A/n-Thank you my lovely reviewers and followers. Please R&R as always!

Chapter 38

Location: Emperor Palpatine's Throne Room

10 Day 25 Year 28 BBY

The screams of a life form fill the air. It isn't a shrill of enjoyment in any sense of the word. Inquisitor Maul isn't sure if it is the heat from the force lightning or the actual pain that is worse. His eyes are clenched tight, as he attempts to ponder his thoughts within the swell of the dark side of the force. It is like a wispy dark cloud, engulfing him, and cradling his body all at once. He keeps the mantra in mind of the Sith, replaying it over and over in his mind.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.

Through passion I gain strength.

Through strength I gain power.

Through power I gain victory.

Through victory, my chains will be broken.

The force shall free me.

Emperor Palpatine eyes the being lying on his side, fighting to stay awake from the sheer pain of the force lightning. Inquisitor Maul's golden gaze is far off into the distance ,away from the dais that his master sits upon. He had known when Skywalker was arrested three weeks ago that he'd be punished for not allowing him to go free. He had yearned for the Senator to drop the charges, but to no avail.

Maul's eyes close as the pain from the lightning engulfs him. The steam off of his body stinks of burnt flesh in the air. Most of the powerful four are used to the smell of burnt flesh by now. They had been part of this little game of Sheev's for more than thirty years.

Palptine's eyes flash to Count Dooku as he requests, " Find a way to get the Senator to drop all charges against Skywalker. Threaten his career, or pathetic life. We have what we need to push through the excavation bill, do we not?"

Dooku's brown gaze watches his master and then darts back to Inquisitor Maul lying on the floor. He knows he'll be lying next to Maul if he does not produce some sort of clearing of the boy's name.

The sheer known fact is that the Emperor is dying- he won't admit it, but those who are close to him, can sense the fact. His body is frail and slowing down in all matters of life. If his body were to give out before the boy can take over as the next line in throne and his Master's knowledge and power were to not be transferred to the boy, then everything they built would be lost. The likelihood of a civil war would engulf the galaxy as it had during the Clone Wars thirty years ago. Even though the war had been caused by his Master's incentives for the Separatists, it didn't mean that those involved didn't actually want to leave the union of the Republic.

The Republic had been dying for many years before the war. With the endless debates in the Senate and policies allowing the rich to become richer and the poor to continue hiding in their holes of hell. He had been a younger man of those times- not too young as most, but a younger man. He had been the proud Jedi Master to Qui-gion and former Padawan of Master Yoda himself. He had realized a few years prior to the Clone Wars how little he knew of his capabilities in the force. And then he had met an ambitious man who had become the newly elected Senator of Naboo. His training within the dark side had commenced and he had sunk into the powerful being he is today.

His former Master, Yoda was probably long dead or at least he hoped. Yoda had been greatly disappointed by Dooku's lack of faith in the Jedi Order and his Padawan. Qui-gon had been full grown by this time, a man barely in his early twenties and about to take on the Jedi trials. Qui-gon would always be like a son that Dooku had never bore. He had raised the man into the powerful being he is today.

He hasn't been to see Qui-gon in sometime. Although Qui-gon has his own matters of state being one of the heads of the departments of the Imperial Academy. Qui-gon had become distant after the destruction of the Laboratories that had housed the 25 women whom they had used to try and failed in using the Emperor's DNA to create a vessel of sorts to house the Emperor's essence. But Qui-gon remained loyal to his Master and the Empire after this time. He had transferred to the Imperial Academy about 20 years ago after the destruction of the labs. He had felt his gift was to teach others in the combative forms and arts.

But the Count knew his Master's body was failing him- just as his is. At the tender age of 75, Dooku knows his life span won't be much longer. Some humanoid males who have the power of the force can live well into their hundreds, but most are battle hardened or die young in battle. Not many Jedi had lived past the tender age of 50 and not many lived now thirty years after the creation of the Empire. And most force users had no idea that they had abilities due to the vaccine that had been created long before the fall of the Republic. So they'd spend their entire short or long life spans without any knowledge of how to keep their lives longer via the force.

His master had already used a lot of his dark side powers to try and stay alive longer than he could. He is not much older than Dooku himself, but his lungs are failing from the force lightning incident that had caused the damage to his body. They all would have to work in real time as time is running out- perhaps he has five years left in him. But is five years long enough to train the boy into a man that is strong enough to survive the transference?

That is another lingering question Dooku never discusses with his master. In theory all of these items are based on theoretical calculations made by scientists from across the galaxy who have studied in the arts of the sith along with science technology. His ideals had come from his own former Master, Darth Plagueis. Palpatine never really talked about his former mentor, just that he had somehow learned how to cheat death once or twice. It was more of Palpatine's infatuation than his mentor's, at least in Dooku's mind. But what if the transference killed both of them? If young Skywalker did not survive the transference then his Master's life essence would die as well, ending the bloodline once and for all.

They truly did not know if the boy would survive. They hadn't tested the boy to confirm his paternity as that would raise speculation within the ranks of the Imperial Navy. They had only gone by his last name. There had been a woman in her mid-thirties who had been used as a lab rat and her name had been Shmi Skywalker. She had been a nobody- from some lowly family on a planet Dooku did not know of.

He remembered her vaguely. She had mousy brown locks of hair, and sharp brown eyes. Unlike his mother, the boy resembled none of those traits- his blue eyes are sharp and his natural hair color is a dark blond. He must have gotten those traits from his father's side of the family or back from other relatives on his mother's side. But no matter, his mother had been confirmed pregnant by med droids within the labs a month before she disappeared. The boy had to be the Emperor's son, his power is raw and untamed- much like Sheev Palpatine's own power. But could they be wrong?

No, we are not. Dooku dismisses his fears into the force and responds to his master, " I will do my best to force the Senator's hand, but I cannot promise it will be soon. The Senator has ignored my requests to see him since the investigation into his abuse of his wife and attempt on her life took place."

Palpatine grimaces upon hearing this response. He does not like to wait. In his elderly age, he has become more impatient with results. As a younger man, he had all the patience in the world as he had waited 10 years before his plan had been enacted, prior to the creation of the Empire. But now, he expected a relatively short time for results and good results. Many officers paid the price of their heads if the Emperor did not have results within the time he expected them to complete their missions. Maul, Dooku and Director Krennic knew these terms.

It hasn't helped that the delay of the excavations of the former Jedi Temples on Jedha has put the construction of the Death Star on delay for several years. The Senate had delayed all votes on projects funded and accepted by the government until after Senator Clovis's investigation which had been finalized three weeks ago. Clovis still had ignored Dooku's requests for a meeting, as was proper for any gentlemen to keep his head down for a while.

The Emperor seethes through clenched teeth. " Well then coerce him. Threaten him with blackmail, whatever you can to use to get him to drop the charges."

Dooku nods his head in respect to his master. " Of course Master, I will do as you ask."

His eyes turn back to the screen where Director Krenneic is awaiting to give an update about the Death Star being built outside of Endor.

" Director, please provide us with some good news I hope." The Emperor threatens.

Director Krennic's sharp blue eyes point directly in the Emperor's view. He stands at attention with his hands behind his back. He begins, " Your Majesty, as you know construction on the Death Star has continued, but without the excavation of the Kyber crystals we cannot continue to study and harness their power to weaponize them as needed on a larger scale. But the construction is on schedule, but the weaponizing of the machine will take some time."

The Emperor seems slightly pleased with some new developments. He sighs and hisses out, " Do what you can to use the Kyber crystals you already have to study. I want a report next month on your progress as well. Everyone is dismissed."

That was que for them to leave and drag out Inquisitor Maul's unconscious form from the throne room without aid from a droid. Dooku sighs knowing he will be in charge of the idiot. He uses the force to lift the younger man into the air and takes him towards a resting room near the Throne room.

To Be Continued.