Nathrrya walked towards where the Indigo Rose was docked thinking as she hadn't worked out a way to confront the Mandalorian yet but something would come to her. She always had a plan even if said plan hadn't come to her. Nathyrra chuckled nothing had really changed she was still getting into situations that defied explanation and coming out of them more or less unscathed.
Something caught Nathrrya's eye it was the ship in the adjacent bay to hers. She's only gotten a glimpse but it was enough to make the Sith turn in place to investigate what she'd seen. Nathrrya had stopped at the entrance to the docking bay her eyes wide with surprise her mouth making a perfect 'O' shape she was so shocked at what she was seeing for there in front of her was the unmistakable shape of a D5 Mantis gunship in its docked configuration. It was as ugly as she remembered them being.
The Sith shook herself out of her stupor. "I don't kriffing well believe it." Nathrrya muttered as she entered the bay and slowly walked around the Mantis taking in every centimetre of the ship as if she were trying to find any fault or flaw with the craft.
Kelborn Ordo grinned he couldn't have planned this better if he tried. He was certainly surprised that his target had gone to his docking bay and not her own which had seemed to be what she was going to do. The Mandalorian soon realised that if his target was who he suspected she was then she'd recognise his Mantis for what it was. The bounty hunter wasn't going to look a gift blaster in the barrel. Kelborn casually walked into the docking bay and made himself comfortable by the side of the boarding ramp he shouldn't have to wait too long.
"I should be going." Obi-Wan said "As I'm to meet Nathrrya in Mos Espa for she should complete her business by evening and we'll be on our way."
Shmi looked surprised and a little disappointed "You're not staying longer?"
The padawan shook his head sadly "Unfortunately no. I suspect we'll have a long journey ahead of us. Nathrrya wants to visit some of her old haunts." Obi-Wan grimaced "Though she hasn't told me much more than that as the Council has put me in a compromising position and she isn't feeling very charitable towards them as you well know."
Shmi nodded as she stood up "Take care of yourself Obi-Wan and her." She said giving the Jedi a hug goodbye.
The padawan smiled weakly "I'll do what I can." He promised.
"That's all anyone can ask of you Obi-Wan. Now go to your lady." Shmi all but commanded.
The young man couldn't help but blush at the implication of Shmi's statement. Obi-Wan didn't think he was that obvious.
Nathrrya finished her circuit of the Mantis gunship and smirked when she caught sight of the man leaning against the hull of the ship "Well well a Mandalorian can't say I'm surprised."
"Kelborn Ordo, bounty hunter and general trouble shooter at your service my lord." He said inclining his head slightly.
The Sith's smirk transformed into a wicked grin "And how did you come to that conclusion?"
"Clan lore, my lord, you feature in it quite strongly. Though how you are alive here and now is a mystery to me." The bounty hunter said.
"I see." Nathrrya looked thoughtful "Call me Nathrrya as I'm not openly advising my origins just yet." She glanced at the Mantis "I knew a Leyland Ordo and he had a similar ship to your Mantis."
Kelborn smiled "Leyland was my ancestor and this was his Mantis though I doubt any of the original remains as it's been refurbished and rebuilt so many times."
"You can't be." Nathrrya's voice was raw with emotion. "Leyland and Tara only had a daughter, Natalie and she... died during the war with Zakuul..."
"I am Leyland's descendant." The bounty hunter assured the Sith "Tara had a son but as you know Leyland and Tara had enemies so they kept their second child a secret even from you."
Nathrrya's brain refused to work for a time but then she had a vague memory of Tara being pregnant a second time but that had ended in a miscarriage or so Tara had told her. The thought occurred to the Sith that Tara had actually lied to her and in fact she'd given birth to a healthy baby boy. After all it was a very Sith thing to do. Nathrrya had never suspected that Tara had told her a blatant lie. She started to laugh, the apprentice had lied to the master and Nathrrya couldn't be more proud of Tara.
Still chuckling the Sith shook her head in mild disbelief "The Force is indeed a powerful ally." she mused "Through it I've met the ancestor of an old friend and ally and if I'm right seen another." Nathrrya looked the bounty hunter in the eyes. "Do you know anything about a blue Twi'lek slave girl?" she went on to describe Vette's doppelganger.
Kelborn grinned "I do as it happens, Nathrrya. A few years back one of my clients thought he'd try and double-cross me, needless to say it didn't work to well for him. Keelu and her mother came into my possession at that time. The low life didn't have much worth taking apart from a few weapons and the two women." The bounty hunter shook his head sadly "We lost Keelu's mother last year to fever. Keelu's a good kid knows how to take care of herself."
"Trained her then?" Nathrrya asked
"As much as I've been able to." The Mandalorian replied "She knows how to fly and maintain this old bucket of bolts." he said patting the side of the Mantis with affection "She's good with a blaster and can hack just about anything."
Nathrrya smirked "Almost sounds as if I'll have Vette back, Keelu could be her twin or her descendent she looks so much like Vette it's like looking at a ghost."
Kelborn nodded before he drew himself up to his full height and gave Nathrrya a traditional Mandalorian salute "On behalf of Clan Ordo I swear allegiance to House Palatine and your Sith Empire whatever form it may take. If you need us my lord we'll be there."
The Sith blinked several times in shock she had not expected that.
"So where are we off to now?" Keelu Laharti asked as she looked out the viewport of the Indigo Rose then at the woman sat in the captain's chair. The teenage Twi'lek girl still couldn't believe she was on a ship leaving Tatooine.
Nathrrya turned to regard both of her passengers. "I have a few ideas..." She said thinking then her attention focused on the Jedi Padawan.
"Obi-Wan as you're supposed to be on your Trials for Knighthood I think I'll take you to a place where you'll get to see what the Dark Side is capable of if you're willing to make such a sacrifice." Nathrrya said looking straight into his eyes. "To my knowledge the ritual concerned has only ever been performed twice and by the same man both times. I'm the only one alive to have witnessed its second casting and it makes me sick just thinking about what I saw."
"It can't be that bad can it?" Obi-Wan asked alarmed.
Nathrrya's eyes became hard "It's the darkest most evil of all Dark Side rituals. The fact I even know of the ritual's existence is enough to scare me. I want Sidius dead long before he even finds hints of this ritual. Obi-Wan I don't think I can convey in words just how truly evil this ritual is. All I really know is that it's a sacrifice based ritual and that's all I want to know. What I can do is show you the result."
The Sith turned back to the controls and began to flip switches as she programmed the nav computer for their destination. She placed her hand on the leaver that would engage the hyperdrive as she looked over at Obi-Wan and Keelu.
"Next stop the former Sith world of Ziost." She slammed leaver down and the Indigo Rose stretched out into a thin line before vanishing in a flash of light.
"Do you think we'll see them again?" Cliegg asked looking up at the night's sky.
"I don't know." Shmi admitted as she too observed the heavens. "I'd like to think we might. Next time Anakin may be with them."
Cliegg smiled in understanding. Perhaps there'd be a step sibling or two in introduce Anakin too. That was something for another time. "Come on let's be getting inside its late."
With one last look at the sky Shmi turned and followed Cliegg into the house.
The Indigo Rose reappeared in a flash of light near what seemed to be nothing more than a barren asteroid however Obi-Wan soon realised that it wasn't an asteroid but a planet. The padawan looked over at the Sith Master horrified wanting an explanation.
"That is the planet of Ziost formally a thriving Sith colony world. It should also have been the place of my birth and the ancestral home of House Palatine. As I understand it my grandparents foresaw the fall of Ziost and had the ancestral home along with the ancestral burial tombs moved in their entirety to Axxila once it came into the Empire's control." Nathrrya said. "I saw this world die before my eyes. It's something I never want to see again."
"How?" Obi-Wan asked hoarsely.
"The answer to that is not an easy one." Nathrrya replied with a sigh looking out at the dead world. "The Emperor is how. He performed the ritual that sacrificed the life force of every living thing on the planet to fuel his own. We saved who we could but it was never going to be enough. Too many lives lost." The Sith shook herself from her memories. "That's why Ziost is a truly dead and barren world. The only things that might still be down there are twisted dark side creatures left over when the ritual was performed."
"There's more isn't there?" Keelu asked softly.
Nathrrya turned her chair to face them. "There is. It goes back to the Sith genocide and the flight of the survivors." Her tone and expression grim. "It's also the reason why House Palatine is the last ancient and noble house of the Sith Empire as there should have been more but for the manipulations and ambition of one man." The Sith rubbed her face as this wasn't the easiest thing to talk about.
"Tenebrae for that's the Sith Emperor's true name had apparently tortured and killed thousands on his home world by the time he was ten. It can't be overstated enough that he was a truly evil being in every sense of the word." Both Obi-Wan and Keelu had gone pale as Nathrrya spoke. "At some point Marka Ragnos had the truly wonderful idea of naming Tenebrae, Lord Vitiate thus making him ruler of his home world which he renamed Nathema." The sarcasm in Nathrrya's voice was hard to miss.
"It gets worse doesn't it." Obi-Wan said.
Nathrrya nodded "It does. After Naga Sadow's defeat at the end of the Great Hyperspace War and the following Sith genocide Lord Vitiate saw his chance. Vitiate lured many of the remaining Sith Lords to Nathema and, in an elaborate ritual, drained their life essence and that of the entire planet, increasing his powers and prolonging his life. On that day Vitiate made himself effectively immortal."
Both Obi-Wan and Keelu shivered. "How did your house survive?" the girl asked.
Nathrryta smiled "House Palatine did not trust Lord Vitiate. It had been noticed that during the preceding century that Vitiate had been distancing himself from Sith politics then suddenly after the Sith genocide he comes forward making a big play for power. House Palatine wanted nothing to do with it so no one was sent Nathema which was just as well given what happened."
"What did happen?" Obi-Wan asked uncertainly
Nathrrya took a breath before she started to speak "When the eight thousand Sith who answered Vitiate's call arrived at his palace on Nathema, he somehow dominated their minds and bound their wills to his, forcing them to participate in the ritual. The ritual itself took ten days to perform, with the entire planet frozen in the grip of the dark side sorcery. Upon its completion all life on the surface of Nathema was annihilated save for Vitiate. The man absorbed the life force of the entire world, stripping the Force from the very fabric of reality on Nathema and gaining both unimaginable power and immortality. At that moment, the man shed his identity as Lord Vitiate and became simply the Emperor." Nathrrya snorted "And to think I actually served as his wrath for a time, the bastard."
Obi-Wan blinked several times. "How do you so much ancient history?"
The Sith looked almost bashful "I'm the last scion of the last ancient and noble house of the Sith Empire. It was expected I would learn the history of my House and family and by extension the more important events in the Empire's history." Nathrrya explained slightly embarrassed. She never liked making a fuss over her academic accomplishments.
The padawan nodded slowly "Makes sense." He was a bit overwhelmed if he were honest. It was clear however that Nathrrya was more than she seemed. For her part Keelu was in awe of the human woman.
Nathrrya turned to look out at Ziost again and frowned. She could feel something calling to her from that dead world something ancient and vaguely familiar. The Sith shook her head she had no intention of landing on the cursed planet. Nathrrya had a much more import destination in mind. She was going home, she was returning to Dromund Kaas on the way she planned to see if anything remained of Vaiken Anchorage. Moments later the Indigo Rose made the jump to hyperspace leaving the deal world of Ziost behind.
A/N: Well this chapter was a right pain to write but got there in the end. The next chapter isn't going to be any easier as there'll be a fair bit happening on Dromund Kaas after that Nat has to find and claim the lost Sith Fleet and Army which will conclude this arc of the story.
