Chapter 14 – Vigilante

Author's Note: Y'all have no idea how excited I am for the the climax of this first act. Lol. I'm estimating it'll be a total of 20 chapters, so we're getting close! :D

And keep the comments coming! They give me motivation and new ideas, and they help me make sure that I'm properly covering everything and addressing all the issues and stuff. ^-^

~ Amina Gila

It's a full week before Anakin can actually do anything. Freeing slaves sounds simple, but it's really not when he has to ensure that they can find a safe haven where they can hide. Jabba and the slavers have a durasteel grip on the planet, and it's important for him to carve out a niche of his own where he can build a network and allies. Probably, he should get into contact with the networks that already exist, and he will, but he wants to start on his own. He doesn't want to be dependent on anyone else.

He knows that Owen, Beru, and Reva notice that he's more distracted than usual, but he assures them that he's fine, and with some persuading, for Reva anyway, they accept it.

Finally, he locates a small settlement a good distance away from any of the others, one which is mostly independent and unbothered by Jabba's tax people, so long as they pay their taxes. It's a good place to start, a stronghold from which Anakin can start building his freedom network and amassing forces and allies to free Tatooine as a whole.

On the first night he plans to go out as his new alter ego, Anakin can't quite hide the nervous anticipation simmering within him. The Dark Side is whispering promises of power, and he lets it seep in slowly as he dons his armor in the workshop once Reva is sleeping. With the safety measures in place, he knows she'll be secure until he returns.

He'd tested it out, and it works as he had expected it to; it's space worthy as he'd hoped, and it's secure, durable, and lightweight enough for him to fight in. Anakin pauses to look at his reflection, at the intimidating figure he poses, attired in all-black armor, pieces fitting together seamlessly to give him an impenetrable defense against the world. The helmet provides him a wide array of information, and it's equipped with a vocoder to disguise his voice as well as a respirator, should he end up in a place where he needs it.

It's everything he needs as a vigilante.

With a blaster strapped to his thigh and Dooku's lightsaber clipped to his belt, Anakin sets out.

For the most part, he's planning to use this first night to get used to his new persona and the suit that will become the face of his identity. He has to try to be Darth Vader instead of Anakin Skywalker, and the helmet is a mask against the world, giving him a sense of invincibility and security and safety.

Climbing onto a small, unmarked, unremarkable speeder, he sets out.

He goes to Mos Eisley first since it's decently close, and it's a large city, large enough for him to patrol in without drawing too much attention. He leaves the speeder on the edges of the town, hidden in a secure location, before he sets out on foot. Because of the darkness of his armor, he blends in with the shadows, and it's far easier for him to hide than it otherwise would be.

The Force is wrapped around him, as he lurks in the shadows, pulling him towards the spaceport. At first, he doesn't understand why, until he hears the distant sound of an approaching engine. A large transport is coming in to land, and as he reaches out with the Force, he can feel the pain and misery and resignation emanating from within. A slave ship. He can feel the minds of the slavers within, the cold hardness of them, and he probes their minds lightly to get a read on what their intentions are.

The slaves are Jabba's, apparently, brought in to be used in his palace or sold in an upcoming auction. When Anakin came out to patrol, he thought he might help a few slaves get away, but this is much more than a few. This is – this is his dream come true.

He steps closer, watching as the transport lands, and as the guards get off, ready to unload their "cargo". That's when he strikes. It's easy for him to reach out with the Force, the Dark Side nipping at his heels, fueled by the pain of the slaves inside, crushing the guards' necks quickly and quietly, letting their bodies slump to the ground.

Anakin pauses a moment, but the night is still, and no one moves.

Probably, freeing this transport is bound to get Jabba's attention, but he doesn't care. These are people, not property. They don't deserve this. If he doesn't stand up for those who can't protect themselves, what good is he? How can he call himself a former Jedi if he doesn't do what he can to try and help those who are suffering? How can he consider himself a good person if he just stands by and watches? What would his mother think if he walked away and kept his head down?

He enters the ship, hands close to his weapons, though he senses no immediate danger; it's better to be on the safe side.

The slaves are contained in a cage in the main cargo hold of the ship, and Anakin fights off a wave of nausea when he sees it. Was this how he and his mother were brought here to Tatooine to be sold off? Caged like animals? It fills him with a furious rage, and he clenches his hand, crumbling the locking mechanism with the Force.

Dozens of frightened eyes stare back at him, and the Dark burns in him, demanding payback for the suffering of so many innocents.

"You are safe," An – Vader says, holding out a hand in a gesture of peace. "The guards are dead. You are free." He steps back, pulling open the door to the cage, and letting them venture out. They stand huddled together in the main hold, scared and confused.

"Who are you?" asks a man, probably not much older than Anakin himself is. There's a light in his eyes, a defiance, and Anakin knows that this man hasn't been enslaved for long.

"I am your savior," he replies, turning towards the ramp. "Come. Hurry. You must disappear before anyone can find you. I will cover your traces. I know a place where you will be safe."

"Why are you doing this?" questions a young teenage girl. Her wide, frightened eyes are light blue, and they remind him so much of Ahsoka, that his heart clenches. "Why do you care?"

"I have been where you are," Anakin tells her, tells all of them, "And I will help those who I can for as long as I am able."

They exchange looks, quiet murmurs passing between them before the man who spoke first steps forward, the self-appointed leader. "Name's Cobb Vanth, and we –" he gestures to encompass all the slaves who are present, "– Are grateful to you, whoever you are."

"I am doing my duty," Anakin states solemnly, because to him, that's what it is. He glances around the inside of the ship again, before pointing to the smaller ground transport that had obviously been intended to transport the "cargo" to its destination. "Take that." He plucks a small datachip from his belt, activating it, handing it to Cobb. "This is a map. The coordinates of the safe place are contained within it. Memorize it."

He watches as the freed slaves clammer into the transport, huddling down together, feelings of tentative hope piercing through the cloud of darkness that had once been drowning the ship. Cobb hands the datachip back to him with a quiet nod, sliding into the pilot's seat of the transport, and firing up the engines.

Anakin waits as they leave, waits until they're out of sight, disappearing into the night, before planting explosives inside the starship, primed to explode when the pressure sensor on the ramp is triggered. Tomorrow morning, when Jabba sends his goons to locate the rogue ship, it will detonate in a massive fireball. He smirks to himself as he steps back and surveys his handiwork, the rigged ship and dead bodies of the guards scattered on the ground. It will be a fitting message to the Hutts, a warning that their reign of slavery, death, and despair is coming to an end.

Darth Vader will be coming for them.

**w**

When Anakin returns to the hut, it's with a sense of fulfilment that he hasn't felt since the last battle he fought in the Clone Wars. And he doesn't know how to feel about that. He – because of the war, especially, he knew he'd be far more comfortable in war; that's how he was raised. Sometimes, it feels as though he's known no other life, but it's so against everything the Jedi teach – everything the Jedi taught, that is, and it… Looking back, he can see that what the Jedi did, did not exactly or entirely align with what they taught.

Maybe it's for the best, then, that he's on his own. He can make his own decisions now. He can learn to follow the will of the Force above everything else; that is what the Jedi were supposed to do, after all. But it's hard. He doesn't know if it ever won't be hard. He's used to war and to fighting, even killing, though he's never been fond of it. Making the transition to find another way… He doesn't know if he can do it, doesn't know if he's even supposed to do it. Maybe this is really what the Force wants him to do.

But despite his questions and uncertainties, Anakin knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that fighting slavery and freeing slaves is the right thing to do. Perhaps he'll have to stain his hands with blood, but it's for a good cause. It's for the greater good. Those people deserve better, and he will not abandon his people again.

A tendril of distress echoing into the Force pulls Anakin from his musings, and he hurries into the hut, going to Reva's side. She's tossing and turning, expression scrunched with obvious upset, and he reaches out to touch her shoulder lightly, calling her name. "Reva. Reva, it's okay. You're okay. You're safe. Reva."

She awakens with a gasp, jolting and rolling over onto her back. A quiet whimper escapes, and she pushes herself upright, trembling.

"It's okay," Anakin whispers again, soothingly, reaching out to run a hand over her hair.

A strangled sob escapes from her, and she throws herself into his arms. He pulls her close, stroking her back and murmuring comforting words to her as she finally calms down from the terror of whatever it was that she'd been seeing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he queries gently, after some minutes have passed, and her trembling and tears have mostly abated into exhaustion.

Her breathing hitches again, and she burrows closer, clinging to him. "I – I was at the Temple," she says, her voice shaking a little as she speaks, "A-and – and instead of… the – the guard who – who –" She can't say the rest of it, and Anakin holds her tighter.

He knows that, even if he healed her from the injury, that doesn't mean it's been forgotten. The moment still haunts her, and he can't even imagine it, can't imagine knowing what it feels like to have a lightsaber blade cut through him and walking away from it. I'm sorry, he wants to say, though apologies will change and fix absolutely nothing. I'm sorry. I should have protected you from it. I should have stopped him. I should have saved them.

But again, regrets fix nothing.

"It – it was – it was you, and I..." She trails off, shuddering, crying, and Anakin feels his heart break a little for her, something inside of him twisting uncomfortably. It feels significant, and he doesn't know why.

"You're okay," Anakin whispers against her hair, cradling her against him. "You're okay, Reva. You're safe here. I'll keep you safe, I promise. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Maybe he should be careful about making promises so readily, but he – he has to give her something, and Reva needs reassurance right now. She's just a child. She shouldn't have to fear for her life every single moment. It's Anakin's responsibility to keep her safe and protect her from threats, and he'll do that for as long as he's able. But it also means that he needs to be extremely careful, because given what he's doing, it could draw attention.

It will draw attention, and Anakin has to be ready for it. He's always been a good strategist though, and he knows the risks of what he's doing. He knows that if he's not careful, if he makes even one misstep, it will bring Sidious down on him. The Sith Master is looking for him, and he'll probably never stop. Anakin, and his family, by default, will never be fully safe in the galaxy until he's dead and gone. But that is a goal for the future, when he has the allies and resources to attempt something… bigger.

For now, he has to focus on this planet, on his people. He can't reveal himself too much, can't let it become definite, public knowledge that there's a Sith here until he's ready for the fight that will come. And he will be ready, but not… yet. Not yet. For now, he'll keep to the shadows. He'll let Vader be a ghost story, a myth. The galaxy is a big place, and Sidious has no reason to watch the goings on or unrest on Tatooine any more than he would any of the other thousands of planets out there.

The shadows and darkness will be his mask just as much as his helmet is. Subterfuge and stealth are things Anakin has grown to excel at because of the war. He can do this. He just needs to trust the Force and his instincts. They've never failed him before.

But he won't worry about any of that right now, no matter how hard it is for him to put aside his own worries of the future in favor of caring for the child in his arms. Reva is his daughter as much as Ahsoka was, as much as his own child with Padme is, and he – he owes it to her to be present with her, to focus on her. He wants to give her the care and protection that he was never able to give Ahsoka because of the war and the Code. He wants to give her the world.

"You're safe," he tells her again, as she relaxes against him, slowly but surely, "I'll keep you safe. I would never hurt you."

"Yeah," Reva finally whispers, sounding half-asleep, "Yeah, I know."

**w**

The next morning, in front of dozens of shocked onlookers, the ship denotes into a massive fireball in the spaceport. The explosion rocks the ground, and the smoke is seen across much of Mos Eisley.

And though most do not yet know it, it marks the beginning of the war.

**w**

Sidious always knew that the Empire would not form overnight. It was a gradual process that began before the Clone Wars started, and it will continue for some time after. But it is not proceeding as he had hoped, either. He'd though it would be… a little smoother. The galaxy ought to be settling down into the new system, adjusting, no matter how reluctantly. And it is, somewhat, but in many ways, the chaos only seems to be worse than it was during the war.

The Senate is restless. The people are restless. Systems, primarily those which were once part of the Separatists, are restless.

It would have been better if he'd gotten his chosen apprentice on his side. It's still workable, of course, but it's not ideal by any means, and Sidious finds that he's only becoming increasingly on edge about it, his temper on a short fuse. But without Skywalker as an apprentice – or even controllable; because yes, even if what he had planned worked out, just not on Skywalker, that doesn't mean it'll be sustainable for someone of Skywalker's power – things have… become a little messy.

He needs the boy dead. He's too strong, too rogue, and simply put, he's too dangerous to be left alive. It's such a waste after all the time and effort Sidious put into him, but it'll be better to cut his losses now and move on rather than try to contain a krayt dragon in his home, so to speak. He needs to find the boy, but that's easier said than done.

The galaxy is in turmoil, and even with all of his resources, he doesn't have the skillsets necessary to launch a galactic search for Skywalker. The Inquisitors are dealing with the many surviving Jedi who are scattered all over, and he's already begun the process of phasing out the clone troopers and replacing them with more cost-effective and easily disposable enlisted troopers.

And through it all, Skywalker has remained… elusive.

He had thought the boy would gravitate to staying near his family, near Amidala and his child, but there have been no signs of him, and Sidious in uncertain that he's even in contact with them. Certainly, he could have the Senator arrested for some reason, the child seized, but what good would that do? Skywalker wouldn't hear of it, and he wouldn't come. Better to leave the children on Naboo where they can remain until they're old enough to be of use to him, and he will work on contingencies in the event that the boy comes after him again.

After what happened the first time, he cannot afford to be so caught off guard again. His master has studied the workings of the Force, false ways of increasing power, and perhaps he should look back into that research again.

But with the Inquisitors busy, and his temporary apprentice attempting, and miserably failing, at commanding the armies, much less gaining their respect – he's weak and useless, and if no one even respects him, Sidious doesn't see him being able to ensure their military is strong any time in the near future – he needs to get someone else to hunt down Skywalker. A large search party will be easily noticeable, and the boy will catch wind of it in much the same way any wild animal might, disappearing into the shadows before Sidious can ever find his trail.

He won't send a search party.

He'll send one person.

With that thought in mind, he reaches for his comm, inputting the frequency of an assassin that he's used in the past, one who he knows is loyal to him, and him alone. The Inquisitors will never be strong enough to deal with Skywalker, so perhaps Sidious can train someone himself who can be.

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