Dynasty: Chunk Thirty-One
by Valerie Vancollie and Rebecca Thomson
Dace walked into his superior's office. "Sir?" He called out, not expecting an answer. Jerklin had left the office an hour ago, face clearly a mask of rage. Dace fingered the report he had just received from some of the Star Destroyers in the Imperial Navy. Interesting rumors surrounding Skywalker were beginning to circulate aboard those ships. Rumors that finally gave a name to what Skywalker was- 'Sith' they whispered.
Normally, Dace would be inclined to dismiss such rumors, but one of those ships had a particular young officer aboard, by the name of Lance Bel-Zessa. A man who had spent several days close to Skywalker, during the wedding. And strange things had happened at the public dance prior to the event.
Dace walked forward, glancing at his superior's desk. He frowned, the large pile of work that his boss needed to get done before tomorrow was scattered, uncompleted, across the top of the work surface. Dace looked at the datacard he held then looked at the desk. He sighed, then slipped the datacard into the pile.
'Well,' he reasoned to himself, 'if the rumor is false, Jerklin won't mind that he didn't get to see it before he runs off and does whatever he's planning on doing. But if it's true- it won't make any difference, they're already enemies. So, I have nothing to worry about by not warning him.'
"Here they are," Vader said just as Luke and Anja returned to the patio.
Vader smiled at the nervousness Anjaleen managed to show while knowing the truth. It was a good trait for a future Empress to have as she would need to hide her true emotions at times so that she didn't give important information away. And also to hide her weaknesses from enemies just waiting to strike.
"Anjaleen," Randolf began as he turned to face his daughter as she sat down. "Lord Vader and I have discussed things and I have decided not to break off the engagement."
"Thank you, Father!" Anja exclaimed even as Luke pretended to be relieved and smiled.
"However, until the actual wedding I do not want you making such decisions without informing me of them first," Randolf ordered. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, Father," Anja promised as she took the necklace he handed her and put it on, the Kyrab stones instantly turning red and purple.
"Now that all this is arranged I must return home," Randolf continued as he turned to Vader. "Unless there is something else you wish to discuss, my Lord?"
"No," Vader stated. "That was all."
"Can Anjaleen stay a while longer?" Luke inquired as father and daughter got to their feet. "I can drop her off later."
"Very well," Randolf agreed before he turned around and was led away by a servant.
Nervously Anja looked at Vader. Although she had met him several times before, she didn't know him and she knew that she must as he was going to be her father-in-law when she and Luke got married. But where to begin? She knew that, like Luke, he was probably someone entirely different when he was at home then out with the fleet, giving orders. Looking to her fiancé, she looked for any hint on what to say or do.
"Anja," Luke began, instantly drawing her attention. "When I said that there was more that you didn't know yet, I was talking about two major things. You will now learn one of them."
Seeing the way Luke looked at his father, Anjaleen turned her attention back to the Dark Lord once more.
"A long time ago I was gravely injured," Vader began as he studied the young women next to his son. "However, over time, I have been able to use my..." he broke off as he looked for the right word, knowing that the Force still didn't mean anything to her. "Sith powers to heal me."
"To heal you?" Anja repeated as she looked questioningly between the two men.
"Yes," Vader confirmed as he reached up, unfastened, and pulled his gloves from his hands.
Anjaleen was surprised to see strong hands underneath. The moment the thought flashed across her mind, she felt surprise at her surprise. Nobody knew exactly what the Dark Lord looked like underneath his mask and armor, but somehow it had become accepted that he was horribly scarred and handicapped. Subconsciously she had been expecting this. As those thoughts floated by she watched as Vader reached up and took off the helmet before pulling of his mask. Seeing the face beneath she gasped involuntarily.
"Like father, like son," Anja finally whispered as she found herself looking into crystal blue eyes nearly identical to Luke's.
"Yes," Vader agreed as he looked at his son before getting to his feet. "That taken care of, I have important things to do. I'm sure you two will find something to do."
"Yes," Luke laughed as he watched his father leave before smiling at the surprise Anja still radiated. "Surprise."
"You don't have to tell me," Anjaleen replied. "Tell me, is this last thing even more of a surprise, or less?"
"More, much more," Luke stated and chuckled at her amazed look. "But there is something we need to talk about."
"Yes?"
"First a little background information though," Luke began as he settled back in his seat and signaled for the waiting servant to refill their cups. "Both the Jedi and the Sith gain their powers from an energy field called the Force. However, there are two sides to the Force, namely the Dark Side and the Light Side. The first is what the Sith use, the latter is what the Jedi use. The Force can only be used by those who are sensitive to it and who are trained on how to use it. The side you use dictates whether you're Jedi or Sith."
"The Force is what you and your father use to do all those..." Anja started and paused briefly before she smiled. "Impossible things?"
"Yes," Luke confirmed. "Now, there are some people who aren't sensitive enough to use either side, in fact they can train their whole life and never grasp any control over it. Those people simply get revelations. The way you described that you came to learn of the fact that we will only have one child, sounds like such a revelation."
"Are you saying that I can use the Force?" Anjaleen demanded, trying to process this new development.
"I'm not sure," Luke stated. "However, from what you've described, it seems like you may have more sensitivity than normal people, but not enough to control it. Simply to detect certain messages the Force sends out. Whether it be a moment of insight, like you had, a random tidbit of knowledge, or a warning."
"Is there any way to be sure?" Anja questioned. "I mean, can't you see whether I have this or not?"
"I can, but I would need to enter your mind," Luke explained. "More than a light probe, as I'd be looking for something that's small."
"What does such a mind probe involve?" Anja inquired as she leaned forward, interested and frightened both at once. "Is it safe?"
"Yes," Luke hurriedly replied. "If it is done carefully and if you relax. There are situations where a lot of damage can be done, but that is only when the person doing the probe is careless and doesn't take the necessary precautions. The mind, after all, is fragile. Therefore I want your permission before I check."
"Very well," Anja finally stated after a moment's silence. "You've got me curious now and I know you won't be careless."
"Come," Luke said as he got to his feet. "It's best that we do it where you're comfortable so that you'll relax."
Luke took her hand and lead her inside to one of the sitting rooms that he and his father used the most, both when they had guests and when they didn't. As a result, the room was much better furnished than the other sitting rooms. Walking over to a couch, Luke sat down, and motioned her to sit next to him. "Relax," he instructed as he placed a hand on her forehead and waited until she had calmed a little before slowly entering her mind. Probing around he came across stray thoughts floating around. Avoiding them, he reached deeper into the mind towards the back where the Force potential area was. Reaching it, he found a faint whisper of Force presence there. Normal people didn't have any concentration of potential no matter how slight. Finding the whisper, Luke smiled to himself before he mentally sent his love directly into the presence.
"Luke?" Anjaleen questioned as she felt a strange but comforting sensation crawl through her. "Was that you?"
"Yes," Luke confirmed as he pulled out and took his hand from her forehead.
"What was it?"
"I was simply giving you a signal," Luke explained. "If you feel that, it'll be me reaching out to you."
"Love," Anja said as she identified it. "How did you do it though? I thought I could only feel some stuff."
"True," Luke stated. "But I used my powers to give you one of those moments, the normal human wouldn't have felt it as strongly as you did," reaching out to his father Luke spoke mentally. 'She has it father, it is slight, but it is more than normal.'
'Good,' Vader replied. 'That bodes well for your son.'
Raphael smiled as he looked in the mirror. The satin lined velvet cape went perfectly with his suit and the jewels that encrusted the satin, sparkled like crazy, showing that they had just been polished. He had decided to wear his green and orange outfit as it made him stand out a little and it was the outfit that had the most jewels on it. Although nobody else knew of it, several of the larger jewels were fakes as he had found the actual ones too costly to buy seeing that he wasn't going to wear that outfit too often. Pulling at his jeweled cuffs, he nodded his head in satisfaction. He would definitely make an impression dressed like this alone.
"Forsnick," Raphael called out.
"Yes, Master?" Forsnick questioned as he entered the room.
"Make sure my shoes shine," Raphael ordered. "I want to be able to see my face in them when I leave tonight."
"As you wish," Forsnick replied before he hurried from the room, knowing that the his boss wouldn't care that he had only just polished the shoes the day before.
Raphael stepped back from the mirror and took a breath before he started pacing his room, thinking of the best points to bring up when talking with Skywalker. The fact that his background and position still hadn't been revealed was a good point to bring up as it signaled that Skywalker was too embarrassed to have them known. His mysterious relationship with Vader was another point. He had, after all, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and instantly started living in the Dark Lord's castle. He could bring up the fact that Skywalker had managed to let Organa escape when Lord Vader had first captured her. But that was risky as it had been Skywalker who had caught her the second time which had eventually been the last time. No, it was better to stick to points that he knew he could win without giving his rival any room to maneuver at all.
A smile settled on his lips as Raphael looked out of his window in the direction of Vader's Castle. It wouldn't be long now before everything was as it should be once more. After defeating Skywalker once and for all, he would get Anjaleen and marry her as soon as possible. Waiting could only lead to more trouble. Besides, he'd be in the spotlight after tonight, what better way to complete the picture than to marry his prize straight off? And what a prize it was, bringing him both beauty and a new position at once. With the combined power of working in Intel and ruling a system he could become someone to be reckoned with. Especially once he proved his worth by taking on and defeating Vader's protégé.
And the best part of it all was that Skywalker would be unable to do anything but fight back verbally. He would be unable to use that infamous little vibroblade of his as he did whenever he was on board a Star Destroyer, as the Emperor had made a law that no one but Lord Vader could kill anyone within the walls of the Imperial Palace. Therefore all he had to do was start the conversation when Lord Vader was out of the room and he'd be perfectly safe. And, if Skywalker did decide to try anything, the Imperial Sovereign Protectors would be on him so fast it would make his head spin. If he attempted that then he would anger the Emperor and he would be gone for good. It would be a double embarrassment. He almost wished that his rival tried that, but he doubted the man would be that stupid.
"This was the first big body of water I ever saw," Luke stated as he and Anja walked onto the beach at the back of the castle. "Before that I was always trying to farm the water from desert air."
"That can't have been easy," Anjaleen said sympathetically, wondering just what life had been like for Luke before being found by his father.
"That's an understatement," Luke declared as he glanced at his golden wrist chrono. "I think it is time I got you back home if you want to change before court."
"Oh, yes," Anja stated as she saw the time. "How does a green and purple dress sound?"
"Stunning," Luke replied and continued as she blushed slightly. "As usual."
Ra'chealla smiled to herself, getting into her light brown dress. She had chosen this outfit specifically for Luke the last time the tailor had come. The brown fit perfectly with the colors Luke normally wore, and there were lots of jewels of various colors embedded into it. The dress also had colored ribbon and lace woven into it and came with a matching pair of gloves. Smoothening the folds of her dress she seated herself on the chair before her dressing table and her maid instantly came up to her.
"How would you like your hair, Mistress?" the maid demanded.
"Curled," Ra'chealla ordered a she pulled out several yellow and green jeweled clips. "With these added to pull back the front of my hair."
"As you wish," the maid replied as she set to work.
Ra'chealla relaxed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The assassin would be in the court room with a slow, but painful, poison which he would slip into the little twit's glass as soon as he could. Treen had stated that the drug would start taking effect some time near midnight and that the target would be dead by day break. Target. How she loved to think of Anjaleen Winiterure that way. There was something about reducing the little girl to an object that wasn't named that she loved.
Luke smiled, taking Anjaleen's hand as she stepped from the hovercar. They turned to the Palace entrance together, holo cameras hovering around them. Skywalker smiled pleasantly when the gossip columnists noticed Anjaleen's necklace and began trying to ask them questions. Anjaleen smiled and waved politely to the crowds of news people and tourists that always flocked to the grand entrance to watch the rich and powerful enter the Palace for the evening.
They entered the wide doors together, and Anjaleen leaned over to Luke as she lifted her skirts for the low steps, "Are we going to send a statement to the news channels, or are we leaving them in the dark on purpose?"
"I wasn't planning on it, but I could ask." Luke replied, looking straight ahead. The Force was whispering again, something was going to happen, he had to watch everything that was going on around him.
"I think that it would be a good idea. I know that lots of people in my home system are going to want the whole story. And we have to tell them something, some official story."
"I don't know. There is the issue of your father's inheritance. It would be hard to avoid talking about that."
"True." They entered the first of the gathering rooms where people circulated to gossip and plot. Anjaleen picked up a glass of wine from a servant who was holding out a tray, as was her custom upon entering. She always felt a little thirsty when she got here, and today she was nervous as well. "I will have to speak with my father about it."
"As long as-" Luke suddenly reached out, and grabbed the glass of wine from Anja's fingers. He glared at it, then turned to another passing servant. He handed the man the glass. "Get rid of this." He snapped, as he turned around, glaring at the servant from which Anja had taken the glass. He turned back to Anjaleen, leading her further along the corridor. There was something in his eyes that made her shiver.
"Anja, I want you to listen to me. It won't be long now before everyone knows what I am, but till then, you need to be very careful. Not even the Palace is safe territory, despite the precautions of the Emperor's security. Don't follow a pattern, never take anything, such as food or drink, from anyone who offers it. And try to stay close to me."
Anjaleen's eyes got wide. "Did that man just try to-"
Luke held a finger to her lips. "You are safe. And I will take care of it. Just be careful. Now come on, we have to tell everyone about our engagement." Luke smiled at her, taking her hand again, leading her to the larger gathering rooms.
Treen cursed to himself. He had been so close! He had even gotten the poison into her glass, and she had been halfway to drinking it when Skywalker had taken it from her and gotten rid of it. Something was going on with that man, he seemed to know what was going on. Skywalker had glared right at him, making him wonder if he had been discovered. It almost reminded him of the restaurant.
Well, it didn't matter. Treen had to try again, losing this target again would hurt his reputation. He followed the pair at a discreet distance, deeper into the Palace.
Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail Rebecca or me at valeriev84@hotmail.com
