moonshadows | Master Kenobi visits

"Master Kenobi. It's been a while." I gesture to a chair with a sardonic smile. "Please, have the illusion of a seat."

He peers at me as though I've gone crazy. When I seat myself, however, he cautiously follows suit.

"You don't seem surprised to see me."

One eyebrow arches. "Should I be?"

"Well, you know, recently-deceased enemy visiting you in spirit...?" His delicate sarcasm, at least, is alive and well.

"Ah, yes. You Jedi are - were - mainly unfamiliar with that technique." Hands folded, I give him my best tolerant-grandfather-teacher smile. "We Sith have been using it to teach our worthy students for generations."

"And how, exactly, do you define worthy?" The bitterness is only to be expected.

"Jedi give their students tests to pass, and call them Master. For the Sith, there is only one test: to kill your master. Those who succeed are Sith Lords, and are taught the final secrets from beyond the grave. Those who fail...are dead." A moment of fond reminiscence. "My own master, Darth Plagueis, spent nearly as many years teaching me after his death as he had before it."

"An odd custom. Why would you teach anything to the one who killed you?"

I shake my head in disappointment. "For all your wisdom, Master Kenobi, you don't understand the ways of the heart at all. Tell me, do you hate me?"

He is silent, fuming. The Force roils around him.

"Come now, it's not a difficult question. I took your padawan, slaughtered your fellows, toppled the government, and brought countless deaths to people who were no doubt innocent."

"Yes," he grinds out reluctantly. "I should not give in to such emotions, but I do hate you. You are a cancer that needs to be excised for the good of the galaxy."

"Why is it that you embrace love, when it leads so easily to hate?"

"What do you mean?"

"You hate me because you love the Republic, because you love your fellow Jedi, and because despite everything, you love Anakin." I pause while he digests this and comes to terms with his feelings. "I hate you, to an extent, for wounding him physically and emotionally. And, to an extent, I love you as well."

"I'm not sure I want your love," he says dryly.

I shrug. "You are beloved to my student, and hate has its roots in love just as love holds the seeds of hate. The Sith understand this. To feel such passion for anyone, whether it is of the Light or of the Dark, is to know that its opposite must also exist. The brighter the flame, the deeper the shadow."

"You certainly proved that, didn't you?" The bitterness is back. "Anakin-"

"I failed him," I interrupt quietly. "I couldn't undo his training enough...couldn't keep him stable in the face of tragedy and betrayal. He sought refuge from the pain in the Dark Side, and for all my power, I am helpless to lead him back into the Light."

He stares at me in shock. I don't think he ever expected sorrow and regret from me. We sit in silence for a handful of minutes, each contemplating our mutual student.

"I understand that reading his mood is difficult behind the mask, but....when you fought him, how did he seem to you?"

Again, he looks at me like I've lost my mind. "Your Death Star has been destroyed and the Chosen One who will destroy you has surfaced at last, and you ask me about Darth Vader's mood?"

"Did he seem happy to see you? Angry? Remorseful?"

He frowns. "None of the above. He seemed...distant."

"I'd hoped, after all this time..." I sigh. "Perhaps his son can pull him back."

Now he looks scared. "You know about Luke?"

"My dear Master Jedi, you didn't think I would let two potential Sithlings out of my sight, did you?" My warm, tolerantly amused grandfather smile confuses him. "Leia has all of her mother's passion and cunning. I have high hopes for her, if she has inherited any of her father's abilities with the Force."

"You know Leia is.....is that why you have not crushed the rebellion?"

"Not the only reason, but a solid one. I can't think of a better arena for her to sharpen her skills in. Can you?"

He shakes his head slowly. "I don't understand you at all, Palpatine. You expend so much time and effort to overthrow the government and take the reins of power, and then you practically invite the rebels to take it from you."

"You misunderstand my goals. I was less interested in taking power, and more interested in wiping out your Order - no offense - so that you could not emotionally cripple any more helpless children with your flawed teachings. I am far less concerned with the stability of my Empire than I am with the stability of my apprentice."

Now he looks disturbed. "If you'll excuse me," he says, standing up, "I must go consult with Master Yoda regarding Luke's training."

"Be sure you train him well," I say sternly. "With you dead, he is the best chance we have to bring some measure of balance back to our mutual student."

He looks startled, then fades out.