Epilogue
"It was all the Jedi's doing." The warrior spat his rage on
the coral floor of the worldship. "Things would have gone
perfectly if not for her interference."
"But things did not go perfectly, did they?" Sang Anor said
coldly. He stared over the kneeling warrior's head, deep in
thought. "And that is the reality we must deal with." The Jedi had
been here, in this system, in the very palm of his hand, and had
gotten away. The Executor stroked the sinuous body of the
amphistaff that lay across his shoulders and coiled around his arm,
his claws brushing its scales oh so gently.
"Yes," Prefect Ke'Nass said, a smirk in his tone, "where do
we go from here, Executor?"
"You have told me everything?" The warrior nodded.
"Then go to the priests for your Cleansing." The warrior was up
and out the door of the yammosk's chamber in two bounds, afraid
the massive coordinator would pick him up and crush him before
he was Cleansed.
The Imperial shuttle had been detected by the yammosk as
soon as it had entered the system, by means of the sensory buoys
that it was mentally linked to placed throughout the system, it was
still a mystery how the Jedi had managed to get in and out undetected.
The occupants had been taken to the Long Reach of
Death. The senior warrior had been put in an ooglith cloaker to
keep him from tainting the worldship and brought to the
yammosk's chamber to give his report. Nom Anor had been taken
to the priests immediately to begin his Cleansing after being in
such close contact with the machines. Sang Anor would speak to
his son privately later.
"Well," the Prefect said with relish, "look at what your
great plans have come to. The Empire is alerted to our presence,
the Jedi moves around our seed world freely, tainting what she
will, and native race, supposedly cowed and enslaved, is giving her
every assist."
"Use your mind instead of your mouth, Ke'Nass," Sang
Anor snapped, "I had analyzed the situation as soon as the report
was complete. And conceived our course of action. As for your
concern for our seed world's security: I quite agree that things have
been far too lax for too long with our slaves there. Which is why I
am assigning you to rectify the problem."
"What?" The Prefect's eyebrows rose.
"I am relieving you of your duties and placing you in
command of the seed world. I am assuming direct command of
the worldship and taking it out of this system. I will be leaving a
strong force of warriors with you. I trust that the native population
will be enslaved or dead by the time I return."
"This is insane! I-"
"You have your orders, Prefect!" Sang Anor roared,
overwhelming all objection. In response, the wrinkled mass of the
yammosk writhed atop its pedestal overhead.
Ke'Nass stiffened and gave a ridged bow. "Yes, Master."
He ground out.
"Good. This task will be well within your abilities while I
begin work to salvage the situation."
"Really, Executor?" Ke'Nass snarled. "Tell me, what will
you do? What can you do?"
Sang Anor turned away, threw back his head and laughed
gently, and he curled his fingers around the amphistaff, just behind
the serpent's head, spun back around and lashed at Ke'Nass. The
Prefect didn't have time to think or react as the tail of the staff
wrapped itself around his neck. At a squeeze of Sang Anor's
fingers the serpent turned rock-hard and he pushed the other Vong
down to the floor with it. The Prefect clutched at the serpent's
body that held him down like a bar of durasteel, the razor-sharp
edges were pressed against Ke'Nass' neck. With a flick of his
wrist Sang Anor could decapitate him.
"What will I do?" Sang Anor laughed, and there was
nothing gentle in it. "I will tell you. I will kill, Prefect. I will kill
until the worlds of the Unknown Regions are piled with dead. I
will kill until the exalted Unity Fleet are just metal coffins drifting
in space. They say the Emperor and his tame Jedi Darth Vader can
sense life events. Fine. I will draw a curtain of death across the
Unknown Regions so that they will feel nothing but the terror of
the slain when they turn their eyes this way." His voice had
become low and cold as he spoke, and even Ke'Nass flinched at
the unholy light in Sang Anor's eyes.
"I will kill until the gods themselves weep and cry stop."
"It was all the Jedi's doing." The warrior spat his rage on
the coral floor of the worldship. "Things would have gone
perfectly if not for her interference."
"But things did not go perfectly, did they?" Sang Anor said
coldly. He stared over the kneeling warrior's head, deep in
thought. "And that is the reality we must deal with." The Jedi had
been here, in this system, in the very palm of his hand, and had
gotten away. The Executor stroked the sinuous body of the
amphistaff that lay across his shoulders and coiled around his arm,
his claws brushing its scales oh so gently.
"Yes," Prefect Ke'Nass said, a smirk in his tone, "where do
we go from here, Executor?"
"You have told me everything?" The warrior nodded.
"Then go to the priests for your Cleansing." The warrior was up
and out the door of the yammosk's chamber in two bounds, afraid
the massive coordinator would pick him up and crush him before
he was Cleansed.
The Imperial shuttle had been detected by the yammosk as
soon as it had entered the system, by means of the sensory buoys
that it was mentally linked to placed throughout the system, it was
still a mystery how the Jedi had managed to get in and out undetected.
The occupants had been taken to the Long Reach of
Death. The senior warrior had been put in an ooglith cloaker to
keep him from tainting the worldship and brought to the
yammosk's chamber to give his report. Nom Anor had been taken
to the priests immediately to begin his Cleansing after being in
such close contact with the machines. Sang Anor would speak to
his son privately later.
"Well," the Prefect said with relish, "look at what your
great plans have come to. The Empire is alerted to our presence,
the Jedi moves around our seed world freely, tainting what she
will, and native race, supposedly cowed and enslaved, is giving her
every assist."
"Use your mind instead of your mouth, Ke'Nass," Sang
Anor snapped, "I had analyzed the situation as soon as the report
was complete. And conceived our course of action. As for your
concern for our seed world's security: I quite agree that things have
been far too lax for too long with our slaves there. Which is why I
am assigning you to rectify the problem."
"What?" The Prefect's eyebrows rose.
"I am relieving you of your duties and placing you in
command of the seed world. I am assuming direct command of
the worldship and taking it out of this system. I will be leaving a
strong force of warriors with you. I trust that the native population
will be enslaved or dead by the time I return."
"This is insane! I-"
"You have your orders, Prefect!" Sang Anor roared,
overwhelming all objection. In response, the wrinkled mass of the
yammosk writhed atop its pedestal overhead.
Ke'Nass stiffened and gave a ridged bow. "Yes, Master."
He ground out.
"Good. This task will be well within your abilities while I
begin work to salvage the situation."
"Really, Executor?" Ke'Nass snarled. "Tell me, what will
you do? What can you do?"
Sang Anor turned away, threw back his head and laughed
gently, and he curled his fingers around the amphistaff, just behind
the serpent's head, spun back around and lashed at Ke'Nass. The
Prefect didn't have time to think or react as the tail of the staff
wrapped itself around his neck. At a squeeze of Sang Anor's
fingers the serpent turned rock-hard and he pushed the other Vong
down to the floor with it. The Prefect clutched at the serpent's
body that held him down like a bar of durasteel, the razor-sharp
edges were pressed against Ke'Nass' neck. With a flick of his
wrist Sang Anor could decapitate him.
"What will I do?" Sang Anor laughed, and there was
nothing gentle in it. "I will tell you. I will kill, Prefect. I will kill
until the worlds of the Unknown Regions are piled with dead. I
will kill until the exalted Unity Fleet are just metal coffins drifting
in space. They say the Emperor and his tame Jedi Darth Vader can
sense life events. Fine. I will draw a curtain of death across the
Unknown Regions so that they will feel nothing but the terror of
the slain when they turn their eyes this way." His voice had
become low and cold as he spoke, and even Ke'Nass flinched at
the unholy light in Sang Anor's eyes.
"I will kill until the gods themselves weep and cry stop."