Title: Vader's Quest Chronicles
Summary: Darth Vader learns that he has a son and the search begins
Chapter 5
Disclaimer: Star Wars is the property of George Lucas. No disrespect is intended with this story.
The monotony was monumental; chase a few phantom Rebels, check another rumor on the off-chance...Vader sighed. The only good it seemed to do was that Palpatine apparently received great satisfaction from Vader's efforts...which was a change, because old Palpy generally would not sanction failure. And Vader was currently failing abysmally. No Rebels. No son. And both sent Vader's frustrations soaring. His temper grew shorter as the weeks passed with no results. The Emperor flattered and soothed and assured his apprentice that things were going just as he had foreseen them. Bah! He always conveniently 'foresaw' things after the fact! If a prediction failed to materialize, he usually had a plausible reason that he had 'foreseen' as a possibility. Vader no longer believed most of his line of Bantha spit. Sometimes, he even marveled that he could ever have been so gullible. And then he silently raged at his own stupidity. He figured on a great afterlife -- he was certainly living a hellish one now! But that would change, Vader vowed; find his son, and together they would destroy the Emperor and rule the Galaxy as father and son. The thought gave him new hope, and in his daydreams, he wreaked violent vengeance upon Palpatine, and planned many a torturous demise for his Nemesis.
Vader was rapidly becoming addicted to the rush of power that accompanied these thoughts. He would have to be careful or Palpy would sense them, and then it would be big trouble for Vader. He preferred not to envision the Emperor's reaction or the certain reprisal. It would not be pretty. Thoughts once more carefully shielded, Vader returned to the Death Star and a conference with Tarkin.
The lightsaber flickered erratically, then failed. What the...? Vader impatiently threw it aside and strode to the cupboard where he usually kept a spare...only the cupboard was empty. His boyhood misadventures with lost lightsabers had finally born fruit -- he had begun constructing them two at a time. As an adult, he no longer lost them -- well, not often, anyway -- but now he tended to break them or wear them out from the hours he spent in practice. Well, this would occupy some hours today. Perhaps he would make a longer blade, and a deeper red would be nice -- more impressive. Jedi standards no longer mattered -- why had he adhered to them for so long? After all, he was a tall man and a man's lightsaber should be in proportion to his size, shouldn't it? He tried to ignore the voice in his mind:
You are becoming an arrogant show-off, Anakin. A Jedi is sure of himself, yet modest and unassuming. If you spent as much time practicing -
Shut up, Obi- Wan! I do practice -- hours and hours. Anyway, I'm not a Jedi any longer now, am I? The Jedi Order no longer exists. I have outlived my peers. I have outlived you all! He viciously snapped a final piece into position and tested the feel of the weapon. Just another small adjustment. He set the completed lightsaber aside and began the second. As he worked, he continued to hear Obi-Wan's voice in the back of his mind... What was with that man? If he was dead, his old Master surely had more to do in the afterlife than haunt his only Padawan apprentice.
And if he still lived... well, the same must hold true there also. Recently, it had been almost as if Obi-Wan were right here with him, getting into Vader's thoughts, where he was not wanted, reminding him that he was still, deep inside, Anakin Skywalker, once and always a Knight of the Jedi Order.
I am Sith. Vader again stressed the distinction to himself. More powerful than any Jedi who ever lived! I turned my back to the Jedi; when Master Windu died, my choice was sealed, there can never be a return for me even should I desire it. So get out of my mind Obi- Wan! You betrayed me! You tried to kill me! But I arose from near-death and still live, while you ... you are all gone. I killed you all!
In his mind he heard a fading voice: I'm so sorry, Anakin; I failed you, my brother; I failed...
Vader tested the second lightsaber. Perfect. He would have to grow accustomed to the slight additional heft of it, but the color was a lovely deep menacing red -- like cooling hot lava on...No! Not lava! Never lava! Just a nice deep menacing red, maybe like a sunset on Tatooine... Aaargh! Enough! Just a nice darker red!
Vader put away the spare lightsaber and returned to his duties for the day with second new one at his belt. He patted it in satisfaction and considered other possible shadings of red suitable for the lightsaber of a Sith. Maybe, the next ones ...
At the evening meal, Vader demonstrated his new lightsaber for Tarkin, who was underwhelmed. He regarded Vader's new toy with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.
"Yes, my friend, very pretty, nicely menacing. But -- do you really expect anyone to notice? Or to care, if they do? As you so frequently tell me, you are the last of your former colleagues."
Dismissing this with a wave of his hand, Vader continued to sweep the blade through the air, enjoying the thrum and hiss as it swished and swooped.
Sometimes, thought Tarkin, it's like having an eternally immature adolescent on board. Would Vader ever grow up? Maybe he'd been retarded by his experiences on Mustafar? No, he was already an adult then...There must be some other cause for his frequent bouts of juvenile
behavior. At least he is in a good mood tonight, with, so far, no temper tantrums...
"Come, Vader, sit. Eat. Our... friend contacted me today. He is unhappy with us. It seems that the Rebels have slipped a spy into the Senate -- yes, I know, it should be spies, plural -- but this particular spy has apparently gotten into some very sensitive restricted files. They aren't yet ready to say what is missing, but when they are, we will be notified. Our superior feels that we are in some way responsible for the spy's success in penetrating so far...Although how we were to know...?" Tarkin shook his head. The accusatory vagaries of the Emperor were eternally a mystery to him. He suspected that Vader was just as clueless. Not for the first time, he wondered if there was a history of insanity in Palpatine's family.
Tapestries fluttered and fell, furniture flew and shattered. Walls cracked and plaster fell, statuary crashed and glass shattered. Palpatine was in a rage. His aides and bodyguards prudently made themselves scarce, as the onslaught of Force from Pa1patine's rage destroyed his office. Sensing his own danger from the results of his rage, the Emperor quickly exited the chamber. The nerve of them! How could Alderaan do this to him? The planet he had upheld to the Galaxy for twenty years as the ideal for Imperial standards! Bail Organa would pay for this treachery!
Having vented much of his rage, Palpatine calmed, was distracted by a passing thought. What was with Lord Vader and his recent preference for the physical? Use of the Force was so satisfying! He felt so much better now, calmer, more able to think clearly, as befitted a Sith Master.
Yes, Bail Organa would pay for his treachery. Too bad that the Princess had not proven to be Vader's child... that would have been delicious revenge... turn the traitor's adopted daughter to the Dark Side and make her a Sith. No matter now; Alderaan would now face a different destiny...! With deadly calm, he sent a message to Tarkin aboard the Death Star. It was time to test that ultimate weapon's capabilities and Alderaan would do quite nicely as a target. Double-cross him would they? He felt his powers reflect the anticipation of that planet's impending spectacular and sudden total destruction. Ahhh! Revenge was so sweet!
Vader chuckled -- so Alderaan had joined the Rebellion, right under old Palpy's nose! His model planet! The irony of it did not escape him. How clever of Bail Organa to fool the Emperor for all these years, for surely this was nothing sudden or new. I wouldn't have thought Organa had it in him to be so duplicitous. No wonder the old Sarlacc's spawn was enraged. They would pay, and dearly -- no doubts there.
And now Vader was to intercept Princess Leia's diplomatic shuttle and retrieve the stolen plans for the Death Star. Well, she seemed to be headed toward Tatooine, his own reluctantly intended destination; this would be only a minor interruption in his personal agenda. He would deal with Princess Leia, ship her and the plans over to Tarkin aboard the Death Star, then finish his own errand.
He intended to finally pay a belated visit to Owen Lars on Tatooine, sand and memories be damned. His stepbrother must surely know something of value. Truth be told, Vader had half forgotten the man's very existence -- they had only met once, when Shmi had died, right before the Clone War began -- and he had never spared another thought for him. Until now. There were just too many disturbances in the Force emanating from there, so strong that even Vader could sense them. His son must be on Tatooine, he felt it! As much as he hated Tatooine, what better place would there have been to hide his son from him? And he was betting that Owen could provide some answers.
A small shuttle appeared on the viewscreen. Vader ordered the Executor in pursuit, giving himself over to the anticipation of the inevitable outcome -- the Tantive IV could never outrun his much larger and faster Star Destroyer. As he watched, he sensed something -- if he didn't know it was impossible, he would swear that someone on that shuttle...
No, Vader thought, it is just that I am too close to that wild Force talent on the planet's surface; my senses are becoming muddled. He shook his head. A few shots were fired and the tractor beam was engaged. Vader prepared to board the Tantive IV, take the Princess prisoner. And then... Things were working out beautifully!