The mask. It was a work of art if you asked me. It was
functional and intimidating at the same time. My own Sith Master would
have been proud, if he hadn't died so long ago.
"It is good to see you again, Vader. Even if the circumstances
aren't ideal."
"Trigue," he whispered, still struggling with the new voice
synthesizer. "You didn't visit me." It was a childish
accusation, full of petulance and pain.
I narrowed my eyes and dropped all expression from my face. "Do
you really want my path to cross Amidala's? After the promise you
begged of me?" The one thing he asked of me as I had seduced him
that first time was that I never hurt his wife.
"Of course not." Deep resonance to his words now as he
forgot to fight the synthesizer. I decided I liked this new voice, I
could feel it vibrating in my loins.
"Good, now that we have that established I believe I was telling you
how good it is to me to finally see you."
I let the lie go this time, sitting close to him and putting my arm across
his shoulder. "It has been a long time, and I am not known for my
patience. I hope you know what a sacrifice it was for me to wait this
long."
"Wait for what? A lover? You'll have to wait longer than
this." His bitterness was almost sweet, but it wasn't what I
wanted from him right now. I kept my one arm around him while I
caressed him with my other hand.
"For you I will wait, but that wasn't what I meant. I meant for
Amidala to be done with you, and now the wait is over."
"It is you and I who are meant for each other. I love you for who
you are, not who I want you to be. *She* lied to you and herself, she
loved you only as long as you were the way she wanted you to be. I
even loved you when you were a hopeless lightsider. She does not love
you now that you have turned."
"I only showed the way. You wanted it just as much as I wanted it
for you, otherwise we wouldn't be having this discussion."
I smiled sweetly up at him, looking as innocent as I wasn't. "I
still love you and still want you. I see beyond your physical form and
love it all. Even when you hate yourself."
He stood suddenly and pulled away from me. "How could you do this
to me?"
"I didn't do this to you. Obi-Wan did, Yoda did, every Jedi alive
did this to you and you turned to me for comfort and to Palpatine for power.
They are still yours for the taking. Kill them and you will have your
revenge, let them live and they will haunt you." I stood up and
walked to face him. "I will be yours no matter what you decide to
do, but I urge you to do what you know you want. The Jedi take
innocent children from their families every year and then brain wash the
pour souls to do anything they ask. You don't have to allow that
cruelty any longer, it is in your power to stop it forever."
He nodded, and I could tell I had said the right thing. That was the
bond Vader and I shared that Palpatine would never understand. The
children.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I close my eyes and all I see is the children. Luke and Leia,
children of my lover. The children my lover would never know because
of their mother. Damn the Force, I didn't want to see them! I
wanted to hold them and teach them, to comfort them and hold them in their
hour of need. That is what children deserve, not what I went
through, and that is what I wanted to give to them. They were a part
of the man I loved even if I never got to see them. How could I
admit that weakness to my students?
"At least the Jedi aren't stealing small children anymore."
They were so disbanded and afraid that they didn't have time to steal the
children anymore. Now there was safety and security, even if the
price was freedom. And I could do anything and have anything I
wanted.
Except the children.
I paced back and forth in the meditation chamber, wanting to gather the
Dark Energies, but now wanting to see their faces again. I couldn't
afford this distraction! And I couldn't figure out what was wrong
with me. Finally I sat down again, willing the power to flow through
me. It rushed at me, like a dam breaking. I was alive and
energized with so much power that I felt I could almost do anything.
I was one with the Force, I was one with the universe...I was the
universe!
And yet the images came. The children were happy where they were.
They thrived with the care of their guardians in a way they couldn't with
me or their father. I wasn't ready...after so many centuries I
wasn't ready to take them. The Force had other plans.
Luke and Leia weren't the only children. I saw my first two children
who had been stolen from me before the dark stranger offered me his power.
The Jedi had taken my children, my babies, and told me that they would be
better off. They lied, I could feel the children crying and
neglected and alone among the Jedi. And then they were no longer
mine...without even a memory of their mother and what she had wanted for
them. The dark stranger...the Sith Lord who taught me. Yet I
couldn't face the Jedi as a whole and my children were still lost. I
had wanted to give them a good life, not one of brainwashing and war and
serving others all the time and dealing with discomfort. Sure, it
was slightly better than what I had gone through, but at least no one had
told me I had to love my slavery because it was some grand duty!
My children, both died too young. One was a Padawan and his ship was
destroyed by a faulty wire in the wrong place. The other was just a
Knight and was killed in a war she tried to end. Useless. A
waste. My bloodline ended so casually in service to those horrid
Jedi. And my poor children thought they were doing something right.
I felt the sting in my eyes as if from a distance and used all my strength
to hold it back. 'A Sith does not cry, a Sith does not cry....'
The thought was futile finally. A single tear escaped for the first
time in nearly a century.
Why?
The answer was unexpected after all this time. Vader's seed inside
me had reached an egg. Did I still have those? I guess so....
I would bear his child and raise it as I saw fit. For a change.
I would *have* my own child for once! More and more I began to cry.
From the far point that was my body I felt hands on my shoulders.
Someone was in my meditation chamber! In an instant I was back,
looking around for the intruder, and I saw Vader. I was thankful
conditions in my chamber matched his with a flick of a switch, so he could
meditate without his breath mask. It was necessary for me to teach
him, but it had other benefits as well.
He took off the mask and I melted into his blue eyes. "After
all that happened I didn't think I could."
"After living so long I didn't think I could either."
We held each other close, shocked at what the Force had told each of us.
With a deep kiss he began to remove my clothes with practiced ease.
Also with practiced ease we began the act that had brought us together in
the first place. And no Jedi could steal our son from me this time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was hiding something, I could feel it. I was used to his
jealousy, I used that for my own ends, but now he was using that
jealousy to mask whatever it was he was hiding. Could it be
linked? He was too adept, my older apprentice, and I could not see
through his deception. Rather than admit my weakness to him I
satisfied myself with random glares. It was gratifying to see him
squirm and feel his doubt.
Whatever it was was still there though. I could feel it like a
viper looming over my shoulder. He didn't dare betray me...did he?
A thread of fear ran down my spine and I could feel his draw of energy
from my errant emotion. He enjoyed that he could make me fear him
even just a little bit, and that angered me enough to set aside that
fear.
"You have grown cocky, Emperor." I nearly spat the title
at him in contempt. "Do not forget your place, apprentice, or
I will be forced to remind you of it."
"You are jumping at shadows, Trigue. You grow more paranoid
every day." He sounded bored, but his heart beat faster in
anticipation of my reaction. The fear was delicious, I let him get
away with it for that. He suddenly smiled and looked at me
closely. "You haven't been eating enough lately, don't tell
me you're pining away for Vader while he is gone. Are you?"
"I orchestrated the situation that made his absence necessary.
Do you think I'm that stupid? I just haven't been hungry."
Well, I had set the situation up, but I had expected Palpatine to be the
one to leave. It irked me that something had gone wrong and Vader
was the only one who could handle it. It was those damn Jedi
again.
"I had a large dinner prepared for both of us, but I suppose you
wouldn't want to dine with me." I could feel his jealousy
flare up almost blindingly and chuckled. What would it hurt to
cater to his wishes this one time?
"I have nothing better to do. Actually, I think I would like
that...it would be like old times again."
"How much like old times?" There was a gleam of
suggestion in his eye. I thought about it, but I had a hard time
remembering the attraction I once had for him. Inside he was my
pawn, not my equal. Outside he was old and withered. If I
tried to imagine him as he used to be in place of who he was now I could
only feel sorry for him.
"We shall see." I lied in my smile to him, I could
always find excuses after dinner. I counted the days until Vader's
return and wondered now I could wait that long. Oh yah, Palpatine
was the only man available until Vader returned. That was how I
could wait.
The food was irresistable, though the conversation lacked. All my
poor apprentice could talk about was the boring details of politics.
There was a reason I had him for a puppet...I wanted power, not
procedure. No wonder he was looking so old after having to deal
with all that. I smiled in all the right places, nodding or
shaking my head as seemed appropriate. I grew so bored though that
all I could think of was Vader and the child we were going to have
together. And then I couldn't think of that.
I stood suddenly. "That is what you were hiding! You
traitorous bastard!" I lunged at him and felt the room spin
and land on my chest. The poison was quick but not deadly, and I
shielded my womb from it before I did anything else.
"Who was getting cocky, Trigue? Your time is past and you
have made one mistake too many."
"Your downfall starts here Sidious." The room was
spinning faster and I held on to the floor for my life.
"I wouldn't threaten if I were you. I might decide to
actually kill you if you did. As it is, you will be stored in
carbonite until I choose to free you...and that might be a very long
time."
"I would have...prevented..." I gasped for air.
"You will...betrayed. Jedi. The last Jedi."
"Ha! Vader killed the last Jedi right before I invited you to
dinner. We don't need you anymore!"
Darkness was closing in. "Son of...Skywalker. Kill
you." Was I talking about Shmi's son or Anakin's? I
couldn't recall. "Jedi. Betrayed.
Beware...." I couldn't say anything else. I didn't have
the strength.
"Oh no, I have prevented that now. I know about the son you
carry, and I will not let him replace me. Your words are empty,
Skywalker will have no son."
Oh gods, I never told him about Amidala. He would have killed the
children and I couldn't allow that, but now they would...now they...I
Darkness closed in.
~end~