Chapter 1
Evening had fallen on Coruscant and the Jedi younglings and Padawans were in the temple preparing for their evening meditations. Farra Sti was also there. She was a Jedi Knight and had been assigned duties of watching over the Padawans while other knights were out fighting in the Clone Wars. She had requested these duties, as she was secretly pregnant to Anakin Skywalker. Farra was herding the younglings into their rooms, as each youngling was to meditate in his or her room. When the last youngling was safely ensconced in his or her room Farra made her way to her own room. Entering it she sat down on the bed and rubbed her hands on her temples. It had been a long day and her pregnancy had sapped her energy so she was exhausted. That was when she realized she hadn't seen much of Anakin that day nor had he been preparing for his evening meditations. Standing, Farra made her way to Anakin's room but he wasn't there. No one had seen him for several hours. Farra returned to her room too exhausted to worry. She sat back down on the bed her thoughts drifting back to when she and Anakin had first met. Farra had been 9 years old and a member of the Bantha clan when Anakin was bought to the temple. He had been placed in the Bantha clan when he began his training and he and Farra had become friends straight away. Their friendship had continued as they'd grown older and been apprenticed to a Master each. As they had matured into young adults both had begun to notice each other's looks and become attracted to each other. However both knew that love was forbidden to the Jedi so they had to fight their attraction to each other.
After the two became knights they were paired together for a mission and it was
during this mission that the two finally realized how much they liked each
other. They shared a forbidden kiss and from that moment were a secret couple.
None of the Jedi knew about their relationship, as they were careful to only
express their true feelings for each other when they were alone. Not even Obi
Wan Kenobi, Anakin's master knew. Nor did Ploon Tu, Farra's master. The two
were careful not to do too many missions together as they knew that if they
requested to do every mission together the other Jedi would soon suspect
something. Finally one day the two Jedi were sent on a mission together to
Naboo. While they were there Anakin proposed to Farra. At first she was
shocked, as she hadn't expected that Anakin would want the two to get married.
She naturally had questioned him on whether it was wise for them to do so.
"I love you Farra. I want you to be my wife" Anakin had said in
response.
After the two had discussed things for a while Farra gave in and a Naboo holy
man married the two.
A month after that Farra had been on a mission with another Jedi and had begun
feeling ill in the mornings. She knew instantly the cause for her feeling ill
and when the other Jedi asked her about it she said that she had an upset
stomach and it would pass. Her feeling ill in the morning continued each day of
the mission. When the mission was over and the two returned to the temple Farra
learnt that Anakin was also between missions. She made her way down to the
gardens hoping Anakin might choose to do the same. He did and Farra told him
what she suspected.
"Stars, Farra that's wonderful news" Anakin said hugging her.
"No its not. When I start to show questions will be asked and they will
find us out. What do you think they'll do when they learn that we are married
with a child on the way" Farra had asked.
"I hadn't thought of that," Anakin admitted.
Farra's thoughts returned to the present and she looked down at her stomach.
She was roughly 5 months along so she was showing somewhat.
'Oh Anakin where are you?' Farra thought.
She closed her eyes and began to meditate tapping into the Force. Suddenly her
head jerked up in alarm as she heard shots and the sound of lightsabers being
used. Her lightsaber leapt from her belt to her hand as she walked through the
doorway of her room and into the corridor. She sensed trouble and began jogging
down the hallway hoping she could reach the source of the trouble before anyone
died. Then she doubled over as she sensed the deaths of Jedi.
'Who can be doing this?' she thought
She rounded a corner and stopped dead in her tracks. There was Anakin, a
murderous look in his eyes killing younglings. Farra couldn't believe it and
she stood riveted to the spot as Anakin killed two more younglings. Then her
legs worked again and she ran forward blocking Anakin's next blow with her own lightsaber.
"What the blazes are you doing Ani?" Farra asked.
"I'm doing what has to be done" Anakin replied.
Farra knew she shouldn't fight in her condition but she also knew that what
Anakin was doing was wrong.
"I can't let you do this" Farra said.
Anakin raised his lightsaber and the two fought their blades flashing back and
forth. At one point their blades were crossed as they attempted to hit each
other. Anakin and Farra stared at each other through the glow of their blades
and Farra did not like the look on Anakin's face.
"You know, I don't want to kill you Farra" Anakin said, "But I
can't let you go and raise the alarm or save the others"
"I can't let you kill the others," Farra said.
Then Anakin realized the answer to his problem. He disengaged from Farra's
blade then attacked her fiercely. Farra matched his blows and the two continued
to fight neither finding an advantage. Then Anakin feinted a blow to the right
and as Farra moved to block it he extinguished his blade and clipped Farra smartly
in the temple with the hilt of his lightsaber. His blow was hard enough to
knock her unconscious. She tumbled to the floor her blade extinguishing itself
and the hilt rolling out of her limp hand. Anakin hooked her lightsaber to his
belt then locked Farra in her room.
Twenty minutes later Anakin had completed his task at the temple. All he
encountered had fallen to his blade or to the weapons of the troopers with him.
He turned and made his way back through the temple to Farra's room. Unlocking
the door he slung her still unconscious form over his shoulder then made his
way out of the temple. He took Farra to his new living quarters, a massive
fortress on the other side of Coruscant and placed her on the bed in the room
he intended they would share. He placed a collar around her neck, which would
prevent her calling on the Force then went to report to Sidious. He left his
fortress locked so that Farra couldn't escape. Sidious was pleased that Anakin
had succeeded in his mission to the temple.
"I left one Jedi alive. My wife Farra. She is now my prisoner. I intend to
keep her in my fortress, for my pleasure and for company"
"I see"
"There is more. She is carrying my child. She is 5 months pregnant"
"Congratulations. We can use your child" Palpatine said.
Anakin nodded. Palpatine dismissed him then telling him he'd contact him when a
new mission came up. He returned to his fortress to find that Farra had
regained consciousness. She was not amused when she learnt that she was his
prisoner.
"Why am I your prisoner if I am your wife" she asked calmly.
"You betrayed me in the temple" Anakin said.
Farra's mouth opened and closed and then she realized he was right. She had
stood between him and his mission. However she knew she had done the right
thing.
"I don't know you anymore Ani" Farra said.
"That name no longer means anything to me. You are not to use it again. I
am Darth Vader. You can call me Vader" Vader barked at her.
"It is your true name and I won't call you anything else" Farra said
bravely.
Farra saw the rage building in Vader's eyes.
"You will do as I say, you ungrateful wench," Vader snapped.
Farra ignored him. She knew that the dark side had twisted his mind and
although it grieved her she knew she had to let the attachment go. She had no
idea if any of the Jedi were still alive, as she couldn't reach into the Force
while wearing the collar. Vader saw that she was ignoring him so he Force
shoved her across the room. She hit the wall hard and collapsed in a heap on
the floor.
Vader crossed the room and grabbed the front of Farra's tunic.
"You'd make things easier if you co-operated with me. I don't wish to harm
our child" Vader said.
"Why should I co-operate with you. You aren't the man I love,
anymore" Farra shot at him.
Farra felt her throat constrict. She gagged but the pressure went away straight
away.
"That was a warning" Vader said, ominously.
Farra slowly stood. She had tears running down her cheeks. The person in front
of her looked like Anakin but it wasn't Anakin.
Vader grabbed the front of her tunic and propelled her in the direction of the
bed. Her heart plummeted.
'Surely he isn't going to…' she thought desperately.
She could see from his eyes that that was exactly what he wanted.
At the same time Obi Wan Kenobi had received a message from Bail Organa telling
him what had happened at the temple. He returned to Coruscant and slipped into
the temple along with Yoda who told him about Order 66. Apparently the clone
troopers had turned on their Jedi Generals. Obi Wan discovered the trap that
Bail had mentioned and reset the coding so a signal warning surviving Jedi to
stay away from the temple was broadcast. Then Obi Wan rewound the security
footage to see what had happened at the temple. He watched in disbelief as
Anakin slaughtered those in the temple. Then he saw Farra fighting with Anakin.
As he watched he thought he saw something odd about Farra so replayed that
section of the tape in slow motion. That was when he saw Farra's bump.
"Sithspawn. Farra was pregnant. If she's dead the baby will be dead"
Obi Wan thought.
He continued to watch the footage and watched as Anakin knocked Farra out then
locked her in her room. He turned off the recordings and ran to Farra's room
hoping to find her there. When he entered her room he found it deserted. Going
back to the recordings he continued to watch and then saw Anakin carry Farra
out of the temple.
'That's odd. Why would he save her but kill everyone else' Obi Wan mused.
It didn't occur to him then that Anakin was the father of the baby.
Back at Vader's fortress Farra was curled in a ball in Vader's bed. She wasn't
crying though as she would not let Vader see her emotions. Vader was asleep
beside her, having worn himself out and fallen asleep. In the past Farra would
have curled into Vader but that was when he was still Anakin. Now he repulsed
her so she had put some distance between him and her. She knew that he would
sense it if she tried to get out of his bed so she reluctantly stayed there.
She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew it was morning.
Vader was not in the bed but he came in not long after.
"Did you sleep well, my love?" he asked.
"Don't you call me that. I know you don't love me," Farra said.
"I will call you what I want to call you" Vader said.
Farra just folded her arms across her chest.
"So what exactly am I supposed to wear? You wrecked my clothes last
night" Farra asked.
Vader's answer was to throw a pile of black clothes at her. Farra looked at
them. The outfit consisted of black leather pants, which had an elasticated
band to allow for her swollen stomach and a suede top, which also expanded to
accommodate her stomach.
"Ok can you get out so I can get dressed please" Farra said.
"I'm staying right here. I am your husband after all," Vader growled.
Farra slowly began to get dressed trying as best she could to hide herself from
him. Vader was not pleased and yanked the sheet she was holding against her
away from her. She could see his eyes on her body enjoying the view and she turned
around in disgust. She dressed quickly then turned back to face Vader.
Obi Wan Kenobi was at that moment trying to discover if Farra was still alive.
He decided to review all the security footage to see if Farra had been seen
with any of the male Jedi or Padawans in a situation that could have led to the
pregnancy. He was aghast to see her kissing with Anakin in the garden on
numerous occasions. It became clear to him that Anakin was the father of
Farra's unborn child as the two had obviously been a couple for some time.
'So that's why he saved her. I just hope he hasn't hurt her' Obi Wan thought.
He tapped into the main communications net and learnt that Anakin had Farra at
his fortress. He rubbed his jaw as he thought about what best to do next. The
only other Jedi he knew of who had survived the temple massacre and Order 66
was Yoda and there wasn't much the two of them could do against the empire.
Yoda told Obi Wan that Farra's unborn child was their only hope and that they
needed to rescue Farra.
"Vader has her in his fortress" Obi Wan told Yoda.
"Rescue Farra we must. Our only hope is her child"
Yoda then told Obi Wan some startling news. Darth Sidious had begun cloning
various highly ranked Jedi. It appeared his plan was for them to replace the
real versions of these Jedi and destroy the Jedi order from within.
"How do I know that you aren't a clone?" Obi Wan asked Yoda.
"How do I know that aren't a clone are you" Yoda replied.
The two looked at each other.
"I guess we will have to trust one another" Obi Wan said, "Do
you know who was cloned and what happened to the originals of those cloned.
Yoda told Obi Wan that Mace, Shaak Ti and Ploon Tu, Farra's former master had
been cloned. The originals were either dead or being held prisoner somewhere.
Obi Wan suspected that the former was the case. Then realization dawned on him.
"Could Vader be a clone of Anakin?" Obi Wan asked.
"Very likely it is" Yoda said.
Back in Vader's fortress, Vader was having his breakfast along with Farra. She
wasn't thrilled about having to eat with him but had no choice in the matter.
As she ate she watched Vader eating and thought about everything that had
happened.
'Oh Ani, what's happened to you. I can't believe you've changed this much'
Farra thought.
She had no idea that Vader was actually a clone of her husband, as she had no
idea of what Darth Sidious had been doing. As the two finished their breakfast
Vader's personal comlink sounded. He answered it to find that it was Sidious.
Sidious wanted to meet Farra and he had a mission for Vader. Vader told him he
would be there soon then signed out. Turning to Farra he smiled evilly.
"My Master wants to meet you. He is most interested in our child"
Vader said.
"I will not let you turn our child into dark side user," Farra said.
She wrapped her arms across her belly protectively.
"My dear you have no say in the matter" Vader said, his smile turning
into a glare.
Farra backed up, away from Vader. He grasped her arm, his grip as solid as a
rock.
"Either you co-operate or I will drag you if I must"
Farra struggled to free herself from Vader. His grip was unbreakable and he
began to squeeze her arm painfully. Eventually she stopped struggling. Vader
hustled her out of his fortress and into a speeder and soon the two were at the
Imperial building formerly the Senate building. Vader hustled Farra out of the
speeder and into the building. He was gripping her arm painfully.
"You're hurting me Ani" Farra said.
"That is not my name" Vader roared at her.
He rounded on her and backhanded her across the face. Farra tasted blood, her
own blood as his blow had split her lip. She had stumbled but Vader had yanked
her to her feet again once again gripping her arm. Vader pulled Farra over to
the elevators and pushed her into an elevator. As the door closed Vader punched
the up button and the elevator began to speed upwards.
When the elevator reached its destination Vader propelled Farra out into the
hallway and along the hallway to Palpatine's office. Entering the office Vader
knelt, pushing Farra to her knees.
"Rise my young apprentice" Palpatine said.
Vader rose but he didn't let Farra stand.
"This is Farra, my wife"
"You are not my husband" Farra said.
"Yes I am" Vader snarled.
"You aren't the man I love" Farra said.
"SILENCE" Palpatine ordered.
Farra looked up at him defiance in her eyes.
"I wonder how her pregnancy is progressing" Palpatine said.
"As far as I know everything is normal," Vader said.
"I wish to have her examined to be sure," Palpatine said.
"As you wish" Vader said.
He pulled Farra to her feet and hustled her out of the room and down the
hallway to the medical section of the Imperial building. There he pushed Farra
into a room with something that was a cross between a chair and a table in the middle
of it. Vader turned around.
"Strip" he ordered.
Farra stared at him defiantly so he grabbed her arm and began removing her
clothes. That was when Farra began fighting fiercely, her body twisting and
bucking against Vader.
At the same time Yoda and Obi Wan were in the Jedi temple again researching what they new of the Jedi Masters who had been cloned. All had been taken while sleeping and their clones had been pure evil. The remaining Jedi had managed to kill the clones except for the clone of Anakin. The clones had been found to be exact replicas of those who were cloned. Except for one thing. Yoda and Obi Wan knew that they could distinguish the real Anakin from his clone, as only the real Anakin would have a mechno arm. The clone would have a real right arm. The two Jedi Masters were still no closer to knowing where those who were cloned were taken as they had had no success in contacting them through the Force. If they were still alive they had obviously been prevented from accessing the Force.
