Title: Choices and Destiny

Author: Mirianne

Beta: Thank you, KaelinaLovesLomaris

Summary: Shortly before going off to kill Palpatine together, Luke and Vader announce their relationship to the Galaxy. This is one potential reaction in the aftermath.

Disclaimer: Star Wars does not belong to me, and no harm is intended.

Though it stung, Luke ignored the way the informal patio area fell silent when he stepped out of the mess with a tray of breakfast. This was the first time he'd been back with the general population of the Rebellion since the announcement, and he'd expected reactions. What those reactions would come to, in the end, he couldn't be sure.

He was sure he didn't and wouldn't regret the choices he'd made.

After all, Palpatine was dead, and he and his father were both safe enough with the Rebellion now.

For the moment, he was content to ignore the reactions to his presence and sit down with his breakfast. He'd been running since the mission to rescue Han from Jabba, it felt like. Yes, he'd spent the past three days recovering, but that was in medical. It wasn't relaxing.

This was. The planet was lovely, green and purple vegetation. Some of it was covered in flowers in various shades of red and orange. There were just enough gaps in the trees for warm, honeyed sunlight to bathe the patio area. He soaked it up as he ate.

It had been a very long few weeks, and it seemed unbelievable that so much had happened. The rescue mission had been tense enough, but Vader had been waiting for them on their way back from the Sarlacc. Vader had actually picked them up when their speeder had broken down in the Jundland Wastes. Luke had sensed that Vader had no ill intentions at that moment, had done his best to reassure the others, but he'd hardly been able to believe it. Since the others lacked his Force sensitivity, he wasn't surprised they didn't, and Vader had earned their hostility.

Even Vader's word that he'd let them go after a conversation hadn't been enough, since Lando had been all too ready to point out the results of his bargain with the Sith. Still, it had been Vader or trying to get out of the Wastes before they died. Luke had managed to convince his friends, especially since Vader had come alone.

Then Vader had made his intentions for coming clear. He'd wanted to negotiate. Specifically, he'd wanted to negotiate with Luke.

He'd dropped that revelation in their midst, said he would pilot them back to civilization, and left them in the main room of the shuttle to discuss what they would do.

That had been enough of a shock to give Luke an opening with the others. He'd been able to sense a little bit more of the Light side of the Force from his father for the duration of their conversation, and he wanted to know why. He'd already decided he couldn't kill his father, already hoped there was something left to save, and this encounter seemed to be confirming that. He wanted to hear what his father had to say, especially since Vader had to know "rule with me as father and son" was a non-starter.

For a few minutes, he'd thought he would have to tell his friends the truth about their blood relationship, and he'd dreaded that conversation; he had no more proof than Vader's word and the Force, after all. He had known they would be skeptical.

Fortunately, the fact that Vader, of all beings, had rescued them from the Wastes, hadn't even bothered to disarm them, and had left them alone in the main room of the shuttle had them sufficiently off-balance to listen. That Vader had specifically stated he wanted to negotiate with Luke gave Luke enough leverage to get them to stay out of things as long as he was handling it. There had been no chance they'd leave him alone with Vader, but they'd let him take the lead, even if he wasn't exactly a negotiator.

So when Vader had landed the shuttle and returned to the main room, Luke had been able to agree to negotiate, carefully stating he made no promises beyond that.

Then Vader had shocked all of them when he said, "You want Palpatine off the throne and the Empire demolished. I want Palpatine dead. Is this sufficient common cause on which to negotiate, young prince?"

It had been.

Luke had sensed his friends' confusion at the title Vader used for him, but he'd understood at least some of what Vader meant by it. Vader had guessed he hadn't told them the truth and wouldn't reveal it without Luke's consent, but "prince" still acknowledged their relationship to Luke, who already knew. It also carried no echoes of the titles Vader had used at Bespin, none of the fraught connotations of addressing him as a Jedi, and was respectful without being subservient. For all that Luke disliked the allusion to Vader's offer of the Empire, he'd appreciated what his father was trying to do.

Vader had shocked everyone further when he admitted that he could not kill the Emperor unaided. He had later admitted to Luke, when they had some privacy, that he disliked the idea of taking his son anywhere near his master, but he had acknowledged that Luke would not be safe so long as Palpatine lived. He had acknowledged, in front of Luke's friends, that Luke had gained sufficient skill as a Jedi to stand with him against Palpatine.

In the end, over his friends' protests, Luke had left Tatooine with his father rather than head back to the Rebellion. There'd been several frantic calls to Command to let them know the change in plans, but Luke had stood his ground against Leia, Han, Lando, and Chewie. It was easier to hold to his determination against Command.

Going back with his father had provided Vader with a ready excuse for his absence when Palpatine asked, and declaring Luke's heritage to the Galaxy had made Palpatine sufficiently smug that he'd let them get close with little suspicion of their actual intentions. The Emperor had been arrogant and sure of his hold on Vader. He'd also thought it inevitable that Luke would come to Vader, knowing if not understanding the hold love had on those of Skywalker blood.

Together, they had killed Palpatine. They had both taken injuries in that fight; once they were in the throne room, Palpatine had sensed their true intentions, so it had not been an easy fight. They hadn't expected it to be; they'd been prepared to fight and fight hard, they'd both fought through the pain the Emperor inflicted on them.

In the aftermath, they'd returned to the Rebellion for medical treatment. Vader had not trusted anyone in the Empire to handle that; Luke was notorious, and he had just participated in the Emperor's death. Vader had been less concerned about his own health, hence his willingness to go the Rebellion. For all that Command had agreed, however reluctantly, to the plan they'd hashed out on Tatooine, Vader hadn't expected to be treated as anything but an enemy, had been surprised to be taken to medical with his son rather than to a cell.

Now, after three days, they were both well enough to attend the debriefing Command wanted. Vader would be going back to medical after; apparently, his treatment in the Empire had been shoddy at best and abusive to criminal at worst. Luke had had to push Vader to agree to that, felt he'd acted very much the imperious young prince Vader had declared him before first his friends and later the Galaxy, but he wanted his father to get proper treatment. If that meant pushing, he'd push. That it had reassured the medics assigned to the two of them was a happy side benefit.

Luke was broken from both his memories and his enjoyment of the park-like surroundings when someone plunked down across from him.

Lieutenant Ustrei Mentin. She was one of the flight control officers and had worked with Rogue Squadron multiple times.

She also tended to get flustered when she had to interact with him face to face, rather than over the comm.

There was no trace of that now, though; instead, she radiated outrage. He was prepared for her to lash out at him for being Vader's son, but that wasn't what she wanted.

"I'm sorry!"

He had to take a mental step back and rethink his responses for a moment at that. "For what? he asked.

"I'm sorry that he made you claim to be his son before he'd do the right thing and kill the Emperor. What kind of monster would use that sort of blackmail, especially on you?"

Well. That certainly hadn't been the response he'd expected.

But he was hardly going to let the perception stand, even if it lost him some of the sympathy his admission had apparently gained.

"He didn't," Luke said calmly, as he gathered up the remains of his breakfast, glad he'd finished eating. "I had options when we made the plan. Telling the Galaxy the truth was merely one of those options. That it is the one we went with was my choice."

Letting those words hang over the silent patio, since everyone had still been quiet enough to overhear, he dropped his tray at the counter by the door and swept off.

He had a debriefing to attend.