Chapter 36:

Leia grappled with the hyperdrive casing, trying to get the panel open so she could replace the damaged parts. With a sigh, she tossed the hydrospanner aside and frowned at the hyperdrive; it could be just as difficult as Han himself, sometimes. Padmé came and stood in the doorway, watching her. "I'm sure we could find a mechanic who could—"

"No." Leia's tone didn't brook any argument. Somehow, the thought of someone else touching Han's precious Falcon bothered her. She glared at the panel, and attacked it again, determined to have it open.

Padmé sighed, wistfully. "Your father was a mechanic. He was always building things, tinkering with parts. He build a protocol droid when he was ten." She paused. "Do you still have Threepio, Leia?"

Leia turned around, surprised. "He- he built Threepio?"

Padmé smiled a little at the memory. "Yes, he did. He was a little boy on Tatooine, with big dreams. But…"

Leia finally pried the panel open, and started removing the damaged components. "Now we're getting somewhere," she muttered, a stubborn glint in her eye.

Vader sat in his newly claimed throne, staring out at the cityscape, absently. He was indeed lucky to have found his son before it was too late. His mind wandered back to the day when he had captured the Millennium Falcon and its passengers, the man, the boy and his sister, the beast, and… two droids. He paused. Something about an astromech and a protocol droid together… he frowned, and contacted Atrox. Where did those two droids who were with you come from?

Atrox's reply was slightly surprised. Artoo and Threepio? They—

Vader cut him off, sharply. R2-D2 and C-3PO?

Well, yes, but how did you—

Vader brushed the question aside. That was all I required. He broke the link, and turned his thoughts towards Solo. Admiral, have the two droids we captured from the rebels brought here at once. He felt Solo's acknowledgement, and allowed himself a small smile. He hadn't known what happened to his two droids, but a part of him was glad, somehow, that they were still intact. Well, he would see, anyway.

Atrox was sitting in the medbay for several hours while medics treated his new… apprentice, watching them closely. A few minutes after his father broke contact with him, he felt Mara begin to regain consciousness.

Her eyes opened, slowly, and she tried to sit up, slightly surprised to see him there. "How long was I out? You've been sitting there the whole time?"

Atrox stared at Mara for several moments before answering her. "Several hours. I cannot let someone so… important to the Empire remain unguarded."

Mara smirked. "That's what you tell yourself, anyway." She looked more closely at him. "I- I know why Vader did that to me. Are you alright?"

Atrox stood up and walked over to her bedside, a cold expression on his face. "I only care about two people, and I know you know who they are."

His coldness startled her. All trace of the farmboy she first met seemed to have been erased. She looked up at him, and began cautiously, "You… you've changed."

He continued to stare at her emerald eyes. "Can you blame me? Just about everyone I know has betrayed me."

She was unable to tear her eyes away from his, captivated by his burning gaze. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered, surprised that he would make such a concession to her. She was once again reminded, sharply, of the Emperor's words to her. He has feelings for you… strong ones. She felt her face warm, and she looked away, uncertainly. "I would never betray you, my lord."

Atrox continued to stare into her eyes, sensing truth behind her words. "I do not sense any deception from you." He paused for a moment and then continued, "My master wishes to have a word with you before you begin your training, follow me."

Mara attempted to stand, but her legs buckled underneath her, and she leaned up against the bed for support. "F-forgive me, my lord."

Take a moment to recover, my apprentice. Atrox sent to Mara through the Force.

Thank you, my lord. Mara took a deep breath, willing strength back into her legs, still weak from her ordeal. Finally, she got to her feet again, and was able to stand steadily. She looked at Atrox, gratefully, and said, "I- I'm ready now, my lord."

"Very well." Atrox said as he turned to leave to take Mara to the throne room.

She followed him out of the medical wing to the throne room. Once they arrived, she slowed down, slightly, determined to walk as steadily as possible, not wanting to show Vader any sign of weakness.

Once Vader felt the arrival of his son and Mara Jade, he spun his throne around to face them. Atrox slowly walked up the stairs to the throne and knelt before it, then walked next to the throne to stand by his father's side.

Mara hesitated for a moment, debating, then walked carefully up to the foot of the throne and knelt before it. "You… wished to speak to me, Lord Vader?"

"Yes. I can sense your… feelings for my apprentice. The fact that he wishes to take you as his… apprentice is… questionable given his… past."

Mara's eyes narrowed. "I don't understand."

Vader got up off of his throne and stood before Mara. "Oh I think you do. You were here when he found out about his past."

Mara bit back a retort, and glared at the floor as Vader stood over her. "Lord Atrox no doubt has his reasons for wanting to… take me as his apprentice."

Vader chuckled. "Perhaps so. I sensed your… pledge of loyalty to my apprentice. However, make it more… formal, kneel before him and pledge your complete loyalty to him."

Mara rolled her eyes, exasperated. "How many more times are you going to make me swear loyalty? One might think you doubted my sincerity." Nevertheless, she stood up and took a few quick steps over to where Atrox stood. She knelt, and said, loud enough for Vader to hear, "I hereby pledge my complete loyalty to you, Lord Atrox."

Atrox placed his hand on Mara's shoulder, pleased. Vader continued, "Darth Atrox, you may take her as your apprentice. However, your training is still incomplete, your own lessons are more important. Is that clear?"

Atrox looked at Vader and responded, "Yes, master." He gestured for her to rise, and she got to her feet, feeling… cautious, but at the same time curious about what this… apprenticeship would be like.

Vader waved a hand, dismissively. "You may go, Jade. I'm sure you want time to prepare yourself."

Mara gave him a look, and after giving her new master a bow, she turned and left the throne room.

Vader was silent for awhile, thinking. Finally he said, "I have been wondering… how did you acquire those two droids?"

Atrox followed Vader back into the side room where they each took a seat on one of the couches. "The droids? Well back when I was living with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, before that… Jedigot me, my uncle and I went out to pick up a couple droids from the Jawas. My uncle picked Threepio out pretty quickly, and we were going to get a red astromech, but it blew its motivator, so we went with Threepio's recommendation of Artoo instead." He frowned a little at the memory. "Artoo started playing this holo of Leia, and then he ran out on me, and I had to go find him. I ran into… into Kenobi," he spat the name, "and while I was gone, stormtroopers killed Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen." He felt a small pang of guilt, a feeling that had haunted him ever since that day.

Vader picked up on his son's thoughts instantly. "You would like to make those troopers suffer, wouldn't you?"

Atrox's hand clenched into a fist, tightly. "Yes… I would."

"I believe some of that squad is stationed on the Executor, I will have them brought down for their… punishment at once." Vader replied coolly.

Atrox allowed himself a thin smile as he contemplated what would happen to the troopers when he got a hold of them. "Thank you, master."

Vader smiled as he picked up his son's thoughts of vengeance and decided to continue their previous subject. "You asked me how I knew about the droids? I built C-3PO, Artoo… belonged to your mother." He replied simply to his son's earlier question.

Atrox looked up, surprised. "You built Threepio?" he said, allowing a touch of admiration and incredulity in his voice.

Vader looked into his son's eyes and smiled. "Yes, I was only nine or ten when I built him."

Atrox's expression darkened a moment later. "Artoo belonged to- to my mother?"

Vader lowered his head at the memory, "Yes."

Atrox scowled, but let the matter rest and instead asked, "How did they end up in Leia's possession, then, if they were yours?"

Vader's voice turned as cold as ice. "I only know that Kenobi took them when he left me burning in lava. Beyond that… I have no idea."

Atrox nodded, thoughtfully. "Something to ask Leia about when we find her. Or Artoo, I've always known there was more to him than meets the eye."

"Indeed." Vader said as he got up off of the couch and gestured for his son to do the same. "You should prepare to begin training your… apprentice. For the moment, only improve her basic force training. I want to wait before she is introduced into the dark side of the Force." He paused, "Perhaps pay your sister a… visit through your bond with her, my apprentice."

Atrox got to his feet, and nodded. "As you command, master." He gave his father a bow, and left, heading towards his quarters. He was going to have to do some meditation to prepare for his attempt to communicate with his sister. Their link, so far as he determined, had been severely damaged by their separation, and only seemed to work during times of high stress on the part of one or the other of them, and even then usually when one was thinking about the other.

Han took a shuttle up to the Executor, wondering why on earth Lord Vader wanted those two droids that had been captured aboard that Rebel ship. He shrugged. Maybe he thought they had some information about the Rebels that would be useful. His comlink beeped, and he scooped it up with one hand while he steered the shuttle. "Solo."

Vader's voice echoed on the comlink. Han still hadn't quite gotten used to the new sound. "Admiral, bring the Desert Sands unit to the palace. My son wishes to give them a fitting reward for their efforts on behalf of the Empire."

Han frowned. He had a bad feeling about this… reward. "Y-yes sir." The comlink went dead in his hand. He docked the shuttle in the Star Destroyer, and was immediately met by the commanding officer. "I need the droids…" he scanned his datapad. "C-3PO and R2D2." Somehow, the names echoed in his head, somehow, though he was sure he hadn't heard of them before. "Oh, and I need the Desert Sands sandtrooper unit."

The officer frowned. "We only have part of the unit on board at the moment, sir."

Han shrugged. "Then bring whoever you've got. Emperor Vader wants to reward them." He allowed himself a dark smile at the thought of Vader and Atrox rewarding anybody. "You've got one standard hour to have the droids and the troopers here. You wouldn't want to be responsible for keeping Lord Vader waiting, would you?" He gave the officer a smirk.

"N-no, sir. I'll have them sent here immediately." The officer stood even straighter, if possible, and saluted smartly before departing, issuing orders rapidly into his comlink.