3951 BBY, Peragus Mining Facility
Atton
"You stare at everyone like that or just me?"
Atton hadn't realized he'd been ogling until Eden called him out on it, her stern expression slicing through the haze that was his delirium the moment her sharp words registered in his still jelly-like brain. Atton blinked. He had some time to gather his wits while the woman had braved the dormitories looking for a way out, but now that she was back Atton was nervous again, already unused to others' company after just a few days' starvation. Trying to muster up some civility, he resigned with a shrug.
"You're the first live person I've seen in two days, or maybe three, I really can't remember," he said, still finding his eyes wandering as he spoke despite his better judgement. Eden managed to find an unused mining uniform, but as Atton's luck would have it only the bottom portion seemed to fit. It did a decent enough job of covering her up, and it's not like the Peragus-issued undergarments were anything less than matronly, so Atton chalked up his preoccupation with Eden's figure to being deliriously nutrient deficient. It was still difficult not to stare, not just because of her garb but because there was something off about her, yet somehow familiar.
Her dark hair was done up in some elaborate fashion - beads, braids, and a glint of gold - but her visage failed to match. She was definitely human, probably from somewhere in the Serroco sector by the looks of her, though the green eyes were a bit unusual. A harrowed scar ran along her left cheekbone, cutting through a swath of freckles that otherwise covered most of her face. But it was the scowl Eden wore that stood in such contrast with the rest of her that unsettled him.
Normally he'd play it cool, have some pickup line nocked and ready in situations like these if only to make it seem like he wasn't people-reading and only interested in a tumble or two, but now he came up empty.
"So uh, how long have you been a Jedi?" Atton nearly cringed hearing the words as they exited his mouth.
"Almost as long as I haven't been one," Eden replied, rolling her eyes and turning her attention to the console beside them. She absently clicked at the refresh button, eager for something to happen that might save her from the dreadful conversation Atton was about to drag her into.
Atton knew why he was being this way. It was partially the hunger, the exhaustion, and likely the trauma slowly seeping in from managing to be the only survivor of what was likely a domino effect he perpetuated at the behest of the Exchange. But more than that, Atton feared the silence and the uncertainty it held, so despite how bad he knew it was making him look, he had no intention of shutting up any time soon.
"Must be tough," he continued with a belabored sigh.
His gaze flickered over the woman's profile, sensing some familiarity but finding it awkward to look her in the eye. So instead, he found himself staring at how the damp upper fabric of her outdated undergarments clung to her-
Without even looking, Eden cut in "No tougher than enduring your false sympathy when your targets are clearly locked on my chest."
"Oh," Atton's face grew hot. "Right, sorry. Hey, I wasn't trying to-"
Before he could grow too bashful, he smiled, realizing something.
"Ah, so you admit it now," he said, the smirk spreading unwittingly across his face. "You are a Jedi. Once upon a time, or whatever."
Now it was Eden's turn to turn red. She turned to face him, her eyes going wide for a moment at the realization before narrowing her gaze as she honed in on him, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so.
"You didn't want to admit it before," Atton continued, stating the obvious. "Why?"
"The Jedi and I have a complicated history. I'd rather not get into it."
The woman didn't budge. Eden remained poised, her expression emphasized only by an eyebrow darting up to support her right to remain silent. But Atton had his suspicions.
"You didn't fight in the Civil War, no," he started, rounding on her now as it all began to make some sense, if his brain running on near-feral hunger could be trusted. Her name was familiar, but not in his recent memory. He'd heard of General Valen in passing, but not in at least ten years. "No, you fought in the Mandalorian Wars. You saw the worst of it. And the Jedi didn't like you for that, did they?"
He'd seen plenty of them in his time working under Revan. Jedi Generals that had prided themselves on their Mandalorian victories but floundered under Darth Revan's command, wondering if they were cut out for her new reign or if they'd had been better off turning themselves into the Council for reckoning.
"What'd they get you for? Treason?" It was an easy guess - rumor had it that any Jedi that followed Revan was later marked a traitor.
Eden remained motionless, her expression growing stonier by the second.
"Come on, I fought in both wars. I'm just curious. If you can't already tell, I'm not fond of the Jedi so it's not exactly like I'm on their side," Atton tried to laugh despite knowing he'd already gone too far. "Okay, what if I go first? I served in the Republic Navy, dropping bombs and pretending that the only people they killed or injured were the other guys. Now you - what did you do during the war?"
Despite the unease bubbling inside him, Atton still preferred this to the silence. Even if he was being insufferable about it.
At this, Eden truly paused. She huffed a hollow laugh and looked away. Her light eyes dimmed, her gaze stilling as she retreated into memory. Shaking her head, Eden's eyes returned to Atton's, sizing him up before answering. Atton wasn't sure whether her death glare alarmed or aroused him. Maybe both.
"You really wanna know what I did during the war?" she said advancing on him, flashing a false grin that didn't meet her eyes, her expression vacant save for her ironic smirk. She stopped a mere inch from his face, her eyes unblinking. "I ended it."
"Ended? You mean… oh." Atton paused, her words sinking in. "Oh."
Atton trailed off as Eden stalked back to the console to further await a reply as well as avoid him entirely. Atton hadn't been there at the end of the war, but he'd heard of what happened. Everyone had. No one in the galaxy had gone without hearing the horror stories that emerged from Malachor V. Rumor of Revan's death machine had reached all corners of the galaxy, only cementing her claim to the Sith mantle soon after. Atton knew it had all been according to Revan's plan, but knowing that the woman beside him had been responsible for its success was something else entirely.
"No wonder the Jedi-"Atton paused, unsure of what he was about to say. But he did not get to finish, thankful that the console buzzing saved him from likely getting throttled, judging by the look Eden shot at him as he began to respond.
"Ah, looks like that bugger actually came through," Atton smiled as he read the binary message on the console over her shoulder, careful to keep his distance.
"I have a thing for droids," Eden muttered, typing in a few commands back in binary as quickly as if it were her first language. "I got that spunky little utility unit to grant us access to this entire level, and according to this handy map here, that should include the cafeteria and the storage area. See what you can get in the way of supplies. Food especially, but also weapons. And clothes, if you can remember that, hotshot."
"Uh yeah, sure captain, but where are you going?"
Eden paused, her expression blank for the first time since he'd met her, and she pointed at the viewing deck. Atton turned, expecting to see the same view as always. But instead of a field of asteroids, the swath of space that usually took up the entire window was blotted out by a docked Republic cruiser.
"Wh-?"
"It docked while you were yapping, and staring," Eden said, trying to stifle a true smirk, "If this utility unit can be trusted, the ship in the docking bay has an unlocked nav chart, and according to you, we need a drift chart specific to Peragus II to avoid that asteroid belt."
"Yeah, and?"
"I'm going to access the fuel line to that ghost ship, hotwire their navigational chart and bring it back here so we can get off this rock."
"Ghost ship?" Atton echoed, truly confused now, "Who said it was a ghost ship? I don't know how long you've been gone sister, but that's a Republic ship - we're saved!"
Eden only blinked at him in response. Atton could tell there was bad news coming, knowing that as little as Eden liked him right now, he could already trust her to tell the brutal truth.
"Last I remember, I was on that Republic cruiser," Eden said, her expression dissolving of animosity and betraying nothing else. "I fell unconscious, but we were attacked, and I was brought here by the freighter in the docking bay downstairs. Peragus must have been the closest place for us to land, and judging by the records in the maintenance bay that freighter was in pretty rough shape when I was brought on board. It's fixed now but the navicomputer is locked, and it could be our ticket out of here but-"
"Hold up, hold up, who's this we you keep mentioning?"
Eden shook her head, frustration painting her features as she ignored Atton's question and continued.
"According to the readout, the ship is void of any life signs," Eden continued, this time grabbing Atton by the elbow and physically dragging him to the center console to see for himself. Atton willed himself to look at the screen instead of the blush of red that colored Eden's freckled cheekbones, glinting blue-green in the reflection of the monitor. "I can only hope that anyone left alive on that ship made use of the escape pods. But since then, it must have just… I dunno, been spinning in orbit?"
"Wait, wait, wait."
Atton gave the console with his full attention now. He was still hunger-blind and his ability to read now was a testament to that, but after a few moments of fight-or-flight focus he was able to see just how dire their situation truly was.
"This isn't any usual docking situation," he said, trying to keep the dread from his voice. "You're right, this readout says the ship is void of life. But you need to request access to the fuel line here, there's a code only a select few planets and rigging outfits have, and it changes on the regular. And even with that code you need to signal the command center to grant access. That's us. If we didn't grant this ship access to the fuel line, then that means-"
"There's someone else on this mining facility," Eden said, but Atton shook his head.
"Yes, and-" he paused, swallowing, "That also means there's someone on that ship. Someone we can't see. Or at least someone the infrared can't pick up."
Eden's eyes widened, looking from Atton to the ship outside and back again. She was about to respond when a door opened on the other side of the promenade, interrupting whatever it was she was about to say.
"Grave Admonition: Master, we need to get off this station, promptly."
A silver HK droid sidled up towards them as Eden shook her head, seemingly unsurprised but annoyed nonetheless.
"I told you to wait for me at the hangar entrance," Eden groaned, approaching the protocol droid. Atton stood and stared, dumbfounded.
"Hey, hey, excuse me but when were you going to tell me that you enabled an HK droid?" Atton huffed, catching up with Eden and the droid in the center of the room, his gaze volleying between the two of them.
"It's fine, it was already active when I came across it in the tech quarters. Apparently, I own this hunk of junk."
"If you have a thing for droids, why can't you tell if you own one?" Atton said, squaring up the HK model as it stood motionless before him, awaiting Eden's sole command. "Where the hell did it come from?"
"Tatooine, I think. I can't remember. It's all still a bit… hazy. I'm trying to figure that out, and where he came from."
Tatooine?! Just where in the galaxy did this woman come from?
Eden nursed her temples as she closed her eyes before looking the HK in the face again, not that it needed eye-to-eye contact to register whatever it was she was about to say. "Do you have stealth detecting capabilities? I could use your help on that ship."
Eden pointed over her shoulder with her thumb at the Republic Cruiser idling outside. If the HK could balk, Atton imagined it would have.
"Surprised Statement: Master, that is the very ship we were attacked on. It is in my programming to get you to safety. Boarding that ship would be contrary to my programming."
"While I hate to admit that the droid has a point," Atton said, leaning close to Eden and whispering as best he could while retaining eye contact with the HK, "If you hardly remember where this thing came from, do you really think it's a good idea to trust it?"
Eden sighed again, but this time Atton could sense the exhaustion coming off of her as she began to pace in response, directing her next statement at Atton in a half-whisper.
"I'm hoping it will eventually shed some light on what happened on board. It hasn't been exactly forthcoming."
"Yeah, like that isn't suspicious," Atton said, his eyes still fixed on the HK. Something about it was familiar, but he couldn't place it. He'd seen HK models before, but usually by the side of bigshots at Pazaak tables. "Well, you heard the woman's question - are you equipped with stealth detectors or what?"
Atton was confident he could accomplish that himself, his intuition rarely failing him when it came to covert ops.
"Confident Affirmation: I am quite capable at detecting stealth-cloaked anomalies, Master," the HK drawled as it cocked its head in Eden's direction. "Additionally, this blaster should assist in our quandary."
The HK produced a small blaster pistol from its chest compartment, locking and loading it with a rapid series of clicks to emphasize its previous declaration.
"Where the hell did that come from?!" Eden demanded, stepping towards the HK with an outstretched hand. Atton watched on, eyes wide as he did the opposite and stepped back. His gaze never left the HK, but suddenly his memory was clear - the medbay, the nightmares. Atton blinked and the memory was gone as quickly as it came.
"If you fire that thing, it could blow us all to hell," Eden warned, a worried calm taking over her voice as if talking down a feral beast.
"I don't think-" Atton started, another memory taking place of the other just as quickly as he lost it - the man in the mining tunnels, the one with the short hair and the blue eyes, the one who had picked up the drop-off Atton had arranged from the Exchange. "Shit."
"What?" Eden urged, turning her attention to Atton now, her green eyes wide. "What?!"
Eden reached for him. Atton jolted with electricity, jumping at Eden's touch just as Eden pulled away at the same moment, her eyes darting to her hands.
"I'm sorry, I'm still not used to this-" she started, a look of horror crossing her face before one of confusion took its place. She held out her hands in mid-air, turning them palm over wrist as if it might show her something she hadn't seen before.
"Annoyed Reminder: Master, the longer we remain on this station, the longer we sjkghwkej…"
Eden turned to look at the droid just as Atton did. With a gurgle and a snap, its torso cavity caved in, followed by its head and its legs before the entire droid burst into electrical flames - hot one instant and cold the next, imploding just as the blaster pistol once held in its hand flew through the air and into the hands of a cloaked old woman on the other end of the promenade.
"Wait, wh-" Eden began, unable to form words. "Kreia?"
"We need to leave," the woman said, walking unhurriedly towards them despite her command.
Eden started jogging in the woman's direction before pausing in front of the droid's remains, looking to and from the woman as she approached.
"That droid is the reason you do not recall what happened on the Harbinger," the woman continued, "I've not yet gleaned from where it originated, but I fear it is not the last we'll see of its kind."
Atton stood stock still, still processing the sight of the droid imploding while his brain reconciled the addition of another person in whatever the hell was going on right now.
"Ah, the smuggler," the woman said, turning to meet him. Smuggler? Her hood was drawn over half her face, revealing only a pouty mouth, a sagging neck, and a pair of silver braids. "I expected you would be of some use to us."
"Yeah, and I'm also good at drinking and shooting things, your majesty," Atton shot back a little too quickly, his skin erupting in goosebumps beneath his shirt as the word smuggler echoed in his brain.
"Then you had better take this," the woman extended the blaster in Atton's direction, indicating that he take it. "Eden and I can handle ourselves by other means."
"Other means, huh," Atton looked from the old woman to Eden as he took the blaster rifle slowly. "Another Jedi? What, did you guys start breeding when I wasn't looking?"
"I fear we are still ill-prepared, but we will have to make do," Kreia continued, ignoring Atton as she turned towards the hulking shadow of the Republic cruiser. "That is our only way off this station, and we are running out of time."
"Out of time?" Atton echoed. "What do you know that we don't?"
"As I have already told Eden, I was attacked before I was brought aboard the Harbinger only for the same assailant to attack the Republic cruiser as well." Kreia answered, "I have a feeling that threat has not left, despite what the readouts tell you."
Readouts, Atton huffed as he struggled not to share his thoughts out loud. How does she know?
But he did know how Kreia knew. He just didn't like it.
"Let's get a move on then, shall we?" Eden sighed. "I'd like for this particular chapter of my life to be over sooner rather than later."
With that, Atton could agree.
3951 BBY, Dantooine
Mical
It took everything in Mical not to let his eyes wander, to let his mind roam. He hadn't recognized it at first but the provisional government calling itself Khoonda had taken up residence in the old Matale estate. Mical had once run an errand for the property's former owner, sowing a field full of grain for the aging Ahlan Matale while his son was away, as padawans were oft requested to do for the Jedi Academy's surrounding neighbors. It was an act of kindness, a lesson, but also the small tithe the Academy paid for being there. Sending children off to do the work for you seemed to be a running Jedi theme…
"The last we knew of Master Vrook, he had taken up residence near the sole entrance to the kyber cave," Administrator Adare was explaining as Mical honed in his focus, quieting his many questions. "But the place is abandoned, there is no sign of him nor his camp."
"Yet the local scavenger encampment seems to be encroaching on that spot more and more every week," Dillan groaned. "There's little evidence otherwise, but I find it hard to believe it's not a coincidence."
"If the scavengers had any sense, they would have pillaged that entire cave by now," Mical offered sagely. "Jedi bounty or not, kyber crystal has always been worth it's weight in credits, and the market on kyber is far more stable than Jedi relics ever were or will be. I doubt they know the cave's there, otherwise they would have redirected their efforts to draining that resource. It's possible someone else took advantage of their position, making it look as if they might be responsible for the Jedi Master's disappearance so they would lead us off track."
"We already know that the Golden Company has moved in on this planet, a group with clear motive on collecting the bounty on Jedi and Jedi artifacts," Zayne added. "I admit, it's strange they only found the planet to be worth pillaging now, but maybe it's because they have an in. Maybe they were brought here by whoever already has Master Vrook, and brokered a deal of sorts."
"That sounds plausible," Administrator Adare agreed, her grey eyes widening until they looked ghost-white in the holo-light. "Perhaps the resistance reached out to this mercenary group, asking for aid in exchange for the Jedi's life. If he's even still on this planet."
"Our first step should be figuring out where exactly this resistance cell is hiding. We won't know for sure until we find them, right?" Mission asked, looking between all of them huddled around the lone tree planted in the center of Administer Adare's office. Amid marveling at what odd circumstances brought each present individual here, Mical wondered if the tree had been present the last he'd visited the estate, and it bothered him that he did not remember. "Even if they don't have Vrook, you want to eliminate this group, no?"
"Eliminate… is a harsh word," Adare said carefully. "But you are not wrong. If the government stands any chance on its own, then we need to remove any opposition. I've had quite a few citizens express disappointment in our leadership, namely for our lack of resources and for the increased scavenger presence. And now, mercenaries! Dantooinians feel unsafe, and I hate to admit that they are. We cannot protect them without the proper equipment, without adequate funds, without-"
"Without weapons," Asra butted in. Adare granted the Togruta a pointed stare, annoyance playing across her features before she acknowledged the woman's statement with a curt nod.
"As much as I would not want to resort to violence, I fear we may at least need to protect our place of power and the surrounding estates if we can manage it. It's only a matter of time before this resistance operation makes their move, or begins to spread more propaganda until the entirety of Dantooine decides not to recognize us as a governing power and claim it by force. Especially if our goal is to be formally inducted back into the Republic as a proper world and not a Jedi-relegated one."
"Admiral Onasi did promise to send back up-" Mission said, but Dillan interrupted her before she could continue.
"Even if they do come, we don't have much time," Dillan sighed, retreating to Administrator Adare's desk to hold up a data pad. "We just received this message. Only an hour ago."
She held it out for the nearest person to grab, who happened to be Zaalbar. He grunted, worried, and passed it along. Mical had already read the words before the pad fell into his hands: You have ten days.
"Cryptic," he muttered, "Ten days for what?"
The Administrator shrugged. "I'm afraid we do not know. My only guess is that they know what we have kept secret, what we showed you earlier. If they gain access to our stores, then they have leverage. Maybe that just proves the Golden Company theory right."
"True," Mical said. "If they have access to the more valuable artifacts, then maybe they can barter that as well?"
"Exactly. I fear they plan on attacking our headquarters, which seems like the most obvious place to strike but..." Adare said, her gaze somewhere in the middle-distance as she nodded at nothing but her own thoughts. "Ten days… even if that's not the case, we should make ourselves ready."
At this, Dillan's general disdain dissolved into pure resolve as she nodded and returned to Adare's desk, typing at her computer console furiously without missing a beat, no doubt issuing orders as their discussion continued. "We can use all the help we can get," she said amid her typing, directing guilt-laced stares at everyone in the room.
"This sounds… silly, now that I'm asking," Adare asked in a whisper as she approached Mical's side while the others spoke, Mission asking how prepared the Khoonda militia was and Asra inquiring as to the strength of the cannons situated outside the estate. "But do you think the Sith in our midst will pose a threat to us? Is there anything we can do about him?"
"I don't believe so," Mical sighed, his better judgment contradicting the words that escaped his mouth even as he uttered them. "Master Vash seems to trust him, if not for her own veiled reasons. And as much as there is to fault the Jedi for, I am willing to honor her acuity. For now."
"So long as we don't lose sight of things," Adare said, nodding. "A Sith may have been responsible for destroying this planet, but he was a Jedi once and I will not forget that."
"We could just take him out," Zayne offered with a shrug as he neared their smaller conversation, clearly having eavesdropped. "Isn't he passed out with exhaustion on his ship right now? Perfect time to off a Sith, no?"
Mical shook his head after turning the idea over in his mind, the same thought having occurred to him several times since he met the man back on Nespis. "True, but he could lead us to others like him. We only have a Jedi and a half on our side and I'm no fan of our odds, I don't care how deep of a sleep he's in... Plus, it sounds like his allegiance is tenuous at the moment. If the Jedi had no idea the Sith still existed, then it may be a smarter move to follow him and see where he takes us."
Zayne conceded to this idea with a half-smile. He was about to comment on Mical's half Jedi remark before thinking better of it, no doubt realizing that Mical had similarly never advanced beyond the rank of padawan.
"You don't give yourself enough credit," Zayne muttered in his direction before facing Adare and speaking louder. "If the Sith poses any problem, Master Vash and I can handle it, I think. We'll be on our guard."
Mical nodded in agreement, wondering how he might fare against a man like Erebus. A chill ran through him as he was reminded of the man rummaging through his mind back on Nespis, bile rising at the back of his throat, overpowering any idea of camaraderie Mical might have felt afterward rifling through the Sith's research.
"I'll have to take your word for it," Administer Adare confided. "As Dillan said, we could use all the help we can get, and our list of allies is thin."
Mical had only spent his earliest years on Dantooine. His first memories inhabited this place, or at least what it had been. Looking out at the landscape now he noted there were far fewer trees. As for which estates remained intact, it was difficult to tell for certain what remained with all the crests and valleys hiding their grounds. He had half a mind to wander around and see for himself, but it was the budding blba grove to the west that caught his eye. Buried in its thicket was a ship he would very much like to study, were it not for its sole inhabitant.
The sun hung low over the horizon by the time he reached the grove. The sky burned a bright rose gold as he crested the final hill, spying Master Vash sitting idly at the extended loading ramp to Erebus' vessel. She looked up as he approached, unsurprised but confused nonetheless.
"Any updates?" was all she asked even though a thousand questions clouded her features as she eagerly read his. Mical shook his head.
"Just some errant theories but nothing more," Mical relented, letting out a breath as he wiped the sweat from his fringe. He ran his hand across his scalp, threading his fingers through the damp strands of his hair as an idea formed, only half-realized by the time he spoke again. "Is he awake? Will he speak with me?"
Master Vash blanched for a moment, growing more surprised by the second, before shaking her head and shrugging.
"I don't see why not," she said quietly, "He awoke about a half hour ago. He's just resting now."
So he's fine, Mical thought, judging Vash to be the kind of person to divulge that sort of information upfront. He was almost disappointed but knew he should be relieved if only for the reason he was here now. But before Mical could brush past Vash and see for himself, the Jedi reached up and stopped him with a hand at his elbow, another question forming on her face before she could utter it into existence.
"You want something from him," she said instead, her brown eyes volleying between his, reading every line of his face in the silence that followed.
"Part of the reason why I agreed to help Master Draay wasn't just because I thought Sith artifacts should be locked away," Mical admitted after a beat. "They should be studied, understood. We only have Kun's saber because he relented in the end, but what of the others? If you're headed to Korriban then I want in. I want to study the tombs there, not as a Jedi but as a scholar."
"I'm just going on what I saw, but if my visions told me anything they confirmed that Korriban will be… dangerous, if anything."
A shadow of uncertainly crossed Vash's features, darker than any expression Mical had seen the woman betray outwardly thus far.
"Frankly, I'm not sure if even I should accompany Erebus there," she continued, her jaw tight. "But I will cross that bridge when I come to it."
"Then I want information, access to anything he knows. Before tracking down the saber, there were other artifacts I hunted but none I could find. They were either reclaimed or destroyed, but I want proof."
"Proof?" a voice said from the loading ramp. Both Mical and Vash turned to find Erebus standing there, looking awful. His gaunt face looked even more skeletal in the growing darkness, his sickly green eyes still limned with sleep. "I can get you halfway there, maybe."
"You'll agree to my terms?" Mical said almost too quickly, letting his eagerness get the better of him. He wasn't sure he trusted anything that came out of the Sith's twisted mouth but something about the sorry look of the man made Mical trust him, even if only a little.
"Depends on your terms," Erebus smirked before sending himself into a coughing fit. Mical and Vash exchanged glances before turning to the Sith again as he regained his composure. "I know you examined my notes already, and sure I'll let you copy some of my homework, but don't be offended if I don't betray all of my Sith secrets."
"You're oddly agreeable," Vash muttered, a hint of a smirk crossing her face though Mical could still sense the bitterness in her words.
"I'm keeping my options open," Erebus said, shrugging.
Despite the goosebumps rising along his arms at Erebus' words, Mical nodded and extended a hand. "Do we have an accord?"
Erebus only smiled wider, his expression growing almost wicked.
"Agreed," the Sith said, taking his hand. It was cold to the touch, but firm. Erebus' eyes never left Mical's as they shook on it.
"Agreed," Mical echoed through gritted teeth, still painfully polite despite the pit of uncertainty taking root in his gut. Regret weighed heavy in Mical's bones, but it was too late to turn back now, and it was impossible to admit, even silently to himself, that he did not want to see this through.
Even if it was the death of him.
3951 BBY, Peragus Mining Facility
Atton
The engine thrummed beneath them with a hollow rumbling that set Atton on edge.
"This place is quiet," Kreia muttered. "For now."
She moved her head about as if she were looking, though without eyes Atton wasn't sure exactly what the woman was sensing. The hair on the back of Atton's neck stood on end.
"This smells like bait to me," Atton said, his hand reaching for the pilfered blaster now affixed to his hip. "Like a trap."
Kreia sighed.
"I'm afraid he's right," the old woman agreed. "Be on your guard."
Eden looked between the two of them, wide-eyed, before nodding at each of them in turn. Approaching the fork in the hall ahead, Eden paused, looking from side to side before closing her eyes. With an arm outstretched, she beckoned that they both come closer before stopping.
"Follow my lead," she whispered, "I remember enough of this place to find the bridge."
Atton nodded though Kreia remained motionless. From what the two had said, Kreia had been on this ship along with Eden, though the way the old woman had been brought aboard was questionable. If Kreia knew something Eden didn't, Atton wanted to believe that the woman would have voiced as much. But from her silence he could tell there was more the old Jedi wasn't letting on.
"Stay close," Eden instructed as she finally moved beyond the fork in the hallway. Taking the left-most corridor, Eden led them towards what Atton recalled had been the head of the ship from the looks of the thing when it had docked. A few of the hallway's lights were out, others flickering uncertainly as they moved along, emphasizing their movements in the shadows cast along the walls. Atton's peripheral vision wanted to read the shadows as threats, tracking every one of them along the hallway with the staccato rhythm of the flickering lights. A flash then darkness, a shadow then light, over and over again... until he saw it - a ripple. First, Atton thought it was exhaustion finally catching up with him. But when it happened again, and a third time-
Atton's left hand shot up, reaching for Eden and silently telling her to pause. The woman obliged, offering him a questioning glance as Kreia also stopped in her tracks, looking mildly annoyed before looking around herself.
"We're not alone," Atton mouthed. Eden nodded and tightened the ill-fitting mining outfit at her waist, her right hand lingering over the shockstick hanging from a belt loop as she took another step.
Eden breathed in, her inhale occupying all sound in the hall, just before she unhooked the shockstick, activated it, and thrust it into the seemingly empty space to her right. The air rippled and collapsed, before transforming before their eyes into a shape clad in black and grey. Without breaking eye contact with Eden, Atton unfurled his blaster and fired - hitting another invisible figure on Eden's left. The air there rippled too before dissolving, a form fluttering out from nothingness as it crumpled to the floor.
"There will be more of them up ahead," Kreia warned, her eyes keen on Atton. He couldn't see her eyes, but he could feel her glaring nonetheless. Sith, he thought, willing the word out of his mind the moment he thought it. It made sense, given his Jedi companions, but drawing conclusions didn't make the reality of it any easier to swallow.
"Wait," Eden whispered, her eyes pausing on a malfunctioning door up ahead. "That was the comm center. Maybe there's some record of what happened here."
Eden stalked down the hall, hitting a panel beside the door that set the lighting to rights again. She glanced about the hallway before disappearing into the room beyond, leaving Atton alone with Kreia.
"We'll just… wait out here…"
Kreia said nothing. Atton turned to face the hall behind them, crossing his arms as his eyes fell on the fallen bodies. Dark-clad and nondescript, they lay motionless, familiar yet indistinguishable in their singularity. Atton had a uniform not unlike theirs once, but Atton had since decided that brown suited him better than black ever did.
Before Atton could get too uncomfortable in Kreia's stony silence beside him, Eden emerged from the briefing room, shaking her head.
"Let's go," Eden urged them toward the right-side hallway. "The dormitories are this way."
"Find anything?" Atton whispered, unsure of the new unfettered agitation that lit up Eden's already frustrated features. Eden remained silent. Atton swallowed.
"I want to make a pass by my quarters first, see if I left anything behind. But other than that, there was nothing about what happened here, so we only have Kreia's word to go on for now." At that, Eden glanced back at the woman. Kreia nodded sagely in acknowledgement. "We'll have to loop through the med bay on our way to the bridge though, so maybe we can check the logs there, too."
Atton nodded, knowing Eden couldn't see him respond as they crept down the hallway.
"You said you were on this ship, right?" Atton asked again as he tailed Eden closely, watching as the flickering light reflected off the gold beads threaded into her hair. "Did you find out why?"
Eden's brow furrowed and she winced, the scar across her cheek flashing white as the skin stretched taught over her freckles.
"Sort of," she admitted. Instead of elaborating further, Eden redirected her attention to the end of the hall and rolled her shoulders, easing her head to one side as one of her vertebrae audibly cracked with a satisfying pop.
"And what was that?"
"I was supposed to meet with Admiral Carth Onasi," Eden answered after a moment, sounding just as perplexed as Atton felt at hearing the name.
"The head of the Republic Navy?!" Atton hissed.
"Someone doesn't want me to meet with him, apparently, because weird things started happening on this ship long before we encountered Kreia."
"You recall what happened now?" Kreia finally interjected, her voice gravelly-soft as they tip-toed towards the door up ahead. Eden shook her head.
"A little, but that much was reiterated in the comm center," she said. "Someone had been aboard tampering with the ship's communications and with the fuel supply. It's why the Harbinger needed to delay it's rendezvous at Telos and redirect here, to Peragus."
"I see," Kreia mused. "And it wasn't long after I was brought aboard that the crew started going missing."
At this, Eden nodded as well, but this time Atton saw a muscle twitch as her jaw tensed. Eden held up a closed fist as they neared the end of the hall, silently commanding that they stop. Both Atton and Kreia obliged. Ground ops, most likely, Atton thought, instantly thinking of the war again. Atton rarely fought on the front lines and he'd always considered himself lucky to have served from the comfort of his own cockpit more often than not. Watching Eden revert to old habits now set him ill at ease, and judging by the look on Eden's face she felt very much the same.
There are more behind that door, Atton mouthed at her, instantly sensing at least a few stealth generators just beyond the sheet of metal that separated them from the crew quarters. Atton raised three fingers at her in silence, and then four after a moment's deliberation. Eden narrowed her eyes as she searched Atton's face, questioning, before nodding, placing a gentle hand at his elbow in silent affirmation. Atton tensed and felt his face grow warm.
Eden looked from Atton to Kreia and back again, before enabling her shockstick and opening the door. As soon as the doors opened with a near-silent whoosh, Eden was on two blurry half-decloaked attackers, leaving the other two to Atton and Kreia. Atton opened fire, aiming a head-shot at his nearest opponent before firing at Eden's second already-maimed assailant, sending them both to the ground in an instant.
Before Atton knew it, the hall was quiet again. No one remained but them. Kreia nudged the body of her opponent with her boot before kneeling down to slide the vibrosword from their grip. Atton didn't have a chance to wonder how an old woman, Jedi or not, managed to incapacitate an armed opponent with nothing but her hands. But the look of her testing the vibrosword's weight in her grip was enough to give him pause.
"This is crew quarters," Atton said, spying the disarray in the shadows of a nearby room with a busted open door. Sparks flew out at the hall from the broken junction, spraying in their general direction but dissipating in the air before they could cause any meaningful damage. "They had you sleeping in a bunk?"
"Sort of, I think I had an unused lieutenant's quarters. This should only take a minute," Eden answered in a quick whisper before disappearing down the hall. This time, Atton and Kreia hung back, waiting for her at the junction instead of following her to the end. This time Atton ignored the bodies and instead wondered if a version of himself from a few days ago would believe that he would be doing this within a week's time, escaping an empty mining facility and sneaking aboard a Republic ship, avoiding Sith Assassins that were not unlike an older version of himself…
"It was here, all laid out," Eden's voice carried down the hall, "I laid his body here…. And then-"
Atton looked at Kreia to find the woman's hooded figure already looking at him. Though he couldn't read her expression, he sensed her unsaid query. Is Eden talking to herself?
Atton and Kreia reached an unspoken agreement to meet Eden at her quarters. They rushed down the hall after her only to slow as they neared the room's entrance, afraid of what they might find. Atton took the first tentative step forward and exhaled. The room beyond was disheveled but nothing more, to Atton's relief. Someone had rummaged through this place, but Atton was still surprised to find the room void of life, save for Eden herself. She was pacing now, moving things at random across the room as if it might mean something.
"Body? What body?" Atton found himself asking, echoing Eden's choice of words from a moment ago. Despite the lack of visual evidence, Atton's eyes scanned the remainder of the room in search of a corpse or at least blood in the absence of one.
"Here," Eden said, her voice a rasp whisper as she laid her hands across a now-empty desk, a series of tools falling in a cascade to the floor at her feet just as Atton and Kreia entered the room proper. "The HK was here… I was rebuilding it."
Atton sighed again. Before any conclusions could be made, Eden swept across the room towards the porthole, pausing there for a moment to bite her lip.
"And there was a woman, Republic I think. She was… no, wait-"
Eden stopped herself short and then darted to the far end of the room. Atton followed her trajectory to see a nondescript travel pack lying on the floor just before Eden reached it, tearing it apart.
"No, no, it can't be gone," she whispered as she upended the pack's contents. Atton could only make out a few items: light-colored linens, or clothes maybe, a dark robe, a few ration packs, and a pile of credit chits that clinked as they scattered to the ground around Eden. Atton looked at Kreia, who nodded in return and took a step towards Eden.
"You will remember with time," Kreia said, placing a hand on Eden's shoulder. Eden spun around and paused beneath Kreia's grip, still bent over the rucksack to look Kreia in the eye… or the vacuous shadow of her lowered hood. "All you need to remember now is where to find the bridge. I fear we don't have much time."
Eden rose to her feet, Kreia's hand still on her shoulder. She glanced at the old woman's hand as if she had never seen a humanoid limb before. Kreia's fingers tightened their grip and Eden redirected her gaze to the woman's face again.
"I can sense them," Kreia whispered. "More enemies await us beyond these halls, including the one responsible for all of this."
As Kreia's words sunk into the silence, Atton's skin grew cold. Where there were Sith Assassins, a Master was never far behind. While he'd been recruited by Revan, it was Darth Malak he had worked under the most, the man's metallic grin still a vision that occasionally haunted his thoughts. That man was dead now, and Revan was gone. So who was on their tail now?
"And your control will come with time, and rest," Kreia continued, her voice still hushed. Eden tensed at Kreia's words at first, but after a few measured breaths Atton saw her shoulders finally relax. Eden nodded, resigned.
"I had something here, something important," Eden explained after a moment, still breathless. "It has to be the reason I was supposed to meet with Admiral Onasi. But if it's gone, then-"
"It is likely in the hands of our enemy," Kreia finished for her. "And the only way you may get it back is to face them. Come."
Eden glanced at Atton, a wave of embarrassment passing over her features as her cheeks grew momentarily red. Atton looked away, equally uncomfortable at having witnessed a moment he knew was none of his business. He could hear Eden rummage through the remains of her room before both she and Kreia were at his side again by the open door.
"Let's get this over with," Eden muttered, squaring her shoulders as she exited the room. She didn't offer it a second glance and sped down the corridor as if she couldn't reach the end fast enough. Atton was about to agree as they neared the upcoming junction, wondering if they might at least check the other rooms for supplies, when the lights gave out.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Atton groaned under his breath.
"I've been hearing that a lot lately," Eden hissed. She activated her shockstick, illuminating her corner of the room only a fraction. All they could see were each other's outlines, though Kreia's pilfered vibrosword glowed brightest in the din.
I don't sense anyone, Atton thought just as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He froze. But we're not alone.
Eden spun around ahead of him, facing the empty hallway and its darkness, her eyes searching its depths for an answer. Atton mirrored her and turned around as well. The hall was still cloaked in shadow when he looked, but with a blink the light at the end of the hallway flickered on and off and on again before stilling, illuminating a single figure at the end of it.
Atton did not know the dead could walk but facing them on the other end of the corridor was a motionless corpse. It would be one thing if it were lying down, only it was standing firmly on two legs, staring at them with one glittering eye from the depths of a hollow eye socket, its other eye a white mass of glistening nothingness. Scarred grey flesh canvassed its skin, exposed from the waist up above antiquated billowing trousers and heavy-set boots. Atton's arm flew to his holster, engaging his blaster within an instant only for Kreia to place a papery hand on his, stilling him instantly.
Kreia said nothing and a wave of cold flushed over Atton as he looked into the void of her lowered hood.
Stop.
Atton gulped an awkward mouthful of air as he turned from Kreia to the end of the hall again, quickly counting the bodies that littered the floor to find that none were missing. They hadn't heard the door open. He must have already been here, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The corpse took a measured step forward, and in an instant Atton felt a wave of heat followed by the smell of rot.
Atton's hand still hovered over his blaster, unsure if it would be much good even if he could fire it, just as Kreia took a step forward and readied her stolen vibrosword. The blade whistled as it cut through the air before stilling, aimed at their undead opponent.
"This battle is mine alone. I am not defenseless."
Atton could have sworn the old woman directed the last bit at him. Kreia flashed the vibrosword again before she dissolved into the shadow that separated them from the figure at the other end of the corridor. Time stood still. Atton counted the seconds as he did power couplings, but Kreia still did not emerge at the end of the corridor when she should have, judging by her footfalls...
Go quickly, you fools, Atton heard in his ear, as if whispered. Shuddering, Atton finally tore his eyes away from the walking corpse and turned towards the door at his back. His gaze met Eden's, her bright eyes as wide as his felt, and with a look they communicated their collective desire to get the hell out of here. Without breaking eye contact, Eden's palm hit the panel beside the door. As soon as it opened, she slipped through, grabbing Atton by the wrist and wrestling him across the threshold before slamming it shut again.
Even once Atton was cleared of the door, Eden shoved him aside. While jamming her shockstick into the wall panel on the other side to effectively break the command mechanism, she thrust her hand out into the open air. Atton's brow furrowed, confused, before a flurry of storage canisters soared across the room and landed in a thunderous wave against the now-broken door.
"Nothing wrong with some added security," Eden breathed, looking surprised at her own feat. "C'mon, let's not give them a chance to catch up."
"I'm with you there," Atton agreed quickly. "So, to the bridge?"
Eden nodded.
"To the bridge."
