The Sith Empress
by AJ Marks
Part 10
A man turned and looked at the computer screen as an alert popped up indicating some unusual activity had occurred. He kept a constant vigilance over such things otherwise they might be discovered and that could be a disaster.
Looking at the screen he noticed what had been searched, and it wasn’t the usual search this time, this was something different. He had to give a warning to the others and let them figure out what they might do. Leaving the room the screen still active, the words still flashed.
Jedi Master Bri Lightner healing sleep
*****
Walking down the corridor of the ship and the room where he knew their leader was. He had in his hands the replies she had been waiting for and he hoped they were what she wanted. Their leader had a temper and was not afraid to use it on anyone.
He arrived at the door and the guard nodded and allowed him inside. Standing inside were several men and standing in the center was a woman dressed in black with a red cape. She had long black hair which was free and flowed around her shoulders as she turned and looked at him, almost right through him.
Jessica, or Lord Rizon as the others knew her, calmly waited for the man to say anything. She was expecting a report on their numbers and hoped things were going well. Beside her was her second in command, Tyi, who had been with her the longest.
“Report,” she finally said as the man continued to stand there looking as if he might faint away.
“Yes my lord,” he finally replied with a slight bow to her. “Our numbers continue to rise and our agents report higher than expected number of recruits from the Core Worlds.”
Jessica smiled slightly as she heard the news. It was better than she expected at this time. If the Core Worlds were recruiting then they would easily fall to her.
“And what of our spies?” she asked.
“We’ve found a few willing recruits among the New Republic’s fleet that wish to join us as well, and our spies are reporting no one knows of our actions yet,” he replied back to her.
“Good, very good, but we must be sure not to let any of them know the true purpose of their missions. That will be your job, do not disappoint me,” Jessica said starting at the man until he was shaking slightly. With a nod he indicated he could leave which he did in a hurry leaving a few still in the room.
She turned and looked out the window and into the vastness of space. Out there were her ships ready to go to war and her plans were coming along just fine. The Republic and the Jedi, along with the Empire had no idea she was coming, and she would be swift and deadly.
“How does the training come along?” she asked not bothering to turn around and look at anyone.
“The reports state that they are coming along quite well. We’re getting leaders emerging like you said they would,” Tyi said to her.
“Excellent,” Jessica said knowing that given the right crucible the true leaders would rise up. They would be part of a new group of Sith that she would train to fight against the Jedi. She had spent the last few weeks training like the ancient Sith Lords had. The only thing she hadn’t done was tattoo herself, something she had no desire to do. It would allow some seduction in the future. She also felt herself growing stronger each day.
Then the question of an apprentice entered her mind but felt she was not strong enough. Thinking about the teaching of Darth Bane and she felt he was wrong. Limiting herself to one student was very Jedi-like in her mind. At the time it might have been needed, but that time had ended, it was time for a new Sith to emerge.
She looked on watching a few fighters streak past as they trained. She would soon have everything ready and be ready to move out.
*****
Gaia made her way into the solo residence looking for anyone she knew. She had not discovered much of anything and was beginning to wonder if the information she wanted was even out there at all. She had a strong feeling that Jedi Master Bri was important to this research but so far every place she looked came up empty. She simply seemed not to exist except for that one note of a trial.
Heading into the living room of the house she spotted Han sitting there reading, a sight she had not expected after everything she knew and had heard of the man.
“Looks like you’re looking for someone,” he said to her with that typical grin on his face.
“I was looking for either of you,” Gaia replied. “Wanted to let you know we could leave at any time, not sure I’ll find anything.”
“Leia had been mentioning it, said she had a couple of senators lined up who wanted to go, was waiting on if their schedule had cleared up,” Han replied to her. “She’s currently out with the kids, doing some time with them. Her job doesn’t allow much so she feels guilty about it.”
Gaia understood what it was like to have parents very busy, only difference was hers worked just to earn enough for them to live and eat.
“So, did you get your research done?” Han asked switching subjects.
“Yes and no,” Gaia replied letting out a bit of a sigh. “I thought this would be easy, find two Jedi women, but with incomplete records it proofed difficult. I did come up with a name though, Jedi Master Bri Lightner.”
“Can’t say I’ve heard of that name,” Han replied after a couple of seconds of thinking about the name.
“Neither had I, but then again how many Jedi Master names have been lost to history,” Gaia mused out loud. “She could have been a great Jedi Master but thanks to the Emperor we lost most of that information.
“True, makes me wonder what else the Emperor destroyed that we don’t know about,” Han stated.
“Guess we’ll never know,’ Gaia replied to the statement not sure if she should feel uneasy with such a comment or not.
“Why are you trying to find out about this Jedi?” Han asked
“I’m not sure, but they seem really close, and they appeared to me,” Gaia said.
“Could it have been a master and her padawan?” Han asked causing Gaia to ponder it for a few seconds.
“I thought it might be at first, but the way they acted, what I sensed, it felt like they were closer somehow,” Gaia replied.
“I don’t know much about the Jedi,” Han said with a slight laugh. “First time I encountered one I told him about ancient religions and it not being a substitute for a blaster. I probably should learn a bit considering who my wife is and my children are probably Force users as well. I know Luke is trying some different things as well, like marriage.”
The term marriage caused Gaia to look up and ponder. She hadn’t looked up anything about marriage in her research and it seemed to go in the right direction. She knew before the great purge Jedi were forbidden to marry, except for special reasons. Jedi Masters like Ki-Adi-Mundi had been allowed due to his species low reproduction rates.
She knew Master Skywalker had eased up some requirements simply due to the fact those same restrictions had helped turn his father to the Dark Side. There were several Jedi Knights who were married and some had been before coming to the academy. Gaia had a feeling such things wouldn’t change.
They looked up to see the door open allowing four people to come in, three running as they ran though giving a quick hi to Han as Leia made her way in.
“Hey there,” Leia said to Han before turning to Gaia. “So, you emerge, how goes the research?”
“I think I’m about done,” Gaia said to her.
“That works, I’ve got two senators lined up and they’ll be ready to go in a day or two,” Leia said.
“I can wrap up any remaining research in that time,” Gaia said now having a timeline to return to the academy.
*****
“What brings you into my office?” the man behind the desk said looking up as another man walked into the room. He hoped it wasn’t anything too important which might be deemed a threat to their way of life.
“I found something interesting, but I’m not sure it poses us much of a danger, but it could actually be a blessing this time,” the reply came back as a data crystal was placed on the desk which he picked up and inspected.
“Hmm, interesting,” he said going over the information before his eyebrows rose at the information on the screen. “A Jedi?” he asked looking back up at the man for some conformation.
“Yep,” the man replied with a nod of his head. “But that’s not the part I was refereeing to.”
He continued reading before saying anything. “The last Jedi who knew about us was Jedi Master Yoda, and he took the secret to the grave, so how did she find out?”
“That’s the interesting part, look on the last page,” the man said.
He quickly scrolled to the last page seeing picture and froze. He looked at the picture than at the other picture going back and forth before looking back up. “Are you sure about this?”
“The pictures don’t lie my friend.”
The man behind the desk let out a sigh and leaned back before opening another file an quickly scanned it as well. There was much at stake here and the wrong decision could kill them all if he acted out of haste. Yet, he had to do something to ensure the right side won as well.
“If I may say, I don’t think it was an accident in us finding her this time,” the man standing said. “We can help this time unlike so many other times.”
“You may think so, but we must do it cautiously. If things go wrong we could all be in danger, or our greatest ally could return,” he said to him. It was a delicate balancing act he had to perform here, the darkness was very close.
“It’s them, I know it,” the man said.
“Then you’re aware of the danger as well?’ the man asked, seeing he nod. “Very well, approach her, and only her, but be cautious of how much you tell her.”
“I will,” the man said before leaving the room.
“I hope you’re right my friend, I really do,” he said to the retreating form before looking the files over once more. The bard and warrior, a dangerous pair, yet also their greatest allies.
*****
Tyi made his way to where Darth Rizon stood waiting for him. She barely turned to acknowledge him which caused him to bow before speaking.
“My lord, we’ve arrived at the planet,” he said to her wondering what she might say next.
“Excellent, have a shuttle prepared right away,” she ordered turning back to look out the window at the planet in question. Tyi bowed again before heading over to the communications to notify the hangar. They were on board a simple vessel, not really a military ship but it could defend itself if it had to.
The hangar could house a few shuttles and a couple of y-wings the fighter they managed to get off the market. Part of him wondered when they might be able to acquire more ships. She promised power and so far seemed on a mission no one else understood. They had been visiting several different planets for a while now.
He looked back at her and realized she had changed since landing on Ouspent. She seemed to become even more fearsome than when he first met her and it was that fearsome underlying power which brought people in.
Their ranks had grown, which caused a few discipline problems but Darth Rizon easily stopped those. She had brutal punishments and the men quickly found that out. They also were slowly forming into working, functioning units.
He finished and made his way back over to where she stood still looking out as if she saw something no one else could.
“My lord, the hangar reports a shuttle is ready,” Tyi said to her having a feeling she already knew it.
“Very good,” she said not looking away. “Do you see it Tyi, its calling out for us, waiting for us, and all we have to do is reach out and take it.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond considering she smiled as she said it. He really had no idea what she was talking about so he stood silently not wishing to anger her.
“Its all right Tyi, I know you can’t see it,” Rizon said to him. He wondered if anyone could see what she saw. “Wait for me here.”
With a swirl of her cloak she turned and left the room leaving Tyi and the rest of the group standing there. Tyi wondered how long she’d be down on the surface of the planet this time. Previous expeditions ranged anywhere from about an hour to almost half a day. The only thing which really bothered him was she seemed to return stronger than before each time.
End part 10