Anakin took a towel to his face and patted it dry, and shaking the water out of his wild hair. The shower had hurt, he'd admit that, but now that he was able to use the Force, he could heal his wounds so he wouldn't have any further complications. He walked out of the fresher and into his bedroom's closet, getting his sleep pants and black glove for his hand. He stared idly at his reflection from the cold metal that replaced his own flesh. He owed that segment of pain and torture to the Rebels. He felt his anger growling in the pit of his sculpted stomach at the memory, and he smiled as he let the Dark Side engulf him once more. He could feel his whole body feel warm, despite the cool cabin air and his skin being quite damp from his shower. He slid the glove all of the way on his metal hand, walking towards the refrigerator in the kitchen, taking out a cold bottle of Correlian Whiskey. He walked slowly back to his bedroom, plopped on his bed, and began studying Imperial Intelligence Reports (called IIR's in the future.) as he slowly took salvation in the giant bottle he was drinking from.

Anakin woke from his sleep when his alarm sounded at 0530 hours, making him rise for a new day. He had fallen asleep shortly after finishing his beverage, which had been helpful in coaxing him into a peaceful slumber. Anakin stepped softly onto the cold floor of his room and walked to the closet to pick a uniform identical to the one he wore yesterday. He pulled on this black cloth and walked out of his room and into the kitchen to prepare his morning meal. He sighed quietly to himself, thinking of what he would have done if his escape had been successful.

Padme was still sobbing in the dark corner of her 'room'. Her 'room' was a small utility closet that held boxes filled with the personal items from prisoners that had been killed over the years. These boxes took up over half of the 'room', so Padme usually spent most of her time in this dark corner of hers.

Her possessions were few and meager, but Padme had them none the less. She had a bundle of clothes for her pillow, a rough, scratchy blanket that wouldn't have covered a ten year old, much less her, and a simple pan for her 'uses'. She normally would've been asleep by now, but something had been bothering her. Because the previous night, that horrible, horrible man had violated her in the most vicious way possible. She had not consented, she had tried to say no and get away, but he had the Force as his ally, and she had not stood a chance. She still hurt from the event, and when she thought the tears would've stopped, they kept coming down her face. She liked the beatings better than what he did to her.

She had been saving her body for that someone special, the one she'd been waiting for her whole life. She had planned to be pure on her wedding night. But now her body had been stripped clean of that purity and she now felt that no matter how many times she tried to scrub his smell off of her skin, she would never erase the presence he had left upon her; it was etched into her soul now. She hated that monster for what he had done to her. Wouldn't someone try and help her?

Vince walked down to the deck with Anakin a few minutes later, ready for the new day ahead of them.

"The plan didn't work, huh?"

Anakin looked at his friend, "If it had, would I be here right now?"

Vince held a gaze with Anakin before finally turning away, "No, I suppose not. Do you think we could risk trying it again? Or should we make another one?"

The two boys made their way down the halls, passing random crew members as they either ended their nightshift, or were beginning the day as they were. Vince stood just short of Anakin's true height (Anakin wore really think-bottomed boots. You could never really tell how tall he really was), with scruffy black hair, and strangely light hazel eyes that reflected wonderfully off of his pale skin. Vince, although not the Sith's apprentice, wore a saber at his hip just as Anakin did. Many other Force sensitives carried sabers, for if an apprentice died or needed to be replaced, someone would have to fill in the empty spot.

Despite all the rules that were placed here, Vince and Anakin were best friends, but when it came to their work, they treated each other accordingly, (and Darth Vader took over Anakin once more; or so it seemed to most. But Anakin was in there, somewhere). Anakin had authority over everyone on the base, the palace, and all of the ships they owned; except for his master of course. When they walked down to the bridge, Vince took his place next to Anakin's side, and everyone else rose. Vince was hand selected by the Dark Lord himself to be Anakin's right hand man. Anakin nodded his head once and they all took their seats and started on the work the last shift left behind.

Vince looked over at Anakin, "Our IIR's have told us that the Rebels might be hiding someplace on Hoth. We are awaiting your orders, my Lord."

Anakin didn't bother looking in his direction this time, "Set our course for Hoth strait away, Admiral Coronet."

Vince bowed in response as he slunk away from his friend, and told the men below of their orders. Anakin slowly smiled as he could feel the ship lift off from the earthly ground of Curoscant. Vince finished his pep talk with the crew and returned respectively at Anakin's side, slowly talking out of the side of his mouth.

"Lord Vader we have a problem, your master left the ship late last night and continues to remain at the palace."

Anakin looked at Vince in wonder, "I don't see the complication Admiral."

"You see, he left something behind. Be it by accident or bias, I'm not sure. But you see he left his slave here. Slave Amidala."

Anakin had told Vince to take control of the ship while he went to do something, and maintain orders until he got back. If anything drastic were to happen, he was to be contacted immediately. He went towards that holo-room, to broadcast a message to his master. He was immediately patched through, as always, and knelt while his master came to the line.

"Lord Vader, what do I owe your honorable presence?" The snide comment sounded.

Anakin, still facing the floor, spoke loud and clear, "I was wondering of something, my master."

"Very well. Rise young Vader, and make it quick."

Anakin rose and ran through his concerns of what he should do with his master's slave girl. In the end, his master just laughed.

"She is no longer of any use to me. Keep her there, but do not do anything with her. Only give her food and water, other than that, no one is to have any contact with the whore. Give her something to do as well, make her useful."

"Yes, my master." Anakin replied as he turned off the comm. unit. He then walked out of the room, and found his way to the small closet where his master kept all of his slave girls.

The tears were slowly coming to a stop by the time she heard a knock at the closet door. Extremely puzzled, she got up to answer it. Nobody knocked before entering her 'room'. Nobody. She pressed the button on the right side of the wall to answer the door, only to find herself staring into a pair of heavenly blue eyes.

"Come with me," Anakin spoke in a stern tone that told her not to argue. She nodded mutely and fallowed him out of her 'room' and down to the turbo lift, her bare feet striking the ice cold floor as she walked.

She was silent as they were carried up several levels within the ship, Anakin staring off into the distance, a pensive look pasted on his face. His firm, broad shoulders were straight, just as his back. His hands hung at his sides, ready for anything that might occur. His feet were shoulder with the part, and his jaw was set in a firm clench; he was just as he almost always was.

She decided to break the tense silence.

"Where are you taking me?"

His eyes met hers as he answered, "Up to the top level. I'm going to find you some decent clothes and perhaps a somewhat suitable bed for you. Do you have any objections, milady?" He added with a menacing tone to the last question.

She shook her head and whispered that she didn't object to his generosity.

"What's going to happen to me? Are you giving me to someone else?"

Anakin didn't look at her this time, "I'm not supposed to do that milady. My master has relinquished you to me, and has requested that I not make any attempt to acquaint myself with you. I was just to make you useful."

Padme looked at him in shock, "Does your master do this often? Give his slaves to you?"

Anakin snapped his face to meet hers as the lift came to a stop, a smile on his face, "Consider yourself lucky, Padme. The ones before you mysteriously ended up dead."

He then walked out of the lift, leading Padme to the door right in front of the lift's exit/entrance. He punched in a code which he didn't bother to hide from his new guest, and quickly entered, ushering her inside as well. He stopped in the center of the main room, looking at her.

"That door right there," he pointed to the first door on the left, "is the fresher. The one beside it is the utility closet. The first door on the right is the guest bedroom which is now yours. And the last one on the left is my bedroom. The hall that leads between the guest room and the main room gives passage to the kitchen.

"There is nothing of importance in my apartment, except for things that are locked. So I will advise you once and once only; if it is locked, don't try and open it. I have my ways of finding out if my things are violated and there will be consequences. Don't even think different. You may use anything that is not guarded by any form of security."

He paused for her to nod, letting her mull it over before talking once more.

"Although not very often, people do sometimes come into my little apartment to chat, and certain people around here are either not very trustworthy, or are not the kind that you want around. Those people hardly ever come, so most of the beings that enter through that door, you may make speech to. If they are the kind I'm warning you of, I'll let you know.

"You may also wander around this place at free will. You'll quickly find that I'm not very keen on slavery, so you may relax around here and do whatever you may want to your very leisure. I would let you have full run of the ship as well, but I can't have you getting in the way of my crew.

"You will also discover that I'm a very busy person and my missions take a long time. So we will be in space and on this ship for a very long time. While I am busy, you may not interrupt me unless something or someone is bleeding, broken, dying, dead, on fire, or exploding. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Lord Vader."

Anakin then walked to the door before saying, "I'll be up after my shift to bring you some clothes."

And with that, he was gone.

Anakin walked to the bridge and came up next to Vince, staring out at the stars as they were in hyperspace.

"So, will there be a complication, milord?"

Anakin sighed, "A slight one. We'll have one more guest for our plans tonight."

Vince looked at him questioningly, "He gave you the girl, didn't he?"

Anakin could only nod.

Vince sighed, "Can she be trusted?"

"Who would she tell, Admiral?"

"Very well, at least Steven will have someone to keep him busy. We can't have him bugging us again."

Anakin smiled slightly at the last time they held a meeting, "Ahh, yes. Little Steven can be quite exhausting. Why don't we send him up to my room with proper clothes for our guest?"

Vince raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean 'proper clothes'?"

"She has been wearing the same bikini for two weeks, since she had been demoted to a slave girl. I think she deserves some other change of clothes, and ones that keep her warm at that."

Vince nodded, "I'll bring Steven here at once so you can give him his orders, Lord Vader."

Padme was sitting on the couch in the main room, a blanket draped around her when little Steven entered the room. She looked up to see a small little boy with pale skin, mid length black hair, and brown eyes enter the room. She smiled softly at the child as she sat up.

"Hello, young one. Who are you?"

The child nodded, "I'm S…Steven Coronet, m….milady."

"Pleased to meet you, so what brings you here?"

"L….Lord Vader told me to b…..bring you some p…..proper clothes," the innocent child replied.

Padme smiled as the child handed her the small bag which contained tons of clothes in various sizes, "Thank you Steven. "

Steven looked at her for a moment, "W……Would you like to s…stay here, have a sandwich with me?"

Padme was uncertain until he spoke, "I promise n…not to bite."

This caused her to nod and reluctantly accept. Steven wondered suddenly what he did wrong.

Women are so strange, he thought silently.

Padme then left for the fresher to change into something presentable. She couldn't be dressed so provocatively in front of such a small child, even if he was too young to have such thoughts or feelings. She……Padme shook her head to keep from thinking those thoughts. She shouldn't be thinking such things.

She changed out of the revealing clothes, suddenly nervous about taking off her clothes, even in the privacy of the secluded fresher. She became worried; she'd never had this reaction before. She shook off the feeling, and put on one pair of clothes that were lose, but not overly baggy. She didn't want to be revealing, yet she didn't want to look like a hobo either. Padme took in a deep breathe, held it, and then slowly exhaled, making her somewhat calm once more. She then left the fresher.

Anakin answered his comm. as it vibrated against his left hip bone. He took it out of his utility belt and accepted the transmission. It was from Vince, reporting to his request to see how their course to the rebel base was coming.

"Admiral, progress report."

Vince took a deep breath, "We need to stop for fuel along the way. I suggest we take the less time-consuming route possible."

"And what would that be Admiral?"

Vince smiled, "I propose that we take a stop to Rattatak to get fuel. We'll arrive there early tomorrow morning and it's less than a parsec away from Hoth. I'm confident that the trip over all will be less than a day and a half. Should I plot that course, milord?"

Anakin nodded, "Yes, do that. Good work, Admiral. You may retire from your quarters for the night."

"Thank you Lord Vader."

Steven had already made the sandwiches and was waiting patiently on the couch in front of the holo screen, flipping through the few channels they had. She sat down next to him, accepting the sandwich handed to her.

"What's on today?"

"Not much, j…just the r…regular. L…Lord Vader is i…into pod racing, I w….watch cartoons, and V…Vince watches the n…news. S'bout it."

"Who's Vince?"

"My o…older brother."

Padme nodded, "You guys hang around Lord Vader a lot, don't you?"

Steven nodded as Padme finished her sandwich. She then got up to head towards her room.

"I'm going to go and rest. You're more than welcome to stay here if you wish."

Steven nodded, "Go…Good night, Miss Padme."

Padme sat upon her bed that she'd been given. Looking around her room, she found that it was a little more welcoming than the closet where she'd formally lived before. She sat and thought about what happened to Sidious, what made him leave? Could he have found her friends? The Rebels were the last thing Padme wanted to be destroyed.

She stopped this thinking to wander back on her thoughts of Vader. Why would he be so nice to her? Why did he do what he did? She shrugged as she gave a particularly long yawn. She'd been awake for ten or more hours, sleep did sound appeasing. She smiled down at the bed she was sitting on before drawing back the covers and crawling inside. She let the sheets fall around her as her head hit the soft pillow. Jeez, she didn't know what she had missed the past two months.

Meanwhile, halfway across the galaxy on a planet called Hoth, Obi-wan Skywalker walked into the small section of the base that housed the elder Jedi. The base had this small section with what resembled a dorm room. All of the elder Jedi and their families could cram themselves in their, and be safe. The section of this base was basically two circles inside of a bigger circle. The largest circle held the dorms of the Elder Jedi and their families. Inside the second circle was a series of training and practicing rooms. And the one inside that was the council chambers. And that was where Obi-wan was running towards right at this moment. He came crashing into the chambers, only to find his father and grandfather had beat him their.

Of course they did Obi-wan, they're on the Council for Force's sakes!, Obi-wan yelled at himself.

"Did you guys just feel that?" Obi-wan asked.

Everyone in the room nodded; the bearded faces of Qui-Gon and Yan as well as the solemn faces of Mace and Yoda.

"What do you think it was? I've never felt something that dark before."

"Your guess is as good as ours young one. It also was strangely familiar. Do you think, it could have been a lost Jedi from the purges?" Mace asked.

Yan shrugged, "Anything's possible. But I don't believe that it is the case. It just doesn't….feel right."

Yoda nodded, "Agree with you, I do." He paused and looked thoughtfully at Qui-Gon, who was staring out of the window, at the layers of snow that had existed since the beginning of this planet.

"More to say on this, have you, Master Qui-Gon?"

Qui-Gon snapped his direction towards the elderly master, "The presence feels more than familiar, I recognized it."

He had now gained everyone's undivided attention, "Who do you think it was?" Mace asked.

"I don't think, I know it was him."

"Who was it Father?" Obi-wan asked him impatiently.

"It……It felt like……Anakin's force presence."

Obi-wan sucked in a deep breath, he hadn't heard his brother's name spoken in almost ten years.

"That isn't possible! Anakin couldn't be that presence! It was basking in evil!" Yan cried.

"I know what I felt! It was Anakin, I have no doubt about it."

"Father, how could Anakin be that source of darkness? How could such a sweet little boy become that…that thing! How could you suggest it?" Obi-wan said as calmly as he could possibly manage.

Yan was about to retort something at the both of them, when a chill ran through all of them. A chill that was caused by darkness, a darkness that was coming for them.

"I guess we'll find out soon, won't we?" Mace stated.

What had caused the Jedi to feel the dark presence, was the thing that took place just now. Anakin was on the ship as it neared it's way to Rattatak, when their meeting was taking place. Vince and Anakin were trying to get out of this place, to start a better life else where. They were just into the part of their meeting when deciding where to run, when the front door burst open. They all had looked up to find one of the other Sith trainees walk into the apartment, carrying a thrashing Steven by the collar. He was bleeding from his nose, and black and blue marks were starting to mingle with his cuts and scrapes. His right hand was covered in blood from cuts on his knuckles and there was a big rift in his sleeve were a piece of loose metal had snagged him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Anakin asked, standing up as Vince took his brother into his arms.

"I caught this twerp wandering the halls after hours, so I decided to give him a little reminder on when bedtime is."

Vince could feel the pain coming from his little brother, and while he was angry, his love for his brother couldn't be overcame by such a barbaric emotion. But Anakin didn't see it that way, and his temper blew the roof. He lunged at the trainee, knocking him to the ground and punching any part of him that he could find.

Vince set his brother on the counter of the kitchen and ran over to Anakin. He grabbed Anakin's shoulders and lifted up, but found it to be no use, Anakin was too strong. So he grabbed Anakin's right wrist, he stopped him from slamming his metal hand into the guys' mouth any further.

But the onslaught continued as Anakin shrugged him off again and resumed his fight with the trainee. Vince turned towards his smaller brother, and told him to go get someone to help him. Steven, who was scared to go outside the living space they were in, ran into Padme's bedroom.