Savage-Time Chapter 22 (Patreon)

[Orbit of Dathomir, Outer Rim]

Savage Opress

“There are concerns about our ability to hold Umbara, I’ve done my best but I fear that the clones have entrenched themselves too deeply for us to deal with them before they make even more headway to the center of the planet and to the droid factories we’re building” Admiral Trench spoke calmly and logically but to lose Umbara after their very public separation from the Republic was more than just upsetting, I wanted their advanced technology to feed my other projects.

“Can’t we help? Umbara is not far from here” the spider and I turned to Merrin who blushed at our combined attention. The idea wasn’t a bad one and with the help of a Sith any entrenched position that the clones hold would fall.

“The lady is correct in her assessment, I believe its time to do something other than scheme in the shadows, I want you to prepare a plan for when I arrive, I assume that since you’ve studied the Jedi’s tactics you can create a rudimentary plan”

“More than that my Lord, I’ve made it somewhat of a thought experiment on what I would do if I had a Jedi at my disposal, with your help any kind of resistance will be turned to dust” Trench finished his words with his iconic clicking, the mandibles in his mouth curved in what some would call a grin.

“Excellent! Now there is only one thing left what news do you have from Tampson?”

“The man still hungers for the proper title of general and has assured me that soon will be the perfect time to take Mon Cala, as you’ve suggested he is slowly poisoning the king through the Quarren leader” Trench had some apparent distaste for the sharkman and I didn’t have the slightest clue as to why “The prince is already being followed by his agents and is awaiting the order to end their royal line”

“The time is now, give him the order. If he waits until the king shows signs of being affected by the poison suspicion would quickly go to him and other CIS agents on the planet” Trench’s mandibles clicked again but said nothing else at my orders before he cut the connection I would give him one last message “Be sure to remind Tampson that if he doesn’t deliver Mon Cala to the confederacy in the agreed time he can say goodbye to his dreams of ruling the place”

“Of course,” I didn’t need the Force to know that Trench would happily deliver that message. The connection was cut, and I deliberated on what to do next.

“Uhm…” I looked at Merrin who was awkwardly trying to get my attention with one of her hands.

“Yes?” I wasn’t trying to be intimidating but I could feel her hesitation as I spoke, it wasn’t my fault that I had a deep rumbling voice!

“So, what will be the first thing you teach me?” that was an excellent question. I hadn’t really thought about what I would be teaching her but if there was one thing that would be immediately useful it was the ability to handle a lightsaber.

Without preamble, I threw her my double-bladed one and she caught it with one hand, it looked funny, Merrin could barely grip it correctly and it was at least a third of her size.

“That won’t do” I couldn’t give her Freedon’s lightsaber while certainly dark and quite powerful I doubted her ability to survive the rite of passage that the crystal delivered. Then it hit me, I moved through the ship and pulled out a silver suitcase.

I threw it to her and she opened it revealing Ventress’s lightsabers “They were the ones that Asajj used to wield” the silver in the handles shined in the light they looked as if they had never been used, they were now more a trophy than actual weapons as I had made sure to tone down the power they could extract from the kyber crystal just in case someone tried to use them against me but they would be just right for training.

Merrin emitted a series of strange feelings but ultimately, she exuded determination “I will be sure to take care of them!”

Her enthusiasm was quite endearing, she acted like a puppy “Once you learn how to use them correctly we will build you a new one or new ones together”

This time I could feel exactly what she felt and I didn’t quite get why she was embarrassed but it was unimportant. The ship wasn’t big enough to show her more than some basic stances and to let her swing her new weapons.

“Get some practice swinging them, they don’t weight as much as other weapons, and I doubt you have used any kind of weapon. Once you feel more comfortable with them I will show you some defensive stances”

“Why defensive? Mother Talzin said that Sith thrive on aggression” Merrin looked a bit peeved but if I received a lightsaber I would probably be disappointed to only learn defensive techniques.

“Well, I don’t want you to die, and right now even a padawan has a very good chance of killing you, if you are in trouble, your objective is to survive until I can help you”

“I can defend myself!” Merrin protested “my magicks are quite powerful”

“I’m sure they are, but they require time and materials do they not?” Merrin nodded at me “Fights against other Force users are too fast-paced for that”

Merrin apparently disagreed with me and the green mist gathering in her hands was a warning not to dismiss what the witches taught her but only Mother Talzin was at the level of a Sith, with no effort at all I had her floating in front of me with her limbs being held in place and unable to even twitch.

“I’m glad you are using your frustration to get more power but be careful of your pride, hubris is dangerous for us”

“This is not fair! I will not find opponents as powerful as you” Merrin was struggling and I was delighted to see her drawing more power without letting her emotions rule her.

“The galaxy is not a fair place, otherwise I would be the eternal emperor of it” Nox appeared at my side, this time in his full body and not merely the top half “You know I once had one of my lovers in that same position”

Merrin blushed at Nox’s words and glared at the old ghost “She had the same expression you have now, but she declared her undying love and loyalty to me after I was finished” He elbowed me in the ribs and I knew that he was smirking under his mask

“She is still a child Nox”

“I’m not a child!” Merrin’s shout was not really helping her case and I knew that her words would just encourage Nox.

“If the lady feels like a woman already, I can tell you some planets that have a lower age of consent, I also know some planets where there isn’t one at all” I fucking knew it.

Perhaps I was being too soft on her, I would have thought that my confrontation with Nox would instill some caution in her, I amplified the pressure in her body with a thought and Merrin grunted as she felt how a giant hand did its best to make her pop.

“You will remember that even if you are to be my mate I’m your master first and I will not have you questioning my decisions” I spoke in a calm tone as I got closer to her, I grabbed her chin and forced her to meet my eyes “Don’t ever forget that”

I let Merrin fall and while there was quite a bit of anger I could feel awe and envy in her mind, Nox nodded approvingly at the scene and I don’t know if it was comforting or not that he didn’t comment on my teaching style or my words.

“I will grow stronger!” Merrin wasn’t asking, it was a declaration.

And it brought a smile to my face.

___________________________________

Kalifa

Maul, Kalifa would only call him Maul in the safety of her mind as her master had made it very clear that if she failed at addressing him with the proper title there would be a punishment, hadn’t told her or Jinx anything about the mission, he hadn’t told her anything about where they were going really but strangely she didn’t feel anxious or afraid.

There was only anticipation in her mind, Kalifa would finally test what she had learned and she was eager to prove not only to Maul but to herself just how strong she had become. She brushed her companion’s mind and found only excitement, Jinx was a better swordsman than her but he lacked finesse in using the Force, he hadn’t even noticed Kalifa’s prodding, she cut the connection between them and looked at the droids assembled around her.

Kalifa hadn’t fought the droid army at all, she and the other younglings that arrived with her were taken just before they were to build their lightsabers, so she didn’t have any discomfort with working with droids. She looked at her hands and marveled at the high-quality leather gloves she now wore, Maul had given them new outfits complete with helmets to hide their previous identity, the helmets also had a comm in them and a mode to see in the dark and one to see heat signatures.

It was an all-black ensemble with some armor, it looked very stylish in her opinion and there was a taint of the Dark Side in them, she didn’t know how Maul had managed to do it as Jedi had to spend a significant amount of time to do the same and even then, it was mostly a group effort.

When she had asked Maul had only smiled and told her that he didn’t make them or did anything to them directly, he had just poured some darkness into them, whatever that meant.

“You will be arriving soon.” Maul spoke through the comm in her helmet and if she wasn’t wrong it sounded like he was looking forward to this too “Your mission is on the planet Boz Pity, CIS agents have confirmed that there is Jedi presence on the ground, Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, Jedi Master Rahm Kota, and Jedi Knight Falon Grey. Anyone of them can kill you”

Kalifa knew of them, of the Jedi Masters at least, Quinlan Vos was one of the order’s best trackers and his padawan Aayla Secura had quickly ascended to the rank of knight and Rahm Kota was famous for ignoring most of the council’s orders, his distrust of clones and his use of weapons that were illegal in Republic space were also well known.

“There is a well-armed militia fanatically loyal to Rahm Kota, they have even gone as far as to blow themselves up in suicide charges against confederate positions, not to mention the clones that are under Quinlan’s command.” Maul let them process that information for a few seconds before he continued “All of that doesn’t matter what matter is that the local resistance that is on the Republics side is moving, you will intercept them and kill them all, the risk is that if you take too long and the Jedi forces catch up to you then you will die”

One of the droids seemed to receive a signal and a holo map of the world materialized in front of Kalifa, it had their current position and the trajectory of their ship.

“You will be entering through the contested space in the guise of a ship that was shot down, the droid general will give you support in whatever way he can but don’t count on the whole army following you. It’s time to fall and remember, don’t die”

With those words of encouragement, the ship entered into a steady route toward the planet, turbulence started, and Kalifa was forced to hold onto her seat. The ship shook and rumbled the map updated itself and showed her the ship signatures around them, her heart sped up as she noticed a republic fighter squadron approach their ship before a massive group of vulture droids changed their course.

The gravity well of the world caught them and in no time at all they entered the atmosphere, Kalifa counted down the seconds before impact. Eight, seven, six, five, a piece of debris impacted the ship changing their route slightly but leaving them in the same general area, four, three, two, one…

Kalifa swore that she could feel the impact in her bones and the carefree laugh of Jinx beside her wasn’t helping at all.

“Time to work” Jinx exclaimed as the doors of the ship opened revealing a rocky field around them.