Star Wars_ The Old Republic_ Revan - Drew Karpyshyn [105]
“Work fast, T3,” she said. She looked up at Scourge. “We’d be more comfortable if you weren’t hovering over us.
“I will return in three hours,” he said. “Alone, of course.”
It only took half that time for T3 to decrypt and verify the authenticity of the data. As promised, it confirmed what the Sith had said—he really was plotting to overthrow the Emperor. However, it wasn’t just Scourge. Several members of the Dark Council, the Emperor’s circle of handpicked advisers, had joined together in a conspiracy to remove him from the throne.
Yet after more than a decade, they had made no real progress. Instead, the disks cataloged a litany of power plays and double crosses among the various leaders of the conspiracy. They spent so much time plotting against one another that the idea of them actually working together to defeat the Emperor seemed ludicrous.
“No wonder he’s willing to work with Revan,” Meetra muttered. “He’s just sick of waiting.”
By the time Scourge returned, she had made her decision.
“I believe you,” she said. “I’m ready to work together.”
“Does this mean you’ll tell me your name?” the Sith asked.
“I’m Meetra. And this is Tee-Three-Em-Four.”
The droid let out a shrill chirp.
“What’s he saying?” Scourge asked.
“He says it’s time for you to take us to see Revan.”
“The situation has changed. That isn’t an option any longer.”
“Why not?”
“He is being held by a Sith Lord called Nyriss.”
“She’s on the Dark Council,” Meetra said, recalling the name from the data disks. “She’s the one who brought you into the conspiracy.”
Scourge nodded.
“If she’s holding Revan, why can’t you take us to him?”
“When I first made the offer, I was hoping Revan could convince you that we should work together,” Scourge explained. “Going to see him now would only be an unnecessary risk.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I could probably get you in to see him, but that won’t help get him out of his cell. And it might raise suspicion.”
“Just take me to him,” Meetra insisted. “Leave the escape to me.”
“You can’t fight your way through Nyriss’s entire army of followers,” Scourge said. “Even with my help. She has hundreds of guards and dozens of acolytes trained in the dark side. If we’re going to break Revan out, we need a distraction. Something to draw the attention of the guards away while we sneak in.”
“I assume you have a plan?”
“I do,” Scourge said, smiling. “I’m going to get the Emperor to help us.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THOUGH HE APPEARED CALM on the outside, Scourge’s heart was pounding as he mounted the steps to the Emperor’s citadel. He was playing a dangerous game, but there were no other options. Time was the enemy; if they had any hope of getting Revan out of her dungeon alive, they had to act before Nyriss realized Scourge had betrayed her.
Soon—maybe tomorrow, maybe even today—Nyriss would begin to wonder about Sechel and Murtog’s absence. It wouldn’t take her long to learn that they had been working with Scourge, and from there she would easily fill in the blanks.
He’d briefly considered approaching one of the other members of the Dark Council, hoping to convince him or her to help him get rid of Nyriss the same way she had used him to eliminate Darth Xedrix. But even if they agreed to help him, it would be weeks before they put a plan into place. Like Nyriss, they were too cautious—too afraid—to take any action that might put them at risk.
The Emperor was the only Sith on all of Dromund Kaas with the will to take the kind of quick and decisive action required. Convincing him that Nyriss was a traitor would be simple enough with the files he’d acquired from Sechel. The trick was making the Emperor believe Scourge had been an unknowing pawn in her plans.
T3 had doctored the data disks, removing all evidence of Scourge’s part in the conspiracy. Scourge would claim that he came forward as soon as he learned of the plot … but there was no guarantee the Emperor would believe him.
Scourge was going