CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
--The Resurgent--
The gathered followers of Darth Taral watched as their master paced back and forth in his chamber, exuding anger and barely restrained rage in his steps.
"Our plan," he growled, "is falling apart at the seams. Control is slipping through our fingers like grains of sand. All because I put my trust in a scion of Vader."
"The Empire would have been no use to us anyway," Rion Scorpius said dismissively. "They have failed the Sith twice in the past and I am not one to believe in the third time being the charm."
"Besides," Sharik Vyys interjected, "do we not have a substantial army of our own? Between Glovoc's army, the other Sith, and the Mandalorians, I'd say we're ready to take the galaxy by force."
Taral said nothing to this as he ceased his pacing, his back turned to his colleagues. All was silent for a pressing moment until the Dark Lord spoke, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
"So many of our own have we lost to this endeavor," he murmured. "Vossron. Prodd. Draida. Faust. Odan. Now only seven are we."
Malvra Dare sneered, her crimson skin darkening. "Don't tell me you have become sentimental, Varon. I do not expect such weakness from a Dark Lord of the Sith."
Taral pivoted slightly to face the Zeltron, his expression by his mask. "Do you not have faith in my leadership, Malvra?"
"I never have, to be frank," Malvra said coldly. "While I do not speak for the others, I have always seen you as weak and incompetent. I only followed you because you were the only one taking initiative... plus I despised Lady Sedriss even more."
Taral moved his gaze to the others. "Is she alone in this mindset?"
"No, Taral," said Xal Doon, stepping forward. "I as well have found you to be unfit to be Dark Lord. Your plan to merge the Alliance and the Imperial Remnant into a unified empire was foolish and prone to failure from day one."
"Yet you have continued to follow me until now. Why?"
"For the same reason as myself," said Zashra Malincha, moving to stand beside Xal. "We did not wish to stand against you, for as foolish as you are, your power is undeniable. It would be unwise of us to oppose you."
"But we no longer fear now," Scorpius said. "When you sent me to kill Lord Acheron, I recovered from his collection of artifacts a scroll that shall not only get things done quicker and more effectively, but elevate us in the eyes of our true master."
Taral snarled. "I am your master."
"Do not play dumb with us, Varon," Sharik snapped. "We know that you've been serving a greater power. Karis was kind enough to tell us after your little Veknoid pet blabbed to her."
The Dark Lord's eyes fell on Karis, who looked away, curling her wings around herself. He then returned his attention to Scorpius, meeting the other Sith's icy stare.
"So it's come to this then. Something which I should have foreseen."
"Indeed," Scorpius said, unhooking his lightsaber from his belt. "Perhaps you are not as wise as you claim to be."
Taral chuckled. It was a humorless sound. "I've never claimed to be wise, Rion. Clever, yes. Smart, certainly. But wise? That would require experience, and I only just became the Dark Lord of the Sith. You have to cut me some slack."
Scorpius narrowed his one exposed eye. "Yes, well, I'm afraid your reign must be cut short." With a snap-hiss sound, a crimson beam emitted from the hilt. "I'm sorry it had to end this way, Varon."
"I'm sorry too," Taral replied, not making any move to defend himself.
Scorpius' brow furrowed at this but it was momentary. Stepping forward, he raised his blade to strike Taral down... when Karis finally spoke.
"Stop."
The Sith warrior froze with his blade raised over his head. He looked over his shoulder to glare at Karis, whose eyes blazed defiantly.
"There's no point in killing him," she said. "We have what we need. We should just leave now and leave him to his failure."
Malvra sneered. "And what's going to stop him from shooting our ship down as soon as we leave?"
"You said so yourself, Malvra. He's sentimental. He cares for us. He wouldn't dare kill us."
"It could be a trick," said Sharik. "He could be luring us into a false sense of security."
"He's not," Karis said firmly. "I know he's not."
"For all we know you could be on his side," Scorpius snarled. "We all know he's trusted you the most out of any of us."
The S'kytri woman's mouth hung open in silence, unable to muster a proper response. She looked to Taral, but the Dark Lord did not meet her eyes, instead continuing to stare at Scorpius.
"What will convince you, Rion, that I truly mean you no harm?" Taral asked him. "What will convince you that I do indeed care for you all?"
Scorpius was silent as he remained still in his current position, glowering at Taral with his one good eye. All watched uneasily as they awaited his response. However, he was deprived of any chance to speak when Xal suddenly broke the silence.
"Someone's here," the Kel Dor murmured. "I can sense them. They've just docked in the shuttle bay."
"It's him," Taral said darkly. "Vader's legacy. Kylo Ren."
"And just how does he know we're here?" Sharik asked.
"Evidently we have a leak," Taral said. "If you wish to leave, I suggest you do so now. I sense that Ren is not in a good mood."
Scorpius scowled and looked ready to protest until Karis put a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, Rion. We're just wasting time the longer we stay."
After a hesitant moment, Scorpius complied, switching off his lightsaber before turning to leave the chamber. The other Sith followed him, with Karis being the last to leave. She exchanged a brief, sorrowful look with Taral as she left, the door hissing shut behind her once her large wings had passed through.
The Dark Lord of the Sith stood alone in his chamber, drenched in darkness. After a moment, he drew his comlink and raised the captain of the Resurgent.
"Captain Nadine, please direct our guest to my chambers. I shall meet him there."
* * *
"Yes, my lord," Nadine replied on the other end. Once Darth Taral had ended the call, she released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Since the Sith Lord had called mere minutes after Kylo Ren's shuttle had docked, she had feared he had already pinpointed her to be the one who had summoned the Knight of Ren.
Perhaps he had. Perhaps he was simply postponing her punishment for later. That is, if he survived Ren's wrath....
She did not regret doing what she had just done. Upon hearing what had went down on Bastion, she realized that there was a greater power at work, one which Taral was not a part of, and that opposing said power would be unwise. Alerting the one who had executed the Moffs to Taral's location was her best chance at proving her loyalty.
While she tried to regain her composure, an officer raised his head from one of the bridge's pits.
"Captain, incoming transmission."
Nadine pivoted towards him. "Where from?"
"Unknown, ma'am. It's coming through as text."
Nadine's furrowed her brow at this. "What does it read?"
The officer leaned forward to study the monitor. "Ack... Ackbar."
"Ackbar?" Nadine repeated. "The old rebel fish? I thought he died at Empress Teta thirty years ago."
"Well, uh... it says Ackbar is back, captain."
"Come again?"
"Ackbar is back."
Nadine stared at the officer for a moment before redirecting her gaze to the viewport....
And seeing the fleet of ships coming out of hyperspace.
--The Alderaan's Requiem--
"All ships accounted for, general," the holographic figure of Admiral Gial Ackbar said. "No one's ditched out on us at the last minute."
"Good," Leia said, standing among the holograms of all the leaders present for the battle for Mandalore. "If we can stay closely knit as a group, this battle will run more smoothly."
"Agreed," said the Glorian leader Onyx. "So, shall we get down to business?"
Leia did not acknowledge him, instead turning to Goran Beviin. "Are your commandos ready, Beviin?"
"As we'll ever be. My agent in Keldabe says she's lowered the city's defenses and that we'll be able to land safely once we're past the blockade."
"Our ships can hold off the blockade," said Ackbar. "I suggest that Black Squadron escorts the Mandalorians past the enemy ships. Commander Dameron and his fliers are among the best in our fleet."
"Very well," Leia said. "Black Squadron shall escort the Mandalorians down to the planet, while we take on the enemy's fleet. Once we've thinned their ranks we can--"
Without warning, Leia's words caught in her throat and her eyes widened. The others looked at her in concern; Ackbar in particular was visibly alarmed.
"General! What's wrong?"
Leia could not speak at first. She sensed Major Kalonia rushing over to her, but she waved the doctor off.
"I'm... I'm fine," she lied. "Just... nerves, is all."
Absentmindedly, her gaze drifted to the viewport, staring at the Star Destroyer that was the enemy flagship. For a moment, she forgot about all those present and whispered quietly to herself.
"Ben?"
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