The legends said Moraband was a dead world where only ghosts dwelt, and where sandstorms could grow so strong that they could flay the flesh from a mans bones in an instant. As with all legends these were an exaggeration of-course: The winds of the tomb world were not strong enough to rend one's skin let alone scratch it, a fact she had learned from personal experience in her worst moment of despair.
The second exaggeration was that no life existed on the desolate planet. The desert world was home to living things outside of bacteria eating away at the bones of long dead Sith Lords. Shyracks were the most common creatures, pests that made their homes in the darkest crevices of an already dark world. Such creatures, amongst other fauna, had been the primary source of sustenance for her and her comrades in this world of death. And this grave-world's population had now grown.
The ruined temples structure was vast, with ancient sandstone engraved with various images of Sith iconography. Runes of a long dead language decorated the walls of the buildings that surrounded the abandoned courtyard. Another structure slightly further ahead lay buried mostly beneath the sands, three ruined and broken pillars of aged stone scattered about the sands. Yet, a single pillar stood lopsided, defiant of the ravages of time. Atop it, Sethans cloaked figure crouched above it like a predator on the hunt.
"I count around twenty headed towards the temple." Sethan's voice rang out over the commlink as her eyes settled on the horizon. A black shuttle with wings folded at a perpendicular angle rested at the crest of the hill, most of it obscured by the dust storms ahead. It had landed only mere moments ago when Sethan was scavenging for food. The shuttles allegiance to the first order was discovered moments later when Stormtroopers exited from the transport, a group of twenty.
"The shuttle is an Upsilon B- Personnel Shuttle. Curious." Talon turned to Draxx as his voice interjected, the tech-obsessed Knight leaning over the edge of the temple buildings roof as he held up the electro-binoculars. Zeke stood vigil on his shoulder patiently, a low synthetic chitter of binary escaping the droids modulator. "Yes Zeke! We should go and examine it! Who knows what secrets it holds, and whether they fixed the design flaws of the initial design and how they compensated for increased personnel capacity!"
"You've been on this world too long Draxx." Cassius cut in from the left side of his excited counterpart. "It's just the standard issue transport shuttle, and here you are acting like you found a Super star Destroyer!"
"Standard!?" Draxx tore himself away from the binoculars, staring at his staff-wielding counterpart. "Ah, you are referring to the standard Upsilon-Class Command Shuttle. A common misconception given the similar structure and their primary use among strike teams. No, the Upsilon B-Personnel Shuttle was only just entering prototype stages when we were sent out here. It's larger when examined up close, boasting facilities to transport ten additional passengers: Original intention was to create an updated personnel transport shuttle that possessed greater structural integrity, speed and firepower to support forces in engagements. Primary issues with the new design were it's inability to-"
"Short version: It can carry more people, got it." Marka spoke in his unmistakably snarky tone, stepping up between Talon and Draxx.
"The real question you should ask is what is it doing here?" Talon spoke, softly crossing her arms in thought as she looked out across at the landing site.
It had been twelve months since they had been trapped in this hell, surviving only through co-operation and their own strength in the force. Had she the choice, she'd obliterate the whole site from orbit and leave it as dust: The Sith perished due to their arrogance, and this place stood as a monument to their failure. Nobody would miss it, save perhaps Marka and Sethan. Marka had always enjoyed exploring the tombs, often going back over explored rooms multiple times as if in search of something. Sethan, meanwhile, merely enjoyed the challenges of the planet and it's wildlife. He was a hunter, and nothing sated him more then a hunt with risk.
"Obviously they came here to give us this wonderful gift!" Marka clapped his hands together, tapping his thumbs together as he looked out across the wasteland. "Not too fussed on the other stuff they sent though. Maybe we should send that back, preferably in pieces."
"We should leave at-least one alive." Marka turned his head to face her as she spoke up, tilting his head in bewilderment as he stepped toward her.
"Feeling merciful are we Talon?" She watched the finger press against her shoulder, eyes narrowing beneath her visor. "Korriban's not meant to make you soft, you know."
"Why do you assume that I wish to spare one of them out of mercy?" She grabbed his hand, sharply pushing it aside. "We have been on this planet for almost a year. In that time we haven't seen a single vessel land or enter the atmosphere . So why would one finally land after all this time, especially one affiliated with the first order, if our demise was already reported?"
Marka nodded his head with a gentle 'ah' of understanding.
"You want to find out if they're here for us, or something else here. Got it. Thinking about it, this is a bit strange." Marka was smart, but he could overlook key details sometimes in favour of sating his sadism. At times, it was as if he thought himself a sith lord of old with how he quietly relished his darker impulses.
"If we're going to use that to get off planet, we need to be careful of the destroyer in orbit." Cassius remarked.
"Oh! You remember that Transport shuttles, while possessing a hyperdrive, rarely travel long distances away from major destroyers!" Draxx spoke happily, only for Cassius to point upwards with a sigh.
"No, I just saw that."
She had seen the vague outline of the star destroyer in the atmosphere before, but her companions had been blinded by the shuttle at the expense observing the rest of their environment.
"We need to make sure that shuttle doesn't communicate anything to the star destroyer. Taking the ship will accomplish nothing if we get shot out of the sky before we even make hyperspace." She tapped the chin plate of her visor. "Draxx, you need to send Zeke and get him to temporarily disable the array. You have to get the array down before the troopers arrive. Once that is accomplished, subdue the ship and leave one alive. Once they are here, Sethan will utilize the last of our detonators and throw them into the centremost point of the group."
"And what if they split up before then?" Talon glanced at Cassius.
"Typical protocol dictates they will enter as a unified group into the courtyard and establish a perimeter. Only once that is accomplished will they split their forces and begin to scout the area. We have to ensure that they don't split off. The ruins also present us greater cover from enemy fire, and the chance to retreat should it be necessary." Talon looked at Marka. "You will remain on the rooftops with Sethan and trade fire with the troopers, meanwhile Brutus and Cassius will attack from the sides, getting into close quarters with the remaining troops. I will join the fray last should it be necessary, acting as support."
She would have preferred more time to lay a more effective trap then this. Going loud when outnumbered wasn't a good idea, but they didn't have the luxury of time to prepare a potent counter to the forces soon to be on their doorstep. If they were allowed time to start exploring the ruins, that gave them more opportunities to become lost or for them to get discovered. More-over, the ruins were just as much an advantage for the invaders as it was for them: She didn't know what paths they would take or how many of their number would be sent out to investigate, meaning divide and conquer was unlikely to work as well as it had in the past.
The offensive was the best option they had. Just taking the shuttle without dealing with the soldiers presented other risks, and she wasn't going to risk leaving them behind to strand them here through a stroke of sheer luck.
"For the record, this plan's awful." Marka muttered.
"Your concern is noted." She pressed the side of her helmet, activating the commlink with the tell-tale beep.
"Sethan, hold position and stay out of sight. It's time to hunt."
#
"The troopers fell, and we were able to claim the ship as our own. There was one survivor that remained following our attack called Captain Liru. What followed was an interrogation about their purpose on the planet. After the interrogation, we made a decision to return to the fleet and seek you out directly. We snuck aboard instead of going through official channels, for our safety."
Kylo stood before her, calmly and silently processing the information he received. His gaze was soft but interested, his posture relaxed despite the gentle crossing of his arms. He was hanging on her every word, he was listening to her. He was here, flesh and blood, standing in-front of her again.
"You should have contacted me through my personal channel then! Hyperspace isn't safe now, not with the war on." Kylo's criticism drew her closer, stepping towards him.
"But…I needed to see you." Her voice quivered behind the modulator just slightly, blinking back tears behind the mask as she delicately reached a hand out. Even if she couldn't feel him, she had to touch him: If only to prove to herself this wasn't just some dream or mirage. Her gloved fingers touched his cheek, the action causing Kylo's form to tense and brow to raise. His eyes widened, staring down at her masked face in surprise at the gesture. Yet, he made no attempt to move away or display displeasure. "I had to know this real."
Kylo opened his mouth to respond, but another voice silenced him before he could speak.
"Talon, was it? You mentioned before a Captain Liru. Might I ask where they are? No doubt they can support what you and your companions are saying." It was moments like this she hated her self control. She wanted nothing more then to ignite her weapon and separate Hux' head from his shoulders for destroying the moment. For more then a year she'd wanted nothing more then to once again be in the presence of the one she cared for most in the whole galaxy. And that moment had now been shattered like Alderaan.
Gradually, she withdrew her hand from Kylo's face and turned to face the outspoken general. Both hands rested behind her, clenching her fists in silent fury once they were out of sight.
"Sorry to say but she's dead." Marka spoke up with a sigh. "In our quarrel she got grievously injured, stray blaster bolt. We did our best to revive her but, well, even with Cassius' expertise she didn't make it." He shook his head. "And yes, we did use the medical tools on the ship before you ask. That's how we kept her alive as long as we did. She didn't suffer, don't worry."
Marka's words were not even remotely close to the truth, but Talon knew better then to correct him in this scenario. In this case, the truth would have only made things worse.
"You go galivanting on a tomb world for a year, kill your own comrades and then expect to be welcomed back with open arms?"
"Need I remind you, General." Talon spoke up at last, slowly making her way toward Hux. "We were betrayed by YOUR soldiers, stranded on that world and forgotten for almost a year. We struggled to survive for a year, feared for our lives for a year. So, when those same soldiers that tried to kill us landed at our doorstep, were we wrong to expect their intentions were not peaceful?"
"Those were not there at my orders."
"And the ones that stranded us were?"
"Enough." Kylo interjected, silencing the growing argument as he turned to look at her. "You all arrived at a good time. This war with the republic has halted, and our progress has stalled for months. We're losing ground." He stepped into the centre of the group, turning his gaze to the gathering of his once lost friends. "Will you help me get it back?"
"Supreme Leader-" Kylo turned sharply to Hux
"You said yourself we're losing this war, that we need help. And with the Knights, she won't be able to stop us." Talon tilted her head, curious what was meant by her Supreme leaders last sentence. Who was he talking about? It certainly wasn't her, for she was loyal. "What happened in the past happened, but it's time to let the past die. My Knights: Will you help me win this war?"
"No, old friend." Marka chuckled. "We'll win you the Galaxy."
#
It was a cold night in the desert even this close to the fire-pit. The winds were still for the first time in over a month, yet she felt as if she had just stepped into a walk-in freezer. While the desert nights could be cold they were never frigid like this, especially when a still evening was enough to send a chill down her spine. Her hooded companion stepped from the wreckage of the shuttle into the sands behind her.
"You felt it, didn't you?" She'd lived long enough now to recognize the signs of the force changing, of the tides of fate itself shifting. "The shroud of the dark side grows stronger." She shook her head. "No…it's not stronger. It's always been there, it's just only now revealed itself. But how?" She hadn't sensed anything like this. Snoke and Skywalkers deaths were supposed to bring with it the balance of light and shadow, even the field in the ongoing clash. And in doing so, they would doom the galaxy.
She had seen how this was to unfold. Nobody on either side would be aware of the oncoming calamity until it had emerged from the unknown regions, and by then it was going to be too late to stop it.
For all its surprises she had learned one truth above all about the force in her years: It was always in motion, nothing one saw in a vision was certain to happen nor were prophecies set in stone. Fate could be subverted, although some outcomes took more difficulty and effort to subvert than others. She had learned the force did try to bring forth certain results for its own ends.
This was one outcome she knew she had to change. If she didn't, it meant the death of not just the force but all life in the galaxy. And so, she'd made a play of her own to try to change the galaxies terrible fate.
"The exiles from the Academy." The hooded figure grumbled. "They've returned."
"A war that should have ended dragging on, and people that should be dead returning." She sighed, guilt swelling up in her as she realized how badly things had become. Worse still, it was her fault. But, she knew there was risks in what she had done. The changes she had made were going to have ripples, but this uncharted territory.
When one played Sabaac, their hand could be either strong or weak. Right now, she felt like her hand was a poor one indeed. "I feel like I've made a mistake…"
"If even half of what you told me is true, then it must have been one hell of a mistake if this is somehow worse."
She stared at the horizon, seeing the swell of sand in the low light spiral into the air in the beginnings of a dust devil. She let a small smile cross her lips, realizing her companions words were right: Things were bad now, but they still had a chance. A slim one, but still a chance to save the galaxy.
"You're right, at-least now…there's still a chance." The sandstorm increased in momentum and size, a sharp wind picking up the sand.
"A storm is coming, and I just hope she's strong enough to survive it." She sighed. "But that's why I have you here. When she returns-"
"SHOULD she return."
"When." She corrected. "You're going to need this." Reaching into her cloak, she pulled something out. A lightsaber hilt, primarily silver and black in colour. She spied the recognition in her companion's hooded features and sensed his dread at seeing the weapon presented to him. Even she could feel the weapons dark-side aura, the malice of its former wielder heavily imprinted into the corrupted blades very being.
Tentatively, he retrieved the weapon, his hand shaking as he pulled it gently from her grasp, looking at the weapon with a mix of both awe and horror.
"May the force be with you, and with us all." She turned, pulling the hood of her white cloak up and over her head as she stepped toward the desert. Reaching out a hand, she called on the force to rouse the staff resting against the hull of the downed vessel. It flew swiftly through the desert air and into her open palm. Closing her fingers around the shaft, she turned and walked forward, into the growing storm.
The man looked down at the weapon, hand still shaking as his other gloved hand wrapped around the bottom of the weapon. With a slow, steady breath, he mentally prepared himself as he pressed the switch. The red blade of the Sith Lords weapon cut into the darkness with a hiss, the man merely standing still and staring into the energy of the blade in silence.