Fortress Vader

Thirteen - Aptitude

To be heroic is to be courageous enough to blow that piece of junk out of the sky.
Year 5

——————

Vader

I tried, I really did. I only intended to show her the fortress, though even that desire should have been ignored. Showing off my home like some proud senator. It seemed harmless enough, and I wanted to see her reactions.

So I began the tour and watched her innocent little face show every damn emotion in that lift. She likes my fucking palace, my dark, terrifying palace—other than the third floor. She even stared at my completed throne room with slight awe—and then defended me. A man who has brought her to the brink of her fear over and over, she's fucking loyal to me. I knew she was loyal to both versions of myself, but in that moment, I was rocked with the realization that her feelings toward me (unmasked) do not outweigh her duty (to Vader.)

After that, I almost showed her my quarters. I almost took her to the bed I have yet to sleep in and fucked her until dawn. My dick wanted it so bad it physically hurt. Instead, I cut the tour short and left without another word. Not just her, but the whole planet.

And I tried. I tried to convince myself. I once went to Canto Bight and let a woman drag me back to her place for boring, basic sex. I didn't even come. I didn't even want to come.

Then, I let a girl take me home, and I scared the fucking shit out of her, then fucked her anyway. I did come, but only because her ass felt just like my Kitten's, and I remembered every frame of her coming under my hand. Good gods, I hadn't even touched her cunt and she came so well for me.

I tried a girl who looked like her and one who was her total opposite. I killed them both.

Three months after the lift, I even tried bringing a girl to Mustafar, thinking maybe it was the planet or my home pulling out the dark side that flames my need for her. It isn't, and that was an unpleasant time for both of us. But at least I sent her home alive.

So, I gave up, resolving to simply avoid her for the rest of my life.

Unfortunately for us both, she is the head of my security, which meant we would see each other eventually. It was almost a full year after the incident in the lift, but it was inevitable.

I don't have time to desire her, however, as that need is forgotten when I see her holo request appear.

Nearly four years she's worked for me, and never once has she contacted me.

She's using my private line, the one she thinks will reach 'Yellow Eyes.' And yes, I do have a separate device just for her and my unmasked self. But the fact that she's calling tells me I do not have the luxury of finding privacy to shed my armor.

"He's preoccupied," I say the moment her holo pops up. She doesn't seem to care and I spend a split second awed by this fact. This form terrifies her—like, I think I could actually kill her just by inducing fear. Yet she does not even blink.

"There's hyperspace activity in two different neighboring systems, sir." My eyes narrow.

"And you believe this is an indication of a threat?" Despite the desire to shrug this information off, I can't. She has always handled a threat on her own, never specifically asking for my assistance.

Six months earlier, she successfully squashed a small clan of Mustafarians who tried to attack the fortress before construction sealed it off completely. She didn't call me then—just sent a full incident report a few hours later. Sure, that involved less than two dozen enemies on foot and she knew there were four times as many within my fortress boundaries (there are seven times as many now, and a small outpost being built a few klicks upriver) but still, she hadn't panicked then.