Master and Padawan/Chapter 3

Chapter 3
The Dark Lord stepped back a bit more to remain in the shadows. What he saw in front of his eyes was a simple hut, yet it was surely not made by animals. The report was right then at least about one thing - an intelligent life form lived here. Judging from the size it was some kind of humanoid roughly the size of a human. Might have been anyone in fact - a pirate, a hermit or... Yes, a survivor Jedi.

Vader shook his head and tried to listen to his inner intuition. It was a Jedi, he knew it. He started forward to step in when some whisper in the force held him back.

A woman left the hut. She was tall and slender, wearing a traditional Togrutan headpiece on her lekku. For a second there, the dark lord though of Shaak Ti, but he knew she was long dead and gone. This girl, however, was a Togruta too and looked much like the deceased Jedi mistress.

She wore boots and a skirt as well as a loose, brownish blouse, all of those the color of soil that made her blend into the environment. She took a few steps and stopped, looking around until she finally faced the direction he was. Then he saw her face for the very first time.

He breathed in heavily, a low growl escaped his burned throat and filtered through the mask died out. There was no mistake about it. Not a moment he hesitated when he identified the face ornament, surrounding the eyes and forming fangs on the cheeks.

The girl stepped forward and he noticed two lightsabers dangling by her belt. She faced him and spoke.

"Come out, dark one. I knew some day someone will finally come and I am ready to face you. My name is Ahsoka Tano."

Lord Vader walked forward and left the shadow cast by the jungle. He took his time marching toward her, tall, dark, horrible, the blackness of his cybernetic armor glistening in the rays of light filtered through the foliage. As he progressed, he notices a faint grimace of disgust and a fainter one of fear dash through her face. She clenched her teeth and reached down to put her hands on the hilts of her weapons.

"Hello there" he growled, standing in from of her, away just a few meters. He headed over the girl, overwhelmed her with his cruel might. She felt the crippling urge to stand back, get away from this personification of had-dead terror, run from the Force emanation of the Dark Side that seemed to crawl around and cast shadow on everything. She proudly brought her head up and addressed him with the honor of the Order.

"Who or what are you?" she demanded. "I thought Grevious was the ugliest of Dark Side's lackeys and I hardly believe someone might have conceived and abomination like you."

"Watch your mouth, Snips. This is no way to address your Master" he snapped at her.

"No…" she stepped back, struck down with utter horror. "No, I don't believe it. It's not true."

"Search you feelings, girl. You'll know it to be true. Look at me" he demanded, shouting out a challenge. "See what I've become! There has not been a Force endowed user before me as powerful, as mighty as is the Darth Vader."

"No, no, no, this cannot be happening. You're not Anakin anymore. The Skyguy would never surrender to something so atrocious, would never kneel down and take on this... this..." she could hardly form her thoughts into words, shaken and distraught by the cruel revelation of the fate of Skywalker she had no idea of.

"Look at me girl" he demanded. "This is what you damned Jedis did to me! Your master Obi-wan brought me to this. All of you have betrayed me and tormented me. All of you - the cursed Kenobi, the Jedi Council, those cowards and traitors, even the woman I once loved" he started to shout, his voice turning into a roar of a tormented, wounded predator.

"All of you brought that fate upon me" he growled, his mind overcome with rage when he confronted probably the last of the traitors that destroyed his life. "Look at me and accept me."

Ahsoka stepped back, she bit her lower lip till a thin dribble of blood streaked her chin. She clenched he fists on the hilts of her lightsabers.

"Look at me and see my might" the dark lord overcame his fury and spoke calmly again. "See me. Embrace me as you master once again. Come back to my side. Together, we can rule the Galaxy" he extended his hand toward her.

"Never" she shouted, her voice distorted, stuck in her throat, tears rolling down her face in an unstoppable streak. "I'll never join you!"

"Then, young padawan, you will die" he said and drew his lightsaber. Red, ghoulish light lit up her dark face, fighting for better with the green glow of her two light blades the she drew up forming a protective barrier.

Without one more word Darth Vader lurched forward and struck down on Ahsoka, aiming to break her defense and to kill.