Vader's second chance

A Star wars story

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Disney owns everything except my plot.

Hello there everyone! Welcome to chapter 12 of the story. In case you need a quick reminder, Luke has just arrived at the Jedi Temple and had his first Council meeting. Anakin has been called to the Temple by Obi Wan and is on his way to the Council Chambers. When he arrives he will inevitably bump into Luke, and is shocked when he finds out the truth about their relationship.

Outside the Jedi Council Chambers, Anakin's point of view:

I was dashing through the corridors of the Jedi Temple in order to reach the Council Chambers. I was late, as always. While running, I noticed that some Jedi gave me irritated looks and some others yelled at me if I happened to run into them. To be honest, I didn't particularly care about their opinions. When I finally reached the Council Chambers, I bumped into Obi Wan, who was waiting for me with another Jedi.

Obi Wan-Hello there!

Luke-You were right, he is late.

Obi Wan-As always.

Anakin-Can you stop the banter?

Obi Wan-Oh, I don't think so.

Anakin-Ugh, what is this about anyway?

Obi Wan-The situation we are currently dealing with is one that should be taken seriously. The Council wants to discuss something with you and young Luke.

Anakin-He doesn't seem too young to me.

Luke-Actually, I'm older than you.

Anakin-Oh. Well, I guess that the only reason Obi Wan said you are young is because of how old he is.

Obi Wan-Anakin…

Anakin-Fine, I'll stop.

I entered the Chambers and saw that the Council seemed…nervous. This is the first time they ever expressed emotion during a meeting and that made me nervous too. Obi Wan sat in his seat and Luke stood by my side. After what seemed like an eternity, Master Yoda spoke.

Yoda-Young Skywalker, unusual this situation is. Shocking, it may be.

Anakin-What's going on master?

Mace Windu-Skywalker, we have a good reason to believe that the man standing next to you is…your son.

Anakin-What? He is older than me! How can you possibly believe such a thing?

Obi Wan-Anakin, calm down. Luke is the cause of the disturbance I felt. He claims that the Force brought him back here and Vader is from his time as well.

Yoda-In the Force, Luke's words true ring. Believe him, I do. Almost identical, your signatures are.

I paused for a moment, not knowing what to say. I reached out to Luke through the Force. His presence indeed was nearly identical to mine, just like Master Yoda said. I had nothing to say, so I stayed silent. Obi Wan noticed my confusion, but decided to continue the conversation anyways.

Obi Wan-Luke, can you introduce yourself to Anakin?

Luke-Sure thing. Could we go outside?

Aayla Secura-Yes, you can. Return when you're done with the introductions.

Luke stepped out of the room and I followed, still unsure about this. When the door closed behind us he started talking before I could tell him that I needed some space.

Luke-Anakin, I get that this is confusing. Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are, if not more.

Anakin-I'm not really in the mood for a talk.

Luke-I get it, but let me at least prove to you that I'm telling the truth.

Anakin-Fine. What do you know about me?

Luke-To be honest, I know very little. I grew up on Tatooine with Uncle Owen and aunt Beru. They never talked about you and they only said that you were dead. When I was nineteen, I went to see Obi Wan, who was hiding on the planet.

Anakin-Hiding? From who?

Luke-I'll explain in a bit. Anyways, he was the one that told me that you were a Jedi. He gave me your saber and after I refused to help him with a mission for the Rebellion I returned back to the moisture farm.

Anakin-Hold up. What Rebellion?

Luke-Look, the Separatists lost the war against the Republic and Palpatine reformed it into an Empire, so he could "provide security, prosperity and culture to all". It turns out he wasn't as great of a leader as people thought him to be. He became a dictator and destroyed the Jedi order when they tried to stop him. Obi Wan was one of the last survivors.

Anakin-Palpatine wouldn't do that. He is a kind, benevolent leader. He is trying to help us, not hurt us!

Luke-Everyone believed that when he created the Empire. That's why no one resisted his rule. When he showed his true colors a rebellion was formed in order to oppose him. One of their ships, which was carrying some vital information was boarded by Darth Vader, who was known as the Emperor's right hand. Palpatine was Judge and Jury and Vader was the Executioner. The plans ended up in my hands and…

Anakin-How did that happen?

Luke-Long story, I'll tell you later. Anyways, after finally agreeing to help Obi Wan deliver them I met Leia, who was the Princess of Alderaan. I didn't know it at the time, but it turned out she was my sister.

Anakin-Okay, so in the future you grow up with Owen and Beru and she grows up to be a Princess? Why were you split up?

Luke-To be honest, the only source of information on that is Vader. I have no idea about the reasons behind the decision, but I know that it was Yoda's idea.

Anakin-What happened to me and Padme?

Luke-Padme died the day the Republic fell. She just…died. Vader said that the medical droids couldn't explain it. He suspected that a Force user was responsible, but he never found out who, or what it was. You survived the "Jedi Purges" and…actually, I'm not sure about what you did.

Anakin-Why didn't I go with you or Leia?

Luke-You thought we were dead. That Padme never managed to give birth.

Anakin-Wasn't I with her?

Luke-No, you weren't. Vader wasn't with her either, he found out twenty years later.

Anakin-So, Vader discovered you and Leia?

Luke-He only knew about me. After Obi Wan's death Yoda trained me to become a Jedi, like you. You and I confronted Vader and the Emperor on an Imperial battle station, during the Rebellion's final assault against the Empire. Vader and I fought. I ended up winning when I cut off his right arm. I refused to give into hate and strike the Emperor down so I threw my weapon away.

Anakin-Dumb decision.

Luke-You tell me. He tried to kill me with Force Lightning, but Vader intervened. He killed the Emperor and then died on the station. You also died that day and I don't want to talk about that.

Anakin-Luke, you said that Palpatine was the Emperor.

Luke-Yeah, Obi Wan said he is what the Jedi call a "Sith Lord".

At that moment it seemed like time froze. I couldn't believe what Luke was telling me. Palpatine, the man that stood by my side all these years, the man a trusted and the man I called a friend, was the kind of person I've sworn to destroy. I couldn't stop repeating the phrase in my head.

Anakin-Palpatine is a Sith. Palpatine is a Sith. My father figure is a kriffing Sith Lord!

Luke didn't respond. I managed to calm myself down after a moment or two and Luke waited for me to talk to him. He waited for about five minutes or so and then I decided to speak to him.

Anakin-Does the Council know about this?

Luke-I told them everything. Master Yoda talked Windu out of expelling you. Ben didn't take the news well when I first told him.

Anakin-Who is Ben?

Luke-Sorry, I meant Obi Wan. He called himself "Ben Kenobi" during the years of the Empire. That's just how I knew him.

Anakin-He kept the last name?

Luke-Apparently.

Anakin-Luke, what do you know about Padme?

Luke-Nothing really. Leia said she had a dream about her when she was little and described her as "very beautiful and very sad".

Anakin-Well, Padme is the Senator of Naboo. She used to be the Queen of the planet too.

Luke-Why did she become a Senator then?

Anakin-The people wanted her to stay as Queen, but her term was over and she didn't want to break the laws of Naboo.

Luke-Her Term?

Anakin-Yes. Naboo elects a Queen every now and then. It's basically a democracy but they have a Senator and a Queen at the same time.

Luke-Alright. I think I got it.

Anakin-Would you like to meet her?

Luke-Yeah. I'd like that a lot.

Anakin-Let's tell the Council that we are leaving first.

Luke-Yeah, let's.

To my surprise, the Council was very understanding. They told me that they understood I needed space and Masters Yoda, Koon and Secura congratulated me about my marriage. Obi Wan gave me a hug when we walked out and despite the bad news Luke brought, I was feeling better than ever. In truth, I never liked keeping secrets, but at least now I can talk about it with my best friend. Obi Wan told me that he'd be in our quarters in case I needed anything, and mentioned that I should congratulate Padme for him. Luke and I jumped on my speeder and drove towards Padme's apartment, full of excitement and energy.

So, that was chapter 12. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Before I go, I'd like to clarify something. Luke mentions that Leia had a dream about Padme when she was little because in ROTJ Leia tells Luke that she remembers Padme. I'm simply using the dream as a mean to fill that plot hole. Also, if anyone caught that Assasin's Creed Origins reference let me know with a review. So, next time Vader arrives on Dooku's flagship and fully reveals himself to the Count. Ahsoka meets Ventress and they have a "friendly" spar. Meanwhile, Grievous is starting to get used to his new body and practices his skills in lightsaber combat with Vader. Fortunately it won't take me long to finish the chapter but, until then, May the Force be with you.