Past Love
Darth Vader pointed toward the carbonite pit. "Put him in," he ordered. He observed his stormtroopers moving forward to seize Captain Solo, but then the Corellian outlaw leaned over and kissed the young princess Organa. His men pulled them apart, ending their kiss, and Organa called out, "I love you!" The Corellian responded, "I know."
Love? Surely even a Rebel leader should know better than to tryst with a smuggler, Vader thought. Yet the sight of the mismatched pair, pulled apart, the declaration of love, and especially the expression of anguish on Organa's face reminded him of something he'd long buried in the past, a memory that had been successfully suppressed for decades.
I truly, deeply love you and before we die, I want you to know. For a brief moment, Vader remembered a different time when he could still feel warm, sweet, soft lips, pulled away from his by the jolt of a cart taking him and his love into an alien arena...and for a brief moment, he could empathize even with this common criminal and this treasonous princess.
But the moment passed. Those memories from that dead life were more common now because soon his son, the heir denied him, would be his. He could sense the boy was coming nearer. Having to remember those days was a small price to pay, just as using these Rebels and Calrissian was a bargain necessary to gain his prize.
He observed an anguished Organa stand with the Wookiee as they watched Solo lowered into the pit. He could sense her fear for Solo and her anger. Their emotional pain would urge on his son even more. Love no longer means anything to me, Vader thought. It is a weakness a more powerful being could use against you. He learned that lesson long ago from his Master and it was a lesson Skywalker and his friends would learn today.