Empire's Child

Chapter 22

The next morning I'm up on the bridge, watching the shifting blue lights of hyperspace. "Where are we going?" I ask my father, who stands beside me.

"Coruscant." He answers. I peer around to look at the navicomputer. It's just us two on the bridge, except for the low-level officers working at the various computers.

"What does this mean?" I take a step forward, tapping the small numbers at the bottom of the screen.

"That is the time until we emerge from hyperspace." He says.

"So, we have about thirteen minutes left?" I ask, taking a step back. Father nods. "What's happening on Coruscant? I don't...I don't have to see the Emperor again, do I?" I examine the ground. I don't remember much about what happened when I met him the first time, only blue light and that the light hurt.

"No. You have been enrolled in AOTE." I look blankly up at him. I have no idea what AOTE is. "Academy of the Empire. It's a fancy school."

"Oh. Uh...how fancy?"

"Very."

I bite my lip, but release it almost instantly. "I can't go to, like, the public school, could I?" I ask softly. "I mean, I never went to school before this. Can I really just start in the middle of the year at a fancy academy place?" Father places a hand on my shoulder and guides me outside, through the halls.

"No, you cannot go to a public school. You will do fine at AOTE. You are intelligent and you already have more common sense than most your new classmates. You will be keeping your Force powers hidden, and you are not allowed to bring your lightsaber. No one is to know you are out of the ordinary." I nod, turning to look at Father.

"Kind of sounds like to be ordinary at this place, you have to be extraordinary." I mutter.

"No, you have to be rich." Father replies. "Your supplies have already been purchased and your uniform is waiting in your new room."

"I'm not..."

"Credits will never be a problem in the Empire." He says. I nod and decide to stay quiet the rest of the way.

We disembark the Star Destroyer into the sunlight of Coruscant. I squint and shade my eyes. Light reflects of the many buildings, nearly blinding me. I haven't seen anything like it before. A Lamba shuttle lands a few yards from us. Father clasps my shoulder, gently pushing me toward the ship. A small squad of stormtroopers join us. I pull down one of the small seats and hold the handles as the ship takes off. After a second, though, I stand and pad to a spot where I can see out of the cockpit's window. Building speed past. Other speeders and small ships wait in traffic to our right, but the shuttle speeds right past the others. I can't help a small grin as we skip right through traffic.

Barely fifteen minutes have passed before we land outside a huge building. It is one of the biggest in the city, and one of the few made from materials besides metals and glass. The Imperial flag hangs from its sides. To get to the main entrance, there's a huge flight of stairs. But my father leads me to a different entrance on the side. Two stormtroopers guard it, but they let us pass with no questions. I guess my father is pretty recognizable.

My room has the same basic shape as my room on the ship, except it's a little bigger and there's a window, and a few shelves and a bookshelf. The walls and floor are the same gray. A bed is pressed against the left wall, a desk opposite it. The bookshelf is next to the desk, and it already has a bunch of books that I'll need for my new school. There's nothing on the shelves. Out the window I can see two lanes of traffic, the multicolored speeders flying along it. I can also see a few large apartment buildings, the apartments set aside for Senators and a few high-ranking Imperial officers. What I assume is my new uniform is folded neatly on my bed. The uniform is black, with a shirt, pants, and a thin vest. I change into it. Beside the uniform pieces is a small sheet of paper. I pick it up. Ah, yes. The rules. I scan the paper.

1. No lightsaber at school. Did they really think I'd bring a dangerous weapon to school? Around other eleven-year-olds and even younger kids? Honestly.

2. No using the Force. Yeah, that probably would raise a lot of questions.

3. Keep every relation to the Empire secret. I frown at that one. So I can't tell anyone about my father. I suppose I'll just have to come up with a lie about why I'm at the school. That is assuming anyone talks to me.

4. Attend training every day after school. I was wondering when I'd be learning about the Force and lightsaber combat.

Well, nothing there was a huge surprise. I sit on my bed for a moment, then pick up my uniform shirt. It has some gold thread stitching on the arms and collar that I hadn't noticed and a patch shaped like the Empire's insignia in the same gold thread. Definitely nicer than anything I've ever worn before. There's a knock on my door. I open it to see a young man, probably about twenty or so. I glance at his badge. Two red tiles and one blue. He's a lieutenant. "Yes?" I ask, tilting my head slightly.

"Here are the supplies you will need." The lieutenant hands me a large package. "Everything you need should be in there. If you require anything else, let me know." He says. I nod.

"Thank you, Lieutenant..." I trail off.

"Rorak." He answers my unspoken question. I smile. "Lord Vader also wants you to change into your uniform and meet me outside door 3-B in half an hour."

"3-B?" I repeat.

"The door you came in." Lieutenant Rorak explains.

"Okay. I'll see you then." I smile and step back, letting the door shut. Then the package falls from my hands, landing with a soft thud on the floor. I wince and open it. I hope I didn't break anything.

Inside, there's a black bag with a shoulder strap with the same gold insignia as my uniform. Must be the schoolbag. Two holopads are inside, one just plain black and the other with gold detailing. I look into the package and decide to just separate everything with gold.

I end up with two fairly even piles. The bag and holopad for school. The holopad has a pen that attaches to it, for writing notes. A small projector for something, maybe online classes or something, a small toolkit full of astromech repair equipment, a more breathable version of the uniform for physical activity, and a diagram of a podracer. I have to admit, I was not expecting a diagram of a podracer. Is that what we're learning about? Podracing?

Okay then.

In the other pile I have another datapad, a comlink, two Imperial uniforms, a code cylinder, and an ID badge. I put each object away neatly before changing. Before I throw the box out, I double check that nothing else is inside. And I'm glad I did. My fingers hit something cold and hard and I pull out a necklace. The pendant is black, with tiny silver specks that glitter like stars in the light. The simple cord can be tightened or loosened using the two knots in the back. I hold it up, then put it on. The cold stone sits against my collarbone. I take a deep breath before pulling the bag over my shoulder and starting down toward 3-B.