Reige sighed and sat back in his office chair after the holographic transmission with Plagueis ended.
"You are not actually going to follow his orders, are you, sir?" Reige's Chiss sycophant Kthira'shi'ktarloo - Ashik being his core name - inquired from his seat in one of the office's rear corners.
The Head of State looked from the inactive transceiver to the Chiss. "As a matter of fact, I am, Ashik."
"What?!" Ashik asked.
"He's a Sith Lord," Reige elaborated with a terrified intensity in his tone. "At first, I thought he may have just been a poser, but then you saw what he just did to me. A few more seconds, and I could have passed out and died from lack of oxygen!"
"Well, even so, you cannot determine whether or not he really is immortal-"
"Actually, I can," Reige interrupted. "There were rumors that Plagueis used his immortality to wipe out the entire Jedi Order in one swift stroke in the battle of Coruscant that struck off this war. I dismissed those rumors as just that; rumors. But now, I think it's best if we do as Plagueis says and maintain this alliance."
"You don't think Plagueis is just taking advantage of these rumors and the fear he just inspired in you, sir?" Ashik asked.
"Let me put it this way," Reige intoned. "If he wasn't immortal, he wouldn't be on that throne right now. After all, the Hapans would've done everything in their power, bring all their weapons to bear against him, before they let a male alien even try to rule them, regardless of whether or not their Queen Mother is dead."
"Very well," Ashik conceded reluctantly. "So you'll only let this alliance run until the end of this war, right?"
Reige made a worried face. "I think it's safe if we make it past that. I have a bad feeling that Plagueis will destroy the entire government if I make any treacherous actions against him, whether during or after the war."
"The entire government, or just yourself, sir?" Ashik asked with a raised eyebrow.
The Head of State looked at his sycophant with consternation. "Is there really a difference, Ashik?" he retorted.
"No, Head of State Reige," Ashik answered with a slight mocking tone to his otherwise diplomatic facade. "There is not."
"Indeed, there isn't," Reige backed up, as if to verify the Chiss's words and remove that unmistakeable sarcasm from Ashik's tone. The human then looked away from the alien and to the sole viewport that looked out over Bastion's capital city, contemplating the future of his government.
.
Over the next two days, the civilian HoloNet was occupied by the news of Darth Plagueis's cementing of his reign over the Hapes Consortium. It was mainly him traveling to some of the Transitory Mists' sixty-three worlds to wipe out the Duchas who dared to resist his rule, immediately replacing them with fearful puppet leaders who would kowtow to his every whim.
By the end of those two days, Plagueis's campaign in firmly establishing his rule had ended. All it took was the cumulative deaths of five Duchas, all personally killed by him and him alone, which told everyone else that he was not to be trifled with on any level.
Allana couldn't help but agree with that sentiment as she read the datapad she got from one of the campers, sitting up just beside the women's airspeeder. Even with the confidence she felt that she could still somehow defeat Plagueis, her face fell into a frown as she began to wonder if there really was a way to see to the Sith Lord's downfall.
Stand firm, Allana, a voice not belonging to Anakin Skywalker said through the Force.
The self-exiled Queen Mother looked up and her jaw dropped in seeing who it was, unable to believe who it was when he heard his voice just then; her father, Jacen Solo, his form silhouetted as a spirit. His expression lacked any of the dark or evil that people like Allana came to associate with Darth Caedus in place of the man she never knew was her father beforehand; now he carried a worried expression, silently indicating that he did not want his daughter to give up.
Not when Plagueis was so close to being defeated.
That was all the assurance Allana got before her father faded back into the Force.
And even then, she still wasn't a hundred percent confident. Not even remotely close.
.
The New Rebellion forces hanging over Sacorria, led here by Commander Eldo Davip, were all startled on and on the verge of opening fire on the Chiss fleet that dropped out of hyperspace from the direction of the Unknown Regions. But Davip managed to corral his own fleet from spouting even one projectile from the alien vessels as soon as his own ship, the Harrier, received a comm transmission from one of the Ascendancy Star Destroyers.
The holographic transmission showing the blue-hued form of a surprisingly-human male was what came up on the Harrier's bridge. "Commander Davip," the man on the other end said, "I am General Soontir Fel of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force. I believe we are working against a mutual enemy in the Hapes Consortium and the Imperial Remnant. Would you like another ally to boot?"
Davip was hesitant in his reply. "Well... how do I know that your offer of alliance is genuine, General Fel?"
Fel couldn't help but smile, albeit with somewhat of an edge, as if he were hiding something, Davip could tell. "If you feel as if I'm untrustworthy, Commander, why don't you redirect me to General Wedge Antilles and/or Captain Mirax Horn to see if my fleet and I are, how you say, legit."
Davip swallowed nervously. "Very well..."
A few minutes later, Davip had established a four-way holographic transmission with himself, Fel, General Antilles, and Captain Horn. A few minutes after that, they all easily worked out their deal in the alliance - especially considering the friendliness that Antilles and Horn displayed to Fel - and it became official that the Ascendancy had now entered the New Rebellion's war against the Hapans and the Imperials.
"Oh, before we close it out completely," Fel said, "we have two other parties associated with the Ascendancy who may wish to know that you may accept them into the New Rebellion's alliance."
"Put 'em on then, Soontir," Horn said.
Fel nodded, and a few moments later, the visages of Jacen Solo and Jaden Korr made it into a six-way holographic frequency.
And in that instant, Horn and Antilles's moods soured.
"Hello, Master Korr," Horn said, her tone restrained. "Jacen Solo."
"I understand your obvious reluctance to have you join us, Captain Horn, Admiral Antilles," Korr acknowledged. "But you have to understand, the situation is a lot worse than it really appears."
"So it would seem," Antilles commented. "And if you're talking about Darth Plagueis's takeover of the Hapes Consortium, we already got that much."
"Then it's all the more imperative that you allow us to join you," Solo put in. "Both the Jedi and my team have a way to defeat Plagueis even with his immortality."
Horn and Antilles were silent for a moment before saying in unison, "We're listening."
After Solo and Korr finished explaining, Antilles said, "You're right. We should allow you to join us." His tone was still reluctant, but much less so now. "What do you think, Captain?"
"I agree, unfortunately," she said, sounding resigned. "Very well, you may both join us, Master Korr and Mister Solo."