Ben listened to Marek speak and reach into his robe pocket, pulling out the small piece of torn cloth he could find. His fingers ran over it slowly, feeling the soft fabric against his skin. Having experienced what the older Jedi was talking about, Ben finally realize what it was that had allowed him to follow Mira, as well as what he had seen before in the speeder.

He took a breath and quickly went out what he had seen before, the one number that had flashed to him. There must be more to it than that or that had to be for them to locate Mira. Ben knew he had to try again and attempt to see more if he could.

After a glance at both Marek and Max, he finally spoke. "I know what you are saying Marek and it makes perfect sense. Mira is also darker and I believe her presence in the force has more disturbance, at least it is me."

Ben paused and move back a little, still holding the cloth in his hand, before extending his hand out and handing it to Marek. "I've learned over the past few days that the force could be used to track people and narrow down their location. That is how I found Mira on Telos and Coruscant. Maybe this cloth will do the same this time. When I was in the speeder, heading to the spaceport, I focused on the cloth. It is very dark and has Mira's presence. I also saw something...a number. I don't know what it means though. Perhaps there is more to it."

As he finished, Ben slowly moved to get some water from a nearby dispenser and looked back at the two Jedi, wondering what they were thinking.

"Well, I'll give it a shot."

With the shred of cloth pinched between his thumb and index finger, Marek allowed himself to be enveloped in the free-flowing current of the force. As he did so, the midichlorians that inhabited his body surged to life, communicating with each other as to what he willed them to do.

At first, Marek felt nothing from the cloth, but as time progressed and his senses became more attuned, he began to pick up on the fading pulses of retreating energy that surrounded the tattered piece. His mind filled with flashes, a menagerie of images, of thoughts, of feelings, most of which were too difficult to begin to comprehend. But amongst the mental clutter was something emerging in the background of it all. Appearing as a mere speck, barely noticeable to the naked eye that rapidly increased in size until it was the only visible shape, Marek could identify.

A series of numbers?

No.

Not numbers, but coordinates!

Not sure as to if this was the location of their target, a fleeting memory or a possible destination of their intended target. It was a lead they'd have to go with.

"Coordinates!" Marek, spoke as he broke his link to the cloth and the force.

"I saw coordinates. I don't know where too, but I have a feeling that’s where we'll find this Mira of yours Ben." Moving to the ships control panel as he spoke, Marek accessed the navigation computer and input the coordinates he had seen in his force link to the cloth. The computer returned its results with an error message, reading "LOCATION: UNKNOWN" and an image of empty space.

Taken back by what they saw, Marek still weighed his trust in the image he had seen prior.

"I say it's worth the gamble."

He awaited the reactions of the others, his revelation no doubt along with the speed in which he accessed the Nav-com, left his companions catching up with his elevated state.

"Ben? Max?"

Skygge glanced around the storeroom, taking in the provisions they had packed. It would take some time to prepare herself for the trek on the surface of Korriban. Rummaging through the equipment, she found what she was looking for. The weapons locker.

A cursory glance told her that many of the weapons were in need of repair. It would take more time than they had, unless...

She quickly rose and silently strode to the cockpit. The shuttle was slow, but even still it was going a bit too fast for her purposes. Subtly, she slowed the ship, hearing the strain on the engines lessen as the ship settled into a more comfortable pace.

Moving to the navcomputer, Skygge quickly calculated the time it would take to get to Korriban. It would be close, but she thought she had enough time now, if only barely. With a smile of satisfaction, she locked the computer so Ithron couldn't get in to change their course or speed, then stood and headed back to the storeroom. She had work to do.

Opening the weapons locker, she pulled out a twin barreled weapon of interesting design. It was short, as short as a carbine, but the barrels were much larger. She smiled. This was commonly known as a street howitzer, so named because it could literally clear a street with two shots. When fired, it worked somewhat like a flechette launcher, except it used a type of ammunition called buckshot instead of flechette. It was very effective at close range, as she knew well; she had used one before on Dathomir.

The next weapon she pulled out was a slugthrower of an older design. Both weapons needed to be cleaned, but they seemed to be in working order. A vibroknife came out next, then a second, smaller slugthrower. Skygge intended to carry all these herself; whatever she met on the surface, she would be able to face it.

Skygge debated whether to pull out slugthrowers for Ithron as well. The other apprentice would probably laugh at her for relying on anything other than the Force and her lightsaber, but Skygge knew better. She had been on the surface of Korriban before, and there were things there that were not affected by a lightsaber and were too strong for either apprentice to handle with the Force.

So, despite her misgivings about him, Skygge began to pull equipment for Ithron as well. A slugthrower carbine, a vibroknife, and a 9mm slugthrower were added to the pile. Then she came across the treasure of the locker. A spare lightsaber.

This was definitely going to need some work. But it could be quite useful if things got sticky with Ithron, so she began to work on it first. The wires were old and would need to be replaced. That wouldn't be so hard. The hilt was dirty and could use a cleaning, but that wasn't absolutely necessary. The focusing crystals needed to be adjusted, and the magnetic stabalizers were a bit off. She fixed those first.

The crystals were a bit harder to adjust, especially since she was working only with tools on-hand. However, apparently a Sith had used this shuttle often, and it didn't take her long to find a spare toolkit buried under some foodstuffs. She got to work. It took a few hours, but with the guidance of the Force she finally got it right.

Next came the wires. She managed to replace those with some from the toolkit as well as some from some spare ship parts she found nearby. It probably wouldn't hold for more than a few fights, but once all this was done she could fix it properly. And it was only a spare, anyway.

Finished with the saber, which was now at least in working condition, Skygge focused on the slugthrowers and the street howitzer. All they really needed was to be cleaned; still, she took a half-hour on each one, making sure they were in perfect condition.

Finally, she turned back to the saber, shining its hilt and cleaning it as best she could. She hit the activation switch, and a ruby blade emerged. She swung it a few times, taking care not to hit anything. It seemed to work well, but she wouldn't know for sure until it was tested.

So she decided to find out. Slipping into a spare room - it seemed to be an extra cargo hold - she activated the saber and activated a training remote she had found in the storeroom. It oriented itself and began moving and firing. Mira moved the blade to block the shots, sending each one in precisely the direction she wanted. After a minute, she increased the difficulty. Still no problems. Satisfied, she shut down the blade and deactivated the remote, returning it to its place.

Hiding the saber under her cloak, Mira grabbed the rest of the weapons and headed for Ithron's quarters. Then she thought better of interrupting him and continued past to her own. She would do well to get some sleep before they came out of hyperspace. Locking the door, she stacked the weapons neatly, then flopped down on her bed. She was asleep within a minute.

As Mira fell onto her bed and into the deep sleep that only an exhausted Force User can summon, Ithron stood up from the shadows in the corner of the room and moved closer to her sleeping form, smiling. A pace from the side of the standard-issue bunk, he stopped and gently unclipping his lightsabre, held it next to her - too close for her to be able to react to.

One press of the activation switch, and she would be severly wounded, pierced by searing energy. Smiling, having proved the point to himself, he stepped backwards and sat down on the small desk in the corner of the room.

"Would you mind telling me what you're up to?" he said, loud enough to be sure of waking her. He was almost certain she was awake already now, but it was best to make sure.

Looking away, as if examining the wall, he heard the other apprentice stir, but no answer was forthcoming.

"Not locking your door, Mira? Something of a rookie error, for someone as steetwise as you, surely?"

Sarcasm dripped from his words.

"You must trust me a great deal. Luckily for you, that trust isn't unfounded.

I visit Lupercus, come back, and you act nothing but suspiciously. I fly the shuttle to your exact location, to rescue you from pursuit, and when you're safely on board, almost the first thing you do is start taking an interest in my meeting with Master Darksword. Very rarely do you take an interest in events in my life. I give you answers, and offer you my help against this Jedi of yours, but you almost ignore that...You're more interested in what I'm up to!

That strikes me as odd. Then just now, I felt the jerk as the ship slowed down. I assumed it was an engine malfunction and go to check the controls. Surprisingly, the door locks were on the cockpit. Unless we have a stowaway on board, that means that you locked me out of the cockpit..."

Mira opened her mouth to speak, but didn't. Ithron continued.

"A quick check of the internal sensors showed up you, with an energy signature that was either a lightsabre or something damned similar, in one of the old storage bays, prancing around. If you're just practising, why the door lock?

You clearly suspect me of something....but decide whose side you're on.

I could have killed you with the shuttle's laser instead of picking you up. I didn't. I could have left you on Coruscant. I didn't. I could have killed you just now as you slept. I didn't. Hell, I could fight you right now and you know it might just go either way."

He paused again to let Mira think about it.

"Until now, I've done nothing against you - and yet I'm the one you suspect. You're acting more suspect than me! Is this the working together that Vance ordered? You can bet your pathetic life that he knows what's happening here. He'll know I've not betrayed you, but how do you think he'll feel when he discovers your plotting - as I'm sure he will? Perhaps you think he'll be pleased that you use all tactics at your disposal? If that's the case, perhaps you're in for an interesting lesson, for let me tell you this:

I no longer trust you. You've successfully destroyed Vance's brotherhood. As soon as this mission is completed, I want nothing further to do with you. Whatever happens from here on in....it's because of you."

Letting that thought hover in the air for a few moments, he allowed the irritation to show in his voice.

"Whose fucking side are you on, anyway? Tell me that. If your answer isn't the right one, we settle this here and now."

His eyes fixed on Mira, he muttered "And don't try any of your mind-trick deception shit, because I won't buy it."

Sith Temple Hangar Bay, Coruscant.



Lupercus fixed his gaze upon each of the women in turn, judging them immediately. Each had a specific skill set that would see them through to the successful completion of their goal, but one radiated something different.

Something bestial crowed from deep within her soul, something the Sith Lord had not felt since he had last been with Master Draclau.

"Thessalia, take your sisters and lead them this day. Allow that hunger within you to rise to the fore and you shall do well."

He flooded her thoughts momentarily with a devastating cascade of destruction and power, but just as it had arrived, it disappeared.

Waving his hand he dismissed them, watching them board the shuttle and take off. He stood there for a while, time sped around him as he remained, stoicly watching the skies outside the hangar bay doors.

Something was bothering him.



Diktators Personal Quarters, Sith Temple, Coruscant.



Having returned from his 'space out' in the hangar bay, Lupercus immediately set himself down to meditate. Something had been bothering him ever since the night before when Ishara had made her not so subtle attempt at bedding the Sith Lord, and it wasn't the fact that he hadn't taken her up on the offer.

Closing his eyes he retraced his mental steps over the last forty eight hours, the sticking point coming at his 'corruption' of Ithron. Lupercus spent hours pouring over everything that had happened but could not place the feeling he was having.

Suddenly out of nowhere, deep within his minds eye as he watched the 'talk' from another angle, something just clicked...

Above where his vision focused at himself and Ithron talking, a strange visiage appeared. It spoke, but the words were a murmour and image itself constantly blurred and frayed at the edges. Replaying the image again a dozen times in his mind made him realise that it had nothing, at least specifically, to do with his discussion with the apprentice. Dispelling that from his thoughts he could now see what lay before him, watching him.

It was the face of Vance Jas, and it radiated a hatred and despicable lust for power that drew Lupercus inwards. Suddenly, the voice was audible.

"Your intentions do not go unseen, Master Lupercus; be wary of the company you keep, and of those whom you offer so many promises..."

Even despite his meditative trance, Lupercus couldn't help but laugh at the jealousy of the Sith. But the hatred emanating from the words and the image could not hide something else about the vision the Lupercus was familiar with. Something he had encounted long ago, during the conquest of Almania.

The Aii-Ting.

There he had capture an Aii-Ting Master, who with cloning and quite a lot of torture on Lupercus' part, had become one of the founding members of the JediCorps. But the information he had gleaned for his own private use from the tortures allowed him to focus in on the presence behind the 'message' and suddenly, Lupercus found himself out of control for the first time in his life...


Despite all his attempts at the contrary, Lupercus found himself sitting above the shoulders of Vance and a small creature, obviously an Aii-Ting monk from his appearance. He tried constantly to break the trance he was in, but found himself forced to watch himself being watched.

It was a truly strange experiance. But the experiance asside, it was the fact he could not stop it that truly confounded the Sith Lord.


[font=arial]‘Then you seek the past, Master Vance of Sith… prepare yourself, and be mindful of your physical self in this time; for we now leave for another.’

The void suddenly shifted, changing in a blinding motion of movement and light; what was darkness was now day, and what had been nothingness was now a temple where the two beings in question stood. They spoke, both Ithron and Lupercus’ words fading in and out, as too much seemed to pass through what Vance could perceive with his senses.

‘Why can’t I understand them, save for a few words?’ Vance demanded, turning his angry eyes toward Phenrik.

The other seemed calm, apparently listening with great interest and clarity. ‘You have not honed the control you require for this stage in our lessons, and as such you cannot limit the amount of information filtering through to you from the past… as it remains, your mind is receiving too much to allow you to focus on what you wish. In order to gain control, you must limit your mind to what it believes is the here and now… but you must also be wary of falling into a frame of thought that believes this truly is the here and now. Do you understand?’

Vance understood, in a simplistic sense. Phenrik spoke of how he witnessed too broadly of the past, instead of limiting his senses to simply the passageway the two spoke in; which would explain the layering of images that flashed past unwelcome, of other beings and events - each happening at the same time in the past, if Vance’s theory was correct. He even saw a brief image of himself, standing with the few Apprentices who remained, training them in lightsaber art… and that had been around the time the Sith Master had sensed the subtle change in Ithron’s presence toward him; how it had seemingly retreated, pulling back on the bond, so to speak.

Focusing his mind, Vance narrowed his senses to his target: Lupercus. Though it was slow, eventually the other images began to lessen, and the two Sith began to come clear; while at the same time, so too did their conversation…

"Watching and waiting? Decadence and impotence? Foolish child, your falacies disgust me. But your lack of vision is only indicative of what you have been taught... Nothing!"

Lupercus’ words caused Vance to narrow his focus even more so, to feel the emotion that came from the two beings. Ithron devoted himself to Lupercus not long after, the scene playing itself out like a holoprojection. All the while reminding Vance that his efforts up until now had been for naught, that his attempts at bringing a sense of brotherhood to the Sith, where he had often felt it didn’t belong, had been rightfully just. It seemed that the power of the Dark Side did nothing but corrupt, and loyalty remained to those that could offer the most in return for service…

‘You truly disappoint me, Ithron… you truly do.’ Vance said, muttering the words as though he had once believed the other had been a worthy Apprentice. Now, it appeared, Vance would be pressed to rethink how to approach the Sith Order, and how to weed out such disloyalty… perhaps a purge was in question, perhaps Vance’s beliefs that he had long hidden, yet which Lupercus promoted boldly, were past time to come to fore. Always two, it was said. Vance had believed this, but had insisted on allowing Apprentices a chance to learn the Dark Side with the potential of forming an army of Sith; it had seemed the most logical, and had served the best end, in regard to welcoming the many who sought out the Sith on Xa Fel…

‘Do you wish to return, Master Vance of Sith? I fear even my power begins to lack by staying so long in this time…’ Phenrik offered, his small form beside Vance’s, as the two followed the passage of Lupercus and Ithron.

‘Yes… but first, I have a message for Lupercus, and I wish to imprint it for him to witness in my present.’ And smiling, Vance began to listen as the Aing-Tii started to explain that specific use of the Flow-Walking power…[/font]


As the power of the Aii-Ting monk and the Sith faded, Lupercus regained control of his mind. He shuddered, his hands brushing his brow to reveal a heady coat of sweat, before rising to drink some water.

Something very wrong, but very powerful had just happened to him, and after some rest he would investigate further.

Yes, after some rest...

After only moments of sleep, the loud voice jarred Skygge awake. "Would you mind telling me what you're up to?"

Still, she remained nearly motionless, not deigning to give him an answer. The traitor! she thought. I owe him nothing! If my visions were correct, he's betrayed Vance and the Order!

"Not locking your door, Mira? Something of a rookie error, for someone as steetwise as you, surely?"

Sarcasm dripped from his words.

"You must trust me a great deal. Luckily for you, that trust isn't unfounded.

I visit Lupercus, come back, and you act nothing but suspiciously. I fly the shuttle to your exact location, to rescue you from pursuit, and when you're safely on board, almost the first thing you do is start taking an interest in my meeting with Master Darksword. Very rarely do you take an interest in events in my life. I give you answers, and offer you my help against this Jedi of yours, but you almost ignore that...You're more interested in what I'm up to!

That strikes me as odd. Then just now, I felt the jerk as the ship slowed down. I assumed it was an engine malfunction and go to check the controls. Surprisingly, the door locks were on the cockpit. Unless we have a stowaway on board, that means that you locked me out of the cockpit..."

Skygge sat and opened her mouth to speak, but didn't. Her mind, though, was working overtime. Smart fish, she thought angrily. She was kicking herself for not locking her door to her quarters when she left. Did he find the spare saber? she thought quickly. Then she felt the protrusion into her side and relaxed a bit. She still had one advantage over him anyway. Ithron continued.

"A quick check of the internal sensors showed up you, with an energy signature that was either a lightsabre or something similar, in one of the old storage bays, prancing around. If you're just practising, why the door lock?

You clearly suspect me of something....but decide whose side you're on.

I could have killed you with the shuttle's laser instead of picking you up. I didn't. I could have left you on Coruscant. I didn't. I could have killed you just now as you slept. I didn't. I could fight you right now and you know it might just go either way."

He paused again to let Skygge think about it. And think she did. I should kill you now, you slimy traitor! But I'll bide my time. As you are biding yours.

Ithron continued. "Until now, I've done nothing against you - and yet I'm the one you suspect. You're acting more suspect than me! Is this the working together that Vance ordered? You can bet your pathetic life that he knows what's happening here. He'll know I've not betrayed you, but how do you think he'll feel when he discovers your plotting - as I'm sure he will? Perhaps you think he'll be pleased that you use all tactics at your disposal? If that's the case, perhaps you're in for an interesting lesson, for let me tell you this:

I no longer trust you. You've successfully destroyed Vance's brotherhood. As soon as this mission is completed, I want nothing further to do with you. Whatever happens from here on in....it's because of you."

Letting that thought hover in the air for a few moments, he allowed the irritation to show in his voice.

"Whose side are you on, anyway? Tell me that. If your answer isn't the right one, we settle this here and now."

His eyes fixed on Skygge, he muttered "And don't try any of your mind-trick deception, because I won't buy it."

Skygge stared him in the eye and began to chuckle. "Ithron, you idiot," she said. "Look behind you and you'll see what I was doing and why I slowed the shuttle. I was cleaning extra weapons, weapons we'll need on the surface. I wasn't sure how long it would take, and I wasn't sure we wouldn't be forced straight to the surface with no time to orbit. So I slowed us down to give myself time to prepare and still catch some sleep. Sleep which you so rudely interrupted. I locked you out to prevent you from increasing our speed without talking to me first, which you probably would have done."

She paused, shaking her head. "And yes, I was practicing with a saber. You might want to get some practice in as well. What we'll face on the planet is going to be no joke. I wanted to make sure everything was working properly, that the crystals had not come out of alignment, that the stabilizers were properly positioned. Taking care of a dual-phase saber is a lot more difficult than a single-phase.

"Why the lock?" she continued. "Because I don't trust you any more than you apparently trust me. You visited Lupercus's palace and came back changed. Very different. In fact, I haven't trusted you since the duel, when you stopped being Ithron and became a monster, completely consumed by the Dark Side. It is controlling you, now, Ithron. Do you even have any control of yourself left? Or is it all gone?

"You yourself have heard Vance's, or more currently Lord Vicirus's teachings." She noted the look of confusion. "Yes, while you were meditating or whatever it was you were doing, I had several visions. One was of Master Jas slaughtering apprentices and declaring himself to be Darth Vicirus.

"Nevertheless, his teachings are the same. 'It is good to use the Dark Side, to be able to tap into its full power, but the user must retain a measure of control.' Otherwise we will simply become like Palpatine and Vader, taking power and doing nothing with it. It is the way of the Sith to work to control the galaxy, then bring justice and order, and through that justice and order bring peace to all. You are following corrupted teachings, not I.

"So whose side am I on? I stand for the ideals of the Sith. I stand with the Brotherhood of Sith. I stand against all who would oppose it. I stand against the Jedi, though I would rather turn them than kill them. And I stand on the side of Darth Vicirus.

"Now," she continued, "if that is cleared up, shall I show you what I've gathered for you?"

Ithron was still suspicious, she could tell, but he didn't attempt to hinder her. She brushed past him to the stack of weapons. As she did so, she continued to talk. "By the way, don't call me Mira anymore. That identity, like the one I had as a Jedi, is forsaken now. Call me Darth Skygge." She pulled out the slugthrower carbine and the belt with the 9mm and a vibroknife on it and tossed them to him. "You'll need those on the planet's surface. There are things down there that are not affected by lightsabers or the Force; I think previous Sith designed it that way to protect their own interests from Jedi scavengers."

Ithron's eyes narrowed as he stared at the weapons she had tossed him. He looked back at her and asked, "How do you know all this?"

Skygge blinked once, then replied slowly, "Because I've been there."

Ben instantly felt the force gathering inside the cabin as Marek used it to study the torn cloth. He said nothing, but watched with great interest as the older Jedi tried to read what was contained within. It would not be easy if Marek was doing this for the first time. Ben remembered how difficult it had been for him when he tried to locate Mira with the force.

It was a while before Marek spoke, but just looking at his face, Ben could tell he had seen something. He could see the surprise and slight amusement just before Marek explained what he had seen.

They both followed the man to the cabin and watched as he entered the numbers. Ben realized the first number matched the one he had seen himself, knowing now that he had been on the right path. He felt a sense of pride at discovering this force power within him without having been taught earlier. While it was easier to be taught by others, Ben had always felt better when learning through himself. It was the challenge of it all.

To all their surprise, the coordinates were excepted into the computer, but it did not know that something was there. It could be that nothing was, though. It was all to possible that Mira would be meeting someone else there, perhaps another ship. It could also be that there was nothing there and Mira would never be seen there as well. They had to take the chance, however.

"I say we go for it. We have nothing else to go on and I have learned to trust the force and its guidance." Ben stated as he moved into the other seat and powered up the hyperdrive.

He glanced back towards Max and then at Marek, before wishing them all luck internally. Ben took a deep breath and pushed the lever down just as he turned towards the viewport, in time to see the ship jump into space and the stars become white streaks. They were on their way into the unknown, none of them knowing they would face. One thing, however, was clear. They would have to rely on each other.

Smiling to himself, Ithron took the weapons she threw, intending to check them over later, for himself. Ignoring the contradictions in what she said, and biting back the acid comments that came to his mind ("You locked the door so I wouldn't change course without consulting you, when you changed course without consulting me?"), he laughed - but it was a sound devoid of humour.

"I'm pleased you're on the side of the Sith. On Vance's side. I can't see how you can both be on the side of the Sith and on the side of the Brotherhood. In fact, unless I'm interpreting your visions wrong then your own Lord Vicirus has forsaken the idea too." Ithron used the Sith Master's new title with scorn. Not so much at the person the name belonged to as at the name-dropped on Mira's part.

"My last piece of advice to you, Darth Skygge - if that's what you want to call yourself now - is to put less faith in your visions. You're an Apprentice. Skilled Masters interpret visions wrong, and here YOU are basing an entire course of action on what you think you may have seen. You know full well that what you saw might have happened two days ago, might happen next week or might never happen. Fuck the 'you are corrupted, not I' speaking-like-Vance bullshit, you don't know what you're talking about yet. Neither of us do."

Ithron's voice trailed off. Despite himself, despite all the Sith training and all the anger against her that he felt, he pitied her. As clear as the nose on her face, he could see that her own faith in Brotherhood, in her Master, would betray her. He was blind to the possibility that his own might do the same - he sincerely believed it wouldn't.

Like those fruitcakes you see on Coruscant. Always telling us when we die we'll go to a better place, always professing the power of their deities beyond the evidence of their senses.... he thought, making the comparison to Mira's faith in her own visions. How can she not see the obvious?

As suddenly as the feeling had arose, Ithron stamped on it and pushed it out of his mind. Suddenly he remembered the last thing she said.

"Been to Korriban?" he mocked, less than half believing what she said. "Well, in that case this should be a cakewalk for you. In fact, if you survived with less training than you have now, it should be a cakewalk for both of us, wouldn't you say?"

Gathering the weapons that Mira had thrown, he walked towards out the door. As it closed behind him, without the girl having made a reply, he pressed the button to activate the door lock. He hoped that Mira would see the funny side. For a moment, he considered breaking into the cockpit to take control of the ship but decided against it.

Hell, he thought. It's not like anyone's chasing us...Mira's Jedi probably got bored when the Imperials came after him...

In his locked quarters later that evening, after checking the weapons that he had been given and finding them operational, Ithron slept and meditated. By morning, some eight hours later, he was as refreshed as he had ever felt.

Sitting up and activating a computer panel, Ithron saw that, even at their reduced speed, they were now only minutes away from Korriban - their destination.

Skygge stared after Ithron as the door closed behind him. She had held her tongue through his rebuke, scathing though it was. Patience may have been a Jedi virtue, but it was also a necessity for a Sith assassin.

That was an interesting thought. It was the first time she had thought of herself in that role, though now that it occurred to her she realized that that was the path she had been following since leaving the Jedi Temple. Her training in the wilderness without the Force, her style of lightsaber fighting, her willingness to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike, her working behind the scenes - it all fit. But there was no time to think about it now.

She shook her head as the door slammed shut. Poor boy. He had no idea what he was getting into.


Six Months Previous


Mira brought her shuttle out of hyperspace just above the planet's surface. She had done her research on the way here, but not much was known about the ancient Sith planet - at least, not much recent history. Little had been added to the galactic databases for decades. At least not that she could find.

It was a desolate world, barren and rocky. The remains of a settlement were down there, as well as the half-destroyed Sith Academy. It was the latter in which she was interested. According to her queries, it seemed that the best place to land would be in the Valley of the Dark Lords. It lay immediately next to the Academy. And she shouldn't have too much trouble in there - she hoped.

Still, she strapped her lightsaber, a blaster, and a vibroblade to her belt and grabbed up her street howitzer. The shotgun, as it was sometimes called, was the weapon she figured she'd need the most, as she hadn't accessed the Force in some time and she didn't trust herself with a lightsaber. Besides, the spread of the howitzer was pretty good; it wasn't likely she'd miss.


Present


Skygge shook herself from the reverie. That wasn't something she wanted to revisit. She'd nearly lost her life there in more than one instance. She'd been trapped in the academy for a full week before she escaped up into the ruins of the settlement. Another week was spent there, scrounging for food, before she managed to find a way around the academy and back into the valley. She'd barely made it alive, and as she closed the hatch something large had attacked. She made it off the planet, but her ship was in bad condition, and she was weaponless but for her lightsaber, which somehow had remained attached to her belt. From there she had gone to Xa Fel. Now, six months later, she was coming back. She doubted the planet had improved any.

She heard the door lock. Silly Ithron. If she wanted to get out, all she had to do was hit the override hidden under her bed. She'd set that up as soon as she could. Or she could use her lightsaber on it. Still, no reason to leave yet. Either he could be trusted or he still needed her - else she'd be dead. So, without a second thought, she turned and lay back on the bed, asleep before her head fell.

After several hours of rest, Skygge awoke refreshed to a beeping sound. She hit the override button, opening the door, and strode to the cockpit. They were only minutes from coming out of hyperspace. She figured Ithron would join her in a moment - she needed him to bring the shuttle in for a proper landing, if only to cast the blame on him when something went wrong.

“I will return shortly,” Darth Vicirus said simply, glancing over his shoulder at the young Sith Apprentice who followed him. “Until I do so, ensure that the students continue training in lightsaber forms. You should have the required knowledge, given that you have sought private lessons from me…”

The two walked quickly down one of the long hallways of the Sith Temple, passing through the corridor that led down to the hangar bay. The Apprentice, young Xykarn, nodded. While he wasn’t the leader of the Apprentice pack, it was true that he knew just a little more in the way of combat tactic and ability; and added to that came the weight of Lord Vicirus’ command to have Xykarn in charge until he returned.

“Where are you going, Lord Vicirus?” The Apprentice asked, wondering if he may have said too much and earned himself a lesson to be learned from having a lose tongue.

“Korriban,” Vicirus replied simply, his blue eyes narrowed. “I have business there… that is all you need know. Dismissed, Apprentice.”

Xykarn gave a curt bow, before he turned on heel and began walking back the way he had come. He moved at a quick pace, leaving the blistering feeling of darkness that was Master Vicirus; and it seemed that the Sith Master had many things occupying his mind, especially given his actually having answered a question about his plans.

…usually that didn’t happen.

None the less, Xykarn rounded the corridor corner, and was soon moving deep into the temple.

Darth Vicirus, on the other hand, had reached the hangar, and was promptly boarding his Sith Infiltrator. As the ramp rose in his wake, the Sith Master made directly for the cockpit. Through the Force, Vicirus flipped the initial switches required to begin the pre-flight checks, and by the time he reached the pilot seat, the craft was ready for the final adjustments and engagement of the repulsor lift coils.

As the sleek starcraft began to raise, Darth Vicirus angled its nose towards the bay opening. And with a practiced touch, the Sith Master engaged the sublight engines and began making for the atmosphere…