Capítulo 29: Dark Lord of The Sith
Chancellor Palpatine sat in a planetary shuttle, his gaze fixed on the passing buildings as he traveled to a hidden location he had meticulously kept from prying eyes. The shuttle hummed quietly, and Palpatine's thoughts drifted to the recent upheaval caused by Jaden. Ever since he felt the force tremor, he knew something was amiss. His once meticulous plan now felt uncertain, unsettled by Jaden's unexpected appearance. Recognizing Jaden's features brought an unwelcome grimace to Palpatine's face, recalling the boy's creation many years ago.
Jaden had shown promising results as a baby, yet in the end, he was a disappointment. Too kind, lacking the ruthless edge Palpatine desired. "Must've inherited that from the cursed Shan bloodline," he thought bitterly. He remembered ordering one of his servants to dispose of Jaden. Apparently, she failed.
The shuttle's computer voice announced their arrival. Palpatine looked ahead as two huge metal shutters on the ground opened, revealing the landing pad below. The ship descended smoothly, the metal gates closing overhead as they settled into the hidden facility.
Chancellor Palpatine walked down the ship's ramp and into the facility. Usually, his offsite facilities were staffed by researchers, their minds enthralled to ensure loyalty and discretion. This setup allowed him to maintain his public facade as the Chancellor while delving into dark knowledge. However, this base was different. No one greeted him. The eerie silence permeated the air, a stark contrast to the bustling atmosphere of his other sites.
Palpatine crossed the empty hangar, his steps echoing against the cold metal floor. He approached a set of doors, which slid open to reveal a turbolift. Pressing his hand against the pad, he felt the device scan his print and retina. "Order 66," he declared. A beep confirmed the command, and the turbolift opened. Palpatine stepped inside and pressed the only button, feeling the lift descend deeper into the planet's core.
As the turbolift descended, the hum of machinery accompanied the unsettling sensation of going far beneath the surface. When the doors finally opened, they revealed a room bathed in red light. Palpatine stepped out into a laboratory filled with the grotesque results of Sith alchemy. Monstrous creations, twisted by dark experiments, were contained in large glass tubes. Some writhed in their enclosures, eyes glowing with a malevolent intelligence. Others were grotesque parodies of life, their forms twisted into horrifying shapes.
The laboratory was a gallery of horrors. Mutants, created from various species, exhibited unnatural growths and appendages. Creatures with multiple heads, limbs, and other aberrations floated in tanks filled with viscous fluids. Dark symbols and runes adorned the walls, glowing faintly with a sinister energy. The air was thick with the smell of chemicals and something far more insidious—dark side energy, palpable and oppressive.
Palpatine moved through the room with slowly, his eyes scanning the various experiments. He approached a console, his fingers deftly manipulating the controls. The screen flickered to life, displaying data on the creations around him. These abominations were the product of his quest for ultimate power, a pursuit that required secrecy and the darkest of methods. Here, away from prying eyes, he could push the boundaries of life and death, creation and destruction.
It was this very room where he had created Jaden, he was supposed to be the ultimate apprentice... the ultimate weapon. Most of the abominations surrounding him were failed experiments, though ones he still kept as their constant suffering provided a source of power for various alchemical processes. Palpatine tapped on the console accessing the database and bringing up the files he had on Jaden. He wanted to create the ultimate force user, one he could dominate the galaxy with then dispose of. Inserting a few commands he opened the rest of the lab up, he had various hidden parts of the lab just in case this place was ever found.
Palpatine walked away from the console and walks down one of the many aisles, he approached a section of the lab containing a large bacta tank embedded in the wall. Inside the tank floated the corpse of an alien, an entity found on the far reaches of the Unknown Regions. The creature had come into Palpatine's possession through dubious means, and even after years of study, he knew little about its origins—not even the name of its race. The Chiss referred to them as the "Far Outsiders," an apt name given they weren't native to this galaxy.
Palpatine's gaze lingered on the creature. What amazed him most was its absence in the Force. It was as if this being existed in a void where the Force could not reach. Keeping the creature in the bacta tank had preserved the cells to some extent, and he had found them highly resistant to Force manipulation. His lightning would kill the cells, but even then, they resisted, as if the very essence of the Force could not taint them. This alien was a natural predator to Force users, and twenty years ago, Palpatine decided to use that to his advantage.
While his former master had been preoccupied with midichlorian manipulation, Palpatine had stayed true to the grand plan. He sought to create a weapon capable of eradicating the Jedi when the time came. The first few hundred attempts were failures, abominations that barely resembled living beings. But with each iteration, he learned more, and eventually, he created Jaden.
Jaden was the culmination of Palpatine's darkest ambitions. The Shan Bloodline, his own blood, and even the blood of an ancient Sith Lord were all used to create him. Each sample was difficult to obtain but necessary for what Palpatine envisioned. The Jedi kept a sample of Satele's blood archived, his own was easy enough to supply, and the Sith Lords blood was discovered on a dagger—a relic of the Eternal Empire. The hardest part had been confirming its origin, but once verified, Palpatine knew he had what he needed.
Jaden's most unique trait was his ability to hide his presence in the Force completely, a gift from the Outsiders' blood. As a child, he did this unconsciously when he was afraid, making it impossible for even Palpatine to sense him. His Force abilities were strange too. Unlike others who used the Dark Side and became stained by it, Jaden's blood seemed to cleanse this corruption. No matter how much he used the Dark Side, his body would eventually remove the taint—a perfect apprentice.
But Jaden was a disappointment. He was too kind, too compassionate. Palpatine had tried to torture it out of him, and when that didn't work he tried to break his mind, but his brain structure was entirely foreign, making mental manipulation difficult. Eventually, Palpatine deemed him a failure and ordered his disposal. When he met Anakin Skywalker, he found a more suitable candidate—someone who could be molded without as much resistance.
Palpatine's anger grew as he thought of Jaden. The metal beneath his feet groaned under the pressure of his rising fury. Jaden was supposed to be dead. The grand plan had become uncertain with his unexpected return. For the first time in years, Palpatine was unsure of the future. He turned away from the bacta tank, moving deeper into the lab, his mind seething. Reaching the back of the lab, Palpatine stopped in front of a large vault-like door. He input a series of codes, and the locks began to disengage one by one. The heavy door opened with a hiss, revealing a dark chamber beyond. As Palpatine stepped inside, a familiar, chilling voice greeted him.
"It seems my apprentice has made a fool of himself and comes to ask his Master for advice," the voice said with a sinister chuckle.
Palpatine scowled as he approached the force field that separated him from the source of the voice. Behind the shimmering barrier stood his old master, Darth Plagueis. The sight of Plagueis, still alive after all these years, fueled Palpatine's rage even further. Plagueis had been kept alive, not by choice, but by necessity. He was a living repository of ancient knowledge, a dark well that Palpatine had yet to fully drain. But now, with Jaden's reappearance and the uncertainty it brought, Palpatine was forced to seek counsel from the one being he despised most in the galaxy.
Plagueis's eyes gleamed with a malevolent light, fully aware of the turmoil brewing within his former apprentice. "What troubles you so, my apprentice?" he asked mockingly.
Palpatine's face twisted in displeasure as he approached the force field separating him from his former master. The way Plagueis addressed him, with that mocking tone, grated on his nerves. But Sidious reined in his anger for the moment. "Have you felt the disturbance?" he asked coldly.
Plagueis, strapped to the wall by his limbs, body, and neck, could barely move, but he managed a nod. A smile of contempt played on his lips as he spoke, "You've made quite the mess, haven't you, Darth Sidious? A plan hundreds of years in the making, and look at the chaos you've sown. You were not ready for this."
Palpatine's eyes narrowed as Plagueis continued, his voice dripping with scorn. "You're a disgrace to the Sith. Your actions will ensure that Darth Sidious lives on forever—as the last Lord of the Sith." Plagueis chuckled darkly, the sound echoing through the chamber, his words like daggers.
The mocking words burrowed into Palpatine, igniting a fury within him. His patience snapped. With a swift motion, he deactivated the force field, raising his hand. A torrent of Force lightning erupted from his fingers, crashing into Plagueis's restrained body.
Plagueis convulsed violently as the lightning tore through him. His skin blackened, splitting open as the raw energy of the Dark Side ravaged his body. His mouth opened in a silent scream as the pain overwhelmed him, muscles seizing uncontrollably. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and smoke rose from the deepening wounds.
But even as his body was destroyed, the twisted alchemy that kept him alive began its work. Flesh and bone slowly began to knit together, the horrific injuries reversing before Palpatine's eyes. The sight of Plagueis healing, of his body regenerating despite the savage attack, only fueled Palpatine's rage.
Plagueis laughed weakly through the pain as his body regenerated, his voice hoarse yet defiant. "You didn't come here for advice on your precious Grand Plan, did you, Sidious? You're scared. You want the secret to immortality. You fear this new presence in the Force, don't you? You think it could cast you down."
Palpatine's eyes blazed with fury. "You will tell me!" he demanded through gritted teeth, his voice trembling with barely suppressed rage.
Plagueis sneered, even as the last of his wounds healed. "Weak... you're still the same weak apprentice who was too cowardly to confront me directly, so you snuck in while I slept. You are no true Lord of the Sith. You are a mistake."
Enraged, Palpatine unleashed another blast of Force lightning, his face contorted with anger. The energy tore into Plagueis once more, his body jerking violently under the relentless assault. But even as the lightning ravaged him, Plagueis continued to laugh, a dark, malevolent sound that echoed in the chamber, mocking Sidious's every effort to break him.
For hours, Palpatine tortured his old master, pouring all his fury into the attack. But Plagueis gave nothing away, no secret of immortality, no glimpse of the power Sidious sought. All he offered was scorn and derision, refusing to grant Sidious the satisfaction of seeing him broken.
Finally, when Palpatine's anger had run its course, he left the chamber, his face a mask of cold fury. He had gained nothing from the encounter but a reminder of his own shortcomings—a reminder that he was not yet the master of all things. As the door sealed behind him, Plagueis's mocking laughter echoed in his mind, a bitter reminder that even in victory, Palpatine was still the Apprentice.
Palpatine took a deep breath, calming the tempest of rage and frustration that surged within him. "It does not matter," he murmured to himself. He began walking with purpose toward the far side of the laboratory, where a large bacta tank dominated the room. Inside floated a girl, about fifteen years old, with blonde hair that fanned out in the viscous liquid. She had pale skin and a mask covered her face, while various tubes were inserted into her body. The console beside the tank bore a simple label: "Project V."
He stared at her, his eyes narrowing. Cloning Force users had always been a risky endeavor, and he knew awakening her prematurely could lead to catastrophic failure. She wasn't ready—she was far from the weapon he had intended her to be. But Palpatine's hand was forced. His future, so meticulously planned, had become clouded, uncertain. He hated uncertainty, despised the feeling that his grand design might be undone by something beyond his control.
His old master's words echoed in his mind, taunting him. 'You will be known as the last Lord of the Sith.' The rage and hatred within him intensified, but a twisted smile crept onto his face.
"You are right, my old friend," he whispered to the empty chamber. "I will be the last Lord of the Sith."
With a simple motion, he reached out and pressed the console. The command was simple. The process of awakening began.
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Master Yoda walked slowly through the corridors of the Jedi Temple, heading toward the meditation chambers in the spire. Normally, he would use his small hover sphere to traverse the distance, but today he chose to walk. He enjoyed the journey, especially the brief interactions with younglings and Padawans along the way. These small exchanges reminded him of where he had started, grounding him in his old age. Some of the other council members, as wise as they might be, had lost that perspective.
As he approached the meditation chamber, Yoda pushed open the large, intricately carved door with a light tap of his staff. Inside, a female Jedi sat on her knees in deep meditation. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the dim light, and her long, blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her pointed ears gave her an elven-like appearance, adding to the aura of serenity that surrounded her. Yoda recognized her immediately: Master Fay.
Not wishing to disturb her, Yoda stepped quietly to the side and waited. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and a small smile formed on her lips.
"Master Yoda," she greeted warmly, her voice soft and melodic. "How long has it been since we last crossed paths?"
"A century at least, Master Fay," Yoda replied, his voice carrying a note of affection.
"Seems like almost yesterday," Fay said with a light chuckle. Very few Jedi in the Temple were as long-lived as they were, so a century of not seeing each other did little to diminish their bond.
"A surprise it is to see you here," Yoda commented as she gracefully rose to her feet.
"I go where the Force wills me, Master Yoda... something many of you have never understood," she replied, slipping on her robe with a fluid motion. "Let us walk. It is a nice day, and I have not seen the gardens in almost fifty years."
Yoda nodded in agreement, and together they exited the meditation chamber, making their way to the Peaceful Gardens at the heart of the Temple. The gardens were lush and tranquil, filled with vibrant flora from various planets. The sounds of trickling water and the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze provided a serene backdrop as they walked.
As they strolled through the gardens, Fay began to recount her experiences since their last meeting. "I've mediated in wars, helped during a plague, and 'convinced' pirates to leave a planet alone," she said with a slight smile, her tone light.
Yoda smiled, listening intently. "Many at this Temple, benefit from your wisdom they could," he remarked, glancing up at her.
Fay was silent for a moment, her eyes taking in the Jedi around them. "It's strange..." she commented, her voice tinged with melancholy. "Nearly everyone I knew from my days as a Padawan is dead. Even the ones I see now will be gone a hundred years from now."
"Tired you seem," Yoda observed, his voice gentle.
"Perhaps a bit," she admitted with a small smile, though there was an undeniable weariness in her gaze.
Yoda paused, his expression becoming more serious. "Why return now, have you?" he asked, sensing there was more to her presence than she had revealed.
"I am needed here," Fay answered simply, though Yoda could sense there was more beneath her words.
"Involve the tremor in the Force it does?" Yoda pressed, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied her.
Fay looked at her old friend for a long moment before kneeling down to his level. "You always used to say the Force is a Jedi's ally... yet even now, you do not fully embrace it," she said softly. She then reached out and hugged him, her touch filled with warmth and compassion. "I worry for the Order, for what it's becoming," she whispered. "But I am here because someone needs me to be."
She stood up, her serene smile returning. "I hope we will see each other again before I leave."
"As do I," Yoda replied, watching as she walked away, his thoughts heavy with her words.
Master Fay returned to her old quarters in the Jedi Temple, a small smile tugging at her lips as she noticed everything was exactly as she had left it. It was a gesture of kindness, one she suspected came from Master Yoda. She took off her robes, choosing something more comfortable but still in line with Jedi uniform standards. Once dressed, she sat down at the console in her room and played the recording of Jaden from Jabiim. The Force had led her here, drawing her near this young man for reasons yet unknown. The prospect of meeting someone the Force deemed important filled her with a rare sense of excitement.
(AN: a bit of a filler chapter but important nonetheless as it's giving you important information as well as setting up future chapters. Palpatine created Jaden to be his new apprentice, once he met Anakin and saw how much of a failure Jaden was at being a Sith he changed his plan. Also big reveal Darth Plagueis is alive, his research into Immortality is a success and Palpatine was not able to kill him. In the end he was able to confine him like you've seen. He will be important to future chapters as well. Any of you who've played Star Wars the old republic online game should know what Project V is. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter.)
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