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“I’m just following in your footsteps.”

“Not anymore,” Revan replied. “You have blazed your own trail. I can sense you have walked a path even I would not dare to tread. I owe you everything, Meetra. It is a debt I will never be able to repay.”

“No,” Meetra said with a wan smile. “Without your teaching, I could never have become what I am today. I am the one who owes a debt she can never repay.”

“Then why don’t we call it even?” Revan said.

“A wise and just solution,” she replied. “As always.”

“Would you like to see the holovid of Bastila and my son?” he asked, offering her his hand. “It would mean more to watch it with a friend at my side.”

“Of course,” she said, a lump forming in her throat. “It would be my honor.”

WHEN SCOURGE ARRIVED BACK at the cave he found Meetra and Revan huddled side by side on the floor, staring at a holovid projected by T3. He caught a glimpse of a young human female and what Scourge assumed was her child, but as he approached the droid quickly cut the recording off.

“What was that?” he asked.

“My wife and son,” Revan said.

He stood up stiffly and stretched, and Scourge wondered how long he had been sitting on the floor of the cave watching the holovid. He also noticed that Revan had removed his mask; it was sitting on the ground beside him, seemingly forgotten.

“I didn’t know you were married,” he said.

When Revan didn’t answer, it was clear he had no intention of discussing his personal life with a Sith. They might be allies, Scourge realized, but they were far from friends. Which was as it should be—for a Sith Lord, friends were a liability.

“What did you find out?” Meetra asked as Revan extended a hand to help her up.

“It wasn’t just Nyriss who was attacked. The Emperor killed them all.”

“The files you showed me listed five current members of the Dark Council plotting against him,” Meetra said, looking to clarify. “Are you saying the Emperor’s Guard wiped out all five in the space of a single day?”

“I said he killed them all,” Scourge replied. “All twelve members of the Dark Council—even those who weren’t part of the conspiracy. He wanted to send a message no one would ever forget.”

“How is that possible?” Revan asked. “He attacked a dozen of the most powerful Sith Lords in their seats of power simultaneously? How many troops does he have?”

“The Imperial Guard were only unleashed on Nyriss and two others. The Emperor must have assumed they were the ones least likely to answer his summons. The other nine were called together in the hours before the attack to meet with the Emperor at his citadel. None of them left alive.”

“So what’s happening now?” Meetra asked.

“News of the massacre spread quickly,” Scourge said. “As you would expect, the result was chaos. Thousands are fleeing for their lives, fearing we are on the brink of civil war. Others see an opportunity to strike at rivals weakened by the sudden loss of political allies, and armed platoons are roaming the streets.”

“How did the Emperor react?” Revan asked.

“He’s declared martial law and imposed a curfew over the entire city. The Guard are enforcing his orders with their typical ruthless efficiency. He also forbade any ship or shuttle to land or leave before he launched his attack, and he shut down all offworld communications.”

“He’s quarantined the entire planet,” Revan said. “He wants to get everything here back under control before any other worlds hear that he slaughtered the entire Dark Council.”

“You told me he was mad,” Meetra muttered, “but this is outrageous. There had to be a better way for him to handle this. Thousands of his people are going to die before order is restored.”

“The last time I was here on Dromund Kaas, I peered into the depths of the Emperor’s mind,” Revan told them. “A thousand lives mean nothing to him.”

“The last time you were here?” Scourge said, pouncing on the phrase. “Have some of your memories returned?”

“Seeing my old mask triggered something. I remember everything now,” Revan admitted. “Malak and I learned the Sith still survived. We came here to Dromund Kaas to investigate.