Darth Bale (AU)

Darth Bale, born as Cialla Santane on Nar Shaddaa, was a Sith-Lady and the sucessor of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader as Palpatines Sith apprentice. Before she become a Sith, she was a pirate captain and Dark Jedi, trained by the Kiffar Taran Del, who was a Dark Jedi too.

She was bound to Anakin Skywalker with a Force bond, which allowed her to know, what he was thinking or feeling. This bond was the reason because Palpatine choose her as Sith apprentice.

Early years
Darth Bale was born in the year 41 BBY (22 PE = Pre-Empire) on Nar Shaddaa. She never knew her father, while her mothers dies young, left Cialla behind. So, Cialla have to learn early, how she can survice.

She was 9 years old then she first met Taran Del, the Dark Jedi who should become her Dark Jedi master. Then she was 10 years old, Taran Del saved her for a group of gangsters, after she killed one of them instinctively with the Force. He noticed her strong affinity to the force and made her his apprentice.

Later life
Taran Del trained her in the Force and how she can use a lightsaber. He made her a ruthless young woman, who was cold-minded and believed very strongly to the princip of "surviving of the fittest". He also bought her her first blaster pistol, which she used until she killed her master as she was 19 years old.

So she lost the last person who have ever take notice and care for her. Her silent pain and wounded soul - which she never really noticed - created her Force bond with Anakin Skywalker, who looses his mother and kills the Tusken tribe at the same moment.

Cialla kidnapped a starship and left Nar Shaddaa for good. Through the following years she become a pirate and took over leadership from the former captain, terrorizing the deeps of the galaxis with her blood-letting crew. She enjoyed the power that she had become, but she still was searching for more.

Sith-lady (19 BBY - 16 BBY)
After the rise of the empire, she captured a cargo ship and was mistoken for a Jedi Knight because of her lightsaber. The clon troopers on the cargo ship brought her to Darth Sidious, who has formerly lost his apprentice Darth Vader who was saved from Mustafar through Obi-Wan Kenobi. He knew about her Force bond to his former apprentice and offered her to become his new Sith apprentice - because he noticed, that the force was strong with her. Cialla accepted the offer because her strong need for a life of relevance. She was renamed from her new master, who gave her her Sith name Darth Bale.

For her new master, she killed her first Jedi on Ithoria, who she prooves her loyalty and her power. Later, she searched for Anakin Skywalker and found out, that he changed the ship. She located him in the Ilum system, and attacked his unarmed new ship with the 7. squadron. But Anakin and the other Jedi were saved from Tarinala Ayane, Kee Nadal and four clone trooper deserteurs.

After the escape of the Jedi, Bale found out about Anakin Skywalkers twin children, who was brought to a secret place to protect them from the Empire, and she traveled to this place after she detected it, because she wanted Leia and Luke as her Sith apprentices.

But Anakin knew about her sinister plan through their Force bond and travelled to his children to protect him. He fought againt Bale and for the safety of his children, supported by his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, who followed him. Darth Bale was defeated and lost her left leg in this fight, but Anakin - still close to the dark side - decided to let her life because he want to give her a second chance, as he become one from his old friend Obi-Wan Kenobi after their fight on Mustafar. He left Bale with his twin children and Ahsoka.

Bale was detected by her master and her leg was replaced by a cybernetic and stronger one, which she never covered in synthflesh and -skin because she wanted to remember her defeat and stir her hate for Anakin Skywalker with this memory, so she can kill him the next time.

Three years later, in 16 BBY (AFE = After the founding of the Empire), she lead the attack to Lorrd and kidnapped the Jedi knight Kee Nadal in the battle. She tortured him so that he gave her the information about the secret rebellion base, forced him to betray the Jedi.

During this period, she noticed that her feelings to Clone commander Doyle were more than sexuelly, and her affair with the clone reached Palpatines ears, who blackmailed her with this informations, while she was searching for a cure to stop Doyle's accelerated aging process.

As the Jedi broke into the emporer's palace, she took her chance to defeat Anakin Skywalker again and killed Ahsoka. During the battle, she was overcome by her wish for a worthy adversary and antagonized Anakin with the threat that she will find his children to kill them. This, and Ahsokas death, made that Anakin falls again to the dark side. He defeated Bale again, cut her right arm of, but he didn't kill her because she bet for her life and offered him a deal: to use their Force bond, which can only cut by the death of on the two, to kill Palpatine. Anakin accepted the deal and together with the Jedi masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Shaak Ti, the Jedi knight Ona'tar'malee and the Padawans Talyna Caluna and Zhorak Thoh they defeat and kill Palpatine.

After Palpatine's death, Anakin helped Darth Bale to escape. She fled to the outer Rim, now Sith master, looking for a worthy apprentice and took over controll over the offcut of the Empire as the new Emporess.

Appereances

 * | Im Schatten der Macht (In Force's Shadow) (first appereance) (Note: this fanfictions exists only in german language)

Trivia

 * Darth Bale was created by Andauril for the "In Force's Shadow" AU.
 * Her Sith name refer to the english word "bale", which is approximately synonymous to "pain".