Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (43 page)

She
didn't slow down. She barely even heard him. Lema Xandret is dead,
Stryver had said. Everyone down there is dead. She didn't know why
that pronouncement had made a difference, but it seemed to. Her
family, her mother-what had happened to her father? She had never
asked. Maybe he was dead, too, had died years ago, when she was a
child. Maybe he was a Sith Lord who wouldn't lower himself to be
associated with a common woman. Maybe, she thought, just maybe... ?

Impossible.
She mocked herself for even thinking it. Darth Chratis was no kind of
father to her, and never would be. She needed no father, just like
she needed no family. If Stryver was right and the fugitives were all
dead, that just made her life easier. She wouldn't have to expend the
energy finding and killing them, in the Emperor's name.

"Please,
I'm trying to tell you that I'm not who you think I am! We're on the
same side and have been all the time!"

The
squawking of the envoy finally penetrated her consciousness. On the
brink of entering the shuttle, she stopped and reached out one
half-gripped hand.

He
swept out of the guards' hands and smashed into the air lock wall.

"Don't
even think of lying to me" she said.

"I'm
not. " The envoy was as pale as marble and his voice little more
than a whisper, but he didn't flinch as she approached. "I'm an
Imperial agent. "

She
activated her lightsaber and held it across his throat.

"You
don't look like a Cipher Agent. You're not even fully human. "

Her
contempt was ferocious. "All right. Not an agent per se, but an
informer at least. And I am loyal regardless what species I am.
Utterly loyal. I swear it. "

Ax
didn't move. She knew that many highly ranked Republic officers
sometimes preferred nonhuman staff in the belief that this would
protect them from surveillance. If this envoy had been turned, he
would be highly prized by the Minster of Information.

"I
tried to board your shuttle on Hutta, " he pressed on, beginning
to stammer now, "but the guards t-turned me away. "

That
much was true, and it made her hesitate. Ax couldn't believe she was
listening to him-and more, actually considering his story. But his
brazenness and bravery in the face of certain death were persuasive.
She had to admire his guts, even if she would see them sizzling if
she found out that he was trying to trick her. It wasn't impossible
that he was a double agent placed by Satele Shan to lead her and her
Master astray...

Ax
smiled with her teeth. Darth Chratis would know. If the envoy was
telling the truth, it would be a boon for her. If not, her Master
would have someone else upon which to act out his displeasure.

"What
species are you?" she asked him.

"E-Epicanthix.
"

"Never
heard of it. "

"We
come from Panatha in the Pacanth Reach..."

"I
don't care. If you ever want to see your home again-if you ever want
to see anything again-then you'll tell my Master everything you just
told me, and convince him that it's true. "

"Who
is your Master?"

"Darth
Chratis. Does that name mean anything to you?"

If
anything, the envoy went even paler.

"Good.
Then you appreciate the gravity of your situation. "

She
deactivated her lightsaber and let him drop. The guards picked him up
and dragged him after her, into the shuttle where her Master waited.

Darth
Chratis awaited her in the shuttle's spacious but inhospitable
passenger cabin, wearing a bulky armored suit. Only his face was
visible, pinched and puckered into a permanent scowl. He leaned
heavily on his lightsaber staff.

When
he saw the envoy, his brow came down even farther.

"Explain.
"

Ax
did so, starting at Dao Stryver's dire predictions and moving quickly
on to the possibility of cooperation. The prisoner remained silent
throughout, struck dumb by Darth Chratiss forbidding mien. That was a
good thing; had he interrupted at any point, he might have been
killed out of hand.

"And
Satele Shan has been taken in by this Mandalorian's machinations?"
Her Master's eyebrows, as thin as old scars, rose up toward his
time-worn scalp.

"It
appears so, " she said. "She sent her envoy to negotiate on
her behalf. "

Now
Darth Chratis's stare descended fully upon him, and the envoy
quailed. "Speak. "

"My
name is Ula Vii, " he stammered. "I report directly to
Watcher Three in the operations division of the Ministry of
Intelligence. I am your servant, my lord-a loyal agent of the Empire.
"

"A
spy? How unfortunate for the Grand Master. " Darth Chratis's
face broke into a broad, cracked smile. "Tell me, spy, how you
propose to betray her. "

"Republic
and Empire share the same initial objectives, " the envoy said,
pulling free from the two guards. He had clearly been thinking hard
while waiting his turn to speak. "The smashing of Sebaddon's
orbital defense system comes ahead of any invasion or mass
bombardment-the purpose of which would be the neutralization of the
planet's central authority, since it must have one, human or
artificial-and together, I agree that we can probably achieve that.
But once we have the planet toothless and brainless, the need for an
alliance will be gone. I suggest we turn on the Jedi and Dao Stryver
then-break the so-called alliance and take what's rightfully ours.
Sebaddon will be the Emperor's at last. I'll supply misinformation at
every opportunity, ensuring that the Grand Master does not ever find
the chance to do the same to you. "

"What
do you ask for in return?"

The
envoy looked surprised by the question. "Me? Nothing, my lord.
I'm simply doing my duty. "

"There
must be something important to you, beyond your duty. Ask, and it
shall be yours. "

"Well,
there is one that I would ask you to spare, after your inevitable
victory. "

"Tell
me who. "

"She
is no one, lower even than a trooper. Her name is Larin Moxla. "

"Do
you know this woman, Ax?" Darth Chratis asked.

"I
believe I do, Master. "

"Good.
"

Darth
Chratis's smile disappeared. The envoy was wrenched roughly forward
and raised into the air. He struggled against the invisible hold on
him, but there was no resisting it. Ax had experienced the power of
her Master's Force grip. She knew how tight it could be.

"Listen
to me, spy. "

The
envoy frantically nodded, too frightened to speak aloud.

"I
cannot read you. Your mind is shielded from me, by either some
unnatural contrivance or a natural talent. I suspect the latter. The
Minster of Intelligence seeks out your kind in order to keep his
secrets from both his masters and our enemy. So when I look into you,
I see no loyalty to the Emperor. I sense only tangled allegiances,
with no clear outcomes. Given a choice, I would never trust you.

"Yet
you and your kind are a loathsome necessity in times like these. I
must find a way to curb your natural instinct for treachery. To that
end... " Here Envoy Vii jerked violently forward, so he was
staring straight into the eyes of Darth Chratis. "To that end,
be sure that if you betray me I will hunt down the fancy of your
nonhuman heart and put her through such torments that you will be
grateful when I kill her. And then it will be your turn. Is that
clear?"

"Yes,
my lord. Abundantly so. "

The
envoy dropped with a thud to the floor.

"Very
good, " said Darth Chratis. "Ax, get him out of my sight.
You will return him to Satele Shan with the agreement he promised
her, and you will accompany him as my official mouthpiece. "

"But
Master..."

"Be
silent! I could hardly let him go alone. They would never believe
that I trusted them unless I took such precautions. You will watch
the Grand Master, and you will watch this one, too. At the slightest
sign of treachery, you will notify me and my wrath will descend upon
both of them. "

She
bowed her head, thinking: Another dead-end task. And probably a
suicide mission, too. "I will do as you instruct. "

"I
sense your impatience. Ax. Remember that our rewards will be
bountiful when victory is complete. When the Grand Master is dead and
this world ours, then your apprenticeship will be over. Not before.
Go now, and do my bidding. "

"Yes,
Master, " she said, bowing deeply, sure that he sensed the burn
of excitement in her mind. To be free of him at last, to be a true
Sith- that was all she had ever wanted! And she deserved it. She knew
that well. Not for nothing had she slaved this last decade and more,
to the detriment of all else.

Lema
Xandret is dead.

Ax
suppressed even the barest hint of regret as she turned and left the
shuttle, dragging the quivering informer behind her.

PART
FIVE

FATAL
ALLIANCE

CHAPTER
31

"Did
you have to bring her back with you?" Larin whispered to Ula as
she escorted the passengers of the Auriga Fire to the Commenor's
conference room. "I don't trust her. "

The
envoy adjusted his collar as though he was feeling too hot. "No
choice, I'm afraid. Darth Chratis was insistent. "

"Well,
he didn't offer to put one of us on his command deck. "

"I
suppose he wouldn't offer, given the choice, and I'm afraid I didn't
think to ask. I thought the Sith would be valuable as a hostage,
that's all. "

"I
suppose she will. " Noticing Ula's discomfort, she forced a
smile. "Hey, look, I'm not saving you didn't do your best. I'm
just glad you got us this far. No one else could've done it. "
She patted him on the shoulder with her prosthetic half hand.

"Thanks,
" he said, looking embarrassed. "I'm glad you think so. "

She
couldn't help a smile. His social awkwardness was both touching and
puzzling. How had anyone so clumsy ever risen so high in the Republic
administration, let alone survived an audience with a Dark Lord of
the Sith? Perhaps Darth Chratis had taken pity on him.

That
seemed rather unlikely.

The
Sith apprentice, Eldon Ax, walked steadily between Master

Satele
and Shigar, surrounded by an entourage of business-like soldiers, all
holding rifles at the ready. Her wild-haired head was held high, and
she took each step as though fighting the urge to spin and fight. She
was like a wild animal, held barely in check.

"I
don't trust her, " Larin repeated, "and I'm good at reading
people. "

Beside
her, Ula cleared his throat but said nothing.

*
* *

The
meeting was uncomfortable from the beginning. Captain Pipalidi's
crest was a deep purple, and her Basic difficult to understand, as
was often the case with Anx, whose voices tended to be so deeply
pitched that they bordered on the subsonic. Shigar swore he felt his
rib cage rattle on a couple of occasions.

The
captain first ordered all nonessential personnel out of the room.
Larin was one of those, and Shigar caught the hurt glance she shot
him. There was nothing he could do about it, though. He had no power
here.

"Colonel
Gurin had no opportunity to confirm his succession plans to me, "
said Master Satele, "but I know he had the highest regard for
you, Captain Pipalidi. He would be glad to know that the fleet is in
reliable hands. "

"May
it remain so, " the captain growled, with a sharp look at Eldon
Ax. The implication was obvious, and twofold. Many in the military
harbored hard feelings for the Jedi after the events leading up to
the Treaty of Coruscant, when the Order had been deliberately trapped
between the Empire and the Mandalorians. The closing of that trap had
left the Republic divided over the role Jedi Knights should play in
future conflicts. Some even went so far as to mistrust the Order
entirely, preferring to leave them out. The fact that Master Satele
had brought a Sith to the negotiating table only confirmed those
mistrustful feelings.