Leia watched the bridge of her starship as dozens of ships fought hundreds of First Order soldiers. They were better fortified than even she imagined they would be but the fight raged on.
"Senator Leia," General Tay, a green Twi-lek woman, said, "we're outnumbered."
"Get their communications and then get out," she replied, "we're here to strike a blow against them, keeping as many lives intact as we can." She stopped as she saw a black streak move across the battlefield. "What was that?"
General Tay said, "It's a black ship, ma'am."
"Stop that ship!" she commanded, "Get it in the tractor beam or take out it's hyperdrive. I want to talk to the pilot." Even from within the bridge, she could tell the flier was force sensitive and knew what they were doing, but whoever they were didn't feel like a sith.
"It's been done," Palpatine said coldly to Anakin as he watched the light fade from him, "but I don't bring up the subject merely to taunt you, my friend. I'd like your help actually, you see, my son is currently missing, and I'd like you to help me find him."
Anakin nearly choked. "I'm not chasing down your bastard son," he spat, "I'm not your slave anymore."
"But you were born into it," he said, "the jedi may have filled your head with ideas of bringing balance and being a hero but we both know you were born to serve a greater power. Why else would you have been born from a slave? Do you honestly believe that old jedi tale about being born from the force? It's as I told you all those years ago. Plagueis created you to serve. Even your own grandson believes it!"
"You put that idea inside his head!" Anakin shouted, his hatred growing, "He didn't think that before!"
Palpatine replied, "Only because you kept your own life from him. It was easy to change his mind on a few things just as I did to you. I'm the reason you live, Vader, remember? I didn't let your mother die. I didn't forbid your love. I wasn't the one who cut off all your limbs and left you to burn to death! I've rebuilt you twice over now! You're made to serve me!"
Anakin couldn't take it. "Get out of my head!" He felt his hatred grow as he remembered all the pain he went through. His eyes turned gold and lightning exploded out of his fingers as he held his head in agony.
The lightning shot out in every direction and ripped out the walls and roof above. Luke felt the violent shift in the force as he ran right for him.
Anakin was so shocked he nearly fell over. So much power surged through his body he couldn't believe it. He hadn't felt that powerful in decades. No wonder Palpatine screamed about "unlimited power" all those years ago in front of Mace.
"You dare throw lightning at me!?" Palpatine spat.
The rush was over. Anakin turned to leave as his son showed up behind him. "We have to go, Luke, now!"
Without another word they were on their way as Palpatine shot lightning back at them. Anakin turned his saber and redirected it at the roof. More pieces caved in and fell apart around them. He used the force to move the debris away from them.
Just when he thought it couldn't get any crazier, he looked up to see a walkway above them and watched a woman moving across it swiftly, wearing all white as if she were in angel. He didn't see her face, but he knew her. No, it couldn't be. It was impossible. She had been dead for years, he knew it.
"What's a civilian doing up there?" Luke asked.
"Padme!" Anakin shouted.
Although she didn't react, it was her. He knew it. Only, he also knew it wasn't her. Palpatine hadn't just defiled his mother's grave. He defiled Padme's as well and cloned her!
"This place is falling apart," Luke warned.
Anakin didn't need to be told twice. The First Order was already swarming above them. He ran out the only direction he knew back toward the ship. As they ran together, Anakin asked, "Did you free everyone?"
"Of course!"
The black ship outside of Raxus spun and weaved in between everyone so fast no one knew what hit them. He shot at the First Order and protected the republic ships so easily. Leia had never seen anyone move so swiftly in a ship before.
"Get the tractor beam ready!" she commanded as she watched from the windows.
And just like that, the ship was captured and brought in. Leia quickly made her way down to the gangway and landing platforms onboard so this mysterious person couldn't get away.
The person in question was already out of the pilot's seat when Leia arrived. He had his hands up defensively, looked to be in his 30's, had pale skin and dark brown hair and eyes.
Leia said, "I'll start. Who are you and why are you helping us?"
"My name is Sevriko," he answered, "and I'm helping you because the First Order has to be stopped."
Anakin made it to the ship first. He moved R2 out of the way and commanded, "Stay with Luke!"
"Where are you going?" Luke asked.
Anakin disconnected his half of the ship and took off without another word.
"Wait!" Luke shouted after him. Although it only took him a few minutes to start up his half of the ship and take off after him, his father was already far ahead of him.
Anakin moved in between the First Order ships easy and immediately jumped into hyperspace. Luke tried to follow him but the ships moved in fast and blocked his exit. Instead he had to spin and fight for his life.
"Dammit!" he exclaimed, "Where is he going?!" R2 beeped away. "You have his coordinates?" He waited for R2's answer. "He's going there? Why?" He didn't have time to stop and think. He had to keep dodging blasts left and right. The ship shook violently every time it was hit. He knew he had to do whatever it took to catch up with his father.
Meanwhile, Anakin flew all the way to Tatooine. Although the trip would normally be easy for him, the hyperspace sickness soon took over him, and he could barely see. He couldn't stay seated upright as a headache ripped through his brain. It was the longest trip to his most hated planet. But he had to do it. He had to see the sight for himself.
He could barely open his eyes and keep from retching again when Tatooine finally came into view. He flew directly to Owen's old farm.
With how sick he felt, he could barely control the landing and missed the homestead by a few feet. He didn't give himself time to regain his composure before running out and encountering a tribe of Tuskan Raiders snooping around.
Dizzy and feeling sick, he charged out of the ship and yelled in Huttese, "Get away from here or I'll kill you all again!" He swung his lightsaber out and scared them so bad they got on their speeders and left.
Anakin marched unsteady to his mother's grave and used the force to lift all the sand off of her Tatooine style clay casket. He needed to see her one last time. He had to!
She was just as he left her, of course decayed over the decades, but her hair and so much of her skin were missing-things that shouldn't have disappeared even in the hot double suns of Tatooine.
He couldn't help but cry over her grave as he felt he failed her again even in death. He set a fire to make sure and cremate every last piece of her so she wouldn't be violated again.
Both suns had moved, and the fire turned to smolders by the time Luke finally showed up on the planet. His entrance was much smoother and controlled. He landed gracefully and tactfully walked over to his father whose face was covered in dried tears.
"I failed her again, Luke," he muttered, devastated.
He sat down beside him and said, "I want to understand what happened back there and why you're suddenly so upset. What did Palpatine say?"
Anakin still couldn't believe it himself to say it out loud. He took a deep breath to compose himself and explained, "He robbed my mother's grave and created a son mixed with his own and mother's DNA."
Luke didn't know what to say to that.
"I have a genetic half-brother out there somewhere," he said, still horrified.
"I-"
Anakin added, "After my mother died in my arms, I told myself at least she wouldn't suffer anymore. That she could be laid to rest, and I could never fail her again."
Still in shock, Luke assured him, "There was no way you could have known this would happen."
"He's inside my head, Luke," he continued, "he cloned your mother too."
"You're sure that woman in white was her?" he asked.
Anakin nodded sadly and explained, "I know what a clone feels like. It was Padme, but it wasn't. She feels different. I can't believe I didn't notice her the last time we were there." He took another deep breath. "He knew I was going to return to Zygerria to face him. He wants to turn me to the dark side again and it's working."
Luke said, "You're sure he's not lying?"
"You noticed her grave felt different," he answered, "remember? Palpatine ruined it."
"He has to be stopped," he said, then added, "I saw you shoot lightning. I've never seen you do that before."
"I couldn't before," Anakin replied, "I should have ripped my own electronic limbs off and destroyed my own breathing device if I tried. There was no way."
Luke's communicator beeped as a transmission from Leia came through. She appeared in front of him as a janky hologram. "This message isn't transmitting as well as I thought it would. Where are you? Zygerria?"
"Tatooine."
Surprised, she asked, "What are you doing back there again?"
"It's a long story," he said, still in shock from what his father told him, "What's going on at the front? Any real progress?"
"We blew up some of their communications equipment," she explained, "but that black ship returned. We captured the pilot but I don't know if we can trust him despite the help he's given us so far."
Anakin said, "Go help your sister on Raxus."
"What are you going to do?" Luke asked.
"I'm going back to Naboo to collect Rey and bring her to the front," he answered.
He said, "What? Why? She's not involved in any of this."
"The force is telling me she is," he said, "and I'm sick of all this unknown. We have to figure out what the force wants before Palpatine uses it to his advantage again."
Through the communicator, Leia asked, "Are you going to break your oath again?"
"No one cares about that anymore," Anakin said, "besides, Darth Vader is dead and I'm not going to let Palpatine revive him."
"Take R2 with you," Luke said, "and maybe get something for hyperspace sickness while you're there."
Outside of Raxus the battles were just ending when Luke arrived on Leia's starship commander.
She led her brother to the holding cell on board deep within the ship and said, "This is the mysterious man in the black ship who has been helping us."
"I'm Sevriko," he said, standing up inside the cell, "it's an honor to meet you, Master Skywalker."
Luke noticed a lightsaber on the man's belt immediately and could tell he was force sensitive. "Are you jedi?"
"I've never been trained as a jedi," he confessed, "I've only ever been trained in the ways of the sith. I'm sorry you two have to find out this way. You see, my name is Sevriko Palpatine."
The twins gasped.
Leia asked, disgusted at the implications, "How could the old emperor have a son?"
"It's more complicated than that, Leia," Luke explained, "On Zygerria our father just discovered a horrible truth, Palpatine has a son. He harvested our dead grandmother's DNA to create him."
Too stunned to speak, she muttered, "You mean..."
Sevriko explained solemnly, "I was created and grown in a lab with a mixture of DNA between Sheev Palpatine and Shmi Skywalker. We're related."
"You're our uncle?" Leia asked, horrified.
Awkwardly, he said, "It's nice to meet you."
Luke asked harshly, "Do you actually want to help us or are your colluding with your father?"
"I used to be on his side," he explained, "but I didn't know any better back then. It wasn't until I met my wife and fell in love did I realize all of this was wrong. That he shouldn't be rebuilding the empire or a death star or-"
"He's what!?" Leia asked.
"He's building another death star?" Luke asked.
Sevriko explained, "He wants to bring back the 'glory days' of the empire and be the emperor of the galaxy all over again. Anyone who doesn't conform to his whims will die and he's sure he can only do it with the help of Darth Vader." He sighed. "I know you probably don't want to hear this but I've spent my entire life being compared to that man. Where is Anakin Skywalker?"
"Not here," Luke said, "and I doubt he'll want to meet you. Come on, Leia."
As they walked away from his holding cell, Leia said, "I think the most surprising thing is it appears he's telling the truth." She paused. "What a nightmare."
"What are we going to tell our father?" Luke asked.
"He'll be incensed and enraged," she said, "but we can't keep this a secret."