Here, chapter 26. As for the delay, all I can say is that RL is at fault. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and until next time. I'll try to release again before Christmas. ~DeliriousMoose
Chapter 26: Same path, different Fate
"Do you think she will be alright?" Amrein's voice asked, barely heard over the constant hum of the hyperspace engine. "She will be fine, and you made sure of that. I think you can trust the Grand-master to help her all the way, you even told her where to find the Emperor's children hidden among them so they won't catch her... she'll be fine, Amrein, promise." Vette answered, messing up his hair a bit to get him away from his dark thoughts.
The fact that Amrein was so worried for the child he rescued was both adorable and problematic. For they knew what Amrein told them about this child, and if only a piece of this was true, then she wouldn't be safe in the Empire, nor receive the help she needs over there. "Entrusting her to the Grandmaster was the right choice, Amrein. Even if she isn't the one to personally take care of her, she knows the people that can help her." Ageria answered, more aloof. She understood the reason behind the decision better than everyone else. Also, seeing how well the two had already bonded during the week-long stay at house Kyrath, it was hard not to see that Amrein was sad to see them go.
"Yeah... you're both right..." Amrein muttered, trying to psyche himself up again. The flight wouldn't be that long anymore. Just roughly a week after their little escapade in House Kyrath's underground, a message came for Ageria from none other than the Dark Council itself, summoning her to Korriban, and now they were on their way to Taris, on a mission for the Dark Council, to hunt down her own Master. In a way, it was almost poetic. Even Amrein's only comment about that was; "Fate finds a way."
"So, are you done with your lightsaber?" Ageria asked, which quickly brought Amrein onto other thoughts as he fished something out from his inventory. "Yes, actually. Took me a bit longer to make it all fit, but it is finished." He answered, handing her the blade.
Ageria inspected the hilt, noticing that it was in fact quite a bit more complicated in design than any other blade she had seen to date, though at the same time didn't lose in elegance. Especially since Amrein seemed to have used wood as a base for the grip. Intrigued, she pointed away from anything important and ignited the blade, causing a silent hum to sound before a classic lightsaber-blade appeared. Its color, however, was unusual. It was black, almost invisible, even evoking the feeling one was looking at glass. Even more so, the blade seemed to contain the same stars and galaxies she had previously seen on the crystal, like a tiny doorway into a galaxy far away.
"This... is beautiful," Ageria commented, her gaze closely inspecting it, a sentiment shared by the rest of the crew. She then depowered the blade again and made some quick moves with the hilt alone. "Good balance, simple, no specified style. Seems to fit you well, kid." She commented in the end, handing the handle back to Amrein. "But I am sure that it isn't the only thing it can do?" She asked, an expecting grin on her face.
Amrein revealed a wry smile, stood up from the cushions, and moved into the more open area on the ship so he could demonstrate without damaging anything. "No... there is more."
Once the blade was ignited again, he seemed to move something on the handle a bit, and in an instant the blade narrowed down, becoming thinner, more like an actual blade or sword. Another press, and the blade shortened into a shoto-saber, before another returned it to its usual length and size. However, once he deactivated the blade, he turned it around, pressed a button, and the two extensions that Ageria thought were mere decorations, suddenly sparked as electricity moved between them.
"Is that... a stun-baton?" She asked, and Amrein answered with a grin. "Indeed. It worked against Nomen Karr, so I thought, why not?" Ageria shook her head, her thoughts going back to the comment Amrein once made about trying to cause as many new rules to be made as possible.
In the meantime, Vette was intrigued, her gift for mechanics making her curious how he got all those parts playing nice with each other inside the relatively small saber handle.
So, while Vette and Amrein fell deeper into the conversation about the technicalities of this saber and the possibilities borne from it, Ageria looked over at the meditating Jaesa, and afterward over to Quinn who sat nearby, half-asleep with red eyes.
Maybe she shouldn't have been so harsh on him with the evidence she gathered until now? Eh, who knows, fact was, the man was loyal to whomever he was sworn to, and was currently in a dilemma, especially if one considers the current situation and mission, one that Ageria didn't envy him for.
Only time would tell how things would develop from here. Though, she thought back to the events on Korriban, and the way things had gone.
[***][Flashback, Korriban, Dark Council Chambers]
"Lord Ageria Lessun, you have been called as a witness to an ongoing investigation by the Dark Council. Tell us your allegiance." The voice of none other than Darth Thanaton echoed through the chambers of the Dark Council as Ageria stepped inside. "Your Master, Darth Baras, has been found guilty of treason, not only to the Empire but the Emperor himself. For this reason, you are under suspicion of treason yourself!"
"Calm yourself, Thanaton! You raising your voice will not achieve anything." A deep voice, none could mistake for anything but Darth Marr's echoed through the room. "Lord Lessun has proven her allegiance to the Empire and the Dark Council when she willingly revealed the plans of her Master to us. Usually, we would not punish actions made by a Darth this way, especially not ones against the Republic, but in the current circumstances we cannot afford to escalate the current political situation, and return to outright war." He summed up, causing most of the members of the Dark Council to nod since they knew about the truth already.
However, some of the Members really wanted to see Ageria die, most for a hidden agenda or two. Especially due to her willingness to sell out her old Master this quickly, they used that to set her true loyalty in question. However, to this Ageria only had one answer. "For this, one had to be loyal in the first place. My loyalty is to the Empire, and my home, not to Darth Baras, it never was." This quickly silenced most of them.
And yet, that was when none other than Lord Vowrawn made a suggestion. "Everyone, we all know that usually a Sith's descendants and students will be wiped out to prevent the teachings of their corrupted Master to spread, or worse, a resurgence or rebellion. So, how about we do this the way of proof? Lord Ageria Lessun, under the orders of the Dark Council, shall go and hunt down, and kill her old master to prove herself free of all charges against her."
Lord Thanaton immediately wanted to reject this, especially since he wanted Ageria dead. Not just because she was Amrein's master, but also because he feared her as a friend to Marum Kaal, the Sith Lord he thought he had killed, but apparently still managed to escape.
However, he was shot down by Lord Vowrawn on the simple statement, that he himself, Lord Thanaton, was also one who only lived because he committed to that very proof, making all arguments of Lord Thanaton invalid by default.
From there a vote was cast, and ultimately, Lord Marr announced Ageria free of any charges, and proven innocent should she hunt down and kill her old Master. Of course, investigations proved that Ageria worked for the greater interest of the Empire until now, and therefore was already innocent, but politics, especially among Sith, weren't that easy to calm, and this route would be able to silence everyone in the long run.
From there Ageria was told to return to the Fury and prepare. And not ten minutes later after they reentered the orbit of Korriban, a message came through. "Lord Marr." Ageria and the rest of the crew bowed.
"Sith-Lord Ageria. During your mission, you will answer and report to me, is that clear?" He questioned, a faint hint of an apology hidden away behind that mask. This farce was necessary considering not everyone was informed of the true plans.
Ageria only bowed her head. "As you command, Lord Marr. This will prove me before the others, so I have no objections. Though, might I inquire about the exact circumstances?" Her voice contained a willingness to them, almost a happiness at being allowed to go after Baras.
To this, Marr nodded and sent some data over. Apparently, using the network and Information from the Star-Cabal, they found traces of Baras working with them, mostly by proxy. From there they took that hook and ultimately found Baras' plans to kill generals and more to incite war with the Republic. But the fact that the Empire needed to cleanse traitors left and right, made that they can't afford a war right now, and due to the sudden change, the way they handled Baras was sloppy and he slipped away.
So, now Baras was the new target, and with his spy network still mostly intact and his wide influence everywhere, he was a danger to the Empire, as was decided by everyone on the Dark Council. And now, Ageria was given the mission to hunt him down.
With the details out of the way, Ageria was given her first assignment. She should travel to Taris. From the plans Baras had, he planned to kill several Generals on Taris that were important to the Republic to incite them. While the plan might be stopped now, his spies should still be present, and one of them might know how to track him down further. Her first lead was a soldier that worked under Baras' command, but due to his fierce loyalty to the Empire itself has been put on probation as long as he reveals everything he knows. His name; Lieutenant Pierce.
"Is your mission understood, Lord Ageria?" Darth Marr questioned, and Ageria only nodded once, confirming it.
"Very well. I wish you, for your own sake and the ones of your crew, that you will be successful. Once you reach Taris, contact local command, they will be informed of your coming, if not your mission." Marr explained in his deep voice before the transmission was cut.
Immediately Ageria had then commanded everyone to their positions, as the Fury disappeared into hyperspace, directly towards the poisonous green planet that was Taris.
[***]
Ageria was quickly pulled from her thoughts on previous events when Amrein approached her and asked if she was willing to go and practice with him for an hour. Having nothing better to do, Ageria nodded, pulled her own blade out, and brought Jaesa with her as the three started to train and duel within the storage onboard the ship.
…
The jump ended, and before them lay the once-great city-planet Taris, or what was left of it anyway. Poisonous swamps, ruins that reach for the skies, Rakghouls and worse, all of it combined with the Republic's reclamation efforts, and a small Empire basis that was there to prevent said very reclamation.
For now, the Empire wasn't doing much besides defending their own position, especially since outside of small skirmishes, a war was undesirable, which was the same for the Republic. Having landed on the orbital station, everyone left the ship, Amrein included, and further left for the transport to the surface. Of course, after being inoculated against the poisonous diseases down there. Though, they had overlooked a tiny detail then, one that would come to bite them back later.
From there, the ship rapidly descended through the atmosphere and soon made landing near the Imperial main-base, hidden in the center of the swamp. Troopers on patrol, researchers taking apart the local flora and fauna, engineers and mechanics looking after the base and its vehicles and droids transporting goods, ammo, and weapons to and fro. The whole place was alive with activity.
The approach of another transport didn't cause many to watch, probably a common sight. However, the descend of a fully armored Sith-Lord and her entourage certainly did, especially since she had not one, but two other force-users following her if the lightsabers were any indicators, one of which was a child if they went by size and shape.
"Lord Lessun? I was informed by Lord Marr to await your arrival. If you would follow me?" The captain manning this outpost spoke up, and soon the whole group made their way to a more isolated room within the base.
Inside, Lieutenant Pierce was already waiting. A tall man, typical soldier buzz-cut, muscles on his muscles and a gaze filled with barely controlled blood-thirst. Amrein even questioned himself deep inside if this was a soldier or a beast looking for a kill. However, as Pierce's eyes scanned past their whole group, he could almost feel the displeasure he felt at the sight of their group, with exception of Ageria herself. Seems her aura of power cowered even him.
So, realizing that she was probably the only one Pierce would defer to, she was the one to take to word. "Lieutenant, I have been informed that you were in contact with my former Master. I want the details." She said, and Pierce huffed.
"Fine, can't stand traitors anyway." He started, before he pulled out a data-pad, opening some encoded files. "Baras was planning something with the Wartrust. Some Republic group of Generals that take care of strategic planning. From what I know, he wanted a third figure to head the mission, but then it came out he betrayed the Empire, and his forces either deserted or were captured. Of those in the know, pretty much all of them killed themselves before we could get to them." Pierce explained in more detail.
He then pulled out another document and revealed something big. "Originally I was supposed to assist said third figure in their mission, and was fully prepped, but when the news of the betrayal came out, Moff Hurdenn ran. I wouldn't be surprised if the slimy bastard knows something, and decided to run away. If we want more information on Baras, he might have a good lead."
Ageria looked up upon receiving this information, her gaze wandering over to the captain. "For a base without its Moff, things seem to run relatively smoothly." She stated slash questioned.
"Turns out when you rid incompetent personnel from the roster, better staff can take care of things." Pierce laughed, and the captain could only shake his head.
Ageria merely nodded and therefore indirectly permitted this change in authority, which relieve the captain quite a bit. She then turned to Pierce again. "Can I assume you are ready for a hunt?"
Pierce nodded, pulled a rifle from the stand nearby, and slung it over his shoulder. "Republican generals or traitors to the Empire, whatever we hunt, I am ready to go anytime."
"Very well, then your service to me starts now. Captain, organize me a map of the nearby area, local scans of wildlife and enemy-movement would also help. Lieutenant, I want details about this missing Moff and his possible whereabouts, as well as a detailed report on the personnel and resources he took with him." Ageria took command, and quickly the people went to organize and acquire the needed resources.
It wasn't long before Ageria was looking over a map of the area, with Pierce giving his opinion on the former Moff's position. The hunt has begun.
In the meantime, Vette and Amrein left to help out the Cantina with serving drinks and chatting up the soldiers there for some info, Amrein making some friends by showing off his force-tricks to move the glasses, while Jaesa entered the medical ward to support and help the medical personnel.
Among all this, Quinn was left contemplating his loyalty and life as he sat near the entrance to the base, his ability to communicate with Baras lost, and his betrayal uncovered. Now, now he was merely a liability, one that could be removed without consequence.
And for the first time in a long while, Quinn was faced with the idea that his traitorous behavior selling out Ageria and the rest of the crew might not have been that different from that of the Grand Moff he hated and fought against so long ago.