AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the mixup about posting the wrong chapter here. It was late and I was tired... anyway, here's the real chapter.
Chapter 11
Palpatine paced slowly around Boba Fett, as if examining him. And indeed he was. It had been six weeks since his training had begun, and though he had much yet to learn, he was a force to be reckoned with. He greatly looked forward to seeing him in action.
Fett stood at attention, all deadly serenity. His armor, no longer the battered green and red of his bounty hunting days, gleamed a slick black, with the T-slit visor a glistening silver. His weaponry had been streamlined somewhat, though he was still a walking arsenal, and in lieu of a blaster a black-handled lightsaber dangled from his hip. A black cloak hung from his shoulders, reaching the back of his knees and pulled jauntily over his left shoulder.
The Emperor gave a slight smile. Fett had come far in a short time. He was more than worthy of the Sith title.
"Kneel, Fett."
He sank to one knee, head bowed.
"Give me your weapon."
Without hesitation he pulled it from his belt and offered it to his master.
Palpatine ignited the saber, admiring the shimmering red blade. This was a fearsome, wickedly designed weapon, far superior to any Palpatine had ever seen. Fett had outdone himself crafting the powerful blade.
"Look at me, Fett. At my eyes."
Fett raised his head, meeting the Emperor's stare.
Raising the glowing plasma sword, he brought it down in a swift movement. It came to rest barely a centimeter from the man's face.
Fett didn't flinch, or even twitch a muscle. He was still as if carved from stone. He trusted his master implicitly, as he should. Very good.
"I give you the title of Sith Apprentice. From this moment on, you are no longer Boba Fett, but Darth Kain." He passed a hand over his head. "Rise, my apprentice."
Darth Kain stood. Palpatine handed his saber back, then turned to address those gathered.
"My right-hand-man has been chosen," he told the assembled Grand Moffs and Admirals. "The Empire is now prepared to strike back against the Rebellion."
Resentful glowers met that statement. Each of these men had been desperately hoping – some secretly, others very openly – that he would be selected to replace Vader. To be passed over in favor of some bounty-hunting scum was a low blow to their bloated egos.
How he loved to deflate them.
"Darth Kain will lead a portion of the fleet to Yavin IV and crush the upstart Rebels while their backs are turned. Then we will be unchallenged in our reign of the galaxy."
"Your Highness," a younger Moff pointed out with undisguised disgust. "Boba F… I mean Darth Kain is… was once a bounty hunter." He snarled the last two words. "How can we trust him?"
Palpatine gave the man an even look, then allowed his gaze to slide in Kain's direction. He nodded solemnly.
The Moff clutched his chest and crumpled in a heap.
He didn't bother to hide his satisfied grin. Kain hadn't even needed to use a focusing gesture to execute the man. He'd been well trained indeed.
There was no more dissention among these military leaders, a sign that they recognized Kain's superiority, even if they detested it. One leader, however, was missing from this gathering – his Yavin agent. The spy's report last night had been abruptly interrupted when someone had walked into the room where the agent had been sending the message. Oh well, no large matter. Military leaders could be easily replaced, unlike Sith Lords.
Though in this case the replacement far surpassed the original, he thought as Darth Kain took his rightful place at his master's side.
Only Vader's mask kept his jaw from hitting his chest. "Ghede's been WHAT?!"
"Murdered. Choked to death. Put up a good fight, too – face was all bloody. Everyone thinks it's you, especially since he got you in trouble last night…"
"Stang!" he snarled. "Someone's setting me up!"
"That's why we have to go," Han urged. "Once the smoke clears, we can come back and you can defend yourself. But right now…"
"Han, I can't run."
"What does that mean?"
"I can't run. If I flee Yavin, it will only make the Alliance think I'm guilty. We'll have bounty hunters or worse dogging our heels across the galaxy."
"Well, we can't stay here!"
Vader clenched his jaw, trying to keep panic at bay. Just when he thought himself welcomed into the Alliance, this had to happen! Someone had to be plotting against him.
Six Alliance soldiers entered the hangar and ran for them, blasters drawn.
"Come on!" Han shouted, trying to drag him toward the Falcon. "I've lived with a price on my head! There are worse things than that!"
"Halt!"
Vader yanked his arm form Han's grasp. "Han, I have no choice. I refuse to run. I'll go to the Alliance and try to defend myself."
The troops surrounded the three of them. One, a gaunt Balosaur, jammed the muzzle of his gun into the small of Vader's back.
"Vader comes with us. He's under arrest for murder."
Forenze proved herself to be not only an excellent doctor, but a very competent coroner as well. After doing a thorough examination of Ghede's body, she brought her report to the waiting area, where Mothma, Leia, Vader, and Rogue Squadron waited.
"Can you tell us how Commander Ironmoon died, Dr. Forenze?" asked Mothma.
"I can." She nodded at those gathered. "But stating it here will possibly prejudice these men and women against their own."
"We must know," Mothma countered.
She shot Vader an apologetic look. "Cause of death was asphyxiation. And judging from the damage to his esophagus, trachea, and carotid and jugular vessels, I'd say he was forcibly strangled. Beaten as well – fractured nose and facial laceration, lots of it."
"Thank you, Dr. Forenze," Mothma replied. "Find out if Commander Ironmoon had any next-of-kin and, if it is possible to do so without detection, inform them of the circumstances." She nodded to indicate the Fosh could leave.
Luke sincerely wanted to believe that Vader was innocent, that someone in the Rebellion was trying to frame him. The two of them had managed to put aside their enmity and actually become friends over these past weeks. And the thought of any friend of his committing such a base act was improbable.
But could he rightfully accuse a fellow Rebel of assassination and conspiracy? Sure, half the base hated Ghede and would love to see him dead, just as many others would love to see Vader ousted from the Alliance. But Luke had always believed the Alliance free of the corruption that tainted so many other organizations in the galaxy.
Mothma now turned her attention toward Rogue squadron. "I must know where each of you was last night."
"After Ghede chewed us out, we all went to bed," Mela defended.
"Except Hobbie, Zev, and me," confessed Janson. "We stayed out late to… uh… plant a slime bomb in Ghede's X-wing. But ground crew caught us in the act."
"Which means you had witnesses," Mothma concluded. "That clears you three."
"Mothma, isn't it obvious who killed the Commander?" Leia pointed out. "Ghede was strangled. Vader was infamous for choking people to death. He hated Ghede as much as Life Squadron did. And he has no witnesses to back up his alibi. Shouldn't we be investigating him first?"
"I wouldn't kill anyone!" Vader protested.
"You have blood on your hands," she countered, pointing to the dark stains on his gloves and mechanic uniform.
"Blood!" he exclaimed, shocked. "It's paint! I spent all night working on my fighter!"
"I thought Naboo fighters were yellow," Leia shot back.
"What difference does it make?" Wedge cut in. "He didn't do it! He admits it! We trust him!"
"You trust Darth Vader?" she repeated in disbelief. "The man who was the Alliance's worst enemy for over twenty years? He's a Sith! Lies and deception are their way! How do we know he isn't feigning amnesia in order to infiltrate the Alliance and assassinate our leaders?"
"Of all the… I would never…" Vader began, furious at the accusation.
"Leia, Vader, enough," Mothma ordered. "Innocent until proven guilty, your Highness. That has always been the rule. And Vader is by no means the only suspect. Many people in this base disliked Ghede, and I can think of over a dozen offhand that were physically capable of throttling the man and had no solid alibi for last night."
Vader visibly relaxed.
"Vader, I must ask you to surrender your blaster. I'm afraid we must keep you in the cell block for a short while until this matter is resolved."
"What?!" he exclaimed.
"It's for your own safety," she explained. "I fear someone may try to retaliate against you…"
"I swear I killed no one!" he cried.
"What about Luke's father?" Leia countered angrily. "Obi-wan? The Jedi Order? You didn't kill them?"
"Princess Leia!" Mothma said sharply. "That will be quite enough. Either keep your temper in check or leave the room."
She turned and quickly left the room.
"Mothma," Vader said in quiet desperation, extending an imploring hand toward her, "I promise you that I had no part in what happened to Ghede. I admit to not liking him, but I had no desire to see him dead."
"And I believe you, Vader. But for your own protection, its best if we keep you someplace secure."
"I thought you said innocent until proven guilty, Mothma."
"I'm on your side, Vader."
"You have a peculiar way of showing it," he replied resignedly, pulling his blaster from its holster. He took it by the barrel and offered it to her stock-first.
"Take him to cell block two," she told the guards at the door, taking the proffered weapon.
"Mothma, is this necessary?" asked Luke as Vader was cuffed and led away at gunpoint.
"It's for the best," Mothma told him. "And I'm afraid he is still as much a suspect as everyone else in this base. He will have to be investigated as well."
"But he's changed," Luke protested. "He would never have killed anyone…"
"Luke, Princess Leia had a valid point," Gavin told him. "It's very possible he came here as part of a plot to destroy the Alliance leaders – and manipulated us so we wouldn't think him guilty."
He shook his head. It couldn't be so! It just couldn't!
"Madam Mothma?" a tech officer inquired, poking his head into the room. "You'd better come into the control room. We've just found evidence of a double agent."
"As you can see," the tech explained, gesturing to a list of numerals on a computer screen that made absolutely no sense to Luke, "unauthorized transmissions have been entering and exiting this base for the past eight weeks. Whoever's been receiving and sending them hasn't been using the regular channels. They must have a personal comm unit."
"Can you trace the transmissions?" asked Mothma as calmly as if she were asking the man if he could speak Huttese.
"One jump ahead of you there, ma'am. Don't think you're gonna like the answer – they've been coming and going to and from the Imperial Palace on Corusant."
A prickle of fear swept through Luke as he and Mothma listened to the dire news.
"A high-ranking spy," Mothma noted. Was it Luke's imagination, or had she gone slightly pale? If so, it marked the first time he'd seen her act the slightest bit nervous at any news.
"When was the last transmission made?" she asked.
"Last night, close to midnight."
"Eight weeks," Luke breathed, looking away and rubbing his temples. He didn't want to think about that. But Vader had been part of the Alliance for eight weeks now…
"I can unscramble the messages if you want," the tech said helpfully. "They may tell us who the spy is."
"Don't bother," Mothma ordered.
The officer looked disappointed. "Why not?"
"We've already been betrayed, sir. And every minute we hesitate, that betrayal caused the Alliance further damage. We must evacuate the Yavin base at once." She turned to Luke. "These are not the circumstances under which I would have given you a promotion, Skywalker, but you are now the Commander of Life Squadron."
"Rogue Squadron," he corrected automatically.
She didn't question the name change. "Commander of Rogue Squadron, then. Until further notice, Olie will be your second."
"Mothma, it couldn't have been Vader!" he said firmly, more to convince himself than her.
"I don't want to believe Vader is either traitor or murderer, Luke. I placed a great deal of faith in the man. But even you must admit the evidence, however circumstantial, is heavily against him." She sighed sadly. "I want Rogue Squadron battle-ready as soon as possible. They will defend the base from aerial attack while we make evacuation preparations and escort the ships out of the system. The Empire may not be mobilizing to attack just yet, but we'll take no chances."
"What about Vader?"
She pressed her lips together in a grim line. "He will be court-martialed once we've reached a secure location."
Rogue Squadron was unusually subdued as they prepped themselves and their ships for possible combat. None of them had ever thought that someone would kill Ghede, hated though he was. And Vader's presumed guilt only worsened the situation. They'd given him their trust, and that trust was now broken.
Artoo crooned worriedly at Luke as a member of groundcrew lowered the astromech into his X-wing.
"I'm fine, Artoo," he lied.
"Luke," Bekme murmured from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm very sorry. Vader was my friend too. But he did a horrible thing."
"I can't believe he would do something like that," Luke insisted.
"I can," Gavin put in. "He's choked people for years. This is just one more notch in his lightsaber."
"But he had amnesia!" Zev insisted.
"Maybe he faked it," Ar'ya replied. "Or he's since recovered."
"You know what I think?" Dekham announced.
"Oh, you actually think?" Rocky growled.
"I think Vader DID kill Ghede," he went on, "but not for the reason everyone thinks. I think Ghede was the spy, and Vader found out and offed him to shut him up."
"Then why doesn't he confess and justify what he did?" asked Wedge.
"His reputation," Mela answered. "He doesn't want to be seen as a murder anymore."
Luke didn't do anything to stop the theories and rumors that bounced back and forth. To be perfectly honest, he wasn't sure just what to believe. If only the murderer – whoever he, she, it, or they were – could be found.
"Commander?"
Squib's nervous squeak cut through his thoughts, and he looked behind him to see the Sullustan pilot staring at him, quailing with fear.
"What is it?"
Squib glanced nervously at Bekme.
"Bekme, excuse me a moment. I need to talk to Squib."
"Okay." She went to her X-wing.
"Hey Squib, what's up?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
"Come on, I'm still your friend Luke," he urged. "You can tell me anything."
"Rogue Squadron!" shouted Admiral Ackbar, striding into the hangar. "Stardestroyers have been sighted orbiting Yavin! Prepare for combat at once!"
"Saddle up, Rogues!" Luke shouted, hefting himself up the ladder into his X-wing. "We have a base to defend! I'll talk to you later, Squib."