Chapter 11
Palace Command relayed news of the departure of Pault's shuttle, with three life forms aboard, to Essag as he was issuing his final pre-battle orders to the Royal Guard. He noted Tyr Jolen shifting in his seat at the news, but Essag, though he respected Jolen's instincts, chose to ignore it. Maybe Pault did have some nefarious plan underway, but it was likely too minor to pursue.
"Let him go," Essag replied to Palace Command. "An old man long past his utility is of no further concern."
"Yes, Emperor," Command commed off.
Essag could sense the Guardsmen becoming antsy for battle. They trained regularly for bloodthirsty hand-to-hand combat in protection of the Emperor, but rarely had the opportunity to put that training into practice. No one in the galaxy had better training, and likely even Skywalker didn't know that the Tolumbian scythes carried by the Guardsmen were made of Ieoton, a compound so strong that even a lightsaber could not easily destroy it.
He'd given the Guard most of their orders: no matter what else happened during the battle, their job was to kill the Rebels accompanying Skywalker and Organa, but assure that the twins made it safely to the throne room. Once they secured their prize, the Guard would prepare Essag's command ship, the Eternal, man their own Quad Ion Engine fighters, and depart the planet. Only one order remained to be given.
"I have sent Moff Zakine his orders through an encrypted sublight comm which he will receive when the fleet comes out of hyperspace. I inform you of those orders as well, as they underscore the need to depart Coruscant with all due haste once Skywalker and Organa are secured." Essag paused to guarantee he had the full attention of everyone in the room. "I have instructed Moff Zakine to implement Order Three upon my command."
This time Tyr Roga startled. The young Guardsman did not expect to hear that order given in his lifetime. While he would follow the Emperor without question, he wondered what necessitated such a drastic step.
"Once the implementation order has been given, we will depart for Moraband immediately," Essag finished.
Another comm alert sounded.
"Sir," a shaken voice sounded over the comm. "We have a prisoner escape from Detention Level Six."
"Gital," Jolen said, looking at the Emperor. "Only Klim Gital was being held on Level Six."
Essag frowned. Three life forms on Pault's shuttle; Gital broken out of detention. Perhaps this warranted a closer look.
"Jolen, come with me. The rest of you, report to your stations."
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"We're nearing our coordinates, Moff Zakine," Admiral Samsa reported as Zakine joined him at the bridge's forward viewport.
Zakine, deep in thought, barely nodded. He had spent much of his time during the long hyperspace journey in his quarters considering his orders and whether he'd fully obey them. He was strongly leaning toward the negative. He did not think it wise or necessary to enter this fray with his full complement of Star Destroyers. Half of his fleet would be more than enough to demolish any Rebellion attack. He needed the Executor-class dreadnaughts; their turbolasers had recently been supplemented with weaponry utilizing Death Star technology, and while he didn't quite understand that technology and its use of Khyber crystals, he was curious to test it out on the larger Rebellion ships. But he didn't need to spend six cycles repairing the annoying battle damage that X-Wings crashing against the hulls of his huge armada of Star Destroyers would inevitably cause.
"Samsa," Zakine said. "When we arrive at our coordinates, instruct the fourth command to redeploy to the Tromian rendezvous point."
"Sir?"
"You heard my order, Admiral Samsa."
"Yes, sir." Samsa hurried away to implement the command.
Zakine considered what he had just done. Disobeying a direct command of the Emperor came under the heading of high treason. This Emperor, however, was young and inexperienced, and no doubt eager – too eager – to use the Rebellion attack to display this military might to any star systems daring to use Palpatine's death as an excuse to step out of line. But the truth as Zakine saw it was that the new Emperor did not control the military might of the Empire. He, Moff Nev Zakine, did. And he wanted a good portion of his fleet to be hidden somewhere only he could find them.
Just in case the Emperor was unworthy of the loyalty of Nev Zakine and the Outer Rim Fleet.
Just in case.
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Essag stepped over the prone Stormtroopers littering the Level Six command center. He sensed more than one clinging to life, but they had failed and were thus unworthy of further aid. He strode over to an injured but conscious officer being treated by a medic.
"Report, Commander," Essag demanded.
Commander Lass squinted, trying to recall through his pain and his fear at being face-to-face with the Emperor exactly what had occurred. He relayed, to the best of his recollection, that two Vamati Maga warriors had burst into the command center, quickly and silently killing the troopers with typical Maga tactics. Before they turned their weapons on Lass, he had seen an aged man, robed and wearing the traditional scarf indicating Vamati noble rank, entering the command center behind them. That was all he remembered before he lost consciousness due to his injuries. When he came too, the command center was empty, save for his dead and dying men, and the prisoner in cell 631 had escaped.
"Klim Gital and Cadaro Pault," Essag murmured to Jolem as they entered cell 631. "Two men with no obvious connection other than reason to turn on me."
Jolen considered his words carefully. Although he had once been among Essag's mentors, the Sith had a long history of killing those mentors when their usefulness ceased.
"My Lord Emperor," he said, bowing slightly. "I raise this question only for your consideration and not from impertinence. I have heard rumors…rumors of plots that were to be implemented upon the death of Palpatine, no matter who succeeded him as Emperor…perhaps, sir, there are more mutinous Imperial officers than we have acknowledged?"
Essag nodded. "Yes, Jolen. I am aware that the scope of the mutiny is larger than I have disclosed to anyone but you. That is why there will soon be no Imperial officers, only an Emperor and his Royal Guard. Order Tyr Roga to track Pault's shuttle. And Jolen – when we depart this planet, I want you to separate from us and dock with the Punisher. After Zakine has carried out Order Three, you are to kill him and assume your new position as commander of the Outer Rim Fleet."
His orders finished, Essag quickly walked away, not even pausing as he casually stretched out one arm and ended the life of the failed Commander Lass.