Chapter 3: Contingencies & Reminders
Peace was settled for the time being, but they wanted to know more about something else. He said he would protect and remain in the Naboo system for three months. The question was, where was he going to go afterward?
Leia began to believe that he had a set of contingencies of his own, much like Palpatine. Contingencies which he had set up beforehand since he had the unfaltering power of precognition or farsight.
"From what I've seen, you have things planned out. Care to let us in on where you are going after three months is up?" She asked curiously as she held a bent index finger against her lower lip. Her eyes squinted at him, as if awaiting details to be freely given.
He simply looked at her with a dull expression before smiling lightly, which made the Queen and Leia's wingman raise brows. Taking a holographic projector out of his desk, he placed it on the alabaster grey desktop and switched it on.
Suddenly a blue light encompassed the room, a map of the galaxy appeared with at least sixteen individual sectors highlighted in the Galactic North within the Outer Rim. Situated on the edge of Wild Space and the Unknown Regions and even leading into it until it met with the edge of the Chiss Ascendancy Territory.
The territory which was marked on that hologram matched that of the astrological charts of the Imperial Remnant and the Pentastar Alignment from the Legends version of the Star Wars Timeline.
"What... Is this?" She asked as she stared over the details on the map. There were several planets here which had been liberated by the Empire, but they were indeed highlighted within it.
"Two years prior to the destruction of the Second Death Star, I began setting up my own contingencies. I made secret agreements and concordats with local governments and corporations, that they'd align with me, should the Emperor perish during the Battle of Endor." Tobias would inform her, as he had already known that the Emperor would perish and hadn't done anything about it.
"...So you were looking forward to the death of the Emperor," Leia laughed out loud, shaking her head in response to this. Imperials seemed to step over one another all the time, but she hardly came across an Imperial who looked forward to the death of their supreme ruler. "You also knew he was going to die before he did."
Of course, there would be ones who would grab at the opportunity to gain control.
However from knowledge found within his Wookiepedia System, Tobias knew that even in legends there had been several coup attempts against the Emperor's rule. In this reality however, it seemed to have happened much less than usual.
Her accusation that he knew, wasn't wrong. He just began to give her a big smug smile in return. There was a little light in his eyes at that time, but it eerily faded away.
"And you didn't threaten these systems?" Lando asked as he looked through the astrological chart of the galaxy which was displayed before them.
"I said concordant, which means mutually beneficial," The Grand Moff let out a huff hearing the former smuggler's skeptic tone, only to hear it again, but this time in a sarcastic retort.
"Isn't it mutually beneficial when the other end of the deal isn't dead?" Lando tried digging into the man, but only got a stoic response instead. He matched the Moff's gaze and placed his hands on his hips. "Ya ain't lying, huh?"
Shaking his head slightly, this wasn't in the least bit a formal occasion. At least it didn't feel formal.
The Moff stared at him for a few seconds before leaning back in his seat. "Still cheating at cards?" He asked without answering the rhetorical question. In this case, he was accusing Lando of dishonesty, or at least implying.
"Right," Lando Calrissian gave him a look-over. "Did I play cards with you?"
"No, but I know how you lost the Millenium Falcon. How Han stole your little wrist tricket," He looked towards the wrist which once housed his cheating deck of cards.
Lando covered his wrist with the cape and made a stern expression, "What were you, nine?"
"Eight," Rune corrected as he scratched the side of his head. "Intelligence didn't know that?" He asked teasingly, his fingers walking across his desk and turning off the projector.
They stared at each other in silence for a good few seconds before they both burst out into laughter. "This guy's good." Lando pointed at Tobias as he held his stomach with the other hand.
This little bit of bickering, reminded Tobias of his past life with his family. His brothers and him were always bickering. His sister was always picking his thoughts apart, piece by piece. He personally thought he had a good life prior to this.
Before he could get lost in nostalgia however, a voice took hold of his attention.
"So why are you so... set on marrying me?" Sosha suddenly spoke up, she drummed her finger on her arms as she kept them crossed over her chest.
His eyes flickered on over to the Queen of Naboo, she wasn't fidgeting anymore and seemed rather serious. She was rather interested in a reason. "Because I like you, I have interest in you and would prefer to have your company."
The Monarch blinked a few times hearing this, slowly nodding before making an inquisitive expression, pursing her lips. "But you barely even know me," she pointed out after bypassing his sweet yet simple words.
"And I will get to know you, on a personal level." He seemed to give her a straight up and blunt response. It seemed though that his answer could be taken in ambiguous ways. However to him, it was just the literal meaning, that he would learn to know her in time.
He remembered the time he asked a girl out for the first time, he almost chuckled as he began to become nostalgic again. They could see the foreign yearning on his face, something out of his reach.
Sosha seemed to be interested in face he was making. She wanted to know what he was thinking about, maybe thinking he would share it with her eventually. Appearing satisfied with the results of her miniature her inquisition, she let her arms drop to her sides and clasp behind her back. He finally got to see her smile with her pearly whites reflecting the artificial light of the room and the stars looking outside.
The face he wore didn't last though as a certain individual from the originator's past appeared, Iden Versio. Why did his smile turn upside down? Why did he have that dark look of contempt on his face?
Seyn Marana was a close friend of Tobias from the Imperial Academy of Uyter. They studied together, had meals together. In the eyes of their colleagues they were an item. However after they graduated he became a sectoral governor as he was noticed by individuals with ties to Emperor Palpatine, and Seyn was drafted into a special operations force.
Next thing he hears, is she died. Not only did she die during an infiltration mission, but at Iden's own hands. In Tobias's Heart, in his mind, Iden Versio killed the originator's almost lover.
However he didn't wish for revenge, he may dislike or even hate her, but the new Tobias wasn't the old one. Her appearance here just gave her a bad taste in his mouth.
Lando, Sosha and even Leia didn't not notice the change in his expression. Their eyes dragged over towards Iden as she was standing there with her officer escort. "Why'd you bring Inferno Squad on board?" He asked looking towards Lando and Leia, a dull look in his eyes now. The expressions of contempt had vanished almost entirely.
Iden raised a brow hearing the voice, it sounded familiar. Her brown eyes narrowed on the man behind the desk, the Grand Moff she was going to meet through the two main players of the Alliance. "You're..."
"You killed her in the heat of the moment," Tobias found himself speaking without thinking. "You murdered my friend, colleague and fellow Imperial in the name of opportunity." His voice was suddenly darkened, but the face of contempt was nowhere to be seen.
He cut her off as she was about to open her mouth to speak, "She would have died anyways. You all would have..." His tone broke off into a murmur as he looked to the side away from them.
Hatred, sorrow, sadness. Leia could feel all of these emotions seeping off of him, like someone twisting a sponge. Yet on the surface he looked like an emotionless professional. A diehard Imperial, always acting tough, superior and yet at the same time inferior to others.
"Ah... I see you two have a past," Lando said as if this wasn't a good time to try and introduce the two of them. However Leia stepped between their sights on one another, before any real tension could begin.
"Inferno Squad has defected from the Emp–"
"I know they defected from the Empire," Tobias cut the Princess off with a blank expression, his eyes like an endless abyss. "I'm asking why they're here."
"A better Empire." Iden responded for herself, rather than having the two heads of the alliance present answer for her. "Even though you were ordered to do Operation Cinder, you fought against it. You wanted to protect the worlds of the Empire, rather than let it burn."
In a sense she was right, but in another sense she was wrong. If he hadn't been here with his fleet, the Alliance still would have won, just with many more losses than currently.
"You want to join the Imperium? I... Don't see why not." This had taken a turn he didn't expect. Iden and crew joining him. His eyes darted towards the door frame, Del was peering in, one of his eye visibly peeking into the room.
"Come in little Del," Tobias chaotically mused as he reached out with his hand. The man would find himself pulled around the corner by an invisible pressure which he recognized, the force.
Del stood there bewildered beside Iden which he had been pulled to stand beside.
Lando also seemed rather surprised by this development yet Shara Bey and the two other girls didn't seem shocked at all.
Mostly because they already knew he could use the force.
"So we had Jedi in our ranks this entire time?" Del seemed completely out of it, remembering how Luke Skywalker had said that he feared the wrong thing. The Emperor could use the force, so apparently there would be more people who could do so? He stared at the Moff, he was obviously afraid.
"I'm no Jedi. Just a man with the force, and eventually a lightsaber."
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