On the Wings of Valkyrie

Chapter LXV

Vader watched as Luna took the first few steps into the Imperial Palace. She walked with purpose, as he had taught her, and her eyes moved over everything analytically—as if she was looking for traps or judging every hall.

Her eyes didn't hold the wonder she had the first time she had entered the building. Didn't hold the excitement. The joy.

Somewhere else, some other planet, another temple, Luna would be more like her old self, eager to explore, but not here. Never here.

Here her dark pools were like a cold hard stone, roughly polished smooth by the waves that had carelessly thrown them onto a rough, abandoned shore. Emotionless.

Perhaps that was better. Better than the sadness and heartbreak it would have caused her to see what the Emperor had done to what used to be the Jedi Temple. Kept her from searching for and finding the echoes of Jedi.

The horror she'd gain from sensing echoes of the last moments of the many slaughtered and knowing the man who caused it stood at her side.

This was not her first time in the Palace, blind to what had taken place and more concerned with the resident who had called upon her presence. Vader doubted it would be the last, regardless of how much he fought to keep her away from the Emperor.

~*~

It was difficult to locate an area empty enough to land thanks to the takeover of the wilderness, but Vader managed, settling the ship down onto a semi-stable area within the ruins of Kaas City. The tall skyscrapers had long since been taken over by vines and it no longer resembled the great capital city it had once been.

"So, what are we looking for?" Luke asked as he followed the Sith off the ship, having already been briefed on the dangerous wildlife and his father's preference that he stay close.

"Anything that does not seem to belong. This planet has been abandoned by the Sith for centuries," Vader answered as he started forward. The area they were now appeared to have been untouched for Force knew how long, but there were places that would be far more attractive for Palpatine to set up shop or at least investigate. "We will search the Citadel first. Hopefully there will be information there."

"The Citadel?"

"It was where the main government of the Sith Empire operated."

"So they didn't use a temple like the Jedi?"

"No, they did. In fact there are two on this planet, though I would rather you stay away from both of them. One may still be haunted by ancient Sith spirits and the other has a way of corrupting any who enter—a test I rather not have you face at the moment. Both are said to contain artifacts, objects I dare say the Emperor would be interested in."

"Great," Luke muttered sarcastically, as they made their way to the Citadel's door. Vader began cutting open an entrance with his lightsaber, the rusted metal giving way like a stale cracker. "What sort of artifacts?"

"That, I would not know. I've always considered artifact hunting beneath me and Palaptine isn't in the habit of sharing information."

"Why am I not surprised?" the boy mumbled as the Sith cleared the doorway and entered into the darkness. The Jedi learner followed behind, drawing out his saber for light. They both could feel the darkside's presence in the building, echoes of the many Sith who once stalked the halls. There were similar echoes of Force presences in the Imperial Palace—though those echoes were from the many Jedi who had lived in its halls and all but drowned out by Palpatine's presence and the Sith Shrine underneath.

Not that it helped Vader had always done his best to ignore them and find a way to scrub the corridors of the remaining pieces of the light.

"....You're sure this isn't a temple of some sort?" Luke asked as they carefully navigated their way to what used to be the grand entry hall, their lightsabers sending shadows moving in the ring of darkness surrounding them.

"Yes," Vader answered, though he understood his son's confusion—the darkside was stronger here than many other places the Sith Lord had visited in his time. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if there was a shrine of some description...."

"What are the odds of some Sith spirits haunting a shrine?" The Sith Lord turned to give the boy a look. "Hey, I've met two ghost already, I don't want to meet any more unless I knew them before they joined the Force or are Jedi."

"The odds any are around this area are rather low. Besides, the few spirits I have run onto on my visits to Sith planets have known better than to try anything. Stay close to me, and you'll be fine."

"Right."