"I heard you decided not to allow FirmRess to bring the Lady Renata to me. I am most disappointed," the duke frowned at the sight of the Sith.
"Get over it. I don't work for you."
Duke Kendoh shook his head, "Tsk tsk. Though you are Sith, you still have much to learn, my lord. Politics is a tricky game. Depending on how one plays, it will either get you everything or lose everything. By denying my claim to Renata, you've certainly aren't providing me much incentive to help you. Where's my motivation?"
"I suspect self preservation is motivation enough. Or perhaps I should just kill you?" The young Sith crossed her arms in annoyance.
"Consider me motivated." Xy'liah rolled her eyes at the Duke. Baras must enjoy torturing her for every single mission she embarked upon, there is always at least one idiot that she has to deal with. She stared at the Duke with unforgiving eyes as he trembled in front of her. In her head, she silently laughed at the many empty threats he had thrown at her so far. "So, FirmRess tells me the lead was fruitful. Although Lady Renata was not the girl's mistress, she knew who was. Gesselle Organa. I should say General Gesselle Organa. Now you have to track her down, which poses a bit of a problem."
"If you can't solve the problem, you should be very afraid." She enjoyed threatening the duke. It made tolerating him less painful for her.
"Well, I better come up with a solution then." The Duke turned toward his map of Alderaan. A few moments passed before he turned back around, his face lit up. "AH! General Gesselle Organa leads the Organa war against House Ulgo. Her headquarters is protected by an impenetrable force field. No firepower can break it. The forcefield allows Gesselle and her advisors to be stationed very close to the front and maintain a more hands on command."
"Hmph, that's pretty smart of her. And how do you suggest we outsmart her?"
"That is the task that faces us….wait! Yes! A forcefield needs power to maintain itself, yes? So if we cut the power…" Kendoh smiled. "And I bet I know just where Gesselle is getting her juice. If I'm right, you could just walk through the front door."
"Quit stalling and cut to the chase."
"Almost all power on Alderaan is supplied by the planetary generator. Gesselle must be piggybacking the system to power her forcefield. Some of my fellows do this to maintain their special security needs. A precise charge at the generator will force fail safes to fire. The planet won't miss a beat, but artillery systems like Gesselle's force field will have to be manually reset, which could take some time. "
"Based on your experience here, does Kendoh's plan make sense?" Xy'liah asked FirmRess.
"It's smart to scrutinize anything the duke says, but his plan seems sound to me, Xy'liah."
"Precisely. It is infallible. FirmRess, fetch a seven-stroke-seven detonator from my arms cabinet and give it to our friend here."
"As you wish," the Sith walked past Xy'liah and Vette as he walked toward a corner within the Duke's chambers.
"The Alderaan generator is located above the Straight Valley, and it boasts the planet's most advanced security systems. You have to fight your way in, set the charge, then fight your way out before the boom. It won't be easy."
FirmRess returned with the small charge in his hand and carefully handed it to Xy'liah, who took the detonator and handed to Vette. The young twi'lek took the charge carefully and examined it.
"I'll try not to yawn too much," said Xy'liah.
"Once you've detonated the generator, you'd still have to wade through Gesselle's surrounding army and invade her headquarters before her forcefield is reset. I'll be eagerly tracking your progress. Good luck."
Xy'liah turned to FirmRess, "Not coming this time?"
"I'd be there to join you as soon as you detonate the generator. This way, you'll have a headstart on the Organan troops."
Xy'liah walked out of the duke's chambers with Vette following her. As soon as they were in the lobby for House Thul, Vette expressed her concern with the upcoming mission.
"My lord, how do you expect to run in there, detonate, run out and fight another whole army? That is cutting it close, isn't it?" she asked.
"According to my calculations, it should take approximately 10 minutes for the force field to be reset. It will be hard, but if you plan to fight like how you did on Balmorra, I'm sure it won't be a problem for you," came Quinn's voice through the headset.
"Let's get going," said Xy'liah, ignoring the Captain's words.
"I'm calculating your route now," said Quinn as he busily punched in data into the ship's computer. "According to my sources, you are very close to the generator."
"I know where it is, Quinn," came the voice.
"I'm…sorry, my lord. I was only trying to help. But if you find my assistance to be a nuisance, I can go about my other duties."
"Please d-OUCH!"
A blaster sound was heard through the headset. Panic filled Quinn as he called out for Xy'liah through the headset, "My lord?"
"Let's just hope his friends didn't hear," said Vette. "Are you ok, my lord?"
"I'm fine. Quick, Vette, over here!"
Vette ran after her master as Xy'liah ignited her crimson lightsabers. They rushed toward the sides of the building, though it didn't make a difference since the place was heavily fortified, "What's your plan? Do you plan on just running through this crowd?"
"If you have better ones, let's hear it. Having FirmRess here isn't exactly a bad idea either." Xy'liah stood up straight from being crouched down behind her cover. Immediately blasters started firing toward her as she leapt from her cover and launched herself toward them.
Vette followed, shooting down some of the targets as Xy'liah took care of the others. She smiled to herself. She was getting quite good at picking targets. Their teamwork has gotten quite fluid the past few missions. They had their set routine down, which consisted of Xy'liah generally going for her right and Vette taking the left.
They were doing alright for the first few rounds of men heading toward them, but then Vette caught sight of something that worried her. Two oversized droids were heading their way with little ones following. Vette frowned. How were they to handle that? As soon as she fired at the last man, Vette turned her attention quickly toward the upcoming battle. She immediately aimed and fired at the smaller droids, hoping to take some out before they were in a near enough distance to accurately aim at her. To her surprise, they were taking themselves down. As the droids neared, Vette could see something that was making the ground security droids drop one by one. She turned to see Xy'liah, who wasted no time, running toward the two oversized droids.
If it was not the Sith Lord's doing, then what? Vette watched amazed as Xy'liah leapt toward one of the humongous droids, bringing her lightsabers down straight through its armor. It stopped in its track and fell to the ground, bringing the Sith Lord with it, but she was able to quickly jump off the droid before it came crashing down to the ground. In the next instance, the crashed droid was being lifted by Xy'liah's use of the Force and hurled to next oversized droid, knocking both droids quite a few distant away from them.
Vette quickly fired at the last droid before rushing to her master's side. The young Sith Lord was on one knee, clutching her left arm. As she neared her exhausted master, she saw a flicker. It was almost shadow like, except it wasn't dark. It flickered again and this time a young woman appeared by Xy'liah's side and knelt down to face her.
Vette's jaws dropped at the young woman. Where did she come from exactly and how long has she been standing there?
"Xy, are you ok?" the young woman spoke in a soft melodious like voice.
"Took you long enough," Xy'liah responded, taking the young woman's hand and standing up. She turned her left arm to get a better look at the wound. "Nothing, but a scratch."
"It's bleeding!" Vette exclaimed as she saw the wound clearly.
"The droid's armor must've cut you when you were taking it down," said the young woman, taking out some gauze and kolto salve. She took the Sith's injured arm and went to work, rubbing it with a good amount of kolto salve before patching it up.
"Ok, I know this is a bad time to talk, but who are you? And how did you just magically appear like that?" Vette asked as she watched the strange woman work on her master.
The young woman smiled. She was a beautiful specimen, human like Xy'liah, but much different. Her height was probably the only similarity she had to the Sith Lord besides some features of her face. Her eyes were a big cool grayish color, hair as black as space itself, and skin soft and porcelain like, "Cipher Nine. Pleasure to meet you."
"Cipher…Nine?" Vette asked confused.
"That's enough talking," said Xy'liah. Her eyes went from her wound to the still shocked twi'lek. "Give me the charge."
Vette took out the charge obediently and handed it to her master, who handed it to Cipher Nine.
"Make sure you get out before it goes off," warned the Sith.
"Of course. I'll contact you once everything is done. Meanwhile you better get out of here before more troops head this way," the young woman took the charge and made sure it was securely in her small pouch before looking up at the Sith and twi'lek again.
Xy'liah nodded, "I owe you, cousin."
The young woman smiled and slowly faded into thin air.
"Cousin?" Vette exclaimed.
"Let's go, Vette!" Xy'liah yelled, running back in the direction they came from.
"What exactly is going on out there?" asked Quinn's voice through Vette's headset.
"I-I'm so confused."
"Argh…you're hopeless."
Chaos and panic filled the air of Gesselle Organa's bunker as alarms and troops were immediately rushed to defend her headquarters. The young general stood watching her monitors as it blinked ferociously with alerts and warnings. Twenty minutes ago, an alert came up of the planetary generator's failure. Without its' powers, the bunker was completely defenseless against all enemies. Gesselle had ordered her head technician, Prinn, to immediately fix the problem before something worse happened.
A few minutes ago, the worst happened when reports from soldiers around the bunker came in of a Sith Lord on its way to her and ruthlessly taking down every last men Gesselle had. Gesselle closed her eyes and took a deep breath, toning out the surrounding voices of her advisors.
"General, our standing army outside is being wiped out! Someone or something is on its way here!" Kan'grel exclaimed.
"My technicians almost have the force field reset, but we're still sitting ducks!" Prinn said.
The advisors watched as their General calmly assessed the situation. She had been quiet the whole time since the generator's explosion and had not commanded any actions. Her silence was making them even more fearful of the upcoming confrontation.
"General, what do we do?" Prinn asked again, his voice quavering, but Gesselle continued to remain calm.
"Gesselle?" Blenks said taking a step closer to the General.
"There have been several assassinations of House Thul officials whose security systems were downed by the generator's explosion. In my opinion, House Ulgo is behind all of this," said Kan'grel.
"Your opinion is about to change," said a voice. The advisors all turned around startled to see a young woman accompanied by a twi'lek and young man standing at their doorway. "I am here on information about Jaesa Willsaam's family!"
"Intruder!" Prinn cried out, reaching for his blaster. But before he could properly aim his weapon at the Sith, the blaster flew out of his hand and directly toward their equipments, crashing into the big monitor. The monitor went blank with static jumping out as the blaster fell to the ground. Prinn and Kan'grel stepped back at the sight of the Sith's powers.
Blenks protectively stepped in front of Gesselle as the Sith continued to advance toward them, "Gesselle, get behind me."
"None of you panic," said Gesselle. "I'll handle this." She stepped past Blenks, Prinn, and Kan'grel meeting the Sith face to face. "Sith, did I hear you right? You perpetrated all of this in search of my former handmaiden?"
The Sith smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "I doubt you would've taken my call."
So this Sith had a sense of humor. How interesting. "It might've worked. I'm a practical woman. You have decimated my forces outside. They were to be deployed to secure a part of my front that's about to fall. Now I have no reinforcements. You seek information only I have and my front needs bolstering. Perhaps we can help each other?"
Silence filled the air of the bunker, but Gesselle could still hear the silent gasps coming from her advisors. She continued to meet the Sith's stare, who seemed to be contemplating her offer.
"How about I kill your subordinates one by one until I get what I want?"
"Go ahead," said the General stepping aside. "I'm not a commander with a soft heart. Kan'grel, Prinn, and Blenks knew the risks of serving a General. Even if you managed to kill them all, you still won't get anything from me until you agree to defend my front."
"Hmm," said Xy'liah. "Fine, I'll defend your front, but to make sure you keep your end of the bargain, one of them is coming with me."
"That won't be necessary. I am a woman of my word. Now on my left flank, there is a tunnel between my forces and House Ulgo that has been hard pressed by the enemy. I have a ragtag force defending that tunnel and Ulgo's about to attack. You must repel the enemy's forces. What's left of my forces at the end of the tunnel's choke point is being led by Lt. Dargus. I'll let Dargus know you're coming. He'll contact me as soon as you succeeded. Assuming you do. And once you do that, I'll tell you."
"How can I be sure of that?"
"If I don't, you can come back and kill us all one by one."
"Why waste time coming back when I can just get it over with now?" The Sith raised her hand as if holding something and in the next second, Blenks started choking.
"I'm telling you, Sith. Your threat won't work," said Gesselle.
The Sith smiled as she tightened her grip. Blenks started gasping for air and choking even more. Gesselle watched as he fell to his knees, his face blue.
"STOP IT! STOP!" she yelled as she rushed to his side. "Please don't kill him! Alright, I agree!" She watched Blenks as he looked at her with distant eyes. In the next second, Blenks stopped choking and gasping for air. He fell forward into Gesselle's arms as blood came rushing back to his face. Gesselle held him in her arms as she turned to face her other advisors. "Prinn, go with her."
"No," the Sith said. "I choose. And since you seem so overly fond of him, he's going with us." The Sith turned toward the young man to her left. "Get him, FirmRess."
The oversized man stepped forward and picked Blenks up off from Gesselle's arms, who desperately clutched onto him.
"No, please don't. He's too weak to face the Ulgo!" Gesselle stood up and rushed after FirmRess as he walked after his two other companions walking toward the door. "Blenks' my lover. I won't allow anything to happen to him!"
"Good," said the Sith, turning her face to meet Gesselle. "Then you'll have no problem holding up your end of the bargain." The three walked out of the door, leaving Gesselle with Kan'grel and Prinn.
"Nice bargaining, my lord," said Quinn as Xy'liah exited the bunker. "I don't think I could've done better myself. I have pinpointed your next location."
"How many times do I have to tell you, Quinn? I know where I am going," Xy'liah snapped back. Silence once again filled the air at the Sith's tone of voice.
"Alright men, this is it. With the Captain d-dead, it falls on m-me to rally what's left of us. I-I guess the reinforcements won't be making it. We better get ready. Ulgo forces are fast approaching. I can feel the tunnels' walls sh-shaking," said Dargus. He looked at his small force. Despite his best to rally them, they all looked at him with fear. They knew their odds against defeating the incoming Ulgo attacks were slim and that this was probably their last fight. Dargus gulped at the thought of dying. How did he ever get into this?
"That's your knees knocking together, coward," said a voice. Dargus turned to see Blenks with three other individuals.
"Lt, we've been flanked!" yelled one of the soldiers.
"No, wait!" Dargus said turning to the Sargeant. "General Gesselle send word of a Sith coming to our aid, but I thought I misheard her."
"Sir, I am not trusting a Sith. No way…"
"We're drastically outnumbered, Sergeant. The general has given orders, and besides, without help, we will die for sure."
"The rest of the men and me aren't sticking around for a suicide run."
"I'll see to it that none of you make to the door alive," threatened the Sith.
"Ulgo's coming, men! The Sith won't have time to fight us! I say we go. Come on," said the Sergeant to his comrades.
"Um, I don't think so, Sarge. The Sith could waste us all without batting an eyelash," said one of the other soldiers.
"Yeah and I don't relish the idea of being a deserter," said his friend next to him.
"That's the spirit, men!" said Dargus. He turned toward the Sergeant. "You are relieved, Sergeant. I will personally report this to General Gesselle later."
"That won't be necessary," said Xy'liah.
"See men! Don't trust the Si—"
The men stepped away as the Sergeant dropped to the ground after he had the life choked out of him. They looked at each other in fear and to the Sith and her companions as she smiled at her kill.
"What do we do now, Lt?" they all asked.
"Stand your ground and fight!" answered the Sith for him. She took out both her lightsabers.
The men frowned as they reluctantly grabbed their blaster rifles, "Let's go get into our position then."
Xy'liah turned toward FirmRess and Vette, "Ready?"
"Good luck, my lord," said Quinn.
"I won't need it."
The three walked to where the Organan troops took their positions as footsteps were heard from the tunnel entrance ahead. Xy'liah and FirmRess ignited their lightsabers as they waited.
There was dead silence as they waited for the Ulgo forces, each intently watching the tunnel's entrance for the first sight of troops. It was the longest minute of their lives as they waited, but alas in the distant, human forms were seen as a mob of Ulgo forces rushed toward them like ants.
Xy'liah wasted no time waiting for them to be in close range. The young Sith leapt to meet the oncoming troops, surprising FirmRess and the rest of the troops. They watching for a few seconds, stunned at the Sith's courageous or stupid move.
"What are you waiting for? Attack!" cried out Vette as she started shooting a few of Ulgo forces herself.
"Alright men, let them have it!" Dargus ordered. A series of red blaster bolts shot out from the front and raced toward the enemy's force. FirmRess rushed to Xy'liah's side, knocking aside any Ulgo troops in his way. But as he got nearer, the young Sith Lord went deeper and deeper within the enemy force.
"Come on!" Quinn yelled at the console in front of him. The big monitor in front of him switched from views of the Alderaan's terrains to a view of the current battle going on. He had successfully tapped into Organa's security camera and could now see the battle with his own eyes.
The blue eyes widened at the sight of the battle. He spotted his Lord as Ulgo forces swarmed like insects around her. Another figure was seen standing next to Xy'liah. FirmRess. Quinn studied the other Sith as he cut down the troops before him. Unlike Xy'liah, this Sith displayed no signs of extraordinary skills or powers. He was what Quinn called the typical Sith, using mainly his brute strength to knock down enemies.
His eyes shifted to Xy'liah once more. It was as if Quinn had somehow travelled back in time and standing in his old office on Balmorra as he watched the Sith fought her way through a countless number of enemies. The feelings on Balmorra all came rushing back to Quinn as he stood there, eyes glued to the screen. There was no doubt about it. He was drawn to her powers, to the way she effortlessly defeated one opponent after another, to her fluid and graceful form as she maneuvered her way through the group. He had forgotten how beautifully she fought. He had been too busily fighting opponents himself whenever he accompanied her on missions to even notice. Now he could just take a step back and observe her in her greatest form. There were certainly perks to staying aboard.
Quinn continued watching, his eyes restlessly travelling all over the monitor, doing their best to absorb the actions. He felt something familiar stirred within him. It was the same feeling that stirred within him on Balmorra; an urge to be next to her, to fight alongside her. There was a certain excitement and pleasure he received from watching her fight. On Balmorra, he had analyzed it to be his reawakened passion to do more for the Empire, but it wasn't exactly just that.
He outlined her small form as she leapt from one group to another. Never has she looked so beautiful to him, so attractive. He felt himself longing for her as images from the event on Tatooine raced across his mind.
Quinn scanned the battleground as something caught his eyes near the tunnel's entrance. Two humongous, tank-like, security droids were advancing closer to Xy'liah, who was too occupied with the men in front of her to notice. But before Quinn had a chance to warn her, two ion cannons shot in her direction.
"NO!" Quinn yelled at the screen as a huge explosion took place in the middle of the battlefield. Bodies of dead soldiers were seen flying in all directions and smoke filled the air. Everything went silent as everyone waited for the smoke to clear. Quinn leaned closer to the monitor, eagerly wanting to see the end result of the blast. His hands had been clenched for some time unbeknownst to him and he found his pulse quickened as adrenaline rushed into his system.
The smoke cleared finally to reveal FirmRess holding up a force shield around him and Xy'liah. Quinn squinted at the sight as Xy'liah's tiny figure stood up on the screen, crimson blades igniting once more.
She wasted no time rushing toward both the droids with FirmRess right behind her. Together, they took down the two machineries, ending the attack on the Organan troops.
"There's blood all over! It's everywhere! EVERYWHERE!" shouted Dargus as the two Sith approached him.
"That's just how I like it!" Xy'liah laughed.
"Eww…" Vette said.
"Despite that…this battle is…a miracle! You-you did it!"
"Your men put up an excellent fight, Lt," said Xy'liah.
"You're…too kind Sith." Dargus smiled as Blenks came next to him.
"I'll get Gesselle on the holo for you," Blenks said. "I'm sure she'll be happy to hear of your success." Dargus handed him a holo, which he took and dialed in Gesselle's channel.
"Blenks! You're alive!" the General exclaimed at the sight of her lover.
"Yes, and the Sith…she did it," said Blenks. "She repelled every single attack Ulgo threw at us."
Gesselle's tiny image turned to face Xy'liah, "Sith, as painful as this has been. You have come through. I hope you're not expecting a thank you?"
"I did what you asked. Now I want what you promised," said Xy'liah.
"Yes, well a deal is a deal. I promised you to tell where Jaesa's parents could be found. They have been servants of Castle Organa for many years. Sith, the Willsaams are simple, innocent, hardworking people. They deserve your mercy."
"I'll take it under consideration."
"That's all I can ask."
Xy'liah nodded and took to the Organan tent before setting out. Dargus and the rest followed, each quiet and fearful of what the Sith might do next. But she only took a few kolto injections before setting out to Castle Organa.
"That was excellent work back then!" FirmRess exclaimed as they entered the tunnel.
Xy'liah turned toward him and smiled, "You saved my life. What say we go somewhere nice and quiet after all of this is done and I can repay my debt to you."
FirmRess smiled, his cheeks turning red at the young woman's suggestion, "I'd like that."
"Hey!" Vette exclaimed. "Did you see me? I think I'm getting better at picking my targets from observing you. My aim is more precise now!"
"I noticed, Vette."
The twi'lek smiled to herself proudly.
On the other side of the headset, however, stood a Quinn, displeased with the statements his master had said.
"I must part with you here, friend," said FirmRess. "Duke Kendoh has called upon me. I hope the Force guides and protect you on your journey to find the Willsaams."
Xy'liah frowned, "Really, FirmRess. You can't keep disappearing on me. It's no way to treat a lady."
"I'm sorry, but Duke Kendoh has other business for me."
"I'm starting to dislike the duke even more," said Xy'liah as she motioned for Vette to follow her. "Well, just remember. After all of this is over, you're mine." She gave the Sith a wink before setting off toward Castle Organa.
"No, General Gesselle's warning was true. The Sith has come for us!" exclaimed Parvin at the sight of the Sith.
"Men, rally around me. The fight is upon us!" called Master Volryder. He watched as the Sith neared them.
"I didn't think a single assailant could make it through Castle Organa's defenses all the way here to us," said Gregor drawing his wife close.
At this, the Sith smiled proudly, "I didn't even break a sweat."
"Consider yourself warned, Sith. You will not harm Parvin and Gregor Wilssaam. I vow it," the Jedi Master raised his blue lightsaber in front of him, but the young Sith merely glanced at the burning blue blade as a look of boredom overcame her.
"Yeah? Well I disavow it," she crossed her arms, her bored glance dismissing Volryder's blade altogether.
"Please, Master Jedi. If we really are the cause of all these deaths, I want to know why," said Gregor.
The Jedi Master cursed within his head. It was never a good idea to reason with a Sith or drag out an inevitable fight, but he couldn't say no to his patron, "Fine, say your piece, Sith. But I am not going anywhere and I will protect them no matter what."
"It's going to be fun acquainting you with reality."
"Please, if there is something you want with us, I want to hear it," Gregor said as the Sith turned toward him.
"Gregor, this has to do with Jaesa. I just know it," Parvin said from his arms. A look of fear came over her as she trembled within her husband's arms.
"Give her a prize! I can see where Jaesa gets her force sensitivity from."
Volryder frowned at the Sith's sarcastic humor.
"I knew she shouldn't have gone with the Jedi. Now the Empire is after her. Sith, Jaesa was our life. She was going to marry Organan nobility so we would no longer have to be servants."
"When she…left, we sacrificed that dream. We don't know anything about Jaesa. We were told we would probably never see her again. We are mere servants. What could you want with us?" Gregor added.
"You'll be my message to Jaesa."
"You just want us to give her a message?"
"No, Gregor. It's our deaths that will be a message to Jaesa." Gregor turned toward his wife as the fear rose in her voice. All colors and blood disappered from her face as she stared at him with big fearful eyes.
"Listen to your wife, Gregor Willsaam. Her explaination is very likely and true," the Jedi Master added.
"Please, Sith, is there any way to inspire you to spare us?"
"Nothing springs to mind." Xy'liah quickly used the Force to push back the Jedi, who flew a couple of feet far from them. She quickly used the Force again to quickly choke and kill the Willsaams.
"NO!" Volrdyer exclaimed as he regained balance. "I have never seen a Sith kill like that and so fast. I had no time to intervene. I can only redeem myself by bringing you to justice."
"Only your rage can kill me."
"Yes, my shame must be eradicated." He raised his blade and rushed at the Sith, who jumped back, taking out her two lightsabers and igniting them. The ambers within her eyes turned to a yellow-red as she called upon the Force.
Volryder, again, rushed at her, his blue blade making contacts with her crimson ones. He smiled as he watched her over the blades. At the Jedi Academy, he was told to be quite skilled at disarming anyone, including those who wielded two handed weapons. And that's exactly what he did with this Sith.
She seemed quite surprised to see her lightsabers flying off in different directions as he had her pinned down beneath him.
Volryder raised the blade next to him with one hand holding the hilt while the other was rested against the butt, ready to push the blade into the Sith as any moment, "Your death will pay for theirs." He thrusted the blade toward the Sith only to be caught off guard by what happened next.
His lightsaber was mere centimeters from her face and went no more beyond that. Volryder's eyes widened as he saw a ripple of red surrounding the Sith. Amazing. She had called the Force to her side and somehow manifested it to use as a shield. Never had he seen powers so raw before.
Her eyes never left him as she continued to stare and concentrate. The yellow red hue of her eyes was slowly turning to a blood red as she called upon the Force more and more.
Volryder felt himself being lifted off the ground and in the next instance he was flying toward a wall. His back hit the wall with a thud, causing him to release his blade as he fell to the ground. He pushed the cold marbled floor with his right hand and rolled to his side. His body ached from that slam against the wall so much that he found it quite difficult to stand up. He forced his eyes open and quickly spotted the deactivated lightsaber on the floor a few feet away from him. It was rolling off the ground, but not to him.
Volryder watched as his lightsaber flew into the hand of his opponent. She stopped and towered over him, her blood red eyes glowing. It was over. He had lost the duel and was now going to pay for it with his life.
Volryder closed his eyes and began reciting the Jedi Code as he heard the sound of his own lightsaber activating. There is no death, there is the Force. There is no-
"Ah, apprentice, I see the Sith attending to Duke Kendoh has patched me through to you. I am seeking an update. News of your search for Jaesa Willsaam has reached me and I am quite concern," Baras said, watching his apprentice as her companion came up besides her.
"Relax, old man. All is under control," the young woman replied back with her usual hint of annoyance in her tone. Baras frowned at her behind his mask, but chose to ignore it as he always did whenever she displayed her little attitude.
"That is not what I am hearing. Duke Kendoh has contacted to me tell me you have been busying yourself with personal exploits and disregarding my mission."
Her face switched to a more curious one, "What exactly did he say about me?"
"In a moment. First the more important subject. Tell me you've found the family of Nomen Karr's Padawan. Tell me they have been taken care of."
"Yes, master. It is done." Even when she was trying to be sweet to him, Baras could still sense a hint of mockery and annoyance. She was indeed one of the most rebellious apprentices sent to him, but he was slowly training himself to tolerate it. He found himself somewhat enjoying himself whenever he conversed with her. She kept him on his wits aside from the usual obedient students.
"Then all is well. Good. No doubt the Padawan is twisting with grief now. You eclipsed my greatest hopes for you and proved that you belonged by my side. Which makes my susceptibility to Duke Kendoh's gossip about you all the more foolish."
"Are you going to tell me what that maggot said or not?"
"First off, the Duke said you set off an explosion that caused the deaths of several Thul's dignitaries."
"That was his idea, not mine."
"Hmm, it must be politically advantageous for him to disavow his role in such thing. Kendoh also said you helped the Republic defended their front against Ulgo, painting you a traitor."
"Doing so expedited my mission."
He smiled at her quick responses, "Well, I do not care about the trivial war on Alderaan. All that matters to me is that your mission is complete. For whatever reason, the man has taken it upon himself to slander you. I have no more use of him. If I were you, I'd make him pay severely."
"It's going to be fun seeing him explain this one."
"Do what you will, but quickly. Until we destroy the threat of Nomen Karr's Padawan, nothing else is important. Good bye."
"Ah, come in. I heard of your success. I am so pleased for you!" Duke Kendoh said as Xy'liah came into his chambers.
"Was telling Baras that I murdered your rivals and calling me a traitor payback for not getting Renata?" She crossed her arms, waiting for his explanation. The question caught the Duke off guard. He hadn't expected her to be so direct about it.
"Oh, uh…hehe. I see. How awkward for me. Allow me to explain. I realized that when you blew up the power generator, several of my rivals would be exposed. So I seized the opportunity to eliminate them. I," his tone switched to a more careful one as he explained more. "had company when your master called and I had to keep several of my house members blind to my maneuvering—"
"That's a lie! You contacted Baras by yourself!" FirmRess said from behind him. The Duke turned toward him, surprised.
"You used me," Xy'liah said.
"We all get used in this little political game, my dear. I only wanted Baras to know I was looking out for him. It was harmless, I knew you would succeed and all Baras would care about was that. Please…please don't…kill me. FirmRess, you and your men are assigned to me. If I am attacked you must defend!"
"If Darth Baras' apprentice decides you die, we will not intercede."
"Kendoh's going to die. You can count on that," said Xy'liah as she narrowed her eyes at the Duke.
"It will be a pleasure to be relieved of this assignment. Can we help at all?"
"I want you to kill him."
"As you wish."
"You were supposed to protect me!" yelled Kendoh as FirmRess took out his lightsaber and jabbed the lightsaber deep within the Duke. His body fell onto the ground before them.
"Eww…I hate that awful smell," said Vette pinching her nose and turning away from the body.
"He was a sad and twisted waste of space. Serving him was torture," said FirmRess staring down at the body.
"I can imagine," the Sith smiled at her companion as his dark eyes met hers.
"Now we report back to our master on the Council. We will be paying attention to your exploits," FirmRess bowed. "Farewell, Xy'liah."
"Wait, you haven't forgotten our deal have you?"
FirmRess looked the young woman in the eye as she gave him a mischievous smile, "That is…if you don't have to go now." Xy'liah stepped closer to him as the Sith awkwardly looked around at his colleagues.
"I…guess there is no reason to rush—"
"Good, then let us be on our way." The young woman took the Sith's arm and pulled him toward the exit.
"I guess I'll head back to the ship," said Vette. "And update the Captain on this."
"Don't wait up for me."
"She what?" Quinn exclaimed as the twi'lek told him of Xy'liah's whereabouts. "She's doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"She is neglecting her mission."
"Calm down, Captain. She deserves a break. Don't you know our motto? Work hard, play hard."
"I won't rest until the threat is eliminated."
"And it will be." Vette raised a brow at the irritated Captain. "Are you afraid she'll run off and elope with FirmRess?"
"Did she say where she was going?" Quinn asked, ignoring the twi'lek's earlier comment.
"Why? Are you planning on stalking her?"
"I didn't say that."
"But you were thinking it," Vette smiled as she saw the Captain looked down a lot more irritated than he had been. "Now, if you are that worried about her, why don't you sit and wait for her? In the meantime, I'm going to take a next relaxing bath."
Quinn sat staring down at the empty hangar before him. He took a quick gulp of the whiskey flash in his hand as he waited for Xy'liah to come back. Night had already fallen and the Sith had yet to make an appearance. Quinn frowned. He had sat on the ramp of the Fury waiting for her to show up for hours. How long was she going to make him wait?
Quinn's mind turned to the thought of FirmRess and Xy'liah as he waited. He had always known the Sith to meet and marry someone her equal, but he had not thought it to be this soon. Why, that Sith was not even her equal. He was far from it. She deserved someone better, more powerful. Quinn lifted the flask to his mouth and chugged down the remaining whiskey before wiping his mouth clean with the back of his hand.
He let out a sigh as thoughts of Xy'liah wandered into his mind and he found himself once again replaying their time together on Tatooine. If only…if only he had not taken the time to rescue Major Ovech, he could be there by her side. But would it have mattered? Knowing the Sith, she would probably still shamelessly flirted with FirmRess in front of the Captain without a single sign of respect or remorse. If that was true, he had no need of her. What had he been thinking? He had been right to choose Major Ovech over her. He couldn't let her cloud his judgments. Major Ovech was vital to the Empire's success. Rescuing him was the right move. He told himself.
"Heh," Quinn said to himself as he analyzed his past behavior. He had been acting like a fool, allowing her to get in between him and his mission. Their relationship was purely professional. She was his superior officer and he was here to do a job. Now that she has found someone to keep herself busy, he would no longer have to worry about little nonsense getting in the way of his operations. Finally he would be free to fully concentrate.
Something flickered to the side of Quinn's eyes. He turned to see a familiar figure appearing at the hangar's entrance. Xy'liah walked toward the ship in an almost gleeful manner. She marched up the ramp to a waiting Quinn, who stood up to received her.
"We are ready to depart, my lord."