Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to George Lucas/Disney. Anything you don't recognize probably also belongs to them.

Contradiction

Clouds of steam billowed around Luke as he stepped out of the shower room. The cuffs of his forest green pants dragging slightly on the damp floor as he padded over to the line of sinks with his towel slung over his shoulder. When he reached the one that he had left his belongings beside he turned to the mirror and ran his towel over his damp locks tousling it again to get rid of any excess water. When he was done he shook his still damp hair out and eyed his reflection critically. He ran his thumb underneath his eye and sighed. He hadn't been sleeping well lately and it was beginning to show in the darkened skin there.

He shook his head and began rifling through his bag for a shirt. Finding a grey long-sleeve shirt he pulled his left arm through the sleeve and was about to put his right one through the other sleeve when it spasmed unexpectedly and pain shot up his arm. He grit his teeth and closed his eyes trying to ride through the waves of agony silently. When it finally stopped he released a breath in relief.

"Well Lieutenant Commander, I don't know what to tell you," A man wearing the garb of a medic said as he looked over a datapad. The man gestured at Luke's hand that lay with the inner workings exposed. Luke glanced at the opening where several wires connected the hand to a machine and looked away quickly as the man continued. "According to these readouts there's nothing mechanically wrong with your hand. The logs show no irregularities for the last several weeks. It's highly likely that you're experiencing phantom pains."

Luke breathed in deeply, "I understand Doctor."

The other man reached forward and deftly removed the wires before doing one last check and resealing the opening in Luke's arm.

Luke stood quickly as he flexed his hand hesitantly, "Have a good day Doctor." He turned briskly and left the facility rubbing the place where his flesh connected with machine.

Luke leaned forward against the sink with his left hand supporting him as he eyed his right appendage apprehensively. The synthflesh slid over the internal robotic mechanisms smoothly as he flexed the fingers that he still had trouble accepting as his own. The device that had replaced his hand was heavy in a way that could only spell durasteel, and when he was in a place as quiet as this he could just barely hear the whir of gears.

He flipped the hand over and scrutinized a cut that had nearly gone through the durable synthetic material when he had crushed the datapad earlier in his restless slumber. Most of the time he forgot how strong the grip strength of the device that had replaced his hand was. The mechanisms in the hand had been designed to only act as strong as the user expected the hand to be, at least up to a point. If the user's expectations exceeded the robotics' normal functioning capabilities there was a way to override the safety features programmed into the hand, however it would be detrimental to the functionality of the hand over prolonged periods of time the medical droid had told him.

He wondered if he had managed to override the failsafes in his sleep or if crushing a datapad was well within the hand's normal capabilities. He shuddered slightly at the possibility.

Luke's eyes slid further down his hand, past his wrist where the nearly invisible lines marked the opening to the inner workings, and finally rested where his arm met the "Modern Miracle of Science and Robotics." Synth flesh was highly accurate in its imitation of skin, however it was unable to grow hair because while it was was many things alive was not one of them. The sudden change from smooth flawless flesh to freckled hairy skin was unnerving to him. If those differences weren't there he would have never been able to tell where the machine ended and he began. He couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not, and he loathed the uncertainty and discomfort that it brought to him.

Ever since he had returned to the Alliance from Bespin all of his shirts had become long-sleeve. Most of the pilots probably had one of his short sleeve shirts and tank-tops now, since he had gone on a bartering spree upon his arrival at Haven Base.

He shook his head and roughly tugged the shirt that had previously belonged to Hobbie over his right arm before he pulled the shirt over his head and down his chest with a growl.

Here he was letting his thoughts distract him again. He closed his eyes and forced his mind clear, drawing on the soothing presence of the Light. He could feel his tense muscles go slack and allowed himself to bask in the calming waves for a moment before his chronmometer's alarm went off abruptly dragging him back to reality and reminding him that he had a meeting in fifteen minutes.

"Kark!" He cursed and quickly ran his fingers through his hair. It would have to do. Luke padded quickly over to the bench he had left his combat boots at and sat down. He shook out a pair of thick socks he had gotten on Hoth that helped prevent blisters and pulled them on before pulling on the black boots and tucking the ends of his pants into them. He laced the boots with now well practiced hands, angling the string over the metal hooks on the boots, before he double knotted them. When he finished with both he stood and stretched his arms above his head before he let them drop. His right arm jolted slightly from the weight of durasteel, a feeling that he was slowly getting used to despite it all, and he went over to his belongings and packed them back up quickly before he slung the bag over his shoulder and made his way out of the restroom.

Luke passed the mess-hall on the way to his room, the sounds of conversation and laughter spilling out the door with the smell of dinner as he continued on. Making a quick stop by his room he dropped his bag on the floor near the door and moved on towards the Command Centre.

When he reached the door Luke keyed his passcode in and stepped inside after the door shot up with a pneumatic hiss. Luke walked past several sentients and droids, the soft glow of the data screens making everything appear more angular. When he reached the far side of the room he placed his left thumb on a scanner and stepped through another door into a room with a large holoprojector in the centre. Several of the command staff members loitered around the room with other members of the Alliance, many conversing in hushed tones. Luke looked around the room and immediately gravitated towards Leia who was speaking with Supreme Commander Madine, gesturing widely, her body language screaming irritation.

"- can't just ignore this Crix! You know as well as I do how bad it would be for morale if we abandon a base and word gets out!"

Madine sighed, "I'm just saying that strategically it is unwise to send people to a base that may very well be occupied by Imperials. You know that the warning message didn't get properly encrypted in the middle of that chaos at the end of the Hoth evacuation. After all of this time they're just now contacting us, and instead of it being an update it's a distress signal? The entire situation screams of a trap Princess."

Luke saw Leia's jaw clench in indignation and he stepped forward quickly in an attempt to diffuse the situation, "So I take it we still haven't been able to contact the base then?"

Leia turned to him and her features immediately softened, the sudden interruption allowing her to regain her usual professional demeanor, "Unfortunately not Commander Skywalker, which only increases the urgency that we respond. If they truly do need our help there is no time to waste."

Madine opened his mouth to respond when the door hissed open and Mon Mothma walked in followed by Admiral Ackbar causing the room to go silent. The woman looked around the room and nodded in satisfaction, "It would seem everyone is here, so let's get started. As you all should have read Quarry Base we received a distress signal yesterday at 09:22 hours yesterday that had been redirected by one of our freighters. Aside from this we currently have very little information. The last status report we have is from a week prior to the Hoth invasion saying that they had settled into one of the many old mining facilities on the planet. The particular one they were based in was located in the Northern Hemisphere. The coordinates we were given were approximately 24° Nern and 75° Esk, which placed them several kilometres south of a large fissure that can be seen from orbit. Exact coordinates were listed in the file you were given."

As she spoke the holoprojector in the centre of the room light up and several visuals were shown, "In our considerations towards this situation we must keep in mind that due to our losses at Hoth we are currently incapable of sending a large contingent of our people to assist. In addition, after consulting with Supreme Commander Madine, it has come to my attention that it is also a possibility that the base has been occupied by Imperials. If anyone else has something to add, the floor is now open."

A relatively young female Bothan stepped forward. She was tall for her species standing at approximately 1.6 metres, and Luke watched her idly as she cleared her throat. Her feline face revealed very little, but the subtly rippling fur around her face and through her beard revealed her nervousness about speaking in front of the group. Luke reached out sending faint tendrils of calm towards her. She tensed momentarily, eyes flashing over to him as suspicion twisted out into her force-presence. Luke pulled the tendrils back almost immediately, somewhat surprised that she had realized what he was doing, and looked at her apologetically. She turned away from him apparently deciding to ignore him in favour of speaking.

Luke heard the slight accent that came from her native language of Bothese as she spoke in Basic,"Our intelligence shows that no known rebels from the cell based on Allyuen have been held in custody. In theory if there are Imperials on the planet, then they may on a no contact mandate, or they may be having troubles of their own. Be advised however that those possibilities are nothing more than an educated guesses, as we currently have nothing to base them upon aside from prior experience." She clasped her clawed hands before herself and inclined her head slightly in the barest of bows before stepping backward into a parade rest.

Madine appeared to be considering the information thoughtfully, his intelligent eyes sizing the Bothan woman up as he analyzed what she had said, "If this information is correct then the situation now has fewer disadvantages. This would mean that even if there are Imperials on the planet we would have to deal with far fewer of the enemy than I had previously thought. I still say it is possible that the situation could be a trap. They could be holding our people on the planet, which would explain them not being held in custody in the usual locations." He paused for a moment his expression becoming ominous, "Or they could be dead."

Luke knew his expression matched the grim one that the others in the room were now wearing as the man continued, "They were out of contact for three months. That is plenty of time to have broken them and retrieved the codes." The in my experience went unspoken by the former Imperial, however it was implied well enough. "If we were to arrive it could very well be to a well prepared formation of star destroyers."

Leia stepped forward and spoke up, "Thank you for your insight Commander, however I feel that I must interject. We must remember that these are our people that are out there possibly needing our help. We cannot just simply abandon them because it makes good tactical sense."

Luke smiled slightly as he felt her righteous anger towards the situation that she somehow managed to contain behind a trained aristocratic mask. The Princess had always had an impassioned personality and he sometimes wondered how long it had taken to perfect such a strong control over her expressions. He knew he was useless at it, having been told more than once that people could read his thoughts just by looking at his face. Something he was going to have to work on he realized somberly as he barely contained his wince when Admiral Ackbar brought up the possibility of Vader being involved with the situation.

He mentally chastised himself as the Captain of the ground troops at the base asked the Bothan woman if she knew anything about the Dark Lord's current location. The woman shook her head in a negative, "Lord Vader was last seen boarding a private shuttle on the Executor approximately a month ago. Since then our network has been unable to track his location. It is likely that he made several jumps when he left the Executor because we were unable to triangulate his location based upon his exit trajectory.

The man grit his teeth, "So what you're saying is he could be anywhere. That's just fantastic. We've got a Sith Lord running loose in the galaxy, and for all we know he's at Quarry Base."

Luke shook his head and spoke up for the first time almost without realizing his intention before the words left his mouth, "No, he's not there."

Everyone in the room turned towards him and he felt his mouth go dry. He swallowed audibly and the Captain snorted derisively.

"And you would know this how?" The man looked at him challengingly and Luke gritted his teeth.

"The attitude is unnecessary Captain," Leia stated sternly and the man's jaw tensed, but he kept his silence. "Now Commander Skywalker, if you would kindly explain?"

Luke looked at her, his thoughts rushing through his mind with little coherence, before he took a in a deep breath, drawing the Force to himself and allowing it to calm him, "I know because of the Force Princess Organa." He ignored the Captain who was rolling his eyes, "I know he is not there because it is what the Force disclosed to me. It is as simple and as complicated as that."

Luke felt a moment of uncertainty in his friend before it was quickly quashed by trust that was directed towards him, "Is there anything else that you can tell us about the situation Commander?"

The Captain spluttered and looked at her with his jaw agape for a moment before he spoke, "My Lady, you can't be taking this seriously! The Force is nothing but the belief of a dead religion!"

Luke felt an oddly sharp burst of resentment towards them man's disbelief before his vision flickered slightly and settled on an unfamiliar scene.

Several men in Imperial uniforms sat in a room around a circular table, and a man Luke somehow identified as a General by his rank placard on his breast despite having no experience with Imperial ranks spoke. Luke heard nothing however, because he was completely distracted by the tall helmeted man dressed in black armor that seemed to ooze command presence.

'Father,' he thought dazedly, the word slowly becoming his instinctive reaction to seeing the man, as opposed to Vader as it was previously. He watched the man intently and tuned into the conversation.

"What of the Rebellion? If the Rebels have obtained a complete technical reading of this station, it is possible, however unlikely, they might find a weakness and exploit it," the General said warily, obviously picking his words with care.

His father's reply was firm, and Luke could feel the ghostly presence of his father's dark flames churning throughout the room, his anger at the loss of the plans felt by even the non-sensitive men in the room if their expressions were anything to go by, "The plans you refer to will soon be back in our hands."

A distinctly self assured Admiral spoke next, clearly ignoring his instincts to his detriment, "Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they have obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe! I suggest we use it!"

Luke's skin crawled at how callously the man spoke of ending so much life. This man was horrible. How could someone treat sentients' lives so frivolously?

His father's booming voice interrupted his train of thought, the vocoder unfortunately ridding his words of the sharp edge that Luke could feel accompanied them, "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."

The Admiral had apparently thrown all sense of self -preservation away with his promotion to his position, because when he spoke next it was with a decidedly derisive tone, "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader." Luke felt irritation lance through him as the man continued to mock the Force, a thing that had become so central to his life. "Your sad devotion to that ancient Jedi religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you enough clairvoyance to find the rebels' hidden fortress…"

Luke felt his father's presence explode, and even the echo of his anger was enough to cause him to shudder.

So strong.

He was suddenly overcome with a feeling of yearning to be surrounded by his father's protective presence again. It was worryingly habit-forming, and it had a strong influence on him he abruptly realized as he felt his irritation start to warp into something far less docile when he felt his father lash out in an invisible hand that began to strangle the man.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing," the ominous figure of his father intoned.

Luke wondered if he was about to watch his father kill someone and his gut churned, his mind in turmoil. This was an Imperial that would have willingly killed billions every time the Death Star fired a shot at a planet. An enemy. Even if the Sith Lord wasn't about to kill him now, the man likely died in the explosion Luke himself had caused. His father's anger was like a tempest around him despite it being an echo from the past, and he had a hard time not allowing it to pull him in.

"Enough of this! Vader, release him!" A commanding voice shot through his thoughts, and Luke felt like he was surfacing from deep underwater as the Dark Lord suddenly pulled his impossibly strong power inward and released the Admiral. It made his mind spin to know that his father could contain so much strength without it exploding outward from his control.

Luke drew on the Force now that the Dark Side wasn't stifling the room, and was beginning to successfully calm himself until he looked to see who the man that had managed to stop the Dark Lord was. A sudden surge of anger sliced through his near calm and his eyes slitted in fury. Grand Moff Tarkin. THIS was the man that had given the order to decimate Leia's home planet. Luke hadn't been aware that his father was taking orders from the man at the time, had even assumed that the Sith Lord had been controlling the situation in some way, yet now it appeared that his father had wanted nothing to do with the giant death machine, and was far more content with the use of the Force to achieve his goals.

"Does that really change anything though?" He mused to himself as he fought to reign in the surging emotions that the presence of Tarkin had caused. "After all he is still a mass murderer even if it is on a different scale."

'Not planets though. He doesn't kill indiscriminately that I know of,' a small part of him whispered. 'He is the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military, of course he has killed people. It is a war after all. It would be hypocritical not to consider that since I've killed so many myself.'

He winced as he was reminded of the outcome of the events he was standing in the middle of, even if it was a dream or a vision.

So many.

He continued to watch his father, his thoughts a whirlwind as the scene began to dissolve around him.

He blinked as the room came back into focus and then wobbled slightly before catching himself on the edge of the holoprojector with his right hand, his left hand going up to hold his now throbbing head. As the last dregs of the vision finally left him, he found himself left with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he somehow knew was related to the base on Allyuen.

"Commander Skywalker! Are you okay?" Leia's voice slid across his awareness and he tried to remember what had been happening.

The base.

The bothan report.

Madine's typical analytical breakdown and Leia's compassion.

The Captain that had badmouthed him indirectly through disrespecting the Force.

Irritation spiked through him again that he quickly stamped it out before drawing on the Light to soothe his frazzled nerves.

He shook his head as the situation resolved itself in his mind again, "No. I mean yes, I'm fine, but the base isn't. I don't know exactly what's wrong though, it's more of a feeling than exact information." He chewed on his lip for a moment in uncertainty as he turned the feeling over in his mind, "It doesn't feel like a trap, just a general feeling of distress and despair."

Leia looked to Mon Mothma who appeared to be listening to the information seriously, "What do you think ma'am?"

Mothma's expression became grim, "I think that I have enough history with Jedi to know when to listen to one. Gentlemen, Ladies, something must be done about this situation."

Leia nodded, "I agree. We cannot simply leave them there if they need our help."

Madine looked at Luke appearing to look straight through him before he spoke, "I still advise caution in this situation. We have no idea what would be waiting for us if we go through with a rescue mission."

"I could scramble the Rogue Squadron," Luke spoke up again, this time as a Commander as opposed to a Jedi consultant. "The guys have been getting antsy for something to do anyway."

Madine considered him for a moment, "You would need transportation, and at least a platoon of ground troops for support. I think we can spare one of our smaller carriers, perhaps an Acclamator-class assault ship. I don't think we can afford to send much more than that at the moment."

Leia nodded in assent, "A vote then. Please input your decision via your datapad now."

Luke winced at the reminder of his lost datapad and what had happened to it. "Ah, I accidentally dropped mine," he lied uncomfortably, forcing himself not to fidget. "I was going to head to the tech department after the meeting for a replacement."

Leia looked at him searchingly then nodded, "In that case a verbal placement of your vote will be accepted Lieutenant Commander."

Luke gave her a grateful look, "As the representative of Rogue Squadron and as Lieutenant Commander I place my vote in favour of the mission." He glanced over at a large viewscreen that took up much of the far wall as it lit up showing Leth Senth, his initials, under the column supporting the operation.

The rest of the votes were quickly cast in support of the mission, though several, Madine included, voted against the operation.

Mon Mothma addressed the group, "Now that a decision has been made it is time we move on to the matter of who will lead the mission."

Madine cut in before anyone else could speak up, "This mission is high risk. If we plan to go through with it I feel we will have the highest probability of success if I accompany the group myself."

A murmur of approval rippled through the room and Luke knew that there would be few objections.

After a quick vote Luke was proven right, and the Supreme Commander was officially given leadership of the mission, though Luke wondered at the man's change in tactics. With how opposed to the task the older man had been, it seemed odd for him to want to supervise it personally.

Mon Mothma addressed the group again, "Unless anyone has anything further to bring up this will conclude the evening's discussion. A meeting will be held between those that will be taking part in the mission tomorrow at 09:00 hours." She waited for a moment, however when no one moved to speak she continued, "In that case you are all dismissed."

The group dissolved into a disorganized chattering mass as they made their way out of the room and into the main section of the Command Centre, and Luke fought to stay close to Leia, "That went well didn't it?" He asked her curiously and she nodded.

"Indeed. I feel that your insight helped to draw us to the correct conclusion," she said, her tone professional as they drifted out of the Command Centre and into the hallway. As the group began to thin she smiled and whispered, "Thank you for your support Luke, the Rogue Squadron will be invaluable for this."

He cracked a grin at her as they both relaxed into a more friendly atmosphere, "I wasn't lying when I said they were getting antsy Leia. I'm worried they may manage to wreck half the base if we leave them sitting idle for too long."

Her bell-like laughter danced through the air, "Oh, that is far too true Luke! Don't worry though, you, Wedge Atillies, and Jouffer Talamiin do a good job of keeping them in line."

He snorted in response, "I don't know about me and Wedge, but no one dares to cross Tal." He paused and looked over at her, his eyes dancing along with his teasing tone, "She's about as dangerous as you are when you're mad!"

Her jaw dropped for a moment before she swatted him upside the head even as she started laughing, "Luke Skywalker! If I didn't know any better I'd think Han is rubbing off on you!"

Her hand abruptly stilled at what she had said and she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

Luke felt his stomach drop and he quickly moved to pull her into a hug, damn the consequences if anyone saw. She was his friend and she was suffering, political expectations could go to one of the various Corellian hells.

He felt her begin to shake, and heard a barely stifled sob that tore at his heart as he rubbed her back. This too was a consequence of his father's actions, and it dredged up an immense amount of guilt whenever he thought how the Dark Lord had harmed her.

Leia didn't talk about it often, but he knew his father had tortured her in an attempt to find the schematics for the Death Star. He knew it still haunted her because he used to wake up to her screaming on the Millennium Falcon. Now she was separated from the man she loved because of his father's decision to use Han as payment to that kriffing bounty hunter. He grit his teeth and as his conscience ripped into him. Was it too much to ask for his friends to be unharmed and safe? To have a father that wasn't considered the terror of the Imperial Military?

Even as he comforted his friend from the harm his father had caused he still felt the overwhelming longing he had always had. The need to have his father in his life. It was hard to ignore something that had been with him since as long as he could remember, even if logically he should let it go under the circumstances.

Breathing out a long breath he pushed her back from him slightly and wiped the tears from under her eyes gently, "We're going to save him Leia. We're just waiting on Lando to give us the opening we need. We knew that infiltrating a Hutt's domain would be a delicate business."

She shook her head as if that would wipe away the despair and stood up straighter, obviously frustrated with herself. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I should be stronger than this."

Luke looked at her in concern, "You have nothing to be sorry about Leia. You're only human. You're one of the strongest people I know, but you're allowed to show weakness, especially to a friend. That's what friends are for."

She smiled at him slightly and hugged him, "Thank you Luke, you're a good friend. I trust you more than almost anyone else."

Luke's head throbbed reminding him of the headache that had begun to form earlier, even as he was assaulted by everything he was hiding from her. It took everything he had to put the pretense of a natural smile on his face, "Thank you Leia, that means a lot to me."

She looked at him, her intelligent brown eyes seeming to see into his soul, "Are you okay Luke?"

Luke looked away unable to meet her eyes, "Yeah, I just have a headache from earlier. I think after I get a new datapad I'm going to head to bed early."

Leia didn't appear to be entirely convinced, but she inclined her head, slipping back into the usual protocol that she had been trained for since birth, "Have a good evening then Lieutenant Commander."

"You as well your Highness," Luke bowed slightly and turned to head towards the tech division feeling her sharp eyes on him intently until he rounded the corner.

AN: I give up, apparently I'm writing this thing. My brain won't let me leave it as a two-shot and then I wrote this long thing on top of it.

Some random information:

- Allyuen was considered a possible Rebel base by the Empire, thus it WAS probed around the same time as Hoth was. Conflicting information has it listed in the Anoat Sector with Hoth or in the Greater Javin system.

- Jouffer Talamiin was originally the lead pilot of Scandium Team. Various information has the character listed as male or female, but all information says the character was handicapped, though nothing further is said about him/her.

Still un-beta'd, so if you find any mistakes feel free to let me know.