Here's another chapter; I'm glad you guys liked it (even though I can't see your reviews through this site *shakes fist at FF*)
Luke is now eighteen in this chapter! But he isn't really dark yet; he has the skills and the means but no drive to be like his father/Palpatine just yet. Like most eighteen-year-olds, he just wants to have some freedom. That will all start to change, however.
Also, there are some mentionings of... HAN SOLO! :3 Since he's gone about anywhere, Luke has met him at a bar, of course. And Luke meets his sister, though he doesn't know Leia is his sister yet (à la A New Hope).
Disclaimer: Not Mine!
Eleven Years Later
Luke loved his new airspeeder, with its sleek black paint job and chromium accents. He wasn't even from Naboo, but because his mother was the late Padmé Amidala, he had been allowed two stripes of chromium running along either side of the gift from his father for his eighteenth birthday. It was also the fastest airspeeder on Coruscant; everyone knew Luke Skywalker, son of Darth Vader, was out and about when they saw the flash of chromium pass them by. He savored his freedom because he knew it would be gone soon enough. The Emperor was expecting him to assume his duties at his father's side; Luke had been trained in the ways of the dark side, and he was now expected to prove it. The thing was, he wasn't sure if he wanted to serve the Emperor. The man had been a constant presence in his life for as long as he could remember; he had overseen his training, never missing a chance to critique the way his father was teaching him or to demean Luke himself. Luke had grown powerful, but sometimes he wondered at what price. Emperor Palpatine had already requested that Luke become his own personal bodyguard in the months to come. He would go wherever the Emperor goes, and since the Emperor never leaves Coruscant, Luke would remain on the planet he had spent his entire life on. He'd begged his father to get him a real ship for his birthday; some sort of sleek, fast starfighter. Luke secretly wanted to get his hands on a TIE Fighter; he loved watching them zoom off the planet to go fight X-Wings and other rebel fighters. It had reached the point where Luke wouldn't mind having an X-Wing, as long as it provided him with a way off of Coruscant.
"Luke!" his father's voice crackled to life through the comlink that had been carelessly thrown onto the passenger seat of the airspeeder. Luke sighed and picked up without even looking at it, pressing the button to respond with a huff.
"Yes, father?" he questioned. "I'm flying right now so I can't talk for long." Anakin spluttered in frustration on the other end and Luke chuckled; he may or may not have forgotten to tell his father that he was going out for the day.
"You weren't supposed to go out today!" Anakin shouted. "The Emperor is currently sitting in our sitting room, waiting for you, and he is growing impatient! You need to come home now, Luke."
"Buy me a starfighter and I'll come home," Luke bartered, trying to see if he could finally perform a Jedi mind-trick through the comlink. But Anakin scoffed and Luke frowned.
"Don't try that with me," he threatened. "You get your ass home right now or you can kiss your airspeeder goodbye." Luke groaned and turned around, zooming back in the direction of their apartment. He landed in his designated landing spot, hopping out of the driver's seat in a display of great athleticism. With all his training, Luke had become strong and maintained an athletic build much like his father's at his age. Grabbing his gold jacket, Luke slung it over one shoulder and hustled into the building. Sabé was waiting for him in the lobby of the building; when Luke was ten his father had married her and she was the closest thing to a mother he had. He was still an only child, however, and was grateful for that.
"Where did you think you were going?" she whispered to him as she steered him into the lift. The glass contraption went straight up to their apartment and the two entered into the little entry way of the apartment. Luke turned to Sabé, throwing on his jacket as he did.
"I figured I'd have time to go out," he admitted. "Maybe get a few drinks with some of the new officers. I met this guy the other day, from Corellia, and he said that if I wanted to he needed a crew for his freighter." Sabé knew exactly what kind of man Luke's new friend was.
"I will not have you associating with a smuggler. That's an easy way to get killed by a bounty hunter," she dusted off the shoulders of his jacket, before forcing him to go into the sitting room. Sure enough, the Emperor was waiting for him, seated in one of the soft yellow chairs. He looked as grotesque and evil as ever, and Luke put on his poker face. Anakin came up to him and steered him to his seat, grumbling under his breath. Luke pulled his arm from his grasp and sat out of his own free will, posture stiff and serious. Sabé excused herself; she rarely remained in the room when the Emperor was visiting on official business. Luke always got the feeling that she did not like the Emperor; and while Luke respected the man, he didn't like him much either.
"So, young Skywalker," the Emperor began, "you have completed your training." Luke nodded, not wanting to say anything just yet. "Good. Very good. I can feel the strength within you; the power... You will be a useful asset to the Empire. Are you prepared to serve me?" Anakin looked at Luke expectantly while he searched for the right words. Dropping down to one knee Luke bowed his head before the Emperor in an act of loyalty.
"I swear to you I will be loyal to you and the Empire, my lord," he stated. "I will devote my life to the dark side of the Force and the continuation of order in the galaxy." He looked up, inwardly cringing at the sight of Palpatine's vicious yellow eyes. Luke had spent years learning the dark side of the Force, but his eyes had never looked like that. His were still a bright, clear blue that shined much like his father's once had. Or so he'd been told. Luke wondered if his eyes would turn to the disgusting yellow that Palpatine's were, or if his eyes would remain the same, like his father's had, but just become more tired and old. Luke heard women talk about his father; how he had aged so well, how he was still so handsome, how his eyes were his best feature. They didn't know him like Luke did. To him, his father's eyes showed how tired he was of all this. They looked tired now, as Luke rose to his feet after pledging himself to the Emperor.
"You, my boy, will remain here on Coruscant while your father and I survey the progress on the Death Star," Palpatine instructed. "You will be my eyes, ears, and, if needed, voice here while I am gone. This means no bad behavior, though. Your father has told me about your... youthful pursuits. The drinking, the girls, et cetera. You will need to exchange your nights out at the bars for nights at the Galactic Opera House, and the company of cheap, trashy women for that of princesses and wealthy women. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Emperor," Luke responded, though he inwardly groaned. He hated going to the opera, and princesses and the daughters of wealthy men had little to no personality. At least the girls he met when he went drinking with Han were interesting. Han. Luke perked up, and smiled slightly. "But I may choose my own protection force, correct?"
"You don't need one!" Anakin exclaimed, a little angry that Luke had even thought he would. "You are my son; you can take care of yourself." Luke frowned; his father was right, and he had just remembered that Han had left for the Outer Rim around noon. He was stuck on Coruscant.
"You're right, father," Luke admitted. "That was a stupid request, forgive me." Anakin nodded, glad his son was admitting his mistake. Besides, the Emperor would not want Luke to travel with a guard; it would be a sign of weakness that the son of Darth Vader had to travel with a guard. Luke could take care of himself; he was more powerful than he realized.
"I will be allowing you a new luxury," Palpatine stated, rising to his feet. "You will be given an old Jedi starfighter. An Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor. It is a capable ship, I believe. Fast, and easy to maneuver. With this gift, of course, I expect you to behave and not to get into any trouble with it. Promise me, young Skywalker." Luke was just excited to get a starfighter, so he nodded eagerly.
"I won't do anything you wouldn't do," he swore. "Thank you so much, Emperor."
"I'm sure you won't disappoint me." The statement was more of a threat than a reassurance. "Anakin, we must leave if we are to reach the Death Star in a timely manner. Come." Anakin patted Luke's back lovingly and got up, following the Emperor out of the apartment.
As soon as they were gone, Sabé reappeared, carrying some refreshments. Conveniently, there was only enough for two, so she must have known that Anakin would be leaving with Palpatine.
"He gave you a starfighter," Sabé noted. "I'm sure you're excited. Do you think R2 will be up to the challenge?" The little astro droid had been in the family for the longest time, and generally was with Anakin at all times. Luke wondered if he had been left behind for once so he could use him. The familiar beeps and boops of R2-D2 drew Luke's attention to the hall, and sure enough, the droid let out a metallic shriek at the sight of him. Luke chuckled and the little droid rolled on in to the sitting room, waiting eagerly at Luke's side.
"Do you want to go see the new ship?" he asked. R2 rocked back and forth as he often did when excited, and Luke smiled, rising from his spot on the couch. Luke figured the starfighter was at the same landing pad as his father's so he left with R2 and managed to get the droid into his airspeeder, rushing over to the landing pad. Sure enough, a shiny black starfighter was in the spot right next to his father's, which was still yellow as it has been when he was a young man. Luke started to jog up to it, turning around and motioning for R2 to follow him when he crashed into someone. The person gasped in surprise and the two tumbled to the ground, Luke putting a hand out to stop his fall. He could tell his palms would be scraped up later.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you," he said before actually looking at the person underneath him. A young woman, about his age, stared up at him, visibly angry.
"Why don't you watch where you're going?" she spat. "And get off of me!" Luke scrambled into his feet, dusting off his pants as he did so. He offered the woman a hand but she got up on her own, scowling at the tear in the hem of her white dress.
"My name is Luke Skywalker." The woman looked at him upon his introduction. She was unimpressed. She was also very beautiful; her hair was a dark brown, done up in an intricate braid, and her eyes were a warm brown that reminded Luke of chocolate. Her beauty was contrasted by her sharp tongue.
"I would have expected the son of Darth Vader to be a little taller," she quipped. Luke blushed; he was shorter than his father by about four inches; Anakin was exactly six feet tall, where Luke fell at five-foot-eight on a good day.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss...?"
"Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan," she answered shortly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to. Goodbye, Skywalker. It was... nice meeting you."
"Princess..." Luke thought aloud. He thought of what Palpatine had told him; how he needed to keep good company now. At least Princess Leia would be interesting. He ran after her. "Princess! Excuse me, but do you have any plans for this evening?" The woman turned on her heel sharply, hands on her hips as she appraised Luke.
"No," she replied. "Why?"
"I was wondering if you would accompany me to the Galactic Opera House this evening? As friends, of course. A new play is supposed to be performed tonight, and I have access to the Emperor's box." Leia huffed, crossing her arms defensively.
"And in what universe do you think I would want to be seen out and about with you?" she inquired. Luke found himself scowling at her, and inwardly reminded himself to stay calm.
"It was just a question," he defended. "If you don't want to go, I understand."
"A Sith Lord capable of understanding others," Leia snarked. "I didn't think that was possible."
"I'm not a Sith Lord," Luke lied.
"Your heritage and lightsaber tell me differently."
"Do you always manage to frustrate every single person you meet?"
"No, just you." Leia smirked, pleased with the way Luke ran his fingers through his hair angrily. She hadn't imagined him to be so young; he was practically her own age. According to her father, all his looks came from his father; there wasn't a trace of the late Queen Amidala in him.
"Well, nice meeting you," he muttered, walking toward what Leia assumed was his own starfighter. She started to laugh and Luke looked back at her.
"Fine, I'll go with you!" she exclaimed. "But just as friends!"
"Just as friends," Luke assured.
And the Skywalker twins have met! I liked Leia's smart tongue; she definitely needed to be sassy and I think I got it down.
Something is going to happen at the opera to bring out dark!Luke... Any guesses?
~ Class
