@affinitytwenty 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 :: ❝ i’m in your debt. ❞
𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙰𝙻 𝚁𝙴𝙿𝙾𝚁𝚃𝚂 𝙲𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝚆𝙰𝚅𝙴𝚂: classified intelligence detailing a string of underground research facilities scattered across the outer-rim’s most obscure, backwater planets. at vader’s command, elite commando squads stormed the compounds, dismantling a mass network of complex traps and security measures left behind for those unwelcome. captain rex led the ground assault, apprehending the remaining personnel, confiscating lab equipment, and seizing invaluable research logs, every record a potential key to understanding the purpose of their presence and the true nature of the research.
then came the discovery. imprisoned deep within the hidden laboratories, the remains of force-sensitive beings—malnourished, restrained, their very existences erased from the galaxy. it should have come as no surprise, yet the revelation had disquieted even the most battle-hardened of the 501st.
❝there were more,❞ captain rex debriefed upon his return to coruscant days later, his voice quiet, plaintive. ❝mostly bodies.❞ men and women of varying age, species, class—all subjected to darth sidious’s cruel experimentation. not even the little ones had made it out.
the recovered data painted a grim picture, the sheer scale of the casualties staggering. identification would take time; every day uncovered new atrocities, spanning multiple locations, stretching back decades, with even some brutalities discovered in cryogenic storage, preserved for further research, as though death alone had not been enough.
by the time rex finished presenting the state of the ongoing investigation, rage had eclipsed vader’s expression. the reality was indisputable: countless innocent lives had perished without purpose, without reason. and then, rex introduced the only known survivor of sidious’s violence.
young, force-sensitive, and emaciated beyond comprehension, the child was a tragedy at best and an abomination at worst.
disgusted by the all too familiar cruelty, vader had ordered the youngling to the medical bay, where he received immediate medical treatment, sustenance, and indefinite shelter. now, a standard month later, the same boy stood before him—seemingly of his own volition—having sidestepped multiple layers of security in an audacious attempt to seek an audience with the emperor.
❝you owe me nothing,❞ vader dismissed with a wave of his hand as he settled back into his throne. a child could not grasp the concept of a life debt. they were too young to understand the weight of such contracts, too innocent to realize the value of their short existence. ❝i did not save you to shackle you with obligation.❞
