“I hate this planet…”
Miles from the capital city, deep within the cover of Umbara's bio-luminescent jungles, Elaine Conrat waded trough thick, tentacle-like vines and towering bulbous plants to the coordinates of a cryptic meeting that she had been invited to by a group known only as the "Shadow Cabal"; The message mentioned a sale of one of Umbara's many advanced weapons, but withheld the details of the deal until meeting face-to-face, so here she was, ducking under branches with her Nexu by her side.
"Where is he?" Elaine grumbled, looking down at Callé. "The message said that this is where he wanted to meet."
The Nexu snarled as she moved to take another step, using its tails to pull her backwards.
“What are you-?” She started, stumbling backwards. “Callé? What is it?”
Still snarling, Callé had positioned himself between his owner and something deep within the fog.
“That beast has good instincts,” an accented male voice called from the shadows before her.
Elaine strained her eyes to see through the curtain of mist that shrouded the speaker. “Can’t say the same for you; Sneaking up on a Nexu is a good way to get yourself killed.”
The disembodied voice chuckled, the sound coming from her left now. “I’ll take my chances.”
Through the Force, Elaine’s mind dialed in on the man’s movements as he slowly circled her. “I assume you’re Teneb?”
“Well, you see, that depends…”
“On what?” she asked dryly, suddenly getting tired of talking to a faceless voice in the mist.
“On you,” Wyss replied from her right side. “See, you aren’t who you said you are, Ellac…”
“Ellac?” Elaine’s face darkened, every ounce of tolerance she had left instantly replaced by anger. “How do you know that name?”
Sensing his master’s emotions shift, Callé circled around Elaine protectively, flicking his tail in agitation.
“It’s the name you gave me,” Wyss said, stepping out of the shadows in front of her, the end of his dark grey duster trailing behind him. Pulling his scarf down to uncover his ghoulish face, his piercing white eyes narrowed at the young Sith. “You are Ellac Conrat, are you not?”
“No… She’s not.” Metal footsteps pounded against the jungle floor as Ellac emerged from the cover of the night, followed closely by a blood-red HK unit. “I am.”
Wyss cursed under his breath as he glared back into the fog. “Well, this is awkward,” he said, turning back to the pair of Sith. “It seems there’s been a bit of a mix up here, but I’m sure we can still come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“Ellac doesn’t do ‘mutually beneficial’,” Elaine spat out his name as she leveled a glare on her older brother, her Nexu snarling at her feet. “Isn’t that right, brother?”
Ignoring his sister’s provocations, Ellac stepped past her, approaching Wyss.
“I wouldn’t,” the Umbaran warned plainly, raising a hand to stop him. “Get too close to me and my men will open fire; They’re the protective sort, you see.”
“Your men?” Elaine echoed, peering into the shadows and mist that seemed to only grow more dense with time.
Ellac looked back to the Savant in contempt. “You couldn’t sense them?”
Callé gnashed his fangs at the cyborg, sharing in Elaine’s distaste for him.
“Okay, well, it seems like you both have some unresolved business to take care of, so I’ll be going,” Wyss said, pressing his hands flat together as pointed them at the Sith siblings.
“You’re not going anywhere until I get what I came for,” Ellac said, turning back to the pirate. “Show it to me.”
Wyss Teneb glanced between Ellac and Elaine in a moment of consideration. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
With a nod from Ellac, HK-98 stepped forward, tossing a lightsaber into the dirt at Teneb’s feet.
“Well, well, well,” Wyss said, barely attempting to mask his excitement as he scooped up the weapon. His thumb tentatively stroked the activation switch as he examined the hilt, pale eyes wide with greed as its purple blade flashed to life in his hands. “I suppose a deal is a deal.” Reaching a hand into his coat, he pulled a small canister from his pocket. “Umbaran trade secret: One dose can enhance a soldier’s physical capabilities and stamina. With this gas, you can create your very own super soldiers… And now, it’s yours,” he said tossing the canister.
Just as the canister was leaving his fingers, an invisible Force summoned it to Elaine’s outstretched hand. “I don’t think so.”
Still facing a stunned-silent Wyss, Ellac leaned his head back, tuning his focus in the Force to Elaine and the items on her person. “That was a mistake.”
“No! I’m done losing things to you…” Pocketing the capsule, Elaine’s hand reached for the hilt of her double-bladed lightsaber, but her fingers found nothing but empty air. “Wha-?!”
“Lose something again, little sister?” Lifting a metal hand out from under his cloak, Ellac held up her missing saber. “You weren’t the only one who learned from Sykes.”
Elaine growled in perfect unison with her Nexu, widening her stance. “I’ll kill you, Ellac, I swear I will!,” she hissed, drawing and igniting her secondary, single-blade lightsaber.
“Wyss,” Ellac said, tossing the stolen saber to the Umbaran. “Consider this an advance; I want a full shipment of the gas delivered directly to Titius Osseus.”
Before Wyss could respond, Elaine whistled sharply, signalling Callé to attack. The Nexu lunged directly for Ellac, but a swift kick to the face knocked him back as HK-98 retaliated.
“Statement: Master, I have tolerated this disgusting creature long enough, and can do so no longer.”
“Leave,” Ellac said, dismissing Wyss as he finally turned to face his sister. Casting off his cloak, the Juggernaut slipped his own double-bladed lightsaber from its place on his back. His adrenaline surged as he settled into the all-too-familiar feeling of combat. Rolling his shoulders, the ribbed plates in his surgically grafted Stalker Armor pulled at his skin, the bite of it fueling his connection to the Dark Side of the Force.
Drawing her blaster, Elaine fired a shot directly at HK’s head, but the plasma bolt dissipated instantly against the droid’s energy shield. In total synchrony with his master, Callé darted forward, zig-zagging as it slashed at HK’s chassis, but the droid had already drawn his electro-sword, and the two companions traded deadly blows; Callé’s claws left deep but non-inhibiting trails in HK’s torso, and the droid had managed to twist his blade underneath the Nexu’s exposed arm, leaving a shallow but still bleeding slice in the feline’s armpit.
Reeling her arm back, Elaine hurled her lightsaber at HK-98 as he stumbled back from her pet, but Ellac stepped in its path, batting the blade away with his own.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this,” Elaine said, summoning her lightsaber back to her hand with the Force. “Finally, after all these years… You’re going to get what you deserve.”
