Author's Note 6/22/21: Welcome to my dark little time travel AU! I realized I've never properly introduced this story the way I have on the other sites I post on, so I'm going to remedy that now. A bit of background for you - I first had the basic idea for this story in 2007, while the Legacy of the Force series was still being published. My alternate world branches off very early in the LotF timeline, so anything that happened later on in that series or in the FotJ books has no bearing on this story. (The NJO and the Legacy comics, on the other hand, are definitely an influence.) I've tried to make this story accessible to anyone, not just those with a knowledge of the old EU/Legends.
The prologue and first eleven chapters of this story were posted from 2010-2012, and then I went on an entirely unintentional eight-year hiatus from posting. I did continue writing during that time and managed to finish a good chunk of the story by the end of 2015; but it wasn't until a year ago that I finally committed to getting the rest done. I feel like my progress has been pretty good - eight new chapters in the last ten months isn't bad considering my track record, and we've got about five or six left to go. My goal is to have this whole thing wrapped up by the end of the summer, so we'll see if I can make that happen! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you all enjoy the journey! (Edit 7/26/22: This story is complete!)
As always, a huge thank you to Gabri Jade for being my ever-supportive beta!
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Summary: Just before his fateful turn to the dark side, Anakin Skywalker is transported seventy years into the future, where he meets the ragtag remainder of the Jedi Order and becomes engulfed in their struggle against the new Sith Empire. Leading this fractured band of Jedi is Anakin's grandson, Ben Skywalker, a young Knight still haunted by the deaths of his loved ones and by the betrayal of his former master, Darth Caedus.
But the One Sith have not been idle in the years following the defeat of Caedus. Previously hidden in the shadows, they now stand on the brink of galactic domination, led there by the powerful and enigmatic Darth Krayt. As the two sides hurtle toward a final confrontation, will Anakin be able to separate himself from the shadow of Darth Vader? Or is it simply a matter of destiny – perhaps even the will of the Force – that the Chosen One and his scions should fall…?
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Enter the Foreign
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Prologue
"You do know, don't you? If the Jedi destroy me, any chance of saving her will be lost."
It was strange that the voice echoing in his thoughts, the one that had provided comfort for thirteen years in the same patient, rich tone, should now be a harbinger of his beloved's doom. The irony was bitter, enough to make Anakin Skywalker crush the fingers of both his flesh and bionic hands together in an effort to draw blood. He let out a heavy breath and separated his hands. They were clean, of course. They were always clean, no matter how wretched he felt on the inside.
Padmé…
When he'd spoken his vows by the lake on Naboo, he had never imagined that he might lose her like this. He had never imagined losing her at all. In the deep places of his heart, he had refused to consider death a possibility.
"The dark side is a pathway to many abilities…"
In an instant the shadows had been swept away, the secrets of the mysterious Darth Sidious laid bare, and Anakin had hesitated. Lightsaber drawn, close enough to kill, to wipe out evil forever, to end the war and make the galaxy safe for his family, and he had hesitated.
Jedi weren't supposed to hate, but Anakin did. He hated the very idea of the Sith, loathed their existence to his core. Of all the oaths he'd sworn upon being Knighted, that was the secret one he'd promised never to break. The Senate would continue to bicker, and the Jedi Council would be indecisive; but the Sith – who had lived in shadow for a millennium – were preparing for the final push, the one that would end in galactic domination. That would end in the deaths of everyone Anakin held dear.
He hated Sidious, yes, but he had never hated Palpatine. How could he? The Chancellor had watched over him ever since he was a boy. He had talked to him when no one else seemed to understand, when the stifling rules and restrictions of the Jedi Order crushed in around him and he just needed to breathe. Always patient, always kind yet firm in his advice, always willing to give Anakin the space to reflect and to act and to be exactly who he was.
Always lying to him, too. Manipulating him in hopes that he would… what, exactly? Save the Republic by turning to the dark side? It sounded absurd at first, and he'd tried to push the thought from his mind. But there was one important truth that kept him from shaking the idea loose: if he didn't find some way to prevent it, Padmé was going to die.
That was really the crux of it. Watch his angel – and their child – burn out of existence, or take the Chancellor's offer, take the power to stop death. Maybe save the Republic and stop the war, too, if the Chancellor was telling the truth about his intentions. And if he was, that meant the dark side really was the answer to Anakin's troubles. The lure was undeniable, and his reasons would be nobler than those of his predecessors.
What if the Jedi were wrong? What if they were the ones who were corrupt, as Palpatine claimed? They'd kept so many secrets from him, refusing access to the knowledge he so desperately craved. What if they didn't intend to arrest the Chancellor at all? What if they killed the one man who could help him save his wife? Could he stop them?
I can't, he pleaded with himself. Not without losing my soul.
Had the Chancellor sensed the fear crowding around his heart when he was still a child? Had he known, even then? Known the things Anakin could do when he let loose the overwhelming fire stored up in him. Like staring straight into Count Dooku's eyes as he severed his head from his body.
Like contemplating the death of the Jedi Order.
Anakin let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His left hand shook.
He had taken an oath to the Force, to the light.
To Padmé.
He gasped as he felt her across the distance between the Jedi Temple and 500 Republica. In his mind's eye he could see her rising from the couch, going to the window, as if she could feel his desperation. He went to the transparisteel that separated him from the sweeping majesty of Coruscant and reached for her. He felt her love, how she worried for him, even now, with the war's end so close. He felt the faintest hint of a consciousness still-forming in its mother's womb, a consciousness that was curious and fearful and, above all, alive.
I can't let them die. I can't let her die.
I won't.
The Chancellor was a Dark Lord of the Sith, the enemy of the Jedi for thousands of years. He was also Anakin's mentor, his friend… his only hope.
Though she possessed no Force-ability of her own, Anakin could feel Padmé answering the touch of his mind. She wanted him to be safe. She wanted him to come back to her. She wanted to set things right between them.
I'm going to, Padmé. I'm going to save you, and then we'll be free.
Twin tears escaped his eyes as he turned away from the window. He brushed them away with his left hand and ran to the door, his stomach tightening in a cold knot, his heart pumping chilled blood through his body.
I have to do it. Just this once.
He opened the door and stepped across the threshold, feeling too late the sense of danger that flared up as something connected with his head and sent him plummeting into restless darkness.
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