Chapter 44: The Dark Apostles
Minerva pulled away after a moment of embrace, then lost interest in the Jedi master and turned to Fama.\ In a voice full of affection, she squealed, “Oh my heart, Fama darling, look how adorable you are in those robes. You must dress like this more often. I demand it.”
Fama blushed and responded, “The Lady looks far more beautiful in her dress.” She then eyed her master as her voice went from dazzled to judgmental, “Master Rey never dresses in anything pretty.”
The vice-chancellor nodded to Saddy, “I know. It's such a shame those old Jedi ancestors deemed pretty clothes improper.” She gave to Rey and continued, “If only there was a pontifex so brave as to change such a terrible tradition.”
Feeling walked over, Rey scowled and grumbled simply, “No.”
Emi spoke up at this with a trace of happiness in her voice, ‘Lady Organa would look beautiful no matter what kind of clothes she wears.”
The woman waved a hand at the cyborg and spoke playfully, “Emi, stop, you’ll make me blush.” She stepped over and hugged the cyborg endearingly as she added, “You’ve done so well this past week. I'm sincerely grateful for your efforts.”
Rey wouldn't have been surprised if sparks had shot out from the cyborg computer interface, given the look on the young woman's face. It held a mixture of intense emotions, a sweet combination of elation, admiration, and affection. Emi barely managed to respond, “Of course, my lady, anything for you.”
Minerva pulled away with a warm mother expression and looked over the group, “Tonight, you three shall stay with me. We need people to view the Jedi as important again, and the best way to do that is to have you seen around important people.” She hesitated, then added, “But let Emi and I handle the talking. One wrong word tonight could really mean the start of a new war.”
Rey nodded while Fama swallowed nervously, “That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say.”
The Vice-Chancellor laughed quietly at this and placed a hand on the Jedimaster’s shoulder, “Dearest, you’ve been amazing this last week. All your efforts these last few days have truly made a difference. I don't think another Jedi could have done so well.” She considered and added, “Laia perhaps, but certainly not Luke; he was such a graceless boy.”
Rey felt warmth spread inside her; she could tell by the woman's eyes and tone that these were not just empty words. The satisfaction that came from winning Minerva's praise made Emi’s giddy behavior much more rational. At the same time, this feeling was accompanied by a growing feeling of self-confidence and worth. Master Luke had claimed his biggest failure while training new Padawans was because he allowed himself to be lulled into the illusion of being a legend. Rey didn't know what he had meant until the last few years. Everyone believed in her blindly, believing she had overcome such huge obstacles. And despite destroying Star Killer Bass and killing Palpatine, she actually felt much wiser or more capable as a person or Jedi. Since then, she had been searching for a sign that she was not just a legend, an illusion of greatness, but a relay agent of change that could better the Galaxy. Now she felt like all her struggles, her lesions, and her forts were now bearing fruit and being recognized. It was truly a good feeling.
The Jedi Master bowed her head to Minerva, then modded to Emi while responding, “It's all because I had wonderful teachers.”
Minerva blushed slightly at this, and while Emi’s expression was unchained, Fama spoke up and added, “I think I have a pretty wonderful teacher.”
Rey was taken by surprise by these words but smiled and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder as their group laughed. Their happy atmosphere was sadly interrupted by a cold voice, “I hope I'm not interrupting something.”
Their group of four turned to face an older man in a neat grey uniform and dark hair. He was shorter but carried himself with such authority that he seemed very big. Minerva responded quickly and politely, “Not at all, Admiral Adolfus. In fact, we were just about to stroll around and make introductions.”
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The man's eyes were even colder than his voice, while his skin was so pale he resembled a walking corpse. He looked Rey and Fama up and down intensely while responding, “No doubt my comrade Admiral Primidian would be first on that list.”
Minerva rolled her eyes nonchalantly before responding, “You always have to know everything, don't you.” She then smiled and went on, “As a matter of fact, he was high on my list. Being the fan of Jedism that he is, it would be a wasted opportunity to not entice him a little bit.”
Admiral Adolfus considered the hen with brown eyes that contained passive hints of cruelty before responding, “Indeed, that would be your only reason to meet with him, would it.”
Although his words said one thing, his eyes and deminer had another. Rey could sense he was fishing for information and trying to read both her and Padawan's reactions. It took a great deal of effort, but he managed to plaster a calm and ugly expression on her face that did not waver. Minerva waved dismissively and chimed, “Why do you have to always beat around the bush like you do? Women don't like such coy men. How are you going to find a wife?”
The Admiral didn't reveal anything, but Rey could sense he was growing irritated as he responded, “I've managed well without a wife till now, though I thank you for your concern.” Impassively, he turned to Rey and changed subjects, “I actually came over to meet your new friend here. I've heard all about the famous Rey Skywalker.”
Minerva gained a confused expression and responded, “I'm afraid you can’t marry her Jedi Code and all that nonsense. But I do know some rather nice ladies from…”
In a burst of fiery anger, he managed to shout while barely raising his volume, “Would you stop with that, you insufferable?”
He clutched his right hand into a fist and held back while the Vice-Chancellor cupped her cheek with a hand and responded, “I'm so sorry; I didn't realize I had struck a nerve.” She then gestured to Rey calmly and said, “Allow me to introduce my god friend Rey Skywalker and her Padawan fama. I've been providing them with some political guidance now that Jedism is the State Religion of the New Republic.”
His rage disappeared from his face quite quickly, and Rey had to admire his self-control. On the other hand, in this verbal spar, it was clear that Minerva had held the upper hand since the beginning. The Admiral had come snooping for information but gotten knocked off his guard by a rather childish trick that targeted a personal weakness. On top of an evidently short temper, he had never stood a chance. The Jedi Master wished that she had a notepad to jot down what she learned from her mentor's awesome political skills as well as some popcorn to munch on while watching the ex-imperial get his butt kicked.
The man raised an eye and tried to counter, “To think your government would tie itself together so closely with known terrorists. This will certainly make negotiations more difficult. You see, my kin and I avoid affiliation with such people…”
Right as the man finished speaking, screams erupted from somewhere in the ballroom, followed swiftly by several explosions that appeared to come from the ceiling. In mere seconds, the entire hall was thrown into chaos as figures descended from the holes blasted in the ceiling. Rey instinctively pulled Fama towards her while Minerva pulled the two of them and Emi towards herself at the same time. Once together, they swiftly turned, so their backs were against each other.
As the smoke from the explosions cleared, an alarm began to blare; however, louder than this, the voice of an older man could be heard. As if the words were being transmitted directly to people's minds, the entire crowd of delegates heard his decree:
“Your feeble attempts at peace will fail. We, the true believers in his holiness, the Emperor, will never yield. The Empire will rise again, the True Emperor will rise again, and all who rise will be killed. Fellow believers in the Empire do not heed these naysayers. Join us, the Dark Apostles, in our quest for vengeance. These halls are filled with nothing but hypocrisy and traitors. Believe not the lies that they weave to trap you; believe not the description of the Jedi; only we, the followers of the great Order of Sith, offer truth. Now rejoice as these scum will soon be eradicated. There is no place that they can hide where we will not find them, for we are everywhere. We offer our deceived allies one final chance at redemption. Join us or be destroyed along with the terrorist Republic, couput Corporations, and terrorist Jedi. From the ashes of their world, the Empire will be reborn .”
As this monolog ended, the last of the smoke cleared, revealing two men in blood-red cloaks over black robes floating in the air a hundred or so feet off from the center of the room. Roughly a dozen or so other red-robed individuals had also infiltrated the area and intermingled with the crowd. Of the two floating men, one was short and stout, while the other was tall and appeared rather buff. The short one pointed to Rey, who had managed to lock eyes on them, and it was revealed that he was the one who had been talking as he finished, “Today we will set an example for what happens when we are resisted.”
The man's tall companion fell to the ground and raced forward with incredible speed. In a mere moment, he had ignited a crimson lightsaber blade and cut off the head of Nute Gunray III. Rey’s blood ran cold at the sight of this as her work nightmare came true before her eyes.