Star Wars: Heir to the Sith (Part 1) (#Wattys2018 shortlist)

Chapter 18: He felt immobile, frozen, unable to think clearly.

In the elevator, Pina finally took stock of how he appeared for the first time since his return from Farsalt. His uniform was dirtied by both mud and blood, crumpled and dishevelled. His left cheek, where he had felt the searing heat of the trooper's blaster bolt that killed Governor Mazier, had a blatant purple burn above his jaw. His left eye, when he opened it, seemed normal, and he imagined now that he could see a dim white cloud when he stared through it.

He hoped that meant his vision was returning.

"You should see a medical droid, sir," Bauhaus said as they descended. "Your arm looks broken."

"Yes," he answered vaguely, suddenly aware how tired he was. "After we meet our guest."

They stood in silence until the elevator came to a halt. A hover transport waited for them to carry them to the designated bay.

Bauhaus leaned closer to Pina. Though they were alone on the transport, it was obvious the Commander was mindful of his words.

"Do you really think it's true, sir? About Endor?"

In his heart he did believe it. "I think it probably is. Quite what that means for us is hard to say."

"Who will lead the Empire now? Mas Amedda is hardly the man for it. Grand Vizier he may be, but he's no military figure. He's more used to the comforts of Imperial court on Coruscant. And . . . he's not even human."

Pina recalled what he knew of the blue-skinned Chagrian alien. Mas Amedda had been Palpatine's ally and friend even before the Naboo Crisis. He had been a key figure in galactic politics as the Republic transitioned to Empire. But still, Bauhaus was right. Amedda would be unlikely to hold the Imperial military together.

But that left a vacancy. Vader and the Emperor had kept a close concentration of power in the Empire, suffering no threat to their rule by making sure that no other individual became too powerful. Now they were gone, that left a vacuum. It might have been different if either of them had children, but if they had, then they were unknown and secret.

"What about this Admiral Sloane who is leading the withdrawal from Endor?" Bauhaus added. "Do you know anything of him?"

Pina couldn't help but smile.

"Admiral Sloane is a woman, Commander. But I don't know anything more about her. Depending on the fleet's status, at this time she is probably commander of the biggest Imperial armada in the galaxy. If the captains are loyal to her, then she could end up being the rallying point. Everything depends upon her character." A thought occurred to him. "Have we heard anything more through the HoloNet? Any updates or orders?"

Bauhaus shook his head. "Nothing, sir. Its transmissions are intermittent and so far just repeat the order to wait for new orders. Surely there must be a contingency plan for this?"

"I think, Commander, that men like Palpatine and Vader had contingency plans that depended on them staying alive. They might have made plans in the event of their deaths, but I cannot imagine that they would have the Empire working toward a peaceful negotiation. I feel it would be quite the opposite."

Bauhaus looked at him sharply. "What do you mean, sir? Revenge and reprisals?"

The hover transport arrived at the bay and came to a stop. Pina stood. "Perhaps. After all, we've just saved the life of some unknown pilot who might turn out to be the Assayer. Someone attacked their ship. It might be that the Emperor's contingency plan has already started: we are just not yet a part of it."

Bauhaus followed Pina to the bay door. It slid open to reveal the cylinder-shaped life buoy, silent and still. Nearby, a team of technicians carried out a scan, a medical droid and its aides standing nearby. A dozen stormtroopers waited in a neat line.

"You do realise what that means, sir?" Bauhaus whispered as they entered. "If this Assayer was targeted on Palpatine's or Vader's orders then, in theory, we might be helping a renegade. Which begs the question: what does that make us?"

"Indeed. What does that make us?" he pondered aloud. "Except damn tired, not much. Now, let's see what we shall see and not jump to any conclusions."

The technician officer stood to attention.

"There are no life signs, sir. And the buoy seems to be malfunctioning: it isn't opening. We're over-riding the command now and expect to have access any minute."

"Very good. Carry on."

Bauhaus moved closer to Pina's side.

"I've heard rumours about these Assayers, sir. They are said to be able to do impossible things. Similar to what they say about Lord Vader and the old Inquisitors."

"Propaganda, Commander. Nothing more."

A quick glance at his second in command told him how fearful Bauhaus had become. His face was pale. His eyes wandered all over the life buoy in expectation of a sudden attack.

"I'm not sure, sir. I've heard too many things. They say these Assayers kill as many of us as the rebel–"

'CLANG.'

The great echo of the buoy's door opening up silenced Bauhaus. A ramp lowered to the bay floor. Inside, there was only darkness.

Pina gestured to his stormtroopers.

"Send four men in," he ordered. "Find the survivor and recover them."

The pristine white soldiers tramped up the ramp, their blasters ready.

"If there are no life signs on the scan then it might be the pilot was too badly injured to save," he told Bauhaus. "The speed at which that Interceptor was rolling was probably too much for any human to endure."

"Sir–" a trooper's shout sounded over the comm link.

A blaster was fired. The inside of the buoy lit up. A scream followed as a sizzling sound scythed from the interior. Another blast, another scream.

Then concentrated firing.

"What's going on in there?" Pina shouted.

An object flew down the ramp, sliding to a halt a metre from Pina's foot.

Bauhaus gagged.

It was a stormtrooper's forearm, its hand still holding its smoking blaster, its finger still gripped on the trigger.

A scream sounded from inside and the firing fell silent.

Something fell to the floor of the buoy in the darkness, and then rolled toward the top of the ramp.

As it passed over the edge, it gained speed and rolled into the light.

It was a stormtrooper's head, still in its helm, smoking from where the man's neck had been severed.

"Sir . . . ?" Bauhaus's voice was pitiful.

Pina's stomach shrunk. He felt a fear he hadn't experienced before. He felt immobile, frozen, unable to think clearly.

All he could do was look.

The darkness inside the buoy stirred and took shape. A black cloak. A visored face. A figure wearing durasteel armour. The stuff of nightmare. An Assayer.

It held a burning red saber its right hand, so bright he had to turn away. Although Pina had never seen one before, he knew instinctively what it was: a lightsaber.

The masked figure exhaled and stepped forward.

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At last Pina and his men come face to face with a Force user. The Assayers are my own invention in the Star Wars universe, and take the place of the in cannon Inquisition, which appears in the Star Wars Rebel television series shortly before the events in A New Hope. Tasked with hunting down Force users and preventing them from developing their powers, they are both merciless and ferocious.