CHAPTER 1
She opened her eyes.
"State your name and purpose," he said.
"I am Misery, Bringer of Darkness," she replied.
"Do you know me?" he asked. Lady Misery searched her memories.
"Kanyen Elbakni, Master of the Dark Jedi," she replied after a moment. There was something else, something that connected her to him. She couldn't quite focus on it.
"Do you know who you are?" he asked.
"Misery, Bringer of Darkness," she repeated. "Dark Jedi, and your pupil."
"Yes, but do you know that you are an Elbakni?" His growing impatience reached her, and she straightened her posture further. She had to understand.
"Are you my brother?" There was a brother in her memories, but she couldn't quite see his face.
"You are my wife, Lady Misery Elbakni, and I expect you to remember it." His voice was calm, but through the Force she felt his fury stopping just short of striking out at her.
"Oh," she said. She knew the word wife, but it held no real meaning for her. "Who is my brother?" She cared just enough to wonder.
Lord Elbakni walked around her in a slow circle, looking at her from every direction. His anger at her was growing, though not much. Not yet.
"Tell me what you know of this brother," he commanded. She told him what little she could.
"I remember a boy," she said. "Very much like me; a—a friend. A little animal. A lightsaber. Is he a Jedi?"
"Your brother is a Jedi, but not a Dark Jedi. He is on the Light Side." That told her all she needed to know. Her brother must be one of those weak philosophers who were too afraid to touch the true Force. She doubted he would have the spine to challenge them, but if he did, she would have no trouble defeating him. Perhaps she could convince him to join them. Still, that was beside the point; she didn't even know his name or what he looked like.
"Do you remember any other members of your old family?" Lord Elbakni asked.
"No, My Lord," she said.
"Good. They are all gone. I am all you have left in the universe." He made a gesture, and a door opened behind him. Two very small children, a girl and a boy, walked into the room, looking timid.
"Long live the Empire," the little boy said in a small voice.
"These two are Luc and Nova, our Dark Jedi Twins. They will be your charges from this day forward. You will train them as you see fit."
"I am always happy to serve my Empire," said Lady Misery. "And my Master and husband as well."
*
The first training session was not going well.
"Do it again," Lady Misery told Luc, resisting the urge to slap him. That would do no good and only send both of the twins into hysterics again.
"I can't," Luc said in a whiny tone that made her jaw clench.
"Do it," she said in an even firmer tone. It wouldn't do to let them think they would get away with their childishness while she was training them.
Luc concentrated until he went cross-eyed, but the lightsaber didn't do anything.
"Do it!" she shouted, startling him into dropping the weapon.
"Why can't we have the kind with a button, like the Light-Siders?" he complained.
"Where did you hear that?" Misery asked coldly.
"I remembered it, Lady Misery," Nova said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "I told him."
"The things that happened to you and the things that you learned before you came to Lord Elbakni are irrelevant," Misery told her. "They don't matter," she clarified when both children looked confused. "Your old lives are gone. You are orphans, with no family left except each other. Lord Elbakni and I have graciously decided to care for you and train you in the ways of the Dark Side so that you may be strong when you grow up. Anyone else would have left you where you were, and then you would have had no lives at all. This is why you must be grateful to Lord Elbakni, and you must never question him. We know what is best for you. Do you understand?"
Luc nodded, but Nova said, "No."
"What do you not understand?" Misery asked with her teeth clenched.
"Why can't we have a lightsaber with a button?"
"We are disciples of the Dark Side. We have all the power of the Dark Side at our disposal. The Light-Siders are infinitely weaker than we are."
"You mean…we're supposed to be stronger than they are, so we should be able to do more." Luc asked tentatively.
"Yes," said Lady Misery. "Now do it." Luc hesitated. "Let's make a bargain, children," Misery said calmly. "As soon as you learn to do this one simple thing, Luc, you may eat." He looked confused, so she added, "Not until you learn it."
"Oh." Luc shut his eyes, trying to force the lightsaber on. There was a flicker, and then it died. Nova, perhaps thinking her tutor couldn't tell which one of them was working, reached for the lightsaber and turned it on herself. Misery ripped the lightsaber from Luc's hands, leaving scratches where the metal rubbed against his skin. It came to rest in her hand and she swung it down, stopping centimeters from the little girl's neck.
"Do that again," she snapped, "and I won't stop. You have already proven your ability at this little task—and don't flatter yourself that it's any great thing. There are thousands of other children out there much more powerful than you, and one or both of you could be replaced any time Your Lord decrees. If I had my way you would both be gone, but Lord Elbakni still sees some use in you. I don't understand it, but I suppose that is why he is our Emperor instead of me."
"Leave my sister alone," Luc said breathlessly, looking as if he might faint or throw up or both.
"Get to your quarters," Misery said coldly. "If I hear of you sneaking food you had better hope there is nothing sharp or heavy in my hands." White-faced, the children scrambled out of the room. Gradually, a call from Lord Elbakni reached Misery's senses. She clipped her lightsaber to her belt and walked to Lord Elbakni's office.
"Long live the Empire," she said, saluting. Lord Elbakni saluted back.
"Have a seat," he said. "My Lady of Darkness, tell me. How is it going with the children?"
"Not well, Milord. They are weak and undisciplined, very disobedient, and Luc doesn't seem to have any kind of aggressive power," she said.
"Give them time," he said. "They are still very young." Misery nodded. "Well, Lady Misery, I called you here for a reason. Do you remember the plans we made for the revival of the Empire?"
"You will be the Emperor, and I will be your Darth Vader. When we die, Luc and Nova will take our places," she responded automatically.
"Yes," said Lord Elbakni. "But for a time that cannot happen. And do you know why? Do you know the great obstacle that stands in our way?"
"The…Republic?" she asked.
"Yes. Your mission is to bring down this…Republic and clear the path for the Empire to take its rightful place in the universe," he said.
"How will I do that?" she wondered.
"There are only a few people who need to die," he said. "The leaders of the Republic—namely the Chief of State, Leia Organa Solo, along with anyone else who spends any amount of time with her. Any heroes of the 'rebellion,' such as Han Solo and his ilk. And the foremost among the Light-Side Jedi, such as Luke and Mara Skywalker, and Anakin Solo. Also Tenel Ka, the wife of Jacen Solo, Queen of Dathomir and Heir to Hapes. Her loss will throw both of those systems into a state of confusion and prevent them from moving against us when we take over. All of these are on the old Imperial Capitol right now. You are to kill them all, along with anyone else you see who so much as speaks to one of them. Then you return here. You will go out for more assassinations among the New Republic and Jedi later, when they are no longer expecting you."
"Yes, My Lord. Is there anything else?"
"Indeed there is," he said with a faint smile. "There are very many young Jedi children who can be molded to our ways. You will capture as many as you can from the Solo family. Later we will raid the Jedi Academy for others, but the Solos are likely to be the most powerful." He hesitated just a moment. "Luke Skywalker's oldest is seven. She may be too old for our purposes. Take anyone younger than our twins; for the others, use your best judgment. If they are too wild, you may kill them."
"Yes, Lord Elbakni. I will proceed as you wish," she said, saluting.
"Leave as soon as your TIE fighter is ready," he said. That was her dismissal.
Misery returned to her quarters and changed into a black flightsuit, which was slightly less conspicuous than her uniform, then headed down to the docking bay. The crew of the star destroyer consisted mainly of her, Lord Elbakni, the twins, and a few mechanics, techs, droids, and soldiers. Misery found when searching the slippery memories of her life before her rebirth that she could have done any repairs or touch-ups on the little ship designated as hers. In fact, she could recall being told that she was the best pilot in the galaxy, though she couldn't recall the context.
She did try not to remember. Her old memories just seemed to want to come to the surface. She ignored them as best she could.
Misery climbed up the ladder to her TIE fighter. The controls seemed unfamiliar, as if she were used to flying a different kind of ship. It wouldn't slow her down. She punched the button, and the TIE fighter shuddered to life.
"Preparing to enter hyperspace," she said to herself, inputting the coordinates into the navicomputer. The stars turned to starlines as she shot off toward Coruscant.
*
Leia Organa Solo, Jedi Knight and Chief of State of the New Republic, sat at her desk feeling completely helpless.
Her daughter was missing. She had been gone for more than a month.
With every day that Jaina was gone it became less likely that she would magically show up at home, or that they would get a ransom note, or that they would even get some sign of where to find her.
Leia closed her eyes and tried to block out the image of her baby lying dead in a ditch on some remote dirtball in the outer rim. Nobody had actually felt Jaina die; she had just somehow disappeared from everyone's senses.
Leia stroked the handle of the lightsaber she had lately been wearing at her side, thinking of how gladly she'd carve whoever had her daughter.
And her grandchildren. If the children were hurt…
For her daughter, Leia had only thoughts of vengeance by now. But for the children…She had to hope. If whoever had taken them was cruel enough to murder two innocent children (her mind flashed suddenly on Hethrir, though he hadn't physically harmed her babies…) She would kill them, quite cheerfully, and with no regrets.
*
Misery walked down the hallway, hugging the shadows. She had put on a helmet with a tinted visor so as not to be recognised. Almost the entire family was there: Leia and Han Solo and their sons, and even Luke and Mara Skywalker. None of the children were in evidence, most likely being stored with useful relatives on a "safe" world.
Lady Misery climbed to the top of the catwalk and lay flat on her stomach. She distorted the Force around her to make her feel like a piece of plasteel to the Jedi. They would all have to come through here to get back to Imperial Palace. Misery gritted her teeth, angry at the rebels for stealing the capitol from her Empire.
Suddenly, Misery felt a twinge in the Force, meaning several Jedi were coming her way. She looked down. It was her targets—all of them. They were all dressed in the traditional colours of mourning for each of their worlds, probably for the one Lord Elbakni had 'taken care of.'
Get over it, she thought. You have bigger things to worry about now. She decided to take out the Chief of State first. Even if she didn't get any of the others, her death would probably be enough for Lord Elbakni to overthrow the government. If nothing else, her death would distract the rest of her family. Just as Misery pulled the trigger, all of the Jedi looked up at her. Han Solo, the only non-Jedi, was the first to react, throwing himself on his wife to shove her out of the way. The beam hit him in the lower back, and they both collapsed.
"Dammit," Misery whispered as they dropped to the ground. The hero was the least important! The two sons, Jacen and Anakin, started climbing up to her. She took off running, but they were right behind her. She looked back and fired without aiming, hitting Anakin in the leg. She was suddenly knocked to the ground as Jacen tackled her. She wrestled with him, trying to throw him off. He knocked off her helmet and then just stopped, staring at her.
"You?" he said breathlessly.
"I am Misery, Bringer of Darkness," she said. She placed the end of her blaster against his forehead. "This can kill even a Jedi at this range." She pulled the trigger.
*
Anakin limped after his brother. He saw him knock the assassin down and knock off her helmet. Anakin could tell that it was a woman, but he couldn't tell much else. Jacen knocked off the assassin's helmet, then just sat there.
What's he doing? Anakin thought. The assassin put her blaster against Jacen's face.
"No!" Anakin cried, using the Force to pull the blaster out of her hand. The beam went wild, much to Anakin's relief. He had already lost a sister…
The assassin pushed on the suddenly limp Jacen's chest with both hands, knocking him off her. Anakin tried to run after her.
"Come on," he said when he realised that Jacen wasn't moving. "What's wrong? Hurry up!" Jacen just sat there.
"That was Jaina," he whispered finally.
*
Misery ran to the nearest communicator and called for Lord Elbakni.
"Lady Misery," he said. "Have you completed your mission already?"
"No, Lord Elbakni. I only just took down Han Solo. However...One of his sons recognised me. He seemed to know me quite well," she said, a question in her voice.
"Come back tomorrow with the outgoing morning traffic," Lord Elbakni said. "Kill them if you can, but don't worry about it if you don't. I will explain everything when you return." He hesitated. "Don't let anyone see you," he said finally.
"Yes, Lord Elbakni," said Misery. She shut off the communicator and returned to her TIE fighter where she sat, thinking.
"Who am I?" she wondered. She could hardly remember anything before her rebirth. She certainly didn't know who she had been, and she hadn't cared until just now.
Who was she?
*
"How's Dad?" Anakin asked instantly when his older brother came into his room.
"Well, Mom's flipped, of course, and won't leave his side, but I think he should be all right," Jacen said, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed. "How are you?"
"They won't let me get up, but I think I'll be fine. So…Have you said anything about Jaina yet?"
"No," Jacen said reluctantly. "I just…what if I was wrong? I don't want to get everybody's hopes up if this Misery character turns out to be someone else. I mean…we all know what's probably happened to Jaina." He suddenly found that he couldn't quite breathe. Seeing this, Anakin took over for him.
"What if you were right? Who would know her better than her own twin?" Before Jacen could come up with an answer, his comlink started beeping at him. He activated it.
"Jacen Solo, this is Lady Misery; I wish to speak with you," said a rushed female voice. The comlink shut off before Jacen had time to do more than blink.
"One of two possibilities," Anakin said after a pause. They both knew the possibilities. One, of course, was that this was an obvious trap. The other was that it was legitimate. Possibly that it was Jaina.
"I have to go," said Jacen. Anakin nodded, considered going along and then remembered that he couldn't walk.
"Be careful, big brother," he said.
"I will, little brother."
*
Misery waited impatiently, sure that Jacen wouldn't come. Worse, he might come and then betray her. On the other hand, she could betray him. That would be the logical course of action.
She heard a sound behind her and whirled, bringing up her lightsaber.
"Relax, it's just me," Jacen said, stepping into the light. Misery shut off her lightsaber but didn't clip it back onto her belt.
"Do you know me?" she asked. He peered at her face and then smiled.
"Of course, Jaina," he said. "How could I not know my own twin?"
Misery jumped despite her best efforts to hold still. Jaina? The twin? That was more than she had expected.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "Can you tell me with absolute certainty that I am who you think I am?" He paused for just a moment.
"You feel a little different, but it's definitely you," he said. Misery (or Jaina?) turned away.
"Then you're all my family," she whispered. "Wait. If you are my family, why did you turn against me?"
"We didn't turn, Jaina, you did," Jacen said softly. "You were kidnapped."
"That's impossible," scoffed Misery. "You can only be Reborn if you come of your own free will. Even the children know that."
"What children?" Jacen asked, his eyes lighting up with what looked like hope.
"The twins. The ones who will inherit the Empire. My students," Misery informed him.
"Are their names Nova and Luc?" he asked.
"How did you know that?"
"That makes sense," Jacen muttered without answering her. "That would explain how they got you. What about Kanyen? He disappeared, too."
"Oh, you mean my husband, Lord Elbakni. He is my Emperor and my teacher in the ways of the Dark Side."
"Blaster bolts, Jaya, they really did a number on you!" Jacen said. "At least if the kids were your students, you kept them safe." Misery nodded, although she had no idea what he was talking about. "Uncle Luke was so glad when they were born," he continued. "Mom and Dad were, too, of course, but Uncle Luke…I thought we'd have to put a restraining bolt on him."
"Why?" Misery asked.
"Because Luc was named after him," said Jacen.
"Why would his parents name him after—our—uncle?" asked Misery. Jacen's eyes widened as he stared at her in disbelief.
"Don't you even know who those children are?" he cried. "Jaina, you're their mother!"
"No, you're wrong," Misery said, slowly backing away. "You're wrong. You're lying!"
"No, Jaina. No, I'm not," Jacen said softly.
"Stop calling me Jaina! I am Misery, Bringer of Darkness!" she cried forcefully. "And I'm leaving!"
"I'm afraid I can't let you," he said, grabbing her arm. "We can help you, Jay--" Without thinking, she slammed her hand into the side of his face. Then she turned and ran.
*
Luc and Nova sat together on the floor of their room. They were both in a very bad mood. Lady Misery had been gone for days, but Lord Elbakni had told them that she was due back any minute. Luc was afraid of Lady Misery. He still couldn't do anything important with the Force. He couldn't even do as much as turn on a lightsaber. He could see things just fine, but when he tried to make a change it just didn't work. Luc didn't know why Nova was stronger than he was, and he didn't know why it was so important for him to be the strongest. After all, she was oldest.
"Lordy Elbow-head's calling us," Nova said. When Luc concentrated, he could feel it too.
"Don't call Lord Ebakani that," he said. "He'll be the Emperor someday. Besides, he's way nicer than Lady Misery."
"They don't scare me, not either one of them," Nova said bravely. But Luc heard her voice quiver a little.
"Come on," Luc said. "We'd better go see what Lord Elbow-head wants." Luc hated to call his Master names like that, but he would do anything to make his sister happy. They took the turbolift to Lord Elbakni's office.
"Long live the Empire," Luc said as he saluted. Nova stubbornly kept her mouth shut. Lord Elbakni looked at her expectantly. Luc tried to copy the look on his face.
"Long live the Empire," she said finally.
"What a bright little pair you are," Lord Elbakni said, instantly turning most of his attention away from Nova now that he had what he wanted of her. "Are you children ready for a special treat?" Luc nodded enthusiastically.
"What is it?" Nova asked warily.
"That's, 'what is it, sir,'" Lord Elbakni told her. "You must never forget the sir. That goes for you too, Luc."
"Yes, sir," the twins said together.
"You see," said Lord Elbakni, "A bright pair." There was a pause. "Well. Your treat. Your dear teacher has come back." Nova was about to groan; Luc poked her in the ribs when Lord Elbakni wasn't watching. "I suggest you go see her immediately." It wasn't really a suggestion.
"Yes, sir," Luc said, saluting. Nova saluted, too.
"I don't want to see Lady Misery," Nova said after they left his office.
"Me neither," said Luc. "But we've gotta."
"Not me," Nova said crossly. "I'm staying here." She plopped down on the floor.
"Nova! You have to go, Lord Ebakani said." Nova just sat. "Lady Misery will punish you." She would punish him too, and probably worse than Nova, but he didn't say so. Luc tried to pull her with his hands and then with the Force. She didn't budge. "Come on," he said, making a sad face. "I don't want to go by myself."
"So don't go," Nova said. Luc smiled. Now he was getting somewhere.
"I am going," he said, and started walking. It wasn't too long before he heard his sister's footsteps behind him.
*
When Lady Misery let them in, Luc knew instantly that he was different, though he couldn't quite tell how. He examined her, trying to figure it out. He was startled to find tears in the corners of her eyes when she looked back at him.
"Lady Misery, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" he asked. He was shocked to find that he would readily blast away anyone who did something terrible enough to make Lady Misery cry. He and Nova went over to hold her hands.
"You can tell us," Nova said helpfully. "Maybe we can make it better." Even though Lady Misery was so mean and scary, Luc and Nova both wanted just to make her feel happy. And Luc quickly discovered that she had just the right sort of body for hugging. Luc wanted to throw himself into her arms and call her mama. As if she was reading his thoughts, and maybe she was, Lady Misery said,
"Children, I have a very important question for you. I want you to answer truthfully and honestly." Nova nodded nervously. "Do you know who your parents are?" That was the last question Luc had expected.
"Lady Misery, you said to forget the past. You said it was bad," Nova said. Luc felt her confusion.
"I know what I said, but now things are…different. Try to remember. Anything," said Lady Misery. Luc tried. Nova shrugged.
"Sorry," Luc whispered.
"There must be a reason," Lady Misery said absently. "Maybe he wants to wait until you're older. I suppose it doesn't matter. Would you two like to have a lesson now, since we're all here? Show me what you practiced while I was gone." Luc felt himself start to panic, but reached for the lightsaber Lady Misery was offering anyway. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried as hard as he could to turn it on.
"Take deep breaths," she said. "You're too tense. You'll never be able to control anything unless you can relax—then it will come to you willingly." This was the opposite of what she had been telling them, which was to get as angry as they could and then use that to force things to do what they wanted—which, she had told them, was why it was called the Force.
He still couldn't do it.
"That's all right," she said, taking the lightsaber from him.
"It is?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Of course. Learning takes time." She handed the lightsaber to Nova. "Now you try." Nova hardly had to blink, and a beam of red light shot up from the end. Lady Misery turned it off and gave it back to Luc. "Try one more time," she told him. Luc made it spark, but that was all.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Are you going to punish me?"
"Not this time," Lady Misery said gently.
"You're not?" Lady Misery shook her head and reached for her lightsaber. Luc looked around. He could see the Force all around him. Why wouldn't it do what he said? Please do this for me, he said silently.
Snap-hiss.
They all stared at the humming, glowing blade.
"You did it," Nova said in a hushed voice. "You did it!" The beam of the lightsaber flickered and died. Lady Misery smiled proudly.
"Congratulations, my—Luc," she said. "Now that you have this power, you're ready to start your real training." She handed them each a small lightsaber that had been hanging on the wall behind her. Luc activated his with some difficulty. The blade was white. "These are called practice sabers. They don't have enough power to hurt you, just sting a little. Practice turning them on and off, and tomorrow I'll teach you to fight." Luc grinned in anticipation—finally, something he might be good at.
*