Thirty minutes later…

In a small but well stocked medical bay in Vader's palace, Counselor Trist sat stoically on a medical cot while a bossy but competent med droid cleaned and repaired the wound on his cheek. It was surprising that a spoon could actually cause an open wound but it had been moving rather … quickly.

Gloomily, Trist made a rapid calculation of how much this medical visit was costing, and mourned the waste of resources. He was almost certainly dead, so why bother fixing his face?

Why hadn't he just called Jom and told him about Organa and Skywalker's family relationship? It had just felt right to warn Skywalker. He'd always done his best for his clients.

Of course, he hadn't imagined Vader would actually be there when he'd confronted Skywalker with that little bit of familial news. Or that the Emperor would go into a mysterious rage.

Well, at least his last will and testament was up to date.

These depressing musings were cut short when the med door opened abruptly, and Emperor Vader himself surged in, immediately dominating the small room with his hulking presence. Luke Skywalker, chained and guarded by 2 stormtroopers, followed him in and calmly stood to one side of the Emperor. A very small part of Trist was pleased to see that his client was still alive and in one piece. Most of his consciousness was focused on his own imminent death.

Trist rose carefully to his feet and struggled to find words, even as he fully expected his voice and breath to be summarily cut off by Vader's infamous Force choke.

To his surprise, he was allowed to speak, "Your Highness, my heartfelt apologies for delving into matters which were truly not my concern…"

He was cut off by the Emperor's sudden hand wave (but not by any kind of mysterious Force ability, he noticed distractedly.)

"Be at ease, Counselor," Vader said, "I am truly grateful for your discovery of extremely valuable information that my own intelligence operatives failed to uncover over the past years. I regret that you were forced to observe my unfortunate reaction to such vital knowledge."

Trist blinked. If he thought about that statement in just the right way, it could be construed as an apology.

"I admit, Counselor, that I find it rather surprising that you were able to uncover such crucial information from the Throne Room evidence in a short amount of time."

Trist gulped. Was he suspected of having inside access to Rebel secrets?

To his shock, Skywalker promptly spoke up and said, "Counselor Trist is a mild Force Sensitive."

Vader glanced at Skywalker, then focused on Trist. Trist had the same unsettling feeling of being probed as he had when he had first met Skywalker.

After a nerve shattering minute, Vader spoke more softly, "Yes, indeed, Counselor Trist, you have a definite connection to the Force. That no doubt explains your uncanny discovery of the DNA match which none of my agents uncovered. "

Trist was now completely bewildered. He was a Force sensitive? He had never even considered such a thing. Did this mean… what did it mean?

Vader apparently sensed his thoughts, because he continued with, "You are a weak Force user, Trist, and your abilities are no doubt restricted to an unusual ability to see patterns and connections in evidence that others do not see. It is of no particular importance, except that it explains your remarkable discovery.

"Now to continue. After discussing this revelation with the prisoner, he and I have come to an agreement about the next phase of the trial. I will be escorting Skywalker to a new set of quarters in the Imperial Palace, as his quarters in this palace will require extensive repairs after tonight's events. Tomorrow, he will take the stand as a witness at his trial."