My Brothers Empire
Disclaimer: No credit gained, no credit wanted.
Summary: Darth Vader rules the galaxy with his master, Darth Sidious. His brother, Anakin Skywalker, lives with him against his will.
Chapter 10
Year 1, Month 1, Day 1
The once welcoming walls of the Jedi temple had, at one point, made Ashoka feel so safe and happy; these walls now signified her prison and the sadness of the now imprisoned Jedi order. Every week or so, a youngling was taken to the council chambers and Vader would kill them in front of the Jedi council.
This time, it was Ashoka.
Master Plo looked at her with a sad expresion as she knelt on the council floor, facing Vader. He was mocking the council and telling them that they were all powerless against him as he raised his lightsaber to kill her, when there was a great tremor in the force. It was unlike anything Ashoka had sensed before, a person more powerful than any Jedi, and the council had felt it too, she was sure.
The lightsaber came down with a flash of red, only to be stopped by another lightsaber, this one was blue. Ashoka looked up to the powerful force user and saw that he looked absolutley furious with Vader, who she could have sworn recoiled slightly at the sight of the man.
The man had to be young, he did not look as though he was a day over twenty one, and the aura around him was electrifying; the way that everything about him screamed power was almost frightening, almost. Something about this man was oddly comforting to Ashoka, though she did not know why.
Vader's and the mans lightsabers were still connected a few inches above Ashoka's head, as Vader let out a very low and dangerous threat. "Move. Now."
The man didnt even flinch, which Ashoka found to be very interesting; everyone flinched whenever Darth Vader gave them a command with the punishment of death echoed in his voice, but this man did not. Instead, he pulled up his and Vader's lightsabers with the force of his own and struck out at Vader's shoulder so fast that Vader had to move his lightsaber to block it and take a step back so that he did not get hit.
Ashoka was certain that the man had signed his own death certificate when Vader slashed his own lightsaber back at him, but then, to her astonishment, the man cut off Vader's hand as if it was the easiest thing in the world. She could sense that the council were utterly baffled by this person, and then they werent; they had realised something which she had not and she sensed hope from them for the first time in.. forever.
Just at that moment, when the man raised his own lightsaber to kill Vader, a group of stormtroopers burst into the room with half their blasters aimed at the man, and half of them aimed at Ashoka. The man moved away from Vader and stood in front of Ashoka in a protective fashion, which made Ashoka feel much better, for a reason that she did not know.
She sensed Vader's anger through the force before he showed it, and the rage was almost overwhelming; it would have been if another presence had not touched her mind and lifted the effects of that rage from it before it could do any damage.
"Take him back to the Exactor and lock the door this time." Vader growled at the stormtroopers, supporting his injured hand as he did so.
The stormtroopers moved towards the man, who raised his lightsaber at them and got ready to fight.
"Just come along willingly, sir." One of the stromtroopers said. "We do not want to hurt you, you are very kind to us."
"I know you dont, Rex." The man replied. "And I will go willingly on one condition."
"What?" Vader grumbled.
"She comes with me." The man said gesturing to a very startled and surprised Ashoka.
Had she just heard that right? The man knew the stormtroopers on a personal basis and wanted to take Ashoka with him back to Vader's flagship?
"My master will order her dead." Vader growled. "Why bother?"
"Your master couldnt get past me and you know it." The man replied. "Now either we take her with us, or there is going to be a fight. Your choice."
Vader was silent for a moment, and so was everyone else. Ashoka was certain that he would say no and that the man would then have to fight against him and his stormtroopers.
"Fine." Vader answered to much astonishment. "But if anything happens, Anakin-"
"I know, I know." The man known as Anakin replied. "Now dont you have some people to terrorise or are you finally seeing that no one gives a damn?" He asked cockily.
Ashoka's surprise was not easily hidden when Vader turned on his heel and left the room, his hand still on the floor from where Anakin had severed it. Anakin turned to Ashoka and knelt down in front of her with his lightsaber, offering out his hand for her to take.
Hesitantly, Ashoka took it and watched as Anakin used his lightsaber to destroy her handcuffs and helped her to her feet, which she could barely stand on from lack of use. He kept one hand on her arm to support her as he helped her out of the council chambers; Ashoka cast a final glance over her shoulder at Master Plo, who nodded to her, before they left the room.
The stormtroopers walked alongside them with their blasters and Ashoka knew that she should have felt paniced, really paniced; the force presence that had been around her mind before had returned and eased away her panic before she could even acknowledge that it was there. Ashoka wondered briefly if it was Anakin who was doing this, before they walked slowly into the entrance room and Barris looked up at her in shock, tears had been streaming down her face but had stopped once they saw Ashoka limping along with Anakin helping her along and being flanked by stormtroopers.
Many younglings looked up at her in shock and fear, wondering what was going to happen to her; to be honest, even Ashoka didnt know what was going to happen to her now. This man had saved her from death but provided no information as to what was going to happen with her, and she wanted to know badly. Just as they reached the outside of the temple, the blinding light of the Coruscant sun was painful against her eyes, she had been imprisoned in the Jedi temple for nine years now and even the light of the sun was too much for her.
That, coupled with the pain of beatings from Vader and Palpatine, almost made her collapse when the presence touched her mind again and everything faded to black in a gentle way.
Year 1, Month 1, Day 2
When Ashoka opened her eyes next, she was in a cell. This cell's lights had been dimmed somewhat, for which she was grateful, and it eased the presure off of her eyes that came from the lights that many people considered to be normal. Unbelievabley, Ashoka felt more afraid than she had at the Jedi temple. At least there she had been able to talk with Barris and they had lightened one anothers moods, and the younglings around them sometimes, so she could not feel the fear from Vader and Palpatine; she had only felt the pain from beatings and every Jedi in the temple had been beaten, that was the truth.
Ashoka realised that she was lying on something soft and comfortable. There were actually blankets and a pillow for her to use. In the temple they had just fallen asleep in their knelt positions and awoken feeling stiff and wishing for death. She felt strangely clean, looking down she saw that the tattered clothes she had been wearing had been replaced by a plain white top, trousers and socks, there were shoes at the side of the bed. Obviously someone had put her into the holding cell, but given her a lot of care and attention. Ashoka clenched and unclenched her hands in nervousness and realised that they were bandaged, someone had healed her wounds aswell.
Slowly, Ashoka sat up on the bed and looked around the room. The cell was actually quite clean, and decently built. The door was ray shielded, which meant that someone did not want her to leave; then again, no one had let her leave the temple, being a Jedi youngling. There was an unsettling silence in the room, which reminded her off the temple. She flinched at the thought of it. The temple had always been silent as people wallowed in despair and tried, and failed, to heal their wounds. Jedi knelt in rows along the walls so that they could be tortured and their screams would echo off of the walls, but Ashoka had not scremed; she had never screamed, simply fell into unconsciousness before any scream could escape her lips.
These thoughts alone were enough to scare Ashoka and she drew her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on top of them, rocking backwards and forwards slightly. She was afraid, very, very afraid. Now she wished that there was someone with her, more than anything, she wanted Barris with her. But that wasnt going to happen now, she was not in the temple and, if what Vader had said was true, she was on the flagship known as the Exactor.
Just as Ashoka prepared to panic and begin to cry, she sensed that familiar force presence again. The most powerful force presence she had ever sensed, and it was a welcome thing to her to have him near. The man, she thought, was called Anakin, according to Vader, but Vader never called anyone by their first name in her experience. The ray shield flickered and died around the door, and it slid open to reveal the man who had saved her in the council chambers.
Vader was shouting at him from the other room. "- had better not be any trouble!"
The man just rolled his eyes at the statement and walked down the steps and towards Ashoka, smiling softly at her as he came closer. "Hello." He greeted. "How are you feeling?"
Ashoka remained silent for a moment, surveying the man for the first time before answering. "I'm fine." She replied. "Much better than when I was in the temple."
The man nodded. "What's your name?" He questioned her.
"Ashoka Tano." Ashoka replied.
"Anakin Skywalker." The man replied. "Do you think you can walk? I'm not exactly keen on you staying in this prison cell for longer than you have to."
"How far will I be walking?" Ashoka asked carefully.
"Just to the turbo lift and then all you have to do is stand, wait and walk to the first door that you see." Anakin stated. "Is that alright?"
Ashoka nodded and, shakily, got to her feet. She put on her shoes before walking up to Anakin, who was stood beside the door waiting for her; he palmed open the door and led her out of the cell and directly to her right, where a turbo lift was. The stormtroopers standing either side of the door did not so much as move or shift uncomfortabley as Anakin and Ashoka passed them and walked into the turbo lift, which began to ascend the moment the doors lid shut. Ashoka looked up at Anakin and watched him carefully, taking in what he looked like.
He had dark blonde hair and blue eyes. His form was built as though he had excercised many times a day and he wore simple clothes which looked well used and comfortable, kind of like the ones that Ashoka was wearing at the moment. He wore a belt which held his lightsaber, which looked as though it had been built with a great deal of care and thought; it was built to fit his hands perfectly, she could tell by the way he had fought against Vader, and it obviously improved his fighting skills because of that.
The turbo lift came to a halt after a few seconds and Anakin stepped out, Ashoka following quickly behind him. There were considerably less stormtroopers on this level of the ship, but beside the only door on one side of the room there were stormtroopers standing guard as though they were keeping someone inside, Ashoka wondered if they were there because of her, or because of someone else. Anakin walked inside first, and Ashoka followed, sparing a glance at the stormtroopers as she did so. When she walked inside her eyes widened as she surveyed the room in front of her. A room, no doubt, which belonged to someone of very high status, it belonged to Darth Vader.
Vader was stood in the corner of the room, watching Anakin and Ashoka as they entered the room and making Ashoka feel uncomfortable as he did so. She positioned herself so that she was behind Anakin and did not have to look at the sith lord who had tormented her for nine years. Anakin did not even stop for more than a second when he saw Vader and simply continued to the left of the room, through a door which led to a lounge like area and then towards two doors that were side by side. He entered the one on the left and Ashoka saw that there was a bed inside with a chest of drawers beside it and a 'fresher to the side, there was also a door on the right side that led somewhere else. Anakin turned around to face Ashoka.
"This is your room." Anakin informed her. "In case you havent noticed, yes we are in Vader's quarters. This is because Darth Vader is my half brother, he and his emperor keep me imprisoned in here because the force wont let me die and because they cant let me run around the galaxy trying to destroy the empire. You are here because I wont let you spend your life in a cell and because I can make sure that he will not hurt you."
Ashoka nodded thoughtfully. "Are we allowed out of these quarters?" She asked curiously.
"No." Anakin replied sadly. "But there is more than enough things here to keep you entertained. There's a gymnasium if you want to practise with a lightsaber, HoloScreen in the lounge, a kitchenette to eat in, though I personally prefer to eat in the lounge, and lots of other things to do." Ashoka was silent as she processed the information that she was now a prisoner in Darth Vader's quarters instead of a prisoner in the Jedi temple with her friends. "I know it must be a little frightening living in the same area as Darth Vader, but he rarely comes this far into his quarters. There's a whole other area that he uses and he tends to keep to himself most of the time."
"How do I know that he wont hurt me?" Ashoka asked.
"I wont let him." Anakin replied. "Do you want to get some sleep or have something to eat? There are changes of clothes in the wardrobe for when you change your clothes in the mornings."
"I am a little hungry I guess," Ashoka said. In the temple there had been this really nice stormtrooper who would bring them food every two days or so, but Vader had found out a week ago and killed the man for being a traitor to the empire, Ashoka had been starving ever since but was unwilling to admit this to Anakin since she did not trust him yet.
Anakin smiled and nodded. "Come on, I'll get you something to eat." Anakin told her. Anakin walked out of Ashoka's room and Ashoka, after a moments pause, followed him out, through the lounge and into the kitchenette. The kitchenette smelled nice, nice enough to make Ashoka's mouth water just by sniffing the air. There had not been food like this in the temple, though there was none now, and she suspected that whatever Anakin made her she would love, though she had yet to decide whether or not she was going to trust Anakin or not.
Anakin gestured to a seat at the table. "Have a seat," He said. "I know you feel uncomfortable in here so if you dont want to eat in the lounge then in here is fine."
Ashoka sat down and frowned. How did Anakin know that? She knew that he had force abilities and that his signature was uncommonly strong, but surely he would have to pause for a few seconds to read her mind and get that much information out of her. Who was he?
Watching Anakin intently, Ashoka attempted to read his mind and see if he was lieing to her and wanted to cause her harm, but the barriers around his mind were so strong that she actually winced when she felt them slam down. Anakin chuckled with his back turned to her.
"You know, Ashoka, when you read someones mind try not to do it quite so obviously, try doing it softly so that they do not realise what you are doing." Anakin suggested.
Ashoka glared at his back and crossed her arms on the table, resting her chin on them. He sounded more like a mentor right now, and the fact that she could not know whether or not he meant her harm was frustrating beyond belief. But what he had said might be useful for the future, she had never tried to read someones mind before and only had acute force senses because she had only been trained for the first two years of her life. Anakin had obviously had some vigorous training or had trained himself for days on end, which she did not find possible.
Anakin turned around with two plates in his hands, both were filled with food and Ashoka could not help but gaze at it like a staring person, because that was what she was. He placed one plate in front of her with a fork and placed the other one beside it; Ashoka frowned again, she had thought that he would be eating also, but apparently not, which made her feel slightly cautious.
"I havent done anything to the food if that's what you're asking." Anakin said, reading her mind again. Ashoka looked up at him in frustration, how was he doing that without her knowing?
"Stop doing that." Ashoka told him.
"Doing what?"
"Reading my mind when I cant read yours, its really frustrating." Ashoka informed him.
"I could teach you how if you would like?" Anakin offered. "And how to have barriers around your mind at all times, even when you arent trying."
Ashoka considered the offer for a moment, before realising that this man was a total stranger. "I dont think so, I hardly know you."
Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "Well, whenever you feel like it, I'll show you. I'll leave you to eat -"Ashoka narrowed her eyes, had he done something to her food? "but if you insist on believing that I have done anything to your food, why not try and sense it?"
Ashoka sighed and looked at the table gloomily. "I cant. I was only trained to use the force for two years and my senses are only acute, I'm as weak as an untrained force sensitive."
"Alright then," Anakin said, using the force to levitate a piece of food from each of her plates into his hand and taking a bite ot of them. "there, you see? Its perfectly fine and safe."
Ashoka felt slightly jealous that he could use the force like that, but did not bother and began to eat her food slowly; she had the urge to shovel it in, being extremely hungry, but prefered to maintain her dignity as a Jedi and not to do that as long as Anakin was in the room. Anakin paused at the door on his way out and turned back to speak with Ashoka before he left.
"I'll teach you how to use the force to levitate objects after you eat," He said, he turned back around to the door and walked out of the kitchenette. Ashoka stared after him for a moment, furious that he had read her mind again, but soon got over it when she realised what he had said, he was going to teach her how to use the force. Somebody was actually going to teach her how to use the force for things that werent just sensing emotions.
Ashoka turned back to her food at took a large bite of it. It tasted really good, better than anything she had eaten in her memory and she could not help the way that she took another bite straight afterwards. She thought about her Jedi friends as she ate, and the way that Master Plo had looked at her when Vader was about to kill her and when Anakin had taken her out of the council chambers and away from Vader and the threat of death. When Vader had been about to kill her, he just looked at her as though all hope was lost, but when she looked at him as Anakin was saving her, the command on his face was very clear, 'go, save yourself'.
Closing her eyes, Ashoka forced the memory back into her heart and finished eating the food on the first plate and, after hearing her stomach grumble, moved to the second plate and ate the food that was on that plate. Ashoka just sat at the table for a moment more, thinking about the Jedi younglings that she had left behind. There was Barris, of course, her best friend. She did not know if she would ever see her again, if Ashoka ever did return to the temple Barris would most likely have been killed by Vader already. Not many survived for long in the temple if Vader was particularly angry.
Unable to think about the temple any longer, Ashoka stood up and departed the kitchen, arriving in the lounge where Anakin was sat on one of the two couches with his feet up, watching the HoloNet. He didnt so much as glance up at her, but what he said indicated that he did not have too to know that she had entered the room. "Enjoy your breakfast, Ashoka?" Anakin asked, his eyes not leaving the HoloNet.
"It was alright." Ashoka replied, though it was not entirely true. In truth, she had enjoyed her food more than she could say and could not wait to eat again. Shefelt something brushing at her mind and, the moment she pursued it, the feeling disappeared and Ashoka frowned.
"At least you can put up shields around your mind now." Anakin commented, sitting up straight with his feet on the floor.
"That thing brushing against my mind was you?" Ashoka asked.
"Yes." Anakin replied. "See how obvious it is when you try to read someones mind that way?"
Ashoka shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so."
"Come and sit down, personally I find its harder to learn to use the force if you're standing; if you use up all of your energy whilst sitting it doesnt make a difference, if you're standing then you have to spare some energy to make sure that you can stay standing." Anakin informed her.
Ashoka hesitated for a moment, before walking around the couch and sitting down on it. There was a coffee table in front of her which had a bowl and some shurra fruit on it. Arching an eyebrow, Ashoka looked back up at Anakin.
"Try and levitate those." Anakin told her.
Ashoka looked from the bowl of fruit back to Anakin. "I dont think I can do it, I'm not even sure how."
"Sure you can, just trust your instincts. Hold out your hand and will it to come to you, thats the easiest way to do it." Anakin said.
"But I saw you do it without moving or closing your eyes, how did you do that?" Ashoka asked.
"I'll teach you how after you practise doing it the easy way for a few days." Anakin said. "Now, hold out your hand and close your eyes." Anakin instructed. "Use the force and will something to come to you."
Ashoka did as she was told and had to focus really hard to feel the force, her force abilities had been repressed and unused for far too long and it took quite a bit off effort on her part to feel the force once more. When she did feel it in the way that she needed to, she had to focus even harder to find the fruit on the table within it. Ashoka was uncertain of how much time she took, but, eventually, she was able to make the bowl of fruit levitate slowly off of the table and into her hand, only then did she opened her eyes and stare at what she had just done and how easy it had been because of what Anakin had told her to do.
"It wasnt that hard was it?" Anakin asked.
"After I spent ages trying to reconnect with the force, it wasnt that hard." Ashoka said honestly. "What should I do now?"
"Whatever you want." Anakin said. "This is your home, Ashoka, no one tells you what to do here, though Vader tries his best."
"I would like to watch the HoloNet," Ashoka said. "I dont really know whats been happening in the galaxy since I've been kneeling on the temple floor for nine years."
"Fair enough," Anakin said. "You can watch it with me if you'd like, how old are you anyway?"
"Eleven." Ashoka replied.
Anakin nodded thoughtfully. "So you were only two years old when Vader took over the Jedi temple?"
"Yes." Ashoka replied. "But I didnt really know what was going on until he started torturing the people around me."
"You dont have to worry about that anymore, Ashoka. The empire wont last forever; lets just watch the HoloNet and figure out where we're going now. The Exactor wont be staying in Coruscnat's atmosphere forever."