Dynasty

by Valerie Vancollie and Rebecca Thomson

(valeriev84 at hotmail dot com) & (zekkers at juno dot com)

Disclaimer: Rebecca and I do not own Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader or any other of the "Star Wars" characters, items or situations. Rebecca and I only lay claim to the original aspects of the fic.

Note: 1) As I mentioned the last time, this chunk takes us to the more political aspect of this fic with the introduction to the Imperial court. The new names do come hard and fast in this chunk but don't worry, the important ones will quickly become clear. A list of them is available on my mailing list for those of you who are interested.
2) You'll also discover very quickly why the cover for this fic has the background that it does. Nothing at court happens in half measures. Its only the best for the Imperial elite.
3) For those of you intrigued by the addition of a female character the last time, there is some more entertainment for you here. Poor Luke, or not?

Chunk Eleven

"With the Executor, the Alliance will have a much harder time," Vladimir stated. "It won't be long now before this pointless rebellion is brought to an end."

"Not necessarily," Buchanan replied as he looked at his red haired companion. "Everyone thought the same thing when the Death Star was first declared operational. Look what happened then."

"That was Tarkin's fault," Vladimir argued. "The man was a fool. How he remained in power is beyond me." The words 'why Palpatine kept him in power' were on the tip of his tongue, but Vladimir knew better than to voice them. Buchanan could well use them against him if he ever stood anything to gain by doing so. "Lord Vader isn't as stupid as our late Grand Moff was."

"True," Buchanan agreed.

"Besides," Vladimir continued. "Look at how well Lord Vader has been doing before today. He was, after all, the man in charge of the attack that led to the capture of Darklighter and Antilles. Now that he has a command center where he can be reached and have available whenever he needs it, he can only do better."

"What a cheerful thought," Buchanan stated. "If he is more successful then before than that means that he will get even more of the Emperor's favor. Which would make it harder for the rest of us to compete with him."

"You'll never get the throne, if that's what you're talking about," Vladimir said as he took a glass of wine from a passing servant that walked around the people gathered in the room. "Nor will Vader. Our Dark Lord is a military man first and foremost. A ruler needs to be a good politician as well. Besides, I doubt Palpatine trusts him that far, with his Dark powers and all."

"Perhaps," Buchanan responded as he looked around. The party to celebrate the maiden voyage of the Executor had commenced only a few hours earlier and already it was in full swing. Expensively dressed people were milling about and gathered into small groups. "Speaking of the Sith, have you seen him this evening?"

"Not here--" Vladimir began and cut off as he caught sight of someone entering the ball room. "Well this is new. Look," he continued as he pointed at the richly dressed young man that had just entered. "Looks like Skywalker has decided to attend the party this evening."

Buchanan whirled around at the words, searching the area Vladimir had indicated. Spotting the young man, he shook his head. Suddenly the doors were opened once more and in swept Darth Vader, his ebony silk cape trailing out behind him.

"And here is Vader."

Luke smiled as he watched his father enter the room. Vader had insisted that they enter separately. Turning around, Luke let his eyes scan the room. He stopped as he saw a familiar red-haired man looking back at him. It was the man who had tried to pry him for information outside the Emperor's throne room several months ago. Since then, Luke had learned that his name was Vladimir and that he was one of the more prominent members of the court. Luke also recognized the man next to him as Buchanan.

Upon seeing the two courtiers turn away from him, Skywalker scanned the room once more. It was so full of people all dressed in brilliant colors that the individual lines seemed to fade away and only the shimmering of delicate fabrics soft and firm remained all awash in all the colors of a rainbow and more; red, mauve, turquoise, pink, blue, lilac, purple, maroon, ecru, scarlet, orange, rose, yellow, cream, black, and white. From all the different fabrics there was the glint and gleam of precious metals and gems lined with ribbon and lace.

Even the furnishings of the room blended in. The walls and floor were made of colored marble and granite. The chairs and tables were made of highly polished Brackly wood from the now dead world of Alderaan, with wine colored velvet cushions. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, sending rainbow colored strips throughout the room and onto the ceiling. The ceiling itself was divided into panels each of which had hand painted paintings lined with borders of gold and silver. The paintings were of the Empire and Luke could see the Imperial symbol in several of them if he studied them for a moment. Along the sides of the room next to the chairs were servants dressed in scarlet and black livery; the Emperor's colors. More of them were among the crowd, serving drinks and appetizers. At the far end of the room a band was seated together with a variety of instruments. At the moment they were playing a few soft songs.

Luke turned around and looked to where his grandfather was sitting. The front end of the room had a slightly elevated area upon which a black throne stood. Whenever he was in the room, the Emperor would sit upon this throne and talk with various guests. On either side of him stood two scarlet robed Imperial Guards. Two servants also waited on Palpatine and got him whatever he needed. Right now the Galactic Ruler was busy conversing with some man Luke didn't recognize.

"His name is Randolf Winiterure," Vader said as he moved over to his son.

"Winiterure?" Luke repeated, recognizing the name. "Relation of Anjaleen's?"

"Yes, he's her father," Vader replied, slightly surprised as he looked at Luke. "How do you know her?"

"I saw her in the crowd at the execution and again earlier today," Luke explained. "She was watching me and I asked Garret who she was."

"A lot of people have been looking at you," Vader stated.

"I know," Luke responded, acutely aware of all the stares he had been receiving since entering the room. But with the execution and the way the media had tried to dig into his past, he wasn't surprised that he was now in the center of attention.

"There are some people I need to talk with," Vader said. "You may do as you wish, but do not forget that you may stay no later than eleven."

"Yes, Father," Luke replied softly and a little stiffly.

Vader looked at his son a moment longer, before dismissing the tone and heading towards one of the men he needed to talk with. He disliked this side of the political game, but if he didn't play his part, he would run the risk of getting out of touch which he most definitely couldn't afford. Not with the competitive and deadly games that were played here at the very heart of the Empire. Vader didn't fear for his own safety, or for that of Luke so much as they boy was proving to have a good handle on his lightsaber and the fact that he carried his newly constructed weapon with him, hidden of course, made him much less prone to injury if he should be attacked once more. However, Vader knew that he couldn't afford to lose touch of what the politicians were planning.

Luke frowned as he watched his father go. Why couldn't Vader just allow him to do as he wished? Luke knew that it wasn't because he wasn't trusted, the fact that he was trusted was shown over and over again. It was just that Vader feared something else and Luke disliked that fact that he didn't know what. He knew the dangers of the intense rivalry going on here and the assassinations that often followed. However he had proven with the Vulpani that he could handle the consequences of getting on someone's bad side.

Skywalker pushed the thoughts aside and took a glass of wine off the tray of a passing servant. Sipping his drink, Luke smiled. He had seen the tremendous sums of money that went into these parties and from the high quality of the wine that was being passed around and drunk in the amounts he could see explained a lot if it was any example for the rest of the food and drink.

"Skywalker," Vladimir said as he approached the young man.

"Vladimir," Luke replied as he turned to face the red-haired courtier.

"Glad you could make it, I haven't seen you about at the parties before. Not even at the one following the executions and you would have been in the spotlight during that one," Vladimir stated, his voice masking his true feelings.

"Indeed," Luke replied, even as he identified the man's true intentions through the Force. He wanted information. Information about himself, about Vader, and about what he had done to get the honor of killing Darklighter. "It was a spectacular ceremony. However I had other matters to attend to that evening."

And it was true. However what Luke had done had not been needed to be done that evening necessarily. Probing even deeper within the man's mind, Luke also found jealousy. Briefly he was confused and then realized that the man was jealous because he had gotten such a great favor in so short a time span while Vladimir had worked for the Empire for a longer time and had not been recognized in any significant manner other than being known as one of the prominent figures of the court.

"I see," Vladimir said smoothly. "What brought you here this evening?"

"It seemed like a good end to the day," Luke said. Two could play at this game and he was determined to make things as hard as possible for the courtier. "What with the Executor's maiden voyage and all."

Vladimir simply nodded his head. "I'm sure your work also takes you away from the Palace often."

"Occasionally," Luke said. "It depends on what the Emperor wants."

The words had the desired effect and Luke could see the glint in Vladimir's eyes. He had just piqued the courtier's interest. Luke stiffened slightly, however, as he felt his grandfather's eyes upon. Vladimir must also have noticed it as he nodded his head before moving towards one of the other men nearby. Shaking his own head, Luke wandered around for a bit. He could feel several pairs of eyes constantly watching him and he was just about to approach Palpatine when he caught sight of Anjaleen. The young woman had her hair pulled back in a fancy braid with strings of shiny black stones woven into it and she wore an elegant, deep purple and maroon dress with matching gloves. Around her neck hung a golden chain with a dark blue jewel at the end of it.

Luke watched her for a moment before he headed in her direction. He was still curious as to why he had caught her looking at him and decided to see if he could figure it out. As he made his way towards her, he placed his now empty glass on the tray of another servant. He had neared her when she turned around and she caught sight of him. Her vivid green eyes widened as Luke could tell that she was surprised to see him here.

"Mr. Skywalker," an older woman with gray streaked, dark brown hair standing to Anjaleen's left said.

"Ma'am," Luke replied as he noticed the similarity between her and Winiterure's daughter. She was probably Randolf's wife.

"Mr. Skywalker," Anjaleen said. "A pleasure to meet you. I had hoped to see you here after the execution ceremony to congratulate you."

"Thank you, Miss. Winiterure," Luke replied, seeing that the honesty in her voice wasn't faked by a quick probe of her mind.

"That was a proud day for the Empire," Mrs. Winiterure stated firmly. "I'm sure you were honored to play such a big part in the events that transpired. I only regret that those two traitors got out of things so easily. At least they paid for their crimes and others saw what happens to such criminals."

"Sasha," Randolf said as he approached his wife and daughter. "Anjaleen. I need to talk with you."

Luke nodded politely towards the man before turning back to the two women and smiling. "If you'll excuse me."

"Of course." The elder lady said as she walked towards her husband. Anjaleen gave Luke a small smile as she gracefully sailed after her mother. He smiled back before turning to the crowd once again.

He walked around some, the inevitable eyes following him. Luke thought about wandering off to stand in a corner and watch, just to get a feel for the room, but he didn't want to look unimportant. He glanced over at the Emperor, the man was sitting back in his chair, listening to the music. Palpatine glanced at him, and nodded.

'Bored yet, child?' Whispered grandfather's voice in his mind.

Luke glanced away, the room didn't need to know he was talking with the Emperor. 'No. Yes. I don't have anyone to talk to yet. They all like watching me, but they don't know how to start a conversation to pry information out of me.'

'Well, come talk to me.' Luke smiled and began to work his way through the crowd. Grandfather was always interesting to talk to, even if he wasn't always clear with where he was going with an idea. You had to pay attention and think about what he was saying. Luke came up to the Emperor's chair, and a gnarled hand beckoned him forward.

"So, young Skywalker. Enjoying the party?"

"Yes, your Majesty." Luke could feel the slight undercurrent that flickered through the room as he stepped close to the Emperor. He could feel the many eyes upon him.

"Good. Well, it is a great day, isn't it? My Dark Lord has a fine new ship to hunt down the Rebellion, eh?"

"Yes, your Majesty, he does." Luke smiled, anticipating the future battles.

"What do you think of it, hum?"

"The ship, your Majesty?"

"Yes."

"It's a tool. Used well, it will be very effective."

"Yes, it is, and it will be. I trust my Dark Lord in that." The aged voice whispered.

"He will not fail you." Luke confidently replied.

A dry chuckle. "I know. He would not dare fail me, hum? Now, go enjoy my party." The same gnarled hand waved him off.

Luke bowed, and retreated back into the crowd. He hadn't wandered far before he ran into another one of the higher courtiers of the court. Luke briefly racked his brain, till he remembered the man's name, Buchanan.

"Mr. Skywalker, I see you finally decided to join us." The man smiled, and Luke smiled back while he probed the man's mind. It was similar to Vladimir's, the man was looking for information.

"Well, I could hardly avoid it forever." Luke pleasantly replied as he wondered how far he could lead the man on till he learned something worth talking about.

"Indeed? Why would you want to?"

Luke shrugged, thinking fast. He didn't want to talk about why he hadn't been to any of the parties before. "Duties. I have a lot to do, I'll even be leaving early."

"Oh?" The word said volumes, Luke could practically feel the man salivating to find out more.

"Why yes. Don't we all have responsibilities to the Empire?"

"Of course." Buchanan agreed, while trying to figure out if he had just been insulted. Most military men claimed his kind where nothing but parasites. He wondered if Skywalker was considered military. Luke caught the thought, and almost laughed, barely managing to keep his face straight.

Buchanan tried to steer the topic back around to Skywalker. "So, when do you think the ship will be ready for its next mission?"

Skywalker replied, "it's ready now, Lord Vader just needs his orders." He looked around the room, barely catching sight of his father's black helmet towering over the other guests. Luke noticed that several people had started to listen in to his conversation. A few looked to be waiting for a good point to jump in.

"Ah. You must be anxious to be on your way." Buchanan said.

"Of course. I like killing Rebels." Luke pleasantly smiled. Buchanan chuckled, and several of the others around them followed suit. Skywalker hid his confusion until he realized they thought he was referring to the execution.

"Wouldn't we all? It was quite an honor to be selected as one of the executioners."

It was a blatant lead to allow Luke to brag about why he had been selected. But Luke knew better than to answer. "Yes, it was, wasn't it?"

He pried himself loose from the conversation soon afterwards, and wandered over to the musicians to listen to the music. He wandered around some more, talking to several people about nothing much in particular, dodging questions about who he was and what he had done till his father's silent reminder sent him home.

Luke sat in the private hovercar as it sped towards the castle. "Gah, Garret, I can't believe it. I've got a curfew, and he sent you to baby-sit me on the way home." Luke pouted, slouched in his seat.

"The proper term is escort, and all important people have one. I waited with the car." Ravenell sat back, watching Skywalker. "So, what happened tonight?"

"Nothing much, pretty boring. Spent all night dodging questions about my past." He sighed, "Don't know why father's all uptight about me going to those things- you just have to watch what you say."

Garret grinned at Luke. "You know Sir, you're much more relaxed around him. Next thing you know, you'll be arguing like me and my father."

Luke grinned back, "I doubt that." Luke cocked his head, "your father didn't want you to go Navy?" Luke was remembering what Garret had said once as he caught the undercurrent of Ravenell's words.

"Not exactly. He's very loyal, he just didn't want to risk me. Five children, but I'm the only son." Garret explained, defending his father.

"I understand." Luke tilted his head back, trying to see the sky out the window. "We have the same problem, you and I. Our fathers are too protective."

Garret didn't reply directly. "The tailor comes again tomorrow morning at ten. To determine your wardrobe for the next season."

"Very well."

"I need to take some more measurements, Sir," Vincent Van Kallen said as soon as he and the others had everything set up. "Just to make sure that we get you the best fit possible."

Luke got to his feet, knowing that what the tailor really meant was that he needed to see if he had lost or gained any weight. Allowing Van Kallen to begin measuring him, Luke started to scan him with the Force. Finding nothing interesting, he started probing first Tr'revon and then Bailey. He suppressed a smile when he sensed the fear and curiosity radiating from the girl. Quietly, Luke turned his attention to Fl'ann, the Bothan. Entering his mind he felt a little confused, having never seen a Bothan mind before, but he quickly oriented himself.

'Father,' Luke sent, finding something he didn't like at all.

'Yes son?' Vader replied.

'The Bothan is a spy,' Luke stated as Van Kallen read the last measurement for Tr'revon to make note of.

'Leave him,' Vader ordered after probing the mind for himself. 'It is good that you caught him, but this may be useful later on. We now know of him and can feed him false information in the future. Besides it is better not to reveal all that we know.'

'As you wish,' Luke replied, seeing the logic behind his father's decision.

"What clothes are you looking for?" Vincent asked, not having been given a list this time.

"Since the change in style isn't too drastic," Luke began as he re-seated himself. "I shall be keeping several of the outfits I have. What I need are some more outfits for court in the latest styles as well as some more everyday clothes."

"Very well," Vincent stated as he turned around and gave some orders to his assistants.

While they got the necessary fabrics and models out, Van Kallen took a moment to observe how different this job was from the last time he had been here. Then there had been a dozen guards in the room as well as several servants. Now there were only two servants in the room, neither of them the head servant from last time. Unless of course he had done something wrong and had gotten replaced. However the very absence of the guards and of a list of what he needed to make showed that Skywalker was trusted more to do the right thing.

Vincent couldn't doubted that, not after all that he had heard about Skywalker. But the change was just so great. Last time he had noticed more than enough tiny clues that had all pointed to the fact that Skywalker was simply a laborer. While measuring him this time, Vincent had purposefully looked for those same clues, but had been unable to find them. Skywalker's fingernails were no longer in such a condition that they showed a lot of manual labor, the slight stiffening of the back that he had noticed last time was gone as well.

Vincent was burning with curiosity to know what all this meant. He was not, however, stupid enough to show that he noticed all these things. People like himself who entered the homes of the Empire's elite didn't survive by being nosy. He'd just have to keep his eyes and ears open and hope to learn something. Besides, he doubted that the media would be stumped for long. Sooner or later they would learn something about the young man before him and inform the galaxy.

Luke smiled upon hearing the tailor's thoughts. He briefly wondered what Van Kallen's reaction would be the day he learned just who he had been providing clothes for, and his amusement grew.

Luke let out a deep sigh, a few days later, as he seated himself inside the simulator and forced himself to relax. Because of the busy training schedule he had had he had been unable to start taken piloting lessons until shortly before the attack on the Rebel base. He had progressed quickly and just the other day his instructor had passed him. However, today it was Vader and not the instructor who was in the other simulator.

He gripped the controls in anticipation and smiled grimly. The last few times he had gone against his instructor he had easily beaten the man. A fact the instructor had not taken kindly to. Today would be different though. Luke knew that he would probably lose, but he'd do all he could to give his father a run for his money.

The moment the screen changed from dull gray to that of the blackness of space littered with stars, Luke looked at his scanner. He knew that he couldn't use the Force to locate his father, as Vader's shields were much to good for him to penetrate, and right now they would be disguising his father's intentions.

As a red dot appear on the radar, Luke shifted his TIE to meet it in a favorable position. He quickly checked his lasers and shields, Vader had insisted that he be trained to use the controls of a TIE Advance. Pleased that everything was ready, Luke turned his attention to the viewscreen. The other TIE Advance was approaching him quickly and it didn't take Luke long to realize what his father had in mind. Instantly, Luke threw his ship into a double spiral roll, avoiding the angry green beams of pure energy that had been emitted by Vader's TIE seconds before he had moved.

Luke let Vader fly past him as he pulled the controls back and brought himself out on his father's tail. The other TIE responded by swerving, making it impossible for Luke to get a lock. Switching to manual, Luke aimed and fired. Vader moved his TIE at the last moment, avoiding the deadly beams, and rolled so that he was heading on a collision course with his son.

Luke quickly doubled the power going to his front shields as he aimed his TIE towards the other ship. If his father thought to scare him into turning by doing a head-to-head, then he was wrong. Waiting until he couldn't miss, Luke fired before jerking to the right. The small tremors that raced through the ship told Luke that he had been hit. But he knew that it was no worse then what his father had gotten.

They continued for several more minutes, trading fire, each one hitting the other several times. Finally Luke was forced to lower the power going to his lasers in order to strengthen his weakened shields. The moment he finished making the adjustment, the cockpit of his TIE was filled with alarms. Luke cursed as he recognized the sound. Without hesitating he started to throw his ship into a barrel roll, and then did a spiral dive instead. It didn't work, as soon as Luke leveled out, Vader fell in behind him. Before he could do anything he felt his ship jolt once more before the screen went black and the word destroyed appeared on it in red.

Skywalker unstrapped himself and got out of the cockpit.

"Good," Vader said as he walked over to him. "You have inherited my skill. All you need now is some more experience in a real fighter and then you will be ready to fly against the Rebels."

Luke nodded his head at this, pleased with his father's approval.

Skywalker suppressed a sigh as he scanned the scene at the latest gathering at court. His father's ship was parked above, waiting for the Dark Lord to finish his latest round of business here on Coruscant for the Emperor before going out to track down and destroy more Rebels. The stupid scum bread like sand fleas, Luke wondered if they would ever get rid of them.

True, their recruitment levels were down after the public execution, but not by much. Not enough. The only thing that would really dry up their support was the capture of the Rebel leaders. They were folk heroes in some circles, motivating otherwise loyal citizens into thinking everything would be better if they could just bring back the corrupt Republic. Luke winced, thinking of his twin sister, Leia. She was still running loose, leading the Rebellion. It had been months since her last escape, and still no word.

"Is the war going so poorly?" It was a female voice, and came from behind him. He turned. It was a young women dressed in a forest green gown with blue and green gems, her red hair piled high on her head and held in place by gem studded combs. She was with another women, who had black hair and a yellow-gold dress. Her gems were white, and sparkled on golden chains. Their outfits were breath-taking and showed off the wearer's beauty fabulously, but they faintly clashed with the other women's dress.

Skywalker recognized them from the holo-pictures he had memorized. The red-head was Elizabeth, Vladimir's unmarried daughter. The other was Ra'chealla, Buchanan's. They were well known to be on the prowl for the perfect husband for their social standing. Unfortunately for them, their fathers hated and schemed against anyone with that much power, so political alliances in the form of marriage were still far off.

"Poorly?" Luke replied, "Not at all. Its just frustrating sometimes- Rebels breed like sewer bugs."

"Oh?" asked Ra'chealla, stepping closer to Luke, "do you find it terribly wearisome?"

Luke smiled, and scanned their minds. It was as he suspected, their fathers had sent them to try and find out what they could. At least this was going to be more fun than talking to the older men. He gave them a little nod, "Terribly, but I'm sure all the loyal citizens here at court understand and give us their full support."

"Of course." Elizabeth answered. "We would never dream of not supporting the Imperial Navy."

Ra'chealla seconded her 'friend', "Especially when they sacrifice so much for us."

"It is so good to know that you two beautiful women are so faithful to the Imperial Ideal." Luke smiled at them, plastering the expression onto his face.

"Why, thank you." They murmured.

Elizabeth took the initiative again, "So, Mr. Skywalker, please tell me all about the wonderful things you do for the Empire. I was telling my good friend Ra'chealla here that you must have an awful lot of responsibility in the Navy, you seem to travel almost everywhere with Lord Vader."

"Why yes." Skywalker bowed, "I do." Luke planned on not revealing anything their fathers didn't already know. "Care to walk in the gardens and discuss it?" He smiled secretively at the both of them. Walking in the garden might seem a little too forward for a young man they just met, but he knew that they would think about how hard it would be for anyone to overhear whatever he would reveal.

"Of course," Ra'chealla replied, "I would love to hear your stories about your service to the Empire." She smiled at Luke, and he could feel her reminding herself that her father had told her to pry.

"I'll come too," Elizabeth added, thinking that she couldn't let Ra'chealla learn anything without her. Luke gallantly stepped between them, and escorted them outside.

It was mid-afternoon, and the gardens were sunny and bright with summer flowers. The three walked around, following the wide paths between the flower beds that housed plants from all over the galaxy.

"Yes, I do go to all meetings with the Admirals and Captains from the fleet. Lord Vader told me it was good experience." He graced Elizabeth with a smile.

Ra'chealla puckered he lips, thinking. "Experience? For what?"

"My dear, you are smart enough to figure that out." Luke replied, turning back to the other woman. He was surprised how little information had been given to these two women before talking to him, he would have thought that their fathers would have briefed them better. He hadn't said anything new, but several times they had thought what he had said was new information.

They rounded another corner, and the Emperor and Lord Vader were in front of them, backs to the trio. The Emperor and Lord Vader turned as one.

"My Emperor, Lord Vader." Luke bowed, as the two women bowed silently.

"Ah," the Emperor quietly said, "Skywalker. Enjoying my gardens?"

"Yes, your Majesty." Luke replied, "It is a beautiful day for them."

"It is, isn't it? However, your company is required for dinner tonight."

"Thank you, your Majesty." Skywalker bowed, and waited till the two turned away before he led the two women away.

Once out of earshot, he sighed and apologized to the two ladies. "I am sorry, but I am going to have to leave you two. I have a pressing matter I need to attend to." He had to go home and change for tonight. He had known that he was dining with grandfather tonight, but he was going to take the back passages. Now, with these two women knowing about his dinner plans, he would have to come up the public passages, which took five times as long. Which meant he had to go back to the castle now, not later.

"We understand, Mr. Skywalker. It was a pleasure speaking with you."

"A complete pleasure."

"Thank you." He walked off, wondering if his grandfather had deliberately maneuvered to get him to stop talking to those women. He had actually been having fun, playing them off one another.

The china chinked as the servant served another course. "Were you having fun this afternoon?" The Emperor wheezed.

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Really? Talking to those two empty-headed females?"

"Well," Luke replied, aware that grandfather didn't have a very high opinion of women, "it was fun to lead them around by the nose."

"Humpf. No challenge to that for those two."

Luke didn't say anything for awhile. Then he replied, "Well, I didn't want to start some huge conspiracy plot on such a nice day, your Majesty." He was only half joking, the idea had crossed his mind. It would be a more enjoyable way to pass the time at court than dodging questions about himself. He just didn't have any ideas on what exactly he could plan.

The Emperor looked at him, weighing something. Grandfather's voice spoke in Luke's head. 'Lord Vader hates politics young one. Maybe I should take you in hand for your training on that subject.'

Luke took a sip of the glass of wine he was holding as his conversation with Bouttery lapsed into silence.

"Has the execution ceremony affected you as much as it has me?" Bouttery finally asked.

"Excuse me?" Luke replied as he turned his gaze back to the Admiral.

"I mean public attention, this court business, and all," Bouttery explained as he waved his hand to indicate the others in the ball room. "I've been getting fan mail while before I got nothing. Now I get invited to parties and everything."

"Yes," Luke admitted. "It has affected me. However more in the form of people trying to dig into my past than anything else. But yes."

Bouttery nodded his head at this, knowing that it was not his place to inquire after more details. Hearing this as he scanned the man's mind, Luke suppressed a smile. That was one of the major advantages to talking to people of the military, they knew their place better and knew the limits. Politicians on the other hand... Some of the other courtiers had tried to have their daughters pry information out of him after they had seen him leave the room with Elizabeth and Ra'chealla several weeks ago.

"If you'll excuse me," Bouttery said as he placed his crystal glass on a servant's tray and straightened his spotless uniform. "I have some things to see to before leaving the planet tonight."

"Very well," Luke replied at which the Admiral walked off.

Despite the fact that he hadn't been given an official rank, all the high-up military leaders had started referring to him as one of their superiors. Luke had entered one of their minds and had seen that they would rather embarrass themselves by treating an inferior man as their superior, than risk later wrath if he did turn out to be superior to them.

Skywalker smiled to himself as he turned around and started wandering through the crowd. When at any of the court parties, he generally talked with the younger women who approached him, or the military officers as those were the people he felt most comfortable conversing with. It hadn't taken him long to discover how much easier it was to talk with the officers as they weren't constantly probing him for information.

Although, since he had started learning more about politics, including all the cloak and dagger stuff, from his grandfather, it had been easier to converse with the courtiers. Palpatine had also taught him some of the subtle techniques he used the Force with; some of the stuff his father couldn't do as well. Vader had also been instructing him in how to generate and control Force lightning. The first time he had done it, it had felt incredibly weird as it required calling up tremendous amounts of the Dark Side and manipulating it in such a way so that it was transformed into pure energy. But he was slowly starting to acquired the technique.

"Mr. Skywalker," a female voice behind him said and Luke turned around to find Sasha Winiterure standing there.

"Mrs. Winiterure," he replied.

"I was wondering, how is the fight against the Rebels going?" Sasha inquired as she smoothened her red dress with her hands.

"Fine," Luke informed her. "In fact we got another lead this morning and should be following it up some time soon."

"Good," Sasha stated firmly. "And otherwise, is everything going well for you?"

"Yes," Luke said as he scanned her with the Force, seeking if there was a darker purpose behind her inquiry, but finding none. However, despite this fact, Luke knew better than to reveal any valuable information to the woman before him. She may not be as mixed up in politics as some of the other people in the room, but she was a gossip and would unwittingly blurt out anything he told her. It had often caused him to wonder how her husband could trust her with anything, but he had learned that hers was an arranged marriage so love and trust had never been a part of it. "Thank you. And what about with you and your family?"

"Anjaleen's fine, if that's what you mean," Sasha replied with a smile, causing Luke to wonder once more why Sasha kept referring to her daughter like that around him. "As to Randolf... He's been extremely busy with all kinds of stuff. Never seems to have a free minute. Politics keeps him very busy and then he's still trying to find the perfect husband for Anjaleen. Says she should find someone who has a good status and a secure future so that she'll be taken care of. Not to mention the fact that he wants his position to be in good hands once he can no longer take care of it--"

Luke tuned her out while nodding his head from time to time, pretending that he was listening. Scanning the room with his eyes he caught sight of Ra'chealla standing next to her father. The moment she saw that he was looking at her, she smiled. Returning the smile, Luke let his eyes continue to travel the room. Ever since Luke had first talked to Ra'chealla, she had approached him several times. And not always on her father's orders either.

"--and I keep telling him to stop worrying as it will be all right, but he just won't listen," Sasha continued. "There are times when he is just so stubborn--"

Luke's gaze stopped wandering as his eyes fell on another girl, Nastalia. She was the third and youngest child of one of the Grand Moffs. He had first met her at a party on Gebralta which he and Vader had been invited too. Nastalia was the one girl, other than Anjaleen, that he actually enjoyed talking to as neither of them were the flirting type who liked to act, or were, dumb. Luke had found that he could talk to either of them about a serious matter without having to explain things every few seconds. They also spoke their minds without going too far. At the moment, Nastalia's thick curly black hair hung loose. She wore a beige dress with a light gray pattern on it.

"Have you heard what happened to Klorble the other day?" Sasha inquired as she followed Luke's gaze. "Nice young girl her. Anjaleen is sometimes with her."

"Indeed," Luke replied as he tried to place the name Klorble with a face. It didn't take him long to remember that he was one of the minor courtiers. "What is this about Klorble?"

"One of his technicians found a few damaged wires in the engine of his shuttle before take-off," Sasha explained. "He was lucky that that technician even looked as the shuttle had only just been checked-over. Upon closer examination they found definite signs of sabotage."

"Assassination," Luke stated as he wondered if the evidence of sabotage part of the story was true or not. It was definitely possible, there had been a few assassinations recently. However, Luke knew how quickly stories could become exaggerated and changed as they traveled through the court. "Who did you hear this from?"

"One of my friends," Sasha replied. "And she heard it from one of her friends. You know how it goes."

Luke simply nodded his head, his assumption confirmed.

"Mr. Skywalker, Mother," Anjaleen said as she approached the two of them.

"Miss Winiterure," Luke replied as he turned to face her.

Anjaleen was wearing a snow-white dress inlaid with precious jewels of various colors that stood out beautifully against the white background. The dress was also laced with gold and silver colored ribbon. Her hair was pulled into an elaborate style that was half up and half down, all strung through with strings of white pearls of which a matching pair hung around her neck. Her earrings consisted of black and white pearls.

"Father wants to see you, Mother," Anjaleen said as she looked at her mother.

"Thanks, honey," Sasha said before turning her attention back to Luke. "It was nice talking to you."

"And to you, Mrs. Winiterure," Luke replied at which she smiled and walked off towards her husband. "Who was the man you were with earlier?" Luke asked Anjaleen. "I don't know his name."

"I'm surprised mother didn't make mention of him," Anjaleen replied. "Father has been trying to get me to see him ever since he expressed an interest in me."

"Mrs. Winiterure might have mentioned him, but she was talking about several things," Luke stated.

"I see," Anjaleen said as she smiled. "Mother has a tendency to ramble. His name is Jerklin, Raphael Jerklin."

"Nice?" Luke asked as he spotted the man in question on the other side of the room talking with Randolf. Looking more closely at him, Luke saw that he wore the uniform of one of the high Intel officers.

"Nice enough," Anjaleen stated. "I'd better get back before Father misses me."

"Very well," Luke replied as he watched her go.

As he turned around, Luke looked at the clock and saw that it was near midnight. However, since his curfew had been lifted a while ago, he was in no hurry to go home.

"Luke, come in here please," Vader called from his study the next morning as he sensed his son pass the door.

"Yes?" Luke asked as he entered the room.

"I got invited to a party being held on Tangior VI in a few days," Vader explained. "Its being held in honor of Grand Moff Montablone's birthday. Since there will be a lot of politicians there I can't afford to skip it, much as I want to."

Luke smiled at this. He knew how much his father hated politics and the fact that everyone was so scared of him also meant that less people talked to him. Luke at least could talk with a pretty wide variety of people and the conversation, once it got going, was a lot more relaxed. People talking with Vader, on the other hand, were always extremely careful with what they said as they didn't want to anger the Dark Lord.

"However, we can't afford to not investigate this new lead we have on the Alliance," Vader continued. "I have talked about this with Palpatine and he too agrees that it is best that we send someone we can trust to do that job. Therefore we have decided that this will be your first assignment without me."

Luke's ears perked up at this as he looked at his father. Catching the anticipation, Vader smiled. It was time that the boy had the opportunity to prove himself. He had been guided along for long enough and quite a few of the officers knew him.

"I have made sure that at least one of the Star Destroyers that you will take with you is one that you've been on before. This way the officers will know you which will make it easier for both you and them," Vader explained.

"I see," Luke replied. "And thank you."

"You deserve the opportunity," Vader responded. "I do, however, insist that you take Major Ravenell with you. He will be able to give advice and guide you if you should come across something that needs an immediate decision and you're not sure how to handle it. Otherwise you can contact either Palpatine or myself."

"Very well," Luke said as he nodded his head. He had no objections to having Garret along and was even pleased. It made him a little less nervous to know that there was someone he could trust nearby.

"This whole party thing has got me wondering," Vader stated as he looked at Luke. "When is your birthday?"

"Uh... three months from now," Luke said, slightly surprised at the proximity of the event. He hadn't really thought of it in a while and now it suddenly seemed so near.

"Do you wish to do anything special?" Vader inquired.

"Special?" Luke repeated, unsure of what his father meant at first. "Oh," he said when it dawned on him. "I don't know. I've never really done anything before, so I'm not sure what I would do."

Vader nodded his head in understanding as his anger rose. It hadn't been until yesterday, when he had received the invitation, that he had realized that he had no idea when Luke's birthday was as he had not seen any kind of party in his son's memories. It was clear that Lars hadn't bothered to even bring up the event.

"Why don't you think about it?" Vader suggested. "We could hold a party or something else if you wish."

"A party?" Luke repeated, stunned. "Here?"

"Yes. Just because I haven't done it before doesn't mean I'm not willing to," Vader stated, although the idea of holding a party at his castle wasn't very high on his list of things he wanted to do. However, if Luke wanted it, then it could be arranged. "Think about it for a bit and then we can discuss it when you come back."

"Very well," Luke replied. "I'll do that."

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