Darth Vader waited silently in the Emperor's throne room for the prisoner. It amused him how easily the bounty hunter had succumbed. Admittedly, Fett was good at hiding his emotions, but not nearly good enough to deceive the Dark Lord. The moment Fett had turned his back on the girl, Vader detected faint waves of guilt and self-loathing. Vader smiled to himself. How easy it was to manipulate others into submission when pride was involved.
Now that he had tapped into Fett's true weakness, he would have control over the bounty hunter as he wished.
Previously, Fett had openly disobeyed Vader, distintegrating a bounty when he was to keep the hunted alive. Vader had seen the move as direct defiance and disregard for his power and status. And he would have to make an example out of him.
On one of Fett's more recent visits, Vader had probed his mind for anything he could use against the bounty hunter. At first, all he found were tasks, strategies and plans – logistics laid out for his most current job. It impressed him how methodical and efficient the hunter was. Then, beneath the hardened layers, Vader found what he was looking for: tell-tale images of a young woman that spoke of a long-repressed affection – her beautiful smile, the way she looked at him, the curiosity of her eyes . . . all soundless memories imprinted with a guarded tenderness.
Ah, so one of the most feared men in the galaxy is in love, he thought. How quaint. And it amused him even more to see that the hunter was hardly aware of his deepening feelings for this woman.
Greta. Her name formed wordlessly as an aura belonging to Fett's mental images. She was a slave in Jabba's palace; a mechanic and nothing remarkable. Pathetic, he thought. She wears emotions on her sleeve.
By the end of Fett's visit, Vader had everything he needed to secure his power over the hunter. This Greta would give him access to the heartstrings Fett so carefully guarded. And he was right.
"A word before you go," Vader had said. "You have been in my service for many years now. But all this may change. I have come to believe you may no longer be suitable for my patronage."
Fett stopped and stood silently. "Why is that?"
"You've grown soft, Fett," he hissed. "You've let yourself be tainted by the stain of human emotion."
"What do you mean?" Fett replied tersely.
"Who is – " Vader turned and looked out to the great expanse of space, "Greta?"
The sound of her name coming from Vader's dark voice sent a chill through Fett's spine. Attempting to deny his reaction, Fett replied flatly, "Jabba's slave."
"Yes. Someone you have known for a long time, Fett." Vader turned to look at the hunter, who looked still but who emitted a quickening of the pulse so faint only someone such as the Dark Lord could detect it. "Someone you have feelings for." Vader spat the last words as though they were poison.
"I have feelings for no one," Fett quickly denied.
"Then why does your mind contain such lovely pictures of this woman, coloured by the same kind of inferior energy we recognize as love?"
Fett clenched his fists as Vader continued to dig. "You cannot deny what I have seen, bounty hunter," Vader continued. "How can I trust you if you can let yourself become so weak?" he spat. The accusation stung Fett more than he let on. Of course, Vader knew just how his words would affect him. Fett was the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, and the most feared. And Vader knew the man's weakness was in his pride of being the best, the strongest – and never the weaker.
"You want to prove to me you are still worthy of my patronage?" Vader toyed, now wrapping the final part of Fett's pride around his finger, "Bring me the girl."
Vader sensed a spike of emotion in the hunter. The request had discernibly disturbed him. "Bring me this Greta, and I will ensure your reputation remains intact."
For a moment, Fett was silent, his fingers digging deeper into his fists until at last he answered, "As you wish."
Their conversation ended there, with Boba Fett turning to fulfill the agreement, and Darth Vader smiling under his mask. How pathetic of Fett to be so easily manipulated by his pride and so eager to betray someone he loved.
And Fett had done it. Back to the present, Vader's thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of the Stormtroopers and the girl he had asked Boba Fett to bring. Just as he saw in the hunter's thoughts, she was nothing remarkable, dirty, and as he could sense – fearful.
"Greta," he said in his harsh, metallic tone. "Welcome."
The young woman narrowed her eyes. Her jaw jutted forward as her whole body seemed ready to fight. Such a different reaction than the one he sensed from her as a moment ago! Then, she seemed so frail, and now – Vader smiled – the anger and hatred of the betrayal had begun its process, rooting out the weaknesses of human nature. She would make an excellent subject for what he had in mind.
"Why have you asked for me?" she asked, boldly.
"Don't take offense, child," Vader began. "But this hardly has anything to do with you."
Greta looked at him incredulously. "Boba Fett?"
"Who else?" said Vader. "My reward for his good service to me is to make him as complete and as lethal a hunter as he could ever be."
"Then why me?" Greta asked, confused. "How is my capture your reward to him?"
Vader chuckled. "There is much for you to understand about the ways of men in this galaxy. Those who wish to gain power do so by force, harnessing the strongest human emotions, like anger, jealousy and rage."
"I've heard this before," Greta spat. "You think compassion, kindness and love are weaknesses. It's sad to think your entire empire is based on these assumptions, that you keep your legion of men under this authority, turning them into slaves to their own arrogance."
"They only recognize the way to true power and success, " he scoffed. "And so has Boba Fett." The truth cut deeply and there was no denying it. In her disappointment, Greta lowered her head in silent agreement.
He continued. "Yes, you understand how it is. Now you see how this has nothing to do with you. You are of no consequence to him or me, but I have already found a suitable place for you here."
"What will you do with me?"
"You, child," he said proudly, "will be among the many privileged to take part in the building of this empire. You will help us discover new ways to conquer the galaxy and show us what our technology can do to the human body."
Greta's heart stopped and an overwhelming tide of fear swept over her. She had heard rumours, but never could verify their truth. She had heard of torture, injections and brainwashing . . . No one came out of an Imperial lab in once piece.
The pronouncement of her fate left her feeling only the dread of the future, overshadowing even her previous anger at Fett's betrayal. Only the thought of needles and knives remained, and Greta threw up.
Vader smiled. Her fear was endearing. "Take her to the lab," he ordered. "Be proud, Greta. You are about to become part of a great cause."