Chapter 7

Huttese slave-girl costumes were very revealing. The top half included a slave girl harness that fastened with cords and had filigree on the chest. There were differences between each girl of course... not by choice; Ann's lower half consisted of an ornamented bikini-style bottom layered over trousers, whilst her sister was wearing a metal belt with a lashaa silk skirt.

If he was a lesser man, Vader would have huffed. Leave it to Jabba to give them clothing that made them look like whores just to appease his clients. The girls had obviously been played around like they were not living people with minds of their own all for the pleasure of those bugs. He would love nothing more than to march onto Jabba's palace and rip his brains out... but that would only be problematic for the rest of the slaves still entrapped in the city.

His fury was only augmented when it has been told to him by the droids that Tann Gella had suffered a sprained leg as a result of that slaver having the audacity to hurt the already malnourished woman.

The droids didn't even have to sedate them, for they pass out almost immediately. Yet, it was still better being safe than sorry, so Vader gave the order to do so.

Once their normal wounds had been tended to, the droids began conducting their research on the scanners. These droids had been constructed by him personally for hours going onto days on end whenever the shop closes down.

Vader prided himself as a patient man. Perhaps, on Mustafar before losing his limbs, his bottled-up anger was nothing but a danger to himself and others. But if that anger exploded as it did on Mustafar and the Dark Side took over entirely, Obi-Wan would not be able to stop him nor would any Jedi as this body left behind a lot of potential that remained to be untouched, and can also be used to do incredibly evil if Vader is not careful with what powers he harness.

If Vader didn't keep control, the kyber saber would be but a small fraction compared to what the Force can do. Even Darth Nihilus himself would have been nothing but a fever dream.

Kriff, no wonder Obi-Wan deceived Luke just as long as he had. It was better to let Luke think of his father as a dead hero than the monster he'd turned into and the monster he was still fighting from time to time. Vader cursed himself for the umpteenth time as always whenever his thoughts would stray to the topic of his touchy past. How could he have blamed his old Jedi Master as much? It had been him who claimed multiple times that he destroyed Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan wasn't telling Luke anything that Vader didn't support with his actions alone. The perspective that Obi-Wan used was the one utilized and supported by both Vader and the Emperor. Was it misleading? Definitely.

But even now, he was struggling with the Dark Side, the power flooding through his fingertips, just wanting to kill every single slaver on this planet already and choose the quick and easier path as he once did.

Why did it have to be him who time traveled, despite all of his imperfections and struggles?

It was remarkable that Obi-Wan didn't fall to the Dark Side after everything went wrong with his life and he had to seclude himself on this planet also clouded by darkness of greed and pain that Vader didn't even want to even come back to.

Once, Vader thought of Obi-Wan as a coward for hiding away on Tatooine no less, but now with his new interpretation of everything no longer clouded by the Dark Side, he understood many things. Raising him on Tatooine was an intelligent move. Obi-Wan had to take care of Luke. It was not a choice whether or not he could do so. If he left Luke alone with his stepparents on Tatooine and joined the Rebellion, it would risk the chances of Vader or worse the Emperor finding him and thus converting him to the Dark Side. This would do more harm to the Rebellion than help it.

Obi-Wan joining the Rebellion would have been ultimately foolish, especially with Darth Vader wishing to settle the score with his old Master. If Obi-Wan wasn't there for Luke's upbringing, his boy could have been killed by Tusken Raiders or by the Stormtroopers who also murdered Owen and Beru.

Though the reasons for why Vader was on Tatooine were different, the intent was more or less the same: keeping Anakin off Sidious's radar as Obi-Wan did for his son.

Regardless, it seemed like fate was calling him back into action much sooner than it did with his old Master in one way or another. The slaves had suffered for far too long, and Vader choosing to get involved may attract attention to himself by both the Jedi and Sith, yet if this does happen, Vader would take the fire.

Standing there, Vader began to meditate. The Light Side of the Force embraced him with welcome arms, his only anchor on this Force-forsaken planet. This planet had been testing his resolve with even himself, especially with all of the pain from the innocent, the agonizing memories of the past...

Right now, two more lives were in his hands, having endured just as much as he has if not more, given they are girls and male slavers prefer having their way with them no matter of age more than the men who are usually used for servitude. Vader didn't want to hurt them by losing control.

It took several hours but their transmitters were removed and placed into a jar just as cautiously. An added bonus was that their trackers had been disabled as well, meaning that Jabba wouldn't be able to clue them to their mystery. Vader shall test the slave transmitters personally for another project he had been working on.

The two girls of course were asleep.

The lead medical droid moved over to Vader and began to report. "Both are showing signs of sickness and will need bedrest for the next few days. The charts suggest an overwhelming amount of stress."

Vader scowled. He would have to fend for them and his own family for the next few days, and living in the back of his shop without any assistance from him would not be good enough for the girls.

"We will have to run schematics on both of them." The droid continued.

Eventually, just as early morning came around, one of them snapped their eyes open. Ann Gella.

"Madam, please rest," the droid replied, but she ignored him, looking around frantically before locking eyes on him.

Vader looked at her. The pitiful expression across her face made him feel many emotions that he hadn't been expecting. There were dark circles around her eyes that showed that even with those many hours of sleep she was still exhausted.

"Why are you doing this?" she managed to find her voice, holding out her hand to him to balance herself.

"Because you deserve so much better," Vader retorted, instinctively wrapping his hand around her. "You didn't ask to be brought into this life of slavery. None of the others did as well. The slavers have blood on their hands that they should be called for."

After a moment, it clicked in her mind. "You want me and Tann to join you?" Ann asked softly, her eyes showing a faint sign of uncertainty.

Vader nodded. "In your kind, the slavers only see you as dancers are the very least. It's time for a new order to be formed, one where equality is permitted for all. One shouldn't have to live in power just to take advantage of those of the weak. I can't do this alone."

Ann looked at him in the eyes before looking down, a chill passing through her, even with the blanket that had been placed on her by the droids. "I-I don't know," she replied softly. "I... I mean no disrespect, but our slave chips have been removed, and I want to live a happy life with my sister, somewhere we don't have to worry about the responsibilities or having to feel like we have to serve anyone else."

Vader's heart clenched yet again. That was definitely understandable, and he wished yet again he would run away with Padmé on Mustafar. "I implore you to at least think about it. The slaves deserve much more. United, you each can do amazing things."

Ann slightly yawned as her eyes slowly began to close. "Why do you care so much about us? You seem to be doing fine for yourself. You are a shop owner after all."

Vader retorted. "It's time for the slavers to pay for their crimes."

She looked at him deeply. "There's... anger inside of you. It sounds much more personal than that."

Even though he had long since accepted the reality of life, there always has been a darkness within that despise the slavers, that would love to taste in their blood. When he was a Jedi, it always remained on his mind until Obi-Wan and the Council called him out for it.

Twin suns, even though all this time has passed, Vader had never been able to accept his past, not entirely.

He perhaps would never be able to do so completely, just like he would never be able to entirely let go of the Dark Side.

His younger self could do greater things than him while his thoughts may dwell on the past. Inner peace may not even be a possibility for him, someone who lived an extremely chaotic life.

"You were a slave..." it was not a question, and she seemed to be intent on finding out answers, keeping a firm grip over his hand.

Vader didn't respond instantly, yet the understanding in her eyes already confirmed to him that she had put the pieces together. Despite how slaves were greatly underestimated and thought unintelligent, most of them have ways to read the common individual even without being connected to the Force.

His mind gone back to those days of being a boy yet again. Those endlessly exhausting hours took a toll on him. Feeling fear for his mother. The sounds of cracks, of unwanted moans, of those cruel men on top of her, of him watching fighting from getting involved just as she told him to or he may have also been in the same predicament, of obeying...

Damn kriffing slavers!

"Once," Vader managed to find his voice.

"And so, you decided to find ways to free us instead of leaving Tatooine..." the woman concluded.

"I have long since study slave transmitters, precisely how I was about to create these prototypes to extract them and disable the trackers at the same time."

Ann looked over to her sister at that. Despite how it slightly hurt to crane her neck and the exhaustion, she was still worried about her twin, especially since what happened hours ago. Seeing her sister laying there with her eyes closed moved her enough to find a random surge of energy to push herself from the bed.

She squirmed, attempting to find her footing, only for him to push her back down with his left hand.

"Calm," Vader declared, loathing himself slightly for having to call back to that old Jedi lesson since he had never been able to do that himself. Obi-Wan's meditation advice was never helpful to Anakin, proving yet another reason why the Jedi was by no means ready to train him. "Your sister requires additional time in recovering but she'll be fine."

"She's all that I have left," Ann responded softly. "Please, you have to let me... just touch her."

"You getting up after such an operation could result in you being in more pain," Vader responded, gripping her arm in a feeble way of comfort.

"I don't care! I would do anything for her!" Ann exclaimed, fear and anger intertwining with one another.

While Vader did emphasize with her desperation, he knew that sometimes love could lead to pure stupidity. Force, he was an expert of what desperation could lead to many things.

"You have to think of your mental health too, my dear."

Ignoring him, Ann pushed herself up from the bed as much as possible. As expected, her body closed in on itself, and a moan of pain escaped her.

That was what finally caused him to take action. Looking right into her brown eyes, Vader waved a hand in front of her forehead, causing her to fall limp on the bed, securing her back in a world of sleep.

The sun would be rising soon enough, and he had spent all night watching over the two Twi'leks. Once the day was over, Vader would have to purchase better garments than their near naked forms and means to conceal themselves.

They couldn't be allowed to fend for themselves as doing so could only end in disaster. After all, Vader was adamant that they could be the first two of his slave revolution. Just because of their fragile and malnourished appearance it doesn't mean that they wouldn't be able to assist in his plans. Some time of training in physical arts, working out, and eating healthily as he did daily these days could benefit them in the long run.

However, while Vader would insist them to train and join his collective, he would leave them with a choice, and alternatives that can be used if they chose to leave Tatooine. All of the slaves he would save in the future could refuse, and Vader would be sated that he'd saved them alone and take on Jabba and his minions alone - something that while may raise complications elsewhere was not above what he could do.

As it turned out - which wasn't surprising -, Jabba did send a search party, consisting of different species, their expressions dirty. Vader had more or less been waiting for them in the front of the shop, holding back a sigh as he pretended to rub the front of his shop. What else was to be expected?

"You there," the lead Nikto said in a tone not too dissimilar to the Stormtroopers when questioning a suspected civilian, "have you see two Twi'lek females? They belong to Jabba and were supposed to be returned to him last night."

Doing well to keep his flatness out of his tone, Vader responded as respectfully as possible. "No, I'll keep on a lookout."

They looked at one another before a Weequay stated sharply. "Would you mind if we look inside of your shop? We have been looking for them all morning." His grip on his blaster tightened, evidently trying to intimidate him further. "Jabba's client was found dead nearby-"

Vader waved his hand, unsurprisingly penetrating into these fools' minds with ease. Deciding to do the people of Tatooine yet another favor, he stated. "You have already investigated into the city and haven't found the two slaves. You would return to Jabba and inform him of your failures."

The Nikto took on a disappointed and fearful tone, just as the former Sith expected. "We have done a full investigation of the city and haven't found the two slaves. We would return to Jabba and inform him of our failures."

An idea struck him. It would cause Jabba to become slightly paranoid. And what better to his future plans than a reckless Hutt?

Yet again, Vader applied another string of the Force into his words. "After your report, you shall put the bastard down for making you go on an empty scavenger hunt."

To his credit, the Nikto seemed to resist for a moment, but Vader pushed in. Once so deeply attuned in the Force as he was, very few could resist him.

He wouldn't even entertain trying such a tactic on Yoda, Sidious, or any other fully trained user of the Force or species that could refuse mind tricks like Hutts and Toydarians.

"Eh, I'm getting tired of working for Jabba anyway," he said after half a minute, a simultaneous nod of agreement coming from the rest of them. "C'mon boys. Let's... 'talk' with Jabba."

They walked away, leaving behind Vader who regarded them with a smirk, but it didn't last long as disappointment flared across his expression. The assassination attempt would more than likely fail. Jabba's henchmen were always at the ready, but they were going to die anyhow, for Jabba was known to be the most severe about failures. Might as well go down by taking a few pod shots and maybe get a lucky one in.

In the future, Jabba own a rancor. The details to how he had gotten the creature was beyond even him, and he didn't know if he own it now, yet he knew that Jabba's cruelty knew no bounds, as his punishments were brutal like many other Hutts who believed themselves superior to common individuals. These not so unfortunate souls would be walking to their deaths returning to Jabba.

However, those two girls resting up in his shop were more important to him. He would not allow Jabba's lackeys to return them to the Hutt, 'less they would be harmed in the long run. Sacrifices would be necessary for a better outcome, and while the Jedi may have tried to implore him to save all - slavers included - that is a foolish naïve viewpoint that leads to only harsh lessons.

Luke had likely learned that the hard way. Still, fortunately most of his friends survived at least up to Endor and those who didn't had an honorable sacrifice. His son may have been disappointed that he didn't try to convince them to see a better viewpoint.

His son was a better man than him, saw the light in everyone, and didn't hold things personally, whereas Vader had kept emotions contained until they have exploded, and even now he was falling back to those old textbook ways because those are instincts bred within him.

But he was also... more open, lighter. Fate itself seemed to be going against him, hindering every one of his plans. He'd vowed not to get attached to anyone. First, Anakin and Shmi, Cliegg and his family, and now even the two twins - even though he had not known them for so long.

Damn this galaxy...

Arthur's note: I feel like part of the reason why Obi-Wan failed with Anakin was because he was just not ready to appeal to Anakin's better nature, but I am among the many that believe Qui-Gon would have succeeded as a Master, even though he would have struggled too at first. People complain about Anidala yet every day I often increasingly am by the belief that Kenobi and Skywalker should have never been paired together. Padmé actually understood Anakin to some degree in their short time together and did her best. Obi-Wan didn't, and he had ten years to do so, even though it was not entirely his fault either. They are better off just friends. I disagree with Filoni on a lot of things but one thing we can agree on about the duel of fates: "What's at stake is really how Anakin is going to turn out. Because Qui-Gon is different than the rest of the Jedi and you get that in the movie; and Qui-Gon is fighting because he knows he's the father that Anakin needs. Because Qui-Gon hasn't given up on the fact that the Jedi are supposed to actually care and love and that's not a bad thing. The rest of the Jedi are so detached, and they become so political that they've really lost their way and Yoda starts to see that in the second film. But Qui-Gon is ahead of them all and that's why he's not part of the council. So he's fighting for Anakin and that's why it's the 'Duel of the Fates' – it's the fate of this child. And depending on how this fight goes, Anakin, his life is going to be dramatically different."

That aside, the twins are off the radar for now, yet the road ahead is long and agonizing. Walking onto Tatooine and igniting lightsabers as if that wouldn't cause the slavers to find out and trigger the transmitters or shoot their slaves with their blasters or something along that lines is not going to happen in this story as it does with others. It would take time for things to unravel and for more lives to be saved. I'm sure word of Jabba and other slavers' death would spread quickly.

Saw that Freemaker Adventures reference? Ironically, it (the first season) is one of the best things about Disney, compared to three movies which have cost a lot more money. I actually consider many of the first season Canon even though I didn't like the second one much because I believe it should have remained excluded of any movie events. Lol

May the Force be with you all always.