Reva knelt down, breathing heavily.

There was no one else in the room with her, except for Lord Vader. None of her Brothers or Sisters were there to sneer or denounce her. Finally, her moment of triumph had arrived.

This is only the beginning, though, she reminded herself.

Every muscle and nerve of her body thrummed with excitement. She could barely keep her head down and continue the pretense of submissiveness, so instead she focused carefully on the words that came out of her mouth.

"As you remember, I have sworn my ultimate obedience to you, my Lord," she murmured.

"And have you fulfilled the vows that you swore to me?" Lord Vader demanded.

"Yes, my Lord." She looked up and made eye contact with the black, reflective helmet. "I have discovered and apprehended the rogue Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Lord Vader betrayed no emotion in response to hearing the name of his former instructor. The two eyepieces of his helmet gleamed faintly in the dim light. Just as cold and unfeeling as the metal body of a droid, yet a thousand times more dangerous.

"With my Lord's permission, I am more than willing to bring him to justice, so he may finally receive the punishment he deserves for his crimes against the Empire-"

"Silence," Lord Vader said, raising the same gloved hand he had used to snap Younglings' necks. Reva closed her mouth immediately. "That is enough from you."

Reva forcefully bit the inside of her cheek, trying to calm down. She did so hate to be interrupted.

"My apologies, my Lord. I only wish to show you the extent of my allegiance by dealing with the problem directly-"

"There will be no need for that," Lord Vader said coldly. "I am more than capable of dealing with the Jedi myself."

"Of course, my Lord," Reva bowed her head. "I would never assume anything less of you."

Right now, saying the right words was a matter of life and death. It would do her no good to die before fulfilling her ultimate goal.

Lord Vader clasped his arms behind his back, and began to pace the room. Each one of his steps, although calm and with no underlying emotion, made her shudder. The footsteps of someone who, once he had made up his mind, left no survivors in his path. The same footsteps which were the last sounds that many innocent souls heard before perishing painfully.

Reva squeezed her eyes shut and focused on the floor, trying to keep herself from breaking.

Lord Vader finally stopped pacing around once he was about two feet away from where she was kneeling. Reva held her breath, not wanting to make a single sound, lest the mere reminder of her existence enrage him.

If she were to look up right now, her eyes would be at the same level as the top of his boots. He was close enough to kick her in the face.

She did not want to keep looking down. But at the same time, she did not want to look up.

"So, you have the Jedi under your control."

She took a deep breath before responding.

"Yes," she exhaled shakily, daring to look up. Lord Vader was looking down at her, his expression unreadable behind the mask. She did not know if he wished to congratulate her or punish her.

"How did you accomplish this?"

Reva beamed. "My Lord, I requested my personnel to investigate a connection between the Jedi and the Royal Family of Alderaan. As you may be aware, they are not the biological parents of the current heir to the throne, who is the Princess Leia of-"

"I know," Lord Vader said coldly, and she fell silent. "Is that all you came here to tell me? That you have been investigating the nebulous parentage of some child adopted by the Organas in an attempt to conceal infertility?"

Reva shook her head fervently. "No, my Lord, I would never try to waste your time with any meaningless information-"

"So you say," Lord Vader replied sardonically, "And yet you have given me nothing of interest, Third Sister."

Reva immediately bowed her head. "Forgive me my lord," she pleaded, "My tongue was loose, and in my excitement, I could not contain my enthusiasm-"

"It is indeed troublesome," Lord Vader interrupted her again. "Perhaps removing it might make it easier for you to communicate, do you think?"

Reva shakily forced herself to kneel down even further, prostrating herself completely before him. There were so many things she wanted to say...none of them that would help her situation.

"From now on, I want you to respond to me as efficiently as possible, so as not to further waste my time. Am I clear?"

"Yes," Reva gritted her teeth, bowing her head and forcing herself to smile.

Just then, her nose exploded with a sharp crack of pain and she cried out, feeling the weight of something heavy on the back of her neck.

Something was pressing onto the back of her head, crushing her and making it hard to breathe. Reva gasped out loud, both out of the shock that he had actually used the Force on her and desperately trying to force oxygen back into her lungs.

"Your position is incorrect," Lord Vader said coldly, his left hand raised towards her with all five fingers splayed outwards. "If you are going to bow, at least do it properly."

Before she could respond, he made another motion with the same hand, and she screamed out in pain. Her back forcibly straightened itself while her arms struggled to hold the full weight of her body.

I didn't think he would actually...

Lord Vader returned his hand to his side, where his lightsaber hung menacingly. The heavy feeling on the back of her head and around her throat vanished. She inhaled shakily, grateful for the ability to breathe again. She tried to calm herself down, but her breathing remained unsteady.

Fifth Brother had once used the Force to shove her forwards, obviously trying to make her land face first on the table where they held all gatherings and humiliate her. She had already grown used to such immature attempts at diminishing her. Her other Brothers and Sisters would regularly bully her and jeer at her, believing her to be less worthy than them of her place in the Inquisitorius Program. Nevertheless, she persisted, always choosing to pick herself up out of the mud and hold her double-bladed saber with pride.

But this...this was so much worse. The squeezing, unyielding pressure against her throat was something terrifying that she never wanted to feel again. She had known of Lord Vader's incredible abilities, and had witnessed him crush multiple disobedient rebels' windpipes singlehandedly. But experiencing it herself was something else.

She wanted to sob out loud. In that moment, none of the black armor covering her body mattered, because she did not feel protected or safe. She was no longer Third Sister, the ruthless and bloodthirsty Inquisitor who liked to cut off hands first and ask questions later. Now, she was reduced to the crying, terrified child that she had once been on that fateful night. Her head began to throb and blood pounded in her eyes, every vein of her body filled with adrenaline that screamed bloody murder.

But she willed herself to not cry. To not let the tears escape. To not let Vader know that his intimidation tactics had worked. She kept her head down, pretending to not care that she had almost died of asphyxiation, keeping her back ramrod straight as if there had never been any weight on it.

"Let us try that again," Lord Vader spoke coolly. "Hopefully, you were able to find your words. But if not..."

He pulled the lightsaber from his side and clicked it with a gloved finger. The saber roared to life, its blade long and searing hot, casting a menacing red light on the reflective floor that even she could see with her face pointed downwards. The implication was clear.

"Thank you, my lord, for your generous help," Reva replied stiffly, refusing to let the threatening red glow faze her. "I remember perfectly what I meant to say now."

"Good."

"The Jedi's weakness is his attachment to others," Reva spat, directing her anger at the Jedi instead. "By abducting the daughter of the Organa family, I was able to take advantage of this weakness and lure him into a trap."

"I see," Lord Vader replied coldly.

She wanted so, so badly to gloat about the ingenuity of her victory. But instead, she stuck to efficiency, since that was what he had requested of her.

"He is now within my personal holding cell, awaiting judgment. I only ask that...my Lord...grant me the pleasure of seeing to it that he is dealt with properly," Reva finished, inhaling shakily.

"Your request is granted. However...I can only do so if the prisoner is indeed where you say he is," Lord Vader sneered. "Last I recall, the Jedi has a rather nasty habit of escaping."

Reva shook her head. "He cannot, my Lord. I have ensured it...he cannot, he will not escape," she swore, pushing herself off the ground and starting to stand up. "I-"

"Silence!"

Reva cried out as her knees gave way and she felt herself being yanked back onto the ground against her will. "I did not give you permission to rise."

"My apologies, my Lord. It was my foolish error," Reva replied, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to make herself comfortable even as her knees throbbed painfully.

"You have been forgiven," Lord Vader replied, and she gritted her teeth. "Rise, Third Sister," he raised his arm, and her knees straightened themselves again, forcing her to stand up. He let his hand fall to his side, and the forces holding her up were gone, leaving her stumbling forwards as she struggled to not fall. "You have finally accomplished what many of your siblings could not. If what you are saying is true, and the Jedi is contained, I will reward you greatly. However...if you fail to successfully bring him here..."

Reva swallowed, nodding quietly. She knew better than anyone else what fate awaited her if she did not deliver.

"Go."

The doors opened, and she was shoved roughly forwards. Reva caught herself against the doorway and let out a breath. She turned behind her to look at Lord Vader. He was still standing in the same spot, watching her intently.

"If you don't mind, my Lord," Reva narrowed her eyes, "I can move myself just fine. I do not require any additional assistance," she spat bitterly, suddenly filled with too much anger to care about what might happen as a consequence of her rudeness.

Lord Vader just stared back at her silently. For a second, she thought perhaps he had decided to ignore her. But instead, he took a step in her direction and she flinched, immediately stepping back.

"I see," Lord Vader replied. "You can handle yourself without my help."

"Yes," Reva breathed. "I'll see myself out, thank you."

He hasn't killed me yet for saying that... is that good?

Lord Vader did not take another step towards her. Instead, he leaned against a table.

"Go ahead," he replied, his tone eerily calm. "I will not stop you."

Reva closed her mouth and turned her back on him, shakily forcing herself to walk away.

She thought perhaps that he would strike her with his saber, or shove her again using the Force.

But he did not.

Instead, she walked back into the conference room completely untouched. In shock, she did not notice that there was someone sitting across from her, or the fact that Fifth Brother was missing from his usual chair. The fact that she had just turned her back on Lord Vader and walked out, unharmed, was too unfathomable to process. She was sure that there would be some sort of retaliation or final humiliation to punish her for speaking back.

The doors to the conference room closed quickly behind her, startling her. She jumped slightly at the noise, her heart fluttering uncontrollably in her chest.

Seventh Sister looked up from her seat at the table, finally noticing that she had entered.

"Well?" she asked. "Did you enjoy your little audience with the Lord?" she sneered mockingly.

Her eyes reflected the same disgust that all of her Brothers and Sisters looked at her with, disgust and contempt that had been there ever since the moment she crawled out of the slums and demanded to be taken seriously. But this time, there was something else behind Seventh Sister's eyes. Something greener and darker, that was secretly eating away at her.

Jealousy.

Reva smirked.

"Oh, I did," she replied, grinning as if Lord Vader had poured out a drink for her and offered her a promotion instead of nearly choking her to death. "Lord Vader was quite pleased by my success. He says that, should I succeed, I will be the next to fill in the position of Grand Inquisitor," she bragged shamelessly.

Seventh Sister narrowed her eyes. "You seem rather unfazed by our poor Brother's fate," she accused.

"Oh, quite the contrary," Reva batted her eyelashes fake-innocently, "I am deeply chagrined by his passing and have sworn my eternal vengeance against the vicious Jedi responsible for his death. I assure you, he will pay for what he did to our Brother, who I shall miss dearly and mourn every day," she sighed dramatically.

"You are a dirty liar!" Seventh Sister growled. "You have never cared for Brother. All you did was argue with him and disobey his commands."

"If I argue with my fellow Brothers and Sisters, it is only because I love them and feel deeply passionate towards our common goal of eliminating the Jedi," Reva crooned silkily, "We may not have always agreed on everything, but my love for my Brother remains the same, just as I feel towards all my Brothers and Sisters."

"Lies!" Seventh Sister snarled and reached for her saber, switching it on. "Lies upon lies! Will you never cease your endless words of deception?"

Reva also reached for hers and both blades roared to life, illuminating their faces with an incandescent red light. She waited patiently, watching Seventh Sister to see how she would react. A moment passed. Neither of them made a move, standing still as their lightsabers hummed loudly, crying out for blood.

Just then, the conference doors opened once more.

"Our Lord requested my presence, but when we spoke, he never even addressed me. All he wanted to talk about was the Jedi," Fifth Brother grunted angrily. "He has become obsessed with him. None of my reports interested him, not even the straggler we found at the tavern last week-"

Just then, he noticed Seventh Sister and Reva's lightsabers. "Stand down!" he growled angrily, "Hold your fire! What are you doing? This is the conference room! This is not an appropriate location to be squabbling," he spat angrily.

Both of them tensed up. But eventually, Seventh Sister sneered and reluctantly turned her blade off. Reva did the same.

Fifth Brother groaned. "Would it kill you two to not fight? We have so much at stake, and now is the worst time to be engaging in petty fights."

Seventh Sister rolled her eyes and stepped away from her. Reva straightened up and crossed her arms, smirking triumphantly. Fifth Brother noticed her expression, and this set off a nerve within him.

"Wipe that stupid grin off your face," he hissed. "Just because you found the Jedi, doesn't mean he's going to promote. For all you know, he might have you demoted for skiving off your duties."

"Or, perhaps he will thank me for choosing not to waste his time and finding the person he was searching for," Reva replied smugly. "Regardless, even if he does not reward me for succeeding...how do you know he will not punish for failing?"

Fifth Brother narrowed his eyes.

"Let us check on your little prisoner first," he sneered. "I pray for your sake that he is indeed where you last left him."

"Oh, thank you, Brother," Reva smiled mockingly. "I am forever grateful for your support."

With that, she turned her back on both of them and confidently walked out. She knew this time that nobody would dare to strike her, even though she was sure that both of them wanted to. In the past, she would not have been able to do this without bracing for a shove or blow to the middle of her back. But this time, nothing happened. Both Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister were painfully aware of the danger that any attempts to humiliate her would now carry.

In a way, she was thankful for her encounter with Vader. Because she no longer feared them. There was nothing that they could possibly do to her that was scarier than what had already happened to her in the small chamber.

"I will see you later, Brother, Sister," she called out as she opened the doors and began to walk away. "Perhaps in a few days, we may find ourselves in different positions. Don't you find it exciting?" she smirked, her gait now powerful and flowing with arrogance, as if she already owned the place.

Seventh Sister snarled at her. "Why don't you just do us a favor and leave already? Your delusional nonsense is nothing short of tiring."

Reva smiled back at her. "Is it delusional? Or, are you just telling yourself that, because you are afraid?"

Seventh Sister moved to grab her, but Fifth Brother stopped her, sneering angrily. Reva let out a loud cackle.

"Look at you two, suddenly cowering now like the sniveling worms that you are," she mocked. "Why are you so fearful? Are you worried that I might retaliate against you when I have been named Lord Vader's new Grand Inquisitor?"

"She's not worth it, don't listen to her," Fifth Brother growled at Seventh Sister, barely holding her back with his arm.

"I don't care! I will not stand here and listen to her disrespect us," Seventh Sister screamed angrily, fighting back against his grip.

In the past, Reva would have been afraid of them, especially knowing that she was shorter than both of them and that the two of them could easily overpower her. But somehow, after being in Lord Vader's presence, she no longer felt trapped or paralyzed by her own fear. Reva had always been a quick learner, and what she had learnt today was highly helpful.

"Goodbye, dear Sister," she crooned. "I hope Lord Vader will show you mercy when he makes his decisions. Perhaps, if I feel inclined, I will ask him not to turn you away, and instead place you as my personal assistant. That should be a fitting enough position for you, would you not agree?"

Seventh Sister howled with anger, but Reva chose to ignore her and walk away. As the conference doors closed behind her, she could not help but smirk to herself, feeling as powerful as Lord Vader after exiting a room full of fearful troopers.

If you simply quell your feelings, and learn to hide your fear behind a mask of power, no one will dare question you. Not Lord Vader, not the Jedi, and certainly not the insipid minions who I call Brother and Sister, she thought triumphantly to herself.

She wondered what expression the Jedi would have when she returned to him. Would he be afraid of her? Or would he also try to hide his own fear behind a mask of impassivity? She could not wait to find out.

And so, with this in mind, she climbed into the pilot's seat of her small ship and turned on the holoprojector, immediately contacting her mercenaries.

"I am coming to collect the prisoner. If I find out that you somehow let him escape, I will not hesitate to cut out your internal organs and hang them outside your wives' windows."

"He's still there, my Lady," Vect replied smoothly. "Right where you last left him."

"We shall see about that," Reva replied darkly. "Prepare yourselves. And remember, he has to be there in one piece. Or your throats are mine."

"Of course, Miss Inquisitor."

Reva grunted and prepared her navicomputer for lightspeed.

"I will be there in three minutes," she announced coldly. "Prepare yourselves."

And as for you, Obi-Wan...I hope you are tougher than you look, she sneered. Because I need you to still be alive after I'm done with you.