Wrenga Jixton completed his assigned mission and reported to Lord Vader. While normally, gang violence didn't fall to Wrenga Jixton to eliminate the leader and their followers, this particular gang lived on the lower levels of Nar Shaddaa and managed to get a hold of certain artifact that Lord Vader wanted, so Jixton became a lieutenant of their gang. It taken several weeks to earn the leader's respect and trust, the other disturbing thing was their specialty was slavery of young girls and sending them to become rapist's playthings. Therefore, once Jixton retrieved the artifact he took great pleasure in killing the entire gang and had contact names of these slave owners, they were highly placed in the Imperial military.

"Uncle D, how are you?"

"Jixton, please I must insist you desist in referring to me as such."

"The operative has been eliminated as well as all his cohorts. I have also compiled a list of Imperial rapists if you are interested; their specialty was young girls."

"Excellent, I have already deposited the funds into your account. Enjoy the next few weeks."

"No new missions, Uncle D?" Wrenga asked.

"No!" Lord Vader cut off the communications and sighed deeply, the man was insufferable.

Wrenga noted that Lord Vader cut off the communications and seemed rather preoccupied by something or more likely someone. "What are you planning, Uncle? And how could you possibly forget that I have the artifact you want?"

xXx

Luke completed the repairs on his X-Wing and updating the computers, which Artoo was a great help. It had been several weeks since he received the package his father had sent. Luke smiled, he knew that convincing his father to leave the Dark Side would be nearly impossible, but he also knew that there was good in him. As the weeks had passed so had Luke's acceptance of his father, especially he explained a bit of why he had turned to the Dark Side, it was because of his love of his wife, Luke's mother.

"Luke! Luke! You must see this report!" Leia yelled as she joined Luke.

"What's going on, Leia?"

"Darth Vader is missing!"

"Who could miss a guy who is two meters tall, wears all black and has a breathing problem?"

"I don't know, but the Imperials are all upset about their missing leader, they are turning civilized planets inside out looking for him."

"What's this have to do with me? I wouldn't even know where to begin to look!" Luke responded excitedly.

"Use the Force, Luke!"

"I'm sorry, Leia they didn't teach me how to look for Vader through the Force."

xXx

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, a victim of greedy and idiotic kidnappers, who wanted to hold the Sith Lord hostage, the whole thing on Myrkr was a setup, they managed to beat him down despite him taking on more than twenty of their kind at the same time. He felt disoriented and weakened when the creatures clinging onto the branches made the Force disappear. He didn't even feel the hypodermic needle enter his upper arm and quickly succumbed to the drowsiness of the drugs.

"Where are we going to take him?" the leader asked.

"Somewhere he cannot escape, Mustafar, it has an old Separatist outpost. No food, or water, he will not be able to survive there long, unless someone pays the ransom."

"Sounds good."

Lord Vader awoke disoriented and surrounded by the Ysalamiri and munching happily on the leaves. He was bound and helpless as he struggled, causing the chains to rattle.

"Good morning, milord!" the kidnapper greeted.

"You are making a very serious mistake."

"Oh, don't worry, if the Empire wants its evil commander returned, and then you will live through this. But somehow I doubt this, why would they want to regain a Force-Choking, evil manic like yourself?"

This man did not impress Lord Vader; even without the Force, he could see that the man was scared, despite his bravado. The kidnapper approached the Dark Lord slamming his helmeted head against the durasteel beam.

"Even if the ransom isn't paid, we shall have such fun with you."

"For now perhaps, but you are wrong to underestimate the influence I have over the Imperial Military."

"We will see won't we?"

xXx

Luke Skywalker dressed into the fine Jedi robes that his father sent, they were warm and Luke was unaccustomed to wearing so much clothing. He received an encoded message from an Admiral Piett, upon reading it; he decided to run a white flag of truce when he was tractor beamed into the large ship. The bay was neatly run with ships of different eras, including a classic Jedi Interceptor, it was painted a bright yellow and he could almost see his father flying her.

"You have some interesting ships, Admiral Piett."

"These aren't mine, you are in Lord Vader's private bay, and he collects old ships and rebuilds them."

"Expensive hobby." Luke smiled.

"Money is the least of Lord Vader's worries."

"Yea, taking care of his nephew is normally one of those worries." Wrenga popped up out of a small carrier vessel.

"I wasn't aware that Lord Vader had family." Luke stammered.

"Wrenga Jixton, meet Luke Skywalker."

"Glad to know ya, Luke. Uncle D is in a very dangerous spot and unlikely to leave any clues to his whereabouts."

"You don't say?"

"The man is very stubborn and insufferable when he is obsessed; which is most of the time when it comes to you, Skywalker."

"You are very brave to speak badly of Lord Vader." Luke admonished.

"I don't ever say anything behind his back that I wouldn't say to his face. Of course the last time I was that frank with him I pushed twenty feet away and hit my head on the wall."

"It is late; perhaps you would like to be escorted to Lord Vader's quarters?"

"Sure."

Luke followed Admiral Piett and remained silent, he couldn't help but to notice all the looks he was getting from the different officers.

"Here we are, Knight Skywalker."

"Knight?"

"Have a pleasant evening; if you need anything just call me." Admiral Piett left Luke alone.

The large ebony doors shut and Luke removed his cloak and slung it over the large desk. Lord Vader's private quarters were dark and cold; Luke also felt a sense of intense hatred and loneliness. While it would not be obvious to other non-Force sensitive people, to Luke it felt like he was entering that blasted cave on Dagobah, but much more intense. Luke walked around the office and sat in the large black leather chair. Luke looked through the desk drawers, but only found a couple of datapads with highly sensitive Imperial data, which Luke couldn't access.

Luke tried to look for clues as to Lord Vader's disappearance, after combing through the planet of Myrkr, the Imperials soon realized that Lord Vader already transferred to some elusive planet. After leaving the office, Luke saw a set of double doors and opened them to see a large dark bedroom. The bed neatly made with scarlet sheets and a comforter. He also saw oxygen controls above the bed with a small mask. He also saw a solid black cotton robe lying at the foot of the bed. "So you do sleep." This surprised Luke, because as a child he heard rumors that Vader never slept or ate. Luke went to the bathroom and saw the similar mask with a long clear hose in the shower.

Luke saw his father's toothbrush, but he saw no mirrors anywhere in the apartment. Luke left the bathroom and opened up the large closet door to see spare suits of armor including one that had lightsaber damage to his shoulder armor. After showering, Luke found an overly long nightshirt made of fine silk to change into and he meditated until eventually falling asleep in the large comfortable bed.

Artoo Detoo a loyal droid to both Luke and Anakin Skywalker attempted to uplink to Lord Vader's private journal. Since Artoo never endured a memory wipe, had memories of all the events since the Battle of Naboo, so long ago; Artoo tried to access the journal but couldn't, not only was the file heavily encrypted it was also password protected.

Luke awoke to hear Artoo's angry sounding screeches and beeps. He approached the little droid, "Artoo?"

"I really hate encrypted files they are nearly impossible to gain access."

Luke smiled as he knelt to Artoo and patted his dome, "It's alright, just tell me what you are trying to do."

"I am attempting access to Darth Vader's private journal; not only is it encrypted but it is also password protected."

"Can you bypass the encryption?"

"Yes, but that is moot unless I know the fierfek password."

"Artoo, I've never known you to curse!"

"There's a lot you don't know about me or my previous owner."

"Captain Antilles?"

"No, Threepio can say that all he wants but my previous owner was much kinder. He talked to me like a human being. I miss him."

"Who was he?"

"Can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I must protect you."

"You've done a good job of it so far, Artoo. However, I really need to find those files and you must know something about Darth Vader to get this far."

Artoo warbled his concern and something of an old hint ran across his circuits and as he bypassed the encryption and typed in the word, "Padmé."

The journal opened and through his data link opened up the journal and Lord Vader's figure opened up and stood before Luke.

"You did it!" Luke hugged the droid.

Without preamble, Lord Vader started his journal, "Today I discovered the identity of the Death Star's destroyer. Luke Skywalker, the son I thought I killed. It seems Sidious' lied to me. She was alive long enough to give me a son, I have completed some research using the holonet and Empire governmental databases. Owen & Beru Lars, my stepbrother, raised him; I met the both of them long ago, when I brought home my mother's body, the searing pain of her loss still haunts me. That day when I killed all the Tusken Raiders in that camp was my first day of flirting with the Dark Side. The power I felt as their warriors continued to fight me with their gaffi sticks; it was a complete slaughter."

Luke watched as the second journal entry came about, "Incompetence must be a job requirement to become an Admiral in the Imperial Fleet, unless I specifically choose them to lead on my new Executor class Super Star Destroyer. Admiral Ozzel allowed the Rebels to escape by coming in too close to the system. The opportunity to capture the Millennium Falcon and its unorthodox captain, failed again. Admiral Ozzel paid for this mistake in full. I promoted Admiral Firmus Piett in his stead. I believe that Admiral Piett will do very well in the promotion. While I do not like many people, I am fond of Admiral Piett."

Luke couldn't help but to smile at the last remark. Admiral Piett knocked on Lord Vader's door as Artoo paused the recorded journal.

"Good morning, Admiral Piett, how are you?"

"Fine, did you find any clues to the possible whereabouts of Lord Vader?"

"No, but I gained access to his journal so hopefully that will lend us some clues."

"Are you sure that is wise to read his journal?"

"Well, probably not, but at the same time we have to find him."

Wrenga Jixton entered Lord Vader's quarters and ignored both Luke and Admiral Piett. "Uncle D, come on where did you put the good stuff?" Wrenga was searching for the bottle of Whyren's Reserve Corellian whiskey.

"If you are looking for the Whyren's Reserve, he has already given it to me." Admiral Piett smiled.

"What! Why would he do a thing like that?" Wrenga yelled.

"Well when you find him, perhaps you can ask him." Admiral Piett left Lord Vader's quarters while Wrenga sat in the chair and sulked.

Luke sighed, "Why would you want a shot of whiskey first thing in the morning anyway?"

"Because where we are going you are going to need it."

"Where are we going?" Luke asked.

"There are three planets that could reveal his location, Sullust, Mustafar and Nkllon."

"Those planets all have volcanoes, why would Lord Vader visit those planets?"

"You don't know much about Lord Vader do you?" Wrenga asked.

"What's to know?"

"You know he doesn't wear the fancy suit for kicks; he is dependent upon it, it breathes for him. I think the kidnappers want to place him on a dangerous planet, because they believe it will weaken him. If you took him to a planet that he received all his injuries, then perhaps he will be more subservient."

"They obviously don't know Lord Vader as well as they should, because all that's going to do is enrage him."

"Precisely, and if I know Uncle D, not only will he become enraged but also very vengeful. He is a strong man, takes a lot to knock him down."

"How do you know so much, Wrenga?"

Wrenga smiled but refused to answer, "Come on, let's prep one the shuttles."

Luke couldn't help but to like Wrenga and his sarcastic wit, he reminded him of Han. Luke wanted to contact Leia, however, he felt it was unwise, not everyone in the Imperial fleet was patient as Admiral Piett. It was odd that none of the stormtroopers attacked him or attempted to arrest him.

"Admiral Piett?"

"Yes, Knight Skywalker?"

"Is there a reason why you haven't attempted to put me under arrest?"

"Lord Vader has given specific instructions that you are not to be harmed."

Luke could tell that there was a more specific reason as well, that if Lord Vader's son harmed that the consequences would be deadly. Even though his father was many worlds away, he could almost feel his protectiveness that Luke was someone he held dear. If the journal entries were true than it seems that, the Dark Lord had truly lost everyone and everything he ever loved, which fully entrapped him into the Dark Side.

Wrenga prepped the shuttle with everything needed, including canisters of oxygen and a full medical kit. Artoo completed downloading Lord Vader's journal and soon joined Wrenga and Luke.

Admiral Piett also had brought some of Lord Vader's private things in a black rucksack. "Inside is some extra clothing and other personal items. Please be safe and return Lord Vader to us."

"We will, Firmus do not worry." Wrenga stated calmly and shook his hand.

Admiral Piett smiled sardonically, "Please do not call me that. If you insist on calling me by my first name, call me Thomas."

"Okay, Tommy boy!" Wrenga laughed.

"Goodbye, Admiral Piett and May the Force be with you."

"Thank you, Knight Skywalker at least someone knows proper protocol."

Luke shut the door as Artoo rolled inside. "Nice of you to join us, Artoo." Luke smiled.

"Somebody has to keep an eye on you, Skywalker."

Author's Note:Thank you for all the kind reviews, I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far, none of this belongs to me however, I'm merely playing in George Lucas' sandbox.—Lady Gladiator45