Kallig, Andronikos, and Khem found Zash's apprentices waiting for them in her office. They knelt upon seeing her.
"Stop doing that," Kallig said. "We don't have the time." They stood. "First question, when did the Revanites leave their camp?"
"The Revanites?" Corrin said.
"Yes," Kallig said. "Tight-lipped group of fanatics near Grathan's estate. They're gone. Do any of you know what happened to them?" The apprentices shrugged or murmured, but no one responded. However, one of them seemed familiar. She watched his face and said, "Instruct the seeker of knowledge to stand in the circle of ritual." There. Recognition. "You. Come here." He approached cautiously. "You were at the camp. You've changed your hairstyle quite a bit. You were assigned to watch me, weren't you?"
"We'll destroy the traitor for you, master!" Kaal said.
"Oh, shut up! If I wanted him dead, I'd do it myself."
The apprentice said, "Master, I was never there. Perhaps-"
"No," Kallig said. "My memory is better than that. Tell me what you know about Thanaton." His confusion looked genuine. "Very well. Tell the Revanites not to send any more spies. They'll get in my way. Now go."
"Master?" he said.
She glared at him until he left.
After he was gone, she said, "Which of you has the key to Zash's quarters? The key wasn't on her body. She wouldn't just leave it lying around. Which one of you has it?"
An apprentice stepped forward. "I do, master."
"Name?" Kallig asked.
"Talorgan," he said. "But, Darth Zash kept nothing of importance there."
"Still, I might need it," Kallig said. "What became of Zash's research? Anyone?"
"We don't know, master," Corrin replied. "Darth Zash had several private holdings."
"Locate them," Kallig said.
"Of course, master," Corrin said. "I would like to remind you-"
"I know," Kallig said. She contacted Darth Thanaton.
"Very good," Thanaton said. "I hope you've settled in to your new role, Lord-?"
"I go by 'Kallig' at the moment," the assassin said.
Thanaton paused, as if hearing an inappropriate joke. "Your brief career has been of great interest to me. And with Darth Zash dead, I think it's time we finally met. If you will be taking up Zash's work, we have much to discuss. Meet me at the tomb of Darth Andru outside Kaas City."
"As you wish, my lord," Kallig said. Thanaton disconnected. The assassin connected to the Sith database. Darth Andru. Studied the Force-walking technique. Sought to gain power by binding Force ghosts to him. Betrayed and murdered by his children. He gained enough power to warrant a tomb.
Force walking?
Ghosts?
'Kallig' irritated him?
Kallig.
Skotia. Skotia's key.
What did that historian...? Alaric! What did Alaric say? A group of ambitious, but ignorant, Sith thought to gain power by raiding the temple. They didn't find the relics they sought. Instead, they awoke an ancient Sith Lord, Lord Kallig.
Your brief career has been of great interest to me.
If you will be taking up Zash's work-
Interesting.
"What do you know of Thanaton?" she asked. "Any of you?"
"A traditionalist," Corrin said. "He and Zash argued on that subject frequently."
"Something about that Thanaton guy rubs me wrong," Andronikos said.
"I agree," Kallig replied. "Corrin, Talorgan, find Zash's research. You two, identify all of Zash's holdings. Kaal, I need a complete workup on Darth Thanaton. And all of you, keep up with your studies. You may go."
After they were gone, Khem said in Basic, "You did well, apprentice."
"Former apprentice," the assassin said.
"I could just tell you everything you want to know," Zash said.
Kallig smiled. "I would hate for you to forget anything."
Andronikos said, "This whole tomb thing sounds like a trap."
"Obviously," Kallig said. "But, if I don't go, I'm disobeying my direct superior. He'd be justified in taking more serious action against me. He might revoke my use of the Pilgrim, and I will need a ship. Let's hope it's a survivable trap."
She had to make her way across the scarred terrain from the failed invasion of Darth Tytonus, but she didn't need to worry about a horde of possessed workers. An impressive tomb, built after the temple was constructed. Post-Manderon from the looks of it.
"Thank you for meeting me here," Thanaton said. "Respect for your superiors is the mark of a good Sith. Of course, Zash would've disagreed, did disagree with me passionately on that point. But then, Zash never respected tradition."
"It's wise to respect your superiors," Kallig said. "At least until you're powerful enough to kill them."
"A wise answer," Thanaton replied. "You are not like your master. Tradition. Principles. History. The threads that compose our society. Zash refused to acknowledge how one little tug could ruin the whole tapestry. Your work was sloppy, brazen even, but the news of her murder was sweet."
"It was self-defense," Kallig said. "I didn't want to kill her. Not yet, anyway."
Thanaton said, "I only hope that next time you'll be a little more prepared. Nevertheless, we're here to talk about you, not Zash. You have demonstrated remarkable ability." I did something he couldn't. "Though I am a stricter master than Zash, I think you'll find that to loyal followers of our traditions, I am not ungenerous." Dangling a carrot.
"Then I will do my best not to disappoint you," she said.
"In that case, I think we will have a very fruitful relationship," he told her. He hopes I am desperate. "Now, I wish to see how you work. This tomb belonged to Darth Andru, Sith scholar and alchemist. I'm interested in his last writings, which were buried with him. Recover them for me, and we will discuss your place in my power structure."
"Of course, my lord," she said and watched him leave.
"He wants a book?" Andronikos said.
"No," she told him. "Darth Andru studied ghosts. I suspect he's still there, but we need to have a look." The three of them travelled the long tunnel, stopping short of a chamber lit with bioluminescence. She'd included night vision and macrobinoculars in the mask design, and she zoomed in on the chamber. "Skeletons," she said.
"It's a tomb," Andronikos said.
"Recent," she told him. "Scattered around the tomb itself, probably picked clean by the vermin in the cave. He's used this trap before. No one would ask about the disappearance of some minor Twi'lek Sith Lord and her off-world companions."
"Well done, Child of my Name," Lord Kallig said. "This is where Thanaton leads those he despises to death."
"So this is Kallig," Zash said. "You're right. He's not Twi'lek."
"He's Zabrak," the assassin said. "We found that out while you were dead. Still a day late with anything useful, I see. Do you have a plan?"
"Listen, Child of my Name," the apparition continued. "I have felt something in you since the day we met. You have a rare pull among ghosts. It's a source of great power, but it has destroyed many a Sith. It's your only chance against Thanaton."
"Or a lightsaber," she said.
"You don't have the skill, apprentice," Zash said.
"Former apprentice," the assassin said. "Remember, I did beat you. Why is this my only chance against Thanaton?"
"He has studied-" Zash and Kallig said together, then looked at each other. After a moment, Kallig nodded.
"He has studied the rituals," Zash said. "He could drain your life without touching his lightsaber. Only a powerful Darth could hope to face him. You have potential, my former apprentice, but you are not yet powerful enough to kill Thanaton."
The assassin looked at the apparition. "What do you mean I have a 'pull' on the dead?"
"They sense you from far away, as I did, and you rouse strong emotions in them. In my time, there were mystical movements among the Sith that sought to communicate with ghosts and harness their power." Cut to the chase, please. "A Sith named Ergast was said to devour ghosts the way your Dashade devours Force users. His knowledge was buried with him near the Dark Temple. Seek this knowledge."
"How will that help?" she asked.
"You must augment your power before you face Thanaton," he said. "Defeating this ghost will not only get you the writings but also give you immense power."
"I don't need the writings," she said. "Not for Thanaton, anyway. He probably has a copy in his office. All right, ghost power, because this day couldn't get any weirder."
"Who stands before me and what do you wish to learn?" the new apparition asked. Another tomb, this time in the Dark Temple. Another chamber filled with skeletons, though most were centuries old. Strict teacher, apparently. This ghost stood before a great obelisk. From behind the mask, the assassin could see bright letters hovering above its surface. Based on its design, the obelisk was not made by the builders of the temple.
"I must pacify a ghost," she told him.
"There is no defense against death," the teacher said. "But ghosts may be bound and their strength borrowed, for a time. You must pull on the tether that connects life and death. You must learn to bind both sides of the Force, life and death, in what is known as the Force walk."
"I will do my best, if you will teach me," the assassin said.
The teacher said, "Note the bones that lay around you." It's not like I could miss them. "Not everyone is able to master the ritual of Force walking. But if you are willing, drink from the cup before me. It is poison, but it will not kill you."
She said, "You mean, it's a sedative. Why not call it that?"
"Drink," the teacher said. "Then you may learn the ritual of the Force walk."
"It's meditation," the assassin said. "I do that all the time."
"You must drink," he said.
"You want to weaken me, don't you?" she said. "That's why you were able to defeat the others."
"You are not the first to refuse the poison," he said. "But I defeated them without it."
"If I fail the training, you'll kill me," she said. He nodded. The inscriptions on the obelisk matched similar inscriptions on the third and fourth artifacts. She should have known studying the artifacts would not be easy. "Let's begin."
"A very quick learner indeed," the teacher said. "You might just make it out of here alive. This is the test. Bind me and you go free. I'll walk with you for a time and see the Empire once more. Fail, and-"
"Yes, I know," she said.
He engulfed her in power, and she felt a weakening similar to Zash's ritual. She held him back, struggled to the obelisk, and stabbed it with her lightsaber. The ghost cried out in shock and began to fade.
"I can keep you here," she said. "'A pact may be formed to bind the ghost willingly'."
"Sealed with blood," he said.
"Khem! I need a blade!" The Dashade threw her a knife. She cut open her hand, squeezed the blood out, and the ghost consumed it. The blood saturated the ghost, reforming him.
"I am Ergast, Lord of the Sith," he said. "You have passed the final test. I am now your slave, and my power is yours. I am bound to your life and you to my death. Use my strength to shield yourself against your foes."
Power rushed into her, the power of death strengthening her and infecting her at the same time. That can't be good. The rush of power was familiar. Almost. Where had she-? Balmorra! The artifact on Balmorra. She destroyed it too quickly. She should have guessed that was another clue from the Force. It continued to drop her clues, so she must be able to succeed without it.
"Khem, is that you?" she asked.
"I am myself, little Sith," the Dashade said.
Good, she thought. This would not be the best time to have Zash around. "Time to bind Darth Andru, but first, I need a couple of the artifacts."
"You'll not have it," Andru said. "It's mine. It's the last place in the galaxy that's mine!"
"Darth Andru, I presume?" the assassin said.
"Don't mock me, my apprentice. You know me. You killed me." There's a lot of that going around. "The poison still fresh in my body, you defile my tomb. You and your brother both." Oh, he's trapped in his last moments. "The venom may have burned away my sight, but I know you. Don't make my mistake. Strangle your children at birth!" Suggestion noted. "I hear your slithering. Venom-toothed viper. The only cure for madness is madness!" He engulfed her with his power.
She held up the third and fourth artifacts, found the proper control in them, and targeted Andru. The artifacts circled around him. Not part of the shadow. They contained his power, held it in place.
He cried out, "What's happened? What did you do to me?"
"This is called the Force walk," she said. "I'm taking your power for my own." In truth, the artifacts did most of the work. This was only her second binding, and she'd need practice.
"Yes, I recognize it now," he said. "The ritual of Force walking. But what are these bright stars around me?" He looked at the artifacts. "Do you really think you can handle my power? It doesn't matter. You won't have me. This is my last stronghold... and I won't be your slave!"
"I will free you when I'm done," she told him.
"You will free me?" he said. "I will not be bound to you, or to this tomb? Seal the pact in blood, and I will come." She removed the bandage from her hand and let him drink. "My strength is yours. But I will hold you to your promise of freedom."
"Well done," Lord Kallig said. "With the power of this ghost and of the other, you may shield yourself against Thanaton's wrath."
"I'm not going back to Thanaton," she said. "Not today, anyway. I'm not giving him a second chance to kill me." She took the writings, just in case. "We're going to the Pilgrim."
"Master, you're back!" Corrin said. She and Kaal were waiting at the ship.
"We sent the others to look for you," Kaal said. "We thought Thanaton had killed you."
"Not here," the assassin said and boarded the Pilgrim. The others followed her to the conference room.
"Tell me, apprentice," Zash said. Shit. "Why do you still have the artifacts?"
"They might be useful," the assassin told her.
"Apprentice?" Corrin said. "And, why is the Dashade speaking Basic?"
The assassin said, "The ritual didn't fail completely."
"Darth Zash?" Kaal said.
"Some of the time," the assassin said. "Sometimes, Khem is in control."
"We are working to remedy the situation," Zash said.
Corrin asked Zash, "Are we your apprentices or hers?"
"You are her apprentices, for now," Zash told her. "Back to my question, how will you use the artifacts, apprentice?"
"First of all, 'Lord Kallig'. You slapped the name on me yourself. Second of all, why is Thanaton trying to kill me? I'm a nobody in his eyes. What did he mean by 'taking up your work'? Why send me after a ghost? Why not just kill me himself? Why did Skotia have the key to Kallig's tomb in the first place? Why does Thanaton hate you so much?"
"How long have you been holding that in?" Zash asked.
"Answer the questions," the assassin said.
"For all his power, Darth Thanaton is held back," Zash said. "The rituals were designed to work with the artifacts. He's sought them for years."
"Did he open the temple?" the assassin said.
"We have no proof," Zash replied. "Skotia was not the first Thanaton sent to the temple, but he was the first to come back alive."
"But Skotia failed."
"Yes," Zash said. "And you succeeded. You also opened the pyramid on Korriban. You were both an irritation and a threat. You were involved in Skotia's death. He had no fondness for Skotia, but he recognized the man's value. You forced Thanaton to find a new ally. He once taught classes in Sith Alchemy, so he reached out to his best student, Vaverone Zare."
"Well, fuck," the assassin said.
Zash said, "Apparently, he hadn't briefed her on the two of us yet."
"Why did he hate you so much?" the assassin asked.
"I was the irritation he couldn't crush," Zash said. "We were at opposite ends politically. Thanaton is an extremist. He despises anyone that does not conform. He tried crushing me more than once, but never could. He hates failure almost as much as he hates my viewpoint."
The assassin said, "Basically, he hates a successful threat and has the power to act on that hate."
"Well said, Lord Kallig," Zash replied.
"What do we do?" Kaal asked. "We can't wait for Thanaton to kill us."
The assassin said, "Zash, do you know of any powerful artifacts or rituals we could use to defeat Thanaton?"
"Thanaton guards those secrets jealously," she said.
You mean, he knows more than you. "Does Thanaton have a weakness?"
"Nothing we could exploit," Zash said.
You mean, he's better than you. "Right now, the ghosts are my only option. Fire with fire. I'll find the most powerful dead in the galaxy, bind them, and take their power."
"It's a gamble," Zash said. "None of us know what the cost of acquiring so much power so quickly could be."
The assassin said, "We don't have much of a choice."
"So where do we find more ghosts?" Corrin asked.
Zash said, "The Jedi on Taris were investigating something of that nature; I sent a man to investigate shortly before my unfortunate change. I'd have to do more research on the matter to confirm, but I suggest making contact with him."
"Taris it is," the assassin said.
Kaal said, "Corrin and I will dig around too. And we'll keep an eye on Thanaton. If he makes a move, we'll let you know. Good luck, master."
"Thank you," she said. "And you still have to read the treatise." They both groaned. "Andronikos, set course for Taris."