9 BBY
TWILIGHT II, HYPERSPACE
It felt like old times in the past day that he'd been around Ahsoka again. It was something like a dream. The differences were there, sure, but at its core, he was traveling around with a Jedi and an apprentice. It took him back to Christophsis, though Luke was certainly more well-behaved than Ahsoka had been.
He had been happy to go through the motions, but there were questions burning in his mind.
Rex was afraid that he already knew the answers to what he wanted to ask. Surely, if General Skywalker was alive, he would have been here. Ahsoka would have found him again sooner. If this boy were the General's, then someone would have said something.
"I'm not going to skirt around it any longer. Is he still around?" Rex asked. He was apprehensive.
"Who?" Luke asked.
Ahsoka stopped in her tracks.
Rex cleared his throat. "General Skywalker."
"Oh," Luke said in embarrassment. "My dad's not around."
Rex couldn't fight his slight smile. It was true, then. This was Anakin's son.
"I'm sorry, son. It's a damn shame. Anakin Skywalker was among the finest of the Jedi. It's my greatest honor to have served with him and Ahsoka during the war."
Ahsoka laid a hand on the doorway to the cockpit.
"That's what everyone says. I really wish I could have met him," Luke said, eyes full of wonder, she was sure.
"I'm sorry, Rex. I should have said something sooner. I just… didn't know how to tell you. Obi-Wan is alive too," she said.
"That's a relief. "He let out a chuckle. He was no better than her, after all. He'd struggle to get it out too, he imagined. "Is anyone else..?"
"Everyone else is gone. I only recently confirmed the deaths of Masters Plo and Unduli. Oh, and the icing on top? Maul's alive."
"So he went back to his Master?" Rex asked, displeasure written on his face.
"No, he's still a rogue element. Obi-Wan and I encountered Sidious' apprentice. Darth Vader," Ahsoka said.
Luke scowled at the name.
"Great. Still three of them," Rex said.
"Not to mention the Inquisitors," Luke chimed in. "But they're chumps compared to Sith."
"Somehow, I think we'll manage," Ahsoka said. "We've come this far."
And he'd be with them the entire journey.
8 BBY
FORTRESS VADER, MUSTAFAR
Several weeks had gone by, and he was pleasantly surprised with her progress. Leia was determined to shatter his expectations and move to Coruscant for schooling, that much was clear. Vader was slightly perturbed about her desire to get it done quickly, but her impatience went hand in hand with her youth.
It wasn't as if he'd been any less foolhardy.
Vader looked down at her from the walkway above the training room, watching her like a Nexu. Leia was blindfolded, concentrating on the scenario before her. Despite his biases he was impressed. Even the distraction of the Mustafarian heat didn't stop her from sending every bolt of energy back at the remotes firing at her. Perhaps it was skill, perhaps she had merely grown complacent.
"Leia," he said, prompting her to turn up to look at him. No sooner had she flipped up her blindfold than the training droid landed a shot at her back.
"Ow!" she cried, slicing the droid in half.
"Do not focus anywhere but the battlefield," he said, folding his arms. Complacency it was, then.
She scoffed frustratedly in his direction, circling around the two remaining. The target she aimed for when redirecting the bolt was not the remote, but him.
A simple wave of his hand directed it to the wall next to his shoulder.
Leia dashed forward, taking the remotes out with a single stroke. "If you can move it, you can move out of the way."
"Far less impressive," he said. For what was the purpose of something if not to use it?
She rolled her eyes defiantly, wiping her forehead free of sweat. "So do I pass yet?"
"No," he said, mostly to antagonize her.
"What?!" she screeched. "That's the tenth time today you've made me do that drill! And it's been that way for a week."
Unbeknownst to her, she would have passed had she not allowed for a lapse in her concentration. The time before that she paused to wipe sweat from her face. Two drills ago she caught her boot on a seam between durasteel panels. Clumsiness to be eradicated.
"It won't be the last time, either," he said, motioning forward with his hand. Three more remotes came from the wall. "Again."
As soon as she blinded herself again, he used the Force to move the remotes behind her. Leia still advanced forward, ignorant of the droids behind her. Then, she corrected it. He would have been most disappointed had she not seen right through it and turned around.
The remotes jerked forward at her command, and the closest was caught by a wild lightsaber swing. A second remote was downed by a deflected shot from the third one, which she was able to identify and destroy quickly by the next two shots.
She was lucky that the first one didn't rocket into her forehead. Timing was important. A second later or sooner with the swing and she'd be nursing a bruise.
"Adequate," was his appraisal. "While yours is… rudimentary, creative thinking can make up for a lack of brute strength."
"Well what was wrong this time?" she asked, pulling her blindfold up.
Vader merely pointed beyond her, to a remote he had discretely activated moments prior.
Leia effortlessly deflected its blasts, turning back to him. "Nice try, but I didn't sense it."
Vader made a fist, crushing the remote to bits. "You are correct. Your intuition serves you well, Leia."
"Does that mean I'm ready?" she carefully asked.
He allowed her a moment to catch her breath.
"You have been," he said, much to her chagrin. "I see little in you that repetition will not fix. Not to mention that arrangements do not materialize out of thin air."
She extinguished her saber, leaping up to the platform. Her aim was not the best, and she was forced to accept his hand in pulling her over the railing. "So, what, this is all part of a routine? One that I'm to maintain?"
Vader began to walk, marching them to the castle's hangar. "Yes. Of course, I will make adjustments to your training over time. This is your final chance to back out."
He could sense her grin due to the tone of her voice. "No way!"
He smirked under the mask. "Good. I have arranged for an interview at the Galactic Youth Academy- the child you befriended attends there. They will no doubt accept you," he said.
Her footsteps slowed to a crawl behind him. "Oh, already? This is moving kind of quickly."
"I would think you would be pleased with the speed of these events, given how incessantly you have been reminding me of them," he said, pausing for a moment. "The apartment awaits."
Leia jogged in front of him, walking backwards to stare at him with a raised eyebrow. "And the security detail? Is it just Artoo?"
They arrived in the hangar, and he hoped she would be able to answer that question on her own. A detachment of Death Troopers guarded the black J-Type 327 Nubian he kept here. His wife's ship. He'd spent the better part of ten years modifying it. Restoring was a more accurate word, as he'd practically destroyed in-atmosphere it the first time he'd been back to Mustafar since his duel. A regrettable choice, in hindsight.
"Seriously? Deathtroopers? I can't even understand them," she protested.
He ignored her protests, boarding the ship. It wasn't as if they were speaking anything but garbled basic- which could be easily turned off. Leia and the troopers followed suit, though only his daughter followed to the cockpit.
"Captain Natha will serve as your aide and chief of security," he said, motioning to the uniformed woman at the controls.
She immediately stood up and saluted. "It's an honor to have you in my care."
"You can sit down- you don't need to tiptoe around me," Leia said, sitting down next to her. "I get that my father can be intimidating."
And that was how he liked it. His appearance alone could keep those lacking a backbone away.
"Yes, milady."
"Just Leia," she offered with a warm smile.
Vader set a hand on each of the seats. "I did not choose you at random. Continue to perform at or above your current level, and you have nothing to fear," he said, mostly for Leia.
He'd already grilled and vetted the officer extensively, coming to the conclusion she could be trusted. He'd indirectly saved her life on a mission leading to a degree of respectful loyalty. Loyalty that would triumph that she felt to the Emperor.
For her sake.
SENATE APARTMENT COMPLEX, CORUSCANT
"Well, I'm pretty sure this is it," Leia said, stopping halfway down the exit ramp. Vader continued taciturnly toward the sculpture of his late wife's face obstructing the landing platform entrance to their former apartment. It was a detailed likeness.
There was a great deal he was suppressing for her sake. "Hm," was his simple response.
She concentrated with the Force, sliding the emplacement out and away from the doorway, more to impress him than for the sake of convenience. If excessive praise wouldn't have gone to her head, he'd have been the most vocally supportive parent in the universe. Unfortunately she was a Skywalker. Leia waited for the dust to settle in order to enter.
Vader followed shortly after, at his own pace. The Deathtroopers accompanying them stopped at the entrance to guard it. Although everything had a dust cover placed over it, he could recognize every piece of it. He realized the last time he'd been here, he'd been fresh from the Purge at the Jedi Temple, on his way to Mustafar. Funny, he thought, how they had just come from there.
Fate was as funny as it was cruel.
Leia took her time appraising the living room, framing several spots with her fingers from a distance.
She nodded. "I think the place suits me. What do you think?"
"It will make an excellent staging ground to and from the Academy, and nothing else," he said sternly.
It went without saying that he was uneasy regarding this bout of independence, no doubt caused by knowledge of what her mother had been doing at her age. He could admit he'd stifled her, but not without reason. Now he was powerful enough to protect her, even if he wasn't there. Not to mention the strides she'd been taking in her training.
Vader followed her, running his hand over a counter, lines being drawn through the dust. Distant memories long past came to the forefront of his mind, and they stayed there.
"You called this… home," Padmé's voice echoed. A whisper of the past.
He felt alone here, despite the people around him. It took all of his effort to bottle his feelings so Leia would remain unaware.
"I'm actually liking the furniture," Leia said, uncovering one of the sofas.
More and more flashes of memories came to his mind. A kiss shared here, an embrace there. He blinked a few times as his eyes burned. It was difficult to distinguish them from reality, a stormy sea of recollections crashing over him.
"Redecorating will be no issue," he muttered. He wasn't sure he could make a habit of returning here if the objects that had been imprinted stayed.
She poked her head into the bedroom. "I don't know, father. This bed looks especially comfy. Is this Convor down?!"
"Yes, but," He whipped his head to her, holding out a hand to shut the door with the Force. "That must go."
Leia turned around and began to prod at him remotely. Vader averted his gaze as she caught on. "Is there something wrong?"
Vader approached her, guiding her to the bedroom with a hand on her shoulder. With his free hand he gestured vaguely to the bed. "Do you feel anything here?"
She hesitated for a moment and looked at him before reaching out a hand to channel the Force. Leia immediately recoiled and backed up into his arms. She turned up to look at him with horror. "It's so cold… It's like the room has feelings, and they're hurt."
Those were his feelings a time ago. "It is not uncommon for impressions to be left by Force users on their environment. When I last slept in this bed I was plagued with terrible nightmares. Ones that… altered my fate and the fate of the Galaxy. We will replace the furniture to mitigate the echoes."
Leia agreed with a stern nod. "I'll request that the Captain summons a decorator."
Vader helped her to her feet, giving an approving nod as they returned to the sitting room. By then, though, he'd lost her attention. He was glad her reaction hadn't been more severe. Although, he had no idea exactly what she'd experienced.
Surely she would have said something if it was worse than that. If she saw his dreams.
She nodded absentmindedly, engrossed with how she could make the place hers. He took advantage of the lull, stopping Captain Natha on the veranda. "I am soon to depart. Do not make yourselves comfortable. Send for a scanning crew to ensure the security of the apartment."
"Yes, my Lord."
Vader decided to focus on his mission, idly speeding through Coruscant traffic at speeds anyone lesser would have been dead going. It was a mix of wanting to get back to his daughter and in the pursuit of thrills. He did, however, exercise much more caution as he brought the speeder down in a lot.
Completely uncaring of the terror of the citizens around him, he stormed to the entrance of the Galactic Youth Academy. It was considered to be among the greatest preparatory schools for students not on military career paths. At least, that was what the holonet and his men told him. Palpatine hadn't been consulted. Vader was unwilling to let the Sith guide her path as much as he had.
He came to a stop in front of the gates, where the Stormtrooper standing vigilant outside saluted him. There was a slight tremble to the man.
He folded his arms. "You guard this facility. What can you say of the students it produces?" he asked.. If anyone had an… unfavorable opinion of the school, it would be the faceless ones who kept the inhabitants safe. The thankless workers.
He drilled holes into his boots while preparing his thoughts. "Uh… Well- It produces a lot of thinkers. Y'know, everything from doctors to lawyers. The ones who people like us keep safe," he said. "Uh- forgive me-"
He waved a hand. "No, we are alike in that aspect. Tell me of the undesirable aspects."
The trooper exhaled deeply. "I don't think it has anything worse to it than any other private school. You know," he shrugged. "Kids of higher class politicians or officers think they own the place. Lord it over the ones who didn't pay to get here, like the scholarship students."
"Speak freely."
The Stormtrooper looked around before leaning slightly closer. "The dean is pretty much at the whim of the richer parents."
Vader tilted his helmet in acknowledgement. "Thank you, trooper."
"Yes sir," he said, nodding. Vader stood there expectantly. "Oh!" he cried, opening the gate for the Dark Lord. "My apologies."
He merely waved it away. His tendency to strike fear and awe into the hearts of practically anyone he encountered happened often enough that he was used to it hindering him in certain situations. While he was no stranger to violence, he had standards for when such brutality was necessary. He certainly took no joy in it.
Vader had the sense to mask his presence as he entered the swarming hive of children and their educators. It, like most of the Empire, was dull and gray like a storm cloud. Although, it lacked certain prefabricated elements standard in post-Republic architecture.
The receptionist didn't look up from her typing as he came to a stop in front of her window. "I'll be with you in a moment. If this is about a tuition or meal allowance payment, please come tomorrow."
"I wish to transfer a student here. Is the dean present?"
"You're going to need an-" she froze, seemingly noticing the black mass in front of her. She looked up, eyes wide. "D- Darth- Darth Vader?" she asked, utterly confused.
"The dean," he reiterated.
"Yep. Yes. Uh- he's," she pointed, the words failing her. "At the end of the- uh…"
"The hall," he supplied, taking a turn into the administrative wing and heading to the door at the end of the hall. Dean Altmun occupied this room, if the sign to the right was any indication. Rather than barging in, he opted to politely rap on the durasteel.
His mechanical limbs made a louder sound than expected, if the reply was anything to go by. "Come in!" a man said impatiently.
Vader did as he was told, inviting himself into the office. Awards and family holos adorned the shelves filled with books. The color in Altmun's round face drained. "You're not the librarian."
"That is correct."
The man paused before looking down at his shirt, smoothing the wrinkles, and standing up. "It's an honor, Lord Vader. I thought you'd be coming at the beginning of the next semester. No offense, it's just, we could have had a ceremony, a proper-"
Vader stopped him with a hand. "That would be unnecessary. I am only here to oversee a transfer."
The man raised his brow. "That's the thing- I thought this would regard enrollment, not a transfer. Although, I suppose my surprise is entirely my fault- I didn't discuss the date! We don't allow transfers this late into the semester."
"There is a first time for everything," Vader countered.
Altmun seemed to be getting the picture Vader was painting. "That's right, my Lord," he said quickly. "I'll get the forms in order. Ah- You didn't mention who would be joining us."
Vader raised a hand, ensuring the door was locked. "My daughter. I expect I will find you… accommodating."
The dean looked as if he would be sick. His hair was thinning, but by the end of this conversation, surely he would be completely bald. "Of course," he said after a pause, his voice distant.
"You have no reason to fear, so long as you do not endanger her," he said, the color returning to Altmun's face. "I have heard rumors about your allegiances and how easily they can be swayed…"
"If the school is to remain funded, I have no choice but to bend to the will of donors," he said truthfully. Vader detected a tinge of anguish.
Observing the walls, he found many certificates and awards for feats in education. "I wish only the best for my daughter, and that includes her education. This establishment can and will be improved. Become impartial to the children of these donors, and I will match any lost funds. From now on, I am your primary ally, Dean Altmun."
Altmun didn't appear opposed to the idea. "Is there anything else you want me to do? Accelerate her-"
"No," he said, ending the man's thought. "She is already entitled to much. Other than her transfer, I require one additional privilege to be allowed."
"Anything," the man said, all too experienced in bending to the wills of parents.
Vader turned his lightsaber over in his hands. "You will allow her to carry her lightsaber on school grounds. It is part of our religion."
The dean looked as if he was going to die of an ulcer then and there. "Is that… negotiable, Lord Vader?"
"No. I expect her to never use it, but the possibility of assassination remains."
Altmun sighed, shaking his head. "We have security, and-"
"Your security is inadequate for those who truly wish harm. I was able to bypass your checks with no clearance merely because of my status," Vader said.
Altmun slowly nodded. "You're right. Alright, if it's for religious purposes…"
"Very good, Dean Altmun. Shall we begin the transfer process?"
"Yes, take a seat."
Vader didn't.
"Uh…"
OxOxO
"A scout transmitter…" Vader said, holding the small disc between his thumb and forefinger.
That was precisely the last thing he expected a security sweep to find. Why exactly someone would wish to bug his deceased wife's apartment eluded him.
"Yes, sir. I've taken the liberty of looping some ambient noise to the feed. Whomever it reports to won't be aware it's been found until you've crashed down their door, I imagine," Captain Natha reported. "And that's not all. All of the security footage which should have been archived is gone."
Perhaps he should have been more involved in the proceedings following his wife's death. Clearly some of her friends were invested in her passing. She was a beloved woman, after all. The monument outside was one of numerous testaments to that. A bit flashy, but caring just the same.
"Have you traced its origin?" he asked, a storm brewing within his mind.
"The Naboo system, sir," she said, keeping it brief. He was certain she could feel the air drop several degrees in temperature.
Of course.
The vase on the nearby caf table cracked just short of breaking.
"Father, did it go well?" Leia asked, and the room returned to normal.
Vader turned to her in the doorway, the thoughts and tumultuous feelings quieting. "Yes." he said, which brought a new problem. Vader couldn't be in two places at once. He gave the transmitter back to the Captain. "How long will it take for them to notice your tampering?"
"Perhaps half a day, assuming they reviewed the feed from before I discovered it. It is an older model, sir, so I wouldn't discount the possibility that whomever placed it is long since interested in listening."
It would have been the middle of the night on Naboo, assuming they weren't on one of the moons.
"Forgive me. I will not be here tomorrow morning," he said to Leia.
"Hm?" she mumbled. "That's fine. It's just school."
But it was her first day. Something to be celebrated, something that all sentients went through, that all parents experienced. And then he realized the mundanity of it all. How he should've been free of the mask, of the Dark Side, sharing the moment with Padmé.
The vase fully crumbled.
She laughed in an awkward attempt to diffuse the situation. "I hated that vase anyway. Is something wrong?"
He paused for a few breath cycles, looking for the best way to phrase it. Eventually he realized it mattered little as long as the point got across, but he didn't want to disappoint her all the same.
"I must track down a security threat," Vader gave a datastick to Captain Natha. "This contains the pertinent details for her transition."
"Well, good luck, and thank you," Leia said.
He barely looked back to say goodbye, leaving through the main entrance rather than the platform with Padme's ship. Vader made his way to one of the shared platforms where a shuttle had been brought to him. Artoo rolled down the ramp just as Vader passed without a word. The droid did not appreciate that, spouting curses to get him to stop.
/DON'T THANK ME OR ANYTHING,/ the droid beeped.
As useful as the droid was, he had certainly begun to wear down Vader's patience. His enjoyment of such things had hardened over the years. "Any droid could prepare the ship for flight."
/NOT EVERY DROID COULD DETECT A LISTENING DEVICE BEFORE A TRAINED SCANNING CREW./
So that was him, then. The droid had many unfavorable quirks but untruthfulness was not among them. "You have my thanks, then…"
/I'M FLATTERED,/ he beeped, rolling to the door. Vader set up the ramp before the droid stopped him again. /FETT HAILED YOU WHILE YOU WERE GONE./
"I would have guessed your programming would have prioritized that over shameless narcissism," he said.
Artoo said something particularly unfavorable before continuing on. Vader did the same, eagerly approaching the comms unit. He stopped himself short of returning the call. Perhaps it would be best to get into space, he supposed. A small corner of his mind recognized it as an attempt to stall. He hadn't heard from the bounty hunter since a report he'd narrowly missed them on Taris some time ago.
It was a mix of responsibility to Leia and his recognition of an inability to control himself should the news be unsavory
Vader had been negligent. Now he was reaping the rewards. In the panic to escape Tatooine, he'd overlooked the report from the Inquisitor stating that Obi-Wan had been with a child. There were a multitude of possibilities that were laid before him. Although, the most reasonable explanation was that it was difficult to find an apprentice in these times, and he'd simply made do with desert trash.
Reasonable was not satisfying. There was something he was missing.
It ate at him..
Like he had done numerous times before, he allowed himself to ponder.
Although unlikely, the child could have been Kenobi's. The Mandalorian Duchess Satine had died long before the fall of the Jedi, and no one else had elicited that sort of attention from his old Master. That explanation didn't answer the question of why he had chosen to hide with his step-family. Protection didn't seem as likely. He'd indulged the possibility that Owen and Beru had a force-sensitive child since he'd seen them, some dozen years ago when his mother had died.
The console beeped at him and he let go of the yoke, unaware he'd been grasping so tightly.
Carefully he extended an arm to answer it, looking down at Boba Fett's projection. "You have news, then?"
"Not much. Kenobi's been laying low with the Rebellion lately. Got some names associated with the farmers he was staying with. Owen, Beru, and Luke Lars. That last one- the boy- is travelling around with some Togruta Jedi," Fett reported.
Perhaps Kenobi felt some responsibility to keep them safe, given their connection to him. Still, it didn't sit well. "Is this everything?"
"So far. Information gathering isn't usually my style," he said.
"That is all I have paid you to do," Vader said. "Your contract is finished, bounty hunter. I will deal with them myself."
"You sure you don't want to get rid of some pocket change?"
"Quite," he said, ending the transmission.
Now he just felt silly. All that time stewing for some insignificant boy. Obsessing once again over something that in reality turned out to be a waste of time.
He flew to Naboo, full of shame and loathing.