A Missive in the Night

[Sobaan Palle]

It was in the middle of the night, as Sobaan dreamed, that he heard his father's voice calling out to him from somewhere in the darkness. It startled him, and in his dream he found himself in the middle of an inky void. He spun about, looking this way and that before he caught some sight of movement. A figure approached him from the distance. It appeared to blend into the darkness, save for the green of the skin. Even though he'd only seen him once before, he recognized his father immediately, and a grin spread on his cheeks as he raced to meet him, only to pass right through the apparition.

"I'm not really here, Sobaan. Remember that," Leos would say as he turned to where his son had fallen. "You've grown."

"I have! Learned lots of neat new tricks too!" Sobaan said, grinning as he watched his father.

"That's good. Do you know why I'm here?"

Sobaan frowned and shook his head from side to side.

"I'm here to tell you to come to me. It's time we had a chat face to face. I have things I need to teach you."

Orange eyes went wide and a huge grin spread on Sobaan's face at this bit of news. He was being summoned to actually see his father! The time before he'd seen him had only been in a memory his mother had shared with him so that he would at least know what his father looked like. It hadn't been much, just a glimpse of who the man was. But it was his father and he was ecstatic about the opportunity to go and meet with him. They could get to know one another and he could teach him about the ways of the Force as he saw them. Maybe he'd be able to learn why his mother and father weren't together.

"A ship will be waiting at the Aurum spaceport in the morning, The Autumnal Star," his father continued. "Go to it and tell them your name. They'll bring you to me. Can you do that?"

Sobaan nodded vigorously.

"Good. I will see you soon, Sobaan. Don't tell anyone where you're going."

"Right! Bye dad!"

With that his father disappeared and he returned to his regular sleep cycle only to wake the next morning. He jumped up and packed all of his things, even his little orb friend got brought along. When he left, though, he stopped by to see both [member="Jyn Lorr"] and [member="Sahna Te"]. Though he was unable to catch either at their rooms, he did leave behind Reet at Sahna's door, however, knowing that she would take care of him, and that she would understand that in leaving him with her, it meant he would definitely be coming back. Since he didn't get to talk to her, he wanted her to be assured of that.

Then he was off to the starport, and on his way to see his father.

[member="Leos Palle"]

 

[Leos Palle]

Sobaan couldn't know everything. Like the fact that his father was so far away from him that he wouldn't be able to fathom the distance, and had still reached out to touch his mind. The benefits of a meditation sphere. Crakull was the destination he was en route too. The ship exited hyperspace outside of sensors range and Leos took a private ship down to the planet, as was customary. He wouldn't allow the locals to know that this place he called home away from home was anything more than just a home, which was what they thought it was. Of course he didn't even really call it home anymore, and had moved a substantial portion of the operations to the world he'd made by this point. All for safety.

As it was, he'd had to make some changes.

"Is it ready?" he asked B'kal, the scientist that was waiting for him.

"We believe so, yes. It's fully stocked and should be self-sufficient for a period of several years. We optimized it at ten, just in case."

"Ten is more than enough. Good work, B'kal."

"Thank you, sir."

The Bothan bowed and then turned to scurry off to what he was doing before Leos had arrived. There was still much to be done in preparation for the arrival of the youngest Palle. Sobaan had much in store for him, as Leos knew when he made his way down to the room that was mentioned. Inside he looked around at what was there. It didn't seem to be much, but the room was equipped with exercise equipment, sleeping arrangements, a refresher, and plenty of food and water. It would do for what he had in store. All that was left was waiting for the arrival of the son he'd not met because his mother was too much of a coward to allow it. He did miss [member="Paa'lee"] quite often, but there wasn't much he could do about it. She'd chosen her fear rather than her love.

Such was the way of some things.

[member="Sobaan Palle"]

 

[Sobaan Palle]

It felt like forever.

First he had gone to the spaceport and found the ship. Once he had convinced them that he was, indeed, the son if the man known as Ignus, they had taken him aboard and set off. It was at least a days journey through hyperspace for them to reach wherever his father was, and that was a long time considering just how excited he was to meet him for the first time. It had been difficult for him to contain his enthusiasm and that had gotten on the nerves of most of the crew.

When they finally did arrive, he was plastered to a viewport trying to see whatever he could. It was a planet he hadn't seen before, and as they descended towards it he watched in awe as a part of the landscape suddenly opened up to reveal a shaft cut deep into the ground. They descended the shaft and he watched as they passed one level after another of some type of industrial work. People we're making ships on one level and scientists were scurrying all over on others. It was like a whole underground city.

A knock came at his door and he scurried over to open it.

"We are about to land and I've been instructed to take you to your father," the woman on the other side said.

She had green skin and tattoos like his father so he guessed that she was also a Mirialan. He did remember his mother mentioning that Mirial had seen tough times so maybe his father had relocated a bunch of his people? That seemed plausible to him. He ran back to grab his things and then walked with her out of the ship once they had landed. It was a busy place, just as he saw.

They did leave the busy aspect behind as she led him down a series of Hall's before stopping at a nondescript door, which she pressed the chime for. It slide open and they stepped in just in time for Ignus to turn away from admiring a gorgeous subterranean view. Sobaan couldn't contain himself and ran across the room to throw himself at his father in a massive hug that nearly knocked the older man into the viewport behind him.

"Dad!" he exclaimed, grinning as he felt his father wrap arms around him in turn.

"Hello, Sobaan. It's nice to finally meet you in person," Ignus said, carefully extracting himself from his son's grasp. "I've waited a long time for this day."

"Me too, dad. Me too."

[member="Leos Palle"]

 

[Leos Palle]

Ignus took his son over to a few seats and sat down, motioning for Sobaan to do the same. This was not likely to go the way that Sobaan expected it to. Normally a first meeting between child and son would mean a lot of questions and some chatting about who they were and the things they did. Given everything that was going on in the galaxy, that wasn't the case. He hadn't called his son to meet with him for a bit of familial banter. The galaxy didn't have the time for that.

"Sobaan, I would love to sit and catch up with you on what you've been doing, but I don't believe we have the time."

"But I can stay here for as long as you want!"

He held up a hand to still the rising outburst. It was an understandable reaction, of course, but not appropriate. Sobaan would understand that eventually. For now he just needed to listen.

"I know you can stay for a long time. I would, in fact, prefer if you did. But right now I need you to just listen."

"Alright, I guess."

Sobaan settled back in his seat and Leos pressed a button on the arm of the chair. It sent a signal to the staff and ordered them both glasses of water. Per previous instructions, his son's drink would be laced with a slow acting sedative that would cause him to pass out once Leos was finished talking to him. The staff brought the drinks, offering a glass to Sobaan, who took it and started drinking. He took a sip of his own glass before setting it aside.

"The Galaxy is a treacherous place, Sobaan. There are other Sith out there who aren't like me. They don't want what's best for the Galaxy, they just want to destroy and pillage. They are simpletons, unable to see the bigger picture, which is why I do not associate with them. They aren't rational beings and you should never try to reason with them because they are beyond it. They are blinded by the darkness instead of seeking to truly embrace what it can teach them.

"The same could be said for the Jedi though. Today they exist solely for the purpose of fighting the Sith and those like them. They have no sense of who they are aside from this one goal. Itdrives their every action. The result is that they are barely any different from the Sith. Good intentions mean little when you wipe out a city to kill a few enemies."

He reached for his glass and took another drink from it.

"I have been working tirelessly to correct what they have been doing. This neverending war between the light and the dark is going to culminate in the destruction of this Galaxy. Proof of that could be seen in the release of the gulag plague and especially the netherworld event. Billions of people gone in an instant. This Galaxy is dying, but it doesn't have to.

"I've built a world, Sobaan. It is a wonderful place, full of life and strong in the Force. I hope that you will understand what that means soon."

Sobaan was starting to waver.

"I- I feel dizzy," he said before collapsing.

Leos stood and scooped his son up in his arms before heading for the door. He hated having to do it. Part of him wished he could have just used the Force, but Sobaan was gifted and he knew it. The boy would have seen right through it. In the end it was all for the best. He was certain that he would see that when everything was done. For the time being, he took him to the room and laid him on the bed before sealing the door and retreating. It was time to begin.

[member="Sobaan Palle"]

 

[Sobaan Palle]

YEAR ONE

At first he didnt understand what was going on. When he woke up he was in a strange room with no door. He could feel his father's presence all around him, but he was nowhere to be seen. He tried calling out for him, but it wasn't working. No matter how hard he tried there was no answer. There was no anything. It scared him at first, but then he assured himself that his father would not put him in harm's way, so at the least he was safe.

For the first week he tried to use his sight to find a way out of the room that he was trapped in, but it wasn't working. No matter how he looked, or where, all he saw was wall, floor and ceiling. There was a steady supply of food and water, it was warm, and there was even strange equipment that he didn't really know what to do with but it made for a fun jungle gym of sorts. And he figured it was probably there for a reason anyway.

He spent more weeks doing other things like painting. In fact he got rather good at it, painting pictures of Reet, Sahna, Jyn and his mother. The more he practiced the better he got at it. Eventually his paintings we're so good they were almost lifelike. When the crazy time set in,which was bound to happen when an extrovert was suddenly forced into a situation of being on his own, he imagined the paintings moving and he even had conversations with them. They weren't very good at carrying the discussion though.

For a time he grew restless and would run in circles around the room until he passed out from exhaustion. Initially he hoped it would draw his father to him so he could get out. When that didn't work it simply became an exercise of futility; a way to rid himself of the excessive amount of energy he always had. It was useful. He learned that he could use the Force to make himself run so fast that he tore some of the paintings off the wall where he'd stuck them. Of course that always upset him and he had to paint new ones.

It wasn't the most eventful year, though, aside from learning a few things that he could do to his body with the Force to enhance it and his gained painting skills. It did unlock his desire to know more, though, and the books he'd found became a new comfort as he would sit and read them for hours and hours. There weren't really enough of them, though, so he read some of them again and again, trying to understand them. It wasn't until year two that he would figure out their purpose, though.

 

[Sobaan Palle]

YEARS TWO THROUGH EIGHT

Time went by fast. On the outside it was even faster. A single day outside was a year to him on the inside. He was nothing more than a blur moving about for anyone watching on a camera and that was all he would remain. His paintings skills became magnificent, and over time he went through nearly every phase one would expect from a teenage painter. Which, of course, meant that he also destroyed some of his paintings since he eventually figured out he was being watched.

The equipment in the room he eventually figured out as well. The main purpose, clearly, was for him to use it to strengthen his body, and as such he would spend time every day doing just that, though he was careful to keep his workout balanced so that he didn't hurt himself. It was much like climbing trees: if you focused on only the one branch you touched, the next one might give out. In this case, it meant one day he worked on his upper body and the next his lower body. He never did both in the same day so that his muscles could have the opportunity to rest.

The books he eventually memorized most of. It was funny to him that they were written on old flimsi. He was more used to everything being digitized in some form. Actually holding the book in his hands made it feel more real to him and he honestly felt somewhat attached to the physical structure of the thing where normally he'd just read it and be done with it. But he also learned a lot from the books. Their topics on the Force were rather diverse and he noted primarily focused on the darkside, but he was able to learn a lot from them, and mostly he was able to learn how to develop himself.

He would spend his off days largely meditating, honing his skills in secret because he knew what was going to happen when he finally found the exit to the room. The whole ordeal was an exercise to see how long it would take him, how much he'd have to develop, to be able to escape. By about the fourth year he was able to determine that his father had locked him into some form of illusion. He didn't know how he was maintaining it, but he knew it was there. By the fifth year he figured out it was to advance his training beyond the slow pace he'd been enduring with the Je'daii. His father clearly wasn't happy with his progress.

By the time the eighth year rolled around, and he was twenty, he'd not only grown considerably in height and muscle mass, but his montrals and lekku were fully developed and so was his knowledge of the Force substantially increased. By that point he continued to pretend that he could not see through his father's illusion, even though he could. It allowed him more time to grow in his understanding of the Force, and to understand what his father had told him before. It was a lot to digest and he hadn't been able to until he was fully developed enough, mentally, to comprehend it.

He understood where his father was coming from. It was blatantly obvious that the war between light and dark was continuously ripping the galaxy apart. That didn't mean he agreed with everything Ignus had to say, though. Working tirelessly to stop the never ending war was good, but he doubted his father had the best methodology in mind. He also found that he doubted his father's sincerity, which confused him for a time. It took a while to realize that this might have been the same reason his mother had fled from his father.

It would eventually be time for him to break out and end the whole thing, but he gave it more time. The stronger he became the better, as he knew a confrontation was coming, and his father was a powerful Sith Lord. He would take every precaution.

 

[Sobaan Palle]

YEAR NINE

One day he opened his eyes from his meditation and realized it was time. He pulled a shirt from the closet he'd found and pulled it on, as he normally only wore pants since the room was somewhat warm. He attributed it to the fact that they were deep underground and he was certain there was at least one lava vein in the vicinity. Not that such really mattered. He imagined his father was still thinking he couldn't see through the illusion but that wasn't correct.

When he stood, he walked straight to the door and unlocked it with the Force before opening it and stepping into the hall beyond. As soon as he did, he felt something else change. Time seemed to slow, at least in feeling, but everything around him seemed to be moving normally at the same time. He frowned and turned to follow the feeling he got from where his father was. Down one hall and to the same door he'd gone to nine years ago for him, but only nine days for Ignus. He pushed the door open and walked in on his father conversing with some others. The elder Palle looked briefly surprised but then smiled.

"Leave," Sobaan said as he looked at the others in the room.

They all looked at Ignus, who nodded his head in approval, before rising from their seats and vacating the room. When he was alone with his father, he moved to stand in front of the desk that he was occupying.

"You've been manipulating time inside of an illusion."

"I have," Ignus replied with a small nod. "It's been nine days if you're wondering."

Sobaan set his hands on the desk and leaned forward to look his father in the eyes.

"It's been nine years for me. In a room. Alone."

"What's done is done, Sobaan. It needed to happen. Yes, you were growing stronger but the galaxy, and I, needed you older and wiser now, not in another ten years. There is a lot of work to be done around here and I can't do it alone."

"No, you can't do it at all. I know what you really want, and it isn't the peace you claim. It isn't unity and it isn't justice."

"So what is it I want, then?" Ignus asked, sitting back with a smirk.

"Control."

 

[Leos Palle]

Ignus lofted a brow at what his son, said. He was fairly certain that the boy didn't know he was talking to an illusionary clonrle while he was sitting inside of his sphere in space, but the fact that he'd seen the truth where so many others had been fooled was cause for concern.

"Control?" he asked, steepling his fingers and leaning back in the seat. "In the time it would take to bring the Galaxy into the fold of the Reformation I will have died, as will you and any children you might have. So what control would I possibly desire?"

"The control of a legacy. I've had a lot of time to think about this. You are beyond intelligent, as evidenced by your not playing the games of the other Sith, but you are still a Sith. It stands to reason that you want power, but you're smart enough to know that what you want won't happen in your lifetime. That's why you created me. You don't really love my mother. You never have. You found her attractive and a suitable mother for a child."

Ignus shook his head.

"If I wanted to control the galaxy forever I'd be making clones of myself and then inhabiting them when my body dies, wouldn't I? Do you feel my presence elsewhere in this facility?"

"No, you wouldn't do that. You'd know that if people saw you continuing to try to unite the galaxy in the same form they'd figure out what you really want and kill you for good. That's why you needed me. I'm you're flesh and blood, but I'm different. I am your legacy and you want to rule through me."

"Is it so wrong to want a dynasty of like minded people running the galaxy?"

He was starting to get more concerned now. Sobaan was smarter than he'd believed. Given his mother's propensity for nature and living the tribal life he hadn't expected his son to be this smart or this wise. Perhaps a foolish mistake on his part. He was going to have to act even faster now if this was all going to work the way he'd planned. Sobaan's body was ready, but his mind needed to be gone or everything would fail.

Sobaan seemed to be considering his answer, so he sat forward, preparing to act, but he suddenly felt resistance to his movements. His mouth opened in surprise, but then he just smiled.

"You don't want me to lead," Sobaan said, eyes narrowing. "You want my body. Just like the bodies you stole to make your library world."

Leos' eyes went wide at this. How could Sobaan possibly have known about that? He hadn't mentioned the details and he hadn't felt the boy trying to pry into his mind. How then? Was it a lucky guess on his part or had someone slipped something into the room where he'd been living? No, that couldn't be. The people here barely even k ew the details of the plan let alone how theco structors operated. There was only one way.

"I see through you, father. I see everything you are and everything you want to be. I see what you've done, I see what you plan to do. And it's not going to work. I won't allow you to continue."

"How? How can you see?" Leos said, gritting his teeth. "It's not possible!

He reached through the Force and attempted to blast his son backwards and pin him to the wall. He had to hold him so he could wrench his soul from him and throw it into the Force. It had to be now. It had to be.

 

[Sobaan Palle]

Sobaan was thrown back by the force of his father's attack, but it barely bothered him. For nine years he had strengthened his body and his mind. His body took the blow so that his mind could remain free and focused. He knew what his father was trying to do and he wasn't going to let it happen. If he did, Ignus would take over his body, procreate with another, then take over that body. On and on. He would live forever in bodies related to him but different, signifying trust in the people that followed him by parading a line when it was really just him. Sobaan would not allow it.

"I have always been able to see," he said, staring at the illusion before him, his eyes seeing the Sith Lord in the sphere in space. "I realized it the first time when I was with Jyn and spotted the orb at the bottom of the chasm. I'd used it before in seeing through her but I hadn't understood that I was different then. I understand it well, now. Well enough to see everything about you.

"I knew you had me in an illusion after only a few years. I was strong when I was younger, but not as strong as you. I waited because I needed to become stronger."

He repulsed his father's mental attacks with ease before continuing.

"I knew what you wanted soon after I figured out what you were doing to me. So I prepared myself, because I am not willing to die, and I am not willing to allow you, a monster hiding behind a kind facade, to control this Galaxy. You have murdered thousands and people don't even know about it. They never would. You orchestrated so much death and suffering in the name of your mission. You would continue, and in my body you would start with the people I care most about because they would be the first to see the truth, and you couldn't have that."

He pushed back, then. Not on the ilkusion, but on the real man inside the sphere. The surprise was palpable as Ignus was thrust against the wall of his meditation chamber. Clearly he hadnt expected the assault from such distance to reach a truly physical nature against him. A foolish mistake, but he knew that the man probably felt he hadn't need to worry because of all the precautions. His mistake had been in not counting on his son being so much like him.

"I promise I will make their deaths swift, Sobaan."

Reet. Jyn. Sahna. No, he wouldn't allow it. He wasn't going to be used and he wasn't going to let the Galaxy be used either. His mother had felt pain because of this man who claimed to be his father too. Well, they might have shared blood, and they might share a few ways in the Force, but this man was not his father and he never would be. Sobaan felt remorse for this loss, and it pained him greatly, but he knew what he had to do, and the time to do it had come.

"No, father. You will never kill a living soul again."

With that he reached out and started pulling his father apart molecule by molecule. It was an extremely painful way to go, but it was necessary to be sure. His father's arm would start to disintegrate. Then his leg. Then part of his torso and so on. He could hear his father's screams even as he pulled the man's saber and holocron to the floor before continuing. A tear trickled down his face, but he pressed onward pulling the Sith known as Ignus apart at the seams until there was nothing left of him but his presence in the Force.

Before that presence could flee, Sobaan reached with the Force, grabbed it, and pushed it into the holocron. He used the Force to seal him there. He wouldn't have the satisfaction of fleeing to obtain another body, but he'd get to live forever trapped in the holocron. Sobaan wouldn't allow him to escape. Now freed from his father's grasp, he slumped to the floor and lifted a hand to his head, holding it as he bit back tears for what he had done.

"Goodbye, father."

 

[Sobaan Palle]

He spent the next day grieving. In fact he didn't even leave his father's old office. It wasn't long after the fight was over that two Maalraas appeared. He had seen then when he came in before, but they hadn't made themselves a part of the ordeal. Thankfully so. He held out his hand to them, and they must have recognized him from his scent being similar to his father's because they each came over and sniffed him before lying down beside him. Clever beasts. He hoped they remained loyal even with the death of their master.

When he did leave the room, the Maalraas followed. He talked to several people in the Hall's, telling then the news of his father's death and asking where he could get some clothes. They directed him to a tailor who had worked for his father in the facility, and he headed there. Word must have traveled quick because when he arrived the Kaminoan in question offered his regrets before setting to work. Sobaan said nothing of it. They needn't know the truth of what had happened.

In the end he was adorned in red and black. It accented his color patterns the most. A golden sash around his waist completed the ensemble. He thanked the Kaminoan and told him to ask for a raise when it came time for pay. When he left he was accosted by several people who indicated that he was now in charge of the company. Sobaan hadn't wanted to be in charge. He didn't know how to run a company, but since he was now the majority shareholder thanks to his father's plans, it made sense that he had to be regardless. The money could be useful anyway. He directed them to have his father's assistant put in charge in his stead and then left them.

He went back to the room he'd spent the last nine years locked inside of and took the paintings down from the walls. They were how he'd remembered the people most important to him. He could never forget his mother's face, but the others? He hadn't been willing to forget, which was why the paintings we're so important to him. A lifeline. He rolled them up carefully and secured them so that they wouldn't become damaged by accident. They had someone who needed to own them.

He left again and went to the hangar where he approached a pilot and got him to shuttle him out to his father's ship. Once there he went to his father's meditation sphere and opened it. Inside he picked up the saber, which he clipped to his belt, and then picked up the holocron. As soon as he touched the latter he could feel his father's malevolence pouring out of it. He winced, took the holocron, and locked it away in a chamber in the ship where no one would go. Then he went to the bridge and found the captain in the pilots console.

"My name is Sobaan Palle," he said to the man. "I now own this ship. Take me to Aurum."

THE END