Chapter 4: Seeing Double
Zyn squinted down at the pretty-looking acolyte before him. "Didn't I just see you in the jails with Knash? Couldn't have been more than a couple hours ago."
A look of confusion spread over her face. "Pardon, my Lord? I'm afraid I don't know who that is."
He scoffed. "Nonsense! I could never forget a face as pretty as yours. And such a knack for torture, too. Heard that little blue alien's screams from here!"
She was looking at him like he was crazy. "I'm sorry, I think you have me confused for someone else. I'm Vaessa, Overseer Harkun sent me."
What was she playing at? He knew what he'd seen. There was no mistaking a face like that. Or a body, for that matter. He scanned the length of her, paying particular focus to her chest. The tunic she wore wasn't exactly skin-tight, but it painted a pretty-enough picture. When he looked back up, however, she looked less than pleased.
He gave her as friendly a smile as he could. "Yes well, my apologies then. So you're the acolyte Harkun sent, hmm? He's given me very specific instructions. You were raised as a slave but must discard those traits and learn to control others. And I have just the task for that end."
Perhaps she really wasn't the same girl he'd seen earlier. Just the mention of 'controlling others' had her shifting uncomfortably in place.
He gestured to the right side of the room, where the table with her task lay. "Meet this driveling excuse for an acolyte. He will be your victim." As soon as she saw the boy, the color flushed from her face.
"What exactly does this entail?
"A short while ago, there was what we call…" he paused as he considered how to phrase this. "…an 'unauthorized murder' here in the academy. A rival among apprentices resulted in death."
She looked back over at the wretched lad. Surely she wasn't seriously sympathizing with him, was she? This is what happens when slaves are permitted to become Sith.
"Interrogate him!" He ordered. "Make him tell you who committed this crime, at any cost."
She raised a hand up. "I'll see what I can do, but I won't torture anyone."
Closing his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Already you are a disappointment to me, girl." He shrugged. "But Harkun said nothing of torture being a requirement, so I will not restrict you."
So much for his entertainment. He turned from her and walked over to the monitors on the other side of the room. Paperwork would be more enlightening than this. From over his shoulder he listened in on her progress. The boy, Alif, was pleading for his life. The perfect opportunity for a bit of torture! And she responded by promising not to harm him. Wonderful.
Alif was too stubborn to accept the good fortune he had, though. He refused to talk, even as she spouted off drivel about 'justice' and 'doing the right thing.' Zyn wanted to vomit.
"…justice? There is no justice in the Sith." The boy's voice shook as he spoke. "There's just power."
There was a pause before the girl answered. "That doesn't have to be true. There's strength too, and freedom. You have the freedom to choose."
What was she getting at? Keeping his back to them, Zyn slowly turned his head. He had taken his attention completely off his work at this point. Reaching out with the force, he attempted to get a read on her. Interesting. There was conflict within her. A clash of light vs dark, a swirling torrent of energy.
She continued talking now. "Look, if you don't talk to me, the inquisitor will bring someone else in, and they won't be as understanding as me. I want to help you."
Zyn couldn't help but laugh, though he did his best to be quiet about it.
"Why?" asked Alif. "Why don't you just torture me and get it over with?"
She hesitated. "Because. Because I believe there are better methods than torture."
"They really did pull you out of the slave pens like the inquisitor said, didn't they? Alright, I'll tell you what I saw."
Even without seeing her face, Zyn could sense her smile grow wide. Most interesting indeed.
"Trials of Intellect". That's what Harkun had called it. He'd just finished accusing her of cheating on that interrogation – despite Inquisitor Zyn's surprisingly positive report – when he decided to assign a new trial. Something about testing their understanding of the force, whatever that meant, and yet there she was, telling him that she could handle anything Ffon could handle.
Yep, that's me, Vaessa Rane. Master of the force. She sighed and continued her trek towards the tomb. The dirt path of the wilds was treacherously uneven. Each step she took seemed to fall a different height than the last, and more than once she nearly stumbled as a patch of dirt gave way to a small crevice or hole that ran deep into the ground.
And where is Harkun's favorite pet? Why, translating texts in the library, of course!
After several minutes of walking, she passed beneath a large metal walkway far above her ahead. As she gazed up, she stared in awe at the twin statues that stood on the cliffs above. Massive stone behemoths loomed over the valley, their heads bowed in an eternal display of respect to their master. Which meant…
There. Just up ahead, beyond the twin servants, was a cliff with three stone epitaphs rising up its wall. Inscribed in massive lettering was some form of ancient text, though she had no idea what each said, save for one name – Marka Ragnos.
She approached the entrance and peeked in. It was dimly lit, but she could hear noises coming from within. Carefully, she slipped into the shadows and made her way inside. The noises grew louder as she progressed, until soon it became clear what they were. Growls. How had Harkun described this place again? Monster-infested? She paused for a moment and sighed, then pressed forward.
Before long she caught sight of the monument the Overseer had described. The structure reached up towards the ceiling. At the top she spotted it, a small pyramid-shaped piece that stood out from the stone base beneath it. Intricate carvings adorned its sides, while an ominous red glow emanated from within.
Carefully, she climbed the ramp walkway that spiraled up to the top of the monument. The ramp must have been a leftover from some previous expedition to uncover the monument's artifact, as it was obviously not an original part of the tomb. Halfway up, the ramp became to wobble under the stress, and she grabbed the railing for balance.
How comforting, if the monsters don't kill me, the stairs will.
At the top, she set to work figuring out the monument. She tried to decipher the runes inscribed on the bottom of the pyramid, but as with the epitaphs outside, they were in some ancient script.
She considered what Harkun had said. Perhaps by 'understanding of the force', he was referring to the Sith code? Immediately, her mind returned to her first day on Korriban, deep within the Tomb of Ajunta Pall. Spindrall's teachings flooded her memories.
Focusing her energy towards the stone monument, she recited the code. At first, nothing happened. She was about ready to try something else when the tomb began to rumble. She reached out to steady herself when she heard a familiar noise – a growl. And it was right behind her.
Without thinking, she dropped to the ground. As she fell, she could feel the air above her rush by. A winged creature soared overhead. A shyrack. It wasn't alone, either. From below, the heavy stomping of feet rattled the walkway. Vaessa attempted to stand again, but the structure shook, and she fell back to her hands. When she lifted her head, she was face to jaw with two beasts.
The tuk'ata roared, their horns glowing red in the light of the pyramid. Vaessa muttered a curse and reached for her saber. The training blade whirred to life, its yellow glow illuminating the teeth of the brutes. For a second, she made the mistake of inhaling through her nose. She gagged on the putrid stench of their breath.
The first of the tuk'ata lowered its head to charge, but Vaessa was already moving. She pushed off the ground and rolled to its side. Its horn pierced the sleeve of her tunic, tearing a chunk of the cloth off as it charged by. Meanwhile, the other tuk'ata started its own charge. Vaessa raised her blade and sliced, sidestepping as she did so. The creature let out a heavy whine, and collapsed to the ground. Wasting no time, she made short work of the first one, too.
All that left was the shyrack. Looking up, she spotted it circling high above her head. Its beak opened wide and it let out a high-pitched shriek as it dropped from the air towards her, its talons extended in front of it. Vaessa stood her ground, however, and raised her saber. Waiting until just as it was under a meter away, she swiped downwards, striking it directly. The bat-like beast collapsed to the ground in a heap.
Hands on her knees, she stood there catching her breath. "Like to see Ffon come down here and fight some of these things."
After a few moments, she looked back at the monument. It remained unopened. Nothing. Right then. She considered her options. Well how would a crazy Sith Lord lock up his precious artifacts?
She thought for a moment, then sighed. "Perhaps a little blood will make you happy." She raised her hand up to the monument, and carefully drew her blade across her open palm. Droplets of blood fell from the wound, splattering along the base of the pyramid. Again, nothing happened. Then, again, a deep rumbling shook the tomb.
In the distance, she could hear the approaching sounds of tuk'ata feet stomping against the stone floor. She looked back at the monument. There wasn't any time, and she didn't exactly feel like fighting even more of those things. With all the strength she could muster, she swung her blade against the pyramid. The durasteel weapon collided with the stone, but was quickly rebuffed, bouncing off. The thumps of feet were getting closer. Clanging metal told her the first of them was on the ramp.
Suddenly, there came a heavy crash from below her. The whole structure began to tilt beneath her. One of the tuk'ata had rammed into a support beam in its attempts to climb up.
With the walkway on the verge of collapse, she turned back to the monument. Only one shot left. Returning her blade to its sheath on her back, she ran for the pyramid and reached out one hand.
"Just open, damn it!" Lightning shot from her fingers and struck the monument. Instantly, the sides of the pyramid began lowering into the stone base. There, lying within, was the glowing red holocron.
No time to wait around. She broke out in a run towards the monument. Another support pillar could be heard crashing to the ground. The stress was officially too much for the walkway. Vaessa shouted, and with everything she had, jumped from the edge. The structure gave way behind her, metal crashing into metal as the ramps slid in a mess of different directions. She reached for the artifact and with one hand, pulled it from its perch.
Unfortunately, she was still falling. The ground rushed up to meet her, and her eyes widened. She pulled her knees in and leaned forward, her feet slamming into the ground. Quickly, she tumbled forwards, rolling several feet. Behind her, the cacophony of sound came to a halt as the walkway came to rest in a heap of railings and rods. Buried somewhere underneath, the tuk'ata let out a roar.
Within seconds, Vaessa climbed to her feet, wobbly, but otherwise unharmed. She coughed as she breathed in the dust swirling in the air. Before anymore creatures could show up, she tucked the artifact into her pack and started making her way out of the tomb.
After a few minutes, the first rays of sunshine hit her face. She smiled to herself, and stepped out into the daylight. Stopping for minute to sit on a rock nearby, she pulled the artifact from her pack. Its glow was harder to make out in the direct sunlight, but she marveled at the intricate detail of the carvings along each side.
"For once, I can't wait to see the look on Harkun's face!" She laughed to herself, and reached to put the artifact away again. Then a voice rang out.
"I can imagine, that's an awfully pretty looking cube you have there. And to think, all I got to do was kill some giant beast. Bet Tremel won't be as excited as this Harkun will be."
Vaessa spun her head around towards the entrance to the tomb. Immediately, her mouth dropped open. There stood a woman. Her long black hair flowed down her back in small, bouncing curls, and she stood with a hand on her hip. She looked quite amused with herself, a large grin plastered over her face. A face that looked exactly like Vaessa's.