Vader Remembers
Darth Vader swung his lightsaber at Luke's right hand and chopped the hand off at the wrist. As Luke screamed, Vader faltered for a moment. For a moment, Vader had seen Count Dooku… Vader mentally shook himself, trying and mostly failing to banish the thought. Luke had crawled the farthest he could out on the machinery. Vader tried to persuade Luke to join him, but the boy stubbornly refused. When Vader revealed to Luke the true identity of his father, Luke screamed in denial.
When Luke released his hold on the machinery he'd been clinging to and fell down the reactor shaft, Vader mentally shouted at himself to move, to do something, but he was paralyzed, overrun with hated memories.
Vader remembered Dooku's red lightsaber slicing off his right arm at the elbow, his own screams, blue Sith lightning everywhere, the horrible draining…
NO! Vader forced himself to turn and leave, tried to force those unwanted memories back to where they'd been, but they refused to leave. Murderer, betrayer, Chosen One…
When Vader returned to his Imperial Star Destroyer, he saw the Millenium Falcon trying to flee, but without success because he'd had the ship's hyperdrive deactivated. Just as he was certain that the ship and, ultimately, Luke, would be his, somehow the ship vanished into hyperspace, with no way to follow. Vader considered killing everyone on the Star Destroyer, but decided it would be a waste. Instead, he turned and walked into his meditation chamber to ponder everything.
Vader tried to slow the speed at which the memories were coming. When at last the memories were dealt with, Vader thought of other matters. His black heart quailed at the thought of telling the Emperor of the events that had happened at Cloud City, but Vader knew he was powerless to disobey his Master. Then, his thoughts turned to Luke. The boy definitely got Padme's height, Vader thought, then he realized that he had thought of Padme!
Still…memories of his wife didn't ache as they had since her death, since the apparent death of their child. How curious. Vader resolved to find his son, to find him and teach him. And to protect him from the Emperor.
As Vader left the chamber, he thought, Why?