Hello everyone. I'm not going to launch into a lecture of who I like and don't like in SWTOR, but I will say I don't like Khem Val. I thought about putting another companion in there instead, but none of them would make sense given how early in the storyline this is. So if you're a Khem Val fan, sorry, but he won't be doing much.


The Sunken Sarlac Cantina had been cleared of the normal crowd and reserved for Kherine, Limmdul, and the victorious Imperial infantry and pilots, and their support personnel. Khem Val had chosen not to attend, although Vette was never one to turn down a party. Vette sat at the bar, taking advantage of the full stock of alcohol and observing the scene unfolding in front of her.

Normally the Imperial military had the good sense to stay away from sith, but the troopers were quickly learning that these two sith were different. Kherine moved through the crowd, laughing, talking, and drinking with the soldiers and pilots like he was one of them, and it wasn't long before his charm won them over, and the Imperials stopped calling him 'sir' and 'my lord.' Limmdul was another story, and Vette eyed the quiet sith as he sat on a smaller bar across the room. A quick scan of the room confirmed her suspicion that they were the only two non-humans in the cantina. She took her bottle and maneuvered through the crowd towards him.

"What are you drinking?" Vette asked.

Limmdul turned his fiery-hued eyes towards her, and she didn't miss the smile that touched his face. "I don't know." He took a sip and his lips tightened. "Some unnamed grog they probably reserve for rewarding slaves. It reminds me of Dathomir, my home planet."

"Good memories?"

He smirked. "No. I hated it."

"Why do you drink it then?"

"To remind myself how much I hate it."

"Is that one of your sithy things?" Vette asked, then shook her head and poured a glass from the bottle, then placed it in front of Limmdul. She took a drink directly from the bottle.

Limmdul looked at the glass filled with a transparent, glowing blue liquid. He picked it up and sniffed it suspiciously before sipping it. He looked back at Vette and smiled again, but this time the smile showed in his flaming eyes as well. "It is." He answered. "But it's not all there is to being a sith." He drank the rest. "Pleasure is another part of it, speaking of which, this is good. What is it?"

"Alderaanian brandy I think." She spun the stool around and quickly located Kherine chatting up a female officer, who seemed to be immensely enjoying the attention. "Was he like that at the Sith Academy too?"

"You mean, could he not keep his hands off every moderately attractive woman of any specie? Yes."

"He's never touched me." Vette said happily. "I don't even remember him ever trying."

Limmdul nodded. "That's Kherine. When we were on Korriban, the only way to survive was to band together. The two of us came together almost as soon as we were of the shuttle, but it wasn't long before there were others. Mostly new acolytes who'd just arrived, I think he pitied them. If they died, and plenty of them did, he mourned." He looked back at Kherine just in time to see him kiss the officer. "He treats you the same way, Khem Val as well. He respects you, honors you, would fight for you, and probably die defending you if he had to, but to treat you anything other than his teammate is incomprehensible to him."

Vette tilted her head back and took a longer drink. "Well that explains a few things I've been wondering about him. Doesn't help me understand him any better."

"You will eventually." He assured her.

The Balmorran sun's first touches of pink and orange were visible on the horizon when Darth Lachris stopped in front of the of the cantina, and it sounded as if the celebration was still in full swing. She waved away her honor guard and moved inside. A group of soldiers and pilots who'd been standing near the entryway instantly sobered and moved away from her. Like an invisible wave moving through the cantina, the celebrating imperials fell silent.

Lachris eyed the crowd for moment, but from where she stood, she couldn't see anyone who could pass for a sith. "Kherine, Limmdul, you may stay. Everyone else, out now." She didn't raise her voice, she didn't have to. The troopers and pilots all but ran out of the main room. When they cleared, she saw to her annoyance that there were three people in the room. A human wearing what looked like a trooper's uniform with hair as white as fresh snow, a tattooed zabrak, and a twi-lek with a tan-line on her neck clearly showing where a slave collar had recently been attached.

At the bar, Limmdul and Vette slid off their stools. Vette looked at Kherine and the two shared a nod, Vette turned to leave but as she did she reached up and touched Limmdul's shoulder. The zabrak looked at her in curiosity as her fingers trailed down his arm. Limmdul gave one of his rare smiles as he watched her walk away, then he moved to Kherine's side, and together the two of them marched to where Darth Lachris stood. They stopped simultaneously and dropped to on knee with heads bowed.

"You may rise." Lachris said, and they did. The three of them studying each other. "You know I am Darth Lachris." It wasn't a question. "What do you know about me?"

Kherine answered, he knew that Limmdul wouldn't speak unless she directly asked him a question, he suspected it was a lingering habit from his time as a slave. "Darth Marr noticed your skill in combat during the Galactic War and claimed you as his apprentice, at the war's conclusion you gained Lordship. You have never been defeated in battle, and you are the new Imperial Governor of Balmorra."

"Correct on all counts." She said pleasantly. "I must admit I know nothing of either of you, save for that you were at the Academy together and you work best as a team. I received the report of your success and was impressed. The two of you managed in less than a full day what the previous administration never could do."

The two sith apprentices both dipped their heads in acknowledgment, but only Kherine said, "Thank you, my Lord, but we didn't do it alone."

"A handful of soldiers and a few pilots." Lachris waved her hand dismissively. "Insignificant."

Limmdul's jaw tightened.

"Not insignificant." Kherine insisted. "We could not have done it alone."

She eyed both of them. "Your powers are unquestionable. But you have much to learn. Those soldiers and pilots you were celebrating with are tools, the same as the blasters they fire, and the starfighters they fly. Valuable, yes. But also unimportant in the greater scheme of things." She walked towards the bar that Limmdul and Vette had previously occupied. She selected three glasses, then began scouting for a bottle of favorable liquor.

"If you learn nothing else from me, and your time on Balmorra, remember this: we are sith, and the Empire is ours. The others do not matter." She finished and set a bottle on the bar. "I will not have you associating with the soldiers again in such a way. If you treat them as equals, then they will begin to think they are equals, and the entire fabric of our Empire will unravel." She filled the three glasses and offered a glass to each of them, then took the last one for herself.

"What you accomplished last night was a good start, but it was only that. I expect that tomorrow, perhaps the day after the rebels will strike back. What we need is a decisive victory over them. Capture their leaders, uncover their spies, destroy their strongholds."

"We're close to decrypting Vol Argen's messages." Kherine said. "Once that is done we'll know where he is, or where he's going to be, and we will take care of him."

"Good." Lachris nodded and raised her glass. The two sith did the same. "To an Imperial Balmorra." She toasted, and the three drank.