Star Wars: Vergence III, Chapter Thirteen

 CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Naboo

Remar Almor was starting to wonder if he had been forgotten about.

He was still sitting in the interrogation room, locked in with no way out. It had been hours since the Naboo Royal Guard had questioned him over his assassination attempt on Lady Valera Teramo. He had told them everything he knew, seeing no reason to keep quiet for the sake of the Malvis Cabal. They had done nothing for him and he owed nothing to them. All he wanted was to get out of this life and retire; he shouldn’t have even accepted this job in the first place.

Besides, the Cabal wouldn’t dare send another operative to Naboo to eliminate him, would they? Not if it meant breaking into Theed Palace. No one in their right mind would have been crazy enough to pull off such a stunt.

He heard footsteps just outside of the room. He rolled his eyes to himself; it was about time they finally remembered his existence. Hopefully they would come in, tell him that all charges were dropped, and let him and Sharbrook on their way. Then he would never have to think about the blasted Cabal ever again.

The footsteps stopped just outside the door. A long moment of silence followed before the door finally opened. However, it was not a Naboo Guard that stepped in; rather, it was a young, blond-haired woman wearing an elegant black dress. Instantly, Remar felt his blood run cold.

“Oh, fierfek,” he swore.

“Well,” said Lady Valera Teramo. “If it isn’t my would-be murderer. I trust the Naboo have been treating you well.”

Remar stood up from his seat, holding his hands up. “Look, lady, I never wanted this job. I knew it was a bad idea as soon as I accepted it. But, see, Drakmos was offering me and my partner a lot of creds and I didn’t think it would—”

“Oh, save it,” Valera said icily. “I did not come here to listen to your pathetic excuses.”

Remar blinked, swallowing hard. “Then… why did you come here…?”

“To figure out who hired you.” Valera smiled thinly. “But it sounds like you’ve already told me. Drakmos, you say? Is he not a leading member of the Malvis Cabal?”

“Hell if I know. I couldn’t care less about the Cabal. Look, if we could just forgive and forget, Sharbrook and I will be on our way and you’ll never have to worry about us again.”

Valera tapped her chin, looking as if she wasn’t even listening to Remar. “Interesting. Perhaps my sister was telling the truth after all.”

“Yeah, okay, great. Can I just go now?”

Valera sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but your fate was sealed the moment you accepted Drakmos’s offer.”

“No, please! I—I can make it up to you! I can… I can kill Drakmos for you! You don’t even need to pay me, I’ll do it for free!”

The Serennian woman let out a harsh, cold laugh. “Desperate, are we? You know, if I was in a better mood, I probably would take you up on that offer. As it stands, however….”

She reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a small holdout pistol. She aimed it at Remar’s head and offered him a mirthless smile.

“I’m in need of some catharsis.”

As Remar opened his mouth to utter one last futile plea, Lady Teramo wrapped her finger around the trigger. Then, something struck her in the back of the head and she collapsed onto the floor, unmoving. Standing over her was a white-armored man holding a large blaster rifle. He lifted his gaze up from the unconscious woman to look at Remar.

“Oh,” he muttered. “It’s you.”

Remar blinked, finding the man’s voice to be awfully familiar. “Do I… do I know you?”

“Regrettably.” The armored man stepped into the room and he was followed in by five others: an Ortolan, a dark-haired woman, a blue-skinned Pantoran, and a dark-haired man in equally dark clothing. The last member of the party was an elderly Gungan in faded brown robes.

“What’s going on?” Remar asked.

“The Queen’s gone nuts and invited the First Order to Naboo,” said the Ortolan. “The entire city is on lockdown.”

“How were you able to get in then?”

“You can thank Boss Binks here for that.” The Ortolan gestured at the Gungan and the elder bowed his head in acknowledgment. “Now we just need to find the Queen and….”

The Ortolan trailed off before looking over to the others with a confused look.

“What exactly is the plan once we find the Queen?”

“Hopefully use her to get onto the Super Star Destroyer,” said the dark-haired woman.

“Super Star Destroyer?” Remar echoed. “Why?”

“So we can rescue Princess Leia.”

Remar opened his mouth to question them further but was silenced by the white-armored man with a raise of his hand.

“No more questions. We’ve got to get a move on. Now, you can either stay out of our way or you can help us with our mission. Choice is yours.”

Remar frowned to himself, weighing his options. If there was a Super Star Destroyer in the neighborhood, then he doubted he would have much luck in getting off Naboo.

“All right, I’ll help,” he said. “I just need to free my partner Sharbrook and get our hands on our gear.”

“We can help with that,” said the dark-haired man. “We’ll just need to keep evading the guards and not stir up any trouble.”

“Let’s not waste any more time then.” With those words, the armored man strode out of the room and the others followed him, with Remar trailing close behind. It was only then, as they were rushing through the palace halls, that he finally put a name to the armored man’s familiar voice.

And only then did he realize the mess he had gotten himself into.

The Supremacy

“How does it feel to be home, traitor?”

Finn did not humor his escort with a response as the white-clad stormtroopers led him and Rey through a corridor. After the shuttle carrying the captive Princess Leia and her team had docked in the Supremacy’s hangar bay, they had all been split up once the red-armored stormtroopers had handed them off to their white-armored counterparts; Toah Jarsan and Captain Solo had been taken to one cell block, Chewbacca to one all his own, and Leia had been escorted away by the red-armored stormtroopers and their commander. This left Finn and Rey to be taken a separate cell block, although Finn could not help but wonder if a special punishment awaited him due to his status as a rogue stormtrooper.

What didn’t help was the fact that the trooper escorting him was someone he knew all too well. FN-0926—or simply 926—had been his fellow cadet in Batch Eight back when they were in induct camp. While Finn would never say they had been good friends, there had nonetheless been a sense of camaraderie between all of the cadets in that batch, even though their instructors had frowned upon and even outright discouraged it. 

“Gotta admit, I never really knew what to make of you,” FN-0926 went on, speaking in a low Outer Rim drawl. “The instructors always liked you; pretty sure they even had you pegged as officer material. Can’t say I ever saw it… but I definitely never had you written down as a traitor.”

He brought Finn and Rey to a stop before one of the prison cells and punched in an access code. The door slid open and he pushed Rey in but kept Finn nearby, turning him around so he could look the ex-stormtrooper in the eye.

“We were your brothers, Eight-Seven,” FN-0926 said in a low tone. “We were family. And you turned your back on all of us for this pathetic Resistance. I don’t know what your motives are or what your end goal is… but you sicken me. Straight down to my very core.”

He then put his hand on Finn’s chest and gave him a rough shove before moving his hand back to the control panel.

“Batch Eight, heigh-ho, you son of a murglak.”

The door slid shut and Finn and Rey were left in near darkness. A single red light above them provided the only illumination, tinting everything in a scarlet glow. Finn sighed heavily as he moved over to one of the two bunks and sat down, hanging his head low. Rey continued to stand, eying him carefully.

“Why did you desert from the First Order?” she asked.

He looked up at her, keeping his expression blank. “I’ve told you. It was because of that massacre back on Jakku.”

“Is that the only reason? Because it sounds to me that you were pretty close to your fellow stormtroopers.”

“I was. We were like brothers. I never knew my parents, so they were the closest I had to a family.”

“Then why would you leave that all behind?”

“Because I couldn’t stand for what they did on Jakku,” Finn said curtly. “You weren’t there, but it would have sickened you to the core. It would have sickened anyone with a conscience. Up until that point, I had seen my fair share of brutality on the part of the First Order, but I had been able to justify it in my head for being in favor of the greater good. But killing those innocent people on Jakku… that crossed the line.”

He paused for a moment before narrowing his eyes at Rey.

“I have to admit, I wouldn’t expect a Jedi of all people to excuse something so horrible as that massacre—”

“I’m not excusing it,” Rey protested. “I’m just….” She huffed, looking as if she was trying to select the right words. “I never knew my parents either,” she then said in a quiet tone. “And unlike you, I didn’t have anyone to call family. The Jedi and the Resistance are the first people to come even close to that and… I just can’t imagine ever turning against them. For any reason.”

Finn allowed his expression to soften at this. “Believe me, it pains me to fight against my brothers,” he said quietly. “I take no joy in shooting them down. When I… when I killed Nines back on Lothal, it….”

He choked on his words and forced himself to look away from Rey, focusing his attention on the durasteel floor.

“We never really got along and I don’t think he liked me much, but….”

He couldn’t get the rest of the words out and simply sat there with his head hanging low. He felt Rey sit beside him and wrap an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close.

Time no longer had any meaning as the two of them sat together in the darkened silence.

*  *  *

“Rise and shine, Skywalker.”

Luke Skywalker awoke from his meditative state as light flooded into his cell. It had been difficult for him to meditate due to the Force-dampening effects of the cell, but he had done what he could to the best of his abilities. Once his eyes had adjusted to the light, he saw the assassin known as Ochi standing there in the doorway, hands planted firmly on his hips.

“Today’s the big day,” Ochi said, his tone as mocking as ever. “The Supreme Leader wants to see you in his throne room.”

“At least I’ll have a chance to stretch my legs,” Luke replied, getting up onto his feet and stretching.

“Yeah, yeah, keep your remarks to yourself,” Ochi grunted. He then turned on his heel and began walking away, not waiting for Luke to catch up although the Jedi Master quickly fell in line behind him.

The assassin led him through the corridors of the Supremacy, passing by several stormtroopers and officers. The uniforms the officers wore were Imperial in design though with more of a sharp edge to them, which was enough to make Luke wonder if they even were Imperial. The overall design aesthetic of the Supremacy was certainly close enough to that of an Imperial Star Destroyer, with white lights glowing from dark walls. He tried reaching out with the Force, to see if he could sense anything or anyone, but his senses were still as muddled out here as they had been inside his cell.

It was only when they reached the turbolift to the Supreme Leader’s chambers did Luke finally feel it: the cold sensation that he had associated with the dark side ever since he had first encountered it back on Dagobah, all those years ago. He had felt it again when he had faced the Emperor, and then Darth Vorath. He knew that Vorath was also likely somewhere on the ship, though whether he would be awaiting him with Snoke he was not sure. He also sensed something else, separate from the dark side; something warm and familiar, yet it also filled his heart with dread for the connotations its presence here, in this place, meant.

The turbolift came to a stop, the doors opened, and Luke immediately saw the source of this familiar sensation.

“Leia!”

His sister stood there, hands bound by stun cuffs, with two red-armored guards surrounding her. She turned her head at the sound of his voice, her eyes going wide as they met his.

“Luke!”

Laughter filled the wide, red-curtained chamber that was Supreme Leader Snoke’s throne room. The ruler himself, dressed in his golden robes, sat comfortably in his throne, regarding them all with a mocking grin.

“And so, after sixteen long years, brother and sister are united once more.” Snoke splayed his withered hands. “A family reunion long in the making. Oh, but what family reunion isn’t complete with the father himself?”

The Supreme Leader gestured with his hands and Luke looked over to see Kane Skywalker, still clad in his white replica of Darth Vader’s armor, standing there with two more guards flanking him. The clone of Anakin Skywalker was missing his mask and helmet, looking weak and tired.

“I know it’s not quite the same,” Snoke went on. “But I did the best I could with what I had.”

“What is the meaning of this?” demanded Leia. “What do you want with us?”

“The same thing any Force-user set to rule the galaxy would want,” Snoke said. “The power of the Skywalkers at his disposal.”

“You may have turned my son, but you will not turn us,” Leia said firmly.

Luke glanced at her. “You know?”

“He’s been kind enough to tell me,” Leia replied, glaring at Snoke.

The Supreme Leader chuckled. “I will admit, Ben Solo’s descent had been a pleasant surprise for me. After all, if Lord Sidious had failed to turn Luke Skywalker, how could someone like me turn his nephew? But, alas, I proved myself wrong. Sometimes I surprise even myself.”

“There is still good in him,” Leia protested. “I have felt it.”

“The boy has been conflicted as of late, I will admit. But I have already sent him on a trial to amend that. In fact….” A cruel smile crept onto Snoke’s scarred face. “I believe he has already returned.”

The doors to the turbolift opened again and Luke and Leia turned to see a dark-haired man storm in. Having abandoned his mask, Kylo Ren’s dark eyes were cold and resolute, betraying no emotion. Not once did he spare a glance at his mother or his uncle, instead keeping his gaze focused on the Supreme Leader.

“Ah, the mighty Kylo Ren!” Snoke declared, rising from his seat and raising his arms. “Son of darkness! Heir apparent of Darth Vader! Where once there was conflict, I now sense resolve! I trust your journey to Mustafar was fruitful, my apprentice?”

“It was,” Kylo Ren said simply, his voice cool and even. He walked past Luke and Leia and came up to stand beside his master, regarding them all with an emotionless expression.

“Then I release you from my teaching. You are an apprentice no more. I hereby name you Executor of the First Order; the blade through which I shall execute my will once I have taken control of the galaxy.”

Snoke returned his attention to Luke and Leia, lowering his arms to point his bony fingers at the Skywalker twins.

“Now then,” he rumbled. “Watch as I bend the entire Skywalker dynasty to my will!”

Before either of them had a chance to act, a storm of lightning erupted from Snoke’s finger tips and struck Luke and Leia, pulling them into a world of pain….

Tython

Light-years away, on the Jedi ancestral world of Tython, Jacen Solo collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest.

“Jacen!” He heard Master Kyle Katarn call his name, though the older Jedi’s voice was faint through the agony Jacen was sensing. “What’s wrong?”

“Mom,” Jacen murmured. “She’s in danger. As is Uncle Luke.”

“Do you know where they are?” The second voice belonged to Master Kam Solusar, who was now helping Jacen onto his feet.

Jacen struggled to pierce through the fog of pain and pinpoint the source of the disturbance. “Naboo,” he eventually managed to get out. “They’re on Naboo.”

“Then we have no time to waste,” said Master Katarn. “I’ll mobilize a Jedi strike team to head to Naboo.”

“We should also radio the Resistance,” suggested Master Saba Sebatyne. “Leia is their leader, after all.”

As the Jedi Council moved to carry out their missions, Jacen tried to find it within himself to dissuade them, to warn them of the dangers that awaited them all. But he knew there was no point, because it was already too late.

The vision he had experienced in the Unknown Regions was already replaying itself in his mind, accompanied by the cold, raspy voice repeating a single word:

“Mine.”

*  *  *

“Mom!”

Jaina Solo nearly fell to the floor, gripping her lightsaber tight in her hands. Sweat dripped down from her forehead, soaking her undershirt.

“Jaina?” Her sparring partner, Zekk, regarded her with concern. “Is everything all right?”

“No,” Jaina whispered. “My mother… she’s in danger.”

But before she could elaborate even further, a cold, raspy voice began to ring in her ear, drowning out Zekk’s questioning as he laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Mine,” was all the voice said, repeating endlessly.  

*  *  *

Anakin Solo shot up in bed, crying out in alarm. Beside him, his wife stirred and opened her eyes, sitting up upon sensing his panic.

“Anakin, what’s wrong?” Tahiri Veila asked, touching his arm.

He was unable to answer her; his words immediately caught in his throat as he felt a shiver run down his spine, accompanied by a dark voice that echoed endlessly in his mind.

“Mine.”

The Supremacy

“It is useless to resist!” Snoke bellowed over the sound of his own Force lightning. “Submit yourselves to the dark side! It is the only way you can survive! The only way you can save the galaxy!”

“No!” Kane Skywalker cried out as he pushed out with his arms. The two Praetorian Guards that had been surrounding him were instantly banished away by the Force and the clone of Vader charged to intercept the umbrage of lightning. It immediately began to crackle through his suit, shorting the circuitry within.

“You fool!” Snoke growled. “Do not throw away your life as recklessly as your progenitor! There is no stopping my power! Your sacrifice will be in vain!”

“Luke, Leia! Get out of here!” Kane yelled through the pain of the lightning. “Save yourselves while you still can!”

“No!” Leia cried. “I’m not leaving without my son! Not this time!”

“Your son is gone!” Snoke snarled. “He is mine now! You will all be mine!”

The Supreme Leader increased his barrage and Kane Skywalker released a deafening bellow of agony. Unable to withstand the assault any longer, the clone of Vader collapsed to the floor, his body unmoving as wisps of smoke exuded from it. Only then did the lightning finally cease, Snoke stepping away to regather his strength.

“Unfortunately for you, Kane Skywalker, you are the most disposable of your clan,” Snoke said venomously. “I have no particular use for a clone; you are but a weaker shell of a more powerful man.”

“At least you have come to that realization sooner than I did.”

Snoke’s eyes snapped to the turbolift doors, from which three figures were emerging. In the lead was the young child Kalon Sendor, the current vessel of Darth Vorath’s spirit, while behind him were his parents, Varon Sendor and Lysira Naris. All three of them wore vacant expressions, their eyes tinted gold. Ochi moved to intercept them only to be flung away with a simple gesture from Kalon’s hands.

“I apologize for the intrusion,” Darth Vorath spoke through Kalon’s mouth. “But the disturbance in the Force you caused was too great for me to ignore.”

Snoke’s deformed face twisted into a sneer. “The last thing I need is for you to serve as spectator, Vorath. Do not delude yourself into thinking you have any sort of power here.”

“Don’t I?” This time, Vorath’s voice came from Varon, the ancient Sith’s own offspring. “Unless I am mistaken, I am the only one in this room who is a Dark Lord of the Sith. Surely that means something even in this day and age.”

“It doesn’t,” Snoke spat. “Not with someone as powerful as myself in the picture.”

“Then perhaps I should amend that.” Vorath’s voice now came from Lysira’s mouth as she and her husband each drew and ignited a red lightsaber. “Let this be a day long remembered, where the fate of the galaxy is decided by two beings battling for supremacy.”

With these words, Vorath gestured with the hands of his grandson and both Varon and Lysira moved in to attack. With a silent glare, Snoke raised his hands at them and unleashed another burst of lightning….

Star Wars: Vergence III, Chapter Twelve

 CHAPTER TWELVE

When Kylo Ren had arrived at Naboo, the last thing he had expected to see was the Supreme Leader’s flagship, the Supremacy, hovering over the city of Theed like some vast, predatory bird.

Even moreso, he had not expected the immediate feeling of dread that entered his heart when he saw it.

He knew that his mother was down there; he could feel it. As was his father. If they hadn’t been already, they were most likely being taken to the Supremacy at this very moment, where his uncle and his grandfather’s clone already were.

This was his master’s plan, wasn’t it? To have every living member of the Skywalker bloodline in his grasp. Once he was done here on Naboo, he would move on to find Leia’s other children—Kylo’s siblings. After that… Kylo didn’t want to even begin to imagine what Snoke’s plans for them were. Turning him to the dark side had been one thing, but he found it hard to imagine his mother or his uncle being so easily swayed. The same went for his siblings as well; after all, they had not been abducted at an early age and brainwashed to believe that their family had abandoned him. Not like he had been.

Kylo ran a gloved hand over his face (it felt strange to no longer feel his mask over it). He wasn’t sure where he was going to land his TIE silencer. If he landed it in the Supremacy’s hangar, he would be expected to head straight to the Supreme Leader’s throne room and then… what? Had he passed his master’s test on Mustafar? Was this part of the test? He had always found Snoke’s instructions to be murky at best. But after his experiences on Mustafar, he was now more in the dark than ever before.

Perhaps that meant something. Perhaps it meant that he wasn’t destined to fulfill the purpose that Snoke had intended for him. But if that was the case, then what was his destiny? What even was he anymore?

Without even thinking about it, he entreated the Force for an answer. Not the dark side, but the Force in its purest form. It was, as far as he recalled, the first time he had ever sought the touch of the light, having put his faith in the dark for so long.

He felt his mind touch that of another’s and it did not take him long to figure out whose it was. Their voice spoke in his mind with such clarity, it was as if they were right there in the cockpit with him.

Ben.

And just like that, with a sense of resolve he had never felt before, Kylo Ren piloted his ship towards the Supremacy and headed straight for the hangar bay. 

*  *  *

The streets of Theed had been cleared to make way for Queen Reneme and her procession. Although Leia and her party did not wear any sort of restraints at the Queen’s insistence, they might as well have been with Captain Fallos and his men surrounding them with blasters in hand. Toah wondered if this was meant to be a walk of shame of some sorts, or if the Queen was leading them somewhere. 

His question was soon answered when he spotted a large black shuttle with long wings descend from the Super Star Destroyer above, flanked by a pair of TIE fighters. The shuttle’s wings folded up as it slowly touched down in an open part of the plaza and a ramp lowered from beneath the cockpit. A squad of stormtroopers—clad in eye-catching red armor rather than the traditional white—came marching down the ramp, led by one with a cape draped over their shoulder. The squad came to a stop before the Queen and her procession, not offering her any form of salute or courtesy. If it bothered the young monarch, Reneme did not display it on her serene face.

“Welcome to Naboo,” she said in greeting. “I must admit, I was expecting the Supreme Leader himself to arrive in person.”

“The Supreme Leader has other matters to attend to,” the lead stormtrooper said curtly, a gruff, masculine voice emitting from their helmet’s vocalizer. He tilted his head to regard Toah, Leia, and the other prisoners-in-all-but-name. “Are these the ones to be taken to him?”

“If that is the Supreme Leader’s wish,” Reneme said, bowing her head.

With a sharp gesture from his hand, the lead stormtrooper directed his men to apprehend the six Resistance members. Each accosting stormtrooper drew a pair of stun-cuffs and forced them onto their hands. While Toah, Leia, Finn, Han, and Rey complied (if with a hint of reluctance from the latter two), Chewbacca was quick to issue a growl as the red trooper approached him. A sharp reprimand from Han compelled the Wookiee to allow the stormtrooper to place the restraints over his large hairy wrists.

Within moments, the six of them had been ushered onto the shuttle, and just as quickly it was taking off and returning to the Star Dreadnought whence it had came. None of them hardly spoke a word to each other or to the stormtroopers, knowing that doing so would earn them nothing but scorn. Once the shuttle had landed in the Super Star Destroyer’s hangar bay, Toah felt a cold shiver run down his spine yet again, one which was shared by Rey and Leia if their grim expressions were anything to go by.

Whoever this Supreme Leader was, Toah knew that they were getting close to him. And that, whoever he was, he was strong in the dark side; stronger than anyone Toah had ever encountered before. Not since facing Darth Vorath had he ever been in the proximity of such darkness.

And as soon as he had thought the Sith Lord’s name, Toah realized that Vorath was here as well.

Whether the others realized it or not, they had entered the heart of the darkness that they had been facing for the last two years… and he was not certain that they were going to come out of it alive.

*  *  *

Captain Fallos watched as the First Order shuttle departed as quickly as it had arrived, returning to the belly of the massive Star Destroyer that loomed over the city of Theed. For the past several minutes, his stomach felt as if it had been tied into knots, and it was only getting worse the longer he allowed the events of the last several minutes to sink in.

He looked over to Queen Reneme, who was observing the Star Destroyer with the most peaceful expression he had ever seen anyone regard such a terrifying vessel. Deciding to take a risk, he cleared his throat and spoke. “Your Highness, I must admit that I am… very confused about all of this. Confused and concerned. Did you know that these… these people were going to show up?” He hesitated to use the word “Imperials,” unsure if it was the proper terminology for these mysterious dark forces.

“Of course,” Reneme replied. “I invited them here. As soon as I learned that Princess Leia was going to be here on Naboo, I contacted the Supreme Leader as soon as I could.”

“But… why? How long have you been in contact with this ‘Supreme Leader?’”

“Not too long. I knew that he wanted the Princess of Alderaan for a specific purpose, so I decided to appease him with a gift. After all, we want Naboo to be in the First Order’s good graces when they eventually come to power.”

Fallos found himself staring at his Queen with his jaw hanging open, unable to even comprehend the words she was speaking. “But… but the Alliance is in power,” he stammered, his voice coming out as a croak.

“Not for very long, Captain. If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you will know that it is only a matter of time before a transfer of power is made. A transfer that has been a long time coming.”

Fallos shook his head. “No,” he murmured. “No, this isn’t right. This… this is the Empire all over again!”

Reneme looked at him, giving him that insultingly sweet smile of hers. “My dear captain,” she said, her voice as soft as silk. “That is the entire point.”

Fallos opened his mouth to issue another protest but never got the chance. He caught a gleam of silver as the Queen drew her holdout pistol out of her sleeve and pointed it at his chest. The last thing he saw was a flash of green light before darkness consumed him.

*  *  *

“We need a plan.”

“Right,” Bedo said dryly, slumping in his seat at the Renegade’s holo-table. “Because we are so good at those.”

“I’m serious,” Valrisa said sharply. “Princess Leia and her party have been captured. We can’t just leave them on that Star Destroyer!”

“We can’t leave at all,” said Kyla Kishanti, emerging from the cockpit along with Ace. “The Queen has shut down all the airspaces. We’re stranded here.”

Bedo threw up his hands. “Fantastic. If anyone tells me they had their money on ‘the Queen of Naboo is actually evil’ in their sabacc pot, I’m gonna tell them they’re lying.”

“I will admit, there is something off about all of this,” said Zarin Kal. The Kiffar Dark Jedi was leaning against one of the control stations, rubbing the stubble on his chin. “I sense a great darkness coming from that Super Star Destroyer. It would be suicide for any of us to try and break in to rescue the Princess and her company.”

Valrisa looked at him. “What do you suggest we do then?”

“Well, if the Queen is involved, then we naturally look there. Which means we break into Theed Palace.”

“Val was literally just there,” said Typha. “Do you think she could get back in?”

“I doubt it,” Zarin answered grimly. “If the airspaces are closed, then the palace is sure to be on lockdown as well, if not the entire city.”

“Wait,” said Vessin Ordo. “If we’re stuck here, then Valrisa’s sister—that Teramo lady—must be as well. Maybe she can get us back into the palace.”

“I doubt it,” Valrisa muttered. “She pretty much threatened to kill me the next time she saw me. And I don’t exactly have her frequency number.”

At this, Bedo cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “I… might have something like that,” the Ortolan said quietly.

Everyone stared at him incredulously. “You have Lady Teramo’s frequency number?” Valrisa asked.

“No! Gods, no. But I do have a frequency number.” Bedo reached into his pocket and brought out a comlink. “When we were at the wedding, I, ah, asked Boss Binks if I could stay in touch with him and he, uh….”

“He gave you his frequency?” Wiskin asked, not bothering to hide his incredulity.

“Look, I’m a fan, okay? He’s one of my biggest idols!”

“That explains a lot,” Kadar muttered.

Kyla ran a hand through her hair. “All right, call him then. See if he can get us into the palace.”

With a quick nod, Bedo activated the comlink and put in the frequency code. After a brief moment, an old yet energetic voice picked up.

“Yesa?”

“Boss Binks? Hey, it’s me, Bedo. Remember me? The Ortolan you met at Senator Naberrie’s wedding?”

“Oh, yesa! Meesa remember palo Bedo berry well! How are yousa doing?”

“Uh, with all due respect, Boss Binks, I would love to chat but, uh, my friends and I need an urgent favor from you, if you don’t mind.”

Boss Binks said nothing in response; Bedo could only take this to mean that the Gungan leader was listening.

Nervously, the Ortolan said, “Uh, Boss Binks, are you still at Theed Palace?”

“Yesa, meesa still at palace. Why yousa ask?”

“We need to get into the palace because, uh, a friend of mine forgot something there. Since everything is on lockdown, do you think you could convince the Queen to let us in?”

There was a bout of silence from the other end of the comlink. The other Renegades looked on, wearing expressions that varied from apprehension to a still-lingering sense of disbelief.

Just as they thought they weren’t going to get a response, Boss Binks’ voice crackled through once more. “Meesa can do that for yousa, yesa.”

Bedo’s eyes widened. “Really? I mean, uh, thank you, Boss Binks. You have no idea—”

“However,” the elder Gungan interjected. “Only a few of yousa may enter. It might be muy-muy suspeect if all of yousa came in.”

“So how many of us should come?”

“Three or four, five at most.”

Bedo sighed. “All right. That makes sense, I guess. Thank you again, Boss Binks. You have no idea how much—”

“Pleasa. Tank meesa when you are safe.”

With that, the Gungan leader ended the call on his end. Bedo let out his breath as he leaned back in his seat.

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” the Ortolan said.

“It hasn’t worked yet,” growled Wiskin. “We still need to actually get into the palace and do what we need to do without dying or getting captured in the process.”

“Right,” said Ace. “So which of us are going? Other than Valrisa, I mean.”

“I’m going, of course,” said Typha, wrapping an arm around Valrisa. “She’s not going anywhere dangerous without me.”

“I’ll volunteer,” said Zarin Kal. “I sense a darkness behind this whole conspiracy. Might need a lightsaber-wielder for that.”

“I’ll go as well,” said Kadar. The others waited for him to provide further elaboration but the former Mandalorian did not offer any.

“All right then,” said Kyla. “There’s our four. The rest of us will stay here and standby in case you need rescuing.”

“You don’t have any confidence in us?” Zarin asked, part-jokingly.

Kyla eyed him evenly for a moment. “More like I have yet to see one of our missions go off without a hitch.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” said Valrisa. “Come on; let’s go.”

*  *  *

Darius Naberrie awoke to the sharp sensation of pain. His shoulder felt as if a hundred needles were being punctured through his skin. However, when he looked at the medical droid attending to him, it was prodding him anywhere but where his wound was. 

When the Senator of Naboo tried to move, the droid snapped its head to him and spoke in a calm yet authoritative tone. “Please do not move, Senator Naberrie.”

Darius gritted his teeth as he mustered the strength to utter a sound other than an agonized scream. “Did the doctors run out of bacta or something?”

“I needed to remove the bacta gauze in order to proceed with the operation. Bacta chemicals tend to interfere with proper readings of bloodstreams.”

“What is that supposed to—” Darius yelped in pain as the droid prickled his hand with its needles. He saw his own blood go up into a small tube attached to one of its many appendages.

The droid’s photoreceptors flashed for a brief moment. “Interesting,” it said quietly. “Senator, do you know the identity of your paternal unit?”

Darius took a moment to recompose himself before speaking. “He was never part of the picture. He left as soon as he knew my mother was pregnant.”

“Allow me to repeat the question: Do you know the identity of your paternal unit?”

“No,” Darius growled. “No, I do not.”

The droid said nothing further on the subject, continuing to stand there while Darius lay in pain. Finally, the droid said, “Unfortunately, the M-count in your blood is insufficient. Despite our hopes, you are not the one we seek.”

“What is that even supposed to mean?”

“Not to worry, however. There is another viable subject here on this very planet. I should attend to them as soon as possible.”

With that, the multi-armed droid turned on its servos and walked out of the medical bay, leaving Darius to lie there in pain without any bacta being applied to his shoulder wound. It was not long before the senator of Naboo found himself slipping back into unconsciousness.

Star Wars: Vergence III, Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Naboo

“Senator Naberrie is in a stabilized condition,” Captain Daine Fallos reported, standing before the Queen of Naboo and her advisory council in the throne room of Theed Palace. “The perpetrator of the attack has been apprehended and is currently in our custody. My men are interrogating them as we speak.”

“Have you at least identified them?” asked the Governor of Theed, an older bearded man named Thane Minnau.

“We’ve identified the human male as a bounty hunter named Remar Almor and his Wookiee accomplice as Sharbrook. We suspect that they were hired to assassinate the Senator, though we have not yet confirmed that nor have we identified whoever hired them.”

“Perhaps they are the same ones responsible for the Chief of State’s assassination,” suggested the Minister of Internal Affairs, a middle-aged woman. “I’ve heard musings of Senator Naberrie being a viable candidate for the position.”

“If that is the case, we should alert the Galactic Alliance of this incident as soon as possible,” said another advisor.

“They have already been notified, I believe,” said Queen Reneme. “Princess Leia was with me when the Senator was shot. I have no doubt that she has already sent a message to the Alliance.”

Glances were exchanged between some of the advisors. Governor Minnau cleared his throat as he straightened in his seat.

“Your Highness, I believe there have been rumors that the Princess of Alderaan and the Alliance are… no longer on speaking terms.”

“Oh? And why would that be?”

“Are you aware of the Sith insurgency that occurred a year ago?”

“Governor, you should know that I care little for the affairs that occur beyond our own. So long as it does not directly impact Naboo, then it is none of my concern.”

Governor Minnau gave a tiny sigh. “Fair enough, I suppose. In any case, I feel that we should send a message to the Alliance regardless, if only for the sake of formality.”

“A sound idea,” Queen Reneme replied. “I will leave that business to you, governor.”

Captain Fallos took the finality in the queen’s tone as his cue. “Will that be all, Your Highness?”

“Yes, captain. You are dismissed.”

Fallos gave a sharp bow before taking his leave from the throne room. As he stepped out into the outer corridor, he saw one of his lieutenants approaching him, a serious expression etched out on her dark-toned face.

“Captain,” Vara Wendik said. “We’ve just finished interrogating one of the suspects. The human, Remar.”

Fallos raised an eyebrow. “Already? That didn’t take long.”

“He was surprisingly talkative, though his Wookiee friend didn’t take kindly to him answering our questions. He says they were hired by the Malvis Cabal to assassinate Lady Teramo.”

Fallos blinked, taken aback by this information. “They weren’t after Senator Naberrie?”

“Apparently not. He claims that he somehow missed his shot and somehow hit the senator instead.”

“Well, in any case, he’s going to do time for that alone. Did he say why the Cabal wanted Lady Teramo dead?”

“Something about a ‘Charge Matrica,’ whatever that is. I’m not familiar with the term.”

“Neither am I,” Fallos muttered. “I will report this to the Queen. In the meantime, we should tighten security around Lady Teramo, in case the Cabal sends someone else to finish the job.”

“You think he’s telling the truth, then?” asked Wendik.

“At this point, we can’t take any chances,” Fallos said. “After everything that’s happened the past few months, Gods know we can’t afford them right now….”

*  *  *

“You’re disappointed in me, aren’t you?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Toah Jarsan muttered as he paced through the grounds of Theed Palace. Rey walked beside him, looking simultaneously abashed and frustrated over her recent actions. The active fountains and colorful flora that populated the grounds were no doubt intended to provoke a peaceful mood in those who walked through it, yet the two Jedi felt anything but.

“Did you really need to slice off the Wookiee’s arm?” Toah asked after a moment of silence.

“He was going to maim those two officers!” Rey replied. “If I didn’t do something, he would have ripped them apart.”

“I don’t doubt that. But you could have done something that didn’t involve a lightsaber.”

“I didn’t have much time to think and my lightsaber was the only thing I could think of.”

Toah sighed. “And therein lies the problem. A Jedi must use their lightsaber only when the situation calls for it; as the last means of defense. Using it should never be at the forefront of your mind.”

“What about when fighting Sith?” Rey asked pointedly. “Or anyone using a lightsaber against you?”

“That wasn’t the case here,” Toah said sternly. “You were fighting bounty hunters, not Sith.”

Rey huffed in frustration, folding her arms over her chest. “I would like to see what you would have done had you been in my situation.”

Toah opened his mouth to reprimand his apprentice’s attitude but thought against it. There was no need to escalate the conversation. Besides, he had already made his point; there was not much he could do if Rey could not see or understand it. Then again, was that a poor reflection on her as a student… or him as a teacher?

Perhaps I’m not suited for this role, he thought to himself. Perhaps Rey would be better off with a different teacher; a better teacher than me.

He knew he could not dwell on these thoughts for long, at least not until after they were done here on Naboo. He could already imagine Jacen and the Jedi Masters on Tython insisting that he persist; that Rey would soon learn and become a great Jedi Knight. While that last part may prove to be true, he was not sure if it would be under his tutelage that it came to be.

The two Jedi carried on silence, circling their way back to the palace. Toah had hoped that the walk would have cleared both of their minds, but it had clearly done anything but. As they made their way up the steps, Toah spotted a bipedal droid with multiple appendages appear from around the corner. Upon noticing the two Jedi, it immediately stopped in its tracks before turning around and hastily walking away.

“That was strange,” Rey murmured.

“Indeed,” Toah agreed. “I haven’t seen many droids here on Naboo, outside of the odd astromech, and that one wasn’t of a model I’m familiar with.”

“Do you think we should go after it?”

Toah considered for a moment before shaking his head. “No. It’s probably nothing; besides, we don’t want to attract suspicion by snooping around. Everyone’s most likely on edge right now after the assassination attempt.”

“But I’ve already apprehended the assassin,” Rey said. “There’s nothing else for them to worry about.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Toah said pointedly. “For all we know, that bounty hunter could have brought other friends… or perhaps his employer will send someone else in his stead.”

Rey frowned as she looked in the direction the droid had went. “Do you think that droid could have anything to do with it?”

Toah considered the prospect for a moment. “If it’s in the palace, then it probably has security clearance. We should probably ask Captain Fallos about it, at the very least.”

“I still think we should follow it,” Rey muttered.

“There’s no need to. Let us find Captain Fallos and speak with him instead.”

Toah watched his apprentice’s face as her internal struggle played out through her expressions. Finally, she bowed her head in acquiescence and followed him through the palace.

*  *  *

“I would like to speak with Lady Teramo.”

The middle-aged woman eyed Sare Valrisa with narrowed eyes, her long nose pointed downward like a bird of prey. Were it not for her dark hair and the large mole on her cheek, Valrisa would have had the woman pegged as her own mother, somehow brought back from the dead.

“And just who would you be?” the older woman asked with a haughty tone.

“My name is Sare Valrisa, daughter of Sareth Valrisa. Lady Teramo and I share a mother; I’m her half-sister.”

“Yes, I know how those things work!” the woman snapped. “I have plenty of sisters of my own to remind me, thank you very much!”

Valrisa sighed and tried to get a peek over the woman’s shoulder. The older lady was blocking her entry into the room that Valera Teramo was utilizing as her private room/office. It surprised Valrisa that the Serennian woman was not with her injured husband in the infirmary, though she knew that it shouldn’t; this marriage of theirs was clearly not one of love, at least not on Teramo’s part.

“Look, I have something urgent to tell her,” Valrisa then said. “Her life is in danger.”

“She already has sufficient protection,” the older woman retorted. “She doesn’t need a girl like you.”

Frowning, Valrisa once more tried to peer over her obstruction’s shoulder and at last spotted a blond head emerging from around a corner.

“Lady Teramo!” she called out. “I need to talk to you!”

“Silence!” the woman nearly screeched. “I should have you removed from the premises or—”

“Settle down, auntie.” Lady Valera Teramo suddenly appeared behind the older woman, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Let her in. I would like to speak with her.”

The older lady gave Valera an incredulous look. “Whatever for? Look at her! She’s just a filthy commoner—”

“Auntie, go check on Lady Borgin, will you? She’s probably still acting hysterical over this whole thing.”

With a harrumph, the older woman stepped out of the doorway and stormed down the hall. Lady Teramo then gestured for Valrisa to enter her office and the younger woman did so, the door closing behind her as soon as she had stepped through.

Stepping over to her desk, Lady Teramo wasted no time in starting the conversation. “So, have you come to kill me?”

“No,” Valrisa said firmly. “I don’t want any part in this… Matrica Charge or whatever it’s called.”

“Sure you don’t,” Lady Teramo scoffed. “I’m well aware that attack on Senator Naberrie was meant for me.”

“I had nothing to do with that!” Valrisa protested. “That bounty hunter was probably hired by one of your other siblings… or maybe someone who actually wants Senator Naberrie dead.”

“The timing is uncanny though, wouldn’t you agree? As soon as you show up to ‘speak with me,’ an assassin nearly kills me and my new husband. Does that not seem… suspicious to you?”

“It does, as a matter of fact. But I swear to you that I had nothing to do with it.”

Lady Teramo shrugged. “Even so, the Charge Matrica dictates that I cannot acquire my mother’s assets until you and the others are dead. If I were you, I would get as far away from here as possible if you wish to enjoy life for as long as you can.”

A dark cloud fell over Valrisa’s face. “Is that a threat?”

“I prefer to see it as a warning. But take it however you like.”

Valrisa began to slowly step back towards the door, never taking her gaze off her half-sister. “I should have realized it was a mistake to even bother,” she muttered to herself.

“To be quite frank with you, I’m surprised you even came in the first place.” Lady Teramo eyed her warily. “What exactly did you want out of this conversation?”

“The identities and locations of my other siblings.”

“Ah.” A cold smile crossed the Serennian woman’s face. “Want to try your luck at getting rid of them, I take it?”

Valrisa opened her mouth to object but decided against it; she knew that nothing she said would alter her sister’s perceptions.

“I already know about Baron Tagge,” she said instead. “I… saw him die on Terminus.”

“Yes, I’m sure it’s all over the HoloNet by now,” Lady Teramo replied. “You would be really pressing your luck with Senator Valrisa, especially with him in the running for Chief of State. Same with Varla Praji.”

“Are they both on Coruscant?”

“They rarely venture out of the Core Worlds, from my understanding. Same with the twins from House Mecetti, all cozied up in the Tapani sector.”

“And the twins’ names?”

“They are not public knowledge, as far as I know. Their father bore the surname of Tritum, if that helps.”

Valrisa slowly nodded, filing this information away in her mind. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “That’s all I needed to know.”

“Of course.” Lady Teramo smiled thinly. “It would save me a lot of work if you got rid of them for me. Then I will just have you to worry about.”

“Right.” Valrisa finally made it to the door and palmed the control panel, never breaking eye contact with her sister as the door slid open. “I take it we’ll see each other again soon.”

“Oh, I’m counting on it, dear sister.”

Valrisa did not turn her back on Lady Teramo as she stepped through the doorway. Once the door slid shut between them, she turned around and quickly made her way down the hall.

*  *  *

“I still think we should leave.”

“We can’t leave yet, Han,” Leia said to her husband. The two of them, along with Chewbacca and Finn, were gathered in the office that Queen Reneme had granted her at Theed Palace, allowing her to correspond with the Queen and her Advisory Council while they tried to recuperate from the attempt on Senator Naberrie’s life. “Not until we learn who hired the bounty hunter to kill Darius.”

“It seems pretty obvious to me,” Han replied, crossing his arms. “You said Naberrie is part of the Populist faction in the Senate, right?”

“I said that Naboo was,” Leia corrected him. “At least, it was when I was a senator, long before Darius entered the picture. From my understanding, Darius is more of a moderate than strictly part of either the Populists or the Centrists.”

“Still, that might matter to some of those Centrists. If Naboo is Populist, then so is its senator, making him a target for anyone who sees him as a rival to any Centrist running for Chief of State.”

Chewbacca rumbled softly and Leia allowed herself a small smile. “I didn’t realize you had such a good grasp on politics,” she said.

Han shrugged nonchalantly. “When you’re married to a politician for forty years, you pick up a thing or two.”

“So, you think someone from the Alliance is behind this?” asked Finn.

“It’s a possibility that we can’t rule out,” said Leia. “In any case, we should wait to hear from the Queen’s Security Force before making any assumptions.”

As if on cue, the communication unit at Leia’s desk started to beep. Answering it, she said, “Yes?”

“Princess Organa Solo, this is Captain Fallos. I have just informed the Queen on what we’ve learned from the would-be assassin that we apprehended. He was hired by the Malvis Cabal… and his intended target was not the senator, but his wife.”

Leia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Lady Teramo?”

“Correct. We have not yet deduced why the Cabal wanted Teramo dead, but….”

When Captain Fallos trailed off, Leia spoke up again. “Captain? What is it? Are you still there?”

It was another moment before Fallos finally responded. “My apologies, Princess, but… Queen Reneme has requested your presence in her throne room. She also wants you to bring your companions as well.”

“Did she say why?”

“She did not.”

Leia frowned as she exchanged a skeptical glance with Han. She then said, “Thank you, Captain. We will be there soon.”

As soon as she had signed off, Han said, “I don’t need to be a Jedi to tell you that something doesn’t feel right about this.”

“I don’t sense any danger at the moment,” Leia said.

“Right. At the moment. But that can always change.”

“It always does,” Leia said wryly. “Come on. Let’s not keep the Queen waiting.”

*  *  *

“What did the droid look like, again?”

“It was bipedal and had multiple appendages,” Toah Jarsan said, walking alongside Captain Fallos as they made their way to the throne room. Rey trailed close behind them, warily checking each hallway they passed. “It looked like some sort of medical droid, though it wasn’t a model I recognized.”

Captain Fallos had a grim expression on his face; not a reassuring sign in Toah’s eyes. “I will have to check with my staff, but I’m pretty sure that droid isn’t authorized to be wandering around the palace, or anywhere for that matter, outside of the infirmary.”

“Is there still a stigma against droids, even after all these years since the Clone Wars?” Toah asked.

“Old habits are hard to break, Master Jedi. Especially when you’re practically born with them.”

“Should we go looking for that droid then?” asked Rey.

“I’ll dispatch some officers to track it down,” Fallos replied. “Besides, the Queen wants to see you in the throne room.”

The three of them eventually reached the throne room, where Queen Reneme and her advisors were still gathered. Joining them were Princess Leia, Han Solo, Finn, and Chewbacca, who had all been summoned along with Toah and Rey. As the two Jedi moved to join the rest of the party, Queen Reneme rose from her throne, clasping her hands in front of her elaborate violet dress.

“Thank you all for answering my summons,” she began. “I have since been informed by Captain Fallos that the attempt on Senator Naberrie’s life was in fact intended for Lady Valera Teramo of Serenno, with the culprits behind it being Ord Talavos.”

“We are aware,” said Leia. “Why have you summoned us here, then, Your Highness?”

“Because I believe it is no longer safe for you to be here, Princess Organa. If the Cabal is here on Naboo, then you are surely one of its targets.”

“So we leave then,” said Han Solo. “You could have just opened with that. Sooner we’re off this planet, the better.”

“Oh, no.” Reneme smiled softly as she shook her head. “There is no need for you to leave. I have already gotten you all of the protection you will need from the Cabal.”

Leia frowned in confusion, a look that was shared by Toah and the others, as well as even some of the Queen’s advisors.

“Milady,” said the Governor of Theed, “what are you alluding to?”

Before the Queen even spoke, Toah suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. He glanced at Leia and Rey and saw that they had sensed the same thing he had. His eyes then drifted towards the window, which gave him a view of the clear blue sky over Theed.

“As I understand it,” Reneme said, “several sectors out on the Outer Rim have fallen under the protection of a new force that has arisen to defend us from the chaos that the Cabal indulges itself in.”

Suddenly, a dark shape appeared in the sky, growing bigger by the minute until it nearly eclipsed the sun, casting the city of Theed in near-total darkness. The cold sensation that Toah had felt only grew worse.

“Your Highness!” one of the ministers exclaimed. “What is the meaning of this?! What have you done?!”

The young Queen of Naboo simply smiled in return. “This is what needs to be done, my friends. This is how order must be brought to the galaxy.”

She reached down and pressed a switch on her throne’s armrest. A compartment slid open and she drew from it a chrome-coated holdout blaster. She squeezed off a series of green bolts, all of which directly hit her advisors square in the chest. As they all slumped over or out of their seats, Toah and Rey immediately activated their lightsabers while Leia and the others drew their blasters, pointing them at the Queen. Captain Fallos and the security guards stationed in the room drew blasters of their own though seemed conflicted over whom to point them at.

“I would advise you all to lay down your arms,” Reneme said, smiling sweetly as she pointed her blaster at Leia. “After all, I don’t think assassinating a planetary leader would look good on your record.”

Leia glared at her for a long moment, her stance unfaltering. Then, slowly, she lowered her weapon and let it drop to the floor. Han and the others gave her incredulous looks but a single glance from her convinced them to do the same. While Captain Fallos and his officers confiscated their weapons, Leia fixed a cold stare on the Queen of Naboo.

“You will regret this.”

Reneme beamed at her. “I don’t think I will. In fact, I think history will remember me fondly for this… as it will all those who support the First Order.”

Star Wars: The Path of Revan, Part 4 - Theron

THE PATH OF REVAN

Part IV: Theron

 3,636 years before the Battle of Yavin

Theron Shan realized that he was standing in a room with two of the most befuddling women he had ever met.

The one standing next to him, the Sith Lord Lana Beniko, was perhaps the most confounding of the two. Were it not for her black garbs and her yellow eyes that were a trademark of dark side-using folks, he never would have pegged her as a Sith. She was more polite than some Jedi he had worked with and she treated everyone, even the lowest of Republic or Imperial worker, with some degree of respect. Sometimes he wondered if it was all some elaborate act just to lure everyone into a false sense of security… but after everything they had been through together, he started to see less of a rational reason for her to do so.

And then, like some sort of twisted reflection, there was Larisa Soral.

Where Lana was blonde, Larisa had raven-black hair that cascaded around her face, framing her dark eyes. Unlike most Jedi, her attire was nearly as dark as Lana’s and did not have any of the formality that most Jedi robes had. As with Lana, he never would have figured she was a Jedi unless he had already been told so. She was also a lot more cold than the typical Jedi; even Lana could carry a friendly conversation and yet she was the Sith Lord in the room. At present, she was staring at a viewscreen that displayed reports of mysterious raids that had been occurring on Republic and Imperial worlds alike, with Korriban being the most recent to fall victim to these attacks. No one had been able to determine the identity of these raiders; it was simply another headache in addition to the ones posed by the Revanite crisis less than a year ago. Her brooding gaze had an intensity to it that always stood out in Theron’s mind; more than anything he had ever seen in a woman.

Theron quickly shook his head to clear it of these thoughts. The past few years had dramatically altered his perception of the galaxy and how it worked. Throughout his career as an SIS agent, everything had been laid out to him in basic black-and-white terms: Jedi were good, Sith were bad. Republic good, Empire bad. Anything else that was in between would be dealt with appropriately (that is: however his superiors wanted him to handle it). So resolute was he in is beliefs and loyalty to the Republic that not even a member of the Dark Council could convince him to defect to the Empire, even when his life was on the line.

But ever since the Sith Emperor’s defeat (at Larisa’s hands no less), he had started to wonder what exactly was it that made anyone good or bad. If every Sith was like Lana, would they have ever been at war? If every Jedi was like Larisa, would the Republic even be working with them?

His loyalty to the Republic now was unwavering, that much was certain. But if the Republic were to become as bad as the Empire, or worse… then what would that loyalty even mean?

Larisa’s cool yet gentle voice broke Theron out of his thoughts, snapping him back to reality. 

“Darth Marr has asked me to meet with him.”

This seemed to catch even the ever-calm and serene Lana off-guard. “Has he?” the young Sith Lord asked.

“He says that he’s found a lead on the Emperor’s location. He’s already assembled a task force comprised of Imperial and Republic soldiers to join him on his expedition.”

“That’s… unexpected,” Theron remarked. “Guess you impressed him back on Yavin when we dealt with Revan and his followers.”

Larisa did not respond to this. Turning away from the viewscreen, she spared a moment to look at her two allies, her gaze lingering on Theron for an extra few seconds (or was he just imagining things?).

“My Padawan has already prepared my ship. I will leave you two to try and figure these attacks out while I’m gone. Hopefully we can find a resolution to both this and the Emperor’s whereabouts before long.”

“Who knows,” Theron said. “Maybe the two are connected.”

“I haven’t ruled out that possibility either.”

With that, the Jedi Knight strode out of the room, leaving Theron alone with Lana and the large screen behind them. Theron huffed in exasperation as he crossed his arms.

“Not much for goodbyes, is she?”

“She’s not like most Jedi I’ve met, I will admit,” Lana replied. “Still, I’m sure she has lots on her mind. I can’t blame her, honestly. Between the Emperor’s return and now this, none of us have gotten a chance to rest after solving the Revanite crisis.”

“The galaxy just loves throwing us one hurdle after the other.” Turning around, Theron approached the screen that Larisa had been studying. “So, any theories on who could be behind these attacks?”

Lana took a moment to reply, and when she did, it was not in response to his question. “Theron,” she said quietly. “How much do you know about your family’s history?”

Theron frowned in confusion as he turned around to look at her. “Come again?”

“We both know that Revan was your ancestor—”

“Yeah, and all I got from him was my good looks. Look, we’ve been over this before: I’m not bothered by it. I don’t have the Force, so there’s no worry about me becoming another Dark Lord of the Sith or whatever. My mother may have had to worry about that, but I don’t. I’m just a normal guy, for lack of a better term.”

Lana shook her head. “That wasn’t where I was going with this. You see, during the Revanite crisis, I did some research into Revan’s history and that of his descendants. Most of the information I found was not particularly relevant to the situation at hand, but some of it I found… interesting, to say the least.”

Theron narrowed his eyes at her as he leaned back against the computer console, folding his arms. “Like what?”

“Shortly after Darth Malak’s death, Revan took part in a campaign against the remnants of his own Sith Empire. He returned to Korriban with a Jedi strike force and drove off the Sith warlords that had risen to try and take Malak’s place.” Lana gave a meaningful pause to her speech before finishing with: “One of these Sith was a man named Kalon Soral.”

At this, Theron’s eyebrows shot up in intrigue. “An ancestor of Larisa’s, I take it?”

Lana nodded. “Almost undoubtedly, for there was another Sith at the time was a Sephi woman named Nova Larisa. Both she and Kalon had been Jedi who had joined Revan in his crusade against the Mandalorians and were, according to the reports I found, nearly inseparable. She stood by Kalon’s side when he clashed with Revan on Korriban and Revan was forced to kill her during that fight.”

Theron rubbed his chin. “What happened to their child then?”

“That, I am unsure of. Admittedly, I couldn’t find evidence that they even had a child. Likewise, I couldn’t find anything on our Larisa’s own family. She told me herself that was she rescued from pirates at an early age and had virtually no memory of her parents.”

The way Lana finished her sentence prompted Theron to shift his feet. “You don’t think… I mean, that stuff all happened three hundred years ago, right? There’s no way Larisa could be their child and not just a descendant, right?”

Lana shrugged. “Sephi are known to live for an exceptionally long time. Assuming that Larisa has Sephi blood in her veins, its within the realm of possibility.”

“Did she ever say when the Jedi found her?”

“I don’t believe she has, no.”

Theron sighed as he shook his head. “That woman is a mystery, I tell you.”

“You seem to like her all the same.”

His eyes snapped to meet hers and he detected the ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing,” Lana said lightly. “Just making an observation.”

“Well, stop observing me.” He turned back to the viewscreen. “Let’s observe these mystery attacks instead and find out who’s responsible.”

“She does like you, you know. She may not show it, but I’m almost positive that she—”

“Lana. Stop. Please.”

Although he could not see her, he could already imagine the wicked grin playing on the Sith Lord’s face.

“As you wish.” 

Star Wars: Vergence III, Interlude

INTERLUDE

 Twenty-seven years ago

“We can’t stay together.”

She could feel his eyes on her, even though her gaze was focused on the window.

“Why not?” he replied. “You just said you were—”

“I know. But I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“The Force brought us together. Perhaps it was meant to be.”

She snorted as she shook her head. “See, that’s the thing: I don’t believe in your Force stuff. Or any higher power, for that matter. Things just happen and… that’s that. Nothing more to it.”

“Then why don’t you believe we should be together?”

“Because you’re a Jedi and I’m just some spacer. You’ve got more important things to worry about than raising a family that you didn’t intent to make.”

“I am more than happy to—”

“No.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I can’t have you do that. Neither of us intended for this to happen and I can’t… I can’t be the one responsible for you walking away from your duty.”

“Perhaps this is my duty—”

“No. It’s not. We both know it’s not.”

An unwanted silence fell between them. She heard his footsteps as he walked up to her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“If you think this is what is best….”

“I know it is,” she whispered.

“…Then I won’t try to persuade you otherwise.”

After a long moment, she heard his footsteps slowly recede away. When she turned around, he was gone.

Only then did she let the tears fall freely.

Socorro, now

“This is quite the impressive collection you’ve amassed here, Doctor Bellok.”

The Nimbanel archaeologist simply glared at the pirate queen standing before him, his hands cuffed together behind his back. Around them, Queen Kestora’s crew of pirates were busying themselves with scouring through said collection and taking anything that wasn’t a forgery back to the Queen’s Hammer. Many of the items dated as far back as the Pius Dea Era and as recent as the so-called High Republic Era; however, while the novelty of having these items in her possession was all well and good enough, there was one item in particular that she was after that, if authentic, would be worth more to her than any value that could be placed on the entire collection.

Directing her attention to her Aqualish authenticator, Queen Kestora made her way over to the tusked woman as she went through a trove full of documents, analyzing each and every one.

“Found anything yet, Munda?”

The Aqualish clicked her tusks together as she held up a datapad she had pulled from the trove, wiping off the dust from its screen. “I’m afraid this copy of Supreme Chancellor Soh’s speech at the opening of Starlight Beacon is a forgery. While the signature is a near-dead match, it mistakenly uses the Treaty of Coruscant dating system, when by that point the Republic had already switched to—”

“That’s great, Munda,” Kestora interjected. “Just toss it aside if it’s not worth anything. Have you found anything pertaining to Corellia?”

Munda rummaged through the trove again and pulled out what appeared to be an empty, rusted scabbard.

“If I am not mistaken, this belonged to Prince-Admiral Jonash e Solo, used to sheath the sword he threatened Chancellor Vedij with at the conclusion of the Seventeenth Alsakan Conflict. I would have to cross-examine it with some other items in order to safely guarantee its authenticity, however.”

“Good enough for me,” said Kestora. “Add it to the pile to bring back with us.”

As Munda did so, Kestora returned her attention to Doctor Bellok, who had his small black eyes narrowed at her.

“And just what exactly is your interest in Corellia for, if I may ask?” questioned the Nimbanel archaeologist.

“I don’t need to tell you,” Kestora gruffly responded.

“If you did, I could help you save a lot of time by pointing you where to look. I can even get you in touch with some of my contemporaries who can provide you with—”

“That won’t be necessary,” Kestora said, folding her arms over her chest. “I’ve got all the help I need.”

Bellok continued to study her carefully, the whiskers on his pink face twitching. “Your voice… it sounds familiar, even with the mask. Have we met before?”

Beneath her mask, Kestora smiled despite herself. Just a few months ago, she wouldn’t have even dared to consider revealing her true identity to someone. But after everything that had went down at Ord Mantell, she had started to take on a new perspective on things. Still though, she wasn’t going to make it easy for the Nimbanel; she was going to have her fun with him.

“Once again,” she said softly, “we see that there is nothing you can possess that I cannot take away.”

At this, Doctor Bellok’s eyes went wide and Kestora could see a hint of recognition gleaming in his beady black eyes. “Dani…?” he started to say hesitantly. “It… it can’t be. You were just a spacer; a wannabe smuggler!”

“A lot of time has passed since we last met, Doctor,” Kestora replied. “I’m a different person now than I was thirty years ago.”

“But… but how? How could you have possibly accumulated….” The Nimbanel gestured with his head to the many pirates under Dani’s command as they continued to sift through his collection. “…All of this?”

“You can thank my mother for that. She had connections that I was able to take advantage of once she was out of the picture.”

“And just what exactly is your end goal? To rob poor old men like me of their possessions until… what? Until your own child takes over?”

Kestora chuckled humorlessly. “Hopefully it never comes to that.”

“That does not answer my question.”

She did not give him the answer he sought. Instead, she turned away from her old rival and walked back over to join her crewmates. As she approached, her chief of security Viira turned to face her and offered a toothy grin as she held up a cylindrical object.

“Look what I found.”

The Twi’lek pressed an activation switch on the object and a green blade of energy snapped out from an emitter.

“A lightsaber!” exclaimed Viira’s Codru-Ji friend Ketanna. “What’s someone like Bellok doing with one of those?”

Viira shrugged. “Who cares? It’s mine now.”

“Oh?” said Kestora. “Says who?”

“Well, I found it. So that makes it mine.”

“Is that how it works, now? Remind me when we’ve ever operated that way.”

Viira scowled. “Well, it’s how we should operate. It’s how most pirate crews operate.”

“We are not ‘most pirate crews,’” Kestora said coldly. “I decide who gets what. Those are the rules of the Veiled Sorority.” She then extended a gloved hand to the Twi’lek. “Now, hand it over.”

Viira narrowed her yellow eyes. “And if I don’t?”

“You don’t want to find out.”

The Twi’lek continued to glare at the pirate queen, her eyes boring into the eye slits of Kestora’s mask. After a long, pressing moment, Viira switched the lightsaber off and slammed the hilt into the pirate queen’s hand.

“Fine,” she hissed. “Have fun with your new toy.”

With that, she stormed off, leaving the other pirates staring after her. Ketanna glanced furtively at Queen Kestora before running after her Twi’lek partner. The remaining pirates exchanged a few glances as they returned to their work.

Kestora remained where she stood for a long time until she heard Bellok’s voice speak up from behind her.

“How long have you been at this, exactly?” the Nimbanel asked.

“Long enough,” Kestora curtly replied.

“Long enough for your crew to want a change in leadership?”

In one swift motion, Kestora pulled her blaster out of its holster, pointed it at Bellok, and squeezed the trigger. A plasma bolt seared through the Nimbanel’s bald head and dropped him to the floor. Some of the pirates paused in their work to stare at their queen, only resuming when she placed her pistol back in its sheath.

Within a couple of hours, the personal keep of the late Doctor Frepa Bellok was cleared of all valuables, leaving behind nothing but the archaeologist’s unmoving body.

Twenty-five years ago

“Where is she? WHERE IS SHE?!”

All she could see was red as she violently shook the terrified Sullustan in front of her. The jowled alien stared at her in confusion as he feebly attempted to get out of her grasp.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, lady!”

“My daughter! She was right here! I only had my back turned for a second! Where is she?!”

“It’s easy to get lost in these spaceports, ma’am. Hell if I know where your little goblin is—”

She threw the Sullustan to the ground and pinned him there with her knees. Her fists flew at his face, knuckles making contact with his jowls. Blood splattered onto the concrete with every blow. Behind her, two large hands grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her away. She struggled against their grip, screaming her daughter’s name, trying to get them to understand. But they did not listen to her as they dragged her away.

The Queen’s Hammer

“So… did you find anything good?”

Sitting in the command chair of her flagship, Queen Kestora barely lifted her head to acknowledge her first mate. “Define ‘good.’”

Lavira propped her arm on the top of Kestora’s chair. “You know, anything valuable. Anything we can sell to Dok-Ondar for a profit. Anything you can add to your collection.”

“I’m sure we can find a buyer for most of the items. The Pius Dea-dated stuff especially. Not much else beyond that.”

“Uh-huh. And how was your meeting with Doctor Bellok?”

“I think he let it get to his head.”

“Right.” Lavira rolled her eyes. “I hope he doesn’t have any friends who will want to avenge him.”

Kestora snorted. “No. Bellok was a retired old man who cared about no one but himself. No one will miss him.”

“Still, was killing him really necessary?”

The pirate queen tilted her head upwards to look at her Devaronian first mate. “I had no idea you cared for the old man, Lavira.”

“It’s not him I care about,” Lavira said sharply. “It’s you. More specifically, your actions. Ever since Ord Mantell, you’ve been acting… off. You’ve become a lot more… short-tempered. High-strung. In all the years I’ve known, you almost never lose your cool. And now, all of a sudden, a defenseless retired archaeologist has been left dead on Socorro. The Kestora I know would never have done that.”

Kestora gripped the armrest of her chair tightly as she glowered at Lavira from behind her mask. “I don’t need to explain myself to you,” she said icily. “Besides, what’s done is done. Bellok probably didn’t have much long to live anyway.”

Lavira frowned and looked as if she was about to say something when a Bivall crewmember spoke up from her station.

“Your Majesty? We’re approaching the Druckenwell system. We should be coming out of hyperspace any minute now.

“Excellent,” Kestora said, turning away from a glaring Lavira. “Let us hope that Baron Tagge has those battle droids he promised us.”

“Do you still think he’ll pull through for us?” asked Lavira. “I’m not sure dealing with pirates is good for their business.”

“Until recently, it’s been the only business they’ve seen. The fall of the Empire was not kind to the Tagges and many of their assets were seized, leaving them only with a facility on Tepasi. It was only when Baroness Wayulia came to power that they were able to reestablish some of their operations, mostly out here on the Outer Rim. And even then, they were only able to turn a profit by dealing with people like us.”

“That may be so. But how long do you think that will last? At what point will the Tagges deem themselves successful enough that they don’t need to rely on us and instead sell us out to the Alliance?”

“Hopefully we won’t have to find out,” Kestora said.

Before long, the Queen’s Hammer exited hyperspace and the industrial world of Druckenwell came into view. Orbiting the planet was a control station that Kestora knew belonged to TaggeCo. After a few minutes, the ship’s comm officer was able to hail the station and the visual of a TaggeCo representative materialized on a screen above the viewport.

“Queen’s Hammer,” the representative, a short-haired human woman, said. “You are… ahead of schedule.”

“I had some errands that wrapped up quicker than I had anticipated,” Queen Kestora replied. “Besides, I was hoping to have a friendly chat with Baron Tagge before we got down to business.”

The representative noticeably stiffened. “About that,” the woman murmured. “We have just received word that Baron Tagge has been found dead on the planet Terminus.”

Kestora’s eyes went wide behind her mask. “Dead? How?”

“Reports are suggesting that a demonstration of a new TaggeCo product went haywire and the Baron was gunned down by the droid. The Executive Board is preparing to conduct an investigation into the incident.”

Kestora found herself at a loss for words, still trying to process this information. Noticing her silence, Lavira moved in to take over the conversation.

“Who’s in charge now?”

“The Executive Board is, at the moment. Another member of the Tagge family is to be named Baron; however, I cannot disclose their identity as of this moment. In the meantime, we have your shipment of droids ready for delivery. You may dock at Station Seven-Five-Three to receive them.”

“We will do just that,” Lavira said. “Thank you.”

With that, the screen went blank and the Queen’s Hammer proceeded to the station. As it did, Lavira turned to give Kestora a pointed look.

“Why the shocked silence? I had no idea you cared for the Baron,” the Devaronian said ironically.

“I don’t,” Kestora said quietly. Slowly, she inclined her head to look up at her first mate. “Lavira, have you ever heard of the Charge Matrica?”

“Can’t say I have. Why?”

“It was a contest initiated by the Sith Lord Vilia Calimondra thousands of years ago. Its original purpose was for Calimondra’s heirs to expand her empire, with whoever expanded her empire the most to be named the heir of her holdings. That changed however when the children started fighting each other to the death; by that point, it was whoever was the last one standing that was named the heir.

“The concept was exclusive to the Sith until a society of wealthy aristocrats and socialites adopted it for their purposes. Under them, the Charge Matrica was only initiated when the one who put it into place died and their seven children were put to the death to claim heritage to their parent’s holdings.”

“Bizarre,” Lavira murmured. “I had never heard of such a thing.”

“The last time a Charge Matrica was held by this society was around five centuries ago. The Republic found out about it before it could get very far and was quick to prevent it.”

“Interesting.” Lavira glanced out the viewport at the slowly approaching TaggeCo station. “So what does this have to do with Baron Tagge?”

“Tagge was one of the seven children of Sareth Valrisa,” Kestora explained. “In her will, she declared a Charge Matrica in the event of her death… and I killed her back on Ord Mantell.”

“Ah. So Tagge was most likely killed by one of his siblings.”

“Yes.” Kestora gripped her armrests tightly. “And my own daughter might be next.”

Lavira blinked in confusion. “Your daughter?”

“She was taken away from me by Sareth over twenty years ago. She even gave her the name Valrisa to brand her as if she were her own offspring. And now, because of this blasted Charge Matrica, her other children will have marked her for death.”

Lavira frowned. “How come you’ve never mentioned this before now?”

“I would have, back on Ord Mantell, once I had taken her back from Sareth. Things did not go as planned however, so I did not get the chance.”

“Still, you could have at least mentioned it.” Lavira narrowed her eyes. “What other secrets have you been keeping from us?”

Kestora snapped her head to the Devaronian. “What are you trying to insinuate?”

“That you haven’t been honest about who you really are. I’ve known you for a long time, Dani, and yet not once have you ever mentioned about having a daughter. Hell, I didn’t even know you were related to Han Solo until you started going after that datacron.”

It was at this point that Kestora realized that most of the crew had turned their heads to look at her. Some of the guards posted near the turbolift started to slowly walk forward, their hands hovering over their holstered weapons.

“Is this really happening?” Kestora murmured as she rose from her seat. “Is mutiny really the route you want to go down? After everything we’ve been through?”

“How can any of us trust a captain who won’t even confide in their most trusted compatriots?” Lavira retorted. “We lost a few pirates back on Ord Mantell to those rabid droids; pirates we wouldn’t have lost had you not been blinded by your petty vendetta against the Dowager and your obsession with a family heirloom. And how do we know you won’t throw more of us to our deaths in order to save a daughter you’ve only just now told us about?”

Kestora heard the doors to the turbolift open and turned around to see Viira storming onto the bridge, clad in her full set of armor and lugging a blaster rifle in her arms. Behind were five more similarly armored and armed pirates, all with their eyes set on their Queen.

“It’s time for a change, Dani,” Lavira declared. “A change that is long overdue.”

Kestora reached for her blaster but was not quick enough. A series of blue rings shot out from Viira’s rifle and the Pirate Queen of the Veiled Sorority was knocked into darkness.

Thirteen years ago

It was her face. There was no mistaking it.

She had her hair and his eyes. Her smile and his brooding gaze.

She may have not believed in the Force, but she did believe in intuition; that special kind that only a mother could have.

She made sure to memorize each Aurebesh letter as it scrolled across the bottom of the image, plastered forever in her memory:

“Sare Valrisa, youngest child of Sedratis dowager, officially disowned for ‘transgressions beyond comprehension,’ according to mother.” 

“I’ve found you,” she whispered to herself. “I’ve finally found you.”

Taking in a deep breath, Danielle Kieran held up the mask of the Pirate Queen—passed down onto her upon the death of its previous owner—and she placed it over her head. As she released her breath through the vents of the mask, Queen Kestora uttered her first vow:

“I will bring you home.”

Star Wars: The Path of Revan, Part 3 - Satele

THE PATH OF REVAN

Part III: Satele

 3,681 years before the Battle of Yavin

She knew they were talking about her. She could hear her name being whispered behind the closed doors of the Supreme Chancellor’s private office.

The events of the past several hours were still on repeat in her mind. The hole in her heart that had been torn open by the death of her teacher had not yet resealed itself. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could still see flashes of red, blue, and green light as Master Kao Cen Darach’s last words to her echoed in her mind.

“Go, Satele. You must walk a different path.”

Her eyes snapped open; her vision was blurry due to the tears threatening to escape. There is no emotion, there is peace, she reminded herself of the Jedi Code’s tenets, yet this did nothing to dry her already-watery eyes.

She detected movement in her peripheral vision and she glanced at the only other living being in the anteroom with her, shifting in his cross-armed stance. The Republic trooper had escaped from Korriban with her and had helped warn the Republic of the Sith Empire’s return. It was only just recently, at the initial meeting with the Chancellor, that Satele had been able to put a name to the soldier’s dark, rugged face: Corporal Malcom. It had been thanks to his intervention with a missile launcher that Satele had managed to get onto the smuggler Nico Okarr’s ship while her master fended off against the two Sith Lords long enough for them all to escape.

A chill ran over her body as the moment replayed itself once more in her head. Until then, she had only heard stories of the Sith, never seen one in person; after all, they had been thought extinct for the past three hundred years. And yet, in the matter of moments, she had come face to face with two of them, both equal in their embodiment of the dark side. She had never felt so cold before.

At that moment, the doors to the Chancellor’s office opened and she lifted her head up to see an old Cathar in the robes of a Jedi Master standing in the entryway.

“Satele,” the feline Jedi said softly. “We would like to see you.”

Wordlessly, Satele stepped forward. Corporal Malcom moved to follow her but was stalled by a gentle raise of Master Ram-Parr’s hand.

“Your presence is not yet required, Corporal. Please continue to wait out here.”

Malcom nodded dutifully yet Satele could sense a non-minuscule amount of impatience radiate off of him. The door closed as soon as she was through and she was cut off from him.

Gathered in the private office of Supreme Chancellor Vin Zondarus were the Chancellor’s closest advisers as well as half of the Jedi Council. Among them, she recognized Grand Master Zym, staring contemplatively out the window; Chief Librarian Irma Yorr, regarding Satele with a careful eye; Master Belth Allusis, speaking quietly with the Minister of Defense; Master Shol Bestros, his head bowed in deep thought; and Master Nikil Nobil, coiled up in a sage-like stance. Upon noticing Satele’s arrival, Master Zym turned away from the window and regarded her with goggle-covered eyes.

“Padawan Shan,” the Kel Dor said quietly. “You seem troubled.”

Satele swallowed, calling on all her willpower to keep her cool. “With all due respect, Master, I believe the entire galaxy is troubled at this point.”

“Watch your manners, Padawan,” snapped Master Yorr.

Zym raised a calming hand. “Let her speak her mind, Master Yorr. She has every right to, after what she has been through.”

The old Tholothian woman’s dark-toned face twisted into a sneer. “She is every bit as rebellious as her mother.”

Ignoring the remark, Zym continued speaking to Satele. “What I meant was, you seem troubled on a more… personal level.”

Satele frowned as she lowered her head. She knew there was no point in trying to hide her thoughts from six of the most powerful Jedi in the Order. “I am… still trying to process the loss of my master. He was like a father to me.”

“Kao was one of the best,” said Master Allusis. “I can think of few who have been respected more than him.”

“Indeed,” said Master Bestros, keeping his chin pressed against his chest. “He was the one who brought me into the Order.”

“Alas, we should not grieve,” said Master Nobil. “He is one with the Force now. Besides, it is because of his sacrifice that you are here standing before us.”

Satele nodded, though still she could not stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. This did not go unnoticed by Master Yorr, who let out a dismissive snort.

“She is already allowing her emotions get the best of her. She will be a pawn of the Sith’s in no time.”

“I won’t fall to the dark side,” Satele protested sharply. She immediately regretted her hasty response as Irma Yorr narrowed her violet eyes at her.

“Won’t you? It was so easy for your ancestors. Both Revan and Bastila Shan succumbed to the temptations of the dark side at one point.”

“And they both came back from it,” said Master Allusis. “In fact, it was Revan himself who brought Bastila back to the light.”

Yorr’s cranial tendrils twitched against her scalp. “In any case, I would rather not see history repeat itself, especially now of all times.”

“I will agree with you on that,” said Zym. “Satele, you are aware of your heritage, are you not?”

“Yes, Master,” Satele said quietly.

“You are descended from many great Jedi. But you are also descended from one of the most greatest Sith Lords that the galaxy has ever faced. Even three centuries on, there are planets still recovering from the horrors that Darth Revan had wreaked upon them.”

“We have no doubt that the Sith will do all that they can to bring you to their side,” said Master Ram-Parr. “They will want to transform you into another Darth Revan.”

“You must stand strong,” Master Bestros said firmly. “Resist all temptations of the dark side. Only then will we stand a chance against the Sith.”

Master Yorr shook her head. “I still say we should exile her, as we did her mother. It will be for her own safety.”

“We will not repeat that mistake,” Zym protested. “Shunning her will only push her closer to the Sith’s grasps. That was the mistake made with Revan. With Exar Kun. So long as I am Grand Master, I will not see that mistake repeated here.”

This drew a soft chuckle from Chancellor Zondarus, who stood by with his long fingers interlaced. “Spoken like a true political candidate,” the Anx head of state remarked.

Master Allusis kept his gaze focused on Satele, his dark eyes boring into her gray ones. “Padawan Shan, can we trust you to stay true to the light?”

“Of course, Master,” Satele replied, almost automatically. She could only hope that none of them heard the small hint of doubt in her words.

“Are you certain?” Allusis pressed.

“I won’t fail you, Masters,” Satele said firmly. “I’m not afraid.”

Master Yorr did not censor herself from letting out another derisive snort. “You will be,” she muttered. “They always are.”