Chapter 12
Leia and Winter sneak to the shuttle, seeing that it is the only shuttle there. They could see the chaos and know that the world is on a shutdown and the Imperials would detain them and would probably hand them over to Bail Organa or terminate them on sight.
The girls walked on the streets, hooded, and quickly hidden behind a building as a patrol scout strode past.
Winter was about to move when Leia placed her hand in front of her, halting her from moving as another patrol scout pass.
They were out of their hiding position but that was quickly proven to be of a misconception.
"You two, stop right there." A stormtrooper lieutenant declared, aiming his blaster at the two as they begin to approach the girls who were hooded.
Winter quickly drew her blaster and begins to fire a stun bolt at the troopers, alerting all stormtroopers in that area and causing the stormtroopers to return fire.
Leia joined her sister quickly and backed her up, dodging blaster fire instinctively, thanks to the training their father had given them which had improved their gunfire.
Imperial casualties would cause an uproar and would give the Empire reason enough to publicly execute the Organas. Leia nor Winter wanted their adoptive parents to be terminated, even though they lied to the former for 19 years.
As soon as the first platoon was all stunned, battalions begin running to their position, and quickly, Leia and Winter took a break for it behind an alley.
Leia jumped into a trash can and close the roof, despite how smelly the inside is. She had been use to missions like this.
Winter could hear the stormtroopers approaching and frowned in disgust as she opened up the metal trash can and seen half-thrown away food, bones, and unwashed clothes. She would never understand how Leia could purposely get herself dirty and come back home with smug smiles, but she had guessed she would do anything for her.
She crouched in as stormtroopers communicating from the outside.
"They escaped, sir," a stormtrooper reported to the sergeant.
"They couldn't have gotten far! Find them and arrest them! I want them alive!" The sergeant growled in irritation, and troopers begin to search the area.
Both could just hear their marching steps and hope beyond hope they wouldn't open these garbage cans, less they would be caught and be brought before Lord Vader.
And what's worse is how worried Bail and Breha must be. They wouldn't allow them out of the palace long until long after Leia's father departed or is caught and arrested.
The scouts were checking every corner for what must have been hours, their guns clicking every-so-often. By now, the girls were beginning to grow worried if Leia's father has left the planet.
"Sir, they must have escaped inside of an apartment. The troopers have checked every corner." A corporal reported to his superior officer.
"Call off the search and go back to patrol. If they come out again, we shall arrest them." The stormtrooper sergeant commanded.
After what must have been thirty minutes, Leia was certain that they were gone and begins climbing up of the trash can, spotting a bone on her shoulder and knocking it off before climbing out fully and standing on the street.
"Winter, Winter!" She kicked the trash can that her sister was in.
Winter emerged, her clothes completely dirty and stained, but she was still clutching her bags.
"Later, we need to have a very long conversation about finding better hiding spots. Yours are very... questionable to say the least." Winter said seriously, despite the fact that Leia apparently spot mirth in her tone and laughed slightly.
"Well, we need to get to the shuttle," Leia said before grabbing her binoculars and staring at the imperial stormtroopers who were guarding her father's appointed craft. "The problem is that stormtroopers are guarding the starports which mean this is not going to be easy."
"I have an idea," Winter quipped.
"Winter..." Leia begins. Her sister's ideas were never good despite how effectively they had worked in the past.
"Just trust me," Winter replied smugly.
What Winter did next was what Leia least expected. She grabbed the trash cans they hidden in earlier, begins to set them up, and kicked one at the stormtroopers and then the other, rolling in their direction and all of the trash inside burst out and on top of the troopers along with the trash cans that caused for them to trip over, and completely off guard.
That would distract them for a while and they had decided to take their chances by making a dash for it to the ship.
The two girls walked inside and entered the storage compartment which was full of materials that could likely help Leia's father.
They didn't know how, but they managed to climb in and wait and place the cover on their hiding position.
Leia felt herself zooming off after a bit, and Winter smiled, wrapping her arms around her sister and allowing her to sleep on her neck, eventually zooming off herself, despite the fact that they would have to take a shower later because they smelled bad.
Cody fired, and waited for what is to come. Memories of Utapau echoing in his head, and although it quickly passed, he had seen an image where General Skywalker was the one who was ascending up the upper levels, and Cody gave the command to blast him to the forsaken hole, and now he could see Utapau was about to be repeated with the Jedi only being captured instead of eliminated.
Anakin's blade parried the shot back into a stormtrooper abdomen next to Kenobi's former clone commander, causing him to crash onto the rough ground. Cody shot another blaster bolt when the second trooper beside Cody went down in a similar fashion.
Anakin Force Blasted Cody into a wall, causing the clone commander to clutch his head and force himself up as the clones begin unleashing shots at Skywalker, and Utapau begins to play once again with him ordering for Kenobi to be shot down.
Cody begins breathing and glares up at the scene where Skywalker was deflecting each of the blaster shots, and for a moment, he had seen General Kenobi in his spot, struggling to protect himself. He had known that he was an expandable stormtrooper like the rest of these pathetic stormtroopers, easily forgotten among the stormtrooper army.
Nearby, he could see his blaster laid not that far from him and grabbed it...
Anakin deflected each of the shots back into the troopers in all directions. The stormtroopers were releasing shots at areas aimed for mainly legs and arms, attempting to not hit the target they have been ordered to captured not in the artery system where he would bleed to death.
Anakin brought a trooper to him with the Force, plunging his saber through his torso before releasing him, swiftly swiping the bolts away back into the stormtroopers.
Suddenly, the shots seized, and Anakin could hear the sound of a blaster being loaded and turned to see Commander Cody aiming his gun and whispered a curse as the commander was about to fire...
For a few minutes, nothing was apparently going to happen... and all was silent as Cody glared at him...
when he fired at a Phase Zero Dark Trooper from the front in his head, causing the trooper to collapse to the ground with a head shot.
Cody quickly opened fire on the troopers before they could react, blasting many of them down before they could raise their blasters, shredding them as he has done with many Rebels for years. Unexpecting of this betrayal, the other troopers began firing at their traitorous commander, but he had taken at least a platoon of them down by blaster bolts.
Skywalker's blade arc across the ground, slicing glass at the troopers before hacking away at each of the troopers. He levitated several troopers and cracked their necks in under a second.
Skywalker and Cody stood back to back, reminding both of the old days as they fended off the stormtroopers; one with a lightsaber blocking each of the blaster fire while the clone commander fired at the troopers.
Most of who he had actually trained himself.
Cody grabbed a grenade from his utility belt and thrown it at the first platoon of stormtroopers, watching as many of them fallen; many being shinies who were of the old clones that joined at the end of the Clone Wars.
Cody had no time to reflect as he continues to fire at the stormtroopers. He had known he had morally made the right choice, but now, he is going to be labeled as an enemy to the Empire.
"Cody, protect me!" Anakin shouted, causing the commander, still clouded in stormtrooper armor to nod.
The clone commander ran in front of his back and begins to fire at the stormtroopers endlessly, seeing that he would have to do his best to not get shot unless Skywalker would not be able to escape.
Skywalker jumped to the window and cutting a long "X" before shattering it with a Force Blast.
Skywalker lunged past the clone commander and begins hacking away at the stormtroopers, the Jedi Knight parrying each of the shots back into the stormtroopers.
"Cody, deploy the ascension cable," Anakin commanded, blocking each of the blaster fire, seeing that they were going to be overwhelmed. If they don't retreat shortly, Anakin would be defeated and Cody would be dead.
Cody shoots his ascension cable to the other building with the blaster fire from the building aimed at them, now setting their weapons for stun out of risk of accidentally hitting the target and killing him. Anakin deactivated his lightsaber as they begin to climb across the building with the ascension cables, and they landed on the small ledge before he grabs the commander and activating his lightsaber with a snap-hiss, blocking each of the stun bolts before they landed onto the ground safely but not out of the danger.
Not too surprisingly, stormtroopers were on the ground, and upon seeing them, they aimed their guns at the traitorous commander. They immediately fired at the Jedi Knight, provoking him in twirling his lightsaber to send the bolts back at the stormtroopers.
Without hesitation, Anakin strikes vertically to the left, and cleansed a handful of their blasters, before plunging his lightsaber upwards and decapitating their heads from their shoulders.
One blaster shot flew towards him but he blocked it without much of a struggle and deflected it back towards its owner. As that stormtrooper fell to the ground, he felt even more guilt coming towards him.
He lowered his saber for Cody to fire at the troopers but would swiftly bring it back up so the clone commander is free to fire on the stormtroopers.
Anakin's lightsaber ran through flesh after flesh. The armored beings attempted to shoot him down, but their shots were parried back into them. No limitations were holding him back. The Jedi were all but destroyed.
He grabbed a trooper and brought him in front of him so the blasts can hit him and then threw him at two troopers who fell to the ground before he begins swinging his lightsaber rapidly.
Cody slammed his blaster against a stormtrooper and knocked him to the ground and shot him, grabbing his helmet and throwing it at another stormtrooper, who knocked it aside with his blaster, revealing his aged scarred face.
Anakin's blade flashed furiously, and he threw his lightsaber horizontally at the stormtroopers, cutting each of the stormtroopers' legs or arms off.
Each of their shots made contact with his robotic arm, causing him to place it behind his back and deflecting each of the shots back into the stormtroopers with his left arm. His robotic arm was almost broken, though Anakin felt little pain.
The young man reared back and drove the blade through the stormtrooper's heart, and when Anakin watched the body fall, he took solace in the fact that one less person could hurt a family. Even though he hadn't led these men back in the Clone Wars, he had resented killing them since they are humans like him behind those helmets and armors.
Anakin's palm shot outward then faced up, and as a result, the stormtrooper who shot him began to levitate off of the ground, grasping at the invisible grasp around his throat but not for long as his windpipe was completely crushed by the Jedi Knight.
The commander grabbed a grenade and threw it at the stormtroopers, it exploding the second it made contact with the ground and obliterating a handful of them.
Skywalker ducked a shot from a Phaze Zero Purge Trooper before jumping towards it and cutting it in half by its shoulder blade before advancing onto another, swiping downwards with his bloody lightsaber and cutting it into half before looking at the reinforcements. The Jedi Knight immediately unleashed a Force Push against a few stormtroopers, watching smugly as the troopers fell before swiping his lightsaber in a blur, fatally striking them down.
Running to a stormtrooper, Cody slammed his blaster against whoever was behind the bucket before kicking another down and firing on the two stormtroopers before firing on the reinforcements.
Cody ran to General Skywalker's side, firing from behind Skywalker's blue lightsaber, partly using his General as a shield but mainly wanting to provide backup as he has been bred to since he was very young.
Skywalker ducked, allowing the commander to rain fire against the stormtroopers, taking several of them down before he jumped in front of them, raising his hand and releasing a massive Force Push that knocked the stormtroopers back.
"Cody, quick! Follow me!" Skywalker thundered, mentally creating a map in his thoughts, every-so-often deflecting the shots.
He could sense the presence of Darth Vader nearing and he had known that he and Cody could die if they don't retreat.
A gunship descended from the sky and the troopers begin firing at Skywalker and the commander, causing the Jedi Knight to deflect each of the shots, a few troopers falling from the gunship before he deactivated his lightsaber and seized the gunship with the Force and crashed it down among where they were previously fighting, sensing the deaths of battalions of men.
Luckily, that shall slow them down, but Darth Vader must be extremely powerful and strong. He has known Vader could improve in power for 17 years, and that means Anakin had stand little chance, even now.
Even though he had wanted to kill him for what he has done to the Jedi Order, the clones, Padmé, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka, he shall not risk their lives when there's an opportunity to escape.
A few years ago, Anakin would have been eager to rush into battle with a Sith of any type, placing himself in unnecessary danger just to save the troopers under his command.
But Kenobi had managed to succeed in teaching him patience and caused him to not go into a battle which he knows he cannot win.
They dash for a speeder when the stormtroopers fired at the speeder, inadvertently exploding it seconds later and causing the debris to crash against the two.
Anakin stares down at Cody as he angled his lightsaber at the stormtroopers who suddenly unexpectedly stop firing. Cody struggled to stand, breathing heavily.
A stormtrooper, obviously a former clone, shouted at the other troopers. "Blast them!"
The stormtroopers begin to fire.
Anakin spots an Alderaan shuttle and begins to dash for it with Cody following behind. He had only a second to get a good look at the unidentified cruiser and he had to admit it was slightly impressive.
It was, much to his surprise, an upgraded version of a Dynamic-class freighter. These are rarely used nowadays... well the days from his times, but somehow, Bail Organa or his technicians had upgraded the outdated version of the freighter.
The ship was painted primarily black with the three prongs accented in red on the bow, as well as the dorsal and ventral sides. Towards the stern, on both the latter two sides, there were concave red stripes that curved parallel to the ship's stern from the center prong to the outer two, originating from the outward sides of two cylindrical engines, which met the center prong at its base and extended outward to port and starboard. This formed a symmetrical acute angle across the dorsal side on the longitudinal axis, with legs that met the rear curve. All along the outward-facing sides of these engines was another red stripe.
"We're not going to make it!" Cody shouted, causing Anakin to snap out of it and recognize that he was running and watched as the commander outstretched his hand in an inefficacious attempt to reach the ship. Cannon fire traced up toward them, almost catching him in the barrage when Anakin outstretched his hand, allowing the Force to seize control of Cody and toss him toward the shuttle.
Once Cody was at the ramp to the shuttle, Anakin turned his attention back on the gunships that were firing on him. He deflected each bolt with his lightsaber, dropping a few men from the gunships as they fired in a vain attempt to strike him down. It seemed as if he was going to eliminate them all with their own ceaseless fire when the gunships abruptly turned to face him. Rockets were fired, and Anakin barely managed to stumble away from the explosives, as they fired again, but he outstretched his hand and grabbed another rocket and thrown it back at the prime gunships, causing it to spiral out of control before crashing.
"Cody, fire up the ship! I would protect you!" Anakin demanded while turning and blocking blaster fire back into troopers, vowing to fight to his dying breath.
As he continues to block blaster bolts, the gunships begin to surround him as the troopers inside took aim, along with the troopers on the surface, and by now, he was completely surrounded with the troopers silently moving around him and aiming their guns at his back. Should he fight again, they would be able to subdue him.
"Surrender, Jedi," one of the troopers inside the gunships said menacingly.
Anakin raised his lightsaber, ready to make a last stand due to the alternative being considerably worse. That was, until he heard engines come up from behind. Tilting his head back, he saw the ship Organa had arranged that Cody now had commandeered hovering out over the sinkhole a few feet from his position. Cody stood on the ramp, firing on his brothers-in-arms.
"General Skywalker, come on!" Cody shouted, motioning for him with his hand as he continues to fire at the stormtroopers at his flank.
Anakin nodded, turned, Force Blasted the troopers behind him off the edge, and jumped, flying through the air like a native dactillion, but his jump did not reach the distance he had hoped for. He missed the ramp of the shuttle, swinging his lightsaber in front of him to desperately deflect the blaster shots, feeling his hold loosening onto the ground, and nearly let out a cry of horror when a hand grabbed hold of his arm. Staring up, he found Cody clinging desperately to him.
"Get up here, General. We can't lose you, sir," Cody said, pulling Anakin onto the ramp of the shuttle. By then the gunships had opened fire on them, but the shuttle's autopilot was taking evasive action.
The commander sat on the ramp as Skywalker dashed inside and felt it ascended and fired at the troopers when suddenly from the shadows and behind the troopers, Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader emerged and reached out for the freighter with the Force, halting the freighter from taking off and slowly albeit effectively bringing it down onto the starport.
The stormtroopers continued to fire at Cody and nearly hit him multiple times, though Cody had a slight advantage over the troopers as he didn't wear that pathetic helmet which he couldn't see a thing in.
Due to being still so high in the air, Cody wouldn't be able to get a direct aim on the Dark Lord to have a slim chance of shooting him down and finally end his tyranny.
Cody felt himself resisting a shout. Vader had successfully brought the shuttle down and stormtroopers was nearing the freighter. He had known unless he finds something effective, they were doomed.
Luckily, Cody had one grenade left, and threw it at the Sith Lord and the troopers, watching as he had annihilated a few of his brothers but forcing Vader to release his hold despite it not doing any damage.
Cody immediately stood up and dashed inside as the ramp closed and went for the cockpit, sitting down and watching as Skywalker evaded the reinforcements and blasting them with a few of the controls but they were not enough as they were moving in many directions.
"Pilot the ship. I am going to utilize the turrets." Anakin ordered, causing Cody to nod as Skywalker raced to the back, climbing up the ladder for the turrets and activating them, firing at the Imperial freighters. He has always been better at spotting them with his eyes instead of the Force when it comes to freighters.
While the reinforcements manage to hit the freighter a few times with their excellent piloting skills and damn near mastery of training by Lord Vader no doubt and due to the fact that Cody wasn't exactly a good pilot, Skywalker blasted them like they were nothing, analyzing their techniques in the air and scrapping them, wincing a few times as he had detested in likely killing his men.
There was a clear route for blasting off in lightspeed, meaning that they would be away from Alderaan and from the Empire at least for some time. Both stared down at the planet which was from a distance, both feeling like they lost the battle despite escaping.
Cody officially is brandished a traitor of the Empire.
Skywalker would probably be recognized and Vader might put the pieces together.
Despite that, they haven't regretted their decision and wouldn't alter it for the galaxy. Cody could now see he didn't have to remain as an expandable clone of the Empire, and Anakin could now see that while he has shallow answers and would probably never see Leia again, he would fight for her.
"Cody, get us out of here," Anakin warned, and Cody pressed the button that took them off into lightspeed.
Upon it, Anakin walks to the interior of the ship and begins inspecting the ship to at least form some sort of a new connection to his new home.
The ship could be crewed by two pilots and supported six passengers, allowing it to comfortably function as a transport. An onboard medical bay, located near the central main hold, could provide limited triage options for injured beings. In case of emergency, such as a hull breach, every room aboard the ship was equipped with airlocks that could seal shut, containing the compromised sections and retaining the atmosphere in unaffected areas. The ship carried two standard months' worth of consumables, likely allowing whatever the crew is to make extended trips.
Three prongs formed a trident-shaped hull fore of the freighter's midpoint, with the central protrusion extending the farthest. The prongs were asymmetrical; a hull section, containing a landing ramp, was located between the central and starboard prongs. The boxy central section of the ship, with a viewport located at its fore, held the ship's cockpit and communications station. These two rooms were connected via a long hallway to the ship's main hold, located at the ship's center. The flanking port and starboard prongs were mirrored images of each other and contained crew bunks and amenities. A lateral break in the ship's hull plating marked the freighter's midpoint. For armament, a pair of large laser cannons were mounted port and starboard, and dorsal and ventral turrets could be installed just behind the central prong. A ladder, located just behind the main hold, allowed access to these turrets, though he had already known this part.
The freighter's hull aft of midpoint formed a half-saucer with the fore of the ship. This distinctive design allowed the ship to fit the same area for cargo and systems as a larger, more angular hull; other shipbuilders would later mimic this design even millennia later. Two cargo areas, flanking the engine room in the central aft of the ship, could store 60 tons of cargo. The starboard cargo area was large enough to function as a garage, with ample space to store a swoop bike and workstation, and connected directly to the landing ramp. Two large, circular engines were mounted to the very back of the ship and provided the thrust necessary for the ship to move through realspace at 800 km/h. Dynamic-class freighters often had a predominately grey hull with reddish-orange accents adorning the ship's fore prongs, engine cowlings, and a radial band on the aft saucer section of the hull.
Anakin then stopped inspecting and went to the couch and sat down.
Cody approached the depressed man on the seat and placed his hand on his shoulder once he had noticed that Skywalker was zooming out.
Startled, he had finally noticed Cody standing over him.
"Are you alright, sir?" Cody asked worriedly.
"No, I'm-I'm not. I made a big mistake. You-you shouldn't be here, Cody. I wish you gunned me dow-"
"Sir!" Cody interrupted, placing his hand on his hip, feeling like the motherly figure Kenobi was to many of the men back in the Clone Wars. "Just tell me what's wrong." Figuratively, they were now of the same title and rank, Rebels, having both been cast off by the Republic and the Empire.
"You-you know Leia Organa?" Anakin inquired, a lump forming in his throat.
"Princess Leia Organa. Indeed, she is a smart young lady." She is one of the Senators who doesn't mistreat the former clones, though Cody always felt like something was oddly familiar about the young woman.
"Well, I am... I am her father..." Anakin informed him.
"Her father?" Cody asked, shocked, thinking back to the Clone Wars where he had remembered the countless dares Rex had placed on him about General Skywalker and Senator Amidala being together. "Senator Amidala. She is the mother I mean."
Anakin's silence was confirmation.
"Well, what did you do?" Firefek, he has never been a good therapist.
"Oh, Cody! She came to me! She pleaded for me to turn away from my path! She begged me not to continue down the path of Vader, but instead of doing that, I assumed my best friend was turning against me! I choked her and was harming the baby! Maybe I'm glad Leia would never know about me!"
"Woah, slow down," Cody replied, raising his hands.
"After slaughtering the Jedi in the Temple and killing the Separatists forces, Padmé came to me in the hope to convince me to stop being a monster! Kenobi appeared shortly after, and I choked her! I accused her of betraying me!" Anakin yelled.
Cody frowned. "You... you choked Senator Amidala?! How can you do such a thing?" He had heard about those Force Abilities and had known Skywalker always wanted more power but choking your own wife was a tad too far-oh who was he kidding?! That is going way too far! He has long since developed a personality and knowing what's right and what's wrong!
"Yes, I did! Maybe I should just dig myself into a hole and kill myself! My children, they-they deserve a better father!" Anakin exclaimed.
"Well, you are my father. Accept responsibility for your actions." A new voice made itself known, and Cody immediately grabbed his blaster and aimed it at the person in the shadows.
Anakin's blue blade was in his hand and he jumped at the hall where he had seen Leia... and the other girl.
While his initial reaction was to run to her arms, Anakin refrained, staring blankly at her as she leaned against the corner, arms folded across her chest.
"Leia! Oh Force! I've got to turn this ship around!" Anakin incoherently muttered, wanting for her to be safe, not where he is going to be hunted with a trooper who has problems and PTSD after Order 66.
He carelessly tossed his lightsaber on the couch and dashed past the two girls and Cody and began fumbling with controls, attempting to change the course of the ship when Leia placed her hands atop his.
"No, you're not, Father," Leia gently corrected, lacing her fingers with her father.
"Organa is your father, Leia. I have lost that privilege." He stated.
"Turn this thing around, Leia," he softly pleaded, only to see Leia shake her head in the darkness. "Please, I'm pleading with you. Turn the ship around."
"No, father," she said, shaking her head. "You need help, and a child's role is to help a troubling parent sometimes. Even though I barely know you, I naturally love you."
"And I love you too much to take you with me," Anakin cried. "Please, I need you to understand! Turn this ship around!" Tears blurred Anakin's vision. "I would just hurt you as I did to your mother! I have abandoned my mother and Padawan, lost my wife! Please, Leia, allow me to take you back to Alderaan where you are with your real family and where you are happy!"
"You are my real family! We are blood-related! The Organas are just my adopted parents, and while I do love them, I believe our bond is stronger!" Leia walked up and stroke his cheek, an awkward action but still hoping it would comfort him. "While it is true you hurt mother, you were blinded by rage and arrogance. You would never hurt her."
"You took the Organa girl-"
Winter crossed her arms across her chest, saying, "I'm almost an adult and would probably leave for college soon off-world after signing a damn certificate. Leia is my sister. I don't care what anyone tries to tell me. Anywhere she goes, I go, case close." She deduced sharply.
Cody chuckles. "You can't win, sir. Princess Leia is too much like Senator Amidala."
Anakin shot him a dirty look for a moment before he sighs, knowing that Cody was correct. Leia would come with him rather if he likes it or not.
"And if I hurt you or your sister?" he asks, seeing that he was fighting an already lost battle. staring at his daughter who smiles victoriously.
"You won't, but if you do, I would still help you. You are someone who needs help, not everyone casting you a cold-shoulder. You are not Darth Vader. Repeat after me. You are not Darth Vader." Anakin didn't reply, but Leia hit him in the shoulder with her hand. "Say it, you are not Darth Vader." Her eyes locked onto his, fire burning in her eyes. "I would tie you up into a chair and make you say it. You are not Darth Vader."
"I-I a-a-am not Da-Darth Vader." He replies, seeing much of her mother in her, along with his personality. She is her mother's daughter. Were Padmé here, she would have reprimanded him and probably would have smacked reality into him.
"Say it again and like you mean it," she replies.
"I am not Darth Vader," he repeated, swallowing slightly.
"Again," she replied.
Anakin facepalmed. "Damn it, Leia, are we going to do this all day-" he spotted the look on her face and suddenly she transformed into Padmé for a moment as she glares up at him. That made him shut up from what he was about to say. "I am not Darth Vader."
"Good, now where to go?" Leia inquired, victory in her tone, causing him to stammer for a second.
Anakin wanted to go to Yavin but then he had thought about it and pondered; they would take Leia from him and possibly send her back to Alderaan. They would have to form their own crew.
"To-to Naboo. I have something I need to visit first."
"Naboo! That's a heavily controlled Imperial World, sir!" Cody shouted. "Most Imperials are occupying that world and would shoot you on sight! Not to mention the Queen who is extremely loyal to the Empire and would report your location!"
"I have to do this, Cody," Anakin replied, grasping his shoulder. "I have to see her body."
Cody sighed but nodded. There was no convincing General Skywalker, and since he has a target on his back where the Emperor would likely send assassins after him, he would have to stay with Skywalker to be safe and not to be assassinated. He would have to also find Boil and the other clone troopers who had resigned from the Empire.
Anakin walked from the room and went to the cockpit, likely so he could be by himself for a while.
The two stared at Cody. They didn't know if they could trust Cody. Leia and Winter have encountered stormtroopers before and they could tell they were all the same; emotionless drones who would follow any order.
"So an Imperial stormtrooper actually having a conscience and am freed in going against the Empire?" Winter asked bluntly, reminding Cody of the civilians who would give the clones glares, especially at the Imperial Senate Building.
"Yes, he has made me realize I had made a mistake," Cody replied bluntly, hoping this won't turn into an argument.
"Why did you allow enslavement to happen to the galaxy for a long time if you are not evil?" Leia questioned, crossing her arms across her chest.
"I-I can't tell you, but not everything is what it appears to be. I don't even know why we were forced to do things myself but I have some steps to retrace." the clone replied.
Leia and Winter stared at each other in confusion.
"What steps?" Leia inquired.
"In the Clone Wars, a trooper has claimed there was..." Cody paused as he remembers a trooper's claims about the inhibitor chip only to be silenced by his own brother. That-that thing is still inside of him! "I need access to a medical droid immediately."
"Alderaan has lots of them," Winter declared.
"Well, if I go back to Alderaan, I would be arrested at first's sight and executed for treason!" Cody exclaimed. "But before we do anything..."
Cody begins grabbing his Holo-communicating device and slamming it against the wall with all of his might, knowing that it could be traceable by the Empire. He drops it and steps on it to the point where wires were sticking out, much to Cody's satisfaction.
He would throw it out of the window later.
"Why did you do that?" Winter asked.
"I was the Supreme Commander to the Emperor himself. He easily could track my communicator down which means tracking us down. That would stall him for a while but I have to warn General Skywalker that we have to drop materials off on Naboo and assure the Emperor wouldn't know. We will need to also find a medical droid that we could bring on board." He replied, knowing that the Empire could hack into his frequency.
Cody yawned. "For now, I am going to one of the quarters. I need a breather immediately and contemplate on what's to be done yet as there is something extremely dangerous about us clones which can effortlessly be triggered again." The clone trooper replied, walking to the back with the blaster gripped tightly in his hand.
Despite the fact Cody was a loyal soldier to the Empire, the commander knew he had better adjust to his new life and finish the great mystery that the trooper began. He should have looked into it, but at the time, he had attempted to be a good soldier for the Republic he and his brothers has never truly known.
Cody turned and wrinkled his nose, staring at Leia with a smirk, "Also, if I may, your highness, you two need a bath."
Almost insulted, the two girls sniffed themselves and grimaced out of disgust. Seconds later, Cody heard the sounds of two young ladies racing to the refresher.
Vader glared at Bail Organa and Breha Organa, noting with a start that the Organa girls were not with them.
"Be grateful, Organa, that we haven't found the Jedi and you and your wife would be able to survive." Vader growled, glaring at them underneath his visor, golden eyes flashing furiously.
"Lord Vader, if we had known a Jedi was here, we would have reported i-"
Deception ringed through the Force before Organa could finish his explanation, and Vader raised his hand, clenching it up into a fist, tempted to obliterate the Organas where they stood.
However, he shall stay himself for now. Sympathy for the Rebellion must not happen.
"Silence," Vader hisses, pointing his finger at Organa threateningly, silencing the viceroy before turning and walking off, approaching his personal shuttle and entering it with his top 501st troopers who had managed to survive the Jedi's wrath, the troopers who had joined him on Operation Knightfall.
Vader waited patiently as he approaches his Star Destroyer, deceptively acting calm unless he accidentally kills his top 501st troopers which he had great amounts of respect for.
Vader was going to inquire his troopers if they had known the name or surname of the Jedi, but for now, he has to speak with his Master who would extremely punish him otherwise as the Jedi was able to evacuate from Alderaan and his whereabouts are unknown.
Hopefully, he could justify his failure. If Commander Cody hadn't assisted the Jedi, Vader would have captured the Jedi and brought him to Mustafar where he could have tortured him to submission and finally would probably grasp at the opportunity to overthrow the Emperor. This Jedi Knight has great potential that he had managed to slaughter over hundreds of 501st and 7th Sky Corps troopers, and it had made the Sith Lord annoyed and angry as he still hadn't liked it when someone slaughtered each of his troopers yet he was interested into this Jedi.
Vader watched as his Master appeared, glaring down at his apprentice with golden eyes.
"Lord Vader," Sidious hissed, his voice showing the Sith Lord he was not pleased, "you have failed me."
"Master, I believe there is something of concern. One of your top Supreme Commanders have chosen to side with the Jedi and betrayed the Empire. Commander Cody." Vader replied.
If Sidious was shocked, he didn't reveal it by his expression under the hood. The only revelation that he was shocked is by the fact his eyes flashed golden for a moment before they dimmed slightly.
"The former clone commander of Kenobi? This is concerning indeed." Sidious proclaimed, placing his hand on his chin.
"I have my suspicions that this Jedi is Kenobi. I have felt the taint of my old Master off of this Jedi." Vader informed his Master in keen interest angrily, resisting the urge in clenching his fist as an officer approached him.
"My lords, our troopers were able to get a surname," the officer speak nervously to Vader and Sidious. "Skywalker."
"Skywalker?" Vader asked incredulously, his voice showing how shocked he was.
"This is marvelous news indeed," Sidious spoke sharply, staring at the officer.
'Is it possible Leia managed to survive childbirth?' Vader spoke in his thoughts, remembering when he had told Padmé it was going to be a baby girl when her beliefs went along with the wind.
"I want this first name to be solved so we can learn which Skywalker this is, or if this is a threat," Sidious declared before apparently receiving an idea to irk his Sith Apprentice. "Perhaps Kenobi has framed the death of your children after your wife died." Vader gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw from behind his helmet, his anger spiking at his old Master who he vows to locate and destroy for potentially using his own children with him, yet somehow... he had sensed a presence of his own through the Force on Alderaan, and according to the 501st troopers who gave a progress report, the pilot flew in a similar fashion to him. "Deploy Boba Fett to hunt down this Skywalker. We can recruit them to our side and the Empire would be invincible."
"Yes, my Master," Vader replied, bowing one last time. He'd hesitated slightly. He was certain his child died with her mother-he had unfortunately witnessed her funeral on the cameras of Theed and it was the first time he had wept openly. If he had never joined Sidious...
The Sith Lord stood up menacingly and glared at the officer that had foolheartedly had to just give the surname in front of Sidious, his breathing echoing in the hall, vowing to destroy him. Vader reached out, grabbing the officer he didn't know or care to know by the neck, dragging him back to stand in front of him, still glaring at him underneath his visor.
The officer's eyes broadened to a point Vader didn't even think imaginable and probable, and he gawked, his mouth moving but no words coming out as he looked straight into Vader's mask.
Without another word, he crushed the man's windpipe and dropped him onto the metal floor, striding from the bridge so he could go meditate to himself, less he kills everyone on the bridge as he marched to his chambers. First, he would have to tell his officers to access the surveillance cameras and bring them before him...
If Organa hasn't been foolish enough to turn off the surveillance cameras!
Vader's hand twitched. Before he could go to meditate, he had needed to destroy some of the Rebels! Those fools probably had manipulated his child along with Kenobi and now she probably hates him!
"Commander Appo, I want to know have there been any sightings of Rebel cells in the system?" He asked, causing the trooper to raise his eyebrows out of confusion behind his helmet.
Commander Appo checked on his comm for a few minutes before turning and staring up at his commanding officer, "Yes, but a minor one though. The Imperial Troopers would be able to deal with them before they cause any major trouble that dangers the stability of the Empire, sir."
"Excellent, commander, send me the coordinates and prepare my ship; I will deal with them myself," Vader declared bitterly.
"Yes, sir," the typical no-nonsense clone commander replied, saluting his Lord, despite being bemused.
"Very good," Vader replied before turning around and begins walking off.
"May I ask why you want to deal with these Rebels yourself, Lord Vader? Certainly, they are beneath you?" Appo inquired, stopping the Sith Lord in his tracks. Were it anyone else besides Commander Appo, who he has amounts of respect for, it would have been the end of him.
"I have excess frustrations I wish to unleash," Vader replied truthfully, leaving behind the clone commander, and the 501st Stormtrooper Legion on the main bridge as the doors closed behind him.
Vader stormed up to the hanger, each of the troopers giving him space completely unless they wanted to be a victim of Vader's wrath. They pretend not to look at him and just to stand at attention, not wanting to create any reason for Vader to kill them.
As always, a deck officer was waiting for him. The stormtrooper walked with him towards his Tie-Fighter.
"The coordinates have already been set in the nav computer, Lord Vader," the trooper reported.
Although Vader was infuriated, he wasn't going to kill a mere deck officer for no reason. This Rebel cell would be a major improvement.
Besides, he only follows his duty, and Vader can't just kill him for that.
"Excellent work soldier, you are dismissed," Vader said icily, glaring at the man underneath his mask, vowing to kill him should he stay here any longer because he was tired of all slowing him down.
The stormtrooper saluted before walking away from Vader.
His Tie-Fighter ascended into the air and he begins to go to the coordinates.
He would enjoy taking out his frustrations and anger on these lamentable and laughable Rebels. These Rebels are so pitiable; they believe they could transform the galaxy, but most hadn't encountered Darth Vader and his wrath yet, and all that does is absolutely massacre by the true Master of the Force.
Arthur's note: May the Force be with you all always.