A Star Destroyer and several other ships belonging to the Imperial Fleet rested in space above the half-completed Second Death Star and its green neighbor, the forest moon of Endor. Four squads of TIE fighters escorted an Imperial shuttle toward the Second Death Star.
Lord Vader strode down the hallway, accompanied by a very nervous Death Star commander. Thousands of Imperial troops in tight formation filled the mammoth docking bay. Vader and the officer walked to the landing platform, where the shuttle was coming to rest.
The shuttle's ramp lowered and the Emperor's Royal Guards came out, quickly establishing a lethal perimeter. The assembled troops moved to rigid attention with a momentous snap.
Then, in the huge silence that followed, the Emperor appeared, clad in his normal dark robes and radiating an aura so dark than it nauseated most of the troopers. Palpatine was a rather small, shriveled old man, and his bent frame showed his obvious age as he slowly made his way down the ramp with the aid of a gnarled cane. The Emperor's face was shrouded and difficult to see because of his hood, but his piercing yellow eyes stood out more than a Bantha at a Jawa family gathering.
Commander Jerjerrod and Darth Vader kneeled to him without hesitation. The Supreme Ruler of the galaxy beckoned to the Dark Lord, almost completely ignoring the commander.
"Rise, my friend." Palpatine rasped with a sickly smile. Vader held back his anger. He was far from friends with the monster who had betrayed him back when...no! Anakin Skywalker was not him any longer. He was The Sith Lord Darth Vader and was feared by the entire galaxy...his Master just happened to think he was more powerful than him, that was all.
Speaking of the Sithspawn name Vader had long since cast away...why was he sensing his own Force presence? The light that radiated from it nearly blinded him, very similar to the one his son radiated when he wasn't blocking properly. The thought of the Force somehow sending his past self forward to see the future...it was preposterous. The thought had been bothering the Sith for hours and he was still debating whether or not to mention it to Palpatine.
In fact, he was still trying to convince himself that maybe he was just going crazy. Time-travel? It didn't seem possible, but the Force was very mysterious in hiding things from even the ones who thought they controlled it.
Vader rose, discarding his thoughts and falling in next to the Emperor as he slowly made his way along the rows of troops. Jerjerrod and the other commanders stayed kneeling until the Supreme Ruler and Vader, followed by several Imperial dignitaries, passed by; only then did they join in the procession.
"The Death Star will be completed on schedule." Vader droned through his mask, knowing that his Master was interested in the construction of his new planet-destroying machine.
"You have done well, Lord Vader. And now I sense you wish to continue your search for young Skywalker." Palpatine said with a faint smirk.
Vader tensed under his armor, hastily throwing up stronger mental shields and not letting his thoughts spill out into his Master's mind. "Yes, my Master." He said tightly.
"Patience, my friend. In time he will seek you out. And when he does, you must bring him before me. He has grown strong. Only together can we turn him to the dark side of the Force."
"As you wish." Vader said.
The Emperor paused, staring at his apprentice. "Something else is troubling you."
Vader glanced around at the troopers and Commander Jerjerrod before sighing as best as he could with his mechanic-controlled breathing. "I...have sensed a presence."
Palpatine raised an eyebrow and then also noticed Vader's trouble of speaking aloud. "Ah...understood. Commander, clear the room, Lord Vader and I need to discuss a private matter."
Commander Jerjerrod nodded quickly, "Yes, My Lord."
Once the docking bay had been cleared, Palpatine stared at Vader with his calculating golden irises. He leaned on his cane and probed the man, searching for what Vader was hiding.
Calming his annoying shaking state, Vader stood proudly as he looked down at his shorter Master. "I have sensed the Force presence of...Anakin Skywalker."
The Emperor blinked, unfazed. "I see...were you able to pinpoint the location of him?"
"No, my Master. The signature was...slippery. The disturbance in the Force is what alerted me to it before I was blocked by shields."
The Emperor tsked. "Stopped by a Jedi's pathetic mind blocks? Lord Vader, it is not difficult to pick apart shields with the Dark Side."
"I know...but if pressed too hard a mind can...collapse." Vader explained.
Palpatine studied his apprentice before cackling lightly. "Well Lord Vader, I guess you now have a new mission. Forget the boy for now...focus on this disturbance and make sure you bring it to me." The Emperor turned to walk away before pausing and staring Vader dead in his mask's red-tinged ocular lenses.
"And do try top keep him alive. I would hate to lose such an impressive protégé like yourself." And with that, the Emperor strode off with a malicious grin.
'Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.'
Vader stood motionless as he watched his Master stride away. Closing his eyes, he released himself into the Force, finding the signature once more and pressing against it. He was pushed away immediately, so violently in fact, that the Sith Lord stumbled backwards.
He snarled in anger. 'I will find you.' He thought with a snarl before marching out of the docking bay and after his Master.
***
Anakin jerked, feeling a cold shiver overcome him. Cold on Tatooine? He mentally pushed against the feeling, a bit harsher than he intended, but it worked nevertheless.
His companions and he were currently trying to outrun a sandstorm which was quickly approaching. Anakin knew it was futile, however. He had lived on Tatooine long enough to know that if you didn't have cover in a sandstorm, you might as well have just given yourself over to the Tusken Raiders for a more merciless death.
Once they had landed the skiff, using every last bit of energy it had left in his repulsorlifts after it had been shot multiple times, they had been left almost in the middle of the desert, forced to navigate their way back to their ships.
At first, Anakin hadn't wanted to go with them to their ship, thinking maybe he had learned enough about the future to go back to his own time, but when he had remained in this time period he had tried very hard not to curse out the Force.
Leia was leading Han, who was looking more lost than any of them with his still blurry vision. They all had cloth wrapped around their faces, trying to stop the sand from entering their eyes and failing miserably.
Anakin hated the sand with a fiery passion and he wished the Force could have at least sent him to the future on a different planet.
Behind him, Luke and Lando were helping an injured Chewbacca through the storm, the smaller boy obviously struggling a bit under the weight. However, he did his best not to show the hardship in his features.
Anakin had offered to help of course, but Luke had brushed him off each time, saying he could do it. Chewie growled his own protest as well, but the kid continued to push on.
The storm gradually got worse and Threepio's constant complaining drove a nail into Anakin's temple, making him groan. When he designed the droid as a boy, he was pretty sure he hadn't inputted an incessant jabbering feature.
Suddenly, three shadows of ships appeared before them, barely visible in all the blowing dust and sand.
One of the ships was Han's trusty Corellian frieghter, the Millenium Falcon, and Anakin chuckled at the piece of junk that sat in front of him.
The other two ships were Luke's X-wing and a two-seated Y-wing.
Anakin was about to yell out to the others that he found the ships before Han's voice rang out, barely audible under the wind.
"I don't know about my vision. All I see is blowing sand!" He cried.
Leia, still supporting him and now wearing a robe over her indecent clothing, rolled her eyes. "That's all any of us can see, laserbrain."
"Then I guess I'm getting better." Han said, blinking through the sand.
"Hey! I found the ships!" Anakin said, pulling his cloak tighter around his face.
He saw Luke notice the ships as well and the boy's whole body slumped in relief. Quickly, the group huddled under the Falcon from protection from the sand, and made sure everyone was accounted for.
Han suddenly turned to Luke, a smile on his face. "You were pretty good out there kid."
The boy blushed at the praise. "I had a lot of help." He gestured at Anakin and the others. "Think nothing of it."
"No, I'm thinking a lot about it. That carbon freeze was the closest thing to dead there is. And it wasn't just sleepin'. It was a big wide awake nothing!" Han exclaimed.
Anakin blinked. "How'd you get carbon frozen, anyways?"
Han sighed, rubbing his eyes and glad to be able to make out faces now. And now that he could see...Anakin and Luke looked a lot alike. "Uh...Vader. Used me and Leia as bait for Luke here. It's a long story."
Luke looked down at his feet, not speaking. Anakin sighed. Han interrupted quickly, "Anyways, you...who exactly are you again? Not that we don't appreciate the help, of course."
"Anakin Naberrie." Anakin said casually.
Han nodded, studying the man. "Jedi?"
Anakin blinked in surprise, but then realized his attire and lightsaber probably made it a bit obvious. "Uh, yes. Since I was 9 years old."
"And are you friendly to the Rebellion?" Leia butted in, scowling and still trying to pull her robe tighter around her. Han noticed and frowned, wishing he could've seen Jabba's death up close and personal. Leia didn't deserve any of what she had just been through.
"Honestly...I didn't know what the Rebellion was until today..."
"He asked me to take him to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and thought I was a Separatist." Luke blurted, getting a few stares.
"The Old Republic? Wow...you're a few years behind in history...have you been in hiding?" Leia asked.
"Something like that." Anakin said.
"Wait, you look young. How could you possibly remember anything about the Old Republic?" Lando asked, getting into the conversation as well.
Anakin hesitated before quickly improvising. "I've heard stories. I'm not stupid. My...father was a Jedi. I take after him."
"Jedi daddy huh? So is Luke here. It's the main reason why he's here right now." Han said.
Luke nodded slowly, stiff at the mention of his father and meeting Anakin's eyes slowly. Anakin felt a Force tendril sneak up into his mind from the boy and he quickly slammed shields up.
Luke's eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something."
"I promise you, it's for your own good. You can trust me." Anakin eased, raising his hands in a gesture of peace.
"Well I trust you. You saved my skin and I appreciate it." Han said.
Lando nodded. "I agree."
Leia nodded warily, still hesitant. "Only time will tell if you're really lying."
Chewie roared with a nod and then all eyes settled on Luke. The boy sighed. "I...I'll trust you too."
Anakin smiled. "Well, I suppose we better get going. Any other questions you have for me can be answered later. This storm's getting worse."
Everyone nodded and Anakin caught Luke's laughter when Chewbacca came over and ruffled the young Jedi's hair affectionately. "I'll see you too Chewie."
Luke moved towards his X-wing before he was stopped by an arm. He blinked and looked up at Anakin.
"Let's take the Y-wing. It fits two and I know you're planning on taking a detour." Anakin said with a lowered voice, staring into the boy's irises and still marveling how much of Padmé showed in his face alone.
Luke blinked and then sighed, knowing Anakin was right. He wanted to ask the Jedi more questions, but he also wanted to stop somewhere before returning to the Alliance fleet.
"I guess I'll have Lando fly my X-wing...I'll just have to threaten him if he breaks it." Luke said with a faint chuckle.
Anakin smirked as Luke moved to talk to the gambler who gave the boy a quizzical look but accepted all the same.
Leia, Han, Threepio, and Chewie clambered onto the Falcon whilst Luke and Anakin buckled themselves into the two-seated Y-wing, Artoo in the droid socket.
Once they had taken off and entered the atmosphere, Luke set his comm frequency to the Falcon and his X-Wing so he could speak to his friends.
"Luke, your hyperdrive coordinates don't match the rendezvous. What's wrong?" Leia asked through the comm.
"Nothing. Anakin and I'll meet you back at the fleet." Luke said.
"I still don't understand why you won't leave that crate and come with us." Han grumbled.
"I have a promise I have to keep first...to an old friend." A faint smile brushed Luke's lips and Anakin reached again for the boy's Force signature, wondering what he was thinking. What old friend was he referencing?
"Well be safe. Both of you." Leia said, her worry radiating through the Force.
"I'll look out for him." Anakin said, getting a startled look from Luke. However, Leia laughed over the comm.
"I think I'll let Artoo handle the baby-sitting job." She said. Artoo beeped in response and Han's laughter echoed in the background.
"Just get going you two, before the love-birds over there infect us with more of their little jokes." Lando said, a smile in his words.
Leia and Han protested at the same time as soon as they heard "love-birds", but Luke had already switched off the frequency, setting the hyperdrive and glad that his friends could relax and actually have a laugh in the time of war.
"So, where are we going?" Anakin asked out of curiosity.
"Dagobah." Luke said, pulling the hyperdrive lever and watching the stars fade into the mystical light blue starlines of hyperspace.
•••
Once Luke had keyed off his frequency, Lando had fixed his coordinates with the Falcon's and prepared to make the jump.
The Y-wing disappeared in a flash suddenly, showing that Luke and Anakin had already moved into hyperspace.
"Hey, Lando." Han said over the comm once he and Leia had stopped bantering. Lando leaned toward the machine with a pique of interest.
"Yeah?"
Han cleared his throat awkwardly. "I...I guesss I owe you some thanks. You know...for not being a traitor and everything."
Lando chuckled. "Figured if I left you frozen like that you'd just give me bad luck the rest of my life, so I might as well get you unfrozen sooner or later."
"He means "You're welcome."" Leia said.
"Come on, let's get away from this miserable dust ball." Lando said, accepting Han's thanks with a feeling of relief. He had been worried his friend would never trust him again, but he sounded genuine.
"No arguments here." Han said before pulling the hyperdrive lever, the X-Wing right behind him.
•••
A/N
Ok, not much action wise, but definitely a lot of mystery....oooh. XD
Anyways....yeah.
Ok, I don't have anything to say, so bye. :)
PS - Thank you for 7K on Redemption!!!
May the Force be with You,
- lucky_ducky_123