"I'm surrounded by incompetents!" Warlord Xectur shouted, throwing a datapad at a wall where it shattered from the force of the impact. He glared at the messenger who was bowing before him. In less than a blink of an eye, a tentacle shot from Warlord Xectur's body and struck the messenger, killing him instantly. The tentacle withdrew back into Warlord Xectur's body and he turned and stormed out of the room and down a corridor.
Minutes later, Warlord Xectur was in a hidden chamber where a lone Sumne was busy working on something. "Topaok!"
Topaok looked up from the liquid he was working with, a knowing glint in his eyes. "They're still alive."
Warlord Xectur hissed, restraining himself from killing the master Molder. "They've survived everything that we have thrown at them! They have no right to still be alive!"
Topaok calmly looked back down at the simmering liquid in the pot and stirred the solution with a wooden stick. "They are indeed strong mortals, but they cannot cheat death forever." Topaok carefully withdrew a few drops of the solution with a beaker and used the beaker to add the green liquid into the water dish of some kind of furry rodent. "There are many kinds of poisons and there are many ways poison can kill."
A dangerous smile crept onto Topaok's face as he watched the rodent drink the liquid and then begin to convulse. "Fear is poison for the Jedi, but these Jedi, they know how to conquer their fears, even in the face of death."
Warlord Xectur scowled. "Get to the point!"
Topaok opened a drawer and searched for a datapad that held a possible answer to end their troubles. Finding the datapad, Topaok turned it on and handed it to his Master. "Look at the results from the blood tests. I believe you will find it very interesting."
Warlord Xectur took it and scanned its contents and then read its contents carefully the second time. A sinister smile crept up his face. "Yes, this will do nicely."
"The Skywalker child is a great asset to us, but, if I may, offer a word of caution?" Topaok responded, his head cocked to the side as he looked at his Master.
"Speak." Xectur answered.
"The Skywalker child can't do very much thanks to my little…" Topaok paused, his lips forming into a sick smile. "My little, genetically engineered, venomous, parasite." Topaok told his Master. "However," Topaok frowned, "he cannot be underestimated. He is clever and manipulative. He has been plotting against us for years, trying to prevent us from succeeding in our plan to dominate the galaxy."
Xectur hissed, clearly unhappy. "If your new parasite is as affective as you boast then we should have nothing to fear from this Skywalker child, despite his attempts to undermine our work. Your….creature has been affective in the past."
"Everything has a flaw of some kind." Topaok defended himself. "To rely on something fully is never wise. I am proud of my creations, but I am also wary of them. The success of the parasites does not guarantee victory, something we know from experience."
"We were the victors!" Xectur responded angrily, throwing the datapad at Topaok who easily caught it. "Leaving Joruss in charge of things was a mistake. This time, I will make sure things are done right and completely!" With that said, he stormed out of the room.
Xectur headed straight for the ceremonial chamber that was in the center of the former Jedi Temple. Entering the chamber they had built for their rituals, the Warlord stepped over a stream of a dark greenish liquid that flowed from one end of the chamber to the other. He ascended a few steps to an altar and then turned around and knelt to the ground, his head bowed.
Sanic, the ruler of all the Sumnii, rose out of the stream of liquid in a black and purple gaseous form and then his face became solid while the rest of his body remained gaseous. "Lixion has escaped our reach."
"He will be found and terminated, my Master." Xectur vowed. "A search is also underway for the two Jedi."
"These Jedi are not to be underestimated. They have grown strong during their time away and have grown in experience." Sanic reminded Xectur. "Lixion must not come into contact with the Jedi!"
"I understand, my Master. We will find him before that happens." Xectur responded, determination in his voice.
"See that you do." Sanic told him and then his face morphed back into its gaseous form and he drifted back into the stream.
"What did you see?" Lixion asked Zanthis as he picked up his small glass of red wine to take a sip.
Zanthis finished sipping at his wine and then placed the half full glass on the coffee table. "The Sumnii." His eyes looked haunted as he finally looked at Lixion. "They are plotting to take over the entire galaxy unless someone stops them."
Lixion snorted and set his glass of wine on the coffeetable. "That's not going to happen. The Emperor has them under his control."
"Does he really?" Zanthis shook his head. "Lixion, we're underestimating the Sumnii, and that is going to be our downfall. Since they first entered our galaxy, they've been plotting to take it over."
"You're being paranoid." Lixion responded. "Just because you have a personal grievance against them doesn't mean that they are plotting something."
"Am I?" Zanthis asked, raising an eyebrow. "My visions have never been wrong before."
Lixion took a sip from his own wine and then looked at Zanthis. "That doesn't mean that this new one will come to pass. Next you'll be saying that you're the voice of the Force."
Zanthis rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't go that far. "The Force grants me these visions for a reason, therefore I will make use of them."
"Just because you have visions of possible future events does not mean that you have to go and try to alter those events." Lixion responded. "What if your attempt to alter the future brings your vision to pass?"
"Visions are meant to be taken seriously." Zanthis told Lixion and took a sip of his wine.
"Perhaps, but all visions may not be of the Force. It could just be some fear in your unconscious mind that is revealing itself that looks like an actual vision." Lixion argued.
"You could be right." Zanthis admitted. "But what if I told you that I have actual proof of the plot?"…
Lixion's eyelids snapped open and he took a deep breath as he analyzed the memory and the other memories that had become unblocked. Lixion sat up on his bed and, with a wave of his hand, turned the lights on. Closing his eyes, Lixion focused on the bond he had with Zanthis and opened it up. /Zanthis, phase one has been successful./ There was a long silence before there was a response.
/Good. I was wondering whether you had heard me give the single that would remove the block from those specific memories./ Zanthis mentally responded.
/Well, my near death probably didn't help that much. Why couldn't you have had a vision of Magnus attempting to kill me so I could have a little warning?/ Lixion asked.
Zanthis chuckled. /You know perfectly well that I would have blocked that memory too if I did have a vision of that and told you./
Lixion slowly shook his head. /You just have to have an answer to everything. So what's the next step?/
/Go to Ilum, you will know what to do once you get there. Be cautious, the Sumnii have placed a large bounty on your head and are sending numerous ships out in search of you. Make sure you are not followed to Ilum./ Zanthis instructed.
/Lovely,/ Lixion muttered. /I guess it's to late to try a different plan?/
/You would still be a target regardless of what plan we used./ Zanthis responded.
Lixion gave a heavy sigh. /Yeah. How are things on your end?/
/Not to bad. The Sumnii are watching me a little more closely now. Magnus still remains oblivious./ Zanthis reported.
/You sound tired./ Lixion said as he picked up on the weariness that leaked into the bond.
/I'll be fine./ Zanthis responded and then paused for a few seconds before continuing. /Lixion, if the Sumnii do succeed in taking control of me, you know what must be done. We cannot allow the Sumnii to take over the galaxy./
Lixion swallowed down a lump that had formed in his throat at Zanthis' words. /We'll stop the Sumnii before that happens./
/We should keep contact to a minimum. Only contact me if it is extremely urgent./ Zanthis instructed and then closed his end of the bond.
Lixion opened his eyes and shook his head, a small smile forming on his face. "Zanthis, you're to strong-willed to fall into the control of the Sumnii."
Leaving his cabin, Lixion headed up the short corridor to the cockpit. The cockpit door slid open and Lixion walked over top the copilot's seat and sat down. "Where are we headed?"
Xanatos glanced briefly at Lixion and then looked back out the viewscreen. "We are going to Rinn, it's a planet far in the outer rim."
Lixion scowled, the planet was in totally the opposite direction to where he was supposed to go. "You are to take me to Ilum"
Xanatos raised an eyebrow and looked at Lixion. "Why do you want to go there? There's nothing there worth going for except for lightsaber crystals."
"I do need to build a new lightsaber." Lixion pointed out, staring out the viewport."
"That can wait." Xanatos responded. "I have spares in case you are in need of one."
"Then drop me off at the nearest planet and I'll find myself a ship to take me there?" Lixion told him, his voice firm and determined.
Xanatos sighed and shook his head. "You don't have any money to buy your own ship or get a pilot to take you their. Now only that, but I am sure that Darth Magnus will be searching for you. I have already changed the ID tags on the ship, so you don't have to worry about anyone identifying the ship."
Lixion frowned deeply and drummed his fingers on the armrests. There was silence for several minutes as Lixion stopped drumming his fingers on the armrests and stared at the stars that were streaking past the viewscreen. "You put your family at risk by bringing me with you. If you would just take me to Ilum, no one will be harmed."
"The Sith have not set foot on Rinn for many years. You will be safe there." Xanatos replied.
"There is also the Sumnii to worry about. They will be searching for me too and their search methods are far more harsh than the methods used by the Sith." Lixion warned. "Ilum is an isolated planet, making it the perfect place for me to lay low for awhile."
"We'll discuss this after we get to Rinn." Xanatos told him.
"Fine." Lixion responded, not pleased at all, and then stood up and left the cockpit.
"There have been reports from our intelligence networks that two more planets have fallen under attack. As of right now, no one has been able to figure out what led to these attacks or if there is any pattern." Dodonna reported.
In the small conference room in the rebel base the Rebel high command, as well as Leia, Mara, Anakin, and Obi-Wan were sitting around a round conference table.
"The Sumnii are preparing to overthrow the Empire." Anakin told them in a sure voice.
Mon Mothma, Dodonna, Bail, Madine and Ackbar all looked at each other with baffled expressions on their faces for a few minutes before resuming a calm look.
"Why would the Sumnii overthrow the Empire? Since the beginning of the Empire there has been no hostility between them." Mon Mothma responded. "For all we know, it could be a scheme to bring any rebels out into the open."
"That could be what they want us to think. From our experience in a Sumnii controlled galaxy, we've seen how they can distort the truth to where people unknowingly aid them." Obi-Wan answered. "The real question is whether or not the Sumnii have control over the Empire yet."
"How would this information help us?" Bail asked.
Anakin slowly shook his head. "It won't. Once someone answers that question more questions will be raised. There is no distinguishable order in which the Sumnii do things. Any attempt to try to find a solid pattern will only have negative affects. Plus, we have to add in how the Sith and Empire are going to or are responding to the Sumnii."
Madine frowned and typed something into his datapad before looking back at the Jedi. "What do you propose we do then?"
Anakin and Obi-Wan briefly glanced at each other before Anakin answered them. "Disband the Rebellion."
The Rebel leaders looked at the Jedi in shock.
"You can't be serious!" Mon Mothma exclaimed.
"They are and I agree with them." Leia spoke up. "We can't fight the Empire, because the real threat is the Sumnii. We can't fight the Sumnii either because the Empire, as far as we know, don't consider them an enemy. We would play right into the hands of the Sumnii if we were to continue to attempt to topple the Empire in order to bring Democracy back." The best course of action for now is for everyone to return to their home system and monitor the situation. Convince your governments to implement some defensive plans and prepare theirselves to be able to aid refugees."
"We can't do to much to quickly. For now this course of action will be sufficient." Obi-Wan added. "While that is going on, Anakin and I will gather what Force sensitives we can find and set up a base somewhere. Once that's accomplished we'll plan our next steps."
Mon Mothma and the other rebel leaders were silent for a few minutes as they digested this information. Finally Mon Mothma spoke. "I don't fully agree with this plan, but it has merit. It will be difficult to convince the others to go along with this."
Madine frowned at Mon Mothma. "You're going to go along with this? We should discuss this more in depth before making a decision."
"Don't take to long." Mara interjected, speaking for the first time since the meeting began. "To much time is wasted in debates. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go pack my things."
Leia, Anakin, and Obi-Wan also excused themselves and left the room.