An Imperial Center Ghost Story
Dec. 7th, 2018 12:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sanerontheinsideoriginal post
draws significantly onthedeadcat's Re-Entry'verse, and Mara Jade's upbringing on Imperial Center.
A cold touch, like two fingers, across the nape of your neck. An echo of scream at the far end of a dim hallway. A flash of lights like a blaster shot, no discernible cause for it.
In general, though, the cold almost-cramping in your gut was only normal around the Emperor. The way his eyes bored into you, like fire on your skin wherever he happened to be looking, cold sweat all over – it stood to reason that the halls would also feel airless, choked with smoke and the scent of burnt metal. Just your fears whispering in your ear. That’s what all the residents of the Imperial Palace told themselves.
And of course, there were those like Tarkin or Isard who were only too happy to ignore it, and softly deride anyone who shuddered at an imagined sensation.
But for Mara Jade, it was impossible to ignore. Some nights, Mara couldn’t sleep at all, hearing the sounds of blasterfire and screaming, and something that sounded oddly like the Emperor’s lightsaber – but many of them at once.
On other nights, the Imperial Palace was deathly still, and that frightened Mara more than the screaming she could almost ignore. It made her restless, and no matter how she tried, she could not sleep.
Mara Jade slipped from her bed, not making a sound, sliding the blaster from under her pillow. If nothing else, a walk out in the free air might clear her mind.
***
There was a boy at the end of the landing pad – just sitting there, feet casually hanging over the side. Mara Jade grinned in appreciation: that was something she always wanted to do herself. It didn’t make sense to live in fear of heights in a city over six hundred levels high. It did, however, make sense to get to know them, much like walking around in the utter stillness in the dark was supposed to help her fear it less. Though, so far, she wouldn’t have said it was working. Now that she’d seen the boy out doing the same, however, Mara did feel a bit lighter.
Still, she didn’t necessarily want company, nor immediately trust this being.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked as she warily stepped closer, fingers closed over her small blaster.
The truly disarming thing about that boy was that wide grin he cast over his shoulder. “I don’t know,” he said brightly.
Mara tensed immediately, sensing—no, not a lie. Under that grin, the boy was rather troubled that he did not know. She wasn’t sure whether her surprise showed on her face, but something must have, the way that grin melted away. That was disappointing. She’d been trying so hard to school her expressions so as not to give anything away.
But the boy had turned back to the city’s lights, and he sighed. “It seemed so important, you know, to get to the end of the landing pad. Like there was someone at the end of it to help me.”
Mara weighed her options—to take out her blaster, or to keep it out of sight, even if within reach. She decided on the latter. Perhaps there wouldn’t be much harm in coming a little closer, bit by bit. She watched him as she approached, but he didn’t move a muscle, so she didn’t stop until she was just out of arm’s reach. “Help you do what?”
The boy shrugged. “Leave this place, I think.”
Mara didn’t quite manage to choke back a scoff. “Why would you want to leave home?”
But the look she got for it was equally troubled, and even more lost. “I don’t know,” the boy admitted. “Honestly I can’t think of a single reason.”
“Betrayal.”
The word dropped from her mouth, and Mara started, certain she must look just as surprised as the boy, whose head had snapped around to her. It felt oddly right, and she didn’t understand where it had come from. Mara shivered, hugging herself in an uncharacteristic display of nerves. She wasn’t supposed to show anything, she wasn’t supposed to allow anyone to read her reactions—
“Hey, it’s okay,” the boy soothed, his smile genuine for the first time. “It’s okay. That happens sometimes. The Force speaks to some people that way, it’s like prescience.”
“I don’t—I’m not—” Mara stuttered helplessly. She wasn’t Force Sensitive, she’ wasn’t prescient, she was just—she could hear the Emperor in her head, and that was all that there was special about her.
“Doesn’t have to be prescience,” he shrugged again, and sighed. “Anyway, I know you’re right. I just don’t remember anything about it. Not really.” He hung his head, looking pensive.
Then, “I think there was someone at the end of the platform, someone who wanted to help.”
Mara Jade shook her head, wondering at this trusting being. In the middle of the Imperial Palace, no less! Didn’t he know how everyone here fought for the Emperor’s notice, and ‘allies’ were ready to turn at a moment’s notice just to get a step ahead? She’d seen it often enough.
“No one ever helps,” she said, with a firm nod.
For some reason, the boy let out a harsh, bitter laugh, then hung his head, hands clutching white-knuckled at the edge of the landing pad. “That’s true, I guess. If the people you always thought were there to protect you and watch your back suddenly turned against you, I don’t think there would be enough people left to help.”
That sent a chill down her spine—worse, already, than the wind at this height of the city. People you always thought were there to protect you and watch your back. She thought of the Emperor, of her exhaustive training that would prepare her to one day serve as his Hand, and how she only ever felt warm in his presence. No, she would not ever betray him.
“Mara Jade,” a soft voice called to her. She looked up sharply at the boy, but he only smiled. “Go back to sleep, little one.”
Her feet had moved without any conscious thought of her own, and she only really noticed that she’d left the landing platform when she was mere steps away from her room again. But the quiet no longer seemed quite so oppressive, and sleep dragged at her, inexorable. She all but collapsed back into her bed, eyes already closed, and yet the small blaster still made its way under her pillow in a loose clasp.
***
—in memory of the one young Padawan who almost broke through the ranks of Torrent Company, fighting to get to Bail Organa.
also, holy shit—did not fucking expect to hit the creep vibe at the end there
Premise by tumblr user sinsof-ourfathers: {{Okay, so residual haunting was a canonical thing in the old Star Wars EU, right? What with the echo of Anakin’s massacre of that Ghorfa tribe still remaining on Tatooine in Tatooine Ghost. Makes me think, what if there’s a similar residual haunting in the ruins of the Jedi temple on Coruscant, repeatedly replaying the massacre that had happened inside during the events of Order 66?}}
draws significantly on
thedeadcat's Re-Entry'verse, and Mara Jade's upbringing on Imperial Center. A cold touch, like two fingers, across the nape of your neck. An echo of scream at the far end of a dim hallway. A flash of lights like a blaster shot, no discernible cause for it.
In general, though, the cold almost-cramping in your gut was only normal around the Emperor. The way his eyes bored into you, like fire on your skin wherever he happened to be looking, cold sweat all over – it stood to reason that the halls would also feel airless, choked with smoke and the scent of burnt metal. Just your fears whispering in your ear. That’s what all the residents of the Imperial Palace told themselves.
And of course, there were those like Tarkin or Isard who were only too happy to ignore it, and softly deride anyone who shuddered at an imagined sensation.
But for Mara Jade, it was impossible to ignore. Some nights, Mara couldn’t sleep at all, hearing the sounds of blasterfire and screaming, and something that sounded oddly like the Emperor’s lightsaber – but many of them at once.
On other nights, the Imperial Palace was deathly still, and that frightened Mara more than the screaming she could almost ignore. It made her restless, and no matter how she tried, she could not sleep.
Mara Jade slipped from her bed, not making a sound, sliding the blaster from under her pillow. If nothing else, a walk out in the free air might clear her mind.
***
There was a boy at the end of the landing pad – just sitting there, feet casually hanging over the side. Mara Jade grinned in appreciation: that was something she always wanted to do herself. It didn’t make sense to live in fear of heights in a city over six hundred levels high. It did, however, make sense to get to know them, much like walking around in the utter stillness in the dark was supposed to help her fear it less. Though, so far, she wouldn’t have said it was working. Now that she’d seen the boy out doing the same, however, Mara did feel a bit lighter.
Still, she didn’t necessarily want company, nor immediately trust this being.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked as she warily stepped closer, fingers closed over her small blaster.
The truly disarming thing about that boy was that wide grin he cast over his shoulder. “I don’t know,” he said brightly.
Mara tensed immediately, sensing—no, not a lie. Under that grin, the boy was rather troubled that he did not know. She wasn’t sure whether her surprise showed on her face, but something must have, the way that grin melted away. That was disappointing. She’d been trying so hard to school her expressions so as not to give anything away.
But the boy had turned back to the city’s lights, and he sighed. “It seemed so important, you know, to get to the end of the landing pad. Like there was someone at the end of it to help me.”
Mara weighed her options—to take out her blaster, or to keep it out of sight, even if within reach. She decided on the latter. Perhaps there wouldn’t be much harm in coming a little closer, bit by bit. She watched him as she approached, but he didn’t move a muscle, so she didn’t stop until she was just out of arm’s reach. “Help you do what?”
The boy shrugged. “Leave this place, I think.”
Mara didn’t quite manage to choke back a scoff. “Why would you want to leave home?”
But the look she got for it was equally troubled, and even more lost. “I don’t know,” the boy admitted. “Honestly I can’t think of a single reason.”
“Betrayal.”
The word dropped from her mouth, and Mara started, certain she must look just as surprised as the boy, whose head had snapped around to her. It felt oddly right, and she didn’t understand where it had come from. Mara shivered, hugging herself in an uncharacteristic display of nerves. She wasn’t supposed to show anything, she wasn’t supposed to allow anyone to read her reactions—
“Hey, it’s okay,” the boy soothed, his smile genuine for the first time. “It’s okay. That happens sometimes. The Force speaks to some people that way, it’s like prescience.”
“I don’t—I’m not—” Mara stuttered helplessly. She wasn’t Force Sensitive, she’ wasn’t prescient, she was just—she could hear the Emperor in her head, and that was all that there was special about her.
“Doesn’t have to be prescience,” he shrugged again, and sighed. “Anyway, I know you’re right. I just don’t remember anything about it. Not really.” He hung his head, looking pensive.
Then, “I think there was someone at the end of the platform, someone who wanted to help.”
Mara Jade shook her head, wondering at this trusting being. In the middle of the Imperial Palace, no less! Didn’t he know how everyone here fought for the Emperor’s notice, and ‘allies’ were ready to turn at a moment’s notice just to get a step ahead? She’d seen it often enough.
“No one ever helps,” she said, with a firm nod.
For some reason, the boy let out a harsh, bitter laugh, then hung his head, hands clutching white-knuckled at the edge of the landing pad. “That’s true, I guess. If the people you always thought were there to protect you and watch your back suddenly turned against you, I don’t think there would be enough people left to help.”
That sent a chill down her spine—worse, already, than the wind at this height of the city. People you always thought were there to protect you and watch your back. She thought of the Emperor, of her exhaustive training that would prepare her to one day serve as his Hand, and how she only ever felt warm in his presence. No, she would not ever betray him.
“Mara Jade,” a soft voice called to her. She looked up sharply at the boy, but he only smiled. “Go back to sleep, little one.”
Her feet had moved without any conscious thought of her own, and she only really noticed that she’d left the landing platform when she was mere steps away from her room again. But the quiet no longer seemed quite so oppressive, and sleep dragged at her, inexorable. She all but collapsed back into her bed, eyes already closed, and yet the small blaster still made its way under her pillow in a loose clasp.
***
—in memory of the one young Padawan who almost broke through the ranks of Torrent Company, fighting to get to Bail Organa.
also, holy shit—did not fucking expect to hit the creep vibe at the end there
