Chapter 2
A single Lambda-class shuttle was escorted by a group of TIE Fighters as it approached the Death Star. The fighters broke off as the shuttle entered the hangar bay. Its wings folded upward as it landed.
A massive showing of Stormtroopers were in the hangar bay as Darth Apostas and Moff Jerjerrod approached the shuttle. They knelt as the access ramp lowered and crimson armored Imperial Guards descended. Finally, the Emperor Reborn descended the ramp. He was dressed in traditional black Sith robes.
"Rise, my apprentice," Sidious told Apostas.
Apostas complied with the order and began to walk with her master towards the turbolift.
"The Death Star will be completed on schedule," Apostas said.
Sidious turned to face her and said, "You have done well, Lady Apostas. Now I sense you wish to continue your search for young Skywalker."
Apostas glanced at him before saying, "Yes, master."
"He has grown strong," Sidious said. "Only together will we be able to turn him to the dark side of the Force."
"But what of Lord Vader?" Apostas asked.
"He has gone over to the weaker side of the Force," Sidious replied. "I will deal with his treachery myself. You need not concern yourself with him."
Darth Apostas concealed her feelings on the matter. Part of her wished to make Luke and Anakin join the dark side, but she also had confidence that she could find an apprentice more powerful than either of them. Apostas saw a boy during her meditations that had great potential. But in order to get to them, she had to destroy the Jedi.
And Apostas defeated the greatest of all Jedi. She had few peers among Force wielders.
"Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen," Sidious said before he began laughing.
Kyp Durron stared at the remote as he handled his newly constructed lightsaber. The blue blade hummed vibrantly, a product of his ingenuity.
But Anakin Skywalker was not intimidated. "Feel the Force, Kyp," Anakin told the Padawan.
Kyp was concerned for his master. Vima had taken ill ever since they returned from Ziost. He was grateful that Anakin picked up the slack, but he was having a difficulty focusing.
The first series of bolts soared towards Kyp. Just as Anakin taught him, Kyp used Shii-Cho to protect his target zones. Though Kyp felt he was beyond using Form I lightsaber combat, Anakin told him that the great Jedi Master Kit Fisto was a master of the form. It was enough to get Kyp to approach the technique with enthusiasm.
The remote hovered and spun as its programming prepared it for another volley. It fired one blast after the other at Kyp.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Kyp's blade sliced through the air, but it wasn't fast enough for the last bolt. It struck his leg, earning a yelp of pain from the boy.
"Focus, Kyp," Anakin told him. "A Jedi must maintain focus at all times."
Kyp deactivated his lightsaber, prompting the remote to close its program. "I worry about my master," he told Anakin.
Anakin nodded. "It's okay to show concern, Kyp," he told the Padawan. "But we still must do what is required of us."
"I know, Master Skywalker," Kyp said. He examined the hilt of his lightsaber as he continued to speak. "Master Boda cared for me when I lost my parents."
Kyp looked to Anakin and admitted, "She's dying."
"Death is never easy to accept," Anakin stated. "But what would your Master ask of you?"
"She would want me to train," Kyp replied.
"And you will train," Anakin told him. "But no more today."
Part of Kyp despised the idea of halting his growth in the Force, but he knew he needed to center himself. "Okay," was all he said.
Luke entered the training room, prompting the occupants to turn and face him.
"It's Vima," Luke said.
Vima Da Boda rested in her bed. Old and frail, the rigors of life were finally assaulting her with full force. But she did manage a weak smile when Kyp entered her quarters.
"Master!" Kyp exclaimed before rushing to her bed. "What's wrong?"
"I'm dying, Kyp," she told him.
Kyp immediately said, "You can't do that. You can't leave me alone. My brother's gone. My parents are gone. I can't lose you too."
Anakin observed the scene from the distance with Luke. Memories of his mother's death flashed before his eyes. He could still see Shmi beaten, exhausted and dehydrated. The Tusken Raiders had done terrible things to her, but Anakin was there at those last moments, there in time to taste the dark side of the Force for the first time when he slaughtered the Tusken camp in retaliation.
"Kyp, I cannot stop death," Vima told her Padawan. "Everything dies. It is the way of the Force."
Even stars die out, Anakin remembered.
"But what will I do?" Kyp asked her.
Train yourself to let go all that you fear to lose, Yoda had told Anakin. At the time, he thought it was the most useless advice he ever heard. He hoped Vima did not have a similar line.
"Live," Vima answered her Padawan. "Continue your training."
"But I want you to finish teaching me," Kyp pleaded. He knelt next to her bed and held one of her hands. "There has to be some way to stop you from dying."
I will even learn to stop people from dying, Anakin said all those years ago on Tatooine. He could sense that same form of desperation from Kyp.
"There are some things even healers can't fix, Kyp," Vima admitted. "You were always strong, Kyp. You will be a great Jedi. But you have to let go of your anger. If you hate your enemies, you are no better than what you fight. You will fall to the dark side if you continue to hate the Empire."
"I understand," Kyp said.
"Anakin Skywalker," Vima said.
Anakin replied, "Yes?"
"Promise me you will train him," Vima pleaded. "It is necessary for you both."
Part of Anakin did not believe he was ready for a Padawan after only forsaking the dark side a short time ago. The wounds of his failures still cut deeply into his soul. But after experiencing the dark side for so long, Anakin considered the fact that he was the only one qualified to take on a Padawan like Kyp Durron.
Anakin walked over to Kyp and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "I'll train him," he told Vima.
Kyp looked up to Anakin apprehensively, but he did not recoil.
"You are the last of the old Jedi, Anakin," Vima told the Chosen One. "His destiny is intertwined with yours."
Then, Vima took her last breath. Anakin felt her life ebb before her fire was finally extinguished. Vima's body disappeared, leaving only her robes.
Anakin noticed tears falling from Kyp's eyes. They were tears of grief.
"Kyp will be your Padawan," Luke said before leaving the two alone.
Anakin sat alone in his quarters, trying to make sense of the recent turn of events. "I don't know if I'll be able to handle it," he thought aloud.
Then, the Jedi felt a tingling sensation in the Force as Obi-Wan Kenobi materialized. "You should have no difficulty with this new task, Anakin," the Force ghost said.
Anakin looked up to his old Master and said, "Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan sat next to Anakin. "You haven't told the Jedi what you know," he said.
"I left that project to more capable men," Anakin admitted. "They'll learn about it soon enough."
"Anakin, you know the consequences of keeping information to yourself," Obi-Wan warned. "You must learn to trust the Rebellion."
After sighing, Anakin said, "I'm sorry, Master. I'm sorry for everything."
"You can't change the past, Anakin," Obi-Wan advised. "But the future is yours to decide. You know more than anyone what a single choice can do."
"Yes," Anakin admitted, remembering that moment in Palpatine's office. "I guess that's why Master Windu isn't here to lecture me about shatterpoints."
"It will take time to regain the trust of the Jedi, Anakin," Obi-Wan told his old Padawan. "But you cannot avoid your destiny. You know what you must do. You must destroy the Sith."
"I can't kill my own daughter," Anakin said.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Then the Emperor has already won," he said. "You were the hope of the Jedi."
"There has to be another way," Anakin told his old master. "I refuse to think otherwise."
"You must do what you feel is right," Obi-Wan admitted.
