Almost a year into commanding the Executor, Darth Vader began to notice that some strange things were going on aboard his ship. Several times he swore he heard a child's running feet and a little girl's laughter.
However, he seemed to be the only one, for none of his crew seemed to hear it.
It wasn't until a month later that he caught his first glimpse of the child.
It was a little girl, about five standard years old, she had sapphire blue eyes and dark brown hair.
After that, he began to see her more often, but no one else seemed to see or hear her.
As the months passed, he continued to wonder about her.
One night, Captain Firmus Piett was heading for his quarters, and Vader was heading for his. They entered the same corridor, and Piett saluted. Vader merely nodded and kept going.
Suddenly, the little girl darted past him, heading for Piett. He turned to watch as she ran in front of him. The Captain stopped and looked right at her, and Vader know Piett could see her just as much as he could.
He studied the younger man and noted that his posture seemed to be one of sadness and longing.
Piett slowly reached out to the child, and she reached for him. Their hands passed through each other, and Vader saw, for the first time, that she was slightly transparent.
The Captain, his posture now one of defeat, continued on his quarters, while the girl trailed after him sadly.
As the days passed, Vader began to notice a pattern. He saw the girl after Piett either saw him kill someone, saw their body being dragged away, or after Piett seemed happy or sad about something. After the girl appeared, the Captain would become depressed.
The Dark Lord knew there was a connection between the girl and Piett, but he wasn't sure what.
Finally, he was alone on the bridge one night, when he sensed Piett entering. He turned.
"Captain."
The man jumped slightly and quickly saluted.
Vader saw the girl came out from behind the younger man.
There was silence, save for the Sith's respirator.
"You can see her, can't you, Milord?" Piett asked at length.
"Yes."
Both gazed at the child.
"Why is she here, Captain?"
"She haunts me," he answered right away.
Vader glanced at the officer.
"Who is she?"
"She... she is my daughter."
The cyborg blinked in a bit of surprise. As he looked between the ghost and the Captain, he found he could now see the similarities between them.
The child shuffled over to the Dark Lord and looked up at him.
Suddenly, he saw her covered in blood, her eyes rolled back and lifeless. The sight was gone before he could even gasp.
"What happened to her?"
"She was murdered, her and my wife."
Vader was silent.
"It seems in your anger you killed her."
He understood the younger man's pain.
Piett nearly jumped when a leather gloved hand rest on his shoulder. He looked at Vader in a bit of surprise, for the gesture and touch were of comfort.
Both men looked at each other for another moment then turned their gazes to the ghost, who was watching them.
Vader slowly removed his hand from Piett's shoulder and turned the rest of his body towards the girl. Her dark blue eyes now seemed to plead with him to help her.
He started to reach out to her.
"It will do no good, Milord."
He looked at the Captain.
"You cannot help her. She is beyond any help now."
Vader started to leave, pausing to put his hand on Piett's shoulder once more.
"I'm sorry."
"Thank you, Milord."
The towering cyborg glanced at the girl.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"No, Milord. She is just a ghost, a ghost of what I lost. She is just a ghost of my past."
Understanding, Vader gave the Captain's shoulder a light, comforting pat, and headed for his quarters.