Dearest Reader
Sorry for taking so long to finish this chapter, I've been feeling artistically discouraged the past few weeks, but Im determined to break through and give you readers the best I have to give. Thank you for not giving up on me. You guys are the greatest! X0X0X
Location: Cavrilhu Pirate's moon base, in an unknown system, just on the edge of Hutt Space.
General Lyze Kratebor was no "run of the mill" thug.
He was, of course, under no illusions that the hoards of pirates under his command were every bit the scum and filth they appeared to be. Kratebor, on the other hand, was not in it for riches or infamy. He didn't choose piracy because it satisfied some twisted desire borne of malformed brain chemistry.
No. Thanks to a messy civil war that gained nothing for Corellia and gave him nothing but bereavement, the old Corellian General was now a patriot without a real homeworld he could be proud of; a true rebel without a cause.
At heart he was a military man, and always would be. He may have a score to settle, against "the powers that be" in the galaxy, but he would do so with clarity of purpose and control
At this moment, however, his control was in danger of slipping away.
"Let me guess... It didn't work!" He practically spat the words in disgust at the holographic bust of a Rodian.
He was, in fact, surrounded by several other holographic projections of his fellow conspirators. The impromptu meeting had been the result of a growing concern among the cabal regarding the Comm silence on Lando's end.
Fett had brought back news of Calrissian's cooperation. Indeed, there had been a coordinated effort in place to make sure that all the major powers in the galaxy were kept busy at the same time Lando's trap was sprung. But that moment had come and gone, and still, an empty spot greeted Lyze from where Lando's hologram should have been.
Gardulla, just as disgusting in holographic form as she was in person, gurgled out a few words in huttese. This was, of course, followed by a basic translation by her protocol droid:
"The great and wise Gardulla questions the appropriateness of the gGeneral's indignation."
The Hutt allowed the droid to finish and then continued.
Again, the droid translated: "The Rodians were impatient, and found out the hard way, that you can't sneak up on Skywalker with a pathetic blaster... No Harm, No Foul."
"No harm? NO HARM?" Hissed the mysterious Falleen woman, who was as lovely as Gardulla was ugly.
"There is such a thing as surprise! We may have only had one chance at Luke Skywalker... ONE SHOT! And a bunch of idiots took that shot and blew it!"
"I think everyone here is missing the real problem!" The artificially modulated voice of Boba Fett cut through the discussion like a lightsaber.
"And that is?"
Asked the green skinned beauty.
"The problem is... If bug boys were shooting at Skywalker on Naboo, then he couldn't have been walking into Lando's trap on Socorro. That means..."
The General completed Boba's thought:
"... It means, that Lando is dead or he's turned on us."
Boba gave the the General a nod of agreement and then continued: "Either way, it means that we no longer have Lando's resources at our disposal. Add to that, the loss of suprise, and our chances of..."
Boba's voice faded to silence, as a flicker appeared in the empty spot, designated for Lando's hologram.
The flicker turned into a static filled silhouette.
In turn, the silhouette turned into something... cold and utterly ruthless; even by present company standards.
The etheric nature inherent to all holograms, combined with the aggression and bloodlust etched on this never before seen visage, invoked the spectre of an evil long believed dead and lost to the pages of history.
The "stranger" sent calculative glances at the other holographic forms and then locked onto one in particular.
Initially, both men refused to speak first, but eventually, the General conceded:
"I am absolutely positive we have never met before. Would I be wrong to assume that YOU are in control of Tendrando Arms now?"
A chuckle, hard and sharp as shattered glass, was the interloper's initial response to the General's question. This was followed by a voice that could best be described as equal parts frustration and condescension.
"You Assume correctly." Said the hologram.
This was followed by another painful pause. A pause prematurely ended by the Mysterious Falleen woman who spoke on behalf of Black Sun's interests.
"Enough of this ridiculous posturing! You are talking to beings more powerful than your imagination will permit you to conceive! Either you get Lando on here now, or we will hu...
The word "hunt" was cut off by a sickening "crack" as the Falleen's head twisted upward at an unnatural angle. The woman was dead before her holographic head impacted the desk in front of her. Her neck had been snapped with just the slightest gesture of Malgus's fingers.
"What delicious power" he thought to himself.
His tortured consciousness had been trapped for millennia inside a Sith Ship. The Droid body he had acquired several month back had been an improvement, to be sure. However, the mechanical avatar, had only allowed him to touch the force with only the lightest of grips
This... was different!
The new Biot body created for him by Tendrando Arms was perfection, thanks to the meticulous bioscan data stored in his holocron.
This new designer body was essentially an exact replica of the original Malgus; better, in fact. When Malgus had met Mehkis at her Razor Sun facility that fateful day eons ago, he hadn't imagined the journey he had embarked on. No one knew for sure, the fate of the real Malgus.
After their paths had diverged, the original Malgus went forth and rained destruction down upon the galaxy. Jedi and Sith alike became his prey. Until one day he just... disappeared. This Malgus would not fade into oblivion! This Malgus would not go quietly into the night. He would become a raging inferno that would devour the night and all the pathetic souls found there.
Gardulla hissed out 2 words that needed no translation: "Jedi Sleemo!"
The rage in Malgus's holographic eyes was unmistakable:
"I will spare your life for that insult... This one time, you insignificant worm! But just to be clear... I am no Jedi! Soon the whole galaxy will relearn my name, starting with you..."
He paused just long enough to glance at all the holographic presences and the continued:
"I am Darth Malgus, and you have been witnessing my handy work at Tendrando arms the past 6 months..."
Realization dawned for General Kratebor:
"You mean to tell me Lando's little one man war against the GA and the Jedi... That's been..."
Malgus cut him off : "Me! All of it... Unfortunately, my influence over Lando has been terminated; hence the failed Skywalker trap."
Cautious, yet ever confident, Boba interjected: "That trap was our best shot at Skywalker... He has to know by now, that he's been the target all along!"
"It doesn't matter." Malgus replied, batting away Fett's concern as one batts away a fruit fly."
"Before Lando deserted our little endeavour, he graciously provided me with a backup plan."
With a flick of a few buttons a new hologram appeared in the midst of the virtual conference room. It resembled a schematic of some sorts... A schematic of an abomination:
The being presented in the 3D diagram was far too familiar: A Yuuzhan Vong Warrior! Worse! A Yuuzhan Vong Warrior... Biot!
"I present to you all, The next generation of YVH hunters!"
A slow rhythmic clap started to breakout from one end of the virtual conference. It was the old Corellian General. All he needed was the briefest of glimpses of the projected schematic to fully appreciate the ironic genius of the whole thing. YVH Droids we're created to hunt the Yuuzhan Vong. In an attempt to frustrate and anger the enemy, Tendrando Arms had built a droid that bore a striking resemblance to it's intended prey.
Now, Lando had completed the cycle by creating an artificial yet biological being that took the most deadly qualities of the YVH and the Yuuzhan Vong, and combined it into the ultimate Jedi Killer.
"Bravo" bellowed Kratebor. "We're still in the game!"
He could have stubbornly fought to keep his position as unofficial leader of this cabal, However, he reckoned that his lifespan would be lengthened considerably if he simply acquiesced to this extremely powerful, if not slightly deranged, being.
"What is the plan, my Lord?" The words rolled of Kratebor's tongue so easily.
Malgus acknowledged the General's gesture of submission with a small smile before answering:
"My forces will go to Naboo and will end it, once and for all! I need the rest of you to keep the GA and the Jedi away from Naboo. Tell your cartels, your mercenaries, your pirates, your Lieutenants: "Go nuts!" Attack local authorities! Target civilians! Sabotage as many military facilities and vessels as possible! Be everywhere and Nowhere!"
Around the room, holographic heads nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Malgus stood in awe of himself. He had inhabited this new body for not even an hour and in the course of 3 minutes he had become the defacto leader of the galaxy's most powerful criminal syndicates and cartels. Again, he was granted another force vision of himself standing over a doomed Luke Skywalker. The vision fled as quickly as it had arrived. The sound of Luke Screaming still rang in his ears; to Malgus, it was the most beautiful sound in the universe.
He would not passively wait for time, space, and the force to bring that future into existence. He would reach out and grab his destiny. He would make sure his contingencies had contingencies, and that failure would not be possible. Turning his attention to Boba Fett, he spoke:
"Mandalore! I have always found your warriors to be quite... effective. I want you to take 100 of your best commandos and meet me on Naboo... I promise your people the battle of all battles. A never ending victory that will prepare them for a future of glory and conquest."
He was intimately familiar with the Mandalorian ethos; the insatiable appetite for the next great fight. He would have great use for the Mandos as he went about shaping the galaxy in his image. Like everything and everyone else in Malgus's life, they would be useful until they weren't, and then they would disposed of. No bridges left unburnt!
It was hard to read the expressions of a helmet, but Malgus could sense Fett's almost imperceptible hesitation as he bowed his head in compliance.
Whether Fett was a true believer or not, it wouldn't matter. He was the leader of a race of fighters. They needed to fight, and there was no way he could deny them that. Mandalore was his! The Galaxy was his.
"Kindrid Souls! This time tomorrow, Luke Skywalker will be dead, and the Jedi and GA will lose all hope of containing your ambitions. The next 24 hours is vital. Do your best and you will reap a lifetime of rewards... Do your worst and your will reap a lifetime of unimaginable agony and horror!"
Everyone present, from the dimmest Rodian to the shrewdest Hutt, felt a shiver deep in their gut. What had they gotten themselves into?
And what would ultimately be the cost?