Author's note: Hello everyone! Hope you all had a nice week! I certainly did. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy! Xoxox

Hugs to Kolodey. (I'm in a good mood :-) )


Aboard the Executor, Vader's flagship

Vader knelt down on the floor as he gave a full report of the Adarlon mission to his master. Sidious was pleased with his apprentice's work.

"Very good Lord Vader. You grow stronger in the dark side every day and soon we will control every part of this galaxy" He said.

Vader frowned at his master's words. He was pretty sure there was no "we" in his own plans except in reference to his children. Sidious unaware of his apprentice's thoughts and continued. "However, I need you back in the capital. My sources tell me something is underfoot with the rebels. Something about the mysterious Black Rose being in Imperial Center."

Vader raised an eyebrow, if Sidious' sources were right then Black Rose was certainly bold. "We are already en route, my master"

"Good" Sidious said.

Vader waited for his master to end the connection before he stood and stretched. His week was getting more and more interesting. He had always been curious about the mythical Black Rose and her bold escapades. Perhaps he would finally get a chance to see who this stubborn rebel was. Besides, the twins would be happy to see him again so soon.


Padmé stepped into the small dark office and looked around doubtfully. Thilian, the young rebel leader at the Imperial Center had recommended a private investigator when she had vaguely mentioned looking for one. Thilian had assured her this private investigator was trustworthy. The office was located in a small building in a seedy part of the city, and Padmé was relieved Thilian had escorted her to the office.

Padmé glanced around her and rang the small buzzer quickly. A scream sounded nearby and she wished she hadn't asked Thilian to wait outside for her. But she needed her privacy for this. She had ditched Obi-Wan, not wanting to worry the Jedi Master. It hadn't been easy, but with Elina's help she had managed to pull it off.

The door opened and a young man peeped out. "Rose Black?" he asked with a Coruscanti accent.

Padmé nodded while eyeing him carefully. He stepped into the room and held his hand out. "I am Linux" He said smiling with very white teeth, "Thilian told me about you, please come in"

Padmé entered the even darker inner room and frowned when Linux shut the door behind them. Her hand went instinctively to the blaster at her hip and she sat down cautiously. Inside the room was much neater and filled with all sorts of technology including a small hologram projector.

"So what can I do for you?" Linux asked as he sat down.

Padmé stared at the man suddenly doubtful about her decision. He smiled brightly during her appraisal and Padmé frowned. She wasn't sure why, but his smile made her nervous. But Thilian said he could be trusted, therefore Padme tried to relax a little.

A long stretch of silence ensued while Padmé eyed Linux critically. "I want you…I need you to find two children for me" She said finally.

Linux raised an eyebrow. "Who are they?"

"First of all, can you do it?" she asked skeptically.

"Ma'am, did Thilian not tell you about my work for the alliance?" Linux asked.

Padmé shook her head.

"Well" Linux said "do you remember the holocrons of the Imperial prison holding the rebels? Me and my team are the ones who procured them. If your children are in the galaxy, I will find them"

Padmé tensed "Who said they were mine?" she asked defensively.

"I am sorry I just assumed…."

"You assumed wrong" Padmé said shortly not wanting him to know how precious this was to her. "Their names are Luke and Leia Naberrie" she said placing a data chip on the table.

Linux took the chip and placed it in his projector. "Those are their birth certificates and public records. Everything I have on them" she said.

"Are they in the system?" Linux asked noting the Imperial insignia on one of the records.

"Not anymore, they were adopted in Alderaan about two years ago. They now live here in the Imperial Capital with their adoptive father." she paused and took a deep breath. "I've tried to find them, but I am afraid Imperial City is just too vast for me to look through without being located here by the Imperials"

Linux nodded in understanding. "Well, this seems like challenging case, but I am certain we will be able to find some information on them." He paused. "However, have you thought about what you are going to do when you find them? I am sure if they are in a good home they won't want to be ripped away by some crusading stranger" he said.

"As far as I am concerned, what I do with the information you provide is none of your business" Padmé said coldly.

Linux raised his hands quickly. "Of course, and I apologize Milady"

Padmé eyed him for a moment and nodded slowly. "Good, now let's discuss payment"

Padmé left the building a few minutes later. She had paid in cash not wanting anything to be traced back to her. She sighed. She hoped Linux could live up to his promises. Because if he found her children, there would be nothing that would stop her from claiming them.


Vader flew his speeder madly through the skies of Imperial Center. The Executor had just arrived from Adarlon minutes ago and instead of going straight to Sidious' palace,Vader chose to see his children before they left for school. He entered New District and cut in front of several speeders in an effort to catch his children before they left. He ignored the annoyed yells and honks of the speeders and flew to Imperial Complex I. After parking his speeder on his private landing bay, Vader entered his house and used to the force to seek out the twins.

"Leia! Stop hogging the viewscreen!" Luke's annoyed voice could be heard saying upstairs.

Vader smiled thinly and hurried to the upstairs living room. He found Luke stood facing his sister with an adorable scowl on his face. Leia sat by watching a children's news channel.

"Luke, stop bugging me" Leia said without turning her head from the screen "I didn't say anything last night when you were yelling at your stupid podrace"

"It's not stupid, its….Dad!" Luke caught sight of his father at that moment and ran to him, the viewscreen forgotten.

Vader laughed and picked his son up. Luke gave a yell when his father turned him upside down and attempted to tickle him. Vader placed him down as Leia approached him.

"Daddy, you're back so soon. We thought you were gonna be gone for weeks like last time" she said as Vader knelt to receive her hug.

"I know, but I'll be here for a while" Vader said, knowing even if Black Rose wasn't on Imperial Center his master would want to him to scour the planet thoroughly. Sidious was famous for his exaggerated paranoia.

"Now we can work on the StarX3 droid!" Luke yelled in excitement. "Since you were gonna let us stay up and eat ice cream, can we skip school instead?"

Vader smiled at him and shook his head. "Very clever Luke, but no. I have work to do and school cannot be missed" He said standing up. "I just came to see you two before you had to leave" He glanced at his chrono, "Speaking of which, you better get going"

The twins protested but picked their backpacks and left the room after extracting promises from their father. Vader followed them out and headed to his speeder. He flew through Imperial City to the Emperor's palace and landed. He then made his way to the small conference room where the Army leaders would be gathered.

Vader entered the palace conference room and stopped short. A murderous look began to spread across his face. Seated at the head of the conference room briefing the Imperial Army chiefs was Prince Xizor. In Vader's chair. He looked up as Vader entered the room.

"Lord Vader, so nice of you to finally join us." He said in a mocking tone.

"What are you doing here Xizor?" Vader asked in irritation.

"The Emperor asked me to brief the chiefs, I believe I will be briefing you as well"

Vader bristled and stalked to the front of the room. "Very well, you can do that from your own seat." he said stiffly. "Move"

"I find this seat quite comfortable thank you Lord Vader." The green lizard man replied.

It took all of Vader's self-control not to whip out his light saber and kill the man right there and then. He knew the Emperor would not approve of that, therefore he had to use restraint. Instead he used the force to tilt the chair forwards and smirked as it deposited the prince face down on the floor. Vader walked over and assumed his seat without a word. He watched as the enraged Xizor picked himself up and took another available seat.

The Army officers in the room remained in shocked silence. Finally one cleared his throat. "You were saying your highness?"

Xizor leaned forward and resumed speaking. "At this point, it is assumed that Black Rose is still in Imperial Capital. She is definitely here with her usual companion Ben. She has been described as short, dark haired, beautiful and soft spoken." He said emphasizing the word 'beautiful'.

Vader rolled his eyes beneath his hood. "Up to now Black Rose has been a myth, what makes you certain she exists Prince Xizor?"

"We have an actual witness who has seen her" the Prince replied indignantly at Vader's patronizing tone.

Vader remained unimpressed. "Let me guess, your witness cannot compromise his cover and therefore chose not to be here?" Vader said.

Xizor shot Vader a smirk "He is right here. Zed? Have you not personally dealt with Black Rose?" Prince Xizor spoke to man who stood in the shadows.

The man stepped forward and Vader's sharp eyes studied him. He was at best plain in appearance, Vader thought. The Dark Lord noted there was nothing significant about his features. He had the kind of face one saw everywhere but seldom recalled.

When Zed spoke, Vader took an immediate disliking to the man. "Yes, I have personally seen Black Rose, she is very much real Milord" he said to Vader.

"Since you've seen her face would you be able to identify her?" Vader asked not inclined to trust the man.

"Not her whole face per say, she lives and breathes her cloak." Vader snorted and Zed hurried to say, "But I do have a hologram if you want more proof?"

Vader shrugged and indicated to the droid on hand to work the holo-projector. The man handed a small chip to the droid. The holo-image that appeared on the screen was grainy and of poor quality. It had been taken while its subject was unaware and only showed a side profile of Black Rose.

Vader noted her small stature and how the cloak was chosen carefully. Black Rose was knowledgeable, she hadn't chosen a loud cloak but opted for a dark brown one. However, the cloak was so well fitted that it had to have been custom made. Vader turned to study the small sliver of her face that showed. Bad lighting had ruined what would have been a revealing image. All the image revealed was the lower half of her face while the top of her face was shrouded in shadows.

The svelte figure in the image seemed very familiar and Vader couldn't put his finger on why. He found himself feeling uncomfortable staring at the image that and looked away. "Very well, you have proved your claim. Now, where is she?" He said.

"I am not completely aware of her location. You see I have limited dealings with the rebels." Zed said.

Vader snorted. "Of course you do, because you're such an upstanding citizen of the Empire"

A flash annoyance flickered in Zed's eyes. "I was commissioned by the Emperor and Prince Xizor to discover information on the Rebels" He said proudly. Vader's silence conveyed his unimpressed air.

Zed felt uncomfortable and hurried to continue. "But the rebels aren't fools, they are very careful with who they allow near them. I have only recently gained their trust and they are going to reveal the base to me soon. My induction into the fold you might say" He said rather smugly.

Vader sighed. "Then we are at a standstill until you can be more helpful than this. I will command my men to outfit you with gear, a tracker device, a proper holo-cam, and some sort of recorder. I want to able to identify these rebels by their pictures."

"Wouldn't the Emperor prefer if we stormed the base immediately upon its discovery?" Prince Xizor asked not about to let Vader belittle his part in this.

"I think that's a good idea, wipe them out before they see it coming" an official agreed.

"You're fools" Vader said not entirely surprised at their stupidity. "Do you think that they only have one base on Imperial center? If its anything my dealings with these scum has taught me is they are very clever. When a large base is present it means that there are several smaller bases located throughout the city that all link to the main base. Destroying it would only set the members on alert and they would simply rebuild."

"Lord Vader is right" Zed said quick align himself with the Dark Lord who was clearly the leader in the room. "This is just a point of gathering. It's used on rare occasions. Most of the members move constantly to avoid having permanent dwelling places. It would be better to wait till they gather for some occasion."

The men in room took in the information silently. Vader stood quite done with this meeting. "Then we are finished here. Ozzel, insure the man is given the necessary equipment before he leaves"

"Sorry Milord. But I work alone" Zed said.

Vader wished he could kill the insolent man. "Well now you don't. Defy me and you will face the consequences" the Dark Lord said before swishing out of the conference room.


Padmé packed her small suitcase to the brim. She hadn't come with much but she had done a lot of shopping during her time on Imperial capital. While part of her was relieved that the trip had gone without a hitch and they would be leaving later that day, a small part of her was sad. Padmé couldn't pin down the reason as to why. But she knew it probably had to do with fact that her children were somewhere in Imperial Center and she didn't know where to find them.

With a sigh she shut the suitcase and after making sure she hadn't left anything, she dragged it out to the kitchen. Obi-Wan sat listening as Owen and Elina bantered about something. A small smile of amusement adorned his face. He looked up as Padmé entered.

"Are you all packed?" he asked.

Padmé nodded. "I am"

"Well, then we better head out to base, so you can say your goodbyes" Obi-Wan said.

Owen looked away from his argument. "You're leaving?"

Obi-Wan stood up. "Yes. Unless you want to come with us?"

Owen shook his head. "Thanks, but I can't. I have to keep up appearances. But greet everyone for me" he said.

Elina hugged Padmé and Obi-Wan. "Its been lovely having you here. Take care of yourselves" she said.

Padmé felt a little teary eyed at her words and returned her hug. "You were a wonderful hostess" she said. Obi-Wan then picked up her suitcase and Padme followed him out the door.

After briefly addressing the base members, Padmé stood talking with Obi-Wan and Thilian. "We obviously can't expand too much." Thilian said informing them of future plans for the rebel base.

"You would be surprised how watchful the Empire is in Imperial Center. What other bases can easily get away with would be a blaring red flag here" Thilian said.

"Well, you are doing an excellent job regardless of your situation" Obi-Wan said. "We hope to see you again"

Padmé nodded. "Yes I have a feeling this base is destined for great things"

Thilian beamed at them. A man approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thilian, it's good see you" he said smiling widely.

Padmé froze as she recognized her private investigator Linux. Obi-Wan looked on with an indifferent air. Thilian smiled at his friend. "Hello Linux, nice to see you here." He turned to Obi-Wan. "This guy is a miracle worker. He is one of the most hardworking members we have. He wasn't here earlier when you arrived, i'm glad you get to meet him" he said.

"It's a pleasure, I'm Ben" Obi-Wan said in a friendly tone.

"So I assumed" he said and then turned to Padmé "and this must be the delightful Black Rose" Linux reached for Padmé's hand and kissed it. He winked at her slightly and Padmé hurriedly drew her hand away.

"A pleasure" Padmé said stiffly.

"Indeed Milady, indeed" Linux said with smile.

Thilian resumed his conversation and shortly took Obi-Wan to the side to show him a new piece of machinery. Linux took the occasion to step forward and talk to Padmé privately.

"I have something" He whispered.

Padmé looked around to make sure no one was nearby. "Well?" she asked.

"I was able to get in contact with a friend who works in the childcare system. He said he will be able to pull up the files dealing with the adoption. He will get back to me soon. Once we have the name of the parent who adopted the twins, it will only be a matter of time before we locate them"

Padmé nodded and tried not to get her hopes up. "And how long will this take?" she asked.

Linux shrugged. "I don't know, he said there has been a recent surge in adoptions in the past few years so it might take a while." He noted Padmé's disappointed face and hurried to cheer her up. "But don't lose heart milady. If those children are out there in the galaxy I will find them. I promise" he said gently.

Padmé gave a small appreciative smile. "Thank you" she glanced toward Obi-Wan and found him watching her with a questioning look. Turning to Linux she said. "I have to go, but thank you for your service"

Linux nodded and allowed Padmé to hurry past him. Padmé stopped beside Obi-Wan quiet and braced herself as he turned to ask her. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"I was just thanking him for his service in the Alliance" Padmé lied.

Obi-Wan looked at her doubtfully but decided not poke further. Padmé bit her lip. She hated lying to her friend, but she knew he would be furious if he learned what she had done. Padmé knew it was risky to put her children's information out there, but it was a risk she was willing to take to find them. Besides, Linux seemed to know what he was doing.