A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews! It warms my heart to know that there are those of you that are invested in the story! With that, please enjoy this next chapter!
"Dormé, are you about ready? We're on a short timetable", Vader called through the door. A few seconds later the door slid open revealing Dormé dressed in a utilitarian jumpsuit with a blaster hanging from her hip. Her long hair was tied up into a bun and her lithe hands were encased in fire resistant gloves.
"Is this acceptable, Ani?", she asked with a smirk.
Vader nodded with a look of approval. "One of the better outfits I've seen you in to be honest. Come on, we're due on the flight deck in about ten minutes", he said as he lifted his hood over his head.
As they strode through the ship, men and some women were doing doubletakes at the handmaiden and her attire.
"I told you that you'd be attracting attention to yourself by merely being here", the Dark Lord chuckled.
"Are you certain they're not gawking at you, Ani?", she asked quietly. "You are the only kriffing Sith Lord aboard the ship."
It was a fair point, but no. "The men and women under my command are typically more interested in looking away from me rather than looking at me, Dormé. I'm not one to attract too much attention, at least not behind my back", he said.
"Well, I'll have to borrow a few Imperial uniforms if I ever take anymore jaunts across the galaxy aboard one of your ships", she muttered.
That would be a sight to see. The handmaiden hadn't been comfortable with him dating her friend until after he had saved her life after she'd been shot. Now, she was getting ready to go into a terse situation with him in hopes that they could save Padmé from Obi-Wan's insane plan to lure them into an ambush.
Maybe it would have been a better idea to jump and entire squadron of Star Destroyers into they system, but Vader didn't want to take the chance, not if it meant that Padmé's life would be put at risk. No, their plan to first identify the landing sight and then take further actions from there was the most appropriate, even if it was the damnedest plan that he had come up with.
They strode into the hanger bay where there were several platoons of Stormtroopers and numerous officers milling about, waiting for the word. Vader marched up to Piett with Dormé in tow. The captain snapped to attention and met them halfway.
"We're ready, Milord. All you have to do is give the order and we'll be ready to come to your aid. We've stopped just outside of the system, too far for any of their sensors to detect, so it'll be a micro jump for your shuttle", he said with confidence. "I would be more comfortable if you would take at least a squad of Stormtroopers in your shuttle but understand your reasoning not to."
"Unfortunately, that would be more detrimental than anything", Vader replied. "Where's the emergency transponder?"
"I have two of them, Milord", he said as he produced two devices small enough to fit inside the palm of his hand. "One for you and one for Miss Dormé." He handed them over. "Depress the button twice and that will send the signal for us to jump in, along with your coordinates. Once we jump in, we'll land a company of Stormtroopers with more on standby in case things get ugly. We'll be on the watch for any ships trying to escape and target them with ion cannons in order to capture them incase Senator Amidala is aboard."
Vader was pleased. The captain of his flagship was competent and took the initiative when needed. He would need to keep a close eye on his career as he was most certainly flag officer material.
"Will there be any medical personnel with the Stormtroopers?", Dormé asked. "We're not certain if Senator Amidala will be able to be ambulatory and she might need critical care."
"We'll have a medical team on board of one of the transport shuttles. That should be enough to triage any injuries that she may have sustained during her captivity. The rest will be handled by our doctors in sick bay", Piett replied.
Everything seemed to be going to plan, which made Vader slightly apprehensive. Normally when plans seemed to be going perfectly, something would happen to fuck everything up royally, and now was most certainly not the time for this plan to go sideways. The gods damned love of his life was hanging in the balance and he needed to get to her and kill Obi-Wan if possible. As much as he would prefer to make killing him a priority, that was secondary to rescuing Padmé and nothing else would change that.
"Alright, we need to move", Vader said, ending the conversation. Piett snapped to attention and marched to the lifts to head back to the bridge. Vader scanned the sea of the Stormtroopers and noticed that the trooper that shared a drink with him, Maxwell he believed, was staring at him. Vader gave him a curt nod which was returned. It was good to have someone incredibly loyal on the reaction team in case everything went tits up, and it more than likely would.
Vader placed his hand at the small of Dormé's back, ushering her into the shuttle where they promptly closed the loading ramp and headed to the cockpit. Dormé immediately sat down in the copilots chair and began preflight checking the craft.
"You know your way around a Lambda Class Shuttle?", Vader asked, surprised.
"Not really, but a ship is usually configured in a similar fashion to where I can bullshit my way through piloting one", she replied. "I'm certain you're able to fly just about anything yourself."
"I can", he admitted. "I normally don't prefer to fly anything I don't have at least a few hours of piloting time in, but I can still bullshit my way through it as you put it", he said with a chuckle. This version of Dormé was easy to be friends with. It wasn't often he could talk shop with anyone, much less a woman.
They finished their preflight check and Vader engaged the engine.
"This is shuttle Gamma, requesting permission to disembark", Vader said through the comms.
"Shuttle Gamma, you're cleared to proceed, good hunting", the communications officer replied.
Vader eased the control stick and dove through the cavernous hanger bay doors, flying away form the ship so they could engage their micro jump. "Are the coordinates loaded into the navicomputer?", he asked.
Dormé double checked the readouts. "They are, we're ready to go", she replied, her voice was all business now.
Vader grabbed the hyperdrive controls. "Jumping in three, two, one", the ship propelled into hyperspace and within a wink of an eye it was in orbit over Dantooine. Micro jumps were dangerous, but effective tools when needed.
"Alright, now how in the hell do we locate this fucking Jedi?", Dormé wondered aloud. "I'm not showing anything of note on my scopes."
That was a concern. If the Jedi had a ship ready to go, it should've popped onto their sensors by now, unless it was powered down and underground. "I'm not certain, we may have to broadcast a signal to get his attention. Either way, it may take a bit."
"Padmé probably doesn't have a bit", Dormé huffed as she folded her arms.
"Indeed she probably doesn't", Vader agreed. The entire situation made him seethe with anger. This damned Jedi had placed the woman he loved in direct jeopardy, aggravating the absolute shit out of him. If something happened to her, he was going to lose his gods damned mind and likely go on a never ending crusade to snuff out all of the remaining Jedi, no matter how long it took or how patient his master commanded him to be.
"I'll send out a frequency now. Hopefully we'll receive landing coordinates soon", Dormé mumbled. Vader could tell she was as concerned as he, and knew that he would have a strong ally if things did go south on this mission. He just hoped that she would keep her fucking head down and focus on Padmé. He didn't need to be worried about both women while he tried to kill Obi-Wan.
…
Pain ran through Padmé's entire body as she struggled to sit up on the pallet that was her bed. The gods damned Jedi had really done some damage to her after his last torture session. It had taken her hours just to be able to move her hands and feet much less any other part of her body. She was in trouble, she knew that there was damage to her mind, she just didn't know to what extent. Obi-Wan had been so enraged at her during his last session that at one point she had been concerned that he would have killed her, but fortunately, or unfortunately depending on a point of view, he survived.
She racked her brain, trying to remember all that she could about her lover and was surprised that most if not all of the memories were intact. From them sitting on the damned pipe watching the sunsets, to them making passionate love after murdering Rush, it was mostly there. Some memories had been made a little fuzzy, but that was to be expected. She prayed that once she was near him again that she would still be bonded to him as she craved to feel his mind again. Anytime away from him was hell in her opinion, and this most certainly had been hell. She looked around slowly, trying not to overdue it while she was looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. Loose pieces of stone, maybe a sharp rock, anything that she could use to try and kill Obi-Wan with if he came into the room again, but nothing stood out to her. The stones were flat and looked ancient, but not decrepit. There were markings on the wall that reminded her of Jedi symbols and she wondered if this had been some outpost for the Jedi thousands of years before. If so, it was in remarkable condition since it hadn't been used for millennia.
At first, she tried to stand, but that was a bad idea. Her legs immediately gave out and she crashed down to the floor, barely able to brace her impact with her arms. Everything felt so weak. She would literally kill for some food and water right now to give her a boost to of strength, but there was not a chance in hell that her capture would bring her anything, especially not since she damned him and told him that she would never have wanted to be with him. Was that all this had been about? Some sick and twisted fantasy that Obi-Wan had about being with her? It couldn't be, the Jedi Code prevented anyone in their order from forming attachments. No, this was likely a component of some sort of savior complex that the wretched man had over her. He wanted to be the one to rescue her from Vader's clutches, no matter how dangerous it was for him or Padmé's soul. Fucking evil bastard.
Then there was the thought of the ambush that Vader and her handmaiden would most certainly encounter once they arrived. She hadn't heard any other soldiers talking and for all she knew, Obi-Wan was the only Jedi present, or he would have likely enlisted another to help him rid Vader's presence from her mind. This meant that if there were soldiers they were probably all in position ready to ambush her lover once he figured out where she was. From the stories he had told about his prowess in combat, she knew that he would fight valiantly in order to repel the aggressors, but even he wasn't invincible and could succumb to grievous injuries like anyone else. Dammit, this wasn't fair, none of this was fair. They should be at Vader's estate right now, convincing her parents that she hadn't lost her mind. Vader should be shopping for gods damned wedding rings to propose to her so she could announce to the entire fucking galaxy that she was to be Lady Vader, the damned woman that wasn't to be trifled with. Instead, she was here and she despised it.
Suddenly, the stone door opened and she threw back against the wall in fear. Going through another one of Obi-Wan's torture sessions was the last thing that she wanted and she wasn't certain how much more of the painful mental agony she could take.
"I see you're awake. I'm glad", Obi-Wan said as he walked to squat down in front of her. "I brought you some water and a ration bar, you need to keep your strength up. If I'm not mistaken, the festivities are about to begin."
"Festivities", Padmé huffed. "You mean when Vader eviscerates your men with the pathetic ambush that you believe will work against him. I know you think you've covered your bases, Obi-Wan, but you really don't have any idea what kind of warrior that Vader is. He's done things that would make a Jedi Master pale in comparison. You don't happen to have one of them around, do you?"
Obi-Wan smirked. "I don't need one, but they'll be paying a visit to your lover's master very soon, just when the time is right in fact. Then the Empire that you love will be in tatters and you'll wonder why you sided with such an evil man, Padmé."
That was surprising, he was finally calling Vader her lover. "Again, he's not the monster you make him out to be, Obi-Wan. He's a far more righteous and moral man than you give him credit for. He's… He's a gods damned savior, not a villain. If you and the damned Rebellion would just come to terms with who he really is, then you'll understand that far fewer lives will need to be paid for in blood in order to make this damned galaxy work. Yes, his master is evil, he's even hated by Vader, but don't lump Vader into the same category", Padmé pleaded. "There's still time to abort this nonsensical plot of revenge that you have and free me so you and your men can escape. I will tell him of what you did he can be merciful. He does know how to be merciful, Obi-Wan. I promise you this."
Obi-Wan just shook his head and stared off in the distance before returning his attention to you. "From what I've seen in your mind, you actually believe this. I was incorrect to assume that he had a spell over you. You're just an evil woman, one that has lost hope for the good in the galaxy. Instead, you've sided with a monster so vile that he won't even show his face, except to you. He does seem to love showing his face to you, and you seem to love showing yourself to him."
Jealousy was toxic and Obi-Wan was full of it. It was plain as day and it stunk worse than any shit that Padmé had ever had the displeasure of smelling.
"You're right, I do enjoy showing myself to him. Your may also be right about me being an evil woman, but I'm far less evil than you. I don't torture peoples' minds just because I don't like who they're with, or what they may have done that could be considered as evil. I judge them based off of what is in their heart, and you, Obi-Wan are nothing but toxic in your heart. If you weren't, the entire Jedi fucking counsel would be here supporting your efforts to heal me or to kill Vader, but it's just you and a handful of Rebel soldiers, aching to take down the Sith Lord. Do you have any idea how loved he is in the Imperial military? If you do manage to kill him, which I highly doubt, his death will lionize the rest of the military into stomping the rest of you out like you were mere bugs. That's what I know, Obi-Wan", she said as she held her nose up high in the air.
"All this talk is well and good, Padmé, but it isn't productive. Eat and drink so you can get your strength up. When Vader arrives with your handmaiden, we'll see just how strong he really is", he said.
With that, Obi-Wan turned and marched out of the cell, leaving Padmé wanting to scream all over again. She picked up the bottle of water and chugged half of it before tearing into the ration bar. Obi-Wan was right, she needed to keep her strength up so she could make it through this alive. Vader would need to concentrate with what he was doing, and if she was barely able to walk or talk, then he would be too concerned over what needed to be done in order to emerge victorious from this battle.
Dammit to hell.
…
On their fifth orbit of the planet, Vader and Dormé finally picked up a transmission from the surface with coordinates to land. Vader called up his command map and studied the terrain.
"it looks like they're at an abandoned Jedi academy that's at least several thousands of years old", he mumbled.
"I thought the Jedi always trained on Coruscant", Dormé replied as she read the coordinates.
"They did in most recent history. Thousands of years ago, certain individuals were brought to the auxiliary temples to learn the ways of the Force with masters that had been handpicked by the Jedi Council. They went through rigors trials of combat by various beasts that no longer occupy the planet as a feat of strength, much like how my master required that I find the most vicious beasts in all of the galaxy. It isn't an easy way to train, but it's effective. Let's get ready to make our approach", Vader said.
Dormé must've sensed his apprehension and anger as she grabbed his hand, forcing him to look her in her eyes.
"It'll be alright, Ani. We'll get her back", she said.
Vader held her gaze for a few moments. "We will", he agreed, giving her hand a firm squeeze. "Just remember what I said, keep your head down."
"I'll do my best, I promise", the woman reassured him.
With that, they zeroed in on the coordinates provided and mentally prepared themselves for what was to be a harrowing experience.
…
The stone door opened again and Padmé groaned as Obi-Wan stepped through. "What do you want now?", she asked, fed up with whatever this Jedi wanted to talk about.
"It's time", Obi-Wan said grimly. "I'll need you to come with me. You'll be part of the exchange if Vader wins, but you'll bear witness to his death if he loses."
Padmé felt the urge to vomit what little remained in her stomach. "I guess I'll get to watch you die then", she whispered, mainly to herself.
Obi-Wan threw her a pair of binders which she dutifully put on. There was no explanation needed, she knew what was to happen. She was going to be paraded around like a fucking trophy and there was nothing that she could do about it. She was fucked, and so was everyone else. Gods dammit.
After the insane Jedi checked to make the binders were secured, he took her roughly by the arm and began to lead her to the surface.
"You know, petty jealousy should be beneath you Jedi, but here you are, telling me that it should have been you that I should've fallen in love with", she taunted. She couldn't give him the satisfaction of believing that he had one some victory over her.
"I remember you when you were a queen, someone who stood up for what was right. That's the woman I wanted to fall in love with me, not the woman you've become", he all but spat.
"Did watching my memories of Vader taking me really make you that miserable?", Padmé asked with a chuckle. "I bet you had to rub yourself off after watching that, he really is rather good at what he does."
That must've done it. Obi-Wan slammed her against a stone wall. "Shut your fucking mouth, Senator. Do not utter another word, you're testing my patience", he snarled.
"Or you'll do what? Kill me? Rape my mind again?", she asked. "Do your worst, Obi-Wan. Do your absolute worst." Fuck him and his threats. He needs to be rattled so he won't be thinking clearly when Vader comes to kill him. Do your part, Padmé. He needs your help.
"I'll do something far worse, Padmé", Obi-Wan growled. "I'll slit Vader's throat right in front of you."
He yanked on her arm, continuing to march her to the surface. The fucker was more unpredictable than she thought. Vader was a gods damned Sith Lord, but she quickly learned that he was more emotionally stable than she had thought. In fact, he was probably more stable than most people than he had ever met. He was an ass for being so reliable, but he was her ass.
"I'll wait and see who the victor is, and once I see that it's Vader, I'm going to give him a big sloppy kiss", Padmé teased, not giving up on shattering the Jedi.
"And if I win, will you give me a kiss?", Obi-Wan asked.
"You'll get something, but not a kiss", Padmé breathed, throwing every once of seduction into her voice, teasing him beyond everything.
Obi-Wan just laughed and shook his head, obviously not being goaded into anything else, much to Padmé's dismay. Whatever was going to happen, her lover would have to be at his peak to be able to defeat the Jedi and whomever else was there to ambush him.
The marched to the top of a temple with stone steps leading down to a clearing. They watched as a shuttle made it's final approach, landing gracefully enough for Padmé to know that it was Vader who was piloting.
Suddenly, she felt his presence through her mind. Her bond with him was intact! She felt like breaking down and crying in thanks. She had been so terrified that the Jedi had removed it, but it was still there. She sent loving thoughts to Vader and he seemed startled at first, but reciprocated the thoughts. She sent him feelings to warn him that there was a trap and he responded with confidence, knowing that there was in fact a trap ahead of him. This was good news, he had a plan and he was ready for her. Ready to take her away from all of this.
…
"She's alive and mostly well", Vader murmured to Dormé.
"You felt her through your bond?", she asked, encouraged by the news.
"I did. Let's strategize. Once we begin discussing the terms of the fight, I need you to hit the emergency transponder so they'll send in backup. It'll take them at least ten minutes, so we'll need to by whatever time we can.", he replied.
"Understood, Ani", Dormé said with confidence. "This will work."
Vader gave her a curt nod and lowered the ramp so they could disembark the shuttle. They slowly walked towards the stone steps, watching for a sign of the ambush. Whoever was hiding was damned good at it, Vader couldn't see a damned thing. But he did feel them. There were about twenty of them, all angry and ready to lure Vader into the kill zone. Most were lining the steps in the foliage with several others behind the stone pillars. This would be a little more challenging than he originally thought.
"Press the call button now, we're fucked", he whispered to Dormé.
The woman casually reached into her pocket and depressed the button twice, signaling for the Star Destroyer to jump in and send down the Stormtroopers.
Once they reached the bottom of the steps, Vader paused. "What do you want, old man?", he asked with a bit of savagery to his voice. "I know this is an ambush, and I'm not stupid enough to walk into it. You're a liar and a coward, so why don't you call your men off and let's handle this like two Force users should. Single combat, just as we had originally agreed to."
"I've changed the terms of the agreement. I have the one you desire, and I now know that she truly desires you. You both are a menace to the galaxy, and for that, I should kill you both", Obi-Wan said.
Vader growled, ready to jump into the fray to pull Padmé away from Kenobi, but Dormé placed her hand on his arm. "Careful, Ani. This is exactly what he wants from you. Just be careful, dammit."
"Fine, I'll be careful. I'll see what I can do about the damned soldiers waiting to ambush, you put some covering fire down on Kenobi so he'll be forced to let go of Padmé. I want this to be over as quickly as possible", Vader commanded. "On my mark, execute."
With that, Vader focused on the soldiers hiding to the left of the stairs and picked them up, hurling them into the foliage of the right side. He heard screams of pain and surprise. With a snap-hiss, his lightsaber was activated and he began moving his way up the stairs, deflecting shots from the soldiers that had either been unaffected or unwounded by the Sith Lord. Either way, it was child play. Dormé began laying down precise shots near Kenobi who ignited his own lightsaber and shoved Padmé to the ground, out of the way of the blaster fire.
Vader screamed out in pain as a soldier got a lucky shot to his torso. He reached out with the Force and picked him up, crushing his throat before hurling the body at Kenobi who barely dodged it. Maybe this wasn't going to be child play, there was actual danger involved in this daring rescue mission.
"Vader, lookout, there are more!", Padmé screamed as the additional soldiers from behind Obi-Wan came out and began laying down fire at the Sith Lord. Vader skillfully deflected the blaster bolts, trying as hard as he could to control the situation. He reached out and snatched the blasters from their grasps, pulling them to his feet. This was still going to be difficult having them alive where they could obtain additional weapons.
Several bolts blasted to his side and with a flick of his wrist he deflected them all, with relative ease. He picked up a stone statue that must have weighed two tones and hurled it at the soldiers with the Force, killing at least one. This was quickly turning into a blood bath.
Dormé for her part kept firing at Kenobi, keeping him busy deflecting her bolts.
"Come down here and face me you coward!", Vader roared, tired of the silly games they were playing.
Kenobi smiled and leapt at Vader, landing several steps above him, swinging his lightsaber as hard as he could. Vader defected the blow easily and began several defensive slashes to keep the aggressor at bay while he devised a defense strategy.
While he was thinking, several more blaster bolts erupted to his side, forcing him to deflect them while blocking Kenobi's swinging strikes and blows. It wasn't easy, Vader hadn't been tested in combat like this in quite some time.
Suddenly, he felt a tremendous amount of pain as Kenobi landed a lucky blow to his right bicep. Another few inches and he would've lost his arm. Growling in rage, Vader shoved Kenobi back with the Force and switched his lightsaber from his right hand to his left, continuing o press the attack.
"Ani! Be careful!", Padmé screeched.
He couldn't die, not in front of her like this, not to be whisked away by this madman. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dormé firing into the remaining soldiers with accuracy, killing some of them.
"Whose Ani?", Kenobi asked confused.
"The man that's going to kill you for your abduction and harm to Padmé", Vader spat as he leapt up several stairs and began swinging wildly with his left arm while he kept his right tucked in close, blood pouring down onto the steps. He would have to act quickly as he didn't know how much blood he was losing.
By this time, Vader could hear the faint whine of Lambda class shuttles in the distance. Help was on the way, he just had to kill this fucking Jedi and his Stormtroopers would mop up the remaining men.
He heard a screech behind him and turned to look. Dormé had been hit in the shoulder. No, it couldn't be. She was still firing at whoever shot her, so at least she was still ambulatory, but she would need help soon. Gods dammit, this was becoming uncontrollable fast.
His distraction with Dormé was nearly a fatal one. He suddenly felt a slash across his chest and fell back on the steps, letting out a groan before he blacked out.
…
Padmé screeched as she saw Obi-Wan slash Vader's chest open. She bound down the steps and threw herself in between her lover and the Jedi.
"If you want to kill him, you're going to need to kill me first", She spat. "I know you hate him, but you're going to be murdering him in cold blood. He's defenseless, you stay away from him!"
"Move out of the way, Padmé, I'm not going to warn you again!", Obi-Wan shouted.
"No!", Padmé screamed. "I will not move! Kill me if you have to, I'd rather be dead than live in a world without him."
That seemed to shock the Jedi. "You'd give your life for him? Why?"
"Because he's Anakin Skywalker you asshole! The boy you lost! The one that was tortured by the Emperor, twisting him into the man you believe is a monster. You are going to kill him again, and I hate you for it. I hate you!", she screamed until her voice was horse.
Obi-Wan looked at her with confusion in his eyes, that is until blaster bolts started peppering his position. The Stormtroopers had arrived and were doing their best to get Kenobi away from their Lord.
Padmé kept her head down as she grabbed Vader by the back of his tunic and began to drag him down the steps. Dormé rushed up to her and with her good arm began to help pull Vader down. He looked bad, with a deep lightsaber wound across his chest. He was moaning in pain, barely able to breathe let alone move.
"Stay with me dammit", Padmé pleaded. "Stay with me you sweet bastard."
Vader of course didn't say anything, his eyes just rolled to the back of his head.
Stormtroopers rushed to their position, moving the women aside as they hefted the huge frame of their commander up to race him back to one of the shuttles. Two more Stormtroopers picked up both women and ran after the men carrying Vader, eager to get them out of the line of fire.
They were literally thrown into the shuttle and as soon as the loading ramp was closed, the shuttle shot through the sky trying to gain as much altitude as possible. Padmé fought to catch her breath as the medical team triaged Vader's wounds, sounding grim. No, he couldn't die, not like this. It wasn't fair. A million thoughts began to run through her head. If she had told Senator Falken to fuck off as she should have, Kenobi wouldn't have captured her and this wouldn't have happened. This was her fault, all her fault.
Dormé was being treated by a Stormtrooper who was wrapping her shoulder up with a bandage to staunch the bleeding. The two women looked at one another, their emotions ran ragged. The man they both cared for was dying and there wasn't a thing they could do about it.
The shuttle reached the Star Destroyer in record time and as soon as they landed, an additional medical team with more advanced equipment and a doctor raced into the shuttle, loading Vader onto a stretcher, whisking him away.
Padmé and Dormé were both escorted behind them to the medical bay to have their injuries looked at. Padmé didn't care about herself, she just wanted to know if Vader was okay, She had to know.
"Milady", a medical technician said. "I need to do a brain scan, it will only take a few moments, but we need to know if there were any structural changes to your brain from torture that you may have experienced. These were Lord Vader's orders before he departed."
Padmé mutely nodded and laid back in the bed as a device was placed over her head, scanning her to see what damage if any that the madman had inflicted. Fuck him. Fuck Obi-Wan. He had no right to do this.
"The scan shows minor damage to your frontal cortex. It should resolve in time, but it's nothing that requires emergency intervention. You're free to go, Milady", the tech said.
"I'm not going anywhere until I know that Vader is safe", Padmé said as her voice quivered. "I need to know he's safe."
She pushed passed the tech and strode to the surgical suite where they were furiously working on her lover. Their voices were terse and the doctor was issuing orders, trying to save the Dark Lord from death. Dormé joined her, standing by her in silence.
There was nothing they could do but just watch and pray that Vader would pull through.
A/N: I hate to leave this one on a cliffhanger, but hopefully the hero of the story will pull through. If you liked what you've read, please consider dropping a review and following!