Sorry for the tardiness of this update, my excuse was I wasn't feeling great and when I feel miserable, my writing is worse than a first grader's. A little memo in case you can't guess, this will be AU.
My muse has dried up and therefore I have no creative way to reiterate what I have said in the last two chapters. Take an educated guess: it is five words long and the subject is property of Disney. Nope...Sigh… I don't own Star wars.
? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?
Darth Vader strode past the Red Guards with a flourish of his cape. They stepped aside and inclined their heads in respect. He entered the throne room and knelt down in front of his Master. "Master."
Palpatine or Sidious as Vader referred to him as, smiled wickedly, but did not gesture for him to rise. His eyes narrowed as he regarded his Master, who knew that the position that his apprentice was in caused the mechanical limbs to grind into his bones. With false kindness Sidious smiled and leaned forward, "I have heard the most interesting news, my apprentice."
Vader tightened his mental shields, but did not reply. He was no fool. His Master was attempting to draw a reaction from him and he would be damned before he complied. On the other hand he had damned himself when he had murdered his wife in cold blood. Running out of patience his Master continued with false benevolency, "I was so surprised when my Moffs informed me of a little development concerning you. Do you know what that is?"
"No Master."
He grimaced as his Master unleashed a fury of lightning on his body. Hate smoldered in him and rose like an irritated viper. His body remained impassive as agony settled on his limbs. His eyes landed on his Master and glared at him, wishing that the old fossil would die… painfully. His Master got up from his throne and ceased the flow of electricity, "I do not like being lied to."
"Master, I have not lied to you."
Screaming, he unleashed another torrent of lightning, "Do YOU DARE to contradict me?"
Vader dutifully replied, "No Master."
"Then Vader," his Master said sneering icily, "do explain why you are taking care of a little girl."
Glad for his mental shields, Vader collected his thoughts. Slowly and carefully, so not evoke anger in his Master, "I needed to punish her for a slight against Imperial rules," he swallowed, "The normal authorities would have been inappropriate, as she is the daughter of a high profile senator. The normal procedures would have just made more dissenters."
"I see AND why did you not inform me of this development immediately?" hissed his Master.
He cringed slightly, "I did not see-"
Mocking, "I did not see… That is all it is with you Vader, because you never stop to think!"
"Master, the matter was an unimportant one, not worthy of your attention, you would have been told today at this meeting and not have had to waste any of your precious time."
Vader would have held his breath, if it weren't for the respirator, as he watched his words take effect. The Emperor always responded well to flattery, unless he was aware someone was being insincere. The anger faded from the Emperor's face and he began to mumble to himself.
"Good, good," the Emperor waved a hand, "Rise Lord Vader."
The emperor continued to pace in front of Vader. Vader wanted to sigh in relief, the immediate danger was over.
"Lord Vader," the emperor addressed him, knocking him out of his musings, "How can I be assured that the girl will not distribute sensitive information she learns in your presence?"
Restraining a snort of contempt at the idea that she would dare to defy him so, he replied; "She is young my Master and scared. I threatened her on the first day and since then she has not talked at all about what is happening when she is with me. Her father continues to dwell under the belief that I am torturing her."
"How can you be so sure?" continuing maliciously, "It wouldn't be the first time you were wrong."
Vader stiffened at the jab to his past failure. "I can feel her father's distress through the Force as well as his daughter's desire to tell him she is fine."
The Emperor frowned at him, "And why have you not tortured the girl for information? We have reason to believe that her father has traitorous beliefs and she might very well be aware of them."
Vader stiffened again. He was not stranger to the art of torture and had perfected it over the years since becoming a Sith, but he did not torture children. Just because he was a Sith did not mean he had lost all his morals. He would readily admit that his morals were skewed, but they were existent. Torturing Leia, the idea was preposterous. He could already see her tearful eyes as he would stalk up into her cell with an interrogation droid floating next to him. She would have attempted not to scream, to not give him the satisfaction, and before she finally screamed in agony, she would give him a betrayed look. He was not capable of that. He was too attached. The girl had somehow found a spot in his cold loveless heart. He would not be able to inflict her harm. It was ironic how the Jedi forbade attachment because they can be exploited, yet the Sith did the same thing.
"Master, if the press were to find out that she is being tortured it would be scandalous."
"Are you becoming soft Vader?"
Firmly, "Never master. While the girl's father may be a traitor, our inability to get any evidence on him suggests he would be excruciatingly careful. There is no way he would dispense secrets to a chatty ten year old."
The Emperor nodded and began to pace again, thinking. "But why Vader do you keep the girl? She serves no purpose."
Keep? Leia was not in any way his slave and Vader resented the comment. Long buried memories stirred of Tatooine. It was during times like these that Vader contemplated overthrowing his Master. It wasn't just because it was the Sith way, because if the Emperor would die or be incapacitated, then Vader would have to run the empire and he did not have the patience for that. Overthrowing his Master would have to be subtle business and carefully done… Then he would have to find the appropriate person to handle the politics of running an Empire. That was too much work and he had not learned everything possible from his Master. The desire to kill his Master came from the Emperor's sadism. There was always agony involved with his Master, be it physical or emotional.
"I am not keeping the girl. Besides she is useful and it is wonderful watching her father worry about her. Organa is a fool. He will not do anything that can jeopardize his daughter."
He refrained from voicing his thoughts concerning what would happen to the Senator if he endangered Leia; Organa would suffer a long painful death.
The Emperor cackled and Vader worried at the maniacal look in his Master's eyes.
"You are right my apprentice. I want you to continue watching the girl and see if she can give out any information concerning her father. If possible, I want you to make sure she is loyal to the Empire, unlike her father. It would be most beneficial to us if she was loyal."
Vader couldn't help but think that he meant her to be a mindless follower.
"I will see what I can do Master."
The conversation continued and drifted to more military affair and then the planning of the ball. Vader couldn't help but sneer at the concept of a ball and all the rich, snobby people who would be attending. The worst part was that his master expected him to attend the ball.
Vader walked through the hallway and absently noticed the Senate had opened. He wondered if Leia was already waiting in his office. He shook his head slightly as he remembered that he had locked the door as it was his custom to keep unwanted characters out of his office. Caught in his thoughts, he did not notice the unwanted senator that stumbled upon his bath. Bail Organa.
"Lord Vader, may I speak with you?" he asked trying to keep pace with Vader's strides.
"No."
"It's urgent."
"I highly doubt that," he replied and quickened his stride.
"It is about Leia." called Senator Organa.
Vader stopped walking and slowly turned to the Senator and regarded him impassively. Bail fidgeted under his gaze, but stood still. Vader lifted his hand and applied some pressure to the Senator's throat as a warning, "That is none of your concern. She becomes your concern when the Senate closes."
He turned to leave, when another voice interrupted.
"Senator Organa, I was wondering if I could speak to Leia," the woman paused and Vader recognized her as Senator Mothma, "Where is she? I sure hope you didn't leave her in your office she would be dreadfully bored."
Vader felt the strong urge to run back to his office as he imagined all the antics that Leia could get up to. Perhaps he was being unfair or biased, considering the situations that came to mind were all of his own antics of his younger years. He looked closely at the female Senator, Mon Mothma, not able to ignore his suspicions. Her timing was highly convenient.
"I am afraid that Lord Vader has her… occupied Mon Mothma," Bail says slowly, but loudly and his words begin to draw a crowd.
Vader couldn't help but frown, the Senator was planning something. He felt a twinge of satisfaction from Mon Mothma and turned to her as she opened her mouth. It seemed that Senator Organa had recruited a friend.
"My apologies Lord Vader," she begins smiling sweetly, "Do you know what Bail means when he says you have her daughter occupied?"
"Perhaps," sarcastically, "that it is none of your business."
She frowned at him. "But I was really looking forward to seeing Leia."
Vader turned to Organa. "Next time arrange an appointment," and walked away.
He could feel Organa's anger and relished it; he was in no mood to deal with politicians, especially after his Master's punishment. His bones croaked and moving made them scream. A soft smile creeped up his face as he thought of Leia. She was different. For some unfathomable reason that he could not understand, she made him proud. When she was impudent, he wanted to snap her neck like every other person who defied him who wasn't under the Emperor's protection. But despite these desires, he felt strangely fond of her actions in hindsight. She was brave, and foolish perhaps, but carried within her a regality that rivaled the Emperor. His mood began to sour at the thought of his Master, who wanted to poison his precious jewel. Vader stopped all of a sudden and felt someone running into him.
Leia was her own person, not his. She was the adopted daughter of Senator Organa and despite that, he did not deserve her. It was improper to consider her his jewel. She belonged to herself and he had no need for her. Yet, he knew he was lying to himself. He needed her. She was like an ointment to his sore wounds and he couldn't fathom being without her. It was a selfish thought, to keep someone so pure near him. How did he deserve this opportunity? She was too good for him and he had too many murders on his soul, but she was there. It took all his restraint not to run to his office and let Leia in, then lock the door. He wished he could keep her, but how could he without her consent? It would break her and he didn't want that. Never before had he felt such deep longing, except for Padmé. Undecided, he turned around to confront the person that had barged into him.
Bail Organa began to stand up, massaging his head with his right hand and giving Vader a dirty look. Vader continued to stare at him impassively, while inwardly annoyed. Senator Mon Mothma hurried to the scene and behind her the previous spectators. Organa retrieved his courage. "Darth Vader, I must speak to you about my daughter."
Vader felt like screaming. "Make an appointment."
"My daughter had other engagements while at Cor-Imperial Center and she will be unable to attend them with the current situation."
Vader really wanted to throw Leia's father into the far wall. It would have been incredibly satisfying. "Make an appointment."
Bail frowned, "She has a limited time on Imperial Center and it would be improper for her to not be allowed to take full advantage."
Losing any patience that he might have once possessed Vader growled out, "I...DON'T...Care."
Not taking the hint Bail continued, "I am sure we can figure out another arrangement."
"Yes another arrangement sounds perfect," Vader paused to let his words sink in and allow for the Senator to feel some hope, "I will extend the punishment to three weeks."
"Th...Three. Three weeks?"
"Will there be a problem?" Vader asked pleasantly.
"Three Weeks is preposterous!" exclaimed the Senator.
"Then it will be four weeks," Vader said tonelessly and looked at Senator Organa who seemed as if he wanted to disagree, "Or should I prolong the punishment to a month?"
A small squeak came from Bail Organa and Darth Vader tilted his head forward. "Good." He walked away.
Behind him he could hear Mon Mothma consoling Organa and the Senator's self hatred. Pleasure ran through him at having inflicted pain. The Senator had bothered him for such a long time and it seemed a fitting revenge for the Senator to experience some of the self-loathing that he felt on a daily basis. He stopped in front of his office and noted the lack of personnel nearby and the distinct absence of Leia and the clone trooper: Caden.
The door to his office slide open and he paused confused. He always locked the door. On his desk was a holopad and he picked it up gently.
Since you weren't here, I have taken Leia to the barracks to begin her self-defense classes.
-CT-8721 (Caden)
Had anyone been there, they would have seen Darth Vader rushing out of his office and heading to the clone trooper barracks. The only unfortunate soul who did witness it had been rudely pushed out of Vader's path, resulting in a concussion and memory loss.
? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?
Leia ignored the dizziness that swarmed her as she sat up, after having once again been knocked down. Caden offered her a hand and she took it gratefully.
"Again." he intoned.
Leia was beginning to detest him. She stepped back and got into the proper stance again or what she believed to be. Caden grumbled and from the sides of the room the other clones laughed.
"It's her first day!"
"She isn't engineered to be as capable as the rest of us!"
"Give up trooper, she isn't going to get better anytime soon!"
Leia turned to look at the gathered crowd. Determined to prove them wrong she kicked backwards unexpectedly, trusting her feelings. Her foot collided with something hard and Caden fell backwards slightly. He stood smiling merrily and clapped Leia on her back. "I knew you had it in you!"
Leia looked at him in disbelief, her new friend was insane. She shook her head as he turned to the onlookers. "She isn't so shabby. Must have skills, cause I don't know any ten year old who could surprise kick me like that."
The other clones laughed good naturedly and an older one got up and began to walk toward them with a noticeable limp. "You sure you aren't getting lazy my brother?"
"Sharp as always," retorted Caden.
Leia narrowed her eyes at the clone who dared to insult her friend. Ignoring the lightness of her head and the black dots that were beginning to swarm her vision she tensed. She felt, rather than saw a hand moving towards her and delivered a powerful spin back kick at her opponent. The elder clone stumbled back and smirked at Caden.
"Perhaps you are right. Good reflexes that one has… But stamina, not so much." he said indicating to Leia, who was slightly out of breath.
Caden frowned. "Well the Empire may have been built in a day, but the army was not."
"True, true."
"Good job Leia," congratulated Caden.
Leia smiled weakly, refusing to let her weakness show. Briefly she wondered if she was getting sick. She had never felt so dizzy before. A feeling on the edge of her conscious caused her to turn around and frown at the door. The feeling was familiar and she wondered where she had encountered it before. It felt cold and deadly, but strangely comforting. Her mind thought of Vader and his enigmatic personality. She frowned to herself for associating the word comforting to Darth Vader. Vader was a mystery. His very actions made no logical sense and yet had a strange human quality to them, despite her father's insistence that he was a machine. Perhaps he was confined to his suit and was seeking comfort. Her mind began to form a tragic tale of love and loss.
"Leia… Leeiiiiaaa….Leeeeiiiiiaaaa"
Snapping out of her reverie Leia looked at Caden abashed and cringed. He shook his head and laughed, "No time like the present my lady."
She nodded and smiled at the wisdom in the reprimand.
"So my lady," began Caden.
"Don't do that! You are beginning to sound like Threepio."
Caden lifted an eyebrow. "Threepio?"
Leia looked away, "Our protocol droid. He is all formal and does really weird things. He is also really annoying. I don't know where my dad got him, but whoever made him is an insane genius."
Now Caden was really intrigued, "And how my lady would you be able to make the decision to call him an insane genius?"
Embarrassed Leia mumbled something.
"Can't hear you."
More clearly, "I may have looked at his wiring and tinkered with it."
The other clone laughed and offered his hand to Leia, "The name is Mech. So you like mechanics?"
Leia nodded shyly and Caden laughed good naturedly. "We call him Mech because we always wondered what he was reading by a flashlight in his cot. Turns out to be a book about mechanics," lowering his voice conspiratorially, "We didn't even know about all the stuff under his cot. You should have seen some of the crazy object he made, that we found."
Leia smiled and shook Mech's hand. She may have disliked his rude comments about her defense training, but as she was beginning to understand, the clone troopers were like brothers. They teased each other good naturedly, but were also very blunt. Unlike other people, they were also not easily insulted.
The ominous hiss of Vader's respirator filled the room. Leia turned around and put her hands behind her back. The other clone troopers gulped slightly and stood at attention. Vader surveyed the room and Leia thought that he did not look happy. His cape fluttered around his legs and a sense of danger filled the room.
"Caden, explain."
Leia looked at Caden in worry and opened her mouth to defend him. The first syllable had just left her throat when she felt in constrict slightly. Frantically her eyes darted around and settled on Vader and his slightly raised hand. She could feel her heart beating and adrenaline pumping through her veins. She tried to swallow, but found herself unable to. The room was quiet beside the hiss of the respirator.
Caden began to speak with a nervous undertone, "Leia and I were waiting in your office… but as it was half an hour later I thought... that it would be best to do something productive."
"Go on," implored Vader.
"Since… you told me to teach Leia self-defense, I thought… that I could do that here in the barracks."
Vader silently regarded the clone troopers and Leia fidgeted. She was still unable to speak and the black dots crowding her vision made it nearly impossible to see. A wave of nausea hit her and she missed what had been said.
"-productive Leia?" asked Vader, releasing the pressure on her neck.
"Excuse me?"
Vader crossed his arms impatiently, "Has your lesson been productive Leia? Or did you spend all your time talking?"
Leia shook her head and rubbed her throat. "I have been learning."
The nausea was becoming greater and she felt like throwing up her empty stomach. DImly she was aware of Vader talking to another clone trooper. The clone trooper walked up to her and took a normal fighting pose. Leia looked at him irritably and ducked in shock as a fist swung towards her. A leg began to move in her peripheral vision and she quickly dodged that attack bringing up her own counter kick. THe trooper dodged with ease, but Leia had expected that and with an energy that she hadn't known she possessed charged at her opponent. Her body slammed into him and they both fell to the ground.
Slowly, she stood up. Her ears filled with a rushing noise and her vision darkened as she began to sway. Her hands instinctively grabbed the nearest object and she clenched the fabric in her hand tightly in attempt to stand upright. Belatedly she realized that Vader was standing next to her. She wondered how he had gotten to her side that fast. He was holding onto her arm now. His fingers curled around it like a vice grip. Her mind began to think disjointedly and as she felt Vader kneeling before her, all she thought of was how she was going to have bruises on her arm. The din began to fade further and she felt so tired. It would be so easy to slip into the realm of unconsciousness.
Something stabbed into her arm and the effect was instantaneous. Like being doused in ice water, Leia found herself rudely awakened. The stimulant that had been injected into her body caused her blood flow to increase and prevented the bliss of sleep. She tried to struggle against the drug, to return back to peace. Confusion filled her mind as she was brought back to consciousness. She was beginning to panic for she couldn't remember what had happened.
She wondered what her name was or where she was. The details seemed insignificant. Older memories seemed to penetrate the confusion of her mind. She could hear the soft murmurs of her parents. The cheers of the crowds as she raced on a swoop bike. There were beeps and whistles accompanying a fond feeling. Yet, these fragmented memories still left her at loss to where or who she was.
At the fringes of her mind, she could feel a foreign presence. It was probing and pushing. An ancient, instinctive urge caused her to push against the presence, to evict it from her mind. It ignored her efforts and seemed to whisper to her. She wondered what the foreign thing was, but her instincts cried danger, and she fought it. The presence though continued its attempts to enter her mind, in spite of her denying it, She was curious, insanely curious and observed it from the safety behind her walls. Then it shoved too hard and she evicted it completely.
A sheltered mind was lonesome and lacking life. She felt afraid, surrounded by the strong cold walls she had erected. There were no windows or peep holes. She was all stillness was beginning to drive her insane and she sought to lower her walls, but they refused to move and panic began to set in. Her mind tore against the fortress that was trapping her, but it was all in vain and she began to comprehend how desolate her situation was. There had to be a way out.
The fortress was inconsistent. Parts of it seemed to be built of sand and other of steel. There were massive pillars and short sloping walls. She tried to break through where the sand lay, but the sand kept pouring back. At last, she saw something. Again old instincts called to her as she inspected it. She could feel safety radiating off it. There were two strands. One was pristine blue with sandish twines coursing through it and small flecks of green. The other was darker; it was black, red, and a dark shade of blue. She touched the bright blue one that reminded her of home.
A young boy sat on the steps of a white adobe. He looked around with curious blue eyes. She wanted to call out to him. There was something so familiar about him. The boy turned and stared directly at her. His piercing blue eyes, met her own brown ones and she knew that he was aware of her. He gave a small wave and smiled. She smiled sadly at him. His face lit up and he walked over to her. His mouth moved silently and she frowned at him. She tried to speak, but no sound would come out. A frown marred her face. The boy appeared to laugh. A small pouch was slung over his shoulder and he looked into it. He seemed to get excited and withdrew a small piece of glass. Within the glass marble there was a small petalled flower. He smiled again and pressed it into her hand. He gave a small bow and walked away.
She was back in the fortress and frowned. Her hand touched the other strand that seemed to be ringing.
"Leia," it called.
The strand knew her name! Very slowly the presence that had attacked her mind earlier began to seep in. This time she did not fight it. The entrance through the string meant it was safe.
"Leia," it gently called again.
Very slowly it began to explore the fortress and her walls began to crumble. Leia smiled slowly and watched silently. Whoever was in her mind was safe.
? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?
Vader watched worriedly as Leia lay on the floor. He had not expected her to have such an adverse reaction to the stimulus or the mind probe. The stimulus was normally used in interrogations and Vader was rather familiar with its side effects, which included partial memory loss. Because of its primary use in interrogations, the drug was not entirely safe. Temporary memory loss, disconnectedness, pain, insomnia, and intense cravings were considered an additional bonus. He had hoped that by a mind probe he could guide her into conscious easier and hopefully avoid the unpleasant side effects. He had definitely not expected her resistance or the mental lockdown she underwent. It was well within his abilities to enter her mind, but doing so would tear her mental shields apart and cause Leia extreme agony. He couldn't abide that.
Due to his dilemma, he had brushed against her mind trying to fund a crack and called out Leia's name. To his greatest surprise, he had a bond with Leia. He frowned in confusion. Force bonds were incredibly rare, especially if one of the individuals wasn't Force sensitive. Pushing aside his confusion that was becoming customary, he used the bond to gentle invade her head.
"What happened?" A soft voice asked.
Vader glanced down in shock at Leia who was awakening. The clones near him wandered closer. Had the soldiers been stormtroopers, Darth Vader would have killed every single one of them for seeing him in such a vulnerable position. He was kneeling next to Leia and holding her in his arms. In all, the picture was more of a worrisome father, than the Dark Lord of the Sith.
Trying to ease Leia's confusion he said, "Nothing that you have to worry about."
Leia nodded and closed her eyes tiredly. A medical droid floated over to her and Vader set her gently on the ground, so the droid could take the necessary scans. Caden walked up to him and he could sense the clone's worry. It seemed that he wasn't the only one susceptible to getting attached to Leia. She had a strange influence to be able to get normally stoic men to care about her. She was most definitely special.
The droid beeped and Caden walked up to it to retrieve the necessary information.
"Lord Vader?" asked Caden timidly.
"Yes?"
"According to the medical scans she is lacking sustenance. It seems as if she hasn't been eating."
Vader looked back down at Leia in confusion. He wondered at the reason for Leia not to eat. Her father did not seem to be the type of person to allow his daughter to go unfed. He brushed his hand over her forehead and moved a stray strand of hair out of her face. She stirred and opened her eyes tiredly. The brown eyes settled on his familiar visage and with a slight smile she closed her eyes again. Vader's hand hovered over her befuzzled. The child, whom he had scared purposefully, trusted him.
The foreign, but strangely familiar, like an old childhood friend who one sees again after many years, feeling stirred again. It filled his heart with a warmth as he basked in the appreciation of having Leia's trust. He was unworthy, but too selfish to give it up. He loathed himself for his weakness to her, but he also loathed himself for his past mistakes. The angel lying on the ground could give him redemption. The helmet tilted a miniscule amount, he did not deserve the opportunity, but Leia deserved to live. Kneeling over her sleeping form he vowed to protect her from his Master and other who would seek to destroy her.
When Leia awoke, he was still kneeling over her. She blushed ferociously and greedily accepted the water canteen from Caden. The clone watched her carefully and handed her a ration bar, which was devoured with gusto. Vader offered his own help by the means of a hand. He aided her into a sitting position and let her rest against him. Initially she struggled and it hurt him to think that she did not believe that it was safe to be leaning against the Sith Lord. Caden gazed at him warily as he sat down in front of Leia. Vader smirked slightly. He had a reputation to uphold and despite his comforting act to the princess, the soldiers still feared him.
"Princess," Vader began, ignoring the scowl she sent at him, "why were you not eating?"
Leia blushed again and looked away.
Vader grabbed her arm, "It is not normal to skip sustenance. If you do not want to tell me that if fine, but I want you to eat breakfast with Caden each morning. The cafeteria should do."
Leia looked down and seemed to be intently studying her shoes, "I don't see you ever eating and I didn't have time to eat in the morning."
Vader cringed to himself as she mentioned how he failed to eat. Ten years had past since Mustafar and he still missed eating. His cursed suit performed all human necessities for him. Nutrients were injected directly into his bloodstream, air pushed into his lungs by the respirator, and the mechanical limbs allowed him to move.
"Leia, I do not eat, but you are a young growing child. Therefore you will be eating breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria."
Leia nodded and slowly stood as her mouth worked on the remnants of the ration bar. Vader regarded her as she stood in front of him, noting her weakness.
"In fact, Caden is going to take you right now to have lunch."
Caden swiftly saluted. "Yes, my lord," then assisted Leia out of the room.
Vader stood up, ignoring the pain as his mechanical limbs dug into his bone. He looked around the room and at the saluting clones. Satisfied that none of them would babble off what had transpired he left the room with a swish of his cloak.
Vader strode through the hallways of the Senate, relishing their fear. He would remain formidable, even though he had one weakness. No one would ever dare to think he was becoming soft. Entering his office he narrowed his eyes as he noticed the occupants. Two senators, Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, one Grand Moff Tarkin, and an nondescript man.
With potent fury he rounded on the two senators, "Out of my office."
The two swallowed nervously and hurried out of his office, but stopped at the door. Vader smirked and turned slightly to face Organa, "Oh Senator Organa, your interruption is making me extend the time period… to a month… that is seven weeks. It would be best to forgo any travel plans you might have had."
Organa swallowed again, but did not try to confront him. Watching the senator hurry away, he couldn't ignore the disappointment he felt. It had been a split second, unconscious decision, but he was keeping Leia. He would allow himself to hold on to one selfish thing. Turning to the other two occupants he asked, "Is there a reason for you to be in my office?"
Tarkin stood up graciously, "Yes Vader. I have very important business to discuss with you."
? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?
Oh-oh, what is Tarkin up to? I regret to inform you that Luke will most likely, not be showing up again in the relative near future. In fact he wasn't supposed to be in this chapter at all, but the Force told him of your pleas and he begged to be put in and when I denied him, he smuggled himself in.
For the next chapter I am leaning towards a time skip of a couple days. The Senate is not that exciting. Until then.