A/N: Wow, it has been ages since I last published a story. To those of you still studying, do enjoy it because work is many times more mind-numbing and brain-draining.
This story is inspired by countless other Dark!Luke stories out there. Nothing new about the plot, do not read if you're looking for fresh material. It'll be a short story, so that I don't have to worry about finding the time to finish it:X Basically, just a ficlet that I'm using to polish my rusty writing skills.
The basic premise is that the Emperor is Luke's grandfather and Darth Vader is Luke's father. Darth Vader found Luke on Tatooine when Luke was fourteen and brought him back to Imperial Center (Coruscant). Months after his eighteenth birthday, Luke and his father are on a shake-down cruise on board the Executor.
Chapter One
Biggs Darklighter sat in a standard cell in the detention level of the Star Destroyer, the Executor. The white walls, white floor and white pallet did little to brighten the gloom of his heart. Oh, why, why in stars and galaxies was he so unlucky? Red Squadron had merely been on a standard supply run to a neighbouring planet, when all of a sudden, the Executor came out of hyperspace almost right on top of them. Biggs did not know who was more surprised, Red Squadron or the Imperials, but that did not stop either side from opening fire. And one squadron of X-wings held no chance against a Super Star Destroyer. His entire squadron had been decimated; only his and Wedge Antilles' craft had been crippled instead of destroyed. Then they had been brought in and, if his admittedly limited knowledge of standard Imperial protocols were anything to go by, would soon be interrogated.
Biggs would have to be strong. Would have to hold out in the face of torture, and refuse to give the Imperials any information about the rebel base on Yavin IV. He would have to….
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the mechanism of the door engage and the door slid open. He set his face into defiant lines and looked up at the Imperial who had walked into his cell. Clad in a black uniform…wait a minute…even though the designs were similar, what the person was wearing was in no way a uniform. Indeed, despite being cut along military lines, the tunic was not made of standard Imperial issue. Biggs blinked, then allowed his eyes to see, to really see the person who had just entered his cell. Blonde hair, warm blue eyes…and…
"Sithspit! Luke!" Biggs exclaimed. He recognized the teenager standing in front of him, even though four years had passed since he last set eyes on him. How could he not?! This was Luke Skywalker, his best friend, with whom he had bull-eyed womp rats, threaded the needle at Beggar's Canyon… A wide grin broke out on his face at the sheer delight he had in seeing his friend again.
Then reality came crashing down. "Hello Biggs," Luke's reply was soft and grim. The tone of the voice, the crisp, cultured Basic that was so different from the accent that a native of Tatooine would use, that Biggs remembered just who his friend was. Luke Skywalker Vader, heir of Lord Darth Vader. When the news had broken a few months ago, Biggs had avowed firm disbelief at first. Then the intelligence reports had started trickling in. Luke went everywhere Vader's flagship went, commanded a mini-squadron of his own – a min-squadron which had a legendary kill count. Luke appeared next to Vader at important events, like Empire Day, in a position of honour. And Biggs had to swallow his disbelief as the truth sank in. But, deep in his heart of hearts, he still could not believe that his childhood friend was the son of Vader.
"Is he really your father?" Biggs blurted out the question that had been weighing on his mind since the news first broke. Inclining his head slightly, Luke replied, "Yes, Lord Vader is my father. In all sense of the word." He seemed to hesitate, then continued, "His enemies kidnapped me when I was born, and hid me on Tatooine in hopes that I would turn against my father when I grew up."
"What? Why?" Curiosity overtook Bigg's logic as he questioned his friend anxiously. It appeared to be a touchy subject, for Luke's face twisted in anger even as he replied, "I'm powerful, Biggs. Strong in the Force, like my father before me. If my father's enemies had succeeded in their manipulations, I could've been a severe inconvenience to the Empire. They would've had me betray my father!" Biggs stared at this raging facsimile of his best friend. Sure, Luke had a temper, but Biggs did not think he had ever seen such pure, unadulterated rage on Luke before. But then, Luke did not have something like this to be furious about before, did he?
"Luke…" Biggs cleared his throat nervously and whispered, hoping to calm his friend down. Luke glared at Biggs for one long moment, before he took a deep breath. Then, so suddenly that it was like a locking mechanism had been depressed, Luke's face smoothed out into an expressionless mask, with not even a flicker of his prior rage showing.
"But I did not come in here to rant, did I? So, tell me Biggs, what are you doing with the rebels?" Luke queried with one eyebrow arched almost regally.
Luke suppressed a sigh when Biggs finally finished telling his story. His friend, two years older than him, had quickly signed up for the Imperial Academy upon reaching eighteen, the official minimum age of enlistment in the Outer Rim worlds. Then, just as they had envisioned in the daydreams of their youth, Biggs had gone on to become an exceptional pilot in the Imperial Academy…only to find himself jumping ship to the Rebellion after one too many perceived Imperial atrocity.
It just goes to show, thought Luke, how rampant corruption was amongst the minor officials. Luke's resolve was further strengthened; he would help his father and grandfather root out corruption in the Imperial Armed Forces, so that situations like this would be minimized. Why, to lose such a gifted pilot due to the inadequacies of the Imperial forces that resulted in them being doubly susceptible to the wiles of the Rebels was extremely detrimental to the Empire!
That was a matter for another day however. Right now, the most pressing problem that Luke faced was that of Biggs' fate. Were he to leave him here, he had no doubts that Biggs would soon be executed as the Rebel traitor that he was. But was Luke able to stand by and watch his childhood friend face that fate?
Even though Luke had since found his true family, Biggs Darklighter had been an integral part of his childhood. After toiling on his 'Uncle' Owen's moisture farm day and night, Biggs' company meant the world to a young Luke Skywalker when he went to live out his dreams, to escape from reality by chasing down thrill and excitement for a few hours. Whether it be shooting at womp rats or shooting down Beggars' Canyon in his T-16 skyhopper, Biggs had always been there to accompany him.
Luke knew that he should turn and leave this very moment. Abandon Biggs to his fate, a fate that he had earned when he joined the Rebel Alliance. As the son of Darth Vader, as the grandson of the Emperor of the Galactic Empire, he was duty bound to do just that. And when Biggs was eventually sentenced to execution together with the other Rebel captive, Luke might even have been honour bound to watch the execution.
But Luke knew that he could not just leave like that. Even as a sickening lurch in his stomach warned of the consequences of his decision – his father and grandfather would be furious – Luke came to a decision. It was time, Luke thought, to repay his debt to Biggs Darklighter. A debt of friendship. Pushing aside thoughts of his family to mull over when he had the privacy to do so, Luke fixed Biggs Darklighter with a piercing stare.
"I can get you out of here, Biggs. But that's it." Luke said evenly. "I will not ask you to promise not to go back to the Rebels because I know that you will not keep that promise." He leveled a penetrating gaze at Biggs, feeling a rush of disappointment when Biggs avoided his eyes. The offer for Biggs to join him in the Empire died in his throats. Luke might only be a Sith Lord-in-training, but he knew with certainty that Biggs would not defect. Whether it be the result of indoctrination or genuine belief in the Rebellion, Biggs Darklighter was as lost to him as his 'Aunt' Beru.
"This is the last thing that I'll ever do for you, Biggs." Luke stated softly. Allowing the sorrow he felt at that fact to feed into his ever-present, simmering anger at the Rebellion, Luke turned to leave the detention cell. Then, Biggs called out to him. "Luke, wait!" Hope, tentative and cautious, sprouted like a new sprout in the beginnings of spring. Had Biggs changed his mind after all?
"Yes?" Luke did not turn around. He clasped his hands together in front of him to hide the slight trembling that had resulted from his nervous anticipation. If Biggs were to change his mind about returning to the Rebellion, Luke would invite him to stay in the Empire. With him. He would give Biggs the position of his wingman in his personal squadron; it was a position that the very best and experienced dogfighters vied for; second only to that of being a wingman in Darth Vader's personal squadron.
"What about my friend? Wedge Antilles, the pilot who was captured together with me…Luke, you'll save him too, right?" Hope, which had never been given a chance to truly blossom, withered immediately, turning into the darkest disappointment. Luke smiled humourlessly, bitterly. He had never experienced spring, after all, on that Force-forsaken planet of Tatooine. Why should this be any different?
For a fleeting moment, the curling bitterness in Luke's stomach tempted him to sneer at Biggs, to observe, and delight in Biggs' reaction when Luke rejected his plea to save his friend. Was Luke not his friend too? Why did Biggs choose him over Luke? He squashed down the childish urge to use words to hurt, to wound Biggs in retaliation. This, after all, was the last thing he could do for the man that he had once called his friend.
"As you desire." Luke replied coolly. With that reply, he felt the heavy, warm weight that had shackled his heart and hands in the name of friendship fade away. When the doors of the detention cell shut behind him, Luke felt that he had just delivered an eulogy to his past self. Henceforth, he would embrace his identity as Luke Skywalker Vader, Heir to Darth Vader, Sith Lord-in-training, grandson of the Emperor.