The assassin sat in the deep shadows of a popular bar in Sobrik. Celebration was expected after the victory at the factory, and she could not disappoint anyone. Khem had the luxury of terrifying the bar owners and could remain on the ship training. But she had no such excuse. She knew she would be approached by several officers and considered indulging. That lieutenant on Dromund Kaas had been as good as his word. An indulgence would give her an excuse to leave. Lord Mau'te, the hero of the day, was making the rounds of different bars, and this was far too early for him to see her.
"Excuse me," someone said, a human female Sith Lord with a male Pureblood beside her. "Are you the apprentice of Lord Zash?"
"Darth," the assassin corrected. "She was promoted."
"Yes, of course," the woman said. "Is it true she always picks precognitives?"
"They make the best assassins," the Twi'lek quoted.
"What did I tell you?" she said to her companion. The Pureblood shrugged. The human continued, "Have you seen the fog?"
"I have," the assassin said.
"Wonderful," the human said. "May we?" She gestured at the chairs.
The assassin nodded.
"Everyone has a slightly different vision," the human said, sitting down. "We're trying to gather as many details as we can."
"Reasonable," the assassin said.
"Have you seen the war on the other side of the fog?" the Pureblood asked.
"I have," the assassin replied.
"There," the human said to him. "Whatever you might think of Zash, she has excellent taste." She turned to the assassin. "Who do you think the Generals will be?"
"My money is on Malgus for the Empire," the Pureblood said. "I know the Imperial is a master swordsman. I've seen that too many times. No Sith Lord alive is better than Malgus."
"Too old," the human said. "The Generals have the aggression of youth. Malgus would be more calculating." She turned to the assassin. "I think the Republic General will be the Jedi that killed Darth Angral's son."
"A Twi'lek?" the Pureblood said, then added, "No offense."
Right. Who would be offended by that?
The Pureblood continued, "When has a Twi-lek ever been put in command of a fleet that size?"
"M'rret Onoka," the assassin replied. "During the Jedi Civil War. Said to have been an average combatant but a brilliant strategist. She defeated a superior force more than once."
"Did she survive the war?" the human asked.
"Killed by Revan," the assassin told her. "Pity. They were supposed to have been friends."
"Revan killed a lot of his friends," the Pureblood said.
"True," the assassin said. "What was that about Angral's son?" She'd heard something about the events on Coruscant, but nothing about the Jedi involved.
The human said, "Lord Tarnis was running some operation out of the Jedi Temple. The Jedi found out and sent this Twi'lek in. He went in, with a minimal force, broke the Imperial line, and killed Tarnis. Right in front of Angral, who was on holo."
So. The assassin thought. It's begun. The great Darth Angral reduced to nothing but a coming out party.
"It can't be him," the Pureblood said. "Angral will kill him before the year's out."
"What if he kills Angral?" the human asked.
The Pureblood thought for a moment and said, "I'll owe you dinner. But it's not enough to prove he's the Republic General."
"Yes, yes, yes," the human said. She turned to the assassin. "So. What have you seen? What's your best guess?"
"I agree that they're young," she replied.
The human smiled at the Pureblood.
"I think they're unknown, for now," the assassin continued. "They're like nothing we would ever expect. And they will be the heroes of the next war."
"I like this one," the human said.
The assassin paused, then added, "I also think they're connected somehow."
The human looked at her companion. "Dhothis said the same thing."
"So he did," the Pureblood replied.
"Have you seen Corellia?" the human asked.
"No," the assassin said. "I have not. What happens on Corellia?"
"I've only met three who've seen it," the human said. "Their visions ranged from spectacular to horrific."
"I suppose that depends on your point of view," the assassin said.
"Or your proximity," the Pureblood added.
"Any other details?" the human asked.
"Nothing I'd care to mention," the assassin replied.
The Pureblood groaned. "I told you. She's keeping the best information to herself."
"She's Zash's apprentice. Besides, you do it too. Don't think I haven't noticed." The human looked at the assassin. "I'm going to watch you from now on. You've had some good visions. I can tell. You'll be one of the first to see them."
"Unless she's seen them already," the Pureblood said.
The human scoffed at him. "Only if she knew them personally." To the assassin, she said, "If you have any good visions, feel free to share."
The assassin smiled. "You're hunting for the Imperial General. You want to benefit from him."
"Of course!" the human said. "Are you sure the General is male?"
"Yes," the assassin said. "Yes I am."
"Excellent. Anything we can do for you?"
"Suggest someone," she said, gesturing around the room. "I'm getting bored."
The Pureblood said, "I'll send one to your room."
Back in her room, she sat on the floor, opened her mind to the Force, and searched for Corellia. She found war, but that was nothing special. The war hovered over everything. She looked for Agenord and Mau'te but found only darkness. This wasn't the fog. Whatever the event, she hated it, and her mind blocked it. Well, that was fucking annoying.
The door chimed.
Very good, she thought. The man-flesh arrived.
The sergeant at the door smiled at the sight of her. "You asked for someone who enjoyed Twi'lek, my lord? I've enjoyed quite a few."
"Wonderful," she said. "Do you know the proper way to massage lekku?"
"Of course."
"Perfect. Right this way."
Early the next morning, the holocomm beeped. The assassin and the sergeant woke and sighed. The assassin rose, pulled on a robe, and activated the comm.
Major Bessiker appeared. "My lord. I'm sorry to interrupt you. I'm sure you're very-"
The sergeant jumped up and saluted. "Sir!"
Bessiker said, "Grab your clothes and get dressed in the hallway. We need privacy."
"Yes, sir." The soldier scooped up his things and left.
"Problem with Doctor Tyrek?" the assassin asked.
"The serum progresses well," the Major replied. "But there's another problem, and I need your help. It's my son. He arrived shortly after you left for the research facility, but then he went after some... 'holocron,' he called it. A few minutes ago I got what I think was a distress call from him."
"He's Sith," the assassin said. "He should be able to handle himself."
"This is my son we are talking about," Bessiker said. "I'll do what I have to."
"You're out of line, Major," she replied.
"My brother is a high-ranking Sith. You'll listen if you know what's good for you."
"Very well," the assassin said. "But this could be a very bad mistake."
"I'm sorry it had to come to this," the Major told her. "I'm sending the coordinates now. The only thing in that area is a resistance base. It shouldn't be too difficult."
"Let's hope," she said.
The assassin and Khem moved through the shadows of the resistance base, making their way toward the prison cells. They'd converted an abandoned military base. Understaffed and undertrained, they had no chance of seeing her.
"I know!" a woman said to a male companion.
The assassin and Khem stopped.
The woman, a cyborg with a lot of scars, continued. "We can't keep him. We can't kill him. We can't let him go."
"If they send a Sith Lord-" her companion began.
"I know!" The woman stopped and sighed. "We just got this place up and running."
"There are other places," her companion said.
The woman nodded, and the two continued on.
Two guards watched the prison cells. The assassin distracted them with a false noise, and moved in, grabbing the head of the closest guard. His eyes fluttered, and she lowered him to the ground. The other guard turned, but the assassin grabbed his neck and head. In a moment, he was unconscious on the ground. She took the key from one of the guards, and approached the only active cell.
"Hiran, I assume," she said to the occupant.
"The old man sent you for me, didn't he?" Hiran said. "He must have gotten my distress signal. I guess he's good for something. He kept talking about some Sith he was working with. He didn't mention you were a filthy alien."
"Funny," she said. "He didn't mention you were an insufferable fool."
"Watch your tongue, scum."
"Or what?" she said. "You'll watch me walk away?"
Hiran narrowed his eyes at her. "Just get me out of here."
The assassin said, "Your father mentioned a holocron."
"Figures he'd go blabbing about it," Hiran said. "But I guess the damage is done. The holocron's a map. It's supposed to point to a powerful weapon of the dark side that's hidden here on Balmorra. The weapon's mine if I find it, which I will, now that you're here to free me."
"Powerful how?" the assassin asked. Something, a hint of a vision, told her to ask.
"It commands large insectoids," Hiran said. "Originally built on Korriban to control k'lor'slugs, someone brought it here to test it on colicoids. If it works, it could win us Balmorra."
"Yes it could," she said. "And possibly Alderaan."
"Yes," he said. "Those... whatever they are."
"Killiks," the assassin said in a low voice.
"Exactly! Now open the door. I want to test that weapon as soon as possible."
She moved to the control panel. She could see the holocron from the bulge in his pocket and knew where to aim to miss it. She deactivated the door, ignited her saber, and attacked. He fought well, better than she expected considering his bravado. But, they'd taken his saber. Lightning and telekinesis were not enough. She killed him as painlessly as she could and took the holocron.
Khem watched her with an expression that might have been a smile. "Tulak Hord would be pleased, little Sith."
"Khem," she said. "Just this once, tell Tulak Hord to go fuck himself."
He chuckled at her.
"I know what you did," Major Bessiker snarled, aiming his weapon at her. The command room was empty except for Bessiker and Doctor Tyrek. The Major's off-the-books request demanded secrecy. "We had an agent in that outpost, and he reported everything!"
"I did what was necessary," the assassin replied softly. "I didn't enjoy it."
"What was necessary?" he demanded. "Why did you have to kill him?!"
She sighed. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you too."
"You evil, wretched, bloodthirsty...!" Bessiker turned and fired at Doctor Tyrek, hoping to keep the serum from the assassin. Tyrek dove for cover, and the assassin rushed forward, stabbing Bessiker through the heart.
"Bitch!" he whispered before he died.
She deactivated her saber. "So I've been told." She stepped around the Major's body. "Doctor Tyrek, have you completed the serum?"
He looked at the Major's body and nodded.
"May I have it, please?"
The doctor stood up and held out the syringe, his hand shaking. The assassin held his wrist to calm the shaking and took the syringe.
"How much do we take?" she asked.
"Enter your body weight and species. The syringe will select the dose," he told her. "One hour per dose. Two doses could cause severe neurological damage. Three doses could kill you."
"Thank you, Doctor," she said. "You may go."
"What?" he asked.
"Before I change my mind."
"They won't just let me walk out of here," he said. "I'll need a shuttle."
"I'll authorize it. Now go."
He nodded and fled.
She examined the syringe, took an electro-rifle from the wall, and called for a cleanup.
They reached the vault late that night. The area was still under Republic control, but most of the soldiers were busy elsewhere. They stopped at the base of a low hill, out of sight of the Republic soldiers and most of the colicoids around the vault. In one hand, she held Tyrek's syringe, in the other, Hiran's artifact. She pocketed the syringe and sat down, then levitated the electro-rifle to the edge of the vault. She waited for a worker to pass near the rifle and focused her mind on the artifact.
It began to search. It understood her desired target, scanned the area, and reached out for it. The assassin's vision rushed forward, and she felt the presence of the colicoid worker. And she felt power, the sensation of dominance. She also felt resistance, and understood her control depended on her commands. Seeing through the eyes of the colicoid, she picked up the rifle and descended into the vault.
The other workers ignored her. The guardians recognized her unusual behavior but did not stop her. She sensed the toxin in her system. It had become necessary for them while it slowly killed them. Most of the colicoids were mutated or cancerous, some so severely they couldn't move. The hive mind was reluctant to kill them, but couldn't help them either.
She reached the ancient vault within a vault and fired her rifle at it. The mechanism responded but weakly. As she fumbled with the power dial, she felt an awareness behind her. Other colicoids had noticed her. One of them, like a queen, expected absolute obedience. No, not a queen, she saw as she turned. A broodmaster. It commanded a nest, not a full tribe, but its orders were not questioned, could not be questioned. The workers wouldn't know how. It sought understanding, but she didn't know how to respond. She reached out toward it with the artifact, wrapped her mind around its, and nearly cried out. She felt the entire nest, every worker, every soldier, every last colicoid down to the larva, and she commanded them all. This was power. This was the Dark Side at its worst. Her response went beyond pleasure to pure addiction.
The assassin settled her mind and reached out to the nest. Ignore the worker. He did nothing wrong. The nest complied and continued working. She left a similar command in the mind of the broodmaster, and returned to the first colicoid.
After some effort, she dialed up the rifle to its maximum and fired at the vault. The mechanism lit up and absorbed the power, but slowly. She nearly drained the rifle before the vault opened and released the artifact. She dropped the rifle, took the artifact, and made her way out of the pit.
Once outside, she carried the artifact to her body. Khem drew his weapon when he saw the colicoid, but did not attack. He didn't even seem surprised. She put the artifact on the ground, walked the worker to the edge of the pit, and released him.
Her mind left the artifact, she opened her eyes and fell back. She shuddered for a time, clutching herself, in the throes of withdrawal. The shaking and nausea eventually subsided, and she sat up.
Quite a trip, she thought, holding up the vault artifact. Hopefully, the rest wouldn't be as difficult.
She stood, staggered against Khem, and righted herself. Zash's artifact went into her pocket. Then, she levitated the insectoid artifact, ignited her saber, cut the artifact into a dozen pieces, and threw the pieces into the pit.
Khem smiled again. "Now, little Sith, you know why Tulak Hord hated the artifacts."
"I've found the artifact," the assassin said to Darth Zash.
Zash smiled from the ship's holo. "Excellent. Pity about Major Bessiker. What was it, exactly?"
"His son had something I wanted," the assassin replied.
"An artifact, perhaps?" Zash said.
"A map to an artifact," the assassin said.
Zash nodded. "His master, Lord Esdras, would like to speak with you. I am... obligated to comply."
A Sith Lord appeared from another holo channel.
Esdras, the assassin thought. Sphere of Ancient Knowledge. Not a Darth, but respected. Known for getting results.
"This is what you get for having an alien apprentice," he said to Zash.
"I'm sure she had her reasons," Zash said, more watching than supportive.
The assassin smiled. "He was a complete ass."
Esdras looked at Zash then back at the assassin. "Fair point, but not enough to kill him. Where is my artifact?"
"Destroyed," the assassin said. "Mortal shell, the burrowing type. Rather impressive crater, actually. Gone months ago, as it turns out. I suppose I didn't need to kill your apprentice. Well, my bad."
Esdras sighed. "Yes. Obviously." He looked at Zash. "Aliens. What did I tell you? Try to keep her under control." Esdras disconnected.
Zash sighed. "First Kilran, now Esdras. You're earning some impressive enemies, apprentice."
"I'm glad my work is appreciated, master."
"And the artifact?"
"Destroyed, master," the assassin said.
"Too bad," Zash said. "Esdras is known for the quality of his research. If he wanted an artifact, it must have been special. Next time, try to reach any artifacts before the mortar shells. I'd like to see them."
The assassin nodded.
"I haven't located the next artifact yet. You have a few days to enjoy yourself. Zash out."
The next night, the assassin sat comfortably in the shadowy edges of the cantina. The celebration was over, and she felt safe again. The other precognitives had not returned, which was unfortunate. She wanted to know more about Corellia.
She sensed a familiar presence and waited. Cipher Nine sat down next to her, a little disappointed the assassin wasn't surprised.
"You cheated," Cipher Nine said.
"We do that," the assassin replied.
"Looking for someone to satisfy you?" the agent asked.
"I haven't decided yet," the assassin replied. "But the last two were... thorough."
"I looked over that code you gave me," the agent told her. "The sixth line bothered me."
"I noticed that too."
"And the eighty-eighth variable, fourth iteration," the agent continued.
"Yes, that was odd."
"And the one hundred and seventh variable, twelfth iteration."
The assassin shook her head. "I didn't notice anything, but I'll look at it again."
"Just wanted to give you an update," the agent said. "I must go. I need to get up at three tomorrow."
The assassin shrugged. "As I said, we're not in it for the fun."
Cipher Nine nodded and departed.
At three the next morning, a lone speeder reached grid coordinates eighty-eight point zero four by one hundred seven point one two, a rocky, uninhabited area blocked from nearly every direction. The rider dismounted and waited. After a moment, a voice said, "There is no contemplation."
"There is duty," the assassin finished and turned toward the voice. "Why am I here?"
A dark skinned human with wild hair walked toward her. "The Council needs answers. The messages from your cousin's handler are not very detailed. What is so promising?"
"The Twi'lek girl, Vette. She makes him act like his old self."
"She's working for you?" the woman asked.
"No," the assassin said. "Mau'te would spot an agenda. I've nudged her a few times, given her some phrases that would push the right buttons, but the rest is her."
"You're taking an awful risk," the woman said. "With us and with her."
"I know," the assassin said. "But, in five years, she is the only thing to affect him that way. She is not an ideal choice, but she is the only choice."
"Have you done anything to help her?"
"I had Nin'nussil train her," the assassin said. "And Vette's a survivor. Tougher, and more stubborn, than a lot of soldiers I've met."
The human sighed heavily. "The Council was hoping for easy. I don't know why. Nothing about Champions is easy. Any clue from your side why the Force needs twins?"
"No," the assassin said. "The Sith don't have any record of twin Champions either."
"Anything else, while I'm here?"
"I'm collecting artifacts for Darth Zash," she said. "I don't know if it's important, but I'm required to do it. And the Force is leading me down a path about Revan."
"Revan?" the human said. "Well, trust in the Force."
"Yes," the assassin said. "Is that all?"
"Not yet. I want you to meet our newest recruit." She turned around. "All right. Come out."
Yadira Ban poked her head around a boulder and walked toward them.
"Yadira," the assassin said with a sigh. She took Yadira's hands. "It's good to see you. I was afraid I made the fight a little too real."
Yadira shrugged. "Everyone believed it. I spent two weeks in the hospital. I even got a vertebra replaced, but I hardly notice it now."
"I'm very glad," the assassin said. "And Sixth Line. Well done."
"Master Satele's idea, considering," Yadira said. "But I like it. I'm doing good work."
"She is," the human said.
Yadira said, "Master Kriranda, do I really make long winded speeches?"
The assassin held back a smile. "Yadira, you wouldn't be you without them."
"I know that sounds like a compliment, but it's really not," Yadira said.
"As long as you know that," the assassin said.
"I could go with you," Yadira said.
The assassin shook her head. "I might be able to claim I've turned someone at some point, but not while I'm still an apprentice. Besides, Sixth Line are some of the best. They taught me a lot. You'll make a difference with them." She turned to the human. "Master Surro, may the Force be with you."
Master Surro said, "Master Kriranda, may the Force be with Vette."
Kriranda smiled, mounted her speeder, and headed back to Sobrik.
