A.N.: I don't remember where I read it first, but I remember speculation that Luke was independently wealthy when he begins rebuilding the Jedi Order. And that got me thinking; where would he have gotten all that money in the first place? This is how I figure it went down, and hopefully you will too.
A.N. 2: Electric Boogaloo: Slight edit in the timing of the will. People pointed out the screwy timing and, having thought about it, I agree. This also takes care of another small problem which was also pointed out to me.
The Old Man's Gift
Or: How Luke Got Stinking Rich
The New Republic's capture of Coruscant had many repercussions. Most important to the New Republic's leaders; the acquisition of the galactic capital gave them legitimacy in the eyes of many who had been on the fence since the death of the Emperor. Another less important one, but no less expected, was the mass-exodus of wealthier Imperial citizens. They blasted off in their private yachts, shields at maximum, and pushing their engines dangerously into the red before escaping into hyperspace. They needn't have bothered since New Republic Fleet Command had orders to leave them alone, but the political atmosphere of the Empire encouraged paranoia. The third-most important was something no one but the most deranged madman could have predicted; the Kryptos virus.
But through all the turmoil, plague, war, and death, there remained one other repercussion that ticked away, unnoticed and disregarded; the Imperial Bank. Chartered at the dawn of Palpatine's reign, the Imperial Bank had dutifully served Imperial citizens both great and small for decades and when the Coruscant elite had fled, the Coruscant Branch had kept its doors open to the common citizen as a sign that order had not died. Day to day operation proved difficult, however, as most of the staff had joined the fleeing citizens, leaving only the Branch President, Davik Oligard to cater to the panicked populace. Through the turmoil of the exodus, the Kryptos virus and even the raising of the Lusankya, he had diligently worked and waited. Waited to complete the terms of the last will and testament of the Imperial Bank's oldest and wealthiest client; the Lord Darth Vader.
The moment that the New Republic had been stable enough to set up shop, Davik had locked up the bank and gone to the Palace to seek an audience. Unfortunately, a throng of beings had also gotten the same idea, and gotten it far earlier than one small bank manager. When a Sullustian aide had finally gotten to him, the poor thing had been too flustered to pay attention to what it was he wanted until he said the words 'Darth Vader', whereupon she had promptly fainted.
Now Davik found himself in a windowless box of a room with cameras both obvious and otherwise, guards, and a dangerously calm Twi'lek sitting at a table with a datapad in front of him. He looked up as Davik was escorted in.
"Ah hello, Mister Oligard, I'm Nawara Ven. You've caused quite the stir around here; poor Sansuul spent several hours in a recovery ward after the panic attack you gave her."
Davik mopped at his brow, the room was quite stuffy and he had no idea how the Twi'lek could stand it. "I am very sorry about that, but she did ask me why I was seeking an audience."
Nawara poked at his datapad. "Ah yes, you want to see Commander Skywalker about a minor legal matter." He raised an eyebrow at Davik, obviously waiting for more details.
"Yes, I need to speak to him about an inheritance."
"The exact contents of which you refuse to enlighten us on." Nawara said meaningfully. Davik narrowed his eyes.
"Because I am not at liberty to say." He said coldly. "And I would not tell you even if I wanted to; the terms of the will were placed in my hand by Lord Vader himself with the instructions that it would not be read unless at the behest of himself or the beneficiary."
The Twi'lek nodded as if this information confirmed something he'd already known.
"Very well." He collected his data pad and stood up. "Thank you for coming, Mister Oligard, you're free to go. You will be contacted when the Commander becomes available."
Oligard bristled, recognizing a dismissal when he heard one. "Now see here-" he began. But Nawara cut him off.
"Commander Skywalker is not on Coruscant at this time; his exact whereabouts are need-to-know. When he returns, and when he is ready, you will be contacted. Good day."
And with that note of finality, Davik Oligard was escorted firmly to the exterior of the Palace, where he caught an airtaxi back to his apartment in a well-to-do sector of the surrounding area to wait and stew.
As it turned out, 'when he is ready' meant three days instead of the months Davik had feared. This time, he was escorted to an upper conference room with a beautiful view of the cityscape and a sandy-haired man dressed all in black gazing out the picture window. The man turned as Davik entered, the picture of a calm and collected gentleman, yet also holding an undercurrent of tension in his eyes.
"Mister Oligard; it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Luke Skywalker." Luke said, extending a hand and a slight smile. The banker shook his hand heartily, clasping the proffered one in both of his own.
"I assure you, Commander; the pleasure is all mine. To finally be able to fulfill the last request of our oldest client is an honor."
Luke smiled sadly, though at being the subject of Darth Vader's will or not, Davik could not say.
"I'm afraid it's Jedi Skywalker now," the Jedi said instead of revealing the source of melancholy. "I resigned my commission some time ago, if that changes anything."
Oligard scoffed. "Of course not, why should it? As long as you are Luke Skywalker, the terms apply. But come; sit! We have much to discuss."
He motioned to the conference table behind them. Once seated, Davik pulled a datapad from his coat and placed it on the table.
"According to the terms of the will," he announced. "The contents may not be opened save by the express order of the named parties. Do you so order, Jedi Skywalker?"
Luke nodded, suddenly tense. "I do."
Davik nodded in return. "Then, as the executor of the last will and testament of the Lord Darth Vader, I open its contents."
He entered a code into the datapad, unlocking the aged device.
"Some months before the battle of Endor, Lord Vader approached me with this very datapad. He told me that on the event of his death, I was to give it to the pilot who had destroyed the space station; Luke Skywalker. He did not tell me why he chose you, only that when the time came, you would be the beneficiary of all of his holdings."
Luke tried his best to remain calm during Davik's speech, though his eyes betrayed excitement and a little apprehension at what a Dark Lord of the Sith would leave for the one he'd named his heir.
"First and foremost, there is his account with the Imperial Bank; containing a total of sixty-one billion, one hundred sixty-six million one hundred ninety-one thousand two hundred and twelve Imperial Credits."
Despite his affected calm, Luke's mouth dropped open at that figure. The number was abstract, almost unreal. He never in his life thought that that much money could even exist, much less in a single place.
Davik continued on.
"Naturally, the contents will be subject to tax from the Imperial government and quite probably from your New Republic since you are a citizen, though I doubt there will be much of a dent even if it is, eh?" He said with a grin.
By now, Luke had regained enough composure to smile as well.
"Is there even enough of an Imperial government to formally tax me anymore?" he asked.
Davik chuckled. "Let me assure you, Jedi Skywalker; no matter what is going on with a government, they always have time for money. Moving on then; along with the contents of his account in the Imperial Bank, Lord Vader held several properties on Coruscant, Vjun, Carida, Ord Mantell, and Naboo."
Luke looked confused. "I have houses on Imperial worlds?"
"Fortresses, actually." The banker said absently, still reading through the datapad. "Though I believe the property on Naboo is a mansion on an island."
A snort from the younger man made Davik look up.
Luke waved a hand in apology. "Sorry, I just had a hard time imagining my… imagining Darth Vader owning a summer home. The image seems almost ludicrous."
Davik smiled. "It does indeed. Nevertheless, he did own it, and now so do you. On a related note, you are also the recipient of majority stock in the Kuat Drive Yards and Sienar Fleet Systems as well as a model of all prototypes they have produced. The list here includes a 'TIE x1', a 'TIE/ad', a 'TIE/D', several Eta-2s, a 'Missile Boat' and several project prototypes that were shut down before they were even given designations."
Luke's brow furrowed. "Vader owned stock in Sienar?"
"Oh my, yes. He's the reason there are so many prototypes in the first place. It was well known among certain circles that Lord Vader despised the TIE fighter and its fragile nature and endlessly campaigned to have more capable fighters produced to replace it. I once heard a rumor that he contracted Incom to produce such a craft, but they defected and fled before the project was completed."
"Which probably means that the Rebellion has him to thank for their most ubiquitous fighter," the Jedi said with a grin.
Davik looked thoughtful at that. "That is indeed quite possible, I had forgotten that they were producing the X-Wing when they went into hiding. Though if he was behind it, there is no listing of him owning one, at least not here. There are, however, listings of several capital ships; one Executor-class Super Star Destroyer, which I believe that was destroyed at Endor, fifteen Imperial II-class Star Destoyers, four Interdictor-class Star Destroyers, five Venator-class Star Destroyers, ten Victory II-class Star Destroyers, two Interdictor-class heavy cruisers, twenty Carrack-class light cruisers, fifteen Nebulon-B frigates, thirty CR-90 corvettes and ten Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers. Each ship, except for the Executor obviously, comes with a full complement of crew, shuttles, fighters, scout ships, the proper codes to issue orders to them, as well as a private repair dock in the Borleias system. Congratulations; you have your own private fleet."
Luke sat back, dull shock on his face. Not only had his father left him an absurd amount of money and several rare starfighters, he'd seen fit to furnish his son with a fleet to carry out his will. He stared off into space for a long time before speaking.
"Even if I issue them orders, how do I know that they won't have be disregarded in favor of Imperial commands?"
Davik studied the datapad closely for a moment.
"It says here that they have all been given missions 'vital to the Empire' that supersede anything short of a direct order from the Emperor. Unless any of them deserted, they should have been waiting seven years to hear from you."
The Jedi ran a hand over his face. "What am I even going to do with a fleet?"
"I'm sure I can't help you with that," the banker replied primly.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Is there anything else?"
Davik searched through the files for a moment.
"Yes," he said finally. "It says here you are to be given command of the 501st Legion."
"Little chance of that; the New Republic has had intelligence that the 501st has been disbanded for years." Luke said.
"Also," continued Davik, "In his fortress on Vjun, Lord Vader has stored two hundred and forty-eight lightsabers, over a thousand high-quality crystals, six… 'holocrons', whatever those are, and three hundred tomes of Jedi and Sith lore."
Luke's eyes widened in shock. "That's enough to rebuild the Jedi Order! How could he have kept it all hidden for so long?"
The banker shrugged. "Perhaps he arranged for copies to be made and destroyed the originals? Even so, such a library would prove invaluable to you, yes?"
"Oh, absolutely," Luke said. "My training was very limited and I haven't the first idea how to pass on those teachings. This saves me years of work."
"A bit ironic that Lord Vader would be instrumental in helping you rebuild the Jedi Order, is it not?" Davik asked with a wan smile.
Luke returned it.
"Perhaps, but I think that at least part of it was preserved as a favor to me; a kind of consolation gift.
The banker looked puzzled. "For destroying the Jedi?"
The Jedi shook his head. "For what happened to my father." He said simply.
"I suppose you would know better than I," Davik said diplomatically. "Returning to the topic at hand, that was the last of Lord Vader's estate, at least that I am aware of."
He handed the datapad to Luke, who took it reverently with both hands.
A long silence descended between the two men as they each considered the enormity of what had just happened. Finally, Luke spoke up.
"Is there any chance I could hire you to… run my estate?" He asked hopelessly.
Davik smiled warmly. "I believe we can come to an arrangement, yes."
And that's how Luke became stinkin' rich.