Cassian wasn't too happy with the situation he and Vaylin found themselves in, but there was no room for arguing. Doran might not have seemed like a good fit for an orator or a 'Paragon,' but he made a convincing case. Taking over the spaceport might have betrayed their presence on Zakuul, but after encountering Exchange, it was too late to get concerned over secrecy. Now, Cassian had to get off Zakuul as soon as possible. However, he still needed a concrete plan for what would happen next.
As Koth flew him and Vaylin to the spaceport, the Sith Lord began to ponder his next steps. At least he knew that Jac, Kira, Scourge, and Theron were away from Odessen at the time of its conquest, and hopefully, they would get the message before any of them tried to return. Jadus's agents would try and hunt them down, but they would be much safer under the protection of the Republic and the Jedi. Cassian would have to find them as soon as possible. Of course, Republicans wouldn't be happy to see someone like him reaching out, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Are we there yet?" Vaylin said after yawning demonstratively.
"Not yet," Koth responded coldly.
"You weren't as slow when you piloted the Gravestone."
"Want to try it yourself? I guarantee you that you'll get off-route and have us detected and shot by some Exchange loons!" Koth grew agitated.
"Now that's just unfair! I never went through pilot training, and you did. I guess it's harder when you only have seven fingers, but still…"
"Cassian, with all due respect, can you tell her to shut up?" Koth said angrily before the grip around him began to tighten.
"Alright, I got the message." Vaylin shrugged and raised her hand, making Koth cough and struggle to breathe.
"Aargh, alright, I…" His hands shook.
"Vaylin, can you not?" Cassian asked her calmly yet firmly. "Out of all the ways to go out, having our ship crash because of a spat is not the one I'd choose."
"Ugh, fine…" Vaylin took a deep breath and stood up, moving forward to the adjacent room in the ship. "You people are so boring, it's incredible! If anyone needs me, I'll be enjoying the view." She said before moving out, making Koth let out a sigh of relief.
"The insanity just never stops with her…"
"Insanity?" Cassian wondered. "If she was actually insane, you'd be dead the moment you said something that got on her bad side."
"Hey, I'm trying to be careful here."
"No, you're not. Or, if you are, you're terrible at it. You annoyed her what, five times already? Should be grateful that you got off with some light choking."
"Why are you defending her?" Koth said with a tired voice as he still focused on flight. "What's this thing that's going on between you? You're way too cozy to just be allies of convenience."
"Not everything as simple as it looks, Koth, you of all people should know. Lana told you that the 'Outlander' was a hero who would free the people of Zakuul from tyranny, and you know how that ended." Cassian reminded Koth of his past exploits.
"Yeah…Those wounds hurt for weeks, you know."
"The fingers?"
"Knowing that I inadvertently helped you destroy our home."
"Emotional scars, then? Funny you would mention them…You and Vaylin have more in common than you like to admit."
"Oh, stop this nonsense. I don't kill people for fun!"
"Were you also tortured on a dead planet for a decade?"
"Huh?"
"You really should learn more about what your beloved Valkorion did," Cassian said, unimpressed.
"Look, I heard about Ziost, I…"
"I'm not talking about that; I'm talking about your people. Do you know what he did to his own daughter? Locked her up on a dead planet, giving her to deranged lunatics who broke her mind with chemicals and force rituals. I've been there for a few hours, and they were enough to make me tremble…She was there for years as a child."
"Well, I…" Koth paused. He clearly had something on his mind. "I know she wasn't on Zakuul for years. Valkorion told the people that she was training to control her force powers."
"That was a facade, just like everything you know about him. He wanted to break her because he was afraid of her power. He never wanted to train her; he just wanted to save himself. A scared, jealous, bastard…That's what he has always been, be it Zakuul or Dromund Kaas. Maybe you should stop worshipping him and finally open your damn eyes." Cassian grew more agitated but eventually held himself back. It was hard for him to speak of the Emperor without letting his anger get the better of him, but even Koth seemed to understand. He looked down with some shame emerging in his eyes.
"I…I suppose I should look into it."
"You won't like what you find."
"I know, I know, but after hearing so much, I might as well try and see for myself," Koth said sternly. "Don't trust you, but I have no reason to trust Valkorion anymore either…Maybe it's finally time to make my own damn mind. You and Vaylin do what you want. Just leave my people alone."
"You won't have to worry about that; we don't care about Zakuul."
"And what do you care about?" This was an interesting question. Jadus's attack gave Cassian and Vaylin a shared purpose for now, but without it, he would still be debating whether to actually release her and endanger his friends. He has become indecisive ever since Valkorion's death, felt shackled by the politics and wars around him, and all he wanted was freedom…Yes, freedom. Cassian wasn't sure what it meant for him, but the word resonated deeply. "Alright, here we are!" Koth's announcement interrupted Cassian's stream of thought. "Tell Vaylin to get ready; I'll drop you off at that platform, and you'll be able to access the rest of the spaceport from there!"
"And once we're inside?"
"Kill them all, I suppose."
"Vaylin's going to love that…"
"Yeah, yeah, just get to it!"
Cassian walked into an adjacent room, noticing Vaylin look through the window.
"We're here."
"Finally!" The woman said with tremendous relief. "Are we going to kill someone?"
"Yes, we're annihilating the Exchange."
"They will beg for our mercy…Before not getting it, of course."
"Let's do it quickly. We're wasting enough time on this mission already."
Koth dropped the two on the platform, allowing them to descend into the corridor before them, making their way toward the inner halls of the spaceport. A lot of their surroundings were utterly ravaged, with Exchange mines planted all around the place. Seems like they wanted to use it as a bargaining chip and destroy it if something went wrong, but they certainly didn't expect two powerful force-users to come and ruin their day. There were a number of Zakuulan starships on adjacent platforms, all colored in silver and gold, but unfortunately guarded and locked to their positions. They would have to fight through to reach them. As Cassian and Vaylin got close to the hall, they heard multiple voices.
"We're here for almost a bloody hour…I'm losing my patience." A stern, angry voice echoed from the hallway. Cassian looked at Vaylin, signaling for her to keep quiet as the two of them approached. The Sith wanted to get a glimpse of what the Exchange was working on before getting to the killing.
"Don't keep me waiting." He heard Vaylin's quiet voice behind him.
There was a huge hall before them, filled with Exchange guards who patrolled around and largely remained silent. The only voices came from the two men standing at the metal door, pacing impatiently around a control panel. There was also a young girl by their side, no older than twelve…Disheveled blonde hair, old, dirty clothing, shaking hands, holding a datapad. She didn't look like she belonged, yet the two guards towered over her.
"Please, just give me some more time! The codes here are trickier than anything I've seen before. Dad would've…"
"Your dad isn't here!" Another man snapped at her. "So you'd better make the best of what you've got."
"Yes, of course, I…" Her voice quivered as she was clearly holding back tears.
"Stop whining and get on with it; the Boss's going to have our heads if we don't break into this vault soon."
"Is she a slicer?" Cassian wondered. "And the best one they have? The exchange must be in a very poor state…"
"I don't care what state it's in," Vaylin spoke from behind, this time sounding furious and angry. "Time to kill them all. Painfully." She held back her rage, but it was evident from the way she spoke. No trace of lightheartedness or joy, just pure anger.
"I'll distract them, don't hold back."
"Like I'd even think of it."
There was no time to waste; Cassian was eager to get it done. The Sith casually stepped forward, intrigued to see their reaction.
"Ahem." The Sith made his presence known, making the two nearest thugs immediately turn around.
"What the…Who are you?!"
"Long story," Cassian said before igniting his saber. "Longer than the time you have left."
"Fuck, fuck, it's a force user. Bring him down!"
They began to shoot him, but the Sith Lord parried all their attacks with ease and precision, reflecting some of the blasts back into the soldiers and making their corpses fall to the ground.
"Big mistake. Vaylin!"
"Did he just say…"
But before the thug finished, Vaylin emerged from the shadows and unleashed her lightning, sweeping almost a dozen thugs. They only screamed for a few seconds, but Vaylin didn't hesitate to cut their miserable lives short. Cassian rushed forward, cutting through the few remaining guards until only the two who stood by the girl's side remained. Cassian pulled one of them before he could shoot, piercing his heart before tossing his corpse aside. He was about to strike the last one, but Vaylin was quicker. She raised her hand, forcing the thug to rise from the ground and into the air, desperately trying to take another breath.
"W…Who…Please…" The man begged and coughed, but Vaylin tightened her grip.
"'Please', what? Going to beg for my mercy."
"P…Ple…I…" Cassian could see the man's skin growing pale and his eyes reddening in a matter of seconds. He was weak and pathetic, and Vaylin clearly enjoyed his suffering, but not in the way she did most other times. She was fuming with rage and hatred.
"There aren't enough Nathemas in the galaxy for scum like you…Which limb should I start with? I think I'll go for the legs; it would be funny to see you crawl…" However, before Vaylin could continue, Cassian heard a loud crack coming from the man's head. His skull broke, unleashing a stream of blood with some of the brain matter spilling all across the floor. Judging by Vaylin's surprise, she didn't expect it.
"Oh, for the love of…Why are they all so fragile?!"
"We don't have time for drawn-out torture anyway." Cassian shook his head in disapproval, but there was still one unresolved matter before they moved to the next section.
The girl cowered and shivered as she clung to the nearby wall, desperately holding herself back and sobbing in panic.
"Please don't kill me, please, please don't…"
"Are you alright?" Vaylin said in a surprisingly soft and calm tone as she walked towards the girl.
"Don't touch me!" She screamed, making Vaylin recoil. "Please, please, I…They forced me to, I…"
"Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you; why would you…" Vaylin paused for a moment and looked behind her. Charred bodies, a squashed head, a puddle of blood that soaked Vaylin's feet. "I know it looks bad, but I won't hurt you, I promise." She said, making the girl slowly look up in fear.
"But you just killed them all…" She said while still shaking, and this time, Cassian responded.
"We're here to kill Exchange thugs, not children. You didn't seem too keen on helping them."
"They forced me when my dad died; they needed someone to…I'm sorry, I didn't want to do this, I…"
"It's alright; you don't have to tell us everything," Vaylin reassured her.
"Do you have anywhere to go? Or hide, at least?" Cassian added.
"I…Yes, I do…"
"Go on then, we'll cover you."
"And…What are you going to do?" The girl wondered.
"We'll make all of them pay," Vaylin said with emerging anger and fury. "I promise we will."
The girl stood up, shaking and barely able to maintain balance, but eventually, she got control and was ready to run.
"Wait." Vaylin paused her for a moment. "What's your name?"
"K-Kaia." She responded meekly.
"Good luck, Kaia," Vaylin said in the most sincere tone Cassian heard from her yet, and only moments after, the girl ran off. Cassian could've pointed out the sudden change in her demeanor and how protective she felt over this girl, but there was no need; the Sith Lord understood it well enough. "Come on. We have bastards to kill."
…
The situation turned out to be far worse than Jacques could've imagined, yet facing some hard truths was inevitable. Whoever sent the message revealed their true enemy, just like they suspected. Darth Jadus, a powerful Sith Lord and a cunning manipulator is considered to be long lost. Some forgot him completely, others expected Jadus to return one day, but no one expected something so drastic and radical. There still was no proof that this was anything more than a rumor, but the silence across any and all channels was enough to know that something terrible had happened.
Kira, Scourge, and Theron got to work immediately. Their job was to trace the origins of this message as well as try to contact any of their associates who could know anything about Odessen.
As for Jacques and Satele, they had a contact of their own. The former Grandmaster secured a line with the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, Galena Rans. A meeting long overdue.
"Greetings…" The mirialan woman spoke as her hologram emerged on the line right before Satele and Jacques. "It has been a while, Master Shan, I'm glad to see you recovering from your battle with Tenebrae."
"Thank you for answering our call," Satele said.
"I couldn't ignore news like it," Galena responded before turning towards Jac. "'Master' Elias…" She said quietly and without enthusiasm. "It has always been my dream to meet the Jedi who brought the Emperor down in his own dark temple. I wish I wasn't having second thoughts." At least she was honest about how she felt, and Jac appreciated it. He knew many in the Republic were hurt by his staying in the Empire-aligned Alliance, and he never blamed them for it.
"I understand your grievances; I don't blame you," Jac responded confidently. "But we must focus on pressing matters. I assume Satele explained everything?"
"She did. Republic channels also got the same message; we were able to decrypt it but trace its origin. We weren't able to contact Odessen, so it seems there is some truth to it. However…" She said with a pained voice, making Cassian suspect something unfortunate. "I cannot dedicate any soldiers or resources to investigating or retaking Odessen."
"What?!" Jac spoke up and recoiled. He should've expected it and still found himself shocked at the revelation.
"I'm afraid I have no other choice, and the Senate agrees."
"But…If we don't stop Jadus, he will become a threat to all. Surely you know what he did to the Empire with his Eradicators?"
"I am well aware, but it doesn't change anything. Our losses on Corellia dealt a major blow to the Republic, and now every soldier and Jedi counts. I cannot spare any to help an Imperial-aligned organization." Rans said sternly.
"This isn't about Republic or the Empire…This is about stopping a madman from unleashing his destructive schemes on the galaxy!"
"Jadus might be a schemer, but he is not a priority for us when the Empire is at our doorstep."
"You have to listen," Satele interjected. "There is more to this conspiracy than we know. Jadus had an anti-force poison, and when I tried to meditate, I sensed the void and emptiness that he brought…We can't ignore it."
"I'm sorry, but we can't rely on visions during the war." Rans shook her head. "I wish I could do more, but this is my final answer. I wish you luck in your battle against Jadus, as does everyone in the Senate. Goodbye."
Those were Rans's final words before she ended the transmission, making her message loud and clear.
They couldn't rely on anyone but themselves.