[Fic] The True Teachings IV: Fate of the Future

[igyman]

I completely understand, since college starts next week I have no idea how much time will I have either, which is why I'm speeding up the fic a little, meaning that I'll probably post two chapters a day, but not two at once.

[igyman]

Chapter VII

 

''What are you waiting for? Flowers and a box of candy?''

– Mace Windu

It was high noon on Bastion. As Sigel Dare entered Fel's audience chamber flashes of the battle flew through her mind.

 

She was leading a squadron of ten starfighters and one transport shuttle against the Sith. It took them awhile, but the fighters managed to destroy the generator that was powering the weapon emplacements. Most importantly, it took the lives of two of the starfighter pilots. The remaining eight starfighters swarmed in on the base and provided cover fire for the transport with the squadron of ground troopers. It was a bloody battle, laser fire and explosions flashing from all directions, the Sith warriors charging at the troops like madmen with their red lightsabers drawn. They didn't fear death. A third of the ground forces were lost before the last of the Sith warriors fell. The battle was over and what remained of the Sith stronghold was theirs.

 

It was a costly battle and Sigel only hoped that the lives lost were worth it. And now she had to report it all to Roan Fel, to her Emperor. He sat on his chair in a calm stance, typical for him. Draco was once again standing beside him and two more Imperial Knights were guarding the entrance to the room.

 

''I hear you have been victorious, Sigel.'' Fel said with an authoritative tone.

 

''Yes, your majesty. The Sith of Socorro lie dead and their base in ruins.'' She replied.

 

''Excellent work. I knew my trust in you wasn't misplaced.'' Fel said with his formal voice.

 

''We lost a lot of good men, loyal soldiers out there.'' She added.

 

''Their lives are not given in vain. Trust me.'' Fel said calmly.

 

''I certainly hope so. There's something else, your majesty...'' Dare started.

 

''Yes?'' Fel lifted an eyebrow in wonder.

 

''Before we destroyed the base, I ordered a tech team to slice into their database. They downloaded all the files, but these two seemed particularly interesting.'' She said as she handed a datapad to Fel.

 

He took a glance at the screen and tossed back the datapad to her. ''Irrelevant.'' He said coldly, ''That is of no consequence to us.''

 

''I beg your pardon, your majesty, but how can it not be? It might be an opportunity we've been waiting for.'' Sigel insisted.

 

''For what? An attack on the capital?'' Fel bursted out, ''No! We will continue to do as we have done so far. When the time comes we will retake Coruscant.''

 

''Respectfully, your majesty, but how long will that take? The Sith underestimate us! Their attention is turned to other goals, now is the time to strike.'' She insisted.

 

''I see you have been somewhat influenced by Antares here. He also doesn't like our current tactics.'' Fel said as calmly as he could, ''Well, I don't like them either, but that's all we've got now. Understood? When I find the situation approprate I will order an attack on the Capital, not before.'' He glanced at Draco and then turned his gaze to Sigel.

 

''I understand.'' She admitted defeat. He was her Emperor after all, he knew best.

 

''Good. And you Antares? Do you understand?'' Fel asked, glancing at Draco with the corner of his eye.

 

''I understand, your majesty.'' He said.

 

''Good. You may be excused, both of you.'' Fel said.

 

Sigel and Draco nodded and went for the door. They walked across the reception hallway to the Military Wing. Sigel was a little disappointed that Fel dismissed the information she showed him so quickly, but she tried to persuade him otherwise and it didn't work. Smething else needed to be done.

 

She was walking so fast that Draco had to run a few steps to catch up with her.

 

''Sigel, wait.'' He said.

 

''Yes?'' She turned around to see him slowing down and walking to her.

 

''You have to understand something...'' He started calmly.

 

''I understand a lot, but I can't understand the Emperor dismissing this so quickly. Not after we've lost so many men to get this. The Sith database is the reason I requested to bring ground forces, I could have leveled that entire base from the air, but I wanted to try to find something useful and I have.'' She said almost with anger.

 

''The Emperor values your actions, but he is a proud man. He will change his mind. I'll talk to him. Privately. It's all about subtlety, Sigel.'' Draco calmed her down.

 

''Very well. Here.'' She handed him the datapad, ''See what you make of this, personally I find it a very interesting read.''

 

''I'll study it carefully, I promise.'' Draco said and he meant it. If there was anything useful in those files he would find a way to persuade the Emperor into action.

 

''I'm going to my quarters.'' Sigel said, ''I'm desperate for a good sleep.'' She turned and left.

 

Draco watched her leave the room and then he finally lowered his look to the screen of the datapad she gave him. There were three files on it. They went in the following order: The Jedi Healer, The Unknown Threat and at last The murders on Coruscant.

[Diego Varen]

Another good Chapter igy. I hope you can finish this before you start college. How many more Chapters are left? I'm looking foward to more.

[igyman]

A lot of them, but they will all be posted, don't worry I'm not going to leave the finale unfinished.

 

I'll probably post the next chapter later tonight.

[igyman]

Chapter VIII

 

''The secret to successful analysis, Car'das: whenever possible, reduce matters to a single variable''

– Grand Admiral Thrawn

A day later. A lone shuttle approaches the deserted planet of Ossus. Its two suns were rising above the horizon and the Jedi Praxeum. Cade casually walked in the sensor chamber, holding a cup of Norvanian Grog. He took a sip of the alcochol and took a look around the room. He noticed Shado sitting behind the computer console and staring at various sensor readings. Master Wolf Sazen was standing behind him. They were commenting on something, but Cade was not yet fully awake so he couldn't hear exactly what it was.

 

He took another sip of his drink and quietly approached the two. He stood there, behind Sazen for a minute or two more, staring at the readings with them, or at least pretending to stare while slowly drinking his Norvanian Grog and then Master Sazen finally turned around only to make a frowned face, showing his disgust for the strong odor of Cade's drink.

 

''Mornin'.'' Cade said casually.

 

''Good morning, Cade.'' Sazen replied calmly.

 

''So, what's so interesting on that screen that made you guys not even notice me entering the room.'' Cade asked, slightly affected by the alcochol, but more awake than a minute ago.

 

''Just because we didn't react doesn't mean we didn't notice, Cade. We are Jedi, remember that.'' Sazen said with a lecturing tone.

 

''Right, right. Still, that doesn't answer my question, Sazen. What's on the screen?'' Cade said cooly.

 

''Take a look for yourself.'' Sazen said.

 

''It's a ship.'' Shado finally spoke up, ''A small shuttle, I've detected only one person aboard.''

 

''We think it's an agent of the Sith, probably sent here to do a routine sensor sweep of the planet. It wouldn't be the first time.'' Sazen explained as Cade took a look at the magnified video feed of the shuttle.

 

''Well, I can tell you straight out that you couldn't be more wrong.'' Cade said.

 

''What? How can you be so sure?'' Sazen asked with astonishment.

 

''Because I recognize the markings on the shuttle.'' Cade replied, ''See that symbol? It's the symbol of Rav's group.''

 

''Your former employer?'' Shado said, ''What would he or one of his subordinates be doing here?''

 

''Let's find out.'' Cade suggested.

 

Deliah Blue was sitting in the shuttle's cockpit, watching the double sunrise as she waited for the shuttle's sensors to finish their job. Besides Tatooine, this was the only planet with two suns she had visited so far. The sensors beeped to report their findings, or rather to report that there were no findings to report. They haven't detected anything. ''How is this possible?'' She wondered. She was already on Yavin IV and the place there turned out to be completely abandoned. If the Ossuary was abandoned too, then her judgement on Cade's and the Jedi's whereabouts was completely wrong. She wasn't going to find Cade. And then her communications system beeped. A transmission from the surface. She keyed on the comm and a familiar face appeared on the viewscreen.

 

''Hi there, Deliah. You're a long way from Socorro.'' It was Cade. A slightly tidier, but still familiar version of him.

 

''I came here searching for you. Something's happened.'' She said with a slight relief.

 

''Why don't you come down and you can tell me all about it in person?'' He asked, humor intended.

 

Cade's face was gone and a set of coordinates appeared on her screen, Deliah punched them in along with the landing vector. A lot of Ossus' surface was destroyed thanks to Darth Krayt's sabotage of the Yuuzhan Vong terraforming efforts. The plantlife produced during the vongforming has long since extinguished, rotted and disappeared. The surface was all dry land now. In the distance Deliah could see a lone building rising from the ground. Minute after minute it grew ever larger as her shuttle drew ever closer to it. The Jedi Praxeum of Ossus.

 

As Blue landed her shuttle she saw Cade standing in the courtyard, already waiting for her. He was just as excited about seeing her as she was excited about seeing him, but he tried not to show it as much. The last time he saw Blue was a little less than six months ago, just before he left Rav's organization. The shuttle door opened and a pink skinned, blue haired girl appeared at the door. It was her.

 

''Cade.'' She waved as she descended down the shuttle's ramp and walked towards him.

 

''Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.'' He joked, ''What's up Deliah?''

 

''We've got problems.'' She said, ''We need your help, Cade.''

 

''Let's go inside.'' Cade replied, now with a serious tone, ''We'll sit down, have a few drinks and you can explain everything to me in detail.''

[Diego Varen]

Another good Chapter igyman. I'm looking foward to more. Thanks for answering my question.

[igyman]

Chapter IX

 

''The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.''

– Palpatine

 

''Your progress on these murders, Darth Maladi?'' Krayt's hologram demanded.

 

''We've made some progress, but unfortunately not much, my lord'' She replied submissively.

 

''Not much?'' Krayt demanded, ''Not much!? It's been four days since Darth Stryfe's death, Maladi! Four more deaths have occured since then, all members of my Order!''

 

''Yes, my lord... I know, I... I understand your anger, but we are...'' She didn't get to finish.

 

''You are slacking off! After Stryfe's death I put you in charge of this investigation because I thought you could handle it appropriately. Was I wrong, Maladi?'' Krayt demanded. His deep voice echoing through the sound speakers.

 

''No, my lord. I will handle this, I will not disappoint you.'' She said with determination.

 

''See that you do not. Now, tell me of what little progress you've made. And of course the progress about tracking down our threat. Have you learned why he visited all those planets in the last six months?''

 

''I believe I have, my lord.'' She paused for a second, '' Every single planet he visited either housed a tomb of a certain Jedi, or a Sith, or was once a resting place of powerful Sith, or Jedi artifacts.''

 

''I see. Go on.'' Krayt said calmly.

 

''The locations of those tombs, or artifacts had a residual Force aura. Even after the artifacts were removed the aura remained. And now it's gone.'' She said.

 

''Gone? Interesting.'' Krayt admitted.

 

''Yes, my lord. It is my belief that our target went to all those places for the sole purpose of gathering that Force energy. I have yet to figure out why and knowing so little about him, or his power in the Force I can't make a proper assumption.''

 

''You don't have to. It's pretty obvious. He's powerful in the Force, but he isn't a Jedi, or a Sith. His powers are like nothing anyone's ever faced and they are vast. But, he's not satisfied. He wants more.'' Krayt said calmly.

 

''My lord?'' Maladi was at a loss.

 

''He is using that Force energy to strengthen himself even more. He must be found and stopped. The sooner the better.'' Krayt said with a dose of satisfaction.

 

''I believe I have made some progress in that department as well. As you know, my lord, the murders here on Coruscant started a day after that incident on Raxus Prime. After that there were no sightings of our target on any other system. I believe that he is here on Coruscant and that he is responsible for the murders.'' Maladi said finally.

 

Krayt's holoimage stood still for a moment. He was deep in thought. ''Good work, Maladi.'' He said finally, ''This is a lot more serious than I though. Come to the Imperial Palace, we must decide carefully what our next move will be.''

 

She nodded her head in acknowledgement and Krayt's hologram disappeared. Maladi downloaded all the data she had on the case to a datapad with haste and rushed out of the Sith Intelligence headquarters.

 

Meanwhile, back at the Imperial Palace, Morlish Veed just finished listening to Krayt's conversation with Maladi. A Grand Admiral, the most influencial among the Imperial Moffs and now he was reduced to eavesdropping. He heard footsteps approaching and he quickly turned around and moved away from the Throne room entrance. Then he saw who it was that was approaching. Nyna Calixte, a Moff and former head of the Imperial Intelligence. She lost her job when Krayt took over and the Imperial Intelligence was replaced by Sith Intelligence. Now she was only an admiral in the military and only by rank. In reality, she spent most of her time filing paperwork. The irony was that she was the person through whom the Sith made contact with the Empire.

 

''Eavesdropping again, Morlish?'' She said as she approached him.

 

''Ssshhh. Not so loud, Calixte.'' He replied nervously.

 

''I'm sorry, Morlish, but this is really amusing.'' She said more quietly, but with a mocking smile.

 

''I'm working for all our benefit, Calixte. Instead of laughing at me, you and the other Moffs should be helping me.'' He hissed.

 

''Come on now, Morlish. You don't care about the rest of us, you're just angry because Krayt double-crossed you. You wanted to be Emperor, remember?'' She said with a subtle, but mocking tone, ''I, on the other hand, have accepted my fate, so have the rest of the Moffs and so should you. There is no gain in trying to go against the Sith. Unless you're a very powerful Jedi.''

 

''Funny you should say that.'' Veed countered, ''I just heard something very interesting. Apparently there is some sort of Jedi, or a more powerful Sith Lord killing Krayt's agents.''

 

''You are sure about that, Morlish? You didn't misinterpret anything?'' She asked, slightly interested.

 

''Misinterpret? No.'' He said, ''Krayt just finished a conversation with his head of Intelligence and she said that the killer is here. On Coruscant. He killed that brute idiot Stryfe and a number of Krayt's agents.''

 

''Alright, Morlish. I'm interested. You may actually have something there, now let's figure out how best to use it.''

 

Maladi was half way to the Imperial Palace by now. Her personal transport was flying on autopilot and she could review the material in more detail, but she wasn't going to get that chance.

 

''Darth Maladi.'' A dark voice said.

 

The Devaronian looked around, but saw no one. She was the only person aboard this transport. She lowered her look back to the datapad.

 

''Maladi. What an interesting name.'' The voice sounded again.

 

Maladi looked around again and now saw a male figure in the back of the transport. The red hood was covering most of his face, but she noticed that he was wearing a black Vonduun crab armor with a golden hexagonal insignia on the chest. With that ragged red legdress over the armor leggings he looked almost like a wraith.

 

''W... who are you?'' Maladi asked with apparent fear in her voice.

 

''I am the future, Maladi and I have come to cleanse my Empire of you usurpers.'' He said.

 

''What are you going to do to me?'' She asked not even wanting to know the answer.

 

''Like I said, you have a very interesting name. You know that the root of your name is the word ''disease''? It is a rather fitting name. You so-called Sith Lords are a disease and I am the cure.'' He said rising his head just a little, revealing his eyes.

 

Maladi was utterly afraid. She thought of igniting her lightsaber and charging at him, but she gave up that idea as suicidal. In reality nothing she could try would work. She looked at his red eyes and knew that she was about to die. She felt a pain through her entire body, then the wooziness started and a few seconds after that she saw a blister appear on her right hand. It wasn't the only one. More and more blisters popped up on various parts of Maladi's body and each of them produced a sharp pain. She fell down on her knees, trying to crawl towards the hooded figure. She tried to beg for her life, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth. She started to lose breath and just before she exhaled her last breath she looked up to see that the figure was gone. Disappeared. She fell down, dead, with an expression of horror on her face.

 

''One more down.''

 

A ship orbited the capital of the Sith Empire. There was an ancient aura about it. Its crew were only one ancient astromech droid and one equally ancient rusty-red assassin droid. The red droid was listening to the transmission between the Sith Emperor and his head of Intelligence. The ship started its descent on Coruscant.

 

If the droid had a mouth, he would have smiled with satisfaction, but as it is he simply said: ''Statement: There you are. I was correct.''

[Diego Varen]

Another good Chapter igyman. I'm looking foward to more.

[igyman]

Chapter X

 

''Who's the more foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?''

– Obi-Wan Kenobi

 

It was high noon on Bastion. It was the most beautiful time of the day for Marasiah Fel. The colors of the sky and clouds at noon were one of the few things that took the Princess' mind of this entire situation. Driven away from her own home on Coruscant, her father, the Emperor, now reduced to a leader of a guerrilla force. It was a real shame.

 

Marasiah stood on the balcony, staring partly at the sky and partly at the city below. She envied the people that lived there. Ordinary people. They don't even feel the impacts of this war. That's what it was in the end, war. Those people live their lives as if everything was normal, they were completely oblivious to the world around them. Marasiah wished she could lead a normal life again, no strings attached, but she couldn't. She was a Fel, the daughter of the Emperor. She had obligations.

 

The door ot her chambers buzzed. ''Enter.'' Marasiah said, still staring at the sky.

 

The door opened and a Twi'Lek young woman entered. It was Astraal Vao, sister of the Jedi Shado Vao and a close friend of the Princess. She was wearing the traditional white dress-uniform of the Imperial Mission. She slowly approached the balcony door.

 

''Are you alright, Princess?'' She asked with genuine concern.

 

''Yes. It's just... this war and everything.'' Marasiah replied.

 

''Your father and his Imperial Knights are doing all they can.'' Astraal tried to consolate her.

 

''My father is doing everything he believes is right, but that doesn't make it so. I know that there are a lot of Imperial Knights who don't agree with my father's choice of tactics and frankly, neither do I.''

 

''What are you saying, Princess?'' Astraal asked slightly confused.

 

''I'm saying my father made a mistake when he preserved the Empire and then another one when he allied himself with the Sith. I'm saying that now he doesn't have enough courage to clean up his own mess.'' Marasiah said with resentment.

 

''Princess Marasiah...'' Astraal was taken by surprise.

 

''Deep in your heart you too know it's true, Astraal. My father is afraid that if he attacks Coruscant now, the Sith will retaliate against Bastion. He's afraid that he'll die.'' Marasiah said, the resentment growing inside her.

 

''You aren't planning something on your own, Princess. Are you?'' Astraal asked with a genuine concern for the Princess. The door buzzed again.

 

''Ah, they are here.'' Marasiah said, ''Would you let them in, Astraal?''

 

Astraal nodded in acknowledgement and went to the door to greet the guests. The door opened and on the other side stood three Imperial Knights – Antares Draco, Sigel Dare and Ganner Krieg. Astraal was utterly confused by all this, but she stepped to the side and gestured the three to enter. Marasiah entered back into her chamber too, closed the balcony door and pulled on the golden satin curtains.

 

''Astraal, I'm sorry, but I need to discuss something with my guests in private.'' Marasiah politely suggested her to leave.

 

Astraal took the hint. ''Of course, Princess. If you'll excuse me...'' She said, a quick bow followed and she left the room.

 

Marasiah now turned to her three guests. She gestured with her hand for them to sit down and they did. She followed suit. Her entire room was reeking of nobility. The walls were painted in mild silver, the furniture dressed with the most expensive fabrics, paintings of famous artists hanging on the walls, but all that meant very little to Marasiah.

 

''Princess?'' Draco said, breaking her trail of thought and making her refocus on the situation at hand.

 

''Draco, Sigel, I'm glad you came. Ganner, I didn't know you'd be here too.'' She said semi-formally.

 

''Draco showed me the data and I think it's worth the risk.'' The man with the long red hair tied in a tail said.

 

''Good. The more the merrier.'' The Princess said, ''Now, may I see the data?''

 

''Of course, Princess.'' Draco said and gestured with is head to Sigel who handed the datapad to the Princess.

 

Marasiah looked at the titles of the three files on the datapad - The Jedi Healer, The Unknown Threat and The murders on Coruscant. She took a moment to quickly read through each of the files while the Imperial Knights sat on the bright red furniture and waited. When she finally finished reading through it she raised her head and her look showed that she was interested.

 

''This is very intriguing.'' She said finally, ''The Sith attention is focused on these three things and on them only. The fact that they didn't do anything to reestablish their presence on Socorro, or retaliate for our attack proves this.''

 

''The question is, Princess, what are we going to do? How are we going to use this information?'' Draco said calmly.

 

''Your father dismissed the idea of attacking Coruscant and the Sith Emperor.'' Sigel said.

 

''Then we'll have to take matters into our own hands. My father is to stubborn, proud and... afraid. Leave everything to me. Once I get things organized I will inform you so we can work out the details.'' Marasiah said.

 

''Is there anything we should do?'' Ganner asked.

 

''Yes. Find out which Imperial Knights would be willing to join us and I'll do the same with the military. Be subtle about it, we don't want my father finding out until there's nothing he can do about it, except help us.''

[Diego Varen]

Another good Chapter igyman. Is the quote from the Original Trilogy? I forgot. Anyway I'm looking foward to more.

[igyman]

Yes it is, it's from Episode IV. Btw, I'm sorry your Jedi Knight fic didn't work out, I wanted to suggest that you turn it into a short fic, but the thread was already deleted.

 

I've been slacking off lately, here are links to some Legacy characters that appeared in the last three chapters:

Cade Skywalker

Wolf Sazen

Shado Vao

Astraal Vao

Marasiah Fel

Ganner Krieg

Darth Maladi

[Diego Varen]

Thanks for the support igy. I read about Cade and the Vaos, but I didn't know about the others. Thanks.

[RC-1162]

awesome work iggy! i'm sorry i didnt reply earlier, but i was under a whole load of stress and hardly had time to read, just post around in Ahto for 10 mins then i was off. i read through up till now and it rocks! can't wait for more!

[igyman]

Thanks, RC. Two more chapters will be posted tomorrow, hope you all enjoy it.

[igyman]

Chapter XI

 

''Oh no my young Jedi, it is you who are mistaken ... about a great .. many .. things.''

– Palpatine

 

''Queen Jool?'' Cade said, ''I didn't know things got that desperate.''

 

''Neither did I.'' Blue agreed.

 

They were sitting at the Ossuary mess hall, well, the improvised mess hall. Cade fixed himself another Norvanian Grog and one for Deliah, too. They were slowly sipping their drinks as Deliah explained the situation to Cade.

 

''You want me to help you do... what exactly?'' Cade asked smugly, but with slight confusion. He could read her mind, he mastered that Force power long ago, but he didn't do it out of sheer courtesy.

 

''I want you to go with me to Coruscant and get them.'' She said bluntly.

 

''And then what?''

 

''Then come back here. I thought you'd talk to your Jedi buddies and arrange us a temporary stay at your lovely Academy.'' She said with a dose of mockery.

 

''Uh-huh. And why do you think they'd allow you to stay?'' He asked, ''I'm not sure I have that kind of influence here.''

 

''Oh, come on, Cade. You know you have.'' Deliah insisted.

 

''Ahhh, fine.'' He said reluctantly, ''Let's go.''

 

''Go where, Cade?'' Master Wolf Sazen interrupted.

 

''To Coruscant. I gotta help my old bounty hunter pals.'' He said.

 

''You can't leave now, your training is not yet complete. And Coruscant? Have you considered what would happen if the Sith got a hold of you?'' Sazen said with obvious concern.

 

''The Sith? Who says they'll even know I was there?'' Cade asked with a dose of arrogance.

 

''Cade, please reconsider.'' Sazen repeated his warning, ''This is not the time to interrupt your training. Besides, that might only be an elaborate trap. They are bounty hunters, Cade.''

 

''I'm leaving and that's final.'' Cade said, determined to end this conversation, ''When I get them we'll all come back here.''

 

''Actually, leaving might not be that bad an idea.'' Shado interrupted them all. In his look they could feel that this was somethng serious.

 

Shado walked closer to the rest of the group and relayed the terrible news he had. His sensors have detected a squadron of Imperial fighters on approach vector to the Ossus Academy.

 

''I have no idea how they found us, but they are here and they are heading right for us. There's still enough time to escape unnoticed.'' Shado suggested.

 

''Damn.'' Deliah said, ''This is all my fault.''

 

''What do you mean?'' Sazen asked as calmly as he could.

 

''Before I came here, I went to Yavin. I ran into a Sith patrol there. I... I thought I'd lost them, but they must have followed me.'' She said with sadness and guilt in her voice.

 

''We better hury, if we're going to get out of here.'' Sazen said after a minute of complete silence.

 

They ran toward the courtyard and their ships. On the way they alerted the other two Jedi that were hiding at the Academy with them, one of them was Master Hosk Tre'lyis, the Jedi who brought Cade here in the first place, though he couldn't have done it without the influence of Luke Skywalker's Force spirit. When they arrived to the courtyard they could already see the squadron of Imperial fighters approaching. They all hurried into the large transport freighter and lifted off. Safe at last. Or at least that's what they all thought for a moment, but then they heard a thumping sound and the ship vibrated. They were being shot at. Cade rushed to the storage bay. He felt he had to do something.

 

''Where the Kessel are you going, Cade?'' Blue shouted from behind.

 

''There's an X-Wing fighter in the storage bay. As soon as we leave Ossus' orbit I'm heading out to try to do something about those fighters chasing us.''

 

''Are you nuts? There's a whole squadron behind us.'' She shouted again.

 

''A squadron of five ships. I can take them.'' He replied, his smile radiating with confidence.

 

''Just be careful not to repeat what happened the last time you did this.'' Shado shouted from behind.

 

''Don't worry, I'm a much better pilot now.'' Cade put on another smug smile and left for the storage bay.

 

The ship vibrated from the hits. The TIE's were right behind them and they weren't planning on letting them go. After about five minutes of defying the planet's gravity while being shot from behind the transport freighter managed to break free of Ossus' orbit. The pursuing TIE's sped up and a storm of red laser fire came from their direction. The transport's shields were holding, but they weren't going to hold forever.

 

The pursuers paused and just before they launched another salvo, an X-83 twintail fighter flew out of the larger ship and spat blue laser fire all over the attackers. Two pursuing ships exploded in a blaze of orange flames and smoke while the remaining three took evasive maneuvers and focused their attention on the attacking fighter. They broke formation and divided. One TIE was trying to get Cade's attention while the other two were attempting to sneak up from behind. They had no idea that they were fighting a Jedi. Cade felt their thoughts through the Force and quickly fired upon the ship in front of him after which he pulled his ship up vertically and arced back to get behind the other two ships while the third exploded from the hit. The other two were going too fast and didn't even notice what Cade had done until it was too late. Cade opened fire from behind and the two ships exploded, leaving only small bits of debris. It was over. They were safe again.

 

The storage bay doors closed behind the X-83 and Cade jumped out of the fighter to see Deliah and Sazen waiting.

 

''Nice job.'' Deliah said with a smile.

 

''Thanks. What now?'' Cade asked as he caught his breath.

 

''Well, I suppose we might as well go to Coruscant to get those friends of yours.'' Sazen said, ''Maybe once we meet up, we'll be able to help each other.''

[Diego Varen]

Another good Chapter igyman. I'm looking foward to more.

[igyman]

Thanks, Pottsie. The second chapter for today will be posted in a few minutes.

[igyman]

Chapter XII

 

''Examine all obstacles carefully. With a little ingenuity, they can often be turned into levers.''

– Grand Admiral Thrawn

''Damn it.'' Marasiah cursed after hearing the news.

 

It was evening. Both Marasiah and the three Imperial Knights did their tasks, but the results weren't satisfying. It is amazing with what speed they all managed to finish it, beside their usual obligations.

 

''So that's it?'' Marasiah spoke a moment later.

 

''We're on our own.'' Sigel confirmed with equal disappointment.

 

''I can't believe it.'' Marasiah said, ''Not one soldier and not one Imperial Knight is willing to help us.''

 

''They blindly trust in your fathers tactics.'' Draco explained as calmly as possible.

 

''They have agreed though to keep our proposition to themselves.'' Ganner added, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

 

''Meaning they won't report it to my father. Well, that's something.'' The Princess said grimly.

 

''The only question left is what now?'' Draco pointed out.

 

''If you three are willing, the four of us could go to Coruscant and perform the mission ourselves.'' Marasiah suggested with some reservation.

 

''I say we do it. Even if we fail, we will die with the satisfaction that we did all we could.'' Sigel almost shouted out.

 

''And we will take as many Sith as we can with us.'' Ganner Krieg eagerly agreed.

 

''We are with you, Princess.'' Draco confirmed calmly.

 

''Excellent. Meet me on the landing pad tonight at midnight. It's when the guards' shifts change. A perfect moment for us to sneak out.'' Marasiah said.

 

The three nodded in agreement, said goodbye and left to finish their regular duties. There was a lot to do and there wasn't much time to do it.

 

The first thing Marasiah did was prepare her own lightsaber. She too was a trained Knight after all. As all Imperial Knights Marasiah too carried a silver bladed lightsaber. The identical lightsabers represented a symbol of loyalty to the Emperor and a symbol of the Emperor's greatness, the Emperor always came first. Always, except for this time. Now the galaxy came first. It was rather ironical, but it was necessary. Marasiah only hoped that, when her father eventually realizes what they had done, he will gather the courage and reason to bring his fleet to Coruscant and help them.

 

Sigel Dare spent the few hours she had burried in paperwork. Reports, plans, orders, it all had to be signed, approved and filed. A very unusual work for an Imperial Knight. What little time she had left after that she spent in her room. She didn't have much to bring with her. Her lightsaber, the Imperial Knight uniform she was wearing and a pair of casual clothes, for the needs of subterfuge.

 

Ganner Krieg was in his office. Although he said he was with them, he didn't completely agree with what they were planning, but Antares was his friend and the Princess' safety was his duty, as it was the duty of any other Imperial Knight. He would be there for them and, if needed, give his life in the process.

 

Antares Draco, the leader of the Imperial Knights, the most trusted and most devoted of them all. He would obey the Emperor's wishes and give his life for the Emperor without regret, but now he was about to do something that completely opposed his convictions. He would go against the Emperor's wishes. It was betrayal, but it was for the good of the galaxy and for the good of Fel's Empire. This is what Draco told himself during his meditation in these few hours. It was almost time to go. Draco said a quick prayer for his other three companions and another for ther Emperor. He stood up, took his lightsaber and attached it to his belt, then he took his small bag and departed.

 

Midnight came. The sun disappeared over the horizon and the sky changed its color from orange-yellow to dark blue. Marasiah was waiting at the ship's entry ramp. She kept herself busy in the last few hours by fitting a cloaking generator aboard her private transport shuttle. The cloaking shield had its flaws, as it was never fully developed. It blocked sensor signals from penetrating it from the outside, but unlike the older versions it didn't block out the signal of the sensors from the ship it was installed on. The downside was that the generator could work for only ten minutes, then it would shutdown and recharge, which took another ten minutes.

 

The three Imperial Knights arrived as was agreed. Each of them in their full uniform and each of them carrying a small bag, presumably with some inconspicuous clothes. Marasiah waved to them and they quickly ran to the shuttle.

 

''Let's go.'' She said, ''We only have a few minutes to leave the planet undetected.''

 

The three nodded and entered the shuttle. The ramp closed behind them and the shuttle lifted off with the cloaking generator activated. Exactly ten minutes later they left Bastion's orbit, the cloaking generator shut itself down and the shuttle quickly distanced itself from the planet's orbital sensors.

 

''Course set for Coruscant.'' Sigel reported and the shuttle jumped into hyperspace.

[igyman]

Chapter XIII

 

''You have paid the price for your lack of vision.''

– Palpatine

 

The reign of the Sith could be felt in Coruscant's air. The people tried to live their lives, but the grip of opression tightened around them. But the Sith were the least of Rav's and Syn's concerns. It took them long enough to get here, evading every Sith and Imperial patrol. It took them too long and a day more, but they were here now and it was time to pay Queen Jool a visit.

 

The Hutt operated her dealings from a sleazy cantina named Rik's. It was located in the lower city levels, on the border of the middle class residential areas between the part of the planet where only the poorest citizens dwelled. A perfect place to get lost. The guest list consisted of many kinds of lowlives, from bounty hunters to spies, from smugglers to spice dealers. Every illegal business had its representative here.

 

The air inside wasn't very clean, it reeked of various cigars and alcocholic beverages. It was the first thing Jariah Syn and Rav noticed when they entered the place. The cantina itself had two sabacc tables, one jhabacc table for the wealthier scum, three dejarik tables and four divot tables. It also had a dance show, a common accessory of any self-respecting club owner, with young dancer girls that inclided Twi'Leks, Zeltrons and a few Zabraks. The most important part about the danceshow was that the services of dancers extended beyond simple dancing. The cantina also had a number of ordinary tables for those who came only for the drinks.

 

Queen Jool lived in a swamp beneath the cantina, but this time she decided to go up and greet her two guests in an area more suitable to them. The one-legged Feeorin and his human companion spotted the Hutt in the back of the gambling area.

 

(''Ah Rav, you finally arrived.'') Jool greeted in Huttese.

 

''I'm sorry for the delay. We had to make sure that no one was following us.'' Rav replied politely.

 

(''Certainly. We wouldn't want any unwelcome visitors here.'') The green skinned Hutt seemed to agree, (''Now, let's talk business.'')

 

''That's why we're here.'' Rav replied. He appreciated the direct approach.

 

While Rav did the talking, Syn did the watching. He spotted two interesting characters in the cantina. One of them was a crude-looking Gotal male who was trying his best to inconspicuously watch the two of them. ''I know I saw that face somewhere.'' Syn thought to himself, ''But where?'' Something didn't feel right. And then he recognized the Gotal.

 

''Rav, take a look to your left.'' Syn whispered. Rav heard him perfectly and did a casual glance at the told direction.

 

''Recognize him? It's Attatag Gosem, the Sith spy.'' Syn whispered again. Rav did a slight, almost unnoticable nod in confimation.

 

''Now take a look to your right. See that guy?'' Syn asked. Rav glanced to the right and saw who Syn was referring to.

 

That other interesting character he spotted. He was barely visible in the crowd, but they both recognized the red hood and the golden hexagonal insignia on the chest of his Vonduun crab armor from numerous Sith bounty posts. The figure didn't even look at them, he was looking straight at Queen Jool. This was all going from bad to worse.

 

Jool realized that the game was over. The Hutt signaled her men and the Gotal spy and he and four more thugs, two Togorians, a Wookie and a Weequay, converged on Rav and Syn with blasters pointed straight at them.

 

(''I hoped to do this quietly, but this will have to do.'') Jool said as her cybernetic eye focused on Rav.

 

''What's this all about, Jool?'' Rav asked.

 

(''Believe it, or not the Sith have posted a handsome bounty for your heads. Too bad that the Zeltron isn't here with you, but I suppose the two of you will do just as well.'') Jool said, not even trying to hide the satisfaction in her voice.

 

''The Zeltron. Deliah. Where the Kessel is she?'' Rav wondered.

 

(''Silent, are you, Rav?'') Jool gloated, (''Nothing to say?'')

 

''Actually I have a proposition for you.'' Syn jumped in, ''See that guy over to the right? The one with the red hood?'' He said quietly. Jool recognized him from the Sith bounty posts, ''Wouldn't you rather collect the bounty on his head? Let us go and get the bigger prize, Jool. Otherwise this could all get messy and you probably won't get a second chance at him.'' Syn goaded the Hutt. He didn't believe for a second that Jool would just let them go, but he had to stall somehow until he or Rav figured something out.

 

''Let them go.'' Attatag spoke up, ''Lord Krayt will pay you an enormous fee if you can get that man.'' He said referring to the hooded figure.

 

Jool signaled her thugs and they started to converge on the seemingly unsuspecting figure. He suddenly spotted them and they drew their blasters in order to shoot. They knew what happened to all the other bounty hunters who moved against this guy and they weren't taking any chances.

 

Rav and Syn slowly moved toward the exit and then a flash of red laser fire came from that direction hitting one of Jool's thugs. The remaining three turned around and started shooting at Rav and Syn and everyone else that got in the way. All hell broke loose at Rik's. Rav and Syn hit the floor and noticed three more shots of red laser fire coming from the entrance, each shot hitting and killing one of the thugs. Syn glanced at the entrance and, just for a second, saw a rusty-red droid with a laser rifle, but before he had a chance to take a good look at it, the droid fled. He then took a look at the direction the hooded figure was and noticed that he too had disappeared. He and Rav rose up to their feet and noticed Attatag pointing his blaster at them again and two more of Jools thugs doing the same.

 

''Looks like we'll have to settle for the two of you after all.'' The Gotal spoke.

 

''No, you won't!'' A female voice came from the cantina entrance, followed by a white laser shot straight at Attatag. Rav and Syn turned to see Deliah and Cade there. So she made it.

 

''What took you so long?'' Syn asked, trying to make a joke.

 

Deliah answered by smiling and firing a shot at one of the remaining two of Jool's thugs. Cade fired a shot at the other one and seconds later there were two more corpses next to Attatag's. Rav then turned to Jool, anger sparking from his one good eye.

 

''You made a bad move, Jool.'' Rav told the Hutt, ''And it will be your last.'' He raised his mechanical leg and pointed it towards her.

 

(''Rav, what are you doing?'') The Hutt panicked, (''Wait a minute! We can work something out, we can—'')

 

The Hutt didn't get to finish her sentence. A flash of light came out of the small hole on the center of the sole of the mechanical foot and it hit the Hutt straight in the heart. Queen Jool, the crimelord of Coruscant was dead.

 

''Let's go.'' Rav ordered.

 

''You and I have a lot to talk about, Cade.'' Syn hissed out as he passed Cade and went toward the entrance.

 

''Sure, Syn, but it'll wait until we're somewhere safer.'' Cade replied with a smug smile.

 

''Yeah, we don't want that red droid to return.'' Rav said.

 

''You saw him too?'' Deliah said with a hint of surprise.

[RC-1162]

awesome chapters, igyman! you're really climbing the ranks fast. cant wait for more.

[igyman]

Thanks, RC. The next chapter will probably be posted sometime tonight.

[The_Catto]

Great Chapters Igy, and yup ... now that im upon the ending on my schooling ... becoming much much more consumed in my studies, that i hardly ever get a chance to come on. But i do try and make the time to read the CEC.

 

Anyways, great work and keep em coming :D:D

[igyman]

Thanks. I'll do that. As you might have noticed already, I've been posting two chapters a day lately, which is also because of college (it starts this monday, so I'm trying to post the chapters while I still have a lot of free time).

[Diego Varen]

Thanks. I'll do that. As you might have noticed already, I've been posting two chapters a day lately, which is also because of college (it starts this monday, so I'm trying to post the chapters while I still have a lot of free time).

 

Will you still be able to be on the Forums? I'm looking foward to the remaining Chapters and I hope college goes alright for you.

[igyman]

Thanks. I'll still be around, but probably not as much as I was in the last two or three months. Like I said on one of the Ahto threads - I'll be around as long as there are interesting topics and good fics to check out.