Savage awoke at the crack of dawn. He stretched and yawned. The first thought into his mind was how he missed Talon warm body against his chest. He sighed, she'd be back in two days. He got up to go awaken the younglings at the boys' home. Silently he walked through the village and quietly knocked on the largest building within the village. A pale yellow Zabrak opened the door,
"I've been assigned to the eldest boys groups last hunting trip before their Passage." Savage explained.
"Of course. They are this way." The Zabrak answered and led him through a stank dark hallway. Inside all the younglings were sound asleep. Savage chuckled, how they needed to learn to wake up early.
"Younglings! You have been assigned a hunting trip! Wake up and collect your weapons of choice!" Savage's voice boomed through the room. The younglings quickly stumbled out of bed and quickly collected their weapons.
Finally they all stood in line ready to complete their new assignment. Savage stood apart from them,
"Before ever leaving for an assignment ALWAYS check that your weapon is working correctly. A damaged weapon is no good to a warrior."
Each boy quickly looked at their weapon and examined parts of it. A few even saw a few problems and quickly fixed or adjusted them. Eventually they were standing straight and tall again.
"Satisfied?" Savage asked them.
"Yes Brother Opress!" they all answered in unison.
"Good. Let's get to the hunt. Follow me out into the forest. Stick to where I walk and do not deviate." Savage commanded and then walked out of the building, through the village, and out into the fog covered forest, with the boys following his trail like baby ducklings following their mother.
Once they were about 3 miles from the village Savage stopped and motioned for the boys to create a circle around him. They followed. One boy raised a hand. Savage nodded.
"Do we have an assigned prey or can we hunt whatever?" he asked.
"Good question young one. Your assigned prey is a Kamurith." Savage answered. One boy whined quietly,
"Aw man! I was gonna bring us home a rock dragon! I can do it!"
Savage furrowed his eyes,
"I heard that. You are not ready to face rock dragons. I have been assigned to make sure none of you kill a rock dragon or a rancor. If you see either of these DO NOT engage. Hide up in the trees and try to get back to me to report it. I will take care of the problem. Alright all of you know what your suppose to do?"
"Yes." They answered.
"Good. There is 15 of you so this is how it will go: 5 of you will go in a group and I will follow to ensure you kill a Kamurith and are telling the truth. The rest of you, I want to kill small prey to bring back or practice aiming. The rule for rancors and dragons still applies. Any of you disobey me and instead of answering Brother Viscus or Verun you will answer ME for your disobedience." Savage threatened. The boys all nodded and broke into 3 groups of 5.
The first group headed out with Savage following them in the shadows. They knew he was following but they didn't know where he was. They concentrated on finding signs of a Kamurith nearby. Eventually they found one and each one set up their weapon to shoot it. All 5 shot at the same time. Only 2 boys hit the animal. The Kamurith squealed and then dropped to it's side. The 2 boys smiled and stepped out of their hiding spot. Savage appeared out of the fog.
"Good shot young ones. Take your kill back to the group. We will meet you." Savage ordered them. The boys bowed and collected their kill.
"The rest of you, keep searching." Savage said. The boys turned to talk to each other and when they turned again their leader was gone.
"How does he disappear so quickly?" one asked. They shrugged their shoulders and continued to hunt down their prey. Not too long after the first Kamurith they found another one, this time only one Zabrak boy killed it. Again Savage appeared, congratulated him, and ordered him to drag it back.
Just as the boy had collected his kill and Savage disappeared they heard a ferocious roar. The boys froze. They stood there frozen in fear. A bull rancor came crashing through, tearing trees down and causing the ground to quake. Before the rancor crushed them Savage blindly quick force pushed them out of the rancor's path. The rancor noticed the boys out of his path and turned to face them again. Savage ignited one end of his lightsaber and used the Force to jump in front of the boys.
"You want them? You'll have to make it past me first!" Savage roared at the beast, "Forget the kill. Run up the trees and stay there until I give the signal!"
The boys did as they were told and scaled the trees. The rancor roared at Savage and lunged. Savage jumped out of it's way and landed to it's side. The rancor jarred it's head at Savage, one of it's horns hitting him. Savage was catapulted into the stump of a fallen tree. He laid there dazed for a moment and then saw the beast running at him. He stood up and fully ignited his saber and ran a circle around the beast. He tried to graze the animal to slow it down, but he realized its armor was too thick. He kept dodging it's swings at him and using the light from his saber to distract it. The he saw the fleshy exposed skin on it's neck so it could easily turn it's head. He leapt up on to it's back and ran the light saber along it's spinal armor to confuse it. The rancor roared in rage and swung its arms in an attempt to swipe him off. Savage raised his lightsaber and with a roar he plunged his saber into the skin. The rancor wailed in pain and then collapsed forward. Savage launched himself off the beast as it collapsed and slide across the dirt to face it, in a defensive stance. When he could see it was dead and sensed no life force from it he relaxed.
The boys crept out of the trees, jaws agape. They had never seen someone kill a rancor so quickly. Savage straightened up,
"You," he pointed to the one who lost his kill, "Take this back to the rendevous point and then run back to the village and call for some Nightbrothers to haul it back." The boy bowed and began the long journey of hauling it back.
"You two continue your hunt. I will be on guard for anything else." Savage said gently to them. They nodded and continued the hunt. Within the hour they each found their own Kamurith and killed it. Each beamed with pride at finishing the assignment. Savage walked back with the last one to finish.
"Well done young warrior." He said.
"But I finished last. In a way I failed." The young boy replied.
"No. You learned patience in waiting for when it was your turn to kill and you were a good example about not getting frustrated at having to wait. You learned today." Savage explained. The boy contemplated this,
"I guess your right. How have you learned so much?" the boy asked.
"I learned it in all my travels throughout the galaxy. Before I left Dathomir I was quite ignorant. But experiencing trifles and battles has taught me much. Not to mention my mate has taught me a few things. She is much more skilled and lethal than she appears." Savage told him.
"What has she taught you that you could not learn from the galaxy?" the boy asked.
"Remember yesterday's lesson?" Savage asked.
"Yes." The boy answered.
"She taught me patience in striking your opponents. If you let them strike first you gain the upper hand by not wasting your energy first and getting the chance to read them. If you strike first and do not take the moment to read them you end up like me." Savage said and pointed to his prosthetic left arm.
"Oh." The boy said and then shamefully looked away.
"Do not feel disrespect young one. I instigated your need to look at it. It's not a scar to me. It's a memory and a life lesson. What is your name?" Savage asked.
The boy looked up,
"Sehrin."
The entire day consisted of Savage watching the boys hunt down their prey. Savage watched more diligently this time. Luckily no more rancors appeared. By the end of the day Savage was quite ready for the hunt to be over and thankfully it was. Every boy hauled off his Kamurith carcass and the rancor one had been retrieved by a few Nightbrothers. Once back at the village Savage reported his watchings to Verun.
"Very good! Sounds like they took the assignment seriously and all completed with flying colors. Unfortunately the elders were busy today with worried over Talzin so I did not get a chance to talk to them, but they will be pleased. Good work Savage. You are free to have the night to yourself." Verun said.
"I could do myself without having to be told by you." Savage grumbled under his breath. He hated how Verun sometimes treated him like a lowly Nightbrother. He grumbled and made rounds around the village, talking to other old Zabrak friends from his childhood. Then he ventured to a cliff that had a clear view of the night sky 'I wonder where my beloved Talon could be…' he thought.
Talon had finally reached Coruscant. She sighed with relief. She was bored of sitting in this ship for hours on end. She donned her Sith cloak and then focused on masking her Force presence from prying eyes. When she felt herself become disconnected form the Force she opened her eyes, 'Good' she thought 'Now I should be undetectable from most.' Next she searched for an open landing dock. She saw one and steered her ship towards it. Once landed she walked down the boarding ramp and paid the meter droid to hold her place there for a few hours. Next she called a speeder taxi.
"Where'd ya like to go miss?" the cabbie asked.
"The Works." She answered.
"But hey that's in the constructing area of Coruscant! That area is a bitch to navigate!" The cabbie complained. From beneath Talon cloak her hand wrapped into a fist,
"You can either take me there peacefully or I'll make you take me there." She said with a dangerous tone. The cabbie could tell she wasn't screwing around.
"Aight fine! 30 credits." The cabbie said.
"You'll get them after I get there. My insurance." Talon said. The cabbie said nothing except for a grunt. He sped off the platform and towards The Works. If Talon remembered from her orders that's where everything was unloaded that came to Coruscant and was distributed throughout the city planet. She gazed out the window and admired the glowing lights.
The cab driver stopped at The Works platform.
"We're here. Hand the credits over."
Talon huffed,
"How rude of you to treat a lady."
She got out of the cab without paying the man. She did not comply with people who had the nerve to mistreat her. The cabbie yelled at her and drew a few looks towards himself. But he lost her in the shadows of the building. She smiled beneath her hood. She walked within the building of the deliveries and looked for the alias she and Savage had put for their name under.
"Hettos'. Here they are." She hauled the box out and looked for the tracking number. She found it and then searched for a datapad. Attached to a wall she found it. She directed for a service droid to find it and deliver it to her ship. Once the droid showed up she gave it the credits for her deliveries. The droid disappeared with the wooden box. Talon sighed,
"Lovely. Now to get out of here."
She walked the way she came. But when she did not emerge out of the building she became confused. Closing her eyes she used what Force power she had left from the concealment. In her mind's eye it showed her a path out. She saw the light from the city stream in. She sighed and was about to walk out when two figures appeared in the stream. She was hit with the dark energies radiating off them, 'Sith' she thought, 'There are others besides Savage, Maul, and I in this time period?' she asked herself. Then she remembered her studies and felt stupid for asking herself that question. She hid behind a crate and crept towards them to listen in on their conversation. The baby sensed Talon's curiosity and voiced it's discomfort. 'I bet you can feel their dark powers like me little one. But I need to hear what they are saying in case it is of any use to me.' She thought to herself and her baby, 'Hush hush now little one.' She had reached them close enough that she could hear them but they couldn't hear her. She closed her eyes to hear and concentrate…
"What's this with my old apprentice approaching you Tyrannous?" The older man asked.
"My master. His brother, that wretched Savage Opress, contacted me, begging me to take his brother in. He has proved to be quite the assailant though. He's better than Grievous has been." Tyrannous answered.
"Well he's not essential to my grand plan so do not feel the need to spare our resources to keep him alive. I do not care if he lives or dies," The old man said, "And above all else do not let him know that you answer to another master. It will only fuel his need to cause more disruption throughout to catch my attention."
"Of course my Lord." Tyrannous said.
"Has his kin been found?" The old man asked.
"No my Lord. Darth Maul lost his trail after Nar Shaddaa." Tyrannous answered.
"Who is this red Twi'lek Opress has with him?" The old man asked.
"I do not know Lord Sidious." Tyrannous answered. Talon's eyes twitched, they were talking about her. She hadn't even thought that Maul would give them both away.
"Hmm… This could be troubling. I do not like having an enemy in my galaxy that I do not know about. What did Maul say her name was?" Sidious asked.
"Darth Talon." Tyrannous told him. Talon opened her eyes and studied both the men. The younger one had a long face with a long grey scruffy beard. The older one was almost completely unrecognizable due to his hood. But when he leaned his head back Talon could see he was the one who had appeared in her vision. Her heart tightened a little at the thought.
Her baby sensed the fear in her heart and let out a Force wave of fear. Both the men felt it ripple through them. They each looked around,
"Who is there?" Tyrannous called out. Talon mentally slapped herself. She had forgotten to cloak her child's Force abilities as well. She looked around for an exit route. She saw a door down on the wall. Quickly and quietly she jumped down the boxes and fled through the doors. She saw a speeder and jumped on it. She looked back and saw Sidious and Tyrannous walk out of the building. They saw her and started running towards her. She cocked a small smile and revved the engine of the speeder. Just as she took off Sidious unleashed a bout of Force lightning. Talon felt this and countered with her own Force lightning. Sidious seemed somewhat shocked that someone besides himself wielded the power of lightning. He watched as she disappeared into the traffic. Tyrannous readied to give chase but Sidious stopped him,
"She is of no threat to us at the moment. If she is here Opress must be close by. We can capture him and use him as bait to bring her back here so we may execute her."
Tyrannous bowed and instead readied to return to the Seperatist flag ship in orbit.
Talon laughed as she landed at her platform. She had evaded one of the most feared Sith the galaxy had ever known. She felt prideful, but also weary of her surroundings. She loaded her belongings into the ship and started the engines. Soon she lifted off the planet. She felt somewhat sad, she would have liked to stay a day and explore a bit, but with her encounter with the two Sith Lords it was too risky to stay. She zoomed out of orbit and into hyperspace.