V. Anakin

When Anakin arrived in the mirror room, the stranger was already there. He was standing on his side of the mirror, apparently studying it carefully, touching the glass surface with the tips of his gloved fingers.

Anakin was hit with the same odd mix of emotions: eager anticipation, borderline familiarity and apprehension. Reminding himself of Master Obi-Wan's teachings and gulping down his nervousness, the boy took a moment to study the other. The man was a veritable giant, over two meters tall, Anakin estimated. Clad all in black, the only spots of colour on him were the blinking lights of a panel on his chest, not unlike the respirator control panel that Orbital Security pilots wore. The stranger's face was covered by a weird mask that reminded him of some insect with its huge eyes and small mandible-like protrusions by the triangular breather. The boy could hear the whirring and hissing of the breathing machine.

What was he, an alien?

Anakin wasn't entirely sure what to do. Should he say something? Would the other hear him at all? Perhaps he should wave or bow? He moistened his dry lips slightly and nodded in a way that could pass as a greeting. "H-hi."

The stranger did not seem to hear him at first, but slowly the insect-eyes of his mask turned towards him, and although he could not see the eyes, he knew they were probing him and then looking at him with unabashed curiosity.

"Good morning, young one."

Oh.

The voice made him want to cower and hide. Dark and rumbling, with the metallic clang of a vocoder, but beneath it the inflections were undeniably human or humanoid. And at the same time it was the deepest, strongest voice he had ever heard. Mesmerising. A voice to match the figure. That made Anakin even more curious about the stranger. He wiped his moist palms surreptitiously into his tunic.

"Are you real?"

The stranger looked at him indignantly. "What do you think?" he scoffed.

Anakin frowned slightly, only now becoming aware that he was actually quite... well, aware of the other's presence in the Force. Quite real, then. And, he realized with a jolt, the emotions he had been feeling weren't all his own. He was feeling the stranger, just as if he had been here, in this room with him, and not in a mirror. And the gaze from the invisible eyes was so palpably on him that it felt almost as real as his master's… but stranger, edgier, more forceful. Perhaps like the Supreme Chancellor's. Yes, that must be it.

Somehow having anchored his feelings in the known world helped. This was something he could relate to, something he could deal with. He stepped closer to the mirror.

"Uh... what are you doing?"

The tilt of the helmet changed slightly, and Anakin almost imagined a raised eyebrow. The giant shifted and slid his gloved fingers over the mirror again. "I am trying to find out how this works."

Emboldened, Anakin stretched out a hand and touched the cool glass surface. Nothing happened, no tickling static on his fingertips or a holo-field ripple. It seemed like, felt like, just plain, simple glass, a mirror like all others. Except that it wasn't.

"What do you think this is, sir? Definitely not some sort of communicator."

"No. My guess is, it is some sort of portal that has opened for some reason between..."

"Between what?"

The giant did not answer.

Anakin twisted a little, peering past the other's black figure into the other room. It was... eerie. Dead, he would have said. Plagued with some sort of desolation that he could not name, but it left him with a feeling of loss and sadness. Come to think of it, there was a vague thought that the stranger seemed to fit into that atmosphere. And yet... not.

"What are you staring at?"

The stranger's abrupt tone jolted him out of the reverie, but he lifted his chin defiantly. "You. It's dark... and sad... on your side. You're dark." That brought a sudden frightening thought. "You can't come through?" Anakin asked nervously. "I don't think you can. Can you?"

Moments ticked past and Anakin began to half expect the mirror burst in shards of glass and...

"No, little one. I can not."

It was a relief, but also, oddly, a disappointment. He felt sad for the strange black-clad giant in his bleak-looking palace. Anakin shifted from foot to foot, thinking of something to say. "I'm sorry," he said lamely.

There was a pause in the mechanical breathing, but he thought he heard a wisp of a sigh. "You have no idea, young one." There was a pause, a sense of I almost wish... "It's best this way," the giant rumbled.

"Er…"

The mask stared at him wordlessly.

"Um... I'm Anakin Skywalker. Who are you?"

"You can call me... Vader."

Vader. Anakin decided that, apart from the fact that the guy looked freaky and felt freaky, he liked the name. It had a strong ring to it. It sounded cool, the way it rolled off his tongue, and even cooler when uttered in such a deep, resounding voice. Perhaps, Anakin thought, he should try to use it sometime, maybe as an alias in some hologames. After all, it was not like the other would even know.

For another moment neither said anything, merely staring at each other. Anakin would have loved to ask many questions, but he was not sure how the other would react. In his experience adults were never particularly patient with his questions, and rarely willing to give satisfactory answers. He did not want to drive his secret companion away. Still, it was equally awkward to just stand and stare.

"Mr Vader, sir—"

"Anakin! Padawan, where are you?"

Anakin jumped at Obi-Wan's voice drifting to them through the hallways. He looked uncomfortably at Vader. "Er—"

"You'd better run, young one, when Master Kenobi calls," Vader said.

"Ho— how did you know?"

"I know everything about you. Now, run along."

"Yes, but how—?"

"Anakin Skywalker." The giant's tone told Anakin quite clearly that he'd better obey — in fact there was something parental, a wisp of a memory of his mum standing in the doorway, hands in her hips, saying in a similar tone, Anakin Skywalker, you come in this instant.

He looked back from the doorway. "Mr Vader, sir, will you be coming back here in the afternoon, after my lessons?"

Vader did not answer, but the helmet tilted slightly and there was an exasperated sigh. Anakin took that as a hopeful sign. "Coming, Master!" he called over into the hallway, then turned back and waved. "Bye, Mr Vader. See you."

TBC