CHAPTER ELEVEN
Ord Talavos
“Look at them all, Greshna. Just look at them.”
Drakmos the Despised stood on the balcony of his fortress, watching as the leaders of the Malvis Cabal made their procession from their respective vessels. Even before news had broke of Tyron Valrisa’s victory in the election, ships had started to land on the outskirts of the city, so assured were they all of their own scheme. Even Drakmos had to give credit where it was due; against all odds, the Cabal had succeeded in accomplishing their primary goal. Of course, given how fragile the Alliance already had been to begin with, perhaps it was not all that impressive in the greater scheme of things.
“Gaar Tandoon and his clan,” he murmured, more to himself than to his Chistori lieutenant. “Magistrate Mikus of the Open Eye Syndicate. Even Madame Maeva of the House of Maidens. Truly, there has been no greater gathering since… well, since that auction we had here a while back. But even that was not enough to bring Malvis out of his hiding spot.”
He then turned to Greshna, tapping his chin with the tip of chis claw. “Speaking of which, has there been any sign of his ship?”
“None to speak of,” Greshna replied. “Although I doubt he would make a show of his presence. If you ask me, he will most likely just show up during the Gathering with no prelude. He doesn’t strike me as someone to draw attention to himself.”
“Perhaps you are correct,” Drakmos admitted. “Although I would argue that no one knows enough about him to form a solid impression of him, one way or another. Even I do not even have the privilege of even knowing what he looks like. Perhaps today he will give us all the honor of knowing his true appearance.”
Greshna snorted in a noncommittal manner as she stepped away. “I’ve said this before, but I really hope you are sure about what you’re doing. You’ve got one shot at this, and if you mess it up, then it’s all over. Everything you’ve done, everything you have worked for, will have been for nothing.”
“I am well aware of the risks, my friend,” Drakmos muttered, gripping the edge of the balcony as he glared down at the procession entering his fortress. “Believe me when I say that I have never been more sure in my life.”
Coruscant
“So, uh, have you thought about a name change yet?”
Leaning against the piston of the Renegade’s landing ramp, Valrisa cast her tired dark eyes to Bedo. After apprehending Vixen and their attacker—who had identified herself as “Dorn”—the Renegades had returned to their ship to await further orders from Talon Karrde once Kyla had filled him in on what had happened. Getting onto Coruscant had already been difficult enough, and none of them were sure if they would even be able to leave any time soon.
“Why would I change my name?” Valrisa asked with a sigh.
“Because it’s the same as the guy who just got elected Chief of State,” Bedo replied. “People are gonna start asking questions, and I know how much you don’t like questions. Besides, aren’t you worried he’s gonna send more people after you ‘cos of the Charge Matrica?”
“To be honest with you, I’m not sure what to do regarding any of those things at this point. Clearly Malvis’s schemes run much deeper than any of us thought, and my dysfunctional family just so happens to be at the center of it all. To say I’m worried about any of it would be an understatement.”
“Well, if you need any suggestions for a name change, I’ve got a list already made, so just holler if you need one.”
Valrisa raised an eyebrow at the Ortolan. “Why do you have a list of names?”
“I, uh, have my reasons.” Not waiting for any more questions, Bedo hurried back onto the ship.
Rolling her eyes, Valrisa was about to follow him only for her body to suddenly jolt back, forcing her to grab onto one of the ramp’s pistons for stability. She sucked in her breath as images flashes rapidly in her mind: a large building somewhere on Coruscant; a familiar man being tortured by another; a masked woman in shackles. None of these images meant anything to her, yet a voice in her mind was telling her that she needed to do something about it. And despite everything about her gut telling her not to, she knew she would. Because she had to.
Poking his head back outside, Bedo looked at her with concern. “Is everything all right?”
“I need to speak with Kyla,” Valrisa said, staggering onto the ship. “There’s somewhere we need to go.”
“She’s still talking with Karrde and Booster. It might have to wait until they—”
“No. It’s here on Coruscant. And we need to go now.”
Bedo continued to look confused as Valrisa walked past him and headed for the ship’s cabin. Passing the main hold, where the others were watching over the captured Vixen and Dorn, she stepped into the ship’s cockpit where Kyla was deep in conversation with Ace.
Upon noticing her entrance, Kyla looked up and said, “Karrde has given us the clearance to return to the Errant Venture as soon as it is safe for us to depart.”
“Before we do,” Valrisa said, “there is somewhere on Coruscant we need to go.”
Kyla raised an eyebrow. “And where is that?”
“I’m… I’m not sure.” Valrisa closed her eyes, trying to conjure the image she had seen. “It’s some sort of facility, I think it’s on the upper levels. It’s pretty large, has a cylindrical shape to it.”
Ace frowned. “You’re not talking about the Galactic Justice Center, are you?”
“I don’t know if it has a name or not. Why? What is it?”
“It’s the headquarters of the Galactic Alliance Guard, the new secret police that the Senate implemented a couple of years ago. It’s probably one of the most fortified places on the planet, after the Senate Building itself. Why do we need to go there?”
“I… I think there’s someone being held captive there. Someone we met back on Corellia. Toah, I think his name is.”
“The Jedi fellow?” Kyla asked. “I’m sure he can handle himself. Besides, how do you know he’s being held there?”
Valrisa took a deep breath. No more secrets. “Because I have the Force.”
Both Kyla and Ace stared at her in surprise. “Wait,” the latter said. “You’re a Jedi?”
“No,” Valrisa said firmly. “I trained to be one, briefly, long ago, but I decided it wasn’t the path for me. I have the Force but I’m not… good at it or anything. Definitely not on the same level as Zarin or anything.”
“Good, because Zarin already scares me enough,” Kyla muttered. She kicked back in her pilot’s chair and folded her arms, eying Valrisa warily. “So the Force is telling you that this Toah fellow is being held at the G.J.C. And, let me guess, you’re suggesting we try and rescue him.”
“I mean, like it or not, we’re all on the same team at this point,” Valrisa said. “If Malvis and his Cabal now have control over the Alliance, then they could interrogate Toah and get him to blab about the Resistance.”
“I don’t think Jedi are the type to blab easily,” Ace pointed out.
“Maybe so, but… I don’t feel comfortable just leaving him there.”
Kyla held up her hands. “Hey, I agree with you. Believe it or not, I do. But Ace is right; the G.J.C. is one of the most fortified places on the planet, if not in this sector. There is no chance in any of the nine Corellian hells that we would be able to break in, not without a plan or a large enough team.”
“You’re right.” Valrisa rubbed her chin as she allowed her gaze to wander back in the direction of the main hold. Then, a light went off in her head. “Unless we get in by offering them something we have.”
“And what would that be?”
“Look, even if Malvis has control over the Alliance, it’s not like they’re going to admit that publicly. As far as I know, Vixen is still a wanted criminal and they would look stupid to turn down a chance to apprehend her. Especially if we bring her right to their doorstep.”
Ace tugged at a tuft of fur on his chin. “I like where this is going….”
“I know it’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, but if Booster can supply us with some Guard uniforms….”
“Ooh, I like the way you think.” Ace looked over at Kyla, smirking with a gleam in his eye. “What do you say?”
Kyla threw her hands up. “Hell with it. We’ve done crazier things. Let me call the old man up again and see what he can do.” She then eyed Valrisa pointedly. “So long as you’re sure this Force thing of yours isn’t lying to you or something.”
Valrisa shook her head. “I might not have a firm grasp on it… but I don’t think it’s the type of thing that can lie to you.”
* * *
“Well, well. If it isn’t the man himself.”
Toah opened his eyes as a sharp-looking man dropped a datapad onto the small table he was sitting at, his arms and legs still shackled. The room they were in was small and simple, with a single overhead lamp providing the only illumination. Director Heol Girdun grabbed the light and twisted it so that it was shining directly in Toah’s face, grinning gleefully as the Jedi squinted in response.
“I’ve always wanted to meet you in person,” Girdun went on. “The Jedi who defeated Darth Vorath. Of course, no one saw you actually do it, so how do I know someone else didn’t kill him and you just took the credit?”
“I never took credit for anything,” Toah protested. “A Jedi does not find glory in vanquishing an enemy.”
“That’s funny, because I sure as hell would. If I was the one who destroyed a Dark Lord of the Sith, you’d bet your ass I’d be bragging about it until the day I die.” Girdun smiled thinly. “Although I guess that’s why I’m no Jedi, eh?”
Toah did not answer him and Girdun did not wait for one. Taking a seat across from him, Girdun switched on the datapad and viewed it as he continued speaking.
“So, I take it you’re here for Alema Rar.” When Toah did not speak, Girdun lifted an eye to him. “You might as well tell me, because I already know. I know everything about you, Jedi. There’s nothing you can say that I don’t already know.”
“I do not doubt that,” Toah replied.
Girdun snorted. “Well, believe it or not, your Twi’lek lady friend is actually walking a free woman. She was never here to begin with. Not after she told us everything we wanted to know.”
Toah felt a pit of dread open up in his stomach. “What?”
No doubt pleased that the Jedi had taken the bait, Girdun smirked back at him. “Apparently she has no love for your Resistance because she confessed to working with them straight away. Said that she only agreed to the mission due to her obligations as a Jedi. But if you asked her, she thinks the Jedi should stay out of this fight; whatever this ‘fight’ you folks are fighting is.”
Toah stiffened and regarded the other man coolly. “You’re lying.”
“I may be many things, Jedi, but a liar is not one of them. A disgusting piece of shaak poodoo, sure. But a liar? Never.”
Toah narrowed his eyes, searching Girdun’s face for any trace of deception. He did not try probing Girdun’s mind, for the director was almost certainly expecting that and would pick upon it immediately. Girdun stared back at him with cold dark eyes before looking back down at his datapad.
“She also told us what she was doing for the Resistance in the first place. Trying to see what influence the Cabal has over the Alliance. Well, Mr. Jarsan, I hate to break it to you, but it’s not exactly a secret that any of that is the case.”
Toah furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Do you know what the Cabal is? What it’s built on?” Girdun snorted. “Of course you don’t. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be wasting your time with them. You see, before you had the Cabal, you had the Society. Ring any bells?”
Toah shook his head.
“Didn’t think so. The Society was a pretty well established secret club, been around since the days of the Empire. You had to be pretty elite to get in; you know, your Prajis, your Tagges, your Tarkins. If you weren’t one of them, then you had to be very wealthy, very attractive, and very young, ‘cos these guys were all about making sure their bloodlines continued and kept the Society alive for years to come. That’s like how people like the Dowager of Sedratis were able to get in; she was a young and attractive lady who just lost her husband and was now fair game. Now she’s got seven kids who all have ties to the thing they owe their conception to.
“Anyway, after the Empire fell, the Society had to become even more secret. They weren’t keen on letting any Solos or Skywalkers into their club just because the Republic was back in the picture. But they also didn’t want to kick up any sort of fuss and risk losing the wealth and prestige they had already managed to accumulate. So they begrudgingly accepted their fate and kept quiet, and probably would have faded into obscurity… had Malvis not entered the picture.”
“And just who is Malvis?” Toah asked.
Girdun chortled. “Now ain’t that the million credit question? From what I understand, no one’s seen him in person. Even people who were in the Society during its golden years only knew him as a holographic man, who changed his appearance every time he appeared. Hell, I’m not even convinced that ‘Malvis’ is his real name. But everyone accepted him as their leader because he had a plan. A plan that would bring things back to the good old days, even if it meant relying on the type of scum and villainy that most members of the elite would scoff at.”
He slammed the datapad back down and leaned forward in his seat, clasping his hands over the table as he smiled mirthlessly at Toah.
“Why else do you think the Solos and the Skywalkers and the Mothmas have all quietly gone away, while the Valrisas and the Tagges have entered the picture again? Because Malvis has been playing the long game. He’s been buying the children of the old Society into positions of power, helping them get up the ladder and land themselves spots in the Senate and other high places. Meanwhile, he keeps the crime lords happy by keeping them in his back pocket, letting them run their schemes and paying off the authorities to look the other way. Sure, some get in over themselves, like Wallen or that idiot Loran, ‘cos they don’t realize the truth. They can’t afford to know the truth, because if they did then everything would go to crap. But people like me? Yeah, I know where the money goes. And I let it go, because it got me to where I am now. I’ve got everything to win by letting Malvis play his game the way he wants it to, and I can’t afford letting people like you and the Princess’ little band of rebels ruin it.
“So you see, Jarsan? You’ve been fighting a losing battle. You’re losing because you’ve been fighting the Alliance this whole time; the very thing you’ve been trying to ‘save.’”
“It sounds more like the Empire to me,” Toah said darkly.
Girdun shrugged. “Yeah, so? I’m sure that’s the long term plan, but, you know, baby steps.”
“And just how long has Malvis been influencing the Alliance?”
“Probably longer than any of us realize, but it wasn’t ‘till after the Glorian War that things really started getting set into motion. At least, that’s when I got into my position thanks to his folk.”
Girdun leaned back in his seat and sighed as if he had just finished a delectable meal. Picking up his datapad, he got up from his seat and gave Toah another slimy grin.
“Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I’ve been keeping all of that to myself for quite some time now. But now that things are going according to plan, there’s no point in keeping secrets anymore.”
“Is that why you brought me here?” Toah asked. “So you could gloat?”
“Not just that. I also brought you here so you could tell us the location of the Resistance’s base.”
“I’m not telling you anything.”
“I figured. Which is why we made something just for Jedi like you.”
Too late, Toah sensed someone approach him from behind and was unable to move in time as a pair of hands slid something over his head, obscuring his vision and cutting off his hearing.
For a moment, he heard nothing.
Then, the sounds of Hell opened up and greeted his ears.
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