Darth Vader: Hero of Naboo

"Caltren?" Anakin read off as they exited hyperspace. "I've never heard of that system. Master?"

"Neither have I," Qui-Gon remarked, glancing out at the system. The star was massive and red, with an asteroid ring circling it. "For good reason, it seems."

"This system's star has been expanding since it was discovered. If anything lived here, they either perished or fled," The Dark Woman answered as she steered them to a barren rock of a planet. Tidal locked with the sun, one side of the planet glowed with a harsh and glaring blaze while the other side was shrouded in absolute, freezing darkness.

Their path took them to the narrow band between the two extremes. Here, the land was rocky and jagged, with large mountains all angled, pointing towards the dark side of the world.

Under one such land formation was a settlement or base of some kind, hidden under the mountain's arc.

"You have a secret base," Anakin summarized bluntly.

"I have a place to store supplies and such, yes," The Dark Woman answered simply.

"A pirate base, I would assume?" Qui-Gon guessed with a raised eyebrow.

"At some point, I imagine some criminals called this home. It was long abandoned when I found it," she answered, taking the ship down to land in a hanger. "Shall we?" she asked rhetorically, rising and heading to exit the ship.

Seeing no point in delaying this anymore, Master and Padawan both followed behind their fellow Jedi, stepping onto an old landing pad. It was sturdy, but any symbols written on the hanger were long faded away.

Anakin took a deep breath through the nose, inhaling the artificial atmosphere. It was breathable but stale. The life support systems were either running on minimum or were in bad shape.

"Master!"

A glad call brought their attention off to the side, where Obi-Wan approached from a door, smiling and waving. "Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon greeted. "It's good to see you're alright."

"Yes, well- wait, Anakin?" Obi-Wan said in surprise, looking at the Padawan owlishly.

"Yes, I am here?" Anakin asked in confusion.

Obi-Wan wordlessly stared at him before stepping closer, placing a flat hand on Anakin's head, and measuring it against his own chest. "By the Force, you hit a growth spurt. Just a few months ago you were just above my stomach, now you're almost at my shoulders."

Anakin wanted to look smug at that, he really did, before looking up at Qui-Gon with a strange look. "Huh...I'm going to be honest, I hadn't noticed in the slightest."

"Of course you hadn't," Obi-Wan said with an exasperated smile.

"You gave everyone a worry, Knight Kenobi," Qui-Gon stated with an amused but relieved smile.

The Jedi Knight turned sheepish at that. "Yes, well, the Dark Woman is rather insistent on keeping this place hidden," he explained, casting a blank look at the woman. "Again, you could have told me that before we came here."

"If I had, we might not have gained more aid," The Dark Woman answered.

"...This feels like a kidnapping by proxy," Anakin remarked cautiously.

"It was not an intentional outcome, just one I saw as a positive," The Dark Woman explained away.

"She's not lying, Master, she does require aid in a matter most...concerning," Obi-Wan explained delicately.

"This is about Darth Vader, isn't it?"

All three looked to Anakin, who gave them each a knowing look.

"If you're asking us to help "put a stop to him," then we'll have to decline," Anakin said bluntly.

The Dark Woman narrowed her eyes, looking at Qui-Gon. "Does your Padawan speak for you, Master Jinn?"

"He does have a way with words," Qui-Gon said with a smirk before turning sternly neutral. "More to the point, he's not wrong. This truce has gone on for five years, and Vader has done little to provoke the Jedi Order in that time. I'd rather not be the one to break that streak."

"Yes. Have you wondered what he has been doing in all that time?" The Dark Woman asked coldly.

Anakin and Qui-Gon remained silent to that, both somewhat curious about that themselves.

"Just...show them," Obi-Wan urged in frustration.

The Dark Woman frowned. "Very well. This way," she said, leading them out of the hangar.

They traveled down the hall, mostly clean of debris minus some abandoned boxes and exposed wiring, not to mention a broken droid or two. Eventually, she brought them to what looked like a meeting room with a holo-table in the middle.

Obi-Wan went ahead to the controls, bringing the systems blinking to life, revealing a map of the galaxy with various places marked by red, black, and purple dots.

"You've been busy," Anakin conceded, audibly impressed.

"I've been searching for any sign or hint of the Sith and their activities," The Dark Woman explained as she took over the controls. "The black dots represent Darth Plagueis, or what I believe to be his doing."

It was telling that these were the fewest. They might know the Order of Bane existed now, but Plagueis was aware of that and very skilled in keeping his activities hidden.

"The red is Darth Vader," she answered, frowning at the map. "He's been far more active than most know. He's acting as a hidden power to the rest of the Galaxy. Various people killed, items stolen or destroyed, other times just mysterious visits," she explained, pulling up an image.

There stood Vader in mid-stride, next to two members of a humanoid race. Anakin couldn't be sure of it from the image quality, but it looked like their large and smooth heads might be masks instead.

"Kaleesh," Qui-Gon recognized brow furrowing. "So, Vader was involved in the Huk War."

"The Kaleesh believe that those that commit great deeds in life, become gods in death," The Dark Woman commented. "Whatever Vader did in that war, he earned a name among them, Vesdon gan Grozzal."

"It means, more or less, The Terror To Whom We Kneel," Obi-Wan supplied grimly.

"So you think Vader is building an empire in the shadows?" Qui-Gon summarized, not surprised or terribly alarmed by that notion.

"No, I think he's searching for something," The Dark Woman answered ominously, dismissing the image. "The purple markers are mostly things I don't know how to explain yet. And, also, these."

She pulled up another image, but it was a recording this time. It was the feed of a ship as it came out of hyperspace. Just as it did, something in the distance vanished into hyperspace.

"What is that?" Anakin asked warily, eyes narrowed at the image.

Obi-Wan enhanced and zoomed in on the image, rewinding it to show exactly what had been spotted: a ship. Its size was impossible to tell, but it was grey and angular.

"There have been sightings of those ships all over the galaxy," The Dark Woman stated meaningfully. "I believe they're Vader's."

"Based on what?" Qui-Gon inquired curiously. "I don't doubt he has his own forces, but plenty of private navies and armies have been raised in the past few years."

"The Force guided me to several of these sightings," she explained simply. "There are no records of ships like this. The Order of Bane was hiding under our noses, but Vader? We have no idea where he came from. Or what he brought with him."

Qui-Gon hummed before looking towards his first apprentice. "You believe her, Obi-Wan?"

"On this part, yes. Even if she's wrong, these ships are a mystery that I'm not sure should be ignored," Obi-Wan answered.

"This part?" Anakin asked in surprise.

Obi-Wan turned to give the Dark Woman an annoyed look before answering. "She's convinced that Vader has a superweapon and somehow lost it."

"A superweapon?" Qui-Gon questioned. "Based on what?"

"Vader is searching the galaxy for something, I know that for certain," The Dark Woman said pointedly. "But across the outer rim and wild spaces, along the edges of the Unknown Region? I've heard rumors."

Anakin frowned as his vision became unfocused. He could feel something pulling at the back of his head. A memory, but one he knew he didn't experience. A vision from the Force?

"Something so massive that it defies imagination. Big enough to be a city onto itself," she continued without pause.

A dagger, a cold blade through space. Thousands upon thousands of meters in length.

"A dreadnaught?" Qui-Gon summarized with a raised eyebrow.

With enough firepower to bring entire systems to their knees.

"A Super Dreadnaught," Anakin muttered before blinking, realizing he said that out loud. "Or, that's what it sounds like."

"You're not incorrect, Padawan," The Dark Woman agreed wryly. "We all have differing opinions of Darth Vader. I view him as an enemy. Master Jinn sees him as a slumbering krayt best not disturbed. You, Kenobi, think he is genuine. That he is not friend or foe."

"For now," Obi-Wan agreed firmly. "I'm more concerned about "who" is the reason that changes, rather than how it changes."

The Dark Woman nodded slowly before turning to Anakin. "I couldn't even pretend to understand how you must see him, Padawan."

"You're right," Anakin agreed evenly.

Ignoring the bite to those words, she moved on. "But if Vader has these ships? And there is some infighting amongst whatever forces he has? We need to know before they stop trying to hide these skirmishes and take their battles into the open."

"There are a lot of assumptions in that: That there is infighting at all, that they belong to Vader, or that this mystery dreadnaught exists," Qui-Gon stated warily before shaking his head with a sigh. "But you're not wrong. Finding the truth of these matters would be of the best interest to the galaxy and the Jedi, given the precarious state of things."

The Dark Woman nodded her head in thanks.

"That just leaves one question then," Obi-Wan started. "Why me? Why us? As you said, we're not some of the Jedi that agree with your position on Vader."

"That's why I want you involved," she admitted freely. "Those that hunt the Dark Side can be among those most easily influenced by it if they are not careful."

"...Wait, does she mean what I think she means?" Anakin asked in surprise.

"She means that she knows we won't try and start a fight with Vader we can't win," Qui-Gon answered with narrowed eyes. "And she sounds like she's talking from experience."

The Dark Woman refused to react or answer that in any form.

Meanwhile

"Explain."

Padme's voice was cold and controlled as she stared into the Muun's eyes, which projected a tired, almost broken apology within them.

"I learned of his identity and I paid a very..." he paused to rub his neck, purposefully angling it to show where some cosmetics had been smeared away by his hands, revealing rather horrible scars on his neck. "Heavy price."

The fury left the queen's face, and the first roots of sympathy took place.

"He had his claws in more than you know. I noticed some "irregularities" with some of my subordinates. Funds moving in strange ways, and unusual companies to do business with. I investigated and..." Damask paused for a long moment as he looked away, in a show of collecting himself. "Damask Holding wasn't dissolved. He killed them all. Everyone, but me."

The Queen allowed the silence to stretch on, forming her response carefully. But genuinely, Plagueis could sense. "I can only begin to imagine the pain you have endured, Magister. I know full well the horrors Palpa- no, Sidious could bring to bear. But I must ask, why didn't you come forward before?" Padme asked, and it was less accusing than it would have been before.

"He left me alive, Your Highness, but not unbroken," Hego explained softly. "I couldn't breathe a word of it to anyone. I was too afraid to even look into getting better treatment for the wounds he gave me, lest it motivate him to return and undo the work, with interest. But then the Storm happened. Vader happened. And as terrible as that was for Coruscant?" he took a moment to breathe, deep and long. "It was a breath of fresh air for me, Your Highness. He was gone and I could breathe again, in more ways than one."

"I can only think of how many silently shared that sentiment," Padme said with sympathy. "But that does not explain why you are here?"

He smiled. It wasn't entirely fake, he was enjoying this charade. "As I said, you inspired me. Taking back your world from the Trade Federation was no easy feat. I felt motivated to pull my life back together, to step out of my own shadow once more. I felt...reborn," he said with an almost reverent touch to his voice, before ending the moment with a chuckle. "Of course, then I realized the state of the Republic at large."

"These are worrisome times," Padme agreed.

"I'm not an idealist, Your Highness. I don't think I can fix the galaxy, much less keep the Republic afloat. But, while it may be partially a touch of selfish survivalism in the long run, I do want to help make sure there are some safe havens in these dark times the future brings," Plagueis explained. "In short, I want to help your world, among others, to prepare for the worst-case scenario."

A regal brow rose. "And what would that be?"

"The Republic is falling apart," Plagueis stated bluntly. "It might save itself, it might not. But even if it did, there will be a time of chaos in the coming days. When it will be too busy to help protect and aid many planets that will become battlefields for the ambitious or targets for outlaws to raid and plunder."

"We are not blind, Magister Damask. We have taken steps to ensure Naboo's safety," Padme stated firmly.

Plagueis paused and forced himself to hesitate, to be thoughtful. "Would those steps involve the Anti-Federationists? Or a certain Sith Lord?"

The Dark Lord was impressed. The Queen gave away nothing. If not for the Force, he would have been completely unable to read her properly. "Every avenue is being explored for when the chances of a peaceful resolution finally vanish."

He nodded slowly. "I hear your new neighbors on the moon have settled rather nicely. Tell me, do you think they would appreciate having their own spaceport? Their own space station even, perhaps?"

Padme's brows rose ever so slightly. "I am sure the Patriarch would appreciate that sentiment, Magister. But for all you are offering, I can't help wondering what our end of such a deal will entail?"

"Well, there is something," he admitted. "I've had a habit of collecting...lost things. Or, short of that, studying and preserving them," he explained.

"Lost things, Magister?" Padme repeated with a frown.

Plagueis smiled and, for the most part, it was genuine.

Meanwhile

"So, to summarize? We're going to investigate a destroyed, large spacecraft, in the middle of nowhere, to see if it has any connection to Darth Vader," Anakin said while in the jump to hyperspace.

"I can sense a question, Padawan," the Dark Woman stated with a frown. "Speak it."

"Why didn't you investigate this yourself?" Anakin asked in confusion. "You didn't say if there was anything dangerous to watch out for."

"There is, but I'm not sure what," she admitted with a pensive look. "When I came to this system, I had this sudden...feeling. Something in the Force. There was danger, but something else. I believe something or someone else is lurking in the system."

"Someone dangerous," Qui-Gon commented. "Dangerous enough that you felt the need to choose a more cautious path."

"I will admit that I am happy you are here, Padawan," the Dark Woman said with some reluctance toward Anakin. "I fear we may need your skills as a pilot."

"That notion bodes ill," Obi-Wan said to himself, standing behind Qui-Gon's seat.

"R2?" Anakin called, turning to face the droid. "We may have to pull some wizard stunts, so be ready."

The droid beeped, getting a raised eyebrow from the Dark Woman. "Is the droid always this eager for life-or-death situations?"

"More like R2 is all for any excuse for Anakin to do some "wizard" piloting," Obi-Wan opined, giving a dirty look to the droid and Padawan. "Must you encourage him?"

Anakin and R2 looked at one another and then back at Obi-Wan. "Which are you talking to?"

"Both of you, obviously," Obi-Wan answered with a smile and a pointed look.

Qui-Gon smiled as he watched the exchange. The relationship between Anakin and Obi-wan had been awkward in the extreme. But eventually, they grew on one another. It probably helped that Obi-Wan was one of the only ones in his age group that weren't wary of Anakin.

Qui-Gon buried and hid some of the more unpleasant thoughts that were brought up. The Jedi Temple was increasingly becoming polarized when it concerned Vader. Thankfully, the wiser and older generations at large didn't treat Anakin with the same distrust. All the same, even those that weren't in favor of taking action against the Sith still saw training Anakin as a Jedi to mainly be a method of keeping him from being taken under Vader's wing.

But it was the younglings whose opinion was overtly clouded at times. Some treated Anakin as an outsider to the order, while others viewed him with respect and awe. Anakin was impressive, true. With his insane connection to the Force, it came without a doubt. That caused his would-be peers to feel wary or inspired by him. Yet it bothered Qui-Gon immensely to see the next generations unintentionally using Anakin as a stand-in for the subject of Darth Vader. Because one's stance on Vader often went hand-in-hand with their stance on Anakin

So, he took Anakin out of the equation. A training trip away from the temple brought them to Dagobah. And that in turn led them here.

Qui-Gon did indeed, at times, ponder on the potential link between Anakin and Vader. It was something he knew Anakin questioned sometimes as well. Shmi Skywalker had been rather clear in denying the possibility of if Vader could be of a ...parental relation to Anakin or a sibling or any other connection by blood. They weren't, so Anakin's mother was either telling the truth or wrong without realizing it. For now, Qui-Gon assumed the link was not something as simple as being blood relatives.

The Force drew him back to the here and now as they exited Hyperspace, the dashing lights coming still as stars in the vast blackness of space.

They were near a gas giant, with a large and verdant moon. But just before them was the wreckage of a ship.

Of course, neither "wreckage" nor "ship" truly did the scene justice.

"By the Force," Obi-Wan whispered as they took in the sight.

It was hard to tell, but the ruined hull was well over a thousand meters in length, armed with many turrets and cannons. Its steely grey corpse was blown apart in the middle, practically cut in half by an unknown weapon of devastating power.

"This is definitely one of the ships I've heard rumors of," the Dark Woman said, noting the shape and design, a balance of intimidating and utilitarian.

"One of these fully armed and maned could overpower most systems," Qui-Gon admitted grimly, studying it. "Though, I doubt this was in-fighting, among whoever follows Vader."

"What makes you so sure?" the Dark Woman asked curiously.

"You've been chasing him for years," Obi-Wan reminded. "Do you think he'd leave this to be found so easily?"

She remained silent, but her silent agreement was felt in the Force.

A series of beeps and whistles drew their attention to R2 behind them.

"You think you'll be able to salvage anything of use out of there?" Obi-Wan asked skeptically.

R2 rocked back and forth in indignation, to Anakin's amusement. "Well, now he's going to insist on trying," Anakin said with a chuckle as he took a device R2 held out with his small mechanical arm.

"What is that?" Obi-Wan asked as Anakin leaned between the pilot seats, attaching the object to the console.

"Relay for R2, we'll be able to see whatever he sees," Anakin supplied. "Okay, you're good R2. Just be careful, we don't know if there are any space creatures out here."

R2 beeped before rolling away.

"Is there something special about that droid?" the Dark Woman asked idly.

"If by special you mean terrifyingly competent, then yes," Anakin answered smugly.

"We're not sure why, he simply is," Obi-wan explained.

She filed that away as they grew silent, for R2D2 was now outside the ship, floating through space and guided by his boosters.

The astromech droid carefully worked his way through the wreckage, finding himself dodging the larger pieces of debris while ignoring the smaller ones. He slowly scanned the area as he went, letting the organics get a proper view of everything.

Including the bodies. Many human corpses were floating all about the void. Some were more intact than others, all preserved by the unforgiving chill of the void. He even spied droid bodies too, floating about with empty batteries and little chance of ever being recharged. He let out a low beep of sympathy.

He eventually reached an opening into the destroyed ship, leading into a hallway. With some maneuvering of his thrusters and careful timing, he eventually landed inside, his rollers magnetizing to keep him steady with the floor.

There were more bodies in here, many more. Some were in grey uniforms, most in white armor. They had to have held on for part of the depressurization, keeping them from being flung into space, only to die in the ship from a lack of atmosphere.

He ignored them as best he could, rolling up the hall until he found a terminal he could interface with. He wasted no time inserting himself into it, hoping there was still some power in the backup systems, otherwise there would be nothing for him to access.

Luckily, there was. Granted, the data was corrupted and incomplete from all the damage the ship had taken.

"Class: Star Destroyer MKI. Designation: Tyrant," the Dark Woman read off with a frown.

"I can see Darth Vader naming a ship that," Anakin admitted freely.

"Really? I'm not sure I can imagine him bothering to name anything," Obi-Wan quipped as he looked over the incoming data. "20 ATATs and 30 ATSTs? What are those?"

"R2? Anything?" Qui-Gon asked, getting a series of negative beeps. "Either the data is incomplete or they expect the crew to know what those are. I'd at least assume the "AT" stands for All-Terrain."

R2 listened to the chattering of the humans as he idly searched for anything useful that he could access.

He stopped as he sensed a tremor in the ship. Not a big one, like an explosion, but something nearer and softer. Beeping in concern, he scanned the hall, peering further into the ship. But through the floating debris and bodies, he did not see anything of interest or concern. There was another thud, causing him to turn to face the hall he came from- and nearly jump out of his plating as his self-preservation programs went into overdrive.

In front of him was a large, scaly bat-like creature that was dark crimson in color. But it had no face, only a giant mouth, filled with row after row of glowing, needle-like teeth.

"R2! Get out of there, that's a Gralloc!" Anakin called over the signal.

R2 already knew exactly what this was, all astromechs had files on dangerous creatures like this: Large, space-borne animals that could live in the vacuum between worlds and, more importantly, ate energy. Energy from ships and...from droids.

So R2 would have indeed fled already if he hadn't noticed something very important, and beeped that information to Anakin and the others.

"It's dead?" Anakin asked in surprise, prompting R2 to direct attention to the fact that the creature was floating listlessly and unmoving. "But how did that happen?"

R2 was considering that himself, trying to see if something was behind the creature.

However, something tapped him on the top of his headpiece, twice.

R2 turned around completely and looked up at his apparent savior, beeping loudly in surprise.

Needless to say, all the humans on the ship were silent as they saw Darth Vader standing in the hallway.

At least until Obi-Wan felt the need to make an observation. "Okay, this time he showed up in space to save a droid."