21 GrS
On the Tantive IV

"You know how dangerous it is for the four of us to be together like this. Does this have to do with Choi's disappearance?" Obi-Wan asked as he sat at the conference room table with Bail Organa, Yoda, and Kento Marek. The elderly blue Jedi Master had disappeared some months ago, supposedly on a secret mission from Yoda himself.

"Yes, it is." Bail responded, looking at Yoda for a sign of assent. Receiving a slight nod, he continued.

"A few months ago, Yoda came to me asking for access to a small contingent of Alliance soldiers. I granted this wish, and Choi traveled to one of our remote bases on one of the moons of Yaavin." Bail explained.

"Why did you need these soldiers? Why didn't you consult the Council?" Kento asked quickly. Though he had become a great aid to the New Jedi Order, he was at times demanding of the others, especially Yoda. Perhaps it could be a grudge from Yoda expelling him from the order pre-Purge because he had decided to start a family. Still, it actually was helpful to have someone like him to keep the elder Jedi accountable, and in this case Obi-Wan wholeheartedly agreed with his confusion.

Yoda looked away, a dark look in his eyes.

"Tell you, I cannot. Great evil, I tried to hide." Yoda replied cryptically. Obi-Wan sighed in frustration – Yoda had never done this type of thing before. Or if he had, he succeeded in hiding it because Obi-Wan had never seen the old man hold back knowledge.

"This must be something very powerful." Obi-Wan waited a beat. "I trust you, Master Yoda. I hope you know that. I cannot make you tell us, but I promise that we are trust-worthy. All of us." He looked at Kento and Bail.

There was a silence, and it became clear that Yoda was not giving up the information. Kento grunted in frustration, barely avoiding slamming his fist on the table. He forced himself to calm down, the force flowing through him and giving him peace in the lack of knowledge. It was control like this that made him one of the better Masters of the New Order, despite his disagreements with the others.

"I trust you have more to tell us. Where is Choi?" Obi-Wan asked, trying to get to the point. Bail shook his head, clicking a button on the table in front of him. A gigantic blue hologram sprung to life, showing them the scene of an Alliance command center. Specifically, the one on Yaavin, where Obi-Wan instantly recognized the peaceful form of Tsui Choi meditating while the various officers bustled about around him. They seemed worried about something.

"You're not going to like this." Bail managed as suddenly the picture exploded with action. A large contingent of clone soldiers came through, blowing up the door and bursting through the command center, swiftly killing each and every person in there. It took mere seconds as the efficient killing machine that was the 501st did what they did best.

At the end of it all a large portion of the area had been damaged by blaster fire, and most of the staff had either been killed or, in the case of a few, captured. Yet despite it all, Tsui Choi remained firmly in place, floating in the center of the room in deep meditation. He had always been one of the most peaceful and level-headed Jedi of the Council in these five years.

The next part caused Obi-Wan to gasp in absolute shock and horror. As the door smoked and the clones took up their positions everywhere, one Anakin Skywalker walked into the room, followed by more soldiers. Though his face was unobscured, he was clad in menacing black armor with a cape billowing behind him. He had a powerful presence in the room around him.

"I cannot believe it." Obi-Wan croaked out. The man he thought he had killed all those years ago was alive.

"As if our problems weren't bad enough." Kento snarked. They watched in horror as Anakin spoke to Choi for a short time, before apparently deciding it wasn't worth the trouble. The elder Jedi Master seemed to be lifted off his feet by some force presence, his hands about his neck like he were being choked. Eventually Vader dropped the dead Master so that his neck was caught on a hanging fire.

Obi-Wan stood up, the distress welling up inside of him.

"Wait!" Yoda commanded, and Obi-Wan stopped, unable to avert his eyes from the horror before him. They all watched as Anakin picked Choi's body, pulling a pyramidal thing from the man's cloak. Obi-Wan instantly recognized it as one of the many things he had seen in that compartment on Jerec's ship that fateful day many years ago.

"A Sith Holocron, it is. Very powerful." Yoda explained. Of course he still would not reveal what was on the thing.

"I thought you killed Vader on Korriban." Bail said, looking at Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master turned, looking out the window deep in thought.

"I thought so, too." He replied. It was quiet for a few moments, and Kento continued to watch the feed until it cut out.

"I've only got one question – Does Jerec know?" Kento asked.

Coruscant, in the Imperial Palace

"I suspected that runt might still have lived." Jerec explained as Empress Ha'Nook paced about the room angrily.

"I thought you said he was taken care of. We were this close to getting what you said would help us eliminate the Alliance for good. Now this bastard has gone and complicated everything!" Ha'Nook raged, her elegant gown flashing brilliantly from the lights in the window.

"I do not know how he survived. What I do know is that he now has the key to this whole thing." Jerec spoke in that same monotone that irritated Ha'Nook so much.

"You sure don't know a lot these days. Maybe you're getting old, Jerec!" Ha'Nook said. She had barely finished the sentence when her whole body froze up, and she found herself unable to move. Her eyes shifted in terror to where Jerec stood, a single finger raised to hold her like this.

"I would advise you to remember who is the real person in charge here. I could destroy you're rule just as easily as I built it up." Jerec threatened. There was a tense pause, and Jannie was released from her frozen state. She fell to the ground, her body in shock. She quickly composed herself, as any politician worth their salt would, and stood calmly again. Her stoic face turned to him.

"It looked like he had clone soldiers. But that's impossible, we destroyed all the facilities and any war remnants would have had to die out by now due to the rapid aging formula that Kaminoans gave them at birth. The youngest of his soldiers would be physically in their 70s by now." Ha'Nook asked. Jerec smiled that wicked smile, and it was clear he knew something she didn't. Oh how she hated that same smile – it was the smile of a blind man who had never seen a real smile in his life.

"There are ways to undo such things, I have found such things in my own travels to the Unknown Regions. That might explain where our little pest disappeared to these last few years." Jerec paused, and scoffed. "Only a fool would waste that much time on saving simple vessels."

Though he was talking about the clones, Ha'Nook knew he felt the same way about every non-Force sensitive person in the galaxy. Including herself. But such was the nature of their relationship – they both used each other to get what they wanted. And for the most part, being Empress was an exhilarating power rush, despite the threat that the Alliance posed to the Empire.

"He doesn't seem like the weakling you described him as. Did you see what he did to your student? He was chewing on someone's arm when my soldiers found him." She shuddered in horror.

"What happens to my students is none of your concern, Empress." Jerec said, though she could tell he was enraged about the entire affair.

"But what happens to my Empire is. You're my Grand Advisor, so advise me. What happens now?" She asked. His force powers had come in handy many times, and his fledgling Imperial Knights had been even more handy in crushing the rebels wherever they sprang up.

"I will find more knowledge, and then I will crush that pretender." Jerec threatened.