Hello and thanks for reading. My apologies for the delay in posting. I've been traveling and the only SW in my life lately has been at Yankee Stadium. The visiting team (our home team) was introduced to the John Williams Imperial March and then the Yankees were introduced to the SW Main Title music. My nine-year-old turns to ask me: why do the Yankees gets the good guy music? They're the bad guys. Big brother responds: Because the Yankees think they're the good guys. Yep, kid. Obi-Wan was right: it all depends on your point of view.
But back to Part 2 of Star-crossed. In some ways, Darth Malgus is a Sith ahead of his time. His Master-killing act will be the path to promotion in the later Rule of Two era when the Sith exist in pairs. But in his time, it's a heinous act that mostly earns him condemnation, not respect. His striving ambition too is a necessary hallmark of the later Dark Side culture, a time when power must be accumulated and not inherited. So, if you're reading this wondering why Malgus gets the reactions he does, cast aside what you know of the Sith from the SW movies. Things work differently for the old school Darksiders.
Obviously from the number of stories I have written about it, I love the Old Sith Empire. It dramatically changes the dynamics when you have an entire culture of Darksiders raging, not just two. So how do you maintain an Empire full of raging Sith Lords? The cultural lust for power allows the Sith Emperors to manipulate their vassals. They pit the Lords against one another, using their infighting and rivalries to keep them divided. They give them wars to fight and honors to win to keep them busy and competitive with each other. Vitiate keeps them rich and living in luxury to make them complacent. Because naturally the Emperor's greatest fear is that his inferiors will organize against him. His strategy is to keep them content.
But the fear of a rival comes to fruition for Vitiate with Darth Fulsome's insurrection in Taking the Veil. It's an episode which has been alluded to already several times in this story. The personal and political fallout from that coup attempt is huge for Vitiate and it still looms large in the background of Star-crossed twentyish years later Vitiate survives the insurrection to end up firmly in power, but he is exposed for who he is to the person who matters most. Readers, the key takeaway point is this: Vitiate's paranoia about a rival has some basis in recent history. Now, enter into this context the overpowered random who would ordinarily have been killed at birth, Gaius Veradun.
The throne room scene—when Gaius first meets his Emperor—is indeed an epic fail. A version of the scene from Vitiate's perspective is in the concluding chapter of Taking the Veil and a recollected version of the scene is in the last chapter of Darker. Gaius won't be back in Vitiate's throne room again for a long time thanks to his Emperor's contempt.
But that won't stop Gaius. Already, refusing further training to young Gaius is doing nothing to stunt his development. He's graduated to shooting the red Force lightning now. That trick began as a quirk I read somewhere on the internet about Vitiate years ago. I liked the idea that there might be Force lightning that's supposed to torture and hurt (the blue kind) and Force lightning that's designed to kill instantly (the red kind). The red lightning is an advanced skill and the hallmark of someone who taps deeply into Darkness to wield the power of death itself. Darth Azamin is right to tell Gaius never to use it. It's the sort of flex move that will get talked about and inevitably the tale will get back to paranoid Vitiate who, as Azamin has already warned Gaius, needs no reason to kill him.
And that's is sort of a recurrent SW plot: bury an unknown Force user with extreme abilities (and maybe important and/or secret parentage) in obscurity and see them rise despite all obstacles. Because when the Force is with you, nothing will keep you down. That trope works for Anakin, for Luke, and for Rey. Will it work for Gaius?
Emperor Marka Ragnos, Vitiate's esteemed predecessor, had much the same mindset of fearing rivals. Because, as SW fans know, all who gain power fear to lose it. That's why in Dyad, Ragnos will refuse training to the young Vitiate in vain hope that it will stunt his development. Spoiler alert—it won't work. And by the end of that fic, Ragnos is on his deathbed hoping to recruit Vitiate as an ally. Too late, Ragnos recognizes that the boy he feared as an enemy will be the savior of his people. Ragnos ends up coaching his rival through how to seize power. Because in the end, Ragnos recognizes that the Force is with Vitiate. So, in Star-crossed, the issue is will history repeat itself? That is the subtle subtext of Gaius' struggles. He does have enemies, but they're not who he thinks they are.
We end Part 2 with Darth Angral nagging Gaius to stop rocking the boat and to be more strategic about his actions. But that approach is just not in Gaius' nature. His character is now and will always be something of an arrogant reformer. Darth Malgus in his mature years in Darker is this same man, only more jaded. The guy never drops his outsider perspective despite his success. He grows a huge chip on his shoulder that fuels his brashness. He will eventually stop trying to fit in, and focuses solely on achievement.
So, what's so threatening about the young Gaius Veradun? Two things. First, he has a lot of forward-thinking ideas—some shown here—that pit him against the status quo. And second, he has the talent and Force to see his ideas through. Gaius' boss Darth Angral already perceives his brilliance and wants to help him. Palace henchman Darth Azamin sees it too, although he's treading carefully.
Part 3 reverts to Portia's perspective on the domestic homefront. Our long-distance lovers will be growing closer and things will heat up between them. Azamin is going to meddle and Mother Metellus, Lady Oderint, will finally take some interest in her younger daughter. More to come soon.
