Chapter 18: Unexpected Ghosts
June 12.
Early morning at Capitol City. The spaceport was bustling with activity, especially since the new Mass Relay had been completed three days before by the Guardians, seeing that the wormhole was becoming unstable again and there was a risk that the two galaxies would be severed again. Now, though, they were indissolubly linked.
Yet, among the immense traffic of goods, people and ships coming from the Milky Way or bound for it, Jaral was waiting for a ship from Andromeda.
"You sure your 'volunteers' aren't having second thoughts?" she asked to Nimbus, who was accompanying her together with Ahsoka and the Specters. "They were supposed to be here days ago."
"Don't worry. They said they had some trouble navigating out of the Unknown Regions, but their beacon is not lying." the Mirialan reassured, lighting up her omni-tool and showing the star charts of the sector. A beeping light was clearly approaching Lothal.
"Well, about time." Zeb groaned as he sat on one of the benches in the lobby. "I'm tired of just shooting at the holograms of the bucket-heads."
"Right, while we wait, Nimbus…" Jaral said cautiously. "Are you sure you want to come with us on Korriban? I mean, you struggled so much to abandon the Dark Side…"
"You're so cute, worrying about me, but don't worry. I feel like I need to do this. If anything, to finally say goodbye to my old self once and for all."
Jaral accepted those words and didn't press the matter. They waited around twenty minutes before Nimbus spotted a ship coming toward the spaceport and said. "There they are."
The group turned around and they saw what was actually a luxury yacht model, S-161 "Stinger" XL. A very elegant design indeed, but Jaral wondered who what kind of people owning such a ship would spend ten years at the edges of civilized space (at least, that was what Nimbus told her). Nevertheless, the ship's wings rotated from vertical to horizontal position, the lower one then transferred on the starboard side and the bigger one returned upward, allowing the Stinger to touch down on the landing platform that had been reserved for them.
Nimbus started walking toward the board side of the ship, where a ramp quickly lowered, and the group followed.
When the passengers started to come out, the first one turned out to be a human with light skin, green eyes and red hair, the face kept rigorously shaved despite he looked more or less twelve years older than Jaral. But what caught the eyes of the Knight immediately was the lightsaber pending from the man's belt. The mere sight of it made Jaral stop in her tracks, unable to believe it, but she still snapped out in time to notice the rest of the group.
In order there were a fairly old woman with dark skin with a gray outfit, a grouch-looking Latero with a red jacket and who seemed the pilot of the ship. Finally a female zabrak with a pale white skin and a very elaborate red robe. She also noticed a BD unit hanging on the shoulder of the Jedi.
Jaral waited a few meters away with the rest of the group while Nimbus stepped in front of the newcomers and particularly the man with a lightsaber.
"Times sure change, I guess." the redhead said in a lighthearted tone.
The mirialan chuckled. "Ten years can do wonders, Kestis. But I'm grateful that you trusted me enough to come here."
"It wasn't difficult to find proofs of your honesty." the man quipped before the two shook hands. "I'm glad to see you managed to escape the grasp of the Sith."
"I had quite some help." Nimbus said with a smirk before turning toward the woman who had effectively saved her from the darkness.
"Jaral Bridger, meet Cal Kestis, Jedi Knight."
Even though she was already suspecting it, hearing those words left a huge impression on Jaral. Another Jedi! Just when she had started planning to rebuild the Order.
Cal smiled friendly and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you. I've heard much about you."
Jaral shook the hand, but was a bit baffled. "Really? I haven't." she replied, implicitly asking who that guy was. "Where do you come from?"
Cal probably wasn't expecting such a cold welcome and his mouth stuck in a confused humming. In response, the dark-skinned woman stepped forward and spoke with a conciliatory tone. "I understand your skepticism, young lady. You never heard of us because we've spent the last ten years working between the Unknown Regions and the edges of the civilized galaxy. We haven't heard of the Rebellion until a few weeks ago."
Jaral looked at her. That woman was probably around her 60s now and it seemed impressive to the young girl how she could easily handle such a lifestyle, but she sensed her sincerity and that she was particularly in tune with the Force.
"Sorry if I sounded aggressive." she apologized. "It just seemed to soon for me to find Force-sensitives. Are you a Jedi, too?"
"I was." the woman replied before putting a hand on her chest and presented herself. "Cere Junda. I was a Jedi Master, before I cut off myself off the Force shortly after the Purge."
"You...cut off?" Jaral asked confused.
Cal chuckled. "We have a lot to explain, but before that, allow me to introduce the rest of my crew. This is BD-1." he said, moving his shoulder to better show the droid.
The machine lifted one of its arms, which were also legs, and bopped a greeting in his language. Jaral made a half-grin and nodded.
"There you have Captain Greez Dritus." he said, indicating the Latero.
"Howdie." the old alien said as he stepped forward, though he didn't sound much enthusiastic.
"And this is Merrin." Cal concluded presenting the female zabrak.
She made a polite nod and said "Greetings."
"Nice to meet you all." Jaral replied, before showing the rest of the group. "These are my friends. Chopper, Hera Syndulla, Garazeb Orellios, Sabine Wren and Ahsoka Tano."
Cal nodded to the rest of the group and quickly assessed them. Realizing something was missing. "I heard there were two human Jedi here, or even three?"
"There would be my brother, Ezra, and there is a Padawan with him. Though, if the rumors you heard were not up to date, I guess you were expecting to find my Master."
"Did...something happen to him?"
Jaral hesitated to speak for a moment. "It's been a year already. He sacrificed to allow some of us to live and to give us the chance to free Lothal."
"I see." Cal said mortified.
Then the young woman realized something. "Come to think of it...maybe you knew him. His name was Caleb Dume."
"Caleb?" Cal repeated. The name clearly unlocked some kind of memory in him. After losing a few seconds trying to remember, a realization came to his face. "Damn. Yes, I knew him. We were in the same class before he got chosen by Master Billaba. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thanks. But let's not dwell on the past. Nimbus said you are interested in visiting Korriban."
"We are." Cere intervened. "You see, in the last ten years we've been traveling around the galaxy, hindering some of the Emperor's secret projects. So if you intend to take that cursed rock out of his claws, we would like to lend you a hand."
Merrin then stepped forward. "The Sith are responsible for the destruction of my clan." she stated. "So if you want to hurt them, we have a common goal."
"Clan?" Jaral asked with curiosity.
Merrin nodded slowly. "I am one of the few survivors of the Nightsisters. Before Cal found me, I was living on Dathomir."
"Dathomir?" Sabine asked surprised. "Where Maul was hiding?"
Merrin jolted her head. "What did you say?" she asked baffled.
"Uh…" Sabine bumbled. Luckily for her, Jaral raised a hand.
"Indeed, we have a lot to discuss, but let's get going. There is a lot of room at my place, I would be honored to have you as my guests."
"And we would be extremely grateful." Cal said thankfully.
"Good." Greez commented. "The Mantis is comfortable, but I won't say no to a real bed, for once."
As they started to walk away, Cal looked at Ahsoka with curiosity, again trying to remember, until it dawned on him. "I'm sorry, you said your name was Ahsoka?"
The Togruta smirked. "Jaral said it, but yes."
"Were you the Padawan of Anakin Skywalker?" he asked with a bit of marvel.
"You heard about me?"
"Well, Skywalker was quite notorious at the time, and you also became famous during the war. I'm sure I saw you a couple of times at the Temple."
"Makes sense, I guess." she quipped. "Then you already know that I left the Order before the war ended."
"I was not on Coruscant at the time, but I heard about your...issues with Republic justice."
"That's one way to call it. Who was your Master?"
"Jaro Tapal." Cal answered candidly.
Ahsoka mumbled. "Doesn't ring a bell, I'm afraid."
"You said Tapal?!" Zeb asked all of a sudden.
Cal took a look at the Lasat, and probably he saw his Master for a moment. Eventually he answered. "Yes. How do you know him?"
"There aren't many Lasat who went out to become a Jedi." Zeb explained. "Much less became Masters. Tapal was a celebrity on our planet. He came to train with the Honor Guard once, and I swear, I hoped I would never get on his bad side."
Cal couldn't help but chuckle.
June 14.
"Captain Bolo's squadron has finished building the defense satellites and mine the Vergesso Belt." Ciena reported. "We should be warned about any intrusion in the future."
"Good. What about D'Qar?" Iulius asked as he kept looking at the map.
"The 153th Sanbran Regiment has established a base on the ground. The locals have not opposed whatsoever."
"Remind the troops not to interfere with the lives of the civilians as far as they can, we don't want to create other rebel sympathizers."
"Yes, Grand Admiral. For other things, Admiral Tanis has reported an increased activity of the rebel cells in the Tamarin Sector, he seems convinced that Ezra Bridger and his forces are supporting them."
Iulius hummed in thought. He knew that his father was completely useless to stop Bridger and his stealth cruiser. Also, it was becoming clear that the Jedi was trying to unite the various alien species of the Trailing Sectors against the Empire. That was the reason why he was pulling back the entire theater's forces on a more defensible line along the major trade routes, but with most of the Navy focused against the New Republic and the Federation, he had only limited forces.
"Any news on Lord Vader?" he asked, wondering why he hadn't arrived yet in the region.
"I...tried to look into it, sir." Ciena replied hesitantly. "But it seems like he will be in charge of the offensive that the Emperor ordered against the rebels."
Iulius closed his eyes and grunted in much frustration. This offensive had been organized too quickly and was certainly going to end in disaster. A disaster he would have to mop up. And now, if that wasn't enough, he had to be aware that the rebels forming up in the Trailing Sectors would not be able to take Sullust, their final objective.
Yet, as he observed the map, he thought. He kept thinking. A web was forming in his mind. Maybe there was a way to secure this front once and for all.
While Ciena waited patiently at his side, going through a series of reports, and while Qathora was standing next to him like a bodyguard, Iulius weaved the first threads of his plot and reached his conclusion.
"Contact Commander Zahra." he suddenly ordered with his calm tone.
Ciena nodded and took her datapad to send the communication request while Iulius calmly walked into the room of the holo-projector. After waiting a few moments, the hologram of a female imperial officer with short black hair appeared in front of him and she made the salute.
"Grand Admiral Tanis. It's an honor. How can I serve?" she said cutting to the chase.
"Commander Zahra, I would like to enlist your help in tracking down an enemy ship."
"A single ship, sir?" the woman asked suspiciously.
"Not any kind of ship." Iulius calmly replied before plugging in his data-disc and showing her the image of the Amerigo. "It's a stealth cruiser of the Federation. Apparently capable of traveling without any concern for fuel and its cloaking device eludes all of our sensors. You have made yourself a name as a hunter, Commander. I believe you have what it takes to finally stop this annoyance."
"I'm flattered, sir. But, honestly, why is that ship such a nuisance?" she asked, clearly not knowing what the Amerigo had done in the last few months.
"Normally, I would assume they're just making some recon. But just so you know…" he stated, knowing very well what to expect from the next words. "Commanding that ship and its extensive crew, there are at least three of the people responsible for the destruction of the Death Star. Ezra Bridger, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa."
The eyes of Zahra suddenly widened in rage and the hands strictly aligned along her legs clenched into fists.
The skeptical tone of Zahra immediately switched. "I'll do it, sir. I will crush them."
Iulius made a half-grin. "Set your course for Naboo. I'll brief you personally."
"Yes, sir." she replied. Then Iulius closed the call and returned into the command center.
At that point, Ciena turned toward him with her datapad still in her hands. "Sir, I think you should see this." she said extending the device.
Iulius took it and listened while he went through the report. "The garrison on Vanquo has reported an incursion by the pirates of the so-called Zann Consortium. But what's strange is that they were used what seem to be an upgraded version of a separatist droid model."
The Grand Admiral himself was not believing his eyes and ears as he went through the report. But at the end of it there was an image attached to it and he saw them: those were definitely Droidekas, but with more cannons.
"What they were doing there?" he asked.
"According to the report, the fleet had intercepted and shot down a transport of the pirates. When the garrison went in to investigate, they were attacked by them. They suffered losses, but the droids have been destroyed."
Iulius looked at the galaxy map. Vanquo was just on the side of the Hydian Way and not far from the Mandalore Sector. It was a world right on the frontline with the Republic, so what was Tyber Zann looking for?
"Contact the garrison and the ISB, I want a full analysis of those droids." he ordered, giving the datapad back.
"Right away, sir." she replied dutifully before walking away to reach one of the radio operators and send the message.
"Having a bad day?" Qathora quipped next to him.
"It simply got worse." he replied. "Now I can't just watch while Zann plots his own devices. Tell Marek to prepare the Rogue Shadow, once I brief Zahra we're going on a little excursion."
"A field trip. Lovely." the Togruta joked before going to call the assassin as ordered, leaving Iulius pondering on the new developments.
Ezra was still wondering about the news from Lothal. Thinking that Jaral had just drawn in a Jedi of the old Order and his assorted crew was honestly impressive for him and made him wish he was there to meet this Cal, especially considering that he knew Kanan.
Of course, a part of him was homesick. In his mind raced the image of the prairies, with Loth-cats and wolves running on them. The now shining and prosperous Capitol City, which had become the linking hub between two galaxies.
And most of all, he missed his people. Sabine first, as he hadn't had the chance to talk with her for a few weeks, now. Hearing his sister only through the Bond was mostly contributing to make him feel the distance more.
In a couple of weeks it would have been five months since his expedition had started. Aside from this nostalgia, which he was sure would eventually dissipate, Ezra could sincerely say that he had done a good job, so far. Pantora and Ryloth had now become independent planets, though the latter had a very small industry and would not be able to contribute on the final thrust toward Sullust. Pantora only had a small fleet, which had already suffered some losses during the battle of Alzoc.
With the Empire now regrouping along a single line of defense, Ezra was wondering how he could ever try to slip past Eriadu and reach Sullust without being discovered. Even Belisarius and Riccardi were hesitating. It seemed unlikely to complete the original objective, because the strategic situation had changed: Jaral's initial plan relied on the usual dispersion of the Imperial Navy, which would prevent them from coordinating an efficient response to an uprising on Sullust. Now, however, with Iulius in charge and the organizational structure of the Empire shifting to a centralized command, it seemed impossible for the Amerigo alone to liberate a planet that was behind the reinforced territories.
As the Turian colonel said to him: war is a constant flow. One must adapt to the situation or, if this has evolved in a way where the original goal is no longer in reach, just give up.
For that, though, he needed the authorization from the Allied Command. Jaral had already notified him that she had stepped down from her position as Grand Marshall in favor of Ackbar, though the news would be given to the public in less than a month.
Perhaps, though, hope wasn't lost: the ICO had sent news that Lord Vader himself was assembling a fleet to attack the New Republic's territory after Jaral had purposefully leaked the news that she was going to Korriban, and the Emperor clearly was not happy.
But such a rash move would certainly cost dearly to the Empire, and if that was the case, the Coalition might find an opening for a counter-attack in the Mid Rim, which would force Iulius to intervene and redirect most of his forces from the south to the eastern front, leaving an opportunity to ignite a revolt on Sullust.
For now, all Ezra could do was keep looking for new hiding places for the rebels in the region. Rally points that, in the future, the New Republic might use to reinforce her allies there.
All-in-all, the Jedi was starting to wonder if he shouldn't do like Jaral and put this mission in the hands of someone with the right mindset. Maybe recall Hera, or cede the command to Belisarius and Riccardi, since the Amerigo was a ship of the Federation. He would have preferred to focus his efforts on training Luke, Leia and himself in the ways of the Force, because he was convinced as well that only by taking down Vader and Palpatine the war could end.
However, he refrained from putting the latter thought into words during the conversation with Admirals Edrix and Ackbar.
"General," Edrix said. "your mission is much more important than you might think. We need the imperials' attention to be split, but do you think you can achieve the objective set by your sister?"
"Not without reinforcements, sir." the Jedi calmly replied.
"I see," Ackbar replied. "but the New Republic's fleet is still barely enough to hold the line of our own territory. We might be able to send you a Task Force once you find a safe spot."
"Perhaps the safe spot won't be necessary." Edrix intervened. "I have been pondering on this for a while, and I came to the conclusion that you might find the help of Task Force Magellan suited to your needs, General Bridger."
Ezra was caught by surprise a bit, however he soon understood the reasoning. "I guess we can cover more ground with an entire squad of invisible frigates." he said.
"Precisely. Also, in my experience, two Bridgers are more effective than a horde of Krogans." the Turian quipped.
Ezra huffed amused before answering. "Then we should be able to use my AI to secure a beacon between the Constantinople and the Amerigo when they enter the region."
"I'll send them your way, but it might take a few rotations before you make contact."
"Copy that. We'll proceed with the mission, in the meantime."
"Excellent." Ackbar concluded. "May the Force be with You, Master Bridger."
Ezra made the salute and the transmission was closed.
He returned into the command bridge where he was greeted by Riccardi inspecting the holomap.
"News from the home-front, General?"
"So it seems." Ezra replied. "Admiral Edrix is sending us Task Force Magellan to help us out."
"Ah. You must be thrilled to see at least part of your family, again." the officer replied, taking away his eyes from the map for just a second.
Ezra started to get curious. "Can't say no...is there a situation, Captain?"
"Good question. The Falcon just intercepted an imperial transmission that worked on unknown frequencies. We're trying to triangulate the source."
"Can we call the Falcon?"
"Yes, we have managed to…" Riccardi was halted as one of the operators at the side spoke up.
"Captain, transmission from the Millennium Falcon. They ask for General Bridger."
"Take it." the Captain ordered.
The crewman swiped a bit on the projections and a few seconds later the voice of Luke broke in from the speaker on the table.
"Ezra, do you read me? There is something in the nearby system."
"How can you tell?"
"I just...feel it. There is something strange in the Force. Even Leia got it."
"I don't know if it's the Force," Leia intervened. "but something tells me that we should take a look. Permission to investigate?"
Ezra assessed the situation on the map. The Falcon was navigating near the Queyta System, which should have been outside of the 'Tanis' defensive perimeter. Besides, after having Jinx and Kolt take a look at the frequencies used by the imperials, the Jedi noted that they were very similar to the ones that the archaeological expedition at the Jedi Temple on Lothal used.
"Falcon, you're clear to go, but exercise extreme caution. These imperial frequencies are for direct contact with the Emperor."
"Understood." Luke replied.
"We'll be careful, Ezra, I promise." Leia reassured.
Ezra huffed. "Keep the boys under watch, Leia."
"You heard him, guys. I'm in charge." she said loudly on her part as a joke before closing the call.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to send them alone, sir?" Riccardi questioned.
"I trust them, Captain. But it won't hurt to have a backup plan." Ezra calmly replied before lighting up his omni-tool and bring the wrist near his mouth. "Rex, this is Ezra. Prepare your team and meet me at the Silver Bullet."
"You got it, General."
June 20.
The blue and green lightsabers clashed once again and the Knights entered in another struggle. It had already become clear that, in a confrontation of strength, Jaral had the advantage because of her biology. Yet, Cal managed to slip away and bring the duel back to an exchange of quick blows.
"I'm impressed." he said during a short break. "It almost looks like you have created your own style."
"Well, I'm used to improvise." Jaral quipped before resuming the skirmish.
They went back and forth for at least another three minutes under the curious gazes of the respective crews, though Cere was seriously assessing Jaral's abilities. Eventually, with nobody gaining the upper hand, they decided to call it a break, at which point Darvos walked near them to speak with his wife.
"You know, you seem a bit reinvigorated compared to the other days."
"I guess it's been a while since I fought someone who could actually prove a challenge with a lightsaber. At least Ezra has Luke to do that."
"Is your brother strong?" Cal asked out of curiosity.
"Stronger than me, that's for sure. He has been training as a Jedi a year before me, and he never slacked on his exercises while I was busy with my duties as Grand Marshall."
"I hope I can meet him one day and confront with him."
"I'm sure you will." Jaral reassured, then turned toward the group of people, aiming at the mirialan. "Nimbus, you got news from Korriban, by chance?"
"The Geth have just received new images from another batch of drones and what I saw, I don't like it in the slightest. The number of ships orbiting the planet has increased in the last week." the woman said while lighting up her omni-tool and showing the data to everybody.
Jaral grunted in frustration. "How can that be? Korriban has no production facilities."
"Precisely. But after digging a bit into my memory, I think I have a theory."
"Let's hear it." the woman said while the rest of the group gathered to listen.
"Sixteen years ago, I was sent by the Emperor with the rest of the Inquisitors to decapitate a particular Sith cult that was hiding on Korriban."
"Wait," Zeb asked confused. "if they were Sith, wouldn't have that made you allies?"
"Not by a long shot, Orellios. The Sith continuously strive for power and they don't like to share it. The Rule of Two, for which there can only be a Master and an Apprentice was established exactly because, in the past, the ancient Sith Empires easily fell to infighting. The Emperor had tried to force these guys to submit, and when they refused, he sent us."
"It wasn't actually difficult to kill their leaders. I thought the small fishes had simply dispersed, but after that, we left the planet and neither the Emperor nor Vader ever cared to tell us what they were going to do with it. In fact, I'm not sure if Vader is involved in whatever they are doing there."
"Yeah but look at the ships." Sabine intervened, pointing at the pictures. "They seem...ancient."
"What, you don't think they are flying ships thousands of years old, right?" Greez asked. "They wouldn't stand a chance against modern fleets."
"Sabine is actually quite correct." Nimbus said. "These designs are ancient, at least going back to the old Sith, more than 3000 years ago, however they have been slightly modified to be on par with this era."
Ahsoka hummed in thought. "I guess Korriban is not the only planet they hold."
"Precisely." replied the Mirialan, tapping the omni-tool and showing a galaxy map. "That's when I remembered that I've heard something when I was an Inquisitor. Whispers about the old Sith Systems right behind Korriban. Presumably, the old Empire had its capital world there, but I don't know the details. Perhaps the Emperor has used these years to build up a private army of fanatical cultists, organized as a State."
"This complicates things." Hera said gravely. "We should report this to Mon Mothma. The New Republic can't stand aside."
"Yeah, but our fleet is still building up." Zeb objected. "And with the Empire preparing to hit us hard, we can't take ships away from the front."
"True, but maybe our allies might have a few volunteers to spare." Jaral pondered. "Nonetheless, it's true that we need to report this to Mothma. It's up to her to persuade the other signatories of the UACT to do something."
"Maybe I can help." Sabine said. "Many mandalorians are eager for revenge against the Empire, if you let me talk with the colony on Lothal…"
"At this point, I won't turn down any help." Jaral said. "Go."
The mandalorian nodded and walked away to go get her speeder-bike.
Jaral looked at the clock and realized she had to move if she didn't want to be late for her training with Barrioca, which by now was almost done, she was quite confident of that.
"Darvos, set up a meeting with Mothma as soon as possible, I want to explain the situation personally."
"You got it."
"Cal, Cere, do you guys know anyone else who might be willing to help us?"
The man and his informal Master looked at each other briefly, before Cere spoke up. "We might be able to convince a few people to give us supplies and weapons for the volunteers, but I doubt anyone we know might want to throw themselves against a bunch of Sith cultists."
"That's more than enough. Please see to it."
"I got you, girl." Junda quipped before walking away with Greez, as they had to go back to the Mantis.
"All right," Hera sighed. "I better go too. It's time for Jacen's lunch."
"Need a hand?" Zeb grinned.
"You're too generous, Zeb." Hera replied in tone, patting the Lasat's arm. Then she turned around. "Merrin, you want to join?"
The Nightsister smiled a bit embarrassed, but nodded. "If you would have me." and the three walked away.
Jaral and Cal looked at that scene and the woman commented. "I didn't think a witch would be so interested in taking care of a baby."
"Well, Merrin was a child when the Sith destroyed her clan and reduced her world to an even more lifeless hell. She spent so many years using necromancy, that helping to raise a real child makes her feel better...I guess." Cal said quite naturally as he gave another glimpse at his companion.
Recognizing that gaze, Jaral decided he had some time for this question. "Is there...something between the two of you?"
Cal's head snapped back forward and his eyes seemed to freeze. "What? No. Not at all. She's just a friend."
"Uh-uh." Jaral said with a knowing tone. "Look, I know attachments are dangerous, and they are, but that didn't stop me, or Kanan, or Ezra to let those feelings go when the situation requires it. And we might day any moment in this war, so, if I were you, I would consider it." she simply said before deciding it was time for her to go, leaving Cal to ponder heavily on those words with BD-1 taunting him from his shoulder.