Chapter 14: Vader Triumphant

The holographic image of Soala Amidala, Queen of Naboo, stood before Bail, Breha, Sheltay, and Satine. She was explaining to him everything that had happened to Padme after she left Alderaan. Bail was stunned by what he was hearing. He almost broke down crying when he heard Padme had committed suicide.

"My sister and I never got a chance to discuss what should be done with Leia were anything to happen to her, but I have little doubt she would have wanted the girl to remain where she is." Soala turned her attention to Sheltay. "In the short time we had, Padme told me you were exceptional in taking care of Leia. I know you have your own daughter of the same age and taking on another child would be an extra enormous responsibility. But I believe Padme would have wanted you to take her. It would be the best way to keep her real identity hidden and having Winter as an adoptive sister would make up for the loss of her twin brother.

Bail felt the need to jump into the conversation. "While I have no doubt Sheltay would happily take on the responsibility of raising the child, Leia should be adopted by my wife and I and raised as our own daughter. Leia should be a royal, like her mother. If you don't mind me asking, what is to happen to Leia's twin brother?"

"He is to remain on Tatooine, with his aunt and uncle. Obi-Wan Kenobi is on his way there now. He is going to live there in hiding. One day, though, he hopes to be able to train the boy to become a Jedi."

"And what of Leia. She must be strong in the Force as well. She could be trained as a Jedi too, when the time comes."

"I think it might be best if the twins each took a different path. The boy should become a Jedi, like his father. The girl, if she is to be your daughter, perhaps she should follow a more political path. I know you are planning to make yourself the center of opposition to the Empire. A daughter strong in the Force could do much to aid your endeavors one day."

"Thank you." Right before the image of Soala disappeared, Bail could tell she was relieved for that conversation to be over. Once she was gone, he thought about everything she had just told him. Leia should be a Jedi, he believed. Obi-Wan might not want to train her, but there was someone else who might. Years ago, he had given a ship to Master Yoda so that he might be able to leave on sabbatical. He had put a tracker on the ship, just in case he believed the old master ever needed to be found.

"Captain Antilles," he said into his communicator. "Ready my ship."

...

After the communication to Aldaraan ended, Soala turned her attention to her sister, who had been following everything while out of sight.

"Was that to your approval?" she asked.

"Yes, it was." Padme's voice was low, and full of weariness. Soala knew how difficult it was to be entrusting her child to another, but they had decided this was for the best. Leia would be in good hands. Luke, on the other hand, brought out quite the disagreement between the two. Soala didn't have a problem with him being raised by Owen and Beru. Sending Obi-Wan to look over him, with the idea that he might one day train the boy, the same as he did with his father. That was where Soala had the problem. After the way he had failed with Anakin, she wasn't sure he would do any better with Luke. Padme felt differently. She believed her son could not succumb to the Dark Side. He would be unmovable and bring his father back to the light side.

"That's it then," Soala said. "Everything is set up as you want. I take it you are going to head for the sanctuary we discussed?"

"Yes, I am. The coordinates we pulled off the Sith computer, the ones Obi-Wan punched in before changing his mind to come to Naboo, they do lead to a real planet, but it's one that is on only a handful of star charts." Padme smiled as she seemed relieved. "That means that not only is it real, but it is hidden, just as we suspected. And if the rumors I heard about this place are true, and it truly has the Force barrier that's rumored, Anakin will never be able to connect with me and read my mind."

"And your children will be safe, for them to find you one day."

"That is what I believe the Force has planned."

Soala could do nothing more than shake her head as she listened to her sister. The woman had not been born Force sensitive, but her pregnancy with the twins had given her some nascent feelings in it. She believed they stayed with her even after the twins were born, and now she practically saw herself as some kind of expert. While Soala questioned many of Padme's 'premonitions', she did agree with the overall plan she seemed to have. Fake her own death, go underground, keep the identity of the twins hidden, wait for events to take their course. She knew the price for all of them was going to be high, but it was the only way to keep their family safe. It was the only way to keep them hidden from Vader.

...

"Lord Vader, can you hear me?"

While Vader heard the words of his master, they sounded like they were coming through a filter. He opened his eyes, and while the image of the Emperor came through, it didn't seem real. He felt like he was watching the Emperor on a monitor screen instead of in real life.

"I can hear you," he replied. Vader was shocked by the sound of his own voice. It was deep, and mechanical. He knew he was thankful he should still be alive, but he wondered why the droids weren't able to construct something better for him.

"Good, do you want to try moving?"

In testing out his mechanical appendages, Vader found they moved very naturally for him. He was relieved the droids apparently got one thing right.

"Where is Obi-Wan right now?" Vader had little time to worry about his suit. He knew his former master was still out there, and he needed to know his whereabouts.

"We were unable to track him as he left Malastare. I have a feeling he will continue to try and attack us, though. I am sure he will make himself known to us soon. And when he does, you can take your revenge upon him.

"And what about Padme?"

"Padme, she died over a year ago."

"No, she didn't. She was there, on Malastare, I felt her." Vader's mechanical voice did a poor job of conveying his anger, from the way it sounded to him.

"Once again, I am afraid you must be mistaken. The pilot who came to your aid saw everything, and he made no mention of a woman there."

Vader was adamant and explained to his master everything that had happened. It was the feeling of Padme's familiar touch that had distracted him at just the right moment.

"I think I understand what happened. Obi-Wan used the Force to mimic the sensation of Padme. He did it to distract you."

Vader was skeptical of what the Emperor was saying, but he let the matter drop. Perhaps it was better for the Emperor to believe Padme had died a year ago. Perhaps it was better if the Emperor did not know there was potentially a child of his out there.

...

"Leia must be trained." Bail was adamant as he spoke to Master Yoda. He had come out to Dagobah to try and implore the Jedi master to return to Alderaan with him and train Leia as a Jedi. The man had not been happy to see Bail arrive and seemed even less pleased with his proposal to train his daughter.

"Futile it will be to train her. Call unwanted attention to you, it will."

"But the Jedi can be rebuilt. They need to return. Not only is there my daughter, but there is her twin brother, Luke. He is living on Tatooine right now. Obi-Wan even went out there with the hopes of training him one day."

"Time is not right. Wait me must, if the Jedi are to be reconstituted."

"How can you say this? How can you just stay out here, alone, when there is an entire galaxy that needs you?"

"Explain myself to you, I do not have to do. Little there is to do at this moment. That is my judgement."

"And why should I trust your judgement."

"If listened to me the council did, none of this would have happened. Go home. Raise your daughter. Fight the emperor. The Skywalker twins are strong in the Force. It will guide them to what they need to do. Prepare your daughter for that, you should."

"But you don't know what we will one day be facing." Bail motioned to Satine and she handed over the holo-imager to him. He activated it and held it low so Yoda had a good look at it. "You see this. This a is a weapon the Empire is looking to build. It will allow them to destroy planets. We need to act quickly to stop it."

Yoda smirked as he stared back at Bail. "Worry about that, you should not. Compared to power of the Force, insignificant ability to destroy planet is."

...

Vader spent hours upon hours meditating, doing his best to try and reach out with the Force. He was attempting to reach out and feel Padme, but there was nothing. It appeared she was dead. If she had not died on Geonosis, she most certainly died after leaving Malastare.

As he tried to reach out with the Force, he could tell that his power was not what it had once been. His near-death experience had sapped him of much of his strength. He had confidence his previous strength in the Force would return to him, though, it had to.

...

The press was gathered around Bail and his wife. He looked down at her as she looked at their new baby daughter. As he turned his attention to the cameras and the reporters, he explained how she had come to live with them. His aide, Sheltay, had discovered a woman with this baby when she greeted an incoming refugee ship. She had noticed the baby was sick and had sent the two to her own personal ship so the baby could receive treatment. All this had been reported before, but he felt the need to reiterate it.

The baby had been treated, but unbeknownst to Sheltay, the mother was suffering from the same illness. She ended up succumbing to it. With this child orphaned, Bail felt a responsibility to take her in. She was now his daughter, Princess Leia Organa.

...

Vader walked down the main staircase of the grand hall as everyone turned to look at him. Years ago, he had been here to celebrate an end to the Clone Wars. Now, he was here to have his own accomplishments celebrated. Numerous dignitaries had arrived to see him receive a medal for his role in eliminating the Jedi.

He looked across the hall to Palpatine, who nodded to him. He walked down the stairs, then across the hall to the raised platform that had been constructed for this very occasion. The eyes of everyone in the hall followed him.

When he reached the platform, he walked up the steps and knelt before his master. Palpatine placed a medal around his neck. As he did so, everyone in the hall started applauding. Vader turned around and looked over the crowd, soaking up their adulation.

It didn't take long for his mechanical eyes to move from the crowd to the floating, robotic cameras flying all around the room. They were capturing this moment from every angle and broadcasting it to the entire galaxy. Now, the visage of Darth Vader would be known to everyone in the galaxy.