Star Destroyer Redeemer
"Sir, Admiral Pellaeon's fleet is moving from behind the planet," Commodore Vanto called out to Luke as he studied the long-range sensors. He looked up and smiled. "They are bombarding the planet using plasma cannons. Your plan to contact them obviously worked."
Luke rose out of the command chair and walked over to the bridge viewport. He could see streaks of plasma bolts piercing the planetary atmosphere. As soon as one Star Destroyer stopped firing, a second ship took up the bombardment. There was a pause in the Force lightning and Luke could feel a surge of hope from his crew. "How close are we to getting weapons back online?"
His weapons officer answered. "Unknown sir. The attack was like a huge power surge. Engineering is replacing burnt out parts as fast as possible."
"Do we have any functional shuttles that can shoot a tether line out to our breeching ships and pull them back to safety?"
The engineering officer turned to address Luke. "The Wing Commander reported earlier having three functional Lambda-class shuttles and four troop transports."
Luke looked at the chrono on the wall and realized there was less than ten minutes until his father's ship exited hyperspace. He didn't want to put more ships in harm's way, but at the same time he didn't know if the breeching shuttles had functional life support systems. The troopers did travel with enviro-suits and those had at least a three-hour oxygen supply. They could wait a bit longer. "Have all functional shuttles prepped and crews standing by."
"Aye, Sir."
Luke watched the blaze of plasma bolts rain down on the planet below causing mass destruction. He sighed deeply knowing all this devastation was to kill one man...one evil, malicious Sith Lord. He couldn't help but wonder how many innocent children were being murdered by his fleet. He knew this was a Sith planet, but the children...the children could be saved and reeducated to turn away from the darkside...couldn't they? He was torn as to what to do. He took a calming breath as he reassessed the situation. The first order of business was stop Palpatine's attack. Hopefully the plasma bolts found their target. If so, he would have to send medics down to help the injured, then he would work to isolate the planet. He would set up a shipping/hyperspace quarantine of the system ensuring no ships left the planet. After the Katana Fleet was salvaged, he would have gravity wells placed along the hyperspace route. This would effectively isolate the planet and prevent the inhabitants from using the hyperspace lane discovered by the Chiss Navigators. Nobody would get in and nobody would get out.
He would wait for his father's arrival and then finalize his plan.
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Death Star II Mobile Battle Station
Mara felt the sensation of movement. It was a rocking motion that she was familiar with—Luke carrying her to their bed where they would make love for hours. A sexy half smile graced her lips as she tried to open her eyes. She managed to get them slightly open, but the world around her was blurred, like she drank way too many Corellian whiskey shots. She lazily reached up to caress Luke's face as she whispered his name. She frowned when her hand hit something hard and metallic...possibly dura or plasteel. She traced the contours...they were angular with jagged ridges sweeping over where Luke's eyes should be. "Luke," she said drowsily.
There was a deep mechanical laugh and the sound of heavy breathing. "Wrong Skywalker."
That sentence roused her quickly out of her daze. She looked up and when her eyes finally focused, she realized she was being carried by Darth Vader. She panicked upon realizing she was being cradled in his leather clad arms. "Holy Sith!" She yelled as she squirmed for release.
"Calm yourself," Vader said brusquely as he set her down on her feet. "I had to render you unconscious to break the connection between you and Palpatine."
Mara quickly surveyed her surroundings and realized she was in a conference room. "How long was I out?"
"This room is off the bridge. You were unconscious for less than a minute." He pulled out a chair and gestured to it. "Sit down, just in case I need to do it again."
She blushed hotly. "Did I say anything...improper."
A deep chuckle emanated from Vader's voice synthesizer. "Verbally, no...but you left no doubt as to your feelings for my son."
She buried her head in her hands mortified.
"Did Palpatine hurt you?" Vader asked after a long pause. She jumped when she felt Vader's hand on her shoulder. He quickly pulled his hand away and dropped it to his side in an almost crestfallen motion. Mara realized the Sith Lord's actions were an awkward attempt to comfort her.
She shook her head. "He caused me pain, but nothing permanent. I was scared more than anything."
He pulled a chair out from the conference table and sat down. "You have to learn to block out Palpatine."
She shook her head sadly. "I spent most of my life mentally attached to that Sith Lord. I could never block him out. You think I didn't try? Nobody wants some old decrepit man popping into your head when you are fifteen and in the shower."
She could feel Emperor Vader's unease. "Did he do that...often?"
She scoffed. "Often enough that I knew it wasn't a coincidence."
She could feel a spike of anger from the Dark Lord...which surprised her. She could see Luke getting angry at that revelation, but not his father. It was almost as if Darth Vader cared about her. She pushed away the thought and reiterated her position, "I can't keep him out."
He placed his hands on his knees and leaned slightly toward her, his gaze intense. "You can and you will. You are far stronger than Palpatine ever expected. He...we always underestimated you and now you are even stronger. You can silence his voice in your head."
She felt the pressure behind her eyes starting to return. "Somebody is trying to contact me. Gods! I hope it's Luke." She closed her eyes and was disappointed to hear Palpatine's cackling. "I feel your presence along with the traitor who attempted to kill me, Darth Vader. Kill him! Kill him and join me as my new apprentice."
She concentrated on blocking her old master, but she felt grossly overmatched. "Who is it?" Vader asked.
She sighed deeply. "Palpatine."
"What is he saying?"
She decided long ago it was useless to lie to Vader. "He wants me to kill you and become his apprentice."
Vader leaned back in his chair looking completely unconcerned. "And do you feel the urge to strike me down?"
Mara thought about it and frowned. "Surprisingly...no. I usually would follow his orders blindly and without hesitation."
"He has no power over you."
"Except the power to nag me. I don't look forward to a life of him pestering me to do his bidding night and day."
"Shut him out!" Vader ordered. "End your servitude once and for all!"
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she let her eyelids flutter shut. "I'll try."
"No!" Vader boomed. "By saying you'll try you are recognizing the possibility of failure. You cannot have any doubt. You will do it! You have the power, more so now than ever. Rid yourself of his influence. My son has faith in your abilities...and so do I."
Mara looked at Vader wide eyed and shocked by his words of encouragement. Luke had changed his father, there was no longer denying that. She nodded and closed her eyes.
"Stay out of my head!" she thought back. "I will never do your bidding."
A spike of pain surged behind her eyes. It was the familiar retribution she often endured when she failed her Master. "Obey!" Another surge of pain hit her, making her vision spin, and causing her to slump in her seat.
She felt Vader's hand on her shoulder again as he steadied her. "Fight him!"
She risked a look of irritation. If felt like Palpatine was trying to split her head open; she didn't need Darth Vader urging her on like a darkside cheerleader. "I am. He's too strong."
"No, he is not," he said hotly, but then paused and visibly pulled back on his anger as Mara felt him calm and center himself. "Palpatine spent his whole life searching for his elusive dyad. He scoured the galaxy looking for a Force-sensitive that would share a unique Force bond with him— two individuals with one Force essence. It would increase his power exponentially making him the most powerful Force-user that ever lived...but he never found that other Force-sensitive. It wasn't me; it wasn't his former master; it wasn't Darth Maul. I am certain he tested you, to see if you were his mysterious dyad, but you failed to bond with him also. His narcissism never allowed him to consider that he was the problem...that he was never destined to be part of any Force dyad." He pointed a gloved finger in her direction. "I believe you are part of that dyad...but not with him."
"With Luke?" she said with a wince as the pain threatened to render her unconscious.
"Perhaps."
"Then I need Luke."
"No! The power is within you!"
Mara fought through the waves of pain and concentrated. She heard Palpatine cackling and taunting her. She imagined him as the frail, ugly, pathetic old man who made her childhood and teen years a living hell...although she was too brainwashed at the time to see it.
'Kriff him!' she thought to herself. She began to push back. The pain rolled over her in waves and her breath came in short pants interspaced between painful body spasms. She imagined this must be what it felt like to be in labor except instead of pushing out a baby she was trying to rid herself of a wrinkled, soulless piece of skidcrud. She pushed through the intense pain, desperately fighting against Palpatine's hold over her.
"Do it for Luke," Vader encouraged her.
Her mind drifted to Luke, and she automatically reached out to him, franticly searching for his bright presence in the Force to ground her and give her strength. Instead, she found Palpatine blocking her connection with Skywalker. "Oh, my poor girl," Palpatine said menacingly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Skywalker cannot help you. He wasn't a match for me before and he is just as powerless now. Perhaps I will keep you two as a breeding pair. Your children will be my Force-strong servants."
"Like hell!" she hissed as she pushed back harder. She reached out again trying to locate Luke, instead she found a tendril of the Force searching out for her. She didn't know where it came from, but it was pure and powerful and full of the light side of the Force. She took a chance and embraced the power and with the last bit of her strength she pushed. "Get away from me!"
She startled when she heard the screeching sound of metal against metal. As she opened her eyes, two things came apparent: the pain was gone and Emperor Vader's chair, with him still sitting upon it, was now approximately two meters from its original location. She looked down at the floor and noticed scuff marks where the legs of the chair scrapped across the deck. Somehow, she Force shoved the Sith Lord away from her along with shutting out Palpatine. She looked up at Vader nervously. "Did I do that?"
"Indeed, you did." Vader said evenly. "Is he gone?"
The headache was still throbbing behind her eyes, but the sharp pain from Palpatine's attacks disappeared. "Yes, I believe so." She stood stiffly; her gaze transfixed on Emperor Vader. "I didn't
mean to push you. That was an accident." She gave an apologetic gesture. "In all honesty, I didn't think it would be possible to Force shove you."
"It was possible because you, Mara Jade, are the Dyad."
She looked at him confused. "A dyad entails two people...was that Luke who helped me?"
"That is something I cannot determine. It is a Force skill I do not possess." He looked up at the wall chrono. "We will exit hyperspace in a few minutes." He moved to the door. "Come, we have a battle to prepare for."
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Star Destroyer Redeemer
Luke watched the Third Fleet attack of the planet for only a few minutes before he felt a strange sensation. It was like static in his brain and a gnawing sense of danger that made the hair on his arms and back of his neck stand up on end. He assumed he was sensing the deaths of so many people on the world below. It was a very disconcerting sensation. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly while pinching the bridge of his nose.
His change of behavior obviously caught the attention of Commodore Vanto. "Are you well, Sir?"
Luke took a shuttered breath and tried to force a reassuring smile on his face...a smile that quickly faded when he heard Palpatine's dark voice in his head. "My Hand return to me!" In a panic he reached out for Mara through the Force but was denied when his connection to his lover was violently severed. He wasn't sure how Palpatine did it, but he managed to disrupt Luke's Force bond with Mara Jade. He could still feel the emotions of his crew members, so he wasn't devoid of the Force entirely.
Luke shuddered as he realized Palpatine had grown far more powerful since his supposed death. He could disable an entire fleet of Star Destroyers with Force lightning and had effectively blocked his ability to communicate through the Force. Now he was trying to recruit Mara Jade back to his service. What if his father was right and there was a Force suggestion in her mind? What would happen if she attempted to kill his father? Panic hit and a feeling of vertigo washed over him. Almost immediately Commodore Vanto was standing beside him. "Sir, you don't look well." He put a hand on his arm and guided Luke to the bridge's ready room. As the door slid closed behind them Vanto steered Luke to an empty seat at the room's small conference table. "Sir, please sit down."
Luke nodded mutely as he lowered himself to the chair with Eli taking a seat across from him. "What's wrong, Sir?"
"Palpatine is still alive."
"If he is in a bunker, then that is not unexpected. Admiral Pellaeon will undoubtedly continue the bombardment. We have at least stopped the Force lightning attacks. Your plan is working." He looked at his wristchrono. "And according to my calculations your father's ship should arrive within the minute."
That was what Luke feared. Would Mara Jade be able to defy her old master? Luke knew she wouldn't go willingly, but what if she was unable to resist? He took a couple calming breaths before standing.
Commodore Vanto had an expression of concern as he rose out of his seat. "If you are not feeling well, Supreme Commander, perhaps it is best that you stay here. I am confident that I can take care of anything that arises."
Luke steadied himself before reaching out and giving Vanto's shoulder a friendly squeeze. "I have no doubt you are more than capable of commanding this ship without my help. I simply wish to witness my father's arrival."
Vanto grinned. "I don't know what Emperor Vader has in store for the enemy, but I am sure it will be swift and decisive."
Luke gave a tight smile. "That I don't doubt." He shook off his apprehension and walked back to the bridge.
"Fifteen seconds until the emperor's arrival," one crewmember called out.
Luke and Vanto walked over to the large transparisteel viewport. From there Luke could see the Third Fleet continuing to shower the planet with plasma bolts. Palpatine was obviously alive, but at least he is hunkering down somewhere and unable to press his attack.
Luke was startled when a sudden darkness enveloped the fleet and the planet below. It was as if the sun was suddenly eclipsed. He turned and asked the bridge crew. "Do we have a visual of what's behind us? Are we within the orbit of one of the planet's moons?"
Before the crew could respond, a young ensign came running onto the bridge, out of breath and with a look of shock. "Supreme Commander! It's the Death Star!"
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Death Star II Mobile Battle Station
Emperor Vader and Mara Jade stood on the observation deck as the battle station exited hyperspace. There they found hundreds of Clone War era Dreadnaughts floating out in space along with a dozen modern Star Destroyers. Most of the ships were drifting without power but one group, possibly the Third Fleet, were very active and currently doing a planetary bombardment via plasma cannons. She reached out with the Force and felt pure evil emanating from the planet. Luke was right, this was a planet of Sith. She searched for her old master and eventually she could feel his presence, but instead of his usually narcissistic malevolence she instead felt confusion and fear. That put a smile on her face.
'Good,' she thought.
"Do we have a clear shot?" Vader asked, surprising Mara that he seemed actually concerned.
"Yes, Sir," Admiral Fel replied.
"Then fire!"
She felt a slight tremor as the battle station's huge laser finished its final power cycle. Then, with a bright flash of green light, a powerful beam shot through space and made a direct hit on the planet.
She gasped as she felt the death of so many people, but at the same time she sensed a marked decrease in the suffocating presence of the darkside.
The laser burned through the atmosphere and started to peal up the crust of the planet. Lava erupted and the plant glowed an orange red color as the skies filled with dark smoke. Emperor Vader gazed down at the dying planet before turning to her. "I am the Chosen One...the one who would bring an end to the Sith." He pointed a gloved hand toward the destruction. "This was my destiny."
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Star Destroyer Redeemer
Luke's jaw went slack as he saw the green glow of the Death Star laser piercing the darkness of space to make a direct hit on the Sith Planet.
"Noooo!" Luke said alarmed not knowing what would happen to his fleet when the planet exploded.
"We're too close!" Vanto exclaimed seeing the danger.
The bridge crew froze... their fear palpable through the Force. Luke could only watch as the deadly laser tore through the atmosphere and ripped into the planet's mantel. He expected a huge explosion upon impact, but the planet's death was slower and, in a way, more horrific. His breath caught as he felt the death of millions...so many people calling out in terror as the planet became lifeless. He imagined this is what Obi-Wan felt when Alderaan was obliterated. He blew out a shuttered breath as a great sadness enveloped him. Once again the Empire had destroyed an entire world and this time he was responsible along with his father.
He was jarred out of his musings when his crew let out a loud cheer. It was a sound of relief and jubilation once they realized they were no longer in harm's way and the enemy was decimated. They were thrilled; Luke wanted to vomit. He turned to Eli Vanto who smiled brightly at their victory. "Take charge Commodore. I need to contact my father."
If Vanto noticed the change in Luke's demeanor he didn't let on. "Yes Sir!"
Luke ran a hand over his face as he walked off the bridge and down the corridor to his quarters. He reached out to Mara Jade and this time there was nothing preventing their communication.
'Mara! Are you okay?'
'Yes!' He felt her relief. 'Did you feel it? Palpatine's death?'
'I felt death.' He made it to his quarters and went directly to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a tall stiff drink. He downed the shot before continuing his Force communication. 'I heard Palpatine call you. What happened?'
'He tried to get me to return to him...but I fought him off.'
Mara must have sensed his surprise. 'Your father thinks I am the mythical Dyad...but he is rather vague as to who the other part of the dyad is.'
Luke contemplated that for a moment before asking a more pressing question. 'Why didn't you tell me he has a new Death Star?'
'He asked me not to. He didn't want to give Palpatine a chance to prepare for an attack.'
Luke's ire rose. 'More likely he knew I would never approve of the destruction of a planet.' When she didn't respond he reached out to her again. 'Mara?'
'He did what he had to do.' There was a long pause. 'Don't...'
She didn't finish her thought. 'Don't what?'
'Just...talk to your father before reacting.'
Luke was thankful she didn't use the word overreacting. 'Okay, send me over a shuttle. Most of ours are disabled by the Force lightning. I want to talk to my father.'