Leia's quarters were not unoccupied. Galen Marek lay stretched out on her cream colored sofa as if napping, though his eyes focused on her immediately. She looked at his strained rough-shaven face, and the tattered ship suit he insisted on wearing. He was a mess, but he commanded the Dark side. It was like looking into her own future.

"You were with your father." He observed neutrally.

She sat down on the end of the sofa he occupied, "Yes."

He narrowed his eyes, "And now you are blocking me."

"My mind is not your playground." Leia snapped. "If you want to ask me something, ask."

Galen smirked, "No, Leia, there is nothing I want to ask."

"Then why are you here?" She tried to keep the irritation from her voice but it had been an exhausting day.

The man blinked at her tone, but shrugged, getting to his feet, his lightsaber hooked at his hip. "I want to duel you."

Leia considered that. Yes, it would feel good have a proper fight. She let Galen Marek lead her to the practice hall.

"You used to practice here with your little brother." Marek observed.

"And my father before him." She put in.

"You must have held back, then."

Leia gave him a saccharine look, "Of course I did. Not every sparring session can be a duel to the death."

Marek grinned, lighting his crimson saber. "I don't want you to hold back with me."

Leia lit her own saber, the energy of the red crystal only inflaming her eagerness to fight.

She leapt at Marek eagerly, aiming a wild stab straight at him, knowing he would dodge. She let her feet carry her forward, past him, aware of him turning in place, tracking her.

He did not take advantage of the opening, but met her saber only when she'd fully turned. It was a tease, of course, neither one of them wanted an easy fight.

She smashed her saber into his, willing the Force to augment her strength. He grinned, pushing back against the blow.

"Good." He said. "Show me what you've got."

Leia pushed him back with the Force then threw her saber after him, it making a tight loop around his head and returning to her hand.

"That's cute. But why not take my head?" Marek challenged.

Leia did not reply but skipped backwards inviting him to attack.

She felt a movement behind her and narrowly ducked as one of the unused practice droids barreled over her and crashed into the far wall.

She'd followed the moment with her gaze and Marek had taken that opening to use Force enhanced speed and he was on her again.

"You've never been in a real fight, Leia." He breathed into her face.

She kicked him in the stomach, and it took him down, his saber rolling from his hand and going out.

She placed one of her booted feet on his chest, leaning her weight in slowly.

Marek's grey eyes were on her, he was amused. "I'm not afraid of pain. Show me how you really feel."

She summoned her opponent's discarded lightsaber to her left hand. She crossed the sabers over his throat, pinning him to the floor.

Marek just laughed.

Then she felt terribly dizzy, as if the floor were moving under her. She staggered back, holding tight to her own saber, even in her haze.

Marek was attacking her mind with his own.

Her world darkened at the edges and her knees felt weak.

She was on the floor but she didn't remembered falling.

Galen's red saber was pointed at her throat, though she could barely make out his face above, so dark was her vision.

"Do us both a favor then." She hissed.

The red saber in front of her face was gone and the darkness lifted. Marek stood still and silent.

Leia got to her feet, smarting at her loss, then froze as she turned to see why Marek had stopped

The emperor himself stood near the entrance of the practice hall watching them from beneath his cowled cloak.

They both bowed, the energy of the fight dissipating.

Palpatine approached slowly, his expression hidden under his hood, but his attention in the Force on her fully.

"Continue." The emperor said in an undertone, the weight of a Force compulsion hitting her immediately.

It must have affected Marek too, because did not hesitate to follow the emperor's command, swinging at her before she had her block fully formed.

Leia danced out of the way, then flipped backwards to give herself more space to consider her next move.

Marek merely waited, his shoulders tense but his stance balanced.

She ran at him. A tension in her relaxed as she followed her master's will, it gave her power and when she met Galen's saber, she cried out, a wild exultation bursting in her.

Galen pushed her back with the Force, the power of it tremendous. She slid back across the wood floor, her eyes on him.

Galen took his time making his way toward her, and she realized how close she was to the back wall of her practice room.

On a whim she stirred her mind across the rack of blades behind her, pulling several of them from their places and tossing them haphazardly in Galen's direction.

It was complicated, maneuvering multiple floating targets, but she let most of them merely hang in front of him, knowing he would bat them away easily.

As expected Marek sent the vibroswords crashing to the ground, some of them cut clean in half by his saber.

Leia met the emperor's eyes from across the hall. He watched her hungrily, pleased in a way she hadn't seen him since that first day when Luke had arrived on Coruscant.

Continue.

The word echoed in her mind. But she had already decided what she would do, regardless of Palpatine's will.

She pulled one of the swords back towards herself, impaling Marek from behind, the tip emerging bloody from his throat.

Her opponent fell to his knees, eyes still on her even as blood dribbled out of his mouth.

"This is how I feel." Leia whispered, then she took his head in a perfect low sweep of her saber.

She looked up to Palpatine, but he was gone. She was alone.

Luke couldn't focus on the Jedi masters' laborious interrogation of Third Sister. Ahsoka Tano, Obi-wan Kenobi, and Yoda himself patiently asked the Inquisitor questions ranging from her own motivation to her knowledge of Palpatine's activities, and the identities and backgrounds of the other inquisitors.

It was exhausting. He'd warned the Jedi masters that Third Sister had claimed all this was part of her mission, and been firmly assured by Ahsoka that they were well acquainted with Barriss Offee's ability to dissemble.

Luke wandered through the foliage, trying to imagine what his sister was doing now. He hadn't been thinking of her as often as he should. Or perhaps previously he had thought of her far too often. Yoda had taught him that the Jedi path required him to give up attachments and he understood why. It was entirely possible that he and Leia were now on opposite sides of the ancient war between Jedi and Sith.

She was using the Darkness now, and Luke knew from his own experience exactly how seductive it could be. He still found himself longing for the wings it had given him, the feeling of utter certainty and diamond clear intent. But that wasn't his path. It couldn't be. He'd failed Palpatine conclusively, and anyway, his sister had taken his place as the Sith apprentice.

Leia, who he'd first known as fragile and sweet, now called the darkness and let it possess her. It was staggering, and disconcerting. It filled him with shame. He should have borne that evil so she could be free of it. He'd wanted it. He'd wanted to use that power to annihilate his enemies. Leia, the real Leia, with her past life memories, wanted a fair galaxy. It was she who should be here with the Jedi, not on Coruscant with her most hated enemy.

He found his feet had carried him in a wide circle around their camp and now he stood in front of Third Sister's shuttle. He hit the door release and peered into the one person vehicle, scarcely more than a combat fighter, but with more room for provisions, a narrow bunk, and a fresher.

Why had Third Sister really come? Was she a traitor to the Empire, as she clearly wished the Jedi to believe, or was she doing all this on Palpatine's orders? If the latter, why would Palpatine sacrifice one of his own Inquisitors?

If Third Sister had tried to kill Luke, he would have understood that. It would have been exactly what he had expected. He'd failed to carry out his master's explicit order. He'd already accepted death, expecting it to be dealt out to him on Alderaan when he tried and deliberately failed to assassinate Bail Organa.

But Ahsoka had interrupted that plan, perfectly, definitively, and very likely at his father's request. That was impressive loyalty, he thought, that even though Vader was a Sith and she was a Jedi, Ahsoka had still answered her former master's call.

Was there hope for Leia and himself? He wondered. Could they somehow, despite their distance, remain loyal to each other? Leia had cared about him. He was sure. But he wasn't sure that care would remain if Leia continued down the dark side path. He remembered his own temper fraying easily when he was being trained by Palpatine. The darkness had howled for control and he'd nearly given it, several times.

He stared at the empty craft before him, wishing he had the courage to get in it, to fly back to Coruscant, and somehow pry Leia out of Palpatine's clutches.

Vader was alerted to the movement of the fleet by one of his loyal men aboard the ISD Devastator. Eight Star Destroyers had been deployed to a remote part of the galaxy which held no military installations, let alone populous planets. And yet, when he cast his concentration in that direction, the Force screamed for his attention. Something was about to happen and it was disconcerting indeed that the fleet was deployed in such great numbers. Only Palpatine could have given such an order without consulting him.

Did that mean the emperor had discovered the location of his son? Was this a move to recapture the boy and anyone unlucky enough to be in his company? Vader had to admit that made sense. Third Sister had found her way to the Jedi, yes, and to Luke. Had the Jedi been so foolish as to lead an Inquisitor right to their hiding spot? That certainly seemed to be the case.

And the Emperor had done this in secret, not sharing his plans with Vader, but claiming his Inquisitor had been captured by the Jedi. Palpatine clearly had a plan unfolding, and Vader was chilled that he had not foreseen it, or sensed the ripples of his master's machinations.

He cast his attention to Leia, finding her sense in the Force as poorly shielded chaos. He'd though he'd made progress with her today. He'd sensed her waiver, he thought. But he wasn't sure. He could never be sure with this new Leia who was emerging. She had all her memories, but she was not whole. She was fractured in a way he understood well.

He knew he had made Leia's decision more complicated, but he was unrepentant. He'd wanted her to see clearly the field of play, to understand that even now she had a choice, to step forward, or to retreat, to submit or to escalate. He'd wanted her to choose, for herself, what came next and he hoped he had made his position clear.

But if Palpatine brought Luke back to Imperial center… He would torture the boy, that much was certain. It could well be that which pushed Leia over the edge. She was so close to it. The dark side of the Force was all around her, stirred up by carnage and pain. Had something more happened since they had spoken? Was he so untuned to the Force that the galaxy now shifted without him being any more aware than a Force-blind nerf-herder?

Chagrinned, Darth Vader decided to check on his daughter in person.

It took perhaps ten minutes for him to speed through the clear military flight paths between his residence and the Palace, and five minutes more to work his way down through the West tower to his daughter's apartments.

Carnage. There had been a bloody duel here this night. He followed the traces of the Force into the practice hall.

Galen Marek, his former apprentice lay in a pool of his own blood, his head separated from his body. Vader turned from the scene, glad that the body had not been that of his daughter. Surely if Leia had died, he would have sensed it. He would have known.

He made his way to her private rooms, relief flooding through him as he found Leia in her own chamber, very much alive, though her gaze was vacant as she stared into space, seated on her own bed, seemingly unaware of the blood she had tracked into her room. The Force swirled around her, light side and dark, a chaotic mix of emotions rolling off her.

"Daughter." He said forcefully, relieved when her eyes focused on him and the Force disturbance dispersed. His daughter blinked up at him, her brown eyes finding his own.

"Galen is dead."

"Did you kill him?" Vader asked, no recrimination in his voice.

"Yes." Leia replied, her voice emotionless.

Vader did not ask why. It did not matter. He would have gladly killed the young man himself, had Palpatine permitted it.

"Something is happening, far from here, do you sense it?" His daughter asked.

"What do you sense?" He asked in reply.

Leia reached out again in the Force, her acuity lighting quick, "I sense movement. There is going to be an attack, Force users are involved."

Leia looked further, actually squinting as she gazed into space as though it were a window. Then she withdrew, looking up at him with round eyes as her face drained of color.

Luke is in danger. She spoke directly to his mind. The Jedi who are supposed to protect him are unaware.

Vader's worst fear was confirmed, but when he spoke aloud he was dismissive. "Your powers have grown strong indeed, my daughter, but you must not concern yourself with the fleet. I assure you, it is not Alderaan that is being attacked."

Leia smiled thinly, understanding, "I know."

"I will summon personnel to sanitize your practice hall." He said lightly.

Leia grimaced, "Poor Galen. He told me not to hold back."

Vader typed at his data pad perfunctorily, "I see that you did not."

"It was what our master desired." Leia explained, an expression of unconcern on her face.

"Then you did well, my daughter. Well indeed."

Leia shrugged. "I'm tired, Father. It's been a very long day."

Vader surveyed his daughter, taking in her state of dishevelment, wondering if any of the blood on her clothing and hands was her was her own. "Do you wish to see your medic?"

Leia shook her head, a strained smile on her lips. "No. I'll wash and go to sleep. Thank you for checking on me."

Vader inclined his head and withdrew. He remained in the apartments as a specialist crew removed Galen Marek's body, and cleaned away all traces of the duel. Let the servants think it was his doing, that was just as well.