Null walked down the hall toward the throne room, without even a glance to the beady envious eyes that followed her along the line of the Emperor's waiting supplicants. Most of them would wait days before being let in to see Vader, a fact she took some pleasure in, as she shared with her master an extreme dislike for bureaucrats and sycophants. Some, who knew her better, kept their sneers to themselves, but one, a fat Huttese ambassador from Nar Shaddaa slid his grease filmed body in front of her, blocking the way.
Keh doe wonky Vader nopa inot Corba doe Hutt? U keh belon han, mee inki u koose je tah stuka, mo torta doe mebomba doe Hutts.
"Sorry. I don't speak slug." Null replied, gesturing for him to move aside. When he didn't, her hand moved to the hilt of her lightsaber.
Mo! Proteccol Derooid!
A silver white translater droid quickly clacked over to the Hutt's side from where it had been standing in line.
"My apologies m'lady." began the droid, "The great Corba the Hutt asks why she has yet to be admitted into the throne room. She demands that you take her to him immediately, or suffer the wrath of the Hutt clans."
Null took a deep breath. Killing Outer Rim Crime Lords was a good way to start costly gang wars. The Empire would invariably win, but the Hutts were fickle, stubborn, and rich. Rich enough to do some real damage to Impirial property.
"Droid, tell Corba that she is not more esteemed than any other ambassador of any other planet. Vader will see her when he sees fit, and if she has a problem with that she can go home and handle her own problems." And with that, she stepped on the long slimy tail of Corba, eliciting a nasty gurgling screech, and walking over and past her to the door.
Vaders throne room was, in Null's mind, the perfect example of everything the Dark Lord permeated. His throne was a paragon of the blending of power and function. Even despite the things she saw in meditation, she had immense respect for her master. What had really changed now is that she knew he wasn't immortal. She had seen the man beneath the armor. She couldn't truly muster any hatred towards him for killing her parents. They meant nothing to her. But there was this sliver of hope that she hoped to hide from him even in his force augmenting seat. The idea that she might one day take his place.
She kneeled. "What is thy bidding, my master..."
Vader, expressionless and foreboding, looked down on her from his seat. "There is a girl who has lived decades now with the force at her side. She seems to know not the extent of power she yields as of yet. But that could change in an instant. This girl has somehow hidden from me for far too long. Either she is under someone else's protection, or the girl has been aware of my omnipresence since her youngest years. Either way, we cannot allow any force user to propagate the recreation of the Jedi order. I want you to find her, crush her spirit until she tells you how she hid from me, and then kill her protector and her. They will know that none can escape the all seeing eyes of the Empire. Now go, my apprentice."
Null stood, "As you wish, my master." she bowed briefly and turned in place, walking out of the throne room with a sigh of relief. It didn't matter how accustomed you were to that room, or how enlightened you were of its purpose. It was still... unsettling. She stepped out the door to find the hallway mostly empty, but for two bounty hunters, the translator droid, and scorch marks indicating the "spontaneous" incineration of Corba the Hutt. Null smiled. War it was. The Empire would probably strike before the news even reached Nal Hutta that Corba was dead. The criminal legacy of the Hutts, was soon to be ended.
And so, Null began her journey out to find the spacecraft Vader's rogue force user was travelling in. One, possibly two full grown potential Jedi? This could be fun.
Keh doe wonky Vader nopa inot Corba doe Hutt? U keh belon han, mee inki u koose je tah stuka, mo torta doe mebomba doe Hutts.
"Sorry. I don't speak slug." Null replied, gesturing for him to move aside. When he didn't, her hand moved to the hilt of her lightsaber.
Mo! Proteccol Derooid!
A silver white translater droid quickly clacked over to the Hutt's side from where it had been standing in line.
"My apologies m'lady." began the droid, "The great Corba the Hutt asks why she has yet to be admitted into the throne room. She demands that you take her to him immediately, or suffer the wrath of the Hutt clans."
Null took a deep breath. Killing Outer Rim Crime Lords was a good way to start costly gang wars. The Empire would invariably win, but the Hutts were fickle, stubborn, and rich. Rich enough to do some real damage to Impirial property.
"Droid, tell Corba that she is not more esteemed than any other ambassador of any other planet. Vader will see her when he sees fit, and if she has a problem with that she can go home and handle her own problems." And with that, she stepped on the long slimy tail of Corba, eliciting a nasty gurgling screech, and walking over and past her to the door.
Vaders throne room was, in Null's mind, the perfect example of everything the Dark Lord permeated. His throne was a paragon of the blending of power and function. Even despite the things she saw in meditation, she had immense respect for her master. What had really changed now is that she knew he wasn't immortal. She had seen the man beneath the armor. She couldn't truly muster any hatred towards him for killing her parents. They meant nothing to her. But there was this sliver of hope that she hoped to hide from him even in his force augmenting seat. The idea that she might one day take his place.
She kneeled. "What is thy bidding, my master..."
Vader, expressionless and foreboding, looked down on her from his seat. "There is a girl who has lived decades now with the force at her side. She seems to know not the extent of power she yields as of yet. But that could change in an instant. This girl has somehow hidden from me for far too long. Either she is under someone else's protection, or the girl has been aware of my omnipresence since her youngest years. Either way, we cannot allow any force user to propagate the recreation of the Jedi order. I want you to find her, crush her spirit until she tells you how she hid from me, and then kill her protector and her. They will know that none can escape the all seeing eyes of the Empire. Now go, my apprentice."
Null stood, "As you wish, my master." she bowed briefly and turned in place, walking out of the throne room with a sigh of relief. It didn't matter how accustomed you were to that room, or how enlightened you were of its purpose. It was still... unsettling. She stepped out the door to find the hallway mostly empty, but for two bounty hunters, the translator droid, and scorch marks indicating the "spontaneous" incineration of Corba the Hutt. Null smiled. War it was. The Empire would probably strike before the news even reached Nal Hutta that Corba was dead. The criminal legacy of the Hutts, was soon to be ended.
And so, Null began her journey out to find the spacecraft Vader's rogue force user was travelling in. One, possibly two full grown potential Jedi? This could be fun.