A large Sith dreadnaught sat in orbit above Korriban. Darth Sirax gazed out of the window on the bridge. His mind replayed countless memories of his early life. He thought of his parents, a mother who nurtured him; a distant father who was seldom seen. As he lost himself to his memories, he failed to see the imperial agent take an officers stance next to him.
Clearing his throat, the agent made sure not to look his handler in the eyes. "My lord," he turned to look out the window as well "Your forces have fully established themselves on Korriban, however... there were complications."
Sirax turned to look his agent in the eyes, the fiery sith orange danced like a violent star letting off a solar flare. He remained silent and began to lift the agent from the ground, his anger at the interruption being made clear. "What kind of complications?" He hissed into the agent's ear.
The agent's eyes filled with fear as sweat began to run down his brow. No matter what he did, he had no control of his movements. "O-one of the Sith accademies. They refused to surrender to you! We were forced to engage them and many acolytes fell. Our losses were minimal, but the students you'd requested were...sadly lost..."
His anger at it's peak, Sirax slammed the agent to the ground and began to drag him towards a heavy blast door across the room.
"P-please! My lord! Allow me the opportunity to atone!" The agent cried out, trying to claw at the ground, his eyes scanning the bridge crew as he pled for help, pleas that none of them dared answer.
"You will atone with your life." Sirax's rebreather hid the wild smirk on his face as he opened the interior door to the airlock and throwing the agent inside; swiftly sealing the door in the man's face as he desperately tried to scramble for the opening. The bangs on the door and pleas for mercy ceased with the push of a single button, Sirax returned to his place by the window, watching as the corpse of the agent drifted further and further away.
"Commander Falk," Sirax spoke plainly, his anger seemingly satiated. "Ready my shuttle, I will need to assess this situation myself." The ranking officer on the bridge shot up a salute and turned to leave for the hanger.
Nemi sat next to Raia as their ship cruised through hyperspace. "Settling in nicely, love?" Raia asked Nemi as she spun her chair around to face the three other crew members.
Nemi smiled, doing the same. "Quite well. Care to make introductions?" She asked, looking over the Twi'lek, Sith and Bothan; her eyes focusing heavily on the pureblooded Sith.
"Relax, Jedi." The Sith spoke up. "My name is Zahur. I am a Sith exile. Our doctrines may often conflict with one another, but I wish for no quarrel with you; just anyone who gets in our way." He offered Nemi his hand.
"I'm not a Jedi. Not anymore." She met his hand with a firm grip and a shake, the two feeling out each other's force energy.
"Ha! Powerful, this one!" Zahur smirked "We will spar before we reach our destination. I love a good battle." He allowed his grip to loosen and the two pulled their hands back.
"The Twi'lek over there, that's-" Raia was cut off by the Twi'lek "Names Ninro Tinn. Good to have a fellow Twi'lek aboard, 'specially a skilled one if cap'n speaks true of ya."
"Have I ever lied to you?" Raia feigned offense.
"Well, you got me aboard, didn't you?" Tinn quipped sarcastically, smirking as he rolled a credit between his fingers "Pay's good though, so I don't mind."
"Yeah, yeah. That one's coming out of your next cut." Raia quipped back before looking to the Bothan. "Finally, we have Ror Soh'ron. Finest Bothan infiltrator I've ever met and a damn fine shuttle pilot."
"You are too kind, captain. I just earn my keep." Ror nodded his head towards Nemi "A pleasure."
"We've been running this operation for about two months or so. We've also been making loads of credits so I figured I'd buy us a home base in this ship. It's a fully converted freighter, armed to the teeth, well armored and damn quick." Raia spoke with pride "We call her The Fortune. Fitting, given how much we paid for her.
Nemi looked the crew over one more time before they all split off, returning to their regular duties around the ship. Spinning her chair back to look out into the glow of hyperspace, she felt Raia's thumb on the back of her hand.
"You've been tense since we left. Do you want to talk about it?" Raia's usually prideful and cocky tone softening a bit as she locked eyes with her partner.
"It's Zass. I keep thinking back to our last mission. Do you have the time?" Nemi tried to sound strong, but felt her emotions welling in her throat. She'd always heard the pain of losing a student was like no other for a Jedi master, she never believed she'd know it all too well.
Raia nodded silently, letting Nemi continue as she calibrated their hyperspace route...
"Tell me, master. Do you still struggle with the force as we padawans do?" Zass asked his master as he finished rebuilding his saber with the force.
Nemi looked up over their campfire and smiled softly at the boy. "If I'm to be honest, yes. I struggle with the dark side, its temptations. I struggle to maintain balance at all times." She lowered her hood over her head and moved to put the fire out before they used the cover of darkness to infiltrate their target. "I used to ask Master Noss the same questions as a padawan. He always told me I was wise beyond my years to be so mindful of the force; especially so young."
Zass nodded, hiding a proud smile at her subtle compliment. "Master Noss always seems to have a good saying for everything, doesn't he?"
Nemi laughed and started gathering her travel pack. "All the elder Jedi do, it seems. But yes, he does." She smiled thinking back to the man who took her in and raised her as his own.
The Rodian followed his master's lead, gathering his supplies and throwing his bag over his shoulder. "Think we'll find a good fight in there?" He asked, looking down the ridgeline at the lights of the imperial base.
"With any luck and a bit of skill, my dear student, we won't find any fight at all." Nemi responded, securing a cable to a sturdy rock and shooting her student a mock salute; using the force to throw herself clear of the rock wall and down toward the ground below.
Zass ran over, fully assuming he'd find his master in a heap at the bottom of the rock; breathing a sigh of relief as he watched her finish rappelling the cliff face. Securing his own cable, he attempted the same, managing to do so with nearly the same grace and speed as his teacher, save for the landing.
Helping him up, Nemi motioned a finger to her lips, demanding complete silence as they moved through the shadows towards their target. After nearly an hour of avoiding patrols, the pair found themselves an emergency hatch left ajar by a careless guard; slipping inside to begin their search for information on a newly reported Sith lord rising through the Emperor's inner circle.
As the pair explored, they found signs of the base being purged. Documents and holodiscs were clearly destroyed by the boxload, certain expendable personnel were cut down and left where they fell. The guards and interior patrols were few, most already offworld or performing exterior patrols until called to their transports. Before Nemi could investigate anything too closely, she felt it. She felt dread, hatred and anger. The dark side was suddenly very heavy and she knew they weren't alone.
A red lightsaber enveloped the dimly lit room in its crimson glow; it's hilt curved and tipped with the blade of a sith dagger. The rebreather over his mouth obscured the lower half of his face but the orange glow of his eyes made all to clear he was Sith. His pale skin covered in the scars of past battles.
"Zass, to me!" Nemi shouted, pulling her sabers from her hips and taking a defensive stance, followed swiftly by her padawan. As the Sith advanced on them, she took the lead in defending her padawan; an advantage the Sith used to his advantage. Creating just enough of a gap between the pair, he sent a blast of lightning from his fingertips; aimed directly at the young Rodian padawan...
Raia had broken Nemi's concentration by embracing her. "Noss already told me, you don't need to finish the rest..." she whispered softly, holding her lover close to her chest.
"I lost him. I'll have to bear that burden for the rest of my life. Master Noss always said it was a burden he hoped I'd never know." Nemi frowned before meeting Raia's eyes looking down at her.
"I'll not have that in our home, my dear." Raia's usual tough demeanor started to return a bit. "You did all you could, you trained a fine student. He was willing to fight for you; to lay down his life for you." She grabbed Nemi's hand and nearly pulled her towards the door. "Now you need to live. You need to fight and make sure that his sacrifice means we bring down these Imperial bastards." She stopped at the door, planting a kiss on Nemi's cheek and earning a slight smile in return.
"Thanks for the pep talk, 'Master Dax'" Nemi quipped, letting herself enjoy her lover's embrace for a moment longer. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I believe I'll take Zahur up on that sparring session." She felt the anger in her recede as she returned the kiss on Raia's cheek; pulling away to open the bridge door and stepping off towards the cargo hold.
The sands of Korriban whipped harshly as Sirax's shuttle touched down just outside of the academy he was informed of. As he stepped down the ramp, he observed the academy's teacher on his knees; two of his warriors holding their crimson sabers to his neck.
Sirax stepped before the three men and waved the two guards away "I believe I can handle the prisoner myself." He knelt to lock eyes with the teacher, looking him over and getting a feel for his strength in the force. "I sense you have two powerful students that yet live. Summon them before us and you may have your life."
The teacher shuddered at his captor's words but nodded after a moment and looked at two young men. Sirax motioned for the pair to join them, which they promptly did; bowing in respect to the Sith lord. "Will you not join me? This planet is under my control and I am in need of lieutenants for my planned war against the Jedi. No longer will we hide away on Korriban to squabble amongst ourselves." Sirax spoke with passion, the fire in his eyes seeming to dance as he gave his speech.
The two young men both nodded in unison, activating their sabers and swearing allegiance to Darth Sirax; earning an affirming nod from the Sith lord. "Good. Report to my shuttle." He motions to the man on the right. "From here forward, you are to be known as Darth Xann," he motions to the left "and Darth Dour".
Returning their sabers to their belts, the men turn and head for Sirax's shuttle; leaving the Teacher alone with Sirax. "And now, your freedom." He hissed in the old man's ear, switly stabbing the dagger on his hilt into his prisoner's back, savoring the man's panicked gasping for air. "I do not suffer cowards."
The teacher groaned as he felt his life begin to leave him, grasping at the Sith lord's boot and feeling his immense power in the force. "You... Jedi..?"
Darth Sirax, enraged at the man's words, gripped his throat tightly and pulled him up to meet his gaze. A red glow surrounded the dying man as he began to writhe in pain, unable to scream as his breath was stolen by his initial wound. Sirax consumed his force energy and left the shell of a man to the elements; walking towards his field commander. "Execute the prisoners, I have what I need here."
The commander looked stunned for a moment before gulping and nodding, saluting his lord and rushing to see the orders carried out. As Sirax walked towards his shuttle, the sounds of the massacre behind him broke even the roaring winds of the dust storm, earning a pleased smile from the Sith.
Nemi came through the doorway to the cargo hold, finding Zahur practicing his lightsaber technique. Without announcing herself, she allowed her cloak to fall from her shoulders and activated her sabers. "I believe you wanted a duel?" She spoke with confidence, already in an offensive stance.
The Sith pureblood looked down at the young woman in front of him and nodded, taking his own defensive stance and allowing her the first move.
In a flash, she'd leapt towards Zahur, sending a flurry of precise strikes from both sides to keep her opponent off balance. To her surprise though, he matched her block for block, using her momentum against her and catching her leg with his own as she blocked one of his return strikes.
She rolled to avoid the downward strike before jumping to her feet and calling her sabers back to her hands. "So, just sparring, eh?"
"All I'll say is don't leave a fatal opening." Zahur smirked, switching to a more aggressive stance and attempting to overawe Nemi with powerful strikes towards her torso. Sensing the strikes, she slid between his legs, landing a dirty hit of her own on the way by punching up as she did and using the opportunity to rest her saber just next to Zahur's neck.
"Now...that's not fair." He growled through gritted teeth, deactivating his saber in submission.
"And your leg kick was?" Nemi laughed, returning her sabers to their place on her belt and extending her hand to Zahur; a gesture he returned in kind. "Next time we don't hold back. All force powers are on the table."
The Twi'lek smiled "That sounds like a deal to-"
"All hands to the bridge, we'll be taking a shuttle planetside shortly!" Raia's voice cut through the ship's intercom. Zahur stepped towards the bridge, motioning for Nemi to follow.
The shuttle whizzed through the traffic of Coruscant, quickly diving towards the lower levels and finding a landing pad.
"So, you still haven't told me specifics about the job. Anything I need to know?" Nemi asked, watching as Raia readied her blasters and straightened her duster.
"Nothing to tell, some lowlife smugglers like myself have information about a certain base I'd like to hit. I know it exists, I know the haul will be profitable. I don't have the exact location. This'll be an easy shakedown. I just need you to look pretty and intimidating, my love." Raia looked over to Ror "Keep the engines running, this won't take long."
Nemi followed as Raia stepped down the ramp, taking up her right flank as they approached a seemingly abandoned warehouse. "Go around the back, slip in undetected," she whispered "When I signal, activate your sabers. I don't think they'll have the balls to mess with you." Nemi nodded, throwing her hood over her head and splitting off to find another entrance.
Raia threw the door to the warehouse open, letting the light illuminate her and a group of five men, clearly surprised to find their meeting interrupted. "The hell you want 'Pirate Queen? We've got no business with you!" One of the men called out.
"Pirate Whore is more like it! What say ya love? Wanna go?" Another joined in.
"Come now boys, we can all be friendly here. I just need a little information about an imperial base." Raia spoke coyly, hiding the rage at their insolence well while reaching for her blasters.
"Or, we could kill you and claim your-" The closest man started to speak before a blaster bolt put a hole through his neck, causing him to choke and writhe on the ground. The other four men immediately drew their own weapons. "Now!" Raia shouted, earning a confused look from the four men,
"Back here, gentlemen." Nemi spoke in an alluring tone as she stepped away from the shadows behind the standoff, the hum of her sabers now filling the room. "I suggest you do what my partner here suggests. I'd hate to have to waste energy killing the lot of you."
The four surviving men froze in fear, one of them shaking as a puddle formed at his feet. "It's on Balmorra! The base you want is on Balmorra! Look in the Sundari flatlands!" The soiled man cried out, only to have his weeping cut off by Raia shooting him in the head. The three surviving men stood in complete shock, unable to move as Nemi used the force to hold them in place. They were forced to watch as the Pirate Queen went down the line, executing them one by one.
Returning her blasters to their holsters, Raia failed to see a sixth man coming from behind her with a vibrosword. With a roar the man moved to bring the blade down on her head before suddenly dropping the weapon and clawing at his throat. His eyes bulged as he felt his throat constrict tighter and tighter. Across from the two of them, Nemi stood with her arm raised, pulling the man to her in an instant before cutting him down.
"Nemi, he would've...you just..." Raia stood with a look of shock on her face, realizing what her partner had just done. She crossed the distance between them and planted a quick kiss on her lips "I guess I owe you one, thank you." Nemi only nodded, still in surprise that she was able to do what she'd done.
"C'mon, we have what we came here for. Let's get back to the ship." Raia stated, planting several explosives around the supports of the warehouse and arming their timers. "So many explosives, so little time..."
The pair made a swift exit and ran back to the shuttle, watching the warehouse explode behind them. "We make a great team, just y'know, warn me if you're gonna try that trick you used on the poor bastard back there on me?" Raia teased, resting her head against Nemi's hood.
"Hm," Nemi looked down at her hand for a moment as a smirk crossed her face "I'll think about it, darling."
