It started as a normal day for Piett. At least, it was as normal as a testing day could be. He dressed in civilian attire, pulled on his jacket with the camera for Lord Vader, and put in his earpiece. Then, shortly before leaving his apartment, he received the call from Lord Vader, and they tested out the equipment before he ventured off to head to school to take a chemistry test.

And naturally, as he walked along a street lining one of the few parks left on Eriadu, Vader began talking about Lars.

"What will we do when we see Lars?"

Piett was starting to suspect that, despite everything, Vader was at least...interested in the boy. Not that he'd ever admit it, and Piett wasn't about to ask. He valued living, after all.

"We will resolutely ignore him."

"And if he tries to approach us?"

"We will ignore him, My Lord."

"Good. We will defeat this boy, even if it is the last thing you do."

Well, that didn't sound comforting. He briefly wondered what Lars would do to end his life. Cheer him to death? Give him a cup of caff with too much caffeine? Embarrass him into a heart attack?

Well. At least it would be an interesting way to go.

He was so wrapped up in thinking about the odd ways Luke could potentially get him killed, he almost didn't notice the subject of his thoughts nearby until he'd almost passed him.

"Is that...Lars?" Vader asked incredulously, causing Piett to slow his steps and look around with a frown.

Sure enough, there Luke was, meters away, back turned towards him. It looked like he was inching up on...something. Piett couldn't quite tell what it was from that angle.

"Back up. I want to see what he's doing this time."

"But My Lord, I thought you wanted to-?"

"Yes, but that does not mean I do not want tabs on the enemy, especially when he is acting out of the usual."

Piett suppressed a sigh he knew the Dark Lord would not appreciate, and backed up, angling himself so that the camera could see what the boy was doing.

"...Is he...Captain, what is he inching towards?"

Piett frowned, squinting his eyes. The sun was a bit blinding at this angle, but… "I believe he's trying to approach ducks, My Lord."

He listened to a few intakes of Vader's respirator. "Ducks?"

He squinted harder, as if that would help any, but… "Yes, My Lord. He's approaching a family of ducks."

Silence. Then, "Why?"

"I really don't think there is much rhyme or reason to Luke Lars." But even as he said it, Piett found himself also terribly curious. He expected such behavior from tiny toddlers who didn't know any better, not from a grown...well, teenage man.

The ducks seemed quite alarmed that Luke was approaching them, and they waddled for the safety of the pond. Piett expected the boy to come to his senses and stop, but though he did hesitate at the water's edge, he was horrified to watch him square his shoulders and go into the water.

"Ah," Piett awkwardly said, "It appears Lars would like a morning swim before our test…"

"He's not serious." Piett didn't think he'd ever heard Vader so completely lost.

"Well, he's still wadding after the ducks, so I would assume so."

He listened to Vader breathe for a moment. Then, "Just...move forward to class. If he is late, that is his problem. We will pretend we never saw him."

Piett let out a relieved breath, glad Vader wouldn't make him become involved in the oddness that was Luke Lars, and hurried forward. He wanted to get as far away as possible before Luke noticed his presence.

He was almost free when Vader suddenly said, "Stop!"

Piett closed his eyes, forcing himself to stop.

"Wait."

Stars. Vader definitely was far more interested in the boy than either of them wanted, it seemed.

"I am certain our professor will blame us if the boy does not show up in time for his test."

Piett highly doubted the professor would care, and even if he did, he likely wouldn't connect Piett to Luke's odd decisions at all. But he would not tell Lord Vader that. It was clearly just an excuse. Why? He did not know.

So he turned around, and quickly jogged over to the pond's edge.

"Luke!" He yelled when he reached it. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to get in with the boy.

Luke didn't even turn around. "Oh hey Firmus!" He called...then lunged at the nearest duck with such speed, Piett blinked in surprise. Luke and the duck went down into the water with wild splashing, and when they finally came back up, the duck was trapped in Luke's arms.

"My Lord, did you see how fast he moved…?" Piett whispered in horror and awe. The body of the duck was tucked under one arm, while Luke's other hand kept the bird from biting at him, and he had now turned and was walking back to shore. He beamed at Piett as he did so, like he'd accomplished the most amazing feat in the entire Galaxy.

"I did…" Piett thought Vader sounded suspicious, but he couldn't quite tell. And by that point, Luke was approaching with his catch, grinning from ear to ear, completely dripping wet.

"Look what I caught!"

Piett honestly didn't know what to say to that. For the first time ever, he was thankful that Vader did. "Yes, I see that, but why?"

He tried to match the hotness in Vader's tone. From the way the grin fell a bit from Luke's face, he thought he might have been successful.

"Well. I'd never seen a duck before. My friend only barely mentioned them on Tatooine, and when I saw them, they looked far more friendly than any of the holos I looked up." The grin was back on his face as Luke motioned with his head at the green and brown duck in his arms who was still wiggling wildly, feathers quite ruffled. "Meet my new pet, Lucky Duck!"

Piett's brows furrowed as he stared at the boy who definitely looked far younger than he was sopping wet. "You cannot be serious." He repeated after Vader. He didn't have to feign the incredulousness.

"Of course I'm serious. If I hurry, I can get him back to my room and make our test time. It'll be pushing it a bit, but I'm sure-"

"That duck will destroy your apartment. It's a wild animal, Luke." Piett frowned, wondering if Luke had roommates who would likely not appreciate coming home to find a duck in their apartment, but Vader didn't ask, so he didn't ask.

"Yeah, but I read on the holonet that some people keep them as pets. I've never had a pet before…" Luke was looking at the squirming duck with such fondness, Piett almost felt bad for him.

But Vader did not.

"Then get a Tooka or a dog. Let the duck go, or I will make you let it go."

He was alarmed even as he said the words. He didn't have a change of clothes, and he didn't fancy taking a test while soaked.

Luke seemed to pick up on that, somehow, because he raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Yeah. Right. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"...Captain, get in the pond and free that duck."

Piett hesitated, watching Luke head towards him.

"I said free the duck, Captain. The camera is waterproof."

That wasn't his concern, but he sighed and winced as he stepped into the water.

"Seriously?" Luke frowned.

"I could say the same for you. You are an adult, this is the most childish thing I have ever seen anyone do," He also did not have to fake annoyance to match Vader's tone. At least the pond was shallow.

By this point, he'd almost reached the boy, and he was half worried he'd use his quick speed from earlier to escape. But even as Luke tried to evade him, it was apparent holding the duck made it difficult to move as quickly, and Piett quickly caught him.

It was odd to reach out and try to carefully wrestle a duck away from someone. He focused on trying to remove Luke's grip on the duck. There was some resistance, but with the animal also squirming wildly, it wasn't as difficult as he feared.

The problem was, as soon as Luke released his grip, the duck launched himself away from the boy…

Straight into Piett's face, sending him tumbling backwards and into the water.

They made it to the testing room with ten minutes to spare. Vader had Piett pick a seat at the far back of the room, away from as many students as possible. He may not care about the wellbeing of the other students, but he thought it would be best to avoid bringing attention to the now soaking wet man. From the camera angle, he couldn't tell if it worked.

While they waited for the test to begin, Vader seethed.

A duck.

A duck.

Sure, the boy was from Tatooine, where ducks were about as mystical as Wildermir, but that did not excuse the insane behavior he'd witnessed. Keeping a duck as a pet? Even when he was young, he never would have tried such a foolish thing! Then again, pets were strictly not allowed in the Jedi temple, and he'd been so busy he hadn't even thought about it.

Still. There were plenty of practical pets the boy could have chosen, not a wild bird.

He was imagining what Luke's Tatooine parents would have thought had he brought home a duck when he heard the subject's voice on cam. "See, I told you I'd make it!"

Piett turned and Vader frowned as he was greeted with the sight of Luke wearing a completely different set of clothes than before, his hair still wet and tangled, plastered to his forehead. There was only slight annoyance in the boy's expression. He hadn't completely forgiven him for stopping his foolish plans.

"Ask him what he's wearing."

When Piett asked, Vader did not miss the envy in the captain's voice. Clearly, the captain didn't appreciate sitting around in wet clothes. It did not matter. The boy had not kidnapped the wild duck, and they'd both made the test on time.

"Oh. It's my work uniform."

Vader frowned, pulling up Luke's file on his datapad. He had the boy listed as working at a caff shop. This uniform was a jumpsuit, and had a logo of a ship etched into the collar.

"I thought you were working at a caff shop?"

"I do, but I also work at a mechanic shop." Luke smiled tiredly. "I have a shift after the test there anyway."

Vader frowned to himself. "When do you ever have time for your school work?"

Luke shrugged. "That's why I take online courses. Minimal class time. Gotta afford college, somehow."

Vader snorted, about to make a comment that his lack of focus was exactly why he'd beat him to the top of their class, when the professor entered the room and called the class to attention.

Vader was still considering the insanity of having two jobs while trying to get a degree (after all, he had his hands full working just one while going to school), when the professor reached their aisle with the tests. He paused, looking between Luke and Piett, a frown on his face. Then, "Firmus. What have you dragged young Lars into this time?"

Vader immediately wanted to strangle the man. But he was much too far away to accomplish such a feat, so he'd have to settle for giving the man a piece of his mind.

But before he could reply, Luke cut in. "Actually, this time I dragged him into it. I wanted to keep a duck as a pet. Firmus said no."

An odd look passed over the professors face. "Ducks are not ideal pets, Luke. I'm sure your parents would agree."

"See?! I told you!" Vader snapped. "Captain, make sure you point at him when you say that!"

Piett did so, though the timing was definitely off. They would need to work on that later.

The professor sighed, and handed them their tests. "Just...try not to get the tests wet."

As the test began, Vader once again found himself scoffing at the easiness of the questions, and he answered them so quickly, Piett barely had time to keep up. He doubted the man cared, not while he was soaking wet and probably freezing. Vader was glad his suit protected him from such inconveniences.

This time, they finished far ahead of anyone else, including the boy, and Piett walked out of the room with no interruptions.

Satisfied that Luke would not again wreck havoc in their lives, Vader disconnected and turned back to the boy's file. He frowned, looking at the information he'd compiled, and began to add to the list.

Work: Foolishly works at both a Caff and Mechanic shop. He will fail his coursework for sure.

Interests: Ducks, apparently. If we ever find out who his parents are, we must suggest encouragement to own a normal pet.

He paused, frowning as he replayed that day's incident in his mind. The duck capture alone was concerning, but it was the way he'd done it that kept nudging at , under the Miscellaneous section, he added:

The boy is fast. Far faster than most people.

An uneasy feeling began to settle in his gut as he stared at the file on screen long past when his next meeting was due to begin.

There were two bits of inspiration for this chapter: First, the New Hope novelization. Obi-Wan tells Luke, "Still, even a duck has to be taught to swim." and Luke responds with "What's a duck?" And just...that image...of not knowing what a duck is, is so adorable and innocent while also being hilarious. Second, I knew a guy in college who did something similar, except it was a goose, and he...did not catch it with the innocent intent to make it a pet. He was quite mean to it, actually. I also knew a girl who actually did have a pet duck, but she'd raised it from an egg. It followed her everywhere. College is wild.
Thanks for all the love! This was a rough week, so I'm a bit late, but hey! Here it is, and I hoped you enjoyed!
Love,
LadyVader23