Chapter 10: Winds of Change
Bursting from their separate rooms, Fist, and Stinger look at each in a mix of shock and horror. Looking around the other rooms, Darth Vader steps out from his chamber with Dagger in tow and studies who is poking their heads out from their rooms. Nodding, he orders Stinger to gather everyone who is still alive. Standing in a neat and orderly line, Stinger, Fist, Dagger, and Fernug look at each questioning the whereabouts of their two missing students. As Master Vader returns he speaks with a heavy heart that the students feel through his environmental armor.
"Mug and Siena never returned from their challenge. Stinger and Fist, please recover their remains so we can give them a fitting passing. Sword and Dagger, please ready the two shuttles for departure."
Stinger and Fist raise an eyebrow discerning Fernug's new title and name, while it was apparent that Dagger was already aware of his new name.
"After you return, we will dispose of their remains and depart this site. The galaxy needs us to restore order, and I feel like I must acknowledge something I've been concealing for far too long."
Nodding obediently, Stinger and Fist grab a speeder and two large bags for their friends. Refusing to use garbage bags, Fist spent fifteen minutes searching and found the body bags in the storage room, unsure and unwilling to know why there would be six boxes of twenty stored in there in the first place. Arriving, they each take a bag and walk down the darkened stairwell. As expected, the great beast flew blissfully around the room, waiting for them to recover the remains. Looking around, Fist stops five feet into the room and grimly speaks.
"I found a piece of Mug here."
Stinger almost immediately replies twenty feet from her. "So did I."
Their pieces, cut cleanly off at each joint, were solemnly collected as the beast joyfully sings overhead infuriating Fist. Tempted to strike out at the monster using the force, she regains her focus and collects all the pieces into her bag. Finding the torso and head at the top of the debris pile in the center of the room, Stinger scans the room and is disturbed when she cannot find Siena. Finally out of frustration, she calls out to it.
"Where is she? I want her now!"
His giggling and snickering only raises Fist's temper, while Stinger remains calm and collected. After a minute, he sighs dramatically and speaks.
"FINE! She's in the box by the farthest door. I just did what she asked. She couldn't bare living with what she and her parents went through so I made it all go away…just as she requested."
Shaking her head, Stinger stomps to the place in question. Noticing the "box" was not quite what it seemed, she hesitates to spend a moment studying the device. As Fist comes to her side, she stops her from touching it. Using the force instead, they concentrate in unsealing the lid and opening it. As she suspected, it was designed to ensnare the operator and cocoon them in a kind of suspension jelly, preserving the body from decay or destruction. Together, they lift her out and into the body bag and make the next horrible discovery: Siena wasn't dead. As Fist turns to strike out at the beast, Stinger once again holds her back while Fist fires out her anger in words instead.
"You fucking liar! She's alive."
In a light and whimsical tone the beast sighs dramatically. "Well, technically the body is still functional, but not the mind. She's gone. The pony was put out to the pasture. I saw her spirit flutter and prance away with her parents. It was a beautiful sight, lots of flowers and green fields, but I forgot to bring my camera. You would have cried."
As he pours out alligator tears and makes light of her passing, Fist cannot hold back the tears and bravely marches out toting Mug's remains. With her heart aching, Stinger seals up the bag to Siena's mouth and leaves it open enough so her body can breathe. As she considers respectfully snuffing out the life from the body before her, some deep insight in the force beckons her to hold fast. She feels the beast hovering over her and he whispers into her ear.
"Yes…that is it. Now you are feeling the force like you should. I told you if you let it, it will guide you to the next step in your journey. As you may have guessed, I am neither good nor evil. What I do is by necessity, not emotion or opinion. The beast you see is only what I want you to see, not what I used to be. Do not confuse the two. To see me for who I was would only create a visual cacophony of confusion which would distort the message. Even your dear and beloved master knows that. I know his secrets and the names he has used, so even he cannot fool me. He fell to the Dark Side long ago, but cannot go back to the light so easily as one thinks…except in death maybe. Anything is possible in death; but in life, not so easy to do. When you comeback from Pregonus, much will be clearer. Until then, I'm just another insane spirit, holed up in some unknown swamp, on an obscure world, in a faraway galaxy, in an unknown region of the universe, amongst billions of trillions of alternate and possible universes."
Stinger hesitates as she prepares to walk up the stairs.
"What was your name in life?"
As he drifts and prances high in the ceiling, he finally replies. "Ah what's in a name really, aside from power, prestige, praise, and petit parcels of pain? Your master understands this far better than I am willing to delve into. How about you ask him the same question and see what it gets you?"
Shrugging, Stinger drifts up the stairs and casually replies over her shoulder. "Perhaps I might."
Slipping Siena's spiritless body into a Bacta tank, Stinger orders the medical droid to monitor and care for the girl's body until she returns. Satisfied that she reached the limits of her help, she drifts outside to pay homage to the tall friend whom she knew so little about before he passed. In a fiery inferno, Mug's remains are destroyed and Stinger joins Fist in the first shuttle. Noticing the coldness between Fist and Dagger, she suspected Fist told her of their earlier encounter. Surprised that Dagger wasn't angrier, later on the trip to Pregonus Ayla confides that Delphi knew she wasn't in love with her anymore despite her best attempts to prove otherwise. Lifting away from the planet's surface, Stinger watches as Master Vader takes his two charges back to the imperial capital on Coruscant. Sensing great change in the force, she knows everything she knows and believes is about to shift abruptly.
Escorting the lone imperial shuttle to Yavin-4, Red Squadron stays in the air as the shuttle settles down and lowers its forward ramp. The Lambda class was finally phasing out the aged Archon class shuttle which downloaded the troops from the rear rather than the front. With an impressive arsenal when compared to its counterpart, it was becoming the standard the empire sought. Three times more expensive than its predecessor, it was direly needed on the front lines against the rebel alliance. Risking the loss of an expensive asset, the empire chose to use this as a risky gambit to ensure the rebels wouldn't outright destroy their diplomatic envoy before they could deliver their message from Acting Emperor Vader.
With an impressively armed squad, Mon Mothma personally accepts the communique after her elite guards hold blasters at the three-man crew of imperial officers. With Admiral Firmus Piett in command of the shuttle, he personally handed the message over to the Rebel Alliance's face and spirit as a show of meaningful sincerity. When Admiral Kendal Ozzel and a dozen flag officers made an ill-fated bid to assume command of the fleet when the Emperor passed, Captain Piett single-handedly led a counter attack and put down the mutiny on the Executor. With the two pilots standing beside him, and the rebel guards stationed inside the shuttle, it was apparent that they could not attack the hapless rebels. In the chaos of the fractured empire, word traveled of the captain's heroism and rapid promotion to lead the empire's prestigious Super Dreadnought. Parked in orbit, it patiently waited for the delegation to accept the message from Lord and Emperor Vader.
Extending his hand, the admiral starts the holographic recording. The image of Darth Vader suddenly appears. Kneeling, Emperor Vader slowly rises and speaks.
"My esteemed Mon Mothma. For too long we have fought resulting in nothing but warfare, chaos, and death. I am partially responsible for the Emperor's demise, and I am pleased that his death can finally bring order back to our galaxy. Your people have singlehandedly stayed one step ahead of my best officers and I feel it's time we start working together to bring peace to our galaxy. I am proposing a full cessation of ALL hostilities between our forces, and the end of nearly twenty years of conflict and disunity. This process will be quite complicated and lengthy, and cannot be finalized overnight. I will say that we cannot return to the republic of old, but I am willing to immediately consider any and all other possibilities to include a representative leadership government alongside my choice of leadership. A triumvirate system to ensure no one party has full control would be ideal, but I wish to restore order and establish a powerful military to maintain that order. Many factions will attempt to cut up the empire for their own personal gains, especially countless warlords and gangsters. I want our empire to be one of personal freedom and ingenuity versus power and domination. I know that my word alone is insufficient to convince you of my sincerity, so as a sign of good faith, I am immediately releasing all prisoners."
A long pause follows as the murmurs of disbelief wash across the assembled soldiers, guards, diplomats, and observer alike. Resuming, Emperor Vader motions towards Admiral Piett.
"Admiral Piett will be my liaison and you will communicate directly with him on the Executor. This is my temporary flagship until further notice. I still have several agents who will communicate with you, but I will personally introduce you to them first. Please understand this is real and not a petty ploy or trap. I am willing to accommodate your needs to come together so you can be assured of your people's personal safety. May the Force be with you."
The recording abruptly ends and Mothma looks into the eyes of Admiral Piett and sees someone exhausted from his duties. Motioning to follow her, she leads him into the ancient Jedi complex and tells the soldiers to let the pilots stay in the shuttle for now unguarded. Worriedly, a general whispers to Mothma that they might leave or fly off and she only laughs. Speaking loud enough for the Admiral to hear, she scoffs.
"Their Flag Officer is coming with me…I don't think they are going anywhere."
Shaking her head, she politely leads the admiral inside to sit down for tea. As security buzzes incessantly outside the room, the pair sits calmly and the Admiral finally removes his hat in respect to the esteemed leader. Breaking the silence, he inhales wearily and realizes he has to actually use his prepared small talk. Believing the rebels would never buy the truth, he expected to be shot or captured upon landing. To have the rebel commander treat him with more respect than most line officers he knew, simply put him off guard. As his mouth opens, he realizes the stupidity of the prepared speech, and choses to take his wife's sound advice once again.
"We originally had this planet targeted for destruction soon after the Death Star was completed, but Emperor Palpatine was insistent that we hit Dantoine first. He rarely listened to our professional advice, but sometimes neither would Lord…I mean Emperor Vader. They followed some uncanny calling driven by their devout devotion to that Force they talk about. Most of the time they uncannily knew their instincts were on or off kilter, but we never comprehended it. I learned early on to obey Darth Vader at all costs. If you followed his orders to the 'T' he would never punish you for obeying his orders, just for disobeying them. And if you took personal risks, and didn't play it safe, he would rarely terminally punish you. Unless of course you really fouled things up."
Mon Mothma sets the tea down and pours him a cup, looking at him critically. Thanking her, he puts two lumps of sugar and teaspoon of cream in and stirs gently before continuing.
"When Lord Vader came to me and gave me this message, he informed me of the contents. For two days he briefed me in route, and I can't tell you how terrified I was. The idea that our two forces becoming one, is something many hard and power-hungry officers will fight."
Nodding introspectively, Mothma asks gently. "And what are your opinions on this matter?"
With a nervous sigh, he takes a sip and smiles inwardly enjoying the exotic blend of tea leaves.
"Like I said, if you obey Lord Vader, he will never fault you for the universe not being on your side that day. As for your direct question, I feel eventually we would defeat you, but not after a vast loss of people and resources. I'm sick of this internal strife and warfare. I haven't seen my family in three years. I have two teen daughters and the youngest is my six-year old son, and they are being filled with hate and lies by the old Emperor's useless propaganda. He says he wants to grow up and be just like me, but in reality I want him to grow up and be a farmer like his great grandfather. Now he was a man even you would like. Didn't believe in all this technology and junk, just give him a good patch of land, and he would make miracles sprout from the soil. I admired that man. I want my son to look up to my courage on this day, my pinnacle moment where I sat down and helped flesh out a lasting peace for our galaxy. I want to be remembered for giving peace a chance, rather than crushing it underneath my boots. If you ask me if I think Lord Vader is serious about peace, all I can say is that his actions speak loudly. On board my ship are four hundred prisoners I transferred from our penal facility. Most were outright pardoned, the rest…well some have vast amounts of hate for us, and wouldn't hesitate resuming their private wars against us. It will not be easy dealing with them on your part, but by releasing even them, you must see his commitment to peace is genuine. If he were lying, it would take us years to gather these people up again, if ever. No matter what you choose now, I will signal their departure orders and I'll take your decision back with me. We're still going to have many admirals and generals who will refuse the recall order, as will you. If we can forge a serious peace, I think it will minimize the angry radicals."
Shaking her head, she sips at her tea and looks the battle weary officer in the eyes.
"The idea of a standing military will be a hard sell. People didn't like your formation from day one, but I realize that sometimes order must be maintained and freedom must be protected through the galaxy even if by force."
Nodding, the admiral enthusiastically resumes. "Emperor Vader seeks to discontinue the use of clones for our troops and make a completely volunteer military made up of all races and species like you rebels…err…well like your alliance does. He told me that the only way we appreciate freedom is when you lose it. The galaxy has been without freedom for far too long and look where it's got us. He feels the time has come to change everything, from the top down. We can't go back to a free republic, but a totalitarian government isn't the answer either. Get your best people together for this task and bring them to Coruscant. Bring whatever security you feel is necessary, but please come. If not for us but for our children."
Finishing his tea he rises. "Time is of the essence here. We need to show we are unified in bringing the galaxy back together, but not under a new dictator. He has made that extremely clear. His time as Emperor is limited, and he wants to put in place a new system of government which will stand the test of time. He says he wants to keep this second empire in place until we can flesh out a good replacement, and he has asked me to be a figurehead. I'm not exactly sure what that will entail, but he told me that he has faith in me. Those are words I'd never in a million years expect to come from him, and that scares and humbles me all at once."
As the train of shuttles depart the Executor and deposit their loads of repatriated heroes to the Allaince, Admiral Piett returns to deliver the reply to his lord and master. Across the galaxy celebrations erupt as word of the ceasefire spreads like life-giving rains to parched ground. From the core worlds to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, the winds of freedom spread out igniting the oppressed worlds. As many resist the recall orders, Emperor Vader consolidates his power to bring the fringe officer back into his control. Realizing months and years are still ahead of him, he senses a new balancing force was rising from the ashes of Pregonus. Trusting his students skills, he accepts their abilities and has faith that they will do what's right in the end.
End of Part 1.