Disclaimer: All canon character, plots, and situations from the Star Wars series belong to George Lucas. I am not profiting from this writing.

Summary: AU Vadme (Suitless Vader). Anakin was never trained as a Jedi but rather plucked by Sidious at the ripe age of eight and brought up in the ways of the Sith. Padmé survived her assassination attempt thanks to her decoy, and fled Naboo for Farstey where she's helped build the rebel base with other leaders who have escaped destruction and joined the Separatist movement. Lord Vader has risen in the ranks of the Empire, becoming Sidious' most promising prodigy. After his successful execution of Order 66 and extermination of the Jedi, he has now turned his attention to the rebels in hiding, and the construction of the Death Star. Sidious has a mission for young Vader, and that is where the story picks up.

A/N: WIP updated sporadically when inspiration strikes. This is unbeta'd and likely fraught with errors. Feel free to PM me should you see something particularly vexing, or if you'd like to volunteer your beta services-I would be greatly appreciative. I wholly intend to take this story where I need to in order to accomplish what I would like to, and therefore will not strictly stick to canon—you have been warned. Please give me the artistic license to change things around to suit my plot. This fic is rated M for future scenes.

~oOo*oOo~

Footsteps echoed down the hall of the spacecraft as Vader walked down the corridor, black cloak rippling behind him in his haste. His walk was haughty and sure; he fully expected praise for the effortless way in which he'd dealt with the Trade Federation. Thanks to him, the Viceroy would no longer be a thorn in his master's side and the Emperor could expect his full compliance in future endeavors. That coupled with the devastating blow he'd delivered the rebels when he'd eviscerated the Jedi scum five years prior, and Vader's record was near immaculate.

What was more, Vader had looked over the plans for Project Stardust himself, and was pleased with what he saw. He was confident they were ready to move forward with construction of the Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon and issued the credits to do so himself. Things were falling into place rather nicely and he was eager to be the recipient of his master's well-earned approval.

Through the Force, he reached for the comforting ball of energy, a sort of habit now, wrapping himself in the dark power of it. He let out a sigh of content, reveling in the feel of it. It was a pity, really, he so rarely got the opportunity to flex the brunt of his power, to really wield it. How he wouldn't enjoy to let loose and test his limits, it had been so long since he'd met a worthy opponent, having removed them all.

Rounding the corner, he entered the vaulted room where his master stood waiting, clad in black robes. Vader drew closer, before dropping to one knee before him and bowing his head in deference.

"Master," he said, simultaneously testing the Emperor's mood through the Force and finding it welcoming. "You sent for me?"

"Rise, Lord Vader."

Vader did as he was bid, and straightened to his full height, but still needed to raise his eyes as his master stood on the highest platform in the room.

"You've done well, my apprentice." Sidious nodded his head approvingly. "I believe you know how pleased I am with you, Vader. There is no one in the galaxy who has my explicit trust as you do."

Vader's heart swelled at the words, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I've had the best mentor in the galaxy," he offered simply.

Sidious let out a dark chuckle. "Perhaps, but regardless, you have not let me down. That's why I know you won't let me down in this."

Vader's brows lifted on his handsome face. "Master?"

"Through a most fortunate circumstance, I've happened upon the location of one of the rebel bases that are giving us trouble and preventing us from the seamless running of our new galactic order. I realize it is merely one of several bases and they are as rare as kyber crystals, but they somehow have managed to cause damage despite their small numbers, as you are aware."

A tendril of excitement flared up in his chest at the news. "Give me leave to apprehend these rebels, Master. I can have the Executor in hyperspeed within the hour. I will torture the location of the remaining bases out of them and bring the information back to you."

Sidious smiled viciously, displaying yellowed teeth. "I have no doubt you would, only, I do not think that's the way to approach this particular mission."

"Master?"

"Rebels are a different breed," his master explained patiently, pacing back and forth in front of the windows providing a panoramic view of the endless expanse of stars. "They believe they have a sense of honor...integrity if you will...but it's all folly."

Vader let out a derisive snort.

"Still, they are loyal to their cause, to a fault, in my experience. I've found the need to get a bit more...innovative when it comes to them."

He frowned. "Are you suggesting, Master, that I integrate with these rebels?'

Sidious laughed sadistically. "Ah, Vader, as bright as you are lethal. That's exactly what I'm suggesting, my young apprentice."

"Begging your pardon, Master, but I'm not really sure if I can. I'm no Twi'lek, and I certainly can't act." The notion in itself made Vader want to hurl. Assimilate with the rebels? Disgusting! He could fight, and he could out maneuver, but he couldn't pretend to be one of them. It went against his very nature.

"In situations like these, I find it best to stay as close to the truth as possible. We create a backstory that isn't perfect, but one you can relate to." Sidious eyed his prodigy with the keen attention of the Sith Lord he was. "I know the idea doesn't sit well with you, Lord Vader, but believe me when I say that if you accept this mission, we will be delivering the most fatal blow we've ever given our enemies. There would be no recovering for them."

Vader pondered over his Master's words, realizing that Sidious was nothing if not wise. Over the years, he'd come to view the Emperor as more of a father-figure than a master. "Master, my name is known across the galaxy—are you sure it is the best recourse to send me, that I can fool them?"

"Your name, yes, your face is another story, shrouded and shadowed under hoods as it always is. And I do seem to remember another name by which I found you…"

Vader recoiled at the reminder.

The hurt.

The helplessness.

The weakness.

Every negative emotion that name recalled within him.

"Master, I despise that name."

"I know you do, my young apprentice, but perhaps this is what you need, one final test to overcome the power that name holds over you."

"I've already proved it means nothing to me any longer," he said with a sneer.

"Prove it to me in this way, and there can be no denying it," Sidious countered.

Vader reined in his anger that had started to roll off of him in dark angry waves. "Yes, Master. Perhaps you are right and there are still issues I must face."

"The dark side of the Force will guide you."

"And if I am to play the double agent, what if I am called to kill other members of the Galactic Republic in order to ensure my story?"

Sidious' smile broadened. "See? You are already thinking like a rebel. You are the perfect choice for the job."

Vader preened under the compliment.

"Do you remember how your temper flares and you wish to flex the power you wield in the Force?"

Vader nodded stiffly.

"I indulge you for my amusements, after all; they are only cyborgs, and what do I say about cyborgs?"

"They're just 'borgs and it isn't as if we can't simply clone more," he responded automatically.

"Exactly!" Sidious stopped in his pacing and whirled to face him. "I do not care about collateral damage but only of securing the location of the other rebel bases. That is not something that can be procured quickly and by just any officer. You must first prove yourself and gain their trust. It may take a while to do so and you cannot risk contacting me during that time. I do not wish you to contact me until you have all the information. Wouldn't it be fortunate if the Death Star was completed by then and we could put it to use on the coordinates you give us? That would be my reward to you, my most faithful apprentice."

Excitement thrummed through his body at his Master's words and Vader soon forgot his worries as he was already thinking about how to immerse himself in his new role as a double agent.

Vader knelt down on one knee before his master. "Please, Master, tell me your will and I will carry it out. I will teach these rebels the real meaning of unwavering loyalty."

Sidious curled his lip viciously, now sure more than ever that he made the right choice. He'd been careful, so very careful, to keep his young apprentice from the clutches of the enemy. Vader's meetings with them had been brief and lethal. The closest he'd ever been to them was at the Jedi temple where not much talking had been had. Now that Vader was twenty-four, Sidious was confident he had Vader's allegiance and the young Sith would not be swayed. He was ready for this mission, and Sidious would once and for all rid himself of his enemies.

~oOo*oOo~

The chains around his ankle and wrist rubbed the skin raw and made the appendages throb painfully. He hoped his assumption was correct and allowing himself to be captured by the Imperial Navy on Farstey known for it's heavy rebel presence would earn him a run-in with the Separatists. Ninety percent of all extraditions were being intercepted by rebel forces so it was likely the convoy he currently found himself on would meet the same fate, but if not, he could simply escape and get recaptured until he did meet with them.

It had been Vader's idea initially, and one Sidious had approved of. Both Siths thought Vader's first introduction to the rebels in this way would inspire trust. He could not simply fly to the base on his starship and declare himself for the Separatists. His transition needed to be stealthy and believable, especially if this mission was to be long lasting with the goal of him rising in the rebel ranks.

The terrain on Farstey was bumpy as the vehicle roamed over rough hills and neglected trails. Vader hated the discomfort, it reminded him of his days as a boy, back when he really was required to wear chains, before Sidious had liberated him and taught him the ways of the Force.

Vader glanced to his left and then to his right, sighing when he saw the present company he was cooped up with. The Draethos on his right was drooling some sort of blue slime on Vader's own hastily acquired pilot's trousers, and the insect on his left was making an odd humming noise. Vader's tunic was worn and dirty, and he couldn't help thinking of what a change this was when compared to the opulence and luxury he had left aboard the Executor.

He certainly fit right in with the criminals and vagabonds he found himself with. He was thankful for the brown cape at least; he felt vulnerable without a hood. Sidious did not let him appear in public without it. The Sith claimed it inspired fear in the citizens when they were deprived of seeing Vader's face. He begrudgingly agreed with his master. The upper officers he did attend meetings with free of his concealing cloak had expressed their surprise and even scoffed at Vader's youth. They did not make the same mistake again.

Vader was jolted from his thoughts at the sound of an ion disrupter. His adrenaline immediately kicked in as he thrust himself into fight mode. He became acutely aware of the blue-skinned humanoid he was chained with, practically on top of, and when one door was catapulted open, he ducked out of the way as the flash from the disruptor sizzled angrily through the air in a hot red flash dangerously close to his face. It found it's target in the form soft gooey bodies sitting on either side of him, which explosively resulted in Vader being covered in blue slime.

He reared up from his seat as panic ensued. Droids began fighting in earnest with the sudden arrival of rebels, but were quickly and embarrassingly overpowered. Vader couldn't help curiously watching the scene from the constraints of his uncomfortable prison. Soon, one rebel clad in a white jumpsuit and a scarf wrapped around most of her face approached the vehicle he was chained to and threw open the remaining door.

He squinted his eyes against the sun, barely making out the foreign landscape of mountains and trees. It had been some years since he'd seen such a planet. The rebel sported a head of hair so thick it was corded around her head and the bursts of sunlight behind her almost made it appear to look like a halo, or at least that's what Vader thought in his somewhat giddy state. It had been far too long since he'd faced a real battle and the excitement was intoxicating.

When the figure whipped off her scarf and dragged her goggles over her hair, pointing a blaster at his face, Vader had a brief and crazed moment of thinking the girl really did look rather angelic. He dismissed the idiotic notion quickly, blaming it on battle endorphins and longing to be drawn into a proper fight.

"A pilot?" Her chocolate gaze raked over his form greedily as she lowered her blaster. "We could use a pilot."

"You must be one of the notorious Farstey rebels," he drawled. "Can't say I've ever come across one. It's a wonder you stay hidden with how messy you are." He glanced at his former partners he had been chained to for emphasis. "I'm sure everyone knows you're here now."

"Everyone knows we're here anyway, but they'd never find us," the slight girl deadpanned, with a mischievous quirk of her lips. "What's the Galactic Empire to do?" Her eyes widened in mock horror and she shrugged sarcastically, as she raised a scanner to his eyes.

Such sarcasm was foreign to Vader and he worked quickly to make sense of it.

"They can't simply destroy us all just to search for one renegade base," she continued, laughing sardonically.

How wrong you are, Vader thought. In truth, that had been the dilemma, and the secret to how the rebels had thrived for so long, but now with the construction of the Death Star, all they needed was the name of the planet, the rest was collateral damage.

She looked down at the scanner, making a quick appraisal of the findings, then looked back at him. "It's not very often we find humans in these envoys. Tell me, what did you do to get captured by the Imperials?"

Vader smirked and rested his head back on the rough wall. "Why are you asking me? You have everything you want to know right there."

"I like to hear it straight from the source, establishes trust," she explained.

"Did you find someone?" another human girl interrupted, coming alongside the first.

"Yes, Cordé. Anakin Skywalker, pilot, and assassin to the highest bidder. Native planet is Tatooine, born a slave, he bought his freedom at the age of fifteen in the pod races," the first girl answered.

Vader smiled inwardly at the reciting of his carefully constructed history. He'd hacked into the system to be sure to paint a backstory for himself, the same system the rebels were now hacking into.

You don't want your story too perfect. You might think it easy, but in the long run, that would produce more suspicion. Make it a questionable character. Someone who has endured hardships. The rebels love a challenge. A project they can mold. Give them a tragic backstory rooted in truth and you'll eventually win their hearts.

Sidious' words reverberated through his mind as he looked at the two human women who were evaluating him shrewdly.

"Do you think he can be trusted?" the one called Cordé asked the first, whom Vader now realized was the superior ranking officer.

"One can never fully trust someone paid for hire," the leader intoned wisely, "but what choice does he have?" She never took her depthless eyes off of him and they seemed to cut through his very soul. "I'm Padmé Amidala, commander of this base." She reached a hand for his, not even blinking as she brushed against the Draethos sludge. "What say you Skywalker, would you like to join the Separatists?"

Vader's eyes widened fractionally at her declaration. For some reason, he had not suspected the high ranking officers would get their hands dirty, figuratively and literally. Perhaps it would be easier than he imagined to secure the information he needed?

He shook her hand firmly, before answering with a devilish grin, "I would be most privileged, Commander."

~oOo*oOo~