The doors slid open with a hiss, & General Bavlin entered, followed by the imposing cloaked and masked Vader. Standing behind her plain dura-steel desk, Aurren reminded herself not to react to the masked appearance of the man accompanying General Bavlin. As the two men made the short journey from doorway to desk, she pushed all her anxiety, all of her fear and worry, back into the deep recesses of her mind.

Lord Vader quickly took in the appearance of the young architect behind the desk in the few seconds it took to walk across her surprisingly spacious office. Medium height- 5'4"… maybe 5'5", slim build, dark blond hair pulled back neatly. She had remarkably white, almost translucent skin that made her large brown eyes seem almost black. The man in him couldn't help from noticing the slight curves of her body that her trim gray uniform failed to conceal. In the same moment, he did as he normally did upon meeting new people, and reached out to her with the force so he could sense her feelings.

He found himself thrown off a bit by what he felt from Aurren Farr. Although he was surprised that he sensed no fear in her-fear was the norm- it wasn't that which left him slightly confused. She seemed, well, empty. It was as if weren't really there. Usually, in a brief second, he could sense a lot about a person. Not specific things, but enough to give him a good grasp on their hopes & fears, enough to allow him to manipulate them. As for Miss Farr, when it came to hopes, dreams & fears- she had none.

Glancing at her face as he came to a halt next to General Bavlin, he saw nothing there. Her dark eyes were as vacant as the expression on her face. If it hadn't seemed impossible, he would have thought she had picked that moment to drop dead.

"Lord Vader, this is your Architect, Miss Aurren Farr, Aurren, this is Lord Vader." Bavlin's voice seemed to have a slight quiver to it as he made his introductions. "If it is alright, my lord, I will take your leave now so you may begin your meeting."

The General's request was granted with a brief nod in his direction from Vader. "Thank you my lord," he said, bowing slightly & then rushing out of the room.

"Miss Farr," Vader began, "I do hope you are ready for me today."

"Of course my lord," she replied, moving from behind the desk and motioning for them to join her. "I have created a complete virtual holographic representation for you, correct down to the last nail. It has a 360 3-D animation of every room and hallway, as well as the exterior & the grounds. The structure is shown fully decorated and furnished, with several options for furniture & color schemes embedded. I also have hard copy graphic drawings of the main rooms and master's quarters, as well as views from each side of the grounds. I prepared a complete dossier for you on all of the security features, and specifications on the new technology proposed," she stopped when she reached the small seating area, "I can start anywhere you would like, my lord."

As Aurren talked, Vader was overtaken by the vast amount of planning it seemed this girl had done. She had indeed gone above and beyond any expectations he had- although his expectations were certainly very low. He fully expected to be releasing his wrath on somebody, but as she continued he got the feeling that this woman… this very young woman… would surprise him. He was intrigued, if not a bit irritated. 'She has to have screwed up somewhere,' he thought as he followed her towards the low table arranged with a holo-projector & a thick portfolio. Glancing down at her as she asked him where he would like to start, he realized that her somberness bothered him.

"Please Miss Farr, begin with your drawings."

He locked his eyes on her as she asked him to please sit. He placed himself near the center of the long white couch against the wall. He watched her through his mask as she bent slightly to pick up the portfolio off of the table. Turning back towards him, he was dumbfounded when she rather unexpectedly placed herself on the long couch directly next to him, closer than most dared to get. She was so close in fact, that when she turned to speak again, her knee casually brushed against his calf. He was suddenly jarred by this innocent, meaningless contact. It occurred to him that he hadn't been touched voluntarily by a single person since the rise of the Empire.

"I hope you are pleased, my lord. I can honestly say that I've worked very hard on this." Her voice was low, but unwavering. He noticed that her demeanor had become relatively at ease. He felt that her ease was a result of the emptiness he felt from her- which now he realized was not exactly emptiness, just a lack of attachment to anything, as well as what he noticed as resolve. On a few occasions he had felt this particular emotion from others. It was usually from some kriffing rebellion leader who had been captured as he walked proudly to his death. He wondered if she thought he would take her life, since she obviously was resolved to her fate. Her calm blankness unnerved him. He shifted slightly, unconsciously shying away from the slight physical contact between their legs.

Slowly, Aurren began handing him the drawings one by one.

As long, quiet minutes passed, the young architect began to worry as he looked over her renderings without uttering a sound. He would spend a moment looking at each picture, then without turning his head, reach out for the next one. Glancing at the expressionless black mask on his face, she found herself wishing she could see his eyes. She always felt that she could tell by looking at someone's eyes if felt what they were looking at was beautiful.

Behind the mask, Vader said a silent word of thanks for his concealment as his mouth hung agape. The images that passed before his eyes seemed to be plucked from his dreams. He could almost smell the roses that were drawn over the arbor at the main entrance. For once- he had no idea how to react. He wasn't prepared for this. He was supposed to be angry… about something… but he was dazzled by what she had created for him. He wondered how she knew that there was a special fondness in his heart for Naboo. It was obvious from her renderings that the countryside estates and manors of that planet were her muse for his palace- and it was perfect.

He almost felt overwhelmed by it all. She had certainly done her homework.

As he finished feasting his eyes on the last rendering, he gently placed the stack in a neat pile on the table before him and stared off straight-ahead. Gathering himself, he spoke without looking towards her. "Very well Miss Farr. You have accomplished much more that I ever honestly expected you to." His voice wavered slightly for a moment, & he cursed himself mentally before continuing. "I am surprised…and pleased at your proposition." It was so hard for him to actually tell her she had done well.

Abruptly he stood and turned to Aurren. "I have seen all I need to see at this time."

Aurren rose to her feet as soon as she saw him stand. He faced her & saw her black eyes gazing directly into his own masked eyes.

"Please my lord, take with you the animation & security dossier if you wish. You can view them at your leisure." She seemed to glide effortlessly across the room as she retrieved the dossier from her desk, then quickly slipping the disc containing the animation from her projector. Gingerly, she approached him and held out the items.

Lord Vader slipped the objects from her fingers more gently that he was used to being. She took a brief step back & bowed her head.

"Thank you my lord. I promise I will do my best to please you."

Her eyes never left the floor as she spoke to him. A stray thought invaded his mind unwilled as she stated her desire to please him-"I am sure you will please me…" Shaking it off, he began his exit from the office. The doors hissed open as he reached them, and he stopped and turned back to her. She still stood where he had left her, this time glancing timidly in his direction. "I will be in contact with you. Continue your work. You will do well for yourself if you continue to please me."

Without another word, he turned with a swirl of his black cloak, and stalked out of the room.

When the office doors closed behind him, she waited to hear the doors to her outer office give him leave before sliding down onto the couch. All of the emotions she had bottled up tight and stored deep inside burst loose, and with a deep sigh, tears of fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, loneliness, and at long last-hope, fell in hot streams down her cheeks. She knew she had created a great structure, but one thing she never had was real honest pride in it. It wasn't until he had departed leaving her completely unscathed- not so much as an angry word or a hot temper- that she actually saw a tiny ray of hope.

Not ready to give way to anything as frivolous as optimism, she forced the tears to stop & wiped her face. 'Now I just need to do better,' she thought. 'I can always do better… he's going to expect more of me now… the bar's been raised.'

Methodically she moved about the office, gathering all things related to the palace. She placed them in her specially designed safe as she did every time she left her office. As if in a daze, she turned off all the lights & exited her office, her legs mechanically taking her back to her quarters. She needed a long bath and a good nights rest.