AN: Yay! New story. Okay so it's been about what… two months since I finished Sanctioned by an Angel and I tell you it was a little weird not waking up in the morning to update a story. So this is the story you've waited on and the little 255 character summary just doesn't do it justice... Oh well. Believe me. There's much more than just that in the story.

Okay. So let's do a recap here. It's been five years since the events of the last chapter in Sanctioned by an Angel. Leia's roughly twenty years old now and yes, the events of the first Death Star did happen but that's not important.

Okay. Read, enjoy, and review!

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Chapter One

Vader wasn't a nostalgic person or that's what he fooled himself into thinking everyday as he thought about a simpler time, a time where he would steal away from the empire as long as he could to be with his daughter for a few days (a few weeks if he was lucky). But there had always been someone else there waiting for him, but in as much denial as he had been.

He sighed as he waited for the report on the rebel alliance. For the last almost five years, he hadn't pursued the rebels like he should have been. There had been many leads that could have led him to them months, maybe even years ago. And even though he was tired of the nuisance they were being to the empire, he had another reason for letting them slip from his grasp so many times. It had to do with why even though he wasn't a very nostalgic person, he felt a little nostalgic lately.

Luke and Leia were twenty years old, adults, and Shmi was no doubt at least five (actually probably a few months older) judging by the time he had sensed her birth all those years ago. And Ahsoka… Leia would probably say he was still in denial being that even though he knew the truth of their relationship a long time ago, he'd never fully admit to it. The emperor certainly wouldn't be pleased about it if he knew. Vader scoffed. He had a feeling the man knew that he was hiding someone, but he just wasn't sure who. Vader had made sure of that. But the force had been stirring, urging him lately and it was telling him that the time was right to kill the emperor. No doubt Leia's training had progressed exponentially after he sent them away. She already had a knack for the force to begin with. And Luke had more than likely been training most of his life. The only problem with that was that Luke wasn't too fond of Vader the last time they met. Then there was Ahsoka and she was a complicated matter all together. For all her preaching that she disagreed with his methods and the dark side, she hadn't betrayed him yet. In fact, she had betrayed the jedi twice to defend him.

Yes, it was time. Vader was positive of it. But before he could act, he needed to find his family and then crush the rebellion.

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"I don't get it," Leia said as she patiently helped her sister grip her light saber properly. "I just don't get it Luke. How are you able to stand that spoiled brat of a girl with a bad attitude?"

Luke only sighed as he pushed Leia aside to fix Shmi's grip, before backing away to let the girl get a feel of the lightsaber.

"I suppose it's the same way Ahsoka can stand our father," he said sarcastically. "I've known her most of my life. I'm used to it."

"Daddy just acts like a bastard to everyone, but underneath all that is a kind man who would do anything for us," Leia said shooting Luke a glare as she watched Shmi slowly swinging the lightsaber.

"Underneath the murderous, spiteful, hateful, and merciless mask of Vader you mean?" Luke asked with a smirk.

Leia laughed. "Yeah… Underneath all of that."

"Leia," Shmi said impatiently. "I'm ready."

"But still," Luke said to Leia as the two ignored their younger sibling. "It's your fault you don't get along with her. Mara's nice once you get to know her."

"And tell me how it's my fault she hates me?" Leia asked with her arms crossed.

"I don't know," Luke said voice laced with sarcasm. "Acting like the girl with an attitude problem and all vengeful towards her when you first met will do that to a person."

"Can you blame me?" Leia asked. "She insulted me. 'So you're Luke's sister? Darth Vader's little princess,' she said if I recall properly. Of course I force pushed her for it."

Luke sighed. "And then you told her she wouldn't know what you were feeling because she didn't even remember her parents. That's kind of cold, don't you think?"

"It might have been at the time, but can you blame me? I was upset. I wasn't going to see my dad again for who knew how long," Leia muttered looking down.

"And you never apologized after you got over it," Luke added dryly

"I didn't feel the need to," Leia replied. "Besides, she was the one being insensitive."

"That's just Mara. She can't help it. She's just like that and unfortunately returning a like for a like doesn't work with her. I should know. I grew up with her. Besides, she never means anything by her bluntness… most of the time," Luke pointed out.

"Sure," Leia said and started to add something else about her brother's long time friend before something clocked her in the side of her forehead.

"Ow," she said reaching down to pick up the offending object which was a ball her sister had left lying in a corning when Leia offered to show her how to use her lightsaber.

A giggle from Shmi made her frown.

"What did you do that for?" Leia asked.

"You're taking too long," she said with a toothy grin, her predator teeth obvious, another thing she had inherited from her torgruta mother besides the montrals that were sure to start poking out of her brown and blonde hair when she hit puberty.

"We were only talking for two minutes," Leia said to her. "You couldn't wait that long?"

Shmi pouted and crossed her arms, carefully of course, as not to hurt herself with the extended blue blade that used to belong to their father when he was a Jedi.

"Two minutes too long," she said.

"That's scary," Luke said to Leia shaking his head. "Never seen our dad in her life and she looks just like him right there."

The ball hit Luke this time.

"That's it," Luke said growing impatient with Shmi though it was obvious he was playing with her.

Shmi squealed loudly, dropping the lightsaber which deactivated in the process, and sped out the training room that was on their temporary home on Corellia. It was close to the core, a little too close in the Jedi's opinion, but it was safe enough until the new base on Hoth was finished. Luke shivered at the mere thought of how cold it would be.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka was in a heated discussion with Obi-wan and Yoda, the only two remaining Jedi besides her (well, she wasn't exactly sure what she was anymore).

"I told you. No," she said stubbornly.

"But Ahsoka," Obi-wan said trying to be patient with the stubborn woman. Apparently fourteen years with Vader had done that to her.

"I'm not helping you. You have Luke and you have Mara. But you won't get Leia and Shmi. You have no right to them. I won't be a part of helping you rebuild the Jedi Order and my children won't be a part of it," she said declared.

The two Jedi exchanged a look before looking back at Ahsoka. They never quite knew when Leia had become 'her child.' But she had raised the girl since she was a baby. It was only natural. The odd part was, she seemed to have the same protectiveness over Luke but since she and Vader hadn't had the influence on him as they had on Leia and now Shmi, there were certain things she didn't put up a fight about with him.

"Leia's not your child," Obi-wan pointed out to her.

Big mistake. No one was quite sure what effect her relationship with Vader had on her over recent years and for a while, it seemed like she was fine. But after a few years, it was apparent that her separation for him had taken its toll on her and she showed it with a nasty temperament she no doubt picked up from her lover.

"I know that," she snapped. "She's Padmé's child and I don't think that Padmé would want you trying to turn her child against her father."

If Obi-wan didn't have the discipline of a jedi, he would have groaned. Not this conversation again.

"Ahsoka, Anakin Skywalker was Luke and Leia's father, not Darth Vader."

"There isn't too much of a difference if you look at it from my point of view, which you aren't because you're both being two narrow minded-." Ahsoka cut herself off. That wouldn't have been nice.

"Cloud your judgment your emotions do," Yoda pointed out. "Dangerous this is."

"How?" Ahsoka demanded. "I told you. You can rebuild your Jedi and you can let Luke help you do it. But me, Leia, and Shmi won't be a part of it."

"Then what will you be a part of?" Yoda asked.

"The force isn't as black and white as Sith and Jedi," Ahsoka said. "There are force users who don't believe in the code or the way of the Jedi or the Sith, but that doesn't mean they're wild and uncontrollable. There are plenty of civilizations that are innately force sensitive and don't practice the use of the force like a Jedi or a Sith. It isn't that farfetched that me, Leia, and Shmi can do the same."

"Those other civilizations don't have a connection to a Sith Lord," Obi-wan pointed out. "You three do."

"So?" Ahsoka asked crossing her arms. "This isn't about Vader."

All three of them knew she was lying. Vader had everything to do with what they were discussing.

"Let's face it Ahsoka. You betrayed the Jedi twice for him…"

"So giving a man the opportunity to get his children back is betraying the Jedi?" Ahsoka asked putting her hands on her hips

Obi-wan ignored her and continued. "What's to say you won't do it again if he asks you? How can we trust you not to?"

"I guess you can't," Ahsoka admitted after a long pause. "But this isn't the Republic anymore. You don't have the right to take children away in the name of the greater good. Leia can make the decision herself but we all know she doesn't want anything to do with the Jedi. I know you want Shmi and you can't have her. She's mine and Vader's."

"So you would condemn her to a life of darkness?"

"You'd condemn her to a life without her family?" Ahsoka hissed angrily and then sighed. "Don't get me wrong. I am grateful that you've kept us hidden for so long, but that doesn't mean I feel indebted enough to you to let you have Shmi for your plans to rebuild the order like it was. I won't have you turning her against Vader like you did Luke. I'm sorry, but no and that's final."

"Ahsoka," Obi-wan said sighing but the woman opened the door and started out the room before taking a step back as Shmi with Luke on her tail flew by.

"Gotcha," he said grabbing her and picking her up off the ground to tickle her.

The girl squealed and then sensed her mother standing in the doorway yelling, "Mommy. Help!" But it was halfhearted as she was giggling so.

"What's all that noise?" Mara asked poking her head out the room before smirking at the sight of Luke with Shmi.

"Hi Mara," Shmi said trying to pulling out of Luke's grip as he finally stopped tickling her.

Mara gave her a patient smile before taking her from her brother and setting her on the ground. Shmi immediately walked past her brother and then past her mother who raised one of her facial markings.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To play with Lana," she said innocently with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"And what does that entitle?" Ahsoka asked.

Shmi smirked and took off before Ahsoka could stop her. Ahsoka just hoped that playing with Lana didn't mean helping her train like it usually meant. She'd rather her daughter play with Abdul, who unlike Lana, had no interest in becoming a spy or an assassin like his parents.

She sighed wistfully as she thought about how it seemed that Shmi was growing up faster than Leia was or maybe it just seemed that way because Ahsoka thought her father was missing out on so much with her. She wouldn't let the Jedi take any chance Shmi might have with him away.

Luke, noticing Ahsoka's sigh, looked at her.

"You okay?" he asked.

Ahsoka blinked. "Just fine Luke."

Luke exchanged a glace with Mara who was rolling her eyes at Ahsoka's antics.

"Master Yoda and Ben still trying to convince you about Shmi?" Luke asked knowingly.

"Always," Ahsoka replied.

Luke shook his head. "I don't know why they won't just leave you alone on it. You've made your point clear enough."

"You know why they won't. She's got your father's force power and it's clear what side Leia has chosen. They think she'll help destroy the Jedi Order for good," Ahsoka muttered. To be honest, that thought didn't bother her as much as it used to.

Luke shrugged. "We may not agree all the time Ahsoka and I may not be as close to you as Leia and for good reason, but you're not a bad person. If you don't want Shmi to be a Jedi then I don't hold it against you."

"You're just like your mother," Ahsoka said to him. "Always settling on the good in people… for the most part."

Luke didn't say anything for a moment and Ahsoka started to go find Shmi before he said, "I know there's good in my father."

Ahsoka turned to look at him startled.

"A man can't be completely evil with the way Leia talks about him as though he's a god or something. But it's not my job to convince anyone else of that fact. I leave it to you and Leia," Luke said and walked past Ahsoka leaving her surprised.

"There may be hope for him yet," Ahsoka said and went to find Shmi.

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AN: So that's the first chapter. I set up so much for the plot of this story in this chapter and the next alone and didn't realize it. I kept looking over the beginning and saying, "That's an issue I have to address and a loose end to tie up," which led to this story being twice as long as the last one and again, the summary just doesn't do it justice (all because only gives you 255 characters. Whose bright idea was that? I need at least 400).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Review Please!