Chapter 4: Content
All was quiet around Vader's ship that early morning. Carefully and quietly she stepped forward out of her quarters into the cold steel hallway of Darth Vader's ship. Her eyes met the dim helmet of a storm trooper and understanding passed between them. Their movement causes the pathways to light up before them fighting away the darkness. She clutches her book and her writing pen securely to her chest before taking a deep breath. Her long hair was pulled up into a tight bun and her body was draped in a dark royal blue dress that swept the floor as she walked. Her mind was clear yet her heart was beating frantically in her chest. She walked along the path passing storm troopers and others starting their early morning by relieving the others of their duties. She was quiet in her pursuit of the dark one's war room. Kleio walked briskly to his battle room after receiving the call for her presence. They had much to discuss and she wasn't quite sure where they stood now. He seemed intrigued by her proposition but one thing she learned about the dark side is that there was always secrecy involved and hidden agendas being created.
Soon they came in front of two massive black steel doors that opened upon their arrival. The Storm Trooper stepped out of the way and allowed her to enter. With as much confidence as she could muster she went forward into the dark room. Shadows covered much of everything except for the small ray of lighting coming from the window that had a perfect view of gaseous orange planet and its small moons. She stepped further inside to see Darth Vader sitting in a chair upright obviously waiting for her to perform her duties. Her violet eyes took in his cold exterior as once again he was covered head to toe in black material. The dark energy was practically tangible in the room and crept along her skin seemingly enticing her to take a gander. She shivered a bit before dropping her head in a polite greeting. He nodded and waved his hand for her to take her place at the round table in the center of the room. Immediately she walked over and began preparing for a writing session.
Darth Vader watched curiously feeling her aura of contentment and a small vibe of anxiousness. A rhythm hum of energy flowed inside of her constantly which he found rather disturbing. She was very organized by the way she systematically began unpacking her items and her mind for what he would require of her. Through the mask his golden rimmed eyes analyzed every movement and even touched her searching for fear and deceit. However, she was as calm as the rising sun with transparency as clear as the glass that separated them from the space. He flexed his fingers in thought wondering cruelly what it would take to get rid of that confidence she exuded. From her walk to the way her body sat with great posture. He could see it. Her hand dipped her pen in the ink pot she brought with her and rested delicately in the air with a gentle curve of her finger along the base. Her hauntingly galactic violet eyes rested on him and her lips went up to form words.
"I'm ready when you are, Darth Vader." She spoke with a voice that chimed.
He stood wondering where to start. He wanted his legacy to be written with finesse and excellent narrative of his conquests that painted illustrious scenes filled with his great work and contributions to the Empire. The last time he had seen her writing around his presence is when Operation Knightfall was carried out by his hands. The look of horror and grief stained her face that day and he knew his actions would be one to give all nightmares well into adulthood. Yet, despite her emotions she wrote and documented everything even the death of a Jedi youngling whose tears stained the floor. He had read it himself and found her work to be rather appreciated and could see her usefulness to the Empire now that he had time to dwell on it. However, she also was a double edged sword that could possibly ruin all that he had built if he wasn't too careful.
"If I may suggest. I have recorded much of your journey until you were sent away to find remaining Jedi and rebels on planet Kashyyyk." He thought on this as she already began writing.
She listened to his deep raspy voice speak through the machines filtering in his chest. With a hardened heart, she listened and simply recorded pushing back emotion from her duty. His tales were horrid and brutal as he combed every detail of that mission given to him by the Emperor. He spoke with finality and absolution regarding his actions from slicing through the body of a Wookie and destroying makeshift camps and homes of stragglers that took refuge on the planet. Her fingers gripped her pen tightly listening to the anger and egoism entwine in his descriptions and prose. His tone rarely changed unless his lips uttered the names of a select few of his past.
Her fingers began to grow numb and she desired to stretch and free her mind of his evil recollections. Her face contorted and cringed deeply at his scenes with her mind questioning the existence of the right hand of the devil. She had heard of the expression before but never did she think she would meet someone who personified such a being on every level of consciousness. During her writings his tone did change into a darker sound in which the hatred and anger radiated from his being. It slid against her leaving behind a slime of disgust regarding Palpatine and his betrayal. She shifted in her seat finally ceasing her pen from movement. A red light flashed indicating he had a message. She sighed in relief watching him press the button and a hologram of coordinates and a map was revealed. She dipped her pen in the ink pot and rested her pen gently on the stand.
"You know a great deal of the Emperor." He stated matter-of-factly catching her attention. He watched her head rise to look at him and her eyes hardened. He smirked behind his mask wondering of the stench of regret and fear would permeate the air. He trusted no one especially not a woman whom threatened a while ago to report his treasonous actions to the Emperor.
"Maybe more than the average." She responded wondering exactly when he would recall their previous nightly discussion. Their little exchange wasn't exactly appropriate given their duties and stations. Also speaking of a coup was treason and the price was a heavy one. She was ready to face whatever he would do. She would play her cards wisely but she felt in her gut she had at least captured his interest. That would at least buy her some time to live a bit longer.
"What does he spend his days doing?" He asked crossing his fingers together and dismissing the hologram to focus on her petite form.
Kleio thought on this before responding. "Exactly what you think. Palpatine is a deceitful being who care's only about himself and no one else. At first he was focused on power and obtaining absolute supremacy which he still craves to his core. However, he has a new foe to confront that he will learn cannot be defeated."
He sat up at this. A low growl could be heard through his machine as he thought over the man that could cause Palpatine to be fearful when he could not. "Tell me." He demanded.
Kleio stood up to stretch. She strolled over to the window and leaned up against it to look outside at the galactic scenery. Her fingers touched the cool glass and she focused on the darkness that stretched beyond the planet. "Death."
Vader was taken for a ride at this response. "He's dying?"
She shook her head. "He was." She responded turning to look at him with a stern gaze. "But, Palpatine is never one to be so easily defeated. This is why he has been seemingly on a rampage for cloning techniques. The darkness is so strong…too strong for living organisms to sustain. Despite the dark side giving unparalleled power to the host, the body cannot sustain it. Thus the body slowly rots which is what is happening with Palpatine and I imagine even you."
His fist tightened at the reminder bleak reminder of his own fate. He knew this to be true. Afterall the Sith Order's rules were built around the rather small lifespan of a Sith Lord rather it be from death in combat, association, or natural causes. His anger brewed and rose in the air around them.
She touched her arms in comfort before speaking further while avoiding his body. Kleio felt the rise in dark energy in the room and the pressure it caused on her skin was enough to make her quiet. Dark energy eroded the body by first causing discoloration in the eyes and then giving the skin a darker hue. With prolonged and excessive use of the dark force, the body will begin to age. Her eyes flickered back over to the dark one wondering just how bad did he look underneath all of that getup. She was able to see in his mind during the transfer of past recollections but he was very adamant about keeping parts of himself hidden. She looked at her hands before looking up again out of nervousness now.
"He is trying to cheat death by creating replica clones of himself to pass his spirit into. He is on his third body if my memory serves me correctly. The next body will require a leave of absence for him to adjust and test out its endurance." She spoke thinking about the crazed man. "He fears death so much that he will go through any means of immortalization. You saw for yourself when you killed his other apprentice. He also has been frequenting his concubines often. Either from stress of procreation methods I'm not sure."
Vader stood up suddenly and stepped down from his chair. His long cape whipped behind him while he paced the room back and forward in thought. If what she said was true than he could very well be close to it than they thought. He had suspected as much when he received clones that were malfunctioned and useless to him due to their skills and mental health. After conducting his own investigation he had found in Palpatine's haste to grow his army that his new bioengineers were trying to produce clones twice as fast than those of Kamino. However because they didn't have time allotted and training for proper growth the clones were nothing more than wasted product and resources. To learn that his master was using clone techniques to possibly clone himself for survival as well as himself was enough to allow the rage to consume him. His rage pushed him into making his own plans by building his own army behind the Emperor's back. He looked back at the petite woman who shared the same sentiments about his master yet he could feel no anger or rage from her. Merely disgust. He weighed his options mulling over how he could have the upper hand and keep the seer tightly in his grasp until she could be dealt with permanently.
Kleio looked at him curiously wondering what he was thinking before he came to a stop. His helmet shined brightly in the dark despite the color with his face now looking down at her. She tilted her head to the side.
"You have done well, Kleio." He spoke deeply moving towards the table. "Prove your allegiance against the Emperor by writing about Palpatine. Record his recent actions and conversations shared with you. This information shall serve us well and help us plan." He manipulated.
She eyed him suspiciously knowing there was more to it than this. She had spent much time around a master manipulator to know when the act was being done against her. She had also learned a thing or two about the skill as well. She strolled over to the table and began gently putting away her items. Such work needed to be done peacefully in the quiet alcove of the library she discovered earlier surrounded by the classical stylings of Beethoven maybe. Once her things were packed she looked at him squarely in the face with eyes so strikingly sharp that he felt she could see through his mask. "I will do so. And in turn I request that you take me to Naboo so I may see what has come of my home."
He stiffened and crossed his arms. "You dare make demands?" His breathing was heavy and resonated in her own chest rather painfully.
"I dare." She spoke rather bravely slightly shocking herself at her own audacity. Maybe living in fear and being exposed to sins unfathomable had taken its toll and made her quite the vigilante. It also helped that having the Emperor more so on your side and untrusting of his apprentice went a long way.
Vader gripped the table harshly causing small cracks to grind into its surface. The coordinates he received spoke of going in the opposite direction of Naboo. He mulled over her request and the benefits. He would get knowledge about his Master's deceptions and he also knew she could not write lies. Everything written would be truthful in the book she would create. Of course there would be the absence of information he would have to worry about. He supposed he would find a way to deal with this during the mission he was about to embark on. He stands straight and walks over to his chair where he began typing in a few things. She watched with abated breath as he walked pass her and waited at the door.
"Perform your task without deceit and the absence of the complete truth. Do this and you will have my word that I will take you to Naboo." He said before exiting the room with his long cape billowing behind him. His mind was preparing for another mission that would require the spilling of blood.
Kleio's eyes widened at the success of her rather strange negotiations before she ran to the door. Her mouth opened to say something before it was closed. Thank you hovered over her lips at the small bubble of hope in herself at possibly the opportunity given to her by the heavens to return to her home and see what had come of her enchanted home. Maybe it was safe and intact. Also, maybe she could find a way to escape the hell she was trapped in. Her heart beat with confidence and immediately the rushed back to the table to collect her items. Smiling to herself she began holding everything to her chest. Yes, all was not lost. Hope was there. Hope built inside of her a foundation again and with it plans were made of a future she didn't know she could reach. A future courting and maybe diving in the lover's embrace of freedom.