Dark Resurrection

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

Cold Hell, that’s what the officers stationed in the Pyramid called the planet. The Pyramid was the impenetrable, imperial fortress, shielded by a force field, from which Emperor Zail reigned in self-imposed isolation.

The observatory was a vast, circular room with a low ceiling and a transparensteel walkway around half its perimeter. Through the polymer, one could gaze down onto a frightening outer world: high sharp peaks and deep icy canyons covered the unwelcoming planet. A white and grey hellscape, sempiternally ravaged by storm winds.

Commander Pall Gilgard frequently went to ponder in that room in the base. The raging blinding white snow sizzled as it evaporated on the energy shield while his mind meandered through the folds of time. He arrived there after his last mission, his umpteenth monster hunt. They had slaughtered about ten Beths, slender creatures with grey fur and long necks that never put up much of a fight. It was a small colony that had escaped the Empire-sanctioned purge and he, being a natural born hunter, was able to uncover their tracks and successfully guess the location of their hiding place in just a few weeks. The hunt for non-humans had long ceased to be a challenge. Just a few species had avoided extermination, and the surfacing of sparse survivors was little more than a tedious routine he would happily leave his underlings to deal with. As if that very prayer had been answered, his superiors ordered his transfer to the heart of the Empire: the base inside, which Emperor Zail had sequestered himself to hide from terrorist attacks and attempts on his life for the past ten years, dominating the galaxy from behind hundreds of arns of the best alloy known to man and two state-of-the-art, fortress-wide energy shields.

Lieutenant Alexy, an extremely pale skinned woman with ice blue eyes, joined him in the observatory. She held a data pad in her hand containing precious information. The woman greeted him with a stiff salute and clicked her heel on the floor with a sharp noise. Their eyes met for a brief second, then she averted hers. The intimate relationship they had a long time before would not interfere with their present duty as Imperials.

“Urgent report incoming from a colony in the Urah system, Sir.”

She gave the data pad to the commander with a gesture befitting more an android than a human. Pall grabbed the little grey device with a show of insolence. But as he stared at the data, his face lit up. Maybe the opportunity to leave the frozen rock and return to hunting had just been presented to him. The hunt for something far more dangerous and challenging than a Beth.

“Have these images been verified? Is this really them?”

“We were only able to identify Zui Mar. He’s a Master from the Order of Akiah, but we believe they’re together, Sir.”

A satisfied grin spread across Pall’s craggy face.

“I want a planetary orbital blockade!”

“We have three cruisers in a nearby star system. I’ll have them leave, immediately.”

The woman lingered for a second. “Sir, do you want me to alert the Emperor?”

“I’ll inform him myself, Lieutenant. You’re dismissed.”

She raised her glance in search of a long-extinguished flame... never would they again share the warmth of another night together. She swiftly straightened herself and exited the observatory at a brisk pace.

Emperor Zail was alerted that the Commander was seeking audience, but it took two hours before he agreed to see Pall. When the Commander went through the last security gate into the throne room, he felt chills slashing up his spine like icy blades.

Zail had his back turned to him and was facing a holographic cube. The device was projecting a solar system with five planets and numerous moons orbiting a red dwarf. A new star system under the t****l of the Empire.

“You wanted to speak to me, Commander Gilgard?” the Emperor asked with a firm voice.

Pall looked at him. The supreme leader of the galaxy was a bundle of nerves darting beneath thin, wrinkly skin. He was slender and straight in his old Grand Admiral uniform on which, in place of the collar patches indicating his rank, two golden circles decorated the neck and the sides of the shoulders.

“The fugitives... we’ve located them, so I’m asking for permission to lead the team that will bring them in, your Highness.”

Zail turned just enough to give him a piercing, surly stare.

“Capture them? I haven’t given such an order. I simply want them dead.”

His booming voice was still echoing through the chambers when the Emperor went back to concentrating on the hologram before him.

“As you wish, your Highness!” He hesitated a few seconds... “Does this mean I am authorized to proceed?”

“You are, Commander, but Lord Sorran must assist you in the hunt.”

That name unsettled him. Pall ignored the reverential fear the Emperor raised in him and, albeit unsteady, his voice found its way out of his throat.

“Your Highness, believe me, we do not need the help of that being...”

The Emperor turned, shooting a disapproving look at the commander. A preemptive strike to vanquish any rising objection.

“You can’t know that for sure, Commander. You’ve never dealt with Guardians of the old Republic. I have!”

Pall could say no more. Reluctantly, he swallowed the bitter pill and bowed, nodding to his superior.

“At your orders, your Highness,” he answered before being dismissed.

The magnetic doors slammed shut behind him, sealing off the throne room.

Zail had lied, and Pall was well aware of it. Sorran had never been an ally of the Empire. Their respective objectives had just simply sometimes aligned. The truth was that the Emperor held power over the entire galaxy, but he had no influence over the Dark Lord.

Pall tried to rejoice in his partial victory. Yes, he would have to share the battlefield with that repulsive, unpredictable creature, but he was about to finally leave Cold Hell. A smile appeared on his face while his eyes reflected the light of the control room from where he would plan the demise of the fugitives.