[Short Stories] - Dark Emperor 6(11)

Palpatine could see that he had struck a nerve with that last comment. Anakin’s face sagged, and he seemed to age ten years in a moment. Unable to face Palpatine, he spoke to the stone walls of the cave. His voice was uneven, and the ball of light he held seemed to dim slightly. “My son…found the good in me. And my daughter forgave me.”

“But was that enough to make up for what was stolen from you?” Palpatine pressed. There was no answer.

Then Yoda spoke up again, very quietly. “Anger is of the dark side. And serve it we do not.”

The former Emperor suddenly spat out his disdain. “Bah! You are all so pathetic! Too weak even to face your own anger. You never understood the value of anger, Kenobi, Yoda. It lives in you, but you are afraid to face it! You act as if Vader does not deserve your anger, after everything he did to the galaxy, to the Jedi order! You…are…fools! You deserve to be destroyed by those Jedi out there. At least, they know what to do with their anger! At least, when they destroy me, I will die at the hands of people who I can understand. People who hate me the way I hate them. Yes…the way I hate you!” Palpatine turned on Yoda. “If I still had the power of the dark side within me, I would destroy you for training Luke Skywalker!”

Yoda remained impassive. Pointing one clawed finger at Palpatine, he calmly answered, “You had the power, but destroy me you could not. You are no longer the Emperor. Your boasts,” he shook his head, “are empty.”

“You survived by hiding like a coward,” Palpatine shot back. “Just like Kenobi.” Facing the tense Obi-Wan, he continued his verbal assault. “When my Purge swept the galaxy clean of the Jedi scum, you cowered on Tatooine, nursing Skywalker. I only wish you had stayed hidden. You interference cost me greatly. You helped Skywalker to destroy my Death Star. And the other child you secreted away, Leia, stole my Holocron and tricked me into releasing her brother! But you do not dwell on your successes, do you, my old enemy? You only think about your failures. You blamed yourself for Anakin’s so-called fall, and you spent years trying to make up for your so-called mistake. I have nothing but disdain for your guilt and angst. Anakin’s awakening to the true power was not your failure! It was my achievement!”

Kenobi refused to be drawn into an argument. He looked at Palpatine’s fierce expression with a vague loathing evident on his own face.

“You think you are so very different from me,” said Palpatine sharply. “But you are not. Tell me you never hated me for taking him away from you. Tell me you did not enjoy your part in the destruction of my battle station. Tell me you took no satisfaction in that revenge. That you had no shred of anger in your heart as you prepared Luke Skywalker as a weapon against me. That you did not feel a cold satisfaction when your plan succeeded, and I was annihilated with the second Death Star, hurled into the core shaft for the sake of your student. Tell me that you have never felt as I do…and I will tell you that you lie.”

Kenobi’s gaze was very hard as he answered coldly, “Don’t you think we know what you are trying to do? We understand you all too well. Even here, when we are all in danger, you strike out at those who would help you, for the sole purpose of doing harm. We expected this from you, and we will not let you divide us. You only have power over us here if we let you. And that is not going to happen. Once, we underestimated your cunning. It will never happen again.”

Palpatine fell silent. He realized suddenly that he had erred. When he had tried to turn Anakin and Kenobi against each other, he had almost succeeded. But when he had attacked them himself, he had only reminded them that he was their mutual enemy. For now, he had failed to hurt them. But there was still time to try again. Perhaps Obi-Wan and Anakin were too strong. Yoda seemed to be the weakest of the three. Not only was he a nonhuman, he was small and extremely old as well. Maybe, if he waited for the right moment…

Palpatine turned and walked into the shadows of the cave, signaling his temporary surrender. There he found a large flat stone to stretch out on. Gathering his robes together, he lay down with his back to the Jedi. Yes, he needed to bide his time. He had a priceless opportunity here. He might soon die at the hands of the Jedi Legion, but before the end, he would repay his greatest enemies for what they had done to him. A pity young Skywalker was not here as well. But Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Anakin were fine substitutes. Perhaps he could betray them when they counted on him to give whatever help of his they coveted. It would almost be worth it to be executed by the Jedi, knowing that three of his most hated opponents were dying with him. He needed only to wait. An opportunity would present itself. They think I am helpless, he thought. They will find that it is they who are mistaken…about everything.