Unfortunately, Vader's crew could find no trace of the Tantive IV as it was impossible to trace where the ship went upon entering hyperspace. When Vader returned to Coruscant, he would be confronting his master empty handed. The Executor's course had been set for Coruscant, but Vader had ordered his crew to locate Organa's whereabouts. Vader hoped that he would at least have some information to provide his master when he arrived on Coruscant the next day. He was unsure of his master's reaction, because Vader had never failed him before.
Padmé did not help Vader feel any better. She spent the entire time on the bridge laughing and crying for joy. She continued her antics in Vader's quarters while he paced around the bedroom.
Padmé was overjoyed by her friend's clever escape. She was sitting on the sofa in Vader's bedroom, and smiled as she witnessed his obvious agitation.
"Nervous?" Padmé asked him.
Vader stopped his pacing and turned toward her. "No," he replied before continuing his pacing.
Padmé smiled. "I'm sure your master will be disappointed by today's events."
Vader stopped pacing again. His back was to Padmé and she watched his shoulders stiffen as he replied, "These things happen, he will understand."
Padmé continued to smile as Vader resumed his pacing.
Vader and Padmé did not say anything else to each other for the rest of the day. Padmé chuckled as Vader left his quarters periodically to see if Organa had been found. That night, she fell asleep on the couch in his bedroom with a smile on her face. Vader did not sleep, but spent the night in quiet meditation to prepare for his meeting in the morning.
Morning came and the Executor arrived in orbit over Coruscant. Vader left Padmé in the bedroom, who was sound asleep, still with a smile on her face. He was sure that the Emperor would send him back to the Executor after this meeting, so there was no point for her to accompany him down to the planet's surface.
Vader took his personal shuttle to a landing platform near the Imperial palace. Before exiting his shuttle, he squared his shoulders and took a deep breath to calm himself. Once he was prepared, he exited the shuttle and walked up the long steps leading to the palace doors. Once inside the palace he took a turbolift to the top floor and slowly knocked on the heavy doors of the throne room.
The heavy doors opened by themselves and Sidious's voice called out, "Enter."
Vader entered the chambers and walked towards a dais on the opposite side of the room. Upon the dais was the Emperor's throne, which was currently facing the large windows overlooking the planet's surface. As Vader came closer to the dais he heard the large doors close behind him. As the throne slowly turned to face him, Vader kneeled and bowed his head in deference to his master.
"Welcome home Lord Vader." Sidious greeted him once his throne was facing his apprentice. He was surprised to see that Vader was alone; he had suspected that he would have brought the traitorous Senator Organa with him. "Where is your prisoner?" he asked.
Vader remained silent for a moment before he answered, "He escaped my master, he was on his ship when I arrived at Alderaan and jumped into hyperspace before the tractor beam could capture him."
Sidious's eyes narrowed as his anger grew. His apprentice had failed to capture the man that could ensure his ultimate control and power over the galaxy. Sidious stood from his throne, and as he walked towards his apprentice he spoke with menace, "You let him escape?"
Vader could feel his master's anger, but kept his head bowed, as he replied, "No, my master. I tried to capture him; Organa must have been alerted to our upcoming arrival. My crew and myself have been searching for him. We will find him again."
Sidious was now standing in front of Vader and used his hand to tilt Vader's chin up. As Vader looked into his master's yellow eyes he said, "I promise you Master, I will not fail again."
Vader felt a brush of the Force against his mind as his master replied, "Indeed, you will not." Then suddenly, Vader was Force flung to the opposite wall just left of the doorway he had entered earlier. As Vader hit the wall, chains encircled his arms and legs, preventing him from moving. Vader tried to fight the bonds, but could not break them. He then tried to use the Force to help him, but that did not work either. He continued to struggle against the bonds, but looked up at the sound of Sidious's cackle.
Sidious was walking towards Vader's bound form as he spoke, "You can quit struggling my apprentice, I have temporarily blocked your Force abilities. You will regain it in time, but you must learn a lesson about failure."
Vader tried to hide his growing fear from his face as he stared up into his master's eyes and spoke, "Master I…"
Sidious interrupted him by sending a surge of Force lightning through Vader's body, "You had the opportunity to end the rebellion, but you let Organa get away."
Vader's body convulsed from the after effects of the lightning as he tried to respond, "Yes, but…"
"Silence!" Sidious barked as he sent another surge of Force lightning towards Vader. "I do not want to hear your excuses. I would have total control over the galaxy if it had not been for you. Failure is not acceptable, let me remind you what can happen when you fail." Sidious used the Force and brushed against Vader's mind again.
Vader had been trying to compose himself as his master spoke. However, images started flooding his mind which caused him to struggle against his bonds as he screamed out, "Noooooooo!" Sidious had brought forth memories that Vader had tried to bury in his mind. He could see his mother being beaten by Tusken Raiders while he was helpless to stop them. As Vader watched the memory of the Raiders dragging his mother from their hovel, he shouted, "Stop, stop! Nooooooo!" Then the memory changed and Vader saw a group of dead Tusken Raiders, surrounding the lifeless body of his mother. Vader screamed in agony, "Nooooooooooo! Stop! I promise I won't fail again!" Suddenly, the memories faded and Vader's body slumped helplessly against his chains as Sidious cackled.
"I am sure you won't, my young apprentice. However, I want to make sure you do not forget this lesson." He stated as Vader screamed again.
Vader felt a sharp pain across his chest and upper arms. Nothing had struck him, and he realized his master was using the Force again. Sidious was using the Force to whip Vader to remind him what can happen when one fails. Vader screamed with every lash of the invisible whip. After nearly fifteen minutes of torture, Vader's bonds were released and he fell helplessly to the ground.
Sidious smiled at Vader's fallen form and said, "Now go my apprentice, and do not fail me again."
Vader gingerly picked himself up and painfully replied, "Yes, my master."