On the Wings of Valkyrie

Chapter LXIII

Luna had almost packed everything into the Delta by the time the forest had become "lit" with morning light. She hadn't managed to get a wink of sleep, not that it mattered. The Illusion could make it to Moraband—better known as Korriban on Earth because SWTOR—without her skywalking there so she could rest. Theoretically.

"Leaving already, you are," a voice noted from behind her.

"I will return to hear your answer, Master Yoda," Luna stated, glancing back at where the Jedi was sitting on a log. "But until then, I have other business to attend to."

"Leads where, this business does?"

"Sith Space. Going to see if I can find anything involving Palpatine's plans out there."

"Uninvolved in the stories, it is."

"Not uninvolved enough, or at least not in a few decades from now. It's the only place Palpatine could disappear to after the Battle of Endor. If I get the jump on it and stop it before it even starts—get ahead of the curve or flatten it at the very least...."

"Dangerous, it is. Sith in hiding, there were. More, there could be. Allies of Palpatine, they may be."

"If there are any more Sith, they certainly will be serving the Emperor. Unless Vader can sway their loyalty, it will remain so," Luna stated, though she kept the fact that it was possible she might be able to inspire an uprising on Vader's behalf. Or just do it herself and rule a secret Sith empire—presuming there was a secret Sith empire somewhere in Sith Space. Luna didn't think it was likely to happen, but it wasn't like she'd binged the sequel trilogy on Earth and Palpatine did have a decent back up plan in Legends.

She was starting to seriously regret that particular decision. Maybe she could convince Apollo to give her a run-down of everything next time he appeared. Surely he'd have paid attention to the new movies, even if he was dead.

"Your destination, where is?"

"Moraband first. See if I can find anything useful in the tombs and ruins.... Maybe something at the Sith Academy if it isn't just Legends," Luna responded pausing in her work before continuing on. "It'd be a bit too obvious for anything serious, but a good starting place as any. Depending on what I find, I'll head to Dromund Kaas after."

"And after the ancient capital?"

"....There's a planet called Exegol that used to be a major center for shipyard forging and was once a decently self sustaining planet. There is a brief mention of its existence in the remnants of the Jedi Archives, but it's location was either unrecorded, lost in the memory bank dump Jocasta Nu triggered, or purposefully hidden by Palpatine. I asked Vader about it once, and he didn't know the planet's name let alone anything useful. I do know it was mentioned in something to do with the third trilogy. If I can find it...."

"In a limited time frame, difficult to find a planet, it will be," Yoda noted.

"With luck, I won't be on my own."

"If Apollo has any regard for his well being, he will refrain from visits while you're on those planets," another voice interrupted—one Luna had never heard in person before. "The darkside is strong there, much stronger than is wise for a wayward spirit to go near—especially a youngling."

The ex-Shadow slowly turned around to find a ghost had joined Yoda.

She was clearly far too desensitized to this paranormal stuff. At this rate she'd be conversing with the first random Sith spirit she came across on Moraband without half a second of pause.

"Qui-Gon Jinn, an honor to meet your acquaintance," Luna greeted.

"The pleasure is mine," the specter responded with a small tilt of his head. There was kindness in his eyes, kindness that reminded her of Obi-Wan when she had first met him on Earth.