Chapter 4
For whatever the reason was to suddenly be summoned, Parck had no idea. But it was just as well. Thrawn had kept the Admonitor too long in the Endor System doing nothing anyway. Hastily, preparing a report, he snagged a data card from the bridge and proceeded to Thrawn's sanctum.
"Captain Parck to see Grand Admiral Thrawn," he announced in front of the door to Thrawn's ready room. The door slid open and Parck stepped in—
Right into another one of Thrawn's art museums. It's about time he thought. Normally, when Thrawn did this it meant they were about to make a move. No doubt, the Grand Admiral had been studying his enemy's artwork, and now he was ready to predict every move they'd make with sterling accuracy and crush them into bitter pieces beneath his heel. The only question that remained was who Thrawn would deal with first: the brandish traitor Grand Admiral Grant, or the cunning warlord Nuso Esva. To Parck, it was a no-brainer; Admiral Grant was clearly the greater of the two threats.
"Come in, Captain," Thrawn beckoned. "I have finally developed a course of action for us to take." Thrawn's voice was back to its normal melodious quality. No uncertainty, no surprise mentions of that woman force witch he brought on board. Nothing but his military tactics and art. Thrawn was back to normal.
The Grand Admiral handed him a data pad. "Here are the crew selections I have made for our operation. Call a briefing with them, immediately."
Parck skimmed the data. It wasn't very extensive. "Just the operatives?"
"Just the operatives," Thrawn confirmed. "It's about time that we gave Grand Admiral Grant a taste of his own medicine."
"I'll get right on it," Parck said. "Here's the latest report from the Tempest at Nirauan," Parck said handing over the data card in his possession. Wordlessly, Thrawn accepted, it.
"It is of no consequence to us," the Grand Admiral replied, skimming over the data card. "I know precisely what Nuso Esva is after."
Parck waited expectantly, allowing Thrawn to continue.
Those glowing red eyes of his bored into the Imperial Captain's. "He's fetching a certain file hidden in our archives for our new supreme commander." The eyes then went back to reading the data card.
Parck shuffled his feet. Was that it? Is he going to let Esva raid Nirauan's data bank? And how did he know what the warlord was after? Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to pull some kind of ingenious trap on him?
Thrawn finished the report. "Yes, this is exactly what I expected, indeed," he said, a slow smile creeping across his face. "We have them right where we want them."
"And that is…?" Parck spoke up. He hated the waiting games Thrawn played on him. Sometimes, he wondered if the Grand Admiral did this on purpose just for his own amusement.
Finally, Thrawn answered. "The data file in our bank Nuso Esva is after is one of two that was separated by Emperor Palpatine. One file was kept in the Imperial Library on Coruscant, only the highest of political and military officers having access to it." He glanced down at the data card in his hand. "And the other is held on Nirauan."
"And only by putting the two data cards together would yield the required information," Parck finished.
Thrawn nodded his head. "Indeed. The card in my possession contains a code word for accessing a hidden planet known only to the Emperor. The other contains the location for it. Once Grant has both pieces assembled together, he'll lead us to the code world. From there, we will strip him of power and use its contents to suit our purposes."
"And what's to be found on this code planet?" Parck asked.
The smile Thrawn gave was one of almost pure fancy, one that a child normally gives when he opens gifts on his birthday. "Salvation for the Empire, Captain."
…
She was found by the Jedi Master crying at the trunk of a great tree, her arms wrapped around her knees. She was crouched in a ball her head over her arms, sobbing loudly. The girl didn't even notice him approaching until he was standing right over her.
"Go away," she warned. "I don't want to hurt you."
The Jedi Master said nothing.
The girl looked up, tears coming down her eyes. "Leave now! Or I'll kill you too!"
It was at this moment that the Master looked around the forest and saw the massacre that laid before his eyes. Pools of blood were all over the forest floor and spattered against the trees. Dead bodies, or rather pieces of dead bodies, were everywhere. As if a creature of unimaginable rage tore its victims apart, body parts were littered all over the forest floor and in the branches. Heads and eyes of terror could be seen sporadically throughout the area. And the little girl was in the midst of it all. Apparently, she had slain the people. At least that was what the Jedi Master was told.
There were few survivors, the elders having all been killed, save for one. And it was his eye witness account that fingered the blame on the little girl. The Jedi Master searched the elder's mind for any trace of deceit of malevolence, but none was found.
To him, it was impossible that a child, no older than three or four standard years of age, could commit such a horrible atrocity. But the elder insisted that she had Force potential. He had seen her manifest her powers in ways that horrified him. She couldn't control her powers the town story went, and this slaughter was the result of the girl unleashing her powers.
"Hey," a voice called out to her. It was vaguely familiar. "Princess," it said again. "You'd better focus. The briefing's going to start any sec now."
And as if a chill spread throughout her entire body, Ellysia shook out of her flashback. They triggered every so often, usually when some event connected to a distant traumatizing memory.
In this case, it was the murmurings of the soldiers and crewmen. They were whispering about her. Wondering what made her so special. Just as the survivors of that massacre from her home world did when her master came to take her to Coruscant. She had come to terms with what she did, and through deep meditation and guidance from the Force and her master, she learned to let go of her past. She even managed to muster up the courage to pull her Master's report of the scene when he met her that day.
Ellysia looked over at the man who sat next to her. It was the same man from a couple nights ago in the mess hall. Well, if she had to sit next to someone, she'd rather sit next to a familiar face than a total stranger.
"Any idea what we were called in here for?" she whispered.
"No telling," he replied. "What gets me, is why you're attending."
The thought hadn't crossed her mind. "Good point," she said. "I really don't know."
"Admiral on deck!" a crewman said, and everyone, that is everyone except for Ellysia, immediately stood at attention. Looking around embarrassed, she stood up too with her best imitation of an attention military stance.
Grand Admiral Thrawn entered the briefing room followed closely by Captain Parck and a couple of other officers. Ellysia hadn't learned to distinguish their ranks, yet.
Walking into the middle of the room with Captain Parck, Thrawn touched a key on the tactical display. "You may be seated," he announced.
With a gesture of his hand, the Grand Admiral gave the floor to Captain Parck.
"The Warlord Nuso Esva has besieged our home base on Nirauan, code named 'The Hand'," he started, inserting a data card and uploading the holo image of a tactical display of the planet. Dozens of ships with blue and red blips were scattered around the planet. Each force had apparently drawn an imaginary line in space daring the other to cross it.
"We've learned that he is after a certain data file contained in The Hand's copy of the Imperial Palace's library. We believe that he is retrieving the file for a rogue Imperial agent who has joined forces with him in exchange for Imperial intel."
Shocks and murmurs filled the room, which was to be expected. There were traitors in the Empire. Imperials swore an oath of allegiance to the Emperor and his cause for order throughout the galaxy. It was an oath that one did not take lightly, and one that carried the gravest of consequences if broken.
The man leaned in close to her ear. "Whoever they think it is," he whispered, "has to be someone pretty high up in the echelon to know about our base on Nirauan."
Ellysia froze, a thought of dread filled her mind. The dark creature that enveloped Nuso Esva. Was it the Imperial? Or could it be the Imperial Army under his command?
"Our plan is to allow Esva to obtain the data file in hopes that he will lead us to the Imperial," Parck finished the synopsis. He gestured a hand over to another officer. "General Reice."
The General stepped up to the center of the briefing room by the display and Parck stepped back. "We are assembling a small task force to return to Coruscant. They will take a heavily battered Imperial Strike Cruiser, and under the guise of needing emergency repairs, infiltrate the Empire's new flagship and ascertain the identity of the Imperial traitor."
"We have several suggestions of who the rogue is," Thrawn spoke up, "however, we have no verifiable proof. It will be your job to find the proof we need to put away the traitor for good."
And it was at this moment that it dawned on Ellysia. She looked around the briefing room, seeing the dozens of officers, crewers, and soldiers that filled the arena. They were the ones selected for the mission.
…
The brief ended after about 15 minutes of discussion and deliberation with the details of the mission; details that Ellysia didn't care to listen to. She was on an Imperial mission. What was Thrawn thinking? Had he lost his ever-genius mind?
He was surrounded by other fellow officers, quietly speaking and hanging on the edge with every word he dangled their direction. There was more than a sense of loyalty the crew had for the Grand Admiral. It was almost praise-worship.
Eventually, one by one, the officers left Thrawn, and that's when Ellysia made her move. "Excuse me, Admiral," she said, this time remembering to call him by rank, not by name. "I'd like to have a word with you."
"What is it Madam Ellysia?" he spoke with that air of refined cordiality behind his tone. But Ellysia knew better. Behind that cool exterior was a sinister mind, constantly plotting and planning, calculating and analyzing. And she knew his mind better than he did. "You planned this from the start didn't you?" she said.
"I beg your pardon?" came the reply.
"Drop the act, Thrawn," she snorted. "That's why you had me brought on board this ship. You weren't planning on using my prophetic vision; you wanted me on this mission from the get go."
A blue-black eyebrow cocked. "Actually, I planned on using both," he said with a wry humor. "Do not forget that if it weren't for me, you would most likely be dead," he regarded darkly.
That fumed her. If they were alone, she'd force choke him. He was just not going to let it go. "And exactly when will my debt be paid?" she questioned, trying to control her anger.
"It'll be paid when I say I state as such," he said. And with that finality, he turned and left. She stared at him for a few seconds, contemplating on attempting to mind-control him into letting her leave the ship. But his mind was so sharp, she doubt that even Master Yoda himself could pull off the trick.
"That blue red-eyed freakazoid," she muttered.
"Hey," a familiar voice called to her.
She turned around and saw the man who was sitting next to her during the briefing. "Yeah," she said, "about that. You got a name?"
"Elliet," he replied. "Elliet Doran."
"Mine's Ellysia," she said. They started walking out of the briefing into the hallway. "So, we're stuck on this mission together, huh?"
"Yep," he stated. "I hate intelligence gathering missions. They're always more trouble than their worth."
He was straightforward, direct, and honest. And there was no trace of deceit or dark lust in his mind either. He was like the typical soldier, with the brashness and strength, without the twisted depravity that resulted from the unbridled stresses of putting their life at risk day after day, year after year.
"What's your rank?" she asked.
"Lieutenant," he answered. "Do you always ask this many questions?"
"Only when I'm curious."
"Well," he said as they began to take their divergent paths, "afraid there's not much more to know. What you see is what you get. Better get some rest. We've got a long journey ahead of us."
"Yeah," she said. "I know."
…
It was nightfall. The sun began to set and a cool breeze blew across the mountain. A black clad man with fiery orange hair and knee high boots stood at the top, solely alone, and gazing down at the clouds below him. Behind him was a large four pillared temple made of silver crystal.
He looked back up and saw the approaching night sky. And in the center of the sky was a relatively small black hole, swirling in the midst of the sea of stars. A black hole that he and his fellow Kore created.
A subtle shift in awareness caused the man to turn around. He was no longer alone. "Sage, have you come to see my handiwork?" the man said to the other. The other was hovering slightly above ground, dressed in a black robe with his legs crossed indian-style as if he were sitting on the air. The robes hood concealed his entire visage with only a pair of decrepit, pale hands visible. Hovering with the figure was a crystal ball suspended on a small golden chalice with four-branched out legs.
"I wish I could, Rhapsody" Sage said, his cloak billowing in the breeze. His voice gave an otherworldly chill, a sort-of thundering echo that emanated from each syllable. "I'm here on behalf of Lord Damien. Until the vortex is complete, we can't complete our mission. It should have been finished by now. Now what is the delay?"
"The vortex is taking more energy than I thought to sustain," Rhapsody replied. "But do not fear, Sage; it shall be completed."
"Good," the cloaked figure said. "It had better. We're running out of time. As the Kore of Darkness I have foreseen that if the Reckoning doesn't commence in the next month, our window will close." He jabbed a slender, frail finger at Rhapsody. "Don't let this opportunity slip from our grasp." Then in a flash of light, the figure was gone.
A reddish aura of energy surrounded Rhapsody. The wind started to pick up as he turned back around proceeded back into the temple. "Not to worry, Sage," he spoke into the silence, his red energy beginning to glow brightly. "As the Kore of Power, I will personally ensure that the Reckoning will finally begin."