A/N: in which darth nox finds herself on the wrong end of an invasion, the republic tries to recover, and lana gets fired

i was hoping to get this chapter out last week, but yknow. finals.

"Get down!" With a grunt of effort, Rei sent Harkun's desk flying across the room, effectively barring the door as a beige-robed twi'lek ran by. She whirled to face the overseer and the gathered acolytes, lightsaber already in hand. "Jedi." She almost spat the word, the wrongness of their presence on Korriban making Rei's skin crawl.

There was blaster fire, and as quickly as she had registered the sound, Rei had projected a thin Force barrier over the open doorway. The bolts bounced off harmlessly, but it wasn't a defense she could hold long.

She turned to Harkun. "Keep them here. Keep them safe. And if you die, I will bring you back just to finish this argument." Without waiting for a response — Harkun knew better than to cross her so openly — Rei darted over the desk lodged in the opening of the door, lightning sparking at her fingertips and already beginning to arc out at the Republic soldiers.

As satisfying as it was to have such weak and susceptible soldiers throwing themselves at her, Rei was too distracted to really enjoy it; her simple trip to Korriban to check up on her favorite overseer had been interrupted by an attack by the Republic, and it was really ruining her day.

"Spare a minute?" In one fluid movement, Rei slammed into a Jedi that was rushing towards her, pressing him against the wall of the hallway and wrapping one gloved hand around his throat. He struggled against her, but Rei kept him inert through the Force, her power easily overcoming his. He was so young — no older than Rei had been when she'd first arrived at the Academy. And yet, she suspected he wouldn't have been a match for her even then.

That was the problem with the Jedi — they were taught to die for their Order, whereas the Sith were taught to kill for theirs.

"Why are you here?" Rei leaned forward as she spoke, rather than raise her voice to drown out the sounds of battle that echoed around them. "Do you even know, or are you just following orders like a good little Jedi?" She loosened her hand on the human's throat, just enough that he could speak.

"We're here to rid the galaxy of its greatest threat."

"Typical." As the Jedi continued to fight her hold, Rei released him, igniting her saber as she did and slicing a neat arc through his torso. Leaving the body, she made her way back to Harkun's office, picking off the occasional soldier that had made it past her the first time. There hadn't been many soldiers or Jedi to begin with; Harkun's office was deep in the east wing of the Academy, far removed from the main halls, where Rei assumed the majority of the Republic forces were located.

Rei lumbered somewhat ungracefully over the desk in the doorway to the office, her movement hindered by the lofty robes she wore; the fitted chestpiece and skirt had always been more about appearance than practicality, and, given that she really only wore them at the Academy or the Citadel in Kaas City, she hadn't ever imagined she'd be fighting in them.

"Mostly clear," she reported as she re-entered the office, expecting Harkun but finding only the group of acolytes. "I'm going to kill him one day, I swear."

One of the acolytes, a thin mirialan who was the only one in the group without even a training saber, stepped forward. "Some of the overseers are trying to secure the library on the third floor," she explained. "Harkun went to join them."

"Of course he did." A menagerie of aliens and former slaves who'd all been passed over by the other overseers and lords — why would Harkun stay to protect them? Rei found herself scowling at the non-present overseer, and refocused her rage towards planning. "You'll all come with me, then. We'll have to get upstairs to my office so I can make a few holocalls."

She knew Soverus, at least, was still at the Academy — she'd spoken with him shortly before meeting with Harkun — and Rictus had been around that morning. The rest of the Council was off-planet, but Rei assumed it would be wise to contact some of them as well. With any luck, they could form a retaliation force to at least push the Republic out of the Academy itself.

But first things first — they had to make it to Rei's office.

It was only a short trek to one of the elevators, and luckily the second floor had fared far better than the first. Rei wasn't any good as an instructor, but she watched the acolytes as they fought, offering the occasional comment or criticism as needed. The group made it to Rei's office with few injuries and only one casualty — a nautolan with embarrassingly clumsy combat skills — and Rei quickly confirmed that while Rictus had left, Darth Soverus was making a stand in the Council chambers.

When Rei couldn't reach Vowrawn — her first attempt at calling for assistance — she tried for a more logical approach and contacted one of the Councilors capable of sending large-scale military reinforcements, opting for Darth Arkous' optimism over Marr's grim stoicism.

"Ah, Darth Nox," the Pureblood greeted, offering a sincere smile as he placed his hands behind his back. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you until next week, at least. I'm afraid I—"

"This isn't about Council business," Rei cut him off. "The Academy on Korriban is under attack. Soverus and I are both here, but there's too many troops and Jedi for us to hold any ground. We need assistance."

Arkous' eyes widened before his expression twisted into one of rage. "Defilers," he seethed. "Jedi on Korriban. I'll send reinforcements immediately. Make them pay, Nox."

"I plan to." As the holocall blinked out, Rei re-entered the frequency for the Council chambers, hoping to update Soverus on the situation and coordinate a plan of action in the meantime. But instead of the councilor, it was a togruta's image that appeared on the terminal. She was clearly a Jedi, and stood with so much poise and assuredness that it was insufferable. "Where is Soverus?"

"He chose to stand against us," the Jedi said, confirming Rei's fears. "If you're also here in the Academy, I ask that you don't take the same course of action."

Rei's brow furrowed, and she crossed her arms as she stared down at the Jedi. "Leave it to a Jedi to attempt a peaceful invasion," she sighed, cutting the transmission before turning back to the group of the acolytes. "Anyone who's pride demands that they go out and fight rather than stay holed up in my office, feel free to leave. If you're willing to take the hit to your ego and live, you're welcome to stay. But as soon as the reinforcements arrive," she added, "I expect you all to join them and tear those Jedi apart."

Cori was no stranger to war. Few Jedi were.

But this was different; seeing Tython reduced to rubble and flames, surrounded by more Jedi dead than alive, Cori had been shaken in a way she hadn't been in a long time. There had always been a sense of safety about the temple on Tython, even with the threats it had faced and the war that raged throughout the galaxy, and that safety had been shattered so violently that Cori couldn't help but wonder if it would ever go back to the way it had been before.

There hadn't been time for meditation or contemplation or even just a moment to take it all in. Cori and Kira and Rusk had joined Havoc Squad in liberating the temple, only to be met with cryptic messages from the Sith and the corpses of too many Jedi that Cori had known or even called friend. But there had been a sense of wrongness about the whole thing, and they were halfway back to reporting in to Darok on the fleet before she could pull herself from her grief to think it all over.

It hadn't even been a full day after receiving the first message from Theron that Cori had been contacted by her sister. The fact that Zaara had called hadn't been odd itself; in the two years since they'd re-established contact, Zaara had made a habit of occasionally checking up on the wellbeing of her younger sister, even if the calls were often rushed and filled only with vague reassurances that they were each fine.

But this time had been different — Zaara had been more adamant than usual about learning what Cori was up to, only satisfied when Cori finally admitted that she would soon be leaving Tython for a new mission.

Now, looking back, Cori was left with a sour taste in her mouth as she considered the possibility that her own sister had been responsible for the damage to her home. And, of course, that wasn't even touching the strangeness of the Sith that had been on Tython.

And yet, despite Cori's questioning at the entire situation — and Major Sohms' far more adamant protests — Colonel Darok seemed unconcerned. We'll look into it, but your roles in this are over, he'd claimed, and though Cori hadn't sensed any deception that didn't mean it wasn't there, well-hidden amongst the confidence in their victory and annoyance at their persistence.

Theron, at least, had listened to both Cori and the Major, turning a round of celebratory drinks into an excuse to further discuss the oddity of the mission. Major Sohms and her weequay lieutenant were already several drinks in by the time Cori arrived, sitting at one end of the bar and talking loudly enough to be clearly heard over the band. Captain Jorgan sat with Theron at a table near the back, both with a mostly untouched glass in front of them.

Kira headed for the bar as they entered the cantina, offering to bring back an extra drink. Cori slipped through the crowd to join Jorgan and Theron, greeting them as she sat in one of the remaining empty seats. "You wanted to discuss… Tython," she asked, hesitating, the word still feeling too heavy when she spoke.

"Davri's pissed," Jorgan informed her before Theron had a chance to answer. "None of this makes any sense, and we're not in a position to do anything about it. Theron's got some ideas, but you can't tell me the Jedi wouldn't want to get to the bottom of this?"

Cori smoothed her robes almost reflexively, collecting her thoughts and carefully debating how to answer. "The Jedi have a lot to consider at the moment. Rebuilding Tython and caring for the survivors will take time and resources that are already strained by the war. I—"

"All due respect, Master Jedi," Jorgan interrupted flatly, "we're not looking for the diplomatic answer."

Theron sighed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "It doesn't matter either way. This is something we have to investigate a bit more discreetly than demanding help from the Jedi."

"As I was going to say," Cori continued, "I don't think the Order itself can offer much, but I would be more than willing to look into this, whether alone or with all of you." In truth, all she wanted to do was to return to Tython and assist with the cleanup efforts there, but that was a job that could be left to other Jedi if Cori was needed elsewhere. "Do we even know if Darok was connected or… involved with the Imperials?"

"Nothing solid yet," Theron admitted. "But there's a lot that doesn't add up — like the timing of the attacks, or the fact that, as far as I can tell, the Sith took the same sort of artifacts from Tython that we were after on Korriban. And all this great intel we were supposed to get from the Academy?" He shrugged. "None of it's been turned over to the SIS yet."

"Then let's go get it." Kira set down two glasses as she joined them at the table, pushing one over to Cori. "I mean, that's what we're here for, right? Expose the bastards that let the Sith onto Tython?"

Cori inspected the water that Kira had brought for her before taking a sip. "I don't think it's quite that simple." She glanced up at Theron for confirmation.

"Actually, it might be, if you're all willing to see this through. I'll see what I can dig up on Darok and contact you when I have a lead." Theron paused, frowning and fidgeting in his seat a bit. "I just had to make sure we're all on the same page here. If Darok's part of some conspiracy…"

"There's no telling how far up this thing goes," Jorgan finished, glancing over at the major for a moment before sighing. "We sure picked a hell of a time to get Havoc back in the field."

"Don't worry, it's secure."

Lana glanced up to find Zaara leaning against the doorway of the ship, amused, watching with her arms crossed as Lana inspected the interior of the agent's ship. She hadn't really been too worried about Zaara's security measures, given her experience in Intelligence, but that didn't keep the entirety of Lana's suspicions at bay.

"I'll admit to a certain degree of paranoia," Zaara continued, pushing off of the doorway to join Lana where she stood near the central holoterminal. "It comes with being a spy."

She nodded. "Understandable."

"Now, are you going to tell me where we're headed? I'm inclined to trust you, given our little chat after Korriban, but it only goes so far."

Frowning, Lana clasped her hands behind her back and turned to face Zaara. She had a point — Lana had been intentionally cryptic in relaying information; like Zaara, she was inclined towards trust, but the situation had become a bit more complicated when Darth Nox had returned with Zaara and Darth Evris. Nox had made an admirable stand at the Sith Academy, but her anger at the Republic made her too impulsive and volatile to trust, and the situation was already delicate enough.

"How much do you know about Manaan?"

Zaara's brow furrowed, and her lips pressed together in a thin line as she thought. "Enough. Primarily a neutral world, the main supplier of kolto, lots of selkath. This… presence in the Force you mentioned before — it's leading you to Manaan?"

"Not quite," Lana admitted, the corner of her mouth quirking upwards into a hint of a smile. "Arkous recently secured transportation to Manaan, shortly before informing me that he no longer requires my services. Upon further investigation, I discovered that he's been in communication for several months with a private research lab near the capital. I believe that's his intended destination." The smile disappeared as Lana spoke, replaced by a grimace; she hadn't paid any attention to Arkous' messages to Manaan before, given the planet's importance to the war effort, but in hindsight she was certain they should've stood out.

But Zaara seemed re-energized by the new information, beginning to pace as she ran through a dozen questions and theories and plans. Lana answered as best she could — after all, as Arkous' advisor she had been given access to most of his business until quite recently — and Zaara eventually seemed satisfied, her pacing coming to a stop in front of the main holoterminal as she planted her hands on her hips.

"I think you've got the right idea," she announced, voice filled with more confidence than Lana thought was strictly warranted in the given situation. "We follow Arkous, see what he's up to, and contact the Wrath once we're ready to confront him. I have to say, Miss Beniko, I think you have the makings of a spy in you."