"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 said, "but we would like to be informed of any interference. In advance, if possible. It will be our main objective to avoid any further unnecessary casualties. This peace treaty garantees that all officers and ground forces of the former imperial forces will no longer be treated as enemies. We shall announce a general statement, that all our former imperial forces who are still roaming the galaxy should surrender themselves to the New Republic's army voluntarily. After their voluntary surrender they will be brought to Coruscant with a safeguarded transport without being questioned."

"We fully support those wishes, admiral. We assure you that we will fully cooperate with this agreement, " The balding man answered politely with a nod, "I'll see to it personally, that your intel force 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, that 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 and nodded at the high-ranking officer and his second man with a friendly smile.

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 might have 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 homeplanet, Morantan, is insignificant and a long way off, besides we too doesn't have first hand knowledge about her. Her name and her relation to Darth Vader was mentioned only once in a secret report of the emperor's rare 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 doens't exist any holographic image of the woman."

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

"Intel has confirmed, that after the Battle of Endor 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 force. Why has no one informed the staff of Morantan about the aftermath of our lost Battle near Jakku. "

"As I said, Morantan is a too remote and insignificant planet. It has no access to the main hyperlanes 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 bothered about their own safety. Besides, Darth Vader's stronghold on Morantan was a well-kept secret even for the emperor's personal advisor. After the collapse of the empire the members of our council got hold, by chance, 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 an outpost 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, since the founding of the New Republic, their space fleet has already been investigating several of the Outer Rim clusters in the Morantan region. Can you imagine, what will happen, if the New Republic gets info about Vader's stronghold on Morantan? They certainly will investigate and likely expel any imperial existence which might pose a danger to their peace plans and the peace treaty we signed with them. Our undercover agent on the planet has reported that the Morantan officers on duty and their ground force are still willing to defend the stronghold at all costs against any invasion of the Rebel Alliance. The 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 "

"If the New Republic space fleet will invade Morantan to wipe out this pocket of resistance, we must avoid that the daughter of Darth Vader will become of any concern to our government, Kalip. Although I want as many of our former officers and ground forces to be brought back to Coruscant without trial, that 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 still have a strong believe in the existence of the empire, so there will be no way for us to interfere. Sending the Basilisæa to support the New Republic's space fleet might create a new precedent, for it remains to be seen whether the New Republic will accept any support of our remaining space fleet. If the woman survives the invasion of the New Republic forces, she probably will taken prisoner and brought to Irithim first. As the person 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. In that case she will be put on trial and sentenced according to the New Republic's law. And if they do, 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 is highly unlikely. It's against the New Republic's ideology to deliberately expel opponents without a trial. Once again their vision is based on peace and justice, like it was in the Old Republic according to the ideology of the Jedi Order, although the order doesn't have any influence at the moment. I expect, that after a trial 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 officers about the woman, the knowledge she has gained from Darth Vader and the possible threat that poses from her."

"Of course we should do, Kalip. 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 Darth Vader's stronghold and his Sith 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 imperial destroyers that unexpectedly vanished into hyperspace, just after our defeat in the Battle of Jakku. Intel suggests that the two commanders have joined the Alliance, but we haven't got any information from their side about our star destroyers defecting to their fleet. After the Battle on Endor similar desertions happened. Intel is still investigating their disappearance."

"Those two star destroyers were kept 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. With the imperial government and military staff already in complete disarray and chaos after the Battle of Endor the joined military chiefs weren't able to trace the destination of those star destroyers. Our failing intel force reported too many deserters among the officers and crew members of the imperial fleet, even among those who had pledged their 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 advisors have survived the Battle of Jakku. They managed to return to Coruscant, among them commander Vestor who we nominated to get a promotion to the rank of admiral, for he was the only one capable of taking the command on our only fully equipped imperial super star destroyer Basilisæa. The council ordered him to gather as much ships of our fleet as he could trace 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 have eliminated 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 star 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 ten heavily damaged small destroyers, three star destroyers which were under maintenance at the time of the Battle of Jakku and only super star destroyer, the Basilisæa, which still was under construction as our fleet was drawn into the space battle near Jakku. It has an understaffed crew of barely trained junior officers and only one squadron 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, and 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."

Meanwhile on Coruscant the three high-ranking officers who had presented themselves as the leaders of the Provisionary Coruscant Council after the Battle of Jakku, held a secret meeting in a secret briefing room in the Council's building.

"Our intelligence force might have found some small leads about one of those missing star destroyer and their crew, Jerno," Kalip Ru'undo said, looking at the others.

"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 Basilisaea 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 Basilisaea, 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 Basilisaea 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 Basilisaea 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 Basilisaea 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.

Jerno, Kalip and Valann were standing on the terrace of the former imperial government building, looking out over the city planet. Everywhere they saw the remnants of the devastation that had been commissioned during the emperor's reign.

"It will never be as beautiful as in the time of the Old Republic," Valann mused, "Too much has been destroyed forever."

"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 the ruins of 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 in 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 whom he has trained 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, but the annihilation of the Jedi Knights 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 as disintegrated due to a strange cause. The fate of the other ship is still a mystery. The Jedi Knights might found 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, although 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 their law suit 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 of a 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 programm. 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 might be a coincidence, but there might an explanation for the disappearance of both ships," Jerno said thoughtful.

His companions looked at him inquisitively.

"What I think that 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 it was assumed that most of the imperial staff, including those admirals, hadn't survived, as almost our complete fleet was destroyed, but recently I found an old holo recording in the archived data collection, which one of the admirals has sent from the moon of Avali, shortly after the end of the battle. The message dates back around the same time as the two star destroyers disappeared from Jakku's orbit. The holo message was a bit garbled, but the admiral mentioned that the star destroyer on which he was in charge, 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 reply and ordered him that he must return to Coruscant with his crew and the surviving stormtroopers for further questioning. In his reply 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 transport him and his men to Coruscant. The Coruscant intelligence command center confirmed the reply. 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 have frequently 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 is certain beyond doubt, that the star destroyer with the ID-markings mentioned by the admiral in his conversation with Coruscant has never returned to Coruscant. So far, all contact calls, orders and further investigation have come to a dead end, until recently, two years after the 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 the same 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 indeed be a lead, Jerno. Our intelligence 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. Later the emperor has personally assigned him as a member of the commanding staff on Morantan and strategic advisor of Darth Vader. He spent many years on Morantan, but returned to Coruscant frequently to report to the emperor at regular intervals about Darth Vader's plans and progress. Through his reports the emperor learned about the existence of Darth Vader's daughter."

"Talking about Morantan and mentioning Darth Vader's reminds me of the danger her existence might have 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, it is as Valann and I expected. The New Republic is planning an attack on Morantan at short notice, just as I told you," Kalip Ru'undo said, as he walked into the secret briefing room of the government building, "Here is the report our intelligence force has received from their agent via the secured procon system on Quoith. It says that an attack is important and unavoidable, due to the danger the former stronghold of Darth Vader still represents to to peace process in the systems in the Outer Rim."

Jerno took the datapad and leaned back in his chair to read the report. After reading he put down the datapad 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 agent seems to be very grateful for the information we provided The report says they will take Vader's daughter into custody, and they are sure they have found the right way to keep her under control. Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker is assigned to arrest the woman during the invasion of Morantan. She will be transported to Irithim and held indefinitely. "

"Do you really think, that Jedi Skywalker 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, using her knowledge of the Sith, Kalip, but it's up to the New Republic now has to cope with her and her evil knowledge. 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 should ask the New Republic's contact to keep us informed about all the measure they want to take to keep her under control and prevent that she will jeopardize the peace treaty."

"Please get in touch with their contact, Kalip, but in my opinion a Jedi Knight is quite capable of using his special strength to subdue that young Sith woman to his will and authority that she cannot use the evil knowledge that Darth Vader taught her. "

"She has escaped! I warned you she was up to something. She's a Sith, full of evil knowledge," A exasperated Kalip said, tossing a datapad on Jerno's desk, "Now we are dealing again with a Sith at large in the galaxy. She escaped from the Irithim detention building and is now on the run together with a discontented senator, his militia and a group of supports. The senator has many grievances against the Supreme Chancellor. Our undercover agents in Irithim have heard rumors that he intends to commit a coup and take over the administration of the New Republic. This is a serious matter, Jerno. It's clear that those who would ensure that that Sith woman couldn't do any harm, have failed. For instance, that Jedi Knight who was supposed to keep an eye on her, wasn't in Irithim at all at the moment of her escape. Our agent noticed the arrival of his space ship at the space port of De'olon shortly before the ship with the senator, his minions and that Sith vanished into space. If their insurgence is successful, we have a serious problem, Jerno. We'd better seek contact via Quoith with their agent or, even better with the Supreme Chancellor herself, so we can work out a strategy together how we could capture that dangerous Sith woman again. Maybe we should advice the Supreme Chancellor to use the death sentence for once."

"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 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 holoscreen 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 partner."

On Coruscant Jerno, Kalip and Valann were in a meeting with the other members of the Provisional Coruscant Council, when one of the members, a greying captain came in late.

"Dokanta on Ortel is under siege. There seems to be a fight going on between the space forces of the New Republic and the militia of the senator of Ortel. The New Republic has send the Tychorion and a number of other frigates of their fleet to go into orbit around Ortel. They have transported ground forces to Ortel's surface for an assault at Dokanta," The officer said, before he sat down.

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 five frigates and a number of X-wing space crafts bearing the insignia 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 rule 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 d'état is not for sure," Kalip answered, "We didn't received any formal information from the New Republic itself. Our intelligence force 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 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 have 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 leadership and government 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 and asked them to keep us informed about any new developments."

chapter 10 7 jaar + 10 maand - 2 jaar en 10 maand na de Battle of Jakku

chapter 11 7 jaar + 11 maand - 2 jaar en 11 maand na de Battle of Jakku