AUTHOR'S NOTE: Vendetta is the conclusion of my trilogy – it started with Mercy and continued to Truth. I hope everyone enjoys the ending.

Disclaimer – I don't own Star Wars...

Vendetta

By Red Blaze 16

Vader stood on the Bridge of the Executor. It had been a standard month since Luke escaped Mustafar. The Dark Lord had tracked the ship his son had used to flee the planet, but Luke was smart. The boy left the ship he had taken on a nearby planet and switched ships. Of course, Vader's agents were able to figure out the ship that Luke had gotten on, as a passenger, to go to a different planet. The agents continued to track Luke for almost a standard week, then the trail went cold.

The last few weeks on Executor had been tense. Less than 48-hours after the trail ended, Vader killed a lieutenant. The officer had done nothing more than deliver bad news to the Dark Lord. While he was first to fall to Vader's frustration, he wasn't the last. Admiral Piett kept a wary eye on the Dark Lord. He knew why Vader was angry. In fact, Piett was the only man on the ship, except for Lord Vader, to know that the boy had escaped.

But Piett wasn't the only person who knew that the boy got away. Not long after Luke had escaped, Vader had spoken with the Emperor. The Dark Lord still planned to end the Emperor. The old man had crossed a line with Vader when he had assisted Luke in escaping. Then again, if it had just been the assistance, that could have fallen into the normal twisted relationship that is Master and Apprentice. It was the lies that infuriated Vader. Warped truths, so the boy would fear his father even more. The Dark Lord knew that the Emperor had his own plans for Luke, which was why Vader needed to find his son.

While Vader was furious that his agents couldn't find Luke, he was also uneasy. It wasn't just the agents who couldn't find the boy. Vader could not sense his son in the Force. The boy had disappeared from the Force around the same time his agents lost Luke's trail. Vader wondered if the boy was with the Emperor and his Master was blocking him from detecting the boy. One thing the Dark Lord was certain of though was that his son was alive. The only question was, where was he?

…...

Luke opened his eyes as far as they would go. He found himself still a prisoner. His arms were pinned to his side, thick restraints wrapped around his wrists and ankles. His back was pressed against a metal table. Currently, the table had Luke vertical.

The boy's body was suffused with pain. He didn't know how long ago that the last round of torture had taken place. The last time he had been awake, his tormentor had injected him with some kind of poison. It had felt like his blood had been on fire.

"Awake?"

The boy shifted his attention. The male, as it wasn't a human, stood off to the side. His skin was green, though the color would shift, Luke noted, depending on the male's emotions. His tormentor was mostly hairless, except for a long, thick ponytail of dark hair that grew from the crown of his head. The alien typically wore a dark purple robe, with gold edging, except when he was the one torturing Luke. The boy didn't know the alien's name, but he recognized the species. The male was Falleen.

Near the Falleen was a furry lizard that was about twenty inches long. The animal had been an almost constant companion since Luke had been captured. The green skinned alien told Luke that the creature was an Ysalamiri and its most impressive skill was that it created a neutral zone for the Force around it. The animal actually repelled the Force, which meant that, as long as it was near Luke, the boy couldn't access the Force.

A tree branch shared the room and, typically, that's where the Ysalamiri usually perched. Except today. Right now, it was being held by blonde woman. She looked human, but Luke had already been told she was droid. An almost perfect replica of a human woman. If the alien was not torturing Luke, than the droid was.

Luke had lost track of time. He wasn't sure how long he had been a prisoner of the Falleen. The alien rarely asked him any questions. He wasn't interested in any information that Luke had. He did not care about the Rebellion, not that Luke would have told him anything. All he was interested in was making Luke suffer.

And the alien would always change how he hurt Luke. He didn't want the boy to grow used to or numb to the torture. Luke had been beaten, electrocuted, and poisoned. When the torture went too far and Luke's life was risked, the droid would provide minimum medical attention. The Falleen had told Luke that he wasn't ready to kill him yet.

All the Falleen did was alternate between torturing the boy and telling the boy why he was hurting Luke. Each session always ended the same. The Falleen explained that Luke could blame his father for his suffering. The alien did not mean Anakin Skywalker. No, the alien meant Darth Vader. Luke's torturer knew that the Dark Lord of the Sith was formerly Anakin Skywalker.

"Are you going to kill me?" asked Luke. His words were a whisper. His throat was raw from screaming.

"Why do you ask?" The tone was mild.

"The Ysalamiri," replied the boy. "It's not on the branch."

"Perhaps I feel that it's no long necessary," replied the alien. "Maybe it has served its purpose?"

The male stripped off his robe and placed it carefully on the empty tree branch. Underneath the robe was a skintight black suit. The back was partially open, to allow for the ridges that ran down the alien's back. He stepped up to Luke. He wrapped his hand around the boy's chin and pushed Luke's head back, exposing the boy's throat.

"I could kill you right now," stated the alien. His voice didn't give away any emotions he was feeling. "Slit your throat. Not deep enough to kill you immediately. But deep enough that you would die eventually. I would stand here and watch you gasp for breath, as your blood slowly filled your lungs."

The alien released Luke's chin and stepped back. The boy shifted his head and stared at the Falleen.

"But I have different plans," said the alien. "Guri?"

The blonde droid standing near the entrance to the room, still holding the furry lizard, stepped forward. "Yes?"

"Remove the animal from the ship," ordered the alien. "I believe it's time for Vader to know where his son is. I'm sure he's worried."

The droid nodded her head and exited the room with the Ysalamiri, leaving Luke alone with the Falleen.

"We will be coming out of hyperspace shortly," said the alien. His eyes never left Luke's face. "If the reports I have are correct, the Executor should be nearby. What do you suppose will happen when Vader detects you?"

"You're assuming he's searching for me," said Luke. The boy now understood why the Ysalamiri was removed. While the animal was used, in the beginning, to block Luke's access to the Force, so he couldn't save himself, it had remained near the boy because the Falleen didn't want Vader to find Luke before the alien was ready.

"He's been searching for you ever since you escaped him," replied the alien. "Once his ship is nearby, you will reach out to him and let him know you're here."

"Why would I help you?" demanded Luke. His voice was still a whisper, but his words were firm.

"You're assuming you're going to have a choice," replied the alien with a smile.

Luke decided against replying directly to those words. If Vader was searching the Force for any sign of his son, then he would feel if Luke was tortured near him. If Luke didn't volunteer to attract Vader's attention, then the alien would use other means to force Luke. The boy didn't need the Falleen to confirm that that was the plan. Then again, he wasn't interested in voluntarily helping the Falleen either.

Of course, that would also bring the alien to Darth Vader's attention. "What do you hope to get by gaining his attention?" asked the boy.

Luke didn't know Vader well enough to predict which reaction the Dark Lord would provide the alien. Luke had escaped from him on Mustafar. Maybe Vader would be...pleased that Luke had been punished. Then again, Luke was reminded of the Dark Lord's reaction to when his Admiral harmed him the last time Luke had been on Executor.

He is mine. Vader had growled those words at the Admiral while he crushed the man's throat. The Dark Lord had killed one of his men for barely hurting him. Did that mean that his father actually cared? Or was it as the Emperor said and Vader was most dangerous to those he wanted to keep safe? The boy felt as confused about the situation with his father as he did when he left Mustafar.

The only thing Luke felt certain of was the reason for why the Emperor had helped him escape. Palpatine wasn't a good man to be concerned about the welfare of an enemy. Palpatine wanted to drive a wedge between Luke and Vader. Maybe he feared what father and son would do, if they worked together. Or maybe the old man was unhappy and couldn't stand for anyone else to be happy. Even if Luke doubted every word that the old man had said, it still didn't change the fact that Luke and Vader were on opposite sides of the war between the Empire and the Rebellion.

"If your father follows his typical behavior, he will most likely crush my throat for what I have done," replied the alien, in response to Luke's question.

"What?" The boy was confused. "You want him to kill you?"

"It would not be my first choice," replied the alien. "But if he does, then he loses you."

"Let me guess," replied Luke. "If he kills you, your droid will kill me?"

"No, boy," replied the Falleen. He waved his hand across his own chest. "While you cannot see it, there is a heart monitor on my chest. The monitor is connected to a...well, a bomb on this ship. If my heart stops, the bomb will explode and kill everyone, including you, on this ship."

The Falleen walked over to the side of the room. He pushed a couple of buttons and a small screen slid from the wall. The alien turned back and smiled at Luke.

"If, for some reason, your father decides to let me live, then I will kill you while he watches," said the alien. "Either way, you will be dead and I will have my revenge for my family by destroying his."