This suddenly popped into my head, and I decided to post it, since it's been so long. So enjoy this little drabble!
"Lord Vader?"
A young man, clearly intimidated yet also determined, approached him.
"Yes, lieutenant?" Vader rumbled.
"Back on the ship, you said something, something I am now wondering about," the lieutenant said.
"And what may that have been?"
"Well, sir, you said this: 'I have flown bigger ships in worse conditions'. What did you mean by that, if I'm free to ask?"
By this time the whole crew was listening, intent to discover a little more about the mysterious person that was their Lord.
Vader scrutinized him for a moment, and saw the sweat glister on the lieutenant's head.
Finally he spoke.
"I have indeed, a long time ago, flown bigger ships in worse conditions than ours was in. During the Clone Wars."
Then he was silent.
"My Lord?" the same lieutenant asked.
"It was during the battle for Coruscant,"
Seeing the man's non-comprehending look, he elaborated.
"That was the name of Imperial Center, at the time of the Republic. Count Dooku, the leader of the Separatists had, together with General Grievous, abducted the emperor, who was back then still Chancellor. I was send together with… some people to Grievous' warship, where we found the Chancellor and I killed Count Dooku. Grievous, however, escaped, leaving an empty ship behind. We were fired upon by both sides, and the hull was already heavily damaged and the shields were about to give in. On top of that, the ship was on fire."
He paused, clearly remembering the events.
"Our only chance at survival was to land planetside, which is especially hard given the fact that Coruscant is one big city and the landing pads were all too small for a warship that wasn't supposed to touch ground in the first place."
Again silence, before Vader emitted a sound that was suspiciously close to a chuckle.
"And then the ship broke, in two parts. I do not know what happened to our lost part of the ship, probably shot to pulp by the city defense, but I do know that we barely survived that encounter, with the heat of going too fast through the atmosphere added to the flames and with the cooling systems failed. It may have helped that we were escorted by firedroids. In the end I managed to land the ship, with the Chancellor in it, relatively safe. Though others might call it a controlled crash. Does that answer your question, lieutenant?"
The young man hastily snapped his open jaw shut.
"Yes, my Lord!"
"At ease, lieutenant. There is no need for such formalities now. What is your name?"
"Piett, my Lord. Firmus Piett."