The Vengeance
In orbit around Dagobah
4 days later
Darth Vader, dressed in his dark armor and helmet, loomed menacingly at the meld door between the Vengeance and the Millennium Falcon.
At one side was his son Luke and on the other side, his niece Pooja Naberrie.
Approaching were three life forms; one, with the familiar glowing Force presence of his daughter Leia Organa, the second, a non-human who was almost certainly the Wookie Chewbacca and (here Vader growled very softly) the last being a human male, the smuggler Han Solo.
His mind flicked back to the conversation in the Cave during his time unconscious. In the future timeline, this miscreant criminal, this vagrant, this scalawag, who was at least a full ten years older than his daughter, had somehow managed to attract and bewitch the future Leia Organa.
Based on his daughter's response in the Force Vision Cave to the news, this was not surprising to her. So the attraction was already blossoming. Vader had a great deal to do in preparing for the destruction of the Emperor, but he would devote some of his time, Force power, and considerable intelligence to detaching the princess from the smuggler.
At least Master Yoda would be in agreement. They did not agree about romantic relationships for trained Force sensitives, but in this case …well, Vader thought it likely that somewhere in this vast galaxy was the perfect mate for his lovely daughter. But a scruffy pirate?
The doors slid open and Vader's optimistic thoughts ground to a sudden and embarrassed halt.
Leia stood arm in arm with a tall, dark haired man, handsome but cocky. The look on her face said it all, and her Force sense agreed. She was obviously in love. And the pirate, while Force blind, was generating such sappy feelings of adoration toward the princess that there was no doubt the man genuinely returned her love.
Vader's teeth ground and he strove to calm himself. His son stepped forward, looked at him with the slightest of smirks, then turned and caught Leia up in an enthusiastic hug. He then turned and hugged both Solo and the Wookie for good measure.
The princess stepped forward now, tilting her head to face him directly.
"Lord Vader," she said calmly, "I am pleased to see you have regained consciousness. May I introduce you to Captain Han Solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca the Wookie?"
Vader felt his prosthetic hands spasm in irritation, even as he said coldly, "Captain Solo, Wookie Chewbacca, I have long looked forward to meeting you."
Solo, to his credit, didn't back up or even look particularly intimidated, "I'm sure you have, your Lordship, after we almost blew your TIE into space dust during the Death Star battle. I'm glad we didn't meet earlier. Might not have ended so well."
There was a gasp from Pooja Naberrie at this insolence, and Vader felt a surge of ire.
"Perhaps it will not end well now," Vader responded in an ominous tone as he stepped forward.
Both twins blocked his way, Luke looking serious and Leia looking angry.
"Don't threaten him, Lord Vader," his daughter said, eyes snapping.
She then turned to the smuggler and gave him a (gentle) dig in the ribs, "And you, take it easy. No need to antagonize an unstable Sith Lord."
"It is well for your friend," Vader rumbled, "That I am not technically a Sith Lord any more. Nevertheless, your advice is well given. I suggest you not bait me, Captain Solo."
Solo had the grace to look slightly abashed, even as the man said casually, "You've got it, Lord Vader."
The pirate paused, and then apparently casting his limited sense to the winds, continued with, "I will say this, you've got two great children. Leia and I …"
"We'll … talk about that later, Lord Vader," Leia interrupted, with another warning look at the captain, "In the meantime, we have information of interest for you, Luke, Pooja, Master Yoda, and our Force ghosts if they care to make an appearance. Perhaps we can meet in an hour after we get something to eat? The Falcon's food options are limited, and I'm hungry."
"I thought that stew I made was pretty good," Solo protested indignantly, "What did you think, Chewie?"
There was a roaring laugh from the Wookie, and Leia muttered, "If you like food burned, it was good."
She grabbed the smuggler by the arm and towed him away, even as he protested indignantly. Pooja, with a wide eyed glance at Luke, followed them, as did Chewbacca.
Vader was left steaming.
"You know, Father," Luke said gently, breaking into his thoughts, "If Solo wasn't the man he is, he wouldn't have come back and shot you off my tail. I would have died above the Death Star, and Leia would have died on Yavin."
This effectively poured ice water on Vader's temper.
The former Sith stared at Luke. Yes, he owed Solo the life of both his children.
He still disliked him, but he would give the pirate that.
/-
Conference Room
The Vengeance
1 hour later
"So are any of the seats taken by invisible Force ghosts?" Solo inquired.
Leia smiled and guided him to two empty seats side by side, "These will work."
Master Yoda was standing on a chair to one side of Vader, who sat in his own large, specially built chair at the head of the table.
Luke, Pooja Naberrie, and Commander Tregast settled into their own seats. Apparently, the ghosts were off doing spectral duty elsewhere, as neither was present.
Vader spoke, "Princess Leia, perhaps you would share with us a brief synopsis of your mission?"
She nodded and spoke briskly, "Our trip to Utapau proceeded smoothly, and we successfully made contact with the Alliance agents there. We have arranged for a short daily communications window, highly encrypted, so we can safely send and receive information without concerns that our location will be traced by the Empire. The information you provided, Lord Vader, is being transmitted to Alliance High Command. We chose not to share that you were the source, nor did we tell the Alliance that we are with you, as that would lead to suspicion about data which I am confident is accurate, and of great value."
She turned to Vader now, and stared directly into his mask, "The most interesting update from the Core concerns you. A few days ago, the Emperor released an official report that you are dead, heroically killed on a mission, and there were lavish services on Imperial Center honoring your achievements."
He heard the sarcasm in her tone but focused in on the words. So Palpatine had discarded him, while creating the narrative that he had died in defense of Sidious' Empire. Interesting but not surprising.
"That seems rather hasty," Luke said aloud, "You only broke the bond a couple of days ago.
Vader slowly shook his head, "I disobeyed a direct order in refusing to hand you over to the agent who harmed you, Luke. I then left the Executor for parts unknown. And through our bond, he knew I had chosen you over him."
Solo spoke up, "But how will he spin this if you show up on an Imperial base?"
Vader looked at him with grudging respect, "An excellent question."
Leia Organa sighed, "Realistically, someone could impersonate you, Lord Vader. Someone tall, with black armor. Few people have actually seen you in person. Given that you are declared dead, that would be the first natural assumption for many troops."
"But if Father started battling with a lightsaber and throwing things around with the Force, it would be obvious he is who he is," Luke argued.
"Sidious no doubt has his plans for such an eventuality, my son," Vader interposed, "But for now he has introduced the belief that I am no longer a factor in the Imperial hierarchy, which will have significant political ramifications."
Pooja Naberrie spoke up, "Indeed, it will. The government's power of course is centralized in Emperor Palpatine, but I am aware of substantial tension between the civilian arm of Palpatine's government, especially the Security Bureau and the Imperial Council, and the military. With Lord Vader gone, the balance of power will tilt toward the civilian side. My understanding is that while many of Palpatine's sycophants are inept flatterers, there are a few brilliant minds in the mix."
"Indeed," Vader agreed with an approving glance at his niece, "Ysanne Isard, Sate Pestage, and Ars Dangor are all able, if treacherous, individuals."
"Treacherous?" Princess Leia repeated with a lift of her eyebrows, "An interesting charge coming from you."
He regarded her, his breathing steady. How much she looked like her mother, and she had Padme's ability to convey sarcasm while maintaining surface courtesy.
"My sins and flaws are legion," Vader responded finally, "But I am a direct person, Princess. Have I lied? Certainly. But I rarely find it necessary, and it is not my preferred method of interaction. Ysanne Isard lies as readily as she breathes."
Leia held his gaze briefly, then nodded.
Vader felt Luke relax slightly even as his son spoke, "So all this is interesting, but what do we do? Should we stay here training, or is Father's supposed death a tipping point of some kind? Should we rejoin the Alliance?"
Yoda spoke for the first time, "Complete your training you must, both young ones. Challenge the Emperor you cannot with your training still unfinished."
"I agree," Vader said, and sensed the surge of surprise from several around the table.
He hesitated, then continued carefully, "Some of you are aware that my son, my daughter, and I have been experiencing strange and powerful Force visions. In these visions, we have interacted with a Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader from a future, alternate timeline. They are 2 years older than we are …"
He stopped, aware of the surprise on Pooja Naberrie's face, the stoic forced calm on Tregast's, and open curiosity on Solo's visage.
"So … this cave, is it similar to the cave in the vision you had a few months ago, Luke? The one where you found out about Vader and Leia? " the former smuggler asked.
"It's identical, Han," Luke responded, "And as far as we can tell, my older self and Father's older self have been there all along. Time is different there. The older version of Father wasn't there part of the time, but the older version of me has been installed permanently as far as we can tell. So the logical supposition is that the future timeline is frozen right now? It is one particular moment in its timeline?"
There was a soft groan from Leia, "I really don't understand this. We've changed this timeline. So why are they still in the vision? Why do they even exist as their own separate entities? Haven't we changed the future?"
Vader spoke up, somewhat reluctantly, "Those are excellent questions. I do not pretend to understand it either. Master Yoda, do you have any insight?"
(It occurred to him that he had just called the Jedi 'Master Yoda', which annoyed him. He had indeed changed if he unthinkingly spoke with respect to the old troll.)
The aged Jedi closed his eyes for a long moment, then opened them to shake his head slightly, "Unprecedented this is. Prophecies come they have, and in motion they are. Possible future this was, but no longer is? Proceed with caution we must, but I believe trust the knowledge from this vision we can."
Vader relaxed slightly. Yoda's words would make his next information more palatable to his audience.
"My older self and I," Vader proceeded carefully, "Discussed at some length the destruction of Darth Sidious."
He paused. He saw surprise, but no one commented.
"Around the forest moon of Endor, in the Moddell Sector of the Outer Rim, Palpatine has ordered the construction of a second Death Star."
Reactions this time. Leia exclaimed in soft horror, and Luke's Force sense was suddenly filled with dread. Master Yoda shook his head and while the green elf was shielding well, Vader sensed his sorrow.
After a long pause, Solo spoke up, "It took decades to build the first one, so we have time before this one comes online, don't we?"
Again, Vader was reluctantly impressed at Solo's ability to hone in on a most important point.
He explained, "The construction for this technological terror is far accelerated compared to the first Death Star. My Alter informed me that 4 months from now, in his timeline, the first phase was complete. It consisted merely of the superstructure but, and here is the significant point, Palpatine secretly traveled to Endor at that time for a lavish celebratory ceremony. My Alter suggested that we should strike Palpatine at Endor. Imperial Center is Palpatine's seat of power, and penetrating into the palace and destroying him will be far more difficult given the multiple layers of defense in place. On Endor, even in his own Super Star Destroyer Eclipse, he will be far more susceptible to attack."
"Trained the twins will not be, in 4 months," Yoda said uncompromisingly.
Vader nodded in agreement, "The Older Vader stated that in this timeline, construction will almost certainly be delayed due to an ore shortage which he solved. I will not do so. Thus, almost certainly the completion of the superstructure, and the ceremony, will likely occur in 6 to 8 months."
There was a pause, and Jinn suddenly popped into view in the seat next to Luke, "I believe Luke and Leia will be ready by 6 months. Do you agree, Master Yoda?"
Yoda crinkled his face, "Not long, that is, to complete training. In the old days …"
"The old days are past, Yoda," Vader interrupted gravely, "This fight cannot be long delayed. Even now, Palpatine is no doubt preparing one of his Force sensitive Hands to take my place as his Sith apprentice. While none holds my power in the Force, his focused training will result in a being with considerable ability. And since he must suspect I am still alive, he will work to block my potential attack against him. This Endor operation is, I believe, and my Alter concurs, the best opportunity to destroy Sidious."
"So we'd just, what, bring a ship in and attack a Super Star Destroyer?" Luke asked in a puzzled way, "Or were you going to try to use the Executor?"
Vader shook his head, "No. Palpatine will fear that Piett's loyalty lies with me and may well have replaced him already. If he has not, he will probably create slave circuits in the Executor so that he can cripple her easily if I come back to claim her. No, this operation requires more subtlety."
He hesitated, glanced at his daughter, the continued slowly, "My Alter discovered recently that Palpatine has, ever since the destruction of Alderaan, included the rare Toniray Alderaanian wine as part of his celebrations for military accomplishments."
Leia's face tightened with a mixture of sorrow and anger. Solo turned and looked to her, and reached out a comforting hand to touch her shoulder. He then turned back to Vader, "Where is he getting it? That's stuff rarer than moonglow."
Vader shifted an irritable foot. The smuggler was remarkably adept at asking the critical questions!
"Palpatine has a storehouse on Lanteeb, naturally with several full time tenders and perfect atmospheric conditions for the wine. He also has agents spread throughout the galaxy purchasing or stealing Toniray from individuals and commercial establishments. My Alter informs me that Sidious keeps the wine in the storehouse until needed because of obsessive concerns that it might deteriorate slightly if kept on a spaceship any longer than necessary."
"Not much of an ascetic, is he?" Jinn commented snidely.
"So you're saying that if we could figure out when the wine was going to Endor, we'd know when we should launch our attack," Leia said with her brow furrowed.
"Better yet, we could go with the wine," Luke added, "Assuming we could hijack the ship or something."
Vader shot an approving glance at Luke, "Precisely. My Alter provided me with information which should allow us to break into the communications array on Lanteeb, provided the Alliance assists. Generally the wine orders are placed a week in advance. I propose that we commandeer the ship carrying the wine, surreptitiously board the Eclipse, attack Palpatine, and kill him."
A pause.
"Can you explain why your future self would have collected esoteric information about Palpatine's wine habits?" Leia asked with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion, "It seems a strange way to spend your time."
Vader knew his voice carried a surprised inflection, "I understand it completely, Princess. Palpatine and I were more rivals than partners, and both sought to know as much as possible about the other's habits, no matter how inconsequential. The relationship was one of mutual distrust. Sidious expected me to attempt to destroy him when I had garnered sufficient strength, whereas I always needed to be prepared to be replaced if a suitable alternative could be found. When Luke's existence was uncovered, the wariness between us increased substantially; on the one hand, my son's loyalty could be expected to lie with me. On the other hand, Sidious is a master manipulator and anticipated that he would be able to claim my son's loyalty and discard me as he discarded his two previous Sith apprentices."
The faces around the table ranged from shocked to grieved to stoic.
"That doesn't sound like much of a way to live, Lord Vader," Solo said finally.
The former Anakin Skywalker stared at his daughter's love.
"No, it is not," he admitted.
/-/
12 hours later
The Vengeance
In orbit around Dagobah
Vader's personal quarters
Vader was vaguely startled when the alert chimed at his door. He had been focusing intently on plans for the Endor operation, and had missed the approach of …
He reached out. His daughter Leia, and her smuggler love.
Vader shut down the file he was working on and turned to the door, opening it with the Force. He chose to remain seated, aware that most individuals found him even more intimidating than usual when standing.
Leia Organa might be an exception, but given that he would be speaking with his daughter without the buffer of Luke, it was best to be as non-threatening as possible.
She stepped in, hand in hand with Solo, and glided regally over to him. Her hair was braided in circlet around her head, reminiscent of a crown, and she was wearing a simple green robe.
"Princess Leia, Captain Solo," Vader said politely, "How may I assist you?"
The princess looked straight at him with a mixture of challenge and … was that a tinge of embarrassment?
"I would like to ask you a question," she replied.
Vader felt anxious, an unusual emotion. But there were so many possible questions that would be awkward or painful to answer.
"You may ask," he said, repeating his words from a few days earlier, "I may not choose to answer."
She nodded briskly, and continued, "Are you legally permitted to marry a couple?"
Vader's body froze. His brain froze. Every iota of his being froze in shock.
After sixty seconds had ticked by, his mouth moved, apparently of its own volition.
"What?" he asked.
Leia lifted an eyebrow, even as the (former) pirate smirked slightly.
"Can you," she repeated patiently, "Marry a couple? Specifically me and Han? Can you legally do that as the Commander of the Naval Forces of the Empire? We want it to be legal."
He felt drool dripping from his slack mouth onto his chin inside the mask, and used the Force to wipe it tidily away.
"You wish to be married," he said, aware that his disbelief was bleeding through the vocoder, "Right now."
Leia looked startled, "Oh, not right now, no. We just wanted to know if you can do it legally, or whether we need to arrange for a priest to come. I thought that since you are the commander of this ship that you might be legally allowed to marry us. But no, not right now."
He allowed 3 breathing cycles to pass by as he relished in his relief. He had time to work on breaking up this relationship. He cast a dubious eye at Solo, who was now wearing a wooden look which betokened either internal distress or internal mirth. Based on the Force sense, it was mirth.
"Yes, legally I can conduct marriages," Vader said carefully, forcing himself with difficulty to remain diplomatic, "Though I suspect Master Yoda will not be in agreement with your plan to marry. I also question the wisdom of …"
The princess interrupted, firmly, "Great. Let's plan on 3 weeks from now, shall we?
"Three weeks?" he and Solo repeated in sync.
Solo spoke, "Do we really have to wait that long?"
The princess's face lit up with her glorious smile, as she turned a beaming face to her smuggler, "Pooja found some white fabric in the med bay. It's usually used for burial sheeting in the event of a death, but she's an amazing designer and seamstress and she's going to whip up a wedding gown for me. It's important to me, Han. White is significant symbolically for an Alderaanian and …"
"You know I want you to be happy with our wedding, Leia," Solo interrupted, pressing a surprisingly elegant kiss onto her forehead.
Leia Organa turned back to her stunned biological father, "So we'll plan on 3 weeks then. Thank you, Lord Vader."
She and Solo left rapidly, leaving Vader incoherent with bewilderment and disbelief.
Finally, he managed to mutter again, "What?"
