"For the Empire?"

As Paulen guided their shuttle down into a massive sinkhole, Lucy looked out of the front viewport and got her first look at Pau City. It was an engineering marvel in its own right, and a creative usage of the natural landmark. The city was primarily powered by windmill farms which dotted the windy surface of the planet around the edges of the sinkhole, with several more clusters of windmills being placed within the sinkhole itself. Even with the series of power generators, there was still plenty of space for incoming starships to traverse. The actual starport of the city was equally spacious, which was a fairly big surprise given that it was technically underground.

"Looks like we're already cleared to land, I guess the Tyranny didn't want to annoy us any more," Paulen noted, snapping Lucy's attention away from admiring the architecture. "That being said, if you two really want to go out there, you're going to stick out like sore thumbs. The Rebels might be happy to see you, but nobody else will. There's some spare gear for you in the Troop Bay, it'll help you blend in a little."

"Thank you, Paulen," Lucy replied. Going without her armor would be a major inconvenience to be certain, but she was well aware that the best possible protection was to not have to fight at all. "We'll see what we can come up with."

"Don't mention it," Paulen replied dismissively as their ship continued to descend, his distraction made evident by his tone of voice. "What do you want me to do while you're away?" he asked, a frown crossing his lips as he stared intently at the instrument panel before him.

Lucy paused for a moment to think, but Kyle spoke up, already having an answer prepared. "Stay with the ship and lay low until we come back," he advised. "Don't give the Empire a reason to ask any questions. If they come knocking, take off without us and don't look back. You'll also need this."

Kyle handed Paulen a comlink; by the looks of it, one that he had borrowed from one of the Stormtroopers that Lucy had killed. Paulen also seemed to recognize it, and his tone betrayed his doubt. "Aren't you worried about the Empire picking up our transmissions?"

"Only if they have the keys on hand for some very old Jedi encryption algorithms," Kyle answered. "That being said, don't be careless with it, it's not my best work. It wouldn't take the Empire long to decode, and they'll probably get suspicious just from picking up encrypted transmissions at all. Just in case they do crack it, don't use your name and put on an accent, hopefully they'll still think you're dead once they realize the Inquisitor's gone."

Paulen ran a quick inspection on the comlink as he nodded along to Kyle's words. "I guess my old callsign is out of the question as well. Call me… Ryder-One."

"Ryder-One it is, we'll be Scepter," Kyle replied before turning to Lucy. "I'll go see what our options are for disguises."

While Kyle took inventory, Paulen piloted them down to one of the landing pads. No Imperial personnel were present to greet them, but there was a tall Pau'an man and four of the far more diminutive Utai present, seemingly waiting for them to leave their ship. Lucy normally would've been worried about getting spotted through the viewport, but they'd learned back on Verdant that the shuttle had polarized windows that were impossible to see through.

"I better get going," Lucy said quietly. She stood to make her way out of the cockpit, but paused to turn back to the pilot once more. "And Paulen, if we don't come back… may the Force be with you."

Paulen gave her a small smile as she stood in the portal leading back into the shuttle's troop bay. "And with you, uh, Jedi."

As Lucy walked through the door that led to the Troop Bay, she shouldn't have been surprised to see Kyle once more donning the Inquisitor's helmet, covering his very out of place Republic Uniform beneath a large Sith Cloak. The cloak was matte-black, with a hood he had lifted to cover his helmet and neck. He actually looked fairly convincingly like the Inquisitor had… at least, she thought so.

"I couldn't find anything resembling a spare set of armor, but I did find this cloak…" Kyle shifted his arms beneath the heavy material, causing it to sway slightly back and forth. "I'm pretty sure it's weighted."

Lucy resisted the urge to chuckle at the way his casual tone blended with the speech synthesizer of his helmet, but ultimately failed. "I'd say that's a good look." She then cocked her head inquisitively to one side as she considered something. "Are you sure you don't want me to be the Inquisitor?" she asked. As the Force sensitive of the pair, she did seem to fit the bill better than Kyle.

"Not to dismiss your acting skills, but you'd make for a more convincing Stormtrooper," Kyle answered, gesturing towards a spare set of armor. As she made her way over to inspect the white armor, he asked in a quiet voice, "…You really think I look good?"

"Sure, in a diabolical, evil kind of way," Lucy answered with a smile. "Now turn around, will you?"

The flare of embarrassment that she sensed from him at her instruction was delightfully entertaining. Within a few minutes, she was dressed as one of the Empire's enforcers. The armor was tight-fitting in places, and loose in others. It had clearly been mass-produced, but now, Lucy was starting to suspect that the Empire hadn't even bothered to manufacture more than one size. Even more worryingly, she quickly found a major issue.

"I can't get the helmet to turn on," Lucy reported. "The battery's full as well, but the button won't work."

"It might have some kind of lock on it, or maybe it's just broken. Maybe there's a reason it got left in storage," Kyle surmised, his helpful suggestion sounding completely at odds with the sinister voice that his borrowed helmet emitted. "Can you see out of it?"

That was a surprisingly difficult question to answer. On one hand, her normal sight was restricted to two tiny eye holes in the helmet, giving her a very narrow field of view. On the other hand, a Jedi didn't even need their eyes to see, so long as they had the Force. "I'll manage."

"Good. Stay close to me, and don't be afraid to step in if things get a little hairy," Kyle said, grabbing the Inquisitor's twin-bladed Lightsaber and fixing it to his belt. "I've always wanted one of these things…"

Lucy couldn't help but playfully roll her eyes. "You could've just asked me to teach you, you know."

"I'll hold you to that," Kyle replied with a noticeable hint of excitement. "Now come on, we've got a Rebellion to find."

She gave him a thumbs-up as she took one of the Imperial Blasters. As soon as she did, Kyle hit the control to lower the ramp, and the two walked down to greet the welcoming party. The Pau'an man straightened his posture as they approached.

"Greetings Inquisitor, and welcome to our sanctuary," he said, his voice raspy and his demeanor overly formal. "I am Lampay Fay, Port Administrator. What brings you to our home?"

"I am here in search of a group of terrorists that cower in this city, under orders from Lord Vader," Kyle explained. Lucy couldn't help but be slightly impressed at the way he was so easily able to slip into a distinctly malicious tone of voice, although the speech synthesizer was undoubtedly doing a lot of the heavy lifting to mask his voice.

Lucy kept her eyes fixed on Lampay and listened in on his conversation with Kyle, but her true focus was given to the Force. She hadn't been able to sense the Rebel's presence while aboard the ship, and she was still having trouble sensing much of anything outside the city. The whole sinkhole practically radiated an anxiety and unspoken fear that was as unnerving as it was heartbreaking.

Is this what the whole Galaxy is like now? Lucy wondered, but steeled her resolve before she could become distracted. There was never a good time to give in to despair and fear, but now was an especially bad time to do so.

Lampay nodded, as though he had expected that answer. "You must be the man that Major Dauphin spoke of. I'm afraid that he expected you to attend a meeting several hours ago. As I understand it, he wanted to discuss strategy with you."

Lucy could feel Kyle's concern spike, sending nervous ripples out through the Force, but was relieved to see him do a good job of concealing it. Truth be told, she was a bit worried as well, this was something that she had not expected. Thankfully, they already had an excuse ready to explain their late arrival.

"I am afraid that I was preoccupied with other important duties, and that our established schedule needed amendment. I am not at liberty to discuss such matters, at least, not as long as you wish to keep your head attached to your neck." Kyle explained.

"Of course, Inquisitor," the Port Administrator stammered, inclining his head slightly in deference to the supposed Inquisitor to hide the even greater-than-normal pallor that covered his face. "May I be of any service to you?"

Lucy expected Kyle to dismiss Lampay so that they could get moving, but instead, it seemed that Kyle had other plans. "Indeed you may. I require a new, suitably discrete location to host a secret meeting with Major Dauphin. Something that neither the public nor the rest of the Garrison would be privy to. I trust you and your assistants could keep such a meeting private, Administrator?"

Lampay noticeably hesitated, and seemed a bit confused, before he answered. "There is an office complex that hasn't seen use for many years... I understand that it once belonged to the Banking Clan. Whatever you need to discuss, I am sure that it will remain a secret there."

"Very good," Kyle replied. "And where might this office be?"

"Level Five, at the end of the Ninth Sub Tunnel," Lampay answered. "Do you… require an escort?"

"That will not be necessary," Kyle answered. "Your service to the Empire will be noted, Administrator, but I cannot be delayed any further. You may leave."

Lampay simply nodded and stood aside, along with his assistants. Kyle and Lucy then stepped forward into the city, occasionally attracting gazes from both civilians and Imperials alike. Despite the attention, nobody seemed to be particularly eager to stare at them. At the very least, none seemed to be in a hurry to be caught doing so. The path down to Pau City's Fifth Level was a decently long one, they had a lot of walking to do.

As soon as Lucy was confident that she could quietly talk without getting overheard, she spoke up. "What's your plan?"

"Paulen says that the Inquisitor was paranoid and secretive, I think we can get away with arranging a quiet meeting with the Major," Kyle explained. "My plan is to call him, get him to join us for a meeting, and we can take him prisoner. If anybody is going to have leads as to where the Rebels are, or a way to find them, it'll be the commanding officer."

Lucy briefly mulled it over. It could work. Of course, if the Empire did know the location of the Rebels, it stood to reason that they would've attacked them. That being said, even a vague lead could get them a long way, as scouring the entirety of Pau City was something that the two of them alone simply couldn't hope to achieve.

"That could work, but what if we could bluff him, just like you did with the Captain of that Star Destroyer?" Lucy asked. "Nobody's doubted your identity so far, as for why you're late and acting secretively… let's say, you just killed a Jedi."

"And you think that the Major will tell us what he knows?" Kyle asked. "I suppose it would be easier than trying to interrogate him… but our cover's not going to last forever."

"All the more reason to act quickly," Lucy reasoned. "Besides, if he sniffs us out, there's nothing saying we can't just take him prisoner then."

Kyle hummed aloud, a sound made amusingly sinister by his modified voice. "Alright, let's give it a shot."

Kyle produced a comlink from his belt, and after a minute spent searching through Empire's Com Network, found the frequency for the Major, who answered almost immediately. "This is a restricted frequency, identify yourself immediately!"

"Major Dauphin, this is the Thirteenth Brother," Kyle lied. "I need to speak with you, urgently and discreetly."

Major Dauphin was silent for a long, tense moment, before finally speaking once more. "This is highly irregular. Why are you deviating from standard security protocols? What is the reason for your delay?"

Lucy couldn't help but grimace behind her helmet. Those were both tough questions, and neither had a simple answer. Their earlier excuse could work for the second question, but not for the first. They should have been prepared for such an obvious question, but hindsight was worthless here. Lucy simply had to have faith that Kyle could make something convincing up.

"I cannot explain in full, our communications are no longer secure for reasons that will be explained, nor are our defenses," Kyle answered with a half-truth. "The Rebels are listening."

Again, there was a long pause before the Major tentatively replied. "Very well, Inquisitor, and what would you propose?"

"I have arranged with the Port Administrator for the office complex on Level Five, at the end of Sub Tunnel Nine, to be made clear of any potential eavesdroppers," Kyle explained. "I need you to assemble a squad of your best men to discreetly meet me there. I cannot stress enough the importance that nobody knows where you are going, and why."

Kyle briefly turned to face her, and even with the helmet and hood of an Inquisitor on, she could still discern the message that he was trying to silently convey to her.

Trust me.

She nodded in reply, and didn't miss the fact that he walked with renewed confidence.

Major Dauphin answered tersely, and quickly. "Forgive me for saying so, Inquisitor, but I've been led into traps far less obvious than this. You may be my superior officer, but I will not so blindly violate our protocols for your sake."

The distrust in his voice was palpable, and both Lucy and Kyle knew everything hinged on exactly how Kyle replied. Thankfully, he already had a strategy that had been proven to work once.

"Listen to me carefully, Major," Kyle sternly spoke. "The Rebels have made a grave mistake, and have granted us an opportunity to exterminate their forces on this planet completely, but time is of the essence. I will not allow my mission to be a failure because you will not follow my commands. You have been given an order, and you shall follow it."

The tense silence lasted for a long time, and somewhere else in Pau City, Lucy could've sworn that she sensed a man so frustrated that he stood out amongst the sea of anxiety.

"Very well, Inquisitor, I shall do as I am ordered, but I will not hesitate to direct any complaints about my actions to you," Major Dauphin replied, not even bothering to hide his irritation. "How many men shall we need?"

"No more than twelve, and their loyalty must be unquestionable," Kyle replied. "Ensure they have the equipment necessary for a sustained firefight."

Again, there was a period of silence, and for a brief moment Lucy felt that perhaps this was a mistake. Perhaps they had only managed to give away their presence to the Empire by calling the Major, and all but doomed themselves. It was too late to back out now, however.

After a painfully long wait, Major Dauphin answered. "Very well, Inquisitor. We shall depart by the end of the hour. I shall see you soon," he replied, before seemingly forgetting to turn his comlink off as he put it away, allowing them to hear at least one last thing from him. "...Paranoid freak."

Kyle put away his comlink, triple-checking that it was switched off. "Stubborn bastard… let's hope he doesn't wise up to what's going on."

"What's the plan for the extra Troopers?" Lucy asked. She wasn't doubtful about being able to fight them, but she also knew that Kyle wouldn't have asked for their presence without some reasoning.

"It would've been too suspicious to ask him to come alone," Kyle explained his thinking. "Besides, if we're going to catch some dastardly Rebels, we're going to need some help, now aren't we?"

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle. "I feel like I should be worried by how good you are at this. Did you do any infiltration missions before we met?"

"No, before we met, I just got stuck with all of the jobs at the Temple that nobody else wanted," Kyle answered, the somewhat bashful confession sounding rather comical in his artificially deepened voice. "One of 'em was sorting through all of the Sith Comms that our ships would pick up. Real exciting stuff, I know. A lot of Sith didn't really bother with encryption, so we'd get to listen to them complain a lot, and not much else. I used to think that we didn't find anything useful in all that chatter; I guess I'm proving myself wrong here."

"That does sound pretty boring," Lucy empathized, before finding herself in possession of a sly, teasing grin. "Although, if I may say so, I think you make for a great Sith Lord."

Although Kyle didn't take his focus off of the road ahead of them, she could sense him going through just about every single emotion in the span of about four seconds, before finally settling on being confused. "You mind your tone, Jedi Scum."

She only chuckled in reply, but stifled herself as they found themselves walking once more into crowds of citizens. Straightening her posture and renewing her focus, she put aside her plans to tease Kyle further for another day.

Kyle anxiously waited alongside Lucy, standing in the dusty receiving room of the abandoned office complex. The building's previous owners had clearly left nothing behind, and it was as empty as a building could reasonably be without tearing out the floors. The room that they now stood in was furnished only with a thick carpet, now saturated with dust and what was probably mold. Lines in the dust denoted where cubicles had likely once stood, and were it not for the open windows and streetlights, the room would likely have been entirely dark.

They had been waiting for around half an hour, finalizing their plans and discussing how best to continue their ruse. They had a lot to work with, but also some restrictions that needed to be taken into account. To rely on Major Dauphin forgetting any of what they had said would have been foolhardy, so they carefully crafted an elaborate, fake conspiracy to explain exactly what was going on. It wasn't enough for them to simply say they could draw the Rebels out of hiding; they had to have a robust, non-existent strategy that could be used as bait for the Empire.

Admittedly, it felt a bit strange to be planning against the people who they were hoping to join forces with. Even so, they had enough to work with to produce a strategy that might, at the very least, bring the Rebels out into the open. Once they did that, Lucy and Kyle could jump in and try to escape from the inevitable Imperial Forces alongside them. Although, if the Major didn't buy into the strategy that they were going to propose they would simply have to come up with another plan. At the very least, Kyle hoped to leave the meeting with more information than they entered it with.

"They're here," Lucy suddenly announced, before handing over her lightsaber to Kyle. Up until now, she'd been keeping it hidden in a small pouch on her belt in case of an emergency. Though she felt trepidation parting with the weapon, Kyle would have to hold onto it if they wanted their ruse to work. "Stick to the plan, and we'll be fine."

The confidence that she displayed was reassuring, and he tried to mirror it as best as he could. Even if this plan didn't work, they still had backup options. "Let's hope so."

Around a minute later the doors swung open, and thirteen men walked through the door. Twelve were Stormtroopers armed with their standard-issue blaster rifles, what looked like a repeating blaster, and a single rocket launcher. The final man was a tall, pale man who wore a simple gray uniform, the lapel bearing blue and red bars that likely denoted his rank. His face was covered with the creases of stress and age and a large, gray mustache.

"I was not expecting to see a Stormtrooper here…" Major Dauphin sternly noted in a high-galactic accent as he looked at Lucy. "Trooper, why is your Comlink off?"

It was a question that they'd prepared for, and so Kyle answered for her. By now, he was pretty confident with his impression, and he was able to speak with a bit more confidence. "She has done so on my order, Major. I am not here to discuss the identities and missions of other agents of our great Empire, but you may know that I saw fit to disguise her as something more familiar to the Rebels. As you are about to see, I have good reason to be cautious, even regarding our own."

Major Dauphin turned and shot him a glare. "Am I to assume that you've had your own subordinate jumping through as many hoops as us?"

The open challenge admittedly caught Kyle a bit off-guard. He'd expected the Major to have a degree of fear for the Inquisitor, similarly to that which the Captain of the Tyranny had. That was clearly not the case, as Dauphin's voice was clear and concise, with no hint of fear.

"Mind your tone, Major… but yes, and now you shall see why," Kyle explained, before holding up Lucy's lightsaber. Thankfully, the Inquisitor's cloak had been built in such a way as to conceal his armor, and so it meant that Kyle's obviously non-Imperial uniform remained out of sight. "Do you recognize what this is?"

Major Dauphin continued to glare at him for a moment, but as he shifted his gaze to Lucy's lightsaber, he didn't seem to be all that placated. "I have yet to meet an Inquisitor who hasn't carried a lightsaber, what's so special about yours?"

"This is not my weapon, Major," Kyle explained, igniting the weapon to further demonstrate its difference from the typical Sith's red blade. "This is the weapon of a Jedi, one whom I killed not even a day ago."

Dauphin's expression shifted, first to surprise, and then to confusion. His eyes ran up the length of the blade before Kyle extinguished it and pulled the weapon back under his cloak. "I haven't seen a Jedi in over a decade… I thought they were extinct."

"By the Emperor's will, they shall be," Kyle said, trying his best to channel the same tone of evil conviction that he'd heard the Sith of the past speak with. "But you will find that they are very much still alive, albeit now, there is one less."

"I fail to see the significance of this… Jedi," Dauphin grumpily replied. He still seemed shaken by the information that the 'Inquisitor" before him had not only found but also killed a member of the all but forgotten religion, but not enough to make him open to any suggestion thrown his way.

"That is because you have not heard what I learned from this Jedi… and their Rebel allies," Kyle stated. "I sensed a disturbance regarding an Imperial Supply shuttle that I found just outside of this system. I confirmed my suspicions once I boarded the vessel. The crew had been killed, and the shuttle stolen by Rebel agents."

Gradually, Dauphin's glare became slightly less intense. "The Jedi was coming here?" A flicker of emotion crossed the eyes of the petulant major. Nervousness… or was it excitement?

"Indeed," Kyle answered. "I managed to take one of the Rebels prisoner during the fighting. Before they… expired, I was able to learn more about their mission. They were to join forces with an existing Rebel Cell on Utapau." Kyle leaned in closer, allowing the menacing nature of his stolen uniform to work in his favor as he invaded the officer's personal space. "In order to bypass our blockade, they would make use of Rebel Agents who are already within the ranks of your garrison, Major."

"That's impossible!" Dauphin loudly proclaimed. "My men are among the best in the Empire! The idea that any of them could be traitors is, is…"

He paused mid-sentence, his reddened face gradually shifting to an expression of shock, and Kyle couldn't help but hope that he was finally starting to be won over. Their fake story was full of holes but a good delivery could, with any luck, make it a bit more convincing.

"... is the abject truth, Major," He finished Dauphin's sentence for him. "The Rebels would not risk the life of a Jedi unless they were certain that they could bypass our warships. Your ranks have been infiltrated, severely enough that we must treat everyone with suspicion."

Dauphin did a fairly decent job concealing his true feelings, enough that Kyle could barely see the disgust and hurt in his eyes. The twelve Stormtroopers were too busy casting concerned glances at one another to see it, but their commanding officer had been shaken.

He dared not turn to face Lucy, but he knew she was there, likely taking the exchange in with laser focus. Their decision to have her assume the role of a disguised agent was something that Kyle had honestly expected to be harder to sell. So far, however, it seemed as though he had been able to plant some bigger concerns in the Major's mind.

"I… wish I could deny it, but it explains too much," Dauphin said after some hesitation. "The Rebels here have been elusive, bypassing our checkpoints and even moving from city to city, all without being detected. If they had a man on the inside…"

A small bit of worry formed in the pit of Kyle's stomach at Dauphin's words. While it was certainly possible that the Imperial was simply imagining things to disguise his own failures, it was equally possible that Kyle had just inadvertently drawn attention to an actual Rebel Agent.

"Now you see why I was forced to resort to such discretion. If we alert the Rebel Spies that we know about them, they will attempt to flee, and we will lose our opportunity to capture them," Kyle said. "But before we can contend with them, we must first exploit the opportunity that we have been given, and eliminate the heart of this Rebel infestation."

As much as Kyle didn't like deviating from the plan that he and Lucy had established, it was necessary. They couldn't risk the Major going on a frantic inspection of his own forces, as that had the potential to expose actual Rebel Spies. Hopefully, now that the Major was seemingly buying into the nonsense that he was being fed he would be more willing to adhere to their plan.

Major Dauphin's stern glare was gone, replaced by an attentive, albeit cautious expression. He even stiffened his posture up a bit more, probably on instinct alone. "...And what kind of opportunity might that be, Inquisitor?"

"The Rebels will likely be expecting their reinforcements to arrive in the near future. They will be on the lookout for their allies, and this gives us the opportunity to stage an ambush," Kyle explained. "I trust you're familiar with the leader of this particular cell? I have done my own research, but I would like to know if there is anything I'm missing."

Dauphin gestured to one of his subordinates, who drew a holo-projector out of their rucksack and handed it to Major Dauphin. After a moment's configuration, he placed it on the ground, and a holographic display of a familiar Rebel's Imperial File sprang to life.

"This is Sarah Lyons, the ranking Rebel Officer on Utapau," Dauphin explained, looking somehow as though he'd aged five more years as soon as he'd said her name. "For a while, she and a much larger cell were causing a lot of trouble on Fondor, but our garrison there nearly crushed them, about… about a day after we lost the Death Star…"

There was a noticeable shift in the room's atmosphere as Dauphin trailed off, a decidedly morose expression creeping into the hard lines of his face. Even the Stormtroopers behind him seemed noticeably disquieted, although it was hard to judge much of anything about them behind their sleek white helmets. Whatever the Death Star was, losing it had clearly been a terrific loss for the Empire.

Recognizing that it would be suspicious for him to not seem similarly disheartened, Kyle did his best to seem at the very least, a bit unnerved. It was a mixed blessing that he was already very anxious, so it didn't take a lot of effort. "Focus, Major. So that we may avoid further disaster."

"Right, my apologies," Major Dauphin said, snapping back to attention with renewed determination. "Lyons has been a thorn in our side for nearly a month. Thanks to you, we now know how her forces are able to move so freely, but I'm afraid that's only where things begin."

Kyle had already taken the time to read Sarah's file, which to him looked just as much like a resume as it did a wanted poster, and so a lot of what the Major had to say was familiar to him.

Sarah's forces somehow managed to make their way to Utapau after their cell on Fondor was nearly destroyed, and attacked the Imperial garrison regularly. Different methods were used each time, making her movements hard to predict. A droid delivering a bomb disguised as cleaning supplies, starting a fire on one end of the city and then blowing up a factory on the other side once the Imperials had taken the bait, and even sporadic sniper fire on multiple of the Empire's checkpoints at the same time.

There were however, two constants that Kyle had noticed, and Dauphin had seemingly picked up on them as well. "She seems to have a certain affinity for drawing our forces out of position, usually through some explosive distraction. Then, she goes and strikes her real target, which is usually an industrial facility of some kind. She did destroy one of our cargo shuttles, but even that was carrying cargo to our research facility on the surface."

Kyle raised an eyebrow and had to resist the urge to ask more. For now, they still had a job to do… but an Imperial Research Facility seemed like an ideal target for the Rebels to know about. "It is both of these habits that we will exploit. The Rebels do not yet know that their Jedi is dead, and will likely be looking to make some kind of diversion, allowing the Jedi to slip behind our defenses while our back is turned. And so, we shall give them the opportunity which they seek. Only this time, they will fight on our terms."

By now, whatever doubt that Dauphin had about what Kyle was telling him had clearly been destroyed. Even his Stormtroopers were visibly paying a greater degree of attention, no doubt just as eager to destroy the Rebel Scum as their commanding officer was. "What do you need us to do?"

"If my plan is to succeed, we shall first require a place to stage our ambush," Kyle said. "An industrial facility would be an obvious candidate, but a remote location would also be ideal. The Rebels will be more likely to act if they believe that we will be slow to respond. We should also try to avoid any civilian attention, if possible."

Major Dauphin considered it for a moment before adjusting the holo-projector to instead show some kind of underground facility. "If that's the case, then I would recommend the hydroelectric plant in the tunnels at the bottom of the crater. We use it to power the research facility without drawing too much attention, but about a week ago the sentries spotted one of the Rebels scouting the location out. I doubled the guard in response, but I have no doubt the Rebels could be drawn out if I make it seem as though we had relaxed our increased security measures."

For a long moment, Kyle weighed up the merits of the location for their purposes. An underground facility would play hell with comms for both sides of the inevitable battle, and make escaping with the Rebels a good deal more difficult. The fighting would likely be close-quarters, but that cut both ways. It was also likely to be fortified at least to some degree, which would work against the Rebels.

That being said, it was far from civilians, ensuring that they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. It was also noticeably isolated, meaning that any potential Imperial Reinforcements would need more time to arrive. The Rebels already knew about the position and had even scouted it out, confirming that they had some way down into the underground rivers that ran beneath Utapau's surface. Lastly, Dauphin had just made it clear that losing the facility would be a substantial blow to the Empire, which was a nice bonus.

The most important factor, however, was unfortunately out of their control. Whether or not the Rebels would take the bait was completely up in the air. Indeed, Kyle wasn't even sure if they could safely make it to the installation without attracting the Empire's attention, nor whether they had the required strength to view a potential attack as viable.

"Do you believe the Rebels are aware of the significance of this installation?" Kyle asked.

The major nodded, tapping his fingers against his lips thoughtfully before responding. "At least in part… but if I had to guess, they're likely just looking for a place to draw power from," Dauphin explained. "The Rebels made extensive use of powersuits when they first arrived, but they have been using them less and less. Our current theory is that they're simply running out of energy."

Again, Lucy's proposal to play along with the Empire paid off as they learned something very interesting about the Rebels. Power armor had existed in their time as well, but it wasn't common due to the heavy costs involved in building and maintaining such suits. Apparently now, those issues must have been at least somewhat resolved.

"An astute observation, Major," Kyle replied. "Then it is here that we shall stage our ambush, but first, we will need to remove the existing Garrison, and do so without arousing suspicion. We cannot risk the Rebel spies leaking our plans to the enemy."

A tone of noticeable doubt returned to Dauphin's voice as he questioned; "Sir?"

"The Rebels will not attack a well-fortified position when alternatives exist, but they will also sense our trap if we simply order the Garrison to leave. We need a suitable excuse, and a way to inspire a bit of urgency within them," Kyle explained, before holding up Lucy's lightsaber once more. "And this Jedi fool has given us the tool to do both at once."

Dauphin's grin developed into one that practically radiated a newfound confidence. "Of course… The Rebels don't know that the Jedi is dead. If we were to publicly announce that a Jedi had infiltrated the city, and begin a large-scale search for them, then the Rebels will strike while we're distracted." He set his jaw and squared his shoulders, taking on the stance of a confident officer once more. "I'll order the power plant's garrison to join the 'search efforts' while we take over the position."

Kyle was a bit surprised to see Dauphin come up with more or less the same idea that he had. With a bit of hindsight, however, he determined that he really shouldn't have been. The limited experience that he had with the Major made it clear that he wasn't completely inept. He certainly lacked a good deal of perception, and bought into a lot of what he was being told without much question, but the total lack of fear that he demonstrated showed that he had at least some merit as an officer.

Either way, Kyle was content to let Dauphin think that the idea was his. "And we shall know where they will strike… provided, of course, we maintain the element of surprise. To that end, the Rebel Spies cannot know of our plan. When you raise the alarm, do not tell your troops that the Jedi is dead. They must buy into our ruse along with the Rebels if we are to succeed."

Kyle couldn't help but feel a hollowness in his gut. This was the one part of his and Lucy's plan that both of them were very unhappy with. Inspiring a crackdown on Pau City was inevitably going to result in innocent people getting hurt, and perhaps even killed. Kyle and Lucy had passed around other ideas, but nothing they could come up with had even a remote chance of convincing the Major. As a result, the citizens of Utapau would be the ones paying the price to get the two of them in contact with the Rebellion. If they succeeded, however, then perhaps the citizens of Utapau would not have to live in fear for much longer.

"I understand. With any luck, we may find some Rebel Scum in our search," Dauphin voiced his agreement. "How much of the power plant's garrison should we retain?"

"None," Kyle answered simply. He made one quick, circular motion with his hand that encompassed the fifteen people gathered in that dusty abandoned building. "We shall be more than enough to contend with the Rebels, and will replace the existing garrison entirely."

Again, the Major let his doubt show. "Are you certain? While I recognize that there is the possibility of Rebel Infiltrators being among the men already present, we may find ourselves outnumbered."

That, unfortunately, was a question that Kyle didn't actually have a prepared answer to. In truth, he assumed that if he'd gotten this far, the major would be willing to follow an Inquisitor into battle. After all, the rank-and-file of the Empire had to know just how dangerous a Sith could be, and he had just gotten away with claiming that he'd killed a Jedi and their Rebel allies. The fact that the Major was, somewhat rightfully, doubting their ability to fight all of the Rebels on their own was something he didn't have a response to.

Lucy, thankfully, stepped in just in time, and caught both Kyle and the Major a bit flatfooted. "I thought you said that your men were some of the best in the Empire?"

"They are. You shall find no better troopers anywhere else in the Outer Rim," Dauphin said, a bit of his earlier frustration welling back up to the surface. "But these Rebels… should not be underestimated. Carelessness has killed too many of my men already."

"That is precisely why I am here, Major, and why we have taken the time to plan this matter with the care it deserves, even with our time constraints," Kyle spoke back up, trying to assuage the man's concerns. "Lord Vader himself has an interest in the destruction of these Rebels, and he shall not be disappointed."

Major Dauphin hesitated for one second, then another, before nodding. "As you wish, Inquisitor."

Kyle couldn't help but smile. Everything was going according to plan. At the same time, however, he couldn't help but feel a strange guilt for what he was doing... luring men to their certain deaths. Perhaps he had truly picked up some habits from the Jedi, or had been spoiled by how easy it had been to convince Paulen to defect and assist them, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was some way to do the same with Dauphin and his team… to convince them to turn their backs on the Empire.

It was, however, obviously impossible. The conviction in Dauphin's eyes was as visible as the confident smile on his face. This opportunity to capture or kill all of the Rebels was, to him, the best thing that could've happened. Perhaps he was courageous, and he certainly carried an obvious loyalty to his men, but that didn't change the fact that he was also just one tiny cog in the evil machine that was the Galactic Empire. Much as Kyle might've wanted to, there was just no way he could save Dauphin.

"Very good. I trust that you and your men will do your duty well," Kyle stated. "I shall meet you at the Power Plant in short order, you are dismissed, Major."

The Stormtroopers all offered a salute to him before they departed, alongside Major Dauphin. About a minute passed before Lucy dared to speak up, her voice as soft as the hand that she gently rested on his shoulder.

"There's nothing we can do for them, Kyle," Lucy told him. It was no surprise that she knew what he was thinking, his doubts had probably sent shockwaves through the Force. "They made their choice."

She was right, and he knew it. He'd already known it, but still, her words were enough to relax the tension in his shoulders just the tiniest bit. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Lucy said. She offered him a tender smile, and a comfortable silence settled over them for just a moment. Then she perked back up, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "Now come on, we can relax later, but we've got a job to do."

With a steady nod, Kyle picked up the holo-projector that Major Dauphin had left behind, and took a quick look at where exactly they were going. "Looks like it'll be a long walk… we'd better get started."

With no further delay, the two set out for the hydroelectric plant, hoping against all hope that their mad plan would actually work.