-1

This story is complete fan fiction and should not be taken as official. I do this for sheer fun and do not accept any payment what so ever. All characters belong to LucasFilm Ltd.

The Trial of Darth Vader

Chapter 1

Anakin looked out over the celebration of the rebels and Ewoks. More importantly, he looked at his son. Luke had believed in him, had seen the good still there when it would have been just as easy to condemn him for the man he'd become. No, he'd been a creature, not a man. Palpatine had taught him the ways of the dark side. Then when his body had been almost totally destroyed, he'd had him encased in cybernetic armor to keep his most powerful minion alive. The result had been a creature, more machine than human. But the one shard of light in Darth Vader that had been Anakin Skywalker had prevented him from totally being taken over by the dark side as his master had.

In a moment Leia came over and grabbed Luke, smiling as she steered him back to their friends. The memory of his recent duel with Luke came back to him, and the brightest part of the memory was when he'd realized he had a daughter as well as a son. At that time he'd used the realization to taunt Luke, blinding himself from trying to see who his daughter was. But now he could see clearly what he'd never been able to see before, what Vader had refused to see each time he saw her. Leia looked just like her mother had looked. And there was just a hint of him in her as well.

"Anakin, it's time," Obi-Wan said as he grabbed his tunic.

"Time?" Anakin was puzzled. They had an endless amount of time now to do whatever they chose. Why should his old teacher be so concerned with doing things right away?

"Time, yes. For you time is now," Yoda said, answering the question in Obi-Wan's stead. "Redemption found, you have. At the end of life it was. One with the Force you are. One with the light side you are not. The trial."

"The trial?" Anakin asked as he turned away from the fading scene of the celebration. He caught a final glimpse of Luke as he and Captain Solo laughed at what appeared to be a joke told by one of the rebel pilots. Somehow it seemed like they were good friends with that pilot, and that he may have flown against the brown haired man at one time during the rebellion. "What trial? How does it affect me?

"The trial is put before everyone when they die, old friend," Obi-Wan explained. "It is to decide where your place in the afterlife shall be. We are all a part of the Force, in life and in death. And most of us become one with the light side of the Force. Though only Jedi can truly become one with the Force itself after they die. This is what allows our spirits to return to the world of the living.

"But for the agents of the dark side, their souls are cast into the eternal darkness. There they live in torment, lost and continually suffering. They may take part in the trials of others, and for a time be free of their torment. But they are virtually powerless. Without becoming one with the Force, a Dark Jedi or a Sith is powerless."

"Palpatine could cheat death at one time," Anakin said, a slight shiver running down his now ghostly spine. "But that was only when he was fairly close to his clone bodies. In fact, he had to be in the same building as they were. And the only building I knew of where he could do so was on Byss. He was so positive he'd win at Endor that he never brought any clones with him. So he must surely be a part of the dark side now."

"The trial is not that fast, Anakin. If not for Yoda and myself, you'd already be at your trial."

"I see. So Palpatine is already at his trial then?"

"At his trial, he is not," Yoda replied, a hint of disgust in his voice. "Cheated death again he has. Strong in the dark side. Travels to Byss already his spirit does. Reborn he shall be."

"Then the only good I accomplished when I threw him down that well was to save my son. I had hoped that I could rid the galaxy of his evil once and for all when I saved Luke," Anakin sighed. Then a thought occurred to him, it was almost as if Yoda and Obi-Wan were giving him a great gift by delaying his trial. "Obi-Wan, why did you and Yoda bring me to that village on the forest moon?"

"We requested a chance for you to see Luke and Leia one last time before your trial. You may be lucky enough to see one or both of them at some recess during the trial. But if you loose, if you are banished to the dark side for eternity, you'll never see them again."

"What of the Sith Lords on Korriban, their spirits are not a part of the dark side? I visited the planet many times with Palpatine. I know that they still live."

"Yes, as do we," Obi-Wan told him. "But the ancient Sith Lords are bound to the planet, special rites sealed them there. Any Sith spirit may be sealed in the mortal world. Though normally, they can not affect the mortal world. Out side of teaching others the ways of the Sith, the spirits are mostly harmless. Though occasionally they can do harm.

"Yet even they must come to trial. It is only because of the ancient burial rites that were performed which prevents them from becoming one with the dark side. Yet their great powers are weakened as a result. Though that is of little matter to the spirits on Korriban. As long as they remain on Korriban, their Sith powers are nearly the same in death as they were in life. It is only when they travel abroad, away from the planet of their burial, and particularly the tomb where they are buried, that their power becomes diminished."

"How is it that you know all this?"

"One with the Force for four years Obi-Wan has been. Much he has learned. And much I have learned in hiding. Taught by old friends I have been. Friends long dead. Knew one with the light side I would be they did. Long had I lived. Allowed to teach me they were."

"Of course. Then all hinges on my trial. For me anyway."

"More than you realize, Anakin. If you loose, you will also loose your powers. More importantly, you will become Darth Vader once and for all. All memories of the good in your life will be lost to you. As will the memories of Luke and Leia. Your mother. Qui-Gon. Our friendship. And most importantly, your wife."

"Padme. I'd loose her forever?"

"Yes," Yoda sighed. "Tragic it is. All memories of evil would be. Scared forever you would become. Tormented."

"And eventually the dark side would utterly consume your spirit, destroying you once and for all. Those who become one with the light side will live forever after they die. But those who become one with the dark side are eventually destroyed. Their spirit will cease to exist. As will the memory of who they were. Only the spirits of the Jedi may remember you. But Padme and your mother would no longer remember you."

"Then I must win. I have to. I hurt Padme too much when I became Vader for me to loose. I've got to apologize, let her know that I never truly meant to do it."

"You can only hope that it's decided that the good you did far out weighs the evil of Vader," Obi-Wan told him, his look cut from durasteel.