Saga Warm Breeze in the Snow Storm-Vader leds the massacre of Naboo (Skywalkers galore) *A/N 01/04*

Summary: About 10 years before ANH, so about 10 years after Anakin?s turn to the dark side, Vader suit and all. Vader is commanded by the Emperor to personally oversee the massacre of the Nubians. But what happens when a painfully familiar family, the Naberrie?s (with no Padmé) appear suddenly, throwing Vader back into his haunting past? What will Vader do?

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

 

A Warm Breeze in the Snow Storm

The Emperor?s Command


His knees ached from kneeling for so long on the holo-transmission platform of the Executor. Even cybernetic limbs couldn?t last comfortably in this position of servitude for a long period of time. Yet he ignored the pain in his mechanical extensions as his eyes widened in surprise behind his dark mask.

?Personally??

?Yes,? the Emperor replied, staring hard at his apprentice over the live video link. ?I want you to oversee it... personally.? He sneered, ?I don?t want you to hide in your ship in the planet?s atmosphere.?

Darth Vader clenched his gloves firsts, hatred and anger cursing through what was left of his veins. ?Master, I assure you, I have no reason to hide from any planet anywhere.?

?This wipeout of a planet that held such an emotional meaning to you will be a fitting way to punish you for your failure on Alderaan.?

Vader?s rage intensified tenfold. He knew that it wasn?t his fault that the recent inspections on Alderaan had not been as in-depth as his master and he had wanted. That trickster Bail Organa had used loop holes in the law that even Vader hadn?t known about to restrict the Empire?s avid interest in the planet. Both of the Dark Lords were sure that there was some involvement of the rebel alliance with Alderaan, but even they could not go to the large scale drastic measures that they wanted to use without Senatorial permission. They were left to use undercover spies and small scale, off the record assaults to achieve what little information they had gathered. It was no matter, though. Lord Sidious had informed his apprentice of his plans to rid the galaxy of the Senate once and for all. It would just take time. Too much time for Vader?s liking, but he had learned the hard way to not argue with his master. Besides, he still hated politics?he always had, and always would.

?There is no such emotional meaning to me, Master. Naboo is simply a planet that did not heed the power and warning of the Empire, and so must be dealt with.?

?Oh, I?m quite sure it will be enough to destroy whatever traces of Skywalker have lingered in you over the past ten years.?

?There are no traces left of him to destroy.?

The twist grin on Sidious?s face disappeared, leaving behind only a look of malevolence. ?You will stop arguing with me now, Lord Vader. It would be wise, my friend.?

?I am under your command, My Master.?

The dark smile returned to the elder being?s pale, wrinkled face. ?I know.? He slumped back in his black throne, the one which he had issued such terrifyingly powerful orders from, with an air for his apprentice to carry on with business.

?Very well,? Vader replied, forcing himself to sound calm. ?I will oversee the capture and storage of the Nubians personally.? The words came out monotonous, a large contrast to what he was truly feeling. ?Where would you prefer me to start, My Lord?? He had a pretty good idea of where.

The emperor had the twisted humor to pretend to think for a few moments before replying.

?Theed.?

Vader managed to swallow. He had some how been able to forget the name of the beautiful capital city of Naboo. Just hearing the appellation of the city, even from the lips of a man so wicked, flooded a well of memories he did not like remembering. They came to the surface in an icy, drenching wave. However, Lord Vader had spent a considerable amount of time over the past ten years learning how to hide his emotions from his master. He evoked that skill now.

?Yes, My Master.?

The emperor seemed to shrug his shoulders under all the dark robes he wore. What could be seen of his face from under his hood appeared to look thoughtful, a rare look for the small, menacing man.

?The Nubians,? he mused, ?such kind people. Such kind people who helped bring me to ultimate power, if you remember.? He smiled threateningly as he watched Vader tense. Darth Vader did not like to remember, obviously. Emperor Palpatine drove the knife in a little harder. ?Noooo, noooo. That was

 

Yea!so glad you're posting again!
love it so far!

 

Like this a lot. Could be very interesting...

 

searth_99 - You remember me? YAY! I'm guessing you remember me from either Realizations or What Was Almost the First Kiss? Goodness, I haven't posted stories here in so long... Thank you for reviewing!

NaomiOrganaSolo - Oooh, first off, I REALLY like your screen name. I've always loved the name Naomi-- very beautiful. Thank you for leaving a comment! I promise, it gets MUCH more interesting as the plot develops...

 

Interesting beginning. I like the way Palpatine toyed with Vader and Vader's reactions to it. Being sent to Naboo, with that intent... And the barbs about Padme were well done too. Palpatine really is sadistic here. Great job, with that, by the way. Looking forwards to reading more.

 

Ooh, I love this story (I'm also reading it on FF.net). I hope you update soon!

uppies,

jazz

 

Alethia - Thank you very, very much for your kind compliments. I swear, I was blushing! I absolutely love tense Vader/Emperor moments. Two evil guys with tempers... makes for an interesting scene! Thanks again for the generous comments.

Jazz_Skywalker - Ah yes! I know you from FF.net as well! I'm so glad that you enjoy this story! Thank you very much for leaving such a sweet review.


The next update WILL be tomorrow... or possibly even tonight if I get bored enough. We shall see!

EDIT: (3 Hours Later) Ehh... I got bored. *shrugs* Post is up!

 

A Warm Breeze in the Snow Storm

Swirling Emotions

He had forgotten how green everything was?or how blue. The baby blue of the sky, the sapphire blue of the oceans. He had forgotten how the waterfalls fell in such terrible fury, yet their power never veered from their path; the gravitational pull was too strong. He had had an anchor like that too, long ago, something to keep his fury from consuming everything around him. However, that pull, instead of being a geographic force from the center of a planet, had been of chocolate locks of hair, red lips, and two brown pools that he had spent mornings, evenings, and nights drowning in...

Darth Vader clenched his mechanical hand into a fist and brought it crashing down upon the transport?s counter top, leaving a dent that no one would ever care to fix.

Damn! He had known that revisiting Naboo would bring up memories of that weaklings life, the life that he used to call his own, yet he had still set a goal of trying keep his head clear. But as soon as the transport ship he was on from the Executor had emerged past Naboo?s white clouds, and he had caught his first sight of the planet in ten years, his head had been anything but clear. Things change, Darth Vader thought reluctantly, and furiously, to himself. Especially when they are taken from you.

Of course, in reality the planet had diminished some in ten years, the tight-grip of Emperor Palpatine having choked some of its beauty, but Vader stood nevertheless in awe of the glamour before him. At that moment, a rare one, he was glad he was wearing a mask. He became angry just at the thought of what the other main commands around him might think if they saw his eyes, which no doubt were wide in wonder. If Vader had looked around, he would have seen that the others weren?t paying attention to anything, not even him?all of their eyes were transfixed on the lush planet emerging quickly in front of them.

Vader commanded himself to get a tight grip on his dangerous emotions. Darth Vader, Sith Lord, did not stand in awe of something. He destroyed it. He did allow the painful memories, and no other, to intrude into his mind. The recollections of the last time he had been on Naboo hounded him. He concentrated on one memory in particular.


---FLASHBACK---


?Where is she?!?

?Please??

?I won?t ask you again, Bibble.? He tightened his mental, but still physical hold on the old man?s neck, his fingers idly by his side. Then, they had still been of flesh, blood, and bone, as had the rest of him, except his right arm.

?Senator Amidala is not here!? Sio Bibble croaked, gasping for breath. ?I swear!?

The hooded figure snickered evilly. ?I don?t believe you.? He growled, ?My patience is almost out.?

Sio Bibble looked at the tall figure, trembling with fright. Despite the man?s words, he felt the grasp on his windpipe lessen a little. This... man... was desperate, absolutely frantic to know where Amidala was. He tried looking under the black hood, wondering what person so evil could want with such a peaceful young woman. Thank the gods the Senator wasable to escape the clutches of this madman.

?AHH!? Anakin exclaimed angrily. ?You do know where the senator is!?

Frightened now more than ever, Sio Bibble realized the cloaked figure had read his mind. After little thought, the realization struck him, and a freezing shiver spread through his body.

?Y-you?re a Sith.? It was a statement, not a question.

Anakin nodded his head slowly. ?Very good, Bibble. Yes, you Nubians have had enough experience with the Sith, haven?t you?? He stepped closer, making the old man tremble with terror even more, and this time Anakin replaced the Force with his own left hand around Sio Bibble?s neck. ?But look around.? He paused for several moments, as if waiting for something. ?LOOK AROUND!?

Not wasting a moment?s breath, Sio Bibble looked around frantically, not sure what he was supposed to be looking for.

?Yes,? Anakin hissed, enjoying the panic radiat

 

Hooray!! More writing from Aristo-nobi!!! I miss Realizations...

But this one is great! You have characterised Vader wonderfully! Keep it up!

 

UP!

 

wow, very powerful story so far! i am intrigued, keep going!

 

The_Jesstar - How flattering! Thank you for your comments-- I miss Realizations too. I promise, as soon as this one is completed, I'm starting up on that one again. It'll be revamped, added to, and reposted. But this time I'm trying to be smart, and only work on one story at a time! Again, thank you! I hope you'll stick around for more!

searth_99 - Thank you for the "upper"!

darksideyesplease - Yay! Thank you for the review! I've got to say, I'm a big fan of your writing. I'm very honored that you've taken interest in a story of my own! I hope you enjoy what's coming!


The next post will be coming TODAY. The advantage to me having the first 5 chapters written is that they're ready to go... the disadvantage is that there's a VERY small waiting period, because I just get impatient with myself and I want to post ASAP.

Well... I guess that's not a bad thing for the readers, eh?

 

A Warm Breeze in the Snow Storm

Theed

"Sir, the city has been divided." The stormtropper looked into the unreadable mask of Darth Vader apprehensively. "The squads have determined the population of the capital city, divided it into squadrons, and have labeled them simply 'East Division' and 'West Division'." He didn't even pause a moment before he continued, "It has been determined randomly that the 'East Division' occupants will be terminated. 'West Division' will be separated into Camps T1, T2, T3, and T4. A similar process is in action all over the planet."

Vader smiled under his mask. At least he tried to smile. All the major cities of Naboo had half of their population presently being sorted into the camps that were in place especially for each city? three for each. Theed had another camp, T4, because it was the largest city of all and the half that would be spared from the killings could not fit into three camps. Each camp was labeled by the first letter of the city and the camp number it was. He had spent the beginning of the morning overseeing the roundup of the politically strong Nubians, and now in the afternoon he had moved to watching the more active process of rounding up the civilians.

"Good. You are dismissed, commander." The stormtrooper bowed and was gone. Vader looked around him. He was standing on a bare stone platform, with stone steps leading down from it to a street below. On either side of the street were columns, buildings, etc. The street stopped at the stairs leading up to the pavilion. This was obviously a place of some importance, a place where festivities and grand celebrations would be held. Strangely, he thought there was a strong sense of familiarity to it.

It shouldn't be strange to be somewhere here that's familiar, he silently reminded himself. After all, I lived here once.

The sound of Gungan trumpets echoed in his ears... banners flew in the wind as confetti dropped from the sky like rain... a happy day... a beautiful day...

The lush, bright, natural beauty of Naboo contrasted very strongly with his black machinery. Everything around him was colorful and radiated life... he, on the other hand, was nothing but darkness, and radiated destruction.

Darth Vader had never looked so out of place as he did then, stalking through the streets of Theed. He clashed powerfully with the environment surrounding him. It was hard to imagine that he had once strolled blissfully down the streets, hand-in-hand with a stunning brunette, whom he had lovingly called his wife.

Darth Vader squeezed his empty hands tightly.

The Nubian sun's rays no longer enforced his skin's handsome dark tan?it could not penetrate the black suit of machinery, and that Tatooine tan had been lost long ago. The cool breeze no longer caressed his golden blonde hair? even if the mask wasn't upon his head? all of his hair had been burned away ten years ago on Mustafar. But, though he would not?could not?admit it to himself, what hurt the most was that he could not smell the fine Nubian air. He remembered clearly how the air smelled in Theed, how you could breathe in the mild humidity, which was caused by the gigantic waterfalls not too far away. How you could smell flowers, and the food that was being cooked outdoors over fires. How, mixed in between all of that, he could smell Padmé?s perfume.

He cursed his artificial respirator as he stomped down more streets. He eventually found himself cursing the entirety of his machine-like body. Yet, through his anger, he cursed the person who had put him in this suit in the first place.

?Obi Wan,? he quietly seethed aloud, the name sounding like a fatal hex when spoken by the dark lord.

It had been ten years since he?d seen the wretched Jedi on the planet of Mustafar. However, the memory of their encounter had haunted him to this day?

---FLASH BACK---

Darth Vader?s eyes narrowed as he saw the airship docked on its mechanical legs on the platform as he flew closer to the volcanic planet. This was the secon

 

Upping just for the heck of it. G'night all!

 

another up!

 

searth_99 - Thank you for the up, and thank you for such a kind PM! I was so excited to see it!


Okay, the previous chapter wasn't too bad, was it? Thank you for reading-- reviews are always appreciated!

 

A Warm Breeze in the Snow Storm

The Naberrie?s


"Ah, good afternoon, Lord Vader. I hope your transport to the planet was comfortable."

"Fairly," Vader responded monotonously.

"Beautiful planet, My Lord. Have you ever ventured to Naboo before?"

"What seems to be the problem, Commander?" Vader asked, already feeling impatient.

"The Naberrie's refuse to move," Admiral Tyson replied, shuffling his feet, obviously on edge. "With the Emperor's implied interest in this family... we're hesitant to damage the goods, you might say."

A pause. "Leave it to me."

The next moment, Admiral Tyson was watching the retreating black form of Darth Vader as the Sith stomped up the steps leading into the Naberrie home.

Vader took a deep, abrupt breath before he passed through the doorway. The memory came without any warning or any regard for his sanity.

She smiled as she waited in the doorway, their baggage at her feet, when the front porch lights suddenly flicked off. She was thrown under the secret veil of darkness, but her brown eyes shone with their own ethereal light. Hmmm, the Force is at work tonight, she said silently to herself. As he approached, he wrapped his arms around her small frame, his fingers gliding over her smooth abdomen.

Her smile radiated as she raised her hands to intertwine with his around her middle. "I know these hands," she mused, as she began to caress his fingers.

"I know this body," he replied, keeping his voice low as his grin spread.

Mindful of the proximity of her parents somewhere inside the house, Padmé kept her voice quiet as she responded, "You know my body very well, Mr. Skywalker."

Anakin's slightly muffled reply brought an even wider smile to Padmé?s face. "Be careful, sweetheart, there are young children around." He sounded bashful and even shy as he reprimanded her. But Padmé knew that he was really smiling. She took a deep breath of the black night's air.

"Speaking of children..." Padmé?s voice drifted.

Anakin kissed her head of curls. "Yes?" He then rested his chin on top of her head, breathing in her scent as he stared out into the night, listening.

"You think maybe one day?" her voice drifted once more. Just before Anakin was about to prompt her to go on again, she quickly continued, "Nevermind. Come on, we have to catch our shuttle." She offered a smile as she gave his hands a final squeeze. "Coruscant awaits!"

She stepped away to lean down and grab her suitcase, but was suddenly spun around and pressed against her husband's chest. "Smooth, Ani," she whispered with a smile, before raising her hands to cup his face as they leaned in towards each other. They shared one last passionate kiss under the blanket of night, completely shaded from any questioning eyes peering out of surrounding houses that might have recognized a certain senator kissing a certain recognizable Clone Wars hero.

A little over a minute later, he was carrying her second bag and his only one down the steps, trailing dutifully after her. As they walked in the direction of the nearest Shuttle Depot, the Jedi flicked his fingers, and the brilliant light suddenly returned in the lamps around the Naberrie porch.

Broken glass lay scattered across the tile floor and a few chairs were tipped over, but other than that, and the dozen of Stormtroopers lining the halls, the sunshine lit up the indoors of the Naberrie home's dining room beautifully. It could have passed for an ordinary, normal day, except for the obvious irregularities this afternoon.

"Darth Vader," Ruwee Naberrie mumbled in surprise and fear, as the new addition to the scene raised his gloved, clenched hands to rest on his hips in an authoritative position. With his arms and chest stretched outward, his cape floating with a haunting grace behind him, and the deep breathing mechanism a constant companion, Darth Vader was the living image of fear and power.

The Naberrie?s were enclosed in their own self-created hush as they stood in frightful awe of him. Both Ruwee and Jobal

 

oo new chapter!cool I'll have something good to read this afternoon. too hot to go outside!

the previous chapter was a great read!I really like the fine tuning you've done from the original. hmm.. just an idea ..bit maybe though you could set up a PM list so you can notify all when you update? threads here sink so quickly it's crazy!never seen a big surge of fic till now. even after I up-ed a few fics, there are just so many fics now on the Saga board that they sink so quickly. that's just my 2 cents...

cheers!

 

searth_99 - It's hot where I am too! The sun's roasting everything. Thank you for your sweet review! I am so glad that you're liking the "revamping". A PM list? That's a really good idea! LOL, I guess I'm still getting used to posting here again, I forgot about the advantages of a PM list. Thank you again for your comments!


Anyone who would like to be put on a PM list, please just let me know!

 

Wow, what an exciting peice! Man, the Vader angst is great! That last line, so powerful and sad! Poor kid probably didn't even know what she did... I'd like to be put on a pm list for this!

 

bobilll - Yay! I'm so glad that you are enjoying this! Yep, we've got an angsty Vader here. I suppose I'm pulling on some dusty heart strings of his that haven't been pulled in a while. Thank you for telling me what lines you like specfically, that's always a treat to hear. You're on the PM list! Thank you so much for reviewing!

 

Stupid thing erased my reply...

Anyway, I'll just have to try and remember what I said *grins* I love the irony of that last line, how Padme's family ended up being the ones who betrayed her. Vader is so dark and extremely in character for this. I like the way you've portrayed his feelings on being with the Naberries and facing them, with his identity unknown to them. Will they ever learn who he really is? And I like how you mentioned Padme at the end, hidden somewhere...I wonder if she will appear.

 

Alethia - It's wonderful to hear from you again! Wow, thank you for a lengthy review.

Vader is so dark and extremely in character for this.

Yay! I'm glad you think so! Characterization is HUGE for me. It's great to know that you appreciate it too!

Will they ever learn who he really is? And I like how you mentioned Padme at the end, hidden somewhere...I wonder if she will appear.


Hmmm... questions, questions... let's just say you'll have to wait and see! Thank you for reviewing! Would you like to be added to a PM list?

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[color=red]The next chapter will be up tomorrow morning.[/color] [face_coffee] Remember, just let me know if you want to be put on a PM list.[/b]