" M-my Lord," stammered the clumsy deck officer, trembling in the wake of the awesome presence of my deadly powers. Yes he shivered with fear to his little mortal core. A ravaged smile played on my lips.
" Dispense with the pleasantries, officer," I cut him off. Hi buggy eyes widened even further. Master Palpatine had taught me well. " What news have you brought me?" I paused for dramatic effect. " For your sake, it had better be good."
" We have captured her, My Lord," he managed to burst. The godly smirk was wiped off my face. " She was found on Alderaan-"
I silenced him with the wave of my hand. This time, I did not get any pleasure from the power I held over the insignificant being. " Take me to her."
" Yes, my Lord." He turned on his heel in military fashion, in the direction of the detention center. With a swift flap of my black cloak, I fell into step.
I hadn't seen her in a year, not since our last meeting in our vacation suite on Coruscant where we stayed when she was attending to her senatorial duties. We had fought. She told me not to leave with Palpatine, that she, along with my brethren Jedi, no longer trusted him. Now the Jedi were all but wiped from existence thanks to me. I only had to attend to Obi-Wan and my quest to utterly rid the galaxy of Jedi would be complete. But first, I had to attend to another matter. Her.
The lowly officer led me down a darkened alley of the newly constructed Star Destroyer. He stopped in front of a nondescript doorway. Through the Force, I could feel her presence through the metal door. I gently leaned my ear against it.
" My Lord-" began the timid officer.
" Sh!" I shushed him. Her gentle voice floated through the strong alloy. With a startling churn in my stomach, I recognized the ancient Naboo lullaby she'd sing for me in our little apartment in the capital city Theed on restless nights when nightmares haunted my slumber. I listened with great intensity to the sweet voice, taking me to a place before here.
" My Lord," the officer interrupted for the second time. Abruptly, the singing stopped and my brief connection to the past was terminated.
" Open the door," I ordered bitterly. He scrambled to comply, quickly pressing in the access code for the door. Anxiousness crept into my chest. I annulled it with my dark Force feelings, stepping into the dimly lit room.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. When I could properly see again, Padme sat in front of me, more beautiful than I remembered. Instant regret overwhelmed my senses.
" Padme," I croaked in a strangled voice, but instantly see I would get no answer. Her thin jaw line was set defiantly, her determined brow eyes purposely avoiding me.
" What deed have I done to have the honor of being graced by the presence of Lord Vader?" she spat contemptuously. But despite her sarcasm, I saw tears form in the rim of her eyes. Tears I had caused her.
My heart ached for her. I dismissed the officer. He was quick to scurry from sight, hitting the close switch on his way out. I stood in place, staring at my wife in silence for what seemed like hours. I had come there to condemn her actions as a traitor but something completely unanticipated came out of my mouth.
" Join me," I heard myself say. The words triggered a slew of images of Padme and I together working for Palpatine as one. Warming up to the idea, I knelt beside her and grabbed one of her frail hands and held it close to my heart. Despite all the grief I had caused her, she managed to look lovingly into my eyes. " Think of it, Padme. We can live together and have kids . . ."
My words resurrected a brief smile on her pretty face weathered by stress. " Then work for Palpatine, doing evil to innocent people. I can't do that." Her eyes searched the gleaming walls before they lit up. Her toothy grin reappeared. She had an idea. " WE can escape," she said. Her eyes had a dreamy far-away look in them as she spoke. " You and I will runaway from this place to Tatooine." Tears spilled down her fleshy cheeks. " We'll be moisture farmers, Ani . . ."
I shook my head. " I cannot leave my Master."
Sadly, she caressed my cheek with her free hand. I briefly closed my eyes, savoring her touch. " What happened, Ani?" she asked. " What happened to that funny little boy I fell in love with?"
I hung my head morosely. " You wouldn't understand . . . " I trailed off.
Anger suddenly overtook her calm demeanor. " You're right, I don't understand," she said vehemently, withdrawing her hands from me. " I don't understand how someone with a wife who loves him so much and a best-friend and master who would do anything for him, and a whole galaxy who looks up to him, could turn his back on all those people to become a Sith's dark apprentice."
Her anger only pushed my own further. " The light side of the Force doesn't do anything!' I shouted. " It didn't save the Republic from corruption, it didn't save Qui-Gon from being killed, it didn't even help me save my mother from death, and it couldn't even save me from the Dark side."
" Anakin, you can't just keep delving into this self-destructive behavior because of these things," she said softly. " I know you blame yourself for Shmi's death, but there was nothing you could do."
" I should've foreseen what was coming, if I am after all an all powerful Jedi!" I exploded. " I shouldn't been able to save her."
" You're only human . . ."
" I thought you loved me," I accused.
She looked at me fiercely. " I love Anakin Skywalker, not Darth Vader."
An awful silence filled the room. My heart split in too. First Mom, now this.
" Well," I choked out through the lump in my throat," if that's the way you feel, than I, Darth Vader, sentence you to ten years to a mining penal colony on Kessell for treason against the government."
Padme squeezed her eyes shut to prevent herself from crying, but tears leaked through and her thin shoulders shook with sobs.
" Officer!" I shouted, unable to watch her in such agony any longer. The deck officer opened the door and let me out. " Prepare my ship for take off in an hour," I briefed him as he escorted me to my cabin aboard ship. Despite the clarity of my speech, my body shook with the full realization of what I had just done. The officer did his best to not notice. " I have business to attend to with an old friend of mine, Obi-Wan Kenobi." We stopped in front of my entranceway. The officer waited for the end of my orders patiently. " Do not bother me until the hour is up," I commanded him. " I must prepare myself for my confrontation with Obi-Wan. Dismissed."
" Yes, My Lord," the officer said and went away to fulfill my orders. I opened the door to my apartment and closed it behind me. I leaned against the door, surveying my barren apartment.
Then I cried. For Padme.
Three months later, I was sent the official notice from the Imperial garrison on Kessell of Padme's death. I temporarily excused myself from my Master's bidding and arrived on Kessell to pick up her dead body. After my lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan over a lava pit where I had sustained life-threatening injuries, I was forced to wear a clunky body suit, the only thing apart from the Dark side of the Force that kept me breathing. I was glad she had never saw me this way.
I brought Padme back to my secret hide out on an uncharted planet in the Outer Rim. I meticulously dressed her in one of her favorite flowing white gowns, painting her delicate features in the ceremonial way of Naboo royalty. Then I gave her the proper cremation that she deserved.
As I watched my wife being devoured by flames, I briefly wondered what life for us would have been like if I would've taken her up on her offer to runaway with her to Tatooine. But the Dark side of the Force began to tug at me as it often did when my mind went astray. I had an Emperor to attend to.
" Dispense with the pleasantries, officer," I cut him off. Hi buggy eyes widened even further. Master Palpatine had taught me well. " What news have you brought me?" I paused for dramatic effect. " For your sake, it had better be good."
" We have captured her, My Lord," he managed to burst. The godly smirk was wiped off my face. " She was found on Alderaan-"
I silenced him with the wave of my hand. This time, I did not get any pleasure from the power I held over the insignificant being. " Take me to her."
" Yes, my Lord." He turned on his heel in military fashion, in the direction of the detention center. With a swift flap of my black cloak, I fell into step.
I hadn't seen her in a year, not since our last meeting in our vacation suite on Coruscant where we stayed when she was attending to her senatorial duties. We had fought. She told me not to leave with Palpatine, that she, along with my brethren Jedi, no longer trusted him. Now the Jedi were all but wiped from existence thanks to me. I only had to attend to Obi-Wan and my quest to utterly rid the galaxy of Jedi would be complete. But first, I had to attend to another matter. Her.
The lowly officer led me down a darkened alley of the newly constructed Star Destroyer. He stopped in front of a nondescript doorway. Through the Force, I could feel her presence through the metal door. I gently leaned my ear against it.
" My Lord-" began the timid officer.
" Sh!" I shushed him. Her gentle voice floated through the strong alloy. With a startling churn in my stomach, I recognized the ancient Naboo lullaby she'd sing for me in our little apartment in the capital city Theed on restless nights when nightmares haunted my slumber. I listened with great intensity to the sweet voice, taking me to a place before here.
" My Lord," the officer interrupted for the second time. Abruptly, the singing stopped and my brief connection to the past was terminated.
" Open the door," I ordered bitterly. He scrambled to comply, quickly pressing in the access code for the door. Anxiousness crept into my chest. I annulled it with my dark Force feelings, stepping into the dimly lit room.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. When I could properly see again, Padme sat in front of me, more beautiful than I remembered. Instant regret overwhelmed my senses.
" Padme," I croaked in a strangled voice, but instantly see I would get no answer. Her thin jaw line was set defiantly, her determined brow eyes purposely avoiding me.
" What deed have I done to have the honor of being graced by the presence of Lord Vader?" she spat contemptuously. But despite her sarcasm, I saw tears form in the rim of her eyes. Tears I had caused her.
My heart ached for her. I dismissed the officer. He was quick to scurry from sight, hitting the close switch on his way out. I stood in place, staring at my wife in silence for what seemed like hours. I had come there to condemn her actions as a traitor but something completely unanticipated came out of my mouth.
" Join me," I heard myself say. The words triggered a slew of images of Padme and I together working for Palpatine as one. Warming up to the idea, I knelt beside her and grabbed one of her frail hands and held it close to my heart. Despite all the grief I had caused her, she managed to look lovingly into my eyes. " Think of it, Padme. We can live together and have kids . . ."
My words resurrected a brief smile on her pretty face weathered by stress. " Then work for Palpatine, doing evil to innocent people. I can't do that." Her eyes searched the gleaming walls before they lit up. Her toothy grin reappeared. She had an idea. " WE can escape," she said. Her eyes had a dreamy far-away look in them as she spoke. " You and I will runaway from this place to Tatooine." Tears spilled down her fleshy cheeks. " We'll be moisture farmers, Ani . . ."
I shook my head. " I cannot leave my Master."
Sadly, she caressed my cheek with her free hand. I briefly closed my eyes, savoring her touch. " What happened, Ani?" she asked. " What happened to that funny little boy I fell in love with?"
I hung my head morosely. " You wouldn't understand . . . " I trailed off.
Anger suddenly overtook her calm demeanor. " You're right, I don't understand," she said vehemently, withdrawing her hands from me. " I don't understand how someone with a wife who loves him so much and a best-friend and master who would do anything for him, and a whole galaxy who looks up to him, could turn his back on all those people to become a Sith's dark apprentice."
Her anger only pushed my own further. " The light side of the Force doesn't do anything!' I shouted. " It didn't save the Republic from corruption, it didn't save Qui-Gon from being killed, it didn't even help me save my mother from death, and it couldn't even save me from the Dark side."
" Anakin, you can't just keep delving into this self-destructive behavior because of these things," she said softly. " I know you blame yourself for Shmi's death, but there was nothing you could do."
" I should've foreseen what was coming, if I am after all an all powerful Jedi!" I exploded. " I shouldn't been able to save her."
" You're only human . . ."
" I thought you loved me," I accused.
She looked at me fiercely. " I love Anakin Skywalker, not Darth Vader."
An awful silence filled the room. My heart split in too. First Mom, now this.
" Well," I choked out through the lump in my throat," if that's the way you feel, than I, Darth Vader, sentence you to ten years to a mining penal colony on Kessell for treason against the government."
Padme squeezed her eyes shut to prevent herself from crying, but tears leaked through and her thin shoulders shook with sobs.
" Officer!" I shouted, unable to watch her in such agony any longer. The deck officer opened the door and let me out. " Prepare my ship for take off in an hour," I briefed him as he escorted me to my cabin aboard ship. Despite the clarity of my speech, my body shook with the full realization of what I had just done. The officer did his best to not notice. " I have business to attend to with an old friend of mine, Obi-Wan Kenobi." We stopped in front of my entranceway. The officer waited for the end of my orders patiently. " Do not bother me until the hour is up," I commanded him. " I must prepare myself for my confrontation with Obi-Wan. Dismissed."
" Yes, My Lord," the officer said and went away to fulfill my orders. I opened the door to my apartment and closed it behind me. I leaned against the door, surveying my barren apartment.
Then I cried. For Padme.
Three months later, I was sent the official notice from the Imperial garrison on Kessell of Padme's death. I temporarily excused myself from my Master's bidding and arrived on Kessell to pick up her dead body. After my lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan over a lava pit where I had sustained life-threatening injuries, I was forced to wear a clunky body suit, the only thing apart from the Dark side of the Force that kept me breathing. I was glad she had never saw me this way.
I brought Padme back to my secret hide out on an uncharted planet in the Outer Rim. I meticulously dressed her in one of her favorite flowing white gowns, painting her delicate features in the ceremonial way of Naboo royalty. Then I gave her the proper cremation that she deserved.
As I watched my wife being devoured by flames, I briefly wondered what life for us would have been like if I would've taken her up on her offer to runaway with her to Tatooine. But the Dark side of the Force began to tug at me as it often did when my mind went astray. I had an Emperor to attend to.