Star Wars: The Padawan Menace

Riq Thorne

 "My lord," Thorne says, bowing politely to the Emperor. The man looks like a withered, white-spray-painted raisin, but Thorne remains silent. He knows his job: to stand by the throne of the Emperor and remain silent. One day, Thorne believes, he may even become one of the Emperor's red-cloaked royal guard men. Right now the Emperor is seated at the head of the table, with Darth Vader on his right and Thorne at the right of Vader. Grand Moff Tarkin is at the Emperor's left, with a few high-ranking generals and leaders seated around the oblong black, steel table. Emperor Palpatine responds to Thorne by giving him a sharp nod and a quick glance from underneath his black hood, and then the meeting begins. At first it's nothing that Thorne's interested in, with discussion about the jawa population on Tatooine or the sudden decrease in rain on Kamino. Thorne decides to use this time to focus on his inner thoughts through the Force. As he mentally examines his heart, he finds himself surprised at what he finds. His heart is at war: the good side of him versus the evil. The Force rages uncontrollably in his very soul. The light side of his heart has Lana, family, comfort, and love. The dark side has nothing except the fact that he must obey his master. Thorne shudders in his seat, but it goes unnoticed by the galactic leaders. He thinks back to his experience with the voice yesterday and Lana's encouraging words to him. "You never would've consciously turned to the Dark Side. There's not an evil bone in your body, Thorne."

That's true. Thorne hadn't consciously turned to the Dark Side. He had been on Naboo with Lana two months earlier, messing around in the meadows, and then suddenly a shadow had blocked the sun. Both teenagers had turned to see a sight so completely out of place, so completely wrong, that they both had cracked up. On the most beautiful planet in the galaxy, with gushing waterfalls, sparkling lakes, rolling hills, and even spectacular underwater cities, the man standing before the twins looked hilarious, with a black all-goth suit, cape, and triangular helmet that curved off in the back.

Darth Vader had stepped up to them and crossed his arms over his chest and the twins had almost immediately stopped laughing.

"Riq Thorne," he had said.

Riq had looked up at Vader and stepped forward, his icy blue eyes supposedly piercing through the man's very soul. "What do you want?" He had demanded.

Vader had held out a hand. "Come, Riq. Rule the galaxy at my side."

Riq had exchanged a look with his sister, then said, "Yeah, right. I don't think so. Just go back to whatever creepy place you came from."

Suddenly Lana doubled over, in pain. She reached up and grabbed at her throat, clawing at an unseen force that was choking her. Vader.

Riq had yelled a battle cry and lunged at Vader, but his lunge got him nowhere. He had barely managed to move Vader an inch. Lana was on the ground, now, writhing and rolling around, her lungs about to burst.

Then time slowed. Vader had looked Riq in the eye and asked the following question: "Would you die for your sister?"

The question, somehow, seemed out of place. Incorrect. For a minute, it didn't compute in Riq's mind. Then he answered on instinct.

"Yes. Yes, I would."

"Then come with me, and your sister will live."
"No!" Lana had gasped, a sound that had startled Riq into self-awareness for a second. "Riq, he's tricking you! Can't you feel it? He's going to turn you into his minion and-"

Then Lana choked again and had to fight to keep breathing.

Riq had yelled, "MAKE HER STOP!" in complete rage and anger.

"Yes!" Vader had declared. "Use your anger! Channel it! You hate me! And now... you... are... mine!"

Riq's vision had gone black. He'd heard Lana's voice, loud and clear, close by as Vader had dragged him, unconscious, out of the area. "Riq! I'm going to rescue you, okay? Just stay where you are and don't give in to your capturer guy! You're going to be all right!" And the last thing he'd heard before losing consciousness completely was Lana telling him one last thing: "I love you!" It echoed in his mind until his eyes popped open, and somehow he'd felt that his irises were no longer blue.

Now, after recalling this experience, Thorne looks around the room as if for the first time. He knows the color of his irises without having to think about it, except he knows that he'll have to avoid making eye contact with everyone in the room, especially Palpatine and Vader, who will suspect something is wrong immediately.

Thorne's hand reaches for his lightsaber under the table. He cringes when he realizes the blade is red. Red for Sith. Red for the Dark Side. Lana was right, of course. There isn't an evil bone in Thorne's body. His childhood hero is Leia Organa, the Rebels' leader, whose name always seems to be in the news. Thorne's hand grasps the lightsaber hilt, and just before chaos erupts in the room, he thinks: I will never be called Thorne again as long as I live. My name is Riq.