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Title: Scheherazde / Gotcha!
Author: Isis (msthoth@yahoo.com)
Rating: NC-17.
Characters: Vader, You
Category: AU, Romance, Challenge fic

Disclaimer: George Lucas owns all the IP from this. There is no justice whatsoever in this world, but oh well. I'm grateful for the chance to play in the SW sandbox.

Summary: Lord Vader needs a harem. You apply, not having any idea what you're in for.

It's 9 am and you are standing, outside the door at the address the message you received the day before told you to be at. For a few minutes you stare at that door, debating whether or not you should go in. Eventually curiosity wins out.

The receptionist gives little attention to you, merely looks at your datachip and sends you into a waiting room. The walls are pale green, an old trick used to subconsciously soothe. You select what looks to be the most comfortable chair and wait.

While you do, you run the personal ad you answered a month ago through your mind again: Wanted: companion for high ranking military officer. Must be intelligent, pleasant to look at and prepared to deal with the unexpected. The agency you are sitting in was listed as the contact. You had submitted your c.v., holo, and the other details that had been asked for, not really expecting an answer. How many men would consider you as an acceptable match for those requirements?

Then the message had arrived telling you to be here.

And now you are wondering if you should stay or leave.

The door opens. A Lieutenant comes in. He looks you up and down, and nods.

`Suitable,' he states. `Follow me.'

Suitable? You think as he leads you down a hall and to an airspeeder. Suitable for what?

`Get in,' he orders.

You hesitate. This may be your last opportunity to walk away, but the secrecy has you intrigued and now you really do want to meet this mysterious `military officer.'

You get into the airspeeder. The Lieutenant joins you.

`You're braver than most,' he notes. `The last one refused to go with me.'

For a moment you stare at him.

`What is going on?' you finally ask.

`You'll find out soon enough,' he smoothly avoids the question.

The `speeder lands in a private hangar. You follow your escort through the corridors to an elegantly appointed sitting room where he leaves you alone once again. To occupy yourself, you wander about the room, admiring the artwork and view from the transparisteel windows. This place is on the square near the Imperial Palace, but before you can work out exactly where you are, the door opens behind you.

Measured steps. Even mechanical breathing.

You slowly turn around and find yourself face to mask with the second most powerful man in the Empire.

`You may leave if you wish, now or after I tell you why you are here,' he coolly states. `I have no intentions of holding you against your will.'

A nod is your answer. You will stay for his explanation, at least.

`My position requires that I maintain a harem,' he bluntly admits.

You don't react. This is common knowledge. The Emperor himself has a number of concubines.

`You have passed the screening process, and I have decided to spend a day in your company to see if you are suitable,' he tells you.

A day? With him? Doing what?

`Whatever you think will convince me to take you as one of my concubines,' he replies to your thought. `You have exactly one day to do so.'

You stare at him, surprised. The stories are true, then. He's a mind reader.

A low rumbling chuckle emerges from his mask.

You nod, but it isn't really necessary. He already knew what your answer would be.

`Very well,' he decides, and for some reason you suspect he is relieved or perhaps pleased that you have chosen to stay. `Introduce yourself and tell me why I should keep you...'

* * *

I would probably have been put off by such a blunt request from a would-be lover, in the first few moments of acquaintance, if I hadn't been on fire with curiosity. And not a little bit of awe. A Sith Lord is, after all, a very rare thing.

"My lord, you have my C.V., my health profiles, no doubt police reports about me. I wouldn't want to waste your time giving you facts. The simplest way for me to help you decide is to understand a little about you," I said, thinking fast.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. I hoped it was a good one.

"It might be asking a lot of a Sith Lord, but have you had much opportunity to enjoy the literature of different worlds?" I asked, mentally hoping to get the conversational segue I was looking for.

"No," he said, sounding somewhat puzzled at this line of inquiry. "I barely have enough time to examine the reports that come in to my attention from the Fleet and field generals."

Smiling slightly, I looked up at him. Gotcha.

Even though I wasn't expecting to see anything that would give me any indication of his reaction or his mood, I spent a little time trying to see something of his eyes. With the breathmask hiding his face from me, it turned out not to be possible. I would have to look for other clues for his reactions.

"I thought so," I replied. "The demands on your time must be extraordinary. It must be a difficult task, to try to live up to all of your Imperial obligations, and now this one on top of them all."

"After the initial investment of time and effort, I expect this particular obligation not to be very onerous."

I thought I heard a smile come through the vocoder, and I found, unexpectedly, that it pleased me a great deal. He gestured towards a nearby set of couches, and we sat down together. Not too close. But not too far away, either.

"Well then, my Lord, as you are not familiar with off-world literature, you may not know of the story of Scheherazde."

"Tell me," he said.

"Scheherazde is a very famous character in the literature of my planet. She was a member of a harem in ancient times. Her lord, a potentate from a strange and exotic country in the Far East continent, had a rule governing the concubines of his harem; once he had made love to a one, she would be killed at dawn the following morning."

"That would not be my practice," the Sith interjected. "I can assure you that you would be very well cared for."

"Thank you, my Lord," I replied, and I don't know why, but I was faintly relieved to hear him say that. "I appreciate the assurance. The point I was trying to make, though, was this: Scheherazde was able to remain alive, despite spending every night with her lord, because she was a wonderful storyteller. The lord, called a Shahrir, would summon her to his chambers and before they would make love, she would ask if she could tell him a tale to amuse him. He would give his permission. But the tale was so interesting, so colorful and so long, about far away lands and exotic creatures, that it would last all night. The Shahrir forgot everything but the wonderful story she was telling. As each night, and each story would end, she would create more suspense, so there was never an end to it. When the dawn came, Scheherazde was still untouched, and so the Shahrir could not have her killed. And so it went on, night after night. In the end, Scheherazde was able to spend a lot of time with her lord, and survive, at the same time."

The Dark Lord was silent for a moment, not sure what to make of this. I fancied that I could almost see the puzzled frown beneath the mask. I wasn't sure exactly what he was thinking, but I tried to not add any additional thoughts of my own to his ruminations. Let him come up with his own conclusions.

"Did Scheherazde ever make love with her lord?" he finally asked.

"I don't know," I said. "The story doesn't say. Scheherazde spent 1001 nights with the Shahrir, and in the end he spared her life from any threat of execution. I suppose she did."

"Lady, I would require more from you than a good story," the Dark Lord said slowly, after what seemed a long time.

I think he meant it, too - on a number of levels. Many different thoughts and emotions crowded into my mind then, and I found that I couldn't say a word, even if I wanted to.

He stood up abruptly and walked to the window, gazing out of it, saying nothing. Watching him walk was a kind of poetry in motion. He has kind of a slow, heavy gait - like he masses Imperial tons, but he moves so gracefully that it conveys great strength and confidence. The cape, swirling gently behind, just adds to the impression. Like the long sable tail of a great beast, a feral feline animal.

I mentally shook myself. Get your mind out of the bedroom, I thought. He must get this reaction all the time.

"No, I don't," he said suddenly.

Drat, I forgot he was telepathic. And now my emotions were really confused.

I looked down at my shoes, simple brown leather affairs. In my mind, all I could see were tall black leather boots, polished to a high gloss. Am I becoming obsessed? I wondered.

"Your health history and the other reports don't indicate that you are very….experienced," Lord Vader said behind me.

"That's correct, my Lord," I said. "I am not completely innocent, but my experience is limited." After a moment I blurted out, "If experience is an important criteria to you, then perhaps - "

"Experience has nothing to do with it," said the Dark Lord. "I can teach you all you need to know. The question is not what do you know, but what do you want to know? And how much do you want to know it?"

Feeling a little frightened, I saw no reason not to come right out and admit it. He probably already knew anyway.

Of course he did.

"You have many questions for me, and I can see that you are afraid to ask them. You are even more afraid for me to answer them. Perhaps it would make you feel more comfortable if I ask you what rumors you'd heard about Lord Vader and his harem."

"I haven't heard much at all," I replied, "but I've heard plenty about the Emperor and his harem."

The Sith walked out from behind the couch and began to slowly pace the floor in front of me. His movements were hypnotic. I started to feel a little better, watching him. Or maybe I was mesmerized. It was hard to tell. The way he moved….

"Would you really have me repeat gossip about the Emperor?" I asked.

"Where else am I going to hear it?" he answered.

I thought I sensed another smile behind the mask, and gave him one of my own in return.

"They say he has 500 concubines."

"Far fewer than that. A little over 50."

"I heard they are all very young maidens, mostly from his native planet of Naboo."

"That's true," said the Dark Lord.

"They also say he really has no taste for women."

That got a chuckle.

"I think I'd better reserve comment on that."

"I've also heard that that's why he has no Queen."

"I don't know why he has hasn't married. I admit to wondering about that myself."

Eight paces up. Eight paces back.

"What else have you heard?" he prompted.

I sighed, "My lord, if I went into detail about what I've heard about the Emperor's sexual practices, your hair would probably stand on end. Most of the stories have to do with a colony of rodents, some electrical tape and something called a goat…."

Darth Vader laughed. Very hard. Let me tell you what it was like: the rumble of a well-pleased Mimbarian saber cat, combined with the soft thunder of a spring rain storm, and a touch of opal-fire and silver. That's what it sounded like.

For just a moment, I thought I saw, there in his stead, an image of a strikingly handsome young man, with sun-kissed golden brown hair and eyes as blue as the seas of my home world. The image was laughing too.

Then, the image was gone and there was the Dark Lord again, his breathing mechanism struggling to re-set itself. He walked back over to where I was sitting and sat down next to me. Much closer this time. He held out one gloved hand to me, a mute request to place my hand in his. After a second's hesitation, I did so.

The beautiful young man was back, sitting where the Sith had been a split-second before. His warm brown hand clasped mine, and he carried it to his lips. His kiss, just a light one on the back of my hand, was so heady that I nearly passed out.

"What you seem to see, hear and feel," the voice of the Dark Lord said, "is the memory of what I once was. That boy is gone, but I thought perhaps it would be easier for you to speak of love, and the act of love, with him instead of me, as I appear in reality. You have heard of the Force; it can do many things, depending on the skill of the Master who uses it."

With that, his arm stole around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. Gently, he rained little kisses on my upturned face. I reached for him too, and together we lay back on the sofa, wrapped in each other's arms. He looked deeply into my eyes for a moment, and then his lips caressed mine. I thought I would die with the sweetness of it.

The boy groaned, and his lips parted mine in a deep, lingering kiss. I thought, just for a second, that I felt a shadow of regret pass between us. Behind the beautiful image of the young man in my arms was a real man who couldn't kiss me like that no matter now much he wanted to. But, the shadow quickly passed as the boy pulled me even closer, his kiss becoming deeper still. I closed my eyes, moving my hips and legs apart to cradle his and touch the growing evidence of his desire. One of his hands found the folds of my bodice and moved them aside, to expose my breasts to his view.

"So beautiful," he moaned, and began to kiss and caress them.

I reached within his robes also wanting to feel his naked flesh against my own, pulled them aside and kissed his shoulder. That seemed to inflame him, his passion multiplied tenfold. He ripped the dress from my body and his hands plundered me, all over, reaching inside me, touching me where I longed for him to.

"I want you," I whispered hotly into his ear. "Make love to me."

My lover groaned, rose slightly and removed his belt and breeches. When I saw the strength of his arousal, I nearly fainted again. I held my arms out for him, and he laid himself in them, while my hand guided him into me. As soon as he entered, I gasped with the intensity of my pleasure. His hips established a rhythm, and we melded into one another. I could not tell where his experience ended and mine began. I bent my head back, arching my back and hips up higher, never wanting him to stop. Faster and faster he went, until I felt him stiffen and release, as I did myself. We collapsed together, breathless, satiated.

It was incredible.

At some point, I must have closed my eyes again, but I didn't remember it. I was feeling a little dizzy when I opened them.

Lord Vader's breathing mechanism was still struggling to re-set itself. My hand was still in his, but I was half sitting, half-lying on the couch, my garments in complete disarray. And I felt a little ….sore. Inside.

"My lady is pleased?" asked the Sith.

His other hand came over and covered mine in a warm, gentle clasp.

I wasn't sure. Although it wasn't at all necessary, I said so.

"You're puzzled, of course. I know why. I suspected that you had some innate Force ability as soon as we met, and now I'm sure of it. Your experience of me is more intense than usual because of your telepathic ability."

He seemed to smile behind the mask. I had an impression of a heavily scarred man, with very pale skin and the same intensely blue eyes as the boy with whom I had just made love. The years separating the boy from the man had treated him harshly, but they did confer a certain élan, a kind of dash that can only belong to a man who has not flinched from anything life sent his way.

The grip on my hand tightened, and I then seemed to see even more of him. The hands holding mine were not natural. Nor were most of his legs, beneath the leather armor and encased in the black shiny boots. What remained of his body was battered and heavily scarred. The injuries he suffered were horrific. I saw flames, lava pouring in streams from a planet of volcanoes. The heat, the pain…I cried out. I saw a beautiful young woman die. I heard, as she died, an echo of a transcendent love, surviving crushing heartbreak, the agony of loneliness, and even the grave.

Lord Vader released my hand and stood up again. The helmeted head and mask tilted towards me, as I sat limply in my seat on the sofa - overwhelmed by what I'd seen and felt in the last hour. Or perhaps it was two. I'd lost track of time. Although it didn't actually hurt, I lowered my head into my hands as I tried to assimilate what I'd just experienced.

"You have seen, perhaps, half of what I am. There is much more. You will probably not understand any of it."

He began to pace again. Eight paces up. Eight paces back. Once. Twice. Three times. I sensed that he'd come to a decision.

Quite nervous now, still caught in the emotional backwash of the flood of our communion, I braced myself for whatever would come next.

"Your ability as a telepath is strong enough that I could not hope to hide the Darkness from you for very long. As a member of my household, I don't know that I would even want to. You have been strong and brave - not many would still have the courage to remain here, with me, after what you've experienced. Most would have run screaming from the room long ago. I find you a worthy consort. I will take you, if you still wish it, once this final test is over."

I felt so many things at that moment. The ad said I would need to be able to deal with the unexpected. That may have been a significant understatement. The Sith Lord in front of me was as surprising, as mysterious, as perplexing a man as I had ever known. I was fascinated. I was obsessed. I was horrified. And in that moment I wanted him more than I had ever wanted anything in my life.

Of course, he read my thoughts.

`Give me your hand,' his mind said to mine.

I held it out for him. He walked over and took it, pulling me to my feet. That hand continued to hold mine, while the other raised itself to my cheek, caressing it gently for a moment. I couldn't see, but I was sure his eyes were closing behind the mask. Then, his mind approached mine again.

Suddenly the Sith's grip tightened. Both of his durasteel hands grabbed my wrists and squeezed them hard. I bit my lip to keep from crying out, and my mind tried to clamp down, in a vain effort to keep the Dark Lord out.

The Darkness hit me like a physical thing. Inside my head came images, and feelings assaulted my mind. Strong, violent hatred, visceral loathing, mind-numbing, bone-crunching fear. Burning anger in a heart like a planetary sun. Black glee flooded my insides as a man was throttled to death before me. Exaltation seized me as a helpless victim was tortured and beaten while I watched. An entire planet exploded in my view - hundreds of millions of lives snuffed out in a single second. An intense, almost sexual pleasure gripped me as an old friend, an ancient enemy, died by my hand. I saw the Emperor in the Darkness, encased in a jewel box of hatred and loathing so intense, I began to have trouble breathing. The Dark Side revealed itself to me, emanating from the Imperial image, darker than the darkest night, in the darkest place, as black as the space between stars. It was tinged with demonic fire, smelled like hell, tasted of dust. My mind began to collapse upon itself, the pillars of my sanity rocking under the furious onslaught. I pushed it away, denied the Darkness, and opened my eyes-which had tightly closed.

I gasped for breath. The Dark Lord had let me go, and stepped back a few paces. He stood there, waiting. Waiting for me to reject him. Waiting to go back to the Darkness, to whom he had wedded himself in an hour of despair - the Darkness that governed his life, which was hardly more than living death. I had seen the truth of his life. And I loved him very much just then, for being strong enough and brave enough to share it with me.

"Well?" he asked somewhat peremptorily. "What is your decision?"

I just looked at him and smiled.

"Gotcha," said he.

He offered me his arm.

I took it.

Together, we left the room.

* * *

Part Two: Scheherazde/Gotcha: The Dark Side


We exited the sitting room and entered a hallway. Even the hallway was beautifully and elegantly decorated, with murals and mosaics that seemed to shimmer as we passed. Lord Vader gave my hand, resting on his arm, a gentle pat as we entered a large meeting room at the end of the hall. The same Lieutenant who brought me here was waiting. As soon as he saw us, he jumped to his feet and came to attention with a click of his heels.

“My lady will be staying,” said the Sith. “Go to her apartments, and bring one of the maids with you. Pack enough garments and essential items for about three or four days. Return here as soon as you are finished.”

The Lieutenant’s face was too disciplined to show any emotion to his Lord. “Yes, Lord Vader,” he said, and with a brief bow - and a very subtle look of amusement directed at me, he left the room on his errand.

“We will arrange for a new wardrobe for you. Do you wish me to have the rest of your belongings packed and moved to your new home, or put into storage?” my lord asked me.

“Isn’t this your Coruscant house?” I inquired.

“No,” he said, “This is an office suite that I keep here, for important visitors and long meetings with dignitaries.” I sensed another smile. “I have several residences, on a number of planets, but have two primary homes: my castle at Bain and my flagship, the Executor. We will remove to the Executor, at least for a while.”

“My lord,” I asked, not sure how to best to frame the question, but I felt I should know the answer, even if it pained me. “How many consorts do you have, and are they all at Bain Castle?”

“I wondered when you would ask me that question. I was expecting it to come a lot earlier in our acquaintance. I have 26 consorts, including you, some at Bain, others did not wish to leave their homeworlds and thus remained there. Others are at various of my other residences. I have not held a consort on my flagship, but perhaps….”

He didn’t finish, but I thought I knew what he was going to say. He wanted me with him on the Executor. I knew from the holonews reports I’d read that he spent a great deal of his time on that ship.

Shock and pleasure fought for dominance within my emotions, and pleasure won out. My lord wants my company aboard his ship, where no other of his concubines have stayed!

A melodious chime sounded from somewhere in the room. As soon as it did, a Fleet Vice Admiral walked into the room and snapped to attention before the Dark Lord. Although it was very hard to be sure, I thought he looked a little frightened. Something of his fear, which grew colder and stronger the longer I looked at him, communicated itself to me. I tried not to show it.

“Lord Vader, the Emperor commands you to make contact with him,” the Vice Admiral said.

“I’ll make the contact from my chambers,” my Lord said at once.

And with that, he propelled me with him, at high speed, down another hall passage. He was walking very rapidly and I had to practically run to keep up with him. We stopped before a set of double doors. They opened. The room was dimly lit; I couldn’t see much at all.

The Sith looked at me for a moment.

“Come,” he said finally, but with some urgency, “you can wait in my bedroom.”

As we walked further into the room, the lights came up slightly. It was large, with a very large spherical object near the center. There were some controls and a workstation, but nothing else. Beyond that, another room was illuminated as we advanced. I guessed it was the bedroom.

It was not at all what I expected. A large bed, the largest I’d ever seen, took up most f the space. A ‘fresher was beyond that. There were some very complex-looking controls mounted on most of one wall. I could not imagine what those were for, but it seemed that, when I looked up at the ceiling, there were a great many ducts and air vents around the room. There was a chair, and a desk, and a chest, and that was all. No art on the walls, no objects d’art, nothing.

“I mustn’t keep the Emperor waiting. Make yourself comfortable. I will return shortly.”

With a graceful swing of his cape, my Lord left the room and the door slid shut.

After taking advantage of the ‘fresher, I finally had a moment to think about the incredible things that happened to me today. A chronometer, mounted as one of the controls on the wall, indicated that it was not quite mid-day. I was beginning to feel a little hungry. I hoped I’d have a chance to eat something soon.

Being in the Dark Lord’s bedroom, though, made me think perhaps that I also wanted to do something else.

I went to the bed and sat down on it. It was softer than it looked. I ran my hand over the coverlet. It was a very dark green, almost black, with an intricate pattern woven into the cloth. It was a masterpiece of weaver’s workmanship, and the only touch of luxury in an almost clinically functional chamber.

As I sat on the bed, I asked myself what I really knew about my new lover? I knew a little about the man, knew what everyone did about Lord Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, second in command of the Empire and head of all military forces around the Galaxy. It was said that the Dark Lord was the apprentice of a yet Darker Master, the Emperor himself. Their mastery over the Force was rumored to be the most powerful that there had ever been. But I didn’t know what that meant. Well, I though, perhaps I will find out one day.

I was not afraid of my lord, but, I idly wondered, if perhaps I should be. At least a little bit.

I stood up and smoothed my dress, patted my hair. There was no mirror anywhere. The ’fresher didn’t have one. I wondered if this was usual for him. Perhaps if I wanted to have a mirror around, I would have to carry a small one myself from now on. I looked around for at least a shiny surface, a glass or glossy metal object of any kind, but there was none. None. I could feel that the pins that held my hair up and away from my face were slipping out. Not knowing what else to do, I took them out and finger-combed my hair as best I could. In looking at my dress, it seemed that the morning’s activities hadn’t resulted in any visible tears or missing fasteners. He had a gentle technique, had Lord Vader, I though with a smile.

It seemed like I was waiting an eternity. I looked at the chronometer again - it had been close to an hour how. What could be taking so long?

My lord said I had telepathic ability. I decided to try to see if I could reach him. Clearing my mind, I gingerly reached out towards him. I got nothing, nothing at all. Was he even still here?

I walked to the door and looked at the side panel. Locked. I didn’t think I dared trying to open it.

Abruptly the doors opened, and Lord Vader stepped through them. When he spoke, his voice sounded strange - cold and flat.

“The Emperor would like to meet you. I am to bring you to the palace now.”

I couldn’t tell for certain, but it seemed to me that the Sith was only barely managing to keep controlled a growing rage, followed by a sour, rising fear. It made me feel a little sick. Suddenly I wasn’t hungry any more.

I knew better than to ask about his feelings. It was taking everything he had to keep them under control.

“Let’s go then,” I said.

He turned and strode away, leaving me to follow in his wake as best I could. Back down the corridors we went, where we had just strolled arm in arm, past the sitting room where we had our first fateful meeting, to an elevator. The doors opened. We got in. The car went down, several levels. Of course, I realized, the Imperial palace was almost across the street but he could hardly take the ordinary pedways. The doors opened and we got out, heading straight for a transparisteel-enclosed walkway, going across the street, leading directly to a non-public area of the palace.

My lord strode ahead of me across the walkway and keyed in a combination into the lock on the door. The door opened. He stepped through and stood waiting for me to catch up to him. When I did so, he reached out a hand and gently caressed my cheek.

“I didn’t plan any of this,” his mind said to mine. “Don’t be frightened if you can help it.”

I reached up and took his hand in both of mine, and kissed it. The Dark Lord gently embraced me. I thought I felt a little desperation in it, but he let me go almost at once and we were off again. It wasn’t far to go before we reached the Emperor’s private audience chamber.

If I’d had time to think about what was going to be happening to me there, I would probably have been paralyzed with terror. As it was, I was fully occupied with keeping up with my lord and not tripping over my own feet. All too soon we arrived at the audience chamber.

It was all done in black and red. The scarlet-robed Imperial Bodyguards were stationed around the room. On a high dais, in a large swiveled throne, sat the Emperor. There were a scattering of aides, courtiers and hangers-on, but the great room was largely empty.

Once more I followed my lord towards the Imperial throne, and I tried not to stare at its occupant. It was said that an assassination attempt by the Jedi, years ago, had left our Ruler scarred and deformed. As a result, he was always draped in a dark hooded cape. The holonet news rarely had a good image of his face, so I had no idea what to expect. The Dark Lord reached the dais, and knelt reverently before his Master. I knelt also, a few paces back behind him, and waited.

“Rise, my friend,” the Emperor said graciously, “and bring your consort closer, so I can see her.”

My lord rose and went over to me, helping me to my feet and escorting me on his arm up the steps of the dais. Two steps below the throne, we stopped. Summoning my courage, I looked up.

I saw an older man, aristocratically handsome, with carefully coiffed gray hair and a gentle, fatherly expression. I realized that what I was looking at was an image of the Emperor as he had appeared when he was Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Republic.

“Your lord has his Force chimera, or alter-ego, and I have mine, “ the Emperor said to me telepathically. “No reason to frighten new consorts of the Imperial harems with my real appearance.”

“Your Highness,” I thought back to him, and bowed my head.”

“So, Lord Vader, you tell me your harem is complete.” The Emperor stated aloud.

“Yes, my Master.”

“She is extraordinary, as you said, “ His Highness observed. He was silent for a moment, then stood up and walked over to me.

Abruptly, I could feel a Darkness enveloping my mind. It was different from my lord’s- it was colder, blacker. And it was utterly empty. I shivered slightly, but stood my ground. The Darkness seeped into my consciousness, like dark fetid river, cold as death, a horrid fog rising from its waters. I blinked; it became hard to breathe, but I didn’t move. The Darkness then tried to penetrate the core of my being, to seize all of me. This was too much. I shoved it away. It came on again, stronger this time. Again, I refused it entry. I suddenly realized that the Emperor was staring at me intently, in his ordinary form - decrepit, old, with yellow eyes that seemed to have a dead and deadly luminosity. The Darkness tried again. I glared at Palpatine, Emperor of the galaxy, and shoved his Darkness back as hard as I could.

He actually took a step back. Then he laughed, his Force chimera returning to its previous benign form.

Palpatine returned to his throne and seated himself. After thinking a moment, he spoke.

“She does indeed have great telepathic potential, and some Force potential as well. I would like you to evaluate her, and report to me. Then we will decide on her training.”

Training? I thought. Training for what? And with whom? I thought I was to be a consort for my lord.

“And so you are,” said the Emperor, reading my thoughts. I wasn’t sure I liked all this psychic invasion. And I didn’t think I liked Palpatine much either.

The Emperor smiled at that, his charming Chancellor-Palpatine-persona seeming to be greatly amused.

“Lord Vader loathes me, my lady concubine,” he said. “It is entirely proper and in the mode for a Sith apprentice. The fact that you dislike me is a most propitious beginning.”

“Beginning of what?” I asked him, trying not to snap out the question. He was beginning to get on my nerves.

“We shall see,” Palpatine replied. The Emperor touched a switch on his throne chair, and spoke into it.

“Official Imperial Archives entry, this date, Imperial Palace, Coruscant. Note to record: Effective this date, the woman before me in the holographic record is the bound concubine and consort of Lord Darth Vader. She shall be known as Lady Ti.”

“Effective also this date, “ he continued, “ Lady Ti is to be enrolled in the Imperial Household, as a member of my private consistory. Both of these appointments are permanent and terminate only at death.”

Palpatine switched the recorder off.

I was speechless. The Emperor grinned obscenely from his throne, radiating pure malice. His Chancellor-chimera faded into his Emperor-appearance- ancient, defiled, singularly….bent.

I could see what he’d done. By appointing me a member of one of his household, as well as the consort of his second-in-command and apprentice, I was potentially a permanent spy in the home of my lord.

I think I began to deeply, passionately, hate him right then and there.

If possible, the Emperor’s grin got even broader. I saw the slimy trail of a particularly nasty idea crawl across his face. He touched another switch on his chair. Almost at once, a liveried servant appeared in the room at the far end, and bowed deeply.

“Take Lady Ti to the Imperial Wardrober. Outfit her immediately as befits her rank and station.”

The servant, a tall slender youngish humanoid male with pale blue skin, bowed again. I knew I had to go with him.

Resisting the urge to give Palpatine one final parting glare, and bowing instead one more time, I turned and started to go. I stole a look over at my lord, who just stood there, tall, silent, nursing the blackest rage I’ve ever seen in anyone, before or since. There was nothing I could say or do at this point to help him, so I reluctantly followed the blue-skinned man out.

Just before the audience chamber doors closed, I heard Palpatine say, “All of you, leave us. I wish a private word with Lord Vader.”

Alone with my escort, I allowed myself a deep sigh as the audience chamber doors shut tight. He smiled. A kind smile.

“Lady Ti, I am the Master of the Imperial Household, Tierand. Welcome to Imperial service.”

I just looked at him, and tried not to let my irritation seep through my attitude. None of this was his fault, after all.

“Master Tierand, do you have any idea what this appointment does to me and my relationship with Lord Vader?” I asked.

“Yes, Lady, I do, but it won’t be as bad as you think.”

“The Emperor’s done this before, then?”

“Yes. But not to Lord Vader.”

We walked down a hallway to another set of elevators, got into one, and rode to the very bottom. When the doors opened, and I walked out, I could see a huge room, filled to capacity with clothing of every color and description. Tierand looked at me for a few moments.

“I think I know what would be suitable,” he said.

I followed him to a set of racks along one wall, a few meters away. He reached for a dress and held it up for my inspection.

It was black, as were nearly all of the Household livery that I could see, with the Imperial insignia in the center of the skirt, near the hem, in red embroidery. It was large enough to be noticable, but small enough not to dominate the outfit. The dress itself was long, of an extremely expensive weave that moved beautifully, even on the hanger. The skirt was full, gathered at the waist. The sleeves ended at the elbow, and were fitted. The neckline would leave my shoulders bare, but not expose anything else.

“There’s a cloak with it,” Tierand said. “Are you pleased with this one?”

“I’d like to try it on,” I replied, but I was pleased.

It was beautiful. Except for the red Imperial insignia, which I hated the sight of, it would have been one of the loveliest dresses I’d ever worn.

Tierand gestured to a small room on the other side of the elevators.

“You can change in there,” he said. “I’ll find you some shoes to go with it.”

I took the dress into the changing room and put it on. After some initial struggle with the fasteners, mostly because they were unfamiliar to me, I examined myself in the large mirrors. It was fitted to show off the curves of a woman’s body, but modest enough not to cause comment in any situation. Perfect, especially given that I was to be staying aboard Lord Vader’s flagship- surrounded by officers and crew, in deep space, possibly for months.

Tierand returned with a selection of shoes, and I chose some. All of them were simple and comfortable-looking, but a couple had somewhat higher heels. I chose a pair of those. He had the cloak ready for me as well, and draped it around my shoulders. The cloak was black also, of a slightly heavier weave, with the Imperial insignia also on the corners, next to the hem, embroidered in red. There were small red jewels incorporated into the design as well on this garment.

“I will send several changes of these clothes to your ship. I understand that you will be joining Lord Vader aboard the Executor.”

I nodded, and wondered about things like night clothing and undergarments. Tierand anticipated me.

“I took the liberty of choosing some nightwear and undergarments for you. Time is very short; the word from the Emperor is that the Executor is leaving orbit in about two hours. As soon as you know what your wardrobe requirements will be, in perhaps a few days, please send me a message and let me know. I will make the arrangements to have what you need sent to you.”

He handed me a small valise. “These should take care of your immediate needs.”

I was touched by his kindness, I really was. It had been a difficult day, and it wasn’t over yet.

“Thank you so much, Master Tierand,” I said, meaning every word, eyes starting to tear a little.

He smiled and bent close to my ear, to whisper softly” You’re not obligated to be in Imperial livery all the time. For your nights alone with Lord Vader, you’re free to wear whatever you like. The livery is for public use only. I’ve included some nightware for you in the valise, which should take the edge off Lord Vader’s anger.”

“Thank you,” I whispered back, unspeakably grateful.

Tierand looked at me with his kind eyes, and said very softly, “I am your friend, Lady Ti. If you need me, I’m here.”

I gave him a very quick hug, and then he said it was time to go.

Within half an hour, I was walking up with ramp of Lord Vader’s shuttle. An hour after that, I arrived aboard the Executor. My lord was nowhere in sight, but a slight, graying humanoid with red eyes named Vice Admiral Roj met me as I exited the ship. He clicked his heels and bowed slightly.

“Welcome to the Executor, Lady Ti.” He said, after introducing himself.

“Thank you, Admiral Roj,” I said formally, wishing my lord were.

“It was somewhat short notice, and I regret that they are not as we would wish them to be for a member of the Imperial Household, but quarters have been prepared for you. We’ll go there now. The Executor will be leaving orbit shortly.”

“Is Lord Vader aboard already?” I inquired, unable to restrain myself.

I should probably have pretended not to be interested. My lover had been gone for hours, and I had no idea where he was.

“Yes, my Lady. He is in conference now. Admiral Piett, the commander of this ship, has called a special meeting of all the staff officers, and I am to join the meeting as soon as I escort you to your quarters. If you wouldn’t mind…”

“Of course,” I said, gripping my valise. “Let’s go.”

Admiral Roj took my bag from me and we started off at a brisk pace towards the Executive Officer’s residential area. It seemed like a long time, but it was probably only a few minutes, before we halted before a set of double doors. Admiral Roj pressed a button and the doors opened. We entered.

The rooms, a sitting room, bedroom and ‘fresher, were lovely, with an enormous window in the sitting room looking out towards the stars. The colors were somewhat drab, being predominantly black and gray, but the appointments were elegant and the furnishings were comfortable and tasteful.

“Thank you, Admiral Roj,” I said, “these will do nicely.”

He bowed and put down my valise. “Thank you, Lady Ti. And now, if you would excuse me?”

I nodded, knowing he was in a hurry, but I just couldn’t help myself- I had to know. “Are Lord Vader’s quarters nearby?”

“Adjacent to these, my Lady. There is a connecting door there.”

He pointed to a single door to my left. I nodded my thanks, and after bowing one more time, he left me. The doors closed. I was alone again.

There was a chronometer on the desk. It showed that it was close to the dinner hour. I was very hungry all at once, and after summoning a service droid, ordered dinner. It arrived within a few minutes, and I ate it quickly. I would have preferred to dine with my lord, but I had no idea when to expect his appearance.

I thought about it for a moment, and decided that I didn’t want him to see me in the livery of his Master until it was absolutely necessary. I picked up my valise and took it into the bedroom.

As I unpacked, I nearly wept again in gratitude to Tierand. The nightware and undergarments were beautiful, the farthest thing imaginable from the Imperial livery he’d been ordered to provide. I picked up a gown of pale pink, cut low at the bust, of a thin, lightweight material. It looked perfect for our first night together.

I took the gown into the ‘fresher, washed and changed into it. The filmy gown was almost transparent when on. It looked perfect. I returned into the sitting room, to wait for him.

Hours passed. At some point, I must have fallen asleep. I thought I was dreaming when, I don’t know how much later, I heard mechanical breathing. A slow measured tread. I opened my eyes.

My lord had come at last. He just stood there, looking at me.

“My lord,” I exclaimed, “you’ve come at last!”

I got up and flung myself into his arms. He crushed me to him. I longed for him; my whole body ached for his touch. I thought I heard something come from him that sounded a little like a soft sob, but perhaps I was mistaken.

Still, he said nothing.

“My lord, please talk to me…” I pleaded.

Abruptly, the man holding me in my arms became the handsome young man I’d loved before, my lord’s Force chimera.

“My lady, what is your pleasure?” he asked, indulgently.

“To please you,” I said. “All I want is to please you.”

My lord bent his head down and we kissed. Desperately. Wildly. Passionately. Abruptly, the chimera vanished and my Dark Lord appeared as himself. He picked me up bodily and carried me into the bedroom, placing me on the bed. He removed his cloak, his armor, his boots, the protective girdle at his waist, including the codpiece. My lord laid down beside me. The young man’s image returned. I strongly wanted to make love to him as he really was, without this façade, but I also wanted him so badly that I didn’t care all that much. The uncertain hours without him had told on me, and all I knew was that my lord and returned and I wanted him. I shrugged the pink gown from my shoulders so that it pooled around my waist. I climbed on top of him, pushing aside his tunic, kissing and caressing him. Then I rolled off and reached for his breeches, pulling them down, grasping his stiffening member in gentle hands, caressing it. He gasped and closed his eyes in ecstasy. I wanted to pleasure him, more than anything. I took him into my mouth, and sucked him greedily, caressing him with my tongue, my hands caressing his hips.

My lord moaned and twisted beneath me, his hands in my hair, caressing it and me everywhere he could.

“Stop,” he pleaded. “Stop for a moment.”

I didn’t want to, but I did anyway. Vader pulled the pink gown the rest of the way off me and placed himself between my legs. I guided him in quickly, and together we moved against each other, our pleasure together much more than that of our individual selves. We were as I’d longed for us to be, and nothing else mattered. Climax, when it came, was sublime. I might have cried out my release. I don’t remember. But what happened after that, I shall never forget.

Lord Vader lay beside me, panting. He seemed to be having a difficult time catching his breath. Surely the breathing mechanism should have caught up with his requirements by now. Unless…..

I propped myself up on one arm and made myself look at him.

The grin on my lover’s handsome face, as he struggled for breath and wiped one hand across his forehead, was arch, malicious. It reminded me of someone else.

Before my eyes, the image of my lord changed into that of the Emperor, in his Chancellor-Palpatine chimera.

“Lady Ti,” he panted, finally getting his breath back, “your lovemaking is delicious. No wonder my apprentice chose you for a consort.”

My mouth hung open in shock. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t even think. A red rage followed the shock. My hands twitched in their eagerness to get around the neck of Palpatine and squeeze the life from him. Then, gray remorse quickly followed the rage. I got up from the bed and ran from the room. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want to give the Emperor the satisfaction. I reached for something to cover my nakedness, and the first thing I found was the cloak that lay across the chair in the sitting room. Wrapping myself into it, I sat down in the chair and squeezed my eyes shut. I was trying to stop the tears. It didn’t work. They slid down my cheeks anyway.

Emperor Palpatine entered the room, leaning on his cane.

“Let this be your first lesson on the Dark Side of the Force,” he said. “That memory of your rage, and the remorse that follows it- hold onto it. It will give you focus to your energy, make you stronger, help you develop your talents.”

“Where is Lord Vader?” I demanded.

“He is here now, aboard the ship. I sent him on an errand and he has only just now returned.”

Palpatine approached me once again, wearing his Chancellor-chimera. He took my chin in one of his hands, forcing me to look up at him. I resisted the urge to strike him for daring to touch me again, but I’m sure he saw the look in my eyes. I loathed him. I loathed His Imperial Highness with an intensity I didn’t know I even had. He smiled. It was the nastiest thing I’d ever seen.

“Good, very good, Lady Ti. You will be a quick study.”

He released my chin abruptly. “I will look forward to our next lesson.”

The rage flooded in again. I quickly tried to quash it, as it seemed to please Palpatine to no end.

“Don’t try to strangle your rage,” he said. I thought maybe he was beginning to gloat, and it sickened me. “Don’t strangle it or I shall be obliged to repeat your lesson right now.”

With that, Palpatine’s image shifted again to that of my lord, as Dark Lord of the Sith, masked, robed and in complete armor. His hands came down and gripped both arms of my chair and he leaned over me. I shrank down into my seat, trying to keep away from him. He took one fold of the cloak in his hand, with the Imperial insignia on it, and held it up for me to see.

“This seal says that you are mine. Your life is mine. All that you own is mine. And above all, Darth Vader is mine. Never forget that. Never.”

His other hand reached beneath the folds of the cloak, to cup my left breast. One thumb gently caressed the nipple. I gasped, in both intense pain at this horrid simulation of my Lord’s lovemaking and the betrayal of my body as I enjoyed the sensation. I shut my eyes, but I could still hear the simulation of the measured mechanical breathing. It’s just an illusion, I told myself.

“You may never be entirely sure when, or if, I may visit you again. Remember that, my Lady Ti, each time your lord takes you in his arms. Remember it or I may have to return to remind you.”

Palpatine released me and resumed his guise of the old, decrepit Sith Master of the State. “And now I must leave you.” He paused a moment, as if listening to something only he could hear. “Ah, your lord desires entrance into this chamber. No need to delay his arrival any longer. I know you are longing to see him.” A lecherous look passed over what I could see of his face, with its dead yellow eyes. “I could almost envy him his greeting. Almost.” With that, he finally left the room. Outside, as I could just see through the doors, waited the red Imperial guard.

* * *

Part Three: Scheherazde/Gotcha: Master & Apprentice


"Official Imperial Archives entry, this date, Imperial Palace, Coruscant. Note to record: Effective this date, the woman before me in the holographic record is the bound concubine and consort of Lord Darth Vader. She shall be known as Lady Ti. Effective also this date, Lady Ti is to be enrolled in the Imperial Household, as a member of my private consistory. Both of these appointments are permanent and terminate only at death."

Lord Vader heard these words from his Master, and even though he had heard worse things issue from the Imperial Throne in his time, including the rapine of whole worlds and sometimes their complete destruction, this shocked him.

My Master has made my consort to be a permanent household spy, an Imperial tool to be used against me in any way he likes, and I can do nothing about it. The Emperor hadn't betrayed him on this deep an emotional level for many years. And then there was the public humiliation element of it: Lord Vader is not to be master of his own household. It was a matter of court record. When the initial rage had burned itself out, when his lady had departed- shocked, stricken, miserable- Vader took a moment to focus his anger into a Dark clarity.

His Master rarely did anything without a plan, never made a move without considering every possible outcome, and always had several purposes in everything he decided to execute. Palpatine sometimes moved like Frissian moss, but he was careful. For his Master to have done this to him must mean that he was about to receive yet more instruction in the ways of the Sith. Betrayal is the way of the Sith, as the Dark Lord knew only too well. So Palpatine was instructing him again. Every time his Emperor did that, Vader's loathing of him increased with inverse proportion to the square of the cruelty of the lesson. It made him that much more powerful. It brought him that much closer to being like his Master. It made him hate himself just that much more. The hatred fed his fury, which then increased his fear, and led to more hatred. It was a continuous cycle. His Jedi Masters had told him, over and over, how easy the Dark Side was. Like most of what they told him, it was a lie. There was nothing easy about the Dark Side. The cycle of hatred, fear, anger and back again was exhausting, in every possible way. The Dark Side was a hungry emptiness that took more than it gave- until you understood how to control its greed. The Dark Lord had learned that on Mustafar.

The only respite Vader had ever found was in the pleasure of his consorts- both in the pleasure he received and in the pleasure he gave. There was a time when his Master had given him pleasure. Vader wondered if Palpatine had forgotten about that.

"All of you, leave us. I wish a private word with Lord Vader."

The room cleared fairly rapidly. Palpatine rarely had a full court. The courtiers tried not to snicker as they passed out the exits. The aides knew better than to show any emotion at all. If Lord Vader didn't kill them for their insolence, the Emperor most probably would. The relationship between a Sith Master and his Apprentice was a complicated one, largely invisible from public view, but no interference was tolerated. From anyone. At any time.

"Guards, leave us also." Palpatine ordered. Silently, swiftly, the guard retired and the entrances were locked.

Master and Apprentice were alone.

"Lord Vader, I can sense that you are not pleased with my plans for your new consort."

"I thought that my domestic affairs were not a matter that interested you, Master."

"Ordinarily they would not, but I think you will agree that Lady Ti is not an ordinary female."

"No, she is not."

"She has a rare talent."

"Yes, My Master."

The Emperor rose from his chair and motioned for Vader to follow him. They began to circle the room, slowly. The Dark Lord noted that Palpatine would often walk around the room when delivering bad news or difficult instructions. He mentally braced himself. It was going to be worse, then, than he thought.

"My friend, it occurs to me that the Sith Order could use some additional resources. Not necessarily complete initiates, but intuitives. Do you follow me?"

"I'm not certain. What do you mean?"

"As you know, the Jedi had numerous degrees of Force practitioners, which allowed them greater opportunities to carry out their various deceptions and power plays. The Sith Order, since Darth Bain, has restricted itself to full initiates only, and only two at any time. I have no plans to radically change this, but since the Jedi threat has been removed, I think the time has come to loosen restrictions on the Order. I would like to think I had your support."

"Of course, Master."

"Lord Vader, this changes nothing between us. You know that, don't you?"

"I'm not sure that I do."

The Emperor stopped and looked up at his Apprentice.

"I do indeed remember that once, long ago, there was something like love between us. I have not forgotten. I am aware that I cannot expect you to continue on the pathway of the Sith without providing you with….compensations."

Vader was silent. Compensations. He had been promised so much, and received comparatively little. His Master had always led him to believe it was because he asked for too little. The Dark Side was scrupulous about expectations: if you managed its greed effectively, you could expect to receive more from it than it took from you. But you had to know what you were doing. The Dark Side was also unforgiving of error, weakness, inattention and sloth. A momentary lapse could kill. Or worse.

"My friend, I am concerned that you have not received so much of what you wanted. We have talked about this many times, haven't we?"

"Yes, my Master."

"I have given you what it was in my power to give. Is that not so?"

Vader knew it was true. The Emperor had never refused him anything. Power. Possessions. Wealth. The occasional whim. Except the one thing he had always wanted, but could never bring himself to ask for. Padme was gone. His mother was gone. The Jedi had betrayed him. He still needed love. That had not changed. But the avenues from which he could receive it were gone. Except one.

Palpatine sighed. "It hasn't been easy for either of us, has it? I am bound by my duty as a Sith Master, and a stronger obligation than that I do not know."

The Dark Lord couldn't speak. This was an astonishing admission.

His Master continued. "If I fail in that, I fail you, I fail the Order, and become no better than the Jedi we destroyed. I couldn't bear that."

The private audience chamber was short on seating. Most audiences didn't last more than a few minutes; most who came here didn't care to linger. There were a few chairs and sofas scattered around the main area. The Emperor walked over to one of the sofas and motioned for Vader to join him. After Palpatine seated himself comfortably, the Dark Lord sat also. After a moment, his Master spoke again.

"I sometimes miss our early days together, before the Republic was re-organized and before Mustafar." The Emperor actually reached over and patted Lord Vader's hand.

Something strange happened then. Vader was aware of something odd happening with the power flows of the Force. It was like something heavy was depressing the flow, pushing it out of shape, reforming it into a vortex. The air seemed to get thick and heavy, like it had turned almost to water. It was hard to breathe, hard to move. Time skidded to a halt. The power of the Dark Side spiraled around itself into a whirlpool, sucking everything down into it.

Before the Dark Lord could blink his eyes a second time, he found himself in the Chancellor's office, at the Senate building. Palpatine was sitting next to him on one of the office couches, in his form as the distinguished Senator from Naboo. It was different from the Force chimeras he had experienced and used himself. There was a subtle lack of dimension to those, not noticeable to most who would be affected by them anyway- a Force chimera was best used with the telepathic or Force-Sensitive. This was more like a folding- over of space/time, where the flow of time had bent back on itself and formed a small shallow loop. Vader had never seen this done before; his Master was full of surprises today.

As he looked down at the hand that had placed itself over his, the Dark Lord saw that his own had changed too. He had reverted to his younger, complete self. For the first time in many years, nothing hurt. And he could breathe. This was Anakin Skywalker's body. Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight. The Hero Without Fear. Within this tiny bubble of static time, Vader drew a deep breath on his own, and exhaled. It was pure bliss.

The Senator from Naboo looked over at him sadly.

"The skill to create this kind of space/time loop is not a very difficult one, but it takes a great deal of concentration. Despite appearances, I am not the man I used to be. Mastery is finite, as I'm sure you will discover."

Palpatine moved over to sit closer to his apprentice.

"So many things I wanted to share with you, the dreams I dreamed for you that cannot become realized- at least not in the way I wanted them to. I'm so sorry, Lord Vader, that things couldn't have turned out differently. All I ever wanted was to make you happy."

The Dark Lord didn't know what to make of all this. He hadn't felt this confused in years. But it did appear that he was being offered, for the first time, the love for which he yearned. And the experiences of his life had taught him only one way to receive it, in the intensity that he wanted and needed it.

Heart beating fast in a body that could take it, Lord Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, leaned close to his mentor and touched his lips gently with his own. Palpatine closed his eyes and sighed, bending slightly towards his protégée. Simultaneously, they kissed each other.

Vader was a little tentative, but it took only another moment for the Sith to embrace, kissing deeply. Palpatine reached beneath his apprentice's robe to touch the strong supple chest beneath. Vader shuddered, opening his mouth wider to receive the Senator's tongue. The incredible power of their sexual contact had astonished them both.

Palpatine's fingers entwined themselves in Vader's long brown curls, but one hand reached downwards, towards the Dark Lord's engorged member. Vader moaned softly. Shaking with desire, Darth Vader, Sith Lord, reached over also and caressed his Master's organ beneath his robes of State, licking one forefinger first and then sliding it across the sensitive glans in a gentle tease. The Senator gasped, eyes darkening.

Somewhere beyond himself, beyond space and time, beyond even the power of the Force as he had known it, reaching even into this tiny drop of stolen eternity, Vader heard a whisper. A warning.

The man Lord Vader had become knew better than to ever disregard such warnings. But he also knew that desperate danger also meant enormous opportunity. Seizing the initiative, for once taking his Master completely by surprise, Darth Vader pushed Senator Palpatine down to lie on his back, pinning him flat beneath the Sith Lord's body, one hand holding the Senator's left wrist over his head while Vader's hips pressed down on top of Palpatine's. He moved them sensuously over the Senator's groin, causing Palpatine's eyes to glaze over with the intensity of his desire. Lord Vader tightened his grip on his Master and spoke at last.

"Mastery is finite. It has a beginning and an end. You have mastered, and you have taken and you have spent. The Jedi denied me the Mastery, all those years ago. But you cannot. You shall not. Now close this time portal right now or I'll break your neck and bury you in it."

Slowly, Palpatine's lips spread themselves into a languorous smile.

"Very good, my young apprentice. I am pleased with you. You know, that if I'd permitted this to go much further, you would not have been allowed to survive the experience. It would have meant that you were too weak to ever become a Master."

"Oh? Did you kill Darth Plaguis because he was too weak? Or because he was too strong?"

The Senator's eyes began to darken with fury. But when he spoke, his voice was gentle.

"The Dark Side forces must always be balanced. You know this. Balance is everything, Balance is the only thing. If you are too strong to admit weakness into your experience, then you will never be able to learn enough from your mistakes to survive. If you are too weak to hold onto the lessons you learn, the power of the Dark Side will utterly crush you. It is my task to make sure you learn this. You can never be a Master if you don't. I do take my obligation to teach you seriously, you know. And now I think we understand each other."

Vader released Palpatine and sat up. Palpatine also rose from his position on the couch, and stood.

"It is time we went from here. There is much for us to do."

Space/time warped again, more quickly this time, as if snapping back into position from having been extended too far out of its normal shape. Vader's head ached a little as once again he and his Master reoccupied the private Imperial audience chamber. Immediately, the Dark Lord felt the absence of his complete body and with it, a tinge of regret- quickly dissipated. A lesson was a lesson, and his Master's lessons always helped him in the end. Vader wondered idly if his Master missed his former physicality. As soon as the thought occurred to him, he dismissed it. His Master did not dwell on such things. Palpatine preferred to exist in the here and the now, and didn't waste his time with regret.

"Now, regarding your consort." The Emperor said crisply. "My thought is to have her evaluated for her Force ability as soon as possible. I would prefer a Dark Side evaluation, but perhaps it doesn't matter. Either her gifts there are significant or they are not. Her telepathic ability alone is valuable enough to us to hone and train into service."

"Yes, my Master," said the Dark Lord, wondering how to approach the problem of evaluating someone as resistant to the Dark Side as Lady Ti was.

"I know it will be difficult," Palpatine replied in answer to Vader's unasked question. "You have not trained anyone before, although part of the point of this exercise is to give you some experience in this. I don't wish to instruct you, as I am now sure that you can find your own way to train her, but I don't want you to feel unsupported. Would you like me to observe and advise, during the evaluation?"

The Dark Lord of the Sith considered this. As little as he wanted the Emperor anywhere near his consort, especially now, his Master had give him a task to perform- one that he was unfamiliar with. He could use the help. Provided he could control where and how it was given if he moved quickly.

"Thank you, my Master. I would appreciate your advice and counsel, as I always do."

Palpatine smiled. The Emperor's smile was a horrid thing.

"Then it's settled," he said. "I would like for you to visit the Sith archives before you leave for the Executor, and do a little research on evaluation and development. It won't be easy to extract that kind of information from them. Our archives weren't specifically created to support a training program, but were meant to be a repository of knowledge. Still, there might be some helpful training tools there. We may as well use them."

"Yes, my Master. " Vader had to admit, it made sense.

"I will begin with a preliminary assessment of your consort, obtain a first reading of her capacity for passion. Do you agree?"

The Dark Lord had to stifle a gasp at this. "I think I already have an indication of that, Master."

Palpatine sighed with impatience. "Not sexual passion, Lord Vader. I have no interest in your consort in that regard. Just a general reading of the strength of her emotions. "

Vader still felt faintly uneasy.

"I would prefer to be present, my Master."

"Of course you would, my friend. That's not an unreasonable request. It might even be instructive. Very well, then. You shall be present to gauge her emotional depth responses. I will meet you on the Executor, but must depart shortly after we do the assessment."

The Sith Lord felt a little better. He would be able to do damage control, and have plenty of time to do it. "Very good, my Lord."

Palpatine walked back to his throne, sat down and touched another button on his chair. The doors opened, and his guard returned. Shortly thereafter, his aides began to file into the room.

"Thank you, Lord Vader. I'm glad we've come to an agreement. You may go now."

The Dark Lord bowed reverently before his Master, and left the room. He had a lot of work to do, and not much time to do it. His lady was waiting for him, and he longed to return to her. He really did.

* * *

Part 4: The Dark Side


Lord Vader was in the building that used to be the Jedi Temple when the holographic transmission from his Master came. The Jedi Temple was no longer being used as such anymore, of course. It now housed the combined archives of the Sith and the Jedi, along with various artifacts. Sometimes important prisoners were kept there. Vader tried not to have mixed feelings about the place, but it was unavoidable. He wondered if his Master, who never came here himself, kept the place the way he did at least partially to remind his apprentice just how far he'd come. And what it cost to get there. As if he needed reminding.

As the Emperor thought, it was difficult to find information that would be useful for the evaluation and training of any Sith that was not to be an initiate. The Dark Lord had been combing through the records for fully two hours before he found anything much. And another two before he was sure he'd found enough. The Executor would have left orbit by now. Vader told Piett not to wait. The Rebel raids near the Outer Rim systems were causing enough concern that they needed to be dealt with immediately. Their strategies reminded him strongly of the Trade Federation's, and that irritated him. Can't they do something new, he thought, annoyed. Fighting the same war twice seemed incredibly stupid, especially given the outcome the first time. The Sith Lord sneered beneath his breathmask. He didn't mind teaching the same lesson twice, even if it bored him to do it. There would be safety and security for the Empire, and if that took a lot of repeated lessons, then so be it. He knew he would be a careful teacher.

Which was why he was here.

Vader didn't like the idea of his consort being recruited for this kind of formal service to the Sith, and didn't relish the idea of sharing her with anyone or anything, but his Master was right - they did need the help. Sometimes you had to take it where you could get it. But he intended to be the one that determined how much, for whom, and when. Right now he missed her, longed for her. Wanted her. Her love and trust, given freely and without fear, touched him deeply. The strange encounter he'd had with his Master, although interesting in a number of ways, was not satisfactory. He knew now that it never would be. At least he understood that much now.

The Dark Lord was just uploading his file selections to the small datachip he'd brought with him, and it was nearly complete, when his attention was diverted by the sudden appearance of a message on the holographic projector. The holographic was set in a wide aperture, so that it took in a large section of the room from which it was being transmitted.

It was coming from somewhere on the Executor; he could tell that right away. It looked like one of the guest quarters, one that Lord Vader directed his staff to fit up for his consort, one that was adjacent to his own. His Lady was there, apparently sleeping on the couch. She was wearing some kind of semi-transparent pink garment that clung to her curves, accentuated her beautiful breasts. She was waiting for him. His breathing mechanism labored to keep up the additional demand. Then, the rage followed. Who would dare to fit out this room with cameras? And who… Someone came into the room. She stirred. A Force chimera was a psionic effect- it required an organic mind to recognize it- but it didn't matter what his lady saw. What he saw was his Master. The Emperor stood in front of the couch, and waited.

In full Sith fury, the Dark Lord stormed out of the Jedi Temple, only barely coherent enough to grab his datachip before he left, and ran to the ramp where his shuttle was parked. The crew tried, and failed, to hide their shock.

"Take me to my ship at once," he growled. "If I am not aboard it in precisely forty minutes, you won't need a ship to fly through space."

Then he strode to his cabin and locked the door.

The crew scrambled. It would take a miracle for them to make the forty-minute deadline, and he knew it, but Vader was past caring. He knew what his Master was about to do. And the hatred that was boiling in him was almost more than he could endure. It appeared that his lesson for the day was far from over. And he had one that he wanted to give his Master.

Forty minutes. That might already be too late.

The Sith flung himself into his acceleration couch and got the straps on just as the shuttle blasted into orbit. As the ship cleared the atmosphere and the computers began to make the calculations for the jump into hyperspace, Vader noticed a red light flashing on his com board. It was his private channel. A holographic message. From the Emperor. Aboard the Executor.
Urgent.

* * *

Chapter 5: Palpatine


Palpatine was well-pleased with his evaluation of Lady Ti. It had gone better than he ever expected. As he slowly walked down the corridors, flanked by his guard, to the quarters that Admiral Piett had hurriedly set aside for him, he considered the woman. She had the emotional intensity- not enough for a Sith initiate, but plenty to work with to use the Dark Side to hone her abilities. Her control was good, for a neophyte. But she was largely an unconscious telepath. In order for her skills to be truly useful to him, it would require careful teaching and practice in order for that talent to be exploited properly. It was, more or less, as the Emperor expected. He imagined that their encounter had given her a powerful motivation to discover, as a first project, how to tell the difference between one Sith's force chimera and another's using only her telepathic ability. It was a skill that would prove useful, Palpatine thought with a smirk, and quickly.

That was excellent. It was important, he knew, to provide small successes quickly in beginning a training program. You had to have a real desire to learn something that was difficult and unfamiliar, and then you needed a powerful reason to use what you learned- and often, or the knowledge wouldn't stick. The Emperor knew all about that. Vader had, after all, been a rather slow-learner despite being highly gifted as far as raw talent went. Some would call it classic gifted-under-achiever syndrome. Gifted but lazy was the way Palpatine viewed it.

The Emperor knew from close to twenty-five years of experience that, with Vader, you had to keep pushing him or he would stall. The Dark Side had a certain innate inertia, its cycles power-intensive and exhausting, but there were strategies for dealing with this problem. His apprentice had never really mastered them.

Palpatine halted in front of the doors, which immediately opened. Two of the Imperial Guard followed him inside the room. Four others stayed outside the door. The Emperor motioned for the two guards with him to retire. They did, silently, but were on alert. Palpatine expected Vader would want to see him as soon as he arrived onboard ship. And when he did, the Emperor expected that his apprentice would have reached new heights of intensity in his loathing of his Master. He smiled. It was all going splendidly. He settled himself into his make-shift throne near the window, and mentally took stock.

Vader would nuture and cultivate his anger and hatred. Lady Ti would no longer be the kind of distraction that would keep him from it. Teaching her to use her abilities to create an opportunity for the Dark Lord to revenge himself on his Master would make sure that Vader focused. Palpatine gave a little sigh. No one would ever believe how much work it was, training a Sith apprentice. Ruling the Galaxy was nothing beside it. He'd had several apprentices, and he knew: each was different, and each presented their own management problems and training challenges.

There were days when Palpatine wasn't sure Vader could achieve the high levels of performance that he'd expected from him. There was so much he refused to learn. But his lesson earlier today had at least proven that the Dark Lord was strong enough. Vader had backed off from any possibility that he would ever accept the love he'd wanted almost all his life, and it was moments like that which made all the endless seductions, betrayals and manipulations worthwhile.

All in all, a most satisfactory day. Palpatine sat back, preparing to begin his meditations. Vader would be here soon. He was already on his way up from the hanger bay. The only question was: would he go to his consort before his Master? Palpatine was betting that he would visit Lady Ti first. Vader was, after all, indulgent with himself about his harem and had a fondness for sexual pleasures. Plaguis had been that way also, a quality Palpatine had always despised.

For Palpatine, the hate, anger and fear that focused the Dark Side always came as natural to him as breathing; he never found them exhausting or boring. If anything, the discipline of forcing himself to bank them down in order to focus on training and teaching others had made of him a much more powerful Sith than he ever imagined. Sure, he'd lost a few apprentices along the way. A little breakage was expected, whenever there were Sith energies to be conditioned. But he'd done it. And now he wanted to pass his skills to his apprentice.

But despite today's show of strength, Palpatine still wasn't sure that Vader had what it took to be a Sith Master, to replace him. To support the entire Order by himself, until he could choose and train his own apprentice. And could Vader even identify, motivate and train an apprentice? All of these were important questions. What transpired with Lady Ti might provide some answers.

Palpatine sighed. Although he talked about ruling the Empire for a thousand years, it was just talk. His old master hadn't actually found the ability to stop death, but he could greatly slow it down. He hadn't quite finished teaching him all of the subtleties of that level of Force manipulations before Palpatine killed him. It was a pity about that, the Emperor mused. In his mind, Palpatine replayed the event. It still brought him a lot of satisfaction, even after all these years.

Palpatine was young then: medium height, slight, fair, long curling dark hair. Large dark eyes. Fine, aristocratic features. A little effete. People always underestimated him. That was his great strength. Nobody ever saw him coming. Plagueis, by contrast, was a rough-looking, muscular man- dark skin, gray hair, eyes to match. He looked the part of the Sith Lord, but he preferred to operate under deep cover, passing himself off in any number of professions as he worked through his intricately laid plans. Plagueis taught Palpatine much about subterfuge, covert operations, manipulation and the art of betrayal. Plagueis had the latter down to an art form. Palpatine had to give him that. Plaguis had forgotten more about the art of betrayal then Palpatine ever knew. But Palpatine had proved to be a gifted student, and a quick study.

Palpatine had come in for their regular evening session that fateful day, to find him exhausted and red-eyed, data discs scattered everywhere, sitting at his desk.

"Is there a problem, Master?" Palpatine asked.

"No, my friend," Plagueis replied. "Just trying a new experiment."

Palpatine approached his Master's side, laid a hand on his shoulder. "If I can be of help, let me know."

Plagueis smiled. He had a charming smile. Palpatine always worried when Plagueis smiled at him. "I will, Palpatine. I will be sure to do that."

"You look tired, Master. Why don't you rest a while?"

Plagueis put an arm around Palpatine's waist. This was most unusual. Palpatine's heart began to beat a little faster. What was he up to?

"No time to rest. Much work to do."

Plagueis looked over into his apprentice's eyes. Palpatine thought he recognized that look. His Master wanted to test him again. The tests his Master liked to give were usually, beneath the surface, exercises in the fine arts of betrayal and manipulation- sometimes disguised even further as a game. So Plagueis was testing him again. Probably some kind of game. Palpatine sighed mentally.

"Palpatine, you're too serious. You should get more pleasure out of life."

With that, Plagueis grabbed Palpatine roughly, pulling him to stand between his legs. Taking his young apprentice's face between his hands, but handling him with surprising gentleness, Plagueis bent his head towards Palpatine and kissed him full on the mouth.

Palpatine was flabbergasted. Plagueis had never, ever done this to him. And Palpatine, who had not been touched by another man in that way, found that it excited him.

Plagueis slowly pulled back, and looked into his apprentice's eyes. He could see the fires beginning to burn there.

`Thank the Force,' he thought, `so Palpatine isn't the cold fish I thought he was.'

Palpatine had been, on the whole, an exceptional student, and Plagueis was pleased with his progress and growing power. But, controlling the Dark Side of the Force through the focus of passions meant using all available passions. Palpatine had apparently bottomless resources of hate, anger and fear, but seemed to be a bit handicapped in the secondary and tertiary sources of passion. Not exploiting all sources of passion, including sexual passion, was throwing away a valuable tool. Perhaps Plagueis had been using the wrong approach with Palpatine all along.

Still gripping Palpatine tightly, but moving more gently this time, Plagueis bent once more towards his apprentice. With his lips, he caressed Palpatine's, gently sucking his upper lip. Palpatine seemed to melt, opened his mouth, offered his tongue to his Master.

Plagueis pulled Palpatine even closer, kissed him deeply, sucking his tongue gently. The Sith Master bent Palpatine backwards over the desk, leaning over him, reaching under his tunic to caress his body. How soft his skin was, almost like a girl's, Plagueis mused.

Palpatine had never experienced anything like this before. His senses were on fire. It was power that excited him. It was had always been power that excited him, and who had more of it than the Sith? And the Sith Master had the most of all.

Plagueis sensed that his Apprentice was ready for the next step. It was common practice for a Sith Master to test his Apprentices in a multitude of areas along the way. When it came to the survival of the Order, no tool or method was spared. If an Apprentice was worthy to become a Master, then he would have to prove it, under more and more complex conditions and increasing levels of duress. Plagueis knew that Palpatine wanted it, wanted the power of the Mastery, but what he didn't know was how far his young apprentice would be willing to go to get it. A Sith stopped at nothing. When he was done with a lesson, an asset or a tool, he got rid of it and moved on. Palpatine had the desire. But how far would he go?

The Sith Master ripped the tunic from Palpatine's body and ran his hands over his smoothly muscled form. His apprentice was wiry, not muscular, and stronger than he looked. Plagueis knew that from experience. Bending down, he licked and then sucked one nipple. Palpatine shuddered, his fingers caressing his Master's hair. Plagueis then ran his tongue along Palpatine's midline, towards his breeches. In a moment, Palpatine's Master had undone his breeches, exposing Palpatine's almost fully engorged member. Plagueis took Palpatine's breeches off the rest of the way, and now his Apprentice was completely naked, trembling with desire.

It had been a while since Plagueis had done this sort of pleasuring, as he preferred women, but he thought he still remembered how. He first gently licked the tip of Palpatine's organ, then wrapped his tongue around it and sucked gently.

"Master," he moaned. Like he meant it.

Plagueis need no further encouragement. He took his apprentice fully into his mouth and sucked. Palpatine's flesh was sweet. His eyes were closed in ecstasy. Plagueis wrapped his hands around Palpatine's boyish behind, kneading it gently. In a short time, Palpatine had climaxed, lay limply on the desktop. Panting.

It seemed like it took a while for Palpatine to get his breath back. Plagueis wondered if he'd been slacking off in his physical conditioning. Perhaps Plagueis would have to test him again in that area also. It took much longer to train a Sith initiate than it did a Jedi, and the attrition rate was high. Sometimes, Plagueis thought that if he could just refine his skills enough with the Dark Side, to prolong life and forestall death skillfully enough, maybe he wouldn't have to spend the rest of his life training an apprentice. He could keep the Order alive himself, and train at his leisure.

But, as he had just discovered, it didn't have to be all work and no play, even with Palpatine.

The Sith Master, it had to be said, rarely allowed himself to be distracted. Palpatine knew that. Plagueis had told him many times: the Dark Side does not tolerate distraction. It demands total concentration. Distraction is expensive. Distraction is wasteful. Distraction can be deadly. But here, it seemed, Plagueis had permitted himself a distraction. Here was an opportunity.

Wiping a hand across his forehead, and sliding sinuously down from the desktop, Palpatine reached over and lifted his Master's chin gently with one hand. He slowly bent down to hover over Plagueis' lips, in what he hoped was an enticing manner. Softly, slowly, he kissed his Master. Plagueis returned his kiss, closing his eyes as he did so.

Plagueis never even saw the lightsaber leap from the belt still attached to Palpatine's breeches, lying unnoticed on the floor only inches away. Palpatine didn't think his Master even had time to register any pain as the Sith apprentice's hand swung the ignited saber, in a low tight arc, through Plagueis' neck, severing his head. It was just as well. Plagueis had taught him much, and taught him well. At last, Palpatine had been able to return the favor.

The Emperor, sitting on his throne, at the pinnacle of Sith and Imperial power, meditated silently on the many satisfactions of the Dark Side as he waited for his apprentice.

* * *

Part 6: Master and Apprentice, Revisited

Lord Vader stalked down the ramp from his shuttle, right past the contingent of officers that were standing at attention, waiting to greet him, past Admiral Ozzel and General Veers, without speaking. Piett and Veers looked at each other. The Sith Lord was furious and there would probably be bloodshed before the night was over. Admiral Ozzel cleared his throat and straightened his tunic. He was hosting the Emperor and Lord Vader, and it was his duty to see to it that everything ran smoothly, but he knew that the situation was well beyond his skills to manage. Ozzel wasn't under any illusions as to his skills and experience; he was a political appointee and he knew it. In situations like this, he reminded himself, the best thing to do was duck for cover and wait until they had blown themselves out.

"Captian Piett," Ozzel said, beckoning to his second officer.

"Yes, Sir," Piett said, stepping forward, clicking his heels.

"Clear the hallways in the Executive Officer's residential sections. Immediately."

"Sir, " Piett said, and hurried to execute the order.

Ozzel didn't know what the situation was between the Emperor and Lord Vader, and he didn't know if the new occupant of his ship, a member of the Imperial Household named Lady Ti, had anything to do with what was about to happen. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. But making sure there were no witnesses among his officers and crew would be a help. Ozzel's staff officers were mostly regular military, extraordinarily competent, and he didn't want to lose any of them.

* * *

The Dark Lord, as he strode through the corridors of the Executor towards the temporary quarters of his Master, was focusing his anger into Dark clarity. He had been in intense Dark Side meditation during the entire flight, searching for a way to revenge this intolerable insult. The Emperor manipulated him into doing something he never wanted to do, lied to him and betrayed his trust. Betrayal was the way of the Sith, and it thrust both ways. It was time to remind his Master that he had his own ways of dealing with treachery. In kind.

A large part of his strategy depended on the strength and courage of his lady, shamed and humiliated at the hands of the Emperor. He desperately wanted to go to her, but he dared not. She would be a distraction. Vader could not afford to have his attention divided.

The hallways were peculiarly empty of officers and crew in the Executive Officer's areas. But, near the doorway of one of the guest quarters, four of the Imperial Red Guard stood at attention, two on one side of the door and two on the other. Vader strode towards the doors. The Red Guard Captain spoke.

"You have not been summoned, my Lord. I cannot admit you."

Vader was in mood for arguments with minions. He raised one hand, slightly. The Captain began to choke, gasping for breath. He fell to his knees.

"Ackk…The Emperor's command….cannot disobey…."

The Captain keeled over, dead. The remaining three guards closedranks to block the door. The Dark Lord drew his lightsaber and madeshort work of them, although he reflected that they would be a terrible mess to clean up now.

Unobstructed, Vader entered his Master's quarters. The Emperor was sitting in a large swivel chair, his back to the door. Two more of the Red Imperial guardsmen were on either side of him. Slowly, Palpatine turned around.

"Lord Vader, I don't believe I requested your presence."

"No, Master, but I believe you did order me to report to you on what I found in the Sith archives as soon as I returned to the ship. And as you have already performed your evaluation of Lady Ti, I have also come to hear your conclusions."

The Emperor's eyes faintly reptilian eyes glowed with sickly yellow light.

"Couldn't it have waited a few hours?"

"No, Master, it could not."

"Why is that?"

"Because of your….activities…with Lady Ti, I can no longer consider her a member of my harem. You will have to remove her to the home of your own concubines, on Coruscant."

"Lord Vader, that seems rather rash of you. Did you receive the holographic message I sent you, detailing the scope of the… activities….as you call them?"

"I did receive it, Master. We agreed that I would be present when you evaluated Lady Ti, and it was just for that reason that I wished to be there. I was not present. You went too far with her. She is yours now."

Palpatine tossed his head in irritation. The hood slipped back, revealing his ancient, sunken face. "I have no wish to keep her. She is not to my taste."

"That is no longer my problem, Master. She does not belong on this ship. She is a member of your Imperial Household. She is your responsibility."

The Emperor considered for a moment. " I could have her killed."

Vader was expecting this reaction. He had disciplined his own in response. All of him reflected cold indifference.

"That is your decision. However, there is the matter of her uncommon telepathic abilities."

Palpatine almost seemed to pout. He did that when thwarted. Vader held onto his focus with fierce concentration.

After a moment, his Master said, "She does have considerable potential. She would be an asset. I want her trained."

"Then you train her. She is a member of your household."

The Emperor smiled unpleasantly. "That rankled, didn't it? Making her a member of my private consistory."

"Not anymore," the Dark Lord said coldly.

"Lord Vader, you're being remarkably difficult about this rather minor issue."

Vader was silent. Victory was almost in sight.

Palpatine sighed. "I do not have the time to train her. What do you suggest?"

"Rescind her appointment to your household, and to my harem, so that I can have a free hand with her. If she can't or won't accept the training and develop her skills, I will have her terminated."

The Emperor pouted again. His Apprentice had apparently progressed even further with his emotional control and Dark Side focus that Palpatine suspected. The Sith Master considered it time to cut his losses, which were, after all, very minor. All he'd lost was the opportunity to watch Vader attempt, possibly in vain, to restrain his passions and focus on a task at hand, in the midst of an enormous distraction. Apparently he'd already done that. It was a waste of time to feel disappointed that his Apprentice hadn't failed before he started.

"Very well. I will rescind the appointments. Is she to remain onboard the Executor for your training?"

"Yes," Vader replied. " I will have her removed from her present quarters adjacent to mine, to somewhere more suitable. Thank you, Master." The Dark Lord turned to go.

"Lord Vader," the Emperor called after him.

"Yes, Master?" The Sith replied.

"Do have the mess removed from my doorway before I leave in the morning. And endeavor to remember that it is not your place to discipline my guard."

"Yes, Master." Lord Vader turned with a wide sweep of his cape, and left the room.

* * *

Part 7: The Dark Lord and His Lady

The Sith did not let go of his focus. Couldn't even think of letting go of his focus. His Master was far too near, would feel the faintest glimmer of triumph in Vader at what was, unbeknownst to the Emperor, a signal victory. He had things he needed to say to his Lady, things she needed to know. He yearned to hold her, to touch her, to smooth away the hurt and humiliation she's suffered, but he couldn't. It was vital that Palpatine not know that he still wanted her. He had removed her from his clutches, and wanted it to stay that way. Vader needed to send a message to her somehow. He'd tried to contact her telepathically, but couldn't get through the miasma of despair and remorse- and anger- that shrouded her thoughts. Her quarters had cameras, and probably sound recording devices. He dared not enter her chambers. This was going to be difficult.

The Dark Lord entered his quarters, and paced for a few moments. Then he had an idea. He touched a comm button, summoned Captain Piett.

"Yes, my Lord?" Piett inquired, sounding infinitely respectful but a little bit nervous.

"I want you to relocate Lady Ti to another location within the ship. Another set of guest quarters."

"Sir, there are none available near to your…I mean, none that are in very close proximity to…" Piett couldn't finish.

"It doesn't matter where they are. Just move her and do it immediately. And Piett-"

"Yes, my Lord?" Piett was clearly perplexed and terrified. So much the better.

"Give Lady Ti a message, from me. Tell her not to worry, to get some rest, and I will meet with her as soon as I can. Is that understood?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Tomorrow I want you to find out who it was that ordered the cameras to be placed in her quarters. See to it personally, Captain."

Vader thought he could hear the officer say something like, "Ohhh…..", but he wasn't sure. In any case, Piet