Captain Firmus Piett was not a superstitious man, but he could tell that there was strange things going on aboard the Super Star Destroyer the Executor. He didn't what these things were, but he did know that they had something to do with Lord Vader.

It went on for months, and Piett still had no idea what these strange things were. Until one evening when he was entering the bridge for one of his rare night shifts. Vader was there, looking out into space. However, it wasn't the Dark Lord that made Piett freeze in his tracks, it was what, or rather who, was not far from him.

A few feet away from Vader stood a tall, elderly man dressed in robes. He was slightly transparent, shimmering, and had a bluish tint to him. He stood with his arms folded over his broad chest, looking sternly at the Sith's back.

Piett forced himself to start forward once more. He took two steps, and the man suddenly looked at him. He froze again.

The man's eyes were a deep brown, wise, fearless, and scarred. The Captain felt as though the man was looking into his very soul, yet he couldn't take his eyes off him. After what seemed like forever, those intense eyes turned back to Vader.

Not long after Piett actually made it to his station, Vader left, and the man followed. He wasn't see for a few days after that.

One day, Piett went to Vader's quarters to give him a report of possible Rebel base locations. He went in and saw another figure.

This was also a man, just as tall and built much like the old man, but he was much younger. He had long brown hair, a neat beard, and crystal blue eyes.

He looked at Piett almost right away. Much like the old man, it felt like the man was looking into his very soul.

While the old man had seemed angry and disappointed, at least in Piett's opinon, this man seemed sad rather than angry.

As the weeks passed, the Captain continued the see the men and soon saw a pattern.

The old man appeared after Vader would have an episode of rage, which more often than not, ended in someone's injury or death. The younger man would appear after Vader would get bad news, which would almost depress the Dark Lord.

There were a few times where he had seen them together, when the news depressed Vader as well as enraged him.

The night after Admiral Kendal Ozzel's death, Piett was on the bridge, when Vader came in. Both men were trailing after him.

The new Admiral saluted the Sith, but his gaze went to them two men.

"You can see them, Admiral?" Vader rumbled.

He blinked in a bit of surprise but nodded.

"Yes, my Lord."

Vader nodded in response.

"If I may, Milord, who are they?"

"Jedi. The younger is Qui-Gon Jinn. He was the one who brought me to the Jedi. The older is Tyln Dooku, the Count of Serenno, and leader of the Separatists in the Clone Wars."

Piett stared at the two men in shock. He had lived during the Clone Wars. As a boy he had heard stories of Qui-Gon Jinn's bravery and negotiation skills.

"W-Why are they here?"

"They haunt me and will not leave me. Qui-Gon symbolizes who I was and could have been had I not become a Sith. Dooku symbolizes who I became and am. He, too, was once a Sith. I am his successor and killer."

Piett swallowed, his gaze going to Dooku.

"Qui-Gon also symbolizes who and what I betrayed, and Dooku also symbolizes my actual betrayal. They both symbolize the life I once led, the path I once followed, the Order and government I once served, and the people I once loved. They symbolize all I left behind or destroyed."