The Other Skywalker (Star Wars FanFic) [ON HOLD]

Chapter Four - Meeting the Emperor

You would be surprised how long a trip between galaxies takes - even at light-speed. Lili certainly was. By the third day, she was tired of it. She longed for solid ground, for the plants and flowers in the garden at the orphanage.

Of course, her father kept her busy. The day after she'd spoken so boldly against the emperor, he summoned her again - he was going to begin her training in the use of the 'Force'.

Lili heard him mutter something about "older than I was", but she didn't understand. What she did understand is that she wasn't doing half-bad in her training - she was doing horrible.

Lord Vader insisted that that was not true.

"Your only problem is that you are older than is customary to begin training. Your skills are highly developed for one who is just beginning. Put the helmet back on."

She had removed her helmet in her frustration. Mumbling about how awful she was doing, she placed it back on her head.

Determined to please her father, Lili took a deep breath, then cleared her mind. All thoughts except those of the floating orb in front of her drifted away. She turned on the red light-sword that her father had given her. She was ready.

Behind the mask, a smile played across Vader's lips as he watched her. Lili was not a patient child, but  she had inherited his gift of seeing things before they happened. Not once had one of the lasers shooting from the droid come in contact with her. Not once did she swing wrong with her light-saber. As he watched the light from her weapon dance back and forth, it dawned on Darth Vader that his daughter would one day be a great ruler. If he could rid her of her rebellious thoughts, that was.

No, he thought. When I rid her of her rebellious thoughts.

That time is not far off, he told himself. Lili was to meet the emperor the next day, then they would go on to the incomplete Death Star. Lili would spend the remained of her childhood knowing that anyone - man, woman, or beast - that did not bow to her could be put to death instantly. Surely her mind would change once she had lived with that for a few months.

The man spent that afternoon instructing the girl on how to behave when she met the emperor. He showed her how to bow, taught her to say  "my Lord" and "my Master" at the end of nearly every sentence, and stressed again and again that she must never disobey the emperor.

Little did he know the affect this meeting would have on his carefully-laid plans to rid his daughter of her rebellious thoughts.

Lili awoke the next morning with a feeling of dread. Thought her father had already sent the droid with food, she had no appetite. She got up, dressed in her nicest clothes, and prepared herself to wait.

It was not a long wait. The droid - whose number was C4PO - came for her quickly. She followed it toward her father's control room, nervous about the meeting.

For Lili, silence when she was nervous was not usually an option. When she was nervous was when she talked. This was no exception.

"S-so... who m-made... who b-built you?"

"Your father," answered C4PO calmly.

Not expecting that answer, Lili fell into silence.

Her father said nothing when she arrived. Lili had become used to his silence, but she felt uneasy. Somehow she thought he did too. She pushed the thought aside. Her father couldn't be nervous. He was always so sure of himself.

No, Darth Vader was not always so sure of  himself. In fact, at that moment, he was very nervous. He'd not seen the emperor in nearly ten years. He knew that he was in little danger of the emperor's displeasure, but he was not so sure about Lili. His strong-willed child, while unsure of herself in many ways, was firm in what she believed, he was sure. Though he had plans to rid her of her rebellious thoughts, he knew that he had not yet come close to accomplishing that task. He also knew that the emperor wold know that, and he was afraid that his child might soon find out what happened to those whose thoughts went against the emperor's wishes.

It was not long before their ship was sitting in the hangar of another, larger ship. Lili's eyes widened and she looked toward her father, who simply motioned with his hand for her to follow.

He led her through the ship's corridors, toward the main door, and out into the larger ship. His stride seemed grander than usual, and his steps longer. His emotions pushed aside, he no longer feared for the child. The emperor's will would be done.

Lili had to hurry to keep up with her father's long strides. The uneasiness she had sensed in him was gone, replaced with a confidence in the emperor. She still did not like the idea of the man they were soon to meet, and wished she knew what held her father so bound to him.

These thoughts still flew through her mind as she followed her father into a large room with a high-backed chair at the other end. The chair faced away from them, and she felt a presence in that chair. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

As little as she wanted to, she followed Darth Vader's lead as he went down on one knee before the chair, head bowed. With her head down as it was, she could not see the emperor's face, but by looking up through her lashes, she could see the hem of his robe as he turned around.

"Rise, Lord Vader." The emperor had a strange, rough voice - somewhat like gravel. It sent chills down her spine. She heard her father stand up.

"So," the emperor said. "This is Lili Skywalker."

"Yes, Master." Vader's voice betrayed no emotion, no hint that he cared for the child at all.

"Rise, young Skywalker."

Lili did so, but her father did not look at her at all. His eyes remained forward, directed toward the emperor.

"So," said his master, the older man's wrinkled face grave, "you do not agree with the way I rule."

It was a statement, not a question, directed at Lili.

"I do not," Lili replied boldly. "I believe that -"

"Silence!" commanded the emperor firmly. "You know nothing of such matters." With these words, the man in the chair stood. Slowly he added, "But you will soon learn."

Lili did not like the sound of those words. They'd barely an instant to register in her mind before lightning began shooting from the man's fingertips and her body filled with intense pain. She screamed and fell to the floor, writhing in agony, blinded by pain.

"F-Father..." she managed, unable to say another word, those two syllables a desparate plea for help. But Darth Vader stood there, his eyes still facing forward, not even glancing at the girl on the ground.

It seemed to Lili that an eternity had passed before the pain subsided enough for her to stand. The emperor looked at her coldly, his lip-less mouth spread across his wrinkled face in an evil grin.

"Let that be a lesson to you. Now, leave us."

She looked to her father for sympathy but received only a curt nod. She followed one of the people in white suits to her own rooms on the other ship, each step a major feat in itself.

Once alone, she lay on her bed, every muscle aching. Oh yes, that had been a lesson. She had learned just how cruel the emperor was. One thing was for sure - she now agreed with the rebels wholeheartedly. She would work hard at her training, and when she was older, she would help the rebellion, in secret. She would learn to control her thoughts and emotions so neither her father nor the emperor would know. And if they could not succeed in bringing the emperor to an early grave (though if those trenches on his face were anything to go by, he'd lived long past his appointed time) well, she'd wait for a day when she could rule. Then her people would be free.

But she did not plan to wait that long.