Scourge? A shiver ran down my spine... This was... The Wrath of the Emperor, one of the mightiest warriors from the time of Revan, Vitiate, the Hero of Tython, Meetra Surik, and so on. The Sith Emperor, Vitiate, had granted him immortality. But horrified by Tenebrae's dream — or Vitiate's, or Valkorion's — whichever name you prefer...
"That saber belonged to Valkorion?" I asked, sweeping my gaze across the surroundings. Celeste froze, afraid to move. HK stood beside the girl. "How was it not found earlier? It's Valkorion's entire lightsaber? Or did he wield it when he still called himself Tenebrae, or maybe Vitiate?"
"The reason it surfaced now concerns me little," Scourge noted. "One thing is clear. It must be destroyed, along with all artifacts connected in any way to that monster's Empire. I spent millennia bringing about his downfall. And now I want to eliminate even the slightest chance that anything could happen using his artifacts. Do you understand me, Jedi?"
"Well, I know who you are now. We're not enemies, Lord Scourge... At least not right now, but later..."
"There will be no later. I'm tired of all this. I don't care about the squabbles between some Dark siders and your Order. Nothing is as I remember it anymore, boy. So — I'll help you reach your target, and you'll hand over the artifact to me. I swear I'll get rid of it right in front of you. I've certainly learned how to do that over this much time," Scourge said.
"And you expect us to believe you?" Morne asked.
"Right now, at the spaceport exit, a little Jedi boy is fighting. He's clearly losing to the escort of that lady's companion," Scourge nodded toward the Force user who was getting up. "You'd do better to go help him — you'd be more useful there."
"Celeste," I said, looking at the girl. "Go help Jaro. We'll handle things here ourselves."
"Exactly. Perhaps," he pointed his lightsaber toward the Dark sider. "You might even learn something here."
"Live and learn," I smirked. "And if no one kills me — I could live for four centuries."
"In that case — you'll learn four times better?" Scourge asked calmly.
"Speaking of learning. Who is she? She's clearly not with you."
"A brilliant observation..."
"Ugh," the girl said, activating her light-whip. "Damn Hutt," she spat. "The Master didn't warn me about you. Who the hell are you anyway?"
"You hit her pretty hard — she heard our whole conversation," Scourge praised me. "But we don't have time for you."
He attacked the girl, while I decided not to get in his way for now and just observe. Scourge uses Juyo? Looks like it. At least I've never seen a style like it. Every lightsaber fencer, during their development, evolves one of the forms, personalizes it. That's why we say someone is an adept of some form. The basic elements of the form are used by the fencer to build their... combat pattern. And what I saw from Scourge didn't resemble anything else. It was an aggressive, unpredictable style, combining raw power and pure fury. Scourge used a Force Barrier to deflect the whip strikes, and when he closed in on her, he attacked. Fast and brutal. The girl dodged, weaving, trying to get away from Scourge to leverage her whip's advantage. But she couldn't fully distance herself, even despite her attempts to hit him with telekinesis. Scourge almost always caught her attacks head-on and counterattacked instantly. If this kept up, she was done for... However, waiting for Scourge to finish her off wasn't part of my plan. Instead, I used Force Lightning, catching her mid one of her elegant pirouettes after the Sith's attack. She turned toward me and looked in horror at the approaching lightning, which knocked her off her feet and, certainly, inflicted physical damage. Strange... Was it just me, or was my lightning somehow different? Darker? Did I unleash it out of emotion? Or did I use the dark side?
Meanwhile, Scourge approached and was about to finish off the stunned girl, but he turned around at the same instant. We were in a spacious corridor, albeit heavily damaged. From one end, a crimson lightsaber staff was hurled into it.
"Master," the sentient said. He was a tall, muscular man. Almost completely bald, with a light beard. His eyes were golden — evidence of the dark side's influence. He was dressed in light, form-fitting clothes. The girl he called "Master" took advantage of the situation and threw Scourge back. Though he canceled the main wave of her telekinesis, he still jumped back when she attacked with her whip. "We have a problem. There are a lot more of them here than the Senior expected. What do we do?"
"I have no idea where such a motley crew came from," she said, while I had almost recharged the Mystic Palm Technique. "But it's time for us to leave."
"You have interfered with me," Scourge said. "Do you think you can escape?"
"It's not for you, a relic, to stop us," the student said. Meanwhile, the teacher threw grenades at us. Physical fragmentation inside? They exploded before reaching us, showering me and Scourge with shrapnel. We shielded ourselves with a Barrier. They both managed to summon two speeders. Damn it, they're getting away! Both Scourge and I released Force Lightning at them. Jets of emerald and purple lightning crossed the distance separating us from them as they mounted the speeders. But the girl raised her hand, covering her eyes. The corridor was breached and opened to the street — they fled through that breach, which was immediately sealed with a steel beam. Our lightning met the beam instead. The roar of a speeder engine sounded... They got away? Scourge clicked his tongue in irritation.
"I hate when things don't go according to plan," he deactivated his lightsaber. "We need to start pursuing them," he raised his hand and tore away the beam blocking the path, which had been damaged by our lightning but was still blocking the exit. I contacted Celeste and HK, who were heading toward Jaro. The droid couldn't have done anything and wouldn't have been able to help me and Scourge — he'd have just gotten in the way. But damn, we made quite a mess here. I have a feeling I'm going to be buried in reports... As soon as we stepped outside, we were immediately surrounded by peacekeeping guards.
"Who are you?" asked a man in an officer's uniform, aiming his blaster along with his subordinates.
"You are standing in my way," Scourge noted. "I wouldn't advise that!"
"Stop!" Damn, he really wants to kill anyone who stands between him and his target. I stopped the Sith. "Wait... There's no need for battle."
"And who are you? Take off your hood, mercenary!" the man said.
"Mercenary?" I asked in surprise. "No, I'm a Jedi. I'm here on a mission by order of the Order. Unfortunately, some things went off-plan," Scourge snorted, "so we had to make a bit of noise. But everything is under control..."
"Under control?" the officer exclaimed. "Twenty sentients cut down by lightsaber! Part of the spaceport destroyed!" He swept his gaze over the building behind us. "That's under control in your book?"
"We are currently pursuing those who did this," I said coldly. "Give us speeders," as long as we could still sense both Vitiate's lightsaber and the Dark siders themselves. "And we will deliver justice."
"I'm tired of this empty talk," Scourge said. "Can I kill them just a little bit?" The guards gripped their weapons tighter.
"If you do that — the Order will start hunting you," I replied to Scourge. "I can't handle you," more precisely, if me, Jaro, Celeste, and HK teamed up — we could wound him. Maybe he'd even kick the bucket, maybe not. "But how many Liquidators will be sent after you after a massacre? Five? Ten? Do you really want that?"
Celeste and Jaro approached the guards.
"I will report to the Judicial Forces, the Planetary Government, and your Order, Jedi — everything you've done here!"
"Another reason to kill him."
"Observation: the security officer displays low intellectual capacity. Hypothesis: obtained his position through bribery. Suggestion: master — oh, how I hate that word — may I perform a personnel optimization within this organization?"
"HK-47?" Scourge said in surprise. "Where did you dig him up? It's him, isn't it?"
"Well, where I dug him up, he's no longer there. And no, HK! You cannot kill the head of security. Now, Officer, listen to me carefully. What happened here went beyond the scope of my plan. Parties intervened whose interference I could not foresee, for which I will perhaps receive just punishment," I won't. This was clearly force majeure, not accounted for by any intelligence. Though they might not have been able to track Scourge, those two Force users... The Order won't blame me, and anyone else on the Order's side won't say a word. "And now we have to stop them. We're wasting precious time, so please... Let me do my job."
Sometimes this kind of thing really pisses me off... But I'm a Jedi. Yes, to some extent I'm more powerful than them and I could kill all these guards... But I have to remember. The Force is given, among other things, not to kill left and right, but to protect. As best one can.
"Fine," the officer agreed. "But we'll talk afterwards."
"There won't be any afterwards," I replied. Celeste jumped behind the controls of a four-seat speeder. I sat to Celeste's right, while Scourge and Jaro squeezed in the back, sitting HK between them. The strangest team... And the strangest alliance...
"Master, who is this?" Jaro asked as we sped down the main street of Veyna-City, the planet's capital. "He's of the Sith species... And powerful... In the dark side..." He cast a wary glance at the red-skinned being.
"This is Lord Scourge," I sighed heavily, trying to figure out where to start explaining.
"Yes, Scourge," the Sith confirmed, addressing Jaro. "No need to remember me. I won't be your ally for long."
I, like Scourge and Celeste, could clearly sense Vitiate's lightsaber. Pulling up a map on my datapad, I began studying the area we were heading toward.
"Further ahead is an elite quarter for wealthy sentients," I noted. "Our client must be from there."
"Excellent," Scourge voiced his opinion. "Remember — Tenebrae's saber is my prize. I must destroy that artifact. Nothing else concerns me."
"By the way, Master," Jaro spoke up. "Who were those people we ran into? That man with the staff nearly killed me! If it weren't for Celeste..."
"Dark Jedi... Force users? I don't know myself. But they want Vitiate's saber too."
"They won't get them. If they stand in my way," Scourge said threateningly. Meanwhile, Celeste stopped beside a luxurious mansion. It was five stories high and resembled a European-style palace. The inner courtyard was decorated with fountains and immaculate lawns. Speeders stood side by side… One of them clearly belonged to the Primordial's subordinate who had fled first; the other two belonged to dark side gifted.
"It's too quiet," I noted. "I don't sense a battle. Only the lightsaber…"
"It doesn't matter," Scourge said and approached the imposing gates of the mansion. He started to raise his hand toward the gates, but I grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing?"
"Modifying the entry path," the Sith said. "Don't interfere."
"No, you're the one interfering! We need to be careful. I don't want my target to disappear…"
"And I only want the Artifact destroyed, not to listen to another Jedi moralizer…"
"Moralizer? No one has ever insulted me like that!" I snapped at Scourge's remark. "We'll infiltrate quietly…" An explosion went off on the mansion grounds.
"See? Someone isn't hesitating," the man noted, having already broken down the gates. "If you want to survive, given your current circumstances, hesitate less. Confidence will serve you well, strange, talented bungler that you are…"
"Bungler?" I asked him. The mansion's gates flew off and crashed into the courtyard, smashing the central fountain.
"You know a lot," Scourge said with a twisted smile. "But you clearly don't understand the logic behind Sith artifacts. You'll learn soon enough," he said mysteriously.
Was he talking about Arrogant's medallion? No, unlikely… If he found out about the actual resurrection medallion, he probably wouldn't have allied with us. After all, the medallion also originated from Vitiate's Empire. And Lord Scourge hates Vitiate and all his fanatics. But I had no time to ponder Scourge's words. The Primordial's guards were distracted by the explosions occurring a short distance away. And naturally, they rushed toward them while we attacked the mansion from the front. Some of the guards, represented by droids, did notice us. But they posed no threat… I, Scourge, Celeste Morne, Jaro Tapal, and HK-47 literally didn't notice the common guards as we slaughtered every droid in our path. No one wasted the Force on exhausting techniques. They were simply cut down by lightsabers… I leaped at one droid, bisected it, repeated with the second… And so on, over and over.
Finally we approached the mansion itself. Suddenly, turrets emerged from the columns that seemed to support the five-story structure. They immediately opened fire on us. HK stepped back a bit, taking cover behind the fountain debris. I shot my grappling hook at the edge of the roof, enhanced my jump with the Force, and launched upward, simultaneously slashing at the turrets within reach. There was no one on the roof. Judging by the lightsaber's aura, it was in the courtyard behind the mansion. That's where the explosions were coming from, and smoke was rising. Five floors below, Scourge, Celeste, and Jaro entered the mansion. Apparently, they trusted the fact that I hadn't fought Scourge, so they cooperated with him, even in my absence.
"You'll explain everything to me later," Celeste said over our channel. "Why is this Sith our ally?"
"You heard," I said, approaching the edge of the roof and looking down at a vast garden. The explosions were about a hundred meters from the garden exit, where I could see a pool. It seemed that duo had engaged the guard droids. But where was the Primordial and the lightsaber itself? "For now, our interests align. Besides, Scourge is unlikely to be interested in acting like a power-hungry Sith right now."
"And you trust a Sith?" Celeste's voice came through.
"No, you can't trust Sith… However, we don't have time to settle scores with him like, 'Oh, you Sith! I'll eliminate you!' Besides, you understand… Our chances are slim even if we unite," he had already seen the teleportation. "Of course, I'm for everything good against everything bad. But good includes the lives of those dear to me. And I'm not going to trade your lives for a phantom strike against him. We'll discuss what to do with Scourge later. Focus on the battle now." The building shook, and an explosion sounded. Time for me to get down to the garden.
Stepping away from the edge of the roof, I hooked myself with grappling hooks from both hands… The key was to calculate it correctly. I concentrated, trying to predict what was about to happen where they were fighting. The auras were shifting very quickly. The dark side gifted were opposing the Primordial's guards, and the Primordial himself, judging by his aura, turned out to be gifted as well. Timing it right, I stretched the cables and literally launched myself forward. The Force helped me predict not only the current location of one gifted's aura but also the correct jump. As a result, I quickly flew the distance separating me from the current scene of action. A man with a staff didn't have time to react—just as he destroyed another batch of droids, I landed on him from above, softening my fall with the Force.
"Bright!" exclaimed the woman when I landed on her "student." We were dragged about ten meters together, then I slashed his neck, separating his head from his body. "No! No! No! How dare you?!"
She activated a whip and charged at me. Deciding to close the distance, I attacked her… The whip dictated the terms of combat, especially at range. After dodging several unpredictable attacks from the enemy's lightsaber, I leaped—she was just about to form a kind of loop with her lightsaber to bind me with it and kill me. I slipped through before the ring closed and attempted a double strike at her legs and head simultaneously. She shifted to the side, slashing with her lightsaber. I ducked, letting the whip pass over me, then rolled right to avoid an overhead strike. From behind? The so-called "Primordial" hadn't wasted time and, activating a white lightsaber blade, tried to strike me in the back. I spun around quickly and blocked his attack.
"Set Harth? Another one?" I asked in surprise, seeing the Primordial's face. I jumped back just in time—a whip strike hit where I'd been a second later.
"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!" the woman snarled. "How dare you?!"
"Lady Milena," Set said. "He killed your student… Perhaps I can help you avenge him?"
"Shut your mouth, Set Harth!" she snarled. "You, him… That red-skinned freak! I have an unpaid debt with all of you! Because of you bastards, my Bright died!"
"Shut up already," Scourge's bored voice came through. "No one cares about your almost-lover. He died, so be it. I came for Vitiate's lightsaber," he looked at Harth. "I don't care who you are, but you need to give it to me."
But I do care. I want to know what the hell this Set Harth is still alive! I put so much effort into killing him on Royiss!
"So this is Vitiate's lightsaber?" the white-haired man said in surprise. "You destroyed my estate, eliminated my guards, and chased away the most beautiful women in the Galaxy—to obtain this? You know, Sith, take it," he smiled treacherously. "But on one condition: you deal with all my enemies here."
Scourge turned, looking at Jaro and Celeste, then glanced at me.
"Fight three Jedi and Revan's droid companion at once, or just kill you and take what I need?" Scourge aimed his lightsaber at Harth. "The answer is obvious, Set Harth, or whatever your name is. I'd rather kill you alone and take the lightsaber than fight three at once. However, we don't have to fight—just give me what I need!"
"But is that fair?"
"I don't care about fairness when it comes to you," the Sith said darkly. "You'll either give me the lightsaber voluntarily, or I'll take it off your corpse…"
Scourge couldn't finish—Set attacked unexpectedly with Force Lightning. The Sith blocked the attack. At the same time, I decided to attack the so-called Lady Milena, reasoning that Set wouldn't stand a chance against Scourge. However, Milena was more than willing to fight me. Celeste and Jaro also joined the battle against the lady, leaving Harth to Scourge, apparently wisely judging that getting in his way wasn't the smartest idea. Yet the numerical advantage was more of a hindrance than a help. Milena was lashing out blindly, swinging her whip in all directions. While it wasn't hard for me to dodge, even unpredictable attacks thanks to my natural agility and reflexes, Celeste and Jaro were struggling. The outcome of such a confrontation could even be my death, since I had to cover the Padawan.
"Jaro, stay out of my way," I called out after deflecting another attack. I saved him with a Force Barrier. "I'll handle her myself! You're only getting in the way! Celeste and Jaro—fall back!"
They listened without argument. Finally, I could focus on the fight. I closed the distance between me and Milena, dodging her attacks. The girl tried to retreat again, but my special technique had recharged. I countered her first retreat by appearing right behind her… At the last second, she managed to avoid a backstab and immediately used Force Lightning point-blank. I blocked her attack with my lightsaber in my left hand and threw my right one. She stopped pouring lightning on me, and I leaped forward as she attacked with her whip again. The lightsaber literally surrounded me—if it tightened, I'd be chopped to pieces. I deflected some of her attempts to tighten the whip around me, then used Heavenly Hand. My right lightsaber was right next to her body, and I swapped with a pebble lying nearby. Catching my lightsaber in my right hand, I struck, intending to pierce her straight through. My strike connected—both lightsabers pierced her through…
"Kha…" she looked at me in surprise, her gaze glazing over.
"Aaaaaah!" came from Set Harth and Scourge's side. Did he finish too? I looked and saw Scourge had literally dismembered the former Jedi, cutting off his arms and legs. Damn, I hadn't managed to capture Milena or Bright alive. I'm sure they belonged to some organization, not acting alone. Pulling over the former opponent's lightsaber, I began examining the hilt… It had an interesting shape—I should bring it to the Order.
"I told you, Set Harth," Scourge said, pulling over Vitiate's lightsaber. "You just had to surrender."
He took the lightsaber in his hands and concentrated on the Force… The Sith seemed to enter a meditative state… An instant later, cracks spread across the lightsaber, multiplying every moment until the entire hilt was destroyed. Scourge picked up the crystal that fell to the ground.
"It'll take some work," he noted. "But it's doable…" he looked at me. "Now are you convinced I was on your side?"
"I still don't trust you, Scourge. Trusting Sith is a thankless task."
"And that's correct," he said.
"But at the same time—I have questions for you… Do you want to answer them?"
"If you get me off this planet and help me avoid trouble—then I'll think about answering," the man replied.
"Master, you…" Jaro began.
"We'll help you, Scourge," I closed my eyes. "I won't report you to the Council. But I think you can give me answers… However, first we need to open this cripple's treasury," I looked at Set Harth, who was practically whimpering.
* * *
The treasury, in the tradition, was underground. A huge room filled with many different Artifacts. Daggers, talismans and medallions, jewelry and masks—mostly Sith, but also Jedi lightsabers, and even armor. Finally, I found it… What Revan had spoken of… The Mask of Tulak Hord. It emanated an aura of the Dark Side, though not as concentrated as Vitiate's lightsaber. Taking it off its stand, I hid it in the case I used to transport Tenebrae's lightsaber. Now it wouldn't be sensed… It was too early to summon Hord—I needed to deal with the unexpected problem of Scourge first.