Hey everyone! I'm finally out of summer school classes, so that means I'll update more quickly! On that subject, sorry for not updating until now... I had an old friend of mine over for the Fourth of July (she lives in a different state), and I went to go see "Batman Begins" (which was awesome), too. Yeah. Then there was the whole SAT thingy... But I should stop making excuses. Sorry this one isn't as long as the last chapter, but I don't think I could cram anything else in. You'll just have to wait for the next chapter, but that, as I said, will be out a lot more quickly than this one was. Good news: the plot finally gets going! Bad News: less teenagers in school humor for a while... I think. Don't worry, though. I'll make sure to put humor in every so often. I also have to say that I've also neglected to mention that I borrowed the idea of having Wes acting like a matchmaker from Limelight's Not Quite Love Letters, which I recommend to anyone who's a fan of the original trilogy and likes Leia/Han parings. It's a great fic. So... In conclusion of this insanely long author's note, thank you very much for reading. I really appreciate it, and I hope you will enjoy this chapter.
Mara was surprised and in a dark throne room, but what surprised her wasn't that she was in the throne room, but that it felt right. Nothing had ever felt right before. She looked around and realized she was in a dream. "No..." she said. "Not again... Why are the dreams back?" Mara backed up as far as she could and was stopped by railing. The doors of the turbolift next to her suddenly opened. Two people stepped out. The chair near the windows---No. Those were viewports---slowly turned around. A shadowy figure sat in it. Mara watched as the two red guards which she hadn't noticed before boarded the lift and departed. She turned her attention back to the chair and the two who had exited the lift. Mara noticed that one of them had binders on his hands. "A prisoner, then," she noted, knowing that no one ever heard her in the dreams. But this time, someone answered.
"Yes, he is," a woman said from the shadows nearest Mara. She stepped out of the shadows, and Mara's eyes widened in amazement.
"You---you look just like me!" she exclaimed.
The doppleganger smiled. "Of course I do. I am you, except that I live in the reality you see in your dreams. No one from where I'm from ever dreams about your reality." She paused and amended her statement. "Well, some might, but we never remember it."
Mara just accepted the information. Weirder things had happened in the dreams before (specifically, there was this one dream where there was an incident with an annoying hacker and some hotshot son of a duke. But that was another story). "Do you know what's going on, then?" she asked.
Her older, alternate-reality self nodded. "Yes. I was lied to about this battle, you know. I was told that---Maybe it's better if you don't know about that." She pointed to the tall man (or was he a machine?) in armor. "That is the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Some called him more machine than man. If had truly acted like a machine, then he wouldn't have ever been a Sith in the first place. Apathy makes the dark side useless."
"He used to be a Jedi?" Mara asked. "Was he powerful?"
Her older self glared at the Dark Lord. "That was the only reason he was recruited. He was the most powerful of the Jedi, or so I've been told. The Yoda from your reality seems to be even more ambiguous about things than the one from mine. I never met the Yoda from my reality, but I've heard stories"
Mara watched the shadow in the chair talk to the Dark Lord and the prisoner. The binders had long since been discarded. The prisoner barely seemed to be controlling his anger. Mara looked at the one called Vader then turned to her other self. "Who is the prisoner? ...Is he a Jedi? Or a potential Sith?"
Her other self shook her head. "He's both. The Emperor wanted to turn him, but his damn Jedi optimism and faith in his friends kept him from turning."
"You lie. He seems resigned to his fate, which seems to be death if this Emperor of yours is Sith as well as Vader," Mara shot back.
"Nicely played. You're right you know, he was ready to die. He rarely ever talks about what actually transpired here. He gives vague details, but almost never does he tell the whole story." The other smiled. "And you are right that something else stopped him..."
"You know the Jedi?" Mara asked, then exclaimed, "Wait! He survived!"
"Yes, on both counts. You probably know your reality's version of him. Knowing him, he probably acts exactly the same. Of course, you probably know exactly whom he is. I mean, who else could he possibly be? Some idiot Jedi who survived the Jedi Purges and was stupid enough to get caught by these two? No, it's the idiot Jedi who was stupid enough to turn himself in to these two." She looked at her chrono. "Oh, look. The fight's about to start. We'll probably get a visitor soon, too. All we can do at the moment, however, is sit back and watch."
Mara stared at her older self, whose sanity she was beginning to doubt, before turning back to watch the apparently impeding fight. Mara watched as the scene proceeded with absolutely no sound. It was like some supreme being had hit the mute button on life. But then it changed. The one she had dubbed the Shadow spoke.
"Strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journey toward the dark side will be complete," the Shadow said to the Jedi. Mara noted the irony of how the good guy was wearing black like the other two. At least he didn't look as menacing.
While Mara thought that, the Jedi finally retrieved his lightsaber and tried to destroy the shadow. Vader, however, blocked the attack. The battle then began in earnest, and Mara finally had the opportunity to see whom the Jedi was since he didn't have his back turned to her anymore. Unfortunately, Mara wasn't able to tell because of the lack of light. At that moment, another dreamer entered the equation. He remained unnoticed by the combatants and the Shadow but didn't notice either Mara.
"What kind of idiot builds a space station without proper lighting?" the third of the intruders murmured. That comment set the elder Mara off in a fit of bitter laughter, and Mara realized whom the third was: Anakin Skywalker. He looked about fifteen years younger, at least. But why was he there?
Mara turned her attention back to the Jedi and Sith locked in mortal combat. Vader, as per Sith rules and regulations, had a blood red lightsaber. It created a ghastly effect, but that was offset by the brilliant green blade of the Jedi. Mara still didn't have a good view of his face and still couldn't tell whom he was.
Anakin almost sprinted towards the Shadow, drew his lightsaber, and tried to slay the Shadow. Surprisingly, he failed. Mara wondered why. The saber had gone straight through the Shadow. She turned to the older version of herself. "Why didn't the Shadow die? Why didn't Master Skywalker's blow kill him?"
"Vader's attack didn't kill Palpatine because that version of him isn't really here, and therefore, he, like us, cannot possibly change events," the older woman explained. "Now watch this."
Mara turned back as the Jedi jumped up onto the scaffolding overhead. Mara finally got a good look at him and was stunned. "I will not fight you, Father," the younger-than-Mara-had-expected and strangely familiar Jedi told Vader. Mara suddenly recalled what her other self had said: Vader and Anakin Skywalker were the same person. She turned to look at Anakin, who was stunned as well.
"He's here for a different reason, Mara," her older self said, breaking her out of the reverie inside her dream. "You are here because you have to be told about the Emperor's base at Byss. Palpatine was a paranoid old man and as such, had many contingency plans in case he wasn't able to win over either Skywalker to his side."
"Byss? Where's that?" Mara asked, only half-listening.
"It's a system in the Core where Palpatine stashed some Spaarti cylinders to clone himself. If the old codger had set it up, then you and the rest of the galaxy might have to worry about him again." She gestured to the Shadow, whom Mara suddenly realized was Palpatine, the Emperor that her older self had been referring to. "I personally never really believed that Palpatine came back, but I think it's a good idea to warn you, just in case."
Mara turned back to the fight. It was obviously nearing the finale. "Thank you. I'll be sure to tell everyone..." she murmured as she watched the fight wind down. The Jedi, Anakin's son, suddenly hid under the stairs for some reason. The world was put on mute again as the Dark Lord and Jedi Knight talked with the Emperor watching. The tides then turned. Vader had said something which had caused the Jedi to attack furiously. Apparently the young man had inherited the infamous propensity toward anger from his father. The fight then ended: Vader's hand was cut off. "He killed his father...?"
Older Mara shook her head. "No. Listen."
The Jedi tossed his lightsaber away. Mara almost wished she could make it fly into Palpatine's face. That would be amusing. After taking a breath, the Jedi turned to Palpatine. "I will not turn. I am a Jedi, like my father before me," he declared.
Palpatine growled, "So be it, Jedi," and the dream-Anakin disappeared.
"Time for me to go," the alternate reality version of Mara said. "Good luck, Jade. Don't make any stupid mistakes, like letting a guy go for ten years before you even entertain the notion of going out with him. Trust me, it's pretty stupid. So don't do it." After saying the last word, she too faded away.
Mara turned her complete attention back to the two Sith and the Jedi. Palpatine was using Force-lightning on the Jedi. Mara felt sick watching the spectacle. She wanted to stop the monster which was causing all of the pain: the pain of the Jedi, the pain of those fighting in space, the pain of those on Endor, her pain from having to watch. "No! Make it stop!" she screamed, but the dream still wouldn't release her---she was being forced to watch the Jedi writhe in agony on the cold deck as Palpatine was laughing while killing him.
"And now, young Skywalker, you will die," Palpatine cackled as Mara watched in horror as the power of the lightning increased dramatically. Vader was now standing by his master's side. Mara wanted to hit him, in the very least.
"Father... please!" the Jedi pleaded to Vader before finally giving in to the barrage of energy and fading fast into unconsciousness. Mara rushed over, wanting to at least try to do something, but when she got there, all she could do was stare at the young man. His face was scarred and he looked a few years older, but Mara finally knew whom he was.
"Luke!" Mara shouted as she woke up. She was still in Tionne's room. It was the dead of night, but she was where she should have been. There was no Empire, Vader was still Anakin Skywalker, and Palpatine was dead and gone. The Sith didn't exist anymore. They were finally extinct. Mara caught her breath and realized everyone in the room was staring at her. Of course they are, I just shouted out the name of the one guy I like in a room mostly full of teenage girls, Mara told herself.
Teneniel, instead of making a snide remark, put on a concerned face. "Dreams bothering you again?" she asked, genuinely interested in her friend's well being. "Which one was it this time? The fight with that whacked out clone of C'baoth?"
Mara shook her head. "No. Fight above that one planet... Endor. Sith, two of them."
"What does it have to do with Luke?" Leia asked. She had no clue whom he was, but maybe Mara would feel better about the nightmare. Knowledge is power, she thought.
"He fought with the Sith... he was dying. Palpatine was killing him with Force-lightning. Vader wasn't doing anything... That damn Sith was just standing there as his son was being murdered!" Mara exclaimed. She remembered what her other self had said. More softly, she continued, "...There's something on Byss..."
Leia's eyes flashed in recognition. "So I wasn't imagining things..." She shuddered. "He's back. That monster's back..."
"Who's back?" Teneniel asked. She was pretty sure she wouldn't get an answer. Mara looked ready to murder someone, and Leia was radiating anger and outrage as well. Apparently this was someone pretty important---and ruthless. Somewhere in Teneniel's mind, a switch turned on. She realized whom the two hated and feared: the Emperor. Whoever that really was.
Kendalina glanced at the two girls. "It's the one who would have been Emperor, isn't it? Tell the truth. He's back, isn't he?"
"The Force needs to be balanced," Tionne mentioned.
Mara thought about her nightmare. Anakin Skywalker had been a Dark Lord of the Sith. If that was how the Force was supposed to have been balanced, then... "Maybe we would be better off if it wasn't..."
When Han woke up the next morning, he decided it probably would be better to stay in bed. When he had found Chewie and went to the cantina situated in the middle levels of Coruscant near the Senate building, he had decided that the day was going pretty well. When his potential employer walked into the cantina with what appeared to be a Jedi bodyguard, Han just knew he should have stayed in bed today. At least Chewie's around. If anything goes wrong, he's just a table away, and no one's stupid enough to mess with a Wookie, he reflected. Han studied the appearances of the two as they approached the table. The shorter of the two walked around like he owned the place, sort of like royalty or something. The taller one, who couldn't have been much past five and a half feet tall, was blatantly nervous, which wasn't an emotion Han associated with Jedi. Han took a drink from the Corellian ale he'd ordered as the two sat down at the table.
"You are Han Solo, correct?" the shorter one asked. Apparently, that one was actually a girl, so her petite build now made sense.
"Yeah," Han replied. "And what of it?" The kid on the left was still nervous. Great. Two most likely naïve kids were hiring him. Wonderful.
"I contacted you earlier," the girl said. She had something that was a cross between an Alderaanian and Coruscantian accent. Aristocratic, without a doubt. No wonder the job was paying so much. "About a job. I promised fifty thousand credits. Is this still acceptable?" she asked, pretty sure that it would be.
Han scoffed, noting the kid was staring at the girl in disbelief. Then again, Han had stared at the message for a good amount of time before replying. It had seemed too good to be true. Still did. "Of course it is. That's a whole hell of a lot of money, but it does also depend on what the job is."
"Good. I would like passage off planet as quickly as possible with no criminal entanglements. There are bounties out there for me, and I'd like to get off without anyone noticing," the girl told Han. The kid next to her was still stunned at her actions. Maybe he was her bodyguard? No, thought Han. That doesn't seem right. They look like they're around the same age, so maybe they're friends or something. He also looks like he has absolutely no clue what she was going to say.
"Look here, sweetheart, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a criminal myself," Han said, getting a confused look from the kid and causing the girl to roll her eyes. "If you're willing to get over that, then I'm at your service. Where exactly were you planning on running off to?"
"It's not like I'm running away," the girl shot back. She was a little peeved about the "sweetheart" remark, then. "I haven't yet decided upon a planet to travel to, so---"
"How about Myrkr?" Han suggested, trying to at least get some sort of response from the kid who had been silent the entire time. Time to see if he really was a Jedi.
"No!" the kid exclaimed, turning to the girl. "That's a bad idea, Lei---" The girl elbowed him in the side, shutting him up.
"No thanks, Solo," the girl (Lei-something) replied. "I was thinking about a destination that would be a little less full of scoundrels."
"So you'd prefer some place more out of the way?" Han said. He noticed that she looked Nubian. And her name started with "Lei"? Interesting. "How about Naboo or Alderaan? They're nice, peaceful planets."
The girl stiffened, and Han knew he was right about her trying to run away as he had thought. "No. I want to go somewhere that isn't mentioned in the news every twenty minutes, Solo. Somewhere out of the way."
Han grinned. Time to mess with them even more. "How about Tatooine, then? It's nice-ish if you're really desperate to get away, but I'd suggest that you stay away from Jabba. He has a thing for nice girls." That comment obviously riled the lass up, but it annoyed the kid even more.
"That's the absolute worst idea I've ever heard!" the kid exclaimed. "Heck, if there was a bright center of the universe, Tatooine's the planet that it's farthest from. I've heard that some of the larger cities are, to quote someone, 'wretched hives of scum and villainy.'"
The girl shook her head. "Tatooine's the absolute worst place for me to go. My father'd be pretty angry if he found out I went there," she said before warning Han, "He'd probably track you down and kill you if that happened."
"There's also Corellia," Han said. "It's a nice place, if I do say so myself. There's also this other planet I once won in a card game. I felt sorta cheated by the whole thing since I ended up being allergic to the planet, so I gave the deed to some leader on the planet. It's called Dathomir---"
Both the girl and the kid blurted out, "No!"
"Okay. Not there then. The place sorta creeped me out, too," Han admitted. This meant that they knew people from Dathomir, then. The only Dathomirans who went off planet left to be trained by the Jedi. So that cemented the fact that the kid was really a Jedi.
The girl stared at the table. Han realized that she really hadn't thought her plans through that much. She then murmured, "Do you know about the Rebels?"
Han was a little surprised that the girl knew about that group. It was said to be funded by some of the Senators who thought that the elimination of the corruption in the Senate was too slow. Some said it was a back-up plan in case the Sith ever rose again. Not that Han believed in the Sith. In fact, Han didn't really believe in the Force, either, but that was beside the point. The Rebels operated in the shadows, but some said that they were actually doing good. After all, all of the Separatists hadn't been caught. "Yeah," Han finally replied. "I know of them."
The girl smiled. "Good. I know where I'm going, then. When should I meet back up with you?"
Han was stunned. This girl was thinking of joining the Rebels? Whatever floats her boat. "It really depends on you. When would you like to leave, Miss...?"
The girl's face went blank, signaling to Han that she was searching for an alias. "Organa, Leia Organa," she replied. "Um, I'd actually like to leave as soon as possible."
Han grinned. He and Chewie had really hit the jackpot this time. The Princess of Alderaan. Damn, he was going to get paid well. "All right, Your Highness. The Falcon's parked at docking bay ninety-four hundred near the Senate Plaza. I can get 'er ready in about an hour."
The Princess nodded curtly. "Good. I'll be there. I'll pay you when we get to our destination, Captain." She stood up with the Jedi shortly following her, and they left. Han was glad he'd decided to get up this morning.
Both Luke and Leia were silent during the speeder ride to Leia's apartment building. When they arrived, Leia walked into the building. Luke couldn't believe her. She was leaving Coruscant to join the Rebels! Luke decided that he should think she was insane, but he felt himself agreeing with her. The outlawed vigilantes called the Rebels claimed to protect the galaxy and the Republic from the Sith, corruption, and a group known as the Empire. Most believed that the Empire was a splinter group of the Separatists known as the Neo-Separatists. Unlike their Clone Wars counterparts, the Neo-Separatists were mostly made of humans and after seven or so years were still not deemed a threat to the Republic. The Rebels were seen as more of a threat than the Empire.
Waiting in Master Skywalker's speeder outside of the building for Leia, Luke started to wonder if he should go with her. It seemed like the right thing to do, but he wasn't quite sure why. Maybe the Force was trying to say something? Luke sighed and stared at the sky. He felt like running away with the Princess and smuggler to join the Rebellion, but what would Obi-Wan say when he found out? Who knew. The Rogues, however, would probably rush off to join him. They all wanted to be fighter pilots anyway, and the Rebels took whatever recruits they could. That wasn't to say that the Rogues couldn't fly. No, they were probably better than the normal fighter pilots in the normal Republic military.
Hypothetically, if Luke did decide to go with her, would Leia allow him to do so? The Jedi hadn't expressed any interest in the conflict between the two groups, and they were in the control of the Senate, who thought that the Rebels were the bad guys. The thought then entered Luke's mind that maybe Leia wasn't even going to tell her parents she was leaving. Maybe it was better if they didn't know. Didn't Tycho say she was the youngest Senator ever elected? If she ran off, that would mean shirking her duties, and the action didn't seem very much like Leia. Laughing at himself, Luke reflected that he shouldn't be making judgments like that on people he hardly knew. He just had a feeling, though.
Luke paused. What about everyone back at the Jedi Temple? Shouldn't he tell someone that he was leaving? Like Corran? Well, maybe not Corran, but it didn't feel right just up and leaving. Luke groaned. Why was everything so complicated? Why couldn't he just have had a simple life somewhere, like Tatooine? Then he could get a job as a pilot easily. He wasn't half bad at piloting. There were many chances outside of Coruscant to get recruited for the space navy, and the crime lords always needed pilots, especially for smuggling. Luke wondered if Han worked for such a crime lord. Maybe, if he did, it was a Hutt or something. But back to the Jedi. What about Master Skywalker? Luke felt really bad about not telling him where he was going, but he knew that the Jedi Master would be more likely to try to keep Luke from leaving than Obi-Wan would be. Of course, if Luke left without telling anyone, Obi-Wan would probably be trying to find him for days, and who knew if the Rebels would let him write a letter back to everyone telling them what had happened. Assuming he went at all.
As Luke continued his musings, Leia jumped out of the turbolift from her apartment. She had only one suitcase and a small one at that. She was rather surprised to see that Luke was still there, but she was also glad he was. After lugging the suitcase over, she flung it in the back seat, which snapped Luke out of his reverie. "You're back," he stated.
"Yes, I'm back," Leia replied. "My question is why are you still here?" she asked as she got into the speeder.
As Luke started the vehicle, he hesitantly replied, "I, uh, I've always wanted to do something to help the galaxy, but the Jedi are being used less and less by the Senate. Contrary to what the Senate and Jedi Council think, the Empire is an immediate threat threat to the Republic. So I want to help the Rebellion. I... I want to be a starfighter pilot."
Leia giggled as they headed towards their destination. "You sound like---" my dad. Maybe I shouldn't call him that. I don't want anyone to break my cover. "---a friend of my mother's. He hates politics and is fed up with how the bureaucracy has been handling the whole Rebellion/Empire situation. Like you, though, he always wanted to be a pilot, and he was... but now he's stuck with a desk job."
"Poor guy. I'd hate to get the job then have to give it up..." Luke sympathized.
Leia smiled confidently. "Luke, I'm sure the Rebellion would be overjoyed to have a Jedi among its ranks. Another diplomat, however, I'm not so sure about."
"As I said before, I'm no Jedi. I'm just an apprentice... though my Master, among other Council Members, thinks that maybe I should go through the Trials soon," Luke admitted. He hadn't said anything about that to anyone, not even Corran or Wedge. "I don't understand why they think I'm ready. It's highly unusual... but a friend of mine says that I learned some technique I learned in a few minutes normally takes years to master. It's like that with all of the techniques. He's on the Council, and I suspect that he's the one that lobbied for me to go through with the Trials..."
"Your friend's on the Council?" Leia repeated, surprised. "Who is he?" I might know of him, she thought.
"Er... He's more of a father-figure, I guess... but he's Master Skywalker."
"Oh." That was even more surprising to Leia. On to more important business. Like pseudonyms. "Luke... I'm just wondering, but what's your last name?"
"I don't know," Luke replied. "I just don't know. No one's ever told me what it was..." Mara did call me 'Skywalker' yesterday, but that was just a psychological slip or something... of course, if that's true, then she probably hates me.
"Well, we're not going to have to give you a fake last name, then!" Leia said happily.
"Even worse: we're going to have to make one up..." Luke sighed.
"Cheer up!" Leia exclaimed. "Look, you are going to need a last name, so we should just figure one out now. I mean, Captain Solo'll probably want to know your name."
Luke laughed derisively. "Right. Like I'd tell him," he trailed off, feeling a little melancholy. "That's not to say I don't trust him, 'cause I sorta do for some strange reason."
Leia smiled and nodded. "I feel the same way, but don't tell him I said that."
"You're secret's safe, Princess." Luke smiled, and Leia was reminded of how much he reminded her of her father.
"Luke?" Leia said. "How about borrowing D---Anakin Skywalker's last name?"
Luke shook his head. "No. I couldn't do that. People would think that---"
"So what?" Leia blurted out. "You look enough like him, and you did say he was like a father to you. Besides, I think it fits you." Leia's mouth had been running faster than her brain, but she realized that she did mean exactly what she said.
"'Luke Skywalker.' That sounds like the name of a hero, not a runaway Jedi," Luke criticized. After a few seconds of silence, he added, "I'm so going to be kicked out of the Order for this. I'm probably breaking so many rules..." Such as borrowing Master Skywalker's speeder without permission...
Leia shrugged. "Sometimes you have to break the rules, you know. My mom's friend says they're more like guidelines, anyway."
"Except for the one about not turning to the Dark Side," Luke mentioned.
"Yeah," Leia admitted thoughtfully. "He says that's one of the few rules actually worth listening to. He also says that there's a really good reason for it, too."
"There is," Luke replied, trying to dismiss the sudden vision of a city in the clouds.
Far away from Coruscant, there was a planet in the Outer Rim. It was a highly volcanic moon, and it had formerly been the headquarters of the Separatists at the end of the Clone Wars. It was where there had supposed to have been a great battle between a Jedi Master and a Dark Lord of the Sith. Since the battle never happened, the moon was never discovered by the Republic: the Separatists had changed bases before they had been tracked to the lava planet. It was now the base of operations of the Empire.
Everything was wrong. The Empire was no where near what it should have been. It officially controlled a mere two sectors, if you added all of the planets they possessed together. They should have been controlling the galaxy under Palpatine and his pet Dark Lord, who, much to the group's dismay, was still a Jedi. The Death Star should ready to be tested, not half-finished. The Maw should have been producing super weapons like there was no tomorrow, but it wasn't. Bilbringi should have been constructing the Executor and Lusankya, but the ship yards were not working on any Super-class Star Destroyers. Finally, the Republic should have been nothing more than the pitiful Rebel Alliance, trying to stay alive while being chased around the galaxy at the leisure of the Grand Moffs and Admirals with the Dark Lord occasionally in tow. In short, the Empire fell drastically, if not pathetically, short of what it should have been.
In the conference room, the best and brightest military commanders and political leaders of the Empire were seated at the table, which should have had blood spattered all over it and boot marks on it from the battle between the Jedi and Sith. Alas, those too were missing. At the head of the table was Grand Moff Tarkin. The only reason he was at the head of the table was that he was in control of the development of the Death Star, therefore being the one in control. At Tarkin's left side was Admiral Zsinj, who was muttering what was most likely curse words in every language he knew. On his right was a holo-transmission of Ysanne Isard, the Empire's Head of Intelligence. She was in control of a spy network that rivaled the Bothans, even though she was only seventeen. Also present in the same form as Isard was Sage Pestage. Most of the other Grand Admirals and Grand Moffs were present as well in one form or another. The guest at the table was the Falleen Prince Xizor of the Black Sun. He was seated across from Tarkin.
Discussions about current Imperial plans and what the Black Sun could do to help the Empire gain control of the galaxy were about to start when they occupants of the room heard a pounding on the door. Ysanne Isard glanced at the screen which should have said what was outside the door. According to it, there was no one there. The pounding continued. No one moved, except for Xizor. "Shouldn't someone answer the door?" he asked. "What if it's one of your lackeys?"
Ignoring the scathing comment, Tarkin glared at the door. "Who would know we were here?" he murmured angrily to himself. "The Republic doesn't think us a threat, but what about the Jedi? They've always been the problem."
The pounding on the door became more insistent. One of the Grand Moffs was starting to get very nervous because an idea had already formed in his mind: what if Palpatine was back from the dead? It was certainly possible. "I'll go answer the door..." he said, walking over. Everyone in the room watched as he opened the door.
There was a dark figure in the doorway with another Grand Admiral and two royal guards behind him. Everyone stared in shock at the figure. They had been prepared for Palpatine returning from the dead... but not him. Or, should they say, them? Two more darkly shrouded figures had mysteriously appeared from behind the Royal Guards in addition to one or two of the Emperor's Hands. The most useful one was missing, of course. A bio-droid lingered at the back of the group, in the shadows.
"Surprised to see us?" the Grand Admiral with the glowing red eyes asked.
Tarkin smiled. "A little, but we are honored to have you join us. All of you."
"Soon, we will be unstoppable," Isard said, grinning evilly.
"Just as the Empire was meant to be," the Grand Admiral finished.
Half way across the galaxy, back on Coruscant, Anakin Skywalker suddenly had a very bad feeling. The Force felt more balanced, and the Hero With No Fear found that not only was fate changing, but that he was afraid. So destiny had finally caught up with them...
And so the Galactic Civil War began anew.
Reviews: Thank you JadeAlmasy and Jane for reviewing chapter 3. Thank you Yuna-flowering for reviewing chapter 2.
Tinnyna: Thank you, but the reaction you were talking about isn't going to happen for a (most likely) long while.
SuperBlonde: Yes, the prequel trilogy who learned what was going to happen in the future as a result from the events in Fixing A Hole still retain that knowledge, and the people from the classic trilogy don't know, supposedly. Some of them remember things, like the Imperials (as you now know), and some, like Mara and others, have the dreams of the future. As to whether everyone will figure out what was supposed to happen, that's a secret!
Lunatic Pandora1: I'm glad you like Anakin's behavior. It was really fun writing that part. As to whether Mara knows about Anakin being Vader... She does now, but she didn't before the dream at the beginning of the chapter, hence why she was puzzled when she had almost called Anakin Vader earlier.
Niraha Skywalker: They will figure it out eventually... With them, though, you know it's going to take a while.
Favorites: Thank you JadeAlmasy, Elisia Kenobi, and Omorocco for adding this to your favorites list.
Story Alert: Thank you JadeAlmasy, La'rosh, SuperBlonde, and The-Knight2000 for adding this to your story alert list.
Again, thank you all so very much.