Chapter 10
Anakin Skywalker hated many beings.
He had hated his mother for having him leave her behind so he could have gone with his life while unknowingly leaving her dead. He had hated Qui-Gon Jinn for abandoning him and just having to die. He had hated Ahsoka Tano for his painful failure as her Master and failing to help her enough when she was accused of a crime she didn't commit. He had hated Padmé Amidala for loving him so much and dying for it as a consequence. He had hated Obi-Wan Kenobi for lying to him again for the second time in his life for a whole kriffing year. He had hated Bail Organa for raising his daughter. He had hated whoever is the adopted parents of Luke.
Out of all those people, however, there were two more people who he had hated with every fiber of being.
Anakin hated the man he had thought of as a friend for never truly holding affection for him and wanting to use him as a weapon. It hurt for him to admit, but he had known Palpatine never cared for him. He cared about carrying on the legacy of the Sith. Carrying on the tradition. Palpatine was a Sith Lord, a being consumed by all things dark, but at the same time, he still at his core wanted the Sith to remain supreme. So in that sense, in a way, he did care about Anakin. He cared about Anakin continuing the ways of the Sith and being his puppet. He never actually cared about Anakin's well-being. He only cares about Anakin because of what he can do not care for Anakin in the same way Obi-Wan did. A means to an end. He only wanted Anakin to be his heir to the Sith dynasty and ruler of the Empire.
Yet, despite how much he hated Sidious, he hated himself even worse; he hated himself for his failures. Because Anakin destroyed everything that mattered to him. He betrayed the Jedi Order to save his wife, only to end up unintentionally killing her in a fit of rage. He dreamed of liberating all the slaves, only to end up enslaving the galaxy. He thought himself to be the Chosen One, only to end up a tool of the Sith. In the end, the power that his hatred granted him was the sole consolation for everything he had done and lost. And power is a poor substitute for everything he had robbed from himself.
The Jedi Council will never understand what had happened to the Galaxy and what had happened to one of their most skilled Padawan and strongest Knight in the history of the Jedi Order, and the monster that he had become.
He helped the collapse of the Galactic Republic, the institution he was sworn to serve and uphold and had fought for as part of the Grand Army of the Republic. He had assisted Palpatine in purging the Jedi Order, which had secured his freedom from slavery and obscurity, and had trained him into a weapon that was known across the Galaxy as a beacon of light and freedom.
He had effectively murdered his wife and children, a belief undoubtedly reinforced by Palpatine to Darth Vader. He had attempted to kill his own Master, and a man he once said was formally like a father to him, resulting in his arms and legs being cut off at the end of the battle. He has left ultimately 'more machine now than man', a pale shadow of his former self, requiring his suit in order to survive. He had only Palpatine left as his last remaining link to the man that he was, and therefore served the Emperor even though he hated him for making him what he was.
When he was a weak and pathetic Jedi, he feared losing the people closest to him, whether it was by distance or death. He did end up losing pretty much everyone close to him, namely the man who found him, his mother, his Padawan, then lastly his wife. The Jedi are traitors, they could have been more supportive and helped them when he was in distress instead of telling him to detach himself from the living, and they would never do that under any condition.
It was at that moment Anakin felt himself growing incredibly heartbroken as he had realized that from the beginning, he has been hovering over Padmé and practically forcing himself onto her, choosing her decisions for her.
He cannot understand why Padmé does not immediately give into his desires. Everyone he has met does what they are told and despite the fact she tells him several times to back off he refuses to back down. It gets so bad she covers the cameras to her bedroom. She has never felt a need to beforehand and is very used to people watching her. But he has gotten to the point she feels uncomfortable with him watching her.
What if... what if Anakin never truly loved Padmé? What if he was possessive of her and forced her into a relationship that she probably never wanted to be in to begin with? He was incredibly protective of his wife and for a good reason; he didn't want her to share the same fate as his mother whom he loved and missed dearly.
He had nearly lost Padmé because his possessive nature has consumed him and he had attacked Rush Clovis to the point where he was near a coma with several broken bones, many bruises, and injuries that it was absolutely a miracle Clovis survived that incident.
Anakin walked inside of the room with Bail and now Breha who was quite shocked to see him.
Through the Force, he could feel himself forming a bond with the girl who was sent off into her room, undoubtedly to keep her safe and to assure she doesn't learn the truth about his identity.
"I require an explanation. Reports have highlighted you have died in the Jedi Temple." Bail declared, unable to keep the sharpness from his voice as he stares at the young Jedi Knight who he had once trusted becoming a being who spread equal harm and terror throughout the galaxy.
"Cut with the games, Organa. We both know what has happened here. Kenobi has told me on Tatooine." The moments it came out of his lips, Anakin immediately regretted it as he closes his eyes. He is probably even speaking like Vader now.
Bail glared. "Indeed," his expression and his voice softened. "I'm afraid you have to leave immediately. Your presence here is placing her in danger."
Anakin sneered, feeling the possessive attitude taking over for a moment. "I am not going anywhere. She belongs to me."
"Anakin, please, you can't just come in here and take her from this home that she has grown up in for 16 years," Breha's calm voice caused Anakin's muscles to grow less tense.
"You are talking about her like she's a pet, Anakin. You have to understand that she is the final hope for the destruction of the Empire." Bail said. He had always held regret for not telling his daughter the truth about her heritage, but unlike Breha, he manages his emotions better.
"You want her to be the destruction of Darth Vader and Darth Sidious, Organa. Get it through your kriffing head. Your pitiful and precious corrupt Republic is gone." Anakin growled coldly, glaring at Organa with golden eyes.
"Because of Vader, Anakin! Anakin Skywalker was the Hero with no Fear, the person who would do anything to see his friends and family safe, and I faintly remember you placing your life in danger in front of dozens of bounty hunters and had saved our lives that day! Anakin was a compassionate and confused young Jedi, unsure of his place in this universe! Vader is an evil, careless, Sith who lusted for power... you couldn't live without Padmé, so you choose to transform into someone completely different, Darth Vader!" Bail exclaimed defensively, remembering what General Kenobi told him about the events that transpired on Mustafar.
Deep down, Anakin knew Organa was correct. They are at their core, the same being. However, they have different motivations, different emotions, and act like two distinct people.
Anakin Skywalker was a person who cared for others. His greatest flaw was that he had attachment issues, and wouldn't give up on others, searching constantly to find out ways to keep them alive. He was motivated by his love for others and was clever, daring, and witty.
If what Obi-Wan told him is correct, Darth Vader is an angry person. He is motivated by his self-loathing, his anger towards Obi-Wan, and his desire to appease the one person he felt was left to understand him: Palpatine.
"We love Leia, Anakin, not just because of what she could do to save the galaxy, but because she is a sweet and intelligent young woman who would go on to do a great many things if the Empire is destroyed, but for now, she is even more complicated to keep hidden from the Empire with them hunting down the Force Sensitives," Breha spoke first from Bail's side, wrapping her arms around herself.
Bail sighs regretfully. "We aren't going to lie to Leia forever, but eventually, she must be the Rebellion's secret weapon against Vader or against you, Anakin. When all is said and done, we shall inform her of the truth."
Shock and hurt echoed through the Force, but he was too angry at that moment.
How?!
Kriffing?!
Dare?!
He?!
Something in him snapped at that moment as he stood from the seat offered to him, saying. "No, she is my daughter!"
Through the Force, Anakin can sense horror, terror, and fear. Was it possible Leia could hear their conversation through the Force as she is highly Force-sensitive, due to their bloodline and not to mention the slowly forming bond?
Anakin begins to check their surroundings as he stares at the vent for a moment before walking to it and checking with his blue eyes, sensing the bemusement and worried from Bail and Breha before he turns back to the couple.
"The entire galaxy has been run to the ground because of what you have become, Anakin. Leia is our only hope to stop the man you are now. A machine who covers himself and strikes with intimidation across the galaxy."
Anakin closed his eyes and remembered the teachings of Obi-Wan. Despite his anger at Bail and his annoyance at Breha, he had to at least attempt to be understanding.
If it was a year ago, he would have probably lashed out at the Organas, but he had known that he would have to at least try to control his temptations the dark side give to him.
"Perhaps you are correct, but you should have told her about me. If she finds out that I am her father after she kills me, this could kill her, or she could be hunted by my death. Secrets like that can't be hidden from the surface." Anakin proclaimed.
"I have tried to explain that before," Breha declared, staring pointedly at her husband, remembering the conversations they use to have about telling Leia the truth about her birth parents eventually. "Unfortunately, in Bail's words, she mustn't know the truth or it would place her and all of us in danger."
Bail crossed his arms across his chest, defensively saying, "Do you honestly believe she would fight her own father? I understand that it is wrong to lie to her, and I am ashamed to lie to her, but she is a lot like her father. Whereas she has self-control like Padmé, she can allow her feelings to blind her judgment at times."
Anakin scoffed. He was aware that Bail sounds a lot like the Jedi Council at times. After all, he was a close friend to Obi-Wan, Windu, and Master Yoda.
Anakin sighs lowly. He had known that she only knows Bail and Breha Organa as her parents so him taking Leia now would be dammed near impossible and would destroy her.
As much as it hurts, Anakin found himself unable to hurt that girl, even if it means he would suffer.
"I guess besides Kenobi, I am the last surviving fully trained Jedi. I want to leave Alderaan and become a part of the Rebellion." Anakin declared. He had needed to do something in his life as most of his family and friends are gone so him assisting the Rebellion would take his mind off the heartache.
Bail and Breha exchanged a look. It was dangerous to allow Skywalker to leave this planet as much as it was dangerous to allow him to stay.
If he stays on this planet, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine could likely sense Anakin's presence and probably would send a detachment lead by Vader, and considering they now know he is a part of the Rebellion, they won't just kill him and his family but kill Anakin or turn him again.
If he leaves, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine could still track him down. The only difference is that they would be safe, but Anakin could report their allegiance to the Rebellion if he does indeed fall a second time and that would completely ruin their plan to bring back the Old Republic.
Force! Why does the Force have to be so confusing?!
Bail grasped his hands together, replying. "Hmm, perhaps the Rebellion requires your services. You will go to the Yavin system. I will give you a personal shuttle. Mon Mothma would be awaiting your arrival."
"I take it this Rebellion couldn't have been formed easily. How did it happen?" Anakin queried, staring at him calculatingly.
" Palpatine had managed to obtain many emergency powers from the Galactic Senate, which caused certain members of the Chancellor's own Loyalist Committee, including me, Padmé Amidala of Naboo, and Mon Mothma of Chandrila, to start to complain about the chief of state's conduct. The discontented senatorial representatives ended up forming the Delegation of 2,000. They signed the Petition of 2,000, a document that formally expressed its signatories' concerns with Palpatine's rule and called for him to relinquish his emergency powers as soon as possible. Senator Meena Tills of Mon Cala was among the petitioners. Shortly thereafter, the Clone Wars was brought to an end. Far from relinquishing his dictatorial status, Chancellor Palpatine unilaterally abolished the Republic in front of the whole Senate and anointed himself the Galactic Emperor, thus transforming the democratic government into an authoritarian regime, the Galactic Empire. Unbeknownst to most of the galactic community, the self-promoted Emperor Palpatine, who had masterminded the Clone Wars so that he could rule the galaxy. The Emperor immediately started to subvert democracy in the galaxy and declared the peacekeeping Jedi Knights enemies of the state. After the unfortunate death of Senator Amidala, me and Mothma started working in secret to overthrow the Empire."
Bail paused at the memory of seeing his friend's dead body. He had missed her. She was a voice for them, and hopefully, this Rebellion would succeed.
Anakin closed his eyes, clenched his jaw, and tighten his hands up into fists at the thought of his wife. He had killed her.
He was still envious for Obi-Wan lying to him for a whole year and not telling him sooner which was unintelligent overall, but he had decided not to interrupt Bail.
"Palpatine's strategy for the enforcement of the New Order was based on brutal tactics, such as the implementation of the fear of military force in order to discourage ideas of insurrection. The rise of the Galactic Empire was not supported by all member worlds. One of the first planets that attempted to resist Imperialization was the Emperor's own homeworld of Naboo, ruled by Queen Apailana at the time. Under Apailana's leadership, the Naboo continued to celebrate the memory of the Republic, rather than acknowledging the Empire's rule over the galaxy. The Queen also began considering military options that involved sheltering Jedi fugitives. Such actions were discovered and interpreted as signs of rebellion by Imperial Intelligence, and thus the Empire retaliated with the deployment of armed forces to Naboo. The 501st Legion, an elite division of clone stormtroopers under the command of the Sith Lord Darth Vader, assaulted the capital city of Theed. Although the Queen's security detail was augmented by the Jedi, they were ultimately unable to repel the 501st. The city fell to the Imperials, its garrison was destroyed, and Apailana was assassinated during the battle. In the following years, the Empire repeatedly overthrew disloyal governments through force, often relying on Vader's 501st Legion for enforcing the Emperor's rule where ever it was opposed."
Anakin tightened his hands up into fists. Naboo was the homeworld of his late wife, and Vader dared to almost destroyed it.
"In the same year, a group of disillusioned civilians publicly protested against the Empire's despotic policies, including its high taxation of Ghorman. They staged their protest on the landing platform where Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's ship was set to arrive. Their attempt to block Tarkin's arrival did not succeed; in what became known as the Ghorman Massacre, the Governor simply landed his vessel on the platform, killing hundreds of activists in the process. This event was interpreted as a tragedy by outraged sympathizers who also disagreed with the direction of the Empire. Jan Dodonna and other career officers whose service records dated back to the Republic either resigned or retired from Imperial service. The incident also convinced me that the Empire was a malevolent government. Yet with so many disorganized and uncoordinated rebel cells, I remained convinced that the time was not right for open rebellion. I continued to meet in secret with my closest political allies, senators Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia in the Cantham House on Coruscant in order to discuss options for creating their own rebellion against Palpatine. Mothma, however, was forced to flee into exile after being labeled a traitor to the Empire due to her outspoken criticism of the New Order. Iblis's failure to hide his own discontent with the Empire also drove him underground in order to escape persecution.
Further incidents of armed resistance against Imperial rule involved remnants of the fallen Separatist movement. Gizor Dellso, a Geonosian war criminal who survived the Clone Wars, fled into hiding on Mustafar. Utilizing an abandoned droid factory, Dellso constructed his own private army of battle droids for the sole purpose of reviving the Separatist cause. Before his plot could be carried out, the 501st Legion attacked Mustafar and destroyed his army; Dellso died during the fighting shortly before his factory was destroyed by Imperial Star Destroyers via orbital bombardment.
Another insurrectionist plot against the Galactic Empire was later discovered on Kamino, the world that was responsible for the creation of the Republic clone army. A rogue group of Kaminoan cloners resented the Empire's control of their homeworld. Throughout the first decade of the Empire, they secretly engineered and trained an army of rebel clone troopers, all of whom were programmed with absolute loyalty to Kamino. After Darth Vader uncovered the scheme, he dispatched the 501st—under the leadership of the bounty hunter Boba Fett—to the planet. The subsequent battle resulted in the destruction of the rogue clones and their creators, as well as the fall of Tipoca City and all of Kamino. The incident was classified and kept hidden from public records, but Palpatine decided that an army of clones from one genetic template was too susceptible to corruption. Hence, both the Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps were heavily diversified with the introduction of new clone soldiers who were based on a variety of different templates. The Empire later redirected the clone program to pursue other projects, and thus the military was compensated with an increase in the recruitment of birth-born Humans as enlisted troopers."
Anakin stares at Bail. He had known Bail likely had to pose as a Imperial Senate and that is how he knows all of this information.
"Vader's former apprentice, Starkiller, assisted in the rise of the Rebellion. His fellow subversives were initially resistant to the notion of open rebellion. They felt that the galaxy had to be shown one way or another that the Empire was vulnerable. In accordance with Darth Vader's counsel, Starkiller destroyed an Imperial shipyard that orbited Raxus Prime. As a single Star Destroyer moved to intercept him, the apprentice used the Force to rip the massive vessel from the sky, causing it to crash on the surface below. The symbolic victory had the desired effect as Vader predicted. Starkiller and the senators, including me, rendezvoused on Corellia where they ceremoniously proclaimed the birth of the Rebellion, as well as our intentions to restore liberty to the galaxy.
However, Starkiller had been betrayed by Vader. The true purpose of his mission was to gather the Emperor's enemies in a single location so that Imperial troops could arrest them all at once. Vader revealed the truth to his shocked apprentice: he never intended to overthrow the Emperor with Starkiller at his side. After leaving his former assassin for dead, Vader transported us to the incomplete Death Star where Emperor Palpatine awaited our arrival. Yet Starkiller survived and ultimately renounced his Sith persona, thus resuming the use of his birth name "Galen Marek".
Marek infiltrated the battlestation and single-handedly slew countless Imperial soldiers before defeating his former Master in a lightsaber duel. With Darth Vader severely damaged and at the apprentice's mercy, Emperor Palpatine urged Marek to assume the mantle of a true Sith Lord by killing Vader in cold blood. Though briefly tempted to pursue his lifelong goal once more, Marek chose to rescue us by attacking the Emperor. We escaped with our lives, but Marek was forced to sacrifice his own in order to provide them with enough time to flee the Death Star in the Rogue Shadow. In the aftermath of Galen Marek's demise, we reconvened on Kashyyyk where they held a meeting in their fallen leader's childhood home. The Alliance to Restore the Republic was officially realized. At Leia's behest, the Rebels chose to honor the secret apprentice's memory by basing their organization's emblem on the Marek family crest, effectively turning it into a symbol of hope that many beings rallied around during the subsequent Galactic Civil War."
Anakin frowned in disgust. He had chosen to abduct a boy and raise him as a slave only to lure out the Rebel leaders and kill him. He had known there was more to be say.
"The other part of the Rebel Alliance formally came into existence after Mothma completely made herself known and spoken out against the Empire. With the help of Phoenix Leader Hera Syndulla and her Spectres, Mothma escaped Thrawn's forces by traveling through the dangerous Archeon pass to reach Dantooine. There, Mon Mothma gave a HoloNet speech calling for the galaxy to rise up in rebellion against the Empire. Mothma's message was heard by the scattered rebel cells throughout the galaxy including Lothal and Atollon. The rebel fleet converged above Dantooine, and the various cells and factions were unified into the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which officially began the Galactic Civil War."
Anakin thought for moment. He had remembered Thrawn when working with him in the Unknown Regions. He had guess he shouldn't have told him about Palpatine.
"As part of the planned attack on Lothal, Phoenix Leader Hera Syndulla dispatched the droids AP-5 and Chopper along with the former Imperial cadet Wedge Antilles to steal clearance codes from the Imperial Security Bureau station on the moon Killun 71. During the course of the mission, Chopper was hijacked by a group of Imperial slicers and intelligence officers led by LT-319, who were based aboard an IGV-55 surveillance vessel. LT-319 tried to use Chopper to kill the Spectres and find the location of Chopper Base. However, Syndulla managed to reprogram Chopper and transmitted a data surge that destroyed the Imperial surveillance vessel."
Crossing his arms across his chest, Anakin spoke. "I take it Marek and this Ghost Crew isn't the only one who assisted in the rise of the Rebellion."
"Well, we had some assistance throughout the years," Bail replied with a smile now forming on his lips. "Within the first year of the Empire, I began clandestine operations against the Empire by helping planets in need. I would intercept secure Imperial messages and send cells of rebels to act on my behalf to help citizens being oppressed by the Empire. I had gotten my friend and loyal pilot, Captain Raymus Antilles, to join me in rebelling against the Empire, and the two of us were slowly recruiting the crew of the Tantive IV into our cause.
One such communique described armed resistance to Imperial occupation on the moon of Raada. The message indicated that the uprising included a Jedi. I was surprised to learn that a survivor of Order 66 had been found, but became worried for the Jedi's safety, knowing that the Empire would want to hunt down and kill them. Later, while on Coruscant, I heard of additional incidents in the Outer Rim which may have also been the work of the Jedi I wished to locate. This Jedi had begun running their own mercy missions, making sure food was delivered to those in need, stopping a Black Sun pirate, etc. I enlisted the help of Chardri Tage and his copilot Tamsin in order to track this elusive Jedi, although I did not tell Tage and Tamsin that the person they were looking for was, in fact, a Jedi.
Tage and Tamsin, along with R2-D2, whom I had borrowed from Captain Antilles, eventually found the Jedi: Ahsoka Tano."
"Ahsoka survived?!" Anakin exclaimed, joy in his eyes! Padmé was dead! Obi-Wan was broken! Luke and Leia didn't know of him! All of the Jedi in the Temple had perished by him so Ahsoka being alive means he hasn't kriff everything up!
"Yes," Bail affirmed.
"How?! Where is she?! Tell me where she is! I will not lose her too!" Anakin cried, eyes flashing as he had planned to have the Organas arranged a reunion between him and his former apprentice.
Bail and Breha lowered their heads. They knew this next part was going to destroy the young Jedi Knight.
"My apologies, Anakin, she-she died. She was killed by Da-Darth Vader." Bail apologized, stammering in the last part as he remembers the progress report that Hera Syndulla given to the Rebellion about how they lost their best agent on the planet of Malachor.
Truthfully, Bail felt remorse for how Anakin is going to react. He knows General Skywalker would never harm his Padawan but Darth Vader had a different mentality. Vader is a shadow of Anakin Skywalker, the same person yet different type of personalities.
Anakin's blue eyes flashed in shock and then horror! He had wanted to kill Vader! He had wanted to assassinate the Emperor! He wanted to bring each of their Star Destroyers down and destroy them all!
He was going to-
"No, she couldn't have! She survived Order 66! How could she have died?! Why the kriff did it have to be me who destroyed her?!" Anakin yelled, beginning to tremble in the office as tears slid down his eyes.
Bail and Breha backed up uneasily as Anakin's trembling body was replaced by a roar that was similar to Zalorian rock-lion.
"Know yourself! Know what you will become!" the voice of the Son on Mortis would have startled Anakin as he hadn't remembered that particularly but he was too entrapped by his rage and anger.
Anakin felt his desires to kill Vader and Palpatine rise to the surface, and without Obi-Wan being there to guide him, he wanted vengeance!
The office begins to tremble around them, and the two were helpless to do anything.
It was then Bail noticed the blaster that was laying on the desk. He had kept it even closer than back then.
Bail grabbed it and aimed it at Anakin, setting it for stun before blasting him, the blue stun beam making contact with his body, causing him to fall limp and collapsing onto the ground.
He didn't have it in his heart to kill Anakin as he didn't have to be Force Sensitive to detect when someone is suffering. He can't blame Anakin for something he didn't do yet and probably would never do again.
Bail touched a comlink behind his desk, speaking to the individual on the other side, "Bring a medical capsule to my office immediately."
Seconds later, his personal security guards walk inside of the office and strapping Anakin up onto a medical bed, treating him with such tenderness similar to the way the clones did back in the Clone Wars.
Among seeing that his men were leading Skywalker out safely, Bail decided it was time to speak with Leia and Winter, less the two would begin to get suspicious and know something is concealed from them.
Approximately, ten minutes later, Leia and Winter walked in. He was surprised by the fact it had taken a while for them to finally enter his office, but he gave them smiles, having learned the consequences of trying to receive answers from teenage girls.
Bail frowned at the change of clothes as Leia wore a black gown that was extremely similar to the white one she felt the need to wear a lot and Winter was wearing robes that were similar to Skywalker but her pants and shirt was blue along with the cloak. Why did they need to change their clothes? They had a shower earlier before he arrived.
"Yes, father?" Winter spoke, causing Bail to raise a right eyebrow. She never spoke first.
"Girls, I want for both of you to stay away from that man. He is extremely dangerous." Bail warned, having known that Leia would feel something off about him.
"Of course, father," Winter's voice was sharp, shocking Bail and causing him to raise both of his eyebrows.
"Yeah, of course, I never disobeyed you, father," Leia added bitterly, clicking her tongue as she stares at him with such intensity. It was a glare but that was surprising as Leia never glared at him or get angry with him, not even back when he had punished her when she was a child.
Bail decided that he shall not press it as Leia and Winter were very aggressive. He shall just shrug it off as a teenager thing.
"There's my girls. You may go, girls," Bail dismissed them, causing Leia and Winter to walk out, leaving Bail who decided it was time for him to begin some paperwork, thankfully having his trusted guards already set up a time period for Skywalker earlier so he could be forced off-planet but now that he is joining the Rebellion that force won't be necessary but he would still need an untraceable shuttle.
Unbeknownst to the Viceroy, Leia and Winter were plotting, plotting to escape from this planet and to live with Leia's true father. Despite his return being odd, Leia and Winter both agreed it was time for them to leave this place.
This place that they had both once called home was too full of deception, and the two were too close to ever leave one another behind so it wasn't surprising Winter was persistent to join Leia when she had told her of her plan.
"Are the bags ready?" Leia inquired.
"Yep. I have also managed to see when the ship Bail has planned for him is scheduled to take off. Tomorrow, 11:00. We can slip in at 8:00 when everyone is asleep or when Bail and Breha are out." Winter replied.
Leia nodded, and the two girls went to carry out the rest of the plan; the plan that has many errors, and the plan that could get them caught, but it's the best they could do right now.
Darth Vader approached the form of his Master in the Throne Room, frowning from behind his mask as he remembers the fact that his former apprentice manages to best him on this Super Weapon which had soured Vader's mood.
He glanced around at the damage the Space Station sustained and could see the insignificant Space Station had a great number of damage by his former apprentice so much so the engineers were obviously having a complicated time as they continue to drop materials. Vader would have scoffed as he had found it pathetic that Sidious is ruling by fear.
It was not designed to cover the entire galaxy but rather to centralize power under Palpatine's command. In Vader's view, such money could have created more Starfleet's and advanced fighters that could have done something similar while expanding the Empire's hold.
Vader couldn't believe that his Master would waste their countless resources on this insignificant Space Station. Vader had a long time cooped up in that suit to contemplate the nature and efficacy of military deterrents and correctly concluded that the Death Star would be nothing more than a giant invitation to the Empire's enemies to attack it openly. Fear was a powerful means of controlling the population, yes, but that much fear could only provoke the fight-or-flight instinct of a whole Galaxy.
The Force, to him, was a much more powerful weapon — because it provided the exact foresight that the Death Star lacked. The ability to anticipate when, where, and how one's enemies would appear through precognition; the ability to anticipate their exact maneuvers and devise a flawless countermeasure at the very sight of an altercation; the ability to discern key personnel and operatives in an instant; these were the things that would defeat the Empire's enemies in his mind, just as they defeated the Republic's enemies during the Clone Wars. The Death Star was a shortsightedly blunt instrument; a nuclear bomb used to swat a fly. It would not only fail to solve the Empire's problems, but exacerbate them, and at a tremendous cost of resources and Imperial lives.
That was proven when Marek's sacrifice damaged the Space Station after the Emperor killed him.
The Emperor should know the more he and Tarkin tighten their grips, the more the star systems will slip through their fingers.
Vader frowned thoughtfully as he had thought about his former apprentice.
In the years that followed his abduction of Marek, Vader trained the boy in the ways of the Sith, including dumping him unarmed onto Honoghr while sending a Noghri Death Commando hunting party after him with the intention of having Marek survive and defeat them as an ultimate test. At first, he controlled his student through fear, but then taught him to embrace emotions such as anger and hatred. In time, Marek forgot about his past; the memories of his childhood became repressed and he came to assume that he was merely one of his Master's many experiments. In addition, the boy had forgotten his birth name but soon came to know himself as "Starkiller," a codename provided to him by Darth Vader.
Though Vader was prohibited by the Rule of Two from training an apprentice while still apprenticed to a Master of his own, the Dark Lord discarded the ancient tradition and became the mentor of a child whose potential in the Force rivaled Darth Sidious. An outwardly loyal servant of the Emperor, Vader secretly harbored much anger and resentment for his Master, the Sith Lord who had orchestrated Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side of the Force. Vader devoted years to personally molding Starkiller into a highly trained Sith assassin with an array of Force powers—including Force lightning, which Vader was unable to harness due to his mostly machine condition—that made the young apprentice a formidable opponent and Sith in all but name. As time passed, Starkiller grew increasingly immersed in the dark side to his Master's approval, but also developed a strong sense of loyalty to the Sith Lord, whom he came to view as the closest example he had to a father figure. Starkiller's loyalty to Vader was rivaled only by his desire to fulfill the purpose of his existence, as stated by his Master: the assassination of Vader's own Master, Darth Sidious. The apprentice longed for years to be a true Sith Lord, providing him with the motivation and desire to become a greater Force-wielder in preparation for the day when he and his Master confronted the Emperor.
As a Sith Master, Darth Vader's training regimen was both physically and psychologically agonizing to Starkiller. Despite Vader's emphasis on an equation, obey and succeed versus fail and die, the apprentice detected no hint of malicious cruelty in his Master's instructions. The Dark Lord only wanted his disciple to learn as a Sith apprentice, or die as a failure. His callous treatment of the apprentice was motivated by the goal of creating the ultimate Sith warrior, rather than a sadist's desire to inflict pain on another for personal amusement.
Among the few items that Vader gave to Starkiller was a prototype holodroid named PROXY. Although Vader intended the droid to be a tool for helping the apprentice to refine his lightsaber skills, the Sith Lord unwittingly provided Starkiller with the only source of friendship he ever had throughout most of his short life. When Vader decided that his apprentice was ready to be sent on assassination missions in the galaxy, Starkiller was given the Rogue Shadow, an advanced starship equipped with state-of-the-art stealth technology, which served as his personal transport. Despite Starkiller's skills as a pilot, his Master preferred that he concentrate on his training while in-between missions. Vader, therefore, assigned several hand-picked individuals to serve as the pilot of his apprentice's ship. By the time his training was completed, Vader had chosen a total of seven pilots; some had died during the apprentice's more chaotic assignments, while others were executed by Vader due to the perceived shortcomings in their performance.
Aside from teaching Starkiller the ways of the dark side, Darth Vader continued to perform his duties as the Emperor's chief enforcer—responsibilities that included the military enforcement of the New Order on rebellious worlds in the Galactic Empire. As a commander, he demanded loyalty and competence from all of his subordinates; the failure to achieve the latter resulted in the deaths of numerous officers at the Dark Lord's hand. However, those who could pass his high expectations were rewarded with elevation in rank. One such officer was Captain Juno Eclipse, a young female Human who graduated at the top of her class as the youngest cadet from the Imperial Academy on Corulag. Impressed by her record as a highly-skilled TIE pilot, Vader promoted Eclipse as the leader of his Black Eight Squadron.
Darth Vader judged Captain Eclipse to be a capable officer and pilot, but her concern for life convinced him that she lacked ruthlessness, a trait that Vader expected in everyone who served under him. During the Bombing of Callos, he sensed Eclipse's hesitation when he ordered her to conduct a full-scale bombing run that would have resulted in the genocide of the planet's defeated inhabitants. Unconcerned with the Captain's disapproval, Vader redirected her to target the planetary reactor. Eclipse complied with the order under the belief that a single precision strike was preferable to the blanket bombing. However, she had been unaware at the time that the damaged reactor would contaminate the world's atmosphere with pollutants, which then resulted in the complete sterilization of all lifeforms on Callos, as Vader intended when he altered his order.
In the months that followed after the destruction of Callos, Vader removed Eclipse as commander of the Black Eight Squadron and reassigned her to a top-secret mission. Having recently executed Starkiller's last pilot, Vader chose Eclipse as the eighth pilot of the Rogue Shadow. The details of her new assignments were left unclear; Vader only informed her of the ship's advanced design in stealth technology, as well as its enigmatic owner who operated under the call sign "Starkiller." After providing her with the coordinates to the stealth vessel's location in a secret hangar on the Executor, Vader sternly warned Eclipse to keep her mission a secret and that the consequence of betraying his trust was execution.
Juno Eclipse's reassignment coincided with Starkiller's progression through his trials to the point where Darth Vader acknowledged him as a Sith apprentice for the first time. In recognition of his apprentice's increasing power in the dark side of the Force, Vader ordered Starkiller to kill his first Jedi target—Master Rahm Kota, a Jedi General who served in the Clone Wars, as well as a survivor of Order 66. According to his informants, Kota and his private army were in the process of conducting a raid on an important construction facility for TIE starfighters located above Nar Shaddaa. He also commanded the apprentice to use the utmost discretion while in the field in order to avoid detection by the Emperor's spies. Hence, the apprentice was instructed to kill everyone he encountered in the facility, both Imperials, and Kota's insurgents alike. Shortly after his briefing, the apprentice met Juno Eclipse in the hangar that contained the Rogue Shadow. Given that none of his previous pilots were female, Starkiller believed that Vader selected a woman as the ship's latest pilot in order to test the apprentice, although Starkiller feared his Master too much to voice his suspicion.
Despite the destruction of the construction facility, Starkiller returned to the Executor and reported to his Master. With Kota blind and left for dead since their last encounter, the apprentice assumed that the Jedi Master would no longer be a threat to the Empire. He was also disinclined to admit that he had not actually killed his target, and merely confirmed what Vader wanted to hear—that Rahm Kota was dead. Afterward, Vader dispatched Starkiller to hunt down Kazdan Paratus, a Jedi outcast who lived in self-exile on Raxus Prime; and Jedi Master Shaak Ti, one of the last members of the Jedi High Council whom Vader discovered to be hiding on Felucia.
At the same time, Vader believed that his apprentice required further training and thus sent him to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant with orders to participate in the Jedi Trials, particularly the lessons regarding skill and insight. In addition to the apprentice's completion of the tests on Coruscant, Vader was also satisfied by the deaths of Paratus and Ti, both of whom had been slain by Starkiller in single combat.
With Shaak Ti's death, the last of Starkiller's trials had been completed. Darth Vader recalled his apprentice back to Executor, where Vader assured Starkiller that they would finally kill Emperor Palpatine and rule the galaxy together as Master and Apprentice. But unknown to Starkiller, the Emperor's spies had been following him since Raxus Prime, tracing him back to Vader's flagship. Vader, faced with certain death for his "betrayal," in turn betrayed his shocked apprentice by impaling him through the chest with his lightsaber. After a moment of pause, Vader threw Starkiller into the vacuum of space by hurling him through the bridge window, at his master's command. However, Vader made sure that Starkiller's body was retrieved and brought to his science vessel, the Empirical. Upon the apprentice's full recovery, Vader excused his betrayal as a necessary course of action, both to save their lives and to fool Palpatine into believing that the secret apprentice was dead. Starkiller, although clearly bitter over the betrayal and denied a chance to finally become a true Sith Lord, nevertheless resigned himself to his fate and obediently submitted once more to his master's will.
With his every move under close observation, Darth Vader charged his apprentice to create a distraction that would divert the Emperor's attention away from him. To that end, Starkiller was ordered to create an alliance of rebels and dissidents. To that end, he ordered the apprentice to take great care in maintaining the secrecy of his mission, so as to not alert the Emperor of his survival, nor reveal his Sith identity to his imminent rebel allies. Before cutting off his transmission through PROXY, Darth Vader left the apprentice with one last reminder—the dark side would always be with him.
When Starkiller found a valuable ally in Bail Organa, Starkiller was told that he needed a target to show that the Empire was vulnerable to those that silently opposed it. Seeking his master's council, Vader suggested that the Star Destroyer shipyard over Raxus Prime would be a perfect target, as the Empire's rule through fear was embodied by the awesome might of the Star Destroyers. Although his apprentice remained loyal, Vader could sense that Starkiller was developing feelings for his supposed allies. He sternly reminded the apprentice of where his allegiance truly belonged, a statement which Starkiller solemnly accepted.
Afterward, Vader informed the apprentice of the extent of his successful mission, claiming that Palpatine was greatly displeased at the events on Raxus Prime. Starkiller advised that he could not maintain communications with Vader for the time being, mainly so that the Rebels would not suspect his identity or his past under Vader, which could potentially undo all that he had accomplished in forming the Rebellion. Although Vader initially intended to betray Palpatine with his apprentice at his side, he later changed his mind and made other plans. He swiftly captured the Rebel senators when they met and signed the Corellian Treaty on Corellia. After revealing to the leaders of the seemingly short-lived Alliance to Restore the Republic that Starkiller was the Sith Lord's secret apprentice, Vader once again assaulted his pupil, only this time with true lethal intent. Unable to bear a second betrayal, Starkiller bitterly lamented that he had been played a fool once again, to which Vader informed him that he never intended to destroy the Emperor—at least, not with Starkiller at his side. It was then that the apprentice realized the truth; credits, starships, Imperial lives, and even Starkiller himself had no value to Vader outside of their use in fulfilling his plans. Having lured the Rebel leaders into one place so they could be revealed and arrested, Starkiller had outlived his usefulness. Just as he was on the verge of killing his apprentice, PROXY, under the holographic guise of Vader's former master Obi-Wan Kenobi, distracted him in a short duel. Although Vader easily defeated the holodroid, Starkiller was gone, having fallen off the cliff outside the rebel site.
Vader brought the Rebel senators to the Death Star I, where they would be interrogated through torture in order to reveal the location of their friends and allies, only to be publicly executed by the Emperor in order to silence further opposition to Sith domination. To everyone's surprise, Starkiller was still alive and had infiltrated the incomplete battle station with the intention of rescuing the Alliance leaders, as well as to seek revenge against his former master. As a sign of his bitterness toward Vader's repeated betrayals, the apprentice dropped the code name and persona of Starkiller, thus accepting his birth name Galen Marek as his new identity. At the Emperor's order, Vader reluctantly went to confront his former apprentice. As they came face to face, Vader taunted Marek that he still had much to learn. Vader then let loose with an all-out offensive barrage, assured of his own superiority as a duelist and believing he would quickly defeat Marek. However, much like Obi-Wan had done decades prior, Marek adopted a defensive stance against Vader, countering and dancing around his assault.
For a time, neither combatant was able to gain any sort of advantage. During the duel, Marek came to realize that he had much in common with his master; they were both slaves to a Dark Lord, but while Marek possessed the strength to break away from Vader, Vader could not do the same with Sidious. Marek then proceeded to taunt Vader with this knowledge, hoping to break his concentration. In addition, he informed Vader that with his new understanding of Vader's life circumstances came pity and that he intended to end Vader's life as an act of mercy. Marek's taunts, particularly his professions of pity, enraged the already frustrated Sith Lord and caused him to redouble his attack. Close to being overwhelmed, Marek surprised Vader with a sudden blast of Force lightning, breaking the momentum of Vader's furious onslaught and forcing him onto his back foot. This move allowed Marek to both catches his breath and seize the offensive.
Marek pressed his advantage, scoring two hits on Vader with his lightsaber before telekinetically hurling objects at him from every direction. The final such missile was an energy field generator, which detonated upon contact with Vader. Barely surviving the explosion, his armor and life support systems critically damaged, Vader was unable to continue fighting. However, as Marek moved in for the kill, he saw Vader's face uncovered for the first time and was shocked into pausing. His master, rather than the terrifying cybernetic monster he appeared to be, was a pitifully deformed old man, exhausted and in agony.
Darth Sidious was greatly pleased by the outcome of the duel. Shortly after his reign began, Sidious gradually became as bitter and spiteful of his apprentice as Vader was with him. He had spent more than a decade engineering Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side, only to see his perfect apprentice crippled, with both his injuries and emotional instability limiting his powers. After seeing Vader humbled and beaten by a superior opponent, Sidious wasted no time in encouraging the young apprentice to kill his weak and broken master, thus finally becoming a true Sith Lord and taking his rightful place at the Emperor's side. Though sorely tempted by the thought of revenge and the power he could have as a true Sith Lord, Marek chose to follow the light side of the Force by confronting the Emperor. Catching him by surprise, Marek quickly attacked the Emperor with a telekinetic blast. Far from accepting defeat and, much less, death, Sidious goaded the apprentice one last time to give in to the dark side—by slaying the Emperor himself in anger and hatred. With General Kota's help, the apprentice resisted the dark side one last time. Outraged, Sidious struck Kota with Force lightning, refusing to let the Jedi and Rebels have someone as powerful as Marek on their side. However, Marek thrust himself in the way to protect the Jedi and the former senators.
By this time Vader had recovered enough to muster a squadron of stormtroopers in order to kill the Rebels and his former disciple. As the stormtroopers pursued Kota and the senators, Vader could do nothing more but watch as his master and apprentice locked with each other in a chain of Force lightning. Marek, knowing that he could not survive against the full fury of the Emperor, sacrificed his life and with one last defiant yell, he caused a massive Force explosion that killed all of the stormtroopers in the room and incapacitated the Sith Lords long enough for the Rebels to escape.
After regaining his senses, a severely injured Darth Vader slowly approached the body of Galen Marek, just as Sidious also recovered and looked down at Marek's corpse with shock and disappointment. Darth Vader, his voice solemn, noted that the secret apprentice was truly dead this time.
Darth Sidious was displeased and frustrated at having suffered such an unusual setback. Not only had he failed to kill the leaders of the newborn Rebel Alliance when he had the chance, but he also realized that Marek's selfless act of sacrifice would inspire the Rebels and bolster their morale to the point where silent opposition would be replaced by an all-out rebellion through force of arms. Vader swore that he would hunt down and put an end to this new threat, and crushed Marek's lightsaber under his boot heel. In addition, he feigned ignorance at his master's betrayal, making it sound as if the Emperor had planned for the events surrounding the formation of the Rebellion to occur as they had. Having failed to replace Darth Vader with Galen Marek, the Emperor had no choice except to tolerate Vader's existence, at least until he could find a new apprentice of the same caliber as Starkiller.
He had been aware of Sidious's intentions of eliminating him and replacing him, likely with the person behind this presence who is far stronger and more powerful than him.
It had... almost remind him of who he was on Mustafar before the snake, Kenobi, chopped off his limbs and left him to be burned alive.
Sidious wants to replace Vader, but Vader shall track this presence first and convert them over to his side. He shall gain true power!
For now, however, he shall kneel before his Master as he always has.
"What is thy bidding, my Master?" Vader inquired, keeping his head lowered like the good little slave he always is - or so the good little slave Sidious believes he is.
Sidious pivot his chair around to face his apprentice.
"The presence is clear and is without protection though still not recognizable, a barrier covering them from their true identity. It is of no concern; they are on the Alderaan's system and you shall track them down and bring them to me." Sidious ordered.
Vader tilts his head slightly in pretend oblivion, vowing to never allow Sidious to replace him but having to place on an act. "They can assume the place as the Grand Inquisitor."
Sidious appears almost insulted but he didn't allow it to show. His Master's satisfaction with what he believed was his obliviousness was obvious to him.
"Indeed," Sidious replies. 'Or something more.' He added mentally.
"I want you to go to Alderaan with Death Squadron led by Supreme Commander Cody and Vader's Fist led by Commander Appo along with Phase Zero Dark Troopers. Do not exterminate Viceroy Organa. All evidence of their allegiance with the Rebellion is gone along with your former apprentice but perhaps we can use this individual against them." Sidious warned coldly, slightly shocking Vader since he had expected for Sidious to command him to destroy Organa. "Whoever Organa is concealing would soon be in our hands and eventually we shall terminate Organa publicly along with the other Rebel Leaders. Killing Organa now would be unintelligent and dangerous as of the moment."
Vader couldn't believe Sidious was indeed that desperate to replace him with this individual and that is proven by the pathetic fact he is using Phase Zero Dark Troopers. The Phase Zero dark troopers were created in the early years of the Empire to deal with a shortage of experienced troops. The program was overseen by then-Lieutenant Rom Mohc and was based on the Empirical, a hidden space station in the Dominus system. He called the program the Dark Trooper Phase Zero. To return aged veterans of the Clone Wars to peak condition, their limbs and organs were removed and replaced with cybernetics using much of the same technology used to transform Darth Vader into a cyborg. In some cases, over 70% of a clone's body was replaced. With their years of combat experience and cybernetic enhancements, the units that did make it onto the field were undeniably effective. At the height of the project, the Dark Troopers were split into specialized classes including the Dark trooper commander and the Elite dark trooper.
"Indeed. Assassinating Organa right now would increase support for the Rebellion and cause other systems to follow in protest against the Empire." Vader declares. When he destroys the Emperor, the Sith Lord shall see to it that he would bring peace and freedom to his Empire, and he would require those other star systems.
"Undoubtedly, the natives of Alderaan would ask us what is the meaning of our unexpected presence. My agents on Alderaan have reported to me that there is a nonappointed shuttle that shouldn't be there to begin with and one of my men have just received a report that someone manages to evade through our troopers on Tatooine. Justify our actions by stating we are merely investigating for the safety of the people." The Emperor commanded.
"It will be done, my Master," Vader replied, bowing before turning and beginning to walk off.
One of Palpatine's Supreme Commanders, Cody, walked forward and followed after the Dark Lord with the other stormtroopers, most of who were stormtroopers more than clone troopers, following behind. Vader had always preferred the elite clones over those pathetic stormtroopers and so all except Commander Fox was spared from his wrath whenever they make a mistake.
To think, Vader nearly eliminated Cody and the entire 7th Sky Corps after Mustafar, but he had found himself unable to as he and Cody were betrayed by the same person: Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Many former clones were tired of the Empire, tired of shooting and enslaving down innocent beings, and tired of accepting Sidious and serving Darth Vader so they all left, leaving the Empire, which had secretly made Vader felt regretful as it had shown how Palpatine managed to destroy even the Emperor's supposed troopers trust into their cause.
It was of little concern to Vader as of the moment as he had wanted to get to Alderaan immediately and recruit this potential foe and think of ways to have them serve him.
Arthur's note: Oh no, Vader is going to Alderaan with Commander Cody, the former commander of the 7th Sky Corps, and Commander Appo, the 501st commander who has led the assault on the Jedi Temple. Straight up, Anakin is going to have a difficult time on Alderaan, but I have to give our hero a hard time. You don't think I would just have Anakin walk there, ask Bail where he could join the Alliance, and then leave? No, no, no. That's not how Anakin's life is. ;D
I believe Vader fight with clones despite most being in their 40s to 50s. I also have the theory that each of the troopers had stopped their accelerating aging under orders of the Emperor, and Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor didn't sadly receive it so the clones would more-or-less look like their Clone Wars self but just a bit older.
May the Force be with you all always.