Chapter Nine
The First Brother exited his quarters. He rounded a corner and the two stormtroopers coming his way moved to the side. A slight tilt of the Inquisitor's head told them to continue on their way. The First Brother strode over to the command bridge. The closest officer turned to him.
"You have an incoming transmission, First Brother." He said.
Another nod of the Inquisitor's helmeted head. He jabbed his finger at the large green button.
Immediately, Darth Vader's figure appeared.
"First Brother. I have another mission for you." Boomed the Sith.
"Go to Vauhana. There is a small outbreak of a rebellion. Nothing you can't handle."
"Yes my lord." Came the reply from behind the helmet.
The hologram died away as Vader ended their transmission. The Inquisitor turned and walked briskly towards the hangar. Upon arrival, two squads of Death Troopers turned to salute. The First Brother simply motioned to the troop transport. The Death Troopers marched on board as the Inquisitor clambered into his modified TIE Interceptor. Once inside, he flicked the ignition and navigation. The screens lit up, illuminating the First Brother. Once settled, the TIE roared out into space. The landing craft followed close behind.
On the surface of Vauhana, a fierce battle was raging. Imperial Stormtroopers were being forced back by a small group of rebels. The Imperial occupation of the planet was being overthrown. White armoured bodies littered the streets of the capital city and blaster fire left scorch marks all over the cities buildings. Vauhana was not Naboo in terms of grandeur, however it's citizens were very proud to call it their home. Many of them had joined the Rebellion to help fight the Empire. The fighting between the Vauhanans and the Empire had started since the very end of the Clone Wars and had not ceased once. Countless citizens had fled the city in search of refuge in the rural parts of the planet.
The First Brother guided his TIE Interceptor towards the nearest Imperial command post. He clambered out as the Lambda class landing craft touched down next to his fighter. The two squads of Death Troopers marched down the ramp and towards the commander. They barked scrambled orders at each other before running off into the battle.
"First Brother. We weren't expecting special forces." Said the commander.
"Well, here we are." Replied the Inquisitor, dryly.
"If you don't mind, I shall complete the job I was sent to do."
The black robed figure wandered towards the sounds of blaster fire. Multiple Rebel troops were firing on Imperial forces. TIEs and Rebel craft roared overhead. The First Brother reached to his belt and grabbed his lightsaber. A brilliant red blade flashed through the air as he activated his weapon.
Suddenly, a voice cried: "Open fire!"
All at once, blaster shots came hurtling in the Inquisitor's direction. He blocked them effortlessly, the blade spinning. With a burst of speed, the First Brother ran forward and struck out with his saber. He slashed and hacked at the rebel troops. They dropped like flies, no one was powerful enough to stop him.
"Fall back!"
The arrival of the First Brother had proven to be in the Empire's favour. The rebel forces were fleeing the battlefield. They headed towards the city centre, where another battle was raging. The Rebellion had been winning but the arrival of the First Brother and his Death Troopers had turned the tide of the conflict. The Rebel forces were hammered with assault after assault. Finally, after hundreds of casualties they withdrew and headed for their base. It was an old bunker from the Vauhanan civil war, used for protection from orbital strikes. It now contained the grimy, dejected rebel soldiers. The mast majority were simply sitting down, trying to regain what was left of their breath when suddenly a flash grenade rolled in. It went off with a collasal bang and sent a bright white light into the room. Blinded, the troops reached for their blasters only to be stopped by bolts of red striking them. The Death Troopers had marched into the bunker confidently and wiped them out with ease. The First Brother marched over to Captain Krull and grabbed his face with one hand. He held his lightsaber just in front of his neck.
"Tell me… where are the others?"
"Never" the captain managed to choke out.
The Inquisitor sliced the chair next to him.
"TELL ME NOW!" He roared into the rebel's face.
"Go to hell.."
Frustrated, the First Brother pushed his saber through the captain's neck, decapitating him.
The limp body of the once proud captain fell to the floor.
"Come." Instructed the First Brother. The Death Troopers followed obediently.
They strode out into the sunshine and towards their ships.
"Commander!" Shouted the Inquisitor. The stormtrooper hurried over.
"Our work here is done. Don't let the planet fall again."
The commander bowed.
"Of course First Brother. Thank you for your help." He said.
The Inquisitor waved him aside and climbed back into his TIE. He took off and headed back for the Star Destroyer.
Back on the Steadfast, the First Brother made his way to his quarters. Once inside he contacted Darth Vader to inform him of his progress.
"Well done First Brother. I knew I could count on you. I will notify you when a new assignment comes in."
"Thank you my lord." Replied the Inquisitor.
The transmission faded away and the First Brother sat down on his bed and removed his helmet. It came away in two parts and revealed the red haired hair of Cal Kestis. His cheeks were sunken and his eyes yellow. Cal set the helmet down on the table next to his bed and lay down. He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly as sleep took him.
Cal swam in the dark abyss of unconsciousness until a voice reached out to him.
"Cal. Come back to the light you must."
It was Yoda. The voice of Obi-Wan followed.
"Vader lies, as soon as he has had his use of you Cal, you will be tossed aside. Return to Bogano, we are all there. But return as an ally or we will be forced to strike you down."
"Oof!" Cried Cal. A heavy object had been chucked at his chest. It was his helmet. A red skinned Twi'lek stood in the doorway.
"Come on First Brother." She said in a mocking tone. Cal glared at the newly appointed Second Sister. After Trilla's death, the Grand Inquisitor had appointed Kasha as the Second Sister. Cal stood up and went to his workbench. His lightsaber lay there, along with a rebel comlink he had been trying to hack into. The Second Sister walked over to him and slipped her arms round his waist. Cal gently removed them and turned to face her.
"Kasha. I don't know how many times I have to say this-"
"I know." Replied the Twi'lek. "We're Inquisitors. It's not a good idea, all that. But.."
"No." Said Cal firmly. Kasha pressed her lips to his but Cal pushed her away.
"I'm sorry. But I can't."
Kasha looked at him with sad eyes before then turning to anger. She marched to the door, stopped, and turned.
"Trainings in half an hour. And if you don't mind me saying, I think we would've made quite the power couple."
Cal sat back down on his bed and sighed. He ran a hand through his hair nervously. He missed Merrin. She would've known what to say. Cal could not care less about the others. He was stronger with the Empire than he would've ever been with the Jedi. Cal snorted at his old life. However, the one thing he did miss was the Nightsister. He wondered if she would join him in the Imperial life. Perhaps they could then both stop running.
"Do you think he'll come?"
"Know, I do not."
The crew of the Mantis were sitting around the table, along with Yoda and Obi-Wan. The mood was grim. The two Jedi masters had sent out their message to Cal two days ago. The former Jedi had not responded but they had not lost faith.
"A powerful ally, the Force is." Said Yoda, "Bring Cal back to us, it will."
The First Brother walked down the corridor, power resonating from him. He was heading for the training center, with the sole intention of crushing some of his fellow Inquisitors. Suddenly, he was distracted by a small droid sitting in the lock up room. The door had been left open. The Inquisitor walked inside, dismissed the guard and shut the door behind him. He took off his helmet and knelt in front of the workbench the droid was on. He touched the top of it's head.
"I know you." He said softly. The Inquisitor pulled off the restraining bolt and turned the droid back on. His memory was fuzzy, but as soon as he heard the familiar beeps and whistles everything came rushing back. Prauf, running from the Empire, Cere, Greez, Merrin, Cordova's Holocron. BD-1. Cal rushed over to BD.
"Hey, hey buddy! I'm so glad to see you."
"Beep whistle!"
"Oh right, the outfit." Said Cal. He thought back to how he became the First Brother.
Vader.
It had been him all along. He removed Cal's memories. He had brainwashed him into believing the life he had was worthless. Cal ignited his lightsaber and cut off a protocol droid's head in frustration.
"Bwoo wee?" Said BD-1.
Cal nodded.
"I'm fine BD. I just need to work out how to get out of here."
Then it hit him.
"Bogano.." He whispered. He turned back to the little droid.
"Alright BD. We're gonna get out of here. Give me a couple days and I'll come back for you. Is that okay?" He asked.
"Beep bwup." The droid answered.
"Great. It's good to see you buddy." Replied Cal, before grabbing his helmet and leaving the room.
"Alright Vader, your spell is broken."
Cere paced the room. Obi-Wan and Yoda were outside, meditating. Greez was in the cockpit, adjusting some of the settings of the ship. Merrin was in her quarters.
"Cere, will you stop pacing?" Greez suddenly snapped.
Cere glared at him.
"He's not coming! We have to go get him ourselves." She exclaimed.
"Yeah, and then we all die!" Retorted the Lateron.
Cere was fuming. She marched down the landing ramp and walked over to the two Jedi Masters.
"Patience, we must have." Said Yoda, before Cere had even said anything.
"It's been two days. He would've come." She replied.
Yoda opened his eyes and surveyed Cere. He scratched his chin before saying: "Busy he will be, important Imperial figure he is, mhmm."
He closed his eyes once again.
"I've had reports from the Rebellion that they've seen Cal and other Inquisitor on the battlefront! He's not coming to us. He's busy killing people fighting for freedom!" Shouted Cere.
At this, Obi-Wan spoke up.
"I agree with Cere. I think we have waited long enough. The boy clearly is not coming. I say we wait till we know where he is, capture him and hopefully bring him back to the light. Worst case scenario: we have to kill him."
"No one is killing Cal." Said a different voice.
Merrin was standing next to them, a fiery look in her eyes. Her face was determined and rage radiated from her.
"He's still in there. All we have to do, is find him."
(A/N: Finally got another chapter out. I'm so grateful to everyone who have stuck with this story. I hope to have the final chapter out by Christmas so look forward to that! -A Headful of Ideas)