The table is prepared and the Nightsisters are gathered around it.
"It should be an honor for you to watch this warrior transform," Lomi Plo tells Tenel Ka with smug glee.
The young Jedi has no time or opportunity to consult with Mother Augwynne about what to do, but the mother of the Singing Mountain Clan gives her a nod. We will know when the time comes, Tenel Ka reads in her mind.
"What exactly is happening to him now?" asks Tenel Ka Lomi Plo, although she can guess the answer.
"He won't need any extra strength and just look at those claws."
Tenel Ka nods. Khalee Lah actually has pretty long, sharp claws on his fingers, which are even longer than the legendary Night Brother Savage Opress got from the Nightsisters back in the days.
"Giving him Force powers doesn't allow for the recalcitrance of Yuuzhan Vong to midichlorians and why would he need that?" chirps Lomi. "So that leaves the bondage spell."
Mother Kyrisa gives the signal and scoops a ladle out of the green ichor she has prepared. She sprays the steaming liquid over the helpless Yuuzhan Vong and Khalee Lah begins to twitch. Now the dark murmurs and whispers of the Nightsisters begin, whose incantations unite above the table and envelop Khalee Lah in a cloud of black magic. Khalee Lah's body rises from the stone altar into the air, and the Nightsisters' chanting is swelling up – it lasts a full hour ... The Sisters of the Night have partially stepped away in their ecstatic singing, their eyes rolled upwards - their expressions tense in the utmost concentration.
Tenel Ka grows cold as the Nightsisters sing – and she still has no idea what to do. She did not consent to this ritual, nor did Mother Augwynne. She never tried it, but never imagined that black magic would work on Yuuzhan Vong - in complete contrast to the Force. And these arrogant witches of darkness just assume that since the two guests from another part of Dathomir are here, they'll eventually join in - or at least keep their mouths shut.
The singing of the Nighsisters stops abruptly, and Khalee Lah's massive body is going down – lying on the stone altar again - around him are the black-robed Nightsisters, whose tension has given way to the anticipation of the big moment.
Mother Kyrisa raises an index finger to tap the warrior's forehead. "Now stand up… er… what's his name actually?" she asks Lomi Plo.
Tenel Ka and Augwynne exchange looks. Should they guess or make a fool of themselves, say Augwynne's thoughts.
Lomi Plo shrugs. "He has the Lah scar across his forehead from ear to ear, so his name is Lah."
"How do you know that?" the head Nightsister wants to know.
"All members of the Lah Warrior Domain have this scar," explains Lomi Plo. "It is given to them immediately after birth."
Kyrisa looks at the scarred pit of flesh stretching from one ear of the warrior to the other. "You have truly discovered a lot about this people during your captivity, Sister Lomi. Come to think of it, Lah is a good enough name as long as we don't catch any more of that kind."
Kyrisa's finger taps Khalee Lah's forehead. "Awake, new Nightbrother Lah."
Khalee Lah opens the yellow maa'its and Tenel Ka flinches. But the warrior looks to Lomi Plo, his new mistress. "Where am I?" he asks.
"You are here on Dathomir, with the Sisters of the Night, where you belong, as my companion and servant - newborn Nightbrother Lah."
Khalee Lah studies the dark-eyed Nightsister. "Yes, Mistress," he says mechanically.
Something rustles at Tenel Ka's feet and the young Jedi looks down. A palm-sized disc walks on the ground – a thud bug - like the one Khalee Lah threw so successfully at her assassin cousin two days ago. Her gray eyes quickly inspect the weapon belt draped across Khalee Lah's body like a sash. Yes, there is thud bug missing. He must have gotten lost on the way and now he has found his master again.
"Do you, Night Brother Lah, vow to serve me, Lomi Plo, until the end of your life and to prove yourself worthy of the honor of being a Brother of the Night?"
Khalee Lah looks at Lomi Plo and Tenel Ka notices that the Yuuzhan Vong is looking at the Nightsister with some interest. "I am proud to be a Brother of the Night," declares Khalee Lah. "It's an honor to serve the gods in this way, especially when such an attractive..."
Tenel Ka now knows what to do. She bends down as if to arrange her scale clothing, then picks up the thud bug and jerks her arm upwards. All the Nightsisters look around for the Jedi.
"Here, catch!" shouts Tenel Ka and the thud bug rushes towards Khalee Lah at a tolerable speed.
The warrior catches him nimbly. "There you are again, my little one," says Khalee Lah almost tenderly and strokes the lost thud bug.
"So, now that that's settled…" Lomi Plo can't finish the sentence because the thud bug rushes towards her, thrown by the awakened Yuuzhan Vong. "Now I remembered what I wanted to do in the forest back then," says Khalee Lah.
"You talk too much, Nightbrother Lah!" Lomi ducks and at least four Nightsisters pounce on the Yuuzhan Vong, who is just regaining his strength, while Raynar Thul and Welk take on Tenel Ka and Augwynne. Both blonde men hold out their arms. Tenel Ka gasps in Raynar Thul's Force stranglehold - just as the mother of the Singing Mountains Clan suffers the same fate at Welk's hand. Tenel Ka can read an apology in Augwynne's eyes. I could have disagreed, Tenel Ka comforts the clan elder.
"Tie them up – all of them!" Mother Kyrisa's voice sounds across the square.
Not even two minutes have passed when Khalee Lah, Tenel Ka and mother Augwynne are tied up on the floor. Leathery bands stretch across their bodies, around their wrists, almost tying their ankles off.
"Whuffa leather – unbeatable tear resistance," Lomi Plo proudly declaims and looks down at the commander. "And now, my dear commander, please tell me your full name so that the spell works even better next time."
"General Grievous," Khalee Lah croaks.
It annoys him immensely to use the name of this faded and droid-like infidel. He learned about it while researching Tenel Ka and their home planet in the Obroa-skai library before this mission. And now he wants to use the name of the war hero from the planet Kalee to anger his tormentors who got him into this shameful situation.
"Well, you'll have to try harder," Lomi Plo teases him.
"Attention sisters! Duck!" they hear Mother Kyrisa's voice.
A hail of thud bugs rains down on the canopy and its surroundings.
"A thud bug rarely comes alone, infidels!" another female voice echoes across the square.
Kyrisa, Lomi Plo and the others see a phalanx of Yuuzhan Vong warriors surrounding the camp, ranks closed, amphistaffs raised to strike.
"I am Commander Niiriit Esh," the new speaker introduces herself. "The commander's thud bug led us directly to you because it contained a Nisbat implant that enabled it to be located. Now tell us: What have you done to our warriors?"
"Your former warriors are now Brethren of the Night – of their own free will!" explains mother Kyrisa. "You have so many of them. And we haven't done anything to you otherwise."
"Free will? What is that?" asks Niiriit Esh. "A good Yuuzhan Vong follows orders and only abandons his troops when he dies or is too old to fight, but things rarely come to that with us."
A few warriors laugh cautiously, then the square becomes quiet again.
"You hand over our warriors to us right now, then perhaps we can discuss the terms of your submission," Esh says with disdain in her high-pitched voice.
"How about the following offer?" Kyrisa objects. "You give us these warriors and we will provide you with certain services in return. For example, we have a Jedi that we could hand over to you. The one-armed Tenel Ka of Hapes."
A murmur goes through the crowd. Raynar Thul and Welk use the Force again to hoist the petite Tenel Ka up and present her to the Commander, including the lightsaber at her belt.
"Too bad, Tenel Ka," Lomi Plo croons to the Jedi. "So you threw that silly bugger to your beloved commander, but you didn't use your most important weapon at all."
"What do you think a Jedi is worth in terms of Yuuzhan Vong warriors?" Kyrisa asks Niirit Esh.
"Tsavong Lah only wants the twins alive," says the commander laconically. "And otherwise I don't care about the fate of this one-armed person."
"That's not true at all!" counters Khalee Lah. "The Warmaster has specifically said that he wants as many Jedi alive as possible!"
Tenel Ka blinks. She didn't expect this kind of advocacy - but, she sighs silently, I should have expected something like that.
"Then take the Jedi alive and then go back to your living garrison," Kyrisa demands. "If you want more Jedi or anything else, talk to us and we'll help."
„Enough of this shabby bargain!", Commander Esh shouts and her long ponytail is whirling in the wind of Dathomir. Then she turns to her warriors, at least three hundred. „Do-ro'ik vong …"
"Otherwise this one will die!" shrieks Kyrisa.
Two Nightsisters have lifted the tied up Khalee Lah and Lomi Plo is holding a knife to the gray throat of her chosen one.
"Stop!" Niiriit Esh calls back to her people. "That's up to the Warmaster to decide!" Then she turns to Mother Kyrisa. "Activate his right shoulder villip!"
Lomi Plo immediately strokes the little Villip on Khalee Lah's shoulder. The scarred face of Tsavong Lah appears on it.
"He looks like this one," says Kyrisa, looking back and forth in shock between Khalee Lah's head and the Villip on his right shoulder.
"They all look the same," Lomi Plo replies dryly. "Well, except for the hair and that horn."
Tsavong Lah's image on the Villip hesitates before saying in the Yuuzhan Vong language, "Report."
Khalee Lah's shattered lips tremble. He doesn't say a word. Lomi Plo jostles next to it. "The Commander is probably too embarrassed to admit that he was captured by the Sisters of the Night. We just expect a good offer so that the Yuuzhan Vong will leave the Sisters of the Night alone. Otherwise, we are open to any kind of cooperation and even have a Jedi on offer – Tenel Ka."
"I await your report, Khalee Lah," Tsavong Lah replies unmoved.
Tsavong Lah sees the sweat pouring out of his son's pores. And now, of all times, his friend, the priest Harrar, is not there. Instead, his old priest colleague Vaecta stands next to him and waits for an answer as to how many sacrifices the Warmaster will allow her for this week's ritual ceremony for the gods' mercy.
"Tenel Ka, I've heard that name before," says the old priestess, briefly running her thin tongue over her lower lip. Her next words sound quite demanding. "Warmaster, we haven't had a Jeedai sacrifice in a long time."
"Nikk pryozz…" Khalee Lah begins.
"Basic!" Lomi Plo snaps at him. "The Warmaster certainly has a translator."
"I am indeed a guest of the Nightsisters of Dathomir, Warmaster," Khalee Lah says formally in Basic. "This coven greatly values our warriors and offers us the Jeedai Tenel Ka they captured. Tenel Ka is far less hostile to our cause than other Jeedai."
Tsavong Lah's already hard expression hardens even more. "In view of the fact that Tenel Ka also fled from the world ship via Myrkr with the other Jeedai at that time - in one of our ships at that, I find your high opinion of this Jeedai far-fetched."
Khalee Lah looks down. "Whatever the Warmaster deems wise is my command, and may it please the gods."
Tsavong Lah briefly raises an eyebrow at the criticism implied in this reply, then his look becomes sober and calculating. "How many of these so-called Nightsisters are there?"
"Right now…" Khalee Lah begins…thinking hard.
Kyrisa nods to Lomi Plo.
"There are three hundred," replies the Nightsister instead of Khalee Lah.
"Who are you?" asks Tsavong Lah and it sounds like a threat.
"I'm Nightsister Lomi Plo."
Something glimmers in Tsavong Lah's black eyes as he once again sees the image of the Nightsister on the surface of the Villip, displacing that of his son. "I know you. Weren't you on the worldship over Myrkr with the Jeedai back then too?"
Lomi Plo obligingly tilts her head to the side and hopes that the Villip will correctly reproduce this flirtatious gesture. "That's right, Warmaster."
Tsavong Lah's voice drips with reproach. "And didn't you steal those infidels' ugly technical ship to get away while your companions died on the worldship, one by one? And that despite the fact that you owe your liberation to these Jeedai?"
Lomi Plo is making a face. How many times do I actually have to listen to this today?
Not often enough, Tenel Ka thinks to herself.
The telling silence of the caught Nightsister is joined by the triumphant smile of the Warmaster - the look of a predator shortly before pouncing at his prey. "Well, Nightsister Lomi Plo, I now grant you the honor of making up for your cowardice from back then and bringing Tenel Ka to me personally. If you prove to me your worthy warrior qualities, you will also be allowed to perform the sacrifice on the Jeedai yourself. After that, you will be granted your life and your clan will be spared from our wrath."
Lomi Plo looks at mother Kyrisa, pale. "Ask him about the warriors with us," the head of the Nightsisters advises her, unmoved.
"Warmaster," Lomi Plo says in a pleading tone as she continues to hold her knife to Khalee Lah's throat, "may those of your warriors who have been our guests so far remain with us?"
Tsavong Lah flashes a crooked smile. "If these idiots were naive enough to allow themselves to be captured like that, then they don't deserve anything else."
Tenel Ka notices how Khalee Lah freezes at these words, the yellow maa'its wide open in shock, before the eyelids droop again in resignation.
"I will inform Commander Esh when the warrior sacrifice has been carried out on my flagship and the deadline is three standard days - at the latest!", everyone hears Tsavong Lah's usual commanding voice. "Otherwise the arrangement is invalid."
"Thank you, Warmaster." Even as Lomi Plo speaks this, the shoulder villip on Khalee Lah's shoulder is already turning outside in again. The Nightsister quickly goes to Tenel Ka to take the lightsaber from the Jedi who is to be sacrificed.
Tsavong Lah wastes no time and immediately calls up another Villip. "Commander Esh, withdraw your troops and cordon off this area and don't let any of these Nightsisters go outside or let anyone else in. And as soon as the three-day period is up, attack this Vhlekin nest and smoke it out!"
Niiriit Esh is taken aback. "And what if Lomi Plo wins the duel?"
Tsavong Lah lets out a quiet hiss from his ragged mouth. "This Nightsister has been in our power for months without knowing how to help herself, despite this Welk, her companion of the same kind, who was with her. She may have managed to escape from our worldship via Myrkr with the help of the Jeedai, but there will be no escape for Lomi Plo from the Jeedai's retribution."
"If we attack, how should we deal with your son?"
"Khalee Lah is a commander and must know what he is doing."
With these words, Tsavong Lah turns the commander's villip outside in again.
The villip servant enters. "Forgive my untimely appearance, Warmaster, but Shimrras Villip has turned inside out."
The Warmaster hesitates. He actually wanted to consult Harrar before such a conversation, but no one keeps the Yuuzhan Vong Overlord waiting, not even the second man in the state.
"Dreaded One, how can I serve you today?" Tsavong Lah greets the Overlord.
Shimrra's face, so scarred that no facial features are recognizable, gives the Warmaster no clue as to what is to come. "I have received the good news that, contrary to previous reports, your son is still alive," he hears Shimrra's friendly-sounding voice. "Please explain this to me, Tsavong Lah."
"Well, August Lord, apparently those previous reports were false. It happens again and again that our warriors survive even in adverse situations and then continue their fight for our cause undeterred."
Shimrra's red eyes turn purple and Tsavong Lah can hear the Overlord's jester giggling in the background. And then Onimi starts to rhyme out loud:
The warmaster's son on Dathomir was captured
Nightsister's knife at his throat, will he be butchered?
It is still on Khalee Lah to fulfill his vow.
How he exactly he will do that, I just don't know.
Tsavong Lah's upper jaw grinds angrily on his lower jaw. Why does the court jester have to hear everything? Why does Shimrra allow this?! But he knows that it's best to ignore Onimi's mockery. "I have also been informed that there is a Jeedai on the way here to my flagship, who will soon be sacrificed to the gods due to the efforts of Khalee Lah."
Shimrra's voice becomes stern. "May I remind you that Khalee Lah can only make up for our defeat at Hapes if he brings us Jaina Solo? The sacrifice of another Jeedai cannot replace that."
"Of course, Dreaded One."
Shimrras Villip turns inside out again and Tsavong Lah takes a deep breath. After to Onimi's rhymes, he's not sure anymore, that it will be his son, who will sacrifice Tenel Ka aboard his flagship. However, he is sure that the unworthy woman, who has not only harmed her fellow Jeedai with her betrayal, but will soon also bring a lot of harm to her clan, will die beforehand. What Tsavong Lah thinks is far worse is that this old hag Vaecta must have contacted Shimrra again and told the Overlord everything in detail. At some point he will get rid of her and then Priest Harrar, his friend, will preside over all the sacrificial ceremonies aboard his flagship. The Warmaster silently prays that this day will come soon.