One Shots

The Brightest Star (Vadala)

Emperor Vader sat on his throne, arms clutching the armrests of his iron chair. Subjects from far and wide had come to offer him presents for his life day and to celebrate the otherwise unimportant day in his life. He didn't care much to celebrate the day of his birth. His mother was dead, along with the man who once took care of him; there was no one whom he cared for to celebrate with, so why bother?

Ever since his coronation two years prior, the entire Empire made it a galactic holiday and all of his subjects rejoiced. In truth, once Palpatine had passed away in his sleep, the young Sith drew less from the dark side and became more of a gray force user. He would draw on both sides of the force and saw less a point of destruction. Why destroy his people? Why exhaust soldiers in a time of peace?

Rather than finding a new acolyte to train as a Sith apprentice, Vader decided instead to hold out for a consort of sorts to simply give him an heir. The only problem was that none of the women he'd crossed paths with struck a chord with the patriarch. Sure, they ranged in beauty, but none of them connected with him in the force. He didn't want a sensitive as his wife, but he knew whoever would be his empress would already be linked to him through a force bond.

Despite Palpatine's best efforts to teach him the foolishness of attachments, the young emperor had always believed that there was a woman out there with the other half of his soul. Of course, after many years as a dark side user, his soul was now more saturated than a black hole and filled his heart with more hate than the old man could've imagined. He didn't hate his people or his empire, but rather anything that he couldn't attain or anything out of his control.

Vader withdrew from his mind, looking around at the subjects in his expansive throne room. He turned his hooded face to the side, giving his captain a nod. Rex of the 501st Legion had retired from the frontlines and now served his once-commander as his right hand.  The former soldier stepped forward and stomped his boot loudly.

"You may line up in an orderly fashion and present your gifts and well wishes to our illustrious Emperor. Do not come closer than the runner allows... You may begin."

Two more guards stepped up to either flank of the throne, Rex remaining up closer to the throne and to Vader.

All sorts of creatures scrambled to line up, gifts under their arms or in their hands. Some were obviously wealthy while others looked like they'd never seen a shower in their lifetimes. Aliens and humanoids all murmured to themselves as the line slowly began to move forward.

"I am called Krupp, your grace. I bring you harvest from my homeworld of Felucia. My wife and I wish you many blessings, good health, and a long life."

"Your grace, my name is Kolania. My sister and I offer you these fine fur coats from our seamstress shop on Naboo. We hope you enjoy them in the winter months and wish you a wonderful life day."

An hour later, the end of the line was finally inside the throne room. The Emperor sat patiently on his throne, overall impressed and even comforted by his subjects' overwhelming compassion.

"Your grace, I am Luthier and this is my partner, Kigali. We offer you this basket of Shurra fruit from Naboo; it is the first basket of the summer harvest. We wish you many more years and thank you for everything you've done for us."

"Greetings, my Emperor. I am called K2-D9; my masters on Hutta have sent me with a large fortune to gift you. They wish you many fortunes more and drink to your health."

After almost another hour, the line finally came down to the final three subjects. Vader was beginning to grow restless but grounded himself in the force. As he connected with the energy, he felt a slight spark as he looked at the line. The next subject, a Chiss male, was ready to present his gift.

"Happy Lifeday, my Emperor. I am Thrawn, and I bring you the finest ice armor Csilla could produce. I hope you someday visit our world again wearing this armor. Force bless you and the mother goddess grant you eternal life as our ruler."

Vader nodded to the man, watching him leave to reveal the next subject - a cyborg female with one green eye.

"Praise be to the Empire, my Emperor. My name is Lakota and I am a native of the Onderon system. I give you my first foal of the spring season, your grace. He is a strong and dependable, being born from a line of magnificent racehorses before him."

The emperor nodded once more, feeling a pull towards the last being in line. Whomever it was, they wore a dark cloak that gave away nothing to their identity.

"I wish you a wondrous life day, your grace." The being sounded female, seeming to courtsy to him. "On behalf of the people inhabiting the Moons of Iego, I bring you the gift of a star." Two pale hands came out from the sleeves; they pressed their palms together before a bright twinkling light appeared between her fingers. "All it needs is a name and a location, your grace. I will be happy to put the star wherever you would find desirable."

Vader straightened in his throne, watching the star vanish into thin air as her hands clasped again. "Leave us..." He softly commanded, feeling the bond between him and this mysterious Iego native spring to life. Subjects filed out of the throne room, leaving only the Emperor, his guard and the stranger before him a few minutes later.

"Remove your cloak."

"As you wish, my liege." The mysterious being unclasped the front of her cloak, letting it fall to the ground. Two massive wings sprouted from this woman's back, both sheer and having a golden glow to them. She had a slim yet curvy physique, a white peasant dress falling just off her shoulders. Vader suddenly forgot how to breathe, finally meeting her honey-gold eyes. This woman had big doe eyes, a button nose, full lips, and a heart-shaped face with a brown dot on her left cheek.

She was an Angel.

"Tell me your name," Vader commanded, finding his deep timbre once more. "I am called Padmé, your grace, Padmé Naberrie." She introduces herself, bowing her head once more. "Leave us, Rex..." Their bond suddenly glowed bright in the Force, prompting the Emperor to seek true solitude with her. The guards filed out, straying from his side only enough to guard the throne room from outside.

"Are you sensitive to the force?" Vader stood from his iron throne. She nodded, watching him slowly descend the platform. "I am able to sense things but not manipulate as the legendary Jedi were believed to be able to." He nodded in understanding, hopping off the last step. "Can you sense connections between people?" Padmé only nodded.

"Do you sense it too?" He whispered, finally in front of her; he had to look down quite a bit to keep her gaze. "Do you sense the connection between you and me?"

"Yes..." Her response came out breathless. "I do... but what does it mean your grace? I have never felt such a bond."

The emperor only smiled at first, gently tugging back his hood enough for her to see his true face. He laid a hand on her cheek.

"It means you're mine, Angel."