The Sith Empress
by AJ Marks
Part 20
Leia Solo sat down behind her desk a bit frazzled with the last week. Things had not gone very well and it seemed as if things were getting a bit tense in the council chamber. Some were outright concerned while others were not concerned at all especially after the information of a Sith battleship destroying a Republic cruiser.
Rubbing her eyes she realized it was a classic case for most, if it didn’t affect them then why should they care. It was difficult to make them care and get them on board for any type of action which might be required.
“Madam President,” one of her aides said walking into the room rather quickly making her feel as if bad news was coming.
“Yes,” she said forcing a smile on her face.
“This report just came in,” he said, handing over a piece of paper watching as she scanned it. She felt some dread upon reading it.
“Assemble the council,” Leia stated, not really sure it would do much. It might push a few to get involved with what was going on, others would use it for their personal gain somehow like a typical politician.
“Yes ma’am,” the aide said and left the office.
She rested her head in her hands and sighed at the situation and never heard Han enter the room.
“Hey honey, what’s the matter?” he asked her causing her to look up at him.
“This,” she said handing him the paper which he scanned before looking at her.
“Frasis?” he asked looking back at her.
“Yeah, she replied. “It seems as if the Republic is under attack again by someone who is spreading their influence. I’m not sure the Republic will want to get involved again.”
“Have you talked with the council about this?” Han asked.
“About to,” Leia mumbled back to him before looking up at him. “There are some who are worse than a herd of nerfs.”
“They would be easier to control, but the smell would be worse,” Han said getting a smile from her.
“Thanks a lot,” she replied looking up as an aide walked inside informing her that the council was ready to meet with her.
She had a feeling that the council assembled a bit too quickly for her tastes making her wonder what they had in mind. Squaring her shoulders she walked out of the office and headed to the council passing Chewbacca who was looking for her husband. She gave him a smile before continuing on.
Walking into the council chambers she had a feeling something else was up by the atmosphere and the way certain senators were acting. She made her way to the raised platform in the middle of the room and waited a few seconds for the crowd to quiet down.
“Quiet, can we have quiet please,” her aide stated, his voice ringing through the air of the room.
It took a few seconds but the crowd finally quieted down for the floor leader to step up and announce what was going on.
“We have two agendas before us right now,” the floor leader said. “One is brought before us by the senator of Korrabas, the other from the President of the Republic. We shall hear from the senator of Korrabas first.”
Leia looked on wondering what he had to say, and hoped it wasn’t something to counter her report.
“Thank you,” the senator said as all eyes went to him. “Fellow senators, we have before us an opportunity of greatness, one which may not come along again in centuries.”
Leia looked on with narrowed eyes as he spoke. She felt sure he was saying more than he was telling as all of her Jedi instincts were rising up telling her something was wrong. The only reason was she couldn’t sue that as a counter due to so many still feeling uneasy about the Force and the Jedi.
“We have a chance to meet with a new ally,” the senator said. “Our government has been contacted by a new, powerful, ally. We have the ability before us to join forces with a new ally and finally confront the remains of the Empire.”
There were murmurs and Leia knew that with the mentioning of the Empire many people were probably swayed to his point. She was filled with a lot of doubt about this new ally considering no one had encountered them before and the Empire kept careful records of other species they encountered for a threat later on.
“They call themselves the Rizonians, and are humanoid wishing an alliance with the Republic,” the senator said to them.
Leia understood there was little she could do to prevent meeting with them, as declining the invitation would only cause more problems with the council. She would approach the meeting with an air of openness but also wariness due to the fact they had come out of nowhere. She also realized everyone was now waiting to see what she might have to say.
“A council should be formed to begin looking into the possibility of conducting talks with this new group and how best to proceed,” Leia said trying to be diplomatic and give herself some time to find some information about this group. “Is that agreeable with the Rizonians?”
“I think they will agree to that madam President,” the senator replied.
“Is there any problem with the formation of a council to greet the Rizonians?” the floor leader said after a few seconds. Leia looked around seeing that no one really could object to such an action, as it would be logical for such actions in this situation. The floor leader then stepped back up. “Madam President, you had some information you wished to share with the council.”
“Yes,” Leia said taking the floor of the council. “Members of the galactic senate, we have a problem on the boundaries of the Republic. I have received word that the world of Frasis is currently being attacked by an unknown force. Now this makes it at least two planets which we know of to have been attacked and it doesn’t appear to be a pirate raid. I am asking the senate to vote to increase our military forces stationed along the rim and near these worlds to protect member worlds from what might be a hostile group.”
As she expected the senate erupted into chaos at her recommendation.
“Ii strongly object to such actions,” the Korrabas senator said even as a few others sided with her.
Leia sighed knowing it would be a long meeting ahead of her.
*****
Jessica stood on the bridge with impassion as the defenses of Frasis were swept aside by her forces with ease. She was sure the news of this attack would reach the Republic and perhaps back to the remnants of the Empire as well, not that it mattered. She had already started another deception with the Republic, an idea which had come to her on the spur of the moment and allow her even more time to gather her forces. It was only a matter of time before she had to deal with one or the other directly.
She was gaining recruits quickly so she felt no worry about her armies. She also felt sure that her spies within the Empire and Republic would give her ample warning if either were going to move against her.
“Any reply from Frasis on my demands of surrender?” Jessica asked looking at the bridge crew. The communications officer shook his head no.
She gave that some thought before coming to the conclusion they needed to know who they were dealing with. She was no weak like the Empire was, and not the cowardly republic. She would show them exactly who she was, as a new thought came to her.
“Keep trying to get in touch with them. When I come back I’ll want a progress report and then decide how to handle them,” Jessica said walking off the bridge.
Jessica made her way to the room where she held the small Jedi before changing direction to pick up some new clothing. With a bit of a smile on her face she made her way back to the room and wasn’t surprised to see the small Jedi meditating. She also knew that the blonde knew she had walked into the room.
“Here, put these on,” Jessica said tossing the clothing at the smaller woman who caught them and looked at it with a quizzical face. “I have a mission for you,” Jessica said smiling at her cleverness.
Gaia looked at the clothes then back at her before looking at the clothing. Jessica had picked out a clothes with varying shades of green with a black cloak. At the moment Gaia seemed to be aware there was no place for her to chance.
“Go ahead and change, I’m not going anywhere,” Jessica replied to the unasked question. The real reason she wasn’t going anywhere had nothing to do with training but her own selfish wants of seeing the smaller woman nude.
The shoulders dropped in defeat almost made Jessica turn around but her desire to watch the small Jedi was too great. Gaia slowly undressed until she was left with little to the imagination. Jessica looked her over from her feet to head and realized the Jedi kept herself in shape. Great looking legs, tone stomach and the small breasts which didn’t bother her at all.
Gaia continued to dress until she had put on the clothes before turning around to fact Jessica.
“Follow me, any attempt to flee and I’ll kill you myself,” Jessica said slipping into the persona of Rizon at the moment.
They left the room and headed to the bridge of the ship. Jessica noticed a lot of people looking at Gaia wondering who she was. Jessica entered the bridge and moved to the center before looking over at the communications officer and noticing that Tyi was on the bridge now.
“Any response to our ultimatum?” Jessica asked waiting for the answer.
“No my lord,” the communications officer sad to her.
Everyone seemed to be silent wondering who the woman was and why she was on the bridge beside Rizon. Jessica allowed the confusion to linger not offering any explanation of what she was up to.
“Very well, perhaps its time we teach them a lesson not to ignore us,” Rizon said with a smile on her face.
She turned to Gaia who had a confused expression and she could feel her confusion. It was strange that it wasn’t fear, but confusion coming from the blonde. Jessica wanted her to see who she was dealing with and how futile it was to disobey her. After a few seconds she turned to the captain.
“Target the largest city after the capital and destroy it,” Jessica ordered. “They were given enough time to comply, now they will pay.”
She felt the shock coming from Gaia, which was exactly what she wanted. The Jedi also seemed to want to protest but seemed able to remain quiet.
Jessica watched as the bridge crew went through their preparations as the captain gave out orders.
*****
Two Sith battleships lined up in orbit around the planet Frasis and located themselves over one of the largest cities on the planet. The defenses of the planet had been swept away already by the attack earlier and were defenseless. The ships turrets swiveled to lock on to the planet before they suddenly opened fire.
The city and its inhabitants were caught unawares by the move as turbolasers rained down upon them. The orbital bombardment from the battleships was precise and killed millions who were still in the city. Buildings which had survived the initial attack were reduced to rubble in minutes. The survivors were left to try and hope to escape the disaster which had fallen upon them.
The government of Frasis was stunned by the move and realized they were not dealing with a group like the Empire, but this Sith group meant business.
End part 20