"OW! That so totally hurts!" -- Charles Xavier

[cityship]

The battle against the Ohm raged on, and the casualties on the ground were mounting. Injured crew members got emergency treatment in the field, which largely amounted to patching them up so they wouldn't die sometime within the next fifteen minutes. After that, they were quickly picked up by shuttle and brought back to the ship, where they were sent to a medbay that was getting progressively more crowded.

The situation was growing increasingly dire, to the point that Stacy activated one of the AI's to help out.



"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

Comments

[imperious_lex]

Lex considered that a moment, pausing to look in the direction Kenobi had went.

"That seems like a valid reason to hold a grudge."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

Vader made a fist, imagining that he could wrap his hand around Kenobi's neck.

"It is not a grudge. I hate him, and I will see him dead, though it will take days in order to provide the maximum amount of satisfaction."

[imperious_lex]

That drew Lex's attention back to Vader. "Sometimes suffering is over-rated.

"Still, in this condition, you won't be able to do much. Though I think I can help you with that."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"I am only second to the Emperor. I am the Commander of the Imperial Navy. I have killed more Jedi than you will ever know, and I could end your life with a thought if I so chose!" Vader snarled.

It's mostly a bluff, he can't get up and Stacy won't let him choke people, but the sentiment is there.

[imperious_lex]

"And I know which wires to pull to make you die a slow, agonizing, suffocating death." That wasn't so much of a bluff. But Lex wasn't trying to make an enemy here.

"I also have the know how to improve your suit and all of its functions."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"I do not believe you," Vader growled. "Are you a plant? Were you sent here by Black Sun? Xizor has no power here, not any more than I do. If my suit is here, no one but me will be tampering with it."

[imperious_lex]

"Who I am, is Lex Luthor." Lex leaned in closer, unafraid of Vader. "And whether you know it or not, you and I are a lot alike."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

Vader shook his head in disgust.

"I sense nothing in you. You are not a Sith, nor does the Force speak to you at all."

[imperious_lex]

"No, I'm not part of your religion, but as people, we are alike.

"Both of us, heirs to great empires, our destinies written before we ever so much as took our first breath. Groomed by people we cared about, only to discover that we were little more than pawns to them, puppets roped into doing their bidding. And when we finally discovered the truth, we were both betrayed and abandoned, cast aside for someone else." Lex had seen Star Wars done his research.

"The real difference between us? The person who betrayed me... I dropped him out of a forty story window, I watched as the concrete broke his body when he hit, and I set myself free." He tilted his head slightly. "I want to help you attain that same freedom."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

Vader studied Luthor, searching for the hidden catch.

"What makes you think you posses the power to defeat one such as Kenobi, or indeed any Jedi? And what do you stand to benefit from doing so?"

[imperious_lex]

"I've no intention of killing Kenobi. I wouldn't deny you that." He may or may not even want Kenobi dead, but that was beside the point at the moment. "But I've created weapons that have brought gods to their knees. With that knowledge, that skill, I can help you.

"And in return... I get an ally. Which, on this ship, is far more valuable than all the riches in the universe."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"What is it you hope to accomplish? The presence of the ship is everywhere. You will achieve nothing, with or without an ally," Vader said, bitterly. He was more than a little discouraged.

[imperious_lex]

"I have access to the ship's brain." He'll let that bit of information hang there for the moment.

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

"How?" Vader demanded, sitting up a little straighter. "You are able to know everything about the ship through the mainframe? The list of all those in the pods?"

[imperious_lex]

"Long ago, we opened access to Stacy's core. I'm one of the few with the ability to understand, repair, and manipulate it." Chew on that for a bit, Vader.

"Still, Stacy does an excellent job guarding her secrets. But little by little, those are becoming mine, and its only a matter of time before I have them all."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

Vader narrowed his eyes suspiciously. The Force told him it was true, but he did not need a mystical energy field to tell him this was not a man to be trusted easily.

"Not once have you spoken of your intentions," he said, guardedly.

[imperious_lex]

Lex is never to be trusted. But dammit if he doesn't have the things you need.

"And beyond killing Kenobi, you haven't spoken of yours. But I'm willing to bet we want the same thing."

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

Truth be told, Vader didn't have a plan outside of a hazy 'win back my children and kill all the Jedi'. He was an excellent improviser, but plans had never been his strong suit.

"If our worlds are truly gone, there is no purpose is taking control of the ship," Vader remarked. "Two against an unknown number is not a desirable scenario, even if the Force is with us."

[imperious_lex]

"And this-- being a slave to the will of a broken AI-- is somehow better?"

[sin-and-misery.livejournal.com]

This was enough to make Vader surge out of bed, weak as he was, and stare down at Luthor.

"I am no one's slave," Vader hissed. "My chains are broken! I bow to no one's whim, no Kenobi, not this ship, and certainly not you!"

[imperious_lex]

That actually made Lex smile a bit. "And yet here we both are, trapped along with everyone else. Only difference is, everyone else is content with playing Stacy's game and playing by her rules. I'm not. The question is, are you?"