Author's note: Just a what if that got way out of hand. Been writing it for 4 years now, and it is well outlined and all, so this is not written on the fly. I hate it when people don't spell-check etc. before they publish. Hope you enjoy this! If you want more and can't wait for me to upload head over to my Websight to read the next chapters. I've written 6, typed 4.
Chapter 1: The Meeting Now chapters have seperate pages.
Luke clung to the thin rod sticking out of the antenna. He hoped it wouldn't break off, sending him down the seemingly bottomless shaft in Cloud City. Darth Vader stood at the junction between the main catwalk and the small ledge that wound around the structure Luke clung to, apparently not so inclined to try the balancing act himself.
"Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father…" Vader's voice came at Luke.
"He told me enough! He told me you killed him." Luke spat the words at the dark Lord, vicious, accusing, and meant to sting.
"No Luke, I am your father." The low purr at which the words came out seemed gentle, in comparison to the Lords normal tone, which wasn't saying much at all. Luke just screamed.
"No! It can't be true! It just can't be!" a tear ran down Luke's pain stricken face. This man who severed hand could not be his father. Luke couldn't be a son to this sithspawn, could he?
"Search your feelings Luke, you know it to be true." There was truth behind these words. No, he wouldn't believe it! An image rose before Luke's eyes.
A man, with blond hair and blue eyes, was running for his life through a familiar swamp. A tiny bundle in his arms was obviously important as he again and again sheltered it from whipping branches and vines. There was a crashing behind the man, and the hum of hungry lightsabers. Suddenly there was a clearing, a waiting ship was there, safety was in that ship and that was where this maddening chase would end. The man got in and blasted off – the lightsabers broke into the clearing just as he cleared the first tree.
The man relaxed as they entered hyperspace, then jumped as a sound emitted from the bundle now resting on the copilot's chair. He went into a small cupboard and came out with a warm bottle. The man picked up the infant, brushed aside the blanket, and fed the fussing blue- eyed child. A smile came to a face unaccustomed to such an exercise.
Luke was once again standing in Cloud City. He tried desperately to find some small bit of deceit, any micron of untruth, the smallest fragment of a lie in the image, but you cannot find what isn't there. Finally Vader spoke again.
"I spent three months running. From my master, who would have seen you as a nuisance and a distraction and killed you. From Obi-Wan and your mother who thought I didn't deserve you. From the Jedi who wished to kill me because I use the dark side. From my own fear that you would be taken away, or get me killed, or be killed yourself. Come back to me Luke." Luke would have been persuaded, but the lack of emotion in Vader's voice was disturbing to him. The Dark Lord realized his error immediately.
"What happened after three months?" was all Luke could manage. He was starting to feel the effects of the blood loss.
"Obi-wan found you." This simple answer didn't quite quench Luke's thirst for knowledge.
Luke ventured further, "Is that when you…?"
"Yes it was." Vader was quick to cut Luke off before he could mention his injuries. The venom with which the statement was made delved them both into a deep silence. At length Vader spoke again, all emotion once again filtered from his voice. "I had only left you in our hiding place alone for a short time. I had to buy some supplies and then we would move again. Obi-wan took you back to his ship. I went after him, and we fought. I lost, badly. Obi-wan left me for dead."
Luke slipped from both loss of blood and the immensity of what he was being told. He managed to grip another rod with his left hand. He tried to make his way back to the main catwalk, but only made it halfway before his blurring vision and shaky footing forced him to stop. Luke looked helplessly at his father.
Vader stepped out onto the platform, but kept one hand on the catwalk railing. He reached out to his son, and lifted him with the force. Luke floated over to the catwalk and Vader released his hold on the boy. Luke promptly crumpled to the floor. Vader shot a quick eye around to make sure they were still alone, then gently picked him up and let Luke lean on him as they walked off the catwalk. Luke passed out as they reached the hallway.
Vader stood in the medroom looking down on the bed where his son lay. Luke began to stir and an impulse overtook the dark Lord. He reached down and put his hand over his son's new replacement hand. Luke's eyes opened.
"Where am I?" the voice seemed weak and distant to Luke, although it was his own.
"The Super Star Destroyer Executor, medical bay, orbiting Bespin. The Emperor should contact me soon." Vader removed his hand, and resisted the impulse to further comfort the boy. The day that Darth Vader went soft would be…
"The Emperor would want to talk about me, wouldn't he?" Luke interrupted Vader's self-scolding.
"Yes…" a thought suddenly slammed into Vader. Long ago he was told something that now sent a shock wave through him that rivaled the Death Star's explosion. Three, but there could not be more than…
Luke cleared his throat, "Is something wrong?" He was, of course, hesitant to ask. However, Luke was simply too curious not to say anything into the silence.
"It's one of the most basic rules, how could I have missed it? He expects me to walk right into it…" The Dark Lord was talking fast and making little sense to Luke, who was left to stare at the door and wonder about his father's sanity.
The hologram of the Emperor was imposing enough, but now it seemed more so because now Vader would have to lie to him. And what a lie this would be! He hoped he could pull it off. "Rise, my friend." Palpatine's voice came to Vader; "You have captured Skywalker." It wasn't a question.
"No my master. I feel he will return to me…" Vader put all the reassurance and truth he could behind the statement.
"You failed?" he was visibly surprised "I saw trough the force as you fought and defeated him. What went wrong?" Palpatine was angry, and the cold chill that fell around Vader didn't help his backbone at all.
"The Stormtroopers who where escorting Skywalker to his cell allowed him to escape. He used the force to trick them into thinking he was still standing next to them and…"
"Excuses!" was the howling reply. The hard stare he was given said things his master's voice would not offer. 'You should know better than to blame others when you are at fault' and 'this was a preventable problem, why didn't you prevent it?' again the booming voice came at Vader "Do not return to Coruscant without him!" the angry face and enraged voice faded.
Vader was too petrified to move for another minute. Then he walked over to a wall panel completely indistinguishable from the rest and pushed one of the rivets in the metal like a button. He had built the door into his chambers himself, so only he knew where it was or how to get in. He spent a handful of seconds watching the rise and fall of his son's chest as he slept, marveled at how soothing his present occupation was, and tore himself away to seek his own bed.
Luke awoke in a small room. The walls and furniture were black metal, standard imperial issue, yet this wasn't a prison cell. The bed was padded and he had a small chest in the corner for his belongings. Although what he had to put in there didn't seem to warrant its existence. The strangest part of the room was the door, or rather the lack of one, a nice way to keep him in one place without a squad of troops. Since there was nothing else to do Luke opened the chest.
He noted the items as he pulled them out: his lightsaber; a heavy book with no title; two changes of clothes, black, military style without rank markings; and a third set of clothes, this time a long black hooded robe, tunic, and pants. Luke had no desire to look like some imperial wannabe. He stripped off the medroom gown and put on the robes, realizing as he did so that they were cut like Old Ben's robes.
He was surprised to see his lightsaber, maybe Vader trusted him more than he realized. Though he can't cut through a door he can't find. Luke put the lightsaber on his belt and placed the clothes in the chest. Since there was no reason not to, he opened the book and began to read. Better to be just stuck instead of stuck and bored.
Darth Vader stalked along the corridor of his Super Star Destroyer. Force help me if this doesn't work. The same thought had been in his mind since he realized what would happen when he recruited Luke. There could only be two Sith at any one time, and that meant one of them would have to die. Luke was young and would most likely become the new apprentice if he survived. The Emperor was old, but still powerful. It would take a lot to get rid of him. And I'm not just going to lie down and die either. Vader had always been loyal to The Emperor, his master, but everyone has to die someday. He would train Luke, then return to his master on Coruscant, and together they would kill the old master.
He tried to convince himself that it wasn't what it seemed. He was not a traitor; it was a necessary action. When a Sith apprentice took on an apprentice of his own the old master had to go. The Emperor knew this. He had instructed Vader in that area of history; he knew what was coming. Vader had a plan.
Vader was pleasantly surprised as the black door slid open and he was presented with the scene inside the small room. Luke had already started studying the book Vader would instruct him by, and was wearing his Sith apprentice robes no less! It would be an interesting experience to work with someone so eager for knowledge.
"So, what are you going to do with me? Strait to Coruscant or will we meet the Emperor somewhere else?" Luke wasn't exactly eager to meet the man, but getting it over with was preferable to waiting around. At least he knew where the door was now.
"We aren't going to meet the Emperor anywhere. You and I will be going to a small planet in the unknown regions on a training mission. There is no such thing as a Sith textbook, you will study from that one to complement your training. Once we are on planet I will instruct you personally; in the meantime stay here and keep quiet."
Luke was surprised they weren't going to the Emperor, surprised and relieved. There was one thing Luke had to say, and it was out of his mouth before he could think about it. "I don't want to turn to the Dark Side." Allderanian dust! That sounded stupid! Luke hoped Vader wouldn't burst out laughing.
Vader had started out the door, without facing him Vader spoke. "You don't have to." Now he turned to face Luke; "In fact it would be better if you didn't until you've had more training. Besides I have things for you to do that only a Jedi could." Once again Luke was sure Vader was talking in circles.
"…But sir, I thought we had orders to be stationed with the perimeter fleet…" the lieutenant recited his previous orders to the Dark Lord. He would be dead already for questioning authority, if he hadn't been following regulations by doing so. Palpatine's orders where to be followed, and so the young man was in the right by pointing this out.
"You will go ahead with the rest of the crew to follow the orders given to you. I am taking one of the shuttles. There is some personal business I need to see to." The second time around the command was a little less imposing, but no less powerful. "Admiral Piett is in charge. I'm leaving, now, so get my shuttle ready!" the Lieutenant practically fell over himself to get out of Vader's line of sight.
It had been a week since they left Bespin. They were due in at a boarder patrol station to scare some motivation back into some lagging projects. Since these were important projects, they wouldn't risk Rebels finding the planet by sending out messages, even on a coded com channel, and given the present population, the Star Destroyer could do that without a crew, the natives were cowards. Vader wasn't going to the station. The Executor would drop out of hyperspace and let him and Luke off in their shuttle. There wouldn't even be a planet around to see them disembark, and the crew would be in communication's blackout due to hyperspace for another two weeks, and force knows how long until they left their station for Coruscant. A good head start, if Luke was as fast a learner as he seemed.
Vader opened the door to Luke's room. "We are leaving as soon as my shuttle is ready, get into the military uniform and pack up. We go when I come back, be ready." The door shut and the Dark Lord grabbed up his own belongings, surprisingly few for such a wealthy man.
Luke was ready when his father returned. A droid picked up Luke's chest and sped away; Luke fell in step with Vader. The reason given for his presence was that he was the pilot for the ship, but Vader took the controls as soon as the Star Destroyer returned to hyperspace. He was informed that the trip would take two days.
Great, Luke thought, trapped for two days in a small ship with a man I hardly know, most of the galaxy hates, and who wants me to be his apprentice. Strangely Luke wasn't that worried, the force at work? His father, he had come to accept the fact after a long meditation during his stay in the small room, obviously needed him for something. He hoped that he could keep himself busy long enough that they wouldn't get too much time for the inevitable awkward conversation.
Vader sat alone in the cockpit. Luke had gone to the back to study, and he could sense the boy's concentration. He wished this trip wasn't so long. At least Luke had something to do in the small ship; all Vader had to do is watch the controls, as if ships in hyperspace do anything except count down to arrival.
That's all for today!