The Inquisitor's shuttle was of an extravagance alien even to the royalty of Mandalore. Pure white with golden accents, the craft was an exquisite symbol of opulence, elegant wings folding as it touched down in the Sundari spaceport. It almost resembled an exotic bird, the smooth curvature and naturalistic styling standing in sharp contrast to the blocky geometry of the surrounding Mandalorian architecture. Bo-Katan had seen such ships before but couldn't help being awed once more by the craftsmanship on display. Her entourage of Paladins displayed amazement uncharacteristic of their usual stoicism. She couldn't blame them. The landing ramp lowered and an ethereal figure emerged wearing a bizarre fusion of ceremonial robes and combat armour. They were covered head-to-toe in flowing white fabric woven with beskar fibre. Plated armour was integrated into the outfit with gaudy gold flourishes, and their face was entirely covered by a smooth helmet that was featureless save for the Empress' signature stripes. A sheathed vibrosword hung at their side- an ever-present reminder of the Inquisitor's deadly purpose.
Even clad in her newly reforged Mandalorian armour, Bo-Katan's attire felt inadequate for greeting such a grand figure. She scolded herself for allowing such a minor concern to occupy even a moment of her thoughts. True, this was a historic occasion- an Inquisitor on Mandalore! And even with her familiarity with the Empress, Bo-Katan couldn't entirely ignore political necessities. The way she conducted herself today would have ripple effects on her standing in the Light.
"But playing politics at a time like this?" she thought to herself. "This isn't like me."
After all, if the Children of the Watch had their way, a tarnished reputation would be the least of her worries. Gulping down her anxieties, she spoke.
"Inquisitor- welcome to Mandalore. We've been eagerly awaiting your arrival."
There was little in the way of conversation as Bo-Katan and her Paladins escorted the Inquisitor to the barren remains of the Council Chamber. The Inquisitor was the first to step off the repulsorlift, coming to a stop at the base of the crater. Then, crouching low, they put a hand to the ground, touching it with a strange lightness. Bo-Katan followed after them as her Paladins took up defensive positions around the crater.
"So, what do you make of it?" she asked tentatively. The Inquisitor shook their head.
"Hard to read," came a distorted voice from behind the mask. The distortion, coupled with the figure's alien outfit and uncanny grace gave the impression of something fundamentally incomprehensible.
"Hard to... read?" ventured Bo-Katan.
"All events unfold by the design of the Light. This design can be read by those trained and attuned to it. But much has happened here since the bombing."
"Right, we've been excavating the site looking for survivors or clues or... anything that could point us in the right direction."
"You were clumsy," said the Inquisitor as he took an almost meditative stance, sitting cross-legged on the scorched floor. "To read the past's echoes here will take... time. See to it that I am not disturbed."
"As you wish..." muttered Bo-Katan. She hadn't a clue what the Inquisitor hoped to accomplish. But by their reputation alone, she knew not to interfere.
Almost four hours passed while Bo-Katan and her forces remained silent and vigilant around the blast crater. The sky darkened as sunset approached, and the High Paladin shivered at the chill in the air.
"Who could have done this?" she thought to herself. Such was the blast's power that all sensors, cameras, and droids had been irreparably damaged by the electromagnetic barrage. All the physical evidence had been burned away, save for some fragments of beskar. It was a miracle that more people had not perished in the blast.
"But still, some did."
She'd lost guards, allies, agents, and friends. She glanced down at her prosthetic arm, covered up by her armour.
"And even if we find the ones responsible, it won't undo the damage. Mandalore won't ever be the same."
Recent events had seen numerous military installations constructed on the planet- clone garrisons, ground-to-orbit cannons, and factories for security droid manufacturing. But beyond that, a swath of new laws had bypassed deliberation by the Ruling Council, instead being implemented by First Light fiat. Legislation would now empower more comprehensive surveillance, search, and seizure at all levels of government. The holonet activity of all citizens would be subject to constant scrutiny by algorithmic analysis. There were even whispers of plans to bring a permanent Missionary presence to Mandalore. Bo-Katan couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle at the irony- the Children of the Watch had invertedly ensured that any future rebellions would be crushed before they started. Just as the thought occurred, the Inquisitor arose from their seeming trance and approached Bo-Katan. Without a word, they offered her their hand. For a moment, she stood unmoving and confused.
"What do you..."
With evident hesitation, she took their hand and was plunged into a vision of the past.
These memories were familiar. Things had grown especially heated in the Council Chamber as the endless debate continued. Hardliners were pushing for public executions of the would-be garrison bombers. She recalled her own response to this outrageous proposition.
"You'd turn the whole planet against us!"
And indeed, she'd heard her own voice echo those words just a moment later. Rook Kast remained as stubborn as ever.
"We'd expose all those with secret sympathies for the terrorists!"
The council chamber erupted into an unbearably loud cacophony of arguments and outrage. Finally, Governor Saxon intervened, calling for a short recess in an attempt to diffuse the situation. She witnessed the body that was not her own- the body whose memories she inhabited- slink into the crowd of disgruntled councillors and their guards. With a practised stealth and precision, the body approached one of the pillars of the chamber, swiftly attaching to it a small device of smoothened metal they produced from their belt. They then continued to the next pillar. And then the next. It was all done without arousing any suspicion.
"How?! How did we let this happen?!"
But as the vision continued and Bo-Katan caught further glimpses of this memory-self's armour, a horrid, sinking feeling developed in her chest.
"I know who did this. But... it can't be."
With their work done, they left the Council Chamber. Never stopped. Never questioned. Slowly, the memory faded, and Bo-Katan's senses returned her to reality.
The moment she felt the chill of the night once again, she immediately recoiled, turning her back to the Inquisitor. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes were wide with panic.
"What... what was that?! What did you do to me?!"
"The bomber- you recognised them."
There was no uncertainty in the Inquisitor's voice. It was a statement of fact.
"No, I..."
"What you saw was an echo of the Light. An imprint left by the memory of this traitor. Who were they?"
"No. It's not her. She wouldn't- it's not her!"
"You saw it with your own eyes. To deny the Light's truth is the height of folly. Now speak."
"But..."
Try as she might to come up with another possible explanation, the armour in the vision was unmistakable.
"It was... Ursa. Ursa Wren."
It couldn't be true. Warriors of Clan Wren were among Bo-Katan's most prized and trusted. And Ursa herself was the only person in the universe that she could truly consider a friend. There were other acquaintances, allies, and subordinates, of course. But none were closer to her than Ursa.
"Could she really have betrayed us? Betrayed me?!"
A despair-fuelled rage took hold of Bo-Katan as she pressed a button on her commlink.
"This is High Paladin Kryze. I need an immediate shuttle to Krownest. Sending my coordinates now."
Minutes later, a Gauntlet fighter landed at the edge of the crater. Bo-Katan entered the ship without a word. The Inquisitor followed after her.
Wren Stronghold was a mansion befitting the clan's history and ideals. It was a perfect blend of form and function- a sprawling estate of artisan-crafted glass in a polished metal frame. Bo-Katan knew the place well from frequent visits- but today, it was all but impossible to catch a glimpse of it from the air. Krownest's perpetually snowy skies had been engulfed by a blizzard limiting vision to only a few metres. The Gauntlet landed shakily as howling winds assailed the hull from all sides. But even in these unfavourable conditions, the pilot had managed to put the ship down only a short distance from the mansion. Together, Bo-Katan and the Inquisitor disembarked along with their escorting Paladins, trudging slowly through the dense snow.
Luckily for Bo-Katan, the inside of the mansion was significantly warmer than the frigid exterior. The party was greeted in the mansion's great hall by Alrich Wren, flanked by a pair of Clan Wren guards.
"Lady Bo-Katan, I wasn't expecting your visit!" he said with a startled expression. "I take it you bring news about my wife and daughter?"
Bo-Katan's heart sank. She removed her helmet, wiping away the frost that had begun to build up on it as she spoke.
"Your... daughter?"
"You don't know?"
"I..."
She shook her head.
"I submitted a report days ago! My wife and daughter go missing, and nobody-"
Only then did Alrich take notice of the figure behind the High Paladin.
"Who... is that... an Inquisitor? What is the meaning of this?!"
Bo-Katan's eyes shifted to the ground. She tried to keep her voice steady. She failed.
"New evidence has come to light implicating Ursa Wren in the bombing of the Council Chamber. Until this investigation is concluded, Clan Wren will be stripped of its status as a great house within the Ruling Council. You will be brought in for questioning, as will all others with close relations to the suspect."
"What?! You can't be serious! Bo-Katan, you more than anyone should appreciate my wife's loyalty! She wouldn't do something like this. You know she wouldn't!"
"...where is Tristan?"
"Please. Don't do this. My wife-"
"Where is he?!"
Alrich shook his head, an expression of unconcealed hurt on his face.
"...he was dispatched on an assignment to Ord Mantell. But please, just... listen to me. Clan Wren has always stood by you. None of us- let alone my wife- would ever commit such a heinous act. Ursa respected and admired you more than anyone in the galaxy! Do you really think she would turn her back on you?! On Mandalore?!"
Bo-Katan shook her head.
"I don't know anymore. I'm sorry."
With that, she gestured for her Paladins to apprehend Alrich. At the Paladins' approach, the Clan Wren guards raised their blasters, only for Alrich to order them to stand down.
"I'll answer whatever questions your people have for me. All I ask is you find out the truth behind all of this. And... my daughter-"
"I'm sorry we weren't able to investigate her disappearance sooner. Paladins are being stretched thin as it is with the crisis on Mandalore, but... I'll look into it. Personally. You have my word."
Slowly, the Paladins and guards in the mansion cleared out until only Bo-Katan and the Inquisitor remained. The Inquisitor looked at Bo-Katan expectantly.
"What? Do you have something to say?" she said.
"Our first priority is locating and arresting the bomber. We don't have time for distractions."
"Who says I'm distracted?"
"You are allowing your feelings for Ursa to get in the way of our purpose. Her daughter's disappearance could be completely irrelevant-"
"It's not. I knew Ursa. And the only thing that mattered more to her than loyalty to Mandalore was loyalty to her family."
The Inquisitor was silent for a moment as they considered this information.
"...You think the Wren girl was kidnapped."
"Yes- I just- I can't think of any other possibility. If someone was threatening the life of her daughter... Ursa could be blackmailed into doing almost anything. Finding out who is behind Sabine's- uh- Ursa's daughter's disappearance could lead us back to the mastermind behind the bombing."
"It's a plausible theory. Very well- I will seek out echoes of the Light. Perhaps they will provide more insight into the nature of this disappearance."
"Alright... and in the meantime, I'll make arrangements for Alrich and his inner circle to be brought back to Sundari."
But as Bo-Katan would come to learn in the following hours, the blizzard's growing intensity would make transport to and from Krownest virtually impossible. For the time being, the leadership of Clan Wren had instead been imprisoned in their own stronghold's holding cells. Bo-Katan despised herself for allowing things to go so far. She knew she'd irreparably destroyed the trust of her most steadfast allies. But there was procedure to follow. As long as suspicion surrounded Clan Wren, their freedom was out of her hands. Bo-Katan now stood before a vast window on the mansion's second floor, watching as it was relentlessly battered by hail and snow.
"I'm sorry..." she muttered to herself. "I'm so sorry."
She was a High Paladin- ostensibly one of the most powerful people in the galaxy. So why did she feel so powerless? Even in the warmth of the building's carefully regulated climate, Bo-Katan felt an inescapable coldness inside. The outside winds screamed against the walls of the mansion like some horrific beast. It was an awful noise that stirred up dread for the future that was to come. There was a very real chance that Ursa Wren had perpetrated the bombing, even if it was under duress. And she knew the reckoning that would follow. If Ursa were caught, she would be executed. Possibly by Bo-Katan's own hands. Treachery aside, the political motivations made this inevitable. The Mandalorian people would want a scapegoat responsible for the recent chaos. And they would revel in seeing this scapegoat mercilessly punished. How one managed and directed the sadism of the collective- that was the ultimate measure of a politician. Footsteps behind her pulled Bo-Katan from her thoughts, and she turned to face the Inquisitor.
"You found something?"
"I did," they said, extending a hand. Once more, Bo-Katan took it and was immersed in another memory-vision.
Her memory-self sat surrounded by holographic blueprints depicting a strange device- a circular ring reminiscent of a shield generator. Then, there came a strange beeping. She watched as the body she inhabited switched off the holographic display and walked to the mansion's balcony to investigate. The beeping grew ever louder as the doors to the balcony slid open. The sky outside was dark and clear- peppered with stars, nothing like the blinding white of the current day.
"What... is that noise?" murmered her memory-self.
She walked onto the balcony, hearing the sound grow louder and louder- only to catch sight of a strange, barely perceptible outline of a person standing in front of her. Evidently alarmed but curious about the phantom, she approached- only for it to grab her, put a hand over her mouth, and deliver a paralysing electric shock. As her consciousness faded, she caught sight of a shadowy figure standing over her, and the vision gave way to reality.
"It seems you were correct," said the Inquisitor. "Kidnapping?"
Bo-Katan's stomach lurched. She still felt the painful sting of the electric shock, as though those memories had been her own.
"Just... a moment..." she said, releasing her grasp on the Inquisitor's hand and letting out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. "Those were Sabine's memories... right?"
"The Wren girl? Most likely. I could not ascertain the identity of the culprit... what are your suspicions?"
"I don't know. But... whoever's behind this- they're much more dangerous than I thought."
"What makes you say that?"
"They had a personal cloaking device," she said gravely. "Think about it- a device so complex that only a few starships have been able to employ it, and our enemy manages to miniaturise it down to the size of a person. Technology that advanced doesn't even-"
Just at that moment, her commlink beeped. She pressed a button to respond.
"This is High Paladin Kryze. Identify yourself."
The voice from the commlink had an icy, dispassionate tone she'd become all too familiar with.
"It's Thrawn. I have some vital information to share with you."