EDITED 10/5/13 Corrected mistakes, revised a few sentences, etc.
CHAPTER TWO
"Hey, only paying customers can sit up here, fella'."
Baleful eyes glared at the bartender standing before him at the counter. When the tall Yarkora did not cower under his gaze, the cloaked man grunted. "I'll have the Javarican espresso."
As the bartender turned to fix his beverage, Shadow- the only name the man knew himself by- looked over his shoulder and observed his surroundings. Not so surprising to him, the atmosphere at Zargga's Cantina was very similar to any other in the galaxy. Smugglers and bounty hunters congregated, Twi'lek dancers moved to music played by Bith musicians, and beggars constantly bothered him for money.
If Zargga's Cantina was not the epitome of what an average cantina was like, Shadow wasn't sure what would be.
"That'll be twenty credits," the Yarkora bartender said as he returned with Shadow's espresso. Glancing at a stool next to him, occupied only by Shadow's tool belt, the Yarkora added, "You savin' a seat for someone?"
"Yes," Shadow muttered in a slightly harsh tone as he paid. The bartender seemed to realize that the man was not in the mood for small talk as he turned to serve another customer.
At that moment, Shadow sensed the approach of another being, and this time, he was certain it was not a beggar.
"It's about time, Remulus Horne," he muttered as the Snivvian con artist walked up and sat in the stool next to him. "You do realize that I don't believe that that's your real name."
The Snivvian called Remulus Horne shrugged. "Hey, anyone who's been to Cadomai Prime as long as I think you've been is bound to hear about the Ballad of Remulus Horne."
"Indeed." Shadow glanced at the Snivvian. "Do you have the holocron?"
"That and more!" Remulus said with a wide grin. "I think the Sith didn't want their stuff all in one place, so they spread it out across the galaxy!"
Shadow's eyes glowed with intrigue. "What else have you found?"
"Well, this salesman on Ord Radama gave me a Sith sword. He claims it belonged to Naga Sadow, but I think he was just bluffing to get more credits."
Shadow nodded. "Go on..."
The Snivvian's grin grew wider. "Oh, and you will not believe this! When I got the holocron on Teth, the Hutt also gave me this!"
Remulus reached into his travel pouch and brought out an ebony Mandalorian crushgaunt, which was fitted around what Shadow sensed was a Sith amulet, still strong with dark side energies.
Shadow's eyes widened slightly. "Is that...?"
Remulus nodded, still grinning. "The glove of Darth Vader."
Shadow could not believe it. He had heard others speak of the glove of Darth Vader back during the later years of the Galactic Civil War, but he had assumed it was merely a myth sparked by Imperial propagandists. He had no idea it had somehow survived the second Death Star's destruction.
Catching his amazed gaze, and as if reading his thoughts, Remulus said, "I guess it's true that these things are indestructible."
Shadow ignored him and extended his hand. "Give it to me."
The con artist held the glove far from Shadow's reach. "Not so fast, buddy. You're a great guy and all, but I don't give anyone anything without a price. Give me a thousand credits and I'll give you this."
Shadow glowered with malice. "I'll give you five hundred."
Remulus shook his head. "Sorry. I can settle with nine hundred, but that's just because we're good friends."
"Six hundred."
"Eight ninety!" the Snivvian snapped. "That's as low as I can go!"
Shadow glanced to his side, seeing that some of the mercenaries and smugglers sitting nearby were watching their argument. Ignoring them, he turned back to Remulus and spoke in a disturbingly calm and quiet voice. "How much do you value yourself?"
The con artist's expression became one of confusion. "What do you-?"
He let out a short yelp as Shadow seized the collar of his shirt. The cloaked man leaned in and whispered into his ear.
"How do you prioritize yourself? What matters more to you? The glove, the credits...or your life?"
Remulus whimpered, his black eyes darting across the cantina. Finally, with a gulp, he managed to say, "How's two hundred credits? Compared to some dealers, that's going cheap-"
Without warning, Shadow lifted the con artist up from his seat. Ignoring the bartender's protests, he used all of his might and hurled Remulus into the opposite side of the room. The Snivvian's head hit the wall hard, knocking him out cold, and his hand unconsciously let go of the black glove.
Disregarding the startled stares directed at him, Shadow casually walked over to the unresponsive Snivvian and retrieved the glove of Darth Vader, as well as the holocron and Sith sword from Remulus' pouch. After giving the Yarkora bartender his tip, Shadow strode out of the cantina, followed only by silent gazes.
Once he was outside and had found a deserted alleyway, he brought out the black glove and stared at it, as if he could see through its ebony texture.
"Let us see what stories you have to tell," he murmured as he slowly placed his left hand on it. His eyes began to glow as the scenery of Nar Shaddaa began to dissolve all around him...
*Roughly two hundred years ago*
"It is hard to imagine how this relic went under my master's notice," said a Twi'lek Sith Lord as he retrieved the Sith amulet from the ruins of an abandoned fortress on Korriban. "Of course, my master was more focused on using science to achieve power, rather than other ways."
His Bith apprentice tilted his large head, eying the amulet with his black eyes. "What is so great about this gauntlet?"
The Sith Master smiled mirthlessly. "This is one of the amulets of Skere Kaan, the last Dark Lord of the New Sith Wars."
"Kaan?" The Bith adopted a confused look. "Wasn't he the Sith Lord Darth Bane overthrew because he disagreed with his visions?"
The Twi'lek nodded. "Many Sith Masters before me deferred from searching for any Sith relics from Kaan's era, or any Dark Lord after Darth Ruin in fact, because of the turmoil he nearly put the Sith into."
His gaze fell back upon the amulet. "But this relic has no connection whatsoever to Kaan's vision. It may not hold any great power, but it is a novelty item that may improve a Sith's status image when we have finally taken over the galaxy."
The Dark Lord of the Sith rose to his feet. "Come, Darth Tenebrous. We are going to a planet in the Belderone system. If my sources are correct, there is a certain Sith holocron hidden there..."
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