Chapter Four: Where the Blow Lands
"Harkun may raise his fist to strike, but it is Darth Zash who decides where the blow lands."
Spindrell's words resonated inside Reyenna's head as she returned to the Sith Academy. Darth Zash - The two figures who had taken her from The Pit had mentioned that name. Who was this person? What deeper game had she found herself in?
It seemed evident from Harkun's attitude toward her that her life likely depended on the answers.
Kory, one of the other acolytes, hovered anxiously in the hallway, clearly waiting for her. A thin slip of a girl, she seemed timid by instinct. In The Pit, someone like her would have been able to survive only by attaching herself to a stronger protector.
Which, Reyenna guessed, was exactly what the girl was now attempting.
"The whole class is gathered," Kory said nervously. "Harkun's waiting for you before he begins."
"Of course he is," Reyenna drawled. "After all, I'm his special favorite."
She started to move on, but Kory darted in front of her.
"It'll be OK," Kory told her. "I mean, he can't kill us all, can he?"
Yes, definitely searching for a protector. A role Reyenna had no inclination to fill.
She flashed a wide grin. "Tell you what," she said. "I'll snatch a knife from the kitchens. You distract Harkun, and I'll come at him from behind. Slit his throat before he even knows what's happening."
Kory's eyes widened, and she backed slowly away. "Um, OK," she said. "I guess you can take care of yourself."
Reyenna couldn't fully suppress her laugh as the girl all but ran back to the training room.
Eight acolytes waited with Harkun. Reyenna guessed the other two had not survived their Trials. Harkun did not even feign patience as she entered the room.
"Ah, our latecomer," he sneered. "Did you get lost on your way back from the Tomb?"
"Not at all," Reyenna said breezily. "It was just such a lovely day, I wanted to take the time to enjoy the dirt, the sand, the blood, and the sound of distant screams."
Harkun glared at her, as if testing her for signs of mockery. She maintained her pleasant smile and stared forward.
He grunted.
"Acolyte Kory – Step forward!"
The girl stepped nervously out from the group. Harkun gave her an uncharacteristically gentle smile, as if to relax her.
"You didn't complete your Trial, did you? Tell the truth, now."
Kory swallowed thickly. "The K'lor'slug nest was too well guarded," she said. "I couldn't reach it to retrieve an egg. There was a trooper there – The slugs tore him apart before eating him." She looked as if she might faint just recalling it.
"That must have been a horrifying sight," Harkun said, his tone sympathetic.
Kory nodded. She hesitantly answered Harkun's smile with a weak one of her own. Pivoting to an even better protector, Reyenna gathered.
Harkun laid a sympathetic hand on the girl's shoulder. She looked into his eyes, her own wide and watery. "I've never seen anything like it before."
Harkun gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. "Fear not, acolyte," he said. "You will never see anything like it again."
Smoke rose from beneath Harkun's hand, and the smell of charred flesh filled the room. Kory let out an agonizing scream. Harkun released her, and she fell to her knees at his feet.
He extended his fingers toward her. Blue lightning shot out. She twitched and thrashed helplessly on the ground. She whimpered, pleaded for mercy. Harkun responded with mockery.
" 'Mercy, Overseer. Mercy!' " He laughed. "You are a weak, pathetic rodent. Instead of sending you here as a student, they should have sent you as target practice for the troops. You may have been of minimal use, then."
He extended both hands, and blue lightning engulfed the girl. The room was engulfed in that scent of charred meat. One young acolyte fainted. Harkun glanced at the boy. Making a mental note of his squeamishness, Reyenna suspected.
What was left of Kory was barely recognizable – A heap of burned flesh in an acolyte's uniform. Harkun raised his head, glaring at the rest of them.
"One member of this class will become Darth Zash's future apprentice," he announced. "One member of this group will not only pass their Trials, but will travel from here to Dromund Kaas to learn the deepest secrets of the Dark Side. But it will not be any of you worms."
A hooded figure emerged from the shadows behind Harkun.
"Meet our newest acolyte," the overseer said. "Ffon Althe."
Ffon threw back his hood, and the acolytes around Reyenna gasped. The newcomer was a Pure Blood Sith.
"Look on him!" Harkun announced. "No connections in the galaxy – Just pure Sith blood! This is Lord Zash's future apprentice, not filth like you."
Reyenna stepped forward, grinning.
"I like Pure Bloods," she said. "I had a taste of one's nose on the transport here. Pleased to meet you."
She extended her hand toward Ffon. The Pure Blood stared at her hand as if it was covered in particularly disgusting goo.
"You stay, slave," Harkun barked to her. "The rest of you are dismissed."
The class hurried out of the room. Ffon was the last to leave, fixing Reyenna with a death glare on his way out the door.
"He seems fun," Reyenna observed.
Harkun brought himself up to his full height, looming over her.
"Tell me, slave. What did you think of Spindrell? Speak honestly."
"Well, the lice in his beard are a nice touch."
Harkun grinned meanly. "So even the likes of you can recognize that he's a lunatic," he snarled. "His approval means nothing. You are filth, and you will die. Am I clear?"
Reyenna beamed back at him. "Clear as an unmuddied lake."
She kept a happy tone in her voice and maintained her smile, keeping it firmly fixed on Harkun. After a moment, he became uncomfortable and began to back away.
"That is all," he snapped.
She kept smiling at him as her eyes flicked over to Kory's body. "Want some help with that?" she asked. "I know where the bodies go, now."
Harkun's already ruddy complexion darkened to a deep purple. "Get out!" he barked.
Reyenna left the room with a leisurely gait, leaving Harkun to stew in his own rage.
Master Yuon had company when Canlyn came to her quarters. A large figure with a lizard-like head, clawed hands, and sharp needle-like teeth. Canlyn recognized his species from her studies.
Trandoshan. A race of highly-evolved hunters. Their belief system revolves around a "Scorekeeper" who grants points for honorable kills. Intelligent, but violent and dangerous by nature.
They were deep in conversation, and did not immediately notice Canlyn's entrance.
"It's out of my hands, Qyzen," Yuon was telling the Trandoshan.
" 'Out of hands,' 'Can do nothing,' " the Trandoshan growled in its guttural tongue. "From you, is strange to hear."
Yuon started to reply. "I haven't – " She saw Canlyn and broke off. "Padawan, come in! This is Qyzen Fess, an old friend. He's here on a hunting expedition."
"Hunting?" Canlyn said. "What would you be hunting on Tython?"
Qyzen did not answer, but gave a polite bow.
"Is welcome, small hunter," he said. "Must go. Have scouting, before light changes. Scorekeeper watch over you."
Then he was gone. Canlyn noted that his footsteps made no sound, and that his eyes were constantly moving in all directions. Instincts honed by years of hunting, no doubt.
Canlyn turned to her Master. "I have never seen a Trandoshan in person before," she said. "It is surprising, for one to visit Tython."
"I wanted you to meet him yourself," Yuon said, "before rumors prejudiced you. Even some on the Council disapprove of my friendship with Qyzen, but he is an honorable man and a true friend."
"Your friend doesn't seem entirely happy with you right now," Canlyn observed.
"No," Yuon agreed. "He is not."
She did not expand on the topic, turning instead to Jedi business.
"Thank you for saving the holocrons," Yuon said. "We lost so much after the Fall of the Great Temple. We must not lose our history, as well."
Canlyn bowed her head, acknowledging her Master's thanks. "Would that I could have retrieved all of them."
"Yes," Yuon said. "Grandmaster Shan said that you were informed about the missing recording."
"Master Rajivari," Canlyn confirmed. "You do not believe it was a random theft."
"I don't," Yuon replied. "I was opposed to putting the holorecordings on display so quickly. The holograms' interactivity is quite limited – more limited than the capabilities of the holocrons at their core. I believed there were additional secrets within the recordings. The Council overruled me, feeling it more important in this time of rebuilding to connect students with the Order's origins."
"You believe there is a hidden message?" Canlyn proposed.
"Perhaps. Rajivari was cunning and formidable, and – worst of all – utterly sincere in his beliefs. Whatever might be hidden within that holocron, I fear it might lead others to the Dark Side."
Canlyn paced, reflecting on that.
"An enemy would surely have known the Flesh Raiders would have no chance of taking the Outpost," she said. "Do you think the recording was the true goal of the assault?"
"I do not know, Padawan." Yuon sighed wearily. "The Council's attention is on the human that Master Caecinius faced in the tunnels. They aren't terribly concerned about a single missing holorecording." Canlyn was startled at her Master's implied criticism of the Council.
"It falls to us to recover Rajivari's message," Yuon continued. "I want you to go to Kalikori village."
"The Twi'lek settlement?"
Kalikori village was one of several settlements that had risen up around the Outpost. Twi'leks from a minority religious sect, who had fled religious persecution on their home world. When the Republic had denied their petition to settle on Tython; the Twi'leks had done so anyway.
"Many of the Twi'leks resent our Order," Yuon said. "The Republic requested that we grant them no direct aid, and they have witnessed us defending other settlements from Flesh Raiders while leaving them to their own devices. If I'm right, someone in that village knows something. Gain their trust, and find the recording if you can. I've spoken to Master Ryen, and he has granted permission for Ashara to accompany you."
Canlyn inclined her head.
"As you say, Master."