AN: This is a day late but I was exhausted and didn't have the energy to run this through a grammar check and look it over. Now that I'm rested and on my spring break (extended because of the coronavirus in my state), I've got the energy and time to put it up. Thank you for your patience.


Chapter Twenty: Ambush

If Vader were not secretly raising a rebellion and slowing turning the Emperor's own forces against him, he'd sooner be on some planet enforcing the rule of the Empire rather than sitting in this meeting with the Joint Chiefs of the Empire. But as it was, if he was going to earn the loyalties of the Imperial fleet, he could not afford to be too aloof when it came to matters concerning the highest-ranking officials of the Empire. Technically, he had no official rank in the Imperial structure. Thus, the Joint Chiefs had no reason to brief him about Imperial matters, something that bothered Vader little since he took all his orders from the Emperor himself. But even without an official rank, he was the de-facto second in command of the Empire. So they couldn't turn him away if he decided he wanted to sit in on a meeting. Besides, it would be out of character if he weren't sitting in this meeting today considering the subject at hand.

The Fulcrum.

The name had first come up a year ago. Little more than what appeared to be a very skilled, common smuggler that got a thrill out of infiltrating high-security Imperial facilities. Then, just a week ago, a distress beacon came in from a remote Imperial outpost overseeing some sector of little importance to the Empire. By the time anyone got there to aid them, it was too late. The entire outpost had been decimated for reasons that had yet to be figured out by the Empire.

And in that one incident, just the name began to inspire so much unease among the Imperial ranks that soldiers hardly said the name above a whisper. With good reason, if the reports Vader had scanned before attending this meeting about the state the outpost in the aftermath were true. Though what he'd heard from the common storm troopers told him that what had spread among the general populace was greatly exaggerated and full of unsubstantiated rumors that only rivaled what he knew people said about himself.

"I think," Tarkin's holo interrupted the pointless squabbling that had erupted around the table, "we all agree that the Fulcrum is a problem. The real question is how much of a problem is he, and exactly what measures we should take to do something about him."

"If he's a single actor at all. Our intelligence operatives can't even determine that."

"It would help if anyone who saw him survived to tell the tale."

Vader tuned out the conversation out again, both amused and appalled at the apparent xenophobia and sexism of the Empire. The assumption was certainly beneficial to the person who Vader was mostly certain was the real Fulcrum, though. While Vader and Ahsoka's operations sometimes crossed, and he sent her information to steer her in the right direction on a regular occasion, they mostly didn't talk about what the other was up to. The idea was that if either of them had the unfortunate occasion to be discovered by the Emperor, they would genuinely have no clue about the operations of the other.

Still, if Vader had to take his guess, he'd assume that said outpost had discovered some operation or another that Ahsoka was cultivating in the unimportant sector, and she was forced to deal with the threat accordingly. Finally, tired of the squabbling, Vader decided to cut in.

"While I agree that there certainly may be more than meets the eye about the Fulcrum, especially considering this incident, the Emperor doesn't think it warrants significant Imperial attention and believes the local sector authorities can deal with their one rogue smuggler. In the meantime, we should still keep an eye on the situation and continue to gather whatever intelligence on the matter we can," Vader stated.

Part of starting to cement his power in the Empire meant that though he was the mouthpiece of the Emperor, he also had to convince others that he spoke for himself and was more than just someone's fist. Hence the vague implication that he might disagree with how the Emperor was handling this situation. Because if he didn't suspect Ahsoka had something to do with this, he certainly would have pressed the matter with the Emperor later. He still would, of course. But knowing Sidious, so secure in his power that he was, he would wait until the threat revealed itself for what it was before determining it was no threat at all because his foresight was infallible.

His master would pay for that arrogance one day.

The meeting adjourned shortly after, the holo images of all the Joint Chiefs flickering out. Vader sighed, seeking patience. The long game, he reminded himself. When he was Emperor, he wouldn't have to deal with the pointless squabbling and obvious jockeying for political prominence and power from the Joint Chiefs. Most of them would die anyway. All of them would certainly seek to find a way to seize his power.

A matter to deal with later, Vader decided as he rose from his seat and headed to the bridge, just in time for the ship to drop out of hyperspace, a fair distance from their target planet. But Vader hadn't wanted to alert the planetary system that they were arriving and thereby alert his possible Jedi target.

"Lord Vader," the inquisitor already on the planet said when he disembarked from his shuttle.

"Inquisitor," Vader replied. "What intel have you gathered from the officials and locals about the Jedi hiding in their vicinity?"

"All intel leads me to believe that the Jedi is hiding in their sacred ruins, just on the edge of town. There's two entrance. The main one, above ground and the one from the underground tunnels," the Inquisitor informed as he showed Vader a layout of the ruins.

"You'll take the main entrance. I'll surprise our host from below," Vader determined as he led the way to the ruins.

He parted ways with the Inquisitor as they approached the ruins and headed toward the east tunnel entrance. Once there, he paused, getting the distinct feeling that he was being watched. Without giving away that he knew that to whoever was watching, he reached out into the Force to help him find the spy. Then he reached out with his right hand and grasped them with the Force, pulling them from behind the broken column on the ground.

"Oh stang," the raspy female voice managed through the Force grip he had on her neck.

He threw the togruta girl on the ground and lit his lightsaber.

"Wait!" she said. "I'm not a Jedi."

"Then what is your business here, young one," he said, using a Force choke to lift her off the ground.

"I'm here for… Ahsoka sent me," the girl choked. "She told me if I ever ran into you, you'd know—kriff. My lek blocks the insignia now. Look!"

Vader looked down to where the girl moved the tip of her left lek out the way to show Ahsoka's special insignia, based on the shape of the facial markings on her forehead. A symbol she gave her special agents, a code that relayed to him that she'd appreciate it if he didn't kill those particular rebel agents on the field if he could help it, purposefully or accidentally.

Vader let go of the girl, but didn't disengage his lightsaber.

"I sincerely hope," Vader growled, "that you don't go around blowing your cover to just anyone child. Because if you do, no special insignia will save you."

"Of course not," the teen said in a raspy tone that Vader wasn't sure was her natural voice or the result of his choking her. She got to her feet and dusted herself off with a glare in his direction. "But when a dark, scary guy in a black mask that's become a terrifying ghost story is about to choke you to death, you do what you need to stay alive. And I knew mentioning Ahsoka's name would get you to pause your homicidal tendencies."

The comment gave Vader a plethora of questions to ask, namely how in the galaxy did this girl know he and Ahsoka were working together. Surely Ahsoka had enough discretion not to reveal that fact to all her agents. Or anyone for that matter. The girl answered that question without him having to prompt.

"She also told me to make sure that if I ever found myself having the unfortunate honor of your company to tell you that the only reason I know the two of you are working together is that I figured it out when you let us go back on Shili."

Shili.

No wonder the girl was so familiar. It wasn't that she looked like Ahsoka, though, because he could easily distinguish the jagged perimeter of this girl's white markings on either side of her forehead compared to Ahsoka's smooth edges. No. This was the Force-sensitive girl who started that riot at the detention center on Shili some months ago. For whatever reason, Ahsoka kept around.

"Diya," he stated as he connected the girl to the "Aunt Diya" Luke and Leia had rambled to him about the last time he saw them.

"Only my friends call me that."

Vader scoffed, though it didn't quite come through his voice modulator like that. As if he cared who she allowed to call her that. She was lucky he hadn't killed her.

"What is your business here, child?" Vader asked brusquely as he made his way to the tunnel entrance.

"The same as yours, I'm betting. Jedi hunting," Diya replied as she too made her way to the tunnel. "Didn't imagine I'd meet you here, though."

Even while working with him, she'd try to find a way to undermine him. There were many things that they never agreed on, but what to do about the surviving Jedi was the most significant point of contention between them. So of course, Ahsoka wouldn't make things easy for him and was actively seeking out surviving Jedi to keep them out of his grasp, even after she'd renounced their teachings.

"I advise you to leave while I'm feeling generous enough to allow you the privilege."

"Sorry. But I've got a mission. And I'm not going leave until I accomplish it," Diya declared haughtily as she inspected the blocked tunnel entrance and began to look around for something to use as leverage to disrupt the fallen rubble.

Vader pushed the girl aside with the Force and levitated the rubble out his way. He assumed, knowing that the girl was Force-sensitive, Ahsoka would not be able to resist giving the teen at least some basic training.

He extinguished his lightsaber as the girl followed him into the tunnel, wanting to have as much element of surprise on the Jedi as possible. That didn't seem to bother Diya as she kept walking beside him. Untrained as she was, when he found the Jedi, there was little the girl could do to stop him from capturing or exterminating them. Thus he didn't comment about her following him.

"So since we're temporarily stuck together," Diya said in a serious tone, "perhaps you'd humor my curiosity."

Vader didn't answer her, but Diya was undeterred as she continued, "When I figured out that you and Ahsoka were working together, I have to say I was surprised. I thought I had the Jedi and the Sith pegged. You know, two groups having a huge philosophical disagreement and tearing up the galaxy as a result in the process."

"That," Vader began slowly, "is a vast oversimplification."

Diya nodded in agreement and said, "But an accurate one. Anyway, it got me to thinking… how did a former Jedi knight such as Ahsoka become acquainted enough with you, a Sith Lord, to end up working with you to take down the Emperor instead of dead like most of the other Jedi? Because certainly, you wouldn't have appreciated her renouncement. Once a Jedi, always a Jedi as far as the Empire seems concerned, right?"

Vader hoped the girl had thought carefully before she spoke whatever she was about to say next…

"The only thing that makes sense is that she was acquainted with you before you appeared out of nowhere on the galactic scene and started hunting Jedi."

"Careful, young one," Vader said, deciding now was the time to stop the girl. "Your intuition does you credit, but it could very well be your undoing."

"Wow. Was that a compliment?" the girl asked in dry, feigned flattery. "So I'm right, aren't I?"

Vader now understood why Ahsoka kept the girl close if she was this observant.

"I won't humor accusations whose foundations lie in fantasy."

"It's not based in fantasy. You let us go on Shili. If you had been more discreet about that, I would have never noticed."

He had no doubt that she was related to Ahsoka somehow now. That was the exact tone she would have used.

"I didn't let you go. There were more pressing matters to tend to than chasing after a brat who was in over her head."

"I'm not a brat!'

Vader stopped walking and tilted his helmet as he gave her a pointed look, his argument proven. She huffed and turned up her nose to lessen the effect of the darkening chevrons on her lekku.

"All I'm saying is that for whatever reason, Ahsoka has decided to work with you to take down your Emperor. I'm making sure there's no chance of you ruining that because she's gotten in way over her head in thinking she can control a homicidal maniac like you," Diya said as though she thought he was little better than the scuff on her shoes.

Vader actually laughed at that, having half the mind to ask the girl exactly how she planned to make sure of that. Instead, he said, "I'm sure Ahsoka appreciates your blind loyalty."

"It's not blind. She's good at hiding it, but she's as angry at and disillusioned by all the institutions and people that led to the rise of the Emperor as I am. More in fact, since she dedicated her life to fighting for all those things and in return, they all betrayed her. I want to see what she does with that when we kill the Emperor. So for now, I'm on her side. And if I'm going to be on her side, that means working out why she's so loyal to you."

Vader scoffed. "We have a common goal, and it serves both our interests to work together. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so the saying goes."

Diya huffed. "Yeah. Ahsoka fed me the same bantha shit. And you wanna know how I know it's bantha shit?"

Vader wondered just how fond of Diya Ahsoka was and how much more his former student might hate him if he decided to kill the teen.

"Please," he drawled sarcastically, "enlighten me."

"Because she could do this without you. It would be harder without having the Emperor's right-hand man on her side, but I've seen what she can do. She could take down this Empire without your help."

Diya wasn't making the grand revelation to him that she probably thought she was. Of course, Vader knew Ahsoka could take on the Empire on her own. He was the one who made sure of it. He considered the risk when he decided to train her and give her all the tools she needed to build her rebellion. But it was a risk he had to take because Ahsoka was right. He was the possible loose cannon in this plan. It took massive amounts of restraint and meditation as it was to play his part while being so close to the Emperor. If he were ever compromised, he'd already given Ahsoka everything she needed to wage war and take the Empire from Palpatine without him. Even if he hadn't, she would have figured it all out anyway.

"Which takes me back to my original point. You had to know each other before all this. Because whatever you were to each other, it's the sentiment she has about it that's kept you in her good graces. And her in yours," Diya declared.

Vader was now curious exactly what it was that Diya thought she'd worked out. She was clearly trying to allude to something but was smart enough not to reveal her entire hand.

"You've clearly been watching way too many of those fantastical cartoons and holo-dramas Ahsoka is so fond of."

"Probably," Diya agreed. "But—"

Vader's instincts made him suddenly light his lightsaber.

"Something…" Diya trailed off. "Something doesn't feel right."

More than that. Something was very wrong.

The ground shook with explosions, the tunnel began to collapse, and Vader just managed to put up a Force shield before fire consumed them.


AN: Diya is the first of many in this story who question Vader's and Ahsoka's relationship with each other. I think those are very important perspectives because Vader and Ahsoka aren't totally reliable narrators, least of all when it comes to each other. Other characters' observation is going to add a lot of meaningful insight to everything going on.

Hope you enjoyed. Review please.