Star Wars A Chance Encounter and a Different Fate (AU)
- Thread starter Bacle
- Start date
Chapter 14
Vergere.
That was a name that had not crossed Anakin Skywalker's or Darth Vader's minds since before the Clone Wars. And it was not a name he thought Sidious had any real knowledge of or interest in.
The planet Anakin had been sent to with Obi-wan, to find a warward and missing Jedi...that amazing, scared, wandering planet had disappeared into hyperspace and been forgotten about by most of the few who knew of it.
It was the first time he had met Tarkin, long before they met again on the Citadel, where it seemed the then-Captain had more or less forgotten about him in the intervening years. Tarkin had never brought the planet up either, nor had Palpatine seemed to have had any interest in that mission when they combed through the Jedi Archives. Jocosta Nu's sabotage had wiped the database before they had been able to fully copy it. Reconstruction efforts had been fruitless and discontinued after several years in favor of converting the old data slates into part of the ISBs Palace Substation, and since Palpatine never spoke of the mission, Anakin had never really given it a thought since.
Ahsoka however preempted any reply he might have had.
"You never answered my question of how long you have been a Sith, or who your master was, Chancellor. Answer that for me please." The Togruta said calmly, almost ignoring what the Sith had said.
Palpatine actually laughed, then snarled "Far long than you have been alive, young one. That is why I asked if the elder Skywalker remembered a Jedi he had been sent, and failed, to find. Vergere was not afraid fo the Dark Side, and explored remote ruins that contained artifacts of interest to me on a few of her missions. When she believed she was smart enough to beat me and steal my Sith secrets, she challenged me and lost, escaping into the Outer Rim with her life. But if you want to find Bridger Lady Tano, you must kill your master and his son for me, and take their places at my side. Only then will I tell you how to find Bridger, once we are off this station." Palpatine said, seemingly unconcerned while ordering the death of the man holding a blade to his neck.
"I could respond in many ways to your offer; however Ezra had an interesting idea about lightsaber design I incorporated into mine." Ahsoka said, before flipping her blade around, and triggering a hidden button on the bottom of the longer hilt. In a split-second a small hatch popped open and a stun blast shot out at the old Sith.
Sheev Palpatine was a patient man, having spent decades to achieve the power he had, and rarely allowed himself to be in a position where he would have any need to engage in personal combat. That did not mean that the old Sith's power in the Dark Side of the Force had in any way waned, or that Palpatine would pass up an opportunity to indulge in it when a chance arose. It also meant his reflexes were not those of an aging old man, unless he wanted them to appear to be. Now, his patience with trying to wait for his guards, and try to get a new apprentice for the price of the old was not going to work, had ended.
The old Sith brought up a hand faster than Ahsoka could clearly see, and shot a blast of lightening out of it, deflecting and folding the stun blast and lightening up the gap between the chair, his head, and the red blade inches from his ear, and sending it straight into Anakin's chestplate.
While the crippled and burned Jedi beneath the black armor began to rock back from the blast and electrical shocks, his chest plate sparking, Palpatine generated two blasts of Force lightening in his hands, send one at Luke and one at Ahsoka as he lept to his feet. Surprised as he had never seen the ability before and without an ignited lightsaber, Luke took the blast to the chest and head, while Ahsoka deflected and absorbed part of the blast sent at her, as she lept to put herself between Luke and the old Sith.
The Togruta hit the deck with a grunt and a half-uncontrolled roll, pain coursing through her system, as she saw Luke stagger back, hands to his face, and Anakin was crumpled in a display dais's the panel on his chest and belt still sparking and his breathing irregular, his lightsaber on the floor near the throne.
"You will all die, here and now!!!" Palpatine roared, as he sent out another wave of lightening. He had decided that killing these three was all he wanted at the moment, even if meant accepting the long journey to awakening in one of his clones on Byss if he could not get off the station in time.
"And you have already lost, Chancellor, because I had an open comm line out to my Rebel friends since they arrived in system, recording everything said here till you just fried it. In a short time, your whole fleet, then the whole galaxy, will know the man they thought had legitimately taken power in the Clone Wars to save the Republic from itself is in fact a self-admitted Sith, and has been since long before the Clone Wars began. No matter what you do here, your Empire has just lost all the lingering legitimacy it carried over from the Republic you killed. Laws do not matter when dealing with Sith, after all, because the only thing Sith respect is power." Ahsoka said through the pain, looking over her behind her at Luke, who was slowly getting to his knees, still holding his face in his hand and putting a hand out for balance...no, to feel his way along.
"Oh no, I have not come close to losing anything I cannot rebuild, Lady Tano. You however have another person you have failed. Replacing damaged eyes is never a pleasant procedure, even with the best cloned organs or implants. And the father will not survive his suit failing due to your stun blast mixed with my power, and now the son may never see again, even if you defeat me. If this station was not in danger of destruction, I would be summon my guards to have you dragged to the detention level. As it is, you and the Skywalkers will die on this station, and my loyal followers will avenge me and deal with any traitors. My Empire will outlast you foolish Jedi, and none of your rebel friends or any traitor will leave this system alive." Palpatine roared at the Togruta as Sheeve moved towards Ahsoka, throwing blasts of Force lightening at her.
****
Alexander Callus listened as the line from Agent Tano went dead in a burst of crackling static, trying to understand how in the 9 Corellian hells the Togruta had managed to get an open comm line in the personal space of the Emperor.
He was also amazed that beneath the black armor of Vader's suit was one of the most power Jedi Generals of the Clone Wars, Hero of the Republic Anakin Skywalker. He was rather young when the Clone Wars ended, but Callus remembered that name.
Callus was concerned for Agent Tano. However, he knew Hera was as well, but was focused on gathering up enough fighters to make a run on the station's reactor, while also evacuating disabled vessels and fighting back against the regrouping Imperial fleet. The *Executor* had cut thrust and fallen back, the Destroyer on it's prow somehow still partially intact but apparently entangled with the dreadnought's superstructure.
"Hera, what's the plan? Lot's of TIE's out here and there is a lot of debris between us and the staion." Zeb hollered from the dorsal gun.
"We get the fleet out of here, and pray to the Force that Ahsoka and the Skywalker's can find a way off that station before we blow it. Callus, tell Wedge to get any subfighters that still have torpedo's and make for the station!" The Twi'lek woman said as she began to calculate a course to get to, and end, the battlestation.
****
AN: A bit shorter than I'd like, but I've figured out that I don't need to do huge posts if I know what I have is what I want of a scene.
That was a name that had not crossed Anakin Skywalker's or Darth Vader's minds since before the Clone Wars. And it was not a name he thought Sidious had any real knowledge of or interest in.
The planet Anakin had been sent to with Obi-wan, to find a warward and missing Jedi...that amazing, scared, wandering planet had disappeared into hyperspace and been forgotten about by most of the few who knew of it.
It was the first time he had met Tarkin, long before they met again on the Citadel, where it seemed the then-Captain had more or less forgotten about him in the intervening years. Tarkin had never brought the planet up either, nor had Palpatine seemed to have had any interest in that mission when they combed through the Jedi Archives. Jocosta Nu's sabotage had wiped the database before they had been able to fully copy it. Reconstruction efforts had been fruitless and discontinued after several years in favor of converting the old data slates into part of the ISBs Palace Substation, and since Palpatine never spoke of the mission, Anakin had never really given it a thought since.
Ahsoka however preempted any reply he might have had.
"You never answered my question of how long you have been a Sith, or who your master was, Chancellor. Answer that for me please." The Togruta said calmly, almost ignoring what the Sith had said.
Palpatine actually laughed, then snarled "Far long than you have been alive, young one. That is why I asked if the elder Skywalker remembered a Jedi he had been sent, and failed, to find. Vergere was not afraid fo the Dark Side, and explored remote ruins that contained artifacts of interest to me on a few of her missions. When she believed she was smart enough to beat me and steal my Sith secrets, she challenged me and lost, escaping into the Outer Rim with her life. But if you want to find Bridger Lady Tano, you must kill your master and his son for me, and take their places at my side. Only then will I tell you how to find Bridger, once we are off this station." Palpatine said, seemingly unconcerned while ordering the death of the man holding a blade to his neck.
"I could respond in many ways to your offer; however Ezra had an interesting idea about lightsaber design I incorporated into mine." Ahsoka said, before flipping her blade around, and triggering a hidden button on the bottom of the longer hilt. In a split-second a small hatch popped open and a stun blast shot out at the old Sith.
Sheev Palpatine was a patient man, having spent decades to achieve the power he had, and rarely allowed himself to be in a position where he would have any need to engage in personal combat. That did not mean that the old Sith's power in the Dark Side of the Force had in any way waned, or that Palpatine would pass up an opportunity to indulge in it when a chance arose. It also meant his reflexes were not those of an aging old man, unless he wanted them to appear to be. Now, his patience with trying to wait for his guards, and try to get a new apprentice for the price of the old was not going to work, had ended.
The old Sith brought up a hand faster than Ahsoka could clearly see, and shot a blast of lightening out of it, deflecting and folding the stun blast and lightening up the gap between the chair, his head, and the red blade inches from his ear, and sending it straight into Anakin's chestplate.
While the crippled and burned Jedi beneath the black armor began to rock back from the blast and electrical shocks, his chest plate sparking, Palpatine generated two blasts of Force lightening in his hands, send one at Luke and one at Ahsoka as he lept to his feet. Surprised as he had never seen the ability before and without an ignited lightsaber, Luke took the blast to the chest and head, while Ahsoka deflected and absorbed part of the blast sent at her, as she lept to put herself between Luke and the old Sith.
The Togruta hit the deck with a grunt and a half-uncontrolled roll, pain coursing through her system, as she saw Luke stagger back, hands to his face, and Anakin was crumpled in a display dais's the panel on his chest and belt still sparking and his breathing irregular, his lightsaber on the floor near the throne.
"You will all die, here and now!!!" Palpatine roared, as he sent out another wave of lightening. He had decided that killing these three was all he wanted at the moment, even if meant accepting the long journey to awakening in one of his clones on Byss if he could not get off the station in time.
"And you have already lost, Chancellor, because I had an open comm line out to my Rebel friends since they arrived in system, recording everything said here till you just fried it. In a short time, your whole fleet, then the whole galaxy, will know the man they thought had legitimately taken power in the Clone Wars to save the Republic from itself is in fact a self-admitted Sith, and has been since long before the Clone Wars began. No matter what you do here, your Empire has just lost all the lingering legitimacy it carried over from the Republic you killed. Laws do not matter when dealing with Sith, after all, because the only thing Sith respect is power." Ahsoka said through the pain, looking over her behind her at Luke, who was slowly getting to his knees, still holding his face in his hand and putting a hand out for balance...no, to feel his way along.
"Oh no, I have not come close to losing anything I cannot rebuild, Lady Tano. You however have another person you have failed. Replacing damaged eyes is never a pleasant procedure, even with the best cloned organs or implants. And the father will not survive his suit failing due to your stun blast mixed with my power, and now the son may never see again, even if you defeat me. If this station was not in danger of destruction, I would be summon my guards to have you dragged to the detention level. As it is, you and the Skywalkers will die on this station, and my loyal followers will avenge me and deal with any traitors. My Empire will outlast you foolish Jedi, and none of your rebel friends or any traitor will leave this system alive." Palpatine roared at the Togruta as Sheeve moved towards Ahsoka, throwing blasts of Force lightening at her.
****
Alexander Callus listened as the line from Agent Tano went dead in a burst of crackling static, trying to understand how in the 9 Corellian hells the Togruta had managed to get an open comm line in the personal space of the Emperor.
He was also amazed that beneath the black armor of Vader's suit was one of the most power Jedi Generals of the Clone Wars, Hero of the Republic Anakin Skywalker. He was rather young when the Clone Wars ended, but Callus remembered that name.
Callus was concerned for Agent Tano. However, he knew Hera was as well, but was focused on gathering up enough fighters to make a run on the station's reactor, while also evacuating disabled vessels and fighting back against the regrouping Imperial fleet. The *Executor* had cut thrust and fallen back, the Destroyer on it's prow somehow still partially intact but apparently entangled with the dreadnought's superstructure.
"Hera, what's the plan? Lot's of TIE's out here and there is a lot of debris between us and the staion." Zeb hollered from the dorsal gun.
"We get the fleet out of here, and pray to the Force that Ahsoka and the Skywalker's can find a way off that station before we blow it. Callus, tell Wedge to get any subfighters that still have torpedo's and make for the station!" The Twi'lek woman said as she began to calculate a course to get to, and end, the battlestation.
****
AN: A bit shorter than I'd like, but I've figured out that I don't need to do huge posts if I know what I have is what I want of a scene.