Hiding his newly restored features within the shadow of his hood, though more so out of habit than any deliberate attempt to conceal his appearance from his favorite advisor, the rejuvenated Sith Lord waited for the boy to step off the newly produced Lambda Shuttle before providing a more verbal welcome.
"My boy. I am pleased to see you back here in one piece. I trust that you found your first command to be….satisfactory"?
His agents had already provided him with satisfactory reports about the boy's performance, but the Emperor always preferred to hear his servant's opinions on their own experiences. Which would determine whether they had the tendency to accept their mistakes, a penchant for blaming their easily avoidable failures on others, or if their egos proved to make them blind to their glaring flaws.
Thankfully, such was not the case with the boy who had provided him the means to solidify the Empire's grip on the Galaxy.
"Yes indeed it was your majesty. I confess it was a bit…overwhelming when I first realized what I was doing, but such feelings faded after the first salvo. You'll be happy to note that in addition to completing my more…clandestine objectives, Tatooine has seen its Hutt problem eradicated".
Cackling at the boy's answer, both because it meant that he had moved past the squeamishness that usually took hold of new officers, and because it was nice to have a subordinate who could anticipate the desires of their patron, Palpatine gestured for the boy to follow him as he continued his questioning.
"Good. I trust however that in the fulfilment of your primary duties, the secrecy of your little…field mission was also maintained".
At this, the Sith Lord's words caused a brief twitch to develop in the boy's eye before it morphed back into what he believed to be the preferred expression of a competent subordinate.
"Y…yes your majesty. The Grand Inquisitor has already…silenced both the troopers that accompanied him to the Lars Homestead, and Skywalker's Aunt and Uncle. And the ones that accompanied me have already gone through the Mairan procedure to ensure that they do not remember their part in Kenobi's capture. Originally, the Inquisitor was also going to kill them, but I managed to get him to agree to the mind wipe since I presumed that you would prefer to have soliders who have proven their competence when it comes to….Jedi missions".
Slightly inkling his head to show that he accepted the boy's excuse, Palpatine's expression morphed into a sneer as he all but spat the hated title of his enemy.
"And what about the Jedi? I trust that you have ensured that their was no trace of him to be found on that pathetic speck of a planet"?
Quickly nodding his head, the boy added words to his answer.
"Yes indeed we did. It wasn't much, but everything we deemed valuable was taken from his dwelling. Before we razed it to the ground with a blast from my command ship. If anyone should question why a Star Destroyer was firing at a random location in the DESERT, the reports will say that the crew were targeting one of Jabba's hidden weapons caches. A believable enough excuse considering the troopers filled it with enough explosives to make it appear that was what it was used for".
Humming as he considered the boy's methods of covering his tracks, the Emperor decided to switch topics.
"And what about my future apprentice. I trust that the events of that day haven't triggered some sort of…detectable response from him. For separated though they maybe, it is possible that through the Force one twin can detect the distress of the other".
And as expected, the boy did not disappoint him.
"The family was stunned during the arrest. And after he had secured our prisoner, the Grand Inquistor spent much of his time using his own abilities to keep the infant not only asleep, but also unable to reach out with the Force".
Taking a moment to mentally debate whether or not it would be wiser to terminate the former Jedi before Vader returned from the Out Rim, the Dark Lord of the Sith nodded his head to show that he approved of such actions.
"Very good. Now, since I do not require your presence for the time being, why don't you take the rest of the day to relax with your…companion. Your efforts in eradicating the threats to both the Empire and the Sith Order deserve a break. However, before you do so, I suggest that you take the next half hour to clean yourself up before meeting with Grand Moff Tarkin. Though not above indulging in the privileges that are earned through loyal and competent service, he fully adheres to the principle of business before pleasure. So I suggest that you meet with him before engaging in whatever celebratory activities you have planned with your blue skinned...companion".
Dismissing the boy with a wave of his hand, the Emperor couldn't help but think on the fact that the fate of his Empire rested on the state of paternal relationships.
The destruction of the Jedi Order could easily be traced to not only that day in which a newly elected Chancellor decided to extend the hand of friendship to a child that went from slave to hero, but also the severing of the relationship between disillusioned student and teacher, and the inability of a father figure to understand the inner turmoil of their student.
At the same time however, that type of relationship could also spell the end of everything he built if even a shred of light remained in the soul of a corrupted father.
But since Tarkin was a man who was loyal to the philosophy that only the strong deserved to rule, Palpatine sincerely doubted that such a relationship would force the death of his Empire.
At most it might cause the development of another purifying war to spread across the Galaxy. But since he fully intended to develop at least one secret base should his enemies prove to be more troublesome than anticipated, such thoughts could easily be dismissed.
…..
Though less than a standard years old, the daughter of Vader had already developed the rather useful ability to determine the intentions of those that inhabited her current dwelling.
Through the Force, she could sense the fearful, but dedicated minds of those that dwelt on the lower, more accessible levels of the building. Which she took to mean that they feared failing their appointed tasks more than the task itself.
The metal plated man, though that definition was somewhat incorrect since she couldn't sense the man's thoughts, was dedicated to her well being. Often to the point where her wish to have one of her toys hit him in the head came true.
The girl Chelli, though sometimes she went by Aphra, while easier to read, was also complicated since she gave off the same sort of feeling as those that played in the lower levels. Albeit her fear was more controlled, and was surpassed by a drive to cure her every widening curiosity.
These thoughts were easy for her to deal with. But it was the 3 other presences in her life that continued to not confuse her, but also cause her to fear, and experience something she had no words for.
She could easily sense the warm feelings that existed within the towering and loud figure that had took her from the man and woman who had called themselves her parents. Though unlike the bearded man and his wife, the man who called himself her father lacked the capacity to display the same level of warmth he showed her to others. Though she noticed that some of the icy thunder she normally sensed from him was more limited when conversing with Chelli.
But whereas her father's presence was comforting, albeit at times intimidating, the nature of the other two presences were different.
The first one, and the one that at times seemed to be the source for her father's somewhat cold demeanor had only made itself known to her once or twice. But that was more than enough for her to know what it felt like to be in the presence of a monster that was still considering whether it would eat its meal now or later. But left no doubt that it would enjoy its feast no matter what.
The second one however, it was like she was feeling herself, but different. Since she had first sensed this…other, the feelings of difference had continued to grow, almost to the point where she could no longer sense the once present similarity between the two.
But that had changed during the course of the past few days.
For not only had she once again felt the familiar sensation of being separated from those who gave their love freely, but she had also felt the scary feeling of darkness envelop what had once been a bright light.
She had tried to reach out to reach out to this 'Other', to let them know that they were not alone. Only to have her efforts severed by the presence of the monster that inspired feelings of both fear and hatred in her father.
It had taken Chelli at least an hour to get her to calm down, but Leia had learned a lesson that most people in the galaxy were unaware of.
The Emperor was a man who cared little for anything but the expansion and maintenance of his power. And would do whatever it took to make it so.
Even severing the connection between those who possessed the means to perhaps one day defeat him.
Though considering his restoration, and more concrete paths to achieving immortality, such a thing, if it ever came to pass, would be only temporary.
….
As benefiting a former member of an order that was little better than a ineffective police force, Darth Vader had seen countless strange and wonderous things during his tenue as a Jedi.
From giant creatures that existed within the nebulas of space.
Beings who may or may not have been physical avatars of the Force itself.
And last, and in many ways least, a being whose irritating and clumsy nature somehow made him impervious to the type of death, and serious serious injury that only a war could provide.
Yet for some strange reason, the sight before him was more strange than any Space , Force Wielder, or Gungan.
"So what do you think Boss? I'm still having some trouble installing a retractable missile launcher, and replacing that taser of his without having to move his new flamethrower, but I think overall I've done a good job".
Tearing his gaze away from the thankfully deactivated droid so that he could see the pleased grin of his youngest agent, Vader debated whether or not he should say anything. Only to have 3PO enter the conversation.
"I must say Master Vader that while her manners leave a lot to be desired, Mistress Aphra does seem to have a gift when it comes to droids. The restraining inhibitors she is working on are quite remarkable. Which is why I humbly request to have her design a more dea..".
"ENOUGH".
Ignoring 3PO's slightly rebellious muttering, if only because he had ensured that the droid would never be able to disobey any of his commands, Vader pointed a threatening finger at the young girl, who irritatingly enough maintained her cheerful expression.
yo
"How did you come across this droid? And how did you come to the conclusion that you could…modify him as you have"?
Expecting the child to deflect blame on to her droid minder, the former Jedi found himself experiencing an unpleasant feeling of déjà vu as Aphra answered his question.
"Well, I found him in some locked room. And since it WASN'T on the level that you have FORBIDDEN me from going on, I thought it was some sort of weird test to challenge my skills. But after narrowly avoiding triggering the door's security system, which I point out was rather impressive despite the majority of its defenses being directed inwards, I decided to treat the Astro Droid as some sort of project to prove that I've been keeping up with my lessons. And boy was it a challenge. The personality matrix on this blue boy was beyond anything I expected from a simple astromech".
Pushing aside the painful memories that Aphra's words managed to conjure up, for her explanation reminded him too much of another youthful prodigy with a tendency to interpret their superior's commands, and briefly casting his gaze towards the modified droid, Vader decided to refocus his young servant's attentions to a more relevant topic.
"Impressive. I trust however that you have not let your side project get in the way of your regular duties"?
And though it was something that was more suited to his former life, the Sith Apprentice sported a smirk as Aphra's face formed a pout.
"Well, maybe a little. But only because a lot of the training exercises are boring now. And despite my request to have 3PO raise the difficulty, he keeps saying that I have to keep at it until I can prove that I'm ready for the more difficult stuff".
Suspecting that the protocol droid took enjoyment in denying the girl's requests, for if he hadn't he would have probably taken the time to explain that his programming prevented him from testing the girl beyond the levels that had been set for her, Vader found himself gesturing in the direction of the gymnasium.
"Then perhaps now would be a good time to judge the level of your skills. If you manage to adequately pass the current training program, it will be of little difficulty to raise the standard of your training".
His words causing the girl to release a rather undignified squeal, Vader watched in mild amusement as the girl all but flew out of the room.
It was truly…odd to have a servant like Aphra.
But considering that the girl possessed more competence than many of the sycophants that now littered the Imperial Military, the Sith Lord supposed that, for the moment, he could tolerate Aphra's eccentricities.
If only because she had proven herself to be a valuable agent in keeping his daughter safe from harm.
…
And that's enough for now I think.
Pleased to see that people are still interested with this story, and want to share a little nugget of wisdom that has been passed on to me by one of my faithful readers.
The current Star Wars Universe is to be considered Disney Fandom. Which after watching the last movie, I tend to take this to heart.
Palpatine's performance in the film was, as always, amazing. Despite the questions on how the hell he came after being thrown down a shaft. But sadly, not enough to make me like the new trilogy. TOO many characters that are useless/no back story. And while ROS includes SOME elements of the Legends Verse (i.e. return of Emperor in what I presume to be a clone body, with a new fleet with planet destroying powers) still a disappointment.
However, will be looking forward to the HSHE version. And enjoyed this cartoon parody of Palpatine's return. Its online, but basically has Ghost Yoda act angry when Palps is still alive after falling. Even has a quote that I could see Palps come up with.
"Death is a concept invented by the Jedi".
Now time to recap.
Palps meeting with OC. who will finally be getting a name next chapter.
A more plausible force bond between 2 young force users.
And Vader and Aphra. Just as a nod to the completed comic series.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed this.
Reviews yes, flames no.
Til next time.