Chapter 25:
Han was bored. Desperately bored, and miserable, too. He'd been stuck in this stiff Imperial uniform for days, without reprieve, having to take orders from people he didn't really like. He was tired of it, and maybe, just maybe, while Luke was busy training he could get away from all that for awhile. So he scrounged something more comfortable out of his quarters, and was about to sneak out when there was a loud chime from the holotransmitter. With a sigh, he went over and activated it. There was no image, just a raspy voice.
"Captain Solo. Report on the current situation."
Han flinched as he heard Vader's voice, and he ran a hand uneasily through his hair. "Er, Luke went out, I guess he's with the Emperor, training."
"Keep me informed on my son's activities. I want complete information." The transmitter shut off, abruptly, and Han sighed with relief. He knew what he needed, a few hard drinks at a local cantina.
Luke stood with his eyes closed as the remotes circled him. He found it easier to focus that way. He noticed his ability to sense an attack was getting better; he now had a second or two to prepare before the laser blast hit him. He sensed the energy focusing in a remote behind him, and he created a pocket of Force energy there, absorbing the laser blast's energy into himself when it hit him. He continued like this for some time, assuming the Emperor wished to test his endurance. Finally, the remotes powered off, and Luke turned to the Emperor, inquiringly.
"You have done well, my young apprentice. You are growing stronger in the dark side of the Force."
Luke smiled, darkly. "Thank you, master."
The Emperor gestured Luke to follow him back up to his throne, where he had sat down again. "I have something for you, my young apprentice." He said as he picked up a long lightsaber hilt, and handed it to Luke. "This is the lightsaber of one of my former apprentices, Darth Maul. I recovered it from Naboo after his death. This is a double-bladed lightsaber. Learn how to fight with it as well as your normal lightsaber. I expect to see some progress by the time I summon you again."
Luke turned the saber staff's hilt over in his hands, examining it. He could feel that it was imbued with dark Force energy, and it seemed to have been well constructed. He clipped it to his belt, and bowed before the Emperor. "Thank you, master. I will study it thoroughly." He turned and walked back towards the doors, calling his lightsaber to his hand as he passed. He headed down the halls back to his quarters, intent upon replacing his torn cloak.
Leia sat in the small hut nestled in the swamp, slowly sipping the bowl of soup the little creature had given her. It had a slightly nutty flavor, and, to her mild surprise, was rather tasty. She waited, hoping that her new "friend" would eventually lead her to the Jedi Master she sought. Once, she thought she saw him look at her, sharply, but upon giving him a closer look, he was merely pottering about his hut, mumbling cheerfully, half to himself. She couldn't catch most of what he said, but after she had helped him put away the wooden bowls and other supplies, he seemed to doze off, at any rate, his eyes were closed, and he muttered, "Her mother's empathy, this one has."
Leia turned to stare at him, trying to decide if she had heard correctly. Finally, she asked, softly, "You knew my mother?" She wondered if he meant her real mother, or her adopted mother.
The little green person looked up at her, intently. "A brave woman, your mother was. Very brave."
Leia met his eyes with hers, and suddenly, she understood. "It's you, isn't it? You're the Jedi Master. Master Yoda."
Luke wandered through the halls of the palace, looking for Mara. He couldn't sense her, so he guessed she was avoiding him. "Mara?"
A quiet voice behind him said, "What do you want, Skywalker?"
He turned around to find Mara standing there, arms crossed, eyeing him. He wanted to ask her what the problem was, but sensed that it wasn't a particularly good time. "The Emperor said you'd teach me lightsaber precision and accuracy."
Mara scowled, but said, "Fine. Come on, then." She led him to what appeared to be a training center for Force-sensitives. It was marked as empty, so she opened the doors and went in, Luke following her. She then turned around to face him, her own lightsaber in hand. She glanced at the two hilts at Luke's belt, and said, "The single blade. You can try to figure out how to use that other one on your own time; I don't really feel like losing any limbs today." She glanced pointedly at Luke's right hand.
Luke made a face at her, and drew his lightsaber. "So how do you know so much about the finer points of lightsaber combat?"
Mara raised an eyebrow. "Because I was personally trained by the Emperor himself, to know what I need to in order to best carry out his will throughout the galaxy." She ignited her maroon blade, and with a wave of the Force, lowered several targets. They were of a variety of different substances, from wood to stone to durasteel, and had patterns engraved on them. "This exercise is to give you precision with your lightsaber. You will work on one substance until you have mastered it, and only then will you move on to the next." She walked up to the wooden target and sliced her way through it, cutting through the engraved lines perfectly. She then knocked the target aside, and it was replaced by another one. "You will start with durasteel, once you have mastered it, you can move on to the next level."
"Why durasteel?" Luke asked, puzzled. "Isn't wood the easiest to cut through?"
Mara chuckled, dryly. "Yes, it is. Which makes it the easiest to make a mistake with. It cuts through so fast that if you don't have your precision down, you'll find yourself with only half a target almost before you've started."
"Oh." Luke eyed the durasteel target, and ignited his crimson blade. He thrust it into the target, and began carving through it, slowly. Finally, he managed to cut through the engraved lines, though with rather shaky results.
Mara eyed it, critically, and said, "Keep trying till you've got it down smoothly."
Luke sighed. Mara, he realized, might prove to be a strict taskmistress. He began again on a durasteel target, trying to cut through the lines as slowly and steadily as possible.
Han made it to a side entrance of the palace, and looked around, cautiously. He didn't see anyone, so he slid the door open further, and made to step outside. Before he could do so, an incredibly painful ripping sensation tore through his mind, and a voice he recognized as being the Emperor's snapped, Come to my throne room immediately.
Han groaned, and hurried back to his quarters, hoping fervently that it wouldn't take too long to get his uniform back on and make it to the throne room.
Still trying to straighten up his uniform as he went, Han rushed through the hallways to the throne room. He paused before the doors to catch his breath, and gave his uniform one last tug in an attempt to make it presentable.
He waited until the massive doors in front of him opened and took a deep, nervous breath and walked into the throne room. As soon as he walked into the room, the doors behind him closed on their own. He strode up the stairs to the Emperor's throne and knelt down in front of it. "You summoned me, your highness?"
The Emperor slowly turned his throne to look down at Captain Solo's kneeling form. "You have been selected as my new apprentice's advisor, have you not, Captain?"
"Y-yes your highness, he has asked me to become his advisor."
The Emperor chuckled at this, "And you were an Imperial deserter?!" he demanded.
Han lowered his head, fearing for his life. "Y-yes I-I was. However, L-Luke showed me that t-the Alliance's ideals are misguided and pathetic."
As soon as Han finished his sentence, the Emperor stormed into his mind to see if he was telling the truth or not. He did not care how much pain he was causing, for if he was lying, his death would be far more painful than he could imagine… and he would have it be by his new apprentice's hand.
Finally, the Emperor released Han, who fell to his hands and knees, overwhelmed by the pain. "Fortunately for you, Captain, I sense no deception within you… However, we need to do something about this… relationship you have with Leia Organa, to ensure that you do not… forget your loyalties… again." He said as he got up from his throne, gripping the Captain's chin, digging his nails into his face. He forced Solo to look him in the eyes as a small amount of blood began to fall from where the Emperor was gripping him.
Han glared at the Emperor through the pain, and muttered, "I don—"
Han was cut off by the Emperor storming into his mind. He could hear his voice inside his mind; I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK, CAPTAIN. FROM NOW ON, YOU SERVE THE EMPIRE. The Emperor then proceeded to strengthen his grip on the Captain, digging his nails further into the Captain. His began to smile a dark, twisted, savage smile while he installed heavy barriers around every memory and thought about Leia Organa, making sure Han knew that he now served the Empire. Then he destroyed any thought and memory about his former friends, except for what Luke had been through, and the Alliance.
The pain of the Emperor's "improvements" finally grew to be too much for Han and lost consciousness; the only thing keeping is kneeling form from completely falling to the ground was the Emperor's grip. Finally the Emperor released Han, who collapsed to the floor in front of the throne. "Consider this your punishment for deserting the Empire, Captain Solo. Now you will finally understand the true power of the Empire, and the Force," the Emperor said as he returned to sit down on his throne again and turned away from him. He reached out with the Force and watched Luke training with his Hand.