Vader's second chance

Chapter 15

Getting the Jedi council to let his apprentice onto Ilum was surprisingly easy. It was getting Ventress to agree that was proving difficult. "I'm not going." Exceedingly difficult.
"You must. You will be able to interact with children your age from other species. The Sith Empire will protect the galaxy, which means you must be familiar with the galaxy. You cannot stay on Dathomir forever."
Ventress huffs. "Why not?"
Vader sighs. "There is a wider galaxy out there, with so many beautiful things, and it may one day need you to protect it. It is best to live while you can. I should have."
Asaji's expression changes to concern. "What do you mean by that?"
Vader gives her a sad look that goes unseen behind his mask before sitting down. "Did I ever tell you why I became a Sith?" Asaji shakes her head. "I was once a slave, like you. I worked alongside my mother every day. One day, Jedi show up, and they managed to take me to Coruscant to train me. They left my mother behind. I trained every day in the hope I may one day see her again and free my fellow slaves. I secretly got married during that time. One day, I began to be plagued by nightmares of my mother's death. I pleaded with the Jedi council to tell me what to do, and they said I should let her die. I didn't like that. I went to find her, and found out she had been murdered by a small troupe of nomads. She died in my arms. I didn't know what to do. I was scared. I was confused. I was angry. So I slaughtered them. All of them. Not just the men, but the women, and the children too." The emotion grows in his voice as he subtly speaks of the Tuskens, before settling back into melancholy. "After that, I felt terrible. I cried in my wife's arms. And years after, I dreamed of her death too." He hears Ventress gasp. "I was desperate. She was the only thing I loved in the world. I couldn't lose her. I was approached by the one who would become my master. He told me there was a way, but it couldn't be taught by a Jedi. He turned me from my beliefs, from my wife, from everything I had fought to achieve. I became Darth Vader. I killed children that day. And many more after. And the worst part is... she died anyway. My actions led to her death. All because I had nothing left to lose." He looks at Asaji's disbelieving expression, full of shock and horror. "Believe me when I say you don't want that to happen, because when you have nothing, you become nothing. I was left with no purpose, so I helped my master spread suffering and death wherever he wanted me to. An old friend recently knocked some sense into me after I thought I had fallen too far to be found again. I will never be who I once was. I have done too much to even try. But I can be a better version of Darth Vader. I can still be me."
Asaji is left with tears in her eyes, her master's story having moved her. "I'll go."
Vader nods. "Thank you."