Executor
En Route to Imperial Center
"So what is the point of these trips through time?" Vader demanded.
They were ensconced in Luke Skywalker's private suite/cell on board the Executor, and Luke was flopped on the large, comfy bed which dominated the well-furnished room.
Leia, who could never quite manage to be entirely comfortable around Darth Vader in his present form, was sitting on a cozy krayt dragon leather chair, her eyes fixed on her behemoth of an alternate sire.
"Every time we go back in time, we feel the Light Side growing stronger," Luke explained. "So I don't know – I guess we go back in time to tip the galaxy towards the Light?"
"The Light is weak," Vader growled.
Luke sat up and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I know. We know. The Light is weak, the Dark Side is awesome and powerful, etc. etc. We have heard it all before."
"It is true," Vader argued passionately. "The Jedi ways are foolish, else they would not have been destroyed ..."
Leia Organa, who had heard these arguments many times before, rolled to her feet and wandered over to a nearby set of cupboards in search of snacks. A few seconds later, both Vader and Luke felt the Force blaze white with ecstasy.
"These are so cute!" the princess of Alderaan shrieked, turning around with a stuffed colo claw fish in one hand and a stuffed blarth in the other.
Luke bounded to his feet and was at his sister's side in an instant.
"Look!" he exclaimed "A shaak plushie, and a blowfish, and an opee sea killer, and and I don't know what this is?"
Vader, who had experienced his second round of intense embarrassment in less than a standard day, reluctantly admitted, "It is a nuna, a swamp turkey from Naboo."
Luke fixed his intense blue gaze on his father and smiled a little, "These are all creatures from Naboo, right?"
The Sith shifted awkwardly and then continued haltingly, "Your mother – we planned to travel to Naboo for the birth of our child and set up a nursery at Varykino, your mother's family estate ..."
Leia tilted her head, her face attempting to combine outrage with amusement. It made for an odd look.
"So let me get this straight," she said irritably. "Your intent was to batter your son and cut off his hand and then give him plushies as some kind of lame recompense?"
Vader stiffened in surprise, "Cut off ..."
Luke lifted his right, prosthetic hand, silencing his alternate sire.
"My father cut off my hand at Bespin," he explained, then turned to his sister, "but of course that wasn't the plan, Leia ..."
"I know," the woman responded in a sulky tone. "Vader intended to keep you unharmed by dropping you in carbonite. Not that carbonite is any kind of a picnic."
"It isn't supposed to be as bad if the subject isn't stuck there too long," Luke pointed out. "I mean, if it is only a few days ..."
"You evaded the carbonite trap?" Vader demanded in astonishment. "How?"
Luke shrugged insolently, "I fell in and jumped out. It was only five meters."
Vader allowed a huff of irritation to escape him. Really, what was it with his son? How could anyone with so little training evade so many attempts to capture him. Still ...
"So my alternate fought you and defeated you and cut off your hand , and then ...?"
Luke bit his lip, "I lost my hand and was cornered, and then you, well, the Vader in my timeline, told me that he was my father and offered me a place by his side. It was, I admit, a little tempting, but the thought of turning to the Dark Side was horrific, so I jumped into a chasm. Fortunately for me, Leia had escaped on the Falcon and rescued me."
Vader sat down heavily on a convenient chair and pondered for a long five minutes.
"I do not understand," he said finally.
Leia, with a shaak plushie clutched to her midsection, sat back down on her chair, "What do you not understand?"
"Your mother, Padme ..."
It hurt to even say her name, even after all these years.
"Your mother was an extraordinary woman but Force blind. I ... deeply regret my actions against her, especially since in retrospect, she could not understand the power of the Dark Side. But you are both so strong – surely you have touched the Dark and have tasted its power. How can you still cling to the feeble Light?"
Leia huffed at this but Luke, who was stroking his swamp turkey, plopped down on the bed and leaned forward a little.
"Some of it is pure selfishness, Father."
Vader tilted his helmet in bewilderment, "Selfishness?"
"Yeah. Frankly, the Dark Side is just so cruddy where relationships are concerned. Now I get that the old Order was stupid about attachment, but at least you had some good friends like Ahsoka Tano and Kenobi before he got stupid and cut off your limbs and left you to burn without killing you. What have you got? A brutal, controlling, manipulative master and millions who are terrified of you. The Dark is so full of anger and suffering and loss and ..."
"Pain," Leia finished grimly.
Vader turned his daughter, his index finger springing to life to shake at his female offspring.
"Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who tells you anything else is selling something."
Leia glared back at him, "Actually, much of my life has been really wonderful, but I will admit my times in your presence involved a great deal of pain indeed."
The Dark Lord flinched at this and turned away, "If I had known ..."
"I am glad you didn't," Leia returned drily. "I'd rather be tortured than turned to the Dark Side."
"Plus you knew about me, and you still nearly killed me," Luke pointed out calmly. "Look, you are a mess, we all know that. But I still love you and Leia ..."
"Loves some forms of you," the princess continued. "Now, I think it is time to discuss the plan, don't you?"
/
Dingy Hotel Room
Imperial Center
2 days later
Mara Jade stared with a mixture of incredulity and horror at her older alternate, Mara Jade Skywalker.
"So the Emperor died, you decided the Rebel Skywalker, who is Darth Vader's son, is awesome, you married the man, and now you are milking yourself like a nerf?"
Mara, who was hunched uncomfortably over a basin on the dilapidated table provided for the room, shot her an irritable glance.
"You have no idea how uncomfortable it is being totally full of milk without a baby or two to nurse. This trip through time is taking forever, and yes, I have to express breastmilk every three to four hours or I might get an infection, or lose my supply. I do feel a little like a nerf at times, but it is worth it. The babies are awesome."
Younger Mara slumped back on the tattered couch and closed her eyes, fighting the tears which threatened to escape her lids.
"I thought Palpatine," she began haltingly. "I thought ..."
"That you were special, that he really cared about you, that you were the only Hand," her alternate continued sympathetically. "This is a lot for you to take in. I learned the truth over a period of months and you have had it all dumped on you in one day. I am sorry."
When the younger woman's eyes opened, they were blazing, "I would rather know the truth than live a lie. So we are going to kill Palpatine?"
"Yes, with my husband's help, and his sister's, and Vader's."
"You seriously think we can trust Vader?"
"In his current incarnation, no," Mara admitted, her eyes on the squirting milk which was spraying into the basin. "I would suggest running for the hills as soon as Palpatine is dead, if you can at least. But he is my husband's father and I know is quite attached to his kids in his own insane way. I hope that once Palpatine is dead, the galaxy will lurch in a more healthy direction, though I am guessing, and indeed hope, that Luke, Leia, and I will return to our time promptly. I am really getting sick of this whole milk thing."
"I hope so as well. Are your babies hungry in your timeline, do you think?"
Older Mara shook her head, "No, we always reappear exactly at the same time we left, so I will be in bed sleeping and Luke will be walking our baby Beru, who is teething."
"Teething?" the younger woman asked in bewilderment.
"Yes, as in her teeth are coming into her little gums. It is the sort of thing you don't even consider when you don't have kids, but when you have a small child teething, it is epic in a really unpleasant way, involving a lot of wailing and gnashing of largely toothless gums. Luke and I are really worn out."
"And it is really worth it?"
Mara's eyes softened and tears gathered at the corners, "Every moment, yes. The children are fantastic."
/
Emperor's Throne Room
Imperial Center
1 day later
Sheev Palpatine, emperor of the known galaxy, turned his throne around slowly and watched as the giant form of Darth Vader entered the throne room, accompanied by a young, dark blond man in manacles.
The elder Sith felt a smile crease his face. The appearance of a young Skywalker on galactic scene three years previously had been a shock. He had truly not known that Padme Naberrie Amidala Skywalker had lived long enough to give birth.
The reality that the young man in question had blown up the Death Star had been enraging but not particularly startling. Young Skywalkers were prone to blowing things up, after all.
The loss of the Death Star was indeed a great one, but Luke Skywalker was worth more than a dozen Death Stars. He was so strong in the Force, but still young and untrained and pliable. Darth Vader had been a wreck since his close encounter with lava more than two decades previously. His son, on the other hand, was still fully limbed with lungs that actually worked without major life support. The boy was a prize!
As the youth climbed the steps with his cyborg captor, the elder Sith felt his forehead creasing slightly. The prisoner looked ... older than expected. Furthermore, the boy was shielding far more competently than he had any right to. Of course, Palpatine had felt the power of Luke Skywalker growing in the last months but still!
Skywalker climbed the stairs and halted two meters from the throne, with Vader dramatically hovering at his shoulder, the boy's lightsaber in his hand. For the 698th time, Sidious congratulated himself on Vader's cape; it was really a very imposing garment. Combined with the heavy breathing and massive armored form, the younger Sith's appearance was enough to cause most sentients to run for the nearest hill. Luke Skywalker himself was much less prepossessing but the packet of power in that slender form was most enticing.
"Welcome, young Skywalker," the Emperor began with an oily smile. "I have been expecting you."
"I doubt that," Skywalker replied insolently, his manacles dropping from his wrists. A moment later, the lightsaber in Vader's hand leaped into the boy's own, and a green blade ignited. At the same time, Vader's own blade ignited and both men leaped toward the Emperor.
Sidious was rarely surprised by anything, but this was a total shock. Nevertheless, he hadn't lived this long without managing the occasional bout of treason.
"Treachery!" he screamed at his guards as he lifted his hands and sent Force lightning at father and son.
The ten red suited Imperial Guards raced toward the throne just as a hidden door opened in the corner of the throne room and three women tore out, all with lightsabers blazing. Palpatine was too focused on his male assailants to get a good look at the women, but he was vaguely aware that all three were familiar. Was that ... Jade? It couldn't be!
Leia and the two Maras engaged the guards, their lightsabers buzzing as the three women moved with grace to block the guards force pikes and then spin around to chop off legs and arms and heads. The guards were the best trained men in the galaxy, but Leia and both Maras had spent years in combat training; that, along with the power of the Force, gave them the edge.
The Emperor, in turn, was managing to hold off his own adversaries with Force Lightning, but it was not an easy task. The young Skywalker was unnervingly adept at blocking the bolts of energy, and both men were slowly struggling toward the elderly Sith. Belatedly, Palpatine pressed the com button on his throne with the Force to call for more aid, "Send ..."
A deafening, baleful scream drowned out his command, the noise causing prickles of horror to run up and down the spines of Palpatine and his minions. It emanated from the apparently normal throat of young Skywalker, which was most unnerving. It sounds liked some great beast closing in on a kill.
The Emperor desperately pushed the com button again, taking his eyes off his adversaries for one brief moment.
In that second of inattention, Vader acted. The cyborg took two large steps to the left and then launched himself, heedless of the lightning in his way, toward the decrepit form of his master.
The bolts of energy struck his cyborg form and he cried out in pain, but sheer inertia allowed him to crash into the elder Sith and knock him, face first, into the floor.
Sheev Palpatine gasped in shock and asphyxiation. Vader was so so so so heavy! He flailed his arms wildly for a moment as he tried to use for the Force to lift off the giant armor clad form, but to no avail. Vader kept squashing him, using his own body and the Force, even as he reached out two mechanical hands to pin Palpatine's arms to the floor!
Lightning was still spewing, but now it was aimed away from the Sith Lord. A moment later, a green blade swung down and Palpatine grunted in agony as his right hand was separated from his arm. Seconds later, his left hand was removed as well, and then the weight on him increased even more, pushing the air out of his lungs, causing ribs to creak and groan and break. He gasped, struggling for breath, to no avail. Red dots passed before his eyes, followed by black dots. A few seconds later, even more weight bore down on the Sith Lord and amid the feeling of ribs and spinal bones cracking and breaking, Palpatine lost consciousness.
Luke and Leia bounced up and down on the back of their alter Father, pushing the great body down and relishing in the sounds of breaking bones.
After two long minutes of compression, the twins leaped to their feet and nodded at one another.
"He's dead," Leia said firmly.
"Yep," agreed her brother. "Do you need some help getting up, Father?"
Vader managed to roll off the mangled corpse of his master and lay on his back, gazing blankly up at the ceiling of the throne room. It was done. It had worked. He felt odd. Fiercely joyous that Palpatine was dead, but also a little lost without his slave master.
Luke's slim hand appeared in his vision, and Vader grabbed it for balance. Luke promptly hauled the giant to his feet, which the Sith found vaguely intimidating. Really, his future son was ridiculously strong.
"Are you all right?" Luke demanded. "I know Force Lightning isn't great for your electronics."
"I am well enough," Vader responded with a casual wave of one hand. "I was only exposed briefly."
"Good. And it appears our work here is done because my toes are tingling."
"Mine too," Leia and Mara chorused together.
"So we're out of here. The Emperor is dead. Long live ... whatever replaces it so long as it's a democracy!"
The threesome disappeared, leaving Vader staring at the younger version of Mara Jade, who was gazing in shock at the broken form of her master. Behind her lay heaps of Imperial Guards, all cut down by three determined women and their lightsabers.
Mara finally woke up enough to observe the cyborg gazing at her, and flinched slightly. She probably should have made a run for it once Palpatine was contained, but where would she go? What would she do? Now Vader ...
"Thank you for your assistance," the Sith said gravely.
"Um, you're welcome?"
"Would you care to join me as I flee this place? I pledge to guard your life since you hypothetically might marry my son."
Mara blinked, "You don't want to be the Emperor? You are the obvious heir to the throne."
Vader snorted loudly enough that the vocoder caught the noise, which sounded vaguely like a cranky swamp turkey.
"No, Jade, I have no desire to run the Empire. Politicians are, with very rare exceptions, extremely annoying. If I stay, I will end up killing a great many people out of sheer exasperation with the process."
Mara frowned hideously, "I have no desire to be a clueless slave again so if you intend to rule over me, forget it. Just kill me now."
Vader shook his head slowly, "Again, you might marry my son though the timeline may have changed so much that such an event will not happen. Nonetheless, I will not harm you and I will certainly not take you, or anyone else, as a slave."
Mara sighed, "Ok, let's get out of here."
/
Author Note: There was a Princess Bride quote in there!
One more chapter for this timeline.
Also, we keep recovering from COVID. My husband and I continue to struggle with fatigue and I have back pain off and on, but mostly we are marching steadily toward better health. Hooray!