A/N: The ship by the way is a Nabooian Royal Cruiser, not sure if I made that clear in another early chapter. It has long wings and four circular engines (2 on each wing). Maybe it's a little too regal, but hey I liked it and it had finesse to it. And as for the previous chapter I DID research and there are horses/ponies in the Star Wars universe. They are native to Endor and Dathomir. Some Nightsisters tamed black stallions as battle steeds instead of rancors on occasion… and horses are my favorite and I couldn't resist!
Savage and Asajj had searched through Nar Shaddaa for about 2 months now. All they had found was more advanced droids and practically the same message in each droid's memory.
"We need to move to the lower levels. That's where the real action probably happens and the Separatists would probably prefer to be in the lower levels for the crime that happens down there." Asajj suggested.
Savage stopped,
"That would probably explain why there's been barely any droids. D7, fire up the ship and come to our position. We are heading to the lower levels."
They waited a few minutes and sure enough D7 picked them up. The little droid flew them down and parked the ship in a dark corner. The duo walked down the ramp. Savage looked back, the ship was barely visible in the darkness, except for the blue rings of the engines.
"See that's one reason why I like the ship the color it is." Savage said. Asajj rolled her eyes,
"Ya your girl ship."
Savage had to hold in the urge to slap her.
They crept through the darkness, looking for any sign of Grievous.
"This is what it's meant to be to be an assassin." Asajj whispered.
Soon they heard a crimer gasping. Asajj and Savage peeked around a corner and saw the crime alien being held by his neck by an advanced droid,
"The general wants to know where your holding the plasma cannons."
"I promised him the blueprints only!" the alien pled.
"Well now he wants them." The droid said. The alien cracked under the pressure,
"The warehouse is on S1670!"
The droid pulled a blaster out and shot the alien. He crumbled to the ground in a heap.
"General, the cannons have been specified to a location." The droid reported to Grievous' hologram.
"Good. Report back here. I will go myself to ensure the equipment makes it back. You droids only make it worse." Grievous commanded.
Asajj pushed Savage back,
"Let's make it to that warehouse before Grievous. Perhaps we can take him down and he'll tell us where that coward of a Sith lord is."
Savage nodded,
"D7, send me the location of the warehouse on S1670."
D7 beeped and sent him the location in just a few minutes.
"Got it. Alright witch let's go."
They flew through the dark and jumped off a level and onto another and finally they were on S1670 level.
"This way. We probably haven't got much time." Savage urged.
Asajj followed him and soon they found the warehouse. They climbed in through a window and hid behind a crate of cannons.
"If he brings his droids, you take them and I'll take him." Savage said.
"Why do you get the fun battle?!" Asajj hissed.
"For the challenge of it. I want to feel this General's skills." Savage said.
Asajj growled,
"Well eventually you'll have to let me in on the "fun".
"Just get ready." Savage growled.
They waited for less than ten minutes.
'The general is swift on his feet,' Savage thought. He watched the clanking cyborg walk in. He was much bigger than Savage had imagined. Savage signaled to Asajj. She jumped off the top of a crate behind the General.
"Ah General. How lovely to meet you again!" Asajj said.
"Ventress. How we've missed your wretched company." Grievous growled.
"And how I've missed yours. Although I have not missed your body guards. Terrible companions they are." Asajj laughed.
"Not as terrible as you."
The Magna guards launched their attacks on her. Grievous turned around was shocked to see the massive Zabrak that stood before him.
"Ah you must be the famous Opress that Dooku put a bounty on." Grievous purred.
"Ah is that who has ruined my life? Why don't I send him a message to leave me alone?" Savage said.
He flew at Grievous and attacked. Grievous with blinding speed pulled out four lightsabers and twirled his top two for his first defensive maneuver and dragged his other two in a series of sparks. Savage flew at the General trying to push through his defenses. He pushed past and almost gutted the general, except Grievous jumped in the air and rolled over. He ran up the walls of the warehouse and onto the ceiling. Because of his heavy weight he dropped very quickly and Savage had to roll to get out of his way. Grievous towered over him and prepared to bring his saber down on him. Just as the blade was near Savage's head, Savage slid across the floor. He looked up. Asajj ran across the floor and engaged the general. Savage raised a hand and slammed Grievous into a crate. Asajj pulled the sabers out of Grievous's claws and Savage used the Force to pin him onto the ground,
"Where is Dooku?"
"Is that all you wanted?" Grievous asked, coughing, "I don't know where that tyrant is."
"Wrong answer!" Savage strengthened his Force push on the General. Grievous's head bowed, his reptilian eyes shot at Asajj,
"Where's there's fire, there's power."
Asajj looked puzzled for a moment,
"Wait Savage! Let him go. I know where Dooku is."
Savage looked at her,
"You better. Otherwise I'll kill you."
He let Grievous go.
"It is you who will be killed!" Grievous screamed. Like lightning he had his extra lightsabers in his claws and he was trying to kill Savage. Savage was knocked off his feet, but he soon jumped up and started countering the general's attacks.
"D7 bring the ship to our location and shoot the doors open. NOW!" Asajj shouted into her comlink. She tried to join on the attack against the general. He flipped around grabbed her with his foot and threw her into a crate. Grievous then focused his attention back on the Nightbrother. Savage tried to hold his own against the general, but he could see he was quickly losing. 'That damn droid better be here soon' he thought. Sure enough laser bullets flew through the warehouse. Savage jumped aside as one flew by and hit the general. Grievous roared, Savage pushed his hands out and pushed Grievous into a pile of crates. Savage ran over to where Grievous had thrown Asajj. He found her and picked up her crumpled body in his arms. He ran to the ship and hop onto the ramp. The ship flew off the level and zipped off into the atmosphere. Savage laid her down on her makeshift bed and hurried into the cockpit.
"D7, get us into space and we'll hang there until Asajj awakens. Keep the deflector shields up. If we run out of power, keep the ship moving and let the shields recharge." Savage instructed. The droid beeped an affirmative.
Savage walked back into his room and knelt on the floor. He saw that she was still pretty out. He walked into the refresher and wet a clothe with cold water and laid it across her forehead.
"You better not be dead inside there. I need you alive to finish the mission and get us both out of here." Savage said to her unconscious body.
"Asajj wake up!" he tried to wake her up.
After a few minutes she slowly awoke. Asajj sat up and shook her head as if trying to clear it,
"Where's Grievous?"
"Probably angrily planning to track us." Savage replied.
"Why didn't you finish him?!" Asajj asked horrified that he had let the general live.
"Hey like you said, I was struggling to at least keep myself alive." Savage said.
Asajj held her head. Savage rolled back onto his heels,
"So."
Asajj looked up,
"What?"
"Your suppose to know where Dooku is." Savage said.
"Really? I was just knocked unconscious and I've been awake for less than 5 minutes and your already pestering me?!" Asajj said angrily.
"You claim to be Sith and even with a little knock out your complaining!" Savage said quickly.
"Ya but now that I'm free I can do and say whatever I want!" Asajj yelled. Savage snorted,
"Whatever."
He turned to walk away,
"Mustafar." He heard Asajj say. He said nothing.
"D7, Mustafar." The droid beeped and the ship jumped into hyperspace.
Within a day of silence between the two Dathomirians they reached Mustafar. Asajj scanned out the cockpit for the Sith secret training location. She took control of the ship and steered them towards a hole in a rock wall.
"Your ship should be protected here. Follow me to the training base." Asajj said. Savage nodded. They exited the ship and made their way through the hellish landscape of the planet.
"How'd you know what Grievous was talking about?" Savage asked.
"Every PROPER Sith is trained to know that is the secret passphrase to know that is where one of the Sith have fled here where the Jedi would never find us." Asajj answered.
"Oh…" Savage said quietly.
They trekked the explosive volcanoes and rivers of lava. They came to a tall rock mountain. Asajj waved a hand to reveal an electronic door hidden behind a piece of fallen rock.
"I hope this still works."
She took her light saber and pulled the crystal out. She held it up the scanner. A beam appeared and scanned the crystal and they heard the door open. Asajj flashed a smile at Savage. They crept inside quietly. Once they reached the end of the tunnel they saw the red glow of droids eyes. Asajj groaned,
"I hate droids."
Both of them slashed the droids down. Asajj looked around the room, she saw they were in the room where younglings were taught and trained.
"Come on Savage this way."
She led them through a few hallways and past the hangar. Savage looked down from the rail,
"Asajj… There's no ships here…"
"He would have hidden his ship. It's his personal one." She answered.
"I remember." Savage said simply.
She kept leading them through hallways and past multiple rooms. Finally they arrived at a room with a large table with little holograms all over it.
"This is the control and communications room." Asajj said,
"If Dooku's landed his ship here it would be recorded and we can find where he's hiding it."
Savage looked around while she was searching through the system. He thought…
"Asajj, he's not here. This base has been too quiet. We've encountered one battalion of droids and that's it."
Asajj whirled around,
"He has to be here! Grievous said!"
"Grievous could've been lying! His allegiance is to the Separatists, not us." Savage yelled, "And it was obvious he could've killed us both in an instant!"
Asajj ignored him and searched through the database.
"Damn it!" she yelled.
"What?" Savage asked.
"He's not here!"
"Told ya."
Asajj clenched her first. She returned to the database and looked for ships that had recently taken off.
"Aha! I may have found the bastard!" Asajj said excitedly.
"Where is he?!" Savage asked, impatiently. Everyday he was missing time with Talon and coming closer to the birth of his child.
"He's on… Yavin 4. But…" Asajj said quietly.
"But what?" Savage asked.
"But we may be too late…" Asajj answered.
"What do you mean witch?!" Savage roared.
"According to the data here, he was here about a month ago…" Asajj said.
Savage walked back and forth, pacing. He was wondering how that was possible…
Twenty minutes passed and Savage was still pacing. Asajj looked up from examining her nails, she had grown tired of watching him pace although at first it was quite enjoyable.
"Savage here's my theory of what happened. The first month we arrived at Nar Shaddaa he was there, to collect weapons, but obviously he heard you were present so he's trying to lure you away. So the first month he was there observing, and then he left and waited for a month here to see if we'd figure it out yet. So now he's been on Yavin 4 for about a month and Grievous has probably made contact with him to tell him we are here. So if we go to Yavin 4, he'll be waiting and had time to come up with a capture plan." Asajj explained.
Savage stopped,
"So why is it he left one platoon of droids to destroy us? You left that out of your explanation."
Asajj looked at her nails again,
"I'd say there's something waiting for us around here, we just haven't found it. Dooku's probably watching us from a base on Yavin 4."
Savage didn't like the sound of that. He turned around and looked for a camera. He saw something he thought it was. He ignited his saber and threw it at the supposed camera. It exploded in sparks. He turned back to Asajj,
"There. Here's our plan. We are going to Yavin 4, whether or not Dooku has a plan. And to get out of here we need to be extra careful and not turn around. We need to go forward to get out. Understood?"
"Got it."
Asajj walked through the other door. Savage looked around as he walked, he might never get to come back here. He saw the medical bay, the prisoner detention center, a room full of metal devices to test reflex skills, and so many other Sith methods that Savage could never dream of. Asajj led them to the hangar.
"Odd place to put a hangar." Savage commented.
"It's on the edge of the base overhanging the lava fall." Asajj snapped.
Savage stayed silent, 'What the hell is her problem?' he thought. They walked out the hangar door to the side of the base, on a slim sliver of land next to the lava river.
"Why this door witch?" Savage asked frustrated, he wasn't as nimble as she was.
"You wanted to go forward." Asajj said simply.
"Ya to where there was actual land." Savage complained. Asajj kept creeping forward towards the land and door she and Savage had first come through.
"You took us in a circle around the entire base?" Savage said, exasperated.
Asajj whirled around and slapped Savage in the face and threw a few punches at his middle before he had hold of her. He threw her to the ground and attempted to punch her in the face, she ducked each punch and his hands left craters in the ground. She Force pushed him away before screaming,
"I'm so tired of all your bullshit! We've been at this for nearly 3 months! We haven't found Dooku. Give up already!"
"No one ever said finding Dooku would be easy! I've already told you I can't give up!" Savage snapped back. They stood in silence, deciding whether to best each other. Asajj stood up and relaxed. She laughed a haughty laugh,
"You're not worth my time. Let's find the traitor and be done with it. I can best you any day. I've done it twice already." She turned to leave. A hand reached out of the ground and grabbed her ankle. Asajj sliced the hand off with lightning fast speed with her lightsabers. She backed up next to Savage who had armed himself too. They watched as the bodies of the former prisoners rose out of the ground.
"How'd Dooku manage this?!" Asajj asked, shocked. In all her years with him she had never heard of this type of plan at all.
"He's mimicking his attack on Dathomir!" she gasped. Savage growled,
"I don't care what he's trying to do, let's just kill them all and leave as quickly as possible!"
They slew threw the dead and slowly made their way away from the base, but for every dead prisoner that was mutilated another one replaced it or it rose up again. Savage clicked his comlink when he had the moment,
"D7! Come to our location and have the guns shooting randomly and rapidly! We've got a few seconds to escape and that's it!"
They fought for a few minutes longer before Savage heard the humming of the engines,
"Asajj quick!"
They both jumped straight up in the air and landed on a wing.
"Move the ship into higher airspace!" Savage shouted into his comlink. The ship flew higher and Savage jumped onto the ramp with Asajj following.
"That was what to expect after the droids." Asajj said.
"Thanks for the observation." Savage replied sarcastically. D7 beeped.
"Yavin 4." Savage told him. The ship lurched around and turned to the planet.
"It looks like we've got a few hours to recover before we face Dooku. I have a feeling this time he'll be there." Savage said, staring out the cockpit windows.
Talon sat in the lovely little garden Kye had set up for her. She was enjoying the peace and even the scarce grass underneath her toes. It was better than the dirt and slightly tickled her feet. She sighed,
"Anything I can get you milady?" Jorax asked. Talon looked up,
"No I'm okay."
Talon had requested that when Jorax was not busy he be the one to take care of her and her requests. She felt they had grown close. She also enjoyed the company of someone else she felt she could trust. She had enjoyed their afternoons together. He had showed her the peaceful part of Dathomir. He even showed her how to fish and determine fruits that grew on the planet. She told him about the stallion she had befriended on her wild night out.
"He was… something different. It was like not being alone." Talon told him.
"How strange. The horses usually stay in herds up in the deserts of Dathomir. I wonder what he was doing out here alone. And it is strange he did not startle when you awoke." Jorax pondered over it. Talon shrugged her shoulders,
"I don't know. But I am glad he was there when he was."
She relaxed and leaned against her chair, taking in the weak sunlight. Jorax watched her and her surroundings,
"Verun…"
"What about that mongrel?" Talon asked, irritated by his very existence.
"He has been… strange. It is like he has been surprised you're still here. He also has been trying to pound it into our heads that you're a creation of evil magics to come destroy the Nightbrothers and take over the planet with Talzin." Jorax told her.
"I am a creation of sacrifice, determination, sweat, and blood. Lots of blood. If I was in fighting shape he would have had his head on a stake and the universe would have me to thank for it." Talon said, her eyes still closed.
"Excuse me for asking, despite Kye telling me, why do you hate him so much?" Jorax asked her, curious.
"I hate him for what he tried to do with me of course. But I hate him more for letting Savage think he could put trust in him. After how Savage took care of him, along with his own brother, this is how he repays him? Savage took him under his wing and Verun tries to corrupt me? It is full of dishonor. A good warrior is always honorable no matter what." Talon explained.
"Ah…" Jorax said.
Talon's eyes snapped open,
"Jorax, help me up. I want to go to Savage's old home."
"Of course."
He helped her off her feet. The circled the orphanage and walked down the street to the empty abandoned home. Talon looked at it. She could feel the memories that use to be there. She pushed aside the ragged curtain door and walked in. She felt the emotions and heard children laughing. She saw an older Nightbrother caring for two little Zabrak boys. She saw a Nightsister, looking in from the door watching her children.
Talon stepped back,
"I think… I think I'm ready to leave…"
Jorax held her arm as he took her back to the orphanage. He left to fetch her some food and brought it back. She ate in silence in the garden. She yawned.
"Ready for a nap milady?" Jorax asked playfully.
"Unfortunately so. Eight months and I'm still not use to taking life easy. Jorax grab my coat. I want to sleep in the sun this afternoon." Talon said, smiling.
Jorax bowed and found her coat inside the building. When he came back she was asleep. He carefully draped the coat over her. He walked back inside and pulled a Nightbrother aside,
"I need you to watch Master Talon. She…. Asked me to fetch something for her. I don't know how long I'll be but…"
The Nightbrother waved a hand,
"No worries."
Jorax walked into the forest from where Talon was sleeping. He intended to find her protector of the night.
The ship landed with a quiet thud on thick grass. Savage stared out the window, looking blankly at the thick vegatation,
"How could he reside on such a peaceful planet?"
Asajj stared too,
"He never mentioned anything about this in his teachings to me."
Savage sighed and turn to Asajj,
"I know this whole mission has been about finding Dooku, but we're at the point where one of us might be walking out of there. If it happens to be that you're the one who walks out, please go to my village on Dathomir and ask for Talon. Tell them what happened and leave the ship to them."
Asajj's face remained like stone,
"I understand."
They exited the ship and snuck around the forest looking for any sign of Dooku. Savage was starting to feel anxious, he didn't want to have to go to another system just to find the tyrant. He had a pit in his stomach and he wasn't sure if it was that Dooku was here or that he wasn't…
They searched for hours. They passed a Republic base and were careful to evade the clones, despite Asajj's numerous hints of wiping them all out.
"If we were still apprentices to Dooku we could, but we don't need the Jedi on our trail." Savage said finally.
"Yes, but it could draw us closer to finding Dooku!" Asajj replied.
"Yes or it could lead to him fleeing again!" Savage snapped.
He stopped,
"Asajj…"
She sensed it too.
They backed up to each other and readied themselves.
"I wondered when we'd be seeing you again."
Darth Maul walked out from the trees, completely calm.
"Brother!" Savage said, shocked.
"What Savage? What? Did you think I just disappeared? That I was just going to forget your betrayal? No. I've been in Count Dooku's services and they have proved useful to me. I've evaded Lord Sidious' death threat, I've made Mandalore even more powerful and ruthless. I've grown more powerful." He cocked an eye at Asajj,
"I see you've picked yourself up a new woman."
Savage growled,
"She's been my partner through the mission I've been assigned."
Maul laughed,
"Of course not Savage. Whatever you say. She seems to be more woman than your other little ladyfriend ever was."
"Yet she detained you in less than 10 seconds if I remember correctly back when you were still my brother." Savage replied, "My dear partner would you like a go at proving yourself to my brother?"
Asajj haughtily laughed,
"He is no real challenge. He's prancing around as if he has the upper hand, but inside he is crying like the little Zabrak boy he is. Even a Nightbrother could best him. I have nothing to prove to him."
Maul smiled,
"It is because we both know you could never beat me."
Savage rolled his eyes,
"What do you want brother?"
"I want to destroy you for your betrayal." Maul snapped.
"Well here I am. What are you waiting for?" Savage taunted him.
Maul hissed and lunged at him. Savage pushed Asajj out of the way and tried to launch an attack against his brother.
"Why cannot you not let it go?! You will always be my brother!" Savage said to Maul.
"Brothers don't abandon one another! They don't betray! You are no true brother!" Maul shouted.
Savage swished his saber trying to get a good hit on his brother to slow him down a bit.
"We are brothers by blood and spirit! You are an Opress Nightbrother! Our name and memory will be forever remembered in history!" Savage shouted back.
Maul stayed silent and continued to attack Savage.
Savage pressed on as well and it was obvious the battle was at a stalemate now. It was a test of endurance.
Asajj watched on. She was impressed to see the two Nightbrothers battle between each other when the last time she had seen them together they would've died for each other. She was confused as to what had happened between them. Savage had his saber locked with Maul's, he pushed against Maul, but Maul kicked his brother in the abdomen and sent him flying a few feet. In the next moment Savage found himself staring at Maul's red-rimmed eyes.
"Brother what is this really about?" he asked desperately trying to reach somewhere within his brother for mercy and forgiveness. Maul just growled and was about to bring the killing blow onto Savage's head. Savage squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting death, but it never came. He opened his eyes and saw Asajj holding Maul in a Force choke.
"I see why your so obsessed with keeping Savage with you." Asajj said.
"You know nothing witch!" Maul yelped.
"You don't see it do you? You're so obsessed with yourself that you never even thought to look outside yourself! Here's your brother reaching out to you and risking his life to try to reach for the man he use to know." Asajj shot back to him. She let Maul go and armed herself.
Maul spit and looked at her with hatred,
"You don't know who I am!"
"I never said I did. You were abandoned by your master all those years ago and now your afraid of losing the one person who can stand you! You know as well as I do the Separatists show no emotion. I had a better life with the Nightsisters before they were annihilated." Asajj said as calmly as she could. Maul lunged at her next and tried to slash at her abdomen, but Asajj was quicker and nimble. Savage rose from the ground and watched them. Asajj had a fire in her eyes, taunting his brother.
"Your such a child… thinking the galaxy revolves around you. Thinking there's never going to be people who leave in life." She taunted.
Maul growled and furthered his assault on her, but she still out maneuvering his attacks. She slashed his arm and twirled in a flurry of red. Maul jumped and slashed his saber towards her and barely grazed her armor.
"Realize that no matter what someone is going to be there for you. Get the hell over yourself and realize how lucky you are!" she screamed at him. Maul roared and kept attacking her. Savage ignited his blade readied himself to jump in. Asajj was blocking attacks in a flurry. Savage started to attack his brother from behind, but surprisingly Maul was able to battle them both at the same time.
Maul threw his hands out and held them both in a Force Choke, his arms shaking with the rage within himself.
"You are both traitors! You!", he threw a look at Asajj, "You attacked the Separatists and tried to kill Dooku! But youu, Savage! You're crime is even worse! It goes to blood! You chose someone you barely know over your own blood!"
Maul tightened his grip on Savage's throat, Savage gasped.
Asajj held one hand up to her throat and slowly pushed the other towards Maul, she focused all her energy on him and focused on distracting him. She felt the release of his pressure and weakly landed on her knees. She remained upright and pressed all her Force energy and held the cyborg Nightbrother in the air and smashed him onto the ground and into the trees. She kept repeating the movements until she fell to the ground. Asajj collapsed and barely lifted her head to look around for Savage. She saw him passed out on the ground. She weakly crawled to him and flicked a finger to his forehead, she chanted a Nightsister spell she had learned. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt his life pulse slightly radiate. She stayed near him and looked around for Maul. He was nowhere in sight.
"Rat bastard!" she hissed.
She felt Savage's arm move, Asajj glanced down,
"Thank the galaxies!"
When he had pulled himself upright she pulled his head down and pressed his forehead against hers. Savage jerked away,
"Asajj… I can't."
She looked hurt,
"Fine. Go. I'll meet you at the ship." She got up and limped away.
Savage sat there, confused and puzzled. 'What had just happened?' he thought, 'I can't think about that right now'.
He pulled his thoughts together and pushed himself off the ground. He searched through the Dark side for any dark healings he could find. He felt a small sliver of it penetrate his body and heal his internal wounds slightly. Savage trekked into the forest.
Talon awoke and felt a hand on her shoulder. She slapped it away, fearing it was Verun. Jorax held his hands up,
"It is only me milady."
She bowed her head slightly,
"Oh Jorax. I'm sorry. I've been… off, cautious about who's touching me."
"Understandable. I have a surprise waiting for you just outside your garden." Jorax held a hand out.
Talon smiled slightly and nodded. She wrapped her fur coat around her tighter and followed him. She soon saw the befriended horse from her night lost in the woods.
"Hello old friend." She said softly. She reached a hand out and was delighted when the horse stretched it's neck out to nuzzle it.
"How'd you find him?!" Talon asked excitedly, her eyes brimming with tears.
"He was not that hard to find. I guess there's no food in the deserts right now. His entire herd was sitting in a clearing. I just picked him out. I think he knew I was looking for him." Jorax told her.
"Why were you looking for him?" Talon asked. She had an arm wrapped over the horse's neck.
"I thought you needed a friend and a reason to remember why maybe spending the night out in the wildness was not all such a bad experience." Jorax replied shyly.
Talon turned from burying her face in his long mane and looked Jorax in the eye,
"Well thank you."
Jorax bowed. Talon spent a few minutes coddling the animal and murmuring things to it. She closed her eyes and looked into the horse's mind, she could see all the journeys it had made and all the nurturing it had given to babies and mates. She saw how it had felt her pain and sadness the night she had been lost.
"I think I shall you Nomad, after how wise you are and all your travels." She told the horse. Nomad raised his head and shook his mane, seemly delighted with having been given a name. He raised his head even higher and pricked his eyes forward. They heard a distant whinny. Nomad trumpeted a reply and flew into the darkness, his tail high in the air.
"Thank you Jorax for finding him, even if it was brief. It meant a lot to be reminded of how even in my delirious state, that I did have something to be thankful for." Talon said softly. Jorax looked at her and cocked a smile. They made their way back to the village.
"I think I should like to go to a hot spring." Talon said.
"As you wish." Jorax replied. He led her to the one Viscus had designated as her personal one, only for her use and left her there.
Talon undressed and sank into the welcoming waters. Her baby kicked at the temperature change.
"Oh you'll be fine little one!" she told it, half laughing. Her baby had been quite the little ball of entertainment lately. It had been radiating Force waves, weakly and then strongly, complaining for many things, but mostly it had been complaining for Savage's voice,
"He'll be back for us" she had told it every time. It had also been kicking at its annoyances, which irritated Talon, like it was now.
"Can I not have one moment of peace without you complaining about something! I hope you'll be happier soon." She whined. Almost immediately it stopped kicking and went quiet,
"Thank you."
She sank back in the water and closed her eyes for some deep meditation.
Savage trudged through the long grasses in the forest, following a very faint dark trail. He felt it round a corner and stopped. He took a deep breath and peered his head around. He stared up a tall round building. It had the markings of a Republic based, but it was radiating a dark feel to it. 'Dooku must have captured it. Or it is an old Republic base. Either way I must face Dooku.' Savage thought to himself.
He proceeded forward and was met with a small squadron of battle droids. He smiled as he watched the droids fall to pieces. Savage picked up one of the droid's limbs and held it up to the scanner inside. The doors slide open. He looked up and saw a camera staring at him from above.
"Dooku I know you are watching. Why don't you make this easy and come out so I can destroy you once and for all." He called out. A voice crackled,
"Patience Savage. Did you already forget that part of your training? Our clash will come soon enough."
Savage puffed under his breath,
"Probably powdering his nose… old tyrant."
Savage continued forward, looking for any droids. The base was surprisingly quiet. "Something's out of the ordinary… Dooku wouldn't have left the base this quiet…' Savage thought to himself. He walked forward slowly, feeling for anything. He heard a swoosh and saw a shadow running along the wall behind barrels. He rolled his eyes,
"Maul I know you are there!" he yelled.
"He is here, but he is not who is going to end you!" A raspy voice called. A white skeletal figure dropped out of the dark.
"Grievous…" Savage choked out, "Didn't I destroy you?"
"Not enough. I am eternal." Grievous sneered. He threw all four of his sabers at Savage, who shielded himself from the attack just in time. Grievous twirled around and swung an arm into Savage's chest. He flew back and crashed into a pile of oil drums. Savage shook his head and looked at the drums.
He stood up and wobbled a bit. Almost immediately Grievous was back on him slashing left and right crazily. Savage did his best to hold Grievous back. He lured him towards the oil drums. Savage sliced one open, he cocked a smiled as the oil slid out all over the floor.
"Good bye Grievous!"
Savage slide his saber across the oil and lifted Grievous with the Force over the fire. Grievous in a desperate attempt grabbed a hanging wire, holding onto it. Savage stood there, smiling. He walked away, leaving Grievous hanging.
Savage thought he had passed the test Dooku had surely set up for him. He felt very confident in finding him within the base.
"Don't let your overconfidence fool you brother. You still have me to go through except… you will meet your end!"
Savage looked around,
"Shit…"
"Maul where are you? I'm tired of all these games! Be the warrior you are and show yourself!" Savage shouted.
Suddenly Savage was hit from the back, onto his face. Then he felt his airways clamped shut.
"Finally I can have you to myself! Ruin you the way you have ruined me! I'll end your sanity to where you don't even trust who you are. " Maul screeched.
"What is this brother?!" Savage choked out.
"I figured after how you abandoned me how easy it was for you that you must be the reason why I spent all those years descending into madness!" Maul said.
"Brother! I never knew you even existed until a few weeks before I found you! The only brother I knew was Feral!" Savage tried to reason.
"I bet you abandoned him a few times as well!" Maul screamed.
"Your wrong. I did something even worse to him. I killed him. I watched the lights go out in his eyes, I felt his neck snap. I heard him call my name out. I felt his hands go limp around my wrist. You think you're the worst I've done? Speak to the dead!" Savage croaked out. He expected Maul to let him go. Instead the hold on his throat became stronger.
"So not only did you abandon me, you murdered your family! You deserve to die! You'll probably end up deserting or killing your current means of a family! I'll do the galaxy a big favor and end your existence!" Maul screamed.
Savage felt the world shutting down on him. He felt his hearts shrinking. He thought quickly about how he could get himself out of his brother's grip. He reached his hand down for his lightsaber and threw it at Maul, hoping to hit his attention away from himself.
The saber hit Maul's mechanical leg and severed through it. Maul screamed just like he had when they had been on Florrum together. Savage's eyes welled up a bit at the memory, but he quickly caught his breathe and called his saber. After he kneeled down to Maul and tried to reason with the brother that was trapped within himself,
"Brother… I found you hoping to learn the dark side further from you. Although you have taught me much.. I learned that true power is not from conquering the whole galaxy. I hope you realize this one day and when you do follow your hearts' path to me. Good bye Maul."
Savage limped forward, still catching his breathe, 'I must find Dooku and end this' he thought. He trudged forward looking for any more of Dooku's henchmen or the old tyrant himself.
Talon opened her eyes. She felt her breath become shorter and shorter. She held her throat gasping for air. Suddenly she could breath normally again.
"Savage I hope you're home here soon." She murmured. She was getting anxious with how long he had been gone. Nearly 4-5 months had passed since he'd been gone. 'Well getting near Dooku must be harder than one thought. Although sadly for him he doesn't know the past like I do.' She thought to herself. Talon stood up and stretched her arms out. She rubbed her back a bit,
"Galaxies I can't wait to lose this weight and get back into fighting shape."
Talon took a step out of the water and redressed herself, calling her saber to her hand. She lit it up, staring at it's red glow. She was beginning to miss the sound of it slicing through metal and skin and hearing people scream in fear at her appearance along with the power she wielded. She took a deep breath. She could get back to that one day. She was sure of it, at least with the two Zabrak younglings she had discovered she was fulfilling Krayt's last command.
"When Savage comes back and this baby is born, I'm going to fly to Korriban," she told herself. Talon stroked her lekku and walked up the steps to the village. She wondered what she was going to do for the rest of the day. There wasn't much for her to do here in the village and she couldn't exactly teach the younglings anything besides mind techniques. Even though she couldn't do much she proceeded to the training grounds to watch the boys' practice.
Talon found a comfortable perch to watch the training proceedings. She looked around for the teacher of the day, hoping maybe it was Kye. To her dismay it was Verun, who normally led the teachings, being one of the tribal leaders it made him and the other leaders the most suitable candidates for the teachings of new warriors. Talon watched him demonstrate maneuvers and hand to hand combat. Talon scoffed at him, her powers were much more effective than his ever could be.
"Tell me Verun! Is there anything you can teach these boys that I don't already know?" Talon called from her perch.
"Talon! How nice of you to drop by. To answer your question is there any battle where you, a Dark Jedi, doesn't use her weapon? Can you not survive through a battle without the need of using your lightsaber?" Verun shot back.
Talon laughed, she jumped off her perch, despite her being heavily pregnant, and gracefully landed a few yards from him. She ducked her face and chewed her finger,
"Let's get a few things straight my dear friend. I am NOT a Dark Jedi. No, I am far more powerful than that. I am a Sith. And actually yes a Sith can win a battle without the use of their weapons. All the great Lords win battles and take over that way. I could lead this class better than you ever could."
Verun stared at her with a straight face,
"You think you're so high because you've been granted the privilege of staying here? You think that because you're carrying the child of one of our greatest warriors that your better than I?"
Talon laughed,
"I don't need your tribe's permission to reside here. I could stay here if I wanted without your village even knowing. I think highly of myself because of who I've become and all the abilities I've been able to achieve alone."
She turned and left without saying another word. She couldn't stand to be in his presence any more. He infuriated her to the point where she wanted to kill him on the spot. 'No I'll wait when Savage gets back.'
Savage had wandered through the base for a few hours or more, but he had to keep telling himself that he was going to find Dooku to end his mission. He somewhat missed Asajj's company. As much as he hated to admit it he missed the fact of having someone covering his back. 'I'm more than capable of defending myself!' he shouted to himself in his mind. But he had found it comforting to know she was there.
"Doubting yourself already?" a voice called.
"Dooku… I was doubting I'd ever find you!" Savage haughtily laughed back.
"Ah have you finally come to kill me?" Dooku inquired from the shadows.
"How pathetic. You're so afraid of people always coming to get you that that's the first question you ask them. You truly are the definition of pathetic." Savage retorted, "Now be the Sith Lord you are and face me! You're wasting my patience!"
A zap of Force lightning came from a direction in the shadows. Instinctively Savage held his lightsaber to the glow, watching it disappear into the energy.
"Ah you're training has grown a bit." Dooku said, calmly walking from his hiding spot.
"So you've finally grown the confidence to show yourself in my presence. Excellent!" Savage said. He threw himself at Dooku, but the Lord was quicker and jumped out of the way.
"But not much. You are still too impatient and naïve." Dooku scoffed. He held his lightsaber up and prepared to battle Savage. Savage lunged at him again and pinned both ends of his saber against Dooku's one. Savage pressed down with his brute strength, but felt a push ripple across his chest as Dooku Force pushed him away. Savage raised his hand, trying to grab the tyrant in a choke hold, but Dooku zapped him again.
"I…have a….message…" Savage squeaked out.
"From who? Have you allied yourself with the Republic?" Dooku asked.
"Talzin! She's not done with you!" Savage creaked.
Dooku considered this for a moment,
"Lies!"
Dooku tightened his grip on Savage and watched as the warrior passed out. Savage fell to the ground in a large crumpled heap. Dooku contacted his general,
"Grievous. Get yourself out of whatever predicament Opress has left you in. I need you to come collect his body."
"Yes my lord."
A few hours later Savage woke up with Grievous staring in at him from outside his cell. Savage rubbed his head,
"Damn… Didn't I kill you?"
"Not hard enough Zabrak scum!" Grievous growled,
"Although I may get the chance to enjoy your death at my hands!"
"More like claws, droid."
Savage jumped back from the blue glow of the lightsaber that was pushed through the bars.
"I AM NOT A DROID."
"Grievous. Take your leave." Dooku said from the entrance of the prison area, "You have done your part."
Grievous left. Dooku walked up to the bars,
"You have not grown as much as I had thought, it was still very easy to defeat you. Luckily for you I will personally be overseeing your training and using you as a super soldier when I need you."
"It seems all anyone wants with me is to be a soldier for this or that. Too bad I'm not made that way." Savage said, hotly.
"Oh but you are. I am the one who ordered your creation. Actually your bloodline was offered to me like the gift that no one except mad people want." Dooku said.
"Says something about you." Savage retorted. Dooku smiled slightly,
"Good bye Savage."
As he left Savage waited for the click of a door. He heard it. He look around for any means of escape. Dooku had left his lightsaber on him, which was good. Savage tried to slice through the bars, but they were energy beams and would not be destroyed easily without a bomb. 'Damn. Think Savage.' He looked around. He stared at the wall. Savage closed his eyes and held his hands up the back wall, willing them to fall apart to small pieces. He heard the cracking of the stone, but kept his eyes shut. He pushed. The stone wall fell to the ground in pieces. Savage flashed a quick smile. He dove out of the cell and ran down corridors looking for anything directing to the outside. He tapped his comlink,
"Asajj!"