Chapter 15

The dark side was like a hurricane in Leia as she drove Luke back towards the balcony. Powerful gusts hurled tendrils of flames throughout her being. Her crimson blade cut like a whirlwind of fiery death fueled by her brother's betrayal, by Han's betrayal.

Luke's skill with a lightsaber exceeded hers, but Leia realized she knew Luke better than anyone. She could anticipate her brother's every move through a twin bond she always knew existed between them. Once upon a time, Leia thought she might have been in love with Luke. She was foolish then, but no longer.

Luke leapt out of the way of Leia's blade and shouted, "Leia, please stop this!"

Leia angled her lightsaber in front of her face as the sun poked through the clouds. "Is the Death Star killer afraid?" she asked.

"Please, let me help you," Luke pleaded. "The Sith are evil. Look at what one Sith Lord did to our father!"

Leia yelled, "From my point of view, the Jedi are evil! Maybe the Sith did something right by having their order eradicated!"

"I've done nothing except love you, Leia," Luke said. "Is love evil?"

Leia charged at Luke again, striking for his torso. Luke countered with his green blade. Before he could move to disable her, Leia retracted her red sword and elbowed Luke in the chest. Luke staggered towards the edge of the duracrete balcony.

Acting swiftly, Leia dove to slice through Luke's knees. Her brother recovered just in time to keep his limbs. Frustrated, Leia used a Force push to knock Luke over the edge of the balcony.

She then leapt down after Luke, landing on the balcony beneath them. Her brother was ready for another round. Leia held out her left hand and fired Force lightning at Luke.

Luke raised his lightsaber to intercept the bolts. He strained to hold the power at bay, but Leia was overpowering him.

"The dark is so much different from the light," Leia gloated.

"Only different in your mind," Luke said before he summoned enough strength to deflect the lightning in Leia's direction. The lightning struck her hard, causing her to lose her lightsaber. The weapon flew through the air, landing on the far side of the balcony. Leia fell, overwhelmed by the power she unleashed.

Luke casually walked to her and placed the tip of his lightsaber only centimeters from her throat. "Don't try it," he warned.

Leia stared up at Luke, connecting with his blue eyes. "Finish me," she said. "I've betrayed the Alliance."

"A Jedi does not kill," Luke said. "I wish you peace." He raised his lightsaber and deactivated his emerald energy sword.

+

Yoda was growing weary. Even with his superior technique, Vader recovered too quickly for the Jedi Master. Yoda did not fear death, knowing it could come for him at any time. After his last encounter with a Sith Lord, he had been lucky to escape with his life.

But that was two decades in the past. Yoda stared at Vader's mask as their blades clashed again. He was prepared for the inevitable. Luke Skywalker was the only hope of the Jedi now.

Luke held out his hand to Leia. "We still have a job left to do," he told her with no malice in his tone despite the fact she had just tried to kill him.

"You mean redeem our father?" Leia asked before taking her brother's hand.

Luke pulled her to her feet and answered, "If we can redeem him."

"There is still good in him," Leia said. "But you can't help me. You don't know him like I do. You've helped me break the dark side's hold over me and I thank you. But I have to do this alone."

"Leia, Master Yoda is buying us time to escape," Luke told her. "We have to get back to the ship."

Luke did not expect what happened next. Leia punched him in the abdomen, causing him to fall to the floor beneath him. He looked up as she Force jumped to scale the balconies of Bast Castle. Her lightsaber followed her, but Luke did not.

Han cursed in Huttese as blaster bolts pinned him in the turbolift. Stormtroopers were waiting for him to come out. It was almost as if Vader was letting them escape, but did not intend to let them stay. "Leia!" he screamed as he fired his blaster pistol at a Stormtrooper, killing one.

Another went down. Then another. And another. Han was fighting like a man possessed. There was no logic to his moves as he faced impossible odds.

A blaster bolt caught Han in his right thigh, causing him to buckle and to his knees. But it did not stop Han from shooting the Stormtrooper that wounded him. He then banged the button to shut the lift doors with his left hand. Ignoring the flaring pain blazing through his leg, he managed to stand on his left leg. He then input the command for the turbolift to descend.

Han gritted his teeth and grabbed his comlink. "I'm shot!" he yelled. "We're gonna have to try something else!"

Leia landed on the balcony outside the arena and watched in awe as the small Jedi Master expertly defended himself against her father. Yoda was as elusive as he was powerful, but he was not prepared for the Force grip that yanked him away from Darth Vader.

Yoda landed against the duracrete wall as Leia walked into the arena. She paid no heed to the Jedi Master's inquisitive glance as she approached the Sith Lord.

"I told you not to let them escape, Leia," Vader said. "Skywalker is still alive."

"He's as resourceful as you, Anakin," Leia said before stopping a few meters away from Vader.

"So, he told you?" Vader questioned sadly. "This is unfortunate."

"Unfortunate that I know the truth?" Leia snapped. "Why did you betray the Jedi? History records you as the greatest hero of the Jedi Order."

"I did not betray the Jedi," Vader said. "The Jedi betrayed me!" The Sith Lord's rage grew exponentially with the return of his memories. "They took everything from me!"

"And the Empire took everything from me, Father," Leia said. "It took you away from me. But we can leave this place now. The Alliance can use your knowledge of the Empire to turn the tide. Become the hero you once were, Father!"

"After all this time, you still don't know the power of the dark side," Vader admonished. "We stand on the edge of a precipice. You can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. Come with me to Coruscant and we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."

"The love of my brother has shown me the errors of the dark side, Father," Leia affirmed. "Let go of the hate."

"You tell me of errors when you draw on the dark side yourself?" Vader asked. The Sith Lord laughed for the first time in years. "It seems you are unworthy for the gift I have given to you. If you will not take my side, then perhaps your brother will!"

Leia activated her lightsaber in an instinctive fit of rage and charged at Vader. The Dark Lord raised his lightsaber to deflect the fury of her assault. Leia was so consumed with rage that she never noticed Yoda dropping from the balcony.

Leia remembered her mission, the job of redeeming her father. But she could not save him if she was unable to save herself. It was a power she could not surrender so easily. With each admission, her focus skyrocketed. Darth Vader was a monster that betrayed the Jedi and she would avenge them.

"I've met many like you," Vader said as he parried one of Leia's thrusts. "Survivors of the purge sought to carve the names of their fallen comrades into my armor. It's funny that after two decades, they still haven't discovered why they never could defeat me."

"You speak too confidently, Vader," Leia spat before stabbing at Vader's abdomen.

Vader easily knocked the attack away and countered, striking straight for the heart. His daughter blocked the red blade.

"I am the Chosen One," Vader told her. "But the Jedi misunderstood their prophecy. They thought I could bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. Their lack of vision cost them everything. I am the balance of the Force!" The Sith Lord used a Force push to knock Leia back a few steps.

Leia struggled to counter the power with the Force, but failed. Vader's lightsaber soared forward, knocking her weapon away. Fear clamped on her senses like a vice as Vader choked her with the Force. She fell to her knees as she struggled for air.

"I could kill you right now," Vader told her. He released his grip on Leia's windpipe. "But I have broken you. You realize the dark side is superior to the light side."

"Yes," Leia said weakly. "You're right."

"The time has come to claim my birthright," Vader said. "I need you at my side to challenge my Master. I've noted your secret studies of the Sith holocron. It is your destiny to join the Sith."

Leia looked up to her father and asked, "What now?"

"There can only be two Sith at one time," Vader said. "But we cannot afford to wait any longer. Darth Sidious has grown weak and complacent. His wisdom has been replaced with madness. The Sith can only survive if we remake the Order as necessity dictates it. Will you take your place at my side and become my apprentice in the ways of the Sith?"

Destiny rang through Leia's being like a hammer on steel from the forge. She was meant to become something greater than she ever was. "I submit myself to you, Father," she said.

"You have inherited my gift of the Force," Vader told her. He deactivated his lightsaber and stepped closer. "You will become a powerful Sith. Henceforth, you shall be known as…Darth Apostas!"

Transparisteel shattered around Leia's being. It was the confining cage that always restrained her core. It burned brighter than Alderaan's sun, but colder than the depths of space.

"Rise, Lady Apostas," Vader commanded.

Darth Apostas rose like a phoenix from the ashes of Leia Organa. She was the exception to the rule of two, but no Sith Lord in recent memory ever sired offspring. Apostas, like her father before her, was prepared to reshape the galaxy.