Chapter 16: The Empire vs. The Rebellion
Vader stared at Padmé as her face lost its color due to the lack of oxygen. "You will not ask me my name again!" Vader repeated. He could hear Padmé gasping in response as she tried to force air into her lungs.
Believing he had proven his point, Vader released his Force choke on Padmé. He stood up and watched as she coughed and sputtered as his hold was released. He pointed at her as she raised her angry eyes to him and warned, "Next time, I will not let go." With that final statement he exited the bedroom and left his quarters.
Once outside his quarters, Vader growled in fury. He had tried to be patient with Padmé and control his anger, but she had made that impossible. Her behavior had forced him to show her his power. Only through his power could he subdue that insufferable rebel.
He needed a moment away from her to compose himself. He decided to go to the bridge and check on his crew's status in locating the rebels. Once he destroyed the rebellion, he would no longer have any need for Padmé and his master would let him get rid of her. As he walked away from his quarters, he hoped his crew had good news for him.
Padmé rubbed her neck gingerly as she continued to sit on the sofa in Vader's bedroom. She was furious with Vader for trying to kill her, but she also conceded that she had tried to do the same thing to him the previous night. In addition, she had provoked him. She knew he hated being asked about his name, and she had been pressing him on it since the day they met.
She sighed. She had been very close to learning his name, but based on the argument they had just had, she knew he would be more guarded with that information. Just as Padmé would never disclose the names of the rebel leaders, Vader would never disclose his true name to her. She had to resign herself to the fact that she would never obtain that information and could never use it against him. Padmé would have to come up with new ways to distract Vader from his missions against the rebels.
As Padmé sighed in defeat, the door to the bedroom slid open and both R2D2 and C3P0 came inside.
"Miss Padmé, are you alright? We heard a lot of noise coming from this room." C3P0 said.
"Boop boop beep boop? R2 interjected with concern.
"I am fine, Lord Vader and I just had another argument. Nothing to worry about, we did not kill each other this time."
"Boop boop beep?"
"Of course she is sure you bucket of bolts. Why would she not be?" C3P0 replied angrily to R2.
Padmé smiled at C3P0's comment and then turned to R2 and gently replied, "Yes, I'm fine. Do not worry about me; I can take care of myself. Now why don't you two go find something to keep yourselves occupied, once Lord Vader returns I will need to speak with him alone."
"Of course. Come along R2." C3P0 said as he turned to leave the bedroom. R2D2 reluctantly followed him. Before he exited through the bedroom doorway, R2 turned his domed head towards Padmé who gave him an encouraging smile before he exited.
Once the two droids left, Padmé closed her eyes and reflected on the events of the past few days. If she was going to be of any use to the rebels she needed to find a way to stop Vader and the Emperor. Since she had started living with Vader she had been argumentative and defiant, perhaps she should consider another tact.
As Padmé sat in the bedroom, she recalled the speech Vader had made the previous night when she had tried to kill him. He had given his reasons for working for the Empire. His logic had been fundamentally flawed, and Padmé wondered if using her own logic against him might help her cause.
Thirty minutes after his fight with Padmé, Vader returned to his quarters in a worse mood. His crew had not discovered any leads to finding the rebels. Frustrated by their lack of progress, he had threatened them in hopes of motivating them. However, he doubted this would help in the search.
Vader entered the bedroom to find that Padmé had not moved from the sofa while he was gone. He did not wish to repeat the argument from earlier and tried to slowly back out of the room without her noticing when she called out.
"We need to talk."
"Why?" Vader growled in irritation.
"Because we have both tried to kill each other. If we do not talk one of us is likely to repeat that. Now you may be a Sith Lord and have no problem with killing, but personally, I would like to avoid being a murderer unless I have a very good reason for it." Padmé stated calmly.
"What is there to talk about? We will never agree with one another." Vader barked at her.
"Perhaps. However, we may at least understand the other's point of view."
Vader's eyes changed from their natural blue to sithly yellow as he anticipated Padmé's questions. He turned to her and asked with a hint of menace, "What do you want to know?"
"Why do you serve the Empire?" Padmé asked calmly as she looked back at Vader.
Vader stared back at Padmé for a moment in silence. He thought that she was going to ask him about his name again. Pleased that she was not restarting their previous argument, Vader's eyes changed back to blue as he spoke.
"The Empire serves the people of the galaxy. I use my power and abilities to help protect them from the few who wish to disrupt the peace."
"The rebels." Padmé stated as she quirked one of her eyebrows.
"Yes." Vader stated with irritation as he glared at her.
"Do you know what the rebellion is fighting for?"
"Yes, they wish to destroy the Empire and bring back the worthless Republic."
"Why do you think the Republic was worthless?"
"They were too slow to react to the galaxy's needs. The Senate spent more time bickering about an issue rather than taking decisive action to resolve it. Their indecisiveness facilitated unrest in the galaxy."
"I will concede that the Republic was slow, but that was because we were trying to maintain freedom. If laws were passed without debate, the freedom of the galaxy's citizens could have been undermined. Through discussion, the Senate was finding a solution to the galaxy's problems that would not dissolve liberty."
"Freedom still reigns in the Empire. You rebels fail to see it." Vader growled in response. "By providing greater security, citizens are free to live their lives in safety and peace under the Empire's rule."
"Are people free? What would happen if a star system did not approve of one or the Emperor's laws?"
"That is not a problem. No star system in the Empire disapproves of the laws, only the rebellion has a problem." Vader stated with irritation.
"Then if they disapproved they would have the same fate as the rebellion? Then there is no freedom, because people are not free to disobey the Emperor. All those who do not conform to your master's rule would be destroyed." Padmé stated, her tone rising in defiance. "The Republic would have listened to their complaints and tried to find a diplomatic solution."
"The Emperor is not unjust, the laws and changes he has set on the galaxy are for the best of all people."
Padmé's eyes narrowed at Vader's comment as she angrily replied, "That is your opinion, but without freedom, I do not think that the galaxy is better. Sidious is using his position for his own greed and not to protect others."
"This debate is pointless. The Emperor is a good man. He is using his power to help others, just like he once helped me. Without him, I would still be a slave on Tatooine." Vader stated in anger.
Padmé's eyes widened at this last remark. Vader had once been a slave. This explained why he seemed to detest slavery and had made a point of never treating her like one. Padmé was about to make a comment, but Vader's comlink rang and she fell silent so she could eavesdrop on the conversation.
"Yes?" Vader answered the comlink.
Padmé could faintly hear the voice on the other end, "My lord, one of our spies has just contacted us. It has just been discovered that Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan is one of the rebel leaders."
Padmé's eyes widened in horror at this announcement as Vader replied, "Good, set our course for Alderaan."
As Vader ended his transmission Padmé stood up and shouted "No! You can't do that!"
"I will do what I must." Vader replied as he walked out of his bedroom and exited his quarters. He was heading to the ships main communications room to tell his Master the good news.