Many thanks to those who've reviewed the last few chapters. It is a strange thing, writing with the character choices in charge, and sudden finding yourself spiraling toward the conclusion long before you expected to. although not unwelcome, it is certainly a surprise for me, and while we still have a good couple of months worth of posts left to go, the writing front is nearing the end of the series. it is an odd feeling, but I'll discuss that as we reach closer toward the end. Please R&R, and enjoy the chapter! ~F
Chapter Twenty
Transition of Power
Kelrek reeled a bit at the burst of power that erupted from the core of the Empire. It seemed as though the Emperor himself had come down hard upon some faction of rebellion from within the very elite of the hierarchy.
"And that is what we need to fear…" Jennah said, stepping beside Kelrek, who was studying the navigation charts for their long, roundabout course to the coordinates that Lord Diábolis had given them.
"We will be fine, so long as we stick to the plan and leave as soon as our part in the Sith Apprentice's plans is completed," Kelrek informed her, only for the sixth or seventh time since they started this journey and at least the fiftieth since they ceased communication with Diábolis.
"You know as much as I that the end of this business won't be as simple as that…" Jennah replied, continuing to push the narrative of her own fear.
"Perhaps it will be, perhaps not," Kelrek countered, trying to carry on plotting their course, and figuring out where they might be able to directly jump to the location.
"Kelrek…" Jennah said, placing a hand in his way so that he could do nothing but look at her. "I have a terrible feeling about getting involved in this shadow war between the Sith Lords… something terrible will happen."
"Sometimes, risks must be taken in order to further one's advancement in the Galaxy…" Kelrek replied, pulling away the Marauder's hand from the screen. "We will be involved only as much as we need to be, and then reap the benefits…"
"And what if the Emperor wins and we find ourselves on the wrong side of this fight?" Jennah retorted.
"I have Srilis planning for that possibility…" Kelrek replied, turning back to the screen, "Everything will be taken care of; no matter what outcome happens, we will be able to benefit, trust me."
They would be reaching the next checkpoint shortly, and while the officers knew the routine and where they were going next, it was still something that Kelrek wished to watch closely, in order to make sure that nothing happened.
When they arrived at the specific location, the navigation officer started plugging in the next location even before they left Hyperspace. Within minutes, they would turn the ship and activate Hyperspace once more, rocketing off to the next checkpoint.
Flawlessly executed, they returned to the blazing star lines as they continued on. It would be several more similar jumps that would be needed before they could round the core of the Galaxy and could travel straight to their destination.
Jennah finally walked away, and Kelrek breathed a small sigh of relief. The Marauder was growing rather insufferable with regards to the whole mission. Personally, he had every confidence that Diábolis would achieve victory in the end, even if there was a long drawn out battle, and that he would receive a great reward for aiding the Sith Apprentice in overthrowing his master.
The Emperor, for all the glory and power, had passed his prime as far as the Sorcerer was concerned. The Empire needed fresh leadership for a new direction and new growth if they were to solidify their control over the Galaxy, and whatever else they chose to set their sights on afterward.
Kelrek wasn't certain what Diábolis had planned to be sure, but he was certain of what the Emperor wished to do, as he had chosen to be secluded for years in his own palace, surrounded by Holocrons and other texts. As a Sorcerer in his own right, and having touched some of the darker aspects of the Force, Kelrek was well aware that the Emperor likely sought the true achievement of dominating the Force completely through his use of the Dark Side.
The problem with that; however, was that Kelrek was certain that the Emperor had already consumed all the information that the ancients had to give regarding the mysteries of the Force, and had given none of this to his lesser servants. Whatever the Emperor thought to achieve, it was either so arcane that it was beyond the reach of the Force, or else it was something that would devastate the Galaxy completely and therefore needed to be stopped.
When Diábolis took command, there would need to be a great reordering of the collection of knowledge in that palace, and who better to do so than Kelrek? And in the process of sorting through all that knowledge, it would make sense for the Sorcerer to learn a great deal of things regarding the nature of the Dark Side, and grow powerful himself.
Jennah and Srilis might have their doubts, but for the goals that Kelrek had, he needed this plot to succeed, and if the Emperor was distracted with some other group that thought to wrest control from his Majesty in a direct confrontation, then all the better for those operating in the shadows.
They needed to find a weapon they preyed on some weakness of the Emperor, and if Diábolis thought that he had found something, then Kelrek would do what was needed to aid the Devaronian in collecting it, so that the Sith Lord knew who among all the Dark Adepts in the Empire supported him in his hour of need.
Quickly, he plotted out the rest of their jumps to their location, knowing that it would take time to get where they needed to go, but he had picked the swiftest route, now that he knew that they had a perfect distraction in the Emperor's wrath falling upon others.
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Veneficus gloried in his power over the fool of a Supreme Prophet. Holding the man hostage on his own ship, surrounded by fools that would not think or act on their own, while ship after ship of his allies arrived into their own deathtrap was simply amusing to witness.
Over the course of this massacre, Veneficus was unwilling to acknowledge that it was even close to a battle, he spotted the flagships of several other High Prophets, and was disappointed that so many had fallen for the foolish lies that Feyd had spread through the Empire about his ascendancy and the lack of power that the Sith Master held.
He took great pleasure in eliminating these traitors, and noted the empty slots that would eventually need to be filled in his Dark Council. With the number he had to slay, along with those that had specific positions for his own reasons, he knew that choices for a new Supreme Prophet to take over after Veneficus disposed of Feyd would be slim.
He had already considered Zhar for the position, and he was the only acceptable option, and more to the irony that the man wanted to leave the role that he had taken up so long ago. Yes, Veneficus decided as he personally crushed another ship with the Force, he would put the resistant man in power, and keep him close to the throne of Veneficus, preventing him from working well on his escape plans.
Granted, Veneficus would bet a great deal that this would not stop the man from his design, and that his apprentice would take up more responsibility regarding this… but it would be greatly slowed from actually discovering anything, which would allow Veneficus to focus on other threats to his power.
Soon enough the flow of ships slowed and eventually stopped altogether. Either the fools had finally learned that it was a trap to come to the aid of the Supreme Prophet, or else he had run out of allies that would follow his every command.
"So, it seems that all your supposed friends and allies are gone…" Veneficus said to the air, allowing the Force to transport his thoughts directly to his victim. "And now all that leaves is you between me and peace in the Galaxy…"
Pressing a button to open a channel to the bridge, Veneficus gave his orders. "I want landing forces to go down and secure the planet once more, we are done here."
"Yes, my Emperor!" the admiral in charge replied.
Gathering the Force to him, Veneficus took command of the entire ship that Supreme Prophet Feyd was in. "Goodbye, apprentice of Dass'in… you are a lesser student of a greater teacher…"
Clasping his hands together, the Sith Lord allowed the ship to be crushed completed, leaving it a wreck in space, and all within more than dead.
"So, it is finished…" Darth Bane said, appearing from behind the Sith Emperor.
"Yes… all these traitors are dead or too cowardly to stand up to me…" Veneficus replied, taking a seat on his throne in his personal chamber. Suddenly he was very tired, and the small tremors in his hands were testimony of how much Force energy he had used in a short amount of time.
"Take your Elixir, apprentice…" Millennial said, appearing as well.
"I don't need you to tell me what I need to do," Veneficus snarled, already pulling the flask out in his shaking hands. He still had strength enough to get the liquid to his lips and settle his failing body once more.
"You cannot allow such a momentous event to happen again," Bane added, watching with his judgmental eyes, "the amount of power you used rocked the Force throughout the Galaxy, and I can see that it accelerated your degeneration."
"Yes, I can see that, and I will be more vigilant to prevent such a large rebellion from happening again." Veneficus said, too tired to try and banish the spirits of the ancient Sith Lords that appeared to attempt and persuade him one way or another.
"You need not deal with this level of pain and torment…" Naga Sadow informed him. "The power is already in you to acquire a new, more youthful body…"
"Even if I was to do that, it would be a temporary solution at best…" Veneficus argued, tired of the same idea being given to him over and over. "Essence Transference would only work on the most perfect candidate, and even then my glorious power might still kill anyone not already a house for immense Dark Side power."
"We just wish to remind you that it is an option, and you could start on that plan, forming a new body through alchemy or else grooming the perfect candidate for possession." Millennial added.
"Yes, and I heard you before." Veneficus snapped back, hating hearing the voice of his old master being so lecturing, as though the man truly cared about him and not the power that Veneficus represented.
"I will find a better way, even if I have to have the Philosopher's Stone implanted into myself to have a continuous flow of Elixir into my very blood!" he raged, having previously considered just that previously. Granted the complications that could happen with that were great, but the risk to his life was still less than attempting Essence Transfer.
"Regardless of your choice, it would be wisest to withdrawn, summon your new pawn and set him in power, then return to the core of the Galaxy and search for answers that you have not yet discovered." Bane finally conceded.
It was the wisest thing that the spirits had to say at this present moment, and Veneficus was eager to do just that. However, there was one final matter regarding the previous Supreme Prophet that Veneficus had to see to before he returned Zhar from his hiding.
Activating a line of communication down to the planet, a young officer answered, before visibly paling to find the Emperor on the other end. "Your Majesty, it is an honor…" the young man stammered.
"Of course it is…" Veneficus said, moving along to his command, "there are forces coming down from my ship now, meet them and bring them to Supreme Prophet Feyd's apprentice. I demand his presence aboard my ship within the hour, or there will be suffering and to spare."
"As you command, your Majesty!" the man replied hastily, almost sprinting to fulfill the order, and forgetting to even shut off the communication.
Cutting the line himself, Veneficus smirked. Once the last tie to Feyd was eliminated, Zhar could assume command of both systems, and begin piecing together the core of the Empire once more, and Veneficus himself could go back to the peaceful research for immortality through the massive collection he possessed.
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Hermione had to admit that she was both intrigued and concerned about the appearance of such a powerful item as a Seer's Stone in their possession. She trusted it in Professor Snape's hands above anyone else, simply because of the sheer knowledge that the man had regarding anything potentially dark.
But to plan what they might actually use the item for, Ist was right to call for all three of them. Hermione, Severus, and Filius Flitwick would need to debate and weigh every matter before calling upon the power of the stone to show them a possible route toward a certifiable victory over the Empire.
Hermione was well aware that there would be disastrous consequences if they simply followed the stone in every matter. They would be led to do terrible things that would make them as evil as the Emperor. The danger was how clear and simple such an item would show them the route, and if they believed that there was no other option to take.
If left to herself, Hermione wasn't sure if she had the willpower to resist such an end, recalling how easily she was twisted and fooled by the Emperor even as he tore his way through the Galaxy, burning and destroying systems with her own technology.
Arriving back in Sanctuary, they quickly sent out the others that had come with them to gather more materials for the Bakura base, and set off for Severus' potion lab.
The man seemed to be waiting for them to arrive, as he froze the potion he was working on the moment they arrived, moved toward a secure wall safe, and produced from within the sparkling stone of their great concern.
"So this is it?" Hermione asked, stepping forward to gaze at the beautiful stone.
Filius waved his wand, sealing the door with powerful charms so that they would not be disturbed, and joined them around the item.
"So, now we have to decide how best we might proceed toward defeating the Emperor, and if or how this stone will aid us to do that." Hermione stated.
"Having done some blanket tests on the stone," Severus reported, "I can attest that is it genuine, and will do exactly as we have been told it functions."
"Meanwhile," Filius added, "I composed a list of topics that we could discuss and weigh upon whether we look into the stone regarding."
Hermione was surprised. She had been too busy trying to prepare herself for the trial that might come by looking into the stone that she hadn't even thought of how to make the process simpler. Smiling to herself, she recognized that even now, long after she had left their direct tutelage, the two Professors were still teaching her through their example.
"Then let us begin this process…" Severus suggested, cupping his hands underneath the stone, allowing the lights overhead to reflect off the surface of the gem.
"First option to discuss…" Filius started, "How can we proceed to weaken the Imperial Navy, and halt the production of the Sith Empire's forces?"
"We have no idea where their factories are even held," Hermione said, stating the information that they already knew, "even during the war the Empire had ships come from some unknown location in mass, and using stolen technology made by me crafted devastating weapons to utilize at strategic moments in the war to crush the Republic."
"And even in this case the tide of ships, while slowed, still continues to come forth from some location unknown." Severus added.
"So that is what we shall ask: the location of these secret factories of the Empire's ships, and how we might strike at them." Filius summarized.
"I can agree to that," Severus added, and Hermione nodded.
Together, the three of them leaned in and looked deeply into the stone, watching as the gem started to turn translucent and display the vastness of space. Before their eyes coordinates filtered into their minds and Hermione felt the sensation of magic that she was very familiar with wash over her.
"A Fidelius Charm covers their factory…" she stated.
"And now we know where it is located. But how shall we destroy it?" Filius asked.
"We'd need to disable the charm to be able to land on the station…" Hermione said, her brain already launching into forming a plan, "Once we do that, it should be down to the same manner of sabotaging any station or ship. We plant explosives in the vital locations and detonate them."
"Of course, we do not know what we expect to find once the charm drops. But we could mobilize our entire fleet to attack it once an all-clear signal was sent, and then there would be a possibility of scanning it for a weakness." Filius added, striking directly on the main concern that Hermione had held even while she spoke her mind.
"I doubt that even the stone can pierce the charm and show us that we're facing, but destroying that would be a giant step toward crippling the ability of the Empire to overwhelm and crush us…" Severus added.
"Then, instead of diving further into using the stone, we should work toward accomplishing this first point, and eliminate this hidden factory." Hermione decided, "I'll devote all to my time to creating a complete plan to infiltrate and destroy it."
"We'll need to include the help of the Jedi," Filius added, "If this location is so important to the Emperor that he used magic to conceal it, there will be heavy protection within that we will need to delay or defeat in order to succeed."
"I agree, and will factor that in accordingly," Hermione replied, nodding. "I trust you will inform those who need to know when you take our engineers back to Bakura with more supplies and some specialized equipment." Hermione knew that this had to be done in order to reduce their dependency on shipping between the two secret bases. The fewer ships that they had moving in open space between the two locations, the safer they'd be from discovery.
Filius agreed, and departed. After seeing that Severus locked up the Seer's stone once again, Hermione followed, heading up to her office and laboratory. She was already abuzz with ideas of what they could do to try and infiltrate the station, but each and every one was dangerous. They would need one of the three most powerful Mage-born to go, in order to disable the charm. Several Jedi would be needful in case of any Dark Adepts aboard whatever facility was hidden therein, as well as demolition experts to carry and set the explosives to destroy the facility.
Making a few selective calls to those allies she knew of nearer to the coordinates, she sent out scouts to spy on the location, and see what sort of ships went to or from that location, and if they could board one secretly to get their team inside.
The only pause she took that entire day was to turn and watch out the large window of her office as the ship they had come on, now carrying only Filius and their engineers, departed back into the sky, heading back to Bakura to carry information of their plan to those who needed to be in the know as they finalized their plans.
With some luck, a few of the commanders and other might have an idea or two to send back via holocommunication, but until then, she would pour out her mind into solving the riddle of how to get their team on that unknown station or ship hidden within the powerful charm.
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Diábolis wasn't sure how much he could trust the Marauder Fury, or the rest of the man's loyal followers, but he had little choice with the man residing on the Sith Lord's ship than to include him to a degree within his plans. It was likely that the man was too loyal to the Emperor and would have to be eliminated, but the Devaronian would burn that bridge when the time came and no sooner.
Personally, he held little respect for those that served his master without questioning their station or the fact that they were handicapped when it came to their knowledge of the Force. This was why he was willing to work closely with Sorcerer Kelrek, as the man was already delving into secrets that the Emperor would punish with death for the lesser servants to even be aware of, let alone learn on their own.
Diábolis on the other hand had different ideas, as it allowed him to warp the minds of many to his side and away from blindly following Veneficus. And if it all tied together for him getting his hands on the artifact or weapon that the Star Map was directing him to, and therefore a step closer to overcoming his master and taking command of the Galaxy for himself, then it would be worth it.
Until he received the call to slip away and get to the northern location however, he had ample time to plot out what else was needed to overthrow the madman who had single handedly torn down the Republic and set himself in its place as Emperor.
From what reports he had, and collaborating with his own knowledge regarding his master, it was clear that the man had pacted himself to the spirits of ancient Sith Lords, siphoning their power in exchange for tying them to the physical world. A powerful technique of the Dark Side, and one not easily broken, except for what report he had discovered regarding whatever item he was seeking through the intervention of the Trio.
Apart from that, the man was also a powerful Mage-born on top of his already terrifying skills in the Force and with lightsaber combat. That magic, which was something that Diábolis was familiar with fighting against, was something he hoped to find a way to weaken or neutralize before the final confrontation, as otherwise he would stand at a huge disadvantage.
Diábolis had witnessed recordings from within the Palace as Veneficus fought with intruders on multiple occasions, and the man's ability to merge the Force with his personal magic abilities was both frightening and devastatingly effective. The Devaronian knew that he would have to be at the top of his skills to even pose a challenge to his master, but the presence of that reserve of personal magic would make any contest impossible.
However, he had sources within the rebellion that told him of a secret weapon that they were developing that might work to Diábolis' advantage in crippling the magic of his Master, leaving only his skill in the Force and with the blade. That, while still not completely in the apprentice's advantage, was a fight that was capable of being won, and until more options opened up, was what Diábolis was hoping to work toward in order to overthrow his master and take up the mantle of rule himself.
With all that he had set in motion, it wouldn't be much longer now, and all the pieces required for his grand sweep of the board would be in place. He just had to bide his time a little longer, and then he would be able to drop all pretense of servitude to the man who destroyed what little happiness had once existed in the Devaronian's life.
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Zhar expected the holocall to come in ever since the explosion of Force energy rocked through the Galaxy. Still, the fact that it came at all heralded the weight of pressure that was about to descend upon his shoulders.
"Lord Zhar, arise…" Veneficus commanded as the communication was answered.
"Yes, my Emperor," he replied, standing and stepping closer to hear the commands of the madman that ruled the vast majority of the known Galaxy.
"Supreme Prophet Feyd and his band of traitors are no more…" Veneficus reported, and inwardly Zhar winced at the level of sadistic pleasure that went unsaid behind the words. The fates of those poor beings much have been particularly brutal for the Emperor to actually be smiling as he said it.
"The last remnants are trapped upon your world of Korriban, awaiting your decision about their final fate. The rule of the Dark Council is yours. I trust that you will make smarter decisions than you predecessor, Supreme Prophet Zhar…"
"I will, your Majesty…" Zhar replied, as there was no other acceptable answer.
"You first duty is to rebuild the Dark Council as soon as feasibly possible," Veneficus commanded.
"Until that task is complete, I request the right to acquire a second apprentice, to manage the chaos that will be left in the wake of Feyd's death, as well as the right to spread rule of the remaining core Imperial planets among those loyal." Zhar replied, just as he had planned with Euka.
The Emperor didn't even bother it a second thought, "Permission granted, but you will be reassigned primarily to Dromund Kaas, and a new High Prophet for Korriban will be selected."
"As you wish, my Lord," Zhar submitted, knowing that the man would not allow such a concession without a price.
"Then I suggest you get to work, Supreme Prophet, so that I might return to mine…" Veneficus said airily, and closed the communication.
Zhar remained motionless for several long moments, taking in all that had just transpired, mainly unspoken, both in inflection and through the Force.
"Did our plan work?" Euka said, emerging from the shadows, having needed to be away while the Emperor was present for the safety of their plan.
"I believe so, but we shall not act with too much haste." Zhar admonished her, "if we launch directly into our plan, it will be far too easy for the Emperor to just turn around and eliminate us in turn."
"Agreed, so I shall return to Korriban, send our things to Dromund Kaas, and seek out a suitable second apprentice for you?" she asked.
"Yes," Zhar answered, "leave immediately, I will sharter another shuttle to take me to Dromund Kaas and assert out dominion over the planet." The new Supreme Prophet was already turning his mind to ponder how best to achieve that particular feat. The majority of the Imperial capital had been well under the control of Feyd since the end of the war, and therefore would be highly opposed to anyone, especially the famed rival of their Supreme Prophet, suddenly taking over.
A show of force would likely be needed for the most stubborn of the resistors, and that would still spur on those more diehard loyalists toward Feyd's cause. Zhar could find himself locked down with silencing rebellion for months yet, preventing him from working toward restoring the Dark Council or anything else involved with his command from the Emperor.
And of course, during that time his apprentices would be forced to aid him in all things to the best of their ability. How unfortunate that that might take Euka far and wide, inevitable locating what they needed to abandoning this sinking Empire altogether and flee to parts of the Galaxy unknown, where they could just live as they chose, and now be bound to the madness of a man who sought to encompass all of space with his merciless control.
Zhar was almost willing to admit that joining the rebels might even be an option for them, if the fools and Jedi supporters would actually believe them and their desire to escape the Emperor, but it would be too much for them to wish for. They were on their own for the time being in this endeavor.
Hopefully, Euka had no trouble finding an excellent third member of their little troop. Granted, even if it was a loyal brute that sought nothing but glory they could be of use, brutalizing those foes publicly that would defy Zhar's outward rule, while Euka worked in the shadows for their true goal, then all the better. Trusting an entirely new person with all their secrets was still something that Zhar had great qualms about, but a standing fool that would do as he or she was commanded would suffice.
In the meantime, a quick signal for his personal shuttle to prepare for takeoff, and Zhar was on his way to Dromund Kaas, already thinking and plotting toward how he would enforce his rule over the planet, and what motivations he could employ to make sure that the transition was as smooth as possible.
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Filius returned quickly to Bakura for his portion of the mission to eliminate the secret Imperial facility in deep space. The Charms master knew that they would need to commission a great number of their ships for such an endeavor, and they could very easily lose many of the new followers if such a battle went poorly.
Therefore, in consulting with his military advisors, General Caldev Marlas and Commodore Michear Leehamm, on who would be most effective for their mission, they started the tedious process to narrow down who to recruit for their attack squad. Knowing that several Jedi would be needed for this expedition, Filius made sure to send word to Master Yoda to bring several of the most trusted knights to join them.
With Ms. Granger working on how they would break the Fidelious Charm, Filius had no timetable as of yet for when they would start this mission, but it would be more than useful to know exactly who they had on standby and have them on hand at any moment when they were given the green light.
Still, a quick list of hundreds was toned down to several groups of working squads that could operate well together with various skill sets. Calculations for supplies and fuel for shuttles and fighters were also compiled, and checked against their stockpiles, all of which returned well in the positive.
Still, Filius had his misgivings with using the Seer's Stone for their campaign against the Emperor. Wizarding fables had many a tale about the dangers of tampering with time, either future or past, and Filius was keenly aware that they were treading dangerously closer to that with their new prescient powers. The Emperor had already used a finely attuned level of foresight to conqueror the Galaxy, showcasing the exact devastation that one with too much knowledge could wreak.
Nevertheless, Filius wasn't so blind to presume that they would be able to confront such a madman without some advantages of their own in order to make up the difference that the Emperor had created for himself.
The process of forming their combat squads, and readying the supplies that would be needed for the assault took several days, and in the meantime Filius was recruited to help coordinate the missions of the many other new recruits were sent on, primarily going out into the Galaxy and rallying even more support to help overthrow the Empire.
Primary on their list was gathering building materials, which would allow the rebellion to construct more ships, and continue their weapon research with Magi-tech to try and find better means of countering the Empire's massive military structure.
They had started to gather a good deal of supplies through these methods before, but with the influx of members that the Empire were not fully aware were on their side, they hoped to be able to do much more. There were dangers with this aggressive of a move, especially with the sheer number of Dark Adepts that circulated through the Galaxy, ever on the hunt for the rebellion's agents, but they had sufficient training to know what they could do in the event that they were discovered.
Filius had had a hand in creating the program for this training, including the emphasis in making sure that one was not discovered in the first place, and not taking unneeded risks above all else. The Charms Master and expert duelist was well aware that many of their people would not be capable of committing everything in their power to the rebel's cause, and he was not willing to force them to do so, especially if they had families or other beings dear to them that could be used against them by the Empire.
Many chose to ignore this training however, and each report of an operative and their families being eliminated stung Filius to the very core. Therefore, he strove to make sure that everyone in their organization knew for a fact that they would not be held accountable if they decided to back off from accepting a mission because of the risk to their loved ones, and that the upper levels of the Rebellion were keenly aware that protecting loved ones took priority in their minds over the dangerous risks that were needed.
There had been a few that took them up on that offer in regards to the secret mission on the unknown facility, and their wishes were respected, their skills reassigned to safer, more clear missions. Filius wanted above anything that their members felt that they were in control of their lives in this movement, and that nothing was forced upon them in fighting against the Empire.
Of course, once accepted onto a mission and told the details, one could not back out afterward, and all of their operatives understood this clearly and were dedicated to fulfilling the mission to their full extent once they accepted to participate.
By the time they had therefore compiled their groups and prepped them for what they were planning to do, Filius received an encoded message from Sanctuary, giving them the go ahead on their attack on the facility, as well as the ritual spell for disabling and stripping away the Fidelious Charm away from the location.
It was particularly complex, but Filius was confident that he would be able to do without too much problem. Only once that had occurred would they be able to sweep the facility and determine what weaknesses that they could find to destroy whatever it was laying beneath the powerful charm.
"Commander, what are our orders?" Commodore Leehamm asked.
"We head to the coordinates provided by Director Granger, and prepare for our assault of the secret Imperial factory." Filius affirmed to his naval commander.
"As you command, Sir…" the Commodore replied with a sharp salute. He immediately turned and started barking orders at their officers and engineers, calling for all shuttles to be secured and berthed in their ships and for the Hyperdrives to be prepared for activation.
Filius looked over the instructions for the ritual once more, a growing sense of peril washing over him as he thought about what they were about to attempt. Normally, striking an unknown location was an extremely foolish move. However, the rebellion was in a desperate spot, and they were unlikely to have a second attempt at this target.
It was simply now or never. Therefore Filius would start on the ritual now, and time it to be completed shortly after they exit Hyperspace at their coordinates. It seemed that it was a combination of a modified charm, as well as a simple potion that would work in tandem to shatter the spell.
The brilliance of the best student Hogwarts ever produced simply astounded Filius every time she accomplished something like this. If people had known about this sort of magic back in the wizarding war, things would have been far different.
Voldemort would never have been able to hide, but at the same time the Potters would have been significantly less secure. An entire chain reaction of cascading events all based on the laxness of the wizarding community and their refusal to think outside the prescribed rules of magic that had been held for ages.
With free reign to do as she pleased, Ms Granger had shattered almost all conventional limits of magic, and singlehanded took the magical world into an entirely new age, one that was subsequently crushed and burned by the horrors of the Sith Lord Veneficus, the single greatest traitor of their people, and a Dark Lord above and beyond any that had ever exsisted.
"For the Mage-born, I will strike this blow against you, Dark One," Filius said, drawing his wand and summoning from several small compartments the ingredients that he would need for the potion.
"And I pray that this first strike will mark the beginning of your downfall, come hell, high water, or our very deaths!" he chanted to himself, even as he commenced the ritual, the powerful magic starting to warp his speech and stance to something significantly more formal.
The rest of the command crew was used to occasionally seeing Filius use complex magic to aid them, and did not react. They already knew that to interrupt or distract their commander when he was in the midst of a spell was very dangerous, and worked in near silence around him.
Before he had to focus completely upon the spell and nothing else, Filius saw the stars blur around them, and registered blearily that they were now on their way to the future battle site.