Chapter 12

5 Years Prior

"Did you think I wouldn't discover your secret, apprentice?" asked Siphon. "You should know better by now: secrets are powerful only when you are their sole keeper. Otherwise, they are a weakness to be exploited."

His master's words rang in his ear, chilling and contemptuous, but they could not drown out Tosin's thoughts or pierce the wave of pain circling through his skull as he tried to unify understanding with reality. His mind raced back to five years prior: the night Siphon had dispatched him to slay his own brother as a demonstration of his resolve. He had almost done it, had almost taken Torio's life, but at the last second … he lost his nerve. He held back. He told his brother and his wife to run, to flee, and returned to Siphon spinning a false tale of his victory.

Had Siphon always known? Had she ever believed his lie?

"You must learn to guard your confidences more carefully, apprentice. Knowledge known only to one keeper can be the key to unimaginable power."

Tosin ignored her, focusing on his brother. "Torio, why didn't you run? Why are you still on the planet, what are you doinghere?"

"He can't answer you, apprentice," said his master. "I'm afraid the last few years have been unkind to your brother."

Tosin looked down upon his brother's desperate face, mouth hanging open, drool leaking onto his chin. He now saw why his brother hadn't responded during their fight, why he could manage only blubbering snivels. They had cut out his tongue.

"What did you to him?!"

"What did we do?" Siphon laughed. Distorted by the voice modulator behind her golden mask, her merriment sent a shiver down Tosin's spine. "You mean what you did, apprentice. If you had only done as you were tasked all those years ago, you might've spared your brother and his family so much suffering. You might have prevented his wife losing the last spark of compassion in her eyes as she watched her husband prostrate himself to save his own hide. You might have saved him the agony that was watching her die."

Tosin glanced from his master to his brother, horror seeping into his very soul. Part of him wanted to attack his master, to give in to the pounding drive for vengeance still coursing through his body - anything to replace the unbearable knowledge that he was the cause for all his brother's grief.

The other part though, the stronger half, was comprised entirely of fear. Fear of failure. Fear of losing his own life to his master in a contest he could not hope to win. Fear that everything he had worked for would be for nothing. Everything he had sacrificed, all the atrocities he had committed in pursuit of elevation - thrown to the wind.

Yaraline's words reverberated in his mind. " … you coward."

It was true. He was a coward. He was so afraid, always afraid. Always terrified that they would see through the mask he wore, as sure as Siphon did; a masquerade that painted him Sith. In his heart of hearts he knew it to be a lie. He was no Sith. He was a pretender. A fake.

"Do you see now the nature of your trial?" his master asked. "You've disappointed me once already. Will you fail again?"

Tosin's hands trembled; he couldn't stop them, no matter how hard he tried.

"Still hesitating? Are you perhaps debating whether the apprentice can overcome the master? Allow me to assure you: in that, you will most certainly fail."

Of that, Tosin had no doubt. They were still leagues apart; he would not be able to defeat his master …

… but maybe he would be able to buy enough time for his brother to escape.

He picked up his lightsaber, activated it, and then turned to face his master.

Siphon clicked her tongue with disappointment, more amused than surprised. "Such a waste … and you had so much potential."

"Torio … run," Tosin said to his brother. "Get out of here while you can, I'll … I'll hold her off."

His master cackled with delight. "Shall we put your bravado to the test?"

Tosin screamed his fury, his rage. Channeling his hatred, he darted forward through Force-empowered bursts of speed only to withdraw at the last second, throwing up grey canyon dust all around them as he danced across the plateau. He moved with purposeful eccentricity, a ploy meant to confuse his master and buy his brother time.

"Your tactics are easily deciphered," his master lectured. "They need work. Subterfuge in the midst of combat is only worth the effort if you have a reasonable chance of success."

Tosin pivoted against his last step, blade swinging in an upward arc aimed to cleave the masked figure before him in two. His master sidestepped the attack easily, and then shifted into Makashi to pepper Tosin with lightning fast and immaculately precise thrusts; it was all Tosin could do just to parry and dodge the barrage of attacks, much less counter.

"Your talent with the lightsaber - or lack thereof - was never what I sought to develop. Come, Tosin! You can't really think you're going to defeat me this way."

He didn't expect to win at all. He just needed to buy Torio enough time to escape, to give him a chance for freedom; maybe in some small way that would make up for everything his brother had suffered.

Tosin empowered his steps to break free of his master's lightsaber barrage. The second he landed, he flung his lightsaber in a wide arc; it spun end to end with vicious intent to strike at Siphon. His master wasn't the least bit phased. She smacked Tosin's saber away with her own blade, sending it hurtling over the edge of the cliff.

But Tosin could tell Siphon hadn't expected what would follow. He never expected his lightsaber to return to him.

The minute his lightsaber left his grip, Tosin summoned the Force to hurl a torrent of azure lightning at his master. Caught by surprise, Siphon barely brought her lightsaber back in time to shield herself from the blast. Even so, Tosin poured the entire weight of his rage into his assault; for the first time since they had met, he saw his master's lightsaber wobble.

This was his chance. He couldn't hold back now, he wouldn't. From the last well of strength within him, he charged his right hand with as much power as it could muster. It crackled with the weight of the Force behind it, ready to send a second stream of unrelenting electricity to devour his master whole.

From behind him, he sensed murderous intent.

Torio.

Why wasn't he running? Why hadn't he fled?

His brother raised his lightsaber high into the air.

"What are you doing?!"

Darth Siphon howled with glee.

Still channeling electricity to keep Siphon at bay, it was all Tosin could do to redirect the power he had drawn using his right hand towards stopping his brother's lightsaber; a groan burst from his lips with the exertion. Force met lightsaber, the only evidence of their clash appearing in the brilliant white sparks that showered onto the earth from their invisible point of contact. Torio's crimson blade, just centimeters from his hand, struggled to break the veil of energy absorption, just as Tosin's lightning flickered wildly across the plateau only to be absorbed into Siphon's own blade.

"Spectacular, apprentice." His master's laughter echoed across the canyon, unabashed in its delight. "Simply magnificent!"

"Torio, stop!"

But his brother shook his head. He wouldn't stop; Torio withdrew his lightsaber only to swing back at a different didn't have the strength to resist a second blow through the Force alone, he barely had the strength to keep standing. Releasing his hold on the Force, he lept backwards to safety - his endurance all but spent - as he glanced between his master and his brother, weaponless and alone.

"Please. Go, before it's too late."

"Don't you see?" his master asked. "He knows what you have failed to understand. Either you kill him … or he will kill you."

"Brother. Don't do this."

Siphon roared, "He is your betrayer! He would have taken from you everything you worked for. He would have struck you down even after you spared him time and again."

Torio whimpered; for a second, his face revealed a look reminiscent of a fearful dog, broken by abuse and torture, desperate for a savior, all but daring to hope that rescue would arrive.

Then, it was gone.

His brother lunged forward, more quickly than Tosin anticipated, saber grasped awkwardly in his hands, ready to swing. Tosin's mind raced; in just a few more steps, his brother would cut him down. What options did he have left? What stratagems, what ploys could he still -

His master spoke quietly, but they reverberated into Tosin's very core. "Strike him down, apprentice."

There has to be another way.

"Use the Force. Give in to your emotions."

He is my brother.

"He betrays you with every step he takes."

He is … my betrayer.

"Don't let him steal from you your title. Don't let him take from you all that you have achieved. You are Sith."

After I spared him all those years ago. After I tried to help him now ...

"There is only power! There is only victory!"

Tosin roared, frustration and desperation overwhelming his reason. He wouldn't let himself be killed by a traitor. It couldn't end like this.

Not like this.

Renewed fury replenished his strength as adrenaline surged through him. Reaching through the Force, he snatched the lightsaber out of his attacker's hands. It was easy. The betrayer was helpless to break free from his own momentum; in one swift motion, Tosin angled the stolen lightsaber straight into his opponent's path.

The betrayer gasped as he skewered himself upon his own weapon. Rend watched as his brother's eyes widened with … shock? No. Pain, perhaps, but not surprise. They looked as though Torio had expected it to happen this way. As though he knew this would be the outcome. Like he had resigned himself to this fate long ago.

"Simply magnificent," whispered Siphon.

Rage had departed. So had compassion and sadness. He walked up to his brother an empty well, and pulled the lightsaber from Torio's chest. He saw the light go out in his brother's eyes as a corpse fell into his arms. He found himself on his knees, cradling the body, rocking it forward and back. Inside, there was nothing. Emptiness. Oblivion.

"He was the only family I had left," Tosin said calmly. It sounded strange, how calm his voice was. Unnatural. Inhuman.

His master knelt down beside him. "He is gone now … but you still have me, apprentice. Your master. Your family. Do you understand?"

Tosin nodded, though Siphon's words barely registered.

"I will admit, I was not sure you would pass this test," his master continued. "But you did. You performed wondrously. Your faithful service to me has not gone unnoticed. Continue to serve me, learn from me, and we will take our rightful place as leaders of this great Empire."

"Yes, Master," Tosin replied.

"Then rise, an apprentice no longer. Rise as Rend, Lord of the Sith."

3637 BBY

"Tosin, please, you have to listen to me!"

Rend didn't listen. He didn't want to listen. He needed to act, to punish traitors, to ensure they never threatened him or his master ever again.

He had let in another betrayer.

The thought burned in his mind, loosening memories he long thought buried, bringing them to the surface where he could not quash them back down, no matter how hard he tried.

He flung a jolt of electricity forward, though Agent Quen reacted just as quickly, leaping behind a computer console to protect herself from the surge. The equipment sizzled and shut down as the smell of burnt electronics assailed his nostrils.

"You must realize this is futile," he said. "Come out and face your end."

"That's not even the least bit convincing, you realize that right?" shouted Hallie. "How did you even find me?"

"Your loyal friends back at Twinspire clued us in. Told us you knew of an old Imperial Intelligence outpost out here in the Adastan slums." Rend arced another blast of lightning in an attempt to strike his opponent from her cover, but again she ducked out of the way just in time, somersaulting behind a second computer station and into temporary safety.

"Why did you betray our master? Credits? Influence?" he asked, as he began circling the computer console.

"Tosin, I don't know what you're talking about. Whatever -"

Fury overwhelmed him as he raced forward and leaped over the console to intercept his target. "Don't call me that! Don't you ever call me that again!"

There was no one there.

"A stealth generator won't save you!" Rend drew strength from his rage, lashing out wildly with Force lightning, blanketing the entire station in electricity. He heard a cry of pain sound out from the main entrance, watched as Hallian Quen's stealth generator failed even as she slipped out the door.

"NO!" A second focused surge of lightning wasn't able to catch her, but he wouldn't give up so easily. He raced outside, close on her heels, just in time to watch her shove aside a zabrak mercenary and hop onto his speeder bike, gun the thrusters, and take off.

There were no other vehicles nearby for him to follow; Rend used the Force to empower his steps forward and chase after her. Fortunately, the city infrastructure was dense and necessitated many turns; coupled with the massive crowd, Quen couldn't get a good lead on him, not yet.

If she reached the main roads, however … No. He wouldn't let her get that far. She had to pay. He would make her pay.

Rend leaped high into the air and landed on the ceiling of a row of one-story apartments. From here, his path wasn't barred by bystanders. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, he soon came into range of Quen's still-moving speeder. He slammed his free hand forward, intending to bring the speeder - and Hallian with it - to a crushing stop. She seemed to sense what he was about to do, however; in one fluid motion, she deftly flipped off of the speeder just as his attack crushed her hijacked speeder against the earth. Without pausing even for a second, she resumed a mad sprint through the alleyways of New Adasta.

No.

He pursued her through the slums, firing both bolts of lightning and blasts of raw Force in an attempt to disable her. She dodged them all, stopping occasionally only to force him to a halt with a hail of blaster fire, and then resume her flight.

They approached an intersection, Rend still leaping from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of Quen on the ground, but the one-story apartments had come to an end, to be replaced by towering high-rises. Rend needed to stop Hallian here, lest she lose him in the crowd. Once more, he summoned the Force, directing it against a large Czerka Arms billboard and slamming it in a downward angle to block Quen's path.

Quen was quick, but she wasn't quick enough. The billboard slammed downward so fast, her neck might've been crushed had she not pulled back. Instead, she cursed and then took off in the only remaining direction - south … and into a dead end.

The alley was empty. Rend leaped downwards and approached calmly, lightsaber still gripped tightly in his hand. Quen was still glancing in all directions, desperate for a way out, but there was none. Her hands gripped her blaster, but the weapon would not save her, Rend knew. Plasteel walls surrounded her at all sides save for his approach; there was no way out.

"End of the line."

"Please, To- Lord Rend," pleaded Quen. "Whatever Siphon told you about me … it's a lie."

"Are these your last words then? Better make them good."

"Siphon's the liar! Siphon's the traitor! She wants to kill me because I've stumbled on her secret, or … part of it. I don't even know if I know it, really! And she wants to kill me for that!"

Rend paused. Could it be true?

"You'll listen then? You have to listen. That day, after the battle with Pike, he said something - he told me that Siphon would betray us all. He told me Orthas' apprentice - the reason we were dragged into this damned Kaggath - he told me she and Siphon were lovers."

She continued, breath bated, words pouring out of her like a deluge unleashed. "I knew it was dangerous, knew I was playing with fire. But I had to know. So I started a separate investigation while we waited for Pike at his warehouse."

" … what did you find?" Rend asked. He didn't know why, but something about the way she spoke, the intensity … or the fear … told him that Hallie was telling the truth.

"That's just it," she replied. "Orthas had all her records before she became a Darth expunged. I don't know how she did it, how she would have that kind of access or connection, but … and then. And then, last night. Somehow, she must've found out I was looking into her past, looking into her history. She came after me in my own quarters. She tried to kill me! I would be dead now, if Andora hadn't -"

"What were you doing with Andora?"

Hallie couldn't hold back a sob. "We … we were involved. He … I think he gave his life for me."

Rend stood quietly, baffled. He didn't know how to process this information, if it even meant anything. Why would his master care so much if someone were to look into his history? What did it matter?

But then … why would Hallie lie about it? To construct such an elaborate story to … save herself? Rend didn't buy it. He felt it in his gut; she was telling the truth.

"Tosin, please. I didn't betray you. I didn't betray Siphon. I just … I made a mistake."

"I …"

"Let me go," Hallie insisted. "I'll … I'll go into hiding. I'll never involve myself with Siphon or you, or anyone here again. You'll never see or hear from me again."

"Hallie, I …" Something dawned on him then, a nagging sensation he had felt tugging at the back of his mind since Siphon had ordered him to abandon his mission to eliminate Pike. He didn't put it together until just now, but it seemed clear as day now. This woman who had been his friend ... this cowering, fearful, desperate woman pleading for her life …

… Siphon feared her. Siphon was afraid. That was the only rationale, the only logical explanation, why his master had so urgently redirected him to eliminate his own agent. Why she would lie, and say Hallian had betrayed her. She was afraid of what Hallie knew.

What could it be?

The image of Torio's body cradled lifeless in his arms flashed before his eyes.

"Tosin, I'm just going to walk away now, okay?" Hallie inched past him slowly, cautiously. "We'll both just walk away. No one has to get h- UUAAAAGHHH!"

Her scream forced him to whirl around.

Hallie's body crumpled to the ground, broken and defeated. From the shadows, Lord Lethe stepped out, hands curled into a cruel fist still emanating residual tremors of her use of the Force. Her eyes, her face: cold and indifferent as she stepped towards Rend.

"Are you going to finish her off?"

He didn't know the answer to Lethe's question. He didn't know what he wanted to do.

He needed time to think.

"Well?" asked Lethe, her tone accusatory. "Get it done. Or must I do all the work around here?"

Rend paused for only a moment, lightsaber still active in his hand. "No … I'll finish this. Go on ahead, I'll -"

"I think I'll wait, if it's the same to you, Lord Rend. I don't mind the company."

He seethed as Lethe deflected his attempts to usher her away from Hallian's unconscious form. "She deserves a proper burial. She did serve Siphon for many years, after all. She saved your life."

"She was a traitor. Her corpse deserves to hang from the gates of Twinspire," Lethe replied, her tone chillingly stoic. "That's what Siphon told us. Or are you questioning-"

Lethe's holocom echoed against the alley walls. It was Ravain.

"Lord Lethe. And Lord Rend's with you, good." His voice sounded urgent.

"We've captured the traitor, General," said Lethe. "Lord Rend was just about to execute her."

"Do so quickly. Our spies are reporting that Darth Orthas and his forces are marching on Twinspire as we speak. He'll reach the stronghold in less than three hours."

"What?" asked Rend. "But his duel with Siphon isn't supposed to happen for another few days."

The general cursed beneath his breath. "Looks like he's going back on his word. Get back here, quickly, both of you!"

The holocom went dead. Rend glanced to Lethe. "You heard the man. Go on ahead, I'll be right behind you."

"I don't know what game you think you're playing, Rend, but -"

"No games," he hissed. "You're the one wasting time. I'll finish this, trust me."

Lethe glanced at him, skepticism brimming in her expression, but she did not argue further. Without another word, she whirled around and departed. As her form disappeared into the crowd. Rend turned back to look upon the crumpled body at his feet.

Torio's eyes flashed before him. Why? Who was this woman, but some stranger he had initially found aggravating. Battle and survival had bound them as nothing else could, but that was all. She was not his sister. They did not share skillsets, background or history. They were virtual strangers.

And yet, somehow, Tosin felt like she was the closest thing he had come to a friend. More so than the other Sith, beyond his own Master who by all rights was the only family he had left.

She had been his friend.

He craved that affection. It wasn't until now that he had known to what extent.

But his Master wanted her dead. The Master he had given up everything else for, the Master whose fate had been bound to his own by the Kaggath. The Master that had known every single time he had offered any sliver of mercy to anyone. Could he really risk everything he had worked for, forsake his brother's sacrifice for this … friend?

This was not how a Sith should think. This was not how a Sith should act.

Rend raised his lightsaber into the air.

End of Part Four