Chapter 3:
The loud and catastrophic boom of the Death Star imploding was music to the Rebel's ears. They had loathed to hear that sound and not experience it themselves. Gold squadron surprisingly hadn't taken many casualties, and the squadron Anakin led arrived back without a scratch.
Luke exited his X-Wing and hopped onto a bright yellow ladder leading to the ground. Luke was greeted by several pilots and commanders, with a deafening round of applause. Most importantly Leia and Biggs were there to greet him.
"Luke!" Biggs shouted before wrapping his arms around his old friend. "Your flying was brilliant, is that all from beggars canyon?"
"Yea and the occasional speeder bike chase" Luke joked. They once again hugged and laughed, quite surprised they had frankly kicked the Empires ass. Leia made her way through the crowd of commanders and hugged Biggs, then hugging Luke even tighter.
Luke and Leia chuckled together, happy to both be alive. Their moment was short lived as a tall, and quite stuffy scoundrel shouted.
"Luke!" Han shouted before wrapping his arms around him. "That was a great shot kid, it was one in a million!"
"I knew you'd come back!" Luke said rather happily.
"Well you didn't think I'd let you take all the credit and take that reward did you?" Han said sarcastically.
Han looked over to Leia, who grabbed his waist bringing him into an embrace.
"Now where's Kenobi at?" Han asked. "I saw some of his flying, he took on a whole squadron of Tie Fighters by himself! I assume Vader as well."
The great hall in the temple suddenly fell silent, where was Anakin?
Leia began to speak before being cut off. An old clone wars antique docked outside of the temple. Leia could just about make out the face of Anakin Ken- Skywalker.
Leia, Luke and Han; along with almost the entire base walked over to the bomber. Anakin opened the cockpit and force jumped out. He landed on his feet and looked worse for wear, as if he had seen a ghost.
"anakin-" Leia muttered before grabbing his neck and sobbing into his chest. Anakin felt extremely uncomfortable but didn't want to ignore Leia's sadness. Anakin reciprocated the hug before letting go.
"You all need to go back, into the base and keep the defences up, Vader is on his way." Anakin muttered. He was confident in his ability but didn't want any rebels to be harmed.
"Vader? Vaders coming here? Well let's blast his ship before he gets here." Han suggested.
"That will be unnecessary, if you prevent him from landing he'll just send numerous battalions of troops and star fighters to the temple. You mustn't worry, I will kill him myself-" Anakin finished before being cut off by the guttural sound of Vader's Advanced X1.
The spotlight shone on Anakin as a dark demon emerged from the hatch of the fighter. The Tie was still hovering above ground as Vader stood menacingly, his metallic breathing giving the rebels chills.
Numerous rebel soldiers raised their blasters at Vader, before even getting a shot off they were all pushed back by Anakin. All the rebels including Luke, Leia and Han were now inside the base. Anakin used the force to shut the blast doors, separating them from the rebels.
Vader spoke with elegance, yet disregard. He did not believe Anakin his equal, after all Anakin Skywalker was weak.
"You chose to return Skywalker, hardly intelligent. This is your final chance Skywalker, join me or suffer." Vaders mechanical voice could even be heard within the temple. Leia had ordered rebel mechanics to open the door as she, along with several rebel commanders as well as Han, Luke and Chewie rushed to the control room to look at the security holograms.
"I'll never join you Vader, not after what you did to Obi-Wan. You deserve death." Anakin shouted
"In that case, so do you" Vader muttered. Anakin didn't know what he meant, there was no time to ponder as Vader leaped from his Tie, igniting his crimson red blade and striking at Anakin.
Anakin merely dodged the attack and ignited his own lightsaber. The lilac blue blade emerged in front of Anakin's eyes.
"Your destiny lies with me Skywalker" Vaders voice echoed through the jungle ruins.
"No" Anakin murmured before charging at Vader. Anakin gripped his lightsaber behind his head and lunged, Vader was expecting the move but not the speed. Vader parried the attack and struck at Anakin's stomach. Anakin blocked the attack, leading to a saber clash. Vaders mechanical breathing haunted Anakin, especially when they were this close.
"Is this the limit of your knowledge?" Vader mocked.
"I'VE LEARNED ENOUGH!" Anakin screamed, repeatedly swinging at Vaders guard. Vader blocked the onslaught and used the force to grab a nearby crate, hurling it at Anakin. Anakin was sent back stumbling by the crate. Vader sent two more crates at Anakin. Anakin sliced one in half and rolled under the other. In one swift motion Anakin jumped up and kicked Vader in the face, sending him to the ground. However Anakin's biggest weakness was his lack of self control.
as Vader fell, Anakin rushed over to him. Anakin had planned to decapitate Vader, a fitting end for a Sith Lord. However Vader threw his lightsaber at Anakin. If Anakin didn't want to become two he had to give up his advantage. Anakin dodged the saber and used the force to summon it to his hand. Anakin caught the crimson blade and was duel wielding his and Vaders lightsabers.
"Impressive Jedi, indeed you are powerful as the Emperor has foreseen" Vader stated, clearly trying to rile Anakin up. Vader then drew another Lightsaber, the lightsaber owned by Obi-wan Kenobi.
Anakin immediately drew into a fit of rage.
"HOW DARE YOU USE THAT WEAPON!" Anakin screamed, if he had any doubts on killing Vader, they were all gone.
"Yes, use your anger. Only your hatred can destroy me."
Anakin ignored Vaders words but did exactly as we had asked, he gave into rage and anger.
Anakin felt the force, not the light but the dark side. The cold energy that surged over him when he slaughtered the tusken raiders was back. He wanted revenge.
Anakin slammed the ground as hard as he could, using the force. The ground began to split and stopped at Vaders robotic feet. Suddenly the ground beneath him collapsed, Vader dropped Kenobi's lightsaber. The shockwave sent Vader into a bottomless pit. Anakin stood atop the pit. His eyes beaming a fiery yellow. Anakin used the force to summon Kenobi's lightsaber, clipping it to his belt. Anakin then chucked Vader his lightsaber before using the force to grasp a chunk of dirt and plummet it towards Vader. Anakin repeatedly buried Vader until the sound of his breathing was no more.
Anakin sighed, a wave of relief washed over him. However, something was wrong. Anakin still felt Vaders presence when all of a sudden the grave exploded. Vader jumped and landed before Anakin.
"Did you truly think you could defeat me?" Vader asked. He was genuinely curious as well as mocking Anakin.
"Did you truly think I didn't have a plan for you?" Anakin asked.
Vader was confused on what Anakin had meant, he believed Anakin's plan was to kill him himself. How wrong he was. Anakin suddenly jumped on Vader, tackling him to the ground. Vader weighed a ton but Anakin used the force to propel him forward. Anakin then used the butt end of his lightsaber to smash into Vaders control unit, disturbing his respiratory system. Anakin force jumped off of Vader, expecting Vader to retaliate, however he did not. Vader lay on the ground motionless. Anakin walked over to Vader, his lightsaber ignited at Vaders helmet.
Suddenly a crimson blade ignited, Anakin stood still; unable to move. Anakin looked down to see a struggling Vader holding the crimson blade through his stomach. Anakin collapsed to the floor as Vader fell onto one knee.
Vader could barely breathe. If he wanted to live he had to seek medical attention. Vader left Anakin and force jumped into his Advanced X1. Vader sped off from the temple, leaving the atmosphere.
The rebels had witnessed the events from the security holograms. Most if not all were extremely impressed with Anakin. No one to their knowledge was able to stand up to Vader. But when Anakin was stabbed, the base fell silent pardoning Leia's immediate wince and cry.
"I DON'T CARE IF WE HAVE TO BLAST THE DAMN DOOR OPEN, GET IT OPEN!" Luke screamed. When it came to Anakin Luke hid and reserved his emotions well. But now there was no hiding it. After Anakin was revealed to be a Skywalker Luke tried to distance himself, but now with Anakin fighting for his life Luke had to save his father, brother, uncle whatever the hell relation he was to him.
Luke ran to the blast doors and used his lightsaber to cut a hole in the door. It was relatively big so he could carry Anakin if he needed to. As soon as Luke cut the hole, Leia ran right through it to Anakin. Anakin was fighting for every breath he took and was losing consciousness. Luke, Leia and Han all stood around Anakin. The rebels that had followed kept their distance. Two medics quickly approached Anakin, quickly forcing a respirator onto his mouth. Anakin was just able to say a few words.
"Lu-Luke... R2 will tell- you everything" Anakin whispered. Tears began forming in Anakin's eyes.
"When my mother died, I almost thought about this, thought about if I wanted it. Now that it's happening to me. I'm- I'm scared" Anakin whispered.
The two medics loaded Anakin onto a stretcher, they barged past Han and almost ran towards the temple. As they were travelling the rebels had made a line around them on either side, saluting Anakin. Luke and Leia didn't leave Anakin's side until he was brought into the medical facility.
A medical droid awaited near a bacta tank, seeing the injury the droid began preparing cauterisation and sterilisation.
"Le-Leia" Anakin whispered.
"Yes?!" Leia said frantically, she had it expected him to talk to her.
"Never stop fighting for what your parents believed in, never." Anakin managed to finish his sentence before he lost consciousness.
"no, no, No, NO" Leia screamed. "Is he dead?!! IS HE DEAD?!" Leia asked frantically.
"No but he needs rest, his vitals are shifting. There may be no point in trying to save him" the droid explained.
"Are you having a malfunction, SAVE HIM!" Luke screamed.
"very well, we must remove all garments that are restricting his breathing, remove his personal belongings and put him in the bacta tank." The droid said.
The two medics began removing Anakin's Jedi robes whilst Luke grabbed Anakin's two lightsabers.
"His lightsaber is identical to mine, strange." Luke stated before placing both Ben's and Anakin's lightsabers onto a tray near the bacta tank.
Anakin was placed into the bacta tank shirtless, to see the extent of the damage. It had gone clean through and narrowly missed his stomach. All he needed was rest and care.
The medics quickly lowered Anakin into the tank, with the respirator fitted he would be able to last days in the medical ward. The Empire would take at least a week to regroup and for Vader to heal. The rebels had time on their side.
Luke stared at Anakin's unconscious body, floating aimlessly in the tank. He felt sorry for him, especially since they were family.
Leia stood side by side with Luke, both watching Anakin and hoping for his recovery. Two rebel commanders entered the medical facility, waiting to be addressed by Princess Leia.
"what is it commanders?" Leia faintly whispered.
The two commanders looked at each other before speaking.
"We require the Jedi's blood Ma'am" they both spoke in unison.
Leia was outraged at the statement.
"now, Now! NOW! You've seen what's happened to him, he needs that blood!" Leia screamed
"We know it's not ideal Ma'am, believe us we didn't want to do this now but the Alliance leaders called for a decision. We must analyse his blood to see if he is Anakin Skywalker."
"can it at least wait..." Luke said stubbornly.
"It's not up to us, if it was we wouldn't be doing this test in the first place" one of the commanders stated.
Just then R2 entered the med bay, immediately whooping and whistling at the sight of Anakin.
"He will be alright buddy, I forgot to ask, how did my blood test go?" Luke asked.
R2 having heard the conversation between Leia, Luke and the commanders felt it would be best to use the fake DNA results of Anakin.
R2 explained the real reason between the test and projected a hologram of the two tests. '99.99999% sibling origin' the test stated.
Luke, the commanders and Leia were in shock.
"We can use this R2 unit for the test, thank you ma'am, sir." The commanders left with R2 following close behind them.
"I- I don't understand. I have a brother, who's a Jedi, who's named after my father and following in his footsteps whilst I was a moisture farmer?!" Luke was both annoyed, happy and confused. Why didn't Ben tell him?
"Come on Luke, let Anakin rest. Let's join the celebrations." Leia said. Leia was quite saddened at Anakin's condition but also wanted to celebrate the destruction of the station that destroyed her home and family.
"He better get a medal for this" Luke joked.
"Maybe a couple of punches added on from you" Leia chuckled.
Leia and Luke walked out of the medbay, leaving Anakin with the medical droid.
Luke was immediately greeted by Biggs, who had many questions.
"So when were you gonna tell me you had a brother? The R2 unit just showed us the DNA test."
"If I'm being honest, I didn't know I had a brother. Uncle Owen mentioned I had a sibling before on accident, I just never bothered to ask." Luke replied, this innovation was rather strange.
"Well then, are you gonna tell me how you got involved with the rebellion?" Biggs asked.
"You know that crazy old hermit named Ben? It was because of him. Me and Uncle Owen bought the protocol droid and that R2 unit from Jawas. The R2 unit has a message for Obi-Wan Kenobi. When R2 ran off, we found him and Ben. Ben revealed himself to be Obi-Wan and asked me to come with him to Alderaan. I only accepted bec- because Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were killed by stormtroopers. We then hired the smuggler Han to get it to Alderaan. Then instead we find the Death Star which the Princess and my brother were captive upon. We break them out and then Ben was killed by Vader. The rest you know." Luke explained the events in such detail Biggs could almost imagine them.
"I'm sorry about your Uncle and Aunt Luke. The Empire are getting more ruthless by the cycle. At least we have a Jedi on our side. Did you see him? He almost killed Vader!"
"I know he did, that's what's worrying. Vader wasn't trying. If he was I would fear for his life." Luke stammered, he knew Vader wasn't really trying.
"One Jedi is better than none, how's he holding up?"
"He's stabilising, the lightsaber didn't hit any organs. With the right treatment he could be walking in a day, fighting in two." Luke said. For any normal person a wound like that would take a week for them to walk. But due to the high healing rate due to the midi-chlorians it would divide the time by seven.
"Come on Luke, drinks are on me" Biggs said before dragging Luke over to the bar.
Leia thanked many of the pilots for their roles in the destruction of the Death Star, she never lost hope in any of them especially Anakin and Luke.
Watching the recordings from the command centre, Anakin's flying was unrivalled. She was amazed on how precise his movements were, but even in his most darkest hour, when Ben had just been killed he seemed to still adore flying. Like he was just a big kid inside.
Leia would then walk over to Han, who was at the bar awaiting a drink.
"Looks like you got me to stay after all princess" Han said.
"So you do intend to stay?" Leia asked
"I've been thinking about it and I can't remember the last time me and Chewie had something to fight for, we'll stick around."
"Thank you, Han" Leia said before hugging him and laughing.
It had almost been a day since Anakin had been stabbed and he was now discharged from the medical bay.
As soon as he left he was greeted by many Rebel soldiers, all saluting him as he walked by. He used the force to sense the location of R2, he had to know whether he was known as the Hero with no fear, Anakin Skywalker named after his father and brother to Luke or still Anakin Kenobi.
He came across a jet black blast door, it suddenly opened to reveal Han, Luke and Chewbacca.
"Just what's going on the-" before Anakin could finish his sentence Luke ran and hugged him. After breaking the hug Luke lightly punched Anakin's arm.
"Well what was that for!" Anakin chuckled, it had actually rather hurt.
"That's for not telling me you're my brother, I've got far too many questions."
"They will all be answered in due time" Anakin said. He now knew he was known as Luke's brother. He didn't feel right lying to Luke, but no one other than R2 would believe him about time travel.
Anakin would then notice that Luke was wearing a bright yellow bomber jacket, and Han was wearing a very smart version of his casual smugglers attire.
"So what are all you lit doing standing here in an empty room?" Anakin asked.
"Waiting for you of course, a ceremony is taking place for us blowing up the Death Star. Everyone wanted to wait for you to be discharged." Luke said.
"Well I'm flattered but I'm not one for ceremonies" Anakin said. He found them too formal and boring.
"Come on brother, what's the worse that could happen." Luke pleaded.
"Alright fine, but don't make it a regular occurrence." Anakin said.
"I'll second that" Han said, he didn't like ceremonies either but it would be rude not to attend.
"So are we going then?" Luke asked.
"You lot go ahead I'll be right behind you" Anakin smirked.
"You'd better or I'll personally shove you back into that bacta tank" Luke laughed, followed by a chuckle from Han and Chewie. The trio walked off leaving Anakin with his thoughts. All of a sudden a voice familiar to Anakin spoke, he hadn't heard it in years.
"Anakin...Anakin" It was the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn.
"Master... Master Qui-Gon, how are you here?" Anakin asked. He was flabbergasted at the sound of his original Master's voice.
"I am apart of the living force Ani, you must listen to what I have to say. I imagine you are wondering how you are here."
"Among other questions, yes." Anakin said, quite sternly.
"You are here due to the will of the force, that and some Dark side magic. The Emperor and his apprentice tried a sith ritual to achieve immortality. The force rejected this and sent you instead" Qui-Gon explained.
"Anakin I know this is hard for you to believe, but you must listen. Go to the Dagobah system when you feel the time is right, all will be explained in due time" Qui-Gon said.
"How will I know the time is right?" Anakin asked.
"Trust your instincts, search your feelings and trust in the force. You will know when the time comes" Qui-Gon said before the echoes of his voice suddenly vanished.
Anakin would go to Dagobah when the time came. For now he had to aid the Alliance in any way he could.
Han, Chewie and Luke walked to a 7ft grey blast door, it suddenly opened revealing a grand hall, filled with rebel soldiers on either side. In front of them lay a massive ceremonial stage, on it stood R2, C-3PO, Leia and numerous Rebel commanders. The three of them walked down the aisle, surrounded by numerous rebels. Luke could even make out Biggs and Wedge in the crowd, both smiling for him. The three reached the podium to the sounds of trumpets and celebrations. Leia in an all white and elegant dress stood and looked at both of them, giving them both a smirk. She reached into a square tray, grabbing a rather large golden medal. She placed it around Han's neck, he gave her a rather large smile. She then grabbed another and lay it over Luke's neck. R2 looked around for Anakin, unable to see him R2 gave a series of sad whistles. Leia's face drooped in sadness. However just then. Anakin walked into the Great Hall.
Immediately all the rebels saluted in respect to Anakin. R2 started to shake happily and used his boosters to to fly to Anakin, stopping just 2ft in front of him. Anakin signalled R2 to follow him side by side as they walked down the aisle. Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie were all facing R2 and Anakin, smiles beaming on their faces. Anakin stepped up onto the pedestal, a smirk edging on the side of his face.
"General Skywalker, for your efforts in aiding the Rebellion we offer you this" Leia grabbed a golden medal and handed it to Anakin. Anakin stared at it for a second before speaking.
"I am honoured at your hospitality and your kind gesture, but I believe someone else be worthy of this reward" Anakin spoke unlike himself but rather like Obi-wan.
"I believe that the pilot Wedge, deserves this reward more than I. His impeccable flying allowed for the destruction of the Death Star. I also believe the pilot Biggs deserves such a reward." When Anakin finished his sentence, the two pilots exited the crowd looking quite shocked. They both walked up towards Anakin. Anakin placed the medal around Wedge's neck, Leia then passed him another one. Anakin placed the medal around Biggs, he then spoke.
"You both showed valour out there, every single pilot that aided in the destruction of the Death Star. No, not even. Every single rebel in this Alliance has showed valour and determination. I have been inspired by every single one of your acts. Therefore I will continue to aid this rebellion and forsake my revenge on Darth Vader." Anakin spoke, his voice echoed throughout the hall.
A numerous amount of rebels cheered at Anakin's speech, Luke immediately ran to hug him. The five heroes, Leia, Luke, Han, Chewie and Anakin would be the new core to the Rebellion and the future of the Galaxy.
Anakin knew the best step for healing from Obi-Wan's death would be acceptance and grievance. Anakin would morn but seek revenge no more...for now.