CHAPTER TEN
Once the Millennium Falcon landed, Luke walked off the ship and headed into the Republic base. He had barely got past the door when the golden protocol droid C-3PO rushed up to him.
"Ah, Master Luke!" The droid excitedly said. "Princess Leia is waiting for you in the her Chief Mothma's office! She has something urgent to tell you!"
"Thanks, Threepio," Luke said as he began to rush towards the Chief of State's office. He finally reached it and walked in, where he found his sister, Leia Organa, along with the Bothan Senator Borsk Fey'lya, Mon Mothma, and a familiar looking man.
"Luke, I'm glad you're here," Leia said. She gestured at the young man, who was sitting nervously in a nearby chair. "This is Toah Jarsan from Dantooine."
"Glad to meet you," Luke said to Toah, shaking his hand. He suddenly realized that he had saw Toah on Dantooine before, along with a young Nautolan and Twi'lek. Seeing that Toah wasn't in a talkative mood, Luke did not say anything about it.
Leia tapped lightly on Luke's shoulder. "Can Mothma, Fey'lya and I speak with you?" she asked, glancing at Toah. "Privately?"
Luke nodded and politely ushered Toah out of the office. As soon as the door closed, Luke turned to see the three others' worried faces. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"You see, Luke," Leia said quietly, "Toah is Force-sensitive."
Luke's eyes widened. "That's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "So why the long faces?"
"As you saw, Toah isn't exactly...talkative," Borsk said. "We think he may have been...traumatized."
"I think 'traumatize' is too strong of a word," Mothma protested. "We could just say that he had a troubled past. The most likely theory is that Emperor Palpatine became aware of Toah's Force-sensitivity and sent his minions to capture him. It's possible that they killed Toah's parents, and he found a way to escape to Dantooine, where he was adopted by foster parents. But that's just our theory."
"I see," Luke replied, scratching his chin. He glanced back at the door Toah had just left through. "Well, then, I believe I've found my first apprentice."
* * *
"Er, Grand Admiral Thrawn?" Admiral Korus' hologram began to flicker back on again. "Many of the other high-ranking officers are not complying with your plan. They think it is...unwise."
"I'm not surprised," Thrawn muttered, more to himself then to Korus. He leaned back in his seat, rethinking the plan. Perhaps Korus was right; maybe it was unwise to attack the Republic with what remained of the Empire's forces.
"Postpone the attack," he finally said to Korus. "However, tell the others to gather anyway. We must be prepared."
"Understood, Grand Admiral," Korus said, clearly relieved by the change of plans. "Admiral Korus, out."
As soon as the hologram had vanished, Thrawn leaned back in his seat again, recalling an event that he would never forget: his last meeting with Emperor Palpatine
--Years ago, during the Dark Times--
The Emperor of the Galactic Empire sat atop his throne within the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. At his side stood his advisers Janus Greejatus and Sim Aloo, as well as the terrifying Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader. Thrawn stood strong before Emperor Palpatine, who at last noticed the Grand Admiral standing before him.
"Ah, Grand Admiral Thrawn," he said. Turning to Vader and his advisers, he murmured, "Leave us."
Once Vader, Janus, and Aloo had left, the Emperor turned back to Thrawn. "This is important," he said coldly. "Only you and I are to know of this. Tell anyone else of this conversation, and the consequences will be severe."
"I understand, your highness," Thrawn said with a bow.
Palpatine gave a wicked smile. "Good. Now, have you ever heard of the planet Byss?"
"Yes, I have," Thrawn replied. "Located in the Deep Core, correct?"
"Indeed," the Emperor replied. "Now then, there is a tall citadel in the center of an Imperial city located on Byss. If-the key word being 'if'-I were to...perish, you are to go there and find the citadel's central computer."
He reached into his cloak and brought out a data card, inscripted with a series of numbers and Aurebesh text. "Enter this card," Palpatine said, "and let the computer do its work."
--Present--
The spirit had guided Jerec, Sariss, and Gorc to an unnamed world located in the deepest realms of space. After having landed, the spirit led them to a towering fortress, with the ancient symbol of the Dark Lords of the Sith carved into its center tower.
Within the fortress, they were greeted by a pale-skinned man and a strong, burly Zabrak.
"Welcome to the Fortress of Valtheran," the man said, smiling without joy. "I am Lord Nemesis, and this is Lord Ravage."
"Our master is expecting you," the Zabrak growled. Without a word, Jerec and the other two Dark Jedi followed Lord Ravage. Going through a long, winding corridor, they finally reached a dark chamber, where a cloaked being awaited them.
"Ah, you've came," the being said. "Very good." The cloaked humanoid turned to face them, and Jerec was slightly startled. Instead of a face, all that was under the being's cloak was a pair of glowing red eyes.
"I am Darth Vorath," the being said. "Dark Lord of the Sith."
Jerec cleared his throat. "I am Jerec, High Inquisitor of the Galactic Em-"
"Not anymore," Darth Vorath said. "Like many of Palpatine's Dark Side Adepts, you are now part of my new order."
"New order?" Jerec replied quizzically. "You mean...we're all Sith?"
Vorath laughed without mirth. "No. Not yet. But given time, you will be. For now, you will be simply acolytes trained by Lord Nemesis."
"Very well," Jerec said, bowing. Sariss and Gorc followed suit. "We pledge ourselves to your teachings. I do have one question, though..."
Vorath eyed the Miraluka curiously. "And that is?"
"Who is the spirit that led us here?"
The Dark Lord simply stared at Jerec without emotion. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said. "Now go. Lord Nemesis is waiting for you."
As the Dark Jedi left, disappointed by the lack of answer, a laugh echoed throughout the chamber. Vorath did not seem to notice it.
EPILOGUE
Thrawn's ship came to a slow land on the strange world of Byss. It was quite hard to describe, for most of its terrain contrasted and seemed unlike anything he had seen before. Dry, deep canyons could be seen in the distance, while a large city stood before him.
Stepping off the Csila, Thrawn walked through the abandoned city and towards the towering citadel located in the center. He reached the door and slipped his ID card through a panel, granting him access into the citadel. He went through a short corridor until he reached a turbolift.
The elevator took him all the way to the top of the citadel, where Thrawn found a large library which he heard had belonged to Emperor Palpatine. He searched the halls for the central computer, but all he found were shelves of ancient lore. After ten minutes of searching, the Grand Admiral was about to give up when he finally found it.
Turning on the computer, Thrawn took out the data card with the code Palpatine had given him: ANH-77525. He entered in the code and waited to see what would happen. He suddenly heard gears shifting and the sound of a metal door opening. Thrawn turned around, and, despite himself, gasped.
Before him was a row of cloning vats, with blank, generic Human bodies floating in cylindrical containers. Suddenly, one of the vats shattered open and one of the blank bodies fell out, like a puppet without strings. A mechanical arm lowered from the ceiling and dressed the body with black robes, as if it were a child dressing its toy doll.
When it stood up, the clone now had eyes blazing like a sun, pale skin, and reddish hair. "Hello, Thrawn," the clone said, speaking in a familiar, masculine voice. "Long time no see."
Thrawn knew the voice all too well. "No..it can't be. You're supposed to be dead..."
The clone chuckled. "Death is a point of view, my friend," he said. "Yes, Emperor Palpatine is dead. But Darth Sidious lives on!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
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