Lightsabers sprang to life again at the sound. The four apprentices looked around and strained at the Force to identify who was speaking. A heavy set figure stepped out of the darkness by the doorway. He was dressed in dark grey robes that were meant to blend into the shadows. The left half of his face was covered by a metal plate with a cybernetic eye in the middle. Scar tissue was visible around the edges of the forehead, where his nose used to be and just below the cheek bone.

He crossed his arms in front of them and said, “Quite well done indeed. I must admit this is not the outcome I had planned for or foreseen. However, this fortune cannot be overlooked.” When no one answered he said “What’s the matter? Cathar got your tongue?”

Ruqua laughed softly at the comment while the others looked sternly on. She said “Okay, I’ll bite. Who are you?”

He smiled wickedly “At least one of you has a sense of humor. Honestly, apprentices take themselves too seriously. Well, never mind. I am Darth Asmenys.”

The Cathar immediately said, while giving her saber a twitch, “Darth who? I’ve never heard of you.”

The smile stayed on the part of his face that could be seen. “I would be surprised if you had. I’m not like these other fools who have to brand their name on everything, like an animal marking territory. No, I prefer to work behind the scenes; pulling on the strings of my puppets.”

He could see the doubt in Talo’Ra’s eyes and feel the same sentiment from the others. He dropped the cloak on his Force powers and everyone took an involuntary step backwards. The apprentices all looked at each other in concern and disengaged their lightsabers. Talo’Ra hesitantly said, “My lord, are you on the Council?”

He laughed heartily at their discomfort and the question. “No girl! I do not have a sign on my back saying ‘Insert blade here’. I am not one of those fools.”

Ruqua again snickered at the comment. She then remembered herself and bowed before him. Seeing this the others nervously followed suit. Talo’Ra ventured another question, “What brings my lord here tonight?”

“Why, you do of course,” he said. “Though, as I said, I was not expecting this outcome. I thought I would have to finish what you started here my girl.”

She blinked a couple of times and said “What do you mean? Finish what I started?”

“I mean slaughtering the rest of these vermin. The malsupr nuhri that come along every cycle of apprentices and acolytes.” He spat this out with disgust as he looked over the remains in the room.

Ukodi said, “Malsper what?”

Asmenys said, “Malsupr Nuhri. That is Old Correlion for bottom feeders. The gutter trash with delusions of grandeur.”

Talo’Ra hesitated a moment, “You set this up?” She and Ukodi looked at each other with confusion. “I thought you said this was some middle manager? Palani or something?”

Ukodi said, “That’s what Jen’Rhak told me when he wanted me in on this. I was never approached directly by Veleni.”

“Nor would you have been,” Asmenys said. “I told her what worthless rabble to recruit, and gave her the plan. Why that fool Jen’Rhak recruited you after is anyone’s guess.”

Talo’Ra turned hard eyes on the Darth, “Why would you have me killed then? Are you allied with that pig Degriro?

Darth Asmenys began laughing heartily and took a few steps further into the light. “Ah apprentices. Always so naive.” He sighed and wiped a tear of laughter away from his right eye. “So much to learn about being a Sith.” He looked directly at Talo’Ra with his one good eye, “Do you have any doubt that if I had wanted to kill you myself, you’d still be alive?”

She shook her head as a look of understanding bloomed on Ganlaan’s face. “You used her to kill this lot off, to keep your hands clean if anyone bothered to look into it. Right my lord?”

“Oho! One of you does have a devious mind after all,” he said in approval. “Yes, apprentices. If a mob sought revenge on Talo’Ra to curry favor with her master, how would I be implicated? This way it would not look like someone undermining the training process of so many Lords. They would say, ‘What a tremendous fighter she must have been to kill such a multitude on her own. She fought valiantly, but alas, her injuries were too great to survive after she killed the last one.’”

Ganlaan slightly narrowed his eyes and nodded in appreciation. Ruqua and Ukodi looked as if they had just been given a new toy for Life Day. Talo’Ra stared daggers at the man. The Darth looked at each member of the group in turn: Weighing, measuring, judging. His gaze settled on Talo’Ra and the unspoken challenge in her eyes. This brought forth a smirk from him.

Asmenys said, “I see that all of you understand this lesson, though one seems to have taken it personally. To this I ask the question, have you ever played holochess? Some call it Dejarik.” All four apprentices nodded. “Excellent. You do have some culture don’t you? Now. Would we all agree that pieces must be sacrificed in order to win a game of Dejarik?”

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she pondered the truth of this statement. She finally said, "It's different when it's my life being sacrificed for your game."

Slight annoyance registered on the visible part of his face. "Yes, yes. It's a tragedy. Now get over it. You are alive and that's what matters now. Indeed, you present me with a puzzle. What to do with the girl who lived? Yes, quite the conundrum."

Talo’Ra knew that she would be on her own if this Darth decided that she alone needed to die. The rest had their place in relative safety under the protection of their masters, even Ruqua with Degriro. She was now a loose end. It was highly unlikely that the Blade Master would welcome her back into the fold, much less elevate her to Lord status.

A bead of sweat formed on her forehead as Asmenys contemplated the group. He scratched the good side of his face and looked from face to face. When he looked upon Talo’Ra, his gaze was drawn to the sweat on her brow. He silently savored her discomfort, though he had already made up his mind.

“Relax apprentice. This is fortuitous for all of us. For all of you, you get to live.” He paused for dramatic effect. Their reactions told him alot. Ruqua openly smiled in a relaxed pose, seemingly unconcerned with the implied threat. Ukodi looked bored at the lack of action, and Ganlaan shut down to an unreadable flat expression.

Talo’Ra’s reaction was the one that interested him the most. Much as she tried to hide it, she looked as though she was drowning and someone threw her a life line. She was trapped by her own rash actions and they both knew it. This was just the first wave in the coming storm of retaliation. Her master was almost certainly going to be gunning for her and who knew what the Council would decide. No, her only choices were to either go on the run for the rest of her life, or go with the only one who could protect her. He had her, and she was coming to grips with it.

Asmenys continued, “As for me, I get new toys--I mean.. New assets to employ.” This last was said with a slight chuckle. “Powerful assets, not restricted by any governmental entanglements. Free agents if you will. Though you, my pretty doll, are all mine.” He leered at her with his one good eye and she raised her lightsaber again. He laughed deeply, “Plenty of backbone. Fire. I like it. You will do perfectly.”

“Perfectly for what?” She fired back. Defiance and fear in equal measures on her face.

“You and your friends are the answer to a problem that has long plagued me.” His eye lost focus as he thought it over and let loose with a full belly laugh. Talo’Ra turned her gaze upon the others and they seemed to mirror her concern. He gained control of himself and wiped a tear away from his good eye. “Alright, enough time wasted. There are things to be done.”

“First off, we need to vacate this warehouse so that we don’t have to lie about what we are doing here. Talo’Ra, you will come with me to my base of operations. I don’t know how long your own room will be safe, assuming it is right now. I will have cleaning staff retrieve your belongings.” She started to protest and was cut off, “This is not up for debate apprentice! Are you that stupid that you need to risk your life needlessly? Well?”

She shook her head and lowered her eyes. “No my Lord. This.. Is all happening so fast.”

He cut her off again, “Adapt and move on apprentice. You will always be challenged as a Sith Lord. Someone always wants what you have. It is a constant struggle with different circumstances and ever changing rules to maintain whatever power you have gained. It is the name of the game so you better get used to it.”

Darth Asmenys squared up to her and his eye was steely now. “Or are you simply going to fall apart any time things change?” He stepped forward as menace radiated from him.

She replied quickly, “No my Lord. I will not. I. I was not expecting any of this. It is just taking a moment to adjust.”

“You never planned anything beyond getting revenge on your master, did you?” The apprentice looked down in embarrassment and shook her head slightly. Asmenys put a hand to his forehead as if warding off a headache. He looked up and addressed the heavens, “Why am I surprised? I don’t understand why I’m surprised?”

The Darth started to pace in front of them, all menace gone from him. “We teach them the Force. We teach them to fight. We teach them to backstab and scheme. We even teach them philosophy and try to instill wisdom. Why can we not get some with common sense?” He pondered this as he made several turns in his pacing. “Do we need special classes on how to not be stupid? You’d think that killing off the dumb ones would be enough.”

He stopped abruptly and turned back to the group. “There’s no time for this discussion. We must go. I will be in contact with all of you in time. Apprentice Talo’Ra, you will follow me.” He turned again and walked away from them into the dark. This latest change of attitude was just as abrupt as the previous ones and the apprentices looked confusedly at each other. From the dark came a commanding “APPRENTICE!” She shook herself and ran after him into the dark.