Empire's Child

Chapter 16

I stand with the Fifth Brother and Fourth Sister to the side as my father approaches. Third Sister paces in front of the desk. I can hear my father coming, footsteps and respirator echoing down the tunnel. But before I even see him, Third Sister is thrown up into the air, choking. "You were warned what defeat would bring!" Father shouts, coming into the room. I flinch back slightly. Third Sister groans as she's lifted higher. "I will tolerate your weakness no longer."

"I let them go." Third Sister says, her voice choked. Father's outstretched hand loosens slightly, giving her more breathing room. Third Sister gasps. "I put a tracker on their ship. Soon the location of the network and Kenobi will be ours." Father lowers her to the ground.

"It seems I have underestimated you." Father says.

"But, my lord, the base was almost destroyed..." Fifth Brother says.

"Kenobi is all that matters." Third Sister says. Father steps closer so he's looming over Third Sister.

"There can be no mistakes. You're certain the tracker is with him?"

"Yes, my lord. Where he goes, it will follow." I tilt my head just slightly, trying to figure out what she put the tracker on. She was never close enough to Obi-Wan to put it directly on him, but she had plenty of contact with Leia, and Leia's droid. The droid! LOLA must be the tracker. Father leaves the room. I sort of wish I could follow him, but I don't dare.

Early the next morning, Third Sister receives a call from Father's Star Destroyer. I go with her. As we enter the bridge, an officer announces to Father that we're here. Well, that Third Sister is here. I'm ignored, as usual. I kind of prefer it. Father has his back turned to us. Third Sister approaches. I follow behind her. "It is my great honor to be invited aboard, Lord Vader." She says.

"I am not interested in civilities. Where is he?" Father asks.

"The tracker worked. He's arriving on Jabiim as we speak." Third Sister says.

"You have done well. Kneel..." After hesitating for a moment, she does. "Grand Inquisitor." The officer that announced us comes forward and presses a pin onto Third Sister's shirt. "Set a course, Captain. We leave for Jabiim at once." Third Sister stands and moves to the window, a few feet away from Father. I hesitantly move to look out the large windows. Space is incredible. I'look never get tired of watching the twinkling stars. I tilt my head slightly, looking up. There have to be trillions in the sky, and every single one is a planet or part of a system. It's breathtaking. The stars turn into glowing blue lines which turned into a blue tunnel as we enter hyperspace. Even this seemingly boring tunnel is beautiful. The blue color changes as we speed along.

"My Lord, we're approaching Jabiim." Third Sis-the Grand Inquisitor announces.

"Lock down the facility." Father orders. I turn to look at the two.

"If we seal them in now, they can hold out for days. If we cannot break them..."

"It is not them we need to break." Father says. The orangish planet, half of it dark as it orbits its sun, appears in the sky as the Destroyer exits hyperspace. Thir-the Grand Inquisitor walks out of the bridge, apparently going to join the attack. I start to follow, but Father stops me. "You stay here." He says. I hesitate, then nod. I go back to the window. After a few minutes of staring at the planet, Father speaks again. "Launch the attack." He orders. Two ships, tiny when compared with the Destoryer but each big enough to carry a platoon of stormtroopers deploy and fly in front of the ship. I close my eyes and hope that the rebels are prepared.

"The Grand Inquisitor has breached the walls. We shall have him soon." The officer reports.

"Tell her to stand down." Father orders.

"My Lord?" The officer asks.

"Kenobi is already ours." The confuses me just as much as the officer, but the man does what Father asks. Sure enough, a second later, the message comes through that Obi-Wan has surrendered. Father turns abruptly and walks out of the bridge. I follow. Father hurries down to the docking bay and enters his shuttle. I hesitate, then follow him in. He never told me not to. The shuttle flies down to Jabiim in awkward silence before landing amid the stormtroopers. He walks out. I follow. The Grand Inquisitor waits just before the doors. Father stops in front of her. "Where is he?"

"I have him secured inside, my Lord." The Grand Inquisitor says.

"I will bring him in myself." Father says and walks toward the doors. They open, revealing the bodies of stormtroopers. I wince slightly and look anywhere but the corpses. It doesn't seem to bother Father, though. He walks straight past, into the tunnel beyond. He walks through the halls, fast enough that I have to jog slightly to keep up. More bodies litter the hall, not all of them Imperial. For a second I think I see Tala and NED-B on the ground, but Father turns a corner and I can't look back. Force, I'm hoping it's not them. The final doors slide open just as the ship takes off. I think we're too late. I'm pretty sure everyone on the ship thinks we're too late. But Father apparently doesn't think so. He holds out a hand and the ship stops in midair, held through the Force. I might have gasped. Maybe even squeaked. But it's surprising, when a ship stops in midair. It's lowered to the ground. I gape. The engine quickly shuts down as it thumps to the ground. Father rips part of the ship off, then more, then more. But it's empty. Another ship takes off right behind it. That must be the one filled with people. It disappears into the atmosphere. We watch it go. I edge around to the left, watching as the ship leaves. It's not until the lightsaber ignites and the shout that I realize something else is going on. I whip around and find the Grand Inquisitor with her lightsaber inches from Father's head. He turns around to glare at her. I assume. His mask doesn't change. But it's plenty intimidating on its own. "He was wise to use you against me." Third Sister-Grand Inquisitor-Riva-whatever I'm supposed to call her now screams in anger and hate. Father pushes her back. She lands on her feet and charges again. Father uses the Force to stop her saber, then dodges her attacks. I hurry back, definitely not ready for a fight of this magnitude. Father sends Riva flying backwards. She screams and charges again, igniting her second blade. Father still evades all her strikes with apparent ease. Riva spins her lightsaber blades, creating a shield. Father just slows them with the Force and pulls her saber to his hand. He breaks it in half, then tosses one half to Riva, keeping the other half. She grabs it, igniting it. They start to duel. Riva is good, but Father is better. SHe uses her agility and speed as an advantage, evading all Father's blows. The red lightsabers crackle when the hit. He pushes her away, and Riva ducks into a roll, then stands back up. Father throws his saber at her. She deflects, then charges. He uses the Force to stop the saber inches from his mask, then grabs it out of her hand. He calls the other saber to his hand. He slowly approaches Riva. She's panting, apparently tired. He stabs the lightsaber through her gut.