Disclaimer: Luke does a little 'doctoring' in this chapter that is in no shape or form based on actual knowledge of what to do with broken bones and should never, ever, ever be attempted. Don't worry. I didn't forget you!


Chapter 28

Luke and Leia had no idea what to do, and so they remained standing in silence until the chant died down and Vader dismissed his new subjects. Luke could feel his sister's brewing anger, and he attempted to send her tendrils of peace. Things weren't necessarily as bad as they seemed. It was possible their father just wanted to make sure there was no power vacuum or chaos. They hadn't had a chance to speak with their father so they couldn't know for sure that he was just seizing power indiscriminately…

Yeah. Even to Luke the excuse was weak. He knew his father well enough to know it was almost definitely as bad as it seemed.

Once everyone cleared out of the room, Vader stood and actually acknowledged his children. "If the Emperor's body was discovered before I took the throne we would be in far too much danger. Now everyone will know not to cross our family."

"What family?" Luke asked his voice cracking under the residual pain from their fight. "Leia and I cannot let this war continue, you know that. We should have killed the Emperor and run away while we still has a chance. You've chosen power over your family again."

His father was angered by Luke's words but did not strike out. That was good at least. His father had been calling on the Dark Side a lot during their fight, but he still had enough control not to lash out at his children. That was good. "I do not want this war any more than you do. The two of you shall return to the Alliance tonight. Convince the High Command to come and arrange a peace treaty with me. I will concede the existence of a Senate with Leia as Chancellor, and we can work towards peace."

There was something off about his father's Force presence, but it didn't really feel like deceit. Luke knew his father well enough to know that perhaps he'd just been making split second accusations. Maybe things weren't as bad as they seemed.

Leia seemed shocked as well. "You want… what?"

"You two must return to the Alliance immediately. I wish to draw up the treaty before Palpatine's funeral. A fitting end to his legacy."

Luke and Leia stared at their father. He clearly was still immersed in the Dark Side, and yet he was speaking of peace and sharing power with the Senate. They didn't quite know what to make of it and yet… and yet.

Yet Luke loved his father more than anything, and Leia cared enough to have saved his life. They both wanted to believe what Vader was saying, and they sensed no deceit in the Force. "Alright," Luke agreed. "We'll go immediately… Father, I could stay. High Command trusts Leia more than they do me. I know the politics of Coruscant I could help you."

Vader shook his head, "Things will be volatile tonight. I do not want either of you here. I will be fine, but you two must go."

Leia nodded and prepared to go, but Luke lingered. It felt wrong to leave their father alone in this dark hour and yet… Luke could not stay and be a constant worry for his father. He needed to help Leia, and help the galaxy. "We'll be back as soon as possible Father," Luke finally promised before running after his sister.

It was the middle of the day, but Coruscant looked dark. As Luke and Leia made their way back to the Falcon they watched as dozens of shopkeepers began to turn off their lights and close up. Stormtroopers patrolled the streets in tight formations, and even the lanes of speeder traffic seemed to be thinning out.

"Make sure to keep your saber hidden," Luke reminded Leia grabbing her arm. She let out a cry of pain and Luke suddenly felt horrible. How in the galaxy had he forgotten? "Oh kriff, Leia stop. We need to get you to a healer."

"We don't have time," Leia answered gritting her teeth. The bone was still protruding a bit from her skin, however, so Luke wasn't about to listen. He pulled off his sleeves and tied a sling out of them before, gently, grabbing Leia's arm. "Luke you're just going to make it worse."

Perhaps, but Luke knew what he was doing. One of the girls on his gymnastics team had fallen from the uneven bars and ended up with a very similar injury. He still remembered what coach had done to set it until the medics showed up. Gripping the two pieces together Luke popped the broken one back in so that at least the bleeding could begin to stop. Needing more fabric Luke ripped his pant legs, and then he found a plastic coat-hanger someone had tossed from a window. He used the bottom of the hanger as a splint, and tied the bandage tightly around. "There," Luke answered helping her into the splint. "That should hold until we can get you into some Bacta."

Leia nodded her head, but Luke noticed her biting her tongue. Clearly she was in a lot of pain. He reached out through the Force, stripping back the layers of pain and helping her release it into the Force. As he did, Leia visibly relaxed. "Thank you."

"That's what big brothers are for," Luke promised as they began walking again. He wasn't paying that much attention, however, mostly concerned with Leia's health, so he didn't notice the patrol of stormtroopers until they rounded the corner right into them.

"Hey!" one of the troopers yelled. "Emergency curfew is in place. Where are you two going?"

Curfew? How had they already managed to put the planet under curfew? Moreover why had they? Did his father order it? Luke shook his head. Yeah, perhaps it was best his father had taken control before the chaos got worse. "My name is Luke Skywalker, son of Emperor Vader. We are heading to the shipyard to carry out a confidential mission for my father."

A couple of the troopers shifted uncomfortably, but their leader, of course, was an idiot. "Yeah, and I'm Palpatine's son. You're coming with us."

Leia bristled, but Luke simply rolled his eyes. For someone who got reported on so often by the Holonet, he certainly had a lot of people not believe his identity. "Very well, lead us to the Detention Center, give Admiral Cassel a heart attack, and then you can escort us to the shipyard."

They did. Despite his squad's reservations, the lead trooper insisted on escorting Luke and Leia to the detention center. Admiral Cassel was up to his eyeballs in work establishing a curfew, but he was wise enough to personally check in on 'some impostor pretending to be Prince Skywalker.' After all, it wasn't the first time Luke had ended up in one of his holding cells.

"Force Luke," the Admiral cried opening the cell. "I mean, your highness… ah…" He looked over at Leia, clearly recognizing the Rebel leader. "Ah, what's going on?"

"Admiral Cassel is Rickon's dad," Luke quietly explained to his sister. "And I'll always be Luke for you, Admiral. This is simply another misunderstanding. Leia is under my father's protection."

The Admiral, always obedient, nodded, "Of course, your highness. Where were you heading when my troopers picked you up, I'll have someone give you a ride."

"We're heading the shipyard… Admiral, have you heard from Rickon at all today?"

The Admiral's look grew dark, "I haven't heard from him in nearly a week. I've been comming him but… Have you seen him?"

Luke nodded, "A few hours ago. If you hear from him tell him or Leah please tell them to go to my apartment. That's probably the best place for them right now."

"Is he in trouble?"

"Not anymore, but it's best we all just take extra precautions right now."

The Admiral took Luke's words to heart, and gave the Imperial Prince two escort vehicles. It annoyed him and Leia to no end, but the Admiral had also had a medic properly set and cast Lea's arm, so Luke was actually glad they'd been picked up.

Flying over Coruscant Luke couldn't believe how dead everything looked. Within their homes people were watching the news non-stop, but the streets were dead. It appeared the only ones out where the Stormtroopers.

"This doesn't look like democracy to me," Leia whispered looking over the dark planet. "I've never seen Coruscant like this."

Neither had Luke, but then again neither of them had been alive the last time the coup occurred. "Father's probably just trying to keep people safe. Better everyone stay home than riots break out. Once the treaty is signed things will get better. We just need to hurry with getting High Command to agree."

Leia nodded, and they landed in the shipyard. The planet was, of course, blockaded, but Luke had all the codes he needed to make sure they got off planet with no problem. So long as Han didn't do something stupid that was.

Han had done something stupid. When Luke and Leia made their way onto the Falcon, they found Han and Chewie pointing blasters at Rickon and Leah, who, of course, also had found blasters. "You think you can just mind trick me. I'm not weak minded."

"And I'm not trained," Leah hissed, "But you're the only ship that is on the fly list for Force knows what reason, and so you will give us this ship."

"Leah chill," Luke called out shocking everyone into blasting him. Lucky he was good with a lightsaber. "The Falcon is cleared because, at the moment, it's Leia and my transport, and my father must have made sure it was cleared."

Leah and Rickon, who obviously had been out of the loop since running from Palpatine, stared at Luke. Finally Rickon spoke, "You're alive. He didn't kill you… how are you alive?"

"He's dead," Leah whispered, her voice shaking ever so slightly. "Force he's dead. You killed him."

Luke remembered her almost confession, and so he tried not to feel hurt when Rickon was the one to comfort her and not him. "I'm sorry Leah. I had no choice… not after what he did to you and Rickon."

"Thank you," Rickon answered for her, all the while not letting Leah out of his arms. "So… are we safe now?"

Was anyone ever truly safe? "There's a couple squads of your dad's men outside. They'll take you to my apartment. It's the safest place for you to lay low until things cool down. And you can call your father from there."

Rickon did not seem pleased, which worried Luke more than anything. What was he missing? "Luke your father is Emperor. He's still an Emperor and I'm a deserter from the Red Guard and she's Palpatine's…"

"You're right, of course," Luke interrupted still not quite ready to hear the words spoken aloud. She was still Leah of course but… well Luke could sort of understand why people would judge him based on his father. "You can tag along, wait with the Alliance. My father is talking about a peace treaty so the base won't be attacked. Of course, Han let's go."

Han and Chewie still had their blasters armed and ready. "Ah kid, are you sure…"

Luke wasn't sure of anything anymore, but he knew it was time to get off Coruscant. "Please. Leia still needs to get in a bacta tank…"

"You're the one who got electrocuted!" Leia objected, and Luke actually felt renewed pain at the reminder. "Han, let's please go."

There were no more debates, no more questions. Luke offered the codes they needed to get out of the locked-down system, and then retired to one of the quarters. Everyone Luke cared about was safe for the time being, and Luke was just ready for a nap.

Leia woke Luke up when they arrived at the Alliance base. She'd already commed in, so when they arrived both Luke and Leia found themselves unwillingly dragged towards the Medicenter for evaluation. In the end neither of them ended up in Bacta tanks, mostly because there would have been lightsabers drawn had someone tried to force the issue. Instead they just got patched up, and the rest of High Command met them there.

"We would like to thank you both for the part you have played in Palpatine's defeat, and assure you that your friends have been given safe quarters," Mothma began. "We are concerned, however, as to the kind of oppressive control your father has already placed Coruscant under."

Ah. So it was his father's orders. Luke got ready to defend his father's decisions, but Leia spoke up first, "He's trying to maintain control until things get settled. It's not optimal, but it's understandable. He is trying for peace. He wants to see all of High Command and arrange a treaty to reestablish the Senate."

Mothma and the others were, understandably, suspicious, "What makes you think that this isn't just a trap to bring all of his enemies together?"

"Because…" Leia looked over at her brother. "Because there is good in him. During our fight with Palpatine I saved his life because Luke's right. He's not all bad. He's just trying to bring his family together in a safe galaxy. And I can't deny anymore that I am part of that family. If nothing else I think he knows turning on the Alliance means Luke and me turning on him, and I don't think he wants that."

Mothma was shocked. She'd seen Leia's distress upon finding out the truth. She'd half expected Leia to assassinate Vader before they even approached Palpatine. But Leia claimed to trust Vader, to believe in him. If Leia, who had lost everything to Vader, could trust him, well then who were they not to. "I do not even think a vote is fair on this," Mothma declared. "I am going, and anyone else who wishes to join me may."

Not a single member of High Command stayed behind as the others loaded on the Falcon and began the journey back to Imperial Center.