CHAPTER SEVEN
Darth Vorath watched with cold intent as two beings entered his throne room on Dromund Kaas. One of them, a Lethan Twi'lek, walked in slow, confident strides, while the other, a middle-aged man, walked a bit more fearfully. Vorath regarded them coldly as the two of them reached the end of the room and knelt before him.
After a moment of uneasiness had passed, the Twi'lek was the first to speak. "My lord, I regret to inform you that we have failed our attack on Dantooine."
"Really?" Vorath asked, idly tapping his fingers on his throne's arm. "Even with the Galaxy Gun?"
"Yes, my lord. Someone on the Republic's side flew their fighter and destroyed the superweapon from within."
The Dark Lord's red eyes narrowed from behind his helmet, which had once belonged to the Sith god Valtheran. "And you did nothing to stop them?"
Darth Scythe cleared his throat. "I had no knowledge of the suicidal fighter, my lord. I was only informed of such thing by Lord Mordus."
"Is that so?" Vorath asked quietly. "And where is Lord Mordus?"
"I do not know," Scythe replied. "I did not see his fleet arrive from hyperspace."
Vorath directed his gaze from Scythe and the human admiral and towards a dark corner in the room. "Very well. You two are dismissed."
The Sith Lord and the admiral stood up and headed out the room, the latter clearly relieved that he was not punished. As soon as the two had left, Vorath spoke towards the dark corner he had focused his eyes on.
"I apologize for not having a victory of ours to prove our worth, Great One," he said. "I'm sure you still do not think I am worthy of Valtheran's armor."
A low growl echoed throughout the chamber. "I still have not figured out how you acquired the armor."
A massive silhouette seemed to move in the shadows. "As far as I know, the armor was destroyed with Valtheran when we were banished from Korriban." The being let out a disdainful snort. "And I still do not believe that you found it on some dead moon."
Vorath chuckled. "Trust me, Kal-Teraz, I'm not sure how it got into Darth Vitus' hands either. I suppose you could ask his master on Prakith, or..."
The Dark Lord of the Sith froze. Vitus...Andeddu...Trayus.
From the shadows, Kal-Teraz eyed Vorath wearily. "What is it?" he asked. "Do you know how the armor survived?"
"I don't..." Vorath muttered. "But I know someone who does."
* * *
Toah groaned as he sat down to rub his aching feet. He and his father, Aron Jarsan, had been walking through the deserted, rocky land for quite some time now, not allowing Toah to ask his father all sorts of questions.
Aron Jarsan stopped to look at Toah and frowned. "You're not giving up now, are you? We're nearly there."
"Where exactly is it that you're taking me?" Toah asked as he staggered to his feet.
"You'll see," his father replied. "Come on."
Toah followed Aron for another ten minutes until they reached a small, circular pool filled with a silvery liquid substance. Aron stepped aside and gestured for Toah to move towards the pool.
"I want you to go face-first into there," Aron said. "Don't worry, you won't drown. I'll make sure of that."
Toah stared at the pool confusingly. "Why...why do you want me to-?"
"Hang on, you'll need some motivation." Aron stepped forward and gave his son a gentle push.
Toah swung around and gave him an incredulous look. "What are you doing?!" he demanded.
His father responded with a small grin. "Giving you motivation, son." He pushed again, harder this time, and Toah soon found himself plunging into the pool.
* * *
Garm Bel Iblis stood alongside several other Republic generals, along with Senators Triebakk and Via Eerin, and, to his surprise, Chief of State 'Chancellor' Valorum and his right-hand, Borsk Fey'lya. Before them was a large holoprojector that displayed the Mid Rim world of Kashyyyk, showing schematics for a defensive battle plan.
"This planet," recently-promoted Admiral Wedge Antilles was saying, "is another likely target for the Empire because, like Mon Cala, it is an important member of the Republic, and the Wookiees have been grateful for their liberation at our hands."
After a general nod of assent, Wedge continued. "I suggest we deploy heavily armed battalions on both planets, and several fleets to orbit them."
"Sounds good to me," Bel Iblis said. He turned to the other commanders and senators. "Anyone else?"
While the generals, Eerin, and Triebakk nodded their approval, Valorum and Borsk remained motionless. The Bothan Vice Chair soon looked up with a frowned look.
"I think it is too much," he said. "We would've won easily at Dantooine were it not for the Galaxy Gun, and even then, our ships could have destroyed it while it prepared to eliminate the planet. The sacrifice Skywalker's apprentice made was not needed."
Triebakk and a majority of the generals seemed to consider this before agreeing with Borsk, while Wedge, Eerin, and Bel Iblis said nothing, though the latter nearly opened his mouth to correct and counter Borsk of the battle at Dantooine.
All heads turned to Valorum, who seemed to be staring into a corner rather than the holographic planet. Finally, he spoke. "I agree with Fey'lya. We shall deploy the same amount of forces we did at Dantooine. Without the Galaxy Gun, the Empire no longer have an upper hand."
Dismissed, everyone in the meeting room began to leave. Bel Iblis hurried to met up with Wedge and Eerin, scowling slightly.
"So now what?" he asked them. "Are we just going to let Valorum send us on suicide missions?"
Eerin sighed. "I'm honestly at a lost, Garm," she said. "I'm not sure if there's anything we can do."
"Except to wait and let the future take its course," Wedge added.
Neither Eerin nor Bel Iblis said anything in reply.
No comments:
Post a Comment