"Welcome to the Aggressor Lord Vader," a young officer in the hangar bay greets us. "I am Lieutenant Piett."
I look at the young man, seeing hints of his uncle in his face.
"You may dispense with the pleasantries," I tell him as I approach him, Padmé walking behind me. "Arrange for accommodations for my wife, Piett, and then meet me on the bridge."
Piett looks with surprise at Padmé, but, like his uncle, is too prudent to ask any questions.
"At once, Lord Vader," he replies as he walks along with us. I turn to Padmé. "I will check on you in one hour," I tell her. "Stay in your quarters."
She does not respond, but makes a face of hostile acquiescence. I head for the bridge, anxious about leaving Padmé alone, but knowing I have no choice at this point.
"Welcome Lord Vader," a man wearing the insignia of an admiral says to me as I enter the bridge. "I am Admiral Pandergan."
"Show me the last known location of the Endeavour," I order him, not taking the time for small talk.
"Of course," Pandergan replies. "This way, my lord." He leads me to a console and brings up the information I have requested. As I stand waiting for the images to appear, a wave of fatigue washes over me, and I realize that I haven't slept in almost 24 hours. I must get some rest soon if I am to operate at peak efficiency.
"This is the last known location, my lord," Pandergan tells me, stepping back and affording me a clear view of the screen. I step forward and examine the star chart which has the coordinates of the Endeavour clearly marked.
"She was last seen in the Corellia System," he points out. "And that was 24 hours ago, my lord."
"What have you done about locating her since her disappearance?" I demand.
Pandergan swallows. "Well, sir," he begins nervously. "We waited for you to arrive before..."
"You mean this ship has been unaccounted for for 24 hours and you have done nothing to locate it?" I ask in a menacing tone.
"Well, no," he replies uneasily.
"24 hours is a long time," I tell him. "Our chances of finding this ship have been greatly reduced by your negligence, Admiral," I inform him menacingly. "Calculate every possible destination from their last know location," I bark. "Immediately! And pray, Admiral that you find them before it's too late."
"At once, sir!" he yelps. "You! Normad! Get over here at once!"
I step back, arms folded over my chest, to watch as Pandergan orders underlings around, trying to maintain a modicum of dignity. I am very concerned about this situation, though; the odds of finding the Endeavour have become tremendously slim thanks to Pendergan's inability to take matters into his own hands. If Malz is allowed to continue his renegade ways, then my credibility will be badly compromised, not to mention my bid to become emperor. He must be found and stopped, even if it means shooting his ship out of the stars.
"Lord Vader, you've arrived." I turn to see Newmann standing there. He seems relieved to see me.
"Yes," I tell him. "And just in time it seems. These idiots have done nothing about locating the Endeavour."
He nods grimly. "Yes, I know," he replies, watching the men at the console trying frantically to interpret the information on the screen. "I tried to suggest a course of action when I arrived, my lord," he goes on. "But my input was not appreciated."
"Obviously not," I tell him. "This situation is worse than I had anticipated. I am going to access the information myself to see if I can locate them myself. The Force will guide me," I tell him, knowing he really has no understanding of the power I speak of.
"Have you been provided with proper accommodations, my lord?" he asks me.
"My wife has," I tell him, "I will use the computer console in her quarters."
"Lady Vader is with you, my lord?" he asks, barely able to conceal his amazement.
"Yes," I reply simply, and then leave the bridge.
I have little trouble finding where Padmé has been escorted, for it seems she is on the minds of much of the crew. Word travels fast, I muse.
Upon entering the quarters, I do not see Padmé at first. I call her name, and she emerges from the 'fresher, brushing her long hair. She is dressed for sleep.
"Hello there," she says, giving me a smile.
"Good evening, my lady," I reply, giving her a courtly bow. "I hope I'm not disturbing you at this late hour."
She laughs. "Well, what if I said you were?" she asks.
I walk over to her. "I would be devastated to hear it," I say, taking her hands in mine.
She laughs again. "What news?" she asks. "Has the Endeavour been found?"
I shake my head and release her hands. "No," I tell her. "And it looks like it will be extremely difficult to find it now. It's been gone for 24 hours with no trace, and the imbeciles on this ship have done nothing to try and locate it."
"Well perhaps they were just waiting for orders from their supreme commander," she suggests. "It seems to me that most of the officers are afraid to do anything without asking you first."
I sit down heavily, feeling tired once again. "Yes, I suppose so," I concur. "I wish Firmus Piett was still alive."
She walks over to me and commences to remove my helmet. "Who is that?"
"He was the admiral who served me on board the Executor," I tell her. "He was probably the closest thing I had to a friend all those years. He was smart, reliable and had amazing insight for one not gifted with Force sense."
She cocks an eyebrow at me. "Well you know, Ani, the Force is not necessary for a person to have insight," she reminds me.
"Yes, I know that," I tell her. "But you know what I mean."
"Yes, I do," she replies as she reaches around and loosens the clasps holding the mask together. Carefully she pulls it from my face. I breathe a sigh of relief as she does so, happy to be free of it, even for a short time.
"Much better," she declares, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
I smile up at her. "Yes, I heartily agree."
"Wait a minute," she says, seating herself on my thigh. "Wasn't the officer who showed me here named Piett?"
I nod. "Yes, he is the nephew of the man I knew," I tell her. "And seems to have inherited his uncle's abilities. Too bad he wasn't on board the Intimidator."
"Why don't you just transfer him, then?" she suggests. "You are the commander of the fleet, aren't you? Surely that sort of thing happens all the time."
She's right... "Yes, I suppose I could," I reply thoughtfully. "But in the meantime, I have a bigger issue to deal with; finding that renegade destroyer."
"Do you have the coordinates of its last known location?" she asks.
"Yes, they are on the ship's navi-computer."
She stands up and walks over to the console. Within moments she has brought up the information at the station. I always knew she was a quick study...
"Here it is," she says, leaning down to get a better look. "The Corellia System."
I stand up and walk over to her, my eyes on the screen. "That's where it was 24 hours ago. Where it is now is another matter."
She sits down at the station. "Well, there is a mathematical way of determining that," she reminds me.
"I know," I tell her. "The men on the bridge are working on it right now. But with so much time elapsed, the possible number of locations is almost endless. Determining the right one will be next to impossible."
"Not for a Jedi," she tells me, looking up at me with a smile.
I smile back at her. "No, not for a Jedi," I agree. "But a tired Jedi is another matter."
Padmé stands up and turns to face me. "You look tired," she says, taking my face in her hands and stroking it gently. "Please tell me you're not going back to the bridge before you get some rest."
I smile. "Somehow I get the feeling that you'll forcibly restrain me if I try to."
She laughs. "Because you know me so well," she replies, looking up at me. "I love you, Anakin," she tells me softly. "Have I told you that recently?"
I shake my head. "No, you haven't," I admit. "But I'm very glad to hear you say it now."
She smiles. "You know, I don't believe I ever stopped loving you, in spite of everything that happened," she tells me. "I can't tell you how many nights I dreamed of you during all those years, Ani. I would dream that we were together, and that everything was wonderful and peaceful, and we had our children with us…." She stops, the memories of those empty dreams too painful to remember.
"I would dream the same thing," I tell her. "Sometimes I would relive moments we'd shared, or I would dream that Mustafar had never happened. I had a dream of you quite recently in fact, before I knew that you were alive. I dreamed that you came to me from the after world and told me that you forgave me, and asked me to promise that I would never abandon our children, that they needed me, and I needed them. I thought that somehow you were reaching out to me, and it gave me peace. But now I know that it was but a dream."
She frowns as she listens to me describe the vision I'd had of her on Coruscant months ago. "That is so bizarre," she tells me. "I had a very similar dream, Ani. I dreamed I was watching you sleep, and whispered in your ear that I loved you, that I forgave you, and asked you to watch over our children. I had no idea at that point that you had renounced the Dark Side, or that you had even been physically transformed back to your former self; do you think our dreams were merely coincidence? Or was there more to it than that?"
Her revelation surprises me. Yet, she and I have always shared a connection, despite the fact that she has never manifested any Force abilities. I would not at all be surprised if we had shared a common vision, our bond undeniably strong even though we were light years apart.
"That was no coincidence, Padmé," I tell her. "I'm certain of it. You and I share something truly unique, which transcends the ordinary. We are soul mates, Padmé; and the bond we share goes beyond any untying, no matter what circumstances we may find ourselves in."
She nods in agreement. "Yes, I believe that too, Ani," she tells me. "All those years we were apart I felt as though part of me were missing."
"I know exactly what you mean," I tell her. "When I thought you were dead, a part of me died too. You complete me, Padmé. You always have."
She smiles, her eyes shining with unshed tears. I pull her close, closing my eyes as I simply hold her, wondering how I ever lived without her for so very long.
"We need to get some sleep," I tell her, kissing the top of her head. "We have a lot of work to do."
She nods. "Yes, I know," she concurs. "Why don't you get out of this awful suit and come to bed?"
"Sounds good to me," I tell her. I release her and she turns to go, but I reach out to her and take her hand. She looks up at me questioningly. "And by the way, just in case you had any doubts," I tell her, "I love you too."
She smiles in response. "Come to bed, Anakin," she tells me.
"Your wish is my command, milady," I tell her, kissing her hand.
