Chapter 20: Phase Two
At the same time, Elias' personal quarters…
"Once again, you fail to disappoint me, Grand Inquisitor." Darth Vader said as he addressed the kneeling Elias. "I wondered whether you would use the ten or so days that have passed to do my work for me."
"Never, my lord." Elias said. "It is your will, and that of the Emperor's that matters, not my own."
Vader folded his arms. "Would it that many of the officers that have served me done as such with the loyalty you are showing now. Many might yet be alive." With a dismissive wave of his hand, Vader said: "I will meet you personally at my fortress on Mustafar. I expect to see you presently. With the Jedi." With that, Vader's visage disappeared from the holoprojector.
Elias rose to his feet, and folded his arms. That had gone far more smoothly than he had expected. He had thought Lord Vader would have been miffed at the least that Elias had made him wait, since the Dark Lord of the Sith was not famous for being patient. Elias was also thankful that Vader had requested Elias to meet him with Seth on the surface of Mustafar, at Vader's castle. It would mean Vader would not need to see Colonel Aryn, and it would mean he would not sense the child Aryn still carried. That was, unless Elias killed her before they came to Mustafar. The journey to which by Elias' count, was going to begin in just under an hour.
He was interrupted by a knock at his door. "Come in." He called out.
He heard the door open, and a familiar voice say:
"Grand Inquisitor?"
Elias smiled before turning to see a face he had not seen in a long time: That of the former Commander of Artika Base: Joffrey Stark. "Commander Stark. I often wondered where you were after the events in Artika." Elias said, sociably.
"With respect, it's Colonel Stark now, Grand Inquisitor." Stark replied. "I was promoted to Colonel after successfully subjugating the uprising in Soumerca."
"Excellent. I've yet to read the report on that." Elias said, only just remembering. "It appears that your ability in the field is finally being properly utilised."
"Thank you, Grand Inquisitor." Colonel Stark replied. "I was merely doing my duty, both as a servant of the Empire, and as the commander of my troops there."
Elias tilted his head to one side. "What a pity it is that many officers do not share your definition of duty." He remarked.
"That's because those officers have no honour." Stark replied in disgust. "In my book, a man without honour is a man that doesn't deserve to live. Wouldn't you agree?"
Elias nodded agreement. "Anyways, thank you for the visit."
"I merely came to thank the man that made this all possible for me." Stark replied. "That being yourself. Also, the General wants you on the bridge as soon as possible."
Elias nodded. "Go and tell him I will join him shortly. I have a mission report to read."
Stark smiled and nodded. "I will, Grand Inquisitor." With this, the young officer left Elias, who promptly sat down.
He quickly brought up the mission report from Soumerca. He wanted to see just how well Stark had done.
Meanwhile, in the Main Hangar…
Roman eyed everyone still in the room, his finger placed at his lips to indicate quiet, as he and they waited for the Imperials to come and get the cargo on the shuttle, which they would know by communication via Cassian, who was standing down there with his men, all disguised as Stormtroopers, or in Cassian's case, an Imperial Officer.
Finally, they heard something: Cassian saying softly via his communicator: "Here they come."
Roman nodded, saying: "Keep your composure. They'll pick up on it if you look nervous."
Cassian was silent before saying: "Will do." and cutting the conversation short.
Roman crept over to the main hatch that led down to the cargo hold, pressing his ear against it to listen in to the conversation.
As he imagined, it was full of conversation pertaining to the cargo, and on various other subjects.
It was when the conversation had ceased when he knew that the Imperials and Cassian had left with the cargo, and he quietly stepped into the cockpit for visual confirmation.
To his relief, they were, and Cassian and his new friends were now on their way. Looking to Ahsoka, he gave her a massive grin. "It's on, now." He remarked.
Ahsoka smiled and nodded. "Go get them, Rome." She said.
Roman nodded and turned to do so, but stopped when he heard Ahsoka inhale sharply, followed by a barely audible wince of pain. Turning back to Ahsoka, he asked: "You alright there?"
Ahsoka nodded. "I'm fine." She said, despite the visible tension in her body, which suggested something very different.
Roman frowned and considered pressing the issue, but shook his head and left, beckoning Blaze over. "I think it's happening." Roman whispered. "You hear anything that suggests I'm right, get the fuck in there. You hear?"
Blaze nodded, and returned to her spot, while Roman addressed the others:
"This is it, guys. It's on." He said. "Each of you have your assignments, which I gave to you during the journey. Team Dark, you will head to the engine room and disable the hyperdrive and engines, making this thing dead in orbit. Silver and Blaze will stay behind with the clones, Crankshaft and Omega, just in case Ahsoka goes into labour. The rest of us, that being me, Ashley, Tails and Caleb, will head off to find and rescue Seth. Clear?"
Everyone nodded.
Roman nodded. "Me and my group will head out first. Then a few minutes later, it'll be Team Dark's turn." With that, he nodded to his group, pulled up his hood, and climbed down.
Tails sighed and followed, muttering: "Once more unto the breach." Which induced much laughter.
Ashley and Caleb soon followed, and the four compatriots all eyed the area outside of the shuttle.
It was brimming with other cargo and whatnot, but also with guards.
Thankfully, these were few and far between, but Roman knew he couldn't risk a flat out assault. It would merely alert the Empire to their presence, and the mission would have ended prematurely, and proved Sally right. Something Roman was determined not to do. Turning to his friends, he said: "On my mark, we run for the door." He said. "We don't stop, we don't hide. We run."
Everyone nodded understanding, and with that, Roman peeked up above the cargo they were currently hiding behind, keeping his eyes peeled for an opening.
There was currently a lot of Imperials in-between them and the door, all either standing around talking, or doing various duties. Until they cleared, Roman and his team weren't going anywhere.
Will they just fucking move?! Roman thought to himself.
As if on cue, the field began to lessen and lessen, as Imperial personnel were told to return to duty.
"Hold…" Roman said, holding up his arm to indicate so.
The others readied themselves to run, as Roman did so himself.
"Hold…" Roman once again said, as several Imperial personnel quickly finished their conversation before each going their separate ways. Then, finally checking around them to see if anyone was looking, which there thankfully wasn't, Roman nodded. "Okay, go!" At this, he burst forward in one fluid, quick movement, sprinting towards the doors leading into the Star Destroyer.
Ashley, Tails and Caleb all followed, also sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them.
It wasn't long before they thankfully made it through the doors, and finding themselves in a corridor.
"And now," Roman declared, "we head to the prison block."
Meanwhile, Cargo Hold…
"And here we are." The Imperial Officer, a young man named Carson, declared. "If you'll just deposit the cargo here, then we can assign you to your quarters and we'll be done with it."
Cassian nodded and signalled his mean to do as Carson requested, before turning to assist them with their task, grabbing a hover-crate of cargo and taking it over to its appropriate section, all while making note of how many men Carson had with him, most of whom were also helping with the cargo. There were approximately five of them in total, including Carson, who was standing there overseeing the activity as if they were slaves and he was their master.
Cassian scowled as a memory came to mind, one he quickly pushed aside. That was a past life. One he no longer led.
Within moments, the cargo had been placed neatly where it would be.
Carson nodded approvingly, and said: "Now, if you'll follow me, we'll assign you some quarters and we can enjoy the journey."
Cassian eyed his men and nodded. "Unfortunately, Carson, that's no longer the case." He said.
Carson turned, as if to ask why, but got his answer in the form of Cassian shooting him multiple times.
Cassian's men did the same with the others, shooting them dead in a hail of blaster fire.
Once this was all done, Cassian looked around and said: "Make sure they're dead. Then hide the bodies."
With this, Cassian's men milled around, shooting them all in the head, just to ensure that they would not raise the alarm in their dying moments, and once that was done, they hid them where they could.
Finally, Cassian contacted Roman: "Roman, we've deposited the cargo and we're good to go. What now?"
"Now you find somewhere to hole up and unleash hell." Roman said. Suddenly, Roman fell silent, as if considering a fresh idea. "The engine room's a safe bet. You can hole up there and assist Team Dark in disabling everything. Then you can hold there until I give you the call to get back to the ship."
"Anything else?" Cassian asked. "We could set charges around the cargo hold and blow them. Maybe cause a distraction and get everyone off of our backs temporarily while we proceed to where we need to go."
Roman was silent for a few seconds before saying: "That's actually not a half bad idea, now that I think about it. Do it." With that, the comm was cut.
Cassian nodded and looked around, saying: "You heard the man. Let's blow this cargo hold to kingdom come."
The Main Bridge…
"Grand Inquisitor. Glad you could make it." General Okada called out as Elias strode onto the bridge. "Was the report of Colonel Stark's actions during the Soumerca Uprising to your liking?"
Elias nodded. "Very much so." He replied. "It's criminal to me that his abilities were not recognised earlier."
"Indeed." General Okada replied, nodding approvingly at Colonel Stark. "He deserves every praise he got for his handling of the Uprising. Not too dissimilar to how you praised Colonel Aryn's handling of the initial assault on Mobotropolis when we invaded this planet."
Under his mask, Elias scowled, eyeing Aryn. "Yes." He replied. "In my view, they would make quite the partnership if ever they oversaw a battle."
Cersei looked to Elias, her eyes narrowed. Was he effectively dumping her? She shook her head. That couldn't be the case. He still cared about her, didn't he?
Elias had moved on from that snippet of conversation, and to business: "Any particular reason we're still in orbit and not entered hyperspace yet?" He asked.
Colonel Okada frowned. "Lord Vader is currently tied up with business on Coruscant. But he assures us he will contact us to inform us he is ready to meet us on Mustafar."
Elias nodded. "Excellent." He remarked. "So we'll be here for a while, basically."
"Precisely what I'm saying." Colonel Okada replied. "At least until five o'clock is my count."
"So we've effectively an hour before we can leave?" Elias asked.
"It would appear so." Frederick said, speaking for the first time during the meeting. "But at least it gives us some extra time to enjoy the amenities of this ship."
Elias nodded. "Perhaps." He said. "Will that be all, General?"
Okada nodded. "It will be all, Grand Inquisitor. You are free to explore the ship."
Elias nodded as everyone began moving away, but grabbed Cersei as she left. "Head to my quarters. I will see you presently."
Cersei nodded and walked away, not saying a word.
It wasn't long before Elias noticed a short conversation between Frederick and the Third Brother, the lattermost of whom turned and left, following Cersei.
Elias saw this with a raised eyebrow. Could it be that Frederick had told the Third Brother everything Elias had confided in him? And if so, was it due to Frederick trying to help Elias kill off Cersei, as he had suggested Elias do?
Elias frowned and walked towards Frederick. He had some questions for the former crime lord. And he expected answers.
With Roman and his team, at the same time…
"I assume you know where you're going?" Ashley asked her lover as they moved through an empty corridor.
"I've looked over the schematics for both an Imperial Star Destroyer, and the old Republic Star Destroyers." Roman replied. "They're both pretty similar in layout, so I'd assume the Prison Block is nearby. And knowing the Empire, they'd put Seth in the Maximum Security Block."
"So Sally would be right: He is heavily guarded." Tails said.
"Not enough though." Roman replied. "The standard security detail for the Maximum Security part of the prison block is about two platoons. When honestly, it should be more than that."
"If you say so." Tails said as several Stormtroopers jogged past.
After checking to ensure that there would be no more headed their way, Roman motioned, and the group headed onwards.
"How much further?" Ashley asked.
"Few more corridors if the schematics are to be believed." Roman said. "But first, we need to find somewhere to hide until we hear explosions."
As if on cue, the entire ship rumbled, as the distant sound of an explosion rocked the surrounding area, and an alarm began blaring throughout the ship.
Roman shrugged. "Guess that was the cargo hold going up." He said. "In other words, let's go."
With the Third Brother…
The Third Brother stopped and looked around as the explosion hit the ship, shaking it slightly and causing an alarm to which he'd grown accustomed to start sounding. He raised an eyebrow at this. What was going on? Were there Freedom Fighters on the ship? The latter question he pushed aside. Even the Freedom Fighters were not so stupid as to attack an Imperial Star Destroyer. It simply wasn't done. With this in mind, he walked over to the door leading into the Grand Inquisitor's quarters and rapped on the door.
"Come in." Colonel Aryn called out.
The Third Brother obliged, doing so to a surprised Colonel Aryn.
"Apologies, but I was expecting Elias." The colonel said.
"Agreed, but given that there was just an explosion on board, I suspect he would want me to keep an eye on any important Imperial dignitaries in the area. You qualify for that group in that regard."
The colonel nodded. "Thank you." She said.
"Oh, don't thank me." The Third Brother replied. "I am merely doing my duty."
As he was saying this, his hand found the knife he had requisitioned from the armoury. It suited him perfectly, since the grip fit his hand almost equally as well as his lightsaber's grip, and the blade along one edge was heavily serrated. Perfect for inflicting maximum pain upon the colonel, and getting the most out of what was to be his moment of vengeance upon the Grand Inquisitor for disrespecting him: By stabbing the one thing the Grand Inquisitor loved most: That being the Colonel. That and the unborn child that the colonel carried, and then watching her bleed out, slowly dying as the child she carried within did. He nodded in approval of this plan, before turning to the Colonel and walking up. "Is there anything you need, Colonel?" He asked.
The colonel shook her head. "No thank you. I ate not long ago, so I'm not that hungry."
The Third Brother nodded. "Good." He said, before suddenly ripping the knife from its sheath, and burying it to the hilt in the colonel's lower abdomen, right where her uterus would be.
Colonel Aryn doubled over as her eyes widened, clearly not expecting this., looking up to the Third Brother in shock.
Ripping the knife out, the Third Brother stabbed her again, albeit in a different area.
Only this time, the colonel pushed herself off of the blade, and grabbed for her pistol.
The Third Brother was too quick though, and kicked her blaster out of her hand before stabbing her again, also in the uterus.
He did this twice more before he finally pulled the knife out from Colonel Aryn's mangled womb, and she tried to rise, but toppled to the floor, hand against her belly, which even now leaked blood.
Cleaning his knife with the sheets of the bed, the Third Brother sheathed his knife, and began to wait patiently for the colonel to die.
With Cassian and his group…
"That was a nice sounding explosion." Thane remarked as he and Cassian strode along, the rest of the group following them.
Cassian nodded agreement. "But right now, we need to get to the engine room and hole up there." He said. Contacting Shadow, he said: "Shadow! Me and my men are headed to the engine room to assist you. Could you direct me to your position?"
Shadow's voice came up, replying: "We didn't ask for any help. If anything, you can stand guard while we disable the engines."
Cassian scowled and replied: "You still haven't told us your position."
Shadow could be heard growling in anger on the other side. "Back end of the ship: Two floors down from where the hangar is."
Cassian nodded and said: "On our way." Before moving in the direction of the engine room.
"Charming individual." Sansa, Thane's sister and Cassian's current girlfriend said.
"With a person like him, there's little you can do about it." Bran said. "He's not necessarily the type to want help."
"All I know is that he'll kill me if I blow this mission." Wexley said.
"Well, if anyone's blowing the mission, it likely won't be you, Wexley." Cassian replied.
The youngest member of his team nodded, just as they reached the elevator.
Cassian jogged over and called for the elevator. They had been on the same floor as the hangar bay the entire time, but now it was time to head on down.
After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator came, thankfully not full of Imperials.
Jumping on in, Cassian pressed the button for two floors down, and the door closed.
As the elevator began to move, Cassian allowed himself a breath of relief. So far, this mission was going to plan.
Imperial Cargo Shuttle, Main Hangar, 4:30 am…
A shrill scream from within the cockpit jarred Blaze from her slumber, as it did the rest of the inhabitants, those being the clones and Silver. Looking to them, she said: "You know what to do. Get to it."
They all obliged, with the clones powering up both Omega and Crankshaft, the latter of whom said:
"Who needs to be murdered in cold blood?"
"Nobody yet, Crankshaft." Blaze said. "But I need you to stand guard outside the shuttle with the others."
"Yes, mistress Blaze." Crankshaft said as he readied his rifle and joined the others as they headed out.
Blaze watched them head out before turning and heading into the cockpit, where she frowned at what she saw.
Ahsoka was standing hunched over, one hand on the wall, the other on her belly. "I was kind of hoping you'd not hear that." Ahsoka said.
Blaze shook her head and said: "It doesn't matter now, you're in labour." Walking over, she guided Ahsoka out of the cockpit, and helped her onto one of the seating areas on the shuttle, helping her to lie down, just as another wince of pain emanated from Ahsoka. Placing her hand on Ahsoka's head, she said: "You're going to be fine; I promise."
Ahsoka nodded and said: "The ramp… You have to lift the ramp."
Blaze looked and nodded. With the ramp still lowered, Ahsoka's screams would echo throughout the Star Destroyer, and possibly bring the entire detail of Stormtroopers down onto their heads. Looking to Ahsoka, Blaze said: "Wait here." With that, she scrambled into the cockpit, quickly find the ramp lift switch, flipping it as she turned once more to Ahsoka. "Now to deal with you." She said with an optimistic smile, walking over to Ahsoka. "Any idea how far along you are?" She asked.
Ahsoka shook her head. "I only started really feeling the contractions just before we landed."
Blaze did a quick calculation. If that was the case, then Ahsoka would only be several centimetres dilated, nowhere near as ready to push as Blaze would have hoped. Regardless, she decided to check. "I'm just going to poke around in there, just to make sure."
Ahsoka nodded, pulling down her leggings and underwear before saying: "Do it."
Blaze obliged, and after several moments of poking around within Ahsoka, she withdrew her hands, saying: "By my count, you're six centimetres gone. Four more, and you'll be pushing the baby out."
Ahsoka nodded, just as water suddenly gushed out from between Ahsoka's legs.
Blaze jumped back to avoid it, before saying: "Well, your waters have broken. That's always a good indication of how far along you are." She said.
Ahsoka nodded before another contraction struck, causing a loud yell of pain to erupt from her.
Blaze sighed and knelt down. She'd practised time and time again with dummies, but this was the real thing. Time to see if practise really did make perfect.
With Elias…
"How badly damaged are we?" Elias asked.
"Not too badly that we will not be able to make the jump to hyperspace, Grand Inquisitor." Colonel Stark said. "So unless something happens in the next few minutes, we'll be in hyperspace in no time."
Elias scowled and said: "I will hold you to that, Colonel."
"Yes sir." Stark said as he turned and resumed his work.
Elias scowled and walked away, headed for his quarters, where he knew Cersei waited. And if what Frederick had told him was true, so was the Third Brother.
Elias stopped and wondered why he had not asked the Third Brother's help himself in solving this problem. The man clearly had killed several of his mistresses because they fell pregnant. What harm would be done in helping the Grand Inquisitor rid himself of his mistress? Perhaps then, a proper working relationship might be established, and respect for one another might foster itself.
But then again, knowing the Third Brother, he would likely want to make the Colonel's death as slow and painful as possible for her. Elias would have to strike the fatal blow. Not that he would have minded. It would make him better, and enable him to serve the Empire once more without any inhibitions. One of the many reasons why the Third Brother was not the Grand Inquisitor, for the Third Brother had many inhibitions: Arrogance, vindictiveness even for the most petty slight, pride. All these things were synonymous with the Third Brother.
Elias shook his head. The Third Brother was no longer his chief problem. That was the colonel.
Realising he was drawing close, Elias began to harden his heart for what he would have to do. He would tell the colonel one more time that he loved her, and then, and only then, would he do it.
With Roman, Ashley, Tails and Caleb…
"Prison block. Finally." Roman remarked as he and his friends drew near to the aforementioned section of the Star Destroyer.
"About time we started this mission in earnest." Caleb remarked. "I've been lugging Seth's armour and other weapons for a good few minutes now."
Roman chuckled, and made to respond, when his comlink came on, with Silver's voice crackling through:
"Roman, what's you status pertaining to Seth?" He asked.
"We're just about to head into the prison block. Why?" Roman inquired.
Silver sighed. "You were right; it is happening."
Roman scowled. "Fuck." He growled. "How close is she to actually giving birth?"
"Blaze tells me she's nearing seven centimetres, so not long at all." Silver said.
Roman scowled. Above all, Seth had wanted to be present for the birth of his son or daughter. If he was denied that one wish, he'd never forgive himself. "Keep me posted on everything that happens." Roman said. "You hear? Everything."
"Understood." Silver said as he cut the connection.
Roman turned to the now worried faces of Seth, Ashley and Caleb. "We can do this, guys." He said. "Let's move." With this, they moved on in to the prison block, stacking up on a corner near to the main prison block.
Peeking around, Tails frowned. "I'm not seeing that many guards. This reeks of a trap."
Caleb stroked his goatee. "Then I suggest we spring said trap, and then-" Caleb stopped before cringing in distaste. "Goddess, that stinks!" He snarled.
Roman sniffed the air two, and shook his head to clear it. "Strong smell of shit and piss? Check." He said. "That stench means that there's one person in there we should be careful of."
"That being?" Caleb asked.
"Argo. Argo the Rhinoceros." Roman replied. "Formerly a henchman of my good friend Frederick the Fox, who I suspect is also on the ship, given that Argo is here. Which means that where Argo is-"
"Alec isn't too far behind." Ashley said with a frown.
Tails frowned. "Me, Ashley or Caleb aren't in the best of conditions to fight Argo, which leaves only you for him. I'll deal with Alec." He said.
Roman turned. "Are you sure?" He asked. "I'm the only one who's ever fought Alec out of the four of us."
"Not the only one." Ashley said. "I had the misfortune of facing him several months after Elias supposedly killed you, during a quick recovery mission. Salvaging what we could from the remains of the Sky Patrol. He showed up, we fought. Good thing I brought my sword." She said, motioning to the sword currently sheathed over her shoulder.
Roman smiled. He'd learned that Ashley had took training from Espio in the use of a sword, and had grown extremely skilled in its use. With that in mind, he replied: "Then at least fight with Tails alongside you. If Alec goes invisible, then-" He stopped before lashing out with a Force Push, hearing a loud clatter as out of nowhere, Alec appeared, materialising into being.
Brushing himself off, Frederick's assassin eyed Roman with an amused look. "I was beginning to worry you'd not have sensed me in time." Alex remarked.
"Happens." Roman said, reaching for his lightsaber, when suddenly, the stench of shit and piss from earlier suddenly grew stronger, and something large barrelled into Roman, tossing him against the wall. Groaning in pain, Roman forced himself to his feet, looking up at a rhinoceros he had come to know well. And hate. "Hello Argo. Long time no see."
"Go fuck yourself, foxy." Argo snapped.
Roman rolled his eyes. "Well, guess no one can blame me for trying to be sociable." He remarked, before suddenly tackling Argo to the floor.
Alec charged to attack Roman, but his sword met that of a drawn sword.
"Not on my watch you bastard!" Ashley snarled as she pushed her adversary back, turning to Tails and Caleb. "Go and get Seth! We'll hold them off!"
Tails nodded to Ashley and then to Caleb, and with that, the fox and the elderly caracal turned and rushed to find Seth's cell, searching every cell, until they both heard a familiar voice call out:
"Hey, what the fuck took you so long?"
Tails and Caleb breathed a sigh of relief as they turned to face the speaker.
There, looking as healthy as one could be save for some sort of mask covering his face, standing in cell 627, grinning like a lunatic, was Seth Kerran. "So tell me." Seth asked. "How the fuck did Sally allow you idiots to go on this mission?"
With Cassian and his group, engine room, 4:50 am…
"About time." Shadow snapped as he saw Cassian and his ilk arrive. "We're nearly finished. Keep us covered until then."
Cassian frowned, but did as he was told, motioning for his men to do the same. But while they did so, they took off their helmets. Cassian did the same with the hat, dumping it nearby. He'd never enjoyed wearing those things.
An idea came into his head, as he remembered they still had charges left. Turning to Shadow, he said: "I have an idea on something that might speed things along."
"I'm open to suggestions." Shadow replied nonchalantly.
"How about we blow the entire engine room, and then fight our way back to the ship and make our stand there?" Cassian suggested.
Shadow frowned before nodding approvingly. "That actually is not a bad idea. Throw us some charges."
Cassian nodded and motioned to his men, who handed out the charges they had left to Shadow and Rouge.
In a rare smile from Shadow, the ebony Hedgehog said: "Thanks." Before proceeding to set the charges. Once that was done, he said: "Now let's get out of here." With that, he, Rouge, Cassian, and his group all headed out, getting into a nearby elevator before Cassian handed Shadow the detonator. "Care to do the honours?"
Shadow nodded, and pressed the detonator, hearing the explosion beneath them, as fresh alarms began blaring.
Cassian smiled and folded his arms. Now, it was time to get this party started.
The Main Bridge, at the same time…
"What now?!" General Okada demanded as his subordinates struggled to register the damage.
"There's been an explosion in the engine room sir!" An aide shouted. "Damage is enough that we will not be able to jump to hyperspace until such time that it is repaired."
General Okada scowled. "This stinks of the Freedom Fighters." He growled.
"Well sir, there's a small group of people running to the hangar now. They must be about to escape."
Okada scowled. "Those rebel scum will not topple the Empire this easily. Kill them all!" Pointing a finger at the aide, he growled: "Either they die, or you do."
The aide nodded and keyed the intercom: "Attention all units. We have intruders in the main hangar. Converge and kill them all." He looked up at the General and added: "Either they die, or you do."
The General nodded approvingly. Now all there was to do was wait. Wait for the inevitable call that the rebels had been crushed.
With Elias, at the same time…
Ignoring the announcement, believing it was nothing, Elias rounded the corner, and stormed into his room, stopping fast at what he saw.
Cersei lay in a pool of her own blood, her belly punctured with five stab wounds, each around the very same area: Her uterus.
Falling to his knees, Elias almost allowed tears to fall. The child Cersei carried, his child, was now dead without a doubt. Getting to his feet, he walked over to Cersei, only to be accosted by the Third Brother, who reached for his lightsaber. Stopping him, Elias instead pulled him close, and whispered: "I know you did this for me. And for that, I'm grateful."
The Third Brother appeared surprised, but nodded, and stood aside.
Taking off his mask, Elias knelt down in front of Cersei, who looked up.
"E-Elias?" She asked. Her face was growing paler and paler, the colour draining from her face with every drop of blood that she lost.
Elias nodded. "Yes, Cersei. I'm here." He finally let the tears fall, silently swearing to himself that they would be the last he ever shed. Reaching out, he stroked her cheek, as he always did whenever he and Cersei were together post coitus.
Cersei struggled to her feet, but stumbled, weakened by heavy blood loss. "Our child may be lost forever, but the problem is solved. We can carry on now." She said, a smile crossing her face.
Elias looked away, fighting off the emotions that were begging him not to do what he needed to do, imploring him to deny the will of the regime he served and give in to his feelings.
Cersei, weakened though she was by blood loss, cupped Elias' cheek, seeing the conflict in his face. "Elias… what's wrong?"
Opening his eyes, Elias shut the emotions out, and replied: "The fact that I love you so is what's wrong." As he said that, he took his lightsaber from his belt, and placed it to her chest, just beneath her heart, and once the final word left his lips, he pressed ignition, impaling the love of his life upon his blade, as he had done numerous Jedi.
Cersei's face fell as she looked down to see the lightsaber buried to the hilt in her chest, and then at Elias, seeing how conflicted he was.
Elias shut his eyes against tears as he pulled his lightsaber out, allowing her to fall onto him, her dying breath hot against his face.
Pulling herself up with the last of her strength, She pulled herself closer to Elias, whispering softly in his ear: "It doesn't matter what happens from now, Elias; I'll always love you nonetheless." And with that, her body went limp.
And so it was, that Colonel Cersei Lysa Aryn, rising star in the Imperial military, and lover of the Grand Inquisitor, died.
Picking her up, Elias carried her to the bed on which he would have slept, and laid her upon it, folding her hands neatly over her torso.
The Third Brother joined Elias then, staring in disbelief. "It is done, then?" He asked.
Elias scoffed. "Not yet." He replied, before igniting and driving his lightsaber to the hilt in the Third Brother's chest.
The Third Brother's eyes widened as he looked down at the lightsaber buried in his chest, before looking back up at the Grand Inquisitor, who smiled.
"Be thankful that I grant you this end, instead of the end Vader would give you upon discovering your crime." Elias snarled. With this, Elias pulled his lightsaber free with a jerk, enabling the Third Brother to fall down to his knees. Without a second thought, Elias spun his lightsaber, and with that, he beheaded the Third Brother.
It was as the corpse fell to the floor that Colonel Stark burst in: "Grand Inquisitor, we're…" He stopped as he saw the body of the Third Brother, and then the body of Colonel Aryn. His eyes widening in shock, he asked: "Did you…"
"The Third Brother yes." Elias said. "But it was the Third Brother who murdered the Colonel. He has since been punished for said crime." Deactivating his lightsaber, Elias attached it to his belt before picking up his mask where he had dropped it, pulling it over his face. "Now what is the problem?" He asked.
Stark sighed. "The Freedom Fighters… They're here."
Elias immediately scowled and asked: "Where are the Jedi?" He demanded.
"Prison block." Colonel Stark replied.
Elias nodded. He'd expected this ever since Seth Kerran had been captured. "Leave them to me, Colonel. You deal with the rest." With this, the Grand Inquisitor grabbed the Third Brother's lightsaber and strode out of the room, leaving the bodies of Colonel Aryn and the Third Brother forever in darkness.
It was never going to end well for Elias and Cersei, was it?
For the most part, I am so terribly sorry for the extended delay. Schoolwork was beginning to wear on me as well as this and well, I switched off, effectively. That, and I am trying desperately to catch up on Game of Thrones. Good thing I finished Season 4 today. Let's hope that I can finish seasons 5 & 6 before season 7 comes out. Winter is Coming.
With that said, thank you all for taking the time to read this chapter. If you enjoyed it, then please leave a review in the appropriate section, letting me know what it is you thought of the chapter, and what I can do in future to improve. In the case that you really enjoyed it, then please favourite and follow this story, in order to be among the first to read its conclusion, which I will deliver in two instalments tomorrow: One chapter in the morning, the next that very night.
Again, thank you so much for reading, and I will see you tomorrow (Hopefully!) with the final two chapters of this fanfiction, the first of which sees Elias meet the Jedi for one final time.
T-Rock14