Chapter 3: Demons

"We're coming up on the Zakuul system now."

Satele Shan sits at the controls of the shuttle he stole to flee from the very same outpost they're about to infiltrate. He's come full circle now that the long journey back from Coruscant is complete. With his new Jedi Master sidekick doing the piloting, the stolen craft prepares to exit lightspeed.

"Full shields up. Reversion in thirty seconds and counting . . . Now, twenty . . . "

Gaius swallows hard and orders, "Cloak your Force."

"Roger that." Satele concentrates a moment and suppresses her imprint just like he taught her. Now, she too is a blank in the Force. It will enable them to arrive undetected by those who matter. Not that the element of surprise will be of much help, however.

"Ten seconds . . . Three, two, one, and regular space . . ."

With a lurch, the stolen enemy shuttle reverts to its sublight engines, dropping them out of hyperspace immediately outside the orbit of the third planet of the Zakuul system. They have arrived at the capital world of the Eternal Empire, home to the mysterious aggressive invaders who have made war against both the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. They are led by the man Gaius has sworn to defeat, the villain who is the scourge of the galaxy, his own father, the current Eternal Emperor Valkorian, and the abdicated Sith Dark Lord, Darth Vitiate.

This time, Gaius vows silently, he will take him down or die trying.

"Go slow. Take us in nice and easy," Gaius instructs. Each passing second brings him closer to the confrontation he both craves and dreads. Already, his adrenaline is surging in anticipation.

He points to a snarl of space traffic in middle orbit. "Join that line of military transports going down to the surface. We'll peel off and head for the Palace once we're past the shield."

"Got it," Satele nods. She transmits to the local flagship the security code clearance Prince Arcann provided. It is accepted immediately, and their transport joins the slow-moving convoy heading towards the shieldgate that is the only way on and off the planet.

All is going according to plan, but Gaius still does not have a good feeling. The plodding pace of their progress makes him antsy. It prompts him to mutter aloud his misgivings. "I hope this works." They won't get a second chance.

"That's my line," Satele laughs off the point. She glances back over her shoulder and informs him,

"Hope is a Jedi thing."

He disagrees. "Hope is for everyone."

"I suppose," Satele considers, adding wryly, "You Dark sinners might need hope most of all."

The needling comment is very her. His conspirator has a snarky edge that matches his own bitterness. Not for the first time, Gaius wonders if he and the Jedi Master are counterparts in more ways than he originally imagined. For at times, Satele Shan is scarily like himself. Sarcastic, a little downtrodden, but determined nonetheless. While she bristles and pokes at him, she's firmly committed to his mission and that's all that matters.

Satele must sense that he needs a last-minute pep talk. "We've got this," she tells him. "Relax." But Gaius notices that her hands piloting the ship's controls are trembling. Satele is no more confident of success than he is.

Seeing her visible fear gets him speaking aloud more inner thoughts. "Until I face him . . . until I am free of him . . . there is no hope for me to make a new life. I want to move on, and I want the Sith and the galaxy to move on as well . . . " Someday, historians will demarcate an entire era by Vitiate's reign. But hopefully, it ends today.

Satele nods along and chirps, "That's the plan." But then she asks, "Have you never been tempted to join him? I mean, that might be the easy route . . ."

"No." Did he say that fast enough? It's more than the desire to reject the man who rejected him. Gaius repudiates the paranoid Sith Emperor's toxic narcissism. Darth Vitiate is a man with no ideals and no values save himself. It makes him a terrible leader.

Satele is looking to him for an explanation. Is she worried he will renege on their plan? Gaius reassures her of his commitment. But he's honest about it. "Once, all I wanted was to gain his notice. But now, I know better. He ruins things . . . even for himself . . ."

On his deathbed, ancient Darth Azamin had confided that his longtime best friend Vitiate—whom he called Carl—was the most unhappy, most insecure, and most lonely man he had ever met. Our Emperor has everything, feeble Azamin wheezed out, and yet he has nothing. When he finally realizes that, he will be especially dangerous, insider Azamin had warned ominously.

But enough of that bitter reverie. Gaius reminds Satele now of who they will be dealing with. "He values power above all else. There's nothing he won't do for power and no one he won't betray for it. If you threaten his power—if he even thinks you might threaten his power—he will destroy you."

"Like your mother . . . "

"Yes." He told his Jedi conspirator his ugly personal backstory. Maybe he shouldn't have done that, but it seemed appropriate given who they are facing and all that Satele is risking. This fight is as personal as it is political, and she deserved to know the whole context. "If I were to join him, I would end up like my mother eventually." Gaius is sure of it.

Darth Azamin had been adamant that Vitiate truly loved his mother. The longtime Sith statesman had insisted that Vitiate grieved her for many years, falling into a deep despair over her loss. And maybe that's true, but her death was still Vitiate's fault. "When the time came to choose between love and power, Vitiate chose power. He chose himself." That he suffered for the decision is of little consolation to orphaned and abandoned Gaius who bore the consequences.

He shakes his head and sighs out the truth. "I doubt he will ask me to join him again. He has nothing to offer me at this point." Looking to Satele, Gaius warns, "You are the one he might make an offer to."

"Me?"

"Yes. Turn him down, no matter what false promise he gives you. Do not be tempted."

"What could he possibly promise me?" Satele looks slightly amused at the prospect.

"Peace."

"Peace?" she echoes, as if perhaps she has misheard. She squints at him and repeats, "Peace!?"

"Yes, peace."

"Oh."

"It will be a lie." Gaius is certain. "Peace is a lie, especially coming from him."

Satele nods. She gets it. "No worries, Sith, I'm not about to strike up a bargain."

"Good. And I'm never going to join him."

"Good."

That exchange seems to clear the air. Satele Shan likes him, and Gaius knows she wants to trust him. But she's not quite there yet. She joined him for the chance to strike a blow against two enemies—the Sith Emperor and the Eternal Empire—not because she wanted to be his friend and ally.

The convoy they have joined has begun snaking through the shieldgate. The plodding train of transports advances ship by ship. Finally, it's their turn. The ship slips through undetected at the rear. They're in.

"Stick with the group for now. Follow it down."

"Roger that."

"There's only the one urban center to the northwest. That's where this convoy will be heading. It's where the palace is as well."

"Alright."

"We're five minutes out. Ten at most."

"Got it."

Satele keeps playing it cool with a cheerful bravado that nervous Gaius appreciates. She knows as well as he does that this is either a slam dunk or a suicide mission. There are no other outcomes.

And now, Gaius can't stop himself from fretting out loud again. "This had better work . . ." During a lifetime at war, he's been on many missions. Some were easy, some were hard, and a few were truly daunting. But none of them feel as frightening as this one. This is easily the most daring stunt he's ever attempted.

He's mulling over that thought when Satele asks a question. "Why do you suppose he let you live? Why not kill you as a baby?"

It's a very good question that Gaius once put to Darth Azamin. "I was told that he was afraid to kill me. He worried that I was sent by the Force to usurp him—that I was the Sith'ari—and that to kill me would anger the Force and cause it to strike back at him. Apparently," Gaius sighs, "he viewed me as a test."

"Do you think that's true?" Satele clearly doesn't.

He shrugs glumly. "I think he planned to use me like Arcann and Thexan." Flushing a little under Satele's silent appraisal, he mutters, "I'm not the Sith'ari . . ." Although he's flattered by the thought. His people need a great leader now more than ever. Too bad it won't be him.

He's getting intense again. Satele attempts to lighten the mood. "Is now a good time to confess that I'm not the Jedi Chosen One either?" she jokes.

Gaius grunts. "Those are fairytales. There are no messiahs of the Force. Destiny doesn't work like that."

His Jedi sidekick disagrees. Softly, she murmurs, "I hope there is a Chosen One. I want someone to come sort things out. Someone young, brave, pure, and certain. A noble Jedi who does not doubt and makes no mistakes."

Gaius shares her wistfulness. "The Sith'ari is supposed to be like that. He is a man on a mission who no one can stop. He cannot be defeated, and he will not fail. And since I got beat by you and a long list of others, I'm out of the running for the Sith'ari title . . ."

"Yeah, we're both disqualified from messiah status," she laughs. "I'm fine with that."

"Me too." Someone else will need to save the Sith. It won't be him.

Today he plans to prove that he is not his father's son. He will choose love over power. It won't be romantic love. He had his chance for that, and he blew it. But he can still do something meaningful for his people and for the galaxy if he can defeat Vitiate. And that altruism is a kind of selfless love, right? It's what the Jedi claim to do and, while he's no Jedi, he can see the wisdom of their ways in this instance.

"Head west once we descend to a thousand meters. The palace is due west. You can't miss it. It's huge."

"Will do."

The seconds keep ticking by and Satele's ironic, self-effacing mood suddenly turns confessional. "I chose power over love once," she reveals bleakly as she stares out of the cockpit.

"Really?" Gaius' head whips around. Now she tells him this?

"I fell in love, broke my vows, and ended up pregnant. How's that for being a bad Jedi?"

Is he supposed to answer that question? Gaius says nothing as he wonders where this is heading.

"It was during the war. Ultimately, I surrendered the child to the Order. I chose to recommit to the Jedi Code, and that meant giving up my love and my son." Satele speaks of this decision with a degree of emotional detachment that indicates just how painful it is still. "So you could say," she posits quietly, "that I sacrificed love for my ambitions. And now, I'm the Grandmaster because of it."

Gaius searches for something neutral to say about that situation. He settles on, "The Jedi Order must be very forgiving."

"Not really. They just hate scandal. My past is a closely kept secret. The Council knows and now you know as well."

Okay . . . Why is she telling him this? And why right now?

"I understand what it's like to have a secret son who you watch from afar . . ."

"Your boy is Jedi?"

"Yes. He's grown now."

"Does he know?"

"No."

"So—"

"So, I'm the Vitiate in the Jedi version of your story."

"Oh." Oh.

Satele must see the consternation in his face because she preempts him. "Don't worry. I learned my lesson. I'll never choose power over love ever again." Gaius can hear the regret in her voice. She looks down. "It was a bad decision for all involved. Ultimately, we were all worse off."

Satele keeps talking. It's far more personal sharing than she has done in the entire month they have spent together. Up until now, the Jedi has been scrupulously private, verging on aloof. But something about the desperation of their impending mission has her confiding her secrets before it's too late.

"I really don't deserve to be Grandmaster and I haven't been very good at it. If I die today, the Order might be better for it." Satele smiles wanly across at him as she forces out a wry laugh. "Sith," she always calls him 'Sith' not Malgus, "you're not the only one who's failed. I am a spectacular failure."

"Thank you for doing this," Gaius suddenly blurts out. "Whatever happens—"

"It's been an honor to know you and to learn from you," she finishes for him.

"Likewise," he nods. He means it.

"If this good deed for the entire galaxy erases a few sins of my past, that would be good . . ." Satele mutters, looking shamefaced.

"For me as well," he affirms. Not that he's looking for forgiveness. Forgiveness—redemption—whatever you call it—is not part of his lexicon.

"Great. Well . . ."

"Let's do this."

"Right."

The time for awkward sharing and eleventh-hour reflection is done. Valkorian's gaudy palace is fast approaching. And in it, lurks the ultimate foe.

"There's a small landing pad directly off the back," Gaius recalls. "Set down there. Skip the big parking lot."

"Easy in, easy out?"

"Let's hope."

"Do you remember many guards?"

"None of them had the Force."

No sooner has Gaius uttered these words than they receive a demand for a security clearance for permission to enter the Palace's restricted airspace. The smuggled codes work yet again. His half-brother Prince Arcann has been true to his word, like Gaius knew he would be. The Crown Prince of the Eternal Empire has much to gain if his father is deposed.

Gaius now stands and checks his weapons. He won't need them for Vitiate, but he will need them for his gatekeepers.

Satele activates the landing cycle. As the ship settles down, she too stands and pats her lightsaber and blaster. Like him, she pulls the hood of her cloak low. "Ready?"

"Ready. Try not to kill anyone if you don't have to. He will sense the death in the Force. It will alert him to our presence."

"Set to stun? Is that what you're telling me?"

"Just don't kill needlessly."

Satele shoots him an affronted look. "I'm a Jedi."

"True," Gaius smirks, "but you're the most fierce Jedi I know."

She takes that as a compliment. Glancing over at the respirator built into his armor, she ventures, "Is it too late to say I'm sorry about Alderaan?"

"Yes, but I appreciate the thought. The ramp's down. Let's go."

"Know where we're heading?"

"No. But if the Force is with us, we'll find him fast," Gaius predicts. And please, Force, be with him on this last, most important mission of all.

He and Satele breeze into the Palace side by side. Along the way, Gaius waves a hand at each guard and staff member they encounter to blind them to their presence. It's an old Force trick he's used countless times before to sneak into all sorts of places with minimal disruption. Luckily, they don't encounter any Force users who can resist them. It means they slip through the Palace corridors undetected.

After much lurking about, they surprise Vitiate eating lunch on the back terrace of his fancy home. He and Satele burst in and immediately Force-freeze the attending guards before they can react. They catch their foe unaware, and that is hugely gratifying.

The moment has come. The long awaited, much aggrieved confrontation is set to begin.

Their prey slowly puts down his fork.

He smiles.

Fuck! Gaius really hates that smile. It momentarily unnerves him.

"Well, well, well, look who it is!" Casting down his napkin and throwing up his hands as if in thanksgiving, Darth Vitiate booms to the heavens, "Force be praised, for the prodigal son returns! Rejoice and be glad!"

Is he actually happy? He might be. The man's sarcasm tends to be inscrutable. In this and so many other instances, cagey Emperor Vitiate confuses him.

"Don't just stand there—come in, come in," their surprised host commands like this is a social occasion and they are all friends. Vitiate stands to his feet and waves a hand to casually release the firm Force-freeze that he and Satele jointly have on his guards. It's a not-so-subtle reminder that even together he and his sidekick Jedi are far outclassed by the power of Darth Vitiate. But the former Dark Lord doesn't make an issue of it. Instead, he beckons them forward, demanding, "Who let you in?" in a lighthearted manner.

"We let ourselves in." Satele Shan lies surprisingly smoothly for a Jedi.

"Ah, why do I even bother asking?" Vitiate shakes his head and sighs. "Where is Arcann? Bring me Arcann!" he barks to his guards.

The ranking sentry speaks up. "He's leaving, Excellency. That's his ship right there." The guard points to a heavily fortified shuttle that has launched from the Palace landing pad and is climbing fast into Zakuul's atmosphere.

"Ah, so he is."

Vitiate frowns, pouts his lips, and raises his right hand toward the sky. Without even a hint of concentration on his face, he freezes the fast-ascending ship with the Force. For a long moment, the craft lingers in the air straining against the awesome, unseen power that thwarts it. Then, Darth Vitiate closes his outstretch hand into a fist.

The fleeing shuttle instantly combusts into a fireball. Debris explodes in all directions to rain down on the ground below.

Watching Gaius gulps as the unmistakable sensation of death ripples through the Force. He mutters a Kittat prayer. "Reqiuem in virem, frater." Rest in peace, to his half-brother Arcann, who Gaius barely knew and didn't exactly like. Still, he can't help feeling sorry for the guy as a fellow manipulated whipping boy son of Darth Vitiate.

Their mutual tormentor father grunts his satisfaction. "That was convenient."

The unmasked guards all strive mightily to hide their cringing, Gaius notices. It's clear that Arcann was the far more popular member of the family than Vitiate. But the guards are in no position to call out their Emperor for his murder.

In typical Jedi fashion, Satele Shan, however, refuses to hold her tongue. "You just killed Prince Arcann. Your own son!"

She's shocked. She shouldn't be. But she is.

Unrepentant Vitiate affirms, "Yes. I killed him not for his betrayal but for his cowardice. No doubt, he was running away to avoid having to pick a side in our fight until a winner emerges. He brings you here to kill me so he can steal my empire. But Arcann knows that's unlikely, so he makes himself scarce so he can grovel to me once you lose. That fool boy was hedging his bets. It was an ill-advised move. He knows better than to bet against me."

Gaius feels compelled to explain. "I think he thought he would win either way. I win, and he gets your empire. You win, and he has eradicated a rival. There was one brother down already, and one half-brother left to go . . ." It's a strategic play that a Sith such as himself can respect.

Vitiate scoffs. "You were never a rival . . . unless," yellow eyes slant his way hopefully, "you have reconsidered my offer? Is that why you're here? Is this a happy occasion?"

Hell, no. "I don't want your offer."

"What do you want?"

"A reckoning."

"Good. Let's fight. But first, where is Lady Senya? Bring me Lady Senya," he orders to his guards. "No doubt she was in on this plot as well."

"Your Excellency, I believe she was onboard the ship with the Prince," the lead guard mutters unhappily. "She was packed and ready to depart this morning . . ."

"Was she now?" Vitiate muses over the accidental fate of his latest lady friend. "Well, that neatly solves a problem. Two birds with one stone, eh?" Vitiate turns to back him. "Malgus, it seems I have cleaned house of disappointing relatives today. It's just you and I left. What do you say—shall we rule the galaxy together?"

That's a serious question.

Gaius gives it a serious answer in slow, deliberate tones. "I am here for a reckoning."

He means that statement in every sense of the word. He and Satele are here for some Dark revenge and some Light justice. Today, at long last, Vitiate will reap what he has sown after over a millennium of bloodshed and betrayal.

But the accused is undeterred and unafraid. The erstwhile Dark Lord now observes, "You brought a new girl with you. Most times I see you, you're with a woman. Throw back that hood. Let me see you," he barks at Satele.

To Gaius' surprise, she fulfills the command. Then, she shrugs out of her concealing brown cloak. It's the move every Jedi makes before they fight. And when Satele does it, she simultaneously dispenses with cloaking her Force. She stands before their foe completely exposed for who she is. And damn, if the gesture isn't as cheekily badass as the woman herself.

Vitiate takes a good look. "I see your taste has changed. This little one doesn't seem at all like your type. She's far too skinny and short," he judges. "She's old, too," he sniffs with a hater's glee. "Really, son, could you not do better? Powerful men get the hot, young nubile girls, not the dried-up scolding crones . . ."

Offended on multiple levels, Gaius growls back. "She's not my girl."

"She's Light." Vitiate's yellow eyes widen appreciably as he digests this revelation. "Oh, now I get it." He leers at Gaius with man-to-man knowing glee. "So you have discovered the pleasures of a lady of the Light . . . What a chip off the old block you are," he chortles.

Gaius isn't following. He looks to Satele questioningly, but she's as clueless as he is.

Vitiate decides to enlighten them. "Malgus, your mother was so Light that when she walked in my throne room she was beacon to my old Dark soul. I lasted two weeks? Well, maybe it was more like ten days. I played hard to get, but she seduced me soon enough with all her goodness. After that, I was in bed with her every chance I got. Communing with all that luscious forbidden power . . . Damn, your mother was an amazing woman. Her body was perfect, but her power was even better."

What the Hell? That's way too much information Gaius does not want to know.

Satele saves him from more uncomfortable knowledge about his parents' sex life. She glowers and announces with chilling dignity, "I'm not his girlfriend. I am Jedi Grandmaster Satele Shan of Temple Coruscant."

"Ooooh! This one's a bona fide Jedi, eh?" Vitiate is indeed impressed, but for all the wrong reasons. "You know, I've never slept with a Jedi. I tried to seduce one once, but she turned me down. It was a pity because she was utterly beguiling. Powerful too. We would have been great together."

Gaius doesn't care, but Satele apparently does. She cocks an eyebrow. "Is that so? Was it anyone I know?"

"Probably not. It was centuries ago after the Mandolorian War. What was her name? I forget. She was young and blonde and adorably lost . . . Mina? No, Meetra!" Vitiate finally remembers. "General Meetra Surik. That was her name."

Satele gasps. "The Exile? You tried to seduce the Jedi Exile?"

"Ummm, yes. Pity that didn't work out." Vitiate now turns his attention back to him. Grinning, he laughs. "Malgus, you randy rascal, what are you going to do with so many women? Don't you still have a wife back home?"

Maybe. He's not sure. He parted ways with Lady Cassis not six months after their arranged marriage of convenience and that was over a decade ago. Since he only recently woke up from carbon freezing, he hasn't made it a priority to look in on his estranged second wife.

"Well, I suppose this might be a little awkward," sly Vitiate continues. He looks devilish as he makes mischief. "Let's make this interesting." He turns again to the captain of his guards and orders, "Fetch my new slave," with maximum relish. "At once!"

Slave . . . His new slave. Gaius doesn't like the sound of that. What poor hostage is going to need to die when he rejects Vitiate's latest offer to join him? Hopefully, his Jedi sidekick doesn't have a tender conscience. Because this mission is too important for any single person's life to hold it up.

For her part, Satele is feeling rightfully dissed. "I'm not his girlfriend," she fumes.

Vitiate chuckles and winks at her. "Give it time, my dear, and you will be. Malgus likes women. And pets. He's always collecting strays to take care of. It's his mother's influence showing. He's got a fair amount of Light in him—do you see it? Few see it, but I do. I used to worry my boy might flip Jedi if I didn't give him enough to do in my Empire. But I then I realized that he liked girls too much to ever sign up to be celibate. To be sure though, I sent him to attack your main temple. After that slaughter, no one would welcome him into the Jedi Order."

"You underestimate me," Gaius bristles.

His father shrugs. "I hope so."

"Is he always like this?" Satele complains.

Gaius sighs. "Yes."

Vitiate has the gall to laugh at that exchange. "Never fear, Grandmaster Jedi, I've been told that I grow on people. So, what do you say? How about you dump grumpy Malgus here and trade up to an Emperor? It seems I have need of a new companion. And as a Jedi," Vitiate's yellow eyes twinkle at Satele, "I know you bring special charms all your own."

Is he seriously making a pass at the woman who has come to fight him? He is. Gaius wrinkles his face in distaste.

Satele recoils. "I'm not here to fuck you, I'm here to fight you." It's rejection at its most cold.

But if anything, Vitiate looks even more intrigued by the notion. He simply laughs like Satele is flirting and he loves it.

And now, the lead guard returns out of breath with the summoned slave. "Excellency, here is the person you requested."

Gaius looks, does a double take, and then gasps. "N-No . . ."

It can't be? Can it?

Oh Force, it is . . .

By all that is holy on the Dark Side, it is . . .

Gaius feels his insides flip and his heart sinks.

Darth Vitiate's lined, bearded face is the picture of smugness. "Ah, yes, allow me to make the introductions. Malgus, you remember—"

"Leena."

He groans the name that is forever imprinted on his soul as surely as their marriage scar is still imprinted on his left palm. This is his one true love. The woman who risked everything to be with him, and ultimately paid a heavy price for it.

With a smarmy show of magnanimity, Darth Vitiate now exhorts, "Join me in welcoming back Eleena Daru, runaway Republic slave, unofficial Sith Army commando, and the unauthorized, very illegal first Lady Malgus. She is my present to you to cement our alliance."

Gaius gapes. He doesn't know how to react. On his death bed, ancient Darth Azamin had confessed the sordid tragedy that was his parents' love affair, complete with the news that irate Darth Vitiate murdered his ladylove for secretly bearing him a rival son and attempting to pass it off as her husband's child. But the Emperor immediately regretted the act. Vitiate set about trying to resurrect dead Lady Struct with the Force. He succeeded, but there was no happy ending. Never seek to raise the dead, old Azamin had counseled. Someday, you too will be capable of that sort of power. But just because you can, doesn't mean you should . . .

That sage advice from Darth Vitiate's longtime crony resurfaces in Gaius' mind now. He regards the living memory from his past with utter dismay. He feels blindsided. Maybe this ought to feel like a joyful surprise, but in truth it feels like a nightmare.

"I lost my own love. I know how awful that feels," Vitiate purrs as he smoothly ignores the fact that he himself is the reason for his own loss. "So, I thought to myself—what better way to begin anew as a family than to welcome back one of our own? Now, say thank you like a good son." Triumphant Vitiate looks to Gaius expectantly with eyebrows raised.

This is masterful manipulation—expert level temptation—and wily Darth Vitiate knows it. So, when Gaius turned down his prior offer to resurrect Leena, Vitiate went ahead and did it anyway. He knew that this plot twist would be a game changer, for Eleena Daru is no ordinary hostage. The pain of losing her the first time was nearly unbearable. Gaius doesn't think he can go through it a second time.

He can't stop looking at her. He is a man transfixed. Leena looks the very same as Gaius remembers from before her untimely, unnecessary death at the Battle of Coruscant. Her blue skin is silky smooth, her eyes are shiny bright, and there are purple roses flushing her cheeks. She is the picture of youth and beauty, and it is completely unnerving since she's a dead woman.

Handcuffed Lena is barefoot and dressed in some drab prisoner uniform that is simultaneously too big and too small. The garment pulls at her full breasts, hips, and thighs, even as it sags excessively about her small waist and sloped shoulders. Her head tails stream down her back. They're trembling, Gaius notices. It's a clear sign that she is frightened. Leena's lekku always betrayed her emotions, he remembers.

"G-Gaius?" she whispers. She's as shocked to see him as he is to see her. But after that brief, genuine reaction, Leena ducks her chin and grovels like she always did in public. Correcting herself, she assumes the manner of the diffident servant she only pretended to be before others. "I mean, my Lord Malgus . . ." she murmurs, lowering her eyes demurely to the floor. "Master."

"Oooh, I like that," Vitiate approves of this show of deference. "Finally," he shoots a pointed look over at Satele Shan, "a woman who know how to act around a man. I like a Lady who knows her place."

The Jedi Grandmaster glares back.

Gaius ignores their bickering. He's too consumed by Leena standing there pensive in handcuffs. She's totally confused as she peeps curiously at yellow eyed Vitiate, who's clearly a Sith Lord despite his tacky Valkorian getup.

"Where am I? What's going on? They said I was a prisoner of war . . ."

Gaius doesn't answer her. Instead, he whirls on Vitiate to thunder, "HOW DARE YOU?"

His Leena was a pawn and a victim long before she came into his life. Gaius only wanted to help her—to empower her—but, in the end, he inadvertently got her killed. That his beloved Leena—his precious, doomed Leena—is yet again a pawn in the schemes of his enemies has Gaius incensed.

"HOW DARE YOU!" he roars again with intensity so strong that his words resonate in the Force.

"Oh, I dare. I dare anything!" Vitiate cackles. "Look at her—is she not remarkable? She is my greatest achievement in the Force yet! I conjured her without even a body to work with. There's not a scratch on her, too. You drove a lightsaber through her sweet, trusting heart and murdered her, and yet here she is—good as new! Jedi, take note—" Vitiate slants an insinuating smirk at Satele Shan, "Malgus here is a real ladykiller."

Leena's ears perk up at the namecheck of her enemy. Her eyes find Satele Shan and narrow. "Jedi . . ." She pronounces it like a slur like a Sith should, using the Old Sith Kittat word 'Jeddai.'

"I don't believe it." Astounded Gaius keeps blinking as the blood pounds in his ears. He's wary of a trick. Could this Leena be some kind of Force projection? He's been fooled by Darth Vitiate's wizardry before.

"Oh, it's her. She's real. Touch her and see," Darth Vitiate assures him. He's enjoying this moment immensely. The Force triumph of the resurrection, the gut-twisting Dark temptation . . . his chest is puffed out and he's grinning from ear to ear. "The big question is which will you choose—the Jedi or the slave girl? And wait, what about that second wife somewhere back in the Sith Empire? My boy, you have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to women. I'll tell you what I'd do in your position," Vitiate confides in a stage whisper, "I'd keep them all. Allllll," he trills.

Gaius is still gulping down air as he strives mightily to suppress the wave of strong emotions that are surfacing now. Staring dumbfounded at Leena, he marvels, "I don't believe it . . . "

"Your slave whore was my practice. I'm going to resurrect your mother next. She won't like it, so I'm going to have to wipe her memory some. I should have done that the first time, but I was so amazed at what I had done that I didn't think of it. And well, I never treated your mother like that. She would have hated it . . . "

"He raises the dead? You didn't tell me that." It's the dry Republic accented drawl of Satele Shan. She is equal parts impressed and appalled, like Gaius is. "How is this possible? It's . . . it's unnatural," she disapproves. And normally, Gaius judges the Jedi to be too primly limiting about the Force. But not in this instance.

"Force resurrection is my best kept secret. Next to Malgus here, that is." Vitiate now turns to him to propose the corrupt bargain Gaius knows is coming. "So, I ask you again, will you join me? We can be a family. You, me, your mother, and your harem of lady friends, including this curvy blue one here. You lucky dog, Malgus, you'll get the girls and the galaxy! What more can a man want? You needn't choose between love and power, because I can give you both."

Vitiate lets that offer sink in a long moment before he sums things up: "Join me and you can have it all."