HEROES AND VILLAINS By Kondoru.
Alternative ending to RotJ
Standard Disclaimers.
Thanks to Budgie for Beating.
Chapter Eleven; Anakin is Found innocent and gets Licked.
-Some minutes after Leia Organa was dragged out of the Courtroom by Imperial Guards…-
"Court Adjourned!" Said Mon Mothma. They all needed a break.
"Hey hang on!" Growled Anakin, still shaking lightly from the effort of catching the blaster bolt. "You said I am guilty…Do I get sentenced now?"
Luke shook his head sadly.
"Oh, yes," Mon Mothma replied as if this had quite slipped her memory. "Thank you for reminding me."
"Can't he be pardoned after all the things he's been through?" Luke said. "Dad is on our side now."
Mon Mothma shook her head to the murmurings of the courtroom. "Guilty of Crimes against Civilisation." She smirked wryly. "Do we want to see any more miscarriages of justice, Jedi Skywalker?"
Luke was taken aback. "No, Lady."
"But there is one crime the accused will be cleared of."
"And what is that?" Asked Anakin with suspicion.
"Master Skywalker is not guilty of murdering his wife Padme Naberrie."
Shock rippled through the courtroom.
"Well, this was unexpected." Han said to Chewbacca, who looked glum.
Anakin Skywalker had gone up in the world. He now had a bed. He was unusually comfortable, doubly so because the doctors had finally got his pain meds sorted.
Luke was staying with his father. To keep him company as much as anything else. He left his cell for a period each afternoon to get fresh air (though that term could hardly be used for Coruscanti air). Otherwise he remained in with Anakin. He took care of all aspects of his father's welfare, monitoring his health through the still functional suits computer. (Though Anakin seemed to be pretty stable).
It was time for Father/Son bonding. Something Anakin had always dreamed of. (And Darth Vader never dared to.)
They sat and watched the Holos. Tonight was Etsi Yanadai. She was interviewing some Grav ball player, bouncing around herself. Anakin smiled indulgently. The Twi'leks career was now his.
The bell rang, and the door slid back. The Imperial guard stepped in. "Han Solo is here to see you." He said in a manner that clearly indicated he believed the rogue should actually be in the cell instead of Luke.
"Luke!" Han hugged his best friend (`best` after Navigator and girlfriend…) "So you're babysitting the…Baby?"
Anakin pursed his hairless brows together in an attempt at a frown. "I suppose there's a lot of other things you thought of calling me?" He asked acidly.
"Dad…" Chided Luke "Hans my best friend…After you, of course." He qualified.
"Master Anakin, you are a baby. You are helpless and need constant care, plus you are a pathetic hairless thing." Han said.
Luke was grimacing.
"You know I am not going to apologise to Mr Solo here for putting him in Carbonite…" Anakin growled.
"Yes, I suppose you have heard of the element of New Republic politics who are demanding you be put in Carbonite?" Han riposted.
Anakin rolled his eyes. He himself had once been frozen in Carbonite, in order to get past Separatist security. He wasn't going to tell his frenemy this…And was rather hoping Ashoka never would. "Oh, I knew it would come to that…However I have too high an entertainment value at the moment."
"Yes, you are quite the clown." Han backed.
"I've got my father on liquids. " Luke said as if this was a proud achievement. (It was. Anakin had taken some time and not a bit of grumbling to get used to swallowing again). He needed to defuse this fight.
"You know what I said about you babysitting? You will be wiping his ass next." Han told him.
Anakin gave a big sigh. "Anyway who's the respectable guy who I heard was dating my daughter?" Anakin said dangerously. "The one who is currently in probably the most secure prison in the Empire awaiting a charge of attempted murder…Of her doting daddy no less." He smiled. "I must warn him about her."
"Oh" said Han, who had been wondering how to put this delicate subject to the Ex-Sith Lord.
"Do you still want to marry my daughter?" Anakin prodded.
"Now's not the time to bring that up, Dad."
"Now's as good a time as any." Laughed the Elder Skywalker.
His discomfited victim retreated to the safety of a Wookie and a pint glass.
Luke kissed his father good night and tucked him in. He switched off the light and settled into his own bed.
He could not see his father weeping silently; how long had it been since anyone had ever done such things for him?
So, The Jedi Master was on trial again.
The next day the courtroom was missing Leia, or not so, as her sour mood had been infectious. Anakin was still the centre of attention, and still enjoying himself too much.
Mon Mothma was going to put paid to that. The Accused had spent too long in looking pleased with himself. It was time to bring him down. She had already dropped the bombshell of his wife's fate on him. The lady glowered at the too bouncy accused. She stalked slowly up and down the podium a bit.
"Padme Naberrie was the youngest elected Queen of Naboo, at fourteen." She opened slowly. "She went on to become a senator, representing her planet. She was a good friend of mine; she always worked hard for the oppressed, for democracy, and the rights of sentients everywhere. She was a pacifist, and opposed the Clone war, -even to the extent of illegally visiting old friends in Separatist planets…But she was the one to be on your side in a firefight." Mon Mothma shook her head sadly. "She died young, while pregnant, -and there was a lot of speculation as to who the father was." The Lady looked up sharply. "Imagine my perplexity when recently I discovered she had given birth, -the still pregnant at death was a ruse, and her children were Luke and Leia…and the father was Darth Vader." She was silent for a minute. "The Man who represents everything she ever fought against…"
The hall was silent. Anakin inspected his boots.
"I was further surprised to find that Anakin Skywalker had married my good friend in secret, and horrified to find that it was him who was responsible for her death!"
Anakin started to whimper. "I didn't mean to kill her, Padme smuggled Obi-Wan aboard her shuttle and he came to fight me." He wailed. "I would never intentionally hurt my Angel!"
"I see. But she didn't die, not right away." Dr Querken said. "I have got her records from Polis Massa, the medical outpost where she died."
"She lived long enough to give birth to the twins." Mon Mothma said.
"Yes. Died Half an hour after. According to the records…Padme Naberrie died of a broken heart." He looked baffled.
"Is that medically possible?" Asked Dr Camus.
Dr Querken shook his head. "I am not sure…Certainly there have been many cases where an otherwise healthy patient has just given up on life."
"At this late stage, do we agree that an autopsy would be unhelpful?" Mon Mothma asked.
Anakin looked shocked. "I am not giving you permission to dig up my wife!"
"Even to clear yourself of a murder charge?" General Rieekan said archly.
Anakin lowered his head. "I suppose after all the deaths I have caused, one more doesn't matter?" He whined, "Well, to me it does."
"It's not certain you did cause her death." Dr Querken was pale. "The medical records claim there were bruises on her throat, -marks of someone's fingers."
Anakin was pale under his burns. "There would be. I Force Choked her." He went back to studying his boots.
"Her throat was bruised, to be sure. Nothing in her records indicates that this minor injury caused her death. So I would say that she died of indeterminate causes which may or may not have been related to this `Force Choking. ` It wasn't the direct cause of death."
"Ashoka Tano. As an Ex-Jedi, can you explain to me what a `Force Choke` entails?" Mon Mothma asked.
Ashoka stood up. "It's an attack used by both Sith and Jedi." She began, gesturing with orange hands "You use the Force to crush an enemy's windpipe, cutting off their air and eventually killing them." She answered. "Do you want a demonstration?" the Togruta asked hopefully. "I will need a volunteer." She scanned around the hall with unseemly enthusiasm.
"I was going to offer you the accused here but his breathings not good." Mon Mothma mused. "Something for our psychologists to study…Why Darth Vader likes to throttle people when he has breathing difficulties himself."
Anakin shuddered.
Luke got to his feet. "I will do it" He straightened. "Here, I am, Ashoka."
Ashoka gave an Akuls smile. She made a crushing grip with one hand.
And Luke felt her fingers around his throat, even though Ashoka was clearly at the other end of the podium. He gasped, scrabbling at his neck in a vain effort to prise the invisible fingers off him. Ashoka flexed her fingers, Luke whimpered and fell to his knees.
"Padawan Tano!" ordered Anakin in alarm.
Ashoka laughed and released her mystical grip. Luke rose slowly to his feet, wheezing.
He clearly had red finger marks on his throat.
"Well, that explains a lot. Thank you, Master Tano, for this very helpful demonstration." Mon Mothma said. "And thank you Master Skywalker Junior, for being such a good sport."
Luke gave a slight laugh, rubbing his throat ruefully.
"So, Master Skywalker Senior here is cleared of the murder of his wife, Padme Naberrie." She glowered at Anakin. "One thing is certain." Mon Mothma straightened. "Anakin Skywalker, you stand accused of striking your pregnant wife."
Anakin Skywalker was in a bind. "I plead guilty, and thank you for clearing me of her murder."
"Your punishment will be severe." Lady Mothma said grimly. "Do not be surprised if it makes even a hardened criminal quake in their boots."
Now Mon Mothma had plans, -Big plans. One of her myriad aims was to get Leia reconciled with her father. She knew the young woman had a great empathy for victims. Time to ill-treat the elder Skywalker…She smiled inwardly.
"I propose that for this heinous and deviant crime the Jedi Master, Anakin Skywalker be given fifty lashed publically. We civilised folk will stand no less for this monstrous deed."
"No!" Cried her victim. There was a lot of yays and nays from the hall.
"His crime is a particularly vile one. " Admiral Akbar said sternly.
"I don't agree with public floggings," Luke stepped forwards. Mon Mothma was going too far!
The Admiral shook his head sadly. "None of us do. However Anakins Skywalkers treatment of his wife went beyond what most brutes would have done."
"What about my father's rather poor state of health?" Asked Luke "you know he is very delicate."
"It will be done under proper medical supervision." Mon Mothma reassured. "I'm not sure about delicate…You could rub his nose on a neutron star and he would recover."
"How about a suspended sentence? Heal him up first?" Luke suggested, his face pale.
Anakin shuddered. "I would far prefer to be whipped and be done with it than to have that hanging over my head."
Ashoka Tano stood up. She had been silent apart from terse questions all through the trial. "The main part of this punishment is the public humiliation aspect." She paused. "Just being stripped naked in front of a jeering crowd…" The Togruta woman shuddered, her montrals flushing blue.
"Have you ever been whipped in public?" Luke asked.
Ashoka winced. "Twice. The memory tends to linger. I got in trouble a lot as a Padawan."
Mon Mothma gave a wry smile. "You are telling us that such things went on in the Temple?" she prodded.
Ashoka and Anakin nodded.
"And did the experience teach you anything? You didn't offend ever again?" Mon Mothma asked.
Ashoka looked sheepish, guilt all written over her birthmarked face. "I can't recall what it was for. Only that it was bad enough to merit such extreme measures." She turned to Anakin.
Anakin just smiled. "Ashoka is a Togruta; they get very distressed when put in isolation, as she would have been if the Council sentenced her to the Detention level…So they whipped her instead."
Ashoka perked up "What did I do? Do you remember?"
But Anakin just laughed.
"Anyhow. Did the Emperor ever beat you?" Mon Mothma added.
Anakin nodded. "He was often physical in his chastisements. The whip was much less chance of damaging my life support and cybernetics than using his Force Lightning." He confirmed.
"So that clinches it." Mom Mothma said with a satisfied tone in her voice. "Anakin Skywalker, in spite of his health problems has indeed been whipped in the past, and he survived it. We can do this too."
"No!" cried Luke.
"You will do it and not be soft on the criminal," growled Mon Mothma.
"He's my father!" Protested Luke.
"If it's any good to you, you're a victim of this vile crime too." Admiral Akbar said sadly. "Your mother was pregnant with you when it occurred."
Luke looked at his feet. "Yes, but I don't actually remember it." He mumbled to himself.
It was fortunate that Artoo had located the suits data files in the palace records, or they would have never been able to remove Anakins armour with any ease
Etsi, of course was covering Anakin Skywalkers flogging. It was obvious she was itching to see parts of Darth Vader that people had speculated about for many years; but then she was a Twi'lek…
The momentous event took place at the top of the steps of the imperial palace, a place Anakin remembered all too well.
The victim was carried out on a stretcher, to the jeers and boos of the crowd, who were in a holiday mood. Also very keen to see the Emperor's Enforcer, the bogey man of the past two decades, laid low.
His armour plates were removed piece by piece
Slowly his bare skin was uncovered. Soon their victim was down to flesh and skeletal cybernetic limbs. He looked truly awful. The unfortunate was covered in dead skin and sores. Anakin smelt like a corpse. Very little of him resembled a human. Anakin did possess genitals, -a matter of much speculation for these two decades, but they were so damaged as to make all wonder if he would be better off without them.
Certainly even Etsi gave a big sympathetic gasp.
Luke too was playing a role.
Today was his turn to be the Bad Guy. He marched up to the podium, and it was all too obvious just who the black surcoat and cloak had once belonged to. Everyone cheered delightedly.
Following him was Master Tano, the Grey Force user, this time in a black robe. She bore a heavy whip, her birthmarked and masklike face expressionless.
The young Jedi stepped up to the offending object. Anakin cringed.
"Have you anything to say for yourself?" Demanded Luke sternly.
Anakin tried to pull his floppy limbs around himself. "I am truly sorry for hitting your mother. I have agonised over it for all these years." Anakin hung his head. "Please don't think I am doing this to get my punishment reduced."
"That's good because you are getting an extra ten lashes." Mon Mothma said.
"As you will, my Lady." Anakin said in an apathetic tone and in that moment all knew he had been born a slave.
The Imperial guard picked up the sad Jedi and strapped him firmly by his useless metal limbs to the whipping post. They gagged him with a curb that held his jaws tight but could not cut off his breathing.
Luke took the whip off of a silent Ashoka. He looked to Mon Mothma for confirmation.
Mon Mothma addressed the crowd. "What you are about to witness is an unfortunately necessary departure from Alliance justice, and one we hope never to have to mete out ever again. Do all agree this is well deserved and indeed overdue?"
The crowd, sad to say, cheered and told her to get on with it.
"Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker; you were found guilty of striking your wife, Padme Naberrie, in such a manner as for this to be implied in her subsequent death, though we have no sure way of proving the two events were connected, not at this late stage. She was eight months pregnant at the time; a state you claim you were well aware of. Do you agree these facts are correct?
Anakin couldn't speak but he nodded.
"For this completely unacceptable and shameful crime, you were sentenced to fifty lashes, now increased to sixty, since it is all too obvious you were hoping for a reduction, a curtailment even?" She said archly.
Anakin shuddered and nodded again.
"Do not expect any sympathy from us, because you fully deserve it." She turned to Ashoka, "Master Tano, you will count. Begin."
"One!" Said Ashoka.
Luke, for all his devotion to his father, proved to be a master with the whip. In spite of Anakins damaged skin very few of Luke's blows cut, but they all left a raw red line. He spaced out his blows with care, giving his victim time for each and every one to make an impression, and sadistically randomised his target, working from shoulder to buttock haphazardly.
Anakin whimpered and begged for mercy. He got none.
At the count of forty Mon Mothma signed to Ashoka to stop. She stepped up to Anakin, inspecting him minutely. Anakin begged her silently with his eyes to end this torment. The Lady turned back to Luke, who secretly was wanting to stop as well. "Continue." She said.
Darth Vader got the full amount he was due.
Eventually the ordeal was over, Anakin was left a quivering, weeping lump of sore flesh. The guard untied his bonds and he flopped to the ground in a boneless heap.
"It's over now." Ashoka picked up her Ex-master, wrapping him in a blanket. Luke held a canteen of water to Anakins scarred lips.
That wasn't the end of anything.
After a few days recovering, a very subdued miscreant was brought back into the hall, this time for his final sentencing. Anakin had been washed over with antiseptic fluid three times daily, he had been given no pain medication recently, and was feeling that this was a rather retrograde step. Nor was he rubbed in Bacta, -nothing to speed up his healing. The bed was gone too. He had a thin mat on the cell floor. Luke and Ashoka looked after him, but secretly he felt rather neglected. Not to mention rather apprehensive as to what Mon Mothma had in store for his other crimes. He had not imagined she would go so far as to actually brutalise him.
He was no longer attired in such friendly fashion as a Jedi. Instead he wore just a cloth around his middle, once clean, now unwholesomely spotted with urine, pus and blood. His bare skin showed the full effects of Alliance justice. He looked like he was on sale in the slave markets. (But who would purchase such a sorry creature?) Again he was placed upon the floor, but in deference to his damaged skin, upon a soft mat. His oxygen bottle was clunked down by him. Anakin gave a big sigh.
Dr Querken stood up. He was the self-appointed leader of Anakins medical team, with the cyberneticist Dr Camus in charge of the mechanical bits.
"I ask that my patient be spared no expense in helping him rehabilitate to normal life. As his records show, Anakin Skywalker has undergone the worst of inhuman treatment in his life, his physical health is very frail, I have full belief he will reform and never offend again. I do not wish to see anything less." He announced. The doctor sat down to applause.
Anakin watched all this in silence, as if it concerned a stranger.
"Feeling better?" Mon Mothma asked nastily.
Anakin looked sheepish. He was not feeling much better. "I have meditated on my sins a bit and no, I'm feeling very ashamed."
"Good. You are a Naughty boy." The lady pulled herself up to her full height. "Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker is still guilty of Crimes against Civilisation…Agreed?"
Anakin nodded, even though the movement pulled unpleasantly at his sore back. "Yes, I plead guilty…This isn't going to involve anything too painful?"
Nobody laughed, even though all thought it amusing.
Mon Mothma shook her head. "No more beatings…But I can't promise that the Governor of the Shard will not have a whip."
Anakin hung his head. "I knew it would come to this."
"I sentence you to life imprisonment with hard labour."
"Lady" chided Luke unhappily.
Mon Mothma waved a hand. "You seem to spend a lot of time forgetting what dreadful things your father has done." She shook her head "And your Sister remembering…"
Luke looked grim. "Dads repented of the Dark Side, he killed the Emperor, saving us all, he's been very co-operative even though he has sometimes received very shabby treatment from all of us, and he's worked hard to get entire star systems on your side. " Luke paused. "I think he's mended his ways." He scanned the crowd. Most kept their faces neutral however. "What do you think, Father?" He paused. "What do you want?"
Anakin was silent for a minute. "Darth Vader wanted peace and tranquillity in the Galaxy, he wanted respect…And maybe better healthcare. Anakin Skywalker wants those too…And I think he might get them!" He laughed and the hall was no longer silent. "What happens after that is not my concern. I think I might like some time away from the Universe."
Luke looked scornful. "A hermit!"
Ashoka nodded. "Retreat from the world and a chance at peace within is the Jedi way." She said. "I myself have spent time as an ascetic. Not really the Togruta way…But as you have so astutely noticed, I am not of Shili."
"Dad you are so pathetic!" growled Luke.
Anakin gave a laugh. "I am not the Great Hero you spent your life searching for…I remember how upset you were when I revealed myself…You had a complete meltdown."
Luke was silent. The incident at Bespin had not been a high point in his life.
"There, see? Now everyone knows what depth of depravity I have plumbed, I betrayed my wife, my children, the Jedi order, my Padawan, All my Masters and the Galaxy…Finally myself. Then the Force." Anakin paused. "I am an unspeakably bad person and I deserve whatever fate you may deem suitable for such a sleemo as me."
"I'm glad you agree with us." Mon Mothma said sadly. She turned to the crowd. "Anakin Skywalker is about to get the long overdue medical treatment he needs to live a normal and happy life; But not in a conventional medical centre…What he needs is something more secure and remote, a place in which he can be psychiatrically assessed too…As well as blocked from the Force." She looked serene "I thought the Shard would be perfect."
"Don't you see? I need my Father!" wailed Luke in an immature display of neediness. "I need to learn more about the Force with him!"
Mon Mothma smiled to herself…She shook her head. "Do you think Leia needs her Father more than you? You may have been reared as an only child…But you do not have the only call on your poor dad. Leia does too…And she's currently in a Jedi proof jail."
Luke, sadly, had forgotten about his twin.
"Your reckless sister will be charged with attempted murder…Unless she reconciles with Anakin here." Mon Mothma said smugly. "Leia is a Force Sensitive. So far she has only ever used the Force under duress or negative impulses. Master Skywalker, Master Tano…What have you to say to this?"
"I would be concerned that such a Force Sensitive would be at risk from turning to the Dark Side." Ashoka said.
Anakin nodded, his scarred face grim. "In my opinion and experiences negative events and feelings lead to the Dark Side. The Jedi taught me that emotions lead to the Dark side. I feel differently, lack of emotion can result in negatives too." He turned to Ashoka. "What does our Neutral Force user think?"
Ashoka gave a laugh. "Yes, I turned my back on the Jedi since they refused to trust me and so I lost faith in myself. I couldn't live that way. I'm no longer a Jedi…In fact as I was never knighted I never was officially one." She rubbed her montrals sadly. "But I'm still a Force User."
Luke looked thoughtful "Is it true that most Force Users who are not Sith or Jedi do not ascribe to the Light/Dark duality?"
Ashoka nodded. "Yes. That is true. There are many Greybacks, as they are somewhat demeaningly called."
"So, your first task, Master Skywalker, is to keep your daughter out of trouble?"
Anakin, of course, looked very pleased. "Unless you think Luke or Ashoka can do a better job?"
Mon Mothma grinned. "I think the teaching might be better coming from an Ex-Sith lord. But Ashoka can help." She paused. "Don't worry about not seeing your father, Luke…He's lived too long with no normal social interaction. You will be allowed to visit as often as you please provided you do not distract him from his work."
Anakin looked at everyone thoughtfully. "Do I look like a person well suited to cracking rocks in a quarry?" He grumped "You know, I think it terribly extreme to sentence a severely disabled man to hard labour."
"And that's it, really." Mon Mothma announced. "We sentenced Darth Vader to death…Doesn't look very dead to me…I mean, he certainly smells like something dead…" Everyone laughed. "Anakin Skywalker who for some reason best left obscure has been hiding under a mask this past quarter century is getting his very just desserts. He's being sentenced to life…As a reformed character. Be sure of it, this sentence will include full rehabilitory treatment and lots of opportunities to mend your ways and prove to us what a great man you can be if you bother to put your mind to it. The Galaxy has certainly not finished with you, Master Skywalker. Be sure of that."
"That's fair" agreed Ashoka (While glaring at Luke).
"No parole…But a possibility of a pardon. You will have to work very hard to get the Senates forgiveness though."
Anakin bowed his head. "Thank you, lady." Was all he said.
