It was like being surprised by someone hiding from you. That was what he felt when the ship came out of lightspeed and hovered over the desert planet.

Tatooine.

He swore to himself he would never come back here. "This wretched place…" he gripped his fists. The control console began to bend into shapes it was never meant to. Metal panels ripped from their screws, their screws flying to the opposite walls, and being thrown around like a ragdoll.

"Lord Vader."

Just like how he felt when he arrived on the planet, he was surprised once more. "Master…"

"Calm yourself, Vader. Kenobi is down there, and we mustn't lose focus."

"I understand, my master."

"Do you?" he snarled, glaring at the young Sith Lord like the look Windu used to give Anakin Skywalker when he did something he didn't approve. "You are letting your anger blind you, you incompetent fool."

Vader did not reply.

"Use your anger at the right moment, my apprentice. Uncontrolled rage will lead you to nothing but continuous failures. Focus your anger, channel it, and use it when the time is right."

He bowed slightly in his chair, "Yes, my master. I will not fail you."

"We will see." Sidious's hologram dissipated into the holoprojector.

His yellow eyes looked down onto the planet below, "Kenobi."

He grabbed the ship's steering and descended toward the planet.

The force beckoned him to Mos Espa, where the young Anakin Skywalker and his mother Shmi Skywalker lived as slaves.

He landed at a small docking station that was full of all kinds of ships: a transport, a Skiff, a landspeeder. The natives wanted Vader to pay a fee to dock, but when he started to force choke one of them, the others ran away in fear leaving their comrade to die by the dark lord.

It had been a long time since he had been in Mos Espa, too long. He never wanted to come back here again, but no matter how hard he tried, he always ended up here.

He walked into town, noticing the glares of all the residents, who were either trying to sell something at their stands or walking by with crates full of supplies or food, that turned to look at the machine in black, then their obvious look away when Vader looked back at them.

They all had the same look; sad and tired.

The buildings remained the same, made of mud, plaster, and sandstone. Cracks ran up and down the walls looking like the buildings could collapse at any moment and the material had been so old, so dried up by the heat of the sun that it crumbled in Vader's hand by the slightest touch. This place hadn't changed at all, but he had.

A group of hoodlums stood at a wall, catcalling the passing woman. There were three of them, no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. Vader walked up to them.

"I am looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Have you seen him?"

"Daang, you're a cyborg. I've never seen one of you before," one of the teenagers said, coming up to Vader and touching his suit.

"Do not touch me."

The three teenagers began to laugh.

"And what are you going to do about it? one of them said.

"Can you even think on your own, you stupid machine?" He pounded on Vader's suit. "See, he won't do—"

"AHHHH!"

His arm fell to the floor, Vader's lightsaber crackled its bright red. The other two teenagers scurried before him. "Obi-Wan Kenobi, have you seen him?"

"No—no! I don't know who you're talking about!" One of the teenagers cried. "Please don't kill us. We're sorry!"

Two guards came running up, covered in face masks, cloaks, and each holding a stick with a metal blade at the end.

"A Jedi?" one of the guards said.

"I am no Jedi. I am Sith." They stepped back. "I am on official Empire business. Leave us or receive a faith worse than death."

The two guards looked at each other, and before any words were exchanged, they turned their tails and ran.

Vader looked back onto the three kids who begged for him not to kill them.

"The cantina!" one of them yelled. "Maybe someone at the cantina has seen the person you're looking for!"

He disengaged his lightsaber and put it back on his hilt, studying for a moment the three kids. It would take nothing to snap their necks... nothing. "Leave."

The teenagers helped their friend up, collected his arm, and ran as fast as they could away from Vader. Everyone who had averted their eyes to the scene quickly averted them back in case they were to inherit the dark lord's wrath.

He knew the way to the cantina and headed in that direction, turning down a semi-empty street with the occasional walking bystander.

An attractive young woman turned the corner. She had brown eyes, long, curly brunette hair that shined in the sun, pink luscious lips and she had on this beautiful white dress that, with the addition of the sun, made her look like an angel. She looked kind, warm-hearted, and had the look of someone who cared, even about the most insignificant person in the galaxy. She looked at Vader and did something that surprised him. She smiled at him. It was warm and distracted from everything else. She was—

Two giant men grabbed her and pulled her into the alleyway. Her screams were muffled by the giant hand of her attackers. She saw Vader with her widened eyes and screamed louder, but nothing, but muffled noises were heard by him. Anakin Skywalker would have saved her and cut off their hands while he was at it, but Vader…

He looked directly at her for a long moment, then turned and walked away.

The outside of the Cantina was packed with speeders and even a pod racer. All kinds of people were gathered, showing off their rides or entering the cantina itself.

Just like before, everyone turned to stare at the dark lord, make their judgment, then look away.

He walked into the cantina. The music was loud like in all bars, full of many different species that were either drunk or soon to be drunk; people shouting and slamming their drinks onto the counters after drinking them.

The bartender was human and old and looked at Vader with a look of weary and confusion. "I'm looking for someone. Obi-Wan Kenobi. Have you seen him?" For a moment, he didn't answer, still trying to understand who, or rather what, the dark lord was. "Kenobi, have you seen him?"

"Um—No. I don't know anyone by that name, but I would ask the Toydarian Watto."

Watto

"He deals with a lot of newcomers due to his work. He was just in here but went to do some business in the back with a Trandoshan."

Trandoshan's. He hated them as much as he hated Toydarian's.

Vader walked away without thanking the man and made his way through the crowd, pushing past a man and an extraordinary large Bith.

"Hey!"

Vader stopped.

"You bumped into me."

"And?"

He looked at his partner with a bewildered look and back at Vader. "You sure got some nerve on you. What even are you?" He looked at Vader in his metallic eyes, "You are ugly," he growled.

Swoosh

His lightsaber impaled the skinny man. The music stopped, and everyone looked over to see the commotion. The man's eyes were wide, and his face looked like he tried to scream, but nothing came out. The Bith, who before stood over the dark lord, scampered away in fear. After a few moments, the music began to play again, and everyone went to do what they were doing before.

Vader made his way to the back door, opened it and found Watto and the Trandoshan the bartender talked about. In the Trandoshan's hand was a clear glass tube with a purple rock inside of it and in Watto's hand was a pile of currency.

They both quickly hid what they had in their hands and turned to face Vader.

"Leave us," he told the Trandoshan. "Me and this Toydarian have business to discuss."

"Get lost, you freak."

"I don't know you," Watto replied angrily.

"I said leave." With a raise of his finger, the Trandoshan launched backward twenty feet and hit the wall opposite of them. He groaned for a moment, then fell limp.

"Who… What are you?" Watto said, backing away with fear.

"Do you know where Obi-Wan Kenobi is?"

"Who? I don't know who that is."

Vader ignited his crimson red lightsaber, the only noise that of the cackle of his blade, until he broke the silence. "Obi-Wan Kenobi, where is he? Answer now or die."

"Okay okay! I don't know an Obi-Wan Kenobi, but I know a Ben Kenobi! He lives on the outskirts of town that way. It's the only house in that direction, you won't miss him."

Vader retracted his lightsaber and Watto let off a relieved sigh. "Thank you," he said, breathing heavily.

Shmi.

She died because of him, because the Jedi wouldn't let him get her when he was strong enough and because Watto…

She died in her arms after being tortured by the Sand People. They were dead, the Jedi were dead, now… Watto was the only thing that remained that was at fault for her death.

Watto suddenly found himself unable to breathe, being dragged up slowly through the air and at the mercy of Lord Vader. "Pl..e.a…se," he barely got out through his choking.

"You will pay for the death of Shmi Skywalker."

"Who?"

After a long silence, Vader said, "My mother."

"Your mother… A—Ani?"

Vader impaled him with his lightsaber and watched as his lifeless bug body hit the sand floor. He stared at it for a moment. It was like seeing a ghost, he never thought… Kenobi, that was what mattered now. He stepped over his body and made his way to the outskirts of town.

It was dusk. Everyone was either at home or heading home. It was dangerous during the day but deadly at night. Vader wasn't scared, however. All he cared about was getting closer to his goal.

The two suns had retreated into hiding as the moon slowly emerged from its daily hibernation.

The temperature readings on Vader's suit had dropped to thirty-seven degrees Fahrenheit, but Vader's suit protected him from simple planetary conditions.

He made his way through the desert; each step being consumed by the sand. It was like a giant weight pushing down on his feet until he lifted them up again and took his next step but every time it was the same.

None of it fazed Vader, however. Whatever he had to endure, whoever he had to kill, it didn't matter as long as he got to Kenobi.

A large hum came from his left. A lone Sandcrawler buzzed through the empty desert. The yellow eyes of the Jawa's could be seen through the Sandcrawler's windows. They looked out on Vader like he was some magical spectacle until eventually, he was out of their sight.

"Disgusting creatures," he said.

A loud, unimaginable scowling scream came at him. A Gaffi stick clanked against his metallic suit. It was like a harpoon, but for land. It had the fletching's of an arrow at the end of stick and a spike encompassed by a blade on the other end. He forced pushed his attacker down the sandhill, and when he got up, he was surrounded by six Tuskan Raiders.

He reached for his lightsaber and found it was missing. It must have fell when he was attacked.

"I do not need a lightsaber to kill you."

Their scream screeched Vader's ears and echoed throughout the desert until it stopped suddenly, and they began their attack.

Vader dodged the attack of a raider, hitting him with his fist and knocking him to the ground. Another came at him, and before he could touch Vader, Vader forced pushed him away. One jumped on his back, and Vader grabbed him by his arms and pulled him down in front of him and, with his foot, broke his neck.

A single Tuskan Raider sat at the edge of the dune, waiting. When Vader was distracted by an incoming attack by one of the raiders and his weapon, the lone raider got up and ran for Vader, swiping at his leg with his Gaffi stick and causing Vader to fall onto his knees.

The raider raised his weapon and struck Vader.

Vader screamed in pain. The remaining Tuskan Raiders piled onto him and bombarded him with attacks.

The strikes were sharp and came at Vader with unrepented speed. "Enough of this." he screamed. The sand burst into the air, throwing the attackers in different directions and then stopping them in midair.

They were all gasping for air. "Now, you all die," he growled. He stepped forward, stopping at a nonindigenous clank at his boot. He looked down and found his lightsaber buried in the sand. He picked it up and ignited it. "You are animals, and I will slaughter you like animals."

One by one he pulled the raiders toward him, and one by one, their bodies fell to the floor.


It was daylight when Vader reached the home of the supposed Ben Kenobi.

He inspected the damage on his suit one last time. Exposed wires he had stuffed back into his casing kept coming back out.

The door opened, and out came a man in a hooded robe. Vader could not see his face, but he could see his eyes, his sad blue eyes. They betrayed him.

"Who are you, stranger?" the man asked.

Vader did not say a word. He grabbed his lightsaber and ignited it.