CHAPTER FORTY ONE

THE FOUNDRY

Mako heard the ping from the sensors, glancing over and then almost jumping out of her chair as she realized a ship was approaching and fast. It was a smaller craft, and seemed alone as far as she could tell. Hitting the Foundry intercom system, she sent out the warning before looking to get the weapons systems on line.

"Scramble, we have incoming!"

Mako was about to hit the button to activate the base weapons system when the comm crackled to life. Mako's eyes went wide and she yanked her hand back away, double checking to ensure she had not activated anything before hitting the comm button in response.

"This is Jaesa, don't be asinine and shoot at me."

"Jaesa? How'd you escape?" Mako questioned.

"Escape?" Jaesa's voice came back over the comm line. "Don't play fucking games. I'm tired, I'm pissed off, I had to endure Balmorra and an escape pod ride down there when those assholes didn't pick me up. I am seriously not in the mood."

Mako burst into laughter hearing such, having already heard from the others what had transpired. She knew enough about Necrolis' apprentice to know it was indeed her just from how she was talking, let alone the confirming details.

"You just land safe and get in here." Mako responded before flipping over to the internal system. "Jaesa Willsaam is on approach, stand down."

Jaesa Willsaam marched down the ramp out of the small starship and then was promptly greeted by both Vette and Mako. The sith shook her head as she was grabbed up in a group hug by both women, the twi'lek surprising her with the warmth she showed. There had been no love lost between them at all, especially since they had both vied for the affection of Necrolis when she had first become his apprentice. He had chosen her in the end though, and while that had annoyed Jaesa, she had come to accept such and acknowledge they were a good match. Still, she thought, if Vette wasn't so pure and virtuous they all could have had a lot of fun together.

Aela Darkstar stood and nodded with a smile to the younger sith once Vette had stopped trying to break the woman's ribs. Aela knew enough to be wary of the woman, she was all fury and passion, lacking restraint as had been evident in her actions during the rescue. That said, there was power there, and that had to be respected. She did not trust her, even though she knew her brother did. It was the sith way to betray, to step over one's master to further one's self getting ahead. Necrolis had best be careful with this one, Aela thought. Jaesa nodded back to the woman and passed quickly by, moving through all of them in turn as they greeted her return.

The Republic troopers that made up Havok Squad all smiled and nodded to her as she passed by them. Jaesa then came to the one person she had not looked forward to meeting once again. Asha Lightstar stood and looked at the sith, blue eyes locked on her. Jaesa felt the full weight of such, well aware that Kyl'thanis had died saving her. It was strange to have had such happen, a jedi saving a sith. Jaesa knew she owed the man an unpayable debt, and she hated being in anyone's debt. Jaesa stopped a couple steps from the jedi and gave a small smile and nod of her head, unsure what to say.

"I'm glad you made it." Asha said, voice soft and low, the hint of sadness held in her words.

"I did." Jaesa replied, "He fought well."

Asha gave a small sad smile knowing that such words coming from the sith were meant as a compliment. It was more than she had expected to hear coming from the woman. What had I expected, she wondered? Kyl'thanis had made his own choices, had known he would face death. He had done so at peace, accepting his destiny and was now one with the force. Despite such, Asha could feel the bitterness and anger rising again and fought to keep it in check.

"You would do well to nurture such." Jaesa leaned in close and dropped her voice as she spoke. Her talent, her gift, that had drawn such attention let her see into the heart of the jedi. She could see the darkness there just beneath the surface boiling away. "Revenge will not come easy, you will need that strength."

Asha gave the sith a hard look even as she frowned, sensing and knowing the truth of the woman's words. She did hunger and want such. The earlier conversation with Aela Darkstar came back to her then and the frown remained on the jedi's face even as Jaesa moved past her.

Pierce stood watching as Jaesa moved through those gathered. Relief washed through him seeing she was well and alright. He had made the hard call at the time, but it had not meant he had liked such. There's going to be hell to pay now, he knew. He could read the woman well enough to know she was pissed off. It was in the tenseness of her body, the look in those golden eyes. He watched as she moved up to him then grabbed him with the force, drawing him over and down even as a hand wrapped about to latch herself to the back of his neck, her mouth finding his in a hard deep kiss.

Pierce returned the kiss but when Jaesa pulled away he had not even managed to open his eyes before she struck. A palm strike connected with the trooper's jaw, his head snapping back with the amplified force of the blow as the sith used the force to hit harder than she normally would. Pierce barely registered the blow, let alone being lifted off his feet to fall hard onto his back on the deck plating. Wind knocked from his lungs with landing, Pierce fought to gasp down air, blinking to try and focus. Glancing up he watched as Jaesa walked over to him, then slid down to straddle over him, hands moving to his chest and holding him there.

"What was that for?" Pierce grumbled between gasps.

"That was for leaving my ass behind." Jaesa growled before leaning down to teasingly lick the tip of her tongue over his lips. "Now get your ass off the deck because you owe me a good hard fucking."

Pierce laughed hearing that and nodded, getting back to his feet. Following her towards the corridor to his shoulder and letting his hand find her ass. Jaesa growled with the slap and glanced back at him over her shoulder before grinning. Yes it was good to be back, she decided.

ZIOST

Valderas Lokhee paced before the large windows of his office, staring out at the landscape beyond. He was annoyed, waiting for an update on what was happening. It should have been over and done by now, the update made, and the prisoners on their way back. The fact he was still waiting he did not take as a good sign. They had best not fail me again, he thought angrily. Already his mind was wandering to darker thoughts of what he might do if they had.

The headmaster glanced with annoyance at his desk before looking back out the large window before him. He barely heard the chime of the holo call coming in. Turning and glancing over his shoulder, he shook his head and pressed the button to accept the call. Immediately he saw the holo figure of Janas Terek.

"Report." Valderas snapped.

"We have them trapped in some sort of underground complex." Janas quickly stated, seeing the headmaster was in a foul mood. "We are working on gaining access to where they have barricaded themselves in. We have them."

Valderas rubbed his chin as he thought on the update provided. He did not like the fact there was an unknown underground complex. How had that been unknown to him and just who's facility was it? There were questions that needed answers. Still, the update was better than he had anticipated he knew. Nodding to Janas, Valderas finally found his voice.

"I want them captured, I want to know what this place is they have gone to, and I want to know how they found it. I do not believe they are acting alone. Be mindful."

Janas Terek snapped a salute and nodded in understanding as the call was ended. The overseer took a long deep breath and then let it out slowly. He was happy that the call was out of the way with, and that the headmaster had accepted the report seemingly pleased with how things were. With Valderas Lokhee, Janas knew you could never be certain how he would take things.

"The headmaster made an interesting point." Kasche L'Hnnar commented, the zabrak tapping a finger to his chin in thought.

"I have a feeling they are indeed being aided from within." Rian Cen Nur added, the inquisitor overseer standing with hands on hips and shaking her head as she spoke. There was still no doubt in her mind there were too many coincidences to overlook a certain chiss being involved. I need proof, the togruta woman thought, knowing without such it was pointless to point the finger at the woman.

Janas looked between the two of them before nodding at their words. They were right, of course. Nobody should have escaped them in the first place, let alone been able to get all the way across to the ruins undetected either. The trooper frowned as he thought about those facts. It did not sit well at all with him to think someone would betray them all and assist the intruders. Who would do such, he wondered?

"Who could help them avoid us all this time?" Kasche said the question they were all thinking aloud.

Janas glanced at the sith warrior, then over to the togruta inquisitor, before shaking his head. He could think of only one person who just might be able to know enough to pull it off. It had to be someone who would know the place like the back of his hand, who would know where all of Kayln's security would cover and how to avoid being detected by it. Unless he was wrong and one of the other overseers were involved, that left only one person he could think of.

"Rian, Kasche, I think you need to go pay a visit to a certain groundskeeper."

Teffa Darkstar watched as Necrolis shifted and slid his way through the narrow opening in the rubble, offering out a gloved hand to help pull him through. Necrolis gave a nod of thanks to his brother, getting free of the rock and standing and dusting himself off. Behind him, Shadelis worked her way through and the bounty hunter aided his sister as well. Teffa looked back at the opening then back to both of his siblings as the medic failed to appear behind them.

"Don't tell me you deprived me of the joy of shooting that asshole?" Teffa questioned.

Necrolis shook his head negatively in answer before glancing back at the opening. Returning to the room they had found no trace of the medic. Doc had simply been there one moment, and was gone the next. He had the brief thought he might have already come through ahead of them, but it had turned out he had not. Unable to explain it, Necrolis knew there was nothing he could really do about it.

"Must have taken off somewhere." He guessed with a shrug.

"What a guy." Tormen stated shaking his head. The news of the medic running off should not have been a surprise to him, but he had given the man the benefit of the doubt based on the seeming closeness he had with Asha. What she saw in him was beyond Tormen's comprehension. The smuggler knew she would not be happy hearing of this.

"We're pretty much trapped here." Teffa reported to Necrolis, jerking a thumb over his shoulder back towards where the entrance was. "I had to seal us in before they overran us. We're either going to be left to rot in here, or they're going to come marching in and gun us down."

"This could have gone a whole lot better." Bloodshade commented and crossed her arms across her chest.

Necrolis rubbed at his eyes and frowned as he took in their predicament. There was little they could do other than to try and find a means of getting out. He did not relish exploring the facility given who had owned it, but there was no helping such. He could only hope Mekhis had not set too many traps they might trigger.

"Did we find anything? We lost comms there." Teffa asked breaking through Necrolis' thoughts.

"Managed to find some information. We copied the files from a computer to go over, not sure what all we got though." Necrolis glossed over, then cast a knowing glance at his sister.

Shadelis looked back at her brother and nodded in agreement. He was being very careful with what he revealed, at least until they could go over the information further. She did not blame him in the least. It was not good news at all. Having been experimented on, controlled through programming by Imperial Intelligence before, Shadelis was utterly displeased finding out Mekhis had been screwing with her since being nothing more than a helpless babe. She was quite sure the feeling would be mutual with all her siblings.

"We need to get back to the foundry." The chiss finally said, glancing about before looking between her two brothers.

"And that is going to be the trick." Teffa answered back. "This place is locked up tighter than a hutt's vault."

Kayln Nidor shimmied herself down the narrow pipe access she had used. The metal was crumbling and twice she felt her foot go through the side of it, but she had not fallen. Within a short distance of the bottom, she let herself drop down the rest of the way. She splashed down in shin high stagnant water, nose scrunching at the smell and wiping a hand at her face to get droplets off her skin. Her other hand went to her belt, bringing out the small breathing apparatus that would filter out the air she was breathing. Once she had dealt with being able to actually take a breath, the chiss clicked on the light she wore strapped to her wrist, illuminating the way ahead of her.

The sewer line was large enough to stand up in, for which Kayln was grateful. It allowed her to move quickly through the pipe. The sooner she was out of the mire and muck the better, she knew. The only thing making the trek bearable was the breathing apparatus keeping the smell from searing her nostrils. If this turns out to be pirates or thieves, I am going to be really pissed off, the chiss thought. Kayln crept along reaching a large metal grate that blocked her progress, with side pipes running off to each side. Checking her data pad, she quickly headed down the pipe to her left.

Kayln had gone only a few steps before the pipe sloped downwards unexpectedly and she lost her footing. It was all she could do to get a hand down, managing to keep her upper body and head out of the water. Could this get any worse, she questioned? The pipe levelled back out and she was able to get her feet back under her, knowing she would need to burn her outfit as soon as she could get out of it. I don't even think a shower is going to get rid of the stench, she mused.

Looking about and panning her light over the smooth rounded surface of the pipe, Kayln located the hatchway close to her. Through there she would come out within the complex, she knew. Anywhere would be a marked improvement from the sewer line, she thought as she pressed the code into the keypad and unlocked the hatch. I better be right about this, she thought, knowing she was risking quite a lot on a feeling and belief. If it turned out to be wrong, it would be a costly mistake. She knew what she was doing was not logical or calculated and planned, but for once she felt she had to break from the norm to do what she was doing.

There was no place to go. Most of the hallways leading off the main corridor of the complex ended in dead ends and locked sealed doors that could not be accessed. Necrolis Darkstar's brow was furrowed as he scowled returning back to meet up with the others, seeing none of them had any success. The only way they could go was through the large sealed doors that Teffa had confirmed was holding back high energy readings. Looking at each of them in turn, Necrolis glanced back towards the entry which was now sealed. They were indeed trapped like womp rats in a trash compactor.

"So what do we do now?" Bloodshade asked, arms crossed as she shifted her weight between feet, clearly agitated.

"Wait and prepare to fight." Teffa answered, glancing to Necrolis who could only shrug.

Necrolis stared at his feet. That was the thing about the ground, it was always there to study and look at when you really didn't have any notion of what to say or do. If they dug themselves out, they likely would find the force gathered against them waiting. If they stayed, they would either run out of breathable air or starve to death. There was the possibility of those same forces digging their way in, which meant a last stand fight to the death he doubted they could win, and if they happened to there was no doubt not all of them would be standing at the end.

"I don't know about all of you, but I'm for digging out and taking my chances." Tormen Darklight broke the sudden silence. "If I'm going to die, let me go down with blasters in hand fighting the good fight."

"I can't believe I'm saying this but… I agree with Tormen." Teffa remarked and then chuckled.

"You do realize you have other options."

The sudden unfamiliar voice startled the group. Lightsabers flared to life in the hands of Necrolis and Bloodshade, while Tormen, Shadelis, and Teffa drew blasters and sought out their target. Khem Val grasped the large vibrosword off his back, the big deshade growling and muscles rippling as he prepared to fight. None of them had seen the door open off to their left and slightly behind them. Staring at it they watched the slender figure of the chiss step out of the dark, hands raised and showing she was unarmed.

"Is that any way to say hello?" Kayln Nidor remarked, her red eyes locking on the armoured figure of the bounty hunter she knew well.

Teffa cocked his head slightly to the side, staring in disbelief at the chiss' sudden appearance. I should have known she'd still be here, he thought. He had not seen Kayln in a long time, but he recognized her and remembered well the long forgotten days when he had been on Ziost. What she was doing here was another matter, one that left him wary. They were not kids anymore, and they were on opposite sides.

"Kayln. Been a long time." Teffa said, holstering his blasters and motioning for the others to stand down even as he stepped over towards the chiss.

"It's a new look for you, I like it." Kayln said, glancing up and down over the armoured form of the man she had known. "I see some things have never changed, you still cause trouble like no one else."

Teffa cast a glance over his shoulder as he heard both Shadelis and Necrolis snickering at the chiss' words. Arms crossing over his chest, Teffa returned his attention back to the woman. Kayln moved closer to him, reaching a hand up to press against the side of his helmet before dropping and tracing fingers over the hard scratched metal of his breastplate. He's being rather standoffish and careful, Kayln noted, though such was not unexpected.

"You don't seem happy to see me." Kayln said softly, looking up at him.

"Oh, just ecstatic." Teffa remarked and shrugged at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your dumb ass, what else?"

"Oh I like her!" Tormen quipped before Bloodshade elbowed him in the ribs to silence him.

Teffa reached up and unlocked the head armour, pulling it away. The zabrak stared down at the woman, studying her carefully. Could she really be there to help them? He was not so sure of that, and he had not seen her in a long time. They had not ended on the best of terms either, leading him to take little at face value. A woman scorned, he reminded himself.

"So you're telling me you're here to help just for old time's sake?"

Kayln Nidor laughed softly and shook her head, reaching a hand up to caress the side of Teffa's face, feeling the warm skin under her touch. Rising up on tip toes to him, she kissed him gently before locking her red eyes on his and staring intently at him, not missing the fact that he did not kiss her back. Yes, he was still the overly distrusting man she remembered. For all his wild side, his rebelliousness, he was still carrying about an insecurity that she never could figure out.

"Don't flatter yourself, Teffa." Kayln stated, "That said don't think I don't remember us, or that I don't still care about you."

"That was long ago, Kayln." Teffa sighed and shook his head looking at her. An awkwardness had taken hold in him at the feel of her touch, her lips against his. Yeah, Mako's going to hear about this and have my balls as earrings, he thought. "I'm far from those days. I'm married and quite happy. And honestly, you're on the other side so why should I trust you?"

Kayln did not miss how the man had slipped in the information about being married. She felt a pang of jealousy at the news, a twinge of anger that he had forgotten all about her and moved on. She knew it was a silly feeling and notion however. It was not like she had not had others in her bed or relationships herself. Foolish notions, she knew. The fact he had misgivings was only logical and right. She was, in fact, on the opposite side, or at least supposed to be.

"If I wanted you dead I could have brought forces in here." The chiss overseer pointed out. "I've risked a lot just getting myself in here."

Teffa looked at the chiss and then sighed and nodded at her words. Glancing back at Necrolis, the bounty hunter shrugged and stepped to the side allowing Kayln to speak with all of them. Necrolis nodded to her, giving her a small tight lipped smile in greeting. He was surprised to see the woman, but not unhappy about it. He had always liked her back when she had been with Teffa and about them. Bloodshade remained unmoving and mute, merely nodding her head to the chiss woman. Shadelis smiled wide and quickly moved to the other chiss, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"It's been so long." Shadelis commented. "You look well."

"I've done well enough for myself." Kayln replied, and winked to the woman. "I heard a lot of things about you, including you were dead."

"Oh, well you know how rumours go." Shadelis joked about the matter.

"How'd you get in?" Necrolis asked breaking up the reunion and banter between the women.

"The same way we are going to get out of here."

KORRIBAN

Loun carefully peered about the corner, eyes watching to see if the royal guards that stood unmoving in the hallway were readying to go through their changing of the guard. They had crept to the upper levels easy enough thanks to Abaron's help. Once there, it was simply a matter of staying out of sight and then waiting for their opportunity. Twice a day the guards would change. When they did there was a very small window where the hallway would be empty as the guards left and the new ones came on duty. It was that window she and Raistlis would wait for.

Just down the way was where Loun had concluded Blackheart would likely be. It was the chamber Darth Marr had given to the sith that served him, the one that had captured Blackheart and beaten Raistlis. Other than Marr's personal quarters, it was the only other logical place the young man could be, she had reasoned. She doubted Marr would keep the man in his own chambers. Then again none of this made much sense, Loun reminded herself.

"So?" Raistlis asked, trying to not pace. Antsy, it was all he could do to remain in place shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Patience." Loun commented without looking to the young sith.

"Patience my ass." Raistlis muttered in annoyance. "I'm tired of sitting around, this is getting on my nerves."

Loun could not help but smile at the comment. Oh to be young and full of passion, she thought. Raistlis reminded her greatly of Necrolis from when he had first arrived at the academy. Necrolis had been just as passionate and reckless, but he had been far more patient and stoic at least in appearance than Raistlis. Necrolis had carried himself better, seemingly far more in control. Loun smiled at the thought of the man, but knew not to dwell on those thoughts.

"Be quiet, Raistlis." Loun whispered as she kept watch, noting the guards were finally moving. "The wait is over, follow my lead."

The overseer waited until the last guard had reached the far end of the corridor and turned the corner, then sprinted from their hiding spot down to the door. Raistlis was right behind her, moving in sync with her. Fingers found and pressed the door controls, cycling it open, and Loun was thankful it had not been on a lock-out or a code. Why would it be, she reminded herself, this was the safest place in the academy!

"Wow, so this is how the powerful live." Raistlis commented as they entered, glancing about the elaborately furnished main room.

Loun ignored the remark, lightsaber in hand as she looked about, eyes finally locking on the young man they had come to rescue. Blackheart had heard the hiss of the door, sitting up on the couch, peering over the back of it to see both Loun and Raistlis. A surprised look came over his face at their sudden appearance. The zabrak's eyes glanced to the doorway leading to the bedroom even as the two cathar walked out into the main room. Blackheart could only groan, knowing what was going to happen.

Curses broke from both the cathars as well as Loun as they suddenly found themselves confronting one another. Pyrannus growled even as she gave her sister a hard stare, stepping to her left and putting some distance between the two of them. Pumirra shook her head even as she moved as well, flexing her hands and letting her claws slide out in anticipation of a fight. Neither of them were dressed, nor armed save for teeth and claws, and their natural abilities with the force.

"What are you doing here?" Blackheart questioned from where he sat.

"Umm… rescuing you?" Raistlis questioned back in answer, his gaze going to the two white furred cathar who were all but naked then returning to the other man.

"Foolish." Pyrannus commented, hand darting out as she called on the force, sending a shoving wave of power into the two intruders.

Loun's eyes were still wide as she took in Blackheart. She had not missed the fact he was bare chested as he sat up and looked at them, and the naked cathar left little to the imagination as to what had been going on. She could see the surprise on his face, heard his questioning, and inside she felt that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. With the two cathar in the main room, likewise naked, she knew right then Blackheart was lost to them. She could not help but wonder just how easily the young man had fallen for their feminine wiles?

Her attention split, Loun barely registered the cathar using the force against them. The force shove caught her, tossing her back to slam against the wall. Air was driven from her lungs leaving her gasping, a searing burn in her chest. Despite the blow and pain, she managed to stay on her feet and hold on to her weapon.

Raistlis was equally caught off guard. The blow flung him back off to her right. Lifted from his feet, he slammed back into the wall unable to protect himself from the impact. Groaning and fighting to regain his breath, Raistlis dropped to one knee. Looking to Loun and then to Blackheart, the sith grit his teeth and scowled, knowing it was going to be a hard fight for them to win.

Loun thumbed on the lightsaber in her hand even as she moved forward at the pair of sith. I am not going to fall, she swore to herself. She knew she could not afford to lose, especially with Raistlis there. Blackheart might be lost, but she was not about to have Necrolis know she utterly had failed him. Rushing in, Loun never saw the attack coming or had any chance at all to defend against it.

Electricity crackled, filling the vision of all present with a blue-white blinding light. Loun found herself stopped in her tracks, felt the electricity coursing through her body. Every muscle felt on fire, spasming and locking her in place as the power rippled through every bit of nerve ending in her. Her lightsaber fell out of her grasp from her hand. Pain became the only thing she knew, until she realized that it had passed and she was laying on the carpeted floor of the room.

Blinking, Loun tried to look about, barely able to move her head. She could just see Raistlis behind and to her right. He was face down on the plush carpet, having suffered the same fate. The attack had been a broad blast of force electricity that had caught both of them. The young sith appeared unconscious, eyes closed though she could see he was breathing. Loun was barely able to focus enough to register voices, the sudden fog lifting enough to hear Blackheart as he spoke to her.

"You should not have come here." The sith remarked. "Now you will pay for your short-sightedness and stupidity."

Loun blinked and tried to move, managing to turn her head up enough to see the zabrak kneeling and looking down at her. Behind him stood one of the cathar, the one with the short black hair. Loun noted the way she pressed against Blackheart, her hand caressing over his shoulder, stroking over the red skin. All Loun could do was groan, feeling betrayed. He had sided with them. He was truly lost, she knew. Loun squeezed her eyes shut as she fought back the frustrated tears, knowing now Raistlis was in their grasp as well.

"Well done, my love." Pumirra said softly, teasingly letting her fingers dance up along the back of Blackheart's neck, enjoying the slight shudder she drew out of him from doing such.

"They are blind to what is really happening." Blackheart remarked. "It was weakness and sentiment that lead them astray. I do not wish them harm still, and I will hold you to your word they will live."

"My sister seemed to think you were stronger than that." Pyrannus commented as she scowled hearing the man speak. Was he as weak as his words had made him seem? It seemed to contradict what she had been told of him, let alone seen firsthand.

"We profit nothing from their deaths." Blackheart pointed out, glancing back to Pyrannus over a shoulder. "They might prove more useful alive to Lord Marr."

Pyrannus moved up behind Blackheart and leaned over and down, arms wrapping about his neck. Nuzzling into the side of his neck, the cathar gave a low deep purr that resonated and brought goose bumps to the man's skin. A smile came to Pyrannus' lips. She realized she need not have worried then about his strength. He was clever indeed, and he showed promise. She had enjoyed him, and she was sure her sister would keep him around a good while. At least until he served no purpose.

"Very good." She whispered in his ear. "You have done well. Our master will be most pleased."