Pierce felt dirty, it wasn't the sweat under his armor, or the dirt and dust sticking to his face and neck. He looked at Ardyth's form in front of him, she had stopped at yet another Voss alter to meditate. She said the Emperor was guiding her to her quarry, she would occasionally mumble, or gasp in her trances. It was more expression then she had afforded him back on the ship.
In the dark of space, in the dead of night, he had taken his wife roughly, and she had only stared up at him with dead yellow eyes. He had wrapped his hands around her neck in the moments before climax, his face twisted up in anger and excitement, anything to make her feel him, but he was only met with a passive stare, her body not responding, only a vessel, a husk for him to use. So he used it, because to make love to anyone else was even more distasteful. He clung to wild hope that maybe he could bring her back, because he had to, because he would never leave her.
"Are you satisfied?" She had asked when he was spent and done. He wasn't, he had not been satisfied since before that call to the Emperor's chambers, but he nodded, pushed off of her and went and stood in a hot shower for two hours. Pierce was fairly certain he cried he had been doing that a lot when he was alone in the shower, the hot water washing them away before he was aware of them. He had to stop going to her, but she was worse the spice. The fall out after words, that crashing feeling when he was done was harsher than any drug he had taken in his life, and he had taken a few in his youth. He had to stop going to her, it was easy to say to himself in the shower that would never make him clean again, but in the black of space or dead of night, when he was filled with memories, his resolve was not so strong.
"This way Captain." Her voice snapped him back, he nodded and followed mutely, stepping over the body of the dead Voss pilgrim.
She led them to a cave near the great Voss shrine, he remembered it from a life time ago when Ardyth was making her name, fighting off Baras, when she was in love with Quinn. He felt old, too old, he was living on borrowed time because a grunt like him wasn't supposed to live as long as he had. He gripped his rifle, the hard steel in his hands was a comfort.
"He's at the other side, in the clearing, guard our rear." Ardyth ordered.
"Yes, my Lord." Pierce spied a large boulder at the opposite mouth of the cave, a good vantage point, beyond that a hulking Sith Pureblood stood waiting, the former Wrath of the Emperor. He felt a blinding hatred, if this bloody red Sith had done his duty, and remained at the Emperor's bloody side, his Ardyth would still be his. He was of a mind to shoot him between the eyes, he went to the boulder and using the stone to steady himself he took aim. He heard the shimmer of the stealth generator shutting off too late.
Ardyth flew at Scourge with all the power of the emperor behind her, Scourge parried and reached out with his feelings and found a void in his opponent, he would have to rely on reading her movements with his eyes and not the force. She was quick and nimble, her purple sabers a flurry of motion. The Wrath got the first hit in, a glancing blow, he smelt his burnt flesh and singed armor, another first. Scourge blocked another flurry of attacks, as his lightsaber blocked he backhanded the Sith with his free hand, it landed with a satisfying crunch.
She might be a void but there was power in this place, he drew on the innate dark side energy, there was also emotion, strong emotions of fear and hate and rage, his hidden follower had made herself known, she was locked in combat with the soldier the Wrath had brought. Their unbridled raw emotion fed him, he pulled their energy to him and he smiled a toothy feral grin as he went on the offensive. His attacks were powerful and shook his opponents guard, he grunted and roared with each swing of the saber. His punch had opened a cut on the Wrath's face, he scented her blood, he scented blood from the two battling behind him, he force pushed the Wrath into the hard bedrock above the mouth of the cave. She landed on her feet but Scourge was there, their eyes met, cold golden yellow against deep angry blood red. Scourge felt his own hatred well inside of him, at the blasphemy of this woman, immortal but dead to the force. He felt his white rage blossom at the long years he had been a living death, where he had been unable to feel the living force around him. She jumped above him flipping as she did, throwing a lightsaber midair towards him, he parried it and it flew back to her hand.
"Abomination" Scourge spit.
The word gave Ardyth momentary pause, the image of a squalling infant came to mind. "As you once were."
"No longer, and I will purge this galaxy of your taint." He growled barring his teeth like a wild beast, like one of the ancient Sith, he was fearsome.
Shiloh watched as Pierce set up his rifle, she gripped her vibroknife. This man, she had vowed to end him as painfully as possible for what he had done to Vector and to her. She was brought back to their apartment, on a cold night, laying naked on the floor as she watched helpless as he was shot between the eyes. She remembered Pierces laugh, how he had beat her in an attempt to break her even more, all the while she was screaming and crying and watching Vectors dead face, helpless. She deactivated her stealth field; she was greeted by a look of utter surprise as she drove the vibroknife towards his face.
Pierce blocked her with his rifle, but she grabbed and twisted, it was thrown skittering across the clearing, over the cliff. He pulled his own knife and pistol, and then was hit with a wave of recognition.
"You." He breathed, how was she still alive?
"Surprise." Shiloh's voice was low, dangerous, dripping with hate.
"The alien, with the freak, I remember you. Fine, you want a die? I'll oblige you." He flipped his dagger in one hand, adjusting his grip, he holstered his pistol, a good rumble was just what he needed.
Shiloh lunged, he would find she wasn't so helpless as she was on their last encounter. Her training came back to her, second nature, she was small and quick, easily able to duck and weave away from Pierces swings. They grappled each of them trying to get in close enough to sheath their knife in the others flesh. Shiloh felt a large and powerful knee connect with her stomach, winding her, followed by a large hand in her hair pulling her head back, exposing her neck. Her arm shot up slicing the arm that was holding her, digging, finding a weak spot in his gloves; she felt her knife bite flesh. Pierce released her with a curse, throwing his gloves to the ground. Shiloh saw blood drip down his wrist and smiled.
"You're a fool, we could have been allies once upon a time, your father was respected, James." It was true, she had met with the old woman, Mary Pierce, entrusted her. She had spoken of her husband and son with such pride, confident her boy would fall in, his disdain for the Empire and Sith bred into him at a young age. Then he killed Vector.
"I don't ally with alien scum." His face contorted, she knew more about his family then even he did. He found a new reason to hate his dead parents. Full of conspiracies and lies, why did they wait so long to tell him, didn't they trust him? They forced his hand, forced him out, forced him to abandon his mother to squalor. Pierce had never cared that his father had betrayed the empire, but he had betrayed his family, his only son, and he had never known or understood the reasons. Tid bits of information raining on him like rogue moisture droplets on Tatooine, too little too late.
Shiloh lunged again into Pierces deadly embrace, they fought, Pierces fist connected with her face, he felt her nose shatter again, he liked breaking her nose, breaking her smug Chiss face, now so ugly and full of scars, just like his. She twisted, her feet running up the cave wall until she was up and over him, she pulled a second, longer vibrokife from her boot, she sliced the unprotected tendons behind his knee, he fell with a painful grunt. She looked up, in time to see the large male Sith stab Lord Ardyth in the gut, Pierce made a pained sound, and reached for his pistol. Shiloh stabbed his shoulder then pulled his head up by his hair, knife pressing into the soft fleshy area under his jaw.
"She's not dead yet, look, I think he'll kill her though." Shiloh felt him struggle, she stepped into his leg wound, blood spilled onto the tip of her boot. "No, you watch, here, helpless. Just like I did." She hissed in his ear.
Scourge pressed his attack, unrelenting, even when the Wraths saber seeped into his shoulder. The pain only fed his fervor, he switched forms to compensate for his wound and the wrath stumbled for a split second in trying to adjust, it was all the time he needed. His crimson saber dug into her stomach, blood bloomed from her mouth. He cut upwards, widening the gaping cauterized mortal wound. The smell of burnt flesh alongside the blood that flowed from her lips was an intoxicating bouquet.
"Die now, abomination." He spoke with a voice full of vengeance and hatred.
"I…cannot….die." Ardyth gurgled.
Scourges saber dug into rib, lung, it came out between shoulder and neck, she was nearly cleaved in two. When his saber left her body she staggered backwards, unable to feed her lungs air, she fell back into oblivion off the cliff. Scourges reached out with his feeling towards her, he would have liked to feel her death, but there was still nothing only void. He breathed heavily the dark side screaming in his ears, like a hurricane, demanding her death, demanding release. He stepped back, lest the force of his emotions send him after her. He turned then, to see the Chiss woman holding a knife at the soldiers throat, he sensed the beautiful pain coming from the soldier, agony, he had loved the Wrath, and the Chiss had made him watch. Scourge approved.
Their eyes met, red on red, they were familiar, she reminded him of Kianna, the shape of her face, the heart shape of her lips. Only she was force blind, harder, colder, and older, Scourge nodded at her, though inside he was begging her to finish the job. He could only bear sitting on the precipice of death for so long. The knife cut into the soldiers throat, Scourge closed his eyes pulling in the last moments of life to him like a blanket, fear, anger, and abject despair filled the soldier as he died, but there was relief, peace, and joy in the death as well, they washed over him, and Scourge inhaled deeply and shuddered as he exhaled. When his eyes opened the soldier was a crumpled bloody corpse on the ground, the Chiss was nearly bathed in his blood, she was kneeling, her emotions were those of longing and a deep rooted pain.
"Who are you?" He asked finally.
"Shiloh Chint'aro" She spoke with an Imperial accent, "You travel with my sister, I would like to know why."
Scourge lifted an eyebrow ridge, the familiarity made sense now, the sister Kianna had told him so much about, the sister who had abandoned her, who had led them to the depth of Belsavis. He was certain she must have been dead, but he found that Kianna was right again.
"I am Lord Scourge, your sister has a destiny, she will kill the Emperor. First she will save this planet from eradication." He said simply, he half smiled at the surprise on her face. "Kianna has held out hope for many years that you were still alive, I know she will have questions."
"And I will answer them." She tried wiping Pierces thick and sticky blood from her hands on her pants to no avail. "When she is finished….saving the planet. Tell her, tell her to meet me here." She handed Scourge a plastoid card with information for Phi-ton's tea house on it. The blood on her fingers left an imprint on the card. "I will remain on Voss until I see her."
Scourge accepted the card and nodded at her, her mouth set in a grim line, she activated her stealth field generator and left him. He felt the throb of his shoulder wound, he began the long walk back to the Shrine. For the first time since the return of his senses and emotions he felt whole, confident, not afraid of who he was any longer.
He saw Kianna's familiar form on the steps of the Shrine, he reached out with the force, wordlessly letting her know he was there. The smile on her face when she saw him forced his own lips upwards, he hurried his pace. Her face fell when she saw the saber wound in his shoulder. Before she could open her mouth to speak he pulled her to him, wrapping her in his arms and energy and claimed her lips, she felt her gasp into him and he only deepened the kiss. He had kept his word, he was a whole man a true Sith, the combat and the death cementing who he was, and he would no longer be denied.
"You're hurt." Kianna said breathlessly as she forced herself away, only her legs wouldn't work. Her eyes took a moment to focus, and that's when she noticed the blood on his armor and robes. "Is that your blood?" He smiled at her in a way that made her heart stop, dark and feral.
"It is the blood of your enemies." He spoke close to her ear, his breath on her skin, not helping her wobbly leg predicament.
"Bloody Force! Is that a lightsaber burn?" Docs voice broke the moment, although Scourge continued to eye Kianna predatorily, he licked his lips, she blushed a deep red.
"When we are done, you have an ally and friend to meet here." Scourge handed Kianna the card, who took it and watched him awed and bewildered.
"Who?" She asked, and who was this man in front of her, the energy was the same, but he was different, calm, and passionate at the same time, something had happened to him, she had so many questions.
"Your sister."
