astramajestic:

            ^{his eyes are so beautiful. all the hopes and dreams they’d ever had encapsulated in the bright flame of a dying star. how the previous iterations of herself had ever hoped to keep him from going NOVA was beyond her now that she’d learned to burn along side of him. the man at their feet is a pale imitation of humanity, more tiring than it was interesting and she’s so bored of these baser creatures now, their banal ways are tiring. without being a sith she wonders if this is what had driven in the empire of the past to atrocity, the desire to burn their names into the night sky so that long after they were dead humanity would weep at the memory of their once god-kings. the breath that stirs in her lungs makes her chest lift and a sigh makes the color of her skin noticeable under her shift.}

            ^{padme gets to her knees so she can look him in the eye, taking in the man before her. she sits in front of the man who had thought to call her a traitor and holds his cheeks in her dainty hands. her eyes, distant, so dark, the deep chocolate these days is the dull ache of black velvet. she pulls herself closer to him, to the unnamed soldier. the sweet void that fills her dares him to lash out.            “you are going to die. but there are things worse than death. i’ve seen them,”            she offers, and it’s the standard line, her tone dipping to a hush as they caress the words she speaks.}

            ^{“i don’t expect you to understand what divinity feels like. i’m so far from you, but so close at the same time. i’m going to do awful things, so much is going to be done in my name that they’re going to try and reconcile in the history books. entire planets, civilizations… you won’t win,”            she assures.}

            ^{“what’s his home planet?”            padme asks anakin as she stands again. her voice has an almost-pleasant floaty quality that on any other woman, one more clothed, less undeniably gone wrong would speak to a measure of innocence.            there’s a hint of a smile that curls at the corners of her lips as her arms wrap around herself.            “family we know of?”}

          VADER TAKES A step forward, drawn to the honeyed poison in his wife’s words as a rancor is drawn to fresh blood. He looks at her like a death penalty, like a bad omen. She’s something only the end can see, his very own dark star. ❝ Naboo, my Lady. He has a daughter— she attends the Flight Training Institute on the Defiance. ❞ The man pales suddenly, he shakes his head from side to side, almost as if he can’t believe what he’s hearing. Vader’s responding smile is cold && slow as ice sliding across a plate.

    ❝ It’s very sentimental to keep your family with you at work. ❞ He tucks a hand into a flap of his dark robes, withdrawing a small holocube that looks like it’d seen better days. A simple hand motion sparks it to life, refracting smooth illumination into noxious glitters. Spidery beams glisten silver across the planes and angles of Vader’s face, the thin lines of strainaround his mouth, until shadowplay washes them aside. A hologram of a young woman in an Imperial uniform sprouts from the center of the cube, along with an automated voice message.

   Hey Dad, it’s me. I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to talk to you before leaving this morning but I just— I think we both know there isn’t much to say. I want this for my life, you can keep living in the past all you want but I know what I need to do if I ever want my children to prosper under the Empress’ stronghold. I’m a good pilot, stars, I could have been great if you weren’t so intent on holding me back all the time!

              The voice cuts out a moment, with a sound like shuffling filling its absence. The rebel’s head hangs bonelessly now, his face hidden in prostration or shame.

   I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. This was supposed to be a nice message. You know where to find me now if you need me. Be careful. I’m not being held hostage, I’ve simply thrown my dart, && this is how it lands.

    ❝ Probably too sentimental for a suicide mission. ❞ Vader flicks off the holocube, boyish humor gleaming in the flash of his teeth.

             The man’s shoulders hitched, fear && grief etched into involuntary muscle spasms. It takes the Sith a moment to realize that he’s crying silently, sobs wracking his thin frame without making a sound.

    ❝ So what then?❞ He asks after a moment, voice embellished with the weight of his tears. ❝ I tell you everythin’ I know or you hurt my daughter? ❞ The dry cough of laughter that escapes him next is chillingly resigned. ❝ I voted for you, y’know. Senator Amidala— I believed in you. ❞