"You're fifty-four this year, aren't you?" Before Anakin could react, Deathstroke took out the battery that was Eternity Rul again and went on talking. "Padmé is still young and beautiful. Never mind the state you're in—just wearing that Life Support Armor must make a lot of things difficult, no matter how much you want them. Don't you want to show her how much you love her?"
Darth Vader's breathing rasped for a while, and even his shoulders shook. "That's your next condition? What do you want in exchange?"
"Your memories. Don't misunderstand me—I'm not planning anything sinister. I'm going to separate you from Darth Vader." Su Ming took a drag on his cigarette and watched the white moonlight drift across the red dunes. "Adjutant, send over a custom-built, high-end Synthezoid Darth Vader."
The moment he finished speaking, a cylindrical Life Pod appeared before them in a flash of blue light, without the slightest warning.
Deathstroke flipped open its lid with practiced ease, revealing another Darth Vader inside. Even the armor was identical down to the workmanship.
"What's this? A double?" Anakin understood at once. Padmé, after all, was an expert at using doubles. Every one of her handmaidens served as one.
"Think of it as a way to make expendable soldiers. It's somewhat like a clone, but this is a Synthezoid. Its skeleton is made of Nanomachines, with a layer of Biomass over it. It has all the vital signs of a real person, but underneath, it's a machine."
He pressed a switch behind the Synthezoid's head. The counterfeit Darth Vader activated immediately, stepped out of the pod, and stood by for orders.
It looked convincing enough. Deathstroke nodded slowly, then said:
"I'll extract some of your memories and load them into this dummy. Then I'll heal your injuries and