Chapter 18

On that day, a veil of darkness that existed over Coruscant for decades was at long last lifted. The iron fist of Darth Vader replaced that concealing garment. But despite the tightening grip of the dark side, the Imperial Senate met for the first time in three years in an emergency session to vote for Palpatine's successor.

Darth Apostas played the role of Leia Organa perfectly, speaking against the atrocities of Palpatine and endorsing her father as the legitimate heir to the throne. Many seats were vacant, for some Senators left with disgust for the obvious coup. They would be the first examples of Sith justice.

The vote was unanimous. Darth Vader was now ruler of the galaxy. Apostas smiled as she looked to the puppets of the Senate from her pod.

"This will be a day long remembered!" she proclaimed before a chorus of cheers rose in the Senate Hall.

+

The ragtag Rebel fleet assembled near the planet Keldan, a mountainous world and home to the Keldans, a fierce warrior race. Mara Jade stared at the world through a viewport on Home One, contemplating her place in the galaxy. She had felt the Emperor's death in the Force and for the first time in her life, she was lost.

"You're not the first one to be betrayed by the Empire," said a male voice she did not recognize.

Mara turned to face the man. He was dressed in a white tunic, black trousers and a black vest. His hair was dark and a close-cropped beard adorned his face. "I was not betrayed," she hissed.

"Right," he said, immediately correcting himself. "I'm Kyle Katarn. And you are?"

Mara narrowed her gaze before saying, "Mara Jade."

Yoda and Luke walked alone into a temple carved into one of the many mountains of Keldan. Torches lined the walls, lighting the way for the Jedi. A statue of an ancient bald Jedi stood behind an altar. Doorways were available for further exploration, perhaps offering clues to the purpose of the temple.

"Millennia ago, another Sith Lord walked the path of fall and redemption," Yoda explained as he walked beside Luke. "Revan, his name was and a powerful Sith was he. Through the grace of the light, renounced the Sith ways and rejoined the Jedi he did. But soon after that, lost he was. Came to this world to search for the remnants of the Sith Empire, he did."

"You said this world was known to the Council?" Luke asked. "Could my father have discovered this planet?"

"Though on the Council, Anakin Skywalker was, a Master he was not," Yoda replied. "Privy to the secrets of Revan's discovery, he was not. Discovered before the conclusion of the Clone Wars, this world was."

"So will we just hide here?" Luke asked. "What of the Rebellion?"

"Act as it must, the Rebellion will," Yoda answered before stopping at the altar. He turned to face the other Jedi. "But for the Jedi, it is time to regroup as well. Two new Padawans, train them in the ways of the Jedi I must. Help me, you will."

Luke stared at his master, trying to forget the course of recent events. The fate of the galaxy was at stake now more than ever.

+

Darth Vader stood on the bridge of the Executor, overlooking Coruscant. None disturbed the towering form the Emperor as he gazed upon the world he claimed for his own. The galaxy was now his for the taking. There would be no manipulations. The Rebellion would be crushed once and for all.

Darth Apostas walked to her father's side, stopping to look up to her Master. Vader glanced to his apprentice before he returned his gaze outward. Apostas followed suit, oblivious to her father's feelings.

Vader suppressed the emptiness that glowed inside him. He never wanted to be the one in control, but he could not abandon his birthright. He was the Sith'ari and it was his place to remake the Sith as he saw fit. All he needed to accomplish his vision was his son.

+

Luke, Mara, Kyle and Yoda stood outside Revan's temple, observing the twilight that fell upon Keldan. Jedi and Sith had been remade in a single day. The balance in the Force was shifting, making it imperative to train new Jedi. Yoda never imagined he would live to see the day that the Jedi would be born anew. The old master believed he would become a Force ghost, biding his time to find a pupil to rebuild the Order after the death of Darth Vader.

Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared in a rush of serenity, washing over the Jedi gathered outside the temple. The Force apparition gazed on the next generation of Jedi from atop the temple.

There would be hope for the Jedi Order. The eclipse of the light had reached its final stage.

END OF ACT I