Psylocke had never felt so tense before. Knowing that the Emperor walking beside her knowing that she was tense only made her more tense. It was difficult to maintain a professional disposition when these thoughts were plaguing her mind. She had been noticing these things lately. Ever since the Emperor had picked her out of a crowd a few months ago, her world had been turned upside-down. There was something he knew something she wanted him to tell her. Click..click She listened to the sound of her own dress shoes as they clacked against the hard floors of the ESD ECLIPSE. She had never been on his ship before. What was even stranger was how they got there. A few days before, Psylocke had received an invitation from Emperor Palpatine to join him for a night of theater at the Baroness Riven's new estate. Overwhelmed at first, she had even bought a new black, double-breasted suit for the occasion. She pulled her hair back into a sleek ponytail and even applied a little makeup. After the performance, they had been immediately escorted by shuttle to the Eclipse. Now here she was walking down the hall with the most powerful man in the galaxy with no idea where she was going. The Emperor glanced over at her and said, "I sense you are not quite content in this environment, Psylocke." Psylocke wanted to mention something about asking him to address her as Captain Lammshta, but she decided to keep her mouth shut. She wasn't really on duty anyway. Instead she said, "Your Majesty has never invited me onto his ship before...nor anywhere for that matter." "You must adjust your expectations, my dear. You were meant to be treated as such. You have much to offer the Empire..." "Thank you..." her voice trailed off as she summed up her bravery. "Your Majesty, may I ask you something?" "Of course, young one." She stopped walking, and looked right at him, her eyes unblinking, then blurted out boldly, "Why this sudden interest in me?" "You will find out very soon. Come with me." All expression on her face fell, then she turned and began walking forward again. She followed his lead as he guided her down toward a door at the end of the hall. He waved his hand over the lock, and the door slid open with a hiss. They stepped into his private office. Psylocke had never seen an office so immense. It had a cathedral ceiling, one large desk, and several strange sculptures along the walls. Her eyes drifted around, fascinated by the art, but trying not to show it. The Emperor beckoned her to sit before the desk. He stood on the other side and leaned over to peer at her. "Your force ability seems dormant, Psylocke. If I didn't know better, I would think you are blocking it - hiding it from me." Psylocke leaned back slightly, wide eyed, heart pounding. "I...didn't realize I had Force abilities." "You must have realized.... There may be...nightmares, strange sensations in your life. Are you experiencing any of these things, young one? "I have had odd dreams at times...sometimes even prophetic, if you will. I once had a dream that I stabbed Admiral Metieh , of course this was during the time that Princess Leia had been on our side...never trusted her." She shakes her head. "But...there have been other things...Sometimes, I'll think of something, then someone will say it aloud...or I'll look at something and it falls over. I never really thought of it as Force potential. Is that what you mean?" "Yes...and you know this is part of you. Such incidents show an internal source of power..." Psylocke looked away from him briefly. The Emperor frowned at her. "I sense you are reluctant to accept this." "I wasn't exactly raised with it. Never really interested me, I guess." "Oh, but you *must*, my dear...you need to understand where it came from. Why you can do all these things and...who you are....yes..." His yellow eyes bore into hers. "Who you are..." A wicked grin started to cross his face. Psylocke shifted forward, started to bite her lip, then quickly stopped. "So you *did* know something...at Port Lansing." "Yes I did...but there is more...much more. How much do you know...about your family?" She looked down at the desk, frustrated that she couldn't tell him yes. "I wasn't raised by my parents. My legal guardian refused to tell me anything." "How much have you heard about the history of this galaxy before the Jedi purge, Psylocke?" "I know of the Clone Wars, and how Lord Vader exterminated most of the Jedi." "Were you ever taught about the Old Republic...what happened before its demise?" "I never had public education really. I received private tutoring from my legal guardian until I got my scholarship to the Academy. Even there, my education was very focused on my physical training...as well as qualitative physics. Even so, I don't remember much of my classes in history...it was never really my thing, so to say." "Well...you must have been told about the Senate. There was dissention, and Naboo was attacked. There was a duel between some force users...two Jedi knights and...a Sith Lord named...Darth Maul." He looked at her intensely, searching for some sort of reaction to the name. Psylocke's eyes distanced from the scene, trying to think back to her lessons from the Academy. "I remember a few things about the Senate, but I have never anything about those Jedi or a Sith Lord by that name..." "You should. Darth Maul was my apprentice ...and he is your ancestor --you are a direct descendant...." Her eyes slowly traced back up to his, her jaw slowly falling, and her heart pounding... "A...a...Sith...wow." The Emperor gazed at her with a brief smile. "Indeed. Maul is your grandfather, Psylocke. You have inherited his Force traits. Maul died under the hand of Obi-Wan Kenobi ...a terrible loss -- he was my finest apprentice ...and it is you that will take his place...it is your destiny." END PART I
Go To:
Part 2
Cantina Archives
Members Only Main Page
What's New Page