Their Lady Adyé [Star Wars]

She was Alive, Part II

He was here.

Vader could feel it—feel him! Obi-wan was here and Vader felt a flicker of anxiety run through him. He angrily pushed the feeling away.

Why should he be anxious to meet Obi-wan again? He was the stronger. He always had been. It was a trick of chance that had left the older Jedi the victor in their last encounter.

No, Vader was indisputably the stronger; powerful and secure in his strength with the Dark Side. His skills were ever honed and ready for the inevitable encounter. There was nothing to be anxious about. He would finally face Obi-wan again and he would destroy the older Jedi.

Yet the feeling returned. A fluttering, nervous, even fearful emotion that was stuck in his chest, trying to claw its way up his throat. Then it hit him; it wasn't about Obi-wan.

It was about his apprentice. About Athara.

About Obi-wan's daughter.

He feared what would happen were father and daughter to meet. Athara would not know him, not really. She might sense their connection through the Force, but she'd be unlikely to understand the meaning of it. But Kenobi would certainly know her.

Kenobi would realize his daughter was alive.

Not only would he undoubtedly understand what the Force told him, but he would invariably recognize her. Though it had been many long years and though he'd never known her well, Vader remembered Neva Adyé well enough to realize Athara was the near image of her mother; similar build, same shape to their nose and cheekbones, same lips and certainly the same smile. Her eyes, though, were all Obi-wan; the same shape and the same hue of sharp blue-grey.

Perhaps Athara would figure it out. How else could she rationalize seeing her eyes in an old man's face?

But Obi-wan would know. Perhaps Athara would be unable to figure it out—something Vader suddenly found himself begging of the Force—but Obi-wan would know in a heartbeat.

And Vader would lose her...just as he lost everyone else he'd ever cared about.

No! He would not let that happen.

He would get to Obi-wan first. He would protect his apprentice from the Jedi and the truth that suddenly threatened to tear apart everything Vader had left.

As soon as he had realized the ship wasn't empty, Vader had given the order for the placement of a tracking device. They would be trying to deactivate the tractor beam, rescue Leia Organa and figure out a way to escape. His suspicions had been confirmed when Tarkin had received the alert about the detention block. Vader had been hard-pressed to keep his smug validation from his voice, pleased at the irritated look Tarkin had given him as he turned and strode out of the conference room. A check with one of his squad commanders had similarly confirmed that the tractor beam had suffered a malfunction. Though he didn't outright order for the tractor beam to be reengaged—not that it would have been back up in time anyway—the Commander was left with little doubt that Vader did not consider that task in any way a priority.

And then he was heading for the hangar. He knew he would head off Obi-wan before the old Jedi made it back to the ship. The Force told him it was inevitable. So he positioned himself just outside the hangar bay bulkhead, waiting. Patience had never been his strong suit, and today was no different. Especially not with what hung in the balance. He felt like his whole body was vibrating with anticipation, an anxious buzz skittering under his skin and through his cybernetics like an electric current. It was both irritating and exhilarating. The Dark Side thrilled at the inevitable clash, the anger he'd been stoking for Obi-wan fanning to life as the reality that he was about to see his old Master again started feeling very real. His lightsaber hung waiting in his hand.