The triarchy of the
Provisionary Coruscant Council

"The pleasure is all mine, admiral," The woman in the company answered composed.

"Due to our heavy losses in the last battle we're unable to provide any military support, so we have to leave it up to the New Republic's forces to negotiate with any remaining pockets of imperial loyalists. We, as the interim leaders of The Provisionary Coruscant Council won't object against any necessary actions you have to take," a second officer remarked, "but we would like to be informed of any encounter with former imperial forces. In advance, if possible. It will be our main objective to avoid any further unnecessary casualties. This peace treaty guarantees that all officers and ground forces of the former imperial forces will no longer be treated as the Alliance's enemies. We shall announce a general statement, that all the former imperial forces which are still roaming the galaxy should surrender themselves to the New Republic. After their surrender they will be brought to Coruscant with a safeguarded transport without being questioned. Nevertheless any officers, crew member or groundforces are of course allowed to come back to Coruscant voluntarily without surrender to the New Republic's forces."

"We fully support those proposals, general. We assure you that we will lend our full cooperation to our agreements," The balding man answered politely with a nod, "I'll see to it personally, that your intel forces will be informed in advance about any action we're preparing to safeguard our galaxy and bring peace again to the thousands of worlds."

The five humans rose and the officer who had expressed his approval, shook hands with the woman and her companion.

"It's not very likely, we will meet again soon," He said, "We both have a lot of work to do. I wish you good luck. Have a peaceful flight back to Dalmaran?"

"Thank you, admiral. Good luck to you too. Our communications experts on Quoith have set up special secured procon connection between our two administrations. Don't hesitate to use it, if you have questions or if you want to exchange information with us. We will do likewise," The woman said, "It's my sincere wish and that of the other members of the New Republic's High Council and the Senate, that from now on our two governments will exist in peace and bring order and prosperity in this galaxy again."

"Allow me to escort you to your transport ship, ma'am," The third officer in the company said and offered the woman his arm. With a serene and grateful smile the woman accepted the cordial gesture. Sne shook hands with his second man with a friendly smile and nod.

After the woman and her advisor had left, the two remaining men looked at each other.

"After we had signed the treaty, Jerno, I think, you should have told them that Darth Vader probably has trained his daughter as a Sith. You also never mentioned her during the many consultations we had?"

"As long as the New Republic's administration hasn't any information about her, she isn't a real threat, neither to us, nor to them, Kalip. Her home planet, Morantan, is insignificant and a long way off, besides we also don't have first hand knowledge about her. Her name and her relation to Darth Vader was mentioned only once in a high-classified report of the emperor's one visit to that planet near the Outer Rim region. Except for Darth Vader and the emperor, no one else seems to have really met her," Jerno Thai who had chaired the meeting, answered, "There even doesn't exist any holographic image of the woman."

Kalip Ru'undo who was wearing the distinctive of lieutenant-general, shook his head.

"Our intel has confirmed, that neither after the Battle of Endor, nor after our demise near Jakku, the Morantan forces haven't been informed about the fall of the empire and the death of Darth Vader and the emperor. The woman is still living in Darth Vader's stronghold together with his staff officers and ground forces."

"As I said, Morantan is a too remote and insignificant planet. It has no access to the main hyper lanes between Coruscant, Dalmaran or any of the other core planets. In the aftermath of the Battle of Endor and after that the defeat of the imperial fleet near Jakku, our space fleet commanders and their forces only have bothered themselves with their own safety. Besides, Darth Vader's stronghold on Morantan was a well-kept secret even for the emperor's personal advisors, his personal guards and the higher echelon in the empire. By chance, after the collapse of the empire the members of our council got hold of some secret documents which held the plans, the implementation and the commissioning of the stronghold, otherwise none of us would have known about that remote outpost. Morantan served as a stronghold in the Outer Rim to oversee a large section of clusters and systems which held valuable ores, raw materials and other metals and raw gemstones for the empire. Darth Vader had to keep those systems under tight control," Jerno remarked.

"Jerno, the New Republic space fleet has already been investigating several of the Outer Rim clusters near the Morantan region. Can you imagine, what will happen, if the New Republic gets more info about a possible imperial stronghold on Morantan? They certainly will occupy the planet and likely wipe out any imperial resistance. An intel undercover agent on the planet has reported that the Morantan officers on duty and their ground forces are still convinced they are able to defend the stronghold against any invasion of, what they still believe, the Rebel Alliance. The whole Morantan staff has remained loyal to the empire. What's more, our agent also reported that Vader's daughter has been given full charge of the stronghold as their chief commanding officer. If the New Republic makes plans to take control of the stronghold they surely will encounter the woman. Vader has raised her as his Sith apprentice and taught her his dark knowledge, so she might be a formidable opponent. The New Republic will face a difficult, if not impossible task, if they have to defeat a Sith lady and her followers. The woman's existence might jeopardize the peace treaty. I suggest, that, if we hear about an upcoming attack on Morantan, we'll send our remaining super star destroyer Basilisæa to assist the New Republic's space fleet. Admiral Vestor can bring the staff and the ground forces to Coruscant, detain the woman on board the Basilisæa after which admiral Vestor will set course to the Outer Region and exile that Sith woman on a remote planet."

"If the New Republic space fleet will invade Morantan to wipe out imperial resistance on Morantan, we must avoid that the daughter of Darth Vader will become the concern of our government, Kalip. Although I want as many of our former officers and ground forces to be brought back to Coruscant without being courtmarshalled, that certainly doesn't count for a person who has knowledge of the Dark Side of the Force. Kalip, I too have read the reports of our Morantan agent with some concern. The Morantan forces aren't likely to surrender voluntarily, because they believe the Empire still exists. Sending the Basilisæa to support the New Republic's space fleet might create a precedent. Its presence might give the New Republic space fleet the impression that we collaborate with the garrison and their officers on Morantan. If the woman survives the invasion of the New Republic forces, she probably will be taken prisoner and brought to Irithim. Being the commanding officer who was in charge of the Morantan staff and ground forces, she surely will be held accountable for any casualties among the New Republic forces. The New Republic's High Court surely will sentence her, according to the New Republic's laws. What ever the verdict will be, Kalip, we shouldn't object, for I don't want this Sith lady to be returned to Coruscant."

"Many future difficulties could be avoided, if the New Republic forces would eliminate her during their raid on the Morantan stronghold," Kalip commented

"Her death in a battle is highly unlikely. It's against the New Republic's ideology to deliberately kill opponents. Once again their ideology is based on peace and justice, like it was in the Old Republic according to the rules of the Jedi Order, although the order doesn't have any influence at the moment. I expect, that after the investigation of her involvement, they will exile her to one of their prison planets for a long period, perhaps for the rest of her life."

"I hope you're right, Jerno, but if our new allies inform us about an upcoming intervention force on Morantan, I suggest that at least we'll inform their intel force about the woman; the knowledge she has gained from Darth Vader and the possible threat that poses from her."

"Of course we will, Kalip, for that's according to our agreement with them. I leave that up to our intel forces, but as long as the New Republic has no plans to take action, we shouldn't reveal the existence of Morantan stronghold and Darth Vader's daughter."

Kalip nodded, but his face still expressed his doubts. After some moments he broke the silence and changed the subject of their conversation.

"There still isn't any information about those two small destroyers that unexpectedly vanished into hyperspace, just after our defeat in the Battle of Jakku. Intel suggests that the two commanders might have joined the Alliance, but we haven't got any information from their side about some imperial destroyers defecting to their fleet. Intel is still investigating their disappearance."

"Those two small destroyers served as a decoy for the Alliance's fleet at the perimeter of the real battle field above Jakku, but the Alliance's ships didn't set up for an encounter with them. They simply ignored their presence. With the imperial government and military staff already in complete disarray and chaos after the Battle of Endor, the joined military chiefs haven't noticed the disappearance of the two destroyer. They also weren't able to trace their destination. By that time our failing intel force reported many deserters among the officers and crew members of the imperial fleet, even among those who had pledged full loyalty to the emperor himself, like several members of the praetorian guard. Most of those loyalists managed to flee unnoticed and defected. Only five commanders and their staff advisors have survived the Battle of Jakku. The casualties among our groundforces were enormous. Those five commanders managed to return to Coruscant among them commander Vestor who our provisionary council immediately promoted to admiral, for he was the only senior officer capable of taking the command on our last fully equipped imperial super star destroyer Basilisæa. The council ordered him to trace as much ships of our fleet as he could and order the officers and their crew to return to Coruscant. The admiral accepted the assignment, but expressed his doubts about a possible success of his mission, for many crews of the former imperial space ships had started mutinying. He has found evidence that revolting crews often have killed their commanding officers. Those rioters are now roaming the galaxy as pirates and mercenaries. It's not unlikely that something similar has happened on those two small destroyers, for the two commanding officers of those small destroyers were lucky to get back to Coruscant unharmed, disguised as some rogues belonging and working at Nima Outpost on Jakku. During their interrogation they told intel that they had been forced into an escape pod and had been jettisoned to the planet's surface. There indeed seemed to have been some form of uprising among the crew of those small destroyers. "

Jerno sighed and looked through the window at the skyline of Coruscant's governmental area.

"There isn't much left of the imperial space fleet, Kalip. At the moment we have just a number of sparsely armed frigates, about twenty heavily damaged small destroyers, three star destroyers which were under maintenance at the time of the Battle of Jakku and only one super star destroyer, the Basilisæa, which still was under construction as our fleet was drawn into that last space battle. It has an understaffed crew of barely trained junior officers and only two squadrons of rookie tie-pilots. It sounds disastrous and to be honest, it is. And due to the financial collapse and a lack of assembly equipment and raw materials we lack resources of all kinds to rebuild our fleet. Many of the wealthy systems that were once supporting the empire have joined the New Republic. Since the defeat of our fleet the few remaining imperial loyalists on other systems can't provided financial backup at the moment, as most of their commercial activities have been collapsed. An enormous amount of credits vaporized in the aftermath of the fall of the empire and the Battle of Jakku, causing once influential trade organizations to go bankrupt. But there's hope that with this peace treaty we will be able to make a new start."

Kalip Ru'undo nodded, but looked skeptical. Jerno patted him on his shoulder.

"Now, come on, Kalip, I know your less optimistic about the situation on Coruscant than Valann and me, but this new peace treaty will give us the opportunity to re-unite the systems that are still loyal to the Provisionary Coruscant Council. They will send their representatives to our newly established senate soon. I'm sure that with their help we will be able to rebuild or repair at least a small part of our fleet, so we can offer a real alliance to the New Republic in the future."

"Are they reliable enough to make serious conclusions? Has their commander finally contacted Coruscant and has he given an explanation for their unexpected jump into hyperspace before the final defeat of our fleet near Jakku, now almost two standard years ago?" Valann, the third officer asked.

"We will never know why they made that unexpected jump into hyperspace before the Battle of Jakku had ended in favor of the Alliance's space fleet. A standard month ago the star destroyer has exploded in the Urervik cluster, a group of insignificant planets and systems near the border of the Unknown Territories. The Basilæa received a last distress call and that has been the last sign of life of the crew. The commander of the star destroyer called for emergency assistance as their hyperdrive suddenly had reached an extreme critical level of overheating. The commander of the Basilæa, admiral Vestor, has informed our intelligence force that after arrival at the star destroyer's last known location, a huge amount of space debris was floating at a large area, has been found," Kalip said, looking at the datapad in his hand, "The Basilæa has collected as much of the scattered remnants of the star destroyer as possible. Among those remnants is a heavily damaged holo recorder with distorted fragments of the distress call."

"So after almost two years of absence one of our missing star destroyers suddenly turn up, at a position light years away from the battlefield near Jakku. So why the star destroyer set course for an unknown cluster near the Unknown Territories and what the crew has done in the meantime will remain a mystery forever?" Valann commented, and in his voice Jerno and Kalip heard his serious concern.

"After we were informed about the possible betrayals and desertions of some imperial commanders our intelligence force have scanned large areas of the galaxy, looking for the traces of exhaust gasses which could identify the location of those missing destroyers. The cooperation with the Basilæa and her reconnaissance and surveillance mission has been invaluable. I never expected those defected commanders and their crew to return to Coruscant voluntarily, for they would certainly be brought before our court martial. Where this ship has been all that time will indeed remain a mystery."

"Ask admiral Vestor of the Basilæa to have the debris he has collected, including the holo recorder, transported back to Coruscant . The technicians of our intelligence force need to investigate the debris to find possible clues about all the ship's former locations or positions in the past two years. We also need to know more details about the exact location from where the commander has sent his last message," Jerno said, frowning, "How many casualties were there?"

"About two hundred men, four platoons," Kalip answered with a sigh, shaking his head.

"That's right. I must admit that I regret the decision of the New Republic to found their new administration on Dalmaran and build a new capital, Irithim. With the collapse of the empire I hoped that Coruscant could be the center of a joint government," Kalip commented, while he looked at a building opposite the government buildings, "To be honest, I miss the elegant beauty of the Jedi temple."

"Maybe we could request the New Jedi Order to restore and rebuild the temple again," Valann suggested.

Kalip shook his head, "That won't happen, Valann. In the peace treaty with the New Republic we've agreed, that the last Jedi Knight would have full permission to remove what ever is left of the Jedi Archive to Dalmaran. Probably he will build a new Jedi temple at Irithim."

"I still hope, that, once the Jedi Order will have been revived and is thriving again, the Jedi Knights will support our government too, so that the whole galaxy will profit again from their exceptional power, " Valann mused, looking at the ruins.

"Don't expect that to happen soon," Kalip remarked, "Our intelligence force has reported that the last Jedi Knight, commodore Luke Skywalker, has been arrested, together with his twin sister, senator Leia Organa of Alderaan. If the info we have received is correct, commodore Skywalker recently has trained his sister as a Jedi Knight. Both Skywalkers are accused of high treason, because they have collaborated with emperor Palpatine. At least commodore Skywalker seems to have defected during the Battle of Endor. On board the second Death Star he has passed information about the Alliance army to Darth Vader and emperor Palpatine"

Jerno shook his head in disbelieve.

"If he has done so, which I doubt, then I think that it will take a long time before the Order of the Jedi Knights will be founded and thrive again, for the annihilation of the Jedi Knights still is a big loss."

Valann continued on his earlier reflections,"If the Jedi Knights still would be as numerous as in the old days, we could have asked them to assist us in the case of those disappeared star destroyers, one of which has disintegrated due to a strange cause. The fate of the other ship is still a mystery. The Jedi Knights might find out what has happened. Maybe they even could locate the missing star destroyer."

He turned to Jerno and asked surprised, "You just said, that you doubted the accusations of the Skywalker twins?"

"I most certainly do, Valann. Commodore Skywalker has an exceptional track record as a commander of the Alliance's Gold Squadron. His commitment to the Alliance in their struggle against the Empire is beyond question. How could he have been an undercover agent for the emperor all those years? As for his twin sister, senator Leia Organa, I can't name a more honest lady with a greater standard of integrity. Her determination and dedication to the cause of the Alliance during the Civil War was even known to the emperor and Darth Vader, and she kept her high position as senator of Alderaan and representative of the Royal House in the imperial Senate until the emperor dissolved the council. Nevertheless, the High Court at Irithim must have strong evidence of their collaboration."

"Maybe our intelligence force should closely follow the law suit against them and report the outcome of it to us. If they are acquitted, we ought to make contact with Jedi Skywalker and ask him if he and his sister are willing to help us in our investigation of that last missing star destroyer, Jerno. An in depth investigation by two Jedi Knights might also be advantageous to the government of the New Republic. The case of these missing star destroyers is so odd and puzzling. We still don't know what has caused the disintegration of one of those star ships, and we still haven't heard any message from the crew of the other ship, although I expected that after they would have learned about the death of their comrades, they would have returned to Coruscant," Valann remarked.

"The unexpected explosion of that missing star destroyer is still inexplicable. The commander mentioned that the hyperdrive navigator of his ship was suddenly overheating. It's very odd that the overheating hyperdrive navigator could be the cause of the explosion and the complete annihilation of the ship. All hyperdrive navigators of those types of star destroyer had safety precautions. In case of overheating the navigator shuts down by itself and starts a built in cooling down program. Besides, there's also the question, of what kind of business they had in that far off galactic cluster near the border of the Unknown Territories?" Kalip said.

"It could be a coincidence, but there might be an explanation for the disappearance of both ships," Jerno said thoughtful.

His companions looked at him inquisitively.

"What has happened to both star destroyers is based only on a vague hypothesis of my own. There is no real evidence of the events the way they probably have happened, but there are some strange coincidences which raise many questions. I have done a discrete research to find a reasonable explanation for the disappearance of those two star destroyers, but there's no full proof of what really happened and it's very unlikely that the full truth will be ever known."

"Tell us your conclusions, Jerno," Kalip said and Valann nodded.

They walked inside and sat down. Jerno looked at his two co-leaders.

"What I'm going to lay before you, is, as I said before, no more than a hypothesis. I have no hard evidence, so, please, keep my words to yourselves."

Valann and Kalip nodded in agreement. For a moment Jerno looked away through broad window to the tall buildings that marked the skyline of Coruscant, before he continued.

"You both possibly remember, that after the Battle of Endor, a year before the final defeat of the imperial fleet near Jakku, a group of commanders, among them some high admirals, strongly opposed the secret negotiations with the leaders and the high military staff of the Alliance about a cease fire and a truce.

After the final battle near Jakku most of the imperial staff, including many admirals, hadn't survived, as almost our complete fleet was destroyed, but recently I found an old holo recording in the archived data collection. An admiral had sent a emergency call from the moon of Avali, light years away from Jakku. The message dates back around the same time as the two star destroyers disappeared from Jakku's orbit. The holo message was heavily damaged, but the admiral on duty mentioned that his star destroyer had come out of hyperspace in an uncharted meteor shower. He and his men had been forced to use the escape pods and the ground trooper's transport ships. They had landed on Avali, a small moon near the Urervik cluster. The Coruscant intelligence command center sent a follow-up and ordered the admiral that he must return to Coruscant with his crew and the surviving stormtroopers for further questioning. In his answer the admiral confirmed the given order, for he answered that he, his crew and the ground forces would board of another imperial star destroyer which had come to their rescue and had gone into orbit around the moon to take the survivors on board. He would report immediately to the commander of the rescue ship and ask him to transport him and his men to Coruscant. The Coruscant intelligence command center confirmed his answer.

That was the last contact with the admiral. From then on, any further attempt to contact the second star destroyer appears to have stalled. According to the records of the Coruscant command center they frequently have attempted to contact the second star destroyer, sending automatic calls to the ship. However, the commander, his staff and the survivors have ignored every order to return to Coruscant and there hasn't been any log recording or other indication of an arrival in Coruscant's orbit.

It certainly is beyond doubt, that the star destroyer with the ID-markings mentioned by the admiral in his conversation with Coruscant has never returned to Coruscant.

As I said, all contact calls, orders and further investigation have come to a dead end, until recently. Two years after that last contact, a star destroyer exploded near the Urervik cluster after the commander sent an emergency call about a fatal hyperdrive failure. That star destroyer was bearing the same ID-markings of the space ship that rescued the admiral and his crew at Avali. So I think, that not only the commander and his crew died in that crash, but probably also the admiral and the crew of the other missing star destroyer, which would make the amount of casualties even higher," Jerno said concerned.

"This hypothesis about what might have happened to our missing star destroyers, might be a lead, Jerno. Our intel force should do a more thorough investigation on this matter," Kalip commented.

"That's what I wanted to suggest. Kalip, you, as the commanding officer of our intelligence force, you must order your men to do some investigations and look further into this case. It's not a very high priority, but when they discover that the two commanders and their crew are the same men mentioned in the old recordings, it looks like they all died in that explosion. In that case, we have to issue an official statement and hold a memorial ceremony. After all, the commanders were two high-ranking officers, one of them has been an admiral in the imperial space fleet during the Civil War. He also spent many years on Morantan and has sent the only encrypted report about the emperor's visit to the planet."

"Talking about Morantan, reminds me of the danger the daughter of Darth Vader might be to this galaxy, Jerno. Do you know, if she still lives on Morantan?" Valann interrupted him.

"Our undercover agents have reported she still is, and I heartily hope that she will stay there forever," Jerno said.

Jerno grabbed the data pad and leaned back in his chair to read the report. After reading, he put down the data pad with a slight smile on his face.

"I think we should thank them for this swift intervention, Kalip, because after the New Republic forces take over the Morantan stronghold, they have to face the danger that Darth Vader's daughter could pose to the future of the galaxy. Their contact seems to be very grateful for the information we provided. The report says they will take Vader's daughter into custody. They are convinced, they have found the right way to keep her under control. Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker has volunteered to be assigned to arrest the daughter of Darth Vader after the New Republic forces have taken the stronghold. She will be transported to Irithim and held indefinitely. "

"Do you really think, that a Jedi Knight will be able to keep her under control. She probably knows a lot of what Darth Vader once put into practice."

"She surely will oppose Jedi Skywalker and make use of her knowledge of the Sith, Kalip, but it's up to the New Republic now to cope with her and her evil knowledge and to keep her under control. They have a Jedi Knight to advice them. Her destiny is no longer of any concern to us."

"Jerno, I'm not so sure. I suggest we ask their contact to keep us informed of any future measures they will take to contain her and prevent her from jeopardizing the peace treaty."

"Please contact him, Kalip, but in my opinion a Jedi Knight is quite capable of using his special knowledge to bring that young Sith woman to his will and authority, so she won't be able to use the evil knowledge Darth Vader has taught her. "

"Kalip, calm down. You're exaggerating. You know as I do, that it's unlikely that the New Republic will ever make use of the death penalty. They wouldn't. Never. Sit down and let me read the agents' report."

Jerno took the datapad. After having analyzed the information he put the datapad down and looked at the frustrated glance in the eyes of his co-leader.

"What do we know about that senator Zolgathrii, Kalip?"

"He was chosen as the representative in the New Republic's senate for his home planet of Ortel, a small insignificant planet not bigger than a large moon, in the Roghvi cluster. He seems to have worked himself up to a very prominent politician with a group of dedicated followers. During the reign of the emperor he was a strong supporter of the imperial policy of suppression. In his file numerous visits to Coruscant are mentioned. However, after the collapse of the empire he joined the New Republic."

"Isn't the Roghvi cluster in Coruscant's neighborhood? Jerno wondered and press a button on his desk.

A holographic map of Coruscant and the surrounding systems popped up. Kalip walked over to Jerno and together they watched the positions of the different systems. Kalip pointed at a small cluster of stars and planet at the outside of the Inner Circle. Immediately the holo map zoomed in and some captions popped up: Roghvi cluster. Four planets. Three uninhabitable. Ortel, property of the Zolgat-clan; sole remaining clan member and heir of Ortel's former wealth, senator Korth Zolgathrii. Possessions: a manor with surrounding forest near a swamp. Unhealthy environment. The planet is of no real interest anymore as the old aludium mines are exhausted."

Jerno zoomed in on the planet itself. He turned the three dimensional image several time around as if he was looking for a certain detail. After some search he zoomed in on a particular spot and nodded in agreement.

"There it is: Dokanta. Since centuries the manor of the Zolgat-clan. An exquisite and superb dwelling for a tribe of criminals which has increased their power over a long time. He touched the spot and a detailed view of the building's outside and a map of its interior popped up together with some further information about the long bloodline of all the inhabitants. Kalip looked at Jerno who touched Zolgathrii's name. Another separate holo screen popped up. Astounded the two leaders got some unexpected information about the man.

"He has been accused of murdering his two siblings, but he was acquitted for he could rely on an very solid alibi. At the time of the murders, he was here on Coruscant. There is indisputable evidence of his presence on Coruscant, as he was invited to celebrate the tenth year of the Emperor's reign. His name and signature appear in a document." Kalip read aloud.

"Nice fellow, but not really trustworthy, in my opinion. If he makes contact with one of us we have to be on our guard. I will inform Valann and all the other members of our council. It's not unlikely that this Zolgathrii guy might think that the Provisional Coruscant Council will team up with him and support his coup. Kalip, order your men to check the files of all the names on that celebration list. Find out where all the former guests are at the moment. If you think it might necessary, you have full authority to use surveillance probes or other devices, and, Kalip, send all this information with the highest encryption via the procon connection to our allies on Dalmaran. They might be interested. This information might help them if they are planning a raid on Ortel." Jerno said

"What will be our strategy if he really comes to Coruscant and seek contact with us. Will that Sith woman accompany him? The intelligence report mentions that she took the initiative for her escape from the Irithim detention building. She has disguised herself as Her Royal Highness, princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, wearing the official garments of the princess. The last two months the princess of Alderaan has visited that Sith woman very often in the detention building. I think, she has been manipulating the princess in such a way that the princess of Alderaan has come convolutely under her influence, for that Sith woman has taken the princess with her as a hostage."

"That Sith woman has manipulated a trained Jedi? Kalip, we know that Jedi Skywalker has trained his sister as a Jedi. How can it be that she has fallen victim to manipulation so easily. No, Kalip, I'm not sure that Darth Vader's daughter has manipulated the princess of Alderaan. Probably it's the other way round. "

"Jerno, for heaven's sake, this is serious! The daughter of Darth Vader, trained by her father in the Sith lore has escaped and is on the run with a senator with a criminal background. I thought we wanted to establish a period of peace and prosperity," Kalip said, expressing the frustration he still felt, "We've signed a peace treaty with the Alliance. We have serious obligations to them. We should help them to find a solution if that Sith woman turns up on Coruscant. She is dangerous not only for our new fragile government, but for both our governments."

"Kalip, do you really think she and that senator can start a war on their own with only a handful of possible followers. Even if Ortel should become their base, then they need a lot more men than the handful which went with them from Irithim. I really don't think that neither that senator, nor the daughter of Darth Vader, will be foolish enough to set course to Coruscant. Nevertheless, we must of course remain on our guard and fulfill our obligations to the New Republic. Transmit all the information we have on that senator. Tell them we will do as much as we can, but keep in mind that she is their prisoner, and they have to find a better solution to control her."

Kalip sighed, "One day you will be sorry for being so lenient, Jerno."

Jerno smiled, "On that day, you may reprimand me, Kalip, and take over my leadership, but until then we have to be very reluctant in our actions. Our remaining military forces can't team up with the former forces of the Alliance and the New Republic. After the victory at the Battle of Jakku they gained the support of many planetary systems. Our government represents only a handful of systems and most of them aren't still sure if they will stay with us, or join the New Republic. We have to be cautious. Believe me, being reluctant isn't a sign of cowardice, but of prudence."

Kalip nodded, "I understand your point of view, Jerno, and I know you're right, we're a minority at the moment."

"One day we will regain the same strength as the Alliance now has. If that happens our two governments will be more equal partners."

The others all looked at him.

"Captain Boloon, were did you get this information?" Jerno asked.

"It's on the Holo Net, admiral." Boloon answered, "I apologize, sir, for being late, but this news mesmerized me, I had to watch the complete news flash."

Jerno activated the big holo screen in the meeting room and all members turned their seats to watch the holo images of the reporting. Images of some fifteen frigates and destroyers and a number of X-wing space crafts bearing the marks of the New Republic became visible above Ortel. The images switched to the planet's surface were the sounds of heavy fighting was heard. The voice-over mentioned that the New Republic had attacked senator Zolgathrii's manor to rescue some very important hostages. The images of the fleet popped up again and switched back to the planet. The voice-over mentioned that it wasn't clear why the New Republic's space fleet was attacking one of their own members.

When the series of images had been repeated several times, including the corresponding commentary, Jerno switched off the holo screen and looked at the other members of the council.

"Their act is a serious infringement of Ortel's independence," Kalian, one of the members commented, "The senator of Ortel will certainly raise a protest."

Several members joined the discussion and agreed. For several moment Jerno listened to the words with which his fellow councilors showed their indignation or surprise. Kalip and Valann looked at him and Kalip took the floor, after Jerno had nodded.

"Be seated, honorable members of our council, and please listen."

The council became quiet again and Kalip gave a short comment on the raid. He explained that the triarchy had received intelligence information about a possible attack on Ortel.

"Senator Zolgathrii has opposed the rules of the Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic and now it turns out that he has taken some important people with him as hostages."

"Did we get information about a possible coup?" Hyandron, a representatives of the commerce chamber asked.

"If he intends to commit a real coup is not for sure," Kalip answered, "We received some formal information from the New Republic, warning us in advance for a possible visit of senator Zolgathrii to Coruscant. Our intelligence force also has reported to us that senator Zolgathrii has fled Dalmaran, taking at least one member of the High Council and the special advisor of the Supreme Chancellor with him."

"Is there a possibility we can get more information and evidence of the government of the New Republic itself. If the senator has indeed plans to overthrow the legal administration on Dalmaran the peace treaty we signed with the New Republic may become unsettled or even withdrawn," Kalian said.

The uproar of several concerned voices re-emerged. Jerno took the floor and asked for attention.

"I agree this seems to become a more serious matter, for our council and government of the New Republic as well. In the past senator Zolgathrii has been a regular guest in the high echelons of the former emperor. I will contact the leaders of the New Republic again and asked them to provided detailed information about new developments."

The woman looked at the three leaders of the Provisional Coruscant Council with grateful expression on her face.

With some hesitation in his voice Kalip Ru'undo raised a first question, "Ma'am, is there any change that the daughter of Darth Vader and senator Zolgathrii will turn up on Coruscant in the future,"

Valann had another even more urgent question, "Ma'am, if you please, can you tell us first, what has happened to the senator and the daughter of Darth Vader? Are they ...?

The holographic image of the woman nodded comprehensively.

"We share your worries about these two persons, but, please, let me explain in short the outcome of our actions on Ortel and what the further actions on this matter will be. You won't have to worry about an expected and unwanted visit of senator Zolgathrii. He is dead. The daughter of Darth Vader, Liane Solichor, has shot him, during the rescue of the hostages," the woman said, smiling as she heard the surprised, but withheld exclamations of the three leaders on Coruscant and saw their relieved faces.

"She shot him? Are you sure, Ma'am?" Kalip asked in disbelieve.

"Absolutely. Jedi master Luke Skywalker and Jedi Knight Leia Organa have confirmed how Liane Solichor shot the senator and why she did. In this short holo meeting I can't explain in full what has happened on Ortel and what miss Solichor's role has been in the events. You may expect a full holo vid report about the Ortel assault and its outcome, shortly, but we assure you that the daughter of Darth Vader isn't as dangerous as we all have assumed in the beginning, including me and my advisors. "

"Ma'am, does that mean that your government won't held her accountable for the insurgence and the planned coup. Will your government pardon her for what she has done?"

"The High Court of the New Republic will decide about her part in the coup and some other matters. It's beyond my powers to judge her actions," the holographic image answered.

"Has Jedi Knight Skywalker also changed his opinion about the daughter of Darth Vader in her favor?" Jerno asked.

"Both our Jedi Knights managed to get better acquainted with Liane Solichor. They hope that their friendship will convince her that her training under our former enemy, is the wrong way to use the Force."

"Ma'am, Darth Vader, her father, was a Sith lord. He taught her the knowledge of the Sith, so I presume that she brings that knowledge into practise; that she is a Sith herself," Kalip concluded.

"Colonel, in itself your conclusion isn't wrong, but in practise all this turns out to be much more complicated and has many nuances, at least that is how Jedi master Skywalker explained it to me. Yes, Liane Solichor certainly has knowledge of the Dark Side of the Force, but the knowledge she has mastered under her father, doesn't make her a real Sith. At least not yet as master Skywalker told me. I'm sure he will convince her that the knowledge she has gained from her father belongs to the Dark Side of the Force."

"This all sounds incredible and hopeful, madam, but what if the woman doesn't cooperate and sticks to the former believes her father has taught her," Valann commented, sounding unconvinced.

"I fully agree with you, that there are uncertainties in our approach and especially in the approach our Jedi Knights have proposed, but we have great faith in their special Force insight. To reassure you; for the time being Liane Solichor will remain in close custody on Dalmaran, at least until there is a verdict of our High Court judges. We strongly suggest and hope, that you have faith in the way we will handle this matter. Don't be too much concerned about Darth Vader's daughter. We promise you, that concerning the case of Liane Solichor we will keep you fully informed."

"Thank you, ma'am, for your time and detailed explanation. It's a great relief, I think for both our governments, that the planned coup has been averted and that the instigator did not survive. Will you please send our well wishes to the hostages. We hope they will recover from their nasty experience," Jerno said with dignity.

"Thank you, admiral, for your concern. It has been a pleasure talking to my three very involved allies again. Under the leadership of your triarchy and your advisors the Coruscant government will do well and will be prosperous. Don't hesitate to make contact with my special advisor, if you have any questions about our agreement and other ways of cooperation. May the Force be with you."

The holographic image became blurred and vanished. The three leaders of the Provisional Coruscant Council looked at each other. Kalip sighed still feeling some concern, Valann looked relieved and Jerno seemed to be in thought. Finally he looked up.

"I certainly didn't expect that she would inform us personally. I expected that her advisor would bring us up to date. It's good to know that they take full responsibility. There is good hope that the approach the two Jedi Knights have proposed will secure the safety of our galaxy, the peace process and a strong cooperation between our two governments."

"The exact details are in the report, Valann. In short it boils down to this: our intelligence force has been recently alerted, because their attention was drawn to a strange series of messages which has been sent between some strange connections on Irithim and Ortel. Those messages are aimed and received at an unknown location which my men having yet been able to pinpoint, in the Outer Rim. The Irithim connections are not of a recent date, but the connection between Ortel and the Outer Rim location dates a few days after the assault on Dokanta."

"Kalip, you said the Irithim connections are older. How much older?" Valann asked, quickly scanning the content of the report on the data pad.

"They have been sent after the New Republic's space force had invaded Darth Vader's former stronghold and brought his daughter to Irithim. My men became alerted, because every time the Irithim connection transmitted several encrypted messages to the Outer Rim, something occured with Darth Vader's daughter. The first message was transmitted shortly after her arrival at Irithim, followed by some two messages during her first detention period. After the New Republic took her prisoner again on Ortel, a connection was established from Ortel. It appears that the whereabouts of Darth Vader's daughter are being closely monitored. That information is shared with an unknown recipient in the Outer Rim"

"Is it likely, that those messages sent from Irithim, could have held information about the escape she has been planning, but who could be interested in her?" Valann asked, "Have your men been able to track down the content of those messages?"

"The connections are sending holographic recordings, using an imperial encryption method. It's an older code which has become discarded after the Battle of Jakku. I've ordered my men to retrieved all the discarded encryption keys from the former imperial data archive. These keys could enable us to decrypt those recordings, but sofar my men haven't succeeded, for there are millions of discarded imperial codes in the imperial archive. Our systems are running and comparing the keys and the encrypted content of those holographic recording around the clock."

"This gives us enough food for serious thought," Jerno said and frowned, "If someone is monitoring the whereabouts of Darth Vader's daughter, it's possible that he or she knows who the woman is and what knowledge she possesses. Kalip, it seems necessary to ask your men, to make every effort to decrypt those messages. We must know their content, for if it's alarming, we are obliged to inform the New Republic. Your men must also continue to get more information about the precise sending location of those messages and, if possible, they have to locate the exact coordinates in the Outer Rim those messages are aimed at. Before I can inform our allies, we need to be sure and find very solid evidence about what is going on."

"Escaped again? From a heavily guarded prison as the one on Wegoyy?" Valann asked.

Jerno nodded, "The report mentions an unexpected return of Jedi Skywalker and his sister. It is said that they were demanded to break off a diplomatic mission at Tambrin immediately. Shortly after their arrival on De'olon space port, they had a short meeting with one of the New Republic's generals. Shortly before midnight Jedi Skywalker has left again. Upon inquiry a HOLO Net reporter mentioned that Skywalker's destination briefing mentioned Wegoyy."

"I thought, that Jedi Skywalker had taken some responsibility for the woman. In our last contact with Irithim it was said that he would be her guard?" Valann commented.

"After she had been brought to the Wegoyy prison, that task probably has been suspended," Jerno said, before he addressed Kalip Ru'undo, "Is there already more known about those strange connections established from Irithim and Ortel which are targeted at the Outer Rim, Kalip? "

"My men have been able to decrypt the messages partially. Their content isn't reassuring, not to say alarming. They also have tracked a new connection which has sent several different messages, using the same encryption method. This time from Tropass, the only town and the unofficial capital of Wegoyy. Like in the other messages send from Irithim and Ortel, there is talk about a woman or a girl who needs to be brought to the Outer Rim. After the assault on Ortel, I'm almost certainly that these secrets encrypted talks are about the daughter of Darth Vader. In the recordings sent from Wegoyy there is also talk of bribing, blackmailing and putting some guards and staff members of the prison at Wegoyy under pressure to assist in an escape plan."

"Which leaves only one conclusion: some one indeed wants the daughter of Darth Vader to be brought to an yet unknown location in the Outer Rim Territories," Valann said.

"Could it be," Kalip said cautiously, "that those who sent those messages, have somehow managed to contact the daughter of Darth Vader; have helped her to escape and already have brought her to that unknown location? I suggest we need to inform our contact in the New Republic's government about these contacts from Irithim, Ortel, and now from Wegoyy, which are aimed at the Outer Rim. It's time we'll join forces with the New Republic's administration to find the daughter of Darth Vader."

"I agree, with Kalip, Jerno," Valann said, "Although the evidence we have isn't yet complete the New Republic needs to know what our intelligence force has discovered. Of course, it could be that they already have been alerted too, but in case they can't decrypt those messages, we could provide them with valuable information. They don't have access to the millions of codes the imperial government has used in the past."

"I'll send them a procon message, but I'll leave it up to them if they want to make use of the information we've discovered," Jerno said, "I don't want to leave the impression, that the Provisional Coruscant Council is meddling in their business.

"In my opinion, they will be very grateful, after they have read part of the message's content. It saves them a lot of investigation at their side. Maybe we could suggest that if we find out more, for instance about the exact location, that their fleet will take action and uncover what person or group is behind the receiver, who ever that might be, and what plans they have with Darth Vader's daughter," Valann said cautiously.

After Jerno had read the message, he looked up at Kalip.

"Our intelligence force must continue their monitoring," He said thoughtfully.

"Continue? Jerno, these last months that monitoring task has occupied too many hours already. The woman is dead. We don't have to worry any longer about the possible threat she could be. Why don't you contact the agent of the New Republic and ask him if he can confirm our intelligence force report."

"Kalip, your men have done an excellent job, beyond excellent in every way, but I still want them to continue monitoring those strange connections to a location in the Outer Rim. I have a good reason for it, although I'm not yet sure about what's exactly going on a planet or system in the Outer Rim. No, I can't tell you and Valann, nor the other members of the council what's on my mind just yet. In timely manners, when I have full proof of my concerns I will tell you my hypothesis and especially the threat that hypothesis might impose on the galaxy as a whole. The information your men gather could be of immense value. It might become the solid base for my hypothesis."

Kalip Ru'undo looked in wonder at the chairman of the Provisional Coruscant Council.

"Jerno, you can't keep any secret ideas for Valann and me," He protested.

"I'm not keeping anything secrets for you and Valann, Kalip. I just want to be absolutely sure of my suspicions and conclusions before I present them to you and the other members of the council. I only ask for the quiet cooperation of you and Valann so that I can find evidence for my findings as soon as possible, because those strange messages could be the clue to a dangerous conclusion. A conclusion I can't reveal yet, because I haven't gathered all the necessary proof yet. So, please be patient. You and Valann will be the first with whom I will share my findings, before we will inform the council members. At moment it's better if I keep my thoughts to myself."

Kalip nodded, "I understand, Jerno, if you don't want to reveal any unproven facts too early, but don't wait too long to inform Valann and me."

Jerno patted his co-leader and old friend at his shoulder.

"I know I can rely on you, Kalip. Your quick thinking, your arguments and conclusions and the solutions you propose combined with Valann's cautious attitude are a good guideline for the policy of our triarchy. I learn a lot from both of you and I appreciate the discussions we have together. Now, let's get back to your conclusion about the possible death of Darth Vader's daughter. In the report there is talk about a possible connection between the disappearance of her guard and the death of the woman. Let's assume the following: could it be that he helped her to escape and that he ran away with her. The transcript of the message states that he has violated the prison rules and has become friends with her. After fleeing with her, he allegedly spread the rumors of torture in Wegoyy Prison and the death of the woman. What do we know about the guy?"

"We can get that information if we send one of our people to the Tropass spaceport. The spaceport is under the jurisdiction of Wegoyy Prison. I'm sure gossip and rumors about a deserted guard from Wegoyy Prison have been circulating there," Kalip suggested, "one of our undercover agents in Irithim could go to Wegoyy."

"Didn't I just say, that I admire you for your quick way of thinking, my friend. Indeed we could get much more information from Wegoyy that way. Also order our intelligence agents at Irithim to send us the reaction of the New Republic government, about the woman's escape. We already know that Jedi Knight Skywalker broke off his visit at Tambrin and that he has gone to Wegoyy to get more information about her escape. It's necessary that our undercover agent in Tropass, also gets information about Jedi Skywalker's inquiry at the Wegoyy prison. He hasn't returned to Irithim yet, so we don't know what he has been doing on Wegoyy. I expect him to return one of these days and give a full report about his findings. I'm also eager to know the reaction of the New Republic's government about the possible death of the woman."

"You don't believe she is dead, Jerno."

"Not until I hear some official information about her death from the New Republic's government. If the woman has died of the effects of torture or abuse I expect the Supreme Chancellor will start an investigation in the Wegoyy prison. She and her advisors will hold the commander of the Wegoyy prison accountable for the woman's death if there really is talk of torture, abuse, or other prohibited practises which violate the rules and vision of the New Republic."

Jerno looked at his co-leaders.

"So the New Republic's government also hasn't a clue about her whereabouts?" Valann commented.

"Not at all. If she really did escape, as mentioned earlier, after her disappearance, it seems she doesn't want to reestablish contact between Jedi Skywalker and herself, though we know he visited her in Wegoyy Prison. It's definitely a big question where she is right now and what she's up to. I've been thinking about those intercepted messages about her and I wonder if in the meantime and without anyone knowing, she has been secretly taken to the realm of the recipient of those strange messages. Has monitoring those strange connections yielded anything, Kalip??"

"Nothing. If what you just said would be the case, Jerno, I'm certain that there would have been a lot of secret communication between those two sources, but after that last message about her possible death, now more than a year ago, our intelligence force haven't intercepted not a single message. Nothing, but I have urged them to remain alert."

Jerno nodded and sighed.

"So we can discard my earlier assumption."

"Can we ask the New Republic's agent to send us some update on the situation?" Valann suggested.

"I have been thinking about contacting him, for they promised us to keep us informed about the daughter of Darth Vader, but I fear my request would be in vain at the moment, as there is nothing to report to us, as long as Jedi Skywalker or someone else hasn't come back to Irithim with new information about the woman or with the woman herself. We only can closely monitor those weird connections to the Outer Rim."

"Did you mention the recordings we've intercepted?" Kalip asked.

"I did, and their agent thanked me for the information we have shared. Their intelligence force also will keep an eye on that unknown location in the Outer Rim too. He has asked me to keep them informed about the content of any intercepted message we receive. He admitted that their men might be able to decrypt those messages, but it would be a tedious job for them. I offered that our men would do the decryption and send the decrypted messages via the procon system to Irithim. That's why I want our intelligence force to continue monitoring those connections," Jerno said.

erno had invited his co-leaders Kalip and Valann for a secret meeting at his residential apartment which was located at a considerable distance from government territory. On arrival he welcomed them with an extensive meal with accompanying drinks. The three leaders sat down and enjoyed the different dishes while exchanging some news and chatting.

In the beginning of their cooperation as a triarchy, shortly after the Battle of Endor, they had often met there in secret, mostly at nighttimes.

The first weeks, after the deaths of emperor Palpatine and his commander Darth Vader had been proclaimed, had been filled with many days of exuberant celebrations over the regained freedom, but Jerno, as an imperial grand admiral had taken immediate action. He had approached a group of dependably influential people from all walks of the imperial government to form a provisional council. He also had chosen his three most trusted officers lieutenant-general Kalip Ru'undo and commodore Valann Namaran to form a temporary leadership. In cooperation with the newly formed council they had announced their triarchy and had firmly reestablished the order on Coruscant and the other systems. In this way, Jerno and his co-leaders had prevented the festivities from degenerating into chaos and anarchy.

In insistance of the chief command of the imperial fleet, he had, with some reluctance, ordered preparations for the Battle of Jakku.

He himself had placed more hope and trust in the first hesitant talks between the former empire and the Alliance, but as a strategist within the imperial space fleet, he thought it only logical that the commanders of the remaining star destroyers would not surrender without a fight.

The Battle of Jakku had been a unexpected disaster, especially because the commanders of the Imperial Space fleet had under estimated the force of the Alliance fleet. The size of their fleet appeared to have been reinforced with thousands of large and smaller space vessels from planets, clusters and systems that had been suppressed by the Empire.

As the situation near Jakku worsened Jerno, Kalip and Valann had made every effort to sign a cease fire followed by a temporary truce as quickly as possible.

Although both parties longed for an end to the Civil War a group of imperial commanders had opposed against further consultations with the Alliance to reach an armistice. Their resistance had been catastrophic. Tens of imperial star destroyers had been disintegrated, killing their crew and commanders. One of their super star destroyer had been plunged down on Jakku's surface. On receiving the disastrous course of the battle Jerno had used his authority and had ordered the remaining commanders to retreat and return to Coruscant immediately. Immediately he had negotiated an armistice with the Alliance. Afterwards he and his co-leaders had started the negotiations for a peace treaty.

Within the newly founded Provisional Coruscant Council, he and his co-leaders, Kalip and Valann, had acquired great authority to form a provisional administration on Coruscant next to the administration of the New Republic on Dalmaran. The many different systems in the galaxy would be left a choice to join the leaders on Coruscant or to cooperate with the newly formed New Republic. Nevertheless their task hadn't been an easy one, as they had faced a prevailing suspicion within the imperial space fleet staffers and commanders against Mon Mothma who had been chosen as the Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic.

After the covenant with New Republic had been signed Jerno had hoped that their alliance with the New Republic would be in favor of what was left of the former empire. After the raid on Morantan and the developments around the daughter of Darth Vader Jerno had become worried, especially after the intelligence force had intercepted the odd messages aimed at a certain location in the Outer Rim. He had become more and more convinced that someone in the Outer Rim wanted to come in contact with the daughter of Darth Vader, and he feared that the reason why she had to be brought to the Outer Rim, wasn't a peaceful one. His worries had increased after the New Republic's intelligence at Quoith had been able to locate the coordinates on Dalmaran from where a recent message had been sent to the Outer Rim. The New Republic's intel force had asked Kalip's team to decrypt the message and share its content with the New Republic.

Jerno served another drink and looked at Kalip.

"You have to bring Valann up to date, Kalip. After you have finished, I will inform both of you about a new resulting situation. I want to discuss with both of you some of my reflections and their conclusion."

Kalip looked at Jerno and Valann.

"As you both know, my men have been monitoring some strange connections aimed at a spot in the Outer Rim and sent from different locations. There was a strange coincidence for those connections were always sending information if something had happened to the daughter of Darth Vader, although her name was never mentioned. Since these messages had to do with Darth Vader's daughter, we informed our special contact with the New Republic. On our request hey too have started monitoring any irregularities closely. After she had been assumed dead, our intelligence force didn't intercept any unusual connection aimed at the Outer Rim for a long time. "

Kalip looked at Jerno who nodded and Kalip addressed Valann.

"Last week, after nearly two years, the connection from the same source, has sent again a message to one of the planet clusters in the Outer Rim. This time the location was on Dalmaran. The message was first intercepted on Quoith and the exact sending location was on Mas'onom. Our intelligence force decrypted the content of the message which has alerted our Council at the highest level, for it mentions that Darth Vader's daughter is alive, but suffering from a severe form of amnesia. According to the intercepted content of the message she has been injected with the old imperial mind-weakening drug during an interrogation in the prison on Wegoyy. The New Republic has provided our intelligence force with all their information about the Wegoyy prison and guess what: the commander in charge is Olon Dendicott, one of the officers who defected shortly after the Battle of Jakku. Also some other former imperial officers, the brothers Rand and Daino Phylotar, two imperial defectors who once served under Olon Dendicott, have shown their interest in the daughter of Darth Vader. In the message the contact on Mas'onom report that Daino Phylotar has asked them about the antidote for the mind-weakening drug. It's a pity that we are still not able to intercept the response of their collocutor yet. I wonder who this man can be and why he is interested in Darth Vader's daughter. His contacts confirm that they will bring the woman to him. Jerno recently has asked our contact of the New Republic to confirm that Darth Vader's daughter is indeed alive. I remember that you didn't agree with me when I reported her death some time ago. So your assumption was right and that explains the many travels Jedi Skywalker has done all those months to the Outer Rim. Both our governments are deeply worried about the recent message and the possible involvement of some former imperial defectors. Our New Republic contact has sent us a secret holo-recording between Daino and his brother Rand. I'll show it to you. "

Kalip slid a data card in the holo vid display and the three men watched and listened to the secret meeting between the two Phylotar brothers. After the holo vid had ended, Kalip looked at Valann and Jerno.

"So far the two brothers haven't been arrested yet. The New Republic's government has told me that they keep them both under tight surveillance for the time being. They are aware of what's going on and will take any necessary measures if Rand Phylotar would turn up with the woman. They know his plan and they know about what has happened to Darth Vader's daughter in the Wegoyy prison. Her former guard, Ian Tydon, has testified before the High Council shortly after he and Jedi Skywalker came back from the Jedi's investigation on Wegoyy."

"Is it possible that their restraint can be interpreted as a kind of trap for those who have been involved in the secret torturing in the Wegoyy prison?" Valann asked.

"Absolutely," Kalip answered, "but their agent says that the guard's testimony couldn't be confirmed during their investigation on Wegoyy. The prison commander and his staff denies the accusations. So the New Republic needs the daughter of Darth Vader to tell them what they have done to her. However in her current condition she isn't able to testify, as she doesn't remember anything. What's more the woman's current whereabouts are unknown. She has disappeared after having traveled for more than a year with a group of independent traders who took her on board their ship."

"Could it be, that she's on her way to that strange recipient of the messages to the Outer Rim?" Valann asked concerned.

"Nobody knows. She's no longer in the company with those traders and nobody knows where she is hiding at the moment."

Kalip looked at Jerno.

"Thank you, Kalip. I'll take over. Valann, Kalip, what I'm going to tell you both has to stay, for the time being, extremely classified. Thanks to the cooperation between the two intel bodies of our two governments we now have full audio recordings, including the response of the person in the Outer Rim. I want you to listen to the audio recording the guys on Quoith have sent us."

Jerno started a holo-display device again. Valann and Kalip listened intensively to the complete conversation. After the last laugh of the recipient had died out, Jerno looked at his co-leaders.

"I have sent the other messages we've intercepted to Quoith as well, with a request if they could restore the full conversations. You'd better also listen to what has been said in those first messages."

Again Jerno started the device. He leaned back in his chair and watched his fellow leaders who listen to all the earlier connections to the Outer Rim. When they had finished, Valann looked puzzled at Jerno.

"The guy took the initiative for her escape to Ortel. He paid the bribes to the guards and that senator, but his attempt to bring her to the Outer Rim hasn't been successful," He said and frowned before he wanted to continued. Jerno saw the disbelieve in his eyes and silenced him with a slight gesture.

"Kalip, you once said I shouldn't have any secrets for the two of you."

"That's many months ago, Jerno," Kalip answered.

"Your reproach was justified, but at that moment I couldn't reveal what I had been thinking, but these audio recordings from our allies on Quoith were the final proof I needed for my hypothesis about what is going on in the Outer Rim. I'm almost certain that I know the identity of the collocutor, and, Valann, am I right, you have recognized the voice too, haven't you?"

"I thought he was dead, one of the casualties of the explosion near the Urervik cluster," Valann said hesitantly.

Kalip looked at Valann and shook his head.

"Jerno, Valann, what you both are suggesting is impossible. We have evidence that those commanders were on board that star destroyer that has exploded in the Urervik cluster four or five years ago, isn't it? As far as we know nobody survived and now you both think that one of those commanders survived."

"Kalip, did we really do a thorough investigation at that time, after we heard about the explosion of that missing star destroyer. No, we didn't. At that moment our main concern was the existence of Darth Vader's daughter on Morantan and what would happen if the New Republic would plan to eliminate that pocket of resistance.

We've assumed that both commanders were on board the star destroyer that exploded, because we took their last message as full proof. There wasn't any real evidence that proofed our assumptions. The debris, collected by the Basilsæa, couldn't reveal the exact number of men that perished in the explosion. Furthermore between the disintegration of that last missing star destroyer and the message the commander of the other star destroyer, two years had passed without any trace of the last star destroyer with two full crews and ground forces.

There's also another point that might proof my suspicion. In the last intercepted message there is talk of the antidote for the imperial mind drug. During Palpatine's reign only the emperor himself, Darth Vader, and the members of the praetorian guard who also acted as the emperor's executors, were using the mind drug and other forms of severe torture. The imperial guards had the same unlimited mandate as Darth Vader to use any special tactics to torture and interrogate prisoners. They must have had access to many kinds of antidotes too. Maybe they even knew how to manufacture the antidotes. In the message we heard that the collocutor says, that he will cure the daughter of Darth Vader's mind loss. So he probably is familiar with the mind drug and their antidote.

Now I come back to those two commanders in the exploded star destroyer. One of them was the commander in charge, the one who has sent the message about the hyperdrive failure, the other one was the commander of the star destroyer that was destroyed in a meteor shower near Avali. He was our missing admiral and went on board the second star destroyer that two years later exploded due to that hyperdrive malfunctioning. We've discussed this matter shortly after we heard about the exploded star destroyer. We even held a memorial service for all those perished men."

Valann nodded with a serious frown and Kalip shook his head.

"Jerno," Valann commented hesitantly, "At that time you referred to the special assignment the admiral had as a member of the staff on Morantan. What do we know exactly of him?"

"I've found out that from the moment he got his commission on the imperial space fleet, as a junior officer, he has drawn the Emperor's special attention. The Emperor himself assigned him as one of his personal guards. He has been a member of the praetorian guard. Those special group of imperial officers were chosen for their Force sensitive abilities."

Jerno emphasized his last sentence. Kalip's face had gotten a very worried expression and he only listened to what Jerno and Valann were discussing. When his co-leader looked at him he said: "Jerno, you know for certain, who we're talking about, don't you?"

Jerno nodded, "I do, Kalip, and looking at you and Valann I can only conclude that you both know, that my conclusions will need more hard based evidence, before we take further action."

Valann only nodded, Kalip cautiously commented on what he had heard.

"SSo our missing admiral probably has survived the explosion and now lives somewhere in the Outer Rim and is looking for the daughter of Darth Vader? Why? What does he want of her? What so special about her, except that she is the last Si..."

Jerno hushed him, before Kalip had finished his comment, then he said, "Indeed, Kalip, that's probably the reason why he is looking for her. As a former staff member on Morantan and a former praetorian guard near Palpatine he probably knows what kind of knowledge Darth Vader has taught her."

"This probably means that he wants to research that knowledge," Valann commented.

"Not only research, Valann. Being influence by the Force he probably want to learn from her the knowledge of the Siths. He wants to become a Sith Lord himself."

Valann and Kalip looked devastated.

"That could mean.......," Kalip started, but Valann interrupted him.

"If what you think, this is true, Jerno, we must start a thorough investigation. We must find the origin of the message he has sent from Avali in which he says, that his star destroyer is lost and that he and his crew had abandoned the ship and landed on Avali. Did he really sent it from Avali, or was it a diversion? If that missing admiral wasn't on board that space ship that exploded with two hundred or more of our men two year later, then we must investigate the cause of that explosion anew, and find evidence of what happened to the two crews between the Avali message and the last message before the explosion. We also need to research on which planet or system in the Outer Rim he is hiding and what his real intentions are."

"We certainly have to, Valann," Jerno said, "It's about time to take several actions ourselves and start looking into the old intelligence logs and the archive of the empire. The three of us need to compose an exact time line of all the events with as much details as possible, from the moment those two star destroyers disappeared after the Battle of Jakku, until the last message of the disintegrated star destroyer near the Urervik cluster. We also need to gather any facts about the careers of those two missing commanders and especially the career of our missing admiral. Our investigations shouldn't attract any attention, so we have to keep our findings secret, until we knew exactly what's going on. Despite our desired secrecy, I suggest, that we should give Admiral Vestor of the Basilsæa a much broader mandate and extend his mission to monitor and take a look at all the clusters in the Outer Rim near the Unknown Territories. He must pay special attention to the Urervik and Avali clusters which are near the aimed coordinates our joined intelligence forces have found. His surveillance flights must look like normal routine surveys."

"Our intelligence force can provided him with a number of different coordinates which are close to the location of the intercepted messages. I will order also that our monitoring will be intensified and ..." Kalip remarked.

He stopped abruptly as if something crossed his mind.

"Maybe, we should send an undercover agent specialize in high communications technology to the Basilisæa. He could monitor any signals more closely."

"That's not a bad idea, Kalip," Valann commented, "but Admiral Vestor shouldn't be informed that he has to take an undercover agent on board of his ship. What do you think, Jerno?"

"It's a good option," Jerno said.

For a moment he was silent as if he was thinking about something. Kalip and Valann watched their friend. Jerno turned to them and nodded.

"I know someone. What do you think about ... "

He typed a name on a datapad and handed it to his two companions.

Surprised Valann looked up to, but Kalip immediately showed his support.

"Do you think he will accept such a mission?" Valann asked.

"I will arrange a secret meeting with him," Jerno said, "and tell him about our case."

"He would be an excellent choice. There's only one thing: isn't he too well known," Valann said cautiously.

"He could use one of his many identities or even a new one, one we only know," Kalip remarked, "he once have worked for intel too under different aliasses. His info was always accurate. Already before the Battle of Jakku started, he warned us we shouldn't get involved, because the outcome would be disastrous. If we had listened, our fleet wouldn't have encountered so many losses and casualties, but those stubborn star destroyer commanders thought they could outnumbered the fleet of our opponent."

"That right, Kalip. OK, I'll see if I can contact him and if he is willing to do some undercover work again. I hope he will. He is a loner who loves to work completely alone, but maybe I can convince him to accept an assignment in the technical staff on board the Basilisæa"

For a moment the three men looked at each other, then Jerno continued.

"Kalip your role is still the same, your men have to continue monitoring any odd signal. Besides I want you to supervise any future communication with admiral Vestor. Valann, is there anything special, you can do? Your former background as a historian might also give us a useful starting point."

"Indeed it does and I have already been thinking where I could start, Jerno. You both know, that as a historian I hold the highest clearing to access any of the former imperial archives which includes the personal archive of the former Emperor. Perhaps I can find out more about the relation between Palpatine and that former admiral," Valann said.

"Good, next to a meeting with our possible undercover agent, I will concentrate on the old communication log files between our Communication Center and our fleet, starting with the first indications about a possible encounter with the fleet of the Alliance near Jakku. I will explicitly concentrate on clues of the conversations between Coruscant and those disappeared star destroyers. Let's meet again here, let's say in two months," Jerno said.

Jerno looked again at his visitor who seemed to enjoy the view through the broad windscreen, before he turned around without speaking and looked at his host with full attention.

"What I'm going to tell you and why I need your help, has to be kept top secret. You understand that, don't you?" Jerno said.

"You certainly didn't contact me just to enjoy a dinner together," came the calm answer.

They both laughed.

"Let me first explain what's going on and why Valann, Kalip and I have been alerted."

Jerno gave a condensed recapitulation of the strange events with the two missing star destroyers, the messages the intelligence force had intercepted and the audio recordings they had recently received with help of the intelligence force on Quoith.

"Their help has been invaluable," Jerno said, "for now we know that one of the commanders of those missing star destroyers surely has survived the disintegration."

"Who's the guy?" the young man asked.

"A deserted admiral."

"The one who strongly objected your consultations with the Alliance after the Battle of Endor?"

Jerno nodded and smiled.

"You're well informed," He said approvingly.

"Of course I am. I have to. It's still part of my profession, leastwise the part of my work in the intelligence force."

"You're still working undercover for our intelligence force?"

"At the moment I'm instructing a small group of technicians specific communication technology at our university, but I still share any results of my researches as a secret agent with the guys at the intelligence desk, but always anonymously. Keeping my identity secret is part of my assignment."

"Good. I want you to take a leave from the university, a long sabbatical leave, for I want you to take on a new identity."

Jerno handed the young man a datapad.

"Keep this datapad and study it thoroughly. There's only one file. It's the personal file of a young lieutenant who died in the Battle of Jakku. He was about your age. His name was Doran Whain. I've arranged a secret training to become familiar with all Doran has done, has been thinking, has done wrong and what ever has ever happened to him. You don't have to worry about any relatives; he's an orphan. Anyone who might have known him, including his parents and other relatives are tortured and killed during the emperor's reign. Your training will be tough, but we have to make sure, that you won't make mistakes which could raise suspicion. "

"I understand. What's next? I mean what will be the mission Doran Whain has to carry out."

"As soon as you have become Doran Whain, you will get an assignment as the chief engineer and officer in charge of the communication department on board the Basilsæa, specialized in interplanetary communication. At the moment the Basilsæa is carrying out a surveillance mission in a special part of the Outer Rim systems."

The young man laughed, "Sounds interesting. So you probably want me to intercept more of those odd communications between a system in the Outer Rim and whatever other systems are seeking to communicate with the Outer Rim. Are you interested in the content of the messages they exchange?

"I leave that up to you. You have an unlimited mandate to do whatever it takes. Our allies on Irithim will allow you to communicate via an encrypted code with their communications technicians on Quoith. Our intelligence force knows how to decrypt those strange messages. The cooperation with communication center on Quoith will transmit to Coruscant. I will personally send you all those findings via a special encrypted secret frequency."

"One way or dual, if necessary?"

"Dual, for I want you to find out more about the technical specification of communication system which is used on the receiving side, it will be an extra proof of our combined investigation. It might be that at a later stage I want you to use your expertise to infiltrate that system."

"You suspect that deserted admiral has received those odd messages about Darth Vader daughter, don't you? You think, he is up to something which could endanger our cooperation with the New Republic."

"We do. Here, read this file about admiral Matrik."

For a while both men were silent. The young man paid attention to the content of another data pad Jerno had handed him. When he had finished his reading he looked up. Jerno held out his hand to get the device back.

"You're right. This former imperial admiral could be a threat to the peace treaty. He knows a lot about the emperor's reign and rules. Has been assigned as a praetorian guard after he graduated from the Academy. He got his promotion to admiral within the imperial fleet at the age of twenty-nine and finally the emperor made him a staff member on Morantan to gather information about the activities of the emperor's right hand: Darth Vader. Important question is: Why did the emperor sent him to Morantan? Sounds odd and it feels as a degradation, although he kept his rank. Why did the emperor assigned an admiral of the fleet to spy on Darth Vader?"

"Those questions haven't been answered yet. As you can see there's a gap between his appointment as Admiral of the imperial fleet and the moment he got his assignment as a staff member on Morantan. We're still figuring out what he did in the meantime. As far as is known, he did not directly participate in any battles with the Alliance, with the exception of the battle of Jakku, because, after the Battle of Endor, I assigned him on one of the star destroyers which has disappeared. Any new facts will be shared with you, for you need to know as much as we know about admiral Matrik."

"What's his relation to the daughter of Darth Vader who lived on Morantan during the time when he was a staff member there?"

"He almost certainly has met her, and he knows that she has learned a lot of Sith knowledge from her father. I suspect Admiral Matrik of making plans to revive the old times of the empire with the help of Vader's daughter, but that is just a speculation."

"Not anymore, I think. In the intercepted messages there is much talk of her and her possible kidnapping and transport to the Outer Rim. What's uncertain, is, that no one knows anything about her Sith knowledge. How much does she know? Was she a fully-fledged Sith, when Darth Vader died? That's what has to be find out. If she is a Sith-lady, she might seek out the admiral herself and team up with him."

With admiration Jerno looked at his visitor.

"We came to the same conclusion. In that case our two government have to team up to take her into custody, but at the moment there is no real danger. The New Republic has exiled her to the Wegoyy prison for her share in an uprising against the administration of the New Republic. However, shortly after her arrival on Wegoyy, the commander of the prison has mind-drugged her and she suffering of amnesia, as all her memories are wiped out. They brought her to the Wegoyy desert to perish, but she survived and she has left Wegoyy with the group of traders with whom she had been traveling for some time."

"So that defector commander, Olon Dendicott and his sycophant Rand Phylotar, are still using the imperial torture practises in the Wegoyy prison. This doesn't surprise me, nor does it surprise me that Rand Phylotar's brother Daino is helping them. Keep an eye on them, sir, and inform the leaders of the New Republic of their not so flawless career in the imperial fleet."

Jerno grinned.

"You're not disappointing me. You are the best to fulfill this dangerous task. Do you accept it."

"I do. When do you want me to join the staff crew of the Basilisæa?"

"Your instructors will inform me when they are absolutely convinced that the identity of Doran Whain has become part of yourself. At that moment the Basilisæa will receive the order to replace a part of their staff and crew. We won't meet again in person, but you know how to reach me, don't you?"

The young man grinned, "I know. I'm going to report to my instructors then. From now on I'm Doran Whain, a lieutenant and an expert on interplanetary communication systems. I wish you well, we'll keep in touch."

The young man rose. Jerno accompanied his guest to the door.

"Good luck and take care of yourself," were his final words.

The young man smiled, "I always do, and you know that."

They didn't shake hands. The young man turned around and walked away to the elevators without looking back to his host. Jerno closed the door of his quarters. There was a short glimpse of worry in his eyes.

"You've worked hard. My complements. I didn't expect that you would achieve this in such a short time. I've underestimated your qualities."

"I love these kind of challenges. It was tough, but rewarding. Thank you, for the promotion. Major Doran Whain sounds impressive."

"Did you get the insignias belonging to your new rank?"

"Yes. They handed me a complete new uniform just before last night's ceremony."

"You've gotten this promotion due to your dedication to your new task. I needed to give you some authority. Lieutenant Doran Whain sounded not really convincing for a head of the new technical staff of the Basilisæa"

"That's not what has been said at the ceremony. I was praised for my commitment during the Battle of Jakku, where I saved the lives of quite a number of our ground forces. Risking my own life, I landed in the midst of the battle with a transport ship, near a group of ground forces surrounded by rebels. I've gotten safely away with all of them. A late promotion after six years."

"Your promotion came a bit late, due to the chaotic circumstances after the Battle of Jakku. In the official announcement that is stated as the reason for the delay."

The holographic image laughed again, but became suddenly serious.

"I've been thinking about our agreement and the way we're intended to exchange information. To keep this mission secret I suggest that the exchange of communication will be one way only. I will inform you, using that special frequency, but I urge you never to send any message to me."

"How will you know what's going on?"

"As soon as I've arrived on the Basilisæa I will do some investigations to establish a secure way of communication. My proposal to inform you as a one way of communication is purely a matter precaution. You and the others have to stay in the background. I will carry out this mission as you ordered me. I will inform you and keep you up to date. My messages will be encrypted, but I will send the key to decrypt with my first message. As soon as I have figured out a better way via the communication system on board the Basilisæa we can discard this temporary way to exchange information. Nevertheless I insist that any direct communication between Coruscant and me should be avoided. After my arrival on the Basilis&aealig;a I will send a last holographic message to Coruscant. Only in case of a real emergency direct contact should be an option. We have to stay cautious. Neither of us knows what to expect of this mission in the Outer Rim territories. Stick to my advice. I will inform as much as I can. "

"That would make you and your position vulnerable."

"Leave that to me. This is not my first undercover mission, as you know."

Jerno Thai nodded.

"I know, but as you said this mission might be a very dangerous one."

"Don't worry, for the time being I'm only chief technical staff on board the Basilisæa."

"Alright. I won't send a response to your messages, but if I fear that your life might be in danger I will take any necessary steps to get you safely back to Coruscant."

"Agreed. I have to leave now and get my belongings before I'm ordered to board."

The holographic image flickered and vanished. Jerno Thai looks at the empty display and sighed. A worried frown had appeared on his forehead.

"Do you think, that any additions are needed to the communication system of the Basilisæa?" Jerno asked.

"Before I left Coruscant I have studied the ship's communication system thoroughly. I didn't find any real necessary amendments, but I have to test the system in practise and see if their interplanetary communication channels are working the way I need for this mission. I expect I can make any desired change myself. The technical staff can provide me with any spare parts or the necessary equipment I need.

"Vestor might ask, why changes to the system are needed."

"Don't worry. I will come up with a good reason. My first impression is, that the ship's communication system is in perfect condition. Of course I will discuss the necessary changes with the admiral and my other technicians. I don't expect any objections to my proposals. It is common knowledge that the admiral wants his space ship to be in optimal form. He takes much pride in his assignment as admiral of the only remaining super star destroyer. What I have read in the admiral's personal file confirms my impression. Admiral Vestor is an ambitious officer. "

"Good deduction. We keep an eye on him, for his ambitious also might make him vulnerable to obeisance and tributes of anyone who might seek his loyalty," Jerno confessed.

"Your answer suggests that he might be prone to blackmail or corruption, right?" The holographic image seriously remarked.

"Not immediately. My words only express some personal doubts of the triarchy. So far the Provisional Coruscant Council unanimously has supported his promotion to admiral and his assignment as the commander of the Basilisæa."

The holographic image nodded thoughtfully. He refrained from further comments.

"Is there anything else, I need to know?" He asked after some moments.

Jerno Thai laughed.

"Don't you think that I should ask you that question? You're our expert on board the Basilisæa from now on. Keep your eyes open and provide me with any information or evidence about those encrypted messages between the Palomintar System and some other sources in the galaxy."

The holographic image grinned.

"I know what you expect of me. The admiral already has informed his staff, including me, that he has to extend his surveillance mission to the Palomintar System. I understood that the Basilisæa will set course to the Palomintar System tonight. The admiral referred to the order which the Provisionary Coruscant Council had issued recently. He has delayed his departure from the Urervik cluster until our transport ship had reached the Basilisæa."

"Just a reminder, admiral. I promised to send you the keys to decrypt my messages or encrypt a message from Coruscant in case it's needed to leave me an urgent message, but once again I want to stress that you should only use it in case of emergency. In my messages I will provide as much in formation as you need to make an necessary decisions, so you might not need to contact me.

I've already had a quick look at the knowledge base on board. It is extremely comprehensive. I certainly will be able to extract any info I need. It even seems to that due to the agreements in the peace treaty with the New Republic the communication system on board the Basilisæa has a way to access the New Republic's immense communication system on Quoith. At least that's what admiral Vestor told me. I'm free to use the New Republic's communication system at will. Perhaps that opens up many new ways to monitor those odd messages, but it also might be a possibility for a secure way to communicate."

The admiral has ordered me to set up a surveillance frequency which will log any signals around the clock. That system will be operational tonight. It will also warn me personally if anything unusual is detected before I have to report anything to my superior and to you. We stay in touch."

"Good. Thank you for contacting me immediately after your arrival I expect to receive confirmation of your arrival from the admiral himself at short notice. I don't have to emphasize that your task might become a dangerous one, so be careful. Keep us informed."

"I will."

The recording stopped and Jerno sat back in his chair, staring at the black display. He nodded and grabbed his info com and recorded a message.

"Kalip, can you reach Valann. I want to discuss some new developments tonight."

"Let's bring out a toast to the successful surveillance mission of the Basilisæa, my friends. This afternoon I received a recorded holo message from him. You'd better watch and listen."

Jerno slipped a data card in the slot on the table. Kalip and Valann sat back and watched. After the message ended they looked at Jerno.

"Major Doran Whain? Is that our man's new identity?" Valann asked.

"Yes. A young major who has been trained as an expert in interstellar communication and technology," Jerno said with a slight smile.

Kalip frowned.

"The name sound familiar to me?"

"Might be, Kalip, but it's unnecessary to dig in the old archives. It's our man's disguise and alias. We recruited him under this disguise for our mission," Jerno answered."

"But there is another matter I want to discuss with you. You've heard that he stated once again said that he doesn't want us to keep him informed. I had to agree to exchange info in a very special way. The key for encryption he send me was only used by two persons in the empire: emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. No one else ever used it and it's unlikely that someone who intercepts such a message, might be able to decrypt it without the key. You will both get this key too, in case any one of us might need to contact him. But the key is highly confidential and also the frequency he will use shouldn't be shared. "

"For the time being his mission on board the Basilisæa won't impose any danger, but as he has to pinpoint the exact location of our missing admiral his mission might be extended. In which way I can't tell yet. Probably we have to leave that to him."

"He also mentioned the ambitious personality of admiral Vestor. Has he met him before, for that's also my impression of the admiral," Valann commented.

"He has never met the admiral. Our man always has led an elusive life, taking on as many different identities as he saw fit," Jerno said.

"It's good to have an expert like him on board our only super star destroyer to make sure that we will know very soon if our assumptions that our missing admiral has found a refuge on a planet in the Palomintar System, more precisely on Palomintar Four." Kalip said, "Not to mentioning admiral Vestor's ambitious character explicitly."

"That makes me feel a bit worried too," Valann remarked, "I sensed doubts in his remarks. Do you think that admiral Vestor might be prone to blackmail or disloyalty?"

"Our man will certainly keep an eye on admiral Vestor, for Vestor's ambition might indeed make him vulnerable to obeisance and tributes of anyone who might seek his loyalty," Jerno said, "Not immediately. The Provisional Coruscant Council unanimously consented with Vestor's promotion to admiral and his assignment as the commander of the Basilisæa. We have to keep his ambitious character in mind."

"Darth Vader had a son?" Valann asked.

"Yes, and a famous one, no one else than commodore Luke Skywalker," Jerno said.

Startled Valann looked the his two companion.

"Commodore Skywalker, the Jedi Knight, is Darth Vader's son!? Jerno, are you sure?"

"Definitely. After I had heard the content of those newly intercepted messages I have made contact with Irithim to inquire what they knew about the kinship of their famous Jedi, and their answer surprised me, but also has reassured me. Jedi Skywalker is the son of Darth Vader indeed. Earlier on we already had information about the princess of Alderaan, senator Leia Organa, Commodore Skywalker's twin sister. She is Darth Vader's daughter, too. The New Republic has send me an encrypted documents about the Skywalkers, which confirms their relationship with Darth Vader. You both get it at the end of this meeting."

"Did you check our old archive who was the mother of the twins? Is she also the mother of that second daughter Vader raised as his Sith apprentice?" Valann asked.

"I did, but most files dating back to the Old Republic, have been deliberately corrupted or destroyed. The data isn't reliable anymore. I've found no evidence that Vader married some one."

"I wonder, if Darth Vader has ever known he had twins," Kalip said suppressing a slight smile, "but, Jerno, what do we know about the whereabouts of his second daughter at the moment.

"The decrypted messages aimed at the Palomintar System mentions that she is staying on Endor at the moment. Commodore Skywalker seems to be with her. There is talk of a kind of attack on Endor. A group of guards from the Wegoyy prison under the command of Olon Dendicott seems to have tried to kidnap her, but the New Republic has intercepted their plans and sent an armed ground force as reinforcement. No harm had been done to the woman and Dendicott's men have been captured, including Olon Dendicott himself and Rand Phylotar. And now I come to our next issue. The last intercepted message mentions that Rand Phylotar is on his way to Palomintar Four to meet the one who always is addressed as 'My Lord' or 'Master' in the messages. Probably Rand Phylotar will propose a new plan to capture the daughter of Darth as she's still staying on Endor with only commodore Skywalker to protect her . We have two options. We can order admiral Vestor to intercept Rand Phylotar's ship, but then our man on Palomintar Four will know he has been monitored, or we could let Rand Phylotar land, so he will meet our former admiral. In that case we don't have to inform the Basilisæa's commander, but leave it to our man on board to monitor what's going on. What's your opinion?"

Kalip and Valann looked at Jerno.

"Any idea what the consequences might be, Jerno?"

Jerno shook his head.

"No, we're almost certain that our former admiral is living on Palomintar Four, for it's clear to us that in the former messages we've recognized his voice. We're also almost certain, why he needs Darth Vader daughter Liane to be brought to the planet, for he knows who taught her the Sith lore, the knowledge he needs to carry on with he plan to revive the empire. Somehow he has learned about the relation between Jedi Skywalker and Darth Vader. I assume he wants to include Jedi Skywalker in his future plans as well. We need to thwart his plans and find a way to capture him and bring him back to Coruscant, if necessary with help from the New Republic."

"Have you thought about an immediate action of the Basilisæa at the Palomintar System?" Kalip asked.

"No, absolutely not. That's last option at the moment, Kalip. The Basilisæa's mission still remains surveillance near Urervik cluster. Beside as long as the New Republic is controlling the whereabouts of Darth Vader's daughter, we only have to ensure that with their cooperation, our missing admiral will never meet her. Her knowledge of the Sith lore must never fall in the hands of our former admiral."

"In my opinion we should allow Rand Phylotar to land and meet our man," Kalip said.

Valann nodded, "With our undercover agent on board the Basilisæa the monitoring of Palomintar Four could give us more information."

"It's a pity, we can't inform our agent about these new developments," Kalip mused.

"That's part of our agreement with him, but I'm sure that he will interpret the expansion of the Basilisæa mission correctly. As the chief communication officer, we gave him carte blanche to carry out this mission as he sees fit," Jerno said.

chapter 25

10 years ABY + 3.5 month - 6 year ABoE + 3.5 month - 5 years ABoJ + 3.5 months

The message ended with a cheerful "Have faith." Jerno leaned back. The cheerful sound in the voice brought some relief to him. He nodded.

"What you're suggesting, Doran Whain, would be a great asset, provided that our allies will team up with your suggestions."

He called the communication operator droid and ordered a shielded connection via procon with Irithim. The secured connection was created in minutes and the holographic image of the New Republic's official agent became visible on the display.

"Greetings, grand admiral Thai."

"Greetings to you and please, bring my respect to your leader," Jerno answered.

"Anything urgent to discuss, sir?"

"I have informed you about our undercover agent on the Basilisæa last time."

"Yes, I remember. It's a good action on your part. We both will certainly profit from the guy's discovery about those sinister messages transmitted to the Outer Rim. We're grateful you're sharing the info he sends you with us as well."

"Thank you, for your kind words," Jerno said, "I have just received a new message from him with an exceptional interesting proposal which I want to discuss with you. I will send you the transmission of his message now. If you have listen to it and discussed what will be the consequence on your side, I hope your reaction will be positive and extent our further mutual support."

Jerno pressed a button on his console. The holo image of the New Republic's agent reach aside to activate the incoming file. He nodded as the transmission had been completed.

"Transmission received in good order, admiral. We will listen to it and give it a good thought. Does it suit you if I contact you later today about our point of view."

"That would be fast. Do you really expect a decision at such a short notice?"

"The seriousness of the situation in the Outer Rim requires quick actions. We don't want to loose precious time discussing any necessary measures in a committee. So you might expect me to call you back later today. I'll will discuss the info you send us immediately."

"We're obliged to you and we hope to establish an even stronger relation with the New Republic."

The holo image of the agent bowed, before he discarded the connection. Jerno switched off the holo display.

Once again he considered the possibility Doran Whain's plan could have. Jerno nodded approvingly. He had made the right decision to send their most qualified undercover agent to the Basilisæa. As he expected Doran Whain had taken the initiative of the mission in his own hand. He knew he was the communication's expert. He certainly would have considered all the complications of their agreement to work on a one way report base. If the New Republic would be willing to give him access to a shielded part on the Quoith communication system, it would be much easier to exchange information. It also would make it easier to inform the New Republic intelligence force.

"My dear admiral, we're going to keep a close watch on you and monitor your actions. We know who you are and we know what you're up to. We will do everything to prevent you will be able to accomplish what you have in mind. The empire is over. Emperor Palpatine is dead, and we don't want some else to take his place."

Jerno, Kalip and Valann watched the holographic image of the Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic.

"My advisor and I have discussed the message you have transmitted to us, grand admiral," She said, "We have made contact with our technicians on Quoith to discuss the consequences and possible dangers, but they will take all the necessary safety precautions to shield off the special partition your agent and you will be using in our communication system. Our technicians will connect the partition to the procon system which will give you the assurance that your messages and that of your undercover agent on board of the Basilisæa will be encrypted in the same way as the messaging system between Coruscant and Irithim is working. There's only one condition my advisor suggests; we want that our intel forces to monitor the amount of messages that will be exchanged between Coruscant and the Basilisæa."

"Why are you asking this, ma'am?" Kalip asked with a frown.

The Supreme Chancellor smiled.

"We're not setting up another spying procedure. My advisor thought it a good idea to allow our intels to monitor how many messages between your man and you are exchange. We're not interested in the message's content; we only want to register how often there's a contact between your agent and Coruscant."

Kalip want to comment, but Jerno raised his hand to silence him.

"Ma'am, I have been thinking similar thoughts. In case our intelligence forces detect irregularities both side can immediately take appropriate action and warn our administrations. The Coruscant intel forces are already cooperating with yours on Dalmaran with good results on both sides. We're obliged that your intels have made it possible to intercept audio in the messages that have been sent from different location to the Outer Rim. Thanks to the efforts of our combined efforts we now have a better understanding of what is going on in the Outer Rim."

"So do we, grand admiral. The information your men have exchanged with us, alerted me and the members of the High Council. The cooperation between our intelligence forces is crucial for the future peace in the galaxy. The technicians on Quoith are impressed with the plan of your undercover agent on board the Basilisæa. You have chosen a highly competent expert to carry out a mission like this. I would like express my respect to him. Tell him that the plan he proposed will be operational the way he is suggesting, provided that both the Coruscant and the New Republic intelligences forces will monitor the amount of messages between the Basilisæa and Coruscant. A double monitoring and registration system would be in our mutual advantage. The situation in the Outer Rim requires direct and close cooperation between the governments of Coruscant and the New Republic. Neither of us wants some one to become a next emperor with the knowledge of the Sith."

"We're very obliged that you agree with the plan our uncover agent has proposed. We also express our gratitude, that you share our point of view that a possible revival of the empire has to be prevented by all means," Jerno said, looking at Kalip and Valann who both expressed their agreement.

"Ma'am," Valann asked, "may we conclude that your government will prevent that the daughter of Darth Vader will share her knowledge of the Darth Side, the Sith lore, with the person in the Outer Rim?"

The three leader on Coruscant saw how the face of the Supreme Chancellor got a stern expression.

"Our Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker is staying with Liane Solichor on Endor at the moment. I don't have to explain to you, what has happened to her in the Wegoyy prison. Commodore Skywalker will bring Liane Solichor to Irithim to tell us what has happened to her and I already can tell you that my government will do everything to compensate her for the terrible long loss of her memories. I also understand that due to certain recent events that the person, who lives on a planet in the Outer Rim, continues to make serious attempts to kidnap her. That means that when Liane Solichor comes to Irithim we will take any measures necessary to find a safe place for her to live. If you see that as a measure to detain her again, I must tell you that I don't share your vision."

"Ma'am, the daugh...." Kalip started to say, but the image of the Supreme Chancellor immediately interrupted him.

"Sir, Liane Solichor only has been raised by Darth Vader. She isn't a legitimate daughter of him, he only adopted her. It's disturbing that you as our allies are still referring to her as the daughter of Darth Vader. Besides she has a name: Liane Solichor. You should better use that name when we are talking about her."

Jerno silenced Kalip again.

"Ma'am, we don't want to raise a question about the name of the woman. If the members of the High Council of the New Republic want to use her real name we will accept that, but I hope that you share our opinion about her. She has been taught and is familiar with knowledge that has plunged the galaxy into long years of oppression and disaster. I hope that you agree that that knowledge should never be passed on again."

"Admiral, it's not up to me and my administration to prevent the spread of the Sith lore. That's the duty and task of the Jedi Knights we have. They have to take care that the knowledge of the Dark Side, won't be spread again. It will be their duty to support and teach Liane Solichor that what she has learned during the reign of emperor Palpatine never has to be passed on to any person in this galaxy. Especially Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker has committed himself to this task and I am convinced that Liane Solichor will keep his teaching at heart. Jedi Knight Skywalker certainly will prevent that Liane Solichor will be brought to the Outer Rim."

"We're apologizing for bringing up the question about miss Solichor, ma'am. We highly respect what you're doing to guarantee peace in the galaxy," Jerno said, "When do you expect that plan our undercover agent has proposed will be operational."

For a moment the image of the Supreme Chancellor watched the three leaders. Then she smiled.

"My advisor has made contact with Quoith and all necessary actions have been taken. Our technicians will send your under cover agent the necessary access codes and encryption keys to the shielded partition. My government guarantees that only you, your agent have access to this shielded partition on Quoith. We hope that these measures will enable a better cooperation between Coruscant and Irithim."

Jerno looked relieved.

"Thank you ma'am for this decision. We will guarantee that any necessary information will be shared with your intelligence force immediately. Thank you for contacting us personally. It's always good to share the opinion which live among those who lead our governments."

"The pleasure is all mine, admiral. Working together indeed will make it possible to learn from both sides. We wish you well."

"We express our gratitude towards you, ma'am," Jerno said and made a formal salute.

The image of the Supreme Chancellor answered with a courtesy nod and her image vanished.

The three leaders of the Provisional Coruscant Council looked at each other.

"For the time being," Jerno said, "it's better if we don't bring up the matter concerning the daughter of Darth Vader again. If necessary we ourselves will prevent the woman from teaming up with our former admiral."

Jerno looked at his co-leader with a big grin.

"The communication via that shielded partition on Quoith is exceptionally good. Even the exchange of information between our agents on Dalmaran and our intelligence force on Coruscant are redirected via that shielded partition as is the communication with our undercover agent on the Basilisæa. He has reported that a space ship with the markings of the New Republic has landed a second time on Palomintar Four, but it still hasn't left the planet."

"Kalip, we have to ask our allies who had gotten their permission to land on Palomintar Four without consulting or at least informing us about the necessity of a prohibited landing. " Jerno said and continued: "From our agent on Endor we received a report about Jedi Luke Skywalker and his 'sister' Liane Solichor. Jedi Skywalker seemed to have been in a hurry for he got his clearance for take off almost immediately after his arrival with her at his private shuttle. He hasn't stated his destiny however. Probably he will head for Irithim, so the woman can tell the Supreme Chancellor and the members of the High Council what Olon Dendicott has done to her in the Wegoyy prison. It's reassuring that Jedi Skywalker is accompanying her. That allows us to conclude that Phylotar's second attempt to capture Darth Vader's daughter has failed again. Our agents on Wegoyy haven't sent any details of a failed attempt yet, they only have reported that Rand Phylotar's space ship has left Tropass space port shortly after he had disappeared. They will send us further another report if their investigations have additional information. "

"What will the New Republic leader do after the daughter of Darth Vader has testified? I mean, she has been convicted for her part at the Ortel-coup?," Valann asked.

"I expect that the leaders will show their mercy and will let her stay in the detention building in Irithim," Jerno said, "You all have heard what the Supreme Chancellor said about her and how the government of the New Republic will seek a way to protect her against possible other attempts to kidnap her."

"Have you thought about it, Jerno, that the Supreme Chancellor can pardon her. I have heard that several political opponents have gotten amnesty recently."

"The Supreme Chancellor and her advisors know what kind of knowledge she has. Her Sith knowledge is dangerous to this galaxy, so I expect the New Republic will not set her free. As for our share, there's still the threat our 'Palomintar Four' man implies."

"Admiral Trevor Matrik still is a high-ranking imperial officer, Jerno," Valann remarked.

"I don't think that his rank will be of any protection any longer, Valann. He has deserted,has taken two small destroyers with him, and in the messages we have received, he has laid out what kind of plans he has in mind."

"Maybe we should release an official announcement in which we declare that he dishonorably is discharged from his rank," Kalip suggested.

"At the moment we can't, due to the official commemoration ceremony to honor his death in the explosion of that second star destroyer. If we would now issue an official statement in which we announce he is alive and that he is dishonorably discharged, we need to make public where he is. We should keep his existence and the possible threat he might provide, hidden, as long as we haven't decided how we will formulate the accusations against him, and how we will bring him back to Coruscant."

"Are you thinking of an official trial here on Coruscant before a court marshal?" Kalip asked.

"Yes, but that means that we must arrest him. To arrest him we need to know the exact location of his whereabouts, before we can send a ground force to invade Palomintar Four. At the moment we don't have that information available. As long as the former admiral stays where he is, we can keep a close watch on him, that's why we sent Doran Whain to the Basilisæa. So far our man does an excellent job and with the cooperation of the New Republic our communication with him has become much easier."

The voice of Doran Whain sounded from the audio amplifier.

"Admiral Vestor asked me to tell you that he has had holo meeting with admiral Trevor Matrik. The admiral said he will send further details later so I don't have more information about what admiral Vestor and former admiral Trevor Matrik have been discussing. A shielded message is not uncommon in serious matters, but I've got the impression that admiral Vestor had been overawed. I considered to hack the ship's log, but my mission shouldn't be thwarted. I don't want to raise any suspicion."

"Secondly. Shortly after admiral Vestor had ordered me to inform you about his contact with admiral Trevor Matrik, one of the transport ships of the Basilisæa was launched. It went to the Palomintar System which is forbidden territory. It looks like admiral Vestor has persuaded former admiral Trevor Matrik to return to Coruscant. The transport ship returned not long afterwards. After docking all the crew had been send to their quarters, even the pilot and the crew of the transport ship. After all personal had left the docking bay one other person debarked. Admiral Vestor has accompanied him to one of his private quarters personally. However the holo cams have registered the arrival of the transport ship and the debarking of the last person. There's something very odd about the clothes the person was wearing. He was dressed in a long black cloak with a cowl which shielded his face completely. It reminded me of the attire in which emperor Palpatine always has been depicted. Afterwards nobody on board has seen or met with him."

"Although we're still near the Palomintar System, I have intercepted a command that we are preparing for hyperspace jump."

"In an earlier message I have reported the arrival of another New Republic space craft on Palomintar Four which hasn't left the planet again. I have monitored the landing spot and not long after the unknown person had boarded the Basilisæa I registered movements in the direction of that ship. Zooming in, the images revealed a man wearing the uniform of the New Republic guards of the Wegoyy prison. Shortly afterwards the space ship took off and left Palomintar Four. You should warn Irithim about an illegal visit of some of the Weoyy guards to Palomintar Four."

"This concludes my report for now. I'll come back as soon as I know who has boarded the Basilisæa."

Jerno looked at Kalip and Valann.

"Are things set in motion?" Valann asked, "Will admiral Vestor bring our missing admiral to Coruscant.

"I don't think so," Kalip commented, "What's your opinion, Jerno? A shielded holographic meeting? A person dressed like emperor Palpatine? A Wegoyy guard who seems to have paid a visit to Palomintar Four? Which conclusions can we make."

"Send an intel message via Quoith, Kalip. Irithim has to be warn that Rand Phylotar probably has been seen on Palomintar Four," Jerno said, "Do it as quickly as possible. We know Rand fled the hospital detention department on Irithim and returned to Tropass. There he disappeared together with the space craft carrying the markings of the New Republic. He possibly will return to Wegoyy or Irithim."

Kalip rose and left the meeting, Valann and Jerno waited for his return. As Kalip came back he sat down and immediately asked, what they should do with the other information their undercover agent had send.

"In case admiral Vestor will come back to Coruscant with admiral Trevor Matrik we need to prepare a team to arrest the former admiral and put him in detention." he said.

"The description of the clothes the person was wearing bothers me, Kalip," Valann said, "It resembles the outfit worn by the Siths."

Kalip frowned.

"Are you suggesting that Trevor Matrik might be a Dark Lord?" He asked.

"I don't know, Kalip, but doing research as an historian I have seen many holographic images of Sith lords and they all have one thing in common. A long dark cloak with cowl that shields their face almost completely."

"Excellent, Valann. We must keep your remark in mind. It's known that Trevor Matrik has been a favorite of emperor Palpatine. It is not unlikely that he has adopted some knowledge from the emperor," Jerno said.

"Impossible, Jerno," Kalip said, "The emperor favored Darth Vader who had become a Sith Lord under his tutelage."

"Kalip, emperor Palpatine had many tricks on his sleeve. He was a suspicious man and so was his helper Darth Vader. There always have been many rumors that although Vader behaved submissively, the emperor suspected him of following his own ideas. The emperor assigned Trevor Matrik to Morantan's staff. Why? To keep an eye on Darth Vader? Had the admiral been ordered to report to Palpatine what was going on on Morantan. How did the emperor learn that Darth Vader was teaching his daughter the Sith lore? And I can name many more questions which never have been answered yet. Let's await Doran Whain's further report on board the Basilisæa. He is doing very well."

"I fully agree, Jerno," Valann said, "We certainly have sent the right man to do this job."

"We must reward him after he had made the mission a success. What about a promotion?" Kalip suggested.

Jerno laughed.

"I will think about your suggestion, Kalip. I agree that the Provisional Coruscant Council has to show her respect towards him."

"Went into hyperspace about an standard hour ago. Destination: Endor, forest moon. Connection with Quoith is instable. Connection with Basilisæa might fail."

Kalip immediately rose and hurried through the building to Jerno's office. His co-leader was just escorting a delegation of the trade union to the elevator. Kalip made a special gesture with his hand. Jerno nodded.

"I'll escort our visitors back to their ship. I'll be right back."

Kalip entered Jerno's office and walked over the large windows that looked out on the governmental and administrative area of Coruscant which had been restored to its former glory, but Kalip didn't noticed the splendor of the new architecture. His thoughts were occupied with the alarming message he had received via Quoith.

As Jerno came back he silently handed him the data pad with the message.

"Why did the Basilisæa set course to Endor? How much time is needed to reach Endor through hyperspace from the Palomintar System?" Jerno asked.

"And why did admiral Vestor leave his position in the Outer Rim?" Kalip commented.

"Probably by persuasion of the person admiral Vestor has welcomed on board the Basilisæa?" Jerno mused, reading the alarming message once again.

"If our former admiral Trevor Matrik is residing on Palomintar Four and if it is him who boarded the Basilisæa, then why has admiral Vestor neglected his duties as an officer. He is fully aware of admiral Matrik's desertion. If that person is indeed admiral Trevor Matrik, admiral Vestor should have arrested him the moment he set foot on board the Basilisæa and put him in detention." Kalip said.

"One thing is clear, these two men know that the daughter of Darth Vader has been spotted on Endor. Olon Dendicott raided the planet, but got caught. Could Rand Phylotar have set up another plan to capture the woman. Our agent on the Basilisæa has mentioned the landing of a space craft which left the planet after a few hours. If Rand Phylotar has discussed a plan with our former admiral on this first visit, then it is likely that after the failure of the second attempt to capture the woman admiral Trevor Matrik probably has held Rand Phylotar accountable. Remember that our agent on Wegoyy has reported that Rand Phylotar's space ship suddenly left Tropass space port. We have to contact Irithim and ask our New Republic contact if Rand Phylotar's ship has been intercepted after our recent warning. However it now looks like that admiral Matrik has made a bold plan to go to Endor and bring the woman to Palomintar Four himself. Question is: what did he tell admiral Vestor to persuade him to make use of the Basilisæa. When will our star destroyer enter Endor's orbit?"

While they were discussing the new situation, Kalip had done some calculations about the possible time of arrival.

"If I fed the right information in our computer system, the Basilisæa will reach Endor in about four days. That will leave us enough time to get information from Irithim about the situation on Endor. Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and the daughter of Darth Vader haven't arrived on De'olon space port yet, otherwise we would have gotten that info from our agents at Irithim. So he still might be on Endor guarding the daughter of Darth Vader."

"We better contact Irithim immediately. They probably have some answers to our questions."

Jerno immediately ask a procon contact with the New Republic agent at Irithim. The connection activated fast and at the holo display the image of their contact appeared.

"Yes, admiral?"

Quickly Jerno explained what he has heard from the Basilisæa and the assumptions Kalip and he had made about the aim of the Basilisæa's unexpected travel to Endor."

The holo image listened carefully and nodded about Jerno's concern.

"Admiral, thank you for contacting us. After your recent warning we have intercepted a space ship as it was nearing Wegoyy. The pilot has been arrested and brought to Irithim for further questioning. The Basilisæa is the concern of the Provisional Coruscant Council. The New Republic has no jurisdiction to intercept your star destroyer and question its commander. I will inform Endor space port that your star destroyer might go into orbit around the planet. I also will inform the Supreme Chancellor about the situation. I can assure you that we won't take this lightly. Endor is a member of the New Republic as you know. I suggest that you contact your star destroyer commander immediately and require a full update on the situation. "

"We certainly will do as you suggested and we're aware the responsibility for this new situation is ours, but could you confirm if Jedi Skywalker and miss Solichor have arrived on Dalmaran yet?"

"He hasn't, sir. His sister princess Leia Organa and her padawan had gotten permission from the Supreme Chancellor to visit the Ewoks. She has gone to Endor a few days ago and probably have reached the forest moon by now."

"Can you contact the princess of Alderaan and inform her about the arrival of the Basilisæa. She is a member of the High Council and your Supreme Chancellor's personal advisor, isn't she? Maybe she could get a temporary mandate to order the commander to leave."

"I certainly would love to do that, admiral, but I can only leave the commander at the space the info I got from you. There is no possibility to transmit a message to the Ewoks village"

"We would be obliged if you could inform someone who might know how to get to her, although we aren't sure that she might be able to change to situation."

The holo graphic image nodded.

"I surely will inform Endor space port and leave a message for the princess of Alderaan. If the message will reach her in time she certainly will know what to do."

"Thank your, sir, we will do our part and contact the commander of the Basilisæa as soon as possible"

The connection broke off. Jerno and Kalip looked at each other with concerned faces.

"Valann has already remarked that admiral Vestor is a very ambitious man, as did our man when he arrived on board. Kalip, see if you can establish a connection with admiral Vestor immediately. We need to know why he has left his mission at the Palomintar System and order him to return to the Outer Rim at once."

Meanwhile the Basilisæa has returned to the Outer Rim, but the star destroyer has taken a new position near Palomintar Four. During the return flight no one on board has seen the unknown guest, but once in orbit around Palomintar Four admiral Vestor has accompanied this unknown guest to the planet's surface. After several hours the admiral returned alone, but the Basilisæa is still orbiting the planet," Kalip said, putting down his data pad, "According to a report from our contact at Irithim the admiral has achieved nothing with his flight to Endor, for princess Leia Organa has ordered admiral Vestor to leave Endor's orbit immediately after he had landed on Endor Space port. The princess also has issued an official complaint to the Provisional Coruscant Council, referring to Endor as a member of the New Republic. Have we received the official complaint yet?"

"We have. I will send a respond to Irithim after I have spoken with admiral Vestor. Earlier our agent on board the Basilisæg reported that the admiral would send the details about his meeting with Trevor Matrik. We haven't yet received a report from the admiral, have we? " Jerno asked.

"No, we haven't. There has been no contact between the Basilisæa and Coruscant after we heard about that shielded holo meeting with Trevor Matrik and the ship's voyage to Endor. In his earlier report our contact already had mentioned that admiral Vestor's private communication system was used during the shielded meeting. Those private systems circumvent the main communication center. During the Civil War those systems were used to send the commanders of the star destroyers classified messages and information from the emperor's head quarters, even from the emperor or Darth Vader himself," Kalip said

Jerno looked at Valann and Kalip.

"So Trevor Matrik is familiar with this way of exchanging information. This might cause a serious setback. If the main communication system will be bypassed, because Matrik uses this way to make contact with the Basilisæa's commander, our agent will loose the ability to stay in control of the situation. Kalip, contact our man via Quoith. First of all he has to remind admiral Vestor about his promise to report the details of his meeting with Trevor Matrik immediately, secondly ask him if the Basilisæa's private communication system can be disabled and be direct connected to the main communication system of the ship, if it is used again. Any other news? Valann?"

"Yes, Jerno. I've had an unexpected meeting with princess Leia Organa. She came to Coruscant to request a copy of the personal data on admiral Trevor Matrik which has been recorded in the Imperial Archive. I must say; we had a good conversation and she has shown me this image which she took of Trevor Matrik when he was leaving the shuttle which had landed on Endor's space port."

Valann showed the images Leia had given him. At first Jerno and Kalip looked stunned, but their face became worried as they recognized the former imperial admiral.

Valann continue and gave a overview of his meeting with the princess. He also handed Jerno and Kalip the drawing Ian Tydon had made of Darth Golluth, after he had had a Force vision.

"It seems incredible, but how can an inexperienced padawan make a drawing of Trevor Matrik without ever having met him. What's also surprising, is that the drawing depicts our former admiral in the attire which is the same as on the images the princess had taken on Endor, also just as Major Whain had mentioned in one of his earlier reports. I have checked the original creation date of the drawing which dates back more than a month ago, so we can exclude the idea that Ian Tydon has made the drawing after he had seen the images from the princess. Princess Leia is convinced that Trevor Matrik and Darth Golluth are the same person. Without consulting you two I have handed the princess the content of Trevor's personal file. I think it's good that the government on Dalmaran has some concern about Trevor and his future plans."

"The situation on Palomintar Four is getting more and more complicated. It was my primary intention to keep the intel about our former admiral between the three of us, but now that Irithim has been informed about the admiral's existence, we also have to inform the plenary Provisional Council. Nevertheless it might be an advantage that Irithim also knows that admiral Trevor Matrik is attempting to get the Sith knowledge from Liane Solichor," Jerno said, "Now that both our governments are aware of Trevor's plans, I expect that Irithim will prevent that Liane Solichor will meet Trevor Matrik. Valann, did you tell the princess that it's likely that Liane Solichor has met Trevor Matrik while he was a staff member on Morantan? "

"No, I haven't, but due to the princess' determination to protect her foster-sister, as she called Liane Solichor, she surely will find out that Trevor Matrik has met Liane on Morantan. I also didn't hand her those special files from Palpatine's personal archive concerning Trevor Matrik yet, as no translator droid has managed to decrypt those files."

"Valann, did you really get the impression that the daughter of Darth Vader will be protected when she arrives at Irithim sooner or later." Kalip asked with concern.

Jerno began to laugh, "If I listen to Valann's report, Kalip, there will be more than one Jedi who will protect Liane Solichor, once she arrives on Irithim. The princess seems too much concerned about her foster-sister."

"Admiral, we have received an official complaint from Irithim about your illicit landing on Endor. My question is: why have you gone to Endor without asking permission?" Jerno said, looking at the holographic image of the admiral of the Basilisæa.

"I'd reliable information that the daughter of Darth Vader lives there, sir. As I am aware what kind of danger she is to the peaceful co-existence of our two governments, I decided to go to Endor."

Jerno felt how suspicion against the admiral raised in his mind, but he kept his voice low.

"You landed on Endor Space port without stating the identity of your transport shuttle; what's more the ID-marking of the shuttle was hidden. On the space port you had an unexpected encounter with the special advisor of the Supreme Chancellor, admiral, hadn't you?"

"Yes, sir. I met the princess Leia Organa of the Royal House of Alderaan at the Endor Space port. She denied me permission to look for the dangerous woman, but with your permission I will go back and make other attempt. We must make sure, sir, that the woman never will be able to jeopardize the peace treaty."

More and more Jerno had difficulty to keep his composure.

"Just before you left your position near the Urervik cluster you had a shielded holographic meeting with the person the Provisional Council urgently wants to be transported back to Coruscant: our former admiral Trevor Matrik. You ordered your communication officer to report your meeting to us, promising you would send the details about that meeting afterwards. So far we haven't received that information, admiral. In the official complaint we have received from Irithim there is talk about an unknown passenger accompanying you on Endor. I have a strong suspicion, admiral, that Trevor Matrik has persuaded you to seek Liane Solichor to take her to Palomintar Four.

Jerno increased the magnification of the holographic image and watch the expression of admiral Vestor's face.

"Does the name of Darth Golluth mean anything to you, admiral. Have you pleaded loyalty to Trevor Matrik." Jerno's voice sounded stern and insinuating

"Sir! I deny that accusation. I was about to inform you that Trevor Matrik, now goes by the name of Darth Golluth. "

"Admiral, we send you on a surveillance mission to the Outer Rim to detect the source of several mysterious messages in which the whereabouts of the daughter of Darth Vader were discussed every time. That source wanted the woman to be brought to Palomintar Four and has initiated several attempts to capture her."

"Yes, sir, that's what our former admiral told me. He said, that he wants to exile her on Palomintar Four for the rest of her life, so she wouldn't be a threat to peace treaty. He sounded convincing and honest, but after I had a serious clash with him after I had left Endor's orbit, I got doubts about what he wants of the woman, sir. Explicitly after he kept insisting that he wanted to be addressed as Lord Golluth. I ordered the Basilisæa to go back to the Outer Rim, but I didn't expect that the princess of Alderaan would file an official complaint against the presence of the Basilisæa in Endor's orbit immediately."

"I see her presence on Endor as lucky coincidence for the Provisional Council, admiral, after our new adversary, Trevor Matrik or Darth Golluth, had persuaded you to lay your hands on Liane Solichor. Admiral, are you aware, that your behavior could be interpreted as treason, not to say high treason!"

Admiral Vestor's face became a bit more pale.

"Sir, I... "

"Don't find anymore odd excuses for your action, admiral. Where are you now?"

"In the Outer Rim again, sir. I intended to continue with my surveillance mission."

"Excellent. So you've returned to the Urervik cluster?"

"I was about to reposition the Basilisæa tonight, sir. At the moment she is orbiting the Palomintar System."

"What happened to Trevor Matrik?"

"I ... accompanied ... him back ... Palomintar Four, as was his wish. He expects me to look for the woman and tell him where he can find her."

"Your orders come from Coruscant, admiral, and I order you to stop looking for Liane Solichor. The Jedi Knights of the New Republic will take care of her, as will the Supreme Chancellor, the lady Mon Mothma. Liane Solichor is the concern of the New Republic and not ours. Our task, and yours, is to keep a eye on our former admiral Trevor Matrik who uses an obscure alias now calling himself Darth Golluth. You're continuing with your surveillance mission in the Outer Rim, but you position the Basilisæa closer to the Palomintar System. We expect that Trevor Matrik again will seek contact with you to test your loyalty to him. You will answer any requests he sends you, but you will communicate any actions with us first. Make yourself useful in this way, admiral. You're serving the Provisional Coruscant Council. You're not serving a renegade who wants to betray the peace treaty and who is making plans to become a second emperor."

Jerno abruptly disconnected his holo display and took a deep breath. For several minutes he leaned back in his chair, then he activated the secret connection with the shielded partition on Quoith and left his agent on board the Basilisæa a message with new order.