“Speaking from my creator’s experiences,” said the hologram of Bastila, “the saberstaff is a very rewarding weapon, but a difficult one to master.” She stared up at the artful silvery hilt with a raised eyebrow. “And one seldom deemed appropriate for beginners. Are you certain that you might not be pushing things a little quickly?”
“I thought of that,” Twilight nodded. She hit another button on the hilt and gave it a twist. In flash, there were two lightsaber hilts in her hands, and with a flourish she activated both at once.
“Ah, a flexible blade, made with versatility and practicality in mind, is that it? Yes, very wise… by switching the blade configuration mid-battle you could surprise an enemy that thought they had your measure. A staff becomes two blades, two blades become one, one becomes a staff, in whatever combination is required.”
“And two smaller blades, or even one, are easier to hide than one larger one,” Twilight elaborated. “Plus, I put the vital components away from the center, and towards the blades themselves. I know the larger hilt makes a larger target, but that way even if the hilt were to be cut in half I should still have at least one working blade.”
“Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to such extremes,” said Bastila with a slight smile. “All the same, I do congratulate you on the successful construction of your first lightsaber. That weapon will be a part of you now, linked through the Force bond you created when you shaped it with your mind’s eye. In many senses it could be said to be your life.”
“…I don’t know if I’d go quite that far,” said Twilight, stealing a slight glance at her handiwork.
“Nonetheless it is a significant milestone for any Jedi trainee, and you are to be applauded for reaching that stage of competence after only a few weeks of training. And to successfully execute such an advanced design so early bespeaks a considerable technical aptitude.” Here there was a pause, the holocron’s gatekeeper giving the alicorn a moment longer to enjoy her accomplishment. “However, I believe that there may be one thing that you failed to fully consider.”
“Hmmm, and what’s that?”
“That since you have installed such a variety of modes into your lightsaber, you are going to have to learn to master all of them before I’ll teach you anything else. I won’t have you cutting off your own arm in the midst of combat.”
“I’m guessing that takes… a little while?” said Twilight with a feeble attempt at a grin.
“Well, that considering you’ve asked for training as quickly as reasonably possible, that every day you are here this Galactic Empire tightens its grip, and that I can feel the dark side waxing ever stronger…” Bastila paused. “Let’s just say I hope you enjoyed sleeping while it lasted.”
Hanhraar, warrior of Kashyyyk, crawled slowly across the wooden village. He moved as swiftly as he dared, recalling all the lessons his uncle had taught him about moving silently through underbrush. Though his leg might be broken, his mind was sharp. This thing, this monster the hated Empire had unleashed on his village had started its surprise attack with the Wookiees closest to the village’s transceiver array. That meant they didn’t want a warning getting out. If those murdering, slaving vermin didn’t want everyone on Kashyyyk knowing, he did.
He was almost there, crawling past the limp bodies of his kin with a determined expression on his face. Just a little bit further now. The door was ajar, the equipment right in his sight. He just had to crawl a little ways further, ignore the pain just a minute more… that was when he felt an iron clamp descend on his neck.
“Inquisitor to Lord Vader,” Luna said as the Wookiee began silently tugging at his throat. “Mission accomplished. No survivors, and no weapons. As you commanded, my lord.”
“Make certain there remains no evidence of your passing that could appear to be technological in origin,” the Sith Lord’s mechanical voice came through her commlink a minute later. Blasters and soldiers these beasts understand, but let them behold the broken remains of an entire village slain without a shot fired and perhaps they will understand how futile resistance is.”
“The unknown is often the greatest source of terror,” the princess repeated one of Vader’s own lessons. “For it speaks to the terrors within.”
“These weeks of campaigning are bearing fruit. Tens of thousands of Wookiees lie dead, and five times that number have been captured for Moff Tarkin’s project. The resistance is losing cohesion, and momentum. With every battle, the foes of the 501st are fewer and quicker to route. Soon they will be nothing but scattered bands hiding in the wilderness and waiting their turn to be enslaved. Kashyyyk will finally have learned its place.”
“Very good, my lord.” Luna nodded. “What are your orders?”
“Return to base and prepare for a new mission. There are some indications that our offensive is poised to draw another Jedi out of hiding. If it is who intelligence believes, perhaps he might pose an actual challenge.”
“As you will,” she said as the link terminated.
The princess looked around. This had been easy, a mere thirty or so of the alien beasts taken by surprise and without the slightest defense against the Force. Even barred the use of a lightsaber there was nothing they could do against her. She had made a quick end of their suffering, though they were just another meaningless tribe of savage aliens standing between her royal personage and the Emperor. Their actions delayed the training she needed to slay the monster, yet she granted them all quick ends. Was she not merciful?
With a thought, Luna snapped Hanhraar’s neck and turned to leave.
Far away from peaceful Dantooine and war-torn Kashyyyk alike, another figure peered into the depths of the Force. Alone amidst his throne room, guards dismissed and shutters blotting out the sun’s light, Darth Sidious sat and meditated. The galaxy’s conqueror immersed himself into the rich currents of the dark side, now and forever ascendant thanks to him. The powers it granted him had already increased with the destruction of the Jedi Order, and observing the bewildering array of possible futures had never been easier. The path to his eternal triumph stretched wider than ever, eclipsing the inconsequential futures of the galaxy’s myriad lesser beings. Yet still there was a problem.
The dark side of the Force was a raging wildfire as much as it was a shadow, fueled by undying passions to consume all that it touched. Weak, mortal flesh could only bear such attentions for so long before the unnatural flames burnt out one’s body from the inside. Even he, undoubtedly the greatest Sith Lord ever to live, was not immune to this slow but inevitable degradation. It would not be today, and not tomorrow, but eventually, he foresaw, his body would become so weak he would have to rely entirely on the Force to defend himself from even a crippled wreck of an apprentice like Vader.
But as ever, the dark side had provided a solution. Immortality, true immortality of the sort Plagueis had wasted his life chasing, had simply shown itself when the time was right. He had but to reach out and claim it for himself, but he knew that it would not be simple. Something of the Force would attempt to resist him, and like all others it must be taught its place. Sidious peered down the innumerable paths that lay ahead, his mind well-practiced in finding the way forwards amidst the spiraling madness. Minutes turned to hours as the dark lord schemed to claim everything that ever was or would be.
At last, he was ready. Emperor Palpatine reached out a single hand, activating the commlink built into the arm of his throne.
“Contact the fleet at Kashyyyk,” he commanded. “I think it is time that Governor Celestia was reunited with her dear sister.”