[Short Stories] - Dark Emperor 6(12)

By lying still and listening quietly to the conversation of the others, Palpatine learned several useful things about his new environment. Anakin and his companions had been hiding in this cave for several days. It was one of several places of refuge that they had found in the hills. Because the Jedi Legion hunted them relentlessly, they were forced to change their location often. In each hiding place, one of them kept watch while the other two slept. Palpatine had not felt the need for sleep yet, but from the others, he gathered that once a being became acclimated to this new realm, it was necessary to rest periodically. This need followed the cyclic darkening of the alien sky. But the darkest it ever got was a sort of gloomy dusk. This did not stop the Jedi Legion from searching.

Presently, Yoda and Kenobi settled down to rest in sandy areas of the cave. Anakin came over to Palpatine and unceremoniously took him by the arms to haul him to his feet. Palpatine endured the indignity without comment. Anakin’s time would come.

“You will keep watch with me,” ordered Anakin. Without another word, he strode gracefully across the stone floor and began to climb a natural stone stairway. He lit the way with his Force-created ball of light. When he disappeared up around a bend, he took the light with him. For a moment, the cave was alive with shadows, then it was plunged into darkness.

Palpatine cursed to himself as he gave in and followed, stumbling across the cave floor in the blackness. He found the opening of the stairway by feel, and slowly climbed it until he found Anakin sitting at the top. The former Sith Lord had doused his light, but there was a dim illumination coming in from the sky. This was another entrance to the cave, but it was fully covered by a pile of boulders. Gaps between the stones had been left so that a watchman could look through. Palpatine stepped into the small room and checked one of the gaps. The view of the surrounding hills was excellent due to the elevation.

“Find a place to sit or stand,” said Anakin. “It’s going to be a long watch.”

“Are they out there?” asked Palpatine quietly.

“I don’t know,” said Anakin. “They’re Jedi…we’re Jedi…we all know how to hide from each other very effectively. Both sides can neutralize any use of the Force to search. It’s sort of ironic, but it really comes down to them physically looking for us.”

“Have they located you before?”

“They have come very, very close…but…no.”

“Anakin,” said Palpatine after a while, “there is something I have been meaning to ask.”

“Ask, if you must,” he said stiffly.

“Where are your scars, old friend? Where are the marks that the dark side left on you? I still carry them, yet you do not.”

Anakin looked at Palpatine in the gloom. “Is that all?” he murmured. “I can answer that easily enough. This is not the same kind of universe that we lived in before. The rules are different. Time is different here, and thoughts have power. The way you appear outwardly is based on the way you see yourself inwardly. You can change the way you look by concentrating. You don’t have to look like the diseased individual that you are, but I cannot deny that your face is the perfect reflection of your soul.”

Palpatine frowned deeply. “I suppose that it is only fair that you speak to me as frankly as I spoke to you earlier. But you may wish to restrain your derision of your former Master. The time may come when I can once again make you pay for every word of disobedience.”

Anakin stared out into the quiet silver dusk. “That time is finished,” he said simply. After a pause, he added, “We should be quiet. There’s no sense making it any easier for the hunters.”

Palpatine stared at Anakin for a while, but the Jedi only peered steadily through the rocks. Then the fallen Emperor settled down at his own gap in the boulders, and contemplated Anakin’s words as he gazed over the shadowy hills. If what Anakin said was true, then it was possible to rid himself of his age-ravaged frame, just as if he were transferring into a youthful clone body on Byss. There was, of course, only one way to find out. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Before, on Byss, he would burst free of his shriveled, cast off shell, and awaken in a strong, new, glorious body. When he looked into a mirror, he was always pleased with the results. He remembered the pale golden skin tone which echoed the color of his bright yellow eyes. He saw his clear, unlined face, lean and aristocratic in form. His forehead was high, and his head was crowned with a soft, well-groomed crew-cut of blonde hair with a widow’s peak. Beneath his long straight nose, there was a sensuous mouth and a strong chin. The overall impression had been one of seductive power. It had been powerfully attractive to his concubines in any case. The one thing that did not change was the piercing, disturbing quality of his yellow eyes. It was an unheard of color for humans, but no one had ever dared to suggest publicly that the Emperor might have had alien blood in his family tree. To Palpatine, their source was unimportant. He simply enjoyed the way they made people uneasy.