Chapter 8-The Next Step
(A/N: YO! Long time no write for this fic. Hope those of you who waited can forgive me for taking so long. Before I forget, a fellow author Kevinwoopoo wanted me to inform everyone that he is getting out of the writing fan fiction game, but he is willing to lend a hand in terms of weapon ideas you might want to use in your own. So if you have a need for any weapons short of a tactical nuke, reach out to him, and let him know. ENJOY!)
Luke looked out at the Forest Moon of Endor from the his Father's Flagship, as he saw the large structure of the Second Death Star looming off in the distance slowly being built before him, and then to his Father himself currently standing next to him. In the time the Skywalker family spent together, much had changed in terms of the way things were around them, and themselves to be more specific.
For example, the Emperor now knew of Luke being onboard The Executor despite all of Vader's attempts in blocking the Force signature of his son, and daughter from the old Sith Master. While Vader had succeeded with Leia thanks to Luke, the Sith Lord was unable to block Luke's presence like he wished due to his Force presence being too strong to mask, and the Emperor made contact with old apprentice to confirm what was already known. Originally, Vader suspected his so called "Master" would order him to take Luke to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant to further complete his training, but oddly enough, Darth Sidious had told him to keep the boy on the Flagship until further notice, and head to Endor to oversee the construction of the Second Death Star.
Like the first one, which Luke had destroyed, Vader had no love for the second one, and felt it would not bring about the peace the Sith Lord had first desired the Galaxy to have when first becoming a Jedi, and even later on when he fell to the Dark Side of the Force. Instead, the Sith Lord felt it would only inflame the passions of the billions of people to rebel against the Empire, and further cause chaos throughout the Galaxy. When he looked at this "technological terror", which Vader had called it, the man wanted to use the Force to crush the orb into a tiny ball before throwing it into one of the many black holes in the Maw system.
'It was probably for the best I sent Leia to Naboo with Solo and the Wookiee to further train herself in secretly in the ways of the Force. I don't think she has the strength right now to face this horrible monstrosity after what happened with the first one,' thought Vader, as he wondered what Padme would say on this matter, and smile under his mask knowing the passion his later wife would generate if she learned of both world destroying weapons.
"How do you think Leia is doing?" said Luke, as he could sense his Father thinking about Leia, and the woman he loved so much that was the younger man's Mother.
"Hopefully, she is doing well. I dare not contact her since the Emperor trusts me less then he did before discovering your existence on my ship, and will have me removed if he discovers I kept your sister from him," said Vader, which was true due to the anger the old Sith Master generated when he confirmed that Luke was onboard The Executor, and had not been told of the event.
"The Emperor's planning something for when he eventually arrives," said Luke, as he knew the Emperor would come here eventually to bend his "new apprentice" to his will, and try to turn him on his own Father.
"I know. That is how he is. Sidious is not a warrior like me son. He schemes, plots, and uses the Dark Side of the Force when absolutely necessary. Deep down, the Emperor was always a coward, and was only saved by me due to my fears of losing your Mother years ago after he lost to Jedi Master Windu," said Vader, as he remembered that day vividly even now, and wondered if Padme would have lived had Master Windu had killed the Emperor then.
"Do you think he knows about Mara?" said Luke, as he was concerned about Mara, and how the Emperor twisted her mind into being his toy.
"Difficult not to considering his connection to her. He knows Jade has been freed from his control by my hands, but not the real reason why, and suspects it is a means to further usurp his rule. It is not uncommon for the Apprentice to eventually rebel against the Sith Master and plan the Master's eventual death in order to become the new Master. It has been like that for 1000 years since the time of Darth Bane when the Rule of Two was first started," said Vader, as he saw Luke nod, and they both knew that Vader had broken that rule in taking his son on as an apprentice.
Though the Emperor would have done the same just to have Luke kill Vader soon after and make the Rule of Two come back into place.
"When do you think the Emperor will arrive?" said Luke, as he knew the only one able to possibly anticipate the Emperors' movements was his Father, and even then the old Sith Master always had an ace up his sleeve that even Vader did not see.
"Not for awhile. There are reports of the Rebels gathering near Sullust and they have yet to fully complete their fleet before a plan to engage us here can begin," said Vader, as it was secretly known that the Rebels knew about the Second Death Star, and were even now planning to destroy it before its completion.
"My friends in Rogue Squadron will be here when that happens," said Luke, as he missed them, and knew they were more loyal to him then the hire ups.
"Hopefully, they will survive through the battle, and accept the offer of joining us when we reshape the Empire into what it should be," said Vader, as he knew good pilots were hard to come by due to the loss of so many during the war, and Rogue Squadron were well known to be some of the best the Rebels had...thanks to his son of course.
"They will. They've gained enough experience to survive without me," said Luke, which was true, as the various skirmishes Rogue Squadron had done were legendary, and earned them enough experience that they could go into battle with without the help of the lost comrade.
Luke could only hope the battle wouldn't take anymore of his friends and hoped an quick end to the war.
(Home One- General Madine's Office)
General Madine was looking over the report from his Special Ops team, who had given it to him in regards to the psychological profile of Luke Skywalker, and his bastard Father Darth Vader. It was interesting reading material to say the least, which of course had also been forwarded to the rest of the Alliance Council, and would soon be meeting about him in regards to how to handle the two Force users. Madine hated the Force just as his damn bastard Father, the Emperor had loved to use it, and wanted to see everyone using it to be destroyed.
In Madine's mind, if he couldn't have his Father's approval without it, then those with its power needed to feel his anguish by being removed from the Galaxy entirely, and only let normal beings like himself take care of things. Those with the ability to use power of the Force, whether they be Jedi, or Sith cause untold misery throughout the Galaxy. They were abominations! Such powers should not exist in any sentient being to use regardless of the side the power was used for.
It was unnatural. Period!
'Soon. Soon I will remove all obstacles in my path to become the new Emperor of the Galaxy. All will fall in line when they see how I have removed the Emperor, Vader, his bastard son, and the other Rebel Leaders to thus end the war in one swift stroke,' thought Madine, as he smile at the idea of Galaxy being his when they learned of how he planned everything out so carefully.
Right now, Madine was secretly planning a special strike team to take out Skywalker on his Father's Flagship, which upon being successful would draw the Emperor to Endor ahead of schedule, and thus force the Rebel Leaders to act accordingly before the Sith Master left. With the unexpected attack, the Death Star would be destroyed, the Emperor along with Vader would be killed during the battle, and then a special cell of his most trusted men would be given an order to assassinate the Rebel Leaders during the battle.
In the chaos of the battle, Madine would take control of the operations of the Alliance after their victory, have a double loyal to him prepared to take over for a short time while making a secret trip to Coruscant to prepare to announce his succession to the Imperial throne. By that point, Madine would be keeping his face hidden so no one knew his true identity, and then meet with his double in order to "negotiate" a peaceful end to the war. Madine's double would soon meet a tragic end, and in order to keep others from learning of his double not being him would have the man make a small dying wish to keep the peace between the two sides. The Galaxy would rise behind it with planet after planet joining under his new regime that would appease those on the Rebel side with the return of the Imperial Senate and then focus on the Imperial controlled planets by offering the overseers there positions of power within his own inner circle with teams in place to remove such people should the signs of betrayal reveal itself.
And then Madine would rule over the Galaxy with only minor signs of resistance by all those within Empire, who still wished for it to be turned back into the Old Republic, and would all be put down in a calculating manner.
Again, Madine was looking over a piece of the report his agent sent him, and frowned at part he had paused in his initial reading.
Based on the analysis of the psychological profile done on Skywalker, the boy has some kind of attachment issues regarding those close to him, and cherishes all those bonds he makes with others. Its possible that the Force makes those bonds stronger, but since very few are able to understand the power Skywalker wields, it is unknown if such power was used to reach out to Vader, and allow the Sith Lord to take him. It is unknown if this has a negative effect in terms of those bonded to Skywalker feeling pain and the man feeling it too. If he does, its most likely sensing something is wrong, but most likely has a means to ignore it given enough control, and move on without difficulty. Again, with their being so little information on the abilities of the Force, or the one using the strange power all observations are merely second hand.
As for Darth Vader, the man seems to care about his son, whether it's in regards to being an apprentice, or that of his actual child is unknown. It is possible that it is both, but due to Darth Vader keeping his private life so secretive it makes determining any kind of an accurate psychological profile on the Sith Lord very difficult if not next tot impossible.
It is recommended that both Force users be handled at the same time due to their own unique bond, which over time will become increasingly strong, and become unbreakable in the near future.
'What concerns me, is that there is no word of Princess Leia, or Captain Solo for that matter with the Millennium Falcon not appearing anywhere that our spy network can pickup. The Noghri we captured only spoke to her, soon after she freed them, and left to take them away from here. The woman clearly has no stomach for what needs to be done to take care of Vader's agents or his bastard son,' thought Madine, as he never liked the politics behind the Alliance, and wished it was run strictly by people like him.
That was going to change.
(Naboo-Theed Palace)
"I wouldn't have believed it unless I had seen it for myself," said the Queen of Naboo, as she looked at the woman before her looking almost like Padme Amidala, and saw the resemblance between them.
"I'm still trying to grasp it myself," said Leia, as she looked at the Queen, and saw time had been cruel even with the attire plus white makeup she wore.
"The people of Naboo were devastated by the loss of your Mother and the fact she was pregnant was equally devastating. We all knew she married, but due to the way things were with the Clone Wars we suspected Padme kept the matter of the husband quiet to protect him, and keep the enemy from wishing to come after her further," said the Queen, as she looked over at Han Solo, his Wookiee copilot Chewbacca, and the group of Noghri with them.
It was the latter of the group that made the Queen a tad nervous since she knew who the Noghri served with fanatical devotion.
Anakin Skywalker.
And his more infamous name...Darth Vader.
"My Father was too. Even now he regrets the event responsible that led up to her death," said Leia, which to various ears listening in on her would think she was talking about Bail Organa, but in reality the Queen knew it was Anakin Skywalker in this case, and what had occurred to cause Padme's death.
"I imagine so. They loved each other very much. I was actually one of the few people, who knew of the marriage because Padme needed me to know when you along with your brother were going to be born, and I could make arrangements for her to retire here. Even though your Father became what he has now, I know he loves your Mother, and during the time I saw him have never met anyone who could love another like he did," said the Queen, as she saw the way Anakin looked at Padme years ago, and knew that man could unleash rage upon anyone threatening his family.
"While I am here, my Father wishes me to train in secret in the ways of the Force, and to be his last hope for the Galaxy should his inevitable confrontation with the Emperor fail," said Leia, as she had wanted to stay, but when her Father explained what sight awaited her at Endor made the former Senator shake uncontrollably, and understood why he had told her to head to Naboo for training.
Before Leia left, he had given her various Force Mediation techniques to learn, as well as the neutral powers she could train with when using the Force, and even the materials to make her own Lightsaber during that time. Luke had told her to be patient when making the weapon, as there was no rush in its creation, which would only cause a problem if she did, and that it was perfectly nature to feel nervous when activating it for the first time after completing it.
"Of course. You can stay at the Naberrie Estate where your Aunt Sola is still living. I think your Grandfather is still there too, but after losing Padme, then his own wife later on has left him very frail mentally, and also very weak physically," said the Queen, as she knew that much about the man, but sadly nothing else due to the seclusion the man took after losing so much, and so soon after each tragedy.
"I've always wanted to meet my Mother's side of the family. Hopefully, they won't hold anything against my Father, and embrace me as family," said Leia, as she didn't know if her Mother's family knew about Anakin Skywalker being Darth Vader, the simple fact their daughter married a Jedi turned Sith, or the facts behind how their eldest child died.
"I'll let her know someone special is coming. I'd be more specific to your Aunt, but in these times, I would rather not risk the Empire's spies learning you're here, and then send assassins here again," said the Queen, which happened before when Jedi tried to escape the purges by coming here, and the Imperial Inquisitors came with the 501st to help kill the previous Queen.
"I understand. It's a good thing Han put the ship some place safe and away from prying eyes. I assure you we will be discreet while being guests on the planet," said Leia while silently thanking the special cloaking device her Father had installed on the Falcon with Han and Chewie watching while the Sith Lord explained how it should go while further giving details on how to fix other parts of the ship while they had been on his Flagship.
Han didn't like Vader on his ship, even less with the Dark Lord of the Sith installing his own devices on it, but the former smuggler had little choice in the matter, and had silently admitted to himself that the man knew his stuff. Plus, the few pointers Vader made about parts of his ship had the Falcon running smoother then it had in several years even before getting involved with Luke, and the old Jedi Obi-wan Kenobi.
So for sake of his ship, health, and being with Leia in the future...Han was going to let his Corellian pride take a backseat this time.
(Home One-Alliance Council Conference Room)
"This news is disturbing. Are you sure its accurate?" said Mon Mothma, as she looked at General Madine, and saw him nodding his head to indicate it was.
"Several of my spies I have in the Imperial infrastructure sent this to me shortly after witnessing Skywalker's training with his Father. The boy is getting stronger with each passing day and I have no doubt that when the time is right the two of them will go after the Emperor to seize the throne," said Madine, as he specifically made sure the part in the psychological profile about Vader, and Luke forming a strong bond being part of this meeting.
"That is a distinct possibility. Still, one just can't eliminate someone like Skywalker, or his Father for that matter because of their powers," said General Bel Iblis, as had been around during the Clone Wars when the Senate had been intact before the rise of the Empire while seeing how the Jedi, and the Sith later on could use the Force.
"We can at least try. As you know, the Emperor is planning on making this second Death Star to succeed where the first one failed, and aside from a few Star Destroyers has only the energy shield coming from Endor. We can send a special strike team to go after the shield generator on the planet while another one goes after Vader and Skywalker on The Executor," said Madine, as he saw some of the members of the Alliance Council look hesitant, and others agreeing with him.
"One cannot simply go after Vader or Skywalker no matter what kind of strike team you wish to send Madine. The Force seems intent on not letting those two meet their end anytime soon. We don't know much about it due to the mythical legends of the Jedi from the Clone Wars, but I've seen enough to know that this power favors those two, and could have serious repercussions should it fail. Personally, I don't like to send good men to their deaths, and even more so when I think this mission is suicide," said Bel Iblis, as he saw Madine scowl at him, and knew the man was not pleased.
"No one asked you for your opinion on the matter Garm. The only reason you were even brought back into the fold was because we lost quite a bit when Skywalker was rescued by his bastard Father and then Princess Leia turn traitor soon after," said Madine, as he made a special note to have his team take out his fellow General out first before going after Mon Mothma.
"Perhaps next time, you won't go around accusing, and torturing Alliance personnel at random simply because you suspect they are guilty. In fact, the only reason you are still here Madine is because you're still considered a competent General, and assist in the means to destroying this second Death Star," said Bel Iblis, as he smirked at Madine's angry red face, and knew Rogue Squadron would too.
Ever since they found out about Luke being tortured by Madine, the elite X-Wing squad had been very angry with Madine, and Wedge had even slugged the General right in the kisser to let the higher in rank Alliance officer know what the Rogues thought of him. It cost Wedge a few days in the cells, but the man thought such an action was well worth its weight since Madine didn't seem to care that about anything except himself, and this ever strange delusion that Force users were an abomination to the Galaxy.
"You say that now, but mark my words Garm, and mark them well. One day, you will see just how right I was about Skywalker, Vader, and every Force user this Galaxy holds," said Madine, as he saw Mon Mothma shake her head at him, and made the General angry at the former Senator.
"I think your prejudice against Force users is unhealthy as it is stupid Madine. The Jedi used the Force to protect the Republic and yet you act like they shouldn't have existed either despite the fact it was because of them on multiple occasions the Republic was able to survive countless problems long before Palpatine was even a Senator," said Bel Iblis, as he saw Madine snarl at him, and made the General wonder where he had seen that facial expression before today.
"A lot of good that did them. They fell anyway regardless of that fact and now we have a serious threat on our hands with Vader helping his son get stronger. We need to remove them before they can remove the Emperor and take control of the Empire," said Madine, as he wanted to instill a sense of fear into them all to have them see things like he did, and officially approve an attack on the Force using family.
"We will deal with that later, but no not until the entire Rebel Fleet can be amassed for such an attack on the Second Death Star, and a plan can be made to remove the energy shield over the station. For all we know, the space station could have communications available to it, and can send out a distress signal to Coruscant before we even have a chance to send a team down to the planet surface," said Admiral Ackbar, as he didn't want to jump the gun on this, and Madine was certainly doing that right now.
The next step needed to be taken with careful steps.
(A/N: YAY! I updated. Again, I'm sorry for taking so long, and I know some of you feared it would put on permanent hiatus. Not going to happen anytime soon. Until next time...PEACE!)