The Rise of the Final Order - A Star Wars Story

Chapter 20

Darth Caedaris

By the time Caedaris had managed to track down the supposed location of Kaia Kestis and Crimson Dawn to Vandor, they were already long gone. She was aware that they had most likely seen her declaration of war against the New Republic and gone to their aid, but it was incredibly frustrating. She would have had a much better chance killing them here than when they were under New Republic protection.

And on top of that, the attack on Yavin 4 had failed. Caedaris was less bothered by that however, although she was aware that some of her officers felt differently. She had merely wanted to test the New Republic's strength, and to make it clear that she had meant what she had said about destroying the New Republic. Both had been accomplished in the attack, and now the Final Order could strike against the New Republic more effectively.

But taking down the New Republic wasn't Caedaris' only priority. No, the Sith she served had far greater plans than just that. They had made that clear during her meditation after returning to Malachor from Vandor.

"We must increase our numbers," Lady Raesha had said. "Once our Empire is secure, we need to keep it that way."

"The Jedi will try to get in our way," the Sith with the oozy voice agreed. "Even if you kill the ones trying to stop us now, there will always be others."

"How do I find other Sith?" Caedaris demanded.

"You cannot," Palpatine replied. "Any living Sith will not help you. The Sith you need must be created."

"What do you mean?" Caedaris asked. "How do I create Sith?"

"There are Force sensitive children all over the Galaxy," Lady Raesha responded. "Find them and raise them to be Sith. Their loyalty to us will be ensured if they have never known anything else."

"And how do I find them?" Caedaris questioned. "The Holocrons containing any such information would be outdated by now."

"We know where they are," the other Sith assured her. "We will guide you to them."

"Where will I find the first child?" Caedaris asked.

"Corellia," Palpatine replied. "There you will find a boy named Damian Besk. He is the child you need."

"Very well, I will go to Corellia and retrieve the boy," Caedaris said.

"You must hurry, child," Lady Raesha said. "We cannot let the Jedi interfere with our plans."

"Of course, Lady Raesha," Caedaris responded. "I will leave for Corellia immediately." With that, she ended the meditation, and ten minutes later, she was aboard her private shuttle, en route to Corellia.

While she tried to ignore any memories from her past Jedi self, she was well aware that Corellia was her own homeworld too, and she had no desire to return. She would certainly not be staying long, only long enough to retrieve the child she was looking for. Her memories of the planet were not pleasant, to say the least, and she would gladly blow it to pieces if she could.

But somewhere down in the filthy, crime-ridden streets of the planet was the boy she was looking for, and she knew could not just wait aboard her ship to find him. So instead, she went off on her own, instructing her pilot to wait for her return, and began her search.

She opened herself up to the Force, hoping that she would be able to sense any Force-sensitives on the planet, and she was surprised to feel quite a few. But she only needed one. Damain Besk.

How do I find him? she asked the Sith spirits in her mind. There's more Force-sensitives here than I was expecting.

You will know when you find him, the oozy voiced Sith replied. He is not like the others.