Despite the dire circumstances he now found himself in, Bly couldn't help but feel excited. For years he had heard stories of the grandeur of the galaxy's most important planet. Now at last he had arrived – on the world that the Emperor had recently rechristened Imperial Center.
From space, the planet looked like it had been the victim of a cataclysmic natural disaster. Imperial Center presented itself as a grey-brown sphere, with not a hint of the green or blue that usually indicated life. The countless trillions of lights merged into a sickly yellow glow, giving the impression that the entire planet was ablaze. But it was the lines that caught Bly's eye. Imperial Center's surface was scarred by ruler straight lines and vast concentric circles, some large enough to span entire continents, making it look as if the planet had recently come into contact with several very large asteroids. The view was awe inspiring but far from welcoming.
Yet now that he was on the surface, Bly couldn't help feeling that he had misjudged the planet. He had been greeted, not with the fumes and smog he had expected of a world covered completely by metropolis, but with a refreshing breeze. There was no industrial yellow glow down on the surface. Just warm, golden sunlight. And then there was the city itself. Gleaming towers as far as the eye could see, floating platforms in the sky that moved to serve the flash starships of the galaxy's elite, enough street cleaning droids to rebuild the Confederacy of Independent System's shattered army, walkways that spanned distances wide enough to be officially designated as canyons. Imperial Center was stunning! Bly had to admit to himself that whilst Coruscant, as the planet had been known until a few days ago, may once have been the capital of the Republic, Galactic Empire suited it right down to the ground that could no longer be seen.
Bly noticed his companions were not nearly as excited about the planet as he was. "You haven't been here before have you?" Bly asked Daze.
"No I haven't" he answered shortly. "I just don't like it here." Daze looked tense, his face lined with worry. "There are shock troopers everywhere" he hissed. "Customs may be lax when it comes to security. The Coruscant Guard are not."
Bly cursed himself. He had come here to find Jedi outlaws and overthrow an Empire. Yet here he was, on the Imperial throneworld, gawping like a holidaymaker on a sightseeing tour! And Daze was right about the Coruscant Guard. The senate had demanded nothing less than an elite force for their own protection and an elite force was precisely what they had got. The Coruscant Guard had been given extra training, the sort only clone commandos were normally given, and it showed in the ruthless efficiency that the Guard was known for across the galaxy. Those clones weren't called shock troopers for nothing.
Aayla had stopped. She was staring at something the Bly couldn't quite make out, his view blocked by a tower. Bly made his way over to her. She noticed his approach and pointed at a building in the distance.
"My home" she said simply.
It was the Jedi temple. Or what was left of it. The giant cube-like building that had once dominated the city's skyline was in a sorry state. Parts of the structure had collapsed. The exterior was scorched and wisps of smoke still rose periodically from it. Bly felt desperately sorry for her. What could he possibly say? It had been his brethren that had done this. Only because they were ordered to do so, Bly told himself. But they have chosen differently, argued a small voice at the back of his mind. You and Aayla are living proof of that.
Bly wanted to say something. Something to comfort or reassure. But the right words escaped him. He remained silent.
"We should move on" Daze said quietly in his ear.
Bly started in surprise. He hadn't heard Daze approach. He looked back at Aayla. She was facing away from the temple, her face set in a look of grim determination. "I am ready" she said unemotionally. "Lets go."
Bly scanned the faces of those around them. They received no inquiring stares. In fact, they weren't the only ones to have taken an interest in the Jedi temple. The eradication of the Jedi order had come as a surprise to everyone, Bly reminded himself. Curiosity in this instance was natural. Even so, it wouldn't do to be seen to be too interested in the Jedi. Not after the Emperor had denounced them all as traitors.
"I don't know this world" said Bly. "But I don't think we're going to find who we're looking for in the senate district."
"You're right. We need to go the underlevels." replied Aayla. "Those that live in the underlevels care little for politics. The Imperial presence will be weaker there. Then we need only find someone with the information we need and supply the right amount of credits."
Bly grinned at that. He glanced over Aayla's shoulder and that's when he spotted them. On the other side of the plaza, in the shadow of a low archway, stood two men. They were clothed in dark blue vests and body armour of the same colour. They sported insignias on their upper arm which Bly couldn't make out. But Bly knew one thing. The uniformed men were looking right at them. "Aayla" muttered Bly. "We've got folks in uniform behind us. Know who they are?"
Aayla didn't allow anything to show in her face or demeanour. Jedi were annoyingly good at that, Bly decided. She turned casually, as if examining the skylane traffic overhead. "They're CSF" she whispered. "Coruscant Security Force. Local police."
"We're not doing anything wrong" said Bly, slightly annoyed. "Not to them anyway. Why should we have trouble with local police?" The situation rapidly worsened. Three police droids arrived, accompanied by another CSF officer. The police ambled through the crowd, seemingly going nowhere in particular. But Bly was a clone, an ARC trooper at that, and he knew an encirclement manoeuvre when he saw one.
"Here come the shock troopers" said Daze grimly.
Sure enough, clones wearing the red and white armour of the Coruscant Guard entered the plaza. There could be no doubt now. The Empire had discovered them once again.
"Wait" Aayla ordered. Bly exchanged a frustrated look with Daze just as a shadow passed overhead. Looking up, Bly caught a glimpse of silver. Repulsorlifts whined and then moments later there was an audible clunk. A speeder bus had just landed. Gull-wing doors popped open and passengers began to descend the steps. It was then that Aayla finally made her move. "Run!"
At last, Bly understood. The rush of exiting passengers would slow their pursuers down. As Bly turned tail he caught a glimpse of the chaos behind him. Police droids and shock troopers were elbowing bystanders aside. Some had resorted to clearing a path with stun weapons and riot shields. The security forces were causing serious injury but Bly had no time for sympathy. Ahead of him, Aayla and Daze had skidded to halt.
"Can't go that way" panted Daze. "They've got a Chariot."
The sight was incredible. An armoured assault vehicle was storming across a busy shopping street at maximum speed – the roar of its engine all but drowned out the screams of the panicked pedestrians as they scrambled out of its path. Bly knew he and his companions had only seconds to escape. A narrow side-street beckoned invitingly. "We have to go that way" Bly said, indicating the street. "The Chariot can't follow us down there."
They had ran only halfway down the street when Daze spotted a new problem. "Swoop bikes." He pointed at the sky. Police droids were shadowing them in the air, their fast and agile bikes easily keeping pace with their quarry.
"Halt!" a police droid called. "You are under arrest." Its metallic voice echoed menacingly in the confined space of the side-street. The sound of heavy footfalls was getting ever louder. The shock troopers had nearly caught up with them. Just as their situation was looking hopeless, a door on Bly's left opened.
"In here! Quick!" hissed a figure urgently.
Aayla glanced at Bly. Then, with a slight shrug of the shoulders that Bly took to mean this can't get any worse anyway, she followed the figure. Bly and Daze slipped inside after her and the door instantly slammed shut. The figured turned on a headlamp to counter the total blackness that was pressing in on them from all sides. Bly could see that they were in a tunnel. It was empty, but damp. Puddles of water covered the floor and every so often another droplet would fall into one, creating a sound that filled the entire space.
"Wait" Bly growled. "I want to know to know who you are and where you're taking us? How can we trust you?"
"The figure turned to face him." Its head was hooded, it's face hidden by a mask and a voice scrambler.
"I'm no one" the figure replied." No one important anyway. I can't tell you who you're dealing with, I can't tell you where you're going and I can give you no reason to trust me. But I can tell you this. If you don't want to trust me, you're more than welcome to take your chances with the Guard." The figure pointed. "You know where the door is." A grim silence followed this pronouncement.
…
It was early evening on Imperial Center and the dying light of sunset made for a most pleasant view. With the destruction of the Empire's enemies on schedule and the fact that he just happened to be in the most beautiful building in the entire galaxy – the Imperial Palace - Armand Isard had every reason to be feeling cheerful. In fact, if it wasn't for the black cape, breath mask and stentorian breathing that happened to be accompanying him, cheerful was exactly what he would be feeling. But the mere presence of Darth Vader was more than sufficient to destroy any positive thoughts that he might once have had. Isard counted himself lucky though. Darth Vader was capable of destroying more than just positive thoughts...
"So" rumbled Vader. "You have something to report to the Emperor I trust."
"I do, Lord Vader" Isard replied confidently. "The operation is proceeding exactly as planned. And on schedule too."
Some may have questioned Isard's manner – perhaps urging him to observe more caution when dealing with the dark lord. But Isard knew better. Lord Vader was not one for subtleties and trying to tiptoe around him just made him angry. And when Lord Vader was angry... If the stories were true, and Isard had no doubt that they were, Lord Vader had already made quite an impression in his short time at the helm of the Imperial fleet. Isard put those unpleasant thoughts to one side in his mind. Vader was speaking again.
"I have no doubt that it is" he replied. Isard almost stopped walking in surprise. "The Emperor expects nothing less" Vader added. Isard fought to stop a smile creeping on to his face. Did Vader play these games with all his subordinates?
They arrived at a door flanked by two Imperial Guards, unmoving in their blood red cloaks. The door sprang aside at once for Vader, though Isard doubted it would have for anyone else, and there the Emperor was – seated at his desk. The room was cavernous, yet almost empty – with a high ceiling and walls painted a similar shade of red to the cloaks of the Imperial Guards. The oversized room contrasted strangely with the Emperor's tiny throne - a small mechanical swivel chair that allowed the Emperor to alternate between his desk and the panoramic view of his throneworld behind him.
"Ah, Director Isard" the Emperor said, injecting a tone of slight surprise into his voice – almost as if to suggest that he hadn't been expecting him. "Tell me about the progress of your mission."
"Your majesty. The procedure to turn the clone sergeant into an informant appears to have been successful. The technique is still experimental for reasons with which you'll be familiar. Much of what we have done was, until very recently, banned. But it has been successful nonetheless. The clone is unaware of what has happened to him, unaware of what he is even doing. Even a Jedi should not be able to sense his duplicity. He is, in effect, the Empire's first sleeper agent."
The Emperor grinned. "Very good Director, very good. He has made contact with the Jedi in question?"
"He has your majesty. In fact, they have just arrived here your majesty. On Imperial Center. All three of them. We've been tracking them ever since they landed. Imperial forces have facilitated a meeting between them and the groups we discussed earlier. The ones that are part of my other operation."
The Emperor showed no sign of surprise at this. "Yes Director. And has our agent revealed anything useful so far?"
"One thing your majesty" Isard replied. "The clone claims they are here looking for Anakin Skywalker. The Jedi Secura in particular believes he that he has powers that can defeat the Empire somehow." Isard fell silent, uncomfortable with what he had just said. Did the Emperor want to entertain the possibility that his Empire could fall?
If possible, the Emperor smiled even more widely. It was a chilling sight. The Emperor turned to Vader. "Well Lord Vader? Is Jedi Skywalker still alive? Is he still with us?"
For a few moments the only sound in the room was the hiss of Vaders breath mask. Isard wondered what was going on inside that helmet. At last Vader replied. "Skywalker is dead, my master."
"Goooodddd" replied the Emperor, drawing out the word long enough to make his listeners uncomfortable. "I'm sure we can still use this situation to our advantage, can't we Lord Vader?"
"Yes, my master."
What was that all about, Isard wondered. Some sort of knowing remark? An in-joke? A rebuke, perhaps?
"Very well" said the Emperor. "I am pleased with your progress so far Director. Most pleased. You will keep me informed of further developments?"
"Of course, your majesty" replied Isard. As if he had had a choice.
"You may leave us then Director." Isard bowed and then left the room, leaving the Emperor in the company of his most diabolical creation. So far.
–
Notes: Three months to the day since I started this project! I can hardly believe I've kept this running that long. I hope you like this chapter. I'm rather pleased with it. I put some extra time into the editing and I think its consequently made it the best written chapter of the lot. But that's for you guys to decide ;) Thanks for following the story so far all of you. I'll update soon.
- Edit: A few more of the usual fixes to improve the flow etc. Oh and I've changed the second genre to romance as I have decided romance will definitely feature in the story. Nothing graphic. I have no interest in writing anything like that. Just companionship between two people thrown together by circumstances.
- Edit 2: Minor tweak to throne room paragraph.
