Darth Vader stared out at the bloody snow scape on which the battle had taken place. Wearing adapted stormtrooper armour with extra life support systems, not his usual armour, he was easy to overlook in a crowd. In this suit his breathing was regulated silently and the controls for its various functions hidden in a backpack instead of placed in plain view on his chest. It was an idea that he had taken from his late wife, Padme. In the guise of a privileged stormtrooper he could have power over himself and a few others, but he was free of the stares and mutters he endured as Lord Vader.
On the battlefield of snow the blood of rebels mingled with the snow to create a bright red landscape. Perhaps not all of them are dead yet, Vader thought absently, then with sudden concern, suppose my son is out in the snow bleeding to death.
Concluding that it would certainly make sense to check, Vader walked over to the commanding officer, "May I have permission to check the battlefield for survivors?"
The man turned and, not knowing that the man to whom he spoke was Lord Vader, he smiled gently, "Are you looking for someone in particular?"
Not seeing a reason to correct him, Vader lowered his eyes to the floor and said quietly, "My son may be out there."
Looking at him kindly the man nodded and said, "You may have permission, and I hope you find your son. Please bring back everybody you find, unless, of course, your own safety, or that of your son, is compromised."
"Thank you, Sir." Vader turned and left, heading out into the cold, swirling snow.
When he reached the first of the bodies he knelt down, glad for the more flexible armour of a stormtrooper, and turned it over. A young man looked up at him, brown eyes unseeing, blood trickling from a gaping hole in his side propelled only by gravity, as the boy's heart had stopped. Vader turned the child back onto his chest, sure that if he left him face up he would feel his death stare the entire time he was checking the other bodies.
Reaching out with the Force he could feel his son's weak Force presence and he knew the boy must be badly wounded. Or, Vader thought with a twinge of amusement, trying to hide himself.
In his search for signs of life Vader turned over many bodies, a girl, blond hair matted with blood, a boy, his green eyes full of his last moments of terror. So many lives, gone in such little time, Vader thought, and so young, I assumed that Luke was one of the youngest, but this one can't be much more than fifteen.
He saw something in his peripheral vision. A flicker of movement, as he moved through the dancing snow toward the flicker a small form materialized. Bent over a fallen rebel the child took a gloved hand in his own. He didn't hear Vader's approach until it was too late. He became aware of the Sith Lord only when he felt the muzzle of a blaster against his back.
"Who are you?" Vader snarled at the child.
Freezing, his body shaking in terror, the boy replied quietly, "Luke Skywalker."
Good, thought Vader, he was not too badly wounded, he just wanted to hide himself. "I will give you a choice, Boy, you can continue what you are doing and we can share our findings, or you can force me to drag you back to your base, leaving your friends to die in the snow."
"Thank you, Sir. If I may, I would like to continue to look for survivors." Luke's voice was very small as though he was afraid to believe it.
"You may," Vader turned away to continue his search.
After a few dozen bodies had been turned, found dead, and returned to their original state, Vader felt his son's Force signature falter. With Force heightened senses he heard his son fall into the snow.
"Luke!" Vader ran towards the small body, as he did so, he caught sight of a trail of blood in the snow, everywhere Luke had been. Moving over to his child, he saw a hole in the side of the thin body, too much like the one in the corpse of the first rebel. "Luke! Wake up, Luke!" Please wake up, he thought, carefully placing one hand on the boy's chest. Feeling the rise and fall of breathing, albeit none to steady, he breathed a sigh of relief. Luke's not dead, I should have checked that he wasn't hurt before letting him continue the search, but at least he's alive.
He moved forward, gently gathering the broken body in his arms. "It'll be OK, Luke. I won't let anything harm you again," as though in response to the kind words the small body moved to press itself closer to the comparative warmth of another human. Don't worry, Luke, I am your Father, and families stick together, you're safe now. You're safe now, my son.
As he took off back to the base he reflected that, although it had been Vader who had set out to look for the child, it was Anakin who ran back through the snow, holding in his arms the most fragile, precious bundle in the galaxy.