PROLOGUE Darth Vader the Dark Lord of the Sith was dreaming In his dream he saw his own dark form standing upon the open terrace that clung to the curved outer wall of Bast Castle his private fortress on the planet Vjun Freezing acidic rain pelted his helmet and high winds tore at his black cloak with incredible fury as if the weather itself was doing its best to kill him along with anything else that attempted to live on the barren world And yet Vader felt more alive than he had in years Turning from the balcony he entered a vaulted doorway leaving a trail of wet bootprints on the corridor corridor floor The walls were lined with automated heating vents that dried his garments as he strode to the dimly illuminated observatory Although few had ever treaded within his fortress he was not surprised to find the young man who stood at the center of the domed-ceiling chamber
The young man was Luke Skywalker Clad in form-fitting black clothes Luke had his back to Vader as he examined a three-dimensional star map that was suspended in the air above a holoprojector Vader recognized the map as the Coruscant Sector Luke’s arms hung at his sides and Vader noticed that Luke’s right hand clad in a black glove was almost touching the lightsaber lightsaber clipped to his belt A new lightsaber Vader thought And a new hand Silent as a shadow Vader moved forward into the room Without acknowledging Vader Luke raised his right arm into the holographic starfield He moved his cybernetic cybernetic fingers through the tiny glittering orb that represented the planet Coruscant The Emperor is dead Luke said in a low voice All that was his is now yours No my son Vader said The galaxy is ours Luke nodded and smiled Vader was still facing Luke when a low familiar voice muttered unexpectedly from behind You are both wrong It was the voice of Emperor Palpatine Vader saw Luke’s expression become tense but he did not turn to face the Emperor Then the Emperor began to laugh A ring of fire erupted from the floor surrounding Vader and cutting him off from Luke Listening to his Master’s cackle Vader lowered his masked head and thought Why won’t you die
The laughter continued Luke said He can’t be alive Father help me Around Vader the fire began to burn inward moving moving closer toward his body Behind his helmet Vader tried to blot out the horrid laughter Why won’t you ever die But the laughter did not stop Vader attempted to reach for his own lightsaber but his arm suddenly felt like it was made of solid stone The flames were now licking at his cloak and boots The Emperor laughed louder Luke began to scream Vader squeezed his eyes shut He could smell fused circuits and roasting flesh WHY WON’T YOU EVER And then Vader awoke Darth Vader’s eyes snapped open Seated within his pressurized meditation chamber aboard his personal Super Star Destroyer the Executor his first waking thought was Jedi don’t have nightmares This thought surprised him almost as much as the intensity of the imagery of Bast Castle It had been over two decades since he had broken from the Jedi order to become a Sith Lord and in all those years he had not thought about whether Jedi had nightmares or dreams for that matter Not since the end of the Clone Wars Perhaps it was a premonition Vader thought as a vein pulsed against the left temple of his bare horribly scarred head He quickly rejected this notion He knew
a premonition when he had one knew that it was more than just a trick of the imagination mixing with subconscious subconscious desires The vision of his fortress had been something else Perhaps a warning but from whom Vader considered considered the possibility that the vision had been planted in his mind by a skilled telepath The idea that he might have been violated made him angry and his anger opened him to the dark side of the Force Closing his eyes he reached out with the Force and searched for signs of psychic energy trails that might lead to a telepathic invader He found nothing no one But the Emperor would not leave a trail Vader grimaced A year had passed since his last encounter with Luke Skywalker on Cloud City where he had revealed his identity to Luke and told him it was his destiny to destroy the Emperor Vader suspected that the Emperor knew of this treachery for the Emperor knew everything eventually But even if the Emperor were aware of all that had transpired Vader was certain he would not feel threatened The Emperor was simply too powerful And yet somehow Vader sensed that the Emperor had nothing to do with his strange vision of Bast Castle Could it have been just a dream Vader wasn’t sure After so many years without dreaming he had forgotten what dreams were like Above his pale head a retractable robotic arm held
