Author's Note: After posting just the first chapter, this story already got 18 follows. That's so refreshing after all those weeks of very few views for my other story, Disney Princesses: Extermination. That story is really good, but there's not a very big audience in the Disney fandom right now. (Might be because of the live action remakes.) Thank you for reading this story. It's nice to have a bigger audience.
Vader ignores everyone as he marches back to the imperial landing craft. He is done with them. He's done working for the Empire and doesn't even want to look at them at the moment. As he walks, he can't help but worry. Before Ahsoka appeared to him, he had thought Luke would come to him. Now, he can only hope his son will welcome him when he apologizes as hard as he possibly can. He comes right in front of the imperial landing craft and stops as an idea occurs to him. If he wants, he can kill everyone in this imperial base. They are his enemies now, but they don't know that. Vader knows how to cut off their communications before they even know they need help. If he is careful, he can leave no survivors. He could do that. But something feels strange. Yesterday, he felt perfectly comfortable killing imperial officers if they disappointed him. So why is it that once they become his enemies, he hesitates. It must be the light. The Light Side of the Force is changing the way he thinks, making him hesitant to be so cruel. Vader realizes this and it makes him rethink a few things. The Dark Side is corrosive; it twists the mind. How many things had he only done because his way of thinking was warped by the Dark Side? Had he only hated the Jedi because his mind was twisted? "No," Vader thought. "The Jedi betrayed me. . . . They did; didn't they?" He isn't so sure anymore. He rethinks those days long ago, wondering if they had really deserved what he did to them. Vader's breathing quickens along with his heartrate as he thinks about the day he participated in an attack on a Jedi temple. "They begged for mercy," Vader thinks in horror. He tried desperately to think of why they had it coming, but the truth is; most of them had done nothing to him. Only a handful of the Jedi actually made the rules and many of them were just as stifled by those rules as he was. "No," Vader says with dread, putting his hand on his helmet. He thinks, "They . . . they were innocent. Some of them were CHILDREN!" It's like he is thinking about it clearly for the first time. No longer was he fooled by the darkness into thinking he wasn't the villain of the story. "What have I done?" Vader can't help but say out loud.
"Is something wrong, Lord Vader?" asks an imperial officer, noticing his stress.
Vader looks at him. Vader was considering killing him along with the others earlier. But would that be right? He doesn't know anymore! Another concept clutches Vader. He asks, "Tell me, officer, do you believe that the Emperor cares for the people he leads?"
The officer stands a little taller. "Yes, my lord. I'm proud to be a part of the Empire. The Emperor brings peace and security."
Vader thought the same thing when he first joined the Emperor. Vader sees now; everyone who joined the Empire was tricked by the Emperor's lies. The Emperor had pretended to be benevolent and they joined him because they had been fooled the way he had been fooled. And he had been considering killing them.
"I must go!" Vader says, turning to hastily board the imperial landing craft. He orders the crew to get out and no one dares question why. Once Vader is the only one inside, he closes the exit ramp and gets in the pilot-seat. He wastes no more time in taking off. He still needs to cut the tracking device, but that can wait until he's gotten some distance.
As the craft flies higher, Vader realizes that this is the point of no return. If he kills the tracking device and flies away, he will be subject to the wrath of the Galactic Empire. The Emperor will not forgive him and there is only a small chance that the Rebellion will accept his alliance. He can still go back, order everyone at the base to shut up about how weird he was acting, then fly to the Death Star, and calmly explain to the Emperor that Luke will not be joining them. . . . And then the Emperor would demand that Vader hunt down Luke Skywalker and give him his choice of submission or death. Forget that!
Vader rips off the wires, killing the tracking device. "There is no turning back now," he says to himself.
Suddenly, a hologram appears; one of an imperial officer. "Lord Vader, there's a problem with your ship's-"
Without hesitation, Vader ends the transmission with a push of a button. He takes one last check to make sure everything looks right on the ship before he punches it to light-speed. Now, the Emperor will soon know Darth Vader is abandoning him. If only that was the most haunting thing to torment his thoughts. Vader has his guilt to keep his mind busy on this trip to meet Ahsoka on Rezlice.
"How much can I blame on the Dark Side? Where did my instincts end and the corruption begin? How many atrocities can merely be called my participation in war? Even if I have excuses, will I ever be able to absolve myself of everything I've done? How can I ever atone for all the damage, all the death? Is it too late? Am I too far gone? If I'm not, can I ever be forgiven?" There are so any questions and he finds himself unable to answer them; either because it's beyond him to know or because the answer is too painful to admit. "I must admit the truth no matter how much harm it causes me. I fooled myself for too long, thinking that the Jedi deserved annihilation. The truth is, even if my soul if forfeit, I may still be a valuable weapon for Luke. Or, if no one else, Ahsoka. She wishes for my redemption. If I can help her, that will be enough. She may be all I have now."
This new clarity provided by the light gives Vader the opportunity to reevaluate many things. "Were the Jedi really so bad?" he wonders. It doesn't take him long to come to a logical conclusion. "The Jedi Order had many flaws, but the galaxy would have been worse without their protection. I had forgotten many good deeds I performed as Anakin Skywalker. I spent so much time not wanting to think about the past. But in those days, we traveled from planet to planet, helping whoever needed us; even when they had nothing to offer in return." A portion of his former anger returns as Vader thinks about the other side of the story. "But it was not as it should have been. The Jedi's rules and traditions were beyond barbaric. New recruits were separated from their families at a young age. And then they forbid them from attachment. Jedi were not permitted to marry; what a stupid concept. They no doubt wanted their underlings to have loyalty to nothing apart from the order itself. First of all, forbidding marriage for people that didn't even choose to be a part of their order leaves them deprived and miserable. Second of all, if Jedi were permitted to marry, they could have given birth to a multitude of children who would have been strong with the Force. And third of all, if I needed not keep my marriage a secret, I would have told them directly that I thought my wife was in danger and they could have told me how to help her and I wouldn't have joined the Emperor." After a moment, he realizes he once again needs to take more responsibility for the past. An event from the past occurs to him. There was a time when Ahsoka was receiving visions of Padme's death. But Ahsoka made no secret of her concern and she actually saved Padme's life. Anakin could have done the same. He didn't need to tell anyone they were married to tell anyone she was in danger. "Perhaps I should have told them about my visions. Better yet, I should have told everyone I was married and fought for my write to stay a Jedi. I should have changed the system rather than destroy it." Vader wallows in despair, thinking about how it's too late. But then he realizes it might not be. "Luke! Provided he survives tomorrow's attack, Luke will restore the Jedi Order. If I could have him listen to me, there is a chance that such mistakes may be avoided in the future." Vader hopes such a future can come to pass, but he is unconvinced that it will. "If he will not listen to me, he may still listen to Ahsoka. There has never been a time when she even considered a path of darkness. Though I do not know if Luke has ever met Ahsoka. And if the first thing he learns about her is her connection to me, then it will still be too late."
Sitting in his throne and gazing at the stars through the window, the Emperor is troubled by a strange feeling. He senses that Vader had abandoned him, but he doubts it is true. For years, he has been convinced that Vader is consumed by the Dark Side, beyond hope of escaping it. To satisfy his paranoia, he sends a transmission to the imperial base of Endor. He asks, "Commander, has Lord Vader succeeded in extracting Luke Skywalker?"
The reply doesn't come immediately. With each second spent in silence, the Emperor grows more anxious. "I . . . assumed you knew, my Emperor. Vader has left the forest moon of Endor . . . alone."
The Emperor bolts out of his throne in shock. Could it be true? "How long ago was this?" the Emperor demands.
"A few hours. I thought he would be with you by now."
A few hours ago was when the Emperor started feeling this disturbance. It is true. "How could this happen?" thinks the Emperor. "Could it have been that boy?"
The Emperor asks out loud, "Was there any sighting of Luke Skywalker?"
"No, my Emperor. We have seen no rebel activity."
The Emperor thinks, "So it may not have been Skywalker to rob me of my apprentice. If young Skywalker lacks the light to turn his father, then perhaps he lacks the light to resist being turned himself. I may not know where on that moon he is, but I know where he is going. Tomorrow, the rebels will attack the shield generator. And since Vader has betrayed me, I will go to retrieve him myself."
It's a good thing they made friends with the locals on the forest moon of Endor. A few ewoks led them to a secret entrance that would give them access to the shield generator. One of them even made a fine distraction to lead most of the guards away. After that, it wasn't hard to get the last guard to surrender. So far, everything has gone smoothly, but Luke seems a bit off.
"You doing okay, Kid?" Han asks.
"I'm alright."
"Is this one of those Jedi things? Do you smell a disturbance; anything like that?"
It actually cheers Luke up a little that Han thinks he can sense something. Luke gives half a smile and says, "I don't sense any more trouble than we were expecting."
"I hope it's not any more trouble than you can handle, Kid. I'm going to need your head in the game down there."
"I know." Luke shakes his head, trying to get Vader out of his thoughts. He has already committed to his decision to give up on his father. He wasn't reconsidering, it was just hard to cope with. "I'm ready."
Once the doors were open, they descend a flight of stairs and make their way to a room with several control panels and a view of the machines that most likely powered the base and the shield.
They blast a few stormtroopers before the remaining staff surrender. Han barks orders at the imperials to get in the corner. "Quickly, quickly," he instructs.
The rebels get to work planting the charges, but it isn't long before Luke starts feeling something troubling and says, "Han . . . I'm getting 'one of those Jedi things.' I think they know we're here."
Han is supposed to be the one in charge here, but Luke is the one with the feeling, so he asks, "Alright. How you think we should handle this?"
"When they get here, don't shoot. Let me take care of it."
"You gonna give them their chance to let us go again?" Han asks.
"Yep."
"Because that worked so well the last time."
Luke smirks. "We all got out of there alive, didn't we?"
"Fair enough, but what's the plan when they don't want to be friendly?"
"Let me take care of that part, too," Luke says, stretching in preparation for battle.
"Nobody move!" demands an imperial officer as dozens of stormtroopers arrive, pointing their blasters at everyone. He doesn't feel great about it, but Han puts his hands up, rolling his eyes all the while.
Luke remains calm, standing with composure and keeping his hands together behind his back. "I'll give you all one chance. Lower your weapons and leave," says Luke, unintimidated.
The officer approaches him and says, "That's enough. You don't have . . ." His voice trails off as he realizes who he's talking to. Despite having them surrounded, the officer is shaking at the sight of Luke Skywalker. This is quite an unexpected horror. The officer had been told specifically that Skywalker wouldn't be here. "Get this man restrained," the officer orders.
"Are you rejecting my offer?" Luke asks.
"Now!" the officer insists.
"Are you rejecting my offer?" Luke repeats with heavier annunciation.
The officer sweats profusely until he shouts, "Forget the restraints! Shoot him now!"
Luke jumps over a few heads, igniting his green lightsaber as he soars. He lands in the middle of a group of stormtroopers. They are afraid that they might shoot each other if they try to shoot him. Luke takes advantage of that, cutting down everyone around him. Now that they're desperate, they start firing, mostly hitting the dead bodies as they fall. Luke is running out of human-shields, but that's okay because there aren't enough stormtroopers left in the room to challenge him. The remaining stormtroopers fire at Luke, but he deflects their blaster bolts back at them without fail. The rebels are needlessly afraid that Luke might accidentally send blaster fire their way, but it never happens. Luke's aim is perfect as usual.
When the shooting stops, the rebels look around, astonished, at the many bodies and lack of harm done to any of their own.
"There's more of them outside," Luke says. Luke turns toward the exit and holds his lightsaber with one hand. With his left hand he takes his blaster out of its holster and says, "I'll let you know when I'm done."
The rebels gawk at Luke as he leaves until Han reminds them that they're here to plant the charges.
Luke walks down the hallway, a lightsaber in his right hand and a blaster in his left hand. He knows Jedi are supposed to be keepers of the peace; which is part of the reason why he likes to try finding peaceful solutions. It's worked a few times, which has given him enough justification to keep trying. But more often than not when fighting the Empire, he just has to drop the bodies.
Luke ascends the stairs to the exit, seeing daylight coming from the doorway. Two stormtroopers find him there and raise their weapons. Luke raises both of his own weapons and shoots one of them while deflecting a bolt back at the other. Each stormtrooper tumbles down the stairs, passing Luke as he keeps ascending. The other stormtroopers must have heard that. They'll be ready for trouble. But they won't be ready for him.
When he reaches the exit, he sees hundreds and hundreds of stormtroopers. They even have multiple AT-STs. This should be fun.
Luke takes three fingers off his lightsaber, points with that hand and force-pulls a stormtrooper all the way to him. When the others start shooting, Luke keeps the stormtrooper floating in front of him, using him as a shield as he runs and shoots at the others. The floating stormtrooper takes dozens of blasts in Luke's place until Luke makes it to a massive tree to hide behind. Twenty stormtroopers run to the tree. But when they reach the other side of the tree where they expected Luke to be, they don't find him; they do however find a grenade which falls from above and blows up, taking out a hand full of them. Luke had been hiding on a very high branch.
Luke jumps sideways off of the branch, flying out of his cover. As he falls, he shoots at the hordes of stormtroopers, hitting eight of them before landing gracefully with a roll.
An AT-ST is not far from Luke now and has what should be a clear shot. Every time the AT-ST fires, Luke deflects the blasts, not back at the AT-ST, but at the groups of stormtroopers, creating explosions that kill or disorient many of them at a time.
In time, the AT-ST stops firing. The pilots know how little they're helping their side. This doesn't mean Luke can't use them anymore. Luke pulled back his hands, concentrating hard. And when he thrusts his hands forward, the AT-ST is sent hurtling backward, landing on multiple stormtroopers.
Luke has created enough chaos to make the hordes of stormtroopers easier to manage. The explosions have left many of them disorganized or fleeing for cover. Luke runs around the battle field, shooting at far away targets on his way to larger groups which he cuts down. Luke kills many, many stormtroopers and only stops when a chilling laugh catches his ear.
"Very good. Very good," says a pleased, yet menacing voice. Luke also hears a slow clap as he turns to look at him. He is wearing an elaborate disguise, but somehow Luke senses who this Sith is.
"You will make a fine apprentice," says the Emperor confidently.
Luke points his lightsaber at the Emperor and tells him, "I will not join you."
The Emperor replies calmly, "Not yet. That is only because you have yet to endure the suffering I have planned for you."
Luke fires at the Emperor, but he waves a hand and deflects the blast to the side, using only the Force. Then the Emperor produces two lightsabers from his belt and ignites their red blades. "In time, you will embrace the Dark Side like your father before you."
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Please follow and review.
(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
