Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 04:13:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mark <rahvin747@yahoo.com>
Subject: Planes of Gray - chapter 2

Disclaimer : This is a work of fiction. I don't mean to state anything
about the sexuality of Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen or anyone else.

Note : This story of mine will only make use of the Star Wars characters,
and will barely follow the Star Wars story, if at all.

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Planes of Gray - chapter 2

Descending down onto my quarry, I set my lightsaber in position for a
deathblow. The best option when dueling a Force sensitive was to end it
quickly, and cleanly. I could see him now, a man of average height totally
concealed in a dark cloak. His face was a shadow, but a beam of light
revealed a malicious smile, and named him as human.  For a moment I thought
he would merely stand there and die by my hand, but as my saber went in for
the kill, it struck his saber blade, yellow sparks showering off the
collision as the two blades met, red on purple.

There we stood, our sabers locked in a battle of strengths, his lips now
grimacing with effort, my face a portrait of cold determination. Force
sensitive channelers occasionally reared their heads, and I had come across
a few in my lifetime. Without the proper Jedi training, they were all
tainted with the Dark Side in some way. Very few had managed to construct a
lightsaber, and all of them died within moments of confronting a true Jedi
Knight. This man was different. So close to him, I could feel his power. It
was similar to mine, which would normally be considered a very rare
find. The Dark Side rushed through him like a dark vortex, its torrents so
powerful, that I nearly lost my concentration twice. What was he? Could he
be... a Sith Lord?  They had been extinct for over a thousand years, slain
by their own hands. Yet how else could I explain his power, his saber and
the fact that he'd lasted more than minute in a duel with a Master such as
myself?

Growling I pushed his saber off of mine, and attacked as aggressively as I
could. I was far beyond even mastery in wielding a saber, but for every
move of mine, he countered with his own. I knew almost every Jedi form, but
he moved with a serpentine action which forced me to adapt my defenses
several times. There we danced with our sabers, a furious blur of motion
guided by the Force. Many times I came close to cutting of his head, but
twice his saber missed my heart by less than an inch. On we fought at an
impossible speed, until I felt weary even with the Force flowing through
me. Suddenly he flipped back and landed on some high containers twenty feet
above me, his dark demeanor staring down at me from his vantage point, the
saber illuminating his high point in a red glow.

"You are powerful, Dark One. In the end you will fall by my hand. No one
has ever survived a duel against me," I said gravely, my eyes glaring up at
the silent presence.

He laughed a scornful, mocking cackle. "Fool Jedi. I sensed your power
years ago, and I now you are mine to collect."

I laughed. "As I trophy I suppose? A fool for challenging a Jedi, and
double a fool for challenging this Jedi."

He laughed again, his wheeze nauseating me. "Slay? No! I wish to train
you."

Shock hit me like a gale. Train me? "I may be exiled, but I will never turn
to the Dark Side! I sense you now. So... the Supreme Chancellor is a Sith
Lord. Now you are exposed. You are finished however this ends."

I expected a terrible rage to flow from him, but he smiled widely. "You are
the fool, Deryk. Only one attuned to the Dark Side could penetrate my
illusion."

Once again I felt shocked, but my disbelief was corrupted by a deep
intuition that he was telling the painful truth. Impossible! "No! Liar!
Just like all the Sith, you are using falsehoods to corrupt the Jedi!" I
was angry at his attempt to fool me, and when I realized that, I felt a
deep sense of panic rise up in me. Anger. I felt angry. It felt wrong, but
strangely exhilarating.

"Am I lying? Why have you never sensed me before? Why have none of the
other Masters who claim to see so clearly through the Force sensed my
presence? Yet within minutes of our meeting, your gaze has pierced my
deepest levels. Am I still a liar, Deryk?"

I closed my eyes, feeling the Force. It felt different, and when I really
felt it I realized that the difference was terrible, and horrifying. I
could feel the Dark Side, feel its insidious entrance into my soul. How
could this have happened? I let the blade of my saber fade, and placed it
in my belt. As soon as I did this, the Sith Lord jumped easily to the
floor, and walked toward me, his own saber now sheathed.

"What do you want with me?" I shouted. "I don't need the Dark Side! I'm
going to reverse this corruption and get on with my new life. Now leave me
alone!"

His face was serious. "We both need things in life, Deryk. I need to teach,
to have someone as an apprentice in the Dark Side. You need love. You need
Anakin."

I gasped, and took a step back. "How do you fucking know that!?" I
screamed. "Tell me, you fuck, or I'll make you beg for death!"

He calmly continued striding in my direction. His face was still serious,
and eerie. He lifted the hood of his cloak, and I saw that he was indeed,
Chancellor Palpatine, his face full of deep sympathy, but surely
fake. Surely! "The Dark Side allows unique abilities, Deryk. I foresaw that
you and Anakin would be together one day, but only the Dark Side could tell
me this, and only the Dark Side can help enforce it. Without it, Anakin
will never think on you again. Never, until you grow old, die, and fade to
ashes."

I turned my back on him - not a wise choice with a wielder of the Dark Side
behind you. I couldn't help it. My eyes were tearing and I was
ashamed. Even the Chancellor knew who I was, and I still had some pride to
maintain, even in my disgraced state. I wiped my eyes before the tears
could escape, and I sniffed my already running nose.  "They denied me any
form of emotional attachment. I just wanted to be with Anakin.  It wasn't
as if I would stop aiding their cause. I'm one of the greatest who've ever
lived! But they wouldn't listen. And now... now I've lost any chance I had
to be with him." I covered my eyes with my hands.

"There is only one way that he will ever be yours. You must submit to my
authority as your Master, and I will teach you to wield the powers which
will change the tides of fate." His voice was slow and calm, and logical.

I knew he was corrupted. I knew what the Dark Side did to a Jedi, but I was
prepared to pay the price to be with Anakin. I would do anything to be with
him, even tear my own soul to pieces. I remained stubborn though. "Why
should I bend knee to you, Palpatine? What gives you the right to claim the
title of Master over me? Should I not hold dominion over you?"

He snorted. "I have already proved how powerful the Dark Side is. You may
be as great as any three Jedi, but your knowledge of the Force in its
entirety is sadly lacking. In time you will have powers you will not
believe were possible, and no Jedi will be able to stand against you. And I
mean no Jedi."

I gravitated toward the promise. I needed Anakin. My very soul cried for
him. If I needed to touch the Dark Side to get what I needed, then I
would. I could always repent later. "Very well. I submit as your
apprentice, but I bow to no one." I stared at him defiantly. He smiled
widely.

"Good. You are aggressive, and powerful. You will strike terror into the
Jedi. Your old name, Deryk, no longer means anything. Now you are Lord
Syrin, a Sith Lord."

I bowed my neck in acceptance, but maintained stubborn eye contact. I felt
a heavy mantle settle on me, and my emotions surged like they had never
before. "As you will it.... Master."

*********************************************************************

Anakin tossed and turned in his bed that night. He hadn't been able to
concentrate ever since seeing Deryk in a near hysterical state the previous
day.

He'd met Deryk a few years ago. Deryk was a legend as a Jedi. He had often
been told how amazing his potential was, but he used to doubt he could ever
surpass Deryk in any way. He'd fought alongside him in a few skirmishes and
he'd been reduced to a shocked silence after watching Deryk blaze in
battle. Yet there was something else about him. Anakin felt an intense
attraction to him, which he couldn't put his thumb to. He'd never thought
of himself as gay. Indeed, most Jedi never thought of themselves as
anything except Jedi. Deryk was different. When Anakin looked at him, he
felt his heart beat in his chest, and sweat form on his back. The desire to
rush up and seize him with a deep kiss was almost too much to resist, even
for a Jedi. Deryk was a perfect package in every way. He was tall and
hot. He even moved in a sexy way, like a leopard prowling casually through
the savanna grasses.

Anakin sighed in disappointment. He'd tried several times to initiate a
friendship with Deryk. If he could just get his foot in the door, perhaps
something could develop from that. It was very frustrating. He used all his
best moves on Deryk. He'd joke around him, and even casually rub up against
him, but whenever he thought he'd made some sort of breakthrough, Deryk
would catch fright and flee. Well, he wouldn't flee literally in most
cases, but his behaviour would change. He would shift from friendly to
aloof and uninterested, or from sweet and shy to arrogant or proud. Anakin
thought that perhaps he was disgusted by the idea that another Jedi would
try and cross that boundary. He had been sure, but he had caught Deryk
staring at him hungrily on more than one occasion. He was certain those
stares weren't innocent, mainly because he knew that is how he would look
if he was caught staring at Deryk. It was this small kindle of hope which
gave him the stamina to pursue Deryk over all these years.  Nothing had
happened yet, but Jedi lived very long lives, and he was willing to wait
for that prize.

He tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Deryk's face was painted across his
dreams and it drove him mad with lust. One day he would be with Deryk.

*********************************************************************

The next morning...

Mace Windu and Yoda stood at the window of the council chambers staring at
the rising sun over the Coruscent skyline. It was a beautiful view. The
city covered the whole planet, but it bustled with its own life, and the
sun reminded it on a daily basis that nature was everywhere, as was the
Force. Silence reigned supreme in the room as the two sole occupants
deliberated calmly.

"This could mark the end times for the Jedi," Mace Windu said, lowering his
head.

Yoda looked at him. "Don't give up hope, my friend. His power is great
indeed, and he would not have turned unless a greater power or an equal one
had offered him something of indeterminate value."

Mace Windu nodded. "With two Dark Jedi of such strength moving freely
within the galaxy, it will only be a matter of time before they clash with
us."

"I agree," Yoda said. "The Dark Side cannot resist an attempt to destroy
us. If Deryk comes for us, ready we must be. Evil and weak he has become,
not stronger. His former brightness dimmed by a parasite on his soul."

"Perhaps," Windu said gravely. "Yet only a fool would try and deny the
danger of a Sith Lord. I still do not know how it happened. I cannot shake
the thought that we pushed him in that direction."

Yoda shook his head slowly. "No. The Dark Side is a kernel waiting inside
each of us.  With nurture it will grow, unless it is suppressed at every
moment. By opening himself to passion, Deryk opened other doors. Stayed, he
might have. Imagine the consequences of that... the Dark Side in the heart
of the Jedi Temple."

Mace Windu shuddered. It was a terrible thought, to think what a Dark Jedi
could do if he could teach students and younger Jedi unabated. Yet Deryk
was his friend, not just a Dark Jedi. Most of the more powerful Jedi would
have felt it when he turned.  He shone like a bright light in the Force,
and his presence had been absorbed into the darkest midnight. Mace had
known as soon as he felt it. It had caused a great disturbance in the
Force. No matter what Yoda said, he felt guilty. Deryk had been an
honorable man, and a mentor to many Jedi. He'd slipped in one area, and had
been made to pay the ultimate price. What would he himself do if he'd lost
his allegiance to the Jedi? Would that not be a fate worse than death?
Perhaps he would even start to hate those who had done it to him. Still, he
didn't believe that Deryk had turned out of vengeance. He couldn't read the
Dark Side well, apart from recognizing it, but he could sense longing and
sorrow in Deryk's new presence, and not hatred and anger.  Those would come
with time, of course. All the worst emotions in the galaxy spawned from the
Dark Side, but Mace felt at peace inside just knowing that love had turned
him, and not hate. It meant that there was hope, even though
infinitesimally small. No one ever turned away from the Dark Side once
they'd fallen. He sensed Anakin and Obi-Wan conversing a few levels below,
he could feel the pulses of the Force rushing out from them as they argued
once again over some minor triviality. It seemed different this time
though. Anakin's disturbances traveled and then realigned before focusing
on Deryk's heinous presence. Something very odd was going on there. Perhaps
the Force was altering destiny to allow a clash between those two.  Perhaps
Anakin really was the only Jedi strong enough to match Deryk. Time would
tell.

Mace pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked down at Yoda. "I will
intercept Deryk. I sense his presence on Naboo, but for what reason I
cannot say. I must catch him while he is alone. I cannot face him and his
Master concurrently."

Yoda nodded and looked at his walking stick. "Go with you, I would, but I
sense a disturbance centred around the Temple. If the Sith do strike here,
then one of us must be here."

Mace nodded. "I agree. May the Force be with you, my friend."

"And with you, Mace," Yoda smiled, before walking away slowly.

Mace looked at his lightsaber and sighed. He despised using it, but if that
was so, he was going to abhor using it for his destined clash with Deryk.

*********************************************************************

Anakin and Obi-Wan were walking through the main passages of the Jedi
Temple. It was relaxing stroll. They had a long while before the next
relevant gathering which they had to attend. Jedi passed them, occasionally
bowing their heads and greeting them warmly.

"... it doesn't matter what you think, Anakin. You're wrong," Obi-Wan said
directly.

"All I'm saying is that just because Deryk went off track once, doesn't
mean he's a lost cause. You know as well as I do, Obi-Wan, that he's got
all the right stuff to be a great Jedi." Anakin looked frustrated as he
tried to put his point across.

"He was a Jedi, Anakin, but no longer. Not ever again. We can't have Jedi's
like that running around in the Temple! Imagine how he'd taint the Padawans
with his teachings. He as much as said he despises the Code!" Obi-Wan was
starting to show frustration, surprised that his friend couldn't see the
obvious.

"Well he's my friend!" Anakin shouted, before running off down the passage
defiantly. Obi-Wan merely stood there and watched, slowly shaking his
head. Deryk was dangerous, and even though he had been expelled from the
Jedi, his influence still remained strong, especially in Anakin.

*********************************************************************

That evening I had abandoned my plans and flown with my new Master to his
private palace on Naboo. It was ironic that the two darkest presences in
the galaxy would choose such a beautiful planet to form a den.

"Your training will begin tomorrow. Rest, and feel the Dark Side," he said
to me plainly before leaving me.

Moving to my bed, I fell onto it with a thump. Sitting on the corner, I
placed my head in my hands and wondered how I could have fallen so
far. Perhaps I had not fallen. I was merely doing what I had to for Anakin
and I to be together. Yes, that's right. One day when Anakin and were
united, I would put away all this Dark Side fodder and return to my former
glory. I heard my conscience laughing at me, but I didn't care.

I felt like crying, and my head felt heavy in my hands. "Anakin," I said
and reached out with the Force, now tainted with the Dark Side in me. I
could see him in the Jedi Temple. I could feel enormous frustration in him,
and almost anger. He seemed as tense as an elastic band, on breaking
point. Suddenly he sensed my presence and looked right at me. Instead of
anger, he smiled at me. I was so shocked, I released the Force and fell
back onto my back in panic. Oh shit... he'd seen me. He must suspect!  I
had to make contact with him... but how? Kenobi would always be near him,
and any other Jedi might attack him on the spot if they sensed the Dark
Side in him.

Suddenly he had a plan. It was a long-shot, but if it worked, he and Anakin
would be together... forever.

End of Chapter 2

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