Star Wars Infinities: The Master
Chapter 2
By: Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: All of the characters and situations contained in this story are ©2003 by LucasFilm Ltd. They are used here without permission for fan-related entertainment purposes only. This original story is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine.
If anyone were inclined to look up the planet Tatooine in the official Imperial survey before the start of the Galactic Civil War, they would no doubt find an entry detailing a harsh, dry desert world populated by indigenous nomadic beings. There would also be some footnotes regarding humans especially that had made the world their home, far from the reach of any real planetary government.
That had been true for most of the planet's existence. A scant two and a half decades before, the world was under the control of Jabba the Hutt, a gangster and criminal that treated the world and its citizens as his own personal playthings. And why wouldn't he, scholars of great criminals would comment; he was simply too far from the Core to worry about either the Old Republic of the New Order. Jabba had, however, made one fatal mistake: he had allowed slavery to prosper on his world.
Normally, on backwater planets like Tatooine, slavery was considered nothing more than currency. The trading of intelligent beings servitude was the foundation of many criminal groups. Jabba had allowed a young woman and her son to be sold into slavery and kept that way for many years. That woman's name had been Skywalker and her son had grown up to become the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Vader would one day come back to Tatooine, many years after he had been betrayed by the Jedi Knights, and would extract his own personal revenge against the Hutt master of the world.
After that, Vader became the leader of the planet and petitioned for entry into the Republic, all part of Palpatine's plan to bring about the fall of the Jedi. Vader traveled to Coruscant, the center of the Republic and made his formal request and it was there he was reunited with a lost childhood love, Padme Amidala, the former queen of Naboo.
They fell in love and eventually married, but it was a doomed joining. Vader was killed within a year, battling his former master Darth Maul. He left behind a pregnant wife who had been seduced to the Dark Side of the Force and who was unable to deal with the broken heart she carried with her. In response to the tragedy of losing her soul mate, Padme became the new apprentice to the Emperor and took the name of Darth Deceptra.
Deceptra was a person filled with hate at a universe she had felt had denied her the man she loved. She sought ways to fill the void and in doing so, laid her eyes upon a rising hero of the Empire, Baron Soontir Fel. The problem was that Fel was married to a popular actress.
Deceptra had the actress murdered. Problem solved.
Through her own machinations, Deceptra began a flirtation with Fel, much to the chagrin of her son, Luke Skywalker, who served under Fel briefly with the 181st TIE Squadron. The flirtation ended with the death of the Emperor, when Fel found himself drawn into the cause of freeing his home world of Corellia, a job the new Emperor, Lord Ravage, seeming uninterested in doing.
Deceptra, on the other hand, confronted her long-lost daughter, Princess Leia Organa on Tatooine, hoping to bring her over to the Dark Side. Jedi Master Ferrin Durron and his son, the young Jedi Knight Kyp, accompanied Leia. Kyp, it turned out, was a special type of Jedi warrior, trained in the art of combat while fighting the Yuuzhen Vong out side the galaxy. Kyp used his powers to tap into the heart of the Force and separated Padme from her Deceptra persona, while transforming Tatooine at the same time.
The very first New Republic Planetary Survey listed Tatooine as a lush, green world with a thick, heavy atmosphere that made it a tropical paradise. It still orbited the same twin suns, but now had an abundant supply of water, drawn from deep within the planet where it had retreated at the beginning of time. That water helped form oceans and seas.
When Tatooine defected from the New Order, rule of the planet fell back into the hands of the royal family. The head of that family turned out to be none other than Padme Amidala. Realizing that she had much to answer for, Padme abdicated her responsibilities in favor of her daughter, Leia.
Tatooine, now the official capital of the New Republic, continued in its orbit around the twin stars as several vessels approached the naval blockade around the world. Made up mostly of elements from the former Death Head's Squadron under the control of Darth Deceptra, the New Republic Home Defense Force was considered one of the most powerful navies in the galaxy.
A galaxy that had changed very, very much in the past five years since the start of the Galactic Civil War.
General Xizor (New Republic Intelligence Corps) waited patiently as the officers, politicians and invited guests made there way to their assigned seats. The senate chamber, which had seating for senators from not only the New Republic worlds, but also from five times that number, was cool, but not so much that the Falleen officer had to worry about his body temperature. Descended from reptiles the way humans claimed ancestry from mammals, the Falleen were a cold and calculating race, every patient once they had set upon a goal.
Xizor's goal had been to become the greatest criminal leader in the galaxy, which he did by running Black Sun for many years until circumstances forced him to look for a new career. In the three-front war of the galaxy, there just wasn't enough profit running a large group of smugglers and scum. On a lark, Xizor decided to accepted Garm Bel Iblis's offer of a commission in the New Republic. As head of Intelligence, Xizor was able to play his former criminal associations to his benefit every day. The criminals were given safe haven in the New Republic so long as they did not commit any offenses against their benefactors, only against the Tarkinists and the Empire.
It was Xizor's job to monitor those criminals as well. Instead of doing it for the investors in Black Sun, the major figures who helped out with manpower, weapons or whatever, Xizor was now managing crime for the politicians.
Not a large difference he mused with a smile.
He watched with cold indifference as the various heads of the military entered and sat down first, as punctual as ever. There was Wedge Antilles, commander of the star fighter arm of the navy, followed by his brother-in-law, Baron Soontir Fel, the head of special operations. Fel was a man that Xizor had to deal with on a regular basis. Xizor handled unsanctioned paramilitary operations; Fel handled the official stuff. Both were wearing the standard uniform of the Free Corellian Renegades.
Admiral Ackbar, Supreme Commander of the New Republic Naval Forces, entered next, followed by an assortment of aides of varying ranks. He exchanged greetings with the other flag officers and took his customary seat at the front of the chamber. Hot on his heels was Garm Bel Iblis, who was busy ranting about something to a junior officer.
Officially, Corellia was not part of the New Republic and therefore, Bel Iblis had no official standing. His Free Corellian Renegades, however, made up fifteen percent of the active New Republic military and merchant fleet. He was a powerful ally worthy of even Xizor's respect. The Falleen allowed himself another mental chuckle as he mused that had the civil war not happened, they would most likely by adversaries. Black Sun had once run extensive operations on Corellia.
Several senators from various New Republic worlds entered after wards without any sort of announcement or ceremony. This briefing was not for public consumption and so all of the pomp and circumstance normally associated with the gathering of so many leaders was dismissed. In accordance with security procedures established by General Cracken, a random senator, in this case the distinguished representative from Ithor was not present for this meeting. In the event of an attack, one political leader had to be secured at a secret location to allow the government to continue.
In that regard, one officer of flag rank, General Cirrus Madine (no relation to the former Alliance officer of the same surname) was at the head of the Outer Defense Fleet, orbiting the moon of Endor on the other side of the galaxy.
The Jedi entered last to some nod and to some shakes of the head. Xizor studied Jedi Master Quinlan Vos as he entered. The senior Jedi and new head of the Jedi Council was polite enough to everyone, but Xizor could sense the tension in the man. His own intelligence files indicated that Vos had once had a brush with the so-called Dark Side of the Force and had become a somewhat renegade Jedi Knight for a brief time. There was a darkness in his eyes that was undeniable and even his twenty years of exile on Dagobah had not been enough to smother the turmoil in his soul.
His companion was Ferrin Durron, Jedi Master and master warrior. The fighting man's Jedi Knight, he was everything that the old holodramas of the previous Republic made Jedi out to be. Ferrin was a no-nonsense man who was not afraid to pull his lightsaber at a moment's notice. As Bel Iblis had put it, Durron was a "bad ass in a pacifist's order".
Notably absent with the Jedi was Padme Amidala, but Xizor had not expected her to be present. No doubt she was under lock and key in the newly established Jedi Tower where she was to remain unless called for. It was part of her custody agreement.
The final person to enter the room was the Chief of State himself, Regis Organa of Alderaan. Regis, a young man by human standards, had been elected to the position after a fiery speech he had given on the anniversary of the formation of the Republic two years before. His predecessor, Anto Unus of Chandrilla, had proven incapable of maintaining the order needed to keep the new government together. On a recall election, Regis had ridden the wave of popularity to high office.
Technically, Leia Organa was the representative of Alderaan as Regis was a minor noble in comparison to her. Regis's father had been Bail Organa's second cousin and was, besides Leia, the only member of the royal family to escape Darth Deceptra's purges.
Another reason why Padme Amidala was not here, Xizor thought. He accepted a nod from the Chief of State as he sat down and shooed away a protocol droid. Xizor, whose voice was said to have something of a soothing effect, cleared his throat. He loved speaking in such a way, a taste for the flamboyant that had served him well in his previous career.
"Senators and representatives, military heroes and Jedi friends, distinguished guests and honored allies and most of al, Master Chief of State, today I am here to give you the first overall intelligence briefing on the state of the galaxy." Xizor waited until a hologram of the known galaxy appeared in the air in front of him. It was a massive star map with clearly defined borders for the various interstellar governments not involved in the civil war including the Corporate Sector and the Hapans.
"As you can see, a certain level of deterrence has been achieved. The past five years have been devastating on the militaries of not only the New Republic, but also for the Tarkinists and the New Order. By our estimation, all three governments have military forces equivalent to roughly twenty percent of what they were at the start of the civil war."
The map rotated slightly, presenting an image of the Corellian System. "Of the three factions, the Tarkin Confederacy has the most secure borders. Though many scattered worlds swear allegiance to Moff Tarkin, their contributions to his overall security, with the exception of Kuat, is minimal. With the Death Star at his command, he is virtually unmovable from the position he now holds."
There were some murmurs from the Corellians. They were not at all satisfied with the way the New Republic had seemed to abandon Corellia and many suspected it was because there had been no official guarantee that the worlds of that system would join up with the New Republic once they were freed. Xizor had to admit that the New Republic was not giving the Corellians, famous for their independent attitudes, much in the way of incentive to fight on the side of "good". "The Death Star itself remains impenetrable. We have made five separate attempts to infiltrate the battle station, going so far as to enlist the aid of the bounty hunter Dengar as an agent, but we were not successful Tarkin, a paranoid man to begin with, has some of the most rigorous security measures in place we have ever seen. "
"Forgive me, General," the senator from Ryloth said, rubbing one of her brain tails, "but what of the rumors that CorSec has been given the task of maintaining Death Star security?"
Xizor smiled and his skin flushed slightly. The lovely senator was one of his current lovers and nothing got his blood boiling more than her acting as of they were nothing more than passing associates. "We have not been able to confirm that. We do know that several CorSec agents were murdered on orders of Kirtin Loor, Tarkin's personal security chief on Corellia, but there is no positive evidence that any Corellians, other than those in the military, are collaborating with the Tarkinists." He paused. "However, it has been five years and we should expect a certain amount of resignation by the people that Tarkin and his people are now the ones in charge."
Someone, most likely Wedge Antilles, threw out some curse words, but a simple glare by Xizor quieted them down. "As of yet, we have found no flaws in the Tarkin defense network. Their largest liability is lack of manpower. Unlike the New Republic and the New Order, the Tarkin Confederacy makes use of conscripts and of those, some 99% of them are human. As such, they have a limited pool of resources to draw from."
The map shifted to show Coruscant, the former capital of the Old Republic, still called Imperial Center by the New Order. "The Armed Forces of the New Order have proven quite resilient over the past five years. Despite heavy losses, they still outnumber us in major capital ships, especially with their shipyards at Mon Calamari and Yaga Minor cranking out as many vessels per month as they can. Again, though, the New Order has a severe liability. Over the past five years, Lord Ravage and Warlord Thrawn have purged the senior officer ranks of Palpatine loyalists. Many of their starship captains are young, and while probably bright and intelligent, lack any real combat experience. Sheer numbers, however, give the New Order a slight advantage over all of us."
"What about super weapons?" the Chief of State asked.
Xizor thumbed through his handwritten notes and pulled out several cards. He had planned to discuss these issues at a later time, but since he was asked…
"As near as we can tell, no new super weapons are being developed by the New Order. Thrawn is notorious for distrusting them…"
"He would use them if he had to," Baron Fel chimed in.
Xizor gave him a sarcastic smile. "If he had any. The second Death Star was destroyed over Endor by Admiral Daala herself and with the exception of Thrawn's own Super-Class Star Destroyer, there are no other major weapons." That was only an assumption on the part of his legitimate intelligence sources; his more shady informants were a little more cautious in their estimates. Palpatine had been obsessed with weapons that personified terror and overkill. It was possible that there were some that had been overlooked in the years since the Emperor's demise. "Speculation will only lead to paranoia. I'm of the mind that we can only deal with what we know about." There were several nods from senators, but the Jedi and the military officers remained impassive.
Xizor expected such things and did not let it deter him. He was here to set a precedent, establish the baseline protocols for annual intelligence briefings. He spent the next hour discussing everything from bacta production to advances in laser emitter technology. For the most part, everyone was respectful and let him dispense his information without interruption. The Corellians were as well mannered as could be expected, given their current situation and Xizor bore them no ill will when they were the first to get up and leave when he was finished.
Another half-hour was spent fielding miscellaneous requests for private meetings or even late night rendezvous encounters with some of the female attendees. That was not so odd, Xizor thought to himself; he was, after all, one the most prized bachelor's in the entire New Republic.
"A very fine speech," Quinlan Vos said as he approached. He did not offer his hand, but he rarely did. His time on Dagobah seemed to have made the Jedi Master somewhat skittish of touching other beings.
"Yet, not thorough enough," Ferrin was quick to point out. "You neglected to mention the fact that possible Jedi candidates are being snatched off of planets galaxy wide by a mysterious one-armed man that our sources indicate is a rogue Jedi." Xizor said nothing for a moment. He considered asking who their source was, but he already knew. Talon Karrde, an officer in Cracken's Special Ops section, had identified a possible dark Jedi that had been operating on the fourth moon of Yavin some five years before. That dark Jedi was believed to be responsible for the deaths of Mara Mothma, the adoptive daughter of Mon Mothma and the true daughter by Ferrin's deceased wife.
That would make her Kyp Durron's older sister and most likely a Jedi herself. Xizor did not like being at a disadvantage but the truth of the matter was he had very little information regarding the strange man known only as Malakia. He had heard that Jango Fett and a Wookie companion had been seeking out such a person, but as to why, Xizor could only speculate.
The Wookie could be Chewbacca, the former bodyguard of Mara, but the one that was traveling with Fett was reported to be bionically enhanced. As far as Xizor knew, Chewbacca never had any such surgery performed on himself. "Most respectfully, Master Durron," Xizor said with a slight bow of his head, "Jedi matters are just that…Jedi matters. The New Republic does not waste resources chasing down rumors of dark Jedi. We know they exist and we expect you to take care of your own."
Ferrin balled his fists and took a step forward, but Quinlan stopped him with an outstretched arm. "Point well taken, Prince Xizor," the older Jedi replied, using Xizor's honorific. It was meant purely as a compliment since upon joining the New Republic military, Xizor had to abdicate his title. "However, I would think that the New Republic would be concerned if there were an army of dark Jedi out there ready to strike."
"If there was evidence of that, we of course would be," Chief of State Organa said as he walked up. "The simple fact of the matter is that your Jedi have scoured the galaxy, gone behind enemy lines and even outside the system itself, only to find no evidence of any sort of dark academy." Xizor smiled as he the head of the government bolstered his argument.
It wasn't that dark Jedi wouldn't be a threat; it was just that the New Republic was so limited in what it could do. Many of the worlds that had flocked to its banner had nothing more to offer than requests for aid from the richer members of the alliance. Manpower, especially qualified field agents, was hard to come by. It was the very reason Xizor was resorting to hiring mercenaries and bounty hunters.
"Yes, but the Emperor was able to…" Quinlan started. The Chief of State held up a finger for silence.
"Honored Jedi, you must understand: your record speaks for itself. Yes, many bad things have happened to the galaxy but if you remember, it was the arrogance and complacency of the Jedi that put us there to begin with." Regis Organa shook his head. "Bring me proof and I will act, but the days of taking Jedi by their word are long since past. By the Force, you harbor a mass-murderer in your own ranks!"
"Padme Amidala is not part of our order; we simply keep her in our custody until the time comes for her trial before the senate," Quinlan replied. Ferrin cracked his knuckles and muttered something under his breath.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Regis asked with a smile, trying to intimidate Ferrin.
"I said if I ever find your pompous ass alone somewhere I'm going to…"
Quinlan rolled his eyes and pulled Ferrin away, communicating to him through the Force as Regis had a chuckle.
Fifteen minutes later, Xizor and Regis were riding inside the private shuttle of the Chief of State, heading back to Republic City, formerly the desert town of Mos Eisley. Regis drank slowly from a wine glass. "I don't like that Jedi," he announced.
Xizor shrugged. "He is useful, though, and dedicated to the Republic. You know that."
Regis nodded and looked out the window. "He is a fiery one, that's for sure. Between you and I, I think I like our Jedi a little more aggressive." It was quite a statement coming from someone from the pacifistic world of Alderaan. Xizor decided that he needed to get his people working on a more up-to-date profile of his superior. "Now, tell me what I need to know about my own government."
Xizor took a breath before answering. "You are losing the Corellians; they feel that the New Republic has simply left their system to rot. They are all itching to take the fight to Tarkin. If they go, you also lose the Chandrillan Naval Regiment. Bel Iblis has promised them all land on Corellia once Tarkin is removed."
"And if we lose them?"
"The Corellians represent the most experienced officers, merchants and advisors in the New Republic. They also own a considerable chunk of the military. Several key worlds would no longer be garrisoned and could fall prey to privateers or pirates. They would, in turn, seek out the aid of the New Order or the Tarkin Confederacy." Xizor shifted in his seat and briefly glanced out at the passing landscape. "We have to do something to appease them."
"What? Attack the Death Star?" Regis laughed. "All of our military experts, including Wedge Antilles, have proclaimed it impenetrable to attack from the outside. We don't have the star fleet to take it down." He turned to regard Xizor. "And you can't get anyone inside."
"That is not entirely true, sir," Xizor said. His color cooled down to a deep green. "There is a method we have not tried."
Regis leaned forward and finished off his wine. "Go ahead."
"Very well. We send a team in to Corellia itself. We've done that before and we can do it again. We find an officer's family and hold them hostage." It was a plan straight from the handbook of Black Sun.
It also violated 29 New Republic laws. Even suggesting it was considered illegal on some worlds. "And what if the officer refuses? What if he decides not to cooperate?"
"We kill his family and move on the next one."
Regis sat back and shook his head. "Murder? Are you insane? Both of us could go to prison…"
"Then we will have to sit back and wait for the inevitable, sir," Xizor said. He warmed slightly as he watched Regis squirm with the decision. That was the problem with mammals, Xizor thought, too many emotions they could not turn off. "The Corellians will leave, sir."
"But they haven't formally joined the New Republic either!" Regis countered. "We may do all of this and then lose them anyway!"
"But, there will be no Death Star, sir," Xizor pointed out. "Either way, the Republic wins."
"Unless this fails," Regis added.
"Then I guess I better ensure it doesn't fail," was the cold response.
Finally, Regis nodded his head, giving Xizor the permission he needed to proceed. "You better not fail," the Chief of State whispered, suddenly realizing that high office required a high price.
One's soul.