an ice-cold shower. Multiple ones, in fact, if her dreams – nightmares, she reminded herself – had been especially vivid. More often than not, though, this did nothing to help her calm down, as the temperature only served to remind her of a certain somebody's Force aura.
"I want to stop making a fool of myself regularly", she confessed, eyes cast down. "And I most certainly want to stop having my soul stripped of most if not all defences during a mission, just to find myself in a discussion about lightsabers and modifications the next morning."
Looking up to her master again, Victoria was astonished to see the old Darth's expression. She hadn't known that human eyes could become that large.
"Kell, what exactly has happened between you and…"
The young assassin couldn't stop herself from making a face.
"Most certainly not what you are thinking right now, my master. Though I have to say, you just looked as if I was a very misbehaving Padawan, and you were my shocked Jedi master. We simply killed a bunch of Advozsec, extracted some data from their station, made their base explode, and returned to the ship with no more casualties than my nerves, dignity, and composure. Then I spent ten hours more or less comatose in standard regulation-style guest quarters, alone, and the next awkward morning we talked about weapons. I have far more experience with crafting and upgrading weapons than the usual Sith, so I could give him some pointers."
Shaking her head, Serpentis finally stopped staring at her apprentice as if she'd grown a second head.
"Well, if that certain somebody is who I think he is, than it was past time that he got himself another lightsaber. With all his rationality and reason, he was getting a bit peculiar about his weapon. Granted, it's an invaluable antique that did belong to none other than Tulak Hord, if I remember correctly, but the lord I'm thinking of flat-out refuses to have anybody but him ever touch his weapon, including his own sphere's artifice crafter and technicians."
Victoria fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"Oh come on", she sighed, "you know very well who it is I am talking about. You've read the mission reports, after all. But what was that about lightsabers?"
"One of Tulak Hord's, I think. Priceless, and of high quality, certainly."
That wasn't what the young assassin had meant, but she'd rather bitten on her tongue than to admit it. Ignoring her palm, which suddenly seemed to burn with new and old memories, and the echoes of exploding life-support units on savage-filled stasis pods ringing through her ears, she tilted her head.
"We just talked about lightsaber crystals and the best way to cut them."
Well, that, and she'd demonstrated the benefits of her own cut of choice by simply switching their respective crystals for a short training session. Tiny alterations to blade width, focus or other properties didn't make that much of a difference at first glance, but when you relied on a single weapon to save your life on a daily basis, every little bit counted. There was no such thing as the 'best' cut, however, just optimal choices for a certain fighting style.
But her master didn't have to know everything. And she had asked for permission before she had started to dismantle the relic's hilt.
Maybe…
Quenching that thought and the little voice inside her head, for nobody knows the treacherous song of hope better than an assassin, Victoria shook her head a little more thoroughly than she needed to.
Her master, though, was looking thoughtful again.
"You know, perhaps you should just say something, little dragon."
The young assassin didn't even erupt in Force lightning at that suggestion, but simply snorted.
"Hells, master, I'm past teenage drama. It took me way too long to realise that I had developed a crush on that black moving trash can, but when I did, it was like throwing a detonator into an exploding volcano – nothing to salvage from the mess, so another small inferno makes no real difference. Didn't I tell you that my nerves, composure and probably also common sense were casualties in this mission?"
Serpentis' face was a carefully controlled mask that didn't give away her thoughts.
"Kell, what exactly…"
To the three hells with it. Victoria lifted her shoulders and breathed deeply.
"I nearly attacked Fortis again, and this time, it was close. Though, to my defence, he did provoke me deliberately, and even admitted it. Then I realised that I couldn't fight him, then I realised why I couldn't do so, at least partially confessed it, and then we returned to the ship. I slept about ten hours flat, then we talked about weapons, and then I used the first chance I got to leave. Simple. Oh, and I may have seriously crossed his flagship's cook."
Looking to her master and hoping that she wouldn't face another angry Darth, the young inquisitor was surprised to see that her master had closed her eyes and was massaging her temples.
"And Fortis?"
Shrugging again, Victoria shook her head.
"What about him? Being his usual rational self, he just saw to it that my questionable mood didn't disintegrate the station before we left. And then he did entertain in some small-talk to stop me from disintegrating his ship as well. As I said, I have had enough of being manipulated, no matter the reason. The new year has just started, and if I had one wish free, I'd choose not to see him again for the next months. Or years. I know that peace is a lie, but chasing a phantom is no passion that I can draw strength from. As I said, I need to learn to close my mind."
And some time to lick her wounds, so to speak. Waiting for a reaction from her master, the young Sith was relieved when Serpentis slowly started to nod in understanding.
When Victoria turned to leave, though, her master called her back once more.
"I can imagine that the last journey was emotionally taxing, young dragon, but I fail to see any connection to a cook, of all people. Anything I should know about?"
Shaking her head, the assassin smiled grimly.
"Probably not, my lord. It's just that the destroyer's chef didn't appreciate me sitting there during breakfast and nibbling at one of my own ration bars while watching the other officers eat a first-class meal. He was angry enough to call his master, imagine that. So I told both of them that while I did believe that Fortis could and would kill me without the help of poisons if he deemed it necessary, I wouldn't put that much trust into the rest of the crew. Or anyone, really, with the exception of you. That was the second reason why I left the frigate – I don't fancy purgatives in my drinks, or other creative forms of retaliation. My datapad's sensors are not perfect."
Serpentis snorted, a rare sound for the old master.
"Apparently you are not beyond flattery, young dragon. Or why do you think that I wouldn't try to poison you?"
Grinning, the inquisitor patted her stomach.
"That's an easy one. You're a far too grasping person to waste money for poisons if you want to get rid of me, since you know pretty well that you'd need extraordinarily potent stuff to put me down. I can drink a rancor under the table, remember? All those years drinking smaller doses of poisons and antidotes in bathtub quantities have their uses. Why spend a fortune, when you can just order me on an impossible mission?"
Something like a warm smile lit the old Darth's red eyes up.
"Experience", she answered dryly. "Done so for the past years now, but you keep coming back. Seems that I'm not able to dispose of you that way, so I might very well just promote you, young dragon."
Closing her eyes, Victoria balled her fists. Of course he'd been right. The blasted black oracle didn't just walk around and invent things, even if the world around him was about to explode into a myriad pieces.
"You don't seem to be particularly pleased by the prospect, Lord Kell. I am aware that you once argued against being a, how did you put it, 'glorified cleaning lady' for an absent Sith leader, but since you're doing that job, anyway, I think you might as well benefit from the privileges that come with being a Darth."
The young assassin suddenly noticed every small sound around her, like she was in a heightened state of awareness that helped her notice even the smallest variations in air pressure or electric currents in the walls. Not because she sensed danger or something, but because she felt that this moment was important. Being the apprentice of a Dark Councillor was one thing, but being Serpentis' only direct apprentice with a Darth title would put her among the prime candidates for her master's seat if the old Sith ever died of natural causes, or at the hands of an enemy like a Jedi, who couldn't ascend to the Dark Council to replace her. Did she want to exchange her freedom for the responsibilities associated with that possibility?
Victoria resisted the urge to hit her head against the wall, as she realized that it wasn't really a question any more. Somehow, during the last years, she'd come from not giving a bantha's ear about the state of the Empire to genuinely caring about it's citizens. She still couldn't say 'for the Empire' with a straight face, but the meaning behind that sentiment was what had driven her to Colla IV in the first place. The mission to Kaon and the Hammer Station fight were muddled with emotion, but when she washed all of that away, a core of similar motivation was left for those incidents as well.
Not a mindless beast, her subconsciousness supplied.
I could use some help up there...
Which did not help at all.
Taking a deep breath, Victoria gritted her teeth, squared her shoulders, and tried to kick her own fears somewhere where it hurt. The decision had been made long ago, really, without her consciously noticing it.
"I will not deny that wielding the powers of a Darth is enticing. Promise me this, though, my master: Don't get sloppy with your medical check-ups, remember to eat a healthy diet, scan your food before eating, and upgrade your personal shields, armour, and lightsaber. I couldn't stand the idea of sitting on the Dark Council before, but right now, it would be like a waking nightmare."
Dromund Kaas, Sphere of Mysteries' Ceremony Chamber, 28 BEA
"And so, from this moment on, another sword shall strike at the foes of the Empire. Which name will inspire new heights of terror in our enemies' hearts, Lord Kell?"
Looking up from her position on her knees in the centre of the ceremonial chamber, Victoria did not hesitate for a second.
"Ignus, my lord and master."
The inquisitor was keenly aware of every living soul in the room. Since she'd opted for a small ceremony without any external guests, she knew everybody, and even trusted everyone present to some extend. Which hadn't stopped her from picking up an additional portable shield generator, and scouting the whole sphere's rooms for hidden bombs shortly before the start of Serpentis' speech, but that was only common Sith paranoia. For once, she wasn't expecting trouble.
"Then rise, Darth Ignus. You shall be the fire that warms our allies, while scorching our enemies without mercy."
Victoria bowed towards her master, who stood there, tall despite her small form, regal in her finest robes, and with a smile on her weathered, corrupted features that showed open pride. And despite her doubts and fears that were associated with her new title, the inquisitor felt a new warmth rise within her.
Darth Ignus.
Somehow, this name sounded… right.
Dromund Kaas, Sphere of Mysteries, 28 BEA
"Seems that I have to think of a new nickname for you, Lord Ignus."
Looking up from her datapad, Victoria smiled at her master.
"Why should you? Dragons and fire are not mutually exclusive, aren't they? Or was that your way of telling me that I'm getting old?"
The older Sith chuckled slightly.
"Not yet, young dragon. So you aren't going to copy some of your new colleagues' quirks to delete any- and everything connected to their Darth-title-lacking youth, I take it?"
The young Sith rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Why would I? I won't throw away my current lightsaber to hunt down some rusty artefact as replacement, either. The only thing I'm pondering to replace is, actually, my armour. Your old armour. Whatever. It has served me well, but with the newest inventions in armour technology, I'll have to upgrade it soon. And let's face it, since I… recoloured it back then during my descent on Kaon, it's… well, not really fit for any representative mission that a Darth might be required to undertake. I could do with a new set."
Victoria was also entertaining the thought to acquire some contact lenses again, as she'd done before when she'd been promoted to Lord of the Sith. Her own eyes were still disappointingly yellow, and that was almost incommensurate with a Darth title. Red or at least dark orange, that was the way to go, but right up until now, even the closest inspection of her irises hadn't yielded the slightest hint of crimson.
A small cough by her master tore her away from her musings, though.
"One other thing, young dragon. I haven't forgotten that you are not that keen on talking to your former brother-in-arms any time soon, but with all the fights that you have seen together, it would be polite to send Fortis a small note regarding your new rank. Or are things that bad between you two?"
And here we go again…
"I am not fifteen, my lord", Victoria answered, and refrained from turning her face into a hideous grimace. "I actually tried to do so before scheduling the whole ceremony thing. To no avail, though, since a certain member of the Dark Council is currently playing babysitter for the Imperial Diplomatic Corps again, and that under radio silence. That secession movement thing on Csilla has gotten worse during the last months, so Fortis continued towards this particular icy corner of space directly after our last mission, with just a small stop at Vaiken Space Dock to refuel and get some new provisions. Apparently, Chiss politics are complicated."
She still tracked his movements, both to keep her skills in shape, and to get an early warning in case he was heading to the same system that she was currently residing in. This time, though, she had actually formulated an official request for information in addition to her spying, but the lord she'd spoken to hadn't been able to tell her how long his master would be occupied.
"That also means that I didn't have to agonize over the question whether to invite him to the naming ceremony or not. Which was lucky, all things considered, because that one would have given me quite a headache."
Trying for her best 'your concern is appreciated, but let's change the topic' face, Victoria wasn't surprised when she felt a small pull in her thoughts again.
"All right, young dragon", her master conceded. "About the new armour that you mentioned... It is customary for a master to present her apprentice with a gift after a promotion. And while I do know your size, I'm ready to take requests regarding form, colour, or other specifications. Your crafting skills regarding lightsabers and crystals are superb, but your decoration skills with respect to heavy armour are somewhat lacking."
Imperial Assault Shuttle, Space, 28 BEA
Yawning, Victoria tried to roll herself out of bed without damaging her limbs or the rudimentary furniture of the shuttle, and to reach the small bathroom and cold water without further delay. When she had finally stopped feeling like massacring the next being she met without question, the young Darth checked her schedule and sighed deeply in disappointment. Since she'd achieved her new title two weeks ago, she'd been constantly on the move to participate in the war against the Republic. Not on the front lines of random large-scale battles, of course; her assassination skills were better used elsewhere. But right now, her journal was empty.
The newest Darth of the Empire activated her holocom and called her master.
"My lord, both General Zahalhe and Jedi Master Bes are eliminated. And the Republic's laboratories on Ord Mantell have been sabotaged, and information has been leaked to civilian newspapers. I'm curious how the officials will explain an outbreak of Corellian Red Fever in a classy cold mountain environment. Unless, of course, they'll just admit to researching bioweapons."
Nodding, the old Sith acknowledged the good news with a smile. Still, Victoria couldn't help but notice that it was a bit strained. To the three hells with politeness.
"I do suppose not everything is going well on your end, though, master", she stated, and caught Serpentis by surprise – at least if her jerk was any indication.
"Was I that obvious, young dragon?" her master retorted, and the smile on the old Sith Lord's face grew a tad more genuine. "There is indeed a new problem that has surfaced, but it is not so urgent that I would have to discuss it on an unsecured channel. Please return to Dromund Kaas as soon as you have finished your current assignments."
Well, it was nice that she didn't have to hurry, but the inquisitor didn't like that her master was worried. Definitely not.
"On my way, my lord", Victoria answered promptly, and entered the new coordinates into her ship's computer. Republic, renegade Sith, pirates, potential civil war on Csilla, or just a shortage of her master's favourite chocolate – she would find out soon enough. And it was very likely that Darth Ignus would get the chance to burn something while solving the problem.
Dromund Kaas, Sphere of Mysteries, 28 BEA
Victoria reached her master's halls without further delay or noteworthy problems. Serpentis was expecting her, and the aura of worry that surrounded the old Sith was even more pronounced now, as the younger inquisitor could observe her in person. There were deeper lines in the pale, leathery face, which Victoria didn't like, and her master appeared to be... unsettled by something.
"I sense fear in you, master", the inquisitor stated, bluntly, driven by her own unrest. "Give me a name, and enough flammable material, and I'll send whoever it is that bothers you to a personalized instance of the hottest Corellian Hell in existence."
When even that image wasn't enough to make Darth Serpentis smile, Victoria abandoned all notions of protocol, closed in on the Dark Lord, and carefully grasped the wrinkled hands.
"What's wrong, my lord?" she asked, with all the empathy her brain and heart could scrap together, and finally, the older woman returned the gesture of comfort with a sigh.
"It's Athiss", Serpentis started, and shook her head. "No, I suppose most people nowadays haven't even heard of this planet. It was the home and final resting place of the Sith alchemist Vodal Kressh, young dragon. His name is all but forgotten, because the Emperor himself decreed it. He quarantined Vodal's work, and declared the whole planet forbidden. Nobody may land on the cursed surface, and I shudder to think what could be awakened there."
"The Emperor was involved? And that involvement didn't end with smoking ruins and ash, but a quarantine zone? Frozen hells."
Slowly, Victoria started to understand the fear of her master.
"We wouldn't be talking about this rock if everybody had just stayed away from it", the young Sith concluded. "Who, or what, is stirring on the planet?"
But her master only lifted her shoulders once in what was almost a shrug.
"I don't know for sure, young dragon. Our automatic sensors picked up a Republic signature close to the system a while ago, but lost it in an ion storm. Either it's really idiotic explorers, or Vodal's mad legacy is awakening on its own. If it's the former, we have to stop them from unleashing something we might all regret, Empire or Republic, and if not... well, we have to hope that the Emperor was just overly cautious or wanted to keep Athiss' secrets for himself. But whatever it is, somebody has to stop it, Darth Ignus."
Victoria clasped her hands, and tried to ignore her master's tone. There was a hint of what might have been carefully hidden dread in her voice.
"Well, if it's only the Republic, I don't see the problem. And if Kressh's servants dance on his grave, I'll certainly find a way to make them join their master. You did say that he was an alchemist, so I suppose standard poisons won't really cut it..."
"Kell. This is serious. I have spent the last week pondering who to send, and I have seen death every night. Visions are not beyond failure, but this... I have never experienced something like that."
Ouch. Suddenly, Victoria was feeling slightly creeped out as well.
"So, worst-case scenario is Kressh's ghost, alchemical experiments, plus loyal fanatic servants", she mused. "At least the servants and possible enhanced beasts are mortal, but you'd need somebody strong in the Force to ward off the Sith spirit."
"And somebody skilled in the art of war to have a chance against the rest, yes. That limits my options to Darths, or especially strong lords. And it would be best to send more than one person, but it would have to be a true team, and not just a collection of multiple lone fighters. Any Sith ghost could turn random Sith against each other, and Vodal was no ordinary Sith."
Even a Force-blind Miraluka would have seen where Serpentis was heading.
Victoria closed her eyes and cursed inwardly, knowing that this was really not the best time to be herself.
"Hells. No. Not yet. Not with him."
"However, the primary candidates are obviously unavailable", the old Darth continued, shrugging. "It doesn't matter why, but it's just a fact, young dragon. You'd have to be able to trust your companion, even more than during the other impossible missions that I sent you into..."
"It's not that I don't trust Fortis! Or at least not less than usually. I just don't want to see him!"
"And I don't think that you will be able to survive on your own, apprentice, nor be able to end the danger", the ancient lord continued. "Not even you are that strong."
The pause between Serpentis' words rang especially loud in Victoria's ears.
"Therefore I have decided to lead the mission myself, and to ask the Sphere of Imperial Defence for help. I have worked with its leader before", her master finished, and her face was again the impenetrable mask that Victoria envied. But the young assassin had learned to watch even black steel for cues.
"You saw your own death", Darth Ignus stated, and as she spoke those words, she knew that it was the truth.
Her master's face remained unmoving, but the younger Sith sensed that she had hit a nerve.
"The Force is forever in motion", the older Darth finally answered, calmly, but in confirmation. "What appears certain today can be impossible tomorrow."
Again, red and yellow eyes met, and Victoria felt anger rise within her – fuelled by a feeling of helplessness.
"That is an even bigger heap of Gundark dung than what you once found in your private quarters, my lord. How much 'motion' did you see in the Force during that last week? How many times did you see yourself die? And do you honestly want to tell me that these visions do not affect you? Hells, of course the Force is in motion, but if I can sense your fear, that Vodal ghost will, too, and Sith are conditioned to prey on weakness. Those dream pictures alone are no death sentence, but that will be cold comfort if they kill you indirectly by demoralising you."
Breathing deeply, the young Sith tried to stop her fingers from burning.
"I already told you once, master: You are Sith – please act like one. Send me to Athiss. Ask Fortis for his help once he's back; I doubt it will take him much longer to pacify Csilla. He will certainly do his duty for the Empire. And if you'll excuse me now, I need to go and hit my head against a wall. Trice-damned blasted Vodal and his alchemical adventures..."
Athiss, Landing Zone, 28 BEA
When Victoria exited her assault shuttle, she was astonished how... familiar Athiss appeared. She hadn't even heard from this rock since a week ago, but now that she was standing on its surface, it reminded her profoundly of Korriban's wastes, complete with old tombs and cold dark Force emissions from long-dead lords. Albeit a more beautiful Korriban of the past, where the blood-red earth and harsh valleys were softened with vegetation. Wind blew gently through swaying leaves, and the assassin smelled a hint of a flowery scent in the air. Ignoring the second Imperial shuttle that had landed shortly before her for a second, Victoria took the opportunity to look around, while ordering her droids to guard the small ships. She couldn't shield them all with a Force cloak, and even her SP droids were no match for Force-sensitive servants, or the Sith ghost itself.
Hm...
The young assassin nodded inwardly, appreciating the planet's cunning. What better way to lure its victims in than to appear familiar, sort of harmless, and even beautiful? That thought alone was sufficient to break Athiss' spell. Suddenly, the wind blew stronger, while the sun's glaring light caught itself uncannily in dried, dead branches the young Darth hadn't noticed before. Gone was the smell of flowers, replaced by rotten flesh, and shadows everywhere danced, mockingly, whispering to her that her skills were useless, that the whole planet knew of her presence.
Blast it all.
"Let's see who gets the last laugh, stupid rock", she hissed at the open space before her, and allowed red flames to dance around her arms. "You might not feel like making faces at me once I have burned each and every inch of your surface to black glass..."
Speaking of black... Victoria turned, as she heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind her, and readied herself for a smart-ass comment regarding her habit of talking to some stones. But Fortis remained serious.
"You feel it, too. There is a presence here that watches us. Gauges our strengths and weaknesses. It likely plans to test our strength before confronting us in earnest."
In all the years that she'd known him, the black-armoured Darth had never sounded more like a Kaleesh doom-sayer. That didn't do much to help the young inquisitor's composure.
"It doesn't matter now how he awakened, but Vodal Kressh's spirit walks these plains", the Sith warrior continued, calm again, rational in the face of danger. What a surprise. "And his power is considerable. Kell... Ignus… Victoria... about the last mission..."
"Stop."
Not caring in the slightest whether junior Darths were officially allowed to interrupt Dark Council members without fear of repercussions or not, Victoria squinted her eyes while staring at the familiar black mask before her.
"Whatever problems I may or may not have, personal or otherwise, without going into any details, I will certainly not discuss them in front of a doddery ancient Sith grandfather ghost."
Breathing so deeply that she nearly felt her lung explode, the inquisitor made a serious attempt at calming down again.
"Know that I trust you", she all but forced out, trying not to swallow her tongue in the process, or to suffocate at these words that no Sith should ever, under any circumstances, utter aloud, at least not without severe restrictions. "Now, if you can believe that I do not intend to burn you for the next hours, I suggest we do this mission, kick that blasted alchemist into his laboratory equipment, and go home again. Preferably with my nerves intact."
Fortis hesitated for a second, which wasn't benevolent for the assassin's blood pressure, but finally decided to humour her.
"You do make a... compelling point."
Athiss, Subterranean Corridors, 28 BEA
Sneaking through yet another ancient room with more tuk'ata, Victoria signalled her companion to make a short break the next chance they got. As soon as they reached a convenient empty side chamber at the end of an equally vacant corridor, the assassin dropped her Force cloak, and sighed in relief as her headache started to recede.
"Conserving our strength through bypassing those beasts seemed like a good idea when we started, but if our favourite alchemist ghost can get into their head, we might face a whole pack of them in addition to whatever opponent might block our way next. I therefore suggest we retreat back to the shuttles."
It was a sensible suggestion, since her equipment was back at the little spacecraft, so the inquisitor was surprised when the Darth next to her jerked as if she had hit him.
"Ignus. You are not a…"
No sound was audible for what felt like a large fraction of eternity, as Fortis seemed to rediscover his own survival instinct, while Victoria stared at him in incredulous disbelief. Then she shot forward, grasped some part of his chest armour, and pulled sharply, until his black mask was located directly in front of her own nose.
"'Coward', you were going to say?!" she hissed, squinting her eyes so furiously that she felt her muscles hurt. Not that she paid attention to that inconvenience. "I am an assassin, not a brainless brute. When I see an option to trick my opponent, or to make my job easier, then I'll do it. That number of beasts around here is actually large enough to make an impact, and since I brought my own shuttle, I have some funny little surprises at my disposal. Now, stay here if you want, but try not to get eaten."
Swallowing the rest of her anger, and stopping herself from adding 'You might still be useful' or other pleasantries, the inquisitor released the black heap of metal in front of her, and tried to stalk away. Which was somehow impeded by the wall of unmovable black ice that she hit.
"Ignus. We are both on edge. I do know that you are not a coward."
Which was actually what Victoria knew he had meant to say before, but now the context was different. Breathing a little harder than strictly necessary, the inquisitor felt the flames around her limbs go out.
"Yeah", she conceded. "And I don't think it's just the blasted ghost. Sorry."
The young Darth enshrouded herself in darkness again, and extended this shield to her companion when he shadowed her movements. Fortis was way too close to allow her to breathe comfortably, but Victoria knew that actually splitting up in what would likely become a war zone soon would have been even worse.
Athiss, Excavated Tomb, 28 BEA
"So, Fortis, what did happen on Csilla, if you don't mind me asking? I didn't have time to crack the high-security channels, and public news are sketchy at best. Those are dramatic sketches, though."
Looking to the Darth at her side, who was crouched down next to herself on the stone beam that ran along the whole hall, Victoria heard a sound that was nearly a snort. Well, that, or it was some part of the cacophony below them. After the assassin had dropped the bottle with experimental tuk'ata pheromones on the unsuspecting Republic explorer group below them, the results had been… impressive. Victoria didn't know whether Vodal's ghost had even tried to control the vicious beasts or not; if so, his efforts had been in vain. He was certainly influencing the leading archaeologist from the Republic team, though. The woman was shooting lightning from her fingers, but the sheer number of beasts made Victoria place her money on the Sith dogs.
"I suppose you can indeed call the mission 'dramatic', at least at the end", Fortis commented calmly. "Chiss rebels tried to assassinate the Imperial emissaries, presumably to incite a brutal response and to force the Csillan government into rebellion against the Empire. Or to spark a full-out civil war."
"They tried something like that while you were there?" Victoria couldn't believe her ears. "Are they really that stupid?"
But the black-armoured warrior next to her only shook his head.
"It was close, actually. The insurgents managed to smuggle a deadly poison into one of the ingredients of a formal dinner. It was rare enough not to show up on our sensor equipment, and since none of the actual culprits were in the vicinity, none of the Sith present did sense the danger. The Chiss delegates were as unsuspecting as the rest of us. I confiscated the leftovers and some of the corpses afterwards and sent parts to Imperial Intelligence, the Sphere of Biotic Science, the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, and the Sphere of Mysteries."
Ouch. That must be an interesting substance. Resolving to check with her master upon her return from Athiss whether it had already been isolated and was fit for replication, Victoria scratched her head.
"And the fact that we two are talking right now means that you also have inlays of black durasteel in your digestive system, or…?"
There was no doubt that Fortis had snorted now.
"No. I had respected the teachings of a master assassin, which say that it is wise to employ caution even among allies, and refused to participate in the feast. My people followed my lead without question, and the majority of the Sphere of Diplomacy's delegates assumed that I knew something they didn't, and stayed away as well. The remaining participants did not survive the night."
The Darth's voice was still steady, but Victoria sensed a hint of what was likely disturbance at the memories. Which meant that those hadn't been the most comfortable of deaths.
"Sounds bad", she admitted, and shook her head to get rid of the images her fantasy supplied. "Well, rumour has it that the Sphere of Diplomacy and Expansion needs a new leader. Couldn't Darth Oppugno resist the lure of Csillan cuisine, or did a rebel kill him directly?"
There was a short pause, and the young Sith felt Fortis' full attention on her for a moment.
"No", he finally answered, and his tone was now of a deadly calm that made the small hairs on Victoria's arms stand on end. "I did."
Familiar cold black ice hit Victoria again, but this time, she was actually glad about it, given that she had been about to fall from her lofty position on the stone beam.
"Uh, I do suppose that you had a compelling reason to do so?" she half stated, half asked, and swallowed. When the infighting within the Dark Council reached that level, things were usually bad.
"Yes. Oppugno insisted on bombing Csaplar in revenge. A move like that would have driven Csilla away from the Empire permanently, and made sure that the rebels succeeded. Since the Chiss are a useful resource, and of relevance for the defence of the Empire, I assumed control of the situation, and overruled him."
The young assassin ducked her head in reflex, hoping that she'd never have to deal with such business herself.
"So, is there an unofficial hierarchy among the spheres which I wasn't aware of?" she asked curiously. "Or why were you able to just do so?"
"I did anticipate this possibility and made sure that the other members of the Council agreed with my position before even landing on Csilla. And I won't deny that commanding a bigger fleet helped as well", Fortis explained dryly. "Since Oppugno had no legal options left and was, by then, beside himself with rage, he challenged me personally. In hindsight, he would certainly agree that this was not a wise decision."
Which was an understatement, of course. Victoria cleared her throat, glad that the black-armoured warrior did have nerves of steel as well, or at least enough patience not to dissect an ill-tempered lord who had nearly attacked him not only once, but twice.
"Note to self: Try not to challenge a certain Darth a third time", she joked, seeking refuge in irony, and even got a slight chuckle out of the composed warrior. "Just out of interest, though: Which master assassin did you refer to? I wasn't aware that you read the teachings of the old inquisitors as well."
There was no mistaking the hint of amusement her companion radiated through the Force.
"It is always a good idea to be prepared. I do wish to emphasize that I didn't use the word 'old', though. And regarding the lesson: I learned it less than a month ago, in a star ship's galley."
Feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, for whatever reason, Victoria stared down at the chaos below her to collect her thoughts. There wasn't much left to see, though; the tuk'ata had suffered heavy losses, but the Republic team was gone, permanently. Some remnants of their armours were scattered around, and the surviving beasts had left the scene. Presumably to digest in peace.
"Well", she finally commented, and kept her eyes firmly on the ground below her, "always glad to serve the Empire. I still owed you for the Cortosis plates, so that just might make us even."
Athiss, The Ruins of Kressh, 28 BEA
Trying not to curse, since she was out of breath already, Victoria called upon the Force to evade the charging giant beast again. She didn't know what Vodal or his servants had fed his favourite pet over the centuries, but the beast was colossal, had an especially sweet temper, and a huge appetite. Plus a marvellous foul breath, and a legion of spawns that were the living image of their mother. Or father. Or great-grandmother. Luckily, they were not yet as huge as their ancestor, and quite a lot of them wouldn't get the chance to continue growing – Fortis had made sure of that. The Sith warrior had already disposed of quite a number of the beasts, while she distracted the main monster, but there were still more of them.
Beheading one of the smaller beasts as she passed by, Victoria hurried more to the side of the open place, where ancient walls offered some form of protection from the beast's most vicious charges. Or so she thought; fortunately, Darth Ignus was fast enough to get away once more when the trice-damned spawn of Ardor's depths crashed right through the ancient stones. Shooting a healthy blast of Force lightning at its eyes again, with as much success as before, the young assassin was pretty sure that the old Sith ghost was personally protecting his prized guard dog.
Really wishing that she'd brought a nice frigate-type ship-to-ship torpedo or something, Victoria threw the last of her thermal detonators, but the beast wasn't stupid enough to just swallow it. The dust of the explosion bought her some seconds to breathe, though.
Bad move. Hit by something the inquisitor could only suppose was the beast's giant tail, Victoria found herself on the ground before the monster, caught helplessly under its claws. Enjoying a prime view of the perverted animal's uvula and molar teeth, the assassin tried to reach her lightsaber, but her favourite weapon had fallen somewhere out of reach.
Hells. Going down as a snack was not how the young Sith had envisioned her own end.
Shooting a last blast of lightning directly into the beast's roof of the mouth, the assassin suddenly felt movement in the Force. Something icy-cold brushed over her, visible not through lightning, but by a mere absence of light. Timed to coincide with her own attack, both Force projectiles merged and hit the monster's maw simultaneously. In contrast to her own futile attempts, the beast now jerked visibly. Even better, the young assassin felt a severe disturbance in the Force, as the ghostly shield faltered.
Unfortunately, Victoria was still pinned to the ground, and had no strength left in her for an immediate second try. Something else hit the beast again, but significantly weaker, and only under its chin; this Force blast just succeeded in angering the animal, making it roar and opening its jaws wide.
The inquisitor gave Fortis points for trying, though, as she stared into the ugly, scaly face of death.
Something else flew through the dry air of Athiss, a bright red gleam that hurt Victoria's eyes even in the split second that she saw it. Perfectly synchronized with the last movement of the beast, the object hit the open mouth of Vodal Kressh's pet, shattered whatever remnants of the spirit's Force shield might have been left, and vanished in the depths, enticing an otherworldly sound of purest anguish from the monster. Shocked, Victoria even thought that she'd heard a muffled explosion from within the beast's head. Cold engulfed the young Sith, and pulled her away before her enemy could crush her in its death throes.
When the inquisitor slowly and carefully got to her feet again, she was greeted by silence. None of the smaller beasts had survived, unless some of them had fled; the last group lay broken between the ruined stones, dead, twisted, but without noticeable wounds, in an uncanny resemblance of those unfortunate defenders back on the Brentaal Star. Fortis himself was on the ground, surrounded by visible darkness, meditating. If Victoria closed her eyes, which she didn't do long for fear of stumbling, she could feel his dark draw, as a master of the Force called upon his servant.
Making sure that nobody else was in the vicinity, the young Sith turned her gaze away, not wanting to violate the Darth's privacy. Instead she looked to the heap of meat, which had tried to consume her just minutes ago, and tried to suppress the tremor which started to infect her legs. The beast's maw had looked terrifying from below, and even from the side, it wasn't much better.
Victoria didn't know how long she'd stood there, all but transfixed at the sight and the clear knowledge of what could have been. Finally, she forced herself forwards, towards the broken beast's body, prayed that her legs were steady enough, and kicked it against its muzzle. And again. And again. She only stopped when she felt a movement through the Force behind her, closer and closer. The familiar cold told her that there was no danger, but the inquisitor still tried to regain her composure. By now she was shaking like a leaf.
"Victoria."
"Don't", the young assassin warned half-heartedly. "Do not do something stupid."
She knew that with her current level of control, which was basically non-existent, any sign of comfort was likely to set her off into a complete breakdown. And the last thing that Victoria needed now was another fit of nerves. Channelling the Force, which had returned to her during the last minutes, or perhaps even hour, the young Sith wrapped herself in a shell of flames, and realized too late that she hadn't even thought about employing one of her master's techniques to shield her mind.
Fortis, predictably, didn't even pause, and ignored the fiery warning altogether. Rightfully, though, since those flames were nothing but a simple image, unable to scorch a fly.
"Victoria. There is no dishonour in feeling fear."
Too close. Way too close again, at least if her pulse was any indication. Frozen in place, the assassin felt a wave of tension run through all her muscles. And when she felt the light touch at her shoulder that she had both anticipated and feared, Victoria lost it. She didn't know how, but the next thing she realized was that her forehead was pressed against a slightly dusty black pauldron, her nose squeezed itself between elements of a scratched chest piece full of claw marks, and her treacherous eyes seemed intend on making the rest of Fortis' armour rust in record time. Sobbing with abandon, the last of the young Sith's brain cells resigned to the fact that she couldn't have stopped even if she had wanted to try.
Finally, when she had stopped crying, albeit only due to a lack of tears, Victoria cleared her throat.
"I will have to kill you for being at the wrong place at the wrong time", she tried to threaten, but was aware that it would have been slightly more convincing if she hadn't still clinged to the black-armoured figure like a lifeline.
"Understandable", the Darth answered, dryer than the arid land around them, but with a shadow of emotion in his usual calm voice which Victoria couldn't place for the life of her. "But perhaps there is a compromise. Will a severe case of amnesia suffice?"
"Hmpf. Maybe. Possibly."
"Good. Where are we, what are we going to do, and what has happened?"
Not quite sure if she wanted to cry again, or to start laughing hysterically, the assassin decided to start reclaiming her dignity by making a face. Not that her companion could see it, but it was at least something. If Fortis started joking, the end of the universe was surely imminent.
"Too soon, nerf-brain. I have not even started to collect all my limbs from their current places."
There was a short pause.
"Nerf-brain?"
That made the hysterometer stop firmly on the 'laugh' side.
"Nerf-brain", the assassin confirmed, and finally succeeded in separating herself from the black figure again. She was never going to live the last minutes down.
"And about your questions from before… We are in an ugly, rubble-filled ruin. We are going to hurt a Sith spirit, kill this Sith spirit, and feed its ghostly remnants to the first Dashade that we meet. And what happened is very simple: We went to the children's zoo, and you got sloppy and lost your lightsaber."
Starting to shiver again at the memory, Victoria hoped that Fortis didn't see her face. With a small move of her hand, her own weapon returned to the young Sith, and the assassin turned the hilt in her hands.
"We might still be able to salvage something", she noted, and made one step towards the beast, while ignoring that her voice had become small during the last sentence. "Your saber should still be sticking within the beast's ugly head, after all, and with a little bit of luck…"
"Ignus, I did overcharge the weapon's blade on purpose. If Kressh wasn't able to stop it, the hilt exploded upon hitting an obstacle."
Nodding mutely, the young assassin remembered hearing an explosion, or at least believing to have heard a detonation. Her observation skills had been slightly impeded.
"And yet there might be something left", she argued, feeling a weird cold inside her. "I could at least check…"
"Victoria. It was a weapon, nothing more. A resource, to be used. And I did bring a replacement. Stop worrying about it."
That made the young assassin pause for a moment.
"You never thought of even touching another weapon, ever", she commented, eyebrow raised. But Fortis only tilted his head.
"Not true in the literal sense, but I see your meaning. I was also never begged by your master to refuse a mission, though, until Darth Serpentis called to inform me about Athiss. She desperately sought for an excuse to order you back, presumably due to something she saw in a vision. Therefore I decided to prepare for the worst. I would actually have ordered to just bombard the planet, but with Vodal Kressh's strength unknown, I didn't want to risk bringing potential host bodies within his reach. With this ruin's stone cover, you'd need at least a cruiser's main gun from orbit to make a noticeable impact."
Not really knowing what to answer, Victoria resolved to cut any and all followers of Vodal Kressh that she might encounter into a hundred little pieces.
Athiss, The Tomb of Kressh, 28 BEA
While Athiss was unlikely to ever become a popular tourist destination, at least navigation and way-finding were trivial. The beast of Vodal Kressh had guarded the entrance to the tomb of Vodal Kressh, and after a long and boring descent, both Sith came face to face with the self-proclaimed prophet of Vodal Kressh. Victoria was confident that if she only searched long enough, she would also find the toothbrush of Vodal Kressh somewhere under the rubble. Perhaps next to the butter knife of Vodal Kressh, and remnants of the favourite cereals of Vodal Kressh.
This sorry semi-deserty excuse for a planet was in dire need of some serious de-Vodal-ization.
And when Vodal's prophet had the nerves to conjure some living flames out of thin air, the young assassin laughed in his twisted, red-eyed face.
"I am Darth Ignus, fool", she growled, while dissolving the fiery apparitions around them with a mere wink of her hand. "You are nothing but a whiny little toy match."
Including the stench of sulphur.
When the corrupted figure in front of them didn't get the hint, the inquisitor wrestled control of the next fire orb from him, and burned his robes with his own creation. The prophet, finally about to change his tactics, tried to hide himself with the Force, but since impressive clouds of black smoke betrayed his position, success of this manoeuvre was very limited. Fortis, never one to draw out a fight longer than necessary, finished Kressh's fanatic follower with an elegant strike of his replacement saber.
Glad that the danger was past, Victoria looked around curiously. No butter knife was visible, but the Cyclopean masonry around her made her shudder inwardly. This place was old, and had steeped in hatred for what felt like aeons. Somewhere deeper inside, the young assassin caught a glimpse of what must have been Vodal Kressh's last resting place. She didn't feel any incentive to check his coffin in detail, though. Perhaps it was the light of those creepy blue stone torches that burned with substances unknown, or simple exhaustion after the draining fight against the guardian beast outside, but the edges of her vision blurred slightly, and her head didn't feel so good all of a sudden.
"We should leave this place", the inquisitor murmured, and wondered where this sudden urge for fresh air and open spaces came from. Usually, crawling through ancient vaults didn't bother her in the slightest. But now, all her hairs were standing on edge, and there was an unrest within her she couldn't explain. Cold hit her, catching her flat-footed, and something very akin to dread filled her stomach.
And then, there was the sound. It wasn't something overly strange, or anything alien. On the contrary, it was a noise Victoria had heard hundreds of times before. Simply put, it was nothing more than the familiar hum of an igniting lightsaber.
Slowly turning on the spot, like a puppet following its strings, the young Sith moved, and while her brain refused to acknowledge what her eyes told it, the scene before her made the assassin's heart miss several beats. The path to freedom, to grass, trees, and sunlight, was blocked by a dark, looming figure, with nothing more than the brilliant red of a lightsaber blade and a distinct black outline being visible in the gloom. Any light remaining in the whole room seemed to grow darker, as the Force energy around the figure grew denser, more pronounced, concentrated. And the temperature of the air around her had dropped to those unbelievable lows which were only found in the darkest and emptiest corners of the motionless void of space.
"No. I will not allow it."
Victoria had spent enough time at Fortis' side to hear the Darth give orders, talk strategy, or threaten people. She had privately compared his voice to death bells, falling gravestones, or coffin lids, for he could easily scare the living Force out of anybody when in the right mood. But never before had she heard a tone such as this. If there was indeed a personification of death, in whatever mythology or religion, this was how it must sound like. And his aura… What Victoria felt now was still calm, but not his usual rationality and reason. This was more like the deadly quiet gulfs beyond regular hatred, where nobody but the Emperor himself should ever sail.
Instinct took over, as a Force blast grazed her side, hard, only missing because the assassin had stumbled in pure shock. Her own saber jumped into her hands, glowing steadily with its red light, and the young Sith was able to deflect the next Force attack, albeit with difficulties. Her fingers felt all but frozen after close contact with the deadly energy. Victoria abandoned conscious thought, or the questions why and how, as the Darth closed in, his lethal blade blocking her sole escape route. Giving in to the pure wrath burning inside her, the young Sith deflected her former companion's strike, always looking for a chance to retaliate. Beside herself with rage and ire, Darth Ignus drew on the energies around her, called on the Force to burn any- and everything around her… and hesitated, as the red light of her weapon fell on the familiar outline of black heavy armour.
Too late. Cold struck her, full force, square into the chest, and as Victoria felt the pain of being hurled against stone, she screamed incoherently. Not so much from agony, but from anger, frustration, and realization of helplessness, for even now, she still couldn't consciously hurt the warrior in front of her.
More cold. Impaired movement. Her limbs, not following her commands. Something in her throat, lung refusing work. Dark spots behind her eyes, impeding her vision. The last thing that Victoria could clearly identify was a black-armoured hand before her face, which was slowly balled into a fist.
Dromund Kaas, Citadel, Intensive Care Section, 28 BEA
"Prepare the kolto tank. Orders from her master; vitals may appear stable now, but we are to take no risks."
"No. I can sense her waking up. She needs to know what happened, and why, or the collateral damage may be immeasurable."
Voices. One unknown, one known. Familiar sounds, an ally…
Memory. Images. Red light on black armour. Cold.
Dread.
Victoria shot up, or at least tried to do so, but discovered that her limbs were made of lead. Not a good feeling. She was seriously considering beating her forehead against the next surface for a moment to knock herself out again, because her head hurt like something the assassin hadn't even words for, and her stomach lurched painfully.
"Bucket!"
The first voice, again. Smell of antiseptics. A doctor? If it was not a very, very fast doctor, his efforts would be in vain, her sole working brain cell supplied, for she already tasted bile.
Cool Force energy around her. Not deadly cold. Something at her cheek, holding her hair back. Another touch at her side, her back, supporting her. Both hard to the touch, cold on bare skin. Armour? An object before her. A large bowl?
Well, even if not, it wasn't as if the young Sith had any control over her body right at this moment. Or any kind of choice. The assassin did what her intestines told her to, and, after it was done, she noticed that her whole body had started to shiver. A glass of water had found its way into her unsteady hands, and Victoria rinsed her mouth without giving the danger of poisons so much as a second thought. Right now, she was all but helpless, anyway – nobody would need tricks to hurt her.
Where in the galaxy was she? What in the Emperor's name had happened? And why, by all Corellian and Chandrilan Hells combined, was she only wearing her basic military-grade underwear?
Neurons started to work again, and even some of her muscles stopped their rebellion. Drawing a curtain of scorching flames around her, and smelling biting smoke from what had likely been a medical bed as a consequence, Darth Ignus readied herself for a rematch…
… only to stop again, as armoured hands closed around her wrists.
"Leave, doctor. I might not be able to contain her whole power."
Staring into the black mask that had haunted her dreams as well as recent nightmares, the young Sith was vaguely aware of the sound of fast footsteps and, subsequently, the soft noise of a closing door.
Tension rose in Victoria's muscles, but Fortis was observant enough to release her before she could snap his forearms. Still, he was simply there, and close, which was enough to keep the young Sith's nerves beyond common reason. Where was her lightsaber, where were her droids…
A sigh sounded through the room, amazingly loud in the relative silence. Just moments later, Victoria felt a brush of something cool again, as there was movement in the Force, and her weapon appeared before her eyes. Grasping its hilt like a drowning man a straw, the assassin finally felt her brain start to work properly, and rationality reintroduced itself to the mess that were her thoughts.
If Fortis wanted her dead, she would be. Not only once, not twice, but twenty times in a row. Which meant that there was another game he was playing.
"Victoria."
Shielding herself with the Force, the young inquisitor brought up all mental barriers that she had. It was bad enough that she was sitting here without her armour, without having the slightest idea of what was going on, and with a feeling in her body as if all Jurgorans of Dromund Kaas had trampled over, above, and through herself. What she definitively did not need right now was therefore a replay of that After-Vodal's-Beast moment on Athiss, despite of the fact that parts of her brain were strongly opting for it.
Other parts of her conscious thought voted for just killing the black-armoured bucket-head and being done with the whole mess, but those were overruled by yet another section of her mind, which noted that 'kill' was boring, but that switching two letters of that word might yield far more interesting results.
And the last brain cell reminded her again that she was sitting here without any clothing to speak of, directly in front of a certain somebody, in what was quite a detailed replay of the start of some of her dream sequences. Nightmares, of course. Terrible nightmares. Which was sufficient to give her goose bumps. The inquisitor tried to convince herself that it was due to the cold.
"Speak, and make it good", Victoria all but ordered, and was proud that her voice sounded exactly right. Calm, controlled, cold. She was even confident that her face didn't betray the turmoil within her.
Still, when it came to calm, control, and cold, she was talking to a grandmaster.
"Vodal Kressh's spirit tried to possess you in his tomb on Athiss", Fortis answered, and his voice was so serene as if he was doing nothing more than reading the weather forecast for Kaas City. Which would have equalled 'rain and thunderstorms', no matter the time or season, but that wasn't important now.
"You might still remember some hints of foreign emotions, like a strong wish to escape the place, or additional hatred burning inside you."
The need to see the sunlight. Yearning to touch a simple tree. Yes, Victoria remembered. She also remembered the headache, and the strange mist before her eyes. Insidious Sith ghost…
"And then?"
The black-armoured figure before her shrugged slightly.
"I did convince him that hiding within your body was unhealthy."
"Meaning?"
Victoria felt the full attention of the Darth before her again. Since she knew him well, she'd bet anything that he was calculating the likelihood of an attack, and preparing some form of battle strategy.
"After throwing you against the stone wall and creating significant trauma to your spine and kidneys, not to mention several ruptured blood vessels and broken ribs, I did create second- and third-degree burns to your upper body by another Force attack that might have escaped your notice", Fortis answered in a textbook-style clinical matter-of-fact tone. "Employing a Force choke on you and allowing the oxygen level in your blood sink to near-lethal levels finally convinced Vodal Kressh that you had no chance to win the fight, and that I was going to kill you, which forced his ghost into the open in an all-or-nothing attack to preserve his spirit. Confronting the desperate being purely through the Force was difficult, but since Kressh's efforts to protect his beast and to possess you had weakened him significantly, I managed to overpower and destroy the rest of his remaining self through a Force ritual. Since I did not have enough strength left to heal your wounds immediately, I used what kolto was left to stabilize you while calling the shuttles to a spot closer to the tomb. Medical stasis kept your injuries from worsening, until kolto, Force healing on our way back, and finally the efforts of your master did succeed in curing most of your ailments."
Not really able to decide whether the list itself or the tone in which Fortis recited it was worse, the assassin finally judged that the worst part by far was the simple fact that she agreed with his course of action. Carefully, she put her lightsaber away, as those parts of her brain that had opted for killing her companion shuffled away to go hiding in a mental wardrobe or something. Levels of tension in the room sank for a second, until the young Sith remembered that this left those parts of her mind online which had opted for hugging or ki… kicking the blasted black briquette. And that sole brain cell that reminded her again of her definitely unsatisfactory state of clothing.
Fortis, who had very likely monitored her stress levels during their conversation, seemed to recognize that the main danger was past. Victoria saw him press some buttons on a datapad, and just seconds later, three people in the uniform of Imperial medics entered the room. One started to prepare a kolto tank, while the remaining two busied themselves with scanning her vital functions. Still, there were some open questions left.
"Why did Kressh need me? Why not simply possess his devoted servant?" the assassin asked, wondering what she had missed. But Fortis just nodded.
"His servant was Force-blind. All his strength came from Kressh himself. But without an additional source of Force power, the Sith Lord's spirit couldn't have left the direct vicinity of his resting place. Too much of his energy was already spent in controlling his servants and beasts around his tomb."
Well, good thing that Fortis had been observant enough to detect the ghost's presence. Playing a helpless taxi for a creepy old ghostly pestilence was no way Victoria wanted her own life to end, either.
"I see", the inquisitor conceded, and didn't fight back when the two medics helped her up and directed her towards the kolto tank. "Just out of interest, though: Why did Kressh leave my body while I was still alive?"
It was a simple question, really, and Victoria already suspected that the trauma of experiencing death again would have severely weakened the spirit. Therefore she was slightly surprised that Fortis, who had finally moved towards the door, stopped his movements. When she was not mistaken, he had also clenched his fists. But since both of them still took care to keep their Force shields up, the young inquisitor sensed nothing.
"He had bound himself to you", the black armoured Darth finally answered, completely calm, and continued towards the exit. "In that state, killing you would have meant the end for him as well."
Leaning against the back wall of the kolto tank, and watching the first and lowest segment of its front part close, Victoria felt the first small wave of kolto touch the skin of her feet. She grasped the tank's oxygen mask, but didn't put it on at once.
"So why not simply kill me?" she asked, honestly confused. "It sounds like you took quite a risk when you gave Vodal the chance to fight in spirit form, and while your strategy of inflicting near-lethal harm on me was sufficient to fool Kressh, I'm perfectly aware that you could have just used your lightsaber or Force powers to annihilate both the ghost and me before that."
There was… something in the Force that she sensed, but the young Sith wasn't able to place the emotions over the chaos in her own mind.
Having already reached the door, Fortis hesitated again, as if he was searching for words. Which was highly non-typical for the Sith warrior.
"I thought that this was obvious", he stated, still calmly, but at the same time evasively, and that was really not like the self-confident Darth that she knew at all.
Oh. Right. She remembered something. He probably just didn't want to provoke her again. Kolto tanks were expensive.
"All right, save your breath", Victoria sighed, in a mix of sudden disappointment, and relief that everything was normal, rational, logical again. "I recall what you said about the Chiss, and it's not that different in this case. You did not want the Empire to lose a useful resource."
For the Empire. Hooray.
The second segment of the kolto tank's front part closed, and the assassin felt the water-like substance rise towards her knees and higher. Finally putting the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, the young Sith was actually looking forward to sleep for some hours, while floating in the healing liquid. Fortis, though, was still standing in the door, motionless, as if something was holding him in place.
"No", the black-armoured Darth eventually stated, while finally lowering his mental shields that had blocked the Force bond between them, and his voice was calm, firm, and so clear that there was no room left for any misunderstanding. "I did not want to lose you."
Author's Note: Thank you for the review! Hopefully, this update does not impede any night rest ;) As usual, thanks again to all those who are reading this.
On a side note: 21 chapters of 42 planned ones means that the characters are half-way through their respective chaotic episodes.