She stood very still over the drafting table in the cold, dura-steel room. With a critical eye, she scanned the large drawing in front of her. It had to be perfect, or it would be her ass.

Sighing, she turned & slumped down in the large black leather chair at her desk & glanced at the holographic computer monitor in front of her. Striking a few buttons on the keyboard, the projection began to move. The image in front of her was to be the new imperial palace that Chancellor Palpatine had bestowed his new apprentice, Darth Vader. It was an extremely complicated building, destined to have spacious, grandiose rooms, as well as secret rooms & passages, control centers & briefing rooms, & even elaborate gardens. The animation that moved on the holograph in front of her was a visualization of the movement between the rooms in the master quarters. That afternoon, she would be meeting the future lord of the manor, & she had been warned that it had better be perfect & ready for construction… or else.

A blinking light followed by a tiny beep notified her of an incoming call on her comm link. Picking up the tiny hand held device, she pressed a button & spoke into it, "Aurren Farr here."

A small-intimidated voice came from the contraption, "Miss Farr, I have just been notified that the Imperial Fleet have landed in the hanger, & his lordship will be visiting you momentarily."

"Thank you Mrs. Ure," she replied with a sigh. She could tell that her elderly secretary, who she only knew as "Mrs. Ure" was terrified. She probably felt that if Lord Vader were unhappy with the project Aurren was working on, that she would be punished as well, even though old Mrs. Ure had no clue what her boss did behind her office doors.

Aurren looked around her office for a moment, making sure she had everything she needed for the 20th time that day. She set up her large holo-projector on the large coffee table in the seating area & loaded the tiny silver disk, which was the only copy of the complete set of plans into the machine. Next, she carefully carried the large drawings & laid them on the table next to the projector.

'This is it,' she thought as she sat in her desk chair & looked out the reinforced windows of her office to the vast expanse of space stretching out in all directions. She was confident in her work. It was the first time since the rise of the Empire that she had been able to design anything but stark military establishments. She was told to spare no cost on materials, & she reveled in it. It was the most beautiful, most intricate building she had ever created, a virtual impenetrable fortress disguised as a study in timeless beauty & comfort. This was what she called 'the point of no return'. It would either be accepted or it wouldn't, & her fate was the same as the new palace she had designed. If they had no use for it, that would be the end of their use for her.

She felt no fear, but a deep lulling calm as she waited for the most feared man in the Galaxy, Darth Vader, to come & grant her approval.

As his ship approached the great star ship, Lord Vader groaned inwardly at the thought of dealing with yet another simple-minded underling. Seated behind an imposing dura-steel desk, he took one more glance at the thin file in front of him. Opening it, he re-read the information inside.

Darth Vader was a man who had no fear, but he also had no trust. He was disappointed when he found out that a mere child would design his new palace. To be fair, the girl was only a year younger than he, but he was Lord Vader, a Sith lord, & he felt no need to be fair. After all, he was the most powerful man in the galaxy, second only to his master, & he had no need for fairness.

He had been re-assured by the Emperor that the best candidate had been chosen for the job of designing the palace, but he refused to believe that someone with so little experience could be the best candidate.

'Aurren Farr…,' he said to himself, '26 years of age, employed by the Empire since its beginning, loyal & trusted subject,' with that he smirked, yeah, sure, just like the rest of the sheep, 'designer of 29 unique stronghold bases at strategic empirical locations…29 stronghold bases?' He seemed taken aback by the number of commended & successful projects she had completed. 'Yeah, well, she may have lived up to the meager standards of the military, but I'm sure she is just as worthless as the rest of these leeches,' he thought bitterly.

A light knocking on his door informed him that they had landed. He rose from his desk & swung his heavy black cloak around his shoulders. Then he picked up the black facemask he wore in public, & placed it over his head, & pulled his hood up over it bitterly.

He spared a moment's thought to his hatred for this feature of his wardrobe, but threw it aside instantly. He knew that to show his face would be disastrous. On Mustafar after order 66 was placed, he had battled with his former master for what seemed like an eternity. As the darkness consumed him & raged inside of him, he came to the realization that he could not strike down his former master, no matter how much hate he harbored for him. When he saw his chance, he dove through the air, feigning an attack on the edge of a jagged cliff. Before he ever moved, he knew how Kenobi would move & used it to his advantage… to both of their advantage, & appeared to lose his balance on the steep ledge, only to fall to his death in the fiery chasm below. He used the force to guide himself into a crevice in the sheer rock face, & sent an avalanche of rock & dust down to the flowing lava river to disguise his evasive maneuver. He gloated at the sound of the grieving Jedi Master on the cliff above. He knew that his apparent death would cause him more pain than any actual physical pain he could have inflicted.

It wasn't for the scattered Jedi alone that he was forced to wear the mask. His face was known far & wide by people all over the galaxy, he was once known as The Chosen One, the one who would bring balance back to the force, the "Hero With No Fear". Anakin Skywalker was dead. He had killed him. This black hole of a mask was his punishment.

A quick flick of his wrist opened the doors to his quarters, & he wordlessly stalked past the crew & off of the ship. First, he would find his new quarters on this star ship, then, he would see about this Farr woman.