Nestled within the Deep Core and endowed with a blue-green glow by its primary, Beshqek, was the world of Byss. Somewhat forgotten, it had long ago been part of the Rakatan Infinite Empire until being mysteriously abandoned. In recent history Byss had come under the rule of Darth Sidious, who had enshrouded the planet in the dark side and made it a powerful nexus thereof. And more recently, one of his clones had ruled.
It had been during the debacle at Fondor that Darth Plagueis had felt Byss calling out to him. The undead Sith Lord had used his powerful connection to the Force to guide what remained of his fleet to this sanctuary. This world held so much potential.
...
"There's something else," Darth Krayt said.
"Yes," Darth Plagueis admitted, turning his faceless gaze on the human Sith Lord. "The Terrans and the Celestials draw from both sides of the Force, creating a unique and, I suspect, unnatural manifestation. They use this form of the Force against each other and, by extension, itself. The Force wounds itself in such a conflict; I can feel this, and it's detrimental to my ability to form a battle meditation."
"I was effected, too," Krayt confessed, "though clearly not to the extent that you were."
"I have a deeper connection to the Force."
Krayt nodded. "But that conflict's over. The Terrans and Celestials have ceased hostilities in preparation for the True Yuuzhan Vong. They understand that the Force can't fight against the Aether if it's fighting against itself."
...
"I would not have allowed Yun Yuuzhan and his hordes into this galaxy if I did not firmly believe they could be defeated," the hologram of Terran Grand Admiral Eta Carinae went on. Her nearly fluorescent orange hair and red irises gave the woman a fitting reckless appearance.
"Many have believed things that are untrue," Darth Plagueis warned. He wore pale grayish armor, which bespoke his more cautious approach to things. "I hope you don't prove yourself to be one of those fools." While the idea of the Celestials ruling the galaxy was unpalatable it was far better than rule under the True Yuuzhan Vong. The latter would certainly leave the galaxy without hope.
"I'd have thought you, of all people, would have more faith in the Force."
"I fear you underestimate the threat posed-"
"Alright younglings, that's enough," admonished Zeus' hologram. His jade colored hair was almost black. His irises were a deep green with flecks of silver and lime-green. "I don't know how this whole kerfuffle will play out, but we must plan for all outcomes." Plagueis and Carinae nodded their agreement.
"Let us suppose the True Yuuzhan Vong are defeated," Carinae began carefully. "Irisia and her adopted daughter, Siffia, will pose a grave threat to our Terran/Sith alliance. The former Grand Admiral is engaged to Luke Skywalker. Their marriage would most likely result in a Terran/Jedi alliance. This would divide my people.
"And Siffia had learned of our alliance. I intended to kill her, but Kronos is soft and, unfortunately, I need his support. So I let him have her memory wiped. I had hoped it would leave the girl brain dead, but it didn't. Irisia and the Jedi are suspicious of the wipe, and the latter will certainly try to help Siffia recover the memories."
"The two must be eliminated before they do what you've warned us of." Zeus stated the obvious. "I doubt the Vong will arrive before the marriage, so sending Irisia to the front lines hoping she dies won't do."
"And killing them outright won't do, either," Plagueis added.
"Then we must find some current crisis, perhaps inflate its importance, and send the Olympus Mons to deal with it," Carinae suggested. "That may buy enough time for Yun Yuuzhan's horde to arrive."
"We could manufacture a crisis," Plagueis added. "Or two."
"This could draw suspicion," Zeus warned.
"I'm keeping Irisia busy because I'm a xenophobe who doesn't want one of my people marrying an alien," Carinae responded, with just a hint of sarcasm.
"People will believe that," Zeus quipped, eliciting a frown from the Grand Admiral. "Hold on, I've an important call." He was silent a moment. "Alright. Send it to my quarters." He shut off the comm. "I have just the crisis in mind, Eta Carinae."
!
P'w'eck General Thiio'lwin had been living on Bakura for several years, having fled from the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium as it had begun to crumble. While Lwothin had been touted as the founder of the P'w'eck Emancipation Movement, the foundations of it had been laid far earlier. The P'w'ecks had hidden their intelligence from their Ssi-Ruuvi masters. The P'w'ecks, seen as intelligent animals by the more prejudiced Ssi-Ruuk, were allowed to learn so many of the larger saurians' secrets. Elaborate plans had been crafted and refined over the last century.
Yet, one crucial piece had been missing. An ally. The Imperium had unwittingly revealed that ally during their first assault on Bakura. It had taken a couple decades to make any meaningful contact with the Bakurans, but after several years they and the P'w'ecks, were able to reduce the Imperium to a shadow of its former self.
Despite all this Thiio'lwin, and many other P'w'ecks, still felt strange around humans. They were vastly different, in biology and custom. Humans wore clothes, as their skin was quite fragile and they were concerned about something they called modesty. Perhaps the latter was for the best; humans could be a bit unsightly...
"General," murmured Stiv's concerned voice.
Thiio'lwin turned toward the human seated beside him, noticed the lines of worry on his face, and glanced downward at the sensor screen. The General's triple eyelids widened in surprise at the several red icons labeled as Ssi-Ruuvi vessels. "Main screen," the brownish scaled P'w'eck fluted in Ssi-Ruuvi, as his species possessed no true language of their own.
"Yes, sir." Even as the olive skinned man complied more red icons appeared. The large screen at the front of the room came to star speckled speckled life. Bursts of light instantly morphed into Ssi-Ruuvi vessels and joined those already gathered. They resembled massive metal lizard heads. "They're less than a kilometer within sensor range," Stiv said, puzzled.
Thiio'lwin's normally warm blood turned frigid. "They intend to draw us into a trap."
"We send ships out there, and they spring an ambush." The man frowned. "I'd have thought they'd know we're too smart to fall for that."
"Good point. But if they wanted to talk why send so many ships?" Thiio'lwin let out a soft warble, the P'w'eck equivalent of a sigh. "It should not hurt to hail them."
"Yes, sir." Stiv activated the comm. "Ssi-Ruuvi task force, this is Bakura Space Defense. Please state your intentions. I repeat, please state your intentions." He waited a moment. No response. "Maybe they think we might fall for it."
!
Somewhere between the orbits of Bakura and Fondor, and just skirting the edge of the Unknown Regions, was a gathering of ships. Nearest, though not necessarily near, to Fondor were three golden vessels each resembling a pair of four-sided pyramids joined at their bases. The greatest of these Tho Yors was the Golden Emperor. It was flanked by its smaller siblings.
Beside these Celestial vessels were a pair of grayish Mark II Imperator-class Star Destroyers, the Minotaur and the Nezzor. Rounding out the protective cocoon surrounding the pair were four Tho Yens; these were smaller than their Tho Yor cousins, and resembled three-sided pyramids joined at their bases. Two Tho Yens floated above and below the Destroyers.
Though still wary of the Celestials, Moff Drikl Lecersen found the presence of their ships very reassuring. Supreme Warmaster Shotel Za seemed sincere about wanting to protect him. Lecersen certainly needed protection from the Sith after his betrayal. But there'd been no choice in the matter, for Shotel Za's forces had been mere minutes away from killing him. Lecersen had only really been doing what a Sith would have done. Survive.
Though in hindsight, even without the threat of imminent death, it seemed to have been the right decision. Shotel Za was a brilliant tactician and would have succeeded in taking Fondor, a couple weeks ago, had it not been for Eta Carinae's insanity. And these Celestials were a good middle ground between the Sith and the Jedi. Shotel Za understood that the Force was a tool. Tools were supposed to be used, rather than served.
Lecersen and his chief tactical officer, Nevlin Yage, strode down the lowered boarding ramp of the Lambda-class shuttle, followed by a quartet of fighter pilots. The six stepped onto the deck just above the hangar. A Celestial soldier in full armor walked over to the group. Much of the armor appeared to be maroon leather-like material, with some smaller black paneling. The five panels encircling the waist and the four shin guards were studded with what resembled onyx colored diamonds. A long sword hung at each hip.
The helmet was shaped quite a bit like Darth Vader's had been. It sported a fiersome black and maroon dragon face. The snout was extremely short, with sharp-looking triangular white teeth. Piercing red eyes glared furiously from beneath thick, slightly curved black eyebrows.
The soldier removed his helmet, revealing a bald head, and a face with a drooping mustache and pale hazel eyes. On his left ear was a small comlink, which held a tiny microphone by the corner of his mouth. "Welcome aboard the Golden Emperor, Moff Drikl Lecersen, Nevlin Yage, and pilots," he said, placing his hands together and bowing slightly.
"I am honored, Supreme Warmaster Shotel Za," Lecersen said, with the same gesture. The others politely followed his lead.
Shotel Za led his guests around the rear of the shuttle. "Here is our TIE Executioner manufacturing facility," he said, gesturing toward a series of a dozen or so conveyor belts, transporting all sorts of components being assembled by machines and workers. "Though they aren't a true TIE variant as they rely on a gravitic engine rather than ion engines."
Lying lengthwise on the right hand most belt were over a dozen large cylinders. Atop, and set partially into, each of these was a cockpit. The canopy was a rounded half cone, and behind that was a half hemisphere. At the front of each cylinder was a large hole, and the rear was rounded. They were reminiscent of the left side of a TIE Bomber, which held the heavy weapons, but twice the length and a third thicker around. A fifth of the way back on either side was a torpedo launcher. Behind each of those, at the rear were thick wing pylons, each with a trio of square rods jutting out a couple feet.
Large mechanical arms carefully lowered pairs of wings from the ceiling. They were similar to TIE Interceptor wings, but longer and with larger weapons at the wingtips. There was also a large ion cannon between each pair of wingtip weapons. The arms placed these wings over the rods, and against the pylons. Smaller arms near the ends of these arms proceeded to weld the wings into place. The welder arms maneuvered into openings at the aft of the wings to join the rods to the interiors thereof. The welders moved away and Nibu soldiers placed caps over the openings. The caps were then welded into place.
"These fighters are a symbol of this new alliance between the Empire and the Nibu'im. The technology of both has its own merits, and the joining of both forges something far greater. These are also a symbol of friendship."
Lecersen suppressed a frown. Friendship? Shotel Za was certainly a very important ally. But a friend? Perhaps. The man seemed perfectly willing to do what was necessary, even if it could be rather... ugly. It was a quality all Moffs should have. Lecersen had never thought he'd count an alien as a friend, though the Celestials were essentially large humans. Thrawn had been an alien, too. Though Chiss were, essentially blue humans...
Shotel Za turned toward the pilots. "The four of you may test the ships." The pilots jogged over to the four forward most Executioners, which had their rear-hinged canopies up. "They hide their excitement well," he told Lecersen.
"As befits an Imperial officer," Lecersen said, as the pilots climbed up ladders set into the sides of the craft and easily slid into the cockpits. Without a sound they lifted themselves into the air; Lecersen almost missed the trademark whining sound typical of a TIE. The craft pulled in their landing skids, and one by one the blasted out of the factory.
Shotel Za typed some commands into a nearby terminal, putting an image of a starfield up on a large screen on a nearby wall. Near the center of the screen was the rear half of a Terran war cruiser. "We were able to repair the shield generators, and restore them to their full strength." The TIE Executioners came hurtling into view. A golden orange needle of energy shot out from one of the large barrels, and crashed into the war cruiser's deflector shield. The shield turned an angry yellowish as the beam burned against it, and punched its way through. Just as this shaft of light vanished, another took its place, passing through the gap in the shield and slowly boring into the Terran ship's crystalline hull. The shield started to close back up again, but it seemed slower than usual. But the second Executioner soon broke off its attack.
"Those weapons pack quite a wallop for their size," Yage commented.
"Wallop," Shotel Za repeated, as though trying that word out for the first time. "Nibu technology relies heavily on the Force, but your technology relies on other means. Separately they are powerful. When they are combined they enhance one another. It is like the crystalline hull of a Terran ship; the crystals go in all directions. Where one is weak the others are strong. These beam weapons are, in fact, almost too powerful. Firing the beam weapon pushes the Executioner's systems close to an overload. It takes about thirteen point seven five six two minutes until the weapon is safe to fire again."
"And if one did not wait that long would the Executioner detonate?" Yage inquired.
"A self destruct ability. That would depend on the time between uses and how much the other systems have been taxed. I can show you the mathematical formulas if you wish."
"Perhaps later," Lecersen said.
Shotel Za laughed. "That is your way of saying you have no interest. You are, indeed, a diplomat."
"I wouldn't mind seeing the formulas. It would provide a tactical benefit," Yage said.
"I will show you shortly, then," Shotel Za said happily.
The second pair of Executioners came upon the partial war cruiser. They opened fire simultaneously, on a fresh and relatively undamaged area. The besieged section of the deflector shield turned an angry yellowish orange. A tear rapidly formed in the shield, allowing the twin beams to burn through the crystalline hull even deeper than the first pair.
Just as the two TIE Executioners broke off their attack, as to avoid an overload, a soft beep emanated from Shotel Za's comlink. He frowned and pushed his cheek out slightly, nudging the tiny arm holding the microphone. A voice spoke to him in his own language. Lecersen frowned at the mentions of the Ssi-Ruuk and Bakura. Shotel Za's tone made it clear he was a bit perplexed. His cheek bulged outward slightly, as he pushed with his tongue, moving the arm ever so sightly and shutting the device off.
"Trouble?" Lecersen inquired.
"Potentially," Shotel Za answered. "A Ssi-Ruuvi fleet has gathered just within sensor range of Bakura. Perhaps these saurians plan to draw Bakura's defenders out for an ambush. But the Bakurans plan to stay put. The Ssi-Ruuk will figure this out."
"And when they do?" Lecersen wondered "I believe we should send a task to quash whatever this is."
Shotel Za gave Lecersen a knowing smile. "You wish to come to Bakura's aid in order to gain their support. It would be seen as a rescue whether or not the Ssi-Ruuk actually do attack. I might also gain their support. Good thinking. And we certainly don't need those saurians causing mayhem right now. Bakura is very close. We must aid them."
!
Floating above the center of the oblong table, in the Errant Venture's ops room, was an image of a Ssi-Ruuvi fleet. Strongly resembling lizard heads the sight could have been comical. It reminded acting Jedi Grand Master Corran Horn of a scene from one of those ancient holodramas made in the days long before space travel had become commonplace.
The hologram of P'w'eck General Thiio'lwin whistled in Ss-Ruuvi. "The Ssi-Ruuk should know we won't fall for such a trap," an unseen man translated.
"What if it's something else?" wondered Bothan Admiral Nek Bwuatu's hologram, seated to Corran's right. "The Ssi-Ruuk should also know, as this meeting proves, that their actions would draw people's attention. If that's their intent then there must be something they don't want us to see."
Thiio'lwin warbled. "We need to know what the Ssi-Ruuk want," his translator said.
"It's possible that we have things backwards," suggested Supreme Warmaster Shotel Za's hologram. "The Ssi-Ruuk might expect us to be more concerned over what they have yet to do. Perhaps they hope that will draw even more attention. This would make the Ssi-Ruuk's actions at Bakura look like the distraction. With the galaxy on edge as it is perhaps the Ssi-Ruuk think Bakura is not a priority to defend."
Kronos' hologram seemed to frown at something or someone out of view. His brow furrowed and his shoulders rose slightly. But then his shoulders sagged, and his expression became a bit resigned. "We could have the Olympus Mons lead a fleet to Bakura; perhaps it would scare the Ssi-Ruuk off."
Why had Kronos struggled over that? The Olympus Mons was Irisia's ship... Corran reached out to her with a sense of warning. The Terran woman reached back; she'd picked up on it, too.
"I have ships that are much closer," Shotel Za put in, a subtle but sharp edge to his voice. The Nibu man wouldn't be tolerating whatever nonsense Kronos had been put up to. Corran suspected Carinae was somehow involved. "And I believe Tho Yors would inspire more fear within the Ssi-Ruuk." That made sense as the Celestials had nearly conquered the galaxy.
"If the Olympus Mons accompanied Shotel Za's fleet it would be a good show of unity," Kronos insisted.
"This is true," Irisia's hologram, to Corran's left, agreed. "However, I want to see if it's possible to replace the Olympus Mons' starboard beam weapon with one from a irreparable war cruiser. It would take time to do this." Corran highly doubted that was actually possible, but it was a decent excuse to avoid Carinae's manipulation.
"So be it," Kronos conceded, apparently having realized his dissent would compound the suspicion he'd already earned.
Bwua'tu opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when a hand tapped his shoulder. He turned toward its owner. A brief discussion ensued, after which Bwua'tu turned back around. "The fleet at Coruscant is under attack by seven Nephil carrier ships and several squadrons of Razors."
Corran shook his head. "That can't be a coincidence. The Ssi-Ruuk have worked with the Nephil'im before."
"It's possible some Nephil'im and their ships are still active," Irisia said. "Or the Ssi-Ruuk might have repaired some of the ships."
"If the Ssi-Ruuk are behind this, they gave us inadequate time to send a fleet to Bakura," Za commented. "They want us to send that fleet to Coruscant instead."
"I'm not completely convinced of that," Bwua'tu objected. "The fleet at Coruscant is being wiped out. They'll be gone before we can send any reinforcements. The Ssi-Ruuk may be hoping we decide there's no point in worrying about Coruscant."
"We don't really know which thing is the distraction," the translator said after Thiio'lwin let out a series of whistles and warbles.
"I suppose not," Bwua'tu said. "I'll work on getting eyes on Coruscant, just in case the Ssi-Ruuk do have something to hide."
"And I'll take a fleet to Bakura," Za said. "If that will be all, I have much to do."
"I see no reason to prolong this meeting," Kronos said.
After a round of hasty goodbyes, not all of them sincere, the holograms evaporated, leaving Corran alone... with a grumbling stomach. The Jedi Grand Master had a very bad feeling about all of this. There was something they weren't seeing.
A/N: Nephil'im is the plural of Nephil. In Hebrew 'im' is used to pluralize things: Cherub-Cherubim. I threw in the apostrophe.