Chapter 1
Olivia Karrde had been sitting in the same position in the dark, dank cell for better than four hours now, and she was beginning to wonder where her captor, Empress Darby Palpatine, had gotten off to. She was over three hours late for the hourly torture session. Olivia stared through the bars of her cell, across the corridor, and on through the bars of the cell across from hers. There sat her husband Talon. She had promised herself long before now that she would not give Darth Syren, as Darby was called, the pleasure of her crying while in her custody. For this reason, she had to quickly look away from her distraught husband. He hadn't been tortured as she had, but he looked much, much worse than she. He wept for her every moment while she was away at her sessions. He would cry out at the guards when they came to drag his precious wife away, and they would pay him little to no mind, brushing him off as if his voice was merely the whispering of the wind. Olivia stretched out to the Force for strength and calm. She sensed she would not live much longer. Somehow, in her heart, she knew she would never see the outside of the Imperial Palace again. But she would not allow pain to consume her. She latched onto another vision the Force had given her: she also sensed that her husband and other friends who were in custody would all make it out alive. It was that feeling of reassurance that she carried with her when the guard finally came to take her away to what she knew would be her final torture session. She whispered goodbye to Talon and blew him a kiss as she walked down the corridor behind the guard, knowing full well that she would never see his beloved face again.
Anya Jade was asleep on the floor of her jail cell when she heard the familiar sound of a Stormtrooper voice changer. The Stormtrooper whispered, "You there! Wake up!" She opened her eyes to see the trooper standing just outside the cell. "Yeah, you. Don't you know Olivia Karrde?" For a moment she just sat and stared. Although she didn't want to, she answered his odd question, since she really had no other choice: "Well, yes, why?"
"I heard it rumored that the Empress plans to kill her today," he said ever so quietly. She quickly flooded herself over in Jedi calm to suppress the sadness that threatened to overcome her. She merely nodded her understanding. Before she even thought about it she had stood up and moved very close to the bars.
"The rumors say she plans to do it in front of Arcee. I think Palpatine wants to draw the young Jedi to the Dark Side. She wants to turn her into her Apprentice."
Anya wanted to know how this Stormtrooper knew who Arcee was, but instead, she chose to ask, "Why are you telling me all this?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," he muttered, and began removing his helmet, "I forgot about the trooper voice changer." When his helmet was off, Anya recognized him as an undercover rebel agent named Daryn LaHaye. She had met him just days before in much the same manner as this. He had stopped by to tell her that Arcee had not been captured and that he had given her a message telling her to go put together a rescue mission for the captive Jedi.
"Oh, I remember you. You're that strange man who spoke to me before," and then it really dawned on her. "Oh no! Not Arcee! I don't know if she's strong enough in the Force to face this kind of test yet! Oh dear!" She paced as she spoke, trying her best to stay calm. Her face had grown very pale.
"I know, I know. We can only hope Master Olivia has time to warn her before it's too late. I'll find out any more information I can and let you know."
Anya didn't even thank him. She had too much on her mind. She told herself she would be sure and take him to lunch sometime when this was all over. She just went back to her place on the floor under the window and began to contemplate her options. It wasn't long before she realized that she had none. So she began to cry.
Arcee Atari was extremely proud of herself for the small rescue party she had managed to assemble. It consisted of her boyfriend Xanthe Fuzaar, their friend, bounty hunter and weapons manufacturer extraordinare, Thoren Fett, his girlfriend Shada D'ukal, and a few other friends, both Jedi and sympathizers, who had not been captured. They were all piled into Talon's ship, the Wild Karrde. They were on their way to Coruscant, home of the Imperial Palace.
Thoren was piloting, and several others were in the cockpit with him, but Arcee herself sat in her quarters, planning and thinking and worrying about her Master, Olivia Karrde. She had been her Padawan so long that she felt as if it was her mother in prison rather than her Jedi Master. She knew it was wrong for a Jedi to worry, but she just couldn't help herself. She managed not to cry, but she came very close many times. As she sat and thought, she began to become quite angry at the Grand Empress. She cursed herself for her anger, yet it remained in her heart. As she feared for Olivia, she became more and more angry at Darby. And the angrier she became, the closer she came to hating the Sith Lady. With each star they passed, Arcee's feelings and emotions were consuming her more and more. By the time the Wild Karrde had landed on Coruscant's surface, Arcee found herself in a state of such suffering she could hardly bear it.
Deep inside the Palace, standing in front of her throne, Grand Empress Darby Palpatine cackled maniacally. On the floor beside her sat Master Olivia Karrde with closed eyes and a solemn face, her brow wrinkled in extreme concentration. Lady Syren had never felt this marvelous. She could almost taste her power growing with each passing second. Without making a sound her lips mouthed the words, "Good, good." As she grinned widely, she let out another stream of laughter. Her eyes burned with insanity.