xxxxx

All the way back to the Jedi Temple Luke turned the words of the old Clone Trooper over in his head. 'The 501st never would have betrayed your father. We had orders to take him alive if necessary.'

"Dad, the 501st served under you during the Clone Wars right?" Luke asked. His 'father' nodded. "I was their general during the War. I still make an effort to visit the survivors. It lifts their spirits."

The 501st now serves Vader. Luke thought.

"Did he tell you that the 501st would have never betrayed me?" His 'father' asked. "Yes," Luke replied.

Anakin shook his head.

"He always tells you that every time I bring you and Leia to visit."

xxxx

Elsewhere . . .

Luke piloted 'his' X-Wing through space.

This can't be home! It can't be! Luke thought. Mom's dead. Alderaan is gone. Leia doesn't seem to remember that she is my sister. Han is frozen in carbonite.

"You alright Luke?" Wedge Antilles asked him over the comm. "Just thinking." Luke replied.

xxxx

Luke still couldn't believe that his right hand was a cybernetic replacement limb.

According to records his real hand had been cut off at a planet called Bespin in a duel with a Sith Lord known as Darth Vader.

I wonder who he was before his Fall. I mean Vader wasn't his name. Luke thought.

"We have reached our destination Commander Skywalker." A voice said. Luke turned to the Rebel who was dressed in an Imperial uniform, like he and everyone else on the transport.

They were all on a fact finding mission. Luke had no qualms stealing information from the Empire after he learned that Emperor Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious by him and no doubt Vader, had ordered the deaths of all the Jedi in the Jedi Order. From the Masters down to the Younglings.

Finally the transport landed and they all exited.

Luke walked around for awhile before he made his way to a computer terminal.

After doing a little slicing he managed to get some information, but nothing helpful.

Suddenly he was asked for codes.

Luke reached into the Force and quickly typed in the codes that his father had given him, only to be used in an emergency.

To Luke's surprise the codes worked and before he knew it tons of information was in front of him.

What do you want to know? The screen suddenly asked him. Luke quickly typed: the location of Anakin Skywalker.

He waited as the computer tore through tons of data.

Finally it said that there wasn't a location for an Anakin Skywalker. But it did find a vid with Anakin Skywalker in it.

Luke felt his heart pound in his chest.

He quickly opened the files and nearly threw up at the sight of the badly burned remains of a humanoid on a table of some type.

Medical droids moved around the table doing all sorts of things to the shell of a humanoid. It snarled in pain and tried to push the 2-1B away with a cybernetic hand.

xxxx

Vader sat meditating when an alarm chirped. Annoyed he opened his eyes and turned to the computer inside of his meditation pod and frowned; someone was accessing his personal files.

With a wave of his hand the person was blocked out.

xxxx

Luke watched as the feed suddenly disappeared and a message saying that the link had been terminated.

xxxx