Dorn: A Star Wars Story

23. Commander

"Absolutely remarkable!" Cai could barely hold himself together as he turned the saber over and over in his hands, looking at it from every angle he possibly could. "Oh, if the historians and curators at the museum on Coruscant could see this..."

"What are we looking at, Drellik?" Horran asked as he folded his arms across his chest.

Cai looked peeved to be pulled away from his musings, but he turned to look at all of us as he sat the saber down and cleared his throat as he did. "This is a lightsaber that is looking to be easily several thousand years old at the least. Sith constructed, too, based on a number of design factors. If you look at the hilt..."

"But why would Venn want it?" Nyra cut in, cutting Cai off at the pass before he could continue in what was sure to be a long-winded rant no one was particularly ready for.

Cai was actually starting to look more than a little annoyed. "If you bumbling imbeciles would let me speak, you would know!" I was trying my best not to laugh at the offended looks I was seeing around the room at the rather well-formed insult from our usually placid historian. "Honestly... Now, the hilt is what gives away its owner and a rather curious history. This saber was once in the Corellian History Museum in an exhibit showcasing rare and highly valuable relics from The Old Republic - specifically highlighting the art, architecture, and culture of the last Sith Empire. The museum was the victim of a robbery towards the beginning of The Clone Wars and this particular saber was one of the many valuable artifacts to have been recorded as stolen by a rather interesting cult known as the Zerek-Yirt-Xesh."

"And this is relevant... how?" Horran cut in again and made Cai slowly turn his head towards him looking like he was ready to hit him over the head with something heavy.

"They were a doomsday cult," Cai began again pointedly, "with a fascination with the Sith Empire's weapons of mass destruction. This saber belonged to Darth Occlus and was excavated from his tomb on Moraband. Darth Occlus - and this is where is gets interesting - was a renowned Sith historian and archaeological curator in addition to being one of the youngest and most powerful members of the Dark Council. They amassed a collection of Sith writings and artifacts that rivalled the Jedi's. Writings indicate that their lightsaber held the key to gaining access to these texts."

"Meaning that Venn hoped that by having the saber, he could get his hand on weapons that could destroy the Remnant and the First Order for good," I muttered as I peered down at the saber on the table as that voice in my mind began whispering again. "Lovely."

"So, us getting this was good, right?" Carmine asked as she looked around the table.

"This doesn't leave this room," I picked up the saber and turned it in my hands as a sense of familiarity washed over me. "No one - no one - knows that we have this, am I clear?"

Thesh paused and looked at me from where he stood beside me, eyes flicking between me and the saber, "Dorn...?"

"If this is the key to superweapons," I looked up and met his gaze, "then you and I should both intimately know why no one outside of everyone in this room needs to be aware of its existence or what it means."

Thesh got what I meant instantly. The last thing that we needed was another Alderaan. I could justify a lot of what the Empire did, but the indiscriminate killing of a whole planet for the sins of its Royal Family never did sit well with me. Living beside Brea and Shenna further drove that point into my skull if I didn't agree with it enough before. The last thing that anyone needed was another Death Star... or something worse.

"What else can you tell us about them?" Horran leaned forward to get a better look at the saber.

"Occlus was regarded as a powerful Sith even by Imperial metrics. It was said that they were strong in the Force and were what was known as a Forcewalker: a being capable of absorbing and controlling powerful ghosts, usually of other Sith. A lot of what we know of them outside of what few mentions of the remained in the Jedi Archives following all of the wars has been lost to time, I'm afraid." Drellik looked to me with a small nod, "And considering what we do know about them, I am in agreement that keeping the saber a secret for now is a wise course of action."