Star Wars_ Darth Bane 02_ Rule of Two - Drew Karpyshyn [82]
They walked slowly along the length of the display cases, Zannah splitting her attention between Hetton’s words and the intriguing array of Sith artifacts. She could still feel faint remnants of dark side energy clinging to them: fading memories of the incredible power they once contained.
“Early on in my apprenticeship I recognized Gula for the fool he was. At my urging, my mother used the wealth and resources of our house to scour the galaxy in pursuit of every record, object, or trinket even remotely associated with the dark side so that I could further my learning without having to rely exclusively on my so-called Master.
“As you might expect, much of what came to us was worthless rubbish. But over the years a number of rare and valuable items found their way into my possession.”
Hetton turned to the shelves, running his hands lovingly over the cataloged volumes.
“The knowledge here allowed me to quickly surpass Gula. Once my mother realized he was no longer of any use to us, she had him killed.”
Zannah started and blinked in surprise. Hetton laughed softly at her reaction.
“My mother was a woman driven by ambition and ruthless practicality. She had worked hard to keep my existence hidden from the Jedi and Sith; if Gula were allowed to simply leave our service, it was inevitable he would reveal our house’s great secret.”
“A necessary death,” Zannah said with a nod, realizing that Bane probably would have done the same thing. Then, hit with a sudden flash of insight, she said, “You were the one who killed him, weren’t you?”
Hetton smiled at her. “You are as perceptive as you are powerful. When the order came down from my mother, I was more than happy to comply. Gula had become a burden and an impediment to my own research into the ways of the dark side.”
“You speak of your mother as if she is gone,” Zannah noted. “What happened to her?”
Hetton’s eyes narrowed, and his expression grew dark.
“About fifteen years ago, when Kaan first began to assemble his Brotherhood of Darkness, my mother urged me to reveal myself and join their cause. She believed they would succeed in their quest to destroy the Republic, and she sought to ally our house with the rising new power in the galaxy.
“But I refused to become part of Kaan’s cult. He preached that all who followed the dark side would serve as equals—a democracy of Sith. I found the concept repugnant, a perversion of everything I had studied and believed in.
“However, my mother still thought in terms of governments and political alliances. Through my study of the dark side I had transcended such mundane interests, but she could not grasp my objections. In the end, I was forced to eliminate her.”
This time Zannah wasn’t surprised. “She would have ignored your wishes and tried to forge an alliance with the Brotherhood,” she said, showing that she understood—and even approved of—Hetton’s matricide. “She would have exposed you. You had no other choice.”
“I poisoned her in her sleep,” Hetton explained, his voice betraying just a hint of regret. “It was a peaceful death; I never wanted her to suffer. After all, I’m not a monster.”
There was a moment of silence as he let his thoughts linger over what he had done. Then he shook his head and resumed speaking as he led Zannah over to the monitor and data terminal.
“With the fall of the Brotherhood and the reformations of the Jedi Order, I became more bold. In addition to my quest to seek out the knowledge and artifacts of the ancient Sith I also began to assemble an army of followers. Under the separatist banner, I drew those individuals with unique skills and talents into my service. We were united in our hatred of the Republic and the Jedi, yet I was still wary of revealing my true purpose: the resurrection of the Sith!
“And now you are here,” he said, concluding his tale. He reached down and removed a datacard from the terminal they were standing beside. “The timing could not be more perfect.”
Zannah wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but before she could ask a question he had placed the datacard