Live Long Enough
Summary: Darth Vader remembers a long buried memory as he revisits Geonosis with his chatty assistant archeologist Dr. Aphra. Based on new Star Wars cannon, Darth Vader #4. I'm enjoying new cannon comics even though I love and miss the old EU.
"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." –Harvey "Two-Face" Dent. The Dark Knight
Darth Vader is secretly investigating the identity of the Rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star. He remembered the boy's face, handsome and young. As handsome as his son would have been if…
She'd always insisted they were having a boy. She said it was her motherly intuition. He would have been a fine boy, and if the fools on the Jedi Council had acknowledged his power, his son would have been his Padawan learner…
But this boy, whoever he was, he would be his apprentice, he was untrained, and Vader knew he would need help to overthrow his Master…
Darth Vader hears Dr. Aphra talking, explaining something to him. He doesn't really care though, he's only half listening. He's walking through Geonosis, or rather, what's left of the dustbowl after the Empire cleansed the planet of all the Geonosians.
They had it coming, they deserved extinction after what they did to—
Great, just great, Darth Vader's happy Dr. Aphra can't see his irritated expression as he mentally berates himself.
He's thinking about her. He must never think about her.
She's an angel, a dream from another life.
First Tatooine, now Geonosis, this investigation into the Rebel pilot just had to lead him back to unwanted memories didn't it? Well, Tatooine anyway, Sheev Palpatine just had to send him there on Imperial business, which he took advantage of for personal reasons.
Dr. Aphra, on the other hand, is different, this is where her findings led her, the battle droids he needed just had to be here.
Triple Zero and BT-1 are behind him. Such deliciously twisted irony. They look so much like…
Them… He wonders just for a nanosecond what became of them, but no matter.
There's a reason he doesn't think about the past, it's because that's where she lives.
"The droid Gotra heard about a surviving Geonosian queen with a droid factory. They wanted me to liberate it from carbon based oppression."
Dr. Aphra crossed her arms. "But we can always steal it for us, eh?"
Vader just keeps walking. Dr. Aphra is a lot like her. She's smart, headstrong, independent and self reliant. She's also fascinated by him.
The last person who was fascinated by him was her…and it didn't end well for her at all. He's pretty sure it will not end well for Dr. Aphra either, but she is loyal, not like her at all—
"Anakin, I was always loyal to you. I love you…"
Her voice is a whisper in his head. Another silly fantasy, she isn't here either.
"Well it should be quieter since the planet was sterilized. No queens, no hives…"
He does note how quiet it is now. He remembers the noise…the noise of thousands of beings cheering for their deaths…
"Wonder what kind of weapon they used. Would be nice to get a hold of that…anyway, get going, guys."
"If you think it's best to send us alone, Mistress Aphra, beneath the surface of a distinctly ominous planet, certainly!" BT-1 replied.
The two droids go, one walking, the other rolling inside.
"I sense sarcasm," Dr. Aphra notes. "Oh well."
Lord Vader kept staring after them.
"Ever been to Geonosis, Lord Vader?" Dr. Aphra asked.
His mind flashes back instantly. He feels the softness of Padmé's sweet lips against his. That real, deep kiss that completes the universe and even though they're going to die, everything is fine because they're going to die together.
He shakes the thought away like dirt from a shirt.
"Hello Annie, it's been so long, have you forgotten me already?" Padmé asked. Her voice is calm, gentle and understanding.
It should be angry and vengeful, he could feed off that. But she's not; she never stayed angry with him for long.
"You are not her; you're a figment of my imagination. Leave me!" he orders, like she's a slave he can just send away.
Her thoughtful expression surprises him, he always did like hearing her thoughts, but not today, he wishes she would just vanish, like the ghost she is.
"I died the hero Annie, what about you? You've lived long enough to become the villain."
Vader channels his rage, mentally lashing out at Padmé's ghost, the dead star dragon will slay her again.
"Padmé I am the HERO. I always have been! I am the Hero with no Fear!" the dragon roars, his furnace heart rages against her, just like before, when he killed her.
The expression on her face is so sad it would have broken his heart, but he doesn't have one anymore.
"The Hero with no Fear died with me on Mustafar."
"Yes, we're both dead!" he snapped, she holds his gaze, the same spirited woman he remembered, the one he loved and married, before the war wore her down to an empty shell of herself.
"You either die a hero, or you'll live long enough to see yourself become the villain. There's still good in you, I know…"
"SILENCE!" The dragon snaps at her, she knows she should leave, so she will, but not before she gets one last shot off at him. She always won their arguments.
"I love you, and when you're ready to die a hero, I'll be waiting for you…" She smiles and vanishes without another word.
Vader snaps out of his reverie. He has work to do, and he needs an army. So he'll get one.
"Cease your probing." The order is final. Dr. Aphra will know her place. There are places you shouldn't go with Lord Vader, his past is one of them.
Dr. Aphra runs after him. "I'm a rogue archeologist. You have to expect a little digging."
"I expect compliance." He snaps. "And silence."
Dr. Aphra is actually listening for once.
Lord Vader thanks his wife's goddess Shiraya, the dead star dragons of Tatooine, the Force and whatever other deity there is that Dr. Aphra's not asking him anymore personal questions.
"Are the droids capable of mapping a route?" he inquires. He's grateful that so far, everyone has been competent. He feels he's surrounded by idiots. He appreciates capable loyal people, at least he can get things done.
Dr. Aphra puts her hands on her hips, "Yeah, it's a tangle, but they'll be fine."
"I'm not concerned about two droids. I come for an army."
Darth Vader has work to do, because a hero's work is never done.