Command Center
Imperial Palace
Imperial City
Imperial Center
"Darth Vader," Isard whispered.
"Impossible!" Pestage snarled angrily, straightening his body. "Vader disappeared months ago. He is dead and gone!"
"Now I am back," Vader stated coldly, lifting a hand towards the old man. Pestage promptly gasped and jerked as the invisible talons closed around his neck. With his hands bound behind him, he couldn't even reach for his throat.
"Father, stop it," Luke ordered, reaching out to block his father's Force choke. "Just because you are back in that hideous black armor doesn't mean you have to start choking people all over the place."
Pestage gasped in life giving oxygen as air filled his lungs, even as the former Emperor's Hands froze in astonishment.
"Um," Brilana muttered softly. "Forget what I asked about your romantic availability, Skywalker. If Vader's your dad, then no way!"
Mara was made of sterner stuff, "He isn't really Vader. I've met Vader many times and he is taller. Obviously whoever you are, you're a trained Force Sensitive, but you're not Vader."
Vader turned toward the auburn woman and took a menacing step forward, only to be halted by the telepathic rebukes of his twins.
"Father, don't!" Luke ordered.
"We will deal with this," Leia added.
"As you wish."
"Jade," Leia said aloud, turning toward the redhead. "Indeed, all of you. Our situation is, I'm sure you realize, quite precarious in that there are a substantial number of troops no doubt headed this way."
"That is correct," Ysanne stated coldly. "And when they arrive, you will all be destroyed."
"Therefore," Leia continued, ignoring the red and blue eyed woman, "it makes sense to have 'Lord Vader'" – here she lifted her hands and made air quotes with her fingers – "take command because he is greatly respected in the Empire. Don't you think?"
"Oh!" Mara exclaimed, nodding. "I see."
"Really, Princess?" her father demanded telepathically. "I am entirely capable of destroying all those who oppose us."
"And I would like to avoid a bloodbath," Leia riposted.
"There are troops gathering in the outer corridor," Solo commented.
The two groups of Corellian Super Beings all looked at the monitors and Vader strode over to the closed door
"I assume I am permitted to go deal with this situation?" he asked in a sarcastic voice.
"I'm coming with you," Luke said determinedly.
"Be careful," Ahsoka murmured aloud, then added telepathically, "I'll watch the twins' backs, Skyguy."
Her former master nodded and gestured towards the lock; the door opened with a swish.
The resulting rain of blaster fired was reflected partially with the Force, partially with the purple and blue lightsabers which buzzed and hummed and swerved. The troops in the corridor fell from the deflected bolts for a full 8 seconds before a startled lieutenant called a halt to the attack.
"Lord Vader?" he called out. "My Lord, is that you?"
"Indeed," Vader replied, striding forward. "Lieutenant Venka, I am here to take command of the Empire. Do you wish to oppose me?"
The young lieutenant gulped in astonishment before shaking his head rapidly. He knew he was spoiled somewhat by his well connected relations here on Imperial Center, but he wasn't stupid enough to counter anything that came out of the vocoder of Darth Vader.
"No, my Lord. All troops stand down," the man ordered, then lowered himself on one knee. "Ah ... your Highness, it is my honor to welcome you to Imperial City and to the palace where you will reign."
"Rise, Captain Venka," Vader ordered.
"This is so uncomfortable," Luke complained telepathically.
/-
Imperial Holonet Studio #3
Imperial City
Imperial Center
60 minutes later
"After 2 hours at 150 degrees, the pie is ready, a dish fit for the most delicate palate!"
Chef Rosen enthused, gazing with dewy eyed delight at the food sitting on the counter in front of him.
Relinka Spetzv took a deep breath and forced a smile. She was a very experienced Holonet host and was in the Galactic Dictionary under 'cheery', but this was a bit much.
"So how do the, uh, Klisnat insects actually taste?" she asked brightly even as bile rose in her esophagus.
Rosen's eyes grew even wider, if possible.
"Host Spetzv," he exclaimed loudly enough that Relinka flinched slightly. "They are wonderful! Their little legs are so crunchy, and the bodies make a delightful popping sounds when your teeth bite into them."
"I'm going to be sick," Relinka thought to herself. "At least I'm wearing green today, which should match ..."
The door to the studio suddenly blew open with a crash, which made Relinka suddenly and thankfully forget her roiling stomach. A moment later, a tall and menacing form strode into the room, respirator cycling dramatically.
Now she was going to faint.
"Lord Vader?" Chef Rosen squeaked aloud, his face pale.
"Indeed, it is I," the Dark Lord thundered. "I have returned to take over my Empire."
/-
Shuttle
Imperial City
2 hours later
"So did that go well?" Luke asked worriedly.
"Y ... e ... s," Leia replied thoughtfully, reading her holopad busily. "Needless to say, our father's decision to gatecrash the cooking portion of the afternoon Imperial Holonet show is getting a lot of coverage. The social media has blown up and the holofiles are being sent everywhere."
"It was way better than the cooking show," Solo commented with a shake of his head. "Klisnet insect pie? That is just nasty."
Chewbacca roared with some enthusiasm and his pilot shook his head, "Ok, but you're a Wookiee. As a human, I find the thought of insect pie totally revolting."
The shuttle rocked slightly and Luke glanced out the transparisteel windows and began removing his restraints, "Looks like we're here."
"And where is here exactly?" Brilana asked curiously, her bright eyes focused on Luke. On one hand, Vader was scary. On the other hand, Mara Jade was quite sure it wasn't really Vader, and this young man was so cute!
"My palace," Darth Vader intoned, striding out of the cockpit. "It will be a safe place for us to rest and regroup, much preferable to the Imperial Palace where Isard and her cohorts have been running amok these many months."
"Er, this is, um, your palace?" Aralina Silk asked worriedly.
"Yes, why?" the former Sith demanded ominously.
The Silk twins exchanged glances and Vess Kogo spoke, "It is well known that Ars Dangor took over Lord Vader's ... your palace six months ago. It is probably ... altered."
The temperature of the cabin dropped noticeably for all the Force users and Mara shivered openly.
"Father, calm down," Luke ordered, putting a restraining hand on the great arm. He turned to the Hands and asked courteously, "Do you have any idea what changes have occurred? Is it less secure?"
Mara shook her head decidedly, "Dangor definitely wanted security so no, it should be secure; though I'm not sure about the codes into the rooms ..."
"I have the hard wired codes," Vader snapped. He was clearly still agitated.
"It's probably all weirdly artistic," Bri chimed in with a shudder. "Ars Dangor thought himself quite the patron of the arts, but they were demented artists."
"We can handle weird art," Luke stated firmly.
"I hope so," Mara murmured.
/-
Jade/Silk suite
Vader's Palace
1 hour later
Mara Jade stared moodily out of the window at the fireworks exploding from the roof of the building in which they were currently residing.
"We should have run while we had the chance," she said with a shake of her head.
"And been killed for our pains?" Aralina asked irritably. "I think not."
"We're highly trained," Jade snapped.
"Vader, or the Pretend Vader, is far more trained than we are in the Force, Mara," Bri said quietly. "I know this situation is uncertain and nerve wracking, but at least the Hideous Threesome are dead and/or imprisoned."
"I just hope these people aren't worse," the redhead muttered gloomily. She knew the Silk twins were right; whoever these people were, they way outclassed the former Hands in terms of Force ability. But still ...
The door to their quarters slid open and Mara and the Silk twins spun around. Luke Skywalker walked in with Leia Organa at his heels.
"This ... isn't bad," Skywalker commented, looking around at the ceramic fish which covered every square meter of the room.
"It's pretty bad," Brilana stated sullenly.
"It's too busy," Organa agreed critically, "but I assure you most of the other rooms are far worse."
Skywalker groaned and passed a weary hand across his face, "My room is pink with oblong sculptures all over. It's a nightmare."
"You can have my room," Leia said slyly.
Luke quivered, "No, the last thing I need is a room decorated in tans and ochres with sand sculptures leaking nasty little particles all over the floors. Way too much like Tatooine."
"I found drinks and grub!" Solo announced, bouncing into the room with the Wookiee at his heels.
"Three cheers for food!" Luke yelped.
"And moderate drinking," Leia agreed, stepping forward to help her love place a bunch of snacks and beverages on a random table.
"You will join us, won't you?" Skywalker asked, turning his attention on the three former Hands who were staring at them with a mixture of interest, hunger, thirst, longing and doubt.
"Sure," Brilana said eagerly, stepping forward and grabbing a dweezel stick and a small bottle of ebla beer.
"Where is Vess Kogo?" Mara demanded suspiciously.
"He's with Father," Skywalker explained with a wave of the hand, "but don't worry. Ahsoka's with him and she said she'd make sure Father doesn't kill the poor man."
"Why Kogo and not us?" Aralina demanded.
Leia sighed noticeably, "We suggested Kogo because he is male and not a possible temptation to Luke's romantic sensibilities. It decreases the risk of Vader lashing out in a protective frenzy. He's better than he was, but he still has his moments."
Mara gritted her teeth and shook her head. Enough of this dancing around. She needed to know.
"Who is he, really?" she demanded. "Like I said, I know Vader. I've been in his presence. I've stood next to him. Whoever this man is, he is not Vader. He's at least 5 centimeters shorter and the respirator isn't quite right either."
Luke and Leia exchanged glances and a silent message passed between them.
"He really is Vader," Leia said softly. "He's had a substantial amount of medical treatment in the last months and his cybernetic limbs were replaced with shorter ones which are healthier for him. He needs far less breathing support also so we cobbled something together to make the sounds so people would know it was Vader."
Mara shook her head to clear it, "But Skywalker, you said he was your ..."
"Father," Luke said gravely. "Yes, he is. He was born Anakin Skywalker and joined Palpatine about 20 years ago for ... complicated reasons. Then when my name surfaced as the destroyer of the Death Star, he realized that I had survived my birth though Palpatine had lied and said I had died along with my mother. She actually died during childbirth. My father turned against Palpatine, sabotaged his hyperbaric chamber, and killed him via decompression sickness."
There was a united gasp from the three former Hands.
"Vader killed Palpatine?" Aralina yelped.
"That is a totally awesome way to assassinate someone!" Brilana murmured in awe.
"If this is true, I like him a lot better now," Mara finished.
"It is true," Leia said gravely. "After he left the Empire, we ran into each other during a mission and figured out quickly that I am Luke's twin and therefore Darth Vader's biological daughter."
Mara frowned at the woman's words even as her expression softened, "I heard reports of your previous interactions with Vader, Princess."
The diminutive woman bit her lip and nodded, "It has been a difficult thing to cope with, Jade."
"I'm sure."
"So to be clear," Brilana said abruptly. "I am not interested in you anymore, Skywalker. Your father is too scary. How about you, tall, dark and handsome. Are you available?"
"No!" Leia snapped, her expression morphing from sorrowful to determined.
Aralina lifted a placating hand, "She's joking, Princess Leia. Bri, cut it out. You're going to get us killed."
"Anyone else you know of who is looking for a former Emperor's Hand with emotional issues and a bad job at the Manarai restaurant?" Bri asked slyly, leaning forward to pick up a piece of blue milk cheese.
Luke laughed, "We'll keep our eyes open, Brilana Silk."