Chapter One: The Unseen Hand
Disclaimer: I cannot claim to own Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, the Jedi, or any of that, nor do I wish to. I cannot imagine having so many people clamoring and singing my praises. Still, I do own Lorana and Relana Palpatine, and poaching will force me to call in the Sith and the Bounty Hunters.
Author's Note: To save on confusion, the Pop Ferret must clarify. The chapters within this story are mixed up a bit, that is to say that events do not transpire in order. You will be introduced to Lorana Palpatine first, the Unseen Hand, and then to Relana Palpatine, the Hand of Mercy. And -then- you will all get to read the sordid details of their origins. Fun fun fun. Enjoy.
The Unseen Hand
The young woman sat opposite the desk, cool, composed.as always. Lorana was never one to be nervous, not even around the likes of Lord Vader, or the Emperor. Raven hair fell easily to her waist, braided at the moment, dark eyes, flecked with crimson studied the black face mask of the helmet covering the head of the man before her, as if trying to peer through it, to look into the eyes behind it. The top half of her face was covered by a graceful, yet fearsome tattooed patterns of crimson and ebon swirls. She was small, almost fragile looking, but her body was lithe, the muscles well toned. Years of training had made her what she was, years of being treated as an object rather than a living being.she had long since ceased to care. At the moment, she was dressed comfortably, in loose slacks with a black blouse. She had been resting when Lord Vader's summons had come, but as always, she had appeared calm and collected when she had arrived, not even breathing a bit heavily.
Darth Vader regarded the woman silently, well, silent save for the rasping sound his breathing always made. It had been several years since the truth had come out. When they had stumbled across the girl, she was going by the name Mesmer Doshin.a Jedi. She had been captured, brought home, and promptly undergone extensive training, and flourished. At first, she had been resentful, but those feelings had changed, rather quickly. Now, he studied her face, the way she held herself, searching for any flaws, but of course, he found none, "Lorana," he rasped, watching the faint flinch as he used her name. Even after all these years, she hadn't quite gotten used to it, "You have come very far in your training. My master and I are pleased. You learn quickly, you are attentive, and observant. Many are not."
Lorana's head bowed slightly, her gaze flicking downwards, "Thank you Lord Vader. Hearing such from you comes as a very pleasant surprise," it didn't, of course. She had suspected that she would hear this when the harried droid had woken her from her sleep. She imagined that they had another mission for her, one somewhat more difficult than those she had been taking part in.
"It should not. You are, by far, the best student we have had yet, Lorana, and you know that there have been others. We are confident in your abilities, so confident, that we are going to entrust a very dangerous and difficult assignment to you," again his eyes swept across her, searching for any kind of reaction that might hint at fear.but there was none, there never was with this one.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, a very faint one, for should the man across from her see it, it would surely mean a sharp reprimand. She had suspected, over the past few months, that she was being groomed for something much grander than killing traitors to the Empire, "Your words flatter me Lord Vader. Pray tell, what might I do to better serve the Empire, and my masters?"
Ah, very good, she knew enough to appear gracious and willing to cooperate without even knowing what she was going to be sent into, how marvelous, "My master has decided that you will be the one to seek out this new Jedi threat. If all is as things seem to be, you will not find it as easy as your current missions have seemed. Jedi are weak minded, but they come in numbers. It might be possible that you become overwhelmed by them. Defeat and failure is not an option."
"Yes M'lord, I do realize that. I feel confident in my training, in my abilities. I shall not fail."
"Very good. We have taken the liberty of having a transport arranged for you. You will depart from the palace in approximately nine hours, I advise you to be prepared. You are dismissed Lorana."
The woman rose, gracefully, and bowed her head once more, out of respect. A moment later she was in the hall once more, her steps slow, easy, graceful. In the years that she had lived there, the other inhabitants had learned not to toy with her, ever. She did not joke, she did not play. Any free time was spent either meditating, or in the training facility. She was a fearsome opponent, and none knew of her true rank and purpose. To most, she was merely Emperor Palpatine's daughter and bodyguard.
Twenty Hours Later
The ship was small, built for a few passengers, a pilot, and copilot, and for speed, which was why it was chosen. Patience was not a virtue of the tattooed young woman, not really. She longed to find the Jedi, dispose of them, and return to her home to undergo still more training. She was confident in her abilities, but not satisfied. She felt that she could still do more, be more, it was merely a matter of pushing herself that far, "Set down in Mos Eisley, Captain. I will continue on foot alone."
The Imperial pilot, an honorary captain have turned in his seat, looking rather confused, "On foot? Across the Dune Sea? Are you mad?"
"Do you question my authority?" came the soft reply, the voice cold, tinted with threat.
"N-no, of course not. Mos Eisley it is then," secretly, he thought his passenger to be completely insane. No one ever crossed the Dune Sea on foot and lived, a single person couldn't carry that many supplies. Good God, was she intending on dying out there? Oh well, it really wasn't worth the risk of getting killed. If she wanted to go out there and die, so be it.
They set down in Mos Eisely, as commanded to. The woman disembarked, giving them orders to orbit Tattooine as long as possible, until she called them back to the surface. No reason to let her prey get wind of her presence. As soon as the small ship had lifted off once more, with a fresh supply of fuel, she began her journey into the great Dune Sea, a place from which no one that had left on foot had ever returned.yet. But she had no intentions of letting them know they were being hunted.not yet. They were out there someplace, in some little hideaway, and she wouldn't be able to find them by ship, and certainly not find them by taking a swoop, that left only the option of traveling on foot.
The Jedi in question.now they were a motley group, a motley group indeed. One of them was a renegade, who had only just recently regained his faith in the order. And then there was the child, a little girl of no more than seven years old, blue eyed and fair haired, who all but radiated the Force. She might be very powerful someday, if given the chance. The third.the third was a woman who had, until recently, been wandering lost. After the death of her master, she had not known to where to turn. The temple had been destroyed, the Order, fallen. She'd had nowhere to go, nowhere, but then he'd found her, taken her under his wing. The three of them had become a sort of family group, mother, father, and child.until the hunt had begun, forcing them into hiding. They had been running for months, before finally seeking refuge on Tattooine, in the Dune Sea, far, far away from everyone else. They resided in a little hideaway, built underground, the entrance was clearly visible, when the sand was blown out of the way.
The child was sleeping peacefully, when suddenly, she sat bolt upright, screaming. Her terrified screams brought both man and woman to her small room, where they did their best to comfort her, to assure her that all would be well, "It's.it's coming. The shadow, the dark thing. It's coming. Isn't far away. It's going to get us, it is. I saw it!"
The woman exchanged a worried look with the man, pulling the girl into an embrace and smoothing her hair down, "Shhh, hush now little one. Nothing is going to get us. When they can't find us, they will eventually give up. Hush now, it was only a bad dream."
The sudden snap hiss of a lightsaber flaring to life was the only warning the three got.the only warning. The man turned, but he didn't even have a chance to turn completely before the burning crimson blade cut him down. The girl screamed, a shrill, terrified sound, even as the woman turned, her face registering absolute terror.seconds before the searing blade removed her head from her shoulders. This only caused the girl to scream all the more.until her innocent, terror filled blue eyes settled upon the murderer of her adoptive parents. The duo locked eyes and simply stared, studying one another. The crimson blade was lowered slightly as the woman's body crumbled to the floor beside the man's corpse.
"Why? Why did you kill them?" the child asked softly, tears threatening to fall.
"It is my duty, Child. They were my enemies.and so to, are you," the reply came in barely a whisper, the eyes never once averted. The woman's mind was made up. She knew she would kill the child, complete her mission. To balk would be to fail, to fail would mean to die, and she would not die for some ragtag little Jedi child.
"Are you going to kill me too?"
Lorana didn't answer, she merely stood there, studying the girl. She turned, as if to make her exit, and then suddenly spun around again, bringing her weapon to bear in a sideways arc across the girl's throat. Her head rolled in one direction.her body crumpled. The assassin surveyed her handiwork silently, with her head tilted to one side to spill her raven locks across one shoulder, "Why yes, dear, I am," she replied softly to the corpse, dark eyes dancing gleefully. It had been so easy to find the little fools, they hadn't even bothered to try to mask their presence, and the entrance.out in plain view. They were practically asking to be killed. She debated about taking something back as a trophy, a prize.and then her gaze settled upon the girl's head. A dark smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she stooped down, grasped a handful of blonde hair and lifted the head. Then, she spun on her heel and swept out, thumbing her lightsaber off once more and clipping it back to her belt.
The captain, pilot of the ship that brought the tattooed woman to Tattoine nearly jumped out of his skin when her voice came over his comm, cold, calm, collected."Captain, you may return to the docking bay now. I am ready to depart," how the bloody hell had she survived? Two days had passed, two days of wandering around in the Dune Sea with no supplies whatsoever. So how had.nevermind that now, he supposed, it was better to get back down there before she started getting impatient, as she was most likely prone to do.
Disclaimer: I cannot claim to own Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, the Jedi, or any of that, nor do I wish to. I cannot imagine having so many people clamoring and singing my praises. Still, I do own Lorana and Relana Palpatine, and poaching will force me to call in the Sith and the Bounty Hunters.
Author's Note: To save on confusion, the Pop Ferret must clarify. The chapters within this story are mixed up a bit, that is to say that events do not transpire in order. You will be introduced to Lorana Palpatine first, the Unseen Hand, and then to Relana Palpatine, the Hand of Mercy. And -then- you will all get to read the sordid details of their origins. Fun fun fun. Enjoy.
The Unseen Hand
The young woman sat opposite the desk, cool, composed.as always. Lorana was never one to be nervous, not even around the likes of Lord Vader, or the Emperor. Raven hair fell easily to her waist, braided at the moment, dark eyes, flecked with crimson studied the black face mask of the helmet covering the head of the man before her, as if trying to peer through it, to look into the eyes behind it. The top half of her face was covered by a graceful, yet fearsome tattooed patterns of crimson and ebon swirls. She was small, almost fragile looking, but her body was lithe, the muscles well toned. Years of training had made her what she was, years of being treated as an object rather than a living being.she had long since ceased to care. At the moment, she was dressed comfortably, in loose slacks with a black blouse. She had been resting when Lord Vader's summons had come, but as always, she had appeared calm and collected when she had arrived, not even breathing a bit heavily.
Darth Vader regarded the woman silently, well, silent save for the rasping sound his breathing always made. It had been several years since the truth had come out. When they had stumbled across the girl, she was going by the name Mesmer Doshin.a Jedi. She had been captured, brought home, and promptly undergone extensive training, and flourished. At first, she had been resentful, but those feelings had changed, rather quickly. Now, he studied her face, the way she held herself, searching for any flaws, but of course, he found none, "Lorana," he rasped, watching the faint flinch as he used her name. Even after all these years, she hadn't quite gotten used to it, "You have come very far in your training. My master and I are pleased. You learn quickly, you are attentive, and observant. Many are not."
Lorana's head bowed slightly, her gaze flicking downwards, "Thank you Lord Vader. Hearing such from you comes as a very pleasant surprise," it didn't, of course. She had suspected that she would hear this when the harried droid had woken her from her sleep. She imagined that they had another mission for her, one somewhat more difficult than those she had been taking part in.
"It should not. You are, by far, the best student we have had yet, Lorana, and you know that there have been others. We are confident in your abilities, so confident, that we are going to entrust a very dangerous and difficult assignment to you," again his eyes swept across her, searching for any kind of reaction that might hint at fear.but there was none, there never was with this one.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, a very faint one, for should the man across from her see it, it would surely mean a sharp reprimand. She had suspected, over the past few months, that she was being groomed for something much grander than killing traitors to the Empire, "Your words flatter me Lord Vader. Pray tell, what might I do to better serve the Empire, and my masters?"
Ah, very good, she knew enough to appear gracious and willing to cooperate without even knowing what she was going to be sent into, how marvelous, "My master has decided that you will be the one to seek out this new Jedi threat. If all is as things seem to be, you will not find it as easy as your current missions have seemed. Jedi are weak minded, but they come in numbers. It might be possible that you become overwhelmed by them. Defeat and failure is not an option."
"Yes M'lord, I do realize that. I feel confident in my training, in my abilities. I shall not fail."
"Very good. We have taken the liberty of having a transport arranged for you. You will depart from the palace in approximately nine hours, I advise you to be prepared. You are dismissed Lorana."
The woman rose, gracefully, and bowed her head once more, out of respect. A moment later she was in the hall once more, her steps slow, easy, graceful. In the years that she had lived there, the other inhabitants had learned not to toy with her, ever. She did not joke, she did not play. Any free time was spent either meditating, or in the training facility. She was a fearsome opponent, and none knew of her true rank and purpose. To most, she was merely Emperor Palpatine's daughter and bodyguard.
Twenty Hours Later
The ship was small, built for a few passengers, a pilot, and copilot, and for speed, which was why it was chosen. Patience was not a virtue of the tattooed young woman, not really. She longed to find the Jedi, dispose of them, and return to her home to undergo still more training. She was confident in her abilities, but not satisfied. She felt that she could still do more, be more, it was merely a matter of pushing herself that far, "Set down in Mos Eisley, Captain. I will continue on foot alone."
The Imperial pilot, an honorary captain have turned in his seat, looking rather confused, "On foot? Across the Dune Sea? Are you mad?"
"Do you question my authority?" came the soft reply, the voice cold, tinted with threat.
"N-no, of course not. Mos Eisley it is then," secretly, he thought his passenger to be completely insane. No one ever crossed the Dune Sea on foot and lived, a single person couldn't carry that many supplies. Good God, was she intending on dying out there? Oh well, it really wasn't worth the risk of getting killed. If she wanted to go out there and die, so be it.
They set down in Mos Eisely, as commanded to. The woman disembarked, giving them orders to orbit Tattooine as long as possible, until she called them back to the surface. No reason to let her prey get wind of her presence. As soon as the small ship had lifted off once more, with a fresh supply of fuel, she began her journey into the great Dune Sea, a place from which no one that had left on foot had ever returned.yet. But she had no intentions of letting them know they were being hunted.not yet. They were out there someplace, in some little hideaway, and she wouldn't be able to find them by ship, and certainly not find them by taking a swoop, that left only the option of traveling on foot.
The Jedi in question.now they were a motley group, a motley group indeed. One of them was a renegade, who had only just recently regained his faith in the order. And then there was the child, a little girl of no more than seven years old, blue eyed and fair haired, who all but radiated the Force. She might be very powerful someday, if given the chance. The third.the third was a woman who had, until recently, been wandering lost. After the death of her master, she had not known to where to turn. The temple had been destroyed, the Order, fallen. She'd had nowhere to go, nowhere, but then he'd found her, taken her under his wing. The three of them had become a sort of family group, mother, father, and child.until the hunt had begun, forcing them into hiding. They had been running for months, before finally seeking refuge on Tattooine, in the Dune Sea, far, far away from everyone else. They resided in a little hideaway, built underground, the entrance was clearly visible, when the sand was blown out of the way.
The child was sleeping peacefully, when suddenly, she sat bolt upright, screaming. Her terrified screams brought both man and woman to her small room, where they did their best to comfort her, to assure her that all would be well, "It's.it's coming. The shadow, the dark thing. It's coming. Isn't far away. It's going to get us, it is. I saw it!"
The woman exchanged a worried look with the man, pulling the girl into an embrace and smoothing her hair down, "Shhh, hush now little one. Nothing is going to get us. When they can't find us, they will eventually give up. Hush now, it was only a bad dream."
The sudden snap hiss of a lightsaber flaring to life was the only warning the three got.the only warning. The man turned, but he didn't even have a chance to turn completely before the burning crimson blade cut him down. The girl screamed, a shrill, terrified sound, even as the woman turned, her face registering absolute terror.seconds before the searing blade removed her head from her shoulders. This only caused the girl to scream all the more.until her innocent, terror filled blue eyes settled upon the murderer of her adoptive parents. The duo locked eyes and simply stared, studying one another. The crimson blade was lowered slightly as the woman's body crumbled to the floor beside the man's corpse.
"Why? Why did you kill them?" the child asked softly, tears threatening to fall.
"It is my duty, Child. They were my enemies.and so to, are you," the reply came in barely a whisper, the eyes never once averted. The woman's mind was made up. She knew she would kill the child, complete her mission. To balk would be to fail, to fail would mean to die, and she would not die for some ragtag little Jedi child.
"Are you going to kill me too?"
Lorana didn't answer, she merely stood there, studying the girl. She turned, as if to make her exit, and then suddenly spun around again, bringing her weapon to bear in a sideways arc across the girl's throat. Her head rolled in one direction.her body crumpled. The assassin surveyed her handiwork silently, with her head tilted to one side to spill her raven locks across one shoulder, "Why yes, dear, I am," she replied softly to the corpse, dark eyes dancing gleefully. It had been so easy to find the little fools, they hadn't even bothered to try to mask their presence, and the entrance.out in plain view. They were practically asking to be killed. She debated about taking something back as a trophy, a prize.and then her gaze settled upon the girl's head. A dark smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she stooped down, grasped a handful of blonde hair and lifted the head. Then, she spun on her heel and swept out, thumbing her lightsaber off once more and clipping it back to her belt.
The captain, pilot of the ship that brought the tattooed woman to Tattoine nearly jumped out of his skin when her voice came over his comm, cold, calm, collected."Captain, you may return to the docking bay now. I am ready to depart," how the bloody hell had she survived? Two days had passed, two days of wandering around in the Dune Sea with no supplies whatsoever. So how had.nevermind that now, he supposed, it was better to get back down there before she started getting impatient, as she was most likely prone to do.