Greetings all! I come bearing my first Star Wars fan fic! My favourite parts of the original trilogy have always been those between Luke and Vader, and I decided to try and explore how their relationship might have been had Vader raised his son from infancy. This story will span between Luke's babyhood to late childhood.
I'll be the first to admit that I am definitely NOT a walking, talking Star Wars Encyclopaedia but I hope that you will enjoy this fic regardless.
Enough with the chatter; I hope you all enjoy and please let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Star Wars universe in any shape or form. It all belongs to George Lucas and now Disney too. The only things I own are any OC's or anything else my mind concocts as the story goes on.
CHAPTER ONE
A FATEFUL MISSION
"Our meeting was not a coincidence. Nothing happens by accident" - Qui-Gon Jinn
In the sixth months that he had terrorised the galaxy as the Emperor's Second in Command,
Darth Vader's life had entered into a steady routine. Even if the setting changed, it still involved the following; sleep, meditate, kill and torture those who oppose the Empire, on a continuous loop. It had been surprisingly easy to fall into the routine, compared to his laborious efforts to learn to live with his new armour and the limitations it placed on him. The habitual cycle of serving the Empire by destroying those who detested it had become strangely comforting. It required no other emotion but anger to fuel the Dark Side.
Therefore, Vader never imagined that a simple mission to capture a political traitor to the Empire would lead him to something truly extraordinary. Something life changing. Something that would change the galaxy forever.
"Our last report indicates that G'Arthes was heading towards the Outer Rim," Commander Stark informed the room. "Given the ease of accessibility for pilots and the possibility to blend in with a crowd, I believe that the most likely location he has chosen is Tatooine; the desert planet."
"There is also a chance that he might have landed on one of the other Outer Rim planets," Captain Leith piped up. "After all, it would be easier to hide on an otherwise uninhabited world or one that is not rampant with life. Selecting Tatooine and relying on the shelter of others who are already wanted criminals is basically signing his death warrant."
"No one ever said that G'Arthes was an intelligent man," said Commander Stark bluntly. "If he was, he would have never betrayed the Empire and sold highly classified material to our enemies. Fortunately, we know enough about the little traitor to know that he wouldn't be able to resist indulging in some illegal activities while he's in hiding too. He should consider himself lucky if we get to him first." He looked across the room. "What do you think, Lord Vader?"
The Sith Lord's tall, hulking figure stood in front of the window of the Executor's bridge, gazing unseeingly into the distance. He didn't have the slightest doubt that the traitorous wretch was currently lurking in Tatooine; he could feel it through the Force. But the very thought of the desolate planet conjured up uncomfortable and unwanted emotions.
Slave…
Mother…
I abandoned you, mother…
Slave…
"Sir?" Commander Stark's voice penetrated through his dark thoughts. Vader placed his gloved hands on the window's ledge and observed a planet in the distance. Its surface was dark green and blue; so lush. Anakin had been so excited when he had seen grass for the first time in his life. He closed his eyes and no one could see the grim smile on the Sith Lord's face.
"Prepare coordinates at once, and have a shuttle ready for landing," Vader ordered coldly. "We will head to Tatooine and we will retrieve our wayward defector."
I...I
The never-ending desert landscape hadn't changed since the last time Vader had visited the cursed planet. The sandy terrain quickly disappeared once they had landed in the Mos Eisley spaceport. The sight of an Imperial Shuttle had sent the port into a panicked state and the workers scattered away in fright or set about ensuring that the ship received a warm welcome. It pleased Vader immensely; it was nice to watch the Tatooine population cower in his presence instead of deeming him to be a worthless slave.
He was about to get to his feet when he felt a sudden disturbance in the Force. It caught Vader completely off guard and he sat back down again. The Sith Lord could sense something or even someone he knew, but it was too far away to discern the source.
He was distracted by Captain Leith, who was standing in front of him.
"What are your orders, sir?" he asked.
"Check the town registry," Vader ordered Captain Leith. "I want a thorough search completed on each resident and on anyone who has visited the planet over the past three months."
"It might be difficult to source every visitor, sir. Being an Outer Rim Planet, they are most likely lax in their appraisal and logging of visiting ships and their passengers," Captain Leith pointed out.
"Which is why you and your men will make the difficult possible, Captain Leith," said Vader coolly. "Interrogate the spaceport's locals and workers, and use force if necessary. There will certainly be someone here who has the information we require. I expect a detailed report to be completed in three hours, no exceptions."
"Yes, my Lord!" Captain Leith bowed his head and left the room, gesturing for some troopers to follow him. Once the nervous man had disappeared from sight, Vader walked over to the window and observed his surroundings. In all the time that Anakin had lived in Tatooine, he had never visited Mos Eisley. Of course, that was to be expected; after all, slaves never ventured outside of Mos Espa. The young Anakin Skywalker would have been awestruck by the sight of the variety of spaceships but Vader couldn't have cared less. After all, he had seen a far greater range of starships that put these pathetic vehicles to shame. However, there was a small part of him that remembered his past self's eagerness to escape the drudgery of slave-life and to escape Tatooine on one of those ships, no matter how inferior they were.
Vader shook his head and pushed those thoughts away with a violence he usually reserved for those he despised. They were symbolic of his past life and he refused to be a slave to them anymore. He focused instead on the task before him. Once the team he had sent returned, he would need to be prepared to quickly capture the rebel in question. In the meantime, he attempted to busy himself with paperwork, but that also proved to be impossible as that same strange presence he could feel in the Force seemed to be growing in strength.
To Captain Leith's credit, it took less than three hours for him and his troopers to return to the ship. He bowed before Vader, who had swiftly gotten to his feet at the Captain's arrival.
"You are early, Captain Leith," he commented. The man nodded nervously.
"It turned out that we were able to gather enough information to track G'Arthes' movements, my Lord." Leith handed him a stack of papers. "It took some 'persuasion' for the Chief in charge of the port to hand over the information we required; apparently he fled the scene upon our arrival. We finally tracked him down hiding in a cellar in one of the filthy taverns here."
"Have you studied the list for yourself?" questioned Vader, eyeing the dirty bundle of papers.
"Yes, sir. It appears that G'Arthes stated his purpose for visiting Mos Eisley was to establish trade with several of the moisture farms in the Great Chott salt flat region, which is located far east of this city."
Vader chuckled. Not only was G'Arthes a traitor, he was also a liar and a bad one at that. No doubt the man had hastily researched the planet before landing on Tatooine's surface and had discovered the importance of moisture farms. There were no possible means of developing partnerships with these farms, and apparently, the Chief in charge of Mois Eisley had been too dense to understand this or had been paid off to keep his mouth shut.
"Of course, it is extremely unlikely that G'Arthes is actually within the Great Chott region but we have managed to source information regarding the area," continued Captain Leith. "According to the head manager of Chalmun's Cantina, the largest and most profitable moisture farm belongs to a man named Owen Lars - "
Lars…Lars. All of a sudden, more unwanted memories began to flood Vader's mind; his mother's marriage to Cliegg Lars, her disappearance, finding her being tortured by a band of Tusken Raiders, her dying in his arms.
His merciless slaughter of the raiders following her death.
" - there are also nearby farms, but the Lars' farm is the most well-known within the region," he could vaguely hear Captain Leith talking. "There are few other settlements close-by - obviously the area is too far from the city - but apparently the closest is located in the Jundland Wastelands and belongs to some middle-aged hermit named Ben Kenobi - "
The Captain suddenly found himself being pulled forward and his neck was in Vader's tight grip in the space of two seconds.
"What did you just say?" the Sith Lord snarled. Although Leith could see nothing behind Vader's mask, he could imagine the terrifying look on the man's face.
"B-Ben K-en-obi, s-sir," he managed to choke out. Leith gasped in relief when Vader released him and he fell to the ground, massaging his throat and looking at the Sith Lord through frightened eyes.
Time seemed to stop and Vader felt as though the whole world was spinning around him. His shock was immediately overcome by rage and he wrenched his lightsaber from his belt. Leith thought Vader was going to cut his head cut off, but instead, the Sith Lord began to tear apart one of the seats in the shuttle's bridge. It was only when the furniture was reduced to cinders that he turned around again.
"Gather the troops, and ready yourself for take-off," he ordered calmly, as though the rage he has just inflicted on the seat had never occurred. Captain Leith nodded hastily and rushed to follow the Sith Lord's orders. It only took ten minutes for the troops to board and for the shuttle to take off. The rest of the ship's inhabitants kept a safe distance from the Sith Lord. Everyone knew when to engage Vader in conversation and, judging by the fingers that were flexing around the still activated lightsaber, no one was going to take the risk.
The disturbance he had felt in the Force now made perfect sense. Vader felt a fury that he hadn't experienced since Padmé's death boil inside him. There was no doubt that the middle-aged hermit was actually Obi-Wan Kenobi. What was he doing on Tatooine? Why was he living in the Outer Rim? Vader guessed that it was to hide his existence from the Empire, but why TATOOINE of all places?
The Sith Lord thought of his step-brother, who was now apparently the head of the Lars' Moisture Farm. Were he and his wife in contact with his former Master? Vader couldn't see how the two could possibly be connected, but the close range of their homes was too suspicious to ignore. Was Obi-Wan trying to protect them? Vader snorted. The older man needn't have bothered; the Sith Lord hadn't thought of his step-brother since before the Clone Wars. He had had no wish back then to contact Owen and he certainly didn't now.
But WHY was Obi-Wan here?
Vader growled in frustration but an answer would soon present itself once he found his former Master. Then he would have the satisfaction of destroying the man, making sure to cut his legs off as Obi-Wan had done to him.
I...I
First chapter done! I hope you all enjoyed and please let me know what you think!
