xxxxx
Three years later . . .
Bail Organa quickly walked down the corridors of the Senate Building.
Breha had just commed him saying that she had a surprise for him.
Truth be told, Bail wasn't in the mood for surprises.
Bail sighed as he recalled how that morning's Senate Meeting went: a total disaster.
What made it worse was that Vader was in attendance.
Bail could barely stop the feelings of guilt for what had transpired three years ago every time he saw the man. Especially when he locked eyes with him. Eyes that were either nearly lifeless blue or poisonous yellow. Leia had been his daughter and he had failed to keep her safe.
Something suddenly collided into his legs, bringing him out of his somber thoughts.
He looked down to see a small child dressed completely in black with a hood pulled low over the face.
Bail smiled. It was a pleasant surprise to see a child in the Senate.
"Hello, what's your name?" He asked the child.
"I not s'pose to talk to strangahs." The child, a girl, responded in poor basic. An indication that she wasn't that old.
Bail smiled.
"Well then, I am Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan." Bail said. "There, now I am not a stranger." he smiled pleasantly.
The girl glanced uncertainly behind her, where a creature wearing a cloak stood; watching the exchange.
"Is that one of your guards?" he asked.
She nodded.
Bail knelt.
"Aren't you a little young to be wandering the halls of the Senate?" He asked the small child.
"I not little! I three!" The girl declared.
Bail smiled. "That's big, no wonder you wandering the halls of the Senate all by yourself."
Suddenly she smiled and turned around.
Bail followed her gaze and froze.
Standing behind her was Lord Vader.
"Senator," Vader said politely.
"Milady, you have a datapad to deliver." The cloaked being said in a gravelly voice.
The girl nodded and hurried off.
Vader stared at Bail for several moments. Bail felt his heartbeat slow and then speed up.
Then Vader walked away.
Bail nearly sighed with relief. He had heard rumors about little Lady Vader. She was an enigma. All that anyone knew was that Lord Vader had taken care of her since she was an infant.
He took a deep breath to settle himself before heading to his apartment to speak to Breha.
When he heard her news he wished that Vader had killed him for stopping his 'daughter'. Breha had gone behind his back and adopted an infant girl.
When he thought of it he had hoped that Leia would somehow turn up, alive. He knew that he was being unrealistic; that there was little chance that Leia had survived the swift current of the Gate River.
Yet he wasn't sure he could bear raising another daughter. In fact he wasn't sure if he could love Ana the way a father should love his child.
xxxx
Three years later . . .
Terrison Gilder watched as Lord Vader entered his office with a squad of Storm Troopers, three cloaked aliens and a little girl dressed completely in black with a black face veil hiding all of her face except for her brown eyes.
Gilder had heard rumors about her. No one knew who she was or where she came from. He had heard everything from her being Vader's blood daughter to a child spared at the Temple. Personally Gilder doubted that the Dark Lord of the Sith was capable of feeling anything towards females let alone bed one.
"Lord Vader it's a pleasure to have you." Gilder said.
Lord Vader waved his hand dismissively. "Terrison Gilder you are suspected of stealing from the Empire and selling weapons to the Rebels." Lord Vader said flatly.
Gilder swallowed. "My men just found the Rebel responsible for it, Lord Vader. He was executed this morning." Gilder said.
Vader's icy blue eyes bore into him. "You better pray that I find no evidence that you had any part in this!" Vader hissed.
The little girl nodded firmly.
With that the group turned and left the office.
xxxxx
Malakah clan Kedah followed Lady Vader as she skipped down the corridors of the office building. He knew that Lord Vader was elsewhere trying to discern the man's guilt and that they would soon be headed back to Coruscant and then Lady Vader would be taking a trip to Naboo, like she did every few months.
Malakah wondered why Lord Vader sent his daughter to Naboo but it wasn't his place to question him.
Suddenly an explosion made Malakah turn his head and sniff.
"What's wrong Malakah?" Lady Vader asked curiously.
Melkah and Sisthan appeared.
"There is a riot." Melkah explained. "We are to try and move Lady Vader out of the building."
Malakah nodded.
They tried to move Leia to safety but the rioters were coming in through all sorts of entrances and soon Malakah, Melkah and Sisthan were fighting to protect young Lady Vader.
xxxxx
Tears of fear ran down her cheeks as she watched people drop and felt some of them go away.
Daddy, help me! She thought.
xxxxx
Lord Vader smiled.
I have you now! he thought.
A tremor in the Force made him turn his head.
"What is going on?" He asked the nearest Storm Trooper.
"Nothing as far as I kn-"
An explosion rocked the building.
The Storm Trooper suddenly stood straighter.
"We have rioters entering the building My Lord!" He reported urgently.
Vader quickly left the room barking into his commlink for more Storm Troopers to be sent to the Gilder Building, immediately. He drew his lightsaber and went to work.
Then he heard his daughter's mental cry for help.
xxxxx
Lady Vader watched as Malakah and Melkah lay so still and the bad people were coming closer to her hiding place.
Suddenly their were screams of panic and the bad people start to run away.
Lady Vader smiled as she felt her father get closer to her hiding place.
When he knelt down she ran into his waiting arms.
"Daddy, Malakah and Melkah are hurt!" She whimpered once she was safe in his arms.
"I need a medical team in sector 3-J!" She heard her father bark into his commlink.
xxxxx
"Breaking News! A riot at the Gilder Building cost the lives of several workers, several rioters and some Storm Troopers." Alek Grai said into the pick up. "There are as of yet no official numbers on the dead or exactly what the riot was about. We do know that Lord Vader was present in Terrison Gilder's office when the riot broke out.
"Sources say Lord Vader was at the heart of the fighting and that Terrison Gilder's body was removed from the building three hours ago. We have been assured that there will be an official statement as soon as the authorities have assessed the situation.
"In other news, a cargo vessel found a Bantha in their hold this morning. They suspect it was a prank from their competitors..."
xxxxx
Three years later . . .
Bail Organa led his daughter, six year old Princess Ana, down the corridors of the Senate Building.
Over the years he had learned to love the little girl.
Ana was babbling away about how pretty it was and saying hello to everyone.
"Good day Senator." Several people said as they past.
"Good day," Bail replied, back adding rank when it was appropriate.
Suddenly Lord Vader appeared from a side corridor with his 'daughter'.
Ana smiled and waved.
"Hello!" Ana said brightly.
"Good day child." Lord Vader said.
"Good day. Lady Vader, you have grown since I last saw you." Bail said.
"Hello." Lady Vader said softly.
"The Emperor wishes to speak to you and several others." Lord Vader said.
Bail nodded. He had nothing to hide, not anymore.
He followed Lord Vader to the Emperor's Office.
"Your daughter will have to wait out here." Lord Vader said as they approached the door to the Emperor's Office. 'My daughter will keep her company and her guards will watch them."
What if this is a trap? Bail wondered fearfully. What if Ana is abducted or killed?
"You have my word that that she will not be harmed." Lord Vader said.
He turned to the short aliens in the cloaks. "You will protect the Senator of Alderaan's daughter as if she was my daughter during this meeting; understood?"
The aliens nodded. "Understood Lord Vader." One of them said solemnly
Bail nodded and turned to Ana. "Stay out here and play with Lady Vader," he told her.
The meeting was pointless. The Emperor spent a long time saying pointless things about stripping people of even more of their rights in the guise of security and peace. Bail felt despair.
Suddenly an indignant shriek came from the Antechamber.
Bail turned. Fear for Ana's safety welling up in him.
Lord Vader turned and left for the Antechamber. Bail followed him and gasped. Lady Vader was standing with her hands on her hips and Ana was standing across from her. "You're not doing it right!" Lady Vader said indignantly. "You are a suppose to be a senator; act like it!"
"What is going on?" Lord Vader demanded.
The two girls spun around.
"She stole top secret military plans and I caught her." Lady Vader said smugly.
"I did not!" Ana objected. "The spies did and then they gave the plans to me." Ana explained.
"You admit to having the plans!" Lady Vader said gleefully.
"Did not!" Ana said indignantly.
"Did too!" Lady Vader shot back.
Bail was surprised to hear Lord Vader laugh as he commented, "They were merely play acting." Bail thought he heard a note of relief in Vader's tone and wondered what could worry a Sith Lord.
Bail let out his own sigh of relief and returned to his pointless meeting. The Emperor might be destroying every freedom he held dear, but at least he still had his daughter.
xxxxx
A few months later . . .
Ana sat in the Antechamber of the Emperor's Office and sighed. She was bored.
"Want to play?" Lady Vader suddenly asked.
"Yes!" Ana said earnestly.
"Alright, we will play Senator and General." Lady Vader declared. "You be the Senator and I will be the General."
Ana sighed.
"I don't want to be the Senator anymore!" She cried.
"Then what do you want to be?" Lady Vader said, curious.
Ana smiled as she smoothed out her green dress.
"I want to be a Jedi." She declared proudly.
"I hate Jedi!" Lady Vader suddenly snapped, causing Ana to shrink back in fear. "Jedi are evil! One left my Daddy to die!" Lady Vader said with venom.
xxxxx
