To Sith Space
Gladiolus waited until she put several miles between herself and Harnaidan before she clicked her comlink thrice and summoned the Dearg Due. She watched the darkening sky for her shuttle. She frowned when she sensed Landren approaching her. The Sith Lord had not actually expected him to remain aboard her shuttle. Yes, the man feared and lusted for her in almost equal measure. But she had presumed he would remain on High Port, deluded into believing she would return to him regardless.
The harsh winter wind carved away the putrid scent that had clung to her after escaping the sewers of Harnaidan. The fact nothing awaited her when she emerged meant Plagueis either wished to keep their encounter a secret or believed he could still use her to acquire immortality. Anger bubbled as she thought about the Zabrak assassin who interrupted her duel with the Muun Sith Lord. Were it not for Lord Sidious's indirect interference, she would have destroyed the other Dark Lord of the Sith.
Instead, he lives on, knowing my face and name. He will certainly try to hunt me down—the only question remains why he does not act now.
Before she could further dwell on her failure to destroy another Sith Lord, the Dearg Due finally swept into view. The repulsorlifts held the shuttle several feet above the ground. The boarding ramp lowered from the bottom and then extended outward. Gladiolus moved from where she had waited into position to easily leap onto the deployed ramp. She sprung into the air, landed softly, and climbed into her shuttle. The ramp closed as she headed for the cockpit.
The Dearg Due rose from the surface and then began up through Muunilinst's atmosphere.
"I see your meeting went poorly," Landren said as he glanced over his shoulder at Gladiolus. He frowned and then sniffed. "Did you end up in a sewer? You smell like one."
"The meeting went poorly, yes," Gladiolus said. She crossed her arms. "I remember commanding you to disembark once my shuttle was prepared. Yet here you are, where you should not be."
"Yeah, well I had a feeling that I'd be needed," he said, unable to restrain his offense. "Also, I'd hope you remember who rescued you from the surface of Harnaidan. I don't doubt your abilities, my lord, but do you truly think you could have evaded Hego Damask until you found another way off Muunilinst?"
"It was never an issue. I had expected only my shuttle to arrive. Not you."
He hummed. She sensed his amusement, underlined with a confidence that she would not punish Landren as he deserved.
"You should hit the refresher while I set a course for—"
"Ziost," Gladiolus finished, recalling the holocron of Salazar Slytherin safely stored on the Dearg Due. "You will set a course for Ziost, Landren. With all due haste."
He sighed and shook his head glumly. "We don't have the supplies for a journey that long, given how sluggish the hyperspace motivator on this shuttle is." Landren paused and rubbed his jaw. "You know, I have a contact on the Wheel who could get us a better motivator. One that could halve journeys like the one required to travel from here to there."
"And how would you get from Muunilinst to this 'Wheel'?"
"Return to the Celanon Spur, then follow that to… Botajef." Landren pulled up the navigation computer for the Dearg Due. She watched his finger drift along the screen. "Beyond there, we follow the Salin Corridor until we reach the end at Columex. That'll place us on the Perlemian, and from there, it's just a skip and a hop to reach the Wheel."
Gladiolus considered the route. It looked to be long—four or five days of travel, given the sluggish speed the Dearg Due traveled at while in hyperspace—but the distance would help escape Plagueis and any threat he could send after her. She had not planned for his presence, so there were enough supplies for two to reach the Wheel. Plus, she would still be in a position to head galactically northward into Sith Space. Ziost remained her destination, though if she needed to drift along an erstwhile course to ensure she could safely and securely reach her destination, then she would make that decision.
"Go freshen up," Landren said, drawing her gaze to him once again. "I'll be here once you're finished. We can trade off cockpit duties throughout our journey."
She sighed and muttered, "Fine, fine. The course you have chosen is acceptable. Keep us to it and there shall be no issue."
"Yes, ma'am."
The Sith Lord turned her back on her newfound pilot. She hoped keeping him would not become an issue as she headed for the refresher. Gladiolus could use a shower after her nasty, failed business on Muunilinst. It would wash away the foulness that clung to her.
And perhaps—just perhaps—she could dispose of Landren as they passed through the Wheel. She appreciated his loyalty, but he could quickly become a millstone around her neck.
And Gladiolus would not allow herself to be pulled down and destroyed by anyone.
Gladiolus busied herself with lightsaber training during the journey to the Wheel. She had neglected the art shortly after leaving the Orion Arm, for she had believed her Force powers were more important. Thanks to the agreement between herself and Landren to dump unnecessary waste and equipment as they traveled, she created enough space within the Dearg Due's limited cargo hold to train. She did not practice Ataru during her training, for she worked to learn Makashi, the Second Form. Designed for lightsaber dueling, it would be the perfect complement to the martial skills she already possessed. Given she would eventually cross blades with the Jedi, she needed the practice. She had gotten luck with Plagueis.
She could not rely on luck.
"We're an hour out," Landren said, sticking his head into the cargo space. Gladiolus spun through a slicing blow before freezing. "I thought you'd appreciate the time to bathe and dress."
She nodded. "Thank you for the warning, Landren. Prepare that backup registration you programmed for the Dearg. I don't want to use the same codes I used traveling from Ord Mantell to Muunilinst."
"Do you fear Damask that much?"
Gladiolus shot him a glare. "I can taste your fear of the Muun, Landren. I'm surprised you'd dare question me on this."
"Someone has to keep you honest."
She sniffed and turned her back to him. "Leave me. I'll come forward once I'm presentable."
"Fine, fine," Landren grumbled. "But you better not think about leaving me behind on the Wheel. Damask has too many eyes on a station like that for me to last long enough to find safe passage to elsewhere along the Rim."
"I would be surprised a man of your caliber could be found and caught so easily—and without a proper fight."
He huffed and then, after only a moment of hesitation, left her as demanded. Gladiolus's gaze fell to the lightsaber in her grasp. She had focused on this particular weapon, but it was not the weapon that nearly earned her victory. Yes, she had harmed Plagueis with it. But it had been her power to blend Earthly magics and the dark side of the Force that permitted her to remain in the duel long enough to create that opening.
And like a fool, she had limited herself on that magical front. She had sacrificed that power for the dark side of the Force. While learning the dark side allowed Gladiolus to emerge from Edelweiss Potter, it also consumed her during that final year of magical instruction. She had sacrificed all she should learn in favor of what she wanted to learn.
I was a fool to abandon those ways. I understand why I lost my interest in them. After all, they are nothing compared to the might and majesty of the Force. But when I required specialized skills to counter or bypass the attacks of a foe better trained in the dark side of the Force than myself, I did not rely on my training as a Sith. Instead, I tried to use what I still possess from my incomplete training as a witch.
She sighed and shook her head. Any training concerning her magic had to wait until she returned to Earth. Her holocrons related to Sith sorcery and alchemy—viable options to patch gaps in her knowledge—remained on Earth, left in Myrddryn's possession. Gladiolus knew not if her magics and those of the witches of Dathomir were compatible. If Plagueis were the man she suspected, he would have his spies on Dathomir waiting on her to visit the Nightsisters. That would be the natural next move in his mind since she had already proved to have some ability with merging the power of the dark side with magical skills. But she would not go to them. Not until she decided to exterminate the slaving filth.
For now, there's nothing I can do on that front. I can only focus on what lies before me, and for now that will be the Wheel and Ziost.
Gladiolus clipped her lightsaber to her belt and left her training room. Time in the refresher would clear her mind of the mental miasma she felt.
Forty-seven minutes after Landren warned her they approached the Wheel, Gladiolus entered the cockpit. The spacer remained at the controls, a data pad almost pressed to his nose. She glanced between him and the device, wondering what gripped his attention more than their impending arrival. Given they were approaching a station whose friendliness remained dubious, she had expected him to be on guard, preparing for an inevitable encounter with someone hostile. Gladiolus suspected whatever hostility they might encounter would be directed toward Landren instead of her. That would only last until someone learned her true identity, should that come to pass. Whether they would act on behalf of Plagueis or the Jedi remained a coin toss; the Wheel did hang just within the Mid Rim.
"You're quiet," Landren muttered without glancing back at her. "I thought you'd say something, now that we're almost to the Wheel."
"And I had hoped you would be minding the systems, not reading whatever drivel you possess."
He snorted and then glanced up at her, looking almost boyish. "I would not call the finest literature of the Core 'drivel'."
"Given what I know of you, Landren, I would have thought you'd treat anything from the Core as 'drivel'." She smiled slightly. "After all, you're from the Outer Rim. Should you not detest everything from the Core because you'll never be one of them?"
Landren whistled through his teeth. "You forget I can trace my family back to Corellia. That's a Core world, and one where I'd easily find cousins."
"Cousins willing to take you in?"
His silence answered her question. They would not accept him. He had nobody. She could easily cast him aside.
But his solitude in the galaxy reminded her of Edelweiss Potter, left adrift in an uncaring world. Yes, she had found the Sith and gained power through the dark side of the Force. But that process had destroyed the girl she once was. And more frustratingly, her first effort at training Sith apprentices had failed despite producing Darth Myrddryn. Her first encounter with a Sith Lord ended with her being forced to flee his presence. He had not even defeated her with his strength in the Force or superiority with a lightsaber. He had merely possessed the advantage of location. He had lured her into his nest and attempted to kill her through trickery.
A sigh escaped Gladiolus. "If you continue proving your value to me, then I retain your services, Landren." His eyes widened. "But you must provide value. If not, then I will cast you aside. A Sith cannot abide weakness around her, else it seek to claim her."
"Surprised you'd think me weak after I saved you from Muunilinst," he said wryly. The console beeped. "And would you look at that," continued Landren, turning forward to the viewport. It just so happened he did not need to see the fury now writ upon her face. "We're about to reach the Wheel."
The Dearg Due chose that very moment to drop out of hyperspace. The blue vortex vanished into star lines and then into a million glittering stars. A station larger than High Port sat amongst those stars, spinning slowly around a massive cylindrical axis. Two thick spokes shot out to the curved ring, which flickered with lights. Shuttles came and went, though not with the same frequency she recalled from Muunilinst.
"Welcome to the Besh Gorgon system, known for its casinos and villainous dens," Landren remarked. He glanced back at her. "You might just fit right in, Your Lordship."
Had she any other goal, Gladiolus might have desired to rule the Wheel with an iron fist. For now, the station would be left to whatever fate would have normally claimed it. One day, however, the Wheel would fall under her sway.
Until then, it could remain in the grubby, dirty hands of whatever vile cretin owned it.
The Dearg Due landed in a half-filled landing bay. A disc-shaped freighter sat at the far end, while a pair of luxury yachts sat at the other. Gladiolus disliked sharing a bay with strangers, but Landren reminded her this was the most affordable option. They did not possess enough credits to afford a private landing bay and have access to systems that would install a new hyperdrive motivator. Gladiolus would happily wield the Force to gain what she believed she deserved.
Landren managed in the time between reversion and landing to convince her otherwise. Most of his arguments revolved around her enemies learning about their presence and thus causing trouble for them.
They argued briefly about gambling. The Wheel was a haven for gambling dens, but Landren did not believe the risk was worth the reward. Gladiolus attempted to convince him otherwise—"The Force is more powerful than any mind or computer"—but he stubbornly remained on the same point as earlier: any use of the Force on the Wheel would draw her enemies to them.
"And it'll be too early, as well," he said with crossed arms. "You've only recovered from your encounter with Plagueis. You don't need a second fight with him—or worse, having to fight multiple Jedi at once."
"Then what do you think I should do?" Gladiolus drawled. "I can tell you do not wish to have me around while you're busy."
"You could stalk around and learn what you can. How much of the galaxy have you actually seen?"
Gladiolus glared at him. It was true that she had seen little, but he did not need to rub it in her face so.
"Fine, then. I will accrue knowledge while you babysit my shuttle, Landren. And once we're finished here, we leave."
"…for where again?"
"Ziost," Gladiolus said before turning to leave the cockpit. Her lips twitched on the way out, amused he would dare lie to her. He had been more interested in confirmation than a reminder. "It is an old world, one long connected to the Sith."
"…you do know heading there might draw the Jedi to you, yes?"
"That is a risk I'm willing to take."
Gladiolus then left the cockpit. She would leave the business of acquiring what they required to Landren. He handled that business well enough before their flight from Muunilinst. She could almost completely trust him.
He did not even trouble to call after her. He knew her mind, and he would do as required. For her part, Gladiolus would return once it was time to depart.
The Force would reveal that hour. Until then, she would see what she could learn.
Gladiolus wandered the Wheel as though she were an errant knight, scanning the various facilities she passed by while minding the various languages she heard and the many species she spotted. She attempted to not be astonished by the vast wealth of diversity across the galaxy. However, she did wonder how humans like her dominated nearly everything. There were particular fields where alien races were superior to humans, but those appeared to be increasingly rare—or increasingly obvious. She paused at an intersection and heard a soft, feminine voice mention "session of the Galactic Senate". The Sith Lord turned toward the voice. She eventually stepped into a rundown pub with several screens.
She had raised her hood shortly after disembarking and kept it up throughout her wanderings. While she had feared her choice might draw undue attention her way, Gladiolus was pleasantly surprised to learn few minded the many souls walking about the Wheel with their identity disguised. Those few who watched her looked just as shifty as her. Strangely, their attention granted her a degree of safety from others, especially any that would betray her to the authorities of the Wheel—or worse, to either the Jedi or Darth Plagueis. She remained uncertain which would be worse to stumble upon her at present. Her fellow Sith Lord would probably edge out their shared foe if both materialized before her.
She glanced about the pub's interior as she glided toward a corner booth. The bartender was a grimy human, dressed in raggy clothing. He cleaned a glass with a white cloth while risking annoyed glances her way. Gladiolus minded not, since anything that might distinguish her from any other human female was hidden. Two other booths had occupants, though none bothered to glance her way. For her part, her gaze wandered across them for but a second.
As for the Force, it revealed little she could declare useful. One person shimmered for but a moment. However, she proved herself a rabbit noticing a hawk's shadow when she flinched away. Gladiolus's brows furrowed. She wanted to believe no threats sat in the pub. Anyone who could prove dangerous should pulse in the Force, if only temporarily. They should reek of fear or suspicion or knowing. Instead, she sensed nothing significant enough to suggest a threat lingered nearby.
Gladiolus sat and watched as a well-dressed alien with greyish skin and slanted red eyes complained, "And now we see the Senate seeking to deprive the Trade Federation and many others who have wisely used the economic zones created to revitalize trade and prosperity throughout the galaxy of the privileges they granted us! It is unfair, I say! Had you sought to make these privileges temporary, then we, the representatives of the Trade Federation, should not have been permitted representation within this body!
"But we are here because we are as valued as any member world. More so, our complaints must be heard! We move to reverse the current course of policy the Chancellor wishes to foolishly guide the Republic, and thus the galaxy, down The economic zones must remain as they are!"
It was revealed shortly after the strange fellow from 'the Trade Federation' stood on some kind of hovering pod contraption, for his platform withdrew to the edge of the massive senate chamber, filled with a thousand more platforms. At the center was a large perch, all grey metal and busy bureaucrats. An aged human with pale skin and white hair rose to his feet. Gladiolus could sense his exhaustion, for he did well to hide it from viewers and senators alike.
"We understand the position of the Trade Federation, good representative. But it must be noted that your fellows have betrayed the goodwill of the Republic and her people. You have militarized your trading vessels, surpassing what was granted to ensure the safety of your operations in the wake of pirate attacks along key hyperspace lanes.
"However, many worlds have petitioned to have your privileges limited due to how you have used and abused them. Their voices must be listened to as much as yours, so I have decided to take action. The tariff-free duties you had been permitted to escape will be stripped until a time when the good behavior of the Trade Federation can be confirmed by the Jedi."
Gladiolus sneered. She knew nothing of the economic and taxation policy they discussed, but she already sensed how the Senate disliked the Jedi. It was pathetic; they should not hold such opinions when the Chancellor could be the Jedi's attack dog instead of an impotent politician arguing with corporate managers. He must possess an understanding with Grand Master Yoda and the other Jedi Masters. But whatever agreements they possessed could be undermined by Darth Plagueis—
—who left Coruscant because of me, Gladiolus realized. My influence might have—
Her thoughts stalled as the camera swept over several senators. She recognized a senator, despite having never met him. She had witnessed him through the Force while divining knowledge of her rival Sith. Her eyes widened as she witnessed the secret depth of the plan put into place by her fellow Sith Lords. She had suspected that Plagueis's apprentice might be a senator.
Now she had proof, even if she had only acquired it thanks to the Force.
Gladiolus did her best to slip from the pub without being noticed. She had no cause to truly believe it succeeded, but she allowed that belief to usher her back to the landing bay. Landren was present, overseeing a droid loading crates of supplies onto her shuttle.
He glanced her way as she approached. "Lady Edelweiss."—Great. That illusion.—"I had hoped you return soon. This droid requires the shuttle owner to sign off on these deliveries. I already got that motivator installed, so we're ready to depart."
She signed the droid's data pad without question. She knew Landren spoke the truth. Their days of proximity had made him easier and easier to read. One day, he would be an open book to her. She might toss him away before that day. But until then, he would be unable to deceive her. He was her tool, whether or not he knew it—or liked it.
"We should depart," she murmured once the droid left. "I know the identity of Plagueis's apprentice. I wish to be away from any world within the Republic's influence."
Landren frowned. "The Wheel—"
"Is within the Mid Rim, and thus too near to the Core and Republic influence than I'd like. It does not help that the apprentice I speak of is a senator from a Mid Rim world."
"E chu ta," Landren snarled. He glanced around the landing bay. "You're certain?"
"I saw him on a television."
"Tele…vision? You mean the HoloNet, yes?"
"Would this 'HoloNet' broadcast Senate sessions throughout Republic Space?"
"There's a channel for that, though I've never watched it myself. Is that how you found out?"
Gladiolus nodded. "I already knew the man's face and suspected he could be connected to the Senate. I only received confirmation today. I made certain to return—"
Landren hissed a string of curses in a language she did not know. She could surmise his meaning, though. He believed she had messed up, despite the fact she had been careful with her return to the Dearg Due. She had no cause to believe someone had learned the truth about her. Gladiolus sensed his unease and fear. She wondered if it was truly so serious, or if there was hope the terror bubbling within him could be put aside long enough for him to think clearly.
"I assume you believe we should depart immediately."
"I… Yeah, we should," said Landren with a nod. His unease lingered, though some of his fear had vanished. "I have no clue what your actions will bring down upon us." He sighed and added, "Perhaps I'm merely overthinking it."
"I hope so. For both our sakes."
Landren paused and then frowned. "What'd you mean 'for both our sakes'?"
"If I am to retain you in my service, Landren, then I must be able to trust that you can maintain clear thoughts at all times. You cannot panic, nor can you fear my foes." She closed the distance between them with seven swift strides, nearly striding through him. "Your fate is now bound to mine. Best you understand fully what that means and act accordingly."
His jaw clenched and unclenched in swift succession. "Understood well enough. You'll toss me aside once I prove to no longer be useful—or worse, a liability."
"Likely. Which means you should strive to ensure I never have cause to consider you in either light."
Landren stared at her for longer than she expected. Gladiolus nearly grew uncomfortable under his gaze, which lingered on her heavily. "I guess I'll do that. If you're too busy to pilot your shuttle, then I'll focus on that for now. I'm certain something else will make itself known. You aren't the type to rest on your laurels."
"As if I'd ever," she said proudly. "And if you're to continue serving me, Landren, I expect the same from you. No complacency, no failure. Strength, power, victory; those are the virtues of a Sith."
He huffed and shook his head. "Yeah, yeah. Maybe you should learn patience and selflessness."
She huffed as if offended. Landren meant no offense other than to annoy her.
They boarded the Dearg Due, paid their landing fees, and departed the Wheel. Gladiolus thought she sensed something dangerous from the station, but they jumped to lightspeed the moment she noticed the faint tendril. She had no other option than to ignore the feeling. Oddly, it had not felt serious. The presence lingered with her for a time. Still, they had jumped to Ziost. In twenty-two hours, or so Landren claimed, she would gaze upon Lord Salazar's homeworld, upon a world once home to the Sith.
Ziost, finally. Soon, Lord Salazar, you shall be home. Death might have not been an end you desired, but your resting place shall become hallowed ground for my Sith Lords. They will all know that your choices made them possible.
Lingering behind the blast door's threshold, Whae Rynn watched the matte black shuttle depart the Wheel with furrowed brows. She had been brokering a deal to help smuggle arms onto an ag-world resisting slavers when a strange woman in black swept into one of many small, slovenly cantinas. Whae had nearly squeaked when the woman brushed her with a touch of the Force. She might be weak in the Force compared to fellow Jedi, but that made her a valuable resource for undercover operations, or so the Jedi Council reminded her often. She was but another set of eyes for them in the Mid and Outer Rims, where dangers to the Republic lurked.
The strange woman in black had reeked of the dark side. It was like licking a duracrete wall after a long rainstorm on Coruscant. Whae shivered as the memory of what she sensed played out in her mind once more. Had she not known better, she would have thought a Sith Lord haunted the galaxy once more, threatening to plunge all of life into a terrible, bloody war.
Thankfully, the Sith had gone extinct a thousand years ago.
Perhaps someone the Council failed to recruit learned about the Sith and desires to be like them. It was a disturbing idea, but Whae found some comfort in that theory. The only other conclusion was that the Jedi had been wrong about the extinction of the Sith a thousand years ago. Yet for a Sith to brazenly walk wherever they wished meant something truly terrible awaited the Order.
She considered sending word back to the temple on Coruscant. Whae knew the sensible choice would be to inform the Council about what she had stumbled upon. Yet she did not know if that woman was a Sith Lord or her destination. All she knew was that a mysterious woman had embraced the dark side of the Force, and she could become a terrible threat.
I… I need to act. The others at the temple always doubted me. It's why I'm a Shadow; I can pass unnoticed with ease, yet I'm so weak in the Force monsters overlook me. I… I could be a hero. I could stop her, and prove to other Jedi that I deserve to be a Jedi Knight.
Whae breathed out heavily. The Force whispered to her suggestions of where the dark sider headed. The longer she focused on these possibilities, the more certain she became.
Sith Space. Korriban. Ziost. Dromund Kaas. Worlds that haunted the history of the Jedi. Whae needed to embrace her courage if she were to overcome that dark sider on one of those dark, cursed worlds. It was the duty and fate of a Jedi to combat evil, and nothing was more evil than the dark side of the Force.
She turned from the landing bay and headed to the bay where her shuttle rested. She would head to Korriban first, and then investigate those other two worlds if the first failed to be fruitful.
Gladiolus's eyes flickered open when the Dearg Due dropped out of hyperspace. Her brows immediately furrowed. They had departed the Wheel only nineteen hours ago. There should have been three more hours before dropping out of hyperspace. She waited a few seconds before rising from her bunk and heading for the cockpit. She entered and found Landren gazing upon a barren, dusty world with an uncertain frown.
"Where are we?" Gladiolus demanded. Her gaze wandered briefly back through the viewport. Something about the world felt familiar.
Appropriate.
"That's Korriban," Landren said. "I checked a star chart of this region, curious about what else might be out here. I ended up recognizing that name." He glanced at her, his expression lightening slightly. "According to legend, this is the homeworld of the Sith."
"…you thought I'd like to see it," she said numbly. Gladiolus had given no thought to Korriban. Lord Salazar had been from Ziost, and so that world had claimed her attention and imagination over the homeworld of her order. She gazed upon Korriban long enough to forget her foes. She softly whispered, filled with an almost childish longing: "Take us down."
"Are you certain? The Jedi might—"
"Damn the Jedi!" she snarled. Hatred flowed swiftly through her veins, granting her excess power. Gladiolus enjoyed the feeling of being too much—of being too great—for the moment. "Korriban is the world of the Sith! Why should I, the true Dark Lord of the Sith, fear to step foot on a world rightfully mine?"
He stared at her for several long seconds before asking, "Do you not wish to remain unknown to them? They must remain a threat to you, regardless of your strength."
Gladiolus breathed out heavily, almost huffing at the reminder of her foes. While she thrived on secrecy, she understood a time would come when the Jedi would learn of her existence. Landing on Korriban risked ending that secrecy. But what guarantee did she have that the Jedi kept a close eye on Korriban? A thousand years had passed since the faked destruction of the Sith. The Jedi would have grown complacent at some point in the last thousand years. Someone would have allowed the sensors meant to keep any wandering person from inspecting the ruins of the Sith to fall in disrepair.
"I do not fear being detected, for I doubt I will be detected. And should they manage that, then I will destroy them. I am not so weak as to fall to some silly Jedi's tricks." Gladiolus straightened and crossed her arms beneath her bosom. "Take us down, Landren. Search for an ancient settlement. Perhaps something carved from the mountains."
He sighed and shook his head and muttered, "As you wish." In a whisper she barely caught, he added, "Still think this is foolish."
The Sith Lord decided to ignore his words. She would enjoy exploring her inheritance. She would walk the surface of Korriban. Gladiolus believed enough in her powers that she would face the consequences of her decision. Her enemies were welcome to step forward and challenge her.
She would be victorious, just as she nearly had been victorious against Darth Plagueis.
Whae Rynn stared at Korriban with bile churning in her stomach. She had followed her fear that the dark sider she detected on the Wheel would venture to the Sith homeworld. Her fear had been proven right. She shivered. The dark side remained fluid and potent around the desolate world, despite the Sith having been extinct for a thousand years.
At least, that's what we've all believed, Whae thought, trying not to sound mentally whiny. Why'd I have to be the one to stumble upon a dark sider? Why couldn't it have been someone more capable? They could've had someone like… like… like Master Qui-Gon! He could deal with her easily! Why, he might have even convinced her to abandon the dark side entirely and join the Jedi!
She sighed and shook her head. It was a silly, foolish idea. Yet she could not help her slight infatuation with the maverick Jedi Master. Master Qui-Gon had been taught by Master Dooku, who had been taught by Grand Master Yoda himself. Why, she had even heard good things about Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Padawan learner accepted by Master Qui-Gon before that strange day when something vile and potent flooded over Coruscant—
Her. I… I sensed her that day! Bile rose into the back of Whae's mouth, but she managed to swallow the sour taste. She recalled that day years ago when the Force shuddered with a dark stain. Whae had said nothing to the others around her, for they appeared ignorant to the sensation. She knew not who else in the Jedi Order had sensed that change. But she had noticed, despite her weakness. Here she now sat, in a position to do something. To be a hero. To prove to those who doubted her that she deserved her knighting.
She pushed forward on the yoke, bringing her small craft down into the atmosphere of Korriban.
Gladiolus descended from a caved-in tomb, face drawn with disappointment. Her cloak flapped behind her, caught in a punishing wind roaring through the Valley of the Sith Lords. An old probe had possessed just enough power to transmit a data packet to the Dearg Due during their descent to the planetary surface. Gladiolus had studied everything communicated about Korriban and its geology. When she had discovered this valley, she instructed Landren to land there. He had been quite obedient on that matter.
So far, I have found nothing but dust and echoes. Has the march of time truly displaced the ancient legacy of the Sith?
The thought troubled her, though not as much as the lack of something to discover. She had hoped despite the centuries since the alleged extinction of the Sith and the centuries more that spanned the ages before Ruusan, that something would remain of the ancient Sith. She had hoped to find some shred to reveal they had lived and died on Korriban. Yes, she had holocrons for a number of those interned through the Valley.
But there was a difference between a holocron and any other artifact. And while she had plenty of the former, she desired something of the latter. All she had on that front was the shuttle and kyber crystal that had belonged to Lord Salazar, so long ago.
The comlink at her waist suddenly buzzed. She activated it, and Landren's voice immediately washed over her. "Gladiolus, pick up! Hurry up and—"
"What is it?" she snapped.
"The sensors just detected a shuttle descending from orbit. They're heading for our location."
Gladiolus's gaze descended to the valley floor. The Dearg Due sat in a shallow ditch, almost hidden by the dust blown by the winds.
"Are they a threat?" she asked.
"I can't say. I'd rather not sit around and find out."
Gladiolus sighed. She had found nothing so far on Korriban. And while it had never been her primary destination within the ancient confines of Sith Space, she had hoped to gain something from her visit to this world.
"Fine, then. I'm on my way back. Once I'm aboard, we head for Ziost."
"Are you sure you wish to go that way? They might attempt to follow us."
She scoffed while reaching out into the Force, searching for the person who had startled Landren. "Unless they're a Jedi…"
This feeling. It's so weak, but now that I have the thought in mind, it is clearly a Jedi. How could one of them have found me—
And suddenly, she recognized the presence. She had sensed this person on the Wheel at that pub she had entered for the sole purpose of witnessing a session of the Galactic Senate. It had been so small then that she dismissed the presence instead of interrogating it. And by doing so, Gladiolus permitted a Jedi to discover her—and somehow track her from the Wheel to Sith Space.
"Prep for takeoff," Gladiolus said into her comm. "I'll be back shortly."
"And then what?"
"If we time our departure properly, we can sneak past the Jedi."
"Jedi? What are you—"
"Just prep for takeoff, Landren! I can already see the shuttle!'
He sighed. "I'll leave the timing to you."
Gladiolus smirked. "Perfect."
Whae had just descended into the atmosphere when her sensors detected another shuttle. She assumed it was the black one she witnessed depart the Wheel. She banked toward the signal, careful with the yoke as she considered whether she should descend and land or maintain her advantage in altitude. Her hand not gripping the yoke tapped her thigh, anxious about her choices. She knew she should remain calm and trust in the Force to guide her. But the potential threat of facing a Sith Lord hung over her head. She tried to not fear the creature awaiting her and thought that maybe—just maybe—she should swallow her newfound ego and contact the temple. Should she fail, someone else needed to carry her torch.
Her sensors beeped before she made up her mind. The shuttle she detected had risen from the planet's surface. Whae clenched her jaw and pressed forward on the yoke, moving to intercept. Her shuttle had no weapon systems, but the thick hull armor should withstand a collision. She would be perfectly safe ramming the dark sider's shuttle and sending it spiraling down to Korriban.
She began drawing close to the rising shuttle. Thirty kilometers. Twenty-five. Twenty. Fifteen. Ten. Five—
The missile lock alert flashed. Whae glanced at it, then up through the viewport before her. A dot streaked her way, quickly growing in size as the distance between them shrunk. She grimaced and juked her shuttle away from the missile—and consequentially away from the other shuttle's path. She waited until the alert began screaming before deploying chaff. Several seconds passed before her shuttle rocked from the missile exploding prematurely.
Whae glanced out the viewport. The dark sider's shuttle had reached the upper layer of Korriban's atmosphere. The moment it was free of the world's gravity well, it would jump to lightspeed. She knew it in her bones. She reached out with the Force, trying to determine where her foe might go.
A world, green yet decayed, flashed in her mind. Whae blinked. She needed to correctly guess which world the dark sider intended to head for. She had two options: Dromund Kaas and Ziost. Either could be the destination. If she guessed wrong, the trail could turn cold.
I have to guess right, Whae thought as she made to pursue the fleeing dark sider. She pursed her lips and tried to think if the green she witnessed had been lush rainforests or grassy plains. She could not recall which—and something about Dromund Kaas felt off. Not wrong. Merely… off.
Ziost…? Could she be heading for Ziost?
Whae remained uncertain. She knew that either world could be the dark sider's destination. She consulted her star chart. Ziost was further from Korriban.
Dromund Kaas first, and then Ziost. I should be able to reach it before the Sith can leave.
With her mind made, Whae plugged in the coordinates for the closer Sith world. She hoped she had chosen right. Else, the Sith—her mind had decided the one she chased was a Sith—might escape justice.