Title: Republic Saga - Vengeance, Chapter Seven
Author: Jonathan Evans
Author email: noggins@ic24.net
Summary: The attack on the Mandalore begins while Leia and Mara are forced to come to terms with what has happened between them...
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns everything and I'm not making any money off of this nor do I intend to (I'd like to but that's not the point). You can distribute this freely provided that it's complete with this disclaimer and give the writer credit where credit's due.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: 'Vengeance' will soon be posted at the Republic Saga website where 'Revenge of the Jedi' is now archived. The offer is still up for anyone who is interested in taking part - be that in web design, photo manipulation (to create images of the new characters as well as altered versions of the more well known ones) and writing (to work on prequels, background stories and other things) - if you want to know how Mace Windu fell to the Dark Side or how Anakin spent his years as Boba Fett - why don't you write them yourself! To find out more or to get a copy of the Republic Saga timeline (a basic outline of the events from the dawn on the galaxy to the second Republic Saga trilogy mail me at noggins@ic24.net
Noggs (=-\)
http://angelfire.com/scifi/republicsaga
REPUBLIC SAGA
VENGEANCE
CHAPTER SEVEN
Torpedos flew towards the Mandalore home-world as Anakin moved
his starship out of the range of fire. It fired back reducing an
incoming TIE Fighter to ashes in front of their eyes. Another dived
towards them but was finished off in several shots.
"I always wondered why they don't have shields," Anakin smiled. "Surely
the ways things are going it would have been more cost effective."
"This isn't the time for any of your jokes, father," Leia responded,
moving the vessel away from three TIEs coming at them at record speed.
She pulled up and turned back at them as Anakin blasted them. Two
span through space until they collided and exploded in an array of
colours.
"We may not survive this. They have greater numbers...."
"They're not being flown by me are they?" Anakin boasted as he took
out another enemy fighter.
"Yarori is still in trouble. If the Mandalore weren't prepared they
could be dead by now!"
"They'll be okay. If they are not then it was their own foolishness
that caused it."
"That's all fair and good - but our lives rest in their hands!" Leia
exclaimed.
"No, my daughter - our lives rest in the Force."
They swerved once more as the Jedi reached out with his mind. He fired
five shots all of which hit their targets with the precision no human
could possibly have.
"The Forice is with us. That is the most important thing of all."
"I don't know how I doubted you," Leia sighed. "But the fact remains
we still need to..."
With that over twenty Mandalore vessels emerged from the atmoshphere
of Yarori, firing in all directions leaving the squadren of TIE Fighters
in ruins within mere seconds. The comm-channel opened and Leia answered.
"Sorry about the delay, princess," Keylar's voice said. "But we had
to mobilise all of our troops for the first time in too long."
"It doesn't look like you're out of practice though."
"Of course not. Now - head for the Star Destroyers - we can finish
them off and victory will be ours."
The speakers clicked off. Anakin looked at his daughter and gave a
knowing smile. "Setting a course for Star Destroyer in Sector AA-56."
The first three Mandalore fightercraft headed towards the Star Destroyer
just ahead of them. Their almost perfectly designed engines allowed
them to avoid any incoming blasts from the Imperials before letting
off four proton torpedos each. They penetrated the deflector shields
as if there were nothing there and went straight through the bridge
section. It started to move off course into another below it. Both
Imperial cruisers exploded suddenly. The Mandalore and Jedi cheered.
"I never could picture them as farmers," Leia grinned as she locked
onto their target. "Fire away!"
Anakin let rip on the Imperials. Three shuttles evacuated the vessel
just as it exploded almost as if it was as puny as a TIE Fighter. The
Shuttles entered hyperspace quickly followed by several more Star
Destroyers.
"Let's give them something to remember us by!" Anakin said as he
began to enter hyperspace co-ordinates.
"What are you doing?"
"Something that could get us both killed..."
"What?!?"
"... but won't if I pull it off right."
The Mandalore starship began to accelerate after the Imperials and
was soon covered in a familiar blue light. Just ahead of them were
the Star Destroyers, retreating from the battle. Anakin shot a
proton torpedo and dropped below lightspeed as the hyperspace tunnel
collapses around the enemies. The came to a stop and Leia looked
at her father, her eyes open as wide as they could.
"Did you just do what Ithought you did?"
"I went into hyperspace to destroy the tunnel around them. I think
it worked effectively."
"It looked like it. But we could have died!"
Anakin shook his head sadly. "Surely you have enough faith in the
living Force to know it will guide us in battle."
"Yes... of course..."
"I worry about you, Leia," Anakin said, his voice becoming more
concerned. "The Force is in your very blood. You accept its existence
yet you do not trust it. A Jedi must do both."
"It's just I don't understand what it can do..."
"In time you will learn. You will become a powerful Jedi Knight."
Leia blushed a little. She never thought of herself as a Jedi. Her
adopted father had told her tales of them but with the Empire trying
to write them out of history she was beginning to think they were
only myths until she met Luke and now her father.
The computer console gave a bleeping sound. Anakin opened at comm-
channel with Keylar. "So, what made you change your mind?" he asked.
"Your speech affected the High Council more than you thought. They
were outraged at first but realised their anger should be directed
not at you but at the Empire. You did a good job, Jedi Skywalker.
If you would like to return to the planet we can continue our
talks. More successfully this time, I hope."
* * * * * * * * *
The news of the battle reached New Naboo soon after the Empire had
retreated. Chancellor Mothma held a meeting in her office for the
high ranking officers. Lando was the last to enter. He made his
apologies and sat down.
"We have won a battle on two fronts this day," she began. "Not
only have we caused another dent in the Imperial armour but also
we have conquered our past fears and made contact with a race
that had been held in contempt for so long. If the Jedi there are
successful we should soon have the Mandalore in our ranks. With
a military force of that magnitude victory in this war will be
inevitable."
"But what are the plans after we have regained control of the
galaxy?" the Rodian Jedi Master Yarled asked.
Mothma looked over to Ackbar. He stood forward and began speaking.
"Once we have Coruscant most of the job will be done. Anyone is
control of the galactic capital should wield enough power to
ensure systems stay in line."
"And what about after that?" Yarled continued.
"Well, obviously military bases will be set up in strategic locations
including Correllia and..."
"I don't entirely agree with that course of action," Lando said
interrupting. "What made the Old Republic have the power it did
were the Jedi. They maintained peace without a dictatorship.
From what you are saying you are setting the basis for a New
Empire not a New Republic."
"Of course Jedi will have an important part to play. However at
the moment their numbers are low - not even close to the ten
thousand that patrolled during the Old Republic. Until then they
are vulnerable."
"You don't understand the Force, do you Admiral?" Calrissian smirked.
"It is not something that lets you throw things around. It is what
gives a Jedi his or her power and one Jedi filled with it has more
power than an entire fleet of Republic starships."
"I don't see how this is relevant, general," Mon Mothma said taking
over from Ackbar who was becoming increasingly nervous. "The fact
remains, an take-over is going to occur and it will happen within
the next year. Hopefully by that time the numbers of the Jedi will
have increased."
Several Republic senators agreed however the Jedi and Lando were
silent throughout. The meeting ended and Calrissian met with his
brother outside. "How'd it go?" he asked.
"Badly for the Jedi. Sadly Leia and Anakin's victory has only
fuelled Mothma's determination to rule without us..."
"Us?" the clone asked.
"I mean the Jedi..." he quickly said as he began to walk down the
corridor.
* * * * * * * * *
On Yarori, the second meeting with the Mandalore High Council had
gone successfully. The leaders had finally decided to put past
differences behind them and help the Republic enter a new era.
Anakin had applauded them before leaving with Keylar.
"Do you really think this will last?" the ambassador asked.
"Of course," Skywalker replied. "If there is enough will power
on both side, and a little give and take, I honestly believe things
are going to change."
"It's not my people I'm worried about. Many still fear the Republic
is as weak as it was when the Empire was born."
Anakin shook his head. "It wasn't weakness that caused the transition.
It was corrupt officials, and more importantly a corrupt Chancellor."
Keylar nodded but still seemed wary. "And you can trust Chancellor
Mothma?"
"I don't know her well by my daughter does. Enough to trust her completely."
"How did they meet?"
"Leia's adopted father was a close friend of Mothma during the Clone
Wars. Bail Organa... Have you heard of him?"
"Not directly. I was on a starship that nearly destroyed a Republic
transport that he was on once."
"Oh."
Anakin fell silent and continued walking. Keylar picked up his pace.
"But we didn't kill him. At least that's good."
"uh-huh," Anakin said.
"It wasn't like I was pressing the buttons to fire..."
"Yup."
"C'mon, you're supposed to be a Jedi - forgiving and forget. He was one
of our enemies at the time"
Anakin turned to Keylar with a smile on his face. "To be honest
I never really liked him."
* * * * * * * * *
Leia sat alone in her room. She was quietly meditating, trying to
make sense of the feelings she was developing. How could she feel
close to someone who wanted to kill her? There was something unique
about Mara... something dark but at the same time light. She was
treading a thin line between the both and was successful in not
crossing over to either. It amazed Leia. She found the other woman
intriguing and deadly at the same time.
"There is no emotion, only peace," she muttered to herself in order
to concentrate on her task but just couldn't relax. The door opened
and Anakin entered.
"Hello my daughter. All has gone well. I'm surprised you didn't want
to be there yourself since it was you who started the whole thing."
"I needed to think."
"About what? What happened during the battle. I'm sorry I spoke to
you the way I did. I guess you don't realise its possible to be
reckless and a Jedi at the same time. I'm just trying to relive
my early years long after my prime. I apologise."
Leia didn't move, keeping her eyes trained into empty space. "It's
not that. It's about back on the starship with that Jade woman."
Anakin sat next to his daughter and put his arm around her shoulder.
"What did she do?"
"I... I don't know. There was something... I don't know!"
"It is something. I can sense the torment. Tell me what's on your
mind. I can help."
"You can't. It's beyond help..."
"Nothing is beyond help."
"Maybe so, but I have to deal with it alone. I'm sure you trust my
judgement."
"Of course."
Leia went back to her meditation, this time successfully calming her
mind and slipping into a trance-like state. Anakin left her alone
and went to wander the halls of the Mandalore outpost.
* * * * * * * * *
Lando and his brother sat in their quarters. The latter listened
as the other threw names around randomly.
"Bareen?"
"That's a female name!"
"Okay, okay. How about Dri'Rik?"
"Do I look like a Twi-Lek?"
"No... Man, now I know how my parents felt when they had to come
up with a name for me!"
"What were they like?"
"Great. Dad seemed busy all the time but I guess he only did it for
me. I left home when I was sixteen and never went back. I was a little
too rebellious I guess. I hated the order they imposed on me. I didn't
realise it was the Imperial rule over the planet."
"What was his name?"
"Who? Dad? Narril. Narril Calrissian."
The clone smiled. "Y'know I kinda like that."
"You've found yourself a name?"
"I think so," the newly christened Narril replied as he mouthed the name
quietly, trying to get used to it. "Yeah, I like that."
* * * * * * * * *
A starship came out of hyperspace just above Coruscant and moved
towards the upper parts of the cityscape. It passed the inspection
probes with ease then came to land on a civilian docking platform.
The door slid open and Mara Jade emerged. She looked out at the
endless skyscrapers. It wouldn't be long before Thrawn found her
on this planet despite the number of places she could hide.
After setting the ship to autopilot and letting it zoom off back
into space she hailed an air taxi to take her as far away as possible
from the Imperial Centre with streched higher than any other building
on the planet.
"So where ya goin'?" the Quermian pilot asked politely.
"As far away from here as possible."
"Why don't you just get off the planet if its that bad? The Empire's
getting worse. If you're on its bad side I wouldn't recommend
staying here."
"What makes you think I'm an enemy of the Empire?" Mara said before
falling silent. Her comment had the same effect on the driver who
quickly closed his mouth worrying whether or not she would report him
to any officials.
The journey gave Mara a time to think everything over. Se was filled
with anger at Thrawn for using her like he did but more towards
Leia for what the Jedi princess had reduced her to - on the run
after the death of the only man who made her feel safe. She began
to realise that it was Palpatine's presence keeping her from disappearing
from Coruscant. She had to kill the murderer of her master.
* * * * * * * * *
The hyperspace tunnel broke open with a loud bang and a Super Star
Destroyer came out, battered from the rough journey as the only
passageway had collapsed behind it. It moved to orbit the Imperial
capital. On the bridge the captain breathed a sigh of relief.
"We're out!" an officer called out.
"I will inform Emperor Thrawn immediately."
Captain Dasson walked nervously to Thrawn's private chamber. He
noticed the door was sealed with multiple command codes. He
activated the caller and waited for a response.
"Yes?" the voice within asked.
"We have arrived back at Coruscant. It doesn't appear as if the
rest of the fleet survived."
"Which officer was at the helm during the journey?"
"Commander Craxon."
There was no response. Dasson made his way back to the bridge to
discover everyone crowding around a body. The captain pushed his
way through the crowd of Imperial officers to find Craxon, his
throat crushed, seemingly from the inside. He glanced back in
the direction he had just come and swallowed loudly.
* * * * * * * * *
Thrawn sat in his private chamber talking to a figure in the shadows.
"As you can see my officers are foolish. The Empire will remain
weak without a wielder of the dark energies in command. It was
born out of the Dark Side of the Force and without it there is
little hope of it surviving."
"Indeed," the voice replied.
"That is why I have called upon you. It is time we stepped up
our assault by targeting the Jedi in particular. I'm sure
you agree with me."
"Of course. The Jedi are more of a threat than the whole Republic.
I know that from experience." The red and black tatooed Zabrak came
out of the darkness. His body was covered in wires and black metal
plating but the ferocity of the Sith had not been lost.
"I know you do... Lord Maul. You will not fail me."
"Of course not, my master..."
Thrawn placed his hand on the Sith Lord's head and smiled. Things
were going to change. Starting now...
THE END........ FOR NOW
To be continued in'REPUBLIC SAGA: ALLIANCES' coming soon.
Author: Jonathan Evans
Author email: noggins@ic24.net
Summary: The attack on the Mandalore begins while Leia and Mara are forced to come to terms with what has happened between them...
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns everything and I'm not making any money off of this nor do I intend to (I'd like to but that's not the point). You can distribute this freely provided that it's complete with this disclaimer and give the writer credit where credit's due.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: 'Vengeance' will soon be posted at the Republic Saga website where 'Revenge of the Jedi' is now archived. The offer is still up for anyone who is interested in taking part - be that in web design, photo manipulation (to create images of the new characters as well as altered versions of the more well known ones) and writing (to work on prequels, background stories and other things) - if you want to know how Mace Windu fell to the Dark Side or how Anakin spent his years as Boba Fett - why don't you write them yourself! To find out more or to get a copy of the Republic Saga timeline (a basic outline of the events from the dawn on the galaxy to the second Republic Saga trilogy mail me at noggins@ic24.net
Noggs (=-\)
http://angelfire.com/scifi/republicsaga
REPUBLIC SAGA
VENGEANCE
CHAPTER SEVEN
Torpedos flew towards the Mandalore home-world as Anakin moved
his starship out of the range of fire. It fired back reducing an
incoming TIE Fighter to ashes in front of their eyes. Another dived
towards them but was finished off in several shots.
"I always wondered why they don't have shields," Anakin smiled. "Surely
the ways things are going it would have been more cost effective."
"This isn't the time for any of your jokes, father," Leia responded,
moving the vessel away from three TIEs coming at them at record speed.
She pulled up and turned back at them as Anakin blasted them. Two
span through space until they collided and exploded in an array of
colours.
"We may not survive this. They have greater numbers...."
"They're not being flown by me are they?" Anakin boasted as he took
out another enemy fighter.
"Yarori is still in trouble. If the Mandalore weren't prepared they
could be dead by now!"
"They'll be okay. If they are not then it was their own foolishness
that caused it."
"That's all fair and good - but our lives rest in their hands!" Leia
exclaimed.
"No, my daughter - our lives rest in the Force."
They swerved once more as the Jedi reached out with his mind. He fired
five shots all of which hit their targets with the precision no human
could possibly have.
"The Forice is with us. That is the most important thing of all."
"I don't know how I doubted you," Leia sighed. "But the fact remains
we still need to..."
With that over twenty Mandalore vessels emerged from the atmoshphere
of Yarori, firing in all directions leaving the squadren of TIE Fighters
in ruins within mere seconds. The comm-channel opened and Leia answered.
"Sorry about the delay, princess," Keylar's voice said. "But we had
to mobilise all of our troops for the first time in too long."
"It doesn't look like you're out of practice though."
"Of course not. Now - head for the Star Destroyers - we can finish
them off and victory will be ours."
The speakers clicked off. Anakin looked at his daughter and gave a
knowing smile. "Setting a course for Star Destroyer in Sector AA-56."
The first three Mandalore fightercraft headed towards the Star Destroyer
just ahead of them. Their almost perfectly designed engines allowed
them to avoid any incoming blasts from the Imperials before letting
off four proton torpedos each. They penetrated the deflector shields
as if there were nothing there and went straight through the bridge
section. It started to move off course into another below it. Both
Imperial cruisers exploded suddenly. The Mandalore and Jedi cheered.
"I never could picture them as farmers," Leia grinned as she locked
onto their target. "Fire away!"
Anakin let rip on the Imperials. Three shuttles evacuated the vessel
just as it exploded almost as if it was as puny as a TIE Fighter. The
Shuttles entered hyperspace quickly followed by several more Star
Destroyers.
"Let's give them something to remember us by!" Anakin said as he
began to enter hyperspace co-ordinates.
"What are you doing?"
"Something that could get us both killed..."
"What?!?"
"... but won't if I pull it off right."
The Mandalore starship began to accelerate after the Imperials and
was soon covered in a familiar blue light. Just ahead of them were
the Star Destroyers, retreating from the battle. Anakin shot a
proton torpedo and dropped below lightspeed as the hyperspace tunnel
collapses around the enemies. The came to a stop and Leia looked
at her father, her eyes open as wide as they could.
"Did you just do what Ithought you did?"
"I went into hyperspace to destroy the tunnel around them. I think
it worked effectively."
"It looked like it. But we could have died!"
Anakin shook his head sadly. "Surely you have enough faith in the
living Force to know it will guide us in battle."
"Yes... of course..."
"I worry about you, Leia," Anakin said, his voice becoming more
concerned. "The Force is in your very blood. You accept its existence
yet you do not trust it. A Jedi must do both."
"It's just I don't understand what it can do..."
"In time you will learn. You will become a powerful Jedi Knight."
Leia blushed a little. She never thought of herself as a Jedi. Her
adopted father had told her tales of them but with the Empire trying
to write them out of history she was beginning to think they were
only myths until she met Luke and now her father.
The computer console gave a bleeping sound. Anakin opened at comm-
channel with Keylar. "So, what made you change your mind?" he asked.
"Your speech affected the High Council more than you thought. They
were outraged at first but realised their anger should be directed
not at you but at the Empire. You did a good job, Jedi Skywalker.
If you would like to return to the planet we can continue our
talks. More successfully this time, I hope."
* * * * * * * * *
The news of the battle reached New Naboo soon after the Empire had
retreated. Chancellor Mothma held a meeting in her office for the
high ranking officers. Lando was the last to enter. He made his
apologies and sat down.
"We have won a battle on two fronts this day," she began. "Not
only have we caused another dent in the Imperial armour but also
we have conquered our past fears and made contact with a race
that had been held in contempt for so long. If the Jedi there are
successful we should soon have the Mandalore in our ranks. With
a military force of that magnitude victory in this war will be
inevitable."
"But what are the plans after we have regained control of the
galaxy?" the Rodian Jedi Master Yarled asked.
Mothma looked over to Ackbar. He stood forward and began speaking.
"Once we have Coruscant most of the job will be done. Anyone is
control of the galactic capital should wield enough power to
ensure systems stay in line."
"And what about after that?" Yarled continued.
"Well, obviously military bases will be set up in strategic locations
including Correllia and..."
"I don't entirely agree with that course of action," Lando said
interrupting. "What made the Old Republic have the power it did
were the Jedi. They maintained peace without a dictatorship.
From what you are saying you are setting the basis for a New
Empire not a New Republic."
"Of course Jedi will have an important part to play. However at
the moment their numbers are low - not even close to the ten
thousand that patrolled during the Old Republic. Until then they
are vulnerable."
"You don't understand the Force, do you Admiral?" Calrissian smirked.
"It is not something that lets you throw things around. It is what
gives a Jedi his or her power and one Jedi filled with it has more
power than an entire fleet of Republic starships."
"I don't see how this is relevant, general," Mon Mothma said taking
over from Ackbar who was becoming increasingly nervous. "The fact
remains, an take-over is going to occur and it will happen within
the next year. Hopefully by that time the numbers of the Jedi will
have increased."
Several Republic senators agreed however the Jedi and Lando were
silent throughout. The meeting ended and Calrissian met with his
brother outside. "How'd it go?" he asked.
"Badly for the Jedi. Sadly Leia and Anakin's victory has only
fuelled Mothma's determination to rule without us..."
"Us?" the clone asked.
"I mean the Jedi..." he quickly said as he began to walk down the
corridor.
* * * * * * * * *
On Yarori, the second meeting with the Mandalore High Council had
gone successfully. The leaders had finally decided to put past
differences behind them and help the Republic enter a new era.
Anakin had applauded them before leaving with Keylar.
"Do you really think this will last?" the ambassador asked.
"Of course," Skywalker replied. "If there is enough will power
on both side, and a little give and take, I honestly believe things
are going to change."
"It's not my people I'm worried about. Many still fear the Republic
is as weak as it was when the Empire was born."
Anakin shook his head. "It wasn't weakness that caused the transition.
It was corrupt officials, and more importantly a corrupt Chancellor."
Keylar nodded but still seemed wary. "And you can trust Chancellor
Mothma?"
"I don't know her well by my daughter does. Enough to trust her completely."
"How did they meet?"
"Leia's adopted father was a close friend of Mothma during the Clone
Wars. Bail Organa... Have you heard of him?"
"Not directly. I was on a starship that nearly destroyed a Republic
transport that he was on once."
"Oh."
Anakin fell silent and continued walking. Keylar picked up his pace.
"But we didn't kill him. At least that's good."
"uh-huh," Anakin said.
"It wasn't like I was pressing the buttons to fire..."
"Yup."
"C'mon, you're supposed to be a Jedi - forgiving and forget. He was one
of our enemies at the time"
Anakin turned to Keylar with a smile on his face. "To be honest
I never really liked him."
* * * * * * * * *
Leia sat alone in her room. She was quietly meditating, trying to
make sense of the feelings she was developing. How could she feel
close to someone who wanted to kill her? There was something unique
about Mara... something dark but at the same time light. She was
treading a thin line between the both and was successful in not
crossing over to either. It amazed Leia. She found the other woman
intriguing and deadly at the same time.
"There is no emotion, only peace," she muttered to herself in order
to concentrate on her task but just couldn't relax. The door opened
and Anakin entered.
"Hello my daughter. All has gone well. I'm surprised you didn't want
to be there yourself since it was you who started the whole thing."
"I needed to think."
"About what? What happened during the battle. I'm sorry I spoke to
you the way I did. I guess you don't realise its possible to be
reckless and a Jedi at the same time. I'm just trying to relive
my early years long after my prime. I apologise."
Leia didn't move, keeping her eyes trained into empty space. "It's
not that. It's about back on the starship with that Jade woman."
Anakin sat next to his daughter and put his arm around her shoulder.
"What did she do?"
"I... I don't know. There was something... I don't know!"
"It is something. I can sense the torment. Tell me what's on your
mind. I can help."
"You can't. It's beyond help..."
"Nothing is beyond help."
"Maybe so, but I have to deal with it alone. I'm sure you trust my
judgement."
"Of course."
Leia went back to her meditation, this time successfully calming her
mind and slipping into a trance-like state. Anakin left her alone
and went to wander the halls of the Mandalore outpost.
* * * * * * * * *
Lando and his brother sat in their quarters. The latter listened
as the other threw names around randomly.
"Bareen?"
"That's a female name!"
"Okay, okay. How about Dri'Rik?"
"Do I look like a Twi-Lek?"
"No... Man, now I know how my parents felt when they had to come
up with a name for me!"
"What were they like?"
"Great. Dad seemed busy all the time but I guess he only did it for
me. I left home when I was sixteen and never went back. I was a little
too rebellious I guess. I hated the order they imposed on me. I didn't
realise it was the Imperial rule over the planet."
"What was his name?"
"Who? Dad? Narril. Narril Calrissian."
The clone smiled. "Y'know I kinda like that."
"You've found yourself a name?"
"I think so," the newly christened Narril replied as he mouthed the name
quietly, trying to get used to it. "Yeah, I like that."
* * * * * * * * *
A starship came out of hyperspace just above Coruscant and moved
towards the upper parts of the cityscape. It passed the inspection
probes with ease then came to land on a civilian docking platform.
The door slid open and Mara Jade emerged. She looked out at the
endless skyscrapers. It wouldn't be long before Thrawn found her
on this planet despite the number of places she could hide.
After setting the ship to autopilot and letting it zoom off back
into space she hailed an air taxi to take her as far away as possible
from the Imperial Centre with streched higher than any other building
on the planet.
"So where ya goin'?" the Quermian pilot asked politely.
"As far away from here as possible."
"Why don't you just get off the planet if its that bad? The Empire's
getting worse. If you're on its bad side I wouldn't recommend
staying here."
"What makes you think I'm an enemy of the Empire?" Mara said before
falling silent. Her comment had the same effect on the driver who
quickly closed his mouth worrying whether or not she would report him
to any officials.
The journey gave Mara a time to think everything over. Se was filled
with anger at Thrawn for using her like he did but more towards
Leia for what the Jedi princess had reduced her to - on the run
after the death of the only man who made her feel safe. She began
to realise that it was Palpatine's presence keeping her from disappearing
from Coruscant. She had to kill the murderer of her master.
* * * * * * * * *
The hyperspace tunnel broke open with a loud bang and a Super Star
Destroyer came out, battered from the rough journey as the only
passageway had collapsed behind it. It moved to orbit the Imperial
capital. On the bridge the captain breathed a sigh of relief.
"We're out!" an officer called out.
"I will inform Emperor Thrawn immediately."
Captain Dasson walked nervously to Thrawn's private chamber. He
noticed the door was sealed with multiple command codes. He
activated the caller and waited for a response.
"Yes?" the voice within asked.
"We have arrived back at Coruscant. It doesn't appear as if the
rest of the fleet survived."
"Which officer was at the helm during the journey?"
"Commander Craxon."
There was no response. Dasson made his way back to the bridge to
discover everyone crowding around a body. The captain pushed his
way through the crowd of Imperial officers to find Craxon, his
throat crushed, seemingly from the inside. He glanced back in
the direction he had just come and swallowed loudly.
* * * * * * * * *
Thrawn sat in his private chamber talking to a figure in the shadows.
"As you can see my officers are foolish. The Empire will remain
weak without a wielder of the dark energies in command. It was
born out of the Dark Side of the Force and without it there is
little hope of it surviving."
"Indeed," the voice replied.
"That is why I have called upon you. It is time we stepped up
our assault by targeting the Jedi in particular. I'm sure
you agree with me."
"Of course. The Jedi are more of a threat than the whole Republic.
I know that from experience." The red and black tatooed Zabrak came
out of the darkness. His body was covered in wires and black metal
plating but the ferocity of the Sith had not been lost.
"I know you do... Lord Maul. You will not fail me."
"Of course not, my master..."
Thrawn placed his hand on the Sith Lord's head and smiled. Things
were going to change. Starting now...
THE END........ FOR NOW
To be continued in'REPUBLIC SAGA: ALLIANCES' coming soon.