[Short Stories] - Dark Emperor 4(13)

Pestage felt the deep hurt of this young woman, and he knew he could help with at least part of it. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said gently. “The Emperor must have known he might die, and he had a message prepared in advance to send to me if it happened. In it, he told me to get myself to a safe place, and to see that you were safe as well. He knew it wasn’t your fault, and he didn’t blame you. Palpatine’s death was something he chose to face. You had no part in it. Now…you were telling me about Ars Dangor.”

“Well,” she continued, “Dangor sent his men to get me while I was still pretty messed up. It turned out he wanted me for his pleasure. He thought I was Palpatine’s lover, and because he was going to take the throne, he wanted to claim me, too. I felt degraded, but not enough to kill him. I was sent to his rooms, where I broke into the security systems. I watched the meeting where he set you up, and took you down. Again, I was angry, but not that angry. But when he was actually declared Emperor, I felt such a rage that…that I blacked out. Then—this is the really strange part—I thought I was having another nightmare. Palpatine was dead at my feet, and Skywalker came back to kill me, too. This time, I strangled him with my bare hands. After he was dead, I could see that he was really Dangor. I wouldn’t have killed him. I only wanted to escape from him and leave the planet. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She looked into Pestage’s eyes. “You don’t know what it meant to me, when you called me Emperor’s Hand. I was feeling like no one knew who I was anymore. It—it just meant a lot to me.” She took his hand, holding it warmly.

Pestage was thinking furiously. Something incredible was beginning to dawn on him. There was Palpatine’s order for him to bring Mara to Byss, the nightmares and headaches she was having, the blackouts, and her hatred of Dangor when he became Emperor. He didn’t know how it could have happened, but he suddenly understood that he was in the presence of his Master. Palpatine existed within the mind of this young woman.

“What you did meant a lot to me, too, Mara Jade,” he told her. “You saved my life, and I owe you more than you will ever know. But there is something else I need to ask of you. There is a world in the Deep Core called Byss, where the Emperor has a stronghold of those loyal to him. I would be safe there. We both need to escape, we are both fugitives. Would you help me to reach Byss? Perhaps you, too, can find a home there.”

“I’ll take you anywhere you need to go. That was part of my plan. But how are we going to get off planet?”

“Don’t worry about that, Mara Jade. I know of the ideal transport. The Emperor’s personal shuttlecraft is in a docking bay near the Palace. If you can pilot it, it can get us free of Coruscant.”

She clasped Pestage’s hands firmly with her own. “Can I pilot it? Does a Wookiee live in the trees? Let’s get out of here!”

Pestage smiled at her, and they moved off in a different direction, sharing hope like the first taste of food after a long fast.



Emerging from the secret ways late that night, the fugitives found themselves in a quiet docking bay, empty of other people. Before them, a Lambda class shuttle crouched like a white bird with its wings folded. Sate Pestage motioned for Mara to stay put, then he walked up to the open boarding ramp that beckoned invitingly.

“Sate Pestage, Grand Vizier, code SGW0027, deactivate defense systems.” He turned back to Mara. “It’s all right now, we can get on board.”

She climbed the ramp, looking nervously around her. “What would have happened if I had been alone?” she asked.

“You would now be dead,” Pestage told her. “This ship is equipped with the navicomputer programs necessary to penetrate the Deep Core, and the recognition signals for bypassing the Hyperspace Security net. It would not do to let those things fall into the wrong hands.”

Mara followed him into the cockpit of the little craft. She immediately began activating the ship’s systems and monitoring communications from Imperial City. “I’m getting some information you should know about,” she said to Pestage after a minute. “There’s a total blackout on HoloNet transmissions, and traffic to and from Coruscant has been prohibited. That might slow down or even prevent any pursuit from the ground, but listen to this. A lot of the surviving Star Destroyers from Endor have returned at Dangor’s orders, and are now in orbit. There are a lot of very angry, very confused Captains up there demanding to know what’s going on down here. And no one’s answering them. Imperial City doesn’t want the news from Endor to get out until they’re ready for it. Things haven’t fallen apart yet, but they could at any moment. We’ll have to fly right through a fleet of Star Destroyers to get away from Coruscant-“