Chapter 41: Epilogue

I managed a hacking chuckle in response, and glowered up at Isard. Around us the storm still hissed and wailed, sheets of cold rain sweeping into us. I paid it no mind, even as my wounds were irritated by the pollutants in the rain drops. Isard was as cool as ice, uncaring of the rain wetting her red officer's uniform.

My bones hurt, my muscles hurt, my fingers hurt. I counted it lucky that my head didn't hurt, which I took to mean that I had avoided a concussion. Or was that a sign in favor of me having a concussion? Hard to say.

I was kneeling on the chest of the grand inquisitor I had pummeled to death while the imperial palace burned around me. Now I hadn't started the fire and the palace wasn't going to be destroyed but I felt confident in saying that Nero had nothing on me.

I frowned and looked at the dozen stormtroopers fanned out in a crescent around me, blasters pointed at me.

"All this…for me?" I coughed out. "Seems excessive."

"I've become versed in the abilities of the Inquisitorius in recent months." Isard cut in, a sharp frown on her lips. "I'd be a fool to not account for every possibility, and I am not a fool."

I must admit, I thought about it for a second after those arrogant words left her lips. One sharp jab of telekinetic power into her chin. It would either break her neck or send her twirling backwards like an acrobat.

Every possibility, bah! How dare Isard believe that she had my number! I could show her, I could...

My eyes darted over to the waiting blaster barrels. It would be the last thing I'd ever do though. With my fists still dripping with Yiaso's brain matter, I found that I really did want to continue on living.

"Good trait." I said.

Iceheart smiled. "I agree. I account for every eventuality when executing my plans, down to the most outlandish. So imagine my surprise when, right before launching the operation that would land the killing blow to dear old Ja'ce and his detestable ambitions, I learn that the Inquisitorius is falling apart. Inquisitors fighting through the palace, whole wings destroyed, courtiers by the dozen caught up in the crossfire. Chaos everywhere, how terrible."

She didn't seem aggrieved by that, I noticed.

She continued. "Then I hear reports of a lone shuttle breaking through several restricted zones on approach to the Imperial Palace, broadcasting Inquisitorius codes. The specific codes of a recently very relevant Inquisitor. The minor darling of the military holonet these past few months and a wonderful hero of the hour according to my friends from Brentaal."

I made a noise of understanding when she looked at me expectantly. Clearly she had a script she liked following when gloating. I think it's gloating. A drop of rain fell into my eye.

I'd have frowned if I had the energy. It felt so…tiresome to me right now.

"I wish I had the chance to get my cameras down into that man cave Ja'ce had." Isard continued on. "It would have been so nice to see the beginning of that fight of yours. But the ending…I must say it was lovely to watch that man's smug face be punched in."

There was a great groaning behind us. I looked over my shoulder to see the Inquisitorius' section of the Imperial Palace sag inwards. Fire jetted from cracks that opened up in the walls and the three towers at the top plummeted down, probably causing all kinds of destruction on their way down.

"Tch. I was certainly hoping for Ja'ce to be alive to see that." Isard folded her arms under her chest and stared down at me.

"Not concerned about losing all the intelligence in there?" I asked, looking away from the flames.

"Hardly, your Inquisitorius is done for. I have no use for the so-called knowledge of failures." Isard explained.

"Either way, it was a very impressive distribution of explosive charges throughout the levels." I commented, thinking back to the engulfment of explosions we had been assaulted with on our mad dash through and up the palace.

"I know." That made Isard smile.

I coughed again.

Pitter, patter, slap went the rain. The slowly dying fires hissing and sputtering in anger at the death by a thousand raindrops they were enduring.

"So," I broke the silence. "You've won your war against the "Grand Inquisitor". My congratulations, he would be spitting mad if he was alive right now."

I took a deep breath and stared into Isard's eyes. "Now what?"

Isard sighed. "I've been spending some time thinking about that."

"Come to a decision?"

"On one matter, yes." Her leg whipped out and the next thing I knew, my head had been jerked to the side by her kick and I was watching a tooth go flying. My head lolled forward so I could dribble blood into my chest.

"That was for robbing me of my victory." Isard chided me like you did with a misbehaving child.

I worked my jaw briefly. It didn't feel broken. Then I checked my teeth. She'd kicked out a molar, the fucking bitch. I side eyed one of the patches of slowly dying fires, then I considered the blasters pointing at me. The ache of my injuries, the depth of my joy at killing Yiaso.

Well then, time to rage against the dying of the light.

I looked back up at her. "I saw an opportunity to settle my own score with the alien, and I took it. Can you blame me?"

Isard raised a finely manicured eyebrow. "I suppose not."

"Are you going to do that again?"

"If I want to."

I dribble some blood out of my mouth to clear it. It splattered into the murky goop of blood, flesh, brain and bone that was slowly congealing in Yiaso's brainpan.

"Then I suppose we get to your second decision. I imagine that certain august members of our government will be all but breaking your door down soon, demanding an explanation." I joked. "Useless flesh bags."

"Oh?" Isard began tapping one of her feet. "You're certainly being very…open about your dislike of our ruling council."

"Who wouldn't be? Those fools have wasted their advantages against the rebels and the warlords." I scornfully said. "If they had acted but a few months ago, the northern rim and their fleets would still be under imperial control. If they had acted but a month ago, the rebels would have been driven from Recopia and forced to stew in the rim to fight the warlords. But instead they focused on making fortress worlds. Pathetic defense instead of necessary offense."

"Some would say that those were needed measures to show the empire that the council had their best interest in mind." Isard countered. If I'd have had the energy to roll my eyes, I would have.

"The best interests of themselves." I replied. "Not that I'm judging them for that, I'm judging them for not being able to see the big picture. The empire's enemies have been allowed to breathe and breed for too long. It's too late to strangle them in their crib. The council has doomed themselves to a losing war."

The rant took more effort than I thought it would and I found myself exhausted again. My ribs were sending stabs of pain through my chest by the end.

"My oh my. I must say Inquisitor, you demonstrate a remarkable ability to grasp the political situation. So, what would you do to remedy it?" She asked.

Aha, the opportunity.

"The Empire won't win under a divided rule." I said, meeting her mismatched eyes with my sulfur yellow ones. "It needs strong leadership and a singular vision in order to overcome its enemies."

I made a show of taking in the damage around us.

"For all that I hate Yiaso, he had both a vision he desired to implement and the will needed to make that happen. Seeing as I've just killed him, that isn't going to happen."

"But I doubt he could have foreseen your plans, Director. Our surroundings confirm it." I grunted as I got my good leg under me, rising to a more convincing kneeling position. I almost fainted doing it, as my snapped calf howled in protest at the smallest twitch.

"So the solution is simple: to the victor the spoils." I found the strength to pull my lightsaber into my hand, ignoring how Isard had to wave off the stormtroopers from shooting me. I clipped my weapon to my belt and folded my hands over my raised knee like a knight kneeling before his monarch.

Ysanne Isard was, despite all public facing indications to the contrary, a simple woman.

"The Emperor is dead. His heirs are incompetent. Except for one."

She was ruled by her pride. Her utter confidence that she was always, always the smartest, the most qualified, the most powerful person in a room. Oftentimes she was, but when she wasn't…well. A very spiteful and vindictive woman came out.

Isard was a woman who was attacked by her pride and delusions of grandeur. I knew that if you challenged her in those perceptions of her own excellence, she'd happily destroy you in response. But if you flattered her? Played to those delusions which, now that she was in front of me, radiated off her in the Force?

I might be able to get out of this alive.

I didn't really have a choice either.

"Long live the Empress." I declared, concentrating very hard on each word to make sure I didn't slur any of them. Then I bowed my head and waited. Thoughts of how I might be able to fight my way out of this flashed through my head but I forcibly shoved them away. It was no good. I had a bum leg which meant I couldn't move. Can't move, can't fight.

Once again, I was forced to hope on the whims of others for my life. Oh how I hated it.

"I knew Yiaso made you the face of his media for a reason." Isard laughed with glee. "Such a stirring performance, Inquisitor. You missed your calling in the theater, I do believe."

I stifled a smile. She was engaging with the premise. That was good. Then my ribs twinged again and I wanted her to just get it over with.

"Hmm, yes. This is an intriguing proposition. That you've so quickly grasped the nature of our relationship going forward is a point in your favor, Inquisitor. As a reward, I'll have my medics tend to you before our conversation goes further." Isard declared.

"My soldiers will take you there." At her words the troopers lowered their blasters. Two of them came up and grabbed me under the shoulders. Then they dragged me over to an elevator. The movement caused me…a great deal of pain. Too the point where the time between me leaving that burning roof and being tossed into the wonderfully cool bacta tank was blurry and indistinct.

I remembered one thing clearly though. Just before the doors of the elevator closed, I met Isard's eyes again. The leaping flames cast her body in shadow, darkening out her red uniform. The only part of her I could make out was her red mechanical eye.

I could feel it smiling at me. Another pawn repurposed to serve Iceheart's agenda.

I was right back where I started.

Despite all my efforts, all my plotting. The deals made, the enemies killed, the powers learned; useless now.

I had killed Ja'ce Yiaso with my own two hands and that had been for nothing!

I wanted to rage, to thrash about in my bacta tank. I wanted to take the Force and pulp the heads of the insolent nurses and doctors that puttered around me.

But I was too weak to do it. Too pathetic.

The Dark Side curled around me like a boa constrictor, it's familiar burn of power focusing my mind as the sedatives started to take effect. I remembered Isard's features. Her aristocratic cheekbones down to her pointed chin to her slender neck. She was an attractive woman.

Her neck would be truly beautiful with my hands wrapped around them, squeezing the life out of her. Her face would be the true pinnacle of attractiveness after I beat her to the edge of death. Then I'd snap her pretty neck and feed her corpse to a trash compactor!

Palpatine had ruled me for a lifetime, Yiaso for a year.

Isard would not command me for the same time, I swore to myself.

Victory feeds into Victory. I would succeed faster and faster as I overcame those in my way. Soon, the Dark Side whispered to me, if I just kept taking and taking, I'd be unstoppable.

It was a lovely dream to fall asleep to.

I am Andorak Lorak and eventually, hopefully, wonderfully, there would be no chains on me.

The End of Book 1 of Inquisitive Inquisitor

Andorak will return in Book 2: In Isard's Service

A/N Well that's all for now folks. Book 1, as I've retroactively titled this part of Inquisitive Inquisitor, is now over. Andorak has killed his hated master, Ja'ce Yiaso, secured a powerbase for himself and become a bit player in imperial politics in the process. But the New Republic continues to gain strength and a new power is rising in the Empire, one that Andorak has had no choice but to bow to, for now.

Book 2 will begin when it begins, as I want to focus on some other projects currently, but I look forward to seeing you all there when it begins. The numerous messages of support for this story that I've gotten over the past…five years(that is a long time lol) have been heartwarming and extremely encouraging. Thank you all very much.

Til next time, BalerionTheDrake