Ten
Coruscant
Luke and Leia sat in the back of the speeder as the man who they'd learned was Captain Kassel directed the craft through the busy city streets. Luke had been released from the hospital earlier that day, and, after procuring the remainder of his clothes from the hotel where he'd been staying, Vader had signed the release papers to bring his son home. It was not lost on Vader that this was really his first official act as Luke's father, and it pleased him to do it. However, when he looked at the names on the form, one thing become very apparent to him. My son's name is Skywalker. What was worse, Leia's was Organa. That will have to change, Vader decided, and soon. Once he'd made his first public appearance with his children, he knew that there would be many who would be able to link Anakin Skywalker to him through Luke's name. And that was something he didn't want. Anakin Skywalker was dead, and his name meant nothing to Vader. It was only right that his children had the same name as him, he reasoned. Too many questions would be asked otherwise. And so Vader decided that his second official move as the father of Luke and Leia would be to legally change their surnames.
As for Luke and Leia, they both felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation as they sped towards their new home. They were eagerly looking forward to getting to know one another, for neither had known the joy of having a sibling until just recently. And yet, neither quite knew what to expect living with their father. He was nothing like either Bail Organa or Owen Lars, the only fathers that Luke and Leia had ever known. If both were honest, they both had to admit to being a little afraid of Vader even now; and yet they were still eager to get to know him, to see if there was more to the man who'd fathered them than the Sith Lord that was feared by the galaxy. Surely there had to be more, they reasoned; why would he want his children in his life if he were the heartless beast that the galaxy believed him to be?
Kassel slowed the vehicle as he left the busiest district of the city and started his approach to the building that Vader lived in. Luke and Leia looked out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of their new home.
"It's huge!" Luke gasped.
Leia smiled, realizing that to her brother it must seem that way. But she had been raised in a palace, so it was not nearly as impressive to her as it was to Luke.
"The school you will be attending is not far," Vader told his children. "Just further east of here."
"Great," Luke replied, trying to muster up some enthusiasm.
Leia looked at him. "You don't like school?" she asked.
"Not really," Luke admitted.
Vader smiled under his mask upon hearing Luke's reply. "School is important," he said. "I'm sure you will enjoy your classes there."
Luke said nothing in response, not wanting to seem ungrateful. He looked at Leia and shook his head, however, and she had to stifle a giggle.
"Your rooms have been outfitted with every amenity you will need," Vader told his children as he showed them into the suite. "Of course, you may wish to personalize them more as you see fit."
"This is amazing!" Luke said as he wandered around the enormous room he'd been told was his. It was easily as large as the entire home he'd lived in for the first ten years of his life. "Is there a food replicator in here?" he asked hopefully.
"No," Vader replied. "Your nutritional needs will be met by a cook I have engaged," he told him. "I have it on good authority that ten year olds are not responsible enough to eat properly if left to their own devices."
Luke was disappointed, but didn't show it. The last thing he wanted to do was appear ungrateful. It was obvious that his father had gone to a lot of trouble and expense to furnish these rooms. "Thanks for doing this," he said to Vader. "I mean it, this is really great."
"Yes, this is wonderful," Leia said, smiling up at Vader. "I'm sure Luke and I will be very comfortable here. We appreciate all the trouble you went to for us."
Vader turned to his children, the purity of their gratitude grabbing at his heart in a most alarming manner. Luke reminded him so much of himself at that age: the same innocent goodness, the same purity of heart. And Leia….the fact that she was the image of Padmé was hard enough to deal with, but as he grew to know his daughter more, he was beginning to see that she was like her in many ways: the same grace, the same kindness, the same maturity and wisdom. How was it Vader had not realized when he'd claimed his children that they would be a constant reminder of the past? How could he not have seen that every time he looked at them he would be reminded of her? Of their life together?
"It was no trouble," Vader said at last. "I am your father. I want you to think of this as your home now, both of you. You are free to go anywhere you wish in this house with the exception of my private quarters."
Luke and Leia nodded their understanding, and then wandered into Leia's half of the suite.
"Cool! Droids!!" Vader heard Luke exclaim. He walked into the room to see what they were referring to and stopped in his tracks when he saw the droids that Luke was referring to: C3PO and R2D2.
"These are your droids?" Vader asked his daughter.
Leia looked up at him. "Yes, they were …I was told that they were my mother's," she said hesitantly. "Is that right?"
Vader nodded, the sight of the droids heralding a flood of unwanted memories. He only hoped that their memories had been wiped, for the last thing he needed was Threepio asking a lot of questions.
"May I activate them?" Leia asked her father, sensing that the sight of them was unsettling to him.
"Yes," Vader replied. "If you wish. I have some work to do, so I will leave you to get settled in," he said, turning to leave.
Luke watched him for a moment, and then went after him. Vader sensed him behind him, and turned to face him.
"I…I was just wondering if there's any way I can get my stuff back," Luke said. "I don't have a lot, but…"
"You mean from your home on Tatooine," Vader said.
Luke nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I don't want to be a pain, but…"
Vader held up a hand to stop his son. It bothered him tremendously that Luke felt the need to apologize for asking for the simplest things, and made him realize just how poor he must have been living with his step uncle and aunt.
"I will send someone there to retrieve your belongings," Vader told him. "I should have thought of it sooner, Luke."
Luke smiled. "Thanks," he said. "Father," he added after a moment's delay.
Vader nodded, and then turned and left. Luke watched him leave and then returned to his sister and the droids.
Returning to his office, Vader did his best to focus on the work that was piling up on his desk. He knew that the emperor would be expecting a report within a few days, and Palpatine was not one to accept excuses. This Vader had learned the hard way. There were reports that needed to be completed, meetings that needed to be convened…the list went on and on. He reasoned that the twins had one another to occupy them, so life would go on much the same as it had before they had entered his life.
"Captain come here," Vader said into his comlink.
Kassel appeared in the doorway within moments. "Yes sir?"
"I want you to send some men to Tatooine," Vader said. "My son has left most of his belongings there," he explained. "I want them to retrieve them."
"Yes sir," Kassel replied. "Where is the boy's home?"
"I'll write down the coordinates," Vader replied, picking up a datapad.
Tatooine
Obi-Wan Kenobi sat in the cantina nursing a drink. He came here once in a while in order to prevent the solitude of his life from driving him mad. Some social interaction, even amid the dregs of society, was better than none at all. He'd made a few acquaintances over the ten years he'd lived in the wastelands of the desert planet, having appointed himself guardian of his best friend's son on the day Luke was born. Any attempts Obi-Wan had made to contact Luke had been aggressively rebuffed by Luke's Uncle Owen, who had chased the Jedi from the property on more than one occasion. Luke seemed happy, though; and he was well protected in the isolation of Tatooine. So Obi-Wan simply watched from a distance, biding his time until such time when Luke's innate Force abilities became impossible for Owen to ignore.
"Yeah, I heard it on the new just this morning," the barkeep was telling a rather surly looking patron. "Owen Lars and his wife, both killed."
Obi-Wan looked up from his drink at this. "Did you say they were killed?" he asked.
The barman looked at Obi-Wan and nodded. "That's right," he said. "They were on Coruscant of all places," he added. "Killed in a traffic accident."
Obi-Wan felt a cold sense of panic filling him. "What about the boy?" he asked. "What about their nephew, Luke?"
"Apparently he survived the crash," the barman replied. "I don't know what's become of him, though. Poor kid, guess he's an orphan now."
Obi-Wan frowned as he nodded his understanding. No, he's not an orphan…far from it, he thought grimly. I should have followed them there, he admonished himself; I never should have let Luke leave the planet without being there to watch him!
Obi-Wan looked around the cantina, suddenly frantic. I have to get to Coruscant, he thought; somehow I have to get to Luke before it's too late…I just hope it isn't already too late…
Coruscant
Luke woke up the next morning feeling rather discombobulated. He'd grown accustomed to being woken up early by his aunt, and then more recently, by medical droids. But this morning he woke up on his own, or rather, by the rumblings of his stomach.
Sitting up in bed, Luke looked around his enormous bedroom once again. He still could not get over how huge it was, how well appointed and comfortable. The bed alone was more than twice as big as the small cot he was used to sleeping in back on Tatooine. And yet, as grand as the room was, Luke didn't feel like it was his. His own room had been small, and yet it was distinctively his, decorated with models of various ships suspended from the ceiling and scattered over any surface that he could spare. Luke loved to build, and he had taken great delight in salvaging bits and pieces of material from all over to add to his stock pile. Aunt Beru hadn't liked it, for she called his treasure trove junk; but she indulged him. Somehow she knew how important it was to Luke, and so she had come to ignore the pile and clean around it when she ever ventured into Luke's room.
"Luke? You awake?"
Luke looked over to the door that separated his room from his sister's, and then looked down to make sure he was decently attired. "Yeah, come on in," he said.
Leia opened the door and entered the room. She was already showered and dressed, wearing a neat pair of trousers, boots and a coordinating tunic. How does she always manage to look so perfect? Luke thought.
"Hi," she said with a smile. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah," Luke replied. "You?"
Leia nodded. "Yes, very well. I guess I was more tired than I realized."
"Yeah, me too," Luke agreed. "I'm starving now," he added. "I wish there was a food replicator in here."
Leia laughed. "You're funny," she told him.
"I'm serious," Luke said as he got out of bed. He could feel his sister's eyes upon him, and was suddenly self conscious. "I …uh, guess I fell asleep in my clothes," he said, looking down at his rumbled shirt and trousers.
"I guess so," Leia replied. "You know, this school we're going to has a pretty strict dress code," she said tentatively. "I think maybe we ought to ask about getting you some new clothes."
Luke frowned. "What's wrong with my clothes?" he asked defensively.
"Nothing," Leia replied at once. "They're fine…but maybe not quite ….appropriate for the Veslack Academy."
Luke scowled, feeling embarrassed and angry at once. "Well I wasn't raised as a princess," he retorted, "so I don't have fancy clothes."
Leia smiled. "Of course you weren't," she countered. "You're a boy."
"You know what I mean!" Luke retorted, growing frustrated.
"You don't have to get angry with me," Leia replied, "I'm only trying to help."
"I saw the way you looked at me a minute ago," Luke countered.
"How was that?"
"Like I was some sort of homeless person."
"I did not!"
"Yes you did!"
"Don't be so silly," she chided. "You're being defensive."
"Oh and now I'm silly?" he replied, digging himself deeper.
Leia rolled her eyes at this point and folded her arms over her chest. She was patient, but only to a point. "Luke, listen to yourself," she said. "You're making a big deal out of nothing. All I said was…"
"I know what you said," he interjected. "You said I'm not good enough to go to that fancy school."
Leia frowned. "I did not!!"
"Yes you did!"
"Well if this school doesn't like the way I dress then I don't want to go there," Luke grumbled.
"You won't have a choice," Leia reminded him. "So stop being a baby about it."
"If I'm a baby then so are you," Luke countered. "We're twins, remember?"
"Don't remind me!"
"What is going on in here?"
Luke and Leia both turned to see their father standing in the doorway.
"I could hear the two of you arguing from the corridor," he continued. "What is going on?"
The twins looked at one another. "Nothing," they said simultaneously.
Vader rolled his eyes. Here we go, he thought. "Obviously it wasn't nothing," he said. "Or else you wouldn't have raised voices. So which one of you is going to explain to me what you're arguing about?"
For a moment neither of the twins said a word, and then, as if on cue, they both started at once, each pointing at the other, each speaking a mile a minute, trying to defend their own interests. Vader was too shocked to say anything for a moment, and simply stood there as they rattled on. And then finally he put up a hand.
"Stop," he said. "This is getting us no where." Vader had been commander of the Imperial Navy for ten years, and had never had problems enforcing discipline. But now, faced with ten year olds, he was stymied. And yet, even in his inexperience, he realized that he needed to set the ground rules quickly if there was to be peace in the house. "Leia, you begin."
"Why her?" Luke asked.
"Because I chose her," Vader countered.
Luke backed down; the tone in his father's voice telling him in no uncertain terms that he meant business.
Leia proceeded to relate what had happened, the way she saw it, during which time Luke tried several times to interject. He was stopped cold by a simple look from his father, and waited rather impatiently for his turn. When it came, he refuted much of what Leia said, and proceeded to tell his side of the story. Leia listened with arms folded, reminding her father of his wife in her posture and the expression on her face.
"I think I understand now," Vader said as the twins finally started to calm down. "Luke needs new clothes, and Leia was pointing that out," he said. "But Luke didn't like being told that, and felt defensive, even though Leia wasn't criticizing him," he continued. "After that things just got foolish," he added. "Does that about sum things up?"
Luke and Leia looked at one another and then down at the carpet. "Yes," they both muttered.
"I didn't hear that," Vader said. "Look at me when you speak to me, both of you."
The twins looked up at once. "Yes," the said again, their voices louder.
"So how do you propose we solve this problem?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest.
Luke and Leia looked at one another, each one of them feeling foolish now for what had happened.
"I guess we can apologize," Luke suggested. "I guess I did act kinda stupid," he added sheepishly.
Leia smiled. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," she said. "Really. I just wanted to help."
"I know," Luke replied. "I guess I could use some new clothes," he added.
Vader nodded, pleased that the first crisis had been defused. "Yes, you could," he said. "We'll see to that after breakfast," he added. "Why don't you get cleaned up and join your sister in the dining room? I'm sure breakfast is ready by now. I'm assuming you're both hungry."
Luke nodded. "Yes, we are," he replied.
"Then get to it," Vader said.
Luke didn't need to be told twice, and scooted into the fresher to get cleaned up.
"This way," Vader said to his daughter.
Leia smiled; impressed with the way her father had handled the situation.
"You know, Leia," Vader said. "Your brother has not grown up with the same privileges as you have," he told her. "You must keep that in mind. He is bound to be defensive in some respects."
"I know," she replied. "I'll try to be more sensitive of that from now on."
Of course you will, Vader reflected; you're so much like your mother it's frightening.
"Are you joining us?" Leia asked as she took a seat in the dining room.
"No," Vader replied. "I have a work to do."
Leia frowned. "Don't you eat?" she asked.
Vader stopped and turned to face his daughter. "Not in the manner that you do," he told her simply. He said no more and left the room, leaving Leia to ponder the mystery who was her father.
"Good morning Miss," Captain Kassel said as he entered the room.
Leia looked up at him. "Good morning Captain," she replied.
"Did you sleep well?" Kassel asked as he took a seat.
Leia nodded. "I did," she replied.
"Good," Kassel replied. "Wow, this looks great," he said, helping himself.
Leia watched him, a slight frown on her face. "You're supposed to wait for everyone to get to the table before eating," she told him.
Kassel stopped, egg-filled spoon in mid-air. "Oh…sorry," he said, setting the spoon down again. He'd forgotten that Lord Vader's daughter was, in fact, a princess. Kassel folded his hands on the table before him, hoping his stomach wouldn't growl too loudly while they waited. Luckily it wasn't long before Luke appeared and joined them.
"This is awesome!" Luke declared and set to work right away. Kassel took his clue from Luke and did the same. Leia simply sighed, realizing that she was not in the royal palace anymore.