[Chapter Ten]
Admiral Piett was a mortal crushed between opposing divine forces. The thought of failure had kept him awake two nights in a row. But he persevered.
He strolled a line of manned computers and came to a stop here and there to direct credit stocks or help assign materials to outposts.
He eventually halted at a viewport. Several recruitment vessels departed for worlds long forsaken, where the Emperor had little influence. They would need enough militants to blot out Coruscant's sky, Piett thought. Reports indicated that might well come to pass. He feared Vader, but had to respect the cyborg's audacity and efficiency. I stand in awe of a total nightmare.
Alarms blasted. Piett pivoted on a heel and strode for the nearest radar.
~ ~ ~
Rag-tags exchanged fire with stormtroopers as they traversed corridor after long corridor, but were too few in number. Boba's back-up became extinct before he could reach Vader's throne room. The greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy called on every tactic and tool at his disposal. He threw smoke bombs, detonators, and flash-bangs as he sought to escape the crowds of armored pawns that popped from around every corner. By the time he reached the majestic double doors, blood flowed from flesh wounds.
The doors parted, as though in invitation. Why?
He kept his blaster at the ready, and went to the portal's edge to peer inside.
The hall felt religious in nature. Whereas Blood Shard's interiors until now had been sterilized metal, this location was carpeted, and tapestries lined the walls. A dozen robed figures stood like statues on either side of the long carpet leading to the far end, their faces shadowed, hands lost in sleeves. Torch pillars blazed. Boba squinted to discern the contraption that must have been the centerpiece across the expanse. Lights clicked to life.
Darth Vader's mask was off. His face was melted flesh clung to bone, frozen in a grin. Wires and tubes entered and exited his body, and suspended him high from the floor.
The hell has he done to himself?
"I have evolved," Vader answered aloud, voice synthesized. "In the dark side. In the universal scheme. Your thoughts and memories belong to me, bounty hunter."
"The rebels are resilient sons of bitches," Bob made himself continue to stand, despite exhaustion. "They'll knock your army for a loop yet."
"I'm sure."
Vader called upon the Force to drive Boba's blaster against its owner. A legend fell with a single shot.