Age of the Sith

The Battle of Endor: A War Lost

"Your fleet has lost. And your friends on the Endor moon will not survive. There is no escape, my young apprentice. The Alliance will die...as will your friends." exclaimed the Emperor. Luke Skywalker's eyes suddenly filled with rage and fear. Palpatine continued: "Good. I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon! Strike me down with all your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete." Skywalker grabs hold of his lightsaber with the force, ready to strike the old, deformed Sith Lord from Naboo. Darth Vader feels his son's anger and must decide whether he will let him kill his master of nearly 25 years or defend him and engage his son in a battle to decide each other's fate. Suddenly Luke stars swinging his blade and Vader remembers the lies of the once Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, who promised he could save his wife, Senator Padme Amidala, and ultimately used him for power. Vader became subservient to him after nearly burning alive on Mustafar being bested by his Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which resulted in having to be engulfed into a bulky life support suit for the rest of his days, which might have been avoidable, as the Emperor used outdated parts which limited Vader's movement and strength to ensure his new apprentice could never overpower him without help. In that moment, Lord Vader saw an opportunity to be the ruler of the galaxy and did not engage Skywalker.

Luke shreds Palpatine into three pieces but loses himself in the process. The battle rages on down on the Forest Moon of Endor to disengage the shield generator, but Leia Organa, Skywalker's twin sister, experiences the force for the first time. Sensing the immense grief, confusion, anger, and slight remorse of her brother on the Death Star which is visible in the sky, as though it were a planet or moon, she becomes distracted and is shot in the leg. Han Solo must decide at that moment if they should retreat or press on without her. She explains that something has happened to Luke and, despite pleading with him to continue with the mission, the smuggler-turned-rebel picks up his love and hides. "But our friends, they need help." Leia cried. Talking sense into her, Han explains:  "Something tells me we will not win this battle if Luke has turned to the dark side. He knows our plan; we need to run, now!  The Rebellion will live on and we will get your brother back somehow, someway."

As Luke drops to the ground, instead of feeling victorious, he is dreading what will happen next as he realizes he is now the one who must choose: fight his father in this most vulnerable state, which could kill him or complete his journey to the dark side, to try to save his friends or surrender to his father and live another day. Vader presses a com button on the arm of the throne and makes a station-wide announcement: "Attention loyal servants and soldiers of the Galactic Empire, I regret to inform you that his royal highness, Emperor Palpatine, has died in a coordinated attack by the evil Rebellion. To all Generals, Commanders, and any other high ranking Naval personnel, the plan has changed." Looking at his son, thrilled at the prospect of ruling with him, if he can convince him, the newly crowned Emperor continues: "As the enemy fleet has not retreated or paused as of yet, we can assume they still do not know we have sprung a trap. Now is the time for full advancement. Take them by surprise! Let us secure the peace of the galaxy, together we can rise to the challenge and snuff out the Rebellion once-and-for-all!" Switching to a specific channel reserved for only those who know the secrets of the Sith and for Vader's chosen men and women who knew the plans to enforce his rule if he ever overthrew his master, he opens the channel. "Moffs, Admirals, Inquisitors, and my loyal servants, as of this moment, I have taken over as the new Emperor and you must heed my every order. The rule of two continues and soon I will have an apprentice, he is the one who has killed my predecessor. Be sure that everyone knows their place and your lives will continue to prosper under this glorious regime. To anyone who may resist, I would encourage you to get off this station before you meet your demise. Operation 13306 has begun." "To all major medical personnel here on the Death Star, prepare me for Bacta status and meet me at my castle on Mustafar. Get the chief scientists and surgeons from Coruscant, I am ready to shed these wretched layers."

Out of nowhere every Star Destroyer that can reach the system in a short amount of time arrives, a sea of tie fighters come out of the battle station toward the Rebel Fleet. "It's not only a trap, it's a full incursion. Retreat!" said Admiral Ackbar. The only thing the Admiral and the rebellion fighters can do is hope they fight their way clear to make a means of escape.

10 or more shuttles appear full of stormtroopers and hover right in front of the shield generator control building. Chewbacca, who just hijacked an AT-ST, is contacted by Han. "Chewie, where are you?! Meet us back at Ewok village and cover us, we need to get out of here." Han and Leia run away, with 3PO waddling along and R2 leading him, as Chewbacca decides to fire as many shots towards the vessels as he can, Han stops and realizes where Chewie is and what he is doing, turning around, and looking back from a secure spot in the forest, he contacts his friend again: "Chewie! Chewie, Stop! I can't lose you and Luke on the same day." Chewbacca in growls, howls, and grunts that only Wookies and certain humans like Solo can understand replies "I am paying back my life debt. You saved my life and now I have the chance to save yours. Now please, go and get off this moon." "No, no, no! You don't have to do this, Chewbacca. Please, buddy!" cried Han. With return shots hitting the hull of the walker and with a torpedo coming directly at it, Chewie said goodbye.

Arriving at the Ewok village to grab their things, Leia gives Wicket a hug and thanks him for everything. And as soon as they came, they went. As the shuttle Tydirium leaves the orbit of Endor, Han signals his old smuggler buddy, General Lando Calrissian, who is piloting the Millennium Falcon. "Lando, Lando! Are you there?" "Han, are you seeing this?" "Oh, I'm seeing it alright. Chewie is gone..." "I'm sorry, Han. My condolences, friend, but we have bigger calamari to fry here." "Speaking of calamari, any directions from the Admiral or from the Senator?" "Not yet, where should I suggest if asked?" Lando replied. "Maybe Sorgan or Batuu or Jakku, somewhere the Empire would never think to look." said Leia. "I will let you know, princess." The shuttle blended in perfectly among the vast array of ships of the Imperial Navy. Han had prepped everything for lightspeed, just waiting on the word. General Calrissian reached out to them again. "Admiral Ackbar has been killed, as well as hundreds of other heroes on that cruiser. Mon Mothma is safe and suggested we set up base at Batuu, the Empire has no presence there, and it has a busy outpost for the unknown regions and outer rim areas-the edge of the galaxy. So we should be safe and we can blend in if we need to." "See you there. May the force be with you." Han acknowledged.

As the old spacecraft cruised through hyperspace, Han thought back on what he just said to his old friend: "May the force be with you?" Well Luke trusted in the force and where did it get him? Maybe he's not too far gone. Maybe he did this for a reason... "Leia, what do you think about Luke? Should we just stop trusting in the force?" "I have faith in him, this is not the end. If he came back for us on Bespin, he would come back to the light, if he even left it in the first place. I hope I didn't sense him dying." "Wouldn't death be better than betraying everyone you know and love, after 4 years of the biggest fight of your life for the good of the galaxy" Han replied. "I am not going to pretend I have the answers here, but I have to have hope that everything will work out and good will triumph over evil."

Vader walked over to his son. Much like the same situation he was in when he became partly responsible for Jedi Master Mace Windu's death 23 years earlier, the Sith Lord saw Luke in need of a teacher, it is too late for him to return to the rebellion now. "Son, I will complete your training. You will join me or die." "I will join you, my master. I pledge myself to your teachings. We will rule the galaxy as father and son." "Good, I knew I could count on you. From this moment forward, Luke Skywalker is dead, like his father before him. You shall now be known as Darth Terellius. Welcome home, my apprentice." Luke bows before his new master trembling. "For your first mission, meet me at my castle on Mustafar. From there I will teach you the benefits of the dark side Obi-Wan kept hidden from you, but you must prove to me your loyalty over time."