Usually, Padmé was quite good at maintaining her concentration, especially regarding her work, but it seemed that not even she could escape the enigma that was Darth Vader, unable to push aside the questions that consumed her mind at the mere sight of him. It made her wonder: was her newfound obsession with the Sith merely due to the fact that the Sith Lord was such a mystery? Or was it because Vader had so willingly, yet unknowingly, revealed such insightful details about himself? She convinced herself that her questions mattered for the sake of the Rebellion and were therefore conventional as well. She even thought that somehow, through her inquiries and further investigation, she might be the key to discovering a weakness in the Empire's main weapon, which could, in return, assist the Rebellion.
She knew it was a half-lie, but even a half-lie contained some truth. It didn't matter that her sudden curiosity about the Sith was selfish; after all, the Rebellion had no real lead to confirm whether Darth Vader was, in fact, some kind of cyborg or truly mortal. However, if she followed her thoughts to their conclusion, she had to accept that Vader must be a man... or at least an organic life form. She would even venture to say that he was humanoid, most likely... though further investigation would be necessary to confirm this detail. Even so, she considered that to be of little importance because if Vader had needs such as lust, or something similar that would lead him to seek companionship of that nature, then he must have other needs as well. He had to have needs such as hunger or rest... and all of this pointed to him having a weakness... or so she hoped.
Naturally, all that information also depended on Vader telling the truth about the situation, which similarly appeared unlikely.
So back to square one, she thought after a bitter war within herself, hating to admit that she truly hadn't found uncompromising evidence of the Sith actually being, well... a true living being. As a politician, she knew she would need far more "hardcore" information than that if she were to disclose any information about the Sith to the Rebellion. She wasn't looking to send her comrades to slaughter by her hand simply due to misinformation. She needed proof first. Undoubted and unshakable truth at that. So she had to acknowledge that Vader's words could have been mere lies, especially since the Sith's goal had clearly been to upset the opposing enemy – even if that enemy was as pitiful as Rosh Clovis.
If she truly followed her train of thought to a complete conclusion, she had to admit that there were just as many factors that led to the idea of Darth Vader being nothing more than a kind of cyborg or an expensive droid created simply to do the Emperor's bidding. In some ways, that thought was more pleasing to believe, but in other ways, it felt somehow displeasing, though she didn't know why.
She thought it might be displeasing, simply because it suggested that if Vader was truly inhuman, he would be nearly impossible to destroy. It implied he could be repaired if harmed and possibly had as few weaknesses as the galaxy believed. At least the lesser possibility indicated that Vader could be killed – as challenging as that task would be, it would still be achievable... Or perhaps it was just displeasing because, as Bail had told her, she didn't want to believe that a mere mortal could be capable of the horrific feats Vader had demonstrated. But that thought didn't lead her very far, as Padmé knew Palpatine was just as wicked and, in her mind, possibly even worse than Vader. Palpatine was the worst excuse for a man the galaxy had to offer, and she recognized he was a living, breathing creature. He was alive and a man, yet undeniably evil. So why would Vader be any different? As far as she knew, Vader could read minds, and Padmé was unaware of any droid or technological source capable of doing that... which was something, right?
Dormé groaned loudly in annoyance, pulling Padmé from her thoughts. "Well, well," she mused. "Look who's back."
Padmé looked up from her work, which she hadn't actually been reading, and followed Dormé's gaze to see Rush Clovis lingering in the concourse outside her office. She nearly groaned at the sight of him. The stupidity of this man! Did he truly have a death wish? Hadn't the Sith made it clear that his life was in danger? Padmé had thought the threat was unmistakably straightforward, but apparently, she was mistaken; even more surprising was that Rush was even dumber than he appeared, standing in the main room directly outside her office, talking to a group of senators, attempting to tell jokes as they laughed in amusement, practically inviting to be butchered at the hands of the Sith Lord.
"The idiocy of some men," she replied, rolling her eyes before returning to her work, refusing to let the foolish man distract her from her task at hand or occupy any more of her thoughts.
A few moments passed in silence, though Padmé already sensed the quietness would be fleeting before she felt Dormé close by again, leaning down near her. "He's staring at you again, milady," she whispered into Padmé's ear.
Padmé looked up and glanced at the small crowd of senators gathered outside the door. As she scanned the crowd, she locked eyes with a man who watched her with unwavering attention. Rush's gaze remained fixed, as if he had not been caught, staring back into her brown eyes without blinking.
Padmé almost rolled her eyes at his cockiness, or "confidence," as he referred to it. She thought "egotistic" better fit the bill. "Yes," she sighed, looking back at the datapad in her hands. I know."
Dormé frowned at Padmé's answer as she glanced back and forth between the chamber and the woman sitting at her desk. She appeared momentarily confused before erupting into a fit of giggles. "No! Not Rush!" Dormé laughed, clearly amused that Padmé thought she would need to point out the obvious fact. Her expression turned serious as she gazed across the room towards the darkness lurking on the other side. "Behind them," she corrected. "Lord Vader."
At the sound of his name, Padmé quickly looked up from her datapad and followed Dormé's gaze across the room to where Lord Vader stood in the darkness. His dark figure was nearly invisible in the shadows, but against her instincts, which warned her it might be merely an illusion, she could see that the Sith was truly there, and he was watching her.
A sensation of chills ran down her spine, but not in a frightening way. It was... she didn't know. It was a strange reaction, a strong emotion, enough that it forced her to look away. She wasn't scared, although it would be foolish not to be concerned. Yet, she found herself in a bit of a bafflement, which now seemed somewhat common when it came to all things Darth Vader.
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