Note that I expect there will be between 17 and 19 chapters in this fic, I have not plotted that far but I know what is going to happen and I'll tell you that there's enough material for about two or three more chapters, maybe four or five, not to worry though, the climax has come, as well as more surprises… including… deaths, and new characters coming in. You may also want to note that this is an AU fic so all of the character's past that I am bringing in is somewhat the same, but different, it is difficult to explain and I would probably have to write an entire chapter about it. Okay Lumiya is being brought in, note that she is a cyborg, it happened in a crash among slightly different circumstances, I'll give a little detail, you know I am actually starting to confuse myself so how about we all drink a cherry coke and I'll write, then post the chapter which you will in turn read and hopefully review, whether it be positive or negative, preferably positive but whatever your opinion of this fic is I will take. Anyway I'll shut up now.

Chapter 15: The Emperor's New Hand

The Emperor sat in his chair at the end of his massive thrown room, a woman knelt before him, or… she had been a woman. It was hard to tell if she had crossed the line from being human to being a cyborg, perhaps she was more robotic than organic, or maybe it was the other way around. Either way she was his first choice to help deal with the… betrayal. Shira Brie, that had been this cyborg's name, but after a horrible crash that was little more than an accident, stupid, but true, she had crafted herself a new identity, Lumiya, she was the Emperor's Hand, and it was very possible that she would become his apprentice.

"Rise my friend." Sidious said.

"Yes my lord," Lumiya returned as she arose from her previous kneeling position. "Why have you called me from Zoist?"

"You can thank Mara Jade for your service call," The Emperor replied, venom in his voice.

"What does she have to do with this?" Lumiya asked.

"She betrayed me."

"Shall I kill her?"

"No, no, it is much more complicated than that my Hand."

"How so?"

"She has gone to Lord Vader, yes, the same Lord Vader who once showed you the ways of the dark side."

"Did she kill him or something like that?"

"No!" the Emperor barked. "Let me finish. She first completed the task I assigned her and found a woman named Siri Tachi, but then disobeyed my orders and took her to Vader."

"I'm still not clear on why this is a problem." Lumiya stated, confused about her master's rambling. The Empire was ruled by this horrible dictator, everyone feared him because of the awesome power he wielded, but that was not the only reason to fear this Lord Sidious, no, he was as unpredictable as an asteroid field and had the temper control of a wampa.

"Darth Vader was once known as the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi," Sidious explained. "Siri Tachi was his wife. I can already sense my former apprentice turning away from the dark side. Do you understand?"

"Completely," Lumiya replied.

"Now you know what we must do?"

"Yes, Vader and Jade must be eliminated, as well as the Tachi woman."

"Partly, Vader's entire fleet has gone rogue; there is little that escapes my sight. They have plans to join the Rebel Alliance and to destroy me. I am calling in Grand Admiral Thrawn, we will take all available ships to Yavin IV and catch them off balance, you will join me, we must make sure Vader, Tachi, and Mara Jade are all dead, no mistakes, and we will obliterate every piece of rebel scum we come across."

"Very well my emperor," Lumiya agreed. "I would be honored to fight at your side."

"You are my most promising Hand Lumiya," Sidious said. "From this point onward your title is Darth Lumiya, my apprentice."

"Thank you… my master."

XxX

The moment Mara stepped onto the bridge of the Executor Siri let another tear fall, Obi-Wan watched as his daughter approached her parents, he had no idea what to think, excitement filled him, she was his daughter, the child of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Siri Tachi… Mara Jade, the word daughter ran across his mind nonstop, his daughter.

"What's wrong with you Siri?" Mara asked, slightly concerned for the woman's emotional well being, not that she was an expert on emotions but Siri crying openly for no apparent reason did not seem to be a good thing. Oddly her long lost husband looked unfazed; he was staring at Mara as though she were some precious artifact that had been locked away for thousands of years. "What's going on here?"

"Mara," Siri said. "I wanted to tell you on Coruscant, but I thought it would be better to wait…"

"For what?" Mara asked. They had her completely lost now.

"To tell you…" Siri began, trailing off.

"That we are your parents." Obi-Wan finished.

There was a long, long, uncomfortable moment of silence as Mara simply stood there and looked at them.

"You can't be my parents." she stated definitely. "I was an orphan, the Emperor found me on Azure and took me to be his Hand… bastard."

"I had to Mara," Siri burst out confusing her daughter even more. "Raz betrayed me, she left me when I completed her training in the ways of the Force, the Emperor was right on my tail, you were just a baby… I had no choice but to leave you there."

When the words processed in Obi-Wan's brain he had half a mind to go and kill Raz for that little deed, but he realized he didn't care, he no longer felt any anger towards anyone except Sidious, all he wanted now was to have his daughter and wife back.

"I…" Mara trailed off. None of this made sense to her, she had no idea what to say or what to do, this was just insane, all of this was completely and utterly mental. The confused child of Obi-Wan and Siri now found herself rethinking her plans of trying to enlist Vader to her side so that they could both destroy the monster Darth Sidious.

"Mara, search your feelings, you know this to be true." Obi-Wan said. Mara looked at him, this was the first time she had even seen the Sith Lord, or the former Sith Lord without the mask. She looked at Siri and then looked at the floor, the Force spoke to her. It confirmed what the two before her were saying… she was their daughter. Suddenly she felt… indescribable, her feelings were utterly unreadable, even to her, jumping from one thing to another, the only decipherable thought within her jumbled mind was that she finally accepted who her parents were, and that they were standing right there, as clearly as she was.

"Mom… dad…."

And it was then that the veil before everything was torn away, Obi-Wan felt as though he could see clearly once more, he could see his wife, his daughter, his past misdeeds, the atrocities he committed as Lord Vader, and he could see his enemy, the enemy he had had since Darth Maul killed Qui-Gon on Naboo, the Emperor, it had been the Emperor all along. His daughter and his wife both reciprocated this feeling, they were together again, but in order for that to last… the Sith had to die… the fall of the dark lords had begun… now it needed to end, and would so on the Emperor's death.

XxX

Leia was awake, finally, Anakin and Padmé could now breathe easier to know their daughter was well. Luke felt relieved too as he sat at his sister's bedside. This moment of happiness was short lived as the darkness in the universe required the attention of the Skywalker family once more. A young man entered the infirmary of the Nebulon-B Frigate Relentless and strode up to the group.

"I've been told to report that Darth Vader has asked to begin negotiations." The man stated. At those words Leia's upper lip formed somewhat of a snarl and Anakin's eyes narrowed. He looked up at the young officer.

"You mean he wishes to discuss the terms of his surrender?"

"I'm not sure sir, the exact word was negotiations. I cannot guess what it refers to and I don't have any further information except that Lord Vader has agreed to meet in a neutral location on Yavin's surface. Coordinates have been provided for you." The man said, handing Anakin a small datapad which the Jedi took and stuck in his pocket. "Master Yoda, Master Windu, Admiral Ackbar, Lady Mothma, Bail Organa, and Captain Tarkin are set to meet Lord Vader and his party."

"Why Tarkin?" Padmé could not help but ask.

"He knows the customs of the Imperials," the man replied without much concern. "Admiral Ackbar seemed to think it was necessary, he requested you attend General Skywalker."

"Alright," Anakin replied, though he felt a twinge of guilt at leaving his daughter, and the thought of facing the person who put her in the position she was in angered him.

"I'm going too," Leia stated with a grim finality.

"No you're not!" the lead doctor of the infirmary called, he was a tall thin man and very, very, annoyingly overprotective of his patients, he would not let a patient so much as turn on the holoscreen regardless of their condition for the fear that they would be overexerting themselves. Leia grunted at the denial.

"He's right," Anakin said. "You need rest."

"The man cut off my arm!" Leia countered. "I have a few things to say to him."

"So do I, and don't worry Leia, your thoughts will be voiced but you are staying here, that is final." Anakin stated.

"I'll come with you," Padmé said, she too did not want to leave her daughter's side but the present circumstances required her to do so.

"Alright," Anakin agreed. "But stay close to me, I don't trust Obi-Wan."

"I can take care of myself Anakin." Padmé retorted stubbornly.

"This is not up for negotiation." Anakin countered. "You can't use the Force; you can't protect yourself from him."

Padmé shot her husband a dirty look of irritation and stubbornness but she did not retaliate.

"I'm not trying to rush you General but the meeting is commencing." The officer said.

XxX

Anakin stood eagerly in some meaningless clearing in the jungle on Yavin, Mon Mothma, Yoda, Mace Windu, Admiral Ackbar, Tarkin, and Padmé at his side. Each of them shared Anakin's anticipation to meet with the Sith Lord Vader and see what he had to say, not one of them trusted him, especially Tarkin who knew first hand the kind of acts of betrayal he was capable of committing. As a precaution for their safety, Mon Mothma and Bail Organa's especially, they had the edge of the woods lined with well camouflaged snipers. Their fleet was also on standby to open fire should an unfortunate event occur.

The group looked into the sky as a Lambda class shuttle descended from the clouds, wings folding, and white hull glinting in the sunlight. They watched anxiously as its landing struts ejected and the ship touched down. Anakin, Mace, and Yoda instinctively gripped their unlit lightsabers as the ramp lowered. Obi-Wan was the first to step out, everyone was somewhat surprised to see his scarred face visible, he had shed his mask and hood. A man in a gray uniform followed him, he wore a badge with the rank of an Imperial Admiral on it, then three women filed out, Anakin, Yoda, and Mace were shocked to utter speechlessness when they saw one was Siri. The others they did not recognize.

The two parties simply stood there for a moment, staring at one another, the only sound was that of jungle creatures and the wind. Obi-Wan broke the silence.

"Siri, my wife has returned to me, as has my child." Obi-Wan said.

"Your child," Anakin mumbled to himself, barely audibly, even to Padmé who stood right next to him. They all watched as one of the Imperials, a tall red haired woman walked to stand next to her parents. Anakin looked from them to Yoda and Mace, he sensed their surprise in the Force, it was about as unnoticeable as a bomb would be, strapped to his leg when it detonated, though the two senior Jedi were very adept at hiding the astonishment on their faces.

"Mara Jade," Obi-Wan stated. "Is my daughter…. In light of these recent events I… wanted to offer the Rebel Alliance my help in disposing of the Empire so long as I can have my revenge on Sidious."

Yoda's ears visibly drooped several centimeters, he sensed the conflict in Obi-Wan who had turned his back on the dark side, although it still had its ties on him, his need for revenge was a prime example.

"I see a problem with your offer." Mon Mothma replied. "Why should we trust you? You were the Emperor's servant."

"You have no choice but to let me help you, whether you trust me or not. The Empire must fall and the Emperor is too dangerous to be left alive."

"Like all of the Jedi you murdered? Was Leia's arm to dangerous to be kept attached to her?!" Anakin retorted. "Like all of the dangerous younglings who still lay strewn across the temple corridors?! They were killed by your lightsaber!"

Obi-Wan's pain was completely noticeable in the Force, Anakin did not buy it, he had a hard time believing Obi-Wan felt remorse, he only wanted to kill the Emperor for some selfish reason.

"That is all in the past," Obi-Wan said quietly.

"You would just dismiss it as a simple past misdeed?!" Anakin cried incredulously. No one made a move to stop him from arguing with the Sith Lord… or perhaps the former Sith Lord.

"I can't change it," Obi-Wan said. "But I can work at creating a better future."

Anakin still did not buy it, nor did anyone else for that matter. Still he let Obi-Wan speak.

"I propose we attack Carida and Coruscant simultaneously." The former Sith Lord said. "Most of the Empire's forces are dispatched around the galaxy, the only sizable force that could come to Coruscant's aid are the troops on Carida where the military Imperial Academy is based. We need to take that out as well as conquer Coruscant, then the Empire will be in ruins and we can deal with the remaining Imperials after that."

"You are bold to assume that we are going to take your word on this." Bail Organa said.

"You don't have a choice, the Emperor knows where you are, and sooner or later he will come looking for me when I don't return. We have to do this now; there is no time to waste."

"Fine," Mon Mothma agreed. The rebellion party looked at her as though she had gone insane, as though she had just decided to fly to the heart of the Empire, walk among the streets of Coruscant, and then knock on the Imperial's front door, hoping they would forgive her and then they could have tea and become the best of friends. "But you will be monitored Vader, very closely, the Rebel Alliance are not cold blooded killers, but we will do what is necessary should you betray us."

"Alright, I agree to your terms, I will let you take full command of every ship in my fleet if need be and a contingent of Rebel troops can monitor my activities so long as I can go and kill the Emperor."

"It may not all be necessary but I agree, however I am not sure I trust you enough to let you near the Emperor, for all we know you could be going to join him."

"I give you my word."

"That is worth nothing!" Mace Windu and Anakin spat simultaneously.

"That may be true, but that is the only assurance I can give you." Obi-Wan replied. "We must attack the Empire now."

"No," Ackbar said. "That is premature; we can't go rushing to Coruscant and Carida without a plan of action. That may be our best option but we need a strategy. We should start planning now."

XxX

Chimaera, Bridge

"All the preparations are complete." Said a blue Chiss from behind him, the Emperor turned to face Grand Admiral Thrawn, he smiled at the good news, Lumiya who had been standing next to him also turned to face the red eyed, high ranking Imperial.

"Excellent Grand Admiral Thrawn," Sidious hissed, pleased. "When the coordinates are set…"

"They are set milord." Thrawn said.

"Very well, you may jump to hyperspace when ready. Instruct the rest of the fleet to do the same. I trust you will not fail me."

"I will not fail you Emperor." Thrawn replied. "We will deal with these traitors and rebel scum immediately."

"I'll hold you to your word Thrawn, you were always reliable. Commence operations."

"Yes milord," Thrawn said. He promptly spun on the spot to face the captain of the Chimaera. "Captain Pellaeon, make the jump, instruct all ships to do the same."

"Of course sir," Pellaeon replied. Sidious smiled and turned to face the view ports. The stars of space glinted all around, they were so numerous, uncountable… as numerous as the casualties would be… on the rebel side… they would all die, but their death was unimportant, not to undermine the importance of destroying the cancer that was threatening the Empire but… the betrayal he had suffered by Vader outweighed it all, or now it was Obi-Wan Kenobi… wasn't it? Regardless he would die, the chains of the dark side no longer held him, he had escaped their strangling grasp… well… he would not live to tell the tale, nor would the traitorous, disposable tool Mara Jade, or Siri Tachi, all would die… very, very painfully. The Emperor's smile grew as the stars formed long white lines and disappeared into a whirlwind of brightness completely, each light-year the ship traveled brought him one step closer to fulfilling his goal, to kill Obi-Wan. The Sith order had been injured, but that wound would mend, the remedy was the woman next to him, Lumiya, the rise of the Sith would continue for the next millennia and beyond, nothing would stop it! Little did Lord Sidious know, even as far as his sight reached, that events had already been set in motion that could not be undone by his hand, or even the will of the Force… the fall of the Sith order had begun.

I'd like to tell you that I am trying to thoroughly edit my chapters now. I hope this one is pretty well edited, leave me a review and you can tell me about it if you please.