Jump
Part III
"How long have I kept you safe? How long have I watched you? This galaxy is your cradle, my child."
Danae Palpatine–her mind gave no whisper of the name Leia Organa, never so much as a whisper of Skywalker–stared into the face on the portable holoprojector before her and thought about how incredibly right her father was. His gaunt face–underground newsreels had called him ugly, but those were the same underground Rebels she ferreted out for their terroristic crimes–had long been a solid ground to her. Had long been the only ground, until her destiny had come–she smiled. "Thank you father. I will not fail!"
She placed the holoprojector down on a shelf on this balcony of Coruscant and stepped out into the light, into the eyes of the crowd gathered on buildings' sides and floating platforms on prestigious Republica avenue. Her gray-green uniform was perfectly placed and starched, her hair styled between military functionality and the ornateness of perfection in two large curls over her ears.
"Citizens of the Galactic Empire." Her voice carried over them, toned and beautiful as a princess should be. "I announce to you today the full founding of our triumph, with the disbanding of the Senate..."
Darth Ruen watched Emperor Palpatine, intent on the comm call to Coruscant, when the apprentice dark lord had finished completing his training gear with the light, ribbed vest. He emerged to see the emperor as he usually was, with figurative hands in myriad parts of galactic workings. Personal combat, space-war, espionage, pure politics, history; he had a hand in all of them. Though 'hands in history' was a new addition to Ruen's repetitive thoughts...
Palpatine swept from the holoprojector toward Ruen and the door to his combat floor on board the Destroyer flagship Executor . "I have set up a new sort of test for you today, my apprentice. it is decisive, difficult, and to the death. Enter there."
Ruen turned and passed through the curtain to the training floor, a dark-chromed room with harsh lights and the right-hand wall glassed to space. Instead of droids or captives against which to test Ruen's survival ('to the death' being no new thing) a rather attractive human woman stood there, red hair flowing around her face and green tunic, holding a red lightsaber down in her left hand.
Ruen stepped into the ring opposite the woman; Palpatine remained beside the entrance. He said, "She is Mara Jade, one of my elite Dark Jedi. This is her test as well--if she kills you, Ruen, she takes your place."
He waved his apprentice forward. Ruen unsheathed his lightsaber at high guard. His opponent approached without circling.
They came together with a few intense flourishless strikes, then locked swords. She tried to Force-push him; he turned that power back to her. She flung it aside. Sparks of perception flew between them, little glimpses of erudition--
Ruen wrenched the outer fields of their lightsabers apart and went for her side; she blocked. Fight raged out to the corners of the room in the Force, and both combatants could use its emotionfull roiling skillfully, selfishly. She leapt and spun over him; he pushed his blade up to impale her there but she was too quick and cut in. His blade fell and caught it. He saw the evenness of their prowess but calculated; he would not use the greatest weapon yet. Lightsaber flashes and pressure came fast as thought.
Reflections on the glass-place and then they were up against it, made unaware of surroundings by the newness, finalness of the fight. It had been final before, but never so hard without variable. Lightsaber gleams scored the thick glass. Ruen's teeth bared with the exertion and moment-by-moment danger. He knew how her speed grew from rage and her skill from unseeing dark side madness--he was reassured in his ability to step mentally away from that berserk strength.
Ruen sensed the change about to arrive and cut in close for Mara's separating hands, circling out away from the window. His blade singed her sleeve but she switched her saber to the right hand and clumsily blocked singly, pushed him away, while her free hand went into a hip pocket and brought out a Merr-Sonn B22 palm blaster. Anger scoured the air. Ruen went into guard--
about six shots thudded in a fast circle into Ruen's armored chest. He glared; the Force closed Mara Jade in a vicegrip-bind while he deflected a pair of remaining blaster bolts and regained his balance. She started to rise, the raw-harnessed vigor of the Force, captured by their unlike minds, battling invisibly between them. Mara was constrained to her knees again. She shot his legs, saber dropping from her other hand from the holding pressure he employed.
Ruen screamed quietly and went down on one knee, light-energy shooting through his left leg though he had dissipated the actual damage, and swept his saber up through the other Sith's neck.
She died quickly, and he released the little bits of knowledge and personality she had projected during the fight. He returned to Palpatine and bowed. As usual the Emperor let slip an arrogant pleasure. "Good, good.", he said, as though it had all been for his enjoyment.