Desperate Measures/Part 14

They both watched Tirien dive out the window, a metallic clang audible a few seconds later. With Alecto's arm still stretched out where she had reached for the vial, she had loosened her hold on Kai Latra, and he threw himself away before she could activate her lightsaber. She popped the top off the vial as the Gossam scampered to his feet and said, "No–don't–drink–that–I–forgot–I–need–one–more–ingredient–don't—!"

She drank it, and Kai Latra sighed. "Awwwwww."

For a moment they stared at one another, then Alecto pitched forward, gasping before she sank to her knees and cried out in pain. She looked up and saw indecision in Kai Latra's eyes for a moment. He started to raise his hands, but then there were snarls across the room and a cold voice commanded, "Protect the Master. Kill the Gossam."

Whirling, Kai Latra waved his hands, and Alecto heard further snarls and cries of pain, but through her own internal anguish she recognized the voice that had spoken and fury seized her. She reached out for Kai Latra as if she could touch him, and he flew backwards, bouncing off a wall. At once her rage exploded outward in every direction, vials shattering, weapons falling, equipment blown from tables that burst asunder, the dark side venting itself.

And the Force was with her again.

The pain stopped, and Darth Alecto rose to smile at Nevya Khiyali. "Hello, brethren. It's been too long."

They stood there, seven of them, looking more than a little savage and somewhat worse for the wear—Zarrke was nursing a wound in his shoulder, and Dekkia's eyes showed a bit of lingering daze. White-haired and disheveled Voshkis, by contrast, smiled as though he had just defeated a monstrous Ugnaught brute too. At the head of the team, Nevya had blood on her clothes and her curved sword in hand, but she smiled back as she bowed, radiating relief. "And you, Master. We've searched for you far and wide."

"I had to come visit my colleague Kai Latra," she said, then added casually, "who betrayed me."

As one, seven cold pairs of Anzat eyes turned from Alecto to Kai Latra, who stopped rubbing his head where he had hit it on the wall and grumbling under his breath and looked back, eyes narrowed.

"Shall we kill him for you, Master?" Nevya asked. "We had to kill one of his Acolytes—we came in through the bell tower."

"Awwwww!" Kai Latra complained. "Lygrot? I liked that one!"

"Tempting," Alecto admitted, smiling at the Gossam. "But I have other plans for my friend here. Unless of course it turns out this concoction was another betrayal; if I take ill in the next few hours, we'll flay him and feed what's left to his pets."

Nevya nodded in acceptance, and Kai Latra swallowed. Alecto opened her hand, and her lightsaber sprang off the floor and into her grip. She considered going down to butcher a few of Kai Latra's creations just for the joy of having her powers back and being able to sense the blade until Rosyit said, "Master…"

She turned and saw him studying Kai Latra's security monitor. On the screen Tirien Kal-Di left himself utterly defenseless against two of Kai Latra's Sith, and Alecto's eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly. But then, at the last second, he defended himself with the skill she remembered from Milagro, and Alecto knew. She felt a faint smile touch her lips before she curved it into a smirk and turned it on Kai Latra.

"Couple flaws in the formula there, master alchemist?"

Kai Latra was watching the video feed critically. "Hmm. Well, like I said, old data.  I'll have to work on it, but not bad for a first try!"

There were footsteps on the stairs; the Anzati all flattened themselves against the walls or ducked behind broken equipment. The Nikto Acolyte slipped into the room; Alecto enjoyed feeling his mounting alarm in the Force. "Master, what's hap—"

He stopped as he noticed Ugor's corpse and the ruins of the lab. He looked back up to Kai Latra and Alecto, but Alecto gestured negligently, and before the Nikto could do more than part his robes, two Anzati had secured his arms and a third had a knife to his throat.

"Master!"

"Wait, don't kill him, he's helpful!" Kai Latra added.

"Master, the Jedi," Rosyit said.

She looked back at the screen and saw the slaves cramming themselves into the Zygerrian transport. Nevya looked too, then said, "If we are to catch them, Master, we must go now."

Alecto looked at the little vial that had fallen at her feet and smiled to herself. "We'll give the Jedi a pass this once, brethren. And I would never break the Council's law about how I treat my fellow anointed Sith," she added, giving Kai Latra a wink, "so Lord Latra lives to see another day."

The Anzati nodded, as did Kai Latra. "Oh good!"

"Which is not to say that betrayal shouldn't be chastised just a little bit," Alecto went on.

"Don't hurt Cuddles!" Kai Latra begged.

Alecto glowered at him. "Your acklay? It nearly bit me in half!"

"He's just territorial!" Kai Latra moaned. "He's a good boy, really! You just have to get to know him and—"

"Master!" the Nikto said. They all looked at him; he looked shocked. "Master, what about us?"

"What about who?" Kai Latra asked.

"Us! Your Acolytes, lord, your faithful servants!  Lygrot—"

"The flying one, up in the bell tower? We killed him," Zarrke said helpfully.

The Nikto swallowed. "Mur Drok…th-the Hiitian…?"

"Dead," Nevya commented, looking at the screen.

"Sanno?! Xargo?!"

"Kal-Di seems to have been pretty thorough with them," Alecto observed; they were twitching on the ground where he had struck them down.

The Nikto fixed his eyes on Kai Latra. "Me. Master, I have been your ablest, most dedicated servant.  We have made great creations together!  Think of all you could still build with me at your side!"

Kai Latra looked at Alecto, who arched an eyebrow. "Don't push my generosity too far, my lord."

The Gossam looked back at the Nikto and shrugged. "Eh. You're pretty good, but the Council'll give me more Acolytes if I run out.  But you wouldn't believe how many tries it took to get Cuddles right."

Alecto smiled at her brethren and spoke over the snarling roars from outside the room. "Spare the acklay. Kill the Acolytes.  And better hurry, my friends, or the Sithspawn will get them first."

She turned back to Kai Latra as the Nikto started screaming, crossing her arms and fixing the Gossam Sith Lord with an evaluating smile. He watched his Acolyte die with a slightly curious look, then met Alecto's gaze. Soon they were alone except for Nevya, who ghosted to her side. Alecto laid a hand on Nevya's shoulder and gave it a squeeze without looking.

Uncomfortable silence stretched on and on until Kai Latra looked at Nevya and beamed. "Soooooooooo…we haven't met…I'm Kai Latra…'Lord Latra', usually, but you can call me 'Kai Latra'…"

"You set me up, Kai Latra," Alecto said softly. When the Gossam said nothing, she went on. "We've never been enemies, you and I. You make your monsters, I kill people…we don't exactly run the same lanes.  And so I ask myself, 'Why would Kai Latra betray me?'"

She started pacing; the Gossam followed her with his big eyes. "And since we aren't enemies, there has to be another reason. Kai Latra must have been put up to it by someone who is my enemy.  Not for any personal loyalty, of course; Kai Latra never had a friend he didn't make from scratch.  So this enemy of mine must have given Kai Latra something he wanted in exchange for this little duplicity."

She stopped and spun on her heels to face the other Sith. "Quite a lot of slaves you have coming in, Kai Latra. Had," she corrected herself, glancing at the monitor. "Is that what he bought you off with?"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuum…"

Alecto smiled. "It's all right, you can tell me, we both know the answer."

Kai Latra's eyes narrowed shrewdly. "Got a better offer?"

"Well, first of all, I won't tell Darth Saleej about all this."

"Phhssshshht. He wouldn't be happy about you being here with Kal-Di!  Nope, not happy one little bit."

"Maybe not," Alecto said, careful to keep her voice casual and betray none of her misgivings about that. "Then again, maybe he'd applaud my ingenuity in manipulating Kal-Di like I did. And even if he killed me, he'd want to know why first.  And I'd have to tell him all about what brought me here in the first place."

She leaned down toward Kai Latra just a little. "And with the tale I could tell him…I think he might not even bother with his own people. With you ensconced in your fortress full of monsters, why risk his own?  That sounds like a job for Ko Davad."

Kai Latra's expression changed, and it took Alecto a moment to recognize the emotion there, because it was covered quickly and she had never seen it on the Gossam's face. After a few seconds, she realized it had been fear.

"But if you work with me," she said, standing erect and pacing again, "there's no need for any of that unpleasantness. You can even keeping taking what Targere will give you—I want you to.  Keep conspiring against me, by all means.  And when you're done talking to him, talk to me."

She gestured to Nevya. "And in return…well, I don't have the slaving contacts Targere does, it's true. But from what I've seen here you have more exotic tastes than just sentients, and my brethren and I can go places Zygerrian slavers can't or won't.  It's a galaxy full of delightful monsters, Kai Latra; why stop at acklays?"

She could all but see the processor in Kai Latra's head computing, and eventually he grinned. "I like it! It's sneaky!  And Targere's a pushy bastard anyway.  Let's do it, sister!"

He held out his three-fingered hand, and, grinning back, Darth Alecto shook it.