Despite his maker's best efforts to completely overwrite his programing, the formerly gold plated protocol droid still managed to retain many of his old mannerisms.
Yes his new and improved chassis was far more resistant to blaster fire than it had even been, and yes he now possessed an impressive array of concealed weaponry that could easily outclass a Super Battle droid, but C3PO still managed to remain the fussy personality that had been present ever since his activation.
However, that didn't mean that his creator hadn't attempted to make some improvements on his mannerisms.
"For the last time young lady, I have no idea when Master Vader will return. Now kindly cease your constant badgering, otherwise I will be forced to use a more quite method to keep you restrained".
As a droid, his patience levels should be theoretically infinite, especially with his memory banks keeping most of his protocol programming, but for some reason, this girl was proving to be beyond his ability to properly deal with.
"Somehow I doubt it you annoying bucket of bolts. While Lord Vader said that you were to keep me restrained, he also ordered you to ensure that I was in a state to ask questions when he returned. And since I don't remember him saying anything about when he would be back, that means you have to put up with my questions until he tells you otherwise".
Shooting a mocking smirk at the now black plated droid, the 7 year old girl was certain that if her jailer was a living breathing person, he would be pulling his hair out in frustration at her less than cooperative attitude. But since he couldn't do that, Aphra continued her needling.
"Speaking of Lord Vader, I have to admit that I wasn't expecting the armored fist of the Empire to be involved in child kidnapping. Would have thought that the most secure room in the palace would have been a super-secret weapons fault. Can't imagine the shock I felt when I discovered that it was some brat who couldn't even be over a year old".
Receiving the electronic equivalent of a huff from her jailer, Aphra had to keep herself from grinning as the droid managed to reveal some information that she was certain had not been on Vader's list of approved discussion topics.
"Lady Leia's presence in my master's palace is of no concern of yours you miscreant. I assure you, that if Master Vader hadn't discovered you doing your best to ward off those bounty hunters from his dau...I mean the child, you most certainly would not be here to complain about your current circumstances".
Deeming it was wiser to not push the topic further lest she activate some sort of hidden security protocol, Aphra laid her head back against the wall and considered her current situation.
"Ok Chelli. Good news is that I'm still alive, and haven't been tortured by some sadist of a droid. Bad news is that I'm currently the a prisoner of said droid, who may very well end up killing me if Darth Vader is feeling a tad lazy".
"I assure you Miss Aphra, if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be alive at this very moment".
Shocked out of her musings by the deep baritone voice of her captor, and wondering how it was he was able to sneak up on her with that breathing problem of his, Chelli Aphra tried her best to remain calm as she stared into unmistakable visage of the Empire's greatest warrior.
…
Having stormed out of his personal communication chamber, Darth Vader considered the situation he now found himself in.
His master, the one being in the galaxy who understood him, had seen fit to hire bounty hunters to infiltrate his palace in an attempt to kidnap his infant daughter.
He had no doubt that the Emperor fully expected them to fail their mission, for the security measures of his palace had exceeded that of the Jedi temple, but the fact remained that his daughter had been placed in harm's way, and that he could not forgive.
But, as much as he would like to confront his master, Vader knew that he could not. Thanks to his failure at Mustafar, he would never be able to defeat his master with his broken body, which meant he was forever trapped in the role of an apprentice, but even that factor was surpassed by the fear of what the Emperor could do to his daughter.
He suffered under no delusion that his master, just like Kenobi and the late Bail Organna, had plans for Leia's future, and it was only thanks to the will of the force that his daughter wasn't taken from his care.
Vader suspected that his master knew that doing so would rob him of one of his most important assets, for suit or no suit, Vader would challenge his master for daring to separate him from his last surviving family member.
Walking past his daughter's current quarters with measured steps, and doing his best to calm down since Leia had shown to be particularly intuitive regarding her father's emotions, Vader thought back to the events of the past hour.
Having felt his daughter's sudden distress through the force, the cybernetic Sith Lord had chosen to risk his master's wrath by forgoing his attendance at the latest military meeting, and hurried back to his palace.
Once he got there, he could discovered a scene that was almost identical to the one he had experienced during the Clone Wars.
A group of bounty hunters, led by Cad Bane no less, had proceeded to sneak into his palace, using what appeared to be an abducted group of school children as hostages, with the belief that they were there to steal important military secrets.
At least, that had been the story he had gotten from the first fool who had been unfortunate enough to cross his path.
But since his daughter's distress rang out in the force like a siren, something he was sure was easily detected by his master, Vader was in no mood, not that he ever was, to consider the fate of the hostages as he rapidly moved towards the most secure room of his palace.
But as he finally arrived, going through at least 2 dozen bounty hunters and droid assassins along the way, he beheld a sight that managed to surprise even him.
Cad Bane, the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy after the death of clone trooper template Jango Fett, was being denied entry into Leia's room by a girl who couldn't even be older than 8.
Knocking the hat wearing Duro into the wall with a quick push of the force, unfortunately breaking his neck in the process, Vader was further surprised by the young girl's defensive preparations.
Knocked over crates to provide her additional cover, a door that had its access panel ripped out so it couldn't be hacked into, though the bodies of droids near the door indicated that the bounty hunters had tried to force it open. But what truly surprised him, and kept him from killing the girl on the spot for discovering his secret which only himself and the Emperor knew of, was the lengths the girl had gone to protect his daughter.
An iron container that managed to keep his daughter safe from flying laser bolts, while positioned in a corner to further reduce the risk of a stray shot. And to top it all off, the girl even managed to set up a defensive shield around his daughter, which he guessed had been taken off of the body of one of the droids.
He still fully intended to interrogate the girl, but her actions had at least warranted a less brutal approach.
Hearing the conversation between his captive and the upgraded version of the more disposable links to his past life, Vader focused his mind on his clearly nervous captive, and was somewhat amused by the thoughts he picked up.
""Ok Chelli. Good news is that I'm still alive, and haven't been tortured by some sadist of a droid. Bad news is that I'm currently the a prisoner of said droid, who may very well end up killing me if Darth Vader is feeling a tad lazy".
Impressed with the girl's ability to think rationally when grown men had become sniveling wrecks whenever they found themselves at his mercy, and more than a little surprised that she had not noticed his presence, Vader decided to chide her for her wandering attentions.
"I assure you Miss Aphra, if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be alive at this very moment".
Smirking under his helmet as the girl tried to regain her composure after that moment of shock, the towering Sith Lord fought the urge to sigh in frustration as the now combat worthy protocol droid acted in his usual manner.
"Oh Master Vader. It is delightful to see you again so soon sir. Especially since you have tasked me with the care of this child, though her manners are more akin to a corellian smuggler than a proper young lady".
Not for the first time cursing that 3P0's reprograming hadn't resulted in losing his prissy attitude, Vader moved to silence the droid, only to have the young girl speak up in her defence.
"Well sorry for acting like that just after I went through a scary experience with some bounty hunters. Maybe if you weren't powered down for a recharge, I wouldn't have had to save the kid by myself".
…
As soon as she said those words, Aphra suddenly felt as if the temperature of the room had just became a freezer. And seeing the clenched fists of the cape wearing fist of the Empire, she correctly guessed who was responsible for it.
"Is that true C-3P0"?
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Aphra couldn't help enjoying the sight of the panicking droid.
"I'm sorry Master Vader, but if you recall, my recent upgrades require me to regularly undergo a brief period of recharge to ensure that I am at peak efficiency. And since you have programmed me to only do so when my processors have determined that Lady Leia is firmly secured I…
"ENOUGH!"
Flinching at the booming tone of the clearly angry cyborg, Aphra gulped in understandable fear as the focus of the conversation was brought back to her.
"Why exactly were you sneaking around my palace to begin with? Know that I will be able to tell if you try and deceive me. And if you do I assure you that your age will not be sufficient enough to spare you from my wrath".
Feeling a slight pressure against her throat before it disappeared all together, and hoping that her savior of the kid gave her enough leeway to explain her actions without violent interruption, Aphra told him.
"Well you see, the tour group I was with was rather boring, and since it's been sometime since I could enjoy some solitude, I decided to sneak out without anyone noticing".
Hearing nothing but the mechanical breathing of the caped agent of the Empire, she hurried to continue.
"Anyway, after narrowly avoiding some traps, which thankfully seemed to be designed for those who are adult size, I came across this impressive door. At first I was a bit intimated by it, but just as I was about to leave, I felt something weird happen".
Seeing Vader cross his arms in what she deemed was his considering pose, Aphra was somewhat caught off guard by the reply she received.
"Go on".
Nodding her head, she did.
"At first it felt like there was someone else in the room with me, but a quick check couldn't find anything. But just as I was about to exit the room, I dunno it was weird. You ever get that feeling that someone is calling you, but you can't see or hear them"?
Though she couldn't be certain, Aphra could have sworn she had saw Vader slightly incline his helmet.
"Well, after that happened, I decided that since I had already come this far, I might as well try to see what was on the other side of the door. Took me around 10 minutes to hack into it, though I confess it would have been longer if there hadn't been that power outage that allowed me to bypass some of the more..lethal protocols, but I eventually opened it, and saw instead of a super cool armory, it was just some sort of nursery".
Judging that this was the part that he wanted to know more in detail, Aphra took a quick breath to steady her nerves and continued her story.
"After that, things became sorta hectic. An assassin droid entered the room to I think steal the kid, but I managed to surprise it before it could reach the kid. I stole it's weapon, set up a little fort for protection, and did my best to hold out until rescue. Which as you know, I have you to thank for that".
For a moment, only the regulated breath of Darth Vader sounded throughout the room, and before she could do anything to try and break the tension of the room, the cyborg spoke.
"Most impressive. Few force blind individuals would have been able to stand against the odds you have faced, let alone as successfully as you have done. Your parents must be proud".
For the first time since she had been in the presence of the telepathic, people killing cyborg, Aphra experienced and emotion that had little to do with relief or fear.
"My mother's dead, and my dad's on some misguided pilgrimage to discover the secrets of the universe. I sincerely doubt that they would care what I've just done".
Glowering as she remembered her father's idiotic pursuit of a sect of an order that had just become endangered, if not extinct, Aphra's eye's widened in shock as Darth Vader said something that she had never expected to hear.
"Then perhaps I can make use of your talents".
…
ANNNNNNND THAT'S IT FOR NOW :P
Pleased that I was able to get this in time for Christmas :)
Loved the relationship between these two characters in the Vader Comics (though was saddened at the way it ended)...Hence my decision to do this XD. Might add other such characters (like a certain female imperial officer who an older Aphra flirted with) but for now I'm pleased that I have finally added Aphra into Vader's life, especially in a position such as this (will provide more detail later one)
ANYWAYS...R.I.P. Cad Bane. Breaking into Vader's home is more dangerous for your health than the Jedi Temple before it became the palace.
Merry Christmas Everyone. Will be uploading chapters of some of my other stories tomorrow (though incomplete their is enough material there to have a short chapter, not orginal intent but I'm feeling generous)
AND AS ALWAYS. REVIEW :D