I really enjoyed this story, and I wonder what would happen next. It would have been very interesting if Luke had gone with Vader, or if Vader had been a little less stubborn and gone with Luke. I can just imagine all the possibilities...

Love it!

Another perfect story. I love the way you show Luke and Vader relation. It isn't easy, it isn't simple. But it's amazing strong.

ok hold up. It was kill or be killed. The Death Star would have gone on to kill more INNOCENTS & NON-COMBATANTS. Other than that, I agree.

I was recommended this by a friend and I have to say it's an amazing read! I love the Vader/Luke interaction that isn't confined to the films. It's a strange but sad tale, but it works really well. Keep it up! :-)

This is wonderful

WOW. This was GOOD. I loved it, it was beautiful, thought-provoking, deep, I couldn’t get enough of it. Well done!

Really interesting take on that relationship development. I like the nuances in conversation, they were quite character-appropriate.

This was an amazing piece of work.

A nice story, I like the more casual setting.

Great job! And a nice read.

I like the character psychology. I like Vader here. I love Luke even more - he shows true strength of character here.

Luke's processing of the Death Star blowup is great. I find it annoying that there is so little regard for the mass-killer (murderer even, from a certain POV) aspect in Luke. I mean, day One: find Kenobi, kill a Tusken. Day Two: rescue Leia, kill a few stormtroopers. Day Three: Blow up a WOMD, kill a million. That has to do something with a guys psyche, _especially_ if you feel all those deaths (through the Force).

Yours, Ormolu.

"Then maybe he could forget that its very existence made him feel lost and vulnerable." :(

The Ukio neutral zone conference was a really good, 100% believable, and clever idea to get Rebel and Imperial alike in the same place without killing each other.

"Vader looked less like a man than an apparition, a demon come to haunt the dreams of lesser beings." That's a cool and fitting description.

"Vader was a legend come to life, a vengeful god." That is also a very fitting description!

"Someone whispered without words that his raging thoughts were giving nightmares to every Force-sensitive within three light-years" That hints at a little bit of humor on Darth Vader's part; I like it.

"He wasn't alone. His father was here. His father - the navigator, the Jedi, the Dark Lord - whichever one it was, he was here!" Luke's reaction to Vader's mind-touch was sweet, but it also highlighted how lonely he must feel. Poor guy.

"Oh, by the way, can my son come to dinner?" LAWL

"And the mask had a caricature of a nose, a funny polished button that he was tempted to push." That is both very cute and very human, I guess-...in a way...uh, I mean, I've seen people do that to other people as a sign of affection. Tapping someone on the tip of their nose with the pad of their index finger, I mean. ...Yeah...

"He watched with disbelief as The Hand was grabbed by its wrist and raised in the air. Vader studied it. He turned it over, pushed back the tight sleeve, and popped open the access panel." At first I was shocked that Vader did that to Luke, but then again I'm not surprised that he would just grab the hand and pop it open (that's very in character for Vader), as if it belonged to him. It's attached to Luke, after all. I wonder if that was also a show of possessiveness on Vader's part, to expose Luke like that in a room full of Rebels who were obviously watching the two of them. It's defiantly a weighted action.

"And may I also say, Mothma, that your treatment of Jedi Skywalker distresses me. So much so that it was one my prime reasons for attending this summit." Oh, snap.

"And now - this was more than wanting him to join in ruling the galaxy, this was love." *Heart*

I really loved the exchange Vader and Luke had back and forth-about Luke having his father's eyes and Luke telling Vader he also hoped to have his father's inherent goodness.

"The guests were resettling themselves and shooting covert, annoyed looks at him - which meant Vader had made them all move to make a place for him." That's so Vader-like.

I liked Vader instructing Luke how to use the utensils...but ...gross about eating that worm thingie Xp

"'The son follows in the father's footsteps. It was you, and you alone, who destroyed the Death Star." Wow, I wonder why I never picked up on that parallel before.

Damn. Vader just owned Luke over the Deathstar thing-that was intense.

In fact, this entire fic was EPIC. I will definitely be revisiting it!

Great job!

I love how you take the time between Bespin and the second Death Star and come with a possible reasoning for them to speak with no attempts at battle. Usually it's kind of a hashed together reason, but the peace treaty for food and the reasoning behind both of them being their is very well thought out.

For a bit, I did have to go back and see that this was originally written back in 1997 as obviously you couldn't have known how the newer trilogy would have portrayed Vader's back story, though some of his reactions to Luke's words showed your guesses were pretty good into his character. I also loved how, despite some misgivings, Mothma still came to Luke's aid. While I've never been a fan of hers, I can see her at least trying to do what she could to promote peace. Very good read! ~ Jelp

why do so many writers feel compelled to bash Madine? Yes, he does raise a good point about Luke going AWOL but I can't find any mention of him distrusting Force-users on Wookiepedia. If you need a character like that, particularly someone to fill the role of the 'former Imperial having difficulty adjusting' then just an invent an OC; casting Madine that way makes little sense considering that the reason Madine defected was because he started having problems with Imperial methods.

Love this story! (: