Sacrifice - A Star Wars Fanfic

Chapter 6

     A Star Destroyer and several other ships belonging to the Imperial Fleet rested in space above the half-completed Second Death Star and its green neighbor, the forest moon of Endor. Four squads of TIE fighters escorted an Imperial shuttle toward the Second Death Star.

     Lord Vader strode down the hallway, accompanied by a very nervous Death Star commander. Thousands of Imperial troops in tight formation filled the mammoth docking bay. Vader and the officer walked to the landing platform, where the shuttle was coming to rest.

      The shuttle's ramp lowered and the Emperor's Royal Guards came out, quickly establishing a lethal perimeter. The assembled troops moved to rigid attention with a momentous snap.

      Then, in the huge silence that followed, the Emperor appeared, clad in his normal dark robes and radiating an aura so dark than it nauseated most of the troopers. Palpatine was a rather small, shriveled old man, and his bent frame showed his obvious age as he slowly made his way down the ramp with the aid of a gnarled cane. The Emperor's face was shrouded and difficult to see because of his hood, but his piercing yellow eyes stood out more than a Bantha at a Jawa family gathering.

      Commander Jerjerrod and Darth Vader kneeled to him without hesitation. The Supreme Ruler of the galaxy beckoned to the Dark Lord, almost completely ignoring the commander.

      "Rise, my friend." Palpatine rasped with a sickly smile. Vader held back his anger. He was far from friends with the monster who had betrayed him back when...no! Anakin Skywalker was not him any longer. He was The Sith Lord Darth Vader and was feared by the entire galaxy...his Master just happened to think he was more powerful than him, that was all.

     Speaking of the Sithspawn name Vader had long since cast away...why was he sensing his own Force presence? The light that radiated from it nearly blinded him, very similar to the one his son radiated when he wasn't blocking properly. The thought of the Force somehow sending his past self forward to see the future...it was preposterous. The thought had been bothering the Sith for hours and he was still debating whether or not to mention it to Palpatine.

      In fact, he was still trying to convince himself that maybe he was just going crazy. Time-travel? It didn't seem possible, but the Force was very mysterious in hiding things from even the ones who thought they controlled it.

      Vader rose, discarding his thoughts and falling in next to the Emperor as he slowly made his way along the rows of troops. Jerjerrod and the other commanders stayed kneeling until the Supreme Ruler and Vader, followed by several Imperial dignitaries, passed by; only then did they join in the procession.

     "The Death Star will be completed on schedule." Vader droned through his mask, knowing that his Master was interested in the construction of his new planet-destroying machine.

      "You have done well, Lord Vader. And now I sense you wish to continue your search for young Skywalker." Palpatine said with a faint smirk.

     Vader tensed under his armor, hastily throwing up stronger mental shields and not letting his thoughts spill out into his Master's mind. "Yes, my Master." He said tightly.

     "Patience, my friend. In time he will seek you out. And when he does, you must bring him before me. He has grown strong. Only together can we turn him to the dark side of the Force."

     "As you wish." Vader said.

     The Emperor paused, staring at his apprentice. "Something else is troubling you."

     Vader glanced around at the troopers and Commander Jerjerrod before sighing as best as he could with his mechanic-controlled breathing. "I...have sensed a presence."