The Negotiator and the Fire Fang

Shadows of the Ancient Sith: Deals

"Here." Sahrea Shan stated flatly, dropping the shard on the lid of Naga Sadow's coffin. It sent a metallic thud echoing throughout the ancient chamber. The Gray stepped back to Obi-Wan Kenobi's side, crossing her arms as she did.

At first, nothing happened. Then the charcoal smoke waterfalled out from under the lid. The air temperature dropped drastically. The light dimmed. The mist puddled onto the floor before rising up like some kind of blobish monster.

It arched backwards, encompassing the shard and then pulled away, leaving the coffin lid empty. It slipped down to the floor once again before twisting upwards like a cyclone. It finally stopped, filling out into the form of Naga Sadow. He dipped his head respectfully to Sahrea.

"You have done well, Heir of Revan." he said, holding the sword shard in his vaporous hand.

"What did that piece mean so much to you?" Shan asked curiously. She was very intrigued as to why a broken sword blade was so important to the Sith. Sadow looked to her, his form bobbing slowly above the floor. He had what Shan took to be a wistful expression, but it was hard to tell, considering he had no facial features.

"They took not a shard. They took me." was all he said in response. She did not understand what that meant and as curious as she was, the Gray did not ask. She already pushed the envelope by asking him at all; She did not need him being angered again now that they were in his good graces.

"We have upheld our end of the deal. Now we ask that you honor yours." Kenobi stated, stepping forward. Sadow turned to the former general.

"You are lucky." the Sith replied. "Had it been you, Jedi, I would not." Kenobi's brows pulled together negatively.

"But, for the Heir of Revan, I will." he said. "For you are no Jedi. I also owe your ancestor a debt, which will now be repaid. As he granted me rest, I now grant you the same." Sadow swooped a hand towards Sahrea.

Black mist, the same kind that made up Sadow's body, pulled out of her forehead like a wispy string. It plunked out as if it didn't want to let go, forcing Shan to take a step forward.

"It is done." the ancient Sith Lord said. He crossed his formless arms. "You have done well, Sahrea Shan, an outcome worthy of the Revanchist himself." He stepped back to his sarcophagus.

"May the Force be with you, the one who lies between." He stayed a breath longer before his form was sucked back under the coffin lid. The tomb immediately lost its icy grip. The area seemed brighter. The stale air became warm and damp once again.

"Sahrea." Obi-Wan said softly. She hadn't realized she was still staring at the lid of the sarcophagus. She nodded and backed away towards the exit.

Kenobi and Shan followed their path back to the Valley of Dark Lords. As they exited, Sahrea looked over her shoulder. The path that was just clear a moment ago was now packed with debris so thick, the opening was nearly impossible to distinguish. Not even a brynisk could slip through there. It melded seamlessly into the face of the cliff, almost as if it was never there in the first place.

---

Kenobi piloted the way home in silence. Sahrea had fallen asleep in the co-pilot's seat before they even left Moraband's atmosphere. It took him four tries to wake her up once they reached Mos Eisley. Once she gave in to the sleep, that was it.

She eventually came to, but getting her to the speeder was a struggle. All the adrenaline and fear from before was completely gone. She almost walked into two doors and wall. Once they were on their way back to his hut, Shan was once again asleep. She tucked her feet under her like a bird and rested her head against the back of the seat.

"Sahrea." Kenobi said after he parked outside his hut. He was standing on her right, giving her shoulder a small shake. The Gray mumbled in response and swatted his hand away. Obi-Wan chuckled.

"Come on Fire Fang." he said. It was dark out, all the light from the suns dissipated. He had no idea how long they had been gone for. Shan rested for a moment longer before pushing herself up grumpily.

"That's my girl." he said with a smile. Sahrea slowly got out of the speeder. She stumbled sharply off to the side before catching herself.

She reached out slowly and wrapped her hands around Kenobi's arm. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they made their way inside. He pressed his face into her hair.

Once inside, Shan flopped down onto the bed instantly. She kicked off her boots and fell asleep sideways and in her Korriban dust covered clothes that was already turning the taupe blanket a rusty color. He didn't mind. Obi-Wan threw a second blanket over her and retreated back to the couch for the night.

—-

Shan slept almost to sunsset the next day. When the suns were an hour or two away from touching the dune covered horizon, Sahrea emerged from her slumber.

Her clothes were wrinkled, her feet were bare, and her hair was quite poofy and sticking up in unique ways. He loved looking at this beautiful, messy Sahrea as much as he loved looking at the beautiful, polished version. She stood in the doorway, yawned, and shuffled into the kitchen. She sat down wordlessly.

"I was wondering when you would wake." he said, rinsing out out a pot in the sink. Shan crossed her arms on the table and dropped her head to her forearms.

"Hungry." she told the floor. He was tempted to chide her at her lack of question or of the word 'please', but she had been through a lot the last few days, so he let it slide.

Kenobi pulled some cold soup he has thrown together earlier out from the refrigeration unit and put it on the stove. He had done very little cooking his former life, but found he enjoyed it.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, stirring the pot. Shan looked up at him. She looked better, but those deep circles under her eyes remained.

"Better. I have a splitting headache though. It'll take a few days for me to get back to normal." she whined.

As Kenobi turned the boiling soup off, something twisted in his gut. Was she leaving now? In a few days? He chewed on this as he poured the soup in a bowl and placed it in front of her. He sat down and tapped his fingers anxiously on the tabletop.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked, trying to be nonchalant. Sahrea swallowed a spoonful.

"I don't know." she answered truthfully. "Master Yoda told me to follow Revan's past. That seemed to have ended here. Or will, once I find the final star map." She took another bite.

"Records state it was somewhere near Anchorhead, but the city has expanded so much in the last few thousand years. I'm not sure how accurate it is or if it still even exists. It could have easily been demolished or built over. I looked around the outskirts and asked about it, but had no luck so far." she explained. He bit on the inside of his cheek.

"Why don't you stay?" Sahrea gave him a surprised look. The words had gone from his subconscious straight to his mouth, bypassing his brain completely. He didn't even realize he spoke until the words were out. That was so unlike him and that made him immediately grumpy.

Why did her presence melt any self control he had? Well he couldn't take the words back now. Instead he anticipated her answer. She sat back in her chair, thinking for a long moment on his proposal, what he was asking of her. He relaxed when he saw her smile. "Why not? I'll stay."