a sudden plot appears!
Feb. 4th, 2020 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anghrainetitle: The Jedi and the Sith Lord (15/?)
verse: Lucy Skywalker: my f!Luke AU, following from The Adventures of Lucy Skywalker and The Imperial Menace
characters: Luke/Lucy Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker; Ellex (LX-3)
stuff that happens: Vader tests Lucy, who is, to her own alarm, happy about it.
previous sections: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Lucy was so surprised that only muscle memory had her switching the blue lightsaber on and blocking the first strike. Instinctively, her feet moved into place, her knees bent, and her eyes and mind tracked Vader’s lightsaber.
She was already tired when he began the barrage of blows against her lightsaber; it would have put her at a disadvantage even if he hadn’t been over a foot and a half taller and far broader. She had half a mind to give up already, but her pride wouldn’t allow it. She scraped up some energy from only the Force knew where—probably the Force itself—and quickly blocked his next attack, then pushed forwards into the third form, slashing at him.
The lightsabers hummed together, the familiar sound almost soothing. Despite her weariness and alarm, Lucy felt more comfortable, in a way, than in a long time. The lightsaber felt right in her hand, and the Force sharpening every sense and reflex felt right, and the dodges and parries and sudden attacks felt right.
I was born for this.
“Good,” said Vader, right before shoving her backwards with a blow so powerful she could barely repel it.
Lucy saw it coming and still almost lost her footing, quickly shifting into the defensive sixth form while she re-oriented herself. The fact of the matter was that she couldn’t win a straight-up duel with him. Not in her current state, anyway, unless the Force willed it, and she felt pretty sure that the Force was with him as strongly as her—it only ran through her veins because of him, after all. Even if not, she had a sneaking feeling that the Force didn’t intercede with random practice duels. She had to think about it in some other way.
It might have been different in a more natural kind of place. But the room was large and mostly empty, without structures she could use to her advantage. She kept trying to block his flurries of strikes and forceful downswings, but she knew she couldn’t do it indefinitely. What advantages did she have, small as she was?
Half-distracted by her own desperate thoughts, she slightly lowered her lightsaber and then jumped out of the way of a sideways slice.
Dimly, she wondered if he’d actually have carried the attack all the way through. She wasn’t quite sure. She felt certain he wouldn’t kill her, but who knew what his Dark Side-addled brain would consider a useful reminder?
All right. She was small—but didn’t that mean faster and lighter, too? At least, it could.
Maybe.
Vader felt as impassive as he looked as he raised his lightsaber again. But Lucy turned hers off.
“You are unwise to lower your defenses,” he said sharply.
She smiled. “I’m not.”
With that, she rolled backwards, lightsaber still held loosely in her hand, and took off running at full speed for the familiar refuge of the platforms. For several seconds, she could feel his footsteps behind her, alarmingly near with his lightsaber still activated, but then he stopped.
Lucy, not trusting this, kept going up the ladder and sprang up onto the first platform, breathing heavily. Okay. She could do this.
She didn’t expect him to say anything else. He wasn’t really the kind to yell halfway across a near-empty room. But then, his voice sounded in her head, strong and clear.
You can’t run forever, Lucy.
I’m not, she thought irritably.
Is that so?
All right, this was strange. Really strange. It reminded her of Ben speaking to her in the Death Star trench, and yet felt different. Less spiritual, and more like … just talking. Neither Ben nor Yoda had ever said anything about that. Could any of them do it?
Cautiously, she ignited the lightsaber again as she stood there, recovering her breath and some little amount of energy. Vader didn’t even try to climb after her. She hadn’t really expected it, though she didn’t know what she had expected—certainly, however, it was not for him to stroll over to Ellex. He seemed to be saying something, though Lucy had no idea what.
Then he wheeled around and marched right over to a spot beneath the empty space at the center of the platforms. He tilted his head back to look straight at Lucy.
Prepare yourself!
What? How—
And suddenly, the patch of floor beneath his boots began to rise—and just kept going and going and going, until it was nearly level with the lower hanging platforms.
Oh, no.
Now she remembered Tuvié showing her that when she demonstrated all the controls, but she hadn’t thought of it until this moment. Lucy gulped as Vader easily jumped from the central platform to one hanging several feet above it.
She glanced behind her, considering a return the way she’d come, but that would be just running away and hoping to exhaust him before she exhausted herself. It seemed a particularly improbable hope right now, and anyway, it felt cowardly. She squared her shoulders and lifted her lightsaber, then ran and leapt forwards to meet him.
She’d certainly not anticipated a lightsaber battle in the air today. But that was exactly what happened. Lucy had to rely on every hour of practice up there to evade his attacks when she suspected she couldn’t block them, springing from platform to platform while her father inexorably followed.
Finally, her arm went completely numb and Vader knocked the lightsaber right out of her hand. It clattered somewhere on the floor beneath them, while the red lightsaber hummed at her throat.
Lucy looked at the lightsaber, and then at Vader’s unreadable mask.
“Damn it,” she said.
He seemed—she concentrated—something like amused, or at least entertained. Lucy scowled.
“A worthy effort,” said her father.
“For a failure?”
“Yes,” he said, which wasn’t exactly encouraging. “Consider it instructive.”
“Thanks,” said Lucy.
“Do you acknowledge your defeat?”
She nearly wrinkled her nose. “I guess.”
He waited, the lightsaber still inches from her skin. It was, though not frightening, certainly unsettling.
“Yes,” she grumbled. “I have fallen before your mighty skills, Lord Vader. Can I get down now?”
Finally, he lowered his lightsaber and flicked its switch, the blade disappearing. She breathed a little easier.
“Yes,” he said. “But be better prepared for next time.”
On the face of it, that sounded threatening, and she was pretty sure he meant it to. But it’d make her exercises so much more exciting! And the lightsaber in her hand had felt—it’d felt so good. She wouldn’t do anything to have it back, not by any means, but she was perfectly ready to do this. Lucy smiled again.
“I will, Father.”
With that, she retraced her usual path to the floor, her legs feeling like they’d barely hold her up once she landed. Her fingers twitched as she saw her—saw Anakin’s lightsaber lying on the floor not far away, but she knew better than to try reclaiming it.
Sure enough, when Vader returned to the central platform and it lowered to join the rest of the floor, he summoned his original lightsaber back to his hand, silently hooking it onto his belt. The silence didn’t feel awkward, though, and he slowed his stride enough that Lucy managed to walk beside him without feeling like her legs might give out at any moment.
“I have business elsewhere,” he said. “I trust you can entertain yourself in the meanwhile?”
“Sleep sounds really entertaining right now,” said Lucy. “How long will you be gone?”
“A few hours, in all probability,” he replied.
“See you tomorrow, then,” she said easily, and watched him walk away. When the door closed, she turned to Ellex. “Are you ready to head back?”
“I am ready for everything at all times,” Ellex said without hesitation.
Lucy supposed she should have expected that.
She shrugged and headed off, expecting nothing other than the usual. But halfway along the trek to her bedroom, Ellex gave a whirr that reminded her of Tuvié. Lucy bit her lip, wishing she knew at least what had happened to her. Had she been destroyed or simply punished? Was she suffering, in some droid way, even now? It had become easy to overlook that the face (well, “face”) that Vader presented her to was not the one he showed the rest of the galaxy, even here. That didn’t make either persona false, just—she shouldn’t allow herself to forget.
“Lucy Skywalker,” Ellex pronounced.
“Yes?” said Lucy.
“I am reconsidering you.”
At that, Lucy turned to stare at her, genuinely startled. “You are?”
“Yes.” Ellex gave a decided nod. “Of course, you are little danger without your weapon.”
“I think we’ve already established that.”
“However,” said Ellex, “I am nevertheless inclined to re-evaluate my judgment of what threat you pose. Few people have stood against Lord Vader for so long.”
Lucy felt pretty sure he’d been going easy on her, for a Vader value of “easy.” And she didn’t really want to think about the others Ellex had seen, the ones who hadn’t been able to stand against him, in the end.
“Thank you,” she said. “I think.”
-
In all the sessions after that, Lucy trained with the familiar blue lightsaber, both in her drills of the forms and the inevitable duels with Vader. She never knew when the duels would actually happen—sometimes the lightsaber came flying at her right away, sometimes in the middle of a stretch, sometimes at the end—but they always did.
Lucy never won, but she could feel herself improving, the duels growing longer and longer as she increasingly fell back on her training rather than haphazard impulses. Despite the losses, she thoroughly enjoyed herself. If she’d known this was what training with Anakin would be like—
But maybe it wouldn’t have been like this, if she hadn’t held out against the Dark Side. He still seemed to have given up talking about it, though she felt pretty suspicious about that. Either way, she couldn’t help but accept that this was training and she knew it. She wasn’t altogether sure what its actual purpose was (beyond ruling the galaxy, which would never happen), but he definitely had some end in mind.
Whatever it was, he seemed pleased with her progress. She could feel it in him, and sometimes he even said something to the effect in his severe way. Lucy tried to keep distrusting him, to remind herself of his plans and the fate he would bring to the galaxy if she surrendered her guard. In some ways she still did, but it was nearly as hard as facing the truth had been. If not for her fears for the Rebellion in general and Leia and Han in particular, and regret over Tuvié—two considerable if-not-fors, in fairness—she would have felt happier than ever before in her life.
If Anakin hadn’t turned to the Dark Side, maybe this was the life she would have had all along, and without the suffocating walls of the castle and constant supervision. But she couldn’t resent him too much for it. Without the Emperor, everyone would have lived different lives and made different choices. If she hated anyone, it was him.
About a month into this, her father said suddenly,
“Have you ever heard of Admiral Varti or Commander Jerjerrod?”
Lucy set down her biscuit with some regret.
“Uh, the names sound familiar,” she said, searching her memory. “I’m not sure—oh! Ellex and … and Tuvié mentioned them once, I think. Ellex thought you should slice their heads off or something.”
“That is, unfortunately, not a possibility,” said Vader.
“Okay,” she said, unsure where this was going.
“One or both are responsible for the attack on Bast Castle,” he went on. “They are close allies.”
“Oh.” Lucy allowed herself another bite of the biscuit, mildly curious about why he’d mention this to her. If she ever made contact with the Rebellion again, she guessed she could mention the names, but it didn’t seem terribly important.
“Moreover,” said Vader, “Jerjerrod was appointed several months ago to the Emperor’s secret project.”
Lucy’s attention sharpened. “It seems like that would be a secret, too. Who told you?”
“The Force,” Vader replied. “Some things have become … clearer to me, in recent months.”
She felt pretty sure that was the Light Side, though she knew better than to say so outright.
“Well, good,” said Lucy. “Does this involve me in some way?”
“It is possible that it will,” he told her. “It is not altogether uncommon for more ambitious figures in the Empire to quietly build up small private fleets. I believe Varti and Jerjerrod are doing so—have done so, in fact, and that this fleet is still growing.”
“The attack on us was their fleet?” she asked.
“A portion of it, undoubtedly,” said Vader. “Jerjerrod is not overburdened with genius; he may have found it entertaining to test his ships here, of all places. The real question, however, is whether he and Varti intend to use the fleet in some way against his enemies in the Empire—or against the Rebellion.”
Lucy’s mouth went dry. “Why wouldn’t they just use Imperial ships to attack the Rebellion?”
“If they manage to personally strike a blow,” said Vader, “their place in the Emperor’s favour would be assured—or so they may think. And consider that their ships were disguised as Rebel ships. They may have some plan that relies on further sabotage.”
Remembering who he was, she hesitated, then lifted her eyes to the mask.
“Father,” she said, “I can trust you with some things, but not the Rebellion. Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I have extended a personal invitation to Admiral Varti to consult with me here,” said Vader. “If he accepts it, he will be here in about a week. For the sake of your Rebellion, you should be very wary when he arrives—and very observant.”
Lucy’s eyes widened. “But why would you—”
“Dità juradiiyad,” he added. “They can guide you in this matter, as in everything.”
That, she thought, was a low blow. She almost invariably used Alsaraic with him; he almost never used it in return. Still, she’d learned to trust her feelings by now. He seemed to be telling the truth, as far as it went. But she felt like he was leaving something out, something important.
“All right,” she said at last. “I’ll be careful.”
-
The next morning, Lucy did not get up at her usual hour. Instead, a metal hand shook her shoulders until she woke to two red eyes gleaming out of the dimness.
“I haven’t done anything,” said Lucy.
“Yet,” said Ellex darkly. “Get up. Clothe yourself in something of inferior value.”
Lucy climbed out of bed, her mind still foggy. “Inferior …?”
“Whatever you encase your flesh in will likely take damage,” Ellex said.
“Oh.” Lucy blearily made her way over to the wardrobe. “That sounds great.”
Ellex didn’t deign to respond to this, but she clomped to her usual position and light filled the room.
“Hurry up,” she said. “Lord Vader is departing shortly.”
Huh. He hadn’t said anything about that—but then, he didn’t say anything about a great deal. Lucy shrugged and managed to dredge up the grey clothes she’d worn on her ill-fated escape attempt, which had several stains and small tears. Feeling decidedly uneasy with the memory, she followed Ellex out of her room and, it turned out, all the way to the entrance. Vader stood there with his force field generator in hand.
“Lucy,” he said abruptly. “I will be gone for a time—several hours, at shortest, and possibly several days. The droids can look after your needs.”
“All right,” said Lucy. She paused, then figured she might as well ask. “Does it have to do with … with the matter we discussed yesterday?”
“It may,” he said. “Or it may not. The Emperor wishes to speak to me.”
Lucy swallowed.
“Communications across such a distance can be difficult on Vjun,” he added, which seemed positively chatty. “Once I have broken the atmosphere, it should be manageable. It is possible that he will send for me in person, however.”
Fear, long-gone by now, flashed back to life.
“Ellex will oversee you, as usual,” he went on. “I trust you will remain on good behaviour.”
Lucy managed a nod.
He swivelled on his heel and headed for the door, activating the force field as he went. It turned him into a smear of black.
“Father!”
The dark blur paused. “What is it?”
“Be careful,” said Lucy. “And—and mind your feelings.”
A few seconds ticked past. Lucy could sense surprise from him, and confusion, and something almost like—compassion? No, that wasn’t it. But close.
“Of course,” he said.
“You can’t trust him!”
“Yes,” said Anakin, “I’m aware of that. Goodbye, Lucy.”
She folded her arms. “Goodbye.”
-
After Vader disappeared through the front doors, Ellex ordered Lucy back to the training room. Lucy obeyed, but her thoughts and emotions were racing so wildly that her feet seemed to follow Ellex’s steps of their own accord. What if Palpatine sensed her father’s plans? What if he found out that Vader had stopped trying to turn her to the Dark Side? What if he did something? She wasn’t sure what, but—Force, what if he killed him?
As they arrived in the familiar white room, she looked around as blankly as if she’d never been there before. Her usual exercises seemed impossible.
“What are you waiting for?” said Ellex.
Without thinking, Lucy said in Alsaraic, “I don’t know.”
“I do not comprehend your nonsense babble. Why you insist on using it with Lord Vader—”
“It isn’t babble,” Lucy said indignantly, and missed Tuvié more than ever. “Lord Vader understands me.”
Ellex clicked. “He understands a great many things.”
“Yes,” said Lucy, “including his native language. If you’re quite done insulting us both—”
“I have been instructed to aid your newest exercise,” Ellex said. “Against my better judgment, I might add.”
“You’re moving the platforms? Fine.”
“No,” said Ellex. “Recall that if you even attempt to harm or disable me in any way, I am permitted to stun you into unconsciousness.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” said Lucy impatiently.
I just don’t like you, she thought. But Ellex, she supposed, couldn’t help the way she’d been programmed or how her code had evolved.
“We shall see,” said Ellex. “You should also consider that I am shielded against most forms of attack, including blaster bolts.”
Lucy’s brows knit together. What under the suns was she talking about?
Then Ellex reached behind her and withdrew something that she threw at Lucy. Lucy instinctively snatched it out of the air—and her fingers closed around the hilt of Anakin’s lightsaber. She stared at it, genuinely shocked; she’d never expected to hold it again except when overseen by Anakin himself. The halls had been dim, but she'd still failed to notice a lightsaber? This lightsaber?
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“That is hardly surprising,” said Ellex. “Even so, I have upgraded the current threat you pose from trivial to significant.”
“Thanks, but—”
Ellex lifted one of her blasters. With that, it all became clear—right before she shot a bolt straight at Lucy. Lucy promptly blocked it, remembering Ben’s training on the Falcon as well as the defensive maneuvers Vader had drummed into her so many times. The memories served her well; she repelled bolt after bolt with the lightsaber, only occasionally forced to dodge out of their way. But the risk of being stunned distracted her enough that she fixed her attention on Ellex, forcing herself to put Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader alike out of her mind.
She couldn’t do anything about that, not right now. She had to focus on becoming as strong and effective as she could be, without giving up who she was—Lucy as well as Skywalker. If that meant deflecting blaster bolts for two hours, so be it.
It did, in fact, mean that. Ellex broke through Lucy’s defenses a few times near the end, numbing one of Lucy’s legs and her off-hand shoulder, but never enough to completely take her down before she ran out of charges on the second of four blasters. Lucy hoped she didn’t mean to deprive herself of the other two, and sure enough, Ellex called a stop to the exercise.
“You deflected the blaster bolts into the wall,” she noted. “An unexpected choice.”
“Your shields would deflect them right back at me,” said Lucy. “And I told you, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Ellex said, “Very well. You may continue with your usual procedures.”
“All right,” said Lucy, bemused by the whole thing. She deactivated the lightsaber and handed the hilt to Ellex.
“What are you doing?” said Ellex.
“Giving it back to you,” Lucy said, puzzled.
“Why?”
Even more baffled, Lucy told her, “It’s Lord Vader’s. Not mine. He’d tell me if he wanted me to have it.”
Ellex tilted her head down to peer at Lucy, some inexplicable process winding through her circuits. Her sensors flickered.
“Very well,” she said finally, and took the lightsaber back, hanging it from the back of her belt.
Lucy’s hand felt painfully empty. So did the room, without her father’s towering presence. She could only launch herself into her exercises with as much force and focus as she could, desperately trying to clear her mind of anything but what was happening above the surface, or perhaps beyond it. At heart, she knew that the galaxy would probably be a better place without Darth Vader.
But not for her.
verse: Lucy Skywalker: my f!Luke AU, following from The Adventures of Lucy Skywalker and The Imperial Menace
characters: Luke/Lucy Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker; Ellex (LX-3)
stuff that happens: Vader tests Lucy, who is, to her own alarm, happy about it.
previous sections: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Lucy was so surprised that only muscle memory had her switching the blue lightsaber on and blocking the first strike. Instinctively, her feet moved into place, her knees bent, and her eyes and mind tracked Vader’s lightsaber.
She was already tired when he began the barrage of blows against her lightsaber; it would have put her at a disadvantage even if he hadn’t been over a foot and a half taller and far broader. She had half a mind to give up already, but her pride wouldn’t allow it. She scraped up some energy from only the Force knew where—probably the Force itself—and quickly blocked his next attack, then pushed forwards into the third form, slashing at him.
The lightsabers hummed together, the familiar sound almost soothing. Despite her weariness and alarm, Lucy felt more comfortable, in a way, than in a long time. The lightsaber felt right in her hand, and the Force sharpening every sense and reflex felt right, and the dodges and parries and sudden attacks felt right.
I was born for this.
“Good,” said Vader, right before shoving her backwards with a blow so powerful she could barely repel it.
Lucy saw it coming and still almost lost her footing, quickly shifting into the defensive sixth form while she re-oriented herself. The fact of the matter was that she couldn’t win a straight-up duel with him. Not in her current state, anyway, unless the Force willed it, and she felt pretty sure that the Force was with him as strongly as her—it only ran through her veins because of him, after all. Even if not, she had a sneaking feeling that the Force didn’t intercede with random practice duels. She had to think about it in some other way.
It might have been different in a more natural kind of place. But the room was large and mostly empty, without structures she could use to her advantage. She kept trying to block his flurries of strikes and forceful downswings, but she knew she couldn’t do it indefinitely. What advantages did she have, small as she was?
Half-distracted by her own desperate thoughts, she slightly lowered her lightsaber and then jumped out of the way of a sideways slice.
Dimly, she wondered if he’d actually have carried the attack all the way through. She wasn’t quite sure. She felt certain he wouldn’t kill her, but who knew what his Dark Side-addled brain would consider a useful reminder?
All right. She was small—but didn’t that mean faster and lighter, too? At least, it could.
Maybe.
Vader felt as impassive as he looked as he raised his lightsaber again. But Lucy turned hers off.
“You are unwise to lower your defenses,” he said sharply.
She smiled. “I’m not.”
With that, she rolled backwards, lightsaber still held loosely in her hand, and took off running at full speed for the familiar refuge of the platforms. For several seconds, she could feel his footsteps behind her, alarmingly near with his lightsaber still activated, but then he stopped.
Lucy, not trusting this, kept going up the ladder and sprang up onto the first platform, breathing heavily. Okay. She could do this.
She didn’t expect him to say anything else. He wasn’t really the kind to yell halfway across a near-empty room. But then, his voice sounded in her head, strong and clear.
You can’t run forever, Lucy.
I’m not, she thought irritably.
Is that so?
All right, this was strange. Really strange. It reminded her of Ben speaking to her in the Death Star trench, and yet felt different. Less spiritual, and more like … just talking. Neither Ben nor Yoda had ever said anything about that. Could any of them do it?
Cautiously, she ignited the lightsaber again as she stood there, recovering her breath and some little amount of energy. Vader didn’t even try to climb after her. She hadn’t really expected it, though she didn’t know what she had expected—certainly, however, it was not for him to stroll over to Ellex. He seemed to be saying something, though Lucy had no idea what.
Then he wheeled around and marched right over to a spot beneath the empty space at the center of the platforms. He tilted his head back to look straight at Lucy.
Prepare yourself!
What? How—
And suddenly, the patch of floor beneath his boots began to rise—and just kept going and going and going, until it was nearly level with the lower hanging platforms.
Oh, no.
Now she remembered Tuvié showing her that when she demonstrated all the controls, but she hadn’t thought of it until this moment. Lucy gulped as Vader easily jumped from the central platform to one hanging several feet above it.
She glanced behind her, considering a return the way she’d come, but that would be just running away and hoping to exhaust him before she exhausted herself. It seemed a particularly improbable hope right now, and anyway, it felt cowardly. She squared her shoulders and lifted her lightsaber, then ran and leapt forwards to meet him.
She’d certainly not anticipated a lightsaber battle in the air today. But that was exactly what happened. Lucy had to rely on every hour of practice up there to evade his attacks when she suspected she couldn’t block them, springing from platform to platform while her father inexorably followed.
Finally, her arm went completely numb and Vader knocked the lightsaber right out of her hand. It clattered somewhere on the floor beneath them, while the red lightsaber hummed at her throat.
Lucy looked at the lightsaber, and then at Vader’s unreadable mask.
“Damn it,” she said.
He seemed—she concentrated—something like amused, or at least entertained. Lucy scowled.
“A worthy effort,” said her father.
“For a failure?”
“Yes,” he said, which wasn’t exactly encouraging. “Consider it instructive.”
“Thanks,” said Lucy.
“Do you acknowledge your defeat?”
She nearly wrinkled her nose. “I guess.”
He waited, the lightsaber still inches from her skin. It was, though not frightening, certainly unsettling.
“Yes,” she grumbled. “I have fallen before your mighty skills, Lord Vader. Can I get down now?”
Finally, he lowered his lightsaber and flicked its switch, the blade disappearing. She breathed a little easier.
“Yes,” he said. “But be better prepared for next time.”
On the face of it, that sounded threatening, and she was pretty sure he meant it to. But it’d make her exercises so much more exciting! And the lightsaber in her hand had felt—it’d felt so good. She wouldn’t do anything to have it back, not by any means, but she was perfectly ready to do this. Lucy smiled again.
“I will, Father.”
With that, she retraced her usual path to the floor, her legs feeling like they’d barely hold her up once she landed. Her fingers twitched as she saw her—saw Anakin’s lightsaber lying on the floor not far away, but she knew better than to try reclaiming it.
Sure enough, when Vader returned to the central platform and it lowered to join the rest of the floor, he summoned his original lightsaber back to his hand, silently hooking it onto his belt. The silence didn’t feel awkward, though, and he slowed his stride enough that Lucy managed to walk beside him without feeling like her legs might give out at any moment.
“I have business elsewhere,” he said. “I trust you can entertain yourself in the meanwhile?”
“Sleep sounds really entertaining right now,” said Lucy. “How long will you be gone?”
“A few hours, in all probability,” he replied.
“See you tomorrow, then,” she said easily, and watched him walk away. When the door closed, she turned to Ellex. “Are you ready to head back?”
“I am ready for everything at all times,” Ellex said without hesitation.
Lucy supposed she should have expected that.
She shrugged and headed off, expecting nothing other than the usual. But halfway along the trek to her bedroom, Ellex gave a whirr that reminded her of Tuvié. Lucy bit her lip, wishing she knew at least what had happened to her. Had she been destroyed or simply punished? Was she suffering, in some droid way, even now? It had become easy to overlook that the face (well, “face”) that Vader presented her to was not the one he showed the rest of the galaxy, even here. That didn’t make either persona false, just—she shouldn’t allow herself to forget.
“Lucy Skywalker,” Ellex pronounced.
“Yes?” said Lucy.
“I am reconsidering you.”
At that, Lucy turned to stare at her, genuinely startled. “You are?”
“Yes.” Ellex gave a decided nod. “Of course, you are little danger without your weapon.”
“I think we’ve already established that.”
“However,” said Ellex, “I am nevertheless inclined to re-evaluate my judgment of what threat you pose. Few people have stood against Lord Vader for so long.”
Lucy felt pretty sure he’d been going easy on her, for a Vader value of “easy.” And she didn’t really want to think about the others Ellex had seen, the ones who hadn’t been able to stand against him, in the end.
“Thank you,” she said. “I think.”
-
In all the sessions after that, Lucy trained with the familiar blue lightsaber, both in her drills of the forms and the inevitable duels with Vader. She never knew when the duels would actually happen—sometimes the lightsaber came flying at her right away, sometimes in the middle of a stretch, sometimes at the end—but they always did.
Lucy never won, but she could feel herself improving, the duels growing longer and longer as she increasingly fell back on her training rather than haphazard impulses. Despite the losses, she thoroughly enjoyed herself. If she’d known this was what training with Anakin would be like—
But maybe it wouldn’t have been like this, if she hadn’t held out against the Dark Side. He still seemed to have given up talking about it, though she felt pretty suspicious about that. Either way, she couldn’t help but accept that this was training and she knew it. She wasn’t altogether sure what its actual purpose was (beyond ruling the galaxy, which would never happen), but he definitely had some end in mind.
Whatever it was, he seemed pleased with her progress. She could feel it in him, and sometimes he even said something to the effect in his severe way. Lucy tried to keep distrusting him, to remind herself of his plans and the fate he would bring to the galaxy if she surrendered her guard. In some ways she still did, but it was nearly as hard as facing the truth had been. If not for her fears for the Rebellion in general and Leia and Han in particular, and regret over Tuvié—two considerable if-not-fors, in fairness—she would have felt happier than ever before in her life.
If Anakin hadn’t turned to the Dark Side, maybe this was the life she would have had all along, and without the suffocating walls of the castle and constant supervision. But she couldn’t resent him too much for it. Without the Emperor, everyone would have lived different lives and made different choices. If she hated anyone, it was him.
About a month into this, her father said suddenly,
“Have you ever heard of Admiral Varti or Commander Jerjerrod?”
Lucy set down her biscuit with some regret.
“Uh, the names sound familiar,” she said, searching her memory. “I’m not sure—oh! Ellex and … and Tuvié mentioned them once, I think. Ellex thought you should slice their heads off or something.”
“That is, unfortunately, not a possibility,” said Vader.
“Okay,” she said, unsure where this was going.
“One or both are responsible for the attack on Bast Castle,” he went on. “They are close allies.”
“Oh.” Lucy allowed herself another bite of the biscuit, mildly curious about why he’d mention this to her. If she ever made contact with the Rebellion again, she guessed she could mention the names, but it didn’t seem terribly important.
“Moreover,” said Vader, “Jerjerrod was appointed several months ago to the Emperor’s secret project.”
Lucy’s attention sharpened. “It seems like that would be a secret, too. Who told you?”
“The Force,” Vader replied. “Some things have become … clearer to me, in recent months.”
She felt pretty sure that was the Light Side, though she knew better than to say so outright.
“Well, good,” said Lucy. “Does this involve me in some way?”
“It is possible that it will,” he told her. “It is not altogether uncommon for more ambitious figures in the Empire to quietly build up small private fleets. I believe Varti and Jerjerrod are doing so—have done so, in fact, and that this fleet is still growing.”
“The attack on us was their fleet?” she asked.
“A portion of it, undoubtedly,” said Vader. “Jerjerrod is not overburdened with genius; he may have found it entertaining to test his ships here, of all places. The real question, however, is whether he and Varti intend to use the fleet in some way against his enemies in the Empire—or against the Rebellion.”
Lucy’s mouth went dry. “Why wouldn’t they just use Imperial ships to attack the Rebellion?”
“If they manage to personally strike a blow,” said Vader, “their place in the Emperor’s favour would be assured—or so they may think. And consider that their ships were disguised as Rebel ships. They may have some plan that relies on further sabotage.”
Remembering who he was, she hesitated, then lifted her eyes to the mask.
“Father,” she said, “I can trust you with some things, but not the Rebellion. Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I have extended a personal invitation to Admiral Varti to consult with me here,” said Vader. “If he accepts it, he will be here in about a week. For the sake of your Rebellion, you should be very wary when he arrives—and very observant.”
Lucy’s eyes widened. “But why would you—”
“Dità juradiiyad,” he added. “They can guide you in this matter, as in everything.”
That, she thought, was a low blow. She almost invariably used Alsaraic with him; he almost never used it in return. Still, she’d learned to trust her feelings by now. He seemed to be telling the truth, as far as it went. But she felt like he was leaving something out, something important.
“All right,” she said at last. “I’ll be careful.”
-
The next morning, Lucy did not get up at her usual hour. Instead, a metal hand shook her shoulders until she woke to two red eyes gleaming out of the dimness.
“I haven’t done anything,” said Lucy.
“Yet,” said Ellex darkly. “Get up. Clothe yourself in something of inferior value.”
Lucy climbed out of bed, her mind still foggy. “Inferior …?”
“Whatever you encase your flesh in will likely take damage,” Ellex said.
“Oh.” Lucy blearily made her way over to the wardrobe. “That sounds great.”
Ellex didn’t deign to respond to this, but she clomped to her usual position and light filled the room.
“Hurry up,” she said. “Lord Vader is departing shortly.”
Huh. He hadn’t said anything about that—but then, he didn’t say anything about a great deal. Lucy shrugged and managed to dredge up the grey clothes she’d worn on her ill-fated escape attempt, which had several stains and small tears. Feeling decidedly uneasy with the memory, she followed Ellex out of her room and, it turned out, all the way to the entrance. Vader stood there with his force field generator in hand.
“Lucy,” he said abruptly. “I will be gone for a time—several hours, at shortest, and possibly several days. The droids can look after your needs.”
“All right,” said Lucy. She paused, then figured she might as well ask. “Does it have to do with … with the matter we discussed yesterday?”
“It may,” he said. “Or it may not. The Emperor wishes to speak to me.”
Lucy swallowed.
“Communications across such a distance can be difficult on Vjun,” he added, which seemed positively chatty. “Once I have broken the atmosphere, it should be manageable. It is possible that he will send for me in person, however.”
Fear, long-gone by now, flashed back to life.
“Ellex will oversee you, as usual,” he went on. “I trust you will remain on good behaviour.”
Lucy managed a nod.
He swivelled on his heel and headed for the door, activating the force field as he went. It turned him into a smear of black.
“Father!”
The dark blur paused. “What is it?”
“Be careful,” said Lucy. “And—and mind your feelings.”
A few seconds ticked past. Lucy could sense surprise from him, and confusion, and something almost like—compassion? No, that wasn’t it. But close.
“Of course,” he said.
“You can’t trust him!”
“Yes,” said Anakin, “I’m aware of that. Goodbye, Lucy.”
She folded her arms. “Goodbye.”
-
After Vader disappeared through the front doors, Ellex ordered Lucy back to the training room. Lucy obeyed, but her thoughts and emotions were racing so wildly that her feet seemed to follow Ellex’s steps of their own accord. What if Palpatine sensed her father’s plans? What if he found out that Vader had stopped trying to turn her to the Dark Side? What if he did something? She wasn’t sure what, but—Force, what if he killed him?
As they arrived in the familiar white room, she looked around as blankly as if she’d never been there before. Her usual exercises seemed impossible.
“What are you waiting for?” said Ellex.
Without thinking, Lucy said in Alsaraic, “I don’t know.”
“I do not comprehend your nonsense babble. Why you insist on using it with Lord Vader—”
“It isn’t babble,” Lucy said indignantly, and missed Tuvié more than ever. “Lord Vader understands me.”
Ellex clicked. “He understands a great many things.”
“Yes,” said Lucy, “including his native language. If you’re quite done insulting us both—”
“I have been instructed to aid your newest exercise,” Ellex said. “Against my better judgment, I might add.”
“You’re moving the platforms? Fine.”
“No,” said Ellex. “Recall that if you even attempt to harm or disable me in any way, I am permitted to stun you into unconsciousness.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” said Lucy impatiently.
I just don’t like you, she thought. But Ellex, she supposed, couldn’t help the way she’d been programmed or how her code had evolved.
“We shall see,” said Ellex. “You should also consider that I am shielded against most forms of attack, including blaster bolts.”
Lucy’s brows knit together. What under the suns was she talking about?
Then Ellex reached behind her and withdrew something that she threw at Lucy. Lucy instinctively snatched it out of the air—and her fingers closed around the hilt of Anakin’s lightsaber. She stared at it, genuinely shocked; she’d never expected to hold it again except when overseen by Anakin himself. The halls had been dim, but she'd still failed to notice a lightsaber? This lightsaber?
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“That is hardly surprising,” said Ellex. “Even so, I have upgraded the current threat you pose from trivial to significant.”
“Thanks, but—”
Ellex lifted one of her blasters. With that, it all became clear—right before she shot a bolt straight at Lucy. Lucy promptly blocked it, remembering Ben’s training on the Falcon as well as the defensive maneuvers Vader had drummed into her so many times. The memories served her well; she repelled bolt after bolt with the lightsaber, only occasionally forced to dodge out of their way. But the risk of being stunned distracted her enough that she fixed her attention on Ellex, forcing herself to put Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader alike out of her mind.
She couldn’t do anything about that, not right now. She had to focus on becoming as strong and effective as she could be, without giving up who she was—Lucy as well as Skywalker. If that meant deflecting blaster bolts for two hours, so be it.
It did, in fact, mean that. Ellex broke through Lucy’s defenses a few times near the end, numbing one of Lucy’s legs and her off-hand shoulder, but never enough to completely take her down before she ran out of charges on the second of four blasters. Lucy hoped she didn’t mean to deprive herself of the other two, and sure enough, Ellex called a stop to the exercise.
“You deflected the blaster bolts into the wall,” she noted. “An unexpected choice.”
“Your shields would deflect them right back at me,” said Lucy. “And I told you, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Ellex said, “Very well. You may continue with your usual procedures.”
“All right,” said Lucy, bemused by the whole thing. She deactivated the lightsaber and handed the hilt to Ellex.
“What are you doing?” said Ellex.
“Giving it back to you,” Lucy said, puzzled.
“Why?”
Even more baffled, Lucy told her, “It’s Lord Vader’s. Not mine. He’d tell me if he wanted me to have it.”
Ellex tilted her head down to peer at Lucy, some inexplicable process winding through her circuits. Her sensors flickered.
“Very well,” she said finally, and took the lightsaber back, hanging it from the back of her belt.
Lucy’s hand felt painfully empty. So did the room, without her father’s towering presence. She could only launch herself into her exercises with as much force and focus as she could, desperately trying to clear her mind of anything but what was happening above the surface, or perhaps beyond it. At heart, she knew that the galaxy would probably be a better place without Darth Vader.
But not for her.
no subject
on 2020-02-07 05:12 am (UTC)no subject
on 2020-02-07 01:57 pm (UTC)And it just isn't the Empire without intrigues ;)