A/N: this is a sequel/companion piece to "Eight Simple Words" by phantom_jedi1 with permission from the author. I tried to make it easy to understand if you didn't read that, but as I've quoted directly from a conversation held between Lord Vader and one of his agents, I suggest reading the other piece first. Besides, it's good enough that I would suggest reading it anyways. It's in my favorites and I've also provided a link here – just remove the spaces. http :// www. fanfiction. net /s/ 4443484 /1/ Eight_Simple_Words
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Now that was interesting. That was very interesting. I sat back to consider what I had learned. Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, was a father. And, here was the key, he didn't want the Emperor to know. This was very interesting indeed. More importantly, it was valuable.
My purpose was simple. I was supposed to spy on Lord Vader and report everything back to Director Isard, the head of Imperial Intelligence. I'm sure that there were a few more spies on board, just in case the Dark Lord threw one of his temper tantrums and decided to kill me. Always nice to know you're replaceable.
Look, I was neither the hero nor the villain. I wasn't trying to excuse anything I've done nor be humble. Just... let me explain. The winners write the history books. If the Rebellion won then they were the good guys and the members of the Empire were the bad guys. But I wouldn't be the villain. Emperor Palpatine would be the villain. Lord Vader would be the villain. Hell, maybe some of the Grand Moffs like Tarkin or Kaine would be villains. I would be Imperial Intelligence Agent 3510. Noted only in statistics. Meanwhile the Rebellion leaders, Mon Montha, Leia Organa, and the rest would be the heroes. Now flip it. If the Empire won the people who would be the heroes and those who would be the villains would be switched – Vader being a hero and Mon being a villain, etc, etc. Me? I'd still be Imperial Intelligence Agent 3510.
But this, this was information that no one else had. With this I could gain a good deal of favor with my superiors. Vader would never know that it was me. The Director would be all too happy to strike a blow against the Dark Lord. I might be personally called to the Emperor's attention. Of course something could go wrong at any time. But my job had low life-expectancy anyways. In risk vs. benefits, my choice was clear.
So why was I hesitating?
I had no delusions – my life had not left me any. Pretend that I had family that I committed treason to protect and Darth Vader found out. No question, I'd be dead. But for some reason, Lord Vader's last words hit something within me. I rolled back the tape to listen to the conversation between him and an agent of his I didn't know.
Vader: Destroy all records you obtained about him.
Him being Luke Skywalker. This was the proof of treason.
Vader: If the Emperor learns of his existence, he will go to any length to destroy him.
There was all I need to confirm that this could indeed help me curry favor.
Agent: …but he will find out eventually. He always does.
Vader: So be it. All I can do is buy him time.
Agent: To do what, milord?
Vader: To become what I could have been.
To become what I could have been. What did that mean? I wasn't a genius, but I did know my history and I was smart enough to put things together. Anakin Skywalker was a famous Jedi who fought during the Clone Wars. There was no authorized information on Vader's past, he just appeared from nowhere. All of that was public information. Skywalker was the only Jedi not recorded as a traitor. All of his files were so heavily guarded that you had to either be Vader or the Emperor to have access to them. Vader used to be a Jedi. That was all information that you had to be a member of the Imperial hierarchy to know. Luke Skywalker was the son of Lord Vader. That was something only three people knew. But that final piece of the puzzle lead me to the conclusion that Anakin and Vader were the same man. Oh I wouldn't swear on it, but it seemed logical. So what did I know of Anakin Skywalker?
To become what I could have been. What was Anakin? He was a Jedi. He was a good pilot. He was a great warrior. He won a lot of victories. He was widely regarded as a hero. Obviously those who think that he was a hero wouldn't think so if they knew he was Darth Vader. He could have been a hero of course but… hang on.
To become what I could have been. Surely he couldn't mean… Lord Vader was a rational, practical man. He was not the type to give into fantasies or tired clichés. But then, I would have never thought that he cared enough about anyone other than himself to commit treason.
Now the choice was mine. Did I care enough about the boy to give the son a chance to live a different life than his father? No. I didn't think I did. But he wasn't the only one who needed a chance. The would-be hero needed the opportunity, but so did the so-called Big Bad.
I deleted the recording. Now I was committing treason too. And I wasn't related to either of them, didn't owe anything to either of them. Wonderful. I had best be appreciated for this! Of course not – they would never know. Hopefully no one would never know. If someone found out, what could I say? I somehow thought pleading insanity wouldn't work, even though I was now certain that was true.
I suppose that Luke would never knew what his father did, just as Vader would never know what I did. I was giving Vader the same thing he gave Luke, a chance. Not to become who he should have been or anything that melodramatic. I just gave him a chance to love. If he did or not was his own affair. Look, I don't know when I became a damned romantic. But there's that small, idealistic child inside of me that has the habit of popping up at the worse possible times, like now. And he whispered that, if Darth Vader could love then maybe, just maybe, there was hope for this damned universe after all.
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Holonet:
...and are confident that further studies shall continue to support their theories.
I'm certainly glad to hear that and I wish them the best of luck. Unfortunately Eizzam our next piece of news hits a somber note.
Yesterday it was announced by the Imperial spokesbeing that a recent execution had taken place. The criminal was once a member of Imperial Intelligence who committed high treason. The spokesbeing confirmed that the unnamed agent had gained intelligence in the course of his normal duties that he inexplicably refused to divulge, even when questioned by the Emperor himself. Lord Vader was off planet and unable to assist. No word yet on what the information was or who it was about. We at the Imperial Network hope that such a situation shall never be repeated. All loyal citizens, take this to heart: even the best of us may be corrupted and we must persevere through times of doubts and temptations.
Long live the Emperor.