Disclaimer: Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm, Ltd. All characters, locations, objects, and concepts are used without permission.
If You Honor What They Fight For Infinities
Dark Side Edition
I intended to revisit this storyline years ago to explore possible dark side "endings" within the three Acts. There is also a Revised Special Edition in the works with reworked scenes and back story. Of course, all versions of this story will remain available for readers to digest and compare. And now, without further ado, the dark side endings are finally available after seven years.
Dark Side Ending 1
Darth Apostas lives up to her namesake and betrays her father in Act I: Chapter 17
Seated upon his throne, Darth Sidious observed the turbolift door open to his dimly lit throne room. The red armored Imperial guards parted so Darth Vader and his daughter, a new apprentice, could enter. Sidious sensed Vader's intent at betrayal, training a new powerful apprentice to replace the one he lost in Starkiller. Sidious believed Vader to be a disappointment and saw a new opportunity to exploit. The Emperor also knew the truth of Leia's heritage, a secret Sidious kept once he learned the truth.
"Welcome, Lord Vader," said Darth Sidious, never rising from his throne. "I have been expecting you and your apprentice." The Emperor then turned his yellow gaze to the guards. "Guards, leave us."
As Darth Vader and Darth Apostas approached the throne, the two Imperial guards filed into the turbolift. The turbolift closed behind them, leaving only the Sith in the Imperial throne room. Darth Sidious could sense apprehension in the other Sith, something that caused a wicked grin to appear on his face.
"I have come early, Master," Darth Vader said mechanically before he ascended the staircase to the throne. Apostas followed closely at Vader's side, saying nothing. Darth Apostas wore a simple black robe to conceal her features. When the other Sith completed their ascension, Apostas kept her brown stare focused on Darth Sidious. She was much shorter than her father, but Sidious could sense the Force flowing very strongly in Darth Apostas.
"You disappoint me, Lord Vader," said the Emperor, giving his apprentice a focused glare. "You think I would not sense your intended betrayal?"
Darth Apostas finally broke her silence. "Spare us your words, tyrant," barked the young Sith. "The galaxy has heard enough of your lies."
"Oh?" Sidious said with mild amusement, leaning forward. "Perhaps you know of the lies your father has told you?"
Darth Vader glanced to his daughter. His mental walls were slammed shut to prevent the probing of Darth Sidious. Sidious cracked a small smile and began to gloat as Vader turned his head back to the Emperor.
"You think I have no spies in your castle, Lord Vader?" the Emperor asked after a mocking laugh. He pointed in the direction of Vader's apprentice. "Perhaps your daughter would like to know the truth of her mother's fate? Perhaps she would like to know that it was you, Lord Vader, who killed her mother?"
Sidious could feel the anger flare in Darth Apostas. She turned to Darth Vader and exclaimed, "You told me Obi-Wan betrayed and murdered her!"
The Emperor laughed once more. "Obi-Wan was too bound by the Jedi ideals to do such a thing, my young apprentice," Sidious told Apostas. "Just like all Jedi, Obi-Wan was too idealistic for his own good. But for the Sith, betrayal is our way."
Darth Apostas shrugged off her black robes, revealing her black TIE pilot's uniform and a rope of braided brown hair behind her head. She backed away from Darth Vader and reached for her lightsaber. Apostas unclipped the lightsaber from her belt and activated the blade of synthetic bloodshine.
"I should have known!" Apostas growled. "I was just a pawn in your game to overthrow your master!"
Darth Sidious could sense Vader being overcome with sadness and regret. A wicked smile appeared on the Emperor's face as he leaned back into the throne, preparing to watch the coming spectacle.
"Obi-Wan could not save her," Vader told his daughter before he drew his lightsaber. "What I told you was true from a certain point of view." Darth Vader activated his crimson energy blade with a snap-hiss. "Do not make me destroy you, Lord Apostas."
Darth Apostas fully surrendered herself to the dark side of the Force just as she sensed the fading resolve of Darth Vader. A feral glare appeared on her face as she exclaimed, "I don't know why I ever feared you! You are a cowardly man in an iron mask!"
Darth Apostas lunged at her father, crashing her lightsaber blade against his. Their energy swords met in front of Vader's chest. Vader retaliated efficiently, parrying her blow with a single hand. Vader's return thrust forced Apostas to yield ground, defending her skull with her glowing blade of plasma. Apostas struck back, hammering through her father's defenses with the fury of Djem So. Apostas earned three strokes against Vader, driving for his left shoulder, chest, and head.
Vader yielded ground to his daughter, employing a variant of Soresu to aid his defense. The Dark Lord kept his blade close to his body, defending his armored chest with ease. This was not like the confrontation he had with Apostas on Bast Castle. Darth Apostas was drawing from her rage, allowing it to fuel her and amplify her powerful strokes. Another thrust from Apostas drove at Vader's chest, but the Dark Lord was able to lower his lightsaber blade enough to defend himself against the assault.
Apostas then drew her blade back and swung low at Vader with the intent to cleave his legs. Vader anticipated the attack and drove his lightsaber down hard with both cybernetic hands. Their blades met with a loud crash before Vader resumed the offensive. Vader drew his lightsaber back quickly and swung for his daughter's neck. Apostas raised her blade in time to defend against the attack, but the opening gave Apostas a small opportunity. She kicked Vader in the abdomen hard with the aid of the Force.
Darth Vader staggered backwards towards the stairs. Apostas took the opening to drive hard at her master. Her crimson blade was like a blur as she thrust and swung at Vader's chest and legs. Vader expertly defended with both hands before the two locked sabers.
"What have I taught you about uncontrolled rage?" he asked during the blade lock.
Apostas growled, "Your lectures bore me, Vader!" She released her left hand from her lightsaber and used a Force push against her master. Vader flew down the stairs, his lightsaber falling from his grasp. The Dark Lord yelled as he fell on the floor at the foot of the stairs. His lightsaber tumbled down the stairs.
"Yes!" Darth Sidious exclaimed gleefully. "Use your aggressive feelings, girl!"
Darth Vader quickly called his lightsaber back to his grip as he stood once more. "Remember Alderaan!" he yelled. "It was under his reign your world was destroyed."
"That was Governor Tarkin," Apostas reminded him. "You watched my people die!"
Apostas somersaulted over the stairs, her glowing crimson blade blurring with her. Vader ignited his lightsaber just in time as Apostas landed in front of him. Apostas drove her lightsaber down with the full force of her descent, overcoming some of Vader's immense strength. The cybernetic Sith Lord just barely protected the control box on his chest. Apostas then pressed her advantage, using the full fury of her Djem So barrage to drive Vader backwards.
Apostas drove hard at Vader's sides, forcing the Sith Lord to defend himself expertly. The dueling pair was approaching the turbolift. Vader compensated with his Force and cybernetically enhanced strength. Vader managed to initiate a blade lock with his lightsaber blade held in front his helmet while his daughter's blade was nearly horizontal.
"I had no choice," Vader said coldly. "You would not give up the location of the Rebel base."
Darth Apostas glared at her father from across their locked blades. She was now more determined than ever to kill Darth Vader. She drew on the dark side, allowing her anger and desire for revenge flow through her. She pushed hard against Vader, driving their locked blades closer to Vader's helmet. Just as Vader's lightsaber blade neared his helmet, the Dark Lord backed away, breaking the saber lock.
Apostas seized the advantage, driving her lightsaber hard in a horizontal arc to force Vader to compensate. Vader defended the stroke with one hand as his apprentice pushed forward. Apostas drew her blade back quickly and swung downward at Vader's sword arm. Vader once again defended with one hand, but the Force of his daughter's attack rocked him. He was being backed into a corner near the turbolift.
Driven by her dark rage, Apostas swung down hard with her lightsaber blade again and again. Vader defended once more, but he could not protect himself when Apostas changed the angle of her assault. Crimson plasma tore through Vader's cybernetic right wrist, sending his sword hand falling to the floor, still clutching the lightsaber.
Before Darth Vader could call his lightsaber to his left hand, Apostas used the Force to intercept her father's falling lightsaber. It reached her left hand and she quickly activated her father's blood red sword. She slashed hard with both blades at a 45 degree angle, cutting across Vader's chest and shearing through his control box. Vader fell hard to his knees, now being in immense pain due to the extensive damage to his systems.
"Good!" Darth Sidious exclaimed, rising from his throne clapping. "Good! Kill him, Lord Apostas. Take your father's place by my side!"
Apostas looked to her father one last time before driving Vader's lightsaber into his chest with her left hand. She then swung hard with her right hand through Vader's neck, severing his head from the Dark Lord's body. Darth Vader's body hit the floor in front of his daughter while his helmeted head bounced and tumbled beside the rest of his body. She stared at her father's remains, feeling no remorse, now fully claimed by the dark side.
Apostas deactivated the lightsabers and dropped her father's weapon by Vader's body. She clipped her lightsaber to her belt and watched as her new master reached the foot of the stairs. Apostas walked to the Emperor and knelt before him. "Your will is my command, my master," Darth Apostas said to Darth Sidious.
Darth Sidious smiled at his new apprentice. "Good," he simply stated. "Darth Vader was a shadow of his former self, unable to live up to his true potential. You will succeed where he failed. Rise, my young apprentice."
Darth Apostas rose from her one knee, standing once more. "What of my brother and the Rebels?" she inquired.
"You must hunt down the remaining Jedi and destroy them, Lord Apostas," he said. "None must remain. The Rebellion will fail without the Jedi."
"As you wish, my master," said Darth Apostas.
"The Force is strong with you, Lord Apostas," Darth Sidious said proudly. "You must not hesitate or show mercy."
"It will be done," Darth Apostas said before she turned away from the Emperor. She walked towards the turbolift, prepared to fulfill her destiny.
Yoda privately meditated alone in his personal chamber aboard Home One, the flagship of the Rebel Alliance. He grimaced, feeling the massive disturbance in the Force created by the death of Darth Vader and the rise of Darth Apostas in his place. "A lie, the prophecy was," Yoda said sadly.
The blue Force ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn appeared. The Jedi Master appeared to Yoda not looking a day older than his death on Naboo. "Anakin is dead," Qui-Gon said sadly. "And with him, all hope. I am sorry, Master Yoda."
"So insistent were you," Yoda lectured, "that the Chosen One, young Anakin Skywalker was."
Qui-Gon simply said nothing and faded from existence just before the door to Yoda's chamber opened. Luke Skywalker stood at the open door. "Did you feel it, Master Yoda?" inquired Luke. The young Jedi Knight was dressed in a black flight suit, his lightsaber hanging from his belt.
"Dead, Vader is," Yoda said, turning his gaze to Luke. "Failed, we have. Into exile, we must go or suffer, the Rebellion will."
"We can't give up hope now, Master," Luke said as he entered Yoda's chamber. "There is still good in her. I felt it on Vjun."
Yoda looked to his former Padawan. He had a morose expression on his face, communicating his lack of hope. "Whatever light remained in your sister, gone it is," the Jedi Master said, "consumed by dark side of the Force. Lost to us, she is."
"I won't give up on my sister, Master Yoda," Luke said defiantly. "She will not destroy me. She couldn't do it on Vjun."
"So certain are you," Luke heard Yoda say. "Meditate on this, we must." Luke sat before his master and closed his eyes, centering himself in the light of the Force.
Hours later, both Jedi felt a dark presence in the Force just as alarms aboard Home One blared. Yoda and Luke looked to each other, knowing exactly who arrived in system. "Leia," Luke said. "She's found us."
Darth Apostas stood on the bridge of the Executor with her hands clasped behind her back. A large portion of the Imperial fleet emerged from hyperspace in the vicinity of Home One. Apostas used the Force to guide the fleet to the location of the remaining Jedi. A grin appeared on her face. "At last, the Rebellion will be crushed," she proclaimed.
Apostas turned to Admiral Piet. The Imperial officer was uneasy about having a new commander who was powerful enough to replace Darth Vader. But he would follow orders, just as discipline demanded.
"Signal the fleet to fire on the Rebels," Apostas demanded. "They will not escape us. Launch our fighters to counter theirs."
"As you wish, Lord Apostas," Piet said before issuing the order. Apostas observed as all ten Star Destroyers opened fire upon the helpless Mon Calamari cruiser. Home One began scrambling its starfighters just as TIE fighters emerged from the hangar bays of the Imperial ships. The Rebels were horribly outnumbered.
Apostas could sense her brother and two other Jedi approaching the Executor in X-wing fighters. The Sith only considered her brother a threat with the other two being completely insignificant. While Apostas was content to kill the Jedi from afar, she had no problem indulging her brother if he intended to launch a foolish suicide mission.
"Allow the Jedi to enter the ship," Apostas commanded. "Take command of the secondary bridge. I will deal with the Jedi personally."
Ten minutes later, Apostas stood alone on the bridge as the lift door opened. She recognized Luke Skywalker leading two other Jedi. One of them was Mara Jade, the traitorous former hand of the Emperor. Apostas recognized the other Jedi as Kyle Katarn. The Dark Lord of the Sith drew her lightsaber in anticipation.
"Your cruiser and the Rebel leaders are destroyed," Apostas confidently told her brother. "I felt your master's death in the Force. Did the insignificant wretch not have enough nerve to face me?"
"Leia, stop this madness!" Luke pleaded with his sister. "I know there is good in you. You can turn away from the dark side."
"That name no longer has any meaning to me," replied Apostas forcefully. "I am Darth Apostas, Dark Lord of the Sith. And one day, I will be the ruler of the galaxy."
"She's lost it, Luke," Mara told him before she drew her lightsaber. "We're going to have to take her down here."
Luke and Kyle drew lightsabers. "We will do our duty, Leia," Luke said. "The Rebellion may be in a dire situation, but the mission of the Jedi remains. We will destroy the Sith."
"You can try," Apostas said to her brother before she activated her crimson energy blade. Luke activated his green energy sword while Kyle and Mara produced blue and violet blades respectively. Apostas dove into a deep Force rage and leapt at the Jedi. Before Kyle could react, Apostas drove her lightsaber into his chest. Kyle Katarn fell without sound.
Apostas turned to face Luke and Mara, who attempted to defend themselves from the furious barrage of the Sith Lord. Mara managed to parry three blows from Darth Apostas before crimson plasma tore across her throat and chest, killing her. Apostas was able to turn her full attention to Luke, engaging him with the full fury of the dark side.
Of course, Apostas could feel Luke's own rage growing. Luke was a skilled swordsman and a true challenge when his powers were augmented by the dark side. Apostas, being more skilled in the dark side, expertly drove her brother back with a strong series of hacks and slashes. Luke was forced to give ground as Apostas drove for his head, chest, and legs.
"Leia, stop this!" Luke yelled before initiating a saber lock in front of his face. "This isn't you."
"You have great fear, Skywalker," Apostas taunted. "You have anger. You have rage. But you refuse to use them. That's why you have already failed."
"Han loved you," Luke told her. "I still love you, Leia."
"I will deal with his treachery, soon enough," Apostas growled before pushing hard against the saber lock, forcing Luke to break it. Apostas pressed her advantage with fury. She drove downward with her blade of synthetic bloodshine, forcing Luke to back away and defend one handed. Luke recovered quickly and drove back at his sister with a forceful lunge.
"I can feel your anger growing, Skywalker," said Apostas as their blades crashed together. "You would make a powerful warrior if you just gave in to it."
Apostas pushed against Luke with a devastating Force push, sending her brother flying hard into the durasteel wall. Luke's lightsaber fell from his grasp. Leia called her brother's lightsaber to her left hand and activated the glowing green blade.
Luke called Kyle Katarn's lightsaber, the one that once belonged to Anakin Skywalker, to his right hand and Mara Jade's lightsaber to his left hand. He activated glowing blue and violet energy blades. Brother and sister charged at each other again, crashing four lightsaber blades together. Luke used his height advantage to push hard against the lightsabers held by Apostas. Apostas was forced to break the lock. Luke swept the blades together in a horizontal arc. Apostas defended herself against both Luke's sabers with her crimson blade. She then pivoted and plunged the green energy sword in her left hand forward.
Luke dove out of the way, giving Apostas time to slash across her body at Luke. The Jedi was barely able to defend himself, using Mara Jade's lightsaber to try to stop his sister's slash. Apostas cut through the lightsaber just below the emitter matrix, leaving the weapon useless. Luke did not take time to register shock and he quickly recovered, dropping the useless lightsaber and gripping his father's old lightsaber with both hands.
Apostas drove hard at her brother, thrusting her red sword forward. Luke held his blue lightsaber firmly at the vertical to parry the thrust. Apostas then turned her body to drive green plasma with a devastating left handed thrust. Luke was forced to adjust his position and give ground. Apostas repeated this sequence multiple times, with Luke able to parry each blow while giving ground. Luke caught an opening in his sister's inexperienced Jar Kai dueling and cleaved the green energy sword Apostas held just below the emitter matrix.
The Sith Lord returned to a one handed Djem So offensive with a flawless transition of style. Luke barely had time to counter each of his sister's attacks. He was using a strong Soresu defense to protect his body, his blue lightsaber blade looking like a tornado in front of his body as Apostas drove with absolute furious abandon for each of her brother's target points.
Both combatants were nearing the other end of the bridge, overlooking space and the ruins of the Rebel cruiser. Apostas could sense Luke suppressing his rage. Feeling disappointed by her brother's weakness, Apostas was determined to wipe his stain from the galaxy. When their sabers locked one more with the arena of space to their side, Luke gazed at his sister sadly.
"I failed you," he admitted. "I should have gone to save you on Cloud City. I'm sorry, Leia."
"Save your apologies, Jedi scum," Apostas barked at her brother. "The Jedi failed and soon the Rebellion will be destroyed."
"If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine," Luke told his sister.
"Not likely," Apostas countered before pushing hard against the saber lock, overcoming Luke with her Force enhanced strength.
Luke backed away from his sister, holding his blade high to guard against the next attack. Apostas obliged him, driving hard for Luke's head. Luke drew his blade back and countered her thrust. Apostas expertly batted Luke's blue blade of plasma away from her body. The Sith Lord thrust across her body once again, driving for Luke's exposed chest. Luke blocked his sister once more, but Apostas could sense his strength was fading fast.
"If only you knew the power of the dark side, Luke," Apostas taunted as she backed away from her brother. "You could truly reach your full potential if you joined me. I am growing more powerful each day and I will have the power to overthrow my master. We could one day rule the galaxy as sister and brother."
"I see what the dark side has done to you," Luke said over the hum of their lightsabers. "You are truly lost."
Apostas could feel Luke drawing heavily from the light side of the Force. Apostas did the same with the dark side, preparing herself for victory.
"Then this is your end, my brother," Apostas said before leaping over her brother, angling her lightsaber for the kill.
Luke swung his blue lightsaber blade high above his head, but failed to connect with any part of Darth Apostas. He turned his body just in time to see Apostas driving her crimson energy blade forward. Luke failed to react quickly enough before burning plasma tore through his chest. Luke's clothing fell to the floor, his body disappearing as he died. The lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker dropped to the floor, clanging against the cold durasteel.
Apostas took a moment to reflect on her victory, placing a black boot upon her brother's clothing. With contempt, she kicked Luke's lightsaber away before she deactivated her own lightsaber. Darth Apostas clipped her lightsaber to her belt and walked towards the holonet transmitter on the bridge. She depressed the activation button, sending a transmission to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant.
"The Jedi are all dead and the Rebel leaders have been terminated with extreme prejudice, my master," Darth Apostas said as the large blue-white hologram of Darth Sidious appeared on the bridge. The Emperor's image towered in the air above Darth Apostas.
"Excellent work, my apprentice," said the Emperor. "Without the Jedi to lead them, the Rebellion will soon be crushed."
Apostas simply nodded, saying nothing. She was now fully committed to the dark side of the Force, feeling nothing for her former Rebel friends. Her original mission for joining Darth Vader was to gain the power to save the Rebellion from Darth Vader and his master. Now she served the same Empire she once opposed, apprenticed to Darth Vader's master. She would have it no other way.
"Hunt the remaining rebels, Lord Apostas," commanded the Emperor. "Bring peace to the Empire by any means necessary."
"It will be done, my master," said Apostas before she closed the holonet transmission to Coruscant. She then quietly walked over her brother's clothing towards the turbolift. There was no time to savor the victory for much work remained to be done. She failed to notice the appearance of Luke Skywalker's Force ghost on the bridge, looking at his sister with sadness. Luke's ghost faded just as the turbolift door closed behind his sister.
END
Darth Apostas took a different path than what originally was laid before her. What if Luke gave in to his rage in Act II: Chapter 17? Tune in next time for more dark tales.