Chapter 14

(We got so many new readers! As thanks for the support, here is the chapter I was going to release tomorrow morning.)

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Jial felt like his universe was falling apart. He finally knew why the System had made staying on Lok seem like such a good idea and why it had warned him in the beginning about how every path had consequences. Even though he considered conflict in his plans, he had never thought that such a discovery would land right in his lap.

'Calm down, Jial. Think clearly. If the Toxis were able to report this to someone off-world, others should have already landed. Since I haven't had to be pulled out of my meditation and study, that must mean that we are safe.'

Jial was able to calm himself down when he realized that but he knew better than to hope that Stygium was only available in that one location. It wasn't like a single meteor crashed down from above and landed on the planet.

Jial put the thought in the back of his mind, instead focusing on the two women in front of him. The Nightsisters were one of the most powerful Dark Side organizations in the galaxy but thanks to the Telos Holocron, Jial knew one of their secrets. He wanted to learn their spells but the Sith had long discovered that the magic that the witches used was only able to be used on Dathomir. 

Fay and the Jedi behind her were an entirely different issue that could be easily resolved as long as he didn't make any mistakes. The Jedi were only interested in Lok because of his awakening. As long as he gave Fay some satisfactory answers, he could handle the Stygium matters afterward.

"I want to introduce myself formally even though I am sure you already know me," Jial spoke cordially with the pair. "My name is Jial and I am the new ruler of this town as well as the leader of Yautja."

"Nice to meet you," Master Fay had a gentle smile on her face but Jial still had his guard up. He had already felt how she had so easily disarmed him mentally earlier. He couldn't afford to let his guard down when he had important matters that needed to be handled. 

"I do not wish to be rude but I have been off of Dathomir for long enough," Trujj spoke up from her seat at the table. "We felt a strong pull in The Force and traced it back to you. Do you have any explanation?"

Jial shrugged his shoulders at the question. 

"Not really. We had just finished wiping out the other factions here and were having a meeting. Next thing I knew, I could feel a connection to everything around me for a few moments before the world went back to normal and I felt a strong connection with The Force," Jial was careful not to lie. He didn't know if either had any ability to detect lies so he simply spoke in half-truths. 

"Did you consume anything special?" Fay asked, taking out a datapad from her robes to jot down notes

"Nothing. I ate the same thing I've been eating and the same things as everyone else. Maybe my talent just awakened late," Jial could only say this as his excuse. The System was his biggest secret and biggest advantage.

"And you didn't pick up any crystals or weird plants?" Trujj asked

"Nothing. I didn't even participate in the looting. My job was to guard the control tower so the laser turrets were not activated."

"I see. Then I suppose that is just what I will have to report back to the clan leaders," Trujj didn't think much of it. She couldn't hear any lies in his words so it seemed like he was just a mysterious anomaly. 

"And I will do the same with the Jedi Council," Master Fay stood up and gave Jial a small bow. "Apologies for taking up a room here for so long and disturbing you as soon as you left your seclusion. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me."

"No problem," Jial also stood up, glad that the meeting was over. "Let me show you back to your ships."

Jial, Boxe, and Sidon led the women and the other Nightsisters back to their ships before bidding them goodbye and returning to the meeting room. With them gone, they were able to speak freely about the main issue. 

"How far out is the Stygium?" Jial needed more information on the Stygium before he made a decision. 

"13 klicks east. My brother has been stationed there with 5 of the Sentinel Droids."

"Good. We are going to move forward with our plans then. Boxe and Sidon, take whoever you want and lead the attack on the Zor. I'll handle the Ostren," Jial made up his mind to wipe out the other immediately. Even though he still had 11 months, he wasn't willing to take the chance for them to discover the location. 

"You sure you can handle the Ostren by yourself?" Boxe asked. She wasn't worried about him but just wanted to confirm. Jial didn't seem like the type to overestimate himself.

"Yep. Even without The Force, I was pretty confident in sneaking in there and killing them off. With it, I'm confident that I can deal with any group here as long as there aren't more than a hundred," Jial felt confident in his strength. He may not have had the training that would even put him on a level as a Padawan, he could make up for it with the Kaiburr shard and his martial skills.

"When do we move out?" Sidon asked

"Sundown. Strike them in the dark and finish off before sunrise. No prisoners," Jial ordered.

"Got it. We will start gathering the men and getting prepped," Sidon and Boxe left the room to go and gather the individuals they were going to bring with them. 

With his plan in motion, Jial did not go out but instead went back to his in order to practice some of his Force powers in private. He wanted to test out how much of a difference the Kaiburr shard made in his abilities. 

--- 

Jial stood atop a hill outside the Ostren compound fully cloaked. He was looking down at the small mansion that had a single dropship parked next to it.

Jial pressed a button on his wrist gauntlet, activating the thermal vision mode. He was able to see through the walls and get a clear view of each of the pirates clearly. The Feeorin smiled beneath his mask, excited for the hunt. 

'Let's get started.'

---

Piere sat in his room with a glass of Hutt wine in his hands while reading a book. Just as he had gotten to the spicy part and was about to loosen his pants, he heard a knock on his door.

"Ugh," Piere groaned to himself. He finally had a moment to let loose since he couldn't head to the pleasure house in Wyne anymore but he got interrupted at the last second. "What is it?!?!"

The person didn't respond but barged into the room. It was a female human with pale skin and bright red lips. 

"Hey there, Piere," the woman greeted on her way in. She sat across from him before taking a peak at the book in his hand and smirking. She recognized it since it was hers. She loaned it out frequently to others. 

"What is it, Reil?" Piere didn't even appear

"My bad. Didn't mean to interrupt your  reading time," Reil teased

"If you knew you interrupted it, why are you still here?"

"You are the closest to the Boss. When are we finally ditching this rock?" Reil asked in frustration. They lost the bulk of their forces and couldn't take back Wyne with their current numbers. "Staying on Lok is just a waste of time."

Piere set down the book while groaning to himself. Riel was not the first person to come asking him this nor did he expect her to be the last. 

"Accordin to him, we're not," Piere dampened her hopes. "Boss says that if we leave, we lose any opportunity that we have here."

Neither took notice of the drop in temperature in the room. People were always messing with the AC.

"We have no opportunity here!" Reil yelled, her mouth creating a small cloud. "We are going to die when those new guys finally settle themselves."

Piere wanted to say something but he found that his body was far too cold. That was when he noticed the changes in the room. Reil's pale skin was turning blue. The frost forming on the walls. His hands were numb. 

Piere wanted to warn her that something was off but it was too late. Out of nowhere, a purple beam of energy pierced through her chest, killing her instantly. 

Piere wanted to yell out but he couldn't. All that he could do was remember what happened next. A blue Feeorin appeared out of nowhere, wearing a mask with glowing eyes and holding the lightsaber that had killed Reil. The person closed in on Piere while carrying Reil's body on his blade. The last thing Piere saw was a fist approaching his face before all he saw was darkness.