Chapter 7: Future of the Force
Infinity
Training hall
For the first time since Danny joined the Rebellion as an ally along side with the Infinity all the three know remaining Force users in the service of the rebellion were together in the Infinity's training hall. What made this situation exceedingly special was the audience it garnered.
In an attempt to boost moral Danny suggested that they hold a tournament between himself, Ezra, Kanan and Ahsoka on board the Infinity and it was a success. Crammed in the biggest of the Infinity's training halls, the one normally reserved for troop training were close to 500 spectators occupying hastily built seats at the edges of the hall. In front of them William had erected a force field to keep any stray light sabers or people from doing any collateral damage.
Like the gladiators of old, the three Force Users and Danny would enter the room from the adjacent room normally used for storing combat equipment.
"I still don't see why this is necessary" complained Kanan as he came beside Danny
Since their mission to save Sato and Ezra's outburst Kanan had made amends with bought Danny and Rex, even if he still disliked Danny's thoughts on the Jedi's Order methods and practices.
"Come on, it will be fun and besides the people need hope. Seeing their Jedi fighting might just make them believe that the empire can be beaten" said Danny
"I agree with Danny" said Ahsoka "Though I still have reservations as to the reason why you decided to host a tournament"
"He was probably just bored of kicking my ass and wanted a challenge" said Ezra as he came into the room dressed in his workout clothes. Danny was similarly dressed with only Ahsoka and Kanan choosing to remain in their normal clothes for the duration of this sparring exercise with spectators
"It's not that" Danny defended "You're still young and have a lot to learn, of course I don't go all out on you"
Kanan looked at him blankly "Right… so you just want someone that you can go all out against"
Danny shrugged "Call it as you will, I still did it for morale"
No one believed him, but that didn't stop them from participating. It would be good to test their skills against Danny.
They entered the ring and separated. For this fight, Danny decided that he would be alone against all three of them. After all, if they could defeat him, then they surely could defeat someone like Vader, or at least keep him at bay. The crowd cheered as they got into their stances, Ezra and Kanan igniting their blue blades in training mode and Ahsoka doing the same with her two white blades.
Danny did the same with his ancient cross guarded saber, only his 'safety mode' was more in the way of a hard light barrier around the actual plasma blade that was dulled to soften the blows. This meant that the saber would act more like a metal one tan a normal light saber, which meant Danny had the advantage in a few tricks he picked up during his early days as a warrior.
First to charge in was Ashoka. Danny neatly sidestepped her and brought down his blade upon her back. She blocked him but gave Danny the perfect platform from which he could kick Kanan as he approached in a standard Soresu stance. That had become his main fighting style, Danny noted. It would be difficult to break his defense but not impossible, especially for one as powerful and skilled as Danny was. Propelling himself over Ahsoka, Danny slashed at Ezra but he parried with his light saber while retreating to Ahsoka's position. After a few moments, Danny attacked, charging straight into the group of force users. They were unprepared for this charge and Danny managed to disarm Kanan quickly with a strike to his arm as he held the blade in defense. Calling the fallen weapon to him, Danny executed a roundhouse kick to Kanan's head, sending him sprawling to the ground uncountious.
The crowd collectively winced at the sound of the kick but nonetheless cheered, though some grunted in displeasure as they lost money on whatever bets they made. William beamed Kanan from the room and to a waiting medical droid.
Danny returned to face his two remaining opponents, activating Kanan's weapon alongside his. Ezra and Ashoka looked at each other and charged. Danny blocked Ahsoka's overhead swings with one sword and Ezra's slash with the other. Breaking his lock with Ezra, Danny twisted and moved into position to spear Ahsoka, but Ezra was faster and he force pushed Danny a few feet away. Moving in, Ezra locked bought of Danny's blades with his own. Ezra then moved and kicked Danny in the gut. Danny grunted at the unexpected assault and telekinetically flung Ezra away and into the force field making him drop down to the ground as he attempted to recover. Ahsoka, seizing the opportunity moved in and managed to clip Danny on the shoulder with a swipe and push him into the force field with a Force push. Ahsoka charged at Danny, but he recovered quicker than expected, blocking the swing and driving Kanan's light saber though her stomach, making her muscles spasm as the depowered blade touched her nerves.
The crowd cheered yet again as William beamed her as well next to a disgruntled Kanan.
Danny turned to Ezra as the last remaining combatant. Ezra knew that he could not defeat Danny in sword combat but then he remembered something. Danny, while powerful and an excellent swordsman had problems in deflecting blaster bolts as he had no Force to guide his hands. Ezra grinned as he shut off his light saber and began to shoot at Danny. Danny managed to block a couple of shots, but one clipped his left shoulder and he dropped Kanan's light saber with a cry of pain and surprise. Thinking quickly, Danny pulled Ezra to him, only for the boy to turn mid flight and strike another bow across his back while he missed Danny's saber and landed behind him. Danny gritted his teeth in discomfort from the 'injuries' he had sustained. Rising up, Danny turned to face Ezra only for the kid to charge at him. That turned to be a fatal mistake as Danny grabbed a hold of his extended arm and threw him to the ground hard, making his breath leave his lungs. Danny finished the fight by leveling his saber at Ezra's chest.
The crowd cheered as the force fields dropped and Danny helped Ezra up. Money was exchanged between people as they filed out of the room and to the ring transports. Danny could see that they had enjoyed the show and that is gamble with morale had been worthwhile.
Ahsoka and Kanan approached the two.
"So, Kanan, how does it feel to be the first one to be knocked out?" asked Ezra with a shit eating grin on his face
"Zip it kid, you lost too" rebuked Kanan
"Yeah, but I could at least touch him" said Ezra pointing to Danny and looking quite proud of himself
"We get it Ezra just don't let t get to your head. I was still pulling my punched with you three" said Danny
"What?" asked Ahsoka confused
She hadn't been beaten this thoroughly since her time at the Jedi Temple while sparring with her master
Danny rolled his eyes "If I hadn't pulled my punches you'd all be dead, even with the training mode on my saber" said Danny gesturing to the slight golden tinge his still active sword had
"What is that?" asked Kanan
"A hard light sleeve, it protects the target from the plasma blade. The one who built this sword didn't put in any kind of safety features and while I can reduce power to the blade, it tends to lose cohesion while not truly guaranteeing safety. This way all that you would feel would be like a slap, enough to know that you've been hit and yet not enough to kill you" explained Danny
"Anyways, I've been meaning to talk to you in private. It concerns Jedi business" said Ashoka
"I'll have a conference room prepped for you" said Danny automatically
"No, I feel like we will need your help with this one" said Ahsoka
Danny was intrigued. He normally stayed out of Jedi business as his focus was more on the military aspect of the forming rebellion. His interest in the Force and its construction was just that, an interest and in no way was it one of Danny's primary concerns. With a mental command, Danny beamed them to his study.
"So what is it that you wanted to discuss?" asked Danny
"I have been monitoring transition from Mustafar and recently I have managed to decode two separate sets of coordinates" said Ahsoka
"Any idea what they are?" asked Kanan
"No, but if it that important that they send their Inquisitor after it, I say it's worth taking a look" said Ahsoka
"I agree. We will go to one set of coordinates while Ezra and Kanan will head to the other" proposed Danny
"Sounds like a plan" agreed Ezra
Infinity
FTL, en route to the first set of coordinates.
The Infinity was flying at many times the speed of light through the black void of space towards its target. Long range sensors had already detected a single ship floating dead in space above a planet.
Danny remained on the bridge for the duration of the journey while Ahsoka left to meditate on the observation deck.
The reason why Danny remained on the bridge was so that he could secretly study Ahsoka. Of great interest to him was the way she manipulated the Force and what these manipulations' effect was on the subspace network. Sensors had shown that the network around the Infinity was beginning to pulsate, sending and receiving pulses from all directions while Ahsoka meditated. Danny tried to make sense of it, but it proved to be futile endeavor. It would take many years and great deal of willing force sensitive before their interaction with the Force could be fully mapped. It may even take centuries for it to be comprehended in its entirety.
Suddenly Danny got an alert on one of the many holographic screens floating around his chair. They were approaching the coordinates. Mentally, Danny instructed William to summon Ahsoka to the bridge.
Returning his gaze to the holographic screens floating before him Danny stared. On them was displayed a myriad of information retrieved from across the galaxy. The information covered many things such as Imperial fleet deployments, supply manifests, secret codes and protocols, even the hidden finances of a few Moffs. It was all there, in front of Danny scrolling before him as they were being translated into Alterran script and filed as soon as Danny was finished with them.
Even so, among all that information one particular screen garnered Danny's attention the most. That screen had listed personnel files on Imperial navy officers. These were normally so well hidden that it took a Moff's clearance to access them. Danny simply bypassed that by employing William's highly advanced cyber warfare suite. The Empire truly wasn't prepared to face a war machine the likes of which the Terrans possessed. In a move that would have made the Director of OMNI proud Danny had introduced nanites to the Imperial computer systems. Now every tech that came into contact with an infected console or computer would be in turn affected and be made into a carrier thus spreading the tiny machines like a plague. This being said Danny doubted that he would ever approach the level of competency the people working for the Officer of Military and Naval Intelligence displayed. Those spooks were on a completely different level when it came to spying and even general paranoia and that was saying something.
Among the files of incompetent naval officers Danny found something that could pose a significant threat to the fledgling Rebellion.
His name was Mitth'raw'nuruodo, but most knew him as simply Thrawn.
At first glance he appeared to be nothing more than an unusually competent commander on top of being a non-human. To the superficial reader Thrawn's exploits seems to belong to the realm of the fantastical with many in the Imperial Navy dismissing his abilities. They were angry that he did not play by their rules and the Imperial Navy brass seemed convinced that all his successes to be attributed to luck. But Danny knew better, he could read between the lines and paid especially close attention to the reports made by Eli Vanto, Thrawn's aid, though the more accurate description would have been protégé. Danny could see the spark of genius in Thrawn by simply reading his reports. He could already envision him as being heralded by the Terran Navy's brass as the next Alexander the Great and from the reports Danny had received from Ahsoka and Bail Organa about Thrawn's campaign against the cell lead by Nevil Cygni, or as he was better known as Nightswan he did not doubt it. His rebel cell, based off Batonn had become the focus of Thrawn's obsession and while it certainly gave Danny and the rest of Phoenix Squadron the upper hand, he knew that it would not be long until his attention would be tuned to the rebel cell Danny was currently allied with.
Danny knew that he needed a contingency plan for Thrawn. An adversary of such skill was rare and more than that he was dangerous. Danny had no doubt that Thrawn would be hearing rumors soon enough. Danny's alias as 'the Admiral' had garnered quite the attention and the Infinity wasn't exactly a subtle ship when Danny was out turning Imperial vessels into space dust with antimatter beams. Over the course of a month and a half that Danny had been back with the rebel fleet his actions had become quite noticeable. Between the multiple instances where Imperial ships would simply vanish in the aftermath of one of Danny's ambushes without transiting any distress signal and his attack on Seelos against the Walkers in defense of the Clones local Imperial command was certain to have noticed and they were no doubt angry at what was happening. So far Konstantin and Kallus actually thought that they were dealing with a big rebel fleet, despite the fact that Kallus had seen the Infinity and a portion of it capabilities. The fact that he killed the Fifth Brother and severely injured the Seventh Sister in his duel with them on the abandoned Republic stationed had further solidified Danny's position as a threat in the mind of Darth Vader. As if Vader's own duel with Danny, as short lived as it was, wouldn't have guaranteed that. Besides, the destruction of the Interdictor and its escorts would have probably reached Coruscant by now.
With all this in mind, Danny knew that the best way to find Thrawn's weakens would be to have access to someone like Eli Vanto who has served under Thrawn and knows him well. Well enough to give Danny a feel for the Chiss. Unfortunately it seemed as if Thrawn's planning extended to Vanto as well since the Rebellion couldn't seem to get their hands on Eli. It was regrettable, Danny surmised, but not unexpected. It would not be long until Danny implemented his plan to map out the so called unknown regions. It was true that with current hyperspace technology the people of this galaxy had, such an endeavor would have taken many decades, even centuries to complete. Thankfully the Alterra had solved the problem of large scale detailed exploration when they built Destiny and all Danny had to do was find some cheep material and use the constructors on board the Infinity. They didn't need to survive more than a few centuries so Danny wouldn't bother constructing a galaxy wide monitoring system the likes of which the Alterra built in the Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxies. Once Danny found Csilla he would see just how loyal Thrawn was to the empire and Thrawn will see just how sadistic and cold Danny could be when he wanted to. After all there was a reason why the Geni feared the skies above their heads and the people of the Milky Way have heard of the Massacre of Aschen when Danny deployed the first Sunbuster warhead. Apparently supernovas are a good way to make yourself feared in a galaxy, well that and the massacre of 17 billion people. Not that Danny actually cared about those humorless psychopaths and most of the Terran people hadn't either. Sure there were those that cried over the Aschen but that was to be expected. Still what remained of the Lucian Alliance got the message and wisely surrendered. It has been 60 years since Danny had burned Aschen Prime and he hoped he wouldn't have to do it again. Still it never hurt to put on the mask of a man that would do anything to achieve his goals and Danny thought Thrawn to be much the same, only he did not wear such mask.
Ahsoka walked on the bridge ripping Danny from his musings. With a wave of his hand Danny closed the holographic screens and turned his command chair to look at Ahsoka. She was watching the bridge with a slight frown on her face.
"We will arrive at the coordinates momentarily" informed Danny
This seem to break Ahsoka from her stupor
"Yes. I received your message" she said calmly
Danny nodded and turned back to the front window as he watched the stars pass by at FTL.
"I have a question" said Ahsoka
Danny nodded
"Why are you helping us?" she asked
Danny thought for a while
"Have I ever told you the story of the Great Alliance of Four Races?" asked Danny
"You have not" said Ahsoka intrigued
"I figured as much. You see in my galaxy there was once an alliance of four great races. They were the most advanced and powerful ever to arise in that galaxy or in our local cluster. They were protectors of all life within the five main galaxies of the local cluster but that alliance fell 5 million years ago and to this day only one of the original races is still known to exist" said Danny sadly
This peaked Ahsoka's interest "Who were they? The four races that you spoke of"
Danny smiled "The Nox, the Furling, the Asgard and the greatest of them all, the Alterra" said Danny
Ahsoka's eyes went wide as she gaped. Danny continued
"Unfortunately I am all that remains of my race, the last of the Alterra" Danny snorted "Fitting for a race as prone to dramatics as mine was"
"What about the Terrans?" asked Ahsoka
"They are the Alliance's inheritors, heirs to the Asgard and the Alterra, the Fifth Race. They are a young race, but we, the Alterra, also had a hand in creating them. Still they have taken their role as protectors with zeal and I'm sure that they will do us proud" said Danny
Danny turned to face Ahsoka
"You asked me why I am helping you. The answer is simple. It's the right thing to do. This Empire while it may give the galaxy strength is rotten at its basis and will fall, with or without my or the Terran's help. I'm just helping minimize the collateral damage such a fall would produce" said Danny
Ahsoka's expression changed to one of confusion
"What do you mean?" she asked
Danny looked at her surprised
"Do you honestly expect that whatever Jedi the Rebellion could scrounge up would be enough to defeat the Sith Lords? Even with my help and a company of Terran Praetorians and Berserkers at our backs we would barely be able to defeat Sidious and Vader. One on one, maybe, if I'm not interrupted, but together" Danny snorted "It's easier to turn the place where they stand to glass with a Nova bomb than to waste good men fighting them"
Ahsoka still looked confused, but there was now an undertone on anger from Danny's mocking of her order so Danny continued to explain.
"What Palapatine did was basically a bloodless coup. What you intend to do will turn into a bloody civil war the likes of which you've never seen since the last Sith Empire rose to power. The Clone Wars would look like child's play in comparison to the Civil War that will follow, not just between the Rebellion and the Empire, but the different Imperial factions themselves. I do not want to see this galaxy plunged in chaos for centuries to come and to do that the Rebellion will need mine and the Terran's support to stomp out the remaining Imperial resistance and help to hold the peace while you get a working government in order" said Danny
"But that would just be like replacing the Empire with the Terrans" said Ahsoka accusingly
Danny roiled his eyes
"If you go by that definition then we've already subjugated entire galaxies, but we do not enforce our own laws of the native people and we're not biased towards aliens. Yes, there will be occupation, but that is just a part of liberating planets from Imperial occupation. It would be difficult enough as it is to take a planet, not to mention the need to police the people to stop them from butchering any so called Imperial loyalists and to stop them from crimes such as looting, raping and other such actions" said Danny
"I do not believe such actions will be necessary. After the Empire falls and the Republic is reinstated we will finally have peace. People would not want to return to war" said Ahsoka
"If only it was so, but you forget the fact that once you destroy the Empire's leadership all that you will have would be a frightened and confused mass of people, some of which will be angry at what the Empire had done to them and will attempt to take revenge for their actions. What you say will happen will never come to pass, it is basic human nature that it will not and trust me, the Terrans have fought wars much bloodier than the one you're about to face" said Danny
Suddenly a hum was heard thought the ship and the Infinity dropped from FTL. In front of them was a derelict transport. Danny stood up from his chair and approached the central bridge window
"William" asked Danny
"Scans indicate that the ship is without power, but minimal life support is still operational. I am detecting several life signs on board but they are faint" reported William
"Prepare the infirmary to receive patients and transport me and Commander Tano to the airlock" ordered Danny
"Yes sir" said William
Danny saw a flash of golden light as he and Ahsoka were transported to the ship. Ahsoak looked confused for a few moments. Danny pulled out a hand held scanner from a pocket on his praetorian armor. They walked in silence as they approached the door to the main living quarters on the ship. With a wave of his hand Danny opened the door being careful to point his assault rifle at the corridor in case there were some surprises left by whoever attacked the ship. Walking through the corridor Ahsoka observed something on the wall. She approached the scorch marks.
"Light saber damage" said Danny his eyes narrowing behind the faceplate of his helmet
He too was looking at the scorch marks
"Inquisitors" said Ahsoka
"Be on guard" said Danny as he stowed his rifle and drew his energy blade.
Ahsoka did the same with her light sabers.
"This way" said Danny pointing at the end of the corridor
"Help me" called a voice
Bought Danny and Ahsoka rushed to the source of the voice only to find an aging woman clearly in pain. Danny ran his scanner over her body and grimaced at the number of injuries she had sustained.
"You are safe now" said Ahsoka
"Help my child, she has it… she… has …it" said the woman gasping for breath
Danny placed a hand on her shoulder and began focusing the Ascended energies within him into the woman to heal her. It was draining, but he needed her coherent
"Who took her?" asked Danny softly
"Red blades, please you must help her" said the woman pleadingly
"We will, rest now" said Ahsoka as she stroke her mind with the Force putting her to sleep
"There are more Inquisitors that we thought" said Danny darkly
"We already knew that there were others after you defeated the Inquisitors on the medical station" said Ahsoak
"Yes, but how many others?" asked Danny shaking his head "It doesn't matter, these people need help. William beam us and all life signs to the Infirmary and prepare to receive wounded" ordered Danny into his comm.
"Yes, sir" replied William
Ahsoak, Danny and the woman along with several others were whisked away in golden light to the Infinity's infirmary. William had also sent out a distress beacon to the rebellion to come and pick up the ship. It was still functional after all.
Takobo
High Orbit
Infinity
Danny was observing the planetary blockade made up of three Imperial I class Star Destroyers. He considered his options. He could blast his way through, Asgard Plasma Beam weapons and Alterran relativistic antiproton beam cannons were more than a match for the meager fleet before him, but that would force him to reveal more about his ship's capabilities and Danny didn't like that at all. This being said with the Infinity's cloak it would hardly be an issue to simply bypass the blockade.
Bypassing the blockade is what Danny did and now the Infinity was cruising past the Imperial ships slowly entering the atmosphere. Danny had changed from his bulky Praetorian armor into a sleeker and more intricately designed one he wore when he was commanding troops on the ground or when attending war councils. It was more or less his 'day armor' something that still had a strong enough personal Shield and holster for a pulse pistol but was ill suited for any kind of field deployment that required Danny's personal touch when he was in the Milky Way. That was of course against enemies such as the Wraith or Aschen, but when it came to the Imperials it was suitable. Danny also chose to wear it because he finally had the excuse to wear a cape and it granted him higher maneuverability when engaging in duels with other blade wielding opponents.
Meanwhile on the ground Ezra was not feeling happy at all. He was currently caring the baby and the stupid droid had locked himself in the landing pad. On top of it all they were being chased by not one, but four inquisitors. It was times like these that Ezra really thought back to what Danny had told him about Murphy.
The Seventh Sister easily beat his master and Ezra prepared himself or combat. It would be difficult with the baby in his arms but he had to make a stand, if only to give Danny enough time to come to his aid.
"I don't have time to waste on you, child" said the Seventh Sister as she pushed Ezra into the wall, or at least attempted to do so. Ezra resisted with a grunt but was still pushed backwards.
Suddenly the door opened and white light shone from it, illuminating the two figures as they walked forward to confront the Inquisitors. Ahsoka and Danny came forth from the light to save them.
For a few moments the two opposing sides stared at each other, Danny's pure white cloak billowing behind him in the wind. Suddenly Ahsoka and Danny withdrew their sabers from their belt and activated them falling into a combat stance. The inquisitors did the same with their red blades, an evil smile stretching across their face
"Ezra, get the youngling to the ship" said Ahsoka
The boy nodded and left taking Kanan with him. As soon as they were out of the way, the Jedi and Alterran charged.
Ahsoka jumped at the Seventh Sister while Danny blasted forth at the male and two female inquisitors that were left. The ground under Danny's feet cracked from the pressure he was putting on it as he all but flew at the inquisitors, his eyes a pure blinding white and his energy sword held high, shining with power beyond comprehension.
Lightning flashed in the skies above as the thunderous collision between Danny's saber and that of the massive female inquisitor sent out a shockwave to the surrounding area, blasting back the inquisitors that had attacked Danny along with the others that had charged to meet him. The one that blocked his swing recovered and once again charged at Danny, singing wildly and attempting to overpower the Alterran's defenses. It was useless as Danny's defenses held firm. The others soon joined the duel making Danny shift into a purely defensive stance.
"You are strong" complimented Danny, his voice vibrating with power as he blocked their strikes "But you are still but an insect to me"
Drawing up his Ascended powers Danny released them in all directions making the inquisitors stagger. Ahsoka's fight had long since moved out of range. Charging forth, Danny unleashed a battle cry as he channeled his full Ascended might into his blade and brought it down on the inquisitor's head. She attempted to block him, but she failed in the most spectacular way there was. Danny's blade cleaved through the red bladed saber of the Inquisitor, shattering it into a thousand pieces as the crystals inside the light saber turned to dust. Danny's blade continued its course and cleaved the Inquisitor in two.
Seeing this, the other inquisitors were hesitant to engage this very powerful being.
"Oh, you're scared now?" taunted Danny "Then let's see how you handle this!" yelled Danny as he turned his blade and stabbed it into the ground in front of him.
The ground shook as it protested what Danny was doing, but it eventually yielded. A shockwave erupted from the point Danny drove the saber into the ground turning the once solid floor to mush. The Inquisitors had enough time to jump away but they were still awed by the display. From the distance they could hear the storm troopers closing in to check out the disturbance
"Danny!" called Ahsoka
Danny looked at the convoy headed their way and narrowed his eyes. From above lighting flashed as lightning bolts came down upon the transports turning them to ash. This was a night that no one would forget. Suddenly Danny swung his saber, neatly blocking the two inquisitors that had remained to fight him
"Who are you?" asked the male
"Your destroyer" replied Danny in a cold tone
It sent shivers down the spine of the inquisitors. Only Vader had so far demonstrated even a fraction of the power this being possessed
"Retreat!" called out the remaining female as the Seventh Sister was shakily recovering from her own fight with Ahsoka
The three inquisitors jumped back only to be stopped by an unseen force
"I think not" said Danny as he held his hand with the still active saber in the air
The inquisitors looked with fear at the being before them wondering how he would he kill them. Danny brought up his other hand and focused his energies in his palm, creating a point immense pressure as fusion began to occur. Pointing his palm outwards, Danny released a stream of superheated plasma at the inquisitor that sounded the retreat. She had only a second to look on in horror as the white plasma consumed her whole and continued its way down the street annihilating anything that it touched. After a few seconds Danny stopped the stream and let the other Inquisitors down. They fell on their knees looking at him in fear. Danny's eyes still burned a bright white that shown with the power he had at his command.
Thunder rolled as from the sky the Infinity descended in all its glory. William sent rings down to collect the two and the mighty ship left once again for the depths of space. The three Star Destroyers tried to stop her, but they were unable to resist the power of the Infinity's Asgardian Plasma beam weapons. Shortly after the Infinity entered FTL towards Garel.
Coruscant
Imperial Palace
Darth Sidious, or as he was commonly known to the galaxy as Emperor Palpatine was not happy with the most recent developments from the outer rim. First was Lord Vader's report of an unidentified being of great power that faced off against him on Lothal. Then the Inquisitors reported the same being only this only this time it managed to claim one of the inquisitor's lives. Not that Sidious cared; the inquisitors were pawns in the greater scale of things. What really did it though was the report from the three inquisitors before him.
Sidious could sense their fear as they spoke and what astounded him was that the fear was not directed at him, but rather at the being they encountered in their hunt for Force sensitive children. They also reported an unknown ship that seemingly had the power to not only slip though an Imperial blockade undetected but also destroy said blockade with but a handful of shots.
After Palpatine dismissed them he called Lord Vader to the throne room. The Dark Lord of the Sith knelt before his master.
"You summoned me, my master" said Vader
"Indeed, my apprentice" said Sidious as he studied his apprentice "It seems that the one you encountered on Lothal might be an even greater threat than we have previously anticipated"
Vader remained silent for a moment
"What is thy bidding, my master?" asked Vader
"You will train the remaining Inquisitors harder and you will prepare yourself to engage these Rebels the being is in league with and you will end him" said Sidious
"It will be done, my master" said Vader
"Good, you may go, Lord Vader" said Sidious
Vader bowed and rose leaving the room shortly after.
Sidious leaned back in his throne closing his eyes and reaching to the Force. It still puzzled him as to why the Force hadn't given him a warning over this new development, but he will find out. After all even with such a formidable ship, there was little this man could do against the entire Imperial Fleet.
Little did he know that 20 million light years away in a room on a planet known as Terra a gathering of Admirals, Generals and political leaders was held. They had been reviewing the reports High Admiral Phantom had sent them about his discoveries. For the first time in millennia the entirety of Arkos Station came alive as entire fleets were being commissioned and over hundreds of worlds through the Terran Domain millions of people were being recruited as the mighty Terran War Machine prepared for what might just be the greatest war of the century.
A/N: And cut! Hope you liked it and as always leave a review with any thoughts, questions or suggestions you might have. I also have to sadly inform you that my schedule of weekly updates is going to down the drain. Unfortunately life caught up to me and I don't have as much time to write as before. Furthermore that time is now split between two stories and I really don't want to send one or the other into a year long hiatus. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this change in the update schedule might have caused. Updates will be posted every two to three weeks, I hope.