A Greasegun

[Adia Issoris]

Coruscant – four days post Endor

Adia gulped. Palpatine truly was dead, as were the traitors Vader and his accomplice son Skywalker. She watched the holo footage of the Intelligence team scouring wreckage. A fair amount of the decks were now in partial or complete vacuum. The crew was in hazardous zero-gee suits.

A Gamma class shuttle had suffered structural failure and that entire deck had been enveloped in fire. The pair of lightsabers and the remnants of Vader’s armor confirmed the identities. Vader had never trusted the Emperor, but this? She increasingly felt ill the more she loomed over the detailed reports from the team.

Adia growled, her fist coming down hard against the meeting table. The datapad and cup of water jumped, and the holo flickered until the granite slab leveled itself again. She fell back into the chair.

Damn the Emperor! There was no contingency for this! There was a plan for anything but this, but she had to do something. The Hand stood and straightened her uniform. A coppery-red ponytail contrasted sharply against the dull gray. It was one of the few benefits of being a field operative. She pulled the scrunchee off and redid it, making sure her hair was neat before putting her cap on.

She would have to make her own plans. His voice was silent. Although very few people in the Empire truly knew who she was (such as the Royal Guards, all deceased), Adia knew who anyone important was. Who had the capability to keep the Civilian side of the Empire together? Adia dismissed the notion of going to any of the Moffs since Tarkin had died with his battle-station at Yavin. They were power brokers played by the Emperor and were likely more interested in maintaining their little fiefdoms. This worked fine when the Moffs had an overbearing influence of Palpatine hovering above. The Emperor’s prescience forced them to focus their energies within their territories.

Now? Palpatine was no longer a factor and it was only a matter of time before they looked to further their own power and goals, dividing an Empire with a hungry Rebellion stalking it. In short, the Empire had to stay united or the Rebellion would succeed.

So who would be able to lead this Empire? The Hand dismissed the vast majority of the Civilian “servants” outright. Most were solid administrators but lacked vision and a gift for political treachery when needed. The Kuati families were not an option. While extremely politically adept they were far more interested in keeping KDY viable above everything else. The Tarkin girl was making heads turn, but she was too young, and the sexual bias against her would only allow her to get so far.

Anar? He was influencial if somewhat relegated to the background now.

Yes, Anar would like to see the confirming footage of Vader's betrayl and the ashes of the Skywalkers.

She had no authorization, but she needed none. Her access superseeded all but Vader's or the Emperor himself. Adia palmed the data chit and straightend her cap.

It was time to visit the Civic Center.

[Tiberius Anar]

The Chancellor's Office was in uproar. Actually, to the uninitiated it would have looked very calm. In fact, to the unitiated, it would have looked like government work was the laid back and enjoyable affair it was made out to be by that those not doing it.

Staffers moved from room to room (for the Chancellor's Office was actually several offices. Actually it was several floors of offices. Actually, it was an entire building of offices. Two...actually) carrying reports, messages or the unbiquitous blue government despatch boxes. Senior staff summoned meetings that met, talked, broke up, reformed as other meetings and then broke up into three other meetings that discussed the matter in greater depth. Messengers came and went, calls were placed, orders issued. It was the same as before: except for one aspect- the pace.

Normally everything ran at a certain speed. But today, as it had been for the last week or so, that speed had been exceeded. For those members of the staff who noticed it was not unlike being driven on a familiar route by a parent, unable to see the speedometer, but knowing that mum or dad was going faster than normal. It was really quite unnerving.

The reason for this change of pace? The "situation" (a wonderfully amorphous word) that had engulfed the Empire. It meant that the normal pattern of work had been disrupted. Worlds that were usually out of touch with Imperial Centre for weeks at a time, running their own houses, were calling in for orders every day. Some were doing so several times every day. No-one wanted to make a mistake, no-one wanted to make a decision without a little hand-holding from the centre. So they called. Moffs, Governors, Prefects, Mayors all of them called Imperial Centre and most called this office.

The result was more. More of everything. More work, more meetings, more calls to be made, more orders to be issued more information to be collected. Hence the change in pace and hence the atmosphere of uproar into which a red-haired woman walked.

[Adia Issoris]

Anar’s office was terrifyingly busy. Everyone was at that very moment, engaged with at least one task. Civic government normally lumbered along, occasionally stopping to tie its shoe and wonder where it was going. It would briefly scratch its head, shrug, and lumber on the same general direction it was going to begin with.

Now there was a horrible, terrifying event and Civic Government was running for cover in an empty field. It needed a calm, steady voice to make it slow down before it tripped and bumped it’s head on a stone.

Adia walked into his office, overriding the lock. Anar was in the middle of a conversation with one of the smaller, Mid Rim Moffs, Elias Teem. Teem’s sector, which only contained Naboo and Umgul/Dargul, was previously quiet. The Nabooians has lost fight after Senator Padame had died, but it seemed that there was a civil protest by a small group in Theed.

The Hand could smell exhaustion on him. He had probably been awake for the past 36 hours.

Anar finished his conversation with Moff Teem, suggesting that the protestors be allowed to protest, but be tracked and watched when they ran out of steam. Naboo, while not dangerous in and of itself, could spark other worlds to action. Attacking the populace would be a foolish move.

Anar seemed to sag in his seat for a moment.

“I’m afraid that rest will have to wait for at least another hour, Chancellor.” Adia said, standing in front of his desk. Adia’s presence would have seemed imposing to most.

[Tiberius Anar]

Anar looked up at the intruder with blood-shot eyes. He felt nothing- no surprise, no fear, no annoyance at this interruption. He felt only numb from his exersions. He had no energy to spare for anything else, hence his surprisingly mild response to Adia:

"Yes?"

[Adia Issoris]

Adia quickly secured the room as best she could with the time she had. Ideally, she’d move Anar to somewhere more covert. Every hour might count for the future of the Empire. Improvisation would have to do.

The holofootage played back, and the Chancellor could hear Adia’s leather gloves creak as her hands tightened into fists.

When the holo shut off, Adia took a fraction of a second to recompose herself.

“As you can see, the Skywalker line has ended. Solo’s strike team, while successful in destroying the shield generator, was hunted down. The rest of the report is more sobering. We’ve lost the Executor absolutely, and…” Adia rolled off into a list of capital ships that had either been annihilated or pounded so badly they were worth little more than scrap, and then listed the ships in repair, which was terrifyingly long. Still, no one had seen or heard any Rebel naval activity for more than a day.

“After the Emperor died, the fleet seemed to fall apart, and I’m sure that you see the possibility of the Civilian government succumbing to the same fate. The Empire needs its Chancellor, Anar.”

[Tiberius Anar]

"I see," Anar said without any emotion, "I suppose that explains the remarkably good impression of my security people."

He shifted the data-sheets on his desk for no apparent reason. What they were about he had no idea- agriculture? Or was it military promotions? No matter.

"Who are you? We've met before I think- forgive me if I don't recall exactly when or where. I meet so many people in this job."

[Adia Issoris]

Adia glanced down at her name patch and let a corner of her mouth pull up.

“At various government functions, such as the launch of the Executor.” Anar’s bleary eyes showed a little more recognition. “Black dress, red accents, drank Governor Dejara under the table?” Anar nodded vaguely, but was unimpressed.

“I was one of the Emperor’s Hands.”

[Tiberius Anar]

"Ah."

Anar came fully alert. An Emperor's Hand. In his office. How very interesting.

"Please, sit down." He gestured to a seat opposite his large, cluttered desk. "Why do you come to me? Surely one in your position, as I understand it, would be able to gain access to far more powerful men than, I. Surely those men would be more able and more willing," he smiled slyly, "to give you what you want."