{"id":2120,"date":"2017-08-12T07:15:25","date_gmt":"2017-08-12T12:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2120"},"modified":"2017-08-16T07:20:39","modified_gmt":"2017-08-16T12:20:39","slug":"the-sith-empress-part-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2120","title":{"rendered":"The Sith Empress – Part 13"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sith Empress<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 13<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Gaia stretched out from where she sat on board the Millennium Falcon.\u00a0 She was headed back to the academy from Coruscant and hitching a ride on one of the most famous starships in the galaxy.\u00a0 She looked around at her fellow passengers, which included the President of the Republic, Leia Solo and her three children, and two other senators.<\/p>\n

She hadn\u2019t spoken much with either of them and one she didn\u2019t like much anyways and they both seemed to speak about concerns about the academy and what they might be learning.\u00a0 They were fearful of another Emperor appearing.\u00a0 Of course Han Solo and Chewbacca were up in the cockpit considering the ship was about to come out of hyperspace.<\/p>\n

Gaia wondered what her master, Fie-Tel, would have in store for her once she returned back to the academy.\u00a0 She had mostly failed in her research and had little else to go on other than a name, Bri Lightner, and\u00a0 few visions of her and some other person who, she was told, were connected by more than love.<\/p>\n

Looking down at the reports from Yavin IV she noticed that the academy might actually be in danger.\u00a0 The forces under Tavion were gathering and there was thought she might be making a move.\u00a0 She had visited the Force sensitive areas that were known and draining them.\u00a0 The biggest problem was there was no intelligence on what she was planning to do with this energy.<\/p>\n

Gaia felt this current situation had nothing to do with what she had been researching.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t anything she really felt, but more like a gut feeling she got.\u00a0 With that thought she realized there was something else going on out there which no one knew about.\u00a0 With everyone\u2019s attention on Tavion this other person was able to move around unseen.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, how far along are you with your training?\u201d one of the senators asked her.\u00a0 She looked over recalling the man\u2019s name, Ollo.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that far, I\u2019m not as strong as many others are,\u201d she answered honestly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, our philosophy is even the strongest of us can be defeated by the weakest,\u201d Ollo replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is why your people fell so easily to the Empire when the Emperor took over,\u201d the other senator said causing Ollo to bristle slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also allowed them to gather a lot of intelligence for the rebellion ass the Emperor didn\u2019t view them as a threat to his rule,\u201d Leia stated speaking up from where she sat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know about that, but when it comes to the Force it always works in mysterious ways,\u201d Gaia stated.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m actually better off now than when I joined the Jedi Order.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that she looked over at Ulti waiting to see if he would say anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cInteresting that you say you\u2019re are better off now,\u201d Ollo stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family is poor, and my mother and father had a hard time providing for three of us,\u201d Gaia replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should work then,\u201d Ulti stated, a bit of conceding tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey did,\u201d Gaia looking him right in the eyes.\u00a0 \u201cAt least they had a job until a high profile politician made a bunch of new laws forcing the business to downsize.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen they should look for a new job,\u201d Ulti said, looking a bit uncomfortable now that Gaia and the others were looking at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might have if that same law hadn\u2019t almost crippled the economy of my home planet making finding new work almost impossible,\u201d she replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen they should have left for anew area,\u201d Ulti answered as if he had all the answers to their problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might have been able to if rates to leave hadn\u2019t been raised so high,\u201d Gaia stated wondering if the man had an inkling of how much damage he had done to the economy thanks to his promises to certain groups.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, the politicians only seemed to listen to certain groups and ignored the citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ulti stiffened as the conversation continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, certain investors were rewarded quite well for what happened, especially those of Intertravel Inc,\u201d Gaia said to them.<\/p>\n

They all understood that Ulti was a heavy investor of Intertravel Inc, and the laws passed were designed to harm, not help, most areas of the economy and despite heavy public pressure passed anyways due to local whitewashing of the truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally,\u201d Leia said as she looked on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did everything we could for the people of the planet,\u201d Ulti replied like a typical politician, he had done nothing wrong in his mind.<\/p>\n

Gaia felt a slight bump in the ship\u2019s movement before Han announced they had landed.\u00a0 Gaia stood and headed out before stopping to look at Ulti once more.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour policies destroyed many more lives then helped.\u00a0 You can try to deny it, but the truth is there for you to see if you have eyes to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that she walked off the ship and back out into the academy despite hearing the beginnings of a political argument between the three.\u00a0 She wondered if she had made a difference and hoped so but it felt good to get that off her chest despite everything in her Jedi training.\u00a0 Looking around she spotted Master Fie-Tel standing there waiting for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cGaia, how are you feeling,\u201d he said giving her a hug as a greeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine Master Fie-Tel,\u201d she replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how did your research go?\u00a0\u00a0 I received some information, but not a lot,\u201d he asked her.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery little survived the purge, but I was able to find a name,\u201d Gaia replied knowing it was the right track.\u00a0 \u201cA Jedi by the name of Bri Lightner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I am unfamiliar with that name,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 \u201cWe were unable to find anything here either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not surprised,\u201d she said, but had wished they could find something.<\/p>\n

They turned at the sounds of children\u2019s cries of \u2018Uncle Luke\u2019 and watched as Han and Leia\u2019s kids ran to greet their uncle.\u00a0 Luke gave each of them a hug before greeting Leia and Han.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see that a couple of council members are here as well,\u201d Fie-Tel replied looking on and noticing the two men standing not far away.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenators Ollo and Ulti,\u201d Gaia replied and she could tell by Ulti\u2019s stature he was uncomfortable about something.\u00a0 Privately she hoped her words had done some good.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you been keeping up with the reports I sent you?\u201d Fie-Tel asked her changing the subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cI read them on the way here, does Tavion really pose that much of a threat to the Jedi Order?\u201d Gaia asked wondering if the reports were hyping something which wasn\u2019t really a problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe so,\u201d he replied back to her, his tone indicating the seriousness of the situation.\u00a0 \u201cDo you think you\u2019re research is connected to it at all?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy feelings on the subject scare me a lot, but whatever the pull of this is, it\u2019s full of the Dark Side and anger, but no, I don\u2019t think this is connected to Tavion,\u201d Gaia finally said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we need to keep our guard up,\u201d Fie-Tel replied.<\/p>\n

Gaia nodded wondering if they could survive against two threats at once.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, my lord, where did this fleet come from?\u201d Tyi asked as he and the others all looked on amazement that so many ships were in one spot and appeared to be empty.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the remnants of the Sith fleet from Darth Malak to be used against the Old Republic.\u00a0 He hid it from everyone, and now its found,\u201d Jessica said to them as she looked out at joy at her fleet.\u00a0 \u201cSoon it will be alive again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the fleet was destroyed by the Republic fleet at the end of the war, and the Jedi Civil war,\u201d the captain said recalling some history of the past.<\/p>\n

Jessica realized that at least one person on board knew his history, but didn\u2019t know it all.\u00a0 \u201cYou are only half correct, at least what is written in history.\u00a0 Malak hid part of his fleet in case of an emergency.\u00a0 Those who knew were killed,\u201d Jessica said to him, not telling him that the spirits of the Sith Lords led her here.<\/p>\n

She watched as Tyi and the captain exchanged looks between them probably trying to figure out how she was told about them if everyone who knew about the fleet had been killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut my lord, how?\u201d Tyi finally asked finding his voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a true Sith Lord, that is how I know,\u201d Jessica stated.\u00a0 She had a feeling it would only enhance her reputation to the others and begin the legend of Darth Rizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course my lord,\u201d Tyi replied with a slight bow in her direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrepare a landing party captain, we\u2019re going aboard one of the ships,\u201d she said looking out and picking out a ship which was closest.\u00a0 \u201cThis one should do,\u201d she said showing the captain which ship she had selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight away,\u201d the captain replied moving off to carry out his orders.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Jessica felt the shuttle land on the ship and looked at the others with her.\u00a0 The captain had selected a group who knew something about a ship and if it was still able to e used or if it had rusted away and useless.\u00a0 She knew derelict ships could be rendered worthless but she felt these ships were still operational.<\/p>\n

The group waited until the report from the atmosphere came back, there was a chance of some sort of toxic accident but it came back clean.\u00a0 They exited, the armed guards first followed by Jessica and finally the techs.\u00a0 The air was a bit stale, but breathable as they started to make their way towards the bridge.<\/p>\n

The group rounded the corner and came across a droid unlike anything they had seen before.\u00a0 It reminded them of a large, giant, robotic spider.\u00a0 When it noticed them it immediately let out a screech and beep at them.\u00a0 The group raised its weapons ready for anything.<\/p>\n

The droid opened fire with some deadly accuracy as one man quickly went done before any of them could return fire.\u00a0 They recovered quickly and took up covering positions and returned fire to discover the droid had some sort of defensive shield on it.<\/p>\n

Jessica watched as another man went down and realized this wouldn\u2019t do to have her men cut down from under her like this.\u00a0 Reaching out with the force she held the robot in place before crushing it.\u00a0 It was strong, but not stronger than her will.<\/p>\n

The group watched before looking at the droid and then back at her.\u00a0 A few more were more than wary of her now with that display of power she showed.\u00a0 With a purposefully stride she walked past the group and headed towards the bridge, once there she felt they could control these things.<\/p>\n

She also knew her men were not equipped to fight these droids, they needed ion weapons, not regular weapons.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake a note, on the next ship to take ion weapons,\u201d she said to the leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo problem, I\u2019ll remember this,\u201d he said to her.<\/p>\n

The group continued down the corridor eventually encountering another droid which she easily dispatched with the Force and her lightsaber before any more men could be killed.\u00a0 They quickly found the bridge which was deserted for which they were thankful.\u00a0 The group looked on as several techs looked on at the controls.<\/p>\n

\u201cReminds me of an Imperial class star destroyer,\u201d one of the techs said obviously having some experience.\u00a0 \u201cThe droids should be able to be shut down here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen do it,\u201d Jessica said to him watching as he ran through a few programs before announcing the droids were disabled, hopefully.<\/p>\n

They continued looking around checking which systems were functioning and which ones were not at the moment.\u00a0 One brought up the power levels of the ship as Jessica walked over to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the diagnosis?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything seems normal, need to start up the main engines, there is some fuel as well.\u00a0 Things are running on auxiliaries at the moment,\u201d he said to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerfect, take some teams and explore the ship a bit more, make sure there are no other visitors on my ship,\u201d Jessica ordered to them.\u00a0 \u201cThe droids should be shut down now as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The guards split up into several groups before heading out to explore the ship and report back in leaving Jessica, a few guards, and the techs on the bridge.<\/p>\n

End part 13<\/p>\n

Continued in part 14<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sith Empress by AJ Marks Part 13 Gaia stretched out from where she sat on board the Millennium Falcon.\u00a0 She was headed back to the academy from Coruscant and hitching a ride on one of the most famous starships in the galaxy.\u00a0 She looked around at her fellow passengers, which included the President of […]
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