The shuttles were ready. Troops all followed in formation to their transporters, ready for the assault that was about to begin. It was night on Arbra, and the element of surprise would be on the side of the Imperials. Overseeing it all was General Shay, patrolling the corridors of the command centre, ensuring that everything was running smoothly. They could not afford to screw up anything on this mission. This was the one that would end the Alliance, and eliminate the Jedi.
Not far from the Star Destroyer that Shay commanded was a familiar lambda-class shuttle, with a very important figure housed inside. The Emperor had insisted in witnessing the destruction of the Alliance, and feeling the rest of the Light fade from his apprentice as Anna Anara-Astin drew her last breath. There was one thing that he had not been expecting, and that was the fact that Darth Vader would also be striding into battle. His strength and returned to him quickly, and it had been unprecedented. To see him up and walking around was something that no one had ever expected to see again, and to have him stride confidently into battle was even more of a shock.
However, to Luke, seeing his father back in his old armour, with the mask covering his face, it seemed unreal. He had grown so used to seeing his father in his true form, more machine than man. Now, he was back to the Dark Lord that he had once been. However, the mentality of the man behind the mask was completely different. He wanted nothing to do with the name that the Emperor had given to him, not in the least. As far as Vader knew, he was back in a place that he hadn't been in over twenty years, back when the Jedi Order still prevailed and the Jedi were not scarce, or near-extinct as they were now.
Luke sat in his shuttle, alone, waiting for the troops that would fly it to come up the entrance ramp. He was leaning against the wall, staring out of the view screen to the green-gold surface of the planet below. Anna was there, Leia was there, Han was there. All of his friends were on that planet, and he was dreading every second that passed. He wanted to believe that they were prepared, but he couldn't show it. Questions were already being raised about him even going on this mission, for fear that he might turn and fight against them, but the Emperor had allowed it. At least Shay would stay on the Star Destroyer, and not get in his way. Then he would only have to deal with Lumiya instead of both of them. He didn't worry about his father, not in the slightest.
He wasn't ready for this confrontation. He always thought that he would have more time to prepare. That wasn't the part that was scaring him though, it was the fact that he was so calm. He was marching right into the Alliance, and would be commanded to strike down the individuals that he had once called his friends and allies. A few months ago, he would never have thought to go into a battle such as this one, yet now, he was accepting it as a reality. The Dark side's power was truly inescapable, and he worried for those who he would soon face. His emotions, even though he was calm now, would spring free at any given moment, he knew, and at that point there would be no stopping him.
He turned as four stormtroopers walked up the ramp. "The Dark Lady's shuttle has left," one of them said.
"Let's get going then," Luke said. "Time is of the essence."
"Yes sir," the stormtrooper said, and Luke brushed past them, not saying another word. Surely whatever was to happen would be out of his control. He could not oversee everyone, and he knew that the loss of life on both sides would be inevitable. He could only hope that the ones he cared about the most got out before anything happened.
Luke's head shot up as the blaring alarm of a failing shuttle echoed throughout. He jumped up, racing toward the cockpit, and nearly tripped as the access ramp began to lower. He regained his balance, pushing his hair back and stranding straight.
"You didn't think that I would let you go peacefully, did you?" A sharp voice that only the General could have sliced through the shuttle. His head poked out of the ramp as he walked, troops flanking him on all sides.
"What the hell is this?" Luke growled, pushing his cape back to try and appear more powerful. Shay just scoffed.
"Your ties to this base, to everyone down there, were not gone unnoticed," Shay said. "Someone tipped them off. The Dark Lady's shuttle just came under fire."
"And you think it was me?" Luke asked, bewildered that Shay had the nerve to even make an allegation such as this.
"Who else would it have been?" Shay asked. "Surely your feelings for her are not clouding your judgement."
"Do not test me, General," Luke warned.
"You do not scare me," Shay said confidently. "I have seen you fall in the last two weeks, ever since we got a signal on her. Ever since you saw her again, you've been descending further and further down into nothingness, and your faith is in question. You've shown me that even though you carry a tremendous power, your emotions rule you, and it makes you weak."
Shay made sure the spit the last word, and Luke was surprised where this newfound confidence had come from. Not a day ago, Shay had been cowering in fear as Lumiya and Luke had reached for their weapons in a threatening motion. Now, Shay had the nerve to halt the shuttle.
"So what are you going to do?" Luke asked. "You cannot defeat me, no matter how weak you think I am."
"That may be true," Shay said. "You and I, matched head-to-head, would be a disaster." The stormtroopers behind him began to walk up the ramp, surrounding Luke. "However, you and I, with the assistance of ten stormtroopers to even the odds, maybe not to disastrous."
"What are you implying, Shay?" Luke snapped. "Was that a threat?"
Shay turned on his heel, ready to walk down the ramp. "If the Emperor was not here, I would execute you right here in the docking bay," he said darkly. "However, I seriously doubt that the Emperor wouldn't take the news that his prize was murdered."
"I am no one's prize," Luke declared. "You are delusional, Shay. You tell me that my feelings rule me, but what is all of this? Why are you here? Because of Anna, correct."
"I hardly have any interest in her anymore," Shay said. "Once you chase someone across the galaxy for a few months, you realize that those nights you spent with them are not worth deploying all of these troops to get another night."
"But you'd do it," Luke said.
"Do not act like you know me, Skywalker," Shay turned quickly, advancing on Luke, but the Dark Jedi did not move. He felt no fear from Shay, more like surprise.
"I know that you hurt her," Luke said. "You hurt her in a way that will never be repaired."
Shay drew himself back, still trying to hold onto some of his honour. "I promised myself that I would find her and make her suffer," he growled.
"For what?" Luke asked. "If anything, you are the one who owes her."
"Hardly," Shay scoffed. "You really think that she was a good little smuggler for me? She stole, and she was deceitful. I'm sure she made you think that she's a saint, didn't she."
"That is not something you need to know," Luke said. "You act like you know her."
"Oh, and you do?" Shay asked, her voice completely sarcastic as he began to pace around the shuttle. Luke stepped forward, and was surprised to feel several pairs of hands wrap around his arms, holding him back. He tried to shake them off, but the stormtroopers held tight.
"What do you think you're doing?" Luke snarled.
"You have no more power here," Shay said. "Ex-Supreme Commander."
Luke fought with the stromtroopers, wanted nothing more than to wring Shay's neck, and it took six of them to hold him back and get him into binders.
"And what clearance do you have?" Luke growled as they snapped around his wrists.
"The Emperor was rather displeased when he found out that you had been withholding information from us," Shay said. "Furthermore, he was offset by the fact that Vader made such a speedy recovery. Don't you think that it's just a tad suspicious that you see him daily, and he started coming back when he was moved onto your Star Destroyer?"
"He was in a coma, Shay," Luke said. "The Force, neither the Light nor the Dark, and bring someone out of something like that, and certainly not that fast."
"I do not care about that," Shay growled. "The fact is, you have much more evidence piled against you than for you, and let's be honest, did you really think that you had any power at all."
Luke wanted nothing more than to reach out and grip Shay's neck, but it was impossible to move, not with all of the stormtroopers around, and not in binders.
"You are making a deadly mistake, Shay," Luke warned. "And I promise you that you will not live to see the inside of a Coruscanti bar ever again."
"We'll see about that," Shay said with a sly smile. "Take him away, make sure he's locked where he can't get out."
"Sir, what of the Dark Lady?" one of the stormtroopers asked.
"Leave her," Shay said. "I have dealt with these damn Force users for far too long. It's about time that the true soldiers take over, ones that do not have a clouded mind."
"You are a fool, Shay," Luke spat as he was pushed forward, feeling multiple blasters digging into his back. "You are giving the battle away. You are dooming the Empire."
"No," Shay said as Luke was brought to stand beside him. "I am saving it."
With that, he signalled to his troops to send Luke away, and as they all filed out of the shuttle, the General smiled to himself. To finally have control over something again, it felt wonderful. If the fate of the Empire rested on two people, then it was a battle they would lose every time. Now, they had a fighting chance to win this thing.
He turned to the few troops left at the bottom of the ramp. "Ensure that the transporters are ready to launch," he said.
"Yes sir," one of the troops said from behind him. Shay reached into his pocket a pulled out a circular object, staring at it for a few seconds before he spoke again.
"Was the Dark Lady's ship fitted with explosives as requested?" he asked darkly.
"Yes sir," one of the troops said.
"Wonderful," Shay said, turning the detonator over in his hand. "And the same for Vader's ship."
"Yes sir," the trooper said again.
Shay nodded. "That is all," he said. "Go now. We have a battle to win."
The Force users would be nearly eliminated after this battle. As for Luke, Shay had something very special planned. While he planned to make Lumiya and Vader's deaths appear accidental, as if they were casualties in battle, taken down by the Rebel ships. However, Luke would suffer. Shay's vendetta ran deeper that the Dark Jedi realized. It was not just pursuing Anna that had sparked the tension between the two. There was something else.
With one last sly smile, he descended the ramp of Luke's shuttle. "Dispose of it," he ordered.
So yeah. Shay's kind of an ass.
Next chapter is a monster (over 8k words!) so brace yourselves.