Beginnings and Endings 1

The Hand of Thrawn reached up into the night sky, surrounded by the lush world of Nirauan on which the base was situated. The hand was actually a nickname for the five towers that made up the base where Thrawn had set up command for his campaign into the Unknown Regions of Space in order to extend the reach of the Empire. All of this had begun years prior to the Emperor’s death and had continued well after as well. The base was extensive and had been built long before Thrawn had ever explored this world by beings unknown and long gone so he had taken it over and adapted it for his use and his people. My first experience with this place had not left me with happy memories but this time around things were different, the situation was different and after almost a year I had come to think of it as a home of sorts.

The strangeness of the planet itself never entirely vanished and the night was full of eerie sounds, animal and avian calls which were still to be identified and catalogued. The air had a slightly sweet scent on it, which I suspected was carried from a certain flowering tree that grew near the compound and occasionally mingled with the smell of lush, wet undergrowth, rich and loamy; utterly foreign to someone who had spent most of their life on a desert planet.

In the solitude of the early evening, after the sun had vanished but before the chill of the night descended leaving everything damp with dew I had made my way up to this place to be alone. While the base was large sometimes it felt as though it were tiny and far too crowded. Like most people who had grown up on desolate worlds filled with vast wastelands which stretched out in never ending vistas, I was unused to being confined and it made me restless, edgy and occasionally melancholy. Today had been a particularly bad day for a myriad of reasons and the sorrow I had felt had put me on the verge of tears for most of it but I had bitten them back in favour of trying to get my jobs done. The Chiss were not fond of messy human emotions and they considered them a sign of weakness. Once my work day had finished I had needed to find a quiet place to remember and mourn.

Leaving the compound had not been forbidden but there were enough known and unknown dangers out beyond the base that it meant if one wanted to go out one took an armed guard with them. It sort of defeated the purpose of getting away from it all to be alone so I had found a compromise everyone could live with. The key people on the base knew enough to leave me be when I disappeared because they knew I had made a promise to Thrawn that I would not endanger my life or those of his people by buggering off and just to get away from it all. There were a few places on the base which were generally considered of little use and those, by default, had become mine.

“I thought I might find you up here.” Thrawn’s voice broke the quiet silence which made me smile. I wiped the tears on my face away because I didn’t really want to let him see that I had been crying even though he would know anyway. When I didn’t turn to face him he walked up to stand at my back and wrapped his arms around me. I had not seen him four months so this reunion was sweet.

“Did Park tell you where I was or did you just use deductive reasoning?” I asked leaning into his body, welcoming his warmth. The nights on Nirauan were chilly and the observation deck was open to the outside.

“No, he did not tell me where to find you. He did mention you received mail from Siavaan this morning and that you seemed very sad today but that you would not speak about it.”

I sighed and turned around to face him without breaking the circle of his arms and rested my head against his chest. The letters which had arrived from Shiv, despite being full of good and cheerful news, had only served to remind me of everything that had happened in the last year and of how much I missed my friends, how much had been lost.

The terrible things that Ysanne Isard had done in her attempt to break the power of the New Republic had left their mark on my soul but it was the terrible death of my friend Cati which hurt the most. Isard had vanished, and the last I had heard of her she had taken up residence on Thyferra, becoming the leader of that planet and overseeing the production and distribution of Bacta in order to further ruin the New Republic’s reputation but that plan had failed. The New Republic had found an alternative to bacta to cure the Krytos virus and for every move Isard made against them they counter moved to win.

At first, after I had arrived on Nirauan I had tried to follow the news of what was going on in the Core but after a few months even I lost interest. It had seemed to me that Isard’s plans to destroy the New Republic got more and more convoluted and to my mind stupid. She was grasping at sand and he harder she tried to hold on the more it ran through her fingers. I had talked with Thrawn about it often when he was on the base because he too, was at a loss to try and sort out her thinking. When the news came that she had lost her hold on Thyferra and that she had been defeated I had not taken any care to hide my pleasure but Thrawn had tempered my good mood by warning me Isard was only presumed dead.

“For such an intelligent woman, she did some remarkably stupid things.” He had said. “But she has more lives than you do. Do not count her gone yet, not until a body is found.” He had warned and while I had not disagreed, I had not been happy either.

Now, as I stood on the darkness on the observation platform, I found it hard to believe that I had been on Nirauan for almost a year and some days it seemed like only yesterday that I had arrived here with my uncle to bring Thrawn the information he sought and the news of Isard’s treachery.

“It’s the anniversary of Cati’s death.” I told him simply, explaining my mood and the reason I was up here.

Thrawn stroked idle fingers through my hair gently. “I know.” He replied, “Which is why I thought I might find you up here.”

I nodded and sighed. For a long moment we stood there in silence until I broke it by asking, “When did you get back? I wasn’t expecting you for another week.”

“About three hours ago, we finished the set missions early and I saw no reason to remain in space when I did not have to.” He said casually then he glanced at me, “Given what day it is I felt I needed to be here today. I would have sought you out sooner but the debriefing was extensive so it took longer than usual.”

I nodded my understanding. While duty came first and even though sometimes I wasn’t always happy about it I understood it but in this case, because it was possible to do so, he had returned early for me. He had known today marked the first anniversary of Cati’s gruesome death and the effect it would have on me. When it mattered the most, he was there for me. I took one of his hands in mine and brought it to my lips to kiss, letting him know I was grateful. “How long is the turn around this time?”

“I am not sure. I have some things to do here and some details to work out. As much as I can do from the Chimaera sometimes I also need to be on the base. Thanks to the information you were able to provide we are a lot further ahead now than we were this time last year but there is still much to plan out before I begin the major campaign which includes obtaining more information about the New Republic’s fleet activities and so on.”

“Is Delta Source not as useful as you had hoped?” I asked.

I felt his smile. “It is indeed of great use but the information retrieved from that spy network is sporadic and it takes time to disseminate the useful from the nonsense. I owe you and your uncle a great debt for finding it and for keeping it a secret.” He said, “But there is more to this campaign than simply using pieces of information gathered from an Imperial listening device in the Palace. Retaking the galaxy will not happen over night and without proper organisation it will not happen at all.” He sounded tired.

“Are there problems?”

“Nothing insurmountable but of course along the way to victory there are always hurdles one must overcome. Currently mine have to do with equipment shortages and lack of fully trained personnel. The Imperial ship yards cannot supply me with the number of vessels I have requested and reunifying the fleet is a tedious process, more so than I had previously imagined. It would appear that not every Imperial out there wishes to return to the fold, especially under my command. Many of the new recruits under my command are too green to take into any sort of conflict and there needs to be extensive training still. This isn’t a process that will happen over night although many seem to think it should. Bad planning, over confidence and greed is what cause this current situation, believe me, I will not make the same mistakes that Palpatine did.”

I just sighed and rested the flat of my cheek against the rough fabric of his white uniform jacket. I had heard this speech many times before. “What about Mount Tantiss?” I asked.

Thrawn shrugged ever so slightly. “It will keep.” He replied vaguely. He did not like this question and I asked it often.

“Don’t you worry that someone else might discover it?” I pressed.

“No.” He replied, stroking my hair absently. “The New Republic has other issues taking up their attention at the moment and I am quite certain that Palpatine left the place very well guarded. A little trust, my dear, I do occasionally know what I am doing.”

“I do trust you and you know this!” I said poking him in the chest. “I would not be here if I did not.”

“And I am grateful for this fact.” He replied, catching my hand in his before I could poke him again. “But you push on this particular matter and I do not know why. You said so yourself it was one of Palpatine’s best kept secrets and that there was no overt evidence of the facility in the Imperial database or palace system. The rebels will not go half cocked on some mad search looking for Palpatine’s mythical storehouse of treasures even if they do know about it, which I think is highly unlikely. I am quite certain they find more than enough to keep them occupied on Coruscant as well as the rest of the inner Core and the outer worlds, all of which are jockeying for a position of power within the new government. With each system they bring into the new republic so too do they increase their political problems. They have enough to worry about right now.”

I sighed crossly which made him chuckle. “Tekari, I understand that you want to find out exactly what he hid there but you need to learn some patience. I had told you before, when the time is right and that is exactly what I mean. Curb that overly inquisitive nature of yours; it’s what gets you into so much trouble. T o be honest, I am still astounded that you stayed put here and did not try to go rushing off to Wayland on your own when you and your uncle first arrived and I suppose I have the Tze’yusha’Jin to thank for that.”

I made a face but he was right. When I had arrived on Nirauan with my uncle, Thrawn had not been here. He had been continuing the work he had started out in the Unknown Regions and that work had been impressive. I had seen the star map which showed the areas of this part of space which were now under Thrawn’s control. The Empire of the Hand, his people had secretly called it behind his back until the name had become so ingrained in every day usage that with a wry smile he had started to use it himself while referring to the vast area of space he and his people controlled which stretched out over nearly two hundred and fifty sectors.

My arrival had been met with a huge sense of relief that I had found almost amusing and Voss Parck had all but hugged me as I had stepped of the Ahnkeli Su’udelma. What was even more amusing had been his almost panicky statement that he was under orders to not let me out of his sight until the Grand Admiral had returned from his current mission. No matter how often I had tried to tell him that I had learned that particular lesson and would not be dashing hell bent after Thrawn alone in a ship again, Parck still kept a watchful eye on my whereabouts on the base. Most people would have probably found it annoying but I was touched by the concern and did what I could to try and alleviate it.

My uncle, who had all but threatened me with death should I try to bugger off and explore Wayland on my own, had stayed on the base until a few days after Thrawn’s return, stating there were things he needed to discuss with the Grand Admiral. The day after Thrawn’s return, nearly two weeks after we had arrived on the base, Thrawn and my uncle had spent almost the entire evening talking alone. Neither of them would tell me what they had spoken about but after Thrawn’s ever so slight smirk when I had asked if any of it had to do with me had told me all I needed to know.

Uncle Vahlek left the day after that with one of the Imperial transport ships headed back into the Core Regions for supplies. I had been sad to see him go but at the same time a little relieved. We had spent too much time in too close quarters together and as much as I loved him he had driven me crazy.

“Give my love to papa, Bel and Bedi when you see them.” I had asked him as we had said our goodbyes.

“Will do. Stay out of trouble Lei’lei! You know how to contact me if you need anything.” He had said giving me an avuncular kiss on the forehead before leaving.

Thrawn had returned to the base in the middle of the night and I had been in bed when his shuttle had landed. He had arrived in his quarters sometime in the early morning. He had tried to not disturb me up but after such a long time of sleeping alone his presence rather than his absence was a disruption in my normal routine.

Still half asleep I had yawned and stretched in jax like satisfaction. “What time is it?” I had asked.

“Just after three in the morning. I did not mean to wake you, tekari.” He had murmured. I had watched as he had undressed and before he could get into his night clothes, had stopped him.

“Well now I am awake.” I had grasped his hand and had pulled him to me, rolling him so he lay on his back and before he could protest or counter my attack I had moved to straddle his lap. The look on my face had challenged him and for a moment he had considered it then he had smiled as he had surrendered.

“So I see, “He had replied arching that eyebrow in that smug, annoying manner of his, “And just what did you have in mind from this position, my dear, because right now you have the advantage?”

My fingers had traced down the centerline of his chest, past his navel and the line of dark hair that led to magical things. “I thought I would see if you had missed me at all.”

His unspoken reply had been swiftly obvious and he had smirked at my reaction to his arousal. “I would say that you have your answer, the question is now what do you plan to do about it?”

“I thought I would welcome you back properly.” I had breathed in his ear, delighting in feeling him shiver for me.

“Well then, my dear, I am all yours.” He said just before I could shut him up by engaging him in a different sort of combative conversation.

In spite of the length of time apart our passion for each other had not changed, if anything it had only increased. His talent and skill in conversing with me using nothing but his hands, his mouth and his body never ceased to astonish me. It was exquisite torture to once again be on the receiving end of his tactile genius and I know he enjoyed being reminded of just how well I could apply my own gifts and skills. We knew each other so well but time and distance always seemed to make this exploration of territories known a whole new adventure.

I had delighted in hearing the sounds of his pleasure as I plied my own tricks of the bedroom trade. We had rippled together like wind over water, stirring each other up until the storm within, reaching its desired crescendo, crashed down upon us both leaving us stunned and breathless. In the aftermath of the madness of lust and passion, tenderness took over and his gentle touch had said far more than words ever could.

After a lingering, comfortable silence he had spoken first. “When I got word you had returned I cannot tell you how relieved I was. I was even more so to hear you had decided to do as you were asked and stay put.”

“Well Uncle Vahlek did threaten me with serious bodily harm if I were to go tearing off so I felt it wise to just hang out here and not risk his ire… or yours. The last time that happened you sent me away so it seemed safer just to wait and be, as my uncle put it, a good girl.”

That last remark had made him smile. In spite of the fact that I was a grown woman, my uncle still usually treated me as though I were still a child of six. Most of the time I tried to ignore it but Thrawn, for some strange reason, found this very amusing much to my annoyance. “I would have been up here sooner but I had business to take care of that could not be put off, not even for you, sj’iu tekari, no matter how much I might have liked to do just that.”

I had stroked the smooth skin of his chest with my fingertips. “I know that. It wasn’t so bad in the end. I have been kept occupied well enough.” This was quite an understatement because in actual fact I had been kept remarkably busy.

His eyebrow had arched. “So I have heard. And just how are the Basic classes going this time around?”

I had smiled. A few days after my return, much to my great surprise, one of his Chiss warriors had approached me somewhat shyly and requested that I continue the language classes for Basic that I had started before I had left for Coruscant. I had not thought anyone had cared about the language learning but the need to communicate had turned out to be greater than the need to remain closed off from the humans. I ended up teaching both Basic to the Chiss and as much as I was able to Cheunh to some of the humans.

“Better now than before. They actually want to learn to speak basic and it seems that now they all know that I speak Cheunh fluently I gained a measure of respect with your people, or did you have something to do with this?” I asked as the thought just occurred to me.

Thrawn had shaken his head slightly. “While I command these men and women I cannot and will not order them to give their respect to anyone. Respect must be earned, my dear, so if they offer you theirs now then it is entirely of your own doing not mine.”

“Well my students are doing well, much better than I had expected actually, though I think the extra material you provided them with helped a lot.” I had nodded. “The Cheunh classes are quite another matter but at least the humans will be able to understand the Chiss language even if they cannot seem to speak it.”

“You have achieved much and I am proud of the work you have done.” He had said.

This was high praise from him and I had glowed under it. “I’m not sure what the difference is now, but I feel more at home here and that helps.”

He nodded. “The time you spent on Coruscant has tempered you.” He ran his fingers through my hair, untangling the knots we had created with our bedroom antics. “You have experienced some of the most terrible things this galaxy has to offer and yet you have somehow managed to retain that sweetness of nature and delightful optimism that never ceases to amaze me but you have also changed and I sense it.” He had traced a line with the tip of his finger, starting from my lips to the hollow of my throat, then down across to my left breast which he had cupped with his hand, pressing my chest, feeling the beat of my heart beneath the pale skin. “Do you know how very precious you are?” He whispered.

The moment had been so suddenly poignant that tears had welled up in my eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but suddenly I didn’t want to break the moment so I simply kissed gently him instead. For a second time hung like a drop poised to fall and then it moved forward as he had broken back from my kiss, stroked my cheek tenderly and then he had rolled onto his back, pulling me onto my side to curl around him, with arms and legs pressing close.

I had rested my head in the hollow where his shoulder met his chest and sighed in contentment. I had opened my mouth to say something else but he had stopped me with two fingers laid gently on my lips. “Sleep, sj’iu tekari. I am not going anywhere for a little while so we have plenty of time to catch up in the days and nights to come but now I need to rest and so do you.”

I had not argued with him because I, too, had been tired. I had just been so grateful to have him back, his warm body next to me, and the familiar scent of his skin filling my lungs. The aftermath of spent desire had made me drowsy and his physical presence was comforting.

Home, I had thought, to be in his arms, wrapped about his body, and satiated by his touch was home. And in that moment I had known that I never wanted to be parted from him for such a long time, through such a vast distance again even though I knew that, inevitably, this would be the case. Some of these thoughts must have leaked out because he had reiterated his previous statement, brushing sleep into my hair with the tips of his fingers. He had been true to his word and had stayed on Nirauan for nearly four weeks before heading back out into space again.

Aftermath 7

When I finally reached the tunnel shuttle I heaved a sigh of relief and slipped into its quiet safety, unlocking the controls and pushing the return button. I had hoped to rest while the shuttle zipped its way under the city back to the Imperial palace but the machine had other ideas and one stop later it came to a complete halt, refusing to move forward without giving me a reason why no matter how many buttons I pushed.

I swore loudly in Cheunh and kicked at the side of the shuttle as I got out wondering where I was now and just how the hell I was going to get home because if my uncle had come back and found me not there he’d worry and then after a certain amount of time worrying he would simply come after me and that would be a bad thing.

Once I got over my annoyance and began to look at where exactly I was, my curiosity over came my weariness. This building wasn’t like the last one, dirty and abandoned, and it wasn’t in The Works either. I had come out into a storage facility of some sort and as I walked slowly through the stacks I realised it wasn’t just a storage facility it was more like a catalogue room. Rows upon rows of tagged, covered objects lay neatly arranged on the shelves. This place had remained untouched in many years judging by the amount of dust that lay over everything. It did not seem like a place where the Emperor would visit but I supposed, as I wandered through the stacks, that he had to store some of his treasures someplace.

I stopped and unwrapped one of the smaller pieces. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before but it wasn’t a force artifact it was just an antique work of art. The smattering of memories it gave me had more to do with excited archaeologists than the Emperor’s greed. The next piece I unwrapped was the same only this piece I actually recognised; if I recalled my art history correctly it was a hand carved statue from a dig on Iridonia and it was close to nearly four hundred years old. It too held vague memories and none of them had to do with Palpatine. Now more curious than ever, I uncovered several more pieces and realised that they too were famous, I had studied some of them, seen holo images of them in Thrawn’s collection as well as from some of my mother’s books and had even spoken about one of them at great length with Thrawn. Suddenly I understood, I was in a storage room in the basement of the Galactic Museum. Now I was really intrigued. What did the Emperor do or keep here that he would design a shuttle to stop at this specific location?

I looked around the room and saw two main exits, clearly marked and well lit. It was a safe bet that both of those doors led to populated places or main corridors and the last thing I wanted was to get caught. I swept my eyes around the dimness again and then noticed, off to one side, a small, unobtrusive almost invisible door. It had been designed to be missed and ignored so that was the one I chose to use. The hallway I slipped into was dimly lit by emergency glow-rods and unused. I moved down it carefully and quickly until I came to a narrow stairwell. I sighed. I was getting tired of this endless chase but I had gone too far now to simply give up and go home.

I ended up in what seemed like a dead end but was in fact one in a series of rooms which had not been used in a very long time. I slipped through an open door and wrinkled my nose at the stale smell which permeated the air.

The rooms that I snuck through were filled with crates and shadowy things I wasn’t sure I wanted to stop and look at. There was a subtle pressure here, a malevolence that lingered letting me know that this place was the reason the Emperor had come here. Cobwebs and dust covered most everything but some of them had been disturbed recently. I pulled out my lightsaber but didn’t ignite it and walked cautiously through the eerie storage room, sensing someone nearby long before I heard him. My heart pounded in my chest. For a brief second I wondered if it was Palpatine himself truly come back from the dead but when I shook off the panic and allowed my senses to reach out I understood it wasn’t him at all. Still, who ever it was could be dangerous and I did not need to be caught in this place. I needed a place to wait safely until who ever was in the room beyond this one was gone.

Glancing around I noticed an odd looking ventilation shaft opening on the side of the wall that was adjacent to the next room and with some effort to stay quiet I moved a box to stand on, carefully eased off the grating and hoisted myself up into the opening. It was as I had suspected a ventilation shaft. I could feel the slight push of air as I crossed the main shaft which ran perpendicular to the one that went from this room to the next like the top of a T, then carefully crawled along it to the grate opening at the other side. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim light but once they had, I looked down into a room that on first glance seemed to be full of people. For a split second a new wave of fear washed through me then I realised none of the figures were moving. Museum mannequins or statues, I thought, shaking my head in annoyance at my own reaction. I was about to try and back out of the shaft when flicker of movement caught my eye.

I held my breath as I watched the tall, somewhat slender man skulk his way through the statues and dust covered display cases. I nearly jumped out of my skin with fright when all of a sudden a small light from one of the statues blinked to life and a small holo recording announced something too muffled for me to hear. I watched with a mixture of puzzlement and nervousness as the intruder slipped about stopping to look at more of the statues and the display cases. He wasn’t acting like a curator or a worker from the museum, in fact he seemed more like a criminal of some kind and my suspicions that he was a petty thief were confirmed when he smashed one of the display cases, the sound of glass shards hitting the floor reminding me of icicles shattering on Hjal.

I couldn’t see what he had picked up clearly but when a sound that was as familiar to me as my own voice hummed through the stillness I nearly squeaked out loud in surprise. That was a lightsaber, I thought. What would a lightsaber be doing here? In the bottom of the Galactic Museum in a room that had obviously not been entered or touched in a very long time. The weapon was old and it sounded as though it was losing its charge but the silvery white light of its blade was enough for me to see the man who held it clearly. I nearly choked on the dust that I inadvertently sucked in with my shock. I had seen his face plastered all over the HoloNet too many times not to recognize him despite the facial hair and dirt. That was Corran Horn! The dead rebel pilot whose memorial service I had gone to and nearly been killed at. What in the name of all nine Corellian Hells was he doing here alive and stealing stuff from the museum?

I watched as the pallid light from the weapon he had ignited danced about the room making shadows leap and flicker. The scent of burnt dust drifted upward tickling my nose. I tried to fight off the oncoming sneeze to no avail but just as I made a muffled sneeze into my hands a loud popping sound came from someplace behind hiding the noise of my sneeze. A breeze lifted the dust in the room and I heard others enter, the brilliance of the lights on the blasters they carried made the dancing dust sparkle as they moved into the large storage room. Who ever they were they were not friendly. They wore some sort of armour and they were hunting someone, probably they were hunting Horn, I thought.

I made myself as small as I could and watched as Corran Horn startled then hid amongst the mannequins. Standing as still as the statues did while the three figures, dressed in black, made their way non too stealthily into the midst of the silent mannequins and display cases. I eased back a little from the grate of the vent I was hiding in; I did not want to be caught by what looked a lot like professional soldiers or mercinaries.

“Nothing here.” Said one of the newcomers.

“Then we wait.” Said another.

There was more conversation and I watched as they idly swept the room then the second man who had spoken commented on how odd it was that one of the mannequins still had a face at which point Corran burst to life and quipped that he would prefer to keep it that way. For a moment there was a stunned silence and then the room burst into action.

I caught only some of the fight, blaster fire and lightsaber blade created dancing shadows in the creepy room. One man died almost instantly as Corran sliced him in half. I had to fight the urge to throw up at the sound the bisected parts of the man’s body made when the pieces hit the ground. The other two took off and there was a chase. I heard nothing for a long time and then bursts of blaster fire rang through the stillness followed by the sizzle of a lightsaber’s touch. I knew when it was over because there was a cold silence. I reached out with my force senses and found Corran’s presence. I could sense his relief and then heard the faint crackle of a comm link giving out the local time. I made a face in the darkness, it was eight hours and forty-five minutes which meant it was well into the morning and I had been away far too long. I waited a bit to see if any more people came tramping through this area and sighed softly when nothing else happened. Whoever the three men had been, they were now dead. I searched for Corran’s presence again but couldn’t find it and guessed that he had found a way out.

I waited for what seemed an eternity before completely backing out of the ventilation shaft and dropping back down onto the floor of the smaller storage room. Taking a chance I slipped into the large room that Corran had been exploring and began to look around as well.

It was a strange place and I could see why Corran Horn had been so fascinated by what he had found. The faces of all the mannequins had been vandalised in some way and it had been deliberate, hateful destruction. I didn’t need to wonder about who could have done such a thing I already knew. His presence was so strong in this room that it was as if he were still alive and standing next to me, his avuncular tone laced with a subtle layer of malice and spite. Palpatine had kept his true feelings for the Jedi well masked behind his benevolent senator face but underneath that façade he had burned with hatred. I shivered, the beam of my small flash light catching the dancing dust, still swirling around the air from the fight that had taken place here earlier.

I stepped around the sliced body parts of the man Corran had killed gingerly. Luckily, I thought, a lightsaber cauterized the wound as it sliced and the floor was not slippery with blood. The air was rife with the stench of burnt flesh and singed dust. It made me gag so I moved away from the body and went to look at the display cases.

This place, aside from recently had not been visited in a long time. For the most part the dust lay thick and undisturbed over everything. The display case that Corran Horn had shattered was empty. I knew he had taken a lightsaber but I wasn’t sure about what else. Shards of glass crunched loudly under my feet as I walked about carefully. After a few moments of nervously touching things and setting off more than one of the annoying holograms which told a little about the now long dead jedi the mannequins represented I understood that this had once been part of a jedi Exhibit to show off Jedi heroes, if there were such a thing.

I searched amongst the damaged mannequins and touched as many holo displays as I dared but I did not find any reference to my birth mother at all. Either she had died too late in the Clone Wars to be given any such honour or the jedi Council did not bestow immortality through statue-ism on jedi who got themselves knocked up by their Arc Clone Commanders.

I dusted off some of the other display cases but mostly what lay under the glass was some sort of commemorative coin and a lightsaber. I needed neither so I left them alone. As I wandered around, forgetting the time and forgetting where I was, I realised that all of this jedi memorabilia made me sad. These displays which had probably once been public were of an era long gone. Despite their odd doctrine and often strange ways of doing things for the most part the Jedi had been keepers of the peace. That much I had learned from the holo-diary my birth mother had kept.

The Clone Wars had broken out because Palpatine had neatly arranged for that to happen and I knew that because Lord Vader had once explained it to me in bitter, angry detail. Not for the first time did I wonder what life would have been like to live in that time, of course, I reasoned I would not have lived at all because it was war that had brought my birth parents together in the first place so when I really thought about it, I actually owed Palpatine my life. The thought made me shiver and I could have sworn I felt a subtle laughter echo softly about me.

I was about to whisper out loud that I hated him but then I realised as I stood amidst the silent, mournful mannequins that I did not hate Palpatine anymore. I pitied him. It was one thing to bring down a government single handed and set ones own self up as supreme ruler of a galactic empire but to come down here and then vandalise these statues but a whole other thing. It made me think of the way bullies will destroy the things they cannot have just so that no one else could have them either. Palpatine hated to lose. He had hated the Jedi even more. While bringing about peace to the Empire he would rule may have been a small part of his agenda in the end it was all about revenge, revenge on the jedi who had shunned him and the Sith ways, who had taught that the Sith were evil and were to be reviled. The thought made me snort. In essence Palpatine had been the outsider who had not been allowed into the cool kid’s club and had taken his revenge for being left out to the extreme.

I glanced around, the sense of being watched made the space between my shoulders itch. Time to go, I thought. Even if I could spend more time here going through all the display cases and storage boxes to find something of interest, what would I do with it? I had no desire to become a Jedi, to learn the jedi ways and follow Luke Skywalker in his quest to restart the whole Jedi order. I had never asked for the strange powers I had been born with and as Thrawn had often pointed out, they didn’t bring me much happiness.

As I stood amidst the ruins of what had once been a proud display of the Galaxy’s heroes I understood I was at a cross roads making my choice. If Lord Vader’s son had taken up the task of rebuilding the Jedi Order then I wished him luck but he’d be doing that without me. I had had enough of both jedi and sith doctrine to last me a life time and I was pretty sure that my talents would be better used elsewhere, elsewhere like on Nirauan with Thrawn and thinking about him made my heart ache with longing. I missed him and all I wanted was to be with him again.

I glanced around one more time, Palpatine’s evil presence lingered, mixed with the melancholy of an era long gone. I was done here and it was time to go. With a sigh, I left the way I had come in heading back to the Imperial Palace without further stops or hiccups. By the time I reached home it was almost lunch time and my Uncle was waiting for me, so were Shiv and Ynyth.

“Where the hell have you been? We were just about to go and search for you!” The words that came quietly out of my uncle’s mouth were taut and laced with concern as well as anger.

I shook my head, too tired to think straight. “I went to the palace to get some answers.”

“And did you find what you were looking for?” Uncle Vahlek asked tartly.

I nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted and filthy. “I know you are mad but I need to shower and eat something so can I do these things first before you yell at me?”

There was a moment of quiet then I saw Shiv’s lip twitched in amusement and I could feel my uncle’s anger and worry recede.

“Well, seeing as how we no longer have to go on a Merlyn hunt I guess I can fix us some lunch.” Uncle Vahlek said. “When you are not wearing half the dirt on this planet you can tell us where you were exactly and what you found.”

I nodded, wondering how to even begin to describe the things I had seen in the space of a night and then gratefully went to the ‘fresher.

Showered and dressed in clean clothes I joined the others at the dining room table. My uncle had prepared some sort of stew and I had to bite down on a snigger when Ynyth eyed it dubiously. My uncle was a good cook, but his food was never very fancy. I knew it would taste great but it looked a little like something a bantha had yakked up.

Unlike dining with Thrawn, dining with my uncle mean there was no relief from the conversation about where I had been and what I had been doing while we ate, so in between mouthfuls of stew I recounted as best I could my adventures in the underground of Coruscant. I left out some of the more nauseating details of some of the visions I had seen because Ynyth had a tendency to pale visibly and look as though she would loose the lunch she had just eaten if I got too graphic.

Shiv and Ynyth listened in rapt attention but my uncle’s face was expressionless which usually meant he was not terribly impressed. When I was done with both eating and telling my story the tension at the table was suddenly far higher than before and Ynyth rapidly began to clear the dishes to escape to the safety of the kitchen. She did not like domestic disputes, Shiv had once told me.

“You really are the most reckless, thoughtless idiot of a girl I have ever had the misfortune to know,” Uncle Vahlek began, “If your mate were here now….”

“He’d tie me to a desk under the watchful eye of a stormtrooper battalion, I know.” I finished for him. “But I had to go, I had to!” I said.

Shiv watched the back and forth with a bemused smile on his face. “You always did do things the complicated way, Rim-Girl.” He said and for some reason this seemed to lighten the mood.

I sighed and shook my head. “It was in my mind all along I just couldn’t see it now I have my answer.”

“So what will you do?” Uncle Vahlek asked.

“Tell him what he wants is on Wayland, why?”

“I just want to make sure that you don’t decide to go charging off to this Mount Tantiss place looking for clues on your own.”

I made a face. “I have been there once and that was enough. Thrawn’s on his own with that place.”

That answer seemed to placate my uncle and for a moment there was peace.

“So now what happens next?” Ynyth asked me as she rejoined us with desert and began the process of serving it.

I shrugged. “Not sure about you guys but I will head back out to the Unknown Regions and find Thrawn to give him the information, I guess.”

“I don’t think that….” My uncle started his sentence but he never got to finish it. Suddenly the whole apartment began to shake and tremble as though there was a sudden, violent ground quake, except Coruscant did not get ground quakes.

“What the hell is going on?” Shiv asked and we all left the dining table to run to the windows and see if we could find out. Along the way my uncle had the fore thought to turn on the HoloNet and what we saw displayed on the screen stopped us all dead in our tracks.

“We interrupt this broadcast to bring you this special news bulletin!” The harried looking news reporter said. “We just received word from an eyewitness that an Imperial Super Star destroyer is breaking its way free from the plant’s surface and heading towards space.”

I looked at the screen which had suddenly switched to a live feed of the scene the reporter had just described but even though I was watching it unfold before my eyes I simply could not believe what I was seeing.

“How the hell did the Empire manage to hide an SSD on the planet’s surface?” I whispered.

“Oh my….” Ynyth whispered in horror.

“As you can see the ship suddenly tore its way out of the ground just a few moments ago. It is destroying everything in its path. The civilian death toll is catastrophic!” The on scene reporter yelled to the recorder as from behind him the unmistakable wedge shaped nose of the SSD shed itself of the cradle that had held it on the ground and smashed everything in its path. People, buildings, vehicles, it did not matter whatever was there in its way was destroyed.

Ice cold fear shivered down my spine. “Isard!” I hissed through clenched teeth. “That has to be the Lusankya.”

“What? No way!” Shiv countered still staring at the screen.

“How do you know that Lei’lei?” My Uncle asked calmly.

“There was a rumour that Isard’s prison was really a ship and I knew they had built two super star destroyers but only one was ever unveiled. How they managed to hide that ship on the planet’s surface and then build over it I will never know but I am betting that who and what that is.”

No one seemed inclined to disagree with me and we watched the rest of the scene unfold in silence until Ynyth realised exactly what part of the city the ship was ripping apart. She turned to Shiv with tears streaming down her face. “That’s where we live.” She whispered. “Our apartment is in the middle of that zone.”

Shiv nodded, he had already figured that out but had not said anything.

Ynyth turned to look at my uncle. “If you had not called us because Merly had gone missing…” she whispered then looked at me, “If you had not vanished, Shiv and I would have been at home right now…we’d be dead….” Her voice trailed off and Shiv put his arm around her protectively. I glanced at my Uncle. The shaking in the flat was bad enough that I could hear glasses fall on the floor and break but we were far enough away that I didn’t think the damage would be bad or permanent.

Huddled in front of the holo screen hoping the rest of the flat would hold together we watched the Lusankya, now officially identified, began to climb through the sky, shooting the planetary shield as it did so. Ships buzzed around her like small flies at a carcass but I was damned sure the tiny fighters would do the SSD no harm at all. When it was all over we sat without speaking in the unnaturally still quiet, the HoloNet still babbling and now showing replays of what had happened.

“I have to go.” I said quietly. “I have to go now.”

This time there was no argument from my Uncle, just a nod of agreement.

“Our home…” Ynyth whispered. “We have no place to stay….”

I turned to her as if seeing her for the first time since this almost surreal incident began. “Stay here. Thrawn won’t be needing it. He won’t be coming back here to live I am almost certain of that and neither will I.”

“Merly….” Shiv began but I shut him up with a wave of my hand.

“I have to leave. I have information Thrawn needs and it can’t wait any more. That woman…” I shook my head because the words to describe what Isard had done, what she was escaped me, “He needs to know and I need to tell him.” I finished. “He made me co owner of this flat so I am telling you as co owner to stay here for as long as you need. I would feel better knowing someone was looking after the place anyway. There’s food and some clothes and everything you will need until you can sort yourselves out. I know it’s not much and it’s not yours but it’s better than nothing and you’d do the same for me if the situation were reversed.”

Ynyth was about to protest I could see it in her eyes but Shiv stopped her with a subtle gentle touch to her arm. I knew that gesture well, it was a gesture that all couples used to communicate without words and for reasons I could not explain it made me long so desperately for Thrawn that had it not been for my Uncle’s presence I probably would have tried to bolt off world in that very second just to be with him again.

“Thanks.” He said giving me a look that said how can I ever repay you?

“You should pack what you need Lei’lei. As soon as they clear off world traffic we should leave.”

I looked at Uncle Vahlek sharply. “We?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I am coming with you. As I recall the last time you went charging off into the Unknown Regions of Space it didn’t end very well for you.”

I went to protest but then realised his presence would be welcome, so instead I simply nodded.

“Well,” Uncle Vahlek said after a very long silence. “I don’t know about anyone else but I think I would like a brandy to go with desert, would anyone else care to join me?”

We all glanced at each other and since no one had any better ideas about what to do next, we joined my uncle at the dining room table. As I sat there toying with the cake with my fork I wondered if I would ever return to this planet again or if this would be the last time I would see Shiv and Ynyth. I hoped not but there was an air of finality to this meal, to this moment in time that I could not seem to shake.

Shiv glanced at me as if reading my mind. “What ever happens we’ll find a way to keep in touch even if I have to hand deliver messages to you all the way out in the backwater edges of space.” He said gripping my hand tightly in his.

I just nodded and grinned despite the tears in my eyes. “I love you too.” I whispered too choked up to speak loudly.

My uncle simply nodded and raised his glass. “To the future.” He said and we all touched our glasses to the one he held outstretched, echoing the phrase he had spoken. As we sipped the brandy there was a long moment of silence and I wondered about what the future would bring because, now, especially now everything and anything were possible. Then as with all melancholy moments it passed as Shiv made a joke and Ynyth punched his arm. The silence was broken by laughter and I understood that out of the sorrow came hope and as long as there was hope nothing else mattered.

Aftermath 6

For a long still moment I wondered if I had somehow stepped into the wrong room. I was certain that this was the same place Palpatine had taken me to when he had wanted to show me the small statue by Tarka-Null but the room I now faced was empty. I just stared around me not knowing what to do next. I had been certain that the answers I sought were here but it seemed that was not the case and I felt a flash of annoyance at the unseen guide who was determined to lead me on some annoying wild bantha chase to find answers I was pretty certain I already knew but just couldn’t figure out.

Once the shock and the last vestiges of fear had worn off I walked around to see if there was anything at all which would suggest what had happened to all the art that had once been here. It was entirely possible, I thought that it wasn’t the same room at all, but when I shone my torch on the floor I could see where heavy objects had once stood, scratch marks and a slight difference in the colour of the wood, marking the places of the display pedestals and heavy sculptures. It was the right place but everything had been removed and while I should not have been surprised, I was.

Palpatine had coveted the treasures he had hidden here so that only he could view them when ever he wished to. His delight at owning the priceless and rare works of art had been as blatantly obvious as his desire to unravel The Waiting Dancer’s secrets. So where had all the pieces of art gone. More to the point, when had they been removed and why?

I switched off the small hand torch and stood in the darkness, suddenly realising that this room had no windows. I had not noticed this when I had been here the last time as it had been dark and I had been far too wrapped up in the moment to notice much else. Now it seemed to stand out, no windows meant that either the room was not on any outside wall or it had been deliberately built this way so as to be hidden from outside view. I suspected the former was more likely. Palpatine had loved his treasures and had horded them jealously, owning these priceless works of art so that only he could sit and view them had been a source of glee for the man. He had been selfish that way, sharing was not in his vocabulary unless it meant he gained from it.

I sat down on the floor and pulled out the data care reader, switching it on to view the technical readouts again. The eerie green glow seemed to make the empty room more forlorn and all the more deserted. I scanned through the plans searching for this exact room, because I had managed to find the service corridors that led to the hall outside but the room itself did not exist on these plans, according to what I was looking at on the screen I was sitting in a dead end. I sighed and leaned back against the wall. Think, think, think…I chanted softly, I had been drawn here for a reason I was certain of that but the cryptic methods by which I was being led often meant I had to unravel a huge puzzle. Nothing, it seemed, that had to do with the force, ever came easy. So I closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift, trying to sort out the answers in the darkness.

When I had been going through training in what Thrawn had called The Center, one of the exercises I had been put through was how to find one’s way in the dark. This training facility which was deep down in the lower levels of the Imperial palace had been set up to train the Emperor’s elite agents among others so a lot of the exercises had been created with force users in mind. As I sat on the floor in the dark I remembered some of my experiences in this place, one of which was to find secrets embedded in the walls, floors and just about any other place a person could think of by using the force. They had been frustrating exercises which had more often than not had me stamping my feet in annoyance and anger.

“Merlyn,” Master Kjestyll would say, “you cannot unravel these mysteries by pounding on the walls with your fists, these are subtle drills designed to train your mind and your unique gifts. Stop fighting against them and allow the answers to flow to you.”

His voice was so clear in my mind that for a second I thought he was with me now and I knew a pang of sorrow that I would probably never see him again. I owed him so much more than I cared to even think about.

With a sigh, I drew a deep breath and began the job of concentrating, just as I had been taught. This ability to find things through the force was not one of my strongest talents and I had neither excelled at it nor particularly enjoyed it. During the time I had been training under the Bunduki master, more often than not it had both frustrated and eluded me but I understood the principle behind it and hoped that now some of this training would finally pay off because I needed it more now than ever.

I could feel the lingering essence Emperor’s power as I opened myself up to the force. It was a taint that I didn’t anyone would ever be able to rid this part of the palace of and it tasted like sour milk. It made me shudder but I found the thread I was looking for and followed it, surprised that I had not noticed it on my own.

The best place to hide things is often in plain sight. My uncle’s words echoed in my mind now as I got up from the floor and made my way over to the spot on the wall that appeared to radiate a soft light. I placed the flat of my hand against it and the large panel in the wall slid smoothly and without sound to reveal a passage way. I didn’t even consider the consequences; I simply walked into the blackness and hoped that it wouldn’t kill me. I just about jumped out of my skin when a light flickered on and for a few seconds I stood there half blind and very confused. This was not another tunnel at all but a turbo lift.

I glanced around the lift and frowned in puzzlement, wondering why there would be a lift only to a room in a part of the palace that no one else could get into except the Emperor, then decided I would learn the answer to this question probably sooner rather than later. There were only two options on the small panel, up or down. When I tried up it asked for a code. I was about to punch in the access code I had been using but a ripple of uncertainty made me change my mind. I lightly touched the down button and felt a small jolt, shivering as the brief flash of an image zapped into my head.

The Emperor had been the last person to use this turbo lift and when he had left it the code was still active. He had not returned to the lift so I figured he had left the room via the doors and the outside hallway. I took a chance and pressed the button, holding my breath as I did so. The turbo list hummed and then in a motion that was both smooth and silent it began to descend. As it zipped downward I felt my ears pop and realised I was headed deep into the under belly of the palace. When the door opened I was not at all prepared for what I saw there and shook my head in disbelief as I stepped out of the lift.

The Imperial palace was an enormous complex and often to get from one side to the other people used small private tunnel shuttles. I had known of and used a few but many were considered off limits and solely for the private use of the Emperor or very high ranking officials, Moffs and courtiers. People of my station, despite the privileges afforded me by Lord Vader usually walked, took the main turbo lifts or hopped a lift on the small service vehicles that were used to ferry larger items from one place to another.

The small shuttle that stood opened before me was so opulent that I knew it had once been owned by the Emperor. He had spared no expense for his desires and I wondered, a little grimly, that had majority of the galaxy’s populace known just how much wealth the Emperor had squandered on luxuries such as this if they would not have tried to over throw him earlier. I hesitated a moment.

“Go.” A subtle voice whispered urgently in my ear.

I glanced around to see if there was someone else there but the space around me was empty. Feeling both ill at ease and curious I stepped into the shuttle-car.

It had been designed as private and worked without a driver or operator and it was, by comparison to some of the ones I had heard about minimal in its space and features. Some shuttles, so I had been told, came complete with fresher stations and sleeping compartments. Those, I had assumed were for tunnels that traversed the Imperial Center and went long distances. This one was not quite so fine so I figured it either stopped along the way or the end destination was not so far that someone would feel the need to take a nap in between.

I glanced about. This place had Palpatine’s touch and I felt his presence strongly, like the residue of fine dust left in the wake of a desert storm he was everywhere. I sat on a seat and felt the ghostly memory of his caresses across my face, his beguiling, avuncular kindnesses that had bee laced with a subtle malice and his satisfied laughter when he finally had what he wanted from me. His voice, his life force and this vile laughter now seemed to echo around me, and for a moment I wondered if he were somehow right there in this car along side of me.

“He’s dead!” I told myself firmly but the presence that lingered here was malevolent and very real. Suppressing a shudder I studied the control panel and tried not to dwell on the fear which threatened to make me turn tail and go back home.

Like most of the tunnel shuttles this one only went two ways, to a destination point and back again with stops along the way, much like some of the monorails on a few planets I had been to. I glanced around and thought that I would gain nothing by sitting here all alone so I hit the red start button and hoped I would not attract any unwanted attention. On the display there were five stops listed, two were actually in the palace, one was Prince Xizor’s now destroyed palace and two were not given specific names, just destination numbers. I blew the air that I had been holding in my lungs noisily and decided to let the shuttle go to the final destination point, it seemed logical to start at the very end and work my way back.

It was an odd thing to be sitting in a place that once only the Emperor had used. I was quite certain that not even Lord Vader had known about this shuttle and at first it seemed a little unlikely that the Emperor would go anywhere without his Royal guardsmen but then I realised he had not always been the Emperor, at one time he had been playing a dual role and the need for secrecy had been great. I marvelled at how he could have done that’s o well, portrayed the kindly, caring benevolent senator as well as the deadly Sith Lord Sidious. No one had figured it out and it was only because Palpatine revealed himself to Anakin at the boy’s weakest moment did the Jedi council finally learn that Palpatine had played them for dupes all along. Not even the great and powerful Master Yoda had seen it coming and to my mind it had served them right for the arrogance and narrow minded viewpoints.

Thinking about this history made me curious and I began to touch the surfaces of everything I could see. I was astounded to realise that no one except Palpatine had ever used this vehicle and that he had done so long before the Empire had even existed. This shuttle dated back to a time when most people had believed him to be a benevolent elderly senator with only the best intentions at heart.

I saw images of him in stately robes as well as a large, hooded cloak. He seemed to meld from one personality to the other with the ease of a shape shifter. I shivered. His powers had been so great and he had been so patient. No one had even suspected him at all and how he had laughed at the Jedi, scattering themselves to the four corners of the galaxy in search for of the Evil Sith Lord when all along he was there right under their noses. I sat, lost in thought and so completely engulfed in the memories and images I was seeing, half dozing in the process, that I lost completely track of time and very nearly yelled with fright when the shuttle suddenly stopped and the door slid open. Well, I thought, whatever it was I was looking for had better be here because I had almost fallen asleep on that stupid shuttle and that would have been a bad thing.

The first thing that hit me once I made my way into the building the shuttle had stopped at was the smell. The Works District, I thought. Puzzled, I wondered what the heck the Emperor would have wanted in this area of the city because then as now, it was primarily industrial and not a very desirable place to live. Of course I reasoned he probably had not actually lived here and then I wondered if coming here was such a good thing to do after all. I set the shuttle to hold so that it would wait for me and not automatically return to the Palace leaving me stuck in the worst parts of town alone, without the means to get home then I turned to explore.

In contrast to the Imperial palace, this building was both ugly and dirty. The stench that permeated the air was rife with toxic chemicals and the remnants of decay both bodily and metallic. Long after many of the factories had been abandoned they continued to work, producing fumes and waste. If one listened carefully enough one could hear the strange sounds of machines at work. With the never ending supply of repair droids it was more than likely parts of this area of Coruscant would continue to function long after the end of the galaxy itself. I made a face and walked along the corridor towards a turbo lift door.

I suspected that this building was uninhabited now, except for maybe droids and creatures I didn’t even want to think about. My chances of meeting another sentient being here were slim but I was very glad I had brought my lightsaber anyway and getting it out of my satchel then gripping it in my hand was both reassuring and strange at the same time.

I stepped into the turbo lift and without me doing anything the door closed softly then it began to go upwards. The lift door opened after what seemed an eternity and I stepped out into a corridor that was dark and made from polished stone similar to the later additions of the Imperial Palace. I shivered; this place had all of the Enperor’s subtle touch.

The first room I came to was an office of sorts, long abandoned and mostly empty aside from a desk, a chair and an old Holo transmitter that looked as though it had seen better days. I stepped inside and touched the desk lightly; it was covered in a thick layer of dust. It did not give up any specific memories except for some vague images of a tall, stately man named Dooku who mean nothing to me. There was nothing else in the room to suggest I would find anything of use here so I stopped touching things, wiped the dust from my fingertips and took a moment to look out of the window. I was a little surprised at how far away the Imperial Palace was and also at how late it now was. I had left the flat just after two in the morning and now I could see the faint stripes of dawn starting to cut the night sky. I turned and left quickly wondering whose office this had been and what exactly this place I had found was, and more importantly why the Emperor had a secret tunnel shuttle to it.

I quickened my pace, walking down the dark corridor to the next door. It was locked but my lightsaber made short work of the lock which sparked and fizzled when I sliced through it. The door opened partially. I slipped through the space into what reminded me of a torture chamber from some of the terrible horror holos that Shiv occasionally liked to watch on closer inspection I realised it had once been some sort of med lab but the equipment in it had long been smashed and mangled. I brushed my hand along some of the counter tops and broken droids but there was nothing of note until I touched what looked like a rather nasty operating table.

Assaulted by a barrage of images so violent and so painful I physically tried to ward them off, I staggered back and fell on the floor landing on my rear with a painful thump. Winded and shocked I tried to sort through what I had just seen, crying without even realizing it. “Anakin….” I whispered out loud. “Oh Anakin what did he do to you? What did you do to yourself?”

I had seen this scene in a dream once. The Emperor’s secret medical facility where he had put Anakin Skywalker back together again after his disastrous fight with Obi Wan but I had not really understood it to be true. I had thought my dream metaphorical not real. The medical droids had attached the prosthetic limbs to Anakin’s burnt stubs without any anaesthetic or pain killers. He had writhed and screamed throughout the entire procedure and Palpatine had watched with a sickening glee. When the procedure was finally over and the table tilted to raise him to his feet, covered in the new and uncomfortable body armour, his face completely hidden by his mask, and his burned body still wracked with pain, his first question had been about Padmé.

Feigning sympathy, the Emperor had told him she was dead that in his haste and anger, Anakin had killed her. The surge of force fury which Anakin or rather Lord Vader had unleashed had been so violent that it had crushed most of the medical machinery in this room and with that his slide into the dark side was complete. With Padmé dead there was nothing to hold him in the light any more, no one left to believe in the good. I fought to catch my breath and fought down the gorge that rose in my throat.

‘You vile old bastard.’ I thought bitterly. ‘No wonder Lord Vader hated you so very much.’ The thing that I had not understood until that very moment was that Palpatine had fed off this hatred. I sat huddled on the floor a fresh wave of loss washed over me. The deep wounds of mourning reopened. I covered my face with my hands and wept silently for the shattered soul of man who was now long dead. I did not feel the presence of another until a soft voice broke the silence around me.

“This place holds much evil.”

I glanced up to see the ghostly image of a woman in old fashioned jedi robes shimmering before me. “Akali L’uanna.” My voice sounded small in this bleak place.

She gave me a single, slight nod. I could not think of this young woman who had not been much older than I was now when she had died as my mother.

“Daughter, you will not find what you are looking for sitting on this floor weeping for the soul of the dead.”

I sighed with impatience and frustration at her serene manner. “Well then why not just tell me what I need to know and stop all this game playing?”

“Because, daughter, you must see for yourself in order to fully understand.”

“To fully understand what?”

“The perils of giving in to your anger and to your hatred. The dangers of the dark side of the force.” She replied.

“Don’t you dare lecture me on the ways of the force!” I spat. “I did not ask for this nasty little gift you’ve given me and I do the best I can with it under the circumstances!”

“Do not give in to your base emotions, they will blind you and it is not the Way of the Jedi.”

“Well, it’s good that I am not a jedi then isn’t it?” I shot back, my ire getting the better of my tongue.

Her expression turned sorrowful and she shook her head. “Sitting here mourning for Anakin’s past will not help you find what you seek.”

I stared at her for a moment. “If you are not going to be helpful then go away and leave me alone.” I told the bluish ghost. “I don’t have time for these games any more.”

“Be mindful of your passions, daughter, they blind you to the truth.” She said and the chiding tone of her disapproval did not go unnoticed. I looked away from her and wiped the remnants of the tears from my eyes. When I didn’t answer her ghost image shimmered and she vanished slowly, her last words lingering in the air. “Use the force, it will guide you always.”

I glared at the space where she had been. “Yeah well so far the force has done a bang up job of guiding me into all sorts of trouble.” I muttered.

I shook my head and looked around. She was right despite my reluctance to agree. This was not what I had come here for and there was nothing in this place except for terrifying old memories of anguish and pain. I took on last glance around and left quickly.

There were a couple more rooms on this floor, a rehabilitation or training room and another office like place, neither of which had anything I wanted to see or touch. At the end of the hallway was another turbo lift and I stepped into it quickly because now I was anxious and eager to be done with this endless, wild bantha chase. The door closed and the lift slid downward without me having to push anything. This entire facility had been automated to Palpatine’s will it seemed. When the lift reached its destination I stepped out and found myself in another small, dimly lit corridor. There was only one door so I went to it and was not very surprised that it did not open automatically open. I looked for the control panel and found it cleverly hidden. It was code activated and my clearance didn’t work so I used my lightsaber again, the universal door opener. The room I stepped into was both a nightmare and a mess.

“What the…?” I whispered quietly as I stepped gingerly around pieces of shattered equipment and transparasteel. The room resembled a war zone. The floor was strewn with the smashed bits of what looked like bacta tanks along with other unfamiliar medical equipment and all the data banks that lined the walls had been seared and burned with an energy weapon I assumed had been a lightsaber or perhaps something even more powerful. What ever had destroyed them had done a thorough job; no one would ever recover any data from these machines again. I stared around me and wondered why someone would go to so much trouble to destroy such valuable and expensive equipment. It made no sense. I knew what I had to do but I didn’t want to do it. Touching the operating table in the med-lab had been bad enough. I was certain that whatever these fragments of the past had to offer would be much, much worse but I also knew this was what I had come to find. I took two very deep breaths and reached out grasp one of the largest shards of what had looked like a bacta tank.

The images that came were terrible beyond belief and of something I could never, in my wildest dreams, have imagined. I was so utterly unprepared for what I saw that once the flood of memories the fragment of shattered transparasteel had slashed their way through me, I dropped to my knees and retched violently, grateful I had not eaten in many, many hours. Once the nausea and the cold sweats passed, I sat on the ground next to but not touching any more of the broken equipment for a long time trying to catch my breath and sort out what I had just seen. It was too astounding to comprehend yet it made sense and confirmed something I had often wondered about after my terrible dream on Hjal after Thrawn had returned for me.

I had my answer and the simplicity of it had stunned me. I should have known all along and it angered me that I had not seen it on my own. All of a sudden I was weary beyond belief. All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed and forget everything I had ever seen or learned about Palpatine. I got up, my legs shaking, and backed out of the terrible room that had once been the Emperor’s private cloning facility to make my way back. I didn’t stop to explore anything else; I just wanted to get out. I felt that now I was pushing my luck and I didn’t need to run into a spice or deathstix dealer or worse here.It would be just my luck to end up on the wrong side of a fight and find myself in a med-lab again.

Aftermath 5

It was raining hard, something that was unusual for Coruscant but the weather grid had been screwy every since the night the Rebels had taken the planet. I didn’t mind. Rain made everything anonymous somehow and it fitted my pensive, gloomy mood. It was difficult to see and, despite the fact it was just past two in the morning, the speeder lanes were still busy with traffic which meant I didn’t stand out.

I took a convoluted route to the Imperial Palace and when I arrived close enough to get a good look at it I was stunned to see the damage that had been done. Shiv had warned me that this was the case but I hadn’t actually taken his words to heart. I had been too upset with the fact that he had decided to return to his old job and was now working for the enemy to pay much attention to his descriptions of the destruction. He could have gotten a job with anyone and had, in fact, been offered several interesting positions with a variety of hospitality companies and hotel chains but he had turned them all down when he learned he could return to the palace. At first I had been so angry with him for making this decision that I had refused to speak to him for several days even though he had pointed out defensively, it was a job and Coruscant was an expensive place to live. I had been surprised that the New Republic even allowed him to continue working, although his job had changed significantly.

He had shrugged. “What were they supposed to do, instantly replace every single person on the staff? That would have been disastrous, they don’t have a clue how a lot of the things work in the palace. After hours of interviews and some background checks, they decided that mostly it would be okay if many of the civilian staff returned to work, with certain conditions of course.”

It was easy to be mad at Shiv because I wasn’t in his situation and I didn’t have to work. Thrawn’s flat was paid for and I was, by current standards, considered wealthy. My salary, which had been paid directly to a bank account, had accumulated over the years and since I had been given an expense account for clothing, a ship with fuel included for my transportation it wasn’t as if I had ever actually spent much of the money I had earned. My uncle, having been through galactic upheavals before made some investment suggestions and with his advice and help I soon had most of my earnings and wealth shifted into precious metal commodities. He assured me that while currencies had a tendency to come and go like fashion, the commodities I now owned would only ever increase in value, especially in times of civil unrest. The whole discussion of money had left me somewhat bewildered, it was never something I had worried much about because I had never wanted to be rich and I had never been truly poor. As long as I could pay for ship fuel, buy food and water and clothe myself, money wasn’t something I had ever thought about. On Tatooine credits meant nothing compared to the value of water.

Finally I stopped giving him the silent treatment and had asked why he had gone back to his old job and not chosen to do something new.

“It’s what I know Rim-girl and I know it very well. This makes me valuable.” He had said with a small shrug. This had been a half truth but before I could call him on it he clarified it for me. “Plus, it will allow me to get a handle on what this new government is all about. Maybe it won’t be so bad. I need to understand them and their way of doing things. I can’t spend the rest of my life hating them because they took a stand against Palpatine’s rule and let’s face it, Merlyn, Palpatine was evil.” I had been more than shocked to hear him say this, even though I agreed with it, but before I could argue with him he had added, “You don’t know the half of the stuff that went on in the palace. You didn’t work for the Empire that long and Vader kept you sheltered whether you want to believe it or not. You had his protection and you had his favour. When you hooked up with Thrawn that became two very powerful men who made it quite clear to the rest of the scyks in their circles that you were off limits. You, yourself told me that Palpatine had plans for you and that they were not good plans. He would have twisted you and used you until there was nothing left but a shell and now that won’t happen. Now you don’t need to be scared to use your force powers or explore the different paths and options. If you wanted to you could seek out Vader’s son and ask him to teach you in the Jedi arts.”

It was a long speech for Shiv and his tone of voice had been both bitter as well as pleading. I didn’t need to use any of my witchy ways to know he was torn by what had happened and during his time working at the Imperial palace under Palpatine’s rule he had seen many terrible things happen but he had rarely spoken of them, maintaining an appearance of fluffy and even simple-minded cheerfulness. I had had no idea he had felt this way up until now and the really frustrating thing was that he was right.

“Merly, you got lucky. Palpatine left you alone for a long time, choosing instead to subtly manipulate you rather than force you down a path that could and probably would have broken you. Vader liked you and you did your job well. As weird as it sounds you meant something to him and that saved you a world of grief. I could tell you horror stories that would make you vomit about things which were done behind the scenes. And for all the good things the Empire did for this galaxy, there are enough negative aspects that I, for one, am relieved to see some change.”

I had just stared at him and then glanced at my uncle who had watched and listened to this exchange with his usual guarded quite. Uncle Vahlek had nodded in agreement but a little part of me had still felt as though Shiv was betraying something I could not define or let go of and that had shown on my face.

“The Empire, as you knew it, doesn’t exist any more Lei’lei.” Uncle Vahlek had chided. “Don’t you dare judge your friends for wanting to adapt and survive.” He had said with an edge to his voice I seldom heard. “You have no idea how lucky you truly are. Thanks to Thrawn’s generosity you co-own property on Coruscant outright, and because of him you also have a mate who will provide you with everything you would ever need, should you but ask. You have never known poverty or faced the threat of losing your home in your life. You are both spoiled and lucky and it is only your unusual nature that has kept you from turning into the kind of person you yourself despise.”

He had spoken so sharply that tears had sprung to my eyes but he had been right. What did I know of these things? I was spoiled and I was lucky and above all I had never known the sort of uncertainty Shiv and Ynyth were now facing before in my life. No matter what happened Thrawn had seen to it that I would be provided for and until my uncle had so bluntly pointed this out I had never really given it much thought.

When I had begun to work for the Empire one of the things that had struck me the most was the wealth, the opulence and the arrogance that went along with it. Money and power, the two were inexplicably linked, but I didn’t understand why that was. What had amazed me even more was the disparity between the very rich and the very poor especially on Coruscant. Tatooine had its share of wealthy people, most notable were the Hutts, but none of them came even close to the money I saw wasted on Coruscant. What my wardrobe alone had cost could have purchased a docking bay and several houses on my home planet.

I had talked with Thrawn about this at great length because it was a subject that sometimes worried at me. I felt guilty for the amount of credits spent on frivolous things, like the pretty dresses I wore to the Imperial events, especially when I knew that other people struggled to get by. In the end I had donated a portion of my salary to a charity and left it at that because I hadn’t known what else to do.

“You cannot change the way the galaxy works, tekari.” Thrawn had told me somewhat exasperated one day. “Greed and commerce will rule it. There will always be those who have and those who have not. Credits, like anything else are just a tool. Damned annoying when you don’t have enough, but having too much can also be problematic.”

“How do you figure that?” I had asked crossly. I hated it when he lectured, especially when he was right and I knew it.

“What do you do when you have everything you could ever hope for and more? When there is nothing more you hunger for? What happens to your soul?”

I had sighed. “You end up like Prince Xizor.”

Thrawn’s smile had been sunlight. “Exactly.” He had said. “Be happy that you live well and can experience some of the finer things this planet, this galaxy has to offer, give what you can when you can but do not feel guilty for what you earn from a job most people in this galaxy would not do even if it made them billionaires over night. Personally, I do not think you get paid enough to take the abuse you do.”

I had made a face then and his reply, a not so gentle kiss, had been a pre-emptive strike against what would have been a tirade on my part about how I liked my job, an argument we had often and one which was usually settled in the bedroom where we would agree to disagree and leave it at that.

Once I had gotten over my prejudice of Shiv’s decision to work for the New Republic, I welcomed his tales of the comings and goings in the palace. Mostly he delighted in telling about the reconstruction work that was being done to repair all the damage that had been inflicted upon the building during the battle for the planet. He had also said it was a damned good job none of us had been in the building during that time or shortly after it had fallen because New Republic loyalists had broken in to the palace, looting everything in sight and murdering anyone they suspected of being even remotely connected to the Empire. Once all that nonsense had been stopped and some sort of normalcy had been reinstated, many people had gone back to work as though nothing much had changed.

“They are renovating much of the buildings back to the style it had been before the Emperor took over. I have the connections and the experience to deal with the contractors and the workers. I can broker the best deals. I know how the system here works they don’t, so they need me.” He had said a little smugly, “They have explored but not touched much of the old part of the palace yet. Security is limited at best, and the internal surveillance system was shot to poodoo when the palace was bombed. Your old apartment was hit as was your office but I am not sure about your balcony or your old training room.”

“Maybe I’ll have to explore a bit.” I had grinned.

“Like bloody hell you will, Lei’lei!” My uncle had interjected with an explosive growl that had made even Shiv raise his eyebrows. “You will stay away from that place or else!”

At the time I had just made a face and rolled my eyes because I really had no intention of going back to the palace. Now, as I manoeuvred my speeder around the enormous complex to survey the actual damage done I felt a strange sense of sadness mixed with apprehension. This had been home once. Not that I had ever really felt at home here but I did have a strange attachment to the place and it was distressing to see parts of it reduced to piles of shattered rubble. I flew as close as I dared to the area where I had once lived, Shiv had been right, it had pretty much been obliterated. Then I steered to look over what had once been my favourite place in the world to go. What I saw made my heart ache.

The balcony where I had first met Thrawn was gone, sheered off leaving only ragged stone and duracrete behind. Despite the damage to the outer wall the doors to the balcony had remained intact so my guess was that part of the palace had managed to escape major internal damage but through the darkness and the rain it was impossible to say for sure.

That the balcony was gone made me sad. This place had been special. It was here that Thrawn had kissed me for the very first time. I closed my eyes for a second, bringing up that particular memory. He had seemed so dangerous and he had made me so very nervous yet at the same his manner had been beguiling and his seduction had been so very full of promise. “Working for the Empire may not always agree with you, Miss Gabriel,” he had said in a voice that reminded me of fine, warm brandy, “but I get the distinct impression that being with me does.” Neither of us had reckoned on how much that single kiss would change our lives or just how right he was.

For a moment I was lost in thought and then realised that mourning the past was a waste of time. This building was no longer my home and until Thrawn came up with some bold and daring plan the Empire would never rule from it again which meant I had to find something to help him. I wasn’t going to do that sitting in my speeder weeping for an old stone balcony on a building that was never mine to begin with.

I veered away, making it appear as though I were just another nosey passer-by and then doubled back to where I originally wanted to go. When I found the perfect spot, I carefully landed my speeder on one of the lower maintenance landing pads and hoped that Shiv’s unwitting intel on the state of palace security had been correct.

At the height of the Empire these areas were mostly used by service personnel and maintenance droids. It was dark, quiet and the surveillance equipment which the Empire had used to maintain security in this area was now no longer working, at least this was what Shiv had told me.

“They had to shut off most of the power to these old maintenance areas because of the damage from the bombing. Apparently the entire internal surveillance and security systems were completely messed up, probably something Isard set into place should the Palace ever be taken. The Republic’s slicers still have not figured out how to bypass the old codes so they had to shut the whole system down and use droids or guards as watchmen, but they don’t have the manpower to do this job adequately.” He had said. “It’s sad actually because looters get in all the time and steal anything that isn’t permanently fixed in place and aside from trying to patrol the major problem areas there isn’t enough people to watch all the entrances all the time, bad for the palace and the New Republic but good for me.

I made sure to park the speeder where it could not easily be seen or found, using the slot furthest away from the building to look as though I was just someone abusing the parking space to avoid paying fees. As I glanced around I saw I was not the only one doing this. Parking was always an issue on Coruscant and in the Imperial center it had, for as long as I knew, been outrageously expensive. There were a number of bars and clubs situated around the area so it would be a plausible explanation for leaving the speeder here without drawing too much attention. I figured the New Republic had enough on its hands without worrying about illegal parking and getting a citation for that violation would be a whole lot easier to deal with than getting caught trying to break into the Palace. Although, I had reasoned to my self, was it actually breaking in when I had a valid key-code and used to actually work here?

The rain was coming down in sheets and I was grateful for the heavy over cloak I wore which was both dark and waterproof. Not only did it keep me dry, as well as hide my body from view making me look like a shapeless shadow, but with the hood pulled up and low over my face all that anyone looking would see was a dark figure trying to escape the gloomy weather. I was anonymous and almost invisible which was just the way I wanted it, especially as I was actually trying to get into the palace not run away from it. The entrance I came to was half hidden by an overhang and had been a small service entrance used mainly by droids and technical personnel with a specific clearance. When my uncle had erased me from the Imperial databank he had managed to do so in a way that had maintained my security clearance and kept my codes intact. To this day I still wasn’t sure how he had managed this feat but I wasn’t going to complain.

Taking a deep breath and hoping that I wasn’t about to set off a billion alarms I punched in one of the few codes I knew which had given me access to the majority of the palace entrances. While working for Lord Vader had been dangerous and often painful, it did have its up sides and one of them was almost unlimited access. The door-lock’s light blinked from red to green and with a soft hiss it opened for me. I slipped inside like a shadow and held my breath as the door closed gently behind me, waiting to see if anyone came running to arrest me or worse. When, after what seemed like an hour but was really only a few moments, nothing happened I heaved a sigh of relief and began to make my way into the palace. I had no idea what I was looking for only that something had drawn me back to this place and the nagging sensation had grown more intense now that I was actually inside the building. Of course getting in had been the easy part, the hard part was now to come…actually figuring out what it was I was here for and how to find it.

The small corridor was dimly lit and I could by the dust build up tell that it had not been recently used. I knew that if I kept walking straight I would eventually hit one of the main service areas and the likelihood of bumping into a watchman or guard was much higher so I wanted to find an alternative route towards the core, towards the areas the Emperor would have used. I was certain that what I wanted to learn was hidden deep within his chambers and I had been to a part of his private area once before so I had a vague idea of where I needed to go.

Once I was absolutely certain no one had discovered my break-in and no one was coming to get me I rummaged around my satchel and brought out the data card with the palace blue prints on it and the hand held reader I had brought with me. I had hoped that it would help me orientate myself because the palace, with its over twenty thousand rooms and chambers, was an enormous place and I knew only a very small portion of it by heart and those were well used areas which had been busy and populated by palace staff. Now I wanted to use the service tunnels and perhaps even secret tunnels to stay out of anyone’s way. I did not want to have to explain what I was doing in the palace in the early hours of the morning without the appropriate clearance from the current occupying force.

According to the technical readout I was on the south west side of the main building, near a service area primarily used to deal with power routing and back up generators. This would have been an area deemed Cresh-clearance, important but not vital. Most C-class technicians would have had mid-level access which meant I should not have problems bypassing any security I came across. The big problems with that would come later when I delved deeper into the Emperor’s secrets; at least I hoped I would make it that far. I studied the data for a long moment trying to get my bearings and then fairly certain of where I had to go next, I tucked the reader and the data disk back in my satchel, pulled out a small hand torch and set off.

The service corridors ran parallel to the main corridors, sort of narrow passages large enough for droids and humans to walk through without having to interrupt the daily routines or the prettiness of daily palace life. Who among the Palace elite wanted to see technicians at work? These corridors allowed day to day maintenance to be done without anyone knowing it was being done, maintaining the illusion of perfection within the palace confines. I also though that it was partly to keep the maintenance guys from being hassled by everyone who had a problem but didn’t feel like going through the appropriate channels to get it fixed. In some ways these passages were very much like secret tunnels in that most of the palace population never knew about them and the entrances to these service ways were hidden from view to keep from ruining the beauty of the palace interior, only accessible by code key clearance and labyrinth like without some sort of a map, for while they often ran parallel to the main hallways they also deviated when rooms, stairwell and turbo lift shafts got in the way. It would have been very easy to get lost in one of these tunnels and I was grateful I had a map.

Palpatine’s main audience chamber was atop the highest point in the palace complex. While I knew that he had spent time in this place I also knew that he had built, for himself, secret chambers else where. When he had taken me to see the small statue that my mother had posed for when she was a child, we had been mid level and on the east side. The room with his treasures, including The Waiting Dancer, had been in a part of the palace which had remained untouched since before the fall of the old Republic, old and stunning it architecture and it was to this place I now headed, drawn without even realising it. He had told me it was a part of the palace that few ever visited and at the time I had assumed this had been because he did not allow it but as I slowly navigated my way through the labyrinth of services corridors and turbo lifts, drawn partly by instinct and partly by guess work using the technical plans I had, hoping no one would notice me, I began to wonder if it was because people had been led to believe that part of the palace was no longer usable or somehow had the idea it simply didn’t exist.

The Emperor had been strong enough with the force to create such an illusion, after all he had manipulated the entire fleet through the force, and it would have been a hell of a lot easier to assert this sort of will over a small area of the palace he did not want trespassers in than setting up elaborate security which would have called attention to a place he wished to keep secret. Palpatine had been a master at illusion and hiding in plain sight, why should this be any different?

I walked for a long time and even with the use of some of the service shuttles and turbo lifts it took me the better part of an hour to get to where I thought I wanted to be. It wasn’t just help from the data I had that led me to this place, I was also following my gut because on some level I was being led to the place I wanted to go. If this had not been something I had experienced before I would have been unnerved by it, now I was just worried that whatever it was I was being drawn towards would be as awful as the time I had found the Jedi Council room.

After a few wrong turns and some tense moments where I thought I heard someone in the tunnel with me but actually turned out to be a stray hawkbat I came to the exit I needed. For a long moment I stood at the access door with my ear pressed to the cold metal and listened for any sound or sign of life on the other side. I closed my eyes and stretched out with my force powers but there was nothing unusual or dangerous there as far as I could tell. I punched in the same access code I had used before and a quiet snick let me know the lock had released. I touched the panel and it slid sideways opening to a hallway I immediately recognised. I stepped out into the hall and was suddenly overcome by a strange sense of repulsion and fear all at the same time.

My initial instinct was to bolt straight back into the service tunnel and run for home but then a voice in the back of my head cut through my panic and I understood that I had been right about the Emperor and his protection of this place. I swallowed back my rising fear and steadied my breathing, allowing my senses to shift and move around me. There was no one here, but that made sense. There was such an over powering sense of unwelcomeness, of fear here that most people would simply turn away without even realising they had done so and never question why. I drew a steadying breath and let the force flow around me, through it I could sense the power Palpatine had left here and it was an awe inspiring thing, so simple yet so effective.

I walked towards the ornate doors that hid the room where the little statue I had been allowed to see and touch had lain. A ripple of apprehension slithered across my back. What if the Emperor wasn’t actually dead? What if his death had been a ruse and he lived, and was here? What if, what if, what if? The pervasive sense of fear that pressed upon my shoulders was terrifying. It reminded me of some of the nightmares I had been having. The closer I got to the ornate doors, the worse the fear became until I though it would drive me mad. Logically, a part of me knew that there was nothing here which would harm me but the feelings I had were a whole other story. I had not experienced this when I had been here before but of course, then I had been a guest of the Emperor and had been protected from this rather unusual security system.

I was certain anyone else who had ventured into this part of the palace had also experienced this unnamed dread and unless they had been really well trained to over come their natural instincts to run or were a super power in the force it was my guess no one had actually managed to step beyond these doors since the Emperor’s death. I bent my own will against that of the now dead Emperor and forced myself to ignore the screaming sensation of danger which pounded in my skull and reached for one of the door handles. Without even thinking about it, I shut my eyes, gritted my teeth and I tried the door. To my great surprise it opened, allowing me to slip through unharmed. As soon as the doors had closed behind me, the feeling of utter dread vanished leaving me bathed in a cold sweat and shaking but otherwise unharmed. I exhaled loudly, then opened my eyes and swore in disbelief.