Scheduled one. Extra tomorrow.
***
The realities of this universe are starting to frighten me.
Any logic begins to glitch a little.
Of course, unless you know the background and motivation of the one who has done something extraordinary.
Then everything becomes clear.
When I started Operation "Mad Clone Madness," I could only hope that a second, emotionally stable clone would respond to Galen's psychopathy.
Tyberos wasn't teaching his mercenaries techniques for neutralizing the gifted for nothing — the plan was for the second one to crash the first one's date.
What actually happened…
"You don't seem surprised by what you're seeing," I said, looking at the young man with short dark hair and a strong face sitting across from me in the interrogation cell.
Thick metal, a force field, built-in electro-shockers, and flamethrowers controlled remotely…
All in all, Corran Horn had provided a lot of useful information in his afterlife about how to contain a Force-user even without the help of ysalamiri.
I'd only allowed myself to modernize the original cell by installing ray shields.
The very ones that blocked movement on the Invisible Hand for Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in the "Revenge of the Sith" episode.
The addition also applied to the device built into the ceiling and floor, which kept the prisoner suspended, periodically lacing his nerve endings with weak but concentration-breaking charges of electricity.
And the ysalamiri next door, through the wall.
Knowing the capabilities of that creature, I'd have attached an airlock to the back wall too, but that's difficult when the prison block is in the heart of a Star Super Destroyer.
"You think, after what I've been through, I should be surprised to see a dead man in front of me?" his voice was low, calm, measured.
He feels safe.
He bravely took the risk to come face to face.
The guy knows his own worth, the worth of his fear, his rage, and the prospects of a quick end opening before him.
"Logical," I agreed, acknowledging his point. "Why now? Not earlier, not later?"
"'You were created in the image of a dead man,'" the man with Galen Marek's face said. "'You inherited his skills, but also his weaknesses.'"
Memories stirred in my mind.
"Did Darth Vader tell you those words?"
"Yes," the Dark Apprentice nodded. "I think he said it to every one of the hundreds of clones of Galen Marek who didn't die or go insane during the cloning process. You can't expect care from a Sith. But at least he didn't hide that I'm just a copy. A tool of his will. An extension of his mechanical hands, his lightsaber. A toy with no desires of its own."
The Dark Apprentice, the second stable clone of Galen Marek.
"Touching," I couldn't deny. "But I left my vest for men's tears in my quarters."
A slight half-smile appeared on his lips, and his molten-gold eyes fixed on me with an interested look.
"I thought you liked to chat," he tilted his head first to one shoulder, then the other, as if trying to examine me from different angles. "Or am I not worthy of a 'heart-to-heart' talk?"
"Changing the subject to pique my interest with facts you supposedly couldn't know?" I clarified.
I remembered a joke from a boatswain on a patrol ship.
He'd periodically ask the conscripts: "How do you intrigue an idiot?"
In response to the predictable "How?" he'd answer: "I'll tell you tomorrow."
And he'd declare a local training alert, for which he was loved by the ship's officers and quietly hated, but respected, by the sailors.
How else can you treat a man who, in three years, turns a scrawny dairyman's son into a real sea wolf that girls on shore would hunt for the right to walk arm-in-arm with?
"I'm learning," he said. "You're assessing me, I'm assessing you."
"At the moment, I'm only interested in what you need Galen for," I explained. "And nothing else."
I had several versions, but I didn't have the "facts" yet to understand the reasons why the Dark Apprentice had crawled out of the hole he'd been hiding in, precisely now.
"That's what you call him," the clone smirked tiredly. "Object 1138 has really gotten into the role of someone he's not."
"Is having a name so important?"
"Imagine if you had been called simply 'Dark Apprentice' from birth," the prisoner replied. "And you know that somewhere nearby there's an identical cloning object just like you. But he has a life. He's a person. He's treated like a person. And you… You have nothing."
It seems we urgently need a psychologist.
It's unfortunate that no one but me will enter this interrogation room until we're done.
"Envy?" I inquired about the root cause of his feelings.
"The desire to find a purpose in life," said the Dark Apprentice. "Back then, in Timira City, when he defeated Darth Vader, I was standing under the arches of the nearest building. I felt the cold, raindrops rolling down my face — the rain that never ends on Kamino. I was waiting for the order to be given. Waiting and preparing for the battle I was created for. And nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. Object 1138 didn't even try to kill his tormentor. He forgave Vader, who had chased him across the galaxy like a hunter after prey… He just… forgave. And I was left waiting…"
"What order were you supposed to receive?" I asked.
Though I already knew the answer.
But, if the clone wants to talk, it's worth questioning him in detail — the campaign against the Silri Syndicate isn't far off.
"I was supposed to attack and destroy Object 1138 if he tried to kill Darth Vader," said the clone.
I noted again that in his verbal constructions, he avoided calling the Dark Lord of the Sith his teacher.
Interesting.
Let's file that thought.
"What happened after the rebels captured him?" I asked. "You didn't even try to follow them."
"My order was simple: wait. According to Vader's plan, our fight was supposed to happen on Kamino. I had no right to disobey. And I waited. I waited a long time."
"The planet was occupied by the rebels. How did they not find you?"
"A company of heavy infantry isn't an occupation force," the Dark Apprentice smirked. "That's a warm-up. I destroyed them as soon as the main forces withdrew from the planet. And the Kaminoans who saw me too. I was created to leave no witnesses. And I didn't."
"And the Imperials remaining on the planet? After all, the attack was only on one city, and the planet was under full Imperial control."
"Timira City was at the complete disposal of Darth Vader," the clone explained. "No idiots showed up to land there and start giving orders. Not until the Empire ordered the city evacuated and mothballed shortly after the incident."
"But you stayed there, didn't you?"
"I had orders to wait. At the time, I perceived it as part of my final test. The patience a Sith must have to strike at the right moment. One single, solitary strike."
Considering the supplies in an entire city, he clearly hadn't starved.
"Then the Zann Consortium thugs arrived on the planet," I recalled the chronology.
"They weren't particularly interested in Timira City — it was significantly destroyed after Object 1138's actions. There weren't that many operational cloning cylinders, so when their scouts examined everything and reported the city was useless, I engineered a catastrophe for them. No one came for them. I remember thinking back then that such was the fate of useless trash — there's always a replacement. And I kept waiting for Darth Vader and Object 1138 to return."
"For how long?"
"Until another gang of Consortium thugs flew to Timira, wanting to steal something valuable. Cloning cylinders or their equipment are expensive, but only as a set. They didn't know that. But they enlightened me that I'd been stuck on Kamino for over five years. From them, I learned that the Emperor and Darth Vader were dead," so he's talking about what happened after Endor. "I realized no one was coming. There would be no orders. I lived five years waiting for something that wasn't going to happen. Vader didn't need me."
Wasteful.
But… strangely enough, explainable.
"Darth Vader was looking for his son," I said.
"I found that out later, when I captured the thugs' transport and left Kamino," the Dark Apprentice confirmed.
"Speaking of which," I decided not to waste time. "The ship you arrived on doesn't belong to the Zann Consortium fleet."
"Yes," the clone agreed easily. "I took it on Coruscant. It belonged to Palpatine. Oh," a stern smile appeared on his face. "I see you can still be surprised, Grand Admiral."
He's talking about that beauty. Yeah, as usual I didn't make anything up—I just copy-pasted from Wookieepedia. Palpatine really did have one just like Maul's. Only better.
"There are things even I don't know. Will you tell me about the ship?"
"I came to Coruscant hoping to find something, anything that Darth Vader might have left for me."
"Why did you think that was even possible?"
"I didn't know anything else about this world," the clone shrugged. "I hoped I hadn't been simply forgotten. Turns out I was wrong."
"Is there documentary evidence of that?" I asked.
"Darth Vader's palace wasn't far from the Imperial one," Galen said. "The guards were elite stormtroopers and training droids. I spent several years figuring out how to break in. It turned out to be a waste," he laughed bitterly. "When I finally decided to infiltrate with a band of thieves, the Rebel Alliance attacked Coruscant, and most of the forces found more interesting things to do. For me, a simple optical camouflage that Vader gave me — to have an advantage against visual and sensor detection by the enemy — was enough."
Yes, an interesting and extremely expensive technology — our techs are already studying it.
It's based on stygium.
A personal cloaking field… Interesting technology, it'll come in handy. If only we knew who developed it.
Because the Ubiqtorate certainly didn't know about it, and it didn't resemble Cronal's shadow stormtrooper camouflage in principle.
"And where did you get the money to hire thieves?" I asked.
"Hire?" Marek seemed genuinely surprised. "I killed their leader and intimidated the rest. I killed them too, though. After their slicers cracked Vader's data core for me."
"You were taught not to leave witnesses," I nodded.
"Exactly."
"What next?"
"I stayed there for a while, copying information and moving what I deemed valuable to a Scimitar I found in the hangar. If you're interested, Palpatine gave it to Vader after General Ghentis's military mutiny on Coruscant…"
I knew what he was talking about.
In the year the Empire was founded, the head of the new state's military academies, General Ghentis, launched a mutiny that could hardly succeed. He and his cadets arrived on Coruscant, then tried to seize power by killing Palpatine, Vader, and Tarkin. They failed — all three escaped to a remote Jedi prison, where they assembled a strike force from the dregs of the Clone Wars, with which they crushed the rebellion before it could spread.
Given Vader's passion for technologies that fly faster than birds, it's no wonder he didn't refuse the gift.
Darth Maul's Scimitar, also known as the Sith Infiltrator, was in its time a magnificent example of technology.
Since Palpatine had one just like it, it was, naturally, better and more advanced than his errant apprentice's.
"…as a token of gratitude for his rescue," the clone continued. "Thanks to the invisibility systems, I was able to leave Coruscant with everything that interested me in Vader's fortress."
If by "everything that interested me" the clone meant a huge number of artifacts, datacrons, Jedi swords, and relics that had greatly interested the Dark Guard, including several holocrons and an unfinished battle armor prototype that reminded me of the one worn by the ancient Sith Lord Darth Malgus, then yes, his words corresponded to reality.
"I take it you also destroyed it in the process?"
"After what I learned about myself, about Luke Skywalker, about the fact that Vader essentially no longer needed me, because even Object 1138 didn't interest him, it was the only way to end my past," said the clone.
"And what did you learn?" I asked. "That Galen Marek is truly dead?"
"I knew that already," the clone replied. "Vader showed me his body even before the battle with Object 1138, telling me who Marek was, what his weaknesses were, and why I was better than him. And why I was better than Object 1138."
And he's not lying.
In the events I know, I came across similar information while playing the second part of The Force Unleashed.
"So that's how it was"that was in the game's add-ons.
"And why is that?" I asked, interested.
"'No doubt about it. This is the one. Stable where others fail, in perfect control of the situation. I can barely contain myself. It seems I may, at last, be allowed to return to my family. I look upon him as a kind of salvation. I am not alone. He has attracted considerable attention…'" the clone recited for me. "Do you know what those words are?"
"Sounds like personal notes. But Darth Vader wasn't sentimental about his students."
"That's entry number fifty-one in the lead cloning specialist's journal about my progress," the Dark Apprentice explained. "I was created, like the others before me, as an exceptionally perfect and obedient replacement who would take Marek's place. Before me, there were several hundred clones, each created using experimental accelerated growth technology. We were all trained using memory flashes from the life of the original Marek. These predecessors, one way or another, failed to meet expectations — either due to genetic defects, or by succumbing to the emotions of their template — and were subsequently discarded and destroyed."
He's basically repeating everything he already said.
And no, it's unlikely the clone suffers from memory lapses or enjoys Alzheimer's, discovering this brave new world anew every day.
He's emphasizing this.
Like a latent masochist who picks the scab off a wound again and again, just because he used to do it before, so the clone repeats the words about who he is and what he was created for.
This is the pain that gives him strength.
The anger that guides him along the path of the Dark Side.
"After my awakening, I was confronted with Marek's memories, particularly his feelings for his former pilot — an Imperial who became a rebel — Captain Juno Eclipse," the Dark Apprentice continued. "I immediately asked about her whereabouts, but Vader declared she didn't matter — all that mattered was what needed to be done. He explained that I, like any other clone, had inherited the memories, thoughts, and dreams of a broken man, far less powerful than what I was meant to become. As a side effect of the cloning process, as Vader told me, I possessed not only the skills but also the weaknesses of my genetic template."
Hmm…
Let's file that thought.
The psychologically traumatic situation for the clone is not only the fact that he was created as a tool of another's will, but the very fact of his imperfection as a copy, rather than the original.
"I was trained to fight with lightsabers," the clone continued, and I didn't interrupt. He wasn't stalling for time. He was telling his story, believing that only it, in its entirety, could answer my question about the reasons that prompted him to emerge from the shadows. "When Vader was satisfied with my progress, he showed me the cloning platforms in the cloning spire of Timira City, where all the failed clones were frozen in stasis."
"What was the purpose of that?"
"Vader managed to touch my desire to be perfect," the Dark Apprentice explained. "To become the one who would surpass both Object 1138 and the original. When I asked him how many failed clones, with no physical deformities, had been destroyed before me, Vader said the only number that mattered was the number of clones that would be needed to replace me if I failed, like the rest. In the end, I was able to store Marek's memories independently of my own, freeing myself from the emotions of my template."
"Dual memory?" I asked, interested.
Isard practices the same principle.
The memory of the real Iceheart is for her no more than recollections, akin to a book read many years ago.
That's why she doesn't suffer madness — she smothered her donor's impulses and emotions, becoming the forger of her own destiny.
From the clone's explanation in response to my question, I understood he had done the exact same thing.
"After Vader realized I had overcome the flaws of Object 1138, he showed me the corpse of Galen Marek," the Dark Apprentice continued. "He demonstrated that he supposedly believed I, unlike all the others before me, would succeed. I demonstrated this to him, as a final training test, by destroying a droid with the likeness of Captain Eclipse. I showed my disgust and hatred for the weaknesses of my template and my pride in overcoming them, where those before me had failed. That fully satisfied Vader. All I had left was to carry out my final order."
"I've already heard how that turned out," the clone nodded in confirmation. "The imperfection of Object 1138 gave you the motivation for self-improvement. With the help of the holocrons and datacrons found in Vader's fortress, you were able to become better than your former self, preparing for the confrontation of your life, but now without Vader's supervision."
"You're a good judge of people," the Dark Apprentice nodded in agreement. "I don't even regret not killing that clone, your agent, Object One, that I encountered in the Ash Worlds."
Now that is interesting.
I know nothing about such a meeting.
Moreover, not a single clone from Project Object has gone missing.
I don't like the prospects of understanding the reasons for this.
Especially if Object One is already compromised.
Too soon.
The Ash Worlds are a sector bordering the Calamari sector.
It's notable because a significant part of it is allied with the Galactic Alliance, but there are also those who oppose this, preferring neutrality. On the planets of this sector, there are many supporters of the Dominion, as well as active operations by our intelligence.
"You got into his head," I assumed.
"Yes," he replied. "The Jedi would say it was the will of the Force that brought us together on a planet known as Xuaquarres. But I'm pragmatic. I realized that Object One, under his guise as a merchant, travels the worlds searching for other of Palpatine's treasure vaults."
"I take it you found it first," I said.
The files on Mount Tantiss contained only fragmentary mentions that some of the items had been moved there from other vaults. No reasons were given; possibly they had been compromised in the past, but that needed clarification. The Ash Worlds are too close to the Tion Cluster, where Palpatine's appointee now commands. We haven't yet managed to plant agents in his inner circle, so Admiral Woodstock's plans are unknown to me in detail.
The Ash Worlds.
Such proximity is doubly dangerous because sooner or later, Leia Organa-Solo's location on Iego will become known. And Woodstock is one of the best candidates for using a swift strike to breach the Alliance's defenses in the Ash Worlds and reach the twins and the pregnant Leia. Who, by the way, is due to give birth soon.
"The Dragon Graveyard there was an excellent refuge for me, where I studied the art of the Dark Side of the Force and analyzed the teachings of the Jedi," the clone explained.
"How did you realize that Object One was a copy, not a real person?" I asked.
If there's a danger of exposing my agents of influence, I need to know.
"In the Force, fresh clones feel no more than children," the Dark Apprentice explained. "Sensing a child on Xuaquarres was already a cause for concern. It's a dead world, and in recent years, I was the only living thing there."
"From Object One's memory, you learned that, besides searching for the vault, he's also looking for information about Object 1138," I continued. "And reporting it to me."
"A personal agent of influence, searching for traces of Object 1138 for a Grand Admiral believed dead — that's a reason to come out of my cave and start the hunt," the Dark Apprentice explained. "Especially since my search ended when he and his allies disappeared into the Deep Core. I suspect they were holed up on Tython…"
The name of the planet, the birthplace of the Jedi, struck a nerve.
"And what is your assumption based on?" I clarified.
"Physiologically, I am him. I know how he thinks. I know what drives him. I know how he reasons. If I needed to calm my mind and try to become stronger, feeling the Darkness emanating from the Core, I would have gone there too. But he, unlike me, knew the way there. I didn't."
"That information wasn't in your data?"
"Only a mention of the planet in the historical chronicles of the Jedi and the Sith," said the Dark Apprentice.
New and extremely interesting information.
If only because, according to my information, Galen, Juno, and Kota weren't alone in the Core.
They had a battle group with them.
Could it be that they left some of their allies in the Tython system?
Won't this lead to Palpatine reaching the birthplace of the Jedi and destroying it?
Just to test some super-weapon, or as a show of force.
A planet rich in the Force, upon its destruction, would undoubtedly shake every Force-sensitive being in the galaxy.
"You followed the trail of Object 1138."
"And I almost found him, but he always stayed a few steps ahead of me," said the Dark Apprentice. "I managed to plant a beacon on his ship's hull, which first led me to the system where your fleet was decimating a Galactic Alliance battle group. Then I followed the trail to the last point where the beacon was working."
"And you ran into my commandos. Why did you surrender?"
"Because the beacon is no longer functional. Object 1138 escaped me again. I am close to my triumph and have no intention of backing down. Assessing the situation, I realized that the rebel clone is part of some operation of yours," the Dark Apprentice concluded. "So I decided that you personally oversee the trap he's walking into. And I decided to form an alliance with you."
"On what terms?"
An interesting situation.
The conditions for cooperation used to be set by me.
Now I'm the one interested in them.
Well, circumstances force it.
The chance to acquire a clone of Galen Marek justifies the distortion of roles in negotiations.
"It depends on what exactly you intend to do with 1138," the Dark Apprentice said. "As you've already understood, I'm going to destroy it."
That's hard to miss.
After all, that deed is the Dark Apprentice's fixation.
By destroying 1138, the last clone would be able to rid himself of the feeling of his own inadequacy.
In other words — eliminating his complexes and fulfilling the mission for which he was created.
Though outwardly calm, inside he's roiling with the full range of Dark Side emotions.
Like a sniper who day after day aims at a target, prepares to kill enemies, but on enemy territory, where it can and should be done, he remains only an observer.
The desire to fulfill his purpose eats away at him from within.
And that's a dangerous situation.
Because if his needs aren't met, the Dark Apprentice will definitely run amok.
And if he destroys Galen... then what?
There's nothing more devastating than achieving the one cherished goal around which a life has been built.
All the trials overcome seem like a distant mockery when the seeker gets what he wants.
Achieving the ultimate goal generates catharsis.
Hands drop, attention dulls...
Tyber Zann, who enmeshed the entire galaxy in a web of corruption and banditry, wouldn't let a lie stand.
His criminal empire's collapse came precisely at the peak of achieving his cherished dream.
And I've had "one-mission" allies before.
And if the issue with Clan Skirata and their allies isn't as hard to resolve as it seems, then the Dark Apprentice...
As far as I remember, Vader told him that he had even surpassed the original.
Whether he was lying, motivating the clone's ego, or telling the truth, there's no way to find out now — his Ghost won't talk to me.
Interesting.
And does Darth Vader support his own son while he's a prisoner of Palpatine?
As a good father — quite possible, since Vader supposedly redeemed his sins. By the laws of genre, of course.
And only before his family and, supposedly, the Jedi Order.
The rest of the galaxy and the relatives of the "millions tortured personally by Vader" are still waiting for apology boutonnieres.
However you look at it, it's an oversight on the part of Leia Organa-Solo and Luke Skywalker.
Though, the New Republic, and the Galactic Alliance after it, doesn't spread much information about who's related to whom.
Democracy prefers not to allow or to ignore inconvenient questions.
Unlike the militaristic totalitarianism of the Dominion.
Freedom of speech exists, and nobody gets shot for jokes about Pellaeon.
Horrible, just horrible.
"In the end, yes, 1138, as you call him, will be destroyed," I didn't drag out my answer.
"In the end," the clone savored the words. "He's part of some plan of yours."
"Exactly."
"Because if you wanted him dead, you'd have killed him, not taken him prisoner, not given him a psychological shock," the clone mused. "What do you need him for?"
"Palpatine," I answered simply.
The clone tilted his head to one side, hinting that he'd like to hear more.
I had to give a general rundown of the Emperor's survival, his plans for the galaxy in general and the Dominion in particular.
Including the details about the creation of reincarnations of criminal syndicates and their divisions.
And also where their headquarters were located.
And about the clone army, which we learned from partially recovered data from the central computer, I told him about that too.
Without mentioning the ancient Sith.
The clone was impressed.
"So he's alive," the Dark Apprentice summed up, not showing any interest in the information about the criminals. Which was a bit odd. "The Deep Core... well, now I understand why 1138 went there. Is there any data that Palpatine is still alive at the moment?"
"You mean whether the clone killed him?" I clarified. "A couple of weeks ago he was definitely as alive as can be."
"And breaking Luke Skywalker's will," the clone nodded.
"Exactly."
"You needed 1138 to fight Palpatine?"
"He's strong enough to have felled Vader."
"As if that's a great feat for someone who wields Force lightning," the clone snorted.
"Several dozen gifted killed by the Dark Lord of the Sith would disagree that it was simple."
"Jedi," the Dark Apprentice stated, not hiding his disgust. "Their teachings have only a few sound ideas, and those relate only to certain abilities that the old Order considered 'light.'"
"And in reality?"
"Ancient Sith and Jedi classified them as neutral, available for study by both sides."
"Interesting knowledge."
"My master passed on a lot of knowledge to me. Including about the nature of the Dark and Light sides of the Force. According to rumors, in the distant past, the first gifted used both sides of the Force in principle."
An interesting revelation.
I would have understood if he'd gotten information like that from holocrons or historical chronicles.
But... a master?
It seems the Dark Apprentice hasn't told me everything that's happened to him in the last few years.
"That doesn't quite match the characterization you yourself gave of Darth Vader," I noted.
"I didn't say that my master was Vader," the clone shook his head. "Or rather — that only he taught me."
Interesting.
Usually, after words like that, extremely nasty events begin, characterized by the appearance of that very master and mass slaughter.
Not that I would be terribly opposed, after all, in orbit around Yavin IV we have two Super Star Destroyers, one fast dreadnought, and a dozen Star Destroyers, not counting escort and support ships.
The Lusankya, true, is in repair and currently crewed solely by a transfer crew and droids, but if necessary, she can give battle without getting into a clinch.
"Who was it?"
The clone hesitated, thinking about whether to be frank with me.
"You most likely don't know the name of such a fallen Jedi who became a Sith..." oh, surprise me.
."..as Darth Revan."
Is this universe mocking me?
"As it happens, I do know," I said. "Historical events in the galactic chronicles interest me as well. And it doesn't matter whether Jedi or Sith were the protagonists in them."
"Then it will be easier to explain," the Dark Apprentice nodded.
"Darth Revan is dead," I reminded him. "And, as far as I know, his spirit merged with the Force. So he couldn't have taught you."
"I didn't say it was him," the clone snorted. "I only asked if you knew about him."
"Then what semantic load does your question carry?"
"My master is one of Darth Revan's army generals, who survived four thousand years thanks to cryo-freeze technology," the Dark Apprentice explained. "A Jedi who became a Sith by his own convictions..."
"And lived for four thousand years," I added coldly.
"Exactly," the Dark Apprentice nodded. "His name is..."
A bad day for showing off erudition.
"Darth Ziilenlos," I finished the sentence for the clone.
Looking at the Dark Apprentice's wary face, I mentally consoled myself with the fact that at least this being was our prisoner, not wandering around the galaxy representing a weapon of mass destruction and Star Destroyer-killer.
"How do you know that name, Grand Admiral Thrawn?" the Dark Apprentice's features sharpened, hinting that he'd heard from me what I shouldn't have known.
Well, too bad, but other plans aren't meant to be.
Same as the idea of the Dark Apprentice joining our team as the main strike force.
And what a beautiful integration it was...
Obviously, the ancient Sith didn't expect his identity to be uncovered by me or anyone else in the Dominion.
Too bad for him.
Showing your trump cards at the start of a sabacc game isn't wise.
"I have nothing against you personally," I said, activating the remote control for the flamethrower, "but Darth Ziilenlos is the one who now controls Kamino and is building a clone army. And also, he is my enemy, and his apprentice cannot be my ally. Even if our goals coincide. This is not a situation where the lesser evil is acceptable. It was nice meeting you, Dark Apprentice. I regret that we are on opposite sides."
And my finger found the right button to activate the flamethrowers.
* * *
Inquisitor Freymis was meditating while the droid-taxi driver took her away from the Inquisitors' headquarters.
She had arrived here early in the morning, and now it was already night.
She had to report on her last job.
Thanks to spies and defectors, she had learned of another piece of treachery on the part of Grand Moff Kaine.
The old schemer had withdrawn more than a hundred heavy Vindicator-class cruisers from the Pentastar Alignment fleet, staffing them with crews loyal to him.
Officially, these ships had been lost in battle with New Republic raiders operating in the Alignment's rear.
The fact that they were intact and located at a temporary base in complete radio silence, waiting for the Grand Moff to give them orders, played a nasty trick on them.
The traitors they sent to Yaga Minor for spare parts for several ships were identified by the security service, and Freymis had beaten all the necessary data out of them.
And the punitive fleet didn't hesitate to go after the traitors' heads.
What can even a hundred heavy cruisers do against fifty of their brethren and twenty Imperial-II-class Star Destroyers?
Correct — burn beautifully after the refusal to surrender, issued in the name of Emperor Palpatine.
It's a shame, of course, that some starships managed to escape, but the rest, even at the cost of serious damage, were captured.
And their crews have been continuously executed on the main news channel for a week now.
One person every minute.
The authority in the Emperor's name is demonstrating what will happen to anyone who disobeys orders.
And this applies not only to the military, but also to the civilian population.
Even slaves.
For such an operation, she was certainly in for a promotion, and Freymis expected to receive thanks in the Emperor's name.
According to rumors, she was to be presented before the ruler of the Empire himself, but judging by the absence of hundreds of Star Destroyers and Imperial Guards in the capital's orbit, she still hadn't done enough to meet him face to face.
Probably, she thought, they'd make do with a holo-transmission.
Or a recording.
Though, is it worth paying attention to when the mere fact that the Emperor knew her name in the context of such needed victories for the Empire lately is enough to be proud of herself?
No, bantha poodoo!
Not enough!
The front is stalled, traitors are everywhere, the powerful are weaving intrigues against each other, and simple patriots are falling into the millstones of this behind-the-scenes, pointless game!
Hutt hell if they rewarded her!
They scolded her like a Youngling for the loss of three Star Destroyers and ten cruisers, making her out to be a complete fool.
"The presence of traitors didn't stop us from concentrating on more important tasks!"
That's what they told her.
Spit upon and humiliated, she was shoved out like a mongrel that dared to break into the master's house.
And instead of a reward, they kicked her out to command a squad in some backwater under the code name "Bastion."
A fortress world, to whose defense all the forces and resources of the Pentastar Alignment were now directed.
Supposedly the front was weak and enemy units might break through, which is why the government had hastily evacuated to Bastion.
What do they care about what she does for the good of the Empire?
They just want to save their own skins.
Freymis had no doubt that the most likely reason the remaining members of the government and the top of the Inquisitorius intended to take shelter behind Bastion's impassable minefields and defensive structures was that the upper echelons of power already knew that Emperor Palpatine was alive.
And would soon reveal himself to the galaxy.
The bribe-takers and swindlers of all stripes who had taken the places under Grand Moff Ardus Kaine and his four co-rulers did not want to answer for what they had done to the Empire.
Oh, how she hoped that her plan — to gather as much data on Bastion as possible and transmit it to the Emperor so that he would descend upon the heads of the bastards — would work.
That would be a well-deserved reward.
When the droid-pilot stopped the car opposite one of the mansions, Freymis frowned.
"Is this the right address?" she clarified, glancing at the unfamiliar building. "It doesn't look like a hotel."
"Ma'am, I assure you — this is the best five-star hotel on the planet," the droid assured her.
"You'd better not be mistaken, or I'll come back and decapitate you," the Lady Inquisitor promised, getting out of the car.
A deserted landing pad, dim lanterns lighting the way to the main entrance.
Dirt, garbage, the smell of filth.
Had she been brought to the service entrance?
Freymis, grinding her teeth, thought that the management had obviously decided to humiliate her even more by sending her to quarter in this fleabag.
Never mind, she'd endure.
All for the Empire.
With a creak, the front door (it was still the main entrance, not the service door) slid aside, revealing a spacious hall lit only by dim lamps.
Layers of dust everywhere, no signs of cleaning droids.
No signs of anyone living at all.
Not even a registration droid!
And then she understood.
They were mocking her.
"They will pay," she promised through clenched teeth. "All this scum, incapable of believing in the Empire."
"Indeed, Inquisitor Freymis," she heard a low voice emanating from a shadow standing next to a massive column. "Every enemy of the Empire must be executed..."
"Come out and identify yourself!" The blade flared crimson in her hand, and her body assumed a combat stance.
"We know each other, Inquisitor," the shadow stepped forward, and the dim light illuminated a familiar face.
"Executor Sedriss?" she was surprised, lowering her weapon. "Forgive me. I didn't expect to see you here..."
"Because no one suspects I am here," he revealed, approaching.
"How can I be of service?" Freymis inquired.
"Otherwise I wouldn't be here," noted Sedriss. "The Emperor has a task for you, Inquisitor."
"As His Majesty wishes," the young woman dropped to one knee. "I am happy to fulfill any desire..."
"You will be pleased to know that you and I have a secret mission aimed against the enemies you've long called for to be destroyed," Sedriss's face was lit by a grim smile.
"Oh... We're attacking the Dominion?" she was taken aback.
"Exactly," Sedriss confirmed. "You, me, and fifty Star Destroyers will enter the Dominion through the back door you discovered. We'll enter and conquer it entirely."
"For the glory of the Emperor!" the woman barked, noting that Sedriss winced.
No, it can't be.
Just a trick of the light.
"Of course," the Executor replied. "For his glory. It couldn't be otherwise, Inquisitor."
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