"Prince."
He's waiting for Astral when she returns home from work. And is it her imagination, or is the prince looking more like a Sith Lord each time she sees him? She's only known him to wear costly, stately robes. The man dresses like he could have been a Chancellor of the Old Republic. But with each successive meeting, his rich hues have darkened. Tonight, the prince is in flowing black with the hood pulled down. Like he's one of the acolytes Lord Sidious likes to have around.
As Astral shuts down the speeder, he tosses back his hood. It's a casually elegant gesture that he's clearly done many times. If this man is a Sith Lord, Astral thinks, he's surely the most suave one ever.
"Good evening." He smiles as he approaches. His misshapen face makes the expression lopsided, and that is strangely endearing. His deformities do not frighten Astral so much as arouse her pity. They are an odd mix with his debonair demeanor.
He waves a hand and her speeder door deploys. She's flying open cockpit tonight, so he reaches down to collect her work bag with one hand as he offers her assistance with the other. She accepts the gentlemanly gesture and allows him to hand her out of the parked speeder.
Now setting aside her bag, the prince reveals the purpose of his visit. He reaches into a pocket to produce a datafile. "For Darth Vader," he instructs.
Astral accepts the small device and turns it over in her hand. "More pictures?"
"Not this time. It contains the location of one of the Rebel outposts. It's not the main one. But it's something. Tell him it is safe to attack. Luke Skywalker is not there."
"I see," she gulps. This datafile will bring much death, Astral realizes.
The prince continues: "He needs to show more progress than just those few dissidents he rounded up. They weren't true Rebels and Sheev may discover that. Already, there are those who publicly question the tactic."
Astral looks up with concern. "So the holonet reports are true? Those night raids on civilians really did occur?" These days, she's never sure if what's on the holonet is fake news or not.
"The raids occurred," the prince confirms. "Lord Vader manufactured some Rebels for execution for the cameras. Tonight someone leaked footage of the firing squads. Probably Lord Vader. In order to fool Sheev and the public, he must be convincing. It will be all over the holonet tomorrow," her guest predicts. "Death always goes viral."
"Oh." And now, Astral fixates on his choice of word. "M-Manufactured?"
"Yes," the prince nods. "He needed to show results after Sheev threatened to kill you for being a distraction."
"Oooh. So you're telling me that those people who died weren't really traitors?" she squeaks. Astral puts a horrified hand to her mouth. Such injustice makes her queasy.
The prince shrugs off her concern. "They were guilty enough." Watching her closely, he explains, "He did it to protect you."
"How do you even know about that?" she bristles, eyes narrowing.
"Reports of the raids were all over the holonet. Everyone knows."
"No. How do you know about the Emperor's threat?" Astral demands more precisely.
The mystery prince is vague. "I have my ways."
"Who are you?" Astral now wonders aloud. "Who are you really?"
He deflects the issue with a charming smile and a soothing tone. "Astral, I'm a friend. That's all you need to know."
She's being placated and dismissed. It grates. Astral opens her mouth to object to this attitude, but he speaks first. "I won't burden you with the knowledge of my identity. You are already in a very dangerous predicament."
Those words sound scary. Astral gulps. Nonetheless, she digs in. "Who are you that you know where the Rebels hide? That you know the name of the Rebel pilot? That's deadly knowledge."
Again, the prince sidesteps the point. "We're on the same side," he assures her. "I want to help the pilot and to help Lord Vader. Like you do."
"Why?" she persists. His motives matter.
Finally, she gets an answer. "Darth Sidious needs to go. He's leading the galaxy and the Force in the
wrong direction. We will fall into a cycle of civil war careening from extremes of Dark and Light in alternate generations until someone balances the Force."
"The Chosen One," Astral whispers aloud.
"Yes." Vanee had told her that Lord Plagueis believed the Jedi prophecy. It's one more piece of the puzzle to confirm the prince's suspected identity. "Help me to help Lord Vader help us all," he now all but pleads. For a moment, the uber confident prince looks a little desperate.
Astral shifts beneath his searching gaze. "I thought you were meeting with him."
"We met."
"And?"
"He doesn't trust me. He has good reason to be skeptical, but he has to get past that. Too much depends on it. Lord Vader has been let down before and he refuses to trust again. Sidious' example has him fearing the worst of everyone."
Once again, Astral fingers the datafile. "That's why you're giving me this. To get him to trust you."
"In part. But I also want to protect you. Lord Vader needs you. He'll fall to pieces if Sidious kills you too."
Astral swallows hard at that statement. "But what about all those Rebels he supposedly found—"
"It won't be enough. Lord Vader needs a military victory, not some intel operation. The people need to see that the threat of armed revolt has actually lessened. For that, they need to watch footage of smoking X-wings and dead Rebel combat troops."
"Oh." She shifts nervously at his blunt language.
The prince presses his case. "Sheev does not make idle threats, Astral. He killed the first Lady Vader. He may well kill you as the next. He won't even need a pretext. You're a private citizen and few will even notice. To prevent that, Lord Vader needs to get on his Master's good side by making him look good. Sheev is very vain. It made him a natural politician back in the day."
"Oh Gods," Astral gasps as she processes his words, "so Lord Vader was right? He didn't kill Padme?"
"Lord Sidious killed Lady Vader. I have no doubt."
"How do you know for sure?" Astral demands, recalling that Lord Vader himself has never understood the circumstances of his wife's death.
"I felt it in the Force," the prince answers. Then, he repeats, "Lord Sidious killed Lady Vader. I have no doubt." The prince starts playing through the scenarios now. "If Sheev is smart, he won't kill you. Instead, he will use you to control his Apprentice. But Sheev is a petty creature. He doesn't always act in his best long-term interest."
"Oh Gods." Dismayed by this very frank talk of her demise, Astral covers her face with her hands. Her heart is pounding in her chest. Suddenly, her fingers are trembling as she relives that awful confrontation with the Emperor on the palace landing pad. She's done her best during the past week to put it out of her mind, but it's hard to ignore a death threat.
"Don't go weak on me now," the prince encourages, flashing that misshapen smile. "I know what a valiant woman you can be. Lord Vader needs you to be valiant again. Go to him, Astral. He needs the information on this datafile. He needs you as well. Remind him again of all he stands to lose by his stubborn doubt."
"You don't know where Luke Skywalker is, do you?" Astral blurts out.
The prince surprises her when he admits, "I do not."
"But you're looking?" she asks hopefully.
"Yes. We have to find him before Sheev learns of his existence."
"We?" she echoes weakly.
"Yes, we. We are strongest together. In time, I hope that Lord Vader will realize that." Her visitor now resumes his dire warnings. "Astral, I don't want to see the Emperor kill you. I want to see you safe and happy with Lord Vader once Sheev is gone and he ascends to be Emperor. You will make an excellent Empress," the prince pronounces.
"E-Empress?" Astral rears back. That angle to this situation had never once occurred to her.
"Yes. But first, you need to live. You do want to live, don't you?"
"Of course!"
"Then bring that datafile to him," the prince instructs. "An attack on the Rebels will buy us more time. We need time."
Looking down at the datafile once more, Astral knows this is taking things a step further than couriering pictures. This is providing information for a battle. There's nothing harmless about this. But taking a deep breath, she decides. "I'll do it."
"Good girl," the prince practically purrs. "Take care, Ms. Sidhu," he bids her before he disappears.
Thoroughly spooked, Astral immediately calls Vanee. Can he get her to Lord Vader?
There is a moment of silence over the comlink before Vanee responds. "This is bad timing," he tells her. "Lord Vader is in the Mid Rim. I can get you on the flagship, but I cannot accompany you. I must be here to assist Milo with a matter for Lord Sidious tomorrow."
"I understand."
"I will send a message ahead so you will be expected, but you will need to handle yourself."
"I can do that."
"Very good."
"But Vanee," Astral requests, "can I skip the visit to the palace? Can we meet someplace else? Last time—"
"Excellent idea." Not surprisingly, Vanee knows all about the run-in with Lord and Lady Sidious. "I will come collect you in a Palace transport and we'll get you on one of the shuttles on a capital ship in orbit."
With that plan agreed, Astral is quickly put aboard a military shuttle headed for the Executor. It's an overnight flight. Astral sleeps most of the way with her hand in the pocket of her cloak firmly clasped around the datafile the prince gave her.
She arrives to the bustling main hangar bay of the Imperial flagship. Astral walks down the shuttle ramp and looks around a moment at all the activity. Where does she go? What does she do? As she stands there uncertain, up walks a thin man in a sharp uniform. He eyes Astral a long moment. Then he introduces himself as Captain Maddux.
"You're the informant. The palace guy said you were coming."
She nods. "I'm Astral Sidhu. I must speak with Lord Vader." It's life or death. Her life or death. And a bunch of Rebels' lives or deaths, too. Astral has no illusions about whether Lord Vader's ends will justify his means. He'll kill for her, she's certain. And, she knows, he'd only be doing his job.
"He's on the bridge." The man gestures now to his younger colleague who walks up to join them. "Sergeant Cloud here will debrief you and you can be on your way."
Astral refuses as politely as possible. "Thank you, but this information is only for Lord Vader."
The new guy exchanges looks with his superior. Then, he speaks plainly. "Look, Lord Vader's in a mood. This whole week he's been grouchy. Way worse than usual. No one is interrupting him with some routine Intel report that is better managed by us."
"But-"
"Lady, we're not getting choked over what you overheard at some ex-Senator's dinner party or wherever else you get your information on Coruscant."
The senior guy nods to ratify this assessment. "Just give us what you know and we'll get you home."
Astral lifts her chin. "I'll tell Lord Vader myself then. He can choke me instead."
"That's not an option. No civilians on the bridge."
"Well, we're at a bit of an impasse then," Astral counters coolly.
"No, we're not," the Sergeant corrects her. "If you're on the Imperial payroll, then you follow orders. That's how it works. So let's hear it, Lady. Tell us what you know."
She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but this information is for Lord Vader only."
The senior man Captain Maddux steps in. "Cloud, look her up," he orders. Turning back to Astral, he demands, "What's your name again? Who manages you? Who's your official report?"
"I'm Astral Sidhu and I report to Darth Vader," she improvises.
"That's highly unusual. He doesn't manage informants directly. He's too busy running the Empire. Now, spell your name."
She does. Astral waits while the Sergeant looks her up on his datapad.
Predictably, she's not on his list. "Nothing, Sir. She's not on the roster of current and former informants."
"I'm unofficial," Astral volunteers.
"Maybe," Captain Maddux muses, "Or you're a Rebel spy trying to get close to our leader."
"That's ridiculous!" she snaps. "Vanee from the palace sent me. Let's get Vanee on the comlink. Please, Sir, it's very important."
"Alright. Do it."
But Vanee doesn't answer. He must be doing whatever task he had today for Lord Sidious. That means there is no one to vouch for Astral. She is now effectively stymied by Lord Vader's gatekeepers.
"Well, Ms. Sidhu, it looks like we're out of options," the Captain decides. "You will wait until Lord Vader frees up and we can ask him what to do with you."
"Fine."
"Take her to detention," the Captain orders to his subordinate.
"What?" she gapes. "Detention?" Is she being arrested?
The Captain gives her a look. "You can cool your heels in a cell, Ms. Sidhu. I don't have time to monitor you and there is no official clearance for you to be on this ship. Take her away, Cloud," the Captain commands. "Then meet me back in the conference room. We've got new reports from the third round of probe droids coming in this morning. There's will be lots to analyze."
"Yes, Sir," the Sergeant salutes and then propels Astral away. Thankfully, he saves her the indignity of handcuffs. She holds her head high as she is presented at the detention block for safekeeping.
And that's how Astral ends up locked in a brightly lit small cell with a very hard bench. It's a long wait. Hours long. To make matters worse, the whole time Astral is forced to listen to some unfortunate prisoner being tortured down the hall. His screams and pleas are extremely unsettling. It all serves to underscore the company she has found herself in. She's a long way from the Alderaan Museum of Modern Art these days.
Finally, the door slides open and the towering figure of Lord Vader sweeps in. He has an entourage, like usual. They too crowd into the small space. Suddenly, Astral is surrounded by men curiously peering down at her seated on the bench.
"What are you doing here?" Darth Vader growls.
Astral stands and grumbles, "Nice to see you too, my Lord." The last time she saw him they had just had sex in his medical pod and he was considerably more pleased. But not today. Today, he is in his full-on Lord Vader mode. It's his usual act for his ever-present flock of subordinates. She tells herself not to feel hurt.
"What are you doing here?" he snaps again impatiently.
What does he think she's here for? "I'm an informant. I'm here to inform." This time it's not just a ruse, it's the truth.
"We're on camera and this is being taped," he reminds her.
"Then perhaps we should go someplace more private. Care to spring me from your brig, my Lord?" she complains. She's a little stressed and it shows.
Her comment must come out a bit cheeky because it provokes nervous laughter from his uniformed posse. Lord Vader now turns to one of those aides and demands, "What is she doing here?" Now, Astral realizes she had misunderstood his question.
"Maddux said she was uncooperative, Sir," the man answers. "She refused to yield her intel to him. Said it was for your eyes and ears only."
"So, he thought a holding cell was the appropriate solution?"
"I believe he was suspicious since she's not in the records."
"She's who I met on Coruscant ten days ago," Vader informs his men. "We detoured for her information. In future, I wish to know immediately when she makes contact or comes aboard."
"Yes, my Lord. I will inform Maddux."
"Come," Lord Vader beckons to Astral. "Carry on, General," he instructs the man at his right. The general salutes to accept command as she and Lord Vader exit the cell together.
"Sorry about that," he says in a low voice as he momentarily breaks character. But he is immediately back to being the public hard ass Darth Vader in the very next breath, griping at a young officer at the detention area command desk to stop goofing off.
Once outside the brig, they exit into the main areas of the star destroyer. This isn't like the last time Astral was on Lord Vader's flagship. It's daytime and the corridors are brimming with uniformed personnel. But all hands immediately defer to Lord Vader. The crowd parts as men and women literally shrink from the oncoming Sith Lord who strides into their midst. Heads rise and fearful eyes lift to track his progress. Then, they slant to Astral following in his wake. She's a civilian on a warship, wearing a dress and not a uniform. She's out of place and it shows. It earns her a lot of curious looks.
"I feel very conspicuous," she huffs, slightly out of breath when she and Lord Vader finally slide into an empty elevator together. He's walking too fast, as usual. The man races through his star destroyer.
"Relax. Everyone is looking at me."
He might be right. "Everyone is terrified of you."
"That's because I'm terrifying."
She shoots him a look. His terrifying nature and hair-trigger temper are what kept his staff from approaching him today and landed her in a cell. "Don't be too proud," Astral tells him sourly. "It's not a compliment."
"It is for a Sith." The shiny black mask turns her direction as they stand next to one another. He sounds faintly bemused. "If I were Sheev, I'd think you were flirting by calling me scary." And is it her imagination, or is Lord Vader the one flirting?
She snorts. "If you were Sheev, I'd be running away from you, not following you. Besides, I don't think I'm his type."
"You're not. You're much too good," he rumbles softly. "I'm glad you're here," he suddenly confesses. "You're a nice surprise. It's been a bad week."
Yes, she can tell. Even with his face covered by the mask, Astral can sense Lord Vader's weariness. His discouragement. But before she can reply, the elevator door slides open and the opportunity for conversation is over. They resume their long march to his quarters. When finally they arrive and the doors slide shut behind them, Astral breathes a sigh of relief. "This ship is huge. I forgot how big it is."
"It's a super star destroyer. It's the biggest ship in the Navy." He is apologetic again. "It's so big and so crowded that I didn't sense you come aboard from the bridge."
It's the biggest ship in the Navy and he lives in all two hundred square feet of it, Astral realizes as she watches Lord Vader wave a hand to open his small medical pod. So little of this man's life is comfortable. All his wealth and power don't seem to make much difference. They certainly haven't brought him happiness. Still, she plays along. She wants to cheer him up. So Astral muses lightly, "I guess it's nice to be the boss."
"I'm not the boss," he sighs as he offers a gloved hand to help her climb into his private space. "The boss gets a Death Star and I get this."
Once inside, Lord Vader snatches off his mask as soon as the oxygen jets flood the small space with breathable air. "Can I kiss you now?" he asks with an impish grin.
She smiles back at his bare face, noting how tired he looks. It's so good to see him. But they have important matters to discuss. "You can kiss me and more once we get our business out of the way."
"Business?" His eyes narrow.
"For you." She produces the latest datafile from the prince.
Lord Vader snatches it up and snarls, "So you are here to inform." He doesn't sound pleased.
"Yes." Was there any doubt?
"Vanee told me you were coming. I figured he was playing matchmaker again. He loves to meddle—"
Is Lord Vader angry? Astral interrupts to explain, "I asked Vanee to get me on your ship. I was afraid to go back to your palace. I don't want to risk it. And Vanee said you weren't anywhere near Coruscant—"
"So you've seen him again? Your mystery prince?" Lord Vader turns the datafile over in his gloved hand. Then, he closes his fist around it and starts to squeeze. Hard.
"No, don't!" Astral objects, fearing he will destroy it. "You'll break it!"
But that's the point, apparently. "I can't accept this. As long as you are an effective courier, he will continue to use you like this."
"My Lord, stop! Stop!" Astral attempts to pry open his viselike grip.
Lord Vader is irritated. He shakes her off and snarls, "I will not be his pawn and neither shall you!"
"Don't destroy it! You need it! We need it!" Astral wails as she renews her efforts.
Exasperated, he stops and begins skewering her with questions. "What's on it?"
"The location of an ancillary Rebel base. Luke's not there so you are safe to attack it."
"When did you get it?"
"Last night. The prince was on the terrace waiting for me this time."
"I'll bet. He probably couldn't wait to renew the negotiations through you."
She nods. "He said you met."
"We met," Lord Vader confirms grimly.
"He said you don't trust him."
"I don't."
"Well, I think this is a peace offering," she decides. "He said destroying this base would get Lord Sidious off your back and protect me."
"It might."
"Then use it!"
"I don't need it."
"We do!" Astral now lays bare her fear, stoked further by the meeting with the prince last night. "He said the Emperor killed Padme and he might kill me too! He said that the Emperor doesn't make idle threats and he always follows through! My Lord, if you don't show progress, I'm a dead woman!" She has nightmares about that outcome.
Lord Vader disagrees, "I won't let it come to that."
"What makes you think you can stop him?" she challenges.
"You don't trust me?" he retorts.
"You know I do! But I have seen him punish you—"
Lord Vader looks very determined now. "Astral, I won't let Sheev hurt you. I won't let him hurt anyone else I care about. I'll die before that happens—"
"I don't want that!" she interrupts. That's not the solution. "What good is it if both of us are dead?"
His face hardens now. "He frightened you. He frightened you and sent you to me with information to use. So you would plead his case for him and so I would have more reason to trust him."
"Yes. I guess so." Astral nods along. "I still don't know how he knew about your Master's threats against me . . ."
"Milo is how he knew. Milo is his spy," Lord Vader reveals.
"Milo?" she nearly chokes. "You mean Lord Sidious' own servant?"
"Yes. He was at the meeting."
"Wow." Astral blinks. "I guess that's how he gets his information." She recalls now that Milo had been there last week on the palace landing platform with the Emperor and his wife. And all those months ago back at the castle, Milo had been the one who was conveniently close to help Vanee out of a jam on his supply run. That's how Astral had met Milo—before Lord Vader threw him out, that is. Just how much does the mystery prince know? Astral wonders.
"Your prince is playing the long game, that's for sure," Darth Vader grumbles. "And he's playing it well."
Astral frowns and suggests, "I think you need to tell me about your meeting, my Lord."
He does. Astral gets an overview of the reveal of Darth Plagueis the Wise and his claim to have created Anakin Skywaker accidentally as the Chosen One. Then Astral hears the pitch for an alliance to find Luke Skywalker, depose Lord Sidious, and balance the Force. She's cautiously convinced. Lord Vader is not. It immediately becomes an argument.
"This is what they do—the Sith figure out what you want but can't have, and they promise it to you. So you need to sign up with them to get it. I know because I fell for it once." Two decades later, Lord Vader is extremely bitter still. Understandably so. "Sheev said that he knew how to keep people from dying. That he knew how to keep people alive. He lied! This guy's lying too!" Lord Vader rages.
"Can you really do that?" Astral asks skeptically. "Can you cheat death?"
"Maybe. Sheev's been trying to learn that trick for years. I tried too. Supposedly, Darth Plagueis knew how."
"And that's why he's still alive today as this prince?" The prince's wounds definitely look severe—the forehead wound looks especially fatal—and yet he still lives. Could the Force be the answer?
"I don't know—maybe," Lord Vader grumbles. "But if he's Plagueis, that's even more reason not to trust him."
Astral isn't following. Because isn't the enemy of your enemy your friend? Especially if that enemy is your kin? "Why?" she challenges.
Grumpy Lord Vader is impatient with her question. "Look, I've fallen for this before. I know what he's doing. I've done it myself to others. Because as a Sith, first you are the prey and then you become the predator, plotting the downfall of another like someone plotted for you. You can't trust these guys! Never trust a Sith!" he hisses.
"I trust you," Astral counters.
"That's different."
"What if the prince is telling the truth?" she asserts. "What if he does want to balance the Force? What if he really is your father?"
Lord Vader doesn't want to hear it. "He's not my father!"
"But—"
"I built a droid once, that didn't make me its father."
"So it's true?" Astral yelps. "He did create you?"
Lord Vader turns away. It's a small space, so he can't get far. "It might be true," he concedes. "I don't know . . . it doesn't matter," he mutters. But clearly, it does. Lord Vader looks haunted by the very thought.
"What if he could help you?" she ventures.
"Help me do what?"
Even though they are alone in his medical pod, Astral whispers the forbidden words, fearful to speak them aloud. "Kill your Master."
Lord Vader shakes his head. "Plagueis lost to Sidious once already. What makes you think he can kill him now?"
"He'd have your help," she points out the obvious. "Think of all the good you could do as Emperor," Astral urges. She firmly believes that Lord Vader is the leader the Empire needs for the future.
Again, he shoots her an annoyed look as he schools her on the ways of the Sith. "Guys like him don't just fade away, Astral. He's not some fairy godmother who is going to solve all my problems and then magically disappear. It's more likely to go like this—we kill Sheev, he kills me, then he takes Luke as his Apprentice. No Master wants a broken-down wreck like me when he can have the newer, improved version."
Astral crosses her arms. "Have you seen him? The prince of all people might understand what it means to be you."
Lord Vader dismisses her. "You're naive."
"Yeah? Well, you sound as paranoid as your Master," she fires back.
The comment angers him further. He waves a gloved hand beneath her nose as he condescends. "You are way out of your league in all of this."
Maybe so, but Astral persists. "If he's Plagueis, maybe he could give you Padme back."
That suggestion earns her a cold, yellow-eyed glare of reproach.
She endures it. "Admit it. You've thought about it," she whispers, her unflinching eyes meeting his steadily. "It could be like you originally wanted. You, your wife, and your children together . . . Well, one of the children."
Lord Vader exhales long and hard. "That dream died decades ago."
"No, it didn't." It persisted for years and they both know it. And while he may have given up hope of reviving his wife, the dream of reuniting his family is a big part of why Lord Vader is so obsessed with Luke Skywalker. No doubt it's also why the prince's paternity claim is so troubling.
"I won't stand in the way," Astral offers softly. More than anything, she wants for Lord Vader to be happy. She will step aside for Padme. Astral knows he loves her still. And as his wife, she has the prior claim to his affections.
Lord Vader sighs again and looks away. "I'm not sure I want that any more. Even if it were possible . . . Padme and I . . . Well, she would hate who I am now."
His resigned tone makes Astral cringe inwardly. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Lord Vader now tells Astral the specifics of his wife's death. "Your prince claims that Sheev drained Padme of the Force to keep me alive when I was injured. Her Force sustained me."
"What does that mean exactly?" Astral understands so little of the Force.
"It means she died so that I would live," Lord Vader answers miserably. His words are glib, but his voice is choked with heavy emotion. Astral sees that the news his Master may have had a hand in his wife's death has added a whole new layer of guilt to the situation. This claim plus the Plagueis paternity claim have greatly unsettled Lord Vader. It puts those two officers' reaction to Astral's arrival in perspective. Their fears of getting choked for irking their touchy boss may have been very valid.
"The Force is the energy of life itself. Drain someone of their Force and you kill them," Lord Vader explains glumly as he stares at his gloved hands.
"I see. Is it true? Did he kill her?" she wonders as she moves to lay a comforting touch on his arm.
"Who knows?" Lord Vader despairs. "Who knows if any of what he claims is true?"
She has no answer for that. She just stands there in silent solidarity with stressed out Lord Vader. She sees now that he has been brooding and fretting and raging internally since the interview with the prince turned his world upside down a week ago.
"So what do we do now?" Astral asks after a long moment.
"I don't know," he admits. The very fearsome, always efficient, and hyper focused Lord Vader is at a loss for what's next. "I'll attack this base, I guess. I can use his information even if I don't join his cause."
Astral has an attack of conscience now. "I don't want you executing more people to protect me." She feels guilty about those dissidents who were killed to placate the Emperor.
Lord Vader doesn't deny they were killed on a pretext. Instead, he argues, "This time, these are real Rebels—"
"Do you hear me?" Astral demands. It comes out a bit shrilly, but this is important. "No one dies for me. Take some prisoners, will you? No more firing squads."
"These are real Rebels in armed revolt," he snaps back. "They don't get due process and a trial." Lord Vader shoots her a look. "We're at war. We're way past that."
"But—"
"I will handle Sheev myself," he informs her curtly. "I didn't protect Padme from him. I will protect you. That's why you brought me this datafile, right?"
Uh . . . "Yes," Astral concedes.
Truthfully, Astral is very confused about what she's doing. Because while she's not really a Rebel, she knows that the Empire needs reform. She also knows that the Rebels aren't responsible for Alderaan—the Emperor is. And if he has his way, he'll construct another planet killing space station soon. The Emperor is the real villain here, Astral firmly believes. Sheev Palpatine must be stopped. She wholeheartedly agrees with the Rebels on that goal.
But here she is, facilitating a major strike against the Rebels because she thinks Lord Vader is the best choice to lead the galaxy. Because he will be acceptable to the hardline Imperialists but also willing to triangulate to adopt some of the Rebels ideals. Because the return to pure democracy the Rebels want is the wrong solution. Democracy works for local system and world-level governments, but not for the galaxy as a whole. Everyone learned that lesson in the Clone Wars a generation ago except Mon Mothma and her followers.
So, Astral is throwing the Rebels under the transport bus to save her own skin and to buy some time. She's ostensibly an Imperial informant even though treason is her ultimate aim. She's a rebel, just not a Rebel. Drawn in deep by her relationship with Lord Vader and his maybe-father, the art loving Sith prince. But those men are the last, best hope for a better future. They are the only ones who have any hope of actually defeating the Emperor. Unless, of course, this Luke Skywalker kid turns out to be as special as Lord Vader hopes.
It's a moment of horrifying clarity for Astral to realize that she has evolved into this role. She's never been a very political person. She liked to stay informed, but she was far from an activist, let alone a conspirator. But a chance meeting with Lord Vader together with the destruction of her home planet changed all that. It made the politics she watched on the holonet horrifyingly real. And now that the Emperor himself has threatened her life, this fight could not be more personal. For she is in the crosshairs of the power mad Lord Sidious.
And so, she too has begun making morally suspect decisions and ethical compromises. No one who plays the game of power at these levels has clean hands, she is fast realizing. It makes her more understanding of Lord Vader's views on the Force and the prince's stated goal of bringing balance. Because it seems a very hard thing to combine purity of purpose with always pure actions. Life doesn't necessarily present those options. And yet, you still have to make choices and move forward.
Standing opposite her, Lord Vader suddenly shudders. It gets her attention. "What? What is it? Are you okay?" She's immediately at his side. "Sit down," she urges as she scrutinizes his chest plate for signs of physical distress.
There are none.
"I'm fine," he waves her off. "I'm fine." But she can't help but notice that Lord Vader has his eyes tightly shut. He raises leather gloved fingers to pinch at his temple. It's a gesture that worries her coming from a man with his high pain tolerance.
"You're not fine. What's wrong?" she frets. "Tell me!"
He drops his hand and blinks fast as he regains his composure. "I'm fine. There was a disturbance in the Force, that's all."
"A w-what?"
"Something important has happened."
"Something important?" Astral echoes blankly. "How do you know?"
"The Force tells me." Lord Vader must see that she is befuddled, so he explains, "It's like throwing a stone into a still pond. It creates ripples that radiate out. Those of us who sense the Force, sense the ripples."
"That looked like more than a ripple," she breathes out.
He nods. "The keener your Force sensitivity, the stronger you experience the disturbance."
"Does this happen often?" she asks warily.
His yellow eyes find hers. "The last time I felt a disturbance in the Force was when Alderaan was destroyed."
"O-Ooh," she stammers, now fearing the worst.
"Not just anything makes a disturbance in the Force," Lord Vader mutters. He looks unnerved and that makes her frightened. "I fear something terrible has happened."