The Knight, Death, and the Devil

Chapter 38: Everything Burns

In a heavily fortified Revanite compound, Ziare stood before a towering holographic projection of a dead man. He wore a tattered robe as ancient as himself, and a dark mask with a single glowing red slit running across the eyeline. She had never seen him without the mask—no one had. Still, the force of will she could feel even across the vast gulf of space separating them left little doubt in her mind. This was Revan, returned after hundreds of years.

"The Empire is on their way. An entire fleet, in warp to Rishi," said Revan, his booming voice filling the command room.

"That was your plan, Lord Revan. There is a Republic fleet in orbit above the planet as we speak."

"But not their entire fleet," he shot back. "It is too soon."

"One must strike while the iron is hot. We may never get an opportunity like this again. The signal jammer is ready, your fleet is in position, and the saboteurs are aboard their ships, ready to turn on your command."

"Is there a reason you desire battle so soon?" Revan said. He had grown paranoid, and her avoidance of any physical meeting with him had done much to stoke those fears, but a face-to-face was not a risk she had been willing to take. She could hide what she had become from the Jedi Masters on Tython, but a Force user as powerful as Revan would see right through her.

"I left the Jedi Order to follow you." She began to circle the hologram, and Revan turned to face her. "I killed two Jedi. I am the one who gave you the ancient knowledge required to make your ultimate goal possible."

She could hear Revan seethe beneath his mask. "I cannot resurrect the Sith Emperor until the Republic and Empire have both been cleared from the board."

"Then act now! Every moment you delay, the Emperor grows stronger. If he is allowed to incarnate at a time and place of his choosing, he will be too powerful for even you to defeat."

Revan remained silent. He may have been suspicious of Ziare, but he was also desperate. Trying to assuage his suspicions was futile. Instead, she played to the very real fears she knew he harbored. After a few moments, he spoke.

"You are certain the signal jammer remains undiscovered?"

"Absolutely."

On the contrary, she knew with certainty that the jammer had been discovered by Imperial Intelligence weeks prior. That, she had seen too personally. The Black Codex which Torin had stolen from Dromund Kaas had a tracker inside of it, one she had made a point not to remove.

"Then prepare for battle," said Revan. "Today, both Empire and Republic fall."

The call ended, and the room brightened as the holographic projector went dark. Ziare leaned over the console and placed another call, establishing an audio link to the garrison commander.

"My Lord?" came the man's voice on the other end.

"Captain—the battle will begin within the hour. Take your men and establish positions on the roads between here and Raider's Cove."

"The roads? But my Lord, if we're to protect the signal jammer, surely it would be wiser to—"

"What would be wise is for you to not second guess my orders, Captain. Leave two squads here with me, and get the rest of your men moving."

"Yes, my Lord," he answered hurriedly. "We'll move out at once."

With that the call ended, and within seconds the military complex was alive with the blare of alarms and the flash of sirens, summoning the base's guards to their rally points. Ziare pushed off of the console and strode off in a flutter of robes, making her way to the rear of the base.