Last time: Sasha destroyed Redika's lightsaber and created her sith blade.

Now: Sasha faces Kopesh.

Chapter 21- The Better Acolyte

It had been a year since the day Sasha completed construction of her new lightsaber. Over that year, she was assigned to many missions with Cien to retrieve various items needed for Dracul's plans. Or to deal with random cells of the Empire to gather intel on Palpatine and his pet, Vader. Every mission was a success as they worked together like an unstoppable force and team. However, as their bond grew stronger and they became more powerful together, Kopesh grew jealous and vicious towards them both. He was still flying solo on all of his missions and the majority were successful, but he had a few failures over the last couple months. The only reason Dracul didn't kill him was because he still brought him what he wanted or more even if the mission didn't go quite as planned.

But every time he crossed paths with either of them, he treated them like they were the failures on this ship when they both knew it was the other way around. His attitude got more and more annoying and uncontrolled over that time. But he was still Dracul's lap dog that he kept around for everything. That still did the dirty work and was a sadistic freak with no self control that got the job done. And Cien was still his prize interrogator who actually understood what it meant to be a Sith. She showed no mercy to anyone and her brand of torture was unlike anything Sasha had ever witnessed. But Sasha was still just the fallen Jedi around the Bloodstorm even though she proved to everyone on several occasions she was more competent than Kopesh and a better acolyte. She obeyed Dracul and Cien without any restraint or backlash. She understood her missions and didn't falter to deal out the unimaginable. But she was just the third acolyte that once walked the far edges of the light.

And she wanted to change that.

Sasha and Cien were tasked to head off on yet another mission for Dracul to gather intel while Kopesh went off to do something remotely similar on a planet near where they would be. And Sasha had thought of a devious plan. She needed to prove herself worthy of Dracul and that meant killing off her competition. She thought about Cien, but she had built an unlikely bond with her that made her wary to do so… for now at least. But that constant voice in her head that never left her alone pleaded with her to not kill Cien either as if it knew something she didn't. So she listened to that voice for just that one instance and her instincts since it was the only time they were ever aligned. And so Kopesh became her target. And she thought over a dozen different strategies to end him and voiced them to no one.

Until now.

"Cien," Sasha spoked up from the navigator seat of Cien's ship. "May I ask you something?"

"You may." Cien said, as she kept looking forward into the swirl of hyperspace, for lack of anything better to do on her small ship.

"I have been thinking about this for a while and I may have come up with a plan," Sasha said vaguely. "But would you be willing to drop me at Nar Shadda?"

Cien was silent for a moment. "Kopesh?" She asked.

"Yes. He has been nothing but a nuisance to us and Dracul," Sasha said. "And I think it's time we remove him from the equation. What do you think?"

Cien considered the question for a time. "He overstayed his usefulness thousands of years ago. Do you want me to accompany you on this?" She asked.

"As much as I would love your company on watching Kopesh finally meet his end, we still have a mission to uphold," Sasha reminded her. "I know you can easily handle this job without me and succeed. You have done so long before I ever came around. And if Lord Dracul finds out we didn't finish our mission in time because we went to kill Kopesh then we would surely meet our ends. No, I think it should only be me."

Cien mulled the thought over for some time. "If Dracul finds out we were involved in his death he may still punish us. You must be quick and leave no loose ends." She stated.

"I know and understand. I have an idea on how to pin it on someone else," Sasha said simply. "But we must play coy the moment we return as if we had no idea it happened. Because we weren't there after all." She smirked maliciously.

Cien smirked darkly. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, we were on Rorak the whole time." She said, as she started inputting the new coordinates.

"I'm glad you understand," Sasha smiled darkly. "And I'll contact you through our bond the instant I need a pick up. No way to trace us that way."

The streets of Nar Shadda were full of scum and villainy that Sasha passed through without raising as much of an eyebrow at her presence. She could sense Kopesh's presence at a local cantina which did not surprise her in the slightest. The fool would always think he had time to have a drink or two and maybe some other activities before returning to the Bloodstorm. She unfortunately learned that information one day after he came back from a job smelling like a cantina. The man truly was a sleemo in every sense of the word. However, she couldn't let him know she was there. So she masked her presence in the Force and made her way into the cantina.

Sitting in a booth surrounded by beautiful Twi'leks, Rodian, and Zabrak women was Kopesh. Rolling her eyes, Sasha made her way to the bar, keeping herself out of sight of him and turned her attention to the bartender. She turned up the charm as she flashed a friendly smile to the Weequay bartender.

"Excuse me?" Sasha asked sweetly. "But who is that man in the booth over there?" She pointed over to Kopesh.

"Some kungee who doesn't pay his tab, who's asking?" He said as he spit into a glass and started moving the grime around in it with his filthy rag.

Sasha smiled at the Weequay. "Just a lonely girl who is not only willing to cover his tab if you can get him to meet me in one of your back rooms," she offered. "But if you can also keep this just between us, I'll pay you double to never tell a soul that an Imperial Spy was here for him." She lied with ease as she flashed a flirtatious smile at that.

He looked her over as he kept wiping the glass. "You might wanna know what his tab is before you make an offer like that sweets patogga."

"I expect it's quite high then?" Sasha guessed with a smirk. "Credits are no object. So do we have a deal?"

He shrugged and set the glass down. "It's your moulee-rah." He brought a datapad out and pressed a few buttons, supplying the tab information for her to pay off.

Sasha produced the credit slip from her belt pouches. Thankfully this was an actual Imperial credit slip that if traced would connect to Palpatine's empire and not Dracul's. She slid it across the counter top to him. "Does this cover it?" She asked, sweetly.

He took the slip and looked up at her. "Yeah, I'll say." He said, it gave him a hefty overhead. He looked at Kopesh over her shoulder and then shook his head. "Go down the hall, third parlor on the left."

"Thanks," Sasha said, winking at him before moving off to the room in question.

Once there, she lowered the lights and deactivated any cameras in the area using some of the old tricks she remembered Viran doing long ago. He would be shocked at what you are doing. What would he think of you? He loved you. He loved us! Please stop this game now. As soon as the cameras were off, Sasha sat down on the edge of the bed in the room, waiting for Kopesh to arrive, keeping her presence masked the whole time. There was a knock at the door after a few minutes.

Clearing her throat, she answered in a higher pitched and perkier voice than she was used to speaking in. "Enter!"

The door slid open, "You asked to see me?" Kopesh asked lavisciously, and with a slightly drunken slur.

"I did," Sasha said, giggling like a schoolgirl. "Come on in handsome."

He stepped into the darkened room and the door closed behind him. "And what was it you wanted to see me about?" He asked, reaching for the light switch to see who had called him handsome.

Sasha couldn't let him turn on the lightswitch. She thought quick on her feet and rushed forward and grabbed him by the collar of his tunic, pulling him downward into a kiss. The feeling to not gag or throw up was hard to suppress as Sasha distracted him. She would need to drink a bottle of mouthwash and some engine cleaner after this. His breath was heavy of booze and it made her dizzy, but she didn't let that deter her from stopping him from turning on the lights. EW! Why are you kissing this monster?

Whatever girl this was was hitting all the right notes, and as he wrapped his arms around her he could tell that whatever she looked like was enough for him tonight. He returned the kiss with a passion as he started hauling her to the bed he was all too familiar with in this dump.

Sasha immediately was surprised by Kopesh's strength that she didn't expect him to literally drag her back like that. She had to end this now. She slipped her hand into her robes as he moved her back and produced a vibroblade. Wrapping her arms around him in return, Sasha held him close for a moment too then… She stabbed him in the back, between his ribs and right for the lung where Cien had taught her.

He coughed, and spit up blood as he loosened his grip on her in shock. He stumbled back, his arms trying to reach for the blade impaling him through the back as he swung a wild punch at her. Sasha easily dodged it and kicked him square in the chest, sending him backwards into the wall.

He fell back, coughing up blood as he tried desperately to breath. The hilt of the blade still protruding from the back he slammed back into the light controls, and the lights turned on. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Sasha.

What have you done?

Staring at him with a simple smirk as she took a cloth from her pocket and wiped the corners of her mouth. "Surprised to see me? I thought I'd come to pay a visit," she said maliciously.

"H… Wha…" He tried to say, as he collapsed to his knees and blood sputtered from his mouth.

Sasha came over and knelt down in front of him, her look of bemusement gone. "I thought I'd come to deliver on what you always wanted from me, but also what I wanted from you," she said simply. "And now that you are out of the way, I can finally become an acolyte Dracul will be proud of. You were nothing but an ass who thought he was a Sith. Enjoy your final moments choking on your own blood." She stood to her feet and stared down at him.

He fell to the floor in a heap, coughing and sputtering one last time.

"And thanks for the kiss. It wasn't actually all that bad," Sasha said in a devious way. She then spotted his lightsaber. "And I'll be taking this as my trophy to 'honor' your memory." She chuckled to herself as she plucked the saber from his belt and tucked it into her robes. Then she exited the room without leaving so much as a trace. Kopesh or not, you murdered someone. That is not who we are Sasha. Snap out of it.

*Tries not the throw up* Excuse us as we go take a shower. Review!