2: Tipping the Scales
Aboard her master's ship, Athaliah angrily paced in her private quarters, turning the events of the battle over in her mind. The first explosion had been her sign to evacuate, but in doing so, she'd cost her and her master the battle of Corellia, losing their hold on the capital city for good this time. It was that boy, her mind hissed, there was a power in him…a threat. As the doors hissed open, Athaliah bowed as Malik came storming in, rage engulfing his face.
"WHAT HAPPENED," he hissed loudly in his anger, lifting her up with the force and pinning her to the wall.
"Master…I," she gasped under the invisible, crushing force around her torso, and she only felt his rage intensifying, "there was a boy!"
It was as if the sentence alone was enough to stop his power, and as her master instinctively released her, he seemed to go deep into thought. Pacing slowly, he reached out with the force, leaving Athaliah to ponder in slight confusion. It took only a few more moments, and then he turned to face her once more, and with the same rage as before.
"Your punishment will be to stay here until I return," he scolded, "you will not drink, you will not eat, you will only sit in silence. The fact that I am allowing you to breathe should be good enough."
Then, he stormed out in a fiery rage that electrified the room. Clenching her fists, Athaliah angrily punched the walls repeatedly, crying against her will. She knew she had failed, but her pride was driving her to do something about it. However, the only thing worse than failing was directly disobeying her orders, so she sat and meditated. She would do as she was told, and wait for her master to return to her.
Malik's rage was fuming, and in his mind, rightfully so. It seemed to be his lot in life that he could only truly rely on himself, having a dead assassin and a failing apprentice were problems all their own, but were fatal when fighting a war of this magnitude. Luckily, a single transmission from a far off planet had revealed the location of two individuals who wielded the force, and carried light sabers with them. He knew it was the Jedi, but with the age of the signal, they could be well on their way to the system core by now.
"Milord," a hologram of the ship's captain said as it appeared from his wrist projector, "we've just received a transmission from the planet: Cato Neimoidia. It appears that a patrol squadron was destroyed by a group of rebels."
"So what's the problem, captain," Malik replied with a bored tone.
"Sir, the ships were cut in half, with two being stolen," and then Malik turned off the projector.
Climbing into his ship, he set a course for the refugee planet, and prepared to make the jump to light speed. What could they possibly want with an old dust heap like Cato Neimoidia, and what were they doing out of hiding so soon? Malik planned to waste as little time as possible to find out, and blasted off into hyper space.
xxxxxxx
Aboard the Raven's Claw, Xenos and Dakriel were hurtling through hyper space. They had barely managed to avoid the blockade that was now formed over Cato Neimoidia, but Xenos' attention had been tugged elsewhere. The tremor in the force they had both felt was so strong that Xenos didn't even remember what coordinates he'd set for the ship, but in no time at all, they found themselves in the planets wide orbit.
"Master," Dakriel said suddenly, "haven't we already searched Corellia?"
"Yes we have," Xenos replied, "but maybe not as much as we thought. This is where the force has brought us…"
"I have a bad feeling about this," Dakriel said as they both exited the Raven's Claw onto Corellia's now-friendly terrain.
Things had drastically changed since the victory against the Sith Empire, starting with a change in scenery. Many Sith-friendly shops had been put out of business, replaced by an abundance of clothing and small weapons shops. Another noticeable change was that, instead of soldiers and troopers marching through the streets, civilians were out and about, and seemed happy despite the ensuing war. It was a far cry from suffering, and for once, Xenos and Dakriel felt a slight breath of peace and relief.
"Ah, master Jedi, we've been looking everywhere for you," a short, stubby man said as they approached him unwittingly, "Please, if you'd follow me right this way…"
"Excuse me, but," Dakriel began, but the man walked rather fast for his height, and the two had little choice but to follow him.
"It's not much further," the short, fat man insisted as they approached a tall, shimmering building, "just through here," he continued as they finally entered and made a few left turns into a long hallway.
"Ah, there you are James," said the voice of a young lad sitting in his father's office, "what brings you to my neck of the-" he was cut off at the sight of the Jedi.
"Hello there," Xenos said smugly as Dakriel stood silently, "My name is Xenos; this is my apprentice, Dakriel."
"So you're the Jedi I've been hearing so much about," the boy said after a long pause, and then waved off James.
"Yes we are," Xenos replied calmly as the short stubby man quickly scurried away, "and who might you be?"
"Sit, please," the boy said gesturing to two chairs across from the metallic desk "would either of you care for a drink?"
"I'll have some water," Dakriel replied as Xenos simply nodded in rejection.
"As you both may be aware, my father was assassinated by a female Sith Lord, whose name is yet unknown. She then attacked our troops during the Battle of Corellia, where she single handedly wiped out half of our forces within minutes."
"Sounds deadly," Xenos said amused, "I'm surprised you managed a victory, considering the Sith were at the forefront of the battle."
"There was only one Sith," the boy shot out, "I mean…it was just her. There was no other Sith present for the battle."
"They've all been wiped, out more than likely," Dakriel replied, receiving a sudden scolding look from Xenos, "Forgive me master, but if the remaining Sith weren't wiped out, where are they? Clearly not defending the empire they've worked so tirelessly to build?"
"What my apprentice means to ask is," Xenos said with a slight pause, noticing the boy's heart skip a beat, "how did you survive?"
"What," the boy turned immediately in shock, "I mean…"
"I've read the report on the battle, and there was no mention of a Sith assassin," Xenos explained, "Only someone who was actually present for the battle would have known about it."
"You've caught me," the boy replied, "I was there to witness the battle first hand. Luckily, an S.A.S trooper carried me out of the battlefield to safety. I remember some explosions, then nothing. It was all so sudden…"
"You always been this bad at lying," Xenos asked as Dakriel thought the exact same thing in his mind.
"So it's true," the boy said calmly, "forgive my deception, masters, I just had to be sure you were the real deal. My name is Kieth Windum, and I can use the force."
xxxxxxx
It hadn't taken willow long to find and steal a ship powerful enough to carry her throughout hyperspace, and although the freighter she was currently piloting wasn't the fastest ship around, it had other qualities that suited her mission. She'd taken out the transmitter, and blasted the comms entirely, with the remains of burnt wires exposed in the cockpit. The only thing greater than her desire for her ship was revenge on the thieves who had stolen it.
"Five years," she hissed, "Five fucking years! Suffering! Torture! How could you?!"
As she raced through the stars, her mind became more and more dominated by her own rage and madness, and suddenly, her ship's small radar received a transmission matching that of the Raven's Claw's unique beacon. Corellia; it all seemed random, but she didn't care anymore.
"Got ya," she hissed as she descended to the planet's surface.
Escorted by small docking ships, the crew was caught off guard as they were blasted upon entering the small freighter. Stealing one of their uniforms, which fit her quite well actually; she calmly strode off the ship, and disappeared into the crowd of people. Her ship had been docked here, and it wouldn't take her long to find it now…
xxxxxxx
Malik's fighter had come screaming out of hyper space in seconds, and hovered over Cato Neimoidia like a shadow of doom. The blockade had, as it always was, been formed perfectly, and the planet was now cut off from trade and supply runs in or out. Gliding past the blockade, and into the planet's atmosphere, Malik flew fast enough to reduce the amount of time wasted looking, but slow enough to see clearly to the refugee camps and holding facilities. After a few hours, he finally found it: the arena.
"So, the Jedi have indeed returned," he mumbled as the cockpit of his ship hissed open, "but how did you escape…"
Looking around, the sand had already begun to bury the remains of the battle, but that wasn't stopping Malik. Calmly, he stepped over to one of the ships and, after touching part of it, a flash played through his mind. Turning around, it was as if he was seeing the battle that took place first hand. The force was showing him exactly what had taken place here. He saw not one, but both Jedi fighting, hurtling themselves at the remaining two ships after the master had cut down and destroyed the others, and then the trail ended.
"Very talented indeed," he mumbled again with a slight smile, "a worthy challenge at last…unless..."
"NO," the dark side roared through his mind, "Give no thought to turning them! Fool, the Jedi MUST be destroyed!"
Malik said nothing, flinching only slightly at the headache caused by the dark side's echo. Making his way back to his ship, he roared back to the blockade and landed in the command deck's docking bay. Someone had reacted too slowly, and allowed the Jedi to escape. Someone was going to be punished.
"Commander on the deck," a superior officer shouted, causing all of the command deck to stand at attention.
"At ease, Captain," Malik said blankly, seething with anger as he stood next to the blockade general, "As for you…"
"Milord," the general gasped as Malik lifted him painfully by the neck and pinned him to the glass shield that led out into space, "Please…we've formed perfectly…over the planet…as requested."
"YOU LET THE JEDI ESCAPE," Malik roared, his rage, which was building the force around him, caused the glass to begin cracking, "Did you at least manage to get a lock on their coordinates?"
"N-not me," he gasped, "b-but my Captain…captured a transmission…to Corellia…"
"Then your Captain has just been promoted," Malik said calmly, and then with a violent outburst, sent the general out into the void of space, shattering the glass into millions of tiny shards.
Immediately, a gust of vacuum suction roared into the command deck, forcing the remaining men to hold onto their stations for dear life as the blast shields went up with a soft hum. Making his way to the Captain, he gestured towards the monitor, and the Captain immediately brought up the transmission.
"Corellia…Corellia," an eerie voice whispered, filling the command deck with a deep silence.
The transmission ended; the echo of the whisper still lingering in the air, but there was no hologram to accompany the eerie sound. Malik stormed off back to his ship, set his coordinates, and took off into the stars. The Jedi would not escape this time; he would make sure of that.
xxxxxxx
Athaliah had waited for what felt like days, meditating, thinking on her failure, and growing stronger with the dark side as she had been taught. A tremor in the force had echoed just barely, but it was enough for her to know that Malik had killed once again. His touch in her mind was anything but soothing, and yet she found herself immersed in thoughts of him. Despite herself, she had felt a certain emotion for him that she had been taught was weakness. Foolish, she thought to herself, he would never see me that way…
Finally, Malik came storming back into her quarters, and given her sabers back, all without a word. Following him, they both made their way to his ship, and set off for Corellia. She'd been silent for so many hours it now felt natural to her, but she still felt the urge to engage Malik in a conversation. Speak only when spoken to, his voice echoed through her mind, but she still couldn't shake the urge.
"Apprentice," he said calmly, "when we arrive on Corellia, there is a disturbance I intend for you to investigate."
"Yes, master," she replied softly, trying to impress her emotions into her voice in futility.
"I will search for the Jedi, await my summons, and do not waiver until then," he said drily, and then silence filled the air once more.
As usual, they'd reached Corellia within a few short moments. Malik looked at Athaliah for just a moment's glimpse before stepping out of the ship. She followed, pondering why, in that instance; he would reveal such a weakness. What if he really does have feelings for me, she thought to herself, but if that's so, perhaps I can use it against him. It might be just the edge I'd need to destroy him. She smirked, but after realizing how far behind she was, she ran swiftly to catch up to Malik.
"Okay apprentice," Malik said in a hushed voice, "You search for the Jedi, and I've got something that needs taking care of…"
"Yes, master," she replied whispering, and then vanished like a shadow into the deep city.
Malik quietly observed his surroundings for a moment. The bustling of the spaceport was almost too much, but Malik was more skilled than most, and was able to reach out with the force with some ease. Turning to his right, he saw an old image in his mind. The Raven's Claw sat in a port, docked neatly on the edge of the lot. He almost stepped forward, but then something else caught his attention.
"Hmm," he mumbled, feeling the force tug his attention slightly to his right, "You can come out of hiding now."
"Very impressive," said a female voice from just above and behind him, "Now, is there something I can do for you, Sith?"
"Yes, actually," Malik shot at her with a slight growl, "You're here to kill the Jedi that I happen to be after. Back off, or I'll remove you from the equation…permanently."
xxxxxxx