Warning: the start of this chapter is a bit violent. Well it has Vader going to town on a rebel base.

Chapter 30: The Revenge

The Rebel base was in complete darkness. The red light of Vader's lightsaber casted an eerily glow through the narrow halls. He didn't need the light. He could easily sense the Rebels. He kept his lightsaber ignited as it heralded his impending arrival. Vader enjoyed soaking in the fear of the Rebels as they realized he was approaching them in their hiding spots.

He stepped into an open room. It was a storage room filled with metal crates and pathetic scum that bled fear into the Force. Vader smiled. He could hear the Rebels tightening their grips and fingering the triggers as they hoisted their blasters up. With a simple click, Vader deactivated his lightsaber casting the entire room into darkness. One of the Rebels jumped, and a stream of red blaster fire shot towards the doorway where Vader had just stood. A few other Rebels jumped as well and more blaster fire joined the first.

The blaster shots briefly illuminated the room, showing that Vader was no longer in the doorway. There was panicked breathing as the Rebels looked around. Had Vader ducked back into the hallway? There was the sound of scuffling boots and the rustle of fabric as the Rebels shifted nervously. Some cursed softly under their breath. One Rebel reached out to another nearby and squeezed their shoulder. Perhaps, just perhaps, they had escaped.

The red beam re-activated with a snap-hiss. Already it was swinging down towards a group of kneeling Rebels. They barely had time to turn their heads before the lightsaber cut them all in half. Then the red beam disappeared as some of the Rebels turned and open fire where they had seen the red light. There was a sound of banging as Vader grabbed two Rebels with the Force and threw them against a wall. He made sure their bodies hit against the wall at just the right angle and force that would snap their necks.

Vader jumped and his lightsaber snapped to life again. He stabbed down at an unsuspecting Rebel and slashed the head off of the one sitting next to it. Blaster fire shot at him, but this time he deflected the shots with his lightsaber. A few shots he was able to bounce right into some of the Rebels.

It wasn't long before the room was silent except for the buzzing of Vader's saber. The red light reflected in the the open eyes of the corpses. Vader took a small moment to savor his victory and the linger fear and pain. Then he moved to find the next pocket of pathetic scum. He would destroy them as he had the ones in this storage room, the hangar, the barracks, and any and all he came across.

He was enjoying this. He had troops stationed around the base with strict orders to kill any Rebel on sight if they managed to get through the locked doors. No other troops had accompanied Vader into the base. He needed none. They would only hamper him in his hunting. With only himself, he was able to fully unleash himself.

There were rooms where the Rebels were blasted into the walls. Their bodies still hanging there in the small craters their bodies had created on impact. Their bones and skull caved in from the force in which they had been blasted into the wall. There were rooms were all the bodies were hacked and sliced to pieces. Rooms were the Rebel corpses all grasped at their throats. There were still some Rebels alive in those rooms, yet wouldn't be for long. These Rebels had been gifted a slow, painful death full of fear and realization their doom was upon them.

Vader needed this. He needed to unchain his emotions. Let them loose. Vader's emotions were volatile and dangerous. When free, they flew around dangerously and wildly. As a Jedi he had to fight against his emotions. Smother them. Push them down. Pretend they didn't exist. As a Sith he was finally let them free. By allowing that freedom, Vader had come to learn how to control his emotions and his power in the Force, which only made him stronger.

But Vader rarely let himself go so completely, to let his emotions and his power run free. He was generally one for control, necessity, efficiency, and order. He wanted peace. He had always wanted peace. It was one of the reasons he had killed Sidious. It was the reason he wanted Padmé by his side. It was why he did whatever was necessary to bring the galaxy to heel. For that, Vader had to be in control, but it was nice for a moment to grant himself full freedom.

Freedom to soak in and relish the fear of the Rebels. To revel in his satisfaction of not just their deaths, but their complete demise as he crushed their hopes. He spared no one. He brought his fury down on them all, but his rage still hungered. These weren't the Rebels that had caused his rage. These weren't the ones who had stuck on board his ship and freed Organa and that Rebel pilot. These weren't the ones who had come to the Velm system and attacked his family. Stabbed his pregnant wife. Kidnapped his children. These. Weren't. The. Ones. It was a shame they weren't.

When the entire base was destroyed, he finally pulled himself in. He collected his emotions and replaced the control. His lightsaber was clipped back on to his belt. As he made his way through the hallways, stepping over corpses, he took deep even breaths as he recentered himself. He left the base and the dismal planet it was located on without a second thought. Once back on the Devastator, his mind at once went to his family.

Padmé . . . His rage fired up inside him. The massacre of the Rebels had done little to ease him. Why hadn't she just listened to him? Why was she still clinging to the Rebellion? He should have made her watch Bail's full interrogation. Heard what he what he said about Obi-Wan. Then perhaps Padmé wouldn't have turned to that traitorous man. Why hadn't she stuck to their bargain? All she had to do was stop fighting him. Just accept her place as his wife and mother of their children. They could finally be a family. All of them together. Safe. Secured. Loved. Instead everything was a wreck. His children missing. His wife in critical care. The baby inside her . . . the baby . . .

Vader couldn't recall the last time he ran, but he ran through the halls when the Rebels attacked the estate on Velm. He had failed to track down Obi-Wan. His old master had dropped his shields to lure Vader away. Once Vader was away, the shields were back up and Vader lost track of the Jedi. Obi-Wan had successfully gotten his hands on Padmé and the children. As Vader tracked them down, that was when the Force almost knocked him over. For a moment he almost thought he had been shot by a blaster, but it was the Force screaming at him.

So he ran. He followed the pull of the Force and eventually the trail of blood smeared along the wall to find his bloodied wife laying on the ground. One arm wrapped protectively around her stomach as she begged the Rebel standing above her with a knife not to kill her. Vader hadn't hesitated. He threw his lightsaber. The Force guided it into the Rebel's chest.

As he collected Padmé, his wife, his angel, off the floor, she begged him to go after the children. His heart was torn. He wavered on his feet. The children had been taken, but he looked at Padmé. She was covered in blood. Her pleas were fading away as she lost consciousness. No! Vader cried. He couldn't let her die. He marched back to the hangar entrance. Stormtroopers had secured the area. Vader bellowed for a medic, but his eyes never strayed from her face.

He vaguely recalled the medics arriving with the stretcher and lowering her down on it. He didn't move as the medics started to cut away her tattered and stained clothing. Instead he focused on how pale she was. How labored her breathing was. Was she going to survived this? She had to . . . He had done this all for her! Without her what was the point? The price he had paid was . . . incredibly high and unspeakable (and perhaps unforgivable), but as long as he had Padme it was all worth it.

" . . . Majesty?"

Vader finally tore his eyes away from Padme. He realized the head medic had been calling him for a while. The medic jumped nervously seeing the red-rimmed ember eyes staring at him.

"Your majesty," he said nervously. "She should be fine. She lost some blood, and the bioscan reports no broken bones and no major arteries were hit. We're giving her fresh blood and stitching up the wounds now."

Vader's eyes turned to watch two of the medics working to stitch up the cuts on Padme. A blood bag hung from a skinny pole that stuck out from the stretcher.

"However . . ." the lead medic continued. Vader's attention was back fully on the man. "The baby . . ."

"What?" Vader demanded.

"We don't know what the blood loss did to the baby," the medic stated.

"Then find out," Vader hissed.

"Your maj-majesty," the man stumbled. "It's still too early in the pregnancy to tell what damage has been done. All I can say is that she hasn't miscarried yet."

Vader looked at Padme's stomach. It was still flat. He reached down with his ungloved hand and placed it flat against her stomach. Was it just his imagination? Was she cold? He closed his eyes and called the Force to him. His anger at his wife's health and the loss of his children quickly powered his connection to the Dark Side. It hissed as it swirled around him in the cold, inky folds of the Force. He pushed his awareness out and focused on Padme.

He could sense the small, so very, very small, little life inside of her. He had only felt it once before, when they were in her room mere hours ago. The baby had hummed strongly in the Force despite how tiny and fragile it was. Now it flickered. The baby was in danger. No! Vader cried. He wasn't going to lose anyone anymore. Not Padme. Not the baby. He wouldn't allow it.

He summoned his power and focused on the baby. Just as he had done years ago when he had saved Padme, he focused on the midichlorians that made up the baby. Heal, he demanded. He infused his dark power into that command. The little life brightly glowed for a second, then returned to a flicker. Vader scowled. Heal! The Force lashed around him creating a hurricane. Even the medics seemed a bit uncomfortable, but Vader ignored them. His whole focus was channeling the thrashing Force into the small little baby.

Heal.

The little life of the baby glowed brightly, and this time it stayed bright and steady. Vader watched as the light of his unborn child hummed evenly in the Force. Slowly, a bit reluctantly, Vader pulled away.

In the present, Vader moved through the halls of his flagship. Two red Royal Guards followed him. Whoever he crossed paths with, at once flattened themselves to the wall and saluted. He made his way to the med bay. One of the doors had two red guards standing beside it. Vader entered alone, no guards followed him in.

A bacta tank sat in the middle of the room. Padme floated gently inside. Her eyes were closed. This was her second dip into the tank. Her cuts had healed from the first dip. This time was more for the baby. Vader hadn't explained to the doctors the powers of the Force. He knew the baby was fine, but he was willing to accept the doctor's suggestions. He would rather be too careful than not.

He looked at his wife floating peacefully in the bacta. What was he going to do with her? It was clear he couldn't trust her. Look at what had happened due to her actions. Hopefully this would finally allow Padme to realize what Vader had known all along: the Rebels were not to be trusted and her place was at his side. There she would safe. If she did what Vader asked and wanted, if she would just love him and be beside him, he would give her the galaxy if she wanted. As long as she was with him.

He thought back to when he had healed the baby. The last command hadn't been him. The word heal had come from a soft whisper. From a voice Vader hadn't heard in five years. The voice of Anakin Skywalker. Vader scowled. He had thought all remnants of that fool had been destroyed. All that was left were ashes, flakes dancing about in the maelstrom of Darth Vader's mental landscape. Apparently, something remained. Something that was able to voice itself. Vader had meditated to find these little worms of Anakin and destroy them, but he hadn't yet. In due time he would. He didn't need any conflict inside of himself.

Casting one last look at Padme, Vader left the med bay. He had other duties to attend while his intelligence agents hunted down Kenobi, Organa, and his twins. He had reports to look over, a council meeting to attend to followed by a briefing of the military chief staff. Vader was still the Emperor and his empire still needed him. When all that was done and finished, Vader finally made it back to his room. He needed time to think. To meditate.

Yet he was barely into his bedroom when he felt a soft nudge against his mind. Vader froze at once and gently reached out into the Force. He had felt this same sensation before.

Luke? he asked.

The warmth that was Vader's son was strong and bright when the boy was with Vader. But now over a distance of unknown lightyears, it was barely noticable.

Father? Luke asked back.

Relief and happiness rushed through Vader hearing Luke's voice. There was a small bit of pride that marveled at how strong his boy was. However, this was too much. Luke was too young and untrained. This was sure to strain the child, if not eventually hurt him.

Luke, you can't keep talking to me like this, Vader explained though part of him hated to say that. If you keep doing this, it can cause you to get sick. Hopefully Vader had worded that in a child-friendly way that Luke would understand.

Father, I know where we are! Luke said. Vader could sense Luke's pride in his accomplishment. I'm on a place called Sump . . . but Leia said we'd be leaving soon. For a place called . . . Ken? Keen? Queen?

Kwenn.

Yes! That's it! Luke said happily. Will you come get me? I want to go home.

Yes, Luke I will, Vader said. Now let go of this connection, Luke. I will come get you and your sister and take you both home soon.

Luke sent out a small wave of happiness and relief before his presence disappeared into the Force.

Sump? That was on the edge of the galaxy. A good place for a hideout. It was also far from Vader's current position. The Kwenn system however was much closer. He could see why the Rebels would choose Kwenn. It was the last mid-rim world on a hyperspace lane. Many ships stopped there to refuel and resupply before heading out into the outer rim. It was also on the edge of Hutt space. If one couldn't escape down the hyperspace route, then the scum could always scurry to a Hutt-controlled world.

It wasn't long before a plan started to form in his head. Yes, this would work. He would not only get his children back, but hopefully, finally, get the family he had always wanted.

The moment Luke and Leia left hyperspace, Vader felt them. He himself was heavily shielded to make sure Obi-Wan didn't sense him. Perhaps Obi-Wan had tried to shield the children, but they were Vader's children. His connection to them was strong, and he knew they were close. He reached out with barest whisper of the Force towards them. He gently pressed against them. Sending them waves of love before he withdrew not wanting to draw Obi-Wan's attention.

Vader was very tempted to seize his children the moment the Rebel ship landed in a hangar on the space station. He wanted to scoop them up in his arms and make sure they never him again. But . . . the problem was Leia.

Luke wanted to come back. He wanted to be with his family. His real family. Unlike Leia, the boy had never been poisoned against Vader. It was why the Lars still lived. They were still imprisoned. They had kept his boy away from him. But beyond keeping Luke and telling the child his father was dead, the Lars had raised Luke well. At least as well as they could as poor moisture farmers on Tatooine. The Organas were the complete opposite. While they gave Leia the best, the Organas had stolen Vader's daughter. Lied to her and twisted her mind against him.

When Bail had escaped and the twins taken away, Vader had been so tempted to kill Breha in relitation. But he stayed his hand. Breha would be more valuable alive, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to send a message to Bail and the Rebels. At the very public execution of Breha that was broadcasted across the galaxy, it was not the Alderaan queen on the platform. It was a Clawdite impersonating her. Vader had made the Clawdite wore a wig and gloves. So after Vader cut its head off, it wouldn't be revealed it was a fake as the Clawdite reverted back to its natural state after death.

Now Vader had the perfect role for Breha to play. Though getting her ready to follow his orders faithfully and unquestionably was taking time. The woman was incredibly strong willed. It took a few days to break her down, but finally she was ready.

Everything went as planned. Vader hired the bounty hunter to collect the twins once Organa and Kenobi had foolishly left the twins alone. Though of course his little children complicated things by somehow sneaking out of the apartment before the bounty hunter or the droid could collect them. Vader had to use the Force to gently push against them. Delaying them enough for a police droid to come to the scene, which allowed the bounty hunter to finally collect the twins and bring them to the warehouse.

Then Breha Organa stepped into the scene. She collected the twins. Gave them warm milk laced with a mild sedative. Put the two to sleep. Vader just had to make sure they stayed asleep while Bail was lured to the warehouse. His undercover agents lured Bail alone. Kenobi would sense the puppet strings of the Dark Side pulling Breha. Despite the burning desire to go after Kenobi and exact his revenge, Vader focused on his children.

"Breh-Breha?" Bail asked as he walked into the empty room of the warehouse. His beard was shaved and his hair was dyed, as if it would fool Vader.

"Bail!" Breha said relieved.

"How are you . . . How are you alive? I saw you . . ." he said. He hadn't approached her.

"It wasn't me. It was a fake. Vader faked my death," she explained.

Bail was still uncertain. "How did you escape?" he asked. Vader reached out into the Force. He was overseeing everything in the nearby control room of the warehouse. He sat in a chair in front of a various view screens. The main screen showed the interaction between Bail and Breha. Vader kept checking a secondary scene which showed the security room where the twins still slept.

He reached out into the Force towards Bail. He needed this to speed along. There was quite a bit of work to do before he woke up the twins. Vader felt for Bail's mind. He had to admit, the man had an impressive natural will. But Vader wasn't looking to barge into the other's mind. He only sent out waves of comfort, of ease, love, and longing.

"When you got free of the Devastator, there were a group of Rebels who got seperated from Obi-Wan. When Vader left the ship, they were able to free me."

"But how are you on Kwenn?"

"Kwenn isn't that far from the Velm system. It was decided it would be a good safe place to hide. I see I was not the only one who thought that. When you contacted the Rebel base here, I recognized your voice at once. I knew it was you."

Breha was playing her part well. She gave a soft sad smile. Bail smiled back.

"I'm just so glad you're ok," Breha said as tears glistened her eyes. Vader nudged Bail's mind again. It was all it took for the man to cautiously walk forward and approach his wife.

"Is it really you?" Bail asked in a soft voice.

"Yes," she said as Vader soothed Bail's mind. Finally the man opened his arms and the two hugged. Vader smiled as he felt the relief in Bail.

"Leia is safe," Bail said as he pulled away from the hug.

"Is she?" Breha asked.

"Yes, yes of course she is!"

"Then why is she here?"

"What? What do you mean? Breha?"

"Two bounty hunters were paid by some Rebel to get the children. Apparently Vader has been capturing Rebel families and threatening them. He would release the families if the Rebels told them about you, Obi-Wan, or the twins' locations. The Rebels here didn't recognize you with your beard shaved off and your hair dyed, so they didn't know it was you. But they did recognize the children. I paid them off to bring the children to me instead . . . I sold off my wedding ring . . ."

Bail was instantly on edge. His shoulders were tense. He paced away from Breha to the other side of the room before marching back to her.

"She's here? Where is she?" he asked. When Breha didn't reply, he pushed more. "Where is Leia? Where is Luke?"

"They're sleeping and safe," Breha said calmly.

"I . . . I need to see them. We need to get them somewhere safe. If bounty hunters were already after them . . . we need to get out of this system. We need to find Obi-wan and leave at once."

Silence stretched between the king and queen of Alderaan. Vader slowly pulled on the puppet string attached to Breha. A smile spread across her lips, and as it grew Bail's face fell. His eyes widen. His jaw slack.

"Breha?" he whispered.

"I'm afraid, Bail," Breha hissed, "I can't let you near them." Bail straightened up. He held his chin high. "Is . . . is something the matter, Bail?" Breha asked her voice this time heavy with concern.

"What have they done to you?" Bail asked. "What has Vader done to you?"

Breha let out a laugh. The same laugh coming out of Vader. "Breha Organa is now a very loyal puppet to the Empire. To the Emperor. To me," Vader said through Breha.

" . . . Vader! You! What have you done?" he said. "Where is Leia?"

"I told you she is safe," Breha said softly. "Let her rest."

"No!" Bail shouted full of fear.

"Very well," she said. Her voice low and deep. "How about a bargain, Bail? You can either have Leia or Alderaan."

"What . . . what do you mean?"

Through Breha, Vader continued, "What I mean is that if you leave now, without your daughter, I won't destroy Alderaan."

"What?" Bail gasped.

Breha dug out a holoprojector out of her jumpsuit pocket. She placed the disc in her hand and turned it on. It projected the planet of Alderaan surrounded by an Imperial fleet.

"No," Bail said. "You can't mean to . . ."

"Attack an entire planet? I've done it before. You recall the recent bombing of Naboo? The navy was rooting out those terrorists responsible for the outbreak of that horrible Gray Fever? It was so sad what happened to Naboo."

"You . . . you monster!" Bail shouted. "Get out of my wife! Give me back my daughter!"

"Is that what you choose?" she snarled. In the holograph, a star destroyer started to lower its orbit. Then suddenly, Breha's head snapped back. Her eyes went wide and wild. She gasped for several deep breaths. The holodisc clattered to the floor. Bail looked on in horror. Then as quickly as it started, it was gone. Breha hunched over as she caught her breath.

"Bail?" she said. "Bail! It's me! He's not in control!"

"Leia . . . Luke . . . where are they? I must find them! If you're really Breha, tell me where they are!"

"I . . . don't know, Bail. I don't know! I'm so sorry!" Breha said as she cried.

Bail wavered. Vader could feel the conflict inside of him. Should he run to his wife and comfort her? Was she even his wife?

"Bail . . ." Breha said. "Please . . . Save Alderaan. Let Leia go. You can't pick one life over billions!"

"You're still Vader!" Bail shouted. He drew out his blaster and leveled it at her, setting the gun to stun.

"Leia is just a child! So is Luke!" Breha cried. "Just two children. How many children are on Alderaan? You would choose countless others over just two? You can't Bail! Leia is our daughter! We love her! You love her! But we can't pick her over our planet!"

"Breha please if you're really you, my wife, my love, tell me where Leia is! Vader is using you like a tool!"

"How could you?" she asked as she wiped a tear away from her eye. "How can you pick our planet for just two children?"

"Tell me where she is Breha!"

"No . . . not when you're like this. You need to calm down. Think rationally."

"This is all a game Breha! You're being used by that monster!" Bail raised his blaster.

"I can't," Breha said. "I won't."

"Breha . . ." Bail said painfully. "Please don't make me do this."

"Bail!" Breha shouted. "Please!" Then in a soft whisper, in a moment of defiance, the real Breha said, "Shoot."

The beam shot out from the blaster, but it wasn't the green stun beam. It was a red one. The shot struck true into the Queen of Alderaan. She fell to the floor at once. Bail just stood looking at his wife. His eyes wide. His face had a thin layer of sweat.

"Breha . . .?" he said as he tucked his blaster back into his belt. "Breha?"

He slowly walked forward and knelt down. The burning hole through her chest was clear. "No . . ." he sobbed. "No! It was set to stun! It wasn't supposed to be like this!"

Vader leaned back in his seat and smiled as he enjoyed his revenge. It had been so simple to flick the switch on Bail's blaster off of stun. Vader clicked a small button on the control panel and stormtroopers flooded into the room. They grabbed at the senator. He screamed and tried to fight against them as they dragged him from the room leaving Breha's body still on the ground.

"Bring me the slicer and the droid," Vader barked into his comm.

The door to the control room slid open and a red guard pushed the Rodian slicer in followed by a humanoid looking droid.

"You know what you are to do?" Vader said as he stood up from the desk.

"Yes . . . yes . . ." the Rodian said.

"Then get to it," Vader hissed. He then turned his attention to the droid. "Can you match their voices?"

"I have watched 116 hours of footage of the senator and queen," the droid replied. There was a whirring sound inside the droid. This time when it spoke, it sounded just like Bail Organa. "I believe I have gotten the voice signature down correctly." It paused. Again the whirring noise was heard. "I should be able to complete the work" it said perfectly replicating Breha's voice.

"Good," Vader said as he waved the droid towards the slicer.

He left the room, letting the two work. His two red guards followed him as he walked through the hallway to the security room where two more red guards stood guard. He entered the room alone and saw his sleeping children. He frowned. They were sleeping on a blanket on the cold hard ground. He sighed as he knelt down next to them. He longed to pick them up and carry them off to his ship.

But he had to see through with this plan. It was for the best. He could take his children away right now. He could have done it the moment they exited hyperspace into the Kwenn System. But then what? Leia would go back to resenting him? Her father? Her real father? Would she have nightmares that plagued her each time she slept of those pathetic kidnappers? Her nightmares drove the twins to go to the detention block on a star destroyer. Drove his wife to contact Rebel scum because she thought she was doing what was best for her children. She couldn't bare to see her daughter in pain.

No. Vader wanted his family, and for that to happen Leia needed to let go of the Organas. So Vader created this scheme to let his daughter see the Organas for what they really were. The droid would provide the voice overs. The slicer would alter the footage. Soon Vader would lightly nudge his children awake in the Force. They would see the fake footage. Watch as Bail killed Breha. The Emperor would let his daughter go to her fake mother. Let her see that she was indeed dead.

Then Vader would come in. He would be the one to comfort his daughter. For who else would she fall back on? Bail? The one who murdered Breha? Padme? No. It would be Vader. He smiled as looked down at the two sleeping children. Soon, he told himself. Soon he would finally have what he wanted the most: his family.