Chapter IV

Not much more than a standard hour had passed since Vader's visit. She now found herself laying on the cold floor, with her hands lying on her stomach. The thought of it, of him, made something within her tremble, but it was not from fear. Ahsoka was not afraid of Anakin Skywalker, or whoever he claimed himself to be, which in some way alarmed her. He was a Sith Lord, Force knows how much pain he had already caused, how many good people he had murdered in cold-blood, some of them friends of hers.

She had sensed the fall of the Republic and the brutal pain that came along as thousands of Jedi were killed. Believing that Anakin was among them made her spent many nights crying in agony, wondering that, perhaps, if she had stayed in the Jedi Order, she would have his back during the outbreak and they would have gotten through it together. Finding out about Darth Vader was like learning that Anakin had survived only to die moments after. Her Master would have never done the horrible things this Darth Vader did.

And now there he was, asking for her trust. Making her recall a life that was long gone for both of them, a life she knew Darth Vader tried to forget. But she had felt the despair in his voice and, even thought she hadn't fully became conscious of this until now, he was risking everything he believed himself to be in order to save her.

She sighed. All of this felt so surreal to her. She wished she could just shut her mind and close her eyes for a while. But Ahsoka knew she could allow herself to do that. The next time someone would enter in that cell she would have to somehow find a way to escape. Her former Master couldn't help her right now. In fact, she should've used his visit to attempt to escape. She couldn't stay there, the cell seemed to become smaller and smaller as time went on.

Patience, Ahsoka thought to herself, trying to calm down. During the years she spent fighting in the war she had been kidnapped and trapped several times. She knew better than anyone that she couldn't just start running while praying to the Force to not encounter any soldiers in the way.

The silence was broken by footsteps getting closer until they stopped, from what she could sense close to her cell.

"Restrain her." she heard the man saying.

Tarkin, she quickly concluded, getting to her feet. The door in front of her abruptly opened, and in entered two soldiers, one of them holding stun cuffs. She watched Tarkin entering after them, carrying a sick smirk on his face as Troopers handcuffed her.

"Leave us." he ordered once the job was done, waving one of his hands in the air and then placing both of them in his back, examining the Togruta.

"Years had passed, yet we remain in the same positions," he finally said to her, almost amused "Never thought you would survive past Order 66, to be truly honest. Apparently I did you a favor, back then. Your... Master would have slaughtered you without second thoughts."

For a moment her gaze went distant, questioning the truth in Tarkin's words. Once again she wondered about what would've happen if she stayed in the Order. The idea of Anakin, her Master, her best friend back then, hurting a sixteen year old Ahsoka sickened her. She shoved the thoughts aside, bringing her gaze back to the man standing in front of her.

"In fact , it has been known that he was here", he stopped, taking one step towards her. "What was Lord Vader doing here?"

"The same as you," she quickly answered. "He wanted to know about the Jedi"

"Is that so? Perhaps we should bring him here." Tarkin replied, before speaking into his comlink "Call Lord Vader immediately."

"Lord Vader? Grand Moff Tarkin required your presence in the-."

The Dark Lord quickly turned around, his thoughts moving faster than he could. He already knew where Tarkin was and what he was doing. As he got closer to the block cells, the feeling that something was about to go wrong grew within him. He was about to swear to himself that he would kill that bastard if he touched Ahsoka when he remembered that he was already putting a lot at stake. It wasn't like he could kill Tarkin without raising any suspicions due to the fact that he was a great symbol of the Galactic Empire.

Darth Vader, once again, entered in the small cell without any sign of hesitation, now to find Ahsoka handcuffed, who was now looking at him with a dazed expression and, for his relief, she seemed to be just fine.

"Ah, Lord Vader, you're finally here" Vader's gaze went to the man standing beside him. "I'm afraid our prisoner here is inclined to not speak. Perhaps you could do something about it?" Tarkin suggested, handing him a small controller.

His gaze dropped to the small object in his hand, quickly connecting the dots. That was the handcuffs' controller. Tarking wanted him to electrify Ahsoka. He wanted to make him torture her.
"I refuse to." Vader finally replied between the loud sounds of his breathing mask hiding his bitter tone.

"I don't believe you're in a position to decline my orders." Tarkin answered almost instantaneously, adjusting his pose before continuing, "I have to admit. I am starting to question your intentions. I wonder if the Emperor would share the same doubts. You see, it would be a shame if he knew that you have shown mercy, maybe even compassion, for a prisoner. For this prisoner in particular."

"Where are they?" Vader suddenly asked without taking his gaze away from his hand covered in black leather.

"W-What?" He felt her confused look on him. "I already told you I didn't know anything."

Vader could feel Tarkin's defiant look on him. Vader's gaze went once again to the small object in his hand, and then at Ahsoka. He had to, otherwise he would be forced to kill Tarkin and risk to lose everything he worked so hard to get over the years. He already was. It was undeniable that whoever he claimed himself to be meant little when it came to this young Togruta.

And now there she was, standing in front of him, unsure of what was about to come. And so was he. Vader was still planning on getting Ahsoka out of here, far away from the hands of the Empire, from the Emperor, from Tarkin and specially from himself. He was determined on getting her out of here, even if that meant she hated him in the process.

'I'm sorry.' he spoke to her through the Force.

'Anakin?!'

He quickly pressed the button, closing his eyes behind the mask, trying to ignore the muffled screams coming from the Togruta. He released the button moments after, and he wasn't surprised to find her trying to get up.

"Do you have something to tell us?" Tarkin questioned, approaching Ahsoka.

"You take orders from him now?" she muttered, still trying to get back on her feet.

"Apparently I am not making myself clear." He stretched his hand, making a simple gesture requesting the controller Vader held in his palm. He hesitated for a second before handing him the small object, feeling the other man's eyes on him. He glanced at him from the corner of his eye, finding the man holding catty look on his face, before hearing him saying in a vicious tone, "Perhaps this will require a different method."

His heart sunk. Vader knew what Tarkin had in mind, as he watched him doing it several times. Once again, his gaze dropped, now to his empty hand. A subtle thought crossed his mind. This wasn't about the Jedi anymore. This was Tarkin challenging him, forcing Vader to prove himself.

"Lord Vader?"

He slowly stretched his arm in Ahsoka's direction. He almost couldn't bear to look at her, but he had to. He had to know what he was doing. Tarkin wanted a show and he was getting one, but Vader wasn't willing to risk Ahsoka's life for that. He finally closed his hand into a fist, gripping her throat through the Force.

Vader watched carefully every single movement, heard every high pitched noise she made while struggling for air. He felt lost in his own contradictions as he recalled what he had said to her hours ago. What he had promised her. Despite what she told him on Malachor, Vader knew that Ahsoka believed that her Master and Darth Vader were pretty much the same man. And this was exactly what separated them. Anakin Skywalker would never allow anyone to do something like this to her and get away with it, let alone being him the one hurting her. His thoughts were broken at a voice that seemed so distant at that moment, though he couldn't really understand it.

It took him a while to come back to reality, to realize that the voice he heard came from the man beside him.

"That is enough!"

He felt something shuddering as he became aware that he was still strangling her. Quickly he pulled his arm back, his gaze lowering to his trembling hand. His attention was drawn to the Togruta, coughing hard, drops sliding down her cheeks as she tried to get up once again. Vader tried to speak to her through the Force, even though he wasn't sure what could he possibly say at this point to help, however, he wasn't surprised when he sensed her shields blocking him.

Darth Vader heard the man beside him approaching Ahsoka and, almost on instinct, he brought his hand closer to his lightsaber. He carefully observed Tarkin as the man knelt so he would be at the same level as she was. Vader thought Tarkin was going to say something to her, instead he just stared at her for a short period of time, before getting up and leaving the cell with a frustrated look upon his face. He waited until he couldn't hear Tarkin's steps anymore before approaching Ahsoka, who was still coughing. He was about to grab her to help her standing, but, before he could reach her, she wrenched her arm away from him.

"Get away from me." he heard Ahsoka muttering sternly, never looking at him.

He watched her as she tried to get up. He wanted to say that he was sorry, reassure her, tell her that even thought any of this was planned, he was still getting her out of the battle station. He quickly shoved the urge away. How could he seek forgiveness after what just happened, after what he did to her? Furthermore, he wasn't supposed to wish for such things, Darth Vader wasn't entitled to worry about forgiveness.

There was absolutely nothing he could do to make the situation better, and despite his concern for her current state, Vader had some preparations to make. He slowly turned away from her, glancing at her over his shoulder one last time before leaving the cell. Vader couldn't waste time, he had a plan, a risky one, and he had to be quick about it.

A/N: I apologize for the delay! Since I'm not a native English speaker I need a Beta Reader to (at least) correct my grammar and vocabulary mistakes. Please PM me if you're interested. :)