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Legend of Lightning Chapter 65 - Lady Kai Arrives

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43208574/chapters/115300393

Flanked by her most trusted confidants and bodyguards—and Quinn, who she didn’t fully trust yet—Lady Kairegane Rooks marched to her banquet hall. The doors, which were more than tall enough to let even her through, towered over most humanoids in the room.

“Greetings, my little guests!” Kai called in a singsong voice. “And thank you for accepting my invitation!”

The crowd stood up and cheered raucously. Cries of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARTH KAIMERYN!” poured in from all around.

“Thank you, thank you! And I can see you’ve already started the party without me. As you should, of course. Someone has to screen my spread for poisons.”

There was more laughter all around. Most Sith took measures against poisons. The only way a Sith fell to poison was if they were already dead or dying.

“How long has it been, since we’ve all been together like this?” she asked around. “All of the most powerful Sith in the Empire, all gathered in the same room?”

“Fifteen years,” answered the black-scaled Subutarik Kaygir. The Tayirchids were the only other alien nobles in the room. Few of them were allowed to join ranks of High Nobility. “Not since we gathered to say farewell to your mother. Truth be told, I never expected to see you escape Angral’s grubby clutches.”

“Yet here I am,” she grinned. “And Angral failed to even answer my challenge.”

“Good. It would have been a waste to see the Dracogriff Legions rot under that parasite’s inept rule.”

“You were willing to throw your armies against that man’s holdings?” Lady Svana Tartarid asked snootily. “They’ve still not recovered from the war.”

“My lady would have torn him apart, limb from limb,” Ryuga boasted. “He’s lucky he only had to contend with a half-grown Jedi brat.”

“That Jedi ‘brat’ killed twenty-five Sith warriors,” Kai reminded him. “Most of who were elite combatants. I daresay he might even give me a hard time.”

“There’s a monster in him,” Jaesa whispered with an unimaginably frightened look on her face. “He’s going to be pure evil one day. Just mark my words!”

“Noted. But we’re all monsters here, aren’t we, chaps? Come, my dear friends. Set your arses down anywhere you like!”

While they had started the party, they had respectfully left the head table empty until she arrived. Thank goodness for this modicum of decorum!

The younger nobles remained on the ballroom floor with the servants and escorts, but the seniors and their adjutants took their places.

Kai sat at the head and greeted all of her guests in turn, starting from her left. “Lord Titus and Ladies Octavia and Lucia of House Vergil.” The human male nodded coldly. “Try not to chill my table. Most of this food is meant to be devoured hot.”

“You alone make up for it, Kai,” Lucia assured her. “If anything, you should thank my uncle for keeping your food from spontaneously combusting.”

Kai grinned. The younger woman seemed to be aiming for a girth to match Baras’ one day, but so long as she kept her wit, few would ever complain.

“Lords Philippon, Apollodorus, and Ajax Tekton. I heard about how you crushed the revolt on Mellca V. Bravo!”

Ajax glowered, unwilling to speak, but his Pureblood brothers more than made up for it with their loud boasts.

“Ladies Svarta and Svana Tartarid. I’ve heard about the recent problems you’ve been facing. I trust that the relief I sent has started to reach your territory?”

“It has,” Svana smiled unwillingly. “My husband has already started to oversee the distribution of water and food.” She snorted. “To think you sent premium foods as relief. You always were an odd one!”

“Like your mum always taught us, nothing’s too expensive if the enemy’s paying for it, right? It’s so nice that you could make it all the way out here.”

“It’s not often that one of our number is allowed a Darth title,” Svarta pointed out. “The Council are too worried about our power even without it. Who in their right mind would ignore your summons?”

The refined woman had touched upon the reason why Kai had called them here, but she needed to acknowledge her final guests before getting to it.

“And finally, my rivals and friends, the Hagans of Kaygiri. Subutarik. Nongkye. Kushlaruk. Esulun. And Hochi. I hear your raids into savage territories went very well, even outnumbered fifty to one.”

Hochi’s fingers wove his reply. <What else do you expect? The Kaygiri are Lords of Death. A hundred to one? A thousand? It makes no difference. We will always crush our enemies.>

The Tayirchid’s overconfidence made Kai smirk. “Sure. I’ll bet your sister thought the same thing when she attacked then-Padawan Satele Shan.”

The Kaygiri’s countenance darkened. Except for Subutarik, of course, who was always as cool-headed as he was cold-blooded. The black-scaled Tayirchid picked up a fistful of fried fish and cheese nuggets and plopped them into his mouth. He somehow managed to make his chewing look messy, yet dignified at the same time. “Point conceded, Darth Kaimeryn. We will avenge our humiliation someday.”

“I wonder about that. The Grand Master has gone quite hands-off lately. It will take quite a lure to bring her out of hiding.”

“I already have just the thing. Two of several plots I’ve been nurturing for a decade now. The Grand Master will step out of the rear in a few months. She will have no choice.” He smacked his lips. “I would like the recipe for this after the feast. It makes for an excellent snack.”

“Well, is it time we got to business yet?” Lord Titus asked in his windy whisper of a voice. “What have you called us here for? You’re not the type to brag about your shiny new title.”

“Uncle Titus…” Lucia tried and failed to stop him.

“We all know it, don’t we? Lady Kai… forgive me, Darth Kai—is always looking for her next mountain to scale. So what is it this time? Do you have a war game planned? Do you want to propose a contest with the Dark Council itself? Or perhaps you want to smash your horns against the Emperor himself?”

Kai rubbed one of her black horns idly. “Well,” she smiled. “You know me too well!”

“Anyone who’s known you for half an hour would know your love of contests,” Subutarik pointed out. “While you do enjoy your parties, it’s only with the common folk. But we are not them.”

“Hmmm…” Kai smiled thoughtfully. “Do I really want to lay it all out before we even have the main course out? Alright then. Consider this a challenge. I have proven that it’s possible for one of our number to earn the Darth mantle. If we prove our strength on a grand scale, not even the Dark Council would stop us.”

“Easy for you to say,” Svana huffed. “You and your family are the epitome of warriors. Even Mandalorians see you as their betters. And even among your house, you are the only Darth in centuries. Do you have any idea how rare you are?”

“I do, actually. I’m one of a kind, even in this beautiful, wide galaxy.” She took a sip from her goblet. “I am powerful, beautiful, and charming beyond most measures. I’m quite intelligent too. And I learn so quickly… I’ve conquered so many of the challenges headed my way, so easily, that I’m starting to feel bored of it all. Power is nothing if you cannot find a good rival to test yourself. To push you to your limits and beyond. I want to feel compelled to pull out every last stop. I want a fight that leaves me sucking wind and bleeding, where I win by such an infinitesimally small margin that it’s unclear if I even won at all! I demand the feeling that I’ve lived. And you lot are my best chance at getting my wish. Prove your strength, then come and face me. Anyone who can give me a good fight gets the biggest prize I have to offer. My hand in marriage.” She looked around. “Or at least, I think that’s a good prize, given how many proposals I turn down on a daily basis.”

“I admit I’m tempted,” Kushlaruk grinned. “I have sent you my own proposals several times now.”

“Win my gratitude, and you win my hand. I will not marry someone I can just push over.”

“Do you really think it’s that easy?” Svarta whined, echoing her sister. “Now that you’re a Darth, the Council will be watching us closely. They’ll be worried that we’re getting ideas.”

Ajax raised his own objection. “There’s a reason there’s so few High Noble families. There were hundreds, once. But the Emperor killed so many for raising our eyes too high. And the Dark Council killed the others.”

“It is our duty to manage our fiefdoms,” Esulun growled. “To raise the crops and herds. To keep the gold flowing and uphold the laws. To put down all threats to the Empire’s supremacy that rise up within our borders. Some of us have been deeply uneasy with your path for years. With you meteoric rise through the ranks. And now, you’ve taken over Angral’s entire domain? You even have a mansion on Dromund Kaas! None of us have been allowed to hold land on the capital before! You’re now close enough to influence the powers-that-be, so they have to be sweating bullets.”

“It’s not like I planned it,” Kai snorted. “Angral was playing rough, and the dozen or so complaints I put in with the Council were summarily ignored. They left me with no choice. I had to show them that I was no lamb. And even then, that greedy little buímuc couldn’t help himself. And when I issued him a public challenge, he failed to respond. If the Council didn’t want me claiming power beyond my station, they should have just done their jobs.”

“Even so, the fact that they couldn’t challenge you must be a troubling weight on their minds,” Philippon argued. “They have to be afraid that they’re losing their grip on us. They will not stand idly by as we follow your example.”

Svanta nodded furiously. “That’s right, that’s right! And who, pray tell, would protect us as we gathered our strength?”

“You’re a Sith,” Subotarik sighed. “In asking for protection, you have already revealed your weakness.”

Both Tartarids shrank back. It was privileged knowledge that their star was on the decline. If any great Sith had made a move on them instead of Kai, they’d have been swallowed up whole. The only reason Angral hadn’t looked their way twice was because they were—by his sole estimation—uncomely.

All they really had going for them was their monopoly of the Imperial markets. But what was wealth to a Sith? The important ones, at least. Most of them had enough personal wealth to build a Citadel-sized Mountain of gold.

“Darth Kai makes a very fine point,” Subotarik went on. “The way forward is now open. I don’t care which Dark Councillor stands in my way, or all of them. I will show the Empire my strength, and no one will stop me claiming the same honor as her. In fact, why don’t I just start right now?” He gave her a grin. “I do not seek your hand in marriage, but I will be glad to fight you after I’m done. As thanks for breaking the glass ceiling. Follow me if you please, my brothers. Or stay and have your fill. But once you return to Khamag Tayir, you will see an intensifying training regimen. We aim for the greatest prize; Master Satele herself.”

Once he and his bodyguards left, Kai turned an expectant grin on the others.

“I do not live for your games, Kai,” Titus shook his head. “I have a duty to my Emperor. The duty he gave me. Everything else is secondary. Congratulations on making Darth.”

Lucia held his hand as he, too, made to leave. “Can we at least finish eating first?” she begged, and Titus sat back down with a sigh.

The Tektons began arguing amongst themselves, more drawn by her offer of marriage than any wish to take a Darth title. Kai almost chuckled when she heard Apollodorus suggest they all three of them marry her, but Ajax shot that idea down, his expression disdainful.

As Kai watched the nobles arguing the merits of her challenge—or simply return to eating. Around them, the rest of her guests made merry. Seventeen-year-old Prokrustes Tekton challenged thirteen-year-old Markus Vergil to a friendly duel. They were of the same size, so the match would be fairly even.

A girl from a cadet branch of the Kaygir had gotten so drunk that she was singing rude battle songs at the top of her lungs. Several younger children started a food fight.

Such minimal hatreds! Kairegane approved.

The High Nobility were different from most Sith. Where the others fought for scraps of power, prestige, wealth, and influence, the five families already had all. The catch was, they weren’t allowed to seek more. Every fight they had gotten involved in, since the rise of Naga Sadow, had seen them gain little more than souvenirs and praise.

And while many of her own ancestors had been content simply to be allowed to fight, their spent resources were never repaid.

Herself, for example: she led a much-depleted army when compared to her mother, Riy’avi. Hundreds of thousands had been killed in the many pitched campaigns of the Great Galactic War. Most of the Muinar were unhorned. Meaning, they were too slow to fight. Horned Muinar were quite rare, and required years of training to be worthy of the Dracogriff Legions. There had not been enough births in the past sixteen years to replenish their numbers.

There was only one reason why so few Sith had dared test her strength during her minority. And that was the unity among the High Nobles. Not only were they enticing targets, they were also isolated from the power structure. Which was why the families always stood together.

Subutarik Kaygir and Titus Vergil had done much to protect her lands for her in the early days, and Svarta’s predecessor, Avarte, had taken young Kai under her wing, teaching her everything she needed to govern her lands effectively.

And since growing up, she had begun to return their kindness. But as a Darth, she could offer even greater protection to her comrades than ever before. And she intended to. That’s what friends do. And no matter what some people might think, the Five families are certainly friends. We stand together or fall alone.

Riya approached her silently as she mused. Kai accepted the commlink in her hand, and the Kage slunk back into the shadows.

She hit ‘Receive’ and waited for the call to connect.

A human woman appeared on the other end. The only distinguishable article she wore was a wide, teasing smile. Her eyes were almost slits.

“This is Lady Kairegane Rooks. Darth Kaimeryn now, I suppose.”

“Congratulations on your promotion, Dark Lord,” the woman bowed. “I hope I’m not interrupting something.”

“That depends. If it’s bad news, I’m gonna have to ask you to spank yourself for me.”

Her caller chuckled. “Oh, fun! I’m told I have quite a spanking arm. I’m Cipher Nine.”

“Ah, a Cipher. Honored to meet one of you before.”

“I was told you wanted this news as soon as I had it,” she went on. “Jedi Vajra Devarath has received your present. Some of his elders aren’t happy, but he’s started wearing the medallion already. The swords have been placed in his cabin. I believe he means to transport it to Alderaan, where the Queen rewarded his service with a home.”

“Ah, good, good. It’s been months since I sent in that request. Is he that hard to track?”

“I’m afraid I can’t divulge any more details without Darth Marr’s permission.”

“I see.” Marr was a problem. He was one of the few Councillors who wasn’t intimidated by her.

“What I can tell you, is that he didn’t take any time deciding at all. Just read your letter and accepted your presents for what they were.”

“And how long ago was this?”

“Forty minutes, I think? Hasn’t been long.”

Kai almost shouted. “Wait, what? Why has it taken this long for him to—” she stopped when the agent shook her head. She couldn’t say. “It wasn’t the Jedi Council, was it? Did they keep it from him?”

“No.”

“He wasn’t offworld? Deployed on a mission somewhere?”

“No.”

“Was he wounded then?”

“No.”

“Really? This is quite a riddle.”

“If ever I’m allowed to divulge my findings, I’ll be sure to tell you first, Dark Lord.”

“Ah. Good woman!”

“This is just my opinion, but I think he understood the true meaning of your gift. Whatever that might be. He certainly treated it like there was a hidden layer.”

“That’s good. Very good! Thank you, Agent. If you’re ever on Kouhaush Muin, please stop by. I’ll show you around town!”

Her smile grew even wider. “I’ll be looking forward to it!”

Kai stared into the space long after the holo had vanished. If the spy was right, Devarath had accepted her challenge. Kai tried a smile as wide as Nine’s. “Looks like I’ve secured myself a rival. I wonder what he’s doing right now?”

Vajra shifted to move one of his arms into a more comfortable position. Darth Kaimeryn’s token had caused some stir among the senior Knights and Masters, so he’d had to wear it more discreetly.

Doctor Row sat before him, looking through her notes on his journal.

“So, you still feel responsible for Uphrades?”

“If only I’d gotten there sooner. If only I’d thought to protect them—”

“Tell me more about it. Why do you feel solely responsible?”

“Because it was my home.”

“But why solely you? Many people—powerful people—relied on Uphrades too. It provided a lot of the capital’s food. They had a vested interest in keeping it protected. An obligation. I believe the ones who were formally charged with its defense was the 871st fleet.”

Vajra felt agitated. She did not understand!

“Why was I still on Alderaan, when I could have left a week earlier?” he asked. “Why did I not head over to Uphrades the second Kira defeated Ulgo? Why didn’t I Sense the danger sooner? Why did I only Sense it when the hour was nigh?”

“Even Masters of the Council couldn’t do that. Not one of them foresaw the Sacking of Coruscant, an event which—and I’m sorry to put it this way—the casualties were many times higher than Uphrades.”

Vajra fought the impulse to glare.

“I’m not saying their lives are more valuable. What I’m saying is that even that wasn’t enough to trigger a precognition among the Jedi. And that’s not even talking about what Tarnis almost accomplished… it’s true that this was averted… by you,” she added that last bit softly, “But still, the danger alone should have been enough, no? All it did was make the Council nervous for a few months. There was never a concrete episode involving precognition. Those are far too rare.” She looked at another note. “And then there’s the other extreme. Have you heard of the Taris Padawan Massacre? A Miraluka Master named Q’Anilia had a vision that one of their Padawans would nearly wipe out the Jedi. And so, she and her fellow Masters massacred all but one of their Apprentices and hounded the survivor. His name was Zayne, Zayne Carrick. And the irony was that their actions changed nothing. Revan and Malak turned to the Dark Side anyway, along with most of their followers that survived the war. They almost destroyed the Order.”

“This part I know,” Vajra said.

“Yes. Revan and Malak left quite a mess behind. Nary a thought given to actually cleaning up afterwards. Five full Jedi Masters, and not one of them capable of realizing they made a grave mistake. It’s why Master Raya enshrined a law decreeing that no action may be taken solely on visions alone. It’s a law the Council follows to this day. So you see, even most Masters admit that Foresight is an unreliable gift.”

Vajra scowled, looking at the Force through his third eye. The many eddies and storms in the flows of the Force made themselves known to him.

Causality, interconnection, omniscience. The Force had it all. He, like most other Jedi, could see its existence. All he couldn’t do—hadn’t tried to do—was to learn how to see what it could show them.

I could have done it, he thought. If I’d trained myself to see through the currents. Why did I bother with the Lightsaber? The Sight is what I should have focused on! In his pocket, the last Keleth stone pulsed, and he had to swallow the irrational desire to chuck it in the trash.

“What would Uupa have said, if she knew your plight?”

Vajra sat up. “She… she’d have told me help out the other villagers if I had time to waste on ruminating.”

“Is that all? She was a woman who loved giving people a piece of her mind.”

“She’d have told me to get off my high horse. That one man can’t change anything alone.”

“See? There you go!”

“Of course, I was too obedient when I was in her care. Pliant, reverent of my elders. Today, I’d remind her that one man really can change a lot. Aparajitha stopped Bellicose alone, and spared the galaxy any more of his depredations.”

“And what about all of your own one-man-army accomplishments? Tython, Coruscant, Taris, Alderaan, Angral?”

“Those hadn’t happened when I knew her.”

“Oh, right.” She gave him a look. “Have you talked about her much? Since she died, I mean? It sounds like you might have a lot you want to tell her.”

Vajra felt a deep sense of loss, all of a sudden. It had been a while indeed, since he’d last thought of his Master. Had he really just dropped her like a used toy? After everything she’d done for him? Sure, she may have sought to ground him rather than train him to be a warrior, but that was no excuse for him to have not even spared her a few moments for remembrance each day!

When’s the last time I really thought about her?

He started to feel very, very cold. “I—”

“It’s not very nice, is it? It’s alright. Most people your age might carry some form of resentment against someone who they perceived as holding them back.”

“It’s been so long,” Vajra said in a small voice. “Since I last bothered to think about her.”

“Ahhh… I see. So that’s where we are, are we? It’s unexpected, but not surprising.”

“Why did I forget about her?”

“Try to think about how much you had going on inside your head all these months. Is it really surprising?”

“It is! After everything she did for me—”

“Let’s start with that. Close your eyes. Try to center yourself. Reach out to your Lightsaber crystal. Listen to its song. Let it fill your soul.” She gave him around a minute before continuing. “What is your earliest memory of your Master? Do you remember how you met her?”

“I met her in Jnanaprastha, one of the major cities of Raudraksha. I was in poor shape. I don’t remember the city at all, or the people in it. Master later told me that they all had felt great compassion for me, that I’d had no shortage of families petitioning to adopt me. One of these, a woman named Sukanya, had been charged to protect me that day. She was already treating me as one of her own, but I don’t remember her at all.”

“And do you feel guilty about that?”

Vajra thought about it. “Yes. From what I heard, she had already begun to love me like a mother. The least I could do is remember. But every face from that day is blurred and cloudy, except for my Master’s.”

“How well do you remember your own mother?”

“Quite well. Her name was Anagha. I also remember Shruti and Jamuna.”

“Who were they?”

“My second mothers. My father’s other wives.”

“Oh, right. I’d forgotten that Raudra are polygamous.”

“Yes. It wasn’t uncommon for Raudra men marry ten women. My tribe elder, the one who killed Bellicose… he had fourteen wives.”

“I can’t imagine having to provide for so many mouths. Imagine having all those children! Who would raise them? Who would put food on the table? Did you have to be rich or powerful to have so many?”

Vajra shook his head. “Life on Raudraksha was communal. There were designated homemakers, caregivers, and breadwinners. Wealth wasn’t a thing… except perhaps in the cities?” Vajra trailed off uncertainly. “Anyway. Marriages weren’t entirely about the bride and groom. She had to get along with her sister wives and second children. It was often more about them than the husbands. My mothers got along much better with each other than they did with my father. And then there were the tribes themselves. How it worked was that vital resources like food were all shared. Anything the tribe caught or foraged would go into a common tent that the cooks would use to prepare meals for the whole tribe. So, there was no stress on sole family breadwinners. So long as the group secured enough food, it was enough.”

“I see. Simply fascinating! But does this mean that all children were raised by one adult, even if it wasn’t their child?”

“Children had to learn some discipline before they could walk. We had to put as low a burden on the adults as we could. Any training was done by our own families.”

Doctor Row added something to her notes. “I think I’ll extend today’s session. We’ll be talking more about this, today.”

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