Beauty in The Eyes Beholder

CHAPTER ONE

The hours of the late evening looms over the urban sprawl of the planet Coruscant. Normally the weather is calm and quiet, thanks to the planet's weather-controlled stations scattered throughout. However tonight, this isn't the case. A power surge has knocked out several of the stations. This absence of control has created several cells of rainstorms that has covered endless miles of the core world.

Pvt. Len Towani, through his helmet, looks up at the heavy rain as it comes down. He's amazed at how the towering skyscrapers seem to disappear into the clouds. It's as almost like the clouds are doing their best to lessen the sheer height of these buildings. Just then the private is jolted by a sudden boom of someone's voice coming through his helmet's transmitter.

"GF-0319, report on your status. You're five minutes late...again!".

"Thi-this is GF-0319, Sector Three is all clear," replies the private. Although his face winces, no one can see it. Unfortunately for Pvt. Towani, he knows what will happen next.

"You better get your buckethead out of your behind GF-0319, or the next time you'll wear your stormtrooper gear will be at your funeral!" With that, the communication ends. The private mentally beats himself up a little. He knows better; not letting things distract him from his tasks. What the private also doesn't realize is that someone is right behind him.

"Rough night, huh?" The voice startles Pvt. Towani as he spins around to see who posed that question. His eyes widen when he sees it's another stormtrooper who's wearing a white pauldron.

"S-Sergeant Malkon!" The private tries to formulate a sentence but gets increasingly tongue-tied when Sgt. Malkon stops him with the raise of his hand.

"No need to explain. I was you once. Fresh out of basic training, placed on a world completely foreign to your own. How does it feel guarding our Emperor?" Pvt. Towani takes a quick look over the Sergeant's shoulder at the Imperial Palace: home of Emperor Palpatine. He makes a remark about how the palace is a lot bigger "in person," when a thin line of blue lightning streaks across the Coruscant sky. Sgt. Malkon easily sees the flinch the private makes due to the accompanying loud boom of thunder.

"Not into storms?" The private quickly shakes his head as the rainfall gets heavier, while the winds gusts get a bit stronger. As the two stormtroopers deal with the present weather, Sgt. Malkon notices Pvt. Towani looking over the sergeant's shoulder again. "Is there something about the palace you would like to ask me private?" The private nods his head, takes his hand and points to the sky.

"You think he's sound asleep with all of this going on, sir?"

Sgt. Malkon looks at the private and slightly shakes his head in amusement. As the two stormtroopers continue to talk, another round of lightning streaks over the sky followed by the boom of thunder. This bad weather has, understandably, prevented some of the Coruscant populous from getting some sleep. This cannot be said for one Emperor Palpatine, who's sound asleep in his bed chamber. Or at least he was...

The emperor begins to toss and turn a little when something starts to echo in his mind. He feels the tremor in the Force. It's distant, almost hidden. Palpatine's pale decrepit hands slowly tighten on the bedsheet as the echo slowly gets louder in his mind. 'What is this?' He wonders. The sounds are unfamiliar to be kind. As his movements on the bed become more pronounced, objects like sculptures, vases, paintings begin to shake in his room. The more he tosses about, the more they shake. The faint sounds of screaming are now a part of the echo. Everything comes to a crescendo when Palpatine pops upright from his bed, fully awake, and objects come crashing down onto the floor. He takes in a few deep breaths to get his heartbeat backdown to normal. As he slowly wipes the sweat off his forehead, the bed chamber door opens and a servant droid rolls in.