Xeran decapitated the two troopers, then slammed the third one on the wall with the Force, dazing him, before he stabbed him through the chest.

With a wave of his hand, he opened the door. The stormtroopers on the other side prepared to intercept him, assuming a defensive formation and taking aim. Xeran ripped a durasteel plate from the wall with the Force, which he levitated in front of him, using it as a shield. He advanced on the troopers, who retreated towards the hall, and, when they reached the narrow corridor, he propelled the plate towards them, crushing or mutilating most of them. He finished the rest with his warblade, swiftly deflecting their shots back at them.

He didn't stop to rest. He knew there was still a small army between him and his target, and taking them on was almost suicide. Another man would turn back, reunite with his allies and advance slowly, forfeiting his personal mission.

He was not another man.

He felt the nagging worry at the back of his head. His window was closing, and fast. He made his way towards the prison block, killing everything that stood in his way.

As he saw his destination, he felt his hearts beat faster. With any luck, absolute power awaited him just behind these doors. He gripped his warblade tighter and walked towards the prison compartment.

He felt the danger in the Force before he heard the almost completely silent steps behind him.

He turned just in time to block a strike from an electrostaff. With a growl, he pushed the staff away, blocked its other end, then hit the other man on his masked face with the elbow and exploited the opening, landing a kick on his chest with enough power to stop his breathing. The soldier did not have time to even fill his lungs with air one final time before the warblade fell.

Xeran took a defensive stance, observing three more armored soldiers wielding electrostaffs preparing to attack. Purge troopers? Here? These special units were trained to kill Jedi, not run drills on a military base, especially with no reports of Force users in the entire system for more than a few years.

"Give it up, Jedi. There is no escape!"

The Zabrak's eyes radiated anger and annoyance as he looked at them. "I do not have time for you right now." He raised his hand and all the troopers rose in the air, dropping their weapons and clawing at their necks as they chocked. Without wasting any more time, the young Sith snapped their necks and moved towards his target, ignoring the sound of the bodies collapsing on the cold floor.

Finally, he opened the doors, killed the few remaining guards, and approached the cell.

It was empty.

The lights flickered as he roared, and the durasteel on the walls bent. His target had escaped him once more.

He quickly gathered himself, despite the heat he still felt on his face. It had been four years since that fateful day when he had lost everything but his mission and his revenge. Since then, he was fighting against the Empire as part of a rebel cell, all the while searching for the documents that would reveal the location of his prize, his master's superweapon. Many times he thought he had felt them in a particular place, and every time he found only disappointment. Finally, he realized the truth.

The documents were constantly moving.

Whoever possessed them was not staying in any one place very long. It had taken a lot of effort to track him, but he had found his chance when the man was captured by the Imperials. His rebel allies agreed to raid the facility and free a few important prisoners, and he believed he would finally prevail. He was wrong.

Slowly, he focused on the present. He checked the various cells and located the other prisoners he had come here for. He activated his communicator.

"This is Vox. I have secured the prison block and located the prisoners."

"Well done!", said the reptilian voice on the other side. "And we have sssspilled a lot of blood this day."

Xeran was pleased to learn the Trandoshan's group was making progress. They would need more than the prisoners to consider their mission a success, namely the supplies and weapons stored in the Imperial facility. At least something good would come from this endeavor.

"What about your quarry?"

"He has escaped."

There was silence for a moment. "I will ssssend a team to get the prisoners to the ships. You join us, little hunter. Maybe you will still find what you are ssssearching for!"

Xeran considered it. It wouldn't have been easy for his prey to escape both the guards and the rebels unseen. Maybe he was still inside the facility. And if he wasn't, maybe he had left the documents there in his haste to leave. Maybe his prize was in the storage room.

"I will wait for your team and then join you, Burrsk. Vox out."

He deactivated the communicator and relaxed as much as he could without letting his guard down. The Trandoshan warrior was a person whose company he enjoyed very much, especially when it came to them fighting together. Both of them formidable warriors, they had developed a friendly rivalry over the years, often sparring together, sometimes keeping score of the enemies they killed in battle. But Xeran wielded the Force as his weapon, and that was enough for him to win.

Most of the time.

His mood improved, if only a little, in the idea of fighting side by side with Burrsk, and he allowed himself to welcome the challenge. Soon, he was on his way to the front line, to take the rage his failure had induced him with out on the Imperial soldiers. Indeed, a lot of blood would be spilled today.

A short time later, the Zabrak was resting on the ship he would make his return journey on. As he had feared, the documents were nowhere to be found. Still, the firepower they had acquired in this mission would make a bigger strike at the Empire possible, and that counted for something.

"Ssssmile, little hunter. We have won."

Xeran raised his head and looked at the large, green-scaled alien. "Only a half victory. You cannot imagine the lengths I went to in order to locate that man, and now he is gone. I don't think I will get another chance like this one."

"Not everything is as grim as you think, sir." Shammus was enjoying his well-earned rest as well, since the ship was flying on autopilot. "He will have left tracks trying to escape that hastily, tracks we can follow. We may still find him."

The young warrior decided to change the topic. "Indeed we will. Until then, we should focus on the next mission."

Burrsk's mouth pulled back in his species' equivalent of a smile. "It's big, thissss one. An attack on an important mining facility. If we succeed, we can delay their bigger operations for weeks!"

"Would you care to elaborate?"

As the Trandoshan started to explain, Xeran's communicator beeped.

He looked at the device. "I should take that call in private." His companions had earned his trust to a certain degree, but not enough for him to divulge all of his secrets.

As he closed the door and activated the device, a familiar figure appeared. "Lord Vox."

"Brehan Silc." It had taken a little effort after Maul's demise, but he had made the man respect him just as much and serve him just as loyally as he had his master.

"I have followed the leads you gave me, and I think I have something for you."

"You found him?"

"Not exactly." Brehan scratched his head nervously. "I found who sold him the documents, though. They were part of a private collection, just like the ones I procured for you. The owner sold them, along with a big part of his collection, because he needed credits in order to disappear. He had… entanglements with the Empire, you see. I managed to find him, but he did not have much information. He did have something, though. An account number. The one through which he was paid."

Xeran's eyes widened. "Is it possible to monitor it?"

"I already have people doing so. They have discovered recent payments, indicating he is still using it. The moment he makes a transaction, we will know where he is."

The young Sith paused for a moment, having to contain his emotions. "You have served me well once more, Silc. You shall be rewarded as we have agreed."

The man's face glowed. "The holocron?"

Xeran knew the black market trader's services were only his as long as there was profit in it for the older man. He had managed to steal enough credits to maintain the illusion of wealth, as far as his servant was concerned, but recently he had had to part with a few items from his master's collection, much to his regret. At the very least, he always made sure to not give away an artifact he had not first studied thoroughly.

"It shall be delivered to you as per usual. If you find our target soon enough, I will make sure you are additionally rewarded."

The man bowed, smiling. "Always a pleasure to serve you, my lord."

"Contact me as soon as you discover anything." With that, he terminated the connection and took a moment to take in the information. Maybe his victory was not as far away as he had previously thought.