One day later
In hyperspace
Death Star, Darth Vader's private quarters
Vader pressed the start of the program and leaned back in his large chair. The Death Star plans had been loaded onto the Death Star main computer (rather an irony, that – he had never had access to the full plans before.) The program searching for weaknesses had begun. It would likely take several hours for the full routine to complete, and then he and his 'colleagues' would determine their next move.
His lips twisted. To think that he would be allied, however uneasily, with the Organas and Kenobi!
The key was, of course, his family. Padme and the twins had thus far kept these former enemies at least grudgingly courteous, as Bail and Breha adored Leia, and Kenobi was committed to the well being of both the Skywalker twins. And everyone cared deeply for Padme.
That reminded Vader that he needed to talk to the Lars. They had sacrificed much to keep his son safe and healthy under Tatooine's harsh suns, had welcomed in and cared for his wife, and Owen Lars was to be commended for limiting Luke's interactions with Kenobi and his tiresome Jedi beliefs.
And regarding Kenobi…
With a sigh, Vader turned on the com with the Force, "Commander, bring the Jedi Kenobi to my private quarters in ten minutes."
"Yes, my Lord."
Vader stood up. He had a few minutes. He really shouldn't do this, but…
Hesitantly, guiltily, he walked over to R2D2. He had been incredulous to discover that R2D2, the droid given to him by Padme, was the droid carrying the Death Star plans. He shouldn't consider their past together. R2 was a droid, and probably had been memory wiped. However…
He reached over to R2, who promptly squealed and started chattering at him in outraged binary. Vader withdrew his hand, a reluctant smile crossing his hidden features. The binary was not complimentary, and he had a vague memory of teaching R2 those very insults during one particularly difficult campaign during the Clone Wars. So maybe he hadn't been wiped? Maybe?
Ignoring R2's protests, Vader more assertively advanced and attached an information cable to one of the droid's input ports. He typed in a command code, miraculously preserved in his mind over the last 19 years.
R2's binary fussing stopped abruptly, followed by an incredulous series of beeps.
"Yes, R2," Vader said softly, "It is I."
R2's dome swiveled back and forth a few times, and then he moved forward a meter, his eye apparently analyzing Vader's form carefully. There were a few forlorn beeps, and then to the Sith Lord's astonishment, R2 bumped his leg gently.
As he had been accustomed to do twenty years ago.
Vader clenched his fists. He would not get emotional over a droid. He would not!
R2 seemed to consider for a minute, then moaned softly and swiveled his eye toward the viewscreen on Vader's com. The Dark Lord glanced at the image forming there, and gasped, causing his body to attempt a breath out of sync with his mechanized breathing.
R2 had not been memory wiped.
Frozen on the screen was an image of Padme, her beautiful face framed by her beaded, white headdress. Beside her, Anakin Skywalker. His former self, dressed in padawan robes, still with his padawan braid.
Their wedding day.
One gloved, prosthetic, trembling hand reached out and touched the screen. His chair, the table, even the droid, rattled slightly.
Before he could give in too deeply to emotional upheaval, there was a chime at the door. Vader pulled his hand back and closed down the image.
With a regal wave of his hand, the door opened through the power of the Force. Kenobi stepped in, flanked by 2 guards and a captain. The old man stood calmly as Vader dismissed his men.
"Kenobi, how much training have my children had?" Vader demanded without preamble.
Kenobi looked at him thoughtfully, then moved next to R2D2, putting an aged hand on the droid's domed head.
"Leia has had almost no training at all, Anakin," he said after a moment, "Except that she was trained to shield her mind and Force presence at an early age. You have noticed that she is nearly hidden in the Force some of the time. She was born with her presence shielded, and has honed that ability with time. Bail and I were astonished when the med droid told us that Padme was carrying twins. We had no idea. I don't think Padme did either."
Vader decided to overlook his former master's annoying use of his former name.
"She did not know," Vader stated, "She thought the child was a boy, and I was certain the child was a girl. And we were both right."
The Dark Lord continued, "Has Leia's midichlorian count been determined?"
"Neither of the twins have been checked, no. We didn't want that number to possibly leak out, plus…" Obi-wan moved away now to the window, and stared out at the swirls of hyperspace passing by them, "Plus, I didn't want it to influence my views of the children. They are sentient beings, with value regardless of their Force sensitivity. I chose to live near Luke because unlike his sister, his Force presence was bright even at birth. His Force presence hid her in the womb, I believe. I thought to keep him safe, I should stay near him to help hide him. I used to think he was by far the stronger twin, but I am not certain now. Leia, while not having Force training, has remarkable hand to hand combat abilities and Bail said she is an incredible shot with a blaster. And she has impressive mental shields."
Vader contemplated this for a long moment. He knew so little about either of his children, but he felt he understood Luke more. They shared a passion for flying and there were hints of other areas of shared interest. Leia, on the other hand, seemed to have inherited Padme's interest and skill in politics.
"And the boy?" Vader continued.
Kenobi turned away from the window and sat down slowly. He suddenly looked old.
"I don't know what Luke told you," his former master said softly, "But I…deceived Luke about you. I told him that you, Darth Vader, had killed his father, Anakin Skywalker."
The Sith turned to face his old master.
"Yes," he rumbled menacingly, "He did tell me that."
Kenobi waved a vague hand, "Well, it's good you know. Decreases the chance that you'll cut me in half, and I think I can do some good here. Luke discovered the truth when Padme came to live with the Lars."
"Where was she before?" Vader demanded.
The old Jedi Knight hesitated briefly, then said, "She was on Alderaan. The Organas found her a highly regarded medical facility and managed to conceal her true identity by claiming she was actually one of Amidala's former handmaidens, a woman who looked a great deal like Padme. The actual handmaiden died during the violence surrounding the birth of the Empire, and it was her carefully disguised body which was carried through the streets of Naboo for Padme's funeral.
"For years, Padme was in a coma or near coma. Leia actually visited her occasionally and talked to her, read to her, that kind of thing, though Padme didn't verbally respond. Leia was not aware that Padme was her biological mother. The Organas merely told her that she was an old friend of the family, and that her presence on Alderaan was being kept low profile due to possible issues with the Empire. The medical staff did notice that after Leia visited, Padme would be more responsive, as if Leia's presence was helping her in some way."
Kenobi sighed, before continuing, "And then, incredibly, to everyone's delight and surprise, Padme started becoming more alert, even waking up. And speaking. The Organas were overjoyed, but Padme started talking about Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi, the twins. That was the point that we decided that she needed somewhere more remote to stay. The new CGA1629 protocol was on the horizon and we had high hopes it would help Padme, but further testing needed to be done. And we needed a safer place for her to stay, where her open comments about the Jedi wouldn't bring down the Empire on her head. The Lars very generously opened their home to her, and the Organas arranged for a top of the line med droid to be shipped to Tatooine to help care for Padme.
"Luke was told the truth about Padme, and welcomed his mother with open arms and a generous heart, to no one's surprise. He was delighted to have her, though of course she couldn't act like a mother. Beru was as much adopted mother as aunt. Owen…well, he did his best, but he and Luke have little in common. At any rate, Padme began talking more and Luke put the pieces together at least enough to know that something terrible had happened between his parents on Mustafar. He confronted me, having guessed the truth."
Kenobi smiled wryly, "I tried to deflect him, to no avail. He's like a mynock clamped onto a power cable when he is determined about something. I finally had to tell him what had really happened to you. At that point, he refused any additional lightsaber training, as he realized I had been fashioning him into a warrior who could, I hoped, kill you."
This was said directly, without apology.
Vader breathed in and out several times, then said in a measured tone, "So your vaunted Jedi code directed you to attempt to trick my son into trying to kill his own father."
Kenobi stared at his former padawan steadily, "Yes, I did. I intended to tell him the truth, when he was stronger, farther along in his training. I admit, however, that the events of the last weeks and months have shown me I was wrong. It would have been devastating to Luke to fight you. He has always longed for his father. It was wrong of me to desire that your son finish the job I failed to complete on Mustafar."
Darth Vader stepped forward menacingly. Kenobi stood up, though he was still dwarfed by the Dark Lord.
"Yes, Kenobi," the Sith Lord rumbled, "Why didn't you finish that particular job? Why did you leave me to burn to death, in agony, on the shores of that lava flow?"
Kenobi's façade of calm cracked, and a maelstrom of emotion suddenly burst forth, making Vader instinctively throw up mental shields. There was intense grief, and guilt, and self-loathing.
"I wish I had," Obi-wan said softly, "I loved you dearly. You were my brother. I couldn't strike the killing blow. And I sensed Padme was in crisis, and justified my actions by feeling the need to rush to her side. But it would have taken but a few seconds, and saved the galaxy much pain."
"So you want me dead," Vader said again, after a moment.
"I did. I don't now. You're changing, Anakin. Vader. Whoever you are. For your family's sake, you are changing. I have hope that your family, and the galaxy, can find healing."
Vader shook his head. Kenobi was being ridiculously optimistic. He was still a Sith Lord, still a Dark Sider, still a killer of children and a harbinger of doom to whole planets.
Who loved his family. Who had turned against his Sith Master to protect not to just his children, but their adopted families and his daughter's planet.
Maybe Kenobi's tiresome 'optimism' was justified.
/-/-/-/
Imperial Center
Imperial Palace
Throne Room #2
Darth Sidious leaned back on his throne and closed his eyes. This secondary throne room was sufficiently opulent, though it was considerably smaller than his primary throne room, two floors up. But regrettably, his servants needed more time to repair that one after he had vented his rage at Vader's defection.
At least this room had been kept clean by his servants. They would have suffered dearly if they had neglected any of their duties, and they knew that.
He twisted just slightly. The back of the throne was slightly more upright than he preferred. He would speak to his major domo about that.
Palpatine had added this room to the original design of the palace because there were times, earlier in his reign, when a more intimate environment had been of use in certain diplomatic discussions. Self-absorbed minor planetary royalty, smuggling kingpins requiring judicious flattery, even his own sycophants had occasionally needed to feel that their Lord and Master truly cared about their needs and desires.
Those days were, thankfully, long past. He could now treat his subjects like the insignificant detritus they were, and they wouldn't dare protest.
He smiled, slightly. It was pleasant to consider how far he had come, from an insignificant member of Nabooian high society, to Senator of Naboo, to Chancellor of the Old Republic, and now Emperor, Lord and Master of all he surveyed.
The smile faded. Vader. Anakin Skywalker had required considerable wooing in his days as a Jedi, but once Vader had been placed in the suit, their relationship had been that of Master and Servant. Yes, Palpatine occasionally referred to him as 'friend', but they both knew the true nature of their relationship. Vader knew, had known, his place.
A chime interrupted his increasingly irritable cogitations. He gestured for the door to open.
One of his best agents approached the throne and bowed meekly before him. Ah, this likely meant useful news.
"Speak," he ordered abruptly.
The agent rose to his feet, "Your Highness, we continue to analyze the situation on Tatooine, but we have obtained information of possible interest. The farm where Princess Leia Organa was discovered with Obi-wan Kenobi was owned by a pair of low income moisture farmers named Owen and Beru Lars. There were two other inhabitants of the farm, a middle aged woman and an older teen boy. The youth's name was Luke Skywalker. According to our records…"
"What?!" Palpatine demanded, his brain catching up with the stunning words coming from his agent's lips.
The agent paled, but his training held. He did not bolt in terror.
"Luke Skywalker, your Majesty, 19 years of age. There was a powerful Jedi Knight from Tatooine named Anakin Skywalker…"
"Do you have a visual of the youth?" Palpatine barked, interrupting the man.
Trembling slightly, the agent found a file on his holopad and handed it to his master, "It is three years old, my Master, from his last trip to a nearby medical facility after a landspeeder crash."
Palpatine stared at the holo with intensity. It was not a particular good image, but was clear enough that he could tell the boy was similar in feature to Anakin Skywalker. Now Darth Vader.
Darth Sidious sat back, completely ignoring the agent who was frozen in fear like a Tauntaun left out too long in a Hoth ice storm.
He had learned long ago not to jump to conclusions. This boy, based on name, location, and physical appearance, was apparently the previously believed deceased offspring of Anakin Skywalker.
This, then, was the obvious cause of Vader's sudden defection. His apprentice had… what? Descended to Tatooine, searching for his former master, and found his son instead?
It was possible, of course, that a third party was involved, that the young man known as Luke Skywalker was a charlatan, installed on Tatooine by someone else to draw Vader in.
Palpatine considered this possibility, then reluctantly discarded it as unlikely. He had thought - indeed, he had been certain, that Padme Naberrie Skywalker had died with her child unborn. But Vader had apparently met the young man in question, and he would not have been deceived by a pretender. The Force would be strong in the child of Anakin Skywalker. Vader must have sensed the Force power in the boy and concluded that the child was his son, thus beginning a chain of events that led to his murder of Tarkin and the theft of the Death Star. (Really, how could his battle station have been stolen! It was absurd!)
And he had been sensing a dramatic shift in the galactic tides of the Force, an unsettling and indeed disgusting slide toward the Light Side. It was more than Vader. It was Vader's son. Anakin Skywalker's son. Young, strong, whole.
Both a danger and an opportunity.
Palpatine leaned back, centered himself, calmed himself, and thought.
-/-/-/-/-
In Darth Vader's quarters, the computer beeped, indicating that the program had completed its analysis of the Death Star plans with a particular focus on possible weaknesses.
The Dark Lord sat down and rapidly moved through the report, before settling on a particular section.
Well, that was certainly interesting…
Author Note: Thanks again for reading, reviewing, and following.