Yup. They do. We finally get to see the main body of the story (see the summary). Apart from introducing Leia, very little character development. Although Luke's comments made me wonder. How powerful is Luke, compared to Leia? I mean, he was brutally trained by Palpatine and can fight Vader to a standstill, personally I can't think of a logical solution for Leia to measure up.

I just hope this won't turn into an angst-fest after Luke's confrontation with Kenobi.

 

In response to the latest chapter.

You know that deep down, you want this to happen.

 

Bring in the twincest and the posts start rolling.

Anyway, I can't see this in this setting. Maybe I'm too attached to farmboy 'hero of the rebellion' Luke and his princess, to get off on such an AU.

 

Leia cannot handle Luke in any capacity. As a Jedi he was more attuned to combat. As a Sith... yeesh! Leia is the diplomat, with decent fighting skill... Luke will crush her.

 

I was going to agree with you then I realised that this was an AU. Leia was likely trained by Obi-wan remember? And while I doubt her training was as rigorous as Palpatine's it would be nothing to sneer at. I'd still give it to Luke just because of his training and the fact that Leia seems to be quite a bit more naive and less skilled (the Jedi take their sweet time, it seems, kinda like it took them eighteen years to even touch Luke in the movies).

On the same note diplomat!Leia does not belong in this AU. She was a diplomat because of the Organas, in this AU she's not.

I was surprised at the way they met. Seeing as Leia was the Last Hope I didn't expect to see her allowed to walk around slumming it but this is Leia we're talking about, it's probably easier to let her do what she wants.

Meh, all in all not a bad chapter. Not the best in the series but not bad either.

 

^^ Well, my thoughts exactly, almost. Leia is the the apparent future of the Jedi and the daughter of Skywalker, she's bound to be annoying at the least.

I suppose that retrieving the Death Star plans (Skyhook and shit) was handed to the most capable Alliance agent (Leia), or it's also possible that's it's her trial before knighthood.

 

That's not what I meant, exactly, but this being AU does nullify canon, somewhat. What I mean is, force users have certain areas of skill that they are more naturally inclined to be good at. In the EU, it was 'explained' that Luke was naturally inclined to combat and fighting, hence why he was chosen as the 'last hope' as opposed to Leia. But the EU isn't really canon, so...

Anyways, I don't care if Yoda trained her, Luke will crush her. Like you said, Palpatine's training was far more rigorous and demanding. Case in point, at 16 he can pretty much out duel Vader.

 

Don't forget that despite being a powerhouse with a lightsaber, Luke's also an emotional trainwreck bordering on insanity. Leia doesn't necessarily have to beat him in a saber battle to defeat him.

 

A common misconception, one probably kept alive by bitter Trekkies who couldn't stand the fact that Trek EU wasn't canon. Star Wars EU is canon as long as it doesn't contradict a work created by Lucas, there's a whole system of rating and people are even employed to decide what's canon or not (best job ever btw).

But I've never seen any work claiming that Luke was born a superior fighter to Leia,I'm curious now, link? Sure Luke was more inclined towards combat and Leia towards diplomacy but how much of that is nature/nurture is unknown. They were raised in different circumstances after all.

But in this AU, no question, Luke would kick fucking Jedi ass.

This. The boy's so wired a fucking hug would totally fuck with his brain.

For someone so skilled in canon at twisting people to his purposes blank!Palpatine is pretty bad at creating any sort of stable apprentice.

 

Awesomely written fic, but while "At the Brink of Dawn and Darkness" comes as one of my favorite fics of all time, I'm not really feeling "Empire's Son" as much. The characters are interesting, and the idea is unique, but so far it seems to mainly just be exploration into Luke's psyche and how things work in the Palace more than anything else. I guess it is necessary to set up the plot, but yeah...

It's at a good point now though. Meeting Leia could get the real plot to start moving forward.

One thing I just don't get is why the Emperor lets Han live. I mean, he obviously is quite concerned in how Luke is raised, and he's concerned Han could be a bad influence. The fact he had that conversation with Han is proof enough.

He has no real problems with showing Luke how helpless he is, and fucking him over - so why does he shy away from taking out Han? If anything it'd emphasize this whole attitude he has been trying to ingrain into Luke - that he has no real choice in anything in his life.

In canon he was one of the most powerful Jedi who ever walked the universe. And yet, he was only 18 when he started training as a Jedi in ANH. It was also intermittent and largely self-taught. Here he's had a lot more training, in a constant training regime. He's gonna be a lot stronger.

I wonder if Leia went through something like canon, and only started training at an older age, or whether Obi Wan has been training her since she was born.

 

I actually like this story more than At the Brink (mostly because I prefer this version of Luke) but the damned pacing completely kills both of them for me. I just can't be bothered to keep up with a story this slow.

 

New chapter!

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6734329/11/Empires_Son

 

Flying TIE's go :awesome

 

There was an update, for those who remain unaware.

 

I'm confused, I thought Obi-Wan died in an attack on the palace with Yoda?

 

Yoda died. Kenobi escaped.

 

For those debating Luke vs Leia and bringing up Luke's spar with Vader, keep in mind that Luke is almost continually doped up so as to hide his true potential from both Vader and Palpatine. I wouldn't be surprised if Luke could stomp them all if only he managed to shake off Palpatine's conditioning that makes him think it's hopeless to resist because Palpatine is omnipotent.

 

Exactly. And I think I know how Luke will discover the deception. I'd always thought that he'd confront Obi-Wan himself, but now it looks as if Vader will be the one.

 

Update on schedule everyone.

Spoiler

The scene with Palpatine and the execution by Luke is priceless.

 

I have trouble enjoying this to be honest. Some fics define characters for me so thoroughly that I treat them as more personifying than their characterizations in canon(Shezza's Dumbledore for example). The Son of Suns trilogy defined Luke, Palpatine and Han for me, to the point where I feel like any other portrayal is OOC. Han just doesn't feel right in this fic, and Luke is almost painful to read. The breaking in tSoS was poignant, but after that I can't sympathize with the characters in this.

It's a shame too, as I can tell it's good. I just can't make myself identify with anyone I've read. Palpatine is characterized perfectly, but I had enough of his fuckery in the first million words I read by blank101. Everything just feels wrong, and I feel like I'm the only one having this problem with blank101's work.