Imperial Shuttle
Korriban Low Orbit
One Month Later
"Hey, you. Looks like you're finally awake." a soft feminine voice said from across the way, and I gave a rough chuckle as I opened my eyes with a small smile.
"Skyrim, really? Really? Even here and now, after all of this, I can't escape that joke…" I sighed in resigned amusement, smiling at the slender, bruised redhead sitting across from me with a training vibrosword on her back. The shuttle was cool, unsurprisingly, its stark black-grey bulkheads (emblazoned with a crimson Imperial sigil, naturally) seeming to absorb all of the paltry light generated from the ceiling nodes.
"Sky-rim? I've never heard of that world, I'm actually from Jabiim?" Kory, the sith acolyte that was too damn much of a cinnamon roll to survive Korriban, gazed at me in rather cute bafflement. Poor girl had to know what her fate inevitably was, but she had been kind and encouraging in the short time the Sith Inquisitor knew her and never tried to run or hide.
"I'll tell you again sometime." I murmured, looking around the shuttle, taking in my surroundings as my brain continued coming on line, rolling my head on my shoulders and grimacing at the stiffness there. As glad as I was to finally, finally, be starting the 'proper' content of the game and really start being able to make changes (though God only knew what would happen with Marr and Lachris after an extensive conversation while my ancestor dealt with Luwian), I was anxious. Somehow I doubted it would be as easy to survive as it had been in the game, and I would have to avoid making enemies I couldn't afford to make either.
Not to mention the titanic, looming threat of Zakuul. Hell, right about now Vaylin was probably in the middle of being tortured and Force-maimed into insanity on Nathema, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.
Yet.
I groaned again, rubbing my forehead in deep-seated and rapidly-developed mental and emotional exhaustion. I had spent two years planning, and still it felt like nothing had been done at all, nothing had been accomplished.
It still felt like I wasn't ready.
"Don't worry, friend, if anyone on this shuttle will be fine, it will be you." Kory told me reassuringly, thinking it was the stress of our imminent landing getting to me, which was admittedly a factor, if only because it had to happen to lead to the real problems. "Ah, I heard some of the others talking about you while you were asleep. Is it true that Darth Marr himself found you and decided to send you to Korriban?"
"Yeah…" I responded slowly, wondering if talking about it would make it seem like I was a problem student and piss Marr off. Then it occurred to me that I was probably already considered a problem student, and Marr had sent me here anyway. Might as well make my mark on the group and enhance my reputation while I had the opportunity. "Yeah, I led a slave revolt on Dromuund Kaas, guess I impressed him enough that he decided not to kill me right away, after he put it down. So, here I am."
Which wasn't technically true, but Marr had decided (and I happened to agree quite strongly) that telling everyone the bound ghost of my ancient and powerful ancestor had slaughtered my old owner and dozens of his guardsmen as punishment for what had been done to my parents and myself was, perhaps, a foolish idea. And I had performed a few actions that had resulted in quite a few slaves being freed and/or escaping into the wilds of Dromuund Kaas.
"Amazing…" Kory breathed, staring at me with bright amber eyes, while the other acolytes around us shifted and muttered, doubtlessly having overheard the confirmation of at least some of the stories that they had heard. They were probably considering the best way to get rid of me early, no doubt, but I didn't care about that. What I did care about was that the awe that the aforementioned cinnamon roll was looking at me with, and the fact that her cute pink lips were parted enough to look very inviting, which was making my cock harden in my pants.
The sound of a disgusted scoff drew my attention to the seat in Kory's row that was closest to the hatch, and we both looked over to see the hooded and robed form of a crimson-eyed male Sith Pureblood.
"Absurdity, pure absurdity, invented to make yourself seem like something more than a worthless slave. Perhaps Lord Marr will reward me when Lord Zash and I present him your head and tell him your ridiculous story." The man who could only be Ffon Althe sneered, and my eyes widened slightly as I sensed his presence in the Force. The game had made it fairly clear that he wasn't a pushover, Zash had even said that 'In any other group for any other Lord, this young man would have torn the other acolytes to shreds', and he had killed the other acolytes and completed the trials with profound ease. What I was feeling now only reinforced that, only made it clear that this young man was well on his way to being equal to Tudalhiya had been already, despite not yet completing his trials. Still, I steadied myself with a deep breath. Fate was on my side, after all. So long as I could survive the trials, I was essentially guaranteed to be chosen thanks to Zash's prophetic dreams. Speaking of which…
"Ffon Althe…" I let his name slip of my tongue, low and sensuous as I slowly looked him up and down. "Sith Pureblood from a long and storied line, powerful and well-trained from birth by his dynasty to ensure his victory on sacred Korriban."
He stared at me in surprise, and I would have wagered he was stuck between shock that I knew who he was, or arrogant belief that his name was already known even amongst the slaves of Dromuund Kaas. I couldn't help but smirk as the murmurs around us grew, and I continued even as I relished the feeling of power that appearing prophetic gave me.
"Doomed to die on the final day of our trials, the victim of one foolish overseer's obsession with preserving the 'purity' of the Sith hierarchy. You should beg for Lord Zash's mercy the moment we land, Ffon, and denounce Harkun as a fool. It's your only chance for survival, for changing your fate."
"Oh, and how would you know all of that, slave? You might have some talent in the Force, I can sense that. You are certainly above the rest of this lot, even if you are nothing compared to me. Even still, such foresight would surely be beyond your meagre abilities." His arrogance was shaken, any fool could tell that, even without the Force, but it was shaken only.
"Simple, Ffon. I paid attention to what the Imperials said when we were all waiting to get put on this shuttle, unlike you, who spent more time focusing on getting into the female pilot's panties. Good taste, by the way, she was cute." I snickered, and rolled my eyes as he growled and raised one slightly-sparking hand threateningly. "Oh, by the Force, calm down. I was giving you a compliment, you scarlet-skinned psychopath. The point is, Lord Zash specifically demanded that all the acolytes in her selection pool be slaves, for whatever reason. Now, what do you think is going to happen to you when she finds out that you aren't?"
He could clearly imagine exactly what a Sith Lord would do in such a situation, and judging by the way he swallowed he wasn't enjoying the mental picture his mind was putting on display. Good. If I could get him out of the way, potentially incurring a life-debt from him in the meantime, my life would be a lot easier.
None of us mentioned the unreasonableness of Ffon being punished for Harkun's decision to stick him in the pool without warning him about Zash's wishes. He would be a mere acolyte, even if one from a dynasty, that had the ire of a mantled Sith Lord directed against him. That the blade would fall on his neck rather than Harkun's practically went without saying.
With him distracted by such grim thoughts, I turned my focus back to Kory, whose awe was now shared with uncertainty and no small amount of fear. Clearly, she wasn't feeling quite so sure about me any longer. Well, I would need to assuage her fears. I had always wished that there was a way to save her life in the game, and I intended to do it however I could now that she was real.
"You're Kory, right?" I asked, though the question wasn't in truth a question, and my tone made that clear. She nodded mutely, the Fear I could sense on her growing, and I gave her my most reassuring smile. "My name is Vestara Khai, and I'm going to make you mine. I'll keep you alive during the trials, and in return you will stay at my side and serve me. You get to keep breathing and live in peaceful comfort as the well-treated pet of a future Dark Council member, and I get your companionship for the rest of our natural lives. A fair trade, wouldn't you say?"
She blushed darkly, a rather fetching look on her pale complexion, before shaking her head with a half-laugh, half-sigh of discomfort.
"We're on our way to Korriban to be trained as Sith, enduring Force knows what horrors, and you're focused on getting into my panties. Are you sure you and Ffon really all that different, Vestara?" she asked wryly, leaning back in her seat and folding her arms under her breasts, pushing them up even as she seemed to hug herself.
"Of course we are! I'm prettier than he is, for one thing, and unlike he and his Imperial playmate from earlier, I actually intend to keep you around longer than five minutes. Not least of which because I can last at least fifteen." I respond, feigning offence with a wicked grin and a taunting wink thrown in the Pureblood's direction, getting an amusingly undignified squawk of protest from the man whose virility I had just called into such severe question. I pause for a moment, feigning a look of thought, before tapping my chin consideringly. "My cock is probably bigger than his too. Sith women are pretty small, as a general rule, so I bet that the men have tiny cocks to match them. Would certainly go a long way to explaining some of their attitude issues, really. You know what they say about men with small dicks…"
"I'm going to kill you, Khai!" the man in question snarled furiously, glaring at me even as the rest of the compartment chuckled, and I waved him off lazily.
"Oh, calm yourself, it's not a fair comparison anyway. My cock is formed by the glories of expertly-done Sith Alchemy, you can't compare a natural man to my splendid, supernaturally shaped shaft." I 'reassure' him. He snarls again, rising to his feet and stalking over towards the door, clearly intent on waiting for us to land in silent solitude. Sighing, I patted Kory on the cheek (taking care to brush my thumb across her lips with another wink) before standing and moving over to join him. "Ffon."
He ignored me, of course, which was hardly surprising. No man liked having their manhood called into question, certainly not in front of peers (especially peers you considered beneath you), and certainly not by a woman who had just predicted your imminent, disgraceful demise.
"Ffon, come on." I tried again, and he waved a hand at me over his shoulder, Irritation and Offense radiating off of him like a billowing cloud of smoke. Grabbing his shoulder, I pulled him to face me.
"How dare you…!" he snarled, smacking my arm aside with an outraged hiss as his off-hand began to spark again, but I met his eyes and refused to back down despite the threat of attempted electrocution.
"Ffon, that was unkind of me, I admit, and untrue at that. Force knows I saw how that cute little thing was limping after you finished with her, and I've seen enough freshly-fucked women to know when it's legitimate. You fucked her hard and deep. But I had to jest with you, Ffon. I needed to break the tension, get everyone's minds off what's coming." I told him firmly, if quietly, and he glanced over my shoulder to where the other acolytes were now chatting somewhat amiably, the twin brothers gently teasing a flustered Kory over my words to her.
"You wanted to flirt with that redhaired slave so you can fuck her, Khai, be honest about that if nothing else." He responded brusquely with an eye roll that was not in the least elegant or refined, and I shrugged and nodded slightly in agreement, because honestly, he was right in part. Still, at least he was willing to talk, if only for the moment.
"Okay, yes, I want Kory, and I intend to have her. But the other Acolytes needed to loosen up, Ffon." I respond, and he scoffs, looking at me and shaking his head in something akin to bewilderment.
"They're all doomed, Khai, and you know that. I know you know that. I can sense your resignation when you look at them." He responds, eyes narrowing slightly, and I grimace in response, because he was right again. I could probably save Kory, and if Ffon took my advice and things went well he would survive too, but the rest of them…the best they could hope for was to hide in the tombs and eventually make their way off-world after selling themselves to the tomb raiders as enforcers. "Besides, sentimentality has no place whatsoever amongst the Sith. Is your jesting, is their laughter, going to help them survive? Is it going to help them pass their trials and become Sith? Is it going to make them capable of besting either of us?"
I shook my head mutely, and he gave a single sharp nod in satisfaction as the ship settled onto what could only be one of the Academy's landing pads with a jolt. All conversation behind me halted, the tension you had worked to dissipate reborn in an instant, and as the hatch hissed open Ffon gave me one last look.
"You may well have saved my life, should you turn out to be correct, so listen to me now. Advice for advice, Khai: abandon the other acolytes to their fates and look to your own life, your own future. You will not survive amongst the Sith, never mind achieve the lofty heights you boldly proclaim to seek, if you keep hold of this crippling emotionality of yours. Despite your worthless origin, you might actually amount to something. Do not squander it, not on the likes of them." He said softly, almost kindly, before heading down the ramp. I watched him go, the others filing past silently, until Kory stood beside me.
"We all knew what we were getting into when we found out we were getting sent to Korriban, Vestara." she said softly, sounding rather like she was trying to reassure me, and I sighed before slinging an arm around her.
"Maybe so, but I meant what I said. I've taken a liking to you, Kory. You don't have the cruelty to be Sith, or the deceptiveness to disguise compassion as pragmatism, but I won't let you die. I intend to keep you breathing, and in my company, long after we finish here." I told her firmly, though the seriousness of the moment was likely spoiled by my next move, as I slid my hand down towards her ass. Sighing in exasperation, though with a tint of amusement, she rolled her eyes before pushing my hand away and heading down the ramp. I was pleased to notice there was an extra sway to her hips despite her apparent rejection.
"If you want to touch this ass, you have to save it first, Khai!" she called over her shoulder, and I chortled in amused agreement as I followed her down the platform towards where Harkun and the other acolytes were waiting. Ffon, I could see, was already gone. Harkun couldn't even let his pet meet Spindrall with the rest of us. Force, I hoped Ffon took my advice. He was a prick, but I was willing to try and turn him around, and he certainly didn't deserve to die because Harkun thought he could ignore the express wishes of the Lord he was preparing us for.
If nothing else, having Ffon owe me could prove handy later on, for any number of reasons.
"Finally, the last two arrive. You vermin can't even manage to walk in a straight line in a timely manner, and they think you're going to become Sith. Pathetic. I do hope neither of you are under the impression that you will be able to simply skip these trials and elevate yourselves out of the muck, no matter who recommended your entrance." The goateed Overseer was oozing Contempt, and I felt my mouth spread in an amused grin at the obvious jab at myself. He looked over the rest of the group, eyes lingering on Kory's mouse-like demeanor, and his own mouth twisted in disgust as he continued. "Lord Zash has tasked me with sorting through you wretched refuse to find one worthy of being her apprentice, and I intend to do just that. As impossible as the task currently seems."
"Please, Overseer, don't get sentimental with us. We've only just met." I crooned, grin widening as he scowled at me with a look of absolute disdain.
"I assure you that I will not." He responded, entirely unamused, before addressing the group as a whole. "Your first trial is this: in the Valley of the Dark Lords lies the Tomb of Ajunta Pall, not that you worthless scum even know who that is…"
"The first Dark Lord of the Sith, founder of the First Sith Empire. Worshipped as a god by the ancient members of the Sith race." I cut him off without an ounce of regret, feeling no small amount of delight as he gritted his teeth in anger at both the interruption and the lack of ignorance on my part. Honestly, fucking with Harkun was more fun that I could have imagined. He couldn't kill me unless I failed a trial or broke one of the Academy's cardinal rules, which meant I could fuck with him as much as I damn well pleased.
"Correct, now be silent. Within his Tomb is an old hermit named Spindrall. The man is a reclusive lunatic, but his evaluation of acolytes is, inexplicably, highly prized by the other Overseers and most of the Lords of the Empire. Each of you is to fight your way through the Tomb, past the k'lor slugs that infest it, and present yourselves for his evaluation. Those of you who survive will make your way to the Academy proper for the next step in your training. Those of you that do not will have your flayed, devoured corpses serve as an example to the next batch of fools who imagine themselves Sith. Now, go."
I gave a bow that bordered on insolence as the others started off, and I was immensely pleased to see that while Kory had left the platform itself, she was waiting for me just around the corner, hands folded behind her back as she stood at ease, and I patted her cheek as I passed.
"Good girl, waiting patiently for me already. You are a diamond in the rough, sweet Kory." I told her airily as she fell in at my shoulder, and I could feel the eye roll as she responded.
"First trial now, preening about your imminent conquest later. You already said I don't have the cruelty or the cunning to survive the trials alone, and I happen to agree with you. I knew that I was going to die when they pulled me from the slave pens. I was fine with that, I would have been free of slavery if nothing else." She said honestly, if a bit briskly, and I made a note to try and do something about that death-seeking desire of hers. "So, that being the case, you have to keep me alive if you want me keeping your bed warm and your cock wet. So, what's the plan?"
"Well, at first I considered simply hiding you in the tombs until I left, then taking you to safety that way. However, I wouldn't be able to protect you properly like that, and that's not acceptable to me. Then, I considered hiring some of the tomb raiders here on the planet to evacuate you for a later rendezvous. However, being the sort of folks that they are, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they took my credits, then promptly raped you into a drooling mess and dumped you out the airlock, if they even bothered taking you off-planet." I told her, and I could feel her shudder through the Force at the idea. She might be comfortable enough with the idea of being my pet and plaything, but that was probably because I had promised to protect her in return rather than just raping her oblivion and leaving her to the k'lor slugs. The mere possibility that I might keep my word, as questionable a foundation as that might seem on its face, inherently made me more trustworthy than the dangers within the tombs.
"Yes, well, since we agree that hiding in the acolyte and monster-filled tombs isn't viable, and trusting a bunch of people insane enough to try and rob the tombs of ancient Sith Lords under the very noses of the Sith Academy is an even worse idea, what's the plan?" she nearly bit out the words, and I gave her an apologetic look in response.
"I happen to know that there are several other tasks in the immediate vicinity of the Tomb of Ajunta Pall that we can complete. We do those, make sure the people we help send glowing messages in support of our worthiness to the Overseers, then we talk to Spindrall. I impress upon him that you are very valuable to me, and see what happens next." I explained calmly, and she frowned in thought as she looked at me, her crimson-clad head tilting slightly at the edge of my vision.
"Are you…can you…that is, do you see the future, Vestara? I mean, with what you said to Ffon, and now this…" she asked tentatively after a moment, and I hummed thoughtfully before responding.
"The future is always in motion. Honestly even saying 'the future', like it's some sort of solid existence, isn't remotely correct. Every decision, every conscious or subconscious choice that every person makes at every moment, changes the future. The very act of looking at the future changes it, simply because you looked at it. Possessing the knowledge your vision gives to you inevitably changes what you saw. So, really, it is more accurate to say that I have seen countless possible futures, such as Ffon's fate and your own." I resisted the urge to quote Yoda directly with some difficulty, given how legendary that quote was to any Star Wars fan, casual or dedicated alike.
"So, what happened to us all, then?"
"Spindrall fails you, Harkun murders you in front of our entire group as an example. Niloc disappeared on the second trial, either dead or trying to run for it. Gerr was killed by Ffon at Harkun's direction after that. I killed the twins when Harkun promised to let them go home if they killed me in a 'training accident'. Ffon was executed by Zash after an unfortunate series of events that really weren't his fault, if I am to be honest." I told her as gently as I could, given the news I was sharing, and she gave a soft 'oh' of understanding before falling silent. I stopped, turning and gripping her shoulder with my left hand while my right gripped her chin and tilted her face up towards mine. "Eyes on me, Kory."
Her eyes, afraid and confused, slowly rose to meet my own, and I gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'm going to save you, Kory. I keep my promises. I just need you to follow my lead and trust me, okay?" I said, and waited for her to nod her acceptance (if not heartfelt belief in my words) before I pressed a kiss to her forehead and turned away once more.
The route from the landing pad to the exterior of Ajunta Pall's tomb was longer in real life than it was in game, which wasn't all that surprising in hindsight. They wouldn't risk a shuttle suffering mechanical failure or something of the sort and smashing one of the most important tombs on Korriban to bits. In fact, it took nearly fifteen minutes to make our way through the facility, and when we finally emerged into open air the desert heat felt like a physical blow. Standing at the edge of the metal platform leading down to the ground, gazing down at the sand below us and the stone gateway across the way, there was one thing and one thing only on my mind.
"How are you with Force techniques, Kory? Lightning, Pushing, anything like that?"
The question was an important one, because there were more than a few k'lor slugs roaming in that clear expanse of tan, and plenty of them were directly between the bottom of the ramp to our left at the gateway. Avoiding them all would be impossible, and fighting those we had to would undoubtably attract others.
"I can Push easily enough. That's the only thing the evaluator really taught me before putting me on the shuttle to Korriban Station." She responded immediately, mouth twisting slightly. "I'm decent enough with a melee weapon as well, but I don't know how well this training blade will do against these things. That chitin looks tough."
"It is. Good enough to stand up to glancing blaster fire from standard Imperial infantry carbines, though sustained and targeted fire will take them down quickly enough. Still, my talents lie just as strongly towards sorcery as they do sword play. I will make use of lightning to destroy whatever is in front of us. Your responsibility is to ensure nothing takes me unawares. Understood?" I instructed, rolling my shoulders slightly in preparation and she bowed slightly with a murmur of agreement. Instinctive, I thought, to hearing a voice of command and confidence. How delightful for me.
My confidence was not misplaced, of course, given my activity over the last two years, and it made sense that she would have more faith in me than even the instinct to follow a leader could provide, given what she knew about my past. After all, leading a slave revolt was doubtlessly sufficient for preparing me to fight pests. Even if those pests were swarming, ravenous, chitin-armored, burrowing ambush predators who were incapable of feeling fear or even comprehending the concept of retreating.
We drew our practice blades, heading down the ramp towards our enemies, and I took a deep breath as the first slug spotted us. It rushed forwards, mad chittering sounds flowing from its drooling maw, it's multitude of pointed legs driving it forward with incredible speed. I took a deep breath, lifted my off hand, and reached for the memories. The memories of triumph, of knowing that my fate was in my own hands, of power, of vengeance…and of freedom.
Of casting down my oppressor and leaving his charred corpse smoldering in his own Great Hall, twisted and malformed from the agonies I had inflicted upon him as I broke my chains.
The Force Shall Free Me .
My blood fizzed and bubbled, a warm tingling spreading through my body, radiating down my arms, and with a crackle and the smell of ozone, violet-edged white lightning connected my body and that of the k'lor slug. The beast shrieked and writhed, the noise attracting others, and an idea occurred.
"Kory, throw it towards the group on the left!" I shouted as the lightning was redirected towards the slugs on our right, hoping that k'lor slugs functioned like every other predatory snake-worm in science fiction. I heard her call back in acknowledgement, the scorched and twitching creature lifting shakily off the ground and flying off to the other side. A brief glance proved my theory right, as they set about tearing their dying nestmate apart, even turning on each other to secure a larger portion for themselves.
Kory moved towards the entrance, practice blade swinging as she beat another to death, the barely-there blade delivering crippling electrical shocks to her target with every strike. As the final slugs on my side collapsed to the ground as corpses, she pulled her opponent into the air with a telekinetic grip and shoved the tip of her sword through the roof of its mouth. It writhed and shrieked and died, and she yanked her sword free before darting inside with me on her heels. We made our way partially down the stairs, out of sight of any surviving or burrowing slugs, and Kory grunted as she fell back against the cool stone wall, running her off hand through her hair. After a moment, she gave a low chuckle, and looked up at me.
"Well, starting things off with a bang, aren't we?" she commented wryly, and I laughed softly in response, nodding in agreement.
"Yes, but we did it, and once we get better weapons then these oversized cattle prods, we'll do a lot better."
That got a laugh out of her, a genuine one rather than one born of stress, and I offered her my hand. She took it after a moment, letting me pull her upright again. She gave it a soft squeeze before letting go and starting down the stairs.
"So, this is what has become of Korriban since my death, what the overseers have become. Harkun's bias is painfully obvious, and it will likely get him killed one day if he is not wise. Do not forget, child, that those who allow their prejudices and biases to rule them do not last long." My ancestor murmured in the back of my mind with what I could only call a sniff of disdain, tone contemptuous. "You must complete this trial on your own. It should pose no struggle for you, if you are wise, and I will not weaken you by easing what little burden it is. And I would move again, before you lose your little project."
His presence faded away again, the pressure of his attention fading to what I instinctively knew was passive observation, and I gave a soft huff and a head-shake as I followed Kory down the stairs.
They were, like the route from the landing pad, longer than they had been in the game, and little of the surface's warmth was present when we finally reached the barricade from behind which Cormun and his remaining troopers were desperately holding back the tide of k'lor slugs. The class trainers from the game were nowhere to be seen, which made sense. If a pair of overseers were there, they would have done the job of destroying the nest long before you arrived, so their presence must have been nothing more than a gameplay feature.
"Excuse me, Acolytes. Sergeant Cormun, Fifth Infantry Company, Korriban Regiment. May I have a moment of your time?" he addressed us almost instantly, desperation almost palpable, and I gestured to Kory while making a show of looking around.
"Not much of a company, Sergeant. Why is there a squad of Imperial infantry in the tombs during the trials? Surely, you've not been bribed by some fool to interfere in the trials? That would be…" I paused a little dramatically, inhaling and shaking my head slowly. "A poor bargain to make."
"Not at all Acolyte, our presence here is entirely above-board, I assure you!" he nearly yelped, even as his men burnt down another pair of k'lor slugs behind him, pausing to swap out their blasters for spares as their barrels grew dangerously hot from continuous use. "While the Overseers want you acolytes to be challenged in the tombs, the k'lor slugs here are breeding fast enough that they are actually attacking the academy itself for food. My company was sent in to destroy their nests, but our casualties have been enormous. We've destroyed three of the four nesting chambers, but the damn things breed so fast they overran what was left of us before we could destroy the last one. These men you see behind me are all that's left."
"Force, this is it?" Kory breathed, sounding shocked and frightened as she looked over the half-dozen functional soldiers and four wounded ones. I could hardly blame her, she had doubtless spent her entire life thinking that the Imperial Army was invincible, so hearing that an entire company of them had suffered ninety-two percent losses to fail at eradicating a nesting pest in a single building was probably quite the shift to her world-view, not to mention intimidating given our proximity to the creatures that had done it.
"Heavy casualties indeed. I assume you're seeking our assistance in completing your mission?" I asked thoughtfully, and the man nodded rapidly with a distinctly pleading expression, and I folded my arms, drumming the fingers of my right hand on my left elbow as I made a show of considering the situation. "Very well, Sergeant, we will assist you in completing the mission, on two conditions: first, you will provide us with better weapons than these worthless things, and second, you will inform the Overseers of our invaluable assistance. If we are to take time away from our trial to help our Imperial brothers in arms, then I will not have us being rebuked for it."
"Acolyte, if you help me accomplish my mission and save what's left of my unit, I'll follow you into your Overseer's office and inform them personally!" he responded, voice overflowing with relief, and I smirked in satisfaction as he had one of the injured soldiers hand him a pair of military-grade vibroswords, which he quickly passed on to Kory and myself.
"Excellent. We will assist you in escorting your injured to the shuttle platforms, then we will move to the final nesting chamber together. Get them on their feet." I purred, hefting my new weapon in my hand for a moment before looking towards where I knew the egg chamber was. "I will take point and target the larger ones with lightning. The rest of you will focus down the smaller ones. Kory will slow them down or hold them in place with The Force, your infantry will gun them down. Wounded, remain in the mouth of the tomb until we clear you a path."
"Yes, Acolyte!" the soldiers chorused, saluting and beginning their preparations. Stimulants and painkillers, hoarded until now due to the inevitable crash that would follow the expiration of their effects, were used liberally amongst the wounded to get them moving, and a loose column was formed as we started up the stairs. A careful glance outside showed that the feeding frenzy Kory and I had started on our way in had dissipated. Unfortunate, I had been hoping to make use of it to at least cross part of the distance, but I wasn't surprised. K'lor slugs weren't exactly known for being the tidiest, or the slowest, of eaters. Fine then, further pest removal it was, then.
I activated my new weapon and advanced back into the sunlight. The rest followed, the column unfolding into a wedge with Kory and wounded at its heart, and the air filled with the hisses and screeches of our would-be predators as the giant creatures spotted us and began their attack, scuttling across the sand with what could only be described as eagerness.
"Sergeant Cormun, see to your unit!" I ordered, spotting my first target and reorienting on it as the noncom started barking orders, volleys of blaster fire beginning to lash the onrushing beasts even as I rolled my shoulders and raised my hands. Lightning flowed and flew and flayed, the stench of cooked flesh filling the air, and we advanced. A quick glance over my shoulder showed that the small lift to the side of the tomb's entrance didn't exist, to no surprise of my own, and was perfectly timed to see Kory Push three smaller slugs to the ground, impaling one while the soldiers on either side of her burned the other two down where they lay. I glanced to the other side, one hand swiping through the air as I lashed out, hurling another pair into ancient stone hard enough to shatter their chitin, just before their jaws could sink into the soldier that they had overwhelmed. The situation under control, I spoke again. "Wounded, go! Cormun, the minute they are up the ramp into the shuttleport, we withdraw back into the tomb!"
The wounded hastened to obey, boots pounding on metal as they raced for the safety of the blast-doors and automated turrets. Some of them would be feeling the intensified pain, possibly even worsened injuries, of pushing their bodies like that, but I am sure that they would consider it more than worth it, given the alternative was being messily devoured alive. The moment that the doors hissed shut behind them, we began pulling back, a fighting retreat back through the entrance of the tomb and down into its depths.
Back within the shelter of the Tomb (interestingly, none of the k'lor slugs outside would pursue us within. Whether it was because the inside was owned by a different nest, because the dark power that clung to the tomb warded them off, or some other reason, I could only imagine), I took stock of my subordinates. I hadn't lost anyone, though Kory was leaning on a soldier (drained by her use of the Force, I would wager) and two of the troopers did have minor lacerations and some damaged armorplast plates.
"How are your people doing on ammunition, Sergeant?" I asked after we all took a handful of minutes to gather ourselves and our nerves, and he took a quick survey before looking back at me.
"Just over a full combat load, acolyte. The wounded gave us their ammunition before we moved out, so we're in good shape. The issue isn't power packs, however. It's overheating. Our rifles weren't designed for constant fully-automatic fire, but precision volleys. Full-auto is for the commandos and their heavy cannon. Our weapons are starting to warp from overuse." He explained seriously, professional concern tinging his voice, and I grimaced slightly in displeasure, contemplating the matter.
These are the kind of things that never occurred in the game, and only occasionally in the books. It would put the entire group in danger if their blasters failed, ranging from potentially being overwhelmed to the over-worked weapons exploding in their wielders' hands. Neither of those options, or any of the others in between them were particularly appealing, but neither was contending with the k'lor slugs unsupported. I was more than capable of doing it, of course, but was it as beneficial to my goals as fighting alongside Cormun once more and making a greater impression on him?
In the end, I wasn't callous enough to sacrifice the lives of the sergeant and his troops simply to enhance my own reputation further. He would already speak to the Overseers on mine and (more importantly) Kory's behalf. I didn't need anything more than that.
"Very well, then, Sergeant. Your responsibility with the raid will be the reverse of the evacuation, then. Kory and I will draw the slugs away while you set the timers to detonate the eggs, with your soldiers providing you with cover." I instructed, before my mouth twisted wryly as one of my gripes with the game's 'logic' came to mind. "I'm afraid that since Acolyte Kory and I were once slaves, up until not a week or two ago, the knowledge of how to set and detonate military-grade explosives were not part of our…education."
The way the soldiers glanced at one another and at us, alongside the look of blank shock on Cormun's face, would have made their surprise and discomfort over that piece of information plain even if I had lacked the ability to sense their emotions through The Force. I stood proud in the face of their disbelief, not even particularly angry about it. For them, the idea that the Sith would not only free slaves of their own accord, but elevate those slaves to the point where they would be permitted to train on the sacred home world of the Sith, to walk the halls of its ancient and holy academy, was nothing short of unfathomable.
To the more intelligent amongst them, the realization that the Empire was in more dire straits than their lords and masters were willing to admit hit hard. After all, there was no way that slaves like the two Acolytes before them had once been would have become Acolytes at all if possessing more Sith on the battlefield wasn't more important than maintaining the purity of the Sith orthodoxy, and such a decision would never have been made if the Dark Lords of The Council didn't believe it was necessary for the Empire to survive.
"Well, I don't care where or how you were born, acolyte, you saved the lives of my troops and I, and that's all that matters to me right now. We're with you all the way, ma'am. Get us to the charges, and we will get it done." Cormun said finally, and to my surprise he was being entirely genuine. It was…gratifying, to feel the truth that stood behind those words, and I dipped my head in gratitude as Kory smiled beside me.
"Very well then, Sergeant. Let's get moving."