"Powerful..."

"Perhaps from Mortis..."

"The Daughter..."

"Unparalleled...only the Chosen One..."

"Ashla...Ahsoka...Ashla...Ahsoka..."

"

Ania sat up, a cold sweat racing down her spine. She drew in a shaky breath and stared around the familiar room, grounding herself once again. The dreams wouldn't stop! She hadn't had a full sleep in years it seemed. Ania stood up, deeming it unnecessary to stay in bed any longer. She pulled on her boots and clipped her lightsabers to her belt before stepping outside.

The Imperial compound was already bustling with stormtroopers, despite the early hours. Ania drew in the crisp fresh air of Centax 1, one of Coruscant's four moons. From the moon's surface, Ania could see the lights of Coruscant's surface. She shuddered, recalling the dark spot on the planet's surface. That particular part of the planet felt...different...as though a dark and terrible deed had been committed there. A deed so terrible that the very life had been sucked from that spot, leaving a cold void behind.

A stormtrooper saluted her as she walked past. She acknowledged him with a nod. As an Imperial Mercenary, she had gained quite the reputation. Ania wasn't as well known as the Inquisitors who served Lord Vader, but she was still known. Her Togruta features made her rather recognizable as well. There were very few Togrutas on the moon's surface so most knew immediately who she was. If her body language didn't give her away, her facial markings surely would.

Like most Togrutas, Ania had unique markings on her face. Her's were unusual when compared to most of her species. They were crescent shaped on her cheeks, like a smile. The markings that made her eyebrows curved up into a circle at the top of her forehead with another smaller crescent inside it. Two full circles dotted the outside of her forehead markings.

Ania waved a hand at a departing lift, halting the door in place before it could close. Black fabric swirled around her legs as she squeezed into the lift. She waved her hand again and the door closed. Two officers stood behind her; she could sense their uneasiness.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?"

"No, not at all!" One of the officers answered, too quickly.

She turned around and met his gaze. "Is everything all right, officer?"

The second one spoke up. "Lord Vader is supposed to arrive today, Commander."

Ania rolled her eyes and swiveled on her heel. "Is that all? I really thought it would be something exciting. I've already been informed of my Master's arrival. He's here to give me an assignment." Her hand slid instinctively to her lightsaber hilt. She fingered its smooth design.

When Vader had found her as a young ten year old on a dying moon, he had taken her in. The way she understood it, he had sensed her incredible strength in the Force and had deemed it worthwhile to train her. It was all she had known, as she had no memory of her life before the Imperial Compound. Vader came to her when she was 14 and presented her with a lightsaber and shoto, recovered from Mandalor years ago. She had modified the empty blades to her liking. Once finished, Vader had given her two green lightsaber crystals. Their song called to her in a strange, yet familiar way. When she had connected with them, her lightsaber crystal turned a brilliant amethyst, and the shoto crystal turned white.

Ania drew her hand away from her blade as the lift slid open. The two officers stepped out of the lift. Ania remained and entered a different number into the floor level pad next to the lift. The doorway sealed and she continued to go up. She turned to look out the glass that separated the lift from the outside. Just beyond the horizon line, Coruscant was beginning to appear. As she watched the planet rotate, that one dark spot appeared. Ania felt a cold dark presence seep its way into her body, sucking the warmth from within her very bones. She shivered and turned away from the planet, stepping out of the lift.

She entered a large office just down the hallway. The stormtroopers guarding it let her in immediately, not bothering to question her presence. Ania stepped into the room and dropped to one knee, bowing before the dark lord before her. Vader's presence was like that darkness that drifted off Coruscant's surface, only weaker and more subtle. A certain part of her embraced that darkness, but the other part shunned it.

"Commander Tano," Vader said through his mask.

"Yes, my Lord?" She never knew why he called her 'Tano'. She had no last name to think of. She had always guessed the name to belong to someone she reminded him of. The only things she'd had when found were the clothes on her back and a first name.

"There is a rebel insurgence springing up on the planet Lothal. I am not sending you there for the rebels, yet. I don't see it as a large threat. Right now, I want you to work on finding the Rebel agent, Fulcrum. Fulcrum is their spy. Without him, the Rebel Alliance will collapse on its own. He is their main supplier of intel. Find him and dispose of him," Vader ordered.

"As you will it," she said, lowering her head.

"I have informed Agent Kallus and Governor Pryce of your departure. You will remain on Lothal and intercept any encrypted comms that are not Imperial. I know how good you are with decoding things. Be sure you find Fulcrum. I will check on your progress regularly." He said no more.

Ania took it as her cue to leave. She stood up and bowed again before exiting. Back in the lift, she wondered if she should wait to leave for Lothal or go immediately. "It's in the Outer Rim so it will take me at least a day to get there, even through hyperspace," she said to no one in particular. Sometimes it made choices easier when she spoke them aloud. "I might as well leave today and then spend my time in hyperspace preparing."

With her decision made, she stopped the lift early and made her way down to the main hanger. Rows and rows of TIE fighters met her gaze. She didn't let it remain on the dull gray machines for long, though. She chose to avert her eyes elsewhere, particularly to her B-wing fighter. It was custom built for her, since most of the original ones as well as the plans for them had been destroyed during the Clone Wars. The older B-Wings had no living space in them. Ania had ordered the frame of her ship to be made larger and certain parts to be expanded. It cut down on the ship's maneuverability a little, but at least she had somewhere to sleep.

Ania leapt off the balcony and used the Force to steady her landing. One of the maintenance men glanced her over. "Fuel my ship and prepare it for departure," she ordered. Something odd about the man caught her attention. A thin white scar was visible on the right side of his head. He seemed to be an older man, now that she thought about it. "Wait a moment." The man set down the fuel line he had been picking up. "Who are you? That scar...if my studies are right, the clones had chips implanted there."

The man's eyes grew sorrowful before he replied. "That's right, Commander. CT-3273 was my number."

"So you were a clone?"

"I was. The boys used to call me Ion, after my preferred method of explosions and reactions."

"You manned an ion cannon I'm guessing?"

"Yes, sir."

"Who was your commanding general?"

"I served under General Billaba for the most part, but I also served under a Padawan during the Siege of Mandalore. That was my last battle. After the war ended, all the clones were discharged. I figured I'd stay in service. I guess they didn't want us clones anymore, with their new stormtroopers. I was given this job and I've been here ever since." Ion's eyes had brightened and dimmed as he recounted his tale to Ania. She could tell the effect the war had had on him.

She eyed him with casual interest. "Mandalore, you say? That's interesting."

Ion nodded to her and replaced the fuel line, filling her fighter's tank to the brim. "That ought to do it." He tipped two fingers to the man inside the cockpit. The man returned the gesture and fired up the engines. He climbed out of the cockpit and scrambled quickly away from Ania and Ion.

"Will that be all, Commander?" Ion asked.

"Yes. Thank you." She didn't know shy she thanked him. She had never done things like that before. She shrugged it off and began to walk up the ramp of the Ravager.

"You look like her, you know," Ion called out as she was boarding.

Ania paused and glanced back at him. "Like who?"

"The Padawan from Mandalore. You're the spitting image of her, except your markings," Ion shrugged his shoulders. "Have a good flight."

Ania closed the boarding ramp and sealed the airlock. She lifted off smoothly and rocketed off the moon's surface. She sighed. "Another day...another mission. I guess that's all the life of a mercenary really gets you."