Summery : Five years after Mustafar, Darth Vader is but a shadow of the powerful Sith Lord he should be. To the point where the emperor must use the apprentice bond to force Vader to act. But why?

Chalk it up to two undaunted women who will not let even death stop them from saving the soul of the man they both loved.

Force-Speech

*Thoughts*

Disclaimer - I neither own copyright or receive money for anything. I write to improve my ability and for enjoyment.

We all need something to fight for:

Chapter One: Disgruntled emperor.

Emperor Palpatine sat in his throne and stared at nothing. He had dismissed the numerous toadies that wished to profit by his rise to power and his royal guards had been instructed to let nothing disturb him. For the Sith Master was brooding. Over five years and still his most powerful apprentice yet showed no sign of living up to his potential. Arranging his fall to the Dark Side had been almost as easy as breathing. Yet getting the former Jedi-turned-Sith to react to anything after his maiming was like trying to force a broken-spirited nexu to fight.

Yet that was the problem. Vader had no ambition, no fight left in him. It was if he had truly died on Mustafar and his shell was simply existing. More often then not, Palpatine found himself wasting precious energy to literally take his apprentice over and force him to use the power he held untapped. And afterward when he punished his apprentice, Vader would neither protest nor react to it. This situation had gone on long enough. It had gotten to the point where the emperor had to use propaganda to inflate the Dark Lord's fearsome reputation.

Not even sending him after the Jedi who survived could rouse Vader to the proper level of anger and hate. To put it bluntly, Vader either had to be goaded into a sustainable rage or Palpatine would have to find a new apprentice. The later was not truly an option for strong Force-sensitives had been nearly eradicated. And the work of 13 years was not lightly discarded. The Sith Master suddenly smiled to himself. Anakin Skywalker had developed a passionate hatred of his home-world after his mother had passed away. Because of her torture by the native Sand People.

What better way to fan the flame of the Dark Side to life then to send his apprentice back to the world he came from?