Vader's second chance

A Star wars story

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Disney owns everything except my plot.

Hello there everyone! Welcome to chapter 9 of the story. This chapter takes place directly after chapter 8 and focuses on the introduction of both Luke and Grievous into their respective war fronts. Needless to say, Luke will be joining the Republic and the Jedi because he wants to ensure his father doesn't become Vader. I should also mention that this is Luke from the day after the celebration on Endor. Grievous will obviously serve the Separatists, but will have his role altered slightly. Vader will explain this in later chapters. Now, because I've bored you enough, let's dive in!

Tatooine's orbit, Separatist Providence-class cruiser, Vader's point of view:

Ahsoka and I were walking through the hallways of the droid-filled ship that was orbiting Tatooine, with the sole purpose of finally introducing General Grievous to the war effort. Dooku was already waiting for us and didn't hesitate to take pride in his monstrous creation. Grievous was now far more machine than man, just like I had once been. We entered the medical bay and the droids there greeted us formally.

R1ON5-Sir! The General's body has been finished! We're awaiting orders!

Vader-ON5, stand down.

Dooku-Is he ready? Can we remove his from stasis?

K2-B4-Yes sir. He is ready.

Ahsoka-Master?

Vader-Proceed.

K2-B4-Yes, my lord.

The medical droids focused on their work and managed to wake Grievous up without problems. I sensed a feeling of hate radiating from Ahsoka when she saw the metal monster. Dooku on the other hand, was doing nothing to hide his pride from me and was expecting praise. I would have given him an appropriate treatment for his actions, which may or may not have included Force-choking, but Grievous woke up and I had to greet him.

Grievous-What…where am I?

Dooku-You, my friend are in a Separatist medical room.

Grievous-I…I am droid? I hate droids!

Vader-Grievous. My name is Darth Vader and I am a dark Lord of the Sith. You were rescued on my orders.

Grievous-Are you expecting a "thank you"?

Vader-Receiving your appreciation isn't the point. The man behind the explosion that took your body is a Sith named Darth Sidious.

Grievous-Are you working with him?

Vader-Me? No my friend. He is my enemy. He tried manipulating me as well and I have great hatred for him.

Grievous-Are you not both Sith?

Ahsoka-My master and Sidious are both Sith, but they have very different goals. Sidious wants to enslave the whole galaxy and only cares about his power. On the other hand, my master wishes to eliminate scum like him, because they take advantage of others.

Dooku-He would have lied to you my friend, just like he did to us.

Vader-And he would have cast you aside when you served your purpose.

Grievous-What do you want from me?

Vader-I demand nothing from you. I'm giving you a choice. You can either join us and get your revenge by helping me stop him, or you can leave my ship and try to kill him on your own. To give you an example of what you will be up against, please observe.

I raised my arm and aimed at the wall. I proceeded to fire a torrent of white Force Lighting at the wall, leaving both Dooku and Grievous amazed.

Grievous-Trying to kill him would be suicide!

Vader-I never said you had to face him. I simply stated that you would be helping me stop his plans for galactic domination and that those actions would in turn, result in his death.

Grievous-I'm in. He did this to me, so I have some payback to get.

Ahsoka-Okay. Count Dooku will stay with you and train you to use your new body and fight Force users like the Jedi. Count, no Sith teachings please.

Dooku-I haven't forgotten my orders.

Vader-Thank you Count. My apprentice and I will go on a hunt. There is someone I must reach before the Jedi or Sidious.

Dooku-I can handle things here.

Vader-It's settled then.

I left the room while using the Force to make my cape float behind me for aesthetic purposes and Ahsoka followed me. We reached our custom-made TIE Advanced fighters and hopped in. It was time to confront Luke. Again.

Meanwhile, Yavin 4, Future Rebel Base, Luke's point of view:

I woke up in what should have been the hangar of the Rebel Base that was on Yavin 4. Instead, it was an empty space, with nothing in sight but the dust on the walls. I checked to see if my lightsaber was still on my belt. Thankfully, it was still there. I started looking around and after a short while, I concluded that there was no ship I could use to escape the small moon. I had no choice but to wait for someone to rescue me. While waiting, I did some of the exercises Ben showed me and I reached out to him. I sensed him, but he felt…different. His presence was stronger and less in tune with the Force than he had been when he reached out to me in the Death Star's trench, or any other time during the war. I used the Force to nudge him, to let him know I was there, that I existed, but he didn't nudge back. Disappointed, I started looking around again and ended up sitting in a somewhat clean corner of the Temple.

The Negotiator, Obi Wan's point of view:

Moments before I sensed an odd presence in the Force. Whatever or whoever it was, had reached out to me. I was left puzzled by the event and told Cody to set course for Yavin 4, which I somehow knew to be the source of the disturbance. Cody obeyed, even if he was reluctant at first. I called Anakin and informed him of the situation, but told him he could stay on Coruscant if he wanted to. He said he wanted to relax, so I allowed him to stay in the Temple, though I was sure he would visit Padme at the first chance he got. I ended the call and went to my room to meditate until we arrived at the small moon.

Yavin System, Vader's point of view:

Ahsoka and I were flying towards Yavin 4 in order to find Luke. She was relatively calm, but I was freaking out inside. I was about to see my son again, who has no idea about our current plans. I knew the situation would be complicated and very hard to explain, but I had to at least try. Luke could prove to be an invaluable ally, especially if he could form a bond with my younger self. Then I'd have a person to talk to except Palpatine in case something happened. Mere minutes later Ahsoka and I landed our ships and I sensed Luke coming towards us. I decided to leave the suit on the ship, to avoid hostility between Luke and myself. Moments later I saw him come out of the old Temple. He reluctantly approached us and I began talking before he changed his mind.

Anakin-Luke?

Luke-Father?

Anakin-Hello there.

Luke-What's going on? Last thing I remember is talking to Ben, Yoda and you at the celebration.

Anakin-We went back in time.

Luke-Where are we? Or, when are we?

Ahsoka-The year is 23 BBY. It's the first year of the Clone Wars.

Luke-I'm confused. I didn't even know time travel was possible.

Anakin-I know it's weird. Ahsoka and I were dueling when we were transported to the past, because something changed. For some reason, I spared her when I defeated her, something I, a Sith Lord shouldn't have done. Because of that behavior a Jedi Master named Qui Gon Jin, who was Obi Wan's teacher, sent us back in time to fix things and make sure I never fall to the dark side in the first place.

Luke-Oh. So, you made a mistake when you fell and you are trying to fix it?

Ahsoka-Yes, he is. I'm just helping whenever I can.

Luke-Alright. So, how can I help?

Anakin-Look, soon a younger version of Obi Wan, will come here to pick you up. He isn't with us, he just sensed you nudging him through your bond. Before that happens there are some things you need to know. Right now, I'm married to Senator Padme Amidala, your mother. Palpatine is still the Chancellor and is a very dangerous enemy, so I need you to stay away from him. If you want, you can tell the Jedi about the future, as long as you don't mention who Vader really is or reveal anything about Palpatine and our family.

Luke-Okay. I understand that younger you will panic if I tell him I'm his son from the future and that if the Jedi learn about who is behind the mask of Vader there will be problems, but why not tell them about Palpatine?

Anakin-Because in the past I discovered his identity and told the Jedi. They violently attacked him and gave him the perfect excuse to mark them as enemies. I know the Council will do something stupid. Jedi Grandmaster Yoda and Jedi Master Aayla Secura already know about Palpatine because I told them.

Ahsoka-To give you context, we have become the new Separatist leaders and we are using the war to strip Palpatine from power by linking him to the Sith.

Luke-Why would you start a war though?

Ahsoka-The war would go on anyways, with or without us. Last time Palpatine controlled both sides and was able to manipulate everyone perfectly. By taking control of one side, we don't allow him to be a major background player anymore.

Anakin-Luke, you should know at some point you'll have to tell younger me about this and his future. I fell to the dark side out of desperation after the Jedi refused to help me with what I believed to be a life-or-death situation. I had nightmares of your mother dying and when Palpatine provided an easy solution I accepted his offer without realizing the consequences. If you can, don't let my younger self near Palpatine and try to boost his faith in both himself and the Jedi.

Luke-I will father. I won't let the Empire happen again. I won't let Ben die.

Ahsoka-Luke, you will surely meet us on the battlefield. Try to remember we are just pretending to be evil, we aren't real Sith and anyone you see us kill isn't real either. We'll be using an ability called Force Projection, which allows us to fabricate fake images, so it may seem like we are annihilating the Clone Troopers but it's fake.

Anakin-And for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what I did to Ben.

Luke-Thanks dad.

Ahsoka-Master, Obi Wan is coming!

Anakin-Luke we have to leave. May the Force be with you, always.

Luke-May the Force be with you too.

We left Luke alone and ran to our starfighters. I quickly put my suit back on and we launched into space, just before the Republic could engage us. I short while later I could sense that Luke was with Obi Wan and I visibly relaxed, because I knew Obi Wan, or "Old Ben" as Luke called him, was more than capable of handling him. Ahsoka and I set course for Tatooine yet again, eager to get home and prepare the next phase of the plan.

So, this chapter was mainly a filler. It is here for plot purposes only, otherwise I would have skipped to the Battle of Christophsis so we can meet young Ahsoka. The next chapter or two will focus on Luke and the Jedi's reactions to his stories, as well as (future) Anakin's plans for the war. That's all for now, so I'll be seeing you in the next chapter. Also, don't forget to review my work. I really appreciate any feedback you guys give me. Anyways, bye everyone!