Chapter 6: And Then There Were Two

Quorian Dorjis tried desperately to grab onto something, anything. The energy field that made up his cage rebuffed his hands, though, and he had to grip his thighs to remain calm. His eyes felt like they were tied to bricks that were pulling them down. God, if he could just let them close and drift off… The room spun around him as he struggled with everything he had to stay conscious. Unfortunately, Jedi training or not, there was only so much one could do when drugged to the extent he had been.

He just needed to hold on a little while longer. She should be back soon. She said she'd help him. But she was Sith. Why would she help him? It was so hard to remember, to even think. Why would… he couldn't finish the thought, though. With a thump, his head hit the ground of the cell and he drifted off.

It seemed like he'd only been out for seconds before the sound of approaching footsteps jolted him awake. Had it been that fast, or had he been out for hours? There weren't any windows for him to look out of, so he had no way of knowing what time it was. The room had stopped spinning, at least.

Suddenly she was there, before him. Or had she been there the whole time? He could only look up at her, at the black hair that curved down along the side of her face. She looked so small and fragile to him. Not like that Inquisitor, the one who came so often to see him. That woman was twisted into sharp edges that ground against his senses.

"I know you," he said, the weakness of his voice surprising himself. "We talked before. My head's clearer now, Sith."

She didn't say anything, just reached into the pack in her hands and pulled out a few objects. As she laid the items out before him, he almost couldn't believe it.

"It's all here – the comlink, my lightsaber – everything I hid. You're going through with it."

"I told you, no one deserves to suffer like this."

He shook his head. This was more than he could have imagined. "With all this… once the guards change shifts, I think I can slip out of the Academy."

He eyed the hall behind her. From just around the corner, he could make out the form of a guard, shuffling in place. He looked back at her though, and stared into her eyes. Could he leave her here? Surely such kindness would make her a target on Korriban.

"What about you?" he asked. "Will you be okay?" He could tell the question surprised her.

"Me? I'll be fine." She hesitated, though. "I'm more worried about you."

Despite her assurance, he could sense she wasn't exactly sure of it. He'd never understand the Sith, that was for sure. How could anyone be part of a society where your own allies were likely to betray you? Still, any compassion he could find on this rock, he'd take.

"That's… very kind of you, Sith. I still don't understand why you're doing this, but thank you."

"Quorian, you have to know…" she turned her head back. The guard was still there, just past the door. Leaning in close, she spoke in a whisper. "It's a trap."

"What?"

"Your memories were altered. When you report back to the Jedi, you'll tell them exactly what the Sith want you to."

Damn! How could he not have foreseen this? Wait — the drugs. He knew he was on Korriban. He knew he was here, in the belly of the beast, and yet somehow he'd failed to even consider that her helping him was a set-up. The drugs must have affected him worse than he'd thought.

He paced around the small cage. "That explains why you would help me out, but not why you would tell me the truth."

"Perhaps the truth is more complex that you think."

"It's certainly worth pondering. I'll speak to my masters of this, but it isn't important now."

She nodded, and turned to leave.

"I'm – I'm sorry the empire took you in, instead of the Jedi." He wanted to reach out to her. If only he could take her with him, back to Tython. Yet he knew that was impossible. It was clear she was risking enough just helping him. "If things had been different…"

When she turned back, her face was solemn. Without another word, she simply walked out through the door, turning around the corner where the guard stood, and disappeared from view.

With a few hours to go before he could escape, Quorian decided to meditate. His thoughts swarmed with the young female Sith. He'd come to Korriban to spy on the Sith, and in that regard he ultimately failed. Yet in failing, he may have learned something even more valuable. If only he'd learned her name.

Vaessa turned the corner towards Harkun's chambers, her hand already rifling through the pack on her side for the three stone tablets. They'd been surprisingly easy to retrieve, at least compared to that Jedi's belongings and the usual tasks she was sent on. Only a handful of shyracks had stood, or perhaps more accurately flown, between her and the ancient texts. Nothing a few swings of a blade and some lightning couldn't make quick work of.

Of course, Ffon was probably standing there with Harkun laughing with that smug grin on his ugly red mug. Where'd he been? Why, folding Lord Zash's robes perhaps, or feeding Harkun's pet monkey-lizard. Maybe he had some tea with the Dark Council, who knows? She could just hear the Overseer giggling as he came up with some new, deadly task for her.

"Guess what, slave," he'd say, "there's another ancient tomb for you to explore. This one is home to a family of krayt dragons! Try not to scream too much as they crush your skull, slave."

She rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. I'm starting to sound like Zoenna.Wonderful. As she turned another corner, her thoughts were interrupted by a woman's voice.

"Yes—yes, remarkable. Magnificent."

She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the source of the voice. There stood a woman, no taller than herself, with short, cropped blonde hair. Her robes were an elegant blend of reds and blacks, and she wore a warm smile on her face. Yet Vaessa could immediately sense the force swirling powerfully around her.

"You, slave, wait—no, acolyte." The woman reached into a bag that was draped over her shoulder and removed an object Vaessa recognized instantly. "You're the one who brought me this magnificent holocron from the tomb of Marka Ragnos, yes?"

"Brought me"? Vaessa's eyes widened as it dawned on her who she was talking to. Without missing a beat, she dropped to one knee and lowered her head.

"My Lord, I apologize." Her voice quivered as she spoke. "Y-yes, I found the holocron."

To her surprise, Lord Zash remained entirely courteous. "Nonsense, acolyte, you have nothing to be sorry for. On the other hand, I should be thanking you."

Vaessa slowly rose back to her feet as Zash continued.

"One thousand years it sat buried in that tomb, Sith Lords passing it by. And then—" The Sith Lord gestured to her. "—the most unlikely person comes along. Tell me, how did you manage it?"

"Well…" The images of tuk'ata and the collapsed excavation site flashed in her mind. "It was easy, I shot lightning at it, and it opened."

"Such a simple solution." She placed one hand on her hip and the other on her chin. "Why did none of us think of that?"

Vaessa shrugged.

"Regardless, your work so far has me intrigued. I have high hopes for you acolyte—" Placing the holocron back in her bag, she strode past Vaessa, stopping only briefly before turning the corner. "—Sky high."

Balek watched from his corner as she entered through the doorway. She was gazing around at the various training equipment and devices, presumably looking for any hint of why she'd been sent here. As she did so, her hand moved up to her face and swept a lock of her dark hair back over her ear and out of her eyes. He turned his attention to the other corner of the room. There, crouched in the shadows, his brother waited for his signal.

Without waiting any longer, he nodded towards Wydr and stood up. Wydr followed suit, and together they approached the young acolyte.

Wydr spoke first, puffing out his chest and placing his hands on his sides. "Hello there, Vaessa."

She spun around to face them, and immediately Balek felt his stomach sink. He could tell she tried to hide her surprise, but her eyes betrayed her. There was no chance they could fool her. Even if she didn't want to say it, she clearly knew why they were there.

His brother kept talking. "You remember my brother and me from downstairs, with Harkun, right?"

"Sorry it had to be this way." As he spoke, she turned to look directly at him. He quickly averted his gaze downwards. If she looked at him any longer, he'd probably crack right then. He really was sorry, too, but he doubted she'd find much comfort in that.

"We don't like it any more than you do," Wydr continued. "Well, maybe a little more."

Damnit Wy, stop making light of this! There was no honor in what they were doing, he knew that. He just wanted to get this over with. God, he thought, how'd it ever come down to this? When they'd discovered their force sensitivity, it seemed like such a blessing! They'd become Sith, be free! It had never occurred to them how deadly the trials would be, how much they'd have to give.

"What is this Balek, what's going on here?" She was still trying to feign ignorance.

"I'm sorry girl, I liked you. I really did."

"But Harkun made us a deal, see." His brother seemed way too eager. "We kill you, we go home.

"Come on," she said. "Do we have to do this? We should be sticking together. This is what Harkun and Ffon want."

She was probably right, but that didn't matter.

"We don't want to, but we know we can't beat Ffon. We'll never be Sith." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "At least this way, we can go home alive."

"You're wrong!" Her eyes suddenly narrowed in anger. "We don't survive this place by turning on each other. That's what Harkun wants. We survive it together!"

"Quiet." Wydr snarled and drew his blade from over his back. "The time for talk is over, fight for your life, acolyte."

Balek gulped and reached for his blade. His brother looked ablaze in his rage. He wished he could get that angry himself – he'd prefer it to the guilt that was there in its place. As the first clash of durasteel rang out through the room, he knew this had been a mistake.

To his credit, Wydr fought with all he had. His swings were wild but plentiful, and he practically growled as he attempted to slash the poor girl. Balek jumped in where he could, a slash here or a stab there, but it was quickly hopeless. Even if they killed her – and that seemed increasingly doubtful – what kind of life would they really be returning to?

Then a scream pierced his ears. As if in slow motion, he watched as her blade crossed the length of his brother's body. Wydr's eyes went wide as the blow struck, and within seconds he was crumpled to the floor, motionless. Balek couldn't move. One second, his brother was there, full of passion and anger, fighting for all they had left. The next, he was gone; a corpse on the ground.

Immediately, she turned her attention to him, and he hardly raised his saber up to block her. Don't worry, Wy. I'll rejoin you soon. He stared at her as she moved towards him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. As her blade struck his neck, the last thing he saw was the sorrow in her eyes. Then the world went dark.

Vaessa panted and placed a hand on the wall next to a training dummy. Beside her lay Balek and Wydr's corpses. She took another look at Balek, his mouth still hanging open slightly. He'd apologized to her before she killed him.

We could have worked together! Why'd they have to do that? She felt the rage boil up in her. It was an unnerving feeling, though it was one she'd been feeling more and more during her time here. This time, it got the best of her.

"Idiots!" She slammed her fist into the head of the dummy next to her. The padded mesh absorbed the blow readily. Her eyes closed for a moment and she took a deep breath, attempting to calm down. Her attempts were interrupted by a familiar voice from outside the room.

"Dummy giving you trouble?"

Vaessa turned her head to find Zoenna leaning against the doorway, arms crossed over her chest and a mischievous smile plastered over her face. The armor she wore was new. It was simple, reminiscent of many of the other acolytes she'd seen around the Academy, but it suited the girl.

"For someone who claims they're not a Sith, you sure are making short work of anyone who gets in your way, Vay." She leaned down and examined Wydr's body, turning his head side to side. "It's okay if I call you Vay, right? Or is that only for family?"

"My brother calls me Vay."

"That a yes?"

Vaessa placed a hand on her hip. "Are you following me?"

Zoenna laughed. "Believe it or not, I do have my own trials to complete here." She stood back up and began circling the room, trailing her fingers along the walls. "So what happened here, a little friendly competition got out of hand?"

"He forced them to." Vaessa clenched her fists.

"Who, Harkun?"

"I tried to reason with them but they refused to listen." Her anger continued to build, causing the air around her to heat up.

"Does that piss you off? Good." Zoenna finished circling the room and came up behind Vaessa, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let that anger fuel you. Turn it against Harkun and you could destroy him."

"No." Her breathing steadied and slowed down. "I'm not… that's not me. I'm not giving in to the Sith."

The hand dropped from her shoulder as Zoenna groaned loudly. "You're no fun, you know that?"

"I'm not—"

"I sensed your feelings from Baras's chambers down the hall. That's how I knew to come here. Just admit it, Vay, part of you enjoyed killing them."

The image of Wydr's face flashed in her mind. The look of shock on his face as the first swing of her blade cut across his body, and the grimace that replaced it as she had brought her saber back down. A chill ran down her spine as she thought of it again. It wasn't pleasure though. It couldn't have been, right?

"Your silence is more telling than you think." The girl flashed a smile, patting her on the shoulder before moving towards the doorway. "Keep up the good work, Sith. See you 'round."

Then Vaessa was alone again. The room felt colder than before, and she shivered as she looked back down at the brothers at her feet. She knelt down next to Balek, sighing as she reached forward and pushed his mouth closed. When he looked at peace, she got to her feet and hurried out the door.