Chapter 51
Rattatak - 12 Years Ago
"Kirske! Where are you?!"
Using a Dathomiri blood trail technique, Asajj had tracked Osika Kirske to an old monastery a few miles north of his former base. The monastery was tall and cylindrical with an oval-shaped rooftop. While its exterior was clean and polished, its interior was dark and decrepit, the only sources of light inside being the small moon beams peaking through the cobweb-lined windows. Each step Asajj took echoed throughout the main hall and kicked up small clouds of dust by her feet. She could tell that her voice had startled some of the rodents and insects that had made a home for themselves. As the sounds of frantic squeaking and tiny footsteps echoed around her, she called out to her target again.
"I know you're here, you bastard! Show yourself!"
Her voice traveled through the hall all the way up to the higher floors. About a minute of silence passed before she suddenly heard a noise coming from upstairs.
Coughing.
Without a moment's hesitation, Asajj ran for the nearest staircase and headed up to the second floor. She heard the coughing again as soon as she reached it.
Kirske…
She then followed the coughing and came upon a small room with its door taken off. And once she entered the room, she found a tall, muscular figure turned away from her with a cane in his right hand. The figure coughed into his arm once more before turning to face his pursuer.
It was Kirske. Though not as Asajj had remembered him.
The last fourteen years had not been kind to him. He was much more fragile and hunched over now, his ash grey skin rough and wrinkled with age. His gold piercings were gone and his legs were so weak to the point that even his cane only offered minimal support. The old Vollick tried not to cough as he laughed at the young woman standing before him.
"Well look at you…all grown up…"
Despite his best efforts, his laughter eventually lead to more coughing, forcing him to stop and breathe until it finally ceased.
"You've been quite busy these past few years, eh? Runnin' around, savin' people, killin' off me competition…thanks for that, by the way….and now here you are. Probably hopin' to kill me as well, I'd assume."
Asajj took out her lightsabers and activated them at her sides.
"You enslaved me…took me from my family…treated me like garbage…"
"Your clan promised me a powerful child and they gave me one. And to be fair, when you weren't bein' a real pain in the arse, you were actually quite useful."
Asajj felt her blood boiling.
"I was a child! Not a tool for you to use and toss aside whenever you wanted!"
Kirske laughed and coughed again.
"That's the name of the game, I'm afraid. You may have had a family on Dathomir. But here on Rattatak, it's use or be used. I knew that, my rivals knew that…hell, even Hal'Sted knew that."
In the blink of eye, Asajj held out her hand, gripping Kirske's throat and forcing him to fall to his knees.
"Don't. Say. His. Name."
Despite the pressure on his throat, Kirske continued to taunt Asajj.
"…What do you care about him for? He used you just as much as I did…"
"No! He was kind! He protected me! He treated me like a person!"
A snide chuckle broke through Asajj's grip on the Vollick's windpipe.
"…He used you for torture! He had you use the Force on our prisoners! And you got them all to talk by breakin' their bloody skulls!"
Asajj's grip on Kirske loosened as she thought back to her time with Hal'Sted.
"No…He didn't…That's not…"
"Oh but it is. Frankly, I'm surprised you don't remember any of it. Quite the spectacle, it was. Took us days to clean up all the blood."
Asajj tried to recall the days she'd spent with the Wild Pack.
And then, she remembered it.
The day that she'd buried deep in the back of her mind.
The day that she'd had nightmares about.
The day that she'd refused to believe had ever happened at all.
…
Hey Asajj.
Yes, Master?
I need you to do something for me.
What?
These guys are…bad people. And they've got information that we need. But the only way they'll talk is if you concentrate really hard on them. Can you do that for me? Please?
…Yes, Master.
…
"No…"
By this point, Asajj had relinquished her grip on Kirkse and fallen to her knees. She held her forehead in her hands as she tried to block out the memories.
To tell herself that it had all just been a bad dream.
But she couldn't deny it any longer.
It was real.
"Hal'Sted…How…How could he…?"
Kirkse then slowly got back on his feet and stood over Asajj.
"He knew about your power. And he knew you wouldn't use it for him unless he gave you a reason to. He never cared about you. He only wanted your power. Your pity. Your trust."
"No…That's not…"
"You were as much of a tool to him as you were to me, to that Jedi, and even to your precious Nightsisters."
"No…No…"
"The truth is, Ventress…you were never loved. You were never a child. You were always just a tool. And no matter what you say or do…that's all you'll ever be."
"NO!"
With tears stinging her eyes, Asajj pushed Kirske back against a wall and lifted him into the air with the Force. She then shouted at him as her grip returned to his throat.
"I am Asajj Ventress! And I am nobody's tool!"
Kirske struggled to breathe for a few seconds, and then called out to the space above him and Asajj.
"Now!"
The next thing Asajj knew, about a dozen Wild Pack guards were leaping down from the rafters above. Each guard was wearing heavy armor and sporting two electrostaffs. Asajj released her grip on Kirkse and tried to push the guards back. But by then, they had already surrounded her. After only a few minutes of fighting, they quickly overwhelmed her and knocked her down onto the floor. As they took her weapons and put her hands in stun cuffs, Kirske slowly stepped forward and looked down at her with a cruel smile.
"It's good to have you back, Ventress."
As he gave one last chuckle, he lifted his cane and used it to strike Asajj's face.
And then, darkness.
