"My lady." Rex said as he entered the room. "Lord Vader is requesting your presence on the bridge." Padme looked up from the datapad that she was reading and made eye contact with Sabe and Typho. No one said anything to each other, but the tension in the room was clear. Rex shifted on his feet slightly, aware of it as well.
"Is my security team allowed to accompany me?" Padme asked, turning to face Rex and setting the datapad down on the desk. The trooper held up his hand, and Padme wished that they were allowed to take off their helmets so that she could see his face.
"That will not be necessary." He stated. "The bridge of the executor is more than secure enough." Padme stood from her seat and walked over towards Rex. She paused, taking a moment to turn back and face Typho and Sabe. They were both now on their feet as well, Typho looking at Rex with barley contained annoyance, and Sabe looking at Padme, with an unreadable expression.
She turned back to face Rex and tried not to think about it.
"Lead the way, Captain." Padme said, gesturing towards the door. Rex nodded and left, but before she followed, she turned to face her team again.
Sabe nodded at her. She turned back and followed Rex down the hall.
As they made their way through the halls of the ship, Padme noted that they must be getting closer to the bridge as she watched the uniform that the men wear change. In the hangar, she was surrounded by troopers wearing either white or black plastoid armor. But now, as the continued to ascend through the levels of the ship, there were less and less men wearing armor, and more and more men wearing cloth uniforms. They matched the decor of the ship- or lack thereof. All of the uniforms were either grey or black, with different markings on the front to show their ranking. Suddenly, Padme felt self-conscious about her appearance, and hunched her shoulders slightly. In her purple dress with a matching golden hair piece, she was sure to stand out amongst all of the imperial officers.
Ahead, was a series of blast doors. Rex stopped walking and turned back to face her. His bright white and blue armor stood out in a significant contrast to the rest of the ship, as did the rest of the men of his legion. She figured that was how they stood out even amongst their own. The blue on their armor made them stand out even more now that Padme had gotten to see even more of the ship and the men aboard it.
The moment in front of the door felt like nothing at all, and it felt like a year had passed in the same amount of time. The blast doors opened, and Padme stepped forward after Rex.
The bridge was huge- and dark. Men moved about muttering to themselves and glancing at both Padme and Rex as they walked forward, towards the view port in the front of the bridge. She looked around and through the view ports that surrounded the bridge, saw the stars beyond, and the asteroid belt that surrounded the edge of the Ryloth system. She continued to walk forward, her head held high, despite the fear that was curling in her stomach.
"Lord Vader." Rex said, stopping in front of him. There, past Rex, she could see Vader. His helmet reflected the light of the stars around them, his hands clasped behind his back. He was tall, and it felt as if the air had dropped several degrees in temperature as she stood there behind him.
"Senator Amidala." Vader said, still facing forward. "I hope that you have found your accommodations to be… acceptable."
Padme swallowed thickly. "They have been more than acceptable, thank you." She replied. She was waiting though- hesitant to hear what Vader had to say. There was no way he had asked her to be escorted up here, only to ask her about her temporary living quarters.
"The emperor wishes for me to inform you that Senator Taa would like for you to attend a banquet this evening, after a formal tour of the capital city." Vader said, turning around to face the two of them. He nodded at Rex, who saluted and the left, leaving Padme alone with him.
Things seemed to slow down around him, his darkness drawing her in. She was afraid- but she had no concrete reason to. All she knew about him were rumors. She had never been alone with him before. She had no idea who was under that helmet. Or if anyone was even under that helmet.
"Of course." Padme said, nodding her head. "Will you be attending as well?" She asked, staring at where she assumed his eyes were. The only thing that started back at her however, was her own reflection.
"I am not a politician." He replied. Padme quickly looked away, her face heating up with embarrassment.
"Lord Vader, Lady Amidala." A voice said from behind her. She quickly turned to see an officer approaching them. She wanted to know who was talking to her, but all of the imperial officers looked the same after a while. They all blended in.
"Admiral." Vader responded. Her eyebrows shot up. An admiral?
"The shuttle is ready to take you and Lady Amidala down to the surface of Ryloth, where Senator Taa awaits your arrival." He continued.
"Very good, admiral." Vader said, brushing past both of them and continuing to walk forward. Padme watched as he passed by and then looked at the admiral.
"Coming, Senator?" Vader asked as he stopped in his tracks for a moment. She huffed, but quickly rushed to catch up to him.
Padme watched as the ramp lowered and she followed as Vader walked down. His boots made a loud thumping noise against the metal of the ramp, his cape flowing out from behind him. Behind them both were his men- in the white and blue armor that Rex had been wearing. Ahead, she could see Senator Taa, and an aid of his to either side.
"Lord Vader," He began while bowing deeply. "We are honored to have you here." He stood back up and smiled at Padme.
"And Senator Amidala- it is so good to see you again."
"Likewise, Senator Taa." She replied, bowing slightly as well. But Vader stood still, the only part of him that moved was his cape in the wind.
"Let me show you to the speeders that will be taking you to the city." He said hastily, gesturing for them to follow him. They did, but Padme couldn't help but take occasional glances at Vader. His mask was as impervious as ever though, and she had no idea what he was thinking.
The climbed into the speeder without a problem and began to fly through the city. However, there were no cheering crowds to welcome them on the streets. People seemed to be staring at them with an expression of horror- or defeat. Either way, they never stayed in one place for too long for her to get a good look. She tried to smile and wave at the residents, but they all turned away from her instead. They passed by buildings that looked like they were on the verge of collapsing, and when Padme tried to ask about it, Senator Taa instead asked her about how her trip over from the core worlds was instead.
And when they passed by another large wall covered in graffiti, she wanted to ask what was behind it, but the question died on her lips when she saw something in particular.
The symbol of the rebellion. The curved wings- mimicking the symbol of the Jedi order that had fallen with the republic. She gasped softly, and turned back to face Senator Taa, whose face was now more grey than blue. She was afraid however, to turn back and face Vader, who was sitting behind them.
"We are about to reach our first stop of the day." Senator Taa said with a nervous chuckle.
"And who will we be seeing first?" Padme asked.
"These are people whose homes have been destroyed due to those terrorists that call themselves rebels." Senator Taa replied, his lekku curling slightly as he spoke.
"Interesting." Vader said from behind them, causing them both to jump in their seats. The speeder rounded a corner and then Padme saw a stage set out in front of them, and a crowd beyond that. Senator Taa got out of the speeder first, and offered a hand to Padme, helping her out as well. From behind, Vader got out in one swift motion, and it was then that she noticed just how long his legs were.
She turned to face the crowd in front of them. The sun was beaming down from above, casting their faces in a shadow. But she could still see the hopelessness in their body language, their desperation as parents held their children tighter once they spotted the stormtroopers behind her.
She wondered who the terrorists really were.
As she approached the stage to speak, she heard muffled whispers in the crowd. They were growing more and more unsettled, but she couldn't tell why.
Then- it all happened at once.
Someone shot up a flare that exploded, showing the symbol of the rebellion. And that was all the agitation that the troopers needed before they began to fire into the crowd, shooting at what seemed like random people to her.
And she screamed. She screamed and sobbed and rushed forward, unable to tear her eyes away. She watched as people scattered and ran, and as Vader's men aimed and took another civilian down. Someone grabbed her arm, dragging her back towards the speeder but she resisted, pulling away. But whoever held her arm was even stronger than she was and she turned to face them.
It was Vader.
"Senator, now is not the time to display your independent streak." He stated firmly as he all but dragged her back into the speeder. An explosion went off around them and Padme flinched as small pieces of debris rained down around them.
"They're civilians!" She exclaimed, gesturing towards where the crowd once stood. Her eyeliner was streaming down her face, but she didn't care, there were innocent people being killed.
"No, they were not." Vader said pointedly. "Several of the men in the crowd were armed, and even more had bombs on them." Padme faltered, and looked back at him. In the reflection of his eyes, she saw her own tear-streaked face.
"What?" She whispered hoarsely, her body shaking slightly. "Then why…" She trailed off and looked away.
"I wasn't aware… that the situation was as serious as it had become." Padme replied, looking back up at Vader.
"There was no need to inform you at the time. You are here as a diplomat." Vader stated, letting her arm go. She sighed and looked back out into the crowd.
"Then, what are you here for, Lord Vader?" She asked him, watching as the troopers descended into the crowd.