STAR WARS: DARK EMPEROR
By Brendan Wahlberg

The morning light shone through the circular webbed window behind Palpatine's throne in the undamaged audience chamber near the base of the Imperial Palace. Vader and Mara stood in the soft glow, where they had met two nights before, having been summoned before the Emperor. It had been a long night, and both of them had forsaken sleep to remain in the thick of the chaos left by Boda's attack. Vader's armor and cape were still in disarray, and Mara still wore her black flight suit, which was at least two sizes too large.

Fire fighting teams had swarmed over the Palace all night, and now that the sun had risen, towering Construction Droids ponderously removed the rubble. One of the forty story high machines could be seen through the window behind the Emperor, removing and recycling shattered building materials.

Vader decided that his Master looked none the worse for wear, despite all that had happened. Palpatine even seemed to be in a generous mood, which made Vader suspicious. Given that his orders had been disobeyed, his Master could have been angry. Or, given that his life had been saved, perhaps his Master had little choice but to seem grateful. Vader could rarely fathom the Emperor's mercurial temperament.

Vader himself was quite satisfied. He had killed Boda without bringing down the Emperor's wrath, and kept the man's knowledge from being revealed. At least the status quo had been preserved, as well as his chance to inherit the Empire.

"Lord Vader, Mara Jade," the Emperor addressed them. "I have summoned you here to discuss the events surrounding the dark Jedi's attack. I assure you that the damage done to my person was of no consequence...thanks to you, Lord Vader. But what happened to me reflects our lack of knowledge of our opponent. Although he was far from being immortal, he had considerable power. The price of our ignorance has been much destruction and loss of life. And because even I found this foe to be a challenge, I am forgiving you both for your considerable mistakes. See to it that you perform with more competence in the future, however." The Emperor managed a smile. "There, you see Lord Vader? I can be reasonable...from time to time. And who is more deserving of my good graces than the servant who saved my life, and the servant whose actions saved most of my Palace? In the end, you have both served me well."

Vader and Mara bowed to their Emperor. The Dark Lord was relieved at the speech, yet he sensed a certain artificial quality to it. Surely, the Emperor must be experiencing some frustration at having been outmaneuvered by Vader. If so, he was hiding it well.

"Lord Vader," said Palpatine, "I wish you to organize a study of the species of moss that Boda used as an explosive. See to it that we learn where it came from, and whether it can be used as a weapon. Perhaps it can be genetically engineered to be useful to us. After all, we must salvage something from this disaster."

"Yes, my Master."

"And Mara Jade," Palpatine continued, "remain here with me to discuss an additional task I have for you." He turned to Vader. "You may go, Lord Vader."

Vader glanced at Mara. She seemed to be full of pride and satisfaction at receiving the Emperor's thanks. No doubt, being restored to his good graces had been an immense relief to her, as it should have been. Just as Vader's positive and negative actions had balanced out, so had Mara's, saving her career as Vader had hoped. Satisfied that he had achieved what he wanted with both the Emperor and Mara Jade, the Sith Lord turned and descended the stairs. He walked down the long hall to the turbolift, leaving behind the throne he hoped someday to claim.

When Vader was gone, the Emperor leaned in close to speak with Mara. "I know you are in need of rest, Emperor's Hand, but I require you to return to Vantos Boda's home, and seek out an important object."

"But Master, it was destroyed," said Mara. "Nothing was left."

"The object I have in mind would have been very valuable to Boda, and he would have stored it in a safe place. It is a Jedi artifact, a recording device that would contain certain knowledge...knowledge that would be very useful to me."

"But what makes you think -"

"As I was fighting Vantos Boda, it was clear to me that he had access to a number of lost secrets of Jedi lore. Such secrets are often recorded in ancient devices known as Holocrons. Search the wreckage of his home, and stay in contact with me. Look for a smooth cube or other geometric shape, covered with writing or carvings. If you find such a device, you must bring it to me at once."

"All right," said Mara uncertainly. "I'll see what I can find."

"I have the utmost faith in you, my dear Mara Jade," said Palpatine.

Three days later, the Emperor smiled triumphantly over his prize, the Jedi Holocron of Ashka and Vantos Boda. Mara Jade had found it in the ruins of Boda's greenhouse, in a force field-protected box. The Holocron was a cube made of precious gems. Ancient writings could be seen on its surface in the right light, and it had a slight glowing blue aura at all times. It felt warm in his hands, and he knew that with a thought, he could bring it to life, summoning the holographic gatekeeper, Bodo Baas. Baas was an interactive teaching entity, able to answer Palpatine's questions about the Jedi lore stored within. Although the holographic alien had amusingly called Palpatine "dark one", the thing had cooperated well enough.

The Holocron contained teachings concerning Life Transfer, the power to move one's spirit into another body. This was surely what Vantos had used to inhabit Ashka's body. Palpatine was further amused that the holographic Jedi Master who imparted this knowledge referred to it in the gravest sense as a power of the dark side. The Emperor had laughed out loud at that.

Palpatine had spent a day studying the new power, until he decided how to use it. Although it could be employed to enter another's body and drive out the consciousness within, he had no desire to take another's body. He wanted his own body, and he wanted it to be young again, and not dying. The key, of course, was to combine the knowledge with the science of cloning. Already, Palpatine had experimented with creating a clone of the former Jedi Master Jorus C'Baoth. He had learned that the clone could inherit the same Force sensitivity as the original...but what good was a clone of himself if it was not himself? But now that he could transfer his actual essence into a new body, he could conceivably transfer into one of his own clones. His new body would have the same vast Force sensitivity he had come to depend on, and it would be a chance to recapture his youth and vitality.

For the first time in over a year, Palpatine felt the fear lift from him. He was going to live! He had accomplished what no other dark side adept ever had. He had outsmarted the destructive irony that brought low the dark side's greatest servants. Let the power exact its price! From now on, it would be nothing to pay! He could claim ever greater rewards, while simply using up a series of replaceable physical bodies. It was wonderful to imagine.

The Emperor owed a great debt to Ashka and Vantos Boda. It was a pity he could never thank them. Ashka, especially, had wished him well when Palpatine was only a child. As for Vantos, he had fulfilled his mission from the Force after all, though it had turned out to be serving the dark side by supplying Palpatine with the Holocron. And even if Vantos had felt a certain hostility towards Palpatine's reign, the best revenge was, as always, to live well.

He was going to do so for a long, long time...