(a/n: Hello Folks! Just thought i try my hand at Star Wars related stuff. Hope you like it. Enjoy!)
Prolog
Two large pearly white moons hung low in the dark purple skies as the people of a nameless village on the planet Clorel were rousted from their sleep by the forceful and rough storm troopers.
It was late and everyone in the tiny village had all been fast asleep when the first squadron of TIE fighters screamed overhead.
Within minutes, white armored storm troopers started swarming the village and herding the frightened villagers into the village square.
As the villagers huddled together like a bunch of cattle, the commander in charge of the storm troopers questioned the wizened village elder if the assembled citizenry was everyone and that they weren't hiding anyone.
At first the elderly creature said that everyone was present and accounted for but the commander knew better.
He questioned the elder again, only this time making it clear that he wasn't in the mood for feeble lies by jabbing his rifle at the old creature's stomach
Again, the ancient being stated that everyone was present and accounted for.
The commander growled with frustration and ordered two of his troopers to bring the elder's family forth. A small family composed of a young newly wedded couple, an elderly female and at least four children were gruffly dragged away from their fellow villagers and forced to their knees.
The old Clorelian's eyes widened in shock and the commander said coldly "I'll only ask one more time. Are all your people accounted for? Are you harboring any fugitives?"
The wizened creature shook his head vehemently and pleaded "Please, have mercy! We are not harboring fugitives, we are loyal to the Emperor!" the pleas fell on deaf ears.
The commander motioned to another trooper, who walked over and shoved the old Clorelian to ground. He fell flat on his face.
The old creature tried to rise but the storm trooper who shoved him kept his rifle trained on the back of the elderly being's skull.
The commander sighed "You leave me with no choice Lux-Var" he nodded to the troopers who brought the old creature's family forth. They cocked their weapons and took aim. The family whimpered and the elder members of the family tried their best to shield the children with their bodies.
Some of the villagers looked on with horror and a few looked ready to come to their aid but the storm troopers guarding them gave them a clear warning when they turned their weapons on to the villagers. If they tried anything, they're good as dead.
The commander raised a gauntleted hand and was ready to drop it when suddenly a voice cried out "Wait!"
Everything went still for a moment. The commander looked up and saw a young woman emerge from a nearby hut. She was dressed in a tattered, old brown cloak with a hood over covering her. Despite the hood, the commander immediately recognized the young woman. It was her, the target.
The commander leveled his weapon "Don't move!"
The young woman held up her hands "I surrender" said the fugitive calmly "Let these people go, they have nothing to do with this. I'll surrender if you let them go"
"You're in no place to make demands" said the commander coldly. Normally that's the case but knowing how dangerous she is, it may help to comply to some of her demands.
He gestured to his subordinates "Search her!"
Two storm troopers hesitated for a moment but then let their fears slide and did as they were commanded. Their search yielded a small pouch full of medicine, some money and a weapon that made the remaining troopers who weren't guarding villagers take aim at her.
One of the troopers who searched the young woman held up the weapon. A lightsaber. The commander felt his heart skip a few beats. He approached the young woman slowly and when he reached her, the commander pulled her hood back, revealing a young and rather Mirialan woman.
The Commander studied her face and mentally compared her face with the image that he had on file. It was definitely her, they had finally found their target.
The troopers confiscated the lightsaber and the young woman's other items. The young woman didn't make a move to resist and didn't seem to complain she just seemed calm and collected.
The commander didn't like it. Jedi were a rather tricky lot. Most were wiped out during the purge when the Empire was formed but there were still a number of Jedi who fought fiercely and had cost the Empire many lives for each little victory.
Which is why they were there, looking for this young woman.
They had chased rumors across several systems in the Outer Rim, rumors of a traveling healer woman who seems to possess special abilities that kept her ahead of her pursuers. Commander Roth and his men were handpicked to join a special task force to hunt this specific woman down and bring her in to be questioned.
The commander didn't know why he was being sent off on a wild chase but he didn't ask. He was a loyal soldier and he knew that it wasn't his place to question his orders, especially if they came from that far up the chain of command.
A trooper slapped a pair of cuffs on the young woman's wrists. Before the commander could move the prisoner, a new voice cried "NO!"
Commander Roth turned and saw a small, grimy Mirialan girl dressed in rags came running out from one of the huts, sobbing.
"No! Don't!" exclaim the elder Mirialan.
A storm trooper stepped in the girl's path and she stopped dead in her tracks. Commander Roth frowned. Who was this little girl? Definitely not the target's daughter, she's a little too old to be her offspring. Probably a sibling, she resembled their target and looked about that age.
Roth shook his head. It didn't really matter, they weren't there for her anyway. The Commander waved at the storm trooper "Let her go".
The storm trooper stepped aside and the girl rushed past him and she threw her arms around the captive Mirialan, sobbing uncontrollably. The woman knelt down and did her best to embrace the little girl. "There, there. Its alright" soothed the woman "Don't worry about me"
"Please don't go!" wept the little girl "Please!"
"I can't stay" said the woman softly, her eyes watering a little "I don't have much choice in the matter. If I stay, Uncle Lux and the others might get hurt by these men". She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder "But I have something that you can do for me while I'm gone"
The little girl sniffed and looked up at the woman "What?"
"Be brave" said the woman softly "Be brave for me"
"Time to go" grunted Commander Roth. The storm troopers gruffly hoisted the woman back up to her feet and pushed the little girl aside. The little girl screamed and tried to reach for her friend but was shoved back by a trooper.
"Be brave little one!" said the Mirialan woman "I will see you again. No matter what, I will find you again!" the troopers dragged her away.
The little girl did nothing but sobbed "NO! Come back! Please!"
The storm troopers began to withdraw from the village.
Despite being roughed up and frightened near to death but over all, the villagers were left alone as requested. But they were left with a very clear and specific threat that if they breathed a word of what had happened to anyone, they would incur the wrath of the Emperor.
The threat alone was enough to get the villagers to keep their mouths shut.
Commander Roth was among the last to leave.
As he marched out of the village, he saw a look in the little girl's eyes, a look of unimaginable fury and hatred. Something within the commander made him feel a brief twinge of fear but then he remembered what he was told about this mission.
"You may hate me now kid" said Roth "But one day you'll thank me. As of right now, the galaxy will change for the better".
The girl merely glared daggers at the commander. He turned and he returned to the transport that was left at the outer edge of the village.
Once the commander was aboard, the ramp rose and sealed the passengers inside.
He sat down across from the young Mirialan woman, who stared at him blankly.
No matter how calm and stoic she seemed to be, Roth knew that she was nervous. Long minutes passed as the transport climbed higher into the atmosphere, heading back to the task force's Star Destroyer.
After her long eternity of silence, the Mirialan woman asked the commander "Where are you taking me?"
"We're taking you to our master" responded Roth.
The Mirialan sniffed "I know already who you serve. I'm not afraid of him". Roth and a few of the storm troopers let out small, amused chuckles.
"Don't worry" said one of the troopers "You will be, very soon".
A humorless smile appeared on Roth's face "Well, as a courtesy I suppose it doesn't hurt to let you know that we are taking to the most scenic place in the galaxy. Lola Sayu"
The prisoner's eyes widened in horror "T-The Citadel?"
Roth nodded grimly "Indeed".
Lola Sayu was once a Separatist stronghold and one of the most impenetrable prisons in the galaxy. At one point it was known to have contained Jedi and broke a few. Now, it was the Emperor's private little prison for those who had really irritated him or had garnered enough attention to land a personalized cell.
When the capture order came down from on high, Roth was rather surprised that this person was bound for Lola Sayu.
Though he was an officer in the Imperial army and was trained not to have sympathy for rebels or criminals, Roth felt a small twinge of pity for this young woman. Few entered the Citadel of Lola Sayu and even fewer had ever returned.
Just as the gravity of the situation began to register in the young Jedi's mind, the trooper to her left jabbed a needle into her jugular vein and injected a small vial of clear liquid into her blood.
Her wide blue eyes rolled back into her head and her entire body went limp.
Though it was a cautionary measure to make sure she didn't use any Jedi trickery to escape, Roth and the troopers felt that it was a small bit of mercy for the poor girl. The journey was long and she probably would've died of the anticipation.
12 Years Later…
The Inquisitor's eyes snapped open and looked up. Standing there was a rather frightened communications officer.
"What is it Lieutenant Kall?" asked the Inquisitor, her voice was calm but with an edge "You are interrupting my meditation session."
The officer managed to stop trembling and speak with as much courage as he could muster "T-there is a transmission for you from Lord Vader"
"Oh?' said the Inquisitor, raising an eyebrow.
The Inquisitor stood. She had spent the last few hours alone in her quarters in meditation to collect her thoughts. Lately, thoughts of the past swam into the forefront and had surprised her at how much time had passed.
The meditation sessions have usually been a welcomed part of her time.
To rest and recuperate from the long and tiresome battles that she was engaged in lately.
Being stationed with the Expeditionary Force in the outer Unknown Regions has proven to be a quite a difficult challenge.
Although she missed being in the Core systems or even the Outer Rim, it has been fun exploring the unknown with the Emperor's finest troops. However, it seems that something has gone horribly wrong for Lord Vader to be calling.
She dismissed the lieutenant and locked her door so that she wouldn't be interrupted.
A tall, imposing figure appeared in the center of her quarters.
The Inquisitor knelt before her lord and master and bowed her head low. "Lord Vader, it is a pleasure to hear from you again" said the Inquisitor sweetly.
"It would be…if it were under better circumstances" said Vader flatly.
"Trouble my lord?" asked the Inquisitor, looking up at her master.
"One of your students, the Grand Inquisitor, has been slain" stated Vader.
The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow "Ah, I see. That is quite troublesome"
"Seeds of rebellion have sprouted in the Lothal system" said Darth Vader "I have been tasked by the Emperor to take care of things but recently there have been some troubles in a far off sector that require my attention. Which is why you will go to Lothal in my stead"
A smile appeared on the Inquisitor's face. "I am quite honored my lord" said the Inquisitor, bowing her head "Shall I inform the admiral of my new mission or-"
"I have already informed Admiral Thrawn of your new assignment" interrupted Vader.
The Inquisitor felt a sense of elation and excitement. It was a thrill to be serving out in the darkest reaches of the galaxy but a new challenge has arisen and the Inquisitor wanted to get back into the field and cut down some rebles for the first time in a very long time.
Ever since she had started the Inquisitor Order on behalf of the Emperor, there hadn't been very many exciting challenges among the rebels. Maybe these new rebels could give her a descent challenge.
"There is one other thing" said Vader.
The Inquisitor looked up at Vader and the Sith told her "It would appear that our old friend, Ahsoka Tano, lives".
The Inquisitor's eyes widened in shock "A-Ahsoka?" Vader nodded.
Several different emotions raced through the Inquisitor but she managed to burry them deeply within. Now is not the time for such feelings.
She asked her master "What shall I do with her?"
"We want her alive" said Vader "If she has survived, there is no telling how many more Jedi there may be. She may be of some use to us".
The Inquisitor's smile widened "Of course my master"
"Do not fail me" warned Vader "You know the price of failure".
Barris Offee placed a hand over her heart and bowed her head as low as she could "I swear my master…I will not fail you".
End of Chapter.
(a/n: So what do you think? Lola Sayu is from the Clone Wars episode "The Citadel" and i thought it could've been converted into a secret prison used by the Empire. Also, mentioned Grand Admiral Thrawn from the "Heir to the Empire" book. I only know a little bit of history about him but i read a bit of "Heir to the Empire" and i thought he should be mentioned. Hope you enjoyed this.
Want more? then review!)