Author's Note: Hello, before we get into the story, I wanted to tell you a few things. I'm trying to write this in such a way where it's comprehensible for people even if they have only seen the original trilogy. Ahsoka, who wasn't in the original trilogy, plays a major role in Star Wars: The Unending, but anything you need to know about her will be explained. In fact, if you haven't seen the prequel trilogy, I'll make sure you can keep up with this story. However, I do recommend you watch the Clone Wars and Rebels if you haven't already. I want to point out that this story might have inconsistencies with future Star Wars content concerning Ahsoka. What I mean by that is, there has been talk about Ahsoka possibly getting her own series, but as of writing this story, that hasn't happened yet so there might be something in this story that conflicts with something that happens in that series. If that happens, we'll just chalk it up to this being an alternate timeline. Also, forget everything about episodes 7, 8 and 9; those movies are even worse than the prequels and I will not budge on that statement.
This is my first time writing a story in present tense. Here's hoping I adapt to it well.
One more thing I want you to know; I put action scenes into my fanfictions. There isn't an action scene in this chapter, but there will be action in chapter 2.
Now, let us begin.
A long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away . . .
STAR
WARS
The Unending
The Rebel AlLeiance is preparing an
attack on the second Death Star.
Luke Skywalker has been sent to help
in the effort to destroy the shield
generator on the forest moon of
Endor. Fearing that he will put the
mission at risk and hoping that his
father can be redeemed, Luke
considers seeking out Darth Vader.
. . .
After gaining a new alLeiance on the
forest moon of Endor, Luke is ready
to leave, but his sister may yet
change his mind. Darth Vader travels
to the forest moon of Endor, expecting
his son to come to him and unaware
of who is more likely to find him.
. . .
Ahsoka Tano has found a sacred cave
on the lost planet Rezlice which holds
the power to communicate across the
galaxy with those who hold a strong
connection. Dubious, but hopeful to
give her old master one last chance,
Ahsoka seeks to speak with Darth Vader
and bring him back to the light. . . .
Luke somehow knows Leia will follow him as he exits the room: her and no one else. Which is fortunate as she is the one whom he must speak to alone. On a bridge between two platforms built around abnormally large trees, Luke waits for his unknowing sister. Sure enough, Leia arrives and is curious to know what troubles him. This is the moment when fate changes course.
"I need you to know a few things," Luke says gently.
"Sure. What is it?"
"I should have told you sooner, but I wasn't sure if it was true. There's a reason Vader searches for me."
"Because he wants you to join him," Leia guesses.
"Yes, but . . . there's more. I see now that Vader and I are connected. That's how he knows we're here. That's why I need to leave so I don't put the rest of you in danger."
"What kind of connection?"
Luke explains solemnly, "Vader can sense my presence; the presence of his son."
Leia took a step back in surprise. "Luke, that's impossible."
"I thought so too, at first. I told myself I'm nothing like him; then I realized I've had moments when the dark side calls to me. I told myself it was just too big a coincidence that you sent your droids to find Obi Wan Kenobi and they just happen to find Vader's son; then I realized why Obi Wan was there."
This is a hard concept for Leia to wrap her head around. She never would have imagined that Luke had anything to do with Darth Vader until now. "Luke, I can't imagine what you're going through."
"I'm sorry to say, but you're about to know."
"Wha-what do you mean?"
"I mean that Vader had two children," Luke says solemnly.
They both just looked at each other, letting it sink in. "You're telling me that we are brother and sister?"
"I guess it just got easier for you to choose between me and Han," Luke says, trying to lighten the mood a little.
Leia is not amused. "Luke, don't make jokes about this!"
"I'm sorry." Luke stares at the floor, returning to the low spirits he attempted to escape. "At least he doesn't know about you. He doesn't know you're his daughter. That's why I need to go and you need to stay."
"Don't go," Leia pleads. She paces back and forth with a hand on her forehead, trying to figure out a solution to a problem she barely understands. "Well . . . if Vader can sense your presence because of your connection, can't you just . . . not be connected to him anymore?"
Luke avoids eye contact. Leia can tell what he isn't saying.
"Unless you don't want to lose that connection."
Luke says, "I have to try to bring him back to the light. It might be hopeless, but he's my father."
"Is he?! He didn't raise you! He never did anything for you." Leia grabs Luke's mechanical hand and continues, "The only thing he gave you was this!"
Luke stares at his mechanical hand, considering her words.
Leia says insistently, "You don't owe him anything! Don't leave for that monster! Stay for . . . for your sister."
Luke keeps staring at that hand until a tear spills out of his eye. "Alright." Luke takes a deep breath and releases it. Luke chooses to give up on his father and sever the connection. "Alright. I'll stay . . . for you."
Vader has become accustom to feeling disturbances in the force. But what disturbs him now is a lack of feeling. Less than an hour ago, he could sense Luke's presence on this moon, but now his attempts to reach out are met with . . . nothing. Is Luke even on this moon anymore? He can't tell. Still, the Emperor has foreseen that Luke Skywalker would come to him and Vader has no doubts for his predictions.
The imperial landing craft lands on the platform and lowers its ramp, allowing Vader to disembark. Beside the high landing platform, an AT-AT marches, keeping watch over the base; a fine sight to be greeted with.
Darth Vader searches the base, ending up on a walkway with an open view of the forest and its abnormally massive trees. It is here where he finds the man in charge who stands at attention in Vader's presence. Darth Vader asks him, "Commander, have there been any sightings of rebels near the base?"
"No, my lord. We have kept a vigilant watch, but no one has been seen."
Vader is half surprised to hear this. He didn't know why, but he had expected Luke to already be here. The commander is sweating as Vader stares motionless. With the ominous helmet covering his entire face, the commander can't tell if Vader is frustrated with him or simply thinking hard.
Vader tells him, "I will be outside, near the base. Informed me as soon as there has been a rebel sighting. But, otherwise, I am not to be disturbed."
"Yes, my lord," says the commander, dripping with relief.
Vader makes his way to an elevator, wondering if he should be worried. First, he can't feel Luke's presence and now there hasn't been a sighting of any rebel turning himself in.
Vader steps outside and makes his way to the trees in hopes that he can see Luke arrive and have a bit of privacy until then. Gazing out into the thick of the forest, Vader tries to sense his son's presence, but can find only emptiness. Darth Vader has not felt so alone since before he discovered that Luke was alive. For years, he didn't have a family; bringing his son to the dark side seemed to be his last hope of having something to make his life worth living. Besides Luke, he doesn't have anyone in his life that he truly cares for; not anymore. He pretends otherwise, but his relationship with the Emperor is really one where there're each wondering who will betray the other first. Vader cared nothing for the other imperials; maybe it's the darkness in his own soul; maybe, deep down, he hates them for their loyalty to the Empire. But for whatever reason, he sees imperial stormtroopers and even high-ranking officers as disposable. And he never hesitated to enact the disposal. There truly is no one in his life he considers a friend anymore. If he could have his son, that would be enough for him. But the harder he tries to reach out, the more alone he feels.
But wait! There's someone here. At least there might be. This presence is familiar yet incomplete. It's hazy. Vader has an idea who this might be, but why would she come to him?
"Been a while; hasn't it, Skyguy?"
Vader's loud breathing hastens at the sound of that voice. He turns and sees AHSO . . . ka? Is that her or is he seeing things? It looks like her, but she looks like a phantom; Vader could see through her, she was glowing and all her colors were paled.
"Before you draw your lightsaber, you should know I'm not actually there . . . here . . . ? I'm not where you are; wherever that is."
"Then what is this?" Vader demands.
"I found this fancy cave; you'll understand if I don't tell you where that is. And, from here, I can reach out to people I have a connection with."
"And you've chosen to reach out to me?" Vader asks incredulously.
"That's right," Ahsoka says with mild frustration. Even she is wondering why she would do this.
"I have not heard of such a cave."
"They don't tell Sith lords about this kind of stuff."
"And who would 'they' be?" Vader inquires.
"Well, they don't tell Sith lords that either."
"I see." Vader isn't sure if he likes this arrangement. But he can't exactly strike her down. He thinks, "Perhaps it would be harmless to entertain her for now; as long as she does not interfere." Vader says out loud, "If you've come to reminisce about our time in the Clone Wars, make it quick. My time may be short."
"Oh, really? What's the rush?"
"Luke Skywalker will be here soon. I will take him to the Emperor and he will be turned to the dark side." Saying that, knowing it is likely not true makes Vader feel even worse.
Ahsoka fakes a gasp as she places her hands over her mouth, playfully pretending to be shocked. She returns to her smug countenance. "That's an interesting theory, but I don't buy it."
"You doubt the Emperor's prediction?" Vader asks, not taking offence as much as being curious.
"Well, unlike you and I back in the day, Luke doesn't have any Jedi Order to be frustrated with," Ahsoka reasons.
"That may not be entirely true. Obi Wan never told him he was my son. His deception may have driven Luke away."
"HAH! You say that like you Sith are ever honest!" Ahsoka counters. "If he's driven away by deception, he's not going to be driven toward you and your Emperor."
Vader can't prove that statement wrong.
Ahsoka continues more somberly, "Speaking of which, what was it? You know, for you? Why did you turn to the dark side?"
Vader thinks twice, but why not? "What I did, I did for Padme."
This is the first time tonight that Ahsoka is as angry with him as he would have expected her to be. She says firmly, "If we were really in the same place, I'd take that helmet off your head and slap you SO HARD!"
Vader considers telling her, "Were we in the same place, I would strike you down with my lightsaber." But he decides against it, remaining silent.
"You seriously want to tell me that literally any of this was for Padme's sake?! She stood for liberty! She stood against the Emperor you joined! What do you think she would say if she was here?!"
"That . . . does not matter now," Vader says, a subtle hint of pain in his voice. "The truth is, I had received visions of Padme's death. I joined the Emperor because he told me he could teach me a way to save her."
"Did he?"
Vader looks away from Ahsoka, embarrassed to say it. "He did not."
Ahsoka snorts with bitter amusement. "You really messed up. You know that, Skyguy?"
He does know that. He just isn't willing to admit that. "I . . . would rather reminisce about our time in the Clone Wars," Vader says weakly.
Ahsoka thinks twice. She is still a little upset with him, but this is encouraging. Maybe she had a reason to reach out to him after all. "Alright, uh . . . Do you remember how old I was when we first met?"
"You were fourteen years old," Vader answers.
Ahsoka considers telling him passive aggressively, "Lucky guess." But she decides against it. "That's right," she does say out loud.
"That was a very long time ago," Vader says, examining the now forty-year-old Ahsoka. She looks different, but instantly recognizable. The blue stripes on her white montrals have changed: now they look more like lightning bolts with their thin, erratic shapes and, in some places, branching paths. Most of her face is still dark orange, but the white marks have noticeably expanded.
"You were nineteen and you thought you weren't ready to be my master. You thought I was supposed to be assigned to Obi Wan and there must have been 'some mistake' when I said it was you. But you . . ." Ahsoka is unsure about whether or not to put this out there. But she wants to be encouraging if this is going to work. "You were a good master."
This comes as a surprise to Vader. "You still think so?"
"Yes." There is no hesitation this time.
Silence persists until Darth Vader replies, "You were an admirable apprentice."
They couldn't help but wonder how it came to this. The last time they met, they were trying to kill each other, but they used to be so close.
Trying to get away from the saddest parts of their story, Ahsoka asked, "How many battle droids do you think the two of us destroyed during the Clone Wars?"
"Thousands, to be sure. Perhaps tens of thousands."
Ahsoka tilts her head to the side dubiously. Tens of thousands? It was only a three year war. Then again, it was an eventful three years. Ahsoka says, "Perhaps. We used to compare how many droids we scrapped in a single battle. We got triple digits pretty often."
A thought occurs to both of them. Ahsoka wonders how many rebel soldiers Vader has killed, but she doesn't want to ask. She's not even sure she wants to know. Vader wants to tell exactly how many rebels he's killed, but there's something about her saddened eyes and crossed arms that makes him hold back. "Separatist battle droids were quite ineffective," he says instead.
"Yeah, no kidding."
"They were never actually meant to win the war."
That is a confusing statement. Ahsoka doesn't have eyebrows, but she furrows the white marks on her face where eyebrows would have been. "What do you mean?"
"The Emperor was controlling both sides of the Clone Wars. The true purpose of the Separatist Army was not to defeat the Republic, but to create a scenario in which the Emperor could rise to power and destroy the Jedi. It was Emperor Palpatine who led the Separatists as well as it was Palpatine who arranged for the Clone Army to be constructed."
Ahsoka's jaw hangs wide open. Vader's explaining of the Clone Wars is a lot to take in. Ahsoka isn't sure why she believes him, but she does. In retrospect, it makes an unnerving amount of sense. "Wow, that's uh . . . So that whole time, we were just playing out Palpatine's plans?"
"That is correct."
"How long have you known all this?"
"I did not know until after the last time I saw you as Anakin Skywalker."
"Did you only join him after we parted ways?"
Vader replies, "Yes."
That was strangely a bit of a relief. That meant he wasn't pretending to be on the same when they fought together. "I don't get why you're still loyal to him," Ahsoka says quietly. "You said so yourself that he didn't give you what you wanted."
Darth Vader knows her confusion to be justified. Yet he hesitates to tell her the truth. Vader looks around suspiciously, making sure there is no one to overhear. He steps closer to Ahsoka's ghostly projection and speaks with a softer volume. "I have no loyalty to the Emperor." Ahsoka's eyes go wide as Vader continues, "He is a means to an end. Once Luke Skywalker becomes my apprentice, we will dispose of the Emperor together."
Ahsoka's face brightens up astronomically with amusement. She looks like she's about to burst into laughter, but she instead holds an open-mouth-smile and says, "Really? Is that how it is?"
"That it is," Vader confirms.
"Wow," Ahsoka says, still smiling bright. Vader can tell that this is not an I'm-so-happy-for-you happiness as much as it is a you-Sith-are-so-funny happiness. "You know, it was never like that for us back when we were Jedi. You had the perfect opportunity to get rid of me, but you saved me instead. And I know I didn't see you as a means to an end or someone to be disposed of. I think you know that too. We weren't enemies; that only changed once you became a Sith."
"No!" Vader says firmly. "That is not what happened."
Ahsoka glares at Vader, unable to fathom how what she said could be inaccurate. "Alright. Why don't you tell me what you think happened?"
"Even when I became a Sith, I did not betray you."
Ahsoka explodes, shouting, "YOU WERE THE ONE WHO . . ." She stops herself and breathes deeply. "Go on," she growls.
"When the Emperor sent the order to wipe out the Jedi, I assumed you would be spared. Because you were no longer a Jedi."
"I wasn't," Ahsoka clarifies. "They tried to kill me; they just didn't succeed."
Vader pauses before saying, "For that, you have my apologies."
"Wait what?" Ahsoka thinks. "Did Darth Vader just apologize to me?"
"I viewed the Jedi order as evil. That did not extend to you."
Ahsoka looks at him softer.
Vader continues, "I meant what I said. I did not betray you. When we met in the Sith temple long after the Clone Wars, do you remember what I told you?
Ahsoka is hit with realization. "You told me we didn't need to be adversaries."
"Yes. I wanted you to join me."
Ahsoka had always assumed that Vader was only trying to use her to further the Empire's agenda when he made that offer. But now she sees the truth. "You were trying to protect me. You wanted me back." She takes a moment to let it sink in before saying, "But you know I couldn't have joined the Empire. Especially after you told me that you killed Anakin Skywalker."
"Perhaps it was a poor choice of words. Perhaps I should have told you the full truth. I didn't want to fight you that day."
Ahsoka remembers vividly what happened. Vader had deactivated his lightsaber to speak with her and only reignite it when she ignited hers. It wasn't her fault, but she can see what Vader meant when he said he didn't betray her. Still, there was more to that story. Ahsoka says, her voice choked up, "You did betray me that day. When I found out who you are, I said, 'I won't leave you; not this time.' And you told me, 'Then you will die.' Do you remember that?"
Vader replies, "I stood there and gave you enough time to leave. I wanted you to leave. We fought because I knew you were staying so you could kill me."
Ahsoka breaks into tears. "Is that what you think?!" she sobs.
Vader's heart sinks as the realization weighs him down. When Ahsoka told him she wasn't leaving, her lightsabers were deactivated. "You stayed because you wanted me to come back."
"So what is it?!" Ahsoka asks furiously, tears making their way down her cheeks. "What is it about the dark side that you can't bring yourself to leave?!"
"You speak as though the Jedi were better."
"They were! The Jedi Order wasn't perfect, but even at its worst, it wasn't half as bed as the Empire!"
Darth Vader says with a little uncertainty, "The Empire has brought order to the galaxy."
"Oh, right! Slavery has been legalized and people's homes are forcibly taken from them! Much more orderly and sensible that way!" Ahsoka shouts sarcastically. "Don't act like you have any moral high ground! You've become all the worst parts of the Separatists we fought against and all the worst parts of the Republic we hated being a part of!"
Vader doesn't say a word. He lowers his head without a counterargument.
Ahsoka asks, "Do you even know what you're fighting for anymore?!"
Vader jolts his head in her direction. He steps closer and thunders, "OF COURSE I DON'T!"
Ahsoka stares at him, stunned to hear that.
Vader drops his shoulders and he turns away from her in shame. "I don't know what I'm fighting for," he says softly. Ahsoka can see that he has never admitted it to himself before.
"This might be a lot easier than I thought," Ahsoka thinks. She calls out gently, "Anakin-"
"Anakin Skywalker is dead," Vader insists.
"I don't believe that."
"I killed him! He was weak."
"That's not true! You were the strongest person I knew!"
"Anakin Skywalker was weak because he had no one to turn to," Vader explains. "What was he supposed to do? Stay with his doomed wife and do nothing more than hope his visions were wrong? Or perhaps he should have continued to slave away for the good an order that denies him everything? Who did Anakin Skywalker have to turn to?"
"ME!" Ahsoka shouts. For a time, Ahsoka breathes heavily with hurting eyes as she stares into the lenses in Darth Vader's helmet. She says quietly and shakily, "If you were frustrated with the order . . . and if you lost your family . . . you should have come looking for me."
"You . . . were the one who left me," Vader counters. "I wanted you to come back."
"I know. . . . And I shouldn't have left. Anakin . . . I'm sorry. I should have stayed. But this time, I'm not leaving. This time, I'm bringing you back!" Ahsoka prepares for Vader's resistance.
But Vader asks, "You would still have me?"
"Yes," Ahsoka replies without hesitation. "Anakin, your son won't join you in the darkness. But you can join him in the light. And I will help you get there. I know it's not too late for you. If someone as good as Anakin Skywalker can become as evil as Darth Vader, then we have to believe that someone as evil as Darth Vader can become as good as Anakin Skywalker."
Darth Vader takes a good look at the Imperial base. Going with Ahsoka would mean leaving a life behind. He would lose his master and abandon the Empire. Really, there is nothing but good reasons to do it. "Ahsoka . . . I will join you."
Author's Note: For this chapter, I wanted Vader turning to the light to happen before the next chapter, but I also wanted to take enough time with it for it to feel natural. A lot of people say Luke is the only one who could've turned Vader, but in this chapter he kind of does in a way. Vader knows now that he's gone where his son can't follow and that's one of the biggest reasons he joins Ahsoka.
(This next part was added in later.)
I have a YouTube Channel now. I review fictional couples, talking about how well they're written, how good their chemistry is and the story of how they get together. You'll be able to find me by typing into the search bar –
Couple Reviews by MVPKnight
