The Negotiator and the Fire Fang

Shadows of the Ancient Sith: Excavation

"Well this is a new one, even for me." Kenobi said as they slunk in their newly acquired Sith garb around to the Empire's excavation sight. Shan was nothing but a dark blob beyond the visor of his mask. "And I once impersonated my own murderer."

They were only in the tomb for an hour, but in that time, it went from midday to long after sunset outside. The Gray stopped to face him.

"One, do I even want to know why or how you disguised yourself as your own killer? And secondly, pretending to the ghost of an ancient Sith warrior isn't exactly commonplace for me either." she replied. She was wearing a black, fibromesh dress that fell around her feet. The armored top contoured to her torso nicely. A hood was up over her hair and a mask hid her face. Two lightsabers hung on her waist. Obi-Wan could sense trepidation rolling off of her.

"This will work Sahrea. Have faith." he said, putting his gloved hands on both her shoulders. She sighed. The Gray silently raised both of her arms and hooked her fingers around his wrists. She released a small exhale through her nose. Kenobi gave her shoulders a squeeze.

"It will." he said again. She nodded. They both dropped their arms. Shan's aura coldened. "Let's go scare some imperials."

---

Sahrea peeked above the rock she was hiding behind. Below her, the imperial excavation was chugging along. Stormtroopers sentries were patrolling around, blasters in hand. Their shiny white armor was immaculate, with the exception of the dust that clung to their feet and shins.

Large digging equipment sat above a deep pit. There were various machines; one had a long arm tipped with a claw to pull dirt out of the excavation site; Another was meant to break up rocks;

Tall posts with large square lights were able to turn the night into day. A large container was filled with Korribanian dirt. Behind it were five or six power generators the size of Obi-Wan's entire house. Wires thicker than her leg snaked through out the area like some sort of electrified vine. There was a control panel on her right along with a makeshift command center for the workers and troopers.

The pit butted up against the canyon on the back side of the valley. It would be on the opposite side of the tombs of Tulak Hord and Ajunta Pall.
Imperial archeologists were digging around with finer tools to protect the fragile relics they were working to uncover.

This entire scene incited some of Shan's curiosity. What were they hoping to find? Why would the Empire have any use for Sith Relics? She thought back to a rumor she had heard while on Manaan.

Apparently the Emperor had allied himself with a Sith Lord to help him take over the Republic. In return, he would use the biochips in the clone brains to kill off the Jedi Order. That also explains Dooku. His master likely had him create the CIS in order to force the Republic to use the Clone Army and also why Vader sticks around, as insurance to protect his master's assets.

Now as to who Vader was, Shan didn't know. No one did. He was a mystery. He just appeared out of thin air one day. The only information she had was that he must have been chosen after Dooku's death, as per the Rule of Two. Sahrea wasn't entirely sure how accurate the gossip was, but it did seem to make sense. That would also explain why they were digging. She made a mental note to ask Kenobi about it later. He was on the Jedi Council. He may know more about the situation than she did.

Now for their plan. Shan reached out towards the power generators, tapping into the Force as she did. She felt the electricity pulsing through the wires, spastic and at a speed that made her head hurt. She twisted her wrist.

The lights began to flicker. All of the imperials came to an alarmed standstill. They all muttered in confusion. On the other side of the site, Kenobi used the Force to start up one of the machines. The engine revved up and the digger rolled backwards. The troopers shouted in panic. Shan released her hold on the lights at the same time that the machine stopped moving.