Chapter 1: Bribing the Bouncer

Mara Jade knelt at the throne in the capital on Imperial Center. This world was only ever spoken as such in the empire’s propaganda holo videos and in places such as this one, everyone else in the galaxy from the average sentient to even the stormtroopers in the locker rooms in the barracks when no one else was looking called it Coruscant, and yet in her current line of service, she only ever thought of it as Imperial Center. Her long red hair fell down her back, she wore a sleeveless skintight dark shirt that clung to her lovely hips and accentuated her large breasts, and tight black pants that the way it clung to her shapely legs and made her ass jiggle with every step she took, caught the eye of even the most hardened imperial stormtroopers. It was an outfit designed for her vanity, and it also made her targets not willing to suspect one bit that this beautiful flower could be so deadly.

Emperor Palpatine sat upon the throne, clad in his dark robes. The only thing visible to anyone would see him was his pale wizened face and his hands sitting upon the armrests and he looked much like some ghost story meant to scare children come to life. Two of his Imperial Guards flanked him.

Kneeling at his feet, she looked much the supplicant, and indeed she was, an instrument of his will. Despite his feeble appearance, he may as well have been held a folk town’s nightmare for he held the fist of political power in the galaxy at large which he would use frequently to crush any and all who opposed him, and to a very small trusted few they also knew the secret of his dark side powers, unmatched by any Sith before him. She was not one of those who knew.

And the deception ran deeper. She believed as an Emperor’s Hand that she was unique. She had no idea of the existence of others in his employ who would embark on similar missions of sabotage and assassination, whatever he pleased, whenever he ordered it. In her arrogance, she believed those red guards for all their training and prowess might as well have been scarecrows, figures to scare away the rebels and to serve as imperial propaganda. The real power lied with her.

Palpatine knew all of her delusions and smiled. Even with his talents in the force, he had trained her to believe all of these things. It would make her a more effective tool for him to use.

It had only been a few seconds that she had arrived and took a knee before him. “Your Majesty.”

“You have been summoned before me for a great purpose. Indeed, the future of the empire depends on it.”

“I understand. Tell me what I must do.”

“I have received intelligence that several nobles and officers both are plotting a coup. I want you to find out what you can. Do everything in your power to discover how dark their plotting goes.” He looked up so his demonic white face was fully visible, a terrible thing in those shadows. His voice rose in his throat like thunder. “And when you do, kill every last one of them!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

He told her names, he gave her the location where they had planned on meeting. She was expected to keep it all in her head, and she did. The information he had received from his intelligence agency was top secret, and he could not risk it being leaked via a data leak in a transmission. And he would not give it to her via datapad, where the supposed conspirators would potentially find it and learn that he suspected them, giving them a chance to regroup. He intended to wipe out every single last one of them.

She rose and left his presence. The Coruscanti night sky visible through the windows was as harsh as the blackness of space, and in those austere halls, she might as well have been stationed upon an imperial Star Destroyer. The streets on the other hand were not so cold. It was brimming with life from every station, from the whores that would peddle their services to anyone and everyone to the rich playboys looking to have some fun. As she walked the streets, both parties approached her, propositioned her. With a single glance, even the biggest idiots got the right idea and left her be.

Some others were not so fortunate to be blessed with intelligence and a sixth sense for these kinds of situations. To recognize a predator when they saw one. But that was of no concern to her. They got handsy and she broke their hands, some of them she even flipped around and threw to the hard pavement. They weren’t real fights and they didn’t need to be. As soon as she struck, the venom of fear spread to their companions as if she were a serpent that sunk her fangs into prey, and they retreated fast. Some of these fools had been quite wealthy and had paid protection around who were ready to earn their keep. They would earn something else too, bruises and broken bones, and an insult to their honor. She would smile and leave them lying there virtually indistinguishable from all the trash that littered the city streets.

She would arrive at the location not much later. She recognized it immediately, it was a big time club for all the well known players and power brokers of Coruscant’s internal politics. They were kings in their own right, well connected and had so many Moffs and officers in their pockets. But she was going to show them even royalty had their limits.

Stepping inside, she was greeted by a cacophony of music and color. The strobing lights and flare made her blink only for a few seconds before she regained her senses. The people there gave her eyes, men and women, just like when she had made her way here. People of all species, Chiss, Quarren, Devaronians with their beady little smiles. There were even a few Rodians giving her that look in their wide dark eyes. The empire had a strict exclusionist policy against non-humans barring them from traditional avenues of advancement, but their kind still held their places of power within the corners of the galaxy, and this place was one of them. If these fools were liking her, then she knew her targets would be easy prey.

She smiled and confidently flipping her hair back, walked past every single one of them. Such was her presence that her vain rejection of them made it so that it was as if she had cut them up in one of her missions for the Emperor. She had never been here before but she knew where the locker room was.

There were already several more dancers present. Twi’leks and Zeltrons to be sure but she was surprised when she saw Muun amongst their ranks too. This place really was a pleasure palace meant to sate the desires of all the peoples of the galaxy.

These ladies on the other hand didn’t spare her a glance. Even if she wasn’t using her talents in the force to mask her presence, they were too busy primping in the mirror, making sure they looked good. They needed to earn as much credits as they could. Proud and vicious this Emperor’s Hand may have been, she still felt pity for them having to do this job. They were doing it just to survive. She believed she was doing it for the greater good.

She found one locker in particular that belonged to her. There was a fake name there belonging to no one, but it was the alias the Emperor had given her. She opened it up and found the dancer’s outfit waiting for her. It was a two piece outfit, bra and a thong, with a transparent mesh that glittered no matter where it went. After she got it on, she primped herself in front of the mirror, applying dark gloss to her lips that made them glisten when she pouted and would make anyone crave her, while she put on a golden eyeshadow that made her seem to glow. Finally she tied her long hair back in a ponytail. Looking at herself intently now, she had to grin at how good she looked. At the same time, she realized she didn’t even recognize herself anymore. Were she to return to Imperial Palace as she was now, even the Emperor himself would arch one of his withered eyebrows at the sight of her.

She made her way to the VIP section. The music from the rest of the club was low in this private area and the area was small and narrow compared to everywhere else. There was nobody else here, no average person had business here or would be foolish enough to tangle with these people. She found a stormtrooper waiting outside the door, standing guard. The pride of the Imperial Academy, she could snatch this one’s rifle, break his neck through his armor and boldly march in to meet her targets.

But she was as much about espionage as she was about viciousness. If she tried that with this one, it might make too much noise, enough for her targets to get the hint and scram immediately. And it would take just one glance from even the most airheaded Twi’lek dancer to see a dead stormtrooper and raise an alarm. Then her cover would be blown.