The Dark Path

Chapter 4

Ahsoka docked her ship in the hangar of Vader's castle and got out. She walked to their chambers to give him her mission report. She had stopped thinking about what Kota had said, but the conflict still dwelled in the back of her mind. Upon entering the room, she saw Vader facing away from her, looking out the window onto the fiery surface of the planet.

Without turning around, he spoke. "Ah Shadow, you have returned. I take it your mission was a success?"

"Yes master. Rahm Kota is dead, and the factory is destroyed. There were no witnesses." She unclipped Kota's saber from her belt and walked over to Vader. "Her is his saber as proof," she said giving the saber to him.

"Well done my apprentice. I will inform the Emperor of the attack on the factory." Ahsoka bowed and turned to leave, but was stopped by Vader. "I sense... conflict inside of you little one. What is troubling you?"

Ahsoka sighed. She didn't want to tell Vader about it, but she knew the chances of him not sensing it were slim. "It's... it's nothing. Just some stuff Kota said to me."

"What did he say?" Vader asked.

"Nothing. It wasn't anything important," she responded and started to walk out of the room.

Vader picked her up, using the force to choke her. She began to gasp and struggle for air. He let go, and she fell to the ground sucking air in. "I am not done with you!" His voice boomed. "You do not leave without being dismissed! Tell me what he said or else!"

Ahsoka just looked at him in horror. He had NEVER done anything like this to her, even as Vader he had tried to keep it loose between them. 

Once Ahsoka had caught her breath, she staggered to her feet. "He said... that he could 'sense my future'. That there was light inside of me trying to break out," she paused, not sure if she should say the next part. She took a deep breath, and let it out. "He also said that... that you would betray me and just throw me away once I had served my purpose... is that true?"

 Vader stayed quiet for a moment, attempting to formulate a response. Finally, he sighed and spoke. "Snips... I would NEVER do that. Look I may be a Sith Lord now, and I'm supposed to be feared a ruthless, but I still care about you. I told you years ago I would never let anyone hurt you, and I'm not going to go back on that promise now."

Ahsoka smiled a genuine smile, not the smile when she ended a life, but a real, happy smile, for the first time in five years. Vader had not called her Snips since that day on Mustafar, and as soon as he used her old nickname, she knew what he was saying was true. 

She nodded at Vader and left to go train some more. She realized what Kota had said about her lightsaber combat was true. Her swings were undisciplined and and largely inaccurate. She needed to learn to control her swings better. She couldn't always just rely on her force abilities to keep her alive.

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Vader sat in his quarters contemplating what Ahsoka had said. Kota had been right. He could sense the conflict inside of her too, the light inside of her. He had felt it for the last five years, but she had always had control over it. She may not have realized it, but it was there, and now it was starting to come to the surface.

What he had told her was true, he wanted to rule the galaxy together with her. He would never betray her, but he needed to know that she was going to stay loyal to him, to the dark side. He knew what he had to do. It would either reaffirm her loyalty to him, or he would lose her forever. It was a risk he didn't want to take because he didn't want to lose her, but he knew it was a risk he had to take.

He called Ahsoka back to their chambers.

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Ahsoka made her way back to their chambers. She hadn't had much time to train, but she couldn't blow her master off. She was afraid he would do something worse than earlier if she did.

"You summoned me master?"

"Yes. I have another mission for you." Ahsoka began to get excited. She was hoping it was another mission to kill a Jedi. As if sensing her thoughts, Vader spoke, "Don't get too excited, it's not a high action mission. Just a simple infiltration and assassination."

She frowned, but then realized she did get to kill someone so it wasn't all bad. "Who is it?"

"You will travel to the planet of Onderon. There is a senator there that has been causing trouble, challenging the authority of the Emperor. We have suspicions that he is aiding the rebellion, giving them secrets and information about locations of our bases, factories, etc. He needs to be taken care of. I can't go because that would be suspicious, but no one knows you have an affiliation with them Empire. That's why I am sending you, it'll just be equated as just an assassination and won't be linked back to the Empire."

The whole time, she was thinking about Onderon. The last time she had been there was to aid a rebellion against the Separatists. She remembered... him. She wondered what he was doing these days. What if- no. She had to let go of her past, put it behind her. She had to forget everything, even him. She was no longer the young naïve padawan she once was. She was now a powerful Sith. 

"Yes master. I will leave right away," she said leaving for the hangar.

Vader watched her leave, and couldn't help but worry. He sensed that she had been thinking about him as soon as he had mentioned Onderon. He was worried that returning to a planet like Onderon that held so many memories of her past life would release the light that they both had tried so hard to contain. He was still unsure about this mission, but knew it was the only way to make sure she was loyal to him and the dark side. He hoped this wouldn't be the last time her saw his beloved apprentice.