A/N: Okay, this is the start of something a little bigger than the stuff I usually write! I've been working on this on-and-off for about 2 years now, so I figured it was finally time to share it with the world! I can't guarantee regular updates, but I've got the first 7 or so chapters written so hopefully we'll see how it goes. :)
It is set around the same time as the Empire Strikes Back, about four years after the events of The Force Unleashed 2. I'm slightly ignoring the end of The Force Unleashed 2, pretending for story purposes that Vader's capture wasn't a thing, and neither was his threat about Juno. Apart from that, I'm trying to stick as close to the lore as possible, as well as combining the old canon with the new canon to make it fit a little better - I started writing this before Disney's changes, so some adjustments have been made.
As always, Star Wars belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney etc. etc. and I own nothing! Feel free to review and let me know what you think :)
All of your brothers, they never died
For what you kill for slowly
How it will grind you into the ground
If you should try to hold me
'Strong Hand' - CHVRCHES
Blank Page
1. Prologue – Imperial Palace, Coruscant
The Emperor was tired of failure. He was tired of slippery subordinates unable to do their jobs properly, who ended up with important promotions because there was no other person good enough to take their place. He was tired of democracy, and the endless legions of Moffs all trying to gain an extra penny at the expense of a world or two. They didn't know what power was. True power was crushing the neck of someone who crossed you with the flick of a wrist. It was bringing planets to their knees by the single mention of your name, and controlling billions of species' lives without them knowing.
True power was certainly not a constant search for a ragtag band of rebels. It pained him greatly to see them flourish. The Death Star had been a major setback for the Empire, and several of his officers had lost heads – one, literally – over it. How could an eighteen-year-old girl manage to steal an entire set of blueprints, be chased and captured by Darth Vader and the galaxy's best soldiers, and still manage to get away with it? The Empire was not what it used to be, he mused. Twenty years previously, his soldiers and officers had been the best trained, most efficient, most loyal subjects he could have asked for in his new vision. Now, it seemed everyone was in it for themselves. Wanting, grasping, their grubby hands trying to exploit every credit from the Empire. His Empire.
"Your Excellency?" A voice over his personal comlink broke the Emperor out of his dark thoughts. He glanced at his datapad, and saw the level of encryption the message was being sent with.
"Ah, Cipher." He turned in his chair and, typing in a few commands, sent the message to the holo-display in the centre of the room. An agent – his best agent – of indiscernible age and gender immediately appeared on the display, flickering slightly. The agent's face was covered by a mask, of sorts, and used a voice-distorter; the Emperor knew that this particular agent took anonymity very seriously. He didn't think he had ever seen the agent's true face. Not that it mattered, of course; Cipher got the job done, and did it well.
"You sent for me, sire?" If Cipher showed any sign of being unnerved by the Emperor's presence, the agent didn't show it. The Emperor nodded slowly.
"I have a new assignment for you. This takes precedent over anything else I have previously assigned you."
It seemed the agent's curiosity was peaked, as the Emperor detected a slight tilt of the agent's head; not so much that it would seem impudent, but enough to show that they were interested. The Emperor continued, enjoying the build-up.
"You have heard of the troubles we have been having with the Rebellion?" He spat the last word, like poison to his mouth. Cipher nodded passively.
"Yes, sire. They seem most…inconvenient."
"I assigned Lord Vader the task of annihilating them. He has failed thus far." Palpatine stretched out in the Force, probing for any hint of uncertainty from his spy. He sensed none, and smiled grimly. "I need to end this so-called 'war', and quickly. It does not do for a group of anarchist amateurs to be tarnishing the Empire's fine image, now, would it?"
"No, sire. How do you plan on stopping them? As you said, we have…failed thus far."
The Emperor was pleased with Cipher's use of 'we'. The agent was not so stupid that he would openly criticise his superiors in front of another superior. Darth Vader was failing them all, but it was not for Cipher to say so. Clearly, the agent knew where to draw the line.
"Lord Vader is obsessed with finding the Skywalker boy. He does not know that I know this, but I have ears in many places. He believes only then will the Rebels be annihilated. I believe otherwise." He stood up from his throne, and gestured for the agent to join him at the viewport.
"I believe that there are…others within the Rebellion that we should focus our attentions on instead. Others who might be converted more easily than, say, the Skywalker boy." The Emperor glanced at the spy, whose face still gave away no hint of emotion.
"Are you familiar with the call-sign 'Starkiller', Cipher?" he asked the agent. Cipher's head twitched, a head-shake.
"No, sire."
"I did not expect you to be. Starkiller was the call-sign of an apprentice that Lord Vader took on, trained in secret. Of course, my spies notified me almost immediately, but I thought that it would come to nothing. The boy would probably be dead within a year.
"However, the years passed, and I realised that the apprentice was stronger, more powerful than I had originally thought. He had survived Lord Vader's most brutal training. I guessed that he was going to train the boy until he was too powerful for even me to withstand, so I knew that something had to be done. I ordered Lord Vader to kill the boy, and I watched as Starkiller was impaled on Darth Vader's lightsaber and thrown into the vacuum of space."
The Emperor left the story hanging, and glanced at Cipher. Through the holo-call, he could detect the agent's curiosity rising, but Cipher's expression – or lack thereof – gave nothing away.
"I am guessing that wasn't the end, sire?"
"No. I discovered later that Vader had rescued the boy and taken him to a secret laboratory. Starkiller had been…rebuilt, so to speak. Alive, and more powerful than ever. He was instructed by Lord Vader to sever all ties to the Empire, and seek out my enemies." He gave a short, but menacing laugh. "He meant to gather an army of the people who despise me and turn them against me. What a fool.
"In due time, the apprentice had succeeded in bringing together some of my…enemies. They did not know he was still loyal to Vader, and they were captured, and brought to me. Vader also left the boy for dead; he had not intended to use him against me. However, he underestimated the power of his former apprentice, who followed him to the Death Star and sacrificed himself to save his new Rebel friends."
"He…sacrificed himself? Then he is dead, surely."
"The original apprentice is dead. Starkiller, to all extents and purposes, is not."
There was a pause. "...Sire?"
"Kamino. The now-defunct cloning operation there. Vader used it to make clones of his former apprentice. All but one were a failure, and the single successful one escaped, driven by his memories – or what he thinks to be his – of his former life."
"He was the one that led the attack on Kamino?" Cipher was quick, much quicker than most of the Emperor's subjects. Perhaps that was what made the agent one of his best.
"I presume he supplied the co-ordinates. He defeated Lord Vader in combat, and would have struck him dead had it not been for the intervention of General Kota."
"So he is still at large."
"Unfortunately." The Emperor's mouth was a grim line. "But he is very powerful. Which is why I believe he will be of far more use to us than Luke Skywalker."
"Why do you think that, sire?"
"He was trained, brought up, in the way of the dark side. Darkness and anger feed him, envelop him. It is hard to sway from the path we have been set on since childhood, and he will be no exception. He has the raw power to destroy the Rebels. We just have to show him…the right way."
Cipher nodded. "You want me to…take him to you?"
"Yes. And no. I want you to get close to them. You have an identity within the Rebels, do you not?"
"I do, sire. Currently my 'identity' is on shore leave on Corellia, visiting family. I can make sure that shore leave is cut short, due to 'unforseen circumstances', and place my identity back within the ranks."
The Emperor was pleased. Having someone already within the ranks would make things easier. He nodded, slowly.
"Gain their trust; more importantly, give me information on Starkiller. His missions, where he is posted; most importantly, his weaknesses. They will be the undoing of him. It will take time, and you will have to be patient. Choose the correct moment, and we will strike. Capturing him will be straightforward, if we know how. Then, I will be able to…change his mind, if you will."
"Yes, sire."
"Very well. You will have to be vigilant. The Rebels are naturally very suspicious. But do whatever is necessary.
Now, leave me. Your full mission briefing will be sent to your datapad. You leave tomorrow on the next shuttle to Corellia. You will tell no-one about the true nature of your mission. Do not fail me."
Cipher bowed. "I will not, sire." With that, the holo-call ended, the blue light fizzling out leaving the Emperor alone in the darkness. The Emperor smiled to himself, sitting himself back down on his throne. Those foolish Rebels would meet their end, one way or another. And if Vader couldn't manage to do it, then he would annihilate them himself.
He almost chuckled, then. Yes, this was power. And once Starkiller was on his side, there would be nothing that could stop him. The galaxy would truly be his.
