A Different Path [UNFINISHED]

The Intervention

I am racing through these hallways like before, but I don't remember them. I've been here for most of my life and I can't remember these corridors. It was a code red. I don't know where anyone is and now I must locate them and save them before anything else happens to them. Suddenly, I heard something from around the corner. I halt and quickly hide behind a column and eavesdrop on the starting conversation.

"We've got the Jedi in a triple guarded cell. Everyone else has a double guard. This rebel fleet doesn't stand a chance," a--I presume--stormtrooper said over his comm. "We'll be bringing the leaders to Lord Vader in fifteen minutes."

I could hear his footsteps, as well as a few other stormtroopers, walk away in the opposite direction. That name, though...Lord Vader, Darth Vader...it's so familiar somehow. But forget my feelings--I have friends to save. I hastily make my way through the building to try and locate the others. Fifteen minutes and counting... Suddenly, I run past a window and in the distance I could see my friends being escorted into a building. There's no time to waste.

****

There they were forced to kneel in the middle of a black room. Stormtroopers were everywhere. There were at least thirty of them in the room. Kanan, Hera, Sabine, Chopper, Commander Sato, and the few, but large amount of rebel troops. But everyone was wondering where Ahsoka was and if she was already taken. Abruptly, the doors slid open and in came three adversaries: a sith lord and two inquisitors. Kanan immediately began to freeze as they approached. It was the Sith they had encountered earlier. Who he was, he even didn't know...and Ahsoka never brought it up, not clearly. They faced the captives and the doors slid shut again. Locks loudly sounded to ensure that the room was secure and inescapable.

"Where is the boy?" Darth Vader sternly asked.
"With you, of course," Kanan replied.
"If he was with us he would already be dead, Dume!--" the Fifth Brother snapped back.
"Fifth Brother!" Darth Vader angrily shouted. "You know better than to interrupt your master!"

The Fifth Brother looked down in shame and took a step back.

"As I was saying," Vader continued, "if the boy was with us, he would have already turned. We would never kill the boy."
"I bet you would...," Kanan murmured under his breath.
"Never, with what he has..."

"What he has?", Kanan thought, What does he have? He stared up at Vader in shock and flabbergast.

"You don't know?" Vader asked.
"Well, whatever he has, he would never be on your side," Kanan austerely responded.
"You truly are distracted, ignorant, and unfocused, aren't you? You barely managed your own training and now you've taken in this promising boy. I pity the boy. He isn't learning properly because of you."

Kanan was astonished that this Sith knew so much about him. There were so many Jedi that turned to the dark side during the Clone Wars. So which one could he be?

"What does Ezra have?" Kanan asked less forcefully.
"The Empire has taken the liberty of drawing blood from the young boy. It's surprising to see how many he has--how many midichlorians."

Kanan silently gasped. This number could foreshadow all of his future plans and lessons with the boy. This number could tell Kanan whether or not Ezra could become a powerful Sith.

"How many?" Kanan breathed.
"I recall you having nine thousand eight hundred midichlorians, am I correct?" Darth Vader asked.
"Yes...but what does that have to do with Ezra?"
"The boy has sixteen thousand five hundred midichlorians!"--Kanan shot up at Darth Vader in utter hysteria of the number--"Of course, with a person with this much connection with the Force, we would never kill them. It's obvious what we'd do. Now, where is the boy? Where are you hiding him?"
"That's what we've been wondering!" Kanan outburst.

Vader lost his patience. He threw his fist out before the captive and Kanan was suddenly being lifted off the ground. At the same time, he was being forced choked.

"Troopers, restrain them all!" the Seventh Sister commanded.

The stormtroopers began to race toward them all as they fought for release. Of course, they were heavily out-numbered. Each of them was brought into different parts of the room and once they were held back, Kanan fell to the ground coughing and gasping for much-needed air.

"You will tell me where your padawan is even if I have to go into your mind and tear away every last memory to find out," Darth Vader threatened.
"I told you! We don't know where he is!" Kanan said back.
"Oh, you know where he is. You can feel it through that trivial little master-padawan bond! So tell me, Caleb, where is the boy? Your lies are futile!"
"They aren't lies."

Kanan felt a huge rush of relief flow through his body as that voice sounded. It's pure, strong, wise, and good-willed. It's a sound he's been waiting for. His head turned toward the origin of the voice and so did Vader. And there the intervener and the Sith stood--at first friends, but now, blood-shedding enemies. They had such a past. They saved each other's lives before, but that's now in the past and now what lies in the future is endless loathing and hate.

"We meet again," Vader murmured as he had the Fifth Brother hold Kanan back.
"It appears that way..."

Kanan, then and only then, knew who Vader truly was...

****

Specters,

Thank you for continuously supporting this story with your votes, comments, and reads! You guys really don't know how satisfying it is to receive this amount of positive feedback for me. It's always the highlight of my day.

So to make this chapter special, I am releasing more details on the upcoming sequel "Too Late" which will be released in 2016. A specific date is not planned yet, but it will most likely be either a Friday or Saturday. 

Also, before you jump into the quick description, let me know in the comments if you would like a sneak peek into "Too Late"! The sneak peek will only be about a paragraph and maybe some dialogue, so it won't spoil much! By the way, the link for the trailer is on the previous chapter!

Anyway, I'll stop blabbing on and on about details! Here's a quick description to "Too Late":

After the crew goes on a mission without Kanan, he loses his trust with The Ghost crew. Simultaneously, Ahsoka offers Kanan a long mission with another group of rebels she made and he must decide between staying with The Ghost crew or leaving them for a six-month journey with a different crew. Because his trust is shaken with the crew, rash decisions are made. The Ghost crew persuades him to stay, but he leaves them and begins the mission. Ahsoka realizes the tension between Kanan and The Ghost crew and allows him to opt-out of the mission a month before it's too late. Will Kanan return to The Ghost crew or stay with the new one?

I hope this chapter and information will suffice until next week because I will be on vacation! I have no idea if I will have time to update next week, so if I can't, I wish you all a safe and happy holidays!

Specter 7, out!
May the force be with you!