Twenty-Two

The Dune Sea, Tatooine

14 ATC

The Republic troops fanned out to surround the Sith, the four Jedi advancing in a lopsided triangle formation. Nox cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders, calling up her vast reserves of energy. This was going to take some firepower.

"Do you suppose," Ravage murmured as the enemy drew closer, "They'll ask us to surrender?"

Nox shrugged. "Probably." She looked at the lead Jedi. "Is this the part where you ask us to surrender?" she called.

"I won't waste my breath," the Jedi declared in an Imperial accented voice that sounded oddly familiar.

"My, my, a Jedi with fire," Nox said. "How refreshing—and unusual. Are you sure you're on the right side?"

The Jedi pulled back her hood.

She was a Sith Pureblood, with black hair tied loosely back and bright golden eyes set in a very familiar copper-skinned face. Add a scar across her right eye and change the color of her hair to rust red, and Nox would have been looking at Darth A'tro.

If she hadn't dug up the classified reports from Telos, she might have even been taken aback.

"I know my allegiance better than you, I suspect," said K'saria Dhakar. "And I know better than to ask either of you to surrender. You're both too deep in the darkness to be redeemed now."

Nox laid a hand over her bosom. "Such flattery. I'm almost overcome."

"I remember you," Ravage said, sounding almost eager.

"And I remember you, Darth Ravage," K'saria said grimly. "I will bring you to justice for the murder of Setia Aru."

"Ah, so that was her name," Ravage mused. "She wasn't doing much talking while I crushed her neck. Most Sith will use the Force, you know, but I prefer to do these things by hand. So much more personal."

Nox was impressed in spite of herself.

"Am I supposed to be surprised that you're a sick monster?" K'saria demanded.

"And when that was finished," Ravage continued blithely, ignoring her, "Elaedrin Myn fell to her knees and begged me to show her the power of the dark side. Only you escaped that day. I will rectify that presently."

"Not if I kill her first," Nox taunted.

Ravage glanced over at her and smiled. "We'll see."

"Enough theatrics!" K'saria shouted. "All attack!"

And then everyone rushed them at once.

Nox didn't bother looking at Ravage, or Necrosion, nor did she even bother to remove her lightsaber from its clip at her side. Instead, she lifted her hands and reached inside herself to the cold, hollow darkness waiting there. She let herself fall through that hollow into the immeasurable shadow that waited between the stars, grasped at it, and made it hers.

The air around her screamed and surged with a sudden charge, and white-violet lightning ripped its way into existence, arcing outward from her fingertips, from the empty air, born of the sunless glacier that rested in the place where most beings had a heart.

Nox was not most beings.

Some of the Republic soldiers screamed as electricity burned its way through armor and flesh and nerves. Others perished before they could even take a breath, the sand fusing with their corpses as it turned to glass around them. One Jedi tried to block the energy with his lightsaber and keep advancing, but the storm was everywhere, it was all around him, and in the end he too was overwhelmed and fell silently with the rest.

In the eye of the storm, time had no meaning. When Nox finally stopped the barrage she had no idea how long it had been. She only knew that everyone in her immediate field of vision was dead.

She took a quick look around. There were far fewer Republic troops left standing than there had been at the start, and those left appeared to be attempting to regroup behind K'saria and another Jedi. Ravage must have gotten the third one.

Speaking of Ravage, where did he go? Nox wondered.

"We have a problem," Ravage's voice said from behind her.

Nox whirled, preparing more lightning in case he was about to try something. She was greeted by the sight of Ravage standing up and brushing sand off his knees. Necrosion lay facedown at his feet, unmoving.

"What did you do?" Nox accused.

"Nothing," Ravage sighed. "Sniper got him."

"Well, that's damned inconvenient, isn't it?"

"You're the one with range. You should have taken the snipers out first."

Nox put her hands on her hips. "Don't blame this on me, you twit. This wouldn't have happened in the first place if you had just let me talk to you in a secure location."

"I was well within my rights to be suspicious of you," Ravage said coolly. "And there's nothing to be done about it now. Shall we kill the rest of them and be on our way?"

"Why, Ravage," Nox demurred, "I daresay that's the best idea you've had this entire time."

She backed up out of his lightsaber range before turning to face the enemy. The surviving soldiers were making a break for their vehicles, while the two Jedi were charging towards the Sith.

How heroic, Nox thought, and delved into the darkness again.

K'saria leaped for her, lightsaber raised. Nox sent a bolt of lightning crackling her way. She caught it on her blade and crashed to the ground, rolling with the impact until she was back on her feet, her lightsaber leveled at her side in what Nox was fairly certain was a Makashi opening stance. Lightsaber combat, with its many nuances, was not her strong suit.

Lightning, however, was.

The dark side answered her call as it always did, materializing in the form of blindingly bright bolts that streamed forth from her hands to crash against the barrier of K'saria's blue blade. To the Jedi's credit, she kept advancing, pushing forward against the current one step at a time.

Admirable as it was, such behavior was unacceptable. Nox ramped up the power, stray bolts lancing out around her to fizzle away in the sky or glass small patches of sand. K'saria staggered under the assault, unable to keep moving forward. Nox continued to draw increasing amounts of power—more, more, more!—tapping into the reserves given by her bound ghosts.

A lesser Sith would have been reduced to a burned-out husk by the strength of the energy flowing through her. She sensed her eyes start to glow violet as she forced K'saria to her knees under the weight of her barrage.

Seeing as her target wasn't going anywhere, Nox took a look over to see what Ravage was up to. His Jedi attacker was on the ground, decapitated, and he had a hand stretched out towards the fleeing Republic assault craft. She felt the Force warp violently, and a moment later the vehicle exploded.

"Hey!" Nox exclaimed indignantly. "You do have range, you lying bastard! You can't blame the snipers on me now!"

Ravage turned to face her. "You are primarily a ranged attacker, which makes it your job to deal with other ranged attackers. And I wouldn't kill that Jedi if I were you."

Nox took a quick look at K'saria. She still had a grip on her lightsaber, though her veneer of Jedi calm was starting to fray. "Why not?"

"I'm sure you read those classified reports. This is the Wrath's sister." Ravage walked up next to Nox. "You shouldn't deny the Wrath the satisfaction of killing her herself."

Nox curled her lip. "It's nauseating, the way you suck up to her."

"I respect the Wrath, and so should you."

"I respect her plenty. You just seem like you're ingratiating yourself in the hopes of, how should I put this…" Nox raised an eyebrow. "Tasting the Emperor's favor."

Ravage shook his head. "You have a twisted mind. And this is not up for debate."

Nox thought it over for a moment, then let her lightning fade away. K'saria collapsed forward onto her elbows, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"I'll be sure to tell your sister you said hello," Nox said pleasantly.

"This…isn't over," K'saria panted.

"Of course, not dear. Now run along before I change my mind."

K'saria proved herself to be not entirely lacking in sense as she scrambled to her feet and staggered off. At least one of the Republic vehicles looked to still be intact. She'd live to fight another day.

Nox turned to Ravage. "There. Now the Wrath can indulge in all the future fratricide she wants."

"You saw reason. Amazing."

"Let me guess: killing siblings is another one of those weird Sith cultural things I missed out on growing up?"

Ravage shrugged. "Something like that. Shall we go?"

Nox followed him towards the speeder they had arrived in. "So, how many family members have you killed?"

Ravage didn't turn around. "Why would you ask that?"

"I just get the impression there's a number, that's all." Nox climbed into the driver's seat of the speeder and started it up.

Ravage settled himself next to her. "And what if there is? Will it lead you to make wild assumptions about my character?"

"Believe me, I think I know everything about your character that I need to." Nox started to turn the speeder, then stopped. "Do you think we should do something about all the bodies?"

"Why bother? The desert will take care of it soon enough."

"Fair point." Nox put the speeder through a sharp turn and started back towards Mos Ila.