A Hero Lost: A Star Wars AU

Chapter 28: One Last Chance

It had been three days since the incident on the Dominix.

First Sister's nerves were at an all-time high. The results she was showing were certainly less than impressive, as the rebel threat had certainly decreased, but not by a substantial enough amount. They were being much more strategic with their targets now, and attacks were few and far in between, yet vastly unpredictable. Their tactic was simple, yet stupidly effective: get in, take or destroy the objective, and then get out before reinforcements could show up.

Her hands were empty. No Bonteri. No Dendup. No Tandin. No Rubal. They were still running around causing chaos, and attempts at locating them since the incident have turned up dry, as only the smoldering wreckage of two TIE interceptors had been found, likely destroyed by their pilots in order to cover their tracks.

Lord Vader had yet to contact her, as he had been attending to matters of his own. She was able to reach Tarkin a few days prior, who said that First Sister was to remain in charge of the operation for now. He didn't seem to care at all, as he realized immediately that the incident was the fault of the traitor, Commander Rubal. But she knew that Vader would sideline Tarkin immediately if he needed to, so long as it didn't anger the Emperor. For once, First Sister was actually grateful for something the Grand Moff did.

First Sister stood angrily in the command center. She would ask someone very now and then if there were any leads, but there were none. Dead silence, before the storms would hit, only to disappear as soon as they arrived, giving way to silence yet again. She was incredibly frustrated.

Finally, someone approached you.

"Inquisitor," a Purge Trooper said to her. "Lord Vader wishes to speak with you."

She felt a chill go down her spine. How would Vader react?

She thought about turning down the call, but she knew very well that doing so would certainly end up worse for her than any wrong turns their conversation could take.

"Fine," she said. "Patch him through."

The trooper punched some buttons on he holotable, and the menacing hologram of Darth Vader lit up.

"Took you long enough," First Sister remarked. "I thought you would be quicker to respond to this act of treason against me."

"Again, I had to deal with things myself," Vader said. "However, it certainly did not escape me that a rouge commander of yours helped Bonteri escape, killed Admiral Corleque, blew up your Star Destroyer, and bested you in starfighter combat. I thought someone like you would have handled that much, much better."

"I didn't know he planned to betray me," First Sister replied frantically. "I-"

"I know when one of my own allies attempts to betray me, Inquisitor," Vader interrupted. "I thought I taught you to do the same. Tell me, how did Rubal remain under your nose?"

"Well, he certainly wasn't a rebel plant," First Sister replied. "No way a bunch of rascals on Onderon could get a Corellian man into my ranks. Must've been some resentment left over from when I-"

She paused. Yet she soon realized she erred greatly by doing so.

"Continue," Vader beckoned.

"I... left him for dead," First Sister continued.

There was a long pause between them.

"Did you know he was alive when you left him behind?"

There was another pause.

"...I...One of my purge troopers told me he got a signal from him, but we were already en route to-"

"I sense in you, a touch of... regret, for you actions on that day," Vader interrupted again.

"I... well, no kriff I regret it, it lead to this mess that I-"

"You show far too much empathy for a traitor," Vader interrupted. "What's even worse is that the results from your excursion to Onderon have not been satisfactory. Remember when we scoured Mon Cala? We barged in, took their leader, and you even slayed the Jedi that had caused the whole mess in the first place. And to those who resisted, we made sure they paid dearly. If you really wanted to end this conflict, tell me, why don't you just burn it all, like you suggested we do on Mon Cala? Why not just use the tactics Tarkin is so famous for using and burn Onderon to a crisp for defying the Empire?"

"Destroying everything from orbit isn't necessary, Lord Vader. Onderon is still resourceful, and there are still many that remain loyal to the Empire-"

"You dare show them mercy!?"" Vader interrupted yet again "I thought, that by giving you this assignment on Onderon, you could prove to me that you are a true servant of the Empire. Yet, now, I realize that this operation has almost certainly planted treasonous thoughts in your mind! Tell me, why is that? Is it because of that boy? Purpose comes before feelings, remember?"

That line struck her like a dagger.

"I.." she stuttered, "I-"

"You are to be recalled from Onderon. Immediately. I will be waiting for you at the Fortress Inquisitorius. I will deal with Onderon myself."

"Wait, but Tarkin said-"

"I don't care about Tarkin!" Vader yelled. "You have failed your assignment, and I will-"

An alarm at the Command Center went off.

"Inquisitor," a commander said, "Rebels are attacking the primary fuel depot!"

"Are they trying to get themselves killed!? Even after I removed Gianturco's overkill defense to protect virtually undefended locations, there still should be more than enough local defense to deter them."

"They're sending everything they've got," the commander said. "old Clone Wars gunships, speeders, and all that. It's like Saw Gerrera on Kashyyyk all over again!"

"Who's present at the assault?" First Sister asked.

"Tandin and Bonteri are there," the commander replied.

First Sister turned back to Vader.

"Master, please, let me take care of this," she requested. "I'll kill that boy and break Tandin. We have an oppurtunity here to squash this futile resistance!"

There was a long pause from Vader.

"Fine," Vader replied. "But failure will be met with reprimands. You have been warned."

The hologram ended.

"Get me on a gunship and get me to the fuel depot immediately!" First Sister yelled.