Number 15 in the Vader's Cat series. (Formerly called Vader and Cat but we decided we liked Vader's Cat better.)
In order they are:
Cracking the Armor
Another Disturbing Crack
Completely Cracked...and the Cat Came Back
Cracking the Death Star
Cracking Imperial Center, or: Cat Goes to Coruscant
Pruneface Cracks, or: Cat vs. Palpatine
Cracking the Dark Lord
Crack to Nature
Cracking His Confidence
A Fleet Full of Crack(pots)
Carbonite Cracks, or: Cat vs. Fett
Farmboy Cracks, or: Cat vs. Skywalker
Cloud City Cracks, or: Cat vs...Cat?
Conspiracy Cracks
Absolutely Cracked, or: Jedi vs. Sith vs. Cat
Absolutely Cracked, or: Jedi vs. Sith vs. Cat
"Cat!" boomed Vader as he and Luke combed the scaffolding and narrow gantry that overhung the city's reactor core. There was no immediate answer, but the Dark Lord was not dissuaded. He continued along the bridge, with Luke now trailing behind him and shaking his head. The further they went, the worse his bad feeling became.
Aside from that, the experience of listening to Darth Vader call repeatedly for a cat was well beyond the young Jedi's definition of surreal. The reactor pit was windy, and they had almost reached the end of the gantry when they finally spotted the orange ball of fur and menace.
Somehow, the cat had climbed past the guard rail where he and Vader were standing and made it all the way out to the farthest point of gantry's arm. To get to him, one of them was going to have to crawl across a durasteel beam that was barely wide enough to hold a human. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Do you see it?" Vader asked him.
"Yes…" he said reluctantly.
Vader pivoted to look around again, but still didn't spot the cat. He looked at Luke again, asking grumpily, "Where is it?"
"Way over there," Luke told him, gesturing over the reactor pit.
Finally, Vader let out a growl. "Cat! Get back here!"
The cat, of course, was too frightened to move. It probably couldn't hear him anyway. It wailed loudly, begging Vader to come and get it. Vader continued calling for a few minutes, then finally seemed to grasp the fact that the cat wouldn't be cajoled or bullied.
His fist closed heavily around the guard rail where he was standing. "Blast."
"He's scared," Luke sighed.
"I can see that," snapped Vader testily.
"I can't understand why he would have gone out there to begin with…" Luke shook his head.
"A cat will invariably find the one place that seems the least likely for it to be, climb there, get stuck, and then make horrible noise until it is rescued," explained Vader seriously.
"Well, now what do we do?" Luke asked.
"We…?" repeated the Dark Lord.
"He's your cat!" Luke pointed out.
"You are much smaller than I am," argued Vader.
"Can't you use the Force or something? Float him back here?" Luke asked.
"Can't you?" Vader challenged.
"In other words, you can't."
Vader was silent for several seconds. Or at least, as silent as his breather ever allowed him to be. He stared intently at Luke. The Jedi apprentice held his ground.
"The longer we stand here arguing, the more likely it is that something will happen to the cat," he said when Vader continued to stare.
"Precisely," threatened Vader.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Luke demanded.
Vader pointed toward the cat.
"Come on. There's got to be some other way," Luke suggested. "Maybe we can find someone who works down here. This can't be the first time…"
"Don't make me destroy you."
"All right, all right," sighed Luke. "But you really need to think about getting a cat carrier."