Chapter Four: "Better to Be My Servant Than My Enemy"
There was no light in the hidden tunnel, but Krell had brought lightpods, which allowed some dim illumination. No other acolytes had found the secret entrance, and the scavengers were too fearful of him and Vette to pose a threat.
The tunnel opened out onto a large chamber. Statues lines the walls, acting as an honor guard to the approach to a stone sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was flanked by sculptures that resembled marble torches, and a giant statue of a Sith Lord loomed over all of it.
"I suppose I don't need to ask what my destination is," Krell observed drily. "Approach the sarcophagus, Vette."
"Why me?"
"Because I'm the Sith, and you're the slave. Don't worry – If a trap springs, I will rescue you."
"What if the trap's fatal?"
"Then I will miss your sparkling personality."
Krell stood against the back wall, watching Vette walk nervously down the rows of stone guards. As she neared the sarcophagus, the torches lit up with a red glow. The chamber was bathed in crimson.
Vette hesitated, glanced back at Krell. He nodded to her. She closed her eyes, drew in a breath, and took the last step.
Nothing happened. The floor didn't open. No spikes shot out from the walls. The air remained breathable.
Vette examined the sarcophagus. Runes were engraves around its circumference. She could not decipher them, but she sensed something dark and malevolent about them.
"Open it." A note of impatience in Krell's voice.
"Shock me if you want," she snapped. "I'm going to at least look for a trap before I start touching things!"
No shock came. Apparently, he had judged her protest to be reasonable.
"Ten minutes," he said. "No more than that unless you see something."
She used every second of her ten minutes. She circled the sarcophagus, examining it with a trained eye. The sarcophagus, the stone torches, the statue, and the surrounding floor and wall. She hunted for some telltale break in the rock, or a glint of metal.
She saw nothing.
"Time's up," Krell announced.
"Five more minutes?" she begged. He didn't speak, but his posture was set and firm. If there was a trap she had not seen, then she would have to hope it didn't kill her.
She reached for the sarcophagus. When her hand made contact, she felt a shock. She drew back.
"I need a tool," she said.
Krell approached and handed her a prybar.
"That's metal, and that lid just shocked me. I need something that isn't a conductor."
He hesitated, then shrugged off his robe and handed it to her. Without it, in short-sleeved tunic and trousers, Vette could see how defined his arm muscles were. She idly reflected that his Sith girlfriend had probably enjoyed their time together.
"Sorry for this," she said, covering the prybar with the robe.
She touched the lid with the covered tool. Nothing happened. She forced the end of the prybar under the lid. It slipped under the robe. She tried again. This time, it gained purchase, but she could not budge it. Krell joined her, adding his strength to hers. The lid still did not move.
Vette slipped, reflexively catching herself on the stone surface.
The shock knocked her back on her rear, crying out in pain. That had been much worse than the first one. Worse than the shocks the jailer had given her through the collar.
"I'm not touching that again," she said firmly. If the shocks continue to grow in intensity, the next one might kill her.
"You don't need to," Krell replied. "I think I know what this is."
He raised a hand over the sarcophagus. He focused his mind. I am Sith. He flicked his hand hard to the right.
The lid blew away, smashing against the torch sculpture. Breaking it.
Krell activated another lightpod as he peered into the coffin. Inside was a skeleton. A powerful Sith Lord in his day. Now just bone and dust, as insignificant as any other corpse.
The pommel of a lightsaber was grasped in the skeleton's hand. Krell did not reach in. Instead, he pulled at it with his mind. The lightsaber pushed against the bones of the hand. He yanked harder.
The bones shattered into dust as the weapon shot into his grasp. As his hand closed around it, he activated the blade.
It was pure black. It let off a high-pitched wail as he swung it experimentally. Vette winced at the sound, but he continued taking practice swings. The air around him chilled, as if it was being infused with ice.
He removed his warblade. Vette shrunk back to the far wall, as far away from him as was possible as he swung both weapons in wide arcs. He brought them together, the red blade and the black, toppling the stone statues surrounding him. Then he drew the weapons over his head, letting the red and black connect.
The red blade seemed to draw back for an instant, as if recognizing that its power was no match for the black's. Then it surged to life, expanding as the two lightsabers seemed almost to commune: the red blade promising to serve, the dark one promising that its appetite for blood would soon be sated.
Krell deactivated the weapons, contemplating as he put them into place in his belt. He now had power. Would he truly turn it over to Baras?
If Baras demanded it, yes. The new lightsaber was powerful – But it would not, on its own, make him a match for his new Master. Still, he would try to gain permission to keep it. He believed he would succeed. The blade felt as though it belonged with him.
He extended a hand to Vette, who watched wordlessly from the far wall.
"Better to be my servant than my enemy," he said.
Vette hesitated. The anxiety was written clearly across her face. But her situation was the same as it had been - There was no good option.
She took his hand and, together, they turned back to the tunnel.
They gathered on the bridge of the Black Talon: Cipher Nine and Kaliyo; Zarek and Mako; Darth Zash and her apprentice, Reyenna; Captain Orzik and Lt. Sylas. The creature, Khem Val, had stayed in Reyenna's quarters. "Khem's not much for planning," Reyenna whispered conspiratorially. "When we're ready, we'll just point him at whomever he's supposed to eat."
Mako projected a readout of the Republic battleship, the Brentaal Star, which they all studied as they prepared their plan of attack.
"I hacked into the Republic military," she explained. "It wasn't easy, but I was able to crack their firewalls and…" An impatient glance from Darth Zash. "Never mind," Mako said hurriedly. "This is the official design blueprint."
Zarek cleared his throat. "First question. Can we breach?"
Kaliyo grinned. "We'll breach," she promised. "l can pack a shuttle with enough explosives to blow a hole in a planet."
Cipher Nine shook her head. "That might be counterproductive," she pointed out. "We're authorized to kill The General if we have to, but Moff Kilran prefers we bring him back alive. Let's avoid blowing holes in the hull unless we have to."
"You suck all the fun out of life," Kaliyo complained.
Cipher studied the readout, using her implants to flick from one feature of the ship to another. "My first choice would be to go in through the shuttle bay," she said. "No need to blow a hole to board, and it gives us a position we can hold and fall back to."
"Still have to blow a hole through the shielding," Zarek grunted.
Captain Orzik agreed. "If anything, as a natural breach, the shuttle bay will be even more reinforced than the hull. Better to blow a hole near the bridge, send a fire team through with jet packs to secure it long enough to board."
Cipher shook her head. "If the Republic rallies quickly enough, they could wipe that fire team out and pick us off on our way in. We'll do that if we have to. But I think I have a plan to get us through the shuttle bay."
"Why not do both?" Mako asked. Orzik and Cipher stared at her. "Take the shuttle bay and blow a hole? Wouldn't that throw them completely off their game?"
Orzik smiled indulgently. "It definitely would, if we had the manpower," he said. "Remember, they have 300 Troopers. We have less than 50. Splitting our force is not an option."
"Next question," Zarek said. "Do we have any idea where to find this 'General' of yours?"
"We received a narrow-band transmission from our asset on the Republic ship," Cipher said. "The General is near the escape pods. In an emergency, he can evacuate, and we have to assume more Republic ships are already on the way. That means we have to move fast."
She pointed to the shuttle bay on the diagram.
"Kaliyo, can you rig a shuttle with enough explosives to clear the shuttle bay without destroying it?" she asked.
"Tricky," Kaliyo mused. "The explosion's no problem. But if I keep it small enough to make sure the structure holds, then there won't be a 100% kill count."
"How about making it smoky?" Cipher suggested. "Can you leave the survivors with no visibility?"
"No problem. The blast will also disrupt heat sensors. It'll only be effective for a few minutes, though."
Cipher nodded, satisfied. "Long enough for our team to land," she said. "So Step One: Clear the shuttle bay. A small force, say a dozen men, dig in to hold it. Step Two: Zarek and Kaliyo lead our troops to the bridge to seize the ship. At the same time, the Sith and I will head toward the escape pods for the traitor."
"Suicide," Zarek said instantly. "Even with Sith, the Republic will overrun us with sheer numbers."
"They'll barely have to," Orzik added. "The instant trouble starts, the Republic can initiate a security lockdown from the bridge. Impenetrable energy shields will block us from going anywhere."
"That's Step Three," Cipher said. "Our asset will create an apparent malfunction in the lockdown system. The shields will stay down until we take the bridge. Then our asset will bring the shields up, keeping most of the Republic forces safely on the other side. Once we have the bridge, the fighting effectively ends."
"They'll find a way to bring those shields down," Zarek warned.
"Eventually, of course they will. But it buys time for my team to reach The General. Once the shields fall, you pull back to the shuttle. We'll join you if we can. If they get the shields down faster than anticipated, we'll steer an escape pod toward the Talon, and Captain Orzik will pick us up."
Orzik took a second to mentally review, then nodded. "Feasible," he said. "There's still a lot that can go wrong, and the casualties just taking the bridge will be high."
"I know," Cipher said sympathetically. "This kind of assault really needed weeks of planning. We've had to make due with a few hours. It should allow a solid chance of success, though."
"I'll do my best to keep most of the casualties on their side," Zarek promised. "I think Kaliyo can help with that."
Kaliyo grinned. "Oh, I definitely can."
"What's your route to the escape pods?" Orzik asked.
Mako shifted the holo image to enlarge the ventilation system. "Here," she said. "Cipher and Reyenna are both small enough to get through, and the system bypasses both Republic troops and lockdown shields all the way to the aft cargo bay."
"I will be a less comfortable fit in a ventilation duct," Zash observed. "So I'll stay here to monitor the operation with Mako and Captain Orzik. If there are no objections?"
Zash's expression dared anyone to voice an argument. No one was foolish enough to challenge her.
"Besides," Zash said, "It will be a good test of my new apprentice's abilities. What do you think, Reyenna? Are you up to the task?"
Reyenna gave an elaborate bow in reply. "Murder and mayhem await," she said.
Cipher broached a delicate subject.
"Khem Val will not fit in a ventilation duct," she said. "But he could be a fearsome asset to the bridge assault. Will he accept Zarek's orders?"
"Khem will do whatever I tell him to," Reyenna said confidently. "Maybe if he eats enough Republic soldiers, he'll stop complaining for a little while."
Cipher did her best to avoid the mental image of the monster devouring anyone, friend or foe.
"Then we're agreed," she said.
"Just one more thing, dear," Zash interjected. "We don't want you in Republic hands any more than The General. If you appear likely to be captured, be sure to kill yourself. If the Republic gets their hands on you, then I'll have to come after you. And then... Well, ordering my apprentice to feed you to Khem Val is what I'll do if I'm in a particularly good mood."
The Brentaal Star was just over six hours from Coruscant when Canlyn was asked to come to the bridge. When she protested that her order obliged her to remain where she was, she was told the request came directly from the captain.
The man calling himself The General looked up calmly from his bunk. "Something has happened," he said. "I hope you are ready for it."
Canlyn held her lightsaber out to Ashara, who looked at it with astonishment.
"I can't accept that!" she protested.
"If anyone comes for him, you'll need it," Canlyn said. "His safety is our primary mission, Ashara. I'm trusting you to protect him."
Ashara took the blade, somewhat reluctantly. "Get back here fast, OK?"
"As fast as I'm able."
When Canlyn and Qyzen reached the bridge, they were greeted by a buzz of activity. Lt. Haken approached, a semi-apologetic look on his face.
"An Imperial ship is closing on us," he explained.
"So The General was right about pursuit."
"If you can call it that." He shrugged. "It's a Gage-class ship, a transport. The Empire must be desperate to send that after us. We're making all stations combat ready, but if there's an engagement it'll be a short one. Excuse me." He rushed off to consult with the tactical officer.
A sense of foreboding overcame Canlyn. Was she sensing something? Or was it simple anxiety?
A holo image showed the Imperial transport. It was clearly a much smaller vessel, but it approached rapidly. She reached out with her senses.
Her probe was greeted with the sense of cold, detached power. She had the impression of being seen, studied. The reaction she felt was one of amusement.
She moved immediately to the captain.
"Master Jedi," he said, inclining his head.
"Captain. Has anyone contacted the Jedi Council?"
The captain shook his head. "There's been no time. Why?"
When she answered, she kept her voice low, so that only he would hear.
"I believe there is a Sith aboard that ship."
The captain's eyes widened slightly, but he maintained his self-control. "Please don't tell anyone else," he said. "I will contact the Jedi immediately."
He raised his voice. "Lieutenant Haken. I have an urgent transmission to make in my ready room. You have the bridge!"
As the captain withdrew and Haken moved to the central station, Canlyn turned back to the holo image. As she studied the approaching transport, her sense of dread grew stronger.