A/N- This is my fic. I haven't written for a while and this has been a long project although I don't expect this story to be very long. I hope you like it but if you don't, you can always write me a review and tell me, at length, exactly why you find it so distasteful. I promise my feelings won't be crushed. I also clear up any confusion in plotlines and characters. That said, enjoy.

xXx

Lord Vader was busy attending other matters. Several important meetings had not taken place because of the carelessness of one man running a café. Two more men had found their way into the garbage disposal on a certain floor; that makes six this week. Quickly, all of them had to be shut off while the men were fished out and now someone lost the key that turns them back on; it's probably sitting on a counter in the kitchens somewhere. To top it off, a supply ship was scheduled to dock today and it is several hours late. Vader made a note never to contact Verrifast Shipping again; the first one they sent was filled with opera costumes. Every now and again, he'd find part of a frilly sleeve or something hanging out of a door. Most of the time, he would ignore it, but this is not about the punctuality, or accuracy, of the modern shipping industry. This is about the girl.

She is almost literally a godsend. The girl was always on top of things, even the things he hasn't thought of yet. Everything is pristine. She is good with most machines and can keep everything electronic running in Vader's quarters. When he needs her, she is at his elbow in an instant, but he usually doesn't need to call her because she seems to be very good at anticipating things. He always returns to whatever he is doing to find papers stacked and little things put away. He is certain that there are a hundred other tasks she performs that he doesn't know about. Everything she does is like wonderful magic, but there is a slight something that disturbs him.

So far, she has not said a word to him. Generally, she takes her task, moves about it as quickly as possible and then disappears; quite literally, as far as Vader is concerned. One moment she is there, the next, it could take him an hour to find her if he didn't need her. He is fairly certain that she is not a mute, but at the moment he would stake anything on it. She has never smiled. She has never frowned. In fact, she hadn't shown any sort of emotion in the least since her purchase a few months ago. She always wore a blank expression that left absolutely no hint of what lay beneath, like a mask. He nearly laughed at the thought of his own 'mask' which was just as equally devoid of emotion.

Quite suddenly, Vader became aware of another person in the room who, so far, had not made any noise. He supposed that it was the girl. Just to see what she would do, he pretended not to notice that she was there. Absentmindedly, he signed the form in front of him and listened to the movement behind him. It had stopped. Was she gone? He swiveled around to see.

It was one of his officers. He stiffened in surprise, but thankfully the man couldn't see for the heavy armor. Vader firstly berated the man for entering his chambers without announcing himself and then quickly dealt with the business the man brought. Irritated, he turned back to the form. Now that he read it through, he realized that he had just approved an official request for all of the bolts in the lavatories to be stripped so that new hairdryers could be installed. Vader speculated about who on Tattooine could possibly have approved new hairdryers in the first place before remembering that it most likely would have been himself and would have slapped himself if it didn't hurt his hand so much. He heard a floorboard creak somewhere a ways behind him. Wondering what the devil the silly man wanted now and why on earth did he never announce himself, Vader wheeled around.

He made a strangled noise in his throat. There she stood; eyes on the floor. Long after his shock wore off, he stared at her, wondering what she could possibly want. She barely came up to his chest. She was so thin his forefinger could have lapped his thumb around her wrist up past the second knuckle. Thin... oh, hell. She had to eat. It had been so long since food passed his lips that he completely forgot about the needs of a normal human being. Mental note: make sure 'hired' help does not starve and perish.

He nodded his head at her and then realized that since she wasn't looking directly at him, she obviously couldn't see his nod. He was going to say something, but apparently, she did see his nod for she then raised her own head and looked at his face; or where his face should have been. Her eyes were the first thing he truly took in. Not for their dazzling ability to steal a man's heart in two bats of an eyelash, nor for their emanating resplendent beauty that radiates the exquisite soul within; no, these eyes were, in fact, the exact opposite. Vader felt a bit like he was staring into two blocks of ice, minus the sensation of cold. He shuddered inwardly and quickly looked somewhere else. After he got past her eyes, he discovered that the rest of her face was actually quite pleasant. Her lips, though a bit pale, were thin and suited her thin, pointed face. In fact, most things on her face were thin; her eyebrows, her nose, her cheekbones, all were very thin. Perhaps thin was not the correct word, he thought to himself while peering at her very intently. Delicate. Delicate was the right word. Her entire body was put together to appear delicate; from her long and thin fingers to her pointed, pretty face.

Satisfied with his linguistic triumph, he quickly took in everything else about her. Her brown hair was pulled back into a loose catch in a way that left some hair loose to frame her face and cover her ears. One lock had freed itself and hung by her jaw, limp, straight as a nail and without luster. She wore drab, sand-colored clothes that hung off her small frame and it was obvious to Vader that it was a struggle for her not to simply walk out of her shoes. Maybe a good project would be to find her some clothes that do her justice. Or at least fit. I wonder if that tailor is still on board. I hope I didn't evict him after that cheese raid...

About here, he realized that she was still standing in front of him waiting patiently for some sort of command. Vader tried vainly to remember why she was here, but it just eluded him. He waved his hand vaguely in the air trying to think of something to say and failing miserably. Thankfully, she seemed to understand his lack of instruction and moved to leave. She bowed respectfully and turned away. Vader watched her walk away and noticed something very odd. When she walked, her feet were turned on the outsides and she held her ankles very still. She made absolutely no sound, but the mechanics of the walk were so awkward that he simply couldn't understand how she moved so fluidly. He would consider that later, perhaps during his next meditation.

He turned back to his desk. The form for hairdryers was still there. He crossed out his signature- obliterated, really- and scrawled something threatening about Force-choking if anyone tried this again. He set that paper aside and tried to get on with it, but his mind kept returning to the girl. He located a mostly unmarked piece of paper and scratched out a message to the kitchens that some food was to be brought to his chambers at once. He shoved it in the tube that, hopefully, led to the appropriate place. He didn't want it to accidentally end up in some kind of soup or something. More at ease now, he turned back to his desk one last time and started vetoing the request for bubble gum machines in every hallway.

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I ran out of funny at the end, but I think it worked pretty well. So, please tell me what you think, criticism and comments are welcome as are suggestions for improvement and future events. I'll begin polishing up the next chapter as soon as possible.