Arthur's note: If anyone wonders if Vader is getting with someone else, it is most likely a no. For all of Anakin's possessive issues (the obsession stems from wanting to keep her and the ones he cared about safe), and all of Padmé's misunderstandings of her husband (toxic behavior) - despite their mutual problems - she was still his light at the end of the tunnel and vice versa. They may have had brief attractions to other people (and flings as far as Padmé's concerned before ATOC) but I feel like they were happier together. They are two of my most favorite characters in SW for all their flaws and I'm not having any version of him get with anyone else. Vader will definitely find other ways of happiness other than romantic love, but he can't get with another woman because the memory of HIS Padmé would always be burned into his mind. I don't mind them being with other people in other fics but I don't know if that would fit in here, especially with Vader after everything that happened in his life.

This chapter has implied/referenced rape in it. Nothing too explicit but just there. It's precisely why I rated this story M after all, given this story is going to be very mature with the aspect of slavery. It would occur a lot with slaves - female slaves in particular - now and in the near future. I won't ever write explicit smut and implement them in my stories, but I rate my stories M to avoid any risk of such a topic coming up.

Chapter 6

Their 'friendship' was odd. The man often invited himself in to his "humble abode" as the man bluntly referred to his shop as and Vader had to admit he did partially regret not getting to know the man and his family in the other timeline.

To think, now they had forged some sort of connection to the point where the man would always be at his shop after his training sessions early in the morning. He actually cared about the man and his family. Owen also warmed his way into his heart, his asking for stories on his adventures touching him, and Vader admitted that holding him in his lap was an extremely good feeling.

Owen even gone as far as to call him "Uncle Vader", obviously liking the man a few times after Vader made visitations to their Homesteads. Both Gredda and Lef Lars evidently grown a liking to him, and Vader found himself admitting that the feelings are more than reciprocated. There was a protective urge within him to protect Owen Lars from the cruel fate that happened to him in the other timeline, to assure that his fate would not tragically, nor Cliegg's.

The shop was reaching closing time as always, leading Vader to grant Cliegg a reasonable price of credits. Despite how he cared about him, Vader didn't want to risk allowing his protective nature to rear its ugly head. He still loved the Skywalkers and Larses.

"I demand that my services be compensated double, boss!"

Even though Cliegg Lars annoyed him to the days end.

Vader rolled his eyes. "I'm doing it for Owen and since your parents begged me to take you away from the farm."

Cliegg's smirk was ever the more bashful. "Ha, my parents adore the ground I walk on." He continued slightly pridefully. "Truth being, even if you didn't pay me, I may stay with you regardless. Something about you just feels... safe."

Vader frowned. He was far from the safest person to be around. Though Cliegg doesn't know that.

"Besides, you have been avoiding the subject for weeks, but I want to talk with you about the slaves."

The brunette looked at him. What did Cliegg have to say about that subject now? The reason why he'd refused to talk to Cliegg about it further was because of the two opposing views, despite both agreeing that slavery was disgusting.

That does not mean Vader wasn't working against slavery. Behind closed doors, Vader had begun utilizing his knowledge of the future and technology to find proper methods to securely remove slave chips in the back shop.

"Since, there's a Boonta Eve Classic Podrace coming up. Perhaps you can negotiate with Gardulla for the freedom of some of her slaves in exchange for credits. Everyone knows she has slightly more dignity than Jabba."

Vader's eyes actually go wide at the proposition. That... wasn't a bad idea. He addressed him, not keeping his surprise from his tone. "Why, Cliegg Lars, there must be some intelligence in that brain of yours after all."

"Thanks!" Cliegg looked proud for a moment before registering what Vader had said. "Hey! Was there ever any doubt?!" he chided, going red in the face.

While the man was blabbering, Vader mused. Gardulla was persistent in being respected, and she would most certainly not cause doubt within why she would be Jabba's better.

"...While I may seem unintelligent to you, Vader, I'll have you know that I'm a smart man!" Cliegg rambled as he pretended to be indignant as he pointed his index finger at himself.

Vader looked at him pointedly. "I actually thought you would propose to kill Jabba."

"Who's that crazy though?" Cliegg asked.

Vader grinned. "I'm considering it."

"What do you mean by that, Vader?" He looked him in the eyes, choosing not to answer, causing him to immediately protest. "Don't tell me you're considering assassinating him, knowing that you'll fail and Shmi and your boy would be left orphaned!" Cliegg shouted, his body going rigid.

"Accidents happen," Vader replied dismissively. "That would draw the Hutt Clans to the planet to do their own investigation, and by then..." he chose to let the words linger, causing Cliegg's eyes to go even wider, seemingly about to pop out of their sockets.

"That would cause the Hutts to come crashing down among us all," Cliegg replied coldly. "There would be a power vacuum!"

Vader opened his mouth. Tell him, something whispered; his own subconsciousness. The part of him that wanted at least one ally in the past aside from his mother. Tell him about your connection to the Force.

No, he couldn't. It was not the Force itself that prevented him from informing the man. It was due to his own form of paranoia. No, if Cliegg Lars knew about the things Vader could do, who knew how it can affect their conversation? There were pushing points for all sentients after all.

"So, if an opportunity arises to dispose of him, would you not take it?" Vader queried instead, staring into his eyes.

"If it comes with remaining undiscovered and avoiding potential harm from my family, of course I would!" Cliegg replied, and Vader sensed no deception in him. "But the chance of that happening is just as likely as him suddenly getting a heart attack. He has heavy security that it would be a miracle if you can walk in there without having your head blown off."

Deciding to end the conversation now, Vader looked at him and nodded, "I understand, yet fate comes with many surprises. You should leave now while I sort out here."

"Ah, yes, knowing Owen, he probably made a mess within the Homestead again," Cliegg said, rolling his eyes at the antics of his son.

Vader didn't say anything about that, instead beginning to sort out credits, peggats, and the other forms of currencies accepted here on Tatooine. Being a shop owner could be tiresome for even the former Sith Lord who led plenty of operations both under the Empire and a former Jedi Knight of the Republic.

Once he finished organizing them, Vader loaded them into his bag before sitting and closing his eyes to reflect. He had been building upon himself both physically and mentally; though there had been testaments on this planet...

Much to his bitterness and... expectation, there had been slavers who dared to walk into his shop, often times with their slaves behind them. Every fiber of his being always pleaded for him to do something. Yet, reality always came crashing down. Once, Vader could condemn whole planets with simple orders and his iron fist. But now, he is in no position to make demands, for there was no Empire. No 501st nor Delta Squadron. No Star Destroyers.

He had only himself and his training to depend on for survival. To lash out would be like Sidious taking over his Empire without any army to sustain it and any support from the public whatsoever.

Vader shook his head and expelled his current thoughts and stood to his feet. Seconds later he heard the sounds of painful crying along with someone crashing against something.

Throwing over his hood, he moved over to the direction of the commotion, seeing a light-skinned and red hair Zygerrian towering over a Rutian Twi'lek female, a whip in hand, with angry blue eyes. The other female Twi'lek yelled out in Huttese, pleading for him to not harm her sister.

Looking at the Zygerrian, Vader's alarm bells came to life. He had seen that look before, and he knew what it meant...

"Get up, weakling!"

The few bystanders standing by seemed unmoved, ignoring the scene as a whole or continuing walking, earning an unseen sneer from him. Typical scum who didn't care about anyone but themselves. Most likely drunk after going into the cantina.

Yet, on this night, - despite keeping himself under control - Vader found the Mask that he had placed around himself like Sidious being tested. Seeing and feeling were two different things, and both of the slave girls who were around fifteen or sixteen being tossed around grated on old instincts long since thought nonexistent.

He couldn't though...

But they needed help...

The girl tried to stand again to appease her master, yet her injuries were getting to her obviously. Upon seeing she was not standing quick enough, the Zygerrian raised the whip to brought it down on her once more, only for the second girl to grab his wrist in a bold moment of defiance.

"Master! Please! Don't hurt her!"

Kriff, he couldn't in good conscience ignore this scene...

The Zygerrian gritted his teeth. "You dare to touch me without permission, girl! I shall whip the skin off your back and report to Jabba about your disobedience!"

Old anger came down around him quickly.

Vader didn't even bother holding back his contained anger, storming forward, thrusting his hand to the Zygerrian. In a single second, the worm's eyes went wide as he was suspended into the air.

The two girls looked up shocked, mouths open wide as an invisible hold wrapped around the Zygerrian's throat. Vader's eyes burned with such intensity it could cut into the heart of the Force itself, only held back by seeking information.

"Where are their slave chips," Vader demanded, clenching his jaw as decades of control were grated on. "You will answer me now."

The Zygerrian screamed in desperation. "They are not my slaves...! They are own by Jabba!" His eyes were ever the more pleading. "J-Jabba gave them to me in exchange for money! You have to believe me!"

"Oh, I do."

Vader hummed.

"P-Please don't kill me!"

His lips curled, his expression becoming darker as he glared into the eyes of the scum. "So you could continue to enslave the innocent? The slave market is always open after all."

"I'll leave! I promise! I will never enslave another again!" the Zygerrian pleaded pitifully, though Vader would not be taking any chances.

There were many times throughout his life - especially during the Clone Wars - where he'd spared the lives of Officers of the CIS Navy, and they would go on to escape from prison and his actions caused more harm than good. The Jedi often made the same mistake. No, sparing any slaver was too risky, and Jabba would know about him.

Vader knew the truth. Some people couldn't change. They were extremely manipulative and many of them are the same rich type who steal from those in poverty, purchasing human beings as if they are something that could be brought.

Hopefully, his son would understand that harsh lesson too or his son's kindness and patience may be taken advantage of.

"You know," Vader replied without sympathy, stalking around the Zygerrian, "there's just one thing in this galaxy that I despise above all others. Should I tell you what that is?"

The Zygerrian's eyes go wide, almost popping out of his sockets as Vader brought him closer, the word coming out slowly, agonizingly...

"Slavers."

His hand clenched into a fist, and the Zygerrian's face convulsed before at last a vomit-inducing snap followed as the slaver's neck twisted in an unnatural way, body going limp.

The former Sith released him without any care, staring at the corpse with nothing but contempt. Even in the past and trying to do better, Vader had no small amount of biasness against slavers.

Turning around, he saw the slave girl on the ground, crawling away from him, little whimpers escaping her lips, fearful eyes staring up at him.

She was... afraid... of him.

That was what brought Vader back to reality. He'd just snapped the throat of another living being in front of the poor girl, no matter how disgusting of a lifeform he was. He recalled the memory of Luke Skywalker, of the fearful face on Cloud City, of Leia on the first Death Star.

Control...

He tilted his head to the still barely standing Twi'lek with big brown eyes before indicating to her sister with a subtle motion of his head. The other girl hesitated for a moment, eyeing him warily, before moving over, dropping to her knees, and wrapping her arms around the other one, looking at him with no small amount of fear.

"You are both safe now."

Much to his sadness, that did not calm the girls, instead they shrunk further away, their fear intensifying if anything.

Vader lowered before them, recalling when he'd been a Jedi like that. He was in all intent and purposes one again, even though he wouldn't want to feel like that again.

Something about them was painstakingly familiar, yet Vader couldn't find anything in his past that put their faces together.

"Where are your parents?"

"We have been by ourselves for so long," the girl replied softly, an obvious desperation flaring across her expression. "Our parents died trying to protect us against slavers when we were eight."

Vader clenched his jaw, anger radiating off of him but keeping his tone composed as possible. "If you return to Jabba, he'll kill you."

The calmer one looked at him. "Jabba gave us to him briefly for pleasure. We would have been given back to him tomorrow."

Ah, that explained things.

"What are your names?" Vader asked.

"...Ann Gella," she replied after a moment of hesitation. "And this is my twin sister, Tann."

A memory surged in the back of his mind...

Two Twi'leks massaging an ever familiar Dug just before the best day of his life...

Ah yes, these must be them in their even younger days and they seemed to still be own by Jabba.

"Well, Ann, Tann, I have been working on droids that could remove the slave chips without them going off," Vader informed them. "Follow me into my shop."

Both looked at him, the mere thought of freedom seeming to be a concept abnormal to them, the other one protesting. "Jabba has lackeys everywhere."

"I can keep you safe," Vader dismissed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Ann scowled, seeming bolder than her sister. "I'm tired of putting those fake smiles for him so we could avoid beatings, Tann."

"You think I'm not?!" She sighed. "If we go back to him, maybe he'll be merciful," Tann responded, panicked.

"And what about him?" Ann asked, indicating to the dead Zygerrian. "You think Jabba would buy that we are unharmed."

"We can pass it off as a bounty hunter killing him! Sure the timing may be off but..."

"But he'll kill us," Ann continued.

Vader responded. "You must break your chains free of him. Do not return to him, not when freedom is in front of you. This is your chance of liberation."

Ann's eyes flickered to the ground briefly before staring at her twin sister. "Look at us, Tann, how many people would Jabba send us to kriff? How many times must we pleasure his henchmen? I'm tired of being referred to as a slut simply because I'm a Twi'lek."

"Jabba would skin you alive if he'd heard that." Tann grimaced, her expression wavering. "I don't enjoy it either but if Jabba discovers what we are doing even if he's being truthful Jabba will kill us."

Ann shook her head. "We can finally be sisters, Tann. We didn't ask to be used by that maniac!"

Tann stared into her sister's eyes, and there appeared to be an unspoken communication between them - a mental battle of wills. "But what if he tries to enslave us too? This could be just a test by Jabba."

"The prospect of owning slaves disgusts me," Vader interjected, biting back an icy tendril of anger at merely being thought of as a slaver, despite how he couldn't fault the poor girl for coming to that conclusion. No matter how decent folks some of the slavers were, the fact that they were participating in such an act already ranks them just as terrible.

Ann looked at her sister, a light in her brown eyes that hadn't been there earlier. "I say we trust him."

Tann's fists clenched. "Fine, I'll follow your lead, my dear sister, but if we are caught by Jabba, or if he is no better than him, don't say I didn't tell you so."

Vader closed his eyes, recalling his conversation with Cliegg a few weeks back.

'The slaves do not fear the slavers because they already know pain and abuse of all type, but rather the slavers fear the slaves because they know that the slaves care little about the possibility of death if their loved ones are allowed freedom...'

While the two girls feared what the slaver would have done to one another, they were so used to abuse of all types.

It would be a matter of time that Jabba lost control. This could pave a way for him to liberate others as well.

"Follow me and I will show you the genuineness of my intent," he said, even softer. "We'll handle all else when your slave transmitters are removed."

Both nodded.

Tann finally pushed herself up, and there was a noticeable limp in her movement. Ann came to her sister's side, slinging her arm over her shoulder, and beginning to move behind Vader.

Arthur's note: I'm so glad nobody guessed correctly! Tann and Ann Gella are seen in TPM. There's a video of them on YouTube. They were slaves of Sebulba after he'd purchased them from Jabba. Given they have no official backstories, in this timeline, they were enslaved to Ryloth and were brought to Jabba, becoming slaves to him when they were nine or ten. At this point in time, they are not yet brought by Sebulba so Jabba still owns them. I imagine Jabba often send his female slaves to 'do the deed' with clients for more profit.

What stirred this chapter's concept is Tales from Jabba's Palace when Luke ran into Oola and another Twi'lek, Sienn'rha. Sienn and Oola was kidnapped and enslaved by Bib as a young girl. Fortuna forced the girls to train to be dancers for Jabba. While being transported to Jabba's Palace, Jerris Rudd hid both girls that later were discovered by Luke. Luke tried to help them both to escape, but Oola was suspicious. Rudd came and a fight began. Luke deflected all bolts from Rudd's blaster and killed him, providing the dancers a chance to escape. Oola then distracted the recently arrived Fortuna and urged Sienn to flee, hoping to save her from Fortuna, whom she had realized was evil and unfortunately died to Jabba's Rancor in ROTJ. Had Vader not kill the Zygerrian beforehand, Tann may have gone back to Jabba and her story may have ended just as tragically as Oola because a pissed off Jabba is not a good sight.

Speaking of which, Vader's decision in killing the Zygerrian may be controversial given this is a redeemed Vader, but think about it, he has been a slave all his life and have witnessed their brutality time and time again. Killing this slaver means less victims of his for others. That Zygerrian was dead the moment Vader saw him.

May the Force be with you all always.