Author's Note: HEY YOU! YEAH, I'M TALKING TO YOU, BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO SKIP THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE, STOP! STOP RIGHT NOW! READ THIS, AND DON'T YOU DARE SKIP THIS, FOR YOUR OWN SAKE: This is an entirely new chapter! The original prologue was edited and split in two for the sake of the plot, the first half was made chapter 1, and the other was made Chapter 3. So this prologue and chapter 2 are entirely new! And those of you who already read the original Prologue, don't even think about skipping chapter 1 and 3 because, I made some changes and edits, and you'll miss a lot of things important to the plot. So please, bare with me. I need you to read EVERY chapter, from beginning to end, so you don't miss anything.
End of Author's Note:
-24 years ago-
Three men stood in a dark room, silently, their triangular formation giving them an opportunity to inspect each other in caution. The one to the left was garbed in a brown, hooded cloak, and though the hood covered his features with it's shadow, some of his brown hair was left uncovered. The man to the right was dressed similarly, however, his cloak was a deep red and though hooded, wore a fitted helmet to completely obscure his every aspect. The one in the center of the triangle stood with no cloak, having nothing to hide. Though he too wore a tightfitting helmet that matched his armor, his identity was no secret.
His name was Darth Jadus.
A brief stand-off took place, the silence hanging in the air. Finally, the one with the brown cloak spoke up, tired of silence. They were wasting time, doing nothing. Valuable time, though irrelevant now, would mean life or death in a few years. "Jadus," he began, his voice surprisingly young for a Dark Council member. "I trust everything is going smoothly?"
Jadus, though not showing it, was frustrated. "For the most part, all is well. However, a trio of Intelligence agents have me wary. The first is blindly loyal—though a possible threat, he will be an invaluable asset. The second is indeed a threat, but his ideas and theories are so far fetched his superiors will think him insane. The third however... The third has become a nuisance." He said irritably. "He now works independently, and continues to grow suspicions. I fear he may be... Influential to the other two. We must set phase one in motion."
"He shouldn't be a problem." The one on the right said. His voice appeared emotionless and detached, yet still carried command and authority. "Intelligence's best operative or not, he is expendable. We should be conscerned about the affairs of our colleges. Darth Vowrawn refused my proposal, as did Darth Vengean, calling us madmen. His apprentice, Lord Baras, has agreed to not interfere, however he refuses us aid. Furthermore, keeping our colleges in the dark may prove... Difficult. They grow restless, demanding to know why many of our stock piled supplies dwindle. Diverting their suspicions any longer will not be possible, I fear."
"I see..." Said Jadus. "We must hasten our progress."
"Very well then, Jadus. I will contact Darth—
"Don't bother." Jadus interjected. "Her apprentice declared Kaggath yesterday, no one knows her status. We will have to bypass her authority.
"You wish to go over her head again? Surely your joking? It worked in the past, but this will not go unnoticed—someone will see a pattern!"
"Unlikely." The one on the left said, rubbing the stubble on his chin. He wasn't a fan of such cloak and dagger tactics, but it had to be done. The empire was growing restless and their nature autocracy appeard to be failing more and more by the day. "With the war being pulled in so many directions, our peers will be far to indulged in their own tasks to concern themselves in our affairs."
"Are we truly willing to take that risk?" Said the right. "I am a strategist and I predict this is destined to fail. We faired well against the adversities of old, far better than imagined, but in time... Possibly not today, or tommorow, or even a decade from now, but one day, someone will find the trail and it will lead directly to us!"
"I must say..." Said the one to the left. His words seemed to carry a sense of wistfulness. "I don't always agree with him, but this does have me concerned... The stakes are larger than I could have ever conceived. If what you've foreseen is accurate, then... Everything we've done, everything we've built... It will all be for nothing."
"...Yes, in the end, all that we've done will, for a time, be irrelevant," Jadus began. "But our sacrifice will not be in vain—all will be worth the risk. The empire itself was doomed from the start, but from our own hands we can craft something better. Something that will last, with a substantial foundation to build upon. We will break the backs of our enemies and build upon the ashes of old, all while remaining latent Though the effort, loss, and sacrifice will be considerably great, and most of us won't live long in enough to enjoy the fruits of our labor, I have seen a better future. Gentlemen... I promise new empire!"
-24 years ago-
Deuron exited his study. He was on call for fifty-two hours straight at headquarters, there was a mole in Intelligence and he was tasked to find him. Now that he would not be needed for the next two days, he should have been able to get rest. Unfortunately there was always something going wrong. One of the downsides of having power hungry madmen as leaders. He guessed the empire was the city that never slept after all. His wife was still outside, fixing his speeder. Damn he loved her. She was always helping him do the things he was too busy or too lazy to do.
"Daddy…" a voice called.
Deuron turned around to see his son running up to him.
"Hey kid…" He laughed and bent down so his son could jump in his arms.
"You're rarely home…" He complained.
The Father laughed nervously.
"I've been...busy lately. My job requires a lot of time." All true. Unfortunatly he'd never be able tell him what his job actually was.
"But we still have family night tomorrow, right?" The young Chiss asked hopefully.
"Of course!" Deuron exclaimed. "Wouldn't miss it!"
"Good! Because there's a new spy holodrama playing!"
Deuron chuckled at his son as he picked him up and began carrying him around the house.
"New? You saw it a few days ago…"
"I didn't see all of it!" The child said excitedly. "One day I'm going to learn how to be a spy and fight bad guys!"
"I'm sure you will!" Deuron assured, though he was really hoping quite the opposite when suddenly, his holocom buzzed. He sighed, few people knew this frequency. "Here, go to your mommy. Daddy's got to make some calls…"
The young chiss excitedly climbed down his father and began to run towards the door.
Deuron walked back into his study and set the holocom on his desk. Praying it wasn't the Minister requesting another meeting, he answered.
"Secure transmission established. Morning, Cipher-16." The man acknowledged.
Well, at least it wasn't the Minister. Not that this was any better. "Skip the formalities Watcher Seven. What's this about?"
"Straight to the point, then. The Minster tasked me to tell you. We're prepping for an incursion on Talay."
Deuron froze for a moment...
Then burst into a fit of laughter. "Funny Watcher, funny. I haven't heard you tell a joke in, what, four years?"
"I'm not joking."
"Watcher, the Battle of Talay was over ten years ago. We already knew it was a stupid move, why would they want to do it again?"
"Yes, we lost. But even Minder 8 calculated a high chance of victory."
"Are they insane?"
"Not up for us to decide—"
"What strategic advantage could we possibly have?" He asked, unconvinced. They, uncluding the Imperial fleet deployed at the first Battle of Talay, would all be dead if Lord Marr hadn't undermined the Dark Council's extravagant decision and withdrawn their forces. "They probably know our tactics, the element of surprise won't be much of a factor because the planet is in the mid rim, and... Oh yeah, did I forget to mention it's been over ten years! Their defenses have undoubtedly been rebuilt—if not strengthened!" It was a suicide mission.
"That's why their sending us in first. You know, infiltration, espionage, assassination. It's in the job description, unless you were too busy with the seduction part to notice the others."
He smirked, folding his arms over his chest. "Hey, second joke of the day, good for you—"
"We have our orders."
"I have a family to take care of."
"If you actually cared about them, you would do as your told."
"Are you threatening me?" He growled, balling his fist with a death glare. It was hard to have a stare down on a mini holoprojector, but they'd somehow managed it throughout the years.
"Of course not. But I am letting you know what's at risk if you continue to resist command. I'm only a watcher, my influence only extends but so far. I've managed to persuade our superiors to let you live, but don't your push your luck."
"Intelligence would be dead without me. They wouldn't kill their greatest asset."
"Every imperial is expendable, except for Sith and Moffs. Including you."
"You have your opinion, I have mine—"
"It's not opinion. It's fact. Why can't you just accept tha..."
Deuron noted his parter's unfinished sentence with a puzzled look, before seeing a subtle gesture towards his door. He blinked. Turning around, he found a very curious eye peer from the slightly cracked open door. A small smile formed on his lips when the door suddenly shut and small footsteps faded in the distance.
"I see he has inherited your curiosity. Do you even lock your doors?"
The agent turned to find an amused look on the watcher. "Of course I do. He just happened to inherite his mother's security codes. I'm going to have to talk to her about that...
"You do that. We can't have a three year old blabbing about the empire's classified information. Now, prep your gear. Admiral Broysc says we only have until noon next week to infiltrate Talay.."
The agent once again froze. A sudden anger swelled and he didn't bother to mask his outrage. "Broysc? Him? He's been put in charge of the incursion? He's the reason we failed the last battle! What is the Dark Council thinking?!"
"We don't need to know their own reasons. Be ready for departure at sunrise. Watcher Seven, out."
"Wait—" And with that the connection went dead. Deuron picked up the holocom and threw it across the room in a fit of rage. He then took a few deep breaths and began to look over his shoulder. He could hear the sound of his son laughing. He sighed sadly. All he wanted was just take care of his family. How did he it come to this?