Star Wars: Infinities – The Apprentice
Chapter 16
By: Christopher W. Blaine (darth_yoshi@yahoo.com)
DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained in this story are used without permission for non-profit entertainment purposes only and are ©2002 by George Lucas. This story (pertaining to this chapter and all subsequent chapters) is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in any form, except hard printouts for personal enjoyment, without the express permission of the author.
"I require a favor of you, Bail," Palpatine said through his holographic image. He was dressed in the dark robes he had become accustomed to, but he allowed his hood to remain down. Bail thought the man looked as if he had aged a hundred years in the past one.
"I can't refuse, I suppose," he remarked. The Emperor was still not aware, as far as he could tell, that Bail knew about his little secret that was now living on the barren world of Kessel. "In the interest of peace within the…Empire," the word made him ill to even speak it, "I'll listen to what you have to say."
"I noted with great sadness that you resigned from the senate over my proclamations; I need someone like you on my side to try and win over the systems that still rebel."
Bail shook his head. "You are a power mad dictator and I will have nothing to do with it. I have taken my place as Viceroy and will live to serve only Alderaan. Alderaan represents what the Republic is…"
"Was," Palpatine corrected. "The Republic was rife with corruption, you know it as well as I do. Do not be angry with me because I had the courage to stand up to the politicians you sought to sooth with words and secret deals." The image flickered as another holovid camera assumed control over the image. Palpatine had to be walking again, pacing as he normally did when giving a speech. "Whether you support me or not politically does not matter. You have chosen to allow Alderaan to remain in my New Order and that means you are subject to my commands, Viceroy."
Bail nodded. It was true, but only because isolation would spell the end of his world. The way to undo the wrongs of this New Order was not to run, but to set the example. "So long as it does not adversely affect my people, I will consider it as I said. Understand, Palaptine," he purposely left off the title of Emperor, "that you may kill me, but you won't control me. I am not your puppet, not like Lord Vader…"
"Or his beautiful wife," Palpatine cackled, rubbing his hands together. He could see even through the transmission that his words had stung. "Ah, what a fine flower she is."
Bails face burned as the blood rushed to it but he maintained an impassive tone. "Do you expect me to shed tears now?"
"No, but I wish for you to accompany Lord Vader and Lord Maul on a mission to the Sith home world." Palpatine waited for a response and when he got none, he continued. "You will lead the assault force."
"No, I won't. Why would I?" Bail asked.
"To prove you do not have any hidden Jedi sympathies. There are some in my court who suspect you harbor Jedi. They want me to begin stationing garrisons on Alderaan. Though you might loathe me, I would not believe you would betray your government so. You do understand the penalty for harboring enemies of the state?"
Bail considered his words carefully. If he refused, Palpatine's supporters would push for a military coup of Alderaan in order to plunder it of its resources and wealth. If he agreed, he would be helping Palpatine hunt down the very Jedi he had sworn to protect.
His best bet was to agree and go along, trying to find some way to sabotage the Emperor's efforts from the inside. His gut told him it was what he must do because despite what he felt for the Jedi, his duty was to the people of Alderaan. "Fine; I want the rank of general and a task force placed under my direct command."
"I can agree to that if you allow me one other item," Palaptine said. Having the great Bail Organna in his military would definitely be a morale boost. He could just imagine how many Alderaanian men and women would flock to the banner of the New Order once they saw their leader at the head of the charge. "I have a junior officer that will serve under you. He is young, quite young actually, but highly motivated and intelligent."
"Yes, I've heard of your Ensign Thrawn. My watchdog?"
"Call him what you will, but he will serve as your personal advisor. You might be a leader of men, Bail, but that does not mean you can lead them into combat." Palpatine ended the transmission having had, as far as he was concerned, the last word on the matter.
"Are you ready?" Ferrin asked. Lindia nodded, indicating that she was and Ferrin picked up her bag. Their lightsabers were stored in special hidden compartments in the bottom of the bag that would get through most scanning equipment.
"Where are we going exactly?" she asked as they stepped out of the recovery room and into the passageway. Ferrin reached out and detected nothing out of the ordinary. Bail Organna had told them of Palpatine's demands and it was obvious that Alderaan was getting too hot for the Jedi.
"We are going to meet up with Master C'Baoth and head out past the Rim. He found evidence of another civilization out there." They walked into the lift and waited for the doors to close. Ferrin could sense Lindia's despair. "You did the right thing," he offered.
"You didn't seem so sure the other day," she remarked with a grim smile. "My husband and I were so excited when we found out that we were pregnant. We both came from the same world, our customs required our marriage."
Ferrin nodded but didn't know what to say. He came from the Deyer Colony in the Anoat System, but he had no idea what his birth culture was like. He asked her how she knew of her ancestry. "I looked it up. Don't tell me you actually sat in the temple library reading what they told you to."
He shrugged as the door opened and stuck his head out. Seeing it was all clear, he took her hand and pulled her out. While they were supposed to look like they were married, he had expected her to pull away. She hadn't. "Yes I did, actually; I was trying to do what I was told."
"So you never met a female padawan in the northeast corner?" she was nearly laughing.
He searched his memory. "Ancient Mathematical Texts? Yes, I know of that section. It's where you find the information on how to properly size the crystal for your lightsaber."
She laughed and put her head on his shoulder and he felt genuine joy coming from her. It was a welcome change. "You're a real true believer aren't you?"
He rubbed his eye. The bruise was finally starting to go away. "Yes I am. I know good and I've tasted evil. I prefer the light side."
"Then you don't want to take the fight to Palpatine?" she asked as they stepped out of the hospital and hailed a droid taxi. Getting in it, Ferrin told the droid to head for the spaceport. Bail Organna had given them a transport for their own use.
He sat back and answered her question. "I didn't say that. I might prefer the light, but I think we still need the dark. I know right now is not my time to fight. I have something more important to do." He squeezed her hand.
"That vision didn't mean anything," she said.
He turned and looked out of the window. He didn't reply as he didn't need to. They both understood that the Force had them now and was leading them into the future.
He only hoped they were ready for it.
"Where the hell did Bail find this ship?" Lindia asked as she settled into the copilot's seat next to Ferrin. The younger Jedi was busy trying to get the navcomputer to work.
"He said that he picked it up cheap from some pirate that got caught trying to sell stolen goods." He smacked the computer and it came on line. "I hate these YT-1300 transports."
She looked the flight station over. Even the console buttons were second hand and there were "original" modifications to everything. "You've flown one of these before?"
He sighed. "Unfortunately. Smugglers love these things because you can do just about anything with them. The one I flew had a concussion missile launcher mounted in the rear."
"It could use a better engine," she commented as she watched them approach the hyperspace line buoy. The buoy was used to indicate the minimum safe distance from Alderaan.
"I'm still trying to figure out what the hell some of these buttons are for," Ferrin commented. He pushed one and the lights dimmed. He smiled and pushed the one next to it and romantic music began to play from the cargo area.
Lindia unstrapped and got up to go check. She returned several minutes later with a wide grin. "We will have to discuss the sleeping arrangements."
"Flying love pad, eh?"
She nodded and sat back in her chair. "Are we ready to jump yet?"
"I can't tell," he said silently. "Sithspawn! This thing is programmed in read 5th level dimensional trigonometry."
Lindia got back up and moved over to the computer. A few taps and the Ferrin's face lit up. "How did you know that?"
"I did read a book or two during my training," she said as she plopped down into her chair. "Now, can you and I and the Millennium Falcon get the hell out of here?"
He smiled and pushed the hyperdrive throttle forward. In an instant, they were gone.
"They are coming, I can feel it," Ki said as he chewed on a piece of burnt bread. Frie's skills at cooking had not gotten any better in the weeks they had remained on Korriban. "Good thing since I was afraid the food would do us in."
Mace agreed. "We're in good fighting trim now."
"See, my cooking has its benefits," Frie said with a smile.
"The spirits are restless," Ki said as he stood up. "Can you feel it as well?"
Mace stood up as well. "Yes; we should get some rest. This may be our last night."
"On the planet?" Frie asked.
Mace did not answer, but instead walked out into the cool night. His friends allowed him his solace, knowing that he needed to collect his thoughts one final time. He looked down at the ground and then out at the avenue formed by the statues that had been their audience for the duration of their stay.
All three were stronger in the Force then they ever had been, their resisting of the temptations of the Sith having hardened their resolve. It did nothing to alleviate the sadness that seemed to be his constant companion. He thought of his many friends that were now gone and of the way of life that would never be again.
It wasn't that the Republic era had been some golden age, but it had been his age. The universe had been set a certain way since his birth and now that was gone. No matter what he did now, no matter how hard he tried, the past was just that…past.
The coming battle was not one that he relished. Instead, he silently wished upon the unseen stars that he had been stronger with Master Yoda when he let Anakin Skywalker go. What would have been the worst that could have happened? He was sure that if the Jedi had only given Anakin that chance, then Darth Vader would never have existed.
For the first time in his life, he wanted to feel rage. He wanted to let loose his anger against Palpatine for everything he had done, but it just wouldn't come. He loved life too much to embrace death. Yes, he would have to kill Palpatine, Vader and Maul, but he wished he didn't have to. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could just all be friends?" he whispered, remembering the line from a favorite holodrama.
He sensed the presence just in time, the Force guiding his actions and allowing him to somersault clear of the crimson blade of Darth Maul. The Sith ignited the second blade of his weapon and spun it he flipped after Mace.
The Jedi tried to call out a warning, but found he had no voice. The Sith were too powerful here, that was why he never felt maul approach. His lightsaber was in his hand, purple blade extended. He parried a savage slash to the midsection and jumped up to avoid it's accompanying swing.
"You dared to violate our sacred ground with your foulness, Jedi!" Maul roared. He motioned with his hand and one of the statues started to fall. Pieces weighing several tons were grabbed by gravity and fell at Mace. He used the Force to push the larger section away and ran to avoid the rest.
Maul cut him off, the Sith Lord was in far better shape and a faster runner than Mace. Mace tried a two-handed stab for the head, but Maul dropped down and spun his leg to trip the Jedi. Mace started to fall back when Maul came up and cut through the folds of Mace's sleeve.
The fabric started to burn, but Mace could only roll back as he fell to just miss another attack. "Sith scum! You violated the freedoms of the people of the Republic!" Pushing up with his hands, Mace landed on his feet swinging. Down, up, down he moved, only to be blocked each time by Maul's superior weapon.
"You are weak, old man," Maul grinned as he brought his knee into Mace's stomach. The Jedi refused to go down and kicked out with his own leg.
"Go to hell," Mace cursed as he spun and brought his weapon down.
Maul saw the attack coming and spun away, bringing his weapon around his body and up. He felt the blade cut through Mace's hand. "Only if I can rule," he replied as Mace's weapon hand flew into the air.
Mace said nothing but instead used the Force to push Maul back against a statue base. The force of the move knocked the wind out of Maul and he crumpled as he dropped his weapon. Holding his hand out, Mace called his weapon back and caught it with his other hand. The pain was non-existent as his nerves were burned to numbness by the lightsaber strike.
He took his lightsaber and threw it at Maul, Using the Force to guide it. Maul looked up in time to see the purple blade coming at him and he called the dark side to him. The blade stopped centimeters from Maul's face as he used the Force to move it away from him.
The blade shook as two powerful minds fought for control of it. Mace stumbled, but maintained his concentration. He knew it was only a matter of time before one of them slipped, their thoughts wandering from the battle to something else. One of them would try to think of an alternate plan and the other would pounce upon it; one of them would try to figure out the weakness of the other and their opponent would exploit their weakness.
"You are powerful in the Force, Darth Maul, but undisciplined," Mace called out, sweat running down his face.
"You are a simpleton who does not know when to just lay down and die," the Dark Lord snapped back. The blade slowly turned its point towards Mace.
"The Sith are the ones who have died and just don't know it!"
Maul laughed and the blade moved a little more towards his foe. "No, we have survived and now we will prosper."
Mace wasn't blind, he could see who was going to win this battle if it continued. If he hoped to ever get to Palpatine, he needed to end this now. Through the Force, he attempted to shut the lightsaber off.
He never completed the task. Darth Maul sensed the hesitation and pushed through the will of the Jedi Master. The lightsaber sailed, a missile of death, and silently plowed through Mace's skull, causing a small wisp of smoke to rise into the air. Maul deactivated the blade and allowed the hilt to remain embedded in the Jedi Master's skull.
As Mace Windu's body fell, two tortured screams could be heard from within the temple as the dark side cloud of silence was dropped. Maul shook his head and spit blood. He had bitten his tongue.
Calling his lightsaber to him, he took a wide-legged stance and waited for the rest of the Jedi to come to him.
"We will be coming out of hyperspace in one minute, Generals," the captain said before turning to return to his duties. Vader moved his head slightly to crack his neck.
Padme was next to him, her arm around his waist. Bail stood a meter or so away, looking out the main viewport of the bridge. Vader exhaled. "I am going to my fighter, Padme will follow in hers. This is a Sith matter. Your job will be to halt any outside interference."
Bail nodded. "I understand my duty, General Vader."
Vader clenched his fist. Too many things were happening at once. He had to protect the tombs of the ancient Dark Lords. He had to defeat the last of the Jedi Council. He had to have it out with his master, Darth Maul.
He had to blind Bail Organna. The man looked to often at Vader's bride. His eyes were devouring her and his desire hung in the air like stink from a bantha. Padme wasn't helping matters any; she had purposely chosen an outfit that clung to her like a second skin, and Vader noted she seemed to be outing on weight. How that was possible was beyond him with all of the exercise required in her training.
She was using her natural beauty as a weapon and Vader wondered if he could do that as well? Probably not and that angered him even more. Deciding to take care of matters on the planet first, he gave Padme a deep kiss and then left, two stormtroopers falling in behind him.
The ship returned to real space and the planet was visible. The ship lurched slightly as the sublight engines kicked in and they moved closer. Padme stood a little closer to Bail. "I can feel your lust for me," she whispered.
"My body lusts for yours, my heart longs for the woman you were," he replied, not daring to look down at her. "You an object to me now."
"An object that can deliver pleasure, but that pleasure is reserved only for my master. He controls me, makes me do everything he desires," she tried to step in front of him, but his superior height prevented his gaze from meeting hers.
"I don't care."
She laughed. "You lie. You would bed me here on the deck if you thought you could get away with it!"
Several of the bridge crew turned their heads at the outburst, but returned to duty once Bail saw them. He finally looked down at her and for the first time saw what she had become.
The physical beauty was still there, the angelic face and the innocent eyes, but there was somehow a cruelness to it that he could not explain. She was smiling, trying to look pleasant, but it felt as if he were looking into a bottomless pit of blackness. She had drawn on something deep in her soul for this transformation, probably from her childhood he guessed.
His eyes dipped lower to confirm what he suspected. "I don't bed married women, and I certainly don't bed fat ones."
His throat tightened and he stumbled. "You bastard! I am with child you fool!"
He croaked out a response. "Who's the father?"
He flew across the bridge and slammed into a bulkhead. Two crewmen moved to help him, but the Force tossed them aside as well. Padme stomped over to where Bail had fallen and picked him up with one hand around his throat. Her physical strength was beyond imagining. "You pathetic worm!"
"You…bitch!" he gasped.
Padme dropped him on the floor. "I could never love a man like you." She stpped by him and into the open lift. When the doors closed, the captain helped Bail up and called for a medic. Bail told him he didn't need it, that he would go see his personal physician.
He noted that Ensign Thrawn simply stood in the corner, observing with his crimson eyes. Bail wanted to give him a chewing out for not helping, but what had he expected. He didn't belong here and he knew it.
He definitely was not the man the apprentice could ever love.
He just wished he could stop loving her.