Vader's POV

Vader looked up at the Lambda class shuttle as it flew closer. He could feel Luke's bright Force presence moving in tandem with it, and knew that this was the ship Aphra had seen the guards dragging the boy onto.

"No." They would not take his son from him, not when he was so close!

He reached towards the shuttle with the Force, finding the fuel cells in the engine and rupturing them with the tightening of his fist. Explosions tore through the engine as the fuel combusted and the shuttle instantly began to plummet back to the planet, nose first.

Luke reached out into the Force, flailing as though he were trying to find something to hold onto. Vader responded instinctively, surrounding his son's presence with his own in a gesture of parental protection that surprised even him.

He watched impassively as the shuttle crashed, sending gentle prods through the Force to guide it down in a way that would not endanger anyone in the passenger compartment. He would never be able to forgive himself if, while attempting to save his son's life, he accidentally killed him.

It seems, in your anger, you killed her.

Vader shook off the memory. He would not make the same mistake twice. Luke would not die at his hand. Although he was beginning to doubt he had actually killed his wife. She must have survived long enough to give birth to Luke after their… conversation.

Someone had lied.

The shuttle impacted with a loud crash and sent up a thick cloud of sand and dust. Its momentum propelled it along the ground for several dozen meters, leaving a long scar in the sand on the planet's surface. Nothing that a mild sandstorm could not fix.

He felt a brief moment of panic as Luke's presence wavered and dimmed, but it continued to burn with life and power, an unfocused nova of light. He was alive but unconscious, if the intensity was anything to go by.

As soon as the shuttle had stopped sliding, Vader leapt off the rock outcropping he had been standing on. The bedrock under the sand he landed on cracked under the impact, but his durasteel legs absorbed the shock before it reached his actual flesh. Vader stalked forward, feeling the guards beginning to stir inside the shuttle. So all four of them had survived. Unfortunate. He flicked his awareness briefly to the cockpit but felt no life. The command crew must have perished. He had been too focused on Luke to notice their deaths, but this would only make his job easier.

Vader approached the crashed shuttle, again locating his son's Force presence. Even as he monitored it, it blossomed back to its full strength as his son came back around. He must have only been dazed.

He stared at the downed ship, considering the best way to get to Luke. The boarding ramp was buried in the sand and inaccessible without shifting the entire shuttle with the Force. That was completely possible, but would take too much time and effort and he could not guarantee that the upheaval would not injure Luke further. He could easily carve a door with his lightsaber, but that would also take time and without being able to pinpoint Luke's exact location he risked burning him. A nuisance that would surely resolve itself once the link was mutual. Tearing one of the side panels away would be the quickest and most efficient method of gaining access.

The durasteel offered very little resistance to his brute strength applied through the Force. It tore easily, with the shrieking sound of rending metal. Vader tossed the twisted piece of durasteel aside with a dispassionate flick of his wrist and entered the shuttle through the new gaping hole in the side. His mask immediately compensated for the drastic change in lighting and his eyes found Luke, curled up on his side near the wall. His hands were bound in front of him and his eyes were closed tightly in an expression of pain. He was still wearing his gaudy orange flight suit. The Rebels deserved to be eradicated simply for their fashion choices.

Vader did not have long to contemplate his son, as one of the Red Guards yelled at him, dragging his attention back to the small but real threat they posed.

"What are you doing here?"

He ignited his lightsaber in response and did not miss the tremor of fear that ran through Luke's bright presence. He pushed it aside and focused on the two guards that were now rushing him, force pikes humming with electricity.

It quickly became obvious that these were not the Emperor's highly trained Red Guards and he batted them aside effortlessly. He was slightly disappointed with the lack of resistance he received. He could have used an outlet for his rage. But it was mollifying to learn that the Emperor had given Karbin what were probably mediocre stormtroopers dressed in Red Guard uniforms instead of true Guards.

The remaining two guards, who had been hovering behind Luke, now moved to grab his son. It was a pointless gesture as there was nowhere for them to run. Vader blocked the only exit. But the sight of their hands on his son fueled his anger.

"Do not touch him," he growled, raising his lightsaber again and pointing it at them. Luke's head jerked up at the sound of his voice and he winced at the movement. His eyes were still closed. What was wrong with him?

The guards released Luke and retreated as Vader prowled towards them. But they seemed wary of straying too far away from the Emperor's prize and only took a few steps back. It was only then that he realized they planned to do whatever was necessary to prevent him from taking Luke alive. Their intentions towards Luke burned dark in their minds. His realization that these men were more loyal to Karbin than the Emperor was eclipsed by his sudden panic. Terror spiked in him and quickly turned into fury. They would not kill his son!

Vader stepped over Luke and hovered above him with one foot on either side of the boy, shielding him with his body. Luke flinched at his proximity and cried out in pain from the motion. Vader reached for Luke's mind in the Force and the boy's pain and nausea crashed over him. He must have hit his head hard enough to cause a concussion. Vader felt a brief flicker of guilt. Had he been injured in the crash?

Vader surrounded his son's mind with his own presence and blocked the pain as best he could. It seemed to work, as Luke stirred and Vader felt his eyes on him. All of this had happened in the space of two cycles of his respirator and he focused back on the guards. They were still reluctant to move away and they hovered within blade's reach of Luke. Their mistake.

He lashed out quickly, his lightsaber tasting blood before either guard could react and the second one was dead before the first even hit the floor. He deactivated his lightsaber and, oddly enough, the action only served to increase Luke's fear. A quick brush of his mental fingers against Luke's mind revealed why. He was terrified of being taken alive.

So willing to die for your misguided ideals, he thought dryly. He gave a mental sigh and stepped back before crouching down next to his son. Luke immediately twitched away from him and a tiny whimper escaped his lips as Vader took hold of his arm. He tugged weakly at his arms, trying to pull away but his efforts barely registered against Vader's durasteel grip.

"Please, no," Luke begged. "Just kill me now." His eyes were wide as he stared up at Vader. He somehow managed to find Vader's eyes despite the mask and it was an uncomfortable feeling, having someone directly meet his gaze for the first time in twenty years. Even his Master was never so accurate.

"You think I want to kill you?" he finally replied to the boy's absurd request. "If I wanted you dead, I would have let the Red Guards drag you to the Emperor."

Or let them kill you themselves. Apparently if Karbin could not be the one to present you to the Emperor, they would not have allowed anyone else to either.

Vader felt half a dozen questions flit through Luke's mind at this statement. The first thing he would have to teach his son was how to shield, or he would not survive a day on Imperial Center.

"I'm not worth taking. I won't tell you anything." Luke made a second incorrect guess.

"Wrong again. You are far too important to destroy, either physically or mentally." The thought of interrogating his own son made Vader slightly sick. He would never hurt him, not intentionally. Without fully realizing what he was doing, he caressed Luke's mind, just a gentle brush of calming reassurance.

Shock coursed through Luke's body like a stun bolt and his resistance fell away. Vader used the moment to stand and pull Luke to his feet with him. His son's legs gave out as soon as he put weight on them and Vader caught him around the waist as he collapsed against him. Luke made one useless attempt to break free of his hold.

"Let go of me!" There were currents of anger in Luke's tone, under the fear, and his voice was surprisingly strong compared to earlier. He had a Skywalker temper, then. The child was truly his.

"If I release you, Skywalker, you will fall." He smiled at Luke's startled response to the use of his surname. But the boy rallied quickly.

"I don't care." Apparently his son's stubborn pride was stronger than his sense of self-preservation, another trait he shared with his father.

Luke shoved at his chest, again struggling against Vader's hold. His efforts were met with no success and Vader found a grim amusement in his son's rising frustration. Finally being this close to his son after so much time spent chasing him was deeply satisfying and his untainted Force presence was intoxicating. He found himself continually drawn to it, unable to resist the unfamiliar urge to bask in that Light. Now that he had the child, he was never letting him go.

"What do you want from me?" Luke cried, finally giving in to his raging curiosity and asking one of the questions he had been trying to deny.

"You will find out soon enough," Vader replied. This was neither the place nor the time to discuss such an important topic. He needed to move Luke safely to his ship first. Several lifeforms were closing in on the shuttle, most likely Luke's Rebel friends, and although they would pose no challenge to him and he would normally have no qualms about disposing of them, he preferred not to destroy his chances of winning Luke's loyalty.

He reached into a pouch on his belt with his free hand and withdrew a hypospray filled with a strong sedative. It would be the easiest and safest way to transport Luke.

Luke's eyes widened in fear as he caught sight of the hypospray and leaned as far away from Vader as he could, redoubling his efforts to break free.

"No, no, no…" he pleaded. His thoughts were screaming at Vader, begging for death rather than capture. The boy's fear poisoned his mind, darkening his Force presence in a way that made Vader slightly uncomfortable.

Luke needed to know.

"Calm down, my son," Vader said softly. His words had an immediate effect and Luke froze in his arms. His lips moved in a clear question, but he made no sound or else it was too soft to reach Vader's ears. Vader took advantage of Luke's distraction and pulled him closer again, eliminating the small space between them that Luke had won with his struggles.

"I'm not your son," Luke hissed, finally finding his voice. "You killed my father, you murdered him!" It was not so much an accusation as a question.

"No, child, I did not." It must have been Obi-Wan who had fed him those lies. No one else would have.

All the fight went out of Luke. He leaned in to Vader, dropping his head against his chest and letting him support his negligible weight. His voice was small and hopeless as he murmured meaningless denials to himself. Vader gave him a moment to accept the truth, to at least begin to process it, before he lifted the hypospray to his son's neck and injected the drug into his bloodstream.

"I did not kill your father, Luke. I am your father." The Force shivered in agreement with his words and he knew Luke felt it. His end of their bond lit up as Luke's awareness blossomed and his dormant half of it sparked to life. The two threads reached for each other and connected seamlessly, cementing Luke's acceptance of the truth.

The sedative worked quickly and Vader could feel Luke slipping slowly into its grip. His son clutched at him, tangling his hands in the edge of his cloak, and he turned his head to press his forehead against Vader's chest. His breath was shaky with emotion and some primal, parental instinct prompted Vader to comfort him. He reached up and gently touched the back of Luke's head, running his gloved fingers through his hair. And surprisingly, Luke relaxed into his touch, the last of his resistance melting away.

The drug finally overwhelmed Luke and he went limp in Vader's arms, lost to the tight embrace of sleep. Vader allowed himself to relax. His son could no longer escape him, and he had accepted the truth. Hopefully that would make him easier to manage when he woke in his new quarters on the Devastator.

He adjusted his grip, sliding his left arm up so it supported Luke just below the shoulder blades instead of the waist and leaned the boy back so he could get a better look at his face. One of Luke's hands was still entangled in the edge of his cloak, though his grip had slackened. It was such a childlike thing, clinging to a parent's clothing for support, that Vader was simultaneously aware of just how young Luke was, and yet how much of his son's life he had missed. His anger at the Emperor and Obi-Wan flared again. How dare they conceal his son's existence from him? Obi-Wan was already dead, and far too quickly now that Vader knew the extent of his wrongs against him, but the Emperor was still alive. The Emperor could, and would, still pay.

Luke twitched in unconsciousness, no doubt feeling the anger radiating from Vader, and the Sith forced his emotions back under control. He raised his free hand and traced the boy's face with his fingertips, hardly daring to touch. His nose was the exact shape hers had been, though the chin was all Anakin. His blue eyes and dark blond hair were Anakin's as well, though Vader could really only guess at the color through the red tint of his mask.

This boy was their son, Vader had no doubts. And he was strong, if ridiculously untrained. The latter would be fixed quickly and Vader felt a fierce rush of pleasure at the thought of training his own son. The boy was… he would be 20 now, and while it was too late for Vader to give him the childhood he had deserved, he would make sure that Luke would want for nothing. Indeed, Vader could offer him the Galaxy, because together, they would be strong enough to destroy the Emperor and take his place.

He glanced around the compartment and found Luke's, his, lightsaber clipped to one of the Red Guards' belts. He called it to his free hand and held it for a moment, savoring the feel of the familiar hilt in his grip again. If Obi-Wan had not given this lightsaber to Luke, Vader might have accidentally killed the boy on Cymoon-1. It was the sight of the familiar weapon that had stayed his hand and the distraction it provided had given the Rebels time to interfere and allow Luke's escape. But any gratitude Vader might have felt towards Obi-Wan for this was eclipsed by his festering anger at his former master's betrayal.

I would not have needed my old lightsaber to identify my son if he had not stolen him from me! I would not have nearly killed him multiple times.

Vader snarled wordlessly, letting his anger wash over him, strengthening his connection to the Dark Side. It had been a long time since he had felt this much raw power coursing through him. It had been a long time since he had felt this alive.

Luke shrank away from him, trying to turn away and, even in unconsciousness, his bright Force presence started to close itself off. Vader again reined in his emotions, with more difficulty this time after surrendering so fully to them, and realized that they had lingered here for far too long. He needed to find Aphra and contact his Star Destroyer. Now that both his TIE and Aphra's ship had crashed, he had no way off this cursed planet. But his Captain was trustworthy enough. Piett could be counted on to send a shuttle for him, discreetly.

Securing his hold under Luke's back, he bent down and slid his other arm behind his son's knees. He hefted the boy into his arms and was momentarily surprised by how light he was. Certainly, he was short and slender, clearly taking after her with his body type, but his bulky flight suit must have masked just how thin he was. Still such a child.

Luke shifted in Vader's arms and he tightened his grip on his son as a single word brushed against his mind from the newly awakened link.

"Father."

A/N: I have no plans to continue this fic at the moment. This was just an AU one-shot (that got away from me and turned into a two-shot because I wanted both perspectives). I have not thought about what would happen after this, I don't know what I would do with it. If I get an idea, anything is possible and someday in the future it could see a continuation. But at the moment, I have no future plans for it.