Chapter 22.

                                    

                                          
Vader's POV
                          
__________
                          
"Asajj?"
                          
She looked up quickly, her spoon paused mid-stir in her muesli. "Hm?"
                          
I smiled. That was the second time I had called for her attention. "I've just received news on the Jedi's retaliation. As expected, our assisting the droid army over the last couple of days has had a significant impact on our prospects of winning."
                          
"That's good," she responded absently, continuing to stir her breakfast.
                          
"It is good," I pressed. "If we hadn't shown up, the droids wouldn't be doing half as well as they are now."
                          
She hummed in agreement, her mind still far away.
                          
I chuckled to myself. She had been like that ever since I had given her that kiss. Four days had passed and still her head was in the clouds. I didn't mind too much, though her lack of concentration had meant that I had needed to save her life on the battlefield a few times. That had only served to send her soaring further into happy-memory-dreamland. 
                          
"It shouldn't be long before we win the war," I commented, getting up from the bench and washing my bowl at the sink. "The Jedi just don't fight the same without Obi-Wan as one of their generals. To be fair, they are good. They're just not good enough." I glanced at her, then sighed when she remained immersed in her own world. "I've been thinking we should go after the others soon – probably today. Do you agree?"
                          
She nodded distractedly, her gaze fixed to her nearly empty dish.
                          
I watched her for a minute or two, then checked the tracking device. Their signal was still on Naboo. "How about you finish your breakfast and then we –?" I was cut off by my commlink buzzing. Tapping it to answer the call, I spoke clearly but somewhat confused. "Hello? This is Vader responding."
                          
"General Vader," the nasally whine of a B1 battle droid said blandly, "we are about to invade the opposition's homeland. Shall we proceed?"
                          
"You're at the Jedi Temple?" I asked in surprise. "How did you get there so fast? Never mind, and yes, definitely! We'll be there in two minutes to come and help. If we're going to storm the Temple, I want mine to be the first face they see." 
                          
In approximately one minute and fifty-six seconds, we had arrived at the rendezvous point and were prepared to march on the Jedi Temple. With Asajj at my right hand and three troops of forty-nine battle droids behind me, I was ready to go. My heart pounded in anticipation: I was finally going to exact my revenge on the ones who had so mercilessly betrayed me. I didn't think I could ever forget how they had wrongfully accused me of bombing the Jedi Temple, their home ... my home. I clenched my jaw, blocking out the doubts that began creeping in the corners of my mind. This was not the time to falter; this was the time to win.
                          
And so we stormed the Jedi Temple.
                          
The first to see us coming up the steps was a clone trooper, who immediately sounded the alarm. The Temple burst into life, young ones were rushed away, and Jedi with their troops ran forwards to meet us. But they weren't fast enough to stop us from entering. I knew this place and these people too well to forget how they did things, what their procedures were, and how to circumvent them. That was the problem with defectors; they knew all the secrets.
                          
When I failed to see any of the Council members, I was disappointed. I sighed internally, accepting the fact that I had tricked myself into believing the fantasy that the Jedi actually considered me a threat. If they were truly fearful of me and my abilities, the Jedi Council would be the first to respond. Of course, they did send their best, barring the Council, so I supposed that would have to do. But that was fine; I intended to make such a fuss that even the Council would notice.