A mouse droid whizzed along the black shiny deck of the death star, weaving its way between many booted feet and construction droids. Darth Sidious stood and watched the hive of activity from his private deck accompanied by a flock of high ranking officers and his royal guard. They briefed him in with reports about the progress of the death star's construction, though of course, he knew every minute detail anyway. He listened, pleased with the pace of progress. If it continued to be assembled at its present pace, it would be fully operational within the next decade. Its power was like none the galaxy had ever seen before. The ability to destroy entire planets filled his veins with a dark lustful fire. He was the most powerful being in existence, and now this laser would consolidate that fact in the minds of every pathetic creature that he ruled over. Grinning to himself, he imagined testing out the super laser on its first target. Perhaps on one of the planets that held the most rebel scum would be appropriate to show them all the consequences of treachery. Alderaan would be the best choice, he thought to himself.
One of the officers carefully placed in front of him a HoloProjector which flickered into life and presented a shimmering view of the death star. It was half covered in scaffolding where the final exterior had yet to be built, but it was coming together how the Geonosians had planned it. Smirking under his black hood with satisfaction, he remembered how he massacred those sub-human life forms in the millions. What a shame they were not here to see their project's construction.
"I am pleased," he said, waving a hand at the hologram. "Forward the details of the reports to my new suite so that I may look over them later."
"Yes your Highness," the man bowed low and the others awaited his commands, obeying every word.
"Take me to my suite now. I am satisfied with the work you have done."
"Very good my Highness. Please follow me."
He was escorted back down the hallways and through a hangar filled with saluting stormtroopers. The flanks stood to attention as he passed, black and white against the grey interior of the bay. The soldiers were his greatest asset. That and Vader. Remembering his troublesome apprentice, his mood turned from satisfaction to grim discontent.
His officers and royal guard stopped outside a grand door and keyed in a code. It slid open to reveal a luxurious private suite of rooms which was newly built. The red and grey decor was similar to his rooms on Coruscant and reflected the prestige of the occupant.
"You have done well. Now be gone, I wish to be alone."
The officers bowed and left quickly, not wishing to be in his company a moment longer than they had to be. Taking up their positions should they be needed, his royal guards arranged themselves outside his suite. The door slid shut with a hiss and then he was alone in the room. Turning, he strode over thick red carpet to his new desk and sat in the chair. Similarly to his Coruscant office, a window was situated behind him with a wide view of the stars. Their light shone onto his hooded back as he keyed in some commands. The Emperor looked through the details of the death star report with sharp eyes and an even sharper mind. Once he had caught up with the reports and issued more orders to those below him to do his work for him, he finally had time to turn his attention to the pressing matter of Vader.
Earlier, he had received a comm from his spy when he was travelling to the death star. It had relayed the information that Vader had landed on Tatooine. This had been bad in itself. He knew the emotional triggers such a place would cause. His spy hadn't updated him since then, but through the unique Force bond he had with his apprentice, he almost didn't need the report to know what had happened. Palpatine could sense even from this distance that Vader had his mind shields shut as tightly as a durasteel wall. Something was happening without his knowledge and he did not tolerate such concealment. He was hiding the children and had even cloaked their signature, rendering them undetectable.
Did his apprentice honestly think that he wouldn't know what was going on? He knew Vader was taking them back to his star destroyer, even though he had specifically asked him to bring them before him as soon as he had them in his custody.
On the desk, his intercom beeped with perfect timing and he allowed the update from his spy to come through. With a grim set to his mouth he read the report. Vader had acquired the children and as he had suspected he had taken them prisoner on his ship.
The confirmation of his disobedience made him clench his bony fists with increasing annoyance. In the nine years that Vader had served him, he had never defied any orders so flagrantly.
It was reasonable to believe, in his increasing paranoia, that his apprentice was now considering the best way to overthrow and kill him. Palpatine seethed and read the report again…there was no mention of Senator Amidala. Since she was not Force-sensitive he had no way of telling if she was out there. He traced his chin with his wrinkled grey hand. Perhaps she had perished after all…but he would take no chances in this situation.
On that glorious day that Anakin Skywalker had been reborn from the ashes as Darth Vader, he had seen the ship carrying the senator away. He knew not whether she lived or died at the time, but he made sure that his apprentice was in as much agony as possible when he awoke in his new suit. As long as Vader believed her to be dead, his work was done for him. He even kept Vader's black suit as awkward and painful as possible, to ensure his immersion in the dark side was total. If there was a chance that she was alive, it would change everything, and Vader may lose trust in him because of his lie.
A plan quickly formed in his mind for his next steps. No matter what, he had to play the pieces against each other in order to come out on top. He was a master of manipulation and this situation would be no different from the countless others he had masterminded to his advantage.
If Amidala was alive, then Vader would become a liability. He wouldn't be able to kill her and she would divide his loyalties. An assassination attempt on his life, a common occurrence for Sith lords with ambitious apprentices, would be far more likely to occur if that woman was whispering words of treachery in Vader's ear. He sneered under his hood at the thought and felt his anger rise. If she was alive then they could die together. He no longer had need for his apprentice if he was to become weighed down by doubts and disloyalty.
The galactic empire would be better off with fresh blood. He licked his crusty lips thinking of the power of Vader's offspring. It would be better to start again. In ten year's time they would be ready to be at his side. And what was ten years in the grand scheme of his plans? The death star would be ready and everything would fall into place perfectly.
As they were so young, they could be moulded into perfect Sith, unlike Anakin. He could isolate them from all outside contact. He could keep them locked up, far away from anything that would ruin their total submersion into the dark side of the Force. There would be no love interests to ruin his plans this time. He could train them and pit them against one another as they grew with more and more power. He could manipulate their adolescent minds and turn them against each other, so when they were of age, he'd pick the strongest one for his apprentice and kill the other. This would be the best course of action if Senator Amidala did live.
But, if she didn't…he brought his hands together in a steeple before him and considered his optinos. Perhaps adhering to the original plan would be best. He would wait until Vader had gained control of his emotions before sending the children away to Arkanis to train in the academy. Then, the two would die tragically in a training accident. With no heirs, he would have no reason to kill him except out of anger. But even then, he was more powerful than Vader was. Some Force lightning would put him back in his place. He would be on his knees before him, he was sure. Then they could get on with building the death star and there would be no more incidents that threatened his position of absolute power. Sidious pictured Vader's reaction when he told him of the training accident. He began to laugh slowly at the idea, his chuckle growing into a belting roar of glee - it was too easy!
His hysterical bout of cackling was interrupted by another beep from the comm. The laughter died down and he let the messages come through. More reports and more political news to sort through. Settling into his chair the Emperor continued to work, satisfied with his plans.
After some time, he finished the bulk of his tasks and sent out orders with how to deal with the many problems running an empire created. Although Vader liked to see himself as his right hand man, none of the laws or legislation were ever created by him. He had little to no power in the running of the empire. Lord Vader was just another pawn in his unfolding game, just another servant to send to do his bidding, albeit a powerful one. Though he had been a slave boy himself, he wasn't even aware of all the pro-slavery laws he had created recently. It made him chuckle again to think of his apprentice's arrogance, thinking he had power. It was nothing compared to him. He'd soon see that, regardless of the little escapade happening with the children.
The Emperor rose and made his way across the room to speak to his guards outside, he wanted to go to Vader's star destroyer immediately. But again the comm beeped behind him and with great annoyance he let another urgent message come filtering through.
"Your royal Highness, we have received an urgent signal from Lord Vader's star destroyer," the hurried voice of one of his captains spoke. "They are under attack from the rebel alliance!"
"How many do they number?" he asked, concerned not for his apprentice who was a formidable fighter, but the two children he was harbouring.
"There are five ships attacking my Lord. Two have landed in the hanging bay and have deployed their guerrilla fighters - they've taken our men by surprise and may outnumber them if more ships drop in from hyperspace."
"Prepare my star destroyer. I am going to aid my apprentice."
"Very good your Highness. The ship will be summoned immediately."
Smirking under his hood, the Emperor realised his plans might be easier to accomplish than he thought. Turning back round, he headed for the door. He looked forward to seeing these very special younglings for himself.