Star Wars: The Padawan Menace

Riq Thorne

"A second Death Star?" Thorne repeats, staring at Vader in awe. "But... but..."

Vader leans back. "There will be no buts to this power station. And the Emperor himself will be joining us to watch its construction."

"The Emperor!" Thorne agrees giddily.

"Perhaps he can give you a few pointers on how to handle your lightsaber properly."

Thorne nods, too excited to miss the anger in Vader's voice. "That would be great! Thank you so much, my master!"

"Go and work on your stability with the Dark Side," Vader orders. "The Emperor will show no mercy for those who use the Light. Even if it's an accident. Like last time."

"Yes, master," Thorne agrees sadly, his yellow eyes drifting toward his feet. "I understand." He trudges off down the hall to his quarters. The bedroom is simple, with only a dresser, a bed, an end table and a window overlooking the universe outside.

Thorne closes the door behind him and listens to the harsh silence that follows. He quietly sits down on the bed and tries to clear his mind and focus. He channels all of his anger and hatred into his body, like a star becoming bigger and bigger until it just can't become bigger and then explodes into a... a supernova. Thorne lets out a cry of anger and rage at the galaxy. His eyes glow orange. He is a monster, not a teenager. He yells because he can. He keeps the scream going constantly for a full minute, which probably isn't very healthy, but he stops when he hears a voice. A female voice.

"Thorne." His screaming stops promptly and he looks around, trying to find the source of that scream. It's nowhere to be seen. He is alone in his room. "That's what you call yourself, isn't it? You're not Riq anymore. But you want to be. Oh, yes. You long to go back to being Riq Thorne, the sweet boy with the black hair and the blue eyes. That's right, Thorne. Your eyes aren't supposed to be yellow. You have blue eyes. You didn't want to become this. I know how you think. You never would've consciously turned to the Dark Side. There's not an evil bone in your body, Thorne."

Thorne checks his reflection in the window. His eyes are still yellow. The voice sounds so familiar. It's the voice of a girl... a girl he knows... maybe is related to, even... and then his mind provides a face and a name: Lana Thorne. His twin sister. He can physically feel his eyes turning to blue. Thorne stands. "Lana!" He calls out. "Where are you? Please! Don't leave me! Get me out of here!"

Lana's voice turns to anger. "You're just a puppet, Riq. You know that, don't you? You're Vader's little puppet. And guess what? I'm not the one with my hand controlling your every move. Vader is. So I can't do anything about it. You have to wrestle Vader out of your grasp. You have to get out of there. I can't interfere."

"But, Lana..." Thorne says. "If I leave this room, if Vader touches me, if I fall asleep or something, I'll wake up again and I won't be able to control... I'll..." His voice trails off. Suddenly an image appears in his circular window. It's Lana. Just seeing her makes his heart beat faster. He wants to hug her, but then remembers that he can't hug an image. Her eyes are moist, her expression pained. She points to her eyes, then her heart, and then to him.

I... love... you. Then she disappears.

Thorne whispers, "I love you, too, Lana."

Then Darth Vader comes in, and Thorne's eyes turn yellow.