A Warm Breeze in the Snow Storm
By Rose-Arwen-Padmé
Theed
"Sir, the city has been divided." The stormtropper looked into the unreadable mask of Darth Vader apprehensively. "The squads have determined the population of the capital city, divided it into squadrons, and have labeled them simply 'East Division' and 'West Division'." He didn't even pause a moment before he continued, "It has been determined randomly that the 'East Division' occupants will be terminated. 'West Division' will be separated into Camps T1, T2, T3, and T4. A similar process is in action all over the planet."
Vader smiled under his mask. At least he tried to smile. All the major cities of Naboo had half of their population presently being sorted into the camps that were in place especially for each city— three for each. Theed had another camp, T4, because it was the largest city of all and the half that would be spared from the killings could not fit into three camps. Each camp was labeled by the first letter of the city and the camp number it was. He had spent the beginning of the morning overseeing the roundup of the politically strong Nubians, and now in the afternoon he had moved to watching the more active process of rounding up the civilians.
"Good. You are dismissed, commander." The stormtrooper bowed and was gone. Vader looked around him. He was standing on a bare stone platform, with stone steps leading down from it to a street below. On either side of the street were columns, buildings, etc. The street stopped at the stairs leading up to the pavilion. This was obviously a place of some importance, a place where festivities and grand celebrations would be held. Strangely, he thought there was a strong sense of familiarity to it.
It shouldn't be strange to be somewhere here that's familiar, he silently reminded himself. After all, I lived here once.
The sound of Gungan trumpets echoed in his ears… banners flew in the wind as confetti dropped from the sky like rain… a happy day… a beautiful day…
The lush, bright, natural beauty of Naboo contrasted very strongly with his black machinery. Everything around him was colorful and radiated life…. he, on the other hand, was nothing but darkness, and radiated destruction.
Darth Vader had never looked so out of place as he did then, stalking through the streets of Theed. He clashed powerfully with the environment surrounding him. It was hard to imagine that he had once strolled blissfully down the streets, hand-in-hand with a stunning brunette, whom he had lovingly called his wife.
Darth Vader squeezed his empty hands tightly.
The Nubian sun's rays no longer enforced his skin's handsome dark tan—it could not penetrate the black suit of machinery, and that Tatooine tan had been lost long ago. The cool breeze no longer caressed his golden blonde hair— even if the mask wasn't upon his head— all of his hair had been burned away ten years ago on Mustafar. But, though he would not—could not—admit it to himself, what hurt the most was that he could not smell the fine Nubian air. He remembered clearly how the air smelled in Theed, how you could breathe in the mild humidity, which was caused by the gigantic waterfalls not too far away. How you could smell flowers, and the food that was being cooked outdoors over fires. How, mixed in between all of that, he could smell Padmé's perfume.
He cursed his artificial respirator as he stomped down more streets. He eventually found himself cursing the entirety of his machine-like body. Yet, through his anger, he cursed the person who had put him in this suit in the first place.
"Obi Wan," he quietly seethed aloud, the name sounding like a fatal hex when spoken by the dark lord.
It had been ten years since he'd seen the wretched Jedi on the planet of Mustafar. However, the memory of their encounter had haunted him to this day…
---FLASH BACK---
Darth Vader's eyes narrowed as he saw the airship docked on its mechanical legs on the platform as he flew closer to the volcanic planet. This was the second time the dark apprentice had traveled to Mustafar, and this, once again, was no gentle calling.
He had tracked Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi here.
He docked his ship on the same platform that he had months earlier, the day that he came to extinguish the Separatist threat once and for all, the day that Padmé was unknowingly taken from their bedroom— stolen and hidden away. That thought brought up remembrance of the desperate searches all over the galaxy to find her, searches that ended, of all places, in the Theed Palace on Naboo two weeks ago. His only sustaining thought was to track down that murderous, conniving, traitorous Kenobi and reap upon him what he owed. He was the reason why Padmé had died. He was the reason why their child had been delivered into the hands of Death.
The rage that had always been boiling in the Dark Lord since that day on Naboo caused him to growl out loudly, "Kenobi!" as soon as his feet touched the platform's concrete. He could feel his former master's presence nearby… coming closer. Good, Vader thought. He knows I'm here. At least he's not foolish enough to waste my time by cowering. He gets to die all the sooner!
The heat of the environment had already caused beds of sweat to form on Vader's forehead, but the hot rage of such intensity that flowed through his veins made him feel as if he was on fire. He smiled grimly. Perhaps that is how Kenobi will meet his doom. After all, why not take advantage of the surrounding area to exemplify his suffering and torment?
The presence was close.
"Lord Vader, I presume?"
Vader turned slowly, a malicious grin on his tense face. He faced the Clone Wars hero, his icy yellow eyes narrowed into slits.
"You," he whispered hotly. "You have taken her from me!" He raised his right arm and pointed a trembling, accusing finger in Obi Wan's direction.
It pained Obi Wan so badly to see his former Padawan in this state. "You have done that yourself! You lost her the day you choose the Dark Side over her."
"I was doing what was best for her! I was going to protect her!"
Obi Wan rolled his shoulders backwards. "I did what was best for her… and for her offspring that she carried. I was saving them from your lust for power."
"Why?" Darth Vader questioned tensely. "Why here, Kenobi? Why did you come to Mustafar?"
The Jedi Master raised his eyebrows. "Intrigued by my choice of vacation, Anakin?"
"I asked you a question, old man!"
"Ah, you're just curious, I see." Obi Wan's faked light air dissipated around him as he paused for several moments. When he did continue, he said slowly, "I wanted to see it. I wanted to see the place where my Padawan had forsaken all that he'd come to love and honor. I wanted to see the destruction that the new Lord of the Sith had reeked."
The corners of the young man's face went up in a crooked smile. "You should have visited the Chancellor's office. That's where Darth Vader was born, though Anakin Skywalker didn't die until they told him his wife was dead!" He paused, considering Obi Wan's comments again. "The Purges haven't been enough for you? The Jedi Temple wasn't enough for you?" His smile evaporated immediately with a new thought. "My wife's dead body wasn't enough for you!"
Obi Wan sobered even more. "The loss of Padmé is a great one. She was a good friend."
Anakin practically ripped his black Sith cloak off, itching for battle. "DON'T you speak her name! Don't you dare think that you have enough honors to say her name!"
Obi Wan slowly removed his Jedi cloak, dreading what he knew was to come. "If you'd told her that you were going to Mustafar, she would have followed you."
"Good! I would have protected her had she been with me!"
Obi Wan shook his head sadly. "No, then this fight would have only happened much sooner. It would have happened then. I watched her after I first spoke with her. I was going to trail her if she went anywhere, just in case you had told her where you were going." He paused briefly, "We would have seen each other then."
"Then now you would be dead, and Padmé and our child would be by my side!"
"I suppose we will never know," Obi Wan softly stated, as he remorsefully unhooked his trusted lightsaber from his belt. "Will we, Spawn of Sith?
"You are going to pay for what you did to Padmé and me, I promise," Vader threatened tersely.
"I will do what I must." Obi Wan's lightsaber ignited with a movement of his thumb.
"You will try."
---FLASHBACK ENDS---
"Lord Vader?"
Pleased for the interruption into his thoughts, the dark lord unhooked the comlink by his belt and raised it in front of his mask. "What is it, Admiral Tyson?"
The voice replied through the static, "We've run into some… trouble with a family here, my lord."
Vader sighed with annoyance. "And why are you bothering me, Admiral?"
"Forgive me, my lord. However, they are a rather important family, one that, His Highness, the Emperor himself mentioned. They're importance and recognition on the planet seems to be highly esteemed—"
"What is the point, Tyson!"
The voice, usually proud and firm, trembled obviously over the comlink. Meekly, Admiral Tyson replied, "We need your… assistance, Lord Vader."
Vader sighed angrily again— which was followed by a faint whimper of distress emitting from the man on the other side of the comlink. There were some Imperial officers who did there job, and did it well, then there were others…. like Tyson… who Vader considered cowards. They weren't worthy to be in the service of the Empire. Then again, Darth Vader hadn't met anyone who didn't tremble after it was obvious that he was upset with them.
"Very well. What is the address of this supposedly important family that you don't have the back bone to handle?"
After a pause, the shaky voice replied, "Their last name is Naberrie. Husband's first name: Ruwee, wife: Jobal. The address is—"
"Never mind!" Vader shouted anxiously into the comlink. "I know the way! I'll be there shortly!" He switched off the link as he turned and instantly, without taking a moment to ponder his bearings, started marching towards the 'East Division' of Theed.
He ignored the fact that his left hand was shaking.
TBC...
Woo hoo! Now the real plot begins!
Jokerisdaking - Hello again! I must be setting a record for myself-- 3 new chapters within 3 days! I'm very happy that you're enjoying the story. They'll be more updates coming, and I appreciate you going along on this ride with me! Thank you once more for you comments.
Leif of Rohan - :D It's great to hear from you again! I hope you didn't have to wait too long for this update.You gave me a huge compliment when you said that you could picture it in your mind--I think that should be one of the main goals of any writer. I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!
eridani - lol, unusual plots are my calling card. :) I tend to get... weird... plot bunnies. Thank you so much for your comments about the characters, because I always strive to try and portray the characters as true as they would be in the movies. I truly appreciate it!
Snow Lepord - Ben Kenobi voice Hello there/Ben Kenobi voice It's wonderful to read more comments from you! I'm glad that you were glad to see an update. :-) I guess I'm not beingvery nice to little Vader/Ani, eh? Oh, but just see how I pull on his dusty heart strings later on... He's gonna need serious therapy by the time this is all over! Thank you again for such kind remarks!
orliNkeira - Yay! I'm so flattered that you liked that specific piece about the waterfall so much! Ohhh, grins you remember Realizations. Yep, I removed that one from the site until I can revamp it and then I'll repost it. That's what I'm doing with this one-- I took them both down in late December, and now I'm going back and trying to make them a lot better and then reposting. But I need to do it one at a time, or else I'll fall behind. Realizations is next on the agenda as soon as this one is completed! Thanks again for leaving your comments!
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