Imperial times- Coruscant

Tarik sniffled for a few seconds longer, then climbed back into the secret passages. He sat inside the narrow passage for a moment, rubbing at his tear-streaked cheeks. A sharp tug in the back of his mind made him yip in surprise.

Get up here now! a voice ordered telepathically. He scrambled up the steps as quickly as he could, ignoring his own indignation at being summoned like that.

Follow and shut up, then maybe it'll be okay, he thought, racing through the passages and back to the throne room. He tripped over the top step on the passage outside the throne room, falling with a thump and a yip onto the cold duracrete floor. He lay still for a moment, fighting to catch his breath.

The edge of a dark colored robe and a pair of shoes entered his peripheral vision.

"I told you to stay put," the emperor said coldly, glaring down at him. He turned and walked out of the passage and back into the throne room without another word. Tarik exhaled loudly, exhausted.

A sharp yank on his mind dragged him to his feet to follow. He limped into the room after the emperor, the growl he'd been trying to vocalize fading from his throat before he could make it.

I am not your pet, he hissed silently, glaring at the dark-robed figure with blazing orange eyes. The Emperor paused, looking back over his shoulder at Tarik, a strange smirk on his face. He turned and kept walking. It took Tarik a second to realize what had happened. He hadn't just thought it, in his exhaustion and annoyance he'd actually accidentally broadcast the thought to him.

He knew.

He finally knew Tarik's secret. Tarik had just blown any chance he might have had of escaping with his life. That single slip had finally confirmed what the shriveled old man had suspected for a long time. Tarik had learned how to use his abilities.

It was over.

---------------

Half the galaxy away, on a ship above a planet who's name she couldn't pronounce, Mina Ryan was in her quarters, freezing.

"Got it," Derek said, pulling his hand out of the portable thermal generator's service panel. The room started to warm up even with the meager effort of the little room-heater.

"Oh, much better," Mina said sarcastically.

"Well, at least it's working again," Derek said, pulling his gloves back on.

"Wanna remind me how we got picked for explorer duty this time?" Mina said, wrapping her arms around herself and shivering.

"Well, gee, it seems that the last one off the former base should have the honor of being at the next one first, don't ya think?" Derek teased, sitting next to her on the cot.

"Ugh, Tarik had the right idea, we should have both stayed on Dantooine," Mina said, shivering again.

"Hey now, what's this?" he said, "You missing that scaly weirdo finally?" he asked, cocking his head toward her.

"No," she said flatly, "I was just saying that we should have volunteered for duty on a ship with working heaters at least," she snapped.

"Ahh, okay," Derek said, doubtful.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" she defended, moving further away on the cot.

"Nothing," he said, trying to look innocent.

"Hmm," she said, frowning. "You still think I'm in love with that lizard, don't you?" she asked.

"Did I say that?" Derek said, smirking slightly. Mina narrowed her eyes at him with a grin.

"You did," she said.

Derek shrugged, "Well, you did kiss him," he said, feigning disapproval.

"Hmm," Mina said, the grin changing.

"Then this shows you how much I miss him," she said, leaning closer. She kissed him passionately, almost knocking him over onto the bed before backing away with a grin on her face. Derek blinked, dazed and surprised.

"Wow," he said, still dumbfounded. "Poor Tarik," he said, looking over at Mina.

"Tarik's not here," she said, smirking suggestively.

"Umm, now wait a minute, we're on a mission...." Derek said, looking toward the door. As if on cue, the intercom buzzed on the wall as Mina leaned closer to him. She backed away, straightening up.

The door opened, and an officer came in.

"Sorry about the cold, we're still trying to figure out how that little critter got into the thermal regulator. Made itself quite a nice little nest in there. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he said, bringing a smirk from the two.

"No, nothing happening here except us freezing our behinds off," Derek said.

The officer smiled, "Of course," he said, catching a smirk from Mina.

"Well, I'd better get going anyway," he said, leaving and closing the door behind him.

"Now, where were we?" Mina said, a feral grin drifting back to her face.

----------------

On the other end of the galaxy, having carefully skirted the corporate sector to arrive at their destination, Kyel Kirunne and Riker South finally reached Kyel's home-space.

"Welcome to my empire, Mr. South," Kyel said with a grin from behind the ship's controls.

"I still can't believe it took this long to get here," Riker grumbled.

"Patience, Riker. I had no intention of letting my father's dear old rivals in the corporate sector know I was running loose in the empire instead of being dead in a speeder crash." Kyel grinned, looking at the star charts he'd brought.

"Okay, we'll go to the Korrunis moon first, my great-grandfather started a decent facility there during the Power Wars. We'll need some updated equipment, but I think what's there will suffice for now."

"Great-grandfather?!? Just how long have you had cloning technology out here anyway?" Riker asked, stunned.

Kyel smiled mysteriously. "About as long as the Shodo-Kai out in Blackstar space," he said. "We brought the manipulation skills with us, but the first tanks and technology came from rim-traders who were searching for ancient Sith and Jedi artifacts in trade."

Kyel snickered, "Something they were willing to trade almost anything for," he said with another secretive chuckle. Riker shook his head, not even attempting to understand Kyel's ramblings today.

Their entire journey, Kyel had made suggestions that the Sith as a species weren't really extinct, and had come close to saying much more before he'd caught himself.

"Korrunis-Del is one of the smaller moons orbiting Tel Addrun's sister-planet, Tel Akkir. It was colonized right before the Power Wars," Kyel said, pointing to the second and third planets in the system on the map. "The moon wasn't touched until the Power Wars were already ending," he added, tapping the tiny holographic representation of a pale gray-blue moon orbiting the second planet.

"You never did answer my question about these Power Wars of yours," Riker said.

Kyel smiled wickedly, "There are some things you don't want to know about this universe, mister Riker."

Riker frowned, "Try me, I've seen a lot of nasty things, these wars of yours can't be that much worse." Kyle studied him from the corner of his eye.

"Very well then. But you won't like it," he said, sitting up straighter in his seat.

"About a thousand or so years ago, some of our people found a way to make people who weren't force-sensitive into people who were." Riker's eyebrows went up in disbelief. "They also found ways to use a similar process to make one who was already force-sensitive stronger than he had been." Riker was dumbstruck, disbelieving.

Kyel smiled, "I warned you," he said.

"The power wars were basically a period of time when certain people became unnaturally strong in the force and decided to behave as if they were deities. Unfortunately, they were still mortal, despite all their power, with mortal needs and...... weaknesses," he said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Those who had once been conquered became conquerors again. We were almost a great power in the galaxy then, but they were all so busy overpowering each other that they missed their chance to rule the galaxy."

He sighed, "So much was lost during that time, and so much more was gained. The side-effects of their self-manipulation is still evident in certain families, mine included." He smiled sadly.

"The stronger our powers become, the less grounded to the universe we become." He was silent for a moment before continuing.

"They think I'm insane. Even you think it. You're all right. It's why my father sent me to live with Palpatine instead of living here on Tel Addrun. He was afraid I'd have an... 'episode' like my uncle did, and end up killing someone."

Kyel laughed sadly, "I just might have," he said, looking almost normal for the first time since Riker had met him. "Riker, despite what Palpatine says, there is such a thing as being too powerful," he said,looking sad.

"You are looking at one of the most powerful Force-wielders in the galaxy," he said, then snorted derisively. "One who'd rather be force-blind and wandering the streets in a diaper than here, now,trapped within all this madness." Riker kept silent, dumbstruck and completely lost. Kyel just sighed,tapping at the ship's controls.

"So, ready to go start your little war, Riker?" he said, suddenly shifting back into the half-sane grin he'd used before when describing his plans for the creature in the cloning cylinder they were carrying. Riker let out a breath slowly, thinking.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he said, trying to smile. Kyel laughed, turning off the holographic map.

"Then let's go grow us a monster," he said, grinning.

----on to Part 5 of Chapter 7---

© 2000 Michelle Petrosky

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