Home Again: A Star Wars Story

By Asher Tye

Author's Note: This story takes place between "The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Return of the Jedi" but it draws mostly on events that transpired during "Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," and "Revenge of the Sith." As at the time I made this story I have not seen the third movie, there may be some minor continuity errors. This story was actually written while listening to "One of Us" from the Lion King 2: Simba's Pride soundtrack and I really think that it works well with this fan fiction. Please review as this is actually my first Star Wars story and I'd like to know everyone's thoughts on it, good and bad.

Disclaimer: I do not own Darth Vader, Star Wars, or the song "One of Us." This is purely a work of fiction written for fun exclusively.

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The desert world of Tatooine spun through space, all alone at the outer rim territories of what Emperor Palpatine had named the First Galactic Empire. The world was so barren and bereft of anything of value that, when the Sith had taken control of the galaxy, barely anything had changed on the planet surface. In fact, save for an incident involving a certain Correlian Freighter and the Imperial Navy, the inhabitants barely saw any glimmer of the Empire's presence. This made the planet something of a haven for members of the rebellion, a fact that was not lost on Darth Vader. The Dark Lord of the Sith was currently piloting a shuttle down through the dry atmosphere of the planet, accompanied by six elite Stormtroopers. Vader trusted no one's piloting skills but his own. As the shuttle touched down, Darth Vader reflected on why he had returned to Tatooine.

It had happened only a month ago that he'd faced off against his own son, Luke Skywalker, while in Cloud City. Though he had been outmatched by the Sith Lord, the boy had shown such remarkable talent as to actually fill the dark Jedi with pride. Unfortunately, Vader had been so engulfed in testing Luke's limits; he'd unwittingly opened a door for his son to escape through. Now he had to find Luke again; preferably before the boy had healed from his injuries enough to be a problem.

That had proven something of a problem. The Rebellion had all but vanished from the view of the Empire, forcing the Sith Lord to use his connection to the Dark Side to search for his son. That was what had led him to Tatooine. Darth Vader's senses had told him of a great convergence in the Force on Tatooine, the kind only Jedi or Sith could produce. The Emperor was on Coruscant and Obi-Wan Kenobi was dead, so that left only one person as the most probable suspect; Luke.

The shuttle door opened and the six troopers exited the vehicle, their guns raised and their eyes alert to any danger, not that Vader felt there was anything in Mos Espa that could be a danger to him. Mos Espa… Though much had changed, Vader still remembered Mos Espa, his hometown. That made it all the more foolish for Luke to attempt to hide here; Darth Vader knew every hiding place.

"Spread out in groups of two… Pay special attention to any large clusters of objects and the local urchins… They will be the signs of a hiding place nearby… and keep your radios open in case I wish to speak to you," Vader commanded.

"Yes sir," the troopers said in unison as they saluted. The six armor-clad humans departed and Vader began his own search.

The streets were barren, something that seemed most odd to the Sith Lord. If memory served him, and it rarely didn't, the streets tended to be fairly busy in Mos Espa.

&Which means everyone's hiding, so what do they have to hide?& Vader smugly thought to himself. Suddenly, a sound registered on his audio sensors. Darth Vader turned looking for the source of the sound. His eyes locked onto the small form of a Rodian boy that was trying to hide himself in an alley. And doing an exceptional job of it too, as he would have been safe from lesser trackers.

"Halt." Vader commanded, as he attempted to use his powers over the Dark Side to mentally freeze the child. It was a simple trick, one he'd used before on many urchins to keep them from running. Children were easily controlled by the power of fear. So it was quite a shock to Darth Vader when, instead of standing completely still, the Rodian took off running down the alley. Calmly, Vader touched the communications node on his mask. "Attention all Stormtroopers, I have located a possible rebel. Converge on my signal for capture…"

"….."

"Stormtroopers, respond."

"….." Vader swore under his breath, such as it was. He'd ordered the Stormtroopers to check their equipment, but this was an order they'd obviously thought they could ignore. He made a mental note to punish them horribly when the mission was over, and he began his pursuit. The Dark Side quieted his steps as he moved down the alley, his mechanical eyes able to track the alien boy now that he knew he was there. The boy led the Sith on a merry chase through the back alleys of Mos Espa until his heat signature suddenly vanished from his sensors. Immediately Vader's guard went up. His attunement to the force was exceptional, but even he couldn't use the Dark Side to vanish into thin air at the drop of the proverbial hat. So how had the Rodian? Beneath his cape the Sith fingered his lightsaber.

It was a popular misconception that the Sith were immune to fear, that it had been completely removed from their psychology. Even the Emperor laughed at such a ridiculous notion. The truth was the Sith felt fear fairly acutely, they just did not succumb to it. Fear was a basic instinct that warned of peril, and only a fool attempted to pretend it did not exist. Currently Vader's sense of fear was screaming that he was nearing an ambush of some kind. Using the Dark Side, his mind reached out into the surrounding area, seeking to find any potential attackers. That he found nothing worried him a great deal more than if he had simply found no hostiles. The force made him sensitive to anything that lived, yet according to the Dark Side, he might as well be in the void of space for all that existed near him.

A flash of movement registered in his peripheral vision, bigger in form than the Rodian child had been. Immediately Vader turned, only to find empty buildings surrounding him. He drew a sharp and painful breath as he recognized where he'd been led. These were the slaves' quarters where he'd spent much of his childhood. It seemed the universe had a sense of irony after all. Another flash of movement and the Sith Lord not only turned bunt reached out with the power of the Dark Side in an attempt to kill whatever it was that dared play with him. The Dark Side found nothing, and neither did Vader. Deciding he'd had enough of this game, Darth Vader drew his lightsaber, the sharp hum of heated air sounding off as its energy blade extended.

"It is useless to continue this little game," Vader called out in what was essentially a half-bluff. If the rebels chose to escape now, there was very likely little the Dark Lord could do about it. The crunch of sand behind him came to his ears, and immediately his mind determined that there was a body no less than three feet at his back. How this person had managed to sneak up on Darth Vader mattered not to the Sith at the moment as his instincts took over and he swung his saber in a deadly arch, hoping to slice his would-be assassin in half. The red weapon connected with nothing but air, however. This time though, it was not empty space that greeted Vader's eyes, but a figure dressed in familiar brown robes.

&A Jedi Knight,& Vader thought, somewhat surprised? The figure that stood a good ten feet out of range of his lightsaber was most definitely not Luke, but the telltale taste of the Force was abundant. &So… This explains how the Rodian 'disappeared.'& The figure didn't move, nor say a word as he faced Vader, the hot desert air catching the folds of his robe. The robe's brown hood was up, meaning that the only thing Vader could see were the Jedi's human hands.

"Have you come to surrender, Jedi," Vader spoke. "If so, simply speak and I will be merciful and grant you a quick death." Suddenly the Jedi's hands moved, but not towards his lightsaber as Vader would have thought, but to his hood, pulling the masking cloth down. For once in his life, Vader was quite glad that a frozen mask covered his face, as this prevented anyone from seeing how wide his eyes had gotten as the Jedi revealed his face. Standing before him, long hair flying in the breeze was his long dead friend, Qui-Gon Jinn.

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Deception…
Disgrace…
Evil as plain as the scar on his face

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Jin looked at Vader with his head slightly bowed, the look on his face different from the one of friendliness and compassion Vader so clearly remembered. Instead he wore a look of disappointment and… guilt? Yes it was the unmistakable look of guilt the former Jedi wore; Darth Vader had seen that look on more than a few of his victims, most often after they'd done something they'd thought would save their loved ones, only to watch it backfire on them.

&Guilty… perhaps of being the one who found me? It was Qui-Gon Jinn who found me, and defied the Council when it rejected me for an apprenticeship. I suppose he would have something to feel guilty about.& Somehow this did very little to quell the feeling that was just beginning to bubble in the Sith Lord's gut. In a way, his betrayal of the Jedi Order had been a betrayal of the man himself, even if he hadn't been alive to witness the Purge himself. Had it not been for Jinn, Anakin would most likely have never left this place, never learned to hone his power, never…

Ever so slightly, Vader shook his head, banishing those distasteful thoughts from his mind. Gratitude was a fault of the weak, it was not something a Sith Lord concerned himself with. And besides, that had been another life, another time…

What puzzled Vader more was how Qui-Gon Jinn could be here before him now, particularly given that Vader had SEEN the Jedi die against his master's first apprentice. The sound of a door closing behind him came to his ears, and smile came to his lips. Obviously some enterprising rebel assassin had spent a great deal of time and money creating what Vader had to admit was the most realistic hologram he had ever seen. He turned towards the noise, reaching out to seize the clever rebel with the power of the Dark Side… and promptly stopped in his tracks….

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Deception… (An outrage)
Disgrace… (For Shame)
He asked for trouble the moment he came

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Mace Windu stood above him, the sun shining off his bald head and ebony skin as he gripped the railing that was before him. His face wore a mask of anger and betrayal, emotions that seemed somehow out of place for the man. Of course, Vader had no problem understanding why the now dead Jedi held such feelings, particularly towards the Sith Lord. What he had trouble understand was how Windu was able to appear before him now, given his status as deceased.

"What trickery is this," Vader asked, more of himself that of the apparition?

"You don't look so good Annie," came a voice to Vader's side. This time Vader swung his sword in a downward arc, but once again he connected with nothing. This came as a big surprise to him as his bent over face found itself staring into the jet black eyes of the same Rodian child that had led him to his current position. Recognition flashed in Vader's hidden eyes as he realized he knew, or at least had known, this particular Rodian.

"Greedo," he whispered?

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Deception… (An outrage)
Disgrace… (For shame)
(No, no this outsider's touch…) Evil as plain as the scar on his face.

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The young Rodian did not even blink in the face of Vader's overwhelming presence, a fact that immediately told the Dark Lord something was very wrong. More crunches were heard as nearby two more sets of feet on the sand, walking slowly and deliberately. His lightsaber now raised into a defensive position, Vader turned to find himself seeing two more ghosts from his past, in the form of his step-brother and sister-in-law, Owen and Beru Lars. Neither one looked happy to see him, not that he could blame them. Having enough of this, Darth Vader leapt at the couple and attempted to slice them in half, only to watch as their bodies disappeared as though they were vapor.

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See you later agitator…(Deceive us)
Disgrace (For Shame)
He asked for trouble the moment he came

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A quick stepping sound was came to Vader's attention as he turned left, just managing to get his lightsaber up in time to meet the green saber of a familiar looking Jedi. Vader recognized the face, as being one of the council members who had been with Windu when he'd attempted to arrest then Chancellor Palpatine. With an angry push, Vader's sword knocked back the Jedi's lightsaber and attempted to separate his head from his shoulders with a follow-up strike. This proved unsuccessful as Vader watched his attacker disappear like smoke.

"This… this is ridiculous," Vader said. Some of his bravado ebbed however, as he looked up to see the buildings that had formerly been empty were now full of people, some of whom seemed familiar, other whose features seemed somehow… blurred from his vision. All stared at him with differing levels of disgust and betrayal.

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Born in greed…
Raised in hate…
Help us to decide his fate…

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More figures appeared, these ones now on ground level. A group of children dressed in the apparel of Jedi younglings glared at him, pointing accusatory fingers at him. Angrily, unwilling to be made a mockery of by these wretches, Vader charged, taking great pleasure in the site of the children fleeing. Once again his sword was met by a Jedi, but this time it was a great surprise to find himself facing down Obi-Wan Kenobi. This Kenobi, however, was not the old man he had killed on the Deathstar, but the same young Master who had bested him on Mustafar. More anger was present in the Jedi Master's eyes, an accusing anger that almost overtook even the Dark Lord of the Sith.

"Murderer," the apparition whispered.

"Traitor," Vader accused right back.

"You killed her," Kenobi continued, as though Vader hadn't spoken at all. Darth Vader was quite surprised to find himself pushed backward by his former Master. Instead of following up, however, the young Kenobi merely backed away. A new figure, clad in a white dress with a veil approached through the crowd, which parted for her advance. "Padme," Vader queried, fully expecting whoever was behind this to have saved his former love for some sort of ill-conceived finale. As the veil was lifted, though, Vader found himself facing someone he had definitely not expected to see; Shmi Skywalker.

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Let him run…
Let him live…
But do not forget what we cannot forgive…

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Unlike the other specters that radiated rage and betrayal, Shmi's face held no such emotions. Vader backed away as he stared into her sad eyes, tears forming as she stared upon what was left of her son. Nearby, Greedo turned his back upon the Dark Lord of the Sith, a move that was followed by the Jedi younglings.

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And he is not
One of us…
He has never been
One of us…
He is not
Part of us…
Not… A… Part…

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Rage hung in the atmosphere as in turn each of the assembled "ghosts" began to turn their backs upon Vader, but the target of their anger remained locked on Shmi, from whose eyes tears now freely flowed.

Suddenly Vader found himself drawn to look back at Kenobi, only to find that he and Mace Windu were now flanking Padme, her eyes teary and accusing. Vader fought the urge to go to her, his Sith side refusing to succumb to this trickery, even as his heart was pained by seeing his former wife again. Obi-Wan and Mace turned, their backs facing him just as the others had. For the briefest of moments, Padme hesitated, her sorrowful eyes staring at Vader's cold mechanical ones. Then she too turned from him.

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Someone once
Lied to us…
Now we're not so blind…

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Quickly Vader turned back to Shmi, only to discover that she had now been joined by Master Yoda of all people. She openly cried as Yoda put a comforting hand on her arm, even as he looked back at Vader with disappointment in his eyes. Disappointment and… understanding?

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For we knew he would do what he's done…
And we know he'll never be
One… Of… US

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Yoda's back was turned and only Shmi remained looking at her son. Her eyes cast around her, at all the people who had turned their backs on Vader. Her mouth was open as she sobbed, but Vader could hear no sound.

"Don't do it," he whispered, rage building. How dare these people, these vermin judge him. How dare his treacherous former master turn his wife against him. How dare this diminutive little green runt attempt to turn his mother. "Don't do it!"

Slowly, painfully, her eyes never leaving her son, Shmi's body began to turn. Vader's grip on his lightsaber loosened as he watched the crying woman's eyes close as her head turned to face forward…

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He is not
One of Us…
Deception…
Disgrace…

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"No," Vader commanded. "NO!!" The cyborg's arms rose into the air as he released the full power of the Dark Side in the form of horrifying telekinetic energy. All around him sand flew into the air as the walls of the buildings began to buckle and crack under his assault. Like phantoms, those who had turned their backs on him disappeared as though they themselves were made of sand. Finally the storm of power ended, and Vader stood alone…

But he was not alone. Even as he opened his eyes, Darth Vader knew he was not alone. Before him, his back to Tatooine's sinking sun, a small figure stood. It was a human boy that much Vader could tell. The child's hair hid his face effectively as tiny fists hung tightly at his side.

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Deception…
Disgrace…

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"Are you the one who did this," Vader asked, his neutral voice hiding the venomous hate he was feeling as he stared at the child? The boy did not answer. His patience already spent, Vader summoned his saber to his hand and stomped purposefully towards the boy, grabbing him by the collar. "What is this? Are you a survivor from the Temple perhaps? Is this some sort of ill-conceived revenge, boy?" Again the boy did not answer, his head still bowed low which, in combination with the setting sun, prevented Vader from seeing his face. "Answer me whelp!" Using the hilt of his lightsaber, Darth Vader roughly struck the boy's chin to force the child to look at him… and promptly dropped the kid back to the ground. Underneath his mask, Vader's eyes were once again wide, a sense of true fear welling in his chest as the boy continued to look at him with eyes. Familiar eyes. Very familiar eyes. This in and of itself did not surprise the Sith, as he had seen those same eyes almost every day during his childhood, every time he looked into the mirror. They were his eyes, the eyes of Anakin Skywalker. Slave, idealist, child…

Anakin approached the Sith Lord, and Vader backed up under his younger self's accusing glare. In the boy's face fired a myriad of emotions; anger, sadness, disappointment, disgust, loathing, and… sympathy.

"What is this," Vader asked again, this time with less fearsomeness and more fear in his voice?

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Deception……………

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"Sir," came a voice that drew Vader's attention, getting him to turn away from Anakin. The Stormtroopers he'd brought with him were making their exit from the alleyways. "Are you all right? Have you been attacked," asked the lead trooper as the other began to set up a perimeter around their leader, rifles raised to respond to any threat that might still be in the area. Vader turned back towards where Anakin had stood, only to find no trace of the boy, not even footprints in the sand.

"Where have you been," Vader hissed in anger?

"We were conducting a search of Mos Espa as you commanded, Lord Vader, but when we failed to raise you over the communicator we became concerned. We tried to find you utilizing your tracking beacon, but it appeared to go off line." They'd tried to contact him… Which meant their equipment was more than likely full operational. "Then we felt the explosion and came here. Was it the rebels, sir? A trap?" Vader reached out with his Force enhanced senses. Once more he could feel the denizens of Mos Espa, dim flickerings of light though they be. But of whatever powerful Force beacon he had sensed before, there was nothing…

"No. There is nothing for us here," Vader stated, unsure if he believed that himself.

"Should we continue the search for Skywalker?"

"No! We're leaving… there is nothing here for us…"

"But sir…"

"Do not question me Trooper, particularly now!"

"Yes sir," the trooper said, signaling for his men to move out. Vader followed the Stormtroopers, hid mind contemplating the events that had just transpired. Before he left, he cast a final look behind him, and could almost swear he saw a small shadow staring at him from the rubble…

The End.