Star Wars_ The Old Republic_ Revan - Drew Karpyshyn [111]
The entire incident took less than ten seconds; plenty of time for Scourge to lead Meetra and T3 in another direction. But instead of trying to avoid the melee, the Sith had simply held his ground and watched.
As the last defender fell, the invaders broke into two teams and set off in opposite directions down the hall. The chance to hide until they passed was lost; as the red-robed butchers approached, Meetra started to reach for the lightsaber hidden inside her black, knee-high leather boot.
Scourge grabbed her wrist and shook his head. He stepped back against the wall, dragging her with him. Recognizing Scourge as a friendly target, the Imperial Guards ran past without even a second glance.
“The dungeons are close,” Scourge told her once they were alone again.
They were fortunate enough not to encounter any more battles for the rest of the journey, though they came across the aftermath of several violent skirmishes. Some of the bodies wore the red uniforms of the invaders, but for every one of them there were at least five of Nyriss’s people.
Security guards, acolytes, and even civilian staff lay strewn about the halls and corridors; the Emperor’s Guard had spared no one. Meetra understood there had been no other way to free Revan, but she still felt revulsion at the wholesale slaughter. When she noticed the body of a young Twi’lek slave lying on the floor with her throat cut, she forced herself to look away.
“Nyriss’s personal attendant,” Scourge noted. “But I don’t see Nyriss among the dead.”
T3 beeped and Meetra shook her head.
“I don’t think she escaped,” she said, remembering the ruthless efficiency and organization of the attacking troops.
“Her fate is irrelevant,” Scourge declared.
“Right. Take us to Revan.”
They rounded a final corner, bringing them face-to-face with a massive durasteel door. Scourge stepped up and punched in a security code, but the door didn’t open. He tried again, and the pad responded with a sharp buzz.
“The whole place is in emergency lockdown,” he said. “My security codes won’t work.”
“Don’t worry,” Meetra said confidently. “Tee-Three can slice through any security system.”
“He’d better hurry,” Scourge said. “I don’t sense guards on the other side of the door.”
“You think they fled?”
He shook his head. “I think when the alarms went off Nyriss told them to execute the prisoner.”
AT FIRST REVAN THOUGHT the distant explosions were an unusual side effect of some new drug combination his captors were trying on him. But when the alarms started blaring, his addled mind realized the facility was under attack.
“Meetra,” he mumbled.
He struggled to his feet, battling the mind-numbing effects of the chemicals coursing through his veins. Had his mind been able to focus, he could have purged them from his system. But of course, the entire point of the drugs was to keep him from drawing on the Force.
A few seconds later he heard someone outside the door of his cell. When the door opened he expected to see Scourge, but instead he found himself faced with an unfamiliar guard.
The young man was a dark-skinned human. He was holding a blaster out at arm’s length, pointing it at Revan. His hand was visibly trembling.
From outside another voice shouted, “Hurry. Do it!”
Even in Revan’s clouded state, the situation was obvious. In the wake of the attack, someone had ordered them to kill the prisoner.
“Squeeze the trigger and it will be the last action you ever take,” Revan warned.
“Come on,” the other voice said. “Just do it! What’s the problem?”
“Shut up!” the young man shouted to his hidden companion. “You were too scared to even open the cell!”
Their fear was completely understandable. Since his incarceration, Revan had been held under strict quarantine. Nobody had been given access to his cell without Scourge being present, and even then the Sith had mostly come to see him alone. No doubt it had been drilled into the guards’ heads over and over how powerful and dangerous the prisoner was. They’d been warned against having