Chapter 10

The Senate building was still undergoing repairs in the two weeks that had passed since the Empire had unveiled itself to the galaxy again. Many senators had decided not to come to this meeting. Some feared a repeat of the previous week's havoc. For many, their reason for not coming was a lot worse. Master Katarn's actions had caused chaos in the galaxy. Many systems believed in Master Katarn's accusation, either because they trusted the Jedi Order wholeheartedly, or because they detested the Empire so fiercely. Other systems were torn in two; some people standing with Chief Tam and the Alliance, while some stood with Katarn's Jedi. Many senatorial seats were notably empty, and others were replaced with a different senator than the one elected to serve. There was one thing all the senators who decided to return to the Senate agreed on: the Jedi had to be stopped.

In the planets that stood with the Galactic Alliance, anti-Jedi sentiment had soared to heights not seen since the days of the Palpatine's Empire. As Chief Tam stood on the central platform again—this time closely guarded by General Onpaar and a contingent of heavily armored security guards—he faced the wrath of a galaxy demanding blood.

Several seats were out of place, hovering towards the center. All were competing to gain the attention of their fellow senators, but every cry was saying essentially the same thing:

"…diplomatic envoy needs to be sent to Ossus immediately."

"—security updates need to be made—"

"An attack on the Jedi would be costly, but the security risk they represent to the GA is too large to—"

"The Alliance has not even cut off funding to the Jedi yet! So I propose—"

"The perimeter set around the Jedi Temple here on Coruscant is not enough yet, we need—"

"Bring us the heads of the Jedi!"

Chief Tam waved his stubby hands around, trying to stem the wave of anxiety running amok throughout the Senate. "Senators, Senators! I ask that you quiet yourselves. The heighest levels of Alliance government are exploring our options regarding the Jedi threat. Although they have attacked our visiting dignitaries, they have not injured any member of the Alliance; they have made no direct threat to the GA itself—"

"He tried to kill you!"

"The Jedi accused you of treason!"

"Grow a backbone, Tam!"

Tam tried to make himself look taller, although probably subconsciously. "Unless the Jedi make a direct attack on—"

The ground shook with malignant force. It was almost an earthquake; but no. It was worse, much worse than a mere natural occurrence. It was a tearing in the planet's surface of a twisted nature, and it frightened the senators to their very cores.

"Emperor's black bones!" cried Tam, as he fell over on his face, "What the kark is going on?"

General Onpaar's face never lost its keen edge. He was already typing away into a datapd, and the comm on his wrist. "I'm working on it, Chief." Onpaar opened a vid on his wrist comm, and simultaneously set the feed up on the senate-wide projectors. "Captain Neall, report."

The beet-faced commander reported over the holovid. The spit emitting from his mouth was beginning to cover the vid as soon as he had begun speaking, "General! A fleet of unknown ships have exited hyperspace right over our heads. They've invaded our ships and—"

Neall head was suddenly stuck between two glowing blue blades. Neall slid off the blade, which was connected to the hilt of a Jedi's weapon. Scorpio Grottl, the Jedi now famous for his participation in last week's battle, stared into the holofeed with piercing coldness. "I have come on behalf of the Coalition."

A shocked Senate watched in agony as the decapitated head of Captain Neall bounced with surprising bouncy against the holo screen and out of the camera's view.

Tam swallowed his fear, and this time made a genuine attempt to appear strong, "How dare you enter this hall of democracy? How dare you murder a member of my staff?"

If Grottl felt remorse, it did not show on his face, "As the Grand Master said, the Galactic Alliance has broken the Treaty of Dac. As stipulated, the Jedi now have the right to intervene on the galactic public's behalf due to the Alliance's infringement on civil liberties. I have come on behalf of the Coalition to personally issue the formal declaration of war."

"What coalition?" Tam demanded, echoing the thousands of angry voices surrounding him.

A great howl echoed through the chambers. A sickening shutter rocked the entire Senate. It was as if the very foundations of the planetary core were being pushed off its axis. It was a thundering unlike any Coruscant had felt for centuries. It reverberated from the highest towers of the elite apartments of 500 Republica to the lowest level of the undercity, so that every businessman and scoundrel felt the effect.

"The Coalition between the Jedi Order and affiliated worlds." Grottl responded with an icy smile, "The Jedi have a sworn duty to protect those who need it, and in the spirit of that, we have declared war on the corruption and malevolence encapsulated in the decaying Galactic Alliance. Surrender this world and submit yourself as a prisoner to the Coalition, or the bombing will continue. Our Juggernauts are more than capable of leveling the planet into a smoking durasteel heap."

"This is lunacy!" Tam cried.

The Holonet feeds lit up with footage from the cataclysmic event. All across the planet, bombing conducted by a massive fleet commenced. The capital ships, evidently the Juggernauts that Grottl mentioned, had an anterior like a massive fortress, much like the Sar Destroyer of the old Empire, just inflated substantially. The body of the ships unfolded like a dagger initially, then twisting and unfurling to create four smaller bodies that twisted nastily inward like the gaping maw of a Quarren. From the maw of the blue-highlighted ships emerged star fighters of unknown class, though one of them appeared to me a heavily modified version of the GA Zayin-class ships. The ships descended out of the Juggernauts and swarmed all across the planet and began to fight all Alliance forces.

Grottl smirked as the Senate members watched with horror as the events above them played out. Tam felt tenuous courage rush through him as adrenaline began to take over. He turned away from Grottl, who was clearly waiting for Tam to turn himself over, and demanded of his chief of security, "Where the hell did that fleet come from?"

"All ships are of unknown design. Somehow they have disabled our planetary shields. I have put out the call to mobilize all planetary defenses. However, our forces are…" Onpaar struggled to find the right word, not wanting to outwardly accuse his boss of unwisely demilitarizing the government, "inadequate. The defense platforms are keeping some of the capital ships occupied, but not enough to prevent the bombing. I have put out the call to the sixth and second fleets, but they are much too far away to get here in time. Planetary security has launched all wings to combat their snub fighters, but—Chief, I am sorry, but we are hopelessly outmatched."

"I do not wish to interrupt," interrupted Grottl, "but it is time that you come wish us. Unless you want the attack to continue?"

At the entrances to the Senate, numerous Jedi with their weapons drawn assembled, all staring at Tam. Clearly, they were the force meant to carry Tam away.

Onpaar reached to the lightsaber at his belt, but Tam raised a fist and signaled the Vong to halt. With his newfound confidence, Tam stared Grottl in the eyes through the holofeed. His face shone with boldness as he locked his gaze with Grottl's. He could almost feel the heat emanating from the blue lightsabers across the vast distance separating them. The weapons seemed to dance before Tam's eyes, as if asking for a fight, but Tam would not be intimidated.

"Stop this. You owe me, Grottl." Tam growled at the Jedi, without more than a hint of fear under his aggressive posturing. "Whatever you want to do, just remember Cato Neimoidia. You owe me."

It seemed that the accusation made Grottl falter. He did not lower his weapon, but he stepped back slightly from the camera and adopted a less powerful stance. Clearly, the reminder of that…encounter the two shared many years ago shook his belief deeply. However, it was only a momentary lapse, and Grottl attempted to reassert himself. "That was then, Tam. The war is now."

Tam knew he was outmatched. Even if Onpaar and his security detachment could successfully hold off the Jedi force that surrounded the Senate chambers, it would be a lost cause. The lives of the entire planet, not to mention the galactic government, were at stake. There was no choice. Tam held up his hands, for the Jedi to escort him into custody. Meanwhile, the bombing continued for the moment, and in their despair the people of Coruscant openly begged for a savior.

Her name was Kit. Or at least, that is what she called herself. Cam had caught her forgetting to respond to her name more than once, though perhaps it was because of his perception in the Force that he was able to pick up on the seemingly innocuous absentmindedness of the woman who had rescued them from the Senate chambers the previous week. She always appeared in uniform, a plain but effective steel-blue armor that encompassed her entire torso. She was nearly always accompanied by her helmet, though she often chose not to wear it. Everything about her screamed efficiency. From the tight bun of her almond hair to the deadliness with which her gaze cast when she locked her fearsome grey eyes on you. The Empress welcomed Kit openly in thanks for saving Cam life, though no one on Bastion was quite sure what to make of her. She had evidently provided credentials that proved she was some sort of representative of the Galactic Alliance, though in what capacity, no one knew.

Truthfully, Cam did not care to know. Though his mother had been slain before his eyes, Cam found that as he grieved, his mind turned not to his mother, but his brother. Rayden had been the model Jedi. He was selfless beyond measure and had achieved mastery over his emotions from a young age. He was the kind of Jedi Cam aspired to one day be. Cam always looked up to his older brother. Their bond was stronger than most. While their parents were away on Imperial or Jedi business, Cam was often left in the care of Rayden. It was Rayden who first taught Cam the ways of the Force, even before Sallara.

As he tried to grieve for his mother, his memories of Rayden bubbled to the surface. When Cam was only five, he was tormented by ghosts of deceased Sith Lords. His parents tried to help him, but for all their mastery in the Force, they could not penetrate the anguished visage of young Cam. It was not until Rayden, then only twelve years old, spend months with Cam training him to control his emotions. He taught Cam to not only open his perceptions, but learn to control them. The Force became an ally to be called upon, no simply of a conduit of power. Rayden dedicated himself fully to Cam's training until finally the visions left him. Last week, Cam told Kieran Horn that it took the Jedi Order's best to rid him of the ghosts—and it had, for Rayden was one of the best.

That is why it was so devastating when an Imperial system was plunged into civil war. The elected government had long been oppressing half of the population, whose religious beliefs differed from doctrine. When those schismatics tried to escape the religious persecution, the government cracked down fully on the dissenters and began a systematic purge. Outright war broke out, and the planetary government asked the Jedi to intervene, at the urging of the Empire. Cam's father, Artur, and Rayden were in charge of a Jedi peacekeeping mission intent on acting as an arbitrator for both sides of the conflict. It was Rayden's first mission as a newly elevated Jedi Knight. The mediation soon turned violent. The government had never intended on negotiating with the rebels. Artur was the first victim, stealthily cut down by the government assassins. Several members of the insurgent faction were slain before Rayden jumped into action and dealt with the murderers. Rayden and the remaining Jedi were forced to fight their way out of the government's capital city and during their escape, they encountered the rebellion's forces. Rayden agreed to help liberate the rebels in exchange for their protection and safe passage out of the system. Rayden led a furious campaign against the government's forces. The final battle on the capital city was devastating. Surrounded by enemies, Rayden fought to his last tear, sweat, and breath until he was overwhelmed by enemy forces. Yet, Rayden accomplished his directive. The plan was to use Rayden, whom the government saw as the biggest threat, as a distraction while the main rebel forced stormed the city. Rayden fell in combat, but his death brought liberation to an oppressed people. He died a meaningful death—a Jedi's death.

Cam had wondered if he would ever stop mourning for his brother and father. Now he wondered if he would ever stop mourning for his mother, or any of his deceased family. Despite his meditative efforts to control his emotions, he found that the sorrow was overpowering.

His comm altered him that Kit wanted to speak with him again. Cam ignored the comm. Kit had been infuriatingly cold to him. When he spent the trip back to Bastion alone in his quarters, Kit had kept coming in to bother him.

"Skywalker." Kit had said one of these times, annoyingly entering without warning, "I need to talk to you about the Empire."

Cam had spoken quietly, attempting to hide his anguish, "Some other time, please."

"You keep doing this, you know." Kit said. She removed her helmet to reveal to displeasure lurking in her eyes. "You keep putting me off when I need to speak with you. I rescued you for a reason. Or did you think I saved your life on a whim?"

"We will speak on Bastion."

Cam could almost hear Kit roll her eyes as she put her helmet back on and left the room. "People lose family all the time, kid. Get over it."

Since they had been on Bastion, Cam had still refused to talk with Kit beyond simple conversations. He was reluctant to start talking now. Kit simply rubbed Cam the wrong way, and not just because she had callously dismissed his grief. Kit spent most of her time walking around government buildings, watching Imperial citizens and government officials with a steely gaze, usually from behind the dark visor of her helmet. She was an unknown quantity at a delicate time. She may have saved Cam's life, but he did not trust her in the slightest.

The comm alerted him once again. With a sigh, he answered the summons, and invited Kit to meet with him at the refurbished Imperial Temple.

Within the hour, Cam was walking through the Imperial Temple. It was the place where the Imperial Knights had trained in early days of the Fel Empire, and since the Empire's return to know space, it had housed the Imperial Jedi Order. The building was a fusion of Imperial aesthetics with Jedi philosophy. Simplicity accented with the stylish edges of Imperial architecture. The black motif so favored by the Empire proliferated throughout the Temple, though it seemed as though white tones were introduced along every edge, as if pushing back against the void. Darkness combatting light, the struggle of the Imperial Jedi was encapsulated in the very construction of their temple.

The library was nothing compared to the ones on Coruscant or Ossus. In fact, since the temple had been abandoned until recently, the library was nearly empty. Which made it the perfect spot for Cam to go to. After all, he was not likely to run into too many who wanted to remind him of his loss through their pithy condolences.

Kit walked in as she always did, curt and stiff. In one hand she held her helmet, securely gripping it in between her arm and her torso. In the other was a datapad. She was staring at the datapad, her eyes scanning the words hungrily, as if hoping to find something that she was certain must be there.

"Thank you for finally meeting with me, Skywalker."

"I apologize—" Cam started, before realizing he just did not care that much. He signed and asked, "So what is it you want?"

Kit indicated to her datapad. "I am compiling a report on the events of last week and on Imperial activates on Bastion."

"Imperial activities? You're spying on us?"

"No one said spying." scowled Kit.

"Then what are you doing?"

"My job."

"And who are you compiling this report for?"

"My superiors."

"Look…" Cam was growing frustrated. He had no desire to recount recent events, and Kit's aloofness was becoming an irritation. "Why are you here? On Bastion, I mean. I get that you are affiliated with the Alliance and I know the Empress has cleared your security access for some reason, but so far all I have seen you do is standoffishly lurk around the place like a predator."

Kit stared back at Cam as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I'm Alliance Intelligence. I am here at the behest of our two governments, to help coordinate actions between the Alliance and the Empire to prevent our new relations from destabilizing—much to the Empress's approval. You would have known that by now if you met with me any of the other times I asked you to. When word reached us about the reappearance of the Skywalker family, I was assigned as the Intelligence agent for all things Skywalker. We were tipped off about Katarn's plans at the Senate meeting minutes before it happened and I was instructed to rescue your mother and you—and considering I was able to save one of you, I would call it a rousing success."

"You call that a rousing success?" Cam said in horror, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him.

"Fifty percent survival rate is…acceptable losses." Kit said, her face betraying only the slightest regret.

"Accetp—!" Cam could not contain himself. Running through the Jedi Code in his head, he tried to let go of his fury. He stormed out of the library, muttering to Kit through gritted teeth, "Another time."

Cam had spent a long part of the last few years grieving. He spent years mourning his father and brother, and now he expected he would do the same for his mother. But never before had he felt such…such rage.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

Screw it, thought Cam, he never really fully understood the mantra anyways.

Back in his apartment, Cam turned over the conversation with Kit in his head. He tried lying down and resting his eyes, but found that the cauldron of wrath was not finished with him yet. He walked around his small apartment, looking for answers but finding only his own reflection staring back with anger flickering in his eyes. After what seemed like hours, Cam decided he had to do something about his well of emotions. He carefully considered his next move. The ability he was about to perform was one he did not like using, though he had attempted to use it frequently in recent days, but with no success. It was the same way that the ancient Sith had been able to torment him as a youngling. But if there was ever a time when he needed someone to speak to, it was now.

Cam sat on his bed and assumed a meditative pose. He shut his eyes tight and drowned out all the ancillary noise of the world. His mind searched not for sound, but for the absence of it. In the Force, he found the places where life existed in its most basic form. He could sense the vibrations of the atoms, and as if conducting a symphony, Cam began to arrange those atoms according to a very specific rhythm.

From the Force itself emerged the ghost of Luke Skywalker, siting meditatively across the bed from Cam.

The great Jedi raised his head. He sometimes appeared differently when he appeared before Cam, as if he changed his appearance depending on the purpose for which he was summoned. This time Luke assumed an older form, with world-weary eyes and a graying beard. The white and brown robes hung loosely from his body. Even in death, kindness and wisdom radiated from the old Jedi Master.

"I was wondering when you would call on me again."

Cam was unsure what to say. He had so many things he was dying to say and ask, but as Luke looked at him, all Cam could do was stare back with hollow anger.

"Anger leads to hatred, Cam. I doubt you called me here for a reminder of the Jedi way." Luke said, his beard burrowed in his hands.

"Master. I cannot tell you what I have lost. I know my duties as a Jedi," Cam stared down at his legs, ashamed to admit his failing, "but all I can feel is loneliness and isolation."

"Sallara was a good woman. She trained you well."

"I am afraid…" Cam began. He paused for a minute, not sure how exactly to describe what he was feeling. "…I am afraid that this feeling will not go away. That it will remain with me constantly, and I will not be able to keep going."

"There are no easy answers. I saw my father die, my aunt and uncle, my wife." The sadness penetrated Luke's ghostly veil. "Your sadness is natural, it is good. But as Jedi, we must learn to control our grief, so that it does not consume us. Your fears must be mastered, or else it will dominate you, control your actions until your agency is gone. Then fear will control you and the Dark Side will forever be your destiny." Luke paused. He slumped over, and as he did, his eyes seemed to get younger and his ethereal body seemed invigorated. "Take the time to grieve, but know that your grief is not more important than what is at stake in the galaxy. Your training is still incomplete. You have lost you master, and without a guide, I fear where your path may lead."

"Teach me, then." Cam said gruffly.

Luke wearily grinned. He was now definitely looking younger. Color had ben restored fully to his hair, and his beard had contracted to be more stylized and groomed. "My time as a teacher has past. I will guide you when you need it, but your path is your own to travel."

"Master?"

"Yes?"

Cam bit his lip. It was a question he had been wondering for a long time, ever since Rayden died, and again since his mother too passed away. It was eating at him, and in his rage, he began to tear up. "Why can't I see my family? When I reached out to find their presence in the Force like I do with you, they are not there."

Luke grimaced, and stared off into the distance, clearly unsure what information he should divulge to Cam. "I am sorry Cam. There are other things that need your attention right now. You need training. The galaxy needs you. And—" Luke stopped and stared at the ceiling above them. "You need to go now. Darker days have arrived. There is an attack imminent on Coruscant."

Cam's eyes widened. "You mean—?"

"It has not begun yet, but it will start soon. Go!"

Luke dissolved into the ether of the Force. Cam ran out of his apartment in alarm and dashed to the Imperial throne room.

Predictably, the Moff Council was obstinately arguing over the decision to launch a fleet to Coruscant.

"This simply is not our fight." Finished Moff Gomdo, "Let the Alliance tear itself apart!"

"As you all know," replied Grand Moff Oralius, "I am generally the first to advocate for military intervention. But for once, I find myself aligned with my colleagues. Never mind that it serves us no strategic interest to intercede in this conflict between the Galactic Alliance and their Jedi Order, I am not certain we even have legal standing to make such an intervention."

Empress Ciera Fel stood upright in her throne as she carefully watched the proceedings of the council. She knew that Cam's warning had to be taken seriously, and that the only viable course of action would be to help to Alliance. After all, had they not returned to known space to prevent a cataclysmic conflict?

"There are times," Ciera began, flexing the full muscle of the Imperial throne. "when despite the logic and the sense of a situation, we must fall back on instinct. The Force guides me in all of my decisions, and though I am loath to disregard my ruling council, this is one of those occasions when I must use the great power bestowed upon me by right of birth to make the decisions that I feel are in the best interests of our Empire."

The Moffs stared at her with displeasure. Ciera knew this move would cost a lifetime of political capital to execute, but at the end of the day, this was an empire, and the Empress's word is law.

"Very well," responded a doubtful Moff Gomdo. "I will inform the fleet to ready for departure."

"Good," nodded the Empress. "then let us show the full force this Empire is capable of wielding."