Chapter Four


He'd been so close- so close!

For years he'd lived in anguish, in despair- living with the agony of his losses, with the guilt of his actions. And finally, his chance had come. His chance to be forgiven, his chance to cleanse himself- inside and out- of the heinous deeds he'd committed, his chance to be free.

And now it was gone.

Anger welled up within him, consumed him. His body shook with rage, his fists clenched.

Around him, the contents of the room shook, flying about and falling, crashing into walls and shattering. The air crackled with intensity.

It had been his chance! His chance for redemption! Had he succeeded, he could have been reunited with her…

Padmé

His breathing was heavy, ragged. His tightened muscles relaxed slowly, stretching as he rose from the floor.

He'd been the Emperors puppet for years. He'd lived with the pain, the troubles, the Emperor's wicked ways.

But this time, his Master had stepped in the way- had ruined his chances of ever seeing Padmé again. And that was something he couldn't- would not- tolerate.

This time, his Master had reached the final straw.

A deep, rumbling chuckle poured from behind the mask. Yes, Sidious and his twisted ways had no more control over him- the Emperor's reign over Darth Vader had ended.

He would see her again, his angel. And no one would stop him.

She smiled, deactivating her lightsaber with a hiss. Three battle droids lay below her, dismembered. Small spars flew from the exposed wires, blasters lay useless. The droids had been damaged beyond repair; there was no hope of patching them together again, even in a very piecemeal fashion.

True enough, battle droids had been outlawed long ago, during the formation of the Empire, but they still served well enough for training sessions.

Her smile widened.

And what a successful training session it had been.

She left the training room with an almost cat-like grace, notifying the cleanup droids to take care of the mess she'd left behind. What she needed now was a nice, relaxing hour in the 'fresher-

She stopped short. Someone was approaching, a member of her crew. Her fluttered shut as she reached out. She could feel his excitement, his rush of adrenaline, as though he were preparing himself for a battle…

"You have news for me, Commander?" She asked, her coy grin like that of a predator. Her fingers slid along the smooth metal of her lightsaber in anticipation.

His face wasn't visible through the mask, but she could sense his willingness to please her. "We've managed to slice their coordinates, and we'll be shifting into hyperspace within moments."

"Thank you, Commander." She responded, dismissing him. Resuming her path to her quarters, she couldn't stop smiling.

Even as she stepped into the shower and felt the warm water cascade over her, washing away the sweat from her training, the smile stayed.

She couldn't help it. This was her chance.

All her life, she'd been trained for a mission like this. Sure, she'd been on missions before but this one… This was the one that she could use to really prove herself.

She was determined to succeed.

She refused to let her Master down.