Title: Clocks

Author: Anilem Satierf Atarih

Magna est veritas, et praevalet.

(Latin: Great is the Truth, and it prevails)

CHAPTER 6: THINGS UNSAID

Vader kept on staring the blank screen for a long time. He wasn't sure what to think nor what to do...

So Leia was his daughter... that princess locked in that cell was his daughter, his and Padme's daughter... Force!... How did it all happen? ... how could he have been so blind? Indeed Padme had been pregnant and he had known then...but she had died that day, hadn't she?... his master told him himself that she had died... so all this was impossible... she died before she could conceive, didn't she?...

Leia... a Rebel leader... he had proofs of this, sooner or later she was to be executed, but... this changed everything... how could he order the death of his daughter?... she was indeed his daughter, he could see it now... physically she had most of Padme's features, but her attitude... of course she had also Padme's nobility and loyalty... but the fact of being a rebel already showed she was his daughter, she didn't accept the current government and would give her life to change it as he had done... Of course each one had a very different idea of what wrong was, but it didn't change the fact that she was his daughter... just some hours ago she had been a rebel leader caught by him, now he was seeing her in a whole new light... she must hate him... his daughter hated him, this made him wonder if he had taken the right decision... What had he done to his life?... He had left behind the most important things of his life... he had left the love of his life, he had betrayed a Master that was more than a father to him, he had never heard of his kids... his kids... he had 2 kids, Leia and...Luke...

Luke... where could he be?... What did he look like?... How was him?... Not knowing a single thing of his son brought a terrible pain to his soul...

The finding of that chip brought back feelings he thought he'd never feel again...

And he knew it all because Padme had left that chip... Padme... he had always believed she had died there in Mustafar... Palpatine himself had told him this... he had told him that in his anger, he had killed her... her "death" had partly killed him... any good feeling he still felt then had died the moment she "died"...he had always believed she had been killed by his own hands... what Padme had showed him was all very confusing... he had always been tormented in his mind by the image of her death... his Master had showed her funeral to him, he had told him he had seen it and allowed him to watch it through their mental link... It had been horrible... watching the one you love dead, unable to bring her back or at least try to... hold her for the last time... and she was holding the same pendent he had now in his hands... how is that all possible?...

Now everything was starting to make sense... Palpatine had made him believe he had killed Padme, and he had believed it so blindly that he had never questioned the facts... he had just accepted them... How could he have been so stupid? How he could have believed he had killed her? How could he kill the one he loves?

He could clearly remember the day he had the final meeting with Obi-Wan... it had changed both of their lives... He had been so full of resentment, anger, hate that he had failed to accept what he had always known deep inside... He knew that Obi-Wan blamed himself for his turning, he had felt his despair when he had fallen in that fated lava pit... but he had refused to believe... to accept... Force!... What had he done to his life?... He could never have imagined that his decision would affect so many lives... Obi-Wan... Padme... his kids... Luke and Leia... Force!... Only now he could realize how much he had missed and how harm he had done... He didn't know his kids... Leia...

Leia was right here under his custody and he'd have to deal with it... even being his daughter, he'd have to find out where were the plans she had stolen or else there would be no way to save her life... he'd have to finish the interrogation and only leave her cell with the exact location... only this could save her life... he'd have to find it out...

...And Luke... he had no idea where the boy could be... this was a torment in his soul he'd have to find out... locating him he'd also find his former Master... maybe this was the key... He had never found him because he was looking for a very strong Force signature... but now he knew what to look for... the same Force signature but a little weaker than before and probably very far from here... Obi-Wan would have taken his so to a very far way place in order to difficult his task of searching him through the Force... but now... he had an even stronger reason to find him... even if it took some time he'd eventually find him... he'd find his son...

And Padme... could she be still alive?... her last sentence had been "I'll return to what's left of my home planet… If there is any shadow of the man I loved so much… please… Come back to me…" Could she still be waiting for his return? Could it be true? The man who loved Padme more than his own life wanted to believe in this possibility but part of him told there couldn't be any chance, it had been so many years... But what if she was in Naboo, hidden from the world?... But what if she was indeed dead?... he'd have to find out... He'd find it out and find his son... He had to...

FAR AWAY FROM VADER'S SHIP

IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY...

TATOOINE

Obi-Wan was taken away from his thoughts... he had been observing Luke from an out-of-sight place as he usually did... right now he was with his uncle Owen Lars inspecting robots from the Jawas, after some negotiation Lars bought 2 robots, he had been wondering if those droids could possibly be the same... he had been take away from his this thought when he felt a very strong disturbance in the Force... Someone had found out the truth about something and had taken a resolution... this person was far from here so it was difficult to be completely sure of who could it be but... he hadn't felt this presence for a long time sine... he wasn't sure if it was really him... this force signature had disappeared the day they... after that it had changed a lot, it had became touched far too deep by the dark, one could barely identify as the same one but now... what he felt was almost the same presence of his old Padawan, but tormented by a revelation...

I'm very sorry for the late of this, College has been really hard... I promise that when we get the Winter break here I'll update with more frequency...

I know this chapter was short, it was supposed to be much longer but as I haven't had time to finish I decide to break it into 2 chapter, posting the part I had already written...

I'll try to get the next part by Sunday, but I can't promise...

Read & Review, PLEASE!

Tell me if I should go on or try something else.

Tell me what you think Vader should do next...

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS I'VE GOT SO FAR THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME!

THANKS TO Jade, MysticAlly, AngelFire123, Rose-Arween-Padme, Lyra Skywalker, Renee, Froggie, TZS, JDH3, Kathy, Devilbleeding, Mysterygirl, Marcela, Hannah and Pad-Destiny24.

THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT!