Saga "A Darker Truth" - Yoda/Palpatine/Vader AU Vignette (One Post)

Title: A Darker Truth
Time Period: Prequel Trilogy
Genres: Alternate Universe; Sith Philosophy
Primary Characters: Yoda
Secondary Characters: Darth Vader; Palpatine

Summary: Set during the events of Revenge of the Sith. Following the destruction of the Jedi Order and the defeat of his greatest rival, the Dark Lord of the Sith contemplates the events of his past and the future that awaits him.

A/N: I posted this story five years ago under a different name but discovered that it was no longer in the forum's archives, so I've decided to post it again for anyone who would like to read it now.

*****

Even as he watched the construction of his battle station, the Dark Lord of the Sith allowed his thoughts to drift, and his mind, to remember. Submerged within the Dark Side of the Force, he did not resist as the powerful currents and eddies swept him from the deck of the newly commissioned Executor and into the distant past.

In his mind’s eye, he saw himself kneel before a hooded figure, the man who had shown him the Force. “You will be a powerful Sith, my apprentice,” his teacher was saying. “The Force flows through you as it does no other.”

In an instant, the scene dissolved, accompanied by a massive shift in the Force. A new image appeared moments later.

Several years had passed. He was no longer a student- his tutelage under his mentor had ended with the older man’s death- but a master of the Dark Side and of himself. He watched as he guided one of his own students- the late Count Dooku, he realized- in the discovery of the Force’s true character. Lightning shot forth from Dooku’s outstretched hands, and in a flash, the scene changed again.

More time had passed, and he found himself where he had been only days before- in the Senate chamber, battling his greatest rival in a duel to the death. Red and green blades clashed in rapid but precise movements, each strike more lethal than the last, more dangerous than the one that preceded it. The blade of his opponent slashed across his field of vision, and the scene faded away, as the pull of the Force brought him back to the Star Destroyer’s bridge, to the present.

Lost in his thoughts of what had been, he had almost missed the arrival of his apprentice- almost, were it not for the unmistakable surge of power that accompanied the presence of the man the Jedi believed was their Chosen One. Freed of the shackles of a now-vanquished Order, Darth Vader would become more powerful than any Force-user known to exist. He would rule the galaxy at his master’s side, and together, they would crush any who dared to oppose them. Vader was the product of years of exhaustive effort and sacrifice, the result of careful planning and skilled manipulation, and, perhaps, the workings of the Dark Side itself. The duel in the Senate came back to him.

“You will not stop me. Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us.”

“Faith in your new apprentice, misplaced may be, as is your faith in the Dark Side of the Force.”

Palpatine was right about Vader, but wrong about so much else. The Dark Side offered power and prestige, but the true nature of the Force was more complex than Sidious ever imagined it to be. His quest to gain control of the Senate was successful, as was his deception of the Jedi Order and conversion of Anakin Skywalker. But in his endeavor to control the lives of others, Palpatine failed to recognize the control the Force exerted on his own life and that becoming a Sith Master meant only that he would continue to be the Force’s student. He should have seen his death coming, but so arrogant was Supreme Chancellor that he saw only a tiny, green alien, rather than the seeds of his own destruction.

Whether Palpatine ultimately realized his mistake, Darth Sage would never know. Palpatine had fulfilled his role in Sage’s plans, and the fate of his nemesis was unimportant, as was the past he left behind. The Jedi had been fools not to see Sage’s true nature for themselves, but their loss was his gain. After nearly nine hundred years of hiding, of scheming, and pretending to be the Jedi Master that he was not, Sage could finally be himself. The universe would suffer the consequences.

Sage turned to regard his apprentice, and the younger man stared back, his eyes searching behind his mask. Anakin Skywalker dreamt of being a Jedi Master, but only as Darth Vader would he reach his true potential. “Master?” he asked.

“Gone our enemies are, Lord Vader. Ours, this galaxy is.”

 

I remember this from years ago. Very nice twist at the end. Well done.

 

What an amazingly intriguing recasting of Yoda. Wow! Welcome back, under a new name. LOL I simply adore mine.