Dormé frowned as she turned toward the clock, suddenly seeming odd once again. "You could have stopped working about twenty minutes ago."
Padmé frowned as she glanced at the clock. "Why didn't you tell me!" she yelled, noticing how late it was before turning back to her friend.
With a smile still on her face, Dormé shrugged. "I wanted to see how long Lord Vader would stare at you." Padmé rolled her eyes as she grabbed her Dormé's hand, eager to forget all about the day's troubles, including Darth Vader. "I'm glad you were having fun," Padmé laughed. "But I could really use a drink after today."
Dormé smiled back, never one to refuse a drink.
"Yes, milady!"
There was an odd energy in the air, something almost radiating around the room. Even with the Force as his ally, Vader couldn't detect the source of this power. It felt as though something was screaming at him, calling to him; yet, the Sith couldn't decipher the call. Was it a summons? Was it a warning? Again, reaching out into the Force offered him no aid, almost as if the presence did not exist, as it was too weak, too soft to be real. But something in Vader's mind assured him that it was real, and he could feel it- whatever it was. It wasn't entirely different from the pull he felt toward the dark, though it wasn't as strong as the darkness itself… but it was there. Like a whisper within the dark force he had created, like a small tear in the deadly gloom… almost like a light… and Vader didn't like it. He eyed his master out of the corner of his eye, sensing whether his master felt the change too, but if he did, the old man didn't show it. And Vader knew better than to ask. Perhaps it was simply because the new energy was too inconsequential, too insignificant.
Ignore it, a dark voice growled from within him, urging the Sith deeper into the shadows and away from the reach of whatever other energy sought to connect with him.
Vader gritted his teeth as he tightened his arms over his chest, channeling some of the pent-up energy building within him into the dark. He preferred the chaos he had caused earlier, with all the action, compared to this standing around. By now, he could have at least tortured the answers out of those good-for-nothing, traitorous senators, perhaps even crushed the entire Rebellion if he hadn't been called away like some mongrel pup.
His jaw clenched harder, a new heat rising in his chest. A whisper of reminder of what he truly was burned through his veins. He tried to push it away, basking in the comforting heat of the darkness that swarmed around him. Vader was patient. He could endure the passing of time and anything else the Force threw at him, just as he always had. He could wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. He could lay low until the ideal moment when all his plans would convene… but right now, Vader wanted to act. He wanted to pounce on all around him like a predatory nexu, thirsty for blood.
Vader reveled in chaos. He craved it—carnage, death, and fear. He even desired the darkness, yet he disliked being left within it. Not in this sense, anyway. This darkness was unfamiliar, unlike the darkness of the Force. It stemmed from his master withholding information, leaving Vader somewhat clueless and in the dark. He sensed something was off, that something was amiss. Although he had been briefed in his master's chambers just hours ago, Vader felt lost regarding the complexity of his master's plan. It wasn't uncommon for the two Sith to keep secrets from one another, but it was unusual in this case for the old man to be withholding something concerning the matter at hand.
The exchange between the two women had been… odd. Almost encouraged. Had his master had something to do with that? Why? What could the old man possibly gain by encouraging such pointless and futile conversation? By promoting such senseless emotions? It was true that Sidious enjoyed playing games with his victims, that the older Sith relished adding some form of torment that would mess with his prey's mind and usually lead to lasting effects of insanity from such drawn-out torture. However, Vader wasn't sure what the Emperor hoped to achieve with the direction his current game was taking.
It annoyed Vader that his master was meddling in his own plans once again. His master sent Vader off to complete one task while simultaneously undermining that very order just moments later. This wasted precious time and energy and pushed Vader to his breaking point.
He had done exactly as his master had instructed. He had taken care of all remaining matters before finding a hidden spot outside the senator's office, where neither woman had noticed him. He had perfectly blended into the darkness and remained unseen until the old man prompted the elder woman to look in his direction—urging her to give in to her fear—no, worse… the old man had suggested she almost forget her fear and gaze upon him. The atrocity of it!
Of course, their detection of the Sith did nothing to halt his current exploration, yet he found such interference to be completely bothersome and unnecessary. Wasn't Vader's entire intent based on creating fear? Isn't that what his master desired? Wasn't that what both of them always craved? Vader had thought as much, but if that was the case… why had his master, for one fleeting second, allowed such a trivial creature to neglect such ill will towards the Sith? Why had he made her forget? Vader didn't want her to forget; he wanted her fear. He wanted them all to fear him.
The old man was becoming senile. That was Vader's only conclusion. The senator in question would not allow her mind to be swayed by such pitiful coaxing, so the Emperor had decided to meddle with the only remaining factors he could influence, like the other woman. The reasoning? Vader didn't care. He knew that his master was too obsessed with the young Naboo woman to truly unravel his train of thought. It was far too twisted and knotted to find a strand of logic. Combined with the lasting effects of Sidious' impending insanity, it created a concoction that Vader had no desire to consume.
Vader turned his mind back to the mission and watched from the shadows as the young senator and her handmaiden, accompanied by their security, hurried through the Senate chamber. After receiving clearance from his troopers to leave the building, the group wasted no time heading for the exit. They became almost completely oblivious to the presence of other members, focusing solely on the hallway that led to their escape.
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