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Chapter Text

Vader hated.

That was the principle of the Dark Side: Hate, Pain, Fear. His master didn't let him forget these lessons and he had built Vader routine so he didn't forget.

From the torture of his suit, to his frequent visits to the Hutts. But he also did it with smaller details, it was what made him fall the first time, like where his office was located, it was the same room where Darth Vader had carried on Order 66 and Anakin had sold his soul to save a live, an useless act.

The room didn't look like it did so long ago but he could still hear the younglings screaming, he could feel their fear as he come closer with his saber light up. Grief and guilt were not sith feelings but the pain that they bring was.

He opened his door, and stopped. Padme was there, in front of his desk, frozen.

He was used to seeing her, he closed the door and the hallucination flinched. That stopped him, she hadn't done that before. What was she doing? she was looking through his desk, maybe she wanted some files? Padme would have hated the empire, she probably would have joined the rebels, made them better and gave them hope.

He tried to reach for her but the hallucination stepped back, so he stopped. Vader looked at her, she looked at him.

...

...

"Do you want some classified documents?" he asked.

"What?" she didn't move, she also hadn't said no.

He took all the files and secrets the emperor trusted him from their hidden places and placed it on the desk. It was probably treason but she wasn't real so who cares?

Moving around he got a better glance at her. She wasn't Padme, her eyes had too much fire, she was taller, she... She was their daughter. That was new, he was used to his wife, he had accepted Padme's death at his hand, not forgave it. He was used to seeing her, to the pain of what had been, not the pain of what it could have been.

His daughter was beautiful, like her mother. He hoped that she didn't take after him.

He took the form he came for and turned back to leave when the ghost spoke.

"why" It was so low that if it wasn't for the quiet he wouldn't have hear it.

He didn't know what she was talking about. Why did he killed her? He thought he was being betrayed when he was the traitor. Why did he serve an empire in which he didn't believe? because he didn't have anything else and nothing really matters anymore. Why did he give her the files? she wasn't real and if she was then the Emperor was worse than he thought and he needed to kill him.

But she wasn't real, she couldn't be. Padme Amidala died and with her their child. You can't talk with the deaths.

He left the room and didn't look back.

Chapter Text

It’d been a month since Leia almost had a heart attack and she was getting nervous because soon she would have to take responsibility and make a choice about what happened in Vader’s office.

At first she was so sure that was the way she died, in her first day at the senate, with her curiosity and recklessness at direct causes. Then just… she still didn’t know what happened, maybe Vader was truly mad and did whatever a normal person wasn’t supposed to do like killing hundreds?

…Who knows, she didn’t.

She thought it was a trap, it had to be but how? nobody knew she was going to enter his office, (she had disobeyed direct orders from her father doing it) and he got in, gave her the files and got out. Did he always have false files in his office? Wasn't it easier to imprison and interrogate her? Was his objective to make her going crazy? because he was succeeding.

She paced in her room trying to think, in half an hour she would be on transmission with the rebels leaders (she wouldn’t be able to see them and their voices would be distorted so their identity stayed hidden) and they would ask her questions about how did she got the extremely accurate information.

She had shared the files (of course she had! she was a rebel committed to the cause) saying that it came from a questionable source, but really important too, and to proceed with extreme caution. In the following month all the information obtained had revealed to be true and with it the rebel cause had saved countless lives.

And now Leia was screwed, she could hear her father telling her about the consequences.

Her communicator  started ringing, it was the rebels, it had to be. She took a deep breath to calm herself, she got this, she only needed to say the truth and explain that maybe Vader was a traitor. 

She opened the communication channel before she could back down, making sure it was encrypted and no one else had access to it.

"A phoenix never dies." The hologram identified themselves as the heads of the revolution.

"A lioness never backs down." Leia answered, she always thought her codename suited her.

"It’s your side safe?" The voice sounded robotic with so much distorsion.

Leia checked the encryption again. "As safe as it can be, yes."

"Good, we need to talk." Leia grit her teeth, ‘this is how it begins’ she thought. "We need more of those files you got us last month, do you think that would be possible?"

Leia blinked, they didn’t ask? "I…I’m not sure. As I pointed out, the source isn’t reliable or trustworthy."

"Yes, we noticed but we also noticed that everything in those files was true and valuable and extremely confidential information. Without it we would have been able to free the prisoners on Ryloth, it would have been harder to introduce our agents on Kahsyyk and we wouldn’t know about the emperor's interest in cloning and traveling to other galaxies."

"Yes, I know but my source isn’t any of our agents, he doesn’t believe in our cause, he isn’t to be trusted."

There was a silence, they would probably arguing between them. "Does he know he is sharing this information?"

Leia wished she could say no but that damned mask was looking straight to her eyes while handing out the files. "Yes."

"Then you can persuade him to join our group."

Leia sighed, it was now or never. "I don’t think you understand, he is…"

"Do not tell us." They interrupted her. "This valuable informant must be kept a secret to everyone, the more people know who he is, the more danger he is." Leia wanted to scream at them, she knew that, she wasn’t an idiot even if she was young and reckless. She wanted to tell them because the informant was kriffing Vader. "We understand," they continued. "The informant is a high officer and it must be hard to trust them, knowing what they did to achieve such a high ranking, but people change and we need that information. Don’t worry, we would be cautious with everything that he shares."

Leia looked angry at the hologram. Yes, people can change but not mass murderers, not war criminals, not whatever monster vader was. "I understand," they were being idiots. "I can try to obtain more of those files but I can’t guarantee success or cooperation from the informant."

There was a silence, the next time the hologram talked it seemed less robotic and she could almost feel a warm feeling of worry coming from it. "Lioness, I know how hard it is working so near the emperor, don’t let yourself be corrupted by his hatred. This new agent that you found can help us to save a lot of lives. And yes, you are right, we can’t trust him or anyone so close to the emperor, but have you stopped to think that maybe he just wants to get away from him?"

"No, he doesn’t." Answered Leia, sure of herself.

"To serve the emperor means to harm other people and to stop serving him means to die. He is of great use, if it’s necessary for you to keep your gun near when you talk to him, do it and shoot first if worst comes to be."

Well, at least they gave her permission to shoot Vader, even if it was accompanied with the order to talk to him.

"I will talk with the informant."

"The phoenix gives their thanks, goodbye Lioness."

Leia shut down the communicator and fell on her seat, her father was going to kill her when he finds out which would be never if she is lucky. 

‘I can shoot Vader’ she repeated to herself trying to cheer up.

Chapter Text

It was a good day… that made Vader paranoid.

He was busy enough to not think about… his life in general, his Master had only punish him once and he even knew why. So today was a good day, he didn’t think it would last, it never did. The waiting only made him nervous.

When he finally found the ghost in front of him, it was a relief at least he knew how to deal with it. It had been a while since the last time he saw her. Well, that was a lie, he had seen his daughter in the corridors from far away or with other senators, diplomats and politicians, which he hated but it made sense considering her mother.

Now they were in the garden surrounded by dark side plants, alone. It was one of the few places where you couldn’t be spied without noticing it and therefore it was highly dangerous.

Vader went there routinely, first to make sure no one was planning against the emperor, second to try getting eaten alive and last to vent against his Master. Unfortunately, the last two things were the most uncommon to happen.

“Don’t touch the vines, the plants don’t like it” He warned about the reeksa.

The girl frowned and stepped closer to him as if he was going to protect her, which was unnecessary. She had come there alone, she didn’t need his help.

“Vader, we need to talk” She said, looking around for more dangers.

Did they? Right now Vader wanted to sit down and sleep, he had wanted to do that for at least 16 years. But Sidius would punish him if he ever dared to show weakness.

“And of what would you like to speak?” He only had a few minutes before new orders came in.

There was a moment of silence, “Are you really not going to explain yourself? About why are you helping the rebellion?” She asked, confused and angry.

Oh, she had her passion and determination. “No.” Vader ignored what she asked, he didn’t want to talk about politics in his few moments of privacy. “You take after her, I’m glad” he added so quietly that the vocoder didn’t get it.

She was losing patience. “Really? Vader.” She said his name with such hatred, he was proud. “To have a conversation means that both parts have to listen and answer.”

“I don’t have to explain myself.” He repeated, that was a teaching from his Master with which he agreed. “Since when does the rebellion trust Darth Vader?” 

“We don't.” reluctantly she added,“but your information was valuable and truthful, we need more of it, about project stardust, operation cinder, anything you give us.”

An alert was shown on his HUD, Tarking required his presence. “Princess” Because he was sure his daughter was as much nobility as her mother “The rebellion will only lead to anarchy, chaos. I have seen it, the empire is… the best option. That is how the world works and there is nothing we can do, I tried. Now, If you excuse me I have to work for order in the galaxy”

 He didn’t look back and again it felt like he was fleeing. 

Later, after his meeting with the moff, he got a copy of everything related to project stardust. It was a thick file, but he started to study.

Each page he passed he reminded himself ‘She is just a ghost, a dream’ but Vader didn’t have anything else to do so he continued. He didn’t know why, he didn’t know what he was looking for or what he was going to do when he found it. But that hadn’t stopped him before, when he was a jedi. 

Chapter Text

Galen Erso was the definition of keep calm and carry on, even surrounded by the enemy he had convinced them that he was an ally, but Krennic was an idiot if he thought his chief engineer was going to work on the death star without ulterior motives.

So yes, Galen was a serene, calm man who kept everything under control, however not everyday Darth Vader comes to supervise your work.

It seemed that the monster knew about engineering, so little was known about the cyborg that Galen couldn’t be sure his alterations would pass undetected. Still, he stood looking ahead with a poker face.

“As you can see, project stardust progresses as planned” said Krennic, the idiot couldn’t let pass an opportunity to draw attention even Vader’s. “My team is formed by the best engineer of the galaxy, to found a…”

The voice was abruptly stopped by a choking sound, Vader hadn’t moved but Galen wasn’t naive enough to believe him innocent.

“I would like to talk to them alone, lieutenant.” Krennic left the room trying to keep his composure. While the monster walked from one side to the other the only noise was his breathing cycle.

In. Out. In. Out.

Galen Erso had to remind himself that he was a patient and calm man. Finally one of his colleagues talked, unable to take the silence.

“If this is about the cooling system, we all argue with Erso, my lord.” Sirro said. “It is atrocious, a single fighter could destroy the whole station with a single shot” Before it could continue Vader looked at him, shutting him up.

“Do you believe I am useless enough to not protect a single ventilation channel? This system allows better efficiency and less time to recharge.”

The room fell into silence again and Galen took a moment before realizing Vader had just defended his sabotage, was it intentional? Did he know? There were others defects but that was one of the easiest to find and it had taken a while to convince the others to keep it in the final design.

Vader looked at him as if he was sensing his thoughts. “You are the leader of this project, Galen Erso.”

“That is right, sir” 

“Are you familiar with the name of Ekkreth?” The voice lowered at the last word as if it needed to keep it a secret.

“No, sir” He didn’t want to ask questions to Vader, to prolong any kind of interaction.

In, out.

“The Emperor grows impatient for his weapon, keep working”

Everyone moved to obey but Galen couldn’t help but to question himself, ‘What was that about? Was Ekkreth the name of a new rebel spy?’ 

“Bodhi Rook” said the sith.

“What?” Maybe Vader wasn’t so terrifying, at least not as much as he was confusing.

“He will be in charge of security until I return. He is a great pilot” The sith hadn’t moved since he started talking to him. “There shouldn’t be more delays with the resources, I will make sure. We want this station functional, Doctor”

With those word Darth Vader finally decided to leave and Galen could breathe in peace without any clue of what the hell happened.

Chapter Text

Leia Organa hated Empire’s Day, it didn’t matter if it was her birthday or all the celebrations it followed, she hated Empire’s Day, despised the day the Republic died.

Darth Vader didn’t hate Empire’s Day, hate means some kind of power over it and it was too close to traison, he didn’t hate Empire’s Day the same way he didn’t hate the Emperor.

Unlike other years, Leia would rather be fighting in some far away planet or helping in any other way to the Rebellion, instead she was stuck on the empire’s new year celebrations.

As always, the last thing Vader wanted to do is to wake up, but he had to attend the new year celebrations.

Because Palpatine ordered it.

So Leia Organa put on the costume of the harmless, naive senator and hid all her fury behind pretty smiles. It was her preferred armor against the enemy.

So Darth Vader prepares himself to exist, to stand tall and threatening. To remind everyone he was the preferred tool of the Emperor.

Some day, Leia hoped, the galaxy will be free again.

Some day, Vader lied, he will be free.

“Oh, just who I was waiting for” Palpatine said with glee, once guests to the party started to arrive.  “Lord Vader come here. I want to introduce you to our newest senator Leia Organa, Isn’t she lovely?” 

Chapter Text

Sidius loved anniversaries, the day you were born, the day you killed your master, the day you made your empire… so many good memories and all of them achieved through great work, so much effort deserved a reward.

Talking about rewards… There it was Bail Organa’s adopted daughter, Sidius had been watching over her. An orphan, born the day Padme dies, in custody of her good friend? He wasn’t a fool, but his apprentice was one and since the kid didn’t seem to have any force’s sensitivity, the least she could do was being entertaining.

“Oh, just who I was waiting for” Palpatine said with a kind smile, he had lost some practice since Anakin fell.  “Lord Vader come here. I want to introduce you to our newest senator Leia Organa, Isn’t she lovely?” 

The pet obeyed even if he faltered at seeing her, good, he was learning to be less annoying after 20 years.

“Oh, we already met” the girl said with a bow, she didn’t look afraid. Sidius didn’t like that.

“did you?” he sighed ”Lord Vader, you don’t talk to me as you used to do. I hope he didn’t bother you too much, my lady”

He could feel his apprentice tense at his word, he should have known better if he didn’t want to be punished.

“Only a bit, your majesty. Nothing of importance, I am sure Lord Vader doesn’t even remember me” Again she didn’t seem to be talking about the fist of the empire, there was no fear.

“I remember” talked Vader, which rude, he didn’t give him permission.

“Don’t try to justify him, my dear, I know he lacks some manner even after all this year trying to teach him” then a pause as if a new idea crossed his mind. “Why don’t you accompany lady Organa, Lord Vader? I am sure that way you will compensate your offenses”

Finally some nervousness from the girl, “oh, there is no need, your majestic…”

“I insist.”

Chapter Text

The ceremony was awful and the ball worse. She had thought maybe she could make connections, do something useful even if she hated the whole thing, but with Vader as a guardian dog it was impossible.

It had been an hour since the Emperor paired them together, none of them had said a word. Leia could notice her father's anxious glaces at her from time to time.

“Do you dance, Lord Vader?” She asked, tired of the silence.

“No”

“Never learned how?”

“I know how”

It was like pulling teeth. “Really? Where did you learn?”

Silence. It was strange feeling the intensity of his stare, it should be impossible to notice any change in his expression, somehow Leia knew something was wrong.

“The mighty one, I can see it” Of course he changes the topic.

“What?”

“Your name, Leia” The pronunciation was off. “Don’t you know your own culture?”

Of course she knew. Her name meaned hope, that was what her parents always told her, the hope of the rebellion. “I think I know Alderaan better than you”

Again, he changed the subject “What do they dance there?”

“I asked first, my Lord. Where did you learn to dance?” she wasn’t going to let him direct the conversation.

His mask turned to the room where the luckier people enjoyed the party. “I learned to ball on Naboo.”

Why wasn’t she surprised? Probably he had learnt under orders from the Emperor, maybe the dictator was the one to teach him, that was a disturbing thought “I pity your instructor.”

“Yes, you should.” It sounded sad.

Leia softened a little, after all she was supposed to turn him into a rebel. “Did you take into consideration my offer?”

His attention was back to her. “There are some… facts that I didn’t consider. I understand that finding an excellent engineer is hard, last time we ended up on Grange to find someone acceptable, but it’s been a long time since I had done that kind of work.”

That was strange, maybe some code since they were in public? She took note of Grange and engineer, Vader must be a good one with his suit and all but the emphasis on excellent was strange. “There is some way I could convince you?”

“It is easier to persuade someone when the lives of their loved ones are in your hands.”

“A ruthless advice to give, more so when is to be used against you”

It took another moment of silence before he answered “Unfortunately for you, It’s not an useful advice against a sith.”

The music stopped. It was time that the Emperor gave his speech. After that Leia hoped she could find her father and leave.

Chapter Text

Bail knew that adopting the daughter of Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker was going to drive him to an early grave, he didn’t expect that most of his heart attacks would be because of said daughter rather than the empire and its ruler… Still worth it. Right now his daughter had a shadow in the form of one Darth Vader whose true identity Bail refused to acknowledge, in part for the implications and in part for the tragedy of it.

With the end of Palpatine’s speech, the senator went straight to his daughter, still besides the dark figure, they seemed to be arguing or at least Leia was talking to him, the cyborg was focusing on her but didn’t answer.

“Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting but Leia, we have to go, a pleasure meeting you, Lord Vader” He interrupted quickly wanting to leave.

Leia smiled something feral, and Bail knew he wasn’t going to survive this. “Actually, father, I was just talking with Vader about our last project”

“Were you?” He tried to not sound panicked, Bail knew Leia wouldn’t put them at risk but he also had witnessed too many Jedi tricks to not suspect the Sith to do something similar.

“Senator Organa,” Said the deep voice of the cyborg, slowly as if remembering the name. “You have a… remarkable daughter”

He knew, he knew, he knew. “She is, but I can’t take the credit, she is extraordinary all by herself”

Leia surprisingly blushed, well at least Bail could still make his daughter blush even if he was the only one. “Lord Vader was worried of us going near Hutt’s space and he offered himself to accompany us on our next relief mission”

That wasn’t a good idea, they were going to pass through Tatooine. He had wanted to check on Obi-Wan, the poor man needed some support. “That won’t be necessary besides we wouldn’t want to keep you from your responsibilities”

“I insist, it’s more important to assure that nothing bad happens to your family. Wouldn’t you agree, senator?”

Was that a threat? Was he threatening his own daughter?

“His family, Lord Vader, knows how to defend themselves. It’s necessary in the kind of galaxy this Empire rule” Said Leia more annoyed than afraid, well, his little lioness wasn’t one to get scared easily.

“And still you will be safer than with the Republic” 

Bail couldn't help himself but snort. “Maybe more regulated, I will give you that, but slavery hadn’t been so extended as it’s today in ages. And don’t get me started with the crime syndicates”

“We don’t have control over Hutt’s space” The cyborg defended and really he still didn’t pay any attention to politics, did he?

“Lord Vader, we are not talking about Hutt’s space.” Maybe he shouldn’t talk back to the hand of the Emperor, but really Anakin only needed to look around to see how wrong he was. “But if what you say is right we will be safe on our travels, my tribulation and the real guard of Alderaan had always been enough”

The respirator cycled before he talked again. “I will look into it.”

Leia smiled triumphant. “We will be waiting to hear your impressions.”

Daughter and father left Darth Vader to his thoughts.

They were on their way home so they could change to something more discreet and eat something out as a birthday meal. But while they waited for the speeder Bail took his opportunity to interrogate his daughter.

“So what was that?” Because if he knew Leia and he did, she wasn’t going to talk with Vader unless she could get something of it.

“Oh, nothing, father. Don’t worry about it.”

He shook his head. “You can’t ask me to not do my job as a father.”

It was always good to make her daughter smile. “It's a little project of mine, you’ll need to trust me on this”

Bail sighed, “I trust you with my life, just… be careful, please”

“Always, papa.”

 As he was saying an early grave.

Chapter Text

Saw was surprised to get a communication from Mon Mothma, they hadn't parted in the greatest terms last time and honestly he hoped she had changed her naive views or this conversation was going to be really short.

When he connected the call, the old republic logo appeared with her distorted voice.

“Partisan, the rebellion needs you”

Saw keep his snort for himself, those senators and their sense of theatricals and superiority. “And has the rebellion grown some sense?”

The silence was answer enough but before he could shut the communication down, Mothma said a name. “Jyn Erso”

He didn’t think he would hear it again and he didn’t like it. They using that name meant she was in danger. “I would expect you to use threats of this kind against the empire, not me”

“We are not threatening, we are warning” It sounded honest but that was why they chose Mothma as the Rebellion's face in public communication, she was always overflowing with compassion. “Her father is in an Imperial project, we have been informed that the empire might want a way to better control him.” He noticed the reference on the project; it must be important for the Resistance to take so much interest.

“It’s a shame then, I haven’t seen her in so many years. But don’t worry she knows how to take care of herself, I taught her everything I knew” And she had surpassed her teacher but he kept that for himself a little surprise in case the Rebellion grew a pair and looked for her.

“We can help her” Insisted the voice and Saw decided it was enough.

“Tell that to her, if you had nothing else to say...”

“We can rescue her father” Well, good old Galen in what mess did you get into? Even after all these years Saw wasn’t sure what happened on Lah’mu. He only knew the aftermath.

“Good, kill him for me, would you? He is a traitor.”

“He didn’t have a choice”

“None of us had”

“Just listen to me.” Saw smiled, Getting on the nerves of imperturbable Mothma was alway fun. “There is more at risk than your ego or mine. We had send our best asset to find her to ensure her safety, but this is just a formality not the reason of my call”

“I hope not, It’s been a waste of time.”

“We have a pilot heading towards your location, he has crucial information, do not harm him” The last thing sounded like an order and Saw was known for his ‘great ability’ of obeying.

“Why would I do that?”

“we would sent Jyn your way and help you get Galen out”

So it WAS an extortion. “How am I going to identify this pilot?”

He could almost hear the sight of relief. “He would wear an Imperial uniform for cargo pilots, he answer to the code rogue one.”

The communication was shut down, but Saw didn’t move for a while. Mothma hadn’t told him everything, she didn’t talk about Stardust or her real informant, the one who had connected Jyn and Galen (Saw had made sure to bury their relationship long ago). She didn’t trust him and that went both ways.

Saw got up ordering his men to prepare for an attack, after all he didn’t react well to threats and if they wanted to attack him on Jedha, his own turf, they were greatly mistaken.

Chapter Text

shit, shit, shit. What was she doing here? Why did she had to be here?

Tarkin had just eliminated Scarif from the map, but that wasn’t enough to stop the rebels getting the death star plans and now, princess Leia had them. Well she was supposed to have it, but after a research on her ship, there wasn’t any trace of it. So, somehow she had gotten rid of them.

The question was how, or better, where they were and what was Vader supposed to do. If he failed, his master would get angry at him again, if he succeeded the princess would end up dead. Maybe His master would spare her if he asked? probably no. Maybe She could be trained, she had to feel the force, right?... That was worse.

“Lord Vader, the prisoner is prepared for the interrogation” An official said, interrupting his panic.

His breathing would have accelerated if it could so instead his heartbeat did. “Has she been harmed?”

“No, sir” the answer was quick even if it sounded confused.

Good, that was good. He moved quickly, he needed to plan before Tarkin did. Knowing him a lot of people will die to achieve their goals, and some of them would be rebels. And he needed to be fast, everything needed to be done before the Emperor even noticed it.

The doors opened to a very angry princess, she was so short and still taller than her, it must be his genes. 

“Vader, I should have guessed you were the butcher behind this operation. I demand to be freed along with my crew and ship.”

The doors closed behind him. “Senator Organa. You interrupted a rebel transmission. Where is the data that accompanied it?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, we were on a diplomatic mission, we didn't receive any message or transmissions.” She insisted, crossing her arms.

“If you are not gonna share the location of the plans, I will take it from your mind” he warned before getting in her mind.

She screamed, even trying to be careful he had lost his tact once he fell. But it was necessary to ensure privacy, that way they wouldn’t be overheard while planning how to get out of this mess.

—

Everything was on fire, her skin was melting, no. not hers, his.

He was in her mind setting everything on fire with his touch, no, that wasn’t correct either.

He was on fire, he was on her mind. there wasn’t any way to put out the flames. There was pain but it was his, not hers. She had this under control, it was her mind and he had no power here.

Leia opened her eyes on a desert; a human figure made of fire was in front of her, Vader.

“Did you have to choose a sand desert?” Was the first thing he said with a sight and the princess blinked, what? He sounded younger, tired and less menacing than she had ever heard him.

“You can’t set anything on fire in a desert” She answered and immediately a feeling of resignation came from the flames.

“I apologize for the pain but it was the only way to keep a conversation without overseers” He informed her, still Leia did not relax, this could be a trap. “Tarkin wants to show off the power of this station, so I suggest, princess, you start thinking on what planet to sacrifice”

“What” She asked horrified but the flames only stared back, more impenetrable than his usual mask.

“I will suggest Tatooine, but as he and the Emperor said many times before it isn’t worth it to start a war with the hutts” He continued as if they weren’t discussing the death of millions.

“What?”

“It will need to be populated, of course, if it wasn’t he might still consider making an example of your planet”

“Wait, what? Stop. STOP.” She heard herself shout, there were tears in her eyes but she hadn’t shed any yet. “What are you talking about?” And she hated herself a little for sounding so desperate.

The flames stared back, there was no face to look at. “We are moving to Alderaan right now. If this interrogation fails, Tarkin will call you to the bridge to show you your home planet and give you a choice, a false choice, Depur always does. Alderaan or the rebel 's base.”

“I will never betray the rebellion” she snarled, but her heart was beating fast.

“I’m not asking you to, I’m telling you to choose another planet”

“You are a monster! How can you be talking about sacrificing so many lives as if they were nothing? You can stop this. Stop it.” She did not beg, she refused to beg.

The flames intensified. “Stop it? This is mercy”

“You can’t do this, you can’t just… Please, don’t do this. Don’t make me choose” she finally asked.

The flames seemed to die a little, she thought she saw a glimpse of blue under it. “Think about it, I will try to get you as much time as I can.”

—

Getting back to his own body was painful, as if the few seconds he was out of it was enough to forget how damaged he was. He didn’t scream, Leia did, even when he cut their connection as fast as he could. She fell to the floor, sweating and hyperventilating. It had been harder on her than he thought it would be, maybe it was for the best, this way she looked closer to being actually tortured.

“Rest, it is going to be a long day”

The princess looked up from the floor with hatred in her eyes, good, she had to remember he was the enemy.

Once he left the cell he moved to the electric generators, if he remember the blueprints of Erso there was a fault there that can be used to make the recharge of the weapon slower, he could make it look like an accident, maybe after that he could break the propulsors. He kept making a longer list, with some luck, the princess' rescue would come before he ran out of ways to sabotage. Unfortunately he had stopped believing in luck long ago.

Chapter Text

It took 2 days for Vader to come again and yet she wasn’t prepared. He didn’t talk to her, just exchanged some words with the guard to handcuff her and then started walking expecting her to follow, she didn’t have any option.

They arrived to the control center of that floor, Vader pushed the bottom signaling down.

“Sir,” one brave operator pointed out. “Moff Tarkin is waiting for you on the bridge.”

“I know” he led Leia inside. “I’m showing the installations to the princess before the demonstration.” He pushed another bottom and the door closed, leaving them finally alone and without witness.

A few seconds passed before Leia dared to hope. “What’s the plan?”

A few cycled respiration. Was it really necessary for the thing to be so loud? “Improvise, did you choose a planet?”

She stiffened, her shoulders dropping, so there wasn’t any miraculous escape. It hurts even saying it, it was like admiting defeat “Naboo”

The respirator stopped, hope he choked on it. Oh no, there it was again. she could feel him become tense. “What”

“Palpatine wouldn’t destroy his own home planet.” A part of her doubted those words but she tried to show herself confident.

“That’s incredibly naive of you, princess. If that is your bet, I would recommend Mon Calamari as a safer option.”

Leia frowned, she knew about the water planet of course, the rebels based most of their fleet in their spaceship designs, but what value had for the emperor? “What is special about that planet?”

“Its opera” Leia would blame the vocoder because Vader seemed deadly serious when he said that. 

Before they could continue the conversation, the doors opened to a corridor with multiple stormtroopers walking through it in groups. “Follow me” It was an unnecessary order, however Leia found herself struggling to keep his pace.

They passed corridor after corridor without much sense, soon she was lost but luckily everytime they passed through a door there were less soldiers. “Where exactly are we going?”

“Your rescuer was cutting it short… again.” Respirator, respirator. Leia was going to destroy that thing the first chance given. “You will get out of here, I can’t stop the station from following you to the rebel base, but with the plans you can blow it up.” He sounded annoyed but, to Leia surprise, it wasn’t the fury she had felt before. It was more resigned like a kid who had been ordered to clean their room and didn’t want to. “You must be satisfied, princess, perhaps no planet will be sacrificed today.”

“Wait. Am I being rescued? Why did you ask about the planet then? And what do you mean the station will follow us?” She started to get angry again. This asshole of a man making her made heartbreaking pointless decisions.

Vader shrugged, he fucking shrugged. “I was curious and nobody is going to believe I let you escape without a plan”

They both knew that was bullshit, he didn't have a plan half the time, being optimistic. “I’m gonna blow this place with you inside and I’m…”

“Silent” He suddenly stopped and took his lightsaber without turning it on. A few seconds later Obi-Wan appeared down the corridor trying to be sneaky, until he saw them and walked slowly towards them.

—----

This wasn’t good for Vaders health, not like anything could be good for it, but the anxiety of the situation was getting to him. Kenobi was really cutting it short, he had reached his daughter’s (no, not thinking about that now) Organa’s cell when finally felt his presence. Luckily Alderaan was under siege and every ship ended up in the hangar of the death star, so he only had to take the princess to him and let them fly away.

There were multiple reasons why all of this would kill him. First, he had to convince Tarkin of not destroying Alderaan from spite and Sidius to not punish him despite letting Obi-Wan escape again. Second, he had to trust his old master, the best one he had (not thinking about that either), to take care of her even if every cell of his body was asking Vader to kill the threat named Obi-Wan Kenobi. And Third, the rebels could possibly blow up the ship with him inside, not really relevant.

When the princess saw the Jedi, she called his name and ran to hug him. Vader clenched his lightsaber to calm himself. Of course she trusted Kenobi, he was there when she was born (NOT thinking about that).

“We finally meet again” He said, drawing the princess' attention back to him, the jedi hadn’t stopped staring at him, was that fear in his eyes? “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Darth” Obi-Wan looked and sounded old, older than he had ever imagined he could get. “What kind of trap is this?”

“Only one way to find out, mast-” -er, spring it, the end of the sentence could be heard even when it wasn’t outspoken, old habits die hard. He decided to change the subject “It seems the… Luck is by your side” he corrected himself remembering Kenobi’s skepticism for that kind of thing. “As long as you’re useful your death will be postponed”

His old master seemed to pale as if he was seeing a ghost, but before he could say anything the princess interrupted coming closer. “Oh, Force. Can you stop being so dramatic for one second? You are clearly helping us, stop acting weird and get us out of here before Tarkin starts looking for us.”

The old man gave her a short glance. “I don’t think that is the best route of action, Leia.”

At that Vader’s commlink pinned with a call, both rebels tensed up when he moved to take it. “Vader,” It was Tarkin. “I ordered you to bring me Organa an hour ago, where is she?”

“I would remind you to watch your tongue. I do not respond to you, Moff.” He threatened. “I will be there in thirty minutes.” And Vader cut the transmission before the response.

“I must go now. You should do the same.” He informed to the two rebels who were looking with different kind of hope, he hated it (he didn’t, it felt nice).

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan sounded sad and fragile, Vader (because that was his name, it was, He had chosen it for him) took it as a sign to run away.  It was only once he was in the elevator to the bridge that he remembered to return his lightsaber to its sheath.

Once he arrived to the bridge an alarm was resonating through it indicating a ship was escaping control and flying to deeper space. They made it.

“You better have an explanation as to where the princess is” Tarkin was brimming with rage.

“I suppose she was in that ship you just let go” He was curious if he could get him to actually explode.

“Do not dare blame me for your failure, Darth Vader” The Moff got back at his cold self, controlling his anger.

“I’m not. That ship had a tracker, I ordered to put it there, and now they would lead us directly to the rebel base. We don’t need to waste time on destroying a planet for an ubication we didn’t even know if it was going to be right.”

“But we can still make an example from it” And there it was his cruelty. “After all, we know in this planet are rebels”

“Of course there are, people will argue if Tatooine’s suns are hot given the chance. We can’t destroy the rebellion, not completely but we can disperse it. Destroy the core, the base and they won’t have enough coordination to be a problem ever again.” Luckily for him the vocoder made harder to notice his real intentions.

Tarkin stared at him a bit longer before he gave the signal of withdrawal, Alderaan will survive this time. “It’s been a long time since I heard you mention your past, Lord Vader. Feeling nostalgic, perhaps?” That was what the Moff said, but what Vader heard was “Sidious will hear about this, Sidious will know.”

Chapter Text

The last few days had been a blur to say something. They had escaped from the Death Star, they had arrived at Yavin, the Death Star had come, it had been blown up, Vader could be dead.

A lot of things had happened, however the only thought on Obi-Wan's mind was ‘That is Anakin’. He knew Darth Vader had been Anakin Skywalker but he had thought his padawan died once the sith took his place, he had thought his brother was lost forever. But That was Anakin.

‘There is still good on him’

Well, he fucked up.

He had burnt Anakin.

“Master Kenobi, are you okay?” Leia entered his room, it was big but mostly empty if not for the bed where he was supposed to sleep.

Obi-Wan blinked trying to focus on the present. “Yes, Can I help you with anything?”

The princess didn’t seem to believe him but kept talking. “You knew Vader, from before he became a sith. Luke said he was your apprentice?”

Of course, the one thing he didn’t want to talk about. “And you have been talking with him”

Leia sighed exasperated. “He is frustrating.”

The jedi couldn’t help but laugh. “You have no idea.”

“Does he ever offer any explanation?”

“No, An- He was really keen on the ‘better sorry than ask for permission’ mentality.” He smiled remembering. “He was also given to improvised instead of planning so it’s possible there wasn’t any thoughts to explain”

“You miss him” and, well, he hadn’t been subtle. had he?

“I… I thought him lost”

“He had killed thousands” Her face was completely blank, no judgment, no sympathy, just the truth.

“Yes, he had. He also has saved you and hundreds helping destroy the Death Star” 

“Why would he do that?” And really, it all came down to that.

Obi-Wan sat in the bed with a tired sigh, there was no avoiding it. “You asked me long ago about your parents, well, I think it's time I tell you the truth. Just… Please, don’t hate me after. I try my best, I really try to do good but it was war and we all lose”

She stood there listening to him, Leia didn’t interrupt even once and only when he had finished talking did she say something.

“Does Luke know?”

Ah, that was another can of worms. “No, he knows Anakin is his father and I told him Vader killed him”

She started to pace around the room. “You are gonna tell him, then I’m going to talk with him, and then we will see what we do because right now I can’t process all of this.”

“Ah, of course.” 

She stopped realizing. “Oh, Vader knows, doesn’t he?”

Obi-wan nodded with a grimace. “You look too much like your mother for him to not make the connection.”

A moment of horror crossed her face as she realized all the connotations of Vader’s identity. “No, not thinking about this without Luke”

She left the run as fast as she could. Well, that had gone better than he had expected.

Telling the truth to Luke went much worse.

“You lied to me” The expression of utter betrayal in Luke's face physically hurt Obi-Wan.

“No, not lie. It was what happened from a certain point of view”

“That point of view being a lie” He was getting angry. “Does he know I exist?”

“He knows about Leia” And that seemed to calm him down a little.

“Leia, I’m gonna talk this with her and then we’re gonna think about how to fix this mess” Luke glared at him but, after taking a look at the old jedi, he softened a little. “We’re gonna bring dukkra to my father, Ben, even if it’s later that when you could have done it”

Dukkra, Obi-Wan remembered that word, he had heard it before it meant freedom, a freedom that could be found in death. The jedi nodded, letting the boy run in search of his sister. At least Yoda was still lost so he couldn’t scold him for telling the truth and having false hope, see, he could be optimistic.

It took two hours before the twins found him again, hidden in an X-wing. Luke had a smile on him and Leia looked determined, which he had learned early on wasn’t good.

“We have a plan,” announced Luke. “We are going to Mustafar”

“No” It didn’t sound as a strong negative, but it was already hard to find his voice whenever he heard about that planet.

“Yes,” said Leia. “we are not asking for permission, we are going to talk to our father, you can come or not”

Chapter Text

The problem with being the only survivor of the Death Star is that he was the only one to be held responsible for the disaster, and Sidious was pissed. After the punishment that had left him without legs and left arm but with serious burns, he had been abandoned in Mustafar by his master, again. 

It’s been a week since then and he had gotten his pair of legs and hand that worked most of the time and a respirator that somehow kept him alive. He had discharged his visor the first day and only the vital functions of his suit hadn’t been turned off, so he didn’t have any drug keeping him awake nor dulling the pain.

At least he had his castle back and there was an order to not disturb until his Master called him.

He fell on his throne with his eyes closed, his legs unable to stand anymore, he smelt his own burned skin and didn’t know if it was a memory or not. It was getting harder to keep sleep away and the hallucinations were getting more frequent and realistic.

He couldn’t sleep, not only was it forbidden by his master (unproper of a sith), he wasn’t sure if he would wake up if he did. After so many years of torture he refused to die in his sleep.

“You look awful” A soft voice interrupted the calm silence.

He didn’t open his eyes, it wouldn’t help in distinguish reality. “You are dead” He had to stop to take a breath in between words.

“No, but I’m starting to wonder if you are” Leia or Padme? What did this ghost want? “What happened to you?”

He didn’t have enough breath to explain all of it. “A lot”

There was the sound of footsteps, ghosts usually didn’t need to walk but he was far too tired to think about it. He opened his eyes to see a white blur, Leia, get closer, she was completely out of place on this dark planet.

“You have betrayed the emperor, what are you going to do now?”

He hadn’t betrayed anything, he had done what was ordered, didn’t have a will of his own, he wasn’t allowed to. And certainly he wasn’t going to say otherwise in his castle where the emperor could easily hear. “I will obey”

“That 's it? Palpatine lied to you, tried to kill you and you will keep obeying him”  Maybe this wasn’t his hallucination, maybe this was a test made by his master to prove his loyalty. He was loyal, he could show he was loyal.

“He is the Emperor”

There was a pause as Leia considered. “And I’m your daughter”

Vader couldn’t tolerate more of this, he was tired. “You’re not here”

The princess snorted seemingly annoyed. “I’m talking to you, of course I’m here”

“You’re not real”

She frowned first with anger then with worry as she realised. “I’m real, Anakin. I’ve come with my brother and Obi-Wan, they’re waiting outside with our ship that I put some sense into you”

Rage invaded him as he tried to get up. “Do not mock me, ghost. Kenobi would die before confronting his errors and…” he couldn’t have more children, Leia was already a miracle. “Anakin died here, I killed him for being too weak.” he added but it didn’t sound so sure.

His fire was answered with fire, because for a skywalker anger was easier to manage than any other feeling. “No, I didn’t get here for you to behave like a child. I will ask you this one time and that’s it. Are you going to join the rebellion?”

What?

Vader didn't expect that. He fell to his throne again. “Why would I do that?” It wasn’t derogatory, he genuinely didn’t know she had reached that possibility.

Leia crossed her arms. “Obi-Wan says you loved your family, that you fell or whatever because of them. Well, now I’m your family and I’m asking you to do the right thing.”

Oh, They were. Leia, this new child and… even Obi-Wan was family if one that had hurt him. That’s correct and he always protected his family. ”You’re my kassu, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you”

“You would join then” She looked uncomfortable.

“Yes”

There was a silence where they stared at each other. “This won’t change anything. I still hate you and you doing right for the wrong reason won’t change that.”

He would have laughed if he could, because he had never done anything his family asked, he did what his family needed and Palpatine was a threat he needed gone. Instead he nodded and got up.

It took 10 staggering steps before his daughter took pity and helped him to walk out of the castle, and it was a relief to feel her touch, a confirmation that she was real. “How did you get here?”

“Obi-Wan knew the path and this planet isn’t really protected, you don’t have security personnel, not even an assistant droid” She pointed out.

“I don’t like droids”

They had reached the external doors but he was too distracted with his daughter to notice who was outside. “Well, that’s a lie if I ever heard one” He knew that voice, he wasn’t prepared for him. “You look awful, Anakin”

He looked at the blur that must be his old master. “A fine work made by yourself, Kenobi”

The jedi master flinched and a new person cleared his throat drawing the attention. “We should move.” It was a boy, blonde and the same age as Leia and now that he was closer he could see his face, his eyes were the same as  Padme’s. Noting his stare the boy turned to him and smiled shyly with a wave of his hand. “Hello, dad.” 

Vader blinked, how could this be real. He looked at his family again, they were still here looking weirdly at him.

Obi-Wan with all the damage they had done to each other who had kept his promise to take care of his child, who despite everything Anakin still missed in the same amount that he was afraid of him. Obi-Wan, who he wanted to apologize and forgive but didn’t know how much take would take to do that.

Leia, a fierce freedom warrior and even more fierce diplomat, who would stand for the right thing even if she was the only one. And she knew what was right, she could guide him as her mother did, help him think things through before acting and he would help her reach every goal she proposed.

He didn’t know the new addition, not yet. But he could see his kindness and softness, even in the force he felt like the sun, but not as he had done before (too powerful, hot and bright, big ball of gas that would consume everything). Luke felt like sunshine and a fresh breeze in Tatooine, he felt like freedom and he would follow wherever his son went.

Anakin Skywalker looked at his family for the first time in a very long time and he loved them.