Dried and scratchy, the tissue of your throat clenched as you forced yourself to take controlled breaths at an even pace. Those heaving gasps refused to become lax, keeping your pulse frantic. Thoroughly soaked in a cold coating of sweat, you found yourself laid out on the floor of the hangar, listening to the wheezing sound of your own breath and the predictable rhythm of trooper boot falls. 

And though they were all duty bound to ensure your life alway came before their own, none of them came within arm’s reach. Each one of the troopers marched past you, securing the premises of the Imperial base, and as they tended to their duty, you could sense the consuming presence of your master approaching with great urgency. 

Though awash with fear, you pushed yourself upright and to your feet in an attempt to allay some of your master’s concern. 

“Master, I did everything I could.” You started, your voice sounding painfully hoarse. “I meant to send a communication as soon as possible, I really did…”

Lord Vader, in the presence of all his men and women strode over to his young apprentice with a great sense of urgency, that twinge of vulnerability buried under a cultivated portrayal of animosity.

“You’re burned.” 

In veined patches all along the body of his beloved apprentice, it was viscerally apparent the injuries had been rapid and vicious in razing their soft flesh. 

His gaze drifted to the floor of the outpost hangar where the bodies of at least a dozen rebels laid out, their limbs petrified and skin scorched in a similar fashion. Among the fallen, laid a singular jedi, marked by the lightsaber clutched rigidly in her grasp. 

“And did they hurt you?”

You shook your head, sparing him half a glance before looking to the side. Had you been anyone else, Lord Vader would have found such a quiet and dismissive disposition incredibly rude, though in the few years of your apprenticeship, he had learned through regrettable trial and error that any supposed aversion to the polite merely had another purpose. 

“No, my lord Vader. What happened was my own fault.” Your shoulders visibly edged upwards as your eyes flickered from side to side. “I should have sensed the intruders and I should have been more focused with my use of the Force. Please, my lord Vader, forgive me. I should have noticed the breach in the outpost sooner…”

Gathering his thoughts and quelling the torrent of initial speculation in his own mind, Vader turned on the heel of his boot, walking in the direction of his personal transport shuttle. Dutifully, you followed behind him, the sound of your boots soft against the durasteel floor. 

With the shutter of the door sliding firmly into place, Vader beckoned you forward and without question, you stood within arm’s reach. Your pain was vigorous, piercing the previous steady nature of your shared bond. Though you had just started to learn the intricacies of taming such pain, masking it with an impassive guise that remained rooted in detachment, there was no degree of separation that could have separated Lord Vader from your suffering. 

“Quiet your mind to the degree that you are able in this moment, young one. I shall take care of the rest.” 

You had always struggled with degrees of vulnerability. It was undoubtedly being deprived of that vital sense of sight, and subjecting yourself to the will of another that set you on edge. 

Patience ruling his better nature, Vader placed both hands on either side of your head. 

It was yet another moment where he was regrettably consumed by the incisive memory of his old master. Utilizing that old man’s method of soothing a damaged mind left the Sith lord in a slight state of bitterness. But that bitterness could be set aside, it was trivial when laid in comparison to your anguish. 

“Keep still, young one.” He reminded you firmly as your body started to shift somewhat. “It is only you and I, and once we calm that mind of yours, I can help tend to your wounds.”

Letting his own presence within the Force consume you so wholly, he could feel the tension in your body start to dissipate, the streamlined panic that left you in utter shambles became undone for the time being. Left in a state of heavily dazed tranquility, Vader placed his hands on the slope of your shoulders, guiding you to one of the shuttle passenger seats. 

His own tact for healing was far from abysmal, but it was, by no means exceptional. 

“I really am sorry, my Lord Vader. It was never my intention to bring you disgrace by losing control and failing your expectations for me here. I assure you I will redouble my training efforts.”

Setting your statement aside, Vader kept his own gaze fixated on your burn wounds as the singed flesh knit itself back together with the aid of the Force.

“The pattern of these wounds are exceptionally curious, young one. And I am most curious as to how these were inflicted. Tell me truly, was it the work of that Jedi you felled?”

That sway of induced calm left you less coiled with tension, easing the truth right out of your mouth. 

“No, my lord. It was my own doing. Inadvertently.” You added quickly.

Nodding once, he considered your answer. “A loss of control over your guided lightning, I presume?”

“Yes, my lord. When the Jedi and her tactical team entered, I recognized her immediately. She was once a creche master back before the establishment of the Empire. I suppose she survived that night and joined the ranks of the rebels…But she recognized me as well…I could see it in her expression and she kept saying I could go with them ,I could escape and I would be safe, and I wouldn’t have to be so scared anymore–”

 His gloved hand tightened around your arm with restrained ire. “You would do well to silence yourself when it comes to such blasphemous lies, my young apprentice. Do you not remember how I found you?”

“No, my master. I remember perfectly.” 

When two beats of silence followed, he endeavored to remind you further. “What do you suppose would have become of such a small initiate, left alone with intent by the Jedi who should have been there to protect them? Had I not been there with mercy, undoubtedly your life would have ended only a few years after it nearly began.” 

With your wounds now cleanly healed in thanks to his benefaction, Vader’s hands grasped your own. He could recall his last few memories of the Jedi Temple with broiling disdain, and yet there was you. That little tear-stained thing left alone in the creche, shaking sobs that made your whole body tremble as he entered that room. And even in all his vehement glory, you had run up to him, with the unbridled belief that he was there to deliver you from the chaos born of his own revolution. 

It had struck him as so profoundly strange, there was little else he could do aside from plucking you off of the floor of the creche and into his arms

 There would have been no benefit to see you slain, body cast along with the others. It would have been an egregious waste of a Force sensitive lifeform and then there was that poignant ache in his chest when he felt you relax against him. Though he had been sure you could feel at least on a very basic level, the truth of his new nature, you were still able to find comfort in his tumultuous presence. 

“ I know, master.” Your voice remained quiet as you searched for the proper words. “I meant no offense. Trust me, my lord Vader, I remember all too well those Jedi left me to die in that temple. But that, in a way, was what led me to having such injuries. When that Jedi tried to get me to leave with her, all those memories consumed my mind and I could feel the Force flowing through me so…violently.”

“And so that offers an explanation as to your wounds and the fallen Jedi.” Vader mused, squeezing your hands slightly. “But tell me this, my young one, what do you believe made you lose that sense of control?”

Your expression stiffened, the muscles of your jaw twitching just enough for him to notice.

“That feeling of hate. Remembering the feeling of being left by those who I thought would have protected me.”

“Ah. So you see, young one, it is that hate we must seize. It is untamed now, usual for one your age, but we must take it and reconstruct that feeling for your own betterment and that of what is precious to you. And though that may appear to be a monumental task for someone so young, I am more than capable of guiding you. It is your duty to heed all that I say and all that I ask of you.”

“My lord, there isn’t a need really for you to remind me of that.”