18

The Inquisitors didn't linger long on Nal Kopak.

Rex and his team hadn't left behind any clues to their whereabouts. Nor had the Jedi, much to Krell's ire. After a fruitless search of the nearby planets, Krell finally called the Inquisitors back to Fortress Inquisitorious to start planning.

Back on Nur, Saedii returned to her usual routine. Pretending that she was still the perfect soldier, tightly wound under Krell's control. Even if that was the furthest thing from the truth.

As she walked down the hall early in the morning for her training with Krell, a shadow passed her in the hall. Slowing just long enough to whisper, "I have the schematics for the Tantiss base."

Saedii didn't turn to look at Kalth, but whispered from the side of her mouth, "Do you know where she's being kept?"

"The Advanced Science Division. Under the supervision of a Kaminoan called Nala Se."

It was a familiar name. The main scientist behind the Cloning operation had also personally raised Omega. It made sense that she would have kept Omega close.

The halls were empty and quiet this time of day. But even so, Saedii's eyes flicked around, lingering on the dark corners. "Security measures?"

"A contingent of stormtroopers. Some enhanced Clones." Kalth paused. "And the Fifth Sister."

Tension flared down her neck as Saedii ground her teeth. She remembered the Fifth Sister all too well. She was as dangerous as she was unpredictable. A sizeable complication.

But not enough to change Saedii's mind. "Krell is expecting a transmission from Tarkin in the coming days. The Emperor is growing worried over the threat of Anakin and Obi-Wan out there. He thinks the Emperor is going to request an Inquisitor as a personal guard."

In the two weeks that had passed since Nal Kopak, it was all Krell had talked about. All he'd seethed about as he vented his frustrations during their training sessions and strategy meetings. Their continued failure to capture or even locate the two biggest threats to the Empire were being taken as a personal insult to him.

"I'm surprised that Lord Vader hasn't stepped in," Kalth commented bitterly.

Saedii had never once laid eyes on the mysterious Sith lord that ran the Inquisitors. Sometimes, she was sure she could sense him nearby – a bitter sharp coldness that sucked all the light and life from the Force, leaving it dark and lifeless. But he'd never once been close enough to lay eyes on.

Her stomach turned uncomfortably at the thought of him. From the whispered bits of conversation she'd picked up from the other Inquisitors, Vader was a thousand times worse than Krell. More ruthless. More cunning. More deadly.

If Darth Vader came to the Fortress, Saedii and Kalth's chance at escape would dramatically decrease. They had to find a way to leave before he showed up to take over the hunt.

"Krell expressed the same frustration," Saedii admitted.

Kalth's expression grew cold. "It's a small mercy that he trusts Krell so implicitly. Otherwise, he would have been here sooner."

"If he does show up," Saedii pressed. "What will that mean?"

His expression grew stony. "Pray that he doesn't."

She left him then. Only half a minute had passed since Saedii had slowed to talk. Far shorter than she would have liked, but they always kept their conversations brief. Just in case.

One change that Krell had enacted since Nal Kopak was giving Saedii small measures of freedom. She no longer needed an escort to her training sessions in the morning. When Krell was ready for her, her cell door would open with a dull buzz and she would walk herself down to the training room.

It wasn't trust. Not really. Krell would never fully trust her. But that small sliver of freedom ensured that she and Kalth had these brief planning moments.

They were getting closer to a solid plan. So long as nothing disastrous happened, they could be out of here in as little as a few weeks. All they had to do until then was keep their heads down and give Krell no reason to suspect their loyalties.

When Saedii entered the training room, she sensed instantly that something was wrong.

Krell was tense. His normally smug smile was replaced by a tight line and even tighter jaw. When he caught sight of Saedii lingering in the doorway, he tossed something to her, and she caught it reflexively.

A new helmet, identical to the one she'd lost. It was cold and heavy in her hands.

"Put it on and follow me," Krell snapped, leading past her. Back out into the hallway.

Something was definitely wrong. Krell never skipped their morning training.

As curious as Saedii was to know, she didn't ask. Only followed in silence.

Empty hallways and silence greeted them. The rest of the Fortress was still asleep, though Saedii could sense a restlessness in the Force. A disturbance somewhere deep below. To her surprise, Krell led her to a hidden staircase by the hangar – one that seemed to lead straight down towards the ripple.

Narrow walls pressed into Krell's shoulders, giving a very small window to what was waiting ahead of them. Warm red light flickered from somewhere down below, playing in sharp patterns across the damp walls.

The air grew colder and damper the further they descended. By a quick guess, this was the furthest that Saedii had ever been within the Fortress. Far, far below the waves.

Saedii suddenly stiffened as a wall of cold slammed into her – not in the air, but in the Force. It felt as though someone had dumped ice water along her back or plunged her into the deepest, darkest pit of space. Something dark whispered along her senses, ringing in her ears. Distorting the Force into something unrecognizable.

What the hell was this place? Why did the Force feel so...lifeless? So utterly cold and empty and sinister?

Krell's footsteps echoed as he finally made the landing at the bottom. As he moved towards the left, Saedii was given her first glimpse of the space that waited for her and she was powerless to stop the sudden horror that surged through her like a solar flare.

Amber pods glowed along the wall – a low, dim light that didn't reach the corners of the long hall. Within every one, a shadow floated in stillness. Shadows with faces frozen in permanent howls of anguish.

Corpses.

Jedi corpses.

Decay and death flooded the Force, as thick as silvery mist in the predawn hour on Coruscant. It pressed down Saedii's throat, clogging her airways. Making her choke at the sudden wrongness – the vile injustice of it.

Her footsteps faltered. She fell to her knees, gagging.

There had to be over a hundred. Maybe more. As Saedii's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, the faces suddenly began to pop into clarity, and she shuddered as she recognized the ones closest to her.

Shaak Ti – her throat split by a lightsaber burn.

Aayla Secura – body riddled with blaster fire.

Kelleran Beq – a gaping wound to his chest.

Their bodies gave off a faint pulse of power – a ripple that was distorted and twisted by the vile energy of the Fortress. It felt like their very essences were being drained. Like their bodies were being used as solar panels, drawing the Force in only for it to be sucked out and twisted and corrupted.

"Sister," Krell said sharply.

Saedii gasped, struggling for breath. "What – what is this?"

"The tombs."

Tomb? Saedii had visited the tombs at the Temple on Coruscant and they had never felt anything like this. Had never made her so physically sick. She choked.

"The Dark Side is strong here," Krell explained, emotionless eyes observing her with displeasure. "We use the bodies of the fallen to power our own connection. To make it stronger."

Her throat felt tight. It took everything in her not to spill her guts.

Krell sneered. "You will not fear the Dark Side for long."

She gritted her teeth. Fighting back against the nausea. The panic.

"Get up," Krell demanded. "We have things to do."

With effort, Saedii pushed up to her feet. A dull ache began to form behind her eyes as she forced herself forward. Every breath raked down her throat like hot coals, scraped against her lungs like sand. Every fiber of her being demanded her to leave. A dark voice hummed close to her ears.

Satisfied once again that she was following, Krell led her towards an iron-rimmed door with a massive lock on the outside. It slid open with an echoing boom.

Faint warmth played along her senses. Life amidst all the death.

"Hello, lieutenant," Krell purred.

Inside, strapped to a table, was a Clone.

His face was bloodied and nearly unrecognizable. Dark, close-cropped hair was sticky with blood and his dark skin had grown pallid. His crazed eyes swung up to them in horror.

Saedii stopped just inside the door. It was Amp.

One of his hands was missing its fingernails. Dried blood crusted down to the first knuckle bone of each finger – except for his middle, which was missing.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest and she was suddenly grateful for the helmet. To mask the flicker of horror she would have been unable to hide.

"Do you know this Clone?"

"Yes," Saedii answered honestly. "He served with Rex."

Krell nodded, pleased with her honesty. "The Eighth Brother captured him in our search for Skywalker and Kenobi. We have been trying to get information from him, to no avail."

Amp's fear was staining the Force. Making Saedii's breaths feel tight once again. She had a terrible feeling she knew what Krell had brought her down here for.

"Lord Vader wants information," Krell expanded, gesturing to the Clone. "I have been sent to make the Clone talk. You are here to tell me when he lies."

Bile burned at the back of her throat. She locked her muscles in place to keep herself from running.

She didn't want to see this. Didn't want to watch Amp be hurt. And she definitely didn't want to be down here, where the very Force felt like it was sapping the life from her.

But Omega was still under the Fifth Sister's watch. Still at Krell's mercy. Until she and Kalth found a way to get her out, Saedii still had a role to play.

Somehow, she found her voice to mutter, "Yes, Master."

Her head felt like it was spinning. That headache that had pressed on her before was back in force, making her eyes water. Or maybe that was just her tears threatening to spill.

Amp shook his head. "You won't get anything from me."

"You say that now." Krell was giddy. He was looking forward to this. "But you don't know how persuasive I can be."

Saedii braced herself.

"Who led the attack in Nal Kopak?"

Sweat beaded on Amp's forehead. He said nothing.

Darkness flickered nearby – brushing against her awareness. It crowded around her and Krell, drawn to them like magnets. Even if she had never used it herself, Saedii knew what it was.

The Dark Side.

A scream ripped from Amp's mouth. He thrashed against the straps that held him, eyes bugging in his pale face.

Saedii jerked as she felt what Krell was doing. He was using the Force to increase the pressure in Amp's head, like an airlock gone wrong. Constricting the blood vessels in his brain so that they nearly burst.

Shadow blanketed the Force around them. Pain. Power – pure, unadulterated power promised against her skin. Begging her to give it direction. To let it in, just like Krell.

You can be strong, it coaxed. Strong enough to escape. To save your friend.

The Dark Side withdrew.

Amp's breathing hitched as the swelling in his brain died. With how heightened the Force felt around her, she could sense the rush of blood through his head. Feel as his blood vessels returned to normal once again.

"Tell me," Krell demanded, voice sharper. "Who led the attack?"

"Rex," Amp cried. "Commander Rex and General Tano."

"Ahsoka Tano?"

"Yes."

Her hands curled into fists. She couldn't look at Amp as tears began to sluice down his grimy cheeks. To watch felt like a betrayal.

Krell smiled encouragingly. "How many Clones does Rex have under his control?"

Amp shook his head.

The shadows converged again, stronger this time. Amp's screams echoed off the stone walls, stabbing at Saedii's eardrums. Sweat of her own began to drip down her spine as she fought to hold herself in place. To stop Krell from hurting him anymore.

Take it. Kill him, that disembodied voice coaxed.

The Force was potent here, drawn by the bodies of the Jedi that lined the halls. Powerful and strong. Just the brush against her awareness was enough for her to know that this type of power would give her unimaginable strength. Maybe even more strength than Krell.

Red swam at the edges of Saedii's vision – not from her visor, but from the shadow that bled against her consciousness like an ink stain. That fear that had sat cold in her chest now burned icy cold. Something menacing and calculating hedged in against her skin, whispering. Taunting.

Power. All for you.

"Ten thousand!" Amp shouted, voice broken and thin. "He has ten thousand Clones!"

Ten thousand. Nearly double what he'd had when Saedii was there.

Krell turned to look at Saedii for her reaction, but when she was still, he pressed on, "Who else? Who is aiding the Clones?"

Amp groaned. "No one. Just us."

"A lie."

This time, the burn of the Dark Side against Saedii's senses was so powerful that it nearly doubled her over. She leaned heavily against the wall, gritting her teeth. Nails scraped against stone.

It was so...tempting. So strong and unending.

You could do anything.

Defeated, Amp admitted, "Jedi! Skywalker and Kenobi and Tano! And the senator – Amidala!"

"Amidala?" Krell barked in surprise. He looked sharply at Saedii, who had gone still once again. "Padme Amidala is alive?"

"Yes. She receives aid from allies in the senate," Amp croaked.

Too much. He was giving away too much. Saedii had to find a way to stop him. To get him to stop talking.

"Which allies?" Krell pressed, eager. "Which senators?"

Kill him.

The voice was half-shadow and half her own. A desperate cry. She had to stop Amp before he revealed anymore. Had to put him out of his misery.

Shuddering, Saedii let the walls around her mind slip. Inviting the darkness in.

Shadow and power and strength and fury and ice.

Flooding her veins. Flushing her skin and inflating her lungs.

Darkness danced along every nerve ending, burned from her eyes. Beat through the chambers of her heart.

In a trance, her hand rose, molding to the shape of Amp's throat. Power wound through her fingers as the Force melted out like magma, wrapping around the thin, shaking neck of the trooper. He whimpered.

"No!" Krell roared.

Too late.

A sickening crack split the silence. The sound of a neck twisting. Breaking. Amp's body slumped onto the stone table as his soul slipped into the Force, leaving behind a last echo of surprise...and relief.

Krell took a measured step towards her but froze as he sensed the shadows around her. "Release the Dark Side," he commanded.

Her head tilted to the side. His fear played along her senses. It made her smile beneath her helmet. He was right to fear her. He was weak, while she was strong.

"Sister," Krell warned.

Fingers twitched at her side. One twist would be all it took to end his life. To break his neck. His spine. It had been easy enough.

Kill him. Escape.

Krell's hand landed on his lightsaber. "If you kill me, the Clone dies."

A new voice sliced through the shadows. Omega.

Saedii fell to her knees, severing the connection to the Dark Side.

It retracted, wrenching free from her mind like a weed being ripped by the bleeding roots. Pain lanced through the back of Saedii's head at the sudden feeling of emptiness that was left behind. That cold, lifeless voice that had whispered so seductively in her ear was silenced, leaving only a thin ringing in its wake.

She gasped for breath, fear quickly clawing into her chest where the shadows had filled all the crevices. It had been so cold. So powerful. She hadn't been able to resist it. Had been unable to stop once it had crept in.

But part of her knew that was a lie. She'd been in control. Terrifying control.

Killing Amp had been Saedii's will, not the Dark Side. She knew what Krell would have done to him otherwise. Hadn't wanted to see him hurt. And she knew that whatever secrets he had harbored would have spilled out eventually.

She had had no choice.

That knowledge didn't make her hate herself any less.

Harsh footsteps approached. Someone knelt beside her. Saedii tensed as she waited for the blow, too weak to defend against it.

Krell lifted her helmet from her head. His eyes were intent on her face. Focused on her eyes, which felt like they were burning.

"Seductive, isn't it? The call of the Dark Side?" he asked, voice low.

It was. She could still feel it calling to her. The well of power sucking at her like a current, trying to pull her under. To drown her.

"I should have known you would not be strong enough to resist it. Not yet," Krell said quietly, angry – though not at her, Saedii recognized. "I should not have brought you down here."

Her eyes still burned. She rubbed at them, terrified of what she might see if she looked into a mirror. "I'm sorry, Master."

"You'll learn," Krell vowed.

A promise that sounded more like a threat.