The Eagle, the mysterious terrorist leader, has finally been located and Jen races to Hutta to catch him before he disappears again. There is however more to the whole thing than was apparent at first sight even without Jen's ouwn conflicted loyalties and the "Eradication day" is getting closer...
(Jen's comments and more bellow the cut)
From Jen's (imaginary) diary...
When I was talking with the Eagle, my feeling we were not so different was stronger than ever before. If I ever suspected our goals may be ultimately the same now it was completely clear. If I ever was unsure about wanting to kill him, now I wanted us to join forces, call off the Eradicator attack and reform the Empire without unnecessary bloodshed.
I still wish it were possible, I wish he had listened to me. I believe he was betrayed even more than we were. And if I am right, the Empire is in much greater danger than we ever thought.
When the Eagle mentioned his patron, a powerfull Imperial unknown even to him, the man who stands behind the terror network and the Eradicators, everything clicked into place. All the pieces and hints, all the nightmares... I must have seen it on some level for a long time but was too distracted to fully realise it.
And now... I must hurry to stop him. If I fail, the whole Empire might burn.
---
I know what I will face on that ship. Keeper and Watcher Two refused to listen to me, but all my instincts speak clearly now.
I insisted on boarding the dreadnaught alone. I don't want to bring Kaliyo or Vector in danger and I feel fighting would achieve nothing anyway. Instead I mean to engage the Sith lord in a duel of minds, just my will against his. I have been preparing for this confrontation during the whole journey, going through all the Jedi teachings I was able to get through the Intelligence archives, learning to meditate and building barriers in my mind to prevent control. Now I can only hope it will be enough.
May the Force be with me.
---
When it was all over and we were safely on the way back to Dromund Kaas, I almost collapsed. Only then did I realise I had been following instinct rather than a real strategy and despite all my determination and confidence before the confrontation, I am surprised I am still alive.
The danger is not yet passed, though. Darth Jadus is still out there, making new schemes, and with him at loose the Empire will never be safe. I feel it is somehow my duty to stop him before he can rebuild and strike again, maybe because I have heard him describe his vision. Keeper may not share my concerns fully, but he understands them and I have been given leave to search for Jadus with unofficial Intelligence backing.
This is however not the only thing I feel as my duty. The Eagle is dead but I am not and some words have weigh even unsaid. Our Empire is suffering and who else is here to protect it?
---
"What? You're serious?" Kaliyo looked like she was going to laugh, but Jen was already getting used to that.
"I thought you wanted me to start thinking for myself," she pointed out.
"I wanted you to tell your bosses where to stick it. Don't you ever get tired of all that talk about service? Even though you might be serious and that would be just sad..."
Jen pretended she didn't hear the last part. She had long given up on getting Kaliyo to understand.
"What do you want to do, anyway?" the Rattataki continued. "Declare war on the Dark Council? Become the new Eagle?"
Jen smiled. "That would be ironic... but it would not work. After all, the great terror network was the work of Jadus, created to terrorize the Empire, not to reform it. This must be done from the inside, from the above if I can somehow get there..."
"...I don't know about inside, but talking about above, what about a ship filled with the biggest bombs the Empire can make crash landing on top of the Dark Council meeting room?" suggested Kaliyo.
Jen rolled her eyes. She wanted to say somehing about civillian casualties or guaranteed consequences of such an action, but this was Kaliyo after all. Instead she said something else. "Remember the Dominator? Darth Jadus was inside and he survived."
"an even bigger bomb?" Kaliyo tried, but then she shrugged. "Let's just keep it as Plan B, ok?"
---
From: Ibellia Ran
Subject: thank you
hello. you wouldn't remember me, but i was on Darth Jadus's ship when you attacked. i was one of the people he invited to the Dominator as his guests.
we all thought we were special. then most of us died and the Master taught us to see the world like he does.
i don't remember most of what happened after that
when you rescued us, the doctors helped me stop hurting myself and other people. i asked about you, and wanted to say thanks.
that's all.
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