*Beep Beep*
[Lord Vader, the Clone you have brought us, is ready as you requested.]
Darth Sidious looks at his apprentice, who lies on the ground. He has been fighting him without his breathing aid for almost half an hour and only dropped at the very end. It was remarkable to Sidious to see the one he thought had such promise, only to then fall from grace and disappoint him, to find his spark again, finally. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea for him to have Vader as his apprentice; maybe there was still that future he envisoned. Or maybe not. But what he has seen today gave Sidious a gleeful smile. The Sith would rule he galaxy, that much was certain. He picks up the transponder.
"This is Palpatine. Who is this?"
[E-Emperor! I apologise, I was trying to reach Lord Vader.]
"He is currently... indisposed. Tell me."
[Lord Vader has commissioned that we have a look at one of the Clones he captured. It's one of the Null-class Advanced Recon Commandos. Lord Vader asked to have him be made obedient to serve the Empire, and we have managed to do it.]
"Await further orders," Sidious says.
[Yes, Emperor.]
"Truly, Lord Vader. You are starting to impress me. Using failed equipment and turning it into slaves - very resourceful."
Sidious signals for a team to pick up Vader and send him to his bacta tank. The guards land, pick up Vader, and then send him to the area belonging to Vader, which he uses as a 'headquarters' for now. After they leave him there, Xina arrives, looking at Vader worriedly. She feels his frustration for some reason. Ever since she has met Vader, her life has changed. She instinctively knew things and felt things. Without bothering about anything, she makes her way back to the training chamber and activates the droids. She needs to get her mind off his injuries, and cutting apart droids is the best way to do that.
She has never seen Vader without his suit, and she is shocked by what she sees. No full arms or legs, scorched skin and the need for a breathing apparatus. Ironically, Vader is healthier than he was before. The healing he performs on Xina and himself has already pushed him to a much healthier state. However, he focused on the essential parts, such as the lungs and his internal organs. The skin and limbs are still mostly the same, giving him a terrible appearance.
*VROOOOM*
*PEW PEW PEW PEW*
Xina dodges the dozen droids as they attack her from all sides. Her head isn't in the game, though, and she can't help but worry for Vader. She thought the suit was his way of literally hiding behind his darkness. Sure, she thought he was wounded in some way, but to see him wounded to such a degree, hurts her physically. Jocasta Nu was right, Xina is lost and has an unhealthy obsession at this point. Even if she could, she most definitely wouldn't leave anymore.
The Twi'lek has gotten far better at fighting and swings Jocasta Nu's lightsaber through the air, blocking blaster fire and cutting the droids apart. Vader didn't take the lightsaber away again. It belongs to her now, and unless something changes, she will use it however she pleases. Xina will change the hilt, though. The question is how she would do that, as usually, lightsabers are assembled using the Force. But who knows?
*VROOOOM*
The final droid is bisected, and Xina stands there, breathing and alone among the wreckage. So, without further ado, she turns off the lightsaber and gets to work repairing the droids and using more of what Vader taught her.
.
After a few hours, Vader has finished healing and is wide awake. He feels Xina in the training room and her erratic emotions. He observes her training and is content with her progress. If there were ever someone who told him that there was someone who could rival his learning speed as a Jedi and then surpass that, he wouldn't have believed it. And yet here she was. Xina learned the first form of lightsaber combat in a few hours, and it seemed as though she grew more skilled and learned faster as time went on. The same was true for him. He also experienced enormous growth rates.
The water drains from the tank, and the metal arms start to put his suit on his body. He thinks about the message he received earlier about the Null clone being ready. That's what he was waiting for. Using the Null Clone is a big step for the next part of his plan. He has already been working on breaking Kal Skirata and turning him into a loyal soldier for him to use. It was a bit problematic, since Vader wasn't very skilled at using the mind arts of the Force yet. However, after using Drain Knowledge so often, he was improving. He only had to make sure not to kill the Mandalorian mentally.
*Kchch puuh*
*Kchch puuh*
Vader steps out and walks towards the training room, where Xina is going at it again. She seemed possessed in her eagerness to train and grow stronger, which fit Vader and pleased him. He also hated his current weakness, and the fight against Sidious proved that there was still more he needed to learn and higher platforms he needed to ascend.
*TSCCHHHH*
Vader sees Xina destroy the final droid and then turn towards him.
"You're awake!" she says and rushes towards him.
In the last moment, Vader manages to stop himself from defending himself as she jumps towards him and cuts her down. Xina embraces Vader... Vader killed people for far less, but he didn't do it now. He isn't sure why, and he has no interest in thinking about it at the moment. He pushes her away and then looks at all the destroyed droids littering the training ground.
"You have been training."
"Yes. I had to take my mind off of things, and this was the best way to do it," she says.
"Good. Follow me," Vader says, walking out of the room.
"Where are we going?"
"Kamino."
.
Vader's Dark Tooth lands on Kamino after they passed the checkpoints. Security was tightened across the planet as even Republic Military personnel were required to provide clearance codes before gaining entry past Kamino's defence perimeter. Vader was still largely unknown in the Empire, which made him endure all those things as well. He lands the Dark Star and then walks out into the rainy weather of Tipoca City.
Xina follows behind Vader, curious to see a new planet. The Coruscant Guard salutes Vader as he passes by and then continues with their work. Finally, they enter the complex building and are greeted by three people.
"Welcome to Kamino, Lord Vader," the human among them says. "I am Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart, stationed here on Kamino."
Vader doesn't answer the man and looks at the two Kaminoans present as well.
"I bid you a welcome from my side as well, Lord Vader. How may we be of service?" Prime Minister Lama Su asks.
"I am here for the Clone I issued to be reprogrammed," Vader says.
"Of course, Nala Se, the Chief Medical Scientist here on Kamino, has looked after the process personally," Lama Su says and points at Nala Se.
"Indeed, Lord Vader. If you would follow me this way, I shall present Null-7 to you," Nala Se says and leads the way.
Vice Admiral Rampart looks after the three as they walk away with a displeased expression. He knows that he's not on the level of authority that Vader holds, but to be disregarded to such a degree was an affront to him. He believed that as the personal representative of Governor Tarkin, he would be worth more. Little did he know.
"You will be pleased to know, Lord Vader, that Null-7 has been repurposed thoroughly. We implanted him with a similar chip to the regular Clone Troopers to instil loyalty to the Empire," Nala Se says slowly.
"And what of his original capabilities?" Xina asks.
Nala Se looks at the Twi'lek for a moment and then answers.
"His fighting capabilities have been kept intact. We haven't touched their physical aspects and only taken away most of the Clone's individual thinking and rebellious spirit."
"Aha. But I think that individual thinking is what separates the clones from the droids, is it not? To be able to think on the spot and act unlogically at times needs a mind that can function properly. So again, what of his capabilities?" Xina asks again.
Nala Se looks at the Twi'lek again. She doesn't know her, no one does, but if she arrives with Vader, she is important.
"I suppose you are correct in your assessment. I admit, we haven't tested Null-7's capabilities as of yet. I apologise for the error."
They arrive at Nala Se's laboratory and find Null-7 dressed in white clone trooper armour. Vader uses the Force to sense the clone's condition and finds him healthy. Healthier than he was when he dropped him on Kamino. He goes further and searches the clone for the inhibitor chip, finding it in the exact location as in other clones. Usually, the chip shouldn't hinder the capabilities of clones, but Xina is not wrong in her thought. The only way to find out how much the clones' martial skills and mental capabilities have degraded is to see them in action.
*Kchch puuh*
"Have his equipment brought to my ship," Vader says and walks back again.
Xina and Null-7 follow along, while Nala Se stays behind.
"Xina, get him on the Dark Tooth and prepare for extraction," Vader says and then turns to go to another area.
"Sure."
Vader makes his way to the office of Lama Su, where he finds the Vice Admiral in attendance. The door opens, revealing both of them discussing something. When they see him, they turn around.
"Lord Vader, I suspect everything is to your liking?" Rampart asks.
"I heard that you have a problem with a missing group of clones, Vice Admiral," Vader starts.
"Ah, well, we do indeed have a group of clones AWOL as of now. Clone Force 99, an elite clone commando special forces squad, has refused to follow orders and left Kamino without leave. One of their team, however, has remained loyal and is leading the first Elite Squad, consisting of four recruited Elite Squad Troopers. I am sure he will find them soon," Rampart says.
"I find your certainty surprising, Vice Admiral. What gives you the impression that you will capture them any time soon?" Vader asks.
"I can assure you, Lord Vader, the Elite Squad is more than capable of handling four defective clones."
"I want to be notified when you find them. Make sure that you show results, Vice Admiral," Vader says and leaves the office.
He walks to the Dark Tooth, feeling that his theory has proven correct. He holds out his hand, long before he reaches the starship and walks through the halls of Tipoca City. Finally, he makes it back and opens the hatch, finding Xina on the floor, bleeding, and Null-7 being choked in the air. Both of them are bleeding, showing that Xina managed to fight the Null clone for a while. She looks embarrassed, though, as Vader arrives.
"It would seem your training is not yet complete," Vader says and finally drops the clone before he suffocates.
"I'm sorry," she says.
"I thought it hadn't worked, but to see you fooling the Chief Scientist of Kanimo this long is impressive, clone."
Mereel tries to attack Vader again, but is stopped in his tracks. Vader places his hand on the clone's head and starts to do what he wants.
"This will hurt."
"RAAAAAHHHHH!!"
.
The Dark Tooth lands on Coruscant again. Vader walks out, followed by Xina and Null-7. Vader has seized this opportunity to learn how to harness the Force and manipulate his mind, twisting it towards absolute loyalty to him. It was terribly painful for the man, but Vader didn't care. For some reason, he was angry after seeing the clone, thinking he could harm one of his assets that way. Mereel had fooled Nala Se and all their tests, only to then attack Xina when the chance arose. But that was now over. He was now loyal to Vader and Xina, as Vader decided on the next direction Xina's training would take.
"Are we training, Vader?" she asks as they enter the training room.
"You are. The Kaminoans altered the Nulls' genes so that Null-7 and his brothers have perfect memories. This will come in handy during his and your work, allowing him to memorise codes, manuals, and other information. It is this that led to Null-7's specialisation in slicing and genetics. He will teach you all that he knows—slicing, genetics, how to kill and everything connected to this," Vader decrees.
"I will. What am I to do then?"
"You will lead a team, and Null-7 here is your first member. I will check on your progress soon," Vader says and walks out, leaving the two to start their training.