As always, thank you for all your support. V'reenda stood before the Master as she heard Payne and Byrnn tell the two of feeling the heavy Force usage that alerted them that something was amiss at her home. They'd seen her leave, and both knew that Saber could not know how to use that kind of power yet. Hopping into Payne's speeder, they raced to the tower. There they'd found Saber on the floor, her clothes still smoking from the attack. When she's told them what had happened, Payne went to the training room. Scattered about the floor lay the bloody remains of the thief. "Fortunately, the holocron was still hidden in your bedroom," Payne said with a quick nod. "I guess we're going to have to find somewhere else to hide it." "No," The Master cut him off. "It is safe where it is." "But Master," Byrnn spoke up. "They will try for it again." "No, they'll have far more pressing matters to attend to," He glanced off to the side and waved Darth Dunsany, the commander of their new fleet, over to them. "Yes, my Master?" "Dunsany, we have your first target for our new ships. You are to proceed to Korriban. There you are to destroy everything in orbit. Then take out all the ships on the ground you can find. And last of all, I want you to see how strong the shields are over that damned citadel of theirs." "I have the feeling that their shields will not be strong enough," Dunsany was now grinning. "Well, let's hope not." "Unbelievable!" Payne spat on the walkway. "After all that begging the bastards did to get this truce, and this is what they do? It didn't even last a month." "Well, they are going to find that we are stronger," The Master gave a short laugh. "If they don't behave, I'll see to it that an annonymous message will come before the Grekah Grand Council, telling them of the Sith hiding on Korriban. I imagine the sight of the entire Grekah race coming after them will help them to see the error of their ways. Just before they're wiped out." "Let's hope the Grekah never find out that we're Sith," V'reenda said. "Otherwise we'll suffer the same fate as the Forn," The Master gave Darth Dunsany his leave to go, and asked Payne and Byrnn to leave as well. V'reenda glanced nervously at the Sith Lord who stood before her in his armor. He'd spent much of the day in combat training, as had she. All who followed him were required to do so. "I sense that you wanted to talk about something," He then cocked his head slightly. "But that you didn't want the others to hear." "Yes. I was going to ask permission to go to Coruscant." "What's on Coruscant, besides your mother?" "I think I can find my people," V'reenda briefly told the Master what Saber had told her the day before. "Well it would make you an even more powerful Sith if you were to find out what you are capable of doing. And the ability to connect to a computer would make you even more devastating at infiltration. So go to Coruscant. Meet with these people." "Thank you, Master." "But you'll have to take this 1300 here," The Master gestured to the ship they stood next to. "I'm afraid the 2000 was destroyed this morning, when a gun on one of our new ships misfired." Two hours later, the Master stood with his friend Darth Payne and watched the freighter as it disappeared from view. "You do remember that The Seer said that the odds are even that V'reenda and Saber will turn against us," Payne said, reminding their leader of the visions of Darth Oroul. "I know. But sometimes you have to take a chance. Besides, one vision showed her leading us to victory and rulership of the galaxy. A rule that would last twenty thousand years," Darth Mateessa then turned to his friend. "But the other showed that, even if they do turn against us, that our power will be increased." "Well, I'll trust you in this," Darth Payne replied with a smile. "You've been at this for more than three thousand years. I'm only sixty eight. And what of this holonews report that Jedi Master Mulk Uriss was seen on Coruscant?" "I've seen it. That was the Mazuran who was once my apprentice, Arcoud." Moff Sata Kinter watched as two of his fellow Moffs sped toward him on speeder bikes. Verou Panaka rode in on his garish red jet bike, while Deggro Serro rode an illegal Kerou Razur. The older man smiled when he saw what the two men were wearing. "Moff Panaka, you look like a smuggler in that outfit." The Moff for the Koshu sector said with a laugh. He then turned to Serro. "And as for you. I think Gith Seergah would finally be happy if he saw you in that Moff's uniform." "No he wouldn't." Serro chuckled. "He'd say I was mocking him." "Well, are you mocking him?" Panaka asked. "You can't mock a man who's not here." "Yes," Kinter smiled. "And just where is Gith anyway? I've not seen him in three days." "That's because he's returned to Burlyn." Serro stated curtly. "What's he doing there?" Panaka demanded. "It's a two day trip for him to get to Bastion. We have a meeting slated for this afternoon." "Gith Seergah has returned home and declared himself Emperor!" The short man spat out the words. Kinter and Panaka stood in shock for a second before laughing. "Good!" Panaka almost shouted. "That means he's no longer a Moff. We can kill him now." "Good luck with that." Serro quiped. "We've found out what he's been doing in the Shezou system. He's built a new shipyard. State of the art. He has ten Stardestroyers under construction right now. A new, more powerful class called the Legacy. As well as another Executor class ship." "What the hell is that man's obsession with those damn ships?" Kinter asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "The idiot could build twenty or more Stardestroyers with the materiel needed to build that thing." "Maybe he's compensating for something," Verou grinned. "We could ask the new Mrs Seergah. Did he take her with him?" "No," Degro said grimly. "Her body was found in his residence. Shot once in the face." "Fucking psycho!" Kinter spat. "And that's not all. He also took the personnel and equipment from cloning facility #1." Panaka's face tensed. "And what of the special guests that were being kept there?" "He took them. All two hundred eight of the Super Soldier children. as well as the girl Sara Dragos. One of the doctors managed to escape his Stormtroopers. She said the girl was pregnant again." "Shit!" Panaka exploded with rage with that last part. "They are going to kill that girl!" Some of the Stormtroopers that were patroling the area stared momentarily before resuming their duties. "How would getting her pregnant kill her?" Kinter asked. "They give her a drug that accellerates her gestation period." Degro said. "But the thing is, it ages her about ten years. And she's been impregnated twice already." "Did that happen to all the girls in that program?" The elderly man asked, stunned at this information. "Yes," The shortest of the Moffs stared into nothingness for several moments. "We need those kids. Returning them is one of the conditions of the peace treaty. And that prick knew this. And what's even worse, is that he now has ten thousand Spaarti tanks." "You can tell them about it when you arrive on coruscant," Panaka said. "I'm glad they gave you permission to take the remains of your father and his four brothers to Manda'yaim for burial. Are you going to wear that Beskargam of your's?" "Of course! My mother saw to it that my brother Murgo, my sister Tanna, and I were raised as Mandalorians," Degro said. A sad expression fell over his face. "I just wish my father could have known that my mother was pregnant with my sister when he died." This ends chapter 9: Ships Of The Line.