'Master...should we...do something about the Sith?' Obi Wan mentally inquired to Qui Gon, via telepathy. Having conversations like this wasn't always the easiest of tricks, but it got simpler with repeated use, especially on the same target and more so with a willing one that was force sensitive.
'On what grounds, Padawan? He's made no hostile action to us and is aiding a recognized leader of a republic planet. The only thing he's guilty of is looking far more intimidating than needed and PROBABLY being a Sith. Neither of which are a recognized crime in the republic,' Qui Gon pointed out.
'Probably, Master?' Obi Wan asked with a raised eyebrow.
'Don't mistake me, Padawan: If this man is not technically a Sith, he is still someone equally as dangerous in the Dark Side. But there isn't much of a way to prove to a non-sensitive that someone is a Sith,' Qui Gon explained, 'Even if we did apprehend him, we'd have to explain it to the Queen.'
'...I get the distinct impression that wouldn't go well,' Obi Wan thought uneasily.
"If you are quite finished chatting, Jedi?" Darth Vader asked suddenly from the front, as the group stopped at the entrance to the hangar, "We could use you in the front."
More than a few of the Nabooians raised an eyebrow at that comment while the Jedi barely caught their stiffening before it occurred. Shaking off their unease with grace, they came to the front with the Queen, Governor, Captain, and Sith, 'Sounds like the start to a bad joke,' Obi Wan couldn't help thinking, as they made sure to stand on the opposite side of the Sith.
Vader seemed to minutely glance at Obi Wan, making the Padawan wonder if the dark-sider had some highly advanced telepathy to hear the stray thought. In the end, the cyborg glanced back to the gap in the door, looking into the hanger filled with droids and prisoners, "There are between twenty and thirty droids in that hanger," Darth Vader summarized.
"We're going to need to free those hostages," Panaka stated for confirmation, getting a nod from the Dark Lord.
'By the Force, what idiots would keep prisoners, let alone enemy pilots, in the hanger filled with Starfighters and a ship?' Darth Vader couldn't help pondering over the incompetency of the Trade Federation sometimes, "Governor, you are staying?" Vader asked knowingly, sensing the man's intent.
The older man nodded dutifully, "While the queen is needed at the senate, someone does need to remain here for the direct role of trying to aid our people, despite what little that now is," Bibble answered without fear.
"Admirable," Darth Vader acknowledged with a brief nod, before looking to the ambassadors, "Jedi, you take the half on the right; I'll deal with the half on the left."
"There's twice as many on the left," Obi Wan commented with a raised eyebrow.
"Very observant, Padawan," Vader said dryly, getting a scowl from his teacher-from-the-former-timeline, "Captain, get everyone on that ship as quickly as possible. I trust you can handle any stray droids that may be within it," He ordered before turning to the Queen, "Unless you have reason to delay, it is time to go, Your Highness," Vader warned, his lightsaber already in hand.
"At your ready, Lord Vader," The queen accepted with a regal nod.
The Jedi, still a bit uneasy about the Sith, mentally agreed on one thing- they didn't have a better plan. In fact, that more or less was Qui Gon's plan any way, so any disagreement would seem pettier than anything else.
The droids and prisoners looked to the group instantly, the breath of Vader drawing the attention of all that would hear. An OOM Commander Droid stepped forward as the gap between them grew ever shorter. And while this droid knew this being had an odd appearance, he did not recognize such things as inherently threatening, "Where are you taking these prisoners?" The droid inquired to the dark humanoid creature.
"We are here to relieve you of duty, Commander," Vader answered ominously.
"On whose orders? I received no such directives," The droid asked with a head tilt.
'Hmm, some competency, at least. Shame,' Vader privately mused before answering, "Mine."
With that, the OOM droid found his head dislodged by a subtle force push, landing into another droid's hands and knocking his blaster aside. Before the confused droids could pull up their blasters, Vader sent them flinging back with a wave of his left hand, destroying several of them against pillars and the wall while scattering the rest. The prisoners took this chance to rise and flee while the Jedi dealt with the droids closer to the ship. Panaka led the guards, handmaidens, and Queen into the ship while the Force-Users did their work.
As he looked out from the ramp, he witnessed Obi Wan slice through two droids, one behind and in front of him, in a single swing. He looked another way and saw Qui Gon deflecting blaster shots with little effort at all, most hitting a droid as a result. But Darth Vader was the true spectacle; with a flick of his fingers, he crushed four droids between the large cargo crates they were using as cover. With an amount of skill that was practically a silent brag, he deflected shots back at the same blasters that fired them. Every minute movement led to either a subtle dodge of a laser, a deadly swing of his lightsaber or his mastery of the force scrapping droids.
Soon, there was only one droid left, letting off a feeble blast shot as one last attempt at downing the monstrous warrior. Rather than dodging it or deflecting it, Darth Vader did the last thing any of them expected. He raised his hand and somehow blocked the blaster with his palm. The droid, its processor stumped, didn't have time to fire again before Vader closed his palm and crushed the blaster and the droid's chest into a mangled mess.
Carefully scanning the room for a second, he turned back to the ship and headed up the ramp, taking in the three faces as he did. Panaka looked purely amazed and surprised, Obi Wan was leaning back and seemed just a bit intimidated and Qui Gon hid most of what he was feeling and merely raised an eyebrow at the carnage.
"Glad you're on our side," Panaka muttered as they headed in as well.
'Master?...Did you know one could force-deflect a blaster like that?' Obi Wan mentally inquired as they went in after the Sith.
'Yes...but that's the first time I've actually seen it, Padawan,' Qui Gon answered slowly, the ship taking off, "So, Darth Vader, was it?" he asked to the Sith Lord, "Interesting name. Not one easily came by, I imagine."
"There is no need to mince words, Jedi," Darth Vader said, glancing at Jar Jar sitting in the droid room with a nervous rocking. It was quite obvious that the Gungan hadn't flown before, "You know exactly what my name means."
"You admit to being a Sith?" Obi Wan asked in surprise.
Vader regarded the Padawan evenly before answering, "My beliefs and practices, as far as the Republic is concerned, are the business of no one but myself. That includes the Jedi, regardless of what your order and council may believe," He answered coolly, "Personally, I have no desire to have a religious debate while this ship tries to escape a blockade," He reminded pointedly as he walked past them.
"Well...that went well," Obi Wan observed, not sure if he was being sarcastic or not, shivering a bit, "Is it cold in here or is just me?"
"It's him, actually," Qui Gon explained as they headed to the cockpit, the Sith already there as they left the atmosphere.
"There's the blockade," The pilot noted, his hands tense at the controls, waiting for the shots to start.
"Now we shall see if their accuracy with turrets is the same as with blasters," Vader mused, mostly to himself, but his modifier made it audible to everyone.
As if taking his words as a challenge, the cannons started to fire at the Nubian ship. To everyone's relief and the Sith's annoyance, most of the blasts missed or skimmed the ship. However, that didn't mean all of them, "Shields are down!" The pilot announced, already sending out the astrodroids to try and repair the generator.
The three force sensitives watched the events intently. However, the Jedi both noted Darth Vader's now distinctive force-chill, as Obi Wan was mentally dubbing it, grew even colder for a moment. Qui Gon, his apprentice still distracted by the feeling, also noted the subtle turn of the Sith's hands...and that was when the Jedi Master noticed the that cannons of the two nearest transport freighters were getting more and more off the mark.
'Well, there's one thing that's Sith-like: He doesn't hesitate to use the force in any situation, even in excess,' Qui Gon noted in exasperation. The more time he was around this person, the more confused he was. And the Force, for once, left him with more question than answers. Nothing from the force screamed at him to attack or flee or distrust this Dark Sider like he would expect it to. His baser instincts told him to hide on a primitive moon somewhere, but that had more to do with the presence Darth Vader carried about him than anything rational. Qui Gon was far more open minded than many of the Jedi Masters, but this was a puzzle he was still just trying to comprehend, let alone try to explain it to the Jedi Council, 'On the bright side, I might get to see the entire Council speechless and/or slack jawed. Assuming this Darth Vader doesn't betray us, that might make this whole headache worth it,' Qui Gon thought, trying not to smirk.
Darth Vader, however, scowled beneath his helmet, 'I may have interfered a bit too much too early,' he thought to himself as the ship shook from the shots impacting the shield.
"Shields are holding, barely," The pilot announced as they closed in and maneuvered around one of the freighters, "And...we're clear!" He announced with a sigh of relief, quickly getting out of cannon range.
"Pilot, check the systems before making the jumps," Vader warned, an edge to his tone, 'Unless I'm mistaken, Artoo fixed the shield generators during their escape in the original timeline. Not to mention the leaking hyperdrive,' He mused to himself.
The Jedi raised an eyebrow at each other while the captain followed that suggestion and cursed, "Shit, the null quantum field generator is damaged," He explained, biting his lip thoughtfully. Without that, entering hyperspace was dangerous as it shielded the ship from harmful energies, kept the ship from exiting too early and basically kept hyperspace from shredding and/or crushing them.
Vader nodded briefly, "I thought I sensed something. Is it still operational?" He questioned.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't risk a ride all the way to Coruscant. If we took several smaller trips, maybe, but even then..." The pilot trailed off, leaving the meaning hanging.
"We'll have to land some place closer to have it repaired," Qui-Gon summarized, "Preferably some place without a Trade Federation presence."
"Master, I think I found some place," Obi-wan started, sitting at one of the terminals. The dark lord privately marveled at how fast he did that, "Tatooine: Small, out of the way, poor-"
"-lawless, sand-covered, infested with every kind of lowlife imaginable, and the kind of place the republic likes to forget exists," Darth Vader finished frostily, looking upwards a bit, "To summarize, the perfect place to hide, Padawan," He added on. Whether or not it was sarcastic was anyone's guess.
Everyone in the cockpit, and several people standing outside it, looked at the Sith with curious and surprised eyes, "I take you've been there before?" Qui-Gon asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Unfortunately," Darth Vader answered flatly.
"And you're sure the Trade Federation doesn't have a presence there?" Panaka interrupted with a raised eyebrow.
"Not many Neimoidians, let alone Nute Gunray, would think to take on the Hutt," Vader answered pointedly.
"The Hutt?!" Panaka asked in surprise, outraged that they would consider taking the queen there.
"What better place to hide from a rancor, Captain, than under a krayt dragon?" The Sith countered simply, "Especially when the dragon isn't aware of you."
"Not the words I would have used-" Qui-Gon interrupted as he stood at the Sith's side, at least on this matter, "-but he is correct, Captain."
Panaka seemed to seethe a bit before nodding in non-verbal defeat. Without another word, Vader made his leave.
'Master?' Obi-wan mentally called.
'Yes, Obi-wan?' Qui-Gon answered, resisting the urge to even mentally sigh at this moment.
'We're heading to a planet...that a Sith wouldn't want to go to?' Obi-wan asked for clarification, obviously a bit alarmed by that little fact.
'No, my young Padawan: we're heading to a planet that THIS Sith doesn't like,' Qui-Gon answered, his tone wary as well.
'Master?' Obi-wan asked, raising an eyebrow in Qui-Gon's direction.
'One option is that this place is truly that bad, the other is that he has a bad experience with this world- possibly even what pushed him into the Dark Side,' Qui-Gon elaborated, 'Or, of course, both.'
'Force help us all if it's both,' Obi-Wan thought with a mental groan, not wanting to see this Dark-Sider get truly enraged.
Meanwhile, the Dark Lord of the Sith allowed his shoulders to sag slightly in relief, 'I underestimated my influence for a moment. While never seeing Tatooine again would be one of my greatest wishes come true, I'd rather not leave my younger self on his own...or my mother,' Vader mentally mused, gripping his hand tightly. Some of the implications of time travel were still setting in for him. As he had no true plan of returning to his own time, he had no intention of 'keeping to the script' as it were, as it would be a futile effort. That didn't mean he didn't want certain things to happen: like this timeline's Anakin being freed and hopefully trained in the force. And if he had to, he'd do it himself, but...well, that would complicated too many of his other plans-in-the-making.
"Heyo? Ex squeezee me?" Jar Jar called, looking nervously at the large humanoid strolling into the droid room.
"What?" Vader asked neutrally at the creature that had been a friendly acquaintance for half of his life, 'How he survived for so long after the formation of the Empire, is a mystery I'd prefer not to test,' Vader mused. While Jar Jar wasn't inherently dangerous, the Jedi Slayer suspected the Gungan's accidents were guided by the Force at times. That or Karma was as real as the Force and it repaid Jar Jar's apparent incompetence with survivalist based luck.
In short, Darth Vader was mindful to keep his senses on alert around the clumsy amphibian.
"Do yu be needeen sometheen?" Jar Jar asked with a shaky grin.
"No," Vader answered simply.
"Okay day! Mesa just be goin then," Jar Jar said quickly with a weak chuckle, excusing himself from the area.
Darth Vader turn to look at the astrodroids, all looking at him for a moment before an all too familiar blue one started beeping, "You're welcome," Vader said, smirking as the droid's head spun around rapidly in surprise that he understood him.
"That wasn't very nice, you know," A female voice called from behind him. He only barely kept a firm grip on his emotions at the sound of her voice, the first time he had heard it clear in decades, "He was only offering to help," Padme scolded, sounding a bit amused rather than upset.
"He was also terrified. I merely gave him the excuse to leave the area," Vader countered effortlessly as he turned to face her, "Should a handmaiden not be with her queen?" He asked plainly. Maybe it was just his age back then, but he could definitely see difference between Padme now and in her prime. Her hair would darken a few shades within the decade, contradicting the stereotype of politics giving someone white hairs. Her body was either still filling out some last minute details or his current height made her seem smaller, it was hard to guess. And that passion in her eyes was fierier and less steely, less refined from experience.
It was only now that he realized he was three times as old as Padme rather than being a few years younger than her.
It was one of the few moments in his time as a Sith Lord that he had felt awkward.
"The Queen was being brought up to speed on this plan of yours and asked me to check on you, Lord Vader," Padme answered coolly, "I'm Padme. You have our thanks for saving us," She introduced respectfully.
"You should save your gratitude for after Naboo no longer has a droid army occupying it," Darth Vader retorted.
"You don't think we'll be able to get what we need on Tatooine?" Padme asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Quite the opposite. For all its faults, Tatooine is never in short supply of small treasures in terms of items and parts, if one is willing to wade through the filth and contend with the locals," He assured, glancing at the astrodroids, "It's acquiring aid from the republic you should be concerned with."
"You don't believe the senate will aid us?" Padme asked with a scowl.
"While I am not a supporter of the Trade Federation, their motives are not entirely baseless," Darth Vader answered idly, "The total amount of corruption in the Senate can be debated to every end of the galaxy, but the fact that it exist is of little dispute. And the sheer size of the legislature is cause for an inefficient government."
"I do not argue that all governments are imperfect," Padme acknowledged with a nod, wondering where this was going.
"If the Trade Federation is willing to go this far, they will undoubtedly use that corruption and inefficiency to their advantage. By the time the Senate is willing or able to 'legally' send aid, your Queen will find herself either a queen of corpses or a queen in name only, depending on if she surrenders for the sake of your people in the long run," Darth Vader answered, "And while I mean no offense, it is likely they targeted Naboo for its historical love of democracy and lack of a standing army," he added on, just thinking of that himself.
"So, you believe that going to Coruscant is a waste of time?" Padme asked evenly.
"Most likely. However, in the long run, it is for the best that you did," Vader answered mysteriously, getting a curious look, "Unlikely as it might be, if you had simply took up arms against them and managed to ward them off, the Trade Federation would be able to spin the story any way they wish before the Senate. If you attempt diplomacy first and make it clear the state they are keeping Naboo in while they occupy it? No matter how they deny it, the idea of your people suffering will pull at some sympathies and to save face and keep up appearances, many of the corrupt senators will join in as well. While it won't be an immediate aid, it could speed things along and put things in Naboo's favor later on," he explained.
"...You seem to have put a lot of thought into this for such a short time," Padme noted, equally curious and suspicious.
"I threw my fate in with Naboo the instant I aided in your escape. Obviously I considered the situation that would put me in," The Sith answered, only partially lying. He hadn't thought it out quite that far until they were actually on the ship. "And you do not sound surprised by my explanation," Darth Vader retorted, almost curiously.
"Again, I won't deny the flaws and failings of the republic," Padme admitted with a small smile, "But if someone doesn't lead by example, corruption will only grow. Besides..." She paused, cutting off what she was really about to say, that she wouldn't be able to look her people in the eyes if she didn't try, "I don't think you went this far to save us only to let a bit of bureaucracy see us fail, Lord Vader," She added on with just a bit of cheek.
"You assume correct, Handmaiden," Vader acknowledged with a nod, before motioning to the door, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like a moment to speak with these droids. If we are unable to replace the generator, I may be able to keep our current one operational for one jump to Coruscant," He requested.
"You're a mechanic?" Padme asked in surprise, wondering how many things would be listed on this man's resume.
It was probably a good thing she'd likely never know Supreme Commander of the Armies of the Galactic Empire was on that list.
"I am many things," He admitted mysteriously.
Padme nodded slowly before heading out, the door closing behind her, "You're all terrible at being inconspicuous," She said flatly to everyone in the room: Including one Captain, two officers, three handmaidens and one Jedi Master. All but the first and the last looked a bit sheepish, "Especially you...Master Qui-Gon, was it?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes and apologies, but our friend has the interest of every individual on this ship," he admitted with a bit of amusement, "Including the droids if I interpreted those beepings right."
"You're not wrong, but that's hardly the point," Padme commented, looking at him with a curious frown, "I'm guessing he isn't an acquaintance of yours?"
"I do not pretend to be omnipotent," Qui-Gon assured, looking to the door, "But I know two things: I've never seen or heard of this Darth Vader and he is no Jedi."
"In what way?" Panaka asked with a raised eyebrow, "He seems to have most of your abilities," He pointed out, deciding to leave out the bit about how much more powerful Vader's seemed so far.
"A Jedi is taught to not use hatred and anger, especially when using the Force," Qui-Gon answered with a frown, simplying the explaination for now, "And while some of us fall prey to them from time to time, it is something we resist. That man, on the other hand, embraces such emotions when using the force. A very dangerous man, I must say."
"It doesn't seem to be a problem for him," Padme noted idly, 'The way he described Vader...it almost sounds like those old stories about the Sith,' She mentally mused, having heard and read such stories in passing.
"If that man is fueled by rage, Master Jedi, then he has an impressive amount of control over it," Panaka added in curiously, knowing various angry recruits over the years. Vader didn't come off as one of them. Then again, the dark cyborg was probably tempered with decades of hardship and training.
"That's why he's dangerous," Qui-Gon reiterated calmly, "Interestingly enough, I can't sense any of it being directed at us..."
"My question is, what's his stake in all of this?" Panaka asked thoughtfully, "While Naboo isn't poor, to my understanding the Trade Federation could pay him at least double anything we could provide."
"Money isn't a motive for someone like him," Qui-Gon countered.
"What is than?" Padme questioned.
"Any other Jedi would tell you power. However, I have never even heard of someone quite like this Darth Vader, so I can't begin to guess what his goal in this is yet," Qui-Gon explained idly.
"Perhaps more answers will show up on Tatooine," Padme suggested, 'And maybe some for why the supposedly compassionate peacekeepers are seemingly on edge and distrusting of Vader.'
Meanwhile
To Darth Vader's credit, he did indeed check on the tools in the ship and the astrodroids. Fixing an null quantum field generator wasn't an easy or frequent task. Normally when that particular piece of equipment was broken or damaged, so was more of the hyperdrive, making it simpler and often cheaper to replace the whole thing. Still, while he had the mental knowledge to make a confident attempt, he wasn't quite sure he had the proper tools and supplies for it.
Regardless, that wasn't the real reason he wanted privacy. He needed some time to think and meditate, or as best a Sith in his physical situation could.
It had been a close call; he fell right into the role of protecting and escorting Padme off world so smoothly that he almost over stepped his intention. He wanted to manipulate things, not drive them completely off the rails. Well, not yet anyway. While letting his younger self find his own way out of slavery and avoiding the Jedi might have its merits, there were a few issues. Mainly that someone else, possibly Sidious himself, would scoop his counterpart up and also because despite everything else, Vader wasn't heartless. If he kept Qui-Gon alive and teaching Anakin Skywalker, then Shmi Skywalker would probably end up saved.
Probably…not something a Sith liked to settle for, but most Siths didn't time travel. Unless that myth about that time looping Sith was true, but he questioned the validity of that. In any event, he had to play this out as it came for now and pull things in his favor when possible. As vivid as this event was in his memory, it was still the memory of an eleven year old boy…not always the most reliable thing.
But before he could start plotting, he had to do a few things on Tatooine. Specifically, get supplies and confront Darth Maul.
Speaking of Siths that weren't himself, that was the other reason he was meditating. His sense and presence in the Force was still returning, or realigning he supposed, but it was good enough to peer into the Force now.
He wasn't surprised to find the presence of Darth Sidious focusing on him curiously, dark tendrils outstretched as if to get a feel for this stranger they sensed, to probe his mind and see his intent and power, "Apologies, Sidious," He said to himself, sarcastically and smirking, "But you won't have me this time," He vowed, bringing up his mental defenses on full, scorching the limbs in warning and enjoying every second of it. If only because he was still under the guise of Senator Palpatine, the native-to-this-timeline Sith pulled back broodingly. As always, Sidious was easily upset when he didn't get his way.
Darth Vader hummed curiously as he finally noticed something else...something different. Yes, he was already aware of Maul's signature, flickering angrily like a petulant spark gazing enviously at an inferno he so desperately wanted to become. He obviously sensed the Jedi from all over the Galaxy, like so many stars in the sky, looking at his Force-relative position in shock, fear, curiosity and everything else that comes from staring into the unknown. Then of course there were other Dark-Siders, like the Nightsisters and Nightbrothers, little wisps and shadows peaking about at the sudden commotion he caused.
It never ceased to amaze him all the different ways Force signatures could 'feel' if one knew how to sense such things. If he had one intellectual regret about killing the Jedi Order, it was that he never found out if two individuals sensed the same signature in the same 'texture' or if it was a person-by-person interpretation. And asking Sidious such a question that was either pointless or basic would have been just asking for trouble.
But what truly grabbed his attention was this other presence in the Dark Side, one he was not familiar with. It was around him, on the edge of his defenses, like some slimy liquid. While the analogy might cast doubt on the threat level of the entity, it was in fact like a small sea of slimy liquid, flowing in between all the blind spots of the Jedi and searching for anything of interest or importance. Whoever it was, had obviously learned from Sidious's attempt and had not pressed within Vader's realm within the force.
This presence was odd to him though. It wasn't violent or possessive like most signatures in the Dark Side. Instead, it was calm, inquisitive, calculative. Oh, it still had all the dark qualities of a Sith, but it seemed almost like it was...at peace? No, not at peace. Content? A Content Sith: An oxymoron if Vader had ever heard one.
Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He knew what this was. He knew who this was. He just hadn't known this being was still alive at this point in the past.
Under his mask, Vader physically smirked as so many plans ran through his head, the opportunities this being might just grant him if he acted quick enough, "You truly might make this all too easy, Darth Plagueis."