Heirs of the Fallen {1} (Remastered)

Chapter 24

The Star Destroyer crashed with a planet-shattering boom, and the woman watched it from her ship with a snarl. She then inputted a comm channel she knew well while landing in another Destroyer while the battle raged on in space above; the New Republic forces had retreated out of the atmosphere after the main Destroyer had been obliterated, continuing the fight up further.

She had to swerve past a few one man fighters firing at her as she entered the stars, but with almost no difficulty she landed successfully. Her oldest daughter answered the comm. "Mother."

"Report back to the last cruiser with your sister."

"Yes, Mother. We will be there shortly." She gave a slight pause. "Khana is slightly injured and unarmed, but besides that we are both alright."

The woman ignored that comment. "Very well, she will pay for her mistakes. Both of you get here now; it's time for the next stage of our plan."

Her oldest was silent again. "Does this mean..?"

"Yes, my daughter. Your time has come."

"Yes, Mother. I will not fail you."

"I expect as much. We will discuss further when you arrive." The woman ended the transmission and hopped out of the fighter, approaching the hangar officer with a scowl. "Get me in contact with the fleet leader; we need to retreat and regroup."

The officer looked hesitant. "I feel the same, Ma'am, but-"

His head fell to the floor in a vicious swipe and she glared at the man standing next to him, now shaking violently. "You heard me, get me in contact."

"Y-yes Ma'am, right away." He took off towards the comm center with her right behind him, and the two disappeared into the crowd before approaching a display table. The man entered in the channel and the main fleet leader's face appeared in a holographic blue light.

"Admiral, retreat." The woman barked. "We are outnumbered."

The admiral gave her a passing glance. "And who are you?" He asked condescendingly with a sneer.

Her eyes narrowed. "I was the commanding officer of the ship that just crashed."

He scoffed. "And you expect me to take orders from you when you can't even keep your own ship alive?"

His laughter turned into a cough, which turned into silence as his expression turned confused and slightly fearful, his hand reaching for his throat but feeling nothing there. Finally the invisible hand released, leaving him coughing and gasping for air.

"I expect nothing less." The woman replied coldly, making the man next to her shiver. "If you will not follow my orders, I will find someone who will."

The admiral straightened his collar and cleared his throat, attempting to retain some dignity. "Understood, Ma'am." He declared, albeit slightly begrudgingly. "Where will you have us go?"

"For now we will regroup with the rest of the Imperial fleet and assess our numbers. We will grow and expand, and then when the New Republic least expects it we will strike. Once we overpower a system belonging to them word will spread that the Empire has returned." The woman crossed her arms. "Go to Bespin and relay the message to everyone willing or unwilling to listen."

"It will be done."

The hologram fizzled out and the woman dismissed the man, thrumming her fingers against the table as he left her alone with her thoughts. Her plan was coming into place nicely; now all she needed to do was keep pressing her power and soon enough the entire Empire would be hers. That and the small project she was working on, a secret coven of assassins trained to kill and follow her bidding, headed by her and her two daughters.

She allowed herself a small grin. Yes, her plan was coming together nicely.

•••

As soon as the Falcon landed Luke disembarked, walking away still angry. Leia could sense his frustration, and was surprised that it was so potent considering he'd just met the kid recently.

Han blew out a sigh and disengaged the thrusters, then gave Leia a look. "Should I go talk to him?"

She shook her head. "No, give him time. I'll try to find the girl, she's still on the ship somewhere."

"Alright, but if she breaks or takes anything I'm gonna kill her."

Leia cocked a brow. "You know her?"

"Yeah, Luke and I met her on Raxus Prime, and she punched me in the face. Then somehow Luke ran into her again and I guess she tagged along with him."

"What's her name?"

"Leena, I think."

Leia made a little hum of thoughtfulness at that, rubbing Han's shoulder before leaving the cockpit. Artoo and Chewie had all left as well, meaning it was just Leia, the girl, and Han. Leia started walking towards the cargo hold slowly, closing her eyes and reaching out with the Force. She could detect a small presence in the room, but very very vague.

"Leena?" She called gently, peering through the floor grates. "I'm Leia, Luke's sister."

Silence. Leia sighed lightly. "I'm sorry he got so angry at you, but I know he didn't mean it. He just wanted you to be safe."

"It's not up to him to decide that." Came a mumble from below her to her right. Leia opened the grate and saw Leena sitting crisscross and pouting at the wall.

The princess slid down next to her and wrapped her arms around her legs. "No, but doesn't it feel nice to be cared for?"

"When people aren't trying to prevent me from doing things." Leena grumbled, casting Leia a hesitant sideways glance.

Leia smiled gently. "I understand. Either way, it won't do you any good to be sitting in here forever." She gestured to her shoulder. "You should go to the medbay, I'll go with you if you like."

After a moment Leena gave a quick nod and Leia's smile grew. She hopped out and helped Leena up, then the two started walking out of the ship. Han looked up from where he was working on buffing out some scratches to see them, and he caught Leia's eye. She gave him a small smile and he returned it with a halfhearted one before turning back to work.