Chapter 12

AN: Thank god I have time to write again, it's been too long. With this chapter, we are finishing the Columex arch and moving on. I want to thank all of you for reading this story and feel free to leave a review.

sushitown: Hola amigo, Im glad you like it but sorry if you want to contact me you will have to do it by fanfiction.

Messorem-Dust: As always Im glad you like the story. You are right about the Jedi and the rule of two sith, Acina is not going to be pleased. About the Nightsisets, Im not sure, I've been thinking about Ventress and Maul recently, so I will see what my brain manages to come up with.

The sounds of blaster fire echoed throughout the large hangar combined with the dying screams of the Zygerrian soldiers. It all happened so fast, one moment they were readying what was supposed to be the first shipment of slaves from Columex bound for their home world to be sold in the markets, and then the next thing they knew they were being attacked by dark-robed figure wielding two crimson lightsabers. Ris could do little more than fire her blaster at the intruder with little success, every shot she fired was either dodged or deflected at one of her comrades. A feeling started to form inside her, a feeling of fear and dread which only increased with each passing second that their attacker remained alive. Questions start to form in her mind, questions like: How were they discovered? Had the senator ratted them out? Will she make it out alive? She ignored those questions and continued firing at her target only to shoot one of her fellows that their assailant was somehow keeping suspended in the air, using him as a meat shield.

"Jedi scum!" snarled one of her fellow companions before she too had her blaster bolt redirected back at herself, ending her existence. Riss attention was focused on the robed figure approaching her. She got up from her cover and started to walk back as she continued to shoot, but all her effort was for not. Fear rose to its peak, she had not been this afraid of anything since she was a little girl. Then a bolt hit her hand, making her scream in pain and let go of her blaster. She stumbled and fell, the figure continuing its advance towards her. She tried to crawl away but her back hit the wall, she had nowhere else to go. This fact only made the feeling of impending doom worse. A sliver of hope rose when a thought of one of her fellow Zygerrians saving her came to mind, only to quickly come crashing down when she realized that she was the last one still breathing. Ris started to shake and tears of despair filled her eyes. She didn't want to die, not like this, alone and afraid.

The figure stopped in front of her, a red blade in each hand. Ris was about to plead for her life but was stopped when one of the blades found itself right before her throat. She could feel the heat coming from the blade and hear its humming. She lifted her head in an effort not to be burned by the crimson blade, only to meet the eyes of her assailant. The assailant was a woman, human, but what truly stood out were her eyes, they were yellow and filled with hate. Ris had never seen a gaze so hateful, never seen that much loathing in someone's eyes.

"P-please..." she began to beg, her voice desperate. Before she could utter another word, her attacker lifted her saber all so slightly. Ris greeted her teeth as she felt a burning sensation below her jaw. Those hateful eyes stared directly into her own.

"You would dare to beg," the figure said, the tone of her voice made Ris even more terrified. The woman's voice was filled with so much malice and loathing.

"P-please, I didn't..."

"It is those like you who disgust me. What gives you the right to take away another person's freedom? What gives you the right to take away everything from them and sell them like common cattle?"

"The same thing that allowed you to kill these fools, strength," Acina thought but did not utter it. The strong prey on the weak, that's the way of the galaxy. That is how things always were and always will be. She knew her apprentice's feelings on the matters like that. Shmi still had a good heart, she believed that even with all of the bad in the galaxy, the is much more of the good in it. If she only knew how wrong she is. Acina will just allow Shmi to learn it on her own, to let her hate to grow, with a little help from Acina. A whisper here, a little nudge there, so far it was working. Shmi will become powerful with time. The revelation of her past as a slave had gone a long way in pushing her apprentice toward the dark side and this little quest to wipe out the Zygerrians served to further push Shmi towards it.

"I….I….," Ris tried to give an answer, to say something, anything that might get her out of this mess alive but failed, her mind clouded by terror. She had seen how her friends and comrades were butchered, no mercy was shown to them. What hopes were there that the assailant might show her mercy?

"Answer me!" Shmi shouted, Ris was shaking uncontrollably now, tears flowing freely down her face.

"I-I" Ris stuttered barely able to say anything. "P-please don't k-kill me."

"Begging for your life. How many did beg you for theirs?" Shmi exclaimed but received no answer. Ris had closed her eyes in an effort not to look into those yellow orbs of anger her would-be killer possessed. Shmi hummed. "So be it."

The crimson blade moved away from the Zygerrian and for a split second, for a small moment, Ris dared hope that the woman would let her go. Those hopes died when the blade of plasma connected with her neck, slicing through it and making her head fall to the hard cold floor of the hanger. Shmi passed the final slaver a second glance before moving towards where the people were being kept.

"She pleaded for her life and yet you killed her anyway," Acina said, it was not a question but a statement. A statement she wanted her apprentice's input.

"She was a slaver, like the rest of them. Few words don't change that," Shmi said.

"Indeed but she was young, probably barely taking her first steps into adulthood. She probably had family, loved ones back home, people who now won't ever be able to see her ever again," Acina said. The ancient Sith's words made the former slave pause for a moment, a conflicted look flashed in her eyes but it dissipated as quickly as it appeared, determination replacing it.

"They are slavers like her, and if not they are guilty of doing nothing to stop the suffering their people are causing," Shmi said.

"Sometimes there is nothing people can do," Acina said matter-of-factly. "Sometimes they are too weak and powerless to do anything."

"There is always something you can do, it doesn't need to be a full-blown rescue operation but a small act of kindness, no matter how minuscule it might seem to you may give hope or enough strength to hold on long enough," Shmi said with finality, bringing the end to the discussion.

They proceeded to do the same as they did with the previous location, release the prisoners, point them in the right direction, offer what aid they could and then blow up the hanger with detonators, making sure that a place of torment like that was reduced to ash. Now only one remained.

Hastily Shmi made her way back to the ship and then to its cockpit. Triz was there lounging in the pilot's seat until she saw her mentor approaching. The young zabrak swiftly moved to the copilots seat, letting Shmi sit down and start the lift-off procedure.

"Is it done?" Triz asked her master.

"It will be soon enough," Shmi replied as her hands moved over the cockpit instruments with practiced ease. "Only one base remains, we take that one out and do a little additional cleanup if needed and the slavers will have to think twice about ever coming back here."

"And what we you-we do after?" Triz asked, her tone slightly hesitant.

"We lay low for a while, this will doubtlessly draw some attention, better be safe than sorry. And we continue my and your training. A bit more focus on you will be a priority," Shmi replied. The former slave wanted to help the girl, to teach her what she knew, and the ghostly Sith agreed to an extent. Training an acolyte is a wise move but Shmi's training is still in its infancy, her skill level is just at the level of an average apprentice, she was far away from a fully forged master but then again Acina was there to offer any help she can.

"Once this little crusade is done, we will focus more on force studies. You tapping into the dark side and unleashing a force burst like that was unexpected, it usually takes a great amount of effort and training for one to be able to do that. There are also several key force abilities every Sith should know that I have yet to teach you," Acina explained.

"What abilities?" Shmi asked intrigued. Things Acina had shown her so far were truly marvelous and Shmi was still getting the full hang of them but learning more can not hurt.

"You will see my apprentice, all in due time," the Sith replied cryptically. Shmi just knew that Acina was smirking inside. The ship moved through the planet's skies until it reached its final location. Within the last hanger that was being used as a base of operation by the Zygerrians, the sound of an electro-whip hitting its intended target and then screams of pain were heard as one of the slavers was in the middle of teaching a disobedient future slave not to ever raise his hand against their masters. The human man screamed on the floor of the building until he passed out due to pain. The Zygerrian officer eyed the unconscious man with contempt.

"Throw him into the ship with the rest and make sure he doesn't cause any further trouble," the commander said and two of his subordinates did as told.

"That one has spirit, I will give him that," the second in command of this detachment of Zygerrians on Columex, Herid said rubbing his bruised jaw which the man had hit earlier in a stupid attempt to escape.

"His spirit will be broken soon enough once he reaches the markets of Zygerria, and if not then his life will be forfeit," the commander Dardis said harshly.

"Shame, he could earn some good money in the fighting pits," Herid said. The commander did not voice his opinion about the proposition of his second in command.

"Any word from the other bases?" Dardis asked.

Heris frowned. "No, I have been trying to establish communications with all three of them but I received no answer. I was just about to try again when that Kung punched me."

"Try again," Dardis commanded and Herid did as told, activating his communicator and calling the base at the capitol.

"This is Lieutenant Herid calling Capitol base, I repeat this is Lieutenant Herid calling Capitol base," the officer said but received no reply. He tried calling the other two bases to no avail. No one was responding. "Nothing sir, only silence."

A bad feeling came over both Zygerians, something wasn't right. There was a possibility that it was a communication issue but that would be if only one other compound was not responding not all three.

"We might have a problem," Herid said.

"You think so," Dardis replied sarcastically. "Put everyone on high alert and finish loading that batch of slaves on the transport."

"Yes Sir," Herid replied and proceeded to do as commanded. Firstly all of the personnel inside the hanger were alerted and it was then that Herid called the mercenaries outside. He called several of the patrols but received no response. He was starting to get frustrated, something definitely wasn't right. Dardis noticed his expression and asked what is going on. "I think we are under attack sir."

Dardis growled in annoyance, this operation had started running so smoothly, it was just his luck everything had to go to shit now. An attack would definitely explain the silence of other bases. That meant that they were the last ones remaining. There are a few small parties scattered on the planet but nothing that would be of any help right now, they were on their own.

The Zygerrians readied themselves for the assault to come, taking positions around the large open area, finding cover behind crates, walls, and machinery. Tension filled the air as they waited for the inevitable. Then the sound of doors opening, the small entrance at the front of the hanger slid to the side, and in walked one of the mercenary guards the senator had provided.

"What's going on out there?" Dardis half shouted to the gun for hire. No response came from the man and not a second later he fell to the ground, a large horizontal burn bark on his beck. Dardis eyed the body for a moment, blaster could not have done that, the only thing that can do something like that is an energy melee weapon. The doors tried to close but were unable to due to the body blocking the entrance. "Stay alert!" He shouted, all eyes present fixed on the doorway, expecting their attackers to charge in at any moment. Then a strange sound was heard from high above them, two red bolts of plasma protruded from the ceiling, then spun around cutting a circle which fell down onto the floor in the middle of them, making the Zygerrians scatter in the last moment so as not to be crushed. Dardis moved his gaze to where the part of the ceiling had fallen and on it, he saw a robbed figure with twin blood-red lightsabers staring at him.

"Open fire!" Herid shouted and the Zygerrians broke out of their stupor and unleashed their weapons upon the intruder. Spinning her blades around Shmi started deflecting the blaster bolts being shot at her. Acina's idea to drop in the middle of them had proven effective and she was within arms reach of most of them. Some might think it an issue but the shock factor had done its part and with Shmi's enhanced speed and reflexes, it won't prove hard to deal with the last remaining slavers on the planet. Shmi cut down one feline soldier after another. She spotted one of them taking aim with a blaster cannon at her. Reacting quickly she used the force to send a wave of kinetic energy at the cannon, sending it flying through the air, its wielder with it as well.

A pair of slavers tried to sneak behind her, electro-whips in hand to surprise her while she was busy dealing with several of their electro-bow-armed kin. Unfortunately for them, Shmi had learned her lesson from the last time she was struck by those whips and had no intention of ever experiencing that kind of torment ever again. Shmi jumped into the air, flipped, and landed right behind the two whip-wielders, bringing a swift end to them by cutting them in half with one single swing of a blade. Bodies littered the hangar but there were still more slavers left alive, ones that were trying to regroup near the ship. They continued firing covering themselves as they pulled back.

"They are going to board the ship," Acina pointed out.

"I can see that," Shmi said, deflecting another bolt back and taking out another armored soldier.

"They intend on escaping," Acina added.

"I know that," Shmi replied with annoyance but she wasn't sure at who, her master at stating the obvious or the slavers for trying to flee rightful retribution. Shmi charged forward lightsabers swinging through the air blocking and redirecting the incoming fire.

"Get inside and start the engines! Somebody open the hanger doors!" Dardis shouted to his second in command who promptly did so. Unfortunately for them, Shmi knew what they intended to do and with a force-enhanced leap, she ended up on the ship's top, right next to the engines. A moment before Herid was about to bring the engines online the Sith apprentice plunged both of her blades into them. Shmi quickly pulled them out and jumped away, not a moment too soon because as energy reached the now damaged engines an explosion happened, taking out the possibility of escape for the slavers.

Six Zygerrians stared at the robbed figure as she slowly approached them, the two lightsaber blades pointed downward, yellow eyes staring at them. Fear engulfed them, the horrible fate they are to suffer slowly creeping into their minds. One slaver proved brave enough to try and shoot her again but the blaster bolt was effortlessly returned back at him, making his body fall limp on the ground, a smoking black spot in the middle of his chest plate. The ominous figure continued to approach them.

"Stop! Not one step further!" Dardis shouted and everyone's attention turned to him. In his left hand, he held a remote detonator, a small cylindrical object with a button on top. "This whole place is rigged with explosives. You take another step and I press this button."

"You are bluffing," Shmi said.

"No, I'm not," Dardis said slowly. Shmi could tell that he was telling the truth, the force was telling her as much as her own instincts as well.

"You would truly kill yourself," Shmi stated.

"Oh if it means taking you with me then I would," Dardis said, glaring at the person who in mere minutes destroyed something which took months to prepare. If he returned to Zygerria now he would be branded as a failure, a disgrace. He rather die than suffer such a humiliating fate.

"And what about your men?" Shmi asked pointing at the mentioned people with her lightsaber.

"They know the risks, they knew what they signed up for," Dardis answered. By the looks on his subordinate's faces, they weren't exactly sharing their commander's opinion. Tension filled the air as the standoff comments. Shmi's mind raced to find the best solution quickly. She could not let these slaving scum go but if she made a move the bastard would press the button in less than a second.

"Any advice?" Shmi asked her ghostly mentor.

"I already know that simply letting them go is not an option so that leaves using the force as your only solution, take the detonator out of his hand, he loses all the leverage he has," Acina advised her student. But before she could put the plan into action a loud roaring shout was heard from the inside of the ship and for a moment Shmi thought that the slavers had stashed a Rancor in there but that was not the case. Instead of a rancor out of the ship charged a large burly man heading straight towards the leader of the Zygerrians. The escaped man took the slavers by surprise and managed to knock Dardis to the ground. The large man proceeded to bludgeon the Zygerrians head with his bare hands. "The detonator!" Acina shouted and Shmi's attention immediately went to finding it. She found it laying on the ground a few meters away from where the man was pummeling the slaver. Quickly she deactivated one of her blades and using the force Shmi summoned the device towards her. She thought about destroying it for a moment but then remembered what she intended to do with this place afterward. The Zygerrians had done a portion of the work for her.

One of those sons of a Hutt aimed his bow at the escaped man but before he could take the shot Shmi force-pushed him away. The three remaining Zygerrians looked at her with terror in their eyes, there was nowhere left to run, continuing the fight was pointless, there was only one option. They threw down their weapons and went down on their knees, surrendering. Shmi carefully approached the three remaining slavers.

"We surrender," one of them spoke.

"What will you do with them?" Acina asked her apprentice. "You know their crimes, their sines, the pain they caused, and yet they are surrendering peacefully. The rules of law..."

"There is only one sentence for scum like them, what any law states is meaningless, especially if it allows them to live," Shmi replied to her master.

"The choice is yours," Acina said, her even tone hiding the satisfaction she was currently feeling. With one quick move of her right arm, the crimson blade moved through the air and a second later three heads rolled onto the floor, bodies falling down after them. Shmi glared at the bodies of the slavers for a moment, her hateful eyes staring at the lifeless ones of one of the slavers. She had done it, she had purged the slaving ring on Columex. That fact brought no small amount of pride and satisfaction to the former slave. They got what they deserved, their rightful punishment. A grunt attracted her attention, breaking her out of her musings. The large burly man seemed to have finished pummeling the leader's head into a bloody pulp and stood up, his gaze fixated on her.

"You killed them all," he said in a gruff accented voice.

"Indeed I did," Shmi replied, eyeing the man carefully. The man had almost become a slave but he had also managed to free himself and kill his captor, he was at least somewhat dangerous. The man's serious expression turned into a grin.

"Good," he replied. "Shame I couldn't pummel more of them."

"Take solace in the fact that you saved our lives, he was about to blow this whole place up," Shmi said throwing a glance at the remains of the Zygerrian leader.

"Har, really? Then it's good I stepped in when I did," he said and laughed a loud, throaty laugh. Shmi raised an eyebrow at the man, he was certainly proving to be an interesting character. After a moment his laughter subsided. "Think you can do something about these?" he asked motioning towards his restraints. Shmi nodded and with a flick of a wrist and with a little help from the force the restraints opened and fell to the floor. The man rubbed his sore arms. "That's much better, thank you."

"You are welcome," Shmi replied, deactivating her blade. "There are more people inside?"

"There are," he answered. "Dozens, the bastards intended to ship us off, I fought them every moment I got."

"I'm surprised they did just deem you too much trouble and just kill you," Shmi said.

"So am I but it seems that lady luck is on my side today. She even sent you to me," he replied and chuckled. The man offered his bloody hand. "Marius Trax, formally of the Corellian Defense Force."

Shmi looked at the bloody hand, a hesitant look crossing her face. Marius retracted his hand and apologized, "Shmi," she said honestly, she was receiving no warnings from the force about the man. "How did a Corellian end up captured on Columex?" Shmi asked, honestly intrigued.

"Wrong place, wrong time I would say. Was doing some private security work and came here, had a few hours to spare so naturally ended up in a bar, and a brawl broke out, not by any fault of mine. Some coward knocked me out from behind and I woke up here;" he answered.

"Then you are truly lucky that I arrived when I did," Shmi said. At the edge of her vision, she spotted movement. Reacting almost instinctively he activated one of her blades and redirected the blaster shot aimed at the Corellian. Herid looked down in shock at his chest where the bolt had hit and subsequently fell onto the ramp of the ship. "Truly lucky," Shmi repeated herself. "Come, we have people to free and a place to blow up."

Marius stared at her in bewilderment for a long moment before he shook himself back to reality. What was that about blowing something up?

Senator Greyshade sat in his private office in the Greyshade manner, a shaky hand reaching over to the glass filled with brandy, a half-empty bottle next to it. Something had gone wrong, terribly wrong. He had made a deal with the Separatists and the Zygerrian Empire, both rather lucrative for himself. If a few random people disappeared so what, there were millions living on the planet, not to mention adding a few more credits to his pockets. What made the senator of the planet uneasy right now was the fact at all of the bases of operation the Zygerrians had on Columex had been reduced to rubble, with only flames and gutted bodies remaining. Someone had found out about the slaver's presence on his world and snuffed them out in quick succession. He cared little for the lives of those slavers, what truly worried him was his own. That someone knew exactly where the Zygerrians were located, was it possible that they also knew about his involvement? Maybe he should increase the security around his home, better safe than sorry. As he raised the glass toward his mouth his hand suddenly stopped, he was unable to move it, it was as if something was holding it in place. Then he heard footsteps. His gaze went to a dark corner of the large room out of which a figure stepped out.

"Senator Simon Greyshade, you and I have things to discuss," the intruder said in a sickly sweet tone.

"Who are you?" Simon asked, doing his best to cover his shock but it was useless, the Sith could feel his trepidation.

"Someone who has come to offer you a deal senator," the figure responded.

"A-A deal?" he asked.

"Indeed," the figure said in a calm accented voice, there was an aura of sophistication to it. He had spent enough time with polatiotions to notice it. "By now you must have heard what happened to your business partners, it must truly be a shame for you to see such a good venture brought to an end before it ever truly began. Slavery is a lucrative business, especially in the Outer Rim. My partner wanted to kill you for your crimes but I pursued her otherwise."

Simon could sense nothing but malice coming from the figure. He could not see her face due to the hood covering it but he knew that she was smiling. His free hand lowered itself below his desk where the panic button was, and when he presses it, it will turn on a silent alarm and send his guards to rid him of this intruder. To his shock, his hand stopped mind air also and then something pulled his entire body up above his table. He could feel pressure around his neck.

"Senator, is that any way to treat a guest?" the intruder asked in an offended tone he knew was fake. "One that could be a potential business partner even."

"W-What?" he managed to utter.

"As I said, my partner wanted you dead but I saw the folly of that idea. A man like you is too valuable to simply be killed or let go. I'm a bit cut for time so we will just have to skip the formalities and get to the point. In exchange for keeping your life, you will provide any aid I request from you, you will use your political acumen to help me when I so desire. You will give me monetary backing when I deem it necessary and anything else I might think of. I believe this deal is good for all parties involved, we all get what we want from this, don't you think?

Simon could barely breathe. The figure was standing right in front of his desk now, waiting for his answer. He managed to nod several times and then whatever was holding him in the air disappeared and he fell to the floor, gasping for air.

"Splendid, I knew we could come to an arrangement benefiting both parties. You are a smart man after all Senator," the figure said, terrible shining yellow eyes stared at him, promising horrible things if he dared go back on his word. Simon could not help but think he just made a deal with the devil.