Darth Thrane sat quietly, watching the people in the Drommund Kaas square, ignoring the ever-present light rain. He was waiting, again. Waiting and watching. He knew there was a problem, but not it's extent or severity. He saw what he thought was an agent approach his area, but the Chiss diverted instead to a nearby caffa shop. He was musing as to what he would do after this meeting when he heard a whisper behind and to his left. "The woman from Aria is a menace," it said. He resisted the urge to turn and look at the speaker, knowing that surely a dagger was aimed to prevent that very action.
Instead he responded with a low voice, "I figured it might be her that made you request this meeting. What of it?"
"She's succeeded in stabbing several Council members in the back now. Those she cannot seduce she blackmails, and the one that I know of she managed to seduce lost everything he had to his Pureblood wife in the divorce. She's destroying our way of life here. We sent her to Voss to work, but since the Voss cannot be swayed by her dress or her various…predilections, that has turned sour as well." There was silence as they each contemplated the next move.
Thrane sighed. "Where is she now?"
"We think she is on Dantooine, in the company of a Voss she mind tricked. Some personal vendetta. I know she's requested a squadron of Imperial soldiers to meet her there in a week. We intercepted the message before it reached its desired recipient." He heard and smelled the lighting of a cigarra, and wished he still indulged in them. "She thinks we are all in awe of her, and to tell the truth, no one can stand to be in the same room with her."
"She's pretty enough, and her actions only reinforce her conversion to the dark side. What makes her different from any other Sith?" Thrane knew her name was spit out with revulsion in the Dark Council chambers, but figured she had managed to worm her way into another's employ.
"We all think of others in our actions, Darth Thrane. The Empire, our families, our courtesans. She feels as if all eyes should be on her, at all times. She wants to rule all, and we know how dangerous those zealot types are." Smoke drifted around the two men, sitting back to back. "How do you want to handle it?"
Thrane sat for a moment, enjoying the cigarra smell and thinking. "Let her assume she has our backing. Give her leeway to hang herself, or better yet, others hang her. Who is it on Dantooine that she's got a grudge with?"
"We're not sure, exactly, but we've narrowed it down to a former smuggler and her family. You might remember the good captain, she destroyed the Voidwolf some years ago."
"Ah, Captain Chantalle, yes, I do remember her. Quite an adversary, as I recall. Let's keep tabs on our new Sith, make sure she doesn't do something totally stupid. Report back to me when you figure out why she's there." There was only silence for response, and Thrane realized he was alone again. Anyzama's apprentice, he thought. I'll have to let her know.
At that moment, Darth Anyzama was already wondering what her apprentice was up to. She'd sent several messages to Joslin but had yet to receive an answer. She's unpredictable, unstable, Anyzama reasoned. Not unusual qualities in a Sith, but not in such extremes either. She paced in her quarters, occasionally glancing at the sleeping man in her bed. On one of her turns, her hand brushed a relic on the map table, and it crashed to the floor. Nikos jumped up, blaster already in hand, and sighed as he saw his wife picking up the pieces. "Sith," he said quietly, "come to bed. All your pondering won't change anything your apprentice is doing. We'll be on Dantooine soon, and you'll need all your sithy-ness to deal with her." Anyzama smiled at his words, Nikos was right. She finished her clean up and followed him back to bed. Dantooine. Nothing I can do until then, she reasoned.
Jestera was gathering items for breakfast when Shurxan approached her. He'd been happier since Joslin left, she thought, but today he seems worried. She waited until he sat at the open fire, handed him a cup of caffa, and sat across from him. She knew if she waited, he'd talk. After a few minutes, he did. "I just can't get over the feeling that we're not done with the fallout of Joslin's defection," he said, lifting his eyes to the slim Cathar. "She was so angry, and I never understood it. She kept bringing up names that I didn't know, but one that I did." Jestera looked at her friend, her curiosity evident. "Miriah. You know? The captain and her two family members who was here a couple of months ago after their crash?" Jestera nodded. She had enjoyed having the visitors, and she missed the social aspect of Tython greatly. "I never understood why she was so angry about all that. The captain kept her word, and nothing was said even to Shan about them being with us." He shook his head.
"Perhaps it was the chatter," Jestera said. "You know the males in the camp were captivated by the captain. There were females who felt that way too, even though she was married. For once, all eyes weren't on Joslin, and she didn't take it well." She put a plate of food in front of him, but he only looked at it, and sighed. "You think she's gone after them, don't you?"
Shurxan nodded slowly. "I think the anger she harbored is what pushed her into the Sith. She wasn't what she appeared to be, Jes. There were many nights I listened to her raving, and just thought it was the isolation here. Now, I think she's just unstable enough to try and attack the one she feels is responsible for her unhappiness." He put the untouched food on the rock beside him. "And think about this: if she gathers enough support from the Empire, she'll be going after an innocent family, and the former Barsen'thor. That will cause a permanent rift with the Jedi Order, and will affect our relationship with them as well." They depended on the trade with the Order to supplement what they couldn't produce.
"You want to go there, don't you? To defend them," Jestera said, her eyes wide. "Yes, yes, I feel it in the force. They've already been affected by her actions, but in a minor way." She couldn't eat now either, the force wavering around her, telling her more than any other sense. "We should ask the others here, I'm sure there are more who would join us in this journey." She saw Shurxan nod.
"I'll talk to everyone," he said, and felt better about things now that he'd shared his concern. Jestera just shook her head as he rose and left the campfire, taking their uneaten food back to her kitchen.
Magdalane opened her eyes to the calming tones and supple comfort of the guest room in Miriah's house. She smiled as she completed her force sweep of the house's occupants. Maura and Aric were….occupied. Miriah was awake and feeling better, Corso near her. Felix was with Ian, his love for his son bright around him. Michi was with her cousins, anxiously awaiting the breakfast that her aunt and uncle were preparing. Sarai was in her garden, sipping tea. Everyone seems calm and content, she thought. She extended her scan and immediately felt the dark swirl in the force, the push against her sweep. She's not close, Mags thought, but she's here. She vowed to keep an eye on any force changes, and keep the others apprised.
Miriah bumped Corso with her hip, making him grin. She was good today, he thought. He bent to kiss her upturned face, and as usual lately, it escalated, causing them to hold onto each other long enough for the children to laugh. Devin smiled at his parents, happy that they were happy and that his mama was smiling. He seemed to have forgotten the accident, and was entertaining Michi, making his fork dance to her giggles. Miriah saw him and felt her heart swell at the sight of the kids. She absently rubbed her still fairly flat belly, catching Corso's attention.
"The little guy is lucky," he whispered to her, "his mother is beautiful and his older brother already loves him." He flipped the omelet he was making and saw her grin out of the corner of his eye. The children all cheered with Aric entered, making him laugh.
"An appropriate welcome, " he said in a booming voice, making the giggles start again. He sat with the children and listened as they all told him about their night.
Joslin was still in an exhausted sleep, having spent much of the night either arguing with the Imperial captain on Tatooine or arguing about the plan with Terik-ko. The Voss might just have to disappear, she thought just before her system shut down with exhaustion. She was still learning her way around the dark side of the force, and the control it required to use was physically taking a toll on her. Terik-ko had learned to let her sleep rather than wake her, and when the comm she'd put on the dining table started chiming, she mumbled and moved but didn't wake. He let the call go to message and sat to think about this planet and this family they'd come to watch.
Obomonus, the Chantalle sister's cousin and a Jedi as well, had been alerted that Joslin had fallen to the dark side. He was worried about that, since he'd seen Joslin on Aria after Miriah had been there, and knew that Joslin harbored a deep grudge against his cousin. He'd once considered Joslin a friend, but now he was having doubts about that. Obo knew that Miriah was striking, but he also knew she was deeply in love with Corso and would never even look at any of the other colonists. So he was puzzled about Joslin's statement that Miriah had turned the others against her. It just didn't sound like his cousin. It was at that point that he began to see the slight madness in Joslin eyes, hear the manic tones of her voice. He'd left, hoping that things wouldn't escalate. Now, he knew, they had. He'd gotten the message from Magdalane that there was a possible force threat on Dantooine, and he was on the way there now to do whatever he had to in order to keep his extended family safe.
Cy had worked with Corso and Miriah for a while now, and knew they had quite a following among the ops groups they'd been in. He'd decided last night to let a few of them know they might need some back up here on their home planet, and sat at the computer forming a message. Akaavi had made a sweep of the perimeter and was returning to their new house now. She knew that Cy was worried, and doubly so since Miriah was pregnant. Akaavi wanted badly to tell him that she was as well, but it didn't seem to be the time. She'd stopped by the farm house to have Mags check things out, and was glowing with happiness when she walked into the room. She went for a bottle of water, and sat near her husband. He looked at her with his turquoise eyes, and then looked at her again. "Kav, you have news? You look radiant." She smiled shyly at him and it hit him what she was saying with her body language. "You are? Really are?" At her nod, he jumped up, arms in the air, then hugged her to him. Magdalane could feel their joy from the farm house, and knew their daughter would be very much loved.
Shurxan had called in a favor with Grandmaster Shan and a shuttle landed in the compound later that same day. When he looked around him, he saw all the people who had elected to come along. Jestera, Ken, Flar, and Tekmer had joined them at the landing site. There were others who wanted to be part of things, but had other responsibilities. This will be a full shuttle, Shurxan thought as they boarded.
Obo had contacted a friend from his training days, Raych, and together they prepared to travel as well. Obo told Raych what he knew of things, but he had no idea there was a contingent from Aria en route.
Joslin finally woke from her dreamless sleep and saw the message beacon on her comm flashing. She walked over to it, lifting it and pressing the button to retrieve the saved call. She watched as a blue flickering image stabilized into her master, Darth Anyzama. "I have been made aware that you are on Dantooine," she said, her clipped Imperial accent making her sound furious. "I don't know why you are there, but we will speak soon. I also have been told that the troops you requested are being assembled now. Whatever you are up to, my apprentice, know that I am watching." The message ended abruptly, leaving Joslin to wonder if she had indeed angered her master. No, my actions are totally Sith, she thought. She can't be upset about that. Terik-ko entered the common area of the house, and just his presence angered Joslin. She reached out with her newly found force power and struck him down, the lightning dancing over his prone body. There, she mused. That's one problem solved. She stepped over his body as she left, knowing the lightning would disintegrate him before she returned.