Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I don't own Ewan McGregor either.
It's tormented me for years. I had begun to doubt Palpatine, until I saw for myself, this very day, that he was right! One could, using the Dark Side of the Force, manipulate the midiclorians to create life, sustain it, and save it from leaving the body!
Darth Vader watched from behind his inscrutable black mask as the rebel prisoner writhed before him, hovering between life and death. Vader drew in more of the Force; the darkness of it made everything in the room blacken slightly. He visualized the midiclorians in the prisoner's cells. They too filled with the Force, and formed actual hooks which in turn anchored the man's soul inside the body. He stopped the flow. The hooks didn't move. The man gasped for breath, his pain made him shudder uncontrollably.
With a grim satisfaction, Vader performed the Force choke that he'd perfected years ago; it had become his trademark. The prisoner grasped at his neck, as if trying to undo the invisible hands crushing his trachea. With a twist of his lips under his mask, Vader tightened the grip, until the man stopped breathing. The midiclorian hooks unlatched. Vader watched with his Force darkened eyes as the man died.
His body lay at Vader's boots. He began drawing in the Force once again. How much would be needed depended on the subject he was dealing with. Weak material like this prisoner would not take much effort to recapture and put back into the body. The voice of what Palpatine told him all those years ago now resounded in Vader's mind: The Dark Side is the path to many powers that some would consider unnatural. The man's body began to breathe. His heart began to beat again. "Drewson!" Vader boomed. The terrified man stared at Vader. He surely recognized who he was, where he was, and what was happening to him. Vader's grim smile deepened.
Many would have called it a rampage. First, Vader had Force choked Admiral Ozzel after coming out of hyperspace too close to the Hoth system. He had plunged Executor deep into an asteroid field, just to chase a small freighter that supposedly was carrying a few very important rebels, including some poor fellow named Skywalker. Then, he hired a dozen bounty hunters to find the ship when, by some miracle, it didn't get pulverized. One of the boutny hunters had tracked the ship to the planet Bespin, where Vader created a terrible trap for his prey. After Skywalker again eluded Vader, everyone around the Dark Lord of the Sith tread so lightly that barely a breath could be heard on the flagship Star Destroyer where Vader lurked on the observation deck, staring off into space. Vader when he was "normal" was frightening enough, but to see him this driven, the sheer terror of it was making the officers on the ship tremble.
It was true. His mood was not good lately. His son, Luke Skywalker, had spurned him. But he could not give up!
It was on one of those dark days, when the Darth prowled the Star Destroyer, brooding over Luke Skywalker yet again, that he had a visitor. An unexpected, unwelcome, but ultimately pivotal visitor. This visitor didn't need to reach the ship on a shuttle craft. He was even able to drop in while the entire fleet was in hyperspace. And when he arrived, only Vader knew it.
"Kenobi..." Vader growled through his mask as soon as he sensed it. The seething hatred he had for his former teacher felt as strong as it was the day he was left, mutilated and dying, on a cliffside on Mustafar. He'd wanted revenge, and it would have seemed on the day that he killed, yes, killed Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Death Star, that he would have gotten it. But he hadn't! All he'd managed to do was allow Obi-Wan to enter the netherworld of the Force, where he now had abilities living people never had. Like the ability to board Star Destroyers in hyperspace without shuttles.
Vader waited until he was alone. No doubt, if he were seen talking to what was essentially a ghost, the crew would really think he'd cracked his helmet. Of course, none of them understood the Force; none of them knew of the netherworld, where those who knew how could apparently retain their identities indefinitely. It made no difference where in the ship Vader retreated, as long as he was alone. Obi-Wan Kenobi's spirit was certainly able to follow.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi!" he finally said. "You are indeed a fool to come before me now."
"And you are more a fool for pursuing Luke. He will not be turned to the Dark Side, Vader." Obi-Wan's spectre was blue-hued, wearing the very same expression he wore when used to give Anakin Skywalker lectures years ago. To Vader's eyes, he was not the old man who had come after him years later on the Death Star. He was still the same Jedi Master who had hacked him apart on Mustafar...
"I will not give up on my son." Vader balled his fists; his greatest fears could come to fruition, and all Obi-Wan could do is stand there and rub it in.
"Your thoughts betray you. Deep down, you must know that he will not turn as you did. I warn you now, leave Luke alone. No good can come of this quest!" the spectre of Obi-Wan argued.
"How did you think you would be able to hide my children from me indefinitely? You took advantage of the fact that I was unaware that there were twins. Yes, I can sense your surprise; you thought I only knew about Luke, but I've known about my daughter for years; you should not have allowed Padmé to name our daughter Leia, and you certainly should never have allowed Bail Organa to keep that name!
"While my master knows nothing of Leia, since only Padmé and I knew that my mother's middle name was Leia, I made the connection immediately. The only reason my master knows of Luke is because he has his full name: Luke Skywalker! Sloppy work for someone like you; I would have expected better!" Vader spat.
Obi-Wan's ghostly form hitched his robes irritably. "Since you've known this for so long, I'm shocked you allowed Leia to stay with Bail Organa after you found out the truth. Why?"
Vader now hitched his cape. "As I said, my master knew nothing of Leia. I preferred it that way."
"So you don't trust Palpatine after all..." Obi-Wan remarked.
"I will gain my son's trust! He must finish his training! His life depends on it; Palpatine knows about Luke!"
"Luke made a choice to go after you. I don't know if he will ever go back for the remainder of his training. His attachments to his friends and his sister are too strong," Obi-Wan commented.
"It is only his attachments to his friends and his sister that make his life worth living. Someone like you would never understand something like that! I suppose you think you're better off in this form, don't you? Able to zap yourself, such as you are, anywhere you wish! Able to see into places that mere mortals cannot go except possibly through deep meditation. And you don't have to worry about attachments in the netherworld, do you?" As he spoke, Vader began to wonder, could I do it? It would be poetic justice if I could...
"I can sense the Force starting to flow though you. I can't see why you're bothering; it's not like you can do anything to me here, when I'm like this..." Obi-Wan smiled.
Vader latched his consciousness onto the rage he felt towards Obi-Wan. He broke up his family, he tore his life apart. And now, he comes to him, smug in the thought that he was beyond reach... "Obi-Wan, you always thought you were so smart. Have you ever heard of the Darth who could manipulate the midiclorians to create life? Probably not; it's a Sith legend, not fit for a decent Jedi's ears, I suppose."
"Manipulate the midiclorians? Who would do something so freakish? And to what purpose?" Obi-Wan sniffed.
"Yes, manipulate the midiclorians. I can do it, you know. And I'm going to, just so you can learn a lesson, that maybe, you're not as smart as you think!" Vader unleashed the Force flow from him. It swirled around Obi-Wan's spirit form, like a whirlwind that curled itself around every limb, ensnaring him.
"What is this?" Obi-Wan called out in a strangled voice.
Vader didn't answer. He had to concentrate on using the Force. He allowed it to flow freely through him, he only guided it, like a rushing river followed the earth's curves to the ocean. The Force linked with the midiclorians within Obi-Wan's spirit form, and made it solidify, flesh out...Cells began to grow, melding together into hands, feet... Once Vader was done with his monstrous deed, the swirls of the Force dissipated, and Obi-Wan dropped to the ground.
For a moment, not a sound but Vader's metallic breath could be heard. But then, Obi-Wan drew in oxygen, like it was a slightly forgotten reflex. He breathed again. Then, the sound of his growing scream echoed through the empty lower deck.
Vader smiled grimly behind his mask. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Obi-Wan Kenobi!" On the metallic floor was Obi-Wan Kenobi on his hands and knees, staggered by the fact that he was now alive again. The same vibrant blue eyes stared up at Vader, the same ginger-red hair cut nearly to his shoulders, the same beard he'd decided to start growing when he hit thirty years old...
"How dare you do this to me?" the Jedi Master snarled like a wounded beast. "This is not the will of the Force!"
"DON'T TELL ME ABOUT THE WILL OF THE FORCE! IF THIS WERE NOT THE WILL OF THE FORCE, IT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!" Vader boomed.
Obi-Wan's eyes went wide. Vader began a Force push, but Obi-Wan blocked it with his own. Vader's power pounded against Obi-Wan's, trying to knock him over. It was all Obi-Wan could do to stay on his knees, shaking with the effort. Finally, he broke down, and his newly reformed body went flying across the empty cargo hold.
A few seconds later, he saw Vader looming over him again. "That was quite impressive. You seem to be more powerful than you've ever been. It's just unfortunate for you that my power has increased nearly ten fold since you last taught me any lessons, my old master. That is how I was able to snatch you from the netherworld to do my bidding. And you will do as I say, Obi-Wan, won't you?"
Obi-Wan leaped back up, enraged, glaring at his former student. He could almost visualize Anakin's once handsome face behind the mask, now scarred, staring him down. Vader had his lightsaber out in a flash of red light. Obi-Wan bravely stood his ground and asked him, "Are you going to kill me again?"
Vader began to shake with barely contained rage. "Kill you? So you could dash off and I'll never find you again? No, I don't think so. Perhaps I'll do to you what I should have done in our last duel; do to you what you had done to me!" Vader raised his lightsaber, and it took every bit of Obi-Wan's courage to remain still as he stared at the red light shining in his face. He had no lightsaber of his own; he would not be able to defend himself very well if Vader chose to make good on his threat. All he could do is remember Padmé's last words to him as she lay dying. There's still good in him, Obi-Wan, this I know...
Darth Vader was completely capable of cutting down a defenseless man. So why was he shaking so badly? Why was he lowering the lightsaber slowly, why was his head hanging in defeat? Obi-Wan clenched his own hands to keep the weakness after the adrenaline rush from taking over. Vader grabbed him by the neck of his Jedi robes and dragged him to his masked face. "Make no mistake, my former mentor, that things have definitely changed. I am no longer the little padawan that called you 'Master.' Now, you call me 'Master,' because you are mine, Kenobi," Vader growled into his ear as he pushed Obi-Wan down to the floor again. "I alone will determine whether you live or die now."
"I do not fear death, as you well know," Obi-Wan reminded Vader.
"No doubt, you'd probably welcome it. But as I said, I alone control it. Therefore, if you get any foolish notions about taking your own life in order to rejoin the netherworld before I say so, just know this. It will not turn out well for you, for now, until I release you, your spirit will be trapped inside your dead body. It will not be allowed to leave; you will witness yourself rotting, smell the death and decay of your own flesh, fully aware of the excruciating pain of it!" At Obi-Wan's expression of horror, Vader began to laugh.
"No! Even you are not capable of such cruelty. I know you are not!" Obi-Wan gasped.
"Do not speak to me of cruelty!" Vader spat. "Not you!"
"But, what if I were to get killed accidentally? What if someone else killed me?" Obi-Wan asked in desperation.
Vader laughed again. "Well then, you had better make damned sure you don't die, hadn't you?" he said lightly, cruelly. He rose from the floor and turned his back to Obi-Wan, who remained on his knees.
"You mentioned that you could free me. When will you do this?" Obi-Wan asked carefully.
Vader glanced behind him, and said, "Hmmm... perhaps tomorrow. Perhaps never. As I've said, it would be whenever I say." Then he turned around and added, "Perhaps when you realize that I have the upper hand here, Obi-Wan, and you are in no position to make any demands of me! Perhaps when you understand that you are no longer a Jedi Master, but a servant of the Force!"
"What must I do so that you'll free me?" Obi-Wan asked with dread.
"Fear not, Obi-Wan; it's not nearly as odious a task as you might believe. I am sending you to find Luke Skywalker for me. And when you find him, you will complete his training," Vader told him.
"But, I thought for certain that you would wish to be to be one who trains him. Why, of all people, would you pick me?" Obi-Wan asked in confusion.
"Obi-Wan, for better or worse, Luke trusts you. He trusts you at least as much as I ever did, perhaps even more. He does not trust me. I could never accomplish with him in the relatively short span of time what you would be able to do. As much as I hate the fact, I must be practical so that he will be safe," Vader explained. "I know exactly why you never trained him before now. You were afraid, as you still are, that if you were to train him, that he will turn to the Dark Side, as I did."
"Please don't make me do this! Luke has so much goodness in him, just as you once did, and I cannot bear the thought of destroying that in him as I surely have in you," Obi-Wan pleaded.
"Nonsense, you were a fine teacher. I learned very well from you. Surely, if you were a good enough teacher for me, you will be good enough for my son!" Vader took out his lightsaber and twirled it impressively in one of the most complicated manuevers that Obi-Wan Kenobi had ever taught him. Around his head, swirling around his back, several times, then ending held with right arm tucked back by his helmet, lightsaber pointed forward, left hand pointed out.
Impressive to untrained eyes perhaps..."You forgot something. Do that again," Obi-Wan claimed, rising to his feet.
"What?" Vader gasped. He took one look at Obi-Wan's expression, that oh-so-familiar look of scrutiny, the tightening of the lips, the drawn down brows. He puffed with annoyance, did the manuever again, and growled when he saw Obi-Wan shaking his head, "Alright, fine then! You do it, if you're so smart!"
Obi-Wan took Vader's lightsaber. For a split second, it struck Obi-Wan how trusting Vader still was. Or was he so secure in his powers now that even if Obi-Wan were to start attacking, he would be able to stop him? Rather than test it, Obi-Wan took another deep breath, then began the manuever. Just as Qui-Gon Jinn had taught him, and no doubt, it was just as Count Dooku had taught Qui-Gon how to do it, Obi-Wan Kenobi performed the move flawlessly. He'd been remiss with Anakin--he was forgetting the three turns up, down, up, down, up and down once more, then making the turn to the right. "Did you see the part you forgot?" Obi-Wan asked him.
"Yes, I did," Vader sniffed with a toss of his head.
Obi-Wan frowned at the attitude. "I suppose in a way it is a good thing the Jedi aren't around any longer; I'd be a laughingstock! I can't even teach you a simple manuever; how do you expect me to train Luke?"
"I know how to do the manuever, and it's not a simple one! I'm just rusty, that's all. It's not like I have Mace Windu around to impress anymore. Last I saw him, he was flying out a 175th story window. So much for him," Vader reported bitterly. "So much for the entire Jedi Council! I don't suppose you've seen any other Jedi around in the netherworld, have you?"
Obi-Wan's newly recreated heart began to pound in terror. Qui-Gon! He must not let this mad monster know about Qui-Gon... Obi-Wan's hand tightened on Vader's lightsaber, and he switched it on again, poised to strike. But, Vader's breath grew into a cruel laugh. He used the Force to pull his lightsaber from Obi-Wan's hands, then started the Force choke on Obi-Wan's throat.
"Your thoughts betray you, Obi-Wan! You wish to protect the one who taught you how to retain your identity in the netherworld! It's a pity you won't be rejoining him anytime soon..." he laughed as he slowly crushed. "Who is it, Obi-Wan? Yoda? No, Yoda's still alive! That's who has been training Luke, isn't it?" Obi-Wan felt the grip loosen slightly, so he nodded emphatically, not wanting to anger Vader anymore.
Vader felt a mild bit of surprise. Yoda was still alive! He'd make certain that he confronted the old Jedi Master before long. But back to the business at hand. "Then it certainly must be the only person in this galaxy that you would endure hell itself for; your old Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn..." He released Obi-Wan's throat completely.
In sheer desperation, Obi-Wan threw himself at Vader's feet. "Please, if you have even a tiny bit of decency left in you, you will leave Qui-Gon Jinn in peace! I swear to you, I will do whatever you wish, if you leave him alone!"
Vader picked Obi-Wan up from where he was kneeling. "Excellent! What my Sith master taught me was true; in securing victory, it's only a matter of finding what will compel your enemy to yield. You will leave as soon as we get to Coruscant. When we arrive there, I will arrange your immediate departure."
Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "How will I be getting to Luke? I don't even know where he is, do you?"
"I will be providing a ship for you to search for Luke, travel wherever either of you need to go...As for where he is," Vader turned to face Obi-Wan, "that's the easy part. He will be looking to rescue his friend, Han Solo. From what I understand, you've made the smuggler's acquaintence? He's a person of some interest, as it turns out. Wanted by Jabba the Hutt."
"That would mean Tatooine..." Obi-Wan murmured. Not only was he alive again, he was going back to Tatooine, the planet of his twenty year exile. But this time, it will be different, Obi-Wan consoled himself. This time, he'd be training Luke. If he began to have trouble, he could take the boy back to Yoda, Obi-Wan told himself. Yes, that was what he'd do. He wondered if Vader was sane enough anymore to realize that the Jedi Order could be resurrected by his son. Now that would be true justice...