The Hunters and the Hunted 1

The Executor and the ships that flocked about her moved through space like a pack of desert scyks on the hunt. As I made my way through the vast corridors to meet with Lord Vader I could not help but notice the tension that hung in the air was more pronounced than usual. Lord Vader was determined to find the hidden rebel base, the one the arms shipment that had been stopped at Derra IV was meant for. He had seeded the galaxy with thousands of viper probe droids but so far none of them had sent back anything that was really of use. This lack of information was making him testy and incredibly short tempered. One only had to step on the bridge to feel how nervous all the men working in the pits were. Every time he swept up and down the walkway they all followed his movements with their eyes wondering if they would be singled out next to bear the brunt of his frustration and anger.

Thrawn had not stayed long on board the Executor, his meeting with Lord Vader had only lasted a couple of hours and then with a brief stop by my quarters to say good-bye he was back off out to the Unknown Regions to rejoin the Admonitor with Rukh and replacement stormtroopers in tow. I wasn’t good at partings at the best of times and the closer Thrawn and I seemed to become with each other the more awkward the farewells seemed to get. It was as if, while he was near me I felt whole and safe, even complete and when he was gone off working someplace on the far side of the galaxy I could shut that part off and not miss him but the actual parting was intensely painful and it made me peevish and difficult. Saying goodbye was easier for me to deal with by being cross and moody than allowing the truth to show through. I didn’t like the sensation of being torn apart or knowing that just maybe it might be the very last time I would ever see him. It hurt, it made me feel weak and I hated it. I suspect he understood this because his good-byes were always quick and without a lot of fuss, as though he too disliked the discomfort of letting go. Still, despite the stiffness and formality I had ached with sadness when he had left my quarters, his kiss lingering on my lips and his scent ghosting the air.

The sense of emptiness I was filled with after Thrawn had left was almost bewildering and the only way I knew to get past it was to throw myself into my work so that is what I did. There was certainly enough to catch upon and while I had really only been away from it for just over a week it felt as though I had been gone for years. I settled down at my desk, cup of tea in hand and began to wade through the memos and messages in relative quiet. The to-do list was longer than I had imagined. At least, I thought ruefully, it was quiet here. I should have known better. My peace and quiet lasted less than an hour.

Lord Vader was seated in his hyperbaric chamber when the door to his private quarters slid open. His back was to me and he was looking at the monitors on the opposing wall. He knew I had arrived but he ignored me. I stepped into the room and waited a respectable distance away from him while he conversed with Admiral Ozzel. I stood and watched; astounded at the Admiral’s audacity. The manner in which he spoke to Lord Vader as he argued over something to do with the recent batch of probe droids that had just been released was rude and condescending. One of these days, I thought, that attitude was going to get Ozzel killed. Lord Vader only put up with rudeness for so long and Ozzel’s only saving grace had been he had not actually screwed up in any way gig enough to earn him Lord Vader’s temper. When the conversation ended and the view screen flickered off Lord Vader got up from his seat in the open chamber motioned for me to come to him.

“My personal physician informs me that you will make a full recovery.” he said, his gloved fingers holding my chin to look at me this way and that, as if inspecting my face would give him clues as to the state of my health. It had been our first face to face meeting since my return to the ship.

“Yes.” I told him, trying not to flinch at the coldness of his touch.

“I find it disturbing that this man from your past is able to make such a nuisance of himself. Have I not taught you to defend yourself well enough? He should be dead by now not running around free, causing no end of trouble.” he asked with a touch of disgust as he roughly let go of my chin.

I made a face and tried to keep my own temper in check. “Well, as far as fights go, I was doing fine, better than fine actually, until he stabbed me with an anzati assassin’s blade filled with some sedative and that had residual venom in it.” I protested. I felt the sting of reproach in his words and I didn’t like it.

“You should have avoided being struck by that weapon. You are better than that, I have taught you better than that. I am most displeased.” He growled.

I didn’t know how to answer this because deep in my heart I felt he was right.

“Have you nothing to say to this, girl?” he asked turning his back on me in that manner which said ‘I do not know what to do with you…’

“Well, actually since you asked…yes…” I muttered.

His head turned to stare at me over his shoulder. “And that would be?”

“Perhaps it would be wise if you did not give me any more time off while we are on Coruscant!” I retorted. “I prefer to holiday on Tatooine!”

To my surprise, this earned me a barked laugh.

I added. “Although in defence of it all, it was because of what happened that an entire rebel cell was discovered in the palace.”

He nodded. “Yes. That was a fortunate stroke of luck and you have won favour with Intel for your work in this matter, making me look good. Isard was pleased but do not let that go to your head.” He turned back to face me waving his finger in my nose.

“Of course not, my lord.” I sighed.

“Do you feel fit enough to return to your duties or do you require more time to recover?” he asked already knowing the answer.

“I have had quite enough recovery.” I snapped at him. He was irritating me and he was enjoying it.

“Good.” He said, using the force to bring a datachip to his hand from the desk across the room. “You can start by dealing with this.” He paused, and then added. “I understand that you know the bounty hunter Boba Fett personally?”

“I have met him on several occasions.” I said cagily.

“I require his services, find him for me and arrange a face to face meeting.” He said thoughtfully. “Expedience in this matter would be appreciated.” The hint of threat under his politeness did not go unnoticed.

“Yes, my lord.”

He handed me the datachip and I took it gingerly. “You will deal with this list in your usual efficient manner. I also have some meetings this week that will need to be rescheduled and a holo-conference with Prince Xizor that can to be cancelled. I do not have time to argue with him over matters which have already been decided.”

I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. “Yes, my lord, although the Prince will no doubt complain if you reschedule an appointment with him.”

“Let him complain. Perhaps all his whining will eventually deafen my master’s ears and the Emperor will see Xizor for what he truly is and deal with him accordingly.” Lord Vader said testily.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.” I muttered.

He barked another laugh. “I see your sense of humour was not impaired in this latest incident.” He said tartly.

I shrugged. What could I say to that? I just looked at him and for a split second there was a moment when I sensed he wanted to say something more but an incoming comm from the bridge interrupted him.

“What is it Captain?” he growled as the image of a very nervous looking Captain Piett filled the screen.

“My lord, you wished to be notified when the recent batch of probe droids began to transmit their findings. We are receiving the first of these data streams now.”

“Very well Captain.” Lord Vader replied and waved the view screen off. He paused for a moment and then turned back to me. “I will be on the bridge. Notify me when you have made contact with Fett and when there is time later on I shall expect to see you in the training room, bring your lightsaber. The next time you face off against this rebel nuisance I expect you to kill him and not mess about; he is not a toy for you to play with. Is that clear?” He told me and without further word stalked out of the room to head to the bridge.

*** *** ***

In the quiet of my office space, while sipping a cup of tea I began the process of getting in touch with Boba Fett, wondering what it was Lord Vader wanted with him. I knew it wasn’t the first time the Empire had requested the bounty hunter’s services nor did it surprise me. Fett was the best at what he did, of that there was no doubt.

Several hours later I rubbed my aching eyes and stifled a yawn. I was considering my third stimcaf and still getting nowhere. This was not unexpected. The pathways to get a hold of Boba Fett were lengthy and varied. He was not an easy man to find, to get in contact with and above all, speak to in person. Still, I had a few tricks up my sleeve and I knew the system better than most, eventually I got what I wanted.

Boba Fett’s Image shimmered in the small desk top holo image emitter. He was polite but curt and I matched this tone as I relayed Lord Vader’s request. If the bounty hunter was surprised to see me or hear the request, his voice did not show it. It was simply business and I was merely the contact. As I confirmed the information I wondered where exactly he was because the signal was very clear, but I knew better than to ask. Keep it professional, my father had always said. When the transmission ended I felt that I could finally go to bed. As I walked, half asleep back to my quarters I felt the great ship shiver as she slid into hyperspace. For a moment I considered contacting Lord Vader to ask where we were headed then realised I didn’t care. Suddenly I was exhausted, the travelling coupled with the previous night’s lack of rest was catching up with me. All I really wanted was sleep. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.

Two hours later my beeping comm woke me up.

“I do not pay you to spend all your time sleeping, girl!” Lord Vader barked into the comm before I even had time to open my eyes. I didn’t have to be anywhere near him to know that he was in a fine temper.

“No, my lord you do not.” I stifled a yawn and got up. “What can I do for you?”

“My chambers, immediately! I have work that needs to be attended to.” He barked and then disconnected.

I pulled on my robe and trotted down the hallway to his chambers, getting dressed was too time consuming and he didn’t care what I wore anyway.

“My lord?” I asked as I slipped into the dimly lit room. He was pacing the floor.

“We will be entering the Hoth system when we come out of hyperspace. Research it and give me the data before we reach our destination.”

I stared at him for a moment and then nodded. It wasn’t as if he did not have access to the same data that I did and could sit down and browse through it at his own leisure. He just liked to get the Daily Digest version of it. Over my years of working with and for him I had become pretty adept at figuring out what it was he really wanted to hear and what information was a waste of his time and would earn me a verbal dressing down or worse.

“Oh and arrange for the chef to change the consistency of the food he has been preparing for me, it is disagreeable.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And you may have to cancel all appointments I had for the next week as well as this one. I do not wish to be distracted while on this campaign. They can all be rescheduled at a later date.”

“If some of them cannot be rescheduled, shall I keep the appointment as is?” I asked.

“No cancel it and explain to the person who cannot find time in their lives to accommodate me the error of their ways. I do not wish to be distracted until after I find out if my hunch is correct. There is nothing more important than ending this ridiculous rebellion.” He growled.

I stared at him even more, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“I believe the rebel base is in the Hoth system, if that is the case I shall be far too busy to deal with these petty annoyances. It is your job to sort that out. Now, don’t you have work to do? Or do you enjoy wasting my time?”

“Yes I do, my lord, and no, of course not.” I said.

“Then I suggest you get to it unless you wish to spend yet more time in a bacta tank.” He snapped

“Right away my lord.” I said and scurried out of his chambers as fast as I could before he decided to make good on his threat, so much for getting some sleep.

The Hoth system, it looked like a perfectly miserable place to visit, I thought as I sat and read through all the information the computer was spitting out at me.

Located in the Granita Cluster, out on the Outer Rim, it was mostly uninhabited. The system had a total of six planets which all revolved around a blue-white star. The six planets, Shron, Biosh, Nushk, jhas, Ordaj, Hoth were for the most part wastelands and then after Hoth, the planet which had the outer most orbit, lay the Hoth Asteroid field.

Nushk was a methane ocean planet and had four moons which orbited it. It was a large planet that appeared the most gorgeous colour of deep green-blue from a distance. I wondered what it would be like to visit, if that would have been possible, because I imagined it would be very beautiful in a very alien way. The planet that had the most moons of the system was actually a gas giant called Jhas, seconded only by Ordaj, also a gas giant but with only seventeen moons.

The last planet in the system, the one in the sixth elliptical orbit was Hoth. The planet the system was named after. It was an ice planet that was considered mostly uninhabitable despite the breathable atmosphere for most oxygen breathing beings. As I studied the planet’s stats I could not but help think of Navaari. It was exactly the sort of planet he would have loved to play on. Its oceans were frozen despite the molten metallic core. There was a great deal of volcanic and seismic activity mostly caused by the incredible pull caused by Hoth’s three moons, Isla, Eru and Iseri.

It was a planet most beings would shun given half the chance but despite the extreme cold temperatures, powerful winds and blizzards there was life on Hoth. According to the surveys that had been made by a company hired by the Imperials looking at the possibilities of mining the planet, life included the Wampa creature, a predator with fairly vicious tendencies, tauntauns, which when I saw an image of one, looked an awful lot like Cu-pas, bipedal animals that were omnivorous and often used as mounts. They were ornery creatures but loyal and smart. There were also creatures called Hoth hogs, a variety of rodents, ice worms and lichens. I wondered if the ice worms were anything like the ones that produced the rare silk the Chiss and the Dantassi were so fond of.

From time to time smugglers had set up on the planet trying to find a way to get lumini spice out of the planet’s frozen core but were to the best of all records unsuccessful.

Reading about the system and its planets made me think about Navaari and the Dantassi. I had wanted to talk to Thrawn about what had happened on Hjal but every time I had tried to bring the subject up he had deftly side stepped the questions, changing to direction of the conversation and not answering anything I had actually asked. He also told me not to worry about not hearing anything from Navaari because that was normal. He assured me that Navaari would be well aware of where I was and how I was doing. When I asked him how that was possible he had just given me that annoying raised eyebrow look and changed the subject again. I gathered all the data I had found on the system of Hoth and placed it in a single data chip then went to find Lord Vader.

He was in the middle of destroying the practice battle droids in his personal training room when I entered. I never tired of watching him practice. His ability to focus never ceased to astound me and rather then interrupt him I crept along the wall and sat down on the floor. He moved like a cross between a dancer, fluid and graceful and a machine, fast and powerful. Only when the floor lay littered with the charred remains of the high tech combat droids did he turn off his lightsaber and look at me.

“You have something for me?” he asked.

I nodded and went to show him the datachip but before I could get to my feet he had used the force to snatch it from my hand.

“What did you learn?” he asked, motioning for me to get up.

I began to tell him all that I had read about the Hoth system and its planets while he barked at a very scared looking young soldier to clean up the mess in the training room. I trotted at his side as he swept down the hallways to his chambers, passing on the information he had asked me to gather. Once in his chambers he stopped moving and stared at me thoughtfully, then turned to the terminal and plugged in the data chip. He watched as the Hoth system displayed and then returned to staring at me.

“So tell me girl, considering all you have learned, if you were a rebel which planet would you hide a base on?”

“Well, I would have to guess Hoth itself.” I said.

“Why?”

“Because it is the most inhabitable of all the six planets and it is also the only one with a breathable atmosphere. Shron is too volcanically active to sustain life or be a possible base. Biosh is a lifeless rock; there is no atmosphere to speak of. No one would build a base on a frozen methane planet or the two gas giants, so Hoth is the logical choice.” I said.

“Why not the moons of the planets orbiting the gas giants?” He asked as he studied the data on the screen more closely.

“The moons are easy to scan, if there were human activity on any of them the probe droids would have picked up on this easily.” I answered promptly. “Hoth’s conditions make long range scanning it incredibly difficult and there are deep caverns left by smugglers, easy to hide in difficult to find.”

Lord Vader nodded. “What about Fett?”

“I was able to contact him. He has agreed to your request.”

Vader laughed. “Agreed to my request? Girl, you do have a sense of humour.”

I didn’t answer that instead I asked. “How long until we arrive at our destination?”

“We should be coming out of hyperspace outside of the system in less than twelve hours.” He said absently.

“Then what happens?”

“If the base is there, as I suspect it is, then we will destroy it along with all those who inhabit it.” he growled making a fist with his hand. “This insurrection must be crushed.”

I sighed. The grand posturing got a bit tedious on two hours of sleep.

He turned to look at me and handed me another data chip. “I wish you to deal with these issues. Grand Admiral Zaarin is heading up a project and I wish an update on his progress, see that this happens. Also, the Emperor recently gave Grand Vizier Sate Pestage more responsibility in the day to day running of the Empire. You will write a polite letter stressing to him the importance of keeping a good relationship with me. He has been reticent about dealing with me and I will not tolerate this.”

“Why would the Emperor do that, give up some of his control?” I blurted out disregarding decorum. I was completely surprised by this.

“He wishes to pursue his studies of the Force. There is much to learn about the Dark side and he feels that his time would be better spent concentrating on these studies than dealing with the day to day issues of Empire administration.” He told me. “This was a recent change and not announced publicly.” His tone of voice indicated he wasn’t going to say anything more on the subject and if I was smart I wouldn’t either.

I nodded. “Will there be anything else?”

“You will meet me in the training room in three hours to practice your lightsaber and combat techniques. Do not think I had forgotten about your recent failure to subdue this pest. Your incompetence is annoying. ”

“Yes, my lord.” I nodded with a sinking feeling inside. I had not had a good work out for well over a week and I was certain that he wasn’t going to go easy on me at all.

“Now go away and stop bothering me.” He flapped his hand at me. “I have much to plan.”

I bobbed my head and did as he asked. At least I thought ruefully as I made my way back to my quarters, I had three hours before Lord Vader turned my world upside down again.