Author: Darth Skywalker
Author's Email: [email protected]
Category: Series
Key Words: Luke, Han, Leia, Mara, Vader, Xizor, Thrawn, Karrde, Jabba, Guri, Fett, Lando
Spoilers: A New Hope, Tales From The Empire
Rating: PG
Summary: Begins immediately after A New Hope, and then fast-fowards to six months later. Yavin 4 is being evacuated. Darth Vader has been exiled by the Emperor but wants to prove his master wrong. Mara Jade has an assignment with Boba Fett that she will look back on years later and shudder over. Thrawn decides to take a little trip before his final assignment in the Core Region. A Dark Jedi is discovered under the command of a mysterious lady. What effect will she have on these events?
Disclaimer: This is a work of Fan Fiction. Star Wars and its characters are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.
Authors note: All feedback, good or bad, is welcome! I'm just a fan fic writer here trying to finally complete a full-length work, something I have yet to do in my writing career, so please let me know how I am doing!
Prologue
Six Months Ago
Darth Vader had sat in the trench, muttering moments earlier to himself,
"The Force is strong with this one," as the X-Wing
pilot he had been ready to gun down prepared to shoot his proton
torpedoes into the main reactor of the Death Star. But the
sensation passed, and moments before he squeezed down the trigger
of his ion cannon, he grinned underneath his mask and said
"I have you now."
He then pushed the trigger, but the shot went wide.
"What?" he had yelled in confusion, and then he was cut
off as he felt his custom TIE crash against his wingman, and a
massive headache began to overpower him as a result. He quickly
used the Force to begin healing himself, but as he did, he
noticed that his ship was spinning out of control and...his other
wingman was gone.
Then he felt it. He peered around to see...the Millennium
Falcon...the ship that he had let go from the Death Star in
the hopes that it would lead them to the hidden Rebel Base. Grand
Moff Tarkin had expressed doubt to Vader openly about the entire
plan...but Vader had said nothing in response to Tarkin's lack of
faith.
Now, he saw that Tarkin had been right.
Luckily, Vader would not have to face a confrontation from him on
this subject, he realized ruefully, as he witnessed the Death
Star explode into a supernova quite similar to that which had
occurred, ironically, when the very same station had destroyed
the planet of Alderaan.
Vader was thrown back in his seat, the loss of life sending him
reeling, and his ship once again flew out of control. He could
not focus on the Force and had no time in advance to prepare for
this disturbance. At least when Tarkin had decided to destroy
Alderaan, Vader had ample time to put up barriers around his mind
so he would not hear the screams of pain, death, and terror as he
saw Alderaan's decimation aboard the Death Star.
But that was not the case now.
Fortunately for Vader, no one had taken notice of his escape and
mercifully, no Rebel fighter had decided to do anything about it.
It was something that he hoped sincerely they would come to
regret, and from the proddings that the Force gave him, he
believed his wishes would come true.
After several minutes of thanking the Force for his life, he then
realized the inevitable.
He would have to explain himself to the Emperor...and it would
not be good for him. His Master had never truly been displeased
with what he had created from the remains of Anakin Skywalker, as
for the last twenty years he had scoured the entire galaxy in
search of remaining Jedi and had systematically wiped them all
out, one-by-one. The irony had indeed been great. The Jedi were
finished off by one who had been their own, and to make it worse
he had been seen as the "Chosen One." Vader had now
realized what he was chosen for...to eliminate them.
Despite this attempt to think about the past and as a result
digress from his earlier thoughts, Vader came back to the present
and then began to dread the future. The Emperor would not be
pleased at all. Not only had Vader been the primary one
responsible for the error in the pivotal moment of battle, but
the Emperor would have been able to view the entire battle
through the Force. Such was the power of Vader's master...and
Vader shuddered to think what would happen if he were to have
that power directed at him.
As Vader mused on these thoughts, he sensed something was about
to happen and he shook away any
thoughts of the past or the future and focused solely on the
present. He noted that his starfighter had repaired all damage
and was fully functional once again. Vader raised his shields, a
feature only boasted by his customizable fighter and none other
in the entire fleet. He then prepared his sensors and made sure
his weapons were ready to go.
As he finalized the checks, he waited to see what would happen. A
minute passed...then two...then three...and eventually, Vader's
impatience got the best of him. Howver, he chided himself and
stretched out to the Force for guidance...and then he saw what
would happen.
As he opened his eyes, the Star Destroyer he had just seen in his
vision appeared before him and
immediately locked onto his ship with a tractor beam.
Vader thought the immediacy of the entire action rather
strange...almost as if they had been expecting him...
And then the dread hit him as he sensed the presence aboard the
Star Destroyer itself...
No, it couldn't be...but it was...
The Emperor himself was aboard the Star Destroyer...and as Vader
further searched through the Force, he realized that his master
had immediately seen what was to happen to the Death Star and had
rushed out to prevent it...but had come too late. Now he would
deal with his most loathsome creation regarding this matter...as
soon as possible, Vader feared.
As the tractor beam pulled him into a docking bay, Vader shut
down the ship except for life support, and then he saw the
stormtroopers lined in formation, awaiting his arrival. Despite
Vader's fear for what was about to happen to him within the next
several moments, he opened his mind to the troopers out of
curiosity and queried their emotions. He was shocked to find them
amused...but then he got over the shock and realized that they
had a right to be. They were standing in front of the Dark Lord
who had come not in honor but in shame...being saved from danger
from the Emperor, who had been reduced to a baby-sitter. Vader
again shuddered upon thinking about the Emperor, and as he
stepped out the custom TIE, he noticed two men approaching him.
Captain Niriz....and Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Chiss.
So...Vader was aboard the Admonitor.
Interesting...Thrawn had definitely been currying for the
Emperor's favor...and Vader realized that to deliver him
personally to the Emperor would no doubt increase his status in
the Emperor's eyes even more.
But the man did not worry Vader. Deep down inside, in fact, he
had a certain respect for the blue-skinned, red-eyed alien that
few Imperial officers had ever inspired in Vader, Tarkin aside.
He did not think that Thrawn would try to rise to a higher
position merely by using Vader as his stepping-stone...a man like
Thrawn was above that.
As the two men approached, Vader nodded cordially to them.
"Admiral Thrawn...Captain Niriz."
Thrawn nodded to the Dark Lord. "Lord Vader. We welcome you
aboard the Admonitor."
Niriz also gave Vader a cordial bow in addition to the nod.
"My Lord...ah, the Emperor is aboard and wishes to see you
immediately...we have an impromptu throne room set up where he is
waiting for you...if you'll follow us, sir?"
As Vader silently began following the two officers as his
response, his fear increased tenfold as he realized his
premonitions were correct. The Emperor was aboard after all...
Vader tried to walk as slowly as possible, but at one point when
he noticed that Thrawn and Niriz were nearly several feet in
front of him, he finally stopped with his nonsense and decided to
face up for what he had done...if it was anything, at all...as he
caught up to them.
Thrawn and Niriz finally stopped before a door, and as it opened,
Vader could sense the dark presence of his master invading his
mind before he saw him and he communicated with his servant.
Lord Vader, I have been expecting you...
My Master...
He noticed immediately that there was no "Welcome," or
"My friend," or any of the usual greetings that the
Emperor normally gave him when they met as the door opened and
the trio walked up the stairs.
The chair was turned towards the stars, but it turned around as
the three of them stepped onto the same parallel ground as the
Emperor's. No doubt the Emperor had sensed them through the
Force.
"Thank you Admiral Thrawn, Captain Niriz. I appreciate your
hospitality in allowing me to use the Admonitor's
facilities...and now, you may leave us."
Before they left, though, Vader noticed that they properly added
their graciousness to the Emperor, and he noticed before all this
that the Emperor had not acknowledged Vader at all.
"We are honored with your presence, my Emperor," said
Thrawn, kneeling quickly and bowing his head.
"My Master, it was a pleasure working with you," said
Niriz, doing the same as Thrawn.
The Emperor leered. "As it was with you...and as it will be
in the future...but we will discuss this matter further, both of
you. Now leave us...guards, you may leave as well," the
Emperor said, addressing his crimson soldiers armed with their
signature Force pikes.
Vader tried to think of anything to delay his impending doom, but
as he felt the last guard file out of the room, he then looked up
from kneeling to his master. The Emperor had maintained his smile
until the last guard had left, but now he openly glared at Vader.
"You have failed me, Vader," he barked. "You had
already foiled two of their attack runs...and the third should
have been easy...he was one fighter, alone by himself. There were
three of you. What harm could one fighter against three pose,
especially with the best pilot the Empire has in command of the
situation?"
Vader did not answer...he knew it was unwise to try and put
excuses before the Emperor, and he had only heard of those who
had tried to do so...because he had never seen them again.
The Emperor's glare turned into a sneer. "Not only have you
humiliated me and turned me into a baby-sitting service solely
for you, but the Rebels have crippled us and have received an
opportunity to regroup, expand, and plan more infiltrations for
the future."
He then closed his eyes and grinned...and that made Vader fear
for his life even more.
"Ah, I can sense your fear...it has been strong within you
since the event...I can understand, my servant...I can..."
Palpatine said, as he looked at Vader sadly.
Without warning, lightning bolts shot out from the Emperor's
hands and Vader was knocked back, toppling down the stairs. As he
flipped over, he noticed the sad look on the Emperor's face had
been replaced with one of insane, uncontrolled, raw anger. The
Emperor stood up and continued his advance, his eyes growing
wider with every second.
The pain was so much for Vader that he began to lose his sight
and involuntarily, he began to shriek in horror, hoping that
perhaps those would serve as pleas for the Emperor to spare his
life.
To Vader's surprise, the Emperor did stop. But Vader ruefully
realized that it was only to continue his verbal tirade.
"You will pay the price for your lack of vision...and for
your disobedience and your failure to serve me. You have cost the
Empire millions of lives, Vader... and this murder cannot be
excused."
As soon as this verbal tirade was over, the physical tirade
resumed. The lightning bolts shot out again, and the electricity
threatened to shut down Vader's nervous system. But just as Vader
felt like he was going to pass out...the Emperor suddenly
stopped.
As Vader's vision began to slowly return...he was surprised to
notice the Emperor's eyes closed, a puzzled expression on his
face. Then as he sensed that Vader was viewing him physically, he
snapped his eyes open and stared at his servant for a long time.
After what seemed like an hour of this stare-down, the Emperor
finally grinned at Vader eerily.
"Rise, my friend."
Vader thanked the Force for this. If this was the extent of his
punishment, then he had truly been lucky to have escaped with his
life. Several years earlier, this lightning attack would not have
posed a major threat to his existence. But now, especially that
his health had taken a turn for the worse, this attack by the
Emperor had almost killed him.
As Vader struggled to get up, to his surprise, Palpatine aided
him through the Force. Then, as the Dark Lord was fully able to
stand on his own two feet, the Emperor walked him back to the
throne and sat back down.
Vader quickly knelt, cowering before his master. He would need to
do this for some time, he realized, as it would require much to
regain his master's favor fully again.
The Emperor grinned. "Lord Vader...do you remember when I
took a personal excursion to the Outer Rim?"
Vader said nothing, simply for the fact that he was still trying
to catch his breath from the attack.
If the Emperor knew of this, he said nothing as he continued,
still leering. "I brought back something I thought you would
be interested in seeing...I consider this quite interesting...and
I'm sure you will as well..."
He smiled evilly, pushing a button on his throne.
A door opened to Vader's right, somewhere on the far wall of the
throne room, and Vader deduced that it had been secretly hidden,
having blended into the wall nicely.
What stepped...or who, Vader corrected himself...out of the door
shocked the Dark Lord.
A red-haired young woman, dressed in a skin-tight black jumpsuit
that accentuated her formidable curves nicely, also wore a
utility belt that boasted a blaster, a knife that Vader could
have sworn he had seen in the Emperor's personal collection on
Coruscant only months ago...and a lightsaber.
As Vader opened his mind to the woman...he confirmed what the
lightsaber had implied: she was sensitive in the Force.
"Lord Vader," said Palpatine, standing up and taking
the woman's hand. "Meet your replacement. She is my
Hand...my asassin...Mara Jade."
Vader's mask prevented his jaw from dropping several millimeters,
but as the reaction was involuntary, it hurt his jaw as his body
forced it to try.
The woman nodded cordially at Vader. Her smile...was beautiful,
but Vader could see the evil it possessed.
The Emperor then cackled gleefully. "I speak in riddles,
Lord Vader. No, she will be your replacement indefinitely,"
he said. Then his face turned serious and menacing. "I am
giving you a leave of absence, my servant, to reflect on your
failures. I hope that when you return, you will be better suited
to serve me and the Empire and to never fail again. You are
hereby removed from active duty and are banished from my sight.
Do not attempt to contact me or come before me until you have
reflected on your mistakes and have learned the error of your
ways."
Vader knelt before the Emperor and spoke for the first time.
"As you wish."
"A shuttle is waiting for you in the same docking bay where
your TIE was. You may go wherever you desire, but do not meddle
in Imperial affairs until you have come back to me first and
until I desire you to work under me again," said Palpatine.
He then looked at Vader maliciously and bared his teeth.
"Now leave."
He then turned around as Mara Jade did with him and they both
observed the stars together, no doubt communicating of future
pursuits through the Force...
Vader insanely realized he was jealous, but after what seemed
like an eternity, he finally rose and whirled away, leaving the
throne room.
As he arrived in the docking bay, there was no stormtrooper
complement to see him off. So... Palpatine was adding insult to
injury. Vader restrained his anger as he entered the shuttle and
quickly piloted it to outside the docking bay. He immediately
plotted a course for Coruscant and went to hyperspace.
As the starlines stretched in front of him and he entered the
world of blue that had once amazed him when he was merely Anakin
Skywalker, he sighed. In some respects, this was worse than
losing his life. Now he had to suffer in misery and solitude
while at the same time a woman (a woman!) took his place at the
Emperor's side? This was unforgivable...and as the ship continued
on its course, Vader silently vowed to himself that the Emperor
would one day pay for this, and then he just as silently
vanquished the thought from his mind, in fear of the Emperor
possibly realizing what he was thinking.
He would prove his worth to the Emperor, indeed...but on his
own...and it was about time. He had been pampered enough with
servants, aides, and stormtroopers. This would be a good test for
his abilities. He then decided his goal--to hunt down the pilot
who had destroyed the Death Star...and bring him before the
Emperor...dead or alive.
And he would succeed. He stretched out to the Force...and he did
indeed see this event occurring soon. It would simply be a matter
of when, not if.
He was Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith--and he would never
fail again.