Chapter 8

A New Mission

Space blurred into a haze of stardust as Anakin stared out the Chancellor's shuttle window, his eyes bleary from lack of sleep. In his exhaustion, the distant battle above Utapau looked like nothing more than a Coruscanti light show.

"The end of the war is near," Sidious had said.

Anakin didn't know when that would be. For once, he didn't feel the still-smoldering burn of exclusion as he watched Jedi starfighters attack a Separatist fleet. The war, the clones, the Jedi, they all seemed so far away. There were more pressing things.

Anakin! Anakin, please! Pl—

"Is something wrong, son?" Sidious asked.

Anakin gave his master a hesitant nod.

Through his years of training, Anakin had learned to answer honestly. Sidious saw through every lie and was quick to punish them. The last time, he had fried the circuits in Anakin's arm.

Sidious spoke, slow and ponderous, "You've been dreaming again, haven't you?"

Chills erupted down Anakin's back. He hated when his master did that. How he peeled Anakin back layer by layer and examined what was inside. It made him feel like a piece of machinery, an object to be tinkered with, opened and rewired.

"About your mother?" Sidious said. It was more demand than question.

Anakin looked to the floor. The dream was still with him. He could feel the agony of fresh bruises. He could taste blood in his mouth.

Sidious gave Anakin a knowing look. "I am right, aren't I?"

Anakin bowed his head, silent confirmation.

"Tell me, Lord Vader."

It had been a year since Anakin had defeated Dooku and earned his place at Sidious' side, but he was still not used to his new name on his master's lips.

He had been Anakin for so long; It was strange not to be Anakin anymore.

He shuddered and spoke. "My mother is suffering, master. She's in terrible pain and I can feel it. I can feel it every time I fall asleep. Something is killing her. Please, master, allow me to return to Tatooine. She'll die if I don't. I have to help her."

Sidious drew Anakin from the window with a hand on his shoulder. "Of course you do. But how will you overcome the odds of such an impossible situation?"

"Master, I don't—"

"Without the power to prevent it, this dream of yours will undeniably come to pass," Sidious said, "if it has not already."

Fear swelled in Anakin's stomach. He could still feel his body singing with his mother's pain as if it were his own. But Sidious was wrong. She was alive. Anakin didn't question how he knew it, he just did. There was time left for him to intervene. "I know, master, but what else can I do? All I can do is go back."

"If what you've foreseen is true, then only through the Dark Side of the Force can you gain enough power to save your mother," Sidious said and grinned, "from certain death."

Anakin frowned, but felt a glimmer of hope. What else could there be to learn about the Dark Side that Sidious was not already teaching him? "What must I do, master?"

"Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?"


It was very early morning when Padmé entered her childhood bedroom at the retreat. The room was the same as it had always been, bright and open and welcoming, an eyelet lace blanket thrown over the end of her bed and a holo of her family smiling from a table near the door. The familiarity was a comfort.

She badly needed comfort.

Padmé lowered herself into the vanity chair and pulled the patch of bacta from her forehead. It stung, but it was satisfying kind of pain, short and sharp. It kept her awake. She pushed a hand through her hair with shaky breath.

A survey of the retreat had proved that Vader had damaged far more than just her father's computer. Every possible line of communication was ruined, from transmitter to comlink. But that hadn't deterred her. Padmé only needed one to send an untraceable message to the Rebels, so that was where her energy went.

She had lost two nights of sleep trying to salvage the study computer's wiring and had almost nothing to show for it. It was beyond what she could fix with what was at her disposal.

If I had a droid, then maybe I could… Padmé thought. But the only droid she owned was in her apartment on Coruscant.

Padmé sighed in frustration. She had never imagined that she would be marooned at Varykino. She looked longingly to the horizon outside her window.

If she were to plan an escape, the circumstances were not in her favor.

The lake was too vast and too deep to consider swimming across without multiple stops she couldn't make. The hills surrounding the lake country were too steep and too treacherous to camp through without supplies she didn't have. The closest neighboring estate was miles away and just as well hidden, and who knew if the residents there were friends of the Empire?

There wasn't a doubt in Padmé's mind that Palpatine would spread word of her treachery, if he hadn't already. The sooner that happened, the sooner a successful escape became almost impossible.

If Vader were to come back, it's possible I could—

No.

For all the moments of friendliness, even admiration, that Vader had shown her, he still lived up to his reputation as a merciless killer. The information she knew about Stardust's relocation was too important to the galaxy to risk losing along with her life.

Though Padmé knew she could read Vader better than she would any other Imperial official Palpatine might send in his place, she refused to entertain the idea that he could be of any help to her, even unwittingly.

I'm not so desperate yet.

Padmé sighed.

No, she was just desperate enough.

For her sake, he would need to stay away. She couldn't trust herself not to do anything reckless.

I cannot just sit here and do nothing.

With a longing glance at the bed behind her in the mirror, Padmé stood. There had to be more work she could do.

She couldn't give up yet.


Senator Amidala would not accept our offer. She would not give up any information. There was a dioxis leak. I executed her before the evacuation. I disposed of her remains.

Darth Vader ran the words through his mind on repeat as he made his way to the Imperial Executive Office. He had practiced the story a thousand times over on his journey to the capitol, but Vader would need to do more than simply say the right things. He would need to feel them.

A flood of memory and emotion were trapped within the walls of his mind, giving him more than enough loathing to fuel his use of Dark Side, but never breaking through.

To keep Padmé safe, Vader would need to make a chink in the dam.

The prospect left his mouth dry.

Representatives walked quietly through the Senate halls ahead of the day's session, a somber crowd. Vader recognized two of them as Delegation members, Padmé's friends Bail Organa of Alderaan and Mon Mothma of Chandrila.

An unwelcome thought ran through Vader's mind.

Did they worry, knowing that Padmé had been caught by the Empire? Or had they learned the official story he had logged aboard the Annihilator?

Vader felt an uncomfortable squirm in his stomach.

He could feel their stares of curiosity as he passed and tugged his hood further down. He didn't need any more trouble to contend with.

It was silent in the belly of the Senate building and the halls surrounding the Emperor's offices were kept cold. Vader felt the familiar chill as he walked the final stretch to the entry point, his breathing shallow.

Ahead, two of the Emperor's guards blocked the door, faceless in red armor. They stepped aside as he approached.

Refused our offer. No information. Dioxis leak. Evacuation. I executed her. She's dead.

It was pointless to delay it. Vader took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The offices' wide entry hall was lined with sculptures and artifacts. Vader could feel the eyes of a clay statue following him as he passed, its mouth open in a silent scream.

Sidious sat in his office chair, the schematics for project Stardust open before him. As Vader entered the room, the hologram faded away.

"Welcome, Lord Vader," Sidious said.

Vader knelt, bracing himself on shaking fists. "Master."

Sidious turned in his chair to face him. "I understand there was an emergency evacuation on the Annihilator."

"Yes, master," Vader said. He looked up, his face neutral. "An ITO droid malfunctioned and caused a dioxis leak in the detention block."

"Unfortunate."

Vader's expression didn't waver.

"And what were the results of Senator Amidala's interrogation?" Sidious asked. "Did she accept our offer of an alliance?"

Vader bowed his head. Fear tasted like bile in his mouth. "No, master."

Sidious grinned, slow and sinister.

"Her resistance to the mind probe was considerable." Vader stared at his feet. "I could not extract any information from her. It was a useless action. Senator Amidala would never betray her ideals."

Vader's stomach turned. A different night crept through his mind.

Crouched in the desert sand, cradling a lifeless body

"It is done then?" Sidious asked. "The senator was destroyed?"

and shutting its eyes. The smell of a sail barge burning and

"Yes, master."

"Did she suffer?"

Vader was beginning to feel sick. Guilt pounded in his chest like a second heartbeat, running through his veins like blood. He pulsed with it.

rage boiling in his chest. He raised his lightsaber—

Padmé had suffered aboard the Annihilator. She had been captured by the Empire, injured, nearly tortured. She had looked at Vader like he was a virus.

"Yes, master."

Sidious leaned forward in his seat. "Did she scream?"

Padmé's cry when the ITO exploded floated through Vader's mind.

and the remaining men screamed as he cut them down—

Vader swallowed thickly. "Yes, master."

"She was too dangerous to be left alive." Sidious' brows drew together in a mockery of sympathy. "Oh what a shame you had to be the one to kill her. The things Anakin Skywalker told me about the Queen of Naboo…why, they were nearly worshipful. Do you remember, Lord Vader?"

but none of it mattered. Nothing mattered. He had failed.

Twin metal sculptures on either side of the room creaked as Vader's emotions rose. They whined as they collapsed in on themselves. Vader could feel Sidious' glee, but ignored it as he struggled against the threat of tears. He could feel them attempting to escape, prickling and hot. He hadn't thought of that night in so long.

"I remember, master."

"I have waited a long time for this." Sidious laughed, a harsh cackle, and stood. "You have done well, my young apprentice. Rise."

Vader forced himself to his feet, the sound of his breathing loud to his own ears, and wiped his eyes when Sidious wasn't looking.

"Now, onto more important matters," Sidious said.

Startled, Vader caught his breath and tried to smother his relief under the guise of lingering emotion.

"I know you're wondering why I brought you here." Sidious clapped Vader on the shoulder, his hand steady and claw-like as they walked through the office and into the antechamber. "Your failure to gain access to the Rebel network can be overlooked, Lord Vader. Imperial Intelligence Units have intercepted Rebel transmissions about an upcoming summit. The Delegate leaders will surely attend."

Vader shuddered with a swallow and tried to clear his mind. "Do we have proof of this, master?"

"Exposing the Delegation is insignificant in this matter."

Vader shook his head. "I'm not sure I understand."

Sidious' grip tightened. "The transmissions confirm something we've long suspected. At this meeting, the Rebellion will be joined by the last remaining Jedi."

Vader looked to Sidious in shock.

"They have hidden from us long enough, Lord Vader," Sidious said, "and they can hide no longer. I will announce Senator Amidala's execution at a special session of congress. The Delegation will see the price for their lack of loyalty. Their fear will make them clumsy. I have foreseen it. You will study these transmissions and uncover their secret Rebel meeting place. Hunt them down. Wipe them out. And our victory over the Jedi will be complete."

Vader's response was automatic, "I will, master."

"And when they are gone…" They reached the door. Sidious released him. "We will have peace."


It wasn't until he reached his shuttle that Vader felt it was safe to think. He was still shaking with the depth of his hatred for Sidious, for himself, and for Anakin Skywalker for being so weak.

But Sidious didn't know Padmé was alive.

Vader exhaled and leaned over, his head on his hands. He had done it. She was safe. Vader closed his eyes, a strangled laugh trapped in his throat.

There was the sound of an incoming transmission.

Vader's relief dimmed as he skimmed Sidious' intercepted message.

Written in code and transcribed in Basic, nothing in the transmission made a bit of sense to Vader outside of the Empire's annotations, but the Intelligence Units seemed to have understood well enough to decipher it, with the exception of one phrase.

LOCATION: On the water

Brow furrowing, Vader closed the message. He didn't know what it meant.

But Padmé might.

Vader's breath caught.

If Padmé did know the code, he had no delusions that she would tell him willingly. But if he were careful, if he asked the right questions, maybe she would slip.

And I would get to see her again.

Vader's chest tightened. He found that he was trembling again, but for another emotion entirely.

His mind was made up; he entered coordinates and prepared to take off.

He was going back to Naboo.