Obi-Wan stopped short. He had known Anakin, no, Darth Vader, was on the space station. He had expected the Sith lord to stop him from reaching the tractor beam controls. He had fully believed there was no other outcome from this infiltration of the Death Star, no choice but to directly confront has fallen student. And here he was, surprised to see the menacing cloaked and helmeted figure in front of him, red lightsaber glowing in the dim lighting.

"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last." He sounded so different now, Obi-Wan could almost believe this was another man. Anakin had perhaps died rather than serve the Emperor, and Palpatine had found another apprentice to take his place. Foolish thinking of course, Obi-Wan could feel him, dark and hateful and so full of rage toward everything, but that was still Anakin Skywalker. The man who had once been Anakin Skywalker at least.

"The circle is now complete," Vader continued, interrupting Obi-Wan's musing. "When I left you, I was but the learner. Now, I am the master." Even as he spoke authoritatively of having surpassed his old master, Vader still held back, refusing to strike first. Well, somebody had to. There was no getting out of this. He would fight his old student, even though he could not hope to best the Sith cyborg, not after all these years. Mustafar hadn't been an easy fight, and Obi-Wan had had every advantage there.

"Only a master of evil, Anakin," Obi-Wan taunted as he swung his bright blue blade at Vader, unsurprised as it was easily parried, along with his two follow-up strikes.

"That is not my name anymore," for the first time, Vader's voice, mechanically intoned though it was through his ventilator, seemed tinged with emotion. If Obi-Wan didn't know otherwise, he'd think the other man had expressed sorrow at the sound of his name. Anakin, he had really just called him Anakin. Sith took the matter of dropping their birth name in favor of their Sith name seriously, and he had intended to be equally so. Especially as Luke couldn't be allowed to know his father's true fate. Not now, so early in his training, when he was still so vulnerable. But instead, in a moment of… he didn't know what, Anakin's face had appeared over Vader's helmet, and he had spoken without thinking.

The two clashed, again and again and again. Vader was strong, his destroyed human flesh replaced with the best cybernetic replacements available at the time. And Obi-Wan was old, he knew he had aged more than his share in the past nineteen years, battered by loneliness and raw unbridled guilt.

So why hadn't Anakin… why hadn't Vader overpowered him already? Anakin had been the better swordsman by far, before Mustafar. It had been luck, and circumstance, and more anger than a Jedi should feel comfortable allowing himself that had allowed him to best the newly-turned Sith then. And yet, neither was gaining the upper hand here and now. Slash and parry, thrust and parry, deflect into a wall, a constant stream of locking blades. Even if the past nineteen years had been harsher on Vader than himself, Obi-Wan had trouble believing the other man could be fighting this poorly. As if he had heard Obi-Wan's thoughts, Vader taunted his old master again.

"Your powers are weak old man," there was no pride there, no sneering superiority. Vader said it as though he was commenting on the weather. Vader could see that Obi-Wan was only a shadow of his prime, and wasn't afraid to comment on it. It wasn't the Sith's own weakness holding him back. Obi-Wan thought for a brief second about allowing Vader the win, becoming one with the Force, putting himself beyond reach. He could still aid Luke, talking with him through the force as Qui-Gon had tried to do for him during his exile on Tatooine. But it wouldn't be the same as being a proper teacher, and he hated the idea of leaving Luke alone, unguided.

And perhaps… perhaps there was one more option left to him.

"You can't win Anakin," he had thought up a little speech on the way down here, something about becoming 'more powerful than you can possibly imagine'. It was meaningless ultimately, joining with the Force was of great power philosophically, but little in the material world. So he would have to improvise a little. Let the Force guide his words and hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. 'More powerful than you can possibly imagine' was still a viable plan B.

"That name no longer has any meaning for me," Vader protested, and this time the anger and shame were clearer.

"It is the name of your true self," Obi-Wan responded, lowering his blade. "You've only forgotten." He hoped, with all his heart he hoped this would work. He had not seen Vader in nineteen years, the man could have grown to love his position as Palpatine's right hand, the most feared man in the galaxy. But no man who hid his face, his name, his very existence from the galaxy could be truly happy with their circumstances. He had simply never been given a chance to do otherwise. "Come with me Anakin. We can leave this place, leave the Emperor behind."

Anakin stood still. His lightsaber didn't drop a millimeter, but it didn't embed itself in Obi-Wan's unprotected body either. At last, he spoke. "You do not know the power of the Dark Side." It wasn't a threat, or a boast. Anakin was clearly not speaking of his own power, but of the greater dark power that held him bound. "I must obey my Master."

"Search your feelings," Obi-Wan kept pushing. "Your thoughts betray you, Anakin. I feel the good within you. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate. "You haven't been able to bring yourself to kill me, and I don't believe you'll destroy me now." With that, he gambled everything on having gotten through to his wayward pupil. He switched off his lightsaber, and pocketed it.

Time stood still. Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, apprentice to Darth Sidious, ruler of the Galactic Empire, lowered his red lightsaber. And switched it off. "With the tractor beam disabled, nothing is stopping your ship from escaping. Your rebel friends are hiding in the bay, waiting for their chance to make a run for the ship, my son included. You and I will have words about that later. I can try to prevent pursuit, but my authority aboard this station is limited. Tarkin won't take long to send the TIE fighters after us."

Obi-Wan allowed himself a small, tight smile. He had won a victory he never expected to even reach for. Oh, perhaps it was an elaborate ploy. Anakin's mind was shrouded, his thoughts blocked from the older man. But he believed in his pupil. He had faith. Now he just had to convince Luke, Leia, and Han that Anakin was on their side now.