Chapter Two

Dinner at the Skywalker's

Leia Skywalker placed the final pin in her hair, then stepped back to regard her work. An intricate bun atop her head with curls cascading down to her shoulders, her hair looked like a style worn by her mother. Leia smiled as she straightened out her dress, a simple emerald green tunic, but the smile left her face as she thought about dinner, which would begin in an half an hour.

Why did their father want to dine with them? He hadn't been on-world in months, and even when he was, most of the time he didn't stop by to even say hello, just sending them a message asking if they needed anything. While she'd never been close with her father, he'd always made sure the twins had everything they needed and wanted, the finest clothing, the latest tech, entry into the finest schools and programs. Leia lived like a princess.

Moving from her 'fresher into her suite, she sighed heavily. While she appreciated her father's gestures, making sure his children were well cared for, they did not replace him. But Darth Vader, as he was known throughout the galaxy, was a hero of the Empire, a defected Jedi who saw the treachery of the Jedi Order and annihilated them. Darth Vader, who, following the Naboo terrorist attacks, rampaged throughout the galaxy destroying the forces that rebelled against the Empire. She should feel proud to have such a man for a father, and yet, she felt empty when she thought of him.

"Leia, you ready to go downstairs?" Luke said, standing in her doorway. He wore black slacks and a blue tunic, making his sandy hair look even lighter.

"Just a moment," she said, glancing around for her scarf. Spotting it on a high shelf near her bed, she waved her arm, using the Force to bring the item to her. She tied it around her waist. "You know, I don't really know how to act around him."

Luke shrugged. "Yeah. I know what you mean. He's just so…"

"Absent?"

"Larger than life?" Luke added. He looked down, hesitant.

"What?" asked Leia, approaching her brother, adjusting his collar.

"I want to ask him if I can request a posting off-world. But I know his answer," Luke said.

Leia shook her head. "Doesn't hurt to ask."

Luke let out a cynical laugh. "Sometimes it does. You've seen that look."

Leia laughed. "Ah yes…the look."

The twins emerged from Leia's suite and moved down the hall of the second floor in their three story home in a Coruscant high rise in the Palace District. Luke and Leia's suites took up the second floor, while their father's rooms the third. The living spaces, kitchen, and dining room on the first floor, the family's collection of ships, yachts, and personal transports sat parked in a garage below. While their father's rooms remained locked and inaccessible most of the time, the twins did have access to his meditation chamber, where they first learned basic Force techniques from him years ago.

"Wanna play dejarik while we wait?" Luke asked as they walked into the living room, the cleaning droid bowing to them before exiting.

The duo sat playing the holographic game, chatting quietly for fifteen minutes before the door opened, causing them both to freeze. Darth Vader walked into the living room, wearing his usual black cloak and cape, lightsaber hooked to his belt. The twins both rose, moving to stand in front of their father, and the three of them stood in silence for several moments.

Goodness, are all families as awkward as ours, Leia thought.

She studied her father, still a handsome man with chiseled features and a full head of light-colored, slightly silvering hair. Still, evidence of his use of the Dark Side showed, particularly in his eyes. They shined gold, a slight intensity about them at all times. But now, the edges of his eyes creased as he gave his children a genuine smile.

"Luke. Leia. Wonderful to see you," he said.

Leia stepped forward first to embrace him, Luke following behind. The trio then walked into the dining room, where a droid laid out the final plates of food, everything smelling good.

"Ah, it will be so nice to eat a normal meal," her father said, spooning pasta onto his plate.

A conversation starter! Leia quickly jumped into questioning her father about the food he ate on his missions across the galaxy. She'd been taught by her mentor to use such openings to form camaraderie. And when all else failed, discuss the weather, which was always right on schedule on Coruscant.

"And are they treating my daughter well at the embassy?" he asked.

"Oh yes. And I should receive a posting soon. As an assistant, of course," Leia said.

"And on Coruscant," Vader added, taking a sip of his wine.

"Well, actually…both Luke and I were hoping…with our training…me with the embassy and Luke with the military academy…I mean he's a pilot…and I'm training to be an ambassador and…" she stammered, damning herself. She needed to be confident, an adult, not some whining little girl.

But there it was…the look. Vader's glance silenced her, and she could only imagine how his enemies felt if only a look stopped her short.

"You feel this way too?" Vader said curtly, his gaze shifting to Luke.

Leia shot her brother a look saying 'don't you dare throw me under the Corellian freighter.' And Luke didn't.

"Yes, father," he said meekly. "We…well, all my friends have gone off to join the Empire, serving on star destroyers, piloting TIEs. And I'm a good pilot, the best in my class."

"We just want to see the galaxy," Leia added.

Vader brought his fingertips together in a steeple, leaning forward, his elbows on the table. His face lit up, giving Leia a ray of hope.

"And you will…as a Sith!" he said happily. Or as happy as he could sound.

"What?" asked Leia.

"That is why I wanted to dine with you both this evening. I believe it is time to start your training in the Force," he said, sitting up, obviously excited to be sharing this news with his children.

"But we've learned to use the Force and…" Luke began.

"Yes, but just simple things. Meditation techniques. Parlor tricks, really. I want to train you to be a true Sith. Begin your journey to the Dark Side. You both have such strong gifts in the Force," he said. "I have one more mission, to take out the Ryloth resistance for good, and then I will be on Coruscant for a while, to focus to your education."

Leia didn't know how to respond. Yes, she'd always been interested in increasing her Force skills, but her father being home all the time…

"I see it is settled. When I return, we shall begin," Vader said rising, throwing his napkin onto the table. "I need to go to the palace, then head out in the early morning. In ten days, you will enter the folds of the Dark Side of the Force."

And with that, he passed through the kitchen and out the front door, leaving his baffled children behind.

Leia swung her head toward Luke as the cleaning droid entered to clear the table.

"I didn't expect that," she said.

"Me neither," Luke said. "Perhaps we should study a bit about the Sith before we train. We have over a standard week. Should impress him."

Leia considered this. The wider galaxy did not know her father nor the Emperor himself to be Sith Lords. Only the inner circle of friends and acquaintances knew, and even then, they only had a rudimentary understanding. Sith meant the opposite of the Jedi for them, and that definition remained good since it had been the Jedi who brought chaos upon the galaxy during the Clone Wars, sought to destroy the esteemed Emperor himself.

"Where would we find information on the Sith?" she asked. "I only know a few names, the general feel of the Dark Side."

Luke shrugged. "We can ask Uncle Sheev."

Leia simply nodded. Truth be told, she wanted to be an ambassador, spreading the creed of the Empire around the galaxy, traveling, seeing new places, meeting interesting people. She longed to be a diplomat, like her mother, whom she knew she placed on an unreasonably high pedestal in her mind, but with their father absent and Luke and Leia fairly isolated, she needed someone to look up to, an inspiration.

She stretched and yawned, rising from the table. "Well, I have an early day tomorrow. 'Night, Luke."

Walking up the stairs, she paused at a holoimage on the wall of her parents, not long after the birth of her and Luke. They posed in front of the fountain in the palace gardens, smiling. Leia leaned forward, staring at her mother's face. Although she smiled, her eyes appeared sad. Yes, Leia remembered, even though she lost her mother at the age of eight, her mother seemed sad most of the time, even when on her father's arm when they attended the opera as a family or hosting picnics on Naboo near the old estate. Beautiful, yet sad.

Leia looked at her father's face, full of youth and enthusiasm, his smile broad and real, his eyes lit with determination. Perhaps training to be a Sith would be a better route for Leia, as diplomacy only brought sadness, and eventually death, to her mother.

Conflicted, Leia continued on to her suite for the night.

Departing the transport at the palace landing and entering through the broad, elegant doors, Darth Vader walked with purpose to his meeting with Darth Sidious. Still, he could not keep his strange cheerfulness at bay. He'd enacted the first phase of his plan to remove his master from power, following the tradition of a millennium of Sith before him practicing the Rule of Two. The apprentice destroys the master, then takes an apprentice and so on. But only a worthy opponent could kill his teacher, and in the past few months, Vader felt he'd risen to the point where he was ready to ascend to the role of master, disposing of Sidious permanently, taking the galaxy into his own grasp.

And it certainly wasn't personal. In fact, he liked Sidious, Sheev Palpatine as known to the rest of the galaxy. They'd shared some good times together, laughed as friends, explored the more arcane aspects of the Force as partners. But a true Sith did not allow bonds such as friendship and family to get in the way of the ultimate quest for power. A smile graced his lips when he remembered the Jedi Code, the forbidding of attachment, one of the factors which led to his distrust and ultimate hatred of the Jedi. The Sith did not forbid attachment. Attachment could be useful. But attachments did need to be cast aside for the gaining of power.

Training Luke and Leia to become Sith warriors by his side would be the first step. Yes, this went against the Rule of Two, but Vader had his own ideas on how the galaxy should be run, thus the need to kill Sidious and take over. The Sith used to be legion, the Sith used to rule the galaxy. Why not start a dynasty of Skywalker Sith to herald in this glorious new age?

Vader quickly shielded these feelings of almost whimsical glee when he saw his master emerging from his private offices, walking down the large corridor toward his apprentice.

"Ah, Lord Vader. What brings you back to Coruscant? You are needed on Ryloth," Sidious said, now standing in front of Vader, two red-clad Imperial guards on either side. The man never seemed to go anywhere without them. And probably wisely so.

"I came to see my children, master," he said, falling in to walk beside Sidious.

"Oh yes. Luke and Leia. I see them from time to time. Leia especially since she works around here. They are both turning into fine young people, my friend. Good servants of the Empire," Sidious said, his usual sinister voice sounding jovial.

"Yes. Following Ryloth, I intend to spend more time with them, here on Corsucant, while also pursuing further studies in Sith philosophy and technique," Vader said, the statement for the most part true. He dared not think of his plan to usurp Sidious. He knew the Sith Lord had unusually strong perception, which most likely led to his success.

"Good…good," hummed the Emperor. "I look forward to seeing you more often."

Vader wondered if this were true. He often got the sense Sidious kept him away, sometimes on fruitless missions, on purpose. Of course, Ryloth certainly would not be fruitless. Upon Padmé's death, he'd systematically and aggressively annihilated the Rebellion and other resistance movements, his act of revenge. Few remained to challenge the Galactic Empire, Ryloth the final stronghold…and a weak one at that.

"With your leave, my lord," Vader said, bowing slightly as the two Sith stopped.

"Of course. Good health and journeys to you, my friend. May the Force serve you," Sidious said, nodding to Vader and turning away.

As Vader walked down the long corridor to gather his captains and other crew, he finally allowed thoughts of his plan to slip back into his mind. Yes, the old man would not rule much longer, Vader felt certain. And most of his visions and feelings of the future came true.

Arriving back to his private offices, closing the door on his guards in order to be alone, Darth Sidious allowed himself a low cackle. Yes, Darth Vader now plotted to overthrow his master, and he planned to build an army to do so, beginning with his children. Despite his best efforts to quell his emotions, Vader wore his heart on his sleeve. He always had, even when he'd been the young and naïve Anakin Skywalker.

He'd been a good apprentice, Sidious mused. He'd been engineered to be, after all. But to be an accomplished Sith master, one needed to be a cerebral warrior, like Sidious. Vader had the warrior part down well…a little too well, as he'd become the most terrifying image of the Empire, striking fear throughout the galaxy with his wrath. This both pleased and baffled Sidious. Vader effectively took care of business, but he also collected the ire and hatred of the greater population of the galaxy. Sidious remained in the shadows, as taught by his own Sith master, happy to let Vader take the blame.

Wisely, and unlike his own master, Sidious did not teach Vader everything he knew. He kept many of the deepest secrets of the Force he'd discovered to himself, the biggest being his studies in immortality, ever the focus of the scientist Sith. He'd discovered techniques to bring health and youth back to his body and mind, and despite his age and looks, he was far less feeble than he showed the public, including Vader.

Yes, Darth Vader served his part well, but he would never be the Sith master. He only played in violence, always on the go, never stopping to consider the deeper mysteries, the subtle uses of the Dark Side which Sidious relished, the practices that led him to the galactic dominance he held today.

While Vader made plans to overthrow Sidious, the Emperor had, for nearly a decade, enacted plans of his own to prevent this, and soon the wheels would begin turning. But first he felt like having a bit of fun, shaming Lord Vader for his arrogance in thinking he could take on Darth Sidious, the greatest Sith of the Banian Age.

Sitting down at his information console, he brought up the profile on Leia Skywalker, then Luke. He'd put a little spin on Vader's ill-conceived plan right now. Sidious was the master of manipulation, playing people, governments, banks, family dynasties like a game of sabacc and winning…always winning.

"Oh dear, Lord Vader," Sidious said aloud, making a few clicks on his keypad. "You better start to gather your wits about you. The game begins now."

Author's Note: In the next chapter, Leia and Luke both receive exciting news.

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