Star Wars - FanFiction - Emperor

by Brendon Wahlberg

  The Emperor had already left to go to Endor, where he planned to trap the Rebel fleet. He had not even contacted her, or acknowledged the failure of her mission. He had been forced to go and face his fears and it was her fault. Worry and a sense of doom hovered around her for several days until she finally came to the ancient hall to practice the meditation skills that Palpatine had taught her, to try to find some escape from her deep unease. She reached out to her master, calmly and carefully, but his mind was closed to her. She could not sense him. Then, just as she was settling into a meditative state, letting the Force flow through her, a vision of Palpatine hit her like a silent explosion. Her eyes jerked open, but the view of the distant mountain range was utterly blotted out by larger than life figures that floated before her; they seemed more real than the room she was in. The Jedi, Skywalker, and the Sith Lord, Darth Vader, were standing in front of a seated Palpatine. Behind her master, a circular window looked out on the stars.

  A moment later, she saw Skywalker gesture commandingly at Vader, and they both moved together to attack Palpatine with their lightsabers. To slaughter him. She saw his face between their grim forms as they closed the gap. He was looking directly at her. Such a sense of betrayal was in his yellow eyes - she gasped at his look of rage and terror. In his last seconds, a crystal clear message came through to her, so strong she could have sworn he was there in the room with her. "YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER!" It was his last command. Vader and Skywalker cut him down without mercy, and the vision ended. Mara Jade crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

  * * *

  Emperor Palpatine knew he wasn't dead, but then, he wasn't exactly alive, either. As the Death Star began to erupt, he reached out through the Force to find Mara Jade's mind. It was his only choice, given the pressing need for a swift escape. Finding it, he had established a special link between them, through which he could use her as a "spirit anchor". A moment later, the stormtroopers and officers around him screamed in final terror as simultaneously, a fireball devoured the air in the corridor and the floor vanished, opening a gate to an inferno.

  Palpatine's pain was all- consuming, but very brief. His clone body was vaporized. He felt his consciousness stretch out, impossibly thin, bridging the gap from Endor to Coruscant. With a violent snap, he hurtled into the mind of Mara Jade. He huddled around the Force-sensitive node in her brain, trying to regain coherence of perception; the brief journey had been enough to leave him severely disoriented. For an eternal moment, he had been exposed to the dark side's chaotic force of dissolution. If it had been able to claim him, he would have been swallowed into its madness for eternity.

  But now, Mara Jade's living, organized mind provided him with a shield against that chaos. He was safe. But something had happened that he hadn't expected. Most of his dark power had been stripped from him and left behind in space near Endor. Mara Jade's mind simply could not contain it. Additionally, his state was nothing like what he had expected from his studies on spirit anchors. It was different on the dark side, he now learned. He wasn't entirely within the Force while retaining his individuality. This was more like a kind of possession. Worse, it was a kind of imprisonment. Palpatine was a guest who couldn't survive leaving. And so, diminished, shorn of his form and power, and almost defeated, the former master of the dark side of the Force clung to Mara Jade's mind as he slowly came back to himself.

  His main goal now was his restoration. He had not panicked at the end, that was critical. Instead, he had sent a message to Sate Pestage, which would hopefully convince the Grand Vizier to bring Jade to Byss. There he could leave Jade's mind and reenter one of his clone bodies. Even as he had made the transition into her mind, he had created a false vision of his death for her, calculated to make her blame Skywalker for his murder. Palpatine still wanted revenge, and he still felt Mara Jade was best suited to carry it out. But she must have the complete conviction that the boy must die. From his position within her mind, Palpatine would do his best to encourage that belief. Skywalker had an unfortunate talent for making allies out of his enemies, and that must not happen with Mara. Even though he had lost, the game was not over. The Emperor's power was merely eclipsed for a time, and before long, he vowed, his name would once again inspire fear throughout the galaxy.

  * * *

  Still dwelling on his feelings of inadequacy, Sate Pestage knocked softly at the door of the Emperor's chief advisor, Ars Dangor. He had walked slowly through the ornate halls of the palace, staring disconsolately at what he perceived as a terrible emptiness. The advisors and government officials he passed knew nothing of the disaster that had occurred. They went on about their business in blissful ignorance, and the vast body of the Empire continued to lumber along, not realizing that it had been decapitated.

  The news sat like a hot stone in Pestage's gut. He had to share it or it would sear his innards. The first person who had to be told was Dangor, who took care of so many of the day-to-day details of running the Empire. After Palpatine and Pestage himself, Dangor had the most power in the government. He would know what to do to prevent a panic. All too soon, news from the surviving military elements at Endor and from the Alliance forces would pour in. The government on Coruscant had to be prepared lest the blow shatter it.

  The door opened, and for an irrational moment, Pestage thought he saw Palpatine, miraculously returned from the dead, standing there cloaked in a black robe with a deep hood. But young hands reached up to pull the hood back, revealing the face of Ars Dangor. Unlike the other advisors, Dangor dressed in a manner similar to Palpatine. Not catching Pestage's disorientation, Dangor smoothly asked, "To what do I owe the honor of your presence, Grand Vizier?"

  Recovering, Pestage replied, "Chief Advisor Dangor, I need to speak with you privately, about a very grave matter. May I come in?"

  "Enter," said Dangor, and stood aside, beckoning with his robed arms. Pestage entered a suite of rooms that, unsurprisingly, mimicked the asceticism of the late Emperor. He faced Dangor, uncertain of how to begin. How to put such a calamity into words?

  Dangor waited patiently, and after a few moments, Pestage said the only thing he could. "Palpatine is dead, and we must prevent the Empire from collapsing."

  Dangor stared at him, speechless. Long moments passed. The chief advisor looked stricken, but his thoughts were racing. Palpatine - you fool! Curse you and your reckless obsessions! Skywalker. Endor. We are lost, unless... "He died at Endor?" Dangor demanded. "He was killed by Skywalker? No - it doesn't matter how. He is dead... I warned him not to pursue this course. I warned him. He put himself at risk in an unfinished battle station, just to capture a boy! We should have finished the Death Star and wiped out the rebellion planet by planet. This didn't need to happen...He didn't need to die..." Dangor turned away, trembling in his robes. "I never really thought he would die, you know. Even when he became old, he was somehow able to regenerate, to reclaim his youth. I thought I would be able to serve him for the rest of my life - longer, if he shared his secrets with me...I would have been content."

  Chief Advisor Sate Pestage urged, "The reason I came to you first-"

  "Yes, Sate Pestage. The Empire must not fall." Dangor began speaking rapidly. "You were right to say that. It needs an Emperor. A strong person must be placed on the throne as soon as possible, someone whom the people know and respect. We must convene an emergency meeting of the advisors, the Moffs, and COMPNOR, to deal with the crisis of leadership. Fear not, Sate Pestage, we will come through this with the Empire intact. I shall see to it immediately. We will have to contain the information flowing in from Endor, and assemble as much of the fleet as we can here at Coruscant. CompForce must discourage any potentially treasonous acts by those who would take advantage of the situation for their own advancement. There is a great deal to do. And so, Grand Vizier, we must both keep our hopes intact even as we struggle with our despair. Go in peace." And before Pestage knew it, he had been ushered out into the hall.

  What had really happened in there? H
e had expected some sort of outburst from Dangor - the man was infamous for them. Instead, he had seemed grief-stricken. But, he had spoken like someone who had guessed what was going to happen, and who was somehow prepared. I warned him not to pursue this course. What was Dangor up to, to send Pestage away so quickly? Something about Dangor's little speech was nagging at the Grand Vizier. Dangor had seemed too ready to deal with the news, and if that was true, then...a strong person must be placed on the throne...I would have been content...Of course. It was clear to Pestage. Dangor planned to be the new Emperor himself. Pestage hurried back to his quarters, his thought in turmoil. Dangor as Emperor! He could not allow it to happen. But did he have any power to prevent it? And would he be placing his life in danger if he tried?

  Dangor had a well-earned reputation for dealing ruthlessly with his enemies. Right now, Pestage's life was not his own. His master depended on him for his very survival. When he reached his rooms, he sat down at his private terminal. Palpatine kept records of everything, and Pestage was Steward of the Emperor's personal archive. Documentation of his most secret communications was contained therein. There was a great deal of information that could aid Ars Dangor immeasurably in his bid for power, and so he must not have it. Pestage keyed in a long and elaborate code that permanently closed the archives. Now, no one could have access to the Emperor's secrets. Only Palpatine knew the code required to reopen them.

  Pestage sat back and breathed slowly, trying to calm down. He simply had not expected this, but in retrospect, it was predictable. Well, there was little he could do about it for the present, so he had best turn his efforts towards finding Mara Jade. Where would a secret assassin, known to no one, be in the event of her master's death?

  Pestage hoped desperately that she had not learned of the events at Endor and left Coruscant for good.

  * * *

  Even as Sate Pestage wondered where Mara Jade might be, she was secure in a hospital bed in the Old Republic Hospital not far from the palace. She had been found unconscious in Manarai Hall, with dangerously low brain activity. She had been brought to the Hospital for treatment, and now she was recovering in a private room, the danger past. Fast asleep, she shifted, tossed and turned, clutching at the blankets and mumbling. "Skywalker...you killed him...kill...kill you..." Deep inside her mind, Palpatine was fashioning nightmares for her.

  Mara could see the throne room on the Death Star, but the only clearly visible areas were the throne and the steps before it. The far walls were lost in the mist, and the window behind the throne looked out on absolute blackness. The throne was facing away from her, and she could see a dark figure standing behind it in the shadows, a barely visible silhouette against the window. She was aware of a low hum, then the dark figure raised a lightsaber, illuminating its face. It was Skywalker, and his face was a mask of sadistic pleasure. He put a bloody hand on the throne and slowly rotated it to face Mara. She felt a stab of ice in her vitals as she saw the occupant of the chair. It was Palpatine. Skywalker had dissected him. Atop a burnt stack of his limbs sat his head, severed and facing directly at her. An odd grouping of lightsaber wounds marred his face like a charcoal sketch. She could almost see a pattern in them. Then Skywalker spoke, showing his enjoyment by indicating the body parts with a flourish.

  "Amazing the things you can do with a lightsaber," he said. Then he pointed to a large black heap at the mist's edge. "That's Vader, or it was. We attacked the Emperor together. He couldn't defend against both of us at the same time, so he struck down the greater threat. Poor Vader. He wanted to share ruling the Empire so much. He never knew that I used him, that all I wanted was for the Empire to fall. I thought this would be a fitting tribute for him, though."

  Skywalker indicated the burn marks on Palpatine's face. Suddenly Mara could see how the burns resembled the lines of Vader's breath mask, and she cried out in anger. Palpatine's dead, staring eyes held her own, seeming to accuse her. I will never rest until he is dead, they seemed to say. With one swift step, she seemed to close the distance to Skywalker's side in an instant. He froze in surprise, as if seeing her for the first time. She lashed out with her hand at his throat, bringing him to his knees, choking. Mara calmly picked up his fallen lightsaber and activated it. "You killed him, Skywalker," she said grimly. "Now I'll kill you." His left hand was the first thing to go.

  In her hospital bed, Mara Jade's tormented expression smoothed out and shifted to a small tight smile.

  * * *

  When Mara Jade awoke, she had a splitting headache. She didn't dare to sit up, but she turned to face the Emdee droid that stood by her bedside. "Just relax, Mara Jade," the droid soothed. "You were found unconscious in Manarai Hall, in the old section of the palace. You almost slipped into a coma, but you seem to have recovered from your trauma. I can find no further signs of trouble. When you feel up to it, you may leave. I do suggest you seek out the advice of a specialist. We could not discover the reason for your trauma, and it may recur. And now, citizen, I have other patients to attend to. I wish you well." The droid glided away.

  "Thank you," she called after it. Mara lay still, thinking about her situation. She could still vividly recall her vision, and fragments of nightmares flitted through her memory. They had all been of killing Skywalker. He wasn't dead though. Not yet. She knew she had to do something about that, but right now, she was in no shape to do anything. Her master was dead. And what was she now? Where could she go? No one knew her, no one knew what she did. No one knew of the power she had possessed; they all saw her as the Emperor's lovely companion. In a twinkling, she had lost everything. Maybe the only meaning left to her was to fulfill Palpatine's last directive, to kill Skywalker.

  Well, she would try, but she had to be realistic. He would be no easy target, and it might take her years to find him. She might as well leave Coruscant, even though she had no idea where she might go. But first, she would get rid of her headache. She began to try to channel the Force to ease her pain, and was astonished to discover she couldn't sense the Force at all. The walls of her tiny room seemed like true boundaries. She couldn't sense anyone or anything beyond them. It was like losing a basic sense like eyesight or hearing. Enhanced perceptions she had come to take for granted were completely gone. Now Mara Jade began to despair. She felt awful. Palpatine was dead, and now she had lost the Force, too. Had her abilities all depended on his being alive, somehow? She felt violated, robbed. The Emperor's greatest gift to her had been torn from her. Without the Force, how could she ever hope to defeat, let alone find, a Jedi?

  She brooded for a long time, and finally decided that she would indeed leave Coruscant. Perhaps that would stop her nightmares of the Emperor's death. She would take one thing with her that the Emperor had owned. In his chambers was the lightsaber that had belonged to Skywalker's mentor, Kenobi. She would go claim it and make her way to the starport. With that weapon, Skywalker's death would be that much more satisfying.

  * * *

  Sate Pestage was just finishing instructing a team of ISB agents to track down Mara Jade and bring her to him, when he received a summons and a notification from Ars Dangor that the advisors, the Moffs, and COMPNOR's select committee would be assembled within two hours.

  Pestage knew it was necessary to organize their response to the fiasco at Endor, but he would just as soon not be directly involved. Evidently, Ars Dangor felt differently. If Dangor was going to announce his candidacy for leadership, he would want Sate Pestage's vote of approval in front of the other advisors. Well, he wasn't going to get it. The Empire could survive without an emperor until the true Emperor was restored. Pestage would attend as required of him, but he was anxious to get back to the task of locating Mara Jade. He chose his most somber looking garment, one with only a few jewels along the hem, and began to get ready. Hopefully, the ISB agents would be successful while he was occupied.

  * * *

  Mara Jade fumed as she waited in Ars Dangor's office, under guard by a CompForce soldier. She had left the
hospital, finally, but before she could reach Palpatine's suite, she had been cornered by this oafish trooper. "Excuse me," he had said, halting her and consulting a datapad. "You are Mara Jade, is that correct?"

  She had seen no point in denying it. "Yes, what is it?" she had snapped.

  "I have orders to escort you to the office of Chief Imperial Advisor Dangor for a private meeting. If you would please come with me?" She had complied, not wanting to make a scene, and ended up here, sitting in Dangor's office for the past hour. She turned once more to the guard, who was without doubt a poor conversationalist.

  "What is this all about?" she asked for the fourth time. "Where is the Chief Advisor?"

  "I've told you, I don't have that information. The Chief Advisor will be here to see you shortly." He stared at the far wall, saying nothing else.

  Mara tried to bore a hole in his head with her eyes, but instead, she felt as if she were the one with the hole. Her headache had not relented, but she had grown somewhat used to it. A few minutes later, Dangor arrived, wearing that black robe similar to Palpatine's. She regarded him with respect but not awe. "Mara Jade, my dear, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but this is a very busy day. Thank you guard, you may leave." Once the guard was gone, Dangor motioned for her to take a more comfortable seat on a small couch.

  "What's this all about?" she asked, sitting.

  "All right then, we'll get directly to the point." Dangor stood in front of her. "I'm going to tell you something that only a few hundred people know at this moment. The news will reach the whole planet within another day, but hopefully we'll be ready for that. You see, our great Emperor has fallen. He is dead in battle with the rebel alliance. Someone needs to take his place, and I feel that person should be me -" Dangor looked at her in concern. "Are you unwell?"