The First Cut is the thirty-third installement in the Untitled New Sith Wars series. Aldayr Nikodon endeavors to complete his mission in the Eighth Republic Expeditionary Fleet while struggling with the temptation of his lingering feelings for Mali Darakhan and Narasi Rican.
Opening Crawl[]
Excerpt[]
| Source: The First Cut | Attribution: Sakaros |
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Captain Dyle made a note, then turned to Agent Braab. The Gotal tapped the claws of his index fingers together for a moment, then asked, "If you had to pick one thing from the Modality that the Republic would be better if it adopted, what would it be?" Aldayr's eyebrows rose. What was the right response here? Picking nothing ignored the premise and demonstrated closed-mindedness, but picking anything suggested he found aspects of Modality life desirable. When he hesitated, Agent Braab said, "Surely there must be something?" He thought about saying discipline, but that was weak; the Jedi and Republic military had a species of discipline, too, and if they thought he appreciated the Vanguardians' lockstep obedience too much… "Aldayr?" "You know, there is one thing," Aldayr decided, feeling oddly—if bemusedly—grateful to First Cresh. "Remember I told you how First Cresh took me out to Daplona?" "I do." "We went to a public execution. One guy who got hanged was a murderer; I forget what the second guy did, but the third one was corrupt. Some spaceport official putting the squeeze on new immigrants or something. He was one of their guys—a Modality officer—but they hanged him too." "Do you believe we should execute the corrupt?" "I think, in a war like this, we can't let people lose faith in the Republic, and corruption does that," Aldayr answered carefully. "It's not enough to say we're better than the Empire or the Modality; we have to be better." Agent Braab tilted his head while Captain Dyle added to his notes. For himself, Aldayr thought it a stroke of brilliance, because again he had no reason to lie—the Republic did have to be better. It just wasn't. | |
Segments[]
Appearances[]
| Characters | Creatures | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
Dramatis personae
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Other characters
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Creatures
Droid models
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Events
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Locations
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Organizations and titles
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Sentient species
Vehicles and vessels
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Weapons and technology
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Miscellanea
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Plot Summary[]
Having returned to Mali Darakhan's Eighth Fleet, Aldayr Nikodon completes screening by intelligence officers, but is kept on conditional clearance so he can be reintroduced to Republic service. Mali and Narasi Rican are thrilled to have him back, though Narasi grapples with the conflict between her feelings for Aldayr and Tirien Kal-Di's warnings to avoid attachment. Tirien himself is more guarded about Aldayr; though pleased he has returned, Tirien worries that Aldayr is holding back details of his time in Modality custody.
Aldayr discovers that Valin Aresh and First Aurek gaslit him, and that the alien extermination camp on Cademimu V was just that. Torn between his revulsion and the recognition that he is just as much a murderer of innocents, only on a smaller scale, Aldayr tries to keep his Sith focus and avoid the "temptation" of the light, as well as his attraction to Narasi. Tirien catches the two Padawans kissing, leading to an argument with Narasi. After receiving word that former Jedi Master Argus Z'dar has launched a nuclear attack on an Imperial base, Tirien and Mali disagree about the seriousness of Aldayr and Narasi's mutual attraction.
As Elata Cazars prepares an attack on Ord Trasi to defeat First Isk and complete the destruction of the Modality's western front, Aldayr finally accepts that Mali will never have the will to do whatever is necessary to bring order, regardless of the cost. After obtaining some of Mali's blood, he plans to flee to Coronet's Jewel, but first calls Narasi and seduces her. Tirien and Mali find her in the morning, after which they realize Aldayr has fled back to the Modality.
In the aftermath of Aldayr's defection, Tirien tries to console Narasi while Mali grapples with his failure as a master and his ever-increasing need to defeat Aresh once and for all.
Behind the Scenes[]
The final line of Part 11 is an homage to "Shattered Heart", a song by one of Sakaros's favorite bands, The Warning.
The original title was The First Cut is the Deepest; Sakaros felt the current title preserves at least a modicum more surprise.