Fic: Resonance

[beatrice_otter]

Title: Resonance
Author: beatrice_otter
Fandom: Star Wars
Rating: PG
Characters: Darth Vader
Word Count: 478
Written For: imadra_blue
Prompt: So, what happened in ESB between Leia and Vader when she was tortured? Why did he keep changing his mind and insisting on bringing her with him?

 

When his troopers informed him the torture device was ready, Vader did not order Princess Leia brought from her cell.  He had planned to; he of all men knew exactly how far a man would go to save the woman he loved.  He ordered Captain Solo brought, instead, and told himself that his son would surely respond more quickly to a man he had fought side-by-side with than a woman he surely could not see often, given the disparity in their rank.  (But how often had he seen Padmé?)

If the smuggler’s suffering did not produce his son quickly enough, the Princess could be used as additional bait.  Her suffering had resonated so deeply in the Force on the Death Star; it would be a shining beacon in the darkness.  She was beautiful, fierce, intelligent—surely, any young man who knew her would fall in love.  Worship her, if only from afar.  Lust after her body, her strength, her certainty.  (That was wrong.  But everything had been wrong for him and in him for as long as he cared to remember.)

He watched the surveillance of her cell.  She searched it thoroughly but found nothing—his men knew their business.  He ordered her moved to the smuggler’s cell; the two of them seemed to draw strength from one another; that would make their Force signature that much more powerful, easier to find for his half-trained son.  She comforted the smuggler as a new lover, assessed escape possibilities with a cool eye, kept her fear in check.  (Padmé.  Geonosis.)

He’d said she would be free to go once he had captured his son, but she would go straight back to the rebellion.  He’d thought to track her to it, but she was too smart.  She would not go directly, would check for homing beacons and tracers, make sure she’d lost any pursuers.  Eventually she might be recaptured.  Tortured for information.  Better she not be given the chance to go back.  Safer to keep her contained, for the Empire’s sake.  (But not even Padmé could challenge the Empire.)

He watched her in the carbon-freezing chamber as her heart broke, lover torn away by the needs of the Empire.  Her face stained red by the lights, mining equipment in the background, she looked like (Padmé) an angel in Hell.

This former smuggler, this traitor to his friend, would never be able to contain her here.  Even if he truly wished to—and he had made it clear he did not—she was no useless politician to sit wringing her hands under house arrest as so many of her colleagues in the Senate had, and this was no Imperial prison.  No.  She would escape, by any means necessary, and then she would carry on with her work.  He would take her with him when he left.  She would not escape him.  (Again.)

 

Comments

[tonichelle.livejournal.com]

ooooooooo I really really like this one!

good job!

[beatrice_otter]

Thanks for reviewing! I had fun writing it.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Really Nice. I don't even read Star Wars fic, though of course I've seen the movies. But I really like this. Short and to the point. Something I cannot seem to manage to save my life. Well done.

[beatrice_otter]

This one kind of wrote itself. I'd said all these prompt fics would be at least 500 words, but this one--I put in as much as I could, but if I'd padded it any more it would have lost its impact. I don't read much SW fanfic myself, though I've always loved the movies.

Thanks for reviewing!

[jedi-em.livejournal.com]

Oooh, really nice. I love the parallels you draw here between Leia and Padmé. It's quite convincing that Vader would view them so similarly.

Good work and thanks for sharing. :)

[beatrice_otter]

Lucas himself drew very clear parallels between father and son and mother and daughter; and I personally think Vader never got over the issues he'd had as Anakin Skywalker. I doubt Palpatine would have allowed him to; he'd have been more difficult to control, without those triggers.

Thanks for reviewing!

[luminations.livejournal.com]

This is a yummy little fic! So Vader does remember Padmé, hmmm? Interesting how he compares Leia to her. Nice approach you took to this.

[beatrice_otter]

Considering his entire life revolved around his need for her--or at least the picture of her he had built up in his head--and the decisions he made to cater to that need, I don't see how he could possibly forget her. No matter how much he might want to.

Thanks for reviewing!

[freckledmemory.livejournal.com]

Very unusual story but I like it. Vader recognises something about Leia but as usual he's got his head in the sand. I do like the way he reasons his way through his actions and yet is teased by his reminders of Padme.

[beatrice_otter]

I don't see any way for Vader--and the shreds of Anakin left within him--to have lived with himself but to bury his head in the sand. And he made the image of Padme in his head the thing around which his life revolved.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Sorry to take so long. I was in New York and Connecticut

Oh, a very nice take on the situation. I love all the comparisons and contrasts, spoken and unspoken, that you made between Leia and Padme. Very subtle nod to her powers, as well. The characterization was spot on. Thank you so much for writing it! ♥

[beatrice_otter]

No problem. It was a fun prompt to do, once I got into it. I was going to make it longer, but then I realized--anything more I could add to it would just lessen the impact.

[sunnyskywalker]

Oh, this is amazing! The very last word just killed me.

[beatrice_otter]

I'm glad you liked it! I had a lot of fun writing it. Thanks for reviewing.

[envi90.livejournal.com]

That was nice. I liked it. ^^

[beatrice_otter]

Thank you.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_darthvader_/]

Wow. Once more this just blew me away I loved the insights and that small voice that whispers in his thoughts leaving one to wonder if its the voice of his conscience or madness. Beautiful job!

[beatrice_otter]

Thank you! I can't see anyone serving the Emperor for that long without going a little mad, but I wouldn't say the whispers are madness. Perhaps the Force.

[senmut]

I love this. It's a very good POV for Vader at that point!

[beatrice_otter]

Thank you!