Valentine's Day fic, collectibles, & stuff

I keep forgetting to mention that I found a new t-shirt at Target last week, thanks to a mention of them by deidrecorwyn. I got one that says "It's Not The Jedi Way" with Anakin's lightsaber. There were a couple of other styles as well. Go look in the young men's licensed t-shirt section.

As per usual, I plan on writing a new A/P fic for Valentine's Day (I'm also going to run one of my vintage Han/Leia fics). I thought, "Hey, I'll ask the readers what kind of story they want to see." AU? Comedy? Angst? Smut? The only rule is, it won't be long ;). I'm already pulling my hair out over a long fic. There's no way I can do anything too long in less than a week.

Vader drabble: Talisman

Talisman

The Dark Lord stared at the metal pieces and components laid out neatly in front of him, a set of tools just off to the right. He had been comfortable with mechanics his entire life and it was not the first time he had been faced with this task. But he felt like a 12-year-old Padawan learner on Ilum all over again. Could he do this still, even ensconsed within this suit of armor? With hands that were mechanical and eyesight that was an artificial as a droid's? Constructing a lightsaber wasn't like building a podracer's engine. One needed to have the Force flowing through him, guiding every move and decision. He could still feel the Force, but was it enough? Powerful visions had seized him the first time he built a lightsaber, so he didn't remember the actual act of creating it.

But there was another reason for his hesitation.

There was something final about this task, an acknowledgment that Anakin Skywalker was truly dead, his break from the Jedi Order, indeed his entire past, complete.

I am not that man anymore, he told himself. I am someone stronger, more powerful, better. Best to cast that cursed talisman aside forever. Let it be Obi-Wan's prize. This weapon will never be taken from me.

He focused on the betrayal, the pain, the fury, the hatred, the injustice of that wretched day on Mustafar. Anger infused his being and the Dark Side flowed through him like water bursting through a broken dam. Hesitation and doubt were cast aside. He immediately set to work.

He did not know how long it took to assemble his weapon but it was the easiest task he'd ever accomplished in his life. He could feel the Force working through him, as though the mysterious energy field pulled together the pieces.

Finally, he gripped the finished product in his gauntlet. It was an object of beauty, but it would also be his instrument of vengeance. For the first time in what felt like a long time, he felt complete and whole.

Later, he bowed before his Master and presented him with the shining new hilt.

"Ah, your new lightsaber," Darth Sidious said with a proud crooked grin. He held it out and switched it on. A brilliant scarlet blade illuminated the dark throne room. "You have done well, Lord Vader. Now you are truly Sith."

"Thank you, my Master."

Sidious switched the blade off and handed the hilt back to Vader. "We have a journey to make, my friend. Your skills will be needed."

Vader lifted his helmeted head, ready for the challenge.