Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.

Banzai Bill 28: Well, I'm melding legends and canon here. While the events of The Force Awakens won't be altered too much, I'm pretty much abandoning The Last Jedi entirely, as well as most of the Rise of Skywalker. I was fine with the sequels when they started, until Disney ruined it. So, this is more me trying to write out the sequels my own way and fix all their mistakes. Trust me, I'm going to dive into some very obscure Legends stuff in the sequel trilogy story.

Chapter 18- Decide the Future

(September 28, 2041)

On the mighty Hood, it is mostly silent. The crew is still trying to recover from the shock of what happened the previous day and the truth about the discovery of Exegol that was told to the entire crew as the battlecruiser hangs in space in orbit above a gas giant planet.

Thankfully, the Hood had escaped the encounter almost undamaged. Because her shields were up and the enemy had not been able to fire much at the ship, the only damage she sustained was some very minor surface damage on her port side and damage to two turbolaser batteries. The two batteries were quickly repaired and were already back in action. And on top of it all, there had been no casualties among the crew or the families aboard.

The ship had stopped in a star system about three quarters of a parsec away from Exegol. The crew hoped that the Sith Eternal would either not come after them or just not be able to find their exact location before they moved on from the system.

Most of the crew was still on alert, with the weapons crews under orders to remain at battlestations until ordered otherwise. The families were still under orders to remain in their designated safe areas. In the meantime, Pellaeon had called a meeting of the advisory council of the Hood. Moorhouse, Strickland, Shevchenko, Versio, and Ronen had all gathered in the admiral's quarters in the bowels of the ship.

In the admiral's quarters, the last members of the council have all arrived in Pellaeon's quarters. After taking a moment to pick from some drinks and a small tray of sandwiches, they all sit down to begin the discussion that Pellaeon has called for.

"Well, I think it is probably safe to say that all of us are still pretty shocked by what happened yesterday," Pellaeon starts the discussion with.

"That's an understatement," Moorhouse mutters.

"Now, Commander Versio, I think you had a theory as to what was the source of the fleet that we saw," Pellaeon says.

"Yes," Iden speaks up, "What really gave me the clue was both the numbers of ships we saw and the fact that some of them seemed a bit out of shape. As you all know, during the war, in the year between the Battle of Endor and the Battle of Jakku, thousands of Imperial warships disappeared from the galaxy without explanation, amounting to roughly a quarter of the fleet. Most of these were some of the best ships in the fleet, with the most loyal and efficient crews. The fleet we saw was a little smaller than that, and I think it's safe to say that maybe not all of the ships that disappeared met the same fate. I think that this fleet was squirreled away during that year after Endor here at Exegol. I'm not sure exactly why, though, or what it's doing now."

"Perhaps this Sith Eternal cult has taken control of the fleet. The prisoners from the Malevolence did say they'd been converted to Sith worship," Shevchenko says.

"Maybe. But how could they have converted an entire fleet? One that amounts to maybe 20 percent of the former Imperial fleet?" Moorhouse questions aloud.

Everyone is quiet for a moment before Pellaeon speaks up again. "Clearly, even if they were converted to Sith worship, they most likely weren't converted until coming here. So that begs the question of why they came here to begin with. Why were they sent here in the first place? We know that the Emperor had posthumous orders to destroy the Empire after his death. So that begs the question as to why he'd send such a fleet into hiding to be preserved. And why are they still here?"

The group again falls quiet for almost 20 seconds as they all think deeply about the question. Then, Shevchenko suddenly says, "Wait. You said most of the disappeared ships had some of the most loyal and efficient crews? Is there any chance…the Emperor may have had a secret successor? Or even….that he may not be dead like we thought?"

"I doubt he had a successor. From what we know, that was part of the reason he ordered the destruction of the Empire after his death. He never intended to have successor. As for him being alive, the Skywalkers confirmed he fell down a shaft into the reactor right before the Death Star exploded. There's no way he could've survived," Pellaeon says.

"Actually…"

Everyone turns towards Ronen, who had been the one to speak. He looks around at everyone before he says, "There is a chance he could still be alive. I never thought it was likely that he was alive, as I assumed that if he survived he would've showed up. Even still, there's a good chance I'm wrong and there is another reason behind all this. But still, it is a possibility."

"How? How could the Emperor have survived exploding in a reactor shaft?" Moorhouse asks.

Ronen sighs and says, "There's an ancient power of the dark side that is extremely rarely known. Even in the Jedi, most don't know it exists, mostly because it's part of records of the dark side that are kept from the Jedi. The only reason I know about it is because, as an ASAT member, I'm privy to more of those records in order to have a better understanding of the Sith in order to fulfill my mission as a member of the ASAT team."

"Among those records, I read once about a Force power discovered over 5,000 years ago. It was rarely known among the Sith. The records are missing, or intentionally erased, about who initially discovered it, but it was a power displayed by the being known as the Sith Emperor. The nickname for this power is essence transfer. Essentially, through the use of the dark side, one can transfer their spirit from one body to another. It takes extreme practice and study to even learn it, much less be able to make it work. So far as I know, the only ones to master this technique is the Sith Emperor and whatever Sith first discovered the ability, though there could be others that are not recorded."

Ronen pauses, then says, "With all the Sith knowledge and lore the Emperor gathered, I would not be surprised if he learned of this power. Obviously, we don't know for certain, nor if the Emperor ever learned how to use this power. It's uncertain he ever even knew about it, and it's a long shot he ever learned how to use it. And from there, even if he knew how to use it, there's a slim chance he could've used it to escape his death on the Death Star. The chance of the Emperor still being alive…is astronomically small. But still, it's not out of the realm of possibility."

Everyone is quiet, trying to digest what Ronen just said. It takes almost a minute before Strickland speaks up and asks, "You're not messing with us here, are you?" Ronen just shakes his head in response.

After a few more moments, Pellaeon speaks up and says, "Whether the Emperor is alive or not, and for whatever reason that fleet exists over Exegol, it's a clear threat. The Alliance needs to know this as soon as possible. We need to get word of this to the Alliance. But that's not what is my main concern. My main concern is how to get there. It was difficult enough for us to reach Exegol in this ship. If the Alliance wanted to gather a massive fleet to attack Exegol and the fleet above it, it would not be practical to attempt to travel through that nebula, even though that is the route already established to Exegol. In fact, it would be near suicidal."

"Agreed," Ronen adds.

Moorhouse then speaks up and asks, "Are you suggesting what I think you are, Admiral?"

"Yes, captain. The Alliance will wish to make an attack on Exegol. That much, I am certain of. And if it is to be successful, they will need different routes to get to the planet. We have already established this brief jump from Exegol to this star system," Pellaeon says. He pauses, then says, "My proposal is as follows. We work to chart at least two routes to Exegol that a fleet of a size of 500 ships or more could safely take to Exegol at once. These routes will extend from Exegol all the way back to Known Space, and must be thoroughly mapped so that travel along these routes will not be too hazardous to risk the journey."

Everyone is quiet for a moment before Moorhouse speaks up and says, "Admiral, you do realize the amount of time this would require? We're talking about years of work. We have enough of a map that if we wanted to, we could maybe make it back to known space in a year or so at the fastest. But if we go through with this, we could maybe be looking at another decade or more of travel before finally returning to known space. Are you willing to subject the crew to that?"

Pellaeon is quiet for a moment before he says, "This is something we have to do. That fleet and the force behind them are a clear threat to the galaxy. And if Ronen is right…then we cannot ignore it. We have to chart these routes to Exegol if we have any hope of stopping this fleet and whatever is behind them. If we don't…who knows what the consequences will be for both galaxies."

Pellaeon pauses for a few moments, then says, "I still hold this to be a council, and though I believe this to be the best option, I still value your opinion. If you believe we should press forward this path, raise your hand."

The council is silent and unmoving for a moment. Then, Ronen slowly raises his hand. This seems to break the tension a bit, and Iden raises her hand a second later. She is followed by Shevchenko and Strickland. Moorhouse hesitates for a moment longer before he sighs and raises his hand

"Very well. I will prepare a message for the crew. In the meantime, we will ready the ship to begin our new mission," Pellaeon says. He pauses, then says, "My friends, my trusted lieutenants, we have finally fulfilled our orders to find Exegol. But our task is not done. The task ahead of us will call for all that we have to give. But if we succeed…we may prove the difference between salvation and destruction."

And, I'll end there.

I hope you liked this story, and Ronen theorizing that the Emperor is still alive. Which, of course, he is, as I showed in the end of The Terran and the Mandalorian.

The next chapter will have our final time jump, and wrap up this story to lead into the sequel trilogy story. It'll be up either tomorrow or the day after. Until it is up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!