Vette and Mau'te rode one of the large, external lifts towards the middle Lords levels. Mau'te didn't wear his normal crisp clothes but a looser tunic, more like an acolyte's.

"A hideous Sith Lord was a bad cliche'," he'd told her once and did everything he could to prove it. He couldn't afford much on his Apprentice salary, but what he got was always clean and sharp. All straight lines and hard edges, he wore them like a second skin he refused to shed. The current tunic, on the other hand, clung to his torso and showed off his muscles.

Vette pushed those thoughts down. Only surface thoughts could be read, he'd told her. Keep them scattered. Your real thoughts must be an impression, not a clear voice.

"You're nervous," he said.

"Reading me again?" Vette asked.

"No," Mau'te said. "You've obviously been practicing, but you're acting nervous."

She watched him for a while and said, "I just don't understand why you didn't want me here. I've watched you spar before."

"I told you," he said. "I don't think you'll like Lord Hexid."

On the Lord's level, the ceilings were higher, the walls were cleaner, and the apprentices were more contemptuous. They scowled carefully in Mau'te's direction and gritted their teeth. He'd already beaten most of their masters, and they knew it.

"Is it just me," Vette said, trying to cover the tension, "Or does every apprentice use a double-bladed lightsaber?"

"They have become popular," Mau'te replied. "They are more effective against multiple melee opponents but less effective against blaster fire." He nodded at the other apprentices. "They expect to fight a lot of Jedi. However, blaster fire is far more common than another Force sensitive. The single-bladed, two-handed saber is the most effective against blasters, and it's the most versatile overall. Only the stealth types really need the double-bladed saber."

"What do the spikes do?" she asked.

He leaned close and whispered, "Nothing. They're a crutch for weak swordsmen. They're more likely to damage you than your opponent."

They reached their destination and rang the door. It opened, and they heard the sweep of a lightsaber in the distance.

"Enter!" a woman yelled.

Mau'te and Vette found the Zabrak Sith Lord slashing at holographic Jedi with a double-bladed lightsaber. She was barefoot, dressed in tight exercise clothes and covered in sweat. She finished off her last two enemies, deactivated her saber, and turned toward them. Hexid was a little taller than Vette and a little flatter. She had hard muscles, hard eyes, and a dangerous grin.

"So, you're the apprentice of Darth Baras?" She smiled at Mau'te. "I loathe Baras." She waited for a response. "No reaction?"

"Why would there be?" Mau'te said.

Hexid barked a laugh.

"Double-bladed," Vette said.

Hexid looked at Vette as if surprised she were there.

"She asked about them," Mau'te said. "I told her they were less effective against blasters."

"Quite right!" Hexid said. "I never waste my time with common troops. I go straight for the Jedi." She grinned again. "Now tell me, why should I accept your challenge?"

"I'm very good," Mau'te said.

Hexid looked him up and down and back up again. "Take off your shirt, and I'll consider it."

Mau'te dropped the simple shirt revealing muscles harder than Hexid's. Vette looked away and tried to think of something else.

Hexid smiled and said, "I've considered it." She exchanged her lightsaber for a training saber. She walked to the far end of the practice area and waited.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Mau'te asked.

Hexid gave him a look that had nothing to do with swordplay and removed her top. Vette gasped and looked away.

"What about this one?" Hexid said, giving Vette a similar look. "Is she going to watch or participate?"

"You may go if you wish," Mau'te said.

Vette nodded and left quickly. Outside the door, she whispered, "Asshole," and headed toward the lift. She stopped for a moment and took a few breaths, holding it in. "'Do you want to watch or participate?'" she said, starting again. "I don't want to watch your skanky ass. I don't know what you're talking about. Watch or participate. I don't need to watch something like that. I don't know what-"

"It's not that bad," the assassin said.

Vette hit the wall, gasping for breath.

"Are you part ghost?!"

"Not as far as I know," the assassin answered.

Vette leaned against the wall, waiting for her heartrate to drop. "Why are you here?"

"To tell you it's not that bad."

Vette finally had a good look at her. The assassin was shorter than Vette, flatter, thinner, a hundred times scarier.

"Why?" Vette said.

She put a hand on Vette's arm. "You were thinking of leaving. I'd rather you didn't."

"How-?"

The assassin smiled. "As Lord Zash says, 'precognitives make the best assassins.'"

"You knew all of... this?"

"More of an impression."

"Why do you care?" Vette asked. "Why do you want me here? Why do you want me with him? I thought you wanted him for yourself."

"My interest is political," the assassin said. "But I need to know I can trust Lord Mau'te. I think you help him with that."

"It doesn't seem like it."

The assassin smiled again. "A man like Lord Mau'te needs a challenge. Hexid is not his kind of challenge. I promise."

Vette shrugged and noticed the assassin's lightsaber. "So you know, he says spikes are a crutch for weak swordsmen."

The assassin held in a laugh. "I'm not surprised Lord Mau'te has a severe view of lightsaber design. They're not spikes; they're fins, and they're an artistic addition."

"Oh. It's kind of cool looking, I guess."

"Thank you. And please wait a bit. At least until your first real mission."

"Another impression?"

The assassin shook her head. "Familiarity. I've studied Lord Mau'te for a long time."

"That sounds kind of creepy," Vette said.

"I suppose it does," the assassin said with that same odd smile.

Vette shrugged. "They'd probably chase me if I ran."

"Chase you and execute you."

Vette looked back towards Hexid's quarters and sighed nodded.

"Excellent," the assassin said.

"Did you send my instructor?"

"I did," the assassin said. "She speaks well of you."

"Thanks," Vette said. She looked back towards Hexid's again and thought about Mau'te and Dromund Kaas and the Empire. She turned back, and the assassin was gone. "I really hate her." She sighed and returned home.


"Vette," Mau'te called out, entering their apartment. "I have dinner. If you want it."

Vette came out of her room with a strange look.

"Are you hungry?" Mau'te asked.

"I got a message from Mako."

"I heard," Mau'te said. "I heard about Fraabaal's daughter, anyway."

"Ter'viro is in the hospital."

Mau'te dropped the food on the table and said, "Let's go."

"We can't be seen with them," Vette said.

"You're the stealthy one. Make sure we're not."

Once they reached the hospital, Mau'te headed straight for the front door. Vette grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Do you want stealthy or not?" she said.

Vette searched the building quickly, looking at entrances, exits, and security cameras, until she found what she needed. She guided Mau'te to a security exit, locked from the inside. Mau'te reached for his lightsaber, and Vette pushed his arm back. She took a tool kit from her jacket, attached a probe to the lock, and scanned the lock for the power signal. She redirected the power for a moment, and the lock clicked open. Mau'te grabbed the door before the lock reset. Once inside, she pulled him to an alcove hidden from the cameras.

"What?" she asked.

He was looking at her strangely.

"Nothing," he said.

"Wait here," she told him.

She left for a long few minutes. She returned, motioned him to follow, and took him on a careful route to a maintenance door. She showed him a service lift with a worker nearby.

"I don't know what to do about him," Vette said.

"I do," Mau'te replied and walked toward the worker.

"My Lord," the worker said. "You shouldn't be-"

"You didn't see us," Mau'te said with a wave of his hand.

"I... I didn't see you," the worker replied.

"Call the lift," Mau'te said.

The worker tapped the lift control with is security pin.

"Go on about your business," Mau'te said.

"Excuse me," the worker said. "I need to get back to work."

Mau'te and Vette entered the lift, and Vette pushed one of the floor buttons.

"I thought that was a Jedi thing," Vette said.

"Jedi use it more often," he said. "But we're capable of it. It has quite a few uses, in fact."

"I'll bet," Vette said.

He gave her a sour look. "Some enjoy that fetish, but I have never needed it."

They reached Ter'viro's floor, and stealth and mind trick got them to the door unnoticed.

Mau'te put a hand on the door and said, "It's just them."

They found Ter'viro in bed, his feet hanging over the end. His back and sides were covered with light bandages. Mako sat next to the bed, scowling at Ter'viro.

"You shouldn't be here," Ter'viro said.

"We weren't noticed," Mau'te replied.

Mako slapped Ter'viro's shoulder and said, "Dummy."

"What happened?" Vette asked.

"Force lightening," Mau'te said. "Not much power to it or much accuracy. He got lucky."

"We won," Ter'viro said.

"I know," Mau'te said. "Brought her back alive. The Admiral has been complaining about his daughter all day. He won't say how he got her back, but he won't talk about anything else. Congratulations. You made a very powerful man very happy."

Ter'viro shrugged.

Mako slapped Ter'viro's shoulder again and said, "Dummy." She shook the sting out of her fingers.

"Mako?" Vette said.

"Do you know what he did?" Mako said.

"You jumped in front of the lightening, didn't you?" Mau'te said to Ter'viro.

Ter'viro shrugged.

"Why did you do that?" Mako said.

"I had more armor," Ter'viro said.

"I had armor. Some armor. Enough armor. He said it wasn't that powerful. I could have taken it. I'm your partner. You're not supposed to do that." Mako scowled at him again.

Ter'viro shrugged.

Mau'te sighed. "I thought you learned your lesson after the yarra pups." Vette and Mako looked at Mau'te. "It's how he got the scar on his jaw."

Mako said, "You said that was a knife from a bounty."

Ter'viro said, "Sounded cooler."

"No," Mau'te said. "A very enthusiastic yarra pup."

Ter'viro shrugged. "I saved Nina."

"You did not save Nina," Mau'te replied. "His older sister Nin'nussil. She's always had more sense and more agility. It never would have gotten near her."

"Yeah," Ter'viro said. "Probably."

"Dummy," Mako said and slapped Ter'viro's shoulder again.

Mau'te held in a smile and said, "We should go. I wanted to make sure you were all right. Obviously, you are and in excellent hands."

"Just so you know," Mako said. "I'm going to keep hitting him."

"You're hitting me?" Ter'viro said.

"Yes, I'm hitting you." Mako slapped his shoulder again.

Ter'viro said, "Oh, that's what that was."

"Yeah, that's what that was," Mako said. "So, don't do that again."

"It worked," Ter'viro said.

"I don't care," Mako said.

Mau'te and Vette looked at each other and left quietly. They heard Mako through the door, still ranting and the two of them nearly burst out laughing. They held it in until Vette's stealth got them to a different lift, then they laughed for a dozen floors.

"I like her," Mau'te said.

"I like your cousin," Vette replied.

"For him or what he did?"

"Both," Vette said. "I just hope Mako doesn't scare him off."

"Scare him?" Mau'te said.

"Mako can be scary sometimes."

"No," he said. "Ter'viro's mother is scary. Mako's a kitten."

"Oh," Vette said with a smile. "Now I really like him."

"Good job getting us in, by the way," Mau'te said. "You're as skilled as you said."

"I thought I proved that."

He shook his head. "Most places won't be like the tomb. You've given me more valuable proof."

"I might faint from the compliments," she said.

"I'll catch you."

"I've recovered." She looked away from him and pushed her thoughts down. Way, way down.


Four hours later, Mako still sat next to Ter'viro, scowling as he slept.

"Dummy," she whispered.

A Twi'lek nurse entered, so quietly Mako almost didn't hear her. She checked Ter'viro's vitals and put a hand on Mako's shoulder.

"Visiting hours are over," the nurse whispered. "It's all right. He'll be released tomorrow."

Mako nodded and stood up.

"If he wakes up, tell him he's a dummy," she said.

"I will, miss," the nurse replied.

Mako left quietly.

The agent watched Mako leave, shook her head, and held in a laugh. She leaned over Ter'viro, whispered, "You dumbass," kissed his forehead, and left him to sleep.