Chapter 29
"Snoke eh? That is your new name now?", Marka Ragnos said giving the alien a questionable look, "I see you have survived after all these years my old apprentice", Ragnos suddenly said in disgust. Snoke gave out a cold chuckle, "I have surpassed the sith long ago, I watched the one to truly rival me perish in the hands of his own apprentice", Snoke said as he slowly walked around the sith lord. "Tell me, Ragnos, why are you here. You aren't here to kill me, and my goals are beyond your understanding, I have Skywalker where I want him. I manipulated the supreme chancellor into giving out an arrest warrant for my jedi friend, and now, he lays in a jail cell", Snoke let out a small laugh as he leans closer to the group. "Why are you here?".
Ragnos stared directly at Snoke. Despite his physical advantage, he would be in no match for his old apprentice. The sith will live in the next generation, and stronger than ever. "I want Skywalker", Ragnos said with authority in his voice. "Oh", Snoke replied amusingly, "I believe I cannot allow that. You see, I want Skywalker as my own, to become my apprentice. When I saw him, I saw what all masters lived to see. Raw, untamed power. He may claim to be a jedi, but I sense the darkside luring in him. I waited, watched in the background for years as he grew in strength. I watched as he helped the Chosen One end the sith. And now he believes he can restore the jedi for what they once were, peace keepers", Snoke suddenly raised his hand extending it towards Mara and Zyon.
Mara and Zyon were both slammed into the wall, they tried to move, but they were pinned down by the invisible grasp of the force. "Its just you and me now Ragnos. And you can't defeat me, I sensed your resurrection and I know you are not the same being that trained me as a child. No, you are but a mere fraction of your past self. Tell me, my old master, why should I let you take Skywalker. You already have a handful with these two, an assassin and a dark jedi", Snoke snarled at his old Master. Ragnos chuckled at Snoke's attempt to scare him, he himself grabbed the alien by the neck, lifting him up from the ground. "You think you scare me 'Snoke'?", Ragnos asked amusingly, "I will get Skywalker. Not take him as my apprentice, but to be the host for my spirit. With his powers and my will, I'll become unstoppable. Not even you could defeat me".
Snoke snickered again as he let go of Mara and Zyon. The two fell to the ground with a great thud as they both yelped in surprise. "I have seen many generations of sith, each getting stronger. But I remain in the shadow to learn from them and their feeble mistakes. Darth Sidious and Darth Vader were the last of their kind. The modern sith have perished, but the sith will rise again, despite being destroyed", Snoke said as he lowered his voice in a whisper, "Unfortunately for you, my old master, you won't be around to see it. Not even as a spirit". Ragnos tossed Snoke into the wall in anger, creating a large dent to the metal wall. But Snoke just laughed it off as if it was nothing. "You may try to take Skywalker, but you will fail. You will be struck down by his blade, I have foreseen it", Snoke said mockingly.
Ragnos turned to leave the room, before he left he stared at the alien one last time. "How about you hide in your little hell hole and wait for your turn. You are an expert in shying away from things. Just like the weak", Ragnos replied with the same mockingly tone. The three walked away from the building, still hearing the echoes of laughter coming from Snoke. "Ren, prepare the ship. Assassin you go and check on Ren's knights. Come back once they have placed a tracker on Skywalker", Ragnos ordered. "Yes, master", Mara said hesitantly as she walked towards a shuttle heading to the capital. "Skywalker will be mine", Ragnos said as he watched Mara walk away, "Anyone who will try to stop me, will die".
Coruscant- Refurbished Senatorial building
Smash! Sabine Wren's fist hit the table hard enough to leave a dent. She was locked in a cell room, dull and gray. She was strapped to a chair, with handcuffs attached to a large metal table. "This is ridiculous Hera", Sabine said in a dark tone towards the Twi'lek general, "Why should I get arrested for helping him?", she asked in a tone of annoyance. "Sabine, you and Ahsoka were supposed to catch him, and come directly back", Hera stated, "Instead you went on a wild goose chase on business you won't say". Sabine rolled her eyes at Hera's comment, only to be smacked on the head. "Don't you roll your eyes at me, young lady", Hera ordered. Hera then turned to Ahsoka who was also chained next to Sabine. "Ahsoka, why did you disobey direct orders. Whose idea was this?", Hera asked the Togruta. "It was my decision, Sabine had nothing to do with it", Ahsoka declared. Sabine was about to interrupt, but Ahsoka raised her hand to silence her.
"You're hiding something, aren't you", Hera said accusingly. "We're not hiding anything", Ahsoka and Sabine said in unison. Hera groaned at the obvious sign of them lying but decided to ignore it. She was as just as uncomfortable as they were. "At least tell me why you were on Mandalore?", Hera tried reasoning with them. "We were there to find the location of a planet where Ezra might be on", Sabine grunted out. Hera looked at the young Mandalorian for a moment to study her body movement, and she noticed that she was telling the truth. "Tell me where this planet is Sabine. We can send in a search group there while we manage things here", Hera ordered. Sabine shook her head in a firm no, "You'll have to torture me to get it", Sabine said in dismay.
"Sabine Wren, we are not the Empire here. We're trying to help you", Hera argued. "With this?", Sabine barked back. She lifted her arms to show the Twi'lek the handcuffs on her and on Ahsoka to prove her point. "Luke Skywalker helped us find clues that would've took us a decade to find", Ahsoka pointed out, "He is a war hero to the rebellion. Why are you treating him as a criminal?", she asked the green Twi'lek. "A war hero, in a time of peace", Hera corrected her, "And we aren't treating him or the both of you as criminals". Ahsoka couldn't help but smack her lips at the Twi'lek. Not as criminals? Then why the hell arrest us for 'treason'?, Ahsoka mentally argued. "Come on Hera, we need to be there for Luke. So he can help us find Ezra, and so that he can start his jedi order", Sabine spoke up, "Jacen is going to need a teacher ". Hera growled at the mention of her half breed son, "Jacen doesn't have the force".
"Yes he does", Sabine argued back, "I saw him lifting those building blocks I gave him on his Life day. And he needs someone who can teach him how to handle his power. Whether it be Luke, Ahsoka, or Ezra once we find him". Hera took all of this in, she knew Jacen would soon start having the same abilities as his father before him. But right now, she had a job to do. Hera was about to speak again when a officer came in. "General Syndulla, they're requesting your presence on the council immediately", said the officer. Hera nodded to the officer and turned her attention back to Sabine and Ahsoka. "We'll discuss this later", she said before following the officer.
Ahsoka and Sabine stayed silent as Hera left. Once she left, Ahsoka spoke up. "What planet did you find in that statue?", Ahsoka asked the young Mandalorian. "A place called Rakata Prime, deep in the unknown regions. And most likely uninhabited", Sabine replied. "I hope we get out soon", Ahsoka said nonchalantly, "I just hope Luke has better luck".
