Sorry for the wait, folks, but here's Chapter Four. Again, I apologize for taking so long to update, but between life, a new job, and writing a three-chapter Mass Effect fic, my docket's been extremely full lately. Still, here's the next chapter: hope you enjoy it.
RECOMMENDED STORIES BY KENTH VICTUS:
Mass Effect: Every Day After
Gates of Terabithia
Star Wars: Jedi Wasteland
Chapter IV: Dark Side Rising
Location: Secret Imperial Prison, Coruscant (14 BBY)
"Lord Vader, we weren't expecting a visit—"
"Does my unannounced presence concern you, Grand Inquisitor?" Darth Vader asked, effectively silencing the other man's objections. As the Grand Inquisitor gave his response, Vader could sense his fear and trepidation through the Force, yet he found no hint of deceit or betrayal.
Good.
"Not at all, My Lord, it's just that, had I known you'd be arriving, I'd have assembled the troopers for you to review—"
"I am not concerned with troopers." Vader revealed, as the pair now made for a turbolift just off the landing pad. "All that concerns me is our special prisoner—"
"The Second Sister, you mean?"
"The traitor, yes." The Dark Lord corrected. "Have her injuries been healed?"
The Grand Inquisitor at first said nothing as the pair stepped into the turbolift. Instead, he busied himself with setting the controls to their next destination. Once done, he stood erect, facing forward as he stood next to his master.
"The medical droids and bacta tanks have done their job in keeping her alive, Lord Vader. Her injuries, however, were still quite severe—if I may—"
"You wish to know why I kept her alive?"
"Her actions do deserve—"
"Only a fool discards a tool while it's still useful." Vader said, repeating his master's own words from earlier in the day. "She may yet be of use to us."
"You believe her old master will come searching for her?"
"I do not." Vader revealed. "However, she may yet harbor feelings for her master, feelings we can use."
"I must confess, My Lord, that I do not understand what you mean."
"You were trained as a Jedi, were you not, Grand Inquisitor?" Vader asked as the turbolift finally came to a halt.
"I was, yes." He answered as he led the Sith Lord into the dimly-lit corridor below. This deep below the surface, the air was chill and dank, and when combined with the lack of light and living beings, even Vader, hiding in the confines of his armor, could feel the shift in the Force as it grew darker.
And lonelier.
"Then you should know that a master is the closest thing most Jedi come to having a real parent in their life."
The pair remained silent as they passed the occasional medical droid, moving deeper still in the secretive prison. As they walked, Vader allowed his senses to flood the entire level, searching—
Her presence called to him like a flare in the dark. He could sense her, the storm of regret, anger, fear, and confusion enough to rival even the legendary thunderstorms that would occasionally ravage the ocean surfaces of Kamino.
The moment she sensed him, however, the storm instantly subsided. As though by mere reflex, her emotions, her mind itself, recoiled, as though an animal rolling up into its protective shell.
Vader almost laughed. Almost.
With the Grand Inquisitor still at his side, Vader at last came to stop before a transparisteel window. On the other side, bound quite securely to a medical bed, rested the naked form of a former Inquisitor who had betrayed her Empire.
"You!" She screamed, her voice weak and raspy.
Instead of responding, however, Vader continued to study her body. Despite the bacta and medical treatments she'd received, he could still see the faint rise of scar tissue that travelled from her left shoulder, above her left breast, down below the right breast, and ended just above her ribs on her right side.
She should have died—it had been his full intention to kill her, a punishment fit for traitorous Jedi. However, she had refused to do so easily, and after the escape of her master and the young Jedi Knight, Vader had felt the Force pulling at him to let her live.
Now he knew why.
He reached forward with a gloved hand and pressed in on a large, oval button just under the bottom of the window.
"You should have died on Nur, young Jedi." Vader taunted.
"I am no Jedi—"
"Of course not; you betrayed them, just as you betrayed your Empire." He dismissed. "Now, your failure is complete."
"What do you want, Vader?" She spat before lowering her head. "Just kill me and be done with it!"
"In time." He answered simply. The Dark Lord of the Sith reached out with the Force, grabbing the traitor's neck within its confines. As she chocked and gasped for breath, he forced her head upwards so that her white eyes were looking directly at the window between them.
"You will die, as all Jedi must. Before you do, however, I will learn all of your secrets, and when I find your master and her new apprentice and kill them, they will die knowing you led me to them."
"Never!" She bellowed. "I'll n-never help y-you."
"You assume that you have a choice in the matter." Vader nearly laughed. "You do not."
Vader raised a gloved fist as he relinquished his grip on the woman's neck, motioning for one of the trooper guards to him.
"Yes, Lord Vader?"
"Sergeant, summon a squad of troopers and escort her to the lower interrogation chambers; I will deal with her myself."
"Yes, My Lord."
Vader reached beneath the hem of his cape and unclipped a circular lightsaber from his belt. The weapon, all that remained of the Ninth Sister, would ensure that the temptation of escape was too much for the young woman to resist.
"This was her weapon, Sergeant." Vader lied. "Keep it secure until I arrive; I will hold you personally responsible if anything happens to it."
"Yes, My Lord." The stromtrooper answered dutifully as he took possession of the weapon. As he turned away to do as Vader had instructed, the Sith Lord could sense the lingering doubts deep within the Grand Inquisitor. To the other man's credit, however, he did not again dare to challenge the wisdom of his master's plan. Vader, now, deactivated the comm unit that linked him to the former Second Sister.
"It's as I said, Grand Inquisitor; a master-apprentice relationship is the closest thing most Jedi have to a parental relationship; she will be too tempted to take the lightsaber and make her escape, an escape we will permit."
"As you will it, Lord Vader."
"She will hunt down her old master out of a sense of need for forgiveness, and in doing so she will lead us to both Cere Junda and Cal Kestis."
"Three Jedi for the price of one."
"Indeed."
"How—"
"I've contacted the Seventh Sister directly: she is waiting near the only landing pad with a ship; the ship has been fitted with a homing beacon and the Seventh Sister has also discreetly hidden one of her seeker droids onboard."
"My Lord, may I ask for the honor of killing the Jedi when we find them?"
"No. Leave them to me."
"As you will it, My Master."
"I have another assignment for you, but we will get to that in time."
Vader whirled about as a squad of stormtroopers arrived, preparing to lead the Second Sister to her destiny. With the Grand Inquisitor in tow, the Dark Lord moved down another dimly-lit corridor that, he knew, led deeper into building. It was a place, he knew, his companion had never visited. Having been built during the Clone Wars, the building itself was a closely-guarded secret; its deepest prisons, even more so. Even the Grand Inquisitor, Vader's personal choice for leader of his Inquisitorious Program, had been barred from where he was about to travel.
"You know of our destination, Grand Inquisitor?"
"Only by reputation, My Lord."
As the pair entered a turbolift, Vader gave a rare encouragement for the Inquisitor to present what little he knew.
"Rumor has it," He concluded only seconds later. "That this is where we send the prisoners the Emperor himself is personally interested in, or else those who would make him the strongest disciples."
"Indeed."
"My Lord—"
"If you have a question, ask it."
"I've only heard rumors, of course, but the Emperor has kept the First Sister secret since the end of the Clone Wars; even I know little about her."
"Are you jealous, Grand Inquisitor?"
"Hardly, My Master. However, I do like to know who my Inquisitors are; their strengths, so that I may assign their missions for maximum effectiveness, and their weaknesses, so that I may know how to punish them for their failures."
"Yet your leadership did not prevent the Ninth Sister from dying on Kashyyyk, to a mere Padawan, or the Second Sister from betraying her Empire. I—"
"By all reports, the Ninth Sister toyed with the Jedi, rather than kill him; her failure is her own. As for the Second Sister—"
"I am not interested in excuses—"
"I—"
"The failure of the student is the failure of the master."
"And so, their failure is mine—"
"Inde—"
"As mine is yours, My Master?"
Vader wheeled, immediately lashing out with the Force. The blast knocked the Grand Inquisitor backwards, slamming him into the wall of the still-descending turbolift. Even as he went for his lightsaber, Vader's fist was up, and the Inquisitor was suddenly gasping for breath.
"Be careful not to choke on your pride, Grand Inquisitor."
"I only meant—"
"Your next insult will be your last." Vader concluded as he released his grip upon the other man.
"I meant no disrespect, Lord Vader." The Inquisitor explained, pausing momentarily to cough. "I merely meant that, had either the Second or Ninth Sisters followed my instructions and training, they'd have met with more success and less treachery."
"Do not focus on the past; the Ninth Sister no longer has any use for us, and the traitor's actions have proven useful in their own way."
"As you wish, My Lord. If I may—who is this First Sister?"
The turbolift stopped, now, expelling the pair of men into a circular room. This room was lit in a deep crimson color, the result of red lamps lining the upper walls. A small corner of the room, Vader noticed, was dedicated as a lavatory where the sole occupant within could relieve herself and use the sani-steam to clean herself. Beyond that, there was no bed, no furniture of any sort, nothing to allow her rest and comfort. The floor beneath his heavy boot was as it was with the entirety of the massive chamber: cold, hard durasteel. Even within his armor, the Sith Lord could feel the frigid temperatures doing their utmost to penetrate and bite at the shattered man within.
What stole his attention the most, however, was the small, thin form knelt in meditation in the center of the room. Clad in simple tunic and trousers as black as her hair, her olive skin looked dark, almost sickly, in the crimson light all about her.
"She's a Mirialan, like the Seventh Sister."
"And she was a Jedi, once." Vader revealed. "When it still mattered."
At the mere mention of the word 'Jedi', Vader could sense a spike of white, hot rage flare into existence from the center of the room, lashing out and both of her visitors; enough so that the Grand Inquisitor briefly grimaced, as though, perhaps, he'd just been slapped.
"Master." She whispered, her voice dripping with venomous hatred.
"Are you ready, First Sister?"
"To kill Jedi?"
"Yes."
"Always, Master."
"Prove it."
Darth Vader, then, did something even his great and powerful master may never have expected. He unclipped his own lightsaber from his belt and tossed it at the young woman. She caught it without looking even as she made to climb to her feet. Though she said nothing, she turned the hilt over in her hands studying it carefully. Finally, she offered a single opinion on the thing.
"The blade of a warrior; the design looks familiar—"
"Attack the Grand Inquisitor."
"My Lord—"
"Kill him." Vader continued, ignoring the man's question. "Show me you're ready to kill the ones who discarded you."
"He was a Jedi?"
"He was." Vader answered.
Snap-Hiss.
His bar of crimson plasma erupted to life as the woman hurled herself forward. So astounded was he that the Grand Inquisitor only just managed to bring his own weapon up in time to defend himself. As he somersaulted backwards and away from his attacker, Vader himself stepped back, watching the ensuing duel in silence.
His saber, he noticed, was nearly too big for the smaller woman's hands, but she adjusted well enough. Her attacks were fluid, with each motion leading seamlessly into the next. So fierce were her attacks that her opponent had now activated both ends of his saber, twirling his weapon in a circle to ward off her attacks.
The First Sister, however, quickly proved that she was as powerful as she was aggressive. Recognizing that two spinning blades would be a difficult defense to penetrate, she decided instead not to waste her time even trying it.
Vader could sense her rage as the woman reached out with the Force and used it to suddenly lift the Grand Inquisitor's arms up and above his head, the path cleared, now, for her victorious strike. Unfortunately for her, however, there was a reason the Grand Inquisitor had been placed in his position of leadership directly under the Sith.
He launched himself up and over the attacking First Sister, and the moment he landed he threw himself at her, seizing the attack for his own. Surprised by this sudden turn of events, the First Sister now found herself fending off an endless barrage of strikes with almost no room to maneuver, as she'd allowed herself to be cornered between the wall and the Grand Inquisitor himself.
Recognizing her predicament, the First Sister now utilized short, quick slashes to parry each attack, expending only the required amount of energy needed for each move of her blade. Her form, Vader noticed, was an expert example of Soresu, the same style of combat she'd exhibited during the Clone Wars, prior to her fall from the Jedi Order. He'd also noticed her seamless transition into Soresu from the more aggressive reverse-grip style of Shien.
The First Sister remained virtually stationary for several moments, absorbing and deflecting every blow the larger Grand Inquisitor could rain down upon her. Vader, now, could feel himself beginning to frown beneath his mask. Perhaps, he allowed, the woman would never shed the dogma of her Jedi Training. As she continued to allow her foe to command the battle as he willed, the Dark Lord could see her patience standing strong.
He nearly shook his head.
He had—albeit privately—hoped that she might prove a worthy candidate for enhanced training under his personal tutelage, perhaps even, with time, a worthy apprentice to help him overthrow Darth Sidious once the time came. However, patience and allowing a foe to control the battle was not the way of the Sith, as he himself had been forced to learn.
No.
The destiny of a Sith was to seize power through force and might, to subdue and subjugate or destroy any who might oppose them. Sith were not the controlled, they were the controllers. They were not the oppressed, but the oppressors. If she couldn't learn that—
And the fight was suddenly, and viciously, turned around. With not even a second's notice, a blast of white-hot lightning erupted from the First Sister's hand, which had appeared outstretched as though emerging from thin air. The Grand Inquisitor, himself utterly unprepared for such a move, was caught in its burning embrace and thrown backwards with but a scream from his mouth to mark the occasion. Vader, now, saw what she'd done.
The Grand Inquisitor, like Vader himself, had believed he was in complete control of the fight, that it would be but a matter of time before one of his blows would break through her defense. Only now did both men see just how wrong they'd been; she'd been allowing him to believe in his pending victory, in believing that he was in control. The truth, of course, was now as clear as a day on Naboo: his control had been a lie. She'd been two steps ahead of him this entire time, and now, she had him exactly where she wanted him.
"Do not hold back." Vader encouraged as she used the Force to throw the Grand Inquisitor to the far side of the room. "He was a Jedi; it was his research that allowed Anakin Skywalker to discover the truth of your crimes."
That did it.
Her roar of anger was of such strength that even Vader staggered backwards and away from it. Chunks of the floor exploded upwards, levitating around her. The moment the Grand Inquisitor found his footing, two chunks of duracreet found him, crushing him beneath their combined weight.
The Pau'an Inquisitor had only just extricated himself from this trap when a third chunk of duracreet found its mark. This time, however, it pinned his legs and feet beneath its weight, and the moment he reached out with the Force to move it, another burst of lightning exploded from her hands, putting an end to any efforts he might make.
"He was a Jedi." Vader repeated, goading her on as he summoned the Grand Inquisitor's lightsaber to him. "Kill him."
The First Sister, to her credit, never hesitated. She never wavered. The moment Vader's orders were issued, she complied. She brought his saber up over her head and down on top of her now-defenseless target.
At the last possible second, the Dark Lord reached out with the Force and depressed his saber's activation stud, silencing the blade only a breath before it found its mark.
"WHAT?!"
"Enough." Vader answered simply.
"You ordered me to kill him! He was a Jedi!"
"As were you." Vader countered simply. "What was isn't as important as what is."
"You ordered me to kill him!"
"And now I'm ordering you not to kill him."
As though to drive that point home, Vader again stretched out with the Force to summon his weapon back into his hand, even as he simultaneously lifted the duracreet free of his stricken Grand Inquisitor.
"What? This was just a—a test?"
"I only accept the best." Vader explained, now offering the Grand Inquisitor his weapon back.
"I don't enjoy being toyed with—"
"What you do or do not enjoy does not concern me." Vader dismissed. "Your wants or dreams do not concern me. All that concerns me is your unwavering obedience, on this day and every day that follows."
"And if I don't?"
Vader didn't move. He didn't have to. The powers of the Force that flowed through him were of such immense strength that his mere thought did the job for him. Immediately, the Mirialan Inquisitor-to-be began to levitate upwards as she likewise began to scratch at her throat.
"W-what—"
"You will serve me, First Sister." Vader commanded. "You may be powerful, but my power is greater. It will always be greater; nothing you do can change that."
In answer, the First Sister raised a hand and once more a tongue of blue-white lightning ejected forth, lashing out at the dark shadow that now tormented her. Without releasing his grip upon her throat, Vader raised his crimson blade, effortlessly blocking her assault. Once she'd exhausted her remaining energy, Vader used his grip on her to draw her closer to him, pressing his blade close enough to her face that he could now see its reflection in her sapphire eyes.
"Do you feel that?" He asked as he continued to tighten the chokehold he had upon her.
"I—"
"Do you feel the life fading from your body, even as your vision starts to fade?" He probed.
"I—"
"I asked you a question, First Sister."
"Y-yes, m-my m—"
"Remember this feeling." He instructed. "Remember the edge you're on now, because if you ever again touch me with the Force, I will push you over that edge." He warned, echoing a warning his own master had given him, following his failure on Mustafar.
"Y-yes, L-Lord Vader."
And with that Vader once again silenced his saber while also releasing his hold upon his would-be victim.
"I will take her to Nur and b—"
"No." Vader countered. "She will remain in Imperial City."
"Master?"
"Get her cleaned and clothed, enter her biometrics into the Imperial Database as a member of the Inquisitorious, and then bring her to me at the Imperial Palace."
"As you wish, Lord Vader."
"Lord Vader," A panicked voice screamed suddenly in the commlink inside of his helmet. "We have a situation in the Upper Levels; the Jedi prisoner has escaped. She's taken—"
The trooper's words, however, were cut off and driven into permanent static as the faint sound of a lightsaber blade could be heard slicing through plastisteel armor.
"The flame of the Jedi still smolders." Vader explained. "It is time we extinguish it permanently."
There you have it, folks; the end of the Chapter. So, I know that any fan of Star Wars, especially Star Wars: The Clone Wars, will likely know who the First Sister is-or once was. If not-well, I'll confirm it in the next few chapters, so no worries. Being honest, I was a little worried about making Vader seem out-of-character here, but I also wanted to show him as more than just an attack dog doing the Emperor's orders, which is often what I feel the newer comics give us (with a few notable exceptions). I know that, following his loss of Luke on Bespin in Empire Strikes Back, Vader travels to Exegol and learns of the Emperor's fleet there before becoming convinced he'll never overthrow his master. However, as this is nearly fifteen to sixteen years before that, I figured that Vader would still be looking for ways to overthrow his Master, and of course, as Dooku did before him, I could see Vader taking a secret apprentice to help him with that plan; we see him do something similar in the old Legends continuity with the introduction of Starkiller in The Force Unleashed and The Force Unleashed II. I also like the thought of him starting this apprentice out as a top Inquisitor as a way of testing her talents and abilities before deciding whether to invest in her as a secret apprentice or not.
So, what'd you think? Feel free to let me know, and hopefully the next chapter won't be too far off.