Qi'ra sat in her chair on the bridge of The First Light, looking at her data-pad, and then at a hologram of the planet Morag, and back again at her data-pad. She sighed. She was tired and frustrated. It had been five days since Asmodeus and his Hork-Bajir had mounted their massive, widespread attack on Crimson Dawn's bases and ships. Since then, there had been no sign of them. Qi'ra had been in her bridge for days. She had hardly slept and she barely ate anything. She was too focused on the hunt for Asmodeus to think about anything else.
Inu came into the room.
"Well?" asked Qi'ra, looking up hopefully.
"Still no word from the others," Inu reported. "And still no sign of Asmodeus, or his minions, or any of their ships."
Qi'ra sighed again. "Get back out there and continue the search," she ordered.
"Yes, milady," Inu nodded obediently, and he left the bridge.
Qi'ra slumped into her chair and sighed again. She had had great plans to gain more power. But all those plans now had to be put on hold. The threat of Asmodeus was immediate. And yet, she and her henchmen had found no sign of him. They had searched in all the places Asmodeus and his minions had been seen in: the Morag system, the Dexus system, the Vanqor system, the Kimiji system, the Mandalore system, e.g. But they hadn't seen any of his ships or found any clues. And none of their spies, agents or informants throughout the galaxy had seen or heard anything of them either. No one had any notion where Asmodeus or his minions were. It was as if they had just vanished.
Just then, Qi'ra's control console beeped. She pressed a button and a blue hologram of her human lieutenant, Finiren appeared. He gave a short bow, and then looked up. "Milady, I bring great news," he announced.
"What news?" Qi'ra asked.
"I have found Asmodeus," Finiren announced.
For a moment, Qi'ra was so shocked she couldn't speak. "Where is he?" she asked breathlessly.
"In the lagoon nebula, on the very edge of the Unknown Regions," Finiren answered, almost earnestly. "This could be the only chance to get him, milady. He's in the perfect place for us to ambush him."
"How many ships does he have with him?" Qi'ra asked.
"One, milady," Finiren said.
"One?" Qi'ra raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, milady. The ship he has right now is pretty big and there are many Hork-Bajir in it. But if we bring the entire Crimson fleet, we can bring him and his minions down. It's a golden opportunity."
Qi'ra hesitated, excitement and wariness battling in her chest. Asmodeus was on a single ship in the Lagoon Nebula? It was indeed the perfect opportunity to get rid of him, but it seemed almost too good to be true.
"Are you sure about this, Finiren?" asked Qi'ra, looking into the blue eyes of the hologram of Finiren, who was one of her lieutenants and one of the few people she still trusted… to an extent.
"Yes, milady," Finiren said firmly.
Qi'ra hesitated again. "Give me a moment," she said at last to Finiren. The crime lady went to Inu and ordered him to send transmissions to her other lieutenants.
They all answered. Crimson Dawn still had fifteen ships.
Qi'ra resolved to act. This was too big of an opportunity to pass up. Asmodeus had already interfered with her plans. His elimination would mean one less obstacle in her way.
So Qi'ra gave the order for all the ships of Crimson Dawn to travel to the Lagoon Nebula, where they would ambush Asmodeus and destroy him once and for all.
Qi'ra returned to the hologram of Finiren. "Very well, Finiren, me and the others are on our way."
Finiren smiled and nodded his head. "See you there, milady." Then, his transmission ended and his hologram vanished.
Qi'ra turned to Inu. "Set course for the lagoon nebula," she ordered.
"Yes, milady," Inu nodded.
As soon as the coordinates were locked in, The First Light made the jump to hyperspace.
Qi'ra sat in her chair and watched the beautiful blue and white swirl of hyperspace steaming past. A grim, but quiet determination was filling her breast. She was going to make Asmodeus pay for interfering with her plans…