Salvation

Today was the day. My first day at work on the Death Star. Sure it wasn't my ideal job, I never in my life thought I would be working for Imperialists. But after the death of my brother, the only person in the galaxy that I had, I had to find something and quick. I only needed to earn and save enough money so I can start a life somewhere else.

Not only did it pay well but I was given shelter on the Death Star itself. See, I not only lost my brother, I lost my home. It was caught in the crossfire of a battle on Naboo between the clone troopers and the rebels.

I was sick of this war, thanks to it, I've lost everything and everyone. The lines have started to become blurry and I didn't know what side to blame anymore. They both have taken so much from me.

That all brings me here, walking along the hallways of the Death Star. I was a mechanic, just like my father was. He taught me everything I know and I've been fixing things since I was six years old, I have a reputation of being one of the best mechanics in the galaxy. Thanks to that, the imperialists hired me almost instantly.

I was currently walking along side a man named Admiral Tarkin. He wasn't the most pleasant person but it was something I was already used to. "And you will be staying here." He walked me to a room at the end of a very long hallway. "Take this com," he handed me a small comlink to put around my wrist, "You will be called upon when needed to fix our TIE-fighters or anything else that requires your expertise. You will come quickly and efficiently." He spoke sternly.

"Thank you." I responded solemnly as I took the comlink from him, I wasn't happy about my new life. But I had no other options. No one paid enough or offered shelter, I would be living on the streets of Naboo.

"Lord Vader will be arriving shortly. Do not speak to him, unless spoken to." He spoke in a monotone, he had no emotions in his voice whenever he spoke. It was quite unsettling. "And best to stay out of his way, I don't have the greatest of news for him and he has a temper."

I was nervous to be on the same station as the leader of the imperialist army. I've heard stories of him, some call him the boogeyman. Everywhere he goes there's a string of chaos and destruction that follows.

I had also hoped to never meet him. "That won't be a problem." I responded. I planned to stay in my room anyway and leave when I needed to work on something or eat. I had no interest in being anywhere near Lord Vader.

"Good. I'd hate to lose another, good help is hard to find." He sighed as he turned to walk away without a goodbye. I didn't mind though, I wanted to be left alone.

The door electronically closed behind me as I walked deeper into the room I was given. I threw my duffle bag onto the floor and plopped onto the semi-comfortable mattress. I pulled the pillow to my face and cried softly. It's only been a week since my brothers death so the wound was still relatively fresh. At some point during my crying session I allowed myself to drift to sleep.

I woke up to the sound of an alarm. "He's here!" I heard someone shout in the hallway. I let out a little laugh, this man terrified them so much that they have a special alarm for when he arrives.

I've never seen him so I don't even know what he looks like. Maybe he looks like a monster with four eyes, a long tail, and scaly skin. I chuckled at the thought.

I got up from my bed and went into the bathroom. I needed a shower, I felt like I hadn't showered in days. I brought my com in with me and set it on the sink so I could hear it in case it went off.

A few minutes in and just as I suspected, the beeping began. I turned the water off with a sigh and picked up my com, "(y/n) here." I spoke into it.

"You have been requested in conference room B by Admiral Tarkin." A soft mans voice came through.

"Thank you." I responded quickly and ran to get dressed, I wasn't given any uniform so I threw on my normal clothes but I still tried to look professional. I brushed through my wet hair quickly and left the room. Then I realized that I had no idea where conference room B was.

I asked the first person I saw and they directed me to the far end of another hallway. I already felt like I had taken too long so I rushed in a power walk and my hair was dripping water onto the floor behind me.

I opened the door only expecting to see Admiral Tarkin but was met by a group of men around a table. My eyes widened and some of them narrowed their eyes at me, most likely due to my appearance. I was out of breathe and heaving like a marathon runner, I was in plain normal clothes, and I had wet hair that was dripping onto their floor.

I have to say. I am off to a great start.

"Certainly took you long enough." I recognized the voice of Tarkin who was seated near the end of the table. All the men in the room were dressed exactly the same, except for one who wore a black cloak with the hood up. I couldn't see his face since he had his head down and was not paying attention to anyone else in the room besides a paper in front of him.

"I'm sorry sir, I was in the shower. I came as quick as I could." I responded still out of breathe.

"I can see that." He pressed a button and the hologram of a TIE-fighter popped up in the middle of the table. "I'm going to give you your first job." He gestured towards the hologram. I stepped forward and allowed my eyes to scan the design.

"You want me to build it from scratch or?" I asked as I walked around the table to see every part of it, not caring about the looks I was getting. It was a TIE-fighter but it looked much more advanced than the other ones.

"No." Tarkin shook his head. "Its just our usual TIE-fighters with some weaponry upgrades and a stronger exterior. We need you to start with just one and if it's to Lord Vader's liking then we will need a whole fleet completed." That seemed like an easy job, I kind of hoped for something with more of a challenge. With that thought the man in the black hood looked up to me, I saw his movement in my peripheral vision and it caught my attention. I glanced to him and my breathe got caught in my throat at the sight of his eyes. They were a piercing yellow with a fire red rim, it was like nothing I had ever seen before.

I quickly looked away from his intimidating glare, "It will be done Admiral." I bowed respectfully and nervously.

"You will begin tomorrow." He looked away and waved me out of the room. I took one last look at the man in the black hood, he was still looking at me but he broke the eye contact when Admiral Tarkin began speaking to him.

I quickly left the room and entered the hallway. I did my best to make it back to my room even though I got lost for a moment. This place was so big it was gonna take a long time for me to get used to it.

I walked into my room and I had my mind running about that man. What species could he have been to have that eye color?

The thing I found most unsettling was how beautiful he was. He had this dark aura that made you want to run away but a face that made you want to get close to him, just to see if he was real.

I shook my head to get the thoughts away from me. If I allowed my mind to keep running then I'd never get any sleep tonight. And that's something I needed since I was going to have a long day tomorrow.

I never got the chance to ask if it was something I was gonna be doing on my own or if there were any other mechanics that were supposed to help me. I kind of hoped to do it alone. I know it would take a bit longer but I preferred to be alone, other people only held me back.

I laid my head on my tear stained pillow and took a deep breathe. He said Lord Vader was going to be checking on my work. I was nervous about meeting him, I can only hope he looked it over when I wasn't around but somehow I truly doubted that.

Just as I was letting myself drift into unconsciousness, I felt my stomach rumble. "Damn it." I whispered to myself as I sat up. I hadn't eaten in almost two days. I was too depressed to but if I kept going like this then I would pass out tomorrow before finishing anything and risk witnessing the infamous wrath of Darth Vader.

I put my shoes back on and exited the room to find the cafeteria. After a few moments of wandering around like a lost puppy, I found it.

It was almost empty, most likely due to how late it was. I grabbed a tray and sat at a table alone and ate the plain food in front of me, if you could even call it that. It was mushy and tasted like I was eating cardboard. It wasn't very satisfying but it was better than having nothing.

I stood up when I was finished and threw the tray in the trash can and made my way back to my room. Now that my stomach was no longer in pain I should be able to sleep better.

I quietly walked down the empty hallways, not wanting to disturb anyone who might be sleeping in the rooms around me. I turned a corner and bumped into a rough chest and I fell back against the cold floor.

I sat up on my elbows and looked up up to meet the face of who I bumped into and it was the man from the conference room.

He was glaring at me with those strange yellow eyes, "I'm sorry." My voice came out shaky. Being this close to him I could see his features even more. He was more beautiful than I thought, with a scar near his right eye. He had his hood still up but I could see blonde curls popping out by sides of his face.

"Watch where you're going." He replied in an annoyed tone, ignoring my apology. He stepped around me and went the way I just came, leaving me on the floor.

I let out a breathe that I didn't even realize I was holding when he was no longer in my presence.

(a/n So I know this chapter might be a little boring but I wanted to focus on introducing (y/n) and her backstory a bit. More will revealed later on and I hope you enjoy this little project that I'm trying out 🥰 also so no one is confused (y/n) does not know yet that that the black hooded man, as she calls him, is Vader, yet.)