CHAPTER SIXTY ONE
KORRIBAN
Darth Marr stretched and rose from his bed, grabbing the heavy thick robe and drawing the hood up over his head. Glancing back at the bed Marr grinned as he took in the slender form of both twi'lek slaves. They had proven a nice respite from the past few days, a way to relieve stress and just relax for a moment. Leaving both asleep, tangled in the sheets, Marr headed for the door to his room and then out into the hallway. Having returned to see the repairs had begun on the academy, he wanted to get back to the business of war against the Republic as soon as possible. For the moment however, his stomach wanted to war against his hunger, having worked up an appetite.
Entering the hallway Marr headed for the lift down to the academy lower levels. He was partway there when he stopped and looked behind, then ahead of him once more. It took him a moment to realize what was wrong and bothering him about his surroundings. There should have been guards, two of them, in the hallway. One stood at the corner leading to the lift, the other just past his own door. The royal guard were the elite of the Imperial forces. Not a one would be derelict in their duty. Arching an eyebrow curiously, Marr pondered heading back to his room. If it was a trap, he thought, then there or anywhere else, it was going to be sprung one way or another.
Marr moved slower, each step made towards the lift. Reaching the corner where the hallway branched off left, Marr eased forward and looked about the corner carefully. Nothing but an empty and dark hallway greeted him. The lights were flickering where he was, and out further along and closer to the lift. If there was someone waiting for him, Marr thought, then they were cowards hiding behind darkness and lacking conviction to stand and challenge him. Marr turned the corner and walked with purpose straight to the lift. Entering he looked above him and about before pressing the button to descend. When nothing happened and the lift arrived at the middle level of the academy, he stepped out and wondered what was going on.
Down the long flight of stairs, Marr moved through the hallways back towards the mess hall area. He knew at the time of night, there would be no one else about. Reaching the mess hall Marr went inside and right for the kitchen area where the food was kept. Halfway across the mess hall the lights flickered and then died. Marr froze, hands clenching even as he cast a look about in the dark trying in vain to see anything or sense anyone.
Red light flared to bathe over his form, Marr momentarily having to squint at the sudden light. Eyes narrowing, Marr looked past the lit lightsaber, red with a black core to the figure that stood behind it. Tall and thin, the figure wore black and red armour, mask covering the figure's face and hood of the black robes drawn over the figure's head. Marr cocked his head slightly to the side wondering who the figure was, not recognizing the armour at all.
"Don't bother calling for help." The figure stated, the voice filtered through the mask and making it unrecognizable as any Marr might know. A second red-black lightsaber flared to life pointing to the figure's left. Marr followed the saber and light it cast to make out three royal guard laying strewn over one another on one of the long tables. "It would be a shame to have to kill more of the elite guard."
"So, it's you isn't it?" Marr asked, looking the figure over once more. "I hadn't expected to be face to face again, let alone so soon."
"We have unfinished business, you and I." The figure stated as the second lightsaber was once more extinguished darkening the room.
"Well then, by all means speak." Marr stated, clasping his hands before him and relaxing to listen to what the figure might say.
"The Emperor needs a wrath. The position must be filled. Quite frankly you've got four now as apprentice. Pyrannus is raw, but capable. She will be the new wrath." The figure said causing Marr's eyebrow to rise. "Furthermore, there will be no reprisal against any of the Darkstar line. If there is so much as a wrong look cast at them, there is no place in this galaxy and no Imperial army big enough to keep me from finding you, and destroying you."
"I gave my word on their pardon, and I shall abide by such." Marr stated calmly.
"Good, because I hold you to it."
"Ah." Marr held up a finger, having a thought. "In regards to such, I wish to be clear. I cannot protect or guarantee there will not be confrontation with Imperial operations for those of the Republic, however I will not sanction their direct targeting."
"Agreed." The figure nodded the masked, hooded head. "And that is fair indeed."
"Was there something else? Or might I get my meal now?" Marr asked with a wry smile.
The figure reached to his waist and behind to his back, fishing under the cloak a moment to pull out a data pad. Marr raised an eyebrow as he saw it. The figure tossed it to Marr, which the Dark Lord caught and gave a quick glance at.
"Read it." The figure stated coldly.
Marr focused on the screen and slowly digested the information there. Frowning he started over ensuring he missed nothing and had read the information right. Mekhis truly had been insane, Marr realized. What he was reading, who it involved, he realized then just how right he had been in acting quickly to bury anything to do with the woman. His eyes came back to the same spot and stared at the screen. Looking from the data pad to the figure and back, Marr took in the glowing letters of his own name.
"Vile witch." Marr hissed angrily.
"Indeed." The figure stated. "Remember your words, and know I am out there."
Marr stared a moment more at the data pad then looked back up to see the figure drawing slowly back from him, and then the lightsaber and all light in the room save the faint pale blue glow of the data pad in his hands was gone. Marr held out the data pad, sweeping it left and right in vain effort to locate the figure that had just been standing there.
"I shall remember…" Marr stated aloud before his voice dropped low to almost a whisper, "My son."
SPACE - KORRIBAN
Loun glanced back over her shoulder watching as the devaronian drove himself inside her, slamming the full length of his cock into her sex. Loun looked back out the viewport of the slaver's ship, every so often giving a moan to add to the moment for him. He'd been hungrier as of late, not that she was truly complaining. Sometimes she enjoyed it enough to have a climax even, but most times she just faked it. He'd taken her before they went down to the surface of Dromund Kaas, in an alleyway after the ceremony, and then once back on board he wanted her again.
Biting her lip, Loun felt him slam into her harder, giving a moan and grunt as she felt him bottom out inside her. That fine edge of pain mingled in made her hips thrust back of their own accord, her body seeking out more. She felt that pulsing within her, bearing down to grip on his sliding length more as he pushed inside her over and over. Tobrian Szen groaned loudly, clearly enjoying having her once more.
"Mmm, we do have such a good partnership." Tobrian commented as he rutted himself into Loun again and again.
"And we are partners, aren't we?" Loun asked.
"Of course." Tobrian said not caring about the conversation at all. All he cared about was enjoying the woman as he wanted, how he wanted, and when he wanted. "You keep your word, and I do love fucking you, Loun."
"I see." Loun remarked before shoving back hard and then drawing herself forward from him. Turning quickly she smiled and lifted herself onto the console, spreading her legs for him. Tobrian wasted no time in moving between them, shoving his cock back between her folds. Loun smiled all the more, wrapping legs about his waist, pulling him right into her and locking her ankles together at his back.
Tobrian slammed into her, hands moving to grab her breasts, digging fingers into the red warm flesh of her body. Loun groaned enjoying the bit of pain it brought, pumping her hips even as her eyes narrowed and locked on the slaver. Tobrian groaned and looked back then gasped. His hands flew to his throat as he clawed at the unseen, feeling his throat grow tighter, his breath stolen from him. Trying to move back, to free himself with distance, he found Loun had him locked firmly in place.
"Goodbye, Tobrian." Loun hissed with a sly wicked grin. "We were partners, but now it is all mine. I will put it to good use."
Tobrian's eyes bulged wide, his face reddening to an almost crimson before his last breath came out as a gasping hiss. Loun felt his cock pulse and cum inside her as he died and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Unlocking her ankles, she drew one leg back and kicked the dead slaver from her to crumple to the floor. Getting to her feet, Loun walked over and grabbed at and ripped the tunic right off the man before wiping his release from between her legs. She tossed the soiled, ripped tunic back down onto the man's face.
"Alas you may have liked fucking me, but you pale in comparison to real men." Loun stated, more to herself at that point as she moved over to the command chair and laid in the course she wanted. Freedom, she thought as the stars blurred and the ship jumped into hyperspace. My chains are broken.
TYTHON
Asha Lightstar stood in the jedi council chambers, blue eyes watching Satele Shan as the woman sat and looked back at her, hands clasped together, thumbs hooked under her chin in thought. Asha had left Dromund Kaas and got back to Tython as quickly as possible. Her report on events had been sent while in transit. The moment she arrived she had been summoned to the jedi council. She had spared Tormen and Kira, telling them to go in order to deal with things all on her own. She needed the privacy anyways. She had a promise to keep.
Looking about, Asha watched Satele stare at her, well aware the others of the council were not present. She had expected at least some of them, even via holo call. The silence lingered and Asha could not help but arch an eyebrow at the other woman. Satele looked tired, she noted, as if she had not slept in some time. It was not a good sign, she knew.
"I have read your report on events." Satele said finally. "It was… disturbing, to say the least."
"It was certainly not what I, or the others, had expected." Asha admitted.
"The council was not at all pleased." Satele said and sighed.
Rising to her feet, the woman moved about the large council table to come and stand before Asha. Hands clasped before her, Satele met her eyes, gaze unwavering. Asha could sense the frustration and even a bit of remorse.
"Asha, they have grave concerns with more contact with the dark side. They were unhappy before, but now… there was a vote, they tried to remove you from the order."
Asha stared at the woman, the news stunning her. While they might have been unhappy they had through necessity needed to work with the sith, it was not all that unheard of. The death of Kyl'thanis was something to be upset over. Asha could not fathom, after all she had done, all she had proven time and again, that they would have gone and done such. How could they have viewed her that way? They had even let Scourge into the order, even if it had been grudgingly.
"What? Why?" Asha asked softly.
"They feel you are tainted by the dark side too much." Satele said by way of explanation. "For what it is worth, I spoke for you, voted against such. In the end it was left as a tie vote and undecided matter. I therefore called for you to speak directly to you."
"Do you trust me?" Asha asked the woman point blank.
"Asha it is not a simple matter." Satele held up a hand as she spoke. "After what happened with the Emperor…"
"Do you trust me?" Asha asked again, cutting the woman off.
"Yes, but I also understand different points of view about such, Asha." Satele said softly and shook her head. Talking to the woman was not going the way she had thought it would. More like hoped, she corrected herself. "They fear the tainting of the dark side might outweigh the good in you."
"Isn't fear a path to the dark side?" Asha countered and shook her head with a sigh. Reaching to her back, Asha pulled out the data pad Necrolis had given her and held it up. She watched as Satele glanced from her to it, then back giving her a questioning look.
"I made a promise, and I intend to keep it." Asha said careful of her words and keeping her tone light. "I will ask you now to trust me, and know that nothing ill towards will happen."
Before Satele Shan could begin to understand what Asha was talking about,, to form any question in search of clarifying those words, the council chambers went dark. Satele suddenly sensed another presence. It was not Asha, it was darker and colder. She had felt similar presences before, and knew right away it was a sith. Igniting her lightsaber, Satele held the dual bladed weapon at her side and squinted in the dim light it cast. She could see Asha had not moved and stood before her.
"Please do not attack." Asha said softly.
Satele Shan arched an eyebrow at the other woman. It was then she caught the glint of faint light that struck the mask of the person she had sensed off Asha's left shoulder and behind her. Satele's first instinct told her it was a trap. Taking a step back, she brought the lightsaber up before her, blades horizontal and ready to be put into a strike. Had she been so wrong, and the council so right about Asha? The figure moved up beside the red headed woman, regarding the armed jedi master a moment before the figure bowed to her. Satele stared between the two and backed up another step, taken aback by the greeting.
"Good evening, Master Jedi." The figure said, voice calm despite the hollow filtered sound that came from the mask.
"What is the meaning of this, sith? You dare trespass here?" Satele growled out, then gave Asha a hard stare. "And you, I believed in you. You betray us all?"
The figure put a hand on Asha's shoulder before she could speak, stepping around the jedi to stand before Satele Shan. The figure raised both gloved hands holding them where she could see them. Satele eyed the sith warily.
"Asha Lightstar has not betrayed your order, in fact quite the opposite. She held to her principals, turned away from seeking revenge, and held true to the code of the jedi." The figure stated. "I asked for this meeting for a very specific reason, something that will affect the Republic and Jedi just as much as it has the Empire and Sith."
Satele Shan frowned and cast a questioning look at the unknown sith, then at Asha. The woman nodded back to her, then held out the data pad to her. The figure glanced at Asha and nodded, then stepped to the side and fell back in behind the woman. Satele frowned, unsure she should lower her guard, but this sith was not acting as she would have expected. He was too calm, too rational. She did not sense any hatred from him. When Asha stepped forward and offered the data pad out for her to take, Satele knew she had to take the chance. She did not want to believe Asha was lost. Lightsaber moved to her side, she reached out with her left hand and took the data pad.
"Read it, it will explain." Asha said, then turned and stepped backwards, putting herself between the masked figure and the Jedi Master. Satele nodded, and noted the woman's actions.
Satele held the data pad up, allowing her to keep the figure in her line of sight while she read the information on screen. Scanning quickly through it she found she had to stop and start over. Gasping she took in the names, the connections between them. Her eyes grew wide and she gasped again and then looked to the figure, and back to Asha.
"Yes, you understand now." The figure said, nodding. "Know that those that stood with the Empire and Sith, they did so with just reason and held to their own ideals. The need was great and those on both sides put aside their mutual distrust and dislike to stand against a common enemy. An enemy that is still out there."
Asha turned to face Satele once more, backing up and allowing distance between the figure and herself, and Satele. She could see the Jedi Master once again glancing at what the data pad showed her. When Satele looked at her again she nodded, and what remained of the tension in her was gone. She nodded and gave a slight bow to the figure.
"You have my thanks for risking much to come in person with this information." Satele said, glancing between the two before her. "I understand why now."
"There has been enough blood shed already, on both sides." The figure said even as he stepped back moving out of the faint light.
"Wait." Satele stated moving forward, lightsaber rising and trying to cast the light about, but the figure was gone.
A moment later the lights in the council chamber returned as if nothing had happened. Satele looked at the data pad in her hand, the physical proof everything indeed had just happened. Asha Lightstar stood patient and calm, giving a small smile to the Jedi Master. Satele sighed and moved over to the edge of the council chamber and perched herself on it, setting the data pad down on its hard surface. Frowning she mulled over everything she had just learned. She should have sounded the alarm with a sith prowling about, but she knew it was likely pointless. The figure in black cloak and hood, with the metallic black and red mask likely had an escape route if he had thought well enough on how to see her.
"This is most disturbing." Satele finally said.
"The news, or…?" Asha asked, leaving the end of the question hanging.
Satele shook her head and then took the data pad holding it out for Asha to take. She knew she could not keep such. If others saw it, if it ever got out, it would undermine everything. Asha must have known such, as did the sith. It would have been the same for the Empire. Suddenly, Satele could see the connection with all the events that had taken place. She could see the great overall plan at least for what it was, if not where it was heading.
"Both." Satele finally said. "Go now, and do not speak of this at all. Forget what you know. You have done well, Asha, even if such cannot be recognized openly by the council. I will handle things now with the council."
"Yes, Master." Asha Lightstar said, nodding and taking the data pad from her. She then turned around and left the chambers.
Once Asha was at the door, Satele whispered to herself softly, "Well done indeed… daughter."
DROMUND KAAS
Vette lay sleeping, the twi'lek restless and having shifted about in her sleep. She lay sprawled partly on her side and partly on her stomach, the white satin bed sheet tangled about her legs and up to barely cover her torso. The white was a striking contrast to the pale blue skin and darker blue markings of her slender body. It had been days since the memorial had been held, since Teffa had left the inscription. Life for everyone else had returned to normal, all save for Vette. Memories haunted her, feelings still would overwhelm her, and her sleep had remained fleeting and troubling when she did. For once she had grown so tired the nightmares had not brought her fully awake. It was as if her body and mind had finally gotten on the same page and allowed her some rest.
The figure stood in the dark room near to the bed, masked face looking down on the sleeping woman. The figure remained in the same garb he had worn, the black robe with deep set hood, the black and red armour and mask. He had already begun to hear whispers of the red ghost on Korriban, filtering through the Empire. It mattered not to the figure. Being on Dromund Kaas, being about the wife of the fallen Wrath, that was what mattered at the present moment. The figure moved up to stand beside the bed, as close as he dared. For a moment his gloved hand hovered over the woman as if to touch her but pulled back. Instead the figure watched as Vette twitched and gave a soft moan. Behind the mask the figure frowned.
"You bear a sorrow few could handle. Such strength you have, yet do not even realize." The figure whispered softly. "And you carry the future within you now. That cannot be left in jeopardy."
Vette rolled over, sheet falling about her waist as she did so. The figure looked over her slowly, taking in every small nuance of her body as if to memorize it. After a moment, the figure reached down and carefully straightened out the sheet and drew it up over her. The figure then waved his hand over her head as he spoke.
"Ease your pain. No longer will it haunt you. Only those memories of joy remain, all else is forgotten." The figure said, calling on the force. "Live once more Vette, and remember Necrolis' words. He is always with you, and loved you more than his own life."
The figure stepped away from the side of the bed, pausing down at the foot of it to look at the sleeping twi'lek once more. The figure could see her breathing had changed, now a slow steady pacing, and the tension in her he could sense was gone. Having done what he wanted and could do, the figure turned to make his exit. He had almost left when he sensed her, turning about even as a hand fell to the lightsaber at his hip.
"There's no need for that. Let's not wake her." Shadellis Darkstar whispered as she stepped from behind one of the room's full length tapestries. "You took a while to finally show up here."
"I had to take care of things before I could." The figure commented back with a shrug.
"I didn't think you worried about having to make time anymore?" Shadellis asked, moving closer to the figure. The chiss looked the figure over from head to toe, admiring the armour and mask.
"All things in their own time." The figure remarked and shrugged again. "Sometimes sacrifices have to be made."
"Even her?" Shadellis asked, with a hard edge to the words as she looked from the figure over to Vette.
"Some sacrifices are harder than others." The figure nodded and said, then pointed at Shadellis. "You of all people should know, and it was you who taught me of death."
"Don't remind me." Shadellis threw back at the figure and shook her head. "You learned it too well, I think."
"There is still something to do, and I need your assistance."
Shadellis arched an eyebrow as red eyes looked at the figure. When she had been asked to remain unseen and watch over Vette, she had agreed without hesitation. Part of her had always known there was something more to the request. His words were less a surprise and more a curiosity now.
"Then let us go and take care of things." Shadellis answered, then paused and asked, "Will she truly be alright?"
"Teffa and Mako will be there for her." The figure said. "Let's go, Shaddy."