Author's Note: Good Evening, my readers. I am utterly shocked to say, but within a single day, it went from some 260 views to 325 views. That is the most radical jump I have seen in the story history so far, and I am beyond happy that I got that jump, so thank you to all that have read this story up to this part, and I hope you all enjoy how it is going so far. Also, as a small notice, but I probably won't be writing a chapter til this coming Saturday, and even now I am a little pressed for time, so this will be one of the shorter chapters I've done so far. As always though, I am completely open to any criticisms or suggestions, or simple comments to say the story is going along just fine. To be honest, anything is important to a writer, and feedback in my opinion usually makes the story more concrete due to the different views I can that from that. Anyways, I do not want to spend a long paragraph talking about this, and instead, I'd rather you just read instead of reading my bickering, so without anything else to say, enjoy Chapter Nine!
The Council of the Grand Moffs was today, and it was being hosted in the Ceremonial Palace in the city of Marqueth, which was on the polar side of the planet, where the only evidence of tundra or ice was. It was also an isolated restoration zone as multiple scientific and environmental studies were being conducted in the area, and the Grand Moffs elected to host it there due to the quiet and remoteness of the area. I decided to take Director Krennic with me for he would be able to bring and back up evidence that the Second Fleet was ill-equipped to deal with the problems of the Outer-Rim, and the spy network established by Krennic was made sure to prove that it was. As our shuttle began to land on the Landing Pad that was covered with snow, and some sleet that seemed to crystallize the outside of the strip, there was a small jerk for the ship, before it became utterly still. I heard the sound of the hydraulics for the ramp becoming prevalent, and I looked at the three other passengers that were with me, and gestured them to come with me.
The Director and I got up from our seated position, quickly followed behind by my two Death Troopers, and when coming out of the shuttle, I was meet by a Captain of the Stormtrooper Corps who spick and span in his black-uniform addressed me with a greeting. I began to observe the man beforehand however, as he seemed to take a pride in his job, as his shoulders were showing a relatively confident stride, and his voice carried nothing but valiant chivalry that I used to hold for the Empire. Along with the freshly-looking suit, I could tell he took his appearance very seriously, as it was also evident in his firmly placed military cap, and his perfectly combed hair.
"It is such a pleasure to finally have you with us, Grand Moff Praxon. Grand Moff Lerian and Grand Moff Jerjerrod are awaiting you inside. The other Grand Moffs should be along soon."
I nodded towards the lower ranked officer, and he went back to the port terminal while the Director and I made our way into the small settlement which had imperial-raised constructs and buildings, along with some town-elements built around the outskirts of the outpost. The palace was lesser than what came to mind when thinking of a palace, for it was a stone structure that was covered with snow on the top, and the building itself seemed to be only consist of a few rooms, if not less due to its size. As we walked up the fleet of stairs, two stormtroopers who held the elite shoulder-guard were standing guard near the entrance. I nodded to both of them, before entering the stone structure, only to find that there was a single desk that was for a receptionist perhaps, and four days that lead into different rooms.
The two on the right seemed to consist of a tactical briefing and evaluation room, while there was a bunk room on the left, and a large conference room nearest to the desk. Upon entering the conference room, I was met with the two young Grand Moffs and was slightly shocked. I would become even more shocked upon the three other Grand Moffs entering the room, being equally as young. Without a second going by, I stood up in the conference room and examined everyone, before going to lead the details and the conditions that have obviously been called for with our joining here.
"Well, Grand Moffs…as I am rather shocked that we are all of a juvenile manner, well…no, excuse me, that was the wrong execution of words…as we are all definitely on the younger side of some of the past Grand Moffs…where are the senior replacements for them?"
No one wanted to speak upon hearing my question, until the Grand Moff I came to know as Jerjerrod rose up and confronted me about the dilemma.
"The…Empire, lost a majority of its experience and best military commanders aboard the Death Star…I, for instance, was the ninety-eth in line to even be considered for the demands of this job, considering I was a ship designer and architect, yet…I was personally called before the Emperor to fill the deceased Grand Moff of the Expansion Region due to my records."
I couldn't believe my eyes and I asked, "Did all of you have similar requisitions when being appointed this office of command?"
Everyone nodded their head as they went back to looking at me, being that they might've saw me as the leader of the conference, since no one was willing to come forth and talk as easily due to their inexperience.
"So you mean to tell me that we are all…replacements of the highest 'enth term to previously military geniuses?"
They continued to bobbed their heads, until I retreated back into my chair with a great disappointment and thought of hopelessness as to how the Empire was going to survive with individuals such as these being at the epitome of power, disregarding the Grand Admirals and the Grand Generals. My questions and worries would soon be addressed though as the Grand Vizier, or in some terms of the authority hierarchy, the regent in commander underneath the Supreme Commander and the Emperor.
"Good Afternoon, Grand Moffs. I assume you all have been acquainted with each other?"
He didn't even give one of us a chance to speak as he stated rhetorically, "Good to hear that we have gotten that out of the way…so tell me, gentlemen. What are the problems we are facing as it currently stands?"
I immediately got up and looked at Mas Amedda with a certain sense of contempt as I said, "Grand Vizier, do you realize the Em-…here, let me rephrase my words…our all-powerful ruler, Emperor Palpatine, has elected illy considered candidates for the role of Grand Moff of vast regions within the Empire. It's an utter shock as to how certain aspect hasn't fallen out of place at the current place in time, sir."
The alien raised himself out of his seat and planted his cane firmly on the stone foundation before stating, "Well, I will address this issue in the severity as which the matter is. No Grand General or Grand Admiral would ever take over the role of a Grand Moff as they had already surpassed that rank, and those said people going back to such a rank would be considered a demotion in their eyes. So, we had to pick the best from the best, and what the Emperor saw in all six of you, is not up for me to decide. But I definitely agree with you Grand Moff Praxon, some of the selections have been very…questionable in my eyes. No offense to any of you."
I examined the multiple expressions being bolstered by the other five of us in the room, and I saw a mask of stoutness, but through their eyes I saw they were hiding the stress and inadequacy to hold such a position. Hell, if I was to be honest with myself, I even had some problems regulating the Outer-Rim to the best of my ability, and even so, I am still losing at least a system a week, which is nowhere near what I had in mind, but with the addition of a fleet to coordinate with me, that might be the end of that mess.
I cleared my throat and added on, "Grand Vizier, in my opinion, the Outer-Rim is a very high priority to the Empire, not to mention the Rebellion's likelihood to go for it, being it is very far away from the reaches of the Empire most of the time, and the bolstering of an imperial force to quell a large-scale rebellion in multiple systems at once would be impossible by the time a fleet was dispatched, let alone a single armada. Therefore, I'd like to be given a new fleet with more competent admirals."
Mas Amedda was unfazed and even unpleased with my proposition and said, "There are no more competent admirals, you fool. Have I not told you what occurred with the destruction of the Death Star? Not only did we lose at least a million in well-trained and disciplined stormtroopers, but we easily lost nine thousand of our best imperial officers, admirals, captains, our Grand Moffs, and high generals. The only people that haven't been lost, that are now under the control of the Emperor, is four Grand Admirals, and three Grand Generals, one of them now deceased due to Vader's grudge-holding temper."
I sat down without saying another word and began to worry extensively for what the Empire was slowly coming to, and I immediately began to calculate if the problem of the power vacuum wasn't sealed, let alone competent officers and leaders coming forth to support the Empire, we might soon fall to the rebellion's guerilla tactics and its war of attrition, as more and more systems sign on to their side. I sat in the chair, just peering at the other Grand Moff's proposals of increasing soldiers, and more tangible things for the Grand Vizier to authorize, and I could only think about how I wouldn't be able to use Director Krennic and his spy network as a chip to turn the favor of the Grand Vizier.
The meeting continued for another few hours, and I decided I should get something out of the meeting so I asked if it was at all possible that I could obtain my own Star Destroyer, along with five others just like it to replace the losses occurred at Sullust, and the Grand Vizier with a little hesitation, signed off the issue, and gave me a docket that they would be delivered in a few standard days to the orbit of Eridau. The meeting was coming to a close, as the Grand Vizier closed his books and placed them in the nook underneath his right arm, he stated that is a pleasure to meet the new council and that they will meet in two weeks on the current day, at the same time we had meet. Upon the exit of Mas Amedda, I turned back to the other Grand Moffs to hear their thoughts, if any at all were present.
Mainly, it was bickering at the crumbling and soon destruction of the Empire, and one suggested that they use their positions to ensure a financial stable legacy after they have been exiled out of power. Jerjerrod immediately branded the Grand Moff of the Western Reaches a traitor and he is committing treason, and that he didn't care as he might as well just surrender to the rebellion. The other Grand Moff, Lerian, came to side with Jerjerrod and myself that we couldn't just allow the Empire to fall, yet the other three Grand Moffs rivaled against us, creating an even split in ideology on the council. The three adjacent to us wanted to make as much venture of the Empire as they could, just let it slowly fall, while the three of us sought it better to preserve the Empire for the rebellion could just make the galaxy a whole lot worst if they rose to power. This would become important for meetings to come due to the demands for new resources for their sectors, much to the utter shock of Mas Amedda who was stunned by their actions.
The three Grand Moffs on the other side of the conference table got up, and left the room before the other three of us and all I could do is just give out a sigh of frustration as I rubbed my temples on the side of my head.
"This is preposterous. If we have some of the highest imperial officers not even loyal to the Empire, then what in karabast are we going to do? We can't just sit around and have them working out their plans for their own results," claimed Grand Moff Lerian, much to the dismay of Jerjerrod and I.
I replied, "I don't know what to do anymore, Grand Moff Lerian…it definitely seems like the Empire is crumbling, and hell, even the Grand Vizier is not blind to the impact the destruction of the Death Star had on the Empire. One could only hope that the Emperor gets this under control, and hopefully soon, or else there won't be an Empire sooner or later. But, I would definitely consider thinking of your families as a main priority, as they will be affected if the rebellion finds out."
Among the three of us, we decided that was probably the best course of action, but to definitely still try out best to keep order in what systems were still loyal to the Empire. As we were about to stand up, Director Krennic entered the room with a hurt expression on his face.
"You didn't even bring me in…why?"
I quickly replied, "Director Krennic, it would appear that your data would've proved no difference in the eyes of Mas Amedda, considering what we have militarily wise, is what we are going to get."
His face contorted in multiple emotions before asking, "What do you mean…that what we have are the best we have…there are plenty of capable officers I know in the Empire th-…oh wait…"
He seemed to have an epiphany that anybody he knew that was on the Death Star seemed to be immediately ex'ed out, and he let out a sigh. I went up to the man and turned him around while walking with him out towards the shuttle. The two death troopers following closely behind, I began to tell the Director what Mas Amedda had told me about the shortage of 'exceedingly well' officers, as the academy's recruitment and graduation rates have declined by about eighty-two percent. He became sullen to the facts I had spoken to him, and told him that we couldn't worry about this as we still have multiple issues to face while back in the Outer-Rim and I needed him to be on his A-game every second of it.
Upon my return to Eridau, I decided to call up my family and check up on them since it had been a while since I had contacted my sister that one early morning. I pinged the signal to see if anyone would pick up, however; an odd thought began to dawn on me at about the fourth time the connection had failed. I tried once more before slowly beginning to realize that they weren't answering, so I got up from my seat and called for Director Krennic and my Death Troopers with my comlinks as I headed to the landing pad and ordered the pilot of my personal Lambda shuttle to go to the Lakeview Estate owned by my family after my 'team' had arrived, and upon the previously said coming onboard, the shuttle took-off; the ion engines blasting with swift force.
The shuttle wasn't even five miles away from the Estate, where I saw smoke rising into the sky from the clear view on-top of the Lake. I immediately thought the worst and called for reinforcements to be immediately dispatched to the Estate, while I pulled out my SE-14C blaster, getting ready to rush into the Estate to find any perpetrators if there were any. I told the pilot to land the shuttle right outside the stairs leading up to the Grand Courtyard I had grown so used to, only to see the multiple planets that used to be filled with flowers, brush, and beautiful formations cut by the gardeners, in ash and tatters as leaves were scattered around the entire estate, and multiple areas around the courtyard, filled with scorch marks and fires still burning brightly.
I couldn't believe my eyes and I couldn't get to the entrance quicker with the white-caped figure and two Death troopers rushing behind me. As soon as I arrived at the grand entrance to the massive building that was my childhood home, I found my mother lying on the steps, blood slowly seeping down the stairwell, and her life just barely flickering in her eyes.
She seemed to recognize upon my footsteps and asked if it was me, in which I felt the tears slowly beginning to drop from my eyes.
"Yea, mom…it's me…wh-…what happened? Who did this to you?"
Her voice was weak and her voice coarse from the lack of water or any hydration for however long she had been lying here.
"My darling…I'm…I'm so sorry, I…should've warned you about them, they-…they came too fast."
She brought up her hand to my face and cupped my face and stated, "My…the holograms don't ever show you how grown up you've become…I'm so prou-…"
Her hand dropped from my face as her eyes looked up towards the sky, and the coloration in her face beginning to face from her fair skin, to a very sickly pale color. I immediately felt my hand gripping on her like a vise and telling her to wake up, and the tears in my eyes dropping onto her charred clothing and skin, only for my yells to be in vain. I didn't even know how to respond to this, and I felt my demeanor and my thoughts beginning to go blank, as I began to think back to Sullust, and the meeting I had not so long ago on Byss with the other Grand Moffs, and to top all of those events with this…I couldn't contain myself, and I yelled at the top of my lungs with angst.
I couldn't contain my rage and I sprinted into the home to look for any trace of speckle of evidence that could've told me who had destroyed my childhood and families' home, and then the thought came to my mind that what happened to my father and sister…if…if whoever did this got to them…with a supernatural haste, I ran up to my sister's room, and as I opened the door, the entire room was scorched from most likely a thermal imploder, and…with the wood splinters, metallic indentations in the room, and the charred cloth and covers on the bed, and the slight bulge in the bed, I dropped to my knees and felt my blaster pistol drop from my hands, as I looked at the bulge. The skeleton's hand were guarding its face, and a static image of what I could imagine my sister yelling was evident due to her jaw being wide open, with the flesh still barely attached to the bones.
Eventually, I felt a hand on me, and I impulsively turned around and pushed the person or whoever it was off of me, only to see the white-uniformed man looking over me, and peering into the room. The only thing that was muttered out of his mouth was, "My…I ca-…oh my…"
I felt myself beginning to say incoherent things as I picked up the blaster from the floor, and placed it on my belt holster, before closing the door and looking at the Director.
"Is my father dead in one of the rooms?"
The Director looked at me and said with guilt, "We found another figure in what seemed to be a master bedroom…we found ten blaster bolt marks on the body, most likely died before he even knew what hit him…I'm…I'm sorry, Reylan…"
I whispered to myself, "They shot my parents…but they saved a thermal imploder for my sister…why the fuck would they do that?"
I walked out of the estate, only to see multiple Sentinel Shuttles landing with storm trooper platoons coming out and rushing to through the courtyard to the house. I also saw four AT-STs being dropped off by a Gozanti cruiser, and just as I saw the troopers stop in-front of my house, a field commander with the infamous tactical helmet and duraplast armored vest on, he came to me.
"Grand Moff Reylan…I didn't expect to see you here, do you know what happened?"
I looked to the field commander, and even though he was a respectable man and he had won two battles or so for me, that made him to expendable, and in my built up rage, I pulled out my SE-14C pistol and shot him square in the face, watching his body fall down the steps of my estate, and let out a sigh. I placed my pistol inside my holster, and told the Director and the two Death Troopers to follow me. I turned to one of the elite storm troopers who were in the very front of the battalion of troops and told him, "Congratulations, Stormtrooper. You are now in-charge. Find out whoever the hell did this, and you shall be rewarded."
At this moment in time, I suppose I began to fall into a deep bout of depression and an endless abyss of darkness as I began to imagine what I would do to the son of a bitch that dared to defile my family, and dared to even walk up to their front door and barbarically slaughter them like pigs. The shuttle ride was also a silent one as the Director dared not to ask me if I was feeling alright, and even the death troopers seemed to not be easily settled as they usually are very composed and disciplined. For the majority of it though, no-one uttered a word, and that was fine with me.
I couldn't deal with the politics of anything, nor tolerate or have the patience to even talk with a single person over the utter defeat I had felt run over me. Yet, despite probably knowing my anger and probably getting a kick out of my suffering, 'he' was standing dead center in my room, and I didn't even wait for the man to say a damn word as I pulled up my blaster and shot him straight in the chest. In-fact, I don't think I shot him just once, but I think I shot about ten times into the man, before I pulled my sidearm down slowly, and placed it into my holster. The man was still standing there, with the blaster holes inside of his body, peering straight through to the other side, but…the man still stood there, before he let out a burst of laughter.
"I'm shocked you still haven't deduced I can't be harmed by that, but I suppose now would be a great show and tell."
I gazed at the man's wounds as they sealed up with relative ease, and due to my mental state, I just shrugged it off and walked over to the stool and sat down, unimpressed with the man, as of now, I could just play off that I was hallucinating due to my state of mind.
"You are in a very dull mood; I suppose it's because of your family's death…right?"
The man's voice carried no sympathy and lacked any regard for how I felt, and even had a sense of pride and insensitivity.
"How in karabast do you even know that my family died? The only people that know of it are the stormtroopers, and the people I took with me."
He smiled fiendishly at me, and commented, "Well…let's just say it's no surprise that I knew. I saw it come a mile away, but, now that is just telling too much."
I laughed in utter irony and countered, "Says the man that literally just healed up the ten blaster bolt holes, and is still standing."
The man added in which continued to shock me, "Ironic, isn't it? You shot ten bolts, just as your father was shot ten times…"
My attempt to downplay the event by making a dry and dark joke, immediately ceased upon his words, and my slight smile went to a very furrowed frown.
"What do you want anyways? And why even come if you knew what an emotionally tolling situation I had just witness? It's not common for an entire person's family to just die in front of your eyes."
He tilted his head at my comment and stated with a hesitation, or at least feigned hesitation from the looks of it.
"Well, that isn't even remotely true, considering families are murdered around the Outer-Rim, Mid Rim, and Expansion Regions daily, and homicide and murders aren't really unheard of in the galaxy either."
I slammed my fist into the coffee table, "You don't have to be a fucking smart-ass," I yelled and then thought for a second before continuing, "I don't even know why I'm talking to you. You aren't even an acquaintance of mine. You are just a nuisance that came out of nowhere and has grandeurs and the ignorant thought of us being friends."
He simply held up his hands and commented before leaving my room, "Oh? I'm a nuisance? Hehe, well…I'm sorry for interfering in your 'affairs' and I am very sorry for being insensitive about your parents…I'll take my leave and come back when that is all behind you, considering your sore mood."
I watched the man exit the room, and I imagined myself walking up behind him suffocating him from behind with a piece of line for daring to even bring up those types of things with me, and especially thought about drowning the man, but I just let out a sigh and thought that wouldn't even remotely work. I looked over to my bed that seemed to be inviting me to go sleep in its luxury and warming embrace, so I walked over to the coffee table to grab a cup and make myself a cup of Eridaun tea with the same preference I had yesterday, and sat down a bit, while sipping on the drink that so many planets called exotic, before placing it down on the table, and beginning to walk over to my bed.
For once in my life, if I was able to kill that man, which apparently wasn't an option anymore upon his demonstration, but…I would've easily dismembered his body using precise and thorough blaster shots and continue to fill him with holes until his body seemed like some modern art masterpiece. I pulled off my vest, and folded it right beside my bed and placed it on a dresser, before pulling off my military boots and my pants and sliding them to my side. I then crawled into bed and looked up at the ceiling of the bed, and began to feel my eyes well up again with tears.
"Aurine…why did you have to leave…I didn't even have the chance to see your graduation…" I began to sob out as I remembered the promise I gave her.