Talo’Ra slowly woke again several hours later. Her latest drug induced confusion was once again thwarting her reasoning abilities. After a moment of trying to clear the fog, the stringent smell of disinfectants settled her mind. There was only one place she knew of with that odor, the Med-Bay.

As her head stopped spinning, she looked around to find a haggard looking Ganlaan still working his shift. She wondered how long it had been since she had related the happenings to him and Ruqua. The Cathar had been overjoyed at hearing of the downfall of their master. She had laughed uproariously at Talo’Ra’s parting words to Degriro. Even the stoic Ganlaan had smiled briefly.

Once the story had been told and all questions answered, he declared that Talo’Ra needed rest. To that end he had given her another injection to make her sleep again. Tired as she was, she hadn’t objected. Now that she was regaining her senses though, she was ravenously hungry. The hunger pains gnawed at her insides like a pack of angry Rancors.

Ganlaan noticed her waking up and came over to check on her. He talked to himself as he looked her over and double checked the wound in her side. In the two years they had worked together, she knew this as a sure sign of his fatigue. He must be nearing the end of this rotation.

Her throat was dry when she tried to speak, but managed to croak out, “How long until you’re done?” He had just finished adjusting her chart and was about to answer when her stomach growled. She flushed at the sound.

“I’m off in two more hours. I won’t miss these rotations one little bit” he replied tiredly. “As for you, you’re in good shape now. Your side was a mess so I had to go back in, and then do a lot of healing.” He stepped away out of her sight and returned a moment later with a bottle of water and a meal bar.

She accepted them with grudging thanks and opened both immediately. Between mouthfuls she asked, “When can I get out of here?”

He looked over her chart again and the sensors attached to her and said, “How do a couple hours strike you?”

She narrowed her yellow eyes and said “Convenient. Is there any reason why I should wait until your shift is done to leave?” She itched to have a lightsaber in hand. She relaxed after a moment. He could have just let her die from her wounds, or had killed her while she slept, if he wanted to harm her.

He leaned close as if to check on one of the machines by her and said “You are to be killed tonight.” Her heart jumped to her throat. “Control your emotions. They will feel it.”

She took a drink of water while she gathered her thoughts. Was the Council going to finish her for attacking her master? No. It couldn’t be the Council. They would have just had Ganlaan end her while she slept. Was Degriro engineering something for her? Again, she didn’t think so. He is more of the direct action kind. She looked at the other apprentice and said, “Who? How?”

He glanced around them before speaking again. “A faction loyal to Degriro has decided to take action on his behalf. It seems they knew about your actions before you even arrived back here. Why they waited to call for Freen to his aid, I don’t know.” His eyes fixed on a point beyond the datapad he held. “We are being observed. I must move on or it will look suspicious. Open your mind.”

He walked away with this cryptic message to his next patient. She was annoyed and confused by this sudden departure before she had more information. A moment later an itch in her brain started, then grew more insistent. Telepathy! She thought. How had she forgotten such an important tool? It took a keen mind, and a tremendous amount of concentration, to perform the task. The two of them had been partnered in the class for many months so barriers to communication were small between them.

His voice broke into her consciousness after she lowered her defenses. It’s about time you let me in. Listen closely. This faction after you is headed by a middle manager with dreams above her station. Unfortunately, she is untouchable to us for now. The important part is that she has reached out to some of the apprentices and mercs. They believe that if they kill you, they will gain favor with Degriro and the council. I doubt he even knows who she is; much less sanctioned a hit on academy grounds.

Talo’Ra digested this information as she chewed on the last of the meal bar. And, why would you be warning me about this? It doesn’t concern you. One more dead apprentice and you have less competition for power.

I’m counting on that. The itch for a lightsaber suddenly grew again at this comment. Her eyes narrowed again in suspicion. He continued Those coming against you are scum: The weak and the cowardly. Their whole purpose in life is to die. We are simply going to accommodate that fate.

We? I still don’t know why you would help me.

Simple math. Not everyone gets made a Lord of the Sith, even when they pass their trials. The larger the pool, the less likely it is for us getting what is rightfully ours. Tonight we cull the weak, and the stupid. He continued in his pretense of updating charts as he spoke telepathically.

She contemplated his words and searched the Force for the truth of the situation. Say I believe you. How does this play out?

Ukodi will find you when you leave here. He will have an urgent task to escort you to a council member. This is a trap. He was approached for this assignment as an assassin. He is, however, on our side. When you are captured and the fighting starts, he will turn. Ru and I will be nearby. No mercy.

Talo’Ra’s eyes lost focus as she slowly looked down toward her lap. It made sense to eliminate some of the competition. It showed the higher ups that you have the strength and ability. It wasn’t unheard of for this to happen. Of the current crop of senior apprentices, she thought that they were the most deserving of being Sith Lords.

Alright, I’ll go along with it. But if you betray me, I won’t stop like I did with Degriro. She paused to transmit enough animosity at him that would make most men quail. Ganlaan didn’t even blink. What else do I do?

Ganlaan laid out a detailed plan based on what little information they had. He was not a tactical genius, but he was no slouch either. He looked to long term plotting and revenge, while many of their peers merely sought what was in front of them. This reaffirmed her wariness of him when they were not allied.

While he transmitted they both continued to survey their surroundings for anyone paying her undue attention. Once he was done, she nodded slightly and laid her head back. Seems like a sound plan. Are you up to this? You’ve been working for twenty-four hours. Did you get a nap in down time?

His eyes had betrayed his fatigue when he was near, so it was no surprise when he said, I did not. It has been a busy day. Darth Sinasi has been terrorizing the students again with the Ataru blade form classes. Half of them didn’t make it two rounds without being shot down by stun bolts. However, I have a Pazaak card up my sleeve. I have acquired an adrenal stim; High potency, short duration. I will sleep well once we are done.

She fought to keep a wicked grin from forming on her face. Trust him to find a cheat when it matters. She closed her eyes to get all the rest she could before this battle, They’ll never know what hit them.

-------------------------

The appointed time came and went when a fresh emergency came in right at shift change. Talo’Ra was glad she wasn’t the one who had to attend to this one. The acolyte was literally cut to pieces and she doubted even Freen would be able to keep the lump of meat alive.

She piddled around and made a painful show of stretching out her injuries and struggling to get dressed. In truth she had not felt better in quite a while. Ganlaan’s skill was increasing exponentially with time. She knew she would never be a true rival to him in medicine now. No matter. There were other things to worry about.

Ganlaan called the death time for the paperwork. He handed that paperwork and the bloody mess over to the new shift and left to clean up. She finished getting ready and started to make her way out, holding her side as if it were not fully healed.

Ganlaan’s voice sounded in her head again, A clever deception. If I had not personally seen to your treatment, I would be convinced. Their connection was starting to get tenuous with distance and she made out -you outside.

She made slow progress down the hall from the med-bay. She had the feeling of being watched and not just by her momentary allies. Had she not spent time with the Legion and purposely going into head on combat, she might have been a little unnerved. Facing an unknown quantity and quality of opponents in what was to be an ambush was a daunting task.

She left the building that comprised the hospital at the Academy. It was evening on Korriban and the last light of the day was painting the canyon walls blood red. A light breeze sent up swirls of dust in the corners of buildings as she walked stiffly towards the Cantina. Even with the pathway lights turning on, the first stars were starting to shine through the clear sky.

Her fatalistic side told her that it was a beautiful night to die. Her ferocious will to live replied that it was indeed a good night for these fools to die. Even if her back up didn’t show, she would take as many of them with her as she could. She had no illusions about taking on ten or more academy trained swordsmen by herself. She had grown considerably in power and skill in the last months. However that didn’t mean much in the face of sheer numbers.

Footsteps meant to be heard approached from her left and she recognized Ukodi’s presence before she saw him. Normally this didn’t happen because he was constantly practicing stealth of sight, sound and force presence. No, he wanted to be seen and heard which is exactly what Ganlaan had said would happen so far. Good.

Ukodi gave a friendly greeting “Hey Talo. I’d heard you were just about dead a couple days ago. You seem ok though.” His voice also sounded in her head, Ganlaan spoke you? He wasn’t as adept at telepathy as she was, but it got the job done.

She grimaced in feigned pain and said “Yeah, I had a bad run in. Ganlaan in the Med-Bay got me up to speed though. Still not one hundred percent.” She hoped he got her double meaning. She also replied telepathically to him that she had been spoken to, but she had no idea if he understood it. He really needed much more practice and stubbornly refused to.

“That’s good,” he replied. “Listen, Councilor Eros has sent for you and I’m to escort you to him. He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

She played her part with a proper look of shock and intimidation that one of the twelve had sent for her. They were the highest body in the Sith Order, second only to the Emperor. “A councilor? Oh. Yes. I, we should go. Lead on.”

He turned and led her off into the darkening shadows. He kept up a line of banter the whole time they travelled. “I’ve been hearing some impressive things about you. I hear that you’re the one to watch in the Academy. Is it true that you killed a Hutt in her own fortress by yourself?”

She knew the purpose of this constant barrage was to keep her off balance. Being unnerved that such a powerful entity had called for her personally and now being grilled by Ukodi would keep most focused on the present. Not looking for deception or traps. He was doing a nice job of it too. He already knew the answers to his questions since they had talked between duels.

They wandered far from the normal academy buildings and were close to the loading docks when they entered a building. Ukodi entered first, waited for her to follow and then looked back out the door to see if they were being followed. Satisfied he closed the door behind them.The only light in the building came through the windows and one dimly lit doorway.

He said, “I’ve been instructed to guard this door while you have your meeting. The back door is blocked by piles of scrap metal. No one is getting in or out that way. You are to go down this hall to the first room on the left. The Councilor is there waiting.”

Talo’Ra would have been leery of this setup even if she hadn’t known it was a trap. Ukodi did his part well, the location and set up were pure amateur though. She felt a light touch in her mind that only Ganlaan could have performed given their history. It was an image of a shadowy cat with blazing golden eyes. Neither of them knew if anyone else could pick up on their telepathic communications so the signal was specifically vague. She knew the cat was Ruqua, the golden eyes were him and the shadow was Ukodi.

All was in place. Time to spring the trap. She kept up the pretense of her injury even in the darkness as she made her way down the hallway. Before she had even taken her first step, she could feel the Force telling her of the trap she already knew about. Great, thanks for the heads up way too late she thought.

Entering the room, she called out for the counselor she knew wasn’t there. As instructed by Ganlaan she walked to the center of the room and waited. There was a hurried shuffling of feet as a string of apprentices and mercenaries spread out all around her. It wasn’t hard for her to act alarmed at being in the middle of a deadly circle.

The room was dark, and she couldn’t make out many faces as she called out “What is the meaning of this?”

A voice she recognized called out to her off to her right. The apprentice Jen’Rhak, her most recent lover said, “I thought it would have been obvious. This is where you die my lovely. Darth Wyckedd sends his regards”

“Even you Jen? I must say I’m hurt by your infidelity. Oh well, you weren’t good at it anyways.” He spluttered a protest as she drew her new lightsaber and ignited the blade. Holding it’s blue blade around a jet black core at the ready she said “Oh and one last thing.” She snapped her fingers and four more lightsabers sprang to life. Simultaneously four heads dropped to the floor in the middle of the circle before their former owner's bodies followed suit.

Ruqua’s two red bladed sabers gave her a demonic look in the dark, Ganlaan’s green blade was at odds with his eyes and Ukodi had already melted back into the shadows. The shock Ganlaan had calculated lasted a full two seconds longer than he had anticipated. Talo’Ra used this moment to rush forward, her speed enhanced by the Force to make her image a blur.

Her intended target recovered just fast enough to raise his own lightsaber in defense. Ruqua giggled as she rushed forward, her twin blades carving a path of destruction. Ukodi appeared again to spear a merc that was firing his blaster at Ganlaan through the chest. He disappeared in a cloak again to reappear a moment later to cut an apprentice in half.

Talo’Ra spun in place, sending a kick into the face of a mercenary that was panic firing into the room at large. One shot had already glanced off of Ruqua’s battle armor. The merc fell back as the room was suddenly filled with lightning, no doubt Ganlaan’s doing. The smell of burned flesh filled the air as three charred corpses fell to the ground.

Talo’Ra deflected a series of blaster bolts and then jumped up to perform a table top spin above the swing of Jen’Rhak’s blade. She landed a little off balance and turned it into a sideways roll. Coming out of the roll she threw out her free hand in a Force push that knocked Jen’Rhak and another apprentice backwards.

Ruqua was hit square in the side with a Force push that launched her away. Her feline grace turned a tumble into a flip that ended in a dropkick to an apprentice's back. The shattering spine could be heard even over the din of humming and clashing lightsabers and blasters being fired.

A flash-bang went off and partially crippled most of the room. The one who threw it tried to escape only to be dragged back by the Force. Ukodi appeared in front of the flying body and cut it in half from right shoulder to left hip. The body parts flew past him and he spun his double bladed lightsaber at blinding speed at one of the few remaining apprentices.

Ruqua had rolled sideways after crushing the spine of her victim. She recovered and spun to find the next. A large Gree started panic firing his blaster at her. She deflected each bolt and ran at him. Two steps away she dropped to her knees and slid under him, slicing off both of his legs. She used the momentum to bring up one blade and spear another merc through the belly and the other to block the blade of the second to last apprentice.

The Cathar ripped her blade through the side of the mercenary she had stabbed and started a spinning attack against the clearly out classed opponent. First one blade then another was flashing at and around the woman who was now shrieking in fear. A barrel streaked out of nowhere and crushed her skull, blood splattering everywhere.

Ruqua yelled, “Damn it Gan! I was having fun!”

He replied, “You were just playing with your food and it wouldn’t stop screaming. Had to do it.”

Talo’Ra dealt with a pair of Trandoshans that had been peppering her location with blaster fire. She had been forced to dodge and spin until she got behind an unfortunate Bith. She used the Bith’s body as a shield while she ran over to the Trandoshans. She hurled the body at the male and lunged at the female, cutting off her arms which sent her backwards. A purple blade sprang forth from her chest when Ukodi appeared in her path.

The male Trandoshan flung the dead Bith aside just in time to see his death coming in the form of a thrown lightsaber. Its red blade spun in a deadly arc and severed the lizard's head from its body before returning to Ruqua’s hand. She giggled again and said, “Oh I LOVE doing that!”

“Jen’Rhak! It’s down to you” Talo’Ra called out. He had jumped a dozen feet into the air and landed on a shelf when the whirlwind of death known as Ruqua had come close to him. He jumped down from his vantage point and surveyed the room. It was hard to tell from all the body parts strewn about, but it looked as if every last one of the ambushers was now dead or dying.

Ganlaan and Ru started casually stabbing bodies to make sure they were dead, or finish the maimed ones. He weighed his options carefully and quickly decided on a plan and back up plan. “Talo. Baby. No hard feelings right? You would have done the same thing if it meant getting an edge.” He was backing up slowly towards one of the two windows in this room. “We had a good thing, you and I, right?” He broke and ran, using the Force to boost his speed to a blur. Leaping for the window he was jerked back and slammed to the floor.

Five lightsaber blades lit up the area immediately around him, Ukodi did not have both ends of his ignited. He tried to scramble to his feet and found he was being held in place with the Force by Ganlaan.

He rasped out “No. It wasn’t-” he was cut off as Talo’Ra plunged her lightsaber into his rib cage and let the plasma sear that lung to uselessness. He gurgled out a scream at the pain and started to hyperventilate with his remaining lung. She repeated the process on the other side, making sure to avoid the heart.

The four apprentices watched impassively as Jen’Rhak gulped for air like a fish out of water and his eyes bulged in horror. The light left his eyes a moment later. All the lightsaber blades winked out of existence and were then clipped to belts.

Talo’Ra turned to Ganlaan who was wiping blood from a broken nose. “That went almost exactly as you said it would. I’m impressed.” She reached into her medical satchel and produced a gauze patch. She grabbed his face and surveyed the damage.

He replied, “I’m impressed as well. Usually a battle plan doesn’t survive the first shot fired.” A long low grunt followed this as she set his nose and blood started flowing again. She placed the gauze under it and then channeled the Force into the area. He grunted and hissed as the feeling of icy needles knit the broken blood vessels back together. She held it there while she got a hypo of Kolto and injected it right into his face. “Damn it Talo! Son of a… That…”

She smirked as she finished. “Sucks, doesn’t it?” He glowered at her as she turned her attention to Ruqua “Are you hurt?”

The Cathar said, “Just my pride. This armor is a little stiff. It slowed me down. But it did absorb the damage instead of me. Overall I can’t complain...much.”

They all turned to see a grinning Ukodi. Ganlaan said “Figures. You didn’t get touched.” He looked around at the pile of bodies. “Well. I say we loot the dead for trophies. If we don’t, then the cleanup crew will, and I’ve already paid them.” He reached out a hand and Jen’Rhak’s saber flew to his hand. He presented it to Talo’Ra saying, “You definitely earned this one.”

Everyone froze in place when slowly clapping hands sounded in the dark. A disembodied voice said, “Well done apprentices.”