FORSAKEN - Target: Zero

CHAPTER TWENTY

"You failed me," said the hologram of Darth Vader's head, as he Force-choked the Grand Inquisitor.

"My lord... I... I can... I can fix this..." The Grand Inquisitor struggled with the strain around his throat.

"You let the girl slip through your fingers. How do you propose to fix this?"

"The... the light... the lightsabers... the intruders... one red... the...two purple ones... with... blades... on the pummels..."

The Grand Inquisitor had to prevent himself from dropping on the ground when Vader released him, gasping for air.

"What did you say?" Vader's voice lowered down an octave.

The Grand Inquisitor massaged his sore throat. "One of the intruders had a red lightsaber and the other, two purple guard shotos with extra blades in their pummels. He was an extraordinary duelist, the likes I've never encountered. He fought with a lightsaber form I've never seen before; well-versed in Vaapad and hand-to-hand combat."

Can it be? Vader knew the Grand Inquisitor's extensive knowledge of lightsaber forms gave credence to the assessment.

"I had felt someone reaching out with the Force," the Grand Inquisitor said. "At first, I thought it was the Ninth Sister, perhaps in some pathetic cry for help. I didn't know there was a group of Force-adept intruders using it to fix the Talon's location in hyperspace—nobody thought that possible.

"The next time I sensed them, they had boarded the ship and I confronted them. One of them—a female—was strong with the dark side and well trained in the use of the lightsaber—she carried a red cross-guarded one. I believe she may be Maul's apprentice."

"Perhaps," Vader said. "Desperation seems to have forced him to work with the Jedi. My Master will be pleased to hear his former apprentice has returned. His demise has long been delayed."

"I know they're traveling on a Star Courier. The entire fleet and every base and outpost have been alerted. It's just a matter of time before they are found. All I ask is for a chance to bring their heads to you."

"That will have to wait. The Emperor wants every Inquisitor back in Coruscant for Moff Tarkin's ceremony."

"All of us?"

"Do not make me repeat myself, Grand Inquisitor."

"Forgive me, my lord. But what about their current assignments? The Jedi have been quite active as of late."

"It is the wish of my Master."

The holographic image of the Grand Inquisitor vanished. Darth Vader sat in the throne room aboard a J-type 327 Nubian royal starship. The craft had once belonged to the Queen of Naboo and wife of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Padme Amidala. The Emperor had given it to Vader as part of his reward for his exceptional job hunting down and killing Jedi.

He's alive. Vader was unsure of why this surprised him. Only the most cunning Jedi had survived the Great Purge for this long, and Syrran Qer's body had yet to turn up.

Vader first heard of him about a year into his Jedi training. Back then, Vader went by the name, Anakin Skywalker; a life he had erased from existence once he became a Sith. His acceptance in the Jedi Order had been mired in controversy. At nine years of age, Anakin was deemed too old to start training, and his time growing up outside the temple set him apart from his sheltered peers, who had joined the order in infancy. Yet his greatest stigma arose from his connection to an ancient Jedi prophecy which foretold the coming of the Chosen One, a child who one day would bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith; a belief held by some members in the High Council.