SWTOR: Chains 5-Tatooine

Title: SWTOR: Chains 5-Tatooine
Author: KitiaraMajere
Game: SWTOR
Characters/Pairing: Sith Inquisitor/Andronikos Revel
Disclaimer: Characters, etc. property of Bioware/EA, anything they get up to in these stories is entirely my fault.
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Andronikos Revel wanted very much to strangle something. Preferably his enemy, but right now anyone would do.

He stared down the diminutive woman, clenching his fists. The thin veneer he’d managed thus far cracked, showing the burning rage that had been there ever since the mutiny. She didn’t seem intimidated by his anger, but he wasn’t giving in. Couldn’t give in. He was so close to his revenge; he wouldn’t let anyone, not even a Sith, keep him from it. He ignored the threat of the terrifyingly ugly monster at her side. She couldn’t get what she wanted without him, and he fully intended to get what he wanted, too. No one was going to kill Wilkes, but him. Only a thin thread of caution kept him from exploding, reminding him that this was a Sith; if he didn’t tread very carefully here, he could lose it all.

She finally huffed in disgust. "Fine. But the artifact is mine."

He had sense enough not to rub in his victory. “Hey, you can have the damned thing, I don’t care. Brought me enough bad luck already.”

He barely paid attention to the discussion that followed between her and the bodyguard, too busy gleefully grabbing up his gear. The monster finally stalked off and she turned back to him. “If you’re quite ready, I have several people to speak to before we can leave.” She cast a jaundiced look at his blasters. “I hope you’re as good with those as you claim; the speeder only holds two so I sent Khem back to my ship.”

Andronikos gave her a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am, I think you’ll be more than happy with my, ah, expertise."

Showing no response to his sarcasm, she merely turned for the door in a swish of robes. He followed, not bothering to hide his smirk. This was going to be interesting.

He nearly changed his mind about that during the next while. This Sith sure had been a busy little bee. If this artifact was so important to her, why was she running missions for everyone and his brother? The delay did, however, give him time to study her.

She spoke to various military officials as if she were an equal, or better. They in turn treated her with wary respect for the most part, if not outright fear. Even other Sith were at least polite to her (well, polite for a Sith, which meant they didn’t threaten agonizing death), all of which made him wonder: just who was this girl? From what he overheard, he gathered that she was not even a full Sith yet, only an apprentice. What had she done to elicit such reactions?

She was pretty under that robe and hood, from what he could see; large doe-eyes in a doll-like face, with the slight form of a dancer. But if she’d survived the Sith Academy, she was anything but fragile. All in all, a dangerous combination. He would have to be very careful; once his usefulness to her was over, she would think nothing of killing him.

And yet... she had spoken almost kindly to that monster that followed her like a puppy. She had called it, him, by name. Reassured him that she would not abandon him. Damned strange behavior for a Sith.

Raised voices drew his attention to the present conversation. Such as it was. One of the back-water officials of this back-water world was whining to the Sith. Andronikos’ lip curled in disgust. Gah, bureaucrats were all alike, all convinced of their own importance and completely sure that everyone was interested in every little facet of their lives. Andronikos kept his mouth shut, though.

She didn’t. “I’m quite certain that I did not say, ‘Please expendable worm, tell me about your life’.” The words fairly dripped with sarcastic venom. She hadn’t even raised her voice; she didn’t have to. Nikos didn’t bother to hide his grin as the man paled, practically crawling as he begged her forgiveness. Okay, so far being a Sith’s sidekick was showing some definite perks. He’d seldom seem such an inflated ego punctured so mercilessly, and without a single overt threat. He thought he was going to like this girl.

If they could get moving and find Wilkes. He gritted his teeth. He’d been here for weeks, searching; surely he could stand a few hours. She’d already made more progress in one day than he had since he’d arrived. Of course, she could approach Casey, something he still wasn’t willing to do. Their last face-to-face hadn’t gone so well.

Just when he thought he might explode from impatience, she led the way to her rented speeder. She made no protest when he took the driver’s seat and he had to discard the snappy comeback he’d had all prepared.

They ran into a few problems; sandpeople attacks, mostly. Nothing to cause them any real trouble, but it gave him a chance to see her in action. She was good, damned good, and not just with the lightning-flinging. When they had to fight, she didn’t just charge in throwing lightning bolts around; she studied the situation, and then applied a strategy to minimize any dangers. She even listened to his suggestions. She didn’t always take his advice, but she listened.

She was a puzzle; imperious but not pompous, threatening but not blustering, fearless, but not reckless. She didn't scream venomous threats or yell in self-righteous fury, merely went about her work with solemn determination. He’d dealt with Sith before and was used to their swaggering, overbearing ways. It hadn’t saved them. But she was as far from those idiots as a scyk was from a womp rat. She didn’t kill just for the sake of killing, or torment for fun. The arrogance of most Siths could be used against them, but while she spouted the expected lines about the superiority of the Sith, they seemed to be just that: lines. Almost as if she was playing a part. Sometimes he thought she even had a sense of humor—one that didn’t include torture. Which brought him right back to it: she was damned strange, for a Sith.

He’d figure her out, eventually.

*****

Miho shaded her eyes from the ever-present glare of the twin suns. Tatooine was definitely not on her list of favorite places so far. Even with the control she maintained over her body through the Force, the heat was near unbearable, and the gritty, drifting sand was a constant annoyance. It got into everything and left her mouth feeling horrible.

“So, if this artifact is so important, why’re you going off on all these wild-goose chases?”

She glanced at Revel. Goggles hid his eyes from view as he drove the speeder with casual competence across the rocky crags and shifting dunes alike. She considered for a long moment whether to answer and mentally shrugged. It wasn’t like it was a secret, and he had been a model companion so far, keeping his mouth shut and taking orders with a nod. She’d noted his impatience, but he had held his tongue, and he actually seemed to be as good with his blasters as he’d claimed. Besides, the desert was damned boring.

“It earns a few credits and enhances my reputation. Never hurts to have more of either. Besides, it’s for ‘the glory of the Empire’.” She didn’t bother hiding her sarcasm. What had the Empire done for her? If she hadn’t been discovered to have Force powers, she’d still be a slave, most likely in some Hutt’s harem by now.

Revel gave a throaty chuckle. “Yeah. ‘For the Empire’.” He threw a sidelong glance her way, which she loftily ignored. If he didn’t believe her, so what? Zash herself had told her to help out as she could, and she had simply continued that practice. Some credit would apply to Zash, of course, but she would be known as the one who did the deeds. And you never knew when you might need to call in some favors.

But this pirate didn’t need to know everything. Perhaps it was time to divert him. And she had been curious. “Why didn’t you contact your ‘friend’ Casey directly?” she asked bluntly. “You said she was trustworthy.”

He shifted in his seat. “I, uh, couldn’t take the chance that I’d be spotted. Once Wilkes knew I was on planet, he’d bury himself so deep I’d never find him.”

She sensed there was more to it than he was saying, but let it drop. She did not care, as long as he led her to the artifact.

*****

Face to face with Wilkes, after all this time--it was almost too good to be true. He felt an insane urge to laugh, especially when the Sith got indignant at the man’s gibe. “I am not cute! I am deadly!” She didn’t quite stomp her foot.

When the fight began he could see nothing but his enemy, only vaguely aware of the guards screaming as she lashed them with lightning. He wasn’t worried; after seeing her in action he was pretty sure the girl could handle them by herself. Besides, he had more than his hands full with Wilkes. The man was much better than he remembered.

He gasped as a shot burned his shoulder, and suddenly he realized that it was far from the first one; he was badly hurt. In his rage he hadn’t noticed the previous wounds; now he did, and felt his strength almost at its end. He fell to one knee, trying to ignore Wilkes’ savage grin of triumph. Well, hopefully he’d damaged the man enough that she could finish him off. “Nice knowing ya, Sith!” he rasped. Dammit, he wouldn’t mind so much if he knew for sure that Wilkes was dead, too.

A sheet of translucent violet energy appeared between him and his opponent; the shot that surely would have killed him splashed harmlessly on the surface of the shield. He stared in disbelief, and gasped again as a rush of warmth filled him. What the --

It was her! Her hands stretched toward him, nearly obscured by darkly glowing coils of energy. Her face was set with concentration; she didn’t see one of the fallen guards raising his blaster—

“Look out!” He fired without thinking, the bolt passing within inches of her to explode in the man’s face. She never flinched, continuing to do whatever it was she was doing—healing him, he realized belatedly. The bubble of protective energy around him disappeared—and thank the Maker that it appeared to only block incoming shots--and he grinned ferally at Wilkes. He was practically good as new, while Wilkes... wasn’t. “Time to die, worm.”

Streamers of lightning from her hands joined his blaster, forcing the mutineer to his knees in short order. Andronikos realized he was grinning crazily with victory, barely remembering in time that they needed Wilkes alive for information. All he wanted was the locations of the remaining crew members. She was welcome to the damned artifact for all of him. The thing was cursed.

When they had gotten what little Wilkes knew, he took a moment to savor the feeling, looking down at Wilkes’ defiant snarl. For a moment he thought the Sith was about to say something but he fired, drowning it out. He stared down at the body, bemused. Somehow it hadn’t felt quite as satisfying as he had thought it would. Well, there were still a few more of his erstwhile crew to hunt down.

“We’re done here.” She had already turned away by the time he looked up.

“Hey!” She didn’t pause and he trotted to catch up. “Hey, ah... thanks for the, ah, you know.” She didn’t reply and he tried again. “Didn’t know Sith could heal; I thought all they did was agonizing pain.” He grinned but she ignored him, still striding toward the exit. He pitched his voice with a little more force. “Why’d you do it, Sith? You could have let me die, taken down Wilkes yourself.”

She stopped at that, half-turning to him with a blank expression. He waited, and after a long moment she said, “While he was focused on you, I was free to attack without spending energy to defend myself. It benefited me to keep you alive, to hold his attention.”

“Use me as bait, eh. I see.” But she’d spent energy to defend him, energy she could have used against Wilkes. So why? Surely a Sith didn’t feel compassion, or loyalty?

She seemed to sense his skepticism. “Besides, you have held to your part of the bargain. You have been... useful.” She cocked her head. “I could ask the same. You have protected me, at the cost of your own safety. Even turned from your attacker to distract mine when I was beset.” So she had noticed.

He grinned. “Lady, when I make a pledge, I put my all into it. I don’t do things by halves.”

She nodded. “I see.” She pivoted and began walking again. Apparently the subject was closed.

For her, at least; he still had plenty to think about. Her ‘explanation’ didn’t quite ring true. If he didn’t know better he’d think she didn’t quite know herself why she’d saved him. But he’d let it drop. For now. She was a strange Sith, that was for sure.

He quickened his step to catch up with her again. “So... why do you want that thing, this ‘artifact’? You’ve seen the effect it has—it really is cursed.”

She glanced at him from under the hood, her porcelain visage expressionless. “Power, what else?”

He snorted. “The only power that thing has is the power to ruin lives.”

One black-clad shoulder lifted in a delicate shrug. “It’s useless to anyone else. Only in the right hands can it fulfill its true purpose.”

“And what is that?” he asked.

“None of your business.” Her tone was pleasant enough but rang with finality. Eh, he’d gotten more than he expected, anyway.

They emerged into the merciless sunlight and he winced. Ugh, he hated this planet. Should have plugged Wilkes a few extra times just for making him come here to kill the slive. Which reminded him, the agreement had been to get Wilkes for him, and the artifact for her. He’d gotten Wilkes, but he still owed payback to the remaining members of his old crew that had gotten away. She didn’t really need him anymore, but since she didn’t have the artifact yet, either, he’d just assume the agreement still stood.

She was already climbing into the rented speeder; he vaulted into the driver’s seat and powered it up. “So, off to the Dune Sea,” he said casually. She paused, giving him a long, level look.

Long practice kept him from fidgeting, even managing to return her look calmly despite those blasted suns beating down on him. How she managed to look so cool and collected in those black robes, he’d give a year’s pay to know. Just when he thought she would tell him they were done and to head for Mos Ila, she gave a brief nod. “Very well.”

He grinned and spun the throttle, sending sand up in a spray. All right, then.