First of all, thank you to all the people who have reviewed the fic (DarthGladiator45, Ann Jinn, Jedi Knight 13, QueenNaberrie, SherazadeVader, Dama Jade, kirallie, FireChildSlytherin5 and MagicallyInclined). Sorry for not answer to everyone in private, but I have a very little time that I spent trying to write the Spanish version of this fic. And also my English is so bad that I spend too much time for writting a single sentence.

I want to thanks specially to SherazadeVader, the wonderful person who is wasting her own time translating the Spanish version of this fic into English, and DarthGladiator45, another wonderful person who is betaing this fic. And also I want to thanks to Dama Jade (Lady Flame), who is the person to blame for me starting to write fanfiction in response to a story of hers ;-D. BTW, I remember that all the English mistakes in author's notes are only mine, so don't blame SherazadeVader or DarthGladiator45.

See the disclaimer in the first chapter.


Web of Deceits

Chapter 2: Confessions

"NO", Luke shouted to Leia. "You can't really be requesting this of me!"

Leia had never seen Luke as furious as he was now. He was irascible lately. The nightmare that Luke had, six days ago was damaging his calm character; whenever somebody mentioned the name of Darth Vader, the boy gestured impatiently and his glance darkened. The hatred that Leia saw in his demeanor made her shake. At those moments, Luke seemed to be almost another person. Moreover, in fact, he seemed to be becoming another person, much more reserved, less sociable. For that reason, she had been against the idea of the Alliance in choosing Luke finding Vader's whereabouts. Five days ago, the Emperor had declared Vader missing in action.

Although the Alliance celebrated in the beginning about disappearance of that evildoer; soon the commanders started raising doubts, the following questions started to swirl around in their minds: What if it were a trap of the Empire? What if Vader were planning something against the Alliance and had planned along with the Emperor to pretend his own disappearance? The risk was too great and they had decided to investigate. Nevertheless, the Bothan Spy Network had not managed to discover anything, which was odd.

They began to think that perhaps he indeed had disappeared. Then, Han had returned in the Falcon with a shipment of food and he mentioned something strange that he had heard in a bar. A drunk assured his boss had rescued a strange model of imperial TIE fighter. He did not know why, but to Han this seemed important. He had invited the guy to another drink and he had asked who his boss was, but after several incoherencies, the only thing he managed to find out was the name of the planet that orbited the ship with the fighter.

When Han had spoken to Leia about "strange model of imperial fighter" she had thought immediately about Vader. He piloted a modified TIE fighter.

Could it be his? After commenting it with Mon Mothma, the Alliance had decided that somebody had to go to that planet to find out and that somebody had to be Luke.

Leia protested against it. Luke had been several days very uneasy and she did not believe him going alone in a mission to look for Vader would in help him at all.

But Mon Mothma had been persistent; considering his condition as a Jedi apprentice, Luke was the only one that could have some chance if he became entangled in a confrontation with Darth Vader. Leia doubted it and she repeatedly stated her position loudly and vehemently, but it had been useless. The Alliance already had made its decision and they had requested she communicate their decision to Luke.

She upset for be the one to tell Luke the Alliance's decision and also it because Luke was staring at her with that glance that, these last days, she had become to loathe. She did not understand why her request - the one of the Alliance-, had caused that reaction in him.

"I do not understand your reaction, Luke...," she said smoothly, trying to calm him down.

"What?" He interrupted exasperated. "You are asking me to cross the middle of the galaxy to rescue the monster that killed all my family: my father, my uncle and my teacher... and... And... My mother! "

Leia frowned. That was something new that Luke never had mentioned "And you say to me that you do not understand my reaction? I…don't... ". He turned to leave, incapable to continue speaking with all the rage that he had a knot on his throat. He knew that if he remained there he would unload his hatred on the wrong person.

"Luke", Leia spoke really scared due to the reaction of her friend, who had misinterpreted her words. "Nobody has spoken of a rescue mission. It is rather an espionage mission ".

"Espionage?" Luke asked without turning, with the evident tension still in his voice, but something more calmed when suddenly understanding what they were requesting of him

"And what if he is in that ship...?

"You are to inform the Alliance and get out of there", Leia knew what Luke was implying and she didn't like it.

"And what if he is wounded or disabled or..." Luke insisted turning to watch Leia, the desire of evident revenge in his voice.

"No, Luke", cut Leia to him of a sharp way. She knew that his friend was looking for single an excuse to have permission by the Alliance to face Vader and she was not going to give that permission no matter what he asked. She was not going to allow that, for it suicide, to challenge Darth Vader to a duel meant sure death.

"The orders are clear: to find out if it is in that ship, to inform and to leave, without taking part of anything."

"But...", now there was almost a tone of plea in his voice.

"Luke, please, you do not insist." Leia watched him with bitterness "Don't you think I want to see him dead as much as you? What he did to me in the Death Star, allowing what Tarkin did to Alderaan, which he has done to the Galaxy all these years... I also want that he dies, but not if is at the cost of your life, Luke. I care about you. And I also do not want lose you."

Luke lowered his glance. That declaration of affection had disarmed him. He continued with the desires of revenge as before, but until he had not realized how egocentric he had been. Of all the people in the base, if anybody could understand him better, that was Leia. She had also lost her family at hands of Vader and, nevertheless, she did not go shouting to him for that reason. He knew that he had to give her an explanation, as difficult as would be but she deserved it. She had to know it.

"Leia, the other night... the nightmare..." his voice trembled and he feared that he would not to be able to continue. However, he had to do it. He looked in her eyes and said with the broken voice "It was not a nightmare... it was a vision... a vision from the past... I saw my father at hands of Vader…dying…and it was horrible" Leia took his hands between hers and tightened it. She watched him with tenderness and grief.

So that was what it had happened? Six nights ago, Leia had awakened with the sensation that something went terribly badly, listening to Luke shouting while sleeping. Leia had awoken him and Luke had collapsed in her arms, sobbing. But later, he didn't want to explain anything. "it was a nightmare, Leia", He had said to her without looking into her eyes. She had realized that there was something more, but she didn't want to pressure him, knowing that eventually he would explain it. Perhaps now was the time.

"Do you want to tell me, Luke?". Luke denied with the head and lowered his eyes.

"No, I do not want to tell you, but I must. You deserve to know what I saw. I have been so unfair with you these days, "and he was truly sorry.

"Luke, you do not need to tell me if you do not want, I..." Luke raised his hand interrupting her. It was now or never. If Leia did not let him to speak, he would never do it.

"Please," he whispered with the voice strangled by the pain that the memory of that vision still caused him, "Let me explain . . ."

She realized that it was important to her friend to share all the horror that seemed to emanate of his voice, his gestures and most of all in his dark blue eyes. Thus, she did not say anything else. She only agreed. Luke began to speak, the lost glance, fixing his eyes to the opposite wall.

"Like I have said it was a vision; most of it was blurred in any moment and I couldn't hear what they spoke. However, the part that was not blurred... well, I would rather not to have seen it... there were a man and a woman. I could not discern their faces. They were in a horrible planet, made a heat frightful and everything dyed of reddish tones because of the immense lava rivers that crossed the planet. Don't ask me how I know of it, but I know that the woman was my mother... and... He was... was... "Luke quieted suddenly, because he had a knot on his throat that prevented him to continue speaking.

"Vader?" Leia asked suspecting the reason of his sudden silence.

He nodded in agreement, "It was him... Oh, Force... He didn't care if she was pregnant... He strangled her... without touching her... like... like those tales about how he kills his subordinates... he killed her ", his voice hardly audible when he said this last sentence.

"But Luke," she did not doubt what he had said, but something didn't make sense. "If she were your mother and still pregnant and if he had killed her how do you explain that you are alive?"

Luke shrugged and she watched him with his eyes reddened by tears of pain and rage that he tried, at all costs, to avoid that they spilled down his cheeks "I do not know it, but I know what I saw."

Leia barely could hear his voice for he was speaking in a low voice "Well, somebody appeared, I couldn't make out his face, my father, I suppose... he came to defend to my mother and they began to fight with the lightsabers. Some fragments of the fight blurry that I could not distinguish anything... but, during the fight, my father was one in a position lower than his enemy was and when he jumped to continue the mainland fight... Vader…" Luke lost the battle against its own tears that began fall down his cheeks, while he continued speaking with the strangled voice.

"He cut... his two legs and an arm... he fell onto the sand... and he began to slip to the edge of a lava river... Darth Vader didn't even try to help him...the lava... lava caught his clothes and... And... "Luke voice broke. He could not say it aloud. Leia gasped. It was so horrible what he was telling her, but this was nothing because now she remembered what had awaken her before she heard Luke shouting: She had seen in dreams something like a fire outbreak and during a pair of seconds she had felt a terrible suffering.

Had she seen a sparkle of the vision of Luke?

She was almost certain of it. She was going to tell him, when he continued the story. Now his voice was loaded of bitterness and hatred.

"I felt all the pain and the agony of my father while... while he was on fire..." he nodded in denial, incapable to say it aloud.

"Vader remained there, watching him, standing up, quiet... he said to something that I did not listen... and then he turned around and left..."He stared at Leia with tears falling through his cheeks. His voice returned to a whisper strangled by his contained rage

"Not even deigned to give him a fast death... he left him there on the sand..., mutilated…burning… so that he died in a slow agony!" Luke sobbed and lowered his head, "It was then you woke me."

He felt numb, he knew that he stepped on a very slippery land, on the brink of madness a precipice that took to a plagued path of the dark, but he did not want to give up the rage and the hatred that he felt towards Vader. If he did, he would feel that he was betraying his father. Luke was so downcast, so defeated, that Leia followed her impulse to embrace to him trying to show all the affection she felt towards him. Luke didn't even move; but he allowed her to embrace him. Leia frowned, when she thought about what he had said. The boy had said something that had given to her a small hope that the vision was not exactly as he said. She let go of Luke and held his hand.

She watched him and his pain was reflected in her glance. There had always been a great empathy between both.

"Oh, Luke! I am so sorry, although... it is not that I doubt what you said.

"Let's suppose that the one who went to defend your mother was your father... "She watched him hopeful " it is possible that the fight you saw with Vader was with another person, not your father; perhaps who was wounded was another person... "

Luke nodded in denial and then he glanced to the ground.

"I know that the one was my father that was there, in the sand of that horrible planet. I know that the suffering that I felt belonged to my father." Luke felt a pressure on his chest that almost it prevented him to breathe. He raised his head and stared at the Princess

"I know of this, Leia. Therefore, there is no more explanation than that: he was my father, the one who went in aid of my mother and Vader had to be the one who fought against my father..." Leia watched him surprised. He had said It had to be.

"Are you sure that it was Vader who fought against your father?"

"Who else could have been Leia?" he said with bitterness "In that planet there was my mother and my father, and also Vader was there. I know of it, the Force says to me that it is true. It is a logical conclusion, and also you must know that Ben told me that it was Vader who betrayed and murdered my father, it all made sense."

"Perhaps there was someone else you didn't see..." Leia said without much conviction. Vader was the only being who she knew, aside from the Emperor, who was perfectly able to do something as horrible as what Luke have just told her. However, she had to try to shed some doubt in Luke or, if the boy found Vader in that ship, he would go into a suicidal revenge.

"No, there wasn't anybody else…... who else could have been there? And Vader assassinated my father. Ben told me. It was him." He said obstinately.

Leia sighed. Luke knew to be very stubborn and hardheaded and she already knew enough not to contradict him. Well, that was only an option left to her.

"Luke, listen to me, you cannot to assume this mission. I am going to speak to Mon Mothma so that they assign this mission to someone else." Luke was going to protest, but Leia watched to him very seriously and before he could articulate a single word, she demanded: "Stay here until I return. It is an order! Luke, please wait for me." Leia left hastily through the door, and that's the reason why she did not see the hardness in the glance of her friend. Luke remained watching, challenging, the door closed during two seconds and soon he mumbled and grinded his teeth.

"I am sorry Leia. I must go. For my father, for my mother... even if I soon cause judgment for disobedience, or desertion, or for whatever reason... I must do it... for me..."

His voice became an inaudible whisper "... and for you... "