9

Saedii's whole body was still. Every muscle locked. Only her eyes moved as they flicked over Zatt's sleeping form.

He was taller than the last time she'd seen him. Skinnier, too. Dark circles beneath his eyes betrayed that he hadn't been doing well on his own. A pang of pity flooded her gut as she traced the harsh lines of his cheekbones along his face, far too stark for someone of his age.

Last time she'd seen him, he'd been vibrant. Face rounded with youth. Always smiling. These past two and a half years had clearly been hard for him.

At the sight of him so vulnerable, a memory came to her. Of her own face, gaunt and desolate, staring back at her from the tiny fresher mirror on board the Marauder. When she'd found the Batch, she'd been just as helpless as Zatt appeared now.

The weight of Saedii's lightsaber was heavy against her hip. She knew what she was supposed to do. Knew that Krell expected her to kill him. But standing here now, looking at the young face of a little boy that she knew, Saedii faltered.

He was just a kid. An innocent kid. His only crime was that he had been born Force-sensitive.

How was she supposed to kill him?

She couldn't. It went against everything she believed.

But Omega...

Would Krell know? If Saedii left now – left Zatt alive – would he know what she'd done? Was she willing to risk it?

Violent emotions warred within her: the desire to leave – to keep Zatt alive – and the fear of what the consequences could be if she was discovered.

Another thought came to her then. Had Krell known Zatt was down here? Had he felt the sleeping boy in the Force somehow? It seemed too convenient that Saedii had found him by accident. And if he did know that Zatt was there, then what would that mean for Saedii – and by extension, Omega – if Zatt was left alive?

In the piles of furs, Zatt suddenly stirred. His large eyes blinked open, focusing on her with impressive speed and clarity. Prey noting a predator nearby.

Panic and fear flooded the Force as he jumped to his feet. Green light flooded the cavern as he powered on his lightsaber, holding it between them. With dismay, Saedii noted that his grip was too tight. That the hilt shook nervously in his hands.

"Zatt," Saedii said, holding up a hand. But her voice was twisted by the helmet. Unrecognizable.

Zatt took a nervous step back. "Stay back!"

Standing up, he looked even more pitiful than he had among his furs. He no longer wore the tailored brown leathers that Saedii had last seen him in, but large, ill-fitting fur pants and a poncho. They hung limply from his frame, exaggerating just how skinny and bony he had become.

"Zatt, it's ok," Saedii tried again. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Liar! I know what you are! Inquisitor," he spat.

Saedii flinched. "I'm not –"

"You've come to kill me!"

Indecision warred within her. Froze her in place. She didn't know what to do.

Zatt decided for her. Reaching out a hand, he pulled one of the full boxes from the corner and launched it at her with the Force. Saedii ducked as its contents bounced off her helmet.

In her moment of distraction, he ran, disappearing down another hidden tunnel behind him.

"Wait!" Saedii called. He couldn't leave yet. She needed to think – to figure out what to do. Perhaps she could save him, if they worked together.

But Zatt wasn't willing to stick around to find out. The sharp sounds of his footsteps echoed in the hall behind him.

She followed.

The Force was flooded with panic and anxiety – most of it Zatt's, though some was her own. Quickly, she reached out into the Force, masking their fear. Keeping them invisible from Krell and any others that might be lingering nearby. She didn't want him to find them yet. Not until Saedii came up with some kind of plan.

Zatt's figure was glowing red in her visor as she tracked his progress. The thin tunnel he'd slipped down was only just big enough to let her squeeze through, and Saedii recognized that he'd chosen a very strategic hiding place. If Krell hadn't brought Saedii along, then none of the other Inquisitors would have ever been able to squeeze through these tunnels and discover him.

"Zatt, stop!" Saedii called desperately. She thought of the First Brother and Second Sister. Wondered how close they were. If Zatt exited the tunnel system and came across them, they would kill him immediately. Right now, these tunnels were the safest place for him.

Unsurprisingly, Zatt didn't stop. A part of Saedii didn't blame him. She knew that if she was in his shoes, she wouldn't listen either. But it wasn't safe outside. He had to slow. To wait while she figured out how the hell to keep him safe while not tipping off Krell to what she'd done.

The Force writhed against her, charged with emotion. Saedii pulled on it, wrapping it around Zatt's ankle and yanking him down. He yelped as he flopped hard onto his belly, knocking the wind out of him. There was a sharp clank as his lightsaber bounced onto the ground before him.

Saedii slowed as she came to stand before him, hands out. "Zatt, you need to listen to me. Please."

"Stay back!" Zatt said, voice trembling. He scrambled back on his hands and knees.

"It's Saedii!" Quickly, Saedii fumbled with her helmet, pulling it off to show her face. Zatt went still at the sight of her staring down at him.

But instead of the relieved recognition, horror split his face. "Traitor! You traitor!"

"Listen to me!" Saedii hissed. "I want to help you."

"I don't want your help!"

He reached behind him, grabbing for his lightsaber. Saedii held out a hand, pulling it towards her with the Force. It slapped into her palm, thinner than her own hilt.

Zatt's mouth pressed into a tight light at the sight of his only weapon in her hand. His eyes writhed in frustration and fear.

"Listen," Saedii said again, more urgently this time. "I don't want to hurt you, but there are others here that do. More Inquisitors."

"Like you?" he snarled.

She grimaced. "Worse than me."

Zatt's chest was rising nervously. The breaths he took were quick and shallow. For a moment, Saedii was afraid he might pass out.

But he didn't. Instead, he glared at her and demanded, "And I'm supposed to just believe you?"

"You don't have a choice."

Rebellion blazed in his eyes. He held up his chin defiantly. "Give me back my lightsaber, and maybe I'll trust you."

He wasn't a very good liar. Saedii could sense his dishonesty in the Force around him. Most likely, he would run again once he had his blade. Saedii couldn't let him do that.

"Zatt, you can't leave the tunnels. It's not safe out there," Saedii started slowly. "The others can't reach you in here. This is the best place for you."

Her mind whirled. Going through scenarios and strategies. Maybe, if Zatt stayed here, Saedii could hide his signature long enough for Krell to lose interest. She'd become a good liar in the past year. She could keep her emotions in check long enough to convince him there had been nothing in the tunnels.

Are you sure about that? That dark voice of doubt was ever present. It coaxed her to obey. To follow Krell's orders. Omega's life is worth more than his, it whispered.

Saedii shook it off. Silencing it.

Perhaps sensing the turmoil in her, Zatt backed away again. Slowly, so as not to spook her.

What should she do? Send him back the way he'd come? Tell him to hide somewhere else? How the hell was she supposed to get him out of here alive?

"Alright," she said slowly, forcing herself to decide. For now, he'd need to stay put. "Here's what you need to do –"

The Force moved against her shoulder. Saedii moved on instinct, ducking beneath the shower of loose rocks that Zatt tried to pull down on her head. They clambered onto the ground where she'd been standing, just missing her.

She sensed more than saw as Zatt charged to his feet, disappearing around the next bend in the tunnel. His fear had given way to determination. Convinced that he could beat her now that he'd taken her unaware.

If only he knew that Saedii wasn't trying to hurt him. If only he trusted that she was trying to help him.

The tunnel lit up red as Saedii slipped her helmet back on, running after him. When she reached out into the Force ahead, she found that this tunnel was much shorter than the other had been. The snowy mountain side was waiting only a few hundred yards away.

"Zatt!" Saedii called, his lightsaber clutched tight in her hand.

As she rounded the corner, her probe out ahead of her suddenly brushed against something cold. Not the storm, howling and blustering with snow and ice, but something else. A shadow that waited, hidden within the folds of the Force.

Krell.

No.

"Zatt, stop!" Saedii screamed as he ran headfirst out of the tunnel.

There was a flash of red as Krell struck – brutal and quick. A terrible, blood-curdling scream sliced through the shrieking wind as pain flooded the Force, choking down Saedii's throat.

She rushed out of the tunnel, coming to a stop. A horrified choking sound scraped from her throat as she caught sight of the green blood quickly melting the snow beneath her feet.

Krell's strike had been deadly. Zatt was sobbing as he bent over himself, arms wrapped tightly around his gut. With a single swing, Krell had opened up his belly. By the amount of blood that poured over his arms, he'd bleed out in minutes.

"Perhaps I should have told you," Krell said slowly, disengaging his lightsaber, "that your helmet records everything you see. The moment you found the youngling, I found him as well."

Cold skittered down her spine – a cold that had nothing to do with the thick white wind that pulled at her leathers. If Krell had been watching, then he'd know that she had tried to save him. That she'd been willing to betray him.

Fear clamped hard on her chest. He would kill Omega for this.

The Second Sister and First Brother were there too. Waiting beside Krell in an expectant half-circle as they watched. Distantly, Saedii realized that this whole mission must have been a set up. A way to test her.

"You failed, Sister," Krell said, voice sharp as a blade.

Saedii said nothing. Waiting for his judgement. Ready to plead for mercy if she must. At her feet, Zatt cried harder.

A very cruel smile curled Krell's lips. "But I will give you one last chance at redemption. A chance to prove your loyalty, once again."

A sick sense of intuition flickered. Saedii had a feeling she knew what he was going to ask of her.

"Kill the youngling, and you will be forgiven."

No.

The cold around her suddenly disappeared as Saedii's body went numb. A thin ringing filled her ears as her mind spun the words over and over, far too loud. For a moment, she was dangerously dizzy.

Kill the youngling.

"Please," Saedii choked. Beneath her helmet, tears had begun to slip silently down her cheeks. Her breath felt like icy knives in her chest.

The Second Sister cocked her head. "It seems she is refusing your second chance, Grand Inquisitor."

"She will not," Krell said evenly. "Not if she wants to keep her little friend alive."

Saedii sucked in a quivering breath. She looked down at Zatt, whose cries were beginning to slow. His eyes were unfocused. Blood loss was catching up with him, she knew. He was dying – slowly and painfully.

Krell wanted her to be the one to end him.

It was the ultimate power flex. The ultimate way to prove that he controlled her. Forcing her to kill a Jedi – a youngling, unarmed and wounded.

I can't, she whispered in her head.

"What will it be, Sister?" Krell demanded.

Kill Zatt or let Omega die. The lives of two children, hanging in the balance. One of whom would die.

Very slowly, Saedii reached for the lightsaber at her belt.

Her hand was shaking as she engaged the blade before her. Pressure swelled in her head, making her feel lightheaded as she took an unsteady step towards Zatt. Snow crunched beneath her boot, sounding like bones breaking.

A roaring sound filled her ears, blocking out Zatt's pitiful cries. The only sound Saedii could hear in this small bubble was her own breath, which caught in her chest.

Zatt looked up in fear as she stood over him. "Please, don't," he whispered. Voice weak. Helpless.

He knew what was coming.

"I'm...so sorry," Saedii said. Her voice broke. "I'm so very sorry, Zatt."

In her mind, that angry voice began to scream Murderer! Monster! Traitor!

"Saedii," Zatt cried. Begging.

With a shaking hand, Saedii reached up and removed her helmet. Letting him see the tears that quickly began to freeze on her cheeks. See the sorrow that glistened in her eyes. There was a faint crunch as her helmet dropped into the snow at her feet.

Tears spilled down Zatt's face. His lips quivered.

"Please forgive me," Saedii whispered as her blade lifted of its own accord.

Then, without another thought, she struck.

Her blade pierced straight through his heart, severing his aorta. It killed him instantly and Saedii felt as his spirit severed from his body, slipping into the flow of the Force around them with a shudder. Her blade shivered as she yanked it out and slipped from her unsteady hands a moment later.

Icy cold bit her knees as she collapsed into the snow. Carefully, she pulled Zatt into her arms, resting her forehead against his. A little sob tore from her chest as his soft, warm skin rested against hers.

"I'm sorry," Saedii cried, over and over again. Hoping that he could hear her wherever his spirit had gone.

Monster, that voice in her head taunted.

Footsteps crunched through the snow beside her. Saedii looked up, knowing who she'd find waiting for her.

Krell glared down at her. His earlier amusement at her torture was gone, replaced by a dark wrath. She knew that making her kill Zatt would not be enough. He still planned to punish her for her failure.

"You've displeased me, Sister," he said, voice as cold as the mountain around them. His hand clenched into a fist at his side. "Inquisitors do not show mercy."

Saedii's breath caught in her chest. With trembling hands, she set Zatt's body back down in the snow. Bracing for what she knew was about to happen.

Krell's lips pulled back in a silent snarl. "It seems you still have much to learn of our ways."

It was a promise of violent things to come.