Chapter 9

It didn't require much effort - building a door for the back shop. Afterwards, Vader decided to manufacture a door for the front of his shop as well, granting him the option to close and lock it when the day ended.

Of course, this did cause slight skepticism from his customers, but given this was the best shop around, very little questioned this new move from the shop owner.

That included Cliegg Lars.

Of course, the man was surprised by the fact that he'd chosen to provide the shop with not only one but two doors, but it only took a dismissal explanation of about wanting to make sure that a drunken fool doesn't try to deactivate the security functions that have been implemented before the man continued on about daily talks as usual.

About the girls, they would often span in and out of consciousness. The droids told him that continued rest would allow them to make a full recovery and that they should be fully awake soon.

In the fifth day, the two girls were fully conscious, both with bacta patches spread across their bodies after being properly treated for their scars, though the scars earned Vader's ire. Kriff that Hutt to the nine Corellian hells.

Each of those days after he'd saved them goes in a blur, and while the girls were awake, it took a few days after for them to fully regain their strength.

By now, the two girls wore white casual robes which they look comfortable in, despite how they were notably unsure how to feel about no longer having to depend on the slave garments, nor having sun come down on their exposed skin. It would still take some time before the bacta patch on Tann's leg to be removed as her injury would require the common folk to remain close to the bed.

In his time of knowing the girls, he saw that there were cherry depositions underneath the barriers that they had been forced to implement. Both were young women with dreams and ambitions, and when it became clear Vader was not going to exploit them for nefarious purposes, the twins revealed key parts about themselves. In addition, the two girls seemed to not have any inappropriate feelings for him - unlike that delusional nurse who believed that they were destined to be together. Speaking of which, Vader desperately hoped that he didn't run into her this time around...

They would often tease him about his developing beard and made some snarky comments about humans' anatomy in general, him truthfully finding their quips quite amusing.

By now, the three had forged a siblingship with Vader subverting himself as the big brother. It wasn't so long before the two shared stories about the time when they were children before they were enslaved by the Hutts, talking about fond memories with their parents. In return, although Vader kept the true identity of his mother hidden for obvious reasons, he also told them about his time with her as well, about how he lost her...

Time and time again, when the shop was closed and they were allowed to roam around freely, they took up the front of his shop, sitting down on nearby couches with concerned expressions.

Upon his proclamation that he was leaving even briefly to return home, the two had been quick to show their unhappiness.

"Promise you'll be back," Ann said, looking at him worriedly.

"I'm just visiting my family," Vader reassured nonchalantly, before his voice becomes more commanding. "Remember, stay downwind. I'll be back in a while."

It was disheartening for him to have to hide the girls, but Vader knew better accommodations had to be made.

Both girls hesitated, seeming reluctant about not arguing further, but choosing to stay inside as Vader moved outside, closing the door, and locking it.

Vader sat in his speeder's seat, watching as both girls retreat within the safety of his shop, before accelerating. He knew his mother was a strong woman and could take care of herself and her son, even though she would want to have a little chat for his unexpected departure in the last few days.

Guilt filled him at what he has done to Shmi and Anakin. He didn't want to leave them abruptly, but it was better to remain here and keep the slave women protected personally with his own iron fist instead of risking someone encountering the girls and recognizing their status.

The poor woman probably thought he'd abandoned them on this dust ball.

Not that he could blame her, but only a monster could do something so unfathomable and cruel. Then again, this was Tatooine so it was not out of the realms of possibilities.

Once he arrived, Vader exited the speeder and began walking forward, watching as he got closer the boy playing in the sand, earning a slight frown from him. Ah yes, that reminded him of one difference to himself.

The boy had a love for sand...

The number of times when Vader caught his younger self playing in the sand. It's good that Skywalker's trauma would not play an active role in his life as it did him. Any memory that the boy may have of what his mother had been through would possibly never be remembered.

Kriff, seeing this moment reminds him of that unpleasant event in his life when he'd attempted to flirt with Padmé back on Naboo when he was guarding over her, not one of his best moves...

Truth be told, Vader would have to teach Anakin superior flirtatious tactics this time around when the time comes. That was if his own wasn't underwhelming at once...

Anakin stopped playing in the sand when he noticed him and cooed at him, causing his mother to tilt her head in his direction.

Seeing him, shock briefly flickered across her expression before a sharp glare took its place, reminding him of one thing: he was in trouble.

Still, she did not disallow Vader to pick up Anakin and reach through the ever-familiar presence, tentatively touching his signature.

"Da-da," Anakin said, happy that Vader was here for only a moment, but pushed away and gave him a glare after a moment of love, almost earning a chuckle from him.

Ah, like mother, like son...

"I'm sorry for leaving you little one," Vader responded softly, rubbing a strand of his blond hair away and sending a soft wave through the Force.

Anakin's glare evaporated. That smile was back as he nuzzled into his neck, before finally he was ready to return to his mother.

After several seconds of assuring him that he would never abandon them through a minor probe, Vader handed the boy back to Shmi.

The woman took him in her arms and said, a clear anger present in her tone yet kept restrained by the present of her son. "Come now, Ani, let's get you ready for your nap."

Shmi walked back inside of the Homestead, spending only a few moments in securing her current charge, before returning outside to him with a cold expression. Vader knew that there would be no way to avoid his mother's wrath. Even now her smaller frame could cause a Jedi Master to rush to answer her questions.

She placed her hands on her hips, fixated him with a glare, and demanded. "Where have you been?"

If looks could kill, Vader was certain he would have been in pieces. Was that where he got his glares from? Was Luke and Leia like that too?

Were any children that both may have...?

Even after all these decades, even now that he stood several feet above her, Shmi Skywalker still got him to talk. The glare she was giving him matched an event in his younger days when he as a boy would come home an hour later than supposed to, yet Kitster had often been eager to show him places around Tatooine and no matter all those years of slavery he was still a child.

Seeming unconcerned, Vader responded. "I had other matters to attend to, Shmi."

"Kriff it, Vader! Do you have no idea how worried I was that you were killed or... that you abandoned us?!" Shmi exclaimed, in a tone that he had never heard before. It long since occurred to him that the woman didn't feel comfortable walking around Mos Espa when she could just as easily be brought back into slavery if she was not careful. The slave quarters were an uncomfortable reminder of unforgettable times for her.

"I have told Cliegg to inform you about being busy back at the shop," Vader replied. As much as he loved her, it did slightly bruise a small part of his ego that a woman could yell at him in such a way...

Shmi poked him in the chest. "Oh, he did, but that doesn't change a thing!"

Squashing down feeling like a child being reprimanded, Vader explained. "I have found two slaves that required my assistance."

Shmi's face softened, the severe demeanor making way for a small understanding. "Two slaves?..." There was the calm Shmi Skywalker, her tone preached with empathy and confusion. "So you brought them like you did me?" she asked slowly, her face carved up in curiosity.

"No, I surgically removed their transmitters... without the knowledge of the Hutts," Vader informed her, a tinge of... sheepishness in his tone.

Shmi's eyes go wide as she stared at him as if he had truly lost remaining amount of sanity left. "Have you lost your mind?! Jabba will rip your head off if he finds you-"

"He would have to get close enough to try," Vader reassured her frivolously. He already had his bases cover. The droids back at his shop were programmed to have forms of intelligence.

"You do realize going against the Hutts can lead to disaster," Shmi continued, that feint concern in her eyes making Vader feel even more guilt. "Jabba ought to have heard about this."

"Oh yes, Jabba, I quiver with fear." Vader responded sarcastically. "That bastard had no idea what would hit him someday soon, when all the slaves he'd wronged suddenly turned against him with proper training. Of course, leave it up to a Hutt to allow disorder to arise in their place of power without noticing..."

"Vader!" Shmi shouted, causing him to look down at her. She regained her composure and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You have no idea about the thin ice you are walking on! Me and my son have been owned by a Hutt! Once you become one's enemy, there wouldn't be a place in the galaxy where you can hide! Gardulla is one thing, Jabba is another..."

Vader's jaw fell slack. Those big eyes piercing deep in his soul brought forth another wave of crippling emotions where his legs felt like they were cramping up.

He was obligated to reassure her. When he was Anakin Skywalker, she had been adamant that he didn't participate in pod races, despite how his younger self eventually persuaded her to allow him to do so. Okay, maybe not persuade her exactly. More like doing it even against her protests.

He knew that Shmi wanted freedom for her fellow slaves as well, despite how she valued the safety of her son above all of them.

"There's no cause for concern," Vader responded, rubbing his hands in her hair, and offering calming energies through the Force, successfully grounding her. "I have the teachings of fractions beyond one's understanding. There would come a day for Jabba the Hutt to be removed from power, and his minions could burn with him."

Shmi nodded, acknowledging this point as her anger faded slowly, despite how perturbation still emanated around her. "Jabba has many bounty hunters he knows, and when you overthrow him, you would be painted as a primary threat for the rest of the Hutts. You would have to go into hiding."

"Not if I take them all out simultaneously," Vader responded, knowing that once he gained bargaining chips, he would be able to do so. "Shmi, I can't be in two places at once, but his death could cause a power vacuum. Cut the serpent's head off, and deal with the body."

Shmi's teeth grounded against one another. "There would still be bounty hunters after you..."

"Yes, but a stronger Tatooine and Outer Rim in general can make quick work of them," Vader replied. "And others can be persuaded to see reason under the right cause..."

Shmi closed her eyes, bolding her hands up into fists. "You are taking a bold gamble..."

"Don't I always?" Vader quipped, a slight smirk crossing his lips at the thought of what he had done to Gardulla, hoping to reassure her as he turned around and began walking away.

This unfortunately did not brighten her mood, despite how it may have normally.

"No games, Vader, I'm worried about what could happen when you revolt against them. You have to respect the Hutts, please." Shmi pleaded, throwing herself forward with strength that he didn't even know she possessed and placing her hand on his shoulder in a feeble attempt to stop him.

"I do not respect the Hutts," he responded, a playback to what he'd told Cliegg Lars weeks ago. "If I abide by their wants and needs, that means I would have to stand aside and allow them to continue to enslave the innocents, respectfully I should add. I have encountered slave masters before."

At that moment, yet again, Vader considered telling her the truth about his time traveling to the past. It would give her an explanation for many things... yet doing so would also give her cause for apprehension. He was still her son, and she would be constantly worried about him, possibly drifting to do something incredibly reckless.

He did have plenty of attributes from Shmi Skywalker after all.

"To stand against Jabba is suicide," Shmi emptily protested.

Truth be told, Vader found Jabba to be a spineless incompetent idiot. Granta Omega could even serve as a challenge to him more than that idiotic slug no matter of the circumstances. Mentally, at the thought of Xanatos's son, Vader wondered for a second what would have happened if he was time traveled further into the past when that fallout between Xanatos and Qui-Gon occurred...

Obi-Wan was illusive about his past more than the man liked to admit, but he did tell him what his and Qui-Gon's relationship was like. Qui-Gon had many issues from Xanatos but there had been contributions helped the man grew... only due to Obi-Wan. While their bond strengthened by the time of the Naboo invasion, their relationship had been strained at best before. The Xanatos events did definitely change Qui-Gon, and Vader felt only a moment of regret for not being able to save him from that hardship, but he was grounded by the fact that he could still save Obi-Wan from losing his Master as Qui-Gon lost his former Padawan.

Shmi was speaking. "...You are one of the only men I trust around Anakin without having to worry about him being hurt in the long run. Does Cliegg know about this?"

Abandoning the thought of what he could have done yet again, Vader turned back around and faced her, speaking in that ever-commanding tone that he hated to use against her.

"I don't want him to be placed in the middle of all this." That was true, yes, but the unspoken possibility was that he would truly kriff up the timeline if Cliegg was killed, and Owen would be faced with the hardships of being raised without a father.

At the end, Cliegg also made it clear that he didn't want to stand against Jabba, not that Vader could fault the man. Any other time, if he was not a Sith or Jedi, he would have even agreed.

No, he nor Shmi would find out the truth someday, but not today or any time soon. He doesn't want to place either of them with a further burden.

Vader's eyes closed regretfully. This was not goodbye, and he may quickly visit often, yet Vader knew from these last few days that he would have to prioritize others, now that both Shmi and Anakin were freed. Those bastards would continue tormenting innocents.

Even liberated from slavery, Anakin deserved at least some form of royalty, and so did many other children. He deserved friendships, wealth, and total happiness.

Yet, to reach there, Vader would have to answer the silent cries of freedom and liberation, and watching others enslaved may spark him in wanting to do something - meaning that Vader would have to do what must be done before Anakin came of age to think for himself more independently.

Reaching out to his younger self, he was surprised when Anakin felt at peace. He'd expected him to feel anger at him obviously intending to leave for time to time at this point, yet the response was... understanding. Ah yes, that was at last what Anakin needed: someone to explain to him what was happening, to break down and explain things clearly...

Anakin had a maturity problem growing up, but that was due to events after he was freed from slaves. Before, Anakin had to work hard to pick up scraps, but he had felt a bit of an ego boost for how special he was without someone to curb that attitude in the bud. Vader would have to assure that didn't happen this time around.

Vader understood everything Anakin said unlike everyone else who just hears the sobbing of a toddler. He knew him more than anything, knew what he could have become, knew that he is drawn to darker emotions; yet while the child was still unaware of who Vader was or so Vader believed, Anakin still listened to him, still opened up to his presence...

'Behave for your mother. I don't want to hear about you making her life even harder.'

'Yes, daddy.'

Shmi was of course blissfully ignorant of the telepathic conversation, trying to find some argument to prevent him from leaving.

Pausing and turning back to face her, Vader spoke in the calmest voice. He doesn't want to have to leave her yet again in his lifetime - the third time -, but being around Ann and Tann reminded him of all the others who are suffering as well. No matter how much he wants to live a simple life, fate seemed to throw a podracer into each of those plans, yet the Force never acted without reason.

He knew so from personal experience.

Vader declared after a moment. "I would drop by and visit Anakin from time to time, but as much as I have enjoyed our times together and care about the boy like a son, others are suffering. It is about time I do some things right."

Vader wrapped his arms around her, wondering how Luke managed to leave his sister and friends on Endor when doing the same with his mother was tearing against his soul.

That wouldn't be... fair for the other slaves. Tann and Ann have been separated from their parents. How many others have been? How many others would have to face loss and pain because of the pleasure of the Hutts? Jabba's power and the Hutt's influence across the Outer Rim was substantial.

His power was notorious and prominent, and Vader knew that Anakin growing up around slavery as he had couldn't do. Vader would build a network, form allies as he had done numerous times throughout the Clone Wars against the CIS and take the fight to Jabba.

Painful as it was, he had to let his mother go for now for a better future, for everything.

He didn't know how long the two held one another but eventually Vader had to unwrap his arms from her and walked away, fighting a painful dagger in his heart as he knew that this may be a while before he seen her again.

Arthur's note: For anyone who is wondering, my feelings for the Ahsoka's show is this: "Why should I care about anything Disney do when they made it clear time and time again they don't care about keeping the SW franchise from crashing?" Would rather read the Ahsoka novelization which I actually am starting to like more and more. Ahsoka is better than Kenobi, Mandalorian season 3, and Book of Boba Fett but it's more of "meh" territory imo so far. Would rather watch the CW and Rebels.

For anyone who is wondering if we are going to see the Jedi in this story, the answer is no. This is going to be a trilogy albeit they would appear in the sequel, however there are going to be mentions of them, point and case being the conflict with Qui-Gon and Xanatos. I have already wrapped up many of this story chapters.

That aside, I had to do a bittersweet moment. The more Vader intends freeing slaves, the more danger he is going to be in: Remember Steela and how hard that hit Saw and even Obi-Wan with Siri and Satine after her. Vader has seen where people who one cares about die in war and its just fucked up. He wants to make sure that Shmi and Anakin isn't put in harm's way. For now, they would be safe. This will not be the last we see of them. Remember, earlier Shmi made Vader swore that he didn't train Anakin yet. That is still the main premise of this concept. The slave revolution is the second.

May the Force be with you all always.