Chapter 41

'Kneel Before Me'

'Hydian Corridor'

'Slow Decent Into Hell - Part III'

It was a heavy travel day on Naboo. The shuttle from Hoth arrives forty-five minutes into the new day Theed time. It is still early summer and a busy holiday time. These are still relatively carefree years before the rise of the Empire. Talk of desperate times is far from the minds of the populus. The more cautious citizens take care to monitor the political climate while still enjoying their wealth and property. Others took extreme precautions to invest in real estate in remote homeworlds thought to have little or no interest to Core World political climate.

Travelers quickly disperse throughout the shuttle terminal to other destinations. It is midsummer festival time. Naboo is a huge summer tourist destination. Perfumers flock to the region to purchase the prized pink flowers. Theed Palace is open for public tours. The trademark flowers line the palace gardens drawing millions of visitors eager to purchase a bouquet or a flacon of fragrance as a souvenir.

Dantius had arranged for the family chauffeur to arrive at the arrivals terminal to Sector B. This is strange because Dantius was not expected back so soon. The chauffeur thought that perhaps Dantius was disillusioned by his trip. The younger Palpatine, much like his father, was not easy to please.

Copley waits for nearly an hour before inquiring at the arrivals desk about his master. He makes an inquiry at the arrivals desk. The manager has no one on the manifest with the name of Palpatine and no one fitting the description of Dantius. The Hydian Corridor/Hoth Shuttle arrives three times a day. The manager checks the scans the passenger manifest and confirms that no fair-skinned man in his early twenties boarded the Lnteel Express to Naboo. Copley appears terribly distressed about not finding Dantius. He dared not return to the residence without him. A blunder such as this could cost him his job. The Palpatine's are not easy to work for but the pay is good and, barring an incident such as the one today, he would still have a job tomorrow. The dutiful chauffeur is determined to wait. He will not leave the spaceport without the son of his employer. There has to be a mistake.

Dantius eludes the chauffeur by exiting Gate DX15 which on the opposite side of the spaceport terminal. This is the arrivals area for miners and other workers from the Outer Rim and Hoth Sector. He wears a heavy woolen cloak of charcoal gray. No one pays much attention to these travelers since they are laborers. He immediately discards the cloak, tossing it onto an empty baggage trolley. The cloaks were used by the miners to regulate their body temperature after working months at a time in the frozen quartz mines. He had discarded his down jacket while onboard the mining transport removing all personal effects. Someone would surely claim it. The jacket is expensive and he predicted that it would disappear. Dantius predicted correctly. One of the miners immediately takes the new jacket upon exiting the spaceport.

Dantius is able to escape detection by terminal authorities and disappears into the darkness. An hour passes when he arrives at the Palpatine family compound. He decides it is better to travel through the backstreets of Theed to get there.

Dantius stands quietly in the shadows before making his next move. He slips his hands into his trouser pockets. There is something in the right-hand pocket. He remembers what it is now and pulls out the golden braid and a bloodstained wool hat. He stares at the items for a moment then stuffs them back into his pocket.

There are few lights on inside the house. This is unusual at this late hour. Dantius watches as one of the security guards completes a late-night inspection of the grounds. He glances up and can see two more security guards on the rooftop chatting. None of the security detail sees Dantius as he sprints across the manicured grounds. He can feel his shoes treading through the wet grass. There is a strange chill in the summer air as he approaches a side door to the house.

Dantius glides his thumb around the shaft of his lightsaber and pushes open the door. It does not take long before screams come from the large house. He immediately kills two of his father's bodyguards appear on the staircase landing. They had no time to reach for their weapons. Dantius is faster as he charges up the steps and begins to slash them. The men collapse onto the landing in a heap. Their mutilated bodies face each other in an unnatural pose. Dantius steps over them as family members stir from their slumber. He shows no mercy as they scramble for cover.

Dantius is now walking along the gallery on the upstairs landing. He corners several family members who huddle to shield themselves from the intruder. He ticks them off, one by one, using his lightsaber with amazing efficiency. No one is safe as he detects the hiding places. The ominous hum of the lightsaber grows louder as he makes his way down the opposite end of the gallery. The holo-portraits of long deceased Palpatine aristocrats appear to stare in horror at the carnage.

One by one, Dantius flushes out fleeing family members to meet their demise. He locates his mother and two servants. Mrs. Palpatine is shocked to see her son standing in her doorway. She is holding her cherished dog.

"Dantius? What are you doing? What have you done? Have you gone mad?"

Dantius stares expressionless at the woman who gave him life. He holds the lightsaber with both hands and raises it over his head. He brings the weapon down. The house goes black. He pivots towards the door and proceeds back through the gallery. He slows his pace as if listening for something. Dantius creeps into the library. Cosinga Palpatine steps away from the velvet draped window; he brushes the velvet drapes aside revealing himself. The crimson dressing gown he is wearing brushes the floor.

"Dantius, son…is that you? Stop this. Stop it now. We will get you the help you need."

Dantius responds in a calm and eerily angelic voice.

"I don't need your help, Father."

"Have you no heart? No mercy? You murdered innocent people…your family."

"No one is innocent in this house, Father."

"Don't do this."

"It's just like you to cower as the people you claim to care about die at your feet."

"Please, Dantius…I can get you the help you need. I implore you..."

"Goodbye, Father."

A guttural sound comes out of the elder Palpatine's mouth. He tries to reach for his throat. The lightsaber slices him across his body from the neck to his chest. Blood oozes from the ugly wound and ruins the silk and velour dressing gown. It is an agonizing death. Dantius wants to see his old man suffer before the last moments of life. It gives him a strange vicarious great pleasure. The hum of the lightsaber stops suddenly. The house is eerily quiet.

Dantius makes his way down the staircase and back to the side door from whence he came. He sways a bit as he reaches the door. He wretches and vomits into the prize rose bushes that his mother planted when he was a small child. After wiping his mouth, Dantius walks back across the dewy grass. A strange acrid smell wafts through the air. Someone waits for him along the perimeter. As he approaches the dark figure, he begins to recognize who it is. It is the monk; the mysterious figure who always greets Dantius at the door of the monastery near Bassa Ridge.

The cloaked monk nods. His face is not visible through the hood but Dantius knows him. A long spindly hand emerges from the sleeve and gestures for Dantius to board a waiting skiff. Dantius has always had a strong constitution for the gruesome; however, the ugly wounds on the monk's hands and forearms were most unsettling. It is clear that this poor dark soul had endured years of repeated torture. This is the only time that Dantius has ever looked away from such remarkable disfigurement.

There is still a biting chill in the summer air. Dantius is relieved to step inside the comfort of the vehicle. His nausea subsides.

The trip across Bassa Ridge seems like a long journey as Dantius relives the events leading up to his return. No words are exchanged between Dantius and the monk. Dantius is curious about his history and how this servant winds up under the service of Darth Plagueis. It matters not. Both he and this poor, lost soul are living their individual damnation.

Dantius speaks but he is not addressing the monk. His voice is a hollow whisper.

"Why didn't you fight?"

He has repeated this question since his visit to Lnteel Glacier.

No words are exchanged as the monk delivers him to the desolate chapel. Dantius does not know if the pathetic figure hears him speaking to himself. None of this matters anymore.

A tall shadowy figure stands over Dantius as he kneels at the stone altar.

"Is it done?"

"It is."

"Are you ready to serve?"

"I am."

"Your journey will be difficult and painful. This is to help you fully comprehend the power of the dark side and fulfill your destiny"

Dantius bows his head as Plagueis touches him.

"From this moment on you will be known to the dark forces as Darth Sidious"

"Thank you, Master"

While Darth Sidious feels the embrace of the dark side, his actions on Hoth have devastating effects on the people who once befriended him.

The coldness of death fills the canyons and fjords of Lnteel Glacier. The stark blue shadows of glacier ice create a foreboding silence. The unforgettable laughter of one of its beloved citizens has been silenced. There is no joy on Hoth today.