Darth Vader entered the room that was engulfed in black. In his dark attire of black leather and wearing his ominous mask, Vader walked along the vinyl flooring that appeared to lead beyond what the eye could see. But like he had done for years, the Sith apprentice knew where to stop and lower to one knee.
He peered into the darkness where a hologram appeared of a mammoth, shifting figure. With a hood over its face, but the yellow eyes of the Sith beaming through the hologram, the figure looked down at the man who kneeled to almost no one.
'My Master, we have suspicions that the rebel alliance is located in the Hoth system,' Darth Vader informed the hooded figure.
'The Outer-Rim needs to be searched. I sense that the rebel scum are working underground, and that they are growing in numbers,' the Sith Lord said in his rumbling voice. 'Send your troops to all Outer-Rim planets. We must squash this rebellion.'
'Yes, My Lord,' Darth Vader said as he raised his head to look up to his Master. 'And what of the Jedi we still seek? I have not sensed their presence since their first emergence in the Force.'
'If the rebellion is linked to them as we think they are, they will reveal themselves soon enough. Patience, my apprentice. There is still time.'
The Emperor's hologram fizzled until the room was dark once more. Darth Vader stared into where his Master's face had been before he rose from his bent knee. The Outer-Rim would be difficult to search, as its cities were separated across oceans and deserts. But the Empire had recruited over fifty thousand storm troopers in its five-year rule, and the previous Republic's clones were outdated. A new army was at the Empire's disposal, and the planets on the Outer-Rim would be combed to find the growing rebellion.
Apart from the rebellion, Darth Vader had continued to search the galaxy for the light that he only ever dreamed about. It was his own personal mission and the Emperor was none the wiser to his apprentice's private search. He had travelled back to Coruscant in an attempt to find someone who knew of Sol's whereabouts, but the word of Jedi was nearing extinction. No one knew of any alive Jedi and even when Vader searched innocent civilians' minds with the Force, he had learnt nothing about where she could be. He knew Sol was out there, and it angered him to think that she was with Obi-wan; the man who had left him for dead on the riverbank on Mustafar.
As Darth Vader made his way towards his private quarters, he passed workmen in grey uniforms and storm troopers in white armour. Those part of the army saluted their leader, while workmen mustered a bow of their heads before they steered clear of the Sith's path. He terrified all with his tall frame and broad shoulders, and his anonymity made him all the more frightening. There was no indication of what species Vader was underneath his mask, but with his stature and voice, it was suspected that he was a form of humanoid.
Arriving at his quarters, Vader pressed the panel on the wall to ensure that the sliding door locked behind him. As the locks fell into place, the Sith turned to the room that had never been touched by anyone other than himself.
With a large bed in the corner with black, silk sheets, Vader's quarters held no colour lighter than grey. Next to his bed were drawers of medical supplies, which were used frequently to treat his burns that were still painful after years of healing. With bacta gel and medicines for pain relief, Vader spent every night tending to his past wounds that littered his torso and neck.
On the opposite grey walls, was a desk that stretched into the corner where two of the walls met. Covering its black top were droid and ship parts that were half-assembled. A toolbox sat in front of the black stool that was left a distance away from the table, showing that it had been shoved away when Vader had previously risen from its seat.
Without prying eyes, Darth Vader brought his gloved hands to the bottom of his mask and lifted it off with the helmet attached to its face. The deep breathing was replaced with silence and the black mask was placed on the end of the tinkering table. Vader lowered himself onto the stool and took hold of a ship part that was yet to be made whole for its purpose. With a screwdriver, he began unscrewing what he had done and begun assembling again.
---
Sol walked with both of her hands holding Luke and Leia's. As people of all species littered the street of Mos Eisley, the woman led the twins through the city with squinting eyes and a low gaze. Although the lenses over her and Leia's eyes gave the illusion of maroon irises, Sol wanted to avoid drawing any attention to her small family. It was the usual routine for the three when they ventured to the cities of Tatooine, and they had succeeded in lying low up until now.
'Mummy, can we go in there?' Luke pointed a finger at the hut that sold handheld game soles.
'No, Luke, we're not detouring today.'
'But you're getting your hair cut. That's a detour!'
Sol rolled her eyes and chose to ignore the boy's whining. He was too young to understand why they needed to be careful about what shops they walked into. If Sol wanted to explain why, she would need to explain everything about why they were on Tatooine, and why she and Leia wore lenses every time they went into Mos Eisley. An entire narrative was not worth Luke's small disappointment of walking further away from the gaming hut.
'Why are all those soldiers going in there, Mummy?' Leia drew her mother's attention from her brother. Sol looked down at Leia first before following her pointing finger.
'Leia, don't point!'
Sol pulled her hand out from Luke's hold to lower Leia's tiny finger before pulling the twins away in a hurry. The city's cantina, that was known for its trouble, was being filled with armed storm troopers. In their white armour, they piled into the sketchy structure that's beige walls mirrored every other building that lined the street. Sol wanted to be far away from the group that reminded her so much of the clones from the Republic and didn't want to know why they were suddenly interested in the cantina.
They arrived at the hair stylists that Leia had mentioned, and Sol asked about the possibility of having her hair cut. The service droid beside the bead-curtained doorway informed her in Binary of the price and that they could fit her in at any time. Sol decided that it wouldn't hurt to treat herself, and crouched down beside Luke and Leia as the droid informed the stylist inside the hut.
'Can you two stick together while I sit in the chair? You must stay in my sight,' Sol looked between the two as she opened Luke's palm to hold Leia's hand.
'Yes, Mummy, we will.'
Sol smiled at their combined answer. She then stood up and guided the two into the stylist.
---
'Mummy, it's so short!'
'I like it!'
'Does it look good?' Sol fiddled with the ends as she and the twins stood outside the stylist.
'Yes!'
After twenty minutes, the stylist had cut off Sol's knotted ends until they reached just past her shoulders. Her neck felt a great deal of relief at not having to heave around a heavy ponytail, and Sol had even asked the stylist to redo her bangs that had was immersed in the rest of her hair. They were nearly undetectable in the mass, but now they framed her face again and Sol felt fresher and lighter in the shoulders.
'Now, we need to get that boiler part,' Sol said and took Luke and Leia's hands again. She stepped out into the street and looked to the left, hoping to see a sign displaying 'Molynaz's parts'. But with no luck, Sol decided she would look for a shop that displayed parts out the front and hope that it was what she was looking for.
'Mummy, my eyes hurt,' Leia whined as they walked.
'Here,' Sol stopped and crouched down beside the little girl. 'Let me see.'
Leia tilted her head back and struggled to open the eye that she had been rubbing with the ball of her palm. Sol briefly let go of Luke's hand to firmly pull Leia's eyelid open and was able to see the redness that surrounded the brown lenses. Her purple eyes weren't accepting of the foreign objects and were reddening with irritation.
'Oh, Maker, you poor thing-'
'Mum, Look out!'
Sol grabbed Leia underneath her arms and heaved her upwards. In one swift movement, Sol put Leia on her hip and jumped out of the street. While Luke had the warning and time to step onto the other side of the street, Sol had to rely on her old Jedi reflexes in order to avoid the barreling Gamorrean.
The green-skinned porcine squealed as it ran through the street away from four in-pursuit storm troopers. Bystanders watched as the troopers raised their blasters and began shooting at the escaping fugitive. The sound of blasterfire made people gasp and rush to close their shops and take cover behind huts. Sol clutched Leia against her, who had forgotten about her irritated eye and amazed by the sight of the pursuit in the street.
Unfortunately, Sol couldn't reach Luke, who stood with his mouth agape as he watched the scene in front of him. The blasterfire was ongoing between the family, and Sol had no choice but to watch as Luke stood what seemed like a world away. But she would never let anything happen to him and would direct any blasts away from him if they were to somehow veer off course.
It would be extremely risky to use the Force in front of storm troopers, but a mother would do anything to protect her child; even if it meant exposing who Sol was as a Jedi.
In a gruesome end, the Gamorrean let out a loud squeal as a blast burnt a hole in its back. It wasn't enough to kill the porcine, but it was sent falling into the sand and allowed the storm troopers to arrest him.
With hand cuffs around its large wrists, the Gamorrean struggled as it was dragged through the street towards the speeder outside the cantina. Sol assumed that the pursuit had begun inside the criminal-ridden place.
'You're under arrest for your war crimes AND in the attempt to evade the Empire,' the digitalised voice of a storm trooper sounded as the scuffle passed Sol. While she was busy waiting for the scene to be far enough away, Luke went to dash across the street to reunite with his mother and twin sister. But what he didn't see was the storm trooper that was bringing up the rear of the group.
Luke collided with the soldier and learnt how solid their armour actually was as it made contact with his face. With an 'oof', Luke stumbled backwards and kicked up sand from his loss of balance. The blonde boy was able to stabilise himself but fell into a deep fear as the armoured soldier turned its haunting helmet to look down at him.
'Watch yourself, boy!'
'Luke!' Sol cried once she noticed the interaction and rushed into the street with Leia still in her arms.
'I-I'm sorry, sir...' Luke stuttered, his voice shaky. As his mother stepped in front of him and blocked the trooper from burning through him with its heated stare, Luke took hold of the back of Sol's pants. They acted as a comfort in his shaking fists, and Luke hoped that his mother wouldn't suffer because of his carelessness He had never seen a storm trooper so close up and never wanted to have an encounter with one again.
'I am so sorry. H-He wasn't looking where he was going,' Sol rushed out without thinking and placed Leia down in the sand beside her. The girl joined her twin behind their mother and knew that it wasn't time for her usual attitude.
When standing in front of the storm trooper, Sol felt the need to straighten her back and keep her hands free. She became aware of her belt underneath her poncho that kept her lightsaber at the small of her back. The last thing she wanted to do was to use it, but if the safety of the twins was threatened, she wouldn't hesitate to ignite its blade for everyone to see. At the clenching fists on the back of her cuffed pants, Sol knew that they were falling into dangerous territory. The intensity in the Force made Sol want to get the twins back to the speeder, but the storm trooper was hanging around for longer than she liked.
'You should keep your children under control,' the trooper said with a motion of his hand to the twins behind Sol. 'Getting involved in Empire business could be fatal for a mere child.'
'Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.'
Sol thought that it was the end of the interaction. She forgot about heading to Monylaz's for parts and wanted to get back to the Wastelands as fast as possible. She would come back to Mos Eisley another day, but today, there was no chance that she would be able to take the twins into another shop after watching a Gamorrean get shot and after bumping into a storm trooper.
'Do you have some identification on you?'
And there it was. Sol had to stop herself from visibly gasping at the request. Her heart plummeted into her stomach and the hairs on the back of her neck straightened upwards. The Force alerted her of the possibility of conflict, and Sol had to channel its guidance to resist the urge to reach for her lightsaber. The storm trooper was stoic with his helmet's expression and the blaster was on his belt next to his hanging hand. If he was alerted to any sign of resistance, he could shoot her or the twins without a second thought. The Empire were ruthless, and if the trooper was suspicious of Sol, he could arrest her, and she would be closer to Darth Vader than she had ever dared to be.
'U-Uh yes...' Sol shakily reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out her identification card. With a glance up to the awaiting storm trooper, Sol gripped the corner of the piece of paper and held it out reluctantly.
As the trooper took Sol's identification, her mind raced with all the things that could go wrong. Obi-wan had been the one to get two forged identification cards from a vendor in Mos Espa. One identified Ben Kenobi, while the other showed Satele Skywalker. After paying an astonishing amount, the two were able to go by undetected with partially fake names.
'Skywalker?' the storm trooper read aloud and looked up at Sol from the card. She lowered her head in an unsure nod, and the twins peaked their heads out from around their mother's legs. The pause in the storm trooper's reaction made Sol panic, and she raised her hand in preparation.
'Never heard of you,' he dismissed. Holding out the identification card, the storm trooper watched as Sol's shoulders subtly relaxed. She gave a jagged smile and took the card.
She spent the next few moments soothing her hammering heart. She tried to focus on calming her shaking fingers as they worked to slide the card back into her pocket. As the woman was looking down, the storm trooper eyed her with a pretense that made him uneasy. There was a series of blinks from her eyes that seemed unnatural, and when he looked at the young girl that peered out below, he saw an irritation surrounding her irises.
'We'll just be going now, sir,' Sol glanced up at the storm trooper, forced a smile, before looking down to take Leia and Luke's hands into hers.
From the turn of Sol's head, the storm trooper caught a glimpse of the abnormity in her right eye. Where her eyeball should be flat, there was an extra layer of something brown. Suddenly, a past order appeared in the storm trooper's head. He remembered the characteristic that had been unique in a humanoid species that all troops were to search for in their missions.
'Two Jedi are on the run that are of high importance to Lord Vader. A woman with purple eyes and a man are said to be escaping the Empire, and they are to be brought to Lord Vader's destroyer immediately. They are armed and dangerous.'
'Are you wearing lenses for any particular reason, Miss Skywalker?' the trooper placed his hand on his blaster as he addressed her with a somewhat mocking tone. The question made Sol's gaze shoot up and her throat dried in an instant. She saw the white hand that rested on the blaster and her senses flared with the incoming danger.
'You're under arrest-'
'I am not the person you are looking for,' Sol said in a monotone voice and with two fingers swiping in front of her chest. She had no choice but to attempt a Jedi mind-trick as the storm trooper was about to create a scene in the street of bystanders. There were still many storm troopers lingering around the cantina, and she would never escape with Luke and Leia if she was arrested.
The twins were amazed to see the storm trooper stiffen. The hand that once reached for the blaster paused before it moved to be by its armoured thigh. The Skywalker children exchanged looks of wide eyes and hanging jaws, before they eyed their mother who kept her composure at the sensing of danger. They dared not to look away in fear of missing the movements of Sol's hand that somehow entranced the storm trooper, and they believed that their mother had been hiding some magic powers.
'You are not the person I am looking for,' his robotic-like voice sounded.
'You will forget that you saw us and will return to your team without mentioning you stopped us,' Sol said with another raise of her hand.
'I will forget that I saw you and will return to my team without mentioning I stopped you.'
Without a sign of resistance, the storm trooper turned away from the woman and headed back towards the cantina. As if Luke had never bumped into him and brought the interaction to Sol, the storm trooper walked with his guard up looking for any suspicious behaviour on either side of the street. He reached the group of troopers that were securing the Gamorrean in a paddywaggan speeder. Never once did the helmet turn over his shoulder to acknowledge the family, and they were completely forgotten from the trooper's mind.
'How did you do that, Mum?' Luke questioned. He looked up at his mother in awe and hadn't loosened the grip on her pant leg. Leia stayed watching the storm trooper that regrouped outside the cantina and vowed to never complain about her lenses ever again.
'Let's go, you two.'
Sol didn't bother to wait for them to start walking. She took their hands and yanked them in the direction of their speeder. She didn't like the fact that they had to walk past the cantina and the storm troopers to get there, but with her head down, she hurried the kids along the street with gritted teeth. The sand beneath their boots were kicked into the air from her and the twins' quick steps, and the two kids struggled to keep up with their frantic mother.
'Wait, Mum! I can't move that fast!'
Leia's whines were ignored as Sol made it past the cantina and was set on arriving back at their parked speeder.
'What was the issue with that woman?' a storm trooper asked the soldier that was the last to regroup. As they secured the Gamorrean, the addressed trooper raised his head in confusion.
'What woman? I never spoke to anyone?'
'TL 494!' the said trooper turned to his superior at the call of his identification number. 'You're on search duty!'
The confused trooper was pulled away from the inquiring soldier. With a glance towards the retreating woman and her two children, the soldier that had questioned 494 was suspicious. He had clearly seen his co-worker stop the woman and had watched him check her identification card. But after she had scurried away, 494 acted as if he had never spoken to her in the first place.
He remembered faces of the woman and her children and would remember to question 494 further at a later time.