Work Text:
It's Kira who first picks up on what's going on, who turns from her station on the bridge and says "Boss? I think you're gonna want to see this," in a tone that lets Tiganus know to steel herself.
'This' is a series of transmissions being sent out over the Holonet from Outer Rim worlds. The first few are short, violent, and contain little beside screams of terror and pain or an occasional shout of "Vengeance!" or "For the Emperor!". Then there's a transmission that offers sharp contrast to the chaos of the earlier ones. In it, a group of about ten people huddle together in terrified silence as four robed and masked individuals stand over them, calm and silent. Three of them are armed with electrostaves, but the one who seems to be in charge wields a lightsaber.
"We demand the surrender of the traitor Lord Scourge and the Jedi who claims to have killed our Emperor," the one with the lightsaber says."Every hour you do not face us, more will die. Send anyone else in your stead, and more will die. Make any attempt at bargaining, and more will die."
The transmission cuts off abruptly, leaving Tig and her crew gathered around the holoterminal in grim silence.
"Those uniforms," Kira says after a moment. "They're Imperial Guard."
"Not just that." Scourge, as he does so often, is standing over Tig's shoulder in a looming yet self-contained posture that makes him seem half advisor and half bodyguard. "The one who spoke is a Conquest Commander. They're a subset of the Guard who are also trained in the ways of the Sith."
"You recognized the one who spoke?" Tiganus ask, and he nods.
"Commandant Khas. A fanatic even by the Guard's standards."
The holoterminal beeps even before he finishes speaking, and a moment later Satele Shan's image flickers into place, her expression grave. She takes in Tiganus's stance--jaw clenched, feet apart, hands tightened into fists--and says "You've seen the transmissions, then?"
"Yes," Tig replies. "Do we know where they are?"
"That last message was from Hoth," Master Satele says. "From what we've seen, they're working their way in toward the Core worlds."
"They're not going to get there," Tig says.
Master Satele holds up a cautionary hand. "I understand how you must be feeling right now, but don't let that lead to recklessness. We should proceed with caution."
"Mark this as one of the rare occasions we agree, Master Shan." Scourge takes a step forward, arms folded. "Khas was dangerous enough when his goal was protecting the Emperor. Now that he's driven by vengeance, he's not a foe to be faced lightly."
"What else can I do?" Tiganus asks. "With respect, Master, I don't see how I can wait to act on this. You saw the transmission--if we delay, or send other Jedi or Republic troops to face them, that just means more lives lost."
"And how many lives may be lost if you fall?" Satele counters, brow furrowed. "We almost lost you to an Imperial trap once before. I can't condone you going to face them without reinforcements to back you up, at least."
"Then send the backup to meet us on Hoth, because I'm heading there," Tig says, and as Satele nods gravely and ends the call, she turns to Scourge. "And you're coming with me, if I have to drag you every step of the way."
His eyes narrow in disapproval, but there's a hint of amusement in his voice as he says, "I'm half-tempted to make you try."
"Go for it," Kira says. "I know where Doc keeps the tranquilizers."
***
Hoth hasn't gotten any more pleasant to be on since the last time. Tiganus wraps herself in her cloak and endures both the weather and Scourge's silent treatment, which he only breaks as they near their destination.
"This is foolish. I haven't kept you alive this long for you to risk throwing your life away for a handful of strangers."
Tig looks over at him, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. "You say that like you've been the only thing keeping me alive. Or like when and what I risk my life for is your call."
He looks away, shaking his head. "Your stubbornness is going to be the death of me."
"You're immortal," she reminds him. "Deal with it."
Their destination looms ahead, an ice fortress that looks half-manmade, half the natural curving wall of a canyon. Given that they want their quarry to come to them, Khas and his followers haven't been at all secret about their destination, and a Republic strike team is waiting for Tiganus and Scourge, hopefully far enough back to avoid risking any harm to the captives.
"Master Jedi." The officer in charge nods to her. "So, how do you want to play this?"
"If I can get them to release their captives, taking care of those people is your first priority," Tiganus tells her. "Only come in after us once they're safe, understood?"
The officer nods. "Yes, sir."
"And if we don't make it back out here, speak to Kira Carsen on my ship."
"Understood," the officer says with a nod. "Good luck, Master Jedi. I mean, may the Force be with you."
"I'll take both," Tig comments, then takes out her holo and punches in the frequency they've locked onto for the fortress. One of the Imperial Guard flickers into view.
"Ah. The Hero of Tython, at last." She recognizes Commandant Khas's voice, dripping with disdain.
"Lord Scourge and I are here," she tells him. "Release your captives, and we'll move inside."
"You are hardly in a position to make any such demands," Khas points out. "But the entertainment value provided by our friends here has grown limited. Your little band of soldiers may have what's left of them."
People start emerging from the fortress not long after, staggering and running through the snow. Tiganus doesn't look too closely at what's been done to any of them--she has enough to deal with keeping her emotions in check as it is.
"Let's go," she says to Scourge.
"After you," he replies with mock courtesy.
They stride forward and through a large archway, moving into a wide, mostly-empty space lit by torches. Guardsmen are scattered throughout the space, ranged along the canyon wall, closing in to block the archway, and in the center of the huge room stand three of the lightsaber-wielding variety, one of them presumably Khas.
"Here we are," Tiganus says, facing the three in the center. "Now what?"
"Now you and the traitor will pay for your crimes against our Emperor," Khas says.
Tiganus pulls her lightsabers from her belt, not igniting them yet. "I took down your precious Emperor with just an astromech droid as backup, and I'm sure you know what Scourge is capable of. If you think you can take on the two of us and walk away, let's go."
"No one is walking away from this," Khas declares, and raises his arms above his head. The two Commanders flanking him follow suit.
"What are they doing?" Tig asks, and hears Scourge's lightsaber hiss to life over her shoulder.
"Nothing good," he replies, and starts forward, only to stumble as the structure around them begins to shake. There's a sound of ice groaning and cracking, and dustings of snow start to drift down from the cavernous ceiling.
"We will all perish together in white oblivion!" Khas shouts, arms still raised. "And our deaths will be fuel for the Emperor's glorious resurrection!"
Tig ignites her sabers, steadying herself as the ice beneath her feet shifts. "Oookay, so they're the 'ritualistic murder-suicide' kind of fanatic."
"I did say this was a bad idea," Scourge replies.
They break for the archway, rushing headlong toward the Guard lined up to stop them. Tiganus slashes at one, parries a blow from a second, whirls to avoid another and winces as a chunk of falling ice strikes her hard on the shoulder. She sees Scourge throw out a hand and send two of the Guardsmen flying, but there are more converging on them, and the snow and ice are falling thick and fast now, impossible to dodge even with Jedi reflexes.
Tiganus fights on, delivering a spinning kick to one Guard's face, driving both sabers clean through another who comes up behind her. The third, she isn't quite fast enough to dodge or block, and fire blossoms along her side as he slashes at her with his electrostaff. She throws a hand out, pushing him away with the Force--and then looks up at a particularly deep and ominous cracking noise, just in time to see the roof of the cavern start splitting and tumbling down in chunks as big as she is.
The Guardsmen forgotten, Tiganus sucks in a breath and throws both her hands up, pushing outward with all her strength just before she's completely engulfed in cold and darkness.
***
When her senses return, the cold is all she knows for several moments. She's completely buried in ice and snow, the Force shield she threw up likely the only thing that kept it from crushing the life out of her. She tries to move, then stops with a sharp indrawn breath. Even dulled by the cold, the pain is considerable.
"Tiganus!" Scourge's voice reaches her, slightly muffled, and she can see a red glow flickering on the other side of the snow surrounding her.
"Here!" she calls out, and the light gets stronger, accompanied by the hiss and sizzle of snow being melted, and then a gloved hand brushing it away from her face and shoulders.
"Hey," Tig says, blinking her eyes clear and trying to focus on him. "So, that could have gone better." She starts to sit up, then cries out as pain flares in her ribs and along her spine.
"Don't move," Scourge snaps. One of his hands settles on her shoulder, the other sliding around to cradle the back of her head with a gentleness she's not used to from him. "For a moment, I thought I'd lost you."
Tiganus closes her eyes as healing energy flows into her, starting to repair the damage. "Might not want to speak too soon on that front."
"None of that," he says sternly, and goes back to melting the snow around her. "Hold still while I get you out of here."
"Not a problem," Tig mumbles, just before passing out again.
***
The next time she comes around, it's to the feeling of wind on her cheek and the odd sensation of floating. No, she realizes, she's being carried, slumped against Scourge's broad chest while he holds her with one arm slung around her back and the other under her knees. It's getting dark out, which means the temperature's going to be dangerously low soon. In good physical form, Tiganus can cope pretty well with the worst cold Hoth has to offer. She's not eager to find out how well she copes with it in her current state.
"Guardsmen all killed?" she asks, and Scourge glances down at her briefly.
"I believe so. If any of them made it out, I'm sure they'll make their presence felt before too long."
"What about the prisoners and Republic troops, did they get clear?"
"I was a bit more concerned with digging you out of a collapsed ice fortress than looking for stragglers," Scourge points out.
Tiganus turns her face away from the wind, huddling a little tighter against him. "You don't have to be surly about it."
He adjusts his hold on her with a barely audible sigh. "I didn't see anyone. You can check up on them when we make it back to something passing for civilization."
She fades out again for a little while, then comes to lying on hard ground in what seems to be a cave. She's wrapped in Scourge's cloak as well as her own, and he's managed to get a small fire going, so she probably isn't going to freeze to death in the next few minutes, at least.
Scourge is sitting a few feet away with his back to her, talking to Kira on the holo. "I don't think it's wise to travel any farther tonight, but we're safe enough for the moment. We can reach a Republic outpost tomorrow."
"Okay, but if you're not back tomorrow I'm coming out there after you," Kira says. "You take care of Tig out there, all right? And take care of yourself while you're at it, I guess."
"Your concern is touching. Don't worry, I'll bring her back safely." He puts the holo away and looks over at Tiganus. "Feeling better?"
"I don't feel quite so much like a rancor used me for a chew toy, if we want to call that 'better'," Tig replies.
"Let's. But I think I can improve on that." He moves to kneel in front of her, passing a hand through the air just over her body.
It's a bit strange, being healed by him. His power is strong, and palpably that of the Dark Side in a way that makes Tig's skin prickle and a shiver run up her spine. But after so long in his company, there's something familiar and even comforting about it, dark or not, and she can feel it doing its job, connecting with the Force in and around her body and helping her heal.
"Thanks," she says, and huddles deeper into both their cloaks, still shivering. "And thanks for this. I guess the cold doesn't bother you much, huh?"
"No," Scourge says, and puts a hand on her shoulder. "You, on the other hand…" Without another word, he lies down next to her and puts his arms around her, pulling her close.
Tiganus goes still out of pure surprise, then, after a moment, relaxes against him. Scourge's body isn't exactly the most comfortable thing she's ever been pressed up against, all sharp angles and hard ridges of bone where he's not fleshy tentacle beard. But he's warm and solid, and under the circumstances Tig feels no hesitation about tucking her head down and curling into him. He tightens his arms around her and cups the back of her head with one hand, holding her as securely as anyone ever has.
"You're being dangerously close to nice, here," Tig says after a moment, the words muffled against his chest.
"Self-interest, I assure you," Scourge replies. "I'm not sure our comrades would believe me if I said I accidentally let you freeze to death."
"Can't argue with that," she says, and sighs. "I wish they trusted you more, after how long you've been with us."
"Their continued suspicion doesn't surprise me," Scourge tells her. His fingertips are moving just a little against the back of her head, gently massaging her scalp in a way that seems more absent-minded than intentional. She doesn't say anything, in case he stops. "I find it more curious that you trust me as much as you do."
"I trust in the Force. It brought us together." Closing her eyes, she adds, "And I trust Master Orgus."
"The old friend you spoke of when I revealed myself to you?" Scourge asks.
Tiganus nods. "His spirit's appeared to me sometimes through the Force. He helped me break free of the Emperor's hold, and told me a dark ally would help me."
"I remember when Darth Angral struck him down," Scourge says. "Though at the time, I didn't know Din's apprentice would turn out to be the one I'd been waiting for."
Tig lifts her head from his chest to look at him curiously. "When did you put that together? You already knew who I was when we met on Quesh…"
"When you confronted Angral. That was when you gained the Emperor's personal attention." Scourge brings his hand around to touch her face, gently tracing the lines of her tattoos and running along the edges of the scar that cuts across her eye. "And that was when I saw the face I'd spent so long waiting for."
Tiganus is struck by the intimacy of the moment, even as she wonders if Scourge is really aware of how intimate he's being with her. Like earlier, his touch seems absent-minded, and although he's still looking at her he seems half-lost in thought. Probably thinking back on those three hundred-plus years he spent waiting for her, which is still a staggering thought in and of itself.
She swallows, finds her voice. "That's some pretty impressive visual memory, by the way, if you only ever had the one vision about me."
"I fixed your image in my mind and meditated on it," he tells her, fingertips still moving lightly over her skin. "It was too important to allow myself to forget."
His thumb trails along her cheek and comes to rest at the corner of her mouth, just grazing her lower lip, and his eyes drop to focus there. Tiganus takes a breath, and that slight movement seems to make Scourge recall himself. He pulls his hand back from her face quickly, looking away.
"You should rest," he says. "We have a long way to go tomorrow."
Tig ducks her head again, pressing her face into his chest. "I'm glad you waited for me," she says quietly. "I don't think I've ever told you that. And I know you didn't do it just for me, but...I just want you to know I appreciate it."
Scourge doesn't respond at first. Then his hand settles gently on the back of her neck, and he says, very softly, "Sleep, Jedi."
Tig closes her eyes and listens to the howl of the wind outside the cave, which is actually somewhat soothing while she's shielded from it, wrapped in his arms with their small fire crackling nearby.
***
When she wakes, it's light outside, and Scourge is clearing away the snow that's piled up by the cave entrance. Tiganus stands and stretches experimentally, and sore muscles protest a little, but it's bearable. Scourge's cloak is still draped around her shoulders like a blanket; she shrugs it off and folds it over one arm, walking toward him.
"Ready to go?" he asks as she approaches.
"Yeah." Tig hands the cloak back to him, and he accepts it wordlessly. "Thank you again, for everything. You really had my back yesterday."
"What else would I have done?" he asks in a matter-of-fact tone. "Let's get moving."
An hour or so of walking brings them to a settlement of Republic-friendly Talz with a decent comms array, and not long after that a shuttle deposits them back at Aurek base, where they find Kira waiting.
"There you are," she says, genuine concern showing under her teasing impatience. "And it looks like you both managed to stay in one piece."
"Scourge took care of me just like he promised," Tig says, glancing at him with a crooked smile.
"I'd never have heard the end of it if I hadn't," Scourge comments, and his put-upon tone banishes any guilt Tig might have had about what she says next.
"And it turns out he's a surprisingly good cuddler."
Kira raises an eyebrow. "Okay, torn between demanding details and just leaving that one alone."
Scourge folds his arms, scowling. "If this is my reward for not letting you freeze to death, perhaps I'll leave well enough alone next time."
"Much as I love a good Scourge-teasing, we should probably go let Master Satele know you're alive," Kira says. "The strike team and all the people you rescued made it back safe, by the way--some of the hostages are in rough shape, but they're all alive, thanks to you."
"Good," Tiganus says. "Any sign of further activity from the Guard?"
Kira shakes her head. "Scouts have been monitoring the collapsed fortress, and there's no sign that Khas or any of his followers made it out alive. They'll keep an eye on it a while longer to be on the safe side. And no other reports of the kind of attacks they were carrying out."
"That doesn't mean this is over," Scourge says darkly. "The Emperor had no shortage of followers willing to commit this kind of violence in his name."
"Then we'll just have to take them out, too. We're getting pretty good at it." Tig starts toward the shuttle that will take them back to the orbital station, glancing back at Kira and Scourge as she walks. "Come on, you two. Let's go home."