Space

[Draj Matterburn]

Draj had many questions, too many to ask one at a time. After devouring half of his meal, which was several times larger than Dashel's, a large group of question came out before Dashel could answer the first one.

 

"I felt energy, all around, I could almost make out the shape of the room just by feeling it, I'm guessing that's the Force. How long did the meditation take? My perception of time was one of the first things I pushed out of my head. How can I clear my mind faster, new thoughts appeared almost as fast as I could push them out. Has any other padawan fainted after feeling the force for the first time, because it does feel slightly embarrassing?"

[Emily]

There were a tense few minutes after launch when the Grey Master waited to see what the Cult would do. But soon enough, she felt the jolt of the tractor beam engaging her. She watched the ship grow larger and larger in her viewport, until she was brought in and set down in a hanger. She readied herself, but no one came.

 

Suddenly, her captor’s voice echoed over the comm system. At his words, her heart sank. So, she thought with dread. They know. That meant either Force-users or very high-range scanners. Neither boded well. Force-users were challenging opponents, and high-quality gear meant lots of funding. Well, I guess at least there are no more illusions, she thought. But now they know just how much I stand to lose.

 

His threat was a curious one. They had already demonstrated that they wanted her alive. Why threaten to kill her now? As far as she knew, nothing had changed in the last few minutes.

 

A subtle sensation ran beneath her feet, and she realized they had jumped into hyperspace. She had a really bad feeling about this. Escape was becoming more and more difficult. She considered her options. She could surrender, but that was anathema to her. Who knew what these cultists were up to, or what they wanted? She wasn't eager to find out. Besides, the escape pod had no working external comm system, even if she wanted to communicate with them.

 

On the other hand, escape pods weren't designed for an extended stay. One was supposed to use them to get to safety rather quickly, though because of the vastness of space, the distance to safety varied. This pod had enough supplies for two standard days for three passengers, and the power and life support would last about 2 or 3 before the batteries would be drained. That bought Emily a little time. Who knew what would change in a few days? She didn't have to worry about them cutting power to the pod either; all critical components were only accessible from inside to protect the pod from external damage by debris, and if they used their EMP again, they'd damage their own ship.

 

Sighing, Emily settled herself down for a long wait. They'd have to open up the pod eventually if they wanted to keep her alive, and if they didn't, she’d likely die anyway. She'd keep her senses extended and ready, and in the meantime, try to keep her breathing steady and slow to conserve her oxygen.

[Dashel Illioni]

"To answer your easiest question first," said Dashel between bites of rare cooked Nerf, "we were in my meditation room for three days."

 

He paused a moment to allow Draj to absorb that particular bit of information before proceeding.

 

"As far as you fainting, well, I am sure that had something to do with both the surprise of touching the Force and not eating or drinking while you attempted to touch the Force for the 1st time. Congratulations, by the way, on both touching the Force on your first time and for meditating for three days straight. Both are excellent feats for a young Padawan."

 

After a few more bites of Nerf and some sips at some lemon water, Dash continued. "As for clearing your mind faster, that comes with a lot of practice. We'll work together on that, both in quiet meditation and meditation through physical discipline."

 

A smile crossed Dash's face at the though of whom would actually be working doing the practice sessions. The small disappeared when he thought of the form training that would need to be done.

 

"If you have any more questions," said Dashel, "go ahead and ask. If you are finished, though, both of us could use a hot shower and some rest before we arrive at Coruscant."

[Draj Matterburn]

Draj stood up from his chair, wiping food from his mouth.

 

"Rest seems like a good idea, master"

 

Draj walked out of the room slowly, his legs still sore from the three-day meditation. He took a two-hour shower, both because the water felt nice and because his thick fur was hard to clean, drying it afterward took 30 minutes. Draj decided it would be best to get some sleep before arriving at Coruscant. He dropped flat on his bed and immediately fell asleep.

[Alora]

“We should comm the Coresec captain once we depart. We need to get as much information as possible before end up pursuing the wrong path. That being said, I intend to destroy any traces of the enemy slowly and painfully.”

 

“I’ll do that.” Alora responded with regards to CoreSec. Once they caught up with the Cult, she was determined to make them pay for their crimes against her and her friends, especially since it meant delaying the wedding. Hopefully the authorities wouldn’t realize her affiliation and come after her as she had overall kept a fairly low profile. If CoreSec were to do a search of her, they would find that she was the Heiress of Darkknell Shipyard Industries on Leria Kerlsil and at the age of eighteen she had found her parents mutilated bodies down an alleyway on Coruscant – a double murder that CoreSec had never solved, though the murderers had paid with their lives once she had caught up with them. The declaration over the holonet regarding the Sith was a concern but right then her concern for Emily outweighed that risk.

 

She quickly packed what they would likely need and had them transferred to the ship. Shadow had picked up on her simmering anger and hissed at the staff members that they passed in the corridors. Alora sat in the co-pilots chair and composed a message to CoreSec Captain Ulys Kelvin, sending it before the jump to hyperspace. She then composed another message to Raynuk and Raia, informing them that she and Draken were on their way to Coruscant and to keep them apprised of any news they heard and that they would do likewise. This message would send as soon as they reverted back to realspace. Turning to her love she asked, "Did you manage to translate much more?" Glancing around the panthers were both lying on the floor behind them.

[Raynuk Montar]

The large freighter that was now making its way away from Coruscant was as plain as could be to the rest of the galaxy. And the man known as Zarl intended for it to stay that way. The freighter made a series of jumps along its path, some shorter than others, spending at the most a minute traveling at lightspeed before making another jump. When the freighter arrived over Carida, its transponder and registration had changed, and Zarl made sure to ping the navigational buoy over Carida before making the freighter take its next registered jump under the new ID. By the time it arrived over Gala, the transponder had changed again, identifying the ship as the freighter Corinthian; owned by a small conglomerate mining company operating out of Altyr 5. The Corinthian registered it's flightplan with the Gala orbital control, which showed the Corinthian as having arrived at Gala directly from Altyr 5, and would then continue on to Umbara where it was to pick up cargo from an under sea mining operation there, pointing to Gala as being the halfway point of this particular trip. The pilot of the now Corinthian even chatted with the man on duty within the orbital control before the freighter again jumped along a vector that would take it to Umbara.

 

Within the freighter however, there was no longer any subterfuge at play. Zarl continued to be focused on the monitors before him, which were now showing a view of the cargo bay that held a single escape pod in the middle of a vacuum. The lack of atmosphere within the bay was perhaps the only thing keeping their captive caged within her pod, but Zarl was smart enough to know that such a precaution was a double edged sword, as it also prevented him or any of his men from entering the bay to secure the consort of Quietus. He had, since their departure from Coruscant, personally ventured down to the airlock that had previously lead to the docking tube, and recovered the mystical orb which continued to glow with energy and the power to raise the dead. While he had technically managed to capture her, it had not been according to his carefully laid out plan. He had of course planned for contingencies such as the ones that had occurred, but leaving the Consort armed had not been a favorable outcome.

 

But even amidst setbacks, Zarl was still in control of the situation, and now simply had to await word from either the Masters or the other team of cultists that were to contact him. A few moments later however, Zarl noticed the approach of Klaro, who nodded deeply and slowly.

 

"What is it Klaro..." Zarl said, strain detectable in his voice.

 

Klaro opened his mouth to speak, but the voice that came to Zarl's mind -- not his ears -- was not the voice of the former Jedi. It was the voice of the Master. A voice that made Zarl's blood rush, and yet chilled him to the bone.

You have served me well child... Your success here has reached me, and know that I am pleased. Your discovery of the offspring of Quietus and his consort is most fortuitous, and the pieces continue to fall into place. Soon, my grand design will be realized, and Quietus... he will be mine. He will be made to pay... Continue your glorious work my child, and when the time comes, I will call to you myself.

 

Zarl suppressed a shiver as he turned and bowed to the form of Klaro, noticing for the first time that the man's eyes were glowing a dull, sickly shade of green beneath his upturned hood. But a moment later Klaro himself crumbled to his hands and knees, gasping for air before looking up at Zarl, who had stood back up.

 

"Was that... Did I just..." The former Jedi gasped.

 

"You have been blessed by the presence of the Master, Klaro; a vessel for his will for but a few scarce moments, so that he may converse with me directly." Zarl stated, speaking like the Jedi had just been touched by a god. "Go. And rest until I have need of you. You have done well."

 

Klaro nodded as he climbed to his feet and shuffled off to parts unknown. Zarl in the meantime, turned back to the monitors before him, staring intently at the escape pod on the screen as though if he looked hard enough, he could somehow see through it. In truth, the man was thinking, plotting, and coming up with strategies and contigencies within his mind. He knew now that the Master was keeping tabs on this operation, which meant from here out his plan had to be flawless. Finally, his plan nearly fleshed out, Zarl turned and issued an order.

 

"Go tell the others to open and activate crate seventy-seven. Inform me when it's ready for our new guest."

[Emily]

Being cooped up in an escape pod, was, Emily concluded, one of the most boring things she had ever done. For the first several hours, she remained alert and tense, expecting the cultists to come any time to take her out of the pod and into a more permanent form of captivity. But as the hours passed, no one showed up. In the meantime, Emily had lost track of the number of times she had felt the deckplates shudder with the vibrations that came from reversion or reentry into hyperspace. Wherever they were taking her, they were being very careful to cover their tracks. Clearly, they expected that sooner or later, what they had done would be discovered, and someone would be coming.

 

But the reality was, she wasn’t sure that was true. As much as she tried not to think about it, she couldn’t help her mind from going in circles, consistently bringing up the same thoughts, facts, reasoning, and emotions. It was almost as if with nothing to do, all she could do was think, and her mind was going into overdrive as a result.

 

The biggest issue was that no one knew where she was. Jaina and Xae had known that she was headed to Coruscant, and would be able to check with the hospital and see that she had made her appointment. Would they find the Shadow’s Shine derelict in orbit? Emily wasn’t sure that the ship’s systems would come back online in time to save the ship from plummeting to a burning crash on the city-planet’s surface. So then, what? She would have simply disappeared.

 

And even if they did find the remains of her ship, a little voice inside whispered, wondering if Jaina would even care. It was a terrible thought, and one Emily didn’t wish to have about her aunt, but she couldn’t deny the possibility. She didn’t think Jaina would abandon her, despite everything. Jaina was a much better person than Emily was, and despite her Sith training, Jaina was committed now to the Jedi Order. Emily didn’t think particularly highly of the Jedi as a whole, but she had met some decent ones, and she knew that a Jedi wouldn’t abandon her niece.

 

But then, why hadn’t Jaina shown up on Coruscant when Emily had called? Perhaps she was busy and couldn’t get away, one side of her mind argued. But in her heart, Emily wondered if the real truth had to do with the man she was trying to forget: Quietus. Despite Jaina’s words about how she didn’t trust Quietus, Emily knew that he was a man who never stopped pursuing what he wanted. Given that he had said he wanted to mend his relationship with his first love, Emily didn’t doubt that he had sought Jaina out. And if he had turned the full power of his charm on her...well, Emily had never been able to resist those charms. He was well able of capturing the hearts of whomever he chose. Now that Jaina’s warning had proven almost prophetic, however, Emily only hoped that she was staying strong.

 

That thought invariably confused her whenever it came up. What were her motivations in thinking that way? Was it because she didn’t want Quietus to be happy with anyone, given how he had hurt her so deeply? Or was it that she still held enough affection for her aunt that she wanted Jaina to avoid be hurt by him? Frankly, she wondered if it wasn’t a little bit of both. Quietus had proven that none of his promises could be trusted, and she didn’t want to see another woman hurt by that.

 

At this point, her train of thought usually diverged into a deeper question, one that tormented her the more she thought about it. Had Quietus actually ever loved her? She went back and forth. One on hand, she knew she had been hesitant to get involved with him in the first place. He had indicated that he was interested in her far before she was interested in him. She hadn’t been convinced until he had died again, and she had realized that she had missed her chance. When he had come to her on Mechis III, then, she had been thrilled that he still cared. After that, the times that they had been together had been difficult, but she had been so crazy about him that she had kept trying. She had wanted things to work out, and so she had fought for them. And he had too. His actions, and even the emotions she had felt from him, had seemed absolutely genuine. And like it or not, they had grown to know each other intimately. It was impossible that he could have hidden discontent from her, or that he had simply been using her. Even as in love as she had been with him, she didn’t think she had been that blind.

 

But on the other hand, some of the flaws that she had dismissed as simply his being a Sith were given a new light now. Only once had he ever put her first, and that was with her studies on Mechis III. All the other times, it was about his agenda, his plans. It was always her trusting him, her choosing to go with him and put his interests first, rather than the other way around. And she had been happy to do it, because she had been so enamored with him. She had always played second fiddle to him. Whenever she had had a misgiving, or more lately, an outburst, he had never indicated that he cared about her thoughts and feelings. It had always been more of “I don’t have time for this; are you done?” Even when she had confronted him about the affection he was showing Jaina, he had made it all about Emily, blaming her for not being open minded instead of immediately assuaging her fears by saying that while he cared for Jaina, she could never replace Emily in his heart.

 

Perhaps that was what it boiled down to. While Jaina had been dead, there had been no chance of them getting back together. So he had moved on, and perhaps he had even really loved Emily. But the moment Jaina had come back, he had stayed with Emily simply out of habit. Maybe he still loved her, but it paled in comparison with the hope that he could gain Jaina back. If he had loved Emily, he hadn’t loved her enough. He had always loved Jaina more, and seeing her again was all his heart needed to rekindle that hope and love.

 

Over and over again as the hours passed, she found herself reconsidering it, striving to see it from every point of view. Sometimes she threw up her hands in frustration and forced herself to take a break from thinking about it. Other times, she ended up shedding tears of pain--for despite everything, a good part of Emily’s heart still belonged to him. Yet other times, she was dully grateful that they had broken up, for she didn’t want to be with someone who loved someone else more than her. It’s better if they love you back.

 

She had no way of telling time, trapped in her pod. Her personal comlink had been completely fried by the EMP, it’s delicate electronics no match for something that had been designed to take out the bigger circuits of a ship. It was just as well she had avoided a fight, for her lightsabers too had taken some damage, but she was able to fix those without too much difficulty. The detailed work helped her quiet her thoughts, until she was once again left with nothing to do but fixate on her problems.

 

The only other respite she had from being haunted by Quietus and Jaina came in the form of her baby. While she remained concerned for the future of her child, especially in light of her current predicament, the sense of deep happiness that her pregnancy brought her was a comfort. Regardless of what the future held, whether or not Quietus wanted to be involved in its life, she was glad that they had created this new life together. She clung to that feeling, and let it feed her determination that she would do whatever it took to escape these cultists. Emily had always gotten whatever she put her mind to, and the Force was with her. Now that she had motivation beyond saving her own life, she was confident that nothing in the galaxy could stop her.

 

If only she could get through this kriffing waiting.

[Raynuk Montar]

Mid-flight, a response from Raynuk arrives for Alora

 

 

Alora… I received the message from CoreSec as well, but I find the timing to be inconvenient given the current situation. I arrived at Corellia and almost immediately succumbed to my wounds, and ended up in a hospital for a few days under an assumed name. And I fear that once I am discharged, I will not be pursuing Emily’s captors. You will likely hear the same details I have learned; it appears Black Sun was involved, not the Cult. Up to this point they have been very, very careful to avoid detection, and I don’t think they would slip up like this now.

 

Beyond that, Exodus has assumed the mantle of Dark Lord, and has called for me to join him on Korriban at the site of our new temple. It is not a summons I can ignore, so I will be heading there from Corellia. I plan on informing him and the other Sith gathered there about the cult, but have also learned that Faust met with them as well shortly after his encounter with us on Dathomir.

 

Raia seems to be doing much better, especially now. She… got help from a friend, and is in better spirits. I will tell her you send your love, as she is not here at the moment. Keep me apprised with how the search for Emily goes, as I will send any relevant news I receive your direction as well.

 

There was a pause before Raynuk’s voice added another thought.

 

And Alora… if the Cult is indeed involved, it only points to an attempted distraction from finding the truth of their operations. I can not relent in the face of progress, even for Emily. If I have to… I will end them at the cost of her.

 

[Emily]

Many people crossed her mind over the hours alone.

 

Draken and Alora were her first spectral visitors. She wondered how they had ended up together, how Alora had settled on one man, how Draken avoided jealousy due to her seductress nature. Perhaps they simply accepted everything about each other, and never expected more. Perhaps Emily had expected too much from Quietus. Or perhaps they had simply always been completely honest with each other. Emily bit the inside of her cheek uneasily. Why had she always felt the need to hide things from Quietus? That had never been her intention, she knew. It had all started, she supposed, when she was fighting her way back from the prison of the Dark Side. She had determined, after all, to tell him about her abortion, hadn’t she? But he had died before she could. And bringing it up again now, all these years later, hadn’t seemed to make any sense. Why reopen an old wound and inflict the burden of it on someone else?

 

But, she realized uneasily, if these Cultists succeeded in holding her for some time, Quietus was going to be angry once he found out she was pregnant. He’d accuse her of keeping yet another secret. But telling him via comlink hadn’t been a good option. Not only had she wanted to verify that she was indeed pregnant first, but doing that over comlink was the coward’s way. He deserved to be told in person. That much she owed him. Well, I’ll just have to escape quickly, then, she resolved.

 

The next person to cross her mind was Raia. She missed the girl more than she had expected. Raia had been so eager to learn, so quick to accept the strangeness of the galaxy. Emily regretted not having had more time to give her proper training. I wonder if I could find her… Deciding to try, Emily took several deep breaths and lowered herself into a semi-meditative state. She sought out the planet of Dathomir...and when she did, she gasped. Death, destruction, unnaturalness, burning, burning, burning...the Force was ablaze with agony. RAIA! She almost yelled aloud. Something terrible had happened there. And worse still, she didn’t sense the girl’s presence anywhere on the planet. A primal groan eeked out of her. She’s...dead...and it’s all your fault. Tears poured down her face. You left her there, all alone, against your better judgement. And now she’s gone. You weren’t there to protect her. You failed her. You failed her. It’s all your fault.

 

The guilt was overwhelming. She couldn’t handle it, so she threw it into the Force until she was simply numb. Empty. She felt completely empty. Everything was lost, and it was because of her. She had abandoned her apprentice, and she had died. She had abandoned her faithful pet, and he had died. She had hidden the truth from Quietus, and he had abandoned her. She had abandoned her uncle, and he had died. And she was sure that when Jaina and Tirzah found out about that last one, they too would want nothing to do with her.

 

She was alone, and she had no one to blame but herself.

[Tobias Vos]

Vos sat comfortably, at least how he was going to reorganize everything. Half of those who were Peregrine didn't know it- the other half took pride in the fact that they were doing something good and productive. Now it would be shunned by the Jedi- which was not going to be good in a few months when he told them all what it was. While frustrated, he wasn't angry or flustered. Vos had now recollected himself after the meeting with Kirlocca. It did not go according to plan- and had almost everything he was worrying about- nothing- not a thing. Well, except that small thing where he would have to give everyone new names. Or spin it as the next chapter, and revert to their real names?

 

But, the Grandmaster did say things should be kept quite for now. It was a 66% covering defense, the excuse. Either way- he walked away without a fight, and that was a bummer. His hand itched for the combat. For now- the energy was directed into the datapad, recalculating and reforming the plans he had.

 

While caught up in his work- he was never inattentive to Sandy and her piloting. He even noticed the micro-jump. The opposite side of his face twitched with amusement. The whole process done in silence, save for the hum of the hyperdrive. After being done with typing- twenty minutes into the final jump- he gazed out into the modeling of hyperspace. Squinting- but still looking at nothing- "Thoughts?"

 

Ambiguous, yes, intentionally so. Everything from the trip Catnip- to now. Previously- to the futi Fate of the Galaxy or who was winning in HyperBall this season.

[Emily]

I was wrong.

 

Emily was famished. She had tried to spread out the ration drinks and energy bars, but she had no way of telling time. Eventually, she had just had to eat when she was hungry. But she knew that she was eating too much, and it didn’t take long until she was down to her last ration pack. She took to hiding it in various places around the escape pod, hoping that if it was out of sight, it would be off her mind. But her body was in desperate need of sustenance--after all, it was trying to grow a baby--and even all of her determination wasn’t sufficient to let her hold out for long.

 

The Cult is going to leave me here forever.

 

Along with the constant hunger came fatigue. She was so kriffing tired. It was impossible to get any decent sleep, and her nerves were worn ragged from never knowing when she’d need to fight. And she knew vaguely that she had her pregnancy to blame for some of that as well. She was worried that when the time did come for her to fight, she’d be so exhausted that the Cultists would easily overcome her, and then where would she be?

 

In the end, though, it was the solitary confinement that was beginning to get to her the most.

 

I’m going to die here.

 

Despite her fatigue, Emily had taken to pacing, round and round, back and forth in the narrow confines of the escape pod. She’d pace for what seemed like hours. Then almost suddenly, she’d stop in her tracks, and the next several hours she’d sit, balled up with her head between her hands. At moments, she’d moan and start rocking back and forth. “The motion helps,” she told herself. “You have to hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on…”

 

This is a terrible way to die.

 

A long line of the dead paraded spectrally through the small enclosed space. Her father was a frequent visitor, always coming with a sarcastic comment, never staying long or giving her any advice on how to get out of this pod and survive the vacuum long enough to make it to a pressurized area. She wasn’t in any state to decide if these hallucinations helped or hurt. She simply spoke to them or--as her water ran out and her throat grew drier and drier--ignored them.

 

I failed everyone, and now, I’ve failed my son.

[darth shadowlord]

“Did you manage to translate much more?"

 

“Yes, I managed to translate almost two thirds of the journal before we found out about Emily.” He paused as they received the response back from Coresec.

 

--Ms. Darkknell, thank you for your offers of assistance. As far as we can tell, at approximately 1440 hours standard time, Ms. Zsahra-Skywalker's ship was observed floating dead in space, attached to a freighter with a stolen transponder ID. Shortly thereafter, an escape pod jettisoned from the Shadow's Shine and was immediately collected by said freighter, which disregarded regulations concerning hyperspace jumps within a certain radius of Coruscant's atmosphere and jumped immediately to hyperspace. Several fighters which bore markings connecting them to known criminal organization Black Sun destroyed the ship and eliminated all significant traces of wreckage. Can you give us any information as to what Ms. Zsahra-Skywalker was doing on Coruscant, or if she has any known enemies? If you would like to assist with the investigation allow me to refer you to our local provisional offices on Coruscant. If no sufficient trace can be established, the hiring of private investigators may be required. Captain Kelvin out.--

 

Draken looked over at Alora, his eyebrow arched as they replayed the comm for the second time. He stroked his beard as he considered the options available. “So we have the option of contacting the local Coresec branch to get more information, contacting Black Sun, attacking Black Sun or we hack into the old Imperial satellites and glean all possible information from them. I still have my old working codes so we can pull the data from them.” He pondered for a moment, weighing a few things over in his mind.

 

“Once we see what direction they jumped in we should be able to formulate our next move. Based on type of ship it shouldn’t be hard to figure out.”

[Emily]

“You’re better than this, Emily,” Sirvani said, her tone firm. “If all it takes to break you is to put you in a small enclosed space for a while, then your enemies will find you easy prey.”

 

The Twi’lek bent down and put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “There is a way out. You just have to realize it.”

 

She’s right, Emily thought. I don’t give up. Drawing on the Force, she used it to steady her mind. She took several deep breaths, and pushed her fatigue and hunger and weakness into the Force, pulling on its power to sustain her body. With those distractions gone, she felt like she could finally think clearly. She was done feeling sorry for herself. It was time to act.

 

She looked up. Roe’gall was there, and she stood to immediately put her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to him. “I’m sorry you’re dead.”

 

He nuzzled her hair. “It’s okay,” he replied. “But right now we need to get you out of here. Follow me.”

 

He turned and faded through the airlock door and out into the hangar. The Force whispered to her, and suddenly, she knew exactly what to do. It was going to be challenging in her weakened condition, but she would succeed. She had to.

 

Carefully, she built a bubble around her, using the Force to trap in both oxygen and pressure. She knew the moment she stepped out, she’d only have seconds otherwise, and she didn’t know if the Cult had planned on this eventuality. This was, unfortunately, a trick she had never tried, but she had read about it, and knew that it would work. If Satele Shan can do it, so can I.

 

She kept the borders of the bubble close to her skin so as not to waste extra energy. Once she was satisfied that it was complete, she blew the hatch on the escape pod, her lightsabers ready in her hands. There was a howl as the air rushed out into the vacuum. I’m committed now.

 

No one was in the hangar except Roe’gall, which made her a little nervous. The Cult was not an easy opponent. Emily gathered her strength and Force-sped across the decking. The tuk’ata was standing by a small hatch. The Force slipped the catch, springing the panel open. Emily ducked inside and began to crawl, replacing the hatch behind her, hoping that by not using the door, she would have thrown off her enemies.

 

She had crawled only about a minute when she passed into an area that was no longer in vacuum. With relief, she let her bubble deflate, and spent thirty seconds just sitting there in the ducts, breathing deeply. Her head cleared more and more with every breath. Now she was loose in the ship. This was something she absolutely knew how to do. All those hours of practicing onboard the Shadow’s Gambit were about to pay off in a big way.

 

She suddenly remembered that there were other Force-sensitives onboard. Quickly, she reduced her Force-presence until she winked out of existence to someone looking for her. Then she began to move as fast as she could through the duct work without making noise, taking a twisting, circuitous route so that anyone trying to track her would lose her.

 

Once she was a good distance away from the hangar, she paused, trying to get a mental layout of the ship. The Force didn’t provide her a clear picture, though. Instead, Roe’gall’s glowing eyes seemed to draw her in a certain direction. Without hesitating, she went. Another minute of crawling, and she reached yet another access panel. This one she was prompted to open. Doing so, she climbed down into the room, reaching out and Force-buzzing the cameras as she did so. It was someone’s quarters. She was just wondering why the Force had brought her here when she saw the tray of half-eaten food. Grinning, she thanked the Force as she grabbed the food and began to stuff it in her mouth. Roe’gall nudged her in the back, and she headed out of the room.

 

The hallways of the ship were broad and well-lit, but Emily had been trained as a Sith assassin, and she had multiple ways of disappearing in even the most brightly-lit areas. One of them was probably out of her reach right now--it required a heavy draw on the Force--but she didn’t need to use it just yet. The hallway was clear for now, so she simply kept the cameras buzzed and crossed over to another duct work access tube. Opening the catch, she was privately relieved to see that this one wouldn’t force her to crawl. Slipping inside, she closed the hatch, and headed off. Fatigue tugged at her, but she didn’t give in. It was time to leave.

[Raynuk Montar]

The moment the hatch on the escape pod shot off, Zarl sent the signal. The Consort of Quietus had finally made her move to attempt escape, though Zarl had to admit it had taken her a great deal more time than he had anticipated. Perhaps she had assumed they could come for her, or had waited this long because she assumed they had forgotten about her. Neither was of course true.

 

But once the hatch blew, the time had come.

 

“Activate seventy-seven through eighty-two. Assassination protocol. Behavioral safety’s off. Seal the bridge. ” He said, and a cultist behind him nodded and scuttled off.

 

There was a twinge of disappointment that the woman didnt go for the door, but her escape through the ship’s ductwork had been planned for just the same. Zarl and his followers of course knew every inch of their chosen ship, including the paths that the air circulation systems wove through the massive freighter. When a camera in one of the crew quarters was interrupted for a period of time though, the Consort revealed her position.

 

“Sector Four, Room eleven.” He reported, before his display showed that the camera outside into the hallway was interrupted. “Now in the hallway outside Room eleven.”

 

“Affirmation: Closing on Sector Four. Life sign acquired.” Came a robotic reply, which Zarl could not help but allow himself to grin at.

 

Not long after the stalemate of the escape pod, Zarl had instructed his followers to open the crate designated “77”, which was a single crate amidst the single largest container aboard the ship, numbered seventy-seven through eighty-seven. Each crate was roughly large enough for an adult humanoid to stand in, and as time continued to pass Zarl had ordered that the rest of the crates be opened and prepared for activation.

 

And now, four separate HK-77 assassin droids were arriving at Sector Four.

 

Each had an integrated system to scan for and track life signs, the one thing that Zarl knew the Consort of Quietus could not hide; her life and now the life of her child. With the droid’s arrival at room 11, the droids stopped.

 

“Statement: Target is not in visual sight Master. Tracking points to her having attempted escape into another section of ventilation. Also, my safety subroutines appear to be deactivated. Thank you Master. I will now pursue her now and exterminate the meatbag with extreme prejudice.”

 

Zarl watched with extreme pleasure as the droid opened the hatch and climbed into the access tube in pursuit of the Consort of Quietus, while the other three turned and headed back out of the doorway they had entered from, disappearing into the rest of the ship. A few moments later, Zarl received confirmation that the bridge had been sealed completely, including the ductwork access points. With a nod, he turned back to his console, and began broadcasting on the loudspeaker once more.

 

“Oh dear, it appears you are loose on my ship. What ever shall I do? Perhaps I will allow my friend to deal with you instead. Do say hello…” Zarl’s voice boomed, a moment later being replaced by the vocalizer of the HK-77 droid.

 

“Mockery: Come out, come out, wherever you are meatbag.”

 

Zarl’s voice returned. “I would prefer it if you were alive, if for no other reason than the sake of your child, but your death here will serve a purpose just as well in any case. I told you I would give you some time to think, but clearly I gave you too much time, and now need to remind you of your choice; submit and live, or thrash about and die. What is your answer dear one? Choose carefully. You will find my friends are less prone to kindness than I.”

 

His gaze shifted to the cultist sitting a few feet away, who’s hand was primed and ready to hit a single button that carried with it a very foreboding result, meanwhile issuing a silent command to the HK-77 droids through his console.

 

"You have three seconds to choose. My 'friend' in the duct work behind you will gladly take your answer."

[Raynuk Montar]

True to her word, Raia set about righting things on the ship as soon as Raynuk had indicated they were underway toward Korriban, even making Vex’aedr and Roe’gall help by returning what was left of their pillows to their room. 2V she set to resetting the cargo bay to some semblance of order, while she worked on the lounge and berth areas.

 

For the majority of the time however, Raynuk remained in the cockpit, busying himself with piloting the ship and catching up on what he had missed in terms of widespread news. Most of that however, was finished fairly quickly, and once the Ravenhammer was set in hyperspace towards Korriban, he fell back into one of his thinking moods. This time, he was specifically thinking about Raia and her place among the Sith.

 

He knew better than to assume she would take to the Sith with open arms and fit into a predetermined ‘shape’ among them. She would likely never fall into the role of the warrior caste as he had, which meant that at some point he would have to pass her training on to someone else. But there was no need to rush even that; he would train her, and guide her and watch over her the best he could. Whether she would become an Assassin or Krath was a decision for many months down the road, and even then he did not see her fitting perfectly into either.

 

But considering her future, brought back the worries of her past. The worries and thoughts that had haunted her dreams a few hours ago, affecting her enough to wake up screaming and then flee to consult with Jaina. He wasn’t sure if the girl had meant to open her thoughts and dreads up to the Force to the point where he had heard them, but that’s exactly what had happened.

 

Reaching over to the intercom, he keyed it. “Raia, come up to the cockpit if you would?”

 

He knew he needed to approach the subject carefully, not wanting her to feel ashamed or worried about what his response would be to her having those doubts. And so he would ease into the conversation. By the time Raia stepped into the cockpit, Raynuk had come up with some semblance of a plan, and a cover story for calling her up there.

 

“Have a seat,” he greeted her, motioning to the copilot’s seat where 2V usually sat. “I figure, if you’re going to be my daughter, you should probably learn as much as you can about the Ravenhammer, and get used to being up here… because this ship will be your home for however long you want it to be, even if I’m not around.”

 

A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she gingerly sat in the seat opposite Raynuk. “A home that can go with me?” Then her face fell slightly as she processed the last part of what he said. “Are you planning on leaving again?”

He turned to her quickly, “No no. Not for a long time really, but who ever plans out leaving like that. I just meant if I’m off the ship, I want you to feel at home and know how to use everything.”

As if to stem that train of thought from Raia, he launched into pointing out various systems, buttons, displays, dials, switches and the like and explaining what they did and how they worked, stopping to clarify every time Raia had a question.

[Raia Montar]

She watched intently, learning all she could about the systems, but also feeling some relief that 2V was also around to help if Raynuk was absent. “Can I watch what you do when we arrive on Korriban?” She asked after the second pass through the systems and controls.

 

“Of course.” He nodded, reaching to flip one of the switches as he answered. “And maybe at some point in the future, I’ll hand control of the ship over to you and see how you do.”

 

He glanced at her with a lopsided grin, “But of course I’ll be ready to take control back if I think you’re going to crash the Ravenhammer. I’ve lost enough ships due to my own mistakes; not looking forward to losing this one anytime soon.”

 

Turning back to look at the console, he began to study it for a moment, going over in his head what he had shown Raia already and thinking if there was anything else he had left out when he heard Raia make a sort of ‘Uhm’ sound and realized the girl was looking at him as if there was something she wanted to say. There was a slight pause before she blurted, “What does the new Dark Lord want with you anyway?”

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk’s eyebrows raised, and then furrowed immediately after as he considered how best to explain it to her.

 

“Well, lets see…” He began, leaning back in his chair slightly. “You’ve already picked up on the fact that Draken, Alora, and I all practice being a Sith slightly different. I tend to be physical, using weapons and brute force. Thus, I am a part of the Warrior path, or class of the Sith. Draken uses sorcery; like lightning, using his staff, and alchemical creations like his poison darts, thus he is a member of what are known as the Krath. And Alora is more subtle in her techniques; using her looks, her guile and anything else at her disposal to be the one you don’t ever really see coming. She is an Assassin. Together, the Warriors, the Krath, and the Assassins represent the entirety of the Sith Order. Most of the well established members of the order classify themselves as one of the three.”

 

“Sheog for instance, is another Krath like Draken,” he continued, glancing at her just incase she has gotten lost, “The one we met on Coruscant, Karys, he is also a Warrior, though I have little regard for him anymore; he was not a very good apprentice. Anyway… The Dark Lord, Exodus, who is himself an Assassin, is a Sith with as much history with the order as I do. At certain points in the past,the Sith have established what has become known as the Trinity, in which the Dark Lord appoints a leader from each of the other two classes of Sith to assist in ruling and controlling the Sith. Usually this has happened when the order is splintered and is in need of unification and consolidation once more. Exodus has called for a renewed Trinity, and from what I understand, I have been called upon to represent the Warrior class in the Trinity.”

 

Taking a sideways glance at Raia and trying to hide a mischievous grin, he added rather casually, “That or he thinks I am a threat and means to cut my head off so I can’t try and challenge him for the title of Dark Lord…”

[Raia Montar]

When I was of age, I left Dathomir and managed to catch the eye of the Dark Lord himself. Not this one, but the one four or five Dark Lords back.Take careful note of that number because this was only a year and a half ago. The Sith have undergone numerous changes in leadership in a very short time. It is their nature to constantly betray each other in a pointless attempt to claw their way to the top. Qaela’s warning echoed again in her ears as she considered Raynuk’s response.

 

Raia's gaze settled on a spot in the deck plating somewhere in the space between them while she answered, “To refuse to come would guarantee you’d be hunted since you have a Trinity of your own with Draken and Alora. This, Exodus - Dark Lord Exodus,” she corrected herself to remember to use proper titles, remembering the other half of Qaela’s warning about slighting the Sith,” wants to ally with you so you won’t rise against him as a former Dark Lord yourself. Is that right? You don’t plan on challenging him, do you? What if he tries to take me from you?” The apprehension was back in her eyes as they rose to meet his.

[Raynuk Montar]

His hand quickly lept the short distance and came to rest on her arm, a wave of concern rising up considering what he had heard in the Force earlier on Corellia. “Woh, hey now. Take a deep breath. Slow down.”

 

Once Raia calmed back down, he continued. “From what I remember of the man, Exodus is not one to hunt me down like that. He wants me to come and speak with him as a friend and ally, not so that I may bow before him in to ensure his mad power bid… That was always more of Ar-Pharazon’s style.” He trailed off slightly, then shook the thought away. “Another former Dark Lord… nevermind. Point is, No. That’s not why Exodus has called for me. And I also don’t plan on challenging him either. Even though I have not seen or spoken to him in many years, I’ve always held trust and respect for him.”

 

He squeezed her arm slightly. “And I seriously do not believe he will have any reason to attempt to take you from me. He most likely will find your mere existence to be something he did not know of before you appear before him meita. As far as he is concerned, you are nothing beyond my adopted daughter and semi-apprentice.”

He offered a reassuring smile and added, “He is not Furion, or Faust, just as I am neither. You don’t have to like him, or trust him, or even speak to him. If he asks you a question, you only have to answer if you wish to.”

[Raia Montar]

“Jaina said you weren't like them, either,” Raia admitted, relaxing a little before hugging her father. “I don't mean to keep being scared. My mind just goes funny places sometimes.”

 

She sighed as she pulled back from the embrace. “I wish I were braver…”

 

“Bravery isn’t the absence of fear, but rather continuing to walk the path in spite of that fear, to deny fear its control over you.” His words gave him an air of an old wise man doling out inspiration and guidance. “And considering where you were in terms of bravery and meekness when we first met, I don’t think you’re doing all that bad; my sarcophagus might say otherwise though.”

 

“Which of the three classes does Furion fit in?” She asked opting to change the subject, any earlier traces of fear banished and replaced by a determination to find a measure of understanding of the culture she'd chosen to adopt. “A Warrior like you? What was Emily? I don't think she was a warrior…”

 

Raynuk shook his head as he answered. “No, Furion was an Assassin, and so was Emily to a lesser extent… Though she never adhered to the class as much as the rest of us have.”

 

Raia seemed to consider his answer for a moment, “I guess I'll just have to figure out where I fit in.”

[Emily]

Despite her excellent hiding skills, the Force still prickled with danger. She heard the clank of metal on metal and cursed on her breath. Droids. Kriffing things. So much for hiding. Another time, she might have been amused by the droid's unique way of speaking, but right now, her focus was elsewhere. She was in a tight situation. The droids presented a wrinkle in her understanding of the situation. Up until now, the Cult had acted like it wanted her alive, even going so far as to—for some reason—want her to break out of an escape pod when they could have easily and simply killed her while she was trapped inside. There was no logic in their actions at all. Did they want her dead, or alive? If her being loose on the ship was what they wanted, why threaten to kill her now?

 

Her head hurt. She pushed the thoughts away and focused on the one thing she knew was true: she couldn’t surrender. She didn’t care what happened to her, but she would not see her child in the hands of this Cult. If there was even a chance she could save him—and it was a he, she realized suddenly—she would take it. It was her duty. She was his mother.

 

“You know the best thing about droids?” It was Andon’s voice now that whispered in her ear. “They’re metal.”

 

Her eyes landed on a bypass terminal. “You won’t get my child,” she growled. “Or me.” With that, she slapped a hand on the terminal, using the Force to send a surge of energy through it. It erupted in electric discharge immediately, and she Force-leapt straight up and out of the way, clinging onto a thick coated wire. The electric discharge built, sending jolts of electricity through the decking in the entire area—enough electricity to at least severely stun a droid, even one with a heavily shielded processor. Emily didn’t wait to see what had happened, though. She lit her lightsaber and swung, cutting a hole in the decking above her as she did so, then swinging through and up into a higher level of the ship, carefully avoiding the edges of the decking as she did so.

 

Forgetting stealth except for keeping her Force-presence hidden, she began to run through the corridors, making a beeline directly for the engine room, her senses on high alert for the rest of the droids.

[Raynuk Montar]

Zarl's eyes narrowed, and then he sighed as he heard her response through the communications with the HK-77 droids. He glanced at the cultist beside him, who now seemed even more cocked to flip the switch, but relaxed slightly as Zarl shook his head, and pressed the loudspeaker once more.

 

"Wrong choice." His voice boomed through the ship.

 

A mere moment later, the freighter harshly broke from hyperspace, sending everyone who was not prepared for the maneuver lurching forward. Zarl and the bridge crew of course, were aware, and had effectively braced themselves. The cultist could only imagine what the sudden deceleration had done to the Consort of Quietus in the depths of his ship. After regaining his balance, Zarl walked to a nearby console, and after glancing at the monitor's once more, flipped a switch himself.

 

-----------------------------

 

Meanwhile, a few seconds had passed in the corridor when the HK-77 droid emerged from the same smoldering hole in the decking that the Consort of Quietus had made. Moments before, Zarl had instructed all the HK-77 droids to activate the magnetic grappling systems integrated into the feet of the droids in preparation for what Zarl deemed to be the end-game contingency. The moment the Consort had attempted to fry the HK-77 droid in pursuit by discharging the electricity, the droid's processors recognized the threat and braced its central processors. But with the added magnetic field connecting it to the deck plating, the current simply could not pass through the droid's legs, instead being converted into heat by the magnetic field.

 

For a moment, the droid's legs super-heated, and the paint curled and burnt off as its legs began to glow with the heat energy, but within seconds the threat has passed and the droid continued forward. Now it appeared in the corridor behind Emily, and immediately began lighting the corridor with fire from its arm mounted cannons, charging full speed after her.

 

“Commentary: Your attempts to incapacitate me were marginal at best, I will enjoy dismembering you so that the galaxy is spared your childish attempts at assassination.”

 

Having been able to track her through the duct work, two more HK-77 droids appeared in front of her. They said nothing, immediately raising their arms and likewise began opening fire on her, one aiming low at her feet and legs, and one aiming high at her face and neck to give her a much larger area to try and defend.

 

"Wrong choice." Zarl's voice boomed.

 

And then the entire ship lurched, momentarily throwing off the aim of the droids as physics continued to be a cruel mistress; but the fact that they were connected to the plating meant that none of them toppled, and a split second later had re-adjusted their aim at the Consort of Quietus and continued their barrage from the front and the rear. And then to make matters worse for her, the lighting in the entire corridor suddenly blinked out, severely cutting down on her potential visual perception, while leaving the HK-77 droids unaffected. For the immediate future, the hallway would only be visibly lit by the blaster fire that streaked in from multiple directions, and the Consort’s lightsaber.

[DoctorOblivious]

Sophia Moriarty spent the voyage to Carida in quiet productivity, alternating between jotting down notes on her datapad, dissecting the recording of her first interaction with Draygo’s archival device, and silent meditation. If any Jedi or Sith were traveling undercover on the ponderous starliner, they would be very confused when they periodically sensed the Force-presence of the former Grandmaster on this least expedient mode of travel.

 

From what very little she could discern from the archival device, it seemed to be controlled through a combination of a surprisingly sensitive hand gestures, simple eye contact and blinking, voice commands, and a fourth layer of control that Sophia suspected that only a Jedi engineer would understand. That, or some type of brain activity sensor, but she had never heard of a scanner miniaturized to this degree. The security measures that were installed into the device were completely unidentifiable; again, a matter that a Jedi engineer would probably be able to identify without tearing the device apart. It was a pity that there were so few Jedi who took an interest in steelworking and electronics.

 

The historian left her pitiful wardroom only for her meals. The artifacts that she had recovered were far too valuable to trust to a simple combination safe. Fortunately, keeping herself busy ensured that the voyage passed quickly.

[Alora]

co-written

 

“So we have the option of contacting the local Coresec branch to get more information, contacting Black Sun, attacking Black Sun or we hack into the old Imperial satellites and glean all possible information from them. I still have my old working codes so we can pull the data from them. Once we see what direction they jumped in we should be able to formulate our next move. Based on type of ship it shouldn’t be hard to figure out.”

 

Alora mused for a moment before she spoke, “Start with pulling the data - we need as much information as we can get. I’d also like to know if CoreSec has found anything else out yet.” Pausing she pondered what to do about Black Sun, “Delta is Black Sun isn’t he? I’d be interested in finding out what he knows, why they took Emily - if it was them - and also why Black Sun is in league with the Cultists. As for the direction they went… that might be harder to find if they covered their tracks by random hyperspace jumps.” Concern for her niece showed in her voice.

 

Draken nodded. “I assume that he is. I will leave that to you while I pull the data from the satellites.” The look on his face said it all regarding the person that they were talking about contacting. He tilted his head as he realized something. “Depending on the type of fighter, it may have limited coordinates saved into the nav computer. Not to mention limited supplies for a longer trip.”

 

She would have to compose a response for the CoreSec Captain, or they could just show up at the office on Coruscant when they got there. The Sith Mistress’s thoughts turned to composing the comm for Delta - if she could find his contact codes. She couldn’t outright accuse Black Sun, though it was impossible not to mention their apparent role in Emily’s abduction. She would have to use tact and diplomacy. While she wasn’t all that keen on contacting the Bounty Hunter, he was the only one she knew of that was linked to Black Sun these days.There was a time when she had another Bounty Hunter she would have contacted before anyone else, although Tekkan Raas had been gone a long time now. Not having Delta’s contact details Alora searched the holobook blackpages for his comm. code. It took a while but she finally found one that could be his. It had both the names Delta-73 and Ca'Aran listed under the same code. Must be it She composed a comm message and sent it off.

 

Taking a little time to get changed, Alora dressed carefully for a meeting with CoreSec. She chose a navy blue pant suit with the Darkknell Shipyard Industries logo embroidered on the Jacket's pocket with a white collared shirt. She brushed out her fiery red hair, leaving it loose to fall in waves over her shoulders. Taking a final look in the mirror she rejoined Draken in the cockpit.

[Emily]

Unfortunately, her trick with the overload had only bought her a few seconds. But they were a few seconds she hadn't had before, so it didn't matter; she honestly hadn't expected one terminal to be able to incapacitate a war droid, even a model as old as an HK unit.

 

She had come up in the underbelly of some deck. Orientating herself, she began to head towards the bow of the ship. She didn't get very far, however, before the droid that had been following her climbed up the hole behind her and opened fire. Her lightsabers were lit immediately, deflecting its fire back at it. Then the Force warned her of more danger from the other side, and two more HK units appeared, adding their fire to the mix. Emily oriented herself perpendicular to the droids, and centered herself in the Force, blocking and reflecting blaster bolts coming in on both sides.

 

Then two things happened almost simultaneously. She was just leaping over a pair of blaster bolts aimed at her feet when there was a massive jerk, as if the ship had suddenly been yanked out of hyperspace by an interdictor cruiser. The sudden motion sent Emily flying down the corridor towards the two new droids. They were mag-clamped down, and as she tumbled suddenly past them, her lightsabers flashed uncontrolled and severed the droid on the right's blaster and arm neatly in two. But she wasn't so lucky as she tumbled past the second one, bruising her leg badly as it connected with the droid's durasteel chassis and bounced off.

 

She twisted, landing on her feet, and spun so she was facing all three droids. She was just returning a new wave of blasterfire when the lights suddenly winked out. The corridor became bathed in red and silver light. Now that she was facing all three droids, and one had a useless blaster, she was able to plant her feet and focus, redirecting the blaster bolts to where they would do the most damage to her attackers.

[Raynuk Montar]

Fresh from their harvesting on Myrkr, the delta-class shuttle carrying Azron and his men emerged from their hyperspace jump from Myrkr into what was essentially an uninhabited section of space. The only other point of reference was a large freighter that hung in the same sector of space, having arrived itself a short time ago. The pilot of Azron’s shuttle pinged the freighter, and once a reply was received, moved to dock with the freighter.

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

“Threat: You will pay for that severed limb meatbag.”

 

The two droids that Emily had come crashing by turned to reorient themselves to their target, all continuing to send blasts of energy at her while the third HK-77 droid moved up to join its brethren and added its fire to the volley as they each began to move forward, closing in on the Consort of Quietus, intending to overwhelm her and push her back, steadily increasing their rate of fire even as one of the droids was down an arm.

 

------

 

Zarl continued to watch his monitors, having switched from the ship’s internal surveillance cameras to direct feeds from the HK-77 droids, their low light vision allowing them and their master to see in the darkness of the corridors. The follower managing one of the duty stations on the ship turned, informing Zarl that their point of contact had arrived. After issuing the command to transmit the clearance code to the shuttle, Zarl turned back to the monitors. He watched the droids continue to pepper the consort’s defenses with blaster fire, which was occasionally redirected back at the droids, resulting in a few hits here and there on the droids, but with the sheer amount of incoming fire directed at her, she would be hard pressed to effectively direct the fire back at the three droids that had already engaged her. The droids’ heavy and durable battle armor resisting most of the redirected fire.

 

“Enough of this.” Zarl said, not directing his thoughts at anyone in particular. He glanced back down at the monitors, and pushed a button silently, watching and waiting as the droids continued to push the Consort of Quietus back, further and further.

 

Once she had been backed up to the point where she reached the end of the corridor where it met another in a T-junction, Zarl smiled wickedly, and pushed the comm.

 

“Now.” He bit out over the comm, before turning to Klaro. “Get the medical team prepared and await my word in sector 3. We will have a very short window…”

 

--------------------

 

A split second later, from both sides of the new corridor, two new streaks of blaster fire opened up, signalling the arrival of two more HK-77 droids. Now under the withering fire of five HK-77 droids from three directions, the Consort of Quietus was surely doomed. The moment some of the blasts began to break through her defenses however, the droids seem to trigger a secondary protocol; they began to mix in stun blasts, using their programming to calculate the precise moments during which there was the best chance of the stun blasts getting through.

 

The droids did not relent until the Consort of Quietus was reduced to crumpling to the floor in an unconscious pile, and even then pumped a few extra stun and regular shots into her form.

<>

[Emily]

The blasted droids' armor was kriffing thick, and Emily understood now why even the ancient Jedi and Sith had found them formidable foes. She found herself pushed back into a T-junction. Just when she felt the battle turning to her advantage, however, two more droids came pounding up, each on either side of her. Now she was boxed in and trapped. Above was the outer hull of the ship, and below was likely the engines, full of cramped spaces she wouldn't fit in. She lost herself in the flow, the spinning, the leaping, the batting away of blaster bolts, caught up in the intricate dance. She managed to burn her way through the torso of one of the droids by concentrating her deflections to a certain spot, but as soon as it went down in smoke, the others changed their strategy and began to mix in stun bolts.

 

Emily was in trouble, and she knew it. If she had been fully rested and energized, she would have been able to walk away from this. But she was tired, she was hungry, and her pregnancy was already draining what little reserves of energy she had been able to amass. Even her connection to the Force was growing fuzzy as she began to become burned out. Her armor continued to protect her from the worst of it as she began to miss bolts, but she was growing sloppier. She gave it all she had, but eventually, a blue arc of energy collided with her, hitting her in the back of the head where her armor didn't protect. Another quickly followed, she felt the decking rush up to meet her body. In that last moment, she reached out with the Force, a wordless cry for help to anyone who was listening, and then everything went black.

 

<>

[Raynuk Montar]

Zarl had to restrain himself from laughing maniacally as he watched the form of the Consort of Quietus crumple to the decking amidst a hail of blaster-fire, making no effort to immediately restrain the droids from pumping a few more blasts into her.

 

“Confirmation; The target is no longer operational master, may I execute her now as a means of vengeance for my missing limb? Fair is fair after all.” The voice of the HK-77 droid coming through the comm.

 

“No. All HK units, switch to sentry mode. Override code Alpha-seven-three-Omega-four.” Zarl replied, shaking his head before switching channels. “Klaro, you are a go. Act fast.”

 

He received an affirmative from Klaro, and turned to exit the bridge. He had faith that Klaro would not only get the job done, but would keep him apprised of the progress he made. Zarl in the meantime, had to help prepare the next phase of the plan.

 

---------------------

 

Klaro and the medical team he had collected, which consisted of four others, immediately moved into the corridor a dozen yards down from where the Consort of Quietus lay slumped, the five HK-77 droids standing vigil at various points down the hallways. They moved quickly and silently to her. One of them confirmed that she was indeed still alive, while another moved to ensure the life growing within her was likewise still alive. A third cultist, who had been a former doctor at Coruscant General that had seen first-hand the wrath laid upon the planet by the False Prophet, set up an intravenous drip into the neck of the Consort. The serum, a mixture of several chemicals, would effectively paralyze Emily for several hours, as well as severely impeding her mental acuity; when she did come to, the world would seem to be foggy, heavy, and thick around her.

 

Together, the group loaded the consort onto a stretcher and proceeded to transport her unconscious form to the makeshift holding room only a short distance away. The room had already been prepared, before the attempt on the Consort had even occurred. The room itself was barren and stark white, save for a single heavy duty stasis table. One that had been carefully modified to contain and control an experienced Force user. Its use and effectivity had already been proven; this was the same stasis table that had held the original prisoner of the Cult of Morthos, Alora Darkknell before Quietus himself was risen.

 

The table had been recovered from Korriban amidst the initial investigation about what had happened to the team that had been instructed to contain Alora, and had since been repaired and improved to cover the apparent gaps in effectiveness and security. The table had been outfitted to automatically maintain the heavily medicated state of its occupant. Once brought within the room, the Consort was secured to the table, binding her arms, wrists, legs, ankles, torso, and neck to the table.

 

Klaro examined the work of his team, and after gently prodding the Consort’s mind to ensure her continued survival, turned to the door as it slid open once more. Stepping in was the familiar form of Zarl, but with him was another man who wore the same type of robes as Zarl, signaling him as another leader of a cultist group. But as the pair stepped in, behind them stepped two more cultists who were dressed much more militaristic and carried a pair of larger crates.

 

Zarl nodded to Klaro, who repeated the gesture, before feeling an odd and foreboding sensation wash over him as the other leader and the two militaristic figures stepped into the room and wordlessly set to work setting the crates at opposite ends of the room, flanking the stasis tables.

 

Contained within each of the crates was a single ysalamiri, their Force negating bubbles double covering the stasis pod, thus stripping Emily’s unconscious form, and that of her unborn child, of the Force completely.

 

Once the crates were set, Zarl turned to Klaro. “You have performed admirably… You may take your leave, and await for the next step once our new guest awakens.”

 

Klaro wasted no time exiting the area, a small sigh of relief escaping his lips as he exited the Force negating bubble and felt it wash over him once more. Zarl meanwhile, turned to the other cultist leader, Azron.

 

“Thank you for your assistance brother Azron. I must compliment you and your followers on such timely work. You are more than welcome to join me as the next step begins…”

 

Azron smiled broadly and nodded, “I look forward to silencing this threat to the Masters once and for all and bring my cargo to them.”

[Emily]

Emily saw a training room in the Sith Temple on Coruscant. For a moment, she was disoriented, then remembered that was going to ask her master a question. She was just opening her mouth when her master’s massive black tuk’ata sprang into action. The tuk'ata was quick, and before Emily could react, she was flying across the room. Caught as off-guard as she was, her mind was empty, the only emotion in her mind that of surprise. She hit the wall hard, and heard a crunching noise. Pain erupted all through her body, and her vision flickered. She must have blacked out for a moment, because the next thing she knew, Quietus was by her side. He rolled her over onto her back and took her hand, his eyes scanning her body physically for injury, while his mind scanned hers to make sure she was still alive. With his other hand he cradled the side of her head. "Emily, are you alright?"

 

With one hand holding hers, and the other tenderly holding her face, Quietus was looking at her with a mixture of care and fear in his eyes. The scene seemed to blur, and suddenly she was in his arms, being carried through the temple. The journey from the training room to the medical bay seemed to last an eternity. Things were in sharp contrasts; most being blurs, yet others standing out. She focused on the little things--the rise and fall of her master's chest, the feel of his strong arms around her, and the steady feelings of assurance she was receiving from him. Despite everything, they combined to give her a sense of...safety.

 

Why did Roe'gall attack me? Wait...this isn’t right, she thought foggily. The scene continued to fade, but the pain only increased. Her eyes flickered open, but there was something wrong with her vision. She tried to reach out with the Force, but felt nothing, only an empty void. There were noises—someone talking, perhaps?—but they echoed strangely. The only thing she felt sure of was the pain and the cold. She was so bone-achingly cold.

[Raynuk Montar]

No more than ten minutes after the Consort had been strapped into the stasis chair and heavily drugged, Zarl stood over her, the cultist leader sporting a supremely satisfied and evil looking smile as the rest of the medical team rolled in several medical carts, containers, and supplies.

 

“If only you had cooperated, all this could have been avoided. I’m afraid now you’ve left me with no choice my dear. This is going to hurt… a lot. But don’t worry. You’ll most likely pass out from the pain long before the nightmare inducing visuals take place.” He said, looking her dead in the eyes.

 

Azron stood near the door, arms crossed and wearing an emotionless expression as he watched Zarl pick up one of the consort’s lightsabers, which had been recovered and claimed following her brief tantrum against the HK droids. For a moment, Zarl examined the hilt, eyeing it like a work of art before he ignited it, the silver blade springing forth.

 

“Hrrm… No no. This won’t do. I think I’ll hold onto this one.” He said, placing it back down on the table beside him and picked up the second lightsaber hilt, giving it the same careful study and then igniting it as well to reveal it’s red blade.

 

“Ah… yes. Perfect.” He commented, the red blade reflecting in the cultist’s eyes as he held it aloft.

 

And then, with what must have seemed like the blink of an eye, he whipped his wrist, spinning the blade, and brought the side of the lightsaber to cut into her abdomen just a few centimeters; making what amounted to a draw-cut across her, as if he was simply using the lightsaber to cut a loaf of bread. As the screams of agony filled the room, Zarl continued his work, steadily cutting the Consort of Quietus open until he reached his goal.

 

==============================

 

Half an hour later, the medical team finished stitching the unconscious form of the Consort back together, a new massive row of medical stitches across her abdomen where Zarl had gutted her. The woman was alive, a fact helped by the stasis pod and heavily medicated state she had been put in. Zarl had made the initial, vengeance fueled cut, but soon relinquished the rest of the procedure to the more experienced hands of the medical team. And those hands had metaphorically ripped the budding life from within the consort.

 

Zarl had retreated to the outer edges of the room, falling into discussion with Azron as the pair watched the procedure. Zarl’s hands were still covered in the blood of the consort, but neither he nor Azron seemed to notice or mind the bodily fluids or the stench of burnt flesh that permeated the room.

 

“There had been reports… Some confirmed, some not. The False Prophet, or one claiming to be him has popped up in a few locations. Some attacks have been credited to him or those who still follow him.” Azron reported, a carefully hidden measure of caution in his voice.

 

“It is of no matter. He is the False Prophet, and the Master will deal with him should he become foolish enough to attempt to take back the powers he stole.” Zarl dismissed the concern, his eyes still watching the medical team finish the procedure. “You should be clear to depart as soon as your shuttle is loaded, and your navigation computer wiped.”

 

Azron nodded, “Then I shall go make the final preparations. May the Master guide your hand.”

 

Azron turned and departed the room, eventually making his way to the shuttle he had arrived on. The rest of his team was already waiting, having resupplied and reloaded the shuttle with their additions from Zarl’s ship. Once Azron and his team were back on the shuttle, they launched from the freighter, and soon enough made a jump to hyperspace, disappearing into the darkness of space once more.