Episode 3 Chapter 19

Dark Forces Conspire

Sate Pestage was, by nature, a very ambitious man. It was his ambition that Emperor Palpatine admired and that had allowed him to become the new Emperor's most trusted advisor. And in this position, he became the second most powerful man in the galaxy, a position that sated his lust for power and ensured his absolute devotion to Palpatine. He had an office right across from the Emperor, his own personal conveyance. Even the entire second-to-top floor of 500 Republica had been converted into an executive suite, just for him; a gift from his master.

Not bad for only twenty years in politics, all things said.

Tonight though, he wasn't enjoying the grand view from his balcony. Instead, he was walking with his Master, deep inside a lab Palpatine had set up years earlier.

"It is quite impressive, your Excellency," Sate said as he walked beside the Sith. Palpatine nodded, his scarred face partially obscured by the hood of his cloak.

"It is, isn't it?" he replied idly. "My most important projects are kept here. My visions of the future - and the instruments I will use to implement it."

"If I may ask then, My Lord, why did you not keep the clone of Jinn here?"

Palpatine sneered and then stopped before a sealed door. "For a very simple reason, my friend - I did not want him to cross paths with my other clone." Palpatine gestured at the door and it opened, revealing a brand new Spaarti cloning cylinder with what appeared to be a fully-grown, middle-aged man contained inside. Sate openly gaped at the figure before him.

"Jorus C'baoth!" he exclaimed.

"Yes. The great Jedi Master himself," Palpatine replied. "He was killed, along with every other living being when Captain Thrawn destroyed Outbound Flight nearly ten years ago. Now, he has been remade and shall serve me as the new Darth Vader."

"But he was a Jedi Master…"

"As was Count Dooku," Palpatine rebuked. "Besides, he was already well on his way to becoming a Dark Lord of the Sith when he died. A few genetic modifications and he will be fully subservient to me."

"Astounding, My Lord," Sate replied, inflecting just enough groveling into his voice to affect reverence, but not enough to seem like a beggar. A thought then suddenly occurred to him. "Thrawn… I recognize the name…you appointed him a commision, a fleet captain, did you not? I was under the assumption that you did not approve of his kind being appointed to such high positions?"

"Normally, I do not," Palpatine replied, stepping back into the hall with Sate and gesturing towards the door, closing it once more, "but the young Captain has proven himself to be an outstanding tactician. In fact, I am about to send him on an advance recon mission to the Unknown Regions. There is a threat out beyond even them….far off, elusive, but I will be prepared when it comes. His mind will be critical to our victory, I believe."

"Very well, my Lord. Ah," he announced a moment later, "we have arrived."

The two stepped into a theater booth above a sterile operating room where below a patient was being fitted with new cybernetic replacement limbs. "Nejaa Halcyon. Jedi Master and apparent saber-dummy for the previous Darth Vader. According to the files, they shall finish installing the implants by the end of the day and his recovery should take no longer than two weeks."

"Good, good," Palpatine said, then cast a sly look at his advisor. "You wonder why I spared him, don't you. Why Nejaa Halcyon, a Jedi Master of little power and now no longer whole?"

"It was known that Master Halcyon was an excellent duelist, my Lord. I had assumed that you wanted someone to train any future assassins in lightsaber combat. But I am unsure how well he could accomplish that in his current state."

"Indeed, it should prove to be a challenge. However, I knew of his greatest weakness - his family on Corellia. A few insinuations from Darth Traya and his fall was assured."

"Do you plan of killing his family anyway?"

"They are of no concern to me. Nejaa Halcyon shall not be setting foot on Corellia anymore and it is a very real possibility that they died during the siege," Palpatine sighed. "No, my biggest concern right now is the whereabouts of Darth Traya. I felt her diminish somewhat on Mustafar, then fade completely within the last few hours."

"Is her loss that great, My Lord?"

"An apprentice can be replaced. But she had unique talents. Talents that I wanted, but could never have. But most importantly, she knew things that, if they fell into the wrong hands, could prove... inconvenient to me," he paused, searching the Force for an inkling of her whereabouts. He found none. "I am beginning to believe that Darth Traya may be lost to us forever." Palpatine turned and left the theater, Sate close behind him. As they walked, Palpatine spoke. "Kamino will be giving us two more shipments of Clones in the coming years. Once they are delivered, I want Kamino wiped out. The whole planet."

"But what shall we do for troops, My Lord?" Sate asked. Palpatine smirked.

"I have already begun setting up cloning facilities of our own. Despite that, we will need to set up a system for conscription. Begin issuing orders to build more flight and command training centers on Coruscant, Kuat, Corellia, Duro, Commenor and Fondor. Also order the shipyards to begin drawing up plans for new warships. I want ships that will put our Venator-class ships to shame and snub fighters to match. We will rebuild this clone army into a fighting force of such magnitude and power that any an all aggressors shall tremble before it!"

"Very good, My Lord."

"And contact Moff Tarkin. Tell him I will be visiting the Maw Instillation within the week. Ah, here we are."

The two had reached the end of the hall. In front of them was a wall of transparisteel, which showed the lab beyond. In that lab, surrounded by medical droids, sat a single Spaarti cloning tube which contained a small fetus.

"My Lord, what is that?" Sate asked, eying the tube warily. The Sith smiled evilly.

"That, my friend, is the first of my Hands. She will be raised under my care, my tutelage, raised to be the perfect spy, assassin, infiltrator….whatever I require her to be. And her unique genetic breeding have ensured that, not only will she wield the powers of the Force, but also the powers her 'mother' had as well."

"Darth Traya," Sate reasoned. Palpatine nodded.

"I may not be able to wield her powers, but her offspring will. For my benefit." The Sith smiled once more. "Yes, she will be the greatest of my Hands," he said, staring at the tine from floating in the tank, "my sweet Mara Jade."

Willow sat in her room on Polis Massa, idly flexing the fingers of her new artificial hand. It was fitting, she thought to herself, that Buffy and I are now even. An eye for an eye, an arm for an arm. She shook her head to clear it and then looked back out onto the star field.

Xander had made the case that since she was no longer Dearth Traya per se, then she shouldn't be locked up in a windowless cell anymore. After a lot of yelling, threatening and cajoling, Xander had come to escort Willow to her new quarters, down the hall from where Dawn had been while unconscious. She didn't know why Xander was making such a fuss, though. It's not like she deserved it…

"Dinner is served!" Xander announced jovially, entering the room with two covered trays. He set one down on the table next to the bed and kept the other as she sat down on the bed next to Willow. He pulled off the lid and eagerly cut into what appeared to be meatloaf. "Come on, Willow. You have to eat something to keep up your strength."

Willow glanced over at Xander a she lifted the fork to his mouth. Before he swallowed, she asked casually. "What's for dinner, anyway?"

Xander paused for a moment and then shrugged. "No clue. Smells good, though," he replied, stuffing a fork full of the meaty substance in to his mouth. He chewed for a few moments and then stopped, grimacing as the powerful spices in the loaf took hold. Sweat formed on his brown as he forced it down. "It's good!" he rasped out. "Real good. Now I need water…" He grabbed the cup and was about to down the whole thing, when he suddenly stopped and eyed the drink warily. Willow couldn't hold it back anymore; she laughed, a hearty laugh that she hadn't felt the urge to utter in nearly ten years.

"It's okay, Xander. It's just caf. Think coffee, without much of the bitterness. The meat there is Corellian Spiceloaf. The Corellians don't like anything mild."

Xander nodded absently as he downed the caf. "Remind me to thank Buffy when she gets back for her choice in food."

"She left?"

Xander nodded. "She left in her fighter, following Anakin and Padmé in the Falcon. They've left to drop off the kids."

"So it has begun," Willow said, sadness creeping back into her voice. "My choices condemned millions to their death and now they will condemn two innocent children from seeing their parents."

"It's not that bad," Xander said gently. "Dawn said that she and Fred were already thinking of how to hasten the whole portal process. Dawn was thinking of some kind of two-use self contained portal device."

"Magic and technology. Interesting mix," Willow said, finally uncovering her own meal and digging in. She absently reached for the spice shaker on her tray and sprinkling on a hefty amount. Xander looked at her incredulously.

"You've got to be kidding me." Willow smiled.

"Spend fifteen years here; you get used to spicy food."

The two ate in silence (after Xander procured a large pitcher of water), with Xander sneaking glances at his friend on occasion. As they finished their meals, he turned to her. "So, how are you holding up now?"

Willow shrugged. "That old suicidal feeling comes and goes, but that's to be expected. I'm dealing, but I doubt I'll be able to face any of them anytime soon."

"Willow…"

"Look, Xander," she said exasperatedly. "Padmé and her family took me in, treated me like a daughter, a sister - and I betrayed them. Buffy was my best friend, the one I swore I would fight along side until the end and I had her family killed. Anakin was never anything but nice to me and I overthrew his mind and used him to kill his fellow Jedi and almost his former Master. I can't face them…not now. Not so soon."

Reluctantly, Xander nodded. "But you know you'll have to talk to them sometime, right?"

Willow nodded in reply but said nothing. After a few moments, Xander spoke up. "So, how's the hand?"

Willow flexed the fingers once more. "Just like new. I was thinking how poetic it was when you came in…." she turned to her best friend. "Xander, there is something I need you to do for me. Information I need you to pass on to Buffy."

"Why don't you tell her yourself?"

"Xander…"

"Alright, fine," Xander sighed, defeated. "What does she need to know?"

"I know about several of Palpatine's plans," Willow said finally, "plans that included Nejaa Halcyon and Jorus C'baoth and how he planned on turning them into his dark assassins. And plans for a giant super laser."

"A super laser?" Xander repeated dubiously. Willow nodded gravely.

"Yes, a super laser. One powerful enough to destroy an entire planet with a single blast…"

TBC

Another short chapter, mostly exposition. Coming soon - the last chapter of Episode 3, where the children are dropped off, Buffy leaves something behind and our heroes go home - only to have a confrontation with Lord Nigel Ambrose-Bellairs, head of the Watcher's Council. Two worlds collide once more in Chapter 20 - Through the Looking Glass.