Yet another Inquisitor chapter! Now, this one isn't as intense as the others... however, there is a little something to make you all gasp at the end. Enjoy! ;)
Disclaimer: See these? *shakes legal documents* These show Rebels isn't mine!
"Your presence is not required on Kashyyyk, Inquisitor. I have my own business to attend to. Myrkr was far enough a diversion from your duties in the Outer Rim."
"Yes, Lord Vader. I understand." With a small technological beep, the hologram of Darth Vader's head disappeared. The Inquisitor raised his head from it's bow, glaring at the place where his master had previously been.
The Inquisitor understood, but he did not obey. This would be the end of Vader, and the beginning of a new rein in the galaxy. For once the Inquisitor took Vader's place, where else could he end up but in the Emperor's throne itself? That was the natural path of the Sith... to overcome one's master...
But the Inquisitor was not yet a Sith. In order to gain his name, he first had to over-throw his puppet-master. And now that the Bridger child was fully under his control... that dream was now going to be reality.
It was a pity, though, that the Inquisitor had had to reduce the child to nothing more than an obedient mass of flesh.
Granted, it was much easier to manipulate him without having to maneuver around his whimsey morals and feelings. But before, the child had been able to think for himself, which would have made him a much better fighter. But no matter. The Inquisitor could handle his tool being just slightly less useful than to not have it work at all.
He had shown signs of disobedience. No, not just signs... Bridger had actually refused an order from the Inquisitor. He would've normally just punished the child before moving on, but when the Inquisitor had moved in to investigate exactly what was causing the disturbance, he had been met with a memory. Of the Jedi.
The Inquisitor knew that the child believed with all of his heart that his family was dead. And he knew that the boy would do whatever it took to gain the power necessary to take revenge on the Inquisitor. He was perfectly fine with that.
However, if Bridger had been held back from gaining power by the few words of a rouge Jedi he believed dead... then that would lead to doubts about his power source, which would ultimately result in the child openly rebelling against him. And that would only lead to the boy's destruction.
However, this just made it that much easier as well. Years from now, when the Inquisitor overthrew the Emperor himself, he would not have an apprentice constantly seeking to dethrone him, instead he would have a completely obedient servant. Yes, perhaps this was all for the greater good.
The process itself was a simple one. Before, when the boy had first given in, the Inquisitor had merely tainted him with darkness, taking away any hesitancy to unleash his full power. Three single standard days ago, he had completely isolated the boy's self control center from the rest of his mind, leaving him just an empty shell, ready to take directions from his master.
Right now, the child was alone in his cell. He hadn't still fully recuperated, and the Inquisitor could see that a couple of I-84-B's cuts and gashes were infected. No matter. They were on their way to Kashyyyk even now, and a trip to the medical facilities onboard the Imminent Pursuit would only leave bulky bandages and gauzed areas. Even bacta, which they had plenty of, would take too long to operate efficiently, leaving the boy with limited and awkward mobility.
Of course, the Inquisitor wasn't planning on having the boy go into a direct confrontation with his master. That would just result in the immediate dispatchment of his so recently acquired tool. Instead, the Inquisitor himself would engage in lightsaber combat with Vader, while Bridger used his excellent connection to the Force to distract and engage Vader with mental fighting. With both of them using their best skill to the extreme, they would emerge triumphant, and the galaxy would only profit from it.
The final battle would be coming soon. In perhaps a few hours, the goal which the Inquisitor had been working towards for the better part of a year would finally be realized.
Vader would be overthrown. The Inquisitor would take his place. He would become a true Sith, apprenticed to the supreme ruler of the Galaxy. And then... just like all Sith, he would run the natural course and succeed the Emperor, becoming the most feared being known to the Empire.
The best thing was, the Inquisitor wasn't doing it for power. That didn't hold a place in his heart. What allured him was the Dark. The side of the Force that the Jedi feared. Vader had told him, had drilled it into him, that as he was to rule the Force, so would the Force rule him. Like a moth attracted to a flame, he was drawn to the Force. And more power meant more connection to it.
And so everything would fall into it's proper place.
"Sir, we'll be arriving at Kashyyyk in less than two hours." His commander crackled in through the comm, dutifully alerting the Inquisitor of their position.
The Inquisitor took a deep breath before answering: "Very good. Inform me once we are at the one hour mark, commander. That is all."
"Yes, sir."
When the resounding 'click' from the comm told the Inquisitor that the officer had terminated the call, he pressed a button on his terminal, which activated his own communications channel into the Bridger boy's cell.
"Go to hanger bay seven. We have one final practice session before we commence our mission on Kashyyyk."
There was no response, but that was only to be expected. After all, the Inquisitor hadn't told him to. After separating Bridger's free will from his consciousness, he had been left nothing more than a completely empty shell of a person. The only thing that was allowing him to move and fight was the Inquisitor's will: which did not require the boy to reply to his statements. Only execute them.
The best thing was, the Inquisitor didn't even have to verbally command the child, though it had a greater effectiveness. Since almost the entirety of Bridger's mind was controlled by the Pau'an, it was finely tuned to his own Force signature. If the Inquisitor required it, the child would be aware of it, and it was done. This would come in handy while fighting Vader, as the Inquisitor had no doubt that he would be pre-occupied while engaging in direct combat.
The Inquisitor left his room, knowing that when he returned, he would be victorious.
The child was already waiting in hanger-bay seven when the Inquisitor arrived, standing there with a blank look in his eyes. He was not allowed free reign in the ship, as he was constantly escorted by a pair of stormtroopers, but they were hardly necessary now. The boy would not do anything unless his master wished it.
"Your presence is not required inside, soldiers." At once, the two storm-troopers on either side of Bridger gave a salute, and backed off to remain at the hanger-bay entrance.
This was the same hanger that the boy had taken his first life with the Force. It had been reserved for the Inquisitor's purpose, so there was no other life-form in it: except for them. They walked into the center of the room, hanger doors closing shut behind them. There was a multitude of boxes piled in the center, completely empty, as he had requested.
"Scatter the boxes." No sooner had the command left the Inquisitor's mouth then the random assortment of crates piled in the middle of the deck flew outwards in all directions, thudding against the walls and ceiling of the bay.
"Drop all but one." A single box was left floating in the air, hovering slightly as though waiting for his next command. It seemed, that without any doubts or fears or emotions, the child's connection to the Force had grown all the stronger. Well, without any distractions, how could it not? Right now, the only thoughts Bridger had swirling through his head were what the Inquisitor let through, or his own commands to the child.
However, he knew perfectly well that the voice commands would work. What he needed to do was test the limits of his will that had been imposed on and in Bridgers' mind. Without saying anything, the Inquisitor thought about the single solitary crate moving towards him.
It was not as instantaneous as when he had actually ordered the child to do it, but within a few seconds the crate began floating towards the Pau'an. It stopped just inches away from him.
Deciding to take his tests one step further, the Inquisitor willed the box to be moved to the left, simultaneously saying: "Move the crate to the right." There was once again a moment of hesitation before the crate moved to the left.
It seems that he responds to what I will to be done with him, but responds faster to direct orders... I should work on his reaction time so that I shan't be yelling out commands when locked in lightsaber combat. That would give away too much of my strategy.
The Inquisitor once more willed the entire mass of the crates upward, and they responded sluggishly. He spared a glance at the child.
Bridger was staring at the Pau'an; bright blue eyes, though clouded over, meeting yellow. It was not a challenge, more like an empty gaze, waiting for the next command to occupy the vessel those eyes resided in.
Maybe he should give him back some of his free will...
No. Bridger would be immediately suspicious and on the offense as to why the Inquisitor had taken complete control over his mind, which would almost completely undermine everything that had worked towards so far. That would not do.
Still, though. It was a shame that his once calculating demeanor had fallen down into this empty container, unable to think for itself. It cut his effectiveness down in half if he had to be told exactly how to do everything.
Did he?
In a single experimental phrase, the Inquisitor tried to test out the exact limits of what the boy could now do on his own.
"Terminate that Ysalimir." And he pointed a single long finger towards the solitary creature attached to the left wall of the hangar bay. Since they had been positioned on the outer layers of the Imminent Pursuit- to completely ensure that the entire vessel was covered in a shield of a Force resistant shield- the animals were visible in some places. After all, they could not live attached to the outer hull in the vacuum of space.
But because of the protective Force-bubble they surrounded themselves with, any crate that the child would try to fling at the furry rodent would fall short, unable to be manipulated by the Force any longer. So how would the Bridger actually take out the creature?
As expected, one of the crates flew towards the Ysalimir he had pointed towards, only to stop dead and fall to the floor before actually coming into contact with the beast. The Inquisitor studied Bridger intently, watching how he would react, and how he would proceed.
What he did would have made the Inquisitor chuckle, if he had not been above such things.
Within a second, a single bland crate had flown above the Ysalimir, up beyond the range of the creature's natural protective shield, when the boy dropped it. He let the artificial gravity aboard the Imminent Pursuit deliver the block of metal to his target, effectively using his resources. With a small discharge of electricity, the Ysalimir and it's protective case of nutrients wrapped around it fell to the ground. The Inquisitor saw the creature stir slightly, but it did not move. Being a race of creature that lived by extracting nutrients out of trees, they were not required to move around to survive. It just wasn't necessary for their survival.
And then, Bridger effectively threw another crate at the Ysalimir from behind it. He was not able to directly manipulate the box's movements while it was within the invisible bubble of Force resistance, but with enough momentum, the crate was able to push the furry lizard across the smooth floor of the hangar-bay and towards the pair of humanoids.
The Inquisitor only had a single moment before the Ysalimir was brought into range of his apprentice to realize that this particular exercise might possibly have been a mistake.
As soon as momentum had brought the furry creature within range of the child, the Inquisitor's connection to him was cut off. While the prevention of allowing the child's self-control facilities to operate did not actively take attention to accomplish, the Inquisitor still needed to be connected with the child through the Force for his 'modifications' to his mind to be effective. Thus, as soon as the protective 'bubble' of Force-repellant energy enveloped Bridger, the Inquisitor was no longer in control.
Surrounded by the shield from the Force provided to him by the Ysalimir, Ezra had accidentally escaped the Inquisitor's influence.
Master has given Ezra an Ysalimir... Ezra is free!
Unfortunately for you, Dobby/Ezra, you're still alone with the Inquisitor. And only I know what happens next! Excited for it? I hope so, 'cause it took FOREVER to write it to the point where I liked it.
Thanks for all the support and reviews!