Chapter Three
"Congratulations Arden Lyn, you have become the Emperor's Hand. You shall have command over all matters pertaining to the martial arts style known as Terras Kasi, formed by the Palawa priests. Yours is authority over all the Empire so long as it benefits your charges, only Lord Vader and the Emperor will be greater," Palpatine declared in the ceremony honoring Arden Lyn's initiation. "From this day forth, Arden Lyn is no longer a strapling rogue Force-sensitive," Vader began.
I am no strapling, I'm probably powerful enough to beat you and your Emperor together Arden thought but didn't say. "She is now a weapon of the Galactic Empire and what she does from here on, she does to ensure security and continuing stability in our society. May the Force bless her with the strength to conquer all who would challenge the might of the Empire for all her days," Vader added. And with that, he concluded the ceremony by shouting "Hail Arden Lyn!" and instructing everyone else to do the same at the rise of his lightsaber into the air.
Three times, Arden heard the cry ring in the crowd and for some strange reason, it warmed her heart to see all this passion put into the ceremony. Not since her wedding to Xendor had she seen such warmth from so many people not of relations to her at all. Then the Emperor rose his hand to the crowd for silence, his announcement of her first mission on behalf of the Empire imminent now. "As my first order to the Emperor's Hand..." he began.
The audience was dead silent all around Arden, the only sound coming from Lord Vader's inhalation and exhalation through his mask. "She must journey to Dromund Kaas and obtain a holocron belonging to the ancient Sith Lord, Darth Vitiate at the ruins of his palace. Arden Lyn, my Emperor's Hand, must never return until she has succeeded in this mission with her only other option being death. Whether by my Lightning or by the traps that lie in wait for those that would steal the holocron, victory is her only way back to me," he continued, ending on that note.
"Thank you my liege, I will not fail you," Arden stated as she rose from her kneel and bowed to him formally. "Go, my Emperor's Hand, to victory or death. Lord Vader shall give you all the details you will need for your mission," he replied, ending the ceremony at that. Nodding, she turned and walked down the stairs of the throne with Lord Vader soon tagging on her heels to hand her something.
"Speak to me, go over the instructions with me verbally," Arden requested. "This datapad goes over the instructions much more thoroughly than I can. It also gives you a picture of what a holocron looks like so you know what to look for, particularly what a Sith holocron looks like I might add. May the Force be with you on this mission, Arden Lyn the Emperor's Hand," he replied immediately.
Arden took the datapad from him and went over the details, meticulously and methodically reading every last letter. By the end of her read, she had more than memorized the details that she needed to know: she was looking for a red, glowing pyramid structure ebbing with the Dark Side. Additionally, there were several hundred miles of tunnels and corridors which all contained booby traps and perils that none had survived to date. She would need to be careful where she placed her feet during the first third of the chamber, then be very quick in the next third.
The last was supposed to be something that she was fairly familiar with: illusions of the mind as well as lightsaber dueling with ancient ghosts. That last part shouldn't be too big of a hassle, maybe its lack of difficulty is incentive for overcoming the difficulties at the beginning she thought. It was a thought that brought a smile to her face and admittedly, she found this mission an exciting first one. But then, she could swear she had the funniest feeling like another voice was intruding into her head to talk.
When she let it, she recognized this voice to belong to her old apprentice Depa Billaba who had died helping Arden escaping the Yuuzhan Vong. Do not underestimate the horrors that lie in wait for those who journey to the homeland of the Prophets of the Dark Side. There, nothing lives except for what does so by the graces of the bearers of the power Depa warned. Prophets... shouldn't be too bad, most prophets are cowards that speak in riddles anyhow Arden replied.
These prophets can foresee the future through an utter reliance on the Force to pierce through the veil cast over most when it comes to the future. Be wary of venturing anywhere near where they live on Dromund Kaas Depa reiterated. I'll be wary, my apprentice just please remain out of my head whenever I'm fighting please Arden said calmly. No worries about that Mistress, just remember to keep on your toes no matter what Depa said, concluding her warning at that.
The shuttle that would take Arden to Dromund Kaas was waiting and ready when she arrived, something she liked seeing. "Strap in for the ride, milady. Coordinates are locked, prepare for lightspeed," said the male pilot. She could only see his arms and hear his voice but that was all she needed to know that she would be soon traveling to yet another world in the list she was gathering.
"Is it really wise to send her to Dromund Kaas, so soon? The last time we did anything like that, we were lucky to have Supreme Prophet Kadann drop by to save his life. Even then, he never survived the attempts to medically restore him more than about fourteen standard hours," Vader asked. "Unlike that pathetic initiate whose name I haven't bothered to recall, Arden has experience," Palpatine replied.
"Experience fighting Jedi, not experience fighting fellow Dark Side bearers. Her fight with the Inquisitors is living proof of that," Vader added. "She was caught off-guard, anyone with her kind of power would never allow it if they were on their full game," Palpatine snapped. "My point is that it might not be wise to put too much faith in her abilities, even if she is a living powerhouse in the Force," Vader warned.
"When she returns with the holocron, I trust you will not raise this issue up to me in the future?" Palpatine asked, cutting to the point immediately. Vader nodded, knowing that he could argue no more on the point of Arden's power when Palpatine's confidence was heavily placed upon it. He says all this like he has already foreseen the outcome and isn't telling me Vader thought but didn't say. "Will that be all, Lord Vader?" Palpatine asked after a moment's pause.
"Yes Master, there is nothing else for the time being," the Sith Lord answered. "Then you're dismissed for now," the Emperor replied. Vader bowed and left the Throne Room, allowing the older man to sink into his thoughts. It was the least he could do considering his Master's absolute confidence in Arden's capabilities as a warrior.
Despite the reports about the Irkalla mission disputing her capabilities, Palpatine believed that her potential meant that she was more than qualified to go to Dromund Kaas. He's never been this ecstatic about a Force bearer since he met me, twenty-six and a half years ago he observed. Could she be the herald of doom for Lord Vader, could this woman mark the end of all he schemed to do before he could even do it? If so, it most certainly explained why the Emperor was so hopeful that she succeeded in her mission.
After all, Sidious had made it clear at the beginning of the Empire that he had been disappointed in what Vader had become. "All your power and you let Kenobi get away with what he has done to you," he had exclaimed. The exclamation itself had been more out of frustration than anything else but the hatred that the old man felt even then was still visible in his tone and on his face. Now, he had an opportunity for a fresher replacement if he wished to take it, one younger and more powerful.
Just as he had been when he had destroyed Lord Tyranus near the end of the Clone Wars... The time to strike against the Emperor and take his throne was coming up faster than he thought it was if this was the case. That sneaky little snake would have his way if I had not caught on soon enough but not to worry, my secret weapon is almost ready Vader thought with a smile. Opening a door with the Force, Vader gazed upon that secret weapon: an apprentice that he had been training for years now.
"Are you ready for your next mission, Starkiller?" Vader asked. "What is thy bidding, my Master?" Starkiller replied after nodding. "Go to Dromund Kaas, request the permission from the Prophets of the Dark Side to spy on a woman called Arden Lyn. Follow her as best you can and if she succeeds in what she heads to accomplish there, report back to me immediately," Vader ordered.
"Does she seek something of value? If so, let me take it from her!" Starkiller suggested. "No, unless she fails she would be too powerful for you. Just follow her and report back to me if she succeeds or if she fails in her missions," Vader insisted.
"As you wish, my Master," Starkiller replied with a bow. Then Vader left him to pack up for his trip to Dromund Kaas, the Rogue Shadow standing ready as ever to escort him. But before letting him leave, Vader reminded Starkiller a final time that he was not to engage Arden or steal her valuable. "Under any circumstances, even self-defense," he added imperialistically; the boy replied with a nod.
"Arden Lyn, no doubt. It is a high honor to have someone like you join us for your stay on Dromund Kaas," Supreme Prophet Kadann announced as Arden arrived. Stopping for a moment or so, Arden read the little man before her, trying to see what was going on in the wheels of his mind. But when she found nothing of interest to her, she decided it was best to return his greeting for now. "Dispense with the formalities, we both know I am only here for a brief time until I succeed in my mission," she said.
"And I assure you that we have adjusted to accommodate you for the duration of your stay. As I have said before, it is a true honor to have a servant of Emperor Palpatine here," he replied. "You rarely get visitors, do you?" she asked. "How did you guess?" he inquired, semi-confessing.
"It doesn't take reading through the Force to know that you value visitors so much that you wish to accommodate them when they arrive. Especially if they happen to serve someone who is more powerful in the Dark Side than yourself, am I right?" she explained. Kadann paused in his thoughts and it seemed as though she had angered him with what she had said but his response said otherwise. "We pay our respects to Lord Sidious, yes, and in return he leaves us be for as long as we wish," he stated.
"And I trust that it has worked fairly for the both of you?" she asked. Kadann nodded and told her that High Prophet Jedgar would show her to her quarters. "Thank you Supreme Prophet, your hospitality has been most appreciated thus far," she replied. "Anything for the servant of the Emperor," he said with a smile before leaving her to unpack and settle down.
But as she did so, she sensed an unfamiliar presence not of the spirit world or even amongst the prophets. This one had a tinge of youth to it that she had not seen since she had met Xendor for the first time. Who in the universe could this be with Xendor long dead and this presence being from a younger being? she asked herself silently. The sad thing was, she knew she would have to wait until morning to find out who it was if she was destined to find out at all.
Starkiller had left for Dromund Kaas not too long after receiving a report that Arden had already left. As such, he arrived about a standard hour or so after she did and was amazed that he was not immediately ratted out by one of the prophets. In fact, it was so quiet that he immediately began to keep a vigilance in case he was walking into a trap of any sort. Maybe they'll use the Force to conjure up some sort of ancient Sith weapon that will skin me alive or something he thought.
He had heard the legends about the prophets and was very much interested to know what kind of life that they lived. "Where are you going, so late at night?" a female voice called out to him. Turning in the direction of the voice, he almost managed to get his lightsaber but it was taken out of his hand. "There's no need for such crude weapons to be drawn here, it's all safe in this temple," the woman told him as she grabbed the levitated saber.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Starkiller asked. "My name's Merili, I'm one of the Prophets," the woman answered. Merili, I've heard some crazy things surrounding that name he thought but didn't say. "So what's your name, sexy man?" she asked when he said nothing aloud.
The way her hand went up and down his chest indicated that she was not going to threaten him with his own lightsaber, not yet anyways. "Starkiller, apprentice to Lord Vader, ma'am," he said. There was no sense denying his allegiance especially if what was said about her reading minds was true. "I thought there could be only two Sith: a Master and an apprentice," she replied.
"I'm more the servant than an apprentice, anyway. An acolyte of the Dark Side, if you will," he admitted. "In that case, maybe I could... accommodate you while you stay here," she suggested. Her hand rubbed along his chin in a very flirtatious manner and since she looked in her teens, he didn't panic.
At best, she was about two years older or younger than him anyway and would seem really natural if it weren't so instant. "Why do you take to liking me when you barely even know more than my name?" he asked, these doubts too strong to go unnoticed. "The Prophets are no fun, they're all about committing themselves to the Dark Side and visions," she said in a manner that mocked them. It's a wonder that she hasn't been kicked out for saying this but still I wonder... he thought silently.
"Sounds like you get pretty lonely," he said to be polite. "Oh yes and the guy I like never pays attention. Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for you," she said melodramatically. Then she yanked him by his arms and pulled him to her chambers... it was one hell of a night for Starkiller.
Despite the noises of a teenage woman screaming and a teenage boy groaning in what sounded like ecstasy, Arden was able to get a proper couple of hours of meditation. In the morning, she consulted Kadann with a demand to know what was up about the girl at night. "That's our overly insane Prophetess named Merili. The rest of us stay away from her but some strapless young lad must have bumped into her and had her ride up and down his shaft much to his chagrin later," Kadann answered.
"And you let her get away with this?" Arden asked. "Like I told you, she's very overly insane. The more freedom you give someone with a mind like hers, the more they think they're your master. However, it also allows them the ignorance to not realize that it is you who are their master, not vice versa," Kadann answered proudly.
"Doesn't a person like her eventually bite the hand that feeds them?" she inquired. "We have already taken precautions so that it does not happen or happens on such a level that it's irrelevant. After all, with any person or organization, we look into their future but we do it meticulously. As there are many possible futures, we merely choose the one most likely to occur and announce that vision.
"The Emperor knows that's how we operate and he knows that the future will reach a point where the outcome we choose is one that does not work in his favor. He has the ability to see the future to the extent that we can but he chooses the course most agreeable to his design," he explained. "Very biased judgment that could end up stabbing him in the back someday," she observed aloud. "Indeed and despite having nothing to confirm it yet, we believe that time is fast approaching," he admitted.
"You do, you mean?" she asked. She guessed it in his posture that his recent announcement was a development as old as the conversation. "The others will have seen what I have seen before the end of this conversation and will follow suit in my beliefs, even Merili. There would be no point in announcing it except to come to an agreement about what can be done to prepare," he answered.
"And the reason that you are relating this all to me is?" she requested, a question that caught him off guard but only slightly so. Even with my ability to calculate the most likely path of the future, her ability to calculate elements of the present is remarkable he thought. "Because the future tells me that the most likely path of our fates dictates that we will only meet once again. Even so, I am cautious not to trust one path entirely or else face disappointment," he said aloud.
"One meets their future on the path they take to avoid it. Perhaps, I should try that and see if it proves you right in your guess," she suggested. "There is no need for that, you will meet whatever future lies in wait for you no matter what you do," he replied with a chuckle. He admired her opinions on the future and wondered where her wisdom came from, what inspired it in her.
If only he knew where I've formed my opinions from Arden thought silently. "So where is the Temple?" she asked aloud. "Not more than three kilometers away from here, a distance easily covered by landspeeder. I have already arranged one to take you there whenever you're ready to set out," he answered. "In that case, I better not keep the driver waiting on me," she stated.
"Eager to get the mission underway, I like that in a lassie such as yourself," he replied, stroking his beard in ponderance. "Don't press your luck, Prophet. The men who like me (let alone love me) tend to die on me before I really have a chance to know them for too long," she warned. She looks like a woman with such an unfortunate streak of luck in her life he admitted silently.
"May the Force be with you in your mission, Arden Lyn. You have great potential to become a powerful warrior as well as a wise one," he said aloud. By this time, they were approaching the speeder and Arden was impatient to get going. However, she stopped and turned back to him with a look that said she still had a question or two.
"What's the most likely outcome for my mission to the temple?" she asked teasingly. Chuckling, he had to admit that for her hard exterior and her wisdom, she could act like a normal woman. She was the right balance of warrior, Force user, utterer of naught but wise words, and normal human woman. In the wrong hands, such a combination would be unstoppably dangerous but in the right ones?
If ever, the combination of personality traits that Arden presented were to fall into the right hands then it would mean peace to the galaxy and maybe even to her. As he watched her leave, the screams of Merili came alive again and were more ecstatic than before, apparently she was having fun. "Jedgar, go fetch the boy that entertains Merili so rigorously and make sure you get him talking before you decide to lop off his manhood, not the other way around," he ordered at last, annoyed by the noise. "Yes Master," High Prophet Jedgar replied as he grabbed his lightsaber and head for her room.
"Oh Starkiller, you are so fine," Merili exclaimed, her naked form rubbing up against Starkiller's. "I have barely even done anything, milady," he replied. It was then, as if saying that sparked a revelation, he remembered his mission and went to a flurry of activity. "I've been here too long," he said aloud.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "I was sent here on a mission to observe Arden Lyn's mission on Lord Vader's behalf. By now, her speeder's already taken off and made its way to the damned temple!" he answered. "You're right about that but that doesn't explain what you're doing naked here," another man intruded.
Oh hell, I think I'm in trouble now Starkiller thought as he finished searching for his lightsaber. "Why High Prophet Jedgar, what a pleasant surprise!" Merili shouted playfully. "Enough, who are you, young man!?" Jedgar demanded. Starkiller knew there was only one thing he could do right now.