Star Wars Jedi Knight IV: Sith Empire

Chapter 3: Rendezvous

"I didn't want to rule. I had no intention of becoming a political leader—but you have given me no choice. I cannot leave the Empire in the hands of fools like you."

―Natasi Daala

Head of State Natasi Daala paced the bridge of her Star Destroyer, the Gorgon. "Darth Fallax" was precisely four hours and sixteen minutes overdue. It was beyond Daala why a whelp like her should ever be allowed to command her like this. But alas, here she was. She served the One Sith and ultimately had to do whatever Krayt wanted. His minion Wyyrlok expressly said to report to Khai. "Therefore" that's what she was doing, or at least hoping to do whenever Fallax decided to meander over.

Daala was getting ready to give up and retire to her quarters when a mess of Star Destroyers and ChaseMasters dropped out of hyperspace on the viewscreen.

"Finally." She muttered to herself. "Open an audio channel to the Bloodfin."

"Aye." The Gorgon's chief ensign opened the channel as requested. 

"Ah, Darth Fallax. How pleasant for you to drop in." Daala greeted coolly.

"Drop the pleasantries Daala." Vestara snapped, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I would have showed up earlier if it wasn't for your decades old rust buckets. Nearly two-thirds of them were destroyed fighting Tyros."

"That's okay, Lady Fallax. The nice thing about droids is you can always make more."

"If I didn't absolutely need you I'd have killed you a long time ago just like I did that vachead Reige. When I say I want droids I mean I want ones that won't fall apart when I need them! Because of you I nearly lost to a shameful force like the Lost Tribe!"

Daala inwardly shuddered. Vestara was young and stupid but she was still frightfully powerful. During the One Sith's takeover of the Galactic Empire, she had gotten into a room adjacent to then Head of State Vitor Reige's quarters. She strangled him in his sleep through a wall and laughed about it for weeks afterward. The coroner was completely bewildered. There was no foreign DNA anywhere. His windpipe was simply crushed with thin air. The day after she killed Reige, she announced her takeover to the Moffs and won over most of them with money from the One Sith's near-limitless supply. There were still a few holdouts, so, even more frightfully, she decided to make an example of one: Moff Drikl Lecersen. She claimed to be able to see the weaknesses in his skull and forced it apart. His head exploded. It was overwhelmingly sickening. The rest of the resistant Moffs were quick to side with her after that. Daala and many others had a righteous fear of this psychotic girl Darth Krayt found.

"I'm sorry Lady Fallax." Daala managed through her dry mouth. She had no idea what the limits of Vestara's power were. For all she knew the Sith could vaporize her where she stood here and now.

"Next time you'll be dead so fast being 'sorry' won't even cross your decrepit mind." Vestara spat with disgust. "You can take these junk heaps back to the Maw where they came from. May as well leave them there. I'm going to find something a bit more promising." And with that Lady Fallax cut the transmission. 

Daala swallowed hard. She rubbed her hands together out of anxiety to find her palms had been sweating. 

"Uh, ma'am, there are thirteen haulers on a collision course." The nav officer said and looked at the Head of State expectantly. 

"Evasive maneuvers," Daala said, taking control of the situation as best she could. "Ensign, bring the tractor beams online and lock them onto the haulers. Divert them away."

"Aye." He started working on it. "Uh ma'am," The ensign said. "I can't divert all--" He was cut off by loud banging on the hull that reverberated in the deck. Daala winced. Klaxons started blaring.

Daala looked out the viewport on her beloved Star Destroyer. Three haulers had ricocheted off the hull and were spinning off into space wildly. Plumes of fire erupted from the spots on the hull where they hit. One of the haulers was spewing Dark Troopers from a break in its own hull. She sighed audibly. These Sith knew very well how to make a statement. She was sure this incident alone added at least a few more gray hairs to her head.