How long it remained that way was up to his new Jedi.
At the end of three large rooms, the bedroom already looked like a full-facility medi-center, groaning with scanners and support equipment. No one would take any chances here, the risks for failure were just too high. Palpatine had gone to great lengths to make that very clear--as had Lord Vader, from what he understood.
The Jedi's unconscious form lay on the high bed, wires and inputs connected up to medical displays, the several human medics crowded about them all turning and bowing reverentially as the Emperor entered. There were no sentient droids here; unreadable in the Force, Palpatine did not trust them, never allowing them beyond the main Palace and into the Habitation Towers.
"Leave," he ordered the medics as he walked forward.
Accustomed to their Emperor's curtness, they filed out in silence. The last to leave was noticeably younger and sported a fleet uniform, with dark hair and olive skin.
"You are Hallin," Palpatine said simply, having made a point to remember his name.
The man stammered to a halt, bowing uncertainly. "Yes, Your Excellency."
Palpatine nodded slightly, never taking his eyes from the man. "Lord Vader has told me that you are an exemplary medic."
"He is very kind, Excellency," Hallin said, at a loss for other words.
The Emperor smiled at that. "No, he is not. He is, however, trustworthy." At this, Palpatine leaned forward just slightly, pressing his message home. "It is that which I value more than anything else."
The slight young medic nodded his understanding, though he was unable to resist backstepping before the Emperor; always a pleasing reaction.
"Of course, Excellency."
Palpatine held silent for long seconds, eyes burrowing into the nervous man, judging him...
Having, as ever, more in play here than the obvious, he glanced back to Jade, who had remained at the door. Stepping in closer to the medic before he spoke, he kept his voice low, consciously dampened in the massive, echoing room. "You have done well thus far--you are to be rewarded. Skywalker is...of great value to me. I appoint you as Chief Physician to Lord Vader's son; his retinue must, after all, be reinstated after his prolonged absence. You will be assigned quarters in the Palace, for living and for working. You will be assigned an aide, but may choose your own staff."
This time the medic did not retreat, elated at the distinction bestowed on him, finally managing, "Th-Thank-you, Excellency."
The Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly as he stepped back. "You understand the heavy responsibilities of your post? I do this because I have great faith in you."
"I...shall endeavor not to disappoint, Excellency."
"Do so," Palpatine grated in dismissal. "As if your life depended on it."
The medic bowed low as Palpatine turned away, pleased. He had, of course, already studied the man's file closely before making this decision, though the fact that Lord Vader had trusted him enough to assign him first to his own staff and then to treat his son had held greater weight.
For the Emperor to hand out the honor of such a post was one thing; to do so in such a way as to be in itself of use was another. Personal recognition and a few gracious words on the part of the monarch could create a loyal servant for life. Especially when offset with a subtle threat to clarify. Which was what Palpatine needed around his new Jedi; loyal vassals...loyal to Palpatine, and unshakably so. The boy would test them all, sooner or later.
Consideration of this fact brought Palpatine's eyes back to Mara, remaining where she was by the door as the medic had left, her flash of russet hair bright against the muted tones of the room.
"Not you, child," Palpatine ordered as she too turned to leave.
A slight tightening of her jaw was her only visible sign of frustration, though she obeyed without question--she always had.
Palpatine walked up the step to the raised level on which the bed stood, dark, its rich covers making the boy's grazed and bruised skin appear pale. It had indeed taken a great deal for Vader to subdue his son. He tilted his head to look at the boy as Mara drew near.
"He looks not at all like his mother, only his father," he said at last, considering this a good thing, knowing she would not understand.
She didn't know who he was, of course, only that he was a Jedi. As much as Palpatine trusted his favored assassin, he was not in the habit of handing out significant information. Only what was necessary to her job, which this was not--not yet. Knowledge was power, and Palpatine never gave power unnecessarily. Particularly when it could hamper. The timing of this particular nugget of information was most sensitive; he needed her to reach certain conclusions without it. Too soon would color her opinion of him, and all of their subsequent interactions.
.
.
Mara Jade remained silent as she glanced with vague disinterest at the unconscious man, unsure of why he was here anyway and not in the detention levels with his companions.
She knew of course that he was a Jedi; had noted her master's obsessive attention to planning every detail of his confinement, as well as his growing excitement at the Jedi's impending arrival. And she well remembered the maltreatment of other such treacherous, dangerous individuals in the past. Dangerous...though not to her master, of course.
They lasted a day, sometimes two or three, until her master grew bored of tormenting them. Then he would turn Vader on them. For practice, he claimed--for sport, she often suspected. Though it was hardly a fair fight.
She had seen the Emperor bring down Jedi himself several times under the same justification, with or without the aid of a lightsaber. Had been taught by her master how to do the same, though she had nothing approaching his abilities in the Force. But certain things could be learned, and in the beginning there had never been a shortage to hone her skills on, though in recent years Lord Vader's applied zeal had finally begun to show as they became fewer and farther between, none in the last several years. In a strange sort of way, she missed it.
The concept of guilt was long since lost on her--it did not serve her master's needs.
Which did nothing to explain the Emperor's treatment of this particular enemy. Presumably the Jedi had something he needed--or perhaps he was part of some greater game. She glanced at her master who remained lost in thought, fascinated by the unconscious man, all his attentions focused there. What was he scheming...what did he want with him?
.
.
Aware of her intense curiosity, Palpatine glanced momentarily up to her and she lowered her eyes, turning away deferentially. That battle was long since won. Satisfied, he turned again to his new acquisition. It had been the threat which hung over all that he had accomplished, the Jedi Order's last great caveat; fulfillment of their precious prophesy and destruction of his own:
The Son of Suns.
They had thought it Lord Vader, but with a wonderful, twisted irony, Palpatine had proved to them how very wrong they were...so they had apparently hung their hopes for retribution on his son.
How they'd lied to hold sway over it. How they'd manipulated. How they'd bent and warped their precious Jedi ethics to suit their needs in the name of necessity...and what power they'd handed to Palpatine in doing so. Because now--now that he finally had this threat restrained and contained, now that he finally had the opportunity--he found he could not destroy it.
He knew he should; he should kill it now. Knew that absolutely, having come face to face with it, at last.
But he couldn't quite bring himself to do so, not without making some effort to possess it. As with Lord Vader, the temptation of controlling this much power was just too great. And in truth, wasn't this what Palpatine had always intended? To own this power? Whether in the hands of Vader or his son was immaterial. What mattered was that he possessed it. This--this boy hardly yet full-grown, their precious 'Son of Suns'--could just as effortlessly fulfill the Sith prophesies of dominion as he could the Jedi's claims of true balance...just as his father had.