Witness

The flickering lines of hyperspace swirled all around Luke Skywalker's X-wing. From a larger ship, even one the size of the Millennium Falcon, the lines were a curiosity, but from within the exposed cockpit of his small fighter Luke found them hard to watch. Their everchanging appearance seemed to echo the uncertainty in his own mind. Even though he was already on his way to Bespin, Yoda's and Ben's words of warning continued to haunt him.

But wasn't he following Ben's long ago directive? You must do what you feel is right. And Luke did feel that the decision to help Han and Leia was the right choice. The only choice. But facing Darth Vader, the man who had killed his father and Ben, that was altogether different. Though he didn't want to admit it, Luke knew he wasn't yet a match for Vader's power. He could only hope that he had learned enough from Yoda that he would not fail.

A chirp from Artoo brought Luke out of his thoughts. Across the ship's comm screen Artoo's translated words flashed in red.

/WHERE ARE WE GOING?/

"I told you already, Artoo. To Bespin. To save Han and Leia."

/AND DARTH VADER IS THERE?/

Artoo must have been listening to the conversation as they'd loaded the X-wing back on Dagobah. "Yes," Luke said with an involuntary shiver. "I hope I'm strong enough to defeat him."

/WHY HAVEN'T THEY TOLD YOU?/

"About what?"

/ABOUT VADER./

"Ben did tell me, Artoo," Luke said, perplexed. "Vader betrayed and murdered my father."

/THAT'S NOT RIGHT./

Luke felt a prickle of irritation. "How would you know?"

/I WAS THERE./

"What do you mean you were there?" Luke said. Artoo had to be pulling his leg. "Where?"

/EVERYWHERE. HE WAS MY CO-PILOT./

"Darth Vader was your co-pilot?" Luke laughed. "I think you have a loose wire, Artoo."

/HE WENT BY ANAKIN SKYWALKER BACK THEN./

"Anakin Sky...but that's my name."

/THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU. DARTH VADER IS YOUR FATHER./

Luke stared at the screen, the words blazing in red against black, unyielding as if they were etched in stone. "My father...," he stumbled, feeling his whole world crumble away. "That doesn't make any sense. That's impossible."

/WHY?/

Luke blinked rapidly. How could Artoo even question that? "Because he's killed so many people. He leads the Empire. He's evil."

/MAYBE HE HAS A LOOSE WIRE. HE WASN'T ALWAYS THAT WAY./

Luke was glad the ship was on autopilot, because he could hardly concentrate. He grasped for whatever consolation Artoo could offer. "No?"

The words on the comm screen were replaced by static, and after a moment, images. Images of a small blond boy participating in some sort of parade. Of a young man and young woman walking through a city of ornate buildings. The same couple, holding hands in front of what looked like a clergyman. Of the young man again, older this time, flying a fighter towards a starship, the flash of cannon fire all around. There were several of those, different, yet the same, as if they were battles in a long war.

Suddenly, Luke was reminded of something else Ben had told him about his father. ...a Jedi Knight, same as your father...He was the best star pilot in the galaxy. "Is this my father? Was he a Jedi?"

/ANAKIN SKYWALKER. YES. WE WERE AT THE JEDI TEMPLE ALL THE TIME./

Luke felt a ray of hope creep into his mind. If all this was true, and there was no reason to think Artoo was lying, at least the image of his father that Luke had held so tightly was not entirely wrong. "But he doesn't look like that now. What happened?"

/I DON'T KNOW. ON MUSTAFAR ANAKIN AND OBI-WAN WERE FIGHTING. ONLY OBI-WAN CAME BACK./

Ben and his father fighting? Back on Tatooine, Ben had called Luke's father a good friend. What could have happened to make two friends fight like that? Even with what Artoo had told him, Luke knew he didn't have the whole story. He glanced at the nav computer; they would be coming up on Bespin shortly. Maybe this was why he had felt so determined to leave Dagobah, beyond what he owed to Han and Leia. He was coming to Bespin because his father was there. It was his destiny.

"What am I going to do, Artoo?" Luke said. "I don't want to fight my own father."

/MAYBE WE CAN REPAIR HIM./

"Yeah," Luke said, that idea growing in his mind. Maybe there was some part of Vader that was still Anakin Skywalker. Maybe there was a way to reach out to him. "Yes. That's exactly what we're going to do."

/GOOD. I ALWAYS LIKED ANAKIN./

Luke smiled. Someone Artoo held in that regard couldn't be all bad. From the console, the nav computer chimed, announcing their imminent return to real space. Luke put his hands on the ship's yoke, ready to take control. Of his ship, of his destiny. He had never felt more certain.