This is a Star Wars Fan Fiction Only,
The very next day Anakin woke up and sat down watching Vader sleeping for a second, he could not understand why did Vader hide his face as he did, it wasn't like he had any scars or was disfigured by some sort of accident, Anakin being the ever-inquisitive kid decided to work on the nearby workbench and make a little something for the man as a thank you gift.
Even Anakin could tell that this man had nothing but the best intentions for him and his mother and for some strange reason the Raiders had not once taken a shot at his pod racer, which is something the Tusken Raiders love to do. He worked silently until he finished the small device, it was nothing major it was a holographic display clock, with two functions one was an alarm the other was a music play function that would play soothing music that was taken from the extranet to help a person sleep.
Anakin had initially started to make this as a way for his mother to be able to have a good night's sleep, but considering that her work and life had improved so much thanks to the man who was currently sleeping, he felt that Vader might need more than his mother, it was a feeling he got when he started working on the little gift.
He finished and placed the gift on the workbench and sneaked away thinking that he got away with only an Astromech droid having seen him. As soon as the bay door closed Vader opened his eyes, and looked in the direction of the Astromech droid who was still looking at the door then at the place where he was sleeping on the makeshift bed.
"Honestly you would think that working on making an electronic device would be something that others would figure they would be heard, yes I know he did it as a good gesture, but I told him he needs to sleep for him to be big and strong, then again I would be no different if I was his age. Thank you for keeping an eye on me R2, please wake me up if a Jedi or the Queen need me for something but I am still very tired for some reason, so I need to go back to sleep."
The Astromech began to make a series of beeps and sounds to many other people they were just the sounds common for droids, but to Vader having spent so much time with droids to him it was as clear as speech, it was very funny since at first R2 said that he would and then began singing an old song that helped babies fall asleep. To Vader, it was very funny since this is the lullaby that his mother used to sing to him when he was a little boy.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, try being the keyword in this, every time he closed his eyes he remembered everything that he lost, everything person that he saw die, and everything thing he ever did under the influence of that lying bastard that had once been his master, it was a reoccurring nightmare, one that he still had even when he was in the past.
To many other people, this nightmare was more akin to torture than anything else, but a lifetime of misery and pain had also taught Vader that there is a deeper meaning, and the meaning was clear to see to Vader, which is why he could sleep even when seeing these images and memories, it was a reminder of the things he needed to prevent.
It was ten o'clock the following day when he finally woke up and put on his helmet and gauntlets. He thanked R2 for keeping him safe and the lullaby, the droid was happy to hear that, as he sat down on the workbench he saw the small device and the note, Wizard guy, here is a little gift to help you keep time, an alarm, and something to help you sleep better, a thank you gift from us the Skywalker family to you.
He looked at it and smiled, the device when turned on would show a holographic display of the time and date, and indeed he could set an alarm on it, and a little sleep button on it, the funny thing is that the device looked like the pod racer Anakin had piloted during his last race. Stored it carefully and walked out of the droid maintenance bay. He nearly tripped on Obi-Wan sleeping near the door of the bay.
He looked at Qui-Gon who had this amused look on his face, "Qui-Gon didn't the queen assign you and your apprentice a place where you both could rest?" Qui-Gon simply said that indeed she did, but for some odd reason, his padawan ended up sleeping near that particular door. Vader followed the man towards the place where they could both sit and have something for breakfast.
"I will say this again, that apprentice of yours is too paranoid for his good. How do you like your caff? I like mine as dark as a career Senator's heart and as bitter as a comment from Mace Windu, but as long as it is caff I will drink it." Qui-Gon was amused by what he said and he told him he also liked caff that didn't have any sweetener or cream added.
So two cups of pure black caff were made and they both sat down to drink their morning drink of choice. "So Vader what sort of problems do you see when we land on Coruscant?" Vader simply asked that was a little too vague, did he mean personal problems or problems that the young Queen of Naboo would have to face? Qui-Gon laughed and simply said both.
"I don't think your Jedi council will exactly welcome me with open arms I imagine several of them will attempt to outright assassinate me either as the first step on the planet or at some point during my stay on the planet, as for the Queen I imagine that her major problem would not be that surprising, it is to get the Senate to do something about the droids invading her world. I will help as much as I can."
He took a sip of his Caff and began to think for a second before he continued, "But in the end, I am just one Sith, there is only so much I can do by myself. My apprentice can not help because he is currently doing much-needed work for something that goes beyond the near problem that faces Naboo."
Qui-Gon was shocked and set down his cup as he heard him and asked such as? Vader simply laughed and told him if he did tell him that, it would ruin the surprise and he didn't want to do that. "You know Vader I have never once thought that I would ever meet a Sith with a sense of humor. You are constantly breaking every notion that we were taught to believe was true about the Sith."
Vader finished his cup as he saw the handmaidens come in to begin to work on cooking breakfast for the queen and themselves, only to find that there was something just recently prepared, Vader had used the force to make this while he was talking with Qui-Gon it was an old recipe that Padme had taught him during one of their many secret dates, it was her favorite thing to eat for breakfast.
The handmaidens simply took the container and left without saying a word, except that two of them were giggling as they left the area. "Is it that funny that a Jedi and a Sith are having a pleasant conversation while drinking Caff in the morning?" Vader simply answered that it is more unusual rather than funny, but then again some might find it funny.
"So you expect that the Jedi Council will make attempts to end your life, if that is the case should I worry that you placed some sort of poison in this caff?" Vader simply looked at the man and for some reason, he got this unspoken message that Vader would not even consider underhanded tricks, if he wanted to kill him, he would, and he would hide nothing while doing so.
"You have as much to worry about it, as I had in sleeping with your apprentice looking at my door like some beast set to guard the area. No, if I am not attacked you have nothing to fear from me, I don't attack without reason. I told you that already."
He closed his eyes and began to meditate for a few seconds when the good Captain came in and decided to serve himself some of the freshly prepared caffs, except he added sugar and cream to it, much to the amusement of the two men who were seated at the nearby table. "I gather from the deceleration that we are about to land on Coruscant, I hope you told the Queen or the handmaidens that she will need time to get ready, no doubt there will be a welcoming party waiting for the ship to land."
Captain Panaka took a sip of his caff before looking at Vader and told him indeed he had informed the handmaidens and by doing so her majesty was also getting ready she was in a very good mood since the handmaidens had surprised her with her favorite breakfast. Now the giggling from the handmaidens made perfect sense.
The three-man talked about things that would be considered by many to be plain and ordinary, such as their favorite food, drink, and even hobbies. To many, this would be a casual conversation between men, but to Vader, this had a hidden meaning, someone in the ship wanted to gather information about him, and so he kept his answers short and as vague as possible without sounding rude.
"I gather you are still trying to get over your unpleasant time on Tatooine, I had little to no difficulties there myself, if anything I think I found my next padawan there so if anything my stay on that planet was quite beneficial, you, on the other hand, couldn't leave that planet fast enough." Vader could not evade that comment even if he wanted.
"That is only because you look at the planet like a tourist, I, on the other hand, know how life is on that world and I have no illusions that life is peaceful or safe on that planet, did you know that once upon a time that world had been as full of life as Naboo is, yes a long time ago, longer than anyone can remember that planet had oceans, rivers, forests, all sort of animal life, and plants, but then they were conquered by a race of beings that they call their civilization the Infinite Empire."
This caught the attention of the two men away from supposedly mundane topics, "These people were ruthless in enforcing their will when Tatooine rebelled to gain their freedom, these Tyrants decided to decimate the entire planet blast it with nuclear fire, till all plant life was burned, mountains were crushed, and the sea had evaporated and the sand had turned to glass, most of the surface of the world was turned to glass, with time and the harsh winds that glass turned to sand again."
They couldn't believe there ever was an empire so ruthless as to destroy a world simply because they wanted the freedom to live their lives as they chose. "The two survivors of it, the single species of sentient life that survived became two, one was the masters of technology, the Jawas, the other are what people call the Tusken Raiders, and their lives were so harsh that they no longer recognize each other as members of the same species. Now you know why the Jawas treat everything on Tatooine as theirs and why Tusken Raiders do not trust people from other worlds, because of what happened to their world."
"This is the truth that many do not know or want to know, and one example of how harsh life can be on that sand planet. If I could have avoided being on that planet, believe me, I would have, but at least you two know that world a little better."
Vader got up and began to walk towards a nice chair where he could strap himself for the landing, as he did the two men went to take their seats, the Captain returned to plot the final descent and landing on the planet, and Qui-Gon sat right next to Vader after getting his still sleeping Padawan strapped in his chair.
"Where did you find that history and where can I find it?" Vader looked at Qui-Gon and simply said he liked to study many things, as for where could a Jedi find such information, he simply said that if something is not in the Jedi Archives then it probably doesn't exist. Qui-Gon looked surprised when he heard Vader say that last comment since it was an old Jedi comment. It means that this Sith had better knowledge and understanding of the Jedi than they did about the Sith, this was troubling, troubling indeed.
As the Queen and her people got off the ship and began to walk down the corridor that lead to the spaceport she noticed that someone was missing, she was flanked by both Jedi but Vader was nowhere to be seen, this was odd and this was also making her quite nervous till her double gave her a nod which told her there was nothing to worry about.
That is when the Senator of her world finally decided to make his presence known and walked towards her just as she and the other people opened the door that lead out of the hangar bay, "Ah your majesty, we have been hearing horrible things in messages but I am glad that you are safe, thanks to the quick work of these Jedi who saved you no doubt."
Padme looked at Senator Palpatine and began to shake her head, "No, senator these two were not the only ones that saved us, the man who saved all of us was someone else, I do wish he was present to introduce him to you and the members of the Jedi Council that came with you."
She noticed Master Windu, Dooku, and at least two other members of the Jedi Council had come with the Senator, something made the hair on the back of her headstand and it was almost like she could feel that trouble was headed their way.
"We did come to greet you Queen Amidala, but we also came to see if my former padawan and his padawan were alright, we recently felt a surge in the Dark Side of the Force. That was shocking to my fellow Council members and I was concerned over the safety of the two Jedi I mentioned." That was the moment that the area began to feel cold, colder than any night on the Planet Hoth, and footsteps could be heard.
That is when the door opened to reveal a man wearing dark armor and nobody could see his face, "I apologize for my delay your majesty." She looked at him almost like he understood that he was merely trying to make an imposing entrance. From the looks of the Jedi Council members, he was more than successful.
"There is no need to apologize, it is the perfect opportunity to introduce you to the Senator of my world, Senator Shiv Palpatine, Senator this is the man who saved us from captivity from the Droid Army of the Trade Federation, He has told us that his name is Darth Vader, I prefer to call him Lord Vader for simplicity sake."
That is when Windu looked at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan almost looking at them with a look of disappointment on his face. "Your majesty, are you certain that is how he introduced himself because that is a Sith Title and Name, it would be quite troubling to find a member of that order still alive."
She merely looked at him and then nodded to Vader, which proceeded to finally talk to them himself, "Indeed I introduced myself as such, it is my name after all, and I did inform her that Darth is my Sith Title, I see that these two Jedi have not shared that information with you, that is odd. As I am currently near these people I would advise against an attack, it could lead to some of them being injured or worse by your actions."
Windu looked at him, "So you admit that you are a Sith, you even have the title of a Sith Lord which is even worse." Vader told him he does not need to hide the fact that he is a Sith, for something that he is quite proud of being. That is when Windu seeing an opening as he was slightly away from the others, jumped at the chance to strike him as his lightsaber activated.
Vader simply held his hand and the man felt like a great force had been used to push him back. "Typical, I should have reacted in kind as I told the Jedi Knight that I would only attack in self-defense or the aid of another, as I was expecting, the very first moment I set foot down on the planet they sent four Jedi Masters to eliminate me while pretending to be here to greet the Queen of Naboo."
"The Sith are evil, we can not let you step out of this port alive, your very existence is a threat to the galaxy." Jedi Master Windu was angry at the very idea that a Sith was alive, Vader could not help but smirk from behind his masked helm, little did Windu know there was more than one sith near him, in fact, the one that wanted to eliminate the Jedi was standing right next to him a minute ago.
"I would hate to delay the Queen from pressing matters but if I must, there is no law that makes it a crime to be a member of my order, I am a danger to others, well I have done my best to keep her majesty, her people, and even two members of your Order safe, I believe that contradicts your statement, as I should warn you, such anger could lead to the Dark Side, careful I would be in your place."
This made Obi-Wan shake his head in annoyance and Qui-Gon tried and hide his laughter behind a smile, Padme looked at the Jedi Master who tried to attack Vader, "You may not trust him, but believe me, Lord Vader has done nothing except earning our respect and gratitude, I also placed him in charge of forming a plan to liberate my world, so you see Master Jedi if you did kill him, it would only help the Trade Federation's continued invasion of Naboo, is that what you desire?"
That is when a holographic communicator activated, it seems Dooku was receiving a call, answered and a short, green elderly green being appeared. "Informed of Windu's actions I was, send you to attack I did not. Apologize for his outburst I do." Vader looked at the holographic image and smiled not that anyone could see it.
"It was no trouble at all Grand Master, as I said I was expecting this. I doubt that you called just for this, to what do I owe the honor of this communication?" Vader saw the shocked faces of the other people Qui-Gon informed Dooku of everything but Dooku kept it a secret to avoid a potential problem.
"Invite you I wish, believe this conversation private it should be, to the temple expect you shall come." Again, this was what Vader expected, he merely said that he will go to meet with him, but he did express that he was not comfortable with the idea of the meeting happening in a building full of Jedi who is more than likely jumping at the chance to murder him.
Master Dooku began to laugh, he was not even hiding it, "I would not worry about it, I will come with you, to ensure the safety of our guest and to make the other members of the order less worried about the safety of our Grand Master." Vader simply nodded, and looked at the man, he told him that Grand Master Yoda could defeat him as easily as scolding a disobedient and unruly youngling.
"Now that this matter is settled I would like to be directed towards our temporary domicile, the journey was a bit tiring and we may wish to speak with the Senator about how to deal with the invading army of droids that is currently on our world."
Senator Palpatine walked closer to her and tried very hard to probe the mind of Vader, only to be kicked out of the man's mind almost like he was swatting a fly. "I have arranged for you to use one of my private apartments for your stay on Coruscant, I thank you Lord Vader for your timely rescue of the Queen and your continued aid to my beloved planet."
Vader did not utter a word, as he saw Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and young Anakin going their way, clearly going to the Jedi Temple. Schmi and the twins looked a bit sad to see her son and their brother go, but Vader placed a hand on Schmi's shoulder and told them that they did not need to worry, he is simply on his way to fulfilling his destiny or his dream, which made them relax as they followed Padme to the transport that would take them to the apartment.
The apartment was exactly as you would expect from a Senator, extravagant, decorated to look closer to the royal chambers than anything else, "I am sorry to tell you this your majesty, but I believe we will have little to no aid on the liberation of our world, the Republic is not as it once was, there is very little concern for the safety and well being of the common man, "
Padme asked him what does he mean by this, "The senate is ruled by the bureaucrats, I believe that only by calling for a vote of no confidence and naming another person to the position of Supreme Chancellor we will have the aid we require to liberate our world. Now if you will excuse me. I must leave you to rest and relax, we have a very stressful meeting with the Senate after all."
Vader watched the man leave and for a second he wanted to do exactly what Windu did, activate his lightsabers and strike the man dead, but he would not let his anger influence him or make him do something rash. He needed to be careful and collected, not act out of emotional outbursts impulsively.
"Lord Vader, do you believe that the Senator is correct, that we must remove the current High Chancellor to free my world?" Vader began to look out the window at the view of the city, "No, your majesty, I do not believe he is correct about everything he said, I believe that there are members of the Senate who are very much in league with the Trade Federation, but thanks to my preparations of the evidence against them, this should prove to be little problem."
He looked at her and handed her the data stick as he had promised, "This should be more than enough to expose the actions of the Trade Federation and get the support of the Senate, but I feel that this is not enough, the Republic army will not mobilize speedily, so I believe the old saying comes to play, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Trade Federation may have many enemies that we may use to remove them from your world."
Captain Panaka looked at him, "Mercenaries?" Vader looked at him and nodded his head, "Mercenaries, Privateers, or just business rivals, as I said the enemy of my enemy, the Trade Federation has plenty of enemies that wish them to fail their conquest of that world, and many who are angry of the possible conquest of theirs."
Padme looked at him and smiled, "Very well Lord Vader we give you complete authority to negotiate and make any arrangements you need to make with these potential allies in our time of need." Vader saw her and her handmaidens retire for the evening, as he still stood by the window, knowing full well that he also had a meeting with the Grand Master of the Jedi Order.
