Atiel took a gamble when she recruited Tasara; she knew that the bounty hunter wanted nothing more than to kill both Cassian and Vaylin and convincing her to capture them alive was a feat in itself. However, she was the one who needed no other reason to go after them besides her unquenched desire for vengeance. The agonizing grief she felt ever since Torian's demise allowed her wounds to fester, and now Atiel masterfully re-opened them to turn her into a weapon. She expected results that she could present to her lord Jadus with pride.
Alas, he called her before she had any news to bring.
"My lord, you wanted to see me?"
"Indeed. How goes the hunt on Zakuul?"
"Our targets are still stranded on that planet with Seventh Paragon's forces blocking their way."
"I am aware of that."
"Ah, you mean Tasara…Of course. She is on their trail, and she never leaves a contract unfinished. We can trust her."
"Very well, let's see if she proves to be as skillful as you have described for. Now, Atiel, it's time for you to prepare for a journey."
"A journey?"
"It is long past the time we get to see Iokath with our own eyes. Our research department is waiting for us there and the Third Creator has news to share."
They set out almost immediately. Atiel knew how important Iokath was to their plan, and now it was finally under her lord's control. After Odessen fell, the Alliance forces guarding Iokath had no means to defend themselves and were left with no choice but to surrender control to Jadus's forces. While Jadus did not visit the planet straight away, he sent the engineering core, a group of experts he contacted on Zakuul who knew much about the technology of the Eternal fleet and the mark their predecessors left on the galaxy. Now, it was time for Jadus and Atiel to see the progress made. Their shuttle landed on a platform near the spire that once belonged to the Alliance, now completely overtaken by their forces from both Cabal and Zakuul. Their engineering group was a peculiar bunch…Jadus made sure to recruit those whose genuine desire to be a part of such a groundbreaking invention would be of more importance than anything else. This would ensure their loyalty and that they did their job. Now, it was time to meet them in person.
"Spectacular…" This was Jadus's first word as they walked out of their shuttle, finding themselves amidst the world of alien technology and tireless droids. A relic of an age long gone, a jewel that drifted in space for far too long, a treasure trove of might and knowledge. It was rare to hear her master display genuine awe, yet Iokath made an impression upon him the moment he stepped on its surface. Atiel was impressed, too, although it wasn't her place to distract Jadus with her display of emotions. Iokath was a marvel to behold, so different from any world she had ever seen; walking along its grandiose arcs made her feel small and insignificant like a grain of sand drifting on the wind. Jadus walked towards the spire's reception area, where the head engineer promised to meet them. Atiel followed. "I knew this was a magnificent relic of the past, I watched the footage, but nothing can compare to seeing it with my own eyes."
"It's impressive, my lord." Atiel agreed. "You made a wise choice in putting our hopes into this world."
"Are you truly telling me that the Alliance never attempted to use any of Iokath's weapons while they still maintained control?"
"From what I learned, they kept it under close watch in case they would have no choice left but to use it. Other than that, both Jacques and Cassian agreed that its power shouldn't be toyed with."
"I understand their skepticism," Jadus said. "But in the end, it proved their undoing. This could become a weapon to match the Eternal Fleet's power, and yet they never truly claimed it. We will not repeat their mistakes."
Eventually, after passing through a number of halls with skytroopers and armed soldiers on their patrol routes, Jadus and Atiel reached their host and the overseer of Iokath. A bald, eccentric human man with goggles covering his eyes, impatiently pacing around and mumbling to himself. Atiel never met him in person but heard enough from Jadus. Aster Cole, a former member of the Bureau of Science on Zakuul and an enthusiast of ancient technology, dedicated his entire life to its research. Needless to say, when Iokath was discovered, this became Aster's new target. The moment he saw his guests approaching, the Third Creator immediately looked up with a wide grin emerging on his face.
"Archon Jadus!" He said in an excited tone. "I've been expecting your arrival! Our team is eager to show our progress on the Void Hammer…And please, on behalf of us all, allow me to convey the sincerest of gratitudes. If not for your support, we would never have found our way to Iokath, to our dream…"
"Skip the pleasantries, Cole," Jadus said coldly. "You are here because you are to play a part in the coming reckoning, as is every one of us. I hope you remember that."
"Of course…Of course. If I may be so bold, am I correct in assuming that the lady beside you is…"
"Zola'tie'leo, the Ninth Siren." Atiel introduced herself.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"I am here to see the progress, no more, no less."
"Of course…You arrived just in time to see a major test of the weapon. We've gathered about a hundred of force-sensitive prisoners in the trial area beneath the spire, they will become the subjects of the Hammer's test.
"Let's not waste any time, then," Jadus spoke. "Lead on."
Aster made his way to the research center in the spire with Jadus, Atiel, and a few more guards following him.
"Archon Jadus, can I ask you to humor me for a moment?"
"That depends. Is it relevant to the Void Hammer?"
"Very much so!"
"Then go ahead."
"Do you know of the Zakuulan pantheon?"
"I do. Learning about their role in your cultural customs was a part of the time I spent on Zakuul. Now we know that those 'gods' were creations of the same species that forged Iokath."
"Precisely! To think that for all those years, we venerated some machines and some tools of conquest? A thought as preposterous as it is exciting, it meant that I had an opportunity to study those majestic, marvelous beings myself! Imagine my disappointment when I learned that the Alliance forces awakened the pantheon and had to destroy them…All, except one!" Atiel noticed the spark emerge in Aster's eyes. "I discovered that Nahut, the Hated Son, was relatively intact compared to others. His carcass was kept among other alliance relics…And my talented team managed to repair him! It was not too different from the technologies of the Eternal Fleet; all we needed was time and some talented hands. He will be operational in no time; a shame that the other five can never be recovered, but it's much better than nothing…"
"And how does that relate to the Void Hammer?"
"Like every member of the pantheon, Nahut is among the most powerful creations that our predecessors ever produced. He can become a conduit for any Iokathi weapon, including the one we're working on. Imagine if every single part of our weapon's enormous code was compressed within the brain of one mechanical creation such as Nahut. Whoever is linked to that conscience can easily control the weapon…"
"Hm, I admit, this has potential. Once Nahut is fully operational, I'd like to see it in action."
"Of course…But for now, come along. I have much to show."
Eventually, the trio reached the observation platform. From here, they could see a large metal basin far below the towering spire, a pit where unfortunate test subjects would find themselves at the mercy of their overseers. Today was no different; even from the spire, Atiel saw countless people on their knees in the pit below. Those were Jedi padawans, Sith apprentices, knights, and scions of Zakuul from across the galaxy. All of them became targets for Ki and her forces, and most of them got brought here.
"I can activate the Hammer at any moment now." Aster said. "Ahem, there is a…Call it a loudspeaker, here. You could say something to the subjects before I activate the protocol. If you want, of course."
"Hm…I will." Jadus nodded. "Secure me a connection."
"At once," Aster said and activated the device. "They'll hear you now."
"Welcome," Jadus spoke calmly, causing many prisoners to look up. Atiel couldn't hear them, but she wouldn't be surprised if many begged for mercy at this very moment. "You do not know each other. You have come from different corners of the galaxy, but there is one trait you all share in common, your affinity with the force. There must be many questions racing through your mind right now. Perhaps you wonder why you ended up here or what will happen to you from this moment forward. As for the first question, perhaps it will ease your burden to know that you are here entirely by chance. You happened to be the simplest targets for me to claim, nothing more. As for what will happen to you now…You will become the first few spirits to taste a new galaxy. We stand at the precipice of a historical reckoning. Today, we begin the journey towards a new era. An era where everyone will face the void head-on and make the hardest choice…You should be honored, even though I know you won't feel this way. Some of you have children, no doubt…They will see." Jadus finished his speech. "Aster, activate the Hammer."
"With pleasure!"
Once the device was on, Atiel saw the full extent of its devastating power with her own eyes. The dome above them began to glow in deep violet as its energy was finally unleashed. A ray of Voidcaller emerged at the core of the dome, a merciless power that no one could withstand. The energy beams descended, soon overtaking every single prisoner.
"Yes, yes, it's working!" Aster's excited voice echoed over the chamber as Jadus and Atiel watched in silence. She could see those people; they looked so small from up here, yet even so, she saw their attempts to desperately squirm. Atiel wondered how it must have felt for them. This surge of pain tore their connection to the force, and the screams of others echoed in their ears. A cruel, horrific fate. "Wait, what's…No!" Aster shouted after checking the radars. "No, no, no, that's not…"
"What's going on?" Atiel wondered, but looking down was enough to get an answer. The people were no longer resisting and flailing. Most of them were lying down. Some still shivered frantically, others turned completely motionless.
"They're…They're dead! I don't understand, it's…I must have miscalculated, the impact was too great, this shouldn't have happened, this…Forgive me, Archon, this isn't how it should've gone!"
"It would seem the weapon requires more testing."
"I can explain…"
"Do not make excuses. Get to it."
…
Vaylin dreaded the moment of Kaia's return. She spent about an hour in the room alone, shaking violently and moaning in fury and despair. She didn't want to hurt children; she never did it, even defended them sometimes, like with Kaia…But what worth was it when she killed her mother? When she robbed Kaia of a loving parent? Perhaps if her mother was alive, her father wouldn't have gotten into the situation he did and was still alive, as well. This girl has been going through months of trauma, loss, and despair, all because she couldn't forgive a single knight for something she couldn't have stopped…Just because the image of her falling down the spire seemed amusing at the time.
When Cassian and Kaia came back, the girl's eyes said everything. She avoided looking at Vaylin and tried to hide her frown as she stuck by Cassian's side. She clung to him as if she was afraid of Vaylin…Understandably so. How many children must have been the same on all the planets Vaylin bombed? How many must have been orphaned because their parents were unfortunate knights who got on Vaylin's bad side? How different was she from Valkorion at this point? Those children…Most of the people she killed had nothing to do with her pain. Some of them were kind people who deserved better, yet she robbed them of a chance to live a normal life just out of spite.
"What's done is done."
Those were Cassian's words after he explained what he talked about with Kaia. The noble girl agreed to help them break into the spire as planned, and Cassian promised to help her once he had Alliance resources at his disposal once again. He also asked her not to talk to Kaia so as to not provoke her…Vaylin wouldn't tempt fate, yet it still hurt. To have a little girl of the age she was before being sent to Nathema, to feel like she was able to save someone from a fate similar to hers, was a delightful feeling. Now that her family was gone and she had her vengeance, Vaylin needed other sources of satisfaction to latch onto, and this felt like a perfect chance for her. But in the end, she was the cause of Kaia's suffering, and she could never undo this damage.
They had only one thing left to do before their parting, and as the night finally fell on Zakuul, this was their chance.
Koth played his part competently. He diverted the attention of the guards from the archive sector by faking a riot at its gates. Some malfunctioning droids, a few mercenaries he paid to do the necessary job without killing anyone, and it all looked convincing, at least for a short while. He told the trio of the quickest route to the archive, as well as security panels that could be sliced. It was on Kaia to pacify security from here onwards. Cassian and Vaylin stood by her side as she sliced into the system at the outer section of the chamber.
"Here…I think I did it!" Kaia said with sudden delight in her voice while still maintaining some doubt. "Now the cameras malfunction, and the hall turrets should be offline…Dad really knew how to leave them blind."
"Well done," Vaylin said quietly, but Kaia ignored her and looked at Cassian instead.
"Can we move on? They'll notice us sooner or later."
"Yes, we're just waiting for…Ah, here he is!" Cassian smiled as the trio noticed Koth running towards them from across an adjacent hall.
"Whew, and here I thought I'd have to wait for you." Koth sighed with relief. "You done with the slicing?"
"Yes." Cassian nodded. "Unless there are some more guards in the halls, the path is clear."
"Good. Most should be busy dealing with the mercs at the opposite side of this sector, that gives us…About half an hour, I'd say."
"Then let's not waste time. Lead on."
"Right away."
At first, their path across the halls was uneventful and straightforward. After Kaia worked with the system, they went dark, and most of the systems went offline. All the guards had their hands full and would probably blame the outage on more mercenary activities. By the time they realize what happened, Vaylin and others will have already left the archive. She and Cassian also discussed what they would do after gaining the necessary information. They'd spent too much time on Zakuul, and it was time to leave. Doran's headquarters were within their reach, and after his betrayal, there were more than a few words they would say to him.
However, their journey couldn't remain uninterrupted. After another turn, Vaylin saw two armed men patrolling the hall, and the moment their eyes met, the enemies recoiled in shock.
"What the…"
They were about to open fire, but Cassian was quick to react. He pushed them to the nearby wall; one of the men stopped moving immediately while the other attempted to rise up. Cassian didn't allow him, instead force choking him.
"W-what…" The guard tried to speak but was in too much pain to do so.
"Hey, remember what we walked about!" Koth said sternly. Cassian pushed the guard aside, knocking him out.
"I know what I'm doing." The Chiss said. "They'll both wake up in a few hours, none of this is mortal. Happy now?"
"I suppose…"
"Come on, we have to go."
Eventually, the group finally reached the archive doors. They were larger than most of the other passageways, and unlike those, they remained locked.
"Damn it…" Koth said. "They must be controlled from another source."
"Look, there's another control panel here." Vaylin pointed at her discovery. "This might be the one we need."
"Kaia?" Cassian looked at the girl. "We might need you once again."
"Sure, just give me a moment." The girl reassured them and ran to the panel. She connected her datapad to it, and she was already beginning to analyze and come up with a strategy. "Doesn't seem too different from the last one. Hm…Yeah, I think I see."
Kaia was about to open the gate, but something unexpected happened. The walls to her sides created openings, and an automatic turret emerged from each. Kaia shuddered but had no time to run away.
"How the…" Koth spoke in a shocked tone, but his voice was soon interrupted by the gunfire. Kaia would've been dead if it wasn't for Vaylin.
The woman jumped between her and the turrets, unleashing a defensive forcefield around herself and Kaia. She deflected the blasts and returned them to the sender, immediately annihilating the turrets.
"Are you alright?" Vaylin asked with concern.
"Y-yeah…" Kaia took a deep breath, still a bit shaken.
"Archive's defenses must have been controlled separately, too," Koth said. "The main outage wouldn't get them."
"This…Doesn't change anything." Kaia said sternly as she looked away from Vaylin.
"No, I don't expect it to. Can you slice it?"
"Well, if there aren't any other defenses, yes."
After a few more minutes of work, the doors to the archive room finally opened before them.
"And here comes the prize." Cassian smiled as everyone laid their eyes on a terminal that was connected to an entire system entrenched on the walls behind it. A simple way to find anything that one needed, they only had to know what to search.
"Okay…" Kaia came to the terminal. "There's encryption on the panel, but I can connect my datapad to it and see if I can access it."
"Good." Cassian said with approval. "Let's hope it will be the last time."
"Hm…I think I'm in!" Kaia announced after a few minutes of work. "I don't know if they can detect me, but it seems safe so far…What do you want to find?"
"Search for anything that includes Jadus. J-A-D-U-S."
"Alright." Kaia turned towards her datapad. "No, sorry, nothing comes up."
"Did you spell it correctly?"
"I did, yeah."
"Try First Archon, then," Cassian said, making Kaia nod and look back to her datapad.
"On, that's interesting." Kaia said. "Three results, I can send them to you, just let me copy them over."
"What are they?"
"Have a look." Kaia turned the datapad towards others, allowing them all to see what she found while the girl scrolled through it and read the most important parts aloud. "First one is a copy of some agreement signed by 'First Archon' and Doran, he agrees to assume the identity of the 'Seventh Paragon'."
"No…" Koth said in disbelief. "So Doran was working for this Sith Lord all this time?!"
"I don't think so." Cassian said as he read into the notes. "It says that he agreed to help the Archon and grant him a foothold on Zakuul in Exchange for resources and aid in his liberation efforts. Jadus fooled him into thinking he's an ally. What else is there?" Cassian asked as Kaia looked down.
"There's also an agreement about the 'Voidcaller' shipment…That's the most recent one, and the last one is…" The girl paused. "Hm…That's strange. Have a look." She looked at Cassian, allowing him to read this.
"First Archon, Second Voice, and the Seventh Paragon discussing a meeting place on…Alderaan of all places?"
"You know what it is?" Kaia raised an eyebrow.
"A planet, one of the core worlds," Cassian explained. Vaylin couldn't help but chuckle at the notion. She knew of Alderaan even before being sent away to Nathema. Of this wonderful, serene place, the complete opposite of her future prison. She sometimes imagined its chilly winds and beautiful vistas. Vaylin could've visited it at any time during her time as High Justice, but she never did. She didn't want to ruin the fantasy, but now it could become inevitable.
"That's it," Kaia said. "I sent all of it to you. They don't mention any specific location, just Alderaan."
"That gives us a lead, at least," Cassian said before turning to Vaylin. "I'd say we get to phase two, don't you think?"
"About time."
"Phase two?" Koth raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't think we'd be staying on Zakuul, I assume?" Cassian spoke up. "The spire is still disturbed by the chaos you caused; Vaylin and I can use this opportunity to get to Doran. He must be just a few levels above."
"And then?"
"We force him to grant us a way off-planet, one way or another."
"I see…" Koth took a deep breath. "I can't stop you, and I guess asking you not to kill our Paragon is too much?"
"You still care?" Vaylin said with surprise.
"I don't, but he is the symbol of hope for many people of Zakuul. If he dies, that'll embolden the Exchange. It'll become worse than it ever was."
"Our goal is to get off-planet, not kill him," Cassian said. "You've listened to my message, right?"
"I did."
"If you do as I told you, we'd be more inclined to grant you this one last favor."
"I don't need you to coerce me into doing it, I've seen more than enough…" Koth sighed and turned towards Kaia. "But in the end, it's her choice."
"Is it…About moving?" The girl wondered.
"Yes." Koth nodded. "I have a place away from here, along with some friends who chose to stay away from this gang war. My service to Doran is over after tonight, so that's where I'll be going. If you want, I'll take you with me."
"And leave my home?"
"You can return there once the dust settles. You live there alone and with all that's been happening it's just not safe…Even for someone talented enough to defend herself."
"And your friends…Who are they?"
"Soldiers, traders, performers, everyone who tried to find a place to rest and hide from all the turmoil. Some I knew from all the way back to Valkorion's days."
"Alright…I'll go," Kaia said, finally mustering some confidence in her voice. The girl stood by Koth's side as the two of them looked at Cassian and Vaylin. It was time to part ways.
"So, will you try to avoid killing him now?" Koth asked.
"I promise," Cassian responded.
"Good…That's all I need. Come on, Kaia, let's get out before we have a whole squad chasing us."
As they walked towards the exit, Vaylin wondered if she should say something. She felt a faint warmth in her heart at the sight of Kaia finding someone to take care of her during those turbulent and dangerous times. Wherever this girl was going, Koth would make sure she was safe and protected. Vaylin didn't know if she had any right to be happy because of this, yet she couldn't deny her joy. No words or apologies could undo what she did, but this was the end of Kaia's life. She would find new people to become close to and find a new light in her life.
"Koth…" Vaylin called out to him.
"What, I'm already leaving, you don't have to…"
"Thank you." The woman said, making Koth recoil and open his eyes wide, standing there in silence for a few moments.
"Wow…Times really do change, don't they?"