Vader's POV
Vader returned to the shuttle with four stormtroopers on his heels. Luke was sitting on the floor, under the surveillance of Triple-Zero and Beetee – the latter holding a blaster at him and beeping threateningly.
"Patience Beetee, patience. I know this Rebel scum looked at you funny, but we are not allowed to execute him yet... Ah, Master! Here you are!" Triple-Zero exclaimed with overdone enthusiasm.
"You are temporarily assigned to the interrogation unit," Vader announced coldly. "I trust you will do well."
"Oh, Master, that is most gracious," Triple-Zero said with euphoria. "Is Beetee coming as well?"
"Yes. These soldiers will show you the way."
Two of the stormtroopers escorted the droids out of the ship, while the others remained at Vader's side.
"As for you, Darklighter, my men here will lead you to your cell."
It appeared Luke was giving him the silent treatment. Good, the last thing he needed was the boy blowing his own cover.
"Take him away!" he barked with a peremptory wave of his hand. The two soldiers caught Luke by the arms and dragged him roughly out of the shuttle. Vader followed suit. Everything was going as 'planned'.
Aphra's POV
Aphra sat on a cot in the medical bay as a medidroid examined her wound. She had lost all feeling in her arm, but her chest still hurt badly from the radiating pain. Couldn't they just give her the painkillers already?
The droid updated her on her condition: "It appears part of your collarbone and brachial plexus are missing. We have to replace them." Aphra pulled a face. How long was she going to stay cooped up in medbay?
"We will proceed to an artificial bone transplant. Your own bone cells should colonize the replacement over time. As for the nerves, self-replacement would take too much time. We will fit you out with prosthetic ones. We will reattach your muscles and then your skin should heal spontaneously if you apply bacta patches on a daily basis. Are you ready to proceed?"
She wasn't thrilled, but it had to be done.
"Yes," she said. "Let's get it over with."
The droid injected her with a sedative and Aphra slowly drifted into oblivion.
Vader's POV
Vader and his men had reached the detention block. Not bothering to remove his cuffs, the stormtroopers unlocked a cell and brutally threw Luke to the floor.
"Leave us," Vader ordered in his usual icy tone. The soldiers closed the door behind them, leaving Luke and Vader alone.
The young man glared at him defiantly, but didn't speak a word. That didn't give him much to work with.
"Have you considered my bid?" Vader asked in an almost businesslike manner.
"Yes," Luke answered plainly.
"And? Please elaborate."
"My answer remains the same." Of course it did.
"May I inquire why you are so steadfast in your desire to become a Jedi? Do you truly believe their code to be relevant?"
The boy looked at him with wide eyes.
"Their code?" Oh Force… he knew nothing of the Jedi, did he?
"Luke, how long have you known Obi-Wan?"
"A day."
Vader thought he had misheard.
"Excuse me?"
"A day. I mean, I've met him once or twice before… but I've really known him a day."
Vader nearly choked at the answer. Really? A day?
"And you trusted him?"
"Yes. Ben was a good man." Vader's mind was boiling. How could his own flesh and blood be so naïve? How was he going to talk some sense into him?
"Not like your troops, or anyone blind enough to serve the Empire" Luke droned on. "You want to know why I left this godforsaken hole of a planet?" At last, something they seemed to agree upon. "It wasn't because Ben asked me to. It was because the Empire killed Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru." Ah, there it was. Revenge. Anger. Hate. Maybe he would get somewhere, after all…
"The Empire should not even exist. I don't understand how you can look at yourself in the mirror." The answer was simple: he didn't. "I will not join you, and that's final."
Vader was growing angry and weary. Perhaps the boy would be more sensible after a good night's thinking. He turned around and walked away, slamming the door behind him.
Aphra's POV
Aphra woke up lying on a bunk in the medical bay, wearing a patient gown and feeling a bit dizzy. Her shoulder was sore and wrapped in a bandage, but at least her arm appeared to be functional again.
One of the nurse-droids hurried her way and asked her how she was feeling.
"Alright, I guess."
"Good," the droid replied, "then we will run a series of routine checks and show you to your quarters."
Once the tests were over, the droid handed her a bundle of dull, dark gray clothes. She quickly put them on while the droid gave her some final instructions. "Present yourself tomorrow at 0800 to have your bacta patch replaced. And don't forget to wear this," he said, handing her a sling.
Moments later, an imperial worker led her to her room, which was even duller than her clothes. There were no viewports or ornaments, only a spartan single bed, a plain nightstand and a minuscule fresher. She was bored already. Slipping under the sheets, she closed her eyes in a vain attempt to find sleep.
Vader's POV
Vader sat in his hyperbaric chamber, contemplating the latest events. He had is son back. True, the boy was still adamant he wouldn't discard the Jedi ways, but it was nothing more than a grotesque bravado. How could he adhere to a dogma he knew nothing about? He had no idea what their code was! Turning him would not be easy, though. That child was incredibly mulish. At least they had that in common.
And then there was Aphra. It could not be denied that he cared for her, perhaps more than he should. The comfort he felt in her presence was more than just plain trust. His already strong hate for Karbin had suddenly zoomed tenfold when that sword had pierced her shoulder and she had collapsed in pain. That abomination had got what he deserved. Could he do it again, he would make it slower and more painful.
Abomination? Now, he was one to talk. He too was a monster – in more than one way – and the worst part of it was that he deserved it. He deserved it for all the pain that he had inflicted. He deserved it for all the death that he had spread. He deserved it for failing those he loved.
Buried as he was in his gloomy thoughts, he didn't hear the steps outside of his chamber. However, the loud knock on the sphere's shell was enough for him to snap out of his sullen thinking. A few weeks ago he couldn't have thought of anyone bold enough to do that. But the presence outside the chamber spoke for itself. Since when was she seeking him out? He pressed a button and his helmet and mask descended back onto his head.
The egg-shaped pod split open to reveal Aphra with her arm in a sling and a grey uniform. It was a moment before any of them spoke.
"I wanted to thank you," she said simply.
"For what, Doctor?"
"You know what I'm talking about. You could have let him kill me. In fact, you should have. If someone gets me to talk, the emperor will take your son and we'll both be executed. I am nothing but a thorn in your side."
She was right about this; he was taking a risk. But she was much more than just a thorn in his side. She was a balm on his wounds, a soothing lullaby to his restless soul. Along with the knowledge that his son was alive, she was a lonely spark of life in his bleak world of ghosts. His first words to her echoed in his mind. Yes, he had need of her, even more than before. How he wanted her to know that! And yet he found himself unable to speak, unable to move.
"You know I'm right," she continued. "I'm just grateful you decided to let me live a little bit longer". This self-sacrificing mood did not befit her at all. She made it sound like she was some kind of disposable. How could her own life be so cheap to her? He was the one who deserved death and had been granted life. He was the monster, not her.
"As I said before, when you need to kill me, do it." Her insistence made him angry. She had to stop badgering him with this. At once.
"Enough!" he rumbled. She took a step back, visibly scared by his outburst. He allowed himself to cool down a bit before speaking again. "I have no desire to see you dead".
"Yet you should get rid of me," she maintained.
"I can't!"
There, he'd said it: Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, scourge of the Rebellion, Jedi-slayer (and the list went on), couldn't bear the idea of killing her. How absurd that must sound…