Darth Decimus walked down the hall, letting Liri walk a few paces in front of him.

There was nothing to link her to Ravage or even evidence that she'd been on the ship or known Ravage's son. She wasn't even suspected, considering how many enemies Ravage had made.

He could feel the smugness rolling off of her though, but she was shielding it from everyone except him. He felt oddly honored and tried to nip that in the bud immediately. He was already enthralled by her power, so use giving her a leg up, so to speak. They walked quietly away from the meeting and towards his ship.

Ravage had been a nightmare to work with. Picking someone new for the Council would take awhile, but it had been a much smoother meeting than in the past. In a month, they had to bring recommendations to the next meeting. Plenty of time for contenders to kill off other contenders and maneuver themselves into place.

"That was productive," Liri murmured.

"Quite. Any suggestions for the Council recommendation?"

Liri waved her hand in dismissal, "You know my thoughts on that already."

They reached the ship and walk aboard, Liri settled herself in a seat and Decimus had a brief conversation with the pilot.

"So where are your apprentices, your Dashade?"

"On Fury. Ashara and Xalek have become close and they work well together, interestingly enough. Khem Val is probably grousing because I keep going off without him, but he's found a kindred spirit in Xalek and they work better together. I let Talos go off to chase a rumor of some Sith holocrons."

"Really?"

"Well, at least one that he has proof of."

"You do realize that you're an odd mix."

Liri looked at him calmly, "How so?"

"You believe in opening the Sith order to aliens and slaves, but also believe in preserving the past. You've made friends with historians I thought would die before they spoke to a Twi'lek Sith."

"I may have encouraged tolerance in them. We should preserve it though, but we should preserve it as the past, not the stagnant future of the Sith order."

Decimus nodded and Liri looked out the window.

"This is taking longer than it should to get back to Dromund Kaas."

"We're not going back to Dromund Kaas," said Decimus with a smirk. "We're going to see your pirate."

Andronikos had just turned the heat up in the shower and stepped in when his comm beeped. Screw it, he thought, Whatever it is can wait half an hour. He took his time, rinsed out his mohawk and emerged feeling relaxed. He checked his comm and called Pella.

"You needed me?"

"Your wife is here, along..."

He interrupted her, "Where?"

"Your quarters, but..."

He didn't even bother with clothes, but headed for the bridge in a towel. The bridge was empty this time of night. The doors to his quarters opened and Liri was just on the other side of them. Without a word, he grabbed her, letting the towel slip away from between them and backed her up against the table. She tried to pull back from the kiss, but he tightened his grip growling and tugged to get her robe up to her waist.

A discreet chuckle interrupted him and he turned his head to see Darth Decimus standing against the windows on the opposite side of the room.

"Oh, don't let me interrupt you." Darth Decimus grinned. "I've seen much worse. This is a rather impressive display."

Andronikos stayed pressed against Liri, more for the coverage it provided. He was panting hard and the sudden change of atmosphere left him feeling angry.

"You could have warned me," he said to her.

She grinned at him, "Oh? How would I have done that?"

He took a deep breath and reached down for his towel. He ran his hand over his wet hair and sat down on the bed after wrapping the towel securely around his waist.

"So," he said, "Can I put clothes on or is this a life or death situation?"

Liri opened her mouth to respond with a smirk and Decimus cut her off. "I'd prefer you clothed, if you don't mind."

Liri grinned as Andronikos tossed a playful scowl her way and pulled on the first things he grabbed from his wardrobe.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of two Darths?" Andronikos poured himself a drink and sat down at the table, staring at the both of them.

"As much as I know you'd prefer the pleasure of only one Darth," Liri purred, "We do have some things to discuss."

Decimus sent a quelling look her way and sat down on another seat. Liri joined the table as well.

"Your wife and I have entered into a contract."

"What sort of contract?"

"A binding agreement between our forces."

"Sith contracts aren't known for being permanent or enforced."

"This one is permanent."

Andronikos sneered, "I assume I'm one of Liri's assets?"

"You are not. Although your fate was factored into our agreement." Andronikos raised an eyebrow at Liri, who had been silent this whole time. She looked back at him calmly.

"Okay, so," Andronikos licked his lips, his mouth suddenly dry. "What's my fate?"

"You're safe from me and mine until the agreement is ended."

"She negotiated my safety."

"She included her entire crew and supporters, but yes."

"Why are we talking about her like she's not here."

"I thought you should hear it from him." Liri looked out at the stars. "So you'd know I wasn't lying again."

"I'm not a Sith. You could both easily be lying to me right now."

Liri's face contorted in rage and she flung her hands out at him. He went for his blasters at lightning speed to retaliate against an attack that never came. The dark side of the force opened in him and he saw her in lights. She was a perfect blend of light and dark; they warred within her, but she mastered both and was strong. Her saw her heart, empty but for him and for a life that was ripped from her when she was young. Then it all faded and he saw the conversation that had played out between her and Decimus. Her only ambition was a life, with him somehow, with those she loved safe. A life she'd never have as a Sith.

He came to on his bed, Decimus and Liri having an argument above him.

"You could have killed him."

"I doubt that; I've forced the dark side into him before. He actually has some mild force sensitivity, although he doesn't realize it."

"Liri," From his dazed state, he realized this was the only time he'd heard Decimus refer to her as Liri. "You could have broken him."

"No," she was quiet, but firm, "I couldn't have."

"Show me how."

The room went silent a moment and power gathered. Andronikos could feel the shield that had been erected before he even entered his quarters and he could practically taste her, like tart berries and cream rolling on his tongue. The power released him and Decimus said, with a faint note of unsteadiness in his voice. "I see. Well, you're right, but I'd be more careful in the future. Your temper is more dangerous than most."

"Okay, so" Andronikos' voice sounded even rougher than normal to himself, "why do I need to know about this agreement?" There was silence in the room. Andronikos sat up and looked at both of them. "What?"

Decimus cleared his throat, "I assumed you'd want to be with Darth Oculus again, now that there's nothing keeping you apart. As such, we'd either have to arrange for her to live here with you and figure out how to hide her presence from the Republic or arrange for someone else to take over the pirate fleet while you went to live with her."

"Whoa!" exclaimed Liri, "I never assumed any of that. But I did think you'd want to know about the agreement since we're able to be in each other's lives all the time now."

Andronikos blinked. "You're right, I do want to know. But," he hesitated, "I hadn't really considered what would happen when we could be together again." He grinned slyly, "I mean, I'd thought about what to do immediately, but not anything longer term."

Liri's back was to him now and he couldn't see her face, but Decimus chuckled.

Her voice came briskly, "Then that's something we'll have to discuss and figure out, but for now Andronikos will remain with his crew to continue the raids."

"Darth Oculus, could you give us a moment?" Decimus said smoothly.

Liri nodded once and headed out of the room.

Andronikos opened his mouth to say something, but Decimus cut him off. "What was your plan if she hadn't come willingly? Just keep her chained to your wall here until she agreed to love you again?"

"Something like that," Andronikos mumbled.

"So now that you don't have to force the issue, you have no plans?"

"I do, but Liri's not..." Andronikos ran his hand over his wet hair. "She's not like other women. I can't just tell her I want her to move in with me and give up her whole life. She'd probably remove the part of my brain that has free will." He threw his hands up, "I can't believe I'm discussing my relationship with you."

"Pirate. It's not a relationship yet. You just found each other again."

"I can't imagine why I'm taking advice from a Sith on love."

Decimus chuckled and then grew very serious. "If you repeat what I tell you now, I'll gut you and eat you." He got up and paced, "I have a daughter, whom I do actually love. She is a fierce warrior and Liri has been training her. She will be, of course, a pawn in Sith politics eventually. It's unavoidable." Decimus looked at Andronikos, "But her mother was a slave in my household. She was beautiful and utterly ruthless. She killed off half a dozen other slaves to get into my bed and made an impression early. Your wife reminds me of her in some ways."

"What happened to her?"

"Darth Ravage had her kidnapped from my household."

Andronikos winced.

"I've located her, but she's been altered." Decimus trailed off. "Regardless, she'll be returned to me now. For that alone I would support your wife."

"How does this...?"

"You have a shot, Pirate King, to have a life with the woman that you love. And you haven't put any thought into it?"

Andronikos leaned back, "Everything I've ever heard about Sith tells me that you're all sadistic and crazy. You torture for fun. Death is a weapon in your hands that you use for fun. You expect me to believe that you fell for a slave?"

Decimus shrugged, "I have granted Darth Oculus, and by extension, you, my honesty in private. Why do you think I campaigned to get slaves admitted into the trials? They have worth beyond what we use them for and Magda taught me that." He sat down heavily in a chair. "We're still people under the brutality and corruption. Some of us are batshit insane, I'll grant you that. But those of us who are brilliant, powerful, and not crazy? We still have those core feelings that we can't escape from. Some of us try to destroy those feelings or turn them against others, but what I see in your wife, which she won't admit to me, is that she uses the good emotions along with the bad. It has kept her sane and it has made her able to love." His voice changed, "I'd kill you in a heartbeat if I thought I could get her to love me, but what you two have is too valuable to waste."

Andronikos swallowed hard, "So you need me."

"I do."

"Why tell me all this?"

"To put into perspective why she left you and to not let it affect how you deal with her or what decision you make about your future together. Make no mistake, she saved your life."

"I get that. I just don't know if I'm comfortable being a pawn in Sith games."

"Too late for that. You married her."

Andronikos sighed and stood up. "I get your point. I.." he hesitated, "I appreciate it."

Decimus nodded, "I think we should get her back and discuss terms again then. If you'd prefer, I can give you two a few days and then come back to iron out how we'll work things between the three of us."

"A few days sounds nice."

Decimus smirked, "I imagine so."