Written By Mikaa, Lord of the Flypaper
Author's Note: This fic came about thanks in part to the assistant manager at GameStop when, one night, he and I discussed the alternate ending to the Star Wars Episode III video game where Anakin killed Obi Wan and then slew the Emperor. It's been about a month or two since that chat (and about two thirds the time since I actually saw the scenes for myself), and now I finally have the time and energy to write the story.
Do note, this is AU (Alternate Universe) and my first fortay into Star Wars fan fiction. On that note, let me clearly state that I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO STAR WARS, STAR WARS EPISODE III THE VIDEO GAME, STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT GEORGE LUCAS OWNS. That being said, I now direct you to this dark one-shot, It Could Happen.
(Side Note: I am taking a few liberties and referring to a few facts that normally would send any continuity fan insane. I should know - I am one of those myself. However, to combat the pains of planning out every little alteration that would occur between the two different timelines that the video game endings provide, I will be using a few facts (such as Star Destroyer names) in place of original efforts. Despite this, I do intend to keep SOME continuity; George Lucas I am not.
(Also, this follows the plot of the movies/EIII game, so whatever plot changes were made to existing timelines are used instead of older, typically better plot threads. Sorry, fans. I'd share your anger, but I was raised on the Star Trek pilosophy of novels being non-cannon, yet usually better...)
Aboard the Star Destroyer Chimera, Darth Vader surveyed the ship yards. Fifteen years. Fifteen years of hunting the Emperor's scant records for it, and now they had it. Very incomplete, obviously forgotten and abandoned at some point in the past, probably right after the Jedi tried to overthrow the then-Republic.
Still, one could not help but admire the sheer size of the vessel. Assuming it was a vessel; "Death Star," concieved by Geonosian scientists, obtained by Darth Sidious through the traitourous Count Dooku, and started on as a weapon to inspire fear in the Empire's foes, Darth Vader had to admit, it was quite a sight.
He was tempted to blast it out of the sky, or present it to the people of the Empire as a sign of just how twisted and evil the Emperor was, and show a sign instead of "lineancy" by their new Emperor as he destroyed it. Or he could use it. No, that would make him no better than Darth Sidious, who would rather sacrifice Padame and Vader's own children in favor of killing the Jedi. No matter how important it was to stop the rebellion, Vader would just as soon sacrifice himself to save his loved ones instead of killing a Jedi.
Still, it mattered little now: the Emperor was dead, killed by Vader's own hands after the man allowed Obi-Wan to try to influence his wife. After the deed was done, Vader then took Padame to the medics on Coruscant, where she had twins, Vader's own flesh and blood. He had allowed Padame to name them, only to nearly kill them as she died shortly after their birth. Ten medical droids, two human doctors, and a Ho-Din were destroyed or killed, and only his own children were spared.
He took to raising the kids on his own, even taking them to his office as he continued the works the Emperor started in his reorganization to form the Empire. Several changes were made, ranging from using clones instead of conscripts to man the warships and fighters to reorganizing the Senate. While most were uncomfortable with the idea of using clones en masse on warships, the notion that their own citizens would not be used and/or taken from them went over quite well. But for his Senate changes, things were different. He had to fight tooth and nail against strong opposition, mainly from Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Bel Ilbs, and a few others (mostly the handful of Outer Rim reps that had joined the Senate just after the war). But whatever they argued, Vader was able to garner support by merely mentioning the Seperatists, and the need for order and final judgement.
Thus, he himself oversaw the Senate proceedings, a puppet taking the place of where the Chancellor once stood, reporting only to Vader. Then, Vader himself would decide if a policy was worth the time, or if a brush fire needed to be handled a certain way, or if a tax was worth it. In all, it was quite annoying, and he was tempted to have others take care of it for him. But, he had rationalized, that would lead to men seeking personal power, and then possibly trying to take away his control. No, he would not allow anyone to take things away from him again.
Which was why he had allowed only his most trusted to serve him, or those the most controllable. Which was why he had Leia trained not in the ways of the Sith, as Vader had her brother, but as a diplomat, one trained in the use of the Force. Leia served Vader first by helping him decide final choices, then by replacing the aging crony in the center of the Senate. Her eye was a good one, noting all traitorous elements and submitting a report to her father within minutes of every meeting.
And once he got those reports, Vader sent his son to take care of them. As far as he knew, Sith Lords typically had some name that went with their training, like Darth Maul or Darth Tyrannos (whom Vader never met, though knew the name from Sidious's records), but knew not how to grant a name. As such, he decided to keep his son's name as his wife choose: Luke.
Luke was Vader's right-hand man, eliminating opponents and traitors as the need arose, and helped his father hunt down various surviving Jedi. A smile came to Vader's face as he recalled the battle when Vader and Luke both took on Master Yoda, a battle that had taken days to finish. It was Luke who delt the final blow, attacking Yoda with a suprise attack of force lightning just before Yoda slew Vader. Vader knew his son was far more powerful than most Jedi ever were, knew he was stronger than his sister, and, though he rarely admitted it, was more powerful than his father. Yet, Vader knew his son would never betray him, knew he loved his father, knew his son would follow his every wish, even to death.
Knowing such, he turned to face him. Luke's blue eyes were fixated on the massive silver orb before them, Vader knew his mind was thinking the strategic and (to a degree) political uses of such a massive weapon. Smiling at his son, Vader turned back to the viewport, "What do you think we should do with it, Luke?"
"Simple, Father. We create a virtual copy of it, present the copy to the Senate, destroy it, then put this one into storage some place secure, in case the need arises to use it."
Vader nodded, amused that his son would note something that he himself had not. He was dangerous, all right, but loyal. There was never the chance that he would betray him.
After all, he could not; their family was the only ones that were of their kind, Force users who were not traitors. To destroy Vader would subject Luke to vulnerability, as he knew not what his Father knew, and would only turn on him if he knew everything his father knew and more.
And, thanks to Sidious, Vader would never do that, not until he was on his death bed.
And that was not for some time to come. Vader smiled, signaling for his captan to come over; he would live for a long time, and there were things to do...
End of It Could Happen
This was a simple one-shot, and don't ask for continuation, people! I have my hands full with other things (not to mention another fic), and while I would love to write more, it pains me to write and keep within (and keep up with) the continuity of the vast universe that is Star Wars. At least Star Trek only keeps track of cannon with the movies and shows; the Star Wars novels (at least the ones NOT by Timothy Zahn) are an expensive pain to keep up with to get all the plot...
Enough personal rant. Feel free to review and leave your thoughts!
Mikaa, Lord of the Flypaper