Warning. Some of the content here is not suitable for young people or sensitive readers. - CG
There was nothing better than the privilege power. The power to detain someone indefinitely, just because you want to. Who could stop him? Who would dare? Not that Filli person, anyway. A lifetime ago, when Vader was Anakin Skywalker he would have thought deeply about his actions. Fallen over himself with guilt. It was guilt that caused him the fight with Obi Wan Kenobi. And guilt that put him in that suit. A life for a life. But any guilt he might have felt then had been burned out of him at the bottom of that lava pit on Mustafar. Anakin died there, on a shore beside a river of molten liquid. Incinerated... where Vader had been born by fire.
Burned away were any normal human emotion leaving in its wake a complicated would be man. Half man, half droid. Or literally, half of a man? He couldn't be sure. But he was something. And he was here.
But there was something about Olee Starstone. Something that caused him to hesitate where he had been merciless to the others. Allowing her skittish self to slink past him to safety, even encouraging her escape with a warning to obey her master, who had accepted death in her place. Even though she had cursed him moments earlier, and probably would have taken his life if Shyrne had afforded her the opportunity.
Who was she now, this Olee Starstone? A rebel in the making, with her tawdry attire? With her shapely legs, blue eyes, and shiny dark hair that reminded him so much of Padme?
The cadence of Vader's boots reverberated in the hollow hallways of his Imperial Star Destroyer. His mind carried him back to the holding unit. He pictured Olee, resting on the single cot. Her legs bent at the knees, fingers twirling locks of her hair as she mulled absent-mindedly over their conversation. He saw her rolling over to lay on her stomach, her chin pressing into the thin mattress.
Perhaps, he thought with some compassion... I can provide better accomodations for her. Vader turned a corner, walking into a squadron of storm troopers and Captain Lassem, who, unlike the armor plated foot soldiers, wore a tailored grey uniform and matching hat. Decals and other emblems of war decorated the side of his jacket.
He saluted.
"Lord Vader. We are landing on Vixin now. What are we to do with the captive?"
Vader tilted his head, suddenly in thought. What would he do with her? Leave her in the cabin to fly from planet to planet? What if there were rebels out there waiting in the vast cold night? Would he allow a civilian detainee to remain on the ship? A war ship where she could perish in an exchange of fire?
Lassem stood, legs wide with his arms pressed behind his back as he awaited an answer. Normally, it never took Lord Vader this long to think of anything. And what was her crime anyway?
"Send her to the tower," Vader replied.
There was a hint of surprise in Lassem's eyes. He leaned toward the Sith Lord, and as discreetly as he could... "Lord Vader, if I may be so bold... do you think it is wise to hold a detainee at your (whispering) personal residence? Despite the security of the tower... I thought we agreed that your home planet was not to be known by anyone... especially an enemy."
Vader approximated a sigh. "When I want your opinion, Captain Lassem, I'll give it to you."
The man inhaled sharply, shoulders swelling. "Of course, my lord, please forgive me."
"Take her immediately. Any questions that might be asked by this Olee Starstone, defer them to me."
"Yes, my lord."
Vader spun on his heels, and was off. Damn, it felt good to be powerful. He flexed his gloved hand open and closed as he walked.
Around the corner at the other end of the hall, Captain Lassem unbolted the holding unit where Olee waited. The door slid open. Olee sat up, a look of relief on her face.
"Finally!" she exasperated. "You here to spring me from this coop?"
The captain ignored her. She watched as the storm troopers clamored into the small room. One of the men restrained her, slapping a pair of cuffs on her arms.
"Hey!" Olee barked. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" she shook and tried to twist out of his grasp. "Vader put you up to this, didn't he? So where am I going? To the executioner's? Vader too much of a coward to do his own dirty work these days?"
The troopers and Captain Lassem walked in silence beside the nagging young woman. "I'm not scared of you, Vader, or the Emperor... This is so unfair! You want me? Fine, you'll have to drag me there."
Olee's legs folded beneath her like a collapsable table. The troops came to an abrupt halt, less she drag lifelessly behind them.
"Carry her," said the captain in a crisp tone.
Storm Trooper 679 hauled her over his shoulders. Olee groaned.
Vixin, Vader's adopted planet was very city-like and similar to Old Coruscant. He would have looked for a planet like Naboo to live on... but lush green land was unaccomodating when it came to the suit. He could have found a place similar to Tattoine to live... but he hated sand. And what if it got in the suit? How uncomfortable might that be?
Vader watched Olee and the troops from afar. She hung over the shoulder of one of his men passively. He dared a smile under the mask.
The tower was a part of Vader's home. A place where only the 501st, his personal guards had been. Not even the Emperor dared visit him there. Vader ruled the planet Vixin with iron fist - literally, and anyone who lived there were forbidden to leave. Civilians and troops alike.
Those who risked escape filled the prisons, awaiting their execution. An inexpensive alternative to overcrowding. Some of those escapees were greedy, lustful perfume and spice peddlers or merchants who inadvertantly discovered the hidden little Outer Rim planet, unaware that one foot on its soil meant an eternity on the planet.
Olee's fate would be not different. Still, the tower would be more comfortable than those awful prison camps. Her bedroom... or rather, her holding unit, he thought, should do nicely. A large comfortable bed, a view of the glimmering city and amber colored sky.
Suddenly Vader sensed, that somewhere inside of himself, he was trying to impress her. He scoffed at the idea. Who would want to impress a detainee? Who would be so foolish?
And then, in the voice of Anakin, the answer came... then why hold her prisoner in your house and not a cell?
If you are trying to prove that there is still good in me, then you are wrong, Vader replied.
Storm trooper 679 was proving to be a real jerk. He shoved Olee into the bedroom, the other guards flanking his sides. Outside of the door he entered a security code, which made any attempt to leave, virtually impossible. Olee twirled around, room spinning, her eyes soaking her surroundings in all at once.
"If this is a prison..." she muttered, "then sign me up!"
It was a bedroom fit for a king. The bed was massive - and comfortable looking. Must have been Vader's. No normal person ever needed a bed that size. But if this was Vader's "suite" then what was she doing here?
Olee ran to the window and looked out. The tower with its large picturesque windows had a view that overlooked the city. A city Olee had never seen before. In fact, she had no idea where she was! Olee continued her tour of the room, considering various escape routes should Vader not come to his senses. It seemed there was no landing dock anywhere near the top floor where she was located. Only the one door, which Storm trooper 679 had bolted shut.
Olee, hands folded neatly before her, gazed at some of the pictures on the wall. They were expensive pictures and she was certain she had seen them before. Then suddenly, it clicked. Were those from the Jedi Temple? Had they been stolen by Vader?
A wave of anger passed through her. She bit it down. Think less like a Jedi, and more like a civilian, she muttered. "I owe Shyrne this much..."
Just then, the door slid open and Vader of all people strode inside. She hadn't expected to see him so soon. Olee stared at the man, arms still folded before her, cheeks red.
"What is the meaning of this? You can't just go around kidnapping people! Where am I? What kind of cell is this?"
Olee stormed toward Vader. He liked seeing her flustered this way. Made him feel as though he were in control again. Watching Olee regress to her old prudish ways so easily was a picture show.
"I can find a less accomodating location, if that is your wish."
Her hands flew to her hips. "Well- if ...if... " she started.
He didn't think so.
"Not so bold are we now, Padawan?"
"I'm not a padawan so stop calling me that. I'm not anything!" thanks to you...
"I sense you are not pleased with your current situation."
"Would you be pleased if I plucked you from an open market and took you to some force-forsaken place?"
"This force-forsaken place is your new home."
For a moment, Olee couldn't speak. "My new home?" she gasped. "So I'm just supposed to disappear?"
"Have you somewhere important to be?"
"What about Filli-"
"This is your home and you are not to think of this Filli person again," he answered coldly.
Olee jumped in his face. "You don't tell me what to think! m not worried about you, Vader. Filli will come and rescue me."
Vader shrugged. "If you say so."
"What do you want? Is this how you get your jollies? Hunting down Jedi? Arresting those who aren't or have no wish to be Jedi anymore? If so, then you are one sick puppy. Who are you? What did we ever do to cause you to hate us so much?"
"We?" the voice hummed, "so you are a Jedi again?"
Olee fell silent. Why give him an excuse to kill me?
She wasn't afraid of death, but wanted a chance to say goodbye to Filli.
After a short pause, he spoke again. "If you wish to leave this place, then you are free to go," he said in a regretful voice.
Olee gave him a suspicious look. "I'm free?"
"That's what I said."
"Free to leave here? Now?"
"If that is your wish."
He walked toward her. Did he mean, free, as in free from her physical self? "death" free? A tangible nervousness ebbed between them as he strode across the room... his strides, pressuring her to back away until she could walk no further. Vader pulled Olee by the collar, drawing her to him so that the air from his mask blew into her face.
She opened her mouth to speak, but fell silent when her eyes met the black orbs of his mask. There was a human inside. He shook Olee. As if to literally shake some sense into her. She grabbed the lapel of his cloak and wrapped her fingers around the fabric.
A human! she thought, with some anger. What kind of human being could do the things Vader had done?
He pushed her onto the bed. "As I told you aboard the Imperial Destroyer, the game you played, was too dangerous for you, Padawan."
Her body sank into the soft cushion as his gloved hand pushed into her neck. Olee didn't so much as blink. He leaned toward her, getting very close to her face.
It was a peculiar situation... her laying there with Vader sitting beside her, one of his hands on her neck pressing her into the cushion, his other hand resting on her inner thigh...crawling...crawling...crawling... until.
Olee grabbed for his hand a second too late. What were they doing? How had they arrived here of all places?
If Padme was any indication, Vader knew a thing or two about women. And Olee had not resisted his advances. She welcomed them.
Somewhere back on Boz Pity. Sometime ago back in her cabin aboard the Imperial Destroyer...
And sense that is the case, why deny himself? Vader thought with a mental shrug.
His partner in lust cringed. Cringed at every audible gasp that escaped her throat. The man responsible for defiling the temple, was now, defiling her. And the worst part of all was that she wanted to be defiled. Then again... perhaps defiled is not the word for it, she thought.
Olee also sensed, somewhere Shyrne was not smiling. Nor was Filli, if he ever found out. Now if she could only understand what it meant... perhaps, this was Vader's way of putting her in a position to barter her freedom.
The question she asked herself now, was why did she allow it?
Anakin's voice, spoke yet again to the Sith Lord. Still, you long for human contact. The Force is not yet done with you.
And in a silent voice, Vader replied: "You are mistaken. Any part of me that was good, died with you on Mustafar. And it is not that the force is not done with me, it is I who is not done with the Force."