Dynasty
by Valerie Vancollie and Rebecca Thomson
(valeriev84 at hotmail dot com) & (zekkers at juno dot com)
Disclaimer: Rebecca and I do not own Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader or any other of the "Star Wars" characters, items or situations. Rebecca and I only lay claim to the original aspects of the fic.
Note: Please remember, if you wish me to reply to a question or comment you leave in a review to provide me with some means of contacting you. If you don't leave your e-mail address or sign-in when you review I won't be able to reply to you.
Chunk Twenty-One
With his cape unfurled behind him, Lord Vader strode off the shuttle and across his castle's grounds towards the patio. Major Ravenell struggled to keep up while remaining dignified. As they approached the patio, Darth Vader slowed. Garret managed to catch up, and glanced up. Luke was sitting at one of the tables, his sister across from him. The tension between them was palatable, if subdued.
Luke put his drink down, and pushed himself from the table, leaving his half-eaten meal. "Father. It is good to see you again."
"Yes." The mechanical voice rumbled. "Come with me to my study." Vader took the steps up to the patio, Ravenell following. "Major," Vader said, "stay here and entertain Leia."
Garret stopped, watching the two leave through the wide glass doors.
"Don't worry about it." A female voice said. The major turned to the Princess who was casually munching on her salad. "They do that to me all the time." She took a large gulp of her wine.
"I'm not," Garret replied, "upset about it. It is well within his rights."
"You're well trained." Leia said, stabbing a carved vegetable.
"Thank you."
"It wasn't a compliment." Leia acidly added.
"How does Luke put up with you?" Garret wondered aloud.
"He doesn't. We've barely spoken for the last few weeks. I think he brought me out here today to try and make it look like he's been friendly." Leia archly replied. She motioned with her fork. "Sit down, they may be awhile. Hungry?"
Garret hesitantly sat in Luke's vacated chair. "A little." He didn't really want to talk with this woman, but he had been ordered to keep an eye on her.
"My father has very good chiefs, I'll grant him that." Leia glanced to the side, tapping the table. A servant appeared. "Bring the Major something to eat, if you would."
"Yes, Ma'am." The servant disappeared, taking Luke's plate and glasses.
"Don't let them fool you, they all hate me." Leia said. "It's enough to drive you nuts. They smile and pretend, but I know they've got orders to be nice to me." She took another drink.
"Imagine that." Garret wryly replied. Leia glared at him. "You're not trying to be charming, my Lady. You could be nicer to them."
Leia glared at her plate. "Maybe," She whispered. She suddenly sat up. "I saw you at the party. It was rather over-done, wasn't it?"
"You were there?"
"Security cameras. I got to peek. It was almost gaudy, wasn't it?" Leia archly continued.
"Not quite," the Major straightened, "Everything at court is a little over-done. It went well."
"Tell me about it. I read the holo-news gossip columns. They were filled for a week with nothing but who wore what and how the rooms were done up." Leia gave a lady-like snort. "Of course, no one mentioned how the Imperial Guard and the House Guard wore matching red."
A servant came and placed a plate in front of the Major. Arranged strips of white meat and flowers were piled together surrounded by intricately carved vegetables and fruit, and the whole thing looked like a bird in flight. A glass of white wine was placed next to it. Leia's glass was refilled and she promptly took another drink.
"It would probably be considered impolite." The Major said. He started eating. The Princess was right, it was very good. It was almost worth putting up with her for it. Not that Garret wouldn't do anything his lord asked him to do.
"Most likely. But if I remember the Emperor well enough from my days in the Senate, it was a signal. Lord Vader would have never dared to do that without permission." Leia looked meaningfully at the Major.
"Lord Vader is the most likely candidate for the heir." He gently reminded her.
Leia winced, "Yes he is. And I wouldn't doubt that he's talked about it with the current Emperor." Leia sighed, looking over the castle grounds and then into the dark windows facing the gardens down Vader's wing. "This place has too many secrets. Sometimes, I think it has more than the Rebellion."
Garret kept silent, thinking the woman had drunk too much wine. Leia was looking over the gardens again, voice very sad. "There's me, and all that I am, and all that I thought I was. A princess- one way or another. Then there's Luke. Betrayed his old friends to embrace the Imperial way so thoroughly that he might even rule one day. And a Sith, as if the galaxy needs another one."
"And then there's my father, who sired two children he didn't even know he had. Force knows what he did to our mother. And considered a hero, despite everything he's done."
"He has overcome severe obstacles to serve." Garret reminded her.
Leia bitterly laughed. "Oh, don't play the poor Lord Vader routine with me. I know about his physical handicaps and injuries. Or should I say, complete lack of them."
She said something else, but Garret didn't catch it. He was stunned. Lord Vader wasn't handicapped? He realized with a start that his fork had stopped halfway to his mouth. He put it down, taking a deep breath.
The woman had stopped her prattle, and looked at him. Ravenell knew that he must look shocked. "Oh." She whispered, "you didn't know." She timidly sat back in her chair. "I'm sorry."
Garret realized with a rush that he now knew something that he wasn't supposed to know. There was no telling how Lord Vader would react. Ravenell knew there was a whole galaxy's worth of difference between secrets he had been given and secrets he wasn't supposed to know. The Dark Lord was more than able to have him 'taken care of' to keep those secrets. "I think." Garret whispered, "I should escort you to your rooms now."
"Yes, of course." Leia stood, and Garret absently noticed that she swayed, just a little. He sourly grimaced, thinking 'She did drink far too much wine...'
Darth Vader's heels clicked on the marble floor as Luke followed. They entered the corridor to Vader's study, and their footsteps became muffled on the ornate rug. The door to Vader's private rooms swished open with a touch of the Force, and the two men silently stepped inside.
Lord Vader removed his helmet and mask, tossing them on the side table. He walked to two chairs that were facing each other next to a window. He sat in one, motioning for Luke to sit in the other.
Luke did, with a sense of growing alarm. His father had been tightly shielded to the point where Luke could not even sense his mood since he had arrived.
"My father," Lord Vader began, "told me about your adventures during the party."
Luke hid his discomfort, and started closing his mind behind a shield of his own.
"Don't close me out." Vader warned. "I am not in the mood for your excuses."
Luke forced himself to relax, and cautiously lowered his shields, just a little.
"Don't you have anything you wish to tell me?" Vader questioned, eyes boring into the younger man.
Luke sighed, but said nothing. There wasn't anything to say. Briefly, Luke wondered how much Grandfather had figured out. Probably all of it, he had had enough time.
"Well?"
"Well what?" Luke quietly asked, not looking at his father.
"Sneaking off and kissing in the garden. What were you thinking?" Vader hissed.
Luke shrugged. "Not much really. It just seemed to happen."
"Just happened." Vader stated, disbelieving. "Things like that don't 'just happen'. Not here. I know that I've told you a hundred times you have to be careful at court, one misstep and everything can be damaged. I can't believe you were so stupid."
"It was just a kiss!" Luke replied, confused.
"Even kisses can have deeper meanings here." Vader growled. "Court is more restrained in behavior than some back-world farm. People are more conservative. Some would almost consider that kiss a declaration of courtship with intention to marry. And you haven't been given permission to do that."
"But..."
"You do not have permission. You might as well realize that right now, young man. Unless something untold happens, you're not likely to be allowed to marry for at least twenty years."
"But..."
"What? Do you like her? Do you think she's pretty? She's just another gossiping female who will spread rumors about everything she overhears about you to anyone she meets."
"She doesn't gossip." Luke sighed, frustrated.
"Oh, and why don't you think so?" Vader glared at his son.
"Nastalia and her know that I come from Tatooine, and they haven't told anyone."
"One fact, and they have only known for a few months. Would they keep that secret for the rest of their lives?" Vader sighed, equally frustrated. He could tell, from what little Luke was showing through his partially lowered shields, that Luke still stubbornly liked the girl. "She's just another pretty court face. There will be more. You are in no hurry."
"But..." Luke mumbled, trying to wrap his mind around the idea of not finding Anjaleen of particular interest. He sighed, and tried to shove her out of his mind.
"So tell me," Vader asked, "why do you like her?"
"I don't know." Luke said. "I'm just comfortable around her." Luke cocked his head. "Sometimes, I almost feel the Force shiver when I see her. I don't understand it."
"Well," Vader suddenly froze, remembering. Him, sitting in his room in the temple talking to Kenobi about his wife. 'The Force shivers, Master. Every time I see her.' He had told Kenobi, trying to explain the feeling. His eyes narrowed. "Well, I will speak to your grandfather about it. Avoid her for now."
"Yes, Father." Luke said. Happy not to be questioned anymore.
Leia walked into her room, the door swishing shut behind her. She sat down, thinking about what she had accidentally done. Guilt began to sneak into her thoughts.
"You've killed him. And he was only doing his job." Leia whispered. She rubbed her forehead. "But it's not your fault. You didn't know that he didn't know. Well, maybe you could have guessed, but still."
Leia got up, and began to pace her beautiful cell. "It's not your fault, and it doesn't matter anyway. He's just an Imperial. Just doing his job, but the Imperials on the Death Star thought the same thing. You should be proud that you managed to get one of them, watched as you are." She said to herself.
Leia squared her shoulders and sat down again. Smiling. It was okay, everything was fine.
Garret watched the doors close on Leia's quarters, the guards on either side. He turned around, stoic. There was a servant there, watching him. Garret swallowed, realizing that it was the one that had been serving at the patio table. The man's eyes were pitying.
"I'll need to talk to... him... when..." Garret looked down, his hands were slightly shaking. Ravenell suddenly realized that his greatest wish right now was that his lord would kill him painlessly. He didn't want to die gasping for breath like that Admiral. He clasped his hands together.
An idea came to Garret. He started over. "Actually, I would like to speak with Luke when he becomes available. Do you have a room where I can wait?"
"Yes, Sir. Please follow me." The servant led him down the hall and into a small sitting room that had a view overlooking the gardens and the sea. "Would you like the rest of your meal brought up?"
"Yes please."
Garret watched the air traffic speeding over Coruscant's skies as he waited. He suddenly grinned, his Lord was healthy. It figured, the man had never acted like he was crippled. He was entirely too hard to keep up with. Ravenell should at least be happy for him. Garret's food arrived, along with a fresh glass of wine.
Major Garret Ravenell sipped his glass. He realized that he had been given a better vintage than he had been drinking before. He looked at it, smelling and sipping. He felt his mood swing back to the fear of his imminent death.
"Alderaanian wine." He whispered, looking at the exquisite amber liquid, "how ironic."
Luke walked into the sitting room where he had been told Garret wanted to speak with him. The man was sitting in a chair, sipping a glass of wine. He looked pale.
"Garret? What is it?" Luke asked. The man started, unaware he had come in.
"Luke, I-" Garret stopped, taking a deep breath. He was radiating a maelstrom of emotions, Luke couldn't sort them all out.
"Well?" Luke gave him an encouraging smile.
Ravenell winced. "Your sister has a loose tongue."
"Really?" Luke sat in the chair opposite the officer. "That hasn't always been the case."
"Well, she must be changing."
"It's good to know."
"She told me about your father." Garret softly said. "About his injuries." He sighed. "Or, as she put it, the lack thereof."
Luke went very still. "I'll have to tell father."
"I know." Garret weakly smiled. "I want you to. I'd tell him myself, but the idea..." He shook his head. Luke looked at him, probing him with the Force. Ravenell was terrified. He knew that he was probably going to die, but he didn't want to do it badly. He didn't want to be a coward, and he was afraid of breaking in front of the Dark Lord. So he had come to Luke, hoping to avoid embarrassment.
"Yes. He can be very overbearing. Why don't you wait here, and I'll take care of it?"
"Thank you, Sir." Luke clapped him on the shoulder as he got up to leave.
"What?" Vader snapped a little harsher than he had intended when Luke reentered his study.
"Leia," Luke hissed, all his anger and hate for his twin coming to the surface.
"You know you are not to get mad at her," Vader replied as scanned the datapad he was holding.
"She isn't to be trusted," Luke continued. "She just told Garret about the fact that you're perfectly healthy."
"What?!" Vader demanded as he turned his full attention to his son.
"She told him the truth and he's upstairs right now, terrified that you'll kill him," Luke responded.
Vader stared at his son before he reached out and touched Garret's mind, probing to see exactly what Leia had told him. Finding it, he felt all his own fury come to a boil even as he reached out and entered his daughter's mind. Seeing that she had already swapped her guilt over the action with contentment, he felt his lips curl in anger. Despite all the work he and Luke had done, she was still a Rebel. He didn't have the time to play this game! And the potential damage that Leia could do by talking to other people who couldn't be trusted was simply too high. It was time to end this, but he needed Palpatine's permission first.
"What about Garret?" Luke questioned as he sensed his father's intention.
The Dark Lord sighed as he looked at Luke as he put on his mask and helmet. That was a good question. Ravenell had always been extremely loyal, and he had proven that he was able to keep secrets. The fact that no one else knew the truth about Luke and Leia proved that. But did he really want to risk his secret with anyone else? However, it would mean that he wouldn't need to change into his armor every time Garret came over to get something done for a mission.
"Bring him," Vader ordered.
Luke silently turned around and headed back upstairs. Reaching the door, he pooled his face to show no expression. Garret spun around to face him as he entered the room, a questioning look on his face.
"He wants to see you," Luke stated as he made a gesture with his hand.
Garret swallowed and nodded his head before stepping past Luke and descending the stairs. So this was it. Whenever he had thought about his demise he had always thought that it would be different. Either that he would die while with Lord Vader on a mission somewhere, or that, if he was lucky, it would be of some natural cause when he was an old man. But never like this. Well, it had crossed his mind as Vader didn't accept failure, but he had always thought that that road was under his control as he could make sure that he didn't fail the Sith Lord. But this hadn't been his fault. It had been Leia's.
At the bottom of the stairs, Garret let Luke pass him before they headed towards the study. Entering the room first, Luke saw that he father had once again removed his mask. Smiling, he stepped to the side and let Garret enter the room. The first thing Garret saw when he entered was the shiny, ebony mask that lay on the desk. Swallowing once more, he turned his attention to the figure cloaked in midnight darkness. Seeing Vader's face for the first time in his life, some part of Garret's brain registered the similarity between father and son, even as his fear swelled.
"My Lord," Garret said as soon as he was sure that his voice would be steady.
"Major," Vader replied, sensing the deep rooted fear. "You need not fear. Your loyalty to myself and the Empire has been proven enough in the past."
"My Lord?" Garret repeated as impossible hope flared to life inside of him. Casting a quick glance to Luke, Garret caught the smile that was forming on the young man's mouth. Seeing this he felt himself relax slightly despite himself.
"You have proven your loyalty, and are already in possession of a few of the Empire's most guarded secrets," Vader explained. "However, as with those others, you are to tell no one."
"Naturally," Garret promised, his relief evident in his voice.
Garret let the rest of his fear melt away and was hard pressed to stop the tremors that wanted to rack his body in relief. The fact that Vader hadn't killed him, but instead trusted him with another of his greatest secrets, caused Garret to feel even more loyalty towards the Dark Lord than he had felt before. A thing he had not thought possible.
"You may go now," Vader stated.
"Thank you, my Lord," Garret said as he bowed slightly before turning to Luke. "Skywalker."
Luke had to smile as he watched the man go. He had felt the flurry of emotions that had raced through the man upon his father's words and the final conclusion they had led to only reinforced the rightness of his father's decision.
"Leia is not to leave her rooms while I am gone," Vader ordered as he put his mask and helmet on once more.
"As you wish," Luke replied before Vader left the room.
As he exited the study behind his father, Luke watched him go before he turned around as a servant approached him.
"I moved your meal inside so that it wouldn't get cold," the servant informed him. "Shall I bring it out again?"
"Yes."
'Father,' Vader sent mentally as he stopped outside the second entrance to the throne room, sensing the presence of a courtier within. 'I need to talk with you.'
'Can it wait?' Palpatine responded.
'It's about Leia,' Vader stated.
'Very well,' Palpatine said before he was silent for a few moments. 'Enter.'
As he did so, Vader passed the Royal Guard while they left the room. Moving to the throne, he waited until he and the Emperor were alone.
"She has learned nothing since arriving here," Vader hissed angrily. "She informed my Major of my true health."
"Ravenell?" Palpatine demanded as he thought of his granddaughter.
"Yes," Vader confirmed. "She is also pleased with the fact that that knowledge would almost certainly ensure his death."
Palpatine sighed. Leia had shown herself to be nothing but a nuisance. He could clearly sense that his son, like his grandson, was now at the end of his patience with Leia. He had to admit that even when she finally turned that there would be problems presented by her previous Rebel activity. She was, after all, one of the better known enemies of the Empire. With Luke they had never had that trouble as he hadn't joined the Alliance yet at the time he was discovered and anyone who had known that he had helped Organa escape had died on board the Death Star. And, if the Rebellion ever tried to bring that fact to light, as they probably would when they learned who he was, it wouldn't be believed.
"Almost certainly?" Palpatine questioned as he looked at Vader.
"Yes," Vader replied. "I decided not to dispose of him as he is trustworthy and it means that I don't have to change into my armor and mask every time he comes over."
"Very well," Palpatine stated. "As for Leia, give her one last chance to swear her loyalties to you and the Empire. If she refuses you may get rid of her."
"Thank you," Vader responded, relieved. Leia had clearly proven that she would not budge and he was tired of interacting with her and taking special precautions. "I have talked with Luke about Anjaleen Winiterure."
"Later," Palpatine ordered. "We need to discuss that when I have more time as I have to see some of the courtiers now. There is an afternoon session of the court today, come see me at the beginning of it in my private quarters and we can discuss the matter."
"Very well," Vader replied.
The moment Luke finished his lunch and leaned back, the empty plate was whisked away even as his wine glass was refilled. Taking a sip, he savored the rich taste as he looked out over the gardens and at the ocean beyond it. He wondered what his grandfather would do with Leia's latest stunt. So far he had told him to be patient with her and to let his father turn her. But Luke knew that there was also a limit to Palpatine's tolerance and he couldn't help but wonder if this was it. They had been lucky that it had been Ravenell that Leia had talked to and not someone who might have spread the rumor rather than admit that he knew something he shouldn't.
But Luke also resented his twin's behavior and stubbornness as it kept him on Coruscant to make sure she didn't try anything or that the Rebels didn't try anything else, not that he expected them to after their last failure. But then, with Rebels you never knew. If it wasn't for her, he might have gone along with Garret and his father on this last mission. Sighing, he finished his glass and signaled a negative when a servant stepped up with a bottle to refill it. Unlike his sister, he knew when to stop.
'Luke,' Vader sent.
'Yes, Father?' Luke replied as he straightened in his chair.
'Meet me in your sister's room,' Vader ordered. 'It's time to end this pointless game and move on. One way or another.'
'Yes,' Luke said as he got to his feet, his father's intentions crystal clear.
And yet, despite the fact that Luke knew his sister would most likely die, he felt no remorse. Leia had brought it upon herself by blatantly refusing everything offered her. All she had to do was accept her rightful position and her heritage and she would never have to work again. She would be able to relax and enjoy life with all its pleasantries and yet she refused. She blindly cast away everything simply because she believed in some misguided ideal of the Old Republic.
Luke still couldn't quite grasp how she could see it as being so good as it had literally rotted from the inside out. In the end it had been destroyed not by an external attack, but from its own weak interior. The Republic had become lax and complacent and had paid the price for it. In comparison the Empire was strong, the various attacks it had already withstood while still in its infancy, proved that. So why couldn't Leia see and understand that? Or all the other Rebels for that matter? Because there were some people out there who just couldn't admit defeat and who soiled others by believing that the Republic of their day was the mighty Republic of hundreds of years past.
"You may leave," Luke told the guards as he reached the door to Leia's room.
The two house guards standing there, nodded their heads before leaving their posts. Waiting until they were gone, Luke entered the room even as he probed his sister with the Force. He sensed both satisfaction and fear. Satisfaction that she had helped the Alliance, as she believed that although Garret was only one man, he was important since he worked so close to Vader. What she didn't understand was that he so important that Vader trusted him to a broader extent than anyone except his son and father. Leia was, however, slightly frightened that she would get punished for telling Ravenell.
"Luke," Leia said as she turned around, just a dash of fear evident in her voice.
"Leia," Luke replied even as he suppressed the need to roll his eyes at her underestimation of her punishment. "Why did you tell him?"
"I didn't know that he didn't know," Leia instantly explained, using her carefully planned excuse. "I mean he does come here pretty often. How was I supposed to know?"
"By using your brain," Luke snapped as his anger grew. "Perhaps if you hadn't drunken so much wine during lunch you wouldn't have let it slip."
"I wasn't drunk!" Leia retorted as her own anger flared. "Besides what else am I to do? You keep me locked up here in my room with nothing to do!"
"Who's fault is that?" Luke demanded just as the door opened and Vader entered the room.
Leia looked at her father and instantly knew that he must have been out of the castle since returning from the mission as he would otherwise have changed out of the armor already. As it was, he had simply taken off the mask and helmet. As their eyes locked, Leia shivered at the cold stare that drilled into her. Her father's eyes seemed to have turned slightly gray which made them look colder and harder than usual.
"Ravenell is not dead," Vader finally stated.
"What?" Leia exclaimed as she broke the eye contact, unable to keep it up any longer.
"He will not be punished for your stupidity as he has proven to be able to keep his mouth shut in the past," Vader explained. "You, however, will not get away so easily."
Luke smiled as Leia trembled at the threat before he moved to stand at his father's side, knowing the symbolism of the gesture. Leia's worry filled eyes flickered between the two before they stopped on Luke. Her twin brother. It was so hard to believe at times as they were so different. However, dwelling on it only made her uncomfortable as the fact that he was so Dark at times made her realize that she could be that Dark and she disliked the mere thought, let alone the implications.
"And what are you going to do?" Leia haughtily inquired, putting as much of the royal command she had been taught by her foster parents into her voice as she could muster. "Lock me up some more? I've gotten used to that already and it would be nothing special."
"I do not intend to keep you locked up here any longer," Vader stated coldly as he took a step forward. "Swear your allegiance to the Empire now!"
"What?" Leia asked, startled at his barked order. "NO! I have told you before, and I will tell you again: I will NEVER join the Empire. Do you hear me? NEVER! There is nothing you can do or say that will make me change my mind."
"Very well," Vader stated as he reached out and grasped her throat with his mental fingers and started to squeeze. "If you will not join the Empire, then you are a Rebel and not my daughter, which makes you a traitor, and therefore you must die."
Slowly, Vader started closing his grasp on her slender neck until she was gasping for breath, her hands clawing at her neck in a vain attempt to release it from the vice-like grip. After several minutes of useless struggles, she seemed to realize the futility of her efforts.
"Y... you...woul... wouldn't... ki... kill... me," Leia desperately rasped even as she fought to get oxygen into her starved lungs.
"I would have done it a long time ago if it wasn't for your grandfather," Vader replied as he held his grip without tightening it for a bit.
"Gra... grand... grandfather?!" Leia exclaimed, astounded.
"Yes," Luke said softly as he stepped up to her. "Surely you can figure out who he is. Or do you still have too much alcohol in your system?"
Leia tried to glare at her brother as she looked at him, but found it impossible in her current predicament. Grandfather? Why hadn't they mentioned him before? But where was he? Not in the castle, that was for sure, as she would have seen him when she was still allowed to wander about. So where? Dread slowly seeped into her and chilled her bones as she realized who it had to be.
"NO!" Leia wailed, desperately trying to deny what she knew had to be the truth.
"Yes," Luke confirmed gleefully as he smiled once more. "His Royal Majesty, the Imperial Emperor, Palpatine."
Luke's smile vanished and his eyes hardened with anger as he saw horror cross her features. His fingers curled into fists at his side as he tried to restrain his anger. Turning around, he moved back to his father's side and waited for the final blow that would rid him of his pesky sister once and for all. Feeling his own anger rise impossibly higher, Vader suddenly opened his mental hand and allowed his unrepentant daughter to take a few breaths before he reached forward once more and interfered with her heart's pumping.
Leia gasped, unable to contain the terrible pain that shot through her left arm and chest just as she met the demands of her aching lungs. Falling to the floor, she looked up as Vader moved over her, knowing without being told that he was the one responsible for her pain.
"It won't be long before the rest of the Rebellion follows you, Darklighter, and Antilles to death," Vader stated before he stopped Leia's heart forever.
Luke walked down the path in the Palace gardens. He had gone to court with his father, but the two of them had separated almost as soon as they entered the building. He had gone to the gardens here, while his father had headed for Grandfather's personal quarters. Luke didn't mind, he had things to think about.
Leia was dead. They had asked the servants to remove her body and remodel the rooms as soon as she had breathed her last. Luke knew that the staff had symbolically dumped her body down the trash compactor- they had hated her for her refusal to bend to the Dark Lord's wishes. Then, the servants had set to dismantling her rooms with a fevered drive. They were happy to be rid of the woman. And they thought the Dark Lord had been more than patient with her, but they respected him for the effort.
The servant's loyalty was stronger than ever. In a way, it was almost as if his father could do nothing wrong. Everything he did, from his victories in battles to his decision to kill Leia made them think he was better than before. Luke wanted to understand it, because it was very important that he inspire that degree of loyalty.
"Thinking about your plans for the future?" Luke spun around, finding Nastalia walking arm in arm with her Admiral. She was smiling, her eyes laughing as she repeated herself, "Thinking about the future, Mr. Skywalker?"
"Yes." Luke said, "I am."
"Anything you can share?"
"Not anything interesting. How about you? Are the plans for the ceremony coming along?"
"Oh yes. We found the most wonderful advisor. He's handling everything." Nastalia gushed. Admiral MacNelly sent Luke a warning look, while Nastalia obviously started in on her favorite subject. "Just everything, why you should see the flower arrangements he's picked out."
Luke decided to cut her off, Nathaniel looked like he wouldn't mind. "I will see them, I'm sure. And how about you, Admiral? Is your ship coming along?"
"Yes," Nathaniel answered. "I took a short visit to the shipyards, she'll be ready to go as soon as I'm back from my honeymoon. I've spent the last five days filling out crew requests, and everything is coming along well."
"I thought the Conqueror had a full crew when she returned." Luke replied, as the three of them started to walk the wide garden paths together.
"Yes and no. We had the required number of people, but some surprising gaps in some technical areas. If you remember, we lost most of our shield technicians. The few that survived were lower echelon, to be truthful. Plus, with the modifications being installed during the repairs, I thought it was best to request some personnel that have been trained for the latest technology. I also had to transfer about two thirds of my tractor beam technicians off the ship. For some reason, almost all of them from all four ships had made it through the plague. It was a running joke that at least the tractor beams worked. My command crew I am leaving intact, however."
Luke nodded, relieved to 'talk shop', instead of wedding arrangements. "Of course. There's no reason to rearrange a command crew once it's put together. Well, unless someone needs to be replaced."
"Of course." Admiral MacNelly dryly replied, and Luke could sense the officer reminding himself that he was speaking to Lord Vader's protégé.
Nastalia was idly looking around. She wasn't bored of the conversation, but it didn't do for a woman to appear too interested in warfare in public. She spied Anjaleen talking to Elizabeth, and waved. Elizabeth nodded, and said something to Anjaleen before politely walking away. Anjaleen walked toward the group.
"Hello, Anjaleen." Nastalia said, "I just have to tell you about the latest arrangements." She had been keeping her friend up to date on her wedding plans.
Anjaleen smiled back. "Maybe in a little bit. You know how men really don't care about weddings." Nastalia giggled.
Anjaleen looked right at Skywalker. "Good to see you Luke, I heard that Lord Vader has returned. I hope everything is well?"
"Yes. Of course." Luke said, as that particular faint shiver in the Force coursed through the air. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had extended his hand. "Walk with us?"
"Thank you." Anjaleen walked to beside Skywalker, and the four of them started down the garden path again, Luke and Nathaniel talking about the Admiral's ship. Luke was inwardly kicking himself, he should have guarded himself against being too friendly to Anjaleen, he would probably get in trouble. But at least she was interested in the conversation. He could tell that she and Nastalia hung on every word, even if they pretended not to care.
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