“I’ve had some of my best men on this, Theren, and I assure you, there is no file detailing those two attempted occupations. Nothing. Neither the Grand Marshall nor the Regent, nor anyone else in Imperial Command, led you along on this.” The hologram of Vikar sputtered for a moment, then returned to normal. “It was covered up many years ago.”

“Yeah,” Theren said. “Thanks.”

“And congratulations on your efforts in the Senex Sector,” Vikar added, smiling like a proud grandfather. “I knew you would be successful.”

“Thank you, sir,” Theren said despondently. He continued to stare at his desk blankly.

“Yes, well, Vikar out.”

“Gevel out.”

Tornel, who sat across the desk, nodded his approval. “Well, then, that’s that settled. Great.” Evidently, Tornel was quite pleased at the way things had turned out; a happily-ever-after story if there ever was one. “There’s just one more thing.”

“Moraei,” Theren said.

“He’s too unstable. Untrustworthy. I am of the opinion he should be eliminated.” Tornel stated this opinion matter-of-factly. Theren knew and empathized with Tornel’s disgust for the man, and knew that it was the true reason for his desire to eliminate him.

“Do it, then.” Theren shrugged. “Take a detachment to the Moraei system, and kill him.”

“Alright, I will,” Tornel said, as if it had been Theren who had suggested the idea. He got up, and headed for the door – turning back for only a moment to observe the Commodore staring glumly at his desk even still. Hadn’t everything turned out for the best?

Oh well, Tornel though. Theren was probably just being himself; constantly pissed off.



The team rushed down the hallway, blasters in hand, all pointed forward at their target, who stood firmly in place. Sasha lay on the ground beside him, looking up at him as if he were a great hero. “Come to kill me then? Of course you have. Let’s have it at, then; no second chances, to the death!” Karrix shouted madly.

“Open fire,” Tornel ordered coolly, following his own order and firing repeatedly at the Dark Jedi Master with his pistol. Karrix reached out his hand and blocked a great number of the blaster bolts, especially considering that eight men were firing them at him with semi-automatic blaster rifles. Finally, however, one caught him in the side, knocking him to the ground.

Tornel stepped forward, looking down briefly at Sasha, who now looked horrified and confused. Karrix had lost his control over her. The Lieutenant put his foot on a struggling Moraei’s chest, keeping him from getting up. “You son of a bitch,” he said.

Tornel could see the desperation in his eyes, as he frantically searched for one last card to play, no doubt feeling Tornel’s mind in the Force. He began to cackle madly, deviously staring up at the man. “Still wondering why your friend is so miserable, are you, fool? I suppose he never told you the truth – not the whole truth.”

“What are you talking about?”

And then Karrix told him. He told him everything.



Tornel, white as a ghost, flung open the door to Theren’s office, now sharing his commander’s fears. He stared down at the Commodore for a minute, unable to speak. “How long have you known?”

Theren shook his head. “I’ve suspected it since before we left Coruscant. The call from Vikar confirmed it; I knew he wasn’t lying.”

“Karrix was here to shut us up, to keep us quiet. To make us think that the Empire was hiding it, to keep us from digging too deep. Why dig deep when you have a wealth of information?”

“Yes.”

“And he was working for them, all along.”

“Yes.”

“How many are there?”

“On Coruscant? I have no idea. Hundreds. Thousands. I don’t know. They’re just waiting.”



Over One Month Earlier,
Coruscant

“Are you questioning the accuracy of Imperial files?”

The man in the black suit blinked. “Perhaps I am. But I suggest to you that if you discover something in Senex which surprises you, you keep both that surprise – and the cause – to yourself.”

“Is that an order?”

“Oh, certainly not. I’m just a civilian, of course. Call it a suggestion.”

The man in the black suit began to walk away, and Theren stared laser blasts into his back. “Yes, sir.”

And with that, he pulled a blaster from his belt, and pointed it at the man’s back. He fired twice, knocking him to the ground, dead.

Theren knelt beside the corpse, turning it over, and looking at the man’s face again. Then, the face started to flicker – like a hologram, going out of focus. And in a flash, it changed from the face of a man, to the face of a demon, a villain out of a thousand horror holodramas. And out of just as many historical holodramas.

Staring blankly up at Theren Gevel was a Yevethan.