Chapter 1

"You were right. I was a coward. But now I know that there's something stronger than fear. Far stronger. The force."

Fear. That was the first time he ever felt it from anyone other than his master. The signs were the same, his blood turned cold, breath catching deep in his lungs. But The Inquisitor realized something quickly; this jedi wasn't enough to sway him from the fear he already had, fear of those higher than him. This jedi was nothing compared to the Sith lord who trained him. Like the jedi order foretold, fear turned to anger as he gripped his lightsaber with both hands like the weapon itself was his life. With the flick of a switch, the blades spun around the handle in a motion remarkably similar to a helicopter. Seeing the red blades form a literal shield between him and this… Jedi… It gave the Inquisitor strength, comfort. He knew that this Kanan couldn't pierce through lightsaber blades, not even with the force. He bared his teeth in a grin. But all that was dashed away when Kanan spoke his next words.

"Let me show you how strong it is." And without warning, the Inquisitor found that this lightsaber his master had given him did have a weakness, a rather grievous one at that. Kanan asserted his grip on his two lightsabers, and then thrust them in between the handguards of his copter saber. Kanan Bypassed both the Inquisitor's hands, and the blade, and his red eyes widened in fear as Kanan violently struck. One lightsaber flew upwards, the other came crashing down, slicing the Inquisitor's lightsaber in two, the blades falling behind him.

The force Kanan used to slice his lightsaber caused not only the blades to fall, but for the Inquisitor to lose his footing. He spun on one heel, and barely managed to catch himself on the bridge he just a few moments ago had stood so confidently upon. First, he looked down at his falling lightsaber blades, still activated, as they fell towards… His eyes widened. They were falling for a fueling duct, used to power the station. The very moment those red blades hit the structure was the moment the fuel exploded, shaking the bridge Kanan stood on, shuddering the entire base to its core.

And it was then that the Inquisitor looked back up at Kanan, lips curled into a snarl. He should have felt the despair, the crippling fear that had seized him so many times before. Because he knew that he had failed, that his master would punish him for failing, that he would do things that pushed beyond the horrific, beyond the realm that any physical being could withstand.

And it was all. Kanan's. Fault.

The Inquisitor stopped… Feeling. It was as if the fear was gone, it was as if the worry of disappointing HIM was gone, it was as if his very fear of death was gone. All that was left was Kanan. All Kanan.

His was the cry of rage as suddenly, strength flowed through his arms like a flood, and through their strength alone, he rocketed a dozen feet above Kanan's head, landing by a circle of terminals, eyes narrowed.

"Why can't you just DIE?" He roared, throwing all the power of his arms, all that newfound strength, and it surged from him as if finally allowed a place to escape. Kanan felt like a starship had hit him as he flew off his feet, lightsabers leaving his hands, falling in a heap many feet away. Kanan slowly recognized the graying of his vision as a concussion, and he drearily tried to stand.

The Grand Inquisitor's eyes narrowed as he stared at each lightsaber. He lifted his long fingers, and deftly called one of them, the small silver handle leaping to his command, flying into his grip. His face was illuminated by a light blue glow amongst the fire, but it didn't stay there for long. Just like he would do with his copter saber, The Inquisitor threw Kanan's blade at him, as hard as he possibly could. It flew as fast as a blaster bolt. Kanan didn't have a chance. His body limply fell to the floor, and the Inquisitor gave a wicked grin, before calling Kanan's blade back.

"I'm keeping you..." He mumbled, but then looked up as he felt a wash of guilt and despair. Surprise made the Inquisitor's eyes widen as the padawan he thought he had killed stood there, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, a pure, humorous expression of shock. The Inquisitor, getting really sick of these guys, simply sent the blue-haired padawan flying with a careless push of the force. Then, he grabbed the padawan's lightsaber as well.

I'd best hide these… I certainly earned the right to keep them… He thought to himself, before looking around, anger subsiding. He very quickly realized that it was time to leave, and fled from the room.

The Grand Inquisitor, his white skinned burned, bruised, and pockmarked from the pitched battle kept replaying the events in his head as he stiffly and mechanically disassembled both lightsabers. He found himself unable to focus on his task while being thusly preoccupied, so he forced the images from his head. Truthfully, be had no idea what he was doing. Inquisitor's weren't allowed to keep lightsabers from the jedi they hunted, nor were they allowed to make their own. They were given those copter sabers from the time of their training to the point of their death. The design of these weapons, even of his own weapon, eluded him. But he didn't care. That jedi… That kriffing jedi… His lip curled again, and his fingers gripped upon a particularly sharp piece of metal, drawing a dark red colored blood from his fingers. Even through his gloves. He was so far away from caring about the rules right now. Those two jedi officially ruined his life the moment they refused to die. It was a long con, letting him believe that he held the upper hand, yet always eluding his grasp.

They crushed whatever courage he might have had when they destroyed his lightsaber.

Kanan… He needed those lightsabers… They owed him. So, he worked tirelessly. He was waiting for a transport to come and grab him… He was the only Imperial who survived the explosion.

But he didn't care. He just needed to hide these weapons. He shook his head as he finally managed to disassemble them, then stored the lightsaber components in secret slots of his armor, designed for smuggling important parts should the need arise. He slipped the crystals, unknowing of how tough they were, in a very cushioned part of his armor, right where his neck was protected. He finished just in time as the rustling of the desert around him alerted him of the presence of the transport above him. He stood, grunting in pain, eyes downcast as the Lambda class shuttle opened its loading ramp, and the Pau'un shuffled up the steps.

"Welcome back Inquisitor. We're good to see you're alive." Said the co-pilot, having left his post to greet the high ranking officer. The Inquisitor never even looked up at him as he sat down as far away as possible. The co-pilot took the hint and cleared his throat awkwardly before adjourning to the cockpit, and starting the ship once again. The Inquisitor felt the familiar heave of a several ton ship defying gravity, before shooting off into the atmosphere.

"Standby for lightspeed." And the Inquisitor's heart sank into his stomach as the ship lurched into hyperspace. He knew where they were going; it was Imperial protocol. After every failed mission, the pilots are required under the threat of treason to report the Inquisitor to his master…

The Inquisitor would have to explain his failings to Darth Vader. Force help him…


Every step was harder than the last. His boots clacked against the metal of the cold floors of the Executor, Darth Vader's personal Star Destroyer. He wanted to take the long way. But he daren't make his master wait.

He swallowed as he found an elevator, and the lift flew straight to Darth Vader's quarters, a massive room with a view of space. His meditation chamber sat in the middle, and it gave the Grand Inquisitor the chills every time he saw it. His heart sank even further, down to his wobbly knees as the lift dinged, and the door opened. The Inquisitor shuffled to the black spherical chamber, and kneeled before it, suppressing a groan as his tired body protested.

He bowed his head, and his whole body stiffened as the chamber opened, and Darth Vader himself came into view.

The Inquisitor was struck first by the cold he felt through the force, and the assault on his ears once the harsh, mechanical breathing from his master assaulted his ears. He swallowed.

"You have returned from your mission." Came his deep, brassy voice. The Inquisitor kept his head down, not having been asked to speak.

"Speak, Inquisitor. Report to me about your mission." The Inquisitor nodded, and, after forcing the tremble from his voice, began reiterating the tale. He told of how the jedi destroyed the facility with the Inquisitor's own lightsaber. He told of how he felt an intense anger, and used it to kill the jedi known as Kanan, as well as his padawan. He ended the story with a lie, about how he supposedly dropped the lightsabers into the exploding fuel conduit, and fled to Vader immediately. Darth Vader's subsequent silence was agony, to the point where he almost leapt up and demanded the Sith to speak. Finally, Vader stood. With his armor, he actually matched the Inquisitor in height, a fact that the Pau'an always respected. But now it only brought him fear. That fear was replaced with resignation the moment he felt a cold grip around his throat.

"You allowed the institution to be destroyed, lost your lightsaber, and were nearly defeated by a fledgeling jedi and his padawan. And you dare return to me?" The lord demanded, lifting the Inquisitor off the ground, crushing his throat with only a somewhat powerful grip. Vader didn't even need to use much power against an Inquisitor… But truly… What had the dark lord suspected? Darth Vader truly had no intention of killing the Inquisitor. Truly, his mission was more of a success than Vader thought it would be, and as he felt the Pau'an suffocating, he realized once again that, despite being the highest ranked Inquisitor in the Empire… That's still all he was. An Inquisitor. And he was still useful… For now.

But he must still be punished.

The Inquisitor felt the grip on his throat lessen, and he fell to the ground. Immediately came his attempts to suck in as much oxygen as he could, his aching lungs filling as he massaged his bruised neck… But the Inquisitor didn't bother moving. He knew that Vader wasn't done yet.

Somehow, Darth Vader had known the Inquisitor had failed beforehand, because the next thing the Pau'an knew, the door opened, and his eyes widened to see not one probe droid, but three.

He swallowed, his bruised throat stinging as the door shut, sealing his fate.


Hi people who read this. What'd you think? Feel free to rip this story a new one, because I personally don't like Star Wars Rebels, but I did enjoy the Inquisitor, as I see him as some kind of Underdog. I wanted to see what would happen when he was pushed far enough. So, get ready.

BTW, you guys probably know this, but I don't own Star Wars, nor the characters in this story. I'm just using them for a cool Alternate universe Idea I had.