Vader's Lost Daughter{Old Draft}

Chapter 27

I shook out my hand and stalked away, glaring at anyone who looked at me in concern. The seething sun and sweltering heat only added to my mounting frustration.

I swept my dark hair off my neck, tying it up while U ducked into a nearby shop. An older woman with deeply tanned skin and a shock of white hair looked up.

"Can I help you my dear?"

"I'm in need of clothing that will keep me cool in this heat." Her brown eyes took in my black outfit and clicked her tongue.

"You must be sweating in that. Here, I do believe I have something in your size. Follow me." She stood and disappeared behind a curtain at the back of the shop. I ducked and followed behind her.

"So," she began, rummaging through a rack of tan coloured items of clothing. "What brings you to Tatoonie?" I paused and tilted my head.

"I'm here helping out my father. I'm not from around here. I was born and raised on Ryloth. I didn't know my biological father until we reconnected about four years ago." I snapped my mouth shut. Why did I say all that? The woman handed me a stack of clothing and pointed to a curtained section in the wall.

As I peeled off my sandy black pants and sweaty tunic, the woman continued to talk.

"What does your father do?" she asked as I tugged the sand coloured tunic over my head.

"He's a merchant. I'm here to retrieve two droids he purchased." I paused as I cinched the dark brown belt around my hips and hung my blaster from it. I looked down and held in a scoff. She had dressed me like a Jedi. And I had come in looking like a Sith. . .

"Come on out Skylar. I know who you are and I know who your father is." I heard the snap and hiss of an ignited lightsaber. I called my lightsaber to my hand and ignited the crimson blade. I yanked the curtain aside and swung for the woman's chest. She gracefully flicked up her blue blade and countered my attack. I growled and swung harder, faster, but she countered every attack with the grace of a trained Jedi with years of practice.

"Please Skylar. I want to help you. Obi-Wan wants to help you." She reached out and seized my wrist, grip like steel. I laughed in her face, hysteria raising the pitch.

"I can't come back. I've done too much. Obi-Wan can't help me." I twisted my wrist out of her grasp and swung harder, aiming for her legs, chest head. We danced around the tiny shop, rolling over tables and kicking over carefully stacked piles of merchandise.

"What have you done other than betray his trust? You have no innocent blood on your hands, unless you strike me down." Her lightsaber deactivated, the shop now illuminated only by the angry red glow of my lightsaber. Her words angered me because they were true. I had given in to the Dark Side, yet I had done nothing other than run around completing errands for the Emperor.

"You don't know a thing about me," I spat, deactivating my saber and crouching low. She took a tentative step towards me, a plea on her lips when I exploded upright, using the Force to leap up from my spot. I spun around, using the momentum from the Force to kick the nearest table into her chest, knocking her flat on her back. Her eyes flickered sluggishly as she squirmed, arms pinned beneath the table. I leaned over and pressed the barrel of my blaster to her forehead..

"Where's your precious Light Side now?" I taunted. She lifted her head and leveled her gaze, no trace of fear present in her face.

"All is as the Force wills it." Just before I pulled the trigger, I felt a familiar ripple in the Force. My head jerked up, finger slipping of the trigger.

"Cody?"

Aboard the Death Star

Darth Vader paced in his private chamber, awaiting a transmission from Darth Tytar. She had gone too long without checking in. The flicker of worry stopped him dead in his tracks. It had been so very long since he had felt anything for anyone. Finally, he couldn't wait any longer. Hey keyed in the code for Skylar's comlink and waited for her to respond.

"Yes?"

"I require and update on your progress Darth Tytar." She went quiet, breathing brisk and shallow.

"I have lost the droids and the plans my lord." Her voice sounded strained and Vader could feel the confusion and distress rolling off her in waves, nearly strong enough to knock him back a few steps.

"Is something wrong? Are you hurt? Skylar!" His voice deepened with panic. He couldn't lose her too. He just couldn't.

"I'm fine. I have to go," she rasped voice cut off by static as she disconnected. Her distress panicked him so much that he let slide that the plans had been lost again. His comlink crackled to life again.

"Lord Vader, we are ready for you on the bridge." He stalked out of his chamber and headed to the bridge. It was time to deal with a princess.

Tatoonie

I tucked the comlink back in my pocket, hand trembling. Cody is dead. Cody's gone. My father told me he was gone. I had felt- My heart jumped into my throat as I stumbled over the woman's unconscious form. I had never felt his death. I had been so distraught I hadn't questioned anything. I broke into a frantic sprint, booted feet pounding an uneven rhythm into the sand. I stretched out into the Force and locked onto his presence.

I skidded to a halt in the center of a crowded bazaar, eyes darting over the faces of all the beings, searching for that familiar head of shaggy hair. It had been nearly a year since we had seen each other. Then I saw him, standing head and shoulders above the crowds.

"Cody!" I cried out, eyes misting. His head jerked up and our eyes meet across the area. His face broke out into a wide grin as his long strides ate up the distance between us. He then snatched me up, crushing me to his chest. I clutched him close and sobbed, burying my head in his chest.

"I thought I would never see you again!" I choked. "I thought you were dead." He pulled back and looked at me.

"Who told you that?" I shook my head.

"That's not important. All that matters is that you're safe." Just before he could fold me back into his arms, a terrified scream sliced through the air. I jerked back as millions of voices cried out in horror. Then there was a silence; an unearthly dead silence that chilled me to the core. Anguish ripped through the Force at all the lives carelessly snuffed out, leaving behind a yawning gap of despair. My vision blurred and I swayed before falling slowly, voices calling out, sounding like they were submerged in water. Two strong arms caught me around the waist.

"Skylar? Skylar! Someone get help!" A shaky hand brushed the hair off my forehead. "Hang on Sky. Just hang on. . ."