Part 41: Ordæl bi Szablya.
"Good Senators of the Empire, I come before you today, not to formally announce my intention to rescind another term of office, but to confess before you all a grievous sin. For many years now, I have lied. I have spoken false truths, given voice to treasonous acts against humanity and all good races who reside in our once noble galaxy. In doing so I have betrayed those who looked to me as the voice of truth, peace and justice throughout the Republic.
"Until now, my reasons for committing such an act needed to be concealed from you, for your own protection as well as that of myself. The time has come however to release myself from the silence imposed upon me from the day I first spoke such lies, on the eve of my husband's funeral. What none of you knew at the time, what I have taken such care to conceal, was the illusion of that entire ceremony, from first to last. A necessary deception, as elaborate as the plot I will also bring forth into the open now. A plot against every being within the Republic, and most importantly, a plot against the Jedi Order."
By now, Padmé had everyone's attention. In each pod, the Senators and their aides were sitting upright, their eyes wide and alert, fixed on her figure as she stood in the place where Palpatine usually did, having been charged with assuming the authority of his position during his absence, when she pleaded an excuse for not joining him in a visit to their homeworld. The excuse was nothing short of a barefaced lie; her real intention was to stay behind all along, to deliver this speech in his absence to the Senate, using her eloquence and influence to cause them to rise up against the Emperor's treachery, while simultaneously, Mara Organa would be overseeing the explosion of the Death Star, and her husband and son were duelling with Palpatine in the reactor room of Theed Palace.
"This plot began, I am ashamed to say it, on my homeworld of Naboo. By a man who I trusted, who had been my mentor from the earliest days of my election as Princess of Theed, then Queen. He seemed a good, kindly, old man, who dedicated his life to politics out of a deep seated need to help people, as all Nubians do. At fourteen, perhaps I can be excused for placing my trust in such a front and font of deception, but on my world, youth is no shield for accepting responsibility. He took advantage of my naiveté, of my desire for peace and justice, by insinuating himself into the good graces of the Naboo, and the Senate. Behind our backs he called the Trade Federation, and manipulated them into issuing a blockade against my world, knowing that the Republic would send the Jedi. Once he heard of my survival and escape, he persuaded me to issue a vote of no confidence, enabling himself to take the position of the highest office in the galaxy. Then he sent his apprentice after the Jedi.
"Perhaps he underestimated the strength of the master and padawan team, or perhaps he calculated for precisely such an outcome. Whatever thoughts were in his mind during that time, I am not certain. To acquire the office of Chancellor was his primary goal, and that he secured effortlessly. His new title afforded him the authority to direct the actions of the Republic, to conceal his true intent from the Republic, and ultimately, to revenge himself against the Jedi. After searching and finding a new apprentice, he sent the man to Kamino, where an order was laid out for an army of clones. Officially prepared to protect the Republic in a war which he would first engineer into being, their real task was something far more insidious. Within their code of battle was a unique order, authorised by their ultimate General, the Chancellor. Entitled Number Sixty-six, once sent it would cause the clones to turn upon their commanders in the field, their Jedi superiors, and murder them."
Padmé took a breath and continued. "The Jedi never rebelled against the Republic, nor did they plot a mutiny. Instead the Emperor persuaded mistrust and suspicion to grow within the soul of the brightest of their ranks, the prophesied Chosen One, until the boy led the army in a massacre upon the Temple."
They had prepared for this moment for many years. As soon as Luke was old enough to hold a saber, his father took him to the room where he fought his first Sith, led him through the fight step by step, until every inch of the place was known intimately to both father and son. Nothing was a better teacher than experience and Luke came to know every pitfall, every raised walk way, every feature of the cascade shielding.
Obi-Wan had faced Asaji Ventress alone, faced Grievous alone, faced Anakin alone, but those battles were fourteen years ago and more, and though he and Padmé were loathed to expose their son to the dangerous influence of the Emperor, they also realised that Luke could be a vital key to defeating him. For Palpatine would not be expecting to face Master and apprentice, and assume, once he adjusted to this, that the son would employ the same saber techniques that had defined the father's reputation as the Negotiator.
Not so. Luke learned from Obi-Wan, but he also studied under Mace Windu, and Master Drallig, the sword master of the Temple, and Yoda, until he understood their fighting styles enough not just to imitate, but to combine and adapt into a style uniquely his own. At fourteen, he was the leading swordsman of the padawans yet to graduate to knighthood who were saved from the massacre at the Temple. Unaware of his full potential, the boy would become the rising star of the Order, brave yet humble, like his father. Luke still insisted that there was much he had to learn, yet, if truth be told, Obi-Wan had little left to teach him. If he continued to progress as he had done, he would become the youngest Knight of the Order.
And before him stood his first trial.
Palpatine was caught off-guard, but not for long. Quickly he adjusted, turning a mocking gaze from the son towards the father. "So that was what your wife was hiding under her heavy gowns. Twins strong in the Force. You did well to hide such prizes from me, Kenobi. This a visit full of surprises."
"Luke and Leia are the first of many," Obi-Wan replied, smirking at the Emperor as he waited for him to ignite his red blade and strike. "A pity you will not live to see the rest."
"Such is the will of the Force," Palpatine mused. "Think you and a puny boy can defeat me so easily?"
"Think you can defeat us so easily?" Obi-Wan countered. "Come on, old man. Give us your best shot."
Palpatine laughed and as if from nowhere, a silver cylinder appeared in his hands, the red blade ignited to meet Obi-Wan's blue one. He parted his hands, twisting one behind him to send a sliver of lightning to Luke, but the boy caught the potentially painful shafts with his green lightsaber, just as his father had done many years ago. In front of him Obi-Wan reversed the opening strike of the Emperor's blade, the clash of lights echoing throughout the expansive, quiet room.
"So be it," the Sith murmured, and abruptly shifted grip of the silver cylinder within his hand. Another red blade shot out of the end, to deal with the dual opponents of master and padawan, just as his first apprentice had done, twenty-seven years ago. Flicking the blades outward, he struck both of the opposing ones simultaneously, causing Obi-Wan and Luke to respond, their movements easily flowing.
They had prepared for this as well. Remembering the methods of Darth Maul, it was not unlikely to suppose that the apprentice had learned to use the dual blade under his master, so ensuring Luke knew how to deal with such a weapon was a priority. With the help of the surviving masters, they constructed double headed sabers and practised with them in this room, against Master Windu, whose style with the sword was designed to deal with darkness within himself, as well as to channel that which flowed through his opponent. Obi-Wan and Luke dipped into Vaapad now, using their power in the Unifying Force to channel the vast evil they faced in the Emperor.
Sidious directed them through the entrance into the narrow cat walks of the reactor room, as they fell into the movements of a battle conducted there twenty-seven years ago, when the Jedi were still innocent of the darkness they had yet to encounter.
"The Jedi were aware of the growing dark side rising against the Force, more aware than any of us ordinary beings could understand. With the appearance of the Sith on Naboo, they knew that another would soon make themselves public, for there are always two; master and apprentice. At first they were not sure who was conquered on Naboo, but soon they came to realise that it was the apprentice, and that the Master was insidiously working behind the scenes in order to pull the Republic apart with civil war, and amass an Empire of his own making within its place.
"Realising his wrath would be directed against them, they looked towards ensuring their own safety, while trying to defend that which belonged to the Republic. Despite their powers, they were not utterly omnipotent, research and discovery could aid or hinder a survival, one dependent on the good favour of the Republic they swore to protect. Offering of service was their choice alone, a hermit lifestyle just as easily suited them, the quiet communion with the Force. If we rejected them, to that solitude they would retreat, without regret, if perhaps understanding.
"For years the Master of the Sith spread rumours and half truths about the Jedi across the Republic, encouraging the fear and illwill towards them. Growing the ideas of their tendency to take control, to assume absolute authority, until it was all too easy to believe that they could engineer a mutiny against the Republic.
"Then he took one of their padawans under his wing, manipulating him until he distrusted the Jedi, until he embraced the dark side to become the very thing he feared. With the help of the clone army he laid waste to the Temple, believing as we all did, that the Jedi wished to seize power for themselves. He slaughtered men, women, and younglings, while his Master secured his role as Emperor.
"In slaughtering these innocents, the apprentice is not wholly to blame. Manipulated into surrendering to the darker side of his nature, to the fear inside him, guilt also lies with the Master of the Sith. Palpatine has laid waste to our Republic for years, tormenting our citizens, torturing non-human races, killing Force sensitives. And we have let him. Fear has consumed our sense of morals, of truth, justice, peace and freedom. Thousands of beings have paid a terrible price for our fear. No more, I tell you, no more. We must rise against the tyrant who has caused such terror amongst our citizens. I urge you all to stand up and declare a vote of no confidence in Emperor Palpatine."
Padmé drew breath and waited. The silence was brief, and when it ended the explosion was sudden and violent. Voices cried out, crying for the restoration of the Republic, for a new Chancellor. Dimly she tried to sort through the mess, the noise almost overwhelming her. Names were proclaimed across the floor, people she could put her faith in, some whom she had worked beside for fourteen years, trusted with her secrets.
Not surprisingly, though to herself it was, one of them was her own.
Palpatine had not shed his cloak, but the swirling black garment did nothing to hinder his movements. He alternated between his opponents, striking first at the father, then the son, in a calm measure of their skills and style. Obi-Wan and Luke were also calm, responding to him, never advancing first, letting him believe he was dictating the field of battle, when in reality it was actually the other way round.
Sometimes the red blade crackled with lightning, the blue light fusing into the red to produce a strange colour, the dark force splintering off the blade as it struck the opposing blue and green. Humming echoed throughout the reactor room, sound waves bounding off the clashing blades, ricocheting into the walls and back. The sound altered in cadence with each swing of the saber, or movement of the owner. Despite his aged appearance, the Emperor was not out of his depth between his two opponents, his moves young and energetic. Around him the dark side of the Force swelled, as if a fearsome invisible black cloud, the stench of evil so pungent as to be almost suffocating. Even with the combined Light from father and son, the darkness stood triumphant in all its superiority.
But the Light was not going to let it win. It resided strongly within Obi-Wan and Luke, shown by each move they made, balanced along the battlefield they knew so well. Their opponent was not out of his element here either, but that was to be expected, after all he was a native to Naboo, and a resident of the Palace during his long political career.
They traded blows back and forth across the catwalks, blade to blade, with the occasional use of Force Lightning. No fists from this Sith lord, his hands continually swapping grip of the silver cylinder carrying his red blades, as he struck first at Obi-Wan, then Luke. Waiting for one or the other to tire, the old man or the young youth, but neither granted him such pleasure.
He would have taunted them, testing the stability of their emotions if he had the breath to do so, but a swift scan of their Force sense soon erased the possibility of seducing one or the other to the dark side mid battle. Obi-Wan was still firmly adored and protected by the light, a bright beacon of all its goodness, and Luke had clearly inherited his father's warrior-like serenity.
He wondered how they managed such a feat of faith, willingly surrendering themselves to the Force, letting the ancient power dictate the outcome of the battle, uncaring if they lived or became one with the being. Yet somehow it imbibed a sense of survival within them, as he used the blade to strike at their booted feet. The Jedi merely jumped over the saber, landing securely on the cat walk once more. Changing tactics, he directed more blows to the body, making it difficult for them to block, their sabers forced into odd, uncomfortable grips, dangerous angles, the points often meeting the shiny surface of the durasteel floor. Using the double headed blade in this way enabled Palpatine to draw the halves towards different limbs simultaneously, causing his opponents to adjust their balance as they bent to swerve their bodies away from the saber, rendering their ability to remain on the cat walks severely untenable.
Luke was the first to fall, caught off balance in leaning to avoid the red blade, his bend placing too much pressure on his spine and feet. The latter slipped and he fell from the catwalk. Reacting quickly, he kept hold of his lightsaber, shutting off the green blade and letting the Force land him somewhere safe.
Obi-Wan felt his son fall at the same time as his blue green grey eyes caught sight of the actual event. Abruptly he flipped his saber and jabbed an elbow at the Emperor, knocking him from the walkway too, then jumped down to where his son had just landed.
"Why didn't you go on ahead?" Luke asked him.
"Because that's not the Jedi way," Obi-Wan replied. "We do this together."
They looked about for the Emperor, and quickly found him, executing a Force aided leap to the cat walk which provided access to the melting pit. Calling the light side of that ancient being to them, father and son followed, making sure to keep up with each other, as they both knew that getting separated by the shields was not a wise move.
As soon as Palpatine entered the melting room, he felt the faint echo of the death of his first apprentice. Darkness still hung over the area and while he waited for the Master and Padawan to join him, he indulged his senses for a moment. What he deduced from the place surprised him. He could feel anger not just from Maul, but also from Kenobi, the negative emotion the boy left behind when he first witnessed his Master being mortally wounded, then used in defeating the Sith. The Negotiator battled with the darkness within himself in this chamber, and conquered it to defeat Maul. Palpatine never knew this, for such information was not revealed on Palace surveillance. To conquer such emotion, then defeat the Sith and heal his Master was quite an extraordinary feat. Again he experienced the regret of not going after Kenobi as an apprentice, paving the way as it would for a dynasty of Sith.
Then father and son were upon him, and he had no time for further thought, or even the will to sweep down the shields with a wave of the Force, for the Kenobis were using their own power to disable the cascade mechanism. Rushing towards him, Luke leapt into the air and landed behind him with a strike of his green saber, so fast that the Emperor barely managed to respond, repelling the weapon away with a red blade of his own. Obi-Wan was just as quick to face him, striking out as soon as Palpatine met the move from his son, and the Emperor was unable to prevent the impact. The blue blade cut through the black fabric of his cloak, down through the equally dark tunic into the flesh below.
Uttering a harsh growl, Palpatine let loose his anger on the elder Kenobi in a flurry of rapid saber movements, ignoring the boy behind him. Obi-Wan had faced such speed with the blade before, when duelling with Grievous, and calmly upped his own pace with the blade, allowing himself to consume the whole of the Sith's attention, so Luke could strike with impunity.
Which the padawan did, a long cut across the Emperor's back, causing another growl and the rapid saber moves to falter. Palpatine reared out his chest, allowing Obi-Wan a chance to wound him there too, causing him to growl again and double over in pain.
Granting him a moment to recover, the Jedi stood waiting.
Palpatine dropped his weapon, the red blades withdrawing on impact with the durasteel, to clutch at his sides. Dimly he examined the wound he could see, narrow and long, spread across the upper half of his chest. Given the amount of pain his mind was suffering, it was fair to imagine that the cut upon his back was the same. Annoyed that he had been given two such wounds and one by a youth barely into his padawan training, the Emperor saw red. Summoning the dark side to his beleaguered body, he reached out and grabbed the cause of all his defeats, all his present suffering and hurled him into the pit behind.
Obi-Wan grabbed back, determined to take the Sith with him, and Luke was forced to dart aside hopelessly as he watched his father and the leader of the Empire disappear down the shaft. Shutting off his blade, he advanced cautiously towards the perimeter and peered worriedly into the hole.
"Dad?" he called out.
"I'm here son," Obi-Wan replied, and Luke breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his father holding fast to the same round nodule which saved his life twenty-seven years ago. Below him the shaft crackled with aftershocks of Force lightning, a sign of the Emperor's demise. "If you'll give me a minute to catch my breath, I'll be right with you."
And sure enough he was, using the same move as he did years before, flipping over his son to land behind him. Luke waited for his father to stand, then checked him over, noting only one sign of damage.
Smirking his held up the hilt of his own saber. "This weapon is your life, father."
"I can always make another," Obi-Wan replied, returning the smirk before pulling his son towards him for a hug. "If we ever have need of one again."