Chapter Fifteen
Darth Vader's Theta-class shuttle descended through the crowded atmosphere of Coruscant. The tri-winged vessel, the top wing shaped like a blade that extended over the nose of the transport, made directly for the former Jedi Temple.
Smoke no longer emanated from the ziggurat as it had immediately after the destruction of the Jedi Order. Vader leaned forward in his seat, situated behind the copilot and the navigator. He had not returned to the site of his former home since being placed in his black suit. Outwardly there was no indication of his surprise when he noticed the numerous construction craft flitting about the enormous structure.
Hundreds of floating construction hovered beside the ziggurat's enormous walls, busily constructing scaffolding with a single minded purpose, not unlike a hive of insects. The shuttle descended towards the entrance of the Temple. The stone pillars that had once marked the entrance, decorated on each side by ancient Jedi Masters, had been torn down. By the sight of the stone debris that littered the causeway it looked like a turbolaser had been taken to them.
The shuttle finally came to a landing just before the flight of stairs that led up to the entrance. Without a word to the flight crew Vader exited the cabin and down the boarding ramp. He quickly ascended the stairs, his cape billowing behind him. He couldn't help but think back to his first moments as a Sith, when he had led a legion of clones into battle against the Jedi. Inside he could sense the presence of his master, waiting.
Vader entered the grand hall, finding himself in the middle of a construction site. Beyond the repairs to the hall required after the battles of not much more than a month prior, workers and droids were busy ripping up the grey and white tiling on the floor, replacing it with black obsidian. A security checkpoint, manned by a squad of stormtroopers, ignored Vader as he passed.
Vader followed his senses until he reached the second hall. Here the damage had been more severe, many of the columns that ran from the floor to the ceiling still lying in broken heaps. He spotted his master standing atop a robotic scaffolding platform that lay near the wall, the platform providing a view from which to observe most of the work. Despite ruling the entire known universe, the Emperor still kept to his simple black robes. An architect, a tall thin human with a cybernetic visor over his eyes, stood next to him, presenting a holographic blueprint.
Vader approached from behind, going up a short set of stairs that brought him onto the same level as the scaffold. He stood patiently while Palpatine finished, betraying no sense of nervousness or unease.
"Lord Vader," Palpatine said, not bothering to turn towards his apprentice.
"My Master," Vader said, bowing.
"What do you think of my new palace?" Palpatine asked, finally turning towards Vader, who stood several meters below him behind the scaffold.
"Palace?"
"Yes. The Imperial Palace. Why construct a new building when there is a perfectly good one sitting...unoccupied," Palpatine said, smirking. At last the wizened human descended the ramp and joined Vader on the floor. "Follow me."
The Emperor began to walk at a casual pace, observing the frenzied work going on throughout the former Jedi Temple as if it were his favorite holodrama, performed live. They entered a central corridor, which Vader knew led to most of the central turbolifts. As they moved he noticed that many of the decorations, the bronzium statues and busts of the ancient Jedi, were all missing. He wondered if Palpatine had melted them down, or if he had stashed them into some kind of secret trophy room.
"How well have you been studying the Sith holocrons I gave you?" Palpatine asked.
"I've devoted every free moment to them," Vader answered.
"Good. Recite Darth Bane's 'Rule of Two'," he asked.
"Two there should be. No more, no less. One to embody the power, and the other to covet it."
"What are the benefits of such a system?" Palpatine asked. He came to a stop in front of a very large turbolift. Vader knew from experience that this one led all the way up to the Jedi High Council chamber, and all the way down to the ancient foundations of the Temple itself.
"The Sith remain strong," Vader answered. "Their power focused. It prevents many lesser rivals from joining together and overthrowing a more powerful master. It prevents the infighting that doomed the ancient Sith."
"Indeed," Palpatine agreed, nodding. He narrowed his yellow eyes as he stared up at his apprentice. "But the drawbacks?"
Vader hesitated before answering. "Two Sith cannot be everywhere at once."
"Correct," Palpatine said, nodding slightly. "A true Sith will always bend rules to their advantage. The Jedi were inflexible, they failed to change with times. But the Sith must not be. Ruling an entire galaxy, effectively, requires delegation."
"You are referring to the likes of Tarkin?" Vader asked.
"Yes," the Emperor answered. "But it also requires that the delegates are kept in check. Competing against each other. Tarkin in fear of the other Moffs. Imperial Intelligence in fear of the ISB. The Navy held in check by the bureaucrats. All of them in fear of COMPNOR. But to hold it all together, to prevent rivalry from turning into civil war...That requires the kind of strength only a Sith Lord can provide.""
"I understand," Vader agreed.
"Do you?" the Emperor snapped. "That is why I can't have you disappearing without notice onto some forgotten world. The Navy, and all of the others, must be made keenly aware of your presence. They must know that if they abuse the enormous power I've given them, if they put themselves above the interests of the New Order, that you will be there, ready to choke the life out of them if need be."
"What about the remaining Jedi hiding throughout the galaxy?"
"There are none left that can challenge us," Palpatine said dismissively. "The rest are a mere nuisance."
"A nuisance that should be dealt with," Vader said, anger seeping into his voice. He couldn't help but think of his old master, Obi Wan. He knew better than anyone from his experiences in the Clone Wars what damage a single Jedi could do. "The clones took the Jedi by surprise. But the stormtroopers will prove ineffective against even the weakest Jedi."
"That is why there is a project of mine, long planned," Palpatine said. He reached out with his hand. "Your lightsaber."
Vader reached beneath his belt and removed the weapon, which he had built mere weeks prior to replace the one he had lost to Kenobi. He did not hesitate in handing it over. He knew that the Emperor did not need to disarm him if he intended on discarding his apprentice.
"Take the turbolift to the Archives." The turbolift door opened, Palpatine telekinetically activating the controls from the corridor.
Vader obeyed, getting onto the lift, which immediately began to descend. He reached out with his senses, attempting to discover whatever it was the Emperor had waiting for him below. But he found his senses cloudy. Obscured. The Emperor was interfering with them somehow. He didn't find it surprising, seeing how Palpatine had managed to hide right underneath the noses of the Jedi for more than a decade.
The lift stopped and the doors opened. The Archives had never been a brightly lit place, even under the Jedi. Bright light could damage some of the sensitive artifacts held within. But now it was pitch black, only a handful of faint lights blinking on and off in the distance, likely belonging to a control panel or computer terminal.
Vader stepped off of the lift and into the darkness.
oOoOo
Dust rose into the thin atmosphere as Uraala crawled over the last hill seperating her from her destination, the underground hideout of the Ard Clan. The stars overhead barely twinkled. The weak gravity of the dwarf planet, which lay at the edge of the Malastare system, was barely able to maintain an atmosphere, was hardly able to create such an effect. Still, the atmospheric pressure was just high enough that she didn't need a full vacuum suit. Instead she wore an armored flight suit made of durasteel and echani fiber. It was painted a mottled purple and gray, colors which helped her blend with the surrounding environment.
Blaster pistol in hand, she finally reached the summit of the hill. The Ard Clan's hideout consisted of multiple dome-like structures, which burst out of the lifeless landscape as if they were soap bubbles about to pop. Tunnels beneath the ground connected each dome, and also led to a nearby canyon where the hangar bay was hidden. Uraala could see distant flashes of green and red light bouncing off the walls of the canyon in the distance. Her father's forces, many of whom had helped her in the assault against the Zygerrians during the tournament, were attempting a frontal assault.
A thin cloud of dust rolled over her suit from behind. Uraala awkwardly glanced over, her suit wasn't very flexible, to find Exa Karr arriving at the top of the hill. Exa wore a full set of beskar'gamarmor, the gear worn by every Mandalorian warrior since ancient times. His armor was dark grey, with occasional flashes of green and blue paint. The area surrounding the t-shaped visor on his helmet had been painted in triangles of white and dark blue, simulating the look of shark's teeth.
"Communications check," Exa ordered, his voice echoing through the communicator mounted inside of Uraala's helmet. Three additional mandalorians, wearing armor similar to Exa's, joined them at the top of the hill, kicking up three additional small clouds of dust.
"I hear you," Uraala answered, her voice tense. Their communications equipment was encrypted and set to low power. The transmissions wouldn't go more than a few dozen meters before becoming indistinguishable from the background radiation common throughout space, ensuring that their approach would not be noticed.
"I read you loud and clear," one of the Mandalorians answered, a woman named Isle.
"Natan here, I read you," a masculine voice answered.
"I hear you," another answered, his voice deeper than the others. Uraala believed his name was Ture.
"Alright, we're going to fly ahead and hack into their security system," Exa said. "You can go on foot, meet us at the access shaft."
"Okay," Uraala answered with a nod, although the gesture went mostly unnoticed due to the stiffness of her suit. Exa rose to his feet, and, joined by the other mandalorians, ignited his jet pack. The four shot into the sky, easily overcoming the dwarf planet's gravity. Uraala watched as the light from each of their jet packs quickly shrank into the distance as they flew towards the roof of the nearest dome. Annoyed she did not have a jet pack of her own, Uraala got to her feet and began to move down the hill.
Her trek across the flat plains of the valley floor went much quicker than she anticipated. Due to the low gravity she could take tens of meters in each stride, as if she were gliding rather than jogging across the surface. She imagined that this must be what a Jedi felt like when they used the Force to perform supernatural feats of speed and strength. For a moment she smiled, despite her foul mood.
She spotted the access shaft on the nearest dome, a rectangular air vent nestled amongst an outcropping of boulders that vented excess heat. By the time she reached it four bursts of light erupted about her periphery as the Mandalorians touched down.
"Isle broke into their system," Exa announced, glancing towards one of the other Mandalorians, a woman who had purple teeth markings on the top of her helmet.
"We downloaded the compound's schematics," Isle added. Her voice was surprisingly cheery, despite the seriousness of the mission. Isle raised her forearm and a holographic image of the base appeared. There were four domes and two parallel tunnels connecting each of them. The power reactor was buried tens of meters below the surface at the center point between each dome. The tunnel to the hangar facility, where most of the fighting was still focused, led to that central hub.
"Let's get inside," Uraala said, the others nodding in agreement. Natan and Ture activated cutting lasers on their gauntlets and went to work, slicing open the vent and removing the grating. Exa went in first, climbing inside the vent and then sliding downwards. Uraala paused a moment and then followed.
She slid for a few meters and then fell into an empty corridor. She immediately stepped to the side, allowing whoever came next to follow without falling on top of her. Exa had activated the glow lamp on his helmet, illuminating the darkened hall. It looked long abandoned, with pieces of the ceiling having fallen in. Bits of wiring and conduit hung down like the vines of creeping plants.
"This place looks abandoned," Exa said.
"This is an ancient listening post, from before Malastare joined the Republic," Uraala revealed. "It's likely that the Ard clan is only living in one of the four domes."
"Power is only active in two of them," Isle added, having just landed in the corridor. Once again she raised her forearm, activating her hologram projector. This time bright orange lines joined the blue light, indicating the presence of electricity. Most of the power flowed into the two western domes from the central hub, and into the hangar area. Only one line flowed to their dome, which was on the southwest corner of the complex. The line appeared to terminate at the airlock that connected the dome to its tunnel.
One Natan and Ture joined them in the corridor the group proceeded down the curved corridor, which ran along the outside edge of the dome. Thick doors lay between each bulkhead, leading towards the interior. All of the doors were sealed shut, either through rust or through welds along the door frame. As they moved each of the Mandalorians, including Exa, removed blaster carbines from the holsters at their hips. Each of them ran through weapons checks, ensuring they were ready if any sort of nasty surprise awaited. The weapons, in between a pistol and a rifle, were perfect for the highly mobile form of combat that Mandalorians were famous for. For her part Uraala kept her blaster pistol at the ready, using a two handed grip on the grey and black weapon.
As they continued around the circumference of the dome they eventually spotted a light still functioning in the ceiling up ahead, signalling the presence of the airlock that had been indicated on their map. Although it appeared bright in the relative darkness of the corridor, the light was weak and flickering. It seemed the Ard clan wasn't interested in routine maintenance.
Uraala approached the airlock, which consisted of a door even heavier than those they had passed so far. "Can you cut through this?" she asked the group.
"Unnecessary," Isle said. She pressed a few buttons on her gauntlet and the sound of heavy gears grinding into action interrupted the silence that reigned throughout abandoned section of the facility.
"Was their security system that bad?" Uraala asked.
"Yes," Isle answered amusedly. "I mean, I would hardly label it as security at all." Uraala was slightly surprised to hear that. She knew that Exa's people were good, of course, but the Ard clan were not known to be pushovers.
The airlock door rumbled open, allowing them to file in. Each Mandalorian held their carbine at the ready as the inner door followed suit. Unlike the dome they had entered the complex through, the lights in this corridor were still working. The tunnel was wide enough for the group to stand side by side in pairs. Exa and Isle took the lead, Uraala was in the middle. Natan and Ture took the rear. The tunnel went on for nearly a hundred meters before they reached the airlock that marked the entrance into the next dome.
Exa and Isle stepped up to the airlock. Just as Isle raised her forearm to open the next door a series of small tubes extended from the ceiling.
"Watch out," Uraala shouted, jumping backwards into the Natan and Ture. A torrent of flame burst forth from each tube, enveloping Exa and Isle. Uraala expected to hear screams of agony in her helmet comm, but instead she heard only silence. The flames continued for what seemed like an eternity, but did eventually cease. The tubes popped back into their holes, leaving two smoldering Mandalorians standing before Uraala.
"Are you two...okay?"
Isle turned to face towards her, reaching up and wiping away some of the soot from her helmet's t-shaped visor.. "A bit toasty, but I'm okay," she answered. Isle glanced at Uraala's much flimsier suit. "Good thing we went first."
"Open the door," Exa growled. He raised his carbine into a ready position. By the time it rumbled open a shocked Gran on the other side had nearly made it around the curve of the dome's outer corridor. Exa fired two shots, burying both of them into his back. A small datapad went flying out of the Gran's grasp, colliding into the wall and bursting into its component parts.
Uraala moved around Exa and stood over the Gran's corpse. "Any of you have a flamethrower in your gear?"
"He's already dead…" Exa began, but one of the other Mandalorians moved around him and unleashed a concentrated jet of flame onto the corpse.
"Too bad you hadn't stunned him," Uraala said, a peculiar bloodlust in her voice. Isle poked her boot at the remains of the Gran's datapad, apparently wishing it had landed intact.
"Waste of weapons fuel," Exa said with a sigh. "Let's keep moving."
The group continued past the burning corpse of the Gran and moved down the curved corridor. The interior was in much better shape than the dome they had entered through, but there were still signs of disrepair. Lights that didn't function without flickering. Floor plating that seem ready to give way underfoot. But the group moved on, eventually coming to an open door.
"This way," Isle said, the holographic map open on her gauntlet. They entered a room that appeared to be a tech station. The room was littered with miscellaneous equipment that looked to be scavenged from across the complex. Exa brought his cutting laser to bear against the lock of the next door and pushed it open. Light spilled into the room, causing Uraala to shield her eyes with her hand.
They entered into a bowl shaped valley. The interior of the dome was like an artificial environment, with small hills choked with overgrown vegetation gradually descending towards a small lake. Small shacks made of durasteel were scattered throughout the valley, concentrated in a little village on the other side of the dome. Huge glow lamps suspended from the ceiling provided an approximation of sunlight, although the lights didn't put out much heat.
"The nearest control center is there," Isle said, pointing towards a building that rose up towards the ceiling of the dome. The building was like a durasteel column, with antenna and piping rising up and extending through the roof. Ramshackle levels had been built around each floor of the tower, with more huts and living spaces supported by thin columns. Each level provided a commanding view of the rest of the valley. If the dome and the environment inside of it were cleaned up it wouldn't have been a bad place to live.
The group quickly move through the brush, being careful not to draw any attention to themselves. They could hear shouting in the distance as the Ard Clan held off the rest of Uraala's attack force, restricting their advance to the tunnel that connected the dome to the hangar facility.
They arrived in the shadow of the tower. Exa crouched down and examined the structure with the advanced sensors inside of his helmet. "Four hostiles on the second floor," he announced. "One of them might be asleep. Two on the third floor."
"I got the four," one of the Ture said.
"Isle and I will take the other two," Exa added. "That looks to be a communications room. Harek Ard could be up there. Uraala, you stay down here with Natan."
"Like hell," Uraala spat. "I'm going up there."
"You don't have a jet pack," Exa said.
"I'll take the stairs," she retorted. Uraala double checked the safety on her blaster and then took off in a sprint towards the tower. Exa glanced at his comrades, received several shrugs, and then gave the order to take off.
Uraala ran as the others flew overhead. She quickly navigated the uneasy path that led to the tower's entrance, allowing her helmet's visor to protect her face as she recklessly barrelled through the stringy vegetation. She reached the entrance and paused, taking in her environment.
The floors on the interior of the tower were made up of durasteel grates. A set of stairs, also made of durasteel grating ran along the wall, gradually reaching each floor and descending below into subterranean levels. Gazing upwards she could see the four Gran Exa had spoke off. Three of them sat circled in chairs, messing with some kind of equipment. The fourth must have been lying in the bed that Uraala could see the bottom of. Flashes of light lit up the room as Ture landed, instantly dropping two of the Gran.
Uraala began her ascent up the stairs, but before she reach the first landing she heard a shout from below, muffled through her helmet, and then a shot. The armored shoulder of her suit exploded from behind. She was thrown forward into the stairs, the visor of her helmet striking the top step. The visor cracked but did not shatter.
Ignoring the searing pain burning through her shoulder Uraala rolled over onto her back. A Gran, who had apparently escaped Exa's scanner due to his presence below ground, stood before her, aiming a blaster pistol for another shot. Uraala fired just as the Gran did. His shot missed her face by centimeters, showering her visor in sparks from the grating, Uraala's struck him in the chest.
The Gran fell backwards, dying as he hit the ground. Uraala pushed herself to her feet and, in a rage, continued firing, pouring shot after shot into the Gran's chest. A sudden crash shook her out of her stupor as she felt the stairs shake. She turned, finding that Ture had knocked one of his opponents down the stairs. Uraala noticed the stab wound in the humanoid's chest. She fired two shots, finishing him off, and then stepped over his body.
Ture stood in the middle of the floor as she reached him, panting for breath but otherwise unharmed. The furniture was shattered into pieces around him, all of the other Gran dead. "Are you okay?" Ture asked, noticing her cracked visor, which was now splattered in blood.
"I'm fine," Uraala said. She glanced upward to the next floor. This one had solid floor planting that she couldn't see through. "Exa, status report," she shouted into her comm.
"We got him," Exa answered.
"You have Harek? Please confirm."
"Confirmed." There a muffled sound, like someone was shouting, just barely audible through Exa's helmet. Uraala took the next flight of stairs at a run and soon arrived at the third floor.
Isle stood behind Harek Ard, the leader of one of the largest Gran mercenary gangs in the Malastare system, a blaster pistol pointed at his back. The other Gran lay dead, a stab wound in the side of neck. Exa stood leaning behind the computer console at the center of the room.
"Order your people to surrender," Exa said. Harek hesitated, glancing at Uraala. The muscular Gran's rage seemed to deflate at the sight of Uraala's bloody armor, and the feeling of Isle's blaster at his back.
"Only if you let them walk away," Harek said, stubbornly, his three eyes staring at Uraala.
She removed her helmet and shook her lekku free, allowing Harek to see her face. "Fine, but they can't set foot in the Malastare system," Uraala said. "You're whole organization has to dissolve." Harek nodded and Uraala motioned for Exa to turn on the transceiver.
"This is the boss," Harek said loudly. "Everybody drop your weapons and surrender. It's over." Uraala switched her suits comms to a general broadcast that the rest of her people would pick up.
"The Ard clan is surrendering," she ordered. "Take their weapons and detain them." Several of her Twi'lek lieutenants signalled a confirmation, but Uraala wasn't ready to relax just yet. She walked over to Harek and placed her blaster pistol under his chin. "Tell me who helped you hit our hangar facility?"
"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked, smiling viciously.
"Exa, start cutting off his fingers," Uraala ordered. Exa removed a knife from his belt and brandished it.
"Your cousin contracted us. Tyrapa is a traitor," Harek revealed, pleasure, rather than fear, in his voice.
Uraala paused, playing back the recording function on her suits comm, confirming she had captured the revelation. "Thanks," she said, raising her blaster to the side of his head.
"Wait…" Exa began.
With a rage filled expression Uraala pulled the trigger, killing Harek instantly.
"Kriff Uraala," Exa exclaimed. He removed his helmet and glared at her. "He had surrendered. His people would have walked away quietly. When they've found out you've killed him…"
"They won't find out until we've already shipped them out of the system," Uraala said. "Or we could just kill them all…" Isle glanced between the two of them awkwardly.
"Aramis is right, that new medicine you're taking is messing with your head," Exa declared. "You really think your father would be okay with you turning into a mass murderer?"
Uraala was about to yell back at him when she realized she had unconsciously raised her blaster at him. He stared at her, his face going from angry to a look of concern. "I'm sorry…" she fell back into the nearest wall and slid to the floor, holding the blaster between her knees. She glanced over at Harek's dead body and felt an energizing flash of anger, but the anger was distant now, and the energy her rage provided faded quickly. Suddenly the constant adrenaline rush of the last several hours was gone. "I'm sorry."
