Her touch on the flight controls was gentle, measured. Raskta wished that she had the skills of the pilots she had known, those who made flying a true art, something they felt beyond the five senses. She was merely an amateur, knowing enough to handle basic maneuvers but far from sophisticated. The Echani had a saying, one that had served her well at all stages of her life, as a sport duelist, as a soldier, and as one of the royal guards: “Skill begins as slowness, matures to smoothness, and culminates in effortless alacrity”. So, as she took her ship on the journey from low orbit to treetop height, she did her best to make it slow and smooth, befitting the first stage of learning. It also wouldn’t do to damage the ship with a reckless maneuver; it was a technology demonstrator prototype from a line that never reached mass production, in truth she didn’t even know if there any others in the line still operational, and even if there were they would likely have different, higher-grade specifications.

A long descent gave time to survey the planet from above, and time for Raskta to contemplate. While at a stage that the autopilot could handle, she walked into the area she had set aside for meditation. It was at the tip of one of the long pointed frontal pieces of the hull, a place that had sat empty when the ship went from carrying her whole squad to just herself. 

There had been nine of them. Three joined half-witted pretenders to throne, Admirals and Moffs that claimed to be Palpatine’s successor while having not one iota of his gifts. They had chosen their new masters based on who made the best offer in money and prestige, a pathetic notion. Two had gone out in a blaze of glory, staging reckless suicide attacks mere hours after they heard of Palpatine’s death. She respected them, sometimes even feeling guilty that she had not done the same, but she had lived to see how such thoughtless actions had resulted in no tangible gain for the empire. One vanished without a trace, rumored to be working as a mercenary or with New Republic Intelligence, both of which would only earn contempt from Raskta. One had chosen a path like Raskta, to live on and uphold the ideals of the empire, to stay in the shadows and look for subtle ways to ensure Palpatine’s dreams lived on. This path required utmost secrecy, and as such neither him nor Raskta knew how to find each other. Lastly, that had left the pilot, the one who had been everyone’s friend, and the last one Raskta had seen in person. He came to her with an idea that he had reached after much contemplation, joining the New Republic, pleading guilty and owning up to all of the sordid deeds that had been done in Palpatine’s name. He saw them as merciful and the only chance to live a different kind of life. It took all of Raskta’s willpower to fake agreement with it even for a few minutes, but that was enough time for him to unlock the ships controls and for her to stab him to death like the traitor he was. 

Meditation was one of the things they taught her in the Royal Guards. They were strict about the method of it, all of the tenets were to be followed exactly and any questions as to why or where the technique came from were strictly forbidden. It began with focused intensity, concentration on any strong emotion, and letting the fire build inside. Then came the refinement, the desire to harness this raw emotion into willpower, to draw strength from it. Finally, came the moment for action, the clarity of purpose that came afterwards, driven forward by the innermost will and the ritual was complete. Some found it ineffective, some even loathed it, but Raskta found it to be a useful benefit. In her experience, it gave her a slight but noticeable performance increase after a session and was very useful for washing away any doubts she had before proceeding forward. 

After finishing her meditation, she stared out the cockpit window and saw the Temple in the distance. She didn’t know what lay within, she didn't know if there would be others there, and she had only faint ideas of what the Sith was, but she went on because of one strong feeling. If there was anything like Palpatine left in the galaxy, if there was anything that could keep his legacy alive, it lay with whatever was left of the Sith. That possibility alone was worth risking everything, and her purpose was clear as she set the stealthy ship down on a ridge with a clear sightline to the ziggurat.