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Chapter 8: The brightest light...

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Part 1

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Bestine township

Tatooine

Vader cut through the last thug masquerading as local security with a smile on his face. It has been some time since his appearance caused fear and respect among the locals. Now, the few brave or foolish enough to watch the slaughter, had a proper respect for his power.

Beside him, Ahsoka felt more exhilaration than horror at what they just did. It was a good start, Vader thought. Now, if he could only keep her in the right state of mind…

"We're moving on the slave market. Reinforcements will join us before we reach it." Vader said aloud.

He believed it was vital to show Ahsoka that as long as she kept the Dark Side's influence under control, instead of the other way around, she could achieve everything the Jedi denied them both. Otherwise, she would walk in Skywalker's footsteps with predictable tragic results.

As they walked through the town, people scattered out of their way as soon as they noticed the ignited lightsabers. Soon, mutters of Jedi followed in their wake. Some were little more than curses. How could anyone dare bring order to this hive of scum and villainy?! Unjustified hope came with the others. As if the Jedi had ever bothered to come here and fix things if they had any other choice! Vader had to keep a sneer off his face at that thought.

Soon, the howl of engines came from above, and fighters screamed over the town, seeking threats. A bomber squadron came next, before, finally, the LAATs came down, surrounded by a heavy escort. Clones jumped out of the transports, with weapons raised and scanning for dangers.

Two units quickly fell in step behind the Jedi, led by a Clone NCO.

"Sergeant Slick at your service, sir. Awaiting orders."

Vader's step nearly faltered at hearing that name. He glanced at the Clones gathering behind him and smiled. He had been wondering how to begin dealing with their indoctrination. In that regard, the Clone army was worse than the most zealous followers of the New Order in the Empire. They had been indoctrinated from before being born, thanks to the Clone Masters on Kamino.

"Boys, I might be unable to give you your freedom before this war is over. However, today I'm going to make a pledge to you all, and show the whole galaxy, what the Republic quietly condones. What the Jedi Order as a whole closes its eyes and does nothing about." He paused, letting his words sink in. "Over there is the largest slave market on Tatooine. Those people we can liberate. We can and will show their suffering to the Republic! That way, no one could close their eyes any longer. We will bring the point home, that in its infinite hubris, the Republic let itself rot too much! That now, the only thing standing between it and annihilation is an army of slaves! Slaves, who believe in and fight for principles the Republic itself has forgotten!"

Ragged, stunned cheer followed Vader's proclamation. His words even earned him a small, unsure smile from Snips.

More and more LAATs landed, bringing down squads of Clones. Soon, firefights broke all over the city, with bounty hunters, mercenaries, and some local toughs refusing to submit.

When they reached the marketplace, the Republic soldiers found pandemonium. Some traders had fled, abandoning their wares. Others tried to protect them and ended up shot for their trouble or worse. No one had an illusion of what the arrival of Republic soldiers meant. At least, in theory, it was order and an end of business as usual. Many of the locals decided that getting as much as they carry before making them scarce was the thing to do.

The same was true for the slavers. A few of the more prudent ones had decided to abandon their stock and make themselves scarce. Others, did their best to get their property moving towards the spaceport in a futile attempt to get off-world. A few of the slavers had decided that if they couldn't profit from their slaves, then no one else could. While the jamming did its job and the explosive chips couldn't be activated, blasters and melee weapons did the trick.

"Secure the slaves and kill the slavers, I have no use for them. Get order here restored by any means necessary. One warning to stand down is enough. The use of lethal force is authorized." Vader barked out a string of orders. "Snips, you stick with me. Rex, you have tactical command." With his piece said, Vader sprinted into the mayhem, using the Force to increase his speed.

Using telekinetic pushes, he shoved away anyone unlucky to find themselves in his path. Ahsoka sprinted on his heels, while further back, the Clones fanned out and did their best to restore order. Soon enough, they found themselves in a firefight with local criminals unwilling to abandon their ill-gotten gains.

The fear and chaos only intensified from then on.

Vader threw away a wide-eyed Zabrak woman wildly swinging a blaster rifle and jumped over a kiosk, to land in front of a group of slaves huddling together from protection. A bunch of guards uneasily surrounded them. A burly human in rather expensive clothes that were out of place on Tatooine screamed orders.

"Get moving! We need to get out of here! Kriffing Republic! Why did they have to come here, of all places!? Move, you bastards!"

"I have a one-time offer for you. Surrender or die." Vader happily informed the slavers.

"Why the kriff are you?! Do you know who I am?!"

Vader grabbed the bastard with the Force and squeezed. Ah, that sensation of primal creeping terror never got old…

"I don't know, and I don't care." His telekinetic grip tightened, and everyone close enough could hear the sound of shattering bones. The chief slaver gurgled and twitched a few times before losing consciousness. Vader let go of the sack of meat and broken bones, focusing his full attention on the guards. "Will you surrender or die?"

Many of them looked on the verge of pissing themselves, which was disappointing. At that point, a young, almost juvenile Rodian screeched something and opened fire, terror getting the best of him.

"Death it is," Vader muttered when the other guards choose to make a doomed last stand by opening fire as well.

Ahsoka moved in first. She was a whirlwind of green death blending her way through the thugs who had never conceived that a Jedi might fall upon them with such unrestrained aggression. Vader followed suit, using his lightsaber as much as the Force, and soon, they made a short work of the guards.

Only two of the slaves got hit in the short-lived crossfire, which was a good achievement in Vader's mind. Once Ahsoka got in a better state of mind, so he wouldn't have to keep part of his attention on her, they would be able to do much better.

"Snips, see to the wounded. You fine folks," Vader turned to address the slaves, "are now free. Stay tight and low, I'll have medics in place soon to see to your needs and remove the explosive chips from you."

The wave of relief, sheer disbelief, and gratitude that came from the small group of slaves was enough to make Snips stumble and stare at them with wide eyes. A closer examination of them, especially the young females making up much of the group, told Vader enough. Very soon, his Apprentice would be fit to be tied. It was a good thing, then, that there were other settlements on Tatooine with their own smaller slave markets to liberate and slavers to use as stress relief.

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Part 2

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Bestine township

Tatooine

Unsurprisingly, the largest obstacle to securing the town turned out to be various groups of mercenaries and bounty hunters passing through or using the place as a base of operations. Some of them did decide that discretion was the better part of valor. Either that or with no one paying them to fight, they had no reason to risk limb or life against the Republic forces. Others saw things differently. Someone attempting to instill a measure of law and order in Bestine, no matter how fleeting, wasn't to their liking. The Republic's presence ensured a disruption of business and thus the flow of credits. That was something a certain breed of mercenaries took personally.

A prime example of the latter kind holed themselves in their base of operations – a small warehouse on the outer edge of Bestine. They were one of the last strongholds to be subdued, with most of the town falling quickly.

"As you can see, sir, we've got a spot of trouble here!" A Clone sergeant shouted from the corner of the building he was using as a cover.

A heavy repeater blaster sent another hail of fiery death at anyone daring to even look at the fortified building.

Vader vaguely recalled that the last time around the sergeant and his unit died early in the war because he made a mistake born of inexperience. Not this time, the former Sith decided.

"Do they have civilian hostages or salves to use as live shields?" Vader inquired.

A few Clones sent pot-shots at the warehouse, before hugging whatever they used for cover, as heavy weapons barked back in anger.

"No, that we know of." The sergeant hollered.

"In that case, call an airstrike and sort out any survivors," Vader suggested. "Call Commander Rex and tell him I'm authorizing the same as far as all other holdouts are concerned." He paused. "Unless they have hostages or are too close to occupied dwellings." Vader looked at a despondent Snips. "Take this as a learning opportunity. While the Dark Side might be edging you on to get your hands dirty at every opportunity, think if doing so is worth your while. Indulging it from time to time is important, otherwise controlling it constantly proves much harder. Doing so under controlled conditions can ensure it doesn't push you into doing something regrettable or outright suicidal at the wrong time." Vader lectured on. He spoke out of personal experience. After two decades of dealing with the whims of the Dark Side, he was an expert on the topic.

"That's easier said than done, isn't it?" Ahsoka mumbled.

"It's not an easy path. Unfortunately, as things stand, it's the only reasonable path we have. I don't know about you, but I would prefer to avoid life-long imprisonment by our Jedi friends. In the same vein, turning into a murderous brute like the Sith we know of isn't a much better alternative."

Snips twitched at the reminder of what awaited them if the Jedi had their way. Vader pointedly didn't mention that, if the likes of Windu had their way, there would be no imprisonment. Just a lightsaber to the neck because they would be deemed too dangerous. Or perhaps Vader was mistaken, and Mace wasn't that far gone yet. Either way, he wasn't about to risk it.

Vader guided them towards the marketplace, now turned into a well-protected field hospital. A Y-Wing roared overhead and opened fire, demolishing the enemy warehouse along with the mercenaries holed up inside. That should serve as a message enough for the locals – he wasn't about to tolerate any defiance from Hutt-aligned sleemos.

The atmosphere that greeted them at the field hospital was one born of pain and jubilation, instead of horror and despair. The positive emotions were almost like a balm, and a stark contrast to what they could sense there earlier that day. Ahsoka faltered under the emotions bombarding her and looked around with huge eyes. That was the first time in years, that she let herself fully experience positive emotions. After what happened earlier today, the contrast was a head-spinning sensation.

"Take it all in, Snips. This is just a taste of what the Jedi deny us. Even the simplest things…" Vader raised a gloved hand at the two suns slowly descending towards the horizon, then removed the glove, letting the hot light touch his flesh and blood arm. "The feeling of sunlight upon our skin, the scent of our favorite food…" A wistful look crossed his eyes. He still couldn't entirely get over being able to touch, taste, and smell anything but ashes. And the very thought that his Padme was still very much alive… "The color of your first love's eyes, the taste of their lips during your first kiss, but you're too young for that."

"That's why the Jedi teach us not to form attachments and to avoid any passions. The feelings are just too much… I can't find my center…" Ahsoka whined.

"That's where the Jedi are wrong, Snips." Vader lowered his arm and put his armored glove back on. "Despite all that happened today and all you experienced, you haven't fallen yet, little one. If I have anything to say about it, you will be able to wield both sides of the Force without being a slave either of the Light of Darkness. I can sense your emotions, Ahsoka. Your righteous anger is not wrong. When you feel only anger through your connection with the Force, only then, you would have truly discovered the Dark Side and fallen under its sway. The Sith believe that Peace is a lie, that there is only Passion. They are wrong. Peace is not a lie, it's something worth fighting for. Look at them. Is this not worth it?" Vader demanded as he pointed at the liberated slaves being tended by Clone medics.

At three separate locations, lined up with makeshift blast shields, medics and demolition experts were busy removing explosive chips from the slaves in a better condition.

The jubilation, relief, and anticipation from the liberated beings were something Vader hadn't experienced in ages. Ironically enough, the last time was during a parade celebrating Imperial Day, years ago, before the destruction of the first Death Star. It was days like that one, which helped him remember that despite Sidious' cancerous influence, the New Order wasn't entirely rotten. That it was worth reforming after removing the old monster from power.

In the same vein, it was the events of today, that helped reinforce the point. The Republic would never bother to help the people of Tatooine or everyone else suffering all over the Outer Rim. In contrast, even at its worst, the Empire did bring order and relative stability in many of these parts. Even if it did exploit the locals just like the Republic and its corporations did. Today, the people on the Rim were still exploited by both local powers and the Core, they just lacked any form of order and stability.

"Yes, Master. It is worth it…" Ahsoka muttered. A small smile graced her lips, as she looked over the liberated slaves with far-off eyes.

"Then embrace this passion. Use it as fuel and a shield. Do the same to your righteous anger. Do not let it control you again, now you know better. Your emotions are yours to use, they must not control you. If you want to let your passions run free, then so be it, but it must be your conscious choice, and you must be ready and aware of the possible consequences." Vader quietly lectured. "Contrast this to the Jedi Code. There is no emotion, there is peace. We are no droids, Snips. We feel, we make bonds, and they define us. Tatooine was at peace before our arrival. That is the peace the Jedi is ready to embrace to avoid conflict and uncomfortable truths. The same is true about the Republic. Tell me Ahsoka, is that peace worth it? Is it worth denying to yourself who and what you are?"

"No." Snips spat. For a moment, her eyes tinted with gold, before softening, while she kept observing the liberated slaves. "There was no peace for them. There is no peace for the slaves in the other parts of Tatooine? Or those all over the galaxy, is there? Is this what we're fighting for? To keep the status that quietly condones such things?!" She waved at a nearby stack of body bags, some containing little bodies. Those were the unfortunate slaves whose master preferred to see their death than allowing someone to either take possession of them or liberate them.

"We aren't fighting for the corrupt Republic that exists today, Snips," Vader spoke aloud, making sure his voice carried all over the repurposed marketplace. "We're fighting for the ideals the Republic is supposed to embody. We're fighting for all the people the Confederacy would crush without a second thought in its quest for power. And most importantly, we're fighting the complacent mindsets that allowed such horrors to happen for tens of thousands of years without raising a hand to do something about it!" He waved at the liberated slaves, many of whom were eagerly listening to him. "On the outside, we're fighting to stop the Confederacy from burning the galaxy in Dooku's mad quest for power. On the inside, we're fighting to bring forth a New Order to the galaxy, an order worth fighting for! An Order which would not condone slavery and seek to eradicate it!" He looked around, seeing that he had everyone's undivided attention. "For today, we are in a unique position to do something about it. If the Republic survives this conflict, it will be only through the sacrifices of the Clone army fighting for it. It would survive only through facing a stark truth! The beacon of civilization in the galaxy allowed itself to fall so far, that only a slave army created in secret stands between it and utter annihilation! We're going to save the Republic, both from the Separatists and from itself! We are going to bring forth a new age, a New Order, one based on security and prosperity for all! All I ask you is to stand with me, for it is not an easy task facing us."

The cheers that followed were deafening. The glow of everyone's emotions was nearly blinding.

By dusk, dozens of liberated slaves were clamoring to join the Republic military, with their only request being that they were allowed to serve under Skywalker's command.

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