Coruscant loomed in the forward view port of his flagship. They were approaching from the night side, so the surface of the planet glittered with the lights of a city perpetually awake. The girl stood nearby, watching their approach with only a mild apprehension.
Her Force presence mimicked that of someone with very little affinity. He did not expect her to hide it entirely - it would be far more suspicious if she did. Better to give off just enough to present an implication of mild sensitivity, enough to explain away her targeting proficiency and the incident with the troopers, and perhaps the Emperor would seek no further explanation as to her recruitment.
"Sir, your shuttle has been prepped," and attendant announced from the speaker of a nearby comm station. "Crew of standby."
He turned and strode out without acknowledgement, the girl falling into step behind him. Her gait echoed out a beat and a half behind his own. She shadowed him down into the hangar, taking the same seat in the shuttle as she had when they had made their descent to Telsav.
The flight down was short and uneventful.
The shuttle landed at a private platform within one of the ornate courtyards of the Imperial Palace. As the ramp lowered, they were met by a contingent of the Imperial Guard, the red of their robes a dark crimson in the dim light of dusk. The girl gave the a wary glance as they were escorted inside.
The Imperial Palace had originally been the Jedi Temple. It had taken nearly five years to retrofit the complex to suit the Emperor's needs. The grand hall was much the same as it had been before the rise of the Empire, though the walls were now decorated in scarlet banners bearing the Imperial sigil. He sensed the girl growing more and more anxious with every step, though he guessed her apprehension did not stem from the decor. There was an imprint in the Force echoing through the corridors, one he had long ago learned to ignore.
They were taken into the main audience chamber, with two of the guards taking up positions on either side of the door as it closed. The far wall was a bank of windows with a view of the endless city skyline. On a dais before the window the Emperor stood, looking out towards the horizon, back turned towards the entrance.
He moved to kneel at the foot of the dais and the girl did the same with no prompting. After a moment, the Emperor turned away from the window to regard them.
"Rise, Lord Vader," The Emperor commanded with a gesture of his hand. "And you, child."
The girl stood slowly, posture blatantly wary. This seemed to amuse Palpatine, who smiled. That expression, amidst the wrinkles and the pale flesh that was the Emperor's face, was not reassuring in the slightest.
"Nervous?"
"Yes," she answered. "Never met an Emperor before."
That drew out a dry, raspy chuckle. It was a knowing laugh, the sound of someone who had figured out a particularly difficult puzzle. The Emperor beckoned for her to approach.
"Come closer, child."
The girl moved forward, her steps taking her out of the radius of his physical reach and into the Emperor's. It was a subtle tactic - a display - but it set him on edge in a way he could not explain, or rather, refused to acknowledge.
Palpatine cast a brief glance in his direction before turning attention back to the girl. A bony hand reached up to touch her cheek - she neither flinched nor shied away. The contact was brief, the smile on the Emperor's face widening into a knowing grin.
"I suspected as much. You have her look. Darker hair and lighter eyes, but…"
Palpatine trailed off, looking directly at him, expression now equal parts amusement and pity. The latter was far more enraging than the first. He fought to keep it from bleeding out into the Force. It was insulting, what those words implied, but if that was the conclusion being drawn he would take it gladly. The Emperor watched him closely, perhaps searching for a reaction. When none was forthcoming other than the usual aura of simmering rage and menace he projected on a daily basis, Palpatine's grin faded into feigned boredom. With a dismissive gesture, the Emperor stepped away from the girl and returned to the window.
"Keep her, but see that she does not become a distraction from your duties."
"As you say, my master."
They were escorted back to the shuttle in much the same fashion as they had entered, flanked on either side by Imperial Guards. They were silent, their helms rendering it impossible to discern their expressions, but he could feel sideways glances being cast in his direction. He wanted to strangle them, to crush their vocal cords so completely that not a single word of what had transpired could pass from their lips.
His fingers flexed at every other step.
The girl stayed quiet as well, the only sound of her presence that of her footsteps echoing his. He could feel her gaze on his back, unwavering - and yet, more infuriating than all else, was the thought that a single action on his part could end it. In one movement, he could cut her down and that would be it.
But it was a trap, he knew, one that he had so willingly walked into. The Emperor's suggestion - insulting and enraging and wrong - was just one more ploy meant to keep him in check. Its purpose was as much to undermine his decision to recruit the girl as it was to provoke him. Any action taken at this point would be an admittance of inadequacy, while acquiescence meant an unspoken acknowledgement of agreement with Palpatine's conclusions concerning the girl's resemblances to her.
The guards left them at the landing platform without a word. He stalked up the ramp to find the pilot already prepping for launch. He made no comment on the matter, but glanced back to see the girl already seated, her gaze no longer on him but on the wall directly opposite. She hadn't said a word since they had departed the Emperor's presence and he had not wished to even look at her, lest it be taken for an admission.
Now though, he saw the stiffness in her posture, the clench of her jaw, and he knew the Emperor's words had enraged her just as much as they had him. She was trying to hide it, had managed to keep it from bleeding out into the Force, but it was plain to see in the way she was so carefully avoiding looking at him now.
"I'm not her."
He hadn't expected her to speak, hadn't expected such a declaration either. It was now sorely evident the girl did not like being compared to someone she knew nothing of. Somehow knowing this quelled his rage, at least for the moment.
"You are correct," he agreed, turning away. "You are not her."
