Disclaimer: Star Wars is the property of George Lucas and 20th Century Fox.
The mechanical breathing reverberated off the white walls of the recovery room, it was eerily chilling to the medical staff who remembered a similar being visiting their hospital years ago. Many of the nurses pitied their latest patient who would no doubt be tormented for simply existing this way. The wounds inflicted on the galaxy were still fresh and few had forgiven the empire for what it had done to them.
It had been five years since the death of both Emperor Palpatine and his apprentice Darth Vader, but the galaxy was still torn by conflict from remnants of the empire. Those few too proud to admit defeat and those too consumed by greed to relinquish their power.
Now lying in a bed in a hospital on Corecaunt encased in a life-support suit was one who had been caught in the cross-fire. Fifteen year old Soren Jakar's parents had fought and died for the rebellion, fighting for a cause they'd believed in. His father was pilot who had been killed during the attack on the second Death Star. His mother on the other hand had been captured two years previously, was tortured and then executed for treason. It had been a hard life for Soren since then, he had no living relatives and was sent to an orphanage on one of the mid-rim worlds controlled by the Alliance.
After five years he had finally come to terms with the loss of his parents when one of the few Star Destroyers still in operation had attacked. Desperate to evacuate as many children from the planet as possible before ground troops landed they packed almost ten-thousand into three transports, however fate had something else in mind for Soren Jakar. As his transport attempted to break orbit they came under fire from several TIE-fighters that destroyed their engines, only a quarter of the children made it to the escape pods before the ship crashed and exploded.
Soren who was still aboard had somehow miraculously survived, however not without suffering severe burns across most of his body, the loss of his left leg, right arm and was inhaling dangerous amounts of smoke and gas. He was found two hours later and put on the first medical ship (that had accompanied Rouge Squadron and several New-Republic battleships) to Coruscant.
So now here he was, finally coming out of his comatose state after three weeks. The doctors had done all they could but the burns and the damage to his lungs were deemed irreversible and now he had to spend the rest of his life encased in a life-support suit wearing an eerily familiar mask. The doctors feared many would find it difficult to seperate the boy from the memories of Darth Vader.
Just outside the room on the other side of the observation window stood Leia Organa-Solo and her twin brother Luke Skywalker. They'd heard about the boy and what he'd have to endure for the rest of his life, they'd hoped to be of some help to him for all his parents had done for the rebel alliance and everything he himself had gone through. It was a tense moment for both of them. Finally Luke decided to break the silence.
"I knew his father." Leia looked towards him, sorrow evident in her eyes. "He was a good pilot and a good friend." He tried to hold back his own tears, he still wasn't quite used to the feeling of loss that accompanied the death of a friend or loved one but he hid it well when the situation called for it like any good Jedi would. They were drawn back towards Soren when they heard him moan. It sent a shiver down Leia's spine, it was almost too similar to the mechanical voice of a man she'd hated most of her adult life.
Doctor Korban was at Soren's side almost instantly, he understood how much of a shock this new situation could be to the young man. He would not only be left physically scarred but emotionally aswell.
Blackness. That's all Soren knew as he regained consciousness. He remembered the evacuation, the transport ship and the TIE-fighters, but nothing else after that. His mind was foggy, he could almost recall something else but it was just out of his reach. He tried to open his eyes and was shocked. He was looking through some kind of mask, it had halo-enhanced eye lenses for some reason. He was slightly confused since usually only people who have suffered severe damage to their eyes used them...'oh no!' he thought. He must have been injured after the TIE-fighters had attac-wait a minute, what's that noise? It sounded like someone breathing...then he suddenly realized, it was him. He was wearing some kind of oxygen mask that covered his entire face. What had happened to him!?
"Soren?" Someone was calling his name. "Soren, can you hear me?"
"Yes." Wait, why did his voice sound like that? It sounded, much deeper and artificial. Someone gasped. Was his voice that shocking? "What happened to me?"
"What do you remember?" Considering his condition he assume a doctor was talking so he must be in a hospital.
"I remember being on a transport with other children we were being followed by Imperial TIE-fighters and then...I don't remember." The doctor sighed. It almost sounded in relief, but why?
"Soren, what I'm about to tell you is going to be very shocking and painful to hear, but you have a right to know." The doctor looked up towards something on the other side of the room, then nodded. "Your transport was shot down. We'd found you in the burning wreckage, somehow you'd managed to survive. However, you've lost your right arm and your left leg, we've had to attach cybernetic replacements in their place. Also, you've suffered burns to almost every part of your body, your eyes have been damaged to the point where you'll need the use of halo-enhancers to see properly." He paused, letting Soren absorb it all in. He was right, it was shocking, however there seemed to be more he needed to say. "Finally, your lungs." This worried Soren, but he needed to know. "You inhaled a dangerous combination of smoke and various gases that have damaged your lungs beyond our ability to heal. I'm afraid that if you want to live you're going to have to wear that mask for the rest of your life."
Soren was speechless, he felt pain and anger welling up inside him. He wanted to cry out, to beg them to try something, anything to heal him. But he couldn't. He was suddenly overwhelmed with sobs of anguish. He wanted his mother, his father, anyone to wake him up from this nightmare. He held his gloved hands to his mask and sobbed openly, not caring who saw or heard him.
Leia was standing at the observation window crying silently at the sight of the sobbing boy before her, he was obviously in a great deal of pain. She wished she could do something, anything to help him. She looked to Luke and he nodded. He knew that if he didn't have anyone to comfort him in this moment of need then he would probably become as twisted as Vader was. Leia entered the recovery room and took one of his gloved hands in hers. She stroked his hand and he turned his head to look at her.
"It's ok, you're not alone, you don't have to go through this alone." Surprisingly he felt comforted by her words, he had no idea who she was but he felt better knowing someone was there for him.
"Who...are...you?" He asked between sobs. He thought he'd seen her somewhere before but couldn't for the life of him figure out where.
"I'm Leia Organa-Solo and this-" She motioned to a man who had come to stand behind her. "-is my brother, Luke Skywalker." His sobbing was now coming to a stop and when the names finally resisted in his mind his eyes widened, though they couldn't see it. The heroes of the Alliance? Here!? With him!? It begged the question, why?
"Could we have some privacy please." Leia wasn't about to let the doctor or his nursing staff in on what was about to be said, there was no telling who was still loyal to the empire and who wasn't. The doctor nodded and led the nurses out of the recovery room.
Sensing his sudden confusion Luke spoke up. "We're friends of you parents. We'd heard what had happened to you and we came over as soon as we could." This only confused Soren even more, so Luke decided to lay the big one on him. "Our father was in a similar situation as you're in now. We've learned the hard way of what injuries like these can do to a person. Our father had no one to comfort him, no one to help him through his pain so he became twisted." Leia snorted, she wouldn't have just called him twisted, but this wasn't the time for that.
"What Luke's trying to say is that we don't want what happened to him to happen to you. We're here for you, if you need someone to talk to then we're here." Soren was trying to piece it all together, she'd heard that Princess Leia of Alderaan and Jedi Knight Skywalker were long lost brother and sister who had been separated to protect them from the Emperor, but he'd never heard mention of their real father, Anakin Skywalker surviving the purges. His sudden curiosity got the better of him.
"What happened to your father?" At this Leia and Luke both looked rather uncomfortable, they knew he'd ask but they were both silently hoping they wouldn't need to answer that particular question. The only people who knew about their real father were Han, Chewie, Admiral Ackbar, Lando and Mon Mothma. They didn't want it to become public knowledge due to the fresh scars still left over from the rule of the empire. They didn't believe the New Republic was ready for that piece of news just yet.
"As you may be aware our Father was a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker." To this Soren nodded "What nobody else knows is that Anakin Skywalker didn't die during the Jedi Purge, he led it." Luke could sense Soren's shock and confusion double so he thought he better just come out and say it. "Our father was manipulated by the emperor and turned to the darkside, he became Darth Vader."
"Your father was Darth Vader!" It wasn't so much a question as an outlet for his shock. They remained silent for a number of minutes so Soren could digest this latest piece of information. He could tell by the pain in Luke and Leia's eyes that they had suffered in the knowledge of their fathers identity. He'd read that Princess Leia had been tortured by Vader shortly before the first Death Star had been destroyed, to find out that she had been tortured by her own father whether they both knew or not must be a pain beyond comprehension. He couldn't help but feel sorry for them both. Then it struck him that maybe they're supporting him was not only because they truly wanted to help him but because they were also trying to, in a way forgive their father for his past deeds by helping someone in a similar situation. He couldn't help but smile at the thought, sure he may not be able to see or feel the light of day again with his own senses but perhaps they could help each other through their mutual pain.
Luke sensed the turn in their young friend's mood and smiled to himself. Just one more piece of business to wrap up then.
"Soren, Leia and I have been talking and we'd like to invite you to live with us at our home. Leia has all the documentation ready to remove your status as a ward of the state so that we can become your legal guardians." Soren didn't know what to say, after five years, five long lonely years he was finally going to have a home! Fresh tears were flowing down his scarred cheeks, but these weren't tears of sorrow, they were tears of joy. In a twisted sort of logic he had to thank those TIE-fighters for shooting his transport down, for now he had a home. He could only nod his head in acceptance, not trusting his voice even if it was mechanical now.
And so on that day Soren Jakar was no more, he was now Soren Skywalker.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
This story is an AU. I'm not entirely sure about my drama/angst writing abilities but hey, won't learn if you don't try. Anyway read and enjoy, R&R welcome.