Redemption Part 8

Redemption
Part 8: Second Try
By SJ 12-23-01/23-03-02 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)

________________
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.
See my homepage for more details.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702

Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving
me some of your precious time, my friend :)
__________________

As he read the official and unofficial reports from his different servants about
the attack on Bizan, Palpatine couldn't help but cackle in victory and dark
satisfaction.

Not only was the rebel infestation eradicated once again, but he had just been
given the perfect proof that everything was back to normal with his youngest
dark lord. His and his father's fleet had leveled the base from space,
concentrating the fire power of their twenty ships on the area of the Rebel
base.

Nothing had survived for miles around it.

Of course, he snorted, it could not compare to his defunct Death Star, but the
results were still the same: he was ruling unchallenged once again. He still
didn't know if the Vaders had known which effect their attack would have on the
galaxy, but he couldn't have asked for better ones. Everywhere, people were
stricken with fear and vowed allegiance to him to avoid what had happened on
Bizan.

"Ryel," he called his aid, "Establish contact with our avengers. I wish to
speak to both of them at the same time," he informed the bowing man.

"Yes, Master," the other answered, then scuttled away to pass on his request to
his far away servants.

Life was once again perfect, he sighed in contentment and bliss.

In the outer rim, Luke joined his father on his flagship to answer the Emperor's
request. They both knelt respectfully at the ruler's feet, both suppressing
their feelings of disgust at what they had done for the fiend.

"Rise, my friends," their master told them magnanimously. "You have done well,
both of you."

"Thank you, Master," both Skywalkers answered coolly.

"Now that the galaxy is mine again, we won't need the both of you on the front
line."

Luke exchanged a quick glance with his father, then stepped slightly forward.

"With your permission, Master, I will stay with the Fleet and keep an eye on
your Empire. I don't want to repeat the experience of a few months ago."

The Emperor nodded, although somewhat reluctantly, he noticed.

"Granted," he finally said, then turned his focus on the older man: "You will
come to Coruscant to take part to the festivities, Lord Vader."

"Yes, Master," Anakin bowed instantly.

"This is a magnificent day for the Dark Side, my friends," the evil ruler
cackled at them. "From now on, no one will ever challenge us again."

Luke forced himself to assume an satisfied expression while his father nodded in
agreement.

"Never ever, Master," the youth also answered as if he were truly serving the
despot.

While the Emperor cackled even more, he felt his father's physical eyes slide
toward him before they refocused forward. He too had shivered at the coldness
of his words, he understood.

"Make work my will, young Vader," the tyrant instructed him. "Lord Vader, I
will be waiting for your arrival in three days."

"Yes, Master," they both bowed, then straightened when the holo faded out of
view.

Anakin turned toward his son to face him; his bright smile reassured him.

"You are getting too good at that, Luke," he teased him while letting out a sigh
of relief.

"No more than you are, Father," Luke returned lightly. "And you will need your
strongest shields and best acting abilities to survive while close to him," he
reminded him grimly.

"Yes, I know," he nodded, feeling his shoulders slump in worry.

He and Luke had made a point to not return to Coruscant for the time being, but
now, he had no choice, and a few months, it would be Luke's turn to 'take a
vacation'. He was certain of this.

"If he is truly convinced that we are serving him, then he might not even probe
us to check if we're hiding things from him," he observed seriously to comfort
his son.

"Perhaps," Luke nodded, then checked his chrono. "Mara is leaving in a little
under ten hours now; I'll go back to her, okay?"

Anakin couldn't help but smile under his mask. Even though his son was pulling
off quite an act of being a mean young man, he was still as earnest and as
caring as he had ever been. Especially where his lover was concerned. He
admitted that he reminded him a lot of himself.

"Of course," he finally nodded in answer. "Make the best of your time
together," he advised gently.

"We will tonight," he promised him with a smirk, then he turned away, composed
himself, then stalked toward the closed doors.

The next time they would see each other, Anakin reflected, their plan would be
well under way, perhaps even near completion. He couldn't wait to stop acting,
he added glumly to himself as he entered his meditation room and began to
prepare for his long term departure.

******

That evening, revelry was the only order in the officer's mess. Their Lord and
Lady however remained as cool as ever although they did celebrate with them, but
once they reached their private quarters, they let go of their rigid self-
control.

"I'll miss you, Mara," Luke whispered while he ravished her neck with his
sensuous lips.

"And I'll think a lot about you, Luke," she answered, flinging his shirt in the
general direction that his cloak had just taken.

She winced slightly as his fresher scars stood out more prominently on the flesh
under her hands, but she ignored her unease with them. It was their last night
together. She sighed in bliss as he leaned over her, his trouser clad, strong
body truly becoming the incarnation of her lover and sole true companion in her
life. At last, he was once again the man she loved more than life itself. His
lips continued to ravage her neck and chest; she locked her hands in his hair
and pulled him back to her head where she could kiss him with all her passion.
Through their bond, she felt that he was as delighted by their moment together
as she was.

For the moment, they weren't assassin and dark lord; only two lovers who were
going to share the most wonderful thing in the world: their love, which had been
put to test while they had been together, she remembered guiltily as Luke's
hands began to explore her stomach and lower body. She suddenly broke their
kiss, locking her eyes with his.

"What's wrong? Are you all right?" he inquired as he gazed worriedly in her
shiny eyes.

"Luke, I'm sorry, I... I didn't want to spy on you after the incident, Luke,"
she apologized earnestly, slightly avoiding his beautiful blue eyes. "And I
didn't... I just lived with you... and told him about that," she admitted
shamefully. "I didn't want to hurt you, but..."

"You had no choice, I know," he reassured her as he leaned closer, then kissed
her eyebrow in reassurance. "I too am sorry for the cold shoulder, Mara... but
having you here with me...," he began hesitatingly, "I knew that Leia had
stricken through my love for you... I couldn't risk it again," he explained
sadly.

When he lowered his gaze in regret, she leaned up once again and captured his
lips with hers.

*I guess we're even then,* she sent him with a very enticing offer.

He accepted it with a smirk against her lips before they deepened their embrace.
No matter what had happened, or would happen, they both knew and felt that
nothing would ever separate them.

******

Once Mara was gone, and that his father was on his way to Coruscant, Luke didn't
waste anymore time and set about using the best part of every night to prepare
for his secret missions. While he used his all-access, free-from-bugs computer
to gather as much information as he could find about clones, a work droid took
care to build both his specially-designed infiltration ship as well as the
secret landing bay from which he would launch each one of his missions.

It had taken him almost a whole month to gather everything that he needed
without anybody the wiser, not even Mara, but now that he was there, he was
ready for action.

For the moment though, he was seated in front of his computer, perusing through
yet another file. So far, he had discovered that clones couldn't survive the
effect of the Force on them without turning crazy, and that it took ten days to
a spaarti cylinder to create a viable clone. However, no clone were created
this fast for safety and sanity reasons. Other than that, he had only found
folklore and rumors.

Still, he reflected as he began another search, the Force element was
interesting. It explained why the Emperor transferred his whole spirit from one
body to another instead of being content to live through them. He now
understood that it allowed him to survive the debilitating process of his
clones. However, he reflected, leaning back in his chair while his computer
kept searching, it also meant that they would have to somehow eradicate the
Emperor's spirit as well as his other bodies.

Now how, he wondered uneasily, would they manage this?.. He made a note to
mention this to his father the next time that he would see him. His computer
screen finally changed to a new directory; he set back to work.

If he couldn't find more information from his station, he decided grimly, then
he would find on which planet he could find more information. Below him, under
the deck, the engineer droid continued to weld metal plates in place and connect
wires.

******

While he waited for his secret ship to be ready, Luke began to tamper with the
fleet, taking care of ships that 'required' his visit to straighten this or that
detail with their troops... or officers.

Hence, he found himself aboard the Avenger, taking part to yet another
celebration supper where alcohol flowed freely in the glasses of the officers.
Luke, who rarely drank anything, waited for them to be too much in a revelry
mood to notice anything around them, then pretended that he had to go to the
'fresher.

He exited the dinner room, then stormed out of it and stalked toward the
'closest' private relief room--- which just happened to be on a straight
parallel with the engineering section. Once inside the room, he swiftly got rid
of his velvety cloak and dress shirt, stuffed them in his small utility bag
which he had been hiding under his cloak, then took out his assassin shirt and
hood, then his chosen tools and weapons.

He had to be back in this room in fifteen minutes, he reminded himself while he
set his chrono. He also had to remain completely inconspicuous and hidden, he
thought as he made sure that his poisoned darts were somewhere handy. Once he
was ready, he knelt on the tiled floor and used his silent screw driver to free
one of the metallic plates from its place. Under it was a mess of conduits and
pipes which were barely lit by maintenance lights.

He slipped under the floor, grabbed hold of a descending, sturdy pipe, then,
hooking his legs around it, slid down all the way to the bottom that was the
roof of the engineering section. He gazed around himself, peering through the
fog which was caused by the heated pipes, and identified his next destination.
Stealthily, he cat-footed toward the air shaft that he had identified on his
plan, then slipped into it and went down to the level of the adjoining corridor.

Once there, he jammed his legs against the sides of the conduit, making sure
that he remained out of sight until the coast was clear. He barely reached out
with the Force to check his surroundings, one of the only use that he made of it
during his operation; he waited for the approaching figures to move past him
before he slid all the way to the grid. There, he used a modified tool to
remove it from the wall, then to close it again with only two screws.

He briefly checked his chrono. Ten minutes and fifty seconds left.

A minute later, he had reached his destination and was safely hidden under the
core of the engineering station of the ship. Around him, techs and overseer
were making sure that the ship's engine were functioning perfectly.

Forty-five seconds later, his mini, undetectable receiver/override chip was in
place and it was time to return to his other life. Careful to remain hidden, he
slithered from shadow to shadow until he had reached another ventilation shaft,
then opened it and went up in it.
Unlike his descent which had been swift, the climb, as he had surmised, was long
and demanding, especially since he had to remain silent.

Two minutes later, he was back on the level of the pipes on which he had landed
after his slide. Still careful to remain silent despite his not-specially
designed boots, he ran as fast as he could to catch his way up. Since
engineering and all the low-status duties were located at the bottom of each
ship, all of them were equipped with old fashioned lift carts to keep the higher
ups from going downstairs to obtain food, clean laundry, and whatever else that
was part of the needs provided by the Empire.

His lift was coming up fast now. Even as the medium-sized box rose upward, Luke
gathered his strength and jumped; he caught the rope with his right hand, then
crouched on the fast-moving box. He kept an eye on his exit route.
If he missed it, he would be short in time.

But he didn't miss it; instead, he gracefully landed on the pipes which were
just under his targeted exit.

A little over three minutes left.

Swiftly, he pulled himself out of the hole, refastened the plate in place, then
shed his uniform to replace it with his disguise before he once again hid his
small bag under his cloak. He then used his last minute to catch his breath,
fix his look, and slightly call on a trance to get rid of the traces of
perspiration on his face.

It had been a sauna down there, he admitted, making a note to find himself
another alibi next time. The window was just a little too short to do it
perfectly. However, he smiled inwardly as he exited the 'fresher, he had
accomplished his mission.

The Avenger was doomed now, a sad and necessary action of war to insure true,
Light-born peace in the galaxy.

******

Throughout the following three weeks, he repeated his sabotaging operation
aboard almost a third of the ships of the Fleet. No one ever suspected his
brief disappearances, nor did they ever find anything suspicious in their daily
checks in the engine rooms.

On the eve of the fourth week, he turned away from the sight of the gathered
fleet... and turned around to face his small, secret landing bay and preparation
room; he allowed himself a sigh of relief. Even though the last weeks had been
demanding, he hadn't had to hurt anyone during those, either in the imperial
army or outside of it. His poison darts were still accounted for, still
waiting to mimic food poisoning which would cause near-death pain for the victim
before generating an general amnesia of the last two months, and the citizens of
the galaxy were scared mute of the 'power' of the Empire... But he would soon
make it up to them, he promised himself as he climbed aboard his secret fighter
and checked it thoroughly. Every day, he and his father were coming closer and
closer to being able to implement their master plan. In his fighter, everything
was up to specs, and ready to fly.

He smiled in satisfaction; the droid, once loaded with the proper programming,
had indeed been able to replace a team of techs and engineers. 'And now,' he
thought grimly as he jumped down from his ship and headed toward his equipment
storing compartments, 'the real work begins.' Aware of what was awaiting him
for the next months, he knew that his slipping past his distracted troops had
been a child's game. On the other hand, infiltrating anything, even the
Emperor's strongholds... Now that would be a challenge, he smirked grimly, but
he was up to it, he resolved as he continued to prepare himself.

Hours later, just before the dayshifts began aboard his ship, he returned with a
first proof that he was indeed up to his new challenge. It had begun.

******

Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Anakin Skywalker took advantage of a lull of courtesans
around him to escape the Emperor's newest function. He found refuge on the
adjoining balcony. He gazed at the gorgeous vista of Imperial city at dusk, and
for the first time in ages, he didn't think about it as a symbol of power and
unchallenged ruling... but as a thriving city where the beat of life was such
that it never went to sleep. While his eyes slowly slid from one spire of
plexiglass and durasteel to another, his thoughts went to the beings who were
caught in the 'wiring' of the societies and companies which were using them to
grow. Mostly humans, except for a few aliens here and there in menial
positions, they were all striving for a living, trying to survive the jungle
that was Coruscant which was the worst, but unfortunately most profitable planet
where one could choose to spend his/her life.

While most planets had important cities and lucrative resources, none of the
jobs offered on them could compare with the wealth, stability and social
programs which were offered through the big players that were gathered 'at the
center' of the universe. At least, he amended, from an imperial point of view;
everybody knew that the center of the universe was Byss and the Deep Core
region... where the Emperor kept his clones and other very secret secrets, he
reminded himself grimly, his mind briefly refocusing on his part of his and his
son's plan. Throughout the past weeks, he hadn't found much information except
for the fact that any big secret in the Empire was always transferred there and
taken out of the records until the Emperor chose to bring it back in everyone's
knowledge... Like what had happened with information about the cloning
technology. He now knew that, very much like what had been done to the Jedi
teachings, almost every data about cloning processes and clones in general was
either already destroyed or kept in locked-up locations. More and more, he was
growing aware that Palpatine was a very wary man who never took any chances
about anything.

It was not reassuring at all, he reflected grimly, especially where his son was
concerned---

"Admiring the landscape, my Lord," a rich, male voice inquired from behind him.

Anakin didn't need to turn around to identify the being who was now standing
behind him: Xizor, head of the Black Sun underground organization.

"No more so than you are, Prince Xizor," he returned coolly, turning slowly
toward the malicious alien. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"
he then asked almost sarcastically.

Xizor rode it smoothly, as if he hadn't noticed his disgusted attitude.

"No particular reason, my Lord," he answered coolly. "I simply needed a breath
of fresh air for a second or two," he finished, turning sideways toward the
opposite edge of the balcony.

As if, Anakin sneered mentally. If he knew one thing about the lizard, it was
that he never did anything as risky as to approach him directly unless it served
his purpose. The question being of course which purpose he was pursuing this
time, he wondered warily. The silence between the two of them remained unbroken
except by the sound of his own hated respirator, then just when he was turning
away from the alien, the other spoke up.

"By the way," he began with craftily mimicked polite interest, "I heard that our
young Lord Vader didn't behave out there."

If Anakin hadn't known how much hatred the dark Prince was bearing for his son,
how much anger he still felt for the 'kid' who had supplanted him in the
Emperor's favors, he would have believed his act of mere curiosity, but he
wasn't dupe. He knew that Xizor wanted to confirm his spy's information, then
perhaps put 'him' at cross-wires with the Emperor over the subject of his son.
Anakin decided to not get on that wavy terrain.

Instead, he turned again on his heel until he was facing the tall alien, then
said: "And I was told that you pulled quite a private tantrum once your ensuing
offer of service as the Emperor's third in command was refused," he commented
meanly.

Since he was closely monitoring the other, he caught the subtle shift in his
skin's color; he knew that he had hit him where it hurt. He smirked in
satisfaction, glad for once that his cursed mask prevented the other from seeing
it. He didn't have to wear another mask over his features. He jubilated even
more when the other remained mute, speechless for once, then he allowed himself
to slip back in his Vader persona for just one second to threaten the
machiavellian creature.

"If I ever discover that those rumors were sowed by you," he warned, waving his
finger in the other's face, "you won't like the consequences," he finished
shortly, then turned on his heel and left the balcony where he had temporarily
found refuge from the dark world that was his life for the moment. Behind him,
someone swore to make his life even darker than it now was.

******

Five days later, in deep space, the Fleet continued to patrol areas where Rebel
sympathy was reported... and to intervene when it was necessary. While Luke
knew that he had no choice but to use violence if any trouble rose from those
planets, he kept his troops on a short leash, defending his choice of strategy
with the fact that they wouldn't strike unless they had to. Otherwise, he
constantly reminded them, their presence was supposed to be only a deterrent.

Hence, his own ship was now stationed above Tangrene while three quarters of his
troops were temporarily assigned down on the surface to patrol the towns and
cities and discourage anyone from defying the Empire... For the time being,
Luke reminded himself as he prepared for his own mission on the surface, it was
the best that he could do. However, he promised himself to make his choice of
destination worthwhile for their unwilling host. While he had chosen Tangrene
as 'his' destination because of the importance of its population, his true
reason was the Ubiquetorate Data Bank that was safely ensconced in the middle of
Tangra, the planet's capitol.

Unlike his previous missions, which had always remained unnoticed yet had been
more or less successful depending on how much information he had retrieved
during them, he didn't intend to launch this new one from his secret hangar bay.
Instead, he meant to use his sumptuous suite in the most beautiful hotel of the
city as his temporary 'base'. As he had surmised, he reflected as he turned off
his lights and checked his weapons and tools, his presence as a dark Lord had
added to the deterrent effect of his passage in the area; whatever rebellious
feeling he had detected around himself upon arrival had swiftly crumpled to non-
existence when he had come closer to the sources of those feelings. While it
was welcome for the moment since it saved him from giving horrible orders to his
troops, it also greatly disgusted him because of its implication; he was a
monster. He had done terrible things, he admitted shamefully as he put on his
shirt and cowl; he couldn't even hope to make it up to all his victims, but, he
promised himself as he walked toward his balcony, he would do his best, and
more, to fix his mistakes.

He swiftly prepared his chosen mean of transportation: a paraglider. Since he
didn't want to call on the Force in order to not use the Light anymore than he
had to, he had chosen this peculiar mean of transportation to reach his
destination instead of jumping from building to building like he could easily do
with the help of the Force. He stretched the wings of his black paraglider,
climbed on the edge of his railing, then jumped.

The warm wind of the nearby coast lifted him up, up, then it was up to him to
direct his weight. He headed straight for the building which was located twenty
meters away from the Ubiquetorate data bank.

Ten minutes later, he was slinking from shadow to shadow, keeping his senses
alert for any hidden alarm system. He knew that the Center, although open to a
certain class of the society, was very well guarded by local enforcers. Still,
he smirked grimly, even their wariness and surveillance gadgets weren't a match
for his well trained infiltration skills... one of the very few things he was
now grateful for in his imperial life. His training truly was a major gift from
the tyrant, he conceded dimly, then added that he doubted that the man had ever
meant it to be used against him. Good for him, he sneered at the thought, then
refocused on his chosen way in.

Over a temporarily deserted wall, across a barely lit backyard, then up an open
window. He was in. Careful to remain silent, he studied where he was and
compared it with his memory. He was in the room where calls were directed
before they were dispatched on respective coms. That computer wouldn't be
hooked to the data bank, he surmised; he slightly reached out to make sure that
he was alone then slipped in the empty corridor and skulked as quickly and as
silently as he could toward the upper levels and the offices of higher-ranking
employees who would have access, restricted or un-restricted to the data bank.
The only thing that he needed, he thought as he waited for two security guards
to walk by him, was an access; he would take care to go wherever he pleased
afterward. Warily, he exited his chosen nook and slipped closer to the door of
the data manager.

Surely, he reflected seriously, that person would have access to the bank. He
hacked his way inside, then re-locked the door as if nothing had happened.
Then, allowing his senses to be slightly less dampened than usually, he sat at
the computer station and began to sift through menus. As he had surmised, the
manager had a coded access to his goal. He briefly called on the Force to make
him produce the right code on his first attempt, then, once this was done, shut
himself off from his deeper touch with his true self. While he used his raw
knowledge of filing and hacking to complete his mission, he admitted to himself
that he missed the presence of the Force in his life. Whereas it had always
been there, like a presence in his mind which kept him from erring too much from
what he had to do to survive, he now had to rely solely on his five senses if he
didn't want to pierce the 'cloak' of darkness that he had forced around his true
self to hide from the Emperor. He admitted that he couldn't wait to shed it
once and for all.

In front of him, files continued to flash open and closed as he searched for
datas about clones and darksiders.

Approximately twenty minutes later, he had downloaded the equivalent of three
discs of data and was busy covering the fact that an operation had taken place
from the computer. The last thing he needed, he thought seriously as he erased
all the temporary files that he had generated, was an alarm to reach the
Emperor's ears. He and his father's plan was finally proceeding forward and
rather well; they couldn't fail because of his inattention to details.

Finally, he was ready to leave. After securing his disks in the inner pocket of
his shirt, he briefly scanned his surroundings, exited in the empty corridor
then locked the door again and headed for the closest closet. He had one last
thing to do before he left, he reminded himself: he had to access the
surveillance system and erase his two operations with the door pad.

As he had noted during his tour of the data bank during the day, no one was
monitoring the surveillance system. Instead, they were checking reports from it
in the morning. Thus, it was child's play for Luke to erase the only remaining
proof that he had ever been in the building during the night. He then used the
grating in the floor to access the ventilation system of the data bank, and
disappeared in the night a few minutes later.

Yet another mission that had worked, he smiled to himself as he re-entered his
suite, one hour later.

******

On Coruscant, Anakin braced himself for yet another encounter with his slaver.
Ever since he had freed himself from him, he had scrupulously avoided those
occasions, timing even his arrival to match with one of his cursed victory
receptions. Today however, it was unavoidable. He had been summoned to the
throne room which meant that the Emperor wanted to talk with him without any
interference from anyone. He wondered what it would be about this time. It
would probably be about the future of 'his' domain, he reflected with a sneer of
disgust. As if it were his, he thought in barely controlled anger, then caught
himself and rid himself of his anger. The galaxy wasn't the Emperor's, he
thought more coolly yet not less seriously; he had stolen it from the citizens
of the said galaxy, wrenched it from their un-wary fingers, then had thanked
them by forcing them to their knees and kept them there. Still did in fact.
And to think, he mused, turning his returning anger into regret directed at
himself, that he had been his sword... his dark knight who had pillaged, killed,
injured and traumatized more souls than he dared count.

Just how, he asked himself for the thousandth time since he had returned to the
Light, had he missed what he was truly doing, way back when? Oh, he still
remembered how compassionate Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had seemed with him
when he and Padme had faced his vows as a Jedi to be allowed to be in love. At
that though, he admitted shamefully that the man had indeed known just how to
stroke his ego, his righteousness, and he, greatest fool who had ever lived, had
not seen clear enough to even detect his cold heart--- until too late. By then,
he conceded, he had known exactly what kind of man Palpatine had been, but since
his own heart had begun to darken due to his fits of anger and hatred directed
at Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Jedi Council, he had failed to see the danger of the
man... then he had named himself Emperor and had offered him to enforce his law
in the galaxy.

The renewed Jedi momentarily closed his eyes as he remembered that faithful day.
He had still been debating this powerful offer versus his surviving love for his
angel when news of his Jedi teacher's betrayal had reached his ears and he had
gone after him... on Vjun. It was there, on that cursed planet, that Vader had
truly been born, and Anakin, nearly burned to a crisp. But he hadn't been
completely burned away, he reminded himself as he pulled himself away from the
horrible memories which followed that darker than dark day. He had survived,
safely hidden in his heart where he had retained love for his by then hidden
Padme; he had taken all the time that he needed to heal and recover... to be
ready when the time would come to be reborn... and act.

And that time 'had' come, he reflected more seriously. Soon, there wouldn't be
anymore horrors perpetrated in the name of the Emperor and he himself would be
free to fix his mistakes from the past, or at least as many of them as could
anyway, he conceded glumly--- His comlink suddenly went off, informing him that
he could enter the Emperor's throne room. Taking a second to cover his
thoughts, he entered the dark room.

The Emperor watched his true right hand and second in command as he climbed the
long stairs that led to his throne. Unlike the son, he thought greedily, the
older man had never been a danger for him; he had embraced the dark side too
greedily to retain any scraps of his former life. He had to admit however that
he had been worried about his devotion when the boy had appeared out of nowhere,
then as he had gained his undivided care, but Vader had always been faithful to
him, as he had proven to him once again when he had hurt the flesh of his flesh
in his name. He hadn't liked it, he knew, but he still obeyed him.

He was his creation, he smiled slightly as the other knelt respectfully,
'his'..., body and soul.

"What is thy bidding, my Master?" the other inquired seriously.

"Rise, my friend," he invited him as he himself stood from his throne. "I wish
to speak with you regarding a few matters of importance."

Vader obeyed him, standing back to his feet until he was towering over him.
For anybody else in his galaxy, except the boy and Jade, he knew that the sight
of the standing giant struck cold dread straight to their heart, but not him.
'He' was the master of the black clad man; he had made him who he was and had
proven to him how useless it would be to entertain improper thoughts of attack
or rebellion. Not that he had ever taught him painful lessons, he admitted as
he began to walk near the large bay window which was sitting behind his throne,
but Vader had seen him bestow that lesson on more than one soul to have learnt
it for himself.

"I heard that Prince Xizor had whiff of your son's straying," he began
seriously.

"Yes, Master," Vader nodded from his position at his side.

Palpatine smiled under his cloak as he felt the barely concealed hatred in his
dark servant; how he loved to pit those two one against the other, he reflected
gleefully. They were both powerful, yet his servant had an obvious advantage
over the devilish alien. After all, he sneered, nothing, not even intelligence
could compete with the power of the Force. He turned toward the window and
gazed at the center of his domain.

"One wonders how he discovered it," he commented seriously, throwing an askance
glance at his servant.

"His spies must have picked up on my son's slight limp while I was aboard, Then
reported it to him and he figured out the rest," the dark man answered coolly.
"For what good it did to him," he added more coldly.

Palpatine couldn't help but smirk in pleasure. This, he admitted to himself,
was why he wouldn't replace Vader anytime soon: he enjoyed too much his cold
reflections, devoid of feelings yet not immune to anger or hatred. A true
machine of destruction.

Anakin barely watched the cackling despot, thoroughly disgusted by the depravity
of his soul. Even though the other hadn't said it, he could almost read it in
the air: if the other ever had an alibi to be disappointed of Luke, he would
find a way to punish his son again for his already inhuman effort to not show
any sign of his last discipline. Yes, he had limped, he wanted to shake the
other's shoulders. Who wouldn't with the injuries he had given him? Certainly
not the Emperor, old corpse that he was.

"Yes, Prince Xizor certainly didn't hide his desire to replace him in my
favors," the Emperor finally commented, then sneered in annoyance. "I'm afraid
that he doesn't realize just how foolish it is of him to consider himself the
equal of even your son," he finished in disdain.

As if, Anakin refrained himself from raging, his son wasn't his best element
anymore. Aware that he had to remain Vader though, he tried to think of what
the Emperor might be saying with that comment.

"Luke made a mistake, Master," he finally commented simply to defend his son.

"His last one," the other retorted dryly, chilling him to the bone with the
implication of his answer. "I always feared this about him, my friend," he then
continued more darkly, "His good heart is a danger to us; it corrupts his
devotion to the Dark Side and myself."

Suddenly having a very bad feeling about this, Anakin worked double time to
refrain himself from revealing just a little too much of himself.

"What would you have him do, Master?" he asked rhetorically, bracing himself
for bad news.

"Send him to me," he ordered shortly. "I will take care to either eradicate his
Light forever... or I will eradicate him."

"That won't be necessary, Master," he answered with a bow of his head. "I will
warn him to cooperate even more than he ever has."

"Good, dismissed," the other barely whispered.

On his way toward the double doors, Anakin felt his insides churn at the thought
of what the Emperor was planning for his son. Teach him dark secrets, he felt,
but also rid him of his habit to care for and about others. They would need to
prepare well before they obeyed that command, he decided worriedly.

TBC in part 9: Dark Lessons

SJ: Skyjade@globetrotter.net (any positive stuff is welcome, but negative or
mean comments will be thrown down the Sarlacc s throat without being read.)