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Chapter 31 – Three Birds, One Stone
They flew in on three separate ships. Two Imperial shuttles and the Virago. Xizor's custom craft landed first, followed by Palpatine and Anakin last. The Death Star's main docking bay was still in its rough stages. Industrial debris cluttered the floor on which their boots converged in the center.
Each man and Guri had one eye on the others and one on the bay doors, waiting for the cortosis cargo to arrive.
Tension was at an all-time high. Even Palpatine was uneasy with Xizor and Vader's animosity that morning. It felt different – as if it might soon reach a breaking point.
When it did, Obi-Wan would have a front row seat to the action, thanks to a camera implanted in Anakin's helmet. Though it wasn't just for entertainment. From his control center on the top floor of Anakin's palace, he'd watch and judge when the time was right to spring their trap.
Just another day in the life of one of the few remaining Jedi survivors.
At least he and Anakin were on the same side this time. United, they actually stood a chance of making it happen.
Anakin breathed deeply, taking courage in knowing Obi-Wan was as good as standing right behind him.
And he couldn't wait to see the look on Palpatine's face when Yoda arrived to stand behind him literally.
But one thing at a time. First, some painful small talk.
"You two seem out of sorts this morning," grumbled Palpatine.
"I didn't sleep well," Xizor replied tersely. "And I woke to find some rather important things missing."
"Sorry to hear it. But let's all try to be in good spirits until the shipment arrives, eh?"
The Prince folded his arms and glared at Anakin. "That shouldn't be hard for you, Vader. You recovered some things you'd previously lost, didn't you?"
Anakin hadn't the faintest clue what Xizor was implying. "What?"
"Please! As if you didn't have anything to do with them escaping!"
Palpatine was just as confused as Anakin. "What's this about, Vader?"
"I don't –" Anakin began, then gasped. Xizor was making no attempt to keep his mental shield up, and the thoughts from his mind were coming through loud and clear. They… they escaped? How? And why didn't they come to my palace for refuge?
"Like hell you don't know!" spat Xizor. "Your father, wife, and children had the audacity to break free of the cozy little home I made for them! I'm sure your morning's been much better than mine and filled with gloating!"
Anakin had just been smacked by a ton of bricks. His family was out there on their own, without his or Obi-Wan's protection.
Which was a million times more harrowing now that Palpatine knew of them.
Xizor must have realized this was the best – and only – card that remained in play for him.
The trio stood in tense shock until, fortuitously, the cortosis shipment arrived right on time. Warning sirens blared throughout the bay as the cargo ship slowly entered.
Not a moment too soon…
Only a minimum of words passed between Xizor and the crew who unloaded the cartons. Anakin cringed at how roughly they tossed them onto the ground, but speaking up would only make things more conspicuous.
Palpatine didn't even bother to double-check the carton count. He dismissed the crew with a hiss – and then his full attention was back on his apprentice.
Anakin couldn't remember the last time he saw Sidious' eyes so dark. They were two slivered black holes.
"Is this some stupid joke between the two of you, or is what Xizor says true?"
"It's not a joke, your highness. Tell him yourself, Vader!" Xizor interjected. "Go ahead, I dare you to lie to him again!"
"I'm afraid you've miscalculated, Prince," Vader planted both fists on his hips. "My lies balance out the ones I've been fed the past five years! The ones you constructed to keep me loyal all this time!" he thrust a finger straight at Palpatine.
"Of what lies do you speak?" demanded Palpatine.
"Padmé's death, for one! And that of my two children by default!"
Sidious curled his lip. "She was dead to you, after what you did! And you can't serve two masters! Obi-Wan might have been dense enough to let you, but not me! That woman was nothing but a distraction and brain drain! And if she's the reason for your mental and physical absence these past few months, that only proves I'm right!"
Well, the old Sith was right about serving two masters, at least.
"She consumed a relatively small amount of time, all things considered."
Anakin ceremoniously removed his helmet, throwing it to the floor as he locked his blue eyes onto Sidious' black ones. "My last Jedi hunt was a cover for reconstructive surgery – at your surgical center, no less! Turns out everything you told me about surgical limitations was a lie too!"
"Aha! I knew you'd undergone some sort of treatment!" crowed Xizor.
Something like fear flashed across Palpatine's sagging face, but then it snapped right back to a demonic mask.
"I prohibited you from getting treatment for the same reasons – to keep you focused on our objectives!"
"No, you did it to keep me weaker than you! You needed an ally but not one who could overthrow you, perhaps in your sleep," Anakin added sharply, referencing Darth Plagueis.
Sidious ignored the accusation. "This is the ultimate betrayal!"
"The ultimate betrayal happened a long time ago, Sidious! Before I ever heard of the Jedi or set foot on a core world. You betrayed every living being in this galaxy by plotting to overtake it! And now that I'm healed, I'm finally in a position to make retribution for all you've done!"
Palpatine shrank as Anakin took a step toward him. Then, noticing something, he held steady.
"Your lightsaber is missing! How do you expect to defeat me with no weapon?"
"I don't."
The next sequence was all but a blur to Xizor, who watched in a stunned stupor. From behind him came the sound of a shipping container bursting open, followed by the hum of a lightsaber flaring to life. A miniature tornado spun toward them at dizzying speed. The next thing Xizor knew, a green blade clashed against Palpatine's red one, and Anakin was racing for his shuttle.
It took him another second to realize something was amiss. Guri… Guri should be in hot pursuit, but she wasn't…
He hadn't even noticed her falling to the floor. Her eyes were open but vacant, locked on a distant focal point. Her joints, too, were locked in place. Xizor shook her frantically, starting to panic. What happened to her? She hadn't been shot or struck by a lightsaber. Yet her systems were on total lockdown, and his desperate voice brought no change to her blank expression.
Hyperventilating, the prince turned to Palpatine who was deeply engaged in mortal combat. He'd never seen the Emperor wield his lightsaber against anyone, much less someone so well-matched in skill. Xizor watched in rapt astonishment as the aged Sith danced and dodged around the short green Jedi's lunges.
The longer Xizor watched, the more uneasy he grew. Something about this duel didn't seem right. It seemed that the green Jedi was resorting to less and less aggressive moves as time went on. He sidestepped when he could have sliced, ducked when he could have undercut. Even Xizor's untrained eye picked up a deliberate pattern that Palpatine seemed oblivious to.
One might mistake the Jedi's movements as passive, but they actually led the dance.
A fact Palpatine realized all too late by the time he backed Yoda against the wall, right next to a small exhaust vent. In one swift move, Yoda blocked Sidious' jab and cut off the vent cover. Steam assaulted Palpatine's face and Yoda hopped down the shaft, which was too small for Palpatine to follow down.
"Gah!" Palpatine swatted the steam away. "Xizor! Where does this exhaust shaft end?"
The Prince blinked dumbly. "The exhaust shaft?"
"Yes, that's what I said! Do you remember from the blueprints?"
"No…" Xizor's eyes fell back to Guri. "I… I don't…"
"Worthless!" Palpatine spat, sheathing his lightsaber and sprinting toward the exit corridor. "Wait here, it could be a trick! He might double back!"
Xizor was in no condition to move anyway. With Guri down, his ambition to fight was oddly drained. He should be up in arms, more determined than ever to destroy Vader and those assisting him. Yet an unsettling calm had paralyzed him much like Guri.
It was as if he knew it was all futile. It was the end. Vader had won. He'd get everything he ever wanted, and Xizor would lose everything.
But then, he'd already lost everything. His family was eradicated years ago thanks to Vader. Guri had become his surrogate family, and perhaps something more. Now she too had succumbed to the same morbid misfortune he seemed destined to attract.
Somehow he'd known all along it would come to this. His palace, the Death Star partnership, chasing Vader's weaknesses… he played the game as long as he could, knowing he was outmatched from the onset. But oh, what sport it had been! How he'd savored every moment and cherished each victory! In his mind was a hall of trophies, glittering and glorious.
He'd take them all with him to the grave.
He remembered where the ventilation shaft ended. He knew that at this very moment, Vader had to be intercepting the green Jedi with his shuttle, catching him as he tumbled to the Death Star's underside.
When Guri exploded, there was a millisecond when he realized he knew that was coming, too.
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Pieces of the Death Star showered down onto Imperial Center. Anakin fell with them, landing his shuttle next to his palace with a euphoric Yoda at his side.
"Succeeded we did! Destroyed are Palpatine and Xizor, both!"
"Yes," Anakin exhaled, leaning against the controls. His shoulders felt like jelly.
"More elated, why are you not?"
"It doesn't seem real. It hasn't sunk in yet, Master Yoda." That was half the reason, anyway.
Yoda frowned. "Something else is troubling you."
"Let's go inside and find Obi-Wan."
When they did, Han bombarded them with energy so intense it was like another bomb exploded.
"VADER!" he threw Anakin into a back-slapping hug. "Hey buddy! Never knew you had it in ya! Good going!"
Obi-Wan chuckled at the boy's youthful, unfiltered enthusiasm. Han's smile was wider than the galaxy and brighter than its core. By the time Obi-Wan had a chance to embrace Anakin, the latter was smiling from Han's infectious joy too.
"I second everything Han said," Obi-Wan laughed. "Flawless performance!"
"You too. You paralyzed Guri's neural net at just the right time."
"Oh, that was nothing. Catching Palpatine completely off-guard – that was all you and priceless to watch!"
Anakin's smile drooped. "I wish I could celebrate this with my family."
"What are we waiting for? Let's hop over to Xizor's place and get them!"
"We could, except… they're not there."
"Then where are they?" Obi-Wan looked quizzically at Yoda, who was just as confused.
"That's a good question."
Baffled, Obi-Wan was beside himself. "You mean they escaped without telling you where they went?"
Anakin nodded, too upset to speak.
"That's madness! Why on earth would they do that? It's horribly unsafe!" exclaimed Obi-Wan.
"And irrational. Separate themselves from Anakin, why would they wish to?" Yoda questioned.
"That's what I'd like to know," Anakin muttered. "They sure know how to ruin a celebration."
Obi-Wan tried to remain optimistic. "They must have thought it was the best option. Maybe they thought contacting us would interfere with our mission."
"But how could they have known anything about it in the first place?"
Yoda and Obi-Wan exchanged a look at the same instant.
"The transmission last night," posited Obi-Wan. "They must have seen it and decided it was time to make their move."
"How long until they realize the Death Star is destroyed and it's safe to contact us again?" Anakin pressed.
"Soon, in all likelihood."
Anakin shook his head. "Something feels wrong here. I don't sense their presence anywhere on this planet. They didn't have to go off-world, you know!"
"Patience, Anakin. They'll return in time."
"I've been plenty patient! Waiting for the chance to overthrow Palpatine and Xizor... now that I've finally done it, I deserve my family more than ever!" Anakin stormed out.
"Where are you going?" called Obi-Wan.
"Stay here and wait for them if you want, but I'm searching for them myself!"
The trio stood in bewilderment for just a few seconds before following Anakin. No man should have to undertake this chore on his own, especially after everything he'd been through.
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Alderaan, Naboo, Tatooine… all the planets started to look alike after a while. Images of the Dune Sea overlapped ones of the Great Western Sea, on whose shores he'd last seen his beloved family. How many more dead ends and empty landscapes would he have to endure? How many more hiding places were there?
And why had they chosen one so difficult for him to find?
If he didn't know any better, he'd think they'd hid from him and not just Palpatine.
Anakin was about halfway between Tatooine and Dagobah when he had a heart-wrenching epiphany. They probably were hiding from him. The Death Star broadcast was the key. They'd watched it, been shocked by the announcement, and suspected he was in league with Palpatine and Xizor all over again.
Because, he recalled, he'd never mentioned anything about the project to Ainar or Padmé. And they took his silence on the matter as a clear sign that he couldn't be trusted.
Damn… even from beyond the grave, Palpatine and Xizor were complicating his life.
Time to reassess his strategy. If Padmé mistrusted him, that meant Ainar was now her main source of strength and protection. And if Ainar got to dictate where they hid…
Anakin jerked the shuttle around on a dime. Han, Yoda and Obi-Wan's their elbows took a beating as they steadied themselves.
"What are you doing?!" yelled Obi-Wan.
"Yeah, watch it! Or maybe I should take over drivin'!" Han rubbed the back of his head.
"I had to change course," Anakin explained over his shoulder.
"Clearly! May I ask where we're going so abruptly?" Obi-Wan staggered into the cabin.
"Zygerria! We'll find them on Zygerria."
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Just as Anakin suspected, his father wasn't making this easy. There were no land or lease records of anyone with Ainar's name. Not even the Starkiller alias Anakin had given him in the past. Ainar was too clever for that, but Anakin had to try.
So it was down to old-fashioned perseverance. Ainar was likely Force-shielding Padmé and the twins, but Anakin was prepared to cover every square inch of the planet if need be.
But that wouldn't be necessary. With two Jedi masters searching alongside him, Anakin let the Force guide him down alleyways and through tunnels. The power of love could pierce any shield generated by fear.
He found them in a small, rustic cottage several miles from civilization. He sensed high anxiety behind its walls. His spirits fell. It was just as he suspected. Being so remote, news of the Death Star's destruction hadn't yet reached them.
"You knock first," Anakin ordered Obi-Wan.
Yoda and Obi-Wan marched up to the front stoop while Han and Anakin stood back. A pair of curtains fluttered in the window and two little noses peered out. Anakin smirked. Ainar and Padmé might be cautious, but the twins were as curious and uninhibited as ever.
At first there was no response to Obi-Wan's knock. Then Luke and Leia's faces vanished from the crack in the curtains.
"So you found us," Ainar's voice carried through the thin walls. "You must know why we're here."
"We have a good idea," replied Obi-Wan, glancing back at Anakin.
"We're not comfortable with having vital information withheld. Surely you can understand that!"
"Oh, I can. But you too must realize that miscommunication can happen."
"How is blatant omission of the Emperor's pet project a simple 'miscommunication?'"
"Anakin didn't want to tell you about the Death Star and risk the liability. And he certainly didn't want you to learn about it the way you did, but Palpatine declared a surprise announcement," Obi-Wan explained.
"We were surprised, all right."
"Yes, and we have another surprise – one you're sure to like much better."
"What's that?" Ainar asked cautiously.
Grinning, Obi-Wan beckoned Anakin to join him and Yoda. "I'll let you do the honors," he whispered to Anakin.
Anakin cleared his throat, wishing he was looking at their faces rather than a faded door.
"The Death Star is gone."
Uncertain silence.
"What do you mean, 'gone?'" Ainar's voice returned.
"Obliterated. Savagely torn into billions of tiny pieces. Gone. And Palpatine and Xizor with it."
To Anakin's joy and relief, the door cracked open a few inches.
"If you're lying, that's quite the fabrication," Ainar studied him with burning eyes.
"One that can be verified by checking any Holonet station!"
The door shut, but Anakin heard Ainar and Padmé conversing in hushed tones as they flicked on the holo viewer. He waited in jubilant anticipation for the door to swing wide open.
When it did, Padmé and the twins almost knocked him over like a bowling pin. Their embrace squeezed the air right out of him, but he recovered soon enough, laughing.
"I'll take that as an apology!"
"I'm so sorry we doubted you!" she pulled back, tears sparkling on her eyelids.
"That's all right," he kissed her. "But you owe me."
"What can I do to make it up to you?"
"Just promise me one thing," he gently brushed her stomach with one hand. "Don't tell this one about who I used to be. I want him or her to know me as I am now."
Padmé's eyes widened in wonder. "You know…?"
"Yes, that was the one and only thing Xizor ever gave me, ironically. He thought I already knew, but he ended up telling me before you could."
"That is ironic. He told me first, too," she laughed drily.
Ainar stepped in for a hug next. "So he's really gone? And Palpatine?"
Emotions clogged Anakin's throat. All he could do was nod. Ainar's eyes reflected the exultation streaming from his son's soul.
"Well done," Ainar stated simply. "Anakin."
It was the first time he'd formally addressed his son by that name. It was the first time it had ever felt truly, fully appropriate. Darth Vader was officially as dead as his former master and nemesis, who were now nothing but space dust.
The cottage held an intimate celebration that evening, full of tall tales and unbridled affection. Tidying up the Empire's loose ends could wait until morning. Anakin boasted that it would be his face, not Vader's, that made the glorious proclamation that the galaxy was now free. Many would marvel at Anakin Skywalker's mysterious return, but their astonishment would soon change to hope when he announced that the Jedi order would be restored.
While it was true that the Black Sun lived on, its next Vigo could forge no personal vendetta against Vader or symbiosis with the Emperor, since both were dead. Wherever the small band of surviving Jedi could, they'd regain some control over the Black Sun's activity. It would be a slow, modest effort at first, but eventually order would return to the galaxy.
And when it did at last return, Anakin would be sure to give Ainar all the credit. His was the spirit that filled Anakin's new lungs and carried new winds that blew from Tatooine to Helska – and everywhere in-between.
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Next week, the final epilogue chapter!