Chapter Nine: "Dead Is Better"
Reyenna was outmatched.
Soaked in her own sweat, she grunted every time her lightsaber connected with Canlyn's. The Jedi came close to hooking her blade inside Reyenna's, a move to disarm that took all of her strength to defeat. Reyenna managed it, and even briefly forced Canlyn back. But the Jedi just calmly took up a defensive stance, warding off follow-up attacks as if swatting flies.
"You are exhausted, Sith," Canlyn observed. "Surrender now. I promise you'll be fairly treated."
Fairly treated? She would be locked in a cage. Fed drugs to suppress her Force abilities. Maybe, if she was very good and promised to behave, she would eventually be allowed to perform menial labor. Under close observation, of course. To be, in all but name, a slave.
The thought opened an untapped reservoir of rage. She launched herself at Canlyn, striking with all her strength. Blow after blow.
Canlyn dodged or parried every one of them. Reyenna was gulping breaths of air, willing herself to stay upright. The Jedi was not even breathing heavily. Reyenna knew with cold certainty that her battle was lost, and almost certainly her freedom along with it.
Then everything changed.
She sensed Khem Val before she saw him. The purity of his malevolence was like a dark beacon.
Canlyn also sensed him. She whirled, just barely in time to fend off Khem's charge.
The Dashade was frenzied. He was covered in the blood of those Republic soldiers who had either been too slow or too stupid to get out of his way. He snapped at the Jedi with his fangs, eager to devour a Force user.
It was Canlyn's discipline that saved her. Most would have frozen in fear, if only for a heartbeat. She kept moving, fluidly rolling away from the beast. She sprang to her feet to face both of her assailants.
Had Canlyn been alone, she might have stood a chance. She had not tired herself with extra actions, and her fighting form remained impeccable.
But Ashara had only just recovered enough to find her feet. Reyenna grabbed the young padawn and leveled her lightsaber at the girl's throat.
"Surrender, Jedi." Reyenna smirked icily at her opponent. "I promise you'll be fairly treated."
By the time Cipher Nine returned, the Jedi was handing her lightsaber to Reyenna. Khem Val loomed over them. Cipher took in his appearance. Her guts churned at his gory visage, but she took care not to let her revulsion show.
"It looks like you have everything in hand," she said. "We should go. Republic troops will be on us any second. Even your monster won't hold them back for long."
"Of course," Reyenna glanced at Khem. "You've worked hard, Khem. You deserve a reward. Eat the Jedi."
Khem reached for Canlyn. Ashara cried out, but was constrained by Reyenna's lightsaber.
"Stop!" Cipher shouted.
Khem ignored her, lifting Canlyn into the air and pulling her toward his maw.
Cipher leveled her blaster at Reyenna's temple. "I said stop."
It was an insane act, and she knew it. Reyenna might only be an apprentice, but she could still kill her with a thought. Her only defense was keeping her finger tensed on her trigger, so that she could just as instantly return the favor.
Reyenna hesitated. Then grinned.
"You win, spy. Khem, release the Jedi."
The beast dropped Canlyn to the floor, and the Cathar landed as gracelessly as a discarded sack of flour. Reyenna disengaged the lightsaber, shoved Ashara toward her friend.
"I recommend you stay down," Reyenna said. "Khem is quite hungry, and he's not really very good with orders." She tucked the Jedi lightsaber into her belt, next to her own blade. "Thanks awfully for the souvenir."
Then she and Khem followed Cipher down the hallway, Mako sealing the bulkhead behind them.
Cipher led Reyenna past the wounded Republic lieutenant and the frozen Trandoshan, then past the body of The General. The Sith barely glanced at the corpse. Cipher doubted she even recognized the dead man.
As they climbed into an escape pod and ejected themselves into space, Khem glared balefully at Cipher.
"You are weak," he growled. "I should eat you now."
She returned his gaze calmly.
"You," she said flatly, "are stupid."
Khem started to lunge forward. She pulled an item from her bag.
"This is a thermal detonator. Come one step closer, and there won't be any need for the Talon to bother with picking us up."
Khem growled angrily. Reyenna stared between her two companions, then began laughing uproariously.
"One thing I'll say about you two," she said. "You aren't boring."
Cipher Nine and Khem continued to exchange glares, while Reyenna sat between them, giggling fitfully, until finally the ship picked them up.
When they stepped back onto the Talon's bridge, the holocommunicator showed a heavily scarred man in an Imperial military uniform. Cipher recognized him immediately from entirely too many Intelligence reports: Grand Moff Rycus Kilran. The Butcher of Coruscant.
He had been speaking with Zash and Zarek, while the turncoat Republic officer – Haken – lingered in the background. Kilran turned to greet the trio.
"These must be the heroes of the hour." He grimaced. Based on his scars, Cipher suspected that was as close to a smile as his face could manage.
"Is there a problem with the transmission?" Reyenna asked. "Or is your face meant to look like that?"
Cipher felt her face flush. She knew enough about Kilran to know that even a Sith apprentice was ill-advised to make an enemy of him. But Kilran was unruffled, merely shrugging and pointing at his own face.
"These were a gift from an old Jedi friend, back on Coruscant. He was disciplined, with powers I could only dream of - but I'm the one who survived."
"Why not have them fixed?" Reyenna asked. "I admit, vanity is a weakness of mine. I'd have the scars removed as soon as I was able."
"I was never pretty, even before the scars," Kilran answered. "Besides, I'm rather proud of these markings. They are a reminder that with enough determination and cunning, even a Jedi can be killed." Even a Sith was left unspoken, but it was understood by all.
He turned to Cipher NIne. "How did the attack go?"
"Casualties were kept within acceptable limits," she replied. "The General is dead."
"A pity you couldn't bring him back alive."
"Dead is better. I won't say his name on an open channel, but you must know who he was."
"Of course," Kilran said.
"Then you should know what a blow to morale his defection would have been. Alive, even rumors of his betrayal would have demoralized our forces the same way HAVOC Squad's defection did to the Republic. Instead of a live traitor, we have a martyr: Kidnapped by the Republic at the border of our space, murdered when he refused to tell their lies in public. His name will be a chant of pride when our forces eventually go into battle."
Kilran nodded, absorbing her words. "I see," he said. "Now I understand why Darth Jadus has taken such an interest in you."
Cipher could not fully suppress the tremor at the mention of Darth Jadus.
"Fear," Khem grumbled. "You can see it as easily as I smell it. She is weak."
Kilran's eyes flicked to the Dashade. "What is this creature?" he asked, not disguising his impatience.
"He is mine," Reyenna announced, her tone clearly challenging Kilran. "Khem may lack refinement, but he speaks the truth. This agent stopped us from killing two Jedi."
Kilran's eyes narrowed as his attention returned to Cipher. "Is this true?" he asked.
"It is," Cipher confirmed. "A war may be coming, but it's clear the Emperor isn't ready for it to start just yet. The dead soldiers will create an incident, but they breached our space first - We can play the victims at least as well as they can. But if we had killed Jedi? That might have changed the story. If nothing else, the Jedi have mostly lain dormant the past twenty years. I don't think there's any benefit to waking them up."
Kilran's grimace/smile returned. "Your point is well taken," he said. He turned to Zash. "Your apprentice may, of course, lodge a complaint. But I will support the agent's judgment." He turned back to Reyenna. "As for your pet? If he can't learn to keep his silence, then you might consider having him muzzled."
Reyenna gave a lavish bow. "I will take it under advisement, Moff Kilran." Her tone was perfectly balanced, so that even Cipher couldn't be sure whether she was being respectful or mocking.
The Moff addressed the room. "You should all be proud," he announced. "A small Imperial transport took on a Republic warship, and the Empire prevailed. The General was one of the greatest weapons our enemies might have had, and you snatched him out from under their fingertips. I will personally commend all of you to your respective superiors – and bounty hunter, I have already transferred a substantial sum to your accounts as payment for your contribution."
Zarek glanced at Mako. After taking a second to check their accounts through her implants, she nodded confirmation.
"I'm also aware of your interest in The Great Hunt," Kilran added. "I will whisper a word in some of the right ears for you. Mandalorian ears."
Zarek inclined his head in gratitude.
"Soon you will join us on the homeworld," the Moff told them. "There, you will see what you've been fighting for. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your journey. Kilran out."