A/N: HELLO ALL YOU GUYS AND GALS! I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER MASSIVE CHAPTER! So, people are asking about potential Darth names for Naruto.

This far, we have a few in the running. Navar, Imperious, Strom, among others.

Keep those Pm's and reviews coming!

Most of you had your questions replied to already, so I'll go with the few left unanswered.

Q: I caught that easter egg with the titles. Peace is a lie. Is the next chapter going to be the second line in the Sith Code?

A: Bingo!

Q: Now wait a minute! Am I correct in assuming Naruto and the Seventh Sister are...involved?

A: The Seventh Sister fancies Naruto, certainly. She respects his power and lust after it for herself, but there's definitely an attraction there as well. She's used to getting her way through either charm or brute force, hence her forward behavior whenever the Empire's Blade is present. Whether he reciprocates such feelings remain to be seen.

Q: Please don't make Naruto kill the Jedi! That's not your intention, is it?

A: I have plans for Shaak Ti and Brood. Whether or not those plans end with them, dead, well...this chapter sheds some light on that.

Q: What, exactly, is the extent of Vader and Naruto's relationship?

A: Alright, I suppose I should clarify things. Vader is the master, clearly, and Naruto the apprentice. Naruto views him as a father of sorts, the only real influential figure in his life. On some, distant level Vader sees worth in his apprentice beyond that of a tool, though he'd never speak it aloud. Remember, he all but raised Naruto from a babe to the strapping young sith he is now. In a twisted way, he sees him as what could have been as Anakin, if he hadn't destroyed himself. To Vader, the mere mention of the dreaded F-word, that is to say, "Father" brings back painful memories, and it causes him to lash out.

Q: Cody isn't going to be able to stop Naruto, is he?

A: Cody may be a dear friend of our beloved blond, but his influence pales in comparison to that of Vader's.

Q: Am I sensing some symbolism in ol' Naruto keeping Shaak Ti's blade?

A: Yes, yes you are. =D

Q: We get a glimpse of Kurama at last! Is he biding his time?

A: He'll make his debut soon, and it'll be something to see.

Thanks as ever to Dylan Millwood for helping me out with this chapter.

Oh, and do try not to laugh too much, because this is going to be a WILD ride...

So with that, I hope you all have a lovely day/evening, plug in some headphones, and get ready for a good ol' fashioned story...

Also, let's remember Shaak Ti and Mariss have been out of touch with the galaxy for a LONG time. Needless to say, they're not up to date on current events. In a sense, Shaak Ti knows more than most about Vader, yet woefully little...

Enjoy!

"I have a gift for you, apprentice."

"What, seriously? Didn't know you cared."

"BOY."

"Alright, alright...

~a discussion with the Empire's Blade.

There Is Only Passion

Darth Vader was waiting.

Naruto could sense him awaiting his arrival in the citadel like a dark cloud, a mighty storm waiting to break upon its enemies. From the first moment the Fire Shadow dropped out of hyperspace, the crushing weights of his dark master's regard had fixated upon him and his charges. It hadn't deviated since. Even now as Cody guided the nimble craft towards the planet he could feel his mentor probing his thoughts; radiating wrath at his enemies, smoldering satisfaction in his triumph and-dare he say it aloud?-a glimmer of pride. The blond exhaled a quiet breath of relief. Good. He was pleased with him...for now.

One did not recklessly anger a Dark Lord of the Sith.

Even he, with his veiled taunts only went so far.

Vader was many things to him, lord, master, perhaps even a father-though he'd never speak it aloud for fear of immediate retribution-but he did not wish to make an enemy of him. Having seen what he did to those he considered a foe...well, if such a thing were to happen he suspected he might fare better than most. Still, he had no desire to poke that gundark. A thorn of pride pricked him and held him back. He wanted to believe he was Vader's equal, no perhaps even his better-

'The hell am I thinking?'

Clenching the fingers of his right hand into a firm fist, Naruto ruthlessly slugged himself in the face with all his might. A bloody tooth flew from his mouth and sailed across the cockpit as he staggered back half a step; a successor having already grown back in the time it took to complete its short flight. Sense swallowed pride, and the spark died. Shaking his head, the sith righted himself with an effort. Arrogance was too dangerous to indulge; it had been the ruin of so many before him and he'd nearly succumbed to it now in a moment of weakness.

"Ah." he sighed, feeling the tension leave him. "Better."

"There a particular reason why you just slugged yourself, kid?" Cody asked.

Naruto sighed and shot his old friend and teacher a rueful look.

"Just knocking some sense into myself."

"Well don't knock too hard." the clone chuckled, adjusting their descent. "Lord Vader won't be happy if you accidentally kill yourself."

"Don't I know it."

Rubbing his sore jaw, the Apprentice headed aft, trusting Cody's able skills to chart them a course to the landing zone. Ignoring his brief burst of pride just now, the journey to Mustafar had proven a surprisingly quiet one thus far, all things considered. Boring, even. Whatever words Cody had shared with Mariss and Shaak Ti were spoken in confidence and he'd no desire to know them. Didn't he? Doubt gnawed at him anew and irritated, the whiskered warrior rolled his shoulders and he hastened his pace to the ship's hold. As he neared his destination, his heightened senses caught the tangled threads of conversation. Unconsciously, he wrapped himself in the Force and slowed, softening his footsteps and muting his presence.

...going to die, aren't we?" Brood lamented as he drew closer.

"Peace, Marriss." Shaak Ti's voice soothed. "The Force will provide."

"The Force?!" the padawan's voice cracked in disbelief, her words warped by the ray shielding of their prison. "That kind of thinking is what put us here!"

"He's kept his word so far." though he couldn't see the jedi master from where he stood, her voice radiated strength. Surety, even. "I seen no reason to doubt him. Did he not reattach my hand as he said he would? He could have slain us a thousand times now, yet instead he has seen to our needs. Shown us fairness. Mercy. Is that the way of the dark side?"

"He's still a sith!" Mariss insisted.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Regardless, he has my trust."

Naruto was so startled by this that he nearly lost control of his cloak.

After a moment's consideration he abandoned his present course and headed towards the galley.

If they were going to meet Vader in person, the least he could do was provide them with one last meal.

His hands worked in practiced movements as he plucked out a matte-grey tray and piled foodstuffs atop it, which mostly amounted to crudely made sandwiches and ration bars.

Perhaps this would help ease their hunger, if not their fears.

Hunted by his words as they were, haunted by the realization that they were being shipped to the man responsible for murdering most of their hallowed order, he couldn't blame them. They might very well be the last remaining jedi. For all their high and mighty platitudes he could feel their fear in the Force; snakes of incorporeal terror writhing and twisting within. Another talent of his. His heart gave a slight wrench at the thought, one he stubbornly shook off in spite. Should he not feel sympathy for the enemy? Shaak Ti had fought with courage and valor-slightly less so for her padawan-that alone had earned her his respect. He'd given them his word that they wouldn't be harmed, but he couldn't make any promises where Vader was concerned. Of course they feared their end. It was only natural.

It seemed they were troubled enough already.

Almost as if seemed there were no hope left for their kind.

"What in the...?!"

The vision slammed into him without warning, sending him stumbling into a wall. He no longer saw it.

Already his eyes were elsewhere:

He turned his gaze upward to the twin suns above and frowned intently.

"Where...?

Heat.

Heat and fire consumed him as he squinted up at the blazing orbs. Lost. He was lost. The realization perturbed him and he turned on his heel, finding only empty dunes of sand. Still the suns beat down on him like a physical force, their searing heat cutting through his dark robes like a knife. Why was he here? In that sliver of eternity he was vaguely aware of his surroundings; on some level he knew this wasn't real. He was not here, not really in this desert, but back in his ship. Yet it felt real. Painfully, excruciatingly real.

Something about this blasted wasteland of a planet...

...something was calling to him.

But what, exactly?

"You shouldn't be here."

A firm hand clamped down on his shoulder from behind, startling him. Years of instinct kicked in and he shook his attacker off to round on them, igniting his lightsaber in an instant. A blade the color of azure skies met him halfway, sending sparks skittering wildly across his vision, momentarily blinding him. In the ensuing glare, he detected the vaguest outline of a man, his face hidden by a hood. For a fleeting instant he glimpsed what might have been a bearded visage beyond, then nothing.

"Who's there?!" he growled.

Too late; the blade cut across his eyes and darkness consumed him.

"Aaargh!"

With a roar, Naruto's world came rushing back all at once; the vision abandoning him as abruptly as it came over him. All that remained was the blinding glare, the still-burning saber in his hand, and a blazing migraine pounding against his temples. Miraculously he'd managed to hold onto the tray despite all, being caught in the throes of his vision and flailing about. Reluctantly he extinguished his saber and returned it to his belt. This did little to assuage his ragged nerves. He might as well have thrown mud at a rancor for all the good it did him.

'What the hell was that?' Trembling fingers touched at his eyes, reminding that they were still present. Still functioning. That he wasn't blind. His mind was another matter. When he closed his eyes he still experienced it, a blazing heat as though someone had thrust a red-hot iron through his face. 'It felt like I was there! The heat! The pain...!'

What had that vision meant?

A desert?

Twin suns?

He was fairly certain he knew a planet like that-

"Everything alright back there?" Cody's voice rang from the cockpit, a hot iron against his already frayed thoughts, severing them entirely.

Sputtering, the sith righted himself.

"I'm fine!" Naruto replied a touch too sharply. "Just...fine."

Disquieted by the unexpected vision, he'd mustered his composure and marched back to the holding cells. This time he didn't bother to conceal his presence from the jedi; only warding his emotions from them. Toward his physical presence he made no such effort-the deliberate tread of his boots announced his presence long before he reached his prisoners. Thus he found them awaiting him in silence, rather than intruding upon their conversation as he had before. A pity. He would've liked to glean more information from them and had he been in a better state of mind, would've tried to do so.

Remembering his manners at the last moment, he inclined his head in a curt nod toward them and their shared cell.

"Enjoying the flight?"

Mariss jerked her sullen gaze toward the wall and ignored him outright, an irritated snarl conveying all she wished to say on the matter. Her anger was wasted on Naruto; he embraced her rage, fed on it, and moved on. Just a sad sapling, one not worth wasting his time on while she sulked. By comparison Shaak Ti was a mighty oak; wounded and uprooted by battle perhaps, but she hid her fear well. Had he not fought her himself, had they not clashed sabers and taken one another's measure, he might have thought she was planning something. Now, he knew better. For all her brave facade, the togrutan jedi was even more exhausted than her angry padawan. Now, she merely seemed...

...tired.

"How's the hand?" he inquired, approaching the barrier door.

"...well." she conceded, carefully flexing her fingers into a small fist. Thank you for asking. Ah." Her eyes strayed to the stolen saber at his belt-her weapon-and he thought he saw a spark of rare emotion within them. "I see you've become well-acquainted with my lightsaber, sith." was that a note of accusation he detected? Did she think he'd bled the crystal already? "Hopefully it will serve you better than it did me."

Naruto permitted himself a wry smirk.

"A hunter must have his trophies. You break mine, I take yours. But enough about that. Care for a meal?" He hefted the tray for emphasis with its unappealing contents. "I know its probably not anything you're used to, but I can't cook to save my life. Sandwiches and rations are the best I can do. Afraid it'll have to do." To his disbelief, she actually favored him with a small smile.

"You're too kind."

"Now, now." he wagged a finger. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

"Well I don't want anything from you." Brood grumbled, nevertheless watching him move to the keypad. "You can shove your gruel up your-

"Ohoho! She speaks!" chuckling softly, he aproa the code; a swift tap of numbers deactivated the shields.

"Computer. Deactivate ray shields. Code Orange."

What? Orange was a perfectly acceptable color!

What happened next was entirely expected.

"Die!"

"See, this why we can't get along!"

In one smooth movement, the blond tossed the tray and its contents up and into the air. Shunting her blow aside, he calmly levered Mariss into the wall and pinned her there with his right hand. In the same motion he reached out and crooked two fingers toward Shaak Ti in an upward motion, pinning the jedi master against the ceiling before she could think to aid her prone padawan. Just like that their brief little rebellion died before it could truly begin. A heartbeat later and the tray landed neatly against his outstretched fingers, not a single morsel wasted.

Naruto sighed.

"Now look, I said no harm will come to you." he warned, his tone taking on a dark edge. "I said that and I meant it. I'm a man of my word, ya know. However," here he growled and tightened his grasp on each of them, "Don't expect me to take you lightly because of it. Understand?" rising to his feet, he deposited the tray on the bench and released his hold on them both. "There was no point in attacking me. You never had any chance of escape to begin with." Snapping his fingers, he uttered the command code a second time, effectively reactivating the shields and sealing himself in the cage with his captives in the cell once more. "Don't try that shit again."

Thankfully neither made a move toward him when he stepped away.

Shaak Ti proved the first to recover from her ill-fated assault, reluctantly propping herself up against the wall with her good arm. After a moment's consideration, she laid claim to one of the unwrapped ration bars and sank her teeth into it, chewing quietly. Naruto watched her intently, prepared for any deception. If there was one thing he'd learned from Vader it was how to read people. There was a fine line between being prepared and full-blown paranoia, and he was careful not to cross into that territory. It was one skill he'd taken to more than most; being able to read those around him. And he felt no such emotion from Shaak Ti.

...my apologies." she murmured, swallowing. "I admit, you're not what I expected."

Slightly intrigued, the apprentice lingered, resting his back against the wall.

"What did you expect?"

"Wrath. Hatred. Spite." the jedi demurred with an exhausted shrug. "You have shown none of these things. Were it not for the glimmer of darkness I sense within you, I'd think you a grey jedi. You claim to be Sith, yet I sense in you compassion. Kindness. Mercy. You show none of the viciousness of your kind. If I you pressed me to describe it, I'd have to say," her dark eyes flicked him up and down once again, taking his measure, and the softest of smiles touched her face. "You aren't nearly so frightening as you pretend to be. Nor do you embrace the Dark as fully as you'd have others belief.

Golden eyes narrowed.

"Careful, now."

"I meant no offense." Ti replied.

Naruto weighed her words for a moment before venturing a reply of his own.

"The Force is the Force." he lifted a hand, palm upturned to display the tiniest discharge of force lightning cradled within. "In denying it, in denying your emotions, you limit yourself. You'd do well to draw strength from them. They can save you when all else fails."

She looked at him with pity then, and he nearly recoiled at it.

"You truly believe that, don't you?"

"I do. Because I lived it." Naruto countered, feeling something ugly rear its head inside him then. He stepped forward, closing the distance as much as the cage would allow. "My "master", he grimaced at the word as much as the memory, "Once threw me into a hungry gundark nest. I had nothing but the Force." he paused, letting the reality of his words sink into his captives. "It was an experiment of his. They were dozens of the bastards, and they were all starving. I was fresh meat, seven years old, and scared out of my mind. Do you know what I did?"

"I imagine you'll tell us." Mariss feigned indifference, but the glimmer of fear he sensed from her told otherwise.

"I butchered them." the whiskered warrior replied, uncaring of her flinch. "To a man. Not just the males, but the females, and their young. I killed them all. What did you expect? I was just a boy and it was me or them. Looking back, I still don't remember much of what happened that day." he looked down, curling his hands quietly. "But I remember the fear. The rage." Mariss blinked and for a moment, just a sliver of a second, those amber orbs seemed to burn scarlet to her eyes. "Without emotion, I would've died that day; of that I have no doubts. Think on that for a moment, jedi."

He wasn't surprised when the padawan bristled.

"So? It still proves you a monster-

"Oh, but I'm not done!" a coiled fist slammed against the wall, causing both jedi to jump as one. "By the time I'd blasted my way out of that pit, I half-expected Vader to kill me. After all, I'd failed. Lost control. I nearly stayed in that nest for fear of death. I knew I stood no chance against him; knew he would snuff me out in a blink. Have you ever feared death? Truly tasted it?" The two jedi exchanged a glance as he spun away from them, only to start again as the irritated blond spun back on his heel. "I lived with it every day in those early years. The finality of it can crush you, ya know? But I rose above it."

Words failed him then.

The realization that he'd never told this to anyone else-not even Cody-momentarily left him at a loss. Blasted jedi, how had they gotten under his skin this easily?

"And then?" Shaak Ti prodded gently.

"What do you think?" he sighed, flicking an imaginary speck of dusk from his cloak to escape her gaze. "I escaped that hell and eventually worked my way back to him. He didn't raise his blade. Didn't strike me. In the end, he said only three words. Now you understand. Do you, jedi? Emotion is what fuels me. I'm a creature of passion. I don't deny it. It makes a fool of me at times, reckless at others. But I'm not fueled by hatred as much as you think. The desire for a better world? Certainly. Hope? Hell, yes. A galaxy united? I'd die for that. That can never be so long as you lost insist on stirring up trouble."

"Why are you telling us this?" Mariss muttered.

A rare look of scorn flashed across Naruto's visage and for a moment, his anger burned white hot.

Stupid girl! Why didn't she understand?! He wanted to shake her! Didn't she see this was for her benefit?!

"Are you afraid?"

Just like that, she closed down again.

"Why?"

"Why? I'm asking you so you learn, idiot." scowling, he thrust a finger toward the corridor. "I'm telling you this so you don't go and do something stupid when we land. Your so-called "peace" is all well and good, but its useless on the battlefield when death's staring you in the face. Now, emotion...sometimes you need that edge. I've carried that lesson with with me all my life. You think I'm terrifying? Good. Because my Master's more than terrifying. And he won't argue morality with you. So I'll ask this one more time. Are. You. Afraid?"

Mariss's face softened.

"I-

A faint tremor rolled through the soles of his boots to rattle the floor, informing him the ship had successfully completed its docking procedure. Naruto shared a glance with his captives, saw the resignation in their eyes. So. This was the end of their conversation. For now. Assuming there would be a second time. Suppressing such a dismal thought, he deactivated the door one last time-though not before raising his right hand. A series of snarling sparks spoke volumes into the silence between Sith and Jedi.

"Right, then." he managed eloquently. "Time to leave. Try to escape and I'll shock you senseless."

...I will not try, Sith." the jedi master replied, rising to her feet. "I gave you my word."

Amber eyes cut to her padawan.

"You're not the one I'm worried about, sweetheart."

A low hiss snaked through Brood's teeth.

"I refuse!"

"Tough. You either leave this cell on your own, or I knock your pretty little ass out and drag you. Your choice."

An angry hiss was the zabrak's sole reply before she acquiesced.

They disembarked in short order, Naruto taking the lead with the two jedi behind him, Cody bringing up the rear, rifle at the ready. Should either Ti or Brood attempt to flee, they'd find themselves stunned or shocked. Not that there was anywhere to flee too. The oppressive heat of Mustafar saw to that. There was nothing to eat in the magma fields here, nothing to hunt. If the heat didn't get to you, the lava would. Or Vader. Part of him wondered if he was leading his captives to their deaths. He'd sworn not to harm them, but he couldn't speak for his master. If he tried to kill them...

"You'll do what?" a nasty little voice hissed in his ear. "Protect them? From HIM? Fool. You'll die trying."

The apprentice ruthlessly stifled a snarl as he finished his descent down the ramp.

Vader awaited him below, a dark figure seemingly carved from stone.

Naruto stopped a short distance away and inclined his head.

"Master."

The Dark Lord regarded him in silence.

Naruto grit his teeth and silently awaited his answer.

When at last he spoke, his words send a silent chill through him.

"You have done well, apprentice." he granted.

"Thanks-ever-so-much."

Years of deferential instinct and training compelled him to bend the knee, but sheer stubbornness rooted Naruto in place. His only concession was to sketch a short bow. If Vader was at all put off by the lack of respect he did little to show it; indeed, his focus had long since moved on and was now decidedly elsewhere. It lay upon the two captive jedi trailing down the ramp, held at gun-point by Cody. The apprentice restrained a silent shudder; for he apprentice didn't envy them the attention. The weight of his master's regard wasn't always a bad thing, but Vader's hatred for the jedi was legendary. Already he could feel the dark cloud of his master's wrath building, a storm ready to break upon those below.

Naruto groaned inwardly.

'Why, why, WHY did I do promise them something like this?!'

Spirits, he'd promised to keep them safe from that.

A bitter chill rippled through him as the dark lord ignited his saber and strode past him; only then did the blond finally regain full control of his faculties. Shaak Ti didn't bat an eyelash in the face of the storm. The same could not be said for her padawan. Mariss stood ramrod straight, bright eyes bulging as the Dark Lord raised his saber, leveling a burning red line against her cheek. Only then did Naruto realize what Vader intended. He wouldn't. No. He would. It took everything he had to reign himself in and not intervene. Any act of aggression on his part would turn that very saber on him.

"Ah, Master Ti. I've been expecting you."

"Vader." the togrutan jedi lifted her head and bared her throat to him in defiance of the danger, expression chiseled from marble. "I thought Skywalker slew you."

Only those who truly knew Vader could see how profoundly Shaak Ti's verbal jab affected him. It was there, in the slight tensing of his shoulders, the momentary pause in the incessant rasp of his respirator. Naruto was one such individual, and his eyebrows shot up like a rocket. 'No, no, no! This is not what we agreed! What the hell are you doing!?'

"Anakin Skywalker was weak." Vader rumbled. "I destroyed him."

Her gaze hardened imperceptibly.

"So you claim."

It was precisely the wrong thing to say.

Rather than explode in anger as was sometimes his wont, the Sith surprised them all by extinguishing his saber. Slowly, almost curiously, he tilted his head. It took Naruto a moment to realize the Dark Lord had finally noticed Mariss. The full weight of his gaze fell upon her like a crushing wave to which the padawan stiffened, unable to tear herself away. Despite himself, Naruto felt a spike of pity for her. Perhaps now she understood what he'd meant when he warned her about Vader. One did not argue with a force of nature. You didn't reason with it, and certainly didn't fight it.

You got the hell out of its way.

"I see you've found a new apprentice, Shaak Ti." Though his helmet reflected no emotion, even a blind man could sense the dark satisfaction lurking in his words. "A pity. I sense great fear in her."

Cody stiffened.

"Begging your pardon sir, but-

Vader pinched his thumb and forefinger together.

Mariss realized her peril a nanosecond too late; then an invisible vice clamped down her throat, driving all air from her lungs. No. All her training abandoned her in an instant, years of training cast aside as she felt the Dark Lord crush her windpipe. Her first thought was to lash out. Attack with everything she had, and hopefully in doing so disrupt the technique. It was her only hope. To delay was to die, and more than anything, she wanted to live. Her hands snapped up together as one and she pushed with every fiber of her being; wrath, grief and terror united as one. Exulted Yes! She'd smash him against the rocks, hurl him into the lava and then-

-the Sith dismissed her efforts with a contemptuous flick of his free hand and lifted her into the air with a thought.

With the knowledge that she'd failed, rational forsook Maris all at once and she despaired. Her boots scraped the ground as her feet dangled uselessly below her, leaving her to clutch at the unseen fingers at her throat. At this noose; inexorably squeezing the life out of her. Already her vision had begun to darken at the edges. She could barely see her exhausted master pleading for her life, only to be batted aside by Vader. Naruto was waving his hands expansively and Cody looked as though he were all of an instant from turning his blaster on Vader. Afterward, her sigh faded even more and she became fixated solely on fighting the stranglehold upon her throat. As a result, she failed to see what transpired next.

"Vader! Stop!" Shaak Ti pleaded! "There's no need for that!"

Silence reigned supreme.

Looking back, Naruto wasn't sure what spurred him to act.

It could have been many things; perhaps Maris's desperate expression.

Perhaps it was her eyes.

It might've been the tears.

Before he could consider the consequences of his own actions he flung up his hands and spoke.

"Wait! If turned, they could be of great use to us!"

Vader went still.

Even now he could see the gears turning in his master's mind. Breaking a jedi, rather, turning them to the Dark Side, was the ultimate betrayal of the light. To mold them into something else, to make them forswear all that they had ever known and become steeped in the ways of the darkness...doubtlessly such a plan appealed to Vader. He despised the Jedi and ever sought new ways to destroy them. Now, the hook was baited. All that remained was to see if he would bite.

"Can it be done?"

'Got 'em!'

Keenly aware of his master's regard, the whiskered warrior did the one thing he'd sworn never to do. He bent the knee. Abandoning his pride and bowing his head low, he scoured all thought from his mind, he willed himself to be calm and focused on the sole "image" as it were of turning them to the Dark. To Vader. Any other thought meant a swift and certain death. He told himself he wasn't lying. No. Not at all. He'd given his word that no harm would come to them, and in offering this choice to Vader, he was keeping it. Only the Force knew the outcome.

"They will join us or die." he swore.

He almost believed it himself.

A minute passed.

Then another.

Another.

"We shall see."

When Vader abruptly released Maris, Naruto didn't bother to restrain himself. Even as she fell he reached out and cushioned her fall with the Force. Shaak Ti did the rest, catching her apprentice with her good arm, all the while keeping a tight lid on her emotions. Maris was another matter. Even as she gasped for breath she sought his gaze out, incredulous in her disbelief. He saw it in her expression; she knew he'd just saved their lives, but didn't know what to make of it. Good. Let her stew on that for awhile.

Carefully concealing his emotions behind a facade of disinterest, Naruto rose and beckoned for Cody.

Vader wasn't having any of it.

"Commander."

"Sir!" his old friend straightened, nearly saluting out of instinct.

"You will escort the prisoners to the holding cells and await further orders."

"Right away, sir!"

Relief bled out of the man like a cracked sieve as he ushered the captive jedi away, his outburst restrained only by years of training. Naruto bit back a sigh of relief. Good man, Cody. With luck, Vader would mistake it as a mere distaste for violence, nothing more. Sure enough, the Dark Lord didn't challenge him when the trio scuttled past. His attention was too rooted, to firmly fixed on him to bother with a clone. As their captives were led away down a winding path, Vader crooked a hand toward his disciple.

"Come."

He turned and departed without another word, leaving Naruto to follow him into the complex.

...I see you have acquired a new lightsaber." there could be no denying the silken menace lurking in Vader's voice.

"Well," the blond shrugged, grateful for the change of subject, "Ti broke one of mine. Had to improvise."

A moment of silence passed, broken only by the incessant rasp of Vader's respirator.

"I understand you also struck down a servant of the Empire."

Reluctantly, Naruto sighed, sensing an unspoken question.

"The Fifth Brother, actually. He snuck into my hunt and his obsession with killing was at odds with my orders from you, Master. So I went with the pragmatic approach." the blonde confessed.

Even if he hadn't been facing the window overlooking the river of lava, Vader's mask would have given away nothing, before the dark figure slightly inclined his head. Did it irritate him that they had fewer members of the Inquisitorius now? Yes. But did that mean he failed to understand why his apprentice had killed the Fifth Brother?

Hardly.

Why should he feel any pity for that fool?

"Also, Master..." Naruto hesitated before continuing, knowing what would follow. "The Emperor...he's aware of me...sent me a transmission...he told me he requires me in the Lothal system after this..." the Blade said, knowing the only thing Vader would like less than hearing that was being uninformed of it.

Vader turned bodily to face his pawn at the news.

"Master, he said you were who informed him of me!" Naruto explained quickly, lest he suffer his Master's anger.

Ah...Vader was unsurprised at that. Yet still...It was too soon. He would need to think, modify his plans. This was forcing him to accelerate things.

"Follow me. If the Emperor is aware of you, then there is something that you will need."

Naruto did as his master instructed and did as such, the pair making their way down further and further through Vader fortress, eventually exiting it. Once more the searing heat of Mustafar swept up to slap the blond in the face, forcing him to cocoon himself in the Dark Side. From there the master lead his apprentice outside into the familiar ash-choked air and searing heat of the ground on broken planet.

The pair of Dark Side-wielders made their way away from the building and once it was but a speck on the horizon, Vader held out his hands. The Force surged from him and scattering the soil before them to expose an obsidian black door built into the ground like the entrance to a bunker, perfectly hidden under the ash and loose soil of the volcanic world, and only noticeable if you knew exactly where to look.

A hidden room?

Vader physically grasped the door and moved it aside, shocking Naruto as the Blade was welll aware of the dangerous nature of his Master's artifical limbs.

Vader's gloves in actuality being Mandalorian crushgaunts and modified to include grip-augmentation circuitry. His mechanical appendages provided him with greater strength than an ordinary man; he could adjust the servodrivers and pistons in his forearms to provide his hands with enough strength to crush nearly anything they could grasp. With the power of his arms alone, he had the ability to lift an adult being off the ground, though he had always been able to do so with the Force.

Heaving it open, Vader made his way down into the depths of the chamber, vanishing from Naruto's sight.

Examining the door, Naruto was surprised to see why his master had even needed to resort to his physical strength at all.

A hidden vault inscribed with ancient Sith alchemic ruins to make it resistant to being lifted telekinetically with the Force, yet heavy enough to where no ordinary person could get it to budge? Why would Vader have any need for that? Whatever was behind that door, Naruto found himself not liking the idea of whatever it was.

Soon enough he heard the slow, deliberate, thudding steps, the noisy gait that "announced" his Master's coming.

When Vader emerged, he held something in his hand. A black, flat and angular dagger, sleek and deadly, that Naruto could feel something unusual about. It left him with a sense of sheer dread that eclipsed that even of the Emperor himself.

At the blond's involuntary step back, he suddenly gasped, feeling a sudden, familar feeling compress his throat.

No, not fear.

Rage.

"Hey! Cut that shit out!" he growled, eyes flashing red. "There's something screwed up with that weapon! Only an idiot wouldn't fear that thing!"

Reluctantly, the pressure from the Force Choke vanished and Naruto hissed out an angry breath. Vader spoke.

"I taught you better. Sith have no fear...Although, having seen the lethality this blade on those whom wield the power of the Force, it is inevitable you would dread the Mortis Dagger. This blade should no longer exist...the Ones of Mortis are no more, yet this weapon somehow remains as though their lives still maintained its presence."

Naruto's eyes went wide as he pushed himself up. The the Mortis Dagger?! It...it EXISTED?! He couldn't believe it! A weapon that could strip beings strong enough in the Force to have achieved immortality through it of their powers?!

No wonder he was made so nervous, that blade was power personified. No...it wasn't him that dreaded and shrank away from the weapon...it was the Force itself! Naruto shuddered, he found he really didn't wish to know how that was possible. Then he gasped as his Master held the dagger out to him. Wanting him to take it up.

Naruto looked up at Vader, shocked and more than a bit frightened. Still...he hesitantly reached out and grasped the hilt, acutely aware of the Force flowing through him making it so he wanted nothing to do with the blade. Slipping it into his belt, Naruto made to follow his master as Vader went to return to his fortress.

Only once they'd left the scorching lava flows behind did his master give him further instruction.

"Return to your chambers while I summon your new pilot." Vader instructed.

"New pilot?" Naruto blinked, momentarily nonplussed. "I have Cody."

A twitch of irritation conveyed itself through Vader's shoulders.

"He is no longer suited to that task." his master replied.

"Fine. But I'm keeping him. He's a good fighter."

"Do as you will with him."

With that the Dark Lord spun on one heel and stormed out, leaving the baffled blond with his thoughts. Vader...was rewarding him? The notion was alien to him. Unexpected. In all his years his master had only ever lent him the tools he needed to survive. Nothing more. Nothing less. To suddenly be gifted something-or someone in this case-absolutely baffled him. That certainly had never happened before...then again, he'd never had to deal with Jedi before, so he guessed it balanced out.

Still, he knew this was a one-time thing.

Or so he hoped.

(...Some Time Later...)

"Well. This isn't working."

Within his training chambers, Naruto let out a steady breath as he paced himself through the intricate movements and forms of the teräs käsi fighting style, a full-body fighting form incorporating strikes, grappling and throwing in addition to weaponry. Every part of the body was used and subject to attack with this form. Yet for all it's practical combat application, he was glad to have learned teräs käsi was practiced not only for physical defense but also for psychological ends. Just what he needed at the moment.

Teräs Käsi, or "steel hands" in Basic, was an unarmed combat discipline. It was created sometime prior to 3678 BBY on the planet Bunduki by the Followers of Palawa, refugees of the planet Palawa, which was devastated earlier in a war somehow involving the Jedi Council. The Followers of Palawa created Teräs Käsi solely to fight with Jedi, and presumably, ensure that another world would never be destroyed by the actions of the Jedi. The Followers of Palawa studied the Force and midi-chlorians, even though they themselves were not necessarily Force-sensitive.

Teräs Käsi enabled a user to develop extreme speed and an aptitude for anticipating strikes. In addition, Teräs Käsi taught non-Force-sensitives how to close their minds to Jedi and Sith, thus protecting themselves from mental attacks. Teräs Käsi also had a developed set of fighting skills, and Nine Edicts. Some lightsaber duelists used Teräs Käsi techniques in combat, most notably of which was the ex-sith Darth Maul. Jedi Master Anoon Bondara was also a master of Teräs Käsi techniques, which he coupled with his lightsaber ability to duel Jedi Knight Joclad Danva was also a Teräs Käsi practitioner. Jedi Master Plo Koon was believed to be a Teräs Käsi practitioner as well, since he was a master at hand-to-hand combat. It wasn't not known how Jedi could have been trained in Teräs Käsi, as the Followers of Palawa did not appear to be on friendly terms with the Jedi.

Since it was a form that allowed a non-Force User to combat those who were able to draw on the Force to augment themselves on near-equal footing, it was something worth mastering, his battle against Master Ti and Broody had shown him the value of just how prepared to combat other Jedi would beSince it was a fighting form that allowed a non - Force User to combat those who COULD use the Force by enhancing their physical conditions to superhuman (or whatever race the user of Teräs Käsi was) levels through intense training, Naruto wondered just how far he could go with the fighting style whilst enhancing himself with the Force on top of it.

The young Sith was half way through the sets when he finally sensed a presence outside his training chamber. With a sigh, he reluctantly halted his routine and opened the door, coming face to face with a young woman.

Blonde, blue eyes, fair skin...Naruto blinked. If he didn't know any better, he would've sworn she was his sister!

She was dressed in the garb of an Imperial pilot.

"I take it you're the one code-named "Blade." she said, all business. "I'm Juno Eclipse. Your new pilot."

At seeing the face Naruto made, she frowned.

"What?" she demanded.

"Clones are better than Birthers, take Clone commander Gregor for example: He single-handily took out an entire Separatist rhydonium mining facility and a whole battalion of droids by himself while suffering from amnesia...meanwhile, enlisted birth-born Stormtroopers couldn't hit the broad side of a plant while shooting point-blank!" Naruto scoffed.

The woman sighed, rolling her eyes, but she understood the underlining factor: he wasn't pleased having an enlisted member of the Empire working alongside him. "Duely noted. However, Lord Vader assigned me to serve as your pilot. My orders are clear; I'm to keep your ship running and fly you where ever your missions require. That's all."

Naruto hissed at that. Orders from up top. Damnit...

"Fine," he sighed, "suppose I couldn't ask for much better for a chauffeur than the youngest student ever accepted into the Imperial Academy and a Captain personally chosen by Vader to lead his Black Eight Squadron...even if you did participate in the mass genocide and complete sterilization that rendered Callos uninhabitable..." he said somewhat resentfully.

Juno's eyes widened, "How do you...?!"

The male blond smirked smugly, "What? You think you're the ONLY one that gets assignments directly from Emperor Palpatine's right-hand man? By all means, if it being part of my job to know about everyone in the Empire from Vader himself down to the sanitation grunts offends you, take it up with the big man himself. I'd love to see that conversation."

For a moment the pilot stood there, her jaw agape.

Then she snarled, and hands balling into shaking fists, forced herself to spin on her heel and stomp away towards where the Fire Shadow was docked.

"Don't forget," Naruto catcalled at her back, "We've got liftoff in a few hours!"

"Bite me!"

Well, that was a markedly reversed attitude!

The Empire's Blade snickered. He gave her a week before trying to put a blaster round through his head in his sleep...

...this'd be fun.

A/N: THE PLOT THICKENS! Naruto's beginning to wonder if the Empire is as "good" as he has been led to believe and with doubt, the gears begin to turn...

LOTHAL NEXT CHAPTER AND BOOOOOOY IS IT GOING TO BE A DOOZY!

So in the Immortal Words of the Emperor himself...

...yes, use your emotions! Give in! REVIEW!

And of course, enjoy the preview!

(Preview!)

"The Force is with you, young one. But you are not a Jedi yet."

Ezra bristled warily, raising his blade to defend himself.

"Oh, this is going to end poorly...

"You may fire when ready."

"Belay that. Your men will stand down."

Arihnda Pryce blinked in disbelief.

"I beg your pardon-URK?!"

Whatever else she might've said died as a vice found her throat.

Amber eyes burned out at the governor.

"The next time you raise a hand to innocent civilians will be the last time you have hands."

Chopper squealed harshly.

Too little, too late.

"Hey, green."

Hera froze.

She turned slowly, dreading what she'd find there. Sure enough, a pair of warm, golden eyes waited for her in the dark. Breath hitched in her throat as their owner stepped forward, their visage illuminated by the pale glow of a crimson saber. It was in that moment that the Ghost's light's finally flickered back on, and she saw him for who he was. He lunged at her and her hand shot to the blaster at her hip, only for the scarlet blade to cleave through the barrel and send it skittering away in a heap of slag. A heartbeat later that same blade forced itself up under her chin, forcing her to raise her head in surrender.

"Nice ship you've got here."

The blazing tip danced mere centimeters from her throat, its intentions clear.

"It'd be a damn shame if something happened to it." he warned.

Defeated, she could only raise her hands.

"What do you want?"

"The Jedi."

R&R~! =D