Chapter 28:
Later that day, Darth Atrox had returned to his quarters and summoned Admiral Solo. Solo stood outside his quarters waiting to be admitted to Darth Atrox's quarters. When the doors finally opened Han stepped in to find Luke in a black hooded robe concealing his identity. "You summoned me, Luke?"
Luke's hooded figure quickly turned around and growled "You will no longer know me by that name, Admiral. From now on you will know me as Darth Atrox or Lord Atrox. See that everyone else knows it as well."
"As you wish, Darth Atrox." Admiral Solo said as he knelt down in front of him, as he would Lord Vader. Knowing all the well what 'Darth' meant… Luke had become a Sith Lord, but he did not seem to care about that, all he cared about was serving him.
Darth Atrox looked down at Admiral Solo's kneeling form, pleased by his submissiveness. "I want you to contact Lord Vader and relay a message from me. Tell him that the time has come. I want this done immediately, Admiral."
"Yes, Lord Atrox. I shall send it at once." Solo rose, and bowed to Atrox before going to his own quarters, where he powered up the holotransmitter.
A few minutes later, the hiss of Vader's breath issued from the transmitter. "What is it, Admiral?"
"Lord Vader, Darth Atrox commanded me to relay a message to you. He-"
Vader cut him off, sharply. "What are you babbling about, Admiral? To whom are you referring?"
Solo frowned. "You- your son, Lord Vader. He called me to him and informed me that I was to address him either as Darth Atrox, or Lord Atrox, in the future, and nothing else."
There was silence for a long moment. Finally, Vader snapped, "What is his message, then?"
"He said…." Solo hesitated. "He said to tell you that the time has come. That- that's all, sir."
"Very well." The link was severed, abruptly, and Han switched off the transmitter, wondering what all of this was about.
Darth Vader stormed from his quarters and stalked onto the bridge of the Executor, finding Admiral Piett walking up to him. "Your orders, Milord?"
"Set course for Imperial Center, maximum velocity. Restrict any communications from the ship unless approved by myself. Understood?" Vader said as he began to heavily shield his intentions behind his mental barriers.
"Perfectly, milord." Piett said as he went out to carry out his orders.
Mara rapped on the door to Darth Atrox's quarters, and waited. She had sensed something in the palace change, and traced the source of the disturbance to Luke. Something was different, out of place, about his Force signature. The door slid open, and she entered, determined to find out what was going on. "Skywalker, I—"
Darth Atrox immediately Force pushed her into the bulkhead across from his quarters. "That name no longer belongs to me! I am Darth Atrox; you would do well to remember it." He growled while continuing to hold her against the bulkhead with the Force.
Mara immediately realized that she couldn't move; the power Luke—or was he Luke, anymore?—wielded was far greater than her own. She contented herself with glaring back at him, and snapped, "Changed your tune, haven't you, farmboy? I came in here half expecting more 'I know your true feelings, Mara' rubbish. Boy was I wrong on that call."
Darth Atrox stormed up to her, continuing to hold her with the Force while he released her arms only… for now. He continued to storm up to her until he was right in front of her and then began to passionately kiss her while whispering into her mind. Don't be so sure of that… Hand… now give in. It was not a request, but a statement.
Mara fought the surge of emotions, briefly, before they threatened to overwhelm her. Blast it, Skywalker, stay out of my mind! Unable to maintain her increasingly halfhearted attempts to resist the sheer power of his passion and strength in the Force, she gave in, slowly reaching up to pull him deeper into their kiss.
As their kiss continued to deepen, Darth Atrox sent a warning into Mara's mind. I will do what I wish, for I am a Sith Lord. Your mind is complex, but organized; you are a hunter doing your master's bidding when you could be so much more.
Mara's eyes snapped open, and she glared at him. The Emperor chose me, he made me who and what I am, Skywalker. My loyalty is with him, as yours should be, and you would do well to remember that. With a hiss, her maroon blade was in her hand, eyes glinting dangerously.
Before her blade was fully extended, Darth Atrox had already stepped back from her and his crimson saber staff was already half ignited, its tip just millimeters from her throat. He stormed into her mind, pinning her arms back to the wall, no longer caring about harming her. I am Darth Atrox, if you call me by my former name again, I'll destroy you.
Mara's eyes flashed, defiantly. "So kill me, Skywalker. It's obvious that to you….. I'm just a toy for your amusement, to break if the mood arises."
Suddenly the Emperor entered both of their minds. Wait a moment, Lord Atrox, she is my Hand and mine alone to punish.
Darth Atrox backed down and released Mara. Very well, master.
Come to the throne room, my child. The Emperor commanded Mara Jade.
Mara brushed past Atrox, furiously, and stormed off to the throne room. She knelt before the Emperor's throne and waited for him to turn around and acknowledge her. "My lord."
The Emperor did not turn around to acknowledge her. "You are a fool for treating a Sith Lord the way you did. Did you honestly think you could stand up to Darth Atrox after he trained with a former apprentice of mine who was more skilled than Lord Vader was?" He said, not hiding his displeasure with her.
Mara frowned. "My lord, he implied that it was wrong of me to serve you." She hesitated, for a moment. "I don't trust his intentions. And I do not tolerate disloyalty to the Empire."
"Well then, my child. I guess we need to try a different method with you." He paused, slowly turning towards her. "You are hereby reassigned to Darth Atrox and Lord Vader. You have no idea how great you could be under their teachings, especially after Lord Atrox's training is complete. You will make an excellent Sith Apprentice."
"A- as you wish, my lord."
"Good. Now you will be punished for your foolishness in thinking of defying a Sith Lord." He said as he got up from his throne blasting Mara with Force lightning.
Mara collapsed on the floor, in agony, as the lightning coursed through her body. "It- it will not happen again, my lord," she ground out, through the pain.
The Emperor paused the lightning and walked up to Mara. "Let me explain something to you, Hand," he said coldly. "Whenever a Sith Apprentice has an opportunity to kill their master and take their place….. they take it!" He resumed Mara's punishment with another blast of Force lightning.
Mara contorted under the Emperor's punishment, a flood of different emotions running through her. A small part of her mind, unaffected by the pain, began to categorize her feelings, despite the fact that every nerve ending in her body was screaming out in agony.
She felt…. angry, angry that she was being punished for trying to protect the Emperor. But that paled in comparison to the hurt. Hurt that her master discounted her intuition regarding Darth Atrox and his intentions, and then reassigned her to Atrox and Vader.
The Emperor finally stopped the lightning. He bent over her and began to speak. "Now you know how Lord Atrox felt when he found out the truth about his father. Perhaps when you report to him, you could ask him about it." He paused, sensing her feelings. "Oh yes. You will become a great Sith Lord one day, I have foreseen it." He paused again, considering, then continued. "You believed that Atrox only thought of you as a toy which he could break when he chose. You are mistaken. Luke Skywalker has feelings for you… strong ones. His training requires him to bury them deep into the core of his being. One day you will become his Sith Apprentice; his sister is too weak and pathetic." He reached down and touched Mara's face. "You do not know how great you are, my child."
Leia emerged from the cave, looking shaken. She sat down near Yoda, who hadn't moved since she left. Neither spoke for some time, until Leia, unable to stand the silence anymore, blurted out, "Master Yoda, is there any hope for Luke?"
The wizened Jedi Master bowed his head. "Impossible to tell. A Sith Lord, your brother has become. Only a fully-trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will have strength enough to save him. Ready, are you?"
Leia got to her feet again, and nodded, determinedly. "Yes, master. Let's continue."
Lando stood up, suddenly, and cracked his head against the top of the access port. "Ow" He heard Chewbacca's rumbling chuckle from the engine room, and glowered. "Explain to me again why we have to have everything in peak condition, when we aren't going to be going anywhere for months?" He scooped up his hydrospanner, and wandered down the passage towards a different access port. "I mean, this place isn't even on most navigational charts! Nobody's going to find us here." Chewbacca's reply was quiet, but firm, and Lando sobered quickly. "Oh. Luke. You're right. It is strange that they haven't looked here yet. Maybe they…. think no one else knows it's here." Chewbacca barked a negative, and Lando at realized the truth of his words. "It hasn't occurred to Luke to mention there's a Jedi here, has it? Once he does…. we'll have to get out of here, and fast." That seemed to shut him up, giving Chewbacca some much-desired peace and quiet…. for the moment.