9: DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN
The Millennium Falcon, 8005 C.R.C.
“We need to get a lawyer,” Han said.
Leia did not acknowledge his comment as she watched the message replay again on the HoloNet. Similar to the last message from the Children of Vader, red text was scrolling against a black background. However, the person standing in the video was not the masked figure from last time… but her, wearing nothing but the Huttese dancing-girl outfit she had been forced into twenty-four years ago, dancing provocatively. Red Aurebesh text flashed briefly on the screen, and R2-D2 had managed to pause it to show what it said.
“EXPOSE THE TRUTH.”
The Leia in the video then turned around so that her back was facing the camera, reaching behind to undo the cords holding together her metal brassiere. Before it could fall off, the footage cut out, showing only another set of red text on the black screen.
“OR WE EXPOSE YOU.”
The message had played on a loop for nearly half an hour before the HoloNet finally managed to retake control of their network, issuing an apology for the incident. But the damage was already done; far more exploitative networks such as TriNebulon News had already taken advantage of the situation and were spreading rumors about the video, plastering their articles with snippets of the recording beneath salacious and slanderous headlines. She knew that by the time she got back to the Senate, she was going to be bombarded with all sorts of questions from her colleagues, and her political rivals were sure to weaponize the whole situation.
Which was entirely the point, she realized. Whoever these Children of Vader were, they were trying to destabilize the New Republic, and the best way for them to do that was to attack the character of its head of state. She had seen it done countless times before, most notably by the Rebellion when they had spread propaganda against the Emperor. She had even overseen and approved some of those pieces. And now she was on the receiving end of it….
“This counts as defamation, right?” Han went on. “Look, I’m no expert, but I know a thing or two, and this definitely strikes me as something we can—should tackle.”
“I can see if I can get in touch with Salli Georgio,” said Lando. “She’s retired now, but I’m sure she come back out for this.”
Leia shook her head. “It won’t be that simple. We don’t know who these terrorists are or who is leading them, so it would be impossible to treat them as an actual legal entity in a court of law. We need to solve that first before we can carry out any legal action.”
“Then get Intelligence in on it,” Han said. “I’m sure Cracken’s people can find out who these guys are.”
“I don’t doubt that, and I have already tasked Intelligence with investigating these past couple of events.” Leia sighed as she turned off the holoprojector, putting the recording out of sight. “But it won’t fix the damage that’s already been done to my reputation. The opposition is going to have a field day with the knowledge that I had once been slave to a Hutt; that I had once been put in such a vulnerable position.”
Han rubbed his chin. “Maybe we can find a way to use that to our advantage.”
Leia looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. “How so?”
“Remember that band we saw? Something and the Huttslayers? Those girls seemed to be using your… er, dancing outfit as a symbol of empowerment. And I know there must be some sort of recording of you wearing it while you killed Jabba; it’s why the Hutts have started using fewer dancing girls, or giving their slaves more modest clothing. They’re afraid of the power it has now.”
Leia smirked. “You’re not suggesting that I, as a forty-seven year old woman, put on a skimpy outfit in order to fight against some terrorists?”
Han rolled his eyes. “No. But I am suggesting you reach out to that band. Maybe get them a gig at one of the capital worlds to balance out the public perception or something.”
While Leia mulled on the idea, Lando shifted in his seat by the holotable. “Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m not sure that footage is legit. I was still in disguise after Jabba had captured you, and I don’t think I ever saw him make you dance like… that.”
“He didn’t,” Leia admitted. “My guess is that they used a model and superimposed my face onto it… or perhaps commissioned a human replica droid.”
“Not likely,” Han said. “The only producer who can make HRDs that look that good is Thrumble Industries, and they don’t exactly make them for anyone who asks for one.”
“Still, it might be worth checking in on them.” Leia sighed as she took the seat next to the engineering station, rubbing her temple. “I wasn’t expecting such a simple celebration to turn into such a big mess.”
“I don’t think anyone was,” said Lando.
“The problem is… it feels like I should have foreseen it. If I had finished my training when I had the chance… when Luke was still—” She stopped herself, not wanting to let her emotions get the best of her, even in a private setting such as this. She trusted her husband and his best friend, yet after seeing the Children of Vader’s latest broadcast she couldn’t help but feel she had to be on the defensive, no matter where she was. She didn’t feel safe, not even here in the hold of the Millennium Falcon.
Han walked over and knelt down next to her, putting a hand over hers. “Hey. Don’t you worry about that, okay? We’ll get through this. Just like we always do.”
Leia smiled at him, even if it was a sad smile. Her husband always knew how to put things in a more positive light… which was quite ironic given how cynical he had been when they had first met.
The tender moment was interrupted by the chime of the navigation computer. Han sighed ruefully as he stood up and headed for the cockpit.
“Back to work, I guess,” he muttered.
Yes, Leia said to herself. Back to work.
* * *
Hosnian Prime
“No matter what, don’t speak a word of this to Mom,” Jacen said.
Jaina rolled her eyes as she and her siblings stepped down the ramp of the Best Chance, having landed on Hosnian Prime where their mother had asked them to meet her. “I don’t think we can really avoid it, Jace. It’s pretty much the biggest bantha in the room. In fact, I’m pretty sure she called us here to talk to us about it.”
“Maybe so, but I don’t want anyone of us to be responsible for bringing up the subject. Just feign ignorance until she brings it up.”
“I think you’re making this a bigger issue than it already is.”
While his siblings continued to bicker, Anakin stopped to look back at Chance, who was still on the ship leaning against the ramp piston. “You’re not coming with us?”
“Nah,” Chance replied, looking around the opulent cityscape of Hosnian Prime with a wary expression. “This isn’t exactly my scene. Too much politics for my liking. Besides, I’ve got a hot date with a beautiful Mirialan lady on Chandrila. Not polite to keep a lady waiting, right?”
Chance winked at him, but Anakin could tell he wasn’t giving him the full truth. A part of him did not want to pry, but when he saw Chance’s hand move for the switch to close the ramp, he quickly blurted out the question on his mind. “Your dad is here. Don’t you want to say goodbye to him first?”
Chance frowned. “Nah, I’m good.”
With that, he pressed the control panel and closed the ramp. Anakin stepped away as the Best Chance started up its engines and lifted up from the platform, blasting up into the sky. Sighing in disappointment, he turned to catch up to his siblings. Jacen was taking the lead and appeared rather determined in heading towards his destination… which wasn’t the Senatorial Complex, Anakin quickly noticed.
“Uh, didn’t Mom asked us to meet her at the Senate Building?” he asked.
“She did, but we’re not going there right now,” Jacen replied. “There’s something I want to check out first.”
“What is it this time?” Jaina asked. “Vjun was a dead end; we didn’t find any leads.”
“If you take everything that professor said at face value said, then maybe. But something about that Wavlud guy rubbed me the wrong way; I feel there has to be more to him than meets the eye.”
“All of those guys rubbed me the wrong way,” Jaina muttered. “So what, you think you’ll find something on him at the information center?”
“Not the information center,” Jacen said. “There’s a detective I know who I think might be able to help us. He lives here on Hosnian Prime and he’s on relatively close terms with Mom and Dad.”
“How come I’ve never heard of him before, then?”
“I only happened to meet him a couple of years ago, while I was helping with cleanup on Coruscant.” Jacen glanced back at his siblings and smiled assuringly. “Don’t worry, this won’t take long. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
Jaina sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say that….”
* * *
“Scandalous. Truly scandalous.”
While her words sounded appalled, Senator Carise Sindian’s tone was anything but, betrayed by the gleeful smile plastered on her face. She and her colleagues had just arrived on Hosnian Prime, one of the rotating homes for the Galactic Senate while Coruscant underwent repairs following the cataclysmic final battle of the Imperial Sith War, although they had already seen the recent broadcast from the Children of Vader several hours ago. As she lounged in the comfortable seats of her personal office, Senator Ransolm Casterfo stood at the window, staring out at the skyline.
When Casterfo made no response, Sindian leaned forward to pour herself a glass of Polanis wine. “It is truly quite reprehensible, wouldn’t you agree? For royalty like her to stoop so low; to dress in such a salacious manner. Why, how do you think her children must feel? I imagine they must be horrified to look upon their own mother in such a way!”
“It was against her will,” Casterfo muttered.
Sindian looked up sharply at him. “What was that?”
“It was against her will.” Casterfo turned around to face her, a heavy look in his eyes. “Everyone knows the story. She was captured by the Hutts while trying to rescue Han Solo. They forced her to dress like that.”
“I know that.” Sindian eyes Casterfo carefully as she sipped her wine. “But how much of the general public is aware of that story? And if they are, how many of them believe it?”
Casterfo looked at her confused. Sindian sighed and shook her head as she set down her glass.
“I don’t think you get it, do you? The context of the outfit doesn’t matter. The image does. Symbols have meaning, Ransolm, and the image of our Chief of State in a revealing outfit is one of the most powerful images you could ever conjure.”
Casterfo narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t tell me you had anything to do with this?”
“Of course not,” Sindian said with faux outrage, putting a dainty hand to her chest. “But it’s clear where the sympathies of these terrorists lie and we can use that to our advantage. We can make the best out of this horrible situation and use it as a means to take control of the New Republic.”
“Is that all this means to you? People are dead because of these terrorists, and all you care about is power?”
Sindian shrugged. “An unfortunate price to pay. But we will avenge their deaths once we take control from Leia and wipe out these petty attention-seekers, proving to the galaxy that the New Republic is not a power to be trifled with. Through strength, we achieve peace. Is that not what we stand for?”
Casterfo shook his head as he cast his gaze back outside the window. “Maybe so, but I never thought it would come to this.”
“I know.” Sindian smiled as she laced her fingers over her chest. “But remember, it is always darkest before the dawn. But the dawn is coming. I am sure of it.”
* * *
“I am glad to hear you are safe and sound, Chief Organa Solo,” stated the holographic form of Dif Scaur, the recently appointed deputy director of New Republic Intelligence. With Airen Cracken getting on in age, he had selected the former admiral to share his role as director of intelligence, with the intent of having Scaur take on the position full-time entirely once Cracken had officially retired. While Leia was not as familiar with Scaur as she was with Cracken, she knew enough about him to trust him in fulfilling his duties to the letter.
“Thank you, Director,” Leia replied as she sat at her desk in the administrative office. “How fruitful was your preliminary search on these ‘Children of Vader?’”
“Somewhat fruitful. We were able to find internal records from the University of New Alderaan indicating that a number of students—including the one called Mill Arkham whom you apprehended—were participating in cult-like activities. They were also supposedly trying to convert their fellow students to their newfound religion, which was when the faculty put a stop to it and expelled the students. We were able to acquire a list of names associated with the expelled students… and from the looks of it, they were calling themselves the ‘Children of Vader’ even back then.”
“And how along ago was this?”
“Four years ago.”
Leia closed her eyes in concentration. Four years ago would have been a year before the outbreak of the Imperial Sith War. Just a year before that, they had been faced with an organization known as the Second Imperium, who claimed to be led by a resurrected Emperor Palpatine although it had in fact been a ruse set up by a quartet of Royal Guards. Still, the timing of it all was intriguing; to have a resurgent Imperial faction, a cult worshiping Darth Vader, and the return of the Sith occur all within the span of three years…. There had to be a connection between them all. She was sure of it.
Opening her eyes, she then said, “Anything else?”
“Well, shortly before the Children of Vader began their activities at the campus, a professor at the University abruptly resigned after getting in trouble with the staff for taking his students on an unauthorized field trip to Vjun. Most of the students in the cult had been on that field trip. The professor’s name was Ingo Wavlud.”
Leia nodded. This must have been what Jacen and his siblings had found to lead them to Vjun in their own investigation. She had to hold back a smile; it amused her to think that her children were already several steps ahead of some of the best minds in Intelligence, although she had yet to hear back from them after their return from Vjun.
“What do you have on this Ingo Wavlud?” Leia then asked.
“Very little so far. Supposedly born on Byss, a suspected Sith sympathizer, and author of the elusive Wavlud Manuscript.” Scaur smirked. “Clearly someone who has the markings of a cult leader, if you ask me.”
“I’ll leave that for you to uncover,” Leia said. “It sounds like you have a good lead so far. How do you plan on following through?”
“Right now we are considering dispatching operatives to both Vjun and New Alderaan. We will also look into the names of the other students and see if we can get into contact with any of them or their families.” Scaur paused as he looked over at something to his side, just out of view of the holoprojector. “We actually do have a lead on one of them already. Human female, standard age twenty-three. Born as Hali Pavan, but goes by the stage name of Lola.”
Leia stiffened, sucking in her breath. “What?”
“Apparently she’s part of a band called Lola and the Huttslayers. We actually have a visual on her.” Scaur’s holographic image shifted aside to display the profile of a young human woman. Leia’s mouth fell agape as she stared at the face she had just been introduced to mere days ago.
“She was on New Alderaan,” she murmured. “I watched her band perform. I even met her personally.”
Scaur grimaced. “Is that right? Because they just so happen to have a gig lined up here on Hosnian Prime, at the Madera Starros Theatre… which is only sixteen kilometers from the Senatorial Complex.”
Leia shot up to her feet. “Alert all security. Send as many units as you can to the Theatre.”
“Already on it, Chief.”
As Scaur’s image dissolved, Leia fetched her personal comlink and used it to hail her eldest son.
“Jacen, I need you and your siblings to get here right now. Director Scaur has just figured out where the Children of Vader are likely to strike next.”
“We’re visiting Captain Wallen,” Jacen replied. “He might be able to—”
“It can wait, Jacen. Hundreds of people are going to be in danger and I need the three of you to be alert and ready for anything.”
Jacen seemed to catch on to the severity of his mother’s tone as he dutifully replied, “On it, Mom. We’re on our way.”
Satisfied with that answer, Leia quickly switched channels to her husband’s comlink. “Han, we’re probably going to have more trouble on our hands. Either here or at the theater. Or both.”
“Got it. What do you want me to do?”
“Stand by for now. I just wanted to give you a heads up before—”
She heard a chorus of screams and she whipped around to look out at the window. Down below, a crowd of people were gathered in the streets of Republic City, screaming… no. Not screaming. Cheering. An airtaxi flew above them, carrying a trio of young attractive women. Leia narrowed her eyes as she recognized the members of Lola and the Huttslayers riding in the cab, waving back to their adoring fans. She could not help but notice that Lola herself did not appear to be among them; it was just the other three—Jani, Ryara, and Sheela. If the absence of the band’s leader and namesake perturbed the crowd members, they did not display it through their incessant hoops and hollers.
“Before what?” Han asked over the comlink.
“Before I lose my mind.”
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