Chapter 18 – Preparations and Assassinations
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Deep in the Dromund Kaas jungles, a figure paced impatiently. His features were obscured by a full suite of sleek dark grey and black armour which showcased his lean figure. A sniper rifle hung from his back and by his side were a pair of blasters.
In his hand was a strange device which he occasionally juggled out of boredom. It was rectangular, looking much like a remote control, but whereas those were sleekly designed, this looked experimental with the occasional wire sticking out and not too perfect welds.
The sound of snapping twigs and rustling bushes alerted him to the arrival of two hooded figures; one, a veritable giant and the other, a smallish humanoid who walked with a limp. The giant stood just out of the perimeter while the smaller figure came forwards, standing two heads smaller than the armed man, "It was about time you arrived," he said, his voice distorted by his mask. But the underlining irritation was palpable.
The hooded figure ignored him, "Do you have the device?"
"Yeah, I got the Neutralizer," he replied, "Though I'm not sure what use you're going to get out of it. Dorotsech said it's only a one-shot weapon, too expensive for mass production. Not that he's going to be producing anything anymore." A chuckle followed his statement soliciting a glare from the hooded figure, not that he noticed.
"Is there anything else I should know?"
"Yeah," he continued, "You have to get in close to use it. He mentioned that it was commissioned to use against cyborgs. But apparently, it would only be useful against a cyborg who's fifty present cybernetics, but most are only ten. Don't know what you're planning, and I don't want to know, but I hope it was worth it." The armed man held out the experimental device to the hooded figure.
"Thank you," the hooded figure replied, taking the device in hand. She turned to leave, but hesitated, "and…" she sighed, "Je suis sincèrement désolée."
The man looked confused for a moment, not understanding what she said. He went to ask for clarification, but before he could, the forest was bathed in an amber light at the sound of a snap-hiss. The next second, he felt as if a white-hot rod had been shoved through his chest.
The last thing he could remember, was the searing pain and a pair of eyes that flashed golden in the light, gazing down at him sadly.
Louise looked down at the man she had just killed. He had helped her, retrieved an item crucial to the assassination of Skotia, and she had killed him in cold blood, just as he had. All because Zash did not want any loose ends. Resentment burned inside.
Deactivating her lightsaber, she let the man down softly. She crossed his arms and closed his eyes. With a snap of her fingers, she summoned a ball of flame and moulded it into a blanket to encase the man. His body burned at a steady pace, the flames becoming darker and more ravenous as she fed her resentment into it.
Soon, his entire body had been devoured by the fire. Focusing on the crimson flames, she willed it to dispel. It fought against her, wanting to consume, spreading out and charring the ground and flora nearby, but she wrestled control of the weak emotion fuelling it and killed it.
It was the best she could do for him.
She turned to face Khem Val who stood stoically in the background, "Let's go."
Khem nodded his head and the two walked back to their parked speeder. They then set off towards the Citadel.
Three weeks had passed since Rayne had been granted her lordship, and in those weeks, stress had been a constant companion in both body and mind. Training had increased several tiers in difficulty with Zash and Krillis pushing her in her physical prowess to her abilities in the Force. The limp was a by-product of this, though a day's rest and it would heal up.
Nights had been taken up by research, plotting and games of 'find the bruise'. Alchemy had been softer for her, but she drove to push forwards in Alchemy just as with her training.
All this and worrying about the Skotia's expanded interest focusing directly on her… or rather Karin. Louise still could not believe that her ruse had worked so well, despite what her master had told her two weeks ago:
"Louise, if you would follow me to my office?" Zash had said after an 'improved' training lessons.
"Yes… master." Louise replied, rubbing her wrist which had been twisted to near breakage by Zash. Despite feeling like her entire body was dying, she dutifully followed her master into the latter's office.
Upon entering, the Sith Lord turned gracefully to face her apprentice, "I have some good news, my apprentice."
"Did Darth Skotia have a stroke?" Louise joked.
Lord Zash chuckled, "No if he had I would have been most upset. So much planning and plotting only for the monster to die in such an easy way," she said smiling, "No, my sources tell me that Skotia has been hunting someone. Someone you might know."
"Who?" the Pinkette asked quickly, her previous amusement gone.
"She's a bounty hunter," Zash supplied, "one who Darth Skotia thinks is tied to the missing Trandoshan relic. Karin, I believe her name was."
"That doesn't sound like good news." Louise murmured.
Zash chuckled at her apprentices put out state, "Yes, while he may have set his eyes upon your alias – again, I must thank you for that – It is the fact he thinks that this 'Karin' is a third-party that is the good news. He will keep looking for her, letting us work without much threat."
The Pinkette still did not think it was a good idea, and that Skotia was hunting down her alias. It was still her, just under a different name. Even to this day, she felt as if she could feel Skotia's cybernetic eyes watching her. Heck, she was surprised, or rather, worried that she had not met up with another one of the Cyborg's assassins.
Shaking her thoughts of paranoia away, she disembarked her speeder bike as she had arrived at her destination. She gave an order to the droid valet to take care of the bikes, then began to walk through the familiar halls of the Citadel. Soon, Louise and Khem entered her master's office.
Zash, who had been perusing her bookshelf, turned to Louise, her eyes alight with anticipation, "Tell me, my apprentice," she asked excitably, "Are you successful? Did you get the tech?"
Louise nodded, pulling the device from her belt, "Yes, master. I have acquired the Neutralizer."
"Fantastic. Magnificent. Perfect," if the words coming from Zash's mouth were not enough proof, the childlike glee in her eyes told Louise exactly how pleased the Sith was as she took the Neutralizer in hand, "Then the only thing left to do is to kill Skotia. Unfortunately, my spies have informed me that Darth Skotia has been looking around for Karin. So, he's off planet at the moment."
A smile graced Louise's lips.
More time to prepare.
Zash handed back the device, "Take the Neutralizer, keep it safe. When Skotia is on-world, I will inform you via holocom. For now, make sure you are prepared."
Still smiling, Louise bowed and went to leave, but paused as something crossed her mind, "Master?"
"Yes, my apprentice?"
"How am I to assassinate Skotia?" she asked, "We have the tablet and the Neutralizer, but where is this all going to take place?"
"Why, in his office, of course," Zash replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Louise goggled, "In… his office? In the Citadel? The
Emperor's home?"
"Don't worry," the blonde Sith replied, waving her hand flippantly, "I've been plotting this for years, slowly working my way to this point. I've dealt with all the issues such as surveillance both with technology and the Force. As long as Skotia doesn't leave his office, and I have a plan to ensure that the doors are locked, you will be completely fine. Aside from fighting Skotia, of course."
Once again, Louise could feel the oncoming effects of a headache, but all Louise could do was follow her master's instructions. That, and hope beyond all measure that her master was not just using her as cannon fodder against the Cyborg.
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Two days later, and Darth Skotia still had not returned to Dromund Kaas, though Louise continued to not mind the Sith Lord's extended vacation. At the moment, her mind was focused on her training in Sith Sorcery, trying to make the Dark Flames more obedient. That is until Darth Paracelsus had asked her to visit the Hub via her holocom.
Now she was standing in the Darth's office, confused as to whether she should wake the master alchemist from his nap. She stood at the entrance of the door for a few moments, occasionally shifting on her feet. Really, it was quite strange that the Sith Lord would be napping right after calling for her. She was not sure if she should be concerned or not. He was either incredibly slothful or there was something extremely wrong with him.
Her musings were interrupted, however, when Paracelsus' tired voice drifted over, "You're early… how long have you been here?"
"Sorry, my Lord. I got over here around twenty minutes after your call."
He checked his datapad, "I was hoping for a short nap before you arrived," he yawned, "No matter. I have decided that now would be the best time for your test to begin."
Louise paused, "My test?"
"You've been making progress, so I want you to forge your Sith Sword today," Paracelsus answered.
"My Lord, are you sure I am ready?" Louise asked, her voice uncertain as doubt seeped into her mind.
Paracelsus stood up from his desk, slowly and deliberately. He then walked to Louise until he stood directly in front of her, towering over intimidatingly, "Are you questioning my judgment, apprentice Louise?"
"No, my lord," Louise replied quickly.
"Then follow." Despite her misgivings, she grinned. If Darth Paracelsus said she was ready, then she was ready. Now excited, Louise followed the Darth into the workshop where she assumed she would be working. However, all her enthusiasm quickly evaporated upon getting a proper look of the room.
She could recognise many of the needed materials for forging the blade, as well as the Svolten Rhyolite – a fine-grained blue whetstone harvested on the planet Svolten – which was used to give the Sith Sword an eternally sharp blade. However, most of this was background clutter compared to the unconscious boy strapped to a torture table.
Malnourished with a sickly pallor, the boy looked no older than thirteen. What was worse was the nigh-unreadable brand on his face. It was obvious the boy was a slave. The simple through made her felt sick.
"What is he here for?" Louise asked almost immediately, dreading the answer.
"He's an ingredient," Paracelsus answered with a casual wave of the hand, "You do remember that the last and most important step is to submerge the blade in a trough of blood spilt in anger…"
Whatever Darth Paracelsus was going to say, Louise did not hear. As if her veins had been filled with ice Louise's blood ran cold at the explanation.
An… Ingredient? It echoed in her ear for several moments.
No,
no!
Louise spun around, fast enough that her hair whipped her face, to tell Paracelsus that she could not, would
not ever use a slave like that. Especially not a child. But Paracelsus was gone. Looking around, she found herself standing in the workshop alone. It was at this part she wished she had heard the latter half of what the Sith Lord had said.
Louise's eyes wandered over the room, looking at the tools and ingredients available. Even the slave.
The sound of a heartbeat could be heard in her ear. It did not take long for her to realise it was hers.
She had no idea what to do. This was the last thing she had ever expected to happen. The Pinkette had gone through the instructions on how to forge and create the Sith Sword until she had it memorised. All one needed was a strong attachment to the Dark Side – attained through meditation – knowledge and understanding of Sith Alchemy and how it affected metals and other such materials, and finally a binding agent, one that would tie the Dark Side permanently to the blade. Blood spilt in anger. There were many optionals, but they were the basics.
It was that final part that had occasionally invaded her thoughts. Where was she supposed to get blood spilt in anger? Who was she to kill? Louise knew that her list of people that she hated, and therefore could get a proper amount of anger flowing, was low – Harkun and Skotia being the main two. Naturally, she assumed it would be something she and Paracelsus would discuss. Apparently, she was wrong.
She turned to the door. Part of her wished to just walk out of the room and leave the Alchemy Hub. But she felt that it would not end well for her, not at all. Louise thought of talking to Paracelsus about it, to ask him for a different…
ingredient, but even that presented its own set of problems. Who was to say that he would see this as a weakness and shut the entire session down.
Selfish. It still left the issue of the slave.
Slowly, Louise began to pace around the room, emotions flurrying around like a miniature hurricane. She knew she needed to calm down, to clear her head and focus her emotions. With a sigh, she sat on the floor and began to meditate.
She focused on her feelings, honing them to a fine point. But it proved difficult. In the peripheral of her senses, she could feel the presence of the slave. The faint presence filled with so much hurt and pain. Louise pushed through this, ignoring the youngling to attain clarity.
Despite the gruelling nature of her task, her goal was soon complete. Her emotions under were wrap, but it did not help much at all. She still felt confused as to what to do. With nothing else do to, she opened herself up into the Force and let it guide her to a decision.
"What do you think you're doing, Louise?" A cold and frightening familiar voice asked.
Louise snapped around, gawking at the woman before her, "Mother!?"
"Look at yourself, look at what you're doing." The visage of her mother seethed. It was just as she had remembered her, tall and proud with her long hair tied up in a similar fashion to Louise. She was even dressed in the last outfit the Apprentice had seen her mother in, a casual purple and white gown.
Louise's eyes narrowed, seeing through the ruse, "You're not real," she hissed, feeling a wave of heat crawl up her arms, "You're just an illusion."
"Is that any way to talk to me?"
She paid the illusion's comments no heed and deflected the subject, "Part of me wondered why you were absent from Lord Kressh's tomb. Begone, apparition. I don't have time for this."
The illusion of her mother scoffed, "If I knew that this is what you would become, I would have removed you from the Academy myself."
"Shut up. You're not my mother."
"You always were a disgrace, bringing the Valliere family down with your diseased magic," The illusion of her mother continued, "Year after year I spent pooling resources into you so you could find a cure to your disease. What did I get in return? A monster. You forsook your name, your family, your country and the Founder. Now you take up arms with monsters and slavers, murderers and psychopaths."
Anger flared up as she glared down her mother. "You know nothing," she said through gritted teeth.
"Do I? I know more than you think. Here you stand in a workshop in which horrors and abominations are created, a slave lays unconscious and at your mercy. And what do you do? You sit upon the floor and do nothing, you wait as if the answer will fall from the sky like a gift from the Founder! Apathy is Death."
"Enough!" Louise shouted, blasting the illusion into the workshop equipment.
"No! You sealed that child's fate the second you reached out to the Force for answers. It's time to pay for your betrayal, monster." It cried as Louise blasted it with lightning in a fit of rage, "If you are going to kill me, don't use your blasphemous Force," the illusion hissed.
Louise felt something heavy and metallic fill her hand. Looking down, she saw a blade, a long and wickedly sharp dagger. It did not take long for Louise react.
Without a second thought, Louise rushed forwards and let the runes guide the dagger. It slid easily between the fourth and fifth rib, right to the heart. Flesh parted easily, and blood began to flow.
"You will always be a slave. To others, to your whims, to your lack of strength." The illusion growled with its dying breath, "You will be rewarded as a traitor deserves one day."
The visage of her mother then melted away as she twisted the blade until all that was left was the slave boy. No longer was he unconscious, but awake, looking at Louise with his dull blue eyes as blood pooled from the wound around her hand. As if the blood had a mind of its own, it crept onto the dagger, then began boiling as the Alchemy took effect, but all Louise could focus on was the boy's eyes as she died.
The body became limp, only being kept up by the straps on the table.
A hiss of the door opening heralded Paracelsus' entry to the scene, "You were meant to bleed it out into a trough to bathe the blade into. Not stab it. But I felt that it worked either way," the man said, his disapproval glaringly obvious, "May I see the blade?"
Louise did not even notice she had pulled the blade out as she handed it to her teacher. As she did this, her eyes wandered over the workshop, noting how everything, from the forge to the whetstone, had been moved and showed signs of use.
Did… I do this. She thought numbly, her breathing speeding up.
"It's a bit short, more like a dagger than anything else…" he noted analytically, "Though it's no issue. The atypical design is strange, but I think that would be points in your favour." He sighed, looking at Louise who stood staring down at her bloody hands, "The ritual must have taken a lot out of you, but it is no matter. You've passed the test and we can begin the more biological aspects of Alchemy. We'll start when you're ready. For now, you may go."
He handed back the dagger, which Louise took with a habitual 'thank you'. With a bow, though there was a certain mechanicalness to it, she turned around and left the room. Her legs carried herself quickly across the halls of the Alchemy Hub, passing room after room, ascending floor after floor until she arrived at the reception room. When the receptionist acknowledged her existence, she ignored him. Soon she found herself standing outside the main building. She pulled up her hood and stalked away from the Hub, passing the transit station, and walked deep into the jungles.
From around her, she could feel many of the creatures that crawled through the trees, most of them carnivorous or aggressively territorial, yet none bothered her. After a few minutes of non-stop walking, she stopped her foot a good inch from a root which would have tripped her.
In her blood-soaked hands, she could sense the dark presence that seeped from the dagger. Tendrils of cold comfort tried to wrap around her like a child would its mother.
She threw the dagger away as if it had burned her, stepping back away from it.
She tried to turn around to leave, leave and never return, but she could not. She could feel the dagger calling for her to stop. Calling for her to take it back.
Louise growled as she tried to ignore the call, the stupid infuriating call. Lightning arched from her fingers as her emotions ran to new heights and tears began falling from her eyes.
A scream of anguish tore from her throat which the Force acted upon. Nearby trees creaked and splintered as the overwhelming energies of the Dark Side displaced the very air around her.
Suddenly sapped of energy, she sunk to her knees, crying. Yet the dagger still called.
...
When Louise returned to her apartment, dagger in hand, she headed straight for the bathroom. She felt dirty, her hands covered in dirt glued by partially dry blood. But it was more than that, more than just a physical sense of dirtiness. When she entered, she dropped the blade from her hand. It clattering to the ground and her clothes soon joined it.
She stepped into the shower, twisting the handles without care for the settings.
As the hot beads of water cascade against her back, she began to try and wash the dried blood from her hands. At first, she just rubbed her hands together, to try and remove the dirt and blood, but it would not go quietly. Rubbing turned to scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing away at her hands, even when all the blood was gone, she continued. Scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing, she could still feel the blood of the youngling staining her hands, even when they became raw and bled themselves. Her nails dug into her flesh as she tried to claw the dirtiness from her hands.
Tears intermingled with the shower water. Her hands stung from the pain and heat, the salt reacting with the self-caused injuries, but even then, she did not stop. A flash of anger and she slammed her fists onto the metal floor. Pain spiked, but it was nothing compared to what she felt inside. It was as if part of her very being had withered and died.
Minutes pass, but Louise did not notice. She screamed and cried, yet the walls were too thick for anyone to hear.
The bathroom door hissed open, but Louise did not heed it. Only when the shower was turned off and four arms wrapped around her, pulling her, did she move. Her arms flailed, fighting against whoever was grabbing at her, screaming for them to let her go, but their grips were unrelenting.
Voices called for her to calm down, that she was okay and safe. After a towel was wrapped around her, two hands cupped her face, pulling her to look up at the intruders.
A beautiful face, one of red skin and green eyes, marred by fright. Lyira…? Lyira was speaking, her voice panicked as she asked repeatedly, "Louise, speak to me. What happened? Louise?"
Louise did not respond, averting her eyes from her friend. Unfortunately, her pink eyes found themselves drawn to the innocuous blade which lay on the cold unforgiving floor.
Vette noticed, picking up the dagger and looking over it, "This is a Sith's blade." She noted, "Where did you get…? You made it?"
Louise did not bother asking how she knew about her alchemy lessons and nodded wordlessly. A painful lump formed in her through as Lyira continued to ask what was wrong.
"I had to- I killed-" Louise tried to answer, but the painful lump made it difficult.
"Who did you kill?" Lyira asked.
Louise took a deep breath, and replied, "Soaked in a trough of blood spilt in anger."
"Louise, who did you kill?" Lyira pressed.
"I don't know his name," Louise replied through choked sobs, "He… he was only a youngling. A- a… a slave."
"What?"
"I… I killed a youngling slave!"
He was just a kid. He had family…
"Start from the beginning. Please. Can you do that for me?" Lyira asked, her voice begging, "Come on, we'll dry you up and get you to your room."
"Please… leave me alone."
"Loui-" Lyira's voice died and Vette gasped sharply when Louise looked up at them, her eyes pleading. The Pureblood returned the look, downcast, "Okay, we'll go. If you need anything, please come speak to us."
With a final comforting rub of the shoulder, Lyira stood up from beside Louise and took Vette from the room.
...
Louise sat on her bed, the lights off and the blinds barring any light from entering the room. Her hands were wrapped in kolto soaked bandages that itched uncomfortably. Yet, she did not scratch. Now that she had calmed down, the painful stinging of her raw hands was not worth it.
It had been two hours since Lyira and Vette intruded unexpectedly, and she had been alone for the entire time. Khem had, thankfully, been absent from the house, something she had noticed he had been doing lately. Though, he would always return in the afternoon, as it was now.
Muffled, but still audible, the front door hissed open, permitting Khem's entrance. Through the Force, she could sense the Dashade, he had not moved from the entryway and she felt… curiosity from the being. Suddenly, he moved, and if she strained her hearing, she could make out the sounds of his feet against the metal floor.
A knock sounded on door, and Louise turned wordlessly towards the metal sheet. With a careless wave of the hand, she activated the door panel with the Force, revealing Khem Val, dressed up and armed.
"Hello, Khem, is there something you wanted?" Louise asked, her voice quiet.
"
Something has changed," He noted, his gaze piercing as it scrutinised the bandages on her hands and the puffiness of her eyes.
Louise knew what he was referring to. Aside from her appearance, everything around her seemed so subdued and muted since… before. Regardless, the Pinkette ignored that and decided to ask, "Where have you been?"
"
I was hunting." At once, Louise understood. He must have been restless with the lack of things to do. Unlike her, he did not have prior commitments; waking in the unknown future and bound to a little girl, he had no friends, no goals, no nothing. Only her.
Khem turned to leave, assuming their short exchange was over, but curiosity got the better of her, "Khem," she called, stopping the behemoth from leaving. She hesitated, trying to figure out how to word her question. After a pregnant pause, she did ask, "did Tulak Hord ever regret anything?"
Khem Val turned to regard Louise for a moment, "
Tulak Hord never regretted anything, Pink Sith. He did not believe in the self-destructive nature of regret."
"Could you tell me about him?" For a moment, Louise felt- feared, that he would just leave her there, but with a sigh, the giant moved into her room proper and sat on her bed. A contemplative silence overtook the room and lasted for what seemed like forever, but soon he began to regale her with tales from his past. Despite his warning, he was an adequate storyteller and almost always got enthusiastic when it came to the battles; always going on about how he and his former master were literal nightmares on the battlefields. He told her first of the conquering of the Dromund system, as it was fitting for where they were.
After that, Khem moved on to his personal favourite, Yn and Chabosh, where he and Tulak Hord had consumed the lives of thousands of heretical Sith who had renounced the Dark in favour of the Light. How Tulak Hord single handily broke through the siege during these battles and earned his many titles. He mentioned how a lesser Lord, who's name escapes him, had asked to serve the Sith Lord but had been rejected only to earn his place later by challenging Hord's greatest general.
All in all, Louise felt comforted by these tales. Having read up on the history of the old Empire, she felt that hearing them from someone who had been there was much better, even if some facts were lost to time or exaggerated for grandeur.
Once he had told all he wanted, Louise moved the subject closer to the Sith Lord. She wanted to learn more about the ancient Sith from a firsthand account, to build up the legendary figure. And so, Khem continued, though more reluctantly, about his previous master.
In her mind, the figure built up by the Sith archives had been destroyed. Hord was not just a powerful and dangerous Sith who stroke fear into the hearts of his enemies and rivals, but an honourable man who believed truly in the Sith Order. It seemed Tulak Hord had no faults, at least according to Khem.
"Tulak Hord sounds like a great and powerful man," Louise noted.
"
Tulak Hord was a great Sith, honourable, strong and always strived for betterment. He never regretted any of his actions. He might have thought poorly on how he acted, but he never regretted. To do so is to reject what one has become. He was wise and powerful… and I…" Khem trailed off with a sigh.
...
She stood in a field, a soft breeze glided over the knee-high grass. Several varieties of wildflowers scattered the land, each differing in colour to the one beside it. Louise paused as she looked down, a beautiful blue flower stood out among the rest of the wild flora. She bent down to look at it. With a single tug, she plucked the flower to better appraise the exquisite bloom.
But before she could properly experience the flora, something strong forcefully grabbed her wrist and pulled downwards causing the pinkette to yelp in fright.
Hands, hands everywhere bursting from the ground, grasping, grabbing, pulling and ripping. She tried to fight it, but they were too strong, too numerous. She tried to call upon the Force, but it was deaf to her plea. She was defenceless, everything she tried failed. Louise could feel herself being pulled deeper and deeper into the field, into the dirt. Her vision became clouded and a horrifying sensation of suffocation overtook her.
The last thing she remembered was trying to scream, only for her mouth to be filled with the taste of dirt and the scent of carrion.
Louise awoke in a cold sweat, breathing as if she had been in a marathon. The room was nearly pitch black, with only a slight glow emanating from the window. It was night, everyone was asleep, even Khem who she could sense in the room over.
Slowly, she removed her bedsheets and sat up on his bed. Wiping the sweat away with unwrapped and healed hands, she stood up and left her bedroom into the living room, only pausing to check the time. Four hours till morning.
The living room was brighter than her bedroom, but not by much. It was cold and quiet; the only sounds were the hum of electricity in the walls. Louise began to wander the room but found herself drawn to the window looking out to the city below. The night was cold. Still. Below, street lights illuminated the buildings, shining light onto Kaas City.
Off in the distance, she could make out the Spires of Victory, an example of fine Sith architecture; built in celebration of the successful battle known as the Sacking of Coruscant and the Empire's glorious return to known space. Several cascading prisms hung suspended in the air, symbolising the Sith's ascent and their enemies defeat with the centrepiece representing the Emperor. It was quite the hot spot for the few tourists that visited the Sith capital.
Louise could not help but feel melancholy wash over her as she looked towards it. Built by the Sith, a culture she had adopted almost entirely. It felt… right to be Sith, it felt like this was who she was meant to be. Regardless of it only being a year, she could scarcely remember how she was before.
A small sheltered girl who had never known hardships beyond her peers' cruel comments. One who hungered for the approval of others and thought little of herself. She had been so weak then, so ignorant. But as she had heard, ignorance is bliss.
Now, she could no longer call herself any of those things. She was powerful, yes, stronger than those at the Tristan Academy. She was the Left Hand of God, a Void Mage and the apprentice to a powerful Sith Lord. And she proud to be a member of the Sith Order, the Order who had given her a home and purpose.
But all of that, it felt like empty platitudes to her. If she were so strong and powerful, then she could have saved the youngling from such a fate. Whenever her eyes closed, she could still see the slave boy's bright eyes staring at her in the void.
She clenched her fist.
How could I… How could they…
Louise knew the Sith were not exactly the nicest people to be with, she knew how monstrous they could be. The illusion of her mother had been right, two years ago she would have balked at what she was doing now. The younger Louise would have renounced her. Yet…
He did not believe in the self-destructive nature of regret.
To do so is to reject yourself.
She could not regret what she had done. Everything, from the people she had killed, to Ffon's torture, had led to her now. Had she done anything different, she… she could not imagine what would have happened. But still… she wished it had ended differently… instead, she had done nothing.
Apathy is Death. The illusion of her mother had said. So cruel and malicious. It had
wanted her to kill the boy, it hungered for it. It wanted her to forge the blade, keeping her mind occupied as her body worked on auto-pilot. A violation of her very being.
She shivered.
Even now, she could feel the dagger's dark presence burning a hole in her desk. Louise sighed to herself and removed herself from the window and back to her room. Once she activated the light switch, she walked to her desk and picked up the innocent looking dagger that sat on the desk.
It was a beautiful if atypical, piece. A pointed triangular pommel that led to a simple metal handle that was an inch bigger than her hand. The blade, on the other hand, was where it got a bit odd in design; It was not a single mass but made up of three parts. If Louise had to put it to words, it looked as if someone attached two single bladed daggers back to back then stuck an ice pick between. Of course, it looked much better than the description would conjure, more tactical and slim, just as long as her arm and no wider than two and a half fingers. The handle and central prong were a dark onyx while the blades were hued ivory.
How could such a pleasant thing be created by such a violent birth, she would never know. Even still, she had no idea what to do with such a weapon. The Force wanted her to keep it, so she had taken it home… but now what? Let it gather dust in her drawers? Hang it up for all to see?
Louise wanted none of that. She wanted to throw it away, to destroy it beyond all measure… but she could not.
If I did… his death would have been for nothing.
Her hands tightened around the weapon, the blade biting into her skin and drawing blood. But Louise ignored it. She ignored the pain. She ignored the blood.
Khem was right. The Sith do not regret, to do so would to admit weakness. So she focused on the root of the problem: The Empire.
The Empire was broken, it needed to be fixed. She knew she might never make any progress – She really believed all she could accomplish was a meagre lordship – but part of her knew that, if she could change something about the Empire, then she would. She would try to fix the Empire.
And... She thought, looking down at the ivory dagger, her blade of woe.
He will be with me the entire journey.
--------
Skotia had returned.
No, he had returned three days prior. Lord Zash had just chosen to refrain from informing Louise until it was 'time to strike'. The cybernetic Sith Lord was on his way towards his chambers from some business in the Kaas Academy. Apparently, he was in the works for a new apprentice.
With an exaggerated sigh, Louise discarded her lunch and the datapad and walked grumpily up to Khem's door. Despite her annoyed appearance, she felt quite nervous. For some reason, her mind supplied the memory of the first time she was called up to cast a spell in the Tristain Academy. Louise found a morbid sense of amusement from feeling same sense of dread mixed with determination and anxiety she felt back then was the same for her upcoming assassination – her
first assassination.
Probably of many. She thought morosely.
Three knocks later and the behemoth stood before her. "
What is it, Pink Sith?"
"Get ready, we're going to pay Skotia a visit."
Khem's lipless mouth twisted into what she knew was a grin. Disconcerting to anyone who had not lived with the Dashade for as long as she had. The giant turned and began to get ready.
Louise followed his lead and left to her own room where she switched from her casual clothing to her Sith garb and began to arm herself; blaster, lightsaber, dagger – in a custom-made sheath – the Trandoshan relic and finally, the Neutralizer. But she did not stop there. A package sat upon her desk, small and innocent. Its purpose was anything but. Inside was a Stealth Field Generator, a gift from Zash she had received on the day Skotia returned. It was attached to a belt and, when activated, would bend light around the wearer allowing them to become invisible to the naked eye.
Opening the package, she pulled out the gaudy and heavy item and wrapped it around her waist, just above her utility belt.
When she returned to the living room, she saw Khem, dressed and armed to go. He too was outfitted with a Stealth Generator, though obviously much larger.
Louise then checked her datapad, re-reading the message that Lord Zash had sent her. While detailed, it boiled down to her going to the Citadel, and from her master's office, to use the Stealth Field Generators to sneak into Darth Skotia's office undetected and wait for the Sith Lord to arrive. The rest of the message was peace of mind saying simply that she had been planning and enacting this plan since her lordship, ending with a request to permanently delete the message.
After complying with her master, and another check to see if she was properly ready for her mission and had not missed anything, Louise called for Khem to follow.
The two left the building in silence and reluctance. Louise really did not want to go through with this, not only that, but Louise did not want to leave without a final word to Lyira and Vette. But she knew that if she said anything, the two would be curious and worried. In the days after forging the Sith Sword, the two would not stop bugging her about the incident, no matter how many times she explained that she was fine.
They took a skycar from the nearby transit station to the Citadel and disembarked when they arrived. Trying to act as normal as possible, they journeyed to Lord Zash's office. It was empty, which was not unexpected, yet unnerving as the blonde had always occupied the room when Louise visited. The Pinkette, not really knowing what to do next, was about to leave, but then something caught her eye. Sitting on the many shelves on the wall was a familiar object, one she remembered from her time at the Academy. It was Tulak Hord's holocron, the one she had won from Marka Ragnos' tomb.
The sight of the holocron was strange, awakening feelings she had not felt previously. She had bled for its acquisition, and yet she had never had a chance to use it or even see it used.
No. she had a job to do.
But… one little look would not hurt.
Despite the objections part of her made, she nevertheless walked up to the innocent little holocron. Behind her, Khem grumbled, "
That is one of Tulak Hord's."
Louise hummed. "I was the one who recovered it from Lord Ragnos' tomb," she said, summoning the holocron from its resting place. The artefact was cold to the touch and seemed to vibrate in her grasp, though it appeared inert.
With her eyes closed, Louise reached out with the Force and focused the Dark Side onto the object before her. The vibrations seemed to hasten in vigour then a voice spoke, baritone with a synthetic tinge, "You were the one to wrest me from my resting place."
Her eyes fluttered open and there before her was a small ethereal figure, so similar to Paracelsus' holocron, but different all the same. Instead of the sagely man, there was a nightmarish figure; clad in frightening armour and robes, the visage of Tulak Hord, no matter how diminutive, stood strong and proud.
Louise resisted a shiver of awe and said, "Yes, Lord Hord, I recovered you from Lord Ragnos' tomb."
"Yet you allowed me to be given to someone unworthy?" Hord replied. Louise frowned and went to defend herself from the accusation, but the gatekeeper cut her off with a raised hand, "You needn't defend yourself. I knew that I was not your true goal, but to complete your trial. But that does not excuse you giving my knowledge to someone so unworthy. You are the rightful owner of this holocron, you alone will access the knowledge hidden in the crystal lattices, yet you will not while your master still breaths."
Louise's expression darkened, "I won't kill my master just for the secrets hidden in this holocron."
"You won't have a choice, child. The time will come where you will face against her, know that." With those final words, the gatekeeper vanished as the holocron died.
Louise glared at the ancient piece of technology. That was the last thing she wanted to here today, aside from being told that she would have to face off against an entire army to get to Skotia. It was also the last conversation she wanted to have inside
Zash's office. The Pinkette could not help but growl.
What does everyone have against my master!?
Sighing, she placed the damned holocron back where it belonged, making sure it looked as if nobody had touched it. With that done, she turned around, only to find Khem giving the holocron a queer look, longing mixed with resignation. She opened her mouth to ask, but the words were caught in her throat. Taking a breath, she tried again, "Are you okay? Did you want to talk to him?"
"
No, Pink Sith, it could not answer the questions I have."
She understood. It was a holocron, not the real Tulak Hord. With those thoughts, she activated her stealth field generator, her companion copying her actions, and the two left to Skotia's chambers.
Along the way, they found few Sith Lords patrolling the grounds. Out of the ones they did see were too busy to notice the two shimmering shapes stalking the grounds. Fortunately, the two did not spend much time under the possible scrutiny of the Sith and found Skotia's chambers quickly.
Louise, who had never once stepped inside a Sith Lord's chambers, found herself awed and envious of the amount of room Skotia had to himself. From what she could see, he had four rooms; the main office, a large hall branching from said office, a meeting and planning room, and finally the archives. All of it looked grand with all the Sith paraphernalia and artefacts.
Louise, deciding to keep things easy, set up shop behind one of six support pillars in the main office. Khem followed suite, though chose the pillar on the opposite side.
Everything was set and ready. All she had to do now, was wait. But oddly enough, the wait was more nerve racking than the plotting and planning. And where was her master in all this? Sipping a drink while pretending to enjoy a party. The perfect alibi.
Why no, my lord, I didn't kill anyone. Louise thought, mockingly, her musings sounding strangely like her master.
I mean I was at a party, of course I felt like murdering someone during it, but I didn't!
Louise shook her head, ridding herself of those thoughts, no matter how amusing they were. With another check to see if she was still invisible, she began focused on meditating to pass the time.
Luckily – or rather, unfortunately – she did not need to wait long before the presence of three Force-Sensitives intruded upon her meditation.
The three walked into the middle of the office, and behind them, the chamber doors closed with a hiss before a click. The door was shut and locked. The only way out was to use the terminal on the inside of the room, just as Zash had informed.
"Come out," the rattly mechanical voice of her target called, sounding none too pleased, "Darth Skotia can sense your presence."
Taking a deep breath, Louise stood up and disengaged her stealth field, walking into view of her target. To her left, Khem did the same. However, her eyes were not on him, but on the three in front of her.
Skotia stood with two others by his side. On his right, was another Sith, an apprentice if only for the clothing and lightsaber by her side. She held an arrogance about her, but it soon twisted to anxiousness when she looked upon Khem Val's intimidating figure. If Louise was to guess, the girl had only recently been apprenticed. On her left, however, stood someone she did not expect to see.
Alive but not at all well from the looks of him. Ortosin looked like some kind of monster with all the bits of cybernetics that jutted painfully from around his body. In fact, the only reason Louise could recognise him was because only half his face was infested with machines. Just from looking at him, she knew that it was not a painless transition. The only reason she could fathom for why he looked as he did was punishment.
The word rang true in the Force. It was punishment, punishment for failing to kill the slave turned apprentice. If she had of known this was the result of her and her master's mercy, she would have killed him back on Korriban.
"Darth Skotia recognises you. You're the pet slave of Zash." Skotia growled, "What makes this slave so bold as to enter Darth Skotia's chamber? Tell Darth Skotia, are you insane or do you have a death wish?"
Louise deigned to not answer and drew her lightsaber, slipping into Form VI, Niman, "Khem, deal with the apprentices."
"With pleasure," the giant replied, unsheathing his sword from his back and flourishing it.
"You dare to insult Darth Skotia?" the Darth demanded, igniting his own saber along with his apprentice, "Darth Skotia will take pleasure in ripping you limb from limb." With an incline of his head, Ortosin broke off from his master's side, squaring off against Khem. The unnamed apprentice followed suit, looking quite anxious as the Dashade's stared the two down.
Briefly, her eyes flicked to the two apprentices, watching them warily, but that was all the Sith Lord needed as his hulking form charged forwards. Trusting in the Force, Louise kept herself low to the ground, parrying the crimson as it came to decapitate her. Momentarily, she felt shocked by the amount of weight behind the Cyborg's attacks, which were much stronger and faster than she expected from someone with Skotia's build. Louise assumed that it was the works of the cybernetics.
More strikes and jabs came her way which she managed to deflect with the help of the runes, but she found it to be a difficult task. Every time she parried, the machine would quickly recover to block her advances, keeping her far enough away that her small figure would not be advantageous, but close enough his attacks were strong.
To the side, another battle was raging as the two apprentices attacked the Shadow Killer. Khem had recovered well from his time in stasis, but he was nowhere near the level he had been in his prime. The weeks of peace had not been kind to him and he found himself reluctant to ask his pink master to spar. Nevertheless, the duel was a simple feat considering the female apprentice's relative lack of skill when it came to the lightsaber. Ortosin, on the other hand, was the one he watched out for.
The Cyborg had grown since the last time they had met, his punishment giving him the physical power to rival Khem and the hate and pain drawn from his procedure to fuel the Dark Side.
Yet Khem held steadfast.
Louise, of course, was having a much worse time in dealing with Skotia as he was very much superior to her.
A powerful telekinetic blast slammed Louise painfully into Skotia's desk, leaving her precious few seconds to recover to defend. Louise knew she had to use the Neutralizer quickly, but she knew that, if it were to work, she needed to get closer.
When Skotia came for the follow-up strike, to try and end Louise once and for all, the Pinkette shot her hands up at the behemoth. She dug deep to drudge up all the guilt and pain she had felt for the innocent she had killed into a devastating electrical barrage. The Sith Lord grunted in annoyance and pain as he had to quickly pull up a defence using only his lightsaber and the Force.
With much effort, she brought herself back up to her feet, standing before the Sith defiantly. In an instant, she ceased her attack and summoned her lightsaber to hand. Before the Sith Lord could recover, Louise charged, sending a blast of Force energy directly at the Sith.
Her amber lightsaber was raised as she drew close, ready to cleave him in two as he recoiled from her telekinetic attack. But before she could pull through with her plan, something stopped her.
Skotia's hand was wrapped around her arm, squeezing with all his cybernetic might. barely above the sound of the nearby battle, she heard two distinct snapping sounds that caused a trickle of fear to flood through her as her fingers and wrist suddenly felt weak and numb. Some manner of surprise worked its way onto the Cyborg's features, but she ignored it.
With her offhand, she pulled the Neutralizer from her belt and shoved it in the man's face. Before he could act, she activated it. In an instant, a pulse of energy slammed into him. He stumbled back, losing grip on her arm as his cybernetics discharged violently.
Moving quickly, she jumped back, discarding the now useless Neutralizer and switching hands with her lightsaber. Her other arm, assumed broken, was tucked close to her body.
Skotia recovered from his short circuit, rising to full height, twitching occasionally. Casting a hateful glare at Louise with his only good eye, he demanded, "What have you done to Darth Skotia!?"
Louise returned the glare with one of her own. Drawing upon the Force to keep her body in a working condition, she charged again, striking out at the Sith. The change was obvious; both were disabled in some way, but Skotia seemed to suffer the most. No longer were his movements quick and his strikes as inhumanly strong, no- Now they were clunky, desperate, but with an underlining hatred that permeated the very air. But these were made up by his skilful switch to the remarkably underused form known as Soresu.
Form III was a minor benefit, but a benefit nonetheless as the lightsaber form gave its user a stronger defence compared to others. Louise did not let this dissuade her, however, her arm might be disabled from using a saber, it could still be used to direct the Force. Aside from that, while strange, her left hand had taken its new dominance with the grace of a dancer who had gone through a recent growth spurt. Her jabs and slices were less precise and felt clumsy to her, but the runes made up for what they could. Nevertheless, she pressed on the attack, aiming for where his defence faltered.
Behind her, Khem Val continued having the time of his life as he duelled both apprentices. No matter where they attacked, his Sith Sword would intercept, blocking and parrying the blows. He knew he could have killed the two by now, but he was too busy using them to release his stress.
Of course, the three duelling Dark Siders were also watching Louise and Skotia duel. They watched as a Sith Lord who had built himself up so high, be brought low by a petite woman who was only half his height
and had an injured arm. Khem found himself begrudgingly respectful of the girl's prowess. Disappointingly enough, one of the apprentices saw this and decided to assist her master.
Of course, Khem could not let this slight stand. To him, even without the proper words being spoken, Louise and Skotia had issued a duel between themselves to see who was the stronger Sith. To interrupt would spit in the face of the old Lords of the Sith.
As the apprentice tried to join Skotia's side, to help defeat the Pinkette, Khem summoned the power of the Force and threw his Sith Sword. It arched around, spinning like a disk as the Force guided it. The apprentice had little time to react before the massive blade cleaved her in twain. The bloody blade was summoned back to his hand, just in time to block what would have been a devastating blow from the cybernetic apprentice.
Khem Val looked upon the abomination with a hateful disgust. Deciding that he had enough fun, he began to dismantle the machine. The abomination was quite a difficult foe to face, much to his displeasure. He, of course, blamed Louise for his softness – only his hunting had kept him in shape. But it was no matter as he hacked and slashed at Ortosin, the Cyborgs meagre implants proving ineffective in fending his savage blows.
Pressed on the defensive, just as his master, the apprentice tried everything in his power to keep the Dashade Shadow Killer back, but was all for nought in the end.
His head rolled to the floor, only to be crushed underfoot by Khem.
The former servant of Tulak Hord turned around just in time to see Skotia's arm go flying from his body. With her injured arm, she summoned a powerful blast of kinetic energy, throwing the Darth across the room.
Skotia recovered sluggishly, looking up at Louise with a hint of fear. Knowing the battle would end in his death, he tried to flee.
Louise would not allow that.
She summoned a stream of lightning and thrust it out towards Skotia's leg and almost as if the lightning had become a chain, Skotia was lifted from the ground by his leg and sent slamming into the walls of the warehouse. When the dust settled, Louise was standing over Cyborg's prone form.
The barely conscious Sith looked up at Louise fearfully, "Wh… how? How did… Zash! You've killed me…" Louise sneered at the apparently delusional Sith, raising her lightsaber to deliver the finishing blow, but hesitated when Skotia raised his hand, crying out, "No! You don't know Zash… plotting… plotting all these years. She'll kill you… just like me!"
Louise, of course, ignored him, swinging her lightsaber down to end Skotia's life.
And suddenly, it was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
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AN:
I never liked how you, without taking any precautions, just waltz into a Sith Lord's chambers and murder him. Zash doesn't mention working on the assassinations or plotting measures to splice into the security or anything like that. So in this, Zash had already worked on all this behind the scenes technical things.
