Schemes

The very next day, I was sitting in the 'elite' class watching the same people go through a bunch of different training regimens when, suddenly, a guard walked over to me and politely asked me to follow him. As we walked through the training grounds and into the throne room, I could hear the voice of Naent and Uther talking to some random woman.

"Look, he might not seem like mu- Oh, Kho my boy! I have a very, very exciting offer for you! This lady right here..." Naent politely waved his hand toward a short woman with long black hair, pale purple eyes, and a kind, young face, before continuing. "Has an offer for us. She wants someone killed, and I believe that you would be best suited for the job. However, I shall have Uther come with you just in case."

My expression had not changed as I shrugged my shoulders and said "If it's not a Jedi or a Force User, I really don't care. Handle it yourself." The veins on Naent's face began to bulge as he faked a smile and said "Dear Kho, don't be so unreasonable..." through clenched teeth. I saw Uther flinch slightly as Naent raised his hand to bow toward the woman before walking over toward me.

"I said I don't care if it's a meager Human. Let me kill some Force Users, or else I won't go." Naent clenched his hands into fists and leaned in toward my ear, his voice a harsh whisper. "You will do as I say or else your precious Master will throw you out!" I moved my index finger to Naent's throat, a sharp claw emerging from my nail, before saying "Get close to me again, and I'll show you what the meaning of my lineage truly is..."

Naent was about to scoff at my words, but he held back as the tip of my claw slowly began to pierce his throat. Naent clicked his tongue and began to walk back to his throne while rubbing his throat with a grimace. I had a disappointed look on my face as I stared at the old man's back, however, a plan began to form in my head as I glanced over to the woman still waiting for Naent's response.

I strode forward and imitated Naent's previous bow before saying "I apologize for my earlier behavior. Please, allow me to carry out this mission for you." Though my Basic was much better than before, I would still have trouble speaking for lengthy amounts of time, though my proficiency was more than enough for this moment.

The woman's eyes lit up in response as she grabbed my hands and knelt down; her eyes welling up with tears as she began to thank me over and over. Naent's face molded into an expression of surprise before he cleared his throat and said "I shall give you and Uther a quick briefing once you reach the outskirts of the designated location. Remember, you are assassins. Do this quietly, and with no witnesses. Leave nothing behind, am I understood?"

Uther clacked his heels together and saluted before saying "Yes, sir!" in a deep, nasally tone while I just shrugged my shoulders as I waited for the woman to release my hands. Seriously, are all Humans this emotional? I knew that they were weird, but this goes beyond my previous expectations...oh, well, all but Kaiana, that is...

In less than an hour, Uther and I were prepared to make a several day long trip toward the outskirts of a place named "Alsakan Lowlands". As I ran my finger over the edges if my knew vibroknives and a special-made vibroblade, Uther was busy checking his supplies. "Hey, uh, can you check and see if you have the hol-" I glanced back before fishing into my pocket and tossing the holo-communicator toward Uther, who let out a startled cry as he frantically flopped the piece of equipment around in his hands.

"W-What are you doing!? This isn't a game!" Uther fumed as he put the holocomm into his backpack. I raised a brow and turned my head toward the Human before saying "You're the one who started juggling it like you were trying to perform in front of an entire cantina." I then began to walk toward the doors leading outside, leaving Uther to silently fume behind me.

Though I found it hilarious that Humans could make such expressions, I knew I needed him along for the ride if I wanted to properly test my skills. I needed someone to compare to, and he was perfect. Ever since my run-in with the dark-side of the Force, I have been able to 'see' how in tune someone was with the Force, and Uther was glowing like a proverbial sun in front of my eyes.

He was promising, and I could tell that he had all ready attracted some attention.

I glanced at a strange device that Naent had given me to help aid in finding our destination before tossing it back to Uther, who was prepared for something like this to happen again. "Pull the map up for me so we can get going." Uther obeyed without a word and a holographic map of the region burst forth from the small device.

I waited for Uther to get next to me before leaning over his shoulder to see the map, much to his own chagrin. Though I could see that Uther was uncomfortable and about ready to start snarling like a wild Tuk'ata, I paid him no heed as I stared at the glowing red dot and the two solid yellow dots on the map. I went to point at the map and speak, but Uther cut me off before I could utter a single word.

"The red dot is our destination, and the two yellow dots are us. The map also shows us the best route to get to our destination, as well as how many more miles we have to travel. Got it?" My eyes narrowed as I let my hand drop before nodding my head slowly. Seemingly satisfied, Uther turned his head and continued to walk forward.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance before putting my hands in my pockets and saying "Y'know, you could be more fun than that..." Uther stayed silent as he continued forward and, after a second or two of thinking, a mischievous smile made its way onto my face. "Anyways, I wanna know how a scrawny kid like you made it into the 'Elite Assassins' group. You look like you can barely hold a blade, let alone use it. And don't get me started on that damned old man! Locking me up in a cage like an animal!"

Though he had no reaction to the first half of my words, he twitched slightly when I mentioned Naent, causing my smile to become larger as I began to poke and prod the unfortunate young boy. "Say, if I wanted to kill that old man, how do you think I should do it? Torture? No, that's too easy. Man, I must be really stupid, because I can't think of a better way to kill someone than ripping their fingernails off one by one before slowly boiling their skin with lightning..."

Uther was trembling at this point, and I knew he was near his breaking point. I could see the Force gathering around him like bugs to a flame, so I had to be careful with how far I went...or not.

"I saw how you flinch when Naent raises his hands. I can feel the hatred you have. All of the anger, sorrow, resentment, and longing...let it go, and you will see just how important you really are. You long for attention and recognition, and I can show you a world full of marvels that you would never have dreamed of until now..."

Uther spun around, his face crimson from anger, and yelled "Shut the hell up! You don't know anything!! I never once wanted recognition from that man, and I sure as hell don't want any from you! You think I don't know that I'm special? I know that I have a high affinity with the Force, but I don't give a damn! I just want to live in peace!!" Uther's face was now covered in tears and snot as he clenched his hands so hard that blood began to trickle down his knuckles and onto the ground below.

The edges of my lips curled upwards as I took a step forward and said "There will be no peace for you as long as the Republic stands, so come and join us. Use your power to create a peaceful world for, not only yourself, but for everyone else in the Galaxy. That is our true mission, Uther, and you have the potential to be a key factor in our victory..."

Uther seemed to have calmed down, but I could tell that he was still uncertain of what to do next. I would need to wait until I had eliminated House Rist for his decision to be permanent, even if it was because he was chasing after me, I wouldn't care as long as we had him on our side. We continued our journey in silence as I began to cook up scheme after scheme in order to get my way.

Then, suddenly, a distant howl echoed over the ridge above us, eliciting more howls from every direction. As the sounds of growling and yelping got closer, the wind became bitter and violent, leaving a rather pleasant feeling to start growing inside of my stomach as a sadistic smile spread across my face.

---

As a woman strode along the dark, shining metal halls of a large Star Destroyer, her long blonde hair bouncing about with every step, a man in a black robe revealed himself from the darkness and matched the woman's gait with ease. "My Lord, I have intel that suggests a new target has been discovered. My estimate is that, within two weeks, we will have more information about the target and it will be delivered directly to you. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

The man vanished into the shadows once again after sharing his words, leaving the woman alone as she walked toward a large metal door with a hint of a smile on her rather beautiful face. As she opened the door, a middle-aged man with short gray hair, pale gray eyes, a neat and finely trimmed beard as well as a moustache, turned his head before acknowledging her with a nod of his head.

"I see you have business, Kaiana?" Kaiana dropped to one knee and kept her eyes on the ground as she said "Yes, Your Majesty. I believe that Broken has informed me of a new potential Candidate in addition to the one I all ready have at hand." The man's eyes crinkled as a kind smile spread across his face. "Tell me more about the one you all ready have, Kaiana."

Kaiana stood with a salute and said "Yes, Your Majesty!" as the man took out another wine glass and began to pour a rich, crimson colored wine with a mysterious glint in his eyes. Kaiana moved forward at the man's invitation and took a seat among the finely decorated and lavish seats of the room before taking her wine glass and sampling its contents.

The man took his seat and folded his hands under his chin before saying "Now, let us begin..."