A/N- You all know the drill by now; I don't own Star Wars. Thank you all so much for the support, by the way. It really does help. ;D
Three days had passed since that little incident in the training room. Neither Luke nor Mara wanted to show their faces to the Sith Lord. They could only imagine what Vader had thought upon finding them in that position. It certainly wasn't something that either wanted to focus on. They were only supposed to be working together to try to take down the Emperor, not find a relationship. That was exactly what they had been doing-figuring out a way to end Palpatine. It just didn't end as they had foreseen on that day and now Vader thought they were an item.
Mara had refused to speak to Luke since Vader had walked in on them. She had, however, tried to restore his vision. The Jedi was now able to make out fuzzy images of the world around him. It certainly wasn't true vision, but it was better than nothing. He wasn't about to complain. At the very least he could make his way around the Castle without walking into a wall. He wasn't able to make out any defining features of the place, but what little he could see led him to believe that there really wasn't that much to be seen. It appeared that this place was all about efiecency and held no room for nonsense, much like its owner. The young Jedi still knew very little about his father, and that was a continued source of annoyance for him. His father expected him to help take down the Emperor and rule the galaxy with him. How was he supposed to do that when he knew next to nothing about the man? Yes, he could always find information about the man but that would likely be skewed with Imperial propaganda. He wanted to know the man, not the image the Empire put forth of him-an indomitable fist of dictatorship at the command of Palpatine alone. Luke wanted to know the man that was once Anakin Skywalker, his father.
"That name no longer has any meaning to me, son," the voice of his father suddenly said.
The young Jedi practically jumped out of his skin. Had he really been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't sensed, nor heard, his father? It seemed impossible. He was supposed to be a Jedi-aware of his surroundings at all times. If it had been Palpatine in this hall-
"You would be dead," the Sith Lord finished the young Jedi's thought aloud. Could his son really not know how to shield his mind? It certainly couldn't be this easy to enter the boy's mind. The child might be a tad too innocent for his own good, but he couldn't possibly be idiotic enough to leave his mind so open to any Force user he was close to. If that were the case, it would be an enormous weakness, one of which Palpatine would not hesitate but to exploit. It had been eating at him for too long now, so the Sith Lord asked, "Do you know how to shield your mind from others? It certainly does not seem so, what with you broadcasting all of your thoughts and feelings."
Luke looked in the direction of his father. He could make out a blurry image of that iconic black mask that haunted so many people's nightmares. Still, he had no idea what his father was talking about. Master Yoda and Obi-Wan had spoken of quieting his mind and burying his emotions but never of shielding his mind from others. It was a completely foreign concept to him. "Um, no. I don't know how to do that."
Annoyance filled the Dark Lord. Could his old Master really have been so lax as to not train the boy how to guard himself? He certainly could remember a time when Obi-Wan had harped on the need for him to learn to shield his own mind. But, where had that thought come from? He never focused or thought on that time prior to joining the Dark Side. Writing it off as his son having too much influence over him, Vader turned from the boy to look out the window to the acid rain storm which was kicking up in its strength. It always rained here.
The Jedi came to stand beside his father to try and gain a glimpse of the outside world. How long had he been here now? He could not remember, but he did know that Vader had been here for nearly a week now. It seemed odd that the Commander of the Imperial Forces would be staying away from his command for such a long period.
"I really must train you in how to shield your mind, my son," Vader stated, picking up his son's thoughts once again. He could feel mistrust coming off of the boy. The Sith Lord had to remind himself that the boy wished to play the part of the Jedi. He would be fearful that he would start down the Dark Path to "never return to the Light" if he were to accept help from a Sith. Had he too once been like this during his time as a Jedi? It was a very likely possibility. Still looking out at the storm, he continued, "You have no need to fear my help in this matter Luke. Shielding one's mind is not exclusive to the Dark or the Light Side. No harm will come to you in accepting my training." Vader watched the boy closely as he seemed to be considering how to answer. He tried to ignoring the conflicting thoughts Luke was broadcasting. It was a wonder that no one else could hear them with how loudly the boy was able to project them.
He was about to try to persuade the boy once again when the sounds of engines caught his attention. It was an Imperial-class transport vessel, flanked heavily by Tie Fighters. It did not take Vader long to realize who had come to Vjun. How could he have forgotten that his Master planned to stop in for a surprise visit? He was never this careless. The Sith Lord quickly began to usher Luke toward the Forceless, white room. The only hope he had was that his Master had yet to sense Luke's presence. And there was the problem of Mara Jade to contend with. The problem at hand though, was to get Luke to safety. Palpatine was the reason Padme was dead and gone. He was not about to lose another one he cared about to the man, especially when he had the ability to prevent it.
"Wait a minute! What's going on?!" Luke began trying to pull away from the death grip Vader had around his forearm. He was being dragged somewhere by the man and Luke wanted to know what in Force's name was going on. He had heard the sounds of an engine and some Tie Fighters, but why would that set Vader off? He was an Imperial. Tie Fighters should not be something that would set him into action, unless it was… "Palpatine is here, isn't he?"
"I am afraid he is," came a sickly sweet voice from behind the two.
Both Sith Lord and Jedi slowly turned to find the one they had been trying to avoid. The transport had been a decoy. Palpatine had already arrived at some unknown time and had likely been tracking the two Skywalkers long before the decoy had even shown up. This was not going to end well…
A/N- Mwa Ha Ha! Cliff hanger of doooooom! LOL 8D