How to Take an Empire

Chapter Thirty-Two: Ekkreth

The cloning facilities on Kamino had long since shut down, one of Palpatine's first acts as Emperor, as they no longer served a purpose to the Empire. Nor was the Imperial fleet accepting any of the remaining clones that had been produced and were still being raised there. The Kaminos themselves had been cast aside like everything and everyone else that had helped bring Palpatine to power but was no longer useful to him. Luckily for them, Palpatine also hadn't seen them as a threat to his power. For now, they were left on their planet in relative peace. The cloning facilities, while shutdown, still housed the clones that hadn't matured by the end of the war; paid for but with no direction what to do with them.

Vader had a solution for that. Finally.

"Lord Vader," the Kamino who greeted him said. "Right this way. Your guest is waiting for you."

Vader didn't answer, but the Kamino cloners weren't easily offended. Business-minded as they were, they didn't care much for pleasantries and unnecessary small talk either. The Kamino man led him to a room near the back of the facility, bowed his head, and departed right afterward.

Vader used the Force to activate the lock mechanisms of the door and strode inside, immediately catching the attention of the young togruta woman in the room.

"Kriffing kriff," she exclaimed at the same time as she managed to draw her blaster and point it at him.

"Put that away. If I meant you any harm, I would have harmed you already," Vader said dismissively.

"Obviously, you don't recall the last time we met. You tried to kill me. Twice."

"Your own fault."

Diya narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips at him, but decided to say nothing and put her blaster away. Good. The more time he spent arguing with the girl, the less time he had to deal with things that mattered.

"Have a seat," he directed. "We have many matters to discuss."

"I'm sure you can understand why I prefer to stand."

Vader Force-shoved the girl backward and into her seat before sitting on the other side of the small round table.

She didn't try to get up again but immediately asked, "Why the hell did you call me here? Why even go through the trouble of using your stupid spies to get me here at all? If it's something about the rebellion, isn't it just something you could run by Ahsoka."

"What I've called you here for, child, has nothing to do with the rebellion or Ahsoka, even though I'm sure she would gladly assist if I asked it of her. I think we can both agree on the fact that she has enough to deal with."

"I'm not a child," Diya responded flatly.

Not as much of a child as she'd been when he met her three years ago, certainly. She was just barely a shorter than Ahsoka now and slighter in build, but she used her relation and resemblance to Ahsoka well in service of the rebellion. The Jedi impersonator, she was known as in the Empire, for pretending to be his former apprentice. A genius plot that effectively kept anyone from looking for the real Ahsoka Tano, even Palpatine once his spies and Vader brought the information that she was an imposter. Someone pretending to be a former Jedi was a lot less dangerous than the actual former Jedi, which meant even if Ahsoka were sighted on her missions, the Empire would assume she was just the imposter and underestimate her. Not that Diya should be underestimated as quick of a draw with her blaster as she was.

The Emperor had instructed him to leave the matter alone. He had more important matters to deal with than some silly child who was foolish enough to impersonate a Jedi. Vader made sure he gave Palpatine the impression that he was going to do it anyway. It was what Palpatine expected of him. If he and Ahsoka hadn't already reconciled—probably too strong a word—he'd certainly go in search of the imposter who dared try to take on the name of the woman who had gravely injured him and betrayed him. Besides, it presented the perfect excuse to make contact with the girl.