Chapter Seven

Pestage excused himself quickly, and bolted for the door locking it quickly behind him. He rushed to see the former Emperor who was sitting haggardly looking at the holonet at the destruction of his empire.

"Excellency." he announced himself. The sith lord's yellow irises narrowed on the senior officer in response. Pestage did not wait for a response instead he said excitedly, "My lord, Jedi Skywalker, he's completely lost his memory. He does not even know his own name!"

The topaz eyes of Palpatine alit with glee, his mind instantly calculating and he responded in his weak voice, "Have him examined. I want to know if he can ever recover."

Pestage bowed low, "It shall be done at once."

Palpatine tapped his fingers lightly on the table in front of him, his sharp mind going through every contingency. When one runs an empire you have to think of everything, he had made that mistake once before and paid dearly for it.

No longer would he underestimate the cunning of the Skywalkers.

Pestage reentered the room with another medical droid by his side. He said rather gruffly, "Lord Skywalker, we are going to run some tests now. Just be still and cooperate and this will all be easier."

Luke stared at the officer and responded rudely, "Why should I just sit back and cooperate? You've told me nothing!"

Pestage nodded, "It is for your own protection. Allow us to run these tests and then we can assess the results and begin to give you some answers. Agreed?"

Luke sighed, "I really don't have an option do I?"

The medical droid placed small sensors over Luke's temples, he protested "I really do not see how this is necessary." The droid answered in a mechanical voice, "Your memory is deficient Lord Skywalker. I must calculate the damage done to your central nervous system, and if your memory could ever return."

Luke sighed heavily and listened to the machines around him beep mundanely.

This was maddening. He could remember nothing, not his name or where he was from, how he got here nothing.

He looked down at the ring on his finger, he was married. But to who? Who was she? Did he have a family? Any children? Was she here? Why hadn't she come to him?

He could feel the muscles in his neck tense up. There was nothing inside his mind but blankness. He could feel his anger building, there had to be something! Anything!

The med droid stared at a monitor filling with numbers and letters that were meaningless to Luke. But clearly meant something to the droid who buzzed out of the room without saying a word to Luke. At this point Luke was used to people and machines not giving him any kind of answers to his endless queries. But it was still really ticking him off.

Who was he? Where was she? What was he doing here? And why was he continuously locked in?


Pestage was waiting outside the outer rim of doors when the droid buzzed out and handed him to results and reported, "According to his current brain activity Lord Skywalker isn't lying about his memory loss. The trauma to his nervous system is substantial however, I am not certain he will ever regain his memory. However, his midichlorian count is nearly unheard of. Jedi are known to heal quickly. Even still, a central nervous system once broken is nearly impossible to repair even for a powerful Jedi. It's difficult to come to a transparent conclusion."

Pestage said nothing to the med droid, he turned quickly and went to report the results to his master. He bowed before Palpatine who was seated on a hefty throne, lifted on a dais above the floor. Pestage eyes an odd mandalorian armored man who lurked close by. This was his organization, he should know who is creeping about. He ignored the man and rose slowly "Excellency, it has been reported to me that it is uncertain whether or not Skywalker will ever regain his memories."

If the sith lord could have, he would have leapt up from the throne and danced around. He said happily, "You have done well Mr. Fett. I will double your payment, you have given me more than you know."

The oddly armored man bowed his head and left what had been dubbed the throne room. Pestage felt obligated to caution the gleeful being seated in front of him, "Your highness, it is extremely dangerous to keep him here. He is a very powerful Jedi. It is important for our faction to remain secret until you can regain your former strength. If Skywalker regains his memory and his force prowess he could destroy us all."

Palpatine sneered, "I can smell your fear Pestage, it is sickening. There are ways to subdue the Jedi."

Pestage grimaced, this was a very bad idea. Palpatine's single mindedness was starting to really frustrate him, and made him wonder if the droids had truly been able to restore the full Palpatine. He wouldn't dare say it...

The sith lord stared at Pestage for several long minutes, and the former grand vizier wondered if his fears were so transparent...

"Take me to him. Now." came the command.


Luke stared as a frail looking old man came into the room and said, "Lord Skywalker, I am so relieved that you are safe and unharmed. Thank the force it was our people who found you."

Luke rose slowly, feeling a small pressure on the back of his head.

Something was familiar about this man, he couldn't help but feel a small tendril of dread work its way through him. He ignored the cold cement under his bare feet and asked trying to stop his voice from quivering, "Where am I?"

The former Emperor replied cooly, "You are on the planet Byss."

Luke nodded but of course could not recall the planet.

He asked another, "Who are you?"

Palpatine felt out the question and wondered how to answer, "I go by many names. I am the Emperor of this galaxy."

Luke knew nothing of the Empire, nor the man in front of him, instead of pursuing that he asked another, more personal and altogether more awkward question, "Who am I?"

Palpatine smiled, and worked furiously to hide his sinister glee and

responded, "You're High Sith Lord Luke Skywalker, my apprentice."


Luke blinked for several long seconds, "Your apprentice?"

Palpatine smiled and answered, "For many years now. Your training is almost complete."

Luke sat back down, he was almost afraid to continue with this questioning, "What am I training for?"

Palpatine responded grandly, "The most noble order of the Sith."

"The sith? And you're the head of it?"

"Yes, my sith name is Darth Sidious. I am training you in the ways of the Sith, through the force."

"And what is the force?"

Palpatine wanted to laugh aloud, if only Anakin could see he his powerful son now!

"The force is an energy field, it moves through every fiber of the galaxy. We as sith can command it to our will."

"And I can do this?"

"You are extremely powerful in the ways of the force. I am your master, and I have been instructing you in the ways of our order, to restore the galaxy to its former glory."

Luke asked, "What exactly is the Sith?"

Palpatine replied with pride, "The order of the Sith are force users who utilize the dark side of the force, we are it's masters. The ones with the strength to harness its great power and use it to or advantage. And you are one of us Lord Skywalker."

Luke felt a bit sick and asked, "What happened to me?"

"You were in an unfortunate accident. You have lost all of your memories. I am pressed for time at the moment Lord Skywalker, I will return but I must go now."

The former Emperor could feel his own weakness being palpitated by the powerful Jedi, it was an odd disconcerting feeling he couldn't escape fast enough.

Luke asked furiously, "Why am I being locked in here?"

Palpatine turned and answered, "It is for our protection. Until you can regain the control of your powers I am afraid you are a danger to us all. Rest now Lord Skywalker. You will have your answers soon."

Palpatine closed the door behind him and the small med droid buzzed in and locked it. Pestage stood waiting in the sterile hallway and walked alongside the former Emperor who stated matter of factly, "I know that you disapprove of my actions, but your opinion is of little consequence to me.

I will control Skywalker fully, and then will unleash his power on those he loves, then restore his memory - it will destroy him. And I will have my revenge."


Anakin honed in on R2's homing beacon and hesitated for several long moments. Luke was eerily close to the deep core. One of the few places that the New Republic did not have control of. Anakin shook his head and thought, 'Mara was right. He was searching for trouble.'

He couldn't move his ship to hyperspace because of the gravitational pull from the deep core, luckily he wasn't far. He spoke to his borrowed astromech, "R4, take the ship to coordinates close to the Liliac system." Anakin let the astromech guide the ship while he went into a deep meditation to prepare himself for what he might find once he got there.

What he saw shocked him. Even through all his time with the Jedi and fighting in the clone wars he had never seen such a wreckage. The x-wing had been completely obliterated. It's s-foils crippled, it's cockpit decimated. Anakin had trouble breathing, all he could picture was his son...his son's last moments. "R4?" he asked almost in a whisper "Launch the tow cables, we have to take it in. R4? Scan for life forms please."

R4 ran his sensor along the ship and mournfully chirped a negative. Anakin slammed his eyes shut, and let out a massive scream of fury and frustration. His son...his Luke...his boy...

He sobbed for several long moments.

How could this have happened?

How could he have let it happen?

How could the force do this to him even after the prophecy had been fulfilled and balance had been restored, hadn't they all sacrificed enough!

And now to take his son?

He took a deep breath, no it wasn't fair to blame the force.

Not when the blame belonged to him. And if not him, who was responsible for this?

Grief ripped through him, and he started to shake. He felt a small almost imaginary pull from Padme as he could feel himself plunging into the darkness. His soul pleading for revenge.

He let out a rasping sigh, no he wouldn't go there. It wouldn't serve his son's memory. R4 attached the cables to what was left of the ships hull and he towed it slowly back to Coruscant.


Padme took a deep breath and tried to push away the raw screaming agony she felt. Her Luke...she felt everything from Anakin. Her baby, he was gone. She hadn't had enough time with him! She barely knew him! She recalled seeing his perfect face for the first time and recalled the miracle of that moment. Before she had to give both of them up. Before she lost everything. Seeing him from afar on the small Lars Homestead, meeting him again as an adult. His heartfelt love and trust for her from the very beginning. Sweet Luke.

Leia walked into the room and ran into her mothers arms from her husbands. Han's own eyes looked red and bleary. To lose Luke was akin to losing their own hearts.

They all looked at Mara's closed door, certainly she knew. She had to. Leia swallowed hard and walked over the door hesitating just for a moment. What could she say to the sister in law that she loved? How could she tell her that her husband, the love of her life was gone?

She tapped anyway, "Mara? It's Leia. We've heard from father. Please let me in." Leia heard nothing but she knew for a fact Mara could hear her.

Mara stood and looked at the closed door wrapped in her own arms. She couldn't see Leia but she could feel her next sentence.

"Father found the wreckage of Luke's ship. Mara please let us in. We are still your family."

Mara could hear the emotion in Leia's voice, and she continued to plead, "Please Mara. You need to let us be here for you. Please let us in."

She heard the hushed tones of Padme moving Leia away from the door, and breaking into shrill sobs.

Mara stood motionless, as if glued to the spot. If she never moved from that spot maybe she would wake up and find this all had been a terrible nightmare and she would see Luke once again studying saber technique on their balcony in the warm light of the sunrise.

In that moment Mara felt her whole existence shatter.

She would never see her love again? It was impossible.

Never feel the warmth of his body in the night? Never reach out absentmindedly and feel him beside her? Never stare into his stormy blue eyes?

No, it couldn't be.

She wanted to sob and scream out her pain and agony to the entire galaxy. But that would be admitting to herself that Luke was gone and she couldn't do that. Luke couldn't be gone. He simply couldn't.

She went out on the small balcony. 'He's coming back.' she thought, 'he will come back.'


Author's Note ~ Ok. Take a deep breath. Please do not send me any death threats.

I had my sister proofread this chapter for me. She despises Star Wars (communist) so I wanted her objectivity. Well, several minutes in she looks over at me and yells, "Well f**k you!" apparently she was not happy with the direction I was taking Luke in. I'll tell you all what I told her. Just hang on tightly, because things are about to get rough.

Thank you for reading, let me know what you think.

~ Eradyne