Hello! I am so glad to finally get to this part in the story! The next several chapters were the original premise I had for this which I hope works out well.

Enjoy!

-DFD


Chapter 11

Vader stood on the bridge of his star destroyer. After months of rigorous training with his master, he was finally ready to face the Rebel Alliance. Closing his eyes he allowed the dark side to embrace him. "My lord." Admiral Ozzel started, Vader's eyes shot open, glowing a sulfuric yellow as he slowly turned to meet the man, "I have just discovered that probe droids have been deployed."

"Yes, and it was by my order," Vader said, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, sir," Ozzel said, "But I do think it is a bit extreme to send them to every system."

"The sooner we weed out the rebels, the sooner peace can be restored. These rebels have been a problem for the Empire since it's beginning. I don't plan on letting it continue."

Ozzel nodded his head, "As you wish, my lord."

Vader returned his gaze to the window. He had been looking forward to this as long as he can remember. From the moment Sidious had taken him as his student, he had wanted to fight a Jedi. This was his chance at long last. His master has warned him that his arrogance would be his weakness if he allowed it to cloud his judgment. While the Sith were more powerful in every way, the Jedi could beat him if he treated them the same way he treated his training. Turing away from the window, Vader made his way for his quarters. He needed to start preparing for the battle that was bound to happen within the next few days.

Entering his quarters, he threw his heavy cloak on the desk chair in the room as he took a seat on the medication seat in the center of the room. With his eyes closed he concentrated on his connection to the force and drew on the darkness that would help him. He isn't sure how long he has been meditating, but the sound of his door opening alerted him to the arrival of on of his officers. Opening his eyes, he fixed the man with a cold stare.

Piett saluted him, "Sir, I think one of the probes found a rebel base," He said before pulling up the star map. The icon points to a planet in the Hoth system.

Vader knows the moment the map appeared that the rebels were based there. He could sense it, "Set a course for the system, Captain." Vader ordered. Piett nodded and quickly left to follow the order.

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The alarm in the base rang loudly as the rebels rushed to their battle stations. Ahsoka sprinted to the command center where the generals were starting evacuation procedures. "How much time do we have?" She asked, glancing at the holopad displaying the battle unfolding on the surface.

"A couple hours at most," One of the generals said, "We need you to get to Alderaan and let them know what is happening."

Ahsoka nodded once, "I'll see to it once everyone is out of here safely." She said, making a quick run for the hanger.

Jumping into her ship she took off quickly and began to engage the AT-ATs that were beginning their attack. Dodging their fire, she worked to draw their fire while the other ships opened fire on them. As the first AT-AT went down a shot hit the wing of her fighter, rattling the ship as she tried to regain control. Trying to identify where the shot came from she saw a lone TIE fighter swoop in from behind. With the limited control she had, Ahsoka was barely able to dodge the fighter's attack. With a sharp bank to the left, she turned around and began to return to the hanger. Something was wrong with that TIE fighter. It felt too weird for it to be a normal pilot. Ahsoka glanced behind her as she sped back to the base and saw the fighter was following her. With the other rebels engaging the AT-ATs she had to deal with this one. Bringing the ship to land in the hanger, she saw the fighter come to land a few feet away from her. It was odd. She couldn't figure out why. Opening the hatch she jumped out and waited for the pilot to do the same.

The hatch on the TIE fighter opened and a tall man in black robes jumped down. Ahsoka could sense the dark side surrounding him and when he drew his lightsaber and ignited the red blade, she drew hers as well, the white blades hissing to life as she readied herself for the battle. The man was quick to engage her with a strong overhead cut, which she blocked with locked blades. Drawing back, she spun as she slashed her blades at him; alternating which blade she attacked and blocked with in an unpredictable pattern. The man relied heavily on brute strength while she used agility to counter him. With a grunt, Ahsoka uses the force to shove him back into the wing of his fighter. The blow was hard enough that the wings shifted with the impact. Using the space between them, Ahsoka got into a more defendable position as the man lowered his blade a moment to tear his black cloak from his body. She hesitates, "Anakin?" Her eyes go wide and her guard drops enough that he is able to use the force to jump forward quick enough to close the distance between them She is barely able to bring her blades up to block him, "What are you doing?" She asks, "Why are you doing this?" He glares at her but says nothing, "Anakin!" She tries again but he attacks her so suddenly she can't block his attack well enough. His blade breaks through her short blade and comes crashing down on her left arm, slicing it off at the center of her bicep. She lets out a scream of pain as she uses what strength she has left to force him back.

She can't finish this fight. She knows she is too weak to do so now. Falling back, she hurries to one of the star fighters still in the hanger, and climbs in. She fumbles with the controls and watches as he throws his lightsaber at her ship to try and stop her. Gripping the control stick, she veers the ship to avoid the blow and guns the ship forward. On the return, the blade grazes across one of the wings but she avoided damage that would prevent her escape. Taking off, she gets off world as quickly as she can. The general needs her to go to Alderaan to tell them the base is lost. But she also has to tell them that she found Anakin, and that he is not on their side.

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Padme groaned as the sound of a baby's cry slowly roused her from her sleep. Rubbing her eye with the heel of her hand she climbed out of her bed and walked over to the two bassinets in the corner of the room. Peering inside she saw her daughter let out a small cry. Smiling down at the small child she reached in and picked her up, "Come here, Leia," She whispered as she brought the child to her chest, rocking her a little to calm her down, "You hungry?" She asks before adjusting her hold on the baby and releasing a nipple and bringing the child to it. Leia latched on immediately and began to suckle quietly. Padme peered over into the other bassinet to check on Luke and make sure he was still sleeping soundly.

Smiling down at her son, she brought her hand down to stroke the fine blond hairs that were slowly growing atop his head. He looked so much like his father. It has been almost a year since Anakin disappeared and no one has any idea where he is or if he is alive. When Ahsoka returned after rescuing Serena they had all hoped that Anakin was not too far behind. But days soon turned into weeks and after he had been gone for a month, she found out she was pregnant. It had taken a long time for Serena to warm up to Padme. The girl had kept her distance for most of the pregnancy and Padme did what she could to smooth things over. She did not try to mother her and gave Serena the space that she needed. The two of them spoke very little during her pregnancy but when Padme accidently fell, Serena started to let her in. The fall required the medical team to induce the labor and after twelve hours, Luke and Leia were born.

When Leia finished Eating, Padme made sure to burp her before returning her to the bassinet and repeating the process with Luke. Caring for two force-sensitive babies was much harder than anticipated. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka had been critical in her learning to understand what the twins were experiencing. The two Jedi left often for missions for the rebellion and never stayed on Alderaan for long, but they were able to tell her what the twins were picking up on when it happened- often times, it was pain, frustration, fear, and anger. But the Jedi never told her why they picked up on this- they didn't have to. Padme knew they were sensing Anakin. It was the only thing that made sense; he was their father and if he had been able to sense Padme across the galaxy during the Clone Wars, his children should be able to sense him as well. Serena mentioned that when she was a baby she could sense her father as well; her mother had tried to take her once, but before she could leave the town with her, Serena had started to wail and did not stop until they had returned home and placed in her father's arms. All this only made her worry more about Anakin. His children knew he was in pain, they knew he was in danger.

The door to her quarters opened and Serena entered the room. Padme smiled at her, "Did they wake you?"

"I was already awake," She said.

"Sorry."

Serena shook her head, "Don't worry about it," She made her way to Leia's bassinet and gave her little sister her finger. The baby gripped it firmly and Serena wiggled it around, making the baby smile, "I wish dad was here."

"I know." Padme wrapped her arms around the girl, "I miss him too. But we'll find him."

"When?" Serena stepped back away from her, "When are we going to find him? It's almost been a year and we're still exactly where we were when this started and we're not doing anything to help."

"Right now, that is all we can do." Padme explained. Serena was so much like her father, she preferred action and clearly did not consider the political side of the rebellion. "The alliance is doing more than just trying to find him. We're trying to restore democracy to the galaxy and we are fighting a war."

Serena scoffed, "I already know that, Padme. You've told me more times than I can count. I know what you are all trying to do, but I just care about getting my dad back. And the longer we wait, the more I fear what they are doing to him. The twins are more than enough proof that whatever it is, its not good."

Padme agreed with her completely, but she could not get as involved as she would like in the search efforts. She had to think about her children and Serena. "Excuse me Miss Padme," C-3PO said as he entered the room, "Ahsoka Tano has just returned and needs to speak with both you and Viceroy Organa immediately. She is in the medical bay."

"Thank you 3PO." Padme said. Serena picked up Leia in her arms and followed Padme down the hall to the med bay.

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Ahsoka sat on the table as the medical droids fitted her with a prosthetic. It was uncomfortable and just felt wrong. She wasn't sure how she would be able to fight now, but it was something she had to figure out soon, especially with the situation being what it is. Through the window of the med bay she sees Padme and Serena make their way towards the door. She flashes the two of them a smile when they enter, "Hey," She greets, trying to lighten the mood before she has to tell them what she knows.

"What happened?" Padme asks, seeing through her attempt.

Ahsoka lets out a sigh, as Bail Organa entered, "Sorry I'm late." He said, coming to stop in front of her, "Who did this to you?"

Holding up her good hand she stopped them from asking more questions, "I'm fine," She started, "Lost an arm, but that is the least of our worries." She winced as the droid worked on fixing the calibration for the touch receptors, "We lost Hoth." She said, watching as the droids tested her reflexes before letting her test the movement and leaving her alone to talk with them, "I… I saw him." Ahsoka said, "Anakin."

Padme's eyes widen, "Where?" she holds Luke close to her, eager to hear what happened.

"Hoth." Ahsoka responed with a shake of her head, "He's a Sith."

Padme shook her head, "No, you're wrong, he can't-"

"He is." Ahsoka interrupted, "He's the one that did this to me." She declared, "But it doesn't make sense."

"What do you mean?" Bail asked; his arms firmly crossed over his chest.

"It was him. But it wasn't… There was something off about him. He acted like he didn't even know me."

"Then maybe it wasn't him." Serena suggested.

Ahsoka shook her head, "I don't know what happened to him. But there is something wrong with all of this."

Padme listened intently to what Ahsoka said happened on Hoth. This was the first time they were hearing anything about Anakin and it was one of the worst possible things she could have heard. But from what Ahsoka said about him not recognizing her, it gave her hope that maybe things weren't what they seemed. But she could not find that out from here. "Ahsoka," She starts, "When you leave to return to the rebels, we're coming with you."