Chapter 3: A Man Changed Into a Sith
"Darth Vader?" Padmé asked coolly as she pulled away from him. "Is that what you're calling yourself now?"
Vader said nothing but rigidly stood there regarding her from behind the dark lenses that hid his eyes from her.
"When I was last with you, you called yourself Anakin Skywalker, my husband," she said quietly, aware of the fact that the mentioning of his former name was going to upset him.
The bridge went dead silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the Sith Lord and the brave woman who dared to stand up to him. A simultaneous gasp had rippled through the room.
"Anakin Skywalker is dead," he rumbled.
"Then Padmé Skywalker is too."
Giving him one last mournful look, Padmé turned her back on him and strode back down the bridge. Hot tears rolled down her face. She wept for Anakin, she wept for the family they could have been, and she wept for herself and her lost love.
Then, something happened which caused her to stop just feet from the exit.
"My Lord, it is my duty to inform you that the rebels have evaded us once more," a male voice from behind her said in a crisp but nervous tone.
Looking back, she saw the admiral standing before Vader. Though he was standing still despite the threatening figure before him, his hand shook where they were clasped behind his back.
For a moment, Vader just gazed at the admiral.
"I accept all responsibility for it and I wished to apologize," the man said.
Suddenly, Vader raised his fist and held out his thumb and forefinger. Slowly and in an almost imperceptive way, he began to press them closer together.
Instantaneously, the man's hands flew to his throat where he struggled to pull away the invisible hands which blocked all passage of air. His body began to shake and he was soon struggling to remain kneeling. The veins in his neck began to bulge, but Vader continued to unmercifully continue his torture.
"Liar!" Anakin roared. "You betrayed me!" As lava swirled about them and Padmé's eyes filled with tears, he raised his gloved hand towards her.
Padmé felt two hands sliding across her throat. Her hands flew to her neck but she felt nothing yet she could not breathe.
Her confused eyes found Anakin's and she looked deeply into his hateful orbs.
He was doing this to her.
Desperately, Padmé struggled against the hold that refused to let go. The hands that had once caressed her in such gentleness and make her tremble had now become an instrument of death.
Anakin, why are you trying to kill me and our baby?
As the terrible truth sunk in, Padmé tried to speak but no words emitted from her mouth. "Please Anakin… I love you…"
Unmerciful, he crushed his fingers together without hesitation.
Quickly, everything went black.
The last
time she ever saw him again, Padmé only saw Sithly eyes that
didn't belong to her husband.
"No!" she screamed,
running the full length of the bridge. She furiously pulled on
Vader's arm but he did not even budge. "Please, do not kill him!"
she begged, tears poring down her face. On the floor, the admiral's
slowed his struggle as his eyes began to roll back on his head.
"Please- I beg you! Do it for the man you once were- do it for me?"
Momentarily, he turned his head towards her.
The dead body fell lifeless at her feet.
"Apology accepted, Admiral," Vader sneered as he steppped over the body.
Gasping, Padmé released her tight hold on Vader's thick arm and slowly backed away. "No…" she murmured, almost hysterical. "No…" She shook her head as if she were trying to convince herself that what she was seeing wasn't real. Quickly, she backed away from the monster who had once been her beloved husband.
In doing so, she ran into something hard.
Startled, she whipped around to find herself looking into another unfamiliar face. Tall and rather broad, the man sported a black ponytail and a roguish face.
"Jixton," Vader called out, causing Padmé to uncertainly look at him. "Take Lady Vader to my Chambers. We will have a much needed… talk once I've made contact with the Emperor. Captain Piett," he called out.
From among the group of captains that stood in the corner gaping at the dead body, a serious man rushed forth and quickly bowed to Vader.
"You are
Admiral now. I hope you will be a more efficient Admiral than your
predecessor."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spoiler for the next chapter: The Emperor's Ultimatum
Cold hands crept about Padmé's throat, filling her with the horrors of certain death and the painful memories of Mustafar. No mercy would be granted to her this time- no child of his grew within her and her husband, one present in Vader, was completely gone.
Struggling yet unable to take in any air, Padmé's bulging eyes looked into Vader's. This time, as she struggled against the invisible grip, Padmé said nothing- she had nothing to apologize for or plead with- she was only left with a million regrets.
A swift death would be Vader's final gift to her.
Suddenly, something momentarily flickered in Vader's red eyes and, after a slight struggle crossed his hard face, he let go. Gasping, Padmé fell forward as she massaged her neck and took in several long draughts of air.
Vader did not know that he had failed her a second time.
"That was just a taste of what you'll experience if you fail me," he said in a deep voice.
