3
Vader sat down as the phlebotomist prepared to withdraw a sample of his blood. The man's hands shook as he prepared his the syringe, the sight of Darth Vader up close and personal more terrifying than he could have imagined.
"Well now," the technician said, trying to sound calm. "Er…uh….your suit, Lord Vader," he began, unsure how to proceed, "will this syringe penetrate it?"
Vader shook his head. "No, it won't," he replied, removing the shoulder armor. "There is an opening on the right shoulder," he informed the nervous man. "My medical officer takes blood from there on a regular basis."
"Very good," the technician said, watching in morbid fascination as the Dark Lord removed his shoulder armor. He stepped closer, noting in amazement that Vader's shoulders were just as broad without the armor, and noticed the small slit at the top of the suit. "Shall I proceed?" he asked nervously.
"That's why I'm here, isn't it?" Vader replied acerbically.
The technician swallowed hard as he pulled back the fabric of the suit, shocked to see the state of the skin beneath. It was clear to him that Vader had sustained severe burns, third degree burns; why he had not been treated for them was beyond his comprehension. Still, he would not dream of asking the Dark Lord such a personal question; people had been killed for far less where Darth Vader was concerned. Instead, he went about his task, injecting the syringe into the muscle of the Dark Lord's shoulder. He withdrew one vial of blood, more than enough to determine if Vader would be a suitable candidate as a donor.
"There we are," the man said, relieved to have the task finished. "I'll have this analyzed as quickly as possible, my lord. I should have an answer for you within the next few minutes."
"Good," Vader replied as the man handed him his shoulder armor. "The sooner the better; my son's life is hanging in the balance."
"Of course, my lord," the man groveled, rushing away with the sample.
Vader replaced his armor and stood up, surprised to see his wife standing in the doorway.
"I didn't realize you were there," he said. "They should have the results very soon."
Padmé nodded. Vader could see that she had so much to say, so many questions; indeed, so did he.
"My appearance shocks you," he stated matter-of-factly.
"I've seen you on the holonet," she told him. "I knew what to expect."
Vader nodded. "Of course," he said. He wanted to say so much, but hardly knew where to start. The fact that she was actually alive after all this time was still a shock to him. "I can't believe you're really here," he said at last. "I've believed you to be dead all this time."
"Everyone has," Padmé replied. "I had no choice, you…Palpatine gave me no choice," she explained. "If I were to keep Luke and Leia safe from him, I needed everyone to think I was dead."
"Not quite everyone," Vader reminded her. "Viceroy Organa knew all this time, didn't he?"
Padmé nodded, ignoring the hint of accusation in his voice. "Yes, I needed his help," she replied. "Obi-Wan knows too."
The name of his former master sent a ripple of anger through him. "Of course," he replied, the anger clear in his tone. "No doubt he has spent the past fourteen years turning my children against me."
Padmé was torn between lashing out at him and breaking down into tears over what had become of the man she had loved with all her heart. "No, he hasn't," she said tiredly, turning away from him, not wanting him to see how vulnerable she was. "What do you want me to say, Anakin?" she asked without turning around. "That I'm sorry I hid from you? That I'm sorry I did everything possible to protect Luke and Leia from that monster you call your master? Well I'm not sorry," she said. "I did what I needed to do, I had no choice."
Vader said nothing, which only frustrated her more. The air was heavy between them, pregnant with unasked and unanswered questions. Padmé spoke up; hating the silence, needing to say what was on her mind and in her heart, even if he wasn't willing to.
"I don't want to fight," she said, looking back at him. "I haven't slept in three days. I'm tired and I'm worried about Luke. I haven't got the energy to get into this right now," she added, turning away from him again.
"You still don't understand that I did what I did for you, do you?" Vader replied. "I did it to save you, and in the end…"
"In the end you lost us all," she said, cutting him off before he could begin another sentence. "Was it worth it?"
Before Vader had a chance to respond, the technician returned to the examination room.
"Good news, my lord," he announced. "Your blood type is the same as your son's," he said.
"Good," Vader replied. "Then the transplant can take place immediately."
"The physicians will want to perform a thorough physical on you first," the man replied.
Vader was angered by this news. "I had a complete physical not three days ago," he told the technician tersely. "This is a waste of time!"
The man did not wish to contest the Dark Lord's statement, so he merely nodded in response. "I will let the physicians know at once, my lord," he said, and then left once again.
Vader turned back to Padmé. "I told you he would get his transplant," he said, and then left the room.
"Lord Vader I'm afraid we will have to sedate you for this examination," the lead physician, Dr. Marcswell, informed him a short time later.
"Why?" Vader asked suspiciously. "As I informed one of your technicians, I had a full physical not one week ago. My son needs this surgery, and yet you are…"
"Sir," interjected the doctor, quite to the surprise of Vader. "It would be against my ethics to perform surgery on you of this magnitude without first performing a full examination myself. Your physical situation is quite unique, you must admit; I don't want any surprises when I'm performing surgery on you."
The surgeon's words halted any further objections; the man was simply doing his job. "Very well," Vader replied. "Do what you must. Only know that if my son's condition worsens because of this ridiculous waste of time, I will hold you responsible, Doctor."
The doctor tried not to show how intimidated he was, and merely nodded in response. He signaled for two medical droids to assist him as he prepared himself for the unenviable task of examining the Dark Lord.
"How are you feeling?" Padmé asked her son as she sat at his bedside.
"I've been better," Luke replied. He looked around the room. "Where are we, Mom?"
"We're on Alderaan," Padmé replied. "We're here to get you a new kidney."
Luke's eyes widened. "You mean you found a donor? A compatible donor?"
"Yes we have," Padme replied. "And hopefully you'll be having your suregery within the next twenty-four hours."
"Great," Luke sighed. "Who is it? Who did you find willing to give me a kidney?"
Padmé hesitated before replying. She had told the twins that their father, Anakin Skywalker, had died just around the time they were born. To tell them that Darth Vader was their father seemed too much for them to be burdened with at such a young age; in time she planned to tell them the truth. It seemed that the time was suddenly upon her.
"Your father, Luke," she said at last. "That's who is donating a kidney. Your father."
Luke stared at her, a mixture of confusion and disbelief in his eyes, eyes that still reminded Padmé of Anakin.
"But…he's dead," Luke said simply. "Right? You told Leia and me he was dead."
Padmé sighed, a profound look of sadness filling her eyes.
"Mom?" Luke said gently.
"Luke, your father, Anakin Skywalker, was a good man," she began. "But something terrible happened to him. He…he was used, tricked into trusting someone who ended up being the source of his destruction. Your father turned to the Dark Side, Luke. He didn't die, but he ceased to live as Anakin Skywalker long ago, on the same day you and Leia were born."
Luke frowned, his mother's words stirring up fear and anxiety within him. Obi-Wan had taught he and Leia about the Dark Side, how dangerous and destructive it was. How could his father had succumbed to its power?
"Who is he, Mom?" Luke asked, suddenly sounding like more that his fourteen years. "Who is my father?"
Padmé looked at her son, her heart breaking with the expression in his eyes. This is so unfair, she thought, he's too young to be burdened this way!
"Tell me," Luke insisted. "I need to know."
"Darth Vader is your father, Luke," Padmé said at last. "Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, until he turned to the Dark Side. He is giving you one of his kidneys."
Luke did not know how to feel at this point. Half of him was elated by the knowledge that his father was still alive. He had wanted a father all these years; and although Obi-Wan was a kind man, a good teacher and friend, he was not Luke's father. The man that Luke's mother had described to him and Leia was the sort of man that Luke idolized: a Jedi Knight, a great hero, a brave warrior and skilled pilot. How was it possible that such a man could have become Darth Vader?
"How?" Luke asked at last, unable to voice his question any better. "Why?? How could the man you told Leia and me about be Darth Vader? It doesn't make any sense!"
Padmé sighed, and to Luke, she seemed to look sadder than she had ever looked. And there were many times when she was sad; many times when she thought neither Luke nor Leia were watching, when she would cry, when it seemed as though her heart was breaking in two.
"It's not easy to explain, Luke," she said. "Your father was a great Jedi, as I told you; but…"
"So why did he turn to the Dark Side?"
Padmé turned to see her daughter Leia standing in the doorway. Judging by the look on her face, she had heard everything. It's just as well, Padmé reflected; she needs to know too.
"Your father was ….plagued with dreams," Padmé began. "Dreams that foretold the future. He foresaw the death of his own mother, and was powerless to stop it because of the constraints of the Jedi Order. When I learned that I was pregnant, your father was overjoyed. But that happiness soon turned into terror when he began dreaming of me dying in childbirth. He became so obsessed with finding a way to save me, that he placed his trust in the very person who had set out to seduce him to the Dark Side all along, Palpatine."
"You mean the emperor?" Luke asked.
Padmé nodded. "Yes, but back in those days he was the Chancellor. The Empire didn't come until later."
"After the Purges," Leia put in. Obi-Wan had made sure the Skywalker twins knew the real story, not the Imperial propaganda that they would have learned in school, had they attended a public educational facility.
"Yes," Padmé replied. "Your father was confronted by Obi-Wan on the planet Mustafar," she continued, omitting the part about Vader trying to kill her. "They fought, and your father was seriously injured. You two were born shortly after this happened."
"So why has he ignored us all our lives?" Leia demanded.
"He…he hasn't, not really," Padmé replied "You see, after you were born, Obi-Wan and Senator Organa staged my funeral," she explained. "Made it look like I had died. It was the only way we could keep ourselves safe from the Emperor; for had he learned of your existence, he would have destroyed you as surely as he had destroyed your father."
Luke and Leia were silent as they digested this, neither of them quite knowing how to feel.
"So, he thought you were dead too, then? Vader?" Luke asked.
Padmé nodded. "Yes, it was necessary, Luke."
"So he thought we died too then," Leia stated.
"Yes," Padmé replied. "He only learned of your existence the other day. When we learned that Luke's condition was so serious, we had to weigh the options of telling him versus taking the chance that Luke's condition would improve before finding a donor. It hasn't," she said, looking back at Luke. "Your life is more important than anything, Luke," she told him, taking his hand. "So I took the chance, and let Senator Organa contact Vader."
"And he agreed to do it?" Leia asked.
"Yes, he is very concerned about Luke," Padmé replied. "He is being examined right now."
"So he must care about me," Luke said, thinking aloud. "If he didn't, he wouldn't do this, he wouldn't give up a kidney for me, would he Mom?"
Padmé hadn't allowed herself to think about what the implications of Vader's actions might be; she had not let herself think about him much at all since they had met again after so long. It was just too painful to relive the past, too painful to think of all that had been lost.
"I suppose so," she replied at last. "I just hope he cares enough not to betray us all to the emperor," she added. "That is my biggest fear."
"Milady, the surgeons would like a word with you."
Padmé turned to see a medical droid standing in the doorway.
"Very well," she replied. She turned back to Luke and kissed him on the cheek. "Rest," she told him. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Mom," Luke said as she started to walk away.
Padmé turned back to him.
"I want to meet him," Luke said. "I want to meet my father. I think we both do," he added, looking over at his twin.
Padmé sighed, knowing that this was an inevitable request given that the twins had just learned that their father was alive after all these years.
"Very well," she said. "I will talk to him and arrange it. Now rest," she told Luke again. "Stay here," she told Leia, seeing the wheels turning in her daughter's head.
"Okay," Leia replied, annoyed by her mother's uncanny ability to read her mind.