Prologue
This story is based upon a story of Darth Videtur: "House of Ghosts", a spin-off from James Luceno's Darth Plagueis-novel.
You don't have to read Darth Videtur's story or even the Darth Plagueis-novel before, in order to understand this my story.
Darth Videtur and I did agree, that we both will write such a spin-off-spin-off totally independently from each other.
Darth Videtur's twin spin-off is called "When there is no further need" and both can be read at archievesofourown under the same user-name like here.
And now enjoy my story:
Once upon a long long time in a galaxy far far away
In the year 61 BBY the Jedi have only a faint glimpse about, that the Sith do everything to rise from the dust of oblivion again. Since four years the young Naboo Palpatine, now secretly called Sidious, is the apprentice of the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis. On the one hand the young man adheres to his obligations to the Youth Legislative Program, in order to build up an impeccable civil identity to lay the foundation for his later political carrier. On the other hand there are his liabilities towards his Sith master, who is demanding more and more of him – far more, than Palpatine did ever dream of, when the elderly Muun approached him in Theed four years ago.
Alone finally
It was quiet on Aborah castle, when Sidious sat in the library to do his Sith studies there. The library consisted of many in straight rows arranged shelves from dark Wroshyr wood, in which stood the old and new tomes of the surely biggest Sith library ever. Only the books. The Holocrons and other relics Darth Plagueis did keep in a special vault, whose key he always kept with himself. But it was not Sidious' desire, to be unfaithful to his master. Not in this regard. The Muun would show him his collection soon enough in all peculiarities and he would let him learn with it. But now the read haired Naboo was after a book, in which to study his master interrupted him one time, in order to … that was not important now.
Important was, that he would have deciphered soon the secret about how to become immune towards the most poisons, given, he would retrieve all the petty ingredients necessary to brew that mixture, which the author, a Human like him, did praise as an all-healing device. Plagueis had mocked that his young apprentice could make a mistake during the mixing, which would cost his life. "A dead Sith is useless to the Order", the forty-one years older Sith had said with raised index-finger. '…is not useful to me', Palpatine thought bitterly, when he remembered what came afterwards. The same admonishing index-finger did drill into his anus to explore …
But Palpatine didn't want to think of this now, two years later. Plagueis was away and the library was his now. The homework given by his master he had done already. Just today liberty has arrived.
Actually.
Because today was his twenty-first birthday. Twenty-one. The magical number. The number he had yearned so much earlier on his home-planet. The age of maturity at Naboo. But twenty-one was only a number. A number with no meaning when he considered that he was a Sith apprentice. That he had vowed life-long allegiance to the Order of the Sith. For the promise, that the Force might break his chains and might free him. But only, when he had managed to kill his master, of course. And that could take several decades with a long-living Muun like Plagueis ...
But now delving into the book again!
"I'll be away for a short while only", did Plagueis say as a farewell in a tone, which did not indicate something dramatically extraordinary. That has been for a week. But that time four years ago, when Palpatine did kill his family on their family-ship, his master-to-be did consider exactly such a standard week for short. Short enough, to leave alone the young Naboo for seven long days after the dozen-fold murder on parents, siblings and guards. Seven endless days, until he condescended to bail him out of the fangs of the authorities of Chandrila in order to make him his apprentice. Now, naturally, this week could not be long enough. No annoying interruptions of the lecture, no mocking admonitions, no improper touches!
'Worrt-poison! One of the strongest poisons at all!', Sidious read in the thick tome. Plagueis did tell him one year ago, that Darth Bane survived one poisoning attempt barely only. The founder of the Rule of the Two had been poisoned by a former Jedi woman named Gitany, who did not only pull him out of a crisis of creativity, but also did steal his heart. 'Turncoat Jedi are the worst!', Plagueis used to say contemptuously. 'They are always trying to make everything to hundred-fifty percent and thus they cause more damage than they are of use. Especially in their new Order. That's why I never ever would take a Jedi as apprentice!', the Dark Lord had ended his tirade. Sidious did feel flattered that time. At the same time he asked himself, why Bane did endure Gitanys intrigues such a long time at all. Did the emotional bond did hamper him to get rid of this factor of risk for too long?
Sidious decided this question to be unimportant right now. Far more important was that this mixture did also work against Worrt-poison. When one would swallow it in time, means two hours before the injection of the poison. But how could Bane have known two hours before, that his big love would two hours later …? The young Sith deduced, that Bane was to blame guilty for his mishap all by himself. He should not have carried on with that extraordinary beautiful black-haired green-eyed Ex-Jedi. Be it, that half of the Academy of Korriban did drool after her. At least Bane could choose his partner by himself. Whereas he, Palpatine, was not about to be poisoned, but regarding the other …
Suddenly it flashed up in his mind that the Zeltron, who did inaugurate him into the art of fellatio and other things connected to it during the last four months, did not appear in front of his eyes, not to speak about other body-parts for two weeks already. Plagueis did not deem it necessary within those four months to test Palpatine's newly acquired abilities. He did still use the back-entrance of his apprentice. Though Sidious sometimes did smear some massage oil into his orifice, it was still hurting, when his master desired entrance thereafter. At least at the first thrust. The second was paining a wee bit lesser.
Sidious pondered if Plagueis did know about his of oily preparation of a kind for this his pleasure. "A sith likes it rough and crude, not smooth and pampering!" Again Sidious saw the extorting over-long greyish index-finger right before his blushed face, coated with something brown. Plagueis did not care in those situations about such side-effects. Did Plagueis intentionally overlook Sidious' little oily helper, to keep his apprentice in mood, even if this mood was a rather bad one? Or did he enjoy this kind of smoother sex even? But Plagueis would never admit such. Like Sidious would never reveal, that from time to time he liked when his master chased him more or less involuntarily into his own orgasm. But Sidious was sure that Plagueis did feel when he had fun sometimes. His master did bask in it, when his apprentice tried desperately to conceal his mined out lust. That seemed to turn on Plagueis …
Unnerved Sidious put the thick book back into its defined place on the shelf. In place of it he made some exercises in the training room in one of the towers of the castle. After two-hundred press-ups and one-hundred sit-ups he sat on a mat and meditated for a while.
Sidious rose from the mat. The meditations did yield its effects. He was much calmer now. And he could enjoy Plagueis' absence now truly. Relaxed and without a concrete aim the young Sith looked out on the wide green surface of the Western Ocean, which embraced the island of Aborah. There was no way from the island, unless one had a convenient-sized small ship or one of those gliders … Sidious mused, what to do in the coming three days, if Plagueis would not be back till then. He made a plan. Just a three-day-plan.
Three days later
Sidious started to be concerned. Not about Plagueis directly. But about the fact, that the Order of the Sith would never be his device to freedom and success, that Plagueis did promise him, without a master. Hi didn't dare to think about, what would become of him, when he would show up anew in the Youth-legislative-program on Chandrila as if nothing had happen. Four years of his live would have been derailed. And he could not even explain why. Sidious did forge a four-day-plan, to fill also the rest of the standard week.
Four days later
Sidious stood in the circular tower-chamber of Aborah castle and looked on the Western Ocean. The sight was overwhelmingly good today. So good that through the by the sun of Muunilinst heated-up whirring air he could spot on the horizon the lean, distorted silhouette of the capital Harnaidan.
The young Sith pondered feverishly how he could manage to contact his master without revealing weakness. He deduced that there was no way. The commander of the sun guard, who was on guarding duty together with the other ten silver-haired Echani men down before the castle, was conditioned to withstand mind-tricks. 11-4D was away with Plagueis and other droids or even binary units would not provide reasonable intermissions, to catch a sign of life from Plagueis. He would see through that. And Plagueis did forbid this! "I wish to be undisturbed!", he had explained to his apprentice majestically. And Palpatine had vowed silently to obey his master. 'Just for a short while', Plagueis' words from two weeks ago did resonate within him anew. But two standard weeks were not but a short while! Not that time, not now … Never!
Sidious had to confess to himself, that he missed Plagueis. He would make thus a new week's plan and adhere to it tightly in order to thwart silly thoughts. Principally two months could pass by and Plagueis' absence would not hamper the spinning of the galaxy severely. Sidious did not sense any noticeable twists in the Force, which would indicate danger. And Darth Plagueis was so strong and so mighty. Who could ever harm him? But what, if still …?
He lowered his gaze spontaneously to the dark-green surface of the sea, mirroring the green sky of Muunilinst. Just now the waves did curl themselves in a distinguished way … Not the waves only … The Force itself curled, twirled and tossed in a well-known pattern. Sidious rose his expecting gaze towards the sky, to spot a small black spot far away … a small ship … Plagueis' ship.
His master was back.
Sidious was angry about the fact that he ever did harbor any concerns about the Muun just for about one second. Abruptly he whirled towards the door, to step down the spiral stairs and to enter the library again. Plagueis should not think that his arrival would have caused too much turmoil inside his apprentice.
