A/N: NO! I AM NOT DEAD YET!
Rejoice my readers! For I am back! Life has been a bitch and I was hit with a major writer's block which stopped me from completing this chapter for a very long time. While I was getting my mojo back, I tried writing on another platform which is basically a online forum dedicated to roleplaying. No, not that kind of roleplay! Roleplay as in writing together with other players and take turns to write a story. It can be any setting and you can create any kind of character and backstory you want. Thankfully, this helped to inspire me to continue Emperor's wrath again.
So I desperately hope that I won't take too long before posting the next chapter again. I'm sure my more long time readers would not be able to fathom having to wait so long for another chapter again. So please pray for me and I'll see you guys again next chapter!
Remember: Read, enjoy and REVIEW! More reviews mean more motivation for me to write! :D
Major Pathel, Aaric and Vette approached the encampment known colloquially as "The Wall" due to the fact that the camp was situated at the main entrance of Grathan's estate and that it was the beginning and end of the hundred-meter tall fortification that surrounded the entire area. Pathel explained that since the Sith went rogue he pulled his men back from the wall and concentrated his forces inside his main compound.
"Smart move." Aaric muttered. "Defending the wall would be a waste of manpower and resources, so he's using the wildlife and terrain inside of the wall to do the work for him."
"Exactly." The cheery Major replied. "Luckily for us, his exact spot is also closest to the entrance to Grathan's compound itself."
The trio entered the encampment and Major Pathel led them straight to a trooper next to an astromech droid. Female trooper to be precise.
"Hold your position, please, and keep your weapons holstered." The woman requested. "The remotes are scanning you now."
As the droid scanned down the apprentice and his sidekick-slave, the Sith took his time gazing lustily at the soldier's hourglass figure. Even through her armor, he could appreciate her slim waist, wide hips and generous bust; if the size of her chest piece was anything to go by. That dirty blond hair tied up in a bun coupled with her round face and unmarked skin had a certain charm that made him want to go into flirt-mode.
Fortunately for her, her eyes were glued too intensely to the datapad to even notice his lustful eyes.
Identification = complete. Uploading. The droid chirped and whistled. Darting her eyes at the new info being screened on her data pad, she took a couple more seconds before letting out a sigh and relaxing from her tense demenour.
"You check out. Sorry, my lord." She apologized. "We're on the lookout for anyone with Lord Grathan, and I'm sick of letting him stomp on my people."
"Sounds like there's a story behind that ire of yours." Aaric noted. "Some elaboration is required."
"Before we do that Captain Sarnova," Pathel interjected, "I'll need you and Captain Bryn to leave your posts for a moment. Lord Aaric here is here on business that may help us with our containment of Lord Grathan. So I'll need the both of you in the command tent immediately."
"Right away, Sir!" She snapped a salute before marching away briskly, not noticing Aaric's eyes on her gently swaying rear.
"Now that we're all gathered here, I would like get this briefing started." Pathel explained. "Lord Aaric is planning an incursion into Grathan's compound. So I would like the both of you to furnish as much intel as you can, as well as any objectives you might like him to assist in completing. So please speak freely."
Aaric folded his arms and raised a brow at him.
"If you're not opposed to it, my lord." The officer quickly continued. "However, any assistance you could render for us will be greatly appreciated tangibly... by myself and high command."
"Alright then, I'll listen to your requests. But I can't promise anything." Aaric huffed. "If I do see fit to complete them I expect to be compensated in full."
"That's all we can ask for, my lord." Sarnova spoke up, drawing the Sith's sultry attention on her. Now that she was very aware of his piercing gaze on her, she could only blush as she tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible.
Vette noticed her master's look and correctly deduced his intentions. Great... he's targeted another poor woman. Wonder if all these trysts are gonna backfire on him somehow?
"B-basically," Sarnova continued. "Grathan's holed up in his estate with an army, weapons, shields and a cadre of scientists developing new tech to use against us. Grathan wants respect and authority from the Dark Council. So in true Sith fashion, he's turned on his masters to prove his power. As a result, we have to put up with his lunacy. So if you're here to cause Grathan problems anyway, you might help us out."
"How so?" Aaric questioned.
Sarnova's gaze quickly turned dark and sombre."Here's the story: There are nearly a hundred men assigned to this sector. Some on the wall, some watching Grathan. Twenty are missing."
Aaric could have sworn he saw tears begin to form at the corner of her eyes only to be held back.
"My men… practically my kids." Her voice wavered a little, before returning with an edge. "Grathan stole them, and I want them back. I don't know what Lord Grathan wants with them. Maybe he's holding them hostage just to demoralize us. Who knows? But if you're heading to Grathan's ground, please help them get out if you find them. Tell them to report back to their Duchess."
Aaric gave a bewildered expression. "Who's that?"
"That's, uh… that's what they call me." The dirty blonde captain scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"Duchess?" Aaric chuckled. "You'll have to explain that."
"You try making it as an officer without getting tagged with a nickname." She replied exasperatedly. "But that isn't important right now. I've got reports saying that Grathan's been transporting prisoners to another wing of his estate. I don't know if it's my people he's moving, but it's worth checking out."
"Alright, I'll see what I can do. what about you Captain Bryn?" Aaric turned to the other officer.
"Much about the same with Grathan, milord." The lanky man said. "He's big trouble. Mad scientist type. Likes weapons, cyborgs, droids, Ergonomic chairs…"
"Ergonomic chairs?" Aaric was once again dumbfounded.
"Aye, milord. The bane of the military's existence!" Bryn exclaimed as he went into a tirade. "Give an officer one of those and he'll struggle to get his arse off of it to do something useful! They're already becoming popular amongst the bottom rungs of the leadership. Soon, we'll have a command full of armchair generals!"
"Rrrrright… so?"
"Our orders are to keep our distance and not enter Lord Grathan's place or cause any kind of ruckus." Bryn continued. "But I'm supposed to see about a certain prototype turret design the rogue lord's supposedly acquired. Empire wants it for mass production. If you could poke around abit and steal those plans, it would help the Empire greatly with the war effort. Thing is, you'll need to acquire a security badge from a guard. This badge transmits a signal that tells the turrets the badge holder is friendly."
"So get a security badge off a guard, find those turrets and grab the plans." Aaric nodded. "Now, any ideas on how I can get into the compound?"
"Well, a frontal assault is definitely out of the question even with you on our side, milord. We already learned our lesson the last three times we tried..." Captain Bryn rolled his eyes. "You may be able to get through the regular grunts with some backup, but Grathan has many more acolytes, soldiers, turrets and droids at his disposal and we have only one of you."
"We've been engaging in reconnaissance maneuvers ever since, but ground and aerial recon can only tell us so much." The Duchess piped up. "So we've been utilizing geological teams to scan underneath the ground around the perimeter of the compound."
Tapping her datapad once more, a holograph of Grathan's compound materialized above the table as she continued her briefing. "This is the bridge which crosses over a ravine and reaches the entrance of the estate. Underneath the bridge at the bottom of the ravine is a river. Now get this: Preliminary reports suggest that this same river leads to a cave system that runs underneath the grounds of the compound. If we could investigate it further, it may lead directly inside the estate. It might be worth looking into."
Aaric scratched his chin. "Hmm, sounds like a good idea. In that case, my slave and I will go in the dead of night and see if we can't infiltrate the estate from the cave system. I'll most likely be able to procure the turret plans if I can find them."
The Sith then turned to address Sarnova. "But I can't say the same chances apply for getting your men out alive, Captain Duchess."
The buxom blonde nodded. "I understand, my lord. Even if they didn't survive, even knowing what happened to them would mean a lot to me."
Bryn scratched his head confusedly. "Uh... are you sure you want to bring the Twi'lek with you, milord? Wouldn't she just be extra baggage?"
"Whaddaya mean extra bag-mmmffghf!" Said Twi'lek retorted before her master slapped a palm onto her mouth.
"She's more useful than you might think and has skills that I need for this operation." Aaric stated with a dangerous smile that promised a world of hurt on his face. "No questions asked, am I clear?"
Major Pathel smiled as if nothing was going on.
Captains Bryn and Sarnova nodded furiously for their lives.
Vette shivered at the sight.
At the stroke of midnight Aaric and Vette set off from the encampment and rappelled down from the bridge into the bottom of the ravine. Their feet touched down onto a surprisingly shallow river that only reached up to their ankles. Unlatching themselves, they began to follow the river towards the direction of Grathan's estate in silence. Due to lack of moonlight penetrating the thick forest canopy, they equipped themselves with Night-vision goggles which also included data display and targeting assistance on the lens. Much to Vette's interest and joy.
After ten minutes of hiking, the river bent towards the left and lo and behold. Said river flowed into a small hole in the side of the ravine only big enough to fit a human; An entrance to a cave. Aaric smirked.
"Pathel, do you read me?" The Sith spoke through his comlink. "The river leads to a cave system. I'm going in."
"Excellent! Now use the diodes to mark the safe path through the cave. If it really does lead into Grathan's estate, we can use the cave system in the future." Pathel replied.
"Affirmative." Aaric stashed away the comlink. "C'mon Vette."
"Right behind you, Master." She chirped.
Switching the infrared vision due to the complete absence of light inside the cave, the pair climbed in. The river inside it became deeper until it reached their knees, but luckily there was little to no current. Strangely enough, the cavern was devoid of any stalactites or stalagmites. There didn't seem to be any predatory creatures lurking inside besides the tiny critters or insects. Then again, the opening was only large enough for them to squeeze in.
"Ugh... I've explored caves more interesting than this." Vette muttered after fifteen minutes of faux-spelunking.
"Don't you mean more dangerous and life-threatening?" Aaric questioned sarcastically.
"If it's not even remotely dangerous, then where's the fun in that?" She replied.
"What are you? A glutton for punishment?" Aaric grinned. "Someone's asking for a spanking when we get back home."
"N-no! That's not it!" Vette sputtered as she blushed furiously. Before she could continue, Aaric raised his fist signaling her to stop.
Vette crouched and scooted over until she was right behind Aaric and whispered. "What is it?"
Aaric slimply pointed towards the left ahead of him. Vette peeked from behind his back and followed his line of sight. A small outcrop of the cave led a path towards an opening several meters above them which moonlight was supposedly leaking through.
Motioning for her to follow, Aaric climbed onto the outcrop. As he neared the opening, he could feel wind blowing through it. Which confirmed that it was an exit to the outside. Slowly, he climbed outside and felt the cool night breeze. Switching his goggles to thermal vision, he scanned the area for any sign of hidden or cloaked hostiles. When he was sure there wouldn't be any surprises, he pulled Vette out along with him as well.
Tapping his goggles, a map appeared before him with green dots representing himself and Vette. Zooming out, he discovered that they were indeed inside Grathan's compound.
"Pathel, the cave system came through. I'm now inside Grathan's estate, omewhere around the north-western section." Aaric radioed in.
"Marvelous, my lord! We'll take note of this for future incursions." The Major replied. "As for Revan's mask, intel says you'll find it somewhere inside the treasury of Grathan's main compound. There's a chance the plans for the turrets might be contained in the research labs. Knowing his penchant for cyborg technology, Captain Sarnova's men could be held in the cybernetics lab in the building further east of you somewhere nearer towards the estate's main entrance."
"Good. I'll see you when we get out of here."
Aaric cut the comm channel and the pair started making their way through the shrubbery. It seemed that the clearing only narrowed into a path down towards the center of the estate. Flanked by cliffsides, there was no place enemies could attack from other than from the front. In minutes, the pair could see buildings peeking out from the distance and they kept as low as possible.
Thermal imaging showed several easily avoidable patrols if they timed their moves properly. The problem was sneaking into any of the buildings without raising the alarm.
"How are we going to get in?" Vette whispered.
"The problem with Sith Lords having their own armies as large as Grathan's is that the possibility of every soldier, scientist and acolyte knowing each other is small. You, however, definitely look out of place." Aaric whispered back. "I'll pretend to be one of Grathan's acolytes and you can pretend to be a runaway slave I just caught. I'll bring you in and ask around for Dri'kill Ba'al. Hopefully, they won't ask too many questions."
The Twi'lek looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure this will work?"
"For your doubt you just earned yourself another spank." Aaric deadpanned. "Just act the part and trust me."
When they were ready, master and slave exited the bushes acting like nothing was out of the ordinary. Vette walked in front of Aaric while he had one hand holding her wrists behind her back while the other hand was clapped on her shoulder, guiding her movements. From where they exited from the shrubbery, Aaric saw three buildings. One large compound he suspected to be Grathan's mansion to his right, and two smaller ones to his left and front. Seeing as he wanted to come across as little patrols as possible, he decided to enter the one on his left first and go from there.
As the pair reached the entrance of the building, he saw that the large sliding doors were already open. Leading Vette further inside, he could see a spattering of troops still awake either minding their own business or playing betting games at the nearby tables. Various deactivated battle droids stood by the corner. Scanning the entire area, Aaric singled out a lone trooper reading his datapad in a secluded corner and approached him.
"Trooper!" Aaric barked. "I'm looking for Dri'kill Ba'al. I've got something to show him."
"Ah!" Said trooper jumped then quickly hid the datapad behind his back. "S-Sorry my lord! I didn't see you there! L-lord Ba'al is in his office right upstairs to the left!"
"Good. As you were trooper." Aaric pulled away, then stopped and turned back to the shivering soldier. "What is that you're holding behind you?"
"Eh?!" Aaric mentally grinned at the soldiers panicked state. If he could gain some leverage over this trooper, perhaps he could be useful. "N-nothing that would concern you my lord. Just going through some... data? Yes, data! That's it!"
What in the world is he doing? Vette thought.
Aaric extended out a hand and gave him the sternest glare he could muster. The man seemed to go through several stages of panic and shivering at once, then drooped his shoulders in surrender before passing the datapad over to him. The apprentice let go of the hand on Vette's shoulder and took the datapad. Glancing at the screen, Aaric almost burst in a fit of laughter but managed to hold himself back and give off a light chuckle.
The entire screen of the datapad was an image of a scantily dressed, green-skinned Twi'lek in multiple suggestive poses which left little to the imagination. Even Vette bugged her eyes out and turned away with a heavy blush on her cheeks.
"You do know using datapads for non-regulation use are prohibited, do you?" Aaric gave the trooper a condescending look as he nodded in anticipation of punishment.
Aaric then leant forward and whispered. "If you delete that image and do me a favour in return, I won't punish you. In fact, I'll let you cop a feel of this slave I've just captured running away from the colossus construction site."
Both trooper and slave snapped their heads towards the Sith, both in shock and fear respectively. Vette couldn't speak lest she break her cover or forced Aaric to do something even more horrible to keep their cover intact. The soldier simply nodded his head so furiously Aaric swore he could hear his helmet bopping against his skull repeatedly.
Aaric smirked. Hook, line and sinker. "Good. Now I'll just need you to escort me and this little bird here to Lord Ba'al's office. You stay outside while we... process this slave. Sith always have first dibs after all, wouldn't you agree? Once we are done, I'll call you in and you can feel this slave up as much as you want."
The trooper vertically vibrated his head once more. "Y-yes my lord! Follow me, my lord!"
The pair followed behind the soldier while he led them up the ramp towards Ba'al's office. Aaric could see the man shiver in excitement while Vette was wondering if her master was really going to sell out her body.
"Lord Ba'al's office is here. I-I'll be waiting outside." The trooper stammered in excitement.
"Good man." Aaric smiled as he led Vette through the sliding doors. Once they closed behind them he let go of Vette immediately.
"You really weren't going to let him touch me right? Right?!" Vette exclaimed, feeling violated all over.
"Oh don't worry your pretty little arse, Vette." Aaric scoffed. "Did you really think I would let someone else touch my slave that way?"
"Could've fooled me." Vette rolled her eyes.
"Oof! That's another spank earned right there, Vette!" Aaric mocked a hurt look. "I thought you'd be more trusting of you own master!"
"AHEM!"
A dark skinned Sith apprentice, with buzz-cut hair and two perpendicularly crossing scars on his face, stared at them crossly with his arms folded and foot tapping impatiently while giving Aaric a condescending lookover.
"You must be the operative Lord Baras sent." He sneered as he walked forward and stepped up almost chest-to-chest with his rival. "I thought he'd choose a powerful warrior, not some cowardly sneak."
Aaric scoffed at the obvious jab. "And you must have tons of friends with that attitude! Name's Ba'al isn't it? Are you Ba'al-ling your eyes out at being stuck here spying instead of being out there doing more useful work?"
Vette slapped a hand over her mouth as she giggled at Ba'al's expense.
Ba'al narrowed his eyes at the riposte. "Feh, I suppose Lord Baras-"
"Just shut up and tell me what's this intel you have on Grathan so you can go back to playing pretend house with Grathan's whores." Aaric interrupted, not letting Ba'al get anymore insults in.
Now Vette was chortling.
"Tch... you're right I suppose. We can pick up hating each other once the business here is complete." Ba'al's brow twitched in annoyance. "Now listen: Lord Grathan is a rogue Sith who boldy defies-"
"Yes, yes. He defies the council, locks himself away, practically untouchable blah blah blah." Aaric interjected once more. "Please tell me something I don't know."
"I was getting to that!" Ba'al gritted his teeth. If he didn't want to fail Baras he had to endure this little upstart for now. "Lord Baras wants Grathan to know he can be reached. And after a year undercover, I've discovered the way. Lord Grathan has a son!"
"Pft! Impressive!"Aaric jeered. "Probably in another year you can personally find out the size of his son's dick."
Vette had no choice but to cackle as the other apprentice became visibly red even through his dark skin.
"Guh! You-!" Ba'al sputtered as he tried to recover his pride. "I was assigned to find Grathan's weakness, you condescending windbag! He's kept his son a secret in order to protect him from his enemies!"
"Grathan would be devastated if his only child and heir was dead." He continued. "Killing him would send a very strong message. That's your job. Grathan's kid is nearly twenty and strong with the Force. He's been trained in the ways of the Sith since birth. You'll have your hands full."
"Oh? Is that concern I hear for little old me?"Aaric mocked." I appreciate it, but I don't swing that way. Nothing against it personally. Be free to be whoever you want."
"Shut up! I don't have time for your petty taunts." Ba'al schooled his features. "Grathan's away on business. I managed to hack a special passcard that will get you inside his private quarters. But first, you're going to have to knock out Grathan's surveillance stations so you aren't seen entering the quarters. All you have to do is locate the monitoring stations around the compound and well... stick your lightsaber in them."
"Nice euphemism, Ba'al!" Aaric smirked as Vette snickered once again. "But I think I'll stick to using my actual lightsaber, thank you very much."
"Tch! I'm not going to let you get under my skin, coward." Ba'al sneered as he tossed the spike to Aaric. "That's all then. Destroy the monitoring stations then use the passcard to get inside Grathan's private quarters."
Aaric caught the card and threw it to Vette, who caught it deftly.
"The son's name is Beelzlit. Find him and end him. I'll meet you back here when you're done." Ba'al turned around and started walking in the direction of his office table."Try not to screw it u-"
SNAP-HISS "GAAAH-MMPPHH!"
Only to find a hand slapped across his mouth and a plasma blade buried all the way to the hilt in his chest. Even Vette's snickering demeanor suddenly changed into one of sheer horror at the split-second that it took for Aaric to burst forward and attack his fellow Sith.
"Shouldn't've turned your back against a rival, Ba'al." Aaric whispered into the dying Sith's ears. "You've served your usefulness. Goodbye."
Aaric deactivated his lightsaber and let the Ba'al's body crumple onto the floor.
"You... You killed him! But he didn't even do anything to you!" Vette gasped.
Aaric calmly holstered his own lightsaber and took Ba'al's lightsaber as well. "Oh my dear Vette. You have to understand that Sith are always plotting against each other. Why would he ask me to return here after killing Grathan's son? Obviously to stage a trap so he could kill me and solidify his own cover."
"But... You don't know that!" Vette countered weakly, only to jerk when a hand flew past her cheek and slammed the wall behind her.
"Oh yes I do Vette. It was prudent that I killed him first." Aaric exclaimed, his expression now dead serious. "Or would you like me to die and be stuck here in a place full of hostiles and you be taken prisoner? Experimented on? Worse? I don't kill wantonly, Vette. I kill when there I see a need to. There's a difference. I'm not some senseless, rage-filled, bloodthirsty Sith like rest of them. I'm different. And if you still don't believe me, then I'll convince you with my actions eventually."
Vette could only gulp audibly and nod. Aaric's features softened then gestured her to follow him.
"There's a lesson to be learnt here, Vette. If you wait for someone else to betray you before you strike, most of the time you'll be dead before you even know it."
The pair quickly exited and shut the door behind them before the soldier could accidentally peek what's inside. Before the trooper could utter a word, Aaric's palm gently waved over his face and his target started to wobble slightly as if in a dreamlike state.
"I let you touch the slave. You are satisfied. You will get me into Grathan's compound." Aaric spoke.
"You let me touch the slave. I was satisfied. I will get you into Grathan's compound." The trooper repeated dreamily as he turned around and led the way. Vette gave a confused look to which Aaric responded.
"What? Did you really think I'll let anyone else besides myself touch you?"
Once again, for some reason, that made Vette blush lightly.
The trio left the building without arousing suspicion. Fortunately, only regular grunts passed them by without a second look. Unbeknownst to Vette, Aaric was using a force concealment technique to reduce his aura and presence in the immediate vicinity of themselves. Usually this could only be done on the user, but Aaric managed to perfect it to the point where he could do the same to others just by touching them. In this way, less skilled and discerning Sith may even be fooled... to a point, that is.
As they approached Grathan's mansion, both Aaric and Vette could see the main entrance was guarded by a squad of troopers and a couple of Sith apprentices to boot. If he played his cards right, they could get in without a fight.
"Halt, all of you!" A gruff, pony-tailed apprentice grunted. "State your business here."
"We are here to deliver a prisoner we just captured." Aaric replied. "This Twi'lek snuck into the estate without alerting the perimeter guards. Grathan would want to interrogate her personally."
"That shouldn't be possible." The apprentice stated skeptically. "We have all entrances and exits covered and no one has entered or exited without our knowledge."
For some reason, the pony-tailed man felt something off about the trio in front of him. The Sith especially. He didn't seem familiar, but it felt as if something was blurring his senses.
"Well, I managed to make this little worm squeal for me a little." Aaric continued. "She claims she crawled through a cave system not far from here and exited at the north-east section of the estate. I've checked it out personally, but I wouldn't advise sending in a team until Lord Grathan personally hears of this."
The new information seemed to catch the entire group off guard. "What?! In that case I'll escort you to him. The rest of you continue with your duties."
Blast it! Aaric cursed. He might have played that card too well. It was worth divulging the information to them to cover his infiltration, not that they would be able to do anything about it in the long run. Now he just needed to get rid of the Sith who was leading them in. As soon as the group entered the mansion and the doors slammed closed behind them, Aaric sprang into action.
Letting go of Vette, Baras's apprentice roughly grabbed the entranced trooper and threw him onto the Sith guard. The guard was fast enough to turn in response to sensing danger, but not enough to avoid the soldier who crashed into him and send both sprawling to the floor.
Aaric threw Vette's pistols back to her, which he had fastened to the back of his belt and slid out a durasteel dagger which he had hid inside his boot.
"Cover me!" Aaric grunted as he charged the two fumbling men.
"Way ahead of you!" She replied, deftly catching her pistols and quickly fired her disruptor pistol at the entagled pair.
The focused beam of energy hit the trooper's helmet and blasted a good chunk of it off together with a piece of scalp or two, killing him instantly.
"How Dare You!" The Sith guard roared, throwing the limp body off of him and recovering faster than Aaric anticipated. The guard reached for his lightsaber but was forced to defend himself as Aaric attacked in a flurry of thrusts and slices. He blocked and dodged where he could but couldn't seem to find an opportunity to counterattack.
Aaric thrusted and overextended himself, but this was merely bait. The guard took it and grappled both his arms around the arm in an attempt to immobilize it. Before he could follow up, Aaric suddenly pulled himself along with the guard towards the floor. Landing on his back, he thrust a kick that drove into the guard's abdomen and knocked the wind out of him while throwing him over and slamming the guard onto the cold floor.
"NOW VETTE!" Aaric roared.
Before the Sith guard could react a beam of energy hit his face and he fell silent almost immediately, his face now replaced by charred flesh and bone of his skull.
Vette breathed a sigh of relief as she lowered her pistols. Aaric recovered quickly and slid the dagger back into his boot. The pair looked around cautiously in case the noise from their fight had garnered any more unwanted attention. It also seemed like their brief fight had not aroused any suspicion outside.
"Whoo! I almost thought we blew our cover right there!" Vette exclaimed.
"We already blew it the moment we stepped foot inside the mansion." Aaric scoffed. "Come on, let's find Grathan's son."
As the pair ventured through the hallways and rooms, they quickly took out any guards, droids and turrets that stood in their way. Vette's marksmanship together with Aaric's superior speed and skill ensured that no one was left alive. The fact that the monitoring stations were placed openly along the main hallways irked Aaric immensely. Anyone with a fraction of his skills would be able to cripple Grathan's operations from the inside and get away with it! Had Grathan not heard of a security wing of which to secure all monitoring stations in a highly guarded area?!
Either way, it was somehow by sheer luck that Aaric was the one to take advantage of the mansion's poor defenses. After walking through a hallway, taking a turbolift underground and walking through more hallways filled with guards who were quickly dispatched because they had no idea what was going on, Aaric and Vette finally reached the room where Grathan's son was supposedly residing in.
Sliding the sliced card into the key slot, the doors slid open and Aaric strode in with Vette keeping his rear covered. Sitting in front of a meeting table was a young man with brown hair, not much younger than Aaric was and armed with a blade. Surprisingly, an older woman stood beside him wearing what seemed to be a dark gray body suit with a somewhat ridiculous looking headdress.
The moment he came into view, both persons snapped their heads towards the pair of intruders.
The young man stood up alarmingly. "Mother! A stranger approaches."
"You don't know the half of it, kid." Vette quipped.
The woman quickly strode in front of her son and puffed out her rather generous chest. "I am Cellvanta Grathan! How dare you enter my son's room uninvited! Who are you?"
"Thank you for confirming your relationship with each other, Beelzlit. Mrs Grathan." Aaric nodded towards the pair but lingered his eyes on the older but still curvaceous woman. "Makes it all the more easier for me. I've come for Lord Grathan's son. But now that I've seen you, maybe I shall... come for you too, in more ways than one."
True to her status as a Sith Lord's wife, she did not let the overtly sexual tone in his voice faze her.
"You'll find I am not so easily intimidated." She hissed, quickly summoning her lightsaber and activating it. "My son is still an acolyte, but I am Sith! Beelzlit, take cover!"
"No, Mother! I stand at your side." Beelzlit brushed past his mother and charged forward, brandishing his warblade. "Attack!"
"Beelzlit! No!" Cellvanta screamed.
"Fool." Aaric muttered.
For one second Beelzlit was about to cut the intruder in half, the next second his foe disappeared from view and found the fist from said foe embedded deeply into his gut, and the last second he found himself sprawled on the cold floor throwing up the contents of his dinner coughing harshly.
"Make sure he doesn't interfere our fight, won't you Vette?" Aaric yawned. "Strong in the force my arse."
"Sure thing, boss!" The slave chirped, keeping her pistols trained on the young Sith.
"Beelzlit!" Cellvanta cried. Luckily the intruder seemed to be toying with them and saw no need to kill her son immediately. She quickly focused her sights on the intruder and readied her stance in anticipation of an attack.
Aaric took a second to analyze his opponent.
Blade held back in a one-handed grip, angled forwards with the blade arm held parallel, the other hand held up in a challenge with dominant foot positioned back? A Soresu practitioner. How interesting. Aaric chuckled.
"You managed to infiltrate Grathan's mansion this far, intruder." Grathan's wife growled. "But your intrusion stops here!"
"We'll see about that Mrs Grathan." Aaric replied, pulling his lightfoil into his hand and activating it as well. "Now let us see which is superior. The dueling style or the defensive style? Old versus new!"
Dueling style? Old? Cellvanta mused. He doesn't mean... Makashi?!
Her thought processes were grinded to a halt as her Form III instincts kicked in to counter the staccato of cuts and thrusts that was being generated from her opponent. Fortunately, she was skilled enough to parry each one with enough speed and efficiency. Her opponent, however, was just as fast in dashing out of her blade's reach and attacking again from another angle in less than a second.
As their blade play continued, Aaric could not help but feel as if his position had been reversed compared to his fight with Yadira. Whereas he was the defender, now he was the attacker and Cellvanta was in the eye of the storm. His constant pressure was the only thing that was stopping her from even thinking of counter-attacking. Her movements were tight, efficient and wasting no more energy than necessary. She was competent enough to keep herself alive.
Then again, against a duelist wielding a single lightsaber, that level was where her bladework stopped being effective. Aaric could tell that although a seasoned fighter, Lord Grathan's wife most porbably picked up the style only recently and did not have enough practice and experience with Soresu to maximize its potential. Aaric pulled back and gained some distance while Cellvanta held her position.
"You can keep attacking again and again, intruder." Cellvanta smirked, panting slightly. "You're wasting your time. No matter how skilled you are with your lightsaber, I can outlast you! The Dark Side shall fail you this day!"
"Hn." Aaric smirked. "That's why I always carry two."
Cellvanta's eyes widened as Aaric pulled out a second lightsaber from the back of his belt and ignited it, flourishing a Makashi salute. Sweat trickled down from her forehead. If she had to be honest with herself, that single constant barrage had taken all of her strength, reflex and concentration to parry. And this intruder did not even look a wee bit winded!
Aaric once again dashed in and clashed blades in a flurry of buzzes and sparks. He started off slow and gradually increased the rapidity of his attacks. Where one blade was parried, the other would attack almost immediately. When that was parried, the other would be in position to attack again from a different angle.
Cellvanta grunted as she poured her entire might into stemming the tide of incessant swings and thrusts. Her senses were too focused on blocking each attack to even attempt to find a hole in his offence to exploit! True to Aaric's intent, the attacks became faster and faster. It started with one cut every ten seconds or so, then once every five seconds, once every other second! It infuriated her to no end!
What made it worse was the that the cuts she suffered were extremely light. Not to say they didn't hurt, but the more burns she suffered across her body the more it got on her nerves! He was making light of her! A full-fledged Sith no less! She took up Soresu in the hopes of protecting her son. But even now, she was losing ground against this young upstart.
She. Had. Enough!
Cellvanta swung wide, prompting Aaric to dodge and frown at the sudden change in pace. Almost immediately, he jumped away narrowly escaping death via stabbed to the floor.
Checkmate. Aaric grinned as Grathan's wife gave in to her anger and switched back to the more familiar and aggressive Shien strikes. They were strong and fluid, each strike flowing naturally to the next. And Aaric was able to meet each one of them on equal grounds.
"Rragghhh!" Cellvanta swung with all her might and Aaric met her blow with equal force, locking blades and briefly turning their swordplay into a contest of strength.
Both combatants locked gazes with one another, one grunting and the other smirking.
"Guh! W-what are your smiling at?!" She hissed through gritted teeth.
"You already lost when you let your anger control you. Mrs Grathan." Aaric exclaimed.
Shit! The other saber! Cellvanta thought. She was so focused on cutting him down she did not realize he had the strength to take on her strongest blow with one blade in just one hand.
"Wha- Gahhh!" She cried as Aaric jabbed the tip of his lightfoil twice; once in the arm and the other into her thigh. Clutching her injured limbs she fell onto the floor next to her son, who was just starting to recover from his forced heaving.
The mother and son looked up to see their would-be assassin looking down upon them with a lightsaber to each of their necks.
"Stop! Please!" Cellvanta begged, pulling her son closer to her bosom. "It's clear we are not your match! If we're to die, I must know. What have we done to deserve death?"
"I kill your son to wound your husband." Aaric inched his blade ever closer to Beelzlit's throat.
"Mother, if I am the target, save yourself. I-I don't want to see you die." Beelzlit croaked, finally recovering from his loss of speech.
"My son, you must not sacrifice yourself for anyone, not even me." Cellvanta cupped her son's cheek. "You must endure at all costs."
A twinge of emotion rung inside the apprentice. For a moment Aaric struggled with giving in to his sudden urge to cut them down right there and then. The overt care and concern Cellvanta was showing her son in front of him! As if mocking his own loss, teasing him with something he could never hope to regain. He should kill them for their insolence!
Grunting in pain, the defeated woman pushed herself off the ground and knelt in front of the victor
"Assassin, you've carved your way into the inner sanctum of Lord Grathan's compound, all to kill a boy?" She pleaded. "You are a breath away from the master himself. Spare us, and I'll help you destroy Lord Grathan instead."
Aaric stood there processing her idea, his anger ebbing away. If he somehow managed to kill Grathan and place Cellvanta and her son in debt to him, he could ask for a favor... or three. Aaric looked upon mother and son with equal bits of envy and disdain. The devotion Cellvantha showed to protect her son, that sort of compassion would not have flown with those who were stricter towards the Sith code.
Aaric would never admit it, but that sort of devotion reminded him of his own mother. If only his mother was as willful enough to consider killing his bastard of a father.
"You want me to kill your husband?" He scoffed, never showing a hint of his thoughts on his expression. "Hn... Aren't you the dutiful wife?"
"I married Lord Grathan for power. It was a means to an end. Now I want out." Cellvanta stated. "I'm strong but can't touch my husband. How long I've waited for someone to end his oppressive rule."
"You talk as if that's not the only way Sith can rule." Aaric rolled his eyes. "Go on."
An evil grin crossed her face. "A wicked plan is taking shape. Long ago, my husband was nearly beheaded. Now, he cannot exist without his helmeted mask. Everyone knows this. Kill Lord Grathan. My son will wear the mask and assume his mantle. He'll publicly rant that his son was murdered. No one will be the wiser."
"Killing a Sith Lord is way above my pay grade." Aaric replied, uninterested. "What's in it for me?"
"If you were able to reach this deep into Grathan's territory unharmed, then I'm more than confident of your skills." She continued submissively. "If you manage to kill him, I will offer you anything you ask. Within reason, of course."
Aaric stared at her with a hard gaze for a few moments. Then deactivated his lightsabers. "Fine. I'll kill the father instead."
"Excellent!" Cellvanta exclaimed excitedly, taking out a key from her back pocket and passing it to her new ally. "You won't regret it. Lord Grathan deserves to die. With this passcard, you may enter Lord Grathan's secret chamber. You'll find him there. After you've ended his miserable existence, bring his masked helmet to me."
"Be sure that there are no surprises when I return." Aaric warned, motioning Vette to follow him. "If I do, I promise you; I will be very annoyed."
"I'm certainly not interested in angering someone as lethal as you." She held her hands up in surrender. "Besides, you're doing me a great service. Be wary of Lord Grathan. There are few as attuned to the dark side as he is."
"Um, I don't think I like the sound of that." Vette shivered as the door closed behind the pair.
"What do we do now, mother?" Beelzlit stood up.
"We wait." Cellvanta replied. "When he comes back, we'll see what he wants in exchange."
"Don't you mean if he comes back?"
"No, son. When. Your father is strong in the force. But something tells me this apprentice may be far stronger than your father ever was."
The pair stood in front of the doors which led to Grathan's quarters. Vette fidgeted. It would be the first time she fought against a Sith Lord.
"You sure this is a good idea, Aaric?" Vette laughed nervously.
Aaric remained expressionless. "Stay hidden, Vette. I'll go in and initiate my duel with Grathan. Sneak in while I grab his attention. He will least expect me to have backup. When you find an opening, fire upon him. Kill him if you can. Provide covering fire if you can't. If enemy reinforcements arrive, I'm counting on you to deal with them. Understood?"
The Twi'lek to a few seconds to process the instructions before she bit her lip and nodded. Pressing herself at the side of the wall to hider herself, Aaric slid the passcard into the key slot and the large doors slid open. Right in front of him standing by a large table was Grathan himself. As Aaric strode towards him, Grathan turned to face his assailant giving the apprentice a good look at the menacing looking helmet.
"My uninvited guest finally arrives." The Sith Lord boomed. "Your feelings betray you, youngster. I sensed your murderous intentions the moment you entered my sanctum. What's more, your unshielded mind has revealed your accomplice: My loving wife."
"She sends her love... to your grave that is." Aaric frowned. Even from meters away, he could feel Grathan's aura pushing against his own. He would have to be more careful in this fight.
Grathan chuckled at Aaric's jab. "Cellvanta is a user, child. She's obsessed with power. It's one of the things that attracted me to her, but it's outgrown its amusement."
"I am death itself, child." He gazed skyward and opened his arms as if welcoming Aaric.
Wrong move.
"Come! Embrace the darkne-OOF!" CRASH! THUNK!
His monologue was broken by a sudden force push that blasted him backwards, crashing into a chair and denting it beyond repair.
"H-how dare you!" Grathan scrambled to his feet just in time to ignite his lightsaber as Aaric fell upon him, lightsaber humming and all, intending on slicing him apart from head to groin. The weapons locked and Grathan grunted as he held his own against his opponent's surprising strength.
"Leaving yourself open to attacks? Sith Lords and their obsession with monologues... tsk tsk. You must be getting on in years, old man." Aaric taunted.
"You will soon know that my skill and experience more than make up for it, youngster!" Grathan fired back.
"Hn." Aaric grinned... then deactivated his lightsaber.
Grathan's eyes widened in shock as the sudden deactivation of his opponent's lightsaber caused him to stumble forward. His instincts went into overdrive as the young Sith swiftly twisted sideways, brushed past his body and ignited his lightsaber again, thrusting at his exposed back.
The Sith Lord turned to parry the strike and was able to avoid being stabbed straight through. It didn't manage to stop the tip of the blade from clipping his side, though.
"Guh!" Grathan grunted as he clutched his burning side. It wasn't fatal, but the sheer humiliation in letting this upstart hit him within the first minute of a fight had singed his pride.
"Ha! Pure luck, youngster." The rogue Sith stood straight, his mask hiding his pained expression. "Your paltry tricks won't save you from the Dark Side!"
Crackle!
Arcs of lightning shot out from Grathan's fingertips and raced towards the impassive Aaric. Just as the chains were about to hit him, however, the young one flicked his arm from behind his back and threw Ba'al's stolen lightsaber right into the line of fire.
Grathan was stunned once again as the spinning blade's conductive properties caused the lightning to deviate ever so slightly from its intended target and striking it instead. As the lightsaber spun away, so did the lightning's arc of fire. And for that split second was all Aaric needed to force leap over to his opponent and take advantage of Grathan's momentary shock. Said Sith Lord grunted as the youngster before him began his series of heavy force-powered strikes all chaining together perfectly, leaving no room for him to breathe as he blocked each swing.
This was what Form Five in its purest form was like. The best offense was the best defense; throwing all one had into an attack with such speed and ferocity that there was almost no chance for the defender to find or capitalize his opponent's weakness. An opponent of equal or more skill would be able to escape the assault or find an opening if correctly timed and Sith Lord Grathan had enough skill and experience in spades.
Then again, who ever thought Aaric was a slave to form?
Aaric slashed downwards, expectedly meeting Grathan's blade. Instead of flowing to the next attack the younger Sith leapt forward, stepping on the Sith Lord's outstretched thigh and using it as leverage to drive his knee forward, socking him straight in the chin.
The cybernetic Sith's head snapped back as he stumbled a few steps back. He counted himself lucky that his helmet had absorbed some of the shock, but the whiplash on his cervical spine was having an effect on his focus. He had to overwhelm this apprentice once and for all! Focusing the force energies into his body, Grathan blasted forward with blinding speed and rained down a barrage of strikes upon Aaric.
While the pair poured their attention into the battle, Vette zipped from cover to cover whenever the Sith Lord's back was turned against her. It seemed that her presence had gone unnoticed, but she wasn't taking any chances. All she needed to do now was to find a perfect spot with a wide view for her to take the shot. Finally, she positioned herself at the far corner of the chamber behind a statue, no obstructions in sight and observed the fight with her disruptor pistol at the ready.
Aaric had been keeping track of Vette's movements out of the corner of his eye. It was difficult to do so while battling the Sith Lord, keeping track of his slave and making sure Grathan didn't notice. But so far Grathan hadn't suspected a thing… he hoped. The older warrior was definitely past his prime, but it made his strikes no less heavy and Aaric for all his skill and strength was starting to get a tad numb in his arms from the strain.
So this is the strength of a Sith Lord! Aaric grinned inwardly as he parried each strike in the chain. But strength is useless without guile!
Unbeknownst to Grathan, the younger Sith wasn't merely retreating in some random direction. He was effectively maneuvering his opponent, so his back was turned against Vette's direction. Aaric's behind bumped against the meeting table in the rear of the chamber and Grathan smirked from under his helmet.
The Sith Lord roared as he swung his lightsaber downwards, only to meet with Aaric's own blade once again. Their blades locked and Grathan growled as he pushed Aaric downwards onto the table, the interlocked sabers slowly descending upon the intruder's chest. "No more running, foolish youngster!"
Now would be the best time, Vette! Aaric roared from within his mind.
Vette, as if she heard him, stepped out from behind cover, aimed straight at Grathan's back and fired her disruptor pistol with the coherent beam of energy streaking across the room.
Just before the beam connected, Grathan spun an arm abruptly behind him. Vette's eyes widened in shock as the beam hit the base of his palm and seemed to disappear right into it. The process didn't seem to be perfect though, as Aaric heard a muffled cry emanating from underneath Grathan's helmet together with the smell of burnt flesh.
The distraction was all Aaric needed.
With a burst of speed, the apprentice angled his blade ever so slightly and caused Grathan's saber to slip and miss its target. A free hand thrust forward and gripped the Sith Lord's chest piece, gaining his attention. Aaric smirked.
BZZZZZTKRAAAAKK!
Violet arcs of electricity struck Grathan's body as Aaric poured gratuitous amounts of Sith Lightning into the poor Sith Lord. The apprentice spared no expense in making sure his target was too weak to resist. He continued the barrage for a few more seconds before letting up, leaving Grathan's armor as nothing more than a smoke-encrusted shell. The Sith Lord fell on his knees and looked up to see Aaric standing over him.
Before he could utter another word, Aaric swifly stabbed his lightsaber through Grathan's heart. Then just be sure, he pulled out the blade and swung to the side, lopping off his head in one clean stroke. The helmet clattered onto the floor, signaling the end of the duel.
Vette jogged over to her victorious master and stared at his handiwork. "Wow! That was intense! Sorry, I couldn't take him out..."
"Nonsense, Vette." Aaric scoffed, picking up the helmet. "You did your job and gave me the opening I needed to defeat him."
"Oh, uh... thanks I guess." The Twi'lek scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"Come. Our mission isn't over yet."
When the pair returned, Cellvanta and Beelzlit had remained as expected. Though the son still had an expression of anticipation and anxiousness, Lady Grathan was already grinning from ear to ear.
"It is done, Cellvanta." Aaric proclaimed, setting the disembodied head and helmet onto the table as proof. "Lord Grathan is dead."
"Yes, I sensed my husband's death." She cooed with ecstasy. "Lord Grathan is no more. What pleasure to think he suffered!"
Beelzlit took slightly longer for the news to fully settle in. He stared down at the table, musing about the possibilities now that his father was dead. "Mother, what does this mean? Am I truly to become the master of this house?"
The now self-proclaimed Lady Grathan turned towards her son and smiled gently. "You will wear his mask and assume his identity. But you are not yet ready to rule, my dear. The voice will be yours, but the words will be mine."
"I understand, mother." Beelzlit nodded as a sense of relief washed over him. "Oh, how I have longed for my father's death and the chance to claim his power."
"Yes, this is a great day." Cellvanta turned towards her savior with a touch of sincere gratitude. Something which was not lost on the apprentice. "You have served us well, my new friend. Tell me... how can we show your appreciation towards your assistance? Credits? Perhaps something from our labs"
Bingo. Aaric smirked foxily. "Now that you mention it, I do have two requests. I believe a particular artifact is in your collection: Darth Revan's mask. Also, there's a new turret design which I believe is kept in your lab databanks. I would like to have those, if it isn't too much trouble."
"Done." Cellvanta agreed instantly, much to Aaric's surprise. "Anything else?"
The apprentice tilted his head slightly as he scanned over Cellvanta's mature form. Her grey skintight suit left nothing to the imagination, though the ridiculous headpiece was a bit of a turn off. He stepped towards Lady Grathan until their bosoms almost touched. "Well, since you're being so generous. Perhaps you could show your appreciation in a more... personal manner?" He asked suggestively.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Beelzlit frown at the obvious request. Vette stared at her master incredulously.
"Aren't you the rogue?" Cellvanta chuckled. "You freed me from an inconvenient husband and put me in control of this house. Since you asked so nicely, let me show you my appreciation. In private."
"Whoa, wait a minute!" Vette interjected. "You're not seriously considering this? Any shuttle port in a storm, is that the kind of guy you are? Wait..."
"Had an epiphany?" Aaric teased.
"Yeah." The Twi'lek deadpanned. "Y'know what? Nevermind. You do you, master!"
"Now that we've cleared that up, all this talk is making me impatient." Cellvanta turned to her son. "Beelzlit, find something to do, will you? Your mother needs some privacy."
"Yes, Mother." Beelzlit replied, almost too willingly. He glared at the apprentice from behind his mother's back before exiting the room.
She motioned her head towards Vette. "And are you going to dismiss your Twi'lek?"
"No." Aaric said, much to Vette's shock. "She never leaves my side."
Lady Grathan was only a tad surprised but took it well in her stride. "Well, well, well! Whatever you say, it's your party."
Cellvanta led the pair into her bedchambers where she laid on her bed and beckoned the apprentice to come over and fuck her. Aaric didn't need to be told twice as he climbed onto the bed and tore through her skin-tight suit with sheer brute strength; something which made Cellvanta shiver in delight at what was to come.
As for Vette all she could do was stand by the side and watch in awe.
Aaric licked his lips. For a Sith lady nearing her forties, her body was still muscled and taut with curves in all the right places. Her bounteous breasts were sagging a little but still firm with dark and pert nipples. Tearing the rest of the suit off exposed her trimmed womanhood which was glistening with wetness. Then it was his turn.
Aaric stripped off his armor and clothes with practised speed, and when his pants were finally down. The older sith gasped at the size and length of his manhood.
"By the force! It's even bigger than Grathan's ever was." She gasped. "And he needed to implant cybernetic enhancement on his too."
"Now that's all moot now that he's dead." Aaric smirked as he hovered his large frame over hers. "Let's stop talking about a dead man and do more fucking."
"Agreed." Cellvanta purred. She needed no foreplay as she was already more wet then she had ever been in years. Struggling to circumvent the entire thing around her hand, she guided the pole to her entrance and looked up at Aaric expectantly.
Aaric grinned as he slowly descended his body unto hers. The Sith woman inhaled sharply as the hot meat stick invaded her hole inch by inch until she felt as if she had a full meal. Eventually he bottomed out with the last few inches remaining. The apprentice grunted at not having his entire shaft enveloped so he pulled out a little...
And without warning, thrust his hips into hers with a mighty thrust!
She could almost hear the head of his penis punch through and into her cervix as a explosion of pain and pleasure shocked her senses. Her body tensed and her mouth opened as she screamed a silent 'O' towards the heavens. Aaric groaned in pleasure as the entire manhood was finally covered in warm female flesh. Gradually, he started pumping in and out of the woman with increasing speed every passing second.
Cellvanta was broken out of her stupor as the motions inside her started up again. Instead of the instant high she felt earlier, the pleasure was slowly being brought out from within.
"Yes! Yes! Fuck me harder!" Cellvanta exclaimed. "Not even Grathan and his cold stiff dick could satisfy me the night we conceived Beelzlit! I may as well have been fucking a robotic phallus inste-GURK!"
Her tirade was cut off as a hand wrapped around her neck and clamped down on her windpipe while the other hand immobilized her arms above her head. Her talk about Grathan and his son was getting on his nerves and there was no other way to shut her up.
Cellvanta struggled as the lack of air was getting to her. For some reason, it heightened her body's reaction to his pummeling down below. As seconds passed, her body was thrashing in an attempt to get him off but Aaric was too strong. Plus it didn't help that her concentration was wrecked by the immense impending orgasm threatening to explode.
Aaric groaned throatily as Cellvanta's choking caused her pussy muscles to spasm in conjunction with her thrashes. This only spurred him to slam harder and faster into his cocksleeve of the night. The lady Sith only had enough consciousness to wonder if he had decided to kill her instead. As she neared her last moments before unconsciousness overtook her, Aaric released her neck and arms as he roared and slammed his hips into hers and releasing a torrent of cum into her womb.
The sudden intake of life-giving air slammed her conscious back to the forefront like a speeder through a brick wall. Her sensations were heightened ten fold and she was forced to experience her body take over her mind via an earth-shattering orgasm. Her body arched and pussy clenched painfully around Aaric's shaft even as it visibly expanded and contracted with each hose of cum his balls churned out at an alarming rate.
After a minute, the apprentice's own ejaculation died down. Leaving Cellvanta a shivering wreck and a bulge in her tummy from the copious amount of baby batter than was deposited into her cervix. As life came back to the woman's eyes, she looked upon her savior only to gasp feebly: He was still hard!
In the corner of the room, Vette could only watch morbidly at the whole scene while her own pussy was soaking wet. It took everything in her not to start frigging herself at the scene. The smell of sex and bodily fluids in the air were making the lithe slave horny as well. For a moment, Vette wondered what would it be like to be on the receiving end of her master's dongle.
"The night's not over yet, Cellvanta." Aaric exclaimed. His red and rock hard dick still raring to go. "I'll make sure you remember every inch of my cock by the time the night is over!"
By the time they ended their night of sexual trysts, Aaric balls felt lighter while Cellvanta's mouth, ass and pussy were filled to the brim with his sperm.
Vette would only start frigging herself after she was sure the pair was asleep.
Hours later, everyone was already up and ready to go. Though Vette looked a little worse for wear due to her lack of sleep... and the fact that she had to sleep on the floor too.
"Of all the things I've endured to gain power, this was one of the least unpleasant." Cellvanta sighed in satisfaction. "You are always welcome in my chamber, friend."
"Keep the door unlocked." The apprentice grinned sultrily, giving her large but tight bum a firm squeeze.
"Now where would the fun be in that?" Cellvanta playfully pushed Aaric's chest. "As much as I would like to stay, we must take our leave. I have much to do now that I control House Grathan and I'm sure your master is eager to learn of my son's apparent demise."
Opening a drawer, Lady Grathan took out a code cylinder and gave it to the apprentice. "Take this. It provides the highest level of clearance possible. Security droid scans will mark you as one of our own and personnel won't dare suspect you."
"Thank you, Cellvanta. I hope we see each other again soon. Come Vette, we take our leave now."
"Y-yes, master."
As the pair left the main compound with the turret designs and Revan's mask in hand, Aaric wondered if now that Cellvanta got what she wanted she would turn on him. However, his fears were for nought as he passed by patrols and got scanned by security droids without any incident. It seemed that the newly instated Lady Grathan now had truly recognized her as an associate, if not a friend.
With confidence, the apprentice took advantage of his security clearance and investigated on where Grathan's prisoners were being brought to. The search led him to one of the nearby labs. Somehow, the lab was left unmanned so the pair decided to investigate further. All around them were deactivated droids and bodies on operating tables. Upon closer inspection, the bodies seemed to have their skulls cut open and their brains removed.
Aaric raised a brow. He did not like where this was going. Stepping toward one of the droids, said droid suddenly turned towards him. The apprentice backed away in case he was being attacked, but he relaxed once the droid started speaking.
"Authorization. Authorization? System cannot identify. Please don't go! Please don't go." The droid exclaimed, seemingly in panic. "What's happening? Are you with Lord Grathan? Are you invading? System cannot identify."
The droid's voice was strange to him. Somehow the voice module was switching between droid and human speech. "I'm not with Grathan if that's what you're asking." He replied.
"Then who- System cannot stop re-assigning priorities." The droid explained as it put its hands onto its head as if suffering from a headache. "I'm Ensign Tholver Shan, Imperial Military Operating Number 218A697. Please, did the Duchess send you? Please help me!"
Duchess? He thought. This was beginning to sound bad. "She requested that I find her men who were captured. How would a droid know who the Duchess is?"
The droid hunched seemingly in defeat as he continued his explanation. "We failed her. Failed to defend ourselves. Grathan's people took us prisoner for experiments. The scientists cut open our head, put our brains in droids. Identification: Model OHK-99. They program us for advanced intelligence. Enhanced combat tactics. Now my body's lying dead across the room. I can see it!"
So Grathan was trying to experiment on droids with human minds? The apprentice thought. Feh. Sound logic in principle, but very complicated in execution. "Is there any way we can reverse the operation?" he asked.
"I'm the last." The droid replied sadly. "The others have all be converted. They can't talk. Can't disobey. But I know they can still think. Feel."
As if struck with an idea, the droid pleaded. "Please listen. You could disable us all, send the shutdown command from our central command console. Please, you could put an end to this. Use the command console. I can't go with you motor and combat systems nonfunctional. Please make it stop hurting!"
Aaric sighed. There was some good in Grathan's research. But the droid in front of him was proof that there as still a long way to go before the experiments would provide fruitful data. The fact that valuable Imperial troops were being wasted in this pointless research instead of expendable slaves made it all the worse. Of course, he wouldn't say that out loud in front of Vette.
"What a waste." The apprentice groaned as he approached the command console. With a few taps of the buttons, sparks flew from all the droids within the lab and each one crumpled into a heap of metal and wires.
"Let's go Vette. We're done here."
Both master and slave managed to walk out of the compound unharmed thanks to the code cylinder. After they crossed the chasm, they sought out Major Pathel and his two aides. Captain Bryn was expectedly ecstatic when he received the datapad containing the turret plans and left hurriedly, promising to transfer the appropriate reward to the apprentice's bank account.
Sarnova, however, was less than enthused. Aaric wasn't one to mince words and the revelation at what Grathan was doing to her 'kids' made her sick to her stomach. Despite despairing at having to write letters to the families of the dead soldiers and having to recruit more once again, she still found the decency to compensate Aaric for finding out what happened to them.
As they exited the wall and strolled towards their speeder, Vette found it curious why her master didn't try to hit on Sarnova this time. When she voiced her thoughts Aaric gave her a haughty reply. "Why? Seeing women so emotionally distressed takes the fun out of it. They'll be too distracted to even react to my advances."
"Are you sure you're not just courteous towards their feelings?" Vette replied skeptically. "I think deep down you're a big softy for damsels in distre-OWWW!" The Twi'lek jumped as Aaric gave a nasty slap on her buttocks once again. "If you keep that up, it's gonna be sore for the rest of the day y'know?!"
"And I'll keep doing it if you keep asking pointless questions." Aaric replied. "Now hop on before I leave you to the vine cats!"
"By the stars you made it back!" Torrun exclaimed as the pair strode toward him. "Did you find the mask of revan? Tell me you didn't let Ladra have it. She's mad and you know it."
The apprentice nodded and handed the mask over. "Here it is. Keep it safe."
"You have it? That's wonderful!" The curator took it and examined every inch of it closely. "So that… that really is the mask of Darth Revan? Didn't think it would look so real, somehow."
"I went through a lot to retrieve this for you." Aaric growled.
"And the results are absolutely worthwhile. Believe me." Torrun explained. "I can almost feel Revan's power. It's dark power. Understandable that Ladra was so obsessed with it. But then, that's exactly why the rest of the order doesn't need to see it. The darkness was a part of Revan, but only a part." "
The mask must be secured until I'm ready to study it. But I won't let it corrupt me. I'll tell the others here that you completed the trial of the past. No one will argue. You're not a Revanite yet, but you're one step closer." The curator turned away and sighed heavily. "Now, I have some explanations to make to Ladra. Wish me luck..."
With that quest done the pair went to report back to the bald Raymon. "I've been contacted and told that you've finished the pilgrimage. Not bad. I don't know what happened out there, it's none of my business. But the inner circle approves of your initiation. You did good in this trial. You can go to Dzoun now to finish your initiation. Good luck. Every step brings you close to the Master."
No words needed to be said. They returned to Dzoun who welcomed them with a warm smile. "I've been hearing a lot about your progress, hearing about your trials. Your initiation hasn't been an easy one. But you've met the challenge and showed you can walk Revan's path. Now you may undergo the final rite."
"Thank you. I appreciate it." Aaric bowed slightly in respect.
"The Master will complete your lessons, and you'll be welcomed as a full member of the Order of Revan." Dzoun continued. "This is a great privilege. The Master reveals himself to no one outside the Order."
Aaric almost grinned in expectation. "Of course. I promise I won't abuse this honor."
Dzoun pointed over to one of the tentages nearby. "You may go to the Master in that tent over there. He will be waiting for you. Listen to him. Obey him. Through the Master, you will know the path of Revan. Now go!"
Leaving Dzoun behind, Aaric and Vette walked over to the tent and entered it. Instead of the Master, however, there was nothing but a large holoprojector inside. Before the apprentice could return to Dzoun and demand an explanation, the device lit up and the visage of a man in Revan's garb and masked appeared.
"You who have died and been reborn, stand before me now! You who have reclaimed the ancient past, stand before me now! You who have demonstrated power and wisdom to my followed, look upon the Master of the Order of Revan." The figure boomed.
Aaric was getting more annoyed by the minute. "What is this all about? Some kind of trick?"
"This is the end of your initiation and the beginning of your true journey." The hologram continued. "You will walk the path of Revan forevermore. The enemies of the order will force you to move in shadows. But we shall keep your secrets safe, as you shall keep ours."
Almost immediately as the hologram was cut, a woman's voice cut in from behind them. "The time for subterfuge is over. Know me for who I am."
The pair spun around to reveal the owner of the voice; a dark-skinned, dark-haired woman no taller than Aaric's shoulder in height and with red tattoos streaking from her head and down her face. The apprentice and the woman met each other's gaze for a minute before Aaric nodded in understanding, giving the woman a small smirk. "The man in the holorecording was a fake isn't he?"
The woman, now recognized as the true master of the Revanites, returned a smirk of her own. "The ruse serves its purpose. Besides, it felt appropriate. Revan's real gender is unclear in many of our records. I apologize for the deception, and for not meeting you sooner. But you must know how badly the Dark Council wants me dead. The Order of Revan threatens everything the Dark Council prizes."
The apprentice nodded in understanding. "Why did you find the Order of Revan in the first place?" He questioned further.
"I stumbled upon the mysteries of Revan on Korriban, when I became a Sith." She explained. "That started me down a terrible path. Revan came to Dromund Kaas after being reborn. Some believe Revan died at the hands of our Emperor. I believe otherwise. I believe Revan overthrew the Emperor and has sat secretly on the throne for three centuries. Aside from our order, only the Dark council knows the truth."
Now that piece of information raised a brow. This was a tad of a stretch, even to Aaric. "You really think Revan's replaced the Emperor?"
"I do. It's the only way the puzzle pieces fit." She replied with conviction. "I have heard whispers in the Citadel. For decades, the Emperor has been in seclusion. The Dark Council no longer speaks with him. The only explanation is this: The Dark Council betrayed their leader and locked Emperor Revan away, seizing power for themselves. They seek to silence us because we know."
Aaric scoffed inwardly but kept his expression neutral. That claim was shaky in its foundations at best. Revan was a powerful force user, that was for sure. But to best the Emperor himself? It was almost unimaginable that it could happen. "If that is true, then what do you plan to do? Free him?"
"If it takes many years to do so, then yes." The Master shurgged. "But first, I need your help in a different matter. My agents tell me that you met with a Sith named Sandor. A man who seeks to destroy the Revanites. End his threat. Go to Sandor and tell him that you men the Revanite leader. Tell him that the leader is his own master, Darth Charnus."
"And why would he believe me?" Aaric asked skeptically.
The woman took out a piece of trinket and handed it over to him. "I... obtained this Sith amulet from Charnus. Give it to Sandor. He'll believe you stole it from the Master while among the Revanites. They will turn against each other."
The apprentice's eyes narrowed. She sounded very sure that it would happen. Either she was extremely confident... or she was extremely foolish. Aaric would play her game for now.
"When this is done, though... when you've spoken to Sandor... you cannot return here." The Master proclaimed sadly. "Sandor must never suspect your true allegiance and returning here would only make him suspicious once more. You must walk the path of Revan on your own. The path to power: the path neither Jedi nor Sith. We shall not see each other again. May the Force be with you. May it make you strong."
Aaric nodded in understanding. The logic was sound... or it could be a conveniently justifiable excuse to ensure he never returned and compromised their position or secrecy again. Whatever it was, he had no more reason to have anything to do with the Revanites ever again. Bowing respectfully, the apprentice and his slave left the compound for the last time.
It was nightfall by the time the pair returned to their mansion. When they entered their home, however, Vette gasped in surprise that the entire stronghold had been fully furnished with decorations, furniture and belongings of all kinds. Before the pair had left on their mission, the apprentice had already made arrangements to ensure everything he wanted or needed would be delivered and installed into his new home.
Leaving Vette to rediscover the mansion once again, Aaric entered the lab-turned interrogation room. He grinned evilly as he saw that the carbonite block of his captured Jedi Padawan Yadira Ban was already delivered and set on top of the now redesigned 'pleasure table'. The ends of said table's arms were now replaced with many implements of bondage and phallic design.
Aaric rubbed his palms and licked his lips in anticipation. He would have a hell of a time breaking in his new slave. Hopefully, she would prove a feisty challenge to turn.
Before he could continue wallowing in his thoughts, a buzzer sounded signaling a guest at the front door. Aaric knew who it was... how in the world did Sandor know he returned? He would have to do a check of the stronghold's surroundings for any spying devices later. True to his suspicions the security cam revealed Sandor waiting outside. The blast doors slid open and Aaric motioned for him to enter.
"The master of the lightsaber returns." Sandor said calmly, but with a hint of a expectant smile on his face. "It must have taken great willpower to leave the Revanite cultists alive long enough to investigate them. Tell me now, did you find what we need? Did you see the face of the leader?"
Aaric had thought about what to tell Sandor during the pair's strip back. The Revanites' creed was more appealing to him than he was comfortable with, compared to the Empire's. If the Empire could learn to appreciate the positives which came with accepting aliens as equals, perhaps it would make it all the more stronger against the Republic. The apprentice had made his choice. He only hoped that it wouldn't bit him back in the ass.
"It was a man." He declared confidently, taking out the trinket the Master gave him. "I couldn't learn his name, but he wore this amulet."
Sandor quirked a brow as he took it."Oh? Perhaps that will be enough. A symbol of rank, or affiliation, or... Wait! This. I know this amulet! How did you obtain it?"
"I obtained it at great personal risk." Aaric narrowed his gaze dangerously as to prove a point. "That's all I can say."
The dark-skinned Sith looked away for a moment and nodded to himself. "I see. This is the amulet of my master Darth Charnus. Taken from the Order of Revan. Speak to no one of this. I will deal with my master myself. Take your payment from my own keepings. It is all I can offer you without alerting Darth Charnus. I shall take my leave. We cannot be seen together any longer, and I have much to do."
"I'll leave you to it, then. Goodbye." Aaric replied as Sandor turned and walked away at a brisk pace. If only Sandor could have seen Aaric's smirk as the blast doors closed shut behind him.