"Talking"
'Thinking'
[Droid]
~Parseltongue~
{Black Speach}
Korriban
Within a day, Salazar had changed to his new outfit and packed whatever little belongings he had. Rumours wafted throughout the academy of his becoming Baras's apprentice and wherever he went, lesser acolytes stayed clear of him. Academy instructors gave him nods of approval. Visiting Sith Lords paid him a second glance.
Before he officially left the academy, Phyne proudly informed him that she managed to gain an apprenticeship with a member of Sith intelligence.
As for Malora, well Salazar can only assume her plans were a success.
"Aboarding the shuttle to take both Salazar and Vette off Korriban, the two sent a silent farewell to the planet, with Vette hoping to never set foot on it again.
Two Weeks Later
It had been over two weeks since Salazar and Vette had arrived at the Imperial fleet. During that time, Salazar had taken the time to work on his skills in the ways of the Sith Juggernaut. The training was difficult, forcing him to endure countless beatings and duels. What kept him going was knowing that Vette would be there to help him recover from his training and encourage him to keep fighting.
While he was training, Vette earned the title of Pazaak Champion of the Fleet. The credits she earned from defeating the former champ and various card sharks helped them buy necessary supplies and a few luxury items.
On this particular occasion, Vette was waiting for Salazar to return from his final day of his specialization training. As the door to their suite opened, the Mandalorian walked in, tired yet triumphant.
"The Warrior returns." Vette said, welcoming Salazar.
Vette noticed the grin on Salazar's face. "Something good must've happened if you're showing a goofy face like that."
Salazar smirked. "I was able to beat my instructor in less than half-an-hour. I see you spent quite a bit on yourself while I was busy."
"Your half right." Vette said. Walking into the closet, she brought out a set of Show-Off's Casual armor and a pair of Black Nebula Heavy Blasters.
"I also have a little something for you." Vette said, picking up a small box on her bed.
Curious, he opened the box. Inside, was a purple lightsaber crystal.
Salazar smiled. "Thank you Vette, very kind of you."
"Hey, it's the least I can do, you freed me after all."
Salazar's smiled dimmed a bit. "Vette, I didn't free you so you can pay me back."
Vette gave him a warm smile. "I know. Still, I wanted to give you something, and the crystal seemed like something you'd like."
After eating their dinner for the night, the two settled down in their beds.
Waking up the next morning, the quickly dressed and ate before making their way towards the docking bay. Darth Baras had booked them both a flight on the Black Talon to Dromund Kaas, much to their surprise.
"Any reason why he would book us a flight on this fancy looking ship?" Vette asked as they made their way to the boarding ramp.
"My guess is that he wants us to feel comfortable before we start to do his bidding." Salazar replied.
"Figures. Seems like all the big Sith have their own personal agenda." Vette sighed.
As they entered the ship, they quickly stowed away their few belongings in their cabin before making their way to the main deck. A short while later, the ship took off and made it's way towards Dromund Kaas.
"Not many people on board." Vette said, observing the dozen or so people conversing.
"What did you expect? Only the rich and privileged can afford a ticket on a ship like this." Said a gruff voice from behind them. Turning around, they saw what appeared to be a human bounty hunter with dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, as well as a goatee sauntering towards them, followed closely by a young woman with black hair, brown eyes and had some cybernetics on her face.
"So how did you manage to sneak aboard the ship?" Vette asked, a sly grin crossing her face.
"Your looking at the next Champion of the Great Hunt, missy." The bounty hunter replied, running a hand through his blonde hair. "I see your pretty slick with the blasters yourself. How did you get those beauties?"
"Won them in a pazaak game." She replied. "I'm Vette by the way. This dashingly handsome guy is Salazar."
Salazar chuckled a little before extending his hand to the bounty hunter. "Name's Sergei Kravinoff, and bounty hunting is my profession. This lovely lady here is my partner in crime, Mako."
"Pleasure to meet you." Mako said, shaking the two's hands.
"Excuse me." A female officer said, walking towards the group. "I have been summoned by the captain to bring you four to the bridge."
"What makes us so special?" Sergei asked.
"After searching your records and boarding papers, we have determined that you two." She said, pointing at Salazar and Sergei. "Are qualified for the dilemma we seem to have. Seeing as you ladies are their companions, you are more than welcome to assist."
"Do we even have a choice in the matter?" Salazar asked.
"I'm afraid not." The officer said before leading them to an elevator.
She led them to the bridge where the captain was having a heated conversation with someone on the holo.
"You have your orders, captain. Pursue the Brentaal Star or face the consequences."
"This is suicide." The captain replied. "We have civilians on board and are outmatched."
"Excuse me, sir. I brought you the two you requested, along with their companions."
"Excellent." The man on the holo said, turning to them. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Grand Moff Kilran, also known as the Butcher of Coruscant."
"You sure Coruscant didn't return the favor?" Sergei chuckled at the man's facial scars.
"Looks like he got on the wrong end of a flamethrower." Salazar joined in.
"Why is it that I always have to deal with the comedians?" Kilran sighed. "Now that you got that out of the way, I require your services."
"I have a meeting with Darth Baras." Salazar said.
"And I have to prepare for the Great Hunt." Sergei added.
"I took the liberty of notifying both of your superiors about your delay and they both deemed it acceptable." Kilran replied with a smirk. "Now, your objective is to board the Brentaal Star and capture or kill a defector known as the General. He is carrying vital Imperial intelligence and must be stopped."
"Do we really have a choice in the matter?" The bounty hunter sighed.
"There is always a choice. You could either do what I say or I shall destroy you and everybody aboard this ship." Kilran said.
Turning to the captain, Salazar said. "I know you are afraid of what might happen if we go up against this ship, but we don't have much of a choice. We are all in this mess together."
The captain sighed. "I see what you are saying. I guess I never looked at it from that point of view before."
Turning to face Kilran, the captain said. "We shall pursue the Brentaal Star and deal with the General."
"Excellent choice. I always prefer things to go my way the first time around." Kilran said before cutting the transmission.
"Get your best boarding parties ready. They will be our enter and exit strategy. We will deal with the General." Salazar told the captain.
"You sure that you four are prepared to fight through the ship to get to the General?" The captain asked.
Sergei chuckled before patting the two blasters at his side. "I've beaten the odds before. With this Sith at my side, I'm sure we could conquer the galaxy."
With that, the four made their way towards the shuttle bay. Entering the boarding shuttle they waited patiently for take off.
"Exiting lightspeed now." Came the captain's voice over the radio. "The Brentaal Star is in range. All boarding parties launch."
With a jolt, the shuttle began moving and made it's journey towards the ship.
Salazar put his arm around Vette and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We will make it through this. Trust me."
Vette gave him a smile before giving him a small kiss on his cheek. "I know."
"Want me to give you a kiss for good luck to, Sal?" Sergei teased.
"Fuck off." Salazar chuckled.
"Well there really is no other place I can fuck off to at the moment. Guess you're stuck with me."
"Sal huh? Not a bad nickname, think I'll be using that. Thanks Sergei." Vette said.
"No problem." Sergei gives Vette a thumbs up.
"Approaching hanger bay." The pilot said.
"Ready?" Salazar asked, unclipping his lightsaber.
"Ready as I'll ever be." The bounty hunter replied, drawing his blasters.
The ship came to a rocky landing and was immediately peppered by blaster fire. The shuttle doors opened allowing for the Imperial troopers to file down before the four casually exited.
"You watch my back, I'll watch yours." Vette said, drawing her two pistols. Salazar grinned as he ignited his lightsaber and jumped into the fray. With the combined force of Salazar's hacking and slashing, Vette and Sergei blasting anybody that wasn't friendly, and Mako providing medical support, they were able to take the hanger with no casualties on their side.
"Now that we are inside, how do we track down this guy?" Salazar asked, allowing his purple blade to deactivate.
"The General has a cybernetic eye implant. You can track him with this." One of the officers said, handing over the tracking device.
"That makes our job a hell of a lot easier." Sergei said. "Make sure you keep this hanger secure, boys. We don't want to become permanent residents here."
With that, the four began to make their way through the bowels of the ship. Occasionally they would have a brief skirmish with a small squad of Republic troops but it would be over as soon as it began.
Ultimately, they reached the final blast door to the escape pods. When Sergei tried to open them with the code however, the door shook. Sparks flew and sounds of metal scrunching were heard. He tried again, but still to no avail. Looks like it was time for more aggressive negotiations.
"Ah! Bantha shit! Looks like we gotta do things the hard way. Hey Sal, wanna do rock-shield-blade to see who brings down the door?"
Salazar shrugged. "Sure, why not."
"Ugh, boys will be boys." Said Mako with Vette giggling.
On the other side, a pink skinned Twi'lek Jedi ran over to her ward just as she damaged the very blast door stopping the imperials from barging in.
"The escape pods aren't far now. You can make it on your own General." She explained.
"And what about you?" The obese and balding man enquired.
The only physical barrier left between them exploded outwards from Salazar's force push. Littering the bodies of two republic marines standing guard with pieces of said blast door and killing them instantly.
"I will face my destiny." She spoke with conviction. "Go now, my friend."
"I'm not sure I can make it. That last blast from the Imperial cruiser sent some shrapnel into my stomach." The General panted. "Besides, I can't let you sacrifice your life for mine."
"She doesn't have to." Salazar interrupted, making his way towards the two. "Surrender to us, and I'll see to it that she and the remaining crew of the Brentaal Star will be unharmed."
"I am Yadira Ban, Padawan of the Jedi Order. I was sent to protect the general, and you shall not pass." The Jedi stated with as much authority in her voice as she could muster.
"I'm afraid I cannot surrender the General to you. The information he contains is too valuable for the Republic to relinquish."
"I don't want to kill you, but we cannot return without the General. Let us take him and I assure you that you will not be harmed." Salazar insisted.
"A Jedi does not surrender the innocent into the hands of evil. But I intend to drive you back, meter by meter, if need be. Just as the Republic pushed the Sith Empire into the dark of the galaxy."
"Then there's no way we can settle this peacefully?" Salazar asked.
"No, not anymore I fear." The Jedi shook her head sadly, then ignited her lightsaber and pointed the bright green blade right at him. "You may run or you may stand your ground. But you'll go no farther. You aren't going to win this. I swear it."
Salazar sighed, turning to Sergei, Mako and Vette. "You three stay out of this, this is my fight."
"Understood." Sergei nodded respectfully.
"Be careful." Vette warned.
Salazar ignited his lightsaber, giving his opponent the customary Makashi salute.
The two circled each other for a good minute till Salazar leapt at the Jedi and began a fierce duel. What Yadira lacked in lightsaber skills, she made up with Force powers and techniques. She attempted to keep him in close proximity to her when she gathered the Force around her. Realizing that she was going to lash out in a flurry of slashes that even he would have difficulty blocking, he quickly caught her in a Force Choke and lifted her off the ground.
"Do you yield?" Salazar asked.
"A Jedi never gives up." Yadira managed to say.
Salazar let out a sigh before quickly slicing off her hand wielding the lightsaber and tossing her to the ground. He quickly summoned the blade towards him before cutting it in half. The Jedi was on the ground, panting and nursing her stump of a right hand.
This duel was over.
"I apologize, but you left me no choice." Salazar said.
"You have defeated me Sith. I am defenseless. Just know that if you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." She replied.
"Lucky for you there will be no striking down of any kind." Salazar chuckled as he helped her to her feet and summoned her severed hand. Giving it to her, he said. "You fought bravely. You may still be able to save your hand if you hurry to the med bay."
"You aren't like any of the Sith I have previously encountered. You are merciful, charitable even." Yadira said.
"Just goes to show that not all Sith are out to destroy the galaxy. We just don't agree with everything the Jedi Council says." He replied.
"Very well. I won't forget your kindness." She said, bowing to him and made her way towards the med bay.
After Yadira left, the four made their way towards the escape pods. Resting against the wall, the General was panting and clutching his still bleeding side.
"I am grateful that you spared Yadira. She shouldn't have gotten tangled in this mess." He said.
"So what made you decide to defect to the Republic with these plans?" Sergei asked.
"If you knew what I knew, you'd understand. If you'd hear what both sides are plotting, you wouldn't be eager to restart this war." He sounded panicked and desperate now. "They're building doomsday weapons. Shields that envelop planets; missiles that darken suns. Republic and Empire are planning to raze worlds and annihilate civilisations. It will be unlike anything the galaxy's seen since the Great Hyperspace War. And it's too late to stop it, the so-called peace is already lost."
"If this is true, why defect to the Republic?" Salazar replied.
"I... thought they might turn the tide of the galaxy for the better. It seems... I was wrong. I just... wanted the galaxy... to finally be at... peace." The General said before letting out a final shuddering breath.
Salazar mentally disagreed with what the general said. Conflict is a part of nature, part of the universe, and it's there to stay.
"The implant contains the data." Sergei said before crouching down and gently removing the eye implant.
"Better get out of here before they leave without us." Salazar said.
They rushed towards the shuttle that would return them to the docking bay. Running past blaster fire, both enemy and friendly, they managed to board the shuttle and escape the Brentaal Star.
The captain met them in the hanger bay of the Black Talon, a broad smile on his face.
"I can't believe you did it. A couple minutes more and our shields would have been destroyed."
"Thank you. Your are too kind." Sergei chuckled. Handing over the implant, much to the captain's horror and disgust, he asked, "Now, about our fee?"
"Yes, of course." The captain replied, beckoning a pair of Imperial troopers, each carrying a small case.
"Will twenty five thousand credit for each of you suffice?" The captain asked.
"I guess." Sergei replied sarcastically before taking his case. "Pleasure working with you, Salazar. We should try to meet up again sometime."
"I look forward to it." Salazar replied before facing the captain.
"We shall now return to our quarters, Captain." Salazar said calmly. "Rest assured you as well as your crew will be mentioned in my own report to Darth Baras. I'm sure he could pull some strings and assign you all a better role to fill within the Navy."
Without waiting for a reply, Salazar motioned Vette to follow him and left the bridge.
"You know half of that is mine." Vette said, giving him a sly grin.
"Obviously." He replied.
The Sith and Twi'lek pair finally reached their accommodations after a good ten minutes of walking. Throughout the walk, Vette noticed that any crew who passed by them would greet Salazar as is customary. But their greetings weren't laced with fear or caution, it was filled with hints of gratitude and respect or sometimes even a grateful smile. It almost looked like they saw him as a… hero?
No, that sounded totally absurd. Heroes were usually attributed to the Jedi or those who served in the Republic military. Anyone from the Empire, the Sith notwithstanding, would automatically be branded as the bad guys. Not like the Empire actually did anything to try and shake off the label. Their ultimate goal was to conquer the entire galaxy by any means necessary after all.
So it would stand to reason that this Sith was very much different from the rest. Still technically a bad guy by all definitions, but not as bad as the others. In Vette's mind, if Salazar wasn't a hero he would at least be an anti-hero. A bad guy who made good decisions. They might have been in the name of the Empire, but it was still good nonetheless. And that thought comforted her if only in weird way.
The room they entered was the only VIP suite in the ship. It wasn't all the time a regular transport carrying military material would be escorting a high ranking individual, let alone a Sith. Although it looked spartan, it had more than enough amenities to fulfil its role. It was large enough to fit a large wardrobe, two queen sized beds, and a shower at the corner of the room. The walls were the typical durasteel grey, then again beggars couldn't be choosers.
Vette bounded throughout the room with enthusiasm. This was definitely much better accommodations then back in Korriban.
Chuckling at Vette's antics, Salazar told her. "Admire the room tomorrow, right now though, I need to rest, been a rough day.
Vette nodded, the two washed up, undressed and drifted off to sleep.
End
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Remember, reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, bye gold, BYE!
