Prologue

Alternation

        The universe is a vast place.

        Time, even more so.

        And within the World Between Worlds, Time is boundless, endless, filled with infinite possibilities in an infinite amount of universes.

        Such as a universe where invaders from the outside ravaged the galaxy never before seen, or in another where everyone is made out of a kind of plastic.... Or others where events transpired in ways none one could've seen coming, such as the heroes failing in their task or dying.

        This is one such universe, where one inaction begins a ripple effect that puts the timeline on a course nobody could've predicted.

        And it all began at the end of a battle; a battle that would begin the flow of destiny. 

        Yavin.

        Frustration.

        Anger.

        These are just a few of the feelings that were coursing through the mind of Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, as his Tie Advanced spun through the depths of space. He had the pilot right in his crosshairs but then... a last minute save by a old hunk of junk freighter saved the pilot and caused Vader's wingman to panic and clip his fighter, putting him in this situation. 

        By the time he was able to steady his ship, it was too late: the Empire's new superweapon, the Death Star- the product of over 20 years of construction, labor, and credits, was gone in the blink of an eye. All that work and effort to prevent its destruction, wasted, and the devastation of both Jedha and Scarif and the destruction of Alderaan, pointless. Once the Galaxy learns of this, it will be utter bedlam; in his calculating mind, he could see it: the Galaxy rising up against the Empire with the knowledge that as powerful as they are, the Imperial war machine is not invincible.... today proved that.

        As the Dark Lord gripped his controls to move the ship, he sensed something... something foreign yet familiar... very familiar. In the distance, he saw ships passing by the gas giant of Yavin: Two X-Wings, a single Y-Wing, and the freighter... the same YT-1300 they had captured aboard the Death Star just a few days ago.  

        The Millennium Falcon, he believed the reports called it.

        Logically, he should've left- he was all alone out here with no reinforcements and no survivors of the Death Star to back him up. But rage has a habit of overpowering logic.

        At the very least, he could deny the Rebels their heroes. 

        The engines of the Tie screeched to life as it blazed towards the gas giant, the surviving Rebels unaware of the encroaching danger. Within seconds, the fighter had the Falcon in its crosshairs. The Sith hovered his thumbs over the trigger and--

        Suddenly, the Tie suddenly stopped, lurching the Dark Lord forward into the console, smashing his life-support system against the control stick. The power was on, but the ship was not working. In seconds, he realized what it was: he was caught in a tractor beam. Peering out, he saw he had been caught in the beam of a Nebulon-B. Several, in fact. More Rebel ships soon came out of Hyperspace, with many locking tractor beams on his craft.

        The holographic display on the dash came to life as a Mon Calamari appeared upon it. "This is Admiral Ackbar of the Rebel Alliance. You are hereby ordered to stand down and surrender. Know that if you try to massacre the crews of our ship, it has been programed to self destruct; as powerful as you are, even you cannot survive an exploding capital ship in the middle of space, Lord Vader, nor can you take on thousands of us. Your only option is to surrender."

        Anger filled Vader but logic prevailed this time: the Mon Calamari was right- he cannot take on an entire Rebel fleet all by himself, nor can he survive the vacuum of space if he should somehow survive his threat... and with his life support damaged, there is not much he can do; his signature brute force won't work in this situation... but there is one thing he could do: he could learn. While he'll most likely be in a prison cell during his stay, he can still listen. He can overhear gossipy Rebels talking amidst the halls- he could hear their plans and then eventually escape and relay this to his master, which won't be for long since the Empire will likely be furious for the superweapons destruction and will be coming for revenge. All he has to do is be patient.

        And so, Darth Vader surrendered with the hidden objective to learn what he can before reuniting with the Imperial force that will inevitably launch an attack on the moon.

Chapter 1

Prisoner of War



       For what should be an time of celebration was instead an time of anticipation, anxiety, and potential dread. The tension in the air at Yavin Base was palpable; it was so thick, you could cut it with a lightsaber and still find resistance, for coming down from space was a U-Wing carrying the most dangerous prisoner the Rebels had ever captured. Virtually everyone on site was armed, ready to blast the prisoner the millisecond he did something wrong.

       As the U-Wing landed at the far end of the pad, every guard, pilot, and even those in the technical and leadership positions, aimed every blaster rifle, cannon, grenade, and turbolaser at the ship. The crew onboard the ship knew that if the prisoner stepped out of line, they would die with him just from being close to all the explosions and were prepared for such an event.

       With a hiss the door opened, and in the center stood Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, now a prisoner of war. Due to his damaged life support system, there was little he could do: there were too many present for even him to challenge... but therein lies the Rebels first big mistake: having all hands on deck here for him means he can memorize and remember their faces, meaning that any spy work involving these particular Rebels present would be for naught. And this is on top of having the leadership present; likely not all of them since the Death Star likely made many flee for their lives, but enough to possibly put a dent in their operations.

       Without a word, he stepped out of the transport and onto Yavin proper. With all weapons trained on him, he slowly walked down the path made by the Rebel scum. Under his helmet, his eyes looked around as he took stock of their inventory. They had more fighters then what were present at the battle above, leading him to believe they didn't have enough pilots to use their entire stock of fightercraft; he did notice they had A-Wings on the ground, making him wonder why they didn't use them in the battle- they would've been effective against the Ties.

       Off in the distance, that's where he saw it, the YT-1300 that saved the X-Wing and led to this: The Millennium Falcon. He saw people beside it with the princess among- likely the crew of the ship that saved her just days ago- a scoundrel and his Wookie companion. Hard to believe that hunk of junk was responsible for all of this, but the Force works in mysterious ways. He recognized one of them, a boy with dirty blonde hair in a Rebel flight suit. His mind pictured him in a white outfit and he remembered: 

        This boy was the one who yelled out in shock and fear when he killed Obi-Wan Kenobi; he only got a brief glimpse of him before the boy shot the door controls, but he recognized him. 

       At the end of the path were four people Vader recognized: Mon Mothma and Jan Dodanna- two former high ranking senators in the Senate, or what was the Senate, and a pregnant green Twi'lek he recognized from Lothal many years ago; he never figured out what her name was, not that it mattered at the time, but he recalled that former Governor Pryce referred to her as Hera Syndulla. The last he recognized from the Clone Wars: Rahm Kota, a Jedi that never used Clones in his army, instead relying on his own homegrown militia.... how every lucky of him.

       He came to a halt when he stood in front of them. He stood tall to try and be imposing, but after the major loss the Empire experienced just a couple hours ago, nobody was scared. At least the three of them weren't. One of his guards approached and handed Kota the dark lord's Lightsaber.

       "Lord Vader." Hera spoke. "It's been a long while since Lothal. You hurt us then, but that didn't stop us. Instead, it made us stronger."

       "You've caused a lot of trouble for the Rebellion." Mon Mothma spoke. "And took many, many, many countless lives in the many crimes against sentients you have committed."

        Rahm spoke up to say, "You will be put on trial for crimes against the Republic and the Galaxy, and then executed publicly for the Galaxy to see, to show them that your Emperor is not invincible and to give the suppressed and enslaved hope."

        "A lofty plan..." Vader finally spoke. "... but that fails to include the inevitable Imperial attack. The Death Star may be gone, but we know where you live, and it won't be long until they come for you with enough firepower to raze this forest to ash."

        "By the time they get here, we'll already be gone." Dodanna spoke. He stepped aside and ordered the guards, "Put him in a private corner and keep a close eye on him... there's no telling what this machine of a man will do if given the chance." With a nod, the guards gestured Vader forward and he followed. As a precaution, Kota ignited his green saber and followed, to make sure he didn't try anything funny.

        The ignition of the blade drew the attention of the boy, who watched as the armored hulk in black was escorted into the main Yavin temple base. A feeling of anger rose up in him as he closed his hands into fists.



        True to Vader's warning, early warning posts from neighboring star systems have reported that the Imperial fleet was in movement, with at least a dozen Star Destroyers and 2 dozen Arquitenss, Gozanti's, Quasar's, and Raiders from Celanon, Toprawa, Serenno, and Raydonia gathering at Junction, the closest system to Yavin on the galactic map. There was only one reason so many Destroyers were gathering in one spot:

        Retaliation.

        The Rebels have days, or merely hours, before the Empire comes knocking on their doorstep once again. While the flames of war had been ignited by the destruction of the superstation, the Rebels were in no way prepared to fight such a large fleet; they barely won the last fight, and it was thanks to a lucky one-in-a-million shot they won. 

        The ground crews were already on the move, working tirelessly to pack up everything and get out of dodge, but there was a lot of equipment spread out over a large swath of land, some in such remote places' ships cannot land. They were pressed for time, but the terrain wasn't helping.

        From behind the forcefield of his own cozy little "cell" deep within the temple, Vader watched from his seat- a mere stool- as the Rebels were scrambling to detach the consoles and terminals from the power couplings and move them out. He will give the Rebels this: they are nothing if not quick. 

        His observation of the madness was interrupted when the boy came out from behind the corner with angry intent. "When they said we had a prisoner..." He said barely containing it. "...I didn't expect it to be you."

        "Nor did I expect the hero of the day to be so young." Vader said. "And filled with such anger. If you were anyone else, I wouldn't bother to hazard a guess, but you... I recognize you from the station, for those brief seconds when the door closed after you shot the lock. You yelled out when I slayed Obi-Wan."

        "Of course, I yelled out- why wouldn't I? You killed someone I cared about. It may've only been a couple days, but he was my master... and yours too. He told me you were once his apprentice, until you betrayed him and killed his other."

        Kenobi? Another apprentice? Absurd. Either his master fed this boy lies, or there is something else at play here. But one thing that did catch his ears was that Kenobi only had the boy as his student for a couple days, meaning this pup barely, if any, has any training. "He sought to train you as a Jedi at so high an age? How very bold of him- his last apprentice was half as old as you when he took him on. It would seem that he had a habit of taking on students far past the appropriate hour."

        "It doesn't matter now, does it?"

        "I suppose it doesn't." The two stared each other down before Vader asked, "As he is slain, I am curious: where was the old man hiding?"

        "Tatooine." Of course... out of the cruel irony of the universe, of course it had to be the planet of Vader's birth, one filled with bad memories... good choice: he vowed never to set foot again on that sand pit again. "He had a small hut outside Mos Eisley." The boy saw that Vader had closed his hands into fists out of anger. "That angers you?"

        "Considerably. Tatooine was where I was born and a place I vowed never to return to. A dark and dirty trick he pulled." 

        "Funny... I didn't know Tatooine produced such evil lords of darkness." The boy smirked. Vader kept his anger down- he could strangle the boy here and now with the Force... but something about him felt familiar somehow. "I mean, I'll admit, the planet is a boring old dustball with barely anything to do, but it was still my home. Least it was until your goons killed my aunt and uncle and destroyed my homestead; I will never forgive the Empire for that."

        Vader remained silent and let the boy rant on, looking and searching for any kind of probe or weakpoint he can use to exploit this and potentially turn towards the Dark Side... if Obi-Wan thought it wise enough to raise this boy to be a Jedi, then so will he. But some things weren't adding up: why did his former master choose the former home of his fallen apprentice as his hideaway? And why wait until now to start the boys training? Something wasn't adding up.

        "I wouldn't bother talking to him." Hera said as she walked up from behind with her arms crossed in front of her. "He's as cold and ruthless as they come. He hunted us specifically during the founding days of the Rebellion proper... killed a good friend of ours."

        "Sounds like a lot has happened before I joined." The boy commented.

        "That you did..." She sighed as she rubbed the top of her full-term belly. "We haven't been formally introduced, have we? My name is Hera Syndulla: liberator of Lothal. leader of Phoenix Squadron, and General in the Alliance to Restore the Republic." She offered her hand.

        "Those are lofty titles." and the boy took it in kind. "Hopefully destroying the Death Star and leading to the capture of Vader will be mine."

        Hera chuckled. "Titles aren't everything, mr, un... I never got your name during the briefing- you joined and were off so fast."

        "The name is Luke. Luke Skywalker."

        Underneath the visor and the dark armor, Vader's eyes went wide, feeling shocked for the first time in nearly 20 years... What did the boy say his name was? He slowly moved his head to look at the boy. "Well then, Mr. Skywalker, let's hope you can bring that station-destroying luck to our cause." With a nod from them both, she walked away: she needed to get her ship airborne yesterday.

        As Luke got ready to leave, Vader rose from his seat. "Boy." He stopped and looked back to the black-armored warrior. "What did you say your name was?"

        "Luke Skywalker."

        It was starting to click in his mind, why Kenobi chose Tatooine. And did the boy say Mos Eisley before? "And where are you from?"

        that's an odd question to ask; surely the murderer would remember the names of his victims. "I was raised by my Uncle Owen and my Aunt Beru. Why?"

        So much confusion swirled in the dark lord's mind right now. "... Curiosity." Was all he could say.

        Before Luke could ask why, "Luke!" He heard one of his companions yelled from outside. "Can you give me a hand with this?!" Luke's vision lingered on Vader for a bit, before he ran off to help his companion. 

        Along with his thoughts, Vader rushed through them to try and make sense of everything: there were no other Skywalkers on Tatooine during his childhood- it was only him and his mother Shmi; there's technically Owen, but he was only related by marital ties and kept the name Lars, so that would only mean that... that he didn't... that he didn't kill Padme on Mustafar all those years ago.

        The only logical course of events he could think of was that after their battle, Kenobi rescued Padme and took her to safety somewhere, where she would ultimately die giving birth, with Kenobi taking the infant to his closest living relatives: his uncle and Anakin's brother-in-law Owen on Tatooine, a planet Vader swore to never return to. Which means that Luke is his... is his son.

        But... but Palpatine told Vader that his rage, he killed Padme on Mustafar, meaning that.... that he knew. He knew Padme was still alive during the entire operation; he knew that she gave birth... he knew everything.

        ... he stole everything.

        Palpatine lied.

        Turning his back to the forcefield, Vader used his anger to destroy the lights above him, casting him in darkness. ".................. he..... lied!" With a burst from the Force, everything within his 'cell' went flying everywhere, with the stool hitting the forcefield and shocking his guards, making them jump in their skin.




        Outside, at separate locations of the base, both Luke and Leia felt a chill. Normally, anyone would chalk it up to a windy day, but there's no wind right now; the only strong puffs of air are coming from the exhaust of the various craft launching into space, but they aren't anywhere near any spaceships. Plus, this chill.... it felt like it was in their very souls.

        "What was that?" They both whispered in unison, unaware that the other said it.

        


        "Hey. Kid." Luke heard Han said. "Mind helping me out with this?" The smuggler asked, holding a crate in his hands and with many more beside him and his copilot Chewbacca.

        "Un. Yeah." Luke ran over to help him load the crates. At first, he thought it was more reward money, but when he peered inside, he saw, "Grenades?" He pulled one out. "Why are you loading grenades?" He peeked into another box. "And blasters?"

        "I was hired by a captain to transport these to a Rebel Cell operating near Fostar Haven; seems a Imp officer defected protecting Alderaanian refugees and the ground forces need these weapons to keep the refugees safe."

        "Fostar Haven- how far is that?"

        "Pretty far." Han closed the crates back up. "You may not see me after this, kid." He grunted as he picked up the blaster box and began loading it onto the cargo lift.

        Luke followed with the grenade box and saw that Han's reward was still there up in the hold. He did get his prize, so why did he come back? "Han, why did you come back to save us? You had your money; you could've left and not looked back."

        Putting his crate down and leaning forward on it, Han lingered on his response. "... It didn't sit right with me. You were all about to risk your lives against that planet killer while I just wanted to pay off my debts. There was also this lingering feeling in the back of my neck, like maybe the old man rubbed off on me in some way." After everything Obi-Wan said to him on the flight to Alderaan, Luke can only guess which saying he felt convinced Han to come back. "Plus, the big lug here likes you guys." Chewie let out a comical roar that sounded like he was being sarcastic in his response. "You did too say it."

        It felt nice to know that Han wasn't only about the money; somewhere inside, he had a heart and a conscience. Honestly, he felt like the smuggler put up with him because he had no choice: he was trapped on that station just as much as they were. "Well, good to know it's not only money that motivates you." Luke commented. With a smirk, Han continued loading on crates as Luke and Chewie helped. 

        As Luke continued helping load crates onto the loading ramp, he slowed as thoughts came into his mind: memories of Obi-Wan Kenobi... a man almost everyone believed to be a crazy old hermit but was in truth a Jedi Master in hiding to keep an eye on Luke as his father was not a spice freighter but a Jedi himself... which got him thinking: was Kenobi going to train him the entire time? Was it always his destiny to become a Jedi? He kept the lightsaber of his father, which was hanging off of Luke's belt, and his hut back on Tatooine looked far bigger then it appeared... what if Obi-Wan planned to train him but events and people, like Uncle Owen, prevented that?

        "Hey. Luke." Han snapped his fingers, breaking the former farmer out of his trance. "You in there?"

        "Un, yeah, sorry." He started to move his crate but stopped again, feeling a pull, a pull to return home. "I'm sorry, Han, but there's something i have to take care of." He pushed the crate away and started back towards the main temple base.

        "Where are you going?" The smuggler asked, confused as to why his bud was leaving.

        "I'm going home; there's some things I need to take care of."




        From down upon the surface of the planet Junction, the local populace looked up towards the sky, wondering and worried about why so many Imperial ships had gathered in orbit above them. None of them had seen a fleet of this scale before. Among the myriad of crowds were Rebel operatives- outwardly, they lived as locals: merchants, bankers, actors, what have you. They knew this fleet wasn't for them, but as payback for the victory the Rebels had just attained. 

        The population breathed a sigh of relief when they watched the fleet jump into Hyperspace; they were safe from whatever this buildup is for. For the operatives, however, they knew it was happening.

        One of the operatives slid away from the crowd and returned to his apartment. Hidden behind a secret compartment in the closet was a transmitter hooked up the local signal tower. With a flick of the switch, the machine built into the wall came to life. "Rebel Command, Rebel Command, this is J1. The Fleet is on the move; I say again, the Imperial Fleet is on the move and they are 30 strong- they are heading your way."





        Back on Yavin IV

    
        Strolling out of the main temple with speed in her steps, Hera slapped her hands together to get the ground crews working overtime. "Alright, let's pick up the pace people! We just got word; the Imps are on their way! Whatever you can't carry: blast it, burn it, or bury it!" Her faithful droid Chopper rolled up to her. "Chop, go find Zeb and warm up the Ghost; we need to get as much personnel and supplies onboard as we can carry." 

        "Bwom bo ba ba..." With an annoyed yet hurried set of beeps and chirps, Chopper rolled away.

        He almost ran into R2-D2, who was following behind Luke as he hurriedly walked along the pavement towards his assigned X-Wing, with C-3PO not far behind them both. Hera saw the young lad walk by her with swift determination, which had her curious.

        As Luke started to climb into his X-Wing and R2 used his jets to fly up into his socket, 3PO asked, "Master Luke, where are you going?"

        "Back to Tatooine." Luke grunted as he climbed into the cockpit. "I'm going back to Obi-Wans hut; there may be some things hidden away that I may need if I want to become a Jedi."

        "Interesting timing, all things considered." Hera commented as she walked up alongside the protocol droid. "The Empire's fleet just jumped and they will be here soon."

        "Oh my, now that is a worry." 3PO worried. "They'll be coming for you, Master Luke, as you were the one who destroyed their battle station."

        It soon dawned on Hera that... the Empire likely did not know that this farmboy from a dustball in the middle of nowhere was the one that fired the killing shot; the only one that does... is locked up in the temple, meaning that, "Yeah... he is... but the Empire doesn't know that. Any broadcasts of the battle would've been at a range, and they would've cut them when the station went boom, meaning nobody knows that it was Luke here that did it. Him leaving for his little side mission isn't suicidal: it's smart as they will be hunting for the pilot, but he won't be here; the only Imp who knows, we have locked away."

        "Lucky me." The young lad said back as he started flipping the switches and pressing the buttons to turn his fighter craft on. "And I know nobody here will rat me out unless they're spies."

        "OH, an excellent observation, Master Luke." 3PO said. "With your anonymity still intact, the Empire will not be hunting for you on Tatooine, or any other planet. Not unless one of the Rebels here is pressured to under penalty of death or are spies, as you suggested."

        "Which hopefully won't happen if we leave here soon enough." Hera said. Before she left, she pulled out a comm unit from her pockets. "Here." She offered it to Luke and he took it. "Nearby Tatooine is my home planet of Ryloth; there is a Rebel Cell led by my father operating out of there. They will help you find us. The answer to their challenge is Kalikori."

        With a nod, he placed the comm link inside one of his flight suits pockets. "Thanks, General Syndulla. And I will return." She nodded back to him and left with the protocol droid not far behind her.

        With the engines ignited, the X-Wing slowly lifted off from the ground, and with a powerful thrust, took off towards the sky. Be it for pastime or combat, the speed of this ship was unperilled but any other ship in the Rebel fleet, except for the A-Wing. 

        Reaching the dark cold blackness of space, the X-Wing maneuvered past several Rebel Ships: transports, frigates, cruisers, even huge capital ships- he even saw a Mon Cala ship. All taking on cargo and personnel evacuating from the moon below. It was a chaotic mess, with barely any room to maneuver.

        As he passed by a Nebulon-B, Luke stared out at the ship and wondered if he was making the right call, leaving right now when they'll need all pilots on deck for when the Empire attacks... but becoming a Jedi, it may be the only key they have to ending this- he felt it in his gut. 

        "Am I making the right choice leaving right now, R2? Hell is about to come knocking at their door and I'm leaving for what's likely going to be a pointless venture." The familiar cheeps and beeps came from the droid, with a translation by the ships onboard computer appearing on a viewscreen on the dash; R2 replied asking if he felt like he wasn't worthy of being a Jedi or following Obi-Wans footsteps. "It's not that I don't feel that I am worthy, I just... I just wonder if it was a good idea to leave at this moment; I feel like I'm abandoning everyone to die."

        Leaving the Rebel fleet behind, the X-Wing later passed by the fresh wreckage of the station that was the Death Star; just scattered debris of scaffolding, hull, and whatever else survived, with most of the fragments burning up in the gas giant of Yavin. Hard to believe that only a few hours ago he was fighting for his life to destroy that thing. According to scanners from both the X-Wing and R2, there were escape pods, but barely any: at least 5. Depending on their size, anywhere between 50 to 80 people could've gotten off.... barely a point percent of the population of something that large. And he was the one that snuffed them all out. It's war: people are going to die and they already have with Alderaan... but that doesn't weigh any less on his conscience... not everyone in the Empire is evil; one of his friends joined up and even he planned to... so how many people on that station were there just because it was a job to get money to their families or to pay off debts or because they had no place else to go? Or were willing to defect to the Alliance after Alderaan?

        Were there any innocent people on there?

        R2 beeped again, asking Luke if he felt like going back to the moon. After thinking about it, he decided to not to: the Empire will be looking for the pilot, and while he believes nobody on Yavin would give him up... it doesn't mean they won't unwillingly, especially since they have a Dark Lord as their prisoner. On that note, it's possible none of the other cells heard that he was the one that destroyed the superstation either, so going to Ryloth after Tatooine may be a good idea in the long run, but as for right now.... 

        Using the ships computer, he calculated how long a jump from Junction would be to Yavin; it took them days to reach this place after they fled the Alderaan system... the navicomputer didn't give him much hope: it was at best a days jump from Junction to Yavin. Could they evacuate in time? They have, bare minimum, 18 hours before they get here. They were moving really fast down there to get things squared away and off the moon.

        "No...... they should be gone before the Empire gets here: there's at least an 18 hour jump from Junction to here, so they should all be long gone by the time the first Imp ship arrives." With affirmative beeps from R2, Luke felt assured.

        With the coordinates locked in, the X-Wing jumped into hyperspace.