Chapter 71:
Mara woke from her first real sleep in days, still nestled in Atrox's embrace. A soft smile crossed her features as she watched him, still sleeping, before she woke him with a kiss. "It's morning, love. We have things to do."
Atrox, still asleep, unconsciously rolled over towards her, using the Force to smash a glass of water in their fresher.
She smirked, tolerantly, and stroked his cheek, amazed by how peaceful he seemed while asleep. "I love you, farmboy," she murmured. Deciding to let him sleep, she slipped out of bed and got some fresh robes from the locker.
Once Mara got out of bed, Atrox seemed to toss and turn in her absence, once again calling on the Force in his sleep to slowly pull her back towards the bed.
Slightly annoyed, Mara retaliated by ripping the sheets off the bed with the Force, exposing him to the cold of the room. "You know, there's such a thing as too much Force sensitivity."
Atrox began to wake, the cold driving him from his dreams. "Just wait until the twins are in bed." Atrox muttered under his breath as he slowly sat up.
She eyed him, one hand unconsciously drifting towards her belly, which was beginning to show signs of her condition. "I'll expect you to keep them there, then, when they try to sneak out. You seem to be quite skilled at it."
Atrox became alert almost at the same instant he got out of bed. "You are not going anywhere until you have eaten." He pointed a finger at her for emphasis.
Mara's expression changed to one of dismay. "Not you too," she groaned.
"Do you want to kill our children?" Atrox demanded coldly as he headed for his locker and began to put on a fresh set of robes.
Mara's eyes hardened. "How can you even suggest that?" she snapped. Turning away, she finished dressing in silence. "I'd like to see how you dealt with this," she muttered under her breath.
"I can suggest it because I know you just as well as you know yourself, apprentice." Atrox sneered, as he began to pull his boots on. "You don't think I can sense how you have been taking care of yourself while I was away, or should I say lack thereof?" Atrox demanded, his burning gaze turning towards Mara.
She stiffened, feeling his gaze boring into the back of her head. Finally, she said in a low voice, "Forgive me, master. It was inexcusable." Calling her lightsaber to hand, she clipped it to her belt and walked out of the room, heading for the officers' mess.
After putting on his boots, Atrox reached into the locker for his cloak and donned it, raising its hood. He walked out of his quarters, calling his lightsaber to his hand and placing it on his belt as he did so. He reached the bridge, seeing his father's dark form gazing out of one of the viewports with his wife at his side. He slowly walked up to him and knelt before him. "Master," he greeted, waiting to be acknowledged.
Vader and Padmé turned to him, the former with a nod, the later with a smile. "Apprentice," Vader replied, indicating that he rise and join them.
Atrox rose when ordered to do so, and smiled in return to his mother. "How long until we arrive back at Imperial Center?" he asked softly. "It seems that Mara needs to be forcibly restrained or sedated if she continues to not take care of herself."
Padmé's brow creased with concern. "I meant to speak to you about that. She was terribly ill the entire time you were away, I was very worried."
"We're heading back to Imperial Center at maximum velocity," Vader replied. "We should arrive in two days' time.
Atrox turned towards Padmé. "Perhaps I should restrain her to our bed, and not let her out of our quarters unsupervised." Atrox muttered, becoming increasingly annoyed at his apprentice for putting their children in unnecessary danger. After several moments, he turned back to his father, "After I get my apprentice under control, would you like to spar?" he asked, wanting to train more with his father and further his training.
"Certainly, apprentice. Whenever you desire," Vader replied.
"Perhaps your father could speak to her," Padmé offered with a smile at her husband. "He has experience dealing with stubborn women, though he wasn't here for the early months of my pregnancy."
Vader's expression was both surprised and doubtful. "I… suppose. It is for you to decide, however, son."
Atrox looked towards Vader, his expression thoughtful and indecisive. "It might be for the better, Father. I have made it clear this morning how I felt on the matter and she finally submitted. However, I feel that the first chance she gets she is going to put her duties first and the babies last. If need be, I will suspend her from all of her active duties and have her confined to quarters."
"We should also have her in to see a doctor at the first opportunity," Padmé put in, gently. "Both she and the babies need to be checked to ensure they're healthy."
"I doubt she consciously puts her children second." Vader commented. "Sidious had her well trained from an early age to complete her assignments as quickly and efficiently as possible, without heed to her own health."
"…something which we are now going to need to beat out of her until she gets the picture." Atrox muttered under his breath.
Vader chuckled, and left his wife and son on the bridge as he sought out Mara Jade. He sensed her near the prisoners' cell, and moved quickly to intercept her.
Pausing before the cell door, Mara turned and confronted Vader, a scowl quickly spreading across her face. "Can I help you with something… Lord Vader?" she added as an afterthought.
"You can explain to me why you are not taking proper care of yourself when you are carrying two children inside of you, Jade." Vader said coldly, his tone of voice leaving no room for arguing.
Mara's expression hardened even further. "You try it sometime," she said bitterly.
Vader's expression darkened, "You obviously do not know how far your master will pursue this matter. Continue to neglect your health, and you will find yourself confined to quarters."
"I will do as my master commands," she replied coolly. "I am well aware of everything you have mentioned, Lord Vader, and I assure you, I have no intention of neglecting my health, or that of my children."
"Just like you had intended to skip your morning meal?" Vader countered, his expression growing darker and more serious.
Mara glared at him. "What do you want from me?"
"You will put your health above everything else. I no longer care if you have duties. Your only duty now is to ensure that your unborn children are healthy. Is that understood?" Vader asked, his expression leaving her little choice but to comply.
"Yes." She ground out, barely maintaining a civil tone. "Was there anything else, milord?"
"No. You may proceed with what you were doing. However, within an hour I want you back in your quarters getting some rest or doing something to relax." Vader said shortly, allowing her access back to the cell.
"As you wish, Lord Vader." She turned and brushed past him, choosing instead to meditate in the quarters she shared with Atrox.
Vader shook his head, then turned and walked down to the cargo hold they had set aside for training. He found his son practicing there alone, and paused in the doorway until he had finished the form he was working on. His eyes followed his apprentice, critically reviewing each stance and movement. Detecting a flaw, he spoke, his single word commanding obedience. "Stop." With quick strides he reached Atrox's side, and repositioned him with a touch. "Your guard is too low, it should be higher. Widen your stance. Better. Now continue." He stepped back, and allowed his son to finish the form, pausing in its final stance. "You're doing well, apprentice. Your skill with a blade is most impressive."
"As is my father's," Atrox responded, pride resonating throughout his entire being.
"Indeed." Vader smirked. "As will your children's, no doubt," he added.
Suddenly, Atrox lunged towards Vader, his lightsaber coming to life as he did so. Vader's blade lit in the same moment, parrying the blow and delivering a crushing counterattack. Atrox fended off each strike, unchecked by any of them. They seemed perfectly matched, red blade meeting red blade as the black clad figures spun around the room in the dance of death.
Dan lay back on his bunk, staring listlessly at the bunk above him. He sat up suddenly, nearly banging his head on the upper bunk. Images flitted through his mind, the hum of a blade, the swirl of a cloak, and a dark-clad figure hurled across a room.
Puzzled, he slid out of the bunk and wandered down a corridor, simply allowing his feet to carry him forward. On impulse, he slid open a door, and stopped in the doorway, shocked. Atrox and Vader were locked in combat, their attacks complementing each other perfectly. Both were utilizing the Djem So that was as much a part of them as the Force. Vader feinted, and the instant Atrox's blade flicked in the direction he had moved, Vader had knocked him across the room, Atrox's blade spinning off before clattering to the deck.
Atrox was on his feet again in a moment, his saber staff in a two-handed grip, and lunged toward his father, raising the intensity of the battle to new levels.
Dan couldn't tear his eyes away from the whirl of blades, causing memories he had blocked to resurface.
NO! he wanted to scream, but couldn't, his mother had one hand tight across his mouth as she dragged him into the battered speeder. Beyond them, an emerald blade hissed into life, followed by a crimson one. A man in a light-colored jumpsuit advanced on the black-armored figure, and the image burned itself into the lad's memory as the blades met in a clash of sparks.
Dan's eyes blazed with hate as he glared at the battle before him, not truly seeing them. Across the room, the forgotten lightsaber rattled on the deck. His fingers curled into a fist, as the long-suppressed emotion threatened to overwhelm him, and the lightsaber shot towards him. He caught it, and was snapped back into the present by the feel of the cool steel in his grip, and stared dumbly at it in shock and growing horror.
Both Vader and Atrox immediately ceased their sparring and turned to stare at him. Atrox deactivated one of the blades on his saber-staff and started slowly walking towards him, his blade continuing to point towards the boy, his hard gaze staring directly into his eyes.
Dan felt himself rooted to the ground by Atrox's gaze. Numbly, he held the hilt out to the Sith Lord, and stammered, "I… I… I'm sorry… I don't…"
Atrox snatched the hilt out of the boy's hands and returned it to his belt. "You are Force-sensitive?" Atrox demanded coldly, "Have you been trained by the Jedi?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Dan muttered. "I-I don't know what happened."
Vader stared hard at the young man, finally commenting, "Your sense is… familiar. Have our paths crossed before?"
Anger blazed again in Dan's eyes before he suppressed it again. "I never met you until you came here."
"That is not what I asked." Vader left the question hanging between them, his gaze boring into the young man.
Finally, he ground out, hatred and resentment twisting within him, "You killed my father."
Vader raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised. "And who was your father?"
Dan refused to answer, defiance radiating from him. "What do you care? You killed him; he's dead."
A strange empathy tugged at Vader as he studied the youth. "Tell me his name, boy. It is… possible I could tell you something about him."
Dan was silent for a long time. Finally, he whispered, "Daren Kyo."
Genuine surprise filled Vader's eyes. "Daren? The Jedi Master?" Dan didn't respond, but both Sith could sense the emotions raging inside him.
Atrox slowly turned his head so he could look at Vader over his shoulder. "You knew his father?" Atrox asked softly. His voice however, was just as cold and filled with hatred of the Jedi.
"He was a Jedi Master of the… less orthodox variety. I encountered him on Kailion, he had been part of a team of Jedi who had traveled there on a mission during the Clone Wars." Vader replied, his eyes never leaving the young man before him. "I had not known, however, that he had any family there."
Dan's eyes smoldered. "You destroyed our lives."
"The Jedi destroyed mine!" Vader snapped in response. "Your father's death was an unfortunate necessity. All Jedi are a threat to the Empire by their very existence. What happened is a thing of the past, unchangeable. Let it rest."
"When you can let whatever the Jedi did to you rest, then will I," Dan said bitterly. He turned and stormed out of the room, not caring where he went, so long as it was as far away from Vader and Atrox as possible.
"His hatred of us gives him great potential, master." Atrox muttered softly, looking Vader in the eyes.
"Indeed," Vader agreed, an odd tone in his voice. "We shall see."