Chapter 8 : In the Name of the Empire
As a boy, Darth Vader had looked up at the Tatooine night sky, ablaze with the glory of a million stars, and wished that he could visit them all. As a man he had visited more than most, but of course realized the impossibility of his boyhood wish. Still, the thought of going into Wild Space, to explore the unknown, fed his very soul. He wondered if his boy, gazing up at the same night sky, would grow up with the same dream of adventure.
He would once again be setting foot on the sands of Tatooine, but not to rescue his son.The temptation to make a side trip, to set eyes upon Luke again, had played through his mind, but he knew it was a self indulgent wish. Risking bringing Imperial attention on the boy would not help him bring Luke home. Only when he walked as his own master would that dream come true.
All his recent assignments had begun to run together : quell an uprising here, seek out a fugitive there, instill the fear of the Empire in yet someplace else. Much of it was politics, not leadership, in his eyes. If it didn't seem so illogical, he would have said that Palpatine enjoyed the intrigue and secret maneuverings. If he really thought about it, it did seem that Palpatine, from Senator, to Chancellor, to Emperor, always seemed to play one side against the other, and then preside over the mess. Now with one hand the Emperor permitted the Chandrilan Senator Mon Mothma to speak in open defiance of the Empire , and with the other hand he built an increasingly powerful Imperial Navy that could crush such growing resistance.
And crank up the fire on the great Imperial war machine Palpatine did. The naval fleet was expanding, the new class Star Destroyers, ten times the length of the current class, were advancing in the design phase, and Governor Tarkin's Great Weapon project continued with generous governmental support. The demands for metals required by these construction projects led the Empire to search for raw materials in increasingly creative ways. Thus, Vader found himself back on Tatooine, chasing down two year old leads on a high grade doonium find.
Kel Wezla had come across the rumored Lost Sundarian Planetoid legend during his surveillance to discover the truth about missing Exargan ore . According to the tale, Run Vangermes, a native of Sundaria, was a small time prospector who began paying his cantina tab with pebbles of almost pure doonium. His tongue loosened by drink, he confessed one night that he had stumbled across a planetoid in uncharted space on which doonium nuggets were scattered on the surface. He left a marker buoy in orbit to help him find the planetoid again, and kept his jump routes secret, though many tried to follow him. He was finally killed in Mos Eisley by other spacers who tried to extract the planetoid's location from him.
In the time since Vangermes' death, other fortune seekers had determined the first few jumps from landmark systems that Vangermes described, but the planetoid with the buoy marker, and its potential fortune in doonium had never been located. While the planetoid had never been found, the existence of the high grade doonium Vangermes presented was undisputed. Somewhere in the uncharted regions of Wild Space, in the area beyond Lamaredd, the resources to build the Super Star Destroyers lay waiting. Darth Vader was assigned to lead a scientific ship into the unknown, and claim the planetoid in the name of the Empire.
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The Imperial mining frigate Distant Star entered hyperspace, making the jump from Tatooine to Lamaredd, the most distant Outer Rim system charted on Galactic maps. Inside, the geological crew were double checking their sensor and analysis equipment. The senior geologist of the pair was not very senior at all. Zhan Rion had earned his doctorate from the Imperial Institute of Technology only a few years before. His family had opposed him joining the Imperial Forces, but it seemed to him a good way to pay for his education, and he had not regretted his choice.
"So, what do you think of our commanding officer?" asked Zhan's coworker, Spir Tazny, who had been two classes back at Imperial Tech. For emphasis, Spir cupped his hand over his mouth and made loud breathing noises.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to make fun of the disabled ?" Zhan chastised."Besides, maybe he's nonhuman. I think your Imperial bias is showing."
"Highly unlikely," countered Spir."How many nonhumans have you seen in the Imperial Forces, especially at the command level?"
"Well, I've certainly had worse. At least his meetings don't go on for hours. I can deal with him," Zhan said.
Spir was not done aggravating his supervisor. "So how do you think we're going to find this Lost Sundarian Planetoid ? After Lamaredd, we have two, maybe three, marked jumps. Then we, what, cross our fingers ?"
Zhan shook his head."I'm sure they have it all planned out. The Empire isn't known for flying by the seat of its pants. Anyways, didn't you get into geology with the hopes of making discoveries, exploring planets, understanding the origins of the universe ?"
Spir laughed."I got into geology with the hopes of working in the Corporate Sector and making the choice credits."
"That's where you and I differ," Zhan said." I'm looking forward to expanding the known edge of the Galaxy."
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Darth Vader leaned over the dining table in the mess hall that doubled as a briefing room on board the Distant Star. The four men who comprised the navigation crew leaned as far back in their chairs as gravity permitted in an effort to maintain distance from the looming black figure.
Vader's tone was even deeper and more unyielding than usual."You are all aware that we are heading into uncharted space, and that there is great danger involved. If you follow my commands precisely, we will all come through this alive. We may not find the planet we are after, but we will be safe. Disobey me, and we may all end up as particles floating through the Galaxy. Is there a man among you who does not think he can follow my orders exactly ?"
"Sir," began Ensign Draig,"you will tell us when to come out of lightspeed ?" His voice carried the uncertainty that the whole group felt.
"I will tell you exactly when to exit hyperspace. Can you do this ?"
Four heads nodded in unison.
"Good." Vader's voice softened a bit. "Let's get to work."
------
The Distant Star was a large vessel, but most of its bulk was occupied by its enormous cargo hold, meant to transport quanties of ore, and the equipment needed to extract that ore. The crew compartment was relatively small, leading to a minimizing of the usual barrier between commanders and crew on Imperial ships. That may have contributed to most of the crew being near the bridge when the first jumps into Wild Space began, but more likely it was because they all shared the same apprehension about where they were going.
The first jump from Lamaredd had been accomplished by several prospectors at Mos Eisley, so when the Distant Star exited hyperspace uneventfully, the coordinates were charted, and the known area of space was extended further. The second jump proceeded much as the first, ending in the perimeter of a system with a dwarf sun and five planets, the location of which was also duly noted.
The third jump was the problematic one. Those who had forced Vangermes to reveal the location of his find had tried to follow his directions, but never returned from their search. The next wave of fortune seekers were divided between those who lost their courage before entering jump three, and those that lost communications after jump three. Perhaps the coordinates were written incorrectly, or perhaps the Sundarian had exacted his revenge on those who had murdered him, but either way the location of the planetoid remained Vangermes' secret.
Darth Vader instructed his navigators on how to proceed with the third jump. "Enter the coordinates for the next jump, but put the ship on manual control. Tell me when we have attained the coordinates, but only exit hyperspace on my command. Is that clear ?"
The navigators affirmed their understanding. "Aye, sir."
"Then take us to lightspeed," Vader commanded.
Through the viewing windows, the star fields went first to starlines, then began a clockwise rotation that took on a swirled appearance.
"How long shiptime before we reach the set coordinates ?" Vader asked.
"Two point three standard hours, sir," replied Ensign Draig.
"Then alert me point seven hours before we arrive," Vader said before leaving the bridge.
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Nervousness among the crew began to increase as the time approached to leave hyperspace. Even the scientific crew gathered in the corridor near the bridge, waiting to see if they, and the Distant Star, were to be part of the fleet claimed by the flaw in Vangermes' instructions.
The heavy footsteps of Darth Vader parted the crowd as he approached the bridge, but it quickly reformed behind him. He walked to the front viewing windows of the Distant Star, then swung around to stare briefly at the silent crowd.
When he did speak, it was only to the navigators. "Tell me when we have arrived at the coordinates, then await my command."
Vader moved dead center to the window, spread his feet wide apart as if bracing himself, and folded his arms across his chest.In front of him, the starlines swirled in their same inscrutable pattern.
Time passed, but Vader said nothing more, and did not change position. The navigators glanced nervously at each other, but maintained the silence, as did the crew gathered at the back of the bridge, who dared not even whisper among themselves. The Distant Star continued hurtling through hyperspace, the passage of time marked by the eerie metronome of Vader's breaths.
"Coordinates attained," said Ensign Draig, but Vader gave no sign of acknowledgement. The navigators remained fixated on their instruments, poised to bring the ship into normal space.
Spir Tazny's voice broke the silence before Vader's did. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
Vader shot one black gloved hand into the air, but did not turn to answer.
Tazny's fear had grabbed hold of him, and would not turn loose. "We're all going to die!" he shouted.
"Silence that man and get him off the bridge! " Vader ordered, without turning from the starlines.
Zhan took hold of Spir's arm and shoved him through the crowd into the corridor. "You're the one who's going to get us killed. You can't break rank and take on the CO like that. What's wrong with you ?"
Spir slumped against the corridor wall, eyes closed, breathing rapidly, but didn't reply.
The ship gave a small shudder. "See, we just exited hyperspace. Nothing happened, not even a bobble," Zhan said. "I'm going to have the med droid give you some Taldol, and let you sleep it off in your bunk."
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After depositing the Taldol sedated Tazny in his quarters, Zhan made his way to the metallurgical analysis lab. Spir would sleep for a few hours, and his anxiety should be diminished when he awoke. Zhan hoped so for Spir's sake ; it sometimes took only a single negative report to get a geologist permanently stationed planetside on some dreary quarry of a world.
Zhan decided to make another attempt at fixing the erractically operating thermal analysis sensor. He looked at the battered casing on the device, and could only shake his head. If he had one complaint about the Empire, it was that it would spend untold fortunes on new Star Destroyers, but wouldn't spring for new scientific equipment. With a sigh, he picked up his tools, and began removing the casing from the device.
In the background he could hear the mechanical ventilator that foretold the arrival of Darth Vader. With luck, Zhan thought, he'll keep right on going.
Zhan turned when he realized that not only had Vader not passed the lab, but that he had walked into it.
"I apologize for the conduct of my colleague," Zhan said, trying to lessen Spir's punishment by beating Vader to the punch. "I hope you can forgive him. He's young, hasn't been on many missions yet. But he's really smart. He'll do a good job for you."
"Age is no excuse, Doctor. He's hardly any younger than we are," Vader said."Make sure that it doesn't happen again. Distracting me at a critical time like that could have been a fatal error."
"Absolutely, sir. I've had him treated by the medic. He'll perform without fail," Zhan said, trying to contain his astonishment at Vader's statement. Of all the things he had guessed might be inside the black suit, none of them had been a peer.
"What are you working on ?" Vader asked.
"Uh, this pulse thermal sensor is a little unreliable. I can work without it, but it'd be nice to have if we do find our mystery planetoid."
"Let me see it," Vader ordered.
Zhan stepped aside, and thought, whatever propels your speeder. He hadn't ever had a CO express such personal interest in his work before.
Vader examined the sensor closely. He touched the input connections on one of the circuit boards, then handed the device back to Zhan. "I grew up fixing machines, and used to really enjoy it, but my fine dexterity is not what it once was. Try replacing the optical coupling on the flash generator. I think you'll find it's bad."
"Uh, thank you, sir," Zhan stumbled."I missed the exit from hyperspace. Did we find the system we're after ?"
"No marker buoy appears to be present in this system, but we are conducting a brief patrol to be certain," Vader said.
"How will we know where to go next ?"
"I will meditate with the Force for guidance."
"The Force," repeated Zhan."You mean like what the Jedi used ?"
"Not all Force users are Jedi," Vader said with a hint of anger, " but, yes, that same Force."
"Can you read my mind ?" Zhan asked with trepidation. Maybe he should have been guarding his thoughts more closely.
Vader snorted through his mask. "That's a myth. I can sense your feelings, broad thoughts, images, but not exact words."
"So how does the Force help you navigate ?" Zhan said, hoping Vader would sense he spoke to satisfy only his curiosity.
It had been a long time since anyone had asked Vader about the Force, since anyone had appreciated his powers. "The Force allows me to see the future. I see events before they happen."
"But it wasn't possible to see the route ahead of time ?"
"It's not that simple," Vader said. "I do have visions of the far future, but they are less detailed. The future is always in motion, swirling around multiple probabilities. The farther away an event is, the more difficult it is to see with certainty. When I fly, I see things before they happen, because the window is shorter. As an event approaches, one probability becomes a near certainty, and I see it."
"So when the ship was in hyperspace, you saw when it would be safe to exit ?" Zhan said.
"Yes, exactly," said Vader, pleased that Zhan had understood. "At the moment we passed the preset coordinates, I sensed death. I think we would have impacted something. When I could feel only that we would survive, I gave the order to return to normal space."
"But if we don't find anything in this system, we're going to have to make another jump ?"
"Yes, and if your subordinate is continuing to have difficulties with space travel, you need to keep him confined to his quarters. I will not allow another disruption on the bridge," Vader said.
"Yes, sir. I'll make sure he's 100 percent good to go," Zhan said.
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Zhan Rion had almost finished installing the new optical coupling in the ancient thermal sensor when Spir walked slowly in to the metallurgical lab. "You doing OK, Spir ?"
"Feel like I got run over by a turbo tank, but otherwise I'm OK," Spir said. "Where are we ?"
"We're patrolling the system we landed in after the third jump. I think we'll be heading out on the next jump soon," Zhan said. "Can you handle it ?"
"I'll be all right. I guess embarrassment isn't a terminal condition, though I'm not sure I'll want to show my face on the bridge again."
"I spoke with the CO. You're OK this time, but I wouldn't cross him. I don't think he tolerates the same mistake twice," Zhan said.
"Don't worry," said Spir. "What are you working on, anyways ?"
"I'm testing this thermal sensor, now that it's all back together."
"That hunk of junk ? We tried fixing that a million times. It's beyond repair," Spir said.
"Our CO didn't think so," Zhan said.
"What does he know about pulse thermal analysis ?"
"All I can tell you is that he diagnosed the problem with this sensor just by touching it. No test equipment or anything, just touching it," Zhan said.
"How did he do that? " Spir said.
"He used the Force," Zhan said with a smile.
"The Force, you mean what the Jedi used ?"
"That's what I said, but don't say it to him; it makes him mad," Zhan said. "He's also using it to navigate the ship."
"Ugh, maybe I don't feel so good afterall. Whoever heard of that ?"
"I don't know, but he's dead serious on the subject. We did arrive all in one piece. And this sensor does appear to be working correctly now. I don't which of the two is the greater miracle."
"You know, that bonus for accepting an assignment in uncharted space sounded really good when I signed the contract," Spir said, "but they never mentioned this Force mumbo-jumbo."
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Darth Vader loved the Force. He was never more at peace than when he felt it fill his mind and body, aiding him, guiding him. The Force had been his constant companion for as long as he could remember, even when he only knew the sensation, but not what it was, or how to use it. He pitied those who did not have Force sensitivity, did not understand how they could live without the Force's touch surrounding them.
He did miss the brotherhood of the Jedi, even if he did not miss the organization itself. He missed the comradery that came of saying "I feel a disturbance in the Force", and having that perception echoed by another. Visible proof of the Force was easily demonstrated by the simple levitation of objects, but it was the subtle glimmerings of future events and emotional waves that were more difficult to capture, making a concurring perception reassuring. He could discuss the Force with Palpatine, but such conversations were infused with the tension of oneupmanship and competition. There was no philosopher in Palpatine.
So now, as he concentrated on finding the small space buoy that marked the location of the Lost Planetoid, he immersed himself in the Force, going where others might drown.For some Jedi, finding the connection to the Force had taken great effort, and it had remained an elusive presence in their lives. For him, it was life, as consistent a sense as sight or touch.It was maybe a petty usage of the Force to find some planetoid in the name of the Empire, but who else could reach into the void of uncharted space, and return with a pathway ? He was afterall, the Chosen One.
When the Force whispered to him the location of the buoy, he had no hesitation. The Force had never lied to him, never betrayed him, never let him down.
He felt drowsy, almost intoxicated, still by his meditation with the Force. On board military vessels, he always waited until he was completely recovered before venturing out of his quarters, lest anyone mistake his slowness for weakness. But here, with his own crew, he felt no need to hide himself, to protect himself.
He wished he could keep his contact with the Force as strong in the awake state as it was in the meditative state, but the more conscious intent he used, the more the Force receded. In the slow state, it was so simple to read the crew members as they passed him in the ship's corridors. He felt them shrink back from his approach, an effect he sometimes relished, and other times just found to be tiresome. But beyond that expected response, in many of them he felt hope. Hope directed at him. Hope that he would have the answer to deliver them to their destination and home again. They were counting on him, and he enjoyed the feeling.
On the bridge, he found the familiar face of Ensign Draig. Even in Draig, who, like the other navigators, had struggled to maintain physical distance from him during the briefing, he sensed anticipation. Draig had gone from fear to faith that he would lead them in the right direction.
Vader stepped to the navigation console and entered a set of coordinates. He closed his eyes, and verified the setting matched his vision. As the crew put their faith in him, he put his faith in the Force.
"Ensign Draig, we're going to handle this much like the last jump," Vader said. "Target is these coordinates, ship on manual control, and alert me before we reach the coordinates."
"Yes, sir ."
Vader assumed his meditative stance near the viewing windows of the bridge. This time he felt certain of their destination, but he still waited for the approach to confirm the safety of the exit point. No premonition of death entered his mind as the coordinates neared, and he gave the command to exit hyperspace. The ship gave the usual shudder upon entry to normal space. In the viewing windows, a system lay straight ahead. He smiled within his helmet; the Force was never wrong.
"Scan all frequencies for signal transmissions," he said.
The bridge was not packed as it had been at the first uncharted jump, but a few crew spectators had assembled, including Spir Tazny. Vader observed Tazny, noting with satisfaction that Tazny was holding himself together. Some Imperial recruits never adapted to the rigors of space travel.
"Simple repeating signal detected, non-military code type," a technician announced.
"Take us to the signal source," Vader said. " Dr. Tazny, I assume you and Dr. Rion have your gear packed. Prepare to suit up- I think you're about to go planetside."
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Spir Tazny was sweating as he hefted another piece of equipment into the hold of the mining shuttle. "I wish droids hadn't fallen in disfavor after the Clone Wars. I could use one about now to load all this stuff."
Zhan nodded. "In a perfect world, we'd be sending droids down to the surface to collect samples, not us. That was the whole point of droids. I guess if one boozy old prospector from Tatooine could make it there and back, it can't be that hostile down there."
"We've got gravity and a thin atmosphere, what more do you want ? Besides you're the one who said you wanted an adventure."
"Truth is, I never thought we'd find this planetoid. Thought we'd just tour some new systems, but I didn't think my boots would actually be touching the dirt," Zhan said.
"Dirt. The profs at Imperial Tech would slap you for using that word," Spir said."This'll be the first time since school that I've put on a space suit."
"Yeah, it's like riding a swoop bike. It'll all come back to you as soon as you put it on. Or you could ask our CO to give you a lesson."
"I'll tell him you said that," Spir said. "You know, I was up on the bridge again for the last jump. I'm a man of science, and I have no idea what he's doing, but it ain't luck. There's got to be something to that Force business."
"Come on Jedi-boy. Let's get our highly educated scientific butts down to the surface."
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With the geologists busy planetside excavating and loading ore samples, Darth Vader took the opportunity to rest before the Distant Star made its return journey. Like all the ships he had been stationed on, this one had been retrofitted with a hyperbaric chamber in his quarters. While it was possible for him to make it through a mission without one, it wasn't very comfortable. As the Emperor's apprentice, he felt he deserved, at the very least, to sleep, eat, and bathe as much like a normal man as was possible.
Between the pressurized refresher and the pressurized bed chamber he had to cross a short distance in room air, and even that brief exertion left him winded.His breaths came short and fast, as his body struggled to oxygenate itself. He had developed a post 'fresher ritual where he sat down to catch his breath, and made use of the time by performing maintenance of his helmet. He picked up the inner helmet assembly, wiping down the outside first, paying special attention to the electronic connections, making sure they were immaculately clean.
By the time he had finished with the inner helmet, his breathing had slowed, and he could think again. He turned his attention to the outer helmet shell, exterior now facing him, to buff the surface back to its high gloss state. He caught a glimpse of himself reflected in the brilliant shine of the helmet, the only way he ever saw his own face. He had no mirrors in his private chambers.
He turned the helmet in the light, the gold of his fingers contrasting sharply with the gloss black of the helmet. His face became reflected in the depth of the shine, and he focused on the image. With one golden hand he felt of his left ear, the pinna shriveled, almost gone from fire. He watched his hand follow the scar from his ear across his left cheek, then up his forehead and over the massive scar ridge that ran down the back of his head. Would he be able to reveal himself to Luke, show him how the gleaming perfection of metal almost overcame the mangled reality of the flesh ? Or would there be no face he could show his son, save for the one of polished black ?
They would speak through the Force, his boy and himself. He would teach Luke to sense what lay beneath the surface, even if his child's eyes could not see past the horror of his physical self. In the pure, undeniable truth of the Force, Luke would know him as a man, as a father, not as a monster.
Truly, he did not understand how it was that one Force user taught another. It was like teaching someone to see, like explaining the color blue. One could give a technical explanation of the rods and cones of the eye, or how Angstrom length defined a color, but they were only words. A being could either see or not see, just as they were either sensitive to the Force, or not. But while it was not possible to know if two beings really saw an object in the same way, when two beings felt a ripple in the Force, they also felt the interconnectedness of life, and of themselves.
They would rise above the Forceless place that the Galaxy had become, the one that Palpatine had created after the destruction of the Jedi. The Force was no longer celebrated within the Empire, and Palpatine, despite the enormity of his Force skills, chose not to reveal them to his subjects, allowing only a private few to know. Vader saw no good reason to hide such gifts, and had finally decided that Palpatine wished for it to appear that his ability to forsee events and rule the Empire sprang entirely from his own native intelligence. For Palpatine, the Force was merely another tool at his disposal.
In Vader's Galaxy, it would be different. Force users would be the governing council. Those strongest with the Force, would occupy the high positions, sharing their prescience for the benefit of all. The Force would speak through them for the many who could not hear its voice. It would be neither a hidden skulking order like the Sith, nor a restrictive rule-bound organization like the Jedi. All aspects of the Force would be studied, and passion would be encouraged. A life of fulfillment, not a life of denial.
He would train his son in the ways of the Force, and together they would rule the Galaxy fairly and justly. They would establish a new era of stability, not the endless cycle of chaos and conflict that Palpatine's rule had brought. The Republic had stood for a thousand generations, but Palpatine's rule had become troubled in less than a decade. As the Chosen One surely he was meant to restore the Force to a position of respect and glory, to create a new dynasty to last another thousand generations.
It was time to reclaim his son, time to meet his destiny. Only one man stood in his way.