Chapter 18: The Call of the Empire

Anakin dimly slipped back into consciousness and opened his eyes. He looked down at a charred cut in his mid abdomen, suddenly everything came flooding back to him, how Sion killed Qui-gon, and Yoda, and Xen. And Traya, this sparked a flicker of anger in his stomach that changed into a roaring wildfire. He tried to get up but his wounds prevented it. There was a Jedi healing technique he knew. He reached out with the Force and tried to heal his cut, it didn't work, but perhaps if he had another to help….

Mara opened her eyes and she saw Anakin in front of her.

"Master…Skywalker." She managed. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Mara, if we… both use… the Force… we can…." Anakin could not finish so he sent the rest telepathically. "…heal our wounds. Come on, heal mine first and I'll help heal yours."

Mara meekly nodded. Both concentrated hard, using the Force and willing Anakin's wounds to heal. After a few moments the cut wavered and closed, sealing with new skin and Anakin felt as though there had never actually been a wound there. After that he help Mara with hers, the two stood up and looked toward Qui-gon and Xen.

Qui-gon had a smoking hole in his back and was lying sprawled on the floor on his stomach. Xen's chest was also smoking, he purple eyes stared into nothingness, half of her body was lying on the stairs, the other on the platform, the Gorgon shifted in gravity slightly and Xen tumbled down the stairs. Anakin stared at both Jedi in sadness.

"Traya will pay." He hissed.

"I can't believe she was a Sith Lady." Mara said, she flipped her long red hair out of her face.

"We can't worry about that right now, we have to get out of here."

"We can steal a shuttle or get one of our TIE's from the hanger."

XxX

Mara sat beside Anakin in the co pilot's seat of a Lambda class shuttle they had found in the hanger, the usually white covering had been taken off for maintenance, making the ship blend it with the blackness of space. Anakin flew the ship toward the burning hulk of the Executor, eager to hide. Escape pods were still popping out of it but crashing into rapidly breaking debris. Anakin zoomed in closer when the comm on the ship bleeped. Anakin looked down at a display screen, a universal message to any ships in the area was incoming. Anakin didn't press the except button but a hologram began to form anyway.

It materialized from the feet first, the figure wore a long midnight black robe, at first Anakin assumed it was Traya but by the time it formed up to the waist he knew it wasn't so. Traya's figure was much more skinny. It went up more revealing long nailed hands with dirt and grime under them, and then it revealed the hooded face and Anakin nearly smashed the control panel the hologram stood on. It was a hologram of a younger looking, but still the same ruthless tyrant, Darth Sidious. He spoke in the deep voice Palpatine used when he spoke to the separatists.

"Attention Admiral Daala and your fleet." Sidious said, Anakin stared at it wide eyed having thought it must have been prerecorded or something. But this could not be Sidious, could it? No, Sidious was dead. "I have been resurrected, before I died I was able to transfer my conscious self to a clone of myself through the Force. I have returned and I invite you to join my building fleet above the planet Byss. I am sending you the coordinates, I plan to take back our Empire and I can rule the galaxy once more and forever! I will transfer myself into another clone every time I am near death! I will be immortal. Join me Admiral Daala, I want you to command my fleet being the only admiral I could find. You will command my new flagship the Eclipse, come Admiral Daala, I will be waiting but do not try my patience. It is growing thin."

And with that the image flickered away, Anakin's eyes flashed yellow.

"We have got to tell the Republic!" Mara said.

"We will." Anakin answered. "But we have to get clear before we can jump to… hey… is that escape pod down there sending us a transmission?"

Mara looked at the comm screen.

"Yeah."

"Patch him in."

"It's audio only, just a minute. Ugh, there's a lot of interference."

But then seconds later, abstracted by static and fear came none other than Admiral Piett's voice. Anakin breathed a sigh of relief his most trusted Admiral was still alive.

"Lord Skywalker, is that you?" Piett asked.

"It is Admiral." Anakin answered.

"Thank the Force. I'm headed down to the surface of this place. I think I'm the only survivor, everyone else was shot down by oncoming TIE fighters."

"Yes, we'll pick you up. This shuttle has not air locks so we cannot attach with you in space."

"Copy that, I'll wait for you when I land, just hurry up. Telos is known to have wild cannoks running around and I don't have my blaster anymore."

The link switched off and Anakin's shuttle pursued Piett's escape pod closely, they broke the atmosphere and drag nipped at the wings, friction made the two craft heat up. The ground grew closer and Anakin pulled his shuttle upwards, catching the wing of Telos with the shuttles outstreatched wings. He flicked on the repulsor lifts and folded the wings, ejected the landing struts and the shuttle touched down with a jerk. He flicked another switch and the boarding ramp lowered from the shuttles nose. Mara stayed behind as Anakin descended the ramp, the cool Telosian breezes ruffling his hair and blowing his cloak.

A mere second after his boot touched ground Piett's escape pod slammed into the grassy ground spraying clumps of dirt and rock everywhere. After a moment of silence there was a click, the sound of compressed air being let loose and the hatch of the pod opened up. Piett jumped out, his hat askew and one of his black gloves missing, he threw the other one to the ground and walked up to Anakin, he bowed slightly and spoke.

"Thank you Lord Skywalker."

"Not a problem, best Admiral in the fleet. Come on we have to warn the Republic and rally Coruscant's defenses."

XxX

Anakin, Mara, and Admiral Piett sat across from Mon Mothma at her desk. She was literally about to pull her amber hair out from stress. After she had been explained three times already she still didn't quite get it.

"So the Emperor is alive?" She asked.

"He never died." Anakin answered exasperated. "He transferred his consciousness into a clone of himself just before his old body died."

"With the Force?"

Anakin bit his tongue to stop himself from replying sarcastically saying something like; 'no, with the help of a jawa!'

"Yes." He replied instead. "And he will be gathering a fleet. He plans to attack Coruscant."

"When?"

"SOON!"

"We have to prepare out defenses then."

Admiral Piett nearly snorted.

"Alright then," Mon Mothma said in a controlled and calm voice. "General Antillies super star destroyer can be out flagship in the defense. Skywalker, since your super star destroyer was destroyed in the battle with Admiral Daala you may take permanent command of Antillies Guardian. I don't believe he liked it anyway, and you can lead the defense."

"Alright Chancellor, I accept."

"And we need to call any available ship to defend in."

"I suggest we get started."

XxX

Byss was an out of place world it seemed to Traya. A planet in the middle of nowhere, sandy colored and green with a fleet of at least twenty star destroyers in orbit around it. She looked at their massive hulls through the cockpit viewport of Admiral Daala's shuttle, she had decided to come, if she could ally with Sidious and they took Coruscant it would be simple to find Padmé, then she could destroy him and her at the same time and end the Force.

But the only question would be how to find Padmé, perhaps she would just ask the Chancellor herself.

Next Chapter: Eclipse and Executor