Chapter Text
Commandant Aresko stared at Minister Tua as he tried to process what she had said. “An Inquisitor? What does that even mean?”
Tua cleared her throat, smoothing her tunic down. “I admit, I’m not entirely sure. But since you and Taskmaster Grint seem to be struggling to bring in these terrorists that have been plaguing Lothal, Governor Pryce has requested specialized help for the upcoming Empire Day parade.”
He cleared his throat nervously. “I know we have had a few… incidents recently, but Taskmaster Grint and I are more than capable of securing the parade.”
“Be that as it may, the Inquisitor is already on his way,” the minister replied shortly. “The only name I was given was his designation: ‘Eye See Thirteen’. He is scheduled to arrive in half an hour. You are to give him your full cooperation.”
Aresko frowned. “And does this Eye See Thirteen have a rank?”
“I have been told to consider his authority to be coming directly from the Governor herself.”
Aresko bristled at that. He was supposed to hand over the control of all his operations to another officer with a title he had never even heard of? But if this was an order directly from the Governor, he had very little choice in the matter. “Very well, Minister.”
“Excellent,” she said, standing up. “You and Taskmaster Grint will meet him in Bay Twenty-Three. Good day.”
She left, leaving Aresko in the uncomfortable position of having to inform his partner of their new boss. He sighed, signing off his computer and getting up to do just that.
Fifteen minutes later, he had an angry taskmaster yelling spittle in his face. “What does she mean that we’ve been ‘struggling’? Last time we even got visuals on the insurgents!”
“Yes, but ‘visuals’ still isn’t an arrest,” Aresko said dryly. “The same crew has been disrupting our supply lines and attacking our troopers for a few months now. Perhaps this Inquisitor could finally give us the edge we need to catch the fiends!”
Grint grunted, his expression twisted in disgust. “But you said he’s only gonna be here for the parade. There’s no way he could get these guys in just a coupla days.”
Aresko sighed. “Perhaps you’re right. But we have no say in this. We will bite our tongues and give the Inquisitor our full cooperation.” He leaned in meaningfully and lowered his voice. “Otherwise it will be on our heads.”
“Fine,” Grint growled, tossing his datapad to the side and getting up. “I guess let’s go meet this Inquisitor.”
They made their way to the hanger, arriving at Bay Twenty-Three just minutes before the Inquisitor’s scheduled arrival. “How are we supposed to address this guy anyhow?” Grint asked.
“I think we’ll be safe if we stick to ‘sir’,” Aresko said quietly.
They both straightened as a specialized TIE fighter approached the hanger. Aresko had never seen a model like it before. He could see it actually had a shield and extra missile shells installed on either side of the cockpit. Its wings were curved, and they folded in on themselves as it landed.
Grint leaned over a little and whispered, “Where’s the transport it came with?”
“It probably just stayed in orbit,” Aresko whispered back. “Now hush!”
The hatch on the TIE opened, and they waited for the Inquisitor to climb out. Instead, they were taken aback as a black blur leapt out through the hatch, landing right in front of them. Aresko’s eyes widened as the Inquisitor stood… and only came up to the middle of his chest.
Aresko and Grint exchanged a quick glance. This Inquisitor wasn’t just short. He was obviously a child. Even with the sleek black armor and the circular metal device on his back, he didn’t look any older than twelve. Aresko was almost afraid Grint might say something in a bout of indignant outrage, but then the Inquisitor looked up at them with a glare. His eyes were an unnatural and sickly yellow, in sharp contrast with his light brown skin and lank black hair. They practically glinted as his gaze flickered between them. “Who’s in charge here?”
Clearing his throat, Aresko stepped forward. “I am Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko, head of security in Capital City. This is Taskmaster Myles Grint.”
And then, just when he thought things couldn’t get more baffling, a parrot droid floated out of the cockpit along with a brown and tan lothcat. The droid floated down and rested on the Inquisitor’s shoulder while the lothcat jumped down to the ground and settled by his boots.
“Um…” Aresko cleared his throat as he stared down at the animal. “Sir, you are, of course, aware that pets are forbidden under The Domicile Animal Exclusion Act.”
“This is not a pet,” the Inquisitor growled. “This is my Asset. Now…” He walked past both of them, the lothcat keeping pace with him. “Give me all the intel you have on these insurgents.”
“Y-Yes, of course. Follow me to my office, and Taskmaster Grint and I will debrief you.” Aresko hurried in front of the Inquisitor to lead the way. He was silently grateful that Grint seemed to be for a lack of words. Apparently the Inquisitor was terrifying to him as well. That made Aresko feel a bit better. Everything about this child was unsettling. His stoic demeanor, the unnaturally quiet lothcat trotting alongside him, the droid chirping and snapping its claws… it was all just a bit much.
“We are fairly certain it’s the same group of vagrants responsible for all these incidents,” Aresko began, pulling up the relevant files. “And just the other night, we got our first… visuals…” His voice petered out as the lothcat jumped up onto his desk. He couldn’t help but curl his lip in disgust. They were all filthy and feral strays. He waved his hand at the animal. “Shoo… shoo…!”
The Inquisitor’s eyes flashed, and the lothcat suddenly swelled. Aresko jumped back with a yelp as the creature’s body suddenly covered the entirety of his desk. Spines had sprouted from its back, and it snarled at him with a widened mouth filled with sharp teeth as its long twinned tail whipped through the air.
Aresko’s heart was pounding in his ears as he pressed himself back against the window. He glanced over and saw Grint similarly cowering against the wall as he stared at this giant predator on his desk. The Inquisitor was completely unfazed, staring at Aresko expectantly. “Continue with your report, Commandant.”
Aresko swallowed hard, staring at the creature - or whatever it was - with wide eyes. It was now large enough to bite his head clean off. “I…” He looked down at his datapad but was unable to properly read the words.
The Inquisitor rolled his eyes before he snapped his fingers. The creature shrank again, its body transforming back to the striped lothcat, sitting at the edge of the desk.
“W-What…?” Grint visibly swallowed. “What is that?”
“It is my Asset,” the Inquisitor repeated slowly, as if he was talking to a simpleton. “Do you know why domesticated animals are forbidden within the Empire?”
Grint just shook his head, his eyes glued to the lothcat. Aresko piped up in his stead. “I-It’s because the Jedi kept pets.”
“They were not pets,” the Inquisitor snarled. “They are physical manifestations of the Force, intrinsically linked to their Force user.”
“Th-The… The Force…?” Aresko echoed.
The Inquisitor gave a tired sigh. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not here to educate you. I’m here to bring in the insurgents that you and your incompetent troopers have failed to capture.” He raised a hand, and the datapad suddenly flew out of Aresko’s grasp and into the Inquisitor’s hand. He looked bored as he typed something on it, the droid snapping at the pad’s surface. “This is my frequency. Just send me the reports.”
After dropping the datapad on the desk, he turned and left with the lothcat close behind him. The office was eerily quiet, both Aresko and Grint frozen in their shared horror and consternation.
What the hell just happened?