Motherofagoddess

At first, he thought he was hallucinating and ignored the soft whisper of the Force that wrapped around him.

Then it became more insistent, an itch he could no longer ignore as it probed the back of his consciousness. He turned abruptly on his heel, cutting the captain off in the middle of his report, and followed the call off the bridge. It was annoying, at first, an unpleasant buzz as he got closer.

When he got to his private wing, it changed to the sound of someone singing. The voice in the Force wasn't unfamiliar, either, stoking the rage that still burned in his chest as he remembered his childhood. He extended his stride, storming towards a doorway, gripping it with the Force and ripping.

Leia jumped, sending tools and assorted parts flying in all directions as the Sith Lord barged into the workshop she had holed up in. She swore, briefly ignoring his presence as she fished for the parts of the scanner that Tsabin had given her during her visit planet-side. Vader's faceplate snapped to what she was grabbing for, holding out a hand and summoning the crudely fashion mechanism to his palm. He studied it, sneering, "Attempting to contact the Rebellion with this, your highness?"

"No," she snapped, her eyes burning into his. It was eerie, how she was able to do that, he thought briefly, like he couldn't hide. She crossed her arms, "Not like you would believe me anyway, but it's a scanner."

"I can assure you that your room is not bugged," he snarled, tightening his grip. The small motion had her to her feet, almost panicked, "but I can arrange for that to change."

"Slave chips."

He looked at the device, almost dropping it in shock. He looked back at the princess, seeing the righteous fury burning in her eyes, "There is no such device."

"You're holding one," she said, the Force confirming what he refused to believe. "One of many, but my friend said that they've encountered a new type, one that it can't read."

"Prove that it works."

"On what?"

Using the Force, it floats to the surface before her, "Put it back together."

He watches, Leia occasionally glaring up at him as she puts it back together. When it's assembled, the wand-like device beeps as it turns on. He pulls it from her hands, waving the wand across his torso and watching the lights flash red. Leia's face pales, her eyes widening in horror. He tosses it back, "There is validity to your claim."

1. Glad Snow and Baird didn't end up together. The small, still romantic part of me wanted them to, but I loved the Hunger Games in high school and I never liked Snow to begin with.

2. Wow, the Hunger Games was super shitty at first. Not that the idea improved by the time the 74th reaping came, but wow.

3. I love the mystery of Lucy Gray disappearing. While I'm glad Snow/Baird wasn't end game, I really like to imagine that Katniss ends up being his secret, long lost granddaughter.

4. The Hanging Tree- the first time I read it in Mockingjay to seeing it's origin in BOSBAS, I wonder if he had a panic attack hearing Katniss sing it during the propaganda thing. The past coming back to haunt him.