Star Wars_ Darth Bane 01_ Path of Destruction - Drew Karpyshyn [122]
Githany’s eyes narrowed. “I warned you about him.”
Kaan nodded. “You know him better than any of us. You understand him. That is why I need you now. Bane sent me a message.”
He reached over and flicked on the message drone sitting on the table. A tiny hologram of the heavily muscled Dark Lord materialized before them. Even though the details of his expression were difficult to make out at that size, it was clear he was troubled.
“Kas’im is dead. I … I killed him. But I’ve been thinking about what he said before … before he died.”
Githany gave Kaan a curious look. He shrugged and tilted his head toward the hologram as it continued to speak.
“I came here searching for something. I’m … I’m not even sure what it was. But I didn’t find it. Just like I didn’t find it in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban. And now Kas’im is dead and I … I don’t know what to do …”
The projection bowed its head: lost, confused, and alone. Kaan could clearly see the scorn in Githany’s expression as she watched the spectacle before her. At last the figure seemed to compose itself, and it looked up once more.
“I don’t want Kas’im’s death to be in vain,” Bane said emphatically. “I should have listened to him in the first place. I … I want to join the Brotherhood.”
Kaan reached out and flicked the drone off again. “Well?” he asked Githany. “Is he serious? Or is this just a trap?”
She chewed at her lower lip. “I think he’s sincere,” she finally said. “For all his power, Bane is still weak. He can’t surrender himself fully to the dark side. He still feels guilt when he uses the Force to kill.”
“Qordis mentioned something similar,” Kaan said. “He told me Bane had a chance to kill a bitter rival in the dueling ring at the Academy, but he pulled back at the last moment.”
Githany nodded. “Sirak. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it. And Kas’im was his mentor. If Bane was forced to kill him, it would have been even harder for him to deal with it.”
“So I should send an emissary to meet with him?”
She shook her head. “Bane is more trouble than he’s worth. He’s vulnerable now, but as his confidence returns he’ll become as headstrong as ever. He’ll bring dissension to the ranks. Besides,” she added, “we don’t need him anymore. We’re winning.”
“So how do you propose we deal with him? Assassins?”
She laughed. “If he could handle Kas’im, then I doubt anyone else will stand a chance against him. Anyone but me.”
“You?”
Githany smiled. “Bane likes me. I wouldn’t say he trusts me, exactly … but he wants to trust me. Let me go to him.”
“And what will you do when you find him?”
“Tell him I miss him. Explain that we’ve considered his offer, and we want him to join the Brotherhood. Then, when his guard is down, I’ll kill him.”
Kaan raised his eyebrows. “You make it sound so simple.”
“Unlike Kas’im, I know how to handle him,” she assured him. “Betrayal is a far more effective weapon than the lightsaber.”
She left the tent a few moments later, taking the message drone and the coordinates Bane had sent along for the meeting. Kaan had every confidence she’d get the job done. And he saw no reason to share with her the small package that had arrived in the message drone’s storage compartment.
Bane had sent it to Lord Kaan as a peace offering; a way to atone for Kas’im’s death. It wasn’t much to look at: text written on several sheets of flimsi, the writing cramped and hurried as if it had been recorded while listening to someone else speak. Yet within its pages it contained a detailed description of one of the most fearsome creations of the ancient Sith: the thought bomb.
An ancient ritual that required the combined will of many powerful Sith Lords, the thought bomb unleashed the pure destructive energy of the dark side. There were risks involved, of course. That much power was highly volatile, making it difficult to control even for those who had the strength to summon it. It was possible