Title: Whispers of Daybreak
Author: xBlaze of FuryX
Genre: Adventure/Sci-Fi
Rating: T for safety and language
Setting: Four days after leaving Tatooine
Main Characters: Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader
Author's Note: Well, here is the tenth chapter and I hope that you like it. I don't know how long this story is going to be but I'm estimating about twenty chapters, maybe more. There are still several things that I have to do in this story after all. So yeah, here's chapter X and I doubt I'll be updating soon because school is starting up again.
Chapter X
Luke narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed around the rainforest planet they were currently on. It was raining, no surprise, and Luke shivered slightly as cold water droplets splashed against his skin. The trees swayed slightly as a chilly breeze wafted around. Leaves dappled the ground and the thick canopy of trees prevented Luke from gazing up at the sky above.
"Where are we going to go?" he grumbled as he shivered slightly, the cold breeze wafted around him.
"There's a small settlement nearby, part of it was abandoned a few years after the fall of the Republic," Vader replied as he drew his cloak around him and tried to ward off the rain that fell on him. Luke gazed at his father for a long time before sighing, his breath coming out a frosty white in the cold air around them.
Piett shivered slightly as the cold droplets splashed against his skin. "If you'll forgive me for saying so, my Lord, but I can think of quite a few places that would be better than this place," he said.
Vader glanced at him as he paused in a clearing, the tall fronds of green grass swayed rapidly in the breeze. "This place cloaks the Force," he explained calmly. "We can use the Force freely here without fear of having the Emperor finding us. That way, I'll be able to train Luke without having the Emperor find out."
"I've already told you that I…" Luke began.
"…Don't want to be a Sith, I know, Luke," Vader replied before turning around and walking deeper into the dense forest. Luke followed him, frowning slightly as Piett brought up the rear of the group. If Vader knows I won't turn, then why is he still going to train me? He wondered silently.
He narrowed his eyes as he strained to see through the thick sheet of rain around him. Even though the canopy above his head was thick, large droplets of water still rapidly fell from the sky to the dappled ground below.
It took them several more minutes to reach the settlement Vader was talking about. The settlement was small and Luke could see an abandoned temple like building in the center of one part of it. It was built out of stone but the roof was still barely intact, the building was covered with moss and vines crisscrossed over the stone wall.
"We'll stay in this temple for now," Vader said as he made his way toward the abandoned temple. Luke followed him, narrowing his eyes as they entered the settlement before making their way over to the temple.
As they made their way into the temple, Luke narrowed his eyes, feeling somewhat insecure in this place. He didn't know why and he figured it was because of the cloaking that this planet gave off. It prevented any Force sensitive off of the planet from sensing that they were there, at least that's what Luke figured. In truth, another reason he was insecure and uneasy was probably because he was in the presence of Darth Vader himself. Even though Vader was his father, he still felt uneasy around him. It has only been about six maybe seven weeks since he found out after all. He closed his eyes briefly before letting out a long sigh and blinking them open again as Piett glanced at him.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine," Luke replied before following Vader into the temple. The air was cold within the temple walls and it was dark inside except for the thin rays of sunlight that streamed through the thick canopy of branches above. Luke began to wonder why they would come to a place like this except for the fact that it protected them from Palpatine's eyes.
Vader glanced at him as he came to a stop near the center of the temple. "We'll stay here for now," he said. "This part is abandoned, as I said before but the other half," he pointed east of where they were standing, "is where everyone is. This is the best place to be if we want to have a bit of privacy."
"Why was this place abandoned?" Luke asked curiously.
"The Great Jedi Purge," Vader explained and Luke noticed his voice had gotten bitter. "This Temple used to be a Jedi Temple, it was abandoned long before the Purges but some of the Jedi still used it. That was why this place was abandoned, Palpatine insisted that if anyone were found in this part of the settlement, he'd take care of them. I never understood this about him because he would not explain why he did this."
Luke gazed around curiously at the Jedi Temple, he has never been in a temple before and he has also never heard of a Jedi Temple. "What exactly is a Jedi Temple?" he asked.
Vader sighed as he sank down to the ground before crossing his legs and motioning for Luke to join him. "A Jedi Temple is where Force sensitive people are trained in the ways of the Force before they are given a master and sometimes afterwards as well," he replied.
Hearing this from the man who wiped out the Jedi? Luke thought.
Vader stiffened. "I was under Palpatine's orders," he explained and Luke scowled at him.
"Stay out of my head!" he snapped, he was still getting used to that.
Vader smiled slightly and Luke felt surprised by the smile that seemed to have softened his father's features, even only slightly. "You broadcast your thoughts quite loudly through the Force," he said. "That is something I'm going to have to teach you."
Luke sighed before leaning back slightly as he gazed curiously at his father who was gazing at the ground; the smile faded away from his face and his features seemed to have hardened a bit. "What's the matter, father?" he asked.
Vader looked up. "Nothing, just remembering," he replied.
"Remembering what?"
Vader glanced at Piett. "Will you wait outside?" he asked.
"Sure thing, my Lord," Piett replied instantly saluting before walking out of the temple. Luke felt the Admiral's Force presence dim slightly as he made his way away from the temple. The temple fell silent for a long moment before Luke broke it.
"What are you remembering?" he asked.
Vader's eyes hardened. "Obi-Wan," he replied bitterly. "Everything he has done to me, how he betrayed me and kept you from me for all these years."
"Ben said that you two were like brothers," Luke protested.
Vader shifted slightly, his eyes were still hard and filled with anger. "We were," he replied. "But he turned against me, he turned my beloved wife against me and he stole you from me."
"Ben would never do that," Luke protested though he remembered feeling that same sense of betrayal when Vader had revealed his parentage and Ben hadn't told him. Why didn't he tell me about Vader? Luke wondered silently.
I didn't tell you, Luke, because you weren't ready to know Ben's voice replied silently in the vaults of Luke's mind.
Vader stiffened slightly and Luke glanced at him, seeing surprise crawl across his features. He turned to look at Vader before looking to his side, seeing the floating form of Ben beside him. Luke remembered the last time Ben had appeared to him had been on Dagabah right before he left for Cloud City.
"Obi-Wan…How…I killed you!" Vader stammered out, his eyes filled with shock and Luke realized he could see Ben as clearly as he could.
You did but I warned you I would become more powerful, Ben replied and Luke realized he was voicing his thoughts to both Luke and Vader who was still staring at him with shock in his eyes and anger.
"How dare you?" Vader demanded angrily, his eyes were blazing. "How dare you keep my son away from me like this?"
Anakin…Ben began.
"My name is Vader!"
…I did not keep your son away from you, I kept him away from Palpatine, and I did it only to protect him, Ben replied.
Vader narrowed his eyes but Luke saw the anger inside it was beginning to die down in his blue depths. "Why?" he asked. "Why did you betray me? Why did you turn Padmé against me?"
Anakin, I didn't turn Padmé against you, you did that yourself, you should have listened to me, Ben replied.
Luke gazed between the two people that had once been the best of friends but his thoughts were on what his father had said. Padmé? Who is that? He wondered but did not dare voice his thought out loud.
Vader's eyes flared with anger. "Why should I trust you now?" he hissed. "After everything that has happened, after everything you have done."
Anakin, there is good in you, there is a conflict going on inside, Ben whispered.
"No there is not!" Vader snapped.
Anakin, I would not be able to appear to you like this if there wasn't a conflict inside you, Ben replied before gazing up at the sky. Someone's coming, be careful, Anakin, I fear you are going to need it. Whatever you think about me, I will always consider you to be my brother. Before Vader could reply, Ben smiled slightly at Luke before disappearing, leaving the temple in silence once again.
~*~
The bluish white starlines of hyperspace faded away to regular stars as Fury flew out into space; the stars glittered brightly in the black surface. The planet Zharan stood before Fury, two moons retorted around the planet. Narrowing his green eyes, the dark Jedi flew closer to the planet before reaching out with the Force. He couldn't sense anything however and he frowned. Palpatine said Lord Vader would be here but why can't I sense him? He wondered silently as he piloted his B wing fighter closer to the planet.
He flew downward toward the planet before noticing the rainforests that lay below him. As his ship got closer, he once against reached out with the Force but he still could not sense Lord Vader. Could Palpatine have been wrong? He wondered silently but quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he landed his B wing fighter in a clearing.
The canopy opened and Fury leapt out of the ship before drawing his black cloak around him and over his head, making sure the cloak hid the lightsaber that hung at his belt. The dark Jedi made his way onto the grass floor, noticing the grass reached up to his knees.
He made his way into the trees, drawing the dark cloak around him to ward off the chilly breeze as well as the cold droplets of water. He raised his head to the thick canopy of trees above his head and winced slightly as the raindrops splashed against his face.
Once again, he reached out with the Force and latched onto a tendril of a Force signature he knew all too well. Well, Palpatine was right, Vader is here, he thought before following the Force signature, heading toward a small settlement that stood about a mile in front of him.
Now what am I going to tell Vader about me being here? He wondered silently. He knew if he told Vader Palpatine sent him, he might not be able to get anything to report back to the Emperor. He could say he got stranded on this planet while on a mission but he couldn't be sure if Vader would buy that.
But that is better than telling him Palpatine sent him? Fury figured silently. He couldn't even be sure if Vader would recognize him; it has been over three years since they last saw each other. Hopefully he won't recognize me and I can figure out what he's planning before he figures out who I am, Fury thought with a small, chilly smile as he walked toward the settlement that lay in the distance.
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: well, that's chapter X
Darth: duh
Tigerstar: yeah duh
Blaze: (picks up lightsaber)
Tigerstar: (swallows and runs back to ThunderClan)
Firestar: ahhh! It's Tigerstar!
Brambleclaw: DAD, what are you doing here?
Tigerstar: trying to escape Blaze's lightsa… (Gets cut in half by Blaze's lightsaber)
Tigerstar's Ghost: ah crap, how did you get here so fast?
Blaze: (glances at Mace) thanks for giving me a lift in your Mustang
Mace: no problem (drives off)
Darth: hey! Wait! I want a ride too! (Chases after the Mustang on a Harley Davidson motorcycle)
Blaze: (sighs) please review and I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can but I doubt it'll be anytime soon, with school and all, sorry for the long author's note and short chapter