So This Is How Democracy Fails
Hakram sat behind his desk, watching the door slide open. A slender, snake-like figure stood in the doorway, before slithering in. Hakram was not alarmed however. He knew this creature well.
"High Inquisitor Hs'loren. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Hakram asked. Though his greeting was polite, his tone was harsh. He didn't make any effort to hide his distaste. Hs'loren did not flinch however. The Sluissi raised himself in the air by the end of his tail. "Do not play coy with me Hakram. I know your pathetic excuse for an apprentice was spying on me." His grimace slowly transformed to an evil grin. "It is unfortunate that what she found was too much for her."
Hakram stood from his chair. He had foreseen that Shala would not survive her mission. He had not foreseen the sluissi being so bold as to taunt her death to Hakram's face. "Then tell me Hs'loren, what did she find? A treachorous snake who would uproot our Empire?" Hs'loren merely chuckled lightly.
"No. She found the Arc."
The room was silent for the next few moments. Hakram could not believe Hs'loren would make such a heinous claim. "Is that how you would hide your hand in Shala's murder? Behind a myth?" Hakram stepped to the side of his desk, approaching the Sluissi. "I will find what you are hiding. I know you've been seeking to destroy this Empire. And I will be there when you fall." Hakram was now inches away from Hs'loren's face, the sluissi's face now rigid.
Without hesitation, Hs'loren raised his hand, lifting Hakram into the air with the force. Hakram grabbed his throat, his airway being closed. But something was different. This attack through the force was of the dark side, but it felt so different. It felt so... stronger... "Does this feel like a myth, Hakram? Like an excuse? A fabrication? The Arc is very real..." And with that, Hakram felt Hs'loren's grip release him. He dropped to the floor, on his knees. He could not make himself look up at the Sluissi, but what he said was enough.
"And it is mine. As are you."
