Chapter 18 Final measures

Julienne sat and mediated and tried to pretend that the waiting did not irritate her or that she was not concerned about the upcoming meeting. Arranging for both Darth Nocturne and Dao Stryver to meet had not been easy. She had assured each of them in turn of the others' commitment to the cause, but neither looked happy about meeting in an obscure location with questionable security. She knew it would have to do.

Stryver arrivedd first and declined to board her ship when she indicated that Nocturne had not yet arrived. Thirty tense minutes of waiting passed before the Sith appeared in a small interceptor and moved to dock with Julienne's ship. The Mando came as well and soon they were facing each other in a small room she had set up to handle the planning session.

Stryver declined to remove her helmet and Nocturne's hand never strayed too far from his lightsaber. It was not an auspicious beginning to a partnership, but Julienne pushed ahead.

"Lord Nocturne, have you any further information about any future planned meetings for the Dark Council?" she began.

"The Council does have scheduled meetings, but the problem is, the Emperor does not always attend," said Nocturne. "There is going to be an element of chance involved in our raid."

"Are there no occasions where we can be sure the Emperor will attend?" asked Julienne.

"Not with 100 percent surety, but Security meetings seem to be the most promising," said Nocturne. "That means in 10 days or 22 depending on how soon we want to make the attempt."

Julienne had been trying to get a closer sense for the timing, but she had not found anything in her memories to suggest a date. Nocturne was clearly looking at her and hoping she had something to go on. "I don't know which it should be," she said. "From a planning standpoint, can we be ready to go by the earlier date?"

Nocturne nodded. "I have slowly taken a number of craft offline over the past months. They are older models that were close to the end of their service life and won't be missed."

"We are attacking the Emperor in old junk?" said Stryver.

Nocturne did not appear to like the idea of the Mando joining the effort, but he replied calmly nonetheless. "The actual dropship was taken out first and has been heavily modified for our purposes. Extra armor has been added and it has been structurally reinforced to withstand the impact with the temple walls. I'll be riding in it myself, Stryver, so I don't fancy being crushed before we have a chance to do what is needed. "

Stryver seemed to accept this and lapsed into silence.

"I think that your idea to assault the front doors yourself and take in a team to shut down the shield and control the security post has merit," said Nocturne. "You will knock on the front door and then when the shields are shut off, we will break it down. That will also allow us to engage the security forces directly outside the council chambers first. This whole thing is for naught if you and the Jedi were to somehow die before we penetrate into the Emperor's audience room."

Julienne nodded and Nocturne continued. "I will provide a team to join you in the initial assault. I think some sort of diversion by you will suffice that allows my men to set up a cannon to take out the anti-air batteries on the front of the citadel. Then you go in and seize the control room and have them seal themselves in."

"Who will fly the dropship?" asked Stryver.

"My best pilot," said Nocturne. "He will be practicing in the modified ship so that there won't be any surprises. I would like you to provide escort as we enter the atmosphere and approach the citadel. The dropship does not have shields."

"Will it make a big enough hole for me to follow inside?" asked Stryver.

"If you are talking about the ship in which you arrived, no," said Nocturne.

Stryver nodded but who could say if he looked happy about it. The helmet hid everything.

Stryver and Nocturne began to argue details and timelines and Julienne left them to it. While the raid would not succeed without the initial attack, this part of the plan did not really worry Monikas. Shemric's part and willingness to attempt the assassination was what mattered. These others had left that in her hands but it was the part of the operation where risk could not be mitigated; either Shemric would be able to take on the Emperor with her help, or he would not. It was a very big question mark and Julienne had been surprised the others had trusted her enough to commit themselves and their resources. She hoped that Shemric was training hard.

When the other two wound down, they began working on a timeline and the precise timing that would be needed to succeed. Neither of them even mentioned how absurd some of the risks would be.

In the end, they parted having committed to the raid so Julienne could only let out a relieved breath and then followed Nocturne to his clandestine training base where his men were assembled. She met them and spent eight days training with them until she was comfortable with her part and the soldiers in turn were confident she would be able to deliver. Stryver appeared with his Mandos and the final simulation went just as planned.

Nocturne had left and then returned to participate in the training as well towards the end. When it was time to part, he met her one last time.

"We have done everything that can be done," he said. "You need to collect your Jedi and as many others as will come. We will be at the agreed point and proceed." Julienne nodded and turned away but then stopped when the Sith Lord spoke again.

"Does your Jedi really have a chance of doing this, Monikas?" asked Nocturne.

She met his eyes. She needed to sell this or their little coalition was going to dissolve. "I truly do not know, Lord Nocturne. I will tell you this; my visions of our successful mission now number at least as many as the failures. In the beginning it was one chance in ten. Now I think we are even."

Nocturne nodded. His trust in her visions had always been the cornerstone of their relationship.

"Then I will see you at the rally point," he said. He gave an odd half bow to her. "May the Gods of our Sith forefathers lead us to good fortune." He turned and walked away and Julienne let out a breath. As he had said those words and confirmed his participation the visions had deluged her and she saw details of the raid that had not been apparent to her.

This is going to work, she told herself. Oh, Shemric, this really needs to work.

Oddly, her feelings of misgiving had dissipated. The fight she had dreaded for so long was here. There was nothing left to fear. She sat down at the controls of her ship and plotted the course to Tython. I am coming, Shem.

When she pulled back on the hyperdrive, the stars blurred and new visions came to her; something she needed to do on Tython before leaving. A shout of laughter burst out of her. Shemric was going to find this amusing.