Chapter 75
Imperial City-Coruscant
Emperor Palpatine was not a man who worried often, but when he did, it was for good reason. It had been more than two weeks since the death of Darth Ferreus; and while he had not lived up to the potential that Palpatine had anticipated, Ferreus had served a purpose. He had been not been afraid to get his hands dirty when necessary, and had been just intimidating enough to keep those under his command in line.
But now Ferreus was gone, and Palpatine was without an apprentice. He had fully expected after his brief contact with Darth Vader that the powerful Sith would accept Palpatine's offer, and would return to his service. Palpatine knew Vader well, and felt sure that is was only a matter of time before he came to his senses and returned to where he belonged, at the emperor's side. And yet, there had been no contact from Vader in at least a week. Was it the influence of his wife that was holding him back? Amidala had always had a strong influence on Vader, at least until Mustafar, Palpatine reflected with smugness. Things had gone far better than I had ever anticipated on that particular day…Vader turned into a half human cyborg, his wife near death because of his anger…It was the perfect set of circumstances to keep Vader firmly engulfed in Darkness. At least, until he learned the truth.
Having found his children had caused a change in Vader, and had made him start to questions the truths that Palpatine had been feeding him for two decades. Vader was an intelligent man, after all; the fact that his children were alive had no doubt made him realize that Amidala had not in fact died at his hand. Yet, Palpatine knew Vader – he knew that the power of Darkness was not one he could resist for long, with or without Amidala.
"Excuse me, your highness."
Palpatine looked up at a red robed guard who had dared to interrupt his mediation.
"What is it?" he snapped.
"Lord Vader is making contact."
Palpatine tried to hide his surprise. "Patch it in here," he said calmly, rising from his throne. He made his way slowly to the communication screen, the sight of the face of Anakin Skywalker unnerving him.
"Lord Vader," he said coolly. "I was beginning to wonder when I would hear from you."
Vader did not acknowledge the emperor's terse comment. "I have come to a decision," he said, keeping his mental shields at maximum. "And have taken command of the Executor."
Palpatine nodded, a smile spreading over his ancient face. "Very good," he said.
"I wish to search for my children," Vader continued.
"Of course," Palpatine replied, trying in vain to read Vader's thoughts. "They will be a great asset to us."
"Yes, they will," Vader replied. "Once they are in my custody, we will join you, my master."
Palpatine's smile widened hearing Vader call him master after so long. At last you know your place, Lord Vader, he thought, sending the thoughts directly to the Dark Lord's mind. I am willing to forgive this time, but make no mistake; I will not brook any further betrayal. The next time it will mean your life.
Palpatine thought he saw a flicker of indignation in Vader's eyes, but it was gone instantly as Vader bowed his head in submission.
"I look forward to meeting your offspring, Lord Vader," Palpatine said at last. "I trust I won't have to wait long."
"No," Vader replied. "Not long at all. I have many leads; it won't be long before I claim my children once again."
Palpatine nodded. "I hope so, Lord Vader."
Vader did not reply, and the transmission faded from the screen. Palpatine turned in his chair, unable to shake the feeling of uneasiness that he'd had ever since he had first seen the face of Anakin Skywalker again.
Endor System-Four days later
The planet Endor, a silvery gas giant, was orbited by nine moons. The largest of these moons, almost the size of a small planet, was known as the Forest Moon, the Sanctuary Moon, or simply as Endor.
The Endor system was not an easy one to reach. The uncharted area and a massive gravitational shadow of the planet made navigating this area treacherous and tricky. It also made this system the perfect place to hide the Empire's greatest and most lethal secret: the second Death Star.
Kept secret from most of the Imperial forces, including the powerful moffs, the Death Star had been under construction for almost a month. Learning from the mistakes of the past, Palpatine over saw the design stage of his new super weapon personally, ensuring that the same problems that had plagued him in the construction stage of the first Death Star did not occur again with the new one. Thus, after only a month of construction, it was well under way, and had already begun to take shape above the Forest Moon.
Grand Moff Jerjerrod, an arrogant, self-serving little man, walked smugly amidst the construction, quite pleased with himself at having been appointed the commander of the mighty station. He was not an easy man to like, as any of the many underlings he commanded could attest to. Jerjerrod took his responsibilities seriously, and was not about to let the emperor down. The fact that he was utterly terrified of Palpatine was a huge motivating factor, and it made Jerjerrod push his men hard in their tasks. He wanted this space station to be the ultimate power in the universe, to out do the original Death Star in every conceivable way. The Rebel Alliance won't stand a chance once this is completed, Jerjerrod thought smugly. They don't even know of its existence, much less its location. The emperor truly is a genius to keep this so secretive…It made Jerjerrod feel singularly important that he was the only Moff who even knew about the Death Star. In fact, he highly doubted if the emperor's apprentice the mighty Lord Vader had had any inkling of its existence before his mysterious end. That fact pleased Jerjerrod no end; and made his already considerable ego even more inflated.
"Sir, sir!"
Jerjerrod turned to see one of his junior officers approaching him.
"What is it?"
"Sir, long range sensors have detected a ship entering the Endor System," the young man reported.
Jejerrod frowned. "Configuration?"
"It's one of ours sir," the officer replied. "It's the Executor."
What the devil are they doing here? Jerjerrod wondered as he followed his officer to the small command center of the space station. Sure enough, the enormous vessel had entered the system.
"Have they hailed us?" Jerjerrod asked the communications officer.
"No sir and they are ignoring our hails," the officer replied.
Jerjerrod's frown deepened. "The emperor did not inform me of any inspections," he muttered, starting to worry that it was the emperor who was on his way for a surprise visit. "Keep trying to hail them," he commanded.
"Sir, TIE fighters!"
Jerjerrod along with the rest of the officers and men in the small command center watched in stupefaction as a huge swarm of TIE fighters appeared, their huge number virtually filling the view screen as they approached at top speed.
"Sir, they are opening fire upon the Vengeance!!" came the startled cry of the tactical officer.
Jerjerrod could only watch in horror as the swarm of fighters attacked the destroyer.
"Sir, what should we do!?"
"I…I…." Jerjerrod stuttered as they watched helplessly as the unshielded ship was utterly decimated by the unrelenting waves of TIE fighters. What do I do? Jerjerrod wondered in utter panic. Who do I contact? Who is close enough to help?
"SIR!"
Jerjerrod's attempt to give an order was halted by the emergence of the mighty Executor which now loomed ominously before them.
"Hail them," Jerjerrod said, his voice barely audible.
"No response!"
Jerjerrod thought frantically. "Contact the fleet!" he cried. "Locate the closest vessel and..."
"Sir all channels have been jammed!"
"We're sitting ducks," Jerjerrod said as he watched the massive ship fill the screen, knowing with certainty that he would not live much longer. There were no shields, no weapons, no way to defend themselves, no way to escape.
Who is responsible for this? Who…
It was Jerjerrod's last thought, for the enormous firepower of the Executor unleashed upon the unprotected shell of the Death Star, obliterating it within moments.
Watching from a safe distance, Anakin Skywalker sat in the cockpit of a TIE fighter. He thought briefly of the men who had perished in this attack, but realized that this was war. He had killed in battle before, and would again if necessary.
"Luke, do you read me?"
"I copy, Dad."
"Solo?"
"Right here, sir."
"Let's go."
Luke and Han acknowledged Anakin's order and the three of them lead the squadron back to the Executor.