Chapter 27
While Shmi would hardly consider herself a good bomber, her previous experience with her means of electronics that have been formulated into her from her time as a slave, the education she has received from Vader, and the outside life that she has been living away from Tatooine for the past years, only helps her.
She knows that this would be easy more or less. Given the fact that the bombs have been implanted, all she needs is to press the trigger to the bombs that would set the palace into flames.
Suffice to say, it comes...
Per signal from Vader, the middle-aged woman activates the bombs, allowing the palace of Jabba the Hutt to be laid to rest at long last. She knows the explosions from the comlink still being activated is a confirmation that the bombs have ignited.
For nearly an hour, it appears that the death of Jabba would be nothing but a smooth operation.
"Jabba the Hutt is dead!"
Those words ring out, spreading from person to person until eventually the death of the Hutt effect breaks out in foreseeable consequences, the ranging death spreading as the first blaster is pulled and a life is ended by a shot to the head, collapsing onto the ground with the blood still pouring out of the poor man's bodies. Altogether, the bounty hunters and slavers rally up together while slaves and common people hide and run, though even so, there are many casualties. Civil War has been declared onto the city with the people instantly running for cover and hiding in the servitude of their apartments if they are lucky that is.
Traveling about in the city is all but an impossibility now for anyone who runs for cover, hoping that the mercenaries, bounty hunters, and slavers don't manage to hit their direction. She is soon met with violence herself, when blaster fire is aimed in Shmi's direction, forcing her to crouch for cover.
She grabs her pistol and opens fire at the threat, piercing one in the chest, the other in the stomach and head, and the other in the arm, leg, and forehead. She uses her training from when she was training with Vader on how to fire. She knows it is only a matter of time before the threat would overwhelm her, and while she may be a good shot, taking them down would be all but all an impossibility.
She feels a bolt shredding through her arm and making her drop her blaster several feet away from her, crying out at the sensations she is feeling, clutching the area as her face is full of agony, blood leaving her body more and more as she can only helplessly hide behind the cover from the blaster bolts tearing at her direction.
"Shmi!" Through the haze of unconsciousness that she has nearly succumbed to, she is able to hear the familiar sound of a lightsaber igniting.
And the former Jedi Master, the one who came years ago and participated in her son being free, comes to her rescue in the face of Qui-Gon Jinn, parrying each of the bolts from their direction. None of the bolts are able to break through his defense, his intent in protecting his friend's powerful-
Given his elderly age, Shmi would have never thought someone like Qui-Gon would be able to fight in combat almost without any caution, without appearing to show any lack of care to anyone when he has been kind and wise for so long against even his greatest rivals. His kindness always did rub off on her, not something that she was used to especially since the slavers' cruelty was hardly a kind gesture.
Shmi stares out of the cover, noticing her blaster is laying several feet behind the Jedi Master. She is thinking about reaching over and grabbing the blaster, but given the bolts are too close for comfort, she may be hit accidentally should she attempt such a bold move. She does not plan to leave her son motherless, nor would she leave the galaxy and those who have become her friends in the last few years.
She notices one of the mercenaries slipping past Qui-Gon and making his way to her, aiming his carbine in her direction. Like the Jedi Master has taught her, the middle-aged woman slams against the mercenary, punching him in the face like she has been taught by Vader before turning the carbine around and blowing his brains off.
She feels brief regret and horror at ending a life as she has just done, but she didn't have long to dwell on the death, for the other mercenaries, bounty hunters, and slavers are firing at her unprotected direction, forcing her to run aside and flank the older man, whose lightsaber is still batting away at the blaster bolts.
Whenever Qui-Gon swings upwards to block the bolts, she manages to slip past him and fire at the threat. Whenever they are aiming in her direction, Qui-Gon protects her by placing himself in her direction. They work together in perfect sync.
Being on the battlefield is certainly not something that Shmi has ever encountered before, but the more she is pulling the trigger, the more she feels the thrill of battle that has been entertained so many times by previous confrontations by those who must have felt what she is feeling.
Shmi ducks another volley of bolts, slipping out of cover just for once, knowing that she cannot continue to be at his side especially since the reinforcements are going to overwhelm them soon, firing her blaster and causing those who are hit with the blaster to fall onto the ground.
Qui-Gon, on the other hand, pulls the mercenaries, bounty hunters, and slavers in his direction. In mere seconds, they are all bisected and decapitated. He has hardly been so brutal beforehand, but he has to accept the fact that Vader's lessons about committing regrettable choices even if he was a Jedi were absolutely correct.
The Jedi Master launches across to a Zabrak mercenary, cutting him down with one swift stroke of his lightsaber, before amputating another Twi'lek one and impaling him in the chest, and continuing to combat with those individuals. Even so, the Jedi has to be careful, but Shmi is backing him, assisting him as she discharges each of her bolts against those who can spread around him and shoot at his flank.
Shmi can see it before the Jedi Master...
"Grenade!"
And that warning causes the Jedi Master to run up and place his body over her. He is noticeably warm, his cloak protecting them both but mainly shielding her from the welcome of the explosion.
Shmi however feels something twisting in her stomach the moment his arms are wrapped around her. She always adored Qui-Gon since he participated in the freedom of her son, but there are sudden bubbling emotions, an emotion that is a lot stronger than she has ever felt before trimming.
Memories of cruel men on top of her... forcing themselves onto her... slavers who would use her body like a toy... sometimes forcing her son to watch as she is forced to be submissive of their tactics...
Shmi was more or less Watto's secretary, cashier, and humanoid saleswoman when buyers wanted to see a female face instead of Watto's Toydarian mug. She also kept the shop clean and cleaned Watto's living area as part of her duties.
Watto did not see profit in using Shmi in that way, nor did he find humans physically attractive enough to sell their bodies. Jabba kept a tight hold on the sex slave business on Tatooine due to the nature of the work and the money involved. And Watto would not want to interfere with that side of Hutt's business.
Returning to Tatooine and breaking her vows to never return the moment she stepped off of this horrible planet is forcing memories to flow through her.
A Shield forms around both of them, intent on protecting them from obliteration. Even so, Shmi's vision is blurry before her eyes close.
"Shmi!"
Shmi awakes at the sound of his voice, and she is surprised to see that she is being held before blackness comes once again.
"SHMI!"
She awakes once more to see she is sitting down on a speeder next to the Jedi Master who is driving as much as she possibly can.
"I need your help."
She stares up at the Jedi Master, noticing his face is caked with blood, his eyes bruised, his arms and legs deeply dirty and cuts going down his body. She can feel that she has been impacted as well but not as badly whereas the Jedi Master appears seconds away from collapsing into unconsciousness.
"Are you okay?" Shmi asks, rubbing his shoulder and receiving a grimace fro-from her friend. If she can call him that. They have been little more than acquaintances who knew about each other and respected each other from the past but have never had a conversation that doesn't revolve around Anakin or the importance of a subject.
And Qui-Gon hands her the blaster she has been clutching earlier, causing her to climb onto the back and firing at the speeders whose passengers are aiming in their direction. She fires, hitting the first speeder's front passenger and the engine before it is engulfed in flames, explosions flickering out as the debris flies all about. The next speeder who takes over is more cautious, evading from her merciless boots and driving only closer, before an idea suddenly comes into his mind...
She fires at the tire instead, forcing the speeder to jerk violently and spiral out of control ironically in the third speeder and causing more explosions to form, but what they didn't see is a speeder landing from on top, crashing into their speeder and forcing Qui-Gon to pull onto the brakes, skidding across the ground, obviously fighting against the speeder's instincts against crashing onto the ground.
The Jedi grasps hold of the woman and jumps off, rolling to the side. She can feel he is taking the brunt of the damage.
More speeders land around them, causing Qui-Gon and Shmi to stand side by side, the older standing in front of the woman protectively unlike anyone has done so ever before.
"Surrender, Jedi."
Qui-Gon stares at her for a moment, appearing to reach for his lightsaber and about to fight, but he knows that doing so would place her in danger. "Very well."
His lightsaber is taken just as cuffs are wrapped around their hands and they are escorted back to the speeders.
The moment Vader, Anakin, and Obi-Wan return to the city they are immediately intercepted by the threat of death by the oblivious lackeys of Jabba the Hutt. Out of risk knowing that this may happen, Vader knows ordering Threepio to keep the slaves hidden away was a perspicacious decision because he has encountered war time and time again and knows that disposing of a ruler doesn't mean that the battle would end immediately.
In the future past timeline that Vader has left, Luke and Leia have managed to deal with Jabba but that doesn't mean that slavery ended immediately, that doesn't mean the people of Tatooine would have their lives given to them in freedom. The Hutts are extremely devious much like Sidious was and would have been.
Vader wonders if Tatooine had a similar predicament in that timeline where there was nothing but a power vacuum and many deaths. At the very least, those lives would be spared from hardship.
Foolish mercenaries run in front of them and aim their blasters, pulling the triggers and firing their blasters, Vader doesn't cease his acceleration and allows his speeder to crash full force against the idiots, crushing a small number of them but others managed to roll aside.
Skywalker is the first to move, rotating into the air and chopping down several of the foes before they could have even stood for one last time in the fact of certain death. Obi-Wan leaps out of the speeder and swings his lightsaber to the right and cut down two of them before fending off the blaster bolts.
Vader disembarks and begins moving, not even drawing his lightsaber but sending those who fire at him bolts back with his hand, sending them onto the ground, but his main focus is scanning his surroundings and discovering the status of the planet.
Unsurprisingly, the Tusken Raiders are in the town of Mos Espa, seeking to use the power vacuum caused by the death of Jabba the Hutt to take over. The sight of them snaps Vader forward, his digits running over his lightsaber, knowing that they would wish to gain control over Tatooine as they intended to do for decades now that the planet is left weakened with the death of one of its rulers.
One of the benefits of having Jabba established as a leader was keeping the Tuskens in check, but now that they know that the powerful Hutt Ruler is dead, they would only seek to gain dominance before the Hutt Clans can make short work of them, but they underestimate the might of the Force.
Why they did not attack at once is obvious. Vader knows from being a veteran of wars for decades that they wish to shatter the defensives of Tatooine and shake the morale of those enemies before finally landing a blow that would be able to bring those natives on this planet to an end.
That is evident when they open fire at the might of the Force Wielders. Whatever attacks they make are proven useless as the Force Wielders stand side-by-side, amputating them in mere seconds.
The moment the Tuskens in the immediate area are dealt with, they find themselves being met with a large unit of mercenaries, bounty hunters, and slavers, all turning their blasters upon seeing them.
Without effort, their bolts are blocked, or they are chopped in half in a millisecond. Vader leads from the front like he always does in operations such as these while his two allies are the ones who are flanking, hardly as powerful as him but still posing a valuable threat against all of them. It's not as if Vader wouldn't be able to butcher these enemies without them, but their help is much appreciated as he has long since accepted the company of others lending their support.
The threats continuing to open fire only hinder their stride but they are becoming more and more enhanced the more they enter the city, deflecting the bolts and sending them back at whatever threat that is detected, moving through the battlefield and dispatching the oppositions that are getting in their way.
Vader is switching between offensive and defense, mowing through whoever crosses his path in only a mere second but also parrying the blaster bolts. Anakin is attacking at everything around him, reserved but only slightly, aggressiveness taking control around him. The dark side of the Force relishes in his suffocating emotions as it provokes every movement, every strike that he sends, and the teenager is obviously still affected by what happened earlier in the palace with the death of Jabba the Hutt. Obi-Wan is hardly attacking, focusing on his defense, deflecting each of the bolts from coming in his direction and sending them back with seemingly nonchalant blocks.
None of the scum is going to live past this day. Vader would not allow it even if he has to become some sort of a ruler on his home planet from another life.
While it is now unnatural for Vader to taste in the anguish of others anymore - like it had been back when he was the dark enforcer of the Emperor - the slavers anguish as they die, the mercenaries fear the movement they realize that there is no escape from Vader, and the bounty hunters hatred for them, all please him as they suffer the same fate that they have laid to the many. Many of them are murderers and rapists. Granted, one could argue that Vader is committing murder when he is showing little to no mercy to those who are disarmed of their weapons and plead for mercy, but this is war and allowing them to live would be like the Jedi allowing the Sith from ancient times to live and only caused their enemy to grow stronger.
That is why he provoked Obi-Wan to kill Maul instead of sparing him even if it meant he would have tasted the temptations of the dark side. While the thought of allowing his brother, Obi-Wan, to convert over to this side of the Force is not appealing, Vader would have to show him both sides of the Force as he has been doing for the past many years.
Even now, Obi-Wan is slaying down those rivals that stand against them without lashing out. Vader is contented to see he has taught him self-control, something which he would have to do with Skywalker who is currently doing the precise opposite, spinning in the air like a blur and showing little to no control, an example that the dark side is coursing through him like it have done that day in the Temple and like it have done on Mustafar.
This isn't surprising. His younger self would have to learn the controlling his impulsive and the darker emotions within his soul, but Vader knows that Skywalker's emotions would have to be calculated slowly, especially since he can become another Darth Malgus, but cause far more danger compared to Vader like in his time under the Empire.
Skywalker chops the last one, a Weequay, head clean off and allowing his corpse to collapse onto the floor, glaring up at the tower from the distance that would soon be under their control.
"We must reach the transmission tower in order to disable all communications and prevent the slavers being able to activate more explosive chips."
Contrary to what doesn't seem fit for the situation, Vader gracefully walks down the hanger, his lightsaber now deactivated but still in grip, the young teenager and former Jedi Padawan flanking him, gripping their lightsabers in their hands and activated, unlike their darker counterpart, believing that any threat could pounce on them from the shadows.
Those who pose as local security are at the hangar, aiming their blasters in their direction and pulling the trigger. The former Sith only glares with disapproval, and propels his lightsaber in their direction, chopping off their heads simultaneously, their corpses collapsing onto the floor by the brutal choice made by Vader.
This is reminding him of Operation Knightfall during the final days of the Jedi Order. Despite this, Vader can sense much of the feelings from Skywalker as he had felt when he slaughtered an entire Tusken Camp which now appears to be far more intense and delightful for the dark side to wrap its warm sensations around him.
Vader senses the threat inside before he even comes up to the building which is locked and secured tightly. This tower controls all of the spaceports, all of the transmissions able to activate the explosive chips, and any other means of electricity that is in the city, meaning he would have to make quick work of those in the tower.
He leaps up, using the means of the Force to push on his jump and shattering the window, gaining all of their attention as the Force itself fuels through him and shatters the glass around them, allowing Skywalker and Kenobi to enter in different directions, both of their eyes burning a bright crimson that seeks blood.
The moment they land, the guards in their way are cut down without any effort, never even having a chance to raise their weapons. The younger falls into the Djem So form while the older assumes the position of Soresu.
Vader points his lightsaber to those who raise their blasters at seeing their comrades falling in heaps of their own blood, but they are obviously debating whether to fire or not.
"Put your weapons down and surrender or die."
A Rodian, ever so similar to Greedo, screeches out before opening fire, falling into his fight-or-flight instinct. Vader deflects the bolt back at the Rodian, shaking his head that these fools believe that they could destroy them. Anakin and Obi-Wan appear to change strategy with the latter now attacking and the former defending, another reason why they have been such an effective duo in the other timeline.
Now that the threat in the room has been disposed of, Vader walks over to the controls, manipulating the thermal with the Force and at last opening the doors to the towers. They would be capable of closing soon, but by then, most of this entire tower would be dead, and those who are not would be handled shortly afterward.
Down the hallways, there are more who are waiting for them, prepared to pepper them with bolts. Anakin vaults forward in front of the two, immediate blaster bolts and screams being heard. By the time they enter the hallway, Vader can see all of them lay dead, at the feet of Anakin Skywalker whose purple blade is still vibrant at his side, dead bodies all around him and leaving Vader slightly full of pride of how powerful Skywalker has become.
Vader dashes through the hallways faster than they have ever imagined, bisecting each of the fool's limbs the moment he has made his way down the hallways, butchering them in under seconds. The roar of the Force rings out in each movement of the blade, sending them onto the ground before they could have even thought to pull the trigger to their blaster bolts.
Anakin and Obi-Wan follow suit, though the moment they have managed to catch up with Vader's unnatural speed, the time traveler has taken care of those that have stood in their way. They have never thought someone like Vader that prefers slower and more calculated movements would be the same one who is moving as swiftly and merciless as of now.
Vader can only smile at the fact that even his younger self and his brother have underestimated him. It shows how very few understand him and who he is as a battle-hardened individual, and it is a tactic that he would be able to exploit to take those who rise against him off-guard, and those who don't understand his strategies would only lead to destructive results.
It is only a matter of time before they reach the top of the tower with Vader making short work of those who cross their path. Even after Vader is proven as a ruthless duelist, there were still those, in their final moments, attempting to engage him with saber combat but being bisected in pieces in mere seconds.
Those who are in charge on top of the tower are not given the same chance to surrender as those before, for all of them know they would never submit to the fact that individuals stronger and more powerful, have risen against them.
Now, only several remain, helplessly pulling the trigger which is only feeble at the end. Vader simply extends his hand in their direction, taking notice of the window behind them and allowing the Force itself to propel them out of the tower, screaming to their deaths. The only reason why he hasn't done this earlier is that Jabba would be aware of his presence and thus that means that there would only be a greater amount of death.
"Disallow any flight from being able to land or leave," Vader commands, disengaging the lightsaber and planting it on his belt. The entire tower has been purged from the might of the three Force Users, but they are still those who are attempting to still stand tall despite their entire army being slowly broken. "Assure the transmissions are deactivated so the explosive chips wouldn't be set off once more.
Anakin follows the orders, typing the buttons on the terminal which would intercept any of those who are attempting to do precisely that. With the transmissions now disabled and any reinforcements now being intercepted by the planetary droids, the entire planet is easily compromised.
The three Force Wielders make their way downstairs, realizing how far they have traveled up but it is only through the Force and through the thrill of the battle that they didn't notice that earlier.
They go to the slave market, dispatching of those threats that have managed to escape their view before, entering the slave market.
Suffice to say, half of the slaves are dead, being shot by blasters from their slavers. Those are the slavers who have realized that there is no way to stop these terrorists that have landed on the planet. Slaves have no choice in their fate, so they exert control over their lives in the only way they can: hatred of the ones pulling the strings.
The only one who believes they have any chance of survival is the reason why some of the slaves are still alive. Though now they can even see that all hope is lost so they begin to aim their blasters at the slaves and is about to fire...
Skywalker storms up and leaps in front of the innocent slaves, lightsaber chopping off the head of a female Zabrak mid-air, standing protectively over the valuable individuals as no one have ever done for them before. "You'll have only one chance! Free your slaves or die!"
A human - a bolder one - sneers at Skywalker, obviously prepared to open fire. "Who the fuck are you, you bastard! I am the most dangerous individual in the galaxy! I would hunt down anyone you lov-"
Skywalker shakes his head in irritation as he shuts the idiot up, Force Crushing his windpipe within seconds of lifting him up before aiming his lightsaber in the others' direction, who now appears to realize that trying to defeat this wielder is not possible.
'Apology accepted, Captain Needa...'
The voice clashes against Anakin's nostrils as he stares down at the body, imagining another being standing below him in a similar position though his death was less brutal and more merciful despite how strangulation is far from a merciful death.
'...The Millennium Falcon just escaped and it was Needa's fault so I killed him...'
It was Needa who thought that the Falcon was attempting an attack run, and ordered the shields raised. The blame falls squarely on him for the Falcon escaping, so it is right he should be punished. He went and accepted the responsibility to protect his crew from the Sith's reprisals.
'In the case of the loss of the Falcon, many of these insubordinates could have been considered wholly or partially responsible. Needa himself of course, his XO - who was responsible for the training of the techs - the sensor techs, the maintenance crews who repaired the sensors, the crew of the other Star Destroyer visible nearby...'
Skywalker recoils at instant visions - memories- flashing through him, seeing behind crimson lenses. How is Force's sake that he knows all of this seemingly out of the blue?
Anakin points his lightsaber in the direction of the slavers, feeling as if a different person is wielding his arm. Someone far more powerful...
"Do you crave to be destroyed?" Skywalker asks darkly, noticing how he sounded like that voice and loathing it with a passion but also noticing how it made each of them bounce in their steps.
They each are conflicted about having lightsaber wielders who have wiped out all of their allies but they believe that they are still in control. A bold effort which would be fruitless by the time the Force Users are done with them.
"I-it is wise you drop your weapons, for we have captured your friends!"
Just then, Qui-Gon and Shmi are nudged forward in binders, surrounded by bounty hunters who aim their guns at the back of their heads.
"Shmi! Qui-Gon!" Obi-Wan exclaims, hating to no end to see his Master and a woman who had been like a mother to be in such a position.
"New terms, each of you will stand down and allow us to take you in. If not, your friends would die."
Before they could even think about a decision, a voice comes from the shadows.
"A logical individual would have killed your prisoners when granted the opportunity." A metallic voice speaks, as all turn to see a droid who is standing, his red eyes glowing with emotions that many would never be able to comprehend.
"Don't move, droid!" A bounty hunter in the back shouts, holding a quivering blaster in the droid's direction.
"As you wish," the droid replies, waving his arm up in the direction of the scum, and Vader has to admit being impressed when several bolts tear from his seemingly arm-implant and crash against all the bounty hunters, causing them to collapse to the ground.
Anakin runs up to his mother and wraps his arms around her, grateful that she is safe, before turning and staring at all of the slaves. There are still many innocent people who have bombs implanted in them, and only when they are removed can they at least meditate.
"You are all freed!" Anakin exclaims. "Meet us at the front and we will remove your explosive chips!"
Many can only cry tears of joy as they make their way to their saviors slowly. How many years have they all been suffering and now are liberated from that lifestyle? It is almost as if the dreams have come true and that they would, at last, be able to leave. Yes, it could very much be a cruel deception, but then why are they wishing to save them?
"For now, hide away," Vader commands, an authority voice echoing through the entire market, causing all to snap their heads at someone who speaks so powerfully but with such compassion, "the Tusken Raiders are still largely a threat at hand that would bring greater harm on each and every one of you. Conceal yourself."
Roars from the distance confirm Vader's words in the front of Mos Espa, causing many of them to grimace at the threat that has been targeting their planet for decades, the cause of so many of their families' death, and now there is a likely chance that all of the Tusken Clans have been rallied together, prepared to take over the planet in its valuable position.
"Master Skywalker, before I rescued Madam Skywalker and the pacifist, I went to the cantina and made short work of those body bags. These slaves have been collected, and the slavers all in the cantina is dead." Threepio says, his two red eyes glowing at the sentiment, a stare that Vader has seen many times before. He can tell Threepio enjoys the thought of causing nothing but destruction to the scam's remaining organization that may be left.
"Qui-Gon, Anakin, Shmi, Obi-Wan, you must lead the slaves to safety for the occurring war. We would hold them off. They are leading in the masses." While this may seem impossible chances for anyone else, including many of the Jedi, the Force fuels through Vader. Despite his personal grievances with this planet, these victims wouldn't die or return to a life of slavery to the Tuskens this time.
"What about you?" Anakin queries, obviously worried about the fact that Vader would die due to the Tuskens being ruthless in their endeavors.
Vader smirks. Of course his younger self does not understand his mastery of the Force. "You underestimate me, my boy. I can hold off this entire army. The Force fuels through me, and I command it. I am not a servant to the Force nor is it a servant of me."
Vader knows he wouldn't die, not now, but having Skywalker and Obi-Wan be there would only cause the Tuskens to focus on them as bait enough for them to be a distraction. While together, they stand strong, but Anakin and Obi-Wan still need to learn the ways of the Force.
His fate in Vader reinstalling, Anakin slowly nods, knowing that these slaves would need help, for Jabba's Army has never been the real threat, instead the Tusken Raiders who can take all of these lives. Vader has proven multiple times that he doesn't need an army so the fact that Skywalker is underestimating him is astonishing.
Vader senses his younger self slowly conceding and moving to help those slaves that would all need their chips removed. For far too long, the Jedi and the Sith have underestimated him, have feared him from the very beginning, and now these Tuskens are doing so.
Not only is he the Master of the Force, but he is also the Master of Lightsaber Combat, having bested Jedi from their time and from their prime when his powers were limited. The only one who had any chance of defeating him was the light that is his son, and he is determined not to die and leave this galaxy yet. He has left Luke's galaxy, but allowing the Jedi and Plagueis to rule without opposition and crush one another is not an outcome Vader is determined to allow.
Vader senses the army coming along with the ones who are currently in the cities, showing little to no mercy against them. Focus on getting them out of the city before dealing with the military that they have formed.
After making short work of them with his lightsaber, Vader marches in front of the waiting Tusken Army, staring at each of them at the front. One would have thought him insane, and he can sense that whatever freewill that the Tuskens possess left, that is exactly flooding right through each of their minds.
"Stop."
The commands ring powerfully, coming from the only one who is standing at the front of their army. They all are prepared to stomp him down as they have already done with the dead bodies that lay at their feet. They have murdered children, mothers, and fathers, seeking to kill those who are terrorists in their sights, and even with the power behind his voice, they still do not halt themselves.
Vader is the last hope for this planet and he is determined not to see it fall despite all of its grievances.
Vader knows he is playing a great risk here. While the Force would not allow him to die, that does not mean the Tuskens still couldn't get past him and continue onto those behind him that are currently hiding in the protection of their houses or somewhere in the cities behind cover.
Vader could not help but be sympathetic to the raiders. Tatooine was once a lush, beautiful planet before it got glassed by the Rakata during the Infinite War. After that, pretty much all life adapted to the harsh conditions and things were generally peaceful until a few thousand years later when the Republic discovered it. They disrupted the Tusken water supplies and karked with their territory, so the Raiders declared war.
So, in short, they had their own planet and were surviving okay there, until space people moved in, started taking up their territory, using up their resources, and taking over the few livable places on Tatooine. While their attacks are not justified, like with the children of the corrupted Jedi, they didn't deserve to perish, at least not the babies who could bring about a new culture that would eventually lead to peace. Those who have not rallied up are the only survivors at the end of all this, and he wouldn't hunt them down like an animal for something they may do in the future.
In their mind, they're not being savage. They're fighting a war against an invading alien force that's been trying to take their resources for thousands of years. Anakin from a future past wiped out one small village, there are thousands of Sand People out there and they're all in a better condition to fight than the colonists. They've also got a better grasp of tactics: If an army was raised to fight them, then they'd have a force go and destroy the human homes while the army was romping around for them.
They know the planet better, their mounts don't break down, they can get around faster... As it was in the past timeline, the Raiders were losing the 'war' because they haven't formed a single army and the settlers had outside help. They kill a farm or two at a time. However, if prompted like they believe themselves to be now, they have come together and now are seeking to penetrate past them.
Vader doesn't want to kill women and children as he has in the past timeline, but he can sense that they are not going to stop. The children and women are prepared to take over just like the men even though they are hardly trained for this. They are not going to care about anything unless Tatooine is fully in their rule.
All of those natives are innocent and don't deserve to die for their ancestors.
And so, Vader is going to have to fight. This time, it wouldn't be anything personal but the self-defense of people who deserve to live. His conscience would not be wiped but he is prepared for that to be another weight on his shoulders.
Vader's hands shoot up into the air, spreading his voice through all of them. The entire army comes to a complete halt at someone who is both brave or foolish resisting them when they could squash him and continue onto the rest of the human population until Tatooine belongs to them once more.
"You are not going to kill these people."
It is always odd to Vader that he and the Tuskens seem to always have a confrontation, first in his time as Anakin Skywalker after the death of his mother and the other time during the era of the Empire. It was never his plan to fight these Raiders or be intent to abolish them from the face of the planet even after what they have done to his mother in another life and even with the memories of those days still hunting him.
And Vader lowers his hand, the Force amplifying through his robotic arm, his eyes burning a bright white, splitting the ground beneath up to the Raiders and sending the first wave of the army away, some into the gorge that has just formed below all of them and sending them barreling through the sand.
The other Tuskens open fire in his direction, each of their bolts appearing to go right through the Force User. He is not deflecting the bolts nor are the bolts bouncing off his armor, but the Force itself is merely shrugging the bolts off without preamble.
Disarming and taking these Tuskens alive would not be a possibility. There are armies of them, and no war is without blood. It is either their blood or the blood of innocent people. On that front, Vader's decision is already made. He would not allow those people to die no matter how horrible the deed he is about to do.
Vader doesn't move from where he is standing, indicating his left hand to the right and levitating them into the air, a white current tearing through the air and slamming into the waiting Raiders, disintegrating them in seconds. His hand waving to the left, and the Raiders among the left wave are forced down to the ground, collapsing among themselves and clutching their heads at the power filling them before the sounds of bones make themselves known.
The other Tuskens are incapable of moving in stun shock at the power of what Vader is demonstrating, grasping hold of his lightsaber and beginning to cut through those who finally have managed to regain the capability of moving, breaking through their strikes or defensive with his attacks cutting through whatever them and slashing them up.
Lightsaber clutched in right hand, Vader's eyes burn a bright golden, harboring the face of the devil itself. All the Tuskens that are within his grasp sees are the orbs-the orbs that would hunt them forever even after the merciful call of death that would soon follow them.
The demon which is defending the natives of Tatooine from falling into their deserving grasp, ripping any chance of advantage away from them, and is now standing among them, superior and outclassing them the more they continue this apparently lost battle.
Flames sprout from his hand, crashing against the Tuskens and provoking each of them to scream painfully, burning into ashes every second after second.
His eyes transform from golden to cerulean, Vader's eyes softening into that of Anakin Skywalker, a blue wave of power embracing the Tuskens who are attempting to assist their fallen comrades and breaking their staffs and their masks, propelling his lightsaber through those in his path, cutting them down within mere seconds.
Now, the Tuskens appear to be completely in doubt about what to do, proving that there is some intelligence within them. To think, it has only taken Vader a mere thirty seconds to dismantle this army's morale.
The army is backed now, most of the source of their army lying dead at their feet, but those stragglers are still attempting to bring down the defender of not only Mos Espa where slavery populated heavily but also the entire planet of Tatooine where people can still intensify onto powers.
This time, Vader's eyes flash with disapproval as the sounds of their skulls cracking fill the air. They seem not to understand that defeating him now is all but a wasted effort, but even so, they wish to still attempt to regain hold of this planet once more.
Can they attempt to be reasonable and come together with these people? No, they wish to gain control of the planet without showing any mercy to anyone, seeking to kill whoever does not agree with their culture. This is a moment that they have been waiting for centuries.
Vader's left hand radiates black electricity, tearing through the entire army-not purely the left nor the right. Explosions trigger, decimating many of them immediately and leaving only small packs of them left, little more than they had been when Anakin Skywalker slaughtered them years ago.
Children Tuskens cry before they are brought down by the mistakes of their parents and never leave Vader. They should have never been dragged into this war but their parents were so intent on revenge that they have been like the Jedi has been so intent on bringing about the abolishment of the Sith even if it involves millions of their Padawans would die.
Even in the other timeline, Ahsoka should have never been dragged into war nor should any other Padawan unfortunate enough to be trained in that era. That is why the bloodlust throughout the Clone Wars with Padawans is the highest on that list. Every other day, Padawans were on a stretcher, dragged away from sight as they are given a funeral before being seemingly forgotten about.
These Tuskens sending their younglings to war not only reminds him of those painful times, but it disgusts Vader to see how he has stood by and believed it was the only course of action at times. Sending untrained students without granting them any choice is despicable and brainwashing. He is the person who is standing in the way of the Jedi at the time from sending their students to fall among themselves.
The Tuskens back, but now the army mainly consists of trembling individuals whose staffs are shuddering in each of their hands.
Vader dashes forward faster than one would have thought of him, cutting through all of the rivals before they could have been granted an opportunity to even raise their weapons, the children within the fray - like with the Padawans in the Clone Wars - attempting to attack and knowing little about what they are doing. The death of children and women is on his hands once more but it could be argued that it is justified given they are seeking to destroy the people along with the men leaders of their respective clans.
The only way he could be able to stop them from killing the lives of more innocents and continuing to rip families is to eliminate them all.
The Master of the Force has saved the people of Tatooine, but with a great cost and so many needless lives being ended.
Master Windu pulls up the hood to his robes and walks over to the shuttle. Two Jedi have come with him in the hope to track down any trace of the threats so they would warn the rest inside the ship. However, as expected, they didn't find anything which grates their irritation. Even though Master Windu wouldn't acknowledge that they may never be found, it is obvious that his fellow Jedi are feeling current feelings such as that which is not surprising.
The cold wind pushes against Master Windu and the two other's Jedi cloaks, appearing to be taunting the three of them, the cold rain pouring down among them sending chills down each of their spines.
"Have you found them?" Koth queries, folding his arms within his robes as means to protect himself from the current weather. Not to mention, his horns have always been valuable and that is a reason why he doesn't relish in the current condition of the planet that they have marched upon.
"No, it is yet another cold case but we shall not give up," Windu responds.
"We have gotten a transmission from Master Tiin which may give us a tip to send us down the right direction," a Jedi Master from the front of the ship declares, producing a hologram.
Master Tiin's blue hologram appears before him. "Master Windu, we agree that the search must be frustrating, my old friend, however we have just received another leak. We have received a tip of a sudden slave trade on Tatooine being abolished by several Jedi, the report claims, and this is causing the Hutts to wish for the Republic to stripped the Jedi in their positions of the Republic and bring those involved for trial. As of now, the Chancellor is currently negotiating with them so we can avoid any misconception but this is definitely something the Council agrees should be investigated. We could never be certain of Vader and his companions."
As soon as the hologram disappears, Windu sets the coordinates of Tatooine, allowing the autopilot to take matters into its own hands and begins piloting the ship, while the several Jedi prepared themselves from within the shuttle, knowing that they each require energy for what is to come next.
For weeks they had gone after every possible source on Vader and his allies, but none of them bore fruit. Now, there is a possible chance that they would finally have a source that could lead them into the confrontation with the Sith and his dark companions which will allow the threats of the Jedi Order to finally be brought into custody.