On the Wings of Valkyrie

Chapter LXIX

"Where is my apprentice?!" It was a booming growl that left Vader's throat as he glowered at the armored holo of some officer working under the division that had been assigned to Luna.

"M-m-my Lord, there was a-uh, explosion. We are re-grouping—"

"That was not my question," the Sith hissed, already planning to snap the useless trooper's neck. There was only one reason the dark lord didn't follow through on it.

He could feel her again. Injured, but alive. The heart attack he was experiencing calmed somewhat at the new piece of information as Vader reached out into the Force, wrapping his presence around Luna's. He noticed she was more annoyed and embarrassed than wounded.

Wait for them to dig you out, Vader ordered before the girl could begin using the Force to escape the pile of rubble she had found herself buried under upon returning to consciousness. This was becoming a far too common occurrence—how many times can one Sith apprentice have something collapse on top of her in one month?

The answer was far, far too many. Vader was having serious second thoughts on letting the girl lead her own missions. It didn't help that she had a habit of hiding herself from the Force the moment she was in serious pain or danger—it appeared there were still old instincts from the Clone Wars he needed to train out of her.

I'm not in it that deep, Luna argued, more than ready to throw the rubble off herself and spring from the newly made hole like some sort of sea monster from the water. Assuming that it was a small enough distance between her and the surface and there were not larger pieces around her that were being held up by what was on top of her, there were the troops and transports to consider—given Vader was more concerned about the latter as he would prefer as little delay as possible when it came to her return.

I am this close to grounding you for the rest of the year, young one. Do not push it, the Sith Lord growled in response. The threat did it's job. Luna relaxed, grumbling a few choice words in Huttese that Vader chose to ignore even as he wondered where in the galaxy his little apprentice had picked up the language.

The now calmer Sith Lord turned his attention back to the holo of the shaking trooper, silently considering if he should find a different officer before deciding it would take too much time and honestly did he trust the ground troopers who'd been assigned to the planetary garrison?

"Prepare my shuttle," Vader ordered, turning to leave the bridge.

Master, that really isn't necessary, Luna began. He ignored her.

The Sith Lord would just have to dig his precious little apprentice out of the earth himself. Again.

This was becoming a horrible habit. What were they going to do when this happened and Vader wasn't waiting for her in orbit?

....Better not to think on it. That was a problem for the future. The very distant future that wasn't distant enough. At least not with the way Luna was progressing. She was a quick learner and a natural in most fields—the slowest thing the girl had taken to was a leadership role, and Luna had overcome that quickly enough as she became used to her place of power as his apprentice, to the role he'd created especially for her. How long would he be able to keep her at his side in good faith without holding her back? It was a mistake Vader's own old master had committed, and the Sith by no means was about to commit the same one with her. That said, he was growing far too used to having her with him again....

Again, that was a problem for the future. Vader would get to it when he got to it and not a moment before.

For the moment, Luna needed him nearby. That was more than enough—even if it meant he'd have to rescue her from a collapsed building every few days.

They really did need to break that habit.

~*~

"Everything alright, Father?"

"....Yes," Vader responded after a too long moment, though he knew it wasn't a very truthful answer. He suddenly had a very bad feeling that Luna's luck had stricken again, though the specifics were far from known since he hadn't the slightest idea of what the girl might possibly be up to.

The fact she may be up to something several meters under debris did little to make him feel any better. But the fact he'd sensed a possible....

Could she be in Sith Space? She'd have to be for him to sense it with her shielding....

And now he was thinking through all the deadly creatures on the numerous planets who unitized caves and other abandoned structures for shelter.

Perhaps if he set aside some time to meditate, he could track down the location of the planet she was on. Assuming her shields had fallen significantly to allow it.... Perhaps being on a Sith plant would work in his favor. There was old power present on Dromand Kaas, especially in certain areas, and Vader could use it to his advantage provided he could manage to locate the proper place, bend the dark energy to his will. And that Luke could wait outside without attracting unwanted attention.

But they'd have to move quickly if he was going to try it and successfully catch her—once again assuming she was actually in Sith Space. And she was actually trapped somewhere—not in direct danger or seriously hurt when it came to injuries, Vader would know that with certainty were it the case. And assuming all of that went well, there was the fact Luna wasn't likely to stay in place if she knew he was nearby. If the girl happened to be stuck under a respectable pile of debris and sensed him nearby, she might get a bit hasty in digging herself out and get hurt in the process....

No, Vader wouldn't act, at least not until a few of the possibilities were actualities.