PART 2: Brothers of the Force - Searching for the dark side

The next few days were a mixture of boring and exciting for Luke. It was boring because he had to just stay in his rooms - as in multiple ones, the whole Lars farm didn't have that much space! - with nothing but a datapad filled with boring texts about history, physics and other stuff in it for company and exciting because if he did get out he usually went to do something fun. His father had ordered Lieutenant Praji to have an eye on him so whenever the man wasn't busy with his usual duties, he took Luke with him to tour the spaceship or try out the TIE-fighter simulators. He was also taken to eat with Praji at the cafeteria each day where he discovered that Stormtroopers did not look all the same under their helmets. The gray uniformed crew members usually sat in their own groups away from the troopers and the black clad pilots had their own regular's table as well.

Of course Luke messed up their hierarchy right on the first day when he discovered Captain Lokey among the pilots and dragged Praji with him to sit with the only other person he knew on the ship.

To his dismay, Lokey did not know where Starkiller was and Luke didn't think that Praji passed on his whining about wanting to see him to his father.

As it turned out, Praji and Lokey had known each other for a while. Though they were friendly to each other, conversation was a bit awkward as each of them were under vows of secrecy not to reveal anything about their work so it was up to Luke to get them both out of their shell.

On the third day since arriving on the ship, Luke got a datapad from Lieutenant Praji with his new timetable. Well, it was called a Sith training schedule but really, it was a timetable and Luke scrunched up his nose when he was reminded of school. It was especially weird since his father was going to be one of his teachers.

Each day in the morning he would have Force training with his father. Then came lunch, then combat training and in the evening he would have politics. According to Praji, his combat training would vary each day and of course things might change occasionally when something came up but basically, that would be his day. Everyday, from now on, no weekends off and as far as he could see, no free time. Luke started to whine almost as soon as he was handed the datapad.

When it was time for his first lesson with his father, Luke wasn't sure if he should feel excited for it or dread what was to come. He told himself that he was doing this for Starkiller and if he did well, he might finally get to see him. It was only training after all, he wouldn't have to do anything bad. Which didn't have to mean something bad wouldn't be done to him...

He met the Sith Lord in a room that was largely empty and reminded him of Starkiller's meditation chamber, except it was round and much bigger. For a moment he stood in the door awkwardly. He had the strangest picture in his mind of him running up to the towering black personification of Death with an excited 'Daddy!' and give him a hug.

Yeah... not gonna happen.

In the end he settled for a very timid "Good morning, Sir", and lowered is eyes to the ground.

"I am your father, Luke, there is no need to be so formal. At least, not when we're alone", Vader said. "Come in. Sit down."

Luke took a few hesitant steps forward.

"Uh, where?" There was nowhere to sit in the empty room.

Vader just stared at him, at least it felt like it, he couldn't actually see his eyes. Luke felt more stupid with every passing second and finally just sat on the ground. Could this become any more awkward?

Vader began to talk while circling him, the harsh breathing in his neck making the boy feel like being stalked by a predator.

"Before I start to teach you about the Force you need to understand that it is a power of balance. In most conflicts there are two ways to solve the problem; peaceful or aggressive, active or passive. Every decision has its consequences. A Force sensitive like you will be able to feel how to best go your way, guided by the Force."

"So it tells me which way to go?"

"It guides you on your way but the direction, you choose yourself. Your decisions have as much influence on the Force at large as it has on you. For a thousand years, the Force was full of light as there were many sensitives who followed a... passive path. As a result, the Force fell into imbalance."

"The Jedi", Luke muttered.

"Indeed. Their constant inaction and inability to adapt led to a feeling of general discontent across the whole galaxy. This led to the Clone Wars. Suddenly the Jedi were forced into taking on a more active role. Though their abilities were beyond that of any normal sentient or droid, they failed. Spectacularly so. Their time was over, the Force was being rebalanced. It had become necessary to abandon the old ways and move on to an era of rapid progress, of scientific and military advancement where the lazy and useless, the cowardly and corrupt have no place. Now the Force is in darkness and it will stay that way for the next thousand years. This darkness is where we draw our power from. The Force is with us because we are ensuring that the balance is being kept."

Luke struggled to understand that.

"Does that mean... when one uses the Force in the wrong way... uses the light side... that one would be hurting the galactic balance?"

"In a way, yes."

Luke bit his lip, his thoughts swirling. It just all... sounded very far-fetched to him. And Ava...

"Speak your mind if you do not understand something. You are here to learn", Vader interrupted his thoughts.

Luke flinched a bit but then asked hesitantly: "Is that why the Empire hunts down the Jedi?"

"It is part of the reason. As I said, the Jedi are inactive and passive, they would never dare to attack the Empire by themselves. However, everything they do, every time they use the force, it weakens the cloak of darkness that protects the galaxy. It is almost unnoticeable as the power of the Sith holding against it is considerable but the Jedi must not get the chance to grow in numbers or focus their efforts. That's why everyone of them is a threat and has to be eliminated."

Luke fidgeted uneasily. "But they don't... I mean, they can't help that they're Jedi, can they? If they're that big of a threat, couldn't you just... take away their powers or something?"

"Taking away their connection to the Force together with all their knowledge about it so they couldn't pass it on, even if it would be possible - many Jedi would consider it a fate worse than death. No, for those of them who refuse to turn, it is a mercy to grant them a quick death. The Jedi you met on M'haeli would've never turned and it was the right thing to do to kill her."

Luke didn't think so at all. If there was an active and a passive way of solving every problem, he wished he could've known a way to avoid any blood being spilled. What he'd done was wrong and the face of the Jedi lady still haunted his dreams almost every night. It was nothing his father should approve of.

From what Luke had seen of the dark side, he wanted no part in it and yet it seemed his father wouldn't ever accept no for an answer. If Luke wouldn't learn to use the dark side... would he be eliminated too?

"You are ready to begin meditation now. Starkiller has shown you the basics already but this time, you will have proper guidance."

Luke didn't feel ready at all. He didn't want to touch that darkness again but it didn't seem like he had a choice.

"Concentrate!"

"Alright, alright!"

Luke took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to concentrate on the Force but with the harsh breathing of his father in his ears and his overall anxiety he just couldn't make the connection.

Suddenly it was as if Luke was gripped by a gigantic cold hand that wrapped around him. He gasped, feeling as if the life was being squeezed out of him. It wasn't really painful but it was so weird and so utterly wrong a feeling and than he... he was sort of leaving his body, no, being pushed out of it. Panic filled him, he was sure he'd died and that his soul was now drifting to some dark place.

"Feel the power", he heard his father's voice from very close but at the same time was unable to tell where it came from. The sound was booming through his very soul, making him shiver and... he was becoming rather hysterical but he couldn't stop the panic. He didn't understand what was going on.

"Feel the dark side around you, all encompassing, all powerful. That power can be yours."

Luke didn't want any power, he just wanted to get back into his body, and he wanted things to be normal again.

"Respect it but fear it not. It cannot hurt you; it is only there to be used by you."

Luke tried to find the origin of the voice but it was impossible.

"Father? Where are you?", he cried. "Please, I just wanna go home."

"Use the power, Luke. Use the dark side."

"To do what? I just wanna get back!" Luke curled in on himself, sobbing and not caring for his tears, it wasn't like they were real in this mental state.

Suddenly there was a big black well of darkness in front of him with dark tendrils reaching out for him. Luke wanted to instinctively scramble back, or whatever counted as it when you're bodiless but then he looked closer and he recognized that monstrosity of evil energy. It belonged to his father. His father who was still on the other side, still corporal. That was his way back!

Luke latched onto one of the black tendrils with his mind with the desperation of a starving man. He winced at the sharp pain - no not quite pain but a strange pulse that seemed to push him away - of connecting with the dark energy but soon after relief filled him when the tendril forcefully pulled at his soul. The next thing he knew he was lying on his back, panting and out of breath as if he'd just run a mile. He still felt his father's evil energy all around him but he was too exhausted to be afraid of it.

"What... What just happened?", he asked when he'd gotten his bearings back.

"I helped you to connect to the dark side of the Force", Darth Vader answered. Then, after a short pause: "Your mind promptly ran in the other direction."

Luke rubbed his chest as if to check if his soul was still intact.

"It was scary", he admitted.

"There is nothing scary about the dark side. It is a tool to be wielded against all the other things out there that are... much scarier."

Luke looked up to his father. He felt a strange pang inside.

"You're disappointed", he noticed.

Vader didn't answer for too long a time.

"It matters little. You will learn to accept what you can do - what you already have done. It will merely take more time than I had anticipated. This will be all for meditation today."

Luke ducked his head, he knew he'd messed up and he wondered how hard his father would punish him for it.

"I'm sorry", he whispered, wondering if he would get beaten. Those metal gauntlets looked like they would hurt quite a bit if they hit him.

But when his father raised his hand it was not to hit him. Instead Luke felt pushed upwards as if there had suddenly formed an air pillow under him that helped him come to his feet. He was curious and amazed at the display of power but his father was already heading for the door, not even sparing him a glance. When Luke hurried to follow him though he stopped, inclining his head ever so slightly.

"Luke, whatever you have heard... I am not a monster. My ways might be strange to you but it is not wise to judge somebody if you have no first-hand experiences at all."

Luke felt distinctively horrified. "In ever said you were a... you know what."

"No", Vader allowed, "but you've thought it. Very loudly."

There was a brief spike of fear when Luke realized what that implication meant, that his father could actually read his mind but a moment later, he just felt ashamed of himself. Yes, his father was scary but the main reason Luke was so repulsed by him was because he heard so many bad things about what he'd done from his relatives, from Ava and even Starkiller. It wasn't like his father had ever done anything to hurt him. He probably couldn't help that his Force presence felt so scary either, just like Luke couldn't help that he was afraid of the darkness. And... that his father had felt the need to address the issue was a good sign, wasn't it? It meant he cared about what Luke thought of him.

"Maybe physical exercises will suit you more. Come with me."

Luke hurried to catch up with his father. They left the chamber and followed a maze of corridors. Luke had to almost run to keep up with the Sith Lord's long strides. Occasionally they would meet a Stormtrooper or Imperial Officer. Everyone saluted when they passed and greeted his father politely, who merely answered with a nod sometimes or not at all. Luke couldn't tell it with the troopers but the officers – the uniforms, he called them in his mind – sometimes gave Luke curious glances as well.

"Is it... okay if they see me with you?", Luke asked hesitantly. He hadn't interacted much with his father during the last few days and when he did they were almost always alone.

"They will get used to your presence."

Luke nodded and they fell back into an awkward silence.

Vader did not pay the silent boy much of his mind. He was still busy readjusting the training plan he had worked out for Luke. He tried to remind himself that Luke was his son so even if he wasn't a genius and mastered every challenge he gave him in record time – as Starkiller usually did – he was still worth far more simply for his origin. He would learn. It would take more time and more patience than he currently possessed but he would shape the brat into a worthy heir of his legacy.

And yet... Vader couldn't help but shudder at the abysmal performance of the boy's first meditation. Meditation wasn't a very difficult skill to master. Vader would hardly call it a skill at all. It wasn't like he was expecting Luke to get showered with Force visions. Meditation was simply a fast way to establish a connection to the Force. This connection needed to be groomed over years but the first touch was usually easy to establish. Without this connection however Vader couldn't move on with his lessons. There was no use in showing Luke how to move objects or manipulate the human mind if he couldn't even feel the Force.

It wasn't that surprising that he hadn't managed to get the connection on his own. Vader remembered having problems with that part as well when he'd been young. But when Vader had taken him by the hand (metaphorically speaking) and guided him into the dark side, his reaction had left much to be desired. A certain amount of fear was to be expected. He would even call it healthy as the greater the power, the greater your respect for it had to be. But Luke hadn't just been afraid. He had been so repulsed by what he felt that he had struggled like a fish out of the water, crying for help with all his being, wailing and screaming as if he was being tortured. At first Vader had thought he would adapt, that he would come to see the power as the beautiful thing it was, that he would become fascinated by it, hungrily craving to make it his. But two hours had passed without any progress. Finally Vader had taken pity on the boy and pulled him out of his trance.

At least one good thing had come out of the session. Terrified by the darkness, alone and lost Luke had readily welcomed his mental embrace when he offered him a way back. In that moment their minds had touched more intimately than Vader had touched anyone ever since first guiding Starkiller through the same process. He had been able to read all his thoughts clearly in that moment, to feel all of his emotions. It had... stung to hear his son think of him so badly. The boy didn't know it as Vader took care to hide his presence and emotions but there had been several times during his initial lecture when Vader had been annoyed at Luke. His emotions were an odd mix between anger at being addressed and talked to so informally, something that normally only the most disrespectful and arrogant people dared to do (at the cost of their job if not their life if he had his way) and triumph that his plan of taking away the boy's fear of him and bind him to him far tighter than an apprentice would ever dare to with his Master, was working so well. Vader had to constantly remind himself that he had wanted this. He had wanted Luke to be his son, not merely a tool. He still did. It was just... harder than he'd thought.

Luke was still afraid of him, he could feel that. It wouldn't change over night and it shouldn't. Vader had invested much time in his reputation. But he could use the meditation to train his son to at least get used to his presence. Yes, that would do. They would meditate together each morning. If Luke learned to accept the power, that was well but Vader wouldn't bother giving him any tips until he learned to accept Vader's guidance as something good, until he felt safe in his presence.

The doors swished open and Luke and Vader entered a gym that had various tools set up in the form of an obstacle course. Next to the doors stood Luke's teacher for this session:

"PROXY!"

Luke ran forward with a grin. He couldn't say he liked the droid but it was a familiar ... interface and maybe the droid knew what happened to Starkiller.

"Good morning, young Master. I am to inform you that my secondary programming now includes making you into less of a dead weight. I expect your greatest enthusiasm for the cause."

"Uh, yeah, whatever. Have you seen S.K.?"

"Not since he departed the Shadow, no."

"When am I going to see him?", Luke asked, now turning to his father with a pleading look.

Vader felt just the tiniest bit startled. Usually when people looked at him like that, they were pleading for their lives or that he spared their loved ones. By the Stars, he wasn't going to cry, was he?

...no. He was just pouting.

Vader almost sighed in relief.

"PROXY will help you to train your physical endurance. When your session is over, you will be picked up for your evening classes."

"Let's begin, young Master", PROXY said and cheerfully readied his blaster cannons.

"What!? Wait, I'm not - I haven't... I'm hungry, that's right, shouldn't I have lunch beforehand? I'm not supposed to do any exercises on an empty stomach, am I?"

Ah, Vader thought, he knew he'd forgotten something. Right, healthy people had to eat up to three times a day. He had to remember that.

"Yes you will. Consider it a punishment for abysmal meditation techniques." He couldn't very well admit that he'd forgotten.

"But that was my first time!" Luke whined.

"Then do better next time", Vader snapped, his earlier amusement quickly fading into annoyance at Luke's tone.

With that he left Luke alone who just stood there for a couple of seconds after the door had closed and watched the training/assassin droid.

"Are you programmed to kill me?" He asked then a bit hesitantly.

If PROXY could bare any teeth, Luke was sure he would have in that moment. "It would be detrimental to your stance and performance to tell you that, young Master."

His blaster cannon gave an audible click as the safety was released. "Shall we begin?"

As it turned out, PROXY's cannons were loaded with some kind of electrical charge that hurt when it hit him but didn't do any serious damage. Luke found out as he was driven through the obstacle course over and over again in between running laps and making push-ups whenever he wasn't fast or strong or sneaky enough.

The boy was exhausted after only half an hour but other than that, it was actually kinda fun. PROXY had the habit of describing combat situations all around him in which he could use certain moves. Luke had a rich imagination and it was almost as if he could see the torrential river under the beam he was balancing or smell the smoke on the battlefield where he tried to save a comrade by lifting some heavy object he was caught under.

By the time he finally got some dinner he was starved and really only wanted to fall into his bed. That was not to be because he still had lessons in the evening with Lieutenant Praji. The man was a bit stiff around him but otherwise nice. The problem was that his lesson on structural organization of the Empire was so boring and Luke was so tired. He actually fell asleep once. That earned him a scornful look and a muttered 'waste of time' and 'hopeless case'. That was rather embarrassing so Luke tried to pay attention after that. Still he couldn't remember a single thing about the lesson when he was finally free to go to bed.

The rest of the week went by in a similar pattern. Meditation was pretty much the same and quickly became his least favorite subject. When they were together in the Force, Luke could feel his father's disappointment and exasperation every time he failed to embrace the dark side and it hurt. He knew the key was to channel that hurt and pain and use it but he just couldn't. He tried, he really did because it hurt a lot to see his father look at him as if he were a worthless insect. Every time he would try to connect to the dark side it quickly overwhelmed him and he felt like drowning in it and not at all as if he was the one in control.

"Your connection has to be stronger", his father would admonish him. "You have to be confident. Your hatred and your anger has to be strong enough to force your will onto it."

Luke was afraid and he did hurt but he never managed to really convert those feelings into anger or hatred like his father told him to. He didn't like meditation but he didn't hate it either because it was the only time he got to see his father and sometimes he even looked forward to that, hoping that this time he would do better and his father would be proud of him. But that never happened and instead of getting angry, Luke just got depressed.

Combat training was a welcome distraction from that. PROXY wasn't his only teacher here. Sometimes Luke would train together with Captain Lokey in the flight simulators where he learned some basic piloting skills. He was actually really good in that subject and had a lot of fun. Lokey was his only teacher who praised him when he completed an exercise successfully and it made Luke beam at him every time.

Than there was Stormtrooper training. Luke had to switch to another Star Destroyer of the fleet for those lessons where the troopers who'd been newly recruited into Death squadron trained their skills. This was where Luke learned to shot a blaster. Also at the end of every session, his father would come by to pick him up. Then he'd give Luke a training lightsaber and he was to stand at a wall and concentrate on the Force while around twenty Stormtroopers aimed their blasters at him (set on stun) and he was to reflect their shots with his tiny lightsaber blade that was thinner than his arm.

Of course he ended up on the ground after the first shot every time and all the troopers laughed at him. The only one that didn't was ME-7494 who was in charge of showing him around and teaching him how to aim. Luke had been quite surprised to meet Marvin again and while he was happy about it, it did led to a rather awkward conversation.

"I can't believe it. You actually made it to Death Squadron", Marvin said with a slightly incredulous grin.

"So did you", Luke returned. Now that his fears had been laid to rest that his father wouldn't want to be seen or associated with him, he found a certain amount of amusement in the trooper's curiosity. The man was practically bouncing on his heels in an attempt to keep himself from shooting questions at him.

"Yeah, that was weird. First time ever that something interesting happened on Tatooine and now suddenly I'm here. It's great, of course, a lot more action but weird. I can't help but wonder if you pouted at the right person or pissed off the wrong for you to take part in Stormtrooper training. No offense but you're not even old enough for the academy. How did you end up here?"

"Well, I told you I was gonna find my father. And I did! He's busy most of the time but he wants me to learn stuff so I got my own schedule and such."

"Sure, just why not sent you to a boarding school or something...?"

Marvin noticed Luke's hurt look and quickly added: "Of course it's wonderful that your old man wants to spend some time with you. I'm happy for you! School's on Tatooine are pretty shitty so I see why he wants to keep you close but Death Squadron isn't really the place for a kid to grow up if you know what I mean."

"Well, I never thought about that..."

"I give you a week before our old an get's trouble with his superior. This is a dangerous place. I mean, can you imagine; you might walk down a corridor, minding your own business and suddenly Darth Vader stands in front of you?"

"Oh, I can imagine that", Luke answered with a grin. "Happened to me before."

Marvin paled. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"How are you still alive?"

Luke sighed, it was funny to see the trooper so flustered but he didn't understand how he hadn't connected the clues yet. "Because Darth Vader is my father, that's why."

The trooper's face was rather comical.

"You don't believe me? He said he's gonna pick me up after training, you can ask yourself."

"No thanks, I'll pass", Marvin replied weakly.

"You're surprised."

"Surprised?! I didn't even know the guy was human under that... that... I should shut up now, shouldn't I?"

"Probably", Luke agreed. "How did you end up here?"

"Funny story, that", Marvin replied, glad for the change of subjct. "There was a Jedi manhunt - a Jedi, on Tatooine? Can you believe that? Lord Vader led it himself. I was with the squad that discovered the guy first. Looked like a harmless old man but I caught him after he tried to mind control one of my men. That was pretty creepy. I mean, you ever think about it? These guys can tell you to go and throw yourself off the next cliff if they feel like it - or to go and murder your best friends. The stars know what that guy had in mind for us. Luckily Lord Vader arrived before the situation could get out of hand. The Jedi was caught and I got a promotion."

"When did that happen?", Luke asked, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"Three days ago - hey, is everything alright?"

Luke didn't answer immediately. It didn't surprise him very much that his father had found and caught a Jedi. He'd seen how Starkiller had reacted when he learned about Ava and his father had been very specific in that all Jedi had to be either turned or killed. What did bother him was that they had stopped at Tatooine without Luke knowing. It had been almost two weeks now since he'd left his home planet and he was really starting to miss his relatives. His father had said he'd tell them that Luke was with him so they wouldn't worry (though Luke doubted by now that would have the desired effect) so that had to be what he was up to when he ran across the Jedi but why hadn't he told Luke? He would have liked to say good bye to his Aunt and Uncle. He had avoided it when he left, true, but now that he'd spent so much time apart from them and it was looking like he would be busy with training for years, not just a single season, the knowledge that he'd been so close to them but couldn't say hello was a blow to him. He wondered what else his father would keep from him.

XxX

AN: Writing does get harder with all the work that keeps piling up on my desk. I feel like it's time for a time skip but there are still so many things I want to build in as long as Luke is still so young and untainted. Skip ahead? Or stay and write more fluff?

I believe that hearing how Luke was really happy with the Lars and how much Owen cared about him would actually make Vader jealous. After all that's the life he could have. At the same time he is angry at himself for being jealous because Owen is a worm against the power he has - and so he needs to show him that. Yes, it might be a bit childish. That is kinda the point because we're seeing a tiny bit of Anakin returning here, who was always very childish. It's just... a very dark and angry Anakin. The biggest difference between him and Vader isn't the dark/light thingy, it is that Vader is cold and bitter where Anakin was passionate and emotional. Of course Luke would remind Vader of who he once was and this brings back some forgotten traits and habits.

Next chap, SK will return from isolation.

Keep shoting ideas at me, I need inspiration.