The Courier Droid
By ImperialJedi
Summary: Post-ESB, Pre ROTJ. I found an old disk of mine and after many attempts I finally managed to open the outdated files. On it was this story of a mousebot and its adventures on the SSD Executer. Main Characters: Admiral Piett, Darth Vader, and the Courier Droid.
Disclaimer: Meesa no makin' bombad moolah. Whosa thinkin' meesa am? Weesa all wishin' we own Star Wars, but weesa don't. Yousa can sue somewon elsa!
Author Notes: This chapter is dedicated to darth mojo the spork, my first reviewer for this story. Thanx!
The mousebot had located Piett, but he was in the presence of Darth Vader. Using what little artificial intelligence it had the courier droid decided it was not the best time to deliver so it continued to the end of the hall and took a left. It then doubled back and found a little out of the way place to park itself and watch the Admiral.
What it found was somewhat disturbing, but of little consequence. They were about to have Piett lifted and taken elsewhere to have his leg mended. It was now or never, the little droid reasoned. The mousebot rushed over and caught Piett's attention who promptly took the datacard it carried and then gave the droid no more thought. This did not matter. It's mission was accomplished. The courier droid then went off to acquire a new one.
Darth Vader was not in a good mood. He didn't know what happened, but he had somehow fallen asleep in the halls. This was most embarrassing. And to almost kill Piett, one of his most respected officers, who only did his duty to the Emperor. This should be rewarded, not punished. Shocked as he was he still should have set down the Admiral gently instead of dropping him outright. Now, his right leg was broken and it was Vader's fault.
My fault, it was my fault. Anakin paused and pushed that thought into the back of his head. Anakin! What made him think of that name. Such a weak man. It didn't matter. It was all in the past, or was it? The son of Skywalker. That's what the Emperor referred to young Luke as, not even acknowledging him as Vader's son.
He had been right there. I told him the truth, yet he choose to jump, rather than join me. It's all Obi-Wan's fault! If he hadn't tried to bring me back to the light, I would still have my old body, not this mechanical apparatus. I would have been able to raise Luke as my own. I would have been a father... Obi-Wan! You took this all away from me!
Vader let his anger and rage surge from him and conquer his innermost feelings. He stalked into his personal chambers and stepped up to the holoprojector. Kneeling on one knee, Vader bowed his head and awaited his Master's contact. The holoprojector flickered a little and soon the warped face of the Emperor appeared.
"What is thy bidding, my Master?" Vader asked submissively.
Emperor Palpatine glared down at Vader, angrily. His frown increased. "You have failed, Lord Vader," he spoke with contempt. "I am most disappointed in you. Not only didn't Skywalker turn, you allowed him to escape alive. For this you shall be punished. Return to the Imperial Center at once!" Before Vader could say anything at all, the Emperor cut off the transmission. The Dark Lord felt a slight wave of fear. Not for himself, but for his son. The Emperor had never been this angry at him, including the loss of the Death Star.
Sighing, he stood up and turned around, heading to his life support pod. Something beeped at his feet and Vader looked down. Normally, the Dark Lord would have angrily stomped on it instantly, but he didn't. Instead, he wondered idly how it got in his quarters in the first place. He mentally slapped himself on the hand for being so inattentive and then examined the courier droid once again. It carried a datacard which was obviously for him. He reached down and took it and walked into his pod. As the pod closed around him he slipped the card into his computer terminal and used the Force to let the mousebot out. Time seemed to slow down as Vader read the information on the terminal and when he was done he would have laughed out loud if not for his respirator.
Author's Notes: I can't remember what comes next, so I'm sitting here wondering what Vader is finding funny. MTFBWY, IJedi