Darth Vader Goes to Therapy

The Unofficial Mascot

Working aboard the Executor was never boring, Luke had to admit. The problem was, he didn't always immediately catch on that something was amiss because...well, Vader's work environment was such that from Luke's perspective, everything was amiss. All the time. As far as he could tell, the only person Vader liked outside of himself was Piett, and Luke couldn't tell if Piett returned those feelings or if he simply endured.

"Isn't that...below your rank?" Luke asked one day when he happened to pass by and notice that Piett was working on collecting data himself. Not analyzing data. Not planning naval fleet battle strategies. Pulling data. Something a data entry position would do--something Luke could do, if he had the time.

"Lord Vader does not trust the data that was pulled." Piett said, and his expression was almost as perfectly calm as Luke thought his was during therapy sessions. "If the data is wrong, Princess Organa and her Rebellion may slip through our fingers again."

Luke frowned. He was always so wrapped up in his own job that he only knew the general basics of the war against the Rebellion, plus whatever else the officers complained about in their therapy sessions. But he did know Princess Leia Organa. She was princess to Alderaan, which...had been destroyed by the Empire while he was a sophomore in college. She'd managed to escape the Empire, and blew up the Death Star (Luke would never admit it out loud, but the only remorse he felt for the whole situation was the people on both sides who'd died and been hurt by the loss of loved ones. As far as he was concerned, the Death Star was an abomination). Now, she supposedly led a significant portion of the Rebellion, and it was rumored she had powers that aided her in battle.

Now that he'd met Vader, he supposed that was possible.

"So why are you doing it?" Luke asked, noting that Piett hadn't exactly answered the question.

Piett paused and gave Luke a long look before sucking in a breath and replying, "Because it is an honor to serve Lord Vader."

That...still didn't answer the question, but he got the feeling that he shouldn't push, so he dropped it and made a mental note to discourage Vader from pushing tasks that could be delegated to the appropriate people onto him.

As for the rest of the officers he served, he began to notice some shifts in the conversations they had during their sessions. But...not the shifts he would have expected.

"How are you?" One officer asked when he sat down to begin his session.

"I'm doing wonderful, how are you?" Luke asked, offering an easy-going smile.

"Good, but," The officer leaned forward in his seat, his eyes narrowing in what Luke thought might have been concern. "How are you? Really?"

Luke blinked in surprise, then began wondering if he'd gotten enough sleep the night before. No...he'd had eight hours. That wasn't always the case though, so perhaps he looked tired?

"I'm doing just fine, I assure you. Now, let's pick back up from our last--"

"If you ever need anything...just let me know."

Again, Luke was stunned momentarily speechless. "Ah...thanks?" Was all he could think to answer.

Thankfully, the officer dropped it, and the moment the session finished and Luke was alone, he quickly took out a compact mirror and looked himself over.

He didn't think he looked any different than usual...

He brushed it off as a one time thing. Maybe he was just really nice and cared about others.