Sherilyn's Tale


	Sherilyn Werlone rested her head against her fists.  Her pilot picked up 
two glasses of a green beverage from the sideboard and set one before her before 
sitting at the table.
	"Bad news from Coruscant?" he asked.
	"Yes, Ray," she said.  "Very bad news, I'm afraid.  The man who finished 
my Jedi training has died."
	Ray Magnus looked sidewise at his employer.  Jedi Sherilyn had never spoke 
of her training before.  It never occurred to him that Jedi Knights had more than 
one master. 
	"What do you mean by 'finished'?  Did you have more than one master?"
	Sherilyn nodded.  "Three actually. Maracon Heloo was my second master.  She 
died under mysterious circumstances.  There were no other Jedi master free to take 
me on, so I was assigned to Qui-Gon Jinn, a relatively new master at the time.  And 
now he is dead by the hands of a Sith Lord.  I do not like this."
	"But it is hardly unexpected," Ray pointed out.  "You have been muttering 
about a dark disturbance in the Force for over a month now."
	"That's the problem with the future," Sherilyn sighed.  "Too many variables.  
The Sith were thought to be destroyed centuries ago.  And now they show up out of 
nowhere.  We had gotten lax in our arrogance."
	"Just what is a Sith Lord anyway, Sherilyn?"
	"Someone who uses the ways of the Jedi for the Dark Side of the Force.  
Someone who seeks dominance and destruction, instead of peace and harmony."
	"Oh.  Do you think they may have something to do with the plague on Angor?"
	"I doubt it.  But I can't help but wonder if they may have caused the death 
of my first master."  Sherilyn sipped her drink.  "Then again, it just may be my 
human nature trying to tie up an end that has bothered me for decades."
	Ray downed his drink.  
	"Nothing wrong with that in my book," he said.  "I better get back to the 
cockpit.  We should be coming out of hyperspace soon."

	Angor was an arid, but grassy planet.  Nothing bigger than a bush existed 
in its flora.  Its major exports were proteins and grains.  The plague had started 
months ago, but it wasn't until a quarter of the populous was affected that someone 
decided to alert the Republic.  The medical team sent there had died recently in a 
freak accident, but not before they had sent their suspicions back to Coruscant 
about the origin of the viral cause.  Since it was in Sherilyn's sector of the 
galaxy, it was her duty to check it out.
	There are too few of us, she thought.  Too few Jedi to take care of the 
Republic properly.  If only there were more of us.  Then someone could have 
checked this out sooner.
	She shook her head.  She was being foolish.  Terrible things happen.  It 
was part of life.  She and her fellow Jedi Knights could only do so much.  Still 
she did her best to do what she could.  Ray landed them in the port.  The hairs 
on the back of Sherilyn's neck began to stand.  There was a sense of death that 
she had never felt before.  Both of them had been inoculated against the virus 
back on Jafferion.  Suddenly, that didn't seem enough of a precaution.  
	"Ray," she said, "Let's don the environmental suits to be safe."
	"Right-o, boss."
	Sherilyn put on her Jedi robes and light saber over the suit.  If she had 
to, she could have them vaporized afterward.  She hesitated a moment and then 
ordered Ray to stay in the ship.  He grunted and went back to the cockpit.  The 
committee that met her at the landing pad looked like refugees from a mortuary and 
hovered nervously near the entrance.  
	"Flee while you can, Jedi!" one screamed.  "We're all dead!  Droids now 
rule our planet!"
	It was then a laser cannon blast hit the ship.  Instinctively, she launch 
herself into the air and curled into a ball.  Landing on her feet, she activated 
her light saber and turned to find her ship destroyed with a smoking hole were the 
cockpit once was.  Lacking her reflexes, Ray would had died even if he had been on 
the gang plank with her.  At least this way, he died where he wanted to.  The sound 
of blasters came from the entrance.  Battle droids poured into the hanger.  There 
had to be another ship around here she could use for an escape.  Sherilyn used her 
light saber to block and slice through the droids and ran down the main causeway.
	Following the promptings of the Force, Sherilyn ran to the fourth hanger 
to her right.  There she found a small interstellar craft waiting.  She fried the 
hanger door controls with her light saber to keep them shut and hot-wired the 
launch dome to open it.  A quick series of numbers punched into the ship's outer 
keypad and she was inside.  Sherilyn started the systems.  Ray may had been her 
pilot, but Sherilyn was more than capable of flying herself.
	As she expected, droid fighter ships came to stop her.  She fired a few 
shots and exited the hanger.  Using the Force as her guide, Sherilyn weaved to 
avoid the attacks while inputting the coordinates for Coruscant.  Then with a 
press of a button, the stars streaked and she was in hyperspace.
	Question after question presented themselves, as Sherilyn kept an eye on 
the ship's monitors, but no answers came to eliminate them.  Who was behind the 
droid army and the take over of Angor?  Why would someone wipe out the population 
of a whole planet?  What about the increase in trouble in her sector as a whole?  
Especially among the planets of the Langlee Coalition?
	Sherilyn took great satisfaction from the creation of the Coalition.  When 
she was first assigned to this section of the galaxy, many of the planetary 
governments were bickering and sabotaging each other.  With a great deal of 
patience and a little flattery, Sherilyn managed to get several of their leaders 
to cooperate with other.  Not only did their economies flourish, but they also 
became a strong enough voice in the Senate to get some of their more pressing needs 
taken care of.
	A political enemy?  Sherilyn frowned.  She did not usually bother with the 
galactic political arena, her hands were full enough with her own sector.  Another 
move by the Trade Federation?  That would be pure stupidity after the fiasco with 
Naboo, even if they had started their plans long before then.  They could have 
stopped at just the virus.  Why take over a dead planet, whose only exportable 
resource was now contaminated?
	Sherilyn forced herself to look beyond the obvious.  What other enemies did 
the Coalition have that would be willing to go to such lengths?  That made more sense.  
What better time to make bold moves, than when there was someone else everyone could 
easily point a finger at?
	A warning signal filled the cockpit.  Sherilyn groaned.  Part of the automated 
system had shorted.  She would have to manage that portion manually until the ship left 
hyperspace.  So much for taking a nap.

	Sherilyn was beyond weary when she landed her ship in a containment hanger.  
She left the ship and entered the biofilter chamber, where the virus was sterilized 
from her suit and robes.  Maintenance droids were already working on the ship. She 
left the suit with the port authority and began her trek to the Jedi Temple to inform 
the Council of what happened at Angor.
	Deftly, she weaved her way through the crowded thoroughfares like a fish 
through water.  Even tired, her Jedi reflexes served her well, which was why she was 
so surprised to run into someone in an open area.  Muttering an apology to the man, 
she looked back at the crowd she had so successfully navigated through, and then in 
confusion, looked back at the man to find him smiling.  She shook her head.
	"You must be Sherilyn Werlone," he said.  "The Jedi Knight who just arrived 
from Angor.  I am Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.  I was hoping to catch you before you 
became locked away in the temple with your superiors."
	"Oh, yes," Sherilyn said, mentally shaking herself.  "Congratulations on your 
new position, Supreme Chancellor.  How fares Naboo?"
	"Just wonderfully, thank you for asking, but I am quite concern about the 
tragedy you witnessed.  Is there anyway you could pry yourself from the Jedi Counsel 
and give me a first hand account of what you saw there?"
	"I wasn't there for long," she pointed out.
	"Still, you are the last living being to escape from there.  Even the smallest 
thing could give us more to go on then we have now.  Why don't we have dinner tonight?" 
He smiled broadly.  "It's the least you can do after running into me.  Or doesn't the 
Council allow you to eat during briefings?"
	"I should be finished with my report by this evening."
	"Then it is settled," the Supreme Chancellor stated.  "You will dine with me 
tonight in my quarters."
	He disappeared into the crowd before Sherilyn could say another word. Shaking 
her head again, she found a transport tube and went on to the Jedi Temple.  Dutifully 
and without emotion, she recounted in detail what had happened, before voicing her 
suspicions and recommendations.  There was a long silence after she finished.
	"Sherilyn," Mace Windu said, "your account is exceptional, as is your 
dedication.  But we cannot agree with sending you back.  You have pushed yourself too 
hard these past months.  You need to rest and rejuvenate yourself."
	"My sector is being attacked, Master Mace.  It is my duty to find out why."
	"Send another, we can," Master Yoda stated firmly.  "Allow you to weaken 
yourself, we cannot.  Danger, there is in your fatigue.  Easy prey to the Sith, 
you may become."
	"I must agree," Mace continued.  "Now that our ancient enemy has reveal 
itself again, we cannot afford to take any chances.  You will take a sabbatical, 
Sherilyn.  We shall have a ship ready for you tomorrow to take you to the planet 
of Alderaan.  It should be peaceful enough there for your recovery."
	"Yes, Master Mace, and thank you, Master Yoda, for your concern," she bowed 
to the council and left.  Entering her own quarters, Sherilyn showered and changed 
into a dress for her dinner with the Supreme Chancellor.  She was again surprised 
to find him about to knock on her door as it slid open.
	"Your timing is astounding," he said.
	"I was about to say the same about you."
	He smiled and offered his arm to her.  As they entered an elevator, he 
commented, "You look positively stunning tonight."
	"You are too kind, Chancellor Palpatine," she said, knowing full well that 
she looked as tired as she felt.  She stifled a yawn.
	"I'll try not to keep you up too late," he said.
	"I would appreciate that."
	Soon, they were in his quarters, eating an enormous meal.  Between bites, 
Sherilyn gave an abbreviated version of the account she gave in the temple, without 
her personal conjunctures.  Palpatine asked her several questions until his droid 
brought dessert.
	"Now," he said, "let us put aside business and enjoy ourselves a little."
	Sherilyn chuckled.  "This dessert is wonderful, but I fear I've eaten so 
much that I may have trouble staying awake long enough to get back to my own 
quarters.  Perhaps, I should go now."
	"I have a better idea," he said.  "Let's go out on the balcony.  The night 
air should invigorate you enough to return to your quarters safely."
	The view from the balcony was stunning.  The lights of the city planet shown 
in intricate geometric designs below them.  Sherilyn shivered.
	"I should had brought a wrap of some kind," she admitted.  
	"You weren't expecting to be outside," he pointed out.  "Here, let me lend 
you my cloak."
	Palpatine draped his warmed cloak around Sherilyn's shoulders.  As he 
fastened the clasp at her neck, their eyes met.  Sherilyn was mesmerized by his 
gaze.  Before she could even think, he pulled her into his embrace and kissed 
her deeply.
	A droid made a throat clearing sound and interrupted the kiss.
	"A young Jedi, Obi-wan Kenobi, is here.  He says he must speak with Sherilyn 
immediately."
	"I'm sorry to barge in like this," Obi-wan said from behind the droid, "but 
another matter has come up and it is imperative that Sherilyn returns with me to the 
temple immediately."
	The smile on Palpatine's face was obviously forced.
	"Of course," he said.  "We must have dinner again sometime, Sherilyn."
	Sherilyn nodded and allowed herself to be guided by Obi-wan.  Back in the 
elevator she turned to him.
	"And what is this important matter you have retrieved me for?" she asked.
	"It's past your bedtime," Obi-wan said, studying the elevator walls noncha
lantly.
	Sherilyn blinked and started to chuckle.
	"I thought I was too old for chaperones," she said.
	"Well, I couldn't very well leave my master's favorite pupil in the 
clutches of a politician."
	She laughed then and kissed Obi-wan's cheek.
	"You're too sweet," she said.
	"And you're too tired," he countered as the doors opened.  "Go to bed.  
Tomorrow, you can have breakfast with my new apprentice and I."
	
	The next morning, Sherilyn knocked on Obi-wan's door.  A young boy opened 
it.  By the cut of his blonde hair, he was the apprentice.
	"Hi," he said, "I'm Anakin.  Are you Sherilyn?"
	"Nice to meet you, Anakin, and yes, I am."
	"Great!  Obi-wan's setting out breakfast in here."
	Sherilyn followed the boy into the dining area, where her late master's 
last pupil was placing some eggs on the table.  
	"Good morning, Obi-wan," she smiled.  "Rescuing anyone else from the clutches 
of a politician lately?"
	"Too big of a task in this city for one man," he said.  "So, when do you 
leave for your sabbatical?"
	"My ship should be ready after breakfast."
	"Then sit and eat.  The sooner we get you out of here, the better."
	During breakfast, Obi-wan and Anakin told Sherilyn of their adventures on 
Tatooine and Naboo.  When Obi-wan told her of Qui-Gon's death, she bowed her head 
to hide her tears.  
	"I'm sorry I didn't make it to the funeral," she said softly.
	"Your hands were very full," Obi-wan pointed out.  "From what I've been 
told, your sector is practically under siege.  The Council has sent two sets of 
Jedi Knights to investigate."
	"Oh, my," Sherilyn gasped.  "That many?"
	"They want to get to the bottom of things as quickly as possible."
	Sherilyn's shoulders sagged in weariness.  She failed somehow.  Either she 
didn't her duty well enough, or she let her pride blind her to the fact that she 
needed to call in reinforcements.  Despair crept its way into her heart.
	"Sherilyn?"
	She looked up to see Obi-wan's concerned expression.
	"You did all you could.  You can't save the universe single-handedly.  You 
know that as well as anyone else.  You must take care of yourself right now.  We 
can't afford to lose you."
	She nodded numbly and got up.
	"I guess I better get on that ship then," she said.
	"We can escort you, if you wish."
	"No.  That's all right.  I can make it there myself.  What can happen to 
me on the streets of Coruscant?"
	
	It wasn't on the streets of Coruscant that her question was answered, but 
in the elevator taking her to the space port.  Suddenly, her car stopped and 
sickening sweet gas filled it.  Holding her breath, Sherilyn used the Force and 
a small laser tool to help her override the elevator's command system from the 
access panel.  Success was in her grasp, when a dart hit her neck and injected 
a drug into her.  She lost consciousness just as the elevator lurched back into life.
	When she awoke, Sherilyn found herself lying on a cot in a cell, feeling 
a numbness beyond any she had ever felt before.  A man obscured almost entirely 
in robes that resembled her own Jedi ones, stood near its entrance.  
	"Well, well," he said in a voice she could almost place, "if it isn't the 
creator of one of my greatest annoyances.  It's a shame.  Without you and the 
Angorians, the Langlee Coalition is nothing but a collection of disgruntled 
farmers and miners.  It will be a miracle if it lasts beyond a month."
	"Was is necessary to wipe out the entire population?" she asked in a 
hoarse voice.
	"I believe in being thorough."
	"Then why am I still alive?"
	The man chuckled.
	"Why that should be obvious, my pretty little Jedi Knight.  You are worth 
more to me alive than dead."
	"Why?"
	"All in good time, Sherilyn.  All in good time."
	The man left, leaving her sealed in the cell.  Carefully, she tried to 
sit up in the cot.  She tried to access the Force to steady herself, but nothing 
happened.  Collapsing back onto the cot, she realized the source of her numbness.  
Somehow, her connection to the Force had been severed.  How, she could not fathom, 
but she did know one thing - she was now the prisoner of a Sith Lord.  Who else 
could find a way to block the Force?  She should have taken Obi-wan up on his 
offer to escort her to her ship.  There was nothing she could do in her current 
state, expect sleep and hope to recover some of her strength.

	A droid woke her some indeterminate time later.
	"It is time to move you to your new quarters," it said.
	This time, Sherilyn could stand, though she was still unsteady on her 
feet.  The droid held her elbow and directed her to another room, which was 
richly furnished.  She was led to the bathroom and allowed to freshen herself 
up.  Then she was a provided a dress to change into.
	"Lord Sidius wishes you to be properly dressed for dinner."
	Sherilyn nodded.  Until she was certain she could escape, she would be 
a cooperative captive.  Surprise may be her only tool when the opportunity came.  
She sat down at the dining table and waited for her "host".  As she expected, he 
was still hiding under his robes, though she could see his smile under his hood.
	"There must be a thousand questions behind that composed expression," he 
said.  "Like, how did I block your powers and why have I placed you amongst such 
splendor?  I think I will answer the second one.  I believe that beautiful things 
should have beautiful settings."
	"And the first question?" she asked.
	"Is my secret to keep."
	Sherilyn thought furiously for a line of questioning that might lead 
her to a better understanding of her captor while the droids served them dinner.  
Something that might help her outwit him.
	"With all the beautiful young women in the galaxy, why would you settle 
for a middle-aged one?"
	He laughed.
	"Some things improve with age, my lady.  Your wit and grace for one.  
Your powers for another."
	"You have blocked my powers," she pointed out.
	"Then I will just have to enjoy your wit and grace," he said.
	"Then I am to be a bird in a gilded cage?  Hardly a useful commodity for 
someone who craves power."
	He smiled.
	"Your ultimate usefulness will come later.  At the moment, I must keep 
you out of the thick of things."
	"I fail to see how I could ever be of use to you."
	He sat back, with a half smile showing.  Sherilyn had the sense that he 
was trying to gauge her possible reaction.
	"You have several potential uses, but the most immediate is that of my 
future spouse and mother of my children."
	Sherilyn choked.  "Excuse me?"
	He removed his hood.  Sherilyn grabbed the table edge to keep herself 
in her chair.  Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was grinning at her.  The galaxy's 
highest government official was a Sith Lord.  And it happened right beneath the 
very noses of the Jedi.  Sherilyn fought to control the waves of confusion and 
hopelessness assailing her.
	"You make a perfect choice." he went on, obviously enjoying her 
disorientation.  "Mature enough not to make me appear to be a fool trying to 
recapture his youth, yet beautiful and graceful enough to make me the envy of 
almost any man.  And on top of all that, you have an understanding of power 
with no ambition of power for yourself.  People will trust me more because I 
will be married to a trustworthy woman.  You also have a weakness for children."
	Sherilyn stared at him hard.  He studied his wine for a moment and then 
met her eyes.
	"You have been one of my favorite subjects of study for a long time.  
Of course, you have probably have forgotten, but you were one of the first Jedi 
to meet me here in Coruscant, back when you were still studying under Maracon.  
I had hoped to make you my apprentice back then, but the Jedi Council had whisked 
you away to some backwater before I could affect my plans.  I had to choose 
someone else as an apprentice.  Alas, he was . . . too ambitious.  I had to kill 
him and train another."
	He went on, "And after all this time, you finally come back within my 
grasp, only to have the Council send you away from me again.  I decided not to 
let that happen this time."
	"But if I suddenly appear as your wife, the Council will realize that 
you had coerced me," she pointed out.
	"True," he admitted.  "My original plan was to court you, but your 
superiors seem bent on keeping you away from here and I can't chase you all 
over the galaxy.  But with you here, I am sure I can convince you of my vision 
in time.  And by then, the Jedi Council will not be in any position to take you 
from me."
	Sherilyn looked down at her dinner, her appetite gone.  She was, to put 
it mildly, overwhelmed.  The idea that she had been a target of the Sith for 
decades was terrifying.  If Palpatine had been planning to ensnare her for that 
long, her chances of escaping were slimmed down significantly.  
	He came over to her side and whispered into her ear, "You are very pale, 
my love.  Let me help you to your bed."
	"I can make it there myself," she said, standing up.  Unfortunately, her 
knees had other another opinion.  Palpatine caught her as they buckled beneath 
her.  She bite her lip as he helped her into the bedroom.  Sitting purposefully 
on the bed, she removed her shoes and crawled under the blankets, still wearing 
her dress.  Palpatine sat next to her and brushed her hair back. 
	"You would sleep better without the dress," he said.
	"I'll be fine."
	He order a droid to bring her night clothes from the dressing room.
	"I can dress myself," Sherilyn said.
	He smiled and began to undo the dress.
	"Let's not go through that again," he told her.
	Sherilyn clenched her jaw as he helped her into the night clothes.  She 
tried to get back under the covers, but he pulled her to him and kissed her, before 
laying her back and caressing her cheek.
	"It's a shame I have an early meeting tomorrow morning," he said.  
"Sweet dreams, my empress."  The droid followed him out of the room and the 
door slid shut and locked.  Sherilyn's dreams were far from sweet that night.

	The next day, Sherilyn searched every inch of her rooms for anything that 
might help her escape.  Her grooming things were kept by the droids and only allowed 
to her under supervision.  She was inspecting the jewelry provided for her for 
possibilities, when Palpatine snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around 
her midsection.  Sherilyn mentally cursed her lost connection to the Force that 
would normally alert her of other beings.
	"I hope you like them," he said, kissing her neck.
	"They're very nice," she said softly, trying to ignore his caresses.  
"How did your meeting go?"
	He chuckled.
	"Spoken like a true wife."
	"I was just trying to make conversation," Sherilyn protested.
	"Be that as it may, I unfortunately have some other meetings to attend," 
he said, as he kissed her behind the ear, "but I will think of you constantly, 
my lover."
	Sherilyn let out the breath she had been subconsciously holding when he 
left again.  The next several days, Palpatine played cat and mouse with her - 
always insinuating, never doing.  It was beginning to fray her nerves.  But she 
did not doubt he would follow through once he got tired of teasing her.  Getting 
her pregnant seemed to be a top priority.
	A thought hit Sherilyn then.  He wasn't just waiting for the enjoyment 
of teasing her.  He was waiting for her to enter the fertile part of her cycle 
to increase the chances of conceiving.  It wouldn't be too hard to keep her under 
medical observance with all the droids around.  If she was correct, then chances 
were that very soon it would be more that just caresses and kisses.  She sat down 
on the bed and thought hard.  She couldn't let him do it.  She would not carry a 
child fathered by a Sith Lord.  Such a genetic combination boded ill for the rest 
of the galaxy.
	She looked around herself.  There was nothing in the room that she could 
use for escape.  The jewelry was too fragile and without sharp points.  The plants 
were flimsy and only slightly poisonous, even if she could get Palpatine to eat 
them.  Despair hit her as she realized that she had no choice.  She would be the 
mother of his children, whether she wanted to or not.  She couldn't even kill 
herself to get out of it.
	Or could she?  The plants may be only slightly poisonous separately, but 
what if she ate them together?  What did she have to lose?
	She carefully removed a leaf from each plant, keeping them out of the 
servant droid's sight.  Then she announced she was taking a nap and pulled the 
covers over her head to hide her face as she stuffed the leaves in her mouth and 
chewed.  The taste was awful, but she forced herself to chew thoroughly.  By the 
time she swallowed the last of it, her stomach was already cramping horribly.  
Through clenched teeth, she smiled at her own cleverness before blacking out.
	
	"She is regaining consciousness," a metallic voice to her left said.  
Sherilyn tried to move, only to find herself strapped down to the bed.  
	"And what is the prognosis?" Palpatine said from the foot of the bed.
"She will be weak for a few days, but no permanent damage has been done."
	Sherilyn groaned softly.  She had been under medical surveillance, 
after all.  She should had realized that they would have noticed her body's 
distress and had the offending leaves removed from her stomach before any real 
damage could be done.  She had been letting despair color her reasoning.
	"You can leave us now," Palpatine told the droid.
	Sherilyn opened her eyes and looked at him.  His face was expressionless.  
Then he gave her a slight smile and sat next to her.
	"I'm surprise at you, belovéd," he said.  "Acting so rashly, like that.  
Do you really wanted another to raise our children?"
	"There are no children to raise," she pointed out.
	He laid his hand on the sheet covering her abdomen.  "True, but you are 
very special to me, Sherilyn.  If you had died, I would have been forced to use 
your ovaries and have our children start their existence in a laboratory."  The 
hand wandered.  "But that would be so impersonal, don't you think?"

	Sherilyn laid still while the medical droids did their duties the next 
morning, not certain if she was actually waking up or just stuck in a nightmare.  
She fought back the memories from the night before and prayed that Palpatine's 
actions were not successful.  
	She faded in and out of wakefulness a few more times before she began 
to listen coherently to the droids' conversation.
	"What about the midichlorian blocker?"
	"Not today.  It may interfere with her ability to conceive.  But make 
sure she gets enough nutrients through the IV.  It will probably be another day 
before she can keep food down."
	Sherilyn allowed herself to faded back into semi-consciousness as she 
examined what she heard.  They were giving her a drug to block her connection 
to the Force.  How Palpatine managed to find something that could block 
midichlorians without causing death was a mystery.  Sherilyn purposely let her 
mind drift.  After a few moments, she began to sense the familiar presence that 
had been her companion for so long.  She remained passive to it to keep from 
creating any vibration that Palpatine could pick up on.  Feeling more alive, 
she began to consider her options.  It didn't take long for her to realize that 
she wouldn't be able to escape alive.  If she was in top shape and had her light 
saber, perhaps, but in her current state, no.  
	So, she mentally listed her primary duties.  She needed to find some way 
to inform the Jedi Council of Palpatine's powers.  She needed to warn them about 
the midichlorian blocker.  And she couldn't allow him to father her children.  
So, what was the most pressing?
	Keeping him from getting her pregnant.  The moment she was with child, 
he would have a definite hold on her.  And if she did manage to die, he would 
still have her ova.  Sherilyn glanced at the droid watching over her.  Like 
most of its model, it had medical instruments rested in their appropriate 
spots.  And like most medical droids, it had an adjustable laser for cutting 
and cauterizing.  
	Now what she needed was something to distract Palpatine and give her 
enough time to use the Force to accomplish her plan.  Sherilyn let her mind 
drift until she found another mind she was familiar with.  It was Senator 
Halor of Nadise, one of the more volatile members of the Langlee Coalition.  
He was listening to Palpatine making some speech to the Galactic Senate.  
Sherilyn strengthen a thought that was always ready to surface in his mind.  
Then she gently felt for Senator Kwill's mind and reminded him of the increase 
in food prices for his planet since Angor's demise.  She drifted over to 
Senator Naydi'ya's mind and suggested that these people needed their cages 
rattled and that she was just the person to do it.  Finally, she sought out 
the mind of Senator G'londor and listened through his ears as the chaos 
began to unfold.
	"These new trade laws would benefit the galaxy as a whole," Palpatine 
said.  "By regulating-"
	"This is nonsense!" bellowed Halor.  "It doesn't take any account for 
the needs of farmers and ranchers!"
	"Senator Halor," Palpatine smiled, "I promised you that we fully intend 
to make sure that those who nourish the galactic food supply prosper and flourish."
	"A whole lot of good you people did for Angor," he snorted.
	There were sympathetic murmurs through the gallery.
	"The tragedy at Angor was very unfortunate," Palpatine stated.  "But if 
we regulate our-"
	"You take the spirit of free enterprise out of things," Senator Naydi'ya 
pointed out.  "And instead of competition, we have stagnation.  We will be 
rewarding the fearful and punishing the creative!"
	Palpatine's eyes glared at her, but before he could speak, Kwill did.
	"Our trade regulations work well enough," he said.  "It took us miners 
centuries to get them to the point they are now.  I do not see these proposed 
changes as progress, but as a step backwards.  I cannot support them."
	At that very calm and solemn statement, the Galactic Senate erupted in 
clamorous noise.  Satisfied, Sherilyn removed herself focus from there and 
gathered power from the Force.  With one thought, her bounds broke.  With a 
gesture, the medical laser shot to her hand.  With another gesture, the droid 
was smashed into the wall.  
	Sherilyn took a deep breath and felt inside herself.  Locating her two 
targets, she plunged the laser into the left one and twisted.  Then ignoring the 
extreme pain, she plunged it into the right target and did the same.  Using the 
last of her strength, she mentally tried to warn the Jedi Council of the 
midichlorian blocker and hoped that someone had their mental shields down 
enough to hear.

	Sherilyn squeezed her eyes to shut out the bright light above her.  
Death apparently did not want to take her this time either.  She felt the now 
familiar numbness from the blocker.  She opened her eyes.  There were droids 
working on her.  One noticed her stare and injected her with more anesthetic.   
She became unconscious again.
	She awoke to the sound of a door sliding open and then shutting with a 
definite click.  Her eyes were too weary to open, but she recognize Palpatine's 
voice.
	"What did she do this time?" he demanded.
	"She completely vaporized her ovaries," the droid answered.
	"I don't have time for this," Palpatine stated.  "Stabilize her and freeze 
her in carbonite.  We will revive her when I can control her better."
	"Yes, sir."
	Sherilyn let herself succumb to the numbness.  Maybe she would die during 
the freezing process.

	The world was dark and Sherilyn felt nauseous.  Though she could not see 
anything, she could feel a watchfulness around her.  Someone stroked her cheek 
and a mind reached into hers.  It wove its way around her thoughts and enmeshed 
itself.
	"Now," a raspier version of Palpatine's voice said, "now, you will not 
defy me.  The hibernation sickness has finally weaken your will to a point where 
I can control it."
	"I am barren," Sherilyn pointed out.  She felt his amusement in her mind.
	"When your body has healed from the hibernation sickness, we will implant 
your new cloned ovaries back into you."
	"Why not just clone a new me and be done with it?"
	"An emperor cannot be satisfied with anything less than an original," he stated.
	"So, my clones were just as difficult."
	"There are no clones of you, yet.  We have only just collected the 
genetic material from you.  Behave yourself and there will not be any need 
for creating a clone.  Think of that, my wife, while you sleep."
	At his command, Sherilyn consciousness faded and she dreamed of people 
who looked like her doing horrible things.  

	That nightmare was nothing compare the one Sherilyn lived in the months 
afterward.  Sherilyn became a human droid, obeying Emperor Palpatine's every 
wish.  People marveled at the Empress's calm and cool demeanor, never realizing 
that she had no choice in the matter.  In the decades during Sherilyn's 
hibernation, the Jedi had fled from Coruscant and Palpatine had exalted himself 
from Supreme Chancellor to Emperor with a legion of Imperial Storm Troopers to 
enforce his will.  Age may had deteriorated his body some physically, but it had 
also strengthened his Sith powers. 
	Finally, Sherilyn conceived.  Her worst nightmare became her greatest 
hope when Palpatine began to distance his mind from hers to keep from feeling 
the effects of her morning sickness.  Sherilyn seized her opportunity carefully.  
When she apprenticed under Maracon, she had learned the techniques of tracking 
down illegal actions through various computer systems, without tipping her query 
off.  She managed to change the security authorization on her personal terminal 
and began to discreetly explore Coruscant's cyberspace.  
	She found many things in her exploration.  The location of some of her 
fellow Jedi in the detention blocks.  The location of her genetic material and 
several of the cloning labs.  And most importantly, the formula for the 
midichlorian blocker and the lab instructions the droids used to create it.
	She considered altering the instructions, but relented when she realized 
that she didn't know enough about medicine to be sure that she wasn't sentencing 
her colleagues to death.  Instead, she encrypted a version of the original file 
with a message to find an antidote and sent it anonymously to Obi-wan Kenobi 
through a senator she knew she could trust.
	Then she created a master plan for her escape.  Now that she was with 
child, she would not consider suicide, but she was not going to let Palpatine 
mold her offspring into one of his tools.  She created a trojan program and hid 
it deeply within the cloning database server.  When it was activated, it would 
override all the environment controls of Palpatine's personal sample containment 
vault and destroy the samples.  Then it would go on to delete system files through 
out the Imperial data systems.  She planted another trojan in the detention cells 
to bring down all of its security systems.  
	Sherilyn then waited until Palpatine threw a celebration to announce 
his fatherhood.  Pleading fatigue, she left the party early and retired to her
quarters.  After she convinced the guard droid she was asleep, she changed her 
clothes and sent the activation command to her two little programs.  Then she 
pried open a ventilation duct and began following the map she had memorized for 
this occasion.  
	Dropping down into a service corridor, she ran towards the detention 
block.   The sound of blasters filled the air and from the catwalk, she saw a 
much older version of Obi-wan leading the captive Jedi out.  Apparently she wasn't 
the only one who thought to take advantage of the celebration.  
	"Sherilyn?" he cried out.
	"Did you get the file?" she screamed over the chaos.
	"Yes!"
	"The antidote?"
	"Taken care of!  Get over here!"
	Sherilyn descended the ladder and found herself surrounded by troopers 
and a man totally encased in black armor.  Over his shoulder, she saw Obi-wan's 
face blanche with horror. 
	"Get them out!" she screamed.  "I am lost!"
	With that pronouncement, Sherilyn tried to use her mind against the 
black soldier, but before she could get far, Palpatine's mind found her and 
commanded her muscles to freeze.  The only thing Sherilyn could muster of her 
own free will was a tear.
	Palpatine was filled with rage when she was brought before him, dressed 
in one of her imperial gowns.
	"You have betrayed me for the last time, my belovéd," he stated.  
"Prepare the carbonite chamber!  The Empress will return to her niche in my room!"
	"But Emperor!" a guard protested.  "She is carrying your child!"
	"I cannot control the child, if I have no control over his mother."
	A deep calmness entered Sherilyn's soul then.  No matter what happened, 
she had done her duty.  Palpatine would never truly have her.  She climbed into 
the carbonite chamber and arranged her dress and hair.  If she was going to be a 
wall hanging for the rest of her existence, she might as well look good.
	She remembered her other program then.  By the time they realized she 
had destroyed her genetic sample, she would be fully sealed in the carbonite.  
She smiled to herself.  
	Palpatine only thought he was having a bad day.