Chapter 10

When Vader arrived back at Luke, he found the boy picking at bread. Stupid he thought. I told the stormtrooper to bring him food and it treated Luke as a prisoner. I should have expected that.

Luke didn't seem to mind the treatment, however. His eyes shone bright as his father came in, cape swooping behind him. His father-the words seemed incomprehensible to Luke. For so long Luke had wanted to know his father. Finally he was getting the chance to. It was weird though, especially considering who Luke's father turned out to be. Still, a dream come true is still a dream come true, even if the circumstances were different than expected.

"Come Luke, I'm taking you home," Vader announced, when the boy didn't get up. Upon hearing his father's words, however, Luke sprung to his feet with none of a Jedi's grace. That will change soon, once he's trained.

"I cannot believe you have a home! Everyone on Tatooine said you're more machine than human and that you never sleep…Do you sleep?"

Vader found the boy's babbling amusing. At least Luke was no longer scared of his father. That had been a sting Vader did not need. "I am human am I not? You're proof of that. I sleep and eat, though perhaps not as often as you."

"Aunt Beru says I never stop eating," Luke grinned, then he quickly grew sad. "Can I call her and Uncle Owen? They've been really scared for me since Empire Day. They didn't like the emperor knowing about me." Actually, the two had been in a complete panic, especially since Obi-Wan wasn't answering their calls. Luke didn't know that, however. He just knew his only family, correction, his only family besides his father, was upset.

And for good reason, Vader thought. They were probably afraid the knowledge would make it back to me. They expected too much of the Emperor then. He derived far too much joy from watching me discover the truth myself. "Yes you may," Vader answered his son, leading the boy over to his speeder. "I would like to speak with my stepbrother anyway. It's been a long time."

"Owen's not your real brother?" Luke was surprised. How come his Uncle never said anything? "What about your parents, what happened to them?"

"They're dead."

Luke heard the anger of his father's voice, and bit back anymore questions. His mind brimmed with them, however, and Vader felt it. "Don't sit there wiggling." Luke was sitting in the passenger seat of the speeder, but perhaps sitting was an exaggeration. The boy looked like he had an incurable itch the way he jittered. "If you have a question, ask."

Luke didn't want to get snapped at again, but he was so curious. Plus his father did give him permission. Vader couldn't get mad after doing that. "I know you won't tell me how my mother died, but you have to tell me something! What was her name? How did you meet? Did you love her? Was she pretty?"

Vader quickly regretted prompting the boy to ask. He would need to make it very clear to Luke that they would not be discussing Anakin's life. "I once loved her more than the galaxy itself. She was my angel, and her name as Padme. That's all you need to know. She is dead and will remain so. Talking about her will not change that, so do not ask. And do not attempt to find out more about her or Anakin. They are not your parents now. I am."

Biggs had told Luke that only crazy people spoke of themselves in third person. Was Darth Vader insane? Luke didn't get the distinction between Anakin and Vader, surely a name was just a name? He did not understand how Anakin could be Luke's father but dead if Vader was also Luke's father but alive. It just didn't make sense.

"Can I help you fly?" The boy asked, mouth watering as he studied the speeder's controls. "Please?"

Vader was pleased by his son's love of flying, but was not about to indulge the boy. "You have to be fifteen to get a speeder license on Coruscant. I know things are different on Tatooine, but here you have to wait."

Luke sat back in his chair pouting. "I've been flying since my feet reached the peddles. That rule is stupid."

Beneath his mask, Vader smirked a bit, and it could be heard in his voice. "If you've been flying 'since' your feet reached the peddles then you must be from the future."

"I'm not short!" the boy cried, but they both knew he was. The boy was lucky if he reached four feet; obviously his height came from Padme. "And I really can fly!"

Vader didn't doubt it. Children on Tatooine learned things earlier. You couldn't wait for a child to mature when you're trying to ensure survival. "Piloting is different on Coruscant though. There is more traffic, and lots of rules. You can practice on flight simulators until you turn fifteen."

Four years was a long time for Luke though-more than a third of his life. It was no wonder then that he was quietly brooding the entire flight. Vader didn't mind. He actually enjoyed the feeling of Luke's brooding. There was no true darkness in it, but at least it wasn't the shining light that the Sith found almost painful to manage. He hadn't been around that much light in a long, long time-not as long as Luke had lived, actually.

When they pulled up to Vader's apartment, it crossed his mind that perhaps living in the penthouse of the Senate Apartment Complex with his son would not be a good idea. He'd never given up the apartment after Padme's death, but he'd never lived there. He'd never really lived on Coruscant at all, particularly because of the memories it held. Only the Jedi temple held more memories of Anakin than the very apartment to which Vader took his son. There was no other place for Vader to bring Luke though. The penthouse was easy enough for Vader to come and go from without anyone knowing he lived there, and since every senator lived there when on Coruscant, the security was immensely tight. Vader could not let the memories of another life force him to move somewhere less ideal for Luke. He would just have to make new memories of the apartment.

Luke found the place awesome, which was understandable. Vader remembered his own awe when he arrived on Coruscant. Tatooine was so poor and sparse, but the Imperial Center pulsated with life. It was hard for anyone to wrap their mind around, but Luke would manage, as Vader had.

"That room over there is there is locked, as it is unsafe," Vader told his son pointing to the master bedroom. In all reality the room was perfectly safe for Luke, but it held dangerous memories for Vader. He'd never felt the need to clear Padme's things out; he'd never spent more than a desperate night in the apartment before. The apartment had been prepared for Vader though, hyperbaric chamber and all, so that was the room Vader pointed to next. "That room is mine. There is an increased oxygen concentration which makes it dangerous to your normal brain functions, so don't go in there either." In all reality the extra oxygen might just make Luke hyper, but that was technically a change in his normal brain function, so it wasn't a complete lie.

Luke's blue eyes were wide. "Why is every room in your house dangerous?"

"Don't exaggerate," Vader chided. "Every room is not dangerous, only those two. And they're only dangerous for you because you are a child and those rooms are not meant for children. You're free to go anywhere else in the apartment, and can pick whichever one of the guest rooms you prefer. You're safe enough in the apartment building, but I will need to get you a security pass first. Whatever you do don't leave the building unescorted. Coruscant is a dangerous planet for someone your size who doesn't know the way around."

Luke nodded, but wasn't paying all that much attention. He was too busy letting his eyes wander around the apartment and wondering how this was his life. Only that morning he'd been in prison and then suddenly he was living in the penthouse above senators! It was impossible to believe.

"I'll ask one of my assistants to bring you some dinner." Vader realized the boy was probably starving. All he had had was some bread and water, not enough to sustain a growing boy.

Luke disagreed. "I'm not hungry," he shrugged. "Can I call my Aunt and Uncle? It's morning on Tatooine."

It was late on Coruscant, and Luke was obviously tired. Still, Vader knew the boy wouldn't sleep until he'd spoken with Owen and Beru. Plus the Sith couldn't help but imagine the sheer terror on their faces when they discovered where Luke was. It would be priceless.

"Yes, and then if you're still not hungry you should go to sleep." Vader didn't sleep much, but he remembered that boys needed to. "Come on, the transmitter is this way."

The call took a minute to go through, and Luke danced from foot to foot. He was so excited to tell them that his father wasn't dead! They would be so happy! Surely they couldn't have known or else they wouldn't have raised him. They could not possibly have raised Luke knowing he had a father out there. That would have been wrong.

"Aunt Beru! Uncle Owen!" Luke cried when they finally answered the call. The two looked exhausted and worried, but their eyes softened upon seeing Luke well. The boy didn't know it, but every time a call came through they were expecting to find out that Vader or the Emperor had killed Luke. Especially since the Emperor knew exactly who Luke was.

"Luke, is everything alright?" His aunt asked, voice weary. Every moment Luke was away weighed on her. Every moment he was away was another moment where Vader could find the boy.

Luke didn't seem upset, however, which eased his Aunt and Uncle's mind. Until the boy spoke anyway, "You won't believe what's happened! I was in class this morning and then the Warden came and he told me I was being moved so Darth Vader could interrogate me and then I was and then he came and I was super scared because he's Darth Vader and Biggs always said Vader was really scary but he wasn't scary he was nice even when I accused him of killing my father and you won't believe what he said!" The boy spoke in one breath, eyes bright with joy. "He tells me he didn't kill my father because he is my father! My father is alive and he never knew I was and I never knew he was but now we both know and he's taken me to his apartment and it's huge and wonderful and I think my mother used to live here because it looks like a woman lived here and can you believe it? My father is alive and I'm living with him!"

Beru almost fainted, but Owen held her tight. They could not show fear. If what Luke said was true then Vader was probably watching them. He would kill them if he knew of their involvement. Owen had to feign ignorance the best he could. "That's wonderful Luke," Owen managed to spit out. "I'm very glad to know Anakin is still alive."

"Well Anakin is not," Luke corrected, his father's habit already rubbing off of him. "Or that's what Father says anyway I don't really understand. He can explain it! Give me a second I'll get him!"

Owen and Beru wanted to cry for the boy not to, but it was too late. Luke had already disappeared from the holo room and came back quickly with a very large, very black hand on his shoulder.

"Owen, Beru," Vader greeted with a nod of his masked head. The Lars stood speechless, but Vader didn't mind. He was turning to Luke and speaking. "Why don't you say goodnight and go to bed." He spoke so gently, despite his mechanical voice, that the Lars found themselves shocked. Perhaps what Obi-Wan said was a lie. Anakin could not be completely dead if Vader could be so gentle with his son.

Luke looked between his father and the holo before nodding. "Goodnight Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru! I'm sure I'll be able to call more but I'll be busy with my father so I might forget. I won't forget you though, I promise. I love you both."

"We love you too Luke," Beru promised, wishing she could wrap her arms around the boy, protect him from the truth. She couldn't though. The truth was out, and Beru couldn't protect Luke while he was with Vader. "Now listen to your father and go to bed. We have adult things to talk about."

Luke took one last lingering look at his aunt and uncle before leaving the room. Once the room was gone the adults listened to Vader's breathing for a moment, until, finally, the Sith spoke. "What do you know of Luke's birth?"

Owen held his wife tight, but looked Vader right in the eye. How could the Ani Owen's stepmother always spoke of have turned out so? Shmi would be so ashamed. "Nothing, we weren't there. Two days after the Empire was formed we got a message from a Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi. He said you and Padme were dead and had left an orphaned son. We took him in, and that was the end of it."

Vader studied the man. He doubted they could have known nothing, but he couldn't tell. That was the problem with speaking over a holo-Vader couldn't sense when someone was lying. Still, Vader wanted to believe then, so to spare Luke the pain of his aunt and uncle's deaths. "Very well then. What of the Jedi Kenobi?"

"He stayed on Tatooine to watch over Luke, hide his Force-presence." As that part was true, Owen found it easy to say. "He left when Luke was arrested and I haven't seen him sense."

Vader did not like the idea of his former master looking to steal Luke away again. He wanted Kenobi dead; the man had ruined everything. "And do you have a way to contact him."

"No," Owen lied, his eyes convincing. He could lie to Darth Vader to protect Luke. He could do anything to protect the boy he saw as a son. "I swear to you we were never trying to keep father and son separated, and we won't now. We will never even contact Luke again if you wish."

Vader considered it. He didn't like the idea of sharing his son with these moisture farmers who never had the ambition to get off Tatooine, but that would not be in Luke's best interest. "If Luke calls you may speak to him, but do not reach out to him. It will be best if he forgets his life on Tatooine."

"Of course," Owen agreed pleased. Beru would be distraught enough to have lost the boy, never mind if she was forbidden contact. "Thank you."

Vader nodded, and shut of the connection. The second the Sith vanished the two Lars looked at each other shaking. "Vader might have accepted him, but he'll train Luke to be a killer. We have to call Obi-Wan, tell him where Luke is."

Owen did not like his wife's idea one bit. "If Vader finds out he will not hesitate to kill us."

"So?" Beru cried, looked at her husband and seeing a coward. "I would gladly die if it meant Luke not turning into a monster like Vader. I'm calling Obi-Wan. Report me if you're so desperate to save your own skin."

He looked at his brave wife, and kissed her passionately. Perhaps they were reckless fools but Luke inspired such recklessness. For him they would commit high treason.

It took three tries to get through to Obi-Wan, and when they found the Master he looked haggard. His hair was wet with rain, and there was a noticeable blood stain on his tunic. The Jedi had been busy. "Owen, Beru. Do you have more news of Luke's location?"

"Yes," Owen answered, his eyes already telling. "Vader has found him Obi-Wan, and claimed Luke as his own."

Obi-Wan found that news particularly troubling. The Emperor knowing of Luke's heritage but not doing anything was bad enough. Luke actually being with Vader though… "He probably plans to make a Sith out of the boy. I will go to Coruscant at once and retrieve him."

The connection cut, and Owen and Beru were left wondering. How could Obi-Wan possibly retrieve Luke from under Vader's nose? Was there really any hope at all? Neither were sure there was, but they couldn't do anything but wait.