The Jedi From Earth: A Star Wars Story #Wattys2023

Part 148

AN, pretend Riosovsky is Putin
Imperial Palace, May 8th 2016

After the three days like all things came to an end Shawn and Mara headed back to Coruscant, he waited as she hugged her parents goodbye before catching the shuttle back to the capital. It felt different being back there after not having contact with any Imperials for a couple of days, to Shawn it was like the time he'd left Toronto to go where Clara had gone to that cave the sense of liberation was replaced by one of repression. More details of what happened on Raxus also spread among the visiting military personnel with whispers of "I heard the Vizsla boy tucked tail and ran off" followed by guffawing. Today on the first day back Shawn did something unexpected, he went to Vladimir's cell.

Doctor Cylo was there when Shawn walked in looking into a microscope of some kind before looking up, "ah Mendes, does the Emperor have some words needed from the subject?" Cylo asked. "No I do" Shawn replied standing just in front of the energy field, on the floor of the cell Shawn saw pieces of parchment lying about with drawings on them in an ink substance. "You like them?" Vladimir asked and Shawn noticed him hanging upside down from the ceiling of his cell,his red eyes and pointed eyes with the pasty look of him and little hair made him look like something out of a nightmare. "I guess" Shawn replied as Vladimir dropped down picking one of the pieces of parchment up and turned it forward.

On the parchment was a building of some sort near a body of water, "that is the Haigh Sophia in Istanbul, before it was conquered by the Turks" Vladimir said then showed another, "this is Venice, beautiful city it is". "Why'd you draw em?" Shawn asked thinking it was best to go along with this, "because they are cities I visited during my many centuries on your world" Vladimir said not looking at Shawn, "you don't believe me? You assume I fed at pleasure to terrorize, you mistake me, I can go years if need be" Vladimir said,"It has been many years since but it still seems like yesterday when I walked the streets of Rome", "but it was when the plagues struck in a hundred years life was gloomy, people's kept to themselves".

Shawn simply stood there stone faced not saying anything, "you smell of fear, I've smelled it before well that and death" Vladimir said then laughed manically before pacing around muttering to himself in what was a mix of various languages like French,German even Hungarian, "<<you are missing your home yes?>>" Vladimir said in Latin, "<<the one who haunts you brings another>> then German, "<<another of the past it seems>>" in Italian, "like me" before returning to Basic.

Shawn hadn't even noticed how close he'd stepped to the energy shield when he shook his head, "what's the matter? Did something catch your attention" Vladimir said as his eyes glowed slightly. The talisman got warm and Shawn took it out seeing it was glowing a sort of Orange color like the sun at dusk, Vladimir snarled and growled in an inhuman animal like way. "Do not put your faiths in such trinkets of deception!" He said backing away into the shadows, "you had it before remember?" Shawn asked sensing the creature moving around, "that you are correct, but it had not emitted the beacon that offends me" Vladimir said and Shawn realized he was climbing on the ceiling like a bat. "I may be old but not stupid, there's powers in my knowledge not even your Sith Lord superior knows of" Vladimir said and Shawn looked in front of him realizing he'd somehow gone from the ceiling standing on the floor in the blink of an eye.

"Yea like what?" Shawn asked crossing his arms, "this!!" Vladimir shouted and his hand somehow passed through the energy field and grabbed Shawn by the jacket, "let me go!" Shawn shouted as he felt a sharp needle like pain on the lower left part of his neck while hitting the creatures arm until Cylo pressed a button shocking Vladimir who screeched letting go and his arm went back into the field. Shawn put his hand to where the pain was and saw a bit of blood on his glove, Vladimir laughed manically then licked his long claw, "tastes like fear too" then laughed more. Shawn was creeped out now and quickly walked away still holding the small cut.