Darth Plagueis (52 page)

“To avenge the death of Master Qui-Gon,” Palpatine said, nodding, and aware that Dooku was staring at him intently.

“The thought preoccupied me for some time, but no longer.”

Palpatine turned his head slightly. “Then why seek this one?”

“Because I suspect that Naboo was only the beginning—a kind of opening salvo. The Sith want to see the Republic brought down. Much as you and I do.”

Palpatine didn’t respond for a long moment. “But to ally with a Sith …”

“For many, they are the embodiment of pure evil, but the Council knows differently. What separates a Sith from a Jedi is the way each approaches the Force. The Jedi Order has placed limits on itself, but the Sith have never shied from incorporating the power of the dark side to accomplish their goals.”

“You wish to learn the secrets of the dark side?”

“I confess that I do.”

Palpatine restrained an impulse to reveal his true identity. Dooku was strong in the Force, and might simply be attempting to draw him out. On the other hand …

“Something tells me that this hidden Sith may eventually find his way to you,” he said at last. “And if and when he or she does, I hope that the alliance you forge will help us restore order to the galaxy.”

Sate Pestage showed Obi-Wan Kenobi and his young Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, into Palpatine’s temporary office in the Senate Building. Both Jedi were wearing light-colored tunics, brown robes, and tall boots. Facsimiles of each other.

“Thank you both for accepting my invitation,” Palpatine said, coming out from behind a broad, burnished desk to welcome them. “Sit please, both of you,” he added, gesturing to chairs that faced the desk and the large window behind it.

Anakin had nearly seated himself when Obi-Wan chastised him with a shake of his head.

“Thank you, Supreme Chancellor,” the short-bearded Jedi said, “but we’ll stand.” He folded his hands in front of him and waited for Anakin to join him before saying: “We realize that your time is valuable.”

Returned to his armchair, Palpatine smiled receptively. “Not too valuable to spend with two of the people who saved the life of my Queen and rescued my homeworld from the clutches of the Trade Federation.” He kept his eyes on Obi-Wan. “I am sorry for the loss of Qui-Gon Jinn, Master Obi-Wan.”

The Jedi nodded in gratitude, then said: “I have only recently been named a Jedi Knight, Supreme Chancellor.”

Palpatine adopted a look of surprise. “And already you’ve been appointed a learner. Qui-Gon must have trained you brilliantly.”

Again, Obi-Wan nodded. “He was an inspired teacher.”

Palpatine firmed his lips and shook his head. “Such a waste of a life …” His cut his gaze to Anakin. “I didn’t have an opportunity on Naboo to thank you, young Skywalker. Your actions were nothing less than extraordinary. May the Force ever be as strong with you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Anakin said in a quiet voice.

Palpatine interlinked the fingers of his hands. “I’m told that you grew up on Tatooine. I visited there, many years ago.”

Anakin’s eyes narrowed for the briefest moment. “I did, sir, but I’m not supposed to talk about that.”

Palpatine watched him glance up at Obi-Wan. “And why is that?”

“My mother—”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan snapped in reprimand.

Palpatine reclined slightly, studying the two of them. Obi-Wan seemed not to have noticed the fury simmering in the boy, but for an instant Palpatine perceived a touch of his younger self in Skywalker. The need to challenge authority; the gift for masking his emotions. The yet-unrecognized
power
.

“I apologize if I’ve stirred something between you,” he said after a moment.

Clearly uncomfortable, Obi-Wan shifted in place. “The Jedi are trained to live in the moment, Supreme Chancellor. Our upbringings have little to do with our lives in the Force.”

Palpatine furrowed his brow. “Easy for an infant, I’m certain, but for a young boy …” He interrupted himself with a negligent gesture. “Well, who am I to pass judgment on the tenets of your Order, when the Jedi have kept peace in the Repubic for one thousand years.”

Obi-Wan said nothing in a definite way.

“But tell me, Padawan Skywalker, how it feels to have become a member of such a revered group.”

“It’s like a dream come true, sir,” Anakin said in genuine sincerity.

“A dream come true … Then you’ve long thought about the Jedi Order and about the Force.”

Anakin nodded. “I’ve always wanted to bring justice—”

“It’s not for you to decide your destiny, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. “The Force will guide you.”

Palpatine smiled inwardly.
Guide you to me, young Skywalker
.

Dooku had talent, and could be a powerful placeholder. But this seemingly guiless pleasant-faced boy, this
Forceful
boy, was the one he would take as his appretice, and use to execute the final stage of the Grand Plan. Let Obi-Wan instruct him in the ways of the Force, and let Skywalker grow embittered over the next decade as his mother aged in slavery, the galaxy deteriorated around him, and his fellow Jedi fell to inextricable conflicts. He was too young to be trained in the ways of the Sith, in any case, but he was the perfect age to bond with a father figure who would listen to all his troubles and coax him inexorably over to the dark side.

“As I told you on Naboo, Anakin,” he said finally, “we will continue to follow your career with great interest.”

And assure that it culminates in the ruination of the Jedi Order and the reascendancy of the Sith!

About the Author

J
AMES
L
UCENO
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of the
Star Wars
novels
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, Cloak of Deception
, and
Labyrinth of Evil
, as well as the
New Jedi Order
novels
Agents of Chaos I: Hero’s Trial
and
Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse, The Unifying Force
, and the eBook
Darth Maul: Saboteur
. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with his wife and youngest child.

BY JAMES LUCENO

The ROBOTECH series
 (as Jack McKinney, with Brian Daley)

The BLACK HOLE TRAVEL AGENCY series
 (as Jack McKinney, with Brian Daley)
A Fearful Symmetry
Illegal Alien
The Big Empty
Kaduna Memories

THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES
The Mata Hari Affair
The Shadow
The Mask of Zorro
Rio Passion
Rainchaser
Rock Bottom

Star Wars: Cloak of Deception
Star Wars: Darth Maul: Saboteur
(eBook)
Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos I: Hero’s Trial
Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse
Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force
Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil
Star Wars: Dark Lord—The Rise of Darth Vader
Star Wars: Millenium Falcon
Star Wars: Darth Plagueis

STAR WARS
—The Expanded Universe

You saw the movies. You watched the cartoon series, or maybe played some of the video games. But did you know …

In
The Empire Strikes Back
, Princess Leia Organa said to Han Solo, “I love you.” Han said, “I know.” But did you know that they actually got married? And had three Jedi children: the twins, Jacen and Jaina, and a younger son, Anakin?

Luke Skywalker was trained as a Jedi by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. But did you know that, years later, he went on to revive the Jedi Order and its commitment to defending the galaxy from evil and injustice?

Obi-Wan said to Luke, “For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire.” Did you know that over those millennia, legendary Jedi and infamous Sith Lords were adding their names to the annals of Republic history?

Yoda explained that the dreaded Sith tend to come in twos: “Always two, there are. No more, no less. A Master, and an apprentice.” But did you know that the Sith didn’t always exist in pairs? That at one time in the ancient Republic there were as many Sith as Jedi, until a Sith Lord named Darth Bane was the lone survivor of a great Sith war and created the “Rule of Two”?

All this and much, much more is brought to life in the many novels and comics of the
Star Wars
expanded universe. You’ve seen the movies and watched the cartoon. Now venture out into the wider worlds of
Star Wars!

Turn the page or jump to the
timeline
of
Star Wars
novels to learn more.

1

D
essel was lost in the suffering of his job, barely even aware of his surroundings. His arms ached from the endless pounding of the hydraulic jack. Small bits of rock skipped off the cavern wall as he bored through, ricocheting off his protective goggles and stinging his exposed face and hands. Clouds of atomized dust filled the air, obscuring his vision, and the screeching whine of the jack filled the cavern, drowning out all other sounds as it burrowed centimeter by agonizing centimeter into the thick vein of cortosis woven into the rock before him.

Impervious to both heat and energy, cortosis was prized in the construction of armor and shielding by both commercial and military interests, especially with the galaxy at war. Highly resistant to blaster bolts, cortosis alloys supposedly could withstand even the blade of a lightsaber. Unfortunately, the very properties that made it so valuable also made it extremely difficult to mine. Plasma torches were virtually useless; it would take days to burn away even a small section of cortosis-laced rock. The only effective way to mine it was through the brute force of hydraulic jacks pounding relentlessly away at a vein, chipping the cortosis free bit by bit.

Cortosis was one of the hardest materials in the galaxy. The force of the pounding quickly wore down the head of a jack, blunting it until it became almost useless. The dust clogged the hydraulic pistons, making them
jam. Mining cortosis was hard on the equipment … and even harder on the miners.

Des had been hammering away for nearly six standard hours. The jack weighed more than thirty kilos, and the strain of keeping it raised and pressed against the rock face was taking its toll. His arms were trembling from the exertion. His lungs were gasping for air and choking on the clouds of fine mineral dust thrown up from the jack’s head. Even his teeth hurt: the rattling vibration felt as if it were shaking them loose from his gums.

But the miners on Apatros were paid based on how much cortosis they brought back. If he quit now, another miner would jump in and start working the vein, taking a share of the profits. Des didn’t like to share.

The whine of the jack’s motor took on a higher pitch, becoming a keening wail Des was all too familiar with. At twenty thousand rpm, the motor sucked in dust like a thirsty bantha sucking up water after a long desert crossing. The only way to combat it was by regular cleaning and servicing, and the Outer Rim Oreworks Company preferred to buy cheap equipment and replace it, rather than sinking credits into maintenance. Des knew exactly what was going to happen next—and a second later, it did. The motor blew.

The hydraulics seized with a horrible crunch, and a cloud of black smoke spit out the rear of the jack. Cursing ORO and its corporate policies, Des released his cramped finger from the trigger and tossed the spent piece of equipment to the floor.

“Move aside, kid,” a voice said.

Gerd, one of the other miners, stepped up and tried to shoulder Des out of the way so he could work the vein with his own jack. Gerd had been working the mines for nearly twenty standard years, and it had turned his body into a mass of hard, knotted muscle. But Des had been working the mines for ten years himself, ever since he
was a teenager, and he was just as solid as the older man—and a little bigger. He didn’t budge.

“I’m not done here,” he said. “Jack died, that’s all. Hand me yours and I’ll keep at it for a while.”

“You know the rules, kid. You stop working and someone else is allowed to move in.”

Technically, Gerd was right. But nobody ever jumped another miner’s claim over an equipment malfunction. Not unless he was trying to pick a fight.

Des took a quick look around. The chamber was empty except for the two of them, standing less than half a meter apart. Not a surprise; Des usually chose caverns far off the main tunnel network. It had to be more than mere coincidence that Gerd was here.

Des had known Gerd for as long as he could remember. The middle-aged man had been friends with Hurst, Des’s father. Back when Des first started working the mines at thirteen, he had taken a lot of abuse from the bigger miners. His father had been the worst tormentor, but Gerd had been one of the main instigators, dishing out more than his fair share of teasing, insults, and the occasional cuff on the ear.