Mark the Trails of Moths Chapter Seven
Bosthirda is only a few hours away from Dromund Kaas. It was another long-forgotten Sith world that was so insignificant most Sith tomes left it out. Darth Sidious only knows about it from his son who told him about Supreme Prophet Kadann's own contingency plans when he fell out of Sidious's favor. He rewarded his son by arranging his apprenticeship to Minister Hydan much earlier than promised. By now, his son should be on his way to Vaklin in the fastest ship that the Prophets of the Dark Side owns.
Armitage still exists, but Sidious will continue to observe him for the next few days for any changes. Part of him hopes that the younger man disappears for it will mean his son truly took his words to heart. However, he wants to learn more of his grandson's alternate timeline. The Yuuzhan Vong War journal is frustratingly devoid of details not pertaining to the war itself. There are some personal anecdotes that paint Armitage's childhood as an adventure filled with learning and wonder.
It would be a horror to the average person, but Armitage clearly finds pride in his unusual and bloody upbringing. He rarely mentions Rama though. If he died, he would've mentioned it, so something happened to him. Alas, another mystery to unravel.
"Your Majesty, we've landed!" Armitage's voice comes out staticky due to the intercom's ancient sound system. Sidious puts away the journal and leisurely makes his way to the loading bay. Armitage is there with their survival packs and his unique sword. Sheeva watches him from Armitage's head like a little sentinel.
"I packed enough to last us a few days; I'm hoping there's game around to hunt, but I can never be sure with Sith Worlds. Some of them are devoid of any life."
"This will do. I was assured that the fauna of Bosthirda wouldn't pose a threat to us." However, the flora might since Rama did see plant monsters from thousands of years ago. They could've gone extinct or are merely hibernating. I do hope for the latter.
"So, where are we going this time?"
"Wherever the Force leads us."
Brendol Hux presents the butterfly knives to the quiet child. Eos picks up a knife and squeezes the slim grip. Hie green eyes widen a fraction in surprise, but he makes no comment. He brings slender finger to trace the curvature of the knife. He does not pull his finger away when Tohm comes in unannounced. The younger ginger has his good eye focused on the datapad in his hand.
"I've made several strategies in regard to infiltrating—" Tohm stops when he looks up from his datapad. His good eye is drawn to the knife in Eos's small hand.
"They're butterfly knives." Eos states.
"I can see that." Tohm replies and then looks at Bren. "I thought you weren't going to give him weapons until he was trained."
"In less than a day, he's shown remarkable improvement, though his skills with a blaster could use some work." Eos nods in agreement and then lets out a quiet sigh at the last part.
"But what good are knives going to be against blasters and grenades?" Tohm questions logically.
"Since this a stealth mission, knives aren't noisy like blasters can be. If he gets caught, they'll take his blaster, but the knife would be too well-hidden for them to find. Or if he somehow loses his blaster, then he can just use the butterfly knives." Brendol explains succinctly.
"Are those knives at least vibroknives?"
"No. I made them light and durable like a lightsaber, but I added impervium to its edges."
Tohm's eye bulges in utter shock.
"Impervium!? That alloy is more durable than duranium and thrice as expensive! Only concentrated laser cannon fire has any hope of putting a dent in it! How did you get your hands on it?"
"My older brother gave me some a few Life Days ago." And he got it after destroying some space pirates for attempting to seize his ship. He used most of the impervium to coat several of his starfighters before gifting it to me. I can't tell Tohm that because he'll get on my case it being stolen from Imperial shipyards or something.
"And you decided to make some knives!?"
"It was a small amount. It wouldn't have been enough to coat a wing tip, let alone the entire ship. I decided to make butterfly knives because…I don't actually know why exactly butterfly knives." Brendol scratches the side of his face like he's trying to find the reason.
"I love them." Eos declares, drawing the ginger pair's attention again.
"Of course, you do." Tohm sighs.
Minister Veris Hydan has received a gift from the Emperor. Unfortunately, it's not an esoteric art piece needing to be analyzed, but a new assistant. His last few assistants have been disappointing. They either lacked creativity, humility, or even just commonsense when it came to basic survival. He hopes that this new assistant won't end up being eaten by a dragonsnake like the last one. Frankly, he'd rather not have another assistant considering how tedious is to fill out the flimsi-work regarding their deaths or firing, but one cannot reject a gift from the Emperor.
His new assistant ship arrives at Vaklin's one spaceport during the dead time of high noon. It is just the Minister and his Death troopers, an old man swathed in royal purple guarded by blacken sentinels in the rusting spaceport. The ramp descends and so does his would-be-assistant.
His blue eyes widen in shock.
A child, perhaps thirteen or fourteen, grips tightly on his satchel's strap. He has a patrician nose, long and hooked, and thin lips. He's pale like an Umbaran with equally white hair like one, but his eyes are a deep green of a human. His slight body is swallowed up by his monk-like robes like a newborn star trapped in a dark universe.
And the child is the spitting image of Sheev Palpatine.
"Minister Hydan, the Emperor sent me." The Palpatine boy gives a respectable, small bow like a novice before a master. "I am Rama."
"Just Rama?"
"Yes!" Rama grins crookedly at hearing his own. Hydan would have thought the boy conceited if not for the sheer joy on the child's face. Even though he's in a dinky spaceport that can't even afford a cleaning droid, he's happy to be there.
It's like he's been locked in a tower his whole life! He even has the long hair like in the fairytale.
"Don't you have any other clothes?"
"Oh." The boy's pallid cheeks turn an ash pink. "This is the only outfit I have that would be appropriate for this venture. I can't walk around in my sleepwear."
"We'll get you some new clothes after this little venture." It's the least I can do since this might be the last time he'll be allowed in the galaxy.
"[I'll earn my clothes!]" Rama uses a Naboo phrase that Hydan hasn't heard in his youth. It was used to convey the determination of junior Legislators to their more senior compatriots.
"We'll see. For now, follow me." He turns his back on the child and begins to walk away; he wouldn't dare do this to the Emperor. Within seconds, he hears the small steps and sighs with relief.
Darth Vader does not wait long for the vultures to come. The Preybird-class starfighter sifts through the remains of Gentis's Star Destroyer with clunky movements; this starfighter was built for offensive and defensive maneuvers, making it quite wide and thus a bit difficult to maneuver. The starfighter came from a Nemesis-class gunship; the gunship was designed to pacify unruly crowds and provide support to Imperial starfighters. However, this one has been customized to hold several starships. There's even a spray-painted name across its side that reads Void Cutter. Pirates have stolen from the Empire.
And he shall punish them.
Author's Comments- Here are the links:
Here is an image of the chitin armor: a href=" . /starwars/images/4/43/Chitinarmor_ "Link/a
Here is an image of the butterfly knives: a href=" /images/I/5102qHwIy0L._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg"Link/a
I've been making Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure references and continue to do so. Considering how Rama has spent his entire life in that dreary temple, I believe he would empathize with Rapunzel's plight and desire to be in the world. Anyways, this chapter can be considered a lull in between storms. And place your bets on who will have a high kill count at the end of this arc!
Next chapter: the progression of several journeys.