The way I write The Dark Side is mainly similar to Lucas. You can use some Dark Side abilities with stronger emotions but if you surrender to it for any comfort or reassurance and any weaker times at least all the time it will just backfire because you'll be controlled by it and the addiction will get worse through time. You have to be grounded in the Light, in the Force, but you can use the Dark Side as well if you have the emotional stability to do so. Like any possible addiction which is almost anything, you have to control it. Never let it control you. Balancing the Light and Dark is impossible, however. The Dark Side is corruptible but only when you depend on it. When you have stronger emotions and advocate for treating the Dark Side as a tool instead of an ally, gripping it with strong emotions, you should be alright. The Dark Side is not someone else. It's you. You're still in control.

Feel free to join my Discord server: . disc ord. gg /3b3B xdHQKG (delete the spaces). You can talk about whatever you want in there. SW and RDR channels are in there as well.

Chapter 4

"Hello, I'm Owen Lars and this is Beru Whitesun," the eldery man said.

She noticed both were observing her, but knew to treat her elders respectfully. "I'm Leia Organa."

The older woman looked at the man, grinnng slightly. "I thought they would look more alike."

She batted an eyebrow in curiosity.

The man shrugged and looked at her now, a knowing smile behind his bearded lips. "Luke told us that someone might be coming. Come in, come in, my dear, you must be hungry."

"That's not ne-" she was about to refuse until her stomach betrayed her, growling.

"Turns out that's one thing not different between the two," Owen quipped.

Leia didn't know if she should feel insulted or not so she just shrugged it off.

Beru snickered. "You're like that too."

Owen fake pouted. "I have to always be the bad guy."

Beru looked at him deeply, "It's what you're good at, Husband."

Oh no, she had a feeling this was going to turn just like one of those episodes that her parents had when formality wasn't involved.

But she wasn't in danger. She could just feel it.

The moment she entered, she could say it was different from expected. The coordinates given to her have turned out to be a place of respite. Of course, one wouldn't go so far as to optimize stealth on a Star Destroyer and rescue her, only to lead her into an even worse trap.

Quite frankly, she'd still thought he was insane for remaining behind on that Star Destroyer.

Darth Vader's Star Destroyer no less.

Force tricks or not.

Her thoughts didn't stay on him for long as she collapsed into the kind elderly woman's arms, her exhaustion proving too much for her to take.

She managed to stay up for dinner, finding the food different on this planet. Afterwards, she slept a peaceful sleep on a bed, as if it was her last.

And in the morning, she was again standing outside the Homestead. The couple didn't mind, merely allowing her to be.

She was curious about what she felt around that man-her rescuer. It was like they were bound by some sort of unbreakable string, that something awakened in her in his proximity. Her brain searched for that familiarity, and her lips tugged into a frown as she spotted forms approaching.

Humans.

Moreover, they seemed to be around her age.

She greeted them. "Hello."

One of the men whistled. "Wow, she's a beauty. Wormie never told us he had a girlfriend."

"I guess Wormie did more than just bask in the sun," the female said, but her eyes were narrowed on her in envy. Did she just make her jealous somehow?

"She's clearly confused, guys." One of the young men stepped forward and stared at her. "I am Deacon. This is Fixer, Camie," he motioned to the two, and at last the one standing behind them, eyeing her in that long white dress, "and Windy. Are you friends with Luke?"

"Of sorts. He saved me." Leia responded, decidedly not going into detail. What if these people didn't know about what Luke could do?

"Who knew?" Windy laughed, and it was the type of laugh that Leia knew was condescending. "Wormie has a spine after all."

"Aye, he ain't that great," Fixer said snidely.

He shrugged, "He's got a girlfriend."

"We just met," Leia said, wondering why that felt wrong.

"Well, where is he?" Fixer asked.

"He's out," she replied, not knowing where he was.

"Out where?" Camie's lips curled into a scowl. "Wormie thinks he's too good for us now?" She leaned against her boyfriend while her eyes flashed with contempt. Right, she was never going into a relationship for that reason. She couldn't imagine being the royal highness rushing off into a man's arms and allowing him to protect her. She would protect herself. "The Hutts would love a fine prize like you."

"Oh, because you do not meet their expectations," Leia said back, feeling guilty as the woman unwrapped herself around her boyfriend and approached. Her parents warned her about what her mouth could get her into before.

"Ooo." The men cheered behind her.

Camie approached, trying to look intimidating. Leia met her glare head on, prepared to retaliate. She knew her parents definitely wouldn't be pleased with her getting into any fights on an unfamiliar planet, but just because she was a Princess, didn't mean she was harmless.

"What's going on here?" The same elderly man exited the Homestead, coming behind her and frowning at how close the two girls were.

"Greetings, Mr. Lars, we wanted to know about Luke," Deacon said, trying to keep his tone cordial in front of the older man.

The act didn't seem to work, given his unimpressed frown. "Luke is off doing a favor for me for a few days." He lied, blatantly guarding his real mission. "We would appreciate it if you didn't cause a disturbance on my Homestead and leave."

They paused but remained in place.

Owen observed all of them, his eyes landing on Camie at last. "Speaking of which, Ms. Loneozner, would you like for me to inform your parents you're in another fight?"

"Alright, alright, old man, we're leaving," Fixer said with a roll of his eyes. "Come on, baby, let's go."

Camie's eyes lingered on Leia for a few seconds before she left.

Leia's eyes darted to the aged man, her voice more respectful now. "Thanks."

"No problem, I think I found something that belongs to you."

Leia's eyebrows shot up in curiosity. "Oh?"

She followed his gaze in the direction of the Homestead, where she spotted two familiar figures emerging, one beeping excitedly at her presence.

"Artoo! Threepio!" She exclaimed in relief, darting over to them, gripping the protocol droid by the arm and shaking gently while patting the Astromech on the dome. Despite Threepio being an annoyance, she knew that she would never want him to be harmed. "I'm so glad you two are safe!" She looked at both of the older people. They have no idea what they'd just done for the galaxy. "How can I ever thank you?"

"You being safe is all the thanks we need," Mrs. Lars offered gently. "It would mean a lot to Luke."

"Oh, and where pray tell is Luke?" a harsh voice cut in behind them.

They all turned around, alarmed...

It took many years of training for Luke to not murmur a curse at the impending form of the Death Star.

Only then was he reminded of how dangerous the Empire was as a whole. If the Rebellion hadn't arisen, and the Empire had been allowed to continue to militarize further, when the Yuuzhan Vong arrived, the Empire would have crushed them before they could establish a foothold in the Galaxy. They would never have gotten out of the Unknown Regions at best, or the Outer Rim at worst.

The Death Stars and Dreadnoughts would have been the perfect platforms to counter the Vong Warships. And having 25,000 Star Destroyers couldn't hurt either. The TIE fighters were also perfectly designed to counter the swarms of Coralskippers.

Now, Luke truly believed that after the war, they would have had no hope of victory against the Galactic Empire at the height of its power.

But the Empire must fall, or at least be reorganized into something bigger and better quickly.

And... the idea of working with Darth Sidious, of all people, until the Vong War was completely unacceptable.

That would be giving the galaxy to the Sith.

Currently, Luke was sitting in Vader's quarters, knowing he would be undisturbed.

And undisturbed he was within Vader's quarters.

Until, his father entered and stared at Luke, unhooking various parts from his belt and placing them with a green kyber crystal into Luke's hands.

"You can utilize this to manufacture a new lightsaber."

Luke looked down at the parts. "What makes you think I need a lightsaber?"

"In the scenario, you may encounter a foe able to resist the Force."

Luke blinked and stared down at the parts. In his hands was a different kyber synthetic crystal. But the parts... while he could make a close resemblance to his hilt, it would not be his lightsaber.

Luke knew the importance of letting go and recognized that his father was right. While lightsabers should not be a last resort, unfortunately, more often than not, they were the first. In an ideal galaxy, perhaps, everything could have been resolved just as easily.

He closed his eyes, allowing the Force to work through him as the hilt came together, along with the kyber crystal, before he ignited the lightsaber, examining it for a moment before deactivating it and placing it on his belt.

"And where did you get these lightsaber parts?"

Luke almost sensed Vader sighing and rolled his eyes. "From Galen Marek..."

"You never got rid of his lightsaber?" Luke smiled. "I always knew that you cared about him in some way."

"Recovered it after I tossed him into space..." His voice modulated notably dropped in intensity.

Next, Vader clicked on his Holocommunicator.

"Lord Vader," the Hologram of the commander said, standing straighter before the Dark Lord, "we have yet to track dow-"

"Commander Terrik," Vader interrupted icily, "Zeta Squadron is to cease the investigation and report to the Devastator for further instruction."

Indigence followed. "But my Lord, my men are capabl-"

"Your proficiency isn't questioned, Commander," Vader interrupted yet again, "I have elected another ploy to recover the Death Star plans. The droids are no longer a concern."

The Commander's displeasure stank in the Force, yet he knew better than to refuse. "Very well, my Lord..."

"Good."

The communication cut out.

"Thanks..." Luke said.

"I didn't do it for them," Vader asserted.

Luke's eyes widened a fraction, and the name left his mouth, "Leia..."

"Correct."

Luke asked, "What are you going to do when you see her again?"

"Protect her as I am you," Vader confessed. "You both are mine. You belong at my side."

"She doesn't know who you are. She was never informed."

"We will inform her when you're prepared."

"It took her many years to forgive you. It was through many sleepless nights, for all she saw was your mask. Maybe... Maybe this will make things better."

"I'm certain it was not just torture."

"You stood aside and allowed Tarkin to destroy Alderaan."

Vader retorted slowly. "I see."

"You don't approve," Luke smiled.

"A military target is preferable simply for pragmatic reasons. I imagine that will stir insurrection within the Empire."

"It did before," Luke acknowledged, looking down.

"Without demonstration, many will not dissent over to the Rebellion. Tarkin would be just viewed as a bug."

Yes, Luke knew that. Yavin IV was the main Alliance HQ and they had only a couple hundred people and a few dozen Starfighters at this point in time. Very few when considering that this was where several Alliance figureheads were located. By the time their main HQ is at Hoth they have an entire army and a decent sized fleet just at the HQ for defense, as well as a shield generator and ion canon. Two things a rag-tag group of rebels couldn't afford without outside help. In the original timeline, Alderaan's destruction was one of the big turning points for the Rebellion, since it persuaded many systems to join their cause. Unsurprising that most people don't want to be allied with a government that destroyed planets just to prove a point.

"We can still gather evidence," he replied knowingly. "Even if the results won't be the same."

"...How did her alternative forgive me?" Vader asked, altering the topic. "I imagine that you never shown up and my alternative proceeded with the torture, not knowing of our familial connection." There was faint dissatisfaction in his tone.

"Through grandmother's diary, she planned for you to retrieve whenever you returned to Tatooine, and Kitster-"

"Banai," Vader finished, his tone surprised.

Luke stared...

"You still care about him, don't you?"

"He was Skywalker's only real friend on Tatooine," he stated as leisurely as possible. Not a direct answer; more of a deflection, Luke noted with a fond feeling forming in his chest. Maybe, Kitster could convince his father to contemplate his path.

"I know that feeling." He had come to that realization long ago that Biggs and Janek were his only real friends. Fixer and Camie sold him out to the Empire, feeling like they had to do whatever they could to safeguard their job. Since they correctly assumed him of being a Rebel, they sold him out to the Empire. However, Fixer searched for him and caught up with him in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina in Mos Eisley to tell him of their treachery. He still escaped.

However, it would be a lie to say that the betrayal didn't sting. Given what happened to Janek, at least that didn't end in a similar tragedy.

"And how did you discover your mother?"

"I learned about my mother due to Sabé, her Handmaidens, Pooja, and Ryoo Naberrie. They learnt who you became and forgave you for it."

Vader's breath stilled harshly. "...Padmé's Handmaidens were extremely loyal to her and to Skywalker. Pooja Naberrie is active in the Imperial Senate. What happened to Ryoo Naberrie?"

"Ryoo Naberrie followed grandfather's footsteps and became an historian," Luke answered, "they always spoke fondly of you. They knew you and Mother loved each other deeply. They were the first who immediately understood why you did what you did."

"They mean nothing to me." Luke could sense the lie through the Force.

"I don't believe you."

"Then you're a fool."

"Maybe I am, but I know you still love me and Leia," he pointed out, "or else you wouldn't be doing this right now."

"...You are both necessary to overthrow the Emperor," Vader deflected yet again. "And I need your alliance if I am to achieve that objective."

"It is only a matter of time before he senses your betrayal."

"I'm aware, however, it will not be before that technological terror is destroyed, for the Emperor is preoccupied. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."

"The destruction of the Death Star doesn't need to be resulted in more violence," Luke retorted.

"My munificence is far from interminable, Luke," Vader replied. "We can't save everyone."

"I know what the absence of morality leads to, Father, but I can't kill all those people. Not again."

Vader paused. Luke almost heard a sigh the next second. "...Tarkin can't be convinced, Luke. He believes that the Death Star battle station and its planet-killing superweapon would intimidate the galaxy into total submission."

"Yes, Tarkin needs to be dealt with." Luke admitted.

Pity briefly passed into the Force. "No war is bloodless."

"I know that," Luke said through gritted teeth, reminded all too well of that fact. "I came from a galaxy of many wars after the fall of the Empire."

The pair of unlikely acquaintances moved down to the hangar, even though Luke was unseen to the common eye.

The mere fact of Vader going alone, without security, was something noticed but no one dared protest.

"What are you plotting after the destruction of the Death Star?" Vader inquired curiously.

"Many things," Luke answered.

"Luke..." Vader emphasized.

"I have someone else I must reach." The thoughts of his beloved Mara Jade cut through his core.

"Who?" Vader probed.

He couldn't tell him. Mara told him that she hated Vader-viewing herself as Palpatine's rightful apprentice and she also disliked his methods when it came to failure and how to handle his men, to the point where she defended a group of Rogue Stormtroopers from him by claiming they were working for her. Vader hated her on principle of her being Palpatine's pet assassin and Hand but otherwise knew she wasn't trained well enough in the Dark Side to challenge him and tended to ignore her.

He feared his father's reception of his beloved.

Unfortunately, there was no fooling his father.

"A woman," Vader said in recognition. "Not your sister."

His heart clenched tightly.

"Your beloved..." Vader concluded. "Your wife."

Luke bit his lower lip, swallowing a curse. Damn it. His father was perceptive.

"...Who was she?" Vader asked patiently.

Luke looked agonized, "I can't tell you."

Annoyance flared. "...Why not?"

"Protecting her," Luke answered solemnly.

"Protecting her? From me?" Dull pain shot through Vader. "I will never harm anyone you care about, Luke."

Bitterly, Luke reflected he did. Last time with Han and Biggs, not that he could be blamed for those things since they didn't happen... "From myself," Luke managed with a whisper. He looked down. "She isn't my wife yet. She deserves someone better."

Vader paused for a moment, then responded... "Given how dismayed you are, I can sense that you love this woman. We can reach her."

"We can't," Luke gasped.

"Why not?"

"The Emperor! He has her!" Luke shouted, shocking Vader and himself...

Surprisingly, there was a sharp stab of protective fury in the Force. However, confusion conquered it. "And you chose to come for me before her?"

"You're my father," he said softly. "But you're probably endangered too, even with me."

Vader looked at him, bemused.

"I... I got them killed," choked Luke, "I was weak, pathetic, and the galaxy got raided by the Yuuzhan Vong because of me. I don't deserve..."

"Killed who?"

"My best friend and nephew!" he managed, a sob shaking out of him. "She would have died as well! I know it!"

"Your nephew? Your sister had a child?" Vader questioned, the overprotective anger returning to him.

Luke arched his eyebrows.

Vader's anger receded, and he returned to the topic. "Son, what happe-"

"It's all my fault! I was foolish! I failed as a Grandmaster, a friend, and an uncle!" Luke exclaimed, wiping at his eyes.

Vader hesitated for a long moment before surprisingly placing a metallic hand on his shoulder. "To be angry is to be human," he declared.

Luke laughed hollowly. "I'm not just a human, Father, I was the Grandmaster, and I failed so many students like I failed you!"

"You didn't-" Vader started.

"I did. I was foolish..."

"Yet, you adapted to an obstreperous situation. That's much more than Kenobi, Yoda, or any other Jedi could say."

"They would have survived. Would hav-"

"No, they hardly were able to affiliate to the Clone Wars. There was a reason why most Clone Troopers weren't fond of the Jedi. On one hand, the Jedi were peacekeepers striving to minimize civilian casualties and collateral damage, which more often than not led to Clones' deaths because of that, along with the same people they were attempting to save. I doubt they could have preserved as you have, son..."

"Yet, my foolish beliefs on morality got so many killed regardless..." Luke managed meekly.

"You'd learned. We can prevent it."

"How can you be sure?" At any other time, around any other person, Luke would have been strong, an unwavering source of support and power. But next to his father, he recognized he'd needed him.

"No, time has favored us... Tell me of these Yuuzhan Vong."

"So you can come up with what? A plan?"

"Correct, you don't have to be alone in this, son."

"Is it because you want to rule an Empire without opposition?" Luke posed.

"...That is a secondary initiative," Vader admitted after a lengthy moment. "I need to know of this threat from beyond, Luke. If you do not cooperate, your nephew and best friend may perish yet again."

Luke made no more arguments.

The rest of the ride on the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle, Luke proceeded to do just that.