ZIOST
Ziost shone a brilliant white-blue against the backdrop of space as the StarWolf broke from hyperspace, the planet and its two moons straight ahead of the ship. Teffa Darkstar flicked switches as he slowed their speed, putting the Mantis class starship into its stealth mode. The bounty hunter was taking no chances, wanting to ensure only the most observant and close ships would see their approach on the Imperial held planet. Staring out the cockpit viewport, Teffa took in the world that for him was the closest thing he had come to calling home. It had been a long time since he had last been to Ziost, so long it seemed another life time ago.
"We're running with minimal signature across the board, and the scopes are clear." Kira Carsen commented as she poured over the ships elaborate sensor screens. "Looks like minimal traffic coming and going from the system and the planet."
Teffa nodded to the jedi. He had expected it would be relatively quiet. The adopted home world of the sith was well into the Outer Rim, part of the Esstran Sector and Ziost system. It was not a place many would have travelled. Ziost itself was a haven for the dark side and the sith, but unless you were a force user and part of the Empire there was no real point. When Korriban had been reclaimed, it left little need for the once proud station of the planet. The Sith Citadel and academy had been relocated and the world was all but forgotten.
Not for the first time feeling rather odd having her there. She was filling in admirably for Mako, but it was the fact she was the other faction in the war that really threw him off. He had taken bounties and fought jedi, killed a number of them. Now here he was counting on one of them, and it made him uneasy. It can't be any better for her, Teffa reminded himself.
"All hands, we've arrived. Get yourselves ready." Teffa tossed out as he thumbed the internal comm system.
Kira cast a glance at the bounty hunter and grinned. She found she rather liked the man. He was quiet, but when he spoke he was straight forward and didn't mince words. It worked well for her. She was the same way she knew. She said what she felt and thought and that was just how it was. Kira was settling back in her seat when she felt the sudden jolt of feeling through the force, a blow that emoted pain and hurting that took her breath away. Gasping she put a hand to the side of her head even as she felt the gloved hand of the bounty hunter on her shoulder.
"I'm ok." Kira mumbled trying to catch her breath and shaking her head to refocus.
" What happened?" Teffa asked.
"I felt something through the force. It was a disturbance, a bad one, one of pain and suffering." Kira tried to explain, frowning even as she found she could not shake the unsettling feeling. "Something terrible has happened."
Kira Carsen frowned and stared out at the planet ahead. Something had gone wrong with the rescue mission, she worried. Something had happened to Asha. It was all she could come up with that would explain such a reaction through the force with her. Yet even as she thought such, she did not feel she was right. Unsettled, all she could do was try to focus on the here and now and not let it distract her. If anything had happened to Asha, she would only know if they made it back from their own mission. There would be time to deal with such then.
Necrolis came out of his room, adjusting the bracers on his arm. He had heard Teffa's message over the comm system and immediately gone to get into his black and red gree armour. He pulled up quickly as he nearly ran into the giant towering form of the deshade. Eyes glancing upward Necrolis studied the beast up close. He had no fear of the creature, despite what he knew of them, but he also was not about to forget to be cautious about the force eater either. Khem Val guffawed as he looked down on the sith. This one would make a fine meal, the deshade knew, but he also would not be easy to take down. This one might well even have the strength to kill him. Few had held that distinction, the last being Tulak Horde himself.
"You are strong, sith." Khem growled at him. "A force nearly as great as my former master, Tulak Horde. You one day will come to understand your strength. You will take your place as he once did."
Necrolis cast a questioning glance at the beast's words, then let it go and shrugged. In all honesty he could no longer say where his place was. He had been questioning things more and more, and try as he might to keep such at bay, doubts had crept in. I still know what matters, he thought. That would have to suffice for now, he knew. Ziost awaited them, with all the old ghosts of the past he was about to come face to face with once more. For a second he almost wished he had to fight Khem instead.
"Well I just hope your strength is there when we need." Necrolis finally stated to the deshade, then glancing about he noticed the creature was without his sister. "What are you doing out here on your own?"
"The little sith is presently busy and my presence was not required." Khem growled.
" In other words, ask where her little jawa friend is." Khem's voice changed as he spoke, the deshade giggling before the beast shook its head and snorted.
Necrolis took a step back and eyed the creature critically. He had not just imagined that, had he? Khem growled and smacked his head with a large hand before looking back to the sith standing there. The deshade snorted in disgust, once again annoyed at the sudden emergence of the other psyche within him.
"Foul witch." The deshade snarled before stomping away, leaving Necrolis wondering what in the galaxy was going on. He made a note to ask Bloodshade, though later since he had not missed the creature's comment about Blizz. Shaking his head he decided he really did not want to know. It was bad enough he had the image of Blizz and his sister come to him. Some things just are better left alone, he thought.
Bloodshade bit her lower lip, holding still and listening to her brother and the deshade outside the closed door to the quarters she had been given. She could hear and make out the voices but not the conversation. Behind her she could feel Blizz close against her and she could not help but squirm. Growling, the woman looked back over her shoulder to the jawa and then smiled and winked at him. The faint voices gone, she guessed they had moved on.
"Mmm… now where were we?" Bloodshade said, squirming back into the jawa once more.
"Pretty lady knows Blizz great with hands!" The jawa said as he resumed tormenting and teasing her with his fingers.
"Oh that you are!" Bloodshade said before moaning and arching herself, pressing herself right back into his touch. "Now hurry up we don't have much longer!"
Kaliyo and Shadelis sat at the small table in the ships common area, both as ready as they would be. Shadelis bit her lower lip, knowing soon she would be returning to a place she had made great efforts to not think about, let alone ever return to. Life on Ziost had not been easy. Being a chiss, she had stood out and been different. She had been teased, even picked on by Teffa a few times. Things would have truly gone bad had it not been for Necrolis. Dark days best left buried in the past, the woman thought and sighed.
"Sure either of you don't want a quickie check-up before we go?" Doc asked as he came up the stairs and leaned on the railing near them.
Kaliyo shot the man a glance even as Shadelis giggled and shook her head. The man was nothing if not persistent, the former Imperial operative thought. Doc was dressed in a padded armoured flight jacket, pants boots and gloves, all yellow with white and black accent. Kaliyo grit her teeth watching the man take a seat at the table uninvited and unwanted. When he leaned forward towards them, Kaliyo gave a low growl of annoyance.
"We've still got time you know, if you wanted to change your mind."
"I doubt that will happen." Shadelis stated pointedly.
"Oh you know, there is someone you should meet though. I think you'll get along very well. She is rather to the point." Kaliyo suddenly said, Doc arching an eyebrow and Shadelis looking at her in confusion.
"Oh I'd be delighted." Doc said.
Kaliyo moved quickly, seemingly in a single fluid motion. The ratattaki woman had her vibroknife out of its sheath at her hip, up and then driven down right between Doc's fingers into the table top. Shadelis burst into laughter even as Doc lurched back uttering curses. Leaning forward, Kaliyo glared hard at the medic, wrenching her blade free of the table and putting it away.
"She says stay the fuck away, or she will ensure you have quite the problem with missing anatomy for the rest of your life."
Doc growled and raised his hands defensively, rising from the seat he had taken. Backing up and away slowly, the medic turned and walked back down the stairs to go and wait till they had touched down. Clearly the two women were not interested at all, and he had to wonder if they even liked men at all. The pale skinned ratattaki was most definitely one of the most pent up and tense women he had ever come across, with an attitude the size of Coruscant. Doc shook his head and suddenly wished he was back aboard his own ship with Asha and anywhere but there.
"Kaliyo!" Shadelis looked at her companion still giggling. "That was rather mean."
"Please, that walking hormone had it coming!" Kaliyo defended herself, "Besides, women across the galaxy likely would have thanked me had I turned him into a gelding."
"Well I can't argue with that, but I would have just shot him in the balls and made it easier and less messy." Both of them laughed at the chiss' statement though both of them knew they rather liked the idea.
Teffa Darkstar looked out over the rocky frozen wasteland that was Ziost as he brought the StarWolf down through the atmosphere, taking the ship right close to the ground. Keeping as low as possible, he would ensure they stayed beneath any sensors that might be active. He knew there was little in the way of population at all, so there was little chance anyone would see them. Hugging the terrain, Teffa kept a close watch as he navigated, casting only quick small glances to the woman who was acting as co-pilot.
"Not much here at all. Looks like we can land anywhere." Kira commented, frowning as she saw the cold temperatures outside and thought not too fondly of Hoth. "A couple of large structures out there. Where are we heading?"
"Sith academy." Teffa remarked, knowing that was likely the biggest place the planet had.
The bounty hunter knew that was the most likely place to start looking into things. If something had been going on when they were kids at the academy, it stood to reason it would have been close by. There were not many places on Ziost, and the fact was any type of laboratory or secret facility would have to have a decent amount of power to draw from. That meant in and around the academy. That was both good and bad, Teffa knew. Good in the sense it narrowed down their search area, and they were familiar with the place. Bad in that a good many people would recognize them, and with most of them wanted and with a price on their heads, it would make it difficult and dangerous to get around.
Teffa banked the ship, coming in towards a large mesa that lay between the ship and the academy. The grounds about the academy were sprawling, with landing pads all about outside what could have easily been said to be the planet's only city. Teffa wanted to stay outside of that. There was too great a risk leaving the ship there, even if it would be guarded. As quiet and as little a threat could be seen, Teffa did not trust Ziost to be so.
The StarWolf slowed then lowered, Teffa hitting the retro thrusters, touching the ship down on the ice and snow of the planet. He knew it would be a long walk to reach the academy through the cold, windy, wide open expanse. It could be worse, the bounty hunter thought. Sighing, Teffa pushed himself up from the pilots chair and headed to join the others. It was time to go and face the past.
They gathered in the large central bay of the StarWolf, geared and ready to go face whatever would come. It did not take long to decide who would be going, though Teffa had argued against a larger group. The fewer went the less conspicuous and faster they could move. In the end however, Necrolis did have a point in wanting to ensure if they got into a fight, they had enough firepower and strength to win. In the end it was decided Blizz, Kira, and Kaliyo would remain with the ship to guard it. The jedi had been happy about that. Her head had continued to throb, and she had guessed it had to do with the dark force energy that permeated the planet. Her presence would have been like sending up a flare to any sith about.
That left Bloodshade, and her deshade Khem Val, along with Tormen and Doc to accompany Shadelis, Necrolis, and Teffa to the academy which was located in the Sith Citadel. The large central structure was easily seen, towering over the smaller buildings about it. The Citadel was at the top of the mesa, carved into the rock itself, overlooking the many levels of towers and buildings that had been created to house acolytes, overseers, and a military presence. Those who had grown up on the planet knew they were in for an uphill winding climb through the city to reach their destination.
They filed out feeling the bite of the cold wind that swept over the ice and snow covered reddish rock. If it had not been frozen, Ziost would have been almost identical to Korriban. The ice and snow however, gave the planet a far more unwelcoming feel. Already Necrolis could feel the force about him, stronger than usual. It was a tingling, almost as if something were brushing over his skin. Memory returned quickly on how he had always felt unnerved by such.
Tormen took the point, moving at a quick easy pace that put a little bit of distance between the group and him. Doc would bring up the rear, the medic looking about and clearly not happy from the frown that seemed permanently on his face. Teffa checked his left gauntlet controls, making sure his sensors were all functioning. He paused a moment to launch four small probes that headed out in all four directions to keep watch on what was about them.
"Is it possible, this place seems even more desolate and deserted than all those years ago?" Shadelis wondered aloud.
"It's not paradise." Necrolis answered, looking about knowing he was not looking forward to being back at the academy.
Seeing Teffa occupied and Bloodshade busy talking to her deshade, Shadelis moved right in close to Necrolis, leaning in to speak to him without being overheard. Necrolis looked at her, wondering what was on her mind. It was clear they all were tense, none of them happy about being back. The sith knew they all had their secrets and scars, some of which they would face and remember after having buried them for a long time. You can't ever go home again, Necrolis reminded himself of the old saying, feeling the truth of it.
"Promise you've got my back?" Shadelis asked, and Necrolis chuckled slightly before nodding.
"No matter what we face in there."
"You think he is still here?" Shadelis asked before biting her lower lip.
Necrolis cast his sister a glance, frown furrowing his brow as he thought about the question. It should not have surprised him that Shadelis' first thoughts would be of such. It seemed another life, something long buried and dead. Thinking about it, Necrolis knew it had been a long time, but he had little doubt the man would still be there. There was no other place the Empire dared put the man. He had dug his own grave, and he would die on Ziost. Not that anyone would lament his passing, Necrolis knew. The man was the Empire's well kept dirty little secret.
"He's there." Necrolis growled through gritted teeth. "Let's hope for his sake we do not run into each other."
Shadelis gave a slight little strained laugh at that before nodding. Looking about at the ice and rock about her the chiss shuddered from a chill that had nothing to do with the cold. Don't think about it, don't go there, she reminded herself. Try as she might however, the thoughts crept into her mind, insidious and dark and unstoppable. Sighing, Shadelis knew she would have to deal with it as best she could. I hate this place, she finally decided.
The walk to the academy was uneventful and as fast as they could make it, driven to hurry by the biting cold that whipped about them. The terrain was rocky, rising and falling until it finally rose up steeply to a large flat expanse that lead right to the Citadel. Crouching down behind a large formation of ice, they watched the way ahead into the academy grounds. The remaining ground was wide open, with little cover for them. Entry into the city was done via two long narrow bridges that spanned a crevice that almost ringed the academy and surrounding buildings. The lower level with its bridges was their only way in or out. From a defensive standpoint it was the perfect set up, but from theirs if they were discovered, it made escape all the more difficult.
"Remember trying to sneak out of this place?" Teffa asked, scanning over the closest bridge.
"Yeah." Necrolis answered, "Who ever thought we'd be trying to sneak back in?"
Both shared a small light laugh for a moment before Necrolis rose to his feet. There was nothing else they could do but walk in and hope for the best. If their luck held, there would be few about, and those that were would only give them a cursory glance. The sith knew they had a minimal force still holding the Citadel, which worked to their advantage. With retaking Korriban and then the war, most of the military was too occupied to worry about a backwater planet with little significance save for sentiment and history.
The walk to the bridge was easy and quick, the group spreading out as they crossed over the expanse. Doc took a moment to stop and peer over the side, eyes looking down into the darkness of the chasm right below them. Tormen came up next to the man, also looking over before whistling.
" That sudden stop at the bottom would hurt." The smuggler commented.
Doc nodded in agreement before snorting back hard, then spitting a large white gob out over the edge to fall. Both laughed knowing it was just something you thought to do, regardless of how juvenile a move it was. Seeing the others getting ahead of them, Tormen smacked the man on the arm and turned to jog towards them and catch up. Doc watched the smuggler a moment, thinking how it might well look to see the man falling away into that dark chasm. Shaking off his thoughts, unsure why that had suddenly come to him, Doc turned and jogged after the man to join the others.
"This place is nothing but a pale copy." Khem Val grunted out, the hulking form of the deshade walking beside the sith he called master, dwarfing the slight small woman. "Shadows of greatness and the past."
Bloodshade turned her helmeted head and gave the creature a glance, studying him. She smiled thinking that had been a rather pleasant assessment of the place for him. Usually he simply hated everything about a planet and the places they had been to. Remembering his comments about Drommund Kaas made her smile again and shake her head.
"This is where I grew up." Bloodshade finally said.
"Then your strength comes from enduring this place." Khem nodded as he spoke. "It made you strong enough to beat me."
"Perhaps." Bloodshade said, not wanting to linger on thoughts left best in the past. "Let's hope there are still fools aplenty for you to feast on in there."
"I would enjoy such." The deshade growled out.
The group came to the end of the bridge, Necrolis slowing enough that Teffa was walking next to him. A pair of guards had been left stationed one on either side of the entry into the city. Necrolis cast a glance back over a shoulder seeing the rest of them were all alert and focused. If it came down to a fight, he knew they had to make it quick and clean. If either of the guards got a call for help off, moving about freely in the city would be lost. Given all the levels in the place, it would make it very difficult to reach the Citadel itself.
"Hold!" The trooper on the right called out, his hand rising to stop them as they approached. "What's your business here."
"Sith business." Necrolis stated calm and to the point, watching as the two guards cast glances at one another.
"What sith business?" The guard to the left asked.
"The kind that is no concern of yours." Necrolis growled, reaching his hand out and using the force to lift the man off his feet by the throat, holding him there until he could hear the wheezing gasps as he fought to breath.
"Now unless you want to press your luck…"
Necrolis left the threat hanging as he released the trooper. The man fell to all fours gasping and wheezing hard. The other trooper had dropped a hand to his blaster rifle at his hip, but never drew the weapon. The man clearly had a shred of common sense, Necrolis thought, knowing he could see the group of them, all of them armed, arrayed against him.
"Apologies, my lord." The trooper stammered before bowing and waving a hand for them to enter.
"Better." Necrolis growled moving quickly past leading the group into the city about the Citadel.
They moved along the main street, alert and watchful as they passed the buildings and narrow side streets. The street opened into a large courtyard, Imperial banners formed a circle blowing in the wind, ringing the large red stone statue of Sith Overlord Adas. Necrolis brought the group to a halt as he noted the pair of probe droids hovering about. There was no way through he knew. Once they entered fully and got in range of either droid, they would be scanned for their identity.
"Well this is new." Bloodshade commented.
"I'm blaming Teffa!" Shadelis stated, giving the bounty hunter a stare but grinning.
"Hey it looks like they got all the paint off." Teffa defended himself, knowing each graduation of a level he had celebrated by painting the statue a different colour. It had not gone over well with the administrators of the academy. "I ain't taking responsibility for this one. Better question, what do we do now?"
Necrolis glanced about and frowned. They could try and fight their way through, but the moment the probe droids were destroyed they would have every Imperial aware of their presence. The only other option was to get off the main street, heading into the narrow winding side streets. That would mean splitting up, Necrolis knew, not wanting to have them all bottled up in a large group. They were too vulnerable that way. Glancing to Shadelis, the chiss nodded to him, already knowing what he was thinking as she had worked such out too.
"I told you." Teffa commented as he caught his sister's nod and Necrolis turned to look at him.
"We take the back ways, split up into smaller groups." Necrolis said finally. "Shadelis with me. Bloodshade take Doc, Teffa you and Tormen team up."
"Oh goody!" Tormen cracked before grinning at Teffa.
"Laugh it up." The bounty hunter shot back.
"You and Bloodshade remember the old hiding spot outside the training grounds?" Necrolis ignored the bounty hunter and smuggler trading quips, refocusing them on the matter at hand.
Bloodshade and Teffa both nodded to his question. They had often gathered in a small area hidden between two walls of the training grounds. A small arched entrance led to small space that had for some reason been left between two walls. Over their time there, they had brought in benches and created a small circle of stone to have a warming fire. Few knew of its existence back then, and Necrolis only hoped those that had come after them before the academy was closed had either never found it, or taken good care of it.
"We make our way up, and meet there." Necrolis stated, patting Teffa on the shoulder as he headed for one of the side streets, Shadelis moving right behind him like a shadow.
Teffa and Bloodshade lead the others down the opposite side street before the sith, Doc, and her deshade broke off and disappeared into the maze of cross streets. Stopping a moment Teffa let out another small probe, letting it get ahead of them with the route he wanted programmed into it. It would give them ample warning if their way were blocked.
"I could so use a drink." Tormen muttered, glancing about.
"You and me both." Teffa said and grinned behind the helmet. "Come on, and keep your fingers crossed we don't run into problems."