Vader turned from his old master's body as he felt his wife's pain in the Force. He was going to be a father. The baby was coming. His baby.
He started to run in the pumice and slipped. Scrambling back up, he continued his race to his fighter and Padme's transport.
He arrived on the platform just in time to see her ship take off. He watched in horror as the ship turned and started away from the planet, taking his beloved far away. Subconsciously he plotted the ship's course.
Climbing into his fighter, he gunned the engines and started after the gleaming transport.
As the larger ship jumped to hyperspace, Vader swore. He started the navicomputer and searched for any potential destinations his wife could have had in mind. How she was piloting when he could sense how far into labor she was, Vader didn't know.
Vader's ship drifted infuriatingly for almost an hour before something came up on the navi-computer view screen. Polis Massa, the largest meteor had a good med center. Vader entered the coordinates and the ship jumped to hyperspace.
When he climbed out of the ship he knew, instantly, that he was too late. He reached out in the Force, desperately trying to sense his wife. She wasn't there. The harder he looked, the farther away she seemed.
He could sense Yoda, though he was sure that the little green alien had already left. The little Jedi had also hidden Padme's trail so Vader couldn't sense where she'd gone. Vader had a sinking feeling that he may have lost her forever.
Sadly, Vader climbed back into his ship and took off. He supposed that he should go back to the Empire, but he didn't want to. He wanted to find his family and run far, far away from the crisis. Or at least just find his family.
It tore at his heart to know that this simple desire was impossible. He felt enslaved all over again. Enslaved! That's the answer! I can't have my own family back, but I could buy a slave to raise! Where can I find a 'good' slave market? He looked through a map of the galaxy for a slave market. That'll do it.
Vader set the coordinates and set out for the system.
As the ship stopped next to the planet Zygerria, Vader scowled at the slave market and hopped out of his ship. Now that he was here he realized that he had no idea about how to choose his slave.
He stalked between the aisles of slaves trying to choose just one to save. There were so many people who needed help. A child, he reminded himself, I want a child. That narrows it down a bit. It would be cruel to take a child away from its parents. He frowned, I would know. I`ve been on both ends of that now.
He continued his march. He was aware of the frightened slaves all around him. He heard sobs as one of them cried out helplessly. He spun, well aware that his fury would be showing on his face. A little human girl, maybe three, was cowering from a man with a whip.
She was screaming incoherently and trying to protect her head with her arms.
Vader ran to her side and covered her little body with his own. The next lash came down on his back.
The slaver retracted the whip as quickly as he could and Vader looked up at him, still cradling the slave in his arms.
"Listen, Sir. You shouldn't just throw yourself in front of a whip, you could really get hurt." He extended a hand.
Vader ignored the proffered hand and stood up himself, bringing the little girl up in his arms. She whimpered and Vader held her close and safe. "The slaves should take the beatings because they were born into slavery or kidnapped?"
"The weak have always been ruled by the strong. That is the way of the galaxy." The man shrugged, as though stating an obvious fact.
Vader snarled and drew his lightsaber, "Are you calling me weak? I was a slave once too."
The slaver shivered and looked at the weapon, "No-no of course not."
"Good," he deactivated his saber, "Free the girl. I'm taking her."
"Yes, Sir. She's mute, I warn you." The slaver waved the remote deactivator at the girl and Vader held her closer as she shivered.
Vader carried the little girl to the ship and carefully rested her inside. She looked up at him with huge eyes and Vader carefully brushed his fingers across her cheek. She held his hand and pressed it to her cheek.
He crawled in and took her on his lap, there was only one seat. She put her head on his shoulder and fell asleep on the flight back to the Empire.