Chapter III
When Ahsoka woke up, she felt a huge desire to close her eyes again and go back to sleep. Her head was pounding and her body was sore from the days before. She tried to overcome her blurry vision, only to meet a luminous ceiling she didn't recognize. With one fast move she got up, immediately feeling a thin plastic tube brushing in her arm. She looked at it, noticing that the thin tube went straight to her bandaged hand, she was hooked up to an IV. "A medical bay" she figured, examining the room. She would've felt relieved if it wasn't for the fact that she couldn't remember how she got there in the first place. Not long after, she spotted a medical droid coming in her direction.
"Where are we?" Ahsoka asked, frantically.
"Oh, you're up already." she medical droid said, looking at her and then turning around "I'll immediately notify Lord Vader, I'm sure he requested me to."
"Lord Vader?" she whispered to herself in confusion. The name unlocked a few memories of what happened as she recalled the man in the black suit standing in front of her, telling her with his robotic voice that she didn't have a choice; the Stormtroopers behind her, blasters pointed in her direction. "I got caught..." she concluded almost in disbelief. "Wait, don't!" she shouted, before realizing that the droid wasn't in the room anymore. The images in her head were somewhat blurred and she could only suppose about what they were discussing before the Stormtroopers arrived. She was not certain about whatever happened after that, but in an odd way she could still feel it, an attempt to reassure her through the Force just before she got knocked out.
Ahsoka was tempted to believe that she could trust him, but, after having a hard time accepting that this Darth Vader was in fact her former Master, she realized that she wasn't able to make a solid distinction between the two, which had already led to dangerous circumstances. How was Ahsoka supposed to know if 'Lord Vader' could be trusted? He obviously knew about her struggle disassociating him from Anakin and that made Ahsoka easy to trick.
Ahsoka's concerns were interrupted by the sound of the doors opening and in walked Vader. He stepped towards her and as he got closer the young Togruta felt like a caged bird whenever its owner gets too close. She somehow knew that he wasn't going to harm her, however, once again, his presence was making something within her tell her to run.
Vader stopped right in front of the bed that she was sitting at.
"I can see you're recovering fast," he said, crossing his arms "we'll soon get out of hyperspace. The Emperor will be very pleased with your capture."
"Assuming he gets anything from me." she replied in a low tone, bringing her knees to her chest.
"Assuming that you would be interested in being set free as soon as possible."
"You know," she paused to adjust her pose and to glance back him, "as soon as the Emperor gets what he wants -if he does - he will have me killed."
"I won't allow that."
In an odd way she knew he was going to say that. Right after she heard him entering the room, Ahsoka made sure her shields were raised so he couldn't sense anything coming from her. But Vader's were not and she could sense how uncertain he was as well about what was going to happen to her. She thought to herself that it would be naive of her to believe that he actually cared about whether she lives or dies at the end, knowing that would put in risk his loyalty with the Emperor. But she sensed his worry and she couldn't deny that it was there.
"Then he will kill you as well." she finally replied, automatically regretting the lack of daintiness in her voice. Knowing she was walking on thin ice, her gaze went around the room as she asked, "Why did you go back?"
Ahsoka could feel his gaze on her, however, his attention towards the Togruta was lost when a man in a uniform entered the room.
"Lord Vader," the man talked with his hands on his back "we're getting out of hyperspace in no time."
"Very well, I'll leave right away." he answered.
Her gaze went back to Vader, who was standing still in front of her like he had something left to say. He finally turned, her eyes on him as he took a few steps away from her until, to her surprise, he stopped. Vader slowly turned around, approaching her slowly, once again. Unsure of what he was going to do, Ahsoka tried to sense him and was almost shocked when she realized that Vader wasn't sure as well about what he was doing. There was no hatred nor anger towards her, which slightly alarmed the young woman. Vader was a Dark Lord of the Sith, after all. He stopped at her side, slowly placing his closed fist next to her, and even thought his voice sounded like it always did, mechanical and cold, without any trace of compassion, she could feel the tenderness behind the mask.
"I had to."
Ahsoka watched him as he turned around and left the room for good. Once he did, her gaze went back to the bed. A shiver ran down her spine as she spotted the small object Vader left beside her, pondering whether her eyes were deceiving her. She picked it up carefully to take a closer look at it, feeling her hands trembling from the shock. The first thing that went through Ahsoka's mind was why in the Force did Darth Vader, the man who claimed to kill her former Master, kept her Padawan braid after all this years?
Vader believed that returning the Silka beads would give him a sense of accomplishment, of relief. It would have, indeed, if he hadn't knew right after he landed on the Death Star, that the fate of his apprentice were at the hands of Wilhuff Tarkin. He got things done and since that was indispensable, it made him indispensable as well and Vader respected him for that. However, not once in his life as Darth Vader, he could say that he actually liked the man, and neither could Anakin. Except for himself and his Master, Tarkin was the most arrogant and ruthless living being to ever step on that battle station, nonetheless he was never seen as a threat. Until now.
As he quickly walked through the grey halls, hoping to get to his private quarters to finally get some rest, Vader heard the man in question approaching him along with a Imperial Officer.
"May I have a word with you, Lord Vader?"
Vader stopped, turning to Tarkin, watching him as he made a gesture with his hand, demanding the third man to leave.
"Excellent job capturing the Togruta," the Grand Moff said, once they were finally facing each other, "It will soon be revealed where the left Jedi are. We are finally going to put an end to this purge."
Vader knew Ahsoka too well. He knew how selfless she was, she would never put the lives of other people at risk if there was anything she could do to prevent that. "What if she doesn't talk?", he finally asked.
"She will, eventually." the older man quickly replied. He knew what he meant by that, but Tarkin's answer didn't satisfy him. Vader wanted to hear exactly what this despicable man was going to do with the woman he just rescued, with his apprentice. Word by word, so that every syllable that would come from his mouth would justify once again his hatred towards the man.
"What happens to her after this?" he finally asked.
"Careful, Lord Vader." Tarkin tilted his head "Anyone who hears you could believe you're worried. After all, she's not your business anymore, is she?"
That's all it took for Vader to feel his anger rising, despite acknowledging that in part Tarkin was right. Ahsoka Tano was not his apprentice anymore, she wasn't at his responsibility. But Vader couldn't help it but feel responsible for her. And he hated it, really hated it, the last thing he needed was a burden to carry, but the damage was already done.
"Tell me, Lord Vader," Tarkin looked at him, carrying a defiant expression in his face. "Could someone like her become one with the Force after-"
"Do not test me!" Vader threatened, feeling his anger boiling once again and his voice lifting. He knew the things Tarkin would do in order to get what he wanted. He knew that soon as she loses her utility he would kill her right away. Tarkin didn't hesitate in the past, he sure wouldn't do it now. It didn't matter how many times Vader told himself that he didn't want anything to do with Anakin Skywalker, the fact that this man once demanded Ahsoka's execution was something he could neither forgive nor forget.
Vader knew what he had to do. Somehow he had to convince her to talk. He refused to sit and wait for Tarkin to get his hands on her. He walked quickly through the hallways of the battle station, taking large steps, trying to control his rushing thoughts. When he reached her cell, he spotted two Troopers guarding the door.
"Open the door." He demanded briskly. The soldiers did as they were told and Vader took a deep breath before stepping into the cell. He found Ahsoka curled up, holding her knees to her chest, looking at him with a confused expression.
"I thought it was Tarkin who would do the dirty work." she exclaimed in a bold tone, standing up. As she got up, Vader noticed the Silka beads attached to her belt.
"You have to reveal the location of the other Jedi, before it's too late." he said calmly, taking a few steps towards her.
"The other Jedi? You had your chance to kill them, back on Malachor!" Ahsoka replied.
"What about Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Vader asked, trying a different way to aproach the matter. He watched her expression swiftly changing.
"Obi-Wan?" she whispered in shock "He's still alive?"
The dark Lord of the Sith tried to sense through the Force if her reaction was genuine, however, he was not surprised when he realized that her mental shields were once again raised. She didn't trust him and even thought that made him frustrated he couldn't really blame her, but, for her own sake, before this went any further he needed to know exactly what she knew.
"Ahsoka," he said, taking another step towards her. "I'm trying to help you."
"Help me?! You brought me here in the first place!" She yelled, raising her arm involuntarily towards him. Vader caught her wrist mid-air in his grip tight enough to hurt her, bringing her closer to him.
"Listen to me! As soon as Tarkin enters in this cell there will be little I can do for you!" he shouted through the mask, releasing some of the pressure on her wrist but not letting her step back. "He'll do anything to make you talk, I can't-" he paused to take a breath. "I can't allow that."
Vader dropped her wrist, trying to read her expression. She looked both hesitant and somewhat apprehensive, however, her eyes still carried that brave gaze like always, a gaze that once would have made him proud. He watched her as she slowly stepped away, crossing her arms.
"You should have left me on Malachor." she said quietly, not looking at him.
"You were-"
"You were so willing to kill me, why didn't you do it?" she asked him in a low tone.
"You know exactly why." Vader answered impatiently.
He was surprised when he felt her trying to communicate with him through the Force. He turned his back on her, wondering if he should let her get throught his mental shields. Once he did, Vader found that hers were down as well and he could read her like an open book. He sensed her uneasiness as she tried to come up with answers, however, her voice sounded quite soft, almost gentle in his head.
'Why didn't you do it?'
'I made you a promise, once.'
He stopped, sensing her confusion.
'I promised that I would never let anyone hurt you.' He answered, forcing images of the past through her mind.
'But that was my Master and you destroyed him, didn't you?'
"I won't leave your fate up to others." he suddenly said out loud. The memories of the first time he said those words came back to him, a time when he had been so desperate to find her, to make sure she would come back to him safe. It seemed so long ago, however, even thought he wouldn't admit it, there was little difference in the situation itself: Anakin Skywalker trying to protect his Padawan. Except, well, he wasn't Anakin Skywalker anymore and Ahsoka wasn't his Padawan.
A/N: Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I apologize for any OOCness or grammatical mistakes that you might have witnessed, any advice would be welcome!