Darth Vader was riding a swoop across Tatooine once again.
By now, he had realized that this was yet another Force vision, one of those maddening glimpses that tormented him with scenes from the past or futures that had never come to pass.
He sped across the desert, accelerating and weaving through complex turns as though he were once more preparing for the Boonta Eve Classic of his childhood.
Unlike his other visions, however, he found himself reluctant to leave this one.
He did not understand what the stubborn Force was trying to show him.
For a few fleeting moments, he could feel his hands again.
He could surrender himself to speed.
He could forget the horror that fed upon him every day, the horror that had shaped him into a Sith Lord.
For those brief moments, he allowed himself to drift into sensations long forgotten, and there, brushing against his consciousness, he felt the distant spirit of the Light Side.
The startled Sith Lord’s eyes snapped open.
The vision shattered.
He tumbled from his meditation sphere and crashed heavily onto the floor.
Rage immediately surged back into him.
Dark Side energy burst outward, and the entire Star Destroyer trembled beneath the release.
“Lord Vader, my lord,” came the somewhat shaky voice of the ship’s captain through his comlink, “we have reached the target.
You should see this.” The former Anakin Skywalker remained motionless until the mechanisms of the meditation sphere adjusted several components of his life-support armor that had shifted during the undignified fall following the vision.
The Dark Side flooded him again, washing away the faint trace of Light that had lingered after his imaginary ride across Tatooine.
Vader seethed.
Some surviving Jedi had found a way, however infrequently, to intrude upon his mind and send him these visions, twisting his memories of childhood.
If Qui-Gon Jinn had truly discovered a path back into the world of the living, then he would have to be hunted down and cast back into the abyss.
But first there was another matter, one that might lead him toward solving the new mystery.
The Sith Lord strode toward the bridge of the Death, his Imperial-class Star Destroyer and flagship of his personal fleet.
Six Star Destroyers.
All answerable to him alone.
His personal Death Squadron.
He could never be entirely certain of the loyalty of every member among the tens of thousands serving aboard his ships, but he continued striving toward that goal, ruthlessly eliminating anyone Palpatine assigned to monitor him.
No one knew the greatest secrets of Darth Sidious’s apprentice.
Those who had glimpsed his hidden apprentice rarely survived long afterward.
Even his own private Inquisitorius, operating alongside the official one through the mechanisms of Imperial bureaucracy and the fear Dark Side adepts inspired in both civilian administrators and military officers, attracted little attention.
People had long since learned that asking questions was hazardous to their health.
That did not prevent unusually high mortality rates among officers who happened to be loyal to the Emperor or otherwise useless aboard Death Squadron vessels.
His squadron.
Awaiting him on the bridge alongside Fleet Commander Admiral Piett were five individuals who ordinarily should not have been aboard the Death at all.
Five official Inquisitors.
Subordinates of Grand Inquisitor Hydra, Palpatine’s obedient attack dog who worked tirelessly to conceal his past.
Vader knew exactly who the former acolyte was beneath the alias, the man Darth Sidious had appointed after the death of Laddinare Torbin.
When the opportunity arose, Vader fully intended to replace him with someone more competent and considerably less loyal to the Emperor.
“We have reached the objective, my lord,” Admiral Piett reported as Vader took his place.
“The planet is significantly better defended than intelligence suggests.
Five Golan Space Defense Platformss are concentrated in a single sector.
Under their protection are a Munificent-class Separatist star frigate, five Recusant-class light destroyers, a Venator-class Star Destroyer, escort forces…” “There is nothing here that you cannot handle, Admiral,” Vader rasped.
“Clear me a landing zone.
The one I seek is there.
I can feel it.” The planet Asmeru lay on the edge of the Senex Sector in the Mid Rim.
Covered in mountains, deserts, and ancient ruins, it possessed little of note.
It had never interested the Old Republic, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, or the Galactic Empire.
Shortly before the Clone Wars, the Jedi Order had crushed some group of rebels fighting the Trade Federation there.
Perhaps the survivors had retained knowledge of this forgotten world.
That still did not explain the large fleet of Separatist warships in orbit, nor the presence of multiple Golan stations.
For the moment, however, none of that mattered.
Once the Jedi infestation on this planet had been burned away, answers would follow.
Vader turned his attention to the five Inquisitors waiting for orders.
He had brought them specifically to prevent any of the numerous Jedi hiding on the planet from escaping his judgment.
Most of them would eventually die.
Some were too loyal to Sidious.
Others were simply useless.
Yet one among them held a particular promise.
A blue-skinned Rutian Twi’lek woman, Palpatine’s personal bedslave whom the Emperor was grooming as one of his Hands.
A grim Zabrak who clearly possessed the instincts of a hunter.
A tall Korun woman, the only one present carrying a double-bladed saber staff.
A Miraluka male.
And an otherwise unremarkable bald human who was likely another of Palpatine’s trackers, trained by one of the countless intelligence organizations woven throughout the Empire.
They would be sufficient for dealing with the lesser prey.
Former younglings.
Former Padawans.
All of them drawn to the Jedi Master hiding in the world below.
While they handled the rabble, Vader would pursue the true target.
“The ancient ruins serving as the rebels’ headquarters are protected by Separatist proton cannons dating back to the Clone Wars,” Piett continued, evaluating the tactical situation.
“Additionally, the planet possesses a significant number of reactivated battle droids and local rebel forces.
I recommend beginning our landing operations south of the enemy’s effective firing zone, then advancing overland toward the primary base.” “Inform Veers to prepare the ground assault as soon as conditions permit,” Vader ordered.
“The five of you will lead the vanguard.” The Sith Lord already knew the losses would be severe.
There was no avoiding that when facing an opponent capable of Battle Meditation.
Still, he had long since stopped mourning subordinates or concerning himself with casualties.
The lives of lesser beings held no value for him anymore.
The only thing that mattered was that another Master of the fallen Jedi Order would soon be cast into the abyss before he could interfere again.
And perhaps among the corpses of his enemies he would finally find answers to the questions that haunted him.
For now, however, the battle had only just begun.
There was still time to review the latest report from his source.