Chapter Eighty-One: Uncovering

There was a brief commotion about who was allowed to get information about and make decisions for Ahsoka. One that would have resulted in the death of the doctor managing the team for her care had Vader not had enough awareness to understand that killing him would put Ahsoka's life more at risk. Not to mention, he truly didn't have the energy to kill anyone. He was exhausted and depleted in the Force. The suit's life supports were offline right now. Ahsoka was teetering on the knife's edge of death. And suddenly, he was now the one in charge of the largest governmental entity in the galaxy. What little energy he had was used to keep himself from spiraling into unrestrained, dark side fueled panic.

Eventually, Obi-wan stepped in and pointed out that Vader was effectively the new emperor, and were they really going to deny their new sovereign leader the information he sought? As it was, there was no information or updates for the doctors to give yet. It didn't take Vader long to figure out that he'd be useless sitting around waiting for any piece of news. In fact, he might just make the medical team nervous. So, he contacted his fleet, now sitting in orbit around Imperial Center in a tense ceasefire with the planet's forces. Once he was through, he directed for one of his back up suits to be brought to him.

While he waited, he began to delegate. Most of the galaxy might hate him, and he had trust issues that he'd likely never get over, but if Ahsoka could trust someone, then Vader supposed so could he.

He couldn't delay sending an official transmission that there was a new galactic power. Rumors had a way of quickly circulating through the Imperial military and causing chaos, especially a rumor of the Emperor's demise. Sabé may have performed many miracles over the years, but she couldn't deliver that news for him. So he directed her to be the one that received all the information and updates on Ahsoka. He didn't even have to direct Rex to guard Ahsoka. Already he had set up a team and rotation to secure the entire floor of the medical center. Offee and Obi-wan went to update the Rebellion and the rest of the Rebellion High Command. After they did that, Obi-wan allocated resources to get started on dismantling the most critical parts of Palpatine's Contingency.

By the time he'd done that, his suit arrived. Though Palpatine was long gone, it would be a while before he was freed of the confines of the suit. The suit was the face of Darth Vader. The suit was what people recognized as the highest authority in the Empire after Palpatine. The suit gave him power and would make the rest of the galaxy submit and be loath to cause trouble during this delicate transitory period. And frankly, it was the mask of Vader that gave people pause and made people whisper. Palpatine had been relatively secluded during his reign, rarely leaving Imperial Center in the last few years. But Vader had always been the monster they could see. The one sent to force planets into compliance when they resisted. As far as the galaxy would be concerned, he was now a monster without a leash. One that was better not to tempt for now. Vader planned to use it to his advantage.

With the suit in place, it relieved some of the pressure on his respiratory system, buying him time to press on before Sabé got his personal medical team there. He went back to the palace, surrounded by a team of his fist. He first checked where they'd left Palpatine's dismembered body in the garden, surrounded by a guard of troopers. Vader would never be too paranoid when it came to his former master. He wouldn't put it past the man to have some contingency to put his body back together using some insane, unnatural dark side power that he had kept Vader from discovering.

Palpatine's body was still there. Good. He'd personally see to burning it later.

With that done, he made his way back up to the throne room, where the bodies of inquisitors and adepts that ambushed him earlier lay dead. Vader made a mental note to assign someone with the task to find the rest of the red guard that might be on missions across the galaxy. Given their fierce loyalty to Sidious, he didn't trust that he'd be able to get them to transfer their allegiance to him. Ahsoka wasn't going to like it. But the truth was that some people were just going to have to be killed or else they'd become enemies for them later.

Vader had no desire to use his former master's throne, but to fit into the frame of the camera in the room, he was forced to. His broadcast was nowhere near as eloquent as Palpatine could make himself to be. Or even how Ahsoka had learned to be when she was forced to. But he got the general point across. Palpatine was a traitor to the Empire (true from a point of view), refused to leave office and transfer the power of his rulership (also true from a point of view), was forcibly removed from office, and Vader was assuming the role of Emperor.

He had enough political savvy to leave out the details of how they forcibly removed him. For all Sidious' evil, he had finely crafted a persona of a physically helpless old man to fool the Empire into thinking he was mostly harmless. They'd figure out what truths to release to the public later. For now, it was enough information to stay any resistance until he could solidify his hold on the Empire.

And then, he announced his first act as Emperor. A temporary ceasefire with the Rebellion. Not the best way to handle that. But there was no way the Rebellion could mess up when he'd said it on a galactic broadcast, even with their leader temporarily out of commission.

Starting to feel the aches and soreness from a long day of conflicts, Vader figured the Empire would hold itself together long enough to tend to his own health. Sure enough, when he returned to the medical center, Sabé informed him that his personal medical team would be planetside in a day or so. However, there was a tightness to her lips and furrow to her brow.

"What did they say? What happened?" Vader demanded.

"Nothing bad. Once they figured out what was wrong, it was easy to stabilize her. She'll be fine. They want to let her get a little more stable, put her in a bacta tank for a day, and she'll be good as new," Sabé informed him.

"That's good news," Vader said, still not understanding what had Sabé so unsettled.

"It's the reason she was hemorrhaging that has me concerned," she admitted. Sabé looked around. There were only guards milling about, but they could never have enough privacy.

Sabé nodded for him to follow her down the halls of the medical floor they'd taken over. They ended up at another private room wherein Diya was sitting up with her arms crossed and an irritated look on her face.

"What?"

Sabé barely waited for the door to close before she explained. "The hemorrhaging wasn't from an injury in a fight. It was from childbirth."

Vader frowned and crossed his arms. "Right now is an incredibly ill-advised time for you to have found a sense of humor, Sabé."

"This isn't a joke," Sabé insisted with her usual candor. "She gave birth. And then ran headfirst into battle only hours afterward."

Vader looked at Sabé stunned, for lack of any other description. At this point, Sabé had built up enough value that he might not even threaten her with physical violence if she took it all back as a joke.

She didn't.

His first thought was that just when he thought Ahsoka couldn't outdo her own recklessness, especially after that stunt with Jabba, she proved him wrong. The next thought was that it wasn't even possible she'd been pregnant at all, to begin with. He'd admit that sometimes they could be a little reckless, even though age had tempered the recklessness of their youth. But both of them were at least responsible enough to know a child in the middle of a war that they were personally propagating was a bad idea. Having the twins during all this was chaotic enough. Adding a third child, a baby at that, was not just impractical. It was dangerous. The third thought was the realization that he had a third child. A third child that Ahsoka had given birth to and was nowhere in the vicinity. A third child he didn't even know she was pregnant with.

It dawned on him that this was the thing she said she was going to tell him when she got the chance.

And then his stunned shock gave way to fury as he turned to Diya.

"You all let her come here, knowing she was pregnant."

"Hold the kriff on before you start throwing blame around," the girl snapped. "First, we didn't know she was pregnant. No one did. Second, even if we did, when has anyone ever been able to stop Ahsoka from doing anything that she puts her mind to? You have a hard time doing it."

He would concede the latter point.

"How the hell do you not notice your commanding officer is pregnant?"

Because even those closest to Padmé had known. They hadn't said anything, but they'd noticed.

"How were we supposed to know? Sure we noticed she changed her wardrobe, but she's the leader and commanding officer of a Rebellion. We thought she was just making the conscious effort to look the part. Not to mention, how was anyone supposed to know you two were currently a thing instead of exes?" Diya bit.

"It's still a grave oversight for people who claim to be so dedicated to her."

If she weren't missing part of a leg, Vader was sure Diya would have stood to her feet.

"This is no one's fault but yours. The reason she didn't tell anyone was because of you. She knows people hate you. Everyone hates you. And they might forgive her for children conceived when you were they're kriffing hero but not one after you turned on the galaxy. You were her friend, and you betrayed her. She should hate you. But she doesn't. And she risked her life to save your ass after having your kit. This is no one's fault but your own!"

If Vader were a younger man with a worse temper and less restraint who didn't want to face his faults and thought he could take on the galaxy alone, he might have given into the urge to choke Diya. But he wasn't that person anymore. He knew the necessity and benefits of restraint. And while he could do all the planning and orchestrating, and deal the final blow, he couldn't take on the galaxy alone. Mouthy as she was, Diya had proven her loyalty and her worth. Even Palpatine had humored some level of disrespect from those loyal to him and the Empire.

Still.

"I see you continue to speak of things you know nothing about," Vader said in a calm, quiet tone. "Your loyalty and achievement deserve commendation and have exemplified your worth to this Empire. But I warn you. Do not continue to test my patience."

If his tone didn't convey the warning, the flare of his dark Force signature did. And though Diya's eyes remained defiant, the fight went out of her, and she averted her gaze.

"There's plenty of blame to go around for everyone in this whole mess. But we can discuss that later," Sabé interjected. "Ahsoka gave birth, and there's no baby."

Kriff.

"Call the twins. They have Ahsoka's comm," Diya said.

Vader didn't ask how Diya knew that. Just connected to Ahsoka's comm frequency. It wasn't one of the twins who answered, but the Alderaan princess.

"Winter, where are you and the twins?"

"Uncle V?" the girl said in surprise.

"Uncle V?" he heard both Sabé and Diya say.

Diya outright laughed, and even Sabé couldn't stop the snort that escaped her. Vader ignored them both.

"Where are you?" Vader repeated.

"Um… A docking bay on Imperial Center."

"You're on Imperial Center?" Vader asked.

"Yes. We could hear the fighting high up at the palace," Winter said.

"Do you know exactly where you are, princess?" Vader asked.

"Docking bay 0708."

"Hold tight," Vader replied, disconnecting the comm.

Vader directed his personal trooper escort to get a transport to head to docking bay 0708 and stopped for no one afterward.

His troopers dutifully poured out ahead of him and set up a perimeter around the docking bay while five, including his commander, followed him inside. He gave no acknowledgment to the receptionist or the manager as he walked through the docking bay until he found Ahsoka's ship, the Resolve. He directed his trooper escort to remain outside the ship while he went inside. No sooner than he walked off the ramp did Vader have to raise his hand and use the Force to absorb a blaster bolt.

"One of these days, you're going to accidently shoot me with that, Leia," Vader said.

"Daddy," Leia breathed, running forward and wrapping herself around his legs, blaster still in her hands. "And Mama said shoot anyone that comes through and that you or her would just deflect the bolt."

That sounded like an instruction Ahsoka would give.

Winter came from the back of the ship, and then her furrowed face loosened upon seeing him.

"Uncle V."

"You may call me Lord Vader, princess."

"I'm aware," she said cheekily.

Leia giggled at the response.

"Where's your brother?"

"He's in the back with…" Winter trailed off and exchanged a look with Leia.

"You might wanna take the mask off, Daddy. It might wake her up."

Her?

Vader removed the helmet and mask before following Leia and Winter to one of the bunks. Luke was sitting against the wall, tinkering with some piece of small machinery. He looked up as soon as Vader was standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Dad," he said quietly but didn't jump up to greet him like Leia had.

The reason why was lying next to him, sloppily swaddled in a warm blanket and sleeping peacefully.

If Vader hadn't been sure he could believe Sabé before, if he had any doubt that the medics made a mistake in their diagnoses, it was erased as he laid eyes on the newborn lying on the bed. And for the first time, now that he knew said baby was safe and taken care of by her older siblings, Vader had to wonder why Ahsoka didn't tell him. Sure, she'd given back the comm they'd used to communicate over the years, but Diya was always in contact with Sabé. Ahsoka could have gotten in touch with him. She could have told him.

You know why, a traitorous voice whispered in the back of his head.

He shook his head of the thought and silently approached the bed. He had no experience with holding newborns, having not met Luke and Leia until they were toddlers themselves. However, he managed to scoop the baby up into his hands, instinctively supporting her head. She didn't like being disturbed, and this came across clear as her body began to squirm. Then she let out a whine and the vague sense of disgruntlement in the Force. Disgruntlement that the little one in his hands was unconsciously pushing toward him.

Already she was powerful, the light of her brand new Force signature already so bright but still so fragile. And then he saw a flash of something that Vader would barely call a vision. Just an image. Of this newborn girl all grown up, looking like her mother, with blue streaks in her white hair, in perfect harmony with the Force. Neither blinded by the brightness of light nor left in fear or ignorant of the dark, using her inheritance to help shape the galaxy anew.

She squirmed in his hands again, and Vader gently rocked her, sending a faint impression of calm to her across the Force.

"I apologize, little one. I didn't mean to disturb you."

She settled back down, both physically and in the Force.

"Her name's Mé," Luke offered.

Winter added, "Mé Breha Skywalker."

Based on what little he knew about naming conventions in togruta cultures, Vader would have to ask Ahsoka her reasoning behind that string of names.

"One of you will have to hold her while I fly us to our destination."

"I can fly us there," Luke declared.

"You're not old enough."

"Why not? I got us past the blockade while Mom was having Mé," Luke said.

"Your mother let you run the blockade?" Vader asked sharply. Mé squirmed in his hands again, and he turned to soothe her back to sleep.

"She didn't have a choice," Leia said with a shrug.

And Ahsoka always complained that he was too lenient with the twins.

"Be that as it may, no," Vader said.

"Where is Mama?" Leia asked. "Is she… is she okay?"

Luke's and Leia's concern flowed across the Force. Vader wondered exactly how much they'd been aware of their mother's condition when she left them.

"She's fine. She'll be…" Vader trailed off. He'd almost said unconscious, but that was too harsh for everything the children had been through. "She'll be asleep for a few days. But she's fine."

The air in the ship was suddenly much lighter.

Leia, declaring that she hadn't had a chance to hold Mé, volunteered to hold her while Vader took them to the medical center.

The next few days found Vader finally getting the medical attention that he needed, but only after he ascertained that all the children were unscathed. He also got to work looking for an adequate place for them to temporarily live. He might be the new Emperor, but Ahsoka had done nothing but complain about how the Imperial Palace felt when they were there. He ended up settling on a former extended-stay exclusive high rise apartment "palace." In the past, it was used for all manner of dignitaries until Palpatine all but disbanded the Senate and requisitioned the building for Imperial use.

Settling into the penthouse apartment that spanned the entire top floor didn't take long. Staying there also added the convenience of many conference rooms and meeting areas on the lower floors. By the end of the week, all Imperial business was temporarily moved over to the building. It meant that Vader could manage the affairs of the Empire while also being a short distance from the children who were tended to by one of the maidens while he worked.

It was only supposed to be temporary, but already Luke and Leia had become attached to particular rooms and were discussing how they planned to decorate it. And, apparently, sometime between Breha's death and Bail Organa's disappearance, they'd decided Winter was their sister for she too got a designated room. Hopefully, Ahsoka wouldn't be opposed to them living here permanently because he didn't have the heart to tell Luke and Leia it was only temporary. They'd been uprooted enough times in their lives as it was.

Once the lead doctor on Ahsoka's medical team gave the clear, Ahsoka was moved to their new maybe-not-temporary residence just hours before her sedation would wear off. That also happened to be the day a pediatrician came to give Mé a one-week checkup.

From the beginning, it was clear that Mé disliked being prodded and poked at. Though she didn't immediately whine or cry, something like discomfort came off her in the Force. She certainly hated the cool metal used to check her heartbeat. But she only continued to squirm relatively peacefully, with her blue eyes wide and alert. That stopped Vader from intervening.

Vader did intervene when Mé began to make half-crying noises that would no doubt turn into the full-blown shrill cries she'd introduced the entire floor to a couple of nights ago when it took too long for him to get up and tend to her.

"Okay. She's fine. Perfectly healthy. You can stop poking and prodding at her now," Vader said, swiping the doctor's hands away.

"Lord Vader," she protested.

It was in vain. Vader had already gotten Mé's onesie back on and laid her on his shoulder, whispering comforting words while patting her back to soothe her.

The doctor sighed but knew better than to argue with him when he wasn't wrong. She mentioned that she'd be back in another week to make sure the formula that had been synthesized for Mé's unique hybrid biology was still adequate and dismissed herself. Once she was asleep, Vader went to the master bedroom where Ahsoka lay and would be awake in just a few hours. He placed Mé in the bassinet nearby.

"Your mother's going to want to see you when she wakes up," Vader said after placing a kiss on the girl's forehead.

"Master Vader," Threepio said from the doorway of the room. "Bail Organa is being escorted up to you."

By the time Vader made his out to the public seating area, Bail Organa was already seated and waiting for him with two maidens standing dutifully nearby.

"You may leave us for now," Vader directed to them. They nodded and left to wait in the foyer just outside where the elevator was.

When Bail Organa turned to look at him, his face turned pale as though he'd seen a ghost. Vader supposed it would seem that way being he was technically a dead man.

He'd debated all day whether or not to have this meeting in the suit or some other attire. Vader had chosen other attire. A sleeker outfit based on the design of the life support suit. Infinitely lighter without all the heavy armor and machinery and easier to get on and off despite having more individual pieces. Fit for official meetings and imperial business when he wasn't planning to be in the middle of a violent battlefield.

He figured he would have to get used to showing his face again now that Palpatine was gone. He hadn't gone through the trouble of freeing himself only to continue constantly living in the trappings of the suit Palpatine had designed to isolate him from all but his master.

"Anakin Skywalker," Organa said in a hushed tone.

"That name—"

"No longer has any meaning to him," came Luke's voice jokingly just before he rounded the corner with Leia and Winter. "Who did you want us to come and meet, Dad?"

Vader had actually only requested Winter. But the three children seldom did anything without each other, he'd found out over the last week.

He didn't need to answer. As soon as Winter rounded the corner and saw Organa, she ran across the room, yelling, "Papa!" as she leapt into his arms.

Organa caught her, sinking onto the couch as Winter burst into tears and rambled as much as she could remember to say while pressing kisses to her face and muttering, "I know. I know."

Vader looked at the twins and gestured for all of them to leave and give the pair some time. He was about to suggest they head to find something to do. Maybe going to the hanger or even some training in the Force. Perhaps get them started on lightsaber training if their Force abilities were well-honed enough. However, a warm vibration came across the bond that had been still and silent for the last week. So instead, he ushered Luke and Leia to their rooms, instructing them to stay there until he came to get them.

Then he went back to the bedroom where Ahsoka was visibly stirring in her sleep, letting out a trill noise from the back of her throat that was somewhere between a click and a chirp. A sound that Mé made when she was asleep sometimes or when she was peacefully awake and staring up at him with wide blue eyes. Torgurta purring, the twins had dubbed it.

Vader removed the cape of his attire and threw it across the lounge. Then he sat on the bed next to Ahsoka, waiting for her to fully awaken.


AN: 1) Vader's really kinda of out of his depth here, which I hope came across. He really has no clue what he's doing and really is lowkey panicking because for the first time in ever, he's got no one to answer to except himself. And that can be overwhelming, especially with as big a task as what to do in the aftermath of Palpatine and by the way, for the first time in ever, his children are totally in his custody right now.

2) I was pleasantly surprised with the response to last chapter. I really struggled through writing that. As I do with all battle and fight scenes. So I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I have other thoughts but they'll have to wait. There will be another update sometime in the next 24 hours, so look out for that.

Hope you enjoyed. Review, favorite, and follow. I appreciate the support and insights.