Master of Evil by Adam Christopher arrives on 11th November, detailing the quest by Darth Vader to conquer death in the earliest days of the rebranded Republic now known as the Galactic Empire, and in this excerpt we see Vader and the Emperor reunite on Coruscant after Vader’s journey off-world to Mustafar.
The Emperor’s office at the pinnacle of the Imperial Executive Building was a large, imposing space dominated by the magnificent curve of the floor-to-ceiling window that spanned the far wall, with the angular form of the Emperor’s throne positioned on a raised platform before it so he could, should the mood take him, gaze out on the Coruscant cityscape.
Right now, the Emperor was indeed looking out from the office window. Behind the turned throne, Darth Vader knelt, head bowed, the deep, repeating rhythm of his respirator the only sound in the room. He and the Emperor were alone. The two scarlet-robed Royal Guards that provided customary, if perhaps unnecessary, security had been dismissed as soon as the Emperor’s apprentice had arrived.
Time passed. In the world outside, silent beyond the glass wall, the air traffic was thick and without end, even as the Coruscant night ran well into the small hours.
Finally, the Emperor spoke. He did not turn around, and from Vader’s position before the dais, it seemed like his master’s cracked voice came from everywhere but nowhere.
“I sense something within you, my apprentice.”
Vader’s masked head jerked up at the words, but he did not answer. He just stared at the back of the throne.
“Desire,” said the Emperor. He gave a short, low chuckle as the throne turned around of its own accord until the master faced his apprentice. Only the lower portion of the Emperor’s face was visible beneath his wide cowl, but eyes of yellow glittered from the dark shadow within.
“You have a thirst for power, Lord Vader. This I am pleased with. But it is your thirst for knowledge that I find . . . interesting.” Again, the low chuckle. The Emperor leaned forward, just a little, his voice dropping to a high, sibilant whisper, the voice of an old and wizened man, which he most certainly was not, despite appearances. “Perhaps you saw something in the cave on Mustafar.”
Vader still did not speak, but he lowered his head in supplication to his master once more.
“Or perhaps something in that cave saw into you.”
Stay tuned for our review of Master of Evil when it arrives in November.
