Badesh sat on Kalda's bed in the crew quarters and looked through her belongings. Finally he found the holopicture he was looking for. He activated it and saw the minor Togruta Kalda had looked at.

Quinn strode into the room and snapped almost at attention as he addressed Badesh. "My Lo… Badesh, everything is prepared – the agents will leave us as soon as we reach Dromund Kaas."

"Excellent… tell, me Malavai, did you find any clues who this," he showed the holopicture, "might be?"

"Vette and I have searched their belongings earlier. We found nothing that would indicate who the girl is."

Badesh stared at the picture, his curiosity was piqued. Should he ask Kalda? He rose to his feet. Suddenly he realised how close he was to Quinn and he had to suppress the urge to caress his face. He couldn't… Badesh suspected that Quinn and Vette already regretted having let him partake… in their love. Theron had after all regretted it too. The mere though caused his heart to ache.

Quinn blushed slightly. "Badesh… my Lord… I sincerely hope that my actions today haven't changed your opinion of me. In the heat of the moment I didn't fully consider how inappropriate the way I behaved was. It was of course presumptuous of me to think that you would lower yourself to consort with me. For that I beg your pardon."

Badesh blinked a few times before he comprehended what Quinn was saying. By the force! Did he actually think that he – the insane murderer – was too good for him? Badesh felt the overwhelming need to tell Quinn how much he admired and loved him and yet he simply stood there, unable to open his mouth.

The silence lay heavy on them, finally Quinn cleared his throat. "Yet again I have overstepped my bounds, my Lord. I shouldn't have brought it up, I apologize again." He bowed stiffly.

Badesh's mind worked franticly; he had to say it! But how? What would Vette do? She would just speak her mind.

"Malavai… you are the person I never knew I missed in my life, until I met you. You are the sole reason that I that I keep going through all the hardships. Without you I am lost in my anger, you are my beacon… I love you." Badesh felt how his heart started to pound faster as he had ended.

Quinn's usual impassive expression was now completely gone: Badesh saw that he was taken aback and… content. "I had no idea… You honour me. There are few people of whom I think well, and still fewer whom I really love – there is nobody higher in my esteem as Vette and you."

Badesh pulled Quinn into a tender kiss. He was finally at peace. Even after the kiss had ended, he held Quinn in his arms and simply felt… happy.

"I should return to my duties," said Quinn quietly.

Badesh let go of him. "Of course."

Quinn straightened his jacket and glanced one last time at him before he left. Badesh followed his every movement with his eyes until he was out of sight. Simply recalling the kiss and the words exchanged set his chest on fire – Badesh was aware that he hadn't been very eloquent, but he wasn't used to express his… affections like this. He reached out through the force and enjoyed touching Quinn's and Vette's force signatures, for so long he had wished that he could be close to them; caressing them through the force had been one of his pleasures – to think that he could now physically touch them and be touched back… Kalda's and Theron's force signatures came into his focus. Badesh remembered the holopicture and decided to pay them a visit.

ooOOoo

Seeing Theron again confused Badesh – the mere thought that he had injured Quinn still made him angry. But at the same time he felt regret that he was going to leave soon.

"I guess we should thank you for letting us go," said Theron, Badesh noticed that he sounded weary. "Even when you ruined our reputation for good."

Badesh shrugged. "You could always defect to the Empire."

"Not a chance," replied Kalda.

Theron glared at Badesh. "I'm surprised that you didn't even try to turn us."

"It would have been a waste of time – you and especially Agent Biss are too strong-willed. Besides, after what Grand Master Shan has witnessed I highly doubt that you would gain access to secret intel anymore." Badesh pulled a small stool in front of the chained agents and sat on it.

"So, you are really serious about letting us go?" asked Kalda disbelievingly. "Why are you doing it? I mean I get that Vette would try to save us. I even understand that Quinn has some quaint sense of honour that causes him to let us go. But why you?"

"Because you helped to defeat the Revanites. I admit that I first wanted to imprison you, but it would have been in vain. I learned to respect you and therefore I don't wish to harm you unnecessarily." Badesh pulled the holopicture-devise from his pocket and activated it. Then he put it in front of Kalda. "Enough about my motivations. Would you now tell me who she is?"

Kalda frowned. "You still are interested about this stupid holopicture? Alright, allow me to ask one question in return and I will answer."

"Granted." Badesh was curious, what could she possibly inquire about?

"Alright, the girl in the holopicture is me. And before you ask: My first master one took a picture of me, probably to show his friends that he had a new slave. When I was sold to another family I took it with me, it was my sole possession. I kept it all these years to remind me who I was and why I had to fight against oppression."

"Fascinating… to carry your hate as manifestation of yourself with you," mumbled Badesh.

"I wouldn't call it hate," interjected Kalda.

"Why not? Hate is a powerful force," replied Badesh. It was a fine emotion after all.

"Because hate is blind, and I am not. But now is my turn: I would ask Theron himself, but I doubt that he would be as honest as you about it… Tell me, how did you seduce him? Did you promise him to let us go?"

Badesh registered the shocked expression on Theron's face and imagined that he had a similar expression on his.

"Well?"

"…I did not promise him anything. It just happened." He felt uncomfortable, perhaps he should just leave.

"Kalda…" began Theron, "please don't. I made a mistake, I didn't sell out or…"

"You are a dork, Theron." Kalda didn't sound angry. "I never suspected that you would actually sell out, I just try to understand how this… lapse of judgement was possible."

Theron looked crestfallen and glanced from Kalda to Badesh.

"Does it matter?" Theron finally asked. "I needed comfort and Badesh was there. In a few hours we will part ways. You shouldn't be worried, Kalda – it will take me quite a time to find another Dark Council member to sleep with." A faint smile flickered across his lips.

Badesh realised that Theron was trying to lift the tension with a joke. Should he try to join in this effort? "I could provide you with Darth Nox' holocall frequency," he dryly remarked.

Theron chuckled while Kalda stared at him dumbfounded. Slowly her lips curled up in a smile.

"Now I have seen everything – a Sith making jokes. I guess Vette's influence isn't limited to the Major," Kalda stated.

Badesh reached down to the holopicture and put it off. Then he rose to his feet and put the stool away. "Even I can't elude her influence. Luckily I might add."

ooOOoo

Badesh found his companions in the cockpit. Quinn was checking their course while Vette was reading some reports.

"How long until we reach Dromund Kaas?"

"10 hours and 46 minutes, my Lord," replied Quinn smooth as ever.

"So, do we have a plan on how to proceed?" asked Vette and leaned back in the co-pilot seat.

"The anniversary of the Empire's return from the unknown regions will begin in two days, rumour has it that the Emperor himself is giving a speech. It would be the first time over a hundred years that he would appear publicly. That can't be a coincidence. Has Darth Nox called?" Badesh massaged his temples.

"Nope, but if he went to Korriban he will probably arrive in the next hour – I guess we will hear from him in couple of hours." Vette smiled at Badesh.

"It there something suspicious about the anniversary proceedings?" Badesh couldn't shake the feeling that the Emperor had to plan something big – why should he otherwise deign to attend?

Quinn scrolled through a data pad. "The festivities will begin in the late afternoon: A parade with the Empires finest soldiers and the newest weaponry, fireworks, followed by a feast and a… ball? How particular. The speech is scheduled for midnight."

"Midnight? Why so late?" asked Vette. "Or is it good old Sith tradition too give speeches in the pale light of a full moon, cuz' otherwise it wouldn't be creepy enough?"

"It is strange," Badesh looked out of the front pane and mused about what he had heard. "I have never heard of a force ritual that is tied to a particular time of the day – the force is everywhere, all the time. That leaves the question if the Emperor is waiting for something."

"It is required that the Dark Council has to attend the speech in person. Perhaps… yes, Darth Morris is on a mission in the outer rim. He is expected to arrive shortly before midnight," said Quinn, still scrolling through the data pad.

"So, the whole assembly is quite the target isn't it – not only the Dark Council, every imperial dignitary will be present," mumbled Vette.

"Are you seriously suggesting that the Emperor plans to kill the upper echelon of the Empire? Why would he sabotage his own Empire?" frowned Quinn.

"I don't know, but he obviously put a lot of effort in manipulating the Revanites to attack the Empire and the Republic. There has to be a purpose," retorted Vette.

"Perhaps the answer lies in the Emperor himself…" Badesh rubbed his chin. "He is a powerful being that has transcended mortality and his humanity. For over a millennia he is the head of one of the major forces in the known galaxy… In the past hundred years he was more than an absent landlord than a leader… What could possibly motivate him to make an appearance before his subjects?"

"An absent landlord, huh? Perhaps he wants to show everybody that he is still the top dog?" Vette stood up and started to pace.

"Nobody would ever question his authority. The Emperor is absolute; I doubt that any Sith would be bold enough to say any different," objected Quinn.

"Malavai is right… even the most delusional Sith knows that the Emperor is beyond reach for his power is without limits," confirmed Badesh.

"And yet he trapped Revan to… do what? Harness his power?" insisted Vette.

"Could it be possible that his power is weakening?" asked Quinn hesitantly.

"I don't know… I can't imagine it," replied Badesh. "At any rate we should prepare for the worst case scenario. Recall every available agent to Dromund Kaas and inform the Minister and Keeper about our suspicions."

"What about Grand Moff Kilran, my Lord? He has proven to be reliable."

"I think he and Malgus already knew… he asked me for a reason to be his escort," Vette stopped her pacing.

"But why didn't they simply tell us everything?" asked Badesh with his eyebrows knitted together.

"It seems that they had no proof beside Darth Malgus' vision from years ago. It is high treason after all to even say it out loud," speculated Quinn.

"I will contact the Imperial Reclamation Service and search for a force ritual that could be of use to the Emperor. Perhaps Darth Nox will be able fill in the gaps in the motive…" Badesh was disquieted. Time was running out and he had no doubt that the Emperor was about to kill off every last imperial dignitary.

Was there anything he or even the whole Dark Council could do against a being that was as powerful as the Emperor? He had never met him, but from the stories he had heard everything paled in comparison to the Emperor. It was said that his force persuasion was so powerful that even the strongest and most wilful Sith would succumb to it. His connection to the force was said to be so powerful that he could cover a whole planet in force lighting. No, these were myths, every being connected to the force was still a mortal being – there was no need to lose hope. They had overcome great obstacles in the past; they would succeed again.