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Title: A Worthy Apprentice
Author: speedy
Fandom(s): Star Wars
Genre: Gen
Pairing/Characters: Palpatine, Darth Vader, Leia Organa
Rating: G
Summary: Sheev Palpatine wasn’t an idiot. He’d known Padmé Amidala as a teenager and the Organa girl was her spitting image. Except for the smirk- that was pure Skywalker.
Notes: Posted an earlier version of this to tumblr a few weeks ago, this is the final version.
Sheev Palpatine wasn’t an idiot.
He’d known Padmé Amidala as a teenager and the Organa girl was her spitting image. Except for the smirk- that was pure Skywalker. He had never had cause to interact with the girl before her entrance into the Senate. The Organas had been intelligent enough to keep the girl from his and Vader’s sight until publicly unveiling her, her kidnapping by a rogue Inquisitor not withstanding. Although, her apparent parentage certainly explained Kenobi’s role in that affair and distracted Vader from the truth staring him in the face.
So, yes, Palpatine knew from her first moments in the Senate exactly who Leia Organa was.
He’d entertained thoughts of enticing her into his web, certain she’d be as powerful as Vader had been as a youth. Treats, a sympathetic ear, stories of her true parents and the power she was entitled to. The difference in politics was little matter- he was sure he could coax her to his side. He’d been able to manipulate both of her birth parents easy enough. She was young and reckless, inexperienced in political machinations, but her speeches had shown she had her mother’s keen political mind.
A worthy apprentice after the disappointment of Anakin Skywalker.
It was customary for a new Senator to be presented to the Emperor at his convenience. She was no exception. He’d planned every detail of the meeting. He may not have had much use for social niceties as Emperor, but they weren’t the type of skills one forgot easily. Unfortunately, her scheduled appointment came on the heels of another public atrocity committed by Vader. Palpatine cared little about the violence his apprentice used, only about the public nature of the debacle. His people were working overtime to ensure the news did not spread further and spin what was public in the Empire’s favor. Vader was enroute to answer for his mistakes.
The meeting started out well enough. He’d dismissed the guards and her aides. Alderaanian floral tea favored by Breha Organa, Nubian pastries he knew to be Amidala’s favorite, and other baked goods were served, while they made trivial small talk. She was intelligent, bright, and well-trained. Her words were guarded, deliberate, giving away little. While her words were very much influenced by Bail Organa and reminiscent of Padmé Amidala, her tone had a sharp edge that reminded him of teenage Anakin. She even favored the same sweet cakes he had.
Palpatine would enjoy breaking her.
That was the moment, before Palpatine could even begin to tempt the girl, Vader decided to storm into the throne room and vent his displeasure.
On a normal day, Vader’s casual dismissal of Senators was an annoyance. On this day, it was a catastrophe.
Palpatine was actually impressed with how quickly the situation deteriorated. And with how quickly they forgot he was there.
Organa pointed out his lack of manners. Vader pointed out the uselessness of the Senate.
Organa pointed out his lack of official position within the Empire, implying he was little more than an errand boy. Vader pointed out her lack of biological parents.
(Get a clue, Anakin.)
Organa pointed out his violent tendencies, also implying she knew far more about the previous day’s events than Palpatine was comfortable with. Vader pointed out she associated with criminals, specifically Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Palpatine just put his head in his hands. Every time he thought he broke his apprentice’s obsession with his former master, Vader would start saying the dreaded name again.
(Was it too late to return him?)
When he looked up, the girl had her hands on her hips and her head tilted to the side, mirroring Vader. It was remarkable how much she resembled teenaged Anakin Skywalker in that moment. The sass coming from her mouth was all Anakin too.
His apprentice was too dense to notice.
His apprentice was also too dense to not to take the bait and stop arguing with a teenager.
“Silence.”
They continued to argue as if he wasn’t in the room. The gall of both of them. He pushed down the urge to unleash force lightning on them both. Appearances must still be maintained, after all.
“Silence!” he roared.
Both startled. The similarity between them would have been comical if he hadn’t been so enraged.
Organa showed the good sense to at least look guilty. She’d had diplomatic training; she surely knew the faux pas she’d just committed. Vader, on the other hand, he didn’t need the force to know Vader was still seething. He’d hardly bothered to use his diplomatic training when he was a Jedi, it seemed to have been forgotten entirely since.
While dense and oblivious at times (like now), Vader wasn’t stupid. He would absolutely realize the threat to his own position and act accordingly. Or possibly he’d discover the truth and finally try to break his chains.
And Organa seemed to be cut from similar cloth.
Palpatine couldn’t do it. He couldn’t deal with two of them at once.
He refused to spend his time playing referee between father and daughter. Refused.
Maybe if Vader finally got his wish and died, Palpatine would try again. But as it stood, he no longer had any desire to try and break Anakin 2.0 while the original was still around and causing him so many headaches.
“Senator Organa, I apologize for ending our meeting so early, but I must speak to Lord Vader quite urgently.”
The girl glanced at Vader and smirked. “Of course, I understand, your Majesty.”
“Please give my regards to the Queen and the Viceroy.”
“Of course. Good day, your Majesty,” she said, bowing according to her station. She smirked at Vader as she turned towards the door. “Lord Vader.”
Palpatine waited until the door closed behind her to finally release his anger on his apprentice.
He made a mental note to plan for when Vader discovered Amidala’s child lived. It wouldn’t do to be unprepared for such an eventuality.
Author: speedy
Fandom(s): Star Wars
Genre: Gen
Pairing/Characters: Palpatine, Darth Vader, Leia Organa
Rating: G
Summary: Sheev Palpatine wasn’t an idiot. He’d known Padmé Amidala as a teenager and the Organa girl was her spitting image. Except for the smirk- that was pure Skywalker.
Notes: Posted an earlier version of this to tumblr a few weeks ago, this is the final version.
Sheev Palpatine wasn’t an idiot.
He’d known Padmé Amidala as a teenager and the Organa girl was her spitting image. Except for the smirk- that was pure Skywalker. He had never had cause to interact with the girl before her entrance into the Senate. The Organas had been intelligent enough to keep the girl from his and Vader’s sight until publicly unveiling her, her kidnapping by a rogue Inquisitor not withstanding. Although, her apparent parentage certainly explained Kenobi’s role in that affair and distracted Vader from the truth staring him in the face.
So, yes, Palpatine knew from her first moments in the Senate exactly who Leia Organa was.
He’d entertained thoughts of enticing her into his web, certain she’d be as powerful as Vader had been as a youth. Treats, a sympathetic ear, stories of her true parents and the power she was entitled to. The difference in politics was little matter- he was sure he could coax her to his side. He’d been able to manipulate both of her birth parents easy enough. She was young and reckless, inexperienced in political machinations, but her speeches had shown she had her mother’s keen political mind.
A worthy apprentice after the disappointment of Anakin Skywalker.
It was customary for a new Senator to be presented to the Emperor at his convenience. She was no exception. He’d planned every detail of the meeting. He may not have had much use for social niceties as Emperor, but they weren’t the type of skills one forgot easily. Unfortunately, her scheduled appointment came on the heels of another public atrocity committed by Vader. Palpatine cared little about the violence his apprentice used, only about the public nature of the debacle. His people were working overtime to ensure the news did not spread further and spin what was public in the Empire’s favor. Vader was enroute to answer for his mistakes.
The meeting started out well enough. He’d dismissed the guards and her aides. Alderaanian floral tea favored by Breha Organa, Nubian pastries he knew to be Amidala’s favorite, and other baked goods were served, while they made trivial small talk. She was intelligent, bright, and well-trained. Her words were guarded, deliberate, giving away little. While her words were very much influenced by Bail Organa and reminiscent of Padmé Amidala, her tone had a sharp edge that reminded him of teenage Anakin. She even favored the same sweet cakes he had.
Palpatine would enjoy breaking her.
That was the moment, before Palpatine could even begin to tempt the girl, Vader decided to storm into the throne room and vent his displeasure.
On a normal day, Vader’s casual dismissal of Senators was an annoyance. On this day, it was a catastrophe.
Palpatine was actually impressed with how quickly the situation deteriorated. And with how quickly they forgot he was there.
Organa pointed out his lack of manners. Vader pointed out the uselessness of the Senate.
Organa pointed out his lack of official position within the Empire, implying he was little more than an errand boy. Vader pointed out her lack of biological parents.
(Get a clue, Anakin.)
Organa pointed out his violent tendencies, also implying she knew far more about the previous day’s events than Palpatine was comfortable with. Vader pointed out she associated with criminals, specifically Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Palpatine just put his head in his hands. Every time he thought he broke his apprentice’s obsession with his former master, Vader would start saying the dreaded name again.
(Was it too late to return him?)
When he looked up, the girl had her hands on her hips and her head tilted to the side, mirroring Vader. It was remarkable how much she resembled teenaged Anakin Skywalker in that moment. The sass coming from her mouth was all Anakin too.
His apprentice was too dense to notice.
His apprentice was also too dense to not to take the bait and stop arguing with a teenager.
“Silence.”
They continued to argue as if he wasn’t in the room. The gall of both of them. He pushed down the urge to unleash force lightning on them both. Appearances must still be maintained, after all.
“Silence!” he roared.
Both startled. The similarity between them would have been comical if he hadn’t been so enraged.
Organa showed the good sense to at least look guilty. She’d had diplomatic training; she surely knew the faux pas she’d just committed. Vader, on the other hand, he didn’t need the force to know Vader was still seething. He’d hardly bothered to use his diplomatic training when he was a Jedi, it seemed to have been forgotten entirely since.
While dense and oblivious at times (like now), Vader wasn’t stupid. He would absolutely realize the threat to his own position and act accordingly. Or possibly he’d discover the truth and finally try to break his chains.
And Organa seemed to be cut from similar cloth.
Palpatine couldn’t do it. He couldn’t deal with two of them at once.
He refused to spend his time playing referee between father and daughter. Refused.
Maybe if Vader finally got his wish and died, Palpatine would try again. But as it stood, he no longer had any desire to try and break Anakin 2.0 while the original was still around and causing him so many headaches.
“Senator Organa, I apologize for ending our meeting so early, but I must speak to Lord Vader quite urgently.”
The girl glanced at Vader and smirked. “Of course, I understand, your Majesty.”
“Please give my regards to the Queen and the Viceroy.”
“Of course. Good day, your Majesty,” she said, bowing according to her station. She smirked at Vader as she turned towards the door. “Lord Vader.”
Palpatine waited until the door closed behind her to finally release his anger on his apprentice.
He made a mental note to plan for when Vader discovered Amidala’s child lived. It wouldn’t do to be unprepared for such an eventuality.
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