"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.
"I don't like this." one trooper said as his squadron walked below her.
"Maybe we should get the commander. It might be those Sith ghosts everyone keeps talking about." another replied.
"Don't be stupid." the third one, a woman, said. "There's no such thing as ghosts."
"Well something killed those troopers last week and it sure wasn't a kinrath." the first one responded. Shan reached out again. She picked up a few rocks a flung them against the side of the dirt container, sending a metallic ring throughout the area. The troopers were now on high alert. Now for some real fun.
Shan slipped down to the ground. She lit the saber Sadow gave her. It was a crimson, crossguard saber, just like they used in the Old Republic. She raised her arm and slashed through the wires. All of the lights went dead except for one.
Alarmed screams came from all over the site. A flash of red caught her eye across the way. Kenobi had cut the exhaust vent on the opposite side. The entire area flooded with fog. Shan stepped out into the open, twirling her saber.
"I told you!" said the trooper from earlier, panicking. "It's a Sith ghost!" he screamed.
"Hurry up and blast it!" the woman shouted, lifting her weapon. "It's a ghost!" the other man replied. "You can't kill it!" the female trooper shot at Shan.
The Gray expertly dodged her hindered shots. She reached her hand out. Five of the woman's shots froze in midair. The three gasped. With a shove of her hand, she redirected them back at the imperials. They all skimmed past them, except for one; It connected with the shoulder of the woman.
Using the voice modifier on her helmet, she said the only phrase she knew in the Ancient Sith language. It translated roughly to "The Force shall set me free." Her grandfather, who was of Bogun, had made her memorize the Sith Mantra both in Basic and Ancient Sith as a child. That line was the only piece she could remember. It didn't really fit with the situation, but she felt that speaking in the language helped fit her guise of a dead Sith assassin and would definitely scare them even more.
She tapped her belt activated the stealth field generator that she was given. They were antiquated technology, not useful at all anymore with all the advancements in the last few thousand years, but it would mask her well enough to make it look like she could disappear. The hot exhaust should also prevent them from tracing her heat signature as well.
"Where'd it go?" the right trooper questioned as Shan slunk her way through the fog. She stood directly in front of the most scared trooper and deactivated her invisibility. He screamed and recoiled.
Shan took her borrowed saber out and cut off the blaster barrels of the other two troopers. She Force pushed them both backwards, leaving her alone with the coward. The other man she had shoved went rolling across the dirt and nearly fell into the pit, but his fingers caught the ledge just in time. The woman landed on her back near a machine. She shook her head and went to help the hanging stormtrooper.
Shan looked to the trooper that she had purposefully left behind. He staggered away from her, tripping over some wires. He landed hard on his back.
Sahrea dramatically drug her saber tip along the ground for extra effect as she strolled over to him. She was having way too much fun scaring the imperials.
The trooper got up and sprinted right past her. She picked up one of the metal rails using the Force and threw it like a javelin at him. Paint flecked off his helmet as it skimmed the edge and stabbed deep into the dirt. He ran into the base quicker than a scared Tach. Shan looked around. As the fog dissipated, she could see the area was abandoned. Good.
"Well that was most effective." Kenobi's disembodied voice came from her side. He deactivated his generator. He wore a black and silver armored suit with hood and mask. Where her mask had large, round eyes and a mouth piece that was curled up in a wicked looking smile, his had slits for eyes. Lines drug down from the bottom. There was a strip of maroon that went from the brow to the chin. The black painted cheeks pulled in sharply, contrasting against the silver of the rest of the mask. Despite his very intimidating and Sith-like appearance, his warm aura reminded her that he was still her Obi-Wan underneath.
They both snapped their heads up as a cold presence came over them, a very Sith-like presence.
Across the way, a woman strode over to them. She wore a silver mask with a T shaped visor built into the front that was very Mandalorian-esque. It also had a sinister smile. She wore a jacket that covered only her shoulders and back. It dipped down to the heels of her black boots. Her chest was armored in grey. Thick string laced over the stomach area in a criss-crossing fashion. Black pants with silver accents were adorned with the long hilt of a double bladed lightsaber. The woman stepped over to the two Sith "ghosts", stopping only a few feet away. She tilted her head with interest.
"Hello my ghostly friends. I am Lord Mahlyce. What brings you to my excavation site?"