A/N: My BetaReader Ezio had suggested doing an every ten chapter recap on what is going on in DD and TOF, since there really is a lot considering we have alot of characters to deal with, you can either message me or him and let us know what you think of the idea. These may be posted at the beginning of the chapter, so no one is lost. Opinions are appriciated as are reviews ;D
Way of the Sith
Darth Wrath, Dark Lord of the Sith, was in pain, terrible pain, and it invigorated him. Being a Sith meant embracing pain, anger, desire, passion, guilt, shame, and any other darker emotions that existed and Darth Wrath had become an expert at this. Even as the droids fitted him with a replacement eye, one in which the retina and optics fed images through a red haze giving him neurological impulses that went far beyond normal seeing. The vision he now had fed information directly into his brain, giving him the species name, as well as pulling their profile from Imperial records and giving him the weaknesses and strengths of the subject. He was enhanced; he was better than he had been.
He knew his master would be pleased, while he remained his master. It would not be much longer before Lord Wrath himself would become the Emperor and Sidious would be as dead as the Zabrak who had been Darth Wrath's initial master. Lord Wrath was glad the med droids had been programmed to treat wounds such as his, that they were able to give him his vision back. Lord Wrath had finally made it to his planet of Vjun.
While Lord Wrath had been dueling the padawans, Master Shaak Ti, had been secretly transported to his castle on Vjun, where he would meet back up with his former padawan. The Emperor had given him free reign of Vjun, though it was an isolated planet, it would do for the plans he had with his former apprentice. Darth Wrath would use her compassion for the man he had been against her.
He was not that man though some of his features remained the same. Mace Windu had died when the Council had accepted Skywalker and attachments, he was now a Sith Lord, and the best one in over a century, even his master would be no challenge for him. With Skywalker dead, there wouldn't be anyone to oppose him or his Empire, especially with Shaak Ti at his side, as his apprentice and his Empress. He would get rid of his master's pets one by one, he would eliminate them like the bugs they were.
Barriss Offee was almost not even worth battling. Almost, he thought with a cruel smile, as he imagined her pleading with him to spare her life right before he brought his crimson blade down severing her head from her body, eliminating her would be child's play. Perhaps he would even order his new apprentice to do so.
The Emperor was fond of his many pets, even those without the Force; it was a true wonder the way his master could very easily manipulate anyone. He had learned much from Sidious, all that he could ever need to run the Empire. After he finished with the destruction of the Emperor's pets he would destroy Skywalker's children and his pitiful Rebellion and then the Galaxy would bow before the might of its new Emperor and Empress.
Lord Wrath disembarked from the transport and shielded against the acidic rain of Vjun he headed for his palace where his new Empress would be, just as soon as she embraced the Dark Side, they would be unstoppable and they would live forever, they would quickly put to death any traitor within the Empire, as any who didn't serve him would live to regret it.
Lord Wrath entered the room where he felt Shaak's presence. "Ah, so you have finally come," Shaak said with a mock bow, "Milord."
"Hello, lovely," Darth Wrath said, trying a different tactic with her.
"What happened?" she asked as she noticed the implant in his eye, along with the bandage over his other eye.
"What do you think happened, your precious Jedi attacked me," he snarled, as he got up and began pacing.
"Oh, you poor thing," Shaak said sarcastically, "And what about all the Jedi that you destroyed on Dantooine?" she asked.
"They had their chance, they made their choice," Lord Wrath replied. "The Jedi have gone too far this time, I will destroy every one of them. Especially Skywalker's brat."
"You mean Luke?" Shaak asked carefully.
"The one with the green lightsaber, he threw it in my eye!" Darth Wrath snarled as lighting flew from his fingertips, from the anger of that statement. The lightning was uncontrollable and it hit her feet, and reacting she curled her feet closer to her body. She wasn't wearing shoes as she liked to feel the nature around her. She was often able to alter the environment around her, and thus needed a direct contact to it, which was why she rarely wore shoes, even the traditional Jedi boots. She was more in tune with nature than any other Jedi, and being in this palace, and on the cruiser that she had taken her made her feel apart from nature. "That would be Luke," Shaak Ti, said with a smile, "He's much calmer than Anakin ever was."
"A padawan!" Darth Wrath cried out as the lightning intensified, and Shaak Ti put up a Force barrier to protect herself from the Sith Lightning, "A mere padawan did this to me."
"Actually," Shaak said with a half-smirk, "Luke was never granted padawan status, he was a mere cadet."
"WHAT!" Lord Wrath screamed as the barrage of Lightning tried to make it through the barrier Shaak had put up. "And the other one?"
"Galen," Shaak said, remembering the serious lad who could often be found teasing Leia Skywalker, "Yes, he is a padawan."
"And just who is his master?" Lord Wrath asked.
"The question Mace is who is your master?"
"I will soon have no master."
"You mean you will kill the Emperor."
"I will succeed the Emperor, I will become Emperor," Lord Wrath stated.
"And then what? What will happen to the Galaxy once you are in charge instead of the Emperor?"
"That is none of your concern," Lord Wrath stated as he left the room to get some food, for both him and his prisoner. A stunning bright light arced its way through the Force, and the tray in Lord Wrath's hand clattered to the floor, as he cursed against the light. What and who had that been?
Darth Traya, secret apprentice to Darth Sidious and Dark Lady of the Sith, was stranded on Yavin IV. She got angrily out of her TIE fighter, growling as she saw the astrodroid had been destroyed as well. It figured, she though sardonically, as she thought of her mentor, the now deceased Darth Maul.
Darth Maul had found her when she had been little more than an infant on the planet of Shili. She had been told that she had pulsed with the Force. He had taken her in and rescued her from slavery as he too had been rescued. She knew why Maul had been given to Sidious; Maul was a male Zabrak from Dathomir, in which the males served the females only used for breeding. He had been saved from the life of a slave by his mother who had pleaded with Sidious to save him from the fate of his brothers. Darth Maul had returned to Dathomir when he had been a young man, right before he had found her, he had wanted to free both his mother and his brothers from slavery but had been refused, and had been punished by Sidious.
Darth Maul had looked down at the Torgruta youngling and picked her up, Darth Traya remembered the feeling of power that had flowed through him and seemed to attach itself to her. Darth Maul had given her a bantha when she was five years old, and three years later she had been forced to murder it herself, watching the life ebb from her pet, created by her own hand. She remembered how she had cared for the bantha, checking on it many times a day, and in the end she had made her choice, that was the price of love, she had learned, it destroyed, for she had named him. She had called him Brother, as if he were her family. He had trusted her, had thought she wouldn't harm him, and he had been wrong. She had killed Brother, choking him to death as tears streamed down her face.
She had done well, and her fate had been sealed during that act. She belonged to the Sith and followed their many teachings. She had taken care of Brother's every need for three years. She had fed him, and bathed him, she had brushed his hair, and once she had even put purple ribbons in his fur. She had even slept in a room near his pen. Darth Maul had encouraged the relationship, and then she had been ordered to kill him. She still remembered the helpless look in Brother's eyes before the life left them.
"Good," Maul had told her, "You have done well, my apprentice." Darth Traya had remained silent, as tears streamed down her face, and anger coursed through her young body. She had turned on Darth Maul, employing the same move against the Zabrak that she had been forced to use on Brother, even through her tears, the hate swelled within her, as she attempted the same maneuver, but she was effortlessly thrown to the ground in a Force push, and as she looked up, a lightsaber had been inches from her throat. "Good try, my apprentice," he had said with a smile, as he helped her to her feet. "You have passed your first lesson." She had hung her head, knowing that she had been defeated.
"Thank you, Master," she had said, her voice filled with the shame of losing as she put Brother from her mind. Darth Traya looked around the moon that was surrounding the gas planet of Yavin. What did the Rebels see in this jungle, Darth Traya wondered? She sank her feet into the mud as the rain had been coming down. Ugh, when had she lost her shoes, she wondered? She could feel the six interconnected oceans on the planet. That was odd; it was almost as if somehow she was connected to the planet. She made a movement with her hand and the rain increased its intensity. Somehow, she had caused the storm, was that possible? She could feel the woolambers as they fell in step behind her, as the fell to her power, under her control, under her command.
Darth Traya thought back to the day Darth Maul died on Naboo, and Darth Sidious took her completely under his wing. "You are to remain in the shadows, you are not to be discovered by the Jedi, do you understand me?"
"Of course, Darth Sidious, my master," she has said, on her knees bowing before the Master of the Sith.
"The Jedi have won the battle, but they will lose the war. Come with me, my pet," he had said as she rose to her feet, "And I will explain your role in the future."
Darth Traya had listened attentively as he had described how he had destroyed his Sith Master, Darth Plagueis, on the eve before he became Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. "And what of Darth Maul?" she asked finally, as he was consumed with talk of politics, describing exactly who he wanted eliminated and how she could go about it.
"My dear," he said pleasantly, "It was a stunning bold move by the Jedi," he said as he clutched her hot hand in his icy one.
"What do you mean?" she asked, though she knew the truth. "The Jedi, they killed him" she asked.
"Not only that, but they attacked his homeworld, destroying any trace of his heritage. That is why you must remain unseen, until we are able to make our move, or Shili will suffer the same fate."
"Yes, my master. What must I do?"
"First, we will need to get rid of Senators; not all the ones who will oppose me, just the older ones," he explained as he uploaded a list on her datapad. "The older ones have respect, and we cannot allow them to sway the votes as their respect may tip the Senators to voting against me."
"Of course, my master."
"And they must appear to die of natural causes or accidents, and they must be different ways, and spaced out enough," Darth Sidious continued. "You must not arouse the suspicions of the Jedi."
"Yes, my master," she said. "And what of the Jedi."
"You will leave that to me. I may have found a replacement for Maul however."
"Who?" she asked, curiously.
Darth Sidious's smile widened, even if it was a hideous looking smile. "A Jedi Master, oddly enough."
"We don't need no Jedi," Darth Traya cried out, hotly. The smile evaporated from the Sith Master's face.
"Quiet child, you have no say here. You will follow my orders, and you will not question my judgments or I will throw you to the dogs as they say, I will turn the Jedi on you and there won't be enough left of you to identify."
"I will destroy them!" she screamed out enraged as Darth Sidious turned on her. The Sith Master's fingers turned into claws as white-blue light immersed from them and she was subjected to Sith Lightning. It felt as though her body was stuck between power couplings, she thought numbly, as the pain coursed through her young body. She cried out in pain.
"You will never question my orders," Darth Sidious cried out, smiling insanely as the lightning intensified. "You will never defy me."
"Never," she promised and just as suddenly as it had started the pain ceased. He knelt down near her and offered her a hand, which after a moment she accepted the act of kindness, though the Sith Master was anything but kind.
"Let me tell you about the Jedi I'm recruiting," he continued as he sat down to a cup of tea, to which he poured her.
"I'm all ears," she said, thoroughly chastised.
"He's a Jedi Master on the Council," he said, his voice rising to an excited pitch, as she wondered what was so important about this Jedi. "Trained by the old crotchety Yoda himself," Sidious clapped his hands together. "He has been confiding Jedi matters to me and has been somewhat of a 'friend' of mine for years," he admitted, sipping his tea, "Master Plagueis thought to recruit him before his tragic passing."
Darth Traya smiled politely, "Master Plagueis's death was tragic," she said politely, "Though I am glad it was he who died and not you, my master."
"Humph," the Sith master grunted, "Tyrone Dooku; he trained the Jedi that your master was able to dispose of quite easily before his own death. It is what I would could poetic irony."
Darth Traya wasn't even sure what poetic irony meant, but she wasn't in any hurry to be subjected to his powers again. "So what can this Tyrone do to help us in our cause?" she asked.
"He has recently left the Jedi Order, what a blow it was to the Jedi," he said with fake sympathy. "It seems he told them of the growing darkness in the Force, and they ignored him, and with the death of the maverick as they called him, that was the last straw. He has now picked up his home title of Count and the funds that go with it," he finished with a smile. "It seems he's on a quest to find Maul's Sith master, I am sure I can help him with that." Darth Sidious finished the rest of his tea. "Well, I will be leaving now, girl, next time answer all communications from me. I will be in touch, and remember my instructions; I wouldn't want to damage you permanently."
Darth Traya watched as he left, and a sound from above, startled her out of her memories. She felt a pure white light in the Force, and she put her hands up to protect herself from the light though it was visible, it was more of a Force aura, she realized. She pulled the shadow closer, protecting her from whatever the light had come from, from the source of that light. It bothered her, and she wondered if her master had felt it. Moments later, Darth Traya watched as many transports filled the sky, that left only one conclusion the Rebellion was fleeing and she had no way to follow them.
She growled in frustration as she felt something dark, something she felt comfortable with. She followed the dark presence to a tomb. She remembered her Sith training, and she knew that the Sith tomb of Freedon Nadd was on Yavin IV, she thought that perhaps, she would discover some secret about the Sith that not even Sidious was aware of. Then she would become his true apprentice, his acknowledged apprentice, his heir to the Throne, and his second in command.
Mara Jade Kenobi, though the Emperor insisted that she be called just Mara Jade, looked around at the room she had been given at the Emperor's Palace. It was covered in the blood-red color of the Sith, the draperies, the bedspreads, the carpet, it was the same red color. Red, the color of blood, the color of desire, the color of the guards that followed her around, the color of war, and the color of anger. Red was the color of the Sith's lightsaber. Mara Jade was given an opalescent room, its furnishings more splendid that any she had ever seen before. She giggled at the room and its furnishings, it made her feel almost like a queen.
The Jedi had always lived modestly. It was strange almost to think that the Emperor had offered her all of this, she wondered now why it had seemed like such a hard decision when she was being given everything her heart desired. She was glad that it was she, and not Luke, that was enjoying this splendor. Luke had always stood out, though she thought her parentage was just as impressive as his, she thought. It was the Skywalker twins that seemed to get all the personalized attention, though she liked Leia and she didn't begrudge Skywalker's daughter. Still, it was nice to be acknowledged as important.
She thought briefly back to Luke's words and wondered if Luke had known it would be like this, was that the real reason he had argued? She was making a mistake, if she was then she didn't ever want to do anything right again. She couldn't imagine a better life than the one she had experienced in the hours since their departure. Had she really spent her whole life trying to thwart the Emperor and his plans? She wondered if the Empire treated all its citizens like this. Just what was the Rebellion trying to rescue them from? From perfection?
She smiled contently, as she thought of the rewards of rescuing her father. She wondered just when she would get to see her mother and father again? A year didn't seem that bad, plenty of members of the Rebellion went longer than that without their families. Why, when she had been growing up, her father and Uncle Anakin had been gone two years on a mission once. How was this any different? She remembered her father's and mother's speeches over the years, of how evil the Empire was. She wasn't seeing it, but she would keep her ears open, she thought.
There was a knock at the door, and she got up, dressed in a red velvet dress that hugged her curves and came down to her ankles, though there was a slit that came up to her knee. Mara's fiery red hair was styled perfectly, and she looked like a princess, on her feet were black heels with sequins, and on her hands were black elbow length gloves. She had never looked so pretty, she thought vainly. There had been servants that had come in and made her so pretty. She opened the door, and saw the Emperor standing there, she stepped back, allowing him entrance.
"Hello, my dear, Mara Jade, how are you liking your room?" he asked her, a soft smile on his face. She beamed up at him, her smile splitting her face in two, lighting up.
"There aren't words to describe it, your majesty," she said, humbly. "I can't even begin to thank you enough," she gushed. "I wish Leia could see me now," she said with a strange gleam in her eye.
"She will, my dear, oh, she will."
"I have just received dreadful news, my dear, if you are up to it, please follow me, I want your opinion, my dear Mara."
"Mine?" she asked astounded.
"Well who else, my dear. You have made a wonderful decision, joining me."
"I do have a choice?" she asked, timidly.
"Of course, of course, my dear. I value your opinion. I have heard of how you helped defeat Barriss, I cannot believe your skills. Though Mara, Barriss often acts against my orders. Of course, that's not important right now."
"Of course, your majesty," she said as he hooked his hand around her waist and led her to the Command Center.
"I received a report just moments ago, on how my Death Star was destroyed," he said sadly. "I had the Death Star built to create jobs, to end poverty. You have no idea how many employees the Death Star is able to employ, I would give away my money, but they wouldn't feel they earned it. So I came up with the Death Star, a truly marvel invention, allowing me to employ several hundred thousand employees, creating jobs, and in some cases saving lives," he said sadly. "It seems the Tyrannus has been duped by the Rebellion," the Emperor said as he pushed a few buttons and a monitor came on showing Tyrone Dooku dropping the detonators at different locations around the Death Star before finally blowing it up. "He was always so brilliant, but he has been lost to me," he said allowing a tear to fall down his cheek, a tear he wiped away hurriedly.
Mara Jade's heart went out to him. What if the stories she had grown up with had been a lie? What if her whole life had been a lie? What if Master Dooku wasn't the man she believed he was? What if Uncle Anakin and Master Dooku had lied and the Rebellion was just a plot to take down this generous man and replace his Empire with poverty and death? What if the hope they thought they were fighting for, they were actually fighting against. "Why did you name it the Death Star?" she asked softly.
"It was a joke really, a bad joke apparently, everyone doesn't share the humor of my architect," the Emperor explained. "It was a joke of practicality. He had recent visited a dead star; he thought it was amusing since stars burn so brightly, but they do eventually burn out. Even stars die, and so as a realistic view, to prove that we are realist and not dreamers, Sate and I named it the Death Star, ironically, he died upon the Death Star."
"I'm so sorry," Mara said, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. He covered her hand with his other hand.
"Thank you, my dear," he said with a sigh. "I just hope that one day the Rebellion will end, peacefully. That's what I really want, a peaceful solution."
"Have you tried talking to them?" she asked.
"I'm not a young man, my dear Mara," he explained. "I afraid if I tried to meet with them that I would be attacked and I don't have a single person in my Empire that can take my place. That's where you come in, my dear."
Mara gasped in shock, "You can't mean….me?" she asked.
"I do, my dear. I once thought Kenobi was a fair man, but he was fooled, guided by not only Master Yoda and the Council, but Ahsoka Tano."
"You can't believe that this is all Aunt Ahsoka's fault?"
"I'm not sure, I know Anakin disagreed with the policies of the Jedi, I know he was once my friend, he once confided in me. Then, everything changed. After Ahsoka's Trial."
"But….but….but," she sputtered, unable to process what she was being told.
"Have you ever considered that the things you have been told, were not as they happened, I can help you to discover the truth."
"The truth?" Mara Jade echoed.
"Yes, I really had no intention of hurting your father, I only wanted to open the eyes of the Jedi, and for that I need your help." What was that, Mara wondered? She had felt some kind of pure white streak across her Force senses, and she wondered if the Emperor had felt it as well.
Barriss Offee, Dark Jedi, had been sent by her master to search for the Rebel Fleet. The Emperor's prize, the Death Star, had been destroyed by former Sith, Darth Tyrannus, it was ironic really. Darth Sidious had sent many forces over the years to destroy the fallen Sith, but he had been protected either by Anakin Skywalker or by Master Plo Koon. It was ironic that Anakin Skywalker protected the Ex-Sith so fiercely, considering that that Sith was the same one who had cut off his right hand and forearm.
She had tried to eliminate the Ex-Sith herself, back in the days when she had trusted Darth Sidious. Those days were long gone, there had been too much distrust, she had been betrayed by him one too many times. She knew that unlike Tyrannus, she wouldn't be able to escape Sidious.
There was only one way out, and that was either to eliminate her master or to die herself. Time and time again, she had been pitted against Wrath and lost. It wasn't just Sidious she would have to destroy but his number one pet. It was almost humorous how the once Master of the Order served a Sith Lord. He was more powerful than her, and so she would need help to defeat him, to defeat them both. Barriss looked at the small cruiser of Imperials and she heard the whispers. "What, what is it?" she asked in a tired voice.
"Lady Barriss, was the Death Star really destroyed?" Officer Jedd asked.
"Yes, it was."
"My brother Jeff was stationed aboard, do you think…"
"He's dead, Jedd, deal with it," she said. "The Rebellion," she said, raising her voice, "has destroyed the Death Star, if you had families there, then they are gone. Victims of the Rebellion's pointless attacks," she said. "I will ask for a moment of silence to honor those lives lost in service to the Empire," she said, as the men took off their caps and bowed their heads. "We will honor them by crushing the Rebellion, in their names. Alright men, back to work," she said as she watched several of the faces harden, their eyes focusing on a goal. "Send a probe droid to the planet below," she told Jedd.
"Yes, Lady Barriss, we will find and destroy that Rebel Scum, Long Live the Empire," he said and she heard a chorus of Long Live the Empire. She wouldn't put it past the Emperor to have destroyed the Death Star himself just for this kind of reaction. Then again, the Death Star had been the Emperor's pet project, he had put a lot of resources into it. She hoped she would live to see the death of the Emperor and Darth Wrath, if nothing else, she wanted to see them dead. Treachery, after all, was the way of the Sith, and only the strong survived, the strongest and the smartest, the Sith was no place for the weak, let the weak join the Jedi.