Chapter Two

The Confession

Dread Lord’s Office - Level 195

The Pinnacle

Aliso City

38 ABY

Ronovi was restless. It had been a mere month since House Tyranus, which had replaced Karness Muur and Ajunta Pall, had begun modifying and securing the fortifications around the new Fort Dooku. Construction of the Tyranus Citadel had been notably fast, with slaves, Geonosians, and members of the Willing hunkering down to erect the castle and the residencies around it. Now, despite the completion of the barracks, the flourishing of the Market District, and the inevitable arrival of the Entertainment District, the Dread Lord remained wary. With the initial excitement of her edict’s enactment having passed, she did not want anyone within the Ascendant Clan to lose energy and become complacent within their new structure.

Opress Squadron had also been busy, settling into its new home on the Instigator, which Ronovi had gladly bequeathed to them so long as it still remained subservient to the Ascendant Fleet. She had sent the Dreadbringer, Wrathus, and his men (and woman) out on various contracted attacks, seeking out dissidents of Plagueis and Collective remnants. Kel Zar, however, had not been found yet. Hopefully, she would be properly dismembered in due time.

Sitting down at her desk in her office, the Consul busied herself with filling a glass with whiskey when the doors slid open. A blank-faced officer of the Willing, one that Ronovi did not recognize, bowed to her before stepping toward her desk. The Dread Lord was not amused.

“Bow again to me,” she snapped, “and I’ll end the romantic relationship between your head and your neck.”

“Apologies, my lord,” mumbled the officer. “But Lord Karn specifically instructed me to give you this.”

To read the rest of the fiction and catch up on the prologue of "A Fistful of Credits," the feud between Clan Plagueis and Clan Vizsla, click here.