A/N: in which rei goes to ziost, cori also goes to ziost, and vitiate does the equivalent of ~I'm not touching you~ with their minds

at this point I'm estimating that at least 70% of this fic only exists bc I have insomnia. ch 23 is almost ready to be posted, but I may wait until I have a bit more done since after that is just a bunch of half-written chapters that still need lots of work.

"Rei. Rei. Hey, c'mon, Sith, wake up."

Rei cracked a single eye open, attempting to glare at Andronikos. "Go away," she commanded, voice groggy.

"I would, but me and Talos have Lana, Ashara, and half the Council bothering us because they can't get a hold of you." He crossed his arms, expression darkening though his tone was still light and amused. "Waking up to Darth Marr asking 'Where's Nox' is certainly one way to start your day."

Pushing herself up so she was sitting, Rei rubbed at her eyes and tried to stifle a yawn. "What did he want?"

"Emergency council meeting or something. Zash told them to wait until you called in."

Keeping the Council waiting, especially when it was an emergency, wasn't a particularly good idea. She debated changing — Rei assumed showing up in only a crumpled navy blue Join the Republic Military! shirt she'd stolen while on Corellia wasn't exactly proper — but instead decided it was too early to be quite so dutiful, and climbed out of bed and headed straight for the room she'd set the holoterminal up in. Luckily, she'd been on Yavin 4 long enough that she'd already had to call in to a Council meeting. "Caf?" she called as she waited for the frequency to connect.

"Already on it." Andronikos walked in a moment later, handing a mug of iced caf to Rei. "Do you think—" He cut off abruptly as the call connected, slipping out of the room with the promise that Rei wouldn't be bothered on account of everyone else going back to sleep.

On the display, the seven other council members turned to look at Rei, earning her several disapproving looks. Lana's image was projected beside them; she stood with her hands clasped behind her back, lips pressed into a thin line. "Apologies," Rei offered tiredly, more out of formality than anything. "I'm told it's urgent?"

"Ziost has declared an official state of emergency," Darth Marr explained. "The headquarters for Sith Intelligence are compromised. The reports Minister Beniko has forwarded are… troubling."

"Reports. Right. One moment." Rei shuffled out of the room, searching for her datapad. The Yavin temple — not Revan's but the Jedi Exile's, she now knew — had proven to be decent shelter and was certainly far better than setting up tents in the jungle. But tents, at least, were small enough to keep things from getting lost.

She finally found the datapad on her bed — where she'd left it a few hours before after falling asleep reading another of those dreadful Republic novels she loved — and plodded back to the other room, scrolling through the report as she sat down.

Ravage and Zhorrid were debating the possibility of evacuation, throwing around facts and figures and claims almost faster than Rei could keep up with. They were silenced first by Marr, then Lana. "Respectfully, my lords," the Minister began, "evacuations are still purely theoretical at this point. We don't have ships available, and even if we did, we've nowhere to take them. We don't even know how far his influence can reach. At the moment, I believe our focus has to be on stopping it."

"We'll send ships," Marr countered. "And the matter of refugees can be dealt with after Ziost is handled. Have you found a way to stop the possessions without killing them?"

Rei interrupted before Lana could answer, a point in the report catching her eye. "You think it's Vitiate?" The notes detailed the growing concerns Lana had, but nothing Rei could find was strong enough to support such a bold claim.

"As of a few hours ago, I'm certain of it," Lana informed her with a self-assured nod. "As he's grown stronger, his presence has become unmistakable. And, he's been trying to get inside my mind for the past several hours."

"Grown stronger?" Mortis echoed, his holoimage frowning down at his own datapad. "You're strengthening him by killing those he's possessed."

The darkness within the Force on Yavin was suddenly suffocating; Rei shivered, holding back a grimace. "We stopped him here on Yavin 4, so he's turned to a planet with a larger population."

Marr nodded slowly. "Until we can find a way to stop Vitiate, evacuation is our top priority. I've already sent the Wrath to investigate, but the Council should have at least one representative on Ziost — to command obedience, if nothing else. Without complete cooperation, we may lose the entire planet, and the Empire will not suffer anymore at Vitiate's hands."

"I'll go," Rei offered, partly because she knew it wasn't likely that anyone else would volunteer, and partly because she was the obvious choice; none of the others had worked so closely with Minister Beniko or the Wrath, and her Sphere wouldn't be as critical to evacuations as Marr or Mortis or some of the others. "I can leave for Ziost within the hour. The Dashade who serves as my advisor — she's in charge of things while I'm gone, so go to her if you need anything from me. I'll hold to whatever decisions the Council makes, but I believe it would be better for me to simply leave now rather than stay."

"Agreed. Focus on stopping the possessions, and we'll determine the best way to proceed with evacuations. Report in when you land."

Rei cut the line, rubbing at her eyes as she mulled over the situation. Mass possessions, civilian uprisings, the return of the former emperor — and no way to stop it all. She was glad, at least, that she wasn't in Kaas City; the Citadel had likely fallen into chaos, or would soon if it hadn't already.

Possession wasn't a concern for Rei. After dealing with a few loud Sith ghosts in her mind for nearly three years, she'd become rather adept at closing off her mind to the influence of others. Still, she wondered about her crew; Talos, she suspected, had some sort of training — the Force-blind couldn't survive long unearthing Sith artifacts for a living unless they'd learned to resist possession. Andronikos, she was less certain about. Vrynn, however, could use a test of her abilities against possessions.

Of course, having to resist Vitiate wasn't much of a fair challenge for an apprentice.

Then again, fairness wasn't exactly a tenant of the Sith code, either.

"We've already lost that section of the city. It would be better to form a blockade here—" Zaara pointed to a section of the map where a collapsed building was, "—and keep them from getting any further in. If we lose that guard tower, we may as well give up the entire southern edge of New Adasta."

Captain Kartier shook her head. "Too risky. Eight of the twelve soldiers we sent in to bolster that tower's forces were possessed."

Over the holo, Lana frowned. "We may not have a choice, Captain. Until we can determine how to stop— yes, yes I'll only be a moment — how to stop Vitiate, we have to focus on containing the issue and evacuating anyone not possessed." She glanced back at whoever was vying for her attention. "I'm sorry. I have to go. It's your decision, Zaara."

As the holocom fizzled off, Zaara crossed her arms and stared hard at the map, willing it to give her answers that were within their limited realm of possibility. Around her, their makeshift base of operations — the top floor of a hospital deep within New Adasta — had fallen silent, waiting for further direction.

This had been her reality for the past twenty four hours — a few dozen ragged soldiers, a couple of field medics, dwindling supplies, and right past their blockaded door was a living hell, with no solution in sight.

"When Darth Nox arrives," Raina spoke up, "she could probably hold that tower by herself. Or with minimal support, at least."

Zaara glanced over at the Ensign — hair tousled, uniform stained with ash and blood — and sighed. "Nox isn't here to help, she's here to act as Council oversight. She'd cut down anyone possessed. It's best if she stays up at the Intelligence headquarters."

Kartier, palms flat on the holoterminal and glaring intently down at the display, frowned. "Speaking of the headquarters, just how big are they? We've sent thousands of people out of the capital already."

She nodded towards her datapad. "Vette and Vector are keeping me updated. There's still plenty of room — shuttles are taking people up to the Orbital Defense Station so groups are ready when ships arrive to get them off-planet. I don't care if we've got people lining up around the headquarters building — it's better than having them stay here."

"Right." Standing up straight, Kartier let out a slow breath and ran a hand through her hair. She pointed to a highlighted section on the holodisplay. "The southeast section of the residential district. No one's checked in over that way, but that's where most of the private shuttle pads are, so there's a good chance a lot of people already got out."

"I'll send someone over." On her comm line, Zaara added, "Kaliyo, Kovach — what's your location?"

There was silence, then a burst of sound as blaster fire and yells and falling rubble came through on her earpiece; Kaliyo's voice was barely audible as she spoke. "You picked a really fucking bad time, Z."

"What's going on?"

"We've lost the eastern side of the city," Kovach reported a moment later, breathing heavily. "There's Jedi — mad Jedi — all over. There must be at least a half dozen in the streets below us."

That was the first time Zaara felt it — something between fear and panic and surrender — begin to crawl through her veins. "Mad as in possessed?"

"Some of them, yes. But the others, they… they aren't like any Jedi I've ever encountered."

She cursed under her breath, her voice shaky. They were barely holding their position with only the possessed soldiers and civilians to worry about; adding Jedi to the mix would make it impossible. "We'll send an evac," Zaara decided, words weary. "Pull back and meet us at the Intelligence Headquarters. Let's get our soldiers out of the capital and regroup, and we can go over our options once we're all back at the base."

Kartier's glare hardened. "Pull back?" she echoed. "The Dark Council is sending us a Sith, and you want to pull back because of a few Jedi?"

"Civilians with half-functional blasters drove us back this far," Zaara snapped in return. "What do you think a single Jedi can do once they've been possessed by the Emperor? Besides," she added slowly, forcing herself to calm her tone, "you haven't met Nox. She isn't exactly known for following orders."

Giving no immediate answer, Kartier held Zaara's glare in silence; when she did answer, her voice was quiet. "Fine. You get as many of our people out alive as you can. I'll head further downtown, see if I can get in a better position to monitor the city."

"Sorry, Captain, but—"

Zaara's protest cut off abruptly as Kartier shook her head. "I won't go getting myself killed, Agent. I get it — you've got to keep your people safe. Thing is, my people are all dead, so I'm not leaving."

They shared a quiet look of understanding, and Zaara nodded. "Keep in touch. We can't spare an evacuation if you need pulled out."

Rei, Andronikos, and Vrynn stepped out of the battered shuttle into the Intelligence Headquarters' landing bay and were immediately greeted by a frazzled agent. "Watcher Three, my lord— uh, lords. Minister Beniko is occupied for the moment, but has arranged for you to be filled in to the best of our abilities."

She could already sense Vitiate at the edge of her mind; he wasn't prying, he was simply there, and while it was little more than a nuisance for the time being, his continued presence could prove to be enough of a distraction that Rei could possibly lose her concentration on the mental walls that kept her Force ghosts quiet.

That was not a situation she wanted to be dealing with at the moment.

"Watcher Three, if I cannot meet with Minister Beniko, then I will meet with either the Lord Wrath or Agent Ven — as per the Council's request." Rei began to follow him as he led them through the base, already feeling somewhat unbalanced with all the consciousnesses pressing in on her own mind. She kept pressed close to Andronikos in case she needed to steady herself. "Lana should be aware of the steps the Council wants taken."

"Apologies, Darth Nox, but we're doing the best we can given the circumstances." Watcher Three led them down another hallway to a small elevator, where he keyed in a code and ushered them all inside. "The Minister should be with you shortly, but the Wrath has been overseeing evacuations since she arrived, and Agent Ven is—" He hesitated. "She hasn't checked in since this morning."

Rei frowned. She'd expected — or, perhaps hoped was a better word — that Zaara would be safely tucked away inside the command center, not right in the middle of the chaos. "Is she alive?"

Watcher Three didn't answer right away, but Rei could feel his mood shift suddenly to something just bordering on nervous. "She hasn't checked in," he said simply, "so we can't be certain." As quickly as it had changed a moment before, his mood once again cleared. "As I mentioned, the Lord Wrath has been placed in charge of our evacuation efforts, and has an officer coordinating with her here on the surface. He'll fill you in on the situation and keep you updated until the Minister can meet with you herself."

"It's fine," Rei decided, somewhat begrudgingly. "If Lana has more important things to do, tell her not to worry about me. Besides, I hardly think Marr will fuss about proper procedure, given the circumstances."

"Of course, Darth Nox." The elevator came to a stop, and Watcher Three stepped out, waiting for them all to follow before continuing through the headquarters. He led them into a small conference room, offering a quick farewell and reassurance that Lana would be in touch before he disappeared down the hall. The room was mostly empty, save for a dormant holoterminal and a man in an Imperial uniform.

"Darth Nox." The officer gave a curt bow, then went back to whatever he was busy with on his datapad.

Rei recognized him — at first from holonet gossip articles, but also as the stuffy Imperial who had worked with the Wrath on Belsavis. "Captain Quinn. You'll be updating us on the situation?"

"For now, my lord," he nodded, "until Minister Beniko can address you herself."

"So, update away." Andronikos took a seat at the head of the conference table, propping his feet up.

Quinn shot him a tight-lipped frown, but his words were still clipped and professional as he spoke. "Agent Ven arrived several days ago to investigate the original reports of possession. She and her team are split between the Headquarters and New Adasta, assisting with evacuations. Agent Ven herself is looking into the presence of Jedi in the capital, along with another Intelligence agent, Kovach."

Kovach. The name had come up in the reports Lana had sent; Rei wasn't sure what exactly made him stand out, other than the fact that Lana seemed to trust him. "When did Darth Evris arrive? Marr mentioned he sent for her even before the Council officially intervened."

He nodded. "My lord and I arrived early this morning. She's taken charge of the evacuations."

Andronikos crossed his arms. "You mentioned Jedi."

"Two dozen or so, that we know of," Quinn confirmed. "At least three have been reported dead, one died in questioning a few hours ago, and one other is being held in the capital."

Rei sighed, leaning on the back of Andronikos' seat. She couldn't report in to the Council with so little new information. "If we're questioning Jedi, I'm assuming we have no idea where they're from or who sent them or why?"

"Correct. That's what Agent Ven is currently attempting to discover."

"Well then, I never thought I'd be suggesting this," Rei began, giving another long sigh, "but I think it's time we go find some Jedi to capture."

Kira held up the datapad again, this time showing off a holo of a heavyset man with facial tattoos. "That's her dad. Or, was. Master Neiri refused to give the Council details but he was killed right in front of her. By Imperials."

From where he sat on the couch, Doc let his head roll back and groaned loudly. "Can't wait to have such a ray of sunshine on board."

She rolled her eyes. "I tell you her father was murdered in front of her, and you're just worried she won't be fun enough?" Kira almost considered trying to talk with Cori again, but the togruta was already worried about their upcoming little meet-and-greet with the Emperor, and Kira didn't want to add to her stress.

Sitting back up straight, Doc shrugged. "That was, what, like three years ago?"

An excited beep from T7 cut off Kira's retort — a good thing, most likely, considering the response she'd been preparing — as the astromech announced that they were about to dock at the defense center that orbited Ziost.

Heading up to join Cori in the cockpit, Kira frowned at the sheer number of ships leaving the hangar as their ship approached. It wasn't quite chaotic, but it was far from the typical orderly Imperial spacedock; ships entered and left seemingly undocumented, being filled by the somewhat-organized lines and groups of people waiting at the far edge of the hangar bay.

They landed without issue, slipping in unnoticed between the codes Theron had given them and the not-quite-chaos around them. After sharing a quick glance, Kira followed Cori out of the ship and into the hangar.

She'd worried that it would seem suspicious if a pair of Jedi were walking freely through the defense station; her concerns were unnecessary, evidently. The first thing Kira noticed upon exiting the ship was the noise — voices clamoring and children crying and the occasional uncertain order being called out.

They'd only gone a few steps when Kira was ambushed by a young girl; she was human, with her caramel brown hair pulled into two lopsided pigtails, and couldn't have been more than six or seven years old. "Are you here to take us?" she insisted, hands grasping at Kira's robes.

"I… don't know." Something about the combination of the girl's accent, her weak connection to the Force, and the borderline desperate hope in her hazel eyes was enough to draw instant sympathy from Kira. She knelt down so she was eye-level with the girl, gently tugging her robes from her grasp. "What are you doing up here? Where are your parents?"

The girl blinked. "Dunno." She gave an exaggerated shrug, then explained, "The soldiers told us to come up here, so I did. They were putting us all in shuttles."

Kira gave her a somewhat awkward pat on the head as she stood. "Well, just keep listening to the soldiers for now."

What a weird day it was turning out to be.

Making sure the girl wasn't following, Kira half-jogged to catch up with Cori; the togruta stood in front of a large screen displaying standard evacuation protocol on one side and a partial map of Ziost on the other. "If their only course of action at this point is to cram everyone up here, it must be pretty bad down there."

Cori's lips pressed together into a frown. "We have to find Theron. And Lys — if she's in charge of evacuations planetside, she probably has a pretty good idea what's going on down there."

"Good idea. But first, maybe…" Kira jerked a thumb over her shoulder towards the crowded station. "Some of these people could use medical attention, and that is the single area in which Doc is actually useful. More than useful."

"Let's check in with Lys first," Cori suggested. "He might be needed more urgently somewhere else, and Rusk and Scourge might be able to help somewhere as well."

"Sounds good. And whatever you do — do not let him know I ever admitted he's a good doctor."