answers to reviewers questions or statements:
FleetingSpectre: Yeah.
Fenrir44: Elan's introduction will be quite... interesting, given the state of the galaxy at the time. Yeah, she may be unimportant in what's considered 'New Canon' but I'm gonna make her something great! Hopefully... maybe. Honestly she just may end up being a girl that some of Peter's other lovers have brought in to sate him when their too busy. Kyrisa I may bring in later on though Marasiah Fel may not be in this considering she's born at least a hundred twenty some years after Yavin and Peter will be ancient by than, like not even his healing factor will keep him that young by than. Trios, I'm saving her for someone else that'll be brought in after the events at Endor.
iupuifan: Sadly Leia, like her father, is gonna need to be humbled a lot more before it clicks that Peter isn't someone she can either intimidate, 'negotiate', or take head on like a lot of others she's dealt with in the Empire.
MCRasengan: Your on the right track in that they were a Jedi or at the very least affiliated with them, but it ain't her.
maxe03: When you immerse yourself in the Dark Side, your eyes turn either Yellow or Red or mostly Yellow with a scarlet red boarder and such.
Bladewolf101: Soon.
Polaris: It'll only escalate as the story goes.
The conmanw: Possibly.
Starkiller 23: No, it wont be the Valley of the Jedi.
Guest: Peter wont be a Military Genius like Thrawn was, not even close. No one could ever really come close to rivaling that man in militaristic strategy. He'll have his own way of being the Rebel's main antagonist, and his reasons will be more personal than Thrawn's ever were. Peter wont be so much aware of Emma's act so much as he'll be uninterested for the time being. He just found out that the love of his life has died, even though he knew but now has it brutally confirmed, so he's not exactly looking to find a new bae anytime soon.
Howardlan: Possibly, but despite Peter's great power, the Rebels wont really need any of his 'enemies' to hold their own against him. I mean, the Empire had planet killing super weapons, people like Thrawn and Vader, hundreds of massive warships and countless legions of specially made advance trooper variants in both canon and Legends and they still lost in the end. Really, the only thing the Rebels are getting this time around is more Jedi and maybe so soon to be massive divisions within the Imperial hierarchy because of Peter's integration into it.
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Star Wars characters seen, mentioned or used.
When Ahsoka and Betsy finally arrived at the latter's 'home' after driving through the vast grasslands for the better part of several days, mainly to make sure the Bounty Hunters chasing them didn't find Betsy's home and make their escape pointless, Ahsoka wasn't sure what to expect.
When they were younger and still lived at the Jedi Temple, Betsy had early on showed she had a taste for a high quality, lavished lifestyle. The look of envy was always visible on the purple haired girl's face whenever she accompanied Ahsoka to visit Padmé's home on the rare occasions they were both on Coruscant. The late Senator found it adorable and would often invite the young Padawan on 'shopping trips' and allowed her to help pick out gowns for her to wear to either the Senate or for Senate sanctioned missions and even helped purchase a few for the young girl. Betsy's master never let her keep everything she purchased, mainly because her room's closet wasn't big enough and Jedi were meant to be humble and beyond such worldly matters, but she was willing to indulge in her student's little vice... to a degree.
'Why do I get the feeling that Master Gallia would've preferred this sort of lifestyle to the one that Betsy craved' Ahsoka thought with a faint grin, one that did not go unnoticed by Betsy.
"What?" Betsy asked in a clipped tone towards the Togruta female as she continued to remove the clothes she' been in the past few days and placed on newer, cleaner ones.
"Oh, nothing, nothing" Ahsoka said with a sheepish chuckle as she watched Betsy remove her bra and toss it to the side as she searched for a shirt to wear with the too short spandex like pants she had on "It's just your house is... different, from what I expected for you to live in is all"
"Oh?" Betsy said as she turned towards Ahsoka and placed a hand on her bare hip "And what were you expecting? A multi-story estate?"
"Well no but..." Ahsoka looked around the 'tree house' with a raised brow "A bit more than a platform on a Blba tree with curtained walls"
"Not all of us have powerful Senatorial friends with literal vaults of credits to live off of" Betsy said with a glare of annoyance as she found a shirt to wear and slipped it on.
"You'd be surprised how little of a difference that makes" Ahsoka countered with a snort.
"It still makes a difference" Betsy said as she made her way over to several cushions that were made into a makeshift couch and sat on the edge of it "You said you were here to talk, so talk"
Ahsoka sighed as she folded her arms across her chest "I assume you've heard of the Empire's newest enforcer?"
"The Executioner?" Betsy said with a eye roll "Yes, I have. Even out here we hard of what happened on Anaxes"
"Are you also aware he's a Sith?" Ahsoak asked.
Betsy was quiet for a moment before she looked away and nodded "Yes... I noticed. Though..."
"What is it?" Ahsoka said with a frown, sensing the unease and confusion from her friend.
"He's... different" Betsy said with her eyes narrowing slightly "Very different. He's not like Ventress, or Dooku or even Maul from what I've heard of him"
"What makes you say that?" Ahsoka asked as she came and kneeled before Betsy "What'd you notice about him?"
"It's the way he moves" Betsy said with a shrug "I watched the recordings of how he fought, how he acted when he was attacked"
"I did notice that" Ahsoka said with a nod "He moved more like a predator than anything else"
"Where did the Empire find him?" Betsy asked with a curious look on her face "He's too powerful to have been one of those Inquisitors I've heard rumors of. And the way he fights and moves, those aren't the movements of some novice, he moved like a seasoned warrior that's been immersed in the Dark Side for years, decades even"
"He could've been one of Sidious's agents, maybe before the Clone Wars" Ahsoka theorized "Or another, secret apprentice that he kept in reserve until now"
"But why reveal him now?" Betsy asked.
"I don't know" Ahsoka said with a sigh as she stood up and rubbed her brow "Me and my agents have been trying to get any intel we can for weeks now but we're coming up short. He's like Vader, he just appeared one day with a ridiculously high position in the Empire"
"Do the masters have any ideas?" Betsy asked as she leaned back in her couch and crossed her legs at the knee.
Ahsoka shook her head "Their as equally confused..."
Betsy noticed the look on the Togurta's face and leaned forward "But?"
"But... Master K'Kruhk mentioned he felt a great disturbance in the Force not too long ago. Just before the emergence of this 'Executioner'" Ahsoka revealed as her mind traveled back to the conversation she held with the older Jedi "He said it was like a spark in the Dark Side had been ignited into a raging fire"
Betsy's brow furrowed at this "What does that mean?"
"I have no idea" Ahsoka answered with a shrug.
The two sat there in silence for several minutes, the only sounds being emanated were the brushing of the leaves from the wind. After a few minutes, Betsy sighed as she leaned back on her 'couch' and ran a hand over her face before it dropped and she looked at Ahsoka with a tired look on her face.
"Ahsoka, why are you even bothering anymore? Why are any of you?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"Because we can't let the Sith win" Ahsoka said as she came and sat beside Betsy and placed her hand on her's "If we do, all the Jedi they've killed, all the people who've suffered under their rule, it'll all be for nothing"
"Funny, a lot of the worlds I've been to the past few years don't seem to be suffering" Betsy said with a snort "They seem to be prospering quite well actually"
"Yes, the Core Worlds always seem to don't they?" Ahsoka said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice "I was referring to the rest of the Galaxy-"
"Please, the Outer Rim was no better than when the Republic was still in power and given that the Emperor is a Mid-Rimer, the Mid-Rim's status has risen since the Empire was formed" Betsy stated.
"Yes... the human planets have at least" Ahsoka said with a nod "The non-humans on the other hand are lucky to be seen as even second class citizens on some worlds"
"It's always been like that, let's be honest here" Betsy said with a scoff "Ever since the Pius Dea cult took over the Republic, non-humanoids have always and will always come third or even fourth in the Republic's eyes"
"You sound like a damned Humanocentrist" Ahsoka said with a shake of her head.
"I'm just calling it as it is" Betsy said with a simple shrug.
Before Ahsoka could respond, both women felt a disturbance through the Force followed by the distant hum of several ships. Both women scrambled towards the 'wall blanket' they heard the sound coming from and pushed it aside to see several small dots flying towards them in the distance. As the ships drew closer, the two could see that they were Lambda-class T-4a shuttles and likely filled with squads of Imperial Stormtroopers.
"Guess those bounty hunters were being followed" Betsy said with a frown as she observed the three Imperial shuttles approaching their location with growing anger at the realization she'll have to find a new planet to bunker down on now that her hideout has been discovered.
"Or they were simply following him" Ahsoka said as she could feel someone aboard the leading shuttle possessed a Force signature that was angry, and full of hate. It reminded of her the Inquisitor she faced years ago "They have an Inquisitor aboard the lead shuttle"
"I know, I can sense him" Betsy said with a sigh before she glanced at the Togruta "Are they challenging to face?"
"I've only ever fought one" Ahsoka said with a slightly embarrassed look "I tend to avoid confronting them if I can. Easier to move around that way"
"Can you at least give me idea of what to expect from them?" Betsy asked as she turned on her heel and headed to a small trunk that she opened with the force and rummaged though it for a moment before she withdrew her Lightsaber from it.
"They tend to use a modified version of a saberstaffs that can... well they can spin their blades in a circle" Ahsoka revealed.
Betsy quirked a brow at this "Spin their blades around?"
"Yeah..." Ahsoka said with a nod.
The two stood there in silence with the only sound being the ever approaching shuttles in the background for a few moments before Betsy spoke.
"That's stupid" Betsy said with a snort "What, is it supposed to act as a sort of shield or look intimidating?"
"Let's go ask" Ahsoka said as she saw the shuttles were coming in for a landing just a few dozen meters away from the tree.
Ahsoka didn't wait for a response from Betsy before she walked off the ledge of the platform and fell several meters down to the surface and landed in a couch before she slowly stood back up as the Imperial shuttles landed and began to offload their passengers. Only six Stormtroopers exited each craft and formed a semi-circle around Ahsoka, their weapons trained on her figure. The Togruta heard the muffled landing of Betsy behind her and saw several troopers turn their weapons on the purple haired Jedi.
"I must say, I'm not a particular fan of their new armor" Betsy said as she came and stood next to Ahsoka, unconcerned by the blasters aimed at her.
"It's designed to intimidate others" Ahsoka revealed as she sensed the Inquisitor had yet to depart his shuttle, either he was cautious and was observing her and Betsy or he felt that the Stormtroopers would be enough.
"The only thing I feel is embarrassed" Betsy said with a sigh before she narrowed her eyes at the Troopers "Do you boys even know how to use those things your holding? Or were you just given them and told to point and shoot?"
The Troopers responded by firing off several shots at Betsy and Ahsoka, causing them to both leap out of the way in separate directions.
"Classy as always Betsy" Ahsoka said as she rolled back up and shot both her hands out and called upon the Force to push the few Troopers in front of her flying through the air.
Sensing several more aiming their blasters at her, Ahsoka drew her lightsabers and snapped the blades into existence just in time to deflect several blaster bolts back at their shooters. The white clad men fell without a sound while another had haphazardly stepped back before tripping over his own foot, almost causing Ahsoka to break out into a laugh. When they first appeared, Ahsoka was a bit nervous, Stormtroopers were a tad bit more difficult to figure out than their Clone predecessors, they could either be really good at shooting and tactics or really, really bad.
That little incident had just showed her they were nothing more than some overzealous patriots that figured having the armor and weapons was good enough in any situation.
'Shouldn't take too long to beat them if that's the case' Ahsoka thought as she deflected several more shots back at their shooters before casting a look at the shuttle where she still sensed the Inquisitor waiting 'They on the other hand, are another matter entirely'
Several shouts of pain dragged Ahsoka out of her musings and had her attention drawn to Betsy as she quietly literally cut her way through an entire squad of Stormtroopers. Limbs, heads and bisected torsos went flying as the purple haired woman tore the Imperial troopers apart like wet paper. It disturbed Ahsoka to see her child-hood friend inflict such carnage on others, especially when compared this hardened, cold, detached woman to the sweet bubbly girl that used to trail after her master, pestering her with questions on just about anything that came to mind.
Or what she heard from other people's minds.
After hearing another Trooper let out a scream of agony as Betsy cleaved both his legs from the knee down straight off, Ahsoka decided enough was enough.
"Bet-" Ahsoka began before her words stopped dead in her throat.
Betsy, with nothing but sheer anger displayed on her face, turned towards the last remaining stormtroopers and held up a hand and unleashed a powerful torrent of dark blue Force Lightning at them that illuminated the entire area around them. The white clad Troopers let out screams of horror and pain as their bodies were encompassed in the brutal assault on their bodies that no natural lightning could ever hope to inflict on a sentient. Their armor burned and melted as they fell to the ground, their bodies convulsing as Betsy increased the power to her Lightning before she cut it off just as suddenly as she called upon it.
She than turned to see Ahsoka looking at her with sheer horror on her face.
"What?" Betsy said with a raised brow, wondering what was wrong with the Togruta woman.
Before the former Padawan learner of Anakin Skywalker could say anything, Both women heard the sound of clapping and turned to see a lone figure departing from the lead shuttle. He was dressed in some sort of black combat armor with a helmet and visor covering his head. His very presence oozed with the Dark side, but nowhere near the levels of Maul or Dooku or even Ventress when she served the late Count.
"My, my, my Miss Braddock" the man said, his voice slightly distorted by his visor "You surprise me, utilizing such a technique"
Betsy's response was a growl as she aimed her blade towards the man "I'd be happy to arrange a personal demonstration on you as well"
"That wont be necessary" the Inquisitor chuckled before he turned towards Ahsoka and quirked his head at her "And just who might you be, if I may ask?"
"None of your business" Ahsoka said with her eyes narrowing at the man.
The man replied with a shrug "Considering you appear to be a Jedi, or at the very least, a rogue Force-Sensitive aligned with a Jedi, it makes it my business"
"I'll save you the trouble, she's no Jedi" Betsy said with a eye roll "She was a Padawan when she left the Order"
Ahsoka gave Betsy a glare of annoyance before she refocused her attention on the Inquisitor before them as he activated his own Lightsaber, a crimson blade that bathed the area around him in a blood red color. In retrospect, it made his armor more intimidating and caused the dark lenses over his eyes to almost glow red as they reflected his blade's light.
"If we get though this, you and I are gonna have a long talk about what you just did back there" Ahsoka said as she tightened her grip on her hilts.
Betsy's response was a scoff before the two women lunged at the Inquisitor as he brought his blade up to defend himself.
...
Since the Gala only a few days ago, Peter had grown to somewhat... reconsider his actions, in regards to Moff Ghadi.
He didn't regret executing the man for his gross disrespect, but perhaps he should have waited until they were in a more private setting, or at the very least make the execution less dramatic than it was.
'Too late now' Peter thought wryly as he stood before Sidious, who was watching Peter with narrowed yellow eyes.
The Throne Room seemed to bask in the darkness radiating off of the elder Sith like a storm while Peter stood still and silent. He wasn't afraid of possible 'discipline' from the man, he intimidated Peter as much as a flower did. But he was aware that certain things in his life could grow… challenging. Hell, Peter considered that he'll be losing his title as 'Executioner' which did somewhat sadden him, he hasn't even come close to milking that title yet for all it's worth.
It was than that Sidious finally moved, leaning forward and spoke with a raspy voice that seemed to echo around the room.
"Tell me boy, did you enjoy your little display of power?" Sidious asked with the barest hints of sarcasm in his voice.
"Depends on what you mean by enjoy" Peter answered with a slight shrug "Did I enjoy putting that man in his place? Immensely. Did I enjoy the fear and hate I felt coming from that Senator from Alderaan? It was as sweet as a cake. But if your asking me if I'm enjoying the hassle of having to explain myself to some crippled old man on a fancy seat while the media complains and debates over my actions lie their Senators in the middle of some debate for a Bill... than no, I don't"
Sidious growled at the insult directed at him before his arm moved in a flash and arcs of dark blue, almost purple lightning shot forth from his fingers. Peter braced himself best he could but very, very few could endure the effects of something as potent as Force Lightning. The feeling, the pain it created, was always unique and could never really be compared to any other instance of being blasted with the powerful technique. As Peter fell to his knees, doing his best to keep his pain from being vocally expressed, he could just vaguely sense Mara Jade's presence within the room, watching the scene.
'Wonder if she's enjoying the show' Peter thought with dark amusement as he felt his jaw clench to the point he half expected his teeth to crack from the pressure.
The smell of burning fleshing quickly spread through the room as Sidious kept up an almost never ending stream of Force Lighting towards Peter. His armor began to glow in certain places from the sheer intensity of the attack while the more cloth like material quickly turned to ash. Minutes ticked by and the heat being generated by his armor, thanks to Sidious's Lightning, became increasingly unbearable and started to burn it's way into Peter's flesh.
And than it stopped and Peter allowed himself a gasp of relief as his body, smoking and twitching in pain, just barely held itself back up.
"I hope you realize what your actions have done" Sidious snarled in annoyance.
"If you mean remind the Galaxy at large the power of the Sith, than yes, I have" Peter said with a pained groan.
Sidious's response was another short blast of Force Lightning that dropped Peter to his knees.
Several more minutes passed, the only sounds being the cackling of lightning in the air and the smoldering of parts pf Peter's armor before the elderly Sith lord ceased his actions and allowed Peter a brief moment of respite.
"I have just received word from Lord Vader" Sidious said as he stared down at Peter's quietly shaking form "He believes that he's discovered several Jedi on a remote moon in the Outer Rim. I'll be sending you and several Inquisitors to join him in destroying them. It's time to see if your skills against the Jedi have either waned over the centuries or have remained steadfast"
While his battle with Mars and Vader not too long ago showed Peter, even after thousands of years in Cryo was still a capable warrior, facing down Jedi was vastly different than facing down a fellow Sith. It was possibly the one thing that both Sith and Jedi could ever agree upon, facing someone of the opposite spectrum of the Force was another thing entirely than facing an opponent with roughly the same capabilities as you.
"As... you... wish" Peter breathed out as he slowly forced himself back to his feet so he could leave.
Scolded by a Sith who thought himself Peter's master in some way and now being sent off to work with the man's walking Iron Lung of an apprentice and a bunch of dark Jedi turned wannabe Dark Acolytes, he was almost starting to regret his execution of Ghadi.
Almost.
As Peter struggled to reach the door, he could feel Mara's presence begin to follow him from her position within the Throne Room. At first the figured she was using this opportunity to try and attack him now that she believed he was weakened from Sidious's 'discipline'. But after leaving the Throne room and making his ways down the near empty halls of the Imperial Palace, she remained on his trail, even though every time he looked back, she wasn't in sight.
'Either she's using a cloaking field of some sort or some hidden passages I'm unaware of' Peter thought as he stopped to look back again to see Mara was nowhere in sight after several minutes of sensing her pursuit.
A part of Peter hoped she'd try something, so he'd have something to vent his frustrations on, but he was largely uninterested in any sort of fight. Oddly enough, any time he's been struck by Force Lightning in the past, he's left with the immense feeling of lying down and sleeping for a few hours.
'Huh, who would've thought getting electrocuted was so tiring' Peter thought dryly as he arrived at his quarters and used the Force to open the door.
"You took your time"
Peter paused mid-step through the doorway as he was greeted to the sight of Mara Jade already in his room, standing before the large panoramic window that made up most of the suite, looking out at the never ending traffic of Coruscant that was seen as the closest thing to a living myth in the Galaxy.
"Mara, what an unexpected and unwelcomed surprise" Peter said as he stepped into his rooms an stared at the red head with annoyance "And here I thought I found all the nice secret little entries into this room"
"You found most, but not all" Mara said as she turned away from the window and looked at Peter, seemingly enjoying the sorry state he was in "I'm surprised to see you still walking. Even Vader couldn't make it as far as you did after being blasted by as much of the Emperor's Force Lightning"
Peter scoffed at this "Please, I've been hit with far worse"
"I doubt that" Mara said with her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Clearly you've never met Darth Brutus" Peter said with a sigh as he turned towards his bedroom "His Force Lightning could set people on fire"
Peter found that out the hard way when he was sent to eliminate the late Dark Council member when he attempted a coup d'état of the Dark Council in the first step of overthrowing the Emperor a little over a decade before the beginning of the Great Galactic War.
Mara hummed as she watched Peter very nearly limp into his private quarters and silently followed him, her hand resting on the hilt of her Lightsaber. She used the Force to keep the door open as she stopped in the doorway and watched as Peter begin the painful process of removing his damaged armor. A very small part of her supposed she could sympathize with the man, favored as she is by Lord Sidious, even she wasn't exempted from the Emperor's Force Lightning.
The feeling of removing burnt clothing that's melted on to your burnt skin wasn't a very pleasurable experience.
"For such a powerful Sith warrior, it doesn't take much to bring you low and have you whimpering like a child, does it?" Mara said as she watched Peter wince at removing his partially melted gauntlets from his arms, showing the interior of the gauntlets had left burnt impressions on his forearms and wrists.
"I am in no mood for you Mara" Peter groaned as he peeled off more parts of his armor "Scram, before I feed you to my Nexu"
"You mean the cute adorable cub that's rubbing against my shin" Mara said with a brow raising slightly, not even bothering to look down at the pitch black baby Nexu that jumped down from Peter's bed and was now rubbing herself against Mara's leg, purring softly in delight.
"Traitor" Peter growled at the multi eyed feline before he turned his gaze up towards Mara's "I never said you'd be alive when I fed you to her"
Mara's eyes grew slightly colder at this, a hint of some sort of challenge rising "Are you implying that you can kill me in your current state?"
"You'd be surprised what can still do as I am now" Peter warned, his eyes flashing yellow for a brief moment "Why are you here anyway?"
"Tired of my presence already?" Mara said with the hints of a smirk growing on her face "Odd, considering you usually seek me out like some love struck farm boy that's never laid eyes on a real woman in his entire life"
"What can I say, seeing your pitiful attempts to master the Force puts a smile on my face" Peter responded without batting an eye as he gave Mara a quick once over "I see you've healed from my own Force Lightning. Impressive... even if I hardly put any effort into it"
Mara's face grew cold at this, causing Peter to almost snicker if it wasn't for the fact that removing the main torso for his armor ripped open a few second degree blisters on his chest. A hiss of pain escaped his lips as he threw the damaged piece aside with more force than necessary. Obsidian jumped at the sound and ran out of the room and into the greater part of Peter's quarters while Mara stood where she was, her hand having drifted to where her own lightsaber laid while Peter took several deep breaths and concentrated on the burns over his body.
With something close to awe, Mara watched as the blisters began to seemingly burn when in reality they were healing.
"I thought users of the Dark side couldn't utilize healing powers with the Force" Mara said as she watched the blisters heal and fade.
"Maybe in this era..." Peter said with a hiss of pain as he felt the wounds from Sidious's Force Lightning burn as they healed.
Under normal circumstances, a practitioner of the Dark side would find using Force Healing to be very difficult and soon discover the results to be only temporary. Peter, and a number of other Sith that served within the Emperor's personal Guard, were trained by the late Lord of the Sith himself how to utilize Force Healing with the power of the Dark Side far better than most full fledged Darths. The cost, like all great power within the Dark side, was that under some circumstances, the healing process was even more painful than the actions that caused the wound in need of healing in the first place. Peter had on a number of occasions seen fellow Guardsmen kill themselves when they tried to repair a organ that was beyond any sort of saving simply because the pain of healing it was too great.
'I will say this...' Peter thought as he struggled to maintain his composure as his wounds were 'healing' 'This feels much more painful than the lightning Sidious struck me with'
Several minutes passed before the pain grew too much and Peter ceased his attempts to repair all of the damage done by this era's Sith Emperor. He concluded that a few Bacta patches will have to do for the rest... along with some powerful painkillers.
As Peter started to head for the cabinet that housed a replacement armor, he noticed that Mara was still there, watching him. Under normal circumstances, he'd make a crack about how she seems to enjoy looking at him without a top on, but the pain he was still feeling soured his mood even further and left him wanting nothing more than solitude.
"Is there something you need Jade?" Peter snapped with annoyance "Unless you plan to help me into my new armor, leave"
Peter's remark caused a glare to form on the red head's face as she and Peter held one another's gaze for a moment before she scoffed.
"Do have a good trip, Peter" Mara said as she turned on her heel and made her way to the door of his quarters "Who knows, maybe you'll do a good enough job in dealing with these Jedi that the Emperor will grant you the title of 'Sith Lord'"
Peter swore that when and if he returned to Coruscant, he'd spilt Mara in half if it was the last thing he'd do.
'Right after I rip Sidious in half and throw each half into a dumpster' Peter thought darkly as he used the Force to open his armor's cabinet and began to redress himself.
Peter hoped Vader was more civil than his rabid animal of a master and the red headed harlot who fancied herself a future Lady of the Sith, he was about one ill timed comment away from just saying 'fuck it' and cutting as many people as he can in half with his Lightsabers.
...
After every meeting with Peter, Mara's hate for the man grew to even higher levels than before.
Just being in the same room as him and unable to run him through was enough to cause the red head to grit her teeth to the point she half expected them to shatter. But she was no Vader, she wouldn't allow her anger and hate blind her to the bigger picture that this insufferable Sith represented.
'My lord, did you see?' Mara asked as she silently made her way through the Palace halls.
Her question was met with silence for a few brief moments before she felt the presence of her master.
'Indeed I did' Sidious's voice echoed in her mind 'To see such healing with the powers of the Dark Side, even my own master was unable to perform such a feat on the scale young Peter showed'
'Master, will you be able to replicate such a feat?' Mara asked as she passed several Stormtroopers.
'Perhaps, given time' Sidious said in a tone that was almost thoughtful 'Though, it'd be easier to have some semblance of how he performed such a feat. But the evidence he's learned such a powerful healing technique... I'm even more curious as to what he knows in that head of his'
'I still believe we can force it out of him' Mara said with a scowl of annoyance 'My power's grown since our last battle and my skill grows every day. He will not beat me a second time!'
Sidious's chuckle caused her hands to tighten into fists 'I have no doubt, but I believe such measures are unnecessary. I sense that soon, events shall unfold that will allow him to grant us more access to not only his own knowledge of the Dark Side, but knowledge of the Ancients themselves. We need only wait'
'What if he attempts to betray us my lord?' Mara asked with an uncertain frown 'What if he'd rather such knowledge to be lost or even destroyed?'
'Than we will stop him... and do as you wish, rip it from his mind by force' Sidious stated.
"I'll be ready my lord" Mara said aloud as she stopped and turned back in the direction of Peter's room, her eyes cold as the blizzards of Hoth itself.
The Emperor was silent for a moment before he chuckled in the deepest recesses of her mind.
'I look forward to seeing if that is true or not my dear'
...
And done.
Next chapter, The Executor's Fleet sets off for the Outer Rim…