Coruscant: Imperial Palace: Two Days Later:

Vader stood inside of the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Palace in silent disgust as he watched the various Politicians and, Imperial Officials over indulge on their alcohol. He noticed various Senators as well as several Moffs. He briefly locked eyes with Organa whom was trying in vain to hide his bruised face as he sat with Mon Mothma at a far away table with Senator Iblis of Corellia.

All known Rebels, Vader thought in disgust.

Despite the fact that he had interrogated the twenty one Rebel prisoners from Dantooine, Vader had found nothing of interest from any of them and, above all he had found no proof that Organa, Mothma and Iblis were the leaders. Proof that he was so desperately seeking, along with the location of the Rebel Base.

At the same time, Vader saw Palpatine approaching him.

Palpatine smiled as he spoke, "I was wondering if I could ask you to remain on Coruscant for the next few weeks my friend," stated Palpatine.

"Remain here Master?" Vader asked with a frown.

Palpatine nodded, "I need someone to watch over the Senate for me. I am going to check on the Death Star and see how things are going there before I go to Byss."

Vader nodded, "Very well Master."

Palpatine then gestured to the table where Organa was sitting, "I could easily see your beautiful wife at that table had she lived. Such a tragedy wasn't it? You killed her in your anger so, you have to live with the guilt that you lost her with your child. Such a pity."

Vader was silent in response, Palpatine often loved to remind him of what he had done to Padme. Little did Palpatine know that his child had in fact survived.

Palpatine smiled at Vader and spoke, "If you wish to leave you may now go it is almost the end of the night anyways."

"Thank you Master," Vader replied with a bow before leaving the room.


Star Destroyer Exactor:

Han Solo looked at Leia with a calm smile, "It looks like it's time to get ready for bed kid."

"I miss my Dad. When will he be back?" Leia asked.

Han shrugged, "Don't know. He said to have you just go to sleep by twenty two hundred."

"That is in twenty minutes," stated Leia with a sigh.

Han nodded, 'I am going to stay here with you while we wait."

"Can we play a game or something while we wait?" asked Leia.

"You get something out and I will play with you," stated Han.

Leia immediately headed towards her room in response.

Han smiled, he had no problem with babysitting Leia, she was a little whiny at some points but, he could tell that she was a special kid. She had been raised well by her Aunt and Uncle and, it appeared to him that Vader was also doing a good job.

He smiled as he watched Leia return with a box, "I will set it up."

"Alright," Han replied with a smile.

Ten minutes later, Han and Leia heard the doors of the chambers hiss open as Vader entered the room.

Vader casually glanced at Solo before looking at Leia, "Were you good for Lieutenant Solo?"

"Yes Dad," Leia replied.

Vader looked at Han as he smiled, "She listened fairly well Sir."

Vader nodded as Han spoke, "When are we leaving Coruscant?"

"Not for a few weeks. The Emperor is going to leave the Capitol in my hands for a few weeks. I will be giving you and the rest of the crew a few weeks of leave. I will just keep Leia with me."

"That sounds good my Lord," Han replied as he stood up to leave the room.

After Han left, Vader looked at his daughter and spoke, "Once the Emperor leaves, I am going to take you down to the planet with me?"

"Can I see the Senate?" asked Leia eagerly.

Vader smiled, "You are your Mother's daughter."

Vader was silent for a moment before he spoke, "I will take you there when the building is empty. I will also take you to your Mother's apartment. I own the building now. I left her room vacant. Everything is just as she left it the day that you were born."

"Really?" Leia asked in delight.

Vader nodded, "I will take you to both places after the Emperor is gone."

"Ok Dad," Leia replied as she moved forward and hugged her Father tightly while doing her best not to squish the Ysalamiri that was clinging to her chest.

Vader smiled back at his daughter as she headed off towards her bedroom.


The next morning, Vader quietly awoke and showered before dressing. He reached out in the Force and, to his delight he was unable to sense the Emperor's presence. The old Man most likely had left first thing in the morning, Vader thought.

At the same time, Vader sensed Leia approaching, he smiled as he saw her walking into the kitchen in her pajamas.

He noticed her Ysalamiri clinging to her back and spoke, "You can go ahead and put him away, the Emperor is gone."

"Ok Dad," Leia replied with a smile.

Vader then focused back on the eggs that he was cooking as Leia left the room.

A few minutes later, Vader served out a plate of eggs for himself and for Leia as she entered the room.

Leia smiled as her Father spoke, "When I was your age, Every morning my Mom would wake me up and fix me breakfast just like this."

Leia nodded, "What was she like? Do you miss her?"

"I try not to think about it. I never got over losing her. She was the most wonderful Mother that any child could ask for. She would have loved you so much too," Vader stated with a smile.

"You think so?" Leia asked.

Vader nodded in silence as he took a bite of his eggs.

At the same time, Vader heard 3PO walking towards him as he spoke, "Pardon Me Master Vader but, Captain Ozzel called this morning and he informed me that the Emperor left the Planet an hour ago. Your schedule is on a datapad in your office."

Vader nodded, "Very well 3PO, I want you to make sure that Leia does her studies today. I am going to go check on my schedule."

"Where will you take me first?" Leia asked.

"I am going to take you to our apartment today. We will go to the Senate on another day when it is empty."

Leia nodded in silence.


Coruscant:

Vader led Leia down the boarding ramp of his Shuttle just as they arrived at his Palace.

Leia looked around the small hanger in shock, "You live here?"

Vader nodded, "You will be staying here for the next few weeks. Once the Emperor returns, I am taking you back to the Exactor. Then, we will be leaving the system."

"Ok," Leia replied.

Leia then, followed her father towards a nearby Airspeeder that was painted pure black as Vader spoke, "We will take this speeder to Your Mother's apartment. Are you ready to go?"

Leia eagerly nodded as she climbed into the passenger's seat. Vader smiled as he climbed into the speeder.

Moments later, Vader drove the speeder out of his Palace hanger and, into the traffic lanes of Coruscant as he drove his daughter towards 500 Republica.

Leia looked around her at the massive durasteel jungle in shock, she had seen holoimages of Coruscant but, not even the images had prepared her for the towering buildings and, bustling traffic lanes.

A few minutes later, Vader landed the speeder on a small landing pad as he motioned for Leia to climb out.

He then spoke, "Follow me."

Leia nodded in silence as she followed her father towards a nearby doorway.

Vader then pressed in the code and, within seconds the door opened.

Vader then, motioned for Leia to follow him as the two of them walked through a large hallway and, towards a nearby Elevator.

Moments later, the Elevator came to a stop and, Vader and Leia quickly stepped onboard it.

"We are going to the floor where your Mother's apartment is. No one else lives on that floor."

"Oh," Leia replied.

"People still live here though?"

"Mainly Senators and, a few High ranking Officials that are on my good side. Since I own the building, I don't have to rent it out to just the highest bidder because, I don't exactly need the money."

Leia nodded in silence.


A few minutes later, the Elevator came to an abrupt stop as Vader motioned for his daughter to follow him off of the elevator.

Leia then followed her father through the hallway until, he stopped in front of a closed doorway.

Leia at the same time spoke, "How many rooms are there on this level?"

"Just a few more, Your Mother really had one of the finest apartments. The Apartments on this level back in the day were very expensive."

Leia nodded as her father pounded in the security code.

Within seconds, the doors hissed open as Vader motioned for her to follow him.

Leia looked at the spacious living room in silence as she spoke, "It's beautiful."

Vader nodded as he noticed his daughter's eyes focusing on the waterfall.

"That reminds me of some of the waterfalls up by the lake house."

"That is why she chose to have it here, it reminded her of home."

Leia nodded, "You keep it going?"

"I have a few maintenance droids that make sure that it is always running. Everything is running just as it did the day that she left for the last time."

Leia nodded as Vader spoke, "You can go ahead and check out our bedroom if you want."

Leia nodded as she walked towards the bedroom where she noticed a perfectly made bed.

She then walked into the spacious refresher that was connected to the bedroom and spoke, "The bath here is larger than the one in Aunt Sola's room."

Vader nodded in silence as Leia glanced at the countertop.

Leia then, headed back into the bedroom and towards the vanity desk.

She then, opened one of the drawers where she noticed several hair combs as well as her Mother's makeup bag.

"She had a lot of stuff here, I think she had more than Aunt Sola and Pooja both do."

"She was a Politician, she had to have hundreds of hair pens and other things so that she could style herself in a hundred different ways. Take a look at the large number of dresses in her closet."

Leia nodded as she looked back at the vanity desk.

Vader frowned, perhaps the child should be allowed to take something from the desk. Perhaps, just a few things that she could have to remind her of her Mother.

As Leia walked out of the closet in shock, Vader spoke, "You can have Your Mother's makeup bag and the stuff on her Vanity desk if you want."

Leia's face immediately lightened up as Vader continued, "How about we leave everything on the desk and, I will have Lieutenant Solo move the desk into your room onboard the Exactor?"

Leia smiled, "You will do that?"

"I think that you deserve to have a few things that your Mother owned. I will have Solo do the deeds."

"Thank you Dad," Leia stated as she moved towards her Father and, hugged him tightly.

Vader nodded as tears ran down his face. How he missed his Angel but, he knew that he needed to man up and raise his daughter instead of spending his time wallowing in his grief.

Leia looked at her Father with a frown, "Are you crying because of Mom?"

Vader nodded, "How about we go and get some ice cream or something. There is a little Ice Cream shop down the street that your Mother used to go to. We can go there and, get some Shurra ice cream."

Leia nodded as Vader pulled out his comlink. "Lieutenant Solo."

"Yes my Lord?"

"Bring a speeder with a cargo bed over to Five Hundred Republica, I am going to leave two guards at the door of the room that you're supposed to go into. I want you to collect the vanity desk from the Master Bedroom and take it back to the Exactor. It is going to be my daughter's."

"At once my Lord, I will have Lieutenant Piett help since we haven't taken our leave yet."

Vader cringed, He had forgotten about his promise of three weeks of leave.

He immediately spoke, "I will compensate you both for the time that you spend hauling the desk. Make sure that Piett is sworn to secrecy."

"Understood my Lord, I won't even tell him about Leia."

"Thank you, I think that he can be trusted but, the less that he knows the better for him," Vader stated.

"Very well, I am going to get that done right now, Solo out!"

Vader was silent in response as he put his comlink away.


Tattooine:

Luke smiled at his Mother as she entered his bedroom, "Are you ready to go to town Son?"

"Yes Mom, do you think that I will get to go flying with Biggs afterwords?"

Padme smiled, "I don't see anything wrong with it. Just be careful, I don't want anything to happen to you. You're all that I have."

Luke obediently nodded in silent response.

Padme at the same time noticed Luke slipping his lightsaber inside of his boot, "Luke you better not show that to Biggs. No one can know that you're a Jedi."

"I know Mom, Ahsoka reminds me all of the time," Luke replied in frustration.

Padme sighed, "Every month, I hear that another has been found and killed."

"And it is never Kenobi. Why can't he be found?" asked Luke.

"He is very smart Luke."

"Do you think that the Force was ever returned to him?" Luke asked.

Padme shook her head, "Only the Force knows Son. Let's not talk about him, he is not my friend."

"And you both used to be close right?"

"He was like an older brother. I used to see him as the Brother that I never had," Padme replied.

"All you had was your Sister right?" Luke asked.

Padme nodded, "I miss her so much. She must feel so horrible from losing me. She really cared for me so much. I bet you that she places flowers on my grave every month if my Mother doesn't beat her to it."

Luke smiled, "Someday, I will kill Vader and the Emperor. Then, we will be able to go live on Naboo," Luke stated as he walked out of the room.

Padme sighed as Luke left, "I don't want you to kill your own Father," Padme stated to the empty doorway.

As Padme left the room, She saw Owen approaching her with a Datapad, "Here is a list of things that I want Luke to pick up at Tosche Power Station."

Padme nodded as she took the Datapad, "I will have him go over the list."

Padme then, headed away from the Homestead and towards her Speeder as she noticed Luke waiting patiently, "Can I please drive Mom?"

Padme smiled, "As long as you drive safely."


A few minutes later, Padme and Luke both left the Lars Homestead together as they drove towards Anchorhead for supplies.

Padme smiled as she watched her Son, He was his Father's Son. He loved to fly, he loved to repair things and, he was very strong in the Force just like his Father.

A half hour later, Padme found herself in the streets of Anchorhead with Luke. She smiled as her Son parked their speeder. Such a good pilot just like his Father, Padme thought in silence.


Padme then ended her thoughts as she eagerly climbed out of the speeder and spoke, "We will take a shortcut through that one alley to get to the market."

Luke nodded as he followed his Mother in silence.

As the two of them walked through the alley, Luke felt the Force whispering a warning to him. Without a word to his mother, he immediately pulled his lightsaber out of his boot.

At the same time, Luke heard two blaster shots followed by a scream.

"Something is happening Mom."

Padme nodded as she pulled a blaster out of her cloak.

At the same time, Luke saw a redheaded woman rushing through the Alley as she held the hand of a redheaded girl of around seven.

At the same time, Luke saw several Stormtroopers entering the alley whom were no doubt in pursuit of the woman and child. Without a second thought, Luke activated his blue lightsaber as he ran forward and, started to slice through the Stormtroopers.

Padme sighed, she had no choice but to join the fight. She immediately fired her blaster and, killed two Stormtroopers as her Son stabbed the last one with his lightsaber.

At the same time, she looked behind her and, noticed that the woman and child were nowhere in sight.

Padme looked at Luke in frustration and spoke, "You should have asked."

"Mom they were going to kill that lady and that girl. I couldn't let it happen."

Padme sighed, He is his Father's Son, daring, fearless and, willing to risk his life to help people that he knows nothing about, she thought in silence.

"Are you sure that you're ready to fight like this Son?" Padme asked.

"Aunt Ahsoka started training me when I was seven Mom, Of course I am ready."

Padme sighed, "Let's get out of this Alley before more Imperials arrive. We will buy our supplies and then, we will leave. No one will suspect a single Mother and her nine year old Son to be responsible for all of this."

Luke smiled at his Mother in response as he followed her out of the Alley.

"Son that was very risky what you just did. You just killed six Stormtroopers."

"You only killed three, I had to help. There was no way that you were going to let them get that lady right?"

Padme frowned, "The Empire will start to search this planet once they find out that a Lightsaber was involved."

Luke smiled, "They won't find me."

"I certainly hope not," Padme replied with a frown.

Luke frowned, "How did you feel after you killed for the first time Mom?"

Padme frowned, "It was in the middle of a huge battle, I didn't have time to think until after the fact."

"Did you feel bad from it?" Luke asked.

Padme nodded, "I never did enjoy it. I don't know how anyone in their right mind could. Back there, we killed nine Imperials but, they are more than that, That is assuming that they aren't clones."

"Maybe they are just Clones," stated Luke hopefully.

"I hope so. After we get our stuff, we will find out weather or not they are Clones most likely as we walk back to our Speeder."

Luke nodded in silence.


Ok that is it for now. I will have more up after the weekend. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

-Fallen Jedi 79