The Fury was very quiet in the night. Usually there was the humming of the engines, but since it wasn't flying even that noise was missing. It was perfect for meditation, but Badesh simply couldn't focus. He sat cross-legged on his bed and tried in vain to concentrate. His thoughts wandered back to his first sexual encounter. He had liked it, very much so; and apparently Theron had liked it too… He tried to understand what had caused him to finally act on his desires. As a Sith he thrived on passion and emotions but there had always been a certain reservation about physical contact that didn't involve slicing one's head off.

There had been a time in which he had thought a great deal about his inability to get intimate, but it had passed – it didn't matter what fuelled him in his quest for power. Badesh hadn't had the luxury to muse about his inner workings; everything had been a question of survival; simple as that. Despite his best efforts not to analyse himself he realised at the Sith academy that he was a disturbed individual, even by Sith standards.

At the end of his training on Korriban he had resigned; life was too short to question oneself – perhaps he wasn't meant to understand himself. But then Darth Baras had given him a Twi'lek slave for his own amusement. Baras' leery comments had left no doubt what his master thought he would do with Vette, but Badesh had found greater pleasure in bullying and hurting her. He hadn't understood all the fuss about sex, it simply didn't appeal to him. At least not with her – not then … But pain… that was something different.

But one day he realised that he was missing something, in lack of better words he had called it warmth. Vette had been warm and he had been cold. She had reminded him that he had lost something, but he simply couldn't remember what. Badesh had tried to understand why he was missing this so-called warmth at all – he was a powerful Sith. Why was he so hung up over something so trivial?

When he met Quinn on Balmorra he had at first felt the immediate impulse to bite the man. He couldn't explain his urge and supressed it. Over the time Badesh realised that he was drawn to Quinn, it wasn't lust… it was something more. Every time he looked into Quinn's azure blue eyes they gave him the same guilty feeling of not being enough.

It was strange; Badesh had never cared about anyone nor their opinion of him, but this was different: He struggled against it and even tried to dress down Quinn on several occasions, but he simply couldn't succeed. When Quinn had offered his services to him Badesh had been delighted at first; there was no doubt in his mind that he would taste Quinn's… flesh someday. But then he felt Baras' smugness through the force as soon as he lay his eyes on Quinn; Badesh had recalled that Baras himself had said that Quinn owed his career to him… there were no coincidences. His cunning master had planted a mole in his crew.

Badesh was even more confused when he discovered that he was reluctant to kill Quinn. He had witnessed the way Quinn acted around Vette; he hadn't been kind a first – but slowly Quinn had eased into his new position and not only helped him with his expertise but also showed him how to act around Vette. Quinn showed him how to relate so someone, he also reminded him that there were things greater than himself: the Empire had lasted long before him and would continue to exist long after he was gone. Quinn had understood that long before him and Badesh admired him for that.

He tried to enjoy the company of Quinn as long it was possible, the treason would come sooner or later – that much he knew.

But his beliefs in this regard were disabused when Vette proved her loyalty on Tatooine by turning on the Jedi. She had so much power and didn't even realise it; not only did she convince him to release her from the shock collar, she also had swayed Quinn, who was at least as xenophobic as Badesh himself, to suggest to him to free her from slavery.

It was about that time that Badesh had started to reach out through the force to feel the force signatures of his companions. He felt … warm when he touched their minds … and their bodies. Vette's influence was even so strong that she caused Quinn to confess this true allegiance to Baras to him, she hadn't been directly involved but Badesh was certain that her example of loyalty had changed Quinn's attitude.

Together they had grown into something… more.

Badesh's affection for Vette and Quinn had grown with it and yet he couldn't bring himself to act on his feelings. Since he had met Theron Badesh had felt a certain desire in his lower parts; he had known arousal before – but never so strongly.

And now he couldn't suppress it anymore; his thoughts wandered to Theron… and Quinn. Badesh wanted to kiss, to touch him, he even wanted to kiss Vette… but what if… no, he wouldn't risk it. Vette and Quinn were together, and Badesh was… no, it had to be enough to be with them.

ooOOoo

Despite his inability to meditate Badesh still held tabs on the force signatures on the ship. When one of them moved he got up and left his quarters. Kalda was walking towards the air-lock, he quietly went in the direction of her force signature. He felt clearly how she stopped right in front of the exit of the Fury. Badesh stopped too and waited. He was curious whether she would try to flee; it would be a surprise – he didn't think that she would leave Theron behind.

Finally Kalda moved on and entered the mess hall. Badesh heard how she replicated something and decided to have a look. When he entered Badesh smelled the familiar scent of green tea – tarisian green tea if he was not mistaken. Kalda stood in front of the replicator and stared at the mug with tea, then she buried her face in her hands, took a deep breath and finally took the mug. When she saw him she flinched and almost spilled the tea.

"Damn!" She shot an angry look at him. "You don't need to scare me like that – your little show today made very clear that there is no escaping you."

"But it was tempting, wasn't it?" inquired Badesh. "Just walking out of the door and leaving everything behind you."

"Why do you even ask? Do you really need to hear that I'm scared of the evil Sith and the prospect of getting killed?" she retorted. Kalda looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes. "Or is this the overture for an interrogation?"

Badesh realised that he didn't know why he had asked in the first place. Probably Kalda was right, he just wanted to ascertain that she indeed was afraid of him. It didn't matter, but this could be a good opportunity to get his mind off… other things.

"Have you ever been on your species' homeplanet?" Badesh went to the replicator and scrolled through the tea selection.

Kalda narrowed her eyes. "Shili? No, and it's not my homeplanet – I was born on Kaon."

"Ah, on Kaon they separate the slaves from their families… that explains why the SIS approached you." Badesh put a mug in the replicator and let Turu-grass tea pour into it.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Intelligence agencies tend to recruit people without ties."

"I'm honoured that the Head of Imperial and Sith Intelligence tries to analyse my motivations to join the SIS," said Kalda coldly.

"Nobody and nothing is insignificant before…" began Badesh, but in the middle of the sentence he felt the disturbance in the force he had been looking for. For the briefest moment Badesh connected with it and its resonance flowed through him. A vision came to him: ice plains, a dark sky with bright stars and a colourful crystal palace made in a… cave? It was over as quickly as it had come, Badesh felt like waking up from a dream.

Kalda stared at him. "What was that?"

"A vision – I think I know where we have to go next… Illum," replied Badesh.

Kalda took a sip of her tea. "I don't know anything about the force – but if this were some lead in a normal operation that pops up so conveniently I would suspect a trap. I mean, what are the odds? We just finished on Alderaan and only a few hours later the next location falls in our lap."

Badesh was completely taken aback. She was right! The thought would never have crossed his mind, but it really was very, very convenient. And yet… there were no coincidences with the force…

"You… might be right…" he said hesitantly. "We have to proceed with caution. Before tonight I never received such a clear vision. If it is a trap, then our opponent is far more potent than I thought – their mastery of the force must be astounding." Badesh mused about it and decided that he had to confer with Vette and Quinn on how to proceed.

"You meant that they could be even stronger in the force than you?" Kalda asked with a frown.

"It's a possibility. But that doesn't mean that I couldn't beat them in a fight – I have yet to meet a challenge I couldn't conquer." Badesh remembered his glorious battle with Darth Jadus and wished that he could look at his trophy.

In the briefing in the next morning Badesh informed his companions about his nightly vision and Kaldas suspicion.

"Agent Biss' analysis is sound," said Quinn and nodded in the direction of Kalda. Badesh wasn't surprised. Kalda and Quinn were indeed very similar in some ways. "If it is a trap, then we need massive back-up – the Revanites have been building a fleet and might also have an army."

"Yeah, but who can we trust?" Vette leaned back in her chair. "The more back-up we bring the greater is the possibility that there is a revanite spy."

Badesh had already thought about it. "We should bring in Kilran and Nox. Objections?"

"Darth Nox is very unstable from what I hear. Is there no other Sith we could ask?" said Nine with a firm voice.

Badesh clasped his hands behind his back. "He is not unstable, he merely relishes in his power and uses it whenever he pleases. But he will comply and most importantly: I simply don't think that he is a Revanite."

"Why?" asked Nine.

"Because Nox is not in the least interested in order or balance."

"That is true…" Vette frowned. "But he could kill us should the mood strike him."

"He will not," replied Badesh calmly. "Or I will kill him."

"Darth Tenebra… You also mentioned Grand Moff Kilran – but in his nest is bound to be at least one Revanite." Vector looked straight at Badesh. His fascinating black pupil-less eyes made it impossible for Badesh to avert his gaze.

"I don't think that that should be a problem," interjected Theron. "As far as I know he is quite cunning – I would assume that he could think of something to get his fleet in position without raising any suspicion."

"He will. And again the bottom line is this: I trust him not to be a Revanite. Any further objections?"

Nobody spoke.

"Then it's decided."

Badesh walked straight to the holocommstation and called his fellow Dark Council colleague. Nox's bluish figure appeared over the holostation and the temperature in the room dropped by several degrees. Badesh didn't suffer directly from the Dread Force, but he still felt the dark power that surrounded the current Dread Master.

"Darth Tenebra… Greetings." Nox wore a dark robe with golden embroideries and a golden mask; his high voice was strangely distorted by it.

"Darth Nox, I am currently on a very important mission for the welfare of the Empire and I am in need of your unique abilities." Badesh respected Nox, he had seen first-hand what he could do with his powers.

"I see. Very well, I look forward to wreak havoc with you… it has been too long."

Badesh was taken aback. "You honour me… but don't you want to hear more details about the mission first?"

"There is no need – if a Sith of your stature thinks that you need my… humble skills, then you shall have them." Nox' voice indicated that he was pleased. Badesh could empathise – the prospect of blood was alluring after all.

"Meet us on Illum in two days – it will be glorious."

"May the force ever be in your favour," replied Nox and denoted a bow. Then his picture vanished.

Badesh didn't waste any time and called Kilran next.

"Darth Tenebra! What a pleasure!" Kilran bowed.

Badesh simply nodded. "I want to express my gratitude for your cooperation, Grand Moff."

"Not at all, my Lord. But am I correct to assume that this isn't a social call?"

Right to business, Badesh liked that trait of Kilran. "Indeed. There is a high possibility that we have found a revanite base on Illum and we need military back-up as quickly as possible. Due to possible spies it is of utmost importance to keep the troop movement a secret as long as possible."

Kilran smiled. "Oh well… that shouldn't be a problem."

"I knew that I could count on you, Grand Moff."

"Everything for the Empire, my Lord."