Chapter 15: Darkness in the Desert Part 1
As his rather unremarkable freighter flew through hyperspace, Darth Rhal found himself in the ship's cargo hold surrounded by four individuals, all of whom had their weapons pointed at him.
Directly in front of him holding a red lightsaber that was aimed at his chest was Ralesk. The little Sith had a smirk on his face and a look in his eyes that Rhal recognized, having seen the exact same hungry look in some of the acolytes and beasts he'd fought on Dromund Kaas and Korriban. The lightsaber was close enough to his chest that if Rhal leaned forward even the slightest bit it would impale him.
To his right stood Commander Jakker with an electrostaff humming with energy in his hands. The staff's deadly electricity was active on both ends and Rhal was fully aware that the staff's settings were set high enough to kill.
To his left and behind him were Jakker's two men, each holding active electrostaffs of their own with the same settings as their Commander's weapon. Considering that he had a lightsaber and three electrostaffs pointed at him and that they were all wielded by individuals who were all skilled fighters, most would have been surprised by the almost bored look on the young Dark Council member's face.
Without warning, Ralesk attacked by attempting to thrust his lightsaber through Rhal's chest. Rhal responded by jumping over the Sith Assassin and landing behind him. He back kicked Ralesk before he could turn around and the darksider nearly collided with the guard that had been standing behind Rhal barely a moment ago.
However, Rhal didn't notice as his attention had shifted to Jakker and his other guard, both of whom were now attacking him with their electrostaffs. Of the two, Jakker was clearly the better fighter but the guard was no slouch either and both were fighting well together. When one went high, the other went low. If one was in danger, the other would press his attack to give the other some breathing room and so on.
Despite their assault, they were still unable to land a blow to the young Sith who ducked, jumped, and did everything he could to avoid their attacks while searching for a flaw or weakness in their assault. One was presented when the guard accidentally overextended and left himself open.
Moving quickly, Rhal dodged the electrostaff and moved past him so the guard was now between him and Jakker. The guard tried to turn and swung the staff to try and hit him, but Rhal was too close for the end of the electrostaff to make contact and the swing only made it easier for Rhal to reach out and grab a part of the staff that wasn't electrified and then kick the guard away from him and into the unprepared Commander, causing both to collapse to the floor.
Rhal, now armed with the guard's electrostaff, put his new weapon to use immediately and deflected an incoming strike from Ralesk's lightsaber and, a moment later, blocked a strike from the second guard who retreated quickly after his attack failed to avoid getting in the way of Ralesk and his lightsaber.
Unlike the previous pair, Ralesk and the other guard didn't fight well together at all. Ralesk was used to fighting alone and it showed with how many times he nearly wounded his own ally with his strikes and the guard only attempted to strike when he was certain it was safe to do so. As a result, Rhal was able to almost completely ignore the guard and just focus on Ralesk and his strikes.
While it was hardly his weapon of choice, using an electrostaff wasn't something Rhal was entirely unfamiliar with. It was very similar to using a double-bladed lightsaber which Rhal had trained with before. He didn't like it as much as a single-bladed lightsaber since the more defensive fighting style of the double-blade didn't feel as natural for him. Still, he knew the style and had trained in it many times before and it worked just as well with an electrostaff.
As Ralesk and the guard kept trying to strike at him, Rhal made sure the electrostaff kept spinning. While it was, Rhal was protected behind an almost impenetrable wall of defense that allowed him to safely redirect his enemies strikes away from him without wasting too much of his strength.
Ralesk quickly noticed what Rhal was doing and attempted to counter with a thrust towards Rhal's chest, either hoping to kill him or at least destroy his weapon while it was spinning. The young Darth saw through Ralesk' attack and stepped back quickly to avoid the thrust while also swinging his staff to strike Ralesk's now exposed and vulnerable arm.
There was a crackle of electricity as the staff connected. An electrostaff wouldn't sever the limb like a lightsaber would, but with its energy set to lethal levels, it was still deadly enough to make Ralesk cry out in pain and cause his lightsaber to fall to the floor as his arm went numb.
Rhal threw the electrostaff like a spear towards the guard who was trying to rush towards him now that Ralesk was down. The guard deflected the staff easily enough but the attack had still given Rhal enough time to use the force to call Ralesk's lightsaber into his waiting hand.
Rhal knew it was over as soon as the blood red blade appeared. The guard tried to do a quick overhead strike with his staff but Rhal sidestepped it and cut the electrostaff in half with a quick slash and kicked the now unarmed guard back into the previous guard who'd just gotten back to his feet after having been kicked away himself a few moments before. Commander Jakker had also gotten back to his feet but made the mistake of taking his eyes off Rhal when he watched his two fellow guardsmen go down. When his head turned back, he found a red lightsaber inches from his throat.
"That's enough." Rhal said calmly as he deactivated his stolen saber. "This session is over." He declared as he tossed the lightsaber back to Ralesk, who caught it with his still working arm. The guards were glad but they had enough sense not to let it show too clearly and Ralesk looked like he was attempting to make a fist with his numb hand and hissed out a breath between clenched teeth as his fingers only twitched violently.
Rhal let out a breath of his own, only his was out of annoyance rather than frustration. As he walked out of the ship's cargo bay after the most recent training session and made his way up to the cockpit, he took a few moments to think back on what had started this journey.
The vision of Tatooine was still as clear as it had been since the day he'd seen it and he still didn't regret his decision to travel there, but he had been hoping to receive another vision that might give him some idea of what he should be looking for when he arrived.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, traveling all the way across the galaxy to Tatooine took several days even with the fastest ships so he had plenty of time to decide what he wanted to do when he finally arrived. He also continued to train with Ralesk and his guards to keep his skills sharp and took some time to look over updates from Imperial Intelligence. It was those reports that gave Rhal an idea of where to start looking for answers.
Recently, Cipher Nine had gone to Tatooine to put down another of the Eagle's terrorist cells and successfully killed the leader of the cell and dismantled their operations on the planet. However, what caught Rhal's attention was that this particular cell, known as the ghost cell, apparently had agents who could use holographic disguises to infiltrate enemy ranks. Cipher Nine had even made a note in his report that the cell's leader had located and captured the informant who'd assisted him by disguising himself as an Imperial officer and infiltrating the spaceport.
Rhal felt there was something missing. Infiltrating enemy ranks as these terrorists did spoke of training, professional training. The leader was only known as the "Old Man" and apparently not even the other members of the cell knew his true identity but Rhal had a feeling that he had once been a spy for either the Republic or the Empire before starting the cell. It would explain why he and his cell had been so effective but, with the Old Man dead, there appeared to be no way to confirm Rhal's theory. 'But perhaps there still is.'
While the cell had been neutralized, according to Cipher Nine's report the location they'd been using to recruit and train new members was still mostly intact. It was a village hidden in the Dune Sea and Intelligence hadn't sent a team to investigate it yet due to its location and a lack of urgency now that the cell was gone. 'Meaning everything should still be as it was when Cipher Nine left it. Perhaps one of the terrorists left something behind explaining more about what they hoped to accomplish or if they successfully infiltrated any other planets besides Tatooine.'
Rhal didn't know if this was what the force was bringing him to Tatooine for, but this terrorist group had caught his interest and until the force was more forthcoming, this was what he would focus on. Learning their secrets could also be extremely useful to himself and Intelligence so this was something he likely would have investigated at some point either way. 'Although I likely would have sent an agent to do so in my place.'
Rhal shook his head as he entered the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's chair. A quick check of the ship's navi-computer showed that they'd finally arrive at Tatooine shortly and Rhal was pleased to see that. He felt he'd been patient so far but he was ready to see what the force had in store for him.
It seemed the force was ready to show him as he felt the rumbling of the ship as it prepared to drop out of hyperspace. A moment later and the world of Tatooine became visible in the cockpit's viewport. As he took control of the ship and started heading for the coordinates of the terrorist village, Rhal realized that this was the first time he'd visit a desert planet and quietly hoped his time on the dustball would be brief.
It wouldn't.
…
No one attempted to contact the ship as Rhal guided his freighter down towards the planet. That wasn't a surprise since Ralesk had removed the ship's transponder on Rhal's orders, making it far more difficult to detect the ship.
Most ships, even those used by criminals, had transponders to identify their ships or give false identities when necessary but rarely did anyone actually remove the transponder. It all but announced to any that saw it that the ship was involved in something that likely wasn't legal and it was a very good reason for planetary security forces to shoot first and ask questions later.
However Tatooine was a planet controlled almost entirely by criminals and, unless Rhal brought the ship towards one of the few Empire or Republic controlled spaceports, any passing ships would likely assume they were smugglers working for the Hutts or some other criminal organization and since they wouldn't be able to identify the ship, chances were that they would leave it alone rather than risk possible angering the Hutts or some other such scum, which was exactly what Rhal wanted, to go unnoticed during his time here.
Being a Dark Council member gave Rhal quite a bit of influence in the galaxy, but being known as one of the twelve most powerful Sith in the galaxy did come with some risks as well as certain disadvantages.
The most notable disadvantage, at least in Rhal's mind, was that it was almost incredibly difficult for a member of the Dark Council to remain anonymous and unnoticed for long. Rhal knew for a fact that every other member of the Dark Council had their names and faces on the galactic holonet, even his own name was already on there but, amazingly, his face was still unknown outside the Empire. 'Though in another month I'm sure that will no longer be the case.' There were many advantages in being able to move undetected, but having your face instantly recognized almost anywhere in the galaxy would make doing that extremely difficult to say the least.
Rhal imagined he'll likely end up revealing himself at some point while he's on this rock, but he was curious to see how things would play out before he did. 'Well, it looks like I'll find out soon enough.' He thought as he spotted what could only be their destination in the middle of a seemingly endless desert.
As the ship got closer, Rhal could see that the settlement had been very well hidden. From a distance it just looked like a large rock in the middle of the desert. Most pilots probably wouldn't have given it a second look even if they had noticed it while flying over the desert. Unless someone knew what it was and they were looking for it, the village could likely have stayed hidden for years, maybe even decades. 'Hm, perhaps it did.'
Before landing, Rhal circled the village and scanned the area with the few sensors the freighter had installed to check for lifeforms and weapon emplacements. He also reached out with the force to see if there was any sentient life down there. When both the scans and his own senses concluded that there was no one down there, he brought the ship down in front of the village entrance.
As he walked to the ship's exit, Rhal found that Ralesk, Jakker, and his two guards were already there and had used the last few minutes to change into different outfits like the one Rhal was currently wearing.
All five were currently wearing gray robes with worn brown cloaks that had large hoods to shield them somewhat from the sun and heat. They were also common enough that any who saw them would just assume they were a wandering group of travelers unless they looked closely enough.
Ralesk's face was marked by the power of the dark side and any who saw him would definitely be able to identify him as a Sith. Rhal's own face was unremarkable but the lightsaber on his belt would still be enough to make others think he was a Jedi or Sith, though the thought of being mistaken for a Jedi was enough to make Rhal want to grind his teeth. Jakker and his men would blend in the most easily since they would just be carrying blasters under their robes.
Rhal knew the chances of anyone else showing up to the village while they were there was minimal at best, but he didn't want to take such a risk. The force had called him to Tatooine. For what purpose, he didn't know. But he doubted it was for something as simple as investigating an abandoned terrorist hideout.
Pulling his hood up to cover his head, Rhal stepped past his companions and lowered the freighter's ramp. As the door opened, blinding light and a great deal of hot air filled the inside of the freighter. Ralesk covered his eyes and cursed, as did one of the guards. Rhal, Jakker, and the other guard just covered their eyes for a few moments as their eyes adjusted. When they had, Rhal led the group onto the hot sands of Tatooine and towards their destination.
Rhal understood very quickly why so many people called Tatooine a wasteland. In every direction he looked there was nothing but desert and the only things that stood out were the rock formations ahead of him. Up close, Rhal saw that the village was built as a rather crude fortress with massive stones and sections of large barriers used to create a natural wall around it. As they walked deeper into the village, Rhal was unimpressed by what he saw.
The only shelter appeared to be a few large tents scattered around the area with generators attached to the back of them. The generators were all powered by solar energy collectors. They likely used them since they were harder to detect than standard generators. Aside from a bunch of scrap metal scattered around and a large moisture vaporator near the back of the village, there wasn't anything in the village that immediately stood out.
As he continued walking, Rhal felt something soft bump his foot. Looking down, he saw what appeared to be something wrapped in some sort of cloth that had been mostly covered by sand. Waving his hand, Rhal used the force to reveal what he'd found.
The what turned out to be a who.
The sand was blown away to reveal the facedown corpse of what appeared to be a scavenger with worn equipment and clothing that was clearly caused by long exposure to the elements, both before and after his death. Rhal flipped the body face up and it wasn't hard to see how the figure had died. He had been killed by several well placed blaster shots to the chest and Rhal knew that this must have been one of the ghost cell members that Cipher Nine had killed when he'd infiltrated the village. 'Doesn't look too impressive. Certainly doesn't look like someone who would be considered a threat. That was probably the idea in case they were seen.'
On closer examination, Rhal could see several small piles of sand spread around the village and counted nearly two dozen in total. Knowing that each was the body of a dead terrorist, Rhal found he respected Cipher Nine's skills more now after seeing his handiwork for himself.
Ralesk also realized they were surrounded by bodies after seeing the first one revealed and let out a soft chuckle. "It seems your agent was quite thorough, master." He commented before walking over and waving a hand to reveal another corpse and knelt down to inspect it. "Shot in the heart. This one died quickly." The Sith Assassin shook his head. "A pity."
Leaving the sadistic little Sith to his own devices, Rhal and his guards went about inspecting the tents for anything of interest. He slowly grew more and more disappointed as nothing was found except for bedrolls and an old blaster here and there and by the time he reached the last and largest tent, he was beginning to think this had been a waste of time.
There were three corpses in it and one more outside partially covered by sand. Two of the ones inside looked like all the other bodies he'd seen so far but the third stood out somewhat. It was a woman with dark skin and while she was wearing similar clothes as the rest of the terrorists, she lacked the combat goggles all the others had been wearing and Rhal figured she must have been the ghost cell member who'd betrayed them and leaked their information to Imperial Intelligence. She had been executed by a single shot to the head, another of Cipher Nine's victims no doubt.
But Rhal's attention was on the corpse just outside the tent. After waving away the sand, the body of an old man was revealed. 'The Old Man no doubt. He's either decayed much more quickly than the other bodies or the poison he used to kill himself is still active and speeding up the process.'
Even if he hadn't read the report, Rhal could tell that the wounds he'd sustained from his fight with Cipher Nine were severe but not fatal. The syringe in his lifeless hand was all he needed to tell that the terrorist leader had gone out on his own terms rather than suffer whatever fate his enemies had in store for him.
As he stared down at the rotting corpse, Rhal suddenly felt something in the force, something he was very familiar with.
Death.
Someone nearby had just been killed.
Spinning around, Rhal saw one of his guards drop to the ground while someone stood behind him holding a small vibroblade in one of his hands. His guard's killer was dressed exactly like all of the corpses that Rhal had seen in the village so it wasn't hard to guess who he was. What Rhal was really struggling to figure out was why he couldn't sense anything from the terrorist. He couldn't even sense his presence even though he was looking right at him!
"Contact!" Rhal shouted, seeing that none of the others had noticed the death of the guard since they had spread out to search the village and Rhal immediately felt like a fool. The Intelligence report had mentioned that not all of the operatives of the cell had been found, but Rhal had assumed that any remaining members would abandon Tatooine and move their operations elsewhere. 'It seems I jumped to conclusions too quickly.' He thought angrily.
However, his anger quickly faded as an idea began to form. This was an opportunity. If he could capture one of these terrorists, Rhal could use them to learn the secrets of the cell and figure out why he was unable to sense their members.
He knew there were more terrorists around because as soon as he'd shouted, Rhal saw about a dozen identical figures seemingly appearing out of thin air around different parts of the village. Specifically, the parts where Rhal and his men were searching and to the young Sith it looked like they had been getting into position to ambush each of them quietly but, now that their cover was blown, they were going all out as each of the assassins were putting away their knives and pulling out their blasters.
About two seconds after Rhal had called out, he saw Ralesk jump out of one of the tents, red lightsaber already active and in his hand, and rush straight towards his new targets.
"They're Sith!" An unfamiliar voice cried out and Rhal assumed it was one of the terrorists.
Deciding there was no point to maintaining the disguise, Rhal activated his own purple blade and rushed towards the four terrorists that had appeared closest to him. All four opened fire and while Rhal was able to block their shots easily enough, their shots were aimed low, making it difficult for him to redirect the shots back at them. 'They're definitely very well trained and not just to avoid detection from force users, but to fight them as well.' Rhal made another mental note to try and capture one of these filth alive.
The attackers had started backing away when Rhal charged forward, but they quickly realized that the Sith would reach them and changed their strategy. While one of the assassins continued to back away, the other three stopped, threw their blasters to the ground, and grabbed the vibroblades each had on their backs and activated them. A moment after they did, Rhal was on them.
It only took a few quick strikes for Rhal to tell that even though these assassins had been trained to fight force users, they didn't have the experience of actually doing so. Their movements were practiced, not reflexive, so they'd likely never faced a Jedi or Sith before now. 'But someone did and whoever it was knew enough to teach these terrorists the basics of what to expect and how to put up a decent struggle while searching for a weakness.' Rhal thought as he quickly figured out that was what these assassins were up to.
The three assassins with the vibroblades had circled him enough to surround him, but also left enough of an opening for the assassin with the blaster to take a few shots at him. They were also trained well enough that Rhal couldn't focus on any one of them without leaving himself open to an attack from one of the others, which was what they were aiming for.
Overall, it was a fairly decent plan. But Rhal saw the flaws in it and in their inexperience and knew that as soon as any one of them fell, their plan would instantly fall apart.
Rhal had just blocked a strike from one of the vibroblades but, before he could counterattack, he heard the sound of the blaster firing behind him and knew it was time to make his move. Spinning with the power of the force amplifying his speed and using his free hand to grasp the body of the one who'd just tried to strike him, Rhal spun to meet the incoming blaster shot and the assassin spun with him.
The blaster bolt struck the assassin that Rhal had used as a shield to protect himself and the Dark Council member thrust his arm forward, sending the recently made corpse flying into the blaster wielding assassin, causing both to crash into the sand. The other two assassins tried to stab Rhal in the back, thinking the Sith was distracted and off guard, but Rhal anticipated their attack and was very much prepared for it.
Rhal spun again but this time amplified his strength as well as his speed. When his lightsaber hit the vibroblades, they went flying out of the assassin's hands. The two tried to grab their blasters but Rhal had already raised his free hand before the vibroblades landed in the sand. Lightning covered the two assassins' bodies as they cried out in pain, their screams bringing a smile to Rhal's face.
The two charred corpses fell to the ground and Rhal turned back to face the last living assassin, the one with the blaster who'd just gotten back to his feet and was again pointing his blaster at Rhal but not firing. Despite the deaths of his companions, Rhal still sensed nothing from the man in front of him and he couldn't read his face either due to his combat goggles. 'Doesn't matter.' Rhal decided. 'I can't hear any other fighting so he's probably the only one left. Now-'
Rhal's thoughts were cut off as the assassin moved. But it wasn't to attack. Without warning, the assassin quickly pressed a button for something on his wrist that Rhal couldn't see. But he did hear a beep and knew the scum had just triggered something.
Before he could demand answers, there was a large explosion that drew his attention to the entrance of the village. Rhal saw that his freighter had just exploded and it didn't take a genius to figure out who had caused it.
However, as he turned his attention back to the assassin who he was certain had just destroyed his ship, he saw that his distraction had cost him. When he'd looked away, the assassin had turned his blaster to point towards his own head and Rhal looked back just in time to see the scum take his own life with a single shot and the young Sith cursed as he watched the worthless filth collapse to the ground dead.
Aside from the slight wind and the somewhat distant sound of his ship burning, the village was once again silent and Rhal reached out with the force to see if there were any other survivors. He sensed only one and made his way towards him.
Unlike himself, Ralesk had not survived the battle uninjured. Rhal found him in one of the tents surrounded by five very dead terrorists. The little Sith assassin was standing but had one hand on his left leg. Rhal could see the marks of a blaster burn on his armor there but, even though he was clearly in pain, Ralesk had a big smile on his face.
"I'm used to doing the ambushing myself, not the other way around." Ralesk said before giving a slight chuckle. "It was quite fun. Perhaps next time I'll take my time before slaughtering them."
Then Ralesk's smile dropped and his expression turned serious. "I did not sense them, my master. Not before or during their attack. Not their presence, their emotions, nothing. I don't know why." Rhal nodded. He wasn't surprised. He'd already figured that since he himself had sensed nothing and Ralesk's words only confirmed what Rhal already knew. The assassins had indeed found a way to mask their presence in the force and, with all the assassins dead, he had no way to find out how they had accomplished it.
So instead Rhal walked back into the village and decided to check and see if there were any other survivors. He knew it was unlikely but he couldn't dismiss the possibility that one of the assassins might still be alive and he just couldn't sense them.
He also needed to find out what happened to Jakker and his other guard.
…
Rhal was not pleased with what he found. All of the assassins were indeed dead when Rhal checked on them and they weren't the only ones.
Jakker and his other two guards had both been killed during the battle. The first guard he'd seen die from one of the assassins taking a vibroknife to the throat and the second guard had also been killed by a vibroknife to his chest with the assassin who'd killed him being killed shortly after by two well placed blaster shots to the chest, likely by Jakker.
As for Jakker himself, it was clear he'd put up a fight before he died. His body had been hit by at least four blaster shots and Rhal counted three wounds that would've been caused by a vibroblade. Since all the assassins around him were dead when he found him, the young Sith could only assume that his loyal Commander had succumbed to his wounds shortly after killing the assassins that ambushed him.
Rhal felt no sorrow at Jakker or his guards' deaths, only cold rage and disappointment. They had been skilled, loyal to him, and had even helped train him.
Now they were dead.
Even though their killers were already dead, Rhal still wanted blood. The Sith within him demanded vengeance for having his servants taken from him.
However, he chose to save his anger for another time, and not simply because there were no assassins left for him to unleash it upon. Because the fact was that he had bigger problems to worry about, the biggest being he was now stuck on Tatooine.
As soon as he got a good look at his burning ship, Rhal knew that there was no chance it could be repaired. The assassins had placed their bomb right on the fuel line, destroying both the ship's engines, the reactor, and several other key systems. The ship was little more than a burning pile of scrap now.
Rhal was annoyed by his ship's destruction but also somewhat relieved. He'd just received the ship shortly before coming to Tatooine so he hadn't had time to make any adjustments to it or add any personal touches so replacing it would be fairly simple once he returned to Dromund Kaas.
Ralesk was also annoyed by the ship's destruction, but for a different reason. He'd taken one look at the burning ship before shaking his head and muttering, "Now I'm going to have to find another one." He growled, though whether it was anger at the thought or due to the pain in his leg, Rhal couldn't say.
Fortunately, despite losing the ship, the two Sith found they weren't entirely without transportation. After they took some time to strip the corpses of anything of value, which was very little due to the assassins carrying nothing but their weapons and some sort of stealth field generators that had somehow been been rendered useless after the assassins were dead, Rhal threw the bodies of his loyal guards onto the burning wreckage that was once his ship while leaving the assassins to rot and be buried in the sand before further searching the area. A few minutes later he found, just outside the village and hidden behind a rock formation, about a dozen speeder bikes sitting in the shade. One for every assassin that he and his men had killed.
Rhal and Ralesk each grabbed a bike and, with a flick of his wrist, the young Dark Council member sent the remaining bikes crashing into the stone wall to be destroyed in several small explosions. That being done, the two Sith sped off into Dune Sea, leaving nothing behind but bodies and ruin.
A.N.
It's been a while, I know, and I'm sorry about that. A lot has been happening recently and I haven't really been in a writing mood all that much. But anyway, a bit of a shorter chapter this time but I still think it's alright. We get some action almost immediately after arriving on Tatooine but don't worry, there's much more to come very soon! As always, please review and tell me your thoughts because it's great encouragement for me to continue and if you have any ideas of your own feel free to let me know! Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time!
