THE HUNT

They were all fated to die in certain ways.

Under the Hoth sun, the Sith Lord continued to walk through the heavy snow. It was one thing to use a weapon and another to kill. Leena remembered those simple days where she had convinced herself that she was fated to stay by the side of her Master, be his enforcer, his obedient weapon – she remembered how she slowly believed that this was her destiny.

But soon she realized that it was her own choice to do as she please until she dies, and until that day comes she will guide her fate. To fashion the course of her life and her death.

She was aware of her many bad choices, but in the end, she was only a mortal being who was waiting for her death. Just like everyone else.

Eventually, the Sith Lord found her way the coordinates that the commander gave her before he made his way back to the base. She was there to face beasts that were known for their cold-blooded nature. The deeper she went into the cave the more unsettling the feeling became. Igniting one lightsaber was all she needed, it was (naturally) cold but the silence was quite unsettling.

The noise generated by the lightsaber echoed through the cave. Leena couldn't afford to lower her guard, it was unlikely for such beasts to just simply abandon their area without a fight, given their brutal nature.

As the body count began to grow, the more she had the urge to ignite her second lightsaber. Whatever killed all of these Talz, was a result of pure rage and hatred. She could feel the final agonizing moments of those who were killed in the cave not too long ago.

Leena could feel it from the Force, there's something alive in the cave. She wasn't alone and whoever was left, was becoming afraid and paranoid.

'A survivor, perhaps?' She thought to herself.

'You wish to kill the survivor.' Her voice rang in her head. The menacing tone was something she could never forget. A tone she would use herself to generate the fear into her enemies, a tone that reminded her that the dark was there when she needed comforting.

She did not answer.

All she could hear was the sound of her feet walking through snow, and the horrifying sound of an ignited lightsaber. The voice remained silent. Nothing more was heard from it while Leena approached the settlement camp, all she saw was a young Padawan – not far from Jaesa's age of seventeen.

"I'm all that's left." The Padawan spoke in such paranoia. "Everywhere I turn… the monster appears. Why do you torment me? I'm not part of your vendetta!" He turned around to find the presence of the Sith Lord. Such power surrounded her. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what he was about to get into. "What? A Sith? First Xerender abandons me, now this!"

"I haven't come to kill you." The Sith Lord answered. 'Oh, but you do.' The voice of temptation has returned. 'You want to kill this pathetic padawan, butcher him like Baras did Tremel and send his remains to his Master.'

"Why should I trust you?" The Padawan asked. "You're my sworn enemy."

But she could feel something else, there was a tingling sensation of hatred and the craving for vengeance in their presence. But it did not come from the Padawan, it wasn't strong enough to be from the Padawan. "At least a Sith I can see and fight straight up. I won't be assassinated in the dark like these poor Talz… My Master would tell me not to attack – but he's not here. Defend yourself, Sith!"

The moment he ignited his lightsaber, the more the temptation inside of her grew. 'Kill him.'

The padawan didn't even give her a fight. It was easy to overpower him, she didn't feel the need to even use a lightsaber at all. With the push of the Force, the padawan found himself being thrown against the ice wall – feeling the shock of pain across his body while being held with the grip of the Sith Lord. Leena could feel his bones slowly breaking as her grip grew tighter.

"Go ahead…" struggled the Padawan. "…kill me. I didn't want to… to die… at the hands of… of that beast anyway."

"Why don't you explain to me what you're talking about." Leena tightened her grip.

"Gah! T-the Talz warned… m-my Master about Broonmark! H-He's a savage Talz seeking—seeking revenge on F-Ferzellen and the others for ousting him! Did Xerender care? No! B-now Broonmark's in here somewhere, murdering – wait! Did you hear that?"

She didn't.

"No, he's… he's…" With a single movement of her hand, his neck snapped. He was one of many lives she found to sacrifice in the urge of war, in the urge of her craving for bloodlust – the deeper she gave herself to the foundations of hatred and her path to vengeance, the more she was losing herself.

Perhaps Cyrus was right. There was conflict inside of her – but the Force itself is conflict, and the Empire is war made manifest. It was their way of life. She was made to fight, to understand the fundamental nature of the Force is accepting that it is conflict.

Leena raised her lightsaber, standing on the defensive as a Talz suddenly appeared before her. She narrowed down her eyes as she could feel the same sensation of vengeance she felt not so long ago. "All dead at our hands!" The Talz spoke in its language. "Sith must leave now or join the dead!"

"You cannot scare me."

"All creatures know fear." It continued. "Our clan is betrayed. Fetzellen now leads. Fetzellen and all those who follow him must end. We know Sith craves Jedi Xerender. Xerender is with Fetzellen. But Sith must not get in our way."

"I have no quarrel with Fetzellen and the Talz." The Sith Lord turned off her lightsaber.

"They hunt with Xerender. They hunt for Xerender. Our clan must be clean. We must have our vendetta. Do not block our hunt." It warned her. She could not keep this promise, knowing that these Talz would eventually stand in her way in the hunt for that Jedi.

For now, she did not quarrel, and eventually – that would become a lie. "I have no intention of disrupting you, Broonmark."

"Sith are smart. We speak what we know. The weapon Xerender craves is not a thing." Leena raised her brow as she allowed Broonmark to continue. "It is another Jedi. His lost clan leader – Master Wyellett. We waste too much time. Fetzellen and all the Talz must die."

As Broonmark disappeared, she didn't expect for a beast to have such valuable intel in return of her not disrupting his hunt for the traitors he used to call his brothers.

Receiving the coordinates of the base where the commander went, it was going to be a long and difficult journey. The most logical thing the Sith Lord would do was to proceed to the nearest outpost and take a speeder.

It took her almost the end of the day to arrive at the base, all she could find was Baras on the Holoterminal along with a Jedi. She could feel the commander's frightening presence as he frantically tried to remove the Jedi's communication through their system.

"Get this Jedi off my holo, Lanklyn. Now." Baras didn't sound too pleased.

"I-I can't, Xerender has overridden all my controls!"

"As you can see, Baras. I control this planet. I've tapped your communications and can anticipate your every move." Too overconfident for a Jedi. "As Commander Lanklyn knows firsthand, the Talz kept on one step ahead of even you."

"So, this is the Jedi I'm going to kill." The apprentice finally spoke. Not caring for the presence of her Master anymore.

"Ah, the lapdog returns." Xerender had his attempts on taunting Baras and it was working, while his attempts on the apprentice did not seem to sway her irritation at all. Instead, she was unusually calm but there was a deep boiling hatred in her – much like every Sith. "If your trainer knows what's good for him, he'll muzzle you. I'm not here for a reunion Baas. The last time we met, you were left drained and weaponless. This time, you won't be so lucky."

From Hoth, Leena knew what was about to happen next – she could feel every bit of anger from her own Master. And the moment he raised his hand, Lanklyn was already floating in midair, struggling to breathe as he apologized to Baras. "You have failed me for the last time, Lanklyn. Ensign Slinte."

The young lad managed to straighten up as he was addressed. "You are now the coordinator of my dealings on Hoth. Don't screw it up. Commander."

"I will not…" he managed to look at Lanklyn, knowing what would happen if he screws up. "…disappoint you, my Lord."

"Apprentice, you better have good news for me."

To lick his boots was necessarily disgusting for her, she had her fair share of tasks that were part of his bigger plan, a vision if one could call it that – and it was always her doing the work. "You can always count on me, Master. The lost superweapon Xerender seeks is a Jedi Master named Wyellett."

Good news indeed. "Ah, Master Wyellett. Now I understand why Xerender would risk exposure. Before his capture during the war, Wyellette was among the Jedi's most powerful Masters. The ship transporting him to me was destroyed in a fierce space battle in this system. I assumed he'd perished, but…"

"The ship must have crashed here on Hoth, and he's kept himself alive all this time." The apprentice spoke.

"So it would seem." The master couldn't help but agree. "For beings that commune deeply enough, the Force can be sustaining as rations. During the war, Xerender was Master Wyellett's Padawan. We battled. Wyellett took my lightsaber and used it from then on. If Wyellett is on Hoth, so is my blade. I will concentrate to locate it…" and locate it he did. "Yes, there! Coordinates sent, commander. Now go, apprentice. Find the lightsaber and the Jedi!"

Slinte proceeded to do his job. "My Lord, the area indicated is an uncharted quadrant where black marketeers are said to operate. What would you have me do while you are away?"

"Dispose of Lanklyn's body, Commander."

"The Emperor's speed to you, my Lord." He greeted as he watched her walked away. To discover that the weapon Xerender seeks is a powerful Jedi Master who once defeated Darth Baras himself in battle, was a fine intel for her indeed.

It wasn't long until the Sith Lord made it to the black market as the dawn began to show the following day. Of course, security and other customers would glance towards her – it was strange to see someone in her position to be in such a place. And yet, as long as she didn't cause any trouble there won't be any conflict.

A Sith Lord in black armor and a masked helmet, wandering around in a cave filled with criminals. She only ever lived on goal, or so she has convinced herself.

The death of her Master, Darth Baras.

"Yes, your clan possesses the Jedi lightsaber we seek. Commander Fetzellen and Jedi Xerender must have this weapon." She heard a Talz spoke, making a deal with the black marketeer.

"Nice price for something we thawed out of the ice." The alien spoke basic as he held her Master's lightsaber. "The lightsaber is yours. Glad we could do business together, Talz."

"Whatever they're paying, I'll double it." She spoke out of the blue as she approached the group. You wish for confrontation – give in to your bloodlust.

She ignored the voice once more. "We are tracked by the Sith. The warning is true." The Talz was caught off guard – but the alien wished to do more business.

"Another interested party… I smell a bidding war. We're open to offers."

"Don't be fools." The Talz warned. "The Sith do not negotiate. The Sith take and kill without thought. We triple the price and we fight together."

"Triple huh?" One word managed to brighten up the pirate's day. "Deal. Men, power up your blasters!"

The Sith Lord gave out a heavy sigh, raising her hand like three of the pirates floated in the air. The cracking noise echoed through the cave, having to receive silence from the others who are in the black market. A loud thud was heard as three pirate bodies were laying down on the snow, Leena reached out for her lightsaber as the Talz attacked her without second thoughts.

It wasn't often that the young Sith Lord had the opportunity to use two blades at once. Talz were brute fighters, having their instincts on violence lead their actions. Having to act recklessly against a Sith, there was no guarantee for survival. Especially towards the upstart named Leena Sern.

Compared to the Republic scum, the beasts and the Jedi she faced – the Talz were strong, difficult to go against, and yet, it didn't urge her to take them seriously.

After the last body fell on the cold snow, Leena was drawn to the powerful energy that was being drawn out by the lightsaber. The weapon of her Master was finally in her presence.

"No!" She heard Broonmark speak. Turning her attention towards it, she knew that she had crossed the line and it did not bother her. "These Talz of our clan. These Talz follow Fetzellen. Sith blocks our hunt! Steals our kills! Sith fail to heed our warning! Undermine or cleansing. Does Sith block us deliberately?"

"I did not know I would face Talz here."

"Our clan must not cross. Sith must stop for good!" To know betrayal all her life was a constant poison flowing in her. To know a life of betrayal was like seeing the bodies that she killed and have been killed of her, a constant torment, and yet it felt like an addictive drug.

In her hand was not the lightsaber of Naga Sadow that she took for her apprenticeship, not the lightsaber that was crafted by her mother – but the lightsaber of the monster named Baras.

To kill a monster, one must be a monster.

Broonmark was fast and his throw was strong, underestimating the enemy was one thing – but to pretend to be weak so he may grow arrogant was something she grew used to.

When the general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend, and she is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack. But the Talz is unlike most people she faced, Broonmark was nothing more than a homicidal savage.

Through power, victory.

"Enough!" Leena had enough of this foolish nonsense, and began to raise her hand – Broonmark suddenly felt the strong pull for him to kneel. The Force is something that Sith likes her command, treating it as if it was a slave, unlike the Jedi who treats it as a companion. Her measure of raw strength, one could say that she is not truly strong because she simply relies on the Force much like any other beings who have this power at their grasp.

As Broonmark knelt, in shame, he spoke. "Enough! We are no match for Sith Clan! We know humility."

Removing her grip on the beast, the Talz could not deny the power that sleeps inside of this one. A few more seconds, she would have crushed his bones on the inside rather than snapping his neck like those before her.

The masked Sith who lived in the shadow of her mother and is used as a weapon by her Master, this raw strength of power was something Baras saw in her. The potential to cripple a whole planet to her mercy and yet, did his best to limit her as much as he could in fear that the apprentice would soon rebel.

"I'm impressed with your skill and strength, Broonmark." Never waste resources.

"Now we have respect. Sith must have success. Sith must be out of our way. We know what Sith seeks, and we are sharing what we know. Jedi Xerender hunts a crash site where lost clan Master is buried. Sith should be there. Sith should be finished with hunt."

"You've been most helpful." Was all she could say before turning around and walking away from the beast.

But he continued to speak anyway. "Fetzellen hunts with Xerender. We need Sith to leave Fetzellen. He is our kill."