Vader grumbled as he changed into his suit and fastened the mask and helmet. He had been informed that Piett was waiting outside for him and that it was urgent.
He opened the steel door to see Piett standing alone with a slightly terrified look adorning his face. "What is it, Piett?" Vader snapped.
"My Lord," he responded, "it seems that we have been tricked."
"What do you mean?" Vader said, taking a step toward him.
"Um, well…" Piett began to explain, "the rebels arrived on Dantooine about an hour ago…in fighters."
"How many men did we lose?" Vader sneered, barely containing his rage. Piett took a small step back. "How many, Piett?!"
"Three-quarters of the troopers we had stationed, Sir," Piett answered meekly.
Vader shouted in rage, Force-pushing two of his guards. They quickly stood up and resumed their positions as if nothing happened.
"How did this happen?" Vader yelled.
"Just a theory, Lord Vader," Piett suggested, "but perhaps the girl lied to us about the base's location. When you had Organa send out that transmission for construction to begin on Dantooine, they must have figured out he'd been captured and where we would be waiting for them..."
Vader slammed Piett against a wall without use of the Force, gripping his collar. "If something like this happens again," Vader threatened, "I will personally see to it that you receive the same fate as Organa."
Piett did not squirm. "Yes, my Lord," he responded.
Vader released him and began his short walk to the prison level. Unsure of what to do with Padmé, he had brought her back there after her visit to his private quarters a few days ago. He had given her a larger cell with padding to sleep on, but did not visit her due to lack of plausible excuses to do so. But he certainly had one now, and it was not going to be pretty…
Padmé heard Vader's clunky footsteps approaching and found herself almost getting a bit excited. Perhaps he would finally release her...
But as soon as he entered, she realized this would not be the case. "Liar!" he shouted, grabbing hold of both her arms. He was squeezing tightly and Padmé winced. "Where is the base?"
"I told you where it is," Padmé answered, crying out in pain as he squeezed harder.
"Then why were my men just subjected to a surprise rebel attack on Dantooine?" Vader asked, still shouting.
Padmé felt a small spark of pride. Not only had she successfully diverted the Empire from the base's true location, but the rebels had even launched a seemingly effective attack.
"Tell me, Padmé," Vader demanded, shoving her against a wall. She banged her head slightly, but still maintained her composure. He leaned in closer. "Tell me where it is."
Padmé looked directly at the eyes of his mask and said, "No."
Vader released her arms and slapped her across the face. Padmé rubbed her cheek in shock, and perhaps it was the shock that prompted her to slap him back. Clearly Vader did not see it coming, as he just stood there, stunned.
I'm dead. I'm actually dead.
"I thought we could trust each other, Senator," he said quietly in an undecipherable tone.
"Trust?" Padmé replied, trying to hang onto her confidence. "How can you expect me to trust the man who wanted to kill all my friends?"
"I have never lied to you!" Vader shouted. "And you lied to me. From the day I met you, I have always been honest, but all you have done is lie to me. Lie about the rebels, hell, you lied about being Queen!"
"What?" said Padmé. Her previous conversations with Vader had certainly been confusing, but this one trumped all of them. "Lord Vader, what are you talking about?"
Surprisingly, Vader just stepped back and retreated from the cell, perhaps in regret of his prior statement.
Padmé found that after a few minutes, her cheek was not in as much pain as she'd expected- perhaps he'd gone easy on her. She tried to analyze his words, but could reach no logical conclusions.
Lied about being Queen? When did I ever even mention to him that I was once Queen of Naboo? Did Vader even exist when I was Queen?
She realized that she would have to try a new strategy to get the answers she needed. If Vader wouldn't trust her, perhaps there was something else she could offer him…
Anakin stood with Master Qui-Gon and a young Obi-Wan before a fat, ugly creature.
A Gungan- I think it's called a Gungan.
Queen Amidala of Naboo was trying to reason with the creature, hoping that they could join forces against a Trade Federation droid army that had invaded their planet. The Gungan clearly was not convinced.
Suddenly, a very young, but just as beautiful, Padmé stepped forward. "I am Queen Amidala," she stated. "This is my decoy, my protection, my loyal bodyguard. Forgive us for our deception, but it was necessary."
Although a tiny piece of Anakin had always known the truth, he was still a bit shocked. His Angel, with whom he had spent so much time on Tatooine, was Queen of a whole planet…and didn't tell him. Why did she tell this slimy Gungan before him? Did she not trust him?
Why did my Angel lie to me?
Vader awoke in a sweat, panting. He sat up and held his head in his hands. He had not dreamed of Anakin in many years and was badly shaken.
He pulled on one of his many pairs of black sweatpants and headed to wash the sweat off his face. The towel slipped through his mechanical fingers and he cursed.
But as Vader bent over to pick it up, he noticed something on the floor beside it…a small carved wooden necklace with a simple chain.
Anakin's Japor snippet.
Still shaking, he picked it up with his flesh hand, trying to make sense of the situation.
Padmé. She must have been wearing it when we captured her and took it off to shower…
He closed his hand around the necklace and a whirl of strange emotions flowed through him. The Japor snippet held an undeniable connection to the Light Side, but his fear of these feelings automatically brought him back to the Dark.
Vader realized that the sensation overwhelming him was disbelief. After more than a decade, why was Padmé still wearing a silly necklace his younger self had carved for her?
Despite wanting to renounce all his connections to Anakin Skywalker, especially after the dream, something was telling him that he needed to return it to Padmé. He forced himself to forget all the anger he had expressed toward her earlier that day and changed into the suit that defined him as Lord Vader.
When Vader woke her in the middle of the night once again, Padmé immediately searched for a means of defense. She supposed that if necessary, she could use her new book, The Secret History of Coruscant, as a shield.
But Vader entered slowly and closed the door manually with no clear intentions to hurt her. Still, she decided to say nothing until she could better gauge his mood.
"You dropped this," said Vader, presenting the Japor snippet.
Padmé's heart raced. She had asked Kurt to check her old cell for any signs of her good luck charm, but he returned empty-handed. She had therefore lost hope of ever seeing it again.
"Thank you," she responded, accepting it from him and clasping it around her neck.
There must have been a noticeable bruise on her face because Vader asked, "Does your cheek hurt?"
"No," Padmé answered. Vader made a sound of acknowledgment, which Padmé took to be an unspoken apology.
"Where did you get it?" Vader asked.
"A little boy I met many years ago gave it to me," she explained. "I was with a couple…acquaintances…when our ship was stranded on the Outer Rim. He helped us acquire the parts we needed and one of my friends was able to free him from slavery, so we took him with us. He was very gifted and special. He made this for me so I would never forget him, and I haven't."
Vader seemed to take a deep breath and then paused for a while before speaking. "What was his name?"
"Anakin," Padmé answered. "Anakin Skywalker. He was training to be a Jedi and one day just disappeared. Somebody snatched him while he was on a mission. For the first time, I see it as a good thing, since you probably would have slaughtered him during your Jedi massacre."
Vader growled and simply stated, "He's dead."
"What?" Padmé exclaimed, her heart sinking. No- not sinking. Drowning.
"He was killed by the Emperor many years ago," Vader explained, "when he was still Chancellor Palpatine of the Republic."
"Was that who took him?" Padmé asked, struggling to rise to her feet. Her voice cracked a little. "Did you know him?"
"Yes, I knew him," Vader replied as he began pacing around the cell. "He would have made a great Jedi, but the Jedi could never prevail over the powers of the Sith."
Padmé felt the carvings in the Japor snippet. She found herself unable to process the confirmation of Anakin's death. It was as if that boy's life was somehow her last glimmer of faith. She couldn't explain it, but she refused to accept that he was gone.
"I'll leave you to your thoughts," said Vader and he turned to exit the cell.
Padmé sank back to the padded bench and felt a tear or two roll down her bruised cheek.
"Wait!" she called to Vader. "I'd like to make a deal."
Oh Force, save us, Anakin. You're my only hope.
To anyone who just started reading this story, I hope you're enjoying it so far! Please continue to leave reviews and I hope you're all having a good holiday.
