Hey guys and gals, i apologize for the weird appearance of this chapter. Both my word processor and this website are giving me grief.

Just to lay things out, this story starts at the time of the first movie and will incorporate most elements from the time period. Han, Chewie, the droids and all the rest you know and love will be involved. While I am remixing elements and bringing things in from the au I will not be dumping all the things that made you like Star Wars in the first place.

Please enjoy and as always feedback is the thing that motivates me to write for you. (Although I don't want to come off as one of those jerks who says "review me or I won't write!". I like writing and will do it anyway, feedback just makes me enjoy it even more.)

Chapter 2: The Family Name

Leia

"Bring her back up!"

With a keening whine, The operating table Princess Leia Organa was strapped to rotated her away from the gleaming and sharp instruments of torture she had been exposed to and situated her in a loosely upright position. She took a moment to collect herself and take a deep breath. When she opened her eyes the face of Admiral Motti was inches away from hers. He was a rather unimpressive man whose breath smelled strongly of garlic. If the pain hadn't been enough to make Leia grimace, than the smell of his breath would have. Motti's face had once been an impenetrable mask. After what seemed like an eternity of fruitless questioning the mask was gone entirely. Instead his face was twisted with frustration and barely concealed rage. He shouted " When I took over this interrogation I thought that possessing more patience than Lord Vader would be an asset in convincing you to cooperate. This clearly has been an error. I give one more chance to tell me about the Death Star plans and the Rebel base before I end the burden you put on me and my career."

The interrogation room was fairly large, having been intended for multiple concurrent interrogations to be housed there. While Leia was the only prisoner in the chamber, it was still fully staffed and guarded by Imperial Navy personnel and Stormtroopers. One of the lieutenants assisting in the procedure spoke up with as much deference as he could muster. "Sir, Governer Tarkin gave specific orders that..."

"Kriff Tarkin and his orders!" Motti snarled at his subordinate. He turned back to Leia "well?".

Leia gave the demand the appropriate consideration and spat in his face. Motti lost it at that moment and grabbed a scalpel off the a tray of surgical tools before lunging at Leia. Several attendants shouted at him to stop an a couple even lunged to stop him but none could reach him in time. Leia squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away. The blades bite never touched her. In fact, after several disbelieving moments she realized that all the room was eerily silent. She peeked out with one eye to see that everyone in the room was frozen in place. She looked around wildly to see who had caused that. Panic gripped her has she fearfully wondered if Darth Vader had returned. It was not so, though she could only turn her head she was the most mobile person in the room. Then a thought so wild she wondered if she was insane for thinking it occurred to her. Could she be the one doing it. With all her will she focused on the idea of Motti tripping and falling on the scalpel. When she did Motti unfroze and tipped forward. The impact jammed the scalpel straight into his chest. He looked up at Leia with fearful eyes and said "Jedi!" Before he lost himself in his own pain and potential death. Leia's mind was racing with a million questions but she instinctively knew she had to seize the moment. With but a though the bonds holding her to the operating table burst open.

She fell to her knees on the floor as she slid off the table. She was tired, almost exhausted. The interrogation session had only been going on for a short while so she guessed it must be her new powers. Before she exhausted herself completely she grabbed a blazer from one of the guards and shot everyone in the room. Once that was done she collapsed again. Though the weight of the deaths she had just caused was significantly lighter after being tortured by them repeatedly it was not something that she could push out of her mind easily. At this point she was nearly dead on her feet, there was no way she could do anything like that again. She needed a stealthy escape.

With herculean effort she forced herself up onto her feet once more and staggered through the exit door. She found herself in a long hall of detention blocks. There were several storm troopers patrolling about. Though the sound proof nature of the torture chamber had bought her the element of surprise briefly, she had seconds before she was spotted.

The solution hit her like a brick. With a burst of laser fire she blew open the waste disposal grate and dived in before anyone could react. She tumbled over and over again as she rolled down the shoot. Thankfully she landed on a particularly soggy and soft pile of garbage that lessened her impact. The smell was nearly enough to make her pass out. She did not even want to think for a moment about the what they were throwing away on the detention level. With the last of her strength she willed the maintenance door open and staggered through. She was out of options now. She could only move at a snails pace, propping herself up along the wall as she walked. She could not fight and the new smell that was following her prevented her from sneaking. She pushed forward with only the motivation to die on her feet keeping her going. She heard a door open ahead of her and she and down along the wall, bracing the blaster on her knees. Instead of the hammering steps from the boots of stormtroopers, a lone pair of padded footsteps reached her ear. From around the corner came an elderly man in brown and tan robes. "It couldn't be!" She thought to herself. Her mind was playing tricks on her in her depleted state.

Obi-wan Kenobi stepped calmly towards her and said in a kind voice "Are you lost child?".

Not believing her eyes she said, "You can't be Master Kenobi!" and fired her blaster. Though she aimed true, a saber rose up to meet her laser.

Just as calmly he continued to speak "You recognize me, that makes things easier. I received your droids and your message. I was in the process of escaping myself when I felt your awakening in the force. I have a hired smuggler waiting with a fast ship in a nearby hanger. Come with me."

She shook her head "I can't even stand!"

He nodded his understanding "I can carry you" with that Leia felt herself rising in the air. With the adrenaline starting to fade, her body finally forced her to pass out.

Vader

Vader's flagship was making all speed to Courascant. It had left the remainder of the formerly royal fleet to mop up the Vong at Helska and secure the neighboring sectors. As Vader was the second in line to the imperial throne, any fleet that he was in command of became the official royal fleet unless the emperor had also left the capitol to command a fleet, something that had not happened in a long time. Vader found it easy to contemplate minutiae like that give his mind a brief rest from thinking about his current situation.

The truth was that Vader was well and truly caught in a bind. His son was alive and recovering from wounds that should have killed him, a fact for which he was endlessly thankful. His son existing at all raised endless questions and created numerous and dangerous problems. Padme was dead, that much was clear from the fact that Luke had been raised by relatives but Padme had just as clearly died later than he had expected. How long had Padme lived? What had killed her if not him? These questions burned in his mind.

He had pulled up Luke's personnel jacket to acquaint himself with his progeny. Luke had been a profoundly mediocre student in the naval academy. Instructor after instructor had given him poor grades for theory, academic learning and other, more abstract subjects. Only his practical skills had saved him from being washed out. In simulations and in the field Luke showed himself to be a prodigy at whatever he attempted. Knowing the family history it was easy to infer that the force was guiding Luke through things he didn't understand. In fact if one did not understand the force connection Luke's life would look like an unbroken string of phenomenal luck. He had applied at an early age and been accidentally accepted by one of the deans in charge of admissions even though he had been denied automatically by a computer. Extenuating circumstances had been listed in a dozen cases of academy infractions and it turned out that Luke was the sole survivor of no less than three disastrous incidents before being assigned to the Rapier. Now he was the sole survivor of the Rapier as well. It seemed as though Luke was being saved for a purpose by the force. That was a thought that made the dark clouds of hate gather once more within Vader. He too had been the victim of destiny once and he had hated it with every fiber of his being ever since.

The fascinating thing was that despite the interest the force had shown in Luke, he did not show any aptitude in controlling it. All members of the imperial military were discreetly and repeatedly tested for force ability. Those that showed promise were transferred to alternative programs were they could be disposed of or molded to serve the Empire. The results were clear, while Luke was inseparably linked to the force, Luke would almost certainly never control it.

All these things lead to the same overarching problem. How much did the Emperor know? What did the Emperor intend to do. The fact that Luke had turned up decades later and right under Vader's nose suggested that the Emperor did not know about Luke but the Emperor always knew more than he let on. If the Emperor attempted to make Luke his new apprentice, Vader would most likely perish. If Luke was deemed unworthy of training than he would most likely be disposed of. He had to find a solution in between. He had to protect his son.

His musing was interrupted by the sharp beep of his communicator announcing an incoming call. "Speak" he commanded.

A rather nervous young voice said "my lord, Dr. Heigk says that they are ready to wake the patient up."

Vader acted with haste. "I shall be there momentarily"

Luke

Luke Skywalker was catapulted by an unknown force out of his dreamless sleep and shot up in bed. Severely disoriented he took a great deal of time to take in his situation. Several IV needles were inserted into his right arm, he was in a hospital. An empty syringe in the hands of a doctor suggested an injection, perhaps what had woken him up so suddenly. At the foot of his bed was a giant clad in black armor standing perfectly still with only the steady and pronounced sound of his assisted breathing indicating that he was alive. That brought the memories back, Helska, the Rapier, the Vong and...son?

"Leave us" Vader commanded. Vader's personal medical staff knew their overlord well enough to clear out with suitable haste. There was only one medical station in the infirmary, once the attendants had left Luke was alone with the legendary Dark Lord of the Sith. They stared at each other in silence for a time that seemed to stretch into eternity. Finally Vader said "Luke, I am your father".

Luke blinked and then propped his elbows up on the rails of the medical bed, shifting around to find a more comfortable position and to buy a moment. He finally said "I have so many questions that I don't know where to begin "you clearly know more than do so..." he trailed of and said rather lamely "...care to start?"

Vader folded his arms across his chest. Though his suit obscured much he almost seemed uncomfortable to Luke. "Your name is Luke Skywalker, you come from Tattooine and were raised by Owen and Beru Lars. Owen is my step-brother. A lifetime ago I used the name Anakin Skywalker."

Luke's eyes widened. "You are Shmi's son! They just said I was an orphan rescued by a friendly traveler. They said they named me after her."

Vader's stance visibly softened. "I shall consider this when I deal with them. I need to know was the traveller a real person?"

"Yah" Luke replied "an old man by the name of Ben Kenobi he..."

"WHAT!" Vader howled. All softness in his stance disappeared instantly. He lunged forward and gripped the rails on Luke's bed. The plasteel rods visibly crumpled beneath his mighty grip. "YOU WILL TE..." he paused and released the rails before taking a step back. Perhaps they really were related if Vader was making such a visible effort to reign in his legendary temper. "The traitorous Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi gave me the injuries to put me in this suit. He then..." Vader paused, looking for the right words "separated your mother from me. I thought she died that day. Obi-Wan may have killed your mother later to strike at me. Do you know where he is?"

Luke hesitated before saying "he lived around Anchorhead on Tattooine before I joined the academy. He tried to stop me from joining. When I got in he left. I guess he was worried I would lead the empire to him."

Vader seemed to settle down a bit "Good my son, he is a master of manipulation. I am relieved to hear he failed to sink his claws deep enough into you.

That gave Luke an opening "you said 'when you deal with them' I don't how involved you think Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were in all this but they gave me a loving home and helped get me started on my path. If I really am your son please don't hurt them."

Vader considered that for a long time before saying "I am sure they are victims of Kenobi's machinations rather than accomplices. We will keep a sharp eye on them but they will not be arrested."

That seemed to be as far as Vader was willing to go at this moment. Desperate to talk about something easier to wrap his head around Luke asked "How many other survivors are there from the Rapier?"

"Only you" Vader replied. Upon seeing Luke hold his head in his hands Vader said "from the records I have discovered that you acquitted yourself well above the demands of duty. I am proud." Apparently sensing how little his words effected Luke's mood, he tentatively reached out a gloved hand and gripped Luke by the shoulder "You stood against an unknown and overwhelming enemy and succeeded, where others failed and fell you stepped up and led. In the end you succeeded in saving an entire system. You should be proud of your sacrifices and accomplishments."

Oddly enough that did seem to help a bit. He didn't cry at any rate though he fully expected to later when he was alone with his thoughts. Finding that this topic was even worse, Luke retreated to the previous one. "My mother, what was she like? Who was she?"br / br / "Your mother was...your mother...Padme..." Vader struggled with the words. It was a profoundly odd thing to see the Dark Lord of the Sith struggle with something so human. It was a difficult thing to reconcile with his legend and with the creature he had seen emerge at the mention of Kenobi. Whatever words he was reaching for were lost as they felt the lurch of the ship dropping back into real space. Vader's guard came back up instantly. "Your mother will have to wait. We must prepare you for meeting the Emperor."

Luke sat dumbly for a long moment before exclaiming "The Emperor wants to meet with ME?!"

Stay tuned for chapter 3: New Homes