Chapter 4
Two hundred fifty cycles ago, Darth Kinhsung led fierce armies into battle; his warriors knew that their Lord would be at the front, wherever the most vicious fight could be found, and they rallied around him. He was an exceptional blademaster, capable of besting opponents in individual duels or en masse with his crimson doubleblade saber. His skills as a tactician are still being studied in the Imperial Navy today. Towards the end of his campaign, entire planets surrendered rather than engage in war against him!
It was only recently that the Imperial Reclamation Service confirmed that Darth Kinhnsung had been killed many years prior to his official death date. Apparently, some enterprising apprentice had defeated him through treachery and then assumed his robes and helmet, replacing him entirely without revealing the switch. The apprentice was wise to maintain his deception--he avoided many battles and gained even greater prestige by dint of his stolen reputation. Such was the power of the name of Darth Kinhsung.
--The Holocron of Inquisitor Marcella, a treasure of the Korriban Sith Academy
The trip to the lower wilds took hours. I was grateful again for the cloak, which kept the wind off my body as I crouched low over the speeder bike. The droid had offered to let me take a slower, more comfortably enclosed taxi, but I was in a hurry to get to my next trial. Harkun's jibe about Ffon being chosen before I returned echoed in my brain, and I tried not to imagine what awaited me inside the mysterious tomb. Surely the overseer had been exaggerating when he'd said nobody had been able to retrieve the holocron in a thousand years! The Sith trials were supposed to naturally weed out the weak and promote the strong--surely Harkun wouldn't be allowed to be that biased during selection?
I staggered a little as I disembarked at the Lower Wilds outpost. The sun had long since set, and with it, the cold of a desert night had set in. The bright lights surrounding the taxi stop made me squint after hours of night. Stiffly I limped over to a small group of vendors, hoping to pick up a pack of field rations. I was examining the wares of a rodian when I heard the screaming start. By the time I got to the main gate, the guards there were firing wildly into the darkness beyond. One soldier lay in a pool of blood as med droids struggled to remove his armor. A portly Sith Lord stood nearby, fists clenched as he surveyed the scene.
"What happened?" I asked an onlooker. "What was it?"
"My prize hound!" replied the Sith Lord, overhearing me. "These imbeciles let my precious experiment escape, ruining months of study and preparation!" He kicked the wounded man and stomped off towards a large canvas tent, beckoning me to follow. It was full of caged beasts with long tails and spikes along their spines. I'd never seen one in person, although I'd often heard them roaring in the night--tuk'ata.
"Ruined," he growled, throwing over a stack of crates with a casual burst of the force. "Malora!"
"Master?" An apprentice stood up from where she was bent over a damaged cage.
"Tell this acolyte everything you know about my pet. She's going to fetch it with you."
"Wait, what?" I protested. "Why can't your apprentice do it?"
"You'll be rewarded," he said to me, which wasn't an answer. "Malora, you don't have to return it alive, but make sure that you bring a stasis chamber large enough to contain the entire head. I don't want you to touch the brain unless I'm there, understand?"
"Yes, Lord Renning," she said automatically. He stomped out the far side of the tent, and we were alone.
"Good luck," I said, turning to leave as well.
"No, don't go!" she said. "You have to help me!"
"I don't have to do anything," I retorted. "I have a task of my own, and I don't care to risk my life because you made a mistake!"
"I told Lord Renning that the beast would escape weeks ago!" she hissed, coming closer to make sure she wasn't overheard criticizing her master. "I warned him the cage wasn't heavy enough, but he was too busy meditating to authorize a new one! I'm the only reason this entire place hasn't crumbled to the ground!"
"I don't care," I said.
"Wait, please, Lord Renning has promised you a reward, and I'll sweeten the offer," she begged. "I can help you. I've been mapping the city's catacombs for months now. What are you looking for? I can tell you where to look. All you'd have to do is come with me and help me kill the tuk'ata."
"Why can't you do it by yourself?" I asked.
"I'm a scholar," she said, her nose going up in the air as if it should have been obvious. "My talents lie in other arenas than yours. Besides, someone has to bring all the equipment, and I'm the only one with the expertise to use it. I'll even throw in some credits, everything left in the shyrack dissection fund, if you come with me." She could see that my resolve was weakening.
"I'm in a hurry," I said.
"I have its tracking chip," she said. "I can lead you straight to the hound."
"Fine," I said. "Just make sure it doesn't take too long."
"It won't," she said. "Half a day, at most. We go in, kill it, put the head in a box, and get out. Simple."
It was not that simple. We set forth as soon as the approaching dawn made it bright enough to see and avoid the many packs of roaming beasts until we could reach the city. Malora could barely fight, laden as she was with a stasis container the size of a large boulder. I could sense that she was using the force to lighten her load, but I didn't know how she did it. It fell to me to slaughter the groups of klor slugs and the occasional tuk'ata. As I'd hoped, my lightning was more than sufficient, and I didn't even have to draw my blade once.
"You're powerful," Malora observed as we entered the outskirts of the city. "I've never seen an alien acolyte as powerful as you are. What do you know of your bloodline? Were you Cathar bred for any specific traits?" I glared at her.
"I'm not one of your experiments."
"Of course not, sorry," she apologized, not sounding sorry at all.
"Tell me about your work with Lord Renning," I suggested instead.
"He's insane," she began immediately, eager to complain about him to any listening ear. "He selected me as his apprentice because of my scientific knowledge, but then he dragged me out to this sand pit with no climate control and only the barest essentials in lab equipment!
"He's studying the force," she continued, "but he thinks that the tuk'ata are manifestations of the dark side, which is obviously absurd. He's trying to distill the essence of the force by breeding these monsters, but the only thing he's doing is wasting the Dark Council's time and money on his madness, and he's ruining any future prospects I have!" We entered the catacombs.
"You should be aware that there are a few failed acolytes living down here," said Malora. "They occasionally attacked my survey droids."
"Great," I said. "Anything else I should know?"
"It's a big target, but don't stab the tuk'ata's head," she said immediately. "You can zap the thing all day long, but if the brain actually gets damaged, Lord Renning will kill us both."
"This is becoming more trouble than you're worth," I said.
"No, wait, we can do this!" she said. "Besides, it'll take you weeks to find whatever you're looking for in the city if you don't have my help. What is your task? I'll be able to tell you exactly where to go. I'll lead you there!"
"I'm looking for a holocron," I said. "Supposedly it's encased in a monument somewhere." Malora stopped to stare at me.
"I know of a holocron encased in a pyramid," she said, "but nobody has been able to get it out! Lots of people have tried, full Sith Lords even."
"That's it," I said grimly. "My Overseer wants me to fail so his precious Sith pureblood pet will be chosen, but I'm not going to lose. I will be Sith even if I have to slaughter everyone in my way!" My lower-class accent always grew thicker when I was angry.
"Right," she said, edging ever so slightly away from me. "Well you're in luck. The monument chamber isn't that far from the city entrance. I'll show you on our way out."
"Yes you will," I said, spotting a figure lurking behind a nearby pillar. I braced myself to fight again. The incessant ambushes were getting old.
"How much longer?" I sighed. I was spent. It had been hours since we'd entered the city, and I was getting tired of tracking the stupid Sith hound! It was moving around, so we'd fought and climbed and crawled through many more catacombs than either of us had expected.
"We're finally at the same level," said Malora, consulting her scanner. "It's two blocks ahead of us, but it's not moving. Maybe it's finally sleeping?"
"Or it's just tired of running from us," I griped.
The tuk'ata wasn't asleep. It was eating someone. It was gigantic, almost brushing both sides of the narrow passageway with its broad shoulders as it crouched, tearing into the unfortunate soldier. I could hear the cracking of armor and smell the blood, driving home just how long those teeth and claws actually were. Malora was less upset by the sight than I was, though. She prudently retreated as I summoned forth all the lightning I could. Fortunately, it was more than enough.
"Won't that have affected the dark side or the brain or whatever it is you're looking for?" I asked as Malora strode forward to carefully decapitate the beast with a vibroknife.
"It would, if there was anything there to actually find," she snorted.
"Wait, what are you doing?" I asked. She was injecting the beast's head with something.
"It's to help the stasis," she said, but the force screamed that she lied.
"WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING?" I snapped.
"Lord Renning is wasting valuable resources! He's wasting time that we can't spare on his madness!" she said. "This chemical will make it clear that he's forging his research. The Dark Council will have to act, and I will finally have my chance."
"You're just using me to overthrow your master!" I accused.
"I'm doing what's best for the Sith," she said. "And you're being rewarded with credits and information. Don't make a fuss." I considered. She was right, it didn't really concern me. Plus, knowing this secret might be useful in the future. I waited while she had finished storing the head.
"Take me to the monument," I said.
"In time," she said. "You have to take me back to the outpost first."
"No, you'll show me the monument now," I replied, "or I'll leave you in the city." She hesitated.
"Fine, I'll take you there first," she said. "You can take a look around, even memorize the path, but then we have to head back. You don't want to be in the city after dark. People have been known to go mad."
The chamber really was right by the entrance to the city. It was late afternoon, and the long shadows seemed to move as the sun's heat shimmered off the broken stones. We came to the narrow, arched doorway, and Malora stopped.
"It's right in there," she said. "Now hurry. There's not much time before dark."
"You're welcome to go on without me," I said mockingly. She glared, knowing as well as I did that she wasn't powerful enough to fight off groups of tuk'ata alone. She stepped into the alcove with me, safely out of sight as I continued deeper into the chamber.
There was only one source of light in there: the red glow of the holocron itself. It sat within the crystal apex of a great stone pyramid, covered with ancient petroglyphs. I could hear something moving nearby. Reaching out with the force, I could sense a couple shyracks lurking in the corners. I made quick work of them and then examined the pyramid closer. Someone years before had built a ramp that led up to the top of the monument, so I could stand level with the holocron, just a couple of meters away from my destiny.
The crystal encasing the holocron was scored by the marks of many attempts to open it. I whacked half-heartedly at it, but my blade did nothing. I set my blade and cloak aside and lit a few flares to be sure I didn't overlook anything. Cautiously, I climbed over the railing and jumped, seizing the apex and digging my boots into the stone carvings below. I ran my hands carefully over each side, looking for any small crevice or indentation that might release my prize. Still nothing. As a slave, I'd spent lots of time in places like this, so I checked the usual places that might conceal a switch. I ran my fingers over every inch of each face of the pyramid, sliding down and climbing up again and again to make sure I didn't miss anything.
"Hurry up!" hissed Malora, coming in to check on me. "It's almost evening!" She took one look at my dust-covered form and rolled her eyes. Muttering something very rude about aliens and slaves, she stalked back out. I ignored her.
It didn't take me long to search the rest of the room for any hidden levers or buttons. It was a very small chamber, carved entirely out of the valley's stone. The pyramid itself rose directly out of the solid rock; the only additions were the ramp and the crystal capstone. The holocron seemed to be taunting me, glinting red in the light of my flares. But I hadn't run out of options yet. Just as I'd seen my master do many times during my days as a slave, I grabbed one of the dead shyracks and smeared a palmful of blood on the top of the pyramid. The light pulsed a little faster, but refused to open, regardless of how much shyrack blood I offered it.
"You liked that, didn't you," I said coaxingly. "Do you want blood of a different kind?" I drew my belt knife and pricked my left hand. The holocron flashed much brighter, but it still didn't open. I cut more deeply, bleeding a lot. It absorbed the blood, but it didn't react again. Perhaps it needed even more blood? Perched precariously as I was on the top of the pyramid, clinging with my legs as I wrapped up my injury and injected myself with a medpac, I contemplated calling Malora in and sacrificing her to the pyramid.
"What do you want from me?" I whispered, staring deeply into the red light of the holocron. "I need you. Come out of there. You want to be used. Give your wisdom to me!" I meditated on the dark side of the force, and there was a deep rumble. The crystal remained solid and impenetrable, but a portion of the chamber's wall slid open. I heard the scrambling of feet right before a pack of tuk'ata burst into the small room.
The only thing that saved me was my position atop the pyramid. They burst in, snarling and clawing at me, but they couldn't reach me immediately. A few stayed below, snapping at my heels and clothing, while the rest scampered up the ramp to launch themselves at me from above, knocking over my flares and trampling them. I summoned lightning, but yet more beasts were pouring into the room through the opening. I clung to a single face of the monument with one hand, my claws digging into a gap in the carving and shocking every beast I could find, but there were so many now that I couldn't focus my power on one without another jumping in the way. Uninterrupted streams were the only way to kill; these sporadic shocks were merely driving the tuk'ata deeper into a frenzy. One enterprising beast sprang from the back of one of his fellows, managing to leap higher than the rest. His claws scored my boot and shredded the hem of my skirt.
"Die!" I screamed at him, sending my stream of lightning deeply into the pack milling below me. He dodged, and the energy fed directly into the ground instead. I felt the air shift, the force gathering, and then a storm of power erupted around me. Bolts of lightning rained down around me, appearing above me, striking everything: the beasts, the walls, the pyramid--I felt one hit me on the top of the head, but instead of injuring me, it filled me with a glorious mad ecstasy. I was laughing hysterically, and the feeling of death rose around me until I could taste the victory as one by one the tuk'ata were defeated. Another bolt struck the very top of the pyramid, and the crystal rang with a pure, bell-like sound. The red holocron within glowed brighter, almost blinding me, and I felt the capstone move under my hands. I scrambled to keep my balance on the side of the pyramid as the crystal sheathing retracted ever so slightly. I let the lightning storm die away, and the defenses snapped back into place, narrowly missing severing my fingers and actually snapping off the tip of one of my claws. I yelped in pain.
"Just open, damn it!" I sent lightning directly into the top of the pyramid. The crystal focused it into a single, concentrated beam that went straight up into the ceiling; my ears throbbed as a violently piercing tone overwhelmed me, but I was making progress. A panel of crystal slid away to reveal the glowing red holocron inside. I carefully removed my prize before allowing the lightning to die away and close the capstone again. The room was dark again, save for the glowing artifact in my hand. I gathered up my vibroblade, dusted off my clothes as best I could, put on my cloak, and left.
It was almost sundown, and Malora wasn't waiting for me outside. As I made my way towards the city gate, over the ringing in my ears, I heard a pack of k'lor'slugs. Perhaps it was the way my skin still buzzed from summoning all that lightning. Perhaps it was the holocron that I had safely packed away in my satchel. Whatever the reason, they fled at my approach. They were surrounding a low stone building. Malora poked her head over the edge.
"You're alive!" she gaped. "I sensed the beasts attack you."
"Haven't I proved myself by now against mere tuk'ata?" I drawled, not mentioning how closely I'd evaded death.
"What did you do in there?" she asked. "There was a sound in the force like a gong, and lightning shot straight into the sky!"
"I retrieved the holocron, of course," I said smugly. I could tell she didn't believe me, so I opened my bag and held up the artifact. Her jaw dropped most satisfyingly.
"Tell me how you got it out!" she demanded.
"It was my destiny," I said. Malora didn't get anything more out of me on our walk back, even though it was clearly driving her crazy. The beasts all avoided us, so we made it back to the outpost before the sun had entirely slipped below the horizon.
Lord Renning met us at the entrance to his tent. "Well done," he told me, completely ignoring his apprentice. "I knew you would come to understand the importance of my work." He gestured for Malora to place the tuk'ata head upon a nearby dissection table. "And how was the City today? I assume you observed the disturbance in the force?"
"What disturbance?" I asked politely, eager to escape his company and return to face Harkun once more.
"What disturbance?" Lord Renning actually stopped what he was doing and stared at me incredulously. "Acolyte, if you didn't notice the way the force echoed this afternoon, then you have no business being Sith!"
"My Lord, she was the disturbance," interjected Malora. "She was likely too close to be objective, but I made a number of valuable observations that I would like to share with you at your convenience."
"Fascinating," he said, peering closer at me. "You caused the ringing? I have no doubt that it was heard all over Korriban."
"As you say, my Lord," I said, growing more uncomfortable. "You mentioned a reward?"
"Ah yes, just a moment," he said, stepping out of the tent.
"I'll send you your credits," said Malora the second he was gone.
"Do it tonight or tomorrow morning," I said. "I would hate to confess to Lord Renning that his apprentice was sabotaging his life's work."
"You'll get it," she agreed. "I gave my word."
"I'd better," I growled. The portly Sith returned with a large credit chip, and our conversation was over.
I declined Lord Renning's offer to stay the night with them. He seemed far too interested in the holocron and how I'd retrieved it. Instead, I took the long, uncomfortable speeder ride through the darkness, arriving at Korriban Academy just as the sun came up.
Harkun did a double-take when he saw me. "I almost didn't recognize you, slave," he said. "But new clothes still won't hide the fact that you're a pathetic failure. Get down to the City of Marka Ragnos before I kill you myself."
"You're behind the times, Overseer," I said. I'd chosen to approach him as he left the mess hall reserved for academy staff, so we had a decent number of observers. I held up the holocron for all to see. "I retrieved your unreachable holocron, and it was easy."
"Hmm. A fake, or stolen from the library probably," he said, taking it from me.
"Ask anyone," I said casually. "I was in the city of Marka Ragnos yesterday afternoon. Apparently, they could feel and see my power all the way down at the lower outpost. Perhaps it was even sensed all the way out here? A ringing bell?" I saw a couple of watching overseers exchange curious glances, and an elderly Sith woman suddenly sat up and paid close attention.
"You think you're pretty clever, don't you," Harkun said, but although his face was impassive, I could sense his fear through the force. He, the overseer, was afraid of me. He'd sensed my powerful display, he didn't know how I'd done it, and he was afraid. I swallowed a crazy giggle that wanted to escape me and smiled instead.
"I really am the best," I boasted.
"You are lucky Lady Zash finds you useful," he said, brushing roughly past me. I wasn't fazed. I smiled, intending to head to my dorm and get some rest.
"Acolyte?" I turned and almost ran over the old woman, who had crept up behind me without me noticing. "I am Overseer Ragate. I administer the rite of blood and bone."
"Yes, Overseer?" I asked.
"You have power and strength in the force, that much is clear," she said. "Come and find me in the depths of the academy and test yourself beyond what your masters have set for you. Should you complete the ritual, I can see your nature written in the blood. And perhaps a glimpse of your future, as well?"
"That does sound intriguing," I murmured, interested in spite of my fatigue.
"I will await you there," she said. "Be warned, it is also a test of strength and power, as are all Sith trials."
"Then I'll make sure I'm prepared," I said.