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CHAPTER TEN
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Mara glanced briefly to Luke where he sat at the conference table. He hadn't returned her comm last night-their first they'd all been together onboard the Steadfast. She'd sent a second comm after midnight telling him to come, no matter what the time…but he hadn't turned up at her quarters, as he often had at outrageous hours before…before Palpatine's return.
Even this morning there was still no contact from him. Instead she'd been woken early by a standard summons to this meeting. And when she'd arrived here, both Shira and Palpatine were already seated. Luke had arrived minutes later, and walked to a seat to the same side of the table as herself and Shira, but two chairs down from Mara, effectively preventing any private conversation.
He'd looked tired, dark circles beneath his eyes, his black-dyed hair and the white of his shirt—he wore no uniform jacket, as usual—draining him of color. By contrast to Palpatine, he seemed drained of life itself. Palpatine sat straight and alert, ocher eyes sharp, his long hair pulled to a neat tail at the nape of his neck. He wore a dark military-cut suit that Shira had apparently sourced for him somewhere onboard, though his distaste at having to do so was visible in that familiar curl of his lip, unsettling in its new visage.
It was still a shock to Mara, to see her Emperor this young. To see a man whom she had known only in his wizened state returned to his prime. He had always been dynamic and motivated, a force to be reckoned with, but mentally, not physically. Sat before her now was a man clearly basking in his rejuvenation. Having earned his second chance, he had no problem in grasping the opportunity with both eager hands—and that included regaining his power, as quickly and as completely as possible.
He watched attentively now as Luke spoke, voicing the bottom line on the year that Palpatine had been absent. The particulars Palpatine had already begun studying on various media, but facts were available anywhere; he had gathered the only ones he presently trusted together now for a more a specific view—that of how to regain what he had lost. Long, slim fingers steepled before his face in consideration as he listened attentively to Luke.
"The power has…" Luke hesitated and Mara too glanced down, unable to meet the Emperor's eye.
It was strange, that somehow it had been allowed to fall to Luke to tell the bad news-and he had. She had no reason to be fearful of her master, but his displeasure…no matter how tacit, she remembered of old how it could burn. She was embarrassingly aware that both she and Shira had silently held back in this first meeting, allowing Luke to take the lead and deliver the dire news, which he did immediately and candidly. It was as if—as if he…not enjoyed standing in the line of fire, but…was resigned to it. Needed it, somehow.
Still, even he kept his eyes down, not meeting Palpatine's piercing gaze. "The Empire's fractured. You've read the facts; the upheaval which followed the very public attack at Corsin was capitalized on by the Rebels to good effect. The Rim systems in particular were vulnerable, and the Rebels knew that. I don't have exact numbers, they're simply not available, but as an indication I'd say approximately seventy percent of systems in the Outer Rim now consider themselves independent of Imperial rule, and that figure is rising. Many of the more volatile sections of the Mid Rim Slice are now considered under threat. Under those circumstances and with no clear line of command, the Empire continues to fragment, with different factions vying for larger areas, but no-one strong enough to gain a significant advantage. Infighting, military and political, is rife." He shrugged. "Mostly military. The power was always centered there."
"Fractured how?"
Luke glanced to Mara, inviting her visible input now that the conversation had moved from the danger of initial delivery to the safer ground of detailed statistics.
She straightened in her seat, taking her cue. "There are four main factions, and around fourteen smaller ones, mostly divided by pre-existing oversector boundaries. Of the main players, the majority of the Core is held by Moff Tain and Moff Kiyoma. Coruscant, whilst in Moff Tain's sector, is widely viewed as being under the control of Admiral Ysanne Isard, the Head of the Ubiqtorate, who seems to work closely with Moff Tain. The Northern Dependencies are held by Moff Orada. The Rimward Colonies of the Southern Core—and so Fondor shipyards—are held by Moff Sekati. The remainder of the Inner and Mid Rim, as well as the Expansion Region, are broken up into smaller areas, each controlled by the Moff who held that sector prior to…" She hesitated, searching for a diplomatic turn of phrase. "prior to the Corsin incident. Those boundaries and alliances change almost monthly. The only remaining Outer Rim systems to be held by Imperial remnants are an alliance centered around Entralla, held by Grand Moff Kaine, and regions trail-wise of Galactic South, which are still held by Grand Moff Kessler. Both remain strongholds under Imperial control—"
"Which doesn't necessarily mean that they'd be amenable, if approached," Luke added without lifting his head.
"The second Death Star?" Palpatine prompted, eyes remaining on Mara.
"Remains in the Moddell sector in the Rim, and so under Imperial control with Grand Moff Kessler," she replied.
Palpatine's eyes twitched to Luke. "Why have you not already removed it to safer territory?"
"The situation wasn't sufficiently stable. Grand Moff Kessler has moved to his own agenda since Corsin, cementing his rule and eschewing any overtures to merge with other remnants. Having spoken with him, I know for a fact that he backed the Rhen Var mission only to gain the command codes to the second Death Star, with no intention of honoring any part of the agreement once he had them. With no way to force or guarantee his compliance as of yet, to simply hand over a complete set of activation codes would have been to hand over the Death Star itself."
Mara glanced to him in surprise. His voice was matter of fact, eyes on the datapad before him as if this was a premeditated plan on all their parts, though from her viewpoint to his side, she could see that the pad's screen contained nothing more than a partial sketch of a woman's face, an enigmatic smile on part-drawn lips, a thick plait of hair pinned high on her head. He flicked his nail across the screen to a clean page, manner coolly professional as he continued as if viewing the facts he recited.
"The amount of dependable manpower at our disposal meant that taking it by force wasn't yet practical, nor would we currently have the resources to protect, complete or maintain it, if we did. To our knowledge the hyperspace generators are still a few months from completion and obviously untried, further complicating its seizure. Hyperspace tugs are a possibility for its removal from Kessler's control, but that would have been dependent on securing an accord with Moff Sekati of the Fondor shipyards, which is only partially in place. Given our…" Luke paused to glance from the screen of his datapad to Palpatine for a measured second. "lack of knowledge as to the real function of the Rhen Var storehouse, to acquire control of the already complete Super Star Destroyer Executor, also moored at Fondor and awaiting only a set of activation codes, seemed of more strategic worth. We could then negotiate with both Fondor and Kuat Shipyards with the intention of combining both facilities under a single accord, thus gaining us the manpower, the amenities, and the resources to complete and utilize the Death Star. To do that required negotiations on two fronts, as well as planning military action to actually acquire the Death Star, but it would have guaranteed that we would have held the facilities and the manpower to both move forward and deal with any resultant power struggle. Taking all that into account, I was unwilling to act without having secured those circumstances. Or to have it widely known that I held the means to do so."
It was a second before the implication beneath those final words sank in, making Mara turn fully to stare. Luke at least had the good grace to glance briefly to her, though nothing was readable in his face. To Mara's other side she heard Shira loose a slow, deliberate breath of realization as the air practically pulsed her irritation. For herself, Mara fought to conceal the ironic smile coming to her lips at the brief, rueful glance he'd given her.
…I held the means to do so.
He'd known the full access codes all along.
A memory sparked, of his reply when they'd first told him their plan: 'If I gave you the MA codes…then what? You think you're gonna just waltz in there one night and sneak it out?'
Not 'If we get hold of the codes', but 'If I gave you'... 'If I gave you'.
Had he been calculating a path, even then? 'If I gave you'… Why hadn't she spotted that? She and Shira were active field agents, and each held partial code sets—of course Antilles, located on Coruscant and close to the Emperor, would hold a full set!
"This will all cease when I take the throne," Palpatine said vehemently, bringing Mara's eyes and thoughts back to him. "Order will be reinstated upon my return to Coruscant."
Mara glanced briefly to Luke where he sat, elbows resting on edge of the table, hands clasped together before his mouth, head tipped down. He didn't look up, though she knew he would have sensed her silent request.
"They won't accept you." He said it quietly, saving anyone else the unenviable task.
Palpatine turned on him. "I have no intention of asking them. I want their obedience, not their permission."
"Their loyalty was to Palpatine," Luke said. "And he's dead."
Even having wanted him to explain, Mara stared, unable to believe his gall in saying it so bluntly-though his voice was calm, head still tipped down, so that when he finally looked to the Emperor, it was through bangs of dark-dyed hair.
"That's what they all believe," he murmured. "What they know."
"I will correct their misapprehension…as I did with you."
"We're different. We see past the physical."
Palpatine glared at Luke in silence…and after a few moments Luke looked down again, uneasy. Fuelled by the capitulation, Palpatine's lip curled.
"You think I am no more than the sum of my past reputation? Well?"
"… No, Master."
Mara felt her spine twitch at that; she always considered Palpatine in terms of that title herself, but this was the first time she'd heard Luke use it. He'd done so quietly and fittingly, but clearly that wasn't enough for Palpatine.
"Stand up."
She glanced briefly to Shira as Luke did so, his eyes remaining down. Something indefinable held his stance taut; a muted friction which hovered on the very edge of defiance, despite Palpatine's obvious anger.
"Do you doubt, perhaps, that I am capable of retaking power?"
"No, Master."
"…Is there something else you wish to say?"
Luke looked up…then away. "No, Master."
Palpatine continued to stare for an uncomfortably long time, in which Luke remained unnaturally still, not even his eyeline changing. In the end it was Mara who broke the moment when she moved uneasily, making the Emperor glance briefly to her.
"I will regain control within three months. I need no longer. There are those whom I placed in positions of power who knew of my abilities, and will understand what they are seeing, with my return. There are many more who believed the tenets of the Force and the Sith…more still who simply believed in me. More again who will yield because they comprehend what I can offer them—that I can regain for them all that they have lost. Those remaining who do not comply are, by definition, no longer entitled to positions of power and will be removed."
A brief silence held… then Luke spoke levelly, moving forward as if his reprimand had not happened. "If you want to return to Coruscant, you should do so in the Executor." His tone was neutral despite his dressing down, leaving Mara with the impression that though he argued, his commitment remained with his Master. "It's still in drydock at the Fondor Shipyards, awaiting a complete set of authorization codes. It would seem the obvious choice of ship in which the Emperor should return to his seat of power."
"I have no desire to return to the Core worlds until I have a sizeable military contingency at my disposal. This will not be allowed to devolve into civil war, when we have a greater enemy at our door—one who usurped me from power in the first place." Palpatine paused, seeming to consider. "However, such symbols of indisputable status and continuity would work to our advantage. Who holds Fondor Shipyards?"
"Moff Sekati. If you also intend to seize the Death Star I would…suggest," Luke stated carefully, "that once you have control of Sekati's sector we requisition additional Star Destroyers. When we arrive at Grand Moff Kessler's territory to take control of the Death Star it should be with a convincing presence. He may well prove…difficult."
"If he does, it will be briefly," Palpatine said decisively. "Moff Sekati…give me the facts?"
Luke glanced to Mara, again prompting her inclusion now that they were on safer ground. Taking the cue again, she straightened slightly.
"Moff Sekati took over from Moff Godal, who held the Tapani sector before…" again she hesitated; "before the Corsin incident."
Luke reached down to lift his datapad, using the action as an excuse to sit again as a raft of information regarding Moff Sekati flashed onto all the individual datapads laid on the long desk, surprising her; so despite his apparent disinterest, Luke had indeed been doing his homework. She remembered again her visits to her master on Coruscant, in her youth; remembered the boy in the shadows, silent and unassuming. So much so that she'd dismissed him entirely then, too…right up to the moment that they'd sparred.
Was that why Palpatine wouldn't let the smallest insubordination or ambiguity pass? There were risks inherent in an advocate who had been trained since childhood to sit quietly in the shadows, tutored in stealth and covert action.
Luke hesitated and glanced briefly to her, a question in his eyes, and she shook her head minutely, letting the moment pass. With the briefest pause, he picked up again, all business.
"Moff Sekati was previously attached to the Carida territories, and before that a lesser position in the Kuat sector, which of course holds the Kuat Shipyards. Her previous experience at Kuat was thought to be of value in overseeing Fondor, and those same contacts would have served to our advantage when we began negotiations to combine Kuat and Fondor's shipyard construction facilities and assets. She's a committed Imperial with whom we've already negotiated partial ties. I think she'll likely be amenable, now."
"Likely?" Palpatine prompted, tipping his head.
"It's an unprecedented situation," Luke said bluntly. "But I remember Moff Sekati. She was still operating out of Carida system when I attended the academy there. She's strong-willed and opinionated, but loyal. She'd see your…reappearance as a good thing, therefore she'll be receptive to it."
"Then the Fondor shipyards will have the distinction of becoming the first to acknowledge the return of their Emperor. But until I gain the Executor, this Destroyer is to be completely secured. I want no word of my return to be disseminated until I am ready—none. Who commands it?"
"Captain Beyer is in command. He's loyal to Moff Kessler, whose fleet the Steadfast is currently part of, but only because he's a career soldier and Moff Kessler is his superior. You may be able to persuade him." Luke glanced briefly to Mara, the barest hint of dry amusement in his voice. "A case of 'talk quietly but carry a big stick'."
Aware of the shared joke Mara stifled a smile, remembering having asked Luke if he couldn't manage the same occasionally, with Moff Kessler. Her brief flush of amusement dissipated beneath Palpatine's acid glare as he looked between them, and like Luke she found her head dipping in contrition—at what, she wasn't sure.
The taut silence lasted long seconds... then Palpatine's eyes twitched back to Luke. "Unacceptable. I want total control of what is now, effectively, the flagship of the Empire. You will go to the bridge, eliminate Captain Beyer, and take command of the Steadfast."
Luke twitched, straightening in his seat as his eyes lifted to Palpatine's. "Now?"
"Of course now. It was remiss of you to allow such a situation to continue even this far."
Mara felt her chest tighten slightly, shocked at the cool command and the criticism within it. Securing the Steadfast was necessary given the situation, but…
Again Luke shifted beside her, uneasy. "As I said, Captain Beyer may be loyal if he knows the truth."
Palpatine's head tilted. "Are you questioning my decision?"
Luke paused, choosing his words with care. "To keep him in power would be less suspicious than his sudden removal. If you want the Steadfast to move freely for the present, then make no visible changes."
Shira stood, eager to make her mark. "I'll do it."
"No. Sit." Palpatine ground the command without even looking at her. "Luke Antilles will do as I have ordered him. Now."
"It's unnecessary," Luke remained in his seat, head down, jaw flexing. "How much longer do you intend to keep your presence silent, anyway?"
Mara stared at the table in front of her, amazed at his gall. Had he forgotten who he was arguing with? Visual appearance aside, this was Palpatine, and he had made a decision. He had passed his expectations out, and all that was left was for those about him to implicate them. To obey.
Palpatine remained seated, hands resting lightly on the desk, fingers linked, his whole demeanor that of inflexible expectation.
There would be reasons beyond the obvious for Palpatine's order, Mara knew—there always were. So why didn't Luke just obey? There would be more at play, subtler motives, he surely knew that. The moment could be diffused in a single second if he would just relent. She wanted to turn to loose a glare that would communicate all that, but caught herself, instead staring intently at the datapad before her as Shira let out a brief breath of derision at his continued noncompliance.
"He's not an enemy." Luke held quietly.
The Emperor's half-tilted head rightened slowly, something unsettlingly predatory about the measured movement as his voice took on a knowing tone. "You would prefer, perhaps, to bring Captain Beyer here to me, and to hold him whilst I reacquaint myself with my abilities? His fate is sealed…but its method of execution rests in your hands."
Silence. The air practically vibrated though, a pressure building which made Mara's temples pound as her heart thudded...
The cacophony of noise as Luke stood, chair wrenching backwards, made her jerk. He wheeled about to stride to the exit without another word. The door slid open before Palpatine deigned to speak again.
"Commander Antilles."
Luke paused without turning at Palpatine's voice, and the room remained silent and still, tension stretching…Finally Luke twisted about on his heel to face Palpatine, jaw locked, eyes hooded.
Palpatine held his stare, unfazed. "Before you go to the bridge, you will return to your quarters and retrieve your jacket. You are out of uniform, Commander. Whilst I have been absent standards have clearly lapsed; I will correct that in short measure. You are dismissed."
Mara's heart skipped as Luke stared, for fear that he'd come back with some ill-considered retort …but after tense seconds he brought his heels together and tipped his head in a curt military salute—and why could she see only cool cynicism in the act?
Then he turned and left without another word.
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The door closed, and Palpatine slackened as he settled back into his seat, a self-congratulatory smile whisping across his lips. "As challenging as ever," he murmured. "And as predictable. Fortunately."
Shira let out a brief huff of distain. "He's not worth the effort, master."
Mara turned, unable to stop her lip from curling in disgust. Not because Shira's allegiance had so instantly and completely transferred to Palpatine—it was the right thing to do, given his return. But the raw ambition in her readiness not simply to disassociate herself from Luke, but to criticize and condemn him, was offensive.
Palpatine only twitched a brief, melancholy smile. "How little you understand."
Shira leaned forward, desire and desperation in her voice. "Train me instead."
Palpatine barely turned, utterly dismissive. "You think you can be all that he is? You think you can hold the same power?"
"Let me try! Give me the chance."
He turned to study her, amused now; indulgent. "Child, I deny you to protect you. He would take you apart, if you were perceived as a threat. He is Sith. You…you're nothing more than a feeble little shadow, if he notices you at all."
Mara was left to stare, uncertain at her master's tactics here, because his divisive claims surely had something in mind. Was it an indirect reprimand—a reminder of Shira's place, given her words—or was he actually trying to set Shira against Luke? Because if so it was working, as Shira straightened, indignant.
"Yet I caught him. I held him here."
"You don't understand, child. You never held him—not my Sith. He simply had no-where else he identified the necessity to be. If he had, then he would have left. You would not have stopped him—nobody would. I trained him myself." Palpatine paused, frowning. "Caught him?"
It was Shira's turn to grin, chin rising. "He abandoned the Empire—absconded from his post the moment the Empire failed. He never came back after Corsin. It was me who worked to re-establish our credentials. Me who had to plan for the future, in your name. In your memory."
Golden eyes flicked briefly to Mara, and she looked down—not out of guilt; she had done nothing wrong, and if she knew that then so did her master. But Luke... Shira took a breath to speak, but Palpatine held out his hand to stop her, his eyes remaining on Mara. "Explain."
She took a long, slow breath to gather her thoughts, not wanting to condemn Luke, but knowing that Shira would call her on even the slightest lie or evasion. "It took almost two months for Shira and I to locate each other, as we were both working underc—"
"Explain about Antilles," Palpatine clarified tersely.
"Luke…it took us almost nine months to track him down. We had very little reliable information. He was constantly moving. He remained out in the Rim systems, where we had limited access."
"He dropped into obscurity," Shira added, quick to clarify. "He moved from planet to planet, changing identity every time. Buried himself in the underworld, gambling and trying to stay below the radar, not once coming to the Empire's aid. We had to use force, to even speak with him. He withheld the activation codes for the Death Star and the Executor, slowing the operation by—"
"Forcing us to re-route back to Rv-9," Mara interjected. "If he'd given us the codes immediately, we would have bypassed the Rv-9 storehouse and the cloning facility entirely. And once we were there, only Luke could disable the specialized security, which enabled us to…" She slowed as those ocher eyes looked down into her soul. He knew what she was doing.
They held on her too long, making her shift uncomfortably…then he rose abruptly, his height unsettling, his physique intimidating. In all the time Mara had known him, his body had never been equal to his prodigious will or his capabilities. To see him in his prime now was inspiring…daunting, as it should be. And perhaps a touch menacing, even to her.
His eyes flicked to Shira as he turned to the door, his judgment on all she had said given as nothing more than passing comment. "Based on his reasoning today, it appears that if he withheld the codes, he was right to do so. You were free at any time to try to challenge him." His voice softened once more to enigmatic indulgence. "Yet you chose not to do so-to recognize instead that you should endeavor to channel that which you could not overcome. That you did so…it seems that in some things at least, you have learned that all things come to those who wait…and scheme."
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