'Why is the Emperor transferring me to the Death Star?'
Once Sol was behind the solid door of Vader's training room, she asked the dying question that even he didn't know. Judging by Vader's reaction to Grand Admiral Thrawn's interaction with Sol, it seemed that the Emperor's decision was made without the knowledge of his own apprentice. But after the journey to the east wing, and with her Force-retraining cuffs inactive on the floor, Sol couldn't help but ask the man who stood in the middle of the dimly lit room.
But Darth Vader said nothing. He let Sol's arm go from his grip and stood a distance away from her in silence. With his caped back facing the Jedi, Darth Vader asked the same question in his thoughts. He heard Sol's inquiring, but was too busy compiling the possibilities of reason for the Emperor's private request.
What was Palpatine planning? Was he seeing no progress in Vader's way of changing Sol to the dark side? Did he wish to take his own approach with Sol?
Vader didn't wouldn't want any of these other questions answered. The Death Star wasn't completed, yet the Emperor wanted Sol's immediate transfer, and didn't inform his apprentice of his orders. Something was wrong.
'Anakin-'
'That is not my name.'
Sol jumped from the boom of Vader's voice. She sometimes used his previous name subconsciously, but at his immediate reply, Sol thought that perhaps she should use it all the time. Besides, the name 'Darth Vader' was the one that Sol had spent all this time fearing. Anakin was the one she still dreamed of, and the one Sol saw in Luke's eyes, and in Leia's voice.
Sol bit her lip when Vader turned to face her and dreaded to see his gloved hands rise to the bottom of his mask. She sucked in a breath when the face of Anakin Skywalker appeared and felt a familiar shiver down her spine when she saw yellow eyes instead of Anakin's blue ones. The dark skin surrounding them reminded Sol that the dark side still infected the ex-Jedi. But just like before, Sol felt herself slipping at the familiarity of Anakin's face.
His blonde hair curled at its ends and Sol remembered how soft it used to be through her fingers. The way his eyelashes curled almost made up for the fact that his irises were ringed with a fiery red, and when Vader saw the way Sol looked at him, he knew that he had captured her once again. A smirk wanted to grow on his lips, but he resisted it, and chose to slowly make his way towards the quiet woman instead.
Vader left his black mask abandoned on the floor, and tried to appear as innocent as he could. With a high brow and smiling lips, the Sith felt Sol's signature simmering just how he liked it. Although he was enchanted by its purity and white glow, to see it darken would mean that Sol was allowing the dark side to take over. It would be even more beautiful if it wasn't riddled with the lies of the light side of the Force.
'Don't fret, my love. I won't let the Emperor do anything to you,' his voice was low; dangerously low. Sol's knees weakened and the urge to fidget in nervousness overcame her fingers. Vader was getting closer and the softness in his smile, that was worn by his hidden smirk, made Sol whimper.
'Ani...'
'No,' his gloved fingers touched her chin and tilted her head upwards. 'Not Ani, remember? He couldn't help you. He was weak and he couldn't protect you.
Don't you remember, Solaris? Remember how many times you were hurt because of him? On Yavin? In the temple? I would never let that happen to you. I can help you, Sol. I am more powerful than he could ever be.'
Sol leaned towards his hand that looped a fallen hair behind her ear. Vader was close and he looked down at her with what Sol almost fell for as care and love. With lowering eyelids, Sol stood on her toes to meet Vader's lips that were waiting for hers. His hand had fallen onto her cheek, and Sol imagined it as the one gloved limb that Anakin had. It was him; she was sure of it. Anakin was still there.
'Feel me, Solaris,' Vader hummed as his lips brushed against hers. 'Give in to me.'
Sol grabbed one of the lightsabers hanging from Darth Vader's belt. The hiss of its ignition came with the opening of Sol's purple eyes, and the cyan blade appeared in between its wielder and its challenger. Sol's mind cleared and the feigned softness on Vader's face twisted into surprise. The Sith jumped backwards, the Force powering his leap, and the woman, who he thought he was deceiving, was stood in the hue of her lightsaber.
'I remember it, Vader,' Sol said with no sign of enchantment in her voice. 'I remember all of it. It's you that seems to have forgotten some things.'
Sol did her best to resist the face that stared back at her. She wanted to keep to her promise of staying true to what is good, and Vader was not good. If Anakin was still in there, he wouldn't reveal himself while Vader was in control. Sol had to remember Satele's words, despite their irritating repetition, and keep herself in the hold of the light side of the Force.
With her lightsaber in both hands, Sol held it at the ready. Her fingers tightened around its silver handle when Vader's features darkened. His raised brow fell over his eyes and his jawline sharpened at the clenching of his teeth. The terrifying aura of Darth Vader returned, and Sol sensed his Force signature redden with anger.
'Solaris, I'm trying to help you,' Vader said as he grabbed his remaining lightsaber from his belt. 'It's useless to fight me. Your power is nothing compared to-'
'What happened to getting married, Anakin?' Sol interrupted and Vader froze with his sheathed lightsaber in hand. She adjusted her grip on her weapon as the nerves built in her fingers. Her new approach would take courage, and Sol wasn't sure if she had enough. But at the stilling of Vader's movements, Sol continued to speak with an unwavering tone.
'You remember, right? We said we would leave the Order,' Sol said, desperate for Vader's anger to diminish from his face. 'You said we would leave together. Y-You said we would be happy-'
'That was not possible. Not when he was weak-'
'You weren't weak. You were perfect, Ani.'
Sol was wavering in strength. Her own words were getting to her. Like the false vision that Palpatine showed her, Sol saw the evening that Anakin unofficially proposed. She saw herself in her yellow speeder on the Coruscant building rooftop. She saw Anakin in the driver's seat, his eyes beaming into hers with the plea to marry him. His words of sincerity graced her ears, and Sol heard them as if Vader was saying them in the training room.
'Just a little more to go, then. It's coming to an end. I can feel it.'
Sol almost crumbled. They had been so hopeful for the end of the clone wars, that they had planned to leave the Order and marry on some far away planet. They thought they could be happy. Anakin deserved to be happy, and Sol was willing to give it to him by sacrificing her oath to the Jedi faith. Anakin could have seen Sol's growing stomach and been there for the birth of Luke and Leia. They could have had their family together.
'We could have done it, Ani...' Sol whispered, tears pooling in her eyes with a sob brewing in her throat. 'We could have... had a family.'
She knew she was diving too close to her well-kept secret. Vader could not know about his children. He was too dangerous and too conniving in his ways of the Sith. But Sol couldn't help it. The vision that Palpatine had placed in her mind was tormenting her, and to see Anakin's face staring back at her made her believe that it was still possible.
Vader remained still. He didn't interupt as he too pictured the day he proposed. He saw the sunset over the concrete city and the beautiful young woman who sat in the passenger seat of the speeder. He had wanted it then. Anakin had wanted a life away from war and violence, but couldn't shake the fear of losing what he still had left. He was desperate then, but to hear Sol's plea now, Vader was remembering why he had wanted to escape the war in the first place.
'You... you wanted children with me?'
Blue irises looked back at Sol. Like pins through a balloon, they pierced through Sol's walls and made the tears in her eyes fall down her cheeks. She made the effort to wipe her face onto her robed shoulder and smeared the wetness across her face. Anakin's blue eyes that captured the deepest of skies and depths of oceans were wide, and the yellow had dimmed to be almost unnoticeable. It was enough for Sol to want to drop her raised saber, but she kept it high as she sobbed.
'Yes, Ani... it's all I wanted. Not power or glory... just you and a family. Vader can't give me that... but Anakin still could.'
Vader's hand that held his lightsaber was limp by his side. The suit around his scarred body felt uncomfortable and wrong. Years of haze and painful burns seemed to cease and the intensity in his eyes cleared for a moment. A wave of freshness hit him and the black at the centre of his signature was suffocated by a warm orange. Vader was changing, and Anakin Skywalker was clawing his way out of his imprisonment.
'We could do it, you know?' Sol sniffled, her own hope lifting her courage. 'We could be happy. We could... leave this all behind like we planned. I loved you, Anakin. And I... still do.'
'I can't... I can't leave...' Vader's voice was so quiet that Sol thought she imagined it. He brought his free hand up to his forehead to push his fingers through his hair, and Sol saw the way his wide, blue eyes looked to the floor distantly.
'It's too late. I've... done too much-'
The floor shook beneath their feet. Sol tore her eyes away from Vader and saw the lights flicker in the corners of the room. In confusion, the two looked around and Sol even lowered her lightsaber as the walls rumbled.
A siren blared throughout the star destroyer. In intervals, it roared throughout every room and corridor. While Sol continued to look around, Darth Vader crouched to the floor and grabbed his abandoned mask. Swiftly, he clasped his lightsaber to his belt and pulled the black garment over his head to hide the yellow eyes that had returned. The blue was no match for the darkness that invaded its beauty and was overrun with it before it could fight back. With the return of Vader's anger, Anakin disappeared and was imprisoned once more.
'W-What is that?' Sol questioned over the sound of the siren. Vader moved towards the door and during his concentration, forgot to take Sol's lightsaber and place her restraints back on her wrists. Instead, he used the Force to send the door flying open and through his heavy rasps, said,
'We're under attack.'
---
'We've begun the attack. It should be safe for you to drop your cargo, then to head for Tatooine.'
'Thanks, Hytofel. Good luck.'
'Good luck to you, too, Miss Tano. What was it the Jedi used to say? Let the Force be with you?'
'Something like that... over and out.'
Ahsoka cut the transmission on her control board. Through her windscreen, the lights of hyperspace rushed by with their colours of white, blue, and yellow. Stars and planets blurred and as she drew closer towards the core, Ahsoka prepared to exit the tunnel of time.
The mission was delicate. There were many factors that could go wrong, but because of her T6's capability to jump to hyperspace, and its ability to carry another ship on its wing, Ahsoka had to risk a great deal.
With an x-wing attached to its side, the T6 was playing the part of transporter. Ahsoka was dropping Obi-wan off in the rebel-provided x-wing, which didn't have a hyperdrive, before she would turn around and head to the Outer-Rim. There, she would drop Luke and Leia off where they were safe with their Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.
If the battle was still ongoing, then Ahsoka would refuel and return to the core. She wouldn't waste a moment when Sol's rescue was on the table. And after the twins were out of harm's way, there was no limit on what Ahsoka would risk to ensure that Sol was back in the safety of the Resistance.
'Exiting hyperspace now,' Ahsoka said into her intercom that connected to the x-wing attached to the side of the T6. 'Are you prepared to dispatch, Master Obi-wan?'
'Affirmative. Ready when you are.'
As soon as Obi-wan's voice paused in her wristlet, Ahsoka dropped the handle and the ship arrived in the core. Immediately, she was greeted with the sight of an Imperial star destroyer that was surrounded by rebel ships and TIE fighters.
'Good luck, Ahsoka,' Obi-wan's voice said through her intercom. 'May the Force be with you. Dispatching in three, two, one.'
The T6 rattled as the x-wing broke off from its left wing. Ahsoka waited for the white and burgundy ship to fly into view and felt a pinch of worry when she saw the amount of TIE fighters that were present on the battlefield. When Obi-wan's x-wing flew across the windscreen, Ahsoka couldn't help but wait and watch him go into battle.
Blaster fire shot across the star destroyer and starfighters twisted and turned in their flight plans. Formations formed and broke apart, ships prevailed, and ships fell. It was relentless, and the sound of star destroyer's alarm blaring made it all the more haunting. Obi-wan flew in without hesitancy and Ahsoka lost sight of him amongst the blasters and crashes. She prayed that everything would go to plan, but her role had been played. She had strict orders from Padme to get the twins back to Tatooine, and that was all she would do.
'Woah! That spaceship is huge!'
Ahsoka was pulled from the windscreen to see Luke Skywalker standing beside her in the cockpit. With his finger pointing towards the star destroyer, the boy's head peered over the controls to lay his wide eyes on the battlefield. The sight of blasts and twisting starfighters was the most brilliant thing Luke had ever seen, and on his arrival in the cockpit, his sister, Leia, wandered in behind him.
'What are you two doing in here?! Get back into the hull-'
'Is Uncle Obi in there? Oh, Maker, look at that one! It's falling!' Leia's cry made Ahsoka glance towards the windscreen. The little girl's finger followed a diamond shaped ship that slowly dived downwards. Its left engine appeared to have a raging fire inside, and a TIE fighter flew away to leave it to fall to its end.
It was Revan's ship. Ahsoka gripped the controls as she waited for it to pull back up, but it continued to dive. She sensed his Force signature flaring with panic and Leia and Luke began to exclaim in shock and fear.
'Why isn't it pulling up?!'
'Why is no one helping?!'
While Luke sat up on his knees in the passenger seat, Leia pulled at Ahsoka's poncho sleeve to gain her attention.
'Aunt Soka, we have to help!' Leia said to the Togruta. 'Isn't that Uncle Revan's ship?!'
'How would you know that?' Ahsoka found herself mumbling with eyes glued to the falling vessel.
'I just can feel it, okay?! He's going to die, Soka!'
The Jedi looked down at the female Skywalker with wide eyes. She sensed it too. Leia could sense that Revan was in that ship and was in trouble. The purple irises that were panicked pleaded at Ahsoka, and Luke was watching the ship fall further and further.
Ahsoka was torn. No one was helping Revan, but Luke and Leia were onboard. If she heard that Revan died in that moment, then Ahsoka would never be able to forgive herself. She couldn't turn away now. But the twins were not be involved in all this. Ahsoka couldn't undo the years of hiding that Sol and Obi-wan worked so hard for.
'Aunty Soka, please!'
She pushed the controls forward and the T6 soared into battle. Luke fell back in the chair, while Leia tumbled to the floor and slid down the hallway. She let out a yelp and Ahsoka looked over her shoulder in a quick glance.
'Are you okay?!'
'Yes!'
Ahsoka made the dreaded decision. She would save Revan.
The T6 entered the battlefield and dived to where Revan's ship fell. One engine was still powering, but its single stabiliser was not enough to keep the ship afloat in space. If the damaged engine didn't explode, then the other engine would eventually fail from being overworked. Revan's ship would be suspended in space and would float until it found its nearest gravitational pull. That could be a planet, or the dreaded star destroyer above it. Ahsoka wasn't sure what would be a worse fate, as the descent to a planet without power would be fatal. And the way Ahsoka saw it, a rebel that fell into the grasps of the Empire was doomed.
Leia made it back into the hull while rubbing her backside. The movement in the corner of Ahsoka's eye reminded her that she had two children in her cockpit, and they were watching their dive through the windscreen.
'Back into the hull, both of you!' she cried with her grip on the controls.
'But-'
'Now!'
Luke leapt off the seat and Leia scurried down the hall at Ahsoka's demanding tone. The two left the cockpit and Ahsoka called for them to strap themselves in, before she gave her full attention back to her rescue.
'Ahsoka?! What are you doing?!' Revan's voice came through the controls' intercom. 'You have the kids! You shouldn't be anywhere near here!'
'I'm choosing to save you, alright?! Now cut your engine! I'm going to catch you!'
While in disbelief, Revan cut his power and the final engine lost its drive. Without stabilisers or power, the ship was suspended in space and Ahsoka swept her T6 underneath to catch it. When its belly lowered onto its wing, where Obi-wan's ship had just been, Revan activated his gravitational clamps. His damaged ship was secured on the T6's wing and Ahsoka let out a sigh of relief.
'You're insane,' Revan said through the intercom. Ahsoka knew that he was shaking his head in his cockpit, and she couldn't help but crack a smirk.
'Good thing, too, otherwise you would have been floating through space for eternity-'
Ahsoka lurched forward in the pilot seat. With blinking eyes, she looked down to her controls to see a red light on one of the many screens. The T6 had been hit with a blast and Ahsoka looked up in time to see a TIE fighter soar overhead. It flew up with its haunting cry and Ahsoka's scanners tracked its path to be looping around. It was coming back for another blow, and no one was capable of heading to the gun room.
'You've been hit, Ahsoka! You're on fire!' Revan cried through the intercom. 'He's coming back around!'
The screens blared with a series of warning symbols and words in Galactic Basic stated,
'HYPERDRIVE DAMAGED.'
'ENGINE DAMAGED.'