Oh my. Why does it seem like life never slows down? I'll let you get right to it!
None of this belongs to me.
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Captain Raymus Antilles sat in the cockpit of a small freighter, heaving a sigh of frustration.
What a piece of junk. Where's the Tantive when I need her?
Of course he knew the answer. Yes, his "baby" was on lock down, at least for this mission, which was sanctioned by the Prince Consort himself. Of course, this mission was extremely confidential, which didn't come as a surprise to Antilles. Everything had to be done in secret these days, what with that damned Emperor and his Admiral constantly in pursuit of the Alliance. He often wondered how Senator Organa did it, living this double life between the Alliance and the Empire.
The ship creaked uneasily, pulling Captain Antilles out of his thoughts. He was coming out of hyperspace now, the bright streaks of blue fading away to reveal the planet of a thousand moons. An Imperial checkpoint had been set up since the capture of the Skywalkers, and no one could get in or out without the right security code. Lucky for him, he just so happened to have that code.
"Corellian Freighter, identify yourself." a voice crackled through the communicator.
"This is Iego's Pride coming in. I just finished a supply run and am returning home to pick up my next shipment." Antilles replied, coolly. "You boys sure set up shop here quick."
"It is necessary. A fugitive was found just outside of Cliffhold. That blasted Skywalker family had been hiding out here" the officer on the other end said. Antilles knew it was the Emperor's way of saying the Chosen One was in his clutches. Any hope that died with the capture of Skywalker was good for Palpatine. Now he was just showing off.
"I had heard about that on the Holonet. I'll be damned, we could've been neighbors and I never would've known it." Antilles shrugged, waiting for the officer to finish running the ship through the system.
"Iego's Pride, your ship checks out. What's the clearance code?"
"Ah, let me think," Antilles smirked, faking his loss of recollection. "Oh yes. Nine- Zero- One- Eight- Nine- A- Twenty-Seven." There was a brief pause as the officer ran the code.
"That checks out. You may proceed."
"Thanks! Have a good day!" Antilles said, a mock cheeriness in his voice.
He proceeded to the planet's surface, following the coordinates given to him by Senator Organa. The only real spaceport on the planet was in Cliffhold, anyway. The fact that it was just a few clicks from the Skywalkers' old residence was a great convenience for Antilles, saving him the trouble of having to waste time in traveling across the planet's rugged terrain. He landed the ship, gave a couple of credits to the owner of the docking bay, and went on his way.
The streets of Cliffhold were eerily empty. All the refugees hiding from the Empire had most likely moved on to another obscure planet in the Outer Rim. Dust blew up in the wind around a few Storm Troopers scouting the area. Captain Antilles ducked into a closed off doorway until the troopers passed. No point getting any unwanted questions. he thought, coming out of his little hiding place. He checked to see if the coast was clear, and continued through the streets, coming to what looked like a repair garage. He tried the door, but it was locked.
He knew it would be locked though. The Skywalkers were thorough and couldn't afford to make such a small mistake. Antilles couldn't help but wonder how they had gotten captured in the first place. Had someone recognized them? Had someone seen their wanted posters? Who knew but the Admiral Tano, Emperor Palpatine, and the poor bastard that had sold them out? He keyed in the code to one of the garage doors provided to him by Senator Organa, and the door raised to reveal a small speeder. He hopped into the small speeder and drove off to the coordinates of the Skywalker's residence.
It was a nice house just over a dusty ridge, shielded from the city. The inside wasn't so quaint. Sofas and caf tables flipped over and charred, doors kicked in, toys thrown about. I knew they had kids, but from the look of things I think they're more like hurricanes! Antilles chuckled, but perked up upon hearing a clatter come from the kitchen. He slowly drew his blaster from his belt, expecting to stumble upon a few stray troopers. He approached the kitchen, watching his step. He heard another clatter, as well as a hiss of some sort. Antilles raised a confused eyebrow. That's no stormtrooper...
He waited just outside the small doorway before jumping into the room, blaster raised. He was surprised to find nothing. Broken cups and plates cracked under the captain's boots as he stepped forward, pushing through fallen chairs. He stopped again as a soft rustling came from a closed cabinet to the left of him. Antilles lowered his blaster and reached his left hand out slowly to the cupboard. But just before he could open it, something small and furry jumped out at him.
"Stang!" he cried in surprise as the animal landed on his chest and knocked him to the ground.
He grunted as he tried to get the hissing animal off of him. Finally, after receiving a few scratches, Antilles managed to throw the thing aside. It landed on all four of its legs and looked at him with two beady eyes.
"A damn lothcat!" he said aloud as the family pet hissed at him, poised to attack again.
It was then that a stubby blue and silver domed astromech rolled into the room, followed by a tall gold protocol droid. The lothcat immediately backed down, moving over to the two droids and sitting down on its haunches.
"Hmph. Why Master Ani allowed Mistress Leia and Master Luke to keep that animal is beside me." the gold one stated, seeming to not have noticed the intruder. The astromech twittered and rolled up to Antilles, knocking into his side.
"You must be the astromech that sent out that transmission to Senator Organa." Antilles said, resting a hand on the droids dome. "Captain Raymus Antilles, your personal escort to Alderaan."
"Oh, thank the Maker! We're saved!" the gold one praised, raising its arms. "I am See-Threepio, human cyborg relations. And this is my counter-part, Artoo-Detoo."
"Nice to meet you both. And, the lothcat?" Antilles suppressed a grin.
"That's just Gucci. The children found him at the spaceport wandering around. Mistress Padme and I both agreed that children did not need to keep it, but Master-"
"A name would've been enough, chatterbox." Antilles got down on his knees and called the lothcat to him, taking out a ration bar. Gucci skipped over to the rebel captain and graciously took the ration stick, allowing Antilles to pet him. The lothcat seemed to have forgotten about any previous hostilities.
"You're not so bad. I'd imagine the children will appreciate having their pet back. We'll bring him along." Antilles winked. He stood back up and looked the droids over.
"There's not much time. It's almost been a week since Master Skywalker went missing, and we've no idea how he and the rest of his family are doing. We can hop on the speeder I've got outside and I've got a transport waiting for us back in Cliffhold." Artoo beeped and Antilles looked to See-Threepio for translation.
"Of course. We should be leaving right away! I'm sure Master Ani is worried sick!"
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Anakin cracked his eyes open, and almost forgot where he was. He looked around to see the dull Coruscant sun shine through his blinds. He saw his old podracing posters hanging on the walls, and the clutter of old storage bins. He realized that he was in his old room. He started to believe it was all a dream; Order 66, Darth Vader, the Empire. As if it never happened. It lasted for all of two minutes.
He barely moved an inch, and pain exploded throughout his body. His back stung, his legs ached, his left arm was definitely broken, he realized he was lying in a pool of his own blood. He then remembered his predicament. He remembered the torture, the awful things that were said. He groaned and gasped as he rolled over. It was then that he saw a figure sitting just across the room on some of the boxes. Ahsoka. She sat still, smile as smug as a child who had smooth talked their way out of punishment.
"Back for more?" Anakin ground out. Ahsoka chuckled.
"Perhaps. I seem to have run out of ideas for physical torture."
Anakin winced, remembering the scratches on his back from his old apprentice's prosthesis. He remembered the hand-to-hand combat that he had been to weak to fight back for, the snap of his arm and the Force choke that ultimately rendered him unconscious.
"It's pathetic, really." Ahoska cooed, not moving, "You were the greatest Jedi ever. And the simplest thing drove you to destroy it all. Tell me. If you had a dream of my death, would you go to such great lengths to make sure I lived?" Anakin paused, eyes widening.
"Of course, Snips. I-" Anakin started, but was cut off when Ahsoka leapt to him with her lightsaber at his neck.
"You don't get to call me that! That name is nothing! It belonged to the weak padawan you almost had murdered years ago!" she snapped.
She held the lightsaber there for a moment longer, and Anakin thought she would end it right there.
"Emperor Palpatine ordered me not to kill you." she stated, not removing the lightsaber. "It's so tempting, having my opportunity right here, but I am forbidden to take it." She switched her weapon off.
"I'm sorry to disappoint." Anakin replied, then adding, "Wouldn't be the first time."
Ahsoka sat back down, eyeing him. "No. It wouldn't."
They sat in silence for a few moments.
"Tell me, Skywalker. How does it feel to carry this guilt with you everywhere you go? How can your family bear to love the monster you've become?" Ahsoka asked softly.
"It haunts me." Anakin said sincerely, surprised that he was even answering the question. "I haven't had a full night of real sleep in years." Ahsoka narrowed her eyes, but listened.
"Padme and Obi-Wan have stood by me, helping me through it. But then Luke asks about the Jedi, and I-"
"You haven't even told them, have you? Your own children?" Ahsoka laughed, standing back up again. "You don't even think your own children would accept what you have done. Then again, I suppose I don't blame you because you're right. They wouldn't be able to accept the monster that is their own father."
Anakin remained silent, realizing his mistake. He winced as he turned over in his old bed, attempting to sit up. Ahsoka frowned.
"You are still living a lie. After all these years, you are still living a lie. There are no more Jedi, no more rules, and yet you choose to continue living in torment. So weak. You've forgotten the Dark Side, you've forgotten that it gives you strength to do whatever it is that pleases you."
Anakin remained silent, his lips a thin line across his face.
"Don't you see what you've done to the galaxy? You made it so easy for a Sith to just waltz right in and take over. Come on! I thought you were supposed to be the Chosen One, and now you're here being tortured on a daily basis because you refuse not be a pain in the ass based on some old, worn out philosophy drilled into your head by the Jedi.
"It's a double-edged sword. If you join him and do as he says, you'll be right back where you started, and all that you've worked hard for with have been for nothing. The secrets, the family life on Iego, out the window just like that. And if you don't join him, you know he won't hesitate to destroy everything you ever made you happy. He will drive his lightsaber straight through Padme's chest and not give a second thought."
Ahsoka's voice was raised, as she towered over Anakin's weak form. For the first time in his captivity, he allowed himself to let tears fall from his eyes. There was no point in hiding, not from Ahsoka, anyway. He knew she was right. He knew he was the reason for all of this. He knew it would probably be best if she just killed him right there. He sucked in some air as Ahsoka continued, obviously taking pride in the fact that she was getting into his head.
"He wouldn't hesitate the same way you didn't hesitate when you murdered those younglings. Or when you killed Shaak Ti or Master Jurokk. The same way you didn't hesitate to give the order to have me killed. It's inevitable, Skywalker. Every person you love will die, and it will always be your fault."
"STOP! ENOUGH!" Anakin cried out, attempting to jump at Ahsoka, but she was able to catch him in mid-air with the Force and slam him into a wall, pinning him there. Anakin winced and groaned while pain settled all over his body. Ahsoka stepped closer to him, her eyes softening.
"You were so close, Skywalker." Ahsoka whispered. "Everyone believed in you, I believed in you."
"Then why are you doing this, Ahsoka?" Anakin tried to shift, but found he could not, as it only pained him more. "You could help us. I could help you defeat Palpatine. You could come back to us and-"
"You misunderstand, Skywalker." she replied, her glare hardening. "I was naive then. I have since learned that looking inward is the only way to achieve ultimate power. How dare you think I'd help the very man who destroyed it all for me."
Anakin remained silent, as a stormtrooper entered the room. Ahsoka turned to the trooper, but kept her hand raised to hold Anakin against the wall.
"Emperor Palpatine believes the prisoner should be brought back to the palace so that his wounds may be treated. Once the prisoner is well again, he must be brought to the Emperor." the trooper said, just barely loud enough for Anakin to hear. Ahsoka growled, but complied.
"Very well. We'll be along in a moment." Ahsoka softly replied. "Trooper, I suggest you bring in a stretcher to take Skywalker back to the palace. I have a feeling he won't be fit to walk."
The trooper saluted and left. Ahsoka turned around slowly, a pensive look on her face as Anakin grunted. She then looked up, glaring.
"This isn't finished, Skywalker. If anyone in this galaxy is going to kill you, it will be me. And I will enjoy every second of it. But since I can't kill you now, I suppose a bit of a 'parting gift' is in order." she said as she ignited her lightsaber. Anakin's eyes widened in fear as an invisible force began to squeeze his neck. He couldn't breathe.
Ahsoka stepped forward as Anakin gasped, and raised her lightsaber. She brought the lightsaber down on him, slashing across his body from his left shoulder blade to his right hip. Anakin yelped in agony despite the lack of air in his lungs. Ahsoka waved her hand, and sent Anakin flying across the room, smacking him into a wall.
And Anakin's world went black.
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Hope you enjoyed this one. I wanted to bring back the droids and show that they were not forgotten, as well as Gucci the lothcat because what the heck? I also wanted you guys to see some Anakin/Ahsoka stuff. There will be a lot more on this later, I promise. This is just a bit of a starting point.
Review, follow, and favorite! I love how much attention this rewrite is getting!
