Chapter Four – Ferus Olin
Lord Vader's T-65 X Wing Star fighter landed smoothly in the Jedi Temple Hangers. He was greeted by Commander Cody as he got out of the star fighter. He hadn't been inside the Temple since the beginning of the Jedi Purge. The hangers looked so different. It had been burned by flames which had been started by the clones, and all the aircrafts in it had either been blown up or removed. Everywhere you looked you could see debris from the walls and the ceiling on the floor. It looked like a giant mess.
"Welcome Lord Vader," Commander Cody said. "We have the prisoner."
"Did he say why he was trying to break into the Temple?"
"He said he wanted some lightsabres." Why would he need lightsabres? Vader thought to himself.
"Did he say how many?"
"As many as he could lay his hands on." Hmm, interesting.
"Why would he need all those lightsabres?"
"He didn't elaborate on his reasons for trying to acquire them."
"Where is he being held Cody?"
"We have him in the Council Chamber sir."
"Very good." Vader began his journey to the Council Chamber, closely followed by Commander Cody and three other clone troopers. As the group passed through the Temple, Vader could feel memories of his time as Obi-Wan's apprentice coming back to him. He remembered this knighting ceremony. It was the second happiest moment of his life, second only to his wedding. Then the memories of Sidious duelling Windu came back to him. The memory of that day haunted him inside, no matter what he might say about it. When they reached the entrance to the Chambers Vader stopped.
"Sir?"
"Cody, you and your men are to leave me here with the prisoner. Your job is done, and it was done well."
"Thank you Lord Vader. Oh, and one more thing my Lord. The detonator." Cody handed a small device to Vader. The device was rounded, silver plated and it had a bright red button in the centre of it.
"Contact my Master. Tell him that I have met with the prisoner, and that I will proceed with the execution immediately. Once you have done that, you are free to leave the Temple."
"Yes my Lord." Cody turned to the troopers. "Let's move out!" As the clones headed for the exit, Vader entered the Council Chambers. In the middle of the floor was Ferus Olin, tied up with rope and wearing a standard issue Electro Collar. An Electro Collar was a restraining device which would be strapped to a prisoner's neck. The collar could be remotely triggered to explode and kill the wearer. It was not a pretty sight. Ferus looked up, and his face was pale. He looked a shadow of his former self. He looked older than his years, aged by what he had witnessed on the battlefield.
"How nice of you to visit Master Skywalker."
"Master Skywalker! There are too many of them, what are we going to do?" Vader stared at each of the younglings with a stern expression on his face. The children looked scared, worried and tired. Anakin ignited his lightsabre and the younglings jumped back in fright. He looked at the young boy who spoke up to him and he raised his left hand. His thumb and index finger began to get closer together. The boy grabbed his throat and looked at Anakin with pure fear spread across his face. Anakin took his sabre with his right hand and with one strike, cleanly sliced the boy's head off the top of his body.
"Anakin?" Vader snapped out of his trance like state. He felt his throat turn dry as the images of the boy's lifeless head flashed repeatedly in his mind. He felt a strange sensation in his heart which he had not felt since slaughtering the Tusken Raiders. He cleared his throat and tried to push the horrifying images out of his mind.
"Anakin, are you alright?" Ferus repeated. Vader's feeling of guilt turned to anger at the sound of his birth name.
"That name no longer has any meaning for me." He said firmly.
"Your name is Anakin Skywalker whether you like it or not. That will never change. It is who you really are." Vader dug his fingernails into his left palm.
"My name is Vader. The man you knew as Anakin Skywalker is dead, do you hear me?"
"No. Anakin is in there somewhere. I can see it in your eyes." Vader crouched down and slammed his left fist into the Temple floor with such force that his middle finger cracked, and pain shot up his arm. Vader gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.
"Aren't you listening you fool? Skywalker is gone. Finished. Dead. However you want to see it, but one thing is certain. He is not coming back." Ferus smiled.
"I beg to differ. The good in people doesn't just disappear into thin air. You are not pure evil, and I don't think you ever will be. The whole galaxy might fear you as Vader, but I do not, because I knew you as you were before. You were a good man Anakin, and you can be again."
"No, I can't. It's too late for that!"
"No it isn't. It's never too late. You can be the great Hero With No Fear once again. Remember him, Anakin? He was a good man, and I'll be damned if he is gone forever."
"I've done too much evil to turn back to the light. My soul is poisoned with the Dark Side. The sooner you realise that, the better." Ferus bowed his head.
"So be it, Vader. If you have truly fallen to the Dark Side, and you are pure evil, then you will have no qualms about killing me with the remote you have in your right hand, and you will not hesitate for a split second." Vader opened his palm. The silver plated remote looked like it was a part of his prosthetic limb. Ferus closed his eyes and raised his head once more. Vader stood up and walked to the Chamber door. He turned to take one last look at Ferus. There was no hint of fear on his face, just sadness. He knew he was going to die, yet he did nothing about it. Vader didn't understand it.
"One last question Ferus."
"Fire away."
"Commander Cody tells me you broke in to try and get as many lightsabres as you could. Why is that?" Ferus stayed silent for a few seconds. He took one deep breath, and exhaled loudly.
"I planned on selling them illegally. I was short on credits, and my weekly wage for my job was extremely low. I was desperate. Desperate times call for desperate measures." He's lying, I know it!
"Goodbye Ferus."
"May the Force be with you, Anakin Skywalker." Vader placed his prosthetic thumb on the remote. He willed himself to push the button, but something was stopping him. For a task that was so simplistic, it was turning into quite a problem for Vader.
"You hesitated. Seems I was right. You're not pure evil, Anakin." Vader turned to face the door and pushed the button. Vader heard the Electro Collar explode and the sickening noise of Ferus' body falling to the floor.
"No. You were wrong Ferus." The door slid behind Vader as he left Ferus Olin and the Council Chambers for the last time.
Obi-Wan wandered through the busy markets with his hood up. He didn't want anybody to see his face. I must be getting paranoid. He had picked up all he needed for the next nine or so standard days, and he was now incredibly thirsty. He had been searching for a decent bar for a while now, and had yet to find one.
He stumbled upon a small place called 'Duke's Place' and had decided to have a look inside. It didn't look like much from the outside, but the steps didn't have a dry coating of blood from a brawl the previous night, so it had to be better than the other places he had passed.
He got down the stairs and it was a basic bar. They had a few tables to sit at, a small stage and an even smaller bar. It was relatively quiet, with only two customers at the bar. Obi-Wan approached the bar and the bar tender was waiting for him.
"What can I get you stranger?" Obi-Wan tapped his fingers on the bar.
"Can I get a… Jawa Beer please?"
"Coming right up." The bar tender took a glass from the highest shelf behind the bar, and filled it up with some freshly brewed Jawa Beer. He put it in front of Obi-Wan and held out his hand.
"That'll be two credits please sir." Kriff, two credits for a Jawa Beer. I'm certainly not coming here again. Reluctantly, Obi-Wan handed over the credits.
"Thank you sir. Do you mind if I put the news on? Word is, someone tried to break into the old Jedi Temple, and I want to see if it's true or just another rumour." The bar tender pointed up to the Holonet in the top corner of the bar. Obi-Wan tried hard to hide his interest and surprise.
"Of course." The bar tender wasted no time in turning it on. Obi-Wan leaned against the bar as he took a sip of his Jawa Beer and watched the Holonet intently. It seemed the rumour was true, and the words 'Terrorist Attacks Jedi Temple' scrolled across the screen. A reporters face came up on the screen.
"I'm standing here outside the now abandoned Jedi Temple with some shocking news. Four days ago, an attempt was made by a former Jedi to break into the Temple. We don't have any details as to why he chose to attempt it yet, but we will keep you updated. The former Jedi, Ferus Olin, was a Jedi Knight who served in the Clone Wars for two standard years before leaving the Jedi Order. Olin made it into the Temple building, but a silent alarm was triggered the moment he stepped foot inside the Temple, and clone troopers arrived shortly afterwards to arrest him. It is believed that Olin didn't struggle when he was captured. Rumours are fast spreading that Olin was murdered yesterday evening by Darth Vader…"
Ferus murdered by Anakin?
"… But this has yet to be confirmed. We will keep you posted on Holonet." The bar tender sighed and began to wash some dirty glasses.
"That Darth Vader is bad news. Even the clone commanders fear him. Some say he murdered the Hero With No Fear, Anakin Skywalker. If he did, then he sure means business."
"Yes, he does." Obi-Wan replied.
"The Jedi were good people," the bar tender continued. "They helped me when my son was kidnapped. Great people. They had my son brought back home within a week. I'll be eternally grateful for that." Obi-Wan smiled.
"Yes, the Jedi were good people. They were selfless, only thinking about others. They helped so many people. I sincerely hope one day they will return and rid us all of this blasted Emperor." The bar tender nodded in agreement.
"My sentiments exactly. What did you say your name was stranger?"
"Ob- Ben Kenobi." Obi-Wan held out his hand, and the bar tender shook it.
"Nice to meet you Ben. I'm Duke."
Well, it's nice to know the Jedi aren't the only ones against the Empire, Obi-Wan thought. He took another sip of his Jawa Beer and replayed the report in his mind over and over, trying to make some sense of it all.
Authors Note: Wow, this story is picking up a nice amount of reviews! Once again, I thank all who have read, reviewed and enjoyed Redemption. I hope you stick around for the duration of the ride. Depending on how well this story goes, I might even do a sequel. But, lets not plan anything yet; it's still a long time away. To end this chapter, I want to ask all of you to take a few minutes just to leave me a review. It doesn't have to be long, a few words will be fantastic. It will encourage me to write more and update quicker. Plus, it'll make me feel loved, but that's besides the point. :P I hope you enjoyed reading Chapter Four guys and girls.