Chapter 48

"Vader, what happened on that planet?"

Vader stared at the communication feed. While his mask hides his facial expression, his posture told the Jedi enough; he was troubled by what happened as well.

"I have no idea, Jedi," Vader answered honestly. Because he didn't know what happened. He only had an inkling as to why it happened. "The planet is breaking apart rapidly. I doubt that it will be able to trouble anyone else."

Qui-Gon narrowed his eyes slightly. "How's it feel, Vader? Being on this side of things for a change?"

The Dark Lord said nothing.

"A mysterious event happening, something you can't explain entirely, and you have no idea how to deal with it?" he elaborated.

Now Vader simply refused to respond. "Do what you please, Jedi. I have no business left in this sector. Skywalker, remember what we discussed."

"Which time?" Anakin asked in confusion.

The feed was cut. Not even two minutes later, they witnessed Vader's ship making a hyperspace jump out of the system.

"What did you talk about, exactly?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"Again, which time?" Anakin repeated, rubbing his head. "I need to work on holding my lightsaber better, asked me if I've had any unexplained visions lately, asked how I was doing at the temple, gave me some advice on throwing a lightsaber, we somehow ended up talking about our least favorite planets, asked what Master Qui-Gon has been feeding me."

"That sounds less like Vader and more like a parental figure," Obi-Wan observed.

"In his defense, that last one was because I, or that version of me, started vomiting," Anakin answered thoughtfully. "Can't remember what caused that now though, too many unimportant memories."

"There is no such thing as unimportant memories," The Dark Woman advised.

"You say that, but I have about three sets of memories of me and Master Qui-Gon just making jokes about Obi-Wan's luck," Anakin said in amusement. "Honestly, it's hard to sort everything out. It's like all one big tangled ball of strings."

"Perfect analogy," Qui-Gon agreed, rubbing his own temple. "We should return to Coruscant. The Council should know about this."

"Qui-Gon Jinn, reporting to the council? Are we sure he's the real one?" Obi-Wan asked with a tired laugh.

"I'll gladly keep them informed and seek out their wisdom," Qui-Gon said with a small smile. "I'll also happily ignore it for my own if I don't agree,"

The Dark Woman sighed. "Skywalker, everything else aside, please don't take after your master too much."

"I'm more worried about taking after Obi-Wan at this point," Anakin said idly. "Back to the temple then? Well, Artoo could use a good tune-up and cleaning before we head back to the swamps."

"Yes, and your adoring fans have nothing to with it," Obi-Wan teased.

"...Fans?" The Dark Woman inquired as Anakin looked embarrassed.

"He means Anakin's friends among the younglings and Padawans," Qui-Gon corrected with a chuckle. "You'll see."

The Dark Woman wasn't sure she'd want to.

Meanwhile

Vader half expected something, anything else to go wrong. With something as fundamental as time experiencing...problems, nothing was certain anymore. But his jump through Hyperspace was highly uneventful.

He spent the entire time staring at the crystal. Something that had arrived in his possession through a ripple in time.

It was an unpleasant shade of green-yellow and looked to all like a crude yet natural crystal of some sort. None would suspect that it had played a part in creating the main weapon for the Death Star…if the Death Star had ever existed as more than an idea yet, but the point still stood.

He had no intention of creating that thing in this timeline. Destroying planets was just a waste. For Jedi, it would be a moral choice. And on some level, it even was for Vader. There was a point where destruction became excessive and self-indulgent, where it served no purpose than for destruction itself.

Vader felt the Dark Side wrapped around him, and on this topic, it did not try to tempt him. The Dark Side was, amazingly, impartial to the existence of the Death Star. Yes, the terror and death of an entire planet going out would feed it in ways few other methods could. But even the bloated might of the Dark Side could gorge itself on only so much at once. And once it was over, there would be nothing left of that world. No sorrow, no hatred, no perverse joy, or turning respect into envy, or love into resentment. And no place for people to find, to haunt them.

Wounds in the Force didn't make for good feeding anyway.

No, the Dark Side would take the feast if offered, but didn't push for it.

Which suited Vader just fine, but he did wish the Dark Side could give him some sign or inkling as to what this all meant.

There was a problem with Time itself.

The true question was, how did that problem relate to him?

Was the problem caused by his travel to the past, by all the changes he had made?

Or was he a symptom of the problem? Had time already been compromised, and that was what led to his trip to the past?

Was he the egg, or the newly hatched dragon that emerged from its shell?

It had been five years without incident but that didn't mean anything. Life had been traveling the galaxy for at least twenty-five THOUSAND years, and life had existed in more primitive forms for millions before that. Five years or thirty years, both were a blip in the breath of time.

But regardless of if he was the symptom or the cause, how did he even attempt to fix things? It wasn't like there was a physical or even spiritual rift in time that he could use the Force to close and heal.

Vader frowned as no answer, not even a sensation came from the Force, the Dark or the Light; neither had an answer.

That was far more concerning than most could understand. The Dark Side will always try to reach out to a Jedi, even one like Master Yoda or Qui-Gon. And despite what the Jedi thought, the Light Side still reached out to the Sith and other Dark Siders. Those who use one side largely ignored the opposite, and Vader was no exception to that. But having once been a Jedi when he walked as Anakin Skywalker, he still noticed the Light Side at the edges of his senses; he still heard it wanting to answer him.

For neither side of the Force to have any kind of answer was...ominous.

The Dark Side's embrace was rarely a comfort, unless one was taking comfort in their own power, but just being there was a reassurance to Vader. It had no answer, but it was there.

His systems started beeping, alerting him to his jump coming to an end. The streams of Hyperspace died away as he reentered real space.

His navigations showed the correct destination: the Ileenium System.

"Lord Vader, we received your signal. Do you read, My Lord?" an officer called over the lines.

"I am here," Vader answered.

"Roger. Welcome back, Sir."

Vader didn't return the words, simply making his way to one of the three planets in the system.

D'Qar.

The system was off the hyperspace lanes, and no one had been here in hundreds of years. Even in his original timeline, this planet hadn't been on anyone's radar, save perhaps the Rebels.

D'Qar itself was a verdant world of temperate forests. Its sky was decorated by the large ring system around the planet, visible by day but shining by night.

Off the trail, unpopulated, and no history of Dark Side activity; Perfect place for a Sith Lord to call home, where a Jedi wouldn't suspect he'd set up base.

He drew close to the planet, spying six star destroyers in orbit around it. In another time, that might be overkill.

He glanced to the side, his gaze searching and finding a large asteroid that he knew had a makeshift space station built onto it. Several miles above it and away from the Ring of D'Qar, there was an incomplete shipyard…one step forward to being self-sufficient.

Speak of which, he dived down into the atmosphere. He knew the location of the planet-side bases by heart now, just by the greater landmarks of the world.

Beyond a mountain and into the valley with a relatively thin area of trees sat a maroon star destroyer. The Avenger had been severely damaged, and they had not the means to fix it at the time. It was decided to land it on the planet and convert it into a base, salvaging many parts of it to repair other star destroyers.

The Avenger had undergone various modifications, its edges lined with a balcony now, and even landing pads. Of which Vader docked on a particularly large one.

There was a group of troopers awaiting him, each saluting on sight of the Dark Lord. "Welcome home, Lord Vader," one of the troopers greeted.

Home. He supposed that was what this place was for his fellow time travelers now. Him? He sometimes wondered if he ever knew what "home" really meant.

"Where is Admiral Pyrl?"

It was as much a question as it was a demand.

"There was a meeting, Sir. There have been some...minor issues since your departure," the trooper answered.

Vader's stare was all the soldier needed to know that was not a sufficient explanation.

"There was some manner of creature, Sir, that was causing trouble in the agricultural sectors," the trooper elaborated quickly.

There was only one reason why some creature would require a meeting. "How many dead?"

"Four, Sir. Possibly five. We thought one had become a deserter," the trooper answered dutifully.

They thought until the attacks started. It went unsaid, but it was implied.

Without another word, Vader headed into the belly of the ship. Normally, the Avenger was a bit busier than this. It was essentially the central hub for the entire Death Squadron when they were not outside the system. Officers, troopers, and engineers all came and went from all the different ships. Meetings, repairs, training, and more happened here.

He was acutely aware of the mouse droid following at his heels. He checked and rechecked its wiring and programming. There was no fault or tampering, but this one insisted on following him where he went. It did its job, so Vader allowed the droid to continue functioning.

Vader walked into the room and was unsurprised to see a collection of officers and a few select others around the circular meeting table.

He did take pause to take in the holographic image displayed in the middle of the room. It was of a creature; Green, ungainly, with bat-like wings. The mouth was huge, and it had many tendrils to draw prey in. And said prey was the image of a man. By that alone, it was a fairly large creature, similar to a rancor in mass if not height.

"Lord Vader," Admiral Pyrl saluted, as did everyone else in the room. "I apologize for not being there to meet you at your return, Sir, but-"

"I can plainly see the circumstances, Admiral," Vader stated bluntly, obviously still staring at the hologram. "Why was this creature not put down?"

A man in uniform stood. "If I may?" he requested, glancing at both of them for permission…to Vader to speak, to Pyrl to explain.

When Pyrl did not speak up, Vader did. "Speak, General Felk."

He nodded, his shoulders just a touch tense, his green eyes looking Vader straight in the eye as best he could. "My Lord, this creature is a sturdy sort. Normal blasters seemed to only enrage it, and it left before any of the big guns could aim at it."

"Intelligent?" Vader pressed.

"No, Sir, it appeared to just be...enjoying its meal," Felk said carefully. "In the years we've been here, there have been no reports of such a thing."

"Some things, general, lay dormant for many lifetimes before choosing the time to awaken," Vader said wisely. "It views us as easy prey. It will return. Be ready, General, or I will be forced to take matters into my own hands.

"Of course, My Lord," Felk assured, knowing a warning when he heard it. "We were just going over the security plans. While they have not been used since the Avenger was marooned, its turrets are still functional. That, with an extra patrol in the agricultural division and a station of AT-STs, will either deal with the creature or drive it away. If so, Speeders will be at the ready to track it to its nest."

"Very well, General," Vader accepted evenly.

Vader had been very unlikely to kill his subordinates in recent years. But there were certain times when gross incompetence or similar forced him to make an example of others. It was still best to use a bit of fear to keep everyone properly motivated. "Is there anything else to discuss?"

"No, Sir," Pyrl said evenly.

She was lying. Vader could tell. And in an instant, she knew he had noticed.

"Everyone is dismissed," Pyrl commanded. "Return to your posts and obey General Felk's instructions."

Vader watched as they filtered out. Many gave a nod his ways, but a few were too angry or sad to pay him much mind.

Some looked almost happy to see he had returned. He would likely never get accustomed to that.

"If I might ask, Lord Vader, was the matter in the Seidell System taken care of?" Pyrl asked with polite curiosity.

"The weapon that decimated our Star Destroyer has been neutralized, "Vader answered without giving much away. "What is on your mind, Admiral?"

She held up a brave front before sighing and looking away. "Funeral arrangements, Sir."

Vader lifted his helm ever so slightly.

"We...just had one. For the dead, aboard the Tyrant. It feels all too grim to have another already," Pyrl explained solemnly.

Vader wasn't sure when the moods of the time-traveling imperials had changed exactly. Every time they found another ship from their timeline, brought more back into the Death Squadron, the collective crews grew happier to find more familiarity in the increasingly foreign place the past had become. They were loyal to him, but the relationship in the ranks was becoming increasingly close-knit, familial almost.

Order did not suffer from it, and discipline did not waver. They were all simply doing what sentient creatures always did: clinging to whatever happiness they could find.

"I have news of the Executor."

Pyrl went from solemn to confused to surprised faster than a lightsaber could extend. "Truly, Lord Vader? How?"

"While dealing with the matter, I encountered a group of Jedi. Among them was the master known as the Dark Woman," Vader explained.

"The one that has been tailing you, and investigating sightings of us," Pyrl recalled with some displeasure.

Vader nodded. "She attempted to question me, but in doing so, gave away what she knew. She is aware the Death Squadron exists. Not the name or the numbers, but she is aware. But she spoke of rumors of a ship, which match the description of the Executor.

"But how can that be? The Executor has been missing for five years. It should have been seen years ago when it ran out of supplies," Pyrl questioned.

"That would be correct, if not for what I found on the Tyrant," Vader said as he approached the table's holographic control, inserting a device.

The image of the creature was replaced with a blue screen of words, many of them changing every second. "The Tyrant's diagnostic systems, during the attack?" Pyrl realized. They both watched in silence as the blue screen turned to a flashing red as various systems flashed before it all went to a halt.

"I'm sorry, Lord Vader, but what am I supposed to be looking at?" Pyrl questioned as she processed what she had seen. All statuses were normal, then a massive hull breach, oxygen and atmosphere plummeting, rupturing in several areas and then it all just froze. That was about standard for these kinds of readings, those of a ship being destroyed.

"You don't notice it, Admiral?" he asked, playing it again.

It was a morbid thing, but Pyrl had experienced many such reports, even before traveling through time. But what was she missing...? "Wait."

Vader didn't even look at her as he highlighted the important detail. "It wasn't a glitch, Admiral," he said, repeating it once more.

"The timestamps. That would have been only days after we came to the past," Pyrl realized.

"That ship has been destroyed for no more than a year, maybe less," Vader confirmed without a doubt.

Pyrl swallowed. "Lord Vader, wouldn't that imply that-"

"That some of the Death Squadron arrived not only at different destinations in space, but in time as well," Vader confirmed. "Like a hyperjump through time. Even if a fleet does it all in sync, some ships will arrive earlier or later than the rest."

"So, that would mean that Executor could be-" Pyrl realized with wide eyes. "Oh no. If they only recently arrived, that could spell disaster. They have no idea what's going on and Admiral Ozzel never dealt well with unfamiliar situations."

"Indeed, he did not," Vader agreed darkly. Ozzel was just as likely to not believe reality and take the Executor straight to Coruscant, or accept he was in the past and try to use the Executor for his own ambitions. Neither was favorable. "We must put every effort to locate the Executor."

"Yes, yes, of course," Pyrl agreed quickly, eyes wide slightly as she tried to wrap her head around this. They had known the Death Squadron was separated in the jump to the past but never had they thought they had arrived ahead of them or- "My Lord?" she asked suddenly. "If it is possible for them to arrive after us...is it possible they have arrived before us?" Pyrl asked numbly.

"Almost definitely. Yet, history has not changed that greatly. If ships have arrived before us, their actions have had no overt effect on the galaxy as far as we can tell," Vader agreed. "Admiral? Have the funerals after this creature is slain."

"What?" Pyrl asked, surprised by the sudden change in topic.

"More may die to it still. Put them all to rest at once," Vader rationalized. "After all, this ship is still called the Avenger."

With that, he left without another word, the mouse droid trailing behind him. If he had looked back, he might have seen Pyrl's small smile.

Meanwhile

The trip to Coruscant was mostly peaceful. The Dark Woman found herself quietly meditating while listening to the sounds of Qui-Gon with his form and current Padawans, all regaling each other with some story or another. It was obvious to her that she was an outsider despite being welcomed among them. Then again, that was mainly her own doing at this point, she accepted that at least.

Her face flinched and the talks grew silent, even before they came out of hyperspace. "We're here," she said needlessly.

None of the males said anything as they headed up to the cockpit, to look out at the great heart of the republic.

From space, it looked much like it always had. None could tell with the naked eye that anything was amiss with the planet-wide city.

But those with the Force could.

The Force Storm, brought forth by the vile hatred of Darth Sidious, had left a Scar in the Force, as the order had deemed it. Not a true Wound in the Force, thank the stars, but it was still something...harsh. Something unsettling, contrasted by the calming beacon that was the Jedi Temple. It felt dimmer than it had before the incidents from five years ago, but there nonetheless.

It was only when one descended down into the atmosphere near where the Flats had once been did someone start to notice something was wrong with this area of the planet. It was not just the local area of damage left after the storm; it was the emptiness of people and traffic in the general area outside of that as well. Few went near there, for good reason.

They landed their ship at the temple, stepping back onto the Temple for the first time in what felt like ages, but had been a few months or days at most for any of them.

The Dark Woman raised an eyebrow as the three came to a halt, Anakin wearing an expectant smile, while the other two appeared to be patiently waiting. "Is there a reason for the delay?"

"Give her a moment," Anakin said knowingly.

"Her?" the Dark Woman repeated with a frown, wondering who he was talking about.

The Force decided to answer her.

"Sky-Guy!"

A small Togruta girl came barreling out of the temple so fast, she might have been using Force Dash as she leaped towards Anakin and embraced him.

"Snips!" Anakin greeted, returning the hug.

"You're back!" she cheered. "Did you get eaten? Did you learn anything new? Did you get kidnapped again?"

The Dark Woman resisted the urge for her eyebrow to twitch.

"No, but Obi-Wan kind of did," Anakin answered, nodding to him.

Ahsoka turned and seemed to only just now notice him. "Hi, Kenobiwan!"

"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan greeted with a deadpan, cursing Anakin for spreading that nickname.

Ahsoka turned to smile at Qui-Gon as well. "Master Qui-Gon. Did Anakin take the ship for another joy ride?"

"Another?" The Dark Woman repeated.

"Ahsoka, for the last time, it wasn't a joy ride, I was sleep racing," Anakin said with a cringe.

Somehow, that alarmed the Dark Woman even more.

Anakin caught her look. "It was one time. I tried to think about pod-racing while I was meditating, and well...we learned I shouldn't do that."

Qui-Gon coughed not-so-discreetly. "Anakin, how about you go with Ahsoka. I'm sure the younglings are dying to hear your stories."

"Are you sure? Won't the council want to ask me about what happened?" Anakin asked.

"Oh I'm sure at some point," Qui-Gon agreed. "We'll send for you whenever the meeting starts. Just don't tell them about that moon."

"That's fine, I'll just tell them about Dagobah," Anakin said cheekily. "Come on, Snips."

Qui-Gon sighed fondly. "That boy is going to be my last Padawan. I don't have the strength for another."

"Did you think training the Chosen One would be easy, Master?" Obi-Wan couldn't help but rib.

"Won't he be disrupting the young ones and their training?" The Dark Woman asked with an even stare. "Or do you just allow him to do as he pleases?"

Both Jedi turned very serious at that. "I'm surprised," Qui-Gon said, almost disappointed. "For all your effort to learn about an elusive Sith Lord, you've done little to keep tabs on what's gone on in the temple."

Now the Dark Woman looked concerned. "What is it?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "Back when Sidious was wreaking havoc before the battle even began? His hold over the Dark Side allowed him to torment any Force-User that wasn't strong enough to hold him at bay."

"Vader's March shocked them, yes. But it was almost a mercy in a way. It prepared many younger Jedi against the sadistic machinations Sidious unleashed on them," Qui-Gon explained.

"You think he planned that?" The Dark Woman asked skeptically.

"Oh no. That was a happy accident on his part," Qui-Gon said confidently. "But many of the younglings were..."

"Traumatized," Obi-Wan summed up in a blunt yet honest fashion "Even long after his death, the terror Sidious unleashed still haunts some young minds."

"Anakin has been helping them," Qui-Gon continued.

The Dark Woman raised an eyebrow, but her surprise was of a pleasant nature. "How?"

Qui-Gon smiled strangely. "He doesn't know. He just does. His being near, that helps them. Most of them are recovered by now, or near so. But Anakin likes to check up on them still. He probably will until they all cease being younglings."

"So, Skywalker spends time with Younglings, to help them heal," the Dark Woman said with a small smile. "And the young Togruta…is she one of them?"

"That is a longer story for another time," Obi-Wan said with a knowing sigh.

At the Dark Woman's confusion, Qui-Gon shrugged with an apologetic smile. "It's complicated."

"What isn't, in these times?" she retorted meaningfully.