The assassin examined her new mask, as she did every morning. The nanodroids were about a fourth done, rebuilding the circuitry from Kallig's mask, connection by connection. The Force rarely acted in such a direct way. Its intent both worried and excited her.

The holo signal chimed, and she left to answer it.

"I see you've made it to Tatooine," Darth Zash said from the holoemitter. "Not the most luxurious destination, but trust me- the artifact is close. You'll need to find the pirate Andronikos Revel. He stole the artifact out of some Sith ruins, but his crew mutinied and took it. I sent a cruiser to recover the artifact, but all they found was Andronikos in an escape pod, half-mad. He's been hunting his crew down ever since, and we've been watching."

"Does he know you're using him to get to the artifact?"

"Does it matter?" Zash said. "He gets what he wants, and you and I get what we want."

"Why are you acting now?" the assassin asked.

"He's never lingered longer than it takes to kill," Zash told her. "But Tatooine is different. It's been weeks. I believe Andronikos has found the leader of the mutiny. Find Andronikos and you'll find a clear course."

"Andronikos must have come through the spaceport at some point," the assassin said. "I'll start with the shipmaster."

"My thoughts exactly," Zash said. "I've also received another request for your skills. You're becoming quite the independent contractor. Vaverone Zare has acquired a holocron that she can't open. You may help her after you've recovered my artifact. Good luck, apprentice. And remember, every piece draws you closer to your full potential."

Closer to my full potential? Perhaps Kallig was right. "Khem, we need to see a man about a pirate."

"Ka'van Aip, shipmaster," the chubby Twi'lek told her. He looked her over. "Something I can help you with?"

"Have you heard of a pirate named Andronikos Revel?" she asked.

"Depends. Are you still for sale?" He nodded toward her scar.

Her expression didn't change, but her eyes hardened a bit. "Left or right?"

"Huh?"

She drew her lightsaber but didn't ignite it. "Which lek do you want to lose, left or right?"

He examined her more carefully. "Are you-?"

"Yes," she said with a smile.

"In that case, I guess I have seen this Andronikos Revel after all. But I'm warning you, the guy's- never mind. I hear he shows up every now and again at the Siltshift cantina in Mos Ila. But you didn't hear it from me."

She smiled again. "I've already forgotten you exist."

"I've got enough dancers," the Rodian bartender said.

"Look again," the assassin told him.

"Oh. Look, Sith, this is a peaceful establishment. We don't want any trouble."

"That's really up to you," she replied. "I'm looking for a pirate named Andronikos Revel."

The Rodian shrugged. "Even if I knew him, I wouldn't tell you where he is."

"That was a lie," she said.

"Customers don't like bartenders who blab."

"Truth."

"Right. I'm a trustworthy guy."

"Lie."

"I don't know what you want."

"Lie."

"For the last time, Sith, I don't know the fella. Never heard of him."

"Last lie. I understand you fear him, but you should fear me more. One more lie, and you lose an antenna. Two, and you lose something you really like."

"On my grandmother's grave-"

She put her hand on her lightsaber.

"All right, all right!" the Rodian said. He leaned close and whispered, "Andronikos keeps a room upstairs. He likes his privacy, and he pays me not to let on he's here. 'Course, it helps that the time he caught somebody-"

"I can guess," she said. "I'll try to keep him away from you. Now then, room number, please."

The assassin tapped politely at the door.

"We're closed!" a gravelly voice called out from behind the door.

"Mister Revel?" the assassin called back. "I would like-"

The door was yanked open by a man that looked as dangerous, and as passionate, as his reputation. "Don't yell my name around here."

"I have a proposition," the assassin said.

Revel turned toward someone else in the room. "Webb, folks aren't supposed to know I'm here."

"I'm sorry, Andronikos," the other man said. "It was probably that damn bartender."

"Take care of it," Revel told him.

"Webb," the assassin said. "No one knows he's here."

Webb seemed to consider the words. "No one knows he's here."

"Go down to the bar and have a drink," she told him.

Webb nodded. "I'll go down to the bar and have a drink." He left, still a bit confused.

"Are you a Jedi?" Revel asked the assassin.

She raised her eyebrows. "In an outfit like this?"

He shrugged at her clothes. "Whatever. Is this about that artifact? I don't have it, and I'm glad. Thing drove my crew insane; they mutinied."

She thought, the one doesn't necessarily follow from the other.

"I floated ten days in a disabled escape pod and spent thirty more-"

"I know the back story," she said. He narrowed his eyes at her, obviously not used to being interrupted. "I'm only interested in the artifact."

Khem said, "Those artifacts belonged to my master, little Sith. Do not underestimate what they can do."

"I don't," she said. "That's why I want them."

"Why your master wants them," Khem said.

"Yes. Of course. Mister Revel-"

"Captain," he corrected.

"Captain Revel, you want your revenge, I want the artifact. We have a common goal."

"Your boyfriend's right," Revel said. "You Sith oughta keep those things someplace safe. But maybe we can help each other out."

"Wonderful. And Khem is not my boyfriend. He's here to kill me."

"What?" Revel said.

"It is a strange and complicated story," she told him. "I'll leave it there. How do we find your crew?"

"The guy who has your artifact is the guy I'm on Tatooine to kill- Sylas Wilkes," Revel said. "My old first mate. He started the mutiny, then tossed me into space. Now he's an Exchange big shot."

"Again," she said. "I don't care about the backstory."

"I got a contact inside the Exchange. Only I can't exactly just stroll into the Exchange base."

"Afraid of a few little Exchange thugs?"

Revel scowled at her. "Funny, Sith. Contact's name is Casey Rix. Old friend who used to be part of my crew. But she, uh, doesn't exactly know I'm here. She's sure to know where Wilkes is hiding. Tell her you know me, and she'll tell you everything."

"You're certain of that," the assassin asked.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "Casey's good people."

The room had been empty, and the door locked. Casey was sure of it. The Exchange had sharpened her senses. More backstabbing than a room full of Sith. She'd been all alone a moment ago. But, when she turned around, a slender Sith woman grabbed her throat and aimed an inactive lightsaber at her head.

"No alarms, no movement," the Sith said. Casey nodded. "Casey Rix?" Casey nodded again, trying to remember when she pissed off a Sith. "Andronikos sent me." She lowered the lightsaber and stepped back. "Sorry about that, but an alarm would have ruined the conversation."

"Is he okay?" Casey asked.

"He's fine. He would have come himself, but the Exchange would have slaughtered him."

"Right," Casey said. "Andronikos is after Wilkes. Figures. You're here after that thing Wilkes has?"

"Yes."

Casey said, "What does it do, anyway?"

The assassin smiled politely.

"Right," Casey said. "Don't ask. You're not planning to harm Andronikos, are you?"

"Not if I get what I want."

Casey nodded. "Okay then. I'll tell you where to find that son of a Hutt. In fact, I'll make sure he's there so you can kill him. Wilkes's base is hidden 'out of ether's view.' Andronikos will know what I mean."

The assassin nodded.

"Let me call Wilkes, make sure he stays put," Casey said. "It'd be a shame for you to storm HQ while he's out." She took out her holocomm, and the assassin reached for her saber. Casey held in a smile. "Don't worry. I'd never warn Wilkes."

A man appeared on the holo and said, "Casey! Sweetheart! Got something to report? Andronikos hasn't turned up, has he?"

"Oh, Sy," Casey replied in a girlish voice. "What do I have to do to make you stop worrying about Andronikos?"

"Well," Wilkes said. "I can think of a few things. Have you reconsidered my offer?"

"That's why I called," Casey said. "Are you free in, say, a couple hours? We could talk about it- in person."

Wilkes grinned. "I always have time for you. I'll be right here, sweetheart. Whenever you're ready." He switched off.

The assassin said, "I found that whole exchange deeply disturbing."

Casey shrugged. "A little goes a long way with Wilkes."

"The information Casey provided," the assassin told Andronikos, handing him a datapad.

"'Out of ether's view'," Revel said. "Wilkes is underground. Ether's what we called-"

"I don't care," she said. "We have an hour and a half at most. She said you'd understand the entry code. Tell me, and I'll kill Wilkes for you."

"No deal," Revel said. "I kill him. No one else."

"You'd slow us down."

"I'm better than you'd think," Revel said.

Khem chuckled.

"Very well," the assassin said. "But, if you're a liability in any way, I'll leave you out there."

"Fair enough," he said.

She headed toward the door and stopped. "And, Captain," she said without turning. "Your emotions are very loud. Look at me those thoughts again, and you won't make it out of the cantina."

"Whatever you say."

They stopped out of sight of the base and began a circuitous path toward the entrance. Revel was twitchy but did his best. Still, she needed to use mind trick more often than usual.

"I don't get-" Revel began and stopped when Khem grabbed him by the throat.

"He wants you to whisper," the assassin said.

Revel nodded, and Khem let him go.

"Why don't we fight our way in?" he asked softly.

"It would raise alarms."

"I thought Sith could handle that."

She sighed. "I am a scalpel not a grenade. Don't question my choices again."

They reached the main door unobserved. She pointed at Andronikos and at the ground. He scowled and nodded. She motioned to Khem, and the two approached the guards. She reached out with a mind trick, the men turned, and she and Khem were on them. The men were dead before they knew they were attacked. The assassin motioned to Revel. Once he reached them, he looked at her, then the bodies, then he input the entry code.

"I'm going to blast Wilkes to pieces, just as soon as we find him," Revel said, and the massive door opened.

The assassin expected a long corridor and an intricate base. Instead, they found a single huge room with Wilkes and his men at the far end. Andronikos rushed in and started firing. Khem groaned and followed the pirate. The assassin shut the door behind her and destroyed the lock. Wilkes and his men fired back, and Andronikos was forced to take cover.

"Well, well, Nikky. Took you long enough," Wilkes called out. "How'd you find me?"

Andronikos yelled, "I'm going to rip out your throat and laugh while you try to scream!"

Overly graphic, the assassin thought. "Could you wait until I have the artifact?"

"The artifact, huh," Wilkes said. "The scary, scary artifact I took from Andronikos here. Would you believe he called me a nobody? 'A worthless, mangy, skinny little nobody.'"

She had to admit, that wasn't bad.

Wilkes continued, "So I took his ship, his crew, his cargo, his blasters, and what else? Oh, his girl."

"No, sweetheart," the assassin said. "Casey's the one who gave you up."

Wilkes snarled and fired at her, but she deflected it easily.

"See these guys, Nikky?" he said. "They'll crush you and your Sith."

In a room full of heavy, projectile sized boxes? she thought. Probably not.

"Boys!" Wilkes said. "Kill the Sith, but keep Andronikos alive. I want to play with him a little longer."

Pirates, the assassin thought. Really.

She reached out, and one of the boxes flew towards the men, scattering them like tenpins. More followed, hitting, crushing, or burying Wilkes' men. In the chaos, the three assailants moved in. The assassin reached them first, her Force amplified speed outpacing her companions. She killed one opponent, threw another out of her way, deflected Wilkes' blaster fire, slipped past his guard, and cut off his hands. He cried out and fell back.

"Khem," she said. "Take care of the rest." The Dashade smiled and continued his work. "Nikky, your blasters, I believe."

"Don't call me that. And, no, they're not."

Wilkes began to laugh. "You idiots! You'll never get it now! Not the artifact, not the blasters, nothing! You're so stupid. The great Andronikos Revel chases me across five planets only to fail! Even gets a Sith on his side, and they both fail!"

Andronikos slapped him. "Talk sense!"

"The artifact," Wilkes said. "It's cursed."

"Really?" the assassin said. "I thought the mutiny of an entire crew was just a funny coincidence."

"They took it," Wilkes said.

"They who?" the assassin asked.

"Just like-" Wilkes began.

"They who?" the assassin repeated.

"The men I sent to guard the cargo. The artifact made them mad, and they took it. They took all of it! They went out into the deep desert. You'll never get to them. The Sand People'll eat you before you ever catch them!"

The assassin shrugged. "Interesting, but your last promise was that your men would crush us."

"I've heard enough," Andronikos said. "Now give me one good reason not to blast your teeth through the back of your skull."

"I don't have a reason," the assassin said. "Khem? No, we're both good."

Andronikos smiled at Wilkes. "Can't say it was nice knowing you."

She waited for him to finish and said, "Very good. Let's go." She turned toward the back of the room.

"Where are you going?" Revel asked.

"Back door," she said and nodded at one of Wilkes' men. "He was running toward it."

Andronikos looked at Khem and said, "Does she do this all the time?"

"I tire of you," Khem replied.

"Whatever," Revel said.

The assassin searched the wall, found the catch, and opened the door. She paused at the door and looked over the scattered bodies.

"They were Exchange thugs," Andronikos said dismissively. "Killers. All of them."

"I could tell," she said. "They were also men. Enough. Time to go."

"What kind of Sith are you?"

"The kind that wants to get going."

He snorted. "Damn crazy Sith, that's what."

"What did you call me?"

"A damn crazy Sith," he said. "The assholes at the Imperial prison I could understand, but I just can't figure you."

"Good," she said. "That's the way I like it."

"Apprentice!" Zash said from the holoemitter. "You have recovered the artifact I take it?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Wonderful!" Zash examined her apprentice. "You look strained."

The assassin sighed. "Three days into the desert and three days out. Not a trip I'd like to repeat."

"What did you think of your pirate?"

"Not much."

Zash shrugged. "You're hot, you're sweaty, you both got what you wanted. That's usually a good sign. Rest for now. I haven't located the final artifact yet. After your rest, you may help Lord Zare."

The assassin nodded. "I would also like the time to acquire a pearl."

"Of course," Zash said. "And I might have a surprise for you when you get back."

"Wonderful, Master. I enjoy them so."

"You're her?" Vaverone Zare asked, a poorly hidden contempt in her eyes.

"I am indeed," the assassin replied.

"And him?" She nodded at Khem.

"He's a stray I found. He likes to follow me around and eat people. But don't worry. He just had lunch."

"Oh good," Zare said. "Another snarky Twi'lek. Are you really as good as Zash says?"

"We'll find out," the assassin replied.

Zare led them to a lab. A holocron rested on one of the tables, surrounded by equipment.

"Interesting," the assassin said. "Darth Zash said you couldn't get it open. Have you learned anything?"

"Yes," Zare said. "One detail. Before I tell you, prove you're as good as Zash says. Who made this holocron?"

"Jedi cube," the assassin began. "Birkett variation. Solid corners with recessed faces. Circuitry is Dir'nohtta Sith style. Electrum struts, favored during the Jedi-Mandalorian War. Someone from that era intimately familiar with both Jedi and Sith. A person of note, or you wouldn't have acquired it. That means Treya, Nihilus, or Revan. With mixed designs, the shape generally favors the maker's origin. The circuitry uses available technology. That rules out Treya. Revan would have incorporated Mandalorian elements and probably used beskar struts. This is the holocron of Darth Nihilus."

"Well done," Zare said. "Imagine it. Legends say he could destroy planets."

"No," the assassin said. "The planets remained, but he destroyed all life on them."

"Even better," Zare said.

"Why can't you open it?" the assassin asked.

"It wants a key," Zare told her. She reached out to the holocron, as any Force Sensitive would. Instead of opening, it locked itself, and an image appeared above it. "I've never seen that before." She pointed at the image. "It's neither Jedi or Sith technology. I can't find a record of it anywhere. Based on its shape, I think it must have been a part of his mask and acted as an interface. But his mask has never been found. I think Meetra Surik understood its value and took Nihilus' mask. What do you think?"

The assassin stared at the image of the gold inset hovering above the holocron. "I think you're right. About his mask, anyway. We can't know more until we research this fully."

"Of course," Lord Zare replied. "I've already begun searching for the mask, but I wouldn't be surprised if we found it empty. It doesn't ask for the mask. Just this. Do you know anything about it? Can you tell me anything at all?"

The assassin glanced at Khem, and he reached for his sword.

"Sometimes," she said. "The Force is subtle."

"I know that," Zare replied, irritated.

"And sometimes," the assassin continued, her hand near her lightsaber. "The Force is heavy as a brick." And they attacked.