Star Wars_ Darth Bane 01_ Path of Destruction - Drew Karpyshyn [93]
Yet the harsh evidence before him was undeniable. The ancient manuscripts had failed him. He had gambled everything on the truth of their words—even defying Qordis himself—and he had lost.
In desperation he cast his head back and threw his arms to the uneven rock of the ceiling above. “I’m here, Master!” he cried. “I’ve come to learn your secrets!” He paused, listening for a response. Hearing nothing, he shouted, “Show yourself! By all the power of the dark side, show yourself!”
His words reverberated off the walls, sounding empty and hollow. He dropped to his knees, his arms falling to his sides and his head slumping forward. As the echo died away, the only sound was the shrill clicking of the pelko bugs.
Kopecz spit on the ground as he surveyed the camp. He was surrounded by an army, but it was an army of inferiors. Everywhere he looked he saw the minions of the Sith: battle ragers, assassins, and apprentices. But there were precious few Sith Masters. The seemingly endless war against the Jedi on the battlefields of Ruusan was taking a heavy toll on Kaan’s Brotherhood of Darkness. Without reinforcements they would be forced to retreat—or be wiped out by General Hoth and his hated Army of Light.
The heavyset Twi’lek rose to his feet, spurred to action by the realization that something had to be done. He made his way through scattered pockets of soldiers, noticing how many were injured, exhausted, or simply defeated. By the time he reached the entrance to Lord Kaan’s tent the contempt he felt for his so-called Brothers had reached a boiling point.
When Kopecz entered, Lord Kaan took one look at him and dismissed his other advisers with a sharp wave of his hand. They filed out, none of them daring to come too close.
“What is it, my old friend?” Kaan asked. His voice was charming as ever, but his eyes were wide and wild, like a hunted beast.
“Have you seen what passes for our army out there?” Kopecz snarled, poking a thumb over his shoulder as he walked slowly forward. “If this is all we have to stand against Lord Hoth, we may as well burn our black robes and start practicing the Jedi Code.”
“We have reinforcements coming,” Lord Kaan assured him. “Two more full divisions of foot soldiers, another core of snipers. Half a platoon of repulsorcraft armed with heavy guns. There are many who are drawn to the glory of our cause. More and more each day. The Brotherhood of Darkness cannot fail.”
Kopecz took little comfort in his promises. Lord Kaan had always been the strength of the Brotherhood of Darkness, a man who had rallied the Dark Lords to a single cause through the greatness of his personality and vision. Now, however, he looked like a man on the edge. The strain of constantly battling the Jedi had left him frazzled.
Kopecz shook his head in disgust. “I’m not one of your sycophantic advisers,” he said, his voice rising. “I won’t grovel and scrape before you, Lord Kaan. I won’t heap praise on your fool head when I can see with my own eyes that you are leading us to our destruction!”
“Keep your voice down!” Kaan snapped. “You will destroy the morale of our troops!”
“They have no morale left to destroy,” Kopecz shot back, though he did lower his volume. “We can’t defeat Jedi with ordinary soldiers. There are too many of them and not enough of us.”
“By us you mean those worthy of joining the ranks of the Dark Lords,” Kaan replied. He sighed and stared down at the holomap spread out on the table before him.
“You know what you have to do,” Kopecz told him, his voice losing some of the anger. He had chosen to follow Kaan; he wouldn’t abandon him now. But he wasn’t about to sit idly by and face certain defeat. “We face an army of Jedi Knights and Masters. We can’t stand against them without our own Masters from the Academy. The students, too. All of them.”
“They are mere apprentices,