Vader Week: Thank the Maker
Originally published in issue 6 of Star Wars Tales.
While the lieutenant is out of the room, Vader talks with Boba Fett about the trap they've set, and assures him that there's no need to put the word out to lure young Skywalker to the city; he already knows, through the Force.
Young Anakin managed to hide the droid from his master Watto and smuggled it back home, piece by piece, thinking that it could help out around the house. He noted that 3PO's balance gyro was "ancient", 70 or 80 years old, and wondered what he had been through and how he wound up there.
In the present, Vader declares the droid is worthless and orders it destroyed. The next day, however...
While trying to persuade Shmi to let him keep and repair the droid, Anakin thought more about how he wound up on the scrapheap. When Shmi joked that maybe it talked too much, Anakin protested that she'd hurt his feelings, but Shmi reminded him that the droid was a machine, and didn't have feelings. Anakin thought that maybe his owners were mean to him, and didn't care what happened to him. "Maybe he tried to escape. Maybe... he was just like us."
Shmi finally relented at this, but made her son promise to be careful and not get caught when he went looking for parts.
Vader notes that the parts bear "the stench of Captain Solo's copilot", and orders them delivered to his cell. When the confused lieutenant asks for confirmation, Vader informs him that he is "giving the Wookiee what he deserves." With a final instruction to make sure that Solo keeps his appointment in the interrogation chamber, Vader strides from the room.
(Here the lieutenant shows that he's learning the necessary qualities for surviving Vader's unique management style: competence, efficiency, and immediately carrying out any crazy order the Dark Lord gives you.)