From: lim@pecan.cns.udel.edu (Julie Lim)
Subject: Non-canon fan fiction ahead (long)
Keywords: (Remember, I warned you.)
Organization: University of Delaware, Newark
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 05:29:17 GMT



	Disclaimer: Some characters and most concepts in the story ahead
are the copyrighted property of Lucasfilm Ltd.; whatever isn't theirs is
mine. I won't even pretend this had anything to do with canonicity, and
there isn't much point in flaming me 'cause I'll be gone from the net in
a week.

	I'll even include a free ^L to stop anyone who really doesn't want
to read this from reading it--




     The first guard staggered back and collapsed. As the intruder
prepared to engage the second guard, the doors slid open. The white
luminescence of the corridor tarnished to dark gold, reflected from
the hair and robes of the man who stepped forward. Senator
Palpatine took a sip from the jewelled goblet in his hand. "Good
evening, Lady Arcadia. Would you care to join me for dinner?"
     Backed against the wall, the second guard gasped out, "My
lord, this woman has infiltrated the palace somehow, and--"
     "In fact," Palpatine continued, "I was expecting you somewhat
earlier. This excellent Fentaraj vintage has been warming for a
half-hour now. Do come in before its bouquet deteriorates further."
     "But my lord!"
     His voice took on a harder edge. "Have the next shift relieve
you from your posts for the night. You are dismissed."
     The guards limped away, one half-dragging the other. Before
they had gone two meters, Palpatine drew a blaster from his sleeve
and shot them both. The blade of Arcadia's lightsaber flashed up
like indigo dawn. "What do you want from me?"
     The Senator graciously extended his blaster, grip first. "Your
company at table, of course. Once you have obliged me with that, we
may discuss other matters. For example, your reasons for coming to
Coruscant in this way, or at all." She hesitantly took the blaster
from him, shoving it into her belt with a stare of disbelief.
     A momentary shudder of indecision rippled through Arcadia.
Her blade flickered and went out as she dropped out of defensive
stance. "I never wanted to set foot on Coruscant again. But you
refused every petition I sent, and you made it impossible for me to
seek justice in your courts. This was the only way left."
     "Yes, I intended it so. But come now, you must be hungry after
your jaunt through my security perimeter." He stepped back into his
chambers, obliging Arcadia to follow him. The bodies of the guards
continued to smolder in the empty corridor.

                             *  *  *

     The oval table had been set with two places. Palpatine resumed
his seat and filled Arcadia's goblet. She hesitated on the
iridescent tiles, her dusty grey fatigues out of place in the rich
surroundings. He motioned toward a chair so intricately worked that
it seemed made of silver lace. "If I'd wanted you dead, I'd've
called an armed detachment, don't you agree?"
     "Perhaps. But that might've denied you the pleasure of killing
me yourself."
     He leaned back and smiled. "Ah, but I had far more
entertaining alternatives in mind. Believe me when I say this meal
is unpoisoned and undrugged."
     Although she could sense a concealment of truths in his words,
there was no falsehood. She ate slowly, waiting for him to speak.
Instead, he simply watched her, his topaz eyes dark in the dim
light. The tension made the complex sauces and gels taste like
ashes.
     When she could no longer bear the silence, she asked, "Anakin
is alive, isn't he?"
     "Certainly."
     "Then why have you indicted General Kenobi and me for his
murder? And where is he?"
     "All in good time. I, for one, find that a short stroll after
dining helps my digestion. Let us walk in the gardens, for now." 
     He led her to an enclosed courtyard adjoining the chamber.
Espaliered branches pressed against the walls, vainly reaching
toward the glass dome high above. Palpatine chose a path enclosed
by thick-foliaged trees, their branches interwoven and grafted
together overhead. The darkness would have been near-absolute
without the small utility lamp clipped to Arcadia's belt. "I would
make a bargain with you," he said.
     "What bargain?"
     "Tell me, have you any interest in becoming Vicereine of
Alderaan?"
     She stared back at him, at the pleasant, unreadable expression
on the handsome face. As the implications of his question struck
her, she recoiled. "I don't understand your meaning, my lord."
     "You lie, Arcadia. And do call me Palpatine."
     "I would prefer not to, my lord."
     He snorted. "Very well. Your kinsman Bail Organa has been
troublesome to me in the Senate. His position as Viceroy gives him
a great deal of authority against me. As I understand Alderaani
politics, the title is hereditary, and is granted for life. Other
than his infant daughter, you are his nearest kin, and therefore
his next heir."
     An image of Leia flashed before her. She forced the thought to
the back of her mind. "And what if I am? The rank was granted to
the Organas. If they should perish, the Antilles family has no
greater odds of ascendency than several others: House Gatou, House
Liachne--"
     "The odds can be altered. Are you content with your life as a
simple healer, Arcadia? You've travelled with the fleet; you've
seen the damage that the Republic's internal feuds can cause. But
if you were Vicereine, you could join your faction to mine. Instead
of healing mere individuals, you could heal the wounds of the
Republic. The combined strength of Alderaan and Coruscant could
unite the galaxy, and bring peace to all our quarrels. What is the
life of one man, compared to that?" The jewels of his rings
glittered as he spread his hands.
     The tiny reflections from the facets etched into her eyesight;
she could feel her vision and her mind beginning to fade into a
dark golden haze. Yet there had been no tampering with her meal--
with an effort, she said, "But I don't...why not ally with Bail?"
     Palpatine shook his head sadly. "He and his followers dote on
anarchy and call it freedom. But your influence could make them see
reason. The Senate and the Republic have too much of this anarchy
already, and I intend to restore order."
     The last sentence slashed through his spell on her, and she
stopped walking. "Your order."
     "Not mine alone. As Vicereine of Alderaan, you would be my
equal. Join me as my consort, and we shall rule the galaxy
together."
     "Why should I wed you? Anakin still lives--"
     "At present, yes."
     She caught her breath. "And if Bail is killed, I will know it
as your doing. If you force me to become Vicereine against my will,
you will find no ally in me."
     "Not even for Anakin's sake?"
     Arcadia's fair hair fell down across her face as she jerked
her head away. "You're holding him prisoner, then. If you harm him,
I'll tell the Senate of your plans, and--"
     Almost gently, he said, "But you have no proof. Fully-trained
Jedi might draw the knowledge from your mind, but most of these are
in your kinsman's faction. The majority of the Senate supports me,
and would most likely see your claims as mere Alderaani slander.
     "Furthermore, I am scarcely holding Anakin against his will.
General Kenobi left him near death, and my physicians and healers
have been treating him. But since you are averse to the first
bargain I suggested, I have another you might prefer."
     She looked back up at him, her brown eyes bitter. "And if I do
not agree, you'll let him die. What is the life of one man,
compared to the good of the galaxy?"
     "Tush. As I said, he was badly injured. A meeting at this
point might be a shock to both of you. But if you will administer
a short test for me, I will let you take your Anakin wherever you
desire."
     "What would you have me do?"
     "I have recently taken on a new student, and would like to
test his mettle. Cross sabers with him for a time. If you defeat
him, he will be no student of mine, and I will give you Anakin
Skywalker. I will even remove all mention of my previous offer from
your mind, since it so distresses you."
     "And if I lose?"
     "That depends on his whimsy." Palpatine plucked a green-
petalled flower, twirling the bleeding stem between his fingers. "I
fear that this lad dotes on duelling to the death.
     "He may reconsider the matter, if you ask. If he defeats and
spares you, I think I can still arrange for you to join Anakin. But
as for my would-be student, I'll divulge that I've not yet begun
his training, while you've been taught the skills of a Jedi Knight
for...three years now, perhaps? By General Kenobi?" When Arcadia
remained silent, Palpatine tsked and dropped the flower underfoot.
     "May I see Anakin before the duel?"
     "Alas, no."
     "Then what proof can you offer that he still lives?"
     "Lady Arcadia, you surprise me. You can sense the truth; do I
lie?"
     "You're holding something back."
     "But do I lie when I say your consort lives?" He observed her
with great interest. Her gaze was softly unfocused as she raked her
lips with her teeth.
     "You do not," she murmured at last. "I will accept your
conditions, but I refuse to kill."
     Just as softly, he replied, "Your vow may not be necessary."

                             *  *  *

     Having escorted Arcadia back from the gardens, Palpatine keyed
her prospective opponent on the comm. "I have a visitor who wishes
to bargain for a former comrade's custody. Come to my quarters
through the hidden passage, and be ready for a duel." He did not
wait for a response before keying off. "He should arrive shortly.
I have a suit of protective armor you may wear, and I do suggest
you use it."
     "But why? I've never used armor before."
     "My student does. I wouldn't want you to accuse me of setting
this duel up on unjust terms." 
     She put the troop armor on, inspecting each piece for
structural flaws. "Why not test him yourself? And am I to fight him
here?" The sweep of her white-gloved hand encompassed the wealth of
the chamber's furnishings: carved wood and stone, Cheline mirror
tapestries, lamps hung with amber drops, flame sonnets from Reseau.
     "Why not here? As for testing, I prefer to observe combat from
a distance, rather than in flagrante delicto." He watched her make
a face at the helmet, checking the fume filters before lowering it
over her head and carefully tucking her hair inside. "Is your
helmet firmly secured? Good. I believe I hear his approach now." He
moved to the wall mosaic and pressed several tesserae in sequence.
One panel sank a hand's depth into the wall and slid back to reveal
opening blast doors. Unhurriedly, he moved a chair onto an opaline
carpet and seated himself, arranging his robes in flowing folds.
     Arcadia froze as her opponent entered the room, sealing the
blast doors behind him. "What is that?" she breathed.
     Even distorted by her helmet, her voice was audible to
Palpatine. His eyes ignited with savage amusement as he nodded
across the room. "Introduce yourself, my friend."
     The armored figure turned toward Arcadia, breath hissing
through its black mask. "I am Darth Vader. Whom do I face, my
master?"
     Even as Arcadia opened her mouth to speak, Palpatine made an
airy gesture. "The name is unimportant. This person wishes to spar
with you, Lord Vader."
     Vader took his lightsaber from his belt, activating it and
holding it ready before him. The red light of the blade spilled
over the floor like blood. He waited.
     "This is your student?" Her incredulity survived the passage
through the helmet filters.
     "Why, you disappoint me. But if you wish to cancel our
agreement and leave alone, I'm sure your former comrade will
understand." He was answered by the whiplash flare of Arcadia's
lightsaber. Bracing herself, she moved warily toward Lord Vader.
The two sabers crossed, red against blue-violet, barely touching.
     "You are the challenger," the obsidian mask rasped.
"Commence."
     "Senator Palpatine has said you often fight to the death. Will
you ease your terms?"
     "If I find you a worthy opponent. Now will you begin, or must
I?"
     She darted forward and swung her blade low, toward his legs.
He blocked the blow easily and carried the motion up to throw her
back. As he lunged in attack, his cloak billowed behind like black
wings.
     Vader's reach was greater than hers, she saw. Ordinarily, she
would have had an advantage in speed and agility over this armor-
clad giant, but her own armor impeded her. She stepped aside more
slowly than she should have, and the blood-hued saber bit into the
carpets centimeters from her moving feet.
     She evaluated her adversary as they fought. Like herself, his
movements were stiffened by the armor; despite Palpatine's words,
Vader seemed scarcely better-accustomed to it than she was. 
     Dodging behind a tall stone screen, she drew him behind it
then leapt over to the other side to wait for his return around the
edge. The crackle of vaporizing amethyst warned her to wheel about
as Vader slashed through the screen and advanced through the
severed halves. She was still able to strike his thigh, leaving a
dull melted smear on the surface of his cuisse, but he moved away
before she could reach the weakened spot again.
     He inclined his head. "First blood," he said, and thrust at
her again.
     By implicit pact, they both avoided the lethal targets of head
and torso. But the narrow beams of energy could cripple as well as
kill; a blow from Vader skittered down Arcadia's reflective
vambrace and fell aside, removing a thin shaving of plasteel. It
would have taken her arm off at the elbow had she been unprotected.
She parried his next blow, and the next, turning her damaged side
away each time, then drove him back until he stumbled on a fragment
of the felled stone screen. He fell heavily, jarred enough to lose
his hold on his saber. The blade hissed and winked out as the
handle rolled away.
     Palpatine stretched out his hand, to which Vader's deactivated
lightsaber obligingly flew. Arcadia lowered her own weapon,
releasing the activation stud. "Have I fulfulled our bargain, my
lord?"
     His expression was beatific. "I believe so, my lady--
provided, of course, that Lord Vader agrees. Do you concede the
match, my friend, or do you wish to demand lethal terms? I think
our visitor would like to take her friend back to Alderaan as
quickly as possible."
     Vader, who had been regaining his footing, froze in place.
Fleetingly, Arcadia thought the joints of his armor might have been
damaged by the fall. "Alderaan?" he repeated.
     "Why, yes," Palpatine said brightly. "Did I neglect to tell
you before?" He tossed the lightsaber back to Vader.
     Vader straightened and stood up with savage abruptness. He
crushed his gloves around the saber handle as he spoke, stepping
slowly toward her. "I would yield to an equal, but I will enjoy
your death, Alderaani bitch!" His blade ignited and slammed down at
her as he charged.
     She barely reactivated her own saber in time. Crimson
reflections from Vader's glinted on her armored wrists, just before
her eyes, as she blocked the vicious swing at her head. He forced
the blade down at her until she could feel her gauntlets scrape
against the mask of her helmet.
     Stunned by the suddenness and strength of his attack, she
dropped to the floor and rolled aside onto the tiles. Scrambling
upright, she ducked under another swing and struck his side. The
blow cut away a great swath of his cloak, but did little damage to
his body.
     He snarled and kicked out at her shoulder. Arcadia cried out
as the blow connected, flinging her back, but somehow retained her
balance. Out of his reach, she struggled for air and composure.
_He's in a killing rage_, she thought. _He'll overreact to any
moves I make, if he notices them at all. All or nothing_.
     A few feints confirmed her conjecture. She led him forward
into the glass-domed courtyard, then leaped into the shadowed
colonnade. As he followed her, the iolite gleam of her lightsaber
vanished. Enraged, Vader ran ahead into the darkness.
     Just around the bend, Arcadia slipped out of the colonnade
between two trees and looped back, reentering behind him. Vader had
slowed, looking before him in the dim red illumination from his
blade, when she leaped up at his back, catching one arm around his
neck and dragging him down. The light for which he had been hunting
now flashed up across his vision.
     "I have no wish to kill you. Will you yield?"
     He caught her by the wrist, forcing her saber away from his
mask as he spun and struck at her one-handed. "You are a fool,
Alderaani."
     She tossed her saber to her free hand, catching it before he
could call it to himself. But she was unable to parry at full
strength; his slash tore partway into her neck armor before she
could stop it. Her flesh was barely touched, but she could hear the
vapor seals giving way. He flung her back, and she fell onto the
paving, saber handle flying.
     The loosened helmet tilted up, obstructing her vision. She
threw it off to see Vader's blade poised over her heart. Her own
saber was in his other hand. She closed her eyes, waiting for the
searing blow.
     It did not come. When she opened her eyes again, Vader was
still standing over her. His voice sounded as if his breath had
been struck from his body. "Dia. What are you doing here?"
     That diminutive, coming from that black skull-mask, struck her
much as his saber would have done. The shock rippled through her
body from the heart outward. "Anakin?" Arcadia levered herself up
on her elbows, but the red blade flicked up to aim at her throat.
     "Why are you here? Was Kenobi not enough to satisfy you?"
     Light poured over them as Palpatine approached, a lamp in
hand. "Ah, I see you two have met."
     Her fair hair had come undone when she removed the helmet; it
poured down now in a smooth, vermilion-lit flow. "Why didn't you
tell me the truth about him? Anakin, I-- I came to bring you back
from here. I didn't know--" She turned toward Palpatine again,
straining back from the awful soft sound of the lightsaber, an
electric purr like cloth being torn.
     "When did I lie to you? Your friend Kenobi fought Anakin
Skywalker and left him for dead. My people found him laid out like
bracken on the edge of a lava pit, and for a long time, his
survival was a very iffy thing-- hence the indictment of you and
General Kenobi."
     "But I didn't--"
     "Anakin was quite emphatic that you'd planned his death with
Kenobi." Palpatine polished his nails against his sleeve. "I just
wanted to ensure justice was done, in the event of his death."
     "If he's survived, why haven't you withdrawn the indictment?"
     "Survived?" Palpatine turned wide golden eyes to the
motionless black figure. "Anakin Skywalker no longer exists. You
face Darth Vader now. Is this not so, my friend?"
     "It is, my master."
     "Well, that settles that. You have lost, Arcadia. And now I
will keep my promise and let you join Anakin. If you would step
back, Lord Vader?" Vader backed away, saber still in hand. When he
had retreated to a safe distance, Palpatine unleashed his power.
     He shaped his hands as if holding a soft, flat box with his
fingertips, and blasted her with pure hell. The lightning wrapped
around her and through her. Through the appalling pain, she felt
her throat shredding raw from the screams forced from it. Her lungs
filled with the corrosive scent of ozone struck from the air. When
the pain stopped, a fine froth of blood oozed from her mouth as she
gasped through it.
     "When I am done with you, my lady, my medics will devise life-
support prosthetics for you like Lord Vader's. And you will
infiltrate the court of your cousin Bail for me and do as I bid, or
I will halt your prosthetics by remote and let you drown in your
own blood." The ice-blue bolts licked out again. At the next
respite, she could only whimper, weakly coughing spume onto her
cheek. Her convulsions had thrown her to Vader's feet, and she
looked up to see the impassive mask gazing down at her.
     "Anakin, please," she whispered. "If any part of you is truly
still alive, then please kill me. Kill me now."
     "Move away from her." Slowly, Vader moved back a pace, still
looking at her. She was curled on her side, her eyes fixed on him.
THe last time he had seen her like that was the morning Kenobi had
confronted him-- no, when Kenobi confronted _Anakin_. He shook his
head to clear it. Inside one glove, on his intact right hand, he
could feel the marriage ring press against his finger, where it had
been moved from the remains of his left hand.
     But on that morning, her face and hair had been luminous in
the morning sunlight, not shadowed and flecked with blood. Anakin
would not want her to suffer like this, Vader thought.
     "A little farther, if you please." Palpatine gestured
impatiently.
     Arcadia looked away from the blank eyes of the mask. Within
seconds, incandescent brilliance streaked back into her vision, but
red instead of blue. She saw the lightsaber slash down across the
white armor over her chest, then nothing.
     Palpatine exhaled sharply. "I thought you had learned
obedience. It seems I must remind you again. But first, I must
implement my alternate plan." He stalked back to his main quarters
and keyed the comm. "Guard captain, a Jedi assassin disguised as a
stormtrooper entered my apartments less than an hour ago. I was
saved only by the fortuitous presence of Lord Vader, with whom I
had been dining. I want the Senate informed about the true aims of
these Jedi-- they're dangerous religious fanatics, and the tools of
uncrupulous politicians like my enemies. Bring holocams to record
the scene when you fetch the corpse from my garden. I will take
Lord Vader to have his wounds treated by my own physicians."
     He turned in irritation when he realized Vader had not
followed him. Keying off the comm, Palpatine went to the courtyard
doorway. "If you do not come now, I assure you that you will regret
this day's work even more."
     Vader walked out of the colonnade, his rent cloak fluttering
behind him. Palpatine gave his mind a touch like hands shaping
clay. "Forget everything she said. Think only of her deeds. She
colluded with Kenobi against you. She tried to kill you herself."
     "Yes. She tried to kill me herself," Vader dully repeated.
     In the deep shadows beneath the trees, Arcadia lay sprawled,
half-severed by the saber blow that had killed her. Her body
gleamed twice in the faint, distant light. One reflection was from
her lightsaber handle, which Vader had tucked back into her hands.
The other was from the half-melted ring he had placed on her
finger.


-- 
MUDname: Sidera           "...If I seem to give a damn, please tell me. I would
University of Delaware      hate to be giving the wrong impression."