I really appreciate the response I've gotten. I hope this chapter doesn't muck it up too much!
Chapter 3
Few had ever seen the Jedi Council in such an uproar. They all turned to Anakin, who'd backed away in fear. No. No it couldn't be possible. Padmé had only told Anakin that day she was pregnant. This man was older than Anakin! It couldn't… it couldn't be…
"Skywalker, are you related to Anakin? I didn't think he had any siblings."
He didn't. Luke knew that as well as they rest of them. He also knew that if he wasn't careful he'd set his father on a path far worse than that of Darth Vader's. "Anakin is my father."
"This is outrageous!" Master Windu cried, jumping to his feet. "Jedi are forbidden!"
Luke remained calm, a testament to his training, amid the chaos. "Please, let me tell you a story that I only learned a few hours ago myself. A story told to me by the ghost of my father, and Masters Yoda and Kenobi."
The other masters looked to Yoda, who nodded. He already had a sense that there was something going on between Padmé and Anakin. The news of a child being produced didn't surprise him too much. "Speak you shall," Yoda told Luke. "Only then, judge Anakin, we can."
"Thank you," Luke told them with a bow. He turned to his father, who looked both terrified, and happy, but had to look away. Luke found all their eyes too filled with expectations. One pair of eyes wasn't though, and so Luke found himself telling the story to Rey, perhaps the only one who would understand. "My father was born to a slave and no one else. He had no father but the Force. When he was just a child he managed to win his freedom in a pod race, and left his home planet of Tatooine with Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and a Padawan named Obi-Wan Kenobi. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had with them the Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo, though they did not know that the true Padmé was disguised as a maidservant. And so Anakin met Padmé, and thought her a beautiful angel."
"In those days there was a sith apprentice named Darth Maul who followed his master well. His master controlled the Trade Federation that terrorized Naboo. It was because of this master than Anakin met Padmé, but even the Sith did not realize how beneficial to his plans their meeting would be. No, Darth Maul's Sith master didn't know of Anakin or his Force potential until later, when my father was being trained by Obi-Wan in the ways of the Jedi. At that point Darth Maul was dead, and his master found a new apprentice in Count Dooku. He wished for a different apprentice though, one whose command of the Force was unparalleled. He wanted the incredible Jedi- padawan freshly picked from the deserts of Tatooine."
No one liked the sound of that, Luke felt their tension. But Rey held none. She listened intently, curious to heard the side of the story no one told. She never knew who Darth Vader was before he became a killer.
"A decade later and Anakin was a powerful padawan. Along with his master he was assigned to protect Padmé, now Naboo's senator. It was the beginning of the Clone war, and all Jedi were stretched thin. Obi-Wan left Anakin alone with Padmé and the two found that their love was unbearable. It was made worse as Anakin had been having terrible visions of his mother's death. He brought Padmé back to Tatooine with him, where he found his mother had been taken by Sandpeople. We went after them to save her, but it was too late. She died, and Anakin, filled with the Dark Side, killed all of them, even the innocents. Immediately he felt disgrace, but the Darkness was there. Padmé's light was all that made him feel better and so they married in secret."
Luke half expected his father to be arrested or something, but none moved. They held on to his every word.
"The Clone Wars were a terrible time, and the secret lovers were rarely together. But they were together the day Anakin returned to Corusant after killing Count Dooku at the urging of Chancellor Palpatine, Padmé told him that she was pregnant. It was the best day of his life, and the worst. He knew if anyone found out she would be removed from her position as senator and he would be banished from the Jedi order. And yet he loved his child, he loved his child desperately and wanted nothing more than to be the father he never had."
Everyone expected the story to be done, considering they'd caught up to the present, but Luke charged on.
"And then, one night, Anakin had a terrible vision. The Force showed him the death of his wife during childbirth. He knew a Jedi should not feel fear, that fear of loss was why attachments were forbidden, but he could not allow Padmé to die. So he turned to the only one he trusted-Chancellor Palpatine. The Chancellor told him the story of a Sith Lord who discovered a way to stop death. Anakin was desperate to save Padmé, and researched the ability, but found nothing."
"And then, one day, he realized the truth. Chancellor Palpatine, his friend, his mentor, was actually the Sith Master he'd spent so many years searching for. He ran to the temple with the news, and found Master Windu there. Master Windu set off with the best Jedi to stop Palpatine, but left Anakin behind. Anakin realized that they did not intend to just arrest Palpatine. He would be killed, and with him would die any hope of saving Padmé. And so Anakin rushed after them, and found himself faced with a choice. He could fight Master Windu and save Padmé, or let the Sith die, as it should be."
"He didn't have the strength to let go of his fear, and so he cut off Master Windu's hand, much the same way Count Dooku had done to him years earlier. Palpatine took the opportunity and struck at Master Windu with Force lighting, killing the Jedi master. Anakin knew what he had done. He knew it was unforgivable and he would never be redeemed. And so, he accepted Palpatine's offer to become a Sith apprentice, become Darth Vader, and Palpatine promised together they find a way to save Padmé."
"His first test, however, was a horrible one. Palpatine ordered all the Jedi killed. The Clones carried out his order, but it was Darth Vader who led the attack on the Jedi Temple. It was Darth Vader who slaughtered the younglings that flocked to him for protection."
"He returned to Padmé, but was sent by his master soon after to Mustafar to destroy the remains of the Separatist movement. Palpatine had been leading both sides of the war for years, but he was done with the shadows. While Darth Vader destroyed the Separatists, Chancellor Palpatine declared himself Emperor."
"Darth Vader was not entirely dark though. His love for Padmé and their unborn child persisted. Until Padmé showed up on Mustafar to try and reason with him. Obi-Wan had come to her, hoping to stop Anakin, save him before it was too late, but it already was. When Darth Vader realized Obi-Wan was there he choked Padmé to the brink of death, and then dueled his former master."
"It was the most terrible duel. Everything Anakin knew he'd learned from Obi-Wan, but Darth Vader had the power of the Dark Side. Darth Vader knew hate, and he hated Obi-Wan Kenobi. He hated the Jedi Code which kept his wife a secret. And he hated himself, for hurting the love of his life. That power strengthened him, and so the two fought as pure equals. Neither would have won, but Darth Vader was filled with pride. He attempted to jump over Obi-Wan, regain the high ground. Obi- Wan cut off all his limps, and watched as his former apprentice was engulfed by flames."
"Obi-Wan left his former padawan there to die, and escaped with Padmé. She was dying, not from anyone's actions, but because she lacked the will to live. Medical droids worked quickly to remove the children before she died. Anakin never knew his wife had their child, their twins, because Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan made it appear as if she was still pregnant when buried. The children, Luke and Leia, were separated for their protection. Leia was adopted by Bail Organa, and raised as a princess of Alderann. Luke was sent to his step-uncle Owen's, where he was raised with no knowledge of his family, but for his father's name."
"And that father fell in to the pit of the Dark Side, for he had nothing else, not after he killed his own wife and child, as Palpatine led him to believe. He was the Emperor's slave, killing without mercy, and controlling the galaxy with fear. Any trace of the young slave boy who just wanted to see the galaxy, was gone, hidden behind the life support systems that kept his injuries from Mustafar from killing him."
"And then, nineteen years later, a brave crew stole the plans for the Emperor's deadly weapon, the Death Star, designed to destroy whole planets at once. This crew was part of the rebel alliance that sprung up against the Empire, hoping to restore the republic. One member of that alliance was Leia Organa, the young princess of Alderann. She was captured transporting the plans, and tortured by Darth Vader, who knew not that she was his lost daughter. She managed to get a message to the one man her father always said would help- Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Her brother Luke was still on Tatooine, dreaming, as his father had, of flying away. Luke found the droids Leia sent begging for Obi-Wan's help. He brought the droid to the only Kenobi he knew, wacky Ben Kenobi the hermit. But Ben Kenobi was not wacky or a hermit. He was a Jedi in hiding, and he told Luke the truth, that his father, Anakin, had been a great Jedi, and that Luke could train and follow in his father's footsteps. Luke was afraid to go, but the Empire killed Luke's family while he was with Ben. There was no reason for him to stay. And so he followed Ben, where he met a great smuggler named Han Solo, and his copilot Chewbacca."
"They managed to rescue Leia, but Ben died in the process. His death was not in vain though. Luke managed to destroy the death star and join the Rebels. He fought with them for years, until he discovered that there was another Jedi-Master in the Degobah System. Luke found Master Yoda, and trained under him. He went back, though, to save his friends, and in the process discovered the true identity of Darth Vader. Darth Vader tried to turn his son to the Dark Side, but Luke would not be swayed. He returned to finish his training, and was told the truth about his sister. When he faced his father again, Darth Vader brought him to the Emperor, who tried to bring Luke to the Dark Side. But again Luke would not sway. It wasn't until Darth Vader threatened to turn Leia that Luke responded and fought his father, but Luke did not kill him. He refused to turn to the Dark Side, and begged his father to return to the light. Darth Vader did not, and stood watching as the Emperor tried to kill his son. But right before Palpatine's lightning killed Luke, Anakin Skywalker saved his son and killed Palpatine. He returned to the Light Side because of he loved his son. And he died for his son, knowing he should not be forgiven, but that he was."
"You see, Anakin Skywalker broke the Jedi code. His attachments led him to the Dark Side as everyone warned they would. But, his attachments also saved him, and allowed for him to fulfill his destiny as the Chosen One. So perhaps those attachments aren't so bad after all."