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Chapter 37
It was extremely fortunate that Vader hadn't betrayed Sidious in the earlier years of the Empire. At first, he needed someone powerful enough to track down the remaining Jedi. This was Vader's job. The only thing he was needed for.
However, after the Jedi went nearly extinct, there wasn't much he could do that the Empire couldn't. Especially with new technology and weapons being created by the day. After the Jedi were wiped out, Sidious no longer needed Vader as much, save for being his representative and enforcer of his will. No, Vader's death wouldn't have been a problem. It was his rebellion, that was.
He could not, however, deny that this challenge had been quite exhilarating, even though the need for the separation had caused him plenty of anger and a feeling of failure that he was not used to and that he despised completely.
The situation, certainly, was not ideal. Vader was, in fact, very powerful in the Force; he squandered that by his arrogance and unwillingness to listen to anyone else as if he were a chained dog.
Or so Sidious thought.
Vader had proven to maintain the intelligence outside of a brute and go with someone he'd held a familial bond. Of course, that was his failure and what separated him from a proper Sith. He was never able to let go of his connection to Amidala.
Perhaps if he had planned to replace Vader years ago, he would have just chosen someone like Jerec or Galen Marek. Even Probus Tesla had been an option. Yet, two out of all three of them were dead, and Jerec was suitable in his position currently.
But, Sidious believed, he could have done worse.
Certainly, his rising Apprentice was no Chosen One, but very few could rival Vader without plenty of time in delving into Holocrons. His selection in choosing an alternate Apprentice had to be handled with care. Jace Yiaso had been an option, though he was a miserable whim after Alderaan. Being left in a dungeon and starving, with no limbs, was his current purpose until he'd proven himself once more or was left to waste to his death.
The Dark Side purred in his ear that this would be the correct decision, and while Sidious held his doubts since she was Vader's weapon more than his own, Sidious couldn't deny that the girl certainly had the potential.
What made it exhilarating, however, was not the girl's competence but the fact that she was so exasperatingly connected with the Dark Side!
Fairly quickly, Vader's lessons were being reversed or were already allowing her to be an even more worthy Sword to wield at his side. Shira Brie was a young woman with absolute loyalty to the Galactic Empire. Brie was conditioned for a life of solitude, a disposition she maintained even as Sidious molded her into his new fist and replacement for Vader. She could remember none of the services she'd enjoyed doing before entering Imperial service, making her into the even more viable candidate to not only Vader's successor but also his own if the girl lived up to the challenge.
If she should prove that she was worthy of the throne of the Emperor and strike him down with her complete training, Sidious would become her Ascendancy.
Nevertheless, a bitter Sith awaited her destiny.
And it helped that she continued to prove herself throughout his torture. Despite her flaws, she was controlled, disciplined, a trained assassin, and lived up to the challenge. If she completely reaped herself under the pain, the agony, the turmoil, the anger, and the hatred...
Yes, Darth Sidious was quite sated with his decision.
It would take time for her training to be complete. Firstly, one could not learn the Force, even the Dark Side, within a matter of months and be a Master of it. There were things to be done: the Imperial Military to be led, planets to be tamed, and the Hutts to be subdued or destroyed altogether. He would send her on dangerous missions, do what Tenebrous did to Plagueis by Venamis, finding worthy challenges for her to either dispatch or fall at their blade.
Brie maneuvered, deflecting the rapid training orbs. One by one, she took them out, but one managed to catch her shoulder.
The training droid retreated.
Of course, Sidious couldn't allow such failures to slide, even one-time mistakes. "Girl, your skills with a lightsaber is far from exceptional," he pointed out sharply.
Shira bowed her head, "Sorry my Master." She knew not to beg for mercy.
"If you cannot deflect a mere blaster bolt, how do you expect to slay the likes of Vader?" Sidious clicked on a few buttons, summoning Purge Troopers, "You will report to an isolation chamber and will be released when I decide so."
Another week of deprivation...
Excellent.
Shira Brie found her time in the chamber to, as always, be anything but a breeze.
For another week, she sat to a chamber with nothing but herself. She'd received no food or water.
At first, she couldn't believe this.
This was beyond Vader's lessons.
This was... far... far worse.
Even Vader had shown leniency and forgiveness whenever he'd taught her.
Darth Sidious was a different Master.
He'd enjoyed her pain. He'd take a sadistic pleasure out of it.
From afar, his cackling rang into her ears. He haunted her dreams, making her feel pain every moment. This wasn't any form of freedom. And when she moved around too long, the floor under her fell at a command, and a limb or multiple of them snapped like a twig before them, causing her to feel pain that slowly became more and more numb.
Once, the Emperor reached at her sanity and made her even plead for her freedom, putting on the pretense of offering it to her briefly before scrubbing it away into nothing.
Whenever the droids came in, they'd never sedate her - only pump her with more drugs that could be a substitute for the food she'd lacked.
The Dark Side of the Force dug deep into her veins - her very roots - being like everything she'd imagined. Not only did it increase her wants and needs, but it had given her the boost to feel free and liberated. She allowed herself to it, she allowed it flood through her, submerge her with its power and enchanting allure, and she comprehended now; she understood why it felt beyond anything.
You either fight or die.
The Dark Side was a path of freedom. She had known the Code, her Master had made her repeat it over and over again. Whenever she failed, she was sent back here for weeks and brought back without any refreshments.
Peace is a lie. There is only Passion.
Through Passion I gain Strength.
Through Strength I gain Power.
Through Power I gain Victory.
Through Victory my chains are Broken.
The Force shall free me.
She recited it again and again, aloud and within her mind. She retained it, internalized it, embedded it inside of her. She'd allowed the Emperor's torturous training sessions to fuel her rage, allowed every blow.
She'd failed him, and she'd deserved it.
His numerous surprises and "gifts" made her time here feel all the bit longer.
In the isolation chamber, she received as little sleep as possible.
She'd drowned in her pain.
But then she sung to it again, again, and again. And the more agony she felt, the angrier she was. At herself, at her old Master, at her new one, at the Empire, at it all, at everything.
And the angrier she felt, the darkness in her increased tenfold.
And when her Master came and trained her more, after moving even the slightest, it introduced the worst type of pain she'd ever felt.
She couldn't take it anymore.
When she had recognized the sound of food utensils, the swallowing of food, and a slurp of water, she'd lashed out against the Emperor. His own darkness poured within her, fueling her own, engulfing her with its raw power.
"Would you prefer if I leave you here, suffering? Or prove your valor?"
She'd lost that fight by a terrible margin, being sliced through the spine, causing her to fall on the ground, hatefully staring up at him.
The Force Bond she had with Sidious was an inferno. It felt like a burning volcano, infuriated, merciless, and explosive, with such destructive power, but so so alluring, a magnificent view that she couldn't prevent herself from looking at. It was a grating presence, sometimes even overwhelming. He'd never released her.
They meditated together, delving deep into the power of the Dark Side. That was when the power of the Dark Side felt even more expanding, almost infinite. When it crept into the far reaches of her mind and allowed her to release all the rage she had within her, all the agony, all the doubt. Not into the Force, no, but outwardly, into the galaxy, making them not disappear but transmit into something far greater.
Often, she'd forget her life, her entire past banished from her mind and her heart, and she was left there. She was given a poor cybernetic spine which didn't even work and left there in the dark again, on all fours like a dog as the Emperor regarded her.
"You will show power, and suffering will be your teacher."
He'd kicked her spine, causing her to reel over, before she was left again.
There was no camaraderie, no affection, no soft spot.
A bigger part, however, understood that only through that power would she ever be liberated, liberated of everything and everyone, liberated of her weaknesses, of her pain, of the Imperials, of Vader, of the Rebellion, of... Sidious.
He'd gifted her power, but it didn't make it all of it worthwhile. The Emperor would continue to nibble away at food like before while she was restrained like an animal, would make her crawl up only for her bones to break in her muscles causing hours of pain, tortured her with the Force, kicked her in untreated areas that made the agony last longer, spat down at her...
Every passing day, she'd felt all the emotions she was supposed to feel.
Meanwhile, she would have to learn everything she could, she would have to do her Master's bidding, and someday, she would be prepared, prepared to travel the universe, feared by all...
Someday.
However, today was a different day.
One day, after Sidious arrived, Lumiya delivered, unleashing a full blast of Force Lightning at him that knocked him back slightly and pulled his lightsaber from his robes. She'd unleashed upon him with everything she had, him cackling throughout as he continued to subside her attack, unleashing lightning down her back and twisting her already damaged and long-infected spine.
"Here's your rewards for your efforts."
It was then she was properly treated.
And she was able to keep his lightsaber.
She'd vowed not to make the same mistake as before.
"Now, you have a test before you."
The doors opened behind her, and the form of Stormtroopers marched in, carrying a woman. Judging by the scars and ripped garments that could hardly be described as clothing anymore, Shira could see that she was worse for wear.
But this wasn't just any female. A fellow enrolled in the Coruscani Pilot Institute training to become a TIE pilot, and her best friend: Myrette Davani...
This was her friend. They'd shared bunks, exchanged jokes, and got to know each other, and whatever the Emperor had planned, Shira knew it wasn't good business.
"Shira?" her friend stuttered.
"What happened to you?" Shira asked, forgetting everything.
"I-I was taken from the Academy and... and his guards... they had their way with me, Shira," she confessed tearfully. Shira didn't need to hear any more. Her friend was... oh kriff.
"She'd outlived her usefulness," the Emperor said, pausing for a moment as she turned around, her eyes wide. "Kill her." The command came. "Prove your loyalty."
"But Master..." Shira started.
"Destroy her now."
A part of Shira who cared about her wanted to defy the order. After all, was this not the man who tortured her? The man who promised her power and yet continued to deprive her of everything, compared to Myrette's generosity.
But... she knew the way of the Sith showed no bounds. There was absolutely no reluctance from the Emperor. He didn't care about their bonds. The Emperor was a believer in control and fear. He believed, and was right, that her friendship made her weak and kept her clinging to the part of a life that wasn't ever even real.
"Shira, I am your friend. I am your sister. Please, don't do this." Myrette pleaded.
Love was a weakness.
"Do it..." Sidious commanded, a small smirk across her lips.
Shira stayed like that, unsure as to what to do.
"No! Shira! Shira, please! Help me!"
The hate and anger returned with a brutal force.
Shira had made her decision.
"Wait, before I forget," came the sadistic tone of the Emperor as an afterthought, his head craning in an innocent way that simply suggested bad news. "Make it agonizing. Make it slow. Make it a death that you'll never forget."
There was absolutely no mercy on his part.
There couldn't be the same for her.
"As you wish, my Master," Shira answered, at length. "Goodbye, Davani."
She gasped.
"Shira, no!"
She gripped her through the Force, pressing down tightly on her throat, slamming her against the wall far on the left, before pulling her against the one on the right, slamming her onto the ceiling. Blue strands slammed into her chest. She'd kept it, feeling the Emperor's laughter and her former friend's cries vibrating in her ears.
Shira kept toying with her like she was a dog. Sobs escaped from the woman's battered body, her reddening lip leaking more blood. She didn't stop. She'd proceeded without mercy.
She brought her down in front of her roughly, her limbs twisted.
She swung her lightsaber. First, it was her two arms, then her legs. Amputated on the floor, she fired even more lightning down her body. She groaned and screamed like a wounded animal when at last her head was taken from her body.
Myrette Davani died a painful death, all at the sick amusement of the Emperor and the treachery of a friend and the unemotional feeling of the Royal Guards.
Tears leaked from a corpse's eyes, and it took everything not to collapse before her dead friend and mourn. Her grief and anger only fueled her connection to the Dark Side. She was alone.
The Emperor did not stop laughing.
The same shadow longed to drive her lightsaber through his throat.
"You may want to kill me, girl, but just know," the Emperor's laughter stopped to her ears, his voice remaining jovial nevertheless, "it won't bring her back. You are the only one who you have to blame for your own actions."
The new monster breathed and deactivated her lightsaber.
"You have committed the Sacrifice," Sidious said slowly. "At least, you have the heart of a true Sith. You are an Acolyte no more. Destroying someone who had once meant something to them is what floods a Sith. I myself killed my family and a mentor of mine who viewed me as a son; treated me like one far more than my real father did, and you have now killed your former friend. This is a great day..."
Shira didn't know what to say to that. His eyes were closed like a predator smelling the blood of a victim, deeply ingrained in the moment. Shira had learned there was nothing within the Emperor that wasn't truly evil. The man was the Devil Incarnate with no redeeming qualities.
"Kneel."
Taking one last glance at the remnants of her old life, all in pieces, Shira found that she didn't hold remorse for her actions. The power in her veins was beyond anything that she'd ever felt before.
She obeyed.
Darth Sidious stood from his seat and moved over.
"Now rise, Darth...," Sidious paused for a moment, his face flickering and flashing even darker, "...Lumiya."
She did.
Shira Brie was dead. Darth Lumiya was all that remained.
Author's note: Darth Lumiya is going to be handled differently in Legacy of the Force. I don't mind her presence. I never have. But I hate Legacy of the Force. To hell with Darth Caedus' storyline, Mara Jade lives, and Vergere is not a Sith! (I hate that retcon!) Besides, Legacy wasn't her debut. She existed beforehand. Star Wars 56: Coffin in the Clouds introduced Shira Brie as a character, and Star Wars 88: Figurehead shows Lumiya for the first time.
That tangent aside, I am trying to highlight the differences between Vader and Sidious. Vader, in my opinion, is similar to a much colder Uncle Iroh. While he does genuinely love Luke and Leia and won't let anyone hurt them, his cruel streaks are mainly mental and emotional at points because it's for their well-being as far as he's concerned. The way I see it, he obsessed over Padmé and wanted to bring her back for years in both continuities. I just can't see him torturing that remnant. At the risk of them dying or hating him when he would want their loyalty and them to see him as their father? I personally don't. He would be possessive but not abusive imo.
Sidious, however, is not above such cruelties. There's no Antihero or Anti villain vibe. There is no mercy. There is no love. There is no parental affection. He's like Ozai; very cruel, vindictive for the hell of it, and enjoys the suffering of others. I enjoy writing him because he's so fun to handle, especially when he makes even my blood boil. XD
May the Force be with you all always.