A cool autumn breeze whistles through the maze of snaking branches high above the enclosed garden, stealing away fiery orange and red leaves to plant them on the pale stone courtyard underneath. A sleepy morning fog keeps the land tucked away like a long white blanket, assuring most of the planets creatures that morning is yet to come, even though the hidden sun slowly creeps higher into the air. Frosted webs glisten in the pale light and small, delicate teardrops drip from leaves still managing to cling to the trees. The crisp air has dismissed the insects until spring, yet a few brave ones still fly about in search of the flowers that bloom this late into the year. The early birds sing away happily within the exotic shrubbery all around, blissfully ignoring the boy underneath them. A couple glance down at him as he hisses in annoyance, but they ignore him once more as he picks up his wooden pole and starts the ritual again.
A step to the right. Two steps back. The invisible opponent strikes with a powerful vertical cleave. This is countered by horizontal block, with both hands firmly holding the hilt, followed immediately by three steps forward and a quick angled slash towards the opponents shoulder. He rises with the blade, and as it swooshes through the air he jumps and flips backwards, saving himself from the counter attack aimed at his legs.
He lands on the ground with a loud thud, and the vibrations of his movements ripple through his body, causing the droplets of sweat that had gathered in his shaggy hair to fall lose and land on his nose. But he doesn't take any notice. Instead, immediately after landing he quickly drops to his knees and rolls forward, passing under the invisible opponents guard to rise behind him.
He turns, the strength and speed in which he does so causes cold air to bite against his face in resistance. But again, he pays it little attention. A quick forward thrust into the opponents back delivers the final blow, and finishes the kata. This one focuses on speed and precision, it aims to teach the practitioner how to use agility to overpower a more grounded opponent.
Vader keeps this in mind as he takes a small, almost unnoticeable breath to reign in any way word emotions before starting the kata again. His muscles are fatigued. He has been practicing for hours, but that doesn't stop him. He will continue to do it over and over again until he is called away. It must be perfect. Everything from the positioning of his feet to the way he holds his saber must be clean-cut perfection. He will accept no less.
Again, he performs the kata, doing it quicker. Fighting against his previous times in a ruthless and never ending cycle of self- improvement. But that small breath doesn't hold back the wave of frustration that ripples through him as he once again only barely manages to match his best time.
A growl of frustration escapes his lips. Thirteen years old and he can't even complete an entry level kata at a reasonable time. Perfection is key; perfection dilutes weakness. Weakness is the cause of failure. Failure is unacceptable. Therefore, a Sith must never be weak. Only perfect. And completing the kata in over one minute and thirty six seconds is far from perfect.
He shakes his head angrily before starting again. Sidious had said that he is the most powerful force user to have ever existed. He has the most potential of any being in the entire history of the Galaxy. And he will be perfect.
He finishes to find he didn't even reach his best time; losing by three seconds. He is getting worse! He breaths out another hiss, straining against the loathing burning against his muscles. But it's no use; the force lathes unto his anger, so much so that the pole he holds starts to splinter and snap under the pressure of his grip. Stupid pole! It's just as weak as he is! Vader roars in anger and throws it away with all of his might, sending the pole crashing into a nearby tree. A group of startled birds flee into the air, screeching in surprise as they do so. He looks at the disorganized group of yelping birds retreat in disgust. Everything in this kriffing garden is pathetic.
"Your anger is wasted on you, boy"
Vader turns towards the entrance to see Dooku watching with a steady glare. He had been so caught up in training that he hadn't even noticed his master's presence. Dooku looks as calm and collected as always, yet there is a bite to his voice that hints at some hidden annoyance. Normally, upon seeing his master, Vader would greet him respectfully the instant he approached. But today, he is so angry he can't even open him mouth.
The two lock eyes for a few moments, each willing the other to speak out in defiance. But both remain stubbornly silent. Eventually, Dooku walks over to his young apprentice. His long brown robes rustling gently in the wind as he does so.
"A Sith doesn't throw a temper tantrum like a child every time something upsets him" Dooku says with obvious distaste, causing a surge of even more anger to make Vader's blood boil. He is not a child. A child would never, could never do the things he does.
His anger must have shown in his face, because Dooku starts to smile at him. It's not a friendly smile, or even an understanding one. It's a menacing smile. He is smiling with the same sort of gleeful menace as one would when looking at something they hate suffer. Vader's only response is to scowl harder at him.
Dooku waits a few moments for his apprentice to respond, and when he sees that he won't, he turns to pick up the broken pole lying by the tree, turning it over in his hand and running his fingers along its bent and splintered surface.
"Are you going to crack your lightsaber and throw it away when your enemy is about to best you in a battle?" Dooku asks, almost mockingly.
"No one will best me in battle. I'll do what I want" Vader barks back.
Suddenly, the count turns sharply and before Vader can react he is assaulted with a torrent of lightning. The likes of which send him flying towards the ground. An unstoppable scream escapes his mouth as blue sparks cloud his vision. His head bangs against the hard pavement, causing an explosion of stars in his eyes. The Lightning courses through him, ripping through every part of his body. He convulses helplessly on the ground, and soon it's so painful he can't even scream.
"You forget your place, apprentice" Dooku hisses. The Lightning stops, but Vader remains flinching uncontrollably on the ground. His nerves refuse to respond to any commands he gives, instead they jolt violently and his muscles size into place like stone.
Vader can see the counts shadow standing over him, but can't move his head up enough to see anything above his boots. Dooku drops the broken pole in front of him and walks back to the entrance.
"Come to the throne room when you're presentable" he spits before leaving his apprentice to convulse for several more long minutes on the ground.
Slowly, the pain starts to cease, and his body begins to respond to him again. The convulsions die away, leaving him lying on the cold ground limply. He sighs, and expects another wave of fury to assault him as he gets up, but it's seems that his anger left with Dooku, now all Vader feels is emptiness.
The man always seems to either leave him simmering in rage or feeling completely and utterly void of any emotions. Perhaps when he was younger he would have felt fear in the place of emptiness, or perhaps even loneliness or doubt, or the sort of indescribable emotion that caused him to run to someone he knew who cared about him. But he is thirteen now. He can't afford to think and feel like a child any longer.
He picks up his bent pole and marches out of the courtyard, finding himself in a sheltered path that leads to the exit. A host of fiery leaves scrunch under his demanding boots. A Sith is never afraid, and even when he is he never shows it. Fear is weakness, and we all know where that leads.
The path ends abruptly as it meets with the central walkway towards the palace. Vader continues his tireless march through here too. Though, for a second, he steals a glance at the host of flight craft scattered lazily about the landing zone. A quick flash of something warm fizzles in his mind, filling the gap in his emotions for just a moment. Flying. Hopefully he will be allowed to start piloting soon. Though knowing Dooku, he will find a way to make the entire experience infuriating.
Talking about infuriating experiences, why would Dooku call him to the throne room? That's where the Count meets with his 'guests'. Force knows what they talk about. Vader has only been in there a few times, and even then it was never more than a brief few moments of passing as Dooku states that 'it's no place for a child'. Does that mean that perhaps he is more than 'just a child' now? Or is his master just toying with him?
Vader reaches the entrance to the palace, not stopping or relenting in his pace for even a second. He continues his march down the long hallway inside. This is either going to be an extremely informative or an extremely unpleasant meeting. He reaches the rather empty entrance hall, but heads past it and towards the elevator that will take him up to the throne room. Why the count owns a palace this big is beyond Vader. The two of them are the buildings only permanent residents, and almost three quarters of the entire place is never used. And that's being very generous on what exactly counts as 'using' a room.
The elevator takes its sweet time in delivering Vader to his destination. Patience has never been his strong point, especially when he is waiting on a mystery. But eventually the doors slide open to reveal the throne room. It's rather dark, with the only light coming from a large, multi-paneled window at the back that towers oppressively into the air. It offers no sight of the surrounding landscape; instead, the windows are purely green, not even the shadow of the outside world can be seen through it. Just underneath the window, upon a platform raised above the rest of the room, sits not a throne, as one would expect in a throne room, but a large, arrow shaped desk. With tall backed chair serving as the rooms only other piece of furniture.
The count is there, waiting for him at the top of the raised platform. He ignores the chair so obviously placed there for his use, and instead chooses to stand by his desk, elegantly wrapping one hand behind his back as Vader has often seen him do while dueling. His heavy Sith robes are gone, and now Dooku had donned a cape to match his overly expensive tunic. The counts blazing eyes glitter just like the golden buttons adorning his clothing, they follow Vader as he strides forward, stopping just at the steps and bowing.
"Master" he says respectfully.
"Rise, apprentice" Dooku says distantly.
Vader obliges, giving the count a questioning eye as he does so.
Dooku, as usual, ignores him and instead slowly makes his way over to the window. He clasps his hands in front of him and stares into the shiny green glass, not that he can see anything through it of course. Perhaps he does so in contemplation. Every bone in Vaders body wants to ask the count what he is planning, and why he is here but he knows better. Showing anything but respect ends in pain, a lesson he had to relearn back in the garden.
"Darth Sidious is building an army. A droid army." Dooku announces slowly.
Vaders eyes widen ever so slightly. And he subconsciously stands a little straighter. Is he finally going to get word of what his masters are planning?
"One that will be used in the coming war against the republic"
They were going to go to war with the republic? But…
"I thought master Sidious was the chancellor of the republic." Vader states, confusion apparent in his voice. Why would one become chancellor of the very thing he seeks to destroy?
The count turns to face his apprentice, annoyance and frustration clearly written on his ageing face.
"You're as fatuitous as you are arrogant." Dooku spits. Though the brief burst of anger from his master is quickly replaced with mere distaste. "Sidious's plans will become clear to you in time, apprentice" He says, barking out the word 'apprentice' as though it were venom on his tongue. "Once everything is in place, even one as foolish as you will be able to comprehend the magnitude of his designs upon the galaxy"
His forehead crinkles as a strong wave of emotions pulse through him. Anger, embarrassment, humiliation. Vader clenches his fists in an attempt to reign in his increasingly unstable demeanor. Some days, he almost feels like he can act normal, or at the very least in control. But those days seem to becoming increasingly few and far between. So much so that they stand out enough for him to recognize the change in his emotions. And so he secretly christened those days 'Anakin' days. Not knowing whether or not they were a blessing or a sign of weakness, but sure that they reminded him of how he felt before coming here. Today isn't an Anakin day. No, it is most certainly a Vader day.
"Nonetheless, you will be accompanying me to Geonosis. I will be inspecting the first models of the droids to be built there. You will be observing silently and refraining from drawing any unnecessary attention to yourself. We are leaving in ten minutes"
Another surprising revelation. He hasn't left Serenoo since he was first taken here. Though why he has suddenly been granted the ability to leave now is beyond him. But, despite the small mountain of confusion steadily growing in the young boys mind, Vader stifles his questions for fear of stepping out of line and instead bows respectfully to Dooku.
"Yes master" he says solemnly, yet his mind is racing with barely contained anticipation. He looks up. Dooku gives him a nod of dismissal before turning back to the glass window. It's time to leave. He turns around and silently walks back towards the elevator. Geonosis. Just the planets name sends his mind racing with possibilities. What type of planet is it? Who lives there? It must be interesting if a man as rich and important as count Dooku is going there. If they're designing droids there, maybe it's a completely urban planet, like Coruscant. Imagine that! It has to be really high tech, how else would they build an army out of droids? Maybe it will be like Wattos shop back on Tatooine, except newer, and cleaner with cooler technology and more interesting droids.
Suddenly forgetting about his frustrations with the Count, Vaders mind quickly begins to run away with a certain quiet excitement. Finally he was being taken away from this blasted palace. To somewhere completely new. Perhaps he may even be able to finally prove himself to Dooku. Perhaps he will even get to inspect some of the droids himself. Perhaps this is an Anakin day after all...
Geonosis, it seems, isn't all Vader had hoped it to be. He stares lazily out the passenger viewport as their ship zips through a nearly endless plain of red, barren stone. He has yet to see even a single life form. Not even a shrub or bush. It makes him wonder if the surface even has breathable air. There are no factories, no buildings, no robots, not even a kriffing village or landmark or anything. Just red rocks and sand. Everywhere.
He sighs loudly. Why, in all the places in the entire galaxy that they could have gone, did they come here? Master Sidious is the chancellor of the entire republic, he practically has the Galaxy at his fingertips yet here is where he wants his droid army built? Force, the planets crappy climate will probably rust all of his new droids to nothing before they can even step off the assembly line.
The auto-door opposite him slides open and Dooku steps out. He had been communicating with… someone in there for about five minutes. Vader summarized that it was probably whoever they would be meeting at the factory, though he can never be sure with his masters. He walks towards the entrance to the ship and puts on his cloak.
"We will be arriving shortly, stay by my side and don't say a word" Dooku reiterates once again. It's almost like he is nervous about something, though Vader quickly dismisses the thought. His masters are never nervous about anything.
He gets up in silent compliance and puts his cloak, throwing the hood over his head to hide his face. The engines squeal as the ship slows to a halt and begins the landing sequence. A soft 'thump' signals their arrival, and a few moments later the entrance hisses open. A blast of dry, sandy air immediately hits his cheeks despite the fact that a hood is covering most of his face. He sighs to himself. This is going to be a long trip.
The ramp slides out to the ground and Dooku quickly follows it. Vader respectfully stays a few steps behind his master, but stays close to his side nonetheless. Their landing pad is situated at the base of a tall, yellowish spire that had Vader observed it from a distance away, would have assumed it to be a natural formation on the surface. Up close though, one can clearly see many architectural anomalies that clearly show that the spire was artificially created. Such as the giant rusted gates big enough to fit a small tank through marking the entrance.
Vaders gaze falls from the tallest spire of the factory to the group of beings waiting patiently in a small group for Dooku to reach them. There are two well-dressed Neimoidians, one of which he imminently recognizes as Nute Gunray, an important figure in the Trade Federation, the other is probably his aid. Beside them stands a rather anxious looking creature he doesn't recognize. He is the same ugly brownish red as the ground and has four jittery wings twitching by his side. He has a long, fleshy beard and holds a walking stick in one hand. Vader can only assume that he is a native of the planet, since he had to study all of the populous space-faring sentients in the galaxy, and this species wasn't one of them. Several other creatures, similar to the one with the walking stick stand guard. Though they stand more upright and have no beard accenting their faces. And finally, a glittering silver protocol droid stands beside the group. Well, Vader is sure that at some point the droid was indeed silver. It seems that it has been on this planet for quite a while, as a thick layer of red now sticks to its metal skin.
"Count Dooku, you are most welcome to geonosis. I hope you will be pleased with our progress" Gunray says, his voice so full of false flattery it hurts. The neimoidians red eyes glance at Vader briefly, and he sees an expression of annoyance cross his face for only a moment, before his attention returns to Dooku. Vader refrains from rolling his eyes at the stupid viceroy. Who is he to judge him?
"Viceroy, I am pleased to meet your acquaintance once more" Dooku replies politely.
The geonisian at their side clicks and splutters in a language Vader has never heard before. It seems nobody else understands him either though, because once he has finished they all reflexively look to the protocol droid.
"Poggle the lesser welcomes Count Dooku to join him in a tour of the facility, if it pleases the Count" the droid says in a perky tone.
"That would be amenable" The Dooku says with a crisp nod. The stiff conversation ends at that and the group makes its way over to the giant metal doors. They slide open with a low groan to reveal a completely dark interior. However after a few minutes inside Vader's vision adjusts to the light levels of the building, allowing him to see that they were being lead down a long corridor which eventually leads out into an absolutely massive sprawling factory hundreds of stories high.
The orange glow of fire and molten metal illuminates thousands upon thousands of incomplete droid skeletons being carried through the air on long conveyer belts that criss-cross past each other over and over throughout every level. Thunderous banging and whizzing noises beat to the consistent thrum of the engines fueling the factory. The hissing of molten durasteel sizzling against the cold surface of compactors chimes into the steady beeps and purrs droids being assembled in perfect unison through the entire facility. Vader likens it to a marvelous orchestra of flawless design, where every instrument works perfectly against the other to create the most perfect sounds he has ever heard.
Geonosis may be a wasteland upon the surface, but inside her rocky constructions are treasure troves of the likes Vader is sure he will never see again. He can't help but slow to a near stop and gaze in awe at the workings around him. It's beautiful. The burning smell of raw metal is like a field of summer flowers to him. The pure efficiency of it all makes everything out to be an elegant, well-practiced dance between the constructors and the constructed.
He spots what must be an entire legion fully wired battle droids having their exoskeletons assembled at superhuman speeds by huge construction droids with long arms armed with different tools. As if in a daze, he slowly walks over to them, watching in fascination as the construction droids finish their work and send the batch flying up to the top of the facility on a single large belt.
He watches them until they disappear behind a large droid pouring durasteel unto another belt. Then he allows his eyes to drop back down to the floor, to see the empty walkway in front of him. Wait, where is Dooku? A sudden pang of fear jolts through his chest. Not that he is scared of getting lost, quite the contrary. He would just love to lose himself in this factory and never have to leave again. No, the fact that Dooku will eventually notice that he is missing is the true cause of the encroaching panic coiling around his chest like a snake.
He quickly jolts his head around in search of where they might have gone, but there are literally hundreds of entrances and exits on the ground floor. And there isn't a single life form around for him to ask for directions. Ah Sithpit! He needs to get back to his master before he realizes that he isn't following anymore, which has probably already happened. But maybe if he is quick enough he can convince Dooku that he had needed to... use the restroom or something. Better Dooku thinks he has a poor bladder than a poor sense of orientation. Dooku would see him getting lost as a sign of weakness and literally beat some orientation training into him. But he couldn't fault him for something he has no control over, like needing to go relieve himself. The most he could do was scold Vader for not informing him before leaving, right?
He curses to himself then reaches into the force. It answers almost instantly, and quickly flows through his built up frustration. It starts to nudge him forward. Vader allows the force to guide him through the facility; he keeps his eyes closed in concentration, and raises his arms out in front of him in the hopes of not bumping into anything as he walks. Really, he must look insane to anyone who might see him, walking around a fully operational droid factory filled with molten metal with his eyes closed and his arms waving about around him like a bad mime act.
But, despite the crude effort, it pulls results. The orchestra of construction slowly fades into silence as he walks down a long corridor to his destination. The force obviously has a clear direction in mind, and he can feel he is going in the right way. So when it beckons that he has arrived, he happily opens his eyes expecting to be in a position to spot his master, but of course, the force never gives answers that simple.
He is in a tiny room. At least, tiny compared to where he had just been. The room is just a few feet wide, and contains nothing but five curious looking droids attached to the far wall. They are bigger than battle droids, with a grey surface rather than beige. And one of their arms has been repurposed as a gun.
The droid on the far left is the most incomplete, its skeleton is showing underneath what Vader would presume to be plating made out of a cheaper metal. Given that it's a deep brown color and covered in scratches. The edges of the droids plating are rough and bent in places. The gun hasn't been fully finished, and reveals the inner workings of the droids wiring.
However the droid on the far right looks to be finished. Its shiny grey surface is sleek and well made, the face of the droid (which lies on the chest) looks to be done, and the gun arm seems to be armed and ready for use. The droids in between show the slow progression from what seems to be the first prototype build to the finished model.
Curious, Vader looks over to the console by the door. On it reads 'progression of the B2super battle droid'. Well that's useful, Vader thought sarcastically. I already know that. He can't get any more information without entering the security code so instead he moves to examine the line of droids in greater detail. Each one is named from one to five, with the one on the far left being deemed B2-001 and the final B2-005.
These must be the droids Dooku will be inspecting; the force brought him here knowing Dooku will come this way. He thanks the force silently for its guidance. Maybe now that he is here early, the count won't be so inclined to punish him when they get home. He begins to relax just a bit, and with nothing better to do, he looks at the droids in silent appreciation of their craftsmanship. A tiny smile curls around the corners of his lips. If there is one thing that can always put Vader in a good mood, it's a droid.
But within minutes Vader hears the counts distinctive voice echo down the corridor outside. Making him even more pleased; he won't even have to wait long either. But then a very evil-sounding cackling follows Dookus voice; the kind that would cause little children to start crying. It was so horrid and cruel that it almost reminded Vader of… no, it couldn't be. That wasn't Palpatines evil -sounding cackle, was it? His smile quickly drops to a frown as he tries in vain to swallow the uneasy lump in his throat. What would Palpatine be doing here?
He can feel cold anxiety grip him again. Dooku may be scary, but at least Vader understands him. He usually knows how far he can push with Dooku before getting in trouble. And he knows what type of discipline he will receive for failure. But Palpatine, he is a completely different story. Most of the time, Vader can't even tell what Palpatine wants from him. And he rarely ever sees master Sidious, as he spends most of his time on Coruscant. It must have been a year since his last visit to Serenno.
"All in good time, Darth tyrannous"
A sinking fear sticks, despite his best efforts. It is Palpatine, he is the only person who ever refers to Dooku like that. He can feel a cold sweat form just above his eyebrows. He had never failed in front of Palpatine before, and has no idea what the man would do when he saw that he had managed to get kriffing lost. The talking is getting louder. Dooku knows he is here, but Palpatine doesn't. Maybe he can hide until they have left and reappear when Dooku is on his own. That way, avoiding failing in front of Palpatine altogether. It's not an action of weakness, he tells himself, just a strategic maneuver aimed at preserving ones well-being.
His eyes quickly dart around the room for anything that he could squeeze behind. He notices a bunch of crates in the far corner beside the oldest prototype. Well, it isn't much but maybe if he tries to not breathe too loudly it might just work. He turns towards the crates.
"Ah, young Vader. What a pleasant surprise" Palpatine purrs from the entrance behind him. His body jolts at the sounds of his master's voice. He was to slow. A flurry of fear stiffens his entire body, and he imminently hesitates. But he can't hesitate. That's a sign of weakness.
So instead, he takes a deep breath and gathers his face into the best detached neutral expression he can muster. Then he turns to face them. Sidious is standing in the doorway, wearing a thick black robe with the hood up to hide his features just like Vader. But surprisingly, it's not Sidious that causes the apprentices breath to catch in his throat. It's Dooku, who is standing behind him, with a completely enraged expression on his face.
"Master, I apologize. The boy is never able to follow instructions. I will see that he is punished at once" Dooku says with hurried anger. He moves to walk past Palpatine to get to Vader, whose heart nearly skips a beat at the sight of the man stepping towards him. But Palpatine gently raises a hand to halt Dookus approach. Vaders eyes dart between his two masters, Dookus face morphs into confusion. He looks down at Palpatines still from questioningly.
"That will be unnecessary, Lord Tyrannous. I am sure young Vader has a logical reason for this excursion" His tone is oddly empathetic. It almost reminds Vader of a kindly Grandfather rather than a Sith lord. Now Dooku is so angry that his face is turning bright red. He turns to stare straight into Vaders eyes like an enraged monster, which makes him more than a little uneasy as his mind races to come up with a good explanation for his disappearance.
"Masters, I… was just inspecting these new prototypes. The force guided me here to them" He says hesitantly, knowing very well that Dooku had earlier ordered him to stay by his side while he inspected the droids, but hoping the count hadn't informed Palpatine of this minor detail.
A smile spreads across the lower half of Palpatines face, but Dooku's scowl only worsens.
"Ah, and tell me young Vader, what have you gathered from your inspection?"
Vader can feel his face getting red. He quickly turns around to view the droids once more, in a weak mock attempt to look as if in contemplation when in reality he is trying to gather as much as he can from the five droids in order to jumble together some sort of report to give to Palpatine.
"They are arranged to allow one to see the progression of the droids design. With the first droid-" Vader motions to B2-001 on the far left "being little more than a blueprint. As you can see it neither has a functional blaster nor the sensory capacities to fire one. One the other hand the droid on the far right…"
For the next fifteen minutes, Vader continues to list out every little detail he can gather from the wall of droids. With his vast knowledge of droids thanks to his life on Tatooine, he quickly eases into his report and every time he is about to finish, he finds something else to say about them. He lists off the builds of their circuit boards, the way their wires are positioned, the optimum coding programs that would be needed to insure that they ran properly. He even notes ways that they could be improved in his little mini speech. Eventually though, he runs out of things to say, causing a creeping fear to work its way back into his gut. His little escape into droid land had ended, though hopefully Palpatine would be impressed enough by his knowledge of droids to give him a pass.
He turns to see his masters staring at him. Dooku still wears an angry face, though he looks more resigned to whatever his master is planning now than he had before. Palpatine on the other hand, is wearing an even longer smile than he had been. Nothing happens for a few moments, but then, Palpatine slowly walks over to Vader. His approaching from sends darts of fear flying though his body.
He raises a hand as if he is about to strike him, and Vader nearly flinches away, but instead of slapping his face, Palaptines hand falls gently on Vaders shoulder.
"Hmmmmm. Very impressive, young Vader. Very impressive indeed" Palpatine purrs.
He quietly exhales the breath he had been holding.
"Your knowledge of droids is considerable. I was unaware that Lord Tyrannous was teaching you so much on this particular subject"
Vader watches as Dookus face morphs for only a second between anger and fear, then back to anger again.
"A personal hobby of his, master. I assure you that I have been focusing his training around the traditional Sith method." He says quicker than he usually would.
But despite Dookus seeming uneasiness, Palpatine only laughs in response. It's a low, cold chuckle that's far too slow to be one of actual amusement.
"You like working with droids, young vader?" Palpatine asks with the same grandfatherly voice.
"Um, yes master" Vader replies uneasily.
"Hmmmmmmmm" Sidious hums slowly as his gaze drifts across the line of droids.
"Would you like one of these?" He asks kindly.
The question takes Vader by surprise, neither of his masters had ever given him anything. He quietly wonders what has caused Palpatine to do so now.
"I-I uh, yes master" He replies truthfully. Some may view the prototypes as obsolete to the finished model, but Vader thinks quite the contrary. Prototypes are often far more flexible by design, and allow whoever is working on them to easily modify and upgrade them. Finished droid designs often have locked parameters and almost always require very specific parts to function that one could only ever find on the production line.
And of course, the fact that Palpatine is offering him a droid makes it impossible to refuse.
"Master, these droids are required as blueprints on which the finished models will be based off of. To remove them from here would be to put the production output back months" Dooku says. His face is less red now, and he looks in control. But his tone says otherwise.
Vader looks up to Sidious in an attempt to garner his mood, and sees that his master is still smiling. Sidious looks down upon vader, and the smile only grows more. His eyes glisten with a malice Vader never saw before. It makes him scared, had he said something wrong? Is this the face he will see crushing his mind with the force?
"Is that true, young Vader?" Palpatine asks slowly. He draws out every syllable in his lips, as if he is reveling in the moment.
"Well… yes. Um, but only with the newest models. The first 001 unit isn't needed, as all of its components have been redesigned by the time you reach the 005 unit. It's useless in comparison" He says sheepishly.
Palpatine cackles again, and he seems to enjoy this laugh more too. His chest thumps heartily inside his robes with each chuckle.
"Very well, young Vader. Consider the 001 unit as a parting gift from me, to encourage you to always improve upon your skills. I'm sure you will make a great technician when you're older" There is that honey-sweet voice again. Though, this time Vader feels a little less threatened by it. Palpatine had actually given him something, and for absolutely nothing to. How kind of him. Maybe he isn't as bad as Vader thought he was after all. As his mother always said, 'appearances can be deceiving'
Palpatine smiles down at Vader one last time before lifting his hand off his shoulder and turning to walk to the door. It's then that the realization of what just happened hits Vader. He has a droid. His very own droid! He dares to feel excited, allowing the feeling to spread across his body, relaxing his tense muscles and untying the knot in his stomach.
"I have seen all I need, the droids may be put into production" He stops just at the exit, dangerously close to Dooku, "And Vader, I expect to see that unit in top condition next time I come to visit Sereeno"
"Yes master!" Vader says enthusiastically
Palpatine looks a Dooku for a moment longer, then leaves through the door. Dooku however, remains glaring at Vader for a few longer moments. His lips tighten in quiet fury. And just like that, the knot reforms.
"You will go to my shuttle and remain there until we leave" He spits before turning and leaving with a flurry of his cape.
All of his joy quickly drains away and is replaced again with dread. It's likely that the count will still be eager to punish him for getting lost, and now he seems extra angry. Though Vader still can't tell why. Palpatine seemed very happy. And if Palpatine is happy with what has happened, then shouldn't Dooku? He shrugs, figuring that he will probably never know what his masters are really planning and instead turns to look at his new possession.
The skeleton is too stiff. The armor is misshapen. The head is hanging off its socket. The joints are so poorly crafted that the droid probably can't even bend its knees and its leaking oil all over the floor. It's a pile of junk. But it's his pile of junk.
"Come on B2, we better get back to the ship"
Phew! That was a long chapter to write! But I think it was worth it though, as I was trying to covey how Vader can flip flop from being a hot-headed Sith lord to a rather innocent and naive child within a matter of seconds whether he likes it or not. And no matter how hard he tries to be an adult, he is still only thirteen and rather clueless about all of the plotting going on around him. Also, new character! B2 probably won't play a huge role in the story, but I really wanted to give Vader a friend to keep him company on Sereeno. Because lets accept it, Dooku is kind of an ass to Vader.
I've really been getting into this story lately so I'll probably be updating it rather regularly. I may however try to backlog some chapters for when I return to school in September, as I will have very little time to write. But I want to try to keep updating my stories nonetheless and backlogging seems like the best option open to me right now.
Future aside, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you everyone for your kind comments!
