What the Eye Doesn’t See…2

A’mia Tekari,

Here we are, once again, engaging in the delightful art of written correspondence and I ask myself, how shall I begin this letter? With elegant prose proclaiming how much your presence fails or maybe with witty banter to cheer you up? Perhaps, because I can picture you rolling your eyes and telling me to get to the point, I should just imagine you sitting curled up next to me, wine glass in hand, the scent of what ever bubble-bath you soaked in permeating the air and write as though there were no light years of space lying between us, as though you were here listening as you always do.

Just like you, I departed from Coruscant at 0900 hrs CST and rendezvoused with ISD Admonitor in orbit above the planet. I can assure you my welcome was anything but warm. As you so correctly surmised only Voss Parck was actually aware of the real reason behind my so called exile so consequently the men under my new command believe me to blame for their downfall.

Captain Dagon Niriz was cordial but did not hide his disdain of the fact that I am not human very well and I had been briefed by Voss that it would take some doing to win this man over. I told Voss that it wasn’t my job to win anyone over it was their jobs to learn to trust not only their new commander but also themselves. I wished you could have seen Voss’s face; he reminded me very much of you at that moment and it required a lot of my self control not to smile.

Niriz is an old school Imperial Naval Officer who comes from four generations of Imperial service. He was a bit stiff and at first, very angry with the situation he and his fellow officers and men had been thrown into. Like everyone else they all believed they were being punished for crimes they had not committed.

We arrived at the edge of the Unknown Regions after a long series of hyperspace jumps, mostly designed for me to see just what this ship is capable of. The Admonitor is a bit of an old beast of burden but there have been some modifications done and I wanted to make certain she was running at peak performance. By the time we arrived where I wanted us to be, let me say that nerves were a little frayed, exactly how I wished the situation on board to be. It is always very interesting to see how the men under my command will perform when they are already running on high tension. Needless to say our first encounter with an alien species was cause for some alarm, primarily caused by how I dealt with the situation at hand. Of course you know how I tend to teach and having seen and felt your reactions to my methods on more than one occasion, I was prepared for the disbelief and disdain that permeated the bridge.

Captain Niriz was infuriated by the fact that I continually countermanded his orders. I find it almost laughable at how quickly such intelligent men fall back on pre prescribed methods of warfare and first contact without stopping to consider all the possibilities. It was fascinating to watch him struggle with himself. He wanted to trust me but all his training and his own set pattern of beliefs made that very difficult. He along with several others truly believed that I would betray them and considered mutiny. For a few moments it was certainly interesting on the bridge. I am always amused by the fact that so many smart men do not see beyond their own noses. There is a great presumption that neither the Emperor nor I actually know what we are doing. It would be laughable if it did not get in the way of the work.

The aliens we encountered call themselves the Ebruchi and we are well on the way to discovering more about them. I shall not bore you with all the details but thanks to the work of Voss and several very good men under my command we were able to secure the information we needed without a single casualty, unless one would call pride a casualty. I imagine it will take a little while before Niriz and some of his men come to terms with the fact that I am not quite as stupid as they thought in the first place and that our so called exile might actually be a blessing in disguise. At least now I am fully aware of the loyalties on board and where they lie.

Niriz tendered his resignation and was convinced that I would have him court-martialled for conspiring to mutiny. I almost wished I could have seen his face when Voss explained the situation to him and told him I would not accept his resignation and would not be shipping him back to Coruscant with General Haverel. Trust, as I have said before, my dear, is a delicate matter.

So now as it stands we are underway searching for the leaders of the Ebruchi who had charged Creysis, the alien “commander” we encountered, to hold the planet we discovered. Between the upgrades made to the ship and the ship wide drills we have been running I am confident we are in top form. Niriz does a very good job at training the pilots and I am pleased with his skill in this area. In the months to come, we will be sent reinforcements in the form of more ISDs, with both fighter pilot and ground crews. As you already know I have established a base on the planet Nirauan and it is my hope that we will expand the Imperial presence greatly by the end of the year.

I have included two books I thought you might enjoy as well as a data chip which I would like you to deliver to Lord Vader. I hope that you do not mind playing messenger for me in this manner but at the moment when it comes to getting information to Lord Vader you and Jarack are the safest routes. Please see he gets it and should he wish to answer I have asked him to utilise the fact that we correspond. Jarack is on call for just this reason. The small communications pad is yours and contains all the codes you will need, everything is in Cheunh, as a small security precaution, but do try to keep it safe. Due to the distance between us, holonet transmissions will be virtually impossible so believe it or not, courier is the fastest way of delivering information also the least noticed. On the comm-pad there are protocols in place for getting in touch with me in an emergency but only if it is truly a dire situation should they be used.

So, sj’iu tekari, I am afraid I must end this missive and return to the bridge. I hope that you are well and taking care of yourself. Know that you are on my mind in quiet moments and I miss your presence at my side. So stay alive and out of trouble, I am quite sure we shall some very interesting stories to swap the next time we meet up.

Ilath’mera’talashti’Ia,
Mitth’raw’nuruodo

I sat and looked at the two books, the data chip and the small comm-pad. The books were both in Cheunh and, like so many books that came from Csilla, had been written by hand. I wondered how he could ever part with such wonderful things but was grateful that he did. I folded his letter to me carefully and held it to my nose, catching the scent of what ever soap or cologne he had been wearing when he had written it. My entire body ached for him so suddenly that I had to consciously catch my breath. If someone had told me three years ago that he would come to mean so much to me I would have laughed at them and told them right where to go.

I slipped the letter into the box I kept all of his letters in, tucked away in my satchel, and put the books on my bedside table to read later. I centered and touched the force just a little to find Lord Vader’s presence, awake and on the bridge. He became aware of me searching for him and acknowledged it. I made sure I was dressed appropriately, meaning that I was wearing shoes, and made my way to meet him.

It was late according to standard time and we were well into the midnight watch. I liked this time, the quiet shifts, even though in reality it should not make a hill of ants bit of difference when the watches fell.

The bridge was peaceful. Admiral Ozzel was no where to be seen and despite the fact that Lord Vader stood gazing out into space from his usual spot on the walk way the atmosphere was relatively calm. Captain Piett, who was on duty nodded at me with a slight worried grin as I passed him. I just smiled back. What I had in my hand did not concern him at all.

Lord Vader did not turn to look at me as I approached him; he had sensed me the moment I stepped onto the bridge and was merely waiting for me to come and stand by his side. I followed his gaze and wondered what he was looking at.

He glanced at me for a second and then said. “We came out of hyperspace two minutes ago. We are now in the Arkanis Sector.”

“Outer Rim.” I said. “Isn’t this under Moff Julsten’s jurisdiction?”

He nodded.

“How far away are we from Tatooine then?”

He pointed to two tiny spots of light in the upper left quadrant of the viewing window. “That’s Tatoo one and two there. About seventeen light years. A short enough jump.” He said.

“And Talay?”

“Another two hours in normal space, too short for a hyper jump. The Executor isn’t well equipped to make micro jumps.” He said. “You have something for me?”

I handed him the data chip.

“I take it he is enjoying his new playground?” Lord Vader said after a few moments of studying the chip in his hand.

“I think so.” I said.

“No trouble onboard then?”

I glanced up at him. “No more than was expected.” I told him.

He nodded. “He has given you instruction for return messages?”

“Yes, my lord.”

He was silent for a moment and I allowed myself to enjoy the view. It was rare to see space from the bridge of a super star destroyer and even I didn’t get so many opportunities that I would take it for granted.

“How was your lightsaber practice today?” he asked suddenly.

“Erm…non existent.” I told him truthfully.

“Then we shall have to rectify that.” He told me tartly. I groaned inwardly I had wanted to go to bed.

Lord Vader turned around and motioned for me to accompany him. He stopped by Captain Piett who paled a little.

“Alert me the moment we reach our rendezvous point, captain.” Lord Vader said.

“Yes, my lord.” Piett replied. I shot him a small grin as Vader turned away.

“Keep up girl!” snapped Vader as I tarried slightly. I ran to keep up with him as he strode out of the bridge and through the halls to the turbo lift. “Get ready and meet me in the training room. I assure you, you will think twice before you forget to practice again.” He told me as we stood side by side in the too small turbo lift.

I sighed. “Yes, my lord.”

He glanced at me. “It would not be prudent for you to push your luck with being insolent this evening. I teach you this skill so that the next time your friend drops by to harass you, you are better able to defend yourself.”

“I keep telling you he is not my friend.” I told him crossly.

Vader made a noise that sounded a lot like a snort. “Not any more he isn’t.”

The sudden wave of sadness that swept through me at his words was both unexpected and puzzling. He had felt it.

“You must let go of your attachments to the past, girl, they will be your undoing.” He admonished as the lift came to a stop.

I nodded. As ironic as that statement was coming from him, he was right. I walked away from him towards my quarters to get ready for what I was pretty sure would be a gruelling and painful lesson. Lord Vader didn’t tolerate slacking off for any reason, especially not from me.

What the Eye Doesn’t See…1

I had thought that the fall out from the mess stirred up on Coruscant would have been greater but instead the buzz and gossip surrounding Thrawn’s public disgrace and consequent punishment died down relatively quickly, replaced by newer gossip as was always the case, infamous today, forgotten tomorrow. I was grateful for the fickle nature of those who cared anything for the steamier nature of news. Only Shiv and my father had anything more to say about the entire thing.

Shiv’s holo-mail had arrived three days after I was back on board Executor and had that wonderful touch of cheer that Shiv always did so well.

Hey Rim-Girl,

I saw you in the Grand Hall for Thrawn’s spectacular going away party but I didn’t get a chance to talk to you after the show, your boss dragged you out of there so fast I thought he had reached light-speed. That was some even, though. Who would have thought that Thrawn would actually end up in the Emperor’s bad books?

I hope that you are okay and nothing bad happened because of the Emperor’s innuendos. I guess you’d be happy to know that most people here don’t really know exactly who he was talking about and the speculation is over three girls, including you. I keep my mouth shut and when pressed I just ask people if they really think that Lord Vader would allow you to get involved with the Emperor’s pet alien in such a way that it would dirty his own reputation. That usually shuts people up. I hope you are not too sad though, I guess you won’t see each other for a while now and I hope that Lord Vader wasn’t too mad at you.

Mostly people have forgotten already and moved onto the next big thing, namely Prince Xizor and his big bust up with the reporter girl he was seeing. Apparently she wasn’t too happy at being told to get lost and did some huge splashy story about him, which really ticked him off. She claims that her story about him actually being not only involved with the Black Sun Corporation but that he is also the leader for it all is the truth. He, of course is suing her for defamation of character and denying everything. It’s all the news nets can talk about. The latest is that she has been receiving death threats in Black Sun’s name. It’s very messy, makes your little tryst with the Admiral seem pale in comparison. No one even cares that Thrawn and a bunch of loyal officers got shipped out to the arse end of the galaxy, except Tygs who sort of flipped out, but wouldn’t explain why. He’s very bitter at the moment but he never seems to want to really talk about it. His uncle, Admiral Harkov doesn’t help much.

Anyway, kiddo, just wanted to let you know that you are no longer hot topic of the moment so when you come back you won’t need to hide your face!

Miss you, love you too
Hugs,
Shiv


I smiled as I watched his expressions and listened to his voice. Shiv’s holograms were always full of warmth and I missed him greatly, he was the big brother I never had. I answered his mail right away and sent it as soon as I was done. Unlike Thrawn, Shiv did not mind using holo technology to correspond with, it was faster and easier. I had had lengthy discussions about this with him, because I was rather fond of real letters written on paper and I wasn’t all that fond of making holo-letters much.

My father’s mail arrived a few days later and was less cheerful. Unlike Shiv, my father sent his letters via data chip. He was old fashioned enough to dislike holograms and he never used them.

Dearest Merly,

I hope this reaches you as we are not at all sure where you are at the moment. We had an unexpected visitor yesterday to the dock, namely Boba Fett, some minor ship repairs which needed parts he didn’t have on hand. I was a bit surprised when he asked if I had seen the latest holonet news to come out of Coruscant because your name had been mentioned.

I told him we didn’t subscribe to Core feeds and rarely had time to watch the news let alone the gossip nonsense. So you can image my surprise when he filled me in on what had happened. I was a bit shocked to learn that my little girl is part of such a scandal and I hope it is not true at all. I do recall the man at the center of it all, then Captain Thrawn. I did wonder if there was something going on between you too when you were both here, but he is considerably older than you are so I dismissed it. I see now I should have sat down and had a long chat with you about the dangers of older men. I hope that you know what you are doing; I would hate to see you get hurt, again.

Fett said he had been surprised to see your face on the news and asked how long you’d been on Coruscant for. I filled him in about your job and how that all came about and he’d laughed. He asked me to tell you that when he had said to get out of the job at Jabba’s had not meant to swap one palace of iniquity for another. I assume this some sort of joke between you two. I told him about your work as Lord Vader’s PA and he seemed impressed that you had lasted so long in the job. He told me he does quite a bit of work for the Empire; particularly for Vader. I was a bit surprised he hasn’t bumped into you yet, but he said you work in different circles and despite the gossip, the Empire is quite large. I had no idea that you and Fett knew each other so well.

Not much else going here, in other news, Bel started seeing a Rodian named Kall, works at the Cantina but it didn’t last very long so of course she has been impossible to live with the last few weeks. Bedi has been great with her, but I am sure you know how it is, right now all men are scum of the desert when it comes to Bel. She had some very uncomplimentary things to say about your Captain when she heard the news from Coruscant. I think that is the very first time I have ever heard Boba Fett laugh.

Business is good and Tatooine hasn’t changed. The Hutts still rule and Mos Eisley is still the biggest magnet for the worst the galaxy has to offer. I was out at Tosche’s the other day and both he and his mechanic, Fixer, said to pass along their hellos. Fixer got married to that nice girl he was seeing, Camie, I think her name is. It isn’t easy for a young couple starting out on this sarlacc forsaken rock, so I wished them luck.

Anyway pet, I need to get back to work. Send news when you can, we are all on pins and needles to hear the truth behind that terrible holonet gossip. Take care of yourself and for goodness sakes stay out of trouble.

Love,
Dad

Ps. Your uncle Vahlek might be in your neck of the desert some time soon. He said he was doing a couple of jobs for your boss so don’t be too surprised if he shows up unannounced.

I sighed and answered his letter as truthfully as I could without giving everything away. I didn’t see the point in lying about my relationship with Thrawn to my father but I down played it, as well as the scandal that had been making its way slowly to the Outer Rim news nets. I hoped that would placate him enough. I was pretty certain, that while he did not dislike Thrawn he would not have a high opinion of him sleeping with his daughter. Fathers were funny that way.

I had not expected to hear from Thrawn for some time and I tried not to think about him because those thoughts made me melancholy and achy from the inside out, so I was very surprised when Jarack showed up at my office with a courier package for me just less than two weeks after my last night with Thrawn.

He had made me jump when he had knocked on the doorframe to signal his presence. I often programmed the door to stay open because I hated the closed in sensation I got when it was shut.

I looked up and saw him grin. “Nice office.” He said as he sauntered in. He handed me the surprisingly bulky envelope and waited while I signed for it.

“It does the job.” I told him. “You have time for spiced coffee?”

“You get to make that here?” he seemed surprised.

I grinned as I poured him a cup and told him about how Lord Vader liked to make sure I was efficient at my job and my ability to make spiced coffee was a part of that.

He shook his head as he sat and sipped the sweet, spiced drink. “You lead a charmed life, you know.”

“So I keep hearing.” I replied. “So, how have you been?”

He shrugged. “Good, keeping busy. Here and there, you know.” He was being vague and I didn’t press, we all had our secrets to keep. “How are you doing?” he asked in such a way that I knew what it was he really wanted to know.

“I’m good. Keeping busy, keeping a low profile, if you know what I mean.” I told him. “I don’t enjoy the spot light despite what the Admiral might think.”

Jarack grinned knowingly. “He said to send you his best regards. I’m sure he’ll tell you all about the latest adventures from the Admonitor in his letter there so I won’t spoil the story for you. I guess you have nothing to go back with me yet?”

“I do actually. Just because I wasn’t expecting him to write doesn’t mean I didn’t. Hang on a sec I’ll fetch it.” And before he could say anything I slipped quickly to my quarters to get the letter I had finished writing the night before. I stuck it in an envelope and sealed it then handed it to Jarack when I got back to the office.

“He’ll be surprised, you know, he isn’t expecting me to bring back anything.” Jarack said as he readied a secure courier envelope and I signed for it.

“He thinks he knows me as well as he knows himself.” I said tartly. “You can tell him I am not just a pretty piece of over studied art for his collection and I still have a few surprises left in me yet.”

Jarack laughed. “I’ll be sure to pass that along!” He said, handing me the empty coffee glass. “See you next time I’m in the neighbourhood.”

“Take care of yourself it’s a rough galaxy out there!” I said.

“Always, Miss Gabriel, always!” he said with a wink as he slipped out of the office to go back to where ever it was he had come from.

I looked at the bulky package and smiled, something to look forward to after I had finished my work. The to-do list from Lord Vader was fairly extensive and I needed to get that done first of all.

Things had not been quiet on board. Lord Vader had recently taken the Executor earlier on to Corulag to rendezvous with the Devastator and as he had so eloquently put it, “Deal with another idiot who thinks he is smarter than I am.”

When I pressed for an explanation, Vader told me that Imperial Security Bureau officer Sollaine had tried to wrangle a way to take over command of the Executor. I had nearly choked on the sip of spiced coffee I was drinking when he told me this.

“Is he completely stupid?” I asked when I got my coughing fit under control.

Lord Vader’s reply was terse and to the point. “Yes!”

“So what happened to him?” I asked.

“He met his maker.” Lord Vader replied with a definite air of satisfaction.

“And Rivoche Tarkin?” I asked wondering what had become of Grand Moff Tarkin’s niece who had turned out to be a rebel sympathiser and a spy.

I knew her peripherally, as I did many of the Imperial Palace courtesans. She had not so long ago become engaged to Vastin Caglio, the son of Moff James Caglio who was in charge of the Bormea Sector. Then all hell broke lose when the Emperor realised that there was a deep undercover agent amongst his courtesans. He had wanted Lord Vader to deal with it but Vader had his hands full with other problems and had given the job to Sollaine. I was never sure when Lord Vader became aware that Sollaine wanted to usurp him as commander of the Executor but when that happened Sollaine was already a dead man, he just didn’t know it at the time. When the Executor had jumped into the same sector as the Devastator to rendezvous with Sollaine for reasons I still wasn’t clear on, this had inadvertently allowed Rivoche to escape. That was all the excuse Lord Vader needed to remove Sollaine. The lesson to be learned was that one could never fool the Dark Lord and trying it was deadly.

Lord Vader shrugged. “She is of little concern.” He said letting me know that he had been more annoyed with Sollaine’s ambitiousness than with chasing a single informant.

Now we were currently underway to Talay, where Lord Vader was to meet General Rom Mohc and be given a demonstration of the Dark Trooper Droids.

The Dark Trooper Project was interesting. The Dark Troopers were not flesh and blood like the storm troopers were but rather very advanced battle droids. They had armour made from a dark grey metal called phrik which was practically indestructible. They were equipped with better weapons and jet packs and were usually deployed alongside regular stormtroopers. They had the advantage of adding chaos to the fights and usually scared the sandjiggers out of the enemy. The whole project was the brainchild of General Mohc and Lord Vader was quite impressed with the whole thing thus far.

I had gotten to see the project as it progressed because Lord Vader liked to talk about the droids and I enjoyed it when he talked to me about anything that didn’t involve force choke or shouting.

When I had completed my to-do list for the day I went back to the quiet of my quarters and after I had showered and eaten, I settled down to open Thrawn’s mail. I wondered, as I opened the envelope, if he missed me as much as I missed him.

Deep Amongst the Stars Divided 8

Thrawn’s flat was silent. He had not returned, yet. I was strangely grateful for this and did not turn on any lights as I made my way to the bedroom and changed into a pretty but casual dress that was easy to move in. As I wandered about the flat I realised that he had packed some things away, some of his art work and books. He had known what was coming and he had prepared himself accordingly. I didn’t know whether to be angry or relieved. I grabbed a shawl from the bottom drawer of the chest of drawers that had become mine by default and made my way to the kitchen.

On the counter was a very expensive bottle of red wine and two glasses. Propped up against the bottle was a note. I picked it up, his handwriting, as always was flawless and elegant.

“Do not forget to let it breathe, Tekari.”

He had known I would come here. He was always ready for everything, it wouldn’t surprise me, I thought tartly, that he had even planned how to avoid his own death. I opened the bottle and let the wine breathe as per his instructions. I gave it five minutes then poured myself a glass, I would have waited for him but I had no idea how long he would be and I needed a drink now.

I took my wine and went to sit out on the balcony. I sipped at it slowly and let the rich flavour invade my tongue. This was a very good wine, but then Thrawn had exquisite taste in damned near everything so it wasn’t such a big surprise that the last bottle of wine we would share on this planet for goodness knew how long would be the best credits could buy.

The city twinkled and danced as it always did. Some things never changed. It seemed to me, as I sat in the unquiet dark, that this planet would forever churn it’s light jewelled self around the unremarkable sun regardless of what politics ruled the day. I was glad I would be leaving in the morning to return to the Executor. I had the distinct impression that after the assembly I had just attended my life on Coruscant would not be particularly pleasant. I really had to wonder what the Emperor hoped to gain by doing what he did. I just did not understand his games at all but I was beginning to understand just why Lord Vader both revered and feared the man so much. One had to admire the Emperor’s ability to play people. If manipulation were a sport, Palpatine would be the galactic champion.

I heard Thrawn come home but I didn’t get up. I listened to him move about the flat; go into the bedroom and then the ‘fresher to shower. It was his normal routine, almost as if the act of showering directly upon coming home washed the taint of the Imperial political scene from his body. He joined me on the balcony; the bottle and the other wine glass in hand, his hair still wet and the scent of soap in the air. He filled his glass, topped up mine and then leaning back against the balcony wall, we drank a silent toast. The quiet between us was heavy and I didn’t know how to break it so I was grateful when he took that job on.

“Do you like the wine?” He asked, his eyes never leaving my face.

I nodded. “It has enough kick to take the sting out of the evening.” I tried but I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice.

He regarded me for a moment. “Yes, that was unexpected.” He admitted.

I glanced up at him in disbelief. “You mean to tell me you really did not know he was going to use our affair against you and consequently me as well?” I shook my head. “You can’t really expect me to believe that you, who plan for everything, did not see this coming. In fact on the way here I had to ask myself if that was why you got involved with me in the first place. If all I am is just another part of your grand scheme of things!”

He gave me an icy stare. “Is that what you really think?”

I had to fight the urge to throw something at him. “I don’t know what to think! I just got dragged light-years across the damn galaxy to witness your disgrace and banishment from the court and much to my surprise, my complete mortification as well!” I snapped. “What am I supposed to think? You keep telling me you have it all well in hand and that you are prepared for every eventuality and you honestly expect me to believe you did not know this was coming, that you did not plan for this?”

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No, sj’iu tekari, I did not. It may surprise you to learn that even I cannot predict every single occurrence in the galaxy.” He was cross and it leaked into his words. “The arrangement that Palpatine and I had for my supposed downfall was over a political issue, a power struggle, unwittingly helped along by Tigellinus and his supporters, driven along by his overwhelming need for power.” He shrugged slightly, “Perhaps, considering the amount of attention Palpatine paid to our relationship I should have seen this coming, but I did not consider it an option because I saw no benefit in it as a tool against me.” He looked at me and added. “It did not occur to me that he would wish to publicly humiliate you in such a manner. In fact, until I got word from Vader that you were on planet, I did not think you would even be here.” He was telling me the truth.

“The Emperor insisted Lord Vader bring me along and now we know why.” I retorted.

“If I apologised would that lessen your humiliation or your anger?”

I glanced up at him. “You are not the one who needs to apologise! We did nothing wrong. The Emperor and his games are the issue, not us sleeping together.” I snapped. “And I was not only humiliated but also furious, which is exactly what the Emperor wanted from me.”

“He has his reasons for doing this, I am sure.” He said in a voice telling me that even he could not quite figure out exactly what those reasons were.

I nodded. “Yes,” I said softly, bitterly. “I’m quite sure he does.”

He went to say something further but I waved my hand to shut him up. “What’s done is done.” I said but the anger that I had been keeping at bay slowly crept forward.

“This was messier than I had thought it would be, but it was necessary.” He told me as if that explained everything. “Now, while the rest of the Imperial navy and court think I am off in disgrace mapping uncharted territory I can actually get to work without worrying about the likes of Tigellinus trying to destroy it all because of petty jealousies and power struggles.”

“So, now your grand plan starts in earnest.” I said. “I hope it was worth it.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my words. He ignored this which stirred my anger further.

He nodded. “We will continue to establish a serious Imperial presence beyond the Outer Rim regions, well into the Unknown Regions and hopefully strengthen the galactic defences. As you know we have already started but I can concentrate solely on the task at hand.”

I played with my wine glass, swirling the drink around. “Most of the men, except for Parck, who were punished along with you have no idea that this was all planned do they?”

His slow smile reminded me of a teacher I had once had and loathed. “Clever girl, there isn’t much that can be hidden from you when you open your eyes.” He said smugly.

“I wouldn’t be too sure. I didn’t exactly see any of this coming!” I told him crossly. “You could have warned me!”

“I did.”

“You call that cryptic letter of yours a warning?” I asked. “You need lessons on clarity!”

His eyebrow arched. “And you feel you have something about that to teach me? You have more secrets than the Jedi temple and are twice as difficult to decode, my dear, so be very careful about the stones you care to throw.”

He spoke more tartly than I suspect he had meant to. My nerves were not the only ones to be frayed by the events of the evening. I respected that it could not have been an easy thing for him to go through but it did not lessen my anger any. I got up, suddenly furious and unable to contain it any longer. I hurled my glass at him. He side stepped it and it smashed against the balcony wall with a satisfying crash, spraying red wine like a blood splatter against the wall. I swore at him viciously, loving the way his language sounded to my ears even in anger, and left to go back inside, but I had no idea where I would actually go or even why. I just knew I was angrier than a provoked rancor and there was no outlet for the emotions that boiled away in my belly. I wanted to scream or destroy something or both.

He moved with a swift, easy grace that completely belied his strength which he used as he caught me by the arm and spun me around to face him. “I can think of a much better use for your excess energy than breaking my expensive wine glasses.” He said coolly as he pulled me tightly to his body and wrapped his other arm around my waist. I pushed back from him but I could not break free. His eyes glowed fiercely and I knew by the set of his jaw he was just as angry as I was. The flash of heat that flared between us made me gasp.

“How can you think of that at a time like this?” I asked, not wanting to admit he might actually have a valid point.

His expression turned from hard to feral, he brought his mouth to my ear and whispered. “It is the only thing to consider at a time such as this and don’t tell me you are unwilling. Your body language says everything but.” His breath was warm upon my skin. “Have a care my dear, I too, can tell when someone is lying.”

I shuddered involuntarily at the threat behind his words and he seized the moment, bringing his mouth down on mine hard. His kiss was brutal, dominant. He pulled away and hissed in my ear, “A’mal’yn.”

Mine, he had said in its most possessive and absolute form. I looked up at him for an explanation but he didn’t offer me words and he shut me up before I could speak with his mouth once again, just in case I hadn’t gotten the message the first time around. I returned his kiss, matching his mood and discovered that he was right; passion was exactly what was needed at this particular moment, because killing someone, anyone was out of the question and very impractical. I did not protest when he picked me up without breaking stride or kiss to carry me into the bedroom and toss me on the bed. We were not exactly gentle about getting undressed and even less cautious about the way in which our furious needs and moods unleashed themselves. There was nothing careful or kind in anything we did to each other. We crashed together like a bad speeder accident and by the time we reached that ultimate crescendo, the fury had passed into something completely different.

He whispered my name as his body shuddered and I gave into him utterly. I did not want to let go, ever. ‘…tell me what you cherish most, so I will know what to take from you…’ I squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I could to block out these words that simply would not go away. I refused to let the Emperor intrude in my thoughts; intrude in my most intimate moments. I fought the tears that suddenly filled my eyes and threatened to creep their way down my cheeks. I did not want to cry, I did not want to show that weakness. I hid these emotions behind the remnants of the powerful ardour that had gripped us both. It was only when he complained that I realised I was biting his shoulder far too hard.

“I am already bound to you; you do not need to mark me as yours.” He spoke gently.

I just looked at him. There were no words. He brushed the stray tear from my face with his thumb. He kissed my forehead and pulled me with him as he lay back down. We were silent for a long time, cuddled together, a tangle of limbs. The anger and adrenaline rush now replaced by a weary calm. He brushed damp hair from my face and smiled when I moved closer into his body.

“You never cease to amaze me, you know.” He said after what seemed an age. His fingertips traced the four bruises that decorated my left shoulder. Lord Vader’s grip during the assembly had left marks. Thrawn frowned at them but said nothing. We had had the argument about Lord Vader’s brutality many times and it always ended in a stalemate. Eventually he had given up, but his disapproval was easy to read on his face.

“Why is that?” I asked taking his hand in mine.

“You don’t ask the questions I expect a woman in your position to ask.”

“In my position… interesting choice of words.” I laughed slightly then said. “You mean the will I ever see you again, or was any of this ever real or all a wicked plot to get you expelled by the Emperor, or did you ever really care anything for me, kind of questions?”

He nodded. “Mmm pretty much.”

I shifted so that I could look directly into his eyes. “Why would I ask you such stupid questions when I already know the answers?” I asked. “You would never have even considered having anything to do with me if were I remotely like that. Possessiveness and insecurities are not traits men like you value.” He remained silent, his strange red eyes never moving from my face, so I continued. “Do you think I do not know how much you desire to be back in space doing what it is you were born to do? Did you think you hide that part of your being so well I could not notice the longing in your face when you look up at the invisible stars from this wretched planet?” I shook my head and slid out of bed, found a robe and put it on. “Maybe you hide that from everyone else but you’ve allowed me to get close enough to you that I see beyond that cold façade you love to wear. You miss space, star ship command and being in charge so much you ache for it as much as you make me ache for you. It was only a matter of time, I knew that. Nothing lasts forever and you needed to find a way to get back out there. Did you think I would claim you as my own, tie you down and demand you stay here at my side?” I shook my head and took a deep breath. “I have been waiting for this moment for some time now… but while the result was inevitable but the execution of it all was a bit messy.” I told him with a sigh, and then headed for the kitchen to get a new glass so that I could help finish the bottle of wine we had started earlier.

A moment later he joined me in the kitchen, after retrieving his glass from outside. The little mouse-bot I had named Mo had already taken care of the broken glass and spilt wine on the balcony. I glanced at the chrono on the wall and sighed. Time seemed to take a huge delight in speeding itself up when ever I wanted a moment to last forever. He must have sensed something about my thoughts, because he pulled me to him gently and held me close. There we stood barely dressed, wine glass in hand, holding on to something that was never really there to hold on to, to begin with.

“For someone so young, you really do surprise me with your insights, you know.” He told me.

I shrugged. “I was never young. Even as a child I knew things I never should have.”

He sighed and caressed me gently. “That nasty little talent of yours?”

I gave a slight nod then added, “Among other things, it made it hard to be a kid sometimes. I always knew secrets I wasn’t supposed to. It grew into a talent for reading people. That and I almost always knew when someone was lying. Everyone always said that I seemed so grown up beyond my years, just no one really knew why or understood except Zte’sa Vahlek and maybe Jyrki.”

He cupped my face with his free hand and drew it upwards close enough so that he could kiss me. Bringing up Jyrki’s name had made him suddenly protective and possessive and as much as he tried to contain and control these emotions they leaked out anyway. I found them strangely gratifying.

In that singular moment I wanted to tell him how I truly felt, that despite my grand speech, I was scared to let him go. That sometimes I ached for him so much when we were apart it was like a physical illness, that I wanted to open my heart and give him my soul but I told him nothing of these thoughts instead I kept quiet and just kissed him back, trying to forget that anything else in the galaxy existed. It occurred to me then, that despite our different worlds, our different physiologies and ages, perhaps we were not so far apart. Neither of us had been children in the truest sense of the word, he because of his race and culture and me because of my unwanted force talents.

“It isn’t the end of things, you know, it is just the beginning.” He said breaking the silence. “I meant what I wrote.”

I sipped my wine, listening to the sound of his heart beat in his chest. When I didn’t look up at him he put his glass on the counter and lifted my chin with the crook of his forefinger. I could see he wanted to ask what I was thinking but he didn’t. What was there to say? In another few hours we would once again be divided by light years of space and fields of twinkling stars, quite literally worlds apart. I believed him when he said I was a part of the future, whatever that was, but it didn’t make the fast looming parting any easier to take. I sighed. Had we not played out this exact same scenario a month or so prior? It was like a bad holo-film glitch replaying the same bad scene over and over again, except this time we were both flying off in different directions with no plans to return to the core. I finished my drink and tugged at his hand.

“Let’s go back to bed, Za’ar, we don’t have so much time left I want to waste it on mindless talk about things we already know and can do nothing to change. Remind me why everyone calls you a tactile genius. ”

“You mean tactical.” He corrected.

I just arched an eyebrow and smirked. “Whatever.”

He got the joke and smiled. He finished the wine in his glass and then much to my delight; he did exactly as I had asked. Our parting in the morning was wordless and painful. Neither of us looked back.

The flight back to the Executor was anything but restful. I was tired and cranky; Lord Vader was moody and snarky. He had insisted I fly, much to the annoyance of Colonel Jendon who was officially Lord Vader’s shuttle pilot. I personally thought Lord Vader took a perverse sense of pleasure in making me pilot when he knew I was tired and had not gotten much sleep. Still, I didn’t complain. I loved flying the Lambda class shuttles and being alone in the cockpit with Lord Vader meant we either got to talk about things or I was left in peace to do the job of flying while he meditated or slept.

Depending on his mood he was either generous with his knowledge of the ship and his own flying skills or the trip was essentially silent. This time the trip was a terse teaching session with lots of sarcasm and yelling. The shuttle had been equipped with a new defence system and he wanted to make sure I was up on those latest developments, plus I think he liked giving the men riding in the passenger area something to worry about.

Today’s lesson was on how far one could ultimately push an L-class shuttle before all the warning bells and lights screamed blue murder. Twice Colonel Jendon came up to ask if everything as okay. I suspect he would have done so a third time if Lord Vader had not growled at him for interfering in my flying lesson. The Colonel shot me a dirty look which I returned and then dutifully went back to his seat muttering something about female pilots. Inwardly I smiled but outwardly I was trying to make sure I didn’t burn our hyperdrive out. While I was pretty sure I could have fixed it if it broke, I really, really didn’t want to. I think there were a lot of frayed nerves by the time the shuttle safely landed in the hanger of the Executor.

I gathered my bags and with Lord Vader’s permission was allowed to return to my quarters. It had taken us nearly nine hours to reach the SSD, five hours and three hyperspace jumps longer than it should have thanks to Lord Vader’s insane instructional methods. I was exhausted through and through. I tossed my bags on the bed and went to shower. It had been a really trying trip all around and all I wanted to do was sleep.

Deep Amongst the Stars Divided 7

The stillness and the tension in the great hall were so thick I found it difficult to breathe. As far as I knew, at least in the time I had been working for the Empire there had never been such a large assembly gathered to watch the fall from grace of a favoured Imperial officer. As I scanned through the gamut of emotions that rippled about the room I sensed a great division amongst the people there. Some, like me were shocked and deeply on the side of Thrawn no matter what it was he had supposedly done, but most were against him and their snide delight that he was finally getting what he, in their eyes, deserved was strong enough to make me feel ill.

I looked at the men behind Thrawn; they had risen from their knees and echoed his at ease stance although they were anything but at ease. Some of their faces I recognized from previous functions but their names, with one exception, escaped me.

I watched the man called Voss Parck carefully; unlike the others he was far more calm and serene. He kept his eyes forward, firmly planted on Thrawn’s back and waited in much the same quiet manner as his superior officer did. I knew that Captain Parck and Thrawn were close, closer than most people realised or suspected. It had been Parck who had found Thrawn on some sarlacc forsaken planet some seventeen or so years prior. Thrawn had run circles around the Imperial troops sent down to the planet to find a couple of smugglers in order that he might obtain a ship and get off the planet upon which he had been exiled.

Thrawn rarely spoke of that episode in his life. All he had ever told me was that his people had chosen to use the gravest form of punishment for crimes he had committed against the Chiss rules of engagement.

I remembered the conversation clearly. It had taken place very late in the evening and we had been sitting on the balcony. Even for Coruscant the night had been exceptionally muggy, too sticky and humid to stay in bed.

How we had actually come to the subject of his exile escaped me but I remember that it had started about the humid weather. I was unused to it but he had just smiled and said there were worst places, more humid places than Coruscant. I suppose I had asked him how he knew that and he had told me about the planet he had been marooned on.

“Why would your own people do that to you?” I had asked.

“Because they are short sighted and stuck in their ways.” He had replied. “The Chiss, and I have told you this before, do not believe in pre-emptive strikes against a would-be enemy, even if it has been proven they will be a threat to the Ascendancy. They are a defensive rather than an offensive people. I over stepped my bounds and they decided I should be punished.”

I had swirled the drink in my glass around trying to add up the facts that didn’t want to add up. “I don’t buy that.” I had said at last. “You are far too smart to allow that to happen.”

He had merely smirked and arched an eyebrow. Our eyes locked and after a few moments I got the message.

“You wanted to be exiled.”

He had smiled then. “Clever girl.”

“Why? What would being abandoned on an uninhabited world give you?”

He had drawn a very deep breath and for a long time said nothing. “When I first met humans I was curious about them, so full of contradictions and deceit and yet so full of courage and curiosity. It was Corellian smugglers that first crossed my path and I used them, one in particular, to familiarise myself with human culture and the language, Basic. In doing so, it so happened that we became entangled in some sort of political mess which the Emperor, who at that point was still only Chancellor and going by a disguise as a Sith Lord named Sidious was engineering.”

“The Outbound Flight thing.” I said softly.

He had nodded. “Getting rid of troublesome Jedi I think, but I will never know for sure. I came into contact with this Darth Sidious and realised that he was not only manipulating everyone and everything around him for power but also for protection. We all have a common enemy; one that I fear will be the destruction of the galaxy if we are not careful. I saw in him a chance to better protect my people. I could not, however, simply walk away without a certain amount of disgrace or questions being raised as to my leaving my home world and pledge allegiance to another race of beings. My people are unfortunately xenophobic enough this would have been unacceptable behaviour, so… I did what was necessary.”

“You arranged the whole thing?” I had asked, astounded at the planning and the forethought.

He had shrugged. “Let us just say, certain wheels were put into motion and a certain amount of luck prevailed.”

“Luck.” I had snorted. “I wasn’t aware you believed in luck.”

He had just smiled then and caressed my face in that oh so beguiling manner that always made me shiver. “There is so very much we still do not know about each other, sj’iu tekari.”

I had made a face and had ignored the comment along with the underlying innuendo. “So the man who found you, did he know he was supposed to find you?”

“No. Sometimes it is better to allow others to think the ideas which were really someone else’s are theirs alone. In the end it was a good thing for us both and Parck, you remember him I pointed him out to you at the reception last week, has benefited greatly from his association with me. He is a good man, intelligent as well as innovative. I enjoy his company and perhaps he is one of the closest people I have to an actually friend, present company excluded.” He had paused. “Most people think him a dull man, riding the wave of success of another but I can tell you that this is not the case and if push ever came to shove I would have him at my back any day of the week.”

I had nodded and the conversation, as it so often did, had moved on to other things.

Now, in the great hall I realised that CJ had been right in his summation that something else was going on, other than a simple dog fight between power hungry rivals and what ever it was Parck was in on the game. I was certain I would not like where this assembly would go but suddenly I felt a whole lot better about it than I had a few moments before. Lord Vader must have sensed my lessening tension because the grip he had on my shoulder eased up a little, but the hand stayed put.

A shiver snaked through the crowd as the Emperor, after staring hard at the men standing before him, shifted slightly to sit back down on his throne. When he spoke, his voice was cold and hard.

“Admiral Thrawn, you have been brought before me in this manner because it has come to my attention that you are the instigator in what amounts to a political coup. You have been given much grace and liberty in my court yet you have chosen to flaunt it and abuse it to gather supporters for your own agenda in favour of serving the Empire. You have been elevated to a rank of high stature in my navy and given privileges well beyond that which you deserve. It is not the first time I have felt the need to bring disciplinary measures against your insubordination but I assure you, it will be the last.”

This brought a collective gasp and the flutter of whispers from the audience but a subtle motion of the Emperor’s fingers shut it up almost before it began.

“I will not have dissent amongst members of my fleet, my court or any where else in my Empire. That you, who have been given so much liberty, have chosen to undermine the political stability is a blatant disregard for the rules I have set in place. I am personally grieved by your behaviour not only in the political arena but also in a most personal one as well.”

Again there was a small ripple of shock that ran through the crowd and again the Emperor silenced it with the barest of movements. Even Thrawn was caught a little off guard as he raised his chin a fraction in question.

The Emperor leaned forward in his chair, the cowl of his cloak pulling back just enough so that all who dared to look upon his disfigured face could see the sparkle of vicious delight he took from being able to surprise his most prized and brilliant tactician.

“Yes, I see you thought you could hide your indiscretions from me. I assure you Admiral Thrawn nothing escapes my notice. It has come to my attention that not only have you stirred up a political mess within the High Command, dividing the attentions of my men who should be focusing on protection of the Empire but that you have also been, against the strict rules of this court, engaged in a carnal relationship with one of my female employees! This I will not have! You as a high ranking officer are supposed to be setting a good example yet instead I find you blatantly disregarding regulations set into place for the protection of the gullible young women who work for me and my Empire. You have not only shamed yourself but you have shamed this young woman as well and she will forever carry the stigma of your tainted touch. ”

This time the Emperor did not stop the crowd from expressing their feelings and whispers filled the air as people digested this bit of news. Slowly it dawned on most of them who the Emperor might have been referring to and all eyes turned to stare at me. Now I understood Lord Vader’s insistence I remain calm. To give even the slightest hint of emotion was to confirm the suspicions set in place and that would not reflect well on him. Palace affairs, while not allowed were mostly ignored, so to have one laid out in the open for all to see meant that the Emperor was well and truly angry and that was never a good thing. I kept my expression neutral and focused on the Emperor’s face. My hatred of him was something I could not control and I did not miss the small smug smile that played slightly on his lips as he looked my way and caught my stare for a split second. Lord Vader’s grip increased as my body tensed and I knew by the end of this I would bear bruises from his fingertips. I didn’t mind, the pain he was inflicting helped me to try and control not only the blind anger and also the strange sense of shame I suddenly felt.

“How dare he….!” I began but Lord Vader did not let me finish, pain flared in my shoulder.

“Be silent you stupid child!”

So I gritted my teeth and concentrated on remembering to breathe. I could see Thrawn clench his jaw and knew that while perhaps being called out over this political power play had been expected, the Emperor’s use of the affair between us was not and it had angered him.

“Admiral Thrawn, you and those who have sided with your political wrangling will be punished to the fullest extent of the law, but to prove that I am a merciful ruler I shall spare you all from execution. From here on in you and those who have followed your leadership in this particular political struggle are banished from this court. You are henceforth to be sent to the Unknown Regions of space where you will spend your time mapping out the area until I see fit to allow you to return to my grace. I will not tolerate such behaviour as I have witnessed from you. Let this be a lesson to any who feel they can try this sort of nonsense for themselves. Next time I shall not be so lenient and the consequences will be dire!”

There was a moment’s pause and with a flick of his hand the Emperor said. “In twenty four hours you will be gone from Coruscant or your lives will be forfeit. Now leave.”

Thrawn gave the Emperor a curt military nod and turned on his heel with a practiced elegance. The men who were standing behind him parted to let him pass and then with their heads held high despite the shame they too felt, they marched out in perfect military step. The Royal Guardsmen who had accompanied them in now shadowed them out and only after they had all vanished through the great doors did the tension in the room ease, just a little.

The Emperor stood and everyone dropped to one knee while he walked slowly out of the Great hall, chuckling slightly as he did so. His advisors and the Council of Twelve followed him like ghosts. Then and only then, when the great doors silently closed did everyone still in the great hall allow themselves to express their shock at what had just happened. The room exploded in a sudden flurry of motion and babble. It felt to me as though a sandstorm had just erupted and was furiously circling around the entire room. The noise level was almost deafening. I just felt ill. Lord Vader brought me out of my inner turmoil as he brushed my thoughts with his.

“You have until oh-nine hundred hours tomorrow to sort out your affairs, girl. I suggest you make the most of this time. You will meet me at the shuttle then and not a moment later, do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.”

He let go of my shoulder then.

“Did you know? Did you know he was going to do this?” I asked, turning to look up into the reflective blackness of his face mask.

“I was debriefed just before I came to collect you but even I am not privy to all my Master’s thoughts.” He replied. His way of saying no, even he had not known everything that was going to be done or said, and that he was annoyed at being left out of the loop.

I sighed but before I had time to consider my next move he grabbed my arm and pulled at me.

“Come along, wretched girl!” he snarled out loud and the pitying looks that were shot my way suggested that people figured my comeuppance was about to hit me hard and furious. He all but dragged me from the Great hall and only when we were a suitable enough distance away did he let go of my arm.

“You are wasting time.” He told me pointedly and then before I could answer he spun around and stalked back down the corridor leaving me alone. I made my way through the lesser used hallways, afraid of what might happen should I run into a holo net news team or worse. By the time I reached my palace flat I was boiling with a fury I could hardly control. I wanted to smash everything in my sight but in the end I didn’t, because it would not change a thing and it would not make me feel any better. The only thing succumbing to my anger would do, would be to please the Emperor, I was certain of that, so I used everything I had ever been taught and I calmed down. The Emperor had gotten enough pleasure at my expense today; I would not give him any more.

I changed out of the finery and dressed, as Lord Vader had so aptly put it, in my Tusken attire, grateful that the long coat had a deep hood. I grabbed my bag and slipped out of my flat to where the little air speeder was parked. There was only one place I could go now where I would find some answers as well as some peace and the Imperial palace was not it.

Deep Amongst the Stars Divided 6

The shuttle gave a little shudder as it slipped out of hyperspace. The stars elongated and then spun as we made the transition into to normal space. The trip had taken nearly five hours and since I wasn’t piloting it had been a very long and tedious flight. Lord Vader had not been very conversational and the stormtroopers who were accompanying us were mute. I was beginning to wonder if the act of perfect silence was not a huge part of stormtrooper training. I envied the pilot and the co pilot; at least they had a good view and something to do, and they were shut up alone in the cockpit. When Coruscant loomed, all twinkly and pretty, on the port wing I was filled with a sense of relief mixed with a hint of worry.

I was knocked out of my reverie by the brush of Lord Vader’s thoughts in my head. “You will have some time to refresh yourself and dress appropriately. I will come for you at oh-nineteen hundred hours at your palace residence. Be ready.” He said.

“Yes, my lord.” I said. It worried at me even more than he was actually picking me up. Usually he sent some young officer to escort me to where ever he was waiting. He had not lied to me when he had said he didn’t know what this was all about, at least I couldn’t tell if he was or not. Lord Vader was powerful enough in his ability to manipulate the force that I was almost certain now; even if he did lie to me I would not always be able to tell, unless he allowed it.

“How formal is the dress code?” I asked. “Is this a happy occasion or something that needs more sedate attire?”

He thought about it for a moment and then answered. “Dress for a state funeral.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What? Did someone die?”

“No, but someone might.” He said and I realised he was being funny, well he though he was being funny. “For Sarlacc’s sakes, girl, what do I know about palace fashion? Dress appropriately for a state function, you’ve done it a thousand times before, why should this be any different?”

“Because I have no idea what sort of a function it is?”

He seemed to pause and then said. “It is a serious assembly, but I do not know more than that. My Master was not specific. He requested my presence and told me to bring you. Wear something pleasant to look at, not your usual Tusken attire! People will think you are not paid enough!”

I nodded and watched as the shuttle landed on the North side landing pad. It was not the gentlest of touchdowns. The air huffed as the door opened and the ramp distended. The stormtroopers filed out and lined up so dutifully I almost laughed. Lord Vader yanked me from my seat and I exited the ship in front of him.

“Do not be late.” He told me, waving his forefinger at me and then he swirled dramatically around and with the troopers in tow he headed off in the opposite direction from where I had to go to reach my flat.

My old apartment smelled dusty and seemed smaller than I remembered it. I hadn’t brought much with me and despite the conversation with Lord Vader about clothes I already knew what I would be wearing. I raided the kitchen cupboards and found the half full bottle of brandy; I poured a small glass and then ran a bath. I had enough time to try and relax.

I wore a demure dress that Cati had made me for a small function that I had ended up not going to. The dress was tailored and elegant, made from an indigo coloured linen fabric. It had a square neck and wide shoulder straps. It would have been almost prudish had it not been for the open kick pleat at the back that ran up to just past my knees. I had matching high heels that, like the dress’s neck line, were decorated with tiny dark beads that twinkled. I swept my hair up and held the high twist in place with my favourite Zenji sticks, Thrawn’s first gift to me. The makeup was just enough to let people know I was wearing some. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I never recognised myself when I was all done up for a palace event. Toying with the pendant at my throat, I fought the urge to nibble my pinkie nail. When Lord Vader arrived I was ready. As we walked through the corridors to the Grand Hall where this assembly was being held I sensed that he now knew more about what was going to occur. I hesitated whether or not to ask but before I could he beat me to it. I guessed he was concerned about palace security because our conversation was telepathic.

“You will behave yourself at this assembly.” He said.

“I always behave myself.” I retorted.

“Just do as you are told.” He tried again.

I stopped and looked up at him, hating the fact that his face was hidden behind that unreadable mask. I reached out a little with the force to try and dig beyond the wall of his words but he mentally slapped me away.

“Do not try that again tonight!” he hissed.

Now he was just confusing me. “I’m not going to like this event much, am I?” I asked.

“What you will or will not like is immaterial. Remember your training and remember who you represent.” He admonished.

“Yes, my lord.” I said as we reached the entrance to the Grand hall. We walked up the carpeted stairs and the doors opened. I fought the urge to gasp. The hall was full but instead of it being a primarily civilian affair most of the people were internal palace employees, military and navy. The Emperor was not yet present but his coven of grim faced advisors were, as were the Council of Twelve. All eyes looked upward at the two of as we descended down into the main hall. My heart began to pound and as surreptitiously as I could I began to scan the crowd for Thrawn but I couldn’t find him.

“Keep your eyes front, girl!” he hissed.

“Yes, my lord.” I replied demurely but I failed to keep the annoyance out of my thoughts.

Vader led the way up to the front of the room, to the edge of the Dais. His long black cape swept out behind him and I had to work not to step on it. I had seen what had happened to the person who had once done that and had absolutely no desire to follow, so to say, in his unfortunate footsteps. Lord Vader positioned himself to stand a little behind me to my right so that I was closer to the crowd. I knew When the Emperor entered because the atmosphere in the hall sparked intensely with his power and everyone in the room dropped to genuflect before him as he walked to his throne.

“You may rise.” Palpatine’s voice cut through the expectant silence like a jagged blade.

En masse we did his bidding and stood waiting for what ever it was he had to announce.

The Emperor sat, slouched back in his throne, his arms draped on the arms of the chair in a languid almost lazy manner, reminding me of dead animals. Despite his relaxed posture power radiated about him like the corona of a sun. With the cowl of his cloak draped low over his face, it was difficult to see his expression or gauge his mood but the air of anger that had begun to creep through the hall was unmistakable. The crowd shuffled nervously. This assembly was not going to be a pleasant lauding of military heroes. There was a moment of absolute silence and it was then that the Emperor began to speak.

“For over twenty years this Empire has stood for order out of chaos.” Palpatine said. He did not raise his voice to be heard, he did not have to. “During this time we have worked hard to maintain this order and peace. Rules have been set in place to hold this Empire together, rules that have stood the test of time and are in place for a good reason.” He paused to let the words sink in. “I am a fair and just leader and while I feel that competition between my loyal citizens should be encouraged when it gets out of hand and the lines of decorum are crossed, then steps must be taken to ensure discipline is maintained.” He stopped speaking for a moment and the only sound to break the heavy silence in the hall was the sound of someone trying not to cough.

Palpatine slowly sat forward and drew a deep breath while he scanned the crowd before him. “Everyone here in this hall and all those who are working hard to keep this Empire a smooth running machine shall now witness what happens when these rules are broken. You shall now see what happens when the play for power and political self gain threatens to cause unrest in my Empire.” He spoke each word slowly, precisely and with a deep viciousness that sent a shudder down my spine, emphasising his exact meaning. He stood up slowly, leaning heavily on his gnarled wooden staff. “Guards, bring them in.” He said.

All eyes, including mine turned to the far wall, where the ornate doors opened up. There, flanked by Royal Guards, stood Thrawn. My gut twisted and I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I would have made a sound had Lord Vader not placed his hand upon my left shoulder and subtly squeezed enough that I knew pain.

“Be still!” He commanded in my head.

I drew a deep steadying breath and calmed myself but the hand stayed where it was and the grip did not lessen. Behind Thrawn and the guards who flanked him came several lower ranking Imperial officers, most of whom I did not know. They walked down through the center of the room and stopped, with Thrawn at the front, to stand before the Emperor.

Thrawn did not kneel as the others did but instead clasped his hands behind his back and stood with his legs apart, military at ease. He did not look to one side or the other but I was certain he was aware that I was there. I longed to stretch out with the force and brush his spirit, his presence with mine but Lord Vader made certain I did not. It was difficult to concentrate, difficult to resist the urge to look around and scan the crowd. I fought the desire I had to touch Lord Vader’s hand with my own, to tell him he could release his death grip on my shoulder. Some small part of me was certain I would be glad of the reminder he was painfully delivering to remain calm. I understood now that he had placed us where we could see everything, and where we would also be very hard to miss. Whatever was coming next would not be good at all. The air in the grand hall crackled with tension and the hand upon my shoulder gripped into my flesh.

“Will he be executed?” I asked turning to look at Lord Vader trying to quell my panic. I had never seen an Imperial execution but I had heard of them. I fought the swell of fear and horror that churned in my gut.

His grip on my shoulder increased slightly. “I do not know the will of my Master. You must watch and see, but no matter what happens you must maintain calm, is this understood?”

I didn’t understand but I told him that I did and like the rest of the populace, I held my breath waiting for the hammer to fall.

Deep Amongst the Stars Divided 5

In the long weeks that passed, the rumours and the gossip had begun to circulate on the ship. I knew that by the surreptitious looks I was given when I walked into the mess hall or when I walked the more populated corridors. I heard the whispers and pretended that I hadn’t. I had been called worse things than a palace doxy but I bridled at the suggestions which said I slept with every Imperial officer who knocked on my door. I was many things in my life but unfaithful and promiscuous were not among them. I trusted Thrawn implicitly but I hated not knowing what his game was and I really hated that somehow I was wound up in it, without knowing why.

Oddly enough the rumours about me didn’t bother Lord Vader and his only comment when I brought it all up one day was; ‘Since when have you ever cared what others think about you?’ I guessed that when you were as reviled as Lord Vader was there was a point when malicious gossip became meaningless in your life. So I did what I thought he would do and I ignored it all, or at least tried to. Only CJ brought the subject up during one of our sparring sessions. We had become good friends, at least as good a friend to each other as our respective jobs allowed. Perhaps it would be better to describe our relationship as combative companions. We talked a lot while we sparred.

“I hear you are the hot topic for gossip at the moment on board this ship.” He grinned as we warmed up.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t tell me you believe all the trash you hear.”

“Not at all, I just find it amusing that one little girl is the subject of so much conversation.”

“I’m hardly a little girl and it isn’t my fault people have nothing better to do than talk about things based on malicious rumours spread by credit hungry tabloid HoloNet journalists with no scruples what so ever!” I snapped.

“Is it true then? Are you having a mad affair with the Emperor’s pet alien and half a dozen of his other high ranking officers?”

I stopped what I was doing and looked him in the eye. “If I was do you think I would tell you, or anyone else for that matter? Besides when in the name of the Almighty Sarlacc would I ever have time to do everything and everyone they say I am doing and still get all the work I need to do for Lord Vader done in time?”

“A point to you… so it’s just the one in particular then?” he asked with a teasing grin.

“Good grief, you don’t give up do you? You really think I’d talk that openly about my private life?” I shot back. CJ liked to tease and in the time we had spent together sparring he had figured out pretty quickly how to get to me. Most of the time I didn’t mind, it was friendly and even with the hint of something more underneath he kept himself decently distanced.

He smirked. “No. I don’t suppose you would kiss and tell, you’re not the type.”

“What about you? No romance in your life?” I asked.

“Sweetheart, romance and Imperial Service are two things that never go well together. I don’t have time for that nonsense. A leg over is about all I ever get around to.”

I just shook my head. “You Imperial men are all the same. Crude, quick and dirty!”

He laughed. “I do find it interesting all the women now claiming to be Thrawn’s lover, like it’s a fashion accessory to have slept with the Emperor’s pet alien. One even claims to have had his baby. It is as if going to bed with the man is akin to winning a prize!”

“Really.” I said flatly, and then added sarcastically. “That should please the Emperor to no end.” Not to mention Thrawn, I thought.

He laughed and tossed me a combat staff, today we had decided on hand to hand weapons training. “I doubt it, though it turns out her baby was actually a normal human child dyed blue with red contacts inserted on his eyes. Admiral Thrawn, it seems plays his romance cards very close to his chest. That the thing that attracts the nut jobs. He’s a complete mystery. ”

I shook my head. “I am quite sure, like the rest of us; he doesn’t have time for that sort of crap. I don’t understand this fascination with sex and the Imperial court that everyone has. If it were me, I’d be far more concerned about the political pot that’s set to over boil. Now that is a mess worthy of the news net”

CJ swung at me and I ducked down into a crouching panthac stance to block and then attack. “The HoloNet gossip shows aren’t interested in that, sex scandals sell, politics puts people to sleep.” He said.

“People are a bunch of dopey Eopies then.” I said as I swung my staff around, he very nearly didn’t block in time and that made me smirk.

“Why do you think this is happening now? If I understand the news nets right it is almost as if there is some sort of coup going on in the higher ranks with Tigellinus and his cronies on one side and Thrawn and his supporters on the other.” He spun away and landed in riding bantha stance.

I shook my head. “I have no idea. The whole mess makes no sense. Both of these men are supposed to be on the same side, fighting for the same ideals, I don’t know why either of them would pursue this course of action. What is even stranger is that I get the impression that it is Admiral Thrawn doing the instigating. He’s too smart for that. Surely, he of all people would know this can only lead to a messy end. The Emperor does not tolerate this sort of dissent between his men.”

CJ shrugged. He motioned for me to stop and we paused for a moment. “If you hold the staff like this,” he said showing me what he meant, “you’ll find you get even more power in the swing.”

I tested it out and he was right. “Funny, Lord Vader never showed me that move.”

CJ grinned. “Vader has physical strength and height on his side; you are smaller, lighter. You need to use physics to get the same power behind the blows. He probably doesn’t think about that. He’s too busy trying to kill you or something!””

I grinned and we went back to sparring.

CJ got back on topic. “I don’t have an answer for that question, Merlyn. I was always under the Impression that Thrawn was brilliant as a tactician. That for reasons unbeknownst to us mere mortal humans he can almost predict the future in his planning of events. I’ve been privy to some of his conversations with the Emperor while on duty and I can tell you, the man astounds me. From a military, tactical and strategic stand point he is the sort of man most of us desire to be so why he would risk it all on a stunt like this, I don’t know.” He stepped back as I swung and blocked easily. “If I didn’t know better I would almost venture to say he wants to be expelled, because that’s what will happen if he’s not careful, or worse he’ll be executed.”

Even though I knew this was not a possibility the words made my blood freeze and I lost concentration so that the blow CJ made caught me on the thigh with a painfully resounding smack.

“You let your feelings get in the way of your concentration, they betray you, you know.” He said. He had figured out I was force sensitive but not what my exact talents were. We had spoken of it the third time we had met to spar and agreed to try and not use the force while we fought but sometimes stronger emotions and feelings leaked out around us anyway.

I gave him a slight smile and ignored his comment. “I can’t see the Emperor wanting to execute Admiral Thrawn.” I said. “There’s something else going on here, something they don’t want the rest of the court or navy or galaxy for that matter to know about.”

“And Thrawn doesn’t whisper his secrets to you?” CJ teased.

I blocked his next swing and caught the tip of his staff in a way that sent him on his ass. “I accompany him to official events, I am not privy to his inner most secrets.” I said and to some sort of extent this was true.

CJ got up and grinned. He swung at me in a faked roundhouse move that caught me completely by surprise and sent me backwards to the floor. What surprised me even more was he followed me down to lie on top of me, pinning my arms down so I could not move. His face only inches from mine he grinned. “So if I were to kiss you now, he would have no reason to mind and you would enjoy it?”

“Try me.” I said in a beguiling whisper and just as he brought his face close enough I cracked my forehead against his as hard as I could and pushed him away, to get to my feet.

He sat back and rubbed his forehead. “Ow! Nice move, where did you learn that?”

“Jabba’s palace. Boba Fett taught it to me.”

CJ just grinned. “You are so besotted you don’t even see it. When I use the force to look at you it’s so obvious.”

“Besotted?” I rolled my eyes; I was not going to go down that road of conversation. Especially not with a man, that had Thrawn not been in the picture, I might actually have considered letting him kiss me. I was beginning to think I was attracted to the wrong sort of men and CJ was most definitely the wrong sort of man. “I thought we’d agreed not to use the force?”

He winked. “You leak power all over the place whenever his name is mentioned, sweetheart. Maybe the head blind can’t tell what you think or feel but I sure can. Why is it that people having an affair always think no one notices?”

I gave him a speculative look and shrugged. “Now that is a good question.” I said wearily. “Sarlacc’s teeth, am I really that obvious?”

He frowned and looked at me. “Honestly, all kidding aside, I don’t think so, but you forget I am trained to observe and use every means in my power to get answers; it’s so inbred I can’t help it.” Then he grinned at me. “So, there is something more serious going on between you two then?”

I just smiled and I suppose that was answer enough.

He shook his head. “So what’s he like?”

“What is who like?” I asked being evasive.

His answer surprised me. “Fett? I hear he’s the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, how does an Imperial office girl know such a man?” he picked up his staff and circled me.

“That’s a long story.” I said avoiding his swing.

“Shorten it for me.” He said, “I’ll promise I’ll behave.”

“I’ve heard that before.” I told him ducking his blow and twisting around to bring my staff between his legs and flip him backwards so he landed on the matt again. It had never occurred to me until that moment that CJ’s teasing was really flirting and I egged him on. I suddenly felt a little guilty.

“Seriously, what’s he like?” he pressed.

I stopped and leaned on the combat staff. CJ just sat on the floor looking up at me, waiting.

“He’s very quiet, very smart and very deadly.” I said.

CJ patted the mat beside him and I sat down.

“How do you know him then?”

I sighed. “When I was in my late teens I danced at Jabba’s Palace. Call it my rebellious phase. Fett was often there, he does a lot of work for Jabba.”

“You really worked for a Hutt?” he asked in surprise.

“You even know what a Hutt is?” I asked with a grin.

CJ nodded. “Part of the Royal Guard training is to be familiar with just about every crime syndicate in the galaxy. Knowing who runs the underworlds is good for knowing who to lean on for information. It’s not something the Royal Guard does but we are trained in the arts of interrogation and espionage anyway. The Emperor’s theory is that it takes a spy to know a spy. So yeah, I know who Jabba the Hutt is and I am surprised that you would work for him, you don’t seem the type.”

I laughed. “On Tatooine there isn’t much choice available to a would be dancer.”

He nodded. “So go on with the story, how did you learn that move from Fett?”

“Well, I’d only been at the Palace a week or so and I was still considered fresh meat, as they say. I had just finished dancing a set and was on my way back to the dressing room when I got cornered. I don’t know who he was, just some guy who wanted much more than a dance. I knew some self defence but he had caught me by surprise and I couldn’t get out of his grip.” I shuddered at the memory. “Anyway he had one hand over my mouth and the other all over me. I couldn’t get out away from his hold which seems strange to me now because now I could kill him without thinking about it…” I paused.

CJ said nothing and did not move so I drew a deep breath and continued. “He was about to remove my dance costume when suddenly he was just sort of yanked back and then sort of lying dead on the ground. When I looked up I found myself staring into Fett’s face mask. He said nothing but he dragged me by the arm into a small room off the hallway somewhere and not only closed the door but locked it. I was pretty sure he wanted the same thing the other guy wanted but instead he took off his helmet and folded his arms. What surprised me was the look on his face. He was furious. He was absolutely furious with me.” I smiled at this memory. “He looked me over in that making sure you are in one piece way and then he said. ‘You’re Kit Gabriel’s little girl, Merlyn aren’t you?’ It hadn’t occurred to me he would recognise me from my father’s docking bay or even that I had worked from time to time on his ship when he had brought it in for repairs. Of course it’s always hard to tell what a person sees when their face is hidden behind a mask. I had nodded and he had asked me not so politely what I was doing in the scum hole of Jabba’s palace.”

“‘Working.’ had been my answer to him. ‘This is no place for a sweet kid like you, go home.’ He had said. I told him that my home life wasn’t so good and I had needed to get away. I guess maybe he understood that because he had just nodded. He’d asked if I was serious about dancing in the palace and when I told him yes he said; ‘Then you need to learn a few tricks.’ And with that he showed me how to defend myself.” I said.

“Head butting your opponent?” CJ asked rubbing his forehead.

“Yeah, among other things. He came at me the same way the guy in the hallway had and when he had backed me against the wall holding my hands above my head he had asked how I thought I could get out of this situation. I was pretty clueless and had no idea really. When he had gotten within a hair’s breadth of my lips he whispered. ‘Now hit my forehead with yours as hard as you can.’ So I did. He went on to show me a few other interesting manoeuvres such as a knee in the groin, all of them effective. I suppose we were in that small changing room for about an hour. Before he left he said to me, ‘Merlyn get out of here while you still can. They eat little girls like you for breakfast in this place. You’re a damned good mechanic go back and be a damned good mechanic. I don’t trust my ship to just anyone, you know.’ And with that he slipped his helmet back on and left the room with me following. After that, most of the time, I was left alone. I am pretty certain that the rumour got around I was either his girl or under his protection. When he was at the palace he was almost always around where I could see him, I never knew if it was deliberate or not but I felt a lot safer with him there than when he was off on a hunt.” I sighed. All of this seemed so very long ago.

“Sometimes he would request my presence in a private room. I know what people thought but it was never ever like that. He would order food and drink and then he would share the meal with me and we would talk, well mostly I would talk, telling him stuff about daily Tatooine life, the docking bay and stuff and he would listen. Fett isn’t much of a conversationalist, although when he does talk, he’s really interesting. I always got the impression he did this to reinforce the message that I was off limits, but now I wonder if maybe he also just liked the company. I mean, it’s not like the galaxy’s most revered and feared bounty hunter has any real friends is it? I didn’t care one way or the other to be honest. I suppose a part of me kinda looked up to him, you know maybe even idolized him a bit, after all I’d known him most of my life. He scared me a little but he fascinated me as well. Every chance he could he would tell me to get out of the palace and find a new job. I guess his message sunk in because when I got the chance to get out, I did. I haven’t seen him since I left the palace but I always wanted to thank him for his help.”

“Jeeze kid, you lead a charmed life.” He said in admiration.

I shrugged. “I don’t know about that.”

He grinned at me. “Hardly anyone knows what Fett looks like for real. He keeps his face hidden from the world and the rumour is that if he does show you his face you don’t live long to remember what he looks like.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Well the story is that Fett wasn’t born he was made. That the original clone from the clone wars was a man named Jango Fett and he requested a clone of himself to raise as a son in payment. Boba Fett is that son.”

My face must have turned a ghastly white. “Boba Fett is a clone?” I asked.

“That’s that story.” He said. “Hey, are you feeling okay?”

I nodded. “So, if you see his face that’s what the clones, all of them, looked like?”

“Yeah, I guess, why?”

“I just always wondered what a clone soldier looked like, is all.” I told him, lying.

CJ nodded. “They were amazing soldiers. We often speculate about what it would have been like to fight with them, especially the ARC commanders, the independent thinkers that Jango had a personal hand in designing.”

I was about to comment on this when the door opened and Lord Vader strode in. CJ was faster in getting to his feet than I was. Lord Vader dismissed him with a wave of his hand. CJ nodded and left the room. Once he was gone Lord Vader spoke.

“Get yourself ready to leave. We have been recalled to Coruscant immediately.” Lord Vader said to me. “You will dress in an appropriate manner for a public assembly before the Emperor.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I do not know but the Emperor specifically commanded I bring you along.” He said. “Get moving, girl, we have no time to waste! In half an hour I shall be in the shuttle, do not be late!” and he swept out of the room. Before I had a chance to take in the situation CJ slipped back through the door.

“What’s happening?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” I told him, that wriggle of fear began to knot my stomach.

“Is everything alright?”

I looked at him and shook my head. “I don’t think so.” I said. “I think all nine Corellian hells are about to break loose.”

Deep Amongst the Stars Divided 4

I thought I would be bored and lonely on board the Executor, but that was not the case. Lord Vader kept me very busy and much to my delight Jorae was now stationed on the ship. He had come to find me the second day after I had arrived. He had kept in touch over the past few years via infrequent letters and the occasional hologram but I had not heard of his transfer to the Executor so it was a complete surprise to me that he was there. I was glad to see a familiar face. So when I wasn’t working or practicing my Bunduki or lightsaber arts or sleeping, and our schedules actually coincided we would get together for food and hang out, often in the main hanger bay watching the ships come and go.

He had been working on a project that had got him noticed enough to be transferred and for the last two months he had been happily learning under the senior comm officer the fine art of listening. It did not take us long before we got caught up on each other’s lives.

Lord Vader had insisted that I continue with my lightsaber training and had brought on board a substantial supply of the nastiest little training remotes I had ever come across. He had sent the droid engineers a new design and I was the one suffering because of it. The mean little remotes were built with a module that allowed them to learn. It amused him to no end when I got zapped repeatedly but I learned quickly.

When I wasn’t being demoralized by a training remote, I was working on my Bunduki skills. It was harder without my master or sparring partners but it kept me limber to go through the exercises and kata forms. It was during one of my midnight sessions, about a week or so after coming on board, I discovered I wasn’t alone. In the entrance, leaning against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest was a man some years older than me. He was dressed ready to work out.

“You must be Merlyn Gabriel?”

I nodded.

“Lord Vader said that you were a Teräs Käsi artist, level seven?”

I nodded. “Yes.” Wondering how he knew this.

“You were the one who survived the Right of Tet’ recently, weren’t you?”

I nodded, making a face. That was a memory I didn’t wish to relive.

“I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sparring with me.”

I looked at him. Physically he was in perfect shape and there was an aura of power around him that only came from people in touch with the Force. I was going to ask what level he was but then decided it didn’t matter. I missed having someone to practice with and I was pretty certain killing me wasn’t on his mind.

“Sure. I was just warming up.” I said.

He grinned. “Great.” And he joined in my warm up, mirroring my actions as though he had spent his whole life practicing with me. It was a little eerie.

“You have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am but I don’t know your name.” I said as we moved through the kata forms.

He grinned. “Sorry, everyone calls me CJ.” He stuck out his hand and I shook it, his grip damned near crushed my fingers.

“You an officer?”

He shook his head. “Nope, a Royal guard on trooper rotation.”

I nodded. That explained a lot. The royal guards were a breed apart. They went through incredible training regimes and tests of endurance. They were ruthless, unquestioning in their loyalty and, more often than not, force sensitive though how much so remained a mystery. Only the absolute cream of the crop was ever accepted into this elite group of warriors. Part of their ongoing training was to be reinserted into regular Storm trooper battalions, it kept them fresh apparently. All Royal Guardsmen no matter what had an air of incredible self confidence about them that bordered on arrogance.

Once we had warmed up we started to spar. He was very, very good. After two ours of one of the most gruelling work outs I had had in a while we called it quits.

“You’re pretty good.” He said as we started a series of cool down stretching. “Lord Vader wasn’t kidding when he said I would get a decent work out.”

I gave CJ a look. “Lord Vader rarely kids about anything.”

He grinned. It was hard not to like him. “Would you mind if we could train together when possible? It is hard to find someone who knows more than basic hand to hand combat and someone trained in TK is rare these days.”

“Sure, if you promise to teach me some of those moves you pulled. They aren’t Bunduki.”

His grin widened. “No, they are Echani.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, nice.”

“You’ve heard of this form?”

I nodded. “My master spoke of it briefly.”

CJ gave me a steady look. “I can teach you if you teach me how you do those fancy leg moves. I don’t recognise that fight form.”

I laughed. “That’s probably because they stem from classical dance moves but I can teach you, sure.”

CJ smiled. “You are not exactly what you seem, Merlyn Gabriel.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I get that a lot. Send me a comm when you are free, if I can get away I’ll be here.”

He nodded and we called it a night. I was grateful for the fact that my quarters had a bath tub because that had been a tough work out and I would be sore from it but I wasn’t complaining. It was great to have someone to spar with again, especially someone who was well above my own level and was constantly challenging me.

Working on board the Executor meant an irregular schedule, because while the ship ran on a watch system based, as all Imperial ships were, on Coruscant standard time, Lord Vader did not. With no day and night it was impossible for me to keep any sort of schedule what so ever, still I tried but Lord Vader seemed to take great delight at waking me up in the middle of my night. It didn’t do much for my disposition.

I suppose that working on board the flag ship for the Death Squadron should have been exciting but the truth of the matter is, it wasn’t. The Executor was like a huge floating city in space. It was approximately 19,000 meters long so it took a while to get around the ship even with turbo lifts. Aside from the naval crew and TIE fighter pilots there were a substantial number of ground assault troops, add to the mix the support staff of doctors, cooks, cleaners and so on it meant a lot of people. I was surprised to learn that there were many civilians amongst the support staff. One could live onboard this ship for months and still not see it all. The first time I had been on board I had not really been in any fit shape to do any serious exploring, but now was quite a different story and I was determined to see as much of this technical wonder as possible.

I wasn’t the only female on board but we were rare even on a ship this size. Men dominated the Imperial navy and army. Mostly I didn’t mind, I had grown up in a predominantly male environment so I was used to it. It was more noticeable when I would head into the small officer’s mess hall, where heads would turn and conversations stopped only to begin again in hushed whispers. At first this was unnerving but as people got used to seeing me this behaviour slowly subsided.

I had been given fairly high clearance and since there had been no actually verbal restrictions placed on me by Lord Vader I could go almost anywhere I liked. I loved the ship from top to bottom but my favourite places to be were the docking bays, the cartography room and very, very occasionally the bridge.

The docking bays held all the ships, fighters and shuttles and I loved hanging out to watch the combat drills and the mechanics at work. The smell of hyperdrive fuel, burnt metal from the repairs and the scent that permeated docking bay the galaxy over was like home to me. I also loved seeing the new ATATs. I don’t think in my life I had ever seen anything, in terms of ground transport, that was so large or so foreboding. The all terrain armoured transports stood ready to be transported to ground in rows like a stable of very fine Rontos. At twenty six meters long and twenty two and half meters height they were very impressive to look at. They had one pilot, one gunner and one commander. They were armed with two heavy laser cannons and two medium blasters and also held forty troopers. Their sheer size made them difficult to attack and a fearsome thing to see upon the battlefield. I would often come down to the holding area where they all stood, sit on the gantry and just stare at them. I was never alone in that.

Making friends had never come easily for me and being Lord Vader’s assistant wasn’t helping me along in this area very much. Most of the officers who were even remotely close to my age avoided me like the plague and the older men knew better than to be seen chatting up ‘Vader’s girl.’ The only people who seemed immune to this were the junior officers who would sometimes ask me to deliver unpleasant news and messages to Lord Vader, Jorae, CJ and Captain Piett.

The captain and I had met once some years previously at a small function and we had been pleasantly surprised to discover in each other a sort of quiet connection that I suspected came from us both growing up on fairly rough Outer Rim planets. He had dropped by the office the third day after I had come on board to welcome me and apologise for not doing that sooner and what was, I suspect, supposed to be a short visit after his duty shift turned into an hour long conversation over my very good spiced coffee. I was glad to discover that he had not changed very much and I got the distinct impression he was grateful to have a non military person to talk with. When we were able to we would meet for meals or coffee breaks. If we had privacy he would speak freely and I had been surprised at his concerns.

He had come to me after a particularly frustrating day and after much prompting on my part had told me some of the things that had been going on under Admiral Ozzel’s command. Ozzel was not a popular Admiral and he was known amongst the lower officers as the ‘badmiral’ because of his refusal to listen to any advice from anyone other than the few yes men that followed him around.

“It can be quite frustrating.” Firmus Piett told me one day as we sat in the quiet sitting area of my office, drinking spiced coffee.

“Lord Vader mentioned to me that he was surprised at the lack of communication between the bridge officers and himself.” I said. That was putting it mildly. Lord Vader was more than annoyed at the seeming lack of coherent communications going on.

“Ozzel filters the information before it ever gets to Vader. What he deems unimportant is never delivered.” Firmus said. “I personally disagree with this but one does not go against the wishes of the Admiral.”

“Why not go to Lord Vader directly?” I asked.

Firmus laughed. “That would be a very bad thing to do. One does not go over one’s superior officer’s head and expect to have a career.”

I nodded. Imperial hierarchy was at its best annoying and at its worst, deadly. “Well, you know… if you think there is something important that Lord Vader should know you could always tell me, in passing conversation as it were.”

He looked at me quizzically.

“Look, I’m not your superior; I am not even in the navy. I know how to pass along information without betraying the source. Lord Vader knows I hear things, he sort of expects me to keep him up to date on the less formal side of things.” I said.

He grinned at me then and shook his head. “So the rumours are true then…” he said.

“What rumours?”

“That you are very dangerous and far more than just an office girl.”

I shook my head and smiled. “Really, I am just his office girl, but adaptability is what keeps me alive. Lord Vader, for all his armour and trappings is still just a man, and after three years I know how to approach him.” I said then added, “Most of the time.”

“A valuable trait.” He said quietly.

I laughed. “Perhaps.” I said. “But I can tell you this, occasionally he listens to me so if you feel there is something that is vital that he needs to know and the Admiral dismisses, you might want to mention it in passing . I’ll make sure the information gets shared. If there is one thing Lord Vader hates it is when he doesn’t know stuff he thinks he should.”

He looked at me for a moment and then gave me a slow nod that he got the message. We were bordering very close on things that could get us both in a great deal of trouble so I was glad when the subject was dropped and the conversation drifted to other things.

I was not allowed on the bridge. Admiral Ozzel had made that perfectly clear the very first time I had tried to step into this area with a vital message for Lord Vader. His rule was no civilians on the bridge, especially me but as with all things when it came to working for Lord Vader there were exceptions to every rule. I had cited this no Merlyn on the bridge rule smugly when he had thrown a complete temper tantrum about not being notified about a shipment of probe droids that would be late. Lord Vader’s comm had been turned off and for reasons I still could not fathom none of the bridge crew were accepting my messages or passing them on. So after that delightful incident I was permitted onto the bridge to deliver messages. I took advantage of this because the bridge of the super star destroyer was an astonishing place to be.

To say it was large was an understatement. It was set up so that most of the bridge crew operated their systems and stations from the pit, and the officers of the watch would walk the deck above taking care that everything was running smoothly.

It was a long room with a central walkway that over looked the pits on either side. It was a wide and open area with view windows forward, port and starboard side. These windows were large giving the sensation of really being out in space and not just on a ship. More often than not Lord Vader could be found at the very front of the bridge walk, his hands clasped behind his back, staring out in to the inky void of space. When he walked the bridge every officer no matter how low or high in rank tended to give him a wide berth or stare, terrified, until he had passed by. There was always an audible sigh of relief when he left. Everyone was so terrified of him that the air was rank with the scent of their fear. It rippled about the entire bridge like a dancer’s skirts when she moved. When I had pointed this out in a conversation with Lord Vader one time he had merely nodded and replied.

“Yes, fear keeps them in line.”

I wasn’t about to disagree with him but I thought it made for a terrible work environment. Sometimes the younger, junior officers were so scared they couldn’t even think straight. How could that be productive I wondered, but I never voiced these thoughts out loud.

For the most part the day to day workings on board the ship were dull. They consisted of battle drills, TIE drills, the sending out of probe droids and then the assimilation of the information they sent back, the system and surveillance sweeps and of course the information and code slicing that went on. Most of the people on board the Executor never saw Lord Vader, never got near the bridge or knew a tenth of what was going on. They had their assigned jobs and that was that. There was a certain air of obliviousness, almost as if they knew that ignorance was a sort of safe bliss. There was a saying about the Executor, ‘Quick promotions lead to short lives’. The flagship of the Death Squadron was a fast track to promotion but those promoted generally didn’t live long enough to enjoy the health benefit package. The rumours flew fast and furious around that when ever someone, especially on the bridge crew jumped in rank, they immediately saw the ship’s legal advisor and updated a copy of their will.

Still the advantages of quick advancement seemed to out weight the costs and the dangers and the waiting list of those who wished to sign up on board the Executor was extensive! I wasn’t sure I understood the attraction but I also never understood why moths flew into flames either.

All in all I enjoyed being onboard her. She was a floating, mobile, armed to the teeth city and, unlike the Imperial Court and all that went with it, most people on board Executor could care less about mindless gossip or who I was. For the most part, I was known as Vader’s girl, which amused me greatly because at court I was snidely known as Lord Vader’s Little Hand Maiden. I didn’t much mind the derogatory insinuations that came with these names, but sometimes it was annoying. I did my job and I did it well. I once told Lord Vader about the unofficial titles. It had been a good mood day and we were having a decent conversation about the Imperial court. He had actually laughed and said he could think of worse things to be called. I supposed he would know about that so I let the subject drop.

For three weeks I knew a sort of peace. There was a rhythm even in the lack of routine. I did my work, I trained and I made some friends. When I had quiet moments I read and answered my mail and explored the ship. It was only when Thrawn’s latest letter, accompanied with a small package from Shiv that the nagging tick of things about to change began to wriggle in my gut.

The messenger dropped off the regular mail just as I was almost done for the day and Jarack showed up shortly afterwards. I slipped back to my quarters delighting in a letter from Thrawn, his second since I had left Coruscant and surprised at the small package which had come from Shiv. I opened Thrawn’s letter first and my delight quickly turned to concern. It was short and perplexing, unlike his previous letter which had been chatty and almost like having him whisper in my ear. I was grateful we only ever communicated in his native language because I wouldn’t have known what to say should anyone else have been able to read it.


A’mia Tekari,

The political climate on Coruscant is changing and not necessarily for the better. I am quite certain that soon disturbing news and gossip will reach you, but do not be alarmed and do not worry. As I have said before, I know exactly what I am doing and I need for you to trust me in this, no matter what.

Politics is a delicate dance, my dear, and sometimes to play it out correctly there must be certain side steps made. You must know that no matter what you hear, I do what is necessary to protect those under my care; this includes you far more than I suspect you believe. My relationship with you has nothing to do with political gain or anything else that might be implied. All you need to know for now is that there is a long term plan in place and the wheels have now been set in motion for me to attain this goal. You are a part of the future. Do not lose your faith.

Ilath’mera’talashti’Ia
Mitth’raw’nuruodo

I sat with trembling hands and re read his letter twice. He spoke in riddles and I had no answers. With a sigh I opened Shiv’s mail and what I found there didn’t improve my mood any.

Hey Rim-Girl!!!

Thanks for the brilliant letter, it really made my day. I had no idea being on board a star destroyer could actually be interesting, but you make it sound like fun. It is just as well you are not here at the moment because all hell is starting to break loose. Tigellinus has finally had enough of playing nice it seems and both he and Thrawn have begun some sort of grand political bickering, the likes of which I have never seen at court before. Some of the worst bits have even made the holonet and other news nets. I am sending you a disk with some of the reports on copy. I don’t think you’re going to like what you see. Your boss’s timing for hauling you off planet could not have been better.

We miss you but you should stay put. I think things are only going to get worse. Thrawn and Tigellinus have really stirred the ugly pot. And you know how the Emperor doesn’t like ugly when it comes to his court…

Love and hugs,
Shiv

I sat and watched the news net clips and when I was finished I commed CJ to see if he felt like sparring because I had this burning need to kill someone and sparring with him was the next best thing. Shiv had been right; all political hell was starting to break loose with Thrawn and Tigellinus at the center of it. What gave me that cold knot in my stomach was watching how well the news casters were able to insinuate things were happening when in fact they were not. When my face showed up on a couple of very brief and very nasty stories I knew anger. While, nothing untrue had been stated the allusion to me along with a couple of other young women, having several affairs with several men in high places, being used to traffic information and accused of taking sides in what amounted to a political war was all too obvious. The tabloid news nets, it seemed, could never get enough stories of palace dalliances, rampant promiscuity and dirty politics. I was astounded at how cut together footage from various big palace functions could appear and things looked very bad. While, I was not the only female to be showcased, I was the one whose face they showed the most. As Vader’s office girl, it seemed, I was a prime target. I wasn’t certain what was hoped to be gained from the innuendos but my reputation was seemingly shot to hell. It was a good job I was so far away because if I were close at hand not only would I be called out for going against palace regulations concerning relationships with members of the Imperial navy but I would probably also be up on murder charges.