Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Chapter 3
Leia Organa joined her father in the secret chamber, unable to fathom why the initial survey missed the room. Anakin ignored her presence as he seemed completely engrossed in one of the computer terminals. It was a look Leia witnessed many times when she was her father's Padawan learner. Anakin Skywalker had a mind of gears and circuits, a testament to his innate engineering skills.
"Master, what is it?" Leia asked.
Anakin raised his right hand, motioning for her to remain silent.
After a few minutes, Anakin said, "It looks like whoever came here did a thorough job of cleaning this place out."
"I was afraid of that," Leia admitted. Even the artifacts she pilfered from Exar Kun's tomb on Yavin 4 were gone from the Imperial Palace. She only carried a shred of hope when it came to Sith secrets kept by Emperor Palpatine.
"What was the black caped man trying to show me?" Anakin thought aloud.
"Black caped man?"
Anakin closed his eyes in frustration. "I saw a vision of the past," he explained. "But all it did was lead me to a dead end."
"Master, you must be calm," Leia said. Even after Anakin's experience with the dark side, she knew her father still had problems with the most essential aspects of the Jedi Code.
"A journey through the dark side is what he needs," said a mysterious male voice. "Or have you forgotten, Lord Vader?" His voice was rich and deep, both alluring and haunting all at once.
Leia and Anakin looked in the direction of the intruder. He was dressed in a black cloak and his hood would have completely obscured his face if shadow did not already conceal the face beneath. Even more obvious was his dark side nature. Unlike Darth Sidious, who arrogantly revealed the depths of his power, the mystery man concealed it to a great degree, but not to the extent that his alignment was questionable.
"How do you know that name?" Anakin asked.
The man chuckled. "I know everything about you, Lord Vader," he answered. "Though I have to admit that I was surprised to learn you joined our side. I had to witness the truth for myself."
"You're over two years late," Leia said. She instinctively let her hand rest on her lightsaber, waiting to draw it in the instance the man showed any signs of hostility.
"I sense the taint in you as well, Darth Apostas," the man said. "Every step down the dark path leaves its mark on an individual. The more steps you take, the more obvious it is to one such as myself. It is one technique my disciples learned well."
"So you are a Sith Lord!" Anakin exclaimed.
Leia's eyes widened. Speculating that some Sith could remain was much different from the realization that she was in the presence of a Sith Lord. The mysterious sorcerer still made no hostile moves, which made Leia feel uneasy.
"I've said too much already," the Sith Lord said. "You'll find what you are looking for in one of these terminals." He held out his right arm towards the station he was describing before his form slowly faded, revealing to the Jedi that his presence was nothing more than an illusion, a projection from another location.
"Who was he?" Leia asked Anakin.
Anakin shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted before walking towards the terminal. Leia followed her father, noticing that access remained open to the Emperor's private database.
"I don't believe it," Anakin said as he absorbed the information. "When did he ever go back to Naboo?"
Luke Skywalker, head of the Jedi Order, sat at his desk. His office in the Imperial Palace was well suited to his purposes, having a window that overlooked the Jedi Temple construction site, which would be opened to the Jedi in a standard week. A replica of his X-Wing rested next to a hologram of the Skywalker family. Luke's lightsaber was within reach, but he was in no mood for sparring practice.
The holonet transmission from Byss drew his full attention. Anakin said, "It was peculiar, to say the least. I did not get the sense that he was new to the scene, but I could be mistaken."
"So he admitted to being a Sith Lord?" Luke questioned, still unable to fathom the existence of any hidden Sith Order. Revan's holocron spoke of a secret world where he defeated a pretender known as Darth Cronos after the Jedi Civil War, but mentioned little else about the Sith. Luke could not believe Darth Sidious would leave any threats to his power alive.
"Yes," Anakin replied. "He was not lying."
"How do you know?"
"He called me Lord Vader."
Luke absorbed the information thoughtfully. Anakin's former identity was one of the Republic's and the Jedi Order's greatest secrets. Only those privy to such knowledge would know that Darth Vader was not executed by a secret Alliace Tribunal. Either this individual was a former servant of the late Emperor, or he was a new player.
"That wasn't all that was odd," Anakin said. "I found what I believe to be a fraction of the Codex of Eternal Wisdom in the database. It was said to be lost with the ruination of Ossus."
"I'll have to ask Tionne to authenticate it," Luke said. Tionne was quickly becoming the resident historian of the Jedi Order, working with Anakin on occasion to piece together the past. Ancient Jedi lore was prized throughout the galaxy and the New Jedi Order succeeded in recovering little of the lost information.
"The database pointed to Naboo as well," Anakin said. "It was the Emperor's homeworld, but he rarely visited it after proclaiming the Empire. He did keep a residence there, so it's worth a look."
"It could be a trap," Luke cautioned. "The Sith would do anything to return you to their ranks."
"I'm aware of that," Anakin said. "But someone needs to take a look at this. I'll be home in time for the opening ceremony, so don't worry about me."
"You aren't suggesting that you'll travel alone, are you?"
"Leia needs to find her own path as a Jedi Knight," Anakin replied.
Luke frowned. "Our path is not a solitary path, father. If there is a Sith Lord involved, I would prefer that you did not face him alone."
"Luke, I need to make this trip to Naboo. I haven't gone there since..." Anakin started to say, but left the sentence unfinished.
"She was Leia's mother, my mother," Luke said. At first opportunity, Luke visited Padmé's tomb on Naboo. The Jedi Master paid respects to a woman he never knew, never once meeting the family. He resisted the urge to perform a search on his mother's surviving relatives, deciding it would be best to wait until the right moment.
"I have to see them, to let them know it was my fault," Anakin argued. Luke could sense his father's agony. Forgiving oneself was only part of the healing process. It appeared Anakin wanted Padmé's family to forgive him.
"Then bring Leia with you," Luke urged. "It won't be as difficult for you if they met Padmé's child. You can also send an open invitation to the family to join us at the opening ceremony."
"Good thinking," Anakin said. "I'm sure you have your hands busy on Coruscant, so I'll be underway shortly."
"May the Force be with you," Luke said, but Anakin closed the transmission at the Imperial Citadel before he could reply.
"You aren't the only one that might be late," Luke mused before returning to his meditations.
Darth Sadus longed for the comforts of the Crystal Palace almost as much as she craved the annihilation of her enemies. A blade of synthetic bloodshine hummed before her face as she trained in the holographic room of the Emperor's private mansion on Naboo. The rancor standing before her lacked the lethality of the real beast, but she despised wasting dueling droids. Sadus could program the AI herself to make the rancor behave as if it were on a rampage.
And the fact that Sadus could not sense the rancor in the Force made her trial more difficult still. She glared at the simulacrum coldly as she waited for it to charge.
The rancor wasted little time. It could not sprint like a boma, but its great mass and gigantic claws compensated for that weakness. Sadus used a Force assisted leap to bound over the creatures hand as it swooped to engulf her. She sliced into the creature's flesh, earning a yelp of pain. Sadus landed at the rancor's side and observed as it lifted its wounded left wrist.
Sadus rushed for the rancor's unguarded left leg, holding her lightsaber at her side for a horizontal cut. The red blade severed the beast's leg just at the ankle and Sadus hurried to escape the inevitable tumble. The rancor screamed as it collapsed, unable to support its weight on one leg. Sadus rushed for the killing blow, slamming her energy blade into the rancor's skull. The hologram shattered from existence, leaving a victorious Darth Sadus standing alone in the chamber.
Almost alone. Sadus heard clapping to her right, prompting her to glance at the intruder. It was her master, completely cloaked in black. No, it's only an illusion of him, Sadus reminded herself. She loathed his intrusions.
"Skywalker is on his way," the Dark Lord of the Sith said after he ceased clapping. "I must request restraint on your part. He must be delivered to me alive."
Sadus wanted to crush Skywalker herself for betraying the Sith despite her master's plans. It angered her that the Dark Lord of the Sith valued a traitor more than his faithful apprentice. She always erected walls around her mind, not wishing her master to know the distaste she felt.
"It will be as you command, master," Sadus said before she deactivated her lightsaber.
The Dark Lord of the Sith laughed. Sadus had a reputation for being a heartless murderer when she drew on the depths of her power, her dark side rage overriding all reason. She suppressed the mocking tone of her master's laugh.
"Why do you laugh, master?" Sadus inquired. "I am more than a match for Skywalker. You trained me yourself and your skills are much older than those of his masters."
"If you encounter any of his offspring, you are free to...indulge your pleasures," the Dark Lord said, waving his right hand.
Sadus produced a feral grin as she did indeed plan to indulge her darker side.
Anakin stood with Winter as he prepared to board his TIE Fighter. He gazed down at her and attempted to assuage her fears. "There's nothing to worry about," he assured his wife. "If he wanted me dead, he would have killed me back there."
"But you said he was just an illusion," Winter said. She grabbed his right arm. "We can always see the family another time. I have a bad feeling about this."
Anakin traced his hand down the side of Winter's face. "Have faith, my love," he told her. "If they make an attempt on my life, Leia will be there to help me."
"I'm no Jedi, Anakin, but you have to trust me," she pleaded. "At least be careful. We don't know what could be waiting on Naboo."
"I promise," Anakin said. He kissed his wife before boarding his TIE Fighter. Anakin climbed into the pilot's seat and activated the atmospheric controls. He reminded himself to work on an automatic trigger when he had the opportunity. He looked down at Winter as his cockpit closed, locking him in the fighter. She backed away from the ship as it lifted from the platform and left to board the Millennium Falcon.
Anakin piloted his TIE towards the atmosphere. Soon, the blackness of the vacuum and points of stars greeted his vision. He watched as the Millennium Falcon flew beside him before inputting coordinates into the navicomputer. Soon, all the Chosen One had left to do was activate the hyperdrive. The stars elongated into lines before he entered hyperspace, leaving Byss far behind him.