1100 hours (Onderonian Insurgency plus 10 days, five hours)
Japrael system, planet Onderon/
Unifar Temple
Merolomi stood in the middle of a line of King Rash's biggest enemies. They were all shackled, but the King's forces had gone all out with her. Bound at the wrists and ankles, special gloves kept her hands balled in fists, and a restrictive helmet kept her mouth shut and eyes blind. They'd even stuck a neural band on her head to try and keep her docile. Apparently, no one ever told them just how the Force worked, or that it took more than their crude setup to really subdue a Sith.
Still, even if she did manage to break loose of all the bonds, she'd never be able to get past the legions of droids, Onderonian military, and Onderonian citizenry that had amassed in the square in front of the Temple. There was something else here, too, something far more lethal than the droids. A dark presence, one she'd never felt before. It was a man, that much she knew, full of hate and beyond arrogant. He was incredibly powerful, to boot.
There were only two people that she knew of who could have fit what she was feeling. The first, and least likely, was the true master behind Separatist movement. The other, and far more likely, was Count Dooku. She vaguely recalled over hearing that it was Dooku who had taken her master's arm, and her master could kill her without breaking a sweat. That meant that they were in real trouble.
A strong, metal, hand grasped her shoulder, and pushed her forward. An electric shock to the lower spine dropper her to her knees, about the same time King Rash was talking about insuring the security of the people of Onderon.
"Ready weapons!" The King shouted. There was a buzzing sound to her left and right, but she wasn't entirely sure from what. "Any last words?" The King asked condescendingly. Suddenly, an experienced and cultured voice cried out in pain. She could smell burning flesh and fabric. So, it was Dooku, after all. Irrelevant in her current state, but at least she had a definitive answer now.
Screaming, and a loud crash quickly followed. A tremor shook through the Force, which could only mean another Force user was here, and had done something especially showy.
"You took my arm, Dooku, and now I've taken yours!"
The Emperor! Merolomi thought. In that moment, his voice was sweeter and more melodious then any symphony ever composed. If he was here, then that meant two things; first, she'd soon be free and would be able to take her revenge. Second, Setress wasn't going to be far behind. Through the Force, she could feel an injured Dooku retreating from the scene. That certainly boded well for her.
"Emperor Kre," King Rash said in the snidest voice she'd ever heard, "how lovely of you to join the festivities."
"Let my people go, Rash, or suffer My wrath." The Emperor responded. King Rash scoffed at the statement.
"Oh, yes, I see you're very serious. Still, I'm the one holding all the cards here. Surrender, or your apprentice, King Dendup, and the insurgency leadership all die." Merolomi could hear the droids bringing their weapons to bear, as she was pushed forward. "I have the support of the people, and legions of droids at my command, you can't possibly win."
There was a thundering sound, another shock in the Force, and a lot of screaming coming from the square.
"See how your people scatter, Rash?" There was a spike of anxiety from the King, but he quickly mellowed.
"Your tricks might have frightened the people, but these droids do not feel fear. Unfortunately for them." Merolomi assumed the King was talking about her and the other prisoners they had in the square for public execution. "End it." The King ordered. The unmistakable sound of a lightsaber went flying over her head, followed by the clinking and clanking of several droids now little more than scrap falling to the earth.
The other droids jumped into action. Which is, of course, to say that the lumbering constructs awkwardly lumbered onto the field with their weapons at the ready.
"Stop!" The King suddenly yelled. Heavy boots trundled over to her. She was lifted to her feet, and the restricting mask, gauntlets, shackles, and neural band were removed.
"Thank you, master." She said.
"Are you alright?" Her master asked.
"Nothing I can't handle." She stated calmly. "Not all of the others were as lucky." Merolomi took in the scene around her. King Rash was being held at bay by Setress, who's crossed blades could scissor off his head in a fraction of a second. A trail of blood led back into Unifar Temple, and several bodies were piled around in a circle around a section of ruined stone in the square.
"Then I trust you're ready to get back in it?" The Emperor asked.
"Yes, my lord. I just need to get my weapon back, then I'll tear these Onderonians to pieces."
"King Rash, if you like the idea of keeping your head attached to your shoulders, I suggest you bring out the rest of my men, the insurgents, and their equipment." Emperor Kre told the frightened soverign.
"There will thousands of droids here any minute," King Rash said. "You don't stand a chance."
"I'm afraid not, your highness." An old man in a clean military uniform said.
"General Tandin, what are you doing?" King Rash hissed.
"Remembering who I am. The droid army is waiting for an order that will never come, not while the Royal Onderonian Milita controls communications. Your men and gear will be out in short order, Emperor Kre."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Kre asked.
"General Tandin, your highness. I'm the leader of the Onderonian militia."
"You should have told them about your plan." Emperor Kre said, motioning to the dead militia soldiers in Yolahn square.
"An unfortunately necessary sacrifice." General Tandin square. "And one we don't have the time to properly mourn, honor, or respect. We need to get everyone geared up, and get out of the city."
"I thought you said we had time?" Saw asked. In their brief time they'd been in captivity, Merolomi had gotten to know the brash and fiery soldier fairly well. She admired his passion and drive, and he wasn't exactly hard on the eyes.
"Eventually, Dooku will break through the block, and all hell will come down upon us." Emperor Kre said.
"Good, bring 'em on, I say." Saw said with his characteristic bravado.
"Don't be stupid," Steela said. "If the droids move on this city, they're going to come down on us in massive numbers. We'll be caught completely in the open, and be over run in a matter of minutes."
"That's going to happen, regardless," this came from Kre. Merolomi had studied a bit of his personal history when she'd had the time. By all accounts, he was the most experienced warrior, general, and strategist on this planet. Probably in the whole galaxy, having been born and raised in conflict and battlefields, and being a part of some of the old Empire's biggest conflicts and campaigns. Part of her wondered if maybe that wasn't fate, putting him in the right place, at the right time, so he could bring that experience here.
If it was, then fate was certainly a fickle bitch.
"Why's that?" Saw asked.
"Because Dooku is going to be very angry." Merolomi said, finally contributing. "He's going to want revenge. He's probably working on something now. Honestly, I'm shocked he isn't down here trying to tear us apart."
"I think I know why," Kre said, waving a severed arm above his head. "He was shocked and confused by what happened, he just retreated to gather his strength, and figure out what happened. He's not going to be out of the game long."
"My lord? I didn't think we'd see you again." A clean-cut human, with a high and tight hair cut, said.
"Staff sergeant," Emperor Kre said with a nod. "Are you the highest-ranking officer?"
"Yes, my lord. Captain Elrought was killed during the surprise attack."
"Get everyone capable of holding their rifle geared up, Staff sergeant, I want us out of this city in the next twenty minutes. We'll have to keep the wounded here in the city, we won't be able to make the time we need if we have to carry them."
"But, my lord we can't just-" The Emperor shot the Marine a stern glare, silencing him. "Very well, my lord."
"Let's get ready to move out!" Emperor Kre shouted.
"What makes you think you're in charge?" Steela asked.
"I'm the only one that can kill Dooku." Kre said, handing Merolomi her armor and lightsaber.
"What do we do with him, master?" Setress asked. Merolomi quickly elbowed her in the gut. "I mean, my lord." Setress quickly corrected.
"Hm? Oh, um- kill him, I suppose. He's of no use to anyone anymore."
"What?" Steela and Lux said simultaneously. "You can't just execute him!" Steela protested.
"Ahsoka, you aren't seriously considering this?" Lux asked. "You're not an executioner." Setress cast a desperate glance at their master.
"You're right, I suppose it is a bit unfair," Kre held his cybernetic arm out, quickly jerking it back. King Rash was pulled forward, impaled on a shimmering silver blade. "To ask her to do it, that is." In a flash, Emperor Kre spun, and decapitated the King.
"You had no right to do that," King Dendup said, opening his mouth for the first time. "He was the sovereign ruler of Onderon. Only the Onderonian people had the right to determine his fate." Kre laughed at the old man.
"Oh please, Rash was never the true ruler of Onderon, Dooku held that title. He's been pulling the strings from day one. This system just happens to find its personal conflict embroiled in a much bigger, much older, much more devastating war. King Rash was a pawn, and I just took him out. Argue about rights and sovereignty all you want, old man, but it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of it all."
"The people of Onderon have blessed the rule of their sovereigns for thousands of years!" The dethroned king argued.
"And do you know who the first was? Freedon Nadd, a Sith Lord! He wasn't given the rule of Onderon as a gift from a higher being, he took it! By force!" Kre spat.
"Setress, is the sky getting darker?" Merolomi quietly asked her fellow apprentice.
"Yeah, it is." Setress weakly answered.
"If anything, I am the true sovereign of Onderon!" Kre continued. The sky grew black with thick clouds of tumultuous thunder. "I rule this Empire! I am the high lord of all Sith! ME! Kretok Nameisis!" The Emperor was lifted into the air, his arms out stretched, his eyes crackling with power. Even the lighting in the sky struck towards him, only to be curled around his body.
"All hail the Emperor!" The Imperials shouted. They held their right arms out to him, their palms flat and facing down, some of the Onderonians joined them. A different urging pulled at Setress and Merolomi. The two went down on one knee, their heads bowed.
"Ahsoka?" Lux asked, confused and concerned.
"Are you with me, or against me?!" The Emperor called out to the Onderonians.
"We're with you, Emperor!" Saw shouted, without waiting for consent from the rest. Merolomi felt a sense of relief, the Empire would benefit greatly from someone with such much drive and passion. "Right?"
"We don't have much of a choice." His sister bitterly consented. The storm abruptly ended, and the Emperor fell to the earth.
"Good. Then you'd do well to do what I say, and get ready to move out! Merolomi, Ahsoka, there are things we need to attend to to prepare for the next part of the plan." The two apprentices quickly flanked him, and moved away from the eyes of others. What no one saw was that they'd moved to support and carry him. The lighting storm was great for show and bluster, and he might even have been able to take one or two people out, but it taxed him greatly to bend the laws of nature so drastically.
They carried him into an alley, and sat him down.
"Are you alright, master?" Merolomi asked.
"I am in a great deal of pain." He said, rocking in a circle. He threw up right in front of Setress, almost covering her boots in sick. "Sorry." He said.
"No problem." Setress said dismissively.
"Word of advice; while forced thunderstorms make for an impressively showy display, they take everything out of you, and hurt like hell." Their master groaned.
"Fun, though." Merolomi said. "Can you stand? We can't afford to delay much longer."
"Yeah, let's go."
2000 hours (Onderonian Insurgency plus 10 days, 14 hours)
Japrael system, planet Onderon/
Jungle Insurgency Camp
Setress stretched and yawned on the cot in her tent. The insurgents had been all to happy to give her one that could hold two, without so much as a second glance. Presumably, they assumed it was to accommodate her continuously advancing...condition. No one seemed to even remotely interested in the fact that Kre had been going in and out of the tent constantly. All the better for her, it meant she could be lazy and let him do all the leg work.
She'd already made her report to the Jedi, omitting a few details like the insurgents having been captured, or the full extent of Kre's involvement. Now, if Kre and Steela could only quit arguing, she might actually be able to get some rest.
"One day is too soon!" Steela shouted.
"And any more then that drastically increases our chances of getting caught with our pants down out here!" Kre shouted back. Setress rolled her eyes, this back and forth had been going on for hours now, with no end in sight.
"If we go in there without having taken the time to prepare, we'll get slaughtered!"
"You had plenty of time to prepare before, and look where that got you!"
"Whatever, I'm done with this." Setress assumed Steela stormed off, beating Kre in the only way an ordinary human could; by not playing his game.
"We move out in 36 hours!" Kre barked. "We're either going to kill or be killed." Setress heard the flap to her tent flutter back and forth a few seconds later.
"Finally got tired of the shouting match?" Setress asked, assuming it was Kre that had entered.
"Yeah, I did," came Lux's calm voice. "Those two could go at it for another few hours, I bet."
"Oh, Lux, I didn't think it was you." Setress sat up, and looked at her old friend. "What can I do for you?"
"I just came to ask you a couple of questions." Lux said, sitting down next to her.
"Sure."
"I know that you and the Emperor are together, but back at the square, I saw you kneel down with that Merolomi character. Ahsoka, are you a Sith?" Lux asked. Setress smiled at him, and chuckled.
"No, Lux, I'm not a Sith. Still, I'm with Kre, so it's kind of my job to support him."
"What about with the King? You looked like you'd have been more than happy to cut his head off, and you called the Emperor 'master'." Lux was getting to be too observant for his own good.
"I just kind of lost myself in the moment, that's all." Setress said.
"I see. What about this," Lux put his hand on her growing bulge. "Is Kre the father?" Setress shut her eyes, and looked away.
"No, Lux, he isn't." She retreated back down under the blanket of the cot, trying to hide from the galaxy. "I think you should go now, Lux."
"Alright." Lux said. Setress could swear she felt a sense of relief coming from Lux, why she didn't know. What could he possibly care if the child was Kre's or not? He'd already moved on to Steela, so he certainly shouldn't feel invested in her. A dark feeling clung to this, like there was a lot more to this story that needed explaining.
"And what did he want?" Kre asked, stepping into the tent.
"Answers. Answers to worrying questions." Setress responded. "I'm afraid I might have slipped up."
"You think he's starting to catch onto something?" Kre sat next to her, rubbing her shoulder.
"What if he connects the dots, Kre?" Setress asked, twisting to look at him. "I don't think I have it in me to kill him."
"I'm not sure it'll matter much longer." Kre said.
"What do you mean?" Kre placed his biological hand on her stomach.
"How much longer do you really think it'll be safe to have you out in the field, or to leave you in the hands of the Jedi? I'm not sure what we're going to do, but sooner or later, you're going to have to come to Dromund Kaas to stay." Kre said.
"What? Are you being serious?" Setress asked, shocked and excited.
"Very much so. This little game has gone on long enough, and we don't really have anything to show for it. Maybe it's time we stopped hiding, and just embraced this."
"Aren't you worried about what the Jedi or the Republic might do? I mean, I doubt they're going to believe that this is a new thing." She put her hand over his cybernetic one, resting on her stomach. How he managed to keep it warm was a mystery to her, one she'd like to learn for her leg.
"I don't, either. Still, there's really nothing they can do. Even if they did investigate, you haven't done anything for them to discover. Aside from lying to them a few times."
"True enough." Setress said, glancing behind him. "So, am I going to have to spend another night alone?"
"Oh, I suppose I can spare a few hours." Kre got up, and walked over to button down the tent flap. That was when time slowed down for Setress. She never even heard the shot.
2000 hours (Onderonian Insurgency plus 10 days, 14 hours)
Japrael system, planet Onderon/
Jungle Insurgency Camp
Lancer was set up about a half kilometer outside of the insurgent's camp. He and his spotter had been following the insurgents since they're break from the city. When they'd finally come to a stop, he and his spotter spent several more hours watching their movements, especially the Emperor's actions. The plan was taking a lot longer then they'd originally planned for, but the Emperor had finally left himself open.
"Distance to target: .458K. Wind speed: minimal. No adjustment needed." His spotter, Redtail, said. His clone brother had his face glued to the high powered mono-scope with the best weather detection soft ware suite the Republic had. Lancer leveled his rifle, looking down it's multi-function scope. He'd only have one shot, so it had to be perfect.
Lancer sighted in on the Emperor's IR signature, tracking it until he came to a stop. Lancer took a deep breath, and stroked the trigger. The Emperor dropped.
"Clean kill." Redtail said.
"Right, let's get out of here." Lancer slung the rifle over his back, and made his way back into the jungle.
2000 hours (Onderonian Insurgency plus 10 days, 14 hours)
Japrael system, planet Onderon/
Jungle Insurgency Camp
"No!" Setress yelled. Everything was moving in slow motion. She'd watched the Emperor, her friend and lover, fall to the floor, smoke rising from his chest. She ran over to him, confused and frightened by what had happened. Kre was gasping for air, his eyes bulging in pain. "Help!" She cried. It had only been seconds, but if felt like hours.
"What do I do? What do I do?" Setress asked, panicking. Kre grabbed her hands, and pushed them on the wound. She started to pump as he stopped breathing. Several insurgents ran into the tent, crowding around her.
"We need a medic!" One of them shouted. "The Emperor has been hit!" Yelled another. Merolomi pushed them all aside, an Imperial medic team coming in behind her.
"I need a respirator and an intubation tube, now!" The leader shouted. His subordinate handed him the items. In a flash, the medic had the tube down the Emperor's throat, and hooked up to the portable respirator. "Give me his vitals and bp."
"Blood pressure and heart rate spiking, he's about to go into cardiac arrest." The other said.
"Do we have the defibrillator?" The leader asked.
"Negative."
"Damn. Alright, one of you two Sith needs to be ready with a quick jolt when we say two, copy?" The leader said, looking between Setress and Merolomi.
"Ahsoka, what does he mean 'you two Sith'?" Lux asked.
"Not now!" She snapped. "Alright, tell me when."
"3...2...1...clear!" The medics stepped back. Setress put her hands over her heart, and gave him a powerful jolt. "Damn. 3...2...1...clear!" She did it again, again nothing. "Come one you son of a bitch, you aren't leaving us stranded here. 3...2...1...clear!" A third blast brought the Emperor up coughing and wheezing. The younger of the two medics started pushing everyone back, even dragging Setress away.
"Bollocks that hurt." Kre wheezed. "Did anyone get a bead on the shot?"
"No, my lord. Just a general guess." Merolomi said.
"Whoever it was, they weren't Separatists." Kre said, shakily rising to his feet.
"How can you be sure?" Lux asked.
"Separatists don't use living assassin's, and droids don't make those kinds of shots. A droid would have hit dead-center mass." Kre leaned against the larger of his two apprentices, pulling the tube out of his throat.
"Wait, you could sense the assassins?" Setress asked, suddenly very angry. "Then why the hell didn't you move?!"
"I could have, but then it would have hit you." Kre said, very calmly, while the medics cleaned and dressed the wound. "I knew that I had a better chance of surviving then you did. It was a risk I was willing to take, and I would do it again." Setress' heart skipped a beat.
"That's all fine and good, but what did that medic mean by two Sith, and why did he look at Ahsoka when he said it?" Lux said, stepping towards the Emperor.
"Ahsoka has been spending a lot of time on Dromund Kaas, and has learned a few things from us. It's only natural to think that the corporal assumed she was an apprentice." Kre said, with a dismissive shrug.
"Right." Steela said, assuming control of the situation. "Let's double the patrols around the camp, just to be safe. We move out in forty-eight hours."
"Thirty-six." Kre tried to correct her.
"No one takes a shot like that and just walks it off. If you were anyone else, it probably would have killed you. Forty-eight." Steela turned, and walked out of the tent.
"I'll take six." Kre quietly said to Setress, after everyone had left.
"What? Of Steela?" She asked. Kre nodded. "Why?"
"The Empire could benefit greatly from someone with that kind of inner strength and determination. Shame I'll probably have to kill her."
"I'm sorry, what?" Setress said, her jaw dropping.
"Hm? Oh, yes. She's far too great of a risk to leave around. Besides, whoever just took a shot at me wasn't a Separatists, and was too skilled to be an outraged citizen. that means that we've been betrayed." Kre buttoned the flap up, and laid down in the bed. "No matter which way you slice it, these insurgents are involved, and I doubt it's any of the grunts."
"You have got to be in a lot of pain." Setress said, helping Kre over to the cot.
"Pain is just another teacher. I'll be fine," Kre grunted as he sat down on the less-then-comfortable cot. "Really."
"Yeah, well, just take it easy for awhile; just to be sure." Setress walked over to her side, and clumsily climbed in beside him.
"Something's got you confused." Kre pointed out. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not sure. It's something to do with Lux; he asked me if you were the father of the child. When I told him no, he seemed...relieved." Setress laid down, her mind wrapped up in the conversation she'd had with Lux.
"Well, I don't think it's any secret that he doesn't like me. I did try to kill him, remember? And that was after I threw him in a cell." Kre said, all to ready to dismiss the whole thing.
"That's what I would have thought, too. My feelings tell me there's more to it, though." Setress looked over at her injured master, feeling a similar anomaly. "What are you thinking?" She asked.
"I'm thinking my list of suspects keeps getting longer."
2100 hours (Onderonian Insurgecny plus ten days, fifteen hours)
Japrael system, planet Onderon
Insurgent Command Tent.
"The clones failed." Steela said. The hooded figure in the hologram rubbed his chin. "We aren't going to get a second chance like that again."
"No, we won't," the figure said. Whoever he was, he used a voice modulator to alter his actual voice, kept his hood pulled low, and an image manipulator to distort the parts of his face that did show. "However, we may be presented with a better one. In the heat of battle, the Emperor's defenses will be raised, but he'll be focused on the near and immediate. A sniper will have a much better chance of landing a killing blow. If he fails, one of the other members of Raptor Team should be able to quietly sneak in amidst the chaos, and deliver the final blow."
"This all feels wrong," Lux said. The idealistic rebel sat in a darkened corner, trying to stay as detached from the situation as possible. "This isn't who we are; assassins and murderers. This certainly isn't any of you are supposed to be." He gestured to the hooded figure. "What's happened to us? Where did it all go wrong."
"Lux, I know how you feel, but this is a terrible thing we have to do." Steela said, trying to reassure her lover.
"She's right, Bonteri. I don't like it anymore then you do, but we cannot allow the Emperor's plans to progress any further. If he and his Sith continue to grow, then this conflict will pale before the coming fire. Better we commit one murder now, to save billions, then to simply stand aside in the name of honor."
"Besides," Steela continued, with a spark of positivity, "this is for the good of Onderon. You saw the Emperor back at the execution. If he isn't stopped now, the Separatists will merely be replaced with the Empire. If Onderon is to ever maintain it's freedom, we have to stand against him."
"Yeah, you've said that a few times." Lux groaned. "Doesn't make me feel any better. I mean, he's important to a lot of people, including Ahsoka, and he's the last of his species. Shouldn't we at least try to find another option?"
"The Purebloods know only war. They were born into conflict, taught about battle and war from day one, and sustained by rage. There have been very few examples of any change within them; and the Emperor has proven himself to be no different. He's the typical Sith, and will never stop until he's killed." The figure said.
"Doesn't mean we shouldn't try." Lux whispered, retreating back into the darkness.
"I'll order Raptor Team to prepare a second strike." The figure's hologram disappeared, returning the tent to darkness.
"Lux," Steela said, walking over to him. "I know you have doubts, but you have to be more realistic about this. There simply isn't any other way."
"How do we know that? We haven't even tried to look for one! He was willing to die for Ahsoka, and came back for all of us. That alone should tell you that he's not some blood-crazed beast!"
"No, Lux, he isn't. He's a conqueror, and Onderon is next on his list. We both want Onderon to be free, to choose which side to join, to be spared from occupying forces, and from losing our identity. The Empire would change all of that. Instead of droids; it'd be Imperial soldiers. Instead of being able to chose; the decision would be made for us. Instead of being Onderonians; we'd be Imperials."
"This still feels wrong."
"I know, Lux." Steela wrapped her arms around the down trodden young man. "I wish it didn't have to be this way, but it does. If we don't act, then everything we've sacrificed for will be in vain. The King is with us on this, too. No one likes it, but it had to be done." Neither of them saw the third figure in the room. Cloaked in black, and trained in stealth, listening and absorbing everything she heard. Silent as the night, she snuck out of the tent, and quickly bounded through the camp to her master.
"Master, I have important news," she said as she removed her mask. "The insurgents have betrayed you, and they plan to take you down for good during the battle. The assassins were clones, and they are working with someone who, apparently, has some serious influence with the GAR."
"It is as I thought, then. Still, we can't reveal our hand too soon. We need to find out how deep this betrayal goes." Her master said. "We need to find out who all is involved."
"Steela and Bonteri for certain, though it looks like Bonteri isn't a very willing participant. The King is involved, too." The agent said.
"Well, that's about what I expected. I'm a bit shocked that the King is involved, what with him only just being freed. Still, I suppose duplicity is something of a fast-acting virus." Her master said. "Good job in bringing this to me, Merolomi."
"What should we do in the mean time, master?" Merolomi asked.
"We watch, we wait, and we plan. In two days, Dooku's head will join Rash's in decorating my throne, and the Jedi will see that they already lost a war that hasn't even begun."
"A slaughter is coming, isn't it, master?"
"Yes, apprentice, it is indeed. Let's just make sure that it's them, and not us." Emperor Kre said with a smirk.
"When we've routed the Separatists here, what do you plan to do with the insurgents?"
"There are only two options; those that know what's best will remain with, and be inducted into, the Empire. Those that stick with Steela, and have been a part of her plan, will learn that their actions have a price."
"What about the Jedi and the Republic, master?" Setress asked, stirring from her sleep.
"I don't know, yet. We need to find out who all is involved, first; just assuming the entirety of the Republic and the Order is involved would be incredibly stupid, and suicidal. Now, I don't think I'm stupid, and I tried to kill myself once already." Kre said.
"Wait, what?" Setress asked. The Emperor looked like a nuna caught in a speeder's head lamps.
"Uh, nothing. I was just muttering to myself, go back to bed."
"This sounds like a personal conversation," Merolomi said, slowly backing out of the tent. "I'll just leave you two to it, and go and do something else." She quickly dashed out, and ran straight into Saw.
"Whoa, easy there," he said. "You alright?"
"I'm fine." She took a step back, and examined the human. It was Merolomi's hope that she could use the Force to determine if he was one of the conspirators. She couldn't feel anything, but that didn't mean that he wasn't with them.
"What?" Saw asked. "Do I have something on my face?"
"Yeah, here." Merolomi ran her hand over her whole face, earning a chuckle from Saw.
"Very funny," he droned. "Is the Emperor in his tent?"
"Yeah, but I wouldn't go in there if I were you. I get the feeling him and Setress are having a pretty heavy talk, and they probably don't want to be disturbed."
"Oh, I see." He looked disappointed.
"Don't look so down," she grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him towards her. "I'm sure you and I can find a way to pass the time, or at least the night."
"Uh, I'm not really- what are you- um...I'm confused." Saw stammered.
"By the Force, you are thick. Just come with me." She drug him through the camp, and into her tent. "Lose the shirt."
"What are you talking about?" Merolomi grabbed hold of his shirt, and ripped it off. "I'm still confused." She pushed him down onto her cot, climbing on top of him.
"Starting to catch on yet? Oh! I think you're definitely catching on." She started to grind against him, trying not to laugh as his face turned completely red. "I take it you don't have a lot of experience with sex?"
"N-no." Saw started to shift and fidget. Merolomi clamped down on his waist with her legs.
"Easy there, stud. Don't waste your energy before the fun's even started."
"C-can I touch you?" Saw asked. Merolomi pulled her robe off, laughing as Saw's face turned redder then anything she'd ever seen, and his eyes bulged out.
"You're going to be inside me, I think it'd be alright if you touched me." He hesitantly grabbed her breasts, more like a fourteen year old seeing them for the first time then a battle-hardened insurgent. "This is going to be interesting."
2105 hours
"So, run this by me again, you tried to kill yourself?" Setress asked. "When was this?"
"A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." Kre said, trying his best to force an end to the conversation. "You should really go back to bed."
"I find this to be a little more pertinent of an issue, then getting a good night's sleep."
"I don't see why, it happened thousands of years ago. Seriously, can't you just let this one go, we do have more immediate concerns, after all." Kre grabbed his helmet, and popped open the casing. There was nothing wrong with it, he just hoped that looking busy might persuade her to drop the subject.
"No, we really don't. I want to know what could have driven you, of all people, to that point of despair and desperation. I mean, even after I got raped, I never wanted to kill myself. I didn't even want to die. I just can't see you thinking like that."
"Well, technically, it wasn't so much trying to commit suicide, as giving other people the opportunity to do the job for me." kre said.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you familiar with the concept of suicide by cop?" He asked.
"Yes." Setress answered.
"Same idea, except there are no cops. Just a heavily fortified, extremely well-guarded, highly equipped Sith base; which housed a Sith Lord who hated me almost as much as I hated him. Also, I only had a robe and boots on, and was carrying just my lightsaber. I had it in my head that maybe I'd get lucky, kill him, and then I'd die on the way out." Kre buried himself in the wiring and linings of his helmet, not even glancing at Setress.
"Well, that's all fine and dandy," she said. "Except it still doesn't tell me why you ever got to that state."
"No, I suppose not." Kre said dismissively.
"Kre, tell me, please." Setress begged. "I need to know."
"No, you don't. It happened long before you were even born, long before the Russan Reformations, before a lot of things. It's not relevant anymore, that whole universe is long gone."
"Maybe out there, but you're a part of it. It might have happened over three and a half thousand years ago chronologically, but how long has it been for you?" She asked, trying to catch his eyes.
"Long enough."
"Clearly not, not if you're still trying to hide it from me. Kre, whatever it was, you could reach that point again. I need to know so I can help you if you do."
"No."
"I tell you everything, Kre. Please don't shut me out, not when it's important. Not here, not now." She had a hand on his shoulder, trying to be comforting, it wasn't working.
"Drop it." He growled. Kre was starting to get very angry.
"Kre," she said.
His vision started to turn white around the edges.
"Please," she continued.
He started to breather harder.
"I need to know."
He started to shake as his blood pressure sky rocketed.
"Tell me." She whispered. That was the last straw.
"Alright!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, shooting up from his seat. "I did it because I'd just found out my wife had been fucking the guy who cornered me in a shower and raped me, and she'd been doing it for two fucking years! Are you happy now?" He stormed out, nearly bringing the tent down on top of them.
Kre didn't see the fear in Setress eyes, or see her pick up the helmet. The helmet, made out of a beskar alloy, and nearly unbreakable, had been crushed.
"I'm sorry." Setress whispered.
Kre stormed through the camp, passing by a tent filled with screams and moans of pleasure and ecstasy, and into the jungle. It wasn't long before wound in his chest began to ache and burn, and he was hit with a sudden coughing attack. Wheezing and gagging, he slumped down against an ancient-looking tree.
"You've really gone and done it this time, haven't you?" He asked himself. "Couldn't just sit down and have a calm conversation, that'd just be too easy. No, you have to go and get in a fuss, and now look at you." He looked around at his surroundings, and realized he was completely lost. "Don't know where you are, can barely breathe," he took a deep, gasping breath, "and worst of all, you made her cry. Some man you turned out to be, eh?"
"Still beating yourself up?" He heard a voice both familiar, and impossible, ask. "I thought I taught you better than that?" Kre crawled around the tree on his hands and knees, and stared face to face with a ghost.
"M-master," He wheezed. "Come to finish the job you started and failed on Korriban, have you?"
"No," Malgus said. "I came to give you a warning. Though, I can't say I expected to find you like this. Alone, in the jungle, half dead."
"Half alive, thank you very much. Sounds cheerier that way." Kre stumbled to his feet, damned if he was going to let his treacherous master see him stuck on his knees. "What's this warning you wanted to give me?"
"Darkness is coming." Malgus said.
"'Darkness is coming'? What does that mean?" Kre asked.
"Utter and total darkness. A void that consumes voids. A wound in the fabric of the universe itself, spreading and consuming."
"What are you on about? A wound in the universe? How do you wound a universe? It's not even alive, or a quantifiable thing." Kre leaned up against the tree again to support himself.
"And yet, it can be bleed and broken, with simple acts."
"Like what?"
"Like taking something from where it belongs, and throwing it to where it shouldn't be." Malgus said. The long-dead ghost's cryptic messages were starting to annoy Kre.
"Taking something from- what do you mean?" Kre asked, aggravated. Malgus dipped his head, raised his brows, and looked right at Kre. "What, you mean me?" Malgus nodded. "How could I have wounded the universe?"
"You were taken from your time, and cast far into the future. I don't think you were the first, but there were so many life forms on your ship, and you've caused such drastic changes in such a short time. The universe simply can't heal itself. The spot you jumped in from created a tear, and it's spreading. Already, several systems have been consumed, removed from existence in the past, present, and future."
"I haven't noticed anything like that, and I certainly haven't heard of any systems going missing." Kre said.
"No, you wouldn't have, because they were erased from the very fabric to time. When the tear consumed them, they never existed."
"I'm having a hard time believing this story, Malgus."
"The tear first opened at the exact spot your ship came out of hyperspace. Tell me, where was that? What system?" Malgus asked.
"Oh, that's an easy one, it was in the-" Kre stopped, his mouth wide open. Suddenly, he realized, he couldn't remember. Not the coordinates in the nav computer, its location on the star chart, or even the system's name.
"Darkness is coming, apprentice. Do not forget." Malgus' blue image began to fade, and swiftly disappeared. Within seconds, Kre began what his old master had told him.
"No!" Kre shouted. He grabbed a twig, and hurriedly began to scratch everything he could remember in the dirt. After a few minutes, he stood up, and looked around. "Oh, man, I must have been talking to myself." He said. Looking down, he stared at a message that had been scribbled in the dirt. It was mostly illegible, the wind having apparently blown most of it away.
"'Darkness is coming'?" He asked, those being the only three words he could still make out. "Weird, I wonder what that means? Come to think of it, how did I get here?" The memory of his fiery and angry explosion came back to him. "Oh, right." He grumbled. "Stupid me." He started to shuffle back to the camp when he heard, the sound of engines rumbling towards him. Several droid transport ships soared overhead, dropping destroyers and super battle droids in the jungle.
Acting fast, he used the Force to launch the destroyers high into the air before they could activate their shields.
"Target identified; high-priority." One of the heavies said. "Eliminate Emperor Kre." The droids leveled their weapons, preparing to fire.
"Before you do that, I'd like to point out that you have me surrounded-"
"We do not accept your surrender." The droids interrupted.
"Who said I was surrendering?" Kre sneered. "And you should really learn to let people finish speaking." Kre focused on the droids surrounding him, counting seven, easy enough. He focused a small amount of the Force into a single, compact, point. With a whim, he exploded that point out, slamming the droids into trees, into pieces, and into the sky. "Case in point." Several more droid transports flew over him, heading deeper into the jungle, towards the insurgent's camp.
He ran, fast as he could, back to the camp. How long had he been out here for? It had certainly gotten darker, and colder. Not that it ever really got cold enough for his liking in the jungle, but there was a noticeable difference in the night air. He had to guess that it was getting close to midnight on the planet, which meant that most of the camp would likely be asleep; the perfect targets for an ambush.
Chances were good that the droids wouldn't try to land directly on the camp itself, the sound of their engines, and their lights would send the camp into full alert. The safer bet would be to break off, and land in separate parts of the jungle, some distance away. That way, their targets wouldn't be expecting the sudden attack. The sentries would be a little more alert, but more alert for enemies in the sky, not down below on the ground.
This all assumed, of course, that the droids were using strategy, which Kre had yet to see any real evidence of. If, on the off chance, they were though, that meant he had time. It was doubtful they used their lumbering battle droids and destroyers; their commando units could move much quieter through the jungle.
In the distance, he could see the faint lights of the camps fires and dim lamps. He couldn't smell smoke, burning flesh, or hear the sounds of blasters and screams, which was a good sign. It meant that the camp wasn't being shot up- yet. He stopped just on the edge, shrouded by the foliage. Something wasn't right. He could sense the energy coming from the droids, they were very close, but they weren't moving. There was something else, too, something that didn't want to be noticed.
"Dooku." Kre growled. Kre watched, and waited. After fifteen minutes, the droids hadn't acted. Something curious did happen, however. He watched one of the insurgents walk into the jungle, right towards where Dooku was hiding, disappear for a few minutes, then come back safe and unharmed. Even more curious was when he went straight for Steela, and whispered something to her.
The Emperor got the sinking feeling that Steela wasn't going to wait to try and trap him at the battle. She'd brought the battle to him. Reeling at the chance to ambush the ambush, Kre went to activate his com, and remembered that he wasn't wearing his helmet.
"Great," he grumbled. He reached out with the Force, at first to Setress. Thinking better of it, he decided to contact Merolomi instead. She responded immediately, more with instinct then conscious thought. The Imperials, including his two apprentices, had been captured and detained. The insurgents were just putting on a show to lure him in. Clever.
2400 hours
Setress watched from the cage she'd been thrown in as the four insurgents around the camp fire were lifted into the air, their necks snapped, and their bodies dropped. The droids rushed in as the remaining insurgents took arms. A glimmering streak of silver cut through the night, impaling three more Onderonians before being pulled back into the canopy. Branches flew in from every direction, spun around, thrown hither and yawn, creating a great panic, and even knocking a few of the remaining Onderonians on their asses.
The streak of sliver shone through the air again, taking out two droids before withdrawing. She knew there was only one person on the planet who could perform the feats of Force strength that she was witnessing, and that meant that the traitors' ambush was failing.
A single blaster shot rang out amidst the cries of pain and confusion. A single blaster shot that found its mark in the back of a bound Imperial's head.
"That's enough." Steela called out, holding the still smoking weapon. Setress felt a searing anger looking at the woman for what she'd done, and she could feel similar reactions from Merolomi and the other Imperials. Even worse was the hate and rage coming from her hidden master.
"Steela, what have you done?" Lux asked, disbelievingly. "He was an unarmed prisoner."
"I don't have time for ideals right now, Lux." Steela said.
"I have to agree with Bonteri on this one," Saw said, steeping between the two. "What you did was just wrong."
"We don't have time for this!" Steela hissed. "Show yourself, Kre, or I'll execute them all one-by-one. Starting with-" Steela looked at the line of prisoners, settling on Setress. "Her."
"Bad move, girl." A voice from the trees called back. Steel was lifted into the air, clutching at her throat.
"Let her go, Kre!" Lux called out. "We don't want any more bloodshed, just surrender, and we'll let the Imperials, Merolomi, and Ahsoka go."
"Did you know that Sith can use the tried and true Fore Grip on more than the throat?" Kre responded. "Observe." Steela's body started to rock violently back and forth, then her legs and pelvis began to twist. Her face contorted in pain and agony. There was a snap, crack, and pop as her spine shattered. She dropped to the ground, her legs and face facing opposite directions.
"No!" Lux cried. He and Saw both ran over to the injured Steela, panicking about what to do.
"Treachery has a price," Kre said as he stepped from the tree line. "Soon, you will all pay that price."
"No," an older, experienced, voice replied. "This is your end, 'Emperor'." Setress' jaw dropped as Dooku stepped into the light. She started to feel a tangible sense of fear building up in her.
"Ah, Count Dooku, the great pretender. Come to dazzle us with your sleight of hand and your parlor tricks?" Kre mocked.
"I am more Sith than you know, boy!"
"Then prove it; trial by combat, just you and me, winner take all." Kre raised his sword, ready to strike.
"I accept your challenge." Dooku said, raising his own weapon. The two charged at each other. Dooku was refined, poised, aristocratic, and arrogant. Kre was sure, powerful, majestic, and wild. The younger Sith's war sword made for a dazzling and visceral display, as he expertly arced it through the air. Watching it fly and dance in Kre's hands, Setress couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear at what it would feel like to fall victim to the vicious blade. By comparison, Dooku's lightsaber looked and sounded more like a toy.
Still, she wasn't about to let appearances deceive her. At one time, Dooku had been the second most skilled blade master in the Jedi Order, second only to Yoda. His unassuming weapon, and aged appearance, hid the real danger one faced when fighting the Count.
"I can sense great fear in you, boy." Dooku said through gritted teeth and clenched jaw. The two had gotten locked together, pushing against each other to gain the advantage. "You are weak." Dooku slid to the right, causing Kre to stumble forward. The Count tried to end the duel with a blow to the back, but her master was brought his own blade behind him, blocking Dooku's strike.
"You're right, I am afraid. I'm afraid because I have so much to lose than just my life." Kre stabbed straight at Dooku, who barely avoided the blow, earning himself a nasty gash on the abdomen.
"Your empathy and concern for others is what makes you weak. You will never achieve your full potential so long as you let those weaker then you drag you down." Dooku brought his blade down in a crimson arc, too fast for Setress to have been able to react, but Kre caught the blow with his sword, deflecting it to his right. Her master took the advantage, punching Dooku in his exposed gut.
"They may not be as powerful as me, but they aren't weak." Kre tried to grab Dooku, but the old Sith kicked the younger in stomach, pushing himself away. "They give me something to be afraid of losing, and do you know what that means?" He asked, taking a powerful left-ward swing Dooku only barely managed to parry.
"What?" Dooku growled. They'd gotten caught in another lock struggling against each other.
"That means they give me a reason to win!" Electricity arced up Kre's blade, onto Dooku's, and into the old man. Dooku screamed in agony and frustration. "And that's something you'll never have!" Kre brought his blade down on Dooku's shoulder, severing the Count's only remaining arm. Her master followed the move up with a vicious pommel strike to Dooku's face.
The aristocrat's nose was crushed, and several of his teeth went flying from his mouth.
"This can't be!" Dooku cried.
"You're just an angry old man, who's lived far past his time." Kre's blade bit deep into Dooku's chest. He pulled it out, and raised it up. Blood poured from the wound, but Dooku held onto his life. "And you've already cost me far too much." Another blow, this time on the other side. Still, Dooku refused to die. "I'll take your head as a trophy, to show all the galaxy, and I'll decorate the left armrest of my throne with your skull."
A wide, side-sweeping, slash severed Dooku's head from his neck. Dooku's body fell in a bloody lump of mutilated flesh. His head flew for almost two meters, landing with a thud, his eyes wide in pain and terror.
A blaster shot rang out from the jungle, the lull that Kre's and Dooku' duel brought apparently being over. Kre easily twisted, and deflected the bolt. Soon, other shots filled the night sky. They didn't seem to be of any real threat to her master, though, as he spun, twisted, and whirled his blade. The red bolts shot off in every direction, it would have been pretty to watch, where they not now threatening Setress and the Imperials.
Merolomi was the was the first to break free, she quickly and quietly went down the line, freeing the Imperials and Setress.
"Here," Merolomi said. In her hand were Setress' lightsabers. "We've had a long enough break."
"Right." Setress stood up, and activated her lightsabers. Two Onderonians ran right in front of her. "Bad move boys," she said. With two quick slashed, the Onderonians fell.
"Ahsoka?" Lux asked. He held Steela up, looking to Setress with confusion and horror evident on his face.
"You chose your side, Lux. I've chosen mine." Setress jumped at a small group of Onderonians and droids that had two Imperials pinned down behind an overturned desk. She stabbed her blades straight out from her sides, impaling two droids. Spinning in a full circle, she cut down the Onderonians and remaining droid before they could react.
Amidst the chaos of the battle, Setress noticed that not all of the Onderonians were fighting. Some, like Saw, stood back and stayed out of the battle. They were conflicted, not sure where their loyalties lay. With the division amongst the Onderonians, and Emperor Kre lending his strength to the fight, it didn't take long for the Imperial forces to gain the upper hand. The droids were all reduced to rubble, and the resistant Onderonians were subdued after only a few minutes.
The vengeful Imperials were quick to bind their prisoners in their the same restraints the Onderonians had used on them.
"We're not done yet," Kre said. "There are still clones out in the jungle, just waiting to stri-" Several rockets tore through the jungle, blowing up in the center of the camp. The destruction ruined the tents and supplies, but no one seemed to have been injured or killed.
"For the Republic!" A clone yelled. Twelve ARC Troopers charged out of the jungle. Four Marines were shot down before anyone had a chance to react. The Imperials were quick to jump behind cover and return fire.
"Enough of this!" Kre yelled. He called on his strength in the Force to simultaneously Force Choke the clones. Normally, victims of the Force Choke forgot everything in an attempt to pry off the thing choking them. Impossible, since it was done through the Force, but the fear response could be powerful. These clones weren't normal people, though; they were ARC Troopers, and they would accomplish their mission no matter what.
One of them, his armor painted with red, primed a grenade, and used his last bit of life and strength and throw a grenade. The small explosive hit, bounced, and rolled...right into the munitions tent.
"Leg it!" Kre yelled. Most of the survivors got behind cover, and out of the explosion. Setress was too slow. She didn't even see what it was, but she felt it as it cut through her abdomen, pinning her to the ground. "No!"
"Kre, h-help..." Setress stammered. Kre ran over to her, dropping to his knees.
"Setress, hold on." He said. It seemed like his voice was coming from further away, and carried an echo with it. "Just hold on."
