Lixion stepped out of the hangerbay and stormed down the corridor, uttering curses as he went.
Zanthis merely smirked as he followed Lixion. "I think you have just set a new record. You have been cursing for about an hour."
Eyes flashing yellow, Lixion abruptly spun around, causing Zanthis to stop where he was. If you hadn't been fooling around…."
"I wasn't the one fooling around!" Zanthis retorted before Lixion could finish.
Lixion's nostrils flared and he clenched his fists. "No? Then how come she escaped with the Jedi and we had to wait in embarrassment to be rescued?"
Zanthis shrugged his shoulders. "We owed her one?"
His eyes blazing with fury, Lixion turned around and continued to storm down the ship's corridor. "The Emperor will not be pleased."
"I'll let you inform our Master then while I take care of alerting the other fleets to be on the lookout for the Flame of Jade." Zanthis responded and turned to go down a corridor on his left. He immediately regretted that decision when he came face to face with Darth Magnus, the Emperor's prized apprentice.
Darth Magnus had reddish brown hair that was short and straight. His eyes were a grayish color and would change according to his mood and right now they were a dark green, tinted with yellow. He was twenty years older then Zanthis and Lixion and an expert with a lightsaber. He made it a point every chance he got to demonstrate to Lixion and Zanthis why he was the Emperor's prized apprentice.
"On second thought…" Zanthis gulped and turned and ran back to Lixion. That was a mistake. Zanthis was Force pushed into Lixion and they both fell to the floor.
"What the…" Lixion stopped when he saw the towering, menacing, figure looking down at them. "Oh, bantha crap!"
Mara examined the odd device that she found in the bag that the two Jedi had had and then placed it back into the bag and put it on her bed. It was time to get some answers. She entered the cargohold and saw the two Jedi sitting in a corner of the room.
"You really should have safety straps in here." Anakin remarked as Mara approached.
Mara glared at him for a few seconds and then took a device off her belt so that she could take their blood samples and then left the room to get the blood analyzed and find out whether the two Jedi were telling the truth or not. The Force hadn't indicated that the two Jedi were lying, but Mara wanted firm proof nonetheless.
Impatiently, Mara tapped her fingers on the table as she waited for the results, when the results came back she studied them closely. Their story was true, they were Kenobi and Skywalker. Mara stared at the screen in disbelief and then slowly that disbelief was replaced by anger. Whirling around, Mara stormed back to the cargohold.
"You let them escape!" Magnus snapped, loudly, anger in his voice. "The Emperor is displeased with the both of you!"
Zanthis and Lixion were both kneeling with their faces to the ground in front of Magnus. After Magnus had caught them both in the corridor, he had taken them to his private chambers, chambers that should have remained empty for three more weeks.
"You both are a disgrace," Magnus continued, circling the two boys. "Worthless, unfit to become Sith! Failure is unacceptable! The both of you do not deserve the title of Darth!"
"It wasn't our fault!" Xanthis protested. "If the Sumnii had done their job then this wouldn't have happened!"
"That is no excuse!" Magnus roared.
Zanthis swallowed hard and fought against the impulse to run.
Lixion spoke up then, his voice amazingly calm. "It was Zanthis' fault!"
"My fault?" Zanthis angrily responded, he looked at Lixion with disgust showing on his face. "You are the one who should have moved quicker!"
"Enough!" Magnus shouted and they fell quiet. "You both disgust me." With a flick of his fingers, Magnus opened two trapdoors that were beneath Zanthis and Lixion and they fell into a hole, that, if they curled up in a tight ball they could lay on the metal floor. With another flick of his fingers, Magnus shut them inside and left his chambers.
Hot angry tears trailed down Zanthis' cheeks as the trapdoor closed, leaving him in darkness. He had long ago discovered that it was fruitless to try to escape this little prison that Magnus had created. He could throw a fit and no one would hear him, not even Lixion who was in the hole next to him.
"I hate him! I hate Magnus, I hate Lixion, I hate the Emperor, I hate the Sumnii, I hate Magnus' prison, I hate Jade, I hate those two Jedi, I hate that I'm trapped in here!" He paused and then shouted at the top of his lungs. "I hate you all!"
Mara entered the cargohold and glared at Anakin and Obi-Wan. "I hope you both have a very good reason to show your face again after eighteen years!" She spat out even as she attempted to release her emotions into the Force.
Anakin hung his head, unable to meet Mara's eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan calmly answered. "If we had been able to come back sooner then we would have."
With a now calmer voice, Mara asked, "What happened?"
"We received a call for help while in hyperspace, and when Anakin asked the person who called what kind of help was needed, our ship was hurled far out into the unknown regions." Obi-Wan explained.
Anakin continued, looking up at Mara as he spoke. "It wasn't an ordinary call. We encountered a red mist while in hyperspace that enveloped inside and outside our ship. The voice called from inside the mist and then the mist brought us to a place beyond our galaxy and to a different galaxy, one where the darkness had a firm hold."
"So while you saved that galaxy ours fell into darkness. I hope you both are satisfied of the results of your disappearance!" Mara responded, her voice cold and bitter.
Finding no words to say, Anakin lowered his gaze to the floor. Mara's words were like an icy dagger in his heart. She was right. If they had remained then perhaps the darkness here could have been stopped and destroyed, but at the same time that may have condemned another galaxy to total darkness forever.
"All is not lost," Obi-Wan spoke softly, his voice still calm. "The darkness can still be stopped. Many have died, yes, but who is to say that it may have been better if we had remained?"
"Some would disagree." Mara responded. "That still does not explain why both of you have been gone eighteen years!" Her voice rose again, echoing in the cargohold. "Five years may be more understandable, but eighteen years!"
Anakin thought about telling her where anger leads to, but wisely kept his mouth shut and let Obi-Wan answer.
"Unfortunately we had been unable to use the method that had sent us out of our galaxy or we would have been back sooner." Obi-Wan replied and added, "We had an interesting journey back."
Instead of replying, Mara turned and left the cargobay. After the door shut and locked behind her, Mara leaned against the bulkhead and let the tears fall.