Shadow of the Force
Chapter 13
-Harry-
"We have five minutes to go." He frowned, checking his watch as they remained hidden just outside the hangar bay. On their way back up the group had run into Obi-Wan, the old man smug about the tricks he had pulled since they separated. "And we only have fifteen minutes before the tractor beam is back online." That part was added with a scowl, having intercepted the message through his technomancy.
"Let's hope your men aren't late." Obi-Wan frowned, "I doubt I can get in to damage the tractor beam again."
"At least things can't get worse." Leia offered only for Harry, Galen, Obi-Wan to all look horrified at those words, "What?"
"You've cursed us." Galen hissed, "NEVER tempt the universe with those words!"
"Oh that's ridiculous." Leia snorted, "There's no such thing as-"
"There's a guy in shiny black armor with a cape out there." Luke whispered, peaking around the corner.
"…Sorry." Leia winced at the description of Darth Vader.
"So what are we going to do?" Luke demanded, not knowing who Vader was but clearly able to tell the situation was bad.
"Galen and I will keep Vader distracted." Harry decided, looking the rest of the group in the eye, "Luke, Old Timer, you two keep an eye on the princess here and stay out of sight. We'll try to defeat Vader or at least keep him distracted until our backup can arrive to get us the hell out. Be ready to give us enough cover fire to get to our exit ship."
"Right." Luke nodded, readying his blaster as Obi-Wan did the same. Waving his hand, Harry transfigured his and Galen's clothes into black and grey flowing robes, much to the shock of Obi-Wan and Leia. Nodding to his right hand, Harry and Galen stepped into the hangar bay, igniting their sabers as the Imperials began to panic, a few stormtroopers firing a few easily deflected blaster bolts at them.
"Vader!" he yelled, pulsing his presence in the force to help disguise the presence of Luke, Leia, and Obi-Wan as they snuck in now that all attention was focused on himself and Galen. The armored sith lord turned, masked face staring blankly as he and Galen let the force run wild around them, sending stormtroopers flying and crushing Tie-fighters into scrap metal.
Smoothly, Vader drew his own red lightsaber, studying them intently "A new face and an old friend." Vader slowly walked towards them, holding a hand up to order back the stormtroopers "Who are you following now my old apprentice?"
"What?" Galen breathed out, his friend's voice hitching at that statement, the two of them feeling no deception in the force. Using their shock, Vader shot forward, bringing his lightsaber in a sweeping arc as Harry brought his up to block, Galen a moment behind, his friend shaken from Vader's words. They had barely managed to push Vader's lightsaber back an inch before he blasted them with a point-blank force push.
"I see, it would seem that the Rabid Dog Boba-Fett left you without your memory those years ago." Harry could feel Vader's scowl at the name of the famous bounty hunter. Ducking under Vader's thrown spinning lightsaber, Harry rushed in and swung his black smoking lightsaber at Vader who blocked it with a hand, likely reinforced by the force. Even still the act of stopping a lightsaber blade with nothing but the force and raw strength was a terrifying concept.
"Captain!" Galen shouted in warning, Hearing the sound of the returning lightsaber, Harry threw himself to the side, the metal grip slamming into Vader's waiting fist.
"So, 'Captain', I can feel your power in the force." Vader pulled Galen towards him with the force, a fist meeting his friends face as Galen was knocked back.
"Galen, snap out of it!" Harry yelled, swinging at the hopefully distracted Vader even as the stormtroopers cheered their master on.
"Weak as always, my old apprentice." Vader taunted Galen, Harry's right-hand stumbling to his feet.
Spitting out blood, Galen glared "Thanks for giving me a useful tip against you." Galen snarled "Captain! He has cybernetics!"
"Then let's light him up!" pouring his frustration at this bastard shaking his friend like he had, Harry channeled force lightning, just as Galen did, launching it at Vader who, while able to deflect most of the bolts, still let out a small growl of pain at the few that slipped through.
"It seems I underestimated you both." Vader brought his blade up to absorb their force lightning, slowly forcing his way towards them, "I'll not make that mistake again." A loud bang cut off any other response as an empty ship full of explosives hit the hangar door, blasting it apart and sending storm troopers flying.
"Captain, handle this!" Vader yelled to an officer who began barking orders to the stormtroopers as the ships from Harry's fleet entered the now ripped open hangar doors, a shield outside keeping them all from being sucked into space. With a bang, the doors of his ships opened to reveal Marris and General Grievous at the head of a contingent of his lost legion, the front fighters all carrying miniguns that began to blast and mow down the stormtrooper forces.
"Lord Vader, we need to go!" the captain Vader ordered before ran over, blasting at Harry and Galen "We don't have the men to hold this position!" as the man spoke, the officer was pulling Vader back out a blast door which sealed shut, leaving behind the rest of the stormtroopers to get slaughtered by his better trained and equipped men, Marris and Grievous alone carving through them like tissue paper.
"Galen," he said softly, the alarm blaring around them as he helped his friend up "are you alright."
"I…don't even know." Galen sighed as the last stormtrooper was killed, the surprise attack giving them no time to prepare as Marris and Grievous quickly loaded their group onto the shuttles and blasted back to the Citadel.
-Vader-
"Release me Captain." Vader ordered bluntly as the officer instantly let him go as he felt the last of their stormtroopers get cut down. In his current state he knew he wouldn't have been able to take on the new 'Captain', Galen, Grievous, that other force woman, and the other forces they brought with him. That alone was the reason he hadn't snapped the captain's neck where he stood.
"Understood Lord Vader. I've already raised the alarm, but reinforcements won't be able to reach us in time to capture the force users and their terrorist forces." The captain reported, appearing calm and relaxed even as Vader could feel the man's fear and preparation for punishment.
"I had a feeling they might escape." Vader looked at the useful captain seriously, "When I struck my old apprentice I placed a tracker on him. We will follow to their ship or to the Rebel base, wherever that may be."
"Understood Lord Vader." The Captain saluted, "I'll have the men prepared to move out for an assault. Do you wish for me to send a report to Tarkin?"
"Tell him we let the rebels escape to track them to their base." He ordered, "That should hopefully keep the fool from doing anything too stupid."
"Understood Lord Vader." The Captain saluted again and walked off to follow those orders. Frowning, Vader forced his body to move and go to a medical bay, he would need to be in better shape for his next encounter with this new force user, one who's presence in the force felt as strong as his own if not stronger when he was that age.
-Harry-
"That was too easy." He frowned, sitting with his officers as the ship rushed through space at light speed "That was far too easy."
"You call that easy?" Luke winced, sitting off to the side with the Princess and Obi-Wan who was constantly shooting Galen judgmental looks, even as the second in command of the Citadel sat shaken, his wife trying to comfort him.
"He's right." Leia spoke up, "From what all I gathered, Darth Vader was just recently in a major battle and is still recovering. It is only that that prevented him from winning given the…state, you both were in when fighting him."
"What was that?" Obi-Wan speaks up, "Darth Vader called you his apprentice?"
"I don't know!" Galen snapped angrily, "Years ago Juno, Proxy, and I woke up in the flaming wreckage of a ship and Harry found us shortly afterward. Someone shot us down and left us for dead and that's all we know. But…but I didn't sense any lie from Vader."
"So you were his-" Obi-Wan began to rant only for Galen to hold a hand up, eyes hard and cold.
"Whatever…whoever I was doesn't matter. Serving on this crew is the only life I know so I don't give a damn what you, or Vader, say." Juno smiled proudly at her husband as he stood up "I will stay, and I will serve. This is my home and I intend to fucking fight for it!"
"Well said old friend." Harry nodded, clapping a hand to his friend's shoulder, "I know you, and I trust you. Next time, we'll show Vader exactly why he should never mess with a warrior of the Citadel."
-Ron-
Frowning, Ron Weasley looked over at Marcus as they rode the train back to Hogwarts for their second year. Across, he saw Marcus reading from a journal and occasionally writing notes in a large leather-bound book. "Marcus, come on mate. Let's play some chess." He coaxed, not wanting his friend to turn into another bookworm.
"Not right now Ron," Marcus frowned intently at the small journal he was reading "I'm trying to figure this part out. Maybe later."
"What are you reading Marcus?" Hermione asked intently, trying to peer over the edge of the journal to read what was listed.
"Theoretical application for a way to modernize Aztec War enchantments." Marcus explained, writing another note in the larger book.
"Aztec war magic is a dark art." Hermione's eyes widened.
"No, the ministry just doesn't understand it, so they labelled it Dark." Marcus frowned over the books at Hermione.
A knock on the door interrupted any response Hermione might have given as the snack cart lady slid open the door, "Anything off the Trolley dears?" she asked as Hermione bought a few sugar free snacks on the cart.
Looking to Marcus, intending to just eat some of whatever his friend bought, Ron gaped when his best friend shook his head, "No thank you, none for me."
"What?!" he exclaimed as the woman nodded and left, "What do you mean no mate?" now he couldn't eat anything but those stupid sandwiches his mother made.
"I'm following a certain diet for my training regimen." Marcus explained seriously, "I don't want to break it this early, especially before a feast."
"Training regimen?" Hermione asked confused "For what?"
"To face Voldemort." Marcus told them seriously.
"Mate, you aren't the Boy-Who-Lived," Ron shook his head at his friend's absurdity "let someone else deal with it and go get us some chocolate frogs already."
"Harry may be the real Boy-Who-Lived but that bastard still tried to kill us and he's not going to just stop." Marcus met his gaze with eyes like ice "And I'm not just going to roll over and let him try to destroy my home."
"It's not your problem mate!" Ron exclaimed.
"I'm making it my problem." Marcus snapped, slamming his books shut and storming out of the compartment, "I think I'll go sit somewhere else for a bit."
AN: The reason I had Vader be so exhausted and able to be drawn away from the fight was that I heard he just had a major battle during Rogue One on Mustafar. I haven't seen Rogue one yet, but I will soon, and this is based off that.