The Loyalty of the Dark

Chapter 1

But if Vader's Shadow was anything, she was loyal to her Master. So she gave Palpatine the show he wanted, screaming in pain all the while being sure to not let Vader know what was happening to her—he may need Skywalker more, but she knew if he learned what was happening to her....

He was still her Master.

But despite her determination, she slipped for half a second, and that was all her Master needed to feel her pain. Vader flooded her mind from where he was currently stationed on Endor. She could feel his anger followed by faint fear—faint only because Eclipse's senses were beginning to fade, otherwise it would have hit her broadside. She felt him wrap his Force presence around her, creating an almost skin tight shield, trying to take the brunt of Palpatine's attack for her, but the Emperor's attack was far too powerful and Eclipse was already far too weak.

Don't....bother, Master, Eclipse whispered in her mind, knowing he'd hear regardless of whether or not she was trying to speak with him, even as the world around her began to fade. I am....weak.

Don't be ridiculous! Vader spat.

You....you need Skywalker more than me. You can't....have more than one....apprentice. You don't need me.... Don't risk....everything.

Vader growled at her words, though she could just barely sense his reaction. Distantly she felt something odd happen in the Force around her—a rip in reality. Had she been able to pay better attention, she would have sensed Palpatine's anger.

She would have sensed Vader shove her in before sealing it behind her, even as he said, Then you will go to where you are needed.

But all Eclipse sensed was black.

}*{

Vader's Shadow came too on a metal floor that shook under an outside bombardment. Voices weaved in and out of her consciousness.

"What....what trick is this, Dooku?" someone asked, voice fading in and out of awareness. Eclipse barely managed to lock onto the words or any identifying features of the voice, such as a Coruscanti accent.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same," another voice responded, the sounds becoming louder by the second and far more understandable and easy for her mind to focus on—he had the tone of a senator. Aristocracy.

Eclipse peeled her eyes open to find herself no longer in the throne room of the Second Death Star but in an alien place. It was a ship, she knew from instinct—Vader's Shadow had been practically raised on them by her Master's side and she could tell without looking at the viewport that they were in a battle that the ship was trying desperately to withstand. The tremors told her it was unlikely to succeed.

She had felt many a ship die beneath her feet and could too recognize the coming signs of death.

As to her companions, she was stunned to note three of the four held lightsabers—two wielded blue, and the last, the aristocrat, she didn't need to see him speak to know who the voice belonged to, had Sith red.

Dooku. Darth Tyranus's other name, Eclipse recalled, easily recognizing the man from a holo that had been present in one of the many, many lessons Vader had taught her about the Sith's history and legacy—one she would one day inherit and guide to her will as she created a new chapter.

But Darth Tyranus was dead. Dead before Eclipse had been born for all she knew. He.... She would have sworn Vader mentioned killing him with his own blade, taking his place as Palpatine's apprentice.

Something until the Emperor shot Eclipse with Force lightning that had been destined to eventually happen to her and Skywalker no doubt. There could only be one true apprentice.