Chapter IX
Citizens of the Galactic Republic! Our clones and troops smashed a rebel fleet at the mysterious and hidden Jedi planet of Illum, inflicting heavy losses! Task Force Four rescued Jedi General Kit Fisto’s floundering fleet from certain annihilation.
The 104th Starfighter Squadron lived up to their motto “Take no prisoners, leave no regrets” as they shredded over fifty rebel starfighters and destroyed two capital ships.
On the ground, the rebels were stymied by Jedi Commander Anakin Skywalker. Grand Centurion Palpatine himself will welcome back this heroic figure and decorate him with the Coruscant Star Cluster for his bravery is single-handedly saving a group of our wounded clone troopers from the savage rebels.
I was fortunate to have the Grand Centurion give me a few precious moments of his time to answer some of my questions in an exclusive interview brought to you only by me, Oreana T’riek.
“Sir, what do you think of this starburst known as Anakin?”
“This young man is a shining example of outstanding dedication not to himself, but to the Republic itself. If I had ten men like him, the war would be over tomorrow!”
“Very few of us had ever heard of Illum before this. In fact, even I had to do a great amount of research just to find its exact location. Why would the Jedi keep a planet all to themselves and go to great lengths to hide it?”
“That is a disturbing question indeed. In fact, what do we really know about the Jedi at all other than they are skilled weapons experts and military leaders? What were the Jedi doing on Illum to begin with? Very few people outside of the Jedi Order know the answer to that. I am working diligently to uncover the truth, but the Order is very secretive. Many people don’t even know who the leaders of the Order are.”
“And I’m hearing rumors about possible peace talks?”
“We have made every possible overture to bring a swift and diplomatic end to the war, but the rebels are refusing to listen. They are far more bloodthirsty than I first believed possible. They could be capable of anything at any time.”
Keep bringing the fight to them! No rebellion! No division! No backing down! Show your patriotism by buying war bonds to give our fighting people the support they need!
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“Escort duty. Oh man, wake me when this is over!” Lt. Serat yawned too loudly over his headset.
“You’re escorting the Supreme Chancellor, missy, this ain’t a simple job. If the damn rebs got wind of his schedule, we’ll have some work ahead of us,” Major Duneglider replied.
Lt. Serat yawned louder.
“Missy, are you that anxious for a scrap?” the major asked.
“The war is raging out there and I’m stuck babysitting here. This isn’t exactly what I signed up for,” the lieutenant replied.
“Let me tell you something. War may seem all glitz and glamor to you, but I’ve already seen enough to last me the rest of my days,” Duneglider said.
Lt. Serat scoffed. “Like you got many of those left. With the way Palpatine is running the war, the rebels will be long gone before I get to nail them. Or take a crack at the Jedi, either way.”
Major Duneglider nearly jerked his starfighter off course. “The Jedi?”
“Yeah Major,” Lt. Serat said. “You heard the HoloNet same as me. Those Jedi are up to something, I bet my next paycheck on it.”
“You’re worried about the guys who are fighting with us?” the major asked.
“A bunch of lightsaber wielding preachers who have whole planets no one has ever heard of and aren’t big fans of free thinking? Yeah, those guys,” Lt. Serat answered.
Major Duneglider sat back in his starfighter’s cockpit and thought for a moment. He only met a Jedi once and he seemed nice enough. Although anyone is nice to you right up to the moment they shoot you in the back.
His headset crackled loudly. “Major Duneglider, acknowledge transmission from Coruscant Command and respond please to Delta-Whiskey-Gamma-Five-One-Five.”
The major punched up his computer and hurriedly accessed his codebook. “Major Duneglider here, I respond with Oh-Six-Charlie-Four-Green-Green.”
He waited patiently for the computer to decode the transmission. It isn’t every day that you receive a Delta level code from the C.C. and his curiosity overrode his years of experience as adrenaline began surging through him.
“Shuttle you are escorting does not, repeat does not, contain Chancellor Valorum. Destroy shuttle immediately and report to sector twelve for rendezvous with Major Issic.”
Major Duneglider let out a low whistle. He activated his Heads Up Display and opened his communications channel again.
“Looks like we’ve been had. The C.C. says the Chancellor ain’t on this ship at all. Drop back and keep your scanners open for rebel ships while I take this puppy out,” he said.
“Hot damn! I finally get to see something blown up!” Lt. Serat whooped as he dropped his throttle back and fell behind the Major’s starfighter.
The Major banked left, lined up the transport’s engine section in his sights and pulled the trigger.
“Striking a blow for freedom,” he whispered as the two torpedoes sailed away.
——————————
“Quite an effective demonstration,” Major Issic smiled. “You successfully manipulated the transmission and even used proper code frequencies. You handled that exercise very well, lieutenant.”
“Just glad to do my part. It’s an added bonus that I was able to come up for a little fresh air. You can imagine that we don’t get a lot of free time in the Cryptoanalysis Department,” the lieutenant said.
“Yes it is rather sad that you can’t have a HoloNet emitter in the bunker on Carida, but we can’t take chances on it being traced. I’ll make sure this is noted in your report to my superior. You have a very bright future,” Major Issic pretended to make notes on his tablet before leaving the room and walking back down the hall.
Lieutenant Piett smiled and leaned back in the chair.
——————————
“There’s a lot of traffic around the landing pad,” the pilot of Anakin’s shuttle announced. “This could get dicey.”
Anakin held on to his shoulder harness and tried to meditate through their descent. His mind was still filled with conflicting thoughts that he continually tried to suppress. Was he a hero? Was it okay to hurt one rebel if it meant saving other lives? It was true that the Jedi would not approve, but this was war, not a classroom exercise.
“Relax,” Obi-Wan told him. “I would think the Jedi in the Temple could feel your nervousness over coming home.”
“No, it’s not that. I just don’t like re-entry into an atmosphere,” Anakin said.
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t mind the first time we came to Coruscant or when we went to Cerea or Alderaan.”
Anakin exhaled loudly.
He turned to face his friend. “I spoke to the Grand Centurion before we left Illum’s orbit. He’s under the impression that I’m some sort of hero.”
“You spoke directly to Palpatine?” Obi-Wan asked. “Do you know how high up the chain of command you just went? Talking to me wasn’t good enough?”
“No, master, I didn’t mean that. I just needed to talk to a friend outside of the Order to get a more objective opinion. He said he was pleased to hear from me. I didn’t think it was so out of place,” Anakin said.
Obi-Wan waited until their shuttle stopped rocking back and forth from the friction of the atmosphere.
“Anakin, what you did on Illum was courageous. Interrogating the rebel officer was out of order, but what’s done is done. Keep in mind, there are many Jedi across the galaxy that are taking on far more dangerous assignments. I think Palpatine was exaggerating.”
Seeing Anakin’s downcast look, Obi-Wan added, “But I’m sure the Jedi Council appreciates your deeds. I have already set up a hearing about advancing your training.”
Anakin narrowed his eyes in disgust, “More classroom lectures?” he asked.
“Perhaps not, we shall see. Be patient,” Obi-Wan advised.
As their shuttle slowed and began to approach their landing platform. Anakin and Obi-Wan could see from their windows why traffic was a problem on this day.
There was a large crowd gathered on the terminal, the ramp leading to the platform, and on the platform itself. The crowd was so large that an entire company of clone troopers was out in force, trying to keep them back so the shuttle could land. Three Dimensional Imagers buzzed the transport like flies.
“Anakin, exactly what did you tell Palpatine happened on Illum?” Obi-Wan asked.
“Actually, the battle never came up. He said he read a few reports, but he never asked me directly how I was involved,” Anakin said.
His eyes lit up when he saw the full depth of the crowd below. When their shuttle neared, the crowd began to wildly applaud. They were there for him!
“Let’s not get too excited. I suppose there is a small chance they are here to celebrate your deeds on Illum,” Anakin laughed.
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “Celebration is hardly what any Jedi would be looking for, but I suppose it is rather touching.”
Anakin couldn’t help but let his enthusiasm get the better of him. As they touched down, the crowd pressed forward, held back only by the barricades and soldiers pressing back against them. Anakin waved to the crowd, who only cheered louder.
When Obi-Wan disembarked, the crowd was cheering. When Anakin appeared and began to climb down the shuttle’s steps, the crowd was beyond jubilant. Anakin had never seen a crowd of people so excited before. Winning a race on Tattooine didn’t begin to compare with the level of adulation he was feeling now.
It was intoxicating.
Anakin pumped his fist into the air and walked up the ramp toward the terminal. He even caught Obi-Wan smiling and waving to a few people. Three Dimensional Imagers zipped around Anakin, broadcasting his figure to the masses. To his surprise, the entry into the terminal was transformed into a grand stage complete with microphones, cameras, and a field of reporters shouting his name.
At the top of the stage was the Grand Centurion himself. Palpatine positively beamed at Anakin as he and Obi-Wan began to climb up the steps to the stage.
“My boy, welcome back to Coruscant!” Palpatine shook Anakin’s hand vigorously.
When Obi-Wan extended his hand, Palpatine quickly turned and raised Anakin’s hand to the crowd, whose cheers seemed to shake the platform.
Palpatine waved for the crowd to be quiet as he approached the podium. The roar of the masses shrank to a dull buzz when he began speaking.
“Fellow citizens of the Galactic Republic! Your hero has returned!” Palpatine said into the microphone and the crowd resumed its frenzy.
“With the aid of another Jedi, he turned back a rebel invasion and single-handedly stopped two other attacks from occurring! Countless millions were saved by this heroic act,” Palpatine continued.
“Finally, I am pleased to announce to you that your hero has been given command of his own starfighter squadron!” the crowd roared once more.
Obi-Wan shared a stunned look with Anakin.
“Our brave hero will lead our forces to victory! Glorious victory! Let us wish Commander Anakin Skywalker our very best!” Palpatine held Anakin’s hand up once more to the delight of the crowd that was now chanting his name.
Even his friend got caught up in the moment. Obi-Wan put a hand on Anakin’s shoulder and cheered along with the crowd.
The only thing that could have turned Anakin’s great moment into a perfect moment would have been Padme’s presence. The noise from the crowd seemed to deaden as his thoughts turned to her. He felt his smile fade as he wondered if he would ever see her again.
An aide dashed to the podium and handed Palpatine a personal communicator. He activated it and listened. Anakin noticed that several people in the crowd also had communicators out…and then a few more…and then more. The air was filled with the buzz of the masses.
Anakin looked to Obi-Wan, who nodded at him.
“I feel it too, something’s wrong,” he said.
A woman’s scream shattered the moment.
Palpatine’s face looked ashen and the communicator dropped to the ground. Elite guards clad in blue armor grabbed Palpatine roughly and dragged him off the podium. Anakin and Obi-Wan scanned the skies, the building, and the crowd, looking for any threat.
“What happened?” Anakin asked a nearby reporter. “What’s going on?”
The reporter rushed away, caught up in the panic that now gripped an entire world and its trillions of citizens.
A lone figure paced back and forth at the height of the Jedi Temple. He leaned on his cane more and more over the years until it was becoming more of a crutch he relied on. Although his mind was still sharp and he was strong in the Force, Yoda’s body was a different story.
Something was amiss. He could feel fear and panic grip the people below. Yoda closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, but the sheer amount of emotional distress made it nearly impossible to pinpoint what had happened. He would be patient. Someone would come and fetch him if he was needed.
As if on cue, one of the newest Jedi Knights in the Order came sprinting down the hallway and skidded to stop near Yoda’s observation point.
“Master Yoda!” he panted and put his hands on his knees.
Yoda tapped his cane on the floor three times. “Not necessary to create such a disturbance. Create a panic, you may.”
“There’s panic enough on the streets,” the young Jedi gulped the air.
“Sense that, I can,” Yoda said indignantly.
The Jedi stood up straight and wiped the sweat from his brow. “I apologize Master, of course you can. Master Windu needs to speak with you immediately in his chambers.”
Yoda ran a hand through his fading hair. “For what purpose, does the Grand Master need of me?”
“The Chancellor’s shuttle was destroyed, he’s been assassinated!” the Jedi exclaimed.
Yoda’s cane clattered to the floor.
“Will you come?” the youth asked.
Yoda only nodded while staring absently at the floor. The young man turned on his heel and sprinted back down the hallway, despite Yoda’s rebuke.
Yoda absently reached for a chair, but it was further away than he thought. Instead, he half-sat and half-collapsed onto the floor. He placed his head in his hands and rocked back and forth slowly. Master Windu would have to be patient as well while he mourned his friend and wondered how many other friends he might lose.
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Padme sighed softly as she watched the holo-projection on her desk. Anakin’s name was trumpeted by Oreana Tri’lek across the Republic. His image was projected everywhere.
She couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride and admiration considering this was once the young man who nearly got them all captured by General Tarkin when he tapped on the glass of a cloning tank.
Padme reached out toward the Anakin doppelganger when a knock on the door made her pull her hand back. She didn’t give approval to enter before Khian came in, holding a handful of paper.
He glanced at the holo-image of Anakin and frowned. “Pining over the kid during a galactic emergency?”
Her cheeks flushed as she shut down the recording. Padme’s gaze lingered on where it stood before turning her attention back to Khian.
“I’m not pining, I really do miss him, and there’s much I can do about the assassination of the Chancellor,” she said.
“I don’t know why you bother. It’s not like you’re going to see him again,” he huffed.
Padme continued staring at the image. Khian’s scarred eye twitched.
“The course heading of the Chancellor’s shuttle would put him near Alderaan tomorrow,” he offered. Padme didn’t respond, but looked about nervously.
“I checked every dignitary’s schedule from the Viceroy on down to local law enforcement. No one had the Chancellor on their radar. Even if he were coming here for a secluded vacation, someone would know about it,” Khian continued.
Padme fidgeted with her fingers.
Khian’s eyes locked on Padme’s.
“He was conducting peace talks and I was participating,” she said sheepishly.
Khian’s fist slammed on the desk. “Are you joking? You didn’t tell me about this? I wasn’t told what site to secure or who’s on the guest list or anything at all! How could you do this, Padme?”
“We had to keep this as secretive as possible. If word got out…” but Khian cut her off.
“Someone did find out! We have to get out of here. If they learned the Chancellor was going to hold peace talks, they might come after you too,” Khian said.
“They who?” Padme asked. “We don’t know who did this or why.”
“What does it matter?” Khian shouted. “If someone is shooting at you, do you ask for an ID or a motive while he’s reloading?”
“You’re getting off Alderaan and you’re doing it yesterday,” he continued.
“My senate duties?” she asked. “I can’t just leave my people for who knows how long.”
“The senate adjourns in three weeks and won’t reconvene for six months. Trust me, Alderaan will survive while the legislature isn’t around,” he countered.
“And going where, exactly?” she folded her arms.
Khian threw the scraps he collected from Remmick on her desk.
Padme glanced again at where the image was before turning her attention to what Khian had brought her. She read every word on every scrap twice and then looked back at him.
“You know what this means?” she asked.
Khian said nothing, but nodded his affirmation.
She sat back in her chair and let out a low whistle. “If it’s true,” she began.
“It is,” Khian said firmly.
“Then what is happening on Ord Mantell?” she asked.
“I’m afraid you won’t stop until you find out,” Khian grimaced.
Padme stood up and pressed the button for her receptionist. “Get me Grand Centurion Palpatine, I’ll be heading…” Khian ran to her and shut off the machine.
“Have you learned nothing?” he hissed. “You really think you can just announce what you’re doing and no one is listening? No one cares what you’re doing or where you’re going? Your movements are probably being watched even now.”
Padme was shocked by the severity of his reaction. “I’m sorry, Khian. I didn’t think it was that serious for me.”
Khian threw his hands up and walked around the office. “You didn’t think? She didn’t think!”
“What is this?” she asked.
Khian continued pacing. “You don’t think, you just don’t think about what you do and how it affects those that…those around you.”
He stopped in front of her desk and his green eyes locked onto hers. “You have to be more careful, you should know better than most how dangerous it is out there. You don’t know…you just don’t know. The Chancellor is dead, Jedi are getting killed, even the ones you…”
Padme leaned over and touched his shoulder. “She didn’t know either, did she?”
Khian glanced at his wrist and shuddered.
“I know you have to go. You can’t pass this on to Republic Intelligence or let your precious Anakin know that you’re going to that cesspool of a planet,” Khian said.
“You meant, ‘we’, right?” Padme asked.
“I want to go…to be with you…but I don’t know,” Khian said.
Padme’s jaw dropped. She stood up quickly and circled around her desk to stand beside Khian.
She jabbed a finger in his chest. “What do you mean you don’t know? First you say you care about me and now you’re not sure if you can go with me? I thought you cared about me.”
Khian stared out the window. “More than you know, but I just don’t know if I can go back to Ord Mantell,” he said.
“Please,” Padme said. “You know I can’t be alone.”
“I know, but…” his voice trailed off as she approached him.
“Please,” she begged again. “I’m such a little girl and I need a big, strong man to protect me from all those assassins with blasters and pointy teeth.”
Khian chuckled; she knew how to lighten the tension, but his mind was whirling. He was sworn to protect her and now that she had become yet another possible target, traveling to another world alone, and had a possibly psychotic Jedi to worry about, how could he forsake her?
He took her hand and cupped it with his. As always, her skin was so smooth, so soft, it was flawless. Padme looked up at him and blushed. Even better, she didn’t pull away from him.
Her hand didn’t even twitch.
Khian rushed forward and kissed her. It was so fast that Padme barely had time to comprehend what had happened before he broke the kiss.
“Perhaps I can go along, if only to keep you out of trouble,” Khian grinned.
“I’d be grateful to have a friend along for the ride,” Padme caught her breath. “But you know that Anakin…”
“Padme, you can’t wait for something that won’t happen,” he said. “Jedi rarely ever take wives and those that do are usually chastised. But I am here, now, for you. My heart beats for you and I will never leave you.”
His eyes held such hope, such promise, that Padme couldn’t help but feel flattered by his charm. “I just…I don’t know.”
Khian’s face fell for a moment before he caught himself and flashed his usual cavalier grin. “I’ll take care of everything and have you on Ord Mantell before you know it. It just might be by less than standard means.”
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Khian heard the door to Padme’s office close behind him and let out an enormous sigh of relief. He leaned against the door and clutched at his chest with his right hand. He was sure the pounding of his heart could be heard across Aldera. The smile on his face grew into an outright grin as he walked out of the office and into the hallway.
A few transmissions between him and another old friend of his set up the meeting he needed to get Padme off-world. As he strolled along Bolet Avenue, he couldn’t help but notice how the sky seemed bluer today, the sun was shining even brighter, and the people he passed were happier.
Today was a perfect day.
The small Rodian was waiting for him, punctual as always. He was missing one of his suckered antennae and three of his fingers, but his smile was as large as ever. His missing appendages had long been called victims of an “occupational hazard”.
“Keeboo, my old friend, how have your joints been treating you?” he asked.
The Rodian embraced him before stepping back and eyeing Khian up and down. “No, no, no! Thish cannot be thes young man who apprenticed under me for three tours! You are far too happy to be Khian,” his lisp was strong, but his command of Basic was commendable.
Khian bowed with a great deal of flourish. “The one and the same.”
“And the thource of your happinessth…” Belok’s voice trailed off.
“…is the reason I came to see you,” Khian finished.
Keeboo’s smile faded. “Trouble with the Republic? I thought I wasth the only one.”
Now Khian’s smile faded. “What kind of ‘trouble’?”
The Rodian waves his good hand and shook his head. “Republic Enforshment Squads are everywhere, but thish ish not a time for that talk. What can I do for you?”
“I require discreet and rapid transport for two humans off of Alderaan,” Khian said.
“How dishcreet and how rapid?” Keeboo asked.
Khian looked around nervously. The tourists and merchants passing them on the street didn’t help his mood.
Keeboo nodded his head. “That ish fasht. I will do what I can, but there is the matter of payment for thish little errand.”
Khian ran a hand through his cropped black hair. “I’m afraid I’m a little tapped out at the moment. But I’m sure I can arrange…”
Keeboo waved him off. “You have forgotten too much. Payment in advance, alwaysh in advance, espeshially for something so urgent.”
The desperation showed on Khian’s face. He was hoping to appeal to Keeboo’s better nature, but business is business. He rubbed his head again with his right hand and felt something hard and jagged rub against his scalp. Khian thought for a moment and then smiled to himself. She was going to help him one last time.
“Will this work for payment?” he asked and extended his right arm.
The vibroblade, Alanna, shot out and he held it in his hand. The Rodian jumped back a pace and a few people stopped and stared at them. Khian looked at them and shrugged before flipping the weapon in his hand, grabbing it blade first and offering the hilt to Keeboo.
“You cannot be therious,” the Rodian barely breathed, but his eyes glittered at the weapon. “You treasure thish above all else.”
Khian smiled. “I treasure something far greater now and I can finally let this go. Be good to her, she was very good to me.”
The Rodian narrowed his eyes, but when Khian’s hand didn’t retract, he took the blade by the hilt and weighed it carefully.
“Excellent condition, a fine blade indeed,” he muttered.
“I’ll even throw in the spring-loaded activator on my wrist. It can be very handy,” Khian unstrapped the device and held it out.
“A poor joke, but a good deal,” Keeboo smiled. “We have a bargain. I will thpeak to an associate of mine and get you and your friend in orbit after thunthet. Be ready.”
Khian shook his hand and they embraced one more time. The Rodian turned to disappear into the crowd, but Khian took him by the arm.
“If I may borrow Alanna back, one last time?” he asked and bowed with great flourish again to appeal to the small Rodian’s ego.
Keeboo grinned and passed the blade back with a bow in return. Khian pulled out a blaster pistol from inside his vest and used Alanna to scratch a single word into the barrel of the weapon.
“Padme”
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“What more can you tell me?” Ethan asked.
“I already told you everything! It’s somewhere near the Wild Space! Just stop, please!” his prey begged.
Ethan smiled grimly at the old man who had his pressed his own gun to his head. True, it wasn’t by choice, but the sight of him struggling against himself was amusing.
“His will is strrrrrong,” Clone Windu said as he used his limited knowledge of the Force to hold the gun.
“Then this lovely discussion may have a messy ending,” Ethan smiled.
“I swear, I don’t know anything else,” the old man pleaded.
It had taken Ethan three weeks to track this man down. Whispers and barely-there rumors hinted that there was one man who knew about a planet that held a weapon of extraordinary power. Ethan had dispatched his Jedi clones across the galaxy to find this man. Now that he had him, Ethan was convinced there was more to this than just a legend.
“Let me tell you how this is going to end,” Ethan said as the old man’s gun quivered.
“You’re going to die in a rather bloody fashion. However, if I don’t get the information I’m looking for, then I will order my battlecruiser to lay waste to this entire world. I will stay here as long as it is needed to ensure that everything that walks, crawls, or oozes its way across the planet will be wiped clean from existence. I leave this choice to you.”
“You can’t do that! There are millions of innocent people here!” the old man pleaded, dropping to his knees.
“You are making me do this. There is no question you’re holding back something from me. Tell me what you know and this planet has a future. Refuse, and you are forcing my hand,” Ethan warned.
The old man’s gaze hardened as he looked defiantly at Ethan, but then dropped sadly to the ground.
Ethan waved his hand and the Clone Windu released his grip on the old man. The arm holding the gun lowered to the ground.
“What do you know of the Mandalorian legends?” he asked Ethan in a soft voice.
“The warriors that left Coruscant and ravaged the galaxy nearly seven thousand years ago? They forged an alliance with Exar Kun during the Great Sith War and combined their forces with that of Lord Ulic Qel-Droma to invade Coruscant. Revan scattered the clans and they faded into myth. What does a pathetic race of mercenaries have to do with this?” Ethan asked.
“When you speak about my people, you will do it with respect,” the old man hissed.
The Clone Windu ignited his lightsaber and took a step backward in alarm. The old man didn’t seem frail as he rose to his full height. His eyes flashed dangerously and Ethan could feel the strength resonating from him.
“You were holding out on me,” Ethan whispered and took a step closer.
“Yes, I am one of the last surviving descendants of the First Mandalore. My people’s history is all but lost to antiquity, but we have one lasting legacy,” his eyes blazed with anger.
“The weapon exists,” Ethan said in awe.
“If you swear to me to spare this planet from annihilation, I will tell you the identity of the person who knows its true location,” he replied.
Now it was Ethan’s face that grew hard. “You don’t know the location?” he asked.
“This weapon is of such incredible power that we trusted very few with its knowledge. If Revan hadn’t scattered us to the four corners of the galaxy, he might have used it himself,” the old man chuckled.
“Who knows? Tell me who knows!” Ethan shouted.
“You must swear. Swear to me, Ethan Organa, that your ship will depart this system and this planet will be spared,” the old man said.
“On my honor as Crown Prince of Alderaan, I will not destroy this planet,” Ethan held up his right hand.
The old man’s expression softened. “Very well. The person you are looking for is already in your employ, although he himself does not know the knowledge you are seeking.”
“No one enjoys riddles,” Ethan spat.
“He wears our armor, is ruthless just as his father was before him, and carries the location in his sub-conscious. I do not envy the challenge you face in extracting the location from someone who doesn’t even know he knows it,” the old man laughed.
Ethan nodded to Clone Windu. “We’re done here. Prep the shuttle and tell the Nocturne to charge all weapons.”
The old man’s eyes grew wide. “YOU SWORE TO ME!” he shrieked.
“No one has the power to destroy an entire planet. This pathetic hamlet, however, will be a shiny new crater,” Ethan’s eyes cast a cold gaze on his victim.
“Damn you,” the old man swore and charged Ethan with a fury that would have made his Mandalorian brethren proud.
He got within four steps of Ethan before the Clone Windu silenced him with his lightsaber.
“I want Commander Jango Fett transferred to my command,” Ethan growled.
“Falsifying transferrrr records will be rrrrrisky if you want it done fast,” Clone Windu said.
“I don’t care, just get it done. I want him on my ship with dispatch,” Ethan said.