Last time: Sasha found out how long Cien plans to hold her captive. Until the baby is born.
Now: Sasha tries to figure out what happened to Cien. Kyrm, Oppie, and Viran speak with a New Republic spy.
Chapter 3- The Contact
Cien walked down the halls to Sasha quarters, it was late in the afternoon, and she felt drawn here, even if she couldn't say why. She was tired after a day of being the Empress of her fledgling nation, tired of the politics, the tiring minutiae of the shipyards being built in a neighboring system so that she could start adding ships to her fleet. She had imagined what it would be to be in this position all her life. To finally be the leader of an Empire, to not have to answer to another master. And she had never pictured the day to day annoyances of that office. As she approached the door she didn't acknowledge the two guards that stood there. One of them turned slightly to unlock the door from the panel behind him, and the other pushed the door open, after surreptitiously checking to make sure that the prisoner was not trying anything on the other side.
Cien stepped in, noticing the slight odor in the air of the aerosolized Force suppressant, and regarded it with annoyance since that meant she was giving herself injections of the antidote to suppress the suppressant.
Sasha was sitting on the couch as she walked into the room. And Cien stopped for a moment, drawing a blank on what to say to her. "Are all your needs being met?" She asked, finally.
Looking up from her daze, Sasha looked at Cien. She nodded. "Yes, thank you," she said flatly.
Cien stood there for a moment, and she felt uncomfortable. "That is good." She responded flatly, and then turned to make her way out of the room.
"Cien, wait," Sasha spoke up.
She stopped and looked back at Sasha.
She hesitated for a second before speaking again. "I know it's been a long time, but… it's apparent you've been busy. How… what led to all of this?" Sasha asked, gesturing to the room and the palace beyond.
Cien regarded her for a time, and then stepped further into the room, closer to the Jedi. "I bided my time, letting the Empire weaken from rebellion. Unfortunately I waited too long." She said, before continuing. "The Emperor was killed, and the Empire fell into disarray, and I lost my opportunity to take control of the Empire from him." She said, this was the first time she had really recounted it to someone. "So I came here with Moff Jiardon's forces to start anew. The start of a new Empire. My Empire."
"I see," Sasha said softly. "Does that mean Varden is here with you? I remember him from Talokore."
Cien's flat facade slipped for an instant and a hint of what almost felt like sadness was visible before it disappeared behind her imperial facade. "No. He was killed during the chaos after Endor."
Sasha frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. If I may ask, how did he pass? If it's too much, I understand." She asked carefully.
Cien's face hardened as she almost read that as a challenge from Sasha. "The Rebels killed him. They tracked us after Endor, and some agent of theirs stabbed him in the back when he was inspecting Jiardon's fleet."
Sasha paled at that "I'm sorry," was all she could say. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "Tell me about the woman with the red staff lightsaber. She's your acolyte?"
"Yes." Cien walked into the room, and sat on one of the chairs near the sofa with an imperial dignity. "She was one of Vader's inquisitors. I had meant to kill her to lure him out, but she seemed more worthy as an acolyte."
"Oh? And she just decided to join you?" Sasha asked curiously. "How?"
"I treated her as a person, instead of a number." Cien said simply. "I gave her the choice when we fought, and she accepted. She has been loyal to me ever since."
The faintest of smiles came to Sasha's face before she looked down to the carpet. "Is she your only acolyte?" She asked after a moment before looking back up. "Or are there others?"
Cien looked at Sasha, drawing her defenses back up as she realized Sasha was only trying to gain information on her, on her strengths, and uncover weaknesses. "She is the only one I need, for the moment." She responded, harshly.
"I see," the Jedi went silent after that.
Cien regarded her for a time, but a question that had haunted her all these years came to mind, and she might finally be able to have it answered. "If you made it back, does that mean Dracul may as well?" She asked, her tone flat, but tinged with a bit of fear, which bothered her.
Sasha looked up at her and shook her head. "No, he is gone for good. I promise you that on my life," she vowed.
"How?" She pressed.
"That older man from the cave, he tackled Dracul through a gate," Sasha explained. "A gate that we closed behind them and the place they went to had no oxygen. We are sure they both died."
"That is good." Cien said with conviction, letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding for the last seven and a half years. She relaxed slightly, knowing he was dead. And she looked to Sasha, "Thank you for taking care of him." She said.
"Of course," Sasha said with a nod. "We are happy he is finally gone too." She then frowned. "I'm sorry we didn't come back sooner. It was honestly a surprise to learn six years had passed. It only felt like two hours to us."
Cien looked at her strangely. "You were only there for two hours?" She asked. She had been unconscious at the time, and had only awoken in a bacta tank days later.
"Yeah, apparently we went through a portal that led us to six years in the future," she said with a frown.
Cien looked away, not sure how to assimilate this. She had resented Sasha for disappearing like she had, angered that she had simply disappeared and never bothered to reach out, like Dracul had to her, or Sasha's master had when he had been trapped. She hadn't known. All of this flashed across her face as her facade slipped a little more. She got up from her chair. "If you need anything else please let the guards know." She said absently as she turned her back and started walking toward the door.
"Okay," Sasha said, a hint of sadness in her tone.
The guard opened the door and Cien stepped through, turning to go towards her own suite as the door was closed behind her.
Sitting at a bar and drinking his fourth… or maybe fifth drink was a man by the name of Cade Mazden. A pilot of the New Republic and former Rebellion. He had been a part of the fight against the Empire from the beginning and had flown in many of the great battles. All except the destruction of the first Death Star. He was on a special mission at the time for Senator Bail Organa. May that man rest in peace. And he served under Princess Leia since then. Now he was sent to this outpost in the unknown regions to gain intel regarding the potential threat of surviving Imps.
As he sat at the bar, the doors opened to let in another group of thirsty customers to this cantina. Glancing over to see who had walked in, he spotted two gentlemen dressed in some tunics and leggings that looked kind of like Jedi. And a copper plated Mandalorian. He straightened in his seat and chuckled under his breath as the three approached him. Of course they were here for him. But the Mando looked more and more familiar as they approached. Had he fought a battle or two with him? Or had he seen his bucket somewhere before? He couldn't remember for sure. And his slight buzz didn't help either. He turned his attention back to his drink, playing it cool.
The Mandalorian walked up to him, the two Jedi looking guys off his shoulder. "Are you Mazden?" He asked.
Cade looked at him and smirked. "That's right. And you are… wait don't tell me…" he tried to recall.
"In a hurry." The Mandalorian stated bluntly. "You know anything about what happened to Jiardon's squadron?"
"Moff Jiardon?" Cade asked, taken aback by that.
"Yes." He said. "They disappeared into the UR after Endor, we need to track them down."
"Uhh… let me think for a second," Cade said. "Yeah, I think I got something on that. Not sure if it's exactly what you are looking for."
The older looking Jedi spoke up. "We would appreciate that, we'll buy you another round if you can help us." The Mandalorian looked back at him, and then back to Cade.
He smiled at them. "Now you are speaking my language. Take a seat and I'll give you what you need." As they sat, he reached into his jumpsuit pocket. He produced a datacard. "This is a list of coordinates of Imps in the UR. I have checked every coordinate on this list and have found no signs of them. But if you think you will find Jiardon, good freaking luck."
"Thanks." The Mandalorian said, taking the card. "Any of them seem more promising than the others?" He asked, as the older Jedi waved to the bartender.
Cade thought for a moment. "Out of all of them, I think about five or so were actually promising. But again I remind you I found nothing. They are the top five on the list by the way." He said.
"It's a start." The older Jedi said. He ordered another round for Cade.
"I hope it helps whatever it is you are doing," Cade said as he took the drink and started to sip it. "Cause it was a dead end for me. Now I have to figure out what to tell the New Republic." He mumbled under his breath.
"Thanks," the younger looking Jedi said.
Cade smiled at them all after finishing another gulp of his drink. "Pleasure doing business with ya," he said before putting his lips back to the edge of the cup to drink more.
The three of them turned to go, leaving the bar after Oppie threw a few credits on the counter.
"I hope that wasn't a bust." Kyr groused.
"Yeah seriously," Viran agreed as he shot a brief glance back at the guy. "Are you sure he is legit and not just some bar bum?"
Kyr looked over to him. "He is a bar bum, but he is legit. He came recommended by people I trust."
Oppie had pulled out a small datapad, and inserted the card as they walked the streets back to the spaceport. All of them were systems he didn't recognize, deep within the Unknown Regions. He looked over at Viran, who he was sure had spent more time looking over star charts than he or Kyr put together. "Any of these mean anything to you?" He said, handing the pad over to the younger Jedi.
Viran took the datapad and read over the listed systems. He recognized many of the planets from his many read through of the star charts, but he couldn't remember much about some of them. He knew some were hives for gangs and mercenaries. Some were abandoned worlds or at least uninhabited. And a few were civilized worlds that just weren't explored enough. As for the top five on the list, he knew about each one and knew that each could be a haven for Imps to hide on. The issue was if Cien had taken Sasha which planet made the most sense. The third one on the list came to mind as he recalled the place was always dark and gloomy due to never ending rain storms. Maybe that was the perfect place for a Sith to hide.
"Yeah, I recognize them," Viran said with a nod. "They are mostly gangster hives or abandoned rocks. But the first five are inhabited. Though I'd avoid number 6. I don't think any of us want to deal with the Chiss Empire. But aside from that, I think I know where to check first."
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