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Chapter 27

Luke stared at the sleeping form of Mara on the opposite bed across from him before exiting the cabin. She had always been a light sleeper. While it made him feel guilty to do so, unknown to her, he had carefully removed the worst of the mental conditioning from her during the time she had been out. He didn't want to watch the same that happened to his father happened to him.

He sensed his father waiting, along with his sister in the living room.

"Now, I must ask... what possessed you to get with her?!" Vader demanded.

"It didn't happen overnight if that's what you're asking. We took literal years. To start off in such opposite perspectives, to be at such odds with each other, and to grow to respect, admire, and eventually, love one another. It had falls, it had victories, it had joyful times and dark ones. But at the end, she understood me in no way that anyone else did."

Vader nodded, his eyes understanding.

"You must be careful."

"Why should he be careful?" Leia defended, though not with harshness. It was a genuine question.

"I understand he has a big heart, Leia, but remember that he has to remember they are both in different circumstances. Both of your entire lives could be just as different by this alteration."

Both twins nodded. Leia's eyebrows raised at another gesture of wisdom on their father's part, but both would much rather have it this way instead. It showed that he was growing as a person, even if it was painfully slow.

Understanding, Luke acknowledged, "I have considered that."

"Where does she come from?" Leia inquired.

Luke exchanged a look with Vader, who began to explain. "It spans back millennia. The ancient Sith Emperor Vitiate also had an Emperor's Hand. They operated in the same way… an organization of spies, assassins, and other officers doing the Emperor's bidding without making it obvious that's who they working for." He landed Luke with curiosity. "Jade is generally more of a negotiable Hand compared to the others."

Leia thought about it carefully before looking at their father. "So she's like you?"

Vader huffed at this comparison. "Jade knows nothing of the Dark Side. She is a useful tool, mainly as a spy and assassin, but hardly a proper Dark Side student-not even the equivalent of an Inquisitor. The Emperor raised her to be indoctrinated within the Empire and prohibited reality from manipulation."

"So you really don't want to kill her?" she asked.

"If she'd given Luke happiness, no, however, if she threatens you, then I'll secure her." The truth rang in the Force.

"Thanks, Father," Luke responded, "but that will not be necessary."

"I believe not," Vader replied. "I know what a man would do for love, Luke."

Luke offered a small, pained smile. "Even Obi-Wan?"

"Cerasi and Satine Kryze has been dead for decades," Vader paused for a moment, a ghost of sadness passing through his eyes. "Siri Tachi, too."

The pain was so profound in his tone that even the untrained Leia felt it.

"Her death pained you..." Leia pointed out the obvious.

"She was like another mother and older sister to m-Skywalker." The slip was something both caught. "She knew what Skywalker was, what his life was. She related to him in a way that Kenobi and her Padawan was unable to."

"Ferus Olin," Luke provided. "He's still alive." He added when both looked at him.

Vader was on a tangent. "She was such a commendable Jedi. Overall, a superior person to Kenobi."

"What happened to her?" Leia asked.

"She died on Azure in the opening stages of the Clone Wars," he answered.

"I'm sorry..." She started on instinct, biting her tongue.

Luke and Leia gave each other a look as he tilted his head to the floor before his face hardened.

"She means nothing to me," Vader dismissed.

"What?" He demanded when Leia gave him a smirk.

"You aren't fooling anyone."

"This is not a-"

"You miss her. Admit it."

"Tachi was a Jedi deserving of her time, but she was unable to escape her fate."

Hmph, if that was the case, how would Vader react if... "Well, should I tell you about Annileen Calwell?" Luke asked.

Vader was gripped by curiosity, "Do I even want to know who that is?"

Luke was all too cheerful to provide him with that information. "A widowed single mother from Tatooine who Obi-Wan helped. She more or less proposed to him and asked him to leave Tatooine with her, but he refused, saying that he had to keep true to his responisbilities. He'd wrote about her in his journal."

Vader's face darkened briefly, "He replaced h..." He shook his head and gritted his teeth, allowing his anger to pass. "Let's focus on Jade."

"There's nothing to be discussed," Luke defended, "I am going to protect her. She doesn't deserve suffering because the Force chose to bring me back here..."

"She doesn't," Vader relented, nodding. "I can concede with that much. As you're my priority, I'll protect her too."

Well, that was a good thing.

Maybe the two could form a somewhat cordial relationship in the near future.

Part of Luke wondered how his mother would have reacted to Mara. Senator Padmé Amidala had a bold protective side based on what Artoo showed him of the woman and his father more than she'd let on.

"So how did you arrange this?" Luke asked, directing his question to Leia. "Where are we even going?"

"Cardooine. Having been previously ambushed by the Empire, we are bidding on that the underground bunker we set up some years ago that the Empire never found out about will serve us for a temporary point of time until we can all gain the reassurance that we need. I had to pull a lot of strings. A lot of people want to frag our father on sight. No surprise there, but there was someone who was willing to listen to reason despite her... past with Vader, and Mothma is arranging contingencies in the case Vader murders everyone. We were lucky to get this ragtag soldiers together in so short of a time." Noticing the lack of spite in her voice, Luke resisted a smile. Her eyes flashed with a mischievous glint.

"Oh, who is she? Someone I know?" Luke asked.

"You might," Leia nodded. "Her name is Juno Eclipse."

The reaction to that was going to be a memory Luke would always cherish.

Vader wasn't surprised when he discovered they weren't going to be taken to the Rebel's Base. It was quite obvious that this was all Mothma's doing. The Rebellion's High Command would try to keep him at arm's length without using him if they had to. But Vader gained nothing from sabotaging the Rebellion besides losing his children.

The Rebels gathered around, blasters held in their hands. His shadow cloaking her, Vader followed her, spotting many of the troopers looking at him. Solo and the Wookiee were beside him. Owen and Beru accompanied them, nervousness at the armed soldiers obvious.

Their reactions varied. There was the obvious trepidation in being in his presence and perhaps the desire to wish Vader had to account for his crimes. However, the Rebellion clearly carefully elected members who would be less likely to lash out, explaining the lack of junior officers and troopers.

The General, Eclipse, moved up and saluted once. She was adorned in a dark black outfit belonging to that of the Rebel Alliance, not too dissimilar to the jumpsuit she wore in the Imperial Navy. The woman hadn't changed much physically but mentally had signs of scarring, some that would never heal.

Her eyes briefly shot to him in pure, unadulterated hatred. It was noticeable that her hand traveled down to her waistband, briefly pushing her hand over her blaster pistol. She squeezed her digits around it tightly, before letting the temptation go.

"Princess," she said curtly with a small, pained smile.

The amount of her negativity through the Force caused Vader to question her twice. With how bitter she had feelings for him, Vader had considered the possibility she would betray him anyway. What stopped her was her genuine loyalty to Leia and her desire to live up to a dead man's legacy without losing herself to revenge.

"Juno, we have been through this," his daughter said, perfectly political. "It's Leia."

"Yes, Leia," the woman relented, stealing a glare at Vader who stood behind, eyes meeting the General's own with coolness. "Lord Vader, I will like to make this clear. I am someone who prioritize the mission overall and owe the Princess a big favor. That said, if you threaten anyone here, you will wish that you haven't."

He felt her hatred. The spite at what he did to Starkiller. That wound bit at him again. He didn't care for him. He wasn't his biological child. But his genuine loyalty would have been a powerful asset.

At this time, duty ruled over personal pleasure in seeing him dead when it came to the former decorated Imperial combat pilot.

"Now, please, all of you, follow me."

Leading them down the halls, Leia and the General exchanged words that Vader didn't care enough to hear about, nor did he even share a second glance at the Rebel Base around them. The formalities between the Rebellion and the Empire weren't entirely different, though the Rebellion was diminished in terms of resources so the Dark Side Adept couldn't fault them for that.

"These will be your quarters, Your Highness, though I do request for guards to be stationed at all times for your safety."

"That will not be necessary," Leia said in an authoritative tone, staring around, letting the rest of the guards who lingered aside know that she was speaking to them as well. "I understand that we all have our bitterness about Lord Vader, but I ask you. If he wanted to hurt any of us, why would he come this far now? Why would he have defended Alderaan? Vader is quite literally capable of discovering our Rebel Base by ripping through your minds. I have came to acknowledge that he is no longer an enemy. We cannot live in fear forever. We're not the Empire, so I ask of you-despite his crimes, to not look beyond beyond the past and focus on the future, but to look at the future. With his help, we can bring an end to the Empire and build something new and better."

The influence of the Princess couldn't be underestimated. After all, she was a founding parent of the Rebellion. The soldiers chorused and nodded at once. Luke wasn't the only one capable of uniting communities, Vader realized with a small smirk.

They were led elsewhere nearby.

The moment both entered their quarters, along with his daughter, he'd contemplated what was to do now. Neither father nor daughter made a move to sit in the chair or move to the bed.

"You're worried about Luke, aren't you?" Leia inquired, notably deflecting.

"Your brother has the Force on his side," Vader replied. His son was by no means a weak individual. While tempted to prevent him from placing himself in danger, it would have been worthless. Luke's emotional anguish centered around his wife as well. He needed her at this time...

Like Vader needed Padmé.

Somewhere, in him, he didn't have the devotion to rob his wife of his son and vice versa. That was what made him different than Palpatine, he supposed.

His daughter was right to be protective. His daughter who Vader found he felt more strongly for. Luke had the Force shielding him. Leia, however, was harmless, open to corruption or other threats to her person...

Leia's hand coursed over Skywalker's old lightsaber on her belt. "Why did he give this to me?"

"It was as the Force designed. It served Skywalker at one point. It served Luke for a short period of time. Now, it shall serve you."

"I can never be a Jedi..."

"The Jedi don't own the Force, Leia," Vader replied. In truth, he would not want Leia to be a Jedi or Sith. If only he could convince Luke to let go of the mere title and they all become something new.

The Jedi had too much history slapped on them that tainted their title.

"What?" She sniffed. "Do you mean becoming a Sith?"

"No," Vader replied, "you are not nor will ever be prepared for the Sacrifices of the Dark Side. The Sith's ideology will be ill-suited with you and your brother."

Leia rubbed the back of her head and sighed. "Well, that's reassuring."

'Just like... Anakin Skywalker,' Vader thought and felt a clenching pang in his side yet again. While Leia's attitude was similar to Anakin Skywalker, she also possessed a few of Padmé's qualities. Her compassion just was as radiating as Luke but for different reasons.

"Do be careful being like Skywalker, Leia, it can lead you to destruction."

Vader sensed a shot of annoyance through the Force. "You referring to yourself in the third person gets obnoxious, you know. You're not some criminal bounty hunter operating in a slave ring."

"You don't understand the power of the Dark Side," he said. "It is not a decision to make."

Leia met his stare fiercely. "If we are your children, and Jedi Tachi was like a mother and older sister to who you were, then you are Anakin Skywalker. You cannot deny who you are." She snorted. "You weren't always like this, I'm sure. I heard stories about the once Anakin Skywalker. That name was used to inspire hope and remind young ones that anyone could be a hero. Like it or not, you're Anakin just as much as you're Vader. Anakin can do bad as much as Vader can do good. You are the same person."

"Anakin Skywalker is dead," he stated slowly, glaring at her. "I destroyed him."

"Claiming some kind of metaphysical suicide isn't going to change the life you've lived. I want to help you but it can't always be this way where you act more like a programmed droid and less like a human being."

"Do you not still hate me for my actions?" Vader asked, wanting to end this conversation.

"You've given us every reason to, with everything you've done, with your discard to human's life. I should hate you, I shouldn't feel a speck of love for you. I should walk away and abandon our bond." She laughed a bit bitterly, irritation building up.

It was like an exposed, bleeding void had snapped open...

She shook her head and opened her eyes. "Part of me still hates everything you've done, I'm disgusted, and so angry that I cannot think of myself without feeling violated in some way. But you at the end of the day is my father. I don't want to kill you. After what happened, I just pity you in some ways, knowing that you care about Luke and myself. And I decided I'll be damned if you believe that I'm going to disregard your cowardice."

"Cowardice?!" Vader pointed at her, anger reignited. "l'm not a coward, Leia. The Light has nothing to offer me. For your protection, I have to bury myself into the Dark Side. The way of the Jedi lines with failure. It's too late for me to reconsider this path."

Leia sighed heavily. "No its not. If you had killed us, chose to betray Luke now in bringing harm to me who is relatively defenseless, maybe yes, but you didn't and still haven't. I don't think you ever will... unless you want to prove me wrong."

"You're my daughter, Leia," Vader at last confessed his love for her.

"Then you are Anakin Skywalker. Your mother? Shmi Skywalker..." Vader's fists clenched. "She gave you that name. Luke told me about her, albeit not as detailed as I wanted. That leaves holes about her that I want to know about. We are your children and we have to accept this, and you are Anakin Skywalker and have to accept that. I'll make you come to your senses."

"Then you will live the rest of your days in questioning and riddles," he responded acidly. The progress he had made on Alderaan hadn't been reversed, but she still didn't agree with his choices in life and so-called "disconnection from reality".

"If that's how long it takes," she glared at him. "Tomorrow, when I'm finished with my paperwork, we're going to start from the beginning, and you're going to tell me everything you've been through and what you did. You have been keeping that bantha crap buried for years, and everyone suffered for it, including you, and I won't let you do it anymore. We're going to do this. Day by day, until we're done."

"Leia..." Vader loathed how much of a whine his voice sounded in that moment. Perhaps it was a plea. Perhaps Vader wanted to feel her arms around him yet again. Most definitely, he didn't wish to acknowledge Skywalker. Codes, chains, and such bound him. It wouldn't be Anakin Skywalker who would be able to prepare the galaxy for the Vong.

Vader was always more realistic in terms of goals; most importantly, militaristic ones.

If he had been given an opportunity Luke had; sent back to Mustafar or even earlier, he would have secured his destiny much sooner. Neither Jedi nor Sith would get in his way.

Leia's bold eyes stared at his, "You heard me. I do love you. I do care about you. Now I want you to look in yourself and admit that you're Anakin. You have turned from the Sith's path, but at least treat yourself like the same person. Your mannerisms are toxic beyond belief and it can tear us apart."

And... despite her thankfulness for his past service, it didn't mean that Vader was in the clear just yet. She was asking him to do the impossible. To wear the corpse of Anakin Skywalker around him. She didn't just want Vader... The one who could accomplish everything, the one who could give her all of it, the one who could keep them safe... everything he had sworn an oath to... what he had lost when Padmé died... He remembered strangling his wife on Mustafar... and frowned...

Even if Vader could keep her at his side by force, his daughter would not see him as her legitimate father. They had come exceptionally close, but it was a reminder of the differences between his children. Luke was more of the meeker one between the two. Leia, however, was far more blunt and aggressive, taking authority quite quickly.

Vader knew about being a true Sith. Accepting the Dark Side and allowing it to remake you completely, disregarding any past weaknesses. Leaving behind a pale shadow of your former self and embracing what was necessary. A new you, liberated of the chains of the past. Yet... here Vader remained... threatened with what he could lose...

Vader interpreted Anakin as feeble, a slave who was deceived and manipulated by the imbecilic Jedi and Sith who both wished to hold him back: the former even more so. Skywalker believed in Padmé who had betrayed him with Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan - that vindictive bastard - viciously butchered him and left him to burn alive. Anakin was a slave to his weaker emotions and a victim of circumstances. Vader, on the other hand, was powerful and dominant incarnate. He maintained the power of life and death and imposed order on the galaxy. Except for being butchered and burnt, Vader was living his deepest aspirations for total control of his life. More now than ever.

He observed memories of a long past era as Leia walked out, leaving him in the darkness of the room... and while that moment was ingrained in darkness, the memory was his, they belonged to none else...

No shadowing philosophy... it was only him in his mind...

It was a deception... a deception Sith attempted to convince themselves into being true.

Despite denouncing the Sith, Vader believed it too.

But, at last, he'd seen through it.

Vader was Anakin Skywalker as much as Anakin Skywalker was Vader.