CHAPTER TEN
As a part-time con artist, Sal Tyrius often practiced his phony smile to either trick his customer or to protect himself whenever he got caught. Most of the time, it worked.
Not so here.
Pretending to ignore the blasters aimed at him, the Arkanian said, "How may I help you?"
The bald man standing in front of him frowned. "You are a Vigo of the Black Sun, are you not?"
"A what of the what now?"
Tyrius winced as the Clawdite who had started all of this slammed the end of his blaster into his face, nearly breaking his nose.
"Come on, pal," Turman Durra said. "None of us needs to be an Iktotchi to see through your phoniness."
Tyrius scowled, knowing that there was no point in dragging this act out further. "Okay," he muttered. "So I am. What of it? Can you provide any evidence to your Senate that we are committing not-so-legal activities?"
"I have no idea where you've got that from," Face said. "We simply wish to know what exact connections you have with the Imperial Remnant."
Tyrius raised a white eyebrow. "Oh? What makes you think I have such connections?"
"The same thing that told us your name, that you were a Vigo, that you were on Arkania-"
"Okay, fine," Tyrius snapped. "I have connections within the Moff Council; in fact, I am good friends with Verradun and Moff Lecersen."
"I see," Face murmured. "In that case, can you tell us whether or not the Imperial Remnant is... up to something?"
"Elaborate."
"There's been an Imperial presence around Agamar, an Alliance world," said Wallen. "At the same time, they're asking the Alliance for Dorin and Bilbringi, inching them towards the Core."
"I know nothing of that," Tyrius said. "When I say I'm accomplices with them, I merely mean I've been invited to their parties every once in a while."
"Parties, eh?" Face smiled wryly. "Do you happen to have a schedule for upcoming ones?"
Tyrius sighed. "Lecersen is holding one on Orinda next week. There will be tons of people of notice there: the Queen of Naboo, Prince Xalren of Falleen, the Duchess of Drall...."
"I see," Face said, slowly holstering his blaster. "In that case, thank you for this info. We'll be on our way then."
The Arkanian blinked. "Wait... so you're not going to arrest me?"
"Why would we? Like you said, we have no evidence of Black Sun's activities. Have a nice day."
Tyrius slowly nodded as he watched his "interrogators" leave. He considered sending his agents after them but was unable to reach a decision, for at that point, he felt the barrel of a blaster press against the back of his head.
"Thank you," were the last words he would ever hear.
* * *
It hadn't been much of a vision, but it was something.
He had been on a frozen landscape, surrounded by nothing but darkness. Standing right in front of him was his own master, Kyle Katarn, his brown eyes boring into his gray ones.
"Fhost," his master was saying. "Go to the Black Hole of Fhost. There you will find answers."
When he finally awoke, he found himself walking into the Ralroost's hangar bay, where his starfighter and astromech were waiting. Glancing at R6, Jaden smirked. "Do I sleepwalk often? Or do you even notice?"
R6 merely whirred in response.
Jaden smiled. "Any coordinates set in the navi-computer?"
The astromech chirped an affirmative.
"Then let's go."
* * *
"Far Wanderer has departed from hangar D-Ten."
Standing on the bridge, Kyle Katarn saw Admiral Kre'fey's eyes dilate as the Bothan's mouth opened to give an order, but the Jedi Master raised a hand to silence him.
"Let him go, admiral. He knows what he's doing. If he needed our help, he would've asked for it."
Kre'fey sighed in resignation. "I'll take your word for it, Master Jedi. You obviously know him better than I do."
"Sir?" A bridge officer turned in his seat. "Transmission from General Hawk."
"Put him through."
Materializing before Kyle and the Bothan admiral was the holographic image of a human male in his mid-fifties, clad in the brown and blue uniform of a general.
"Admiral Kre'fey," Hawk said. "Are you busy?"
"Not at the moment. Why?"
"We seem to have a problem at Malastare. A group of pirates calling themselves the Lok Revanants are beginning to blockade the planet. Since you are currently within the Mid Rim, can you take you fleet to deal with them?"
Kre'fey nodded. "Consider it done, sir."
As Hawk's form faded away, the admiral said to the chief pilot, "Onwards to Malastare."
* * *
"Where are we?"
"You'll soon remember."
Darth Glovoc tentatively followed Varon Krul and the female S'kytri called Karis through the rocky terrain of an uncharted planet. They were slowly approaching a closed cavern, its entrance marked by the symbol of the Sith Empire he had once served.
"Why have you brought me here?" he demanded. "I do not know this place. Answer me!"
Calmly, Varon came to a stop and slowly turned to face Glovoc. "Who was your master?"
Taken slightly aback by the inquiry, Glovoc said, "Darth Malak, though not officially as a Sith apprentice. I adopted the Darth title for myself without either him or Revan knowing."
"Were there any other such 'secret apprentices?'"
"There was Darth Voren, whom Revan trained when he suspected Malak of treachery... though he died on the Crusader when Malak finally did betray Revan."
"What about non-Lords who held high ranks?"
"There were Sith Masters such as Uthar Wynn," Glovoc muttered. "And then former Revanchists like Acaadi, Kalon Soral, and-"
Suddenly, he froze, memories flooding back to him as if a dam in his mind had been broken. Then, moving past Varon and Karis, he approached the cavern's entrance and placed a hand over the symbol.
"Taka zeech ma toka duuwaj."
With this incantation, the door slowly slid open and the contents of the cavern were revealed for all three to see:
Hundreds upon hundred of Sith troopers, all encased in carbonite, stood in rows down the main hall. At the very end was a statue of a cloaked man.
Of Darth Glovoc.
Visibly amused by the sight, Varon said, "A secret army... for what?"
"Preparation," Glovoc said coldly. "For a moment that has finally come. Vexok savaka."
Then, one by one, the carbonite blocks began to melt away.
TO BE CONTINUED....
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