I am your father.
An ugly, threatening stranger in black tells him that news out of the blue. It's an incredible claim that can never be verified . . . or disproved. There's no DNA test for the Force, Vader seethes.
I am your father.
I left you with others for safekeeping to live ignored for decades until this moment. But now that he's finally useful, his so-called father conveniently shows up. To use him, of course. Because that's what the Sith do-they deceive and they use. Darth Vader does it himself.
I am your father.
It's manipulation at its most sly, and it is extremely effective. For try as Vader does to ignore it, he cannot. The words are insidious and inescapable. They burrow deep and take root. Poking at an old hurt he thought he got over many years ago. But childhood traumas have a way of lingering. Of seeping into your psyche and feeding your insecurities long into adulthood. Because he might be Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, but some part of him will always be a little bastard slave boy with an explosive chip in his neck.
I am your-
"All walkers and troop transports have dropped." The lead communications officer's report interrupts Vader's brutal reverie. "All troops will debark for ground assault. Command is reporting minimal initial resistance."
Whatever. Vader doesn't bother to respond. He's standing on the bridge of the Executor away from the command crew facing out the triangular shaped windows. Down on the surface of the planet below, an attack on the remote Rebel outpost has begun. Veers is in command so Vader passively monitors the fight from orbit. There's nothing but routine reports so far, so Vader resumes his brooding. He's still so terribly, miserably, hopelessly preoccupied with the news from the meeting on Naboo.
I am your father.
When his mother told him that he had no father, he was too young to understand what that meant. Only later when he was wise to the ways of the world did he realize that his mother was probably protecting him. Shielding him from the knowledge that he was the result of rape, he figured. Shmi Skywalker had been owned by a Hutt at the time and they aren't known for their treatment of slaves. What boy wants to know that his father is a criminal? To grow up worried that he too will be the bad seed? His mother had likely decided to sidestep the issue altogether, but to do it in a way that wouldn't leave her boy idolizing an absent man who would never be part of his life. She was lying to be kind, he surmised. And truthfully, he was grateful for that mercy.
Never once had the whole 'virgin birth' concept ever occurred to him as the explanation for his conception. That sort of thing belongs in fairytales and myths. Or in religious symbolism and concepts of purity and sin from days of old. No one believes that stuff anymore . . . or so he thought. But then, he learned that the Jedi Order did. And that's when he first fell for the lie of the Chosen One.
I am your father.
What makes a father? Is it just blood? Could it really be the Force? Or is it time, attention, and love irrespective of any biological connection?
The Jedi didn't offer parent roles, but they did assign a pseudo-parent in the form of a Jedi Master. That's where Vader first began looking for a father. Qui-Gon died days after they met, so young Anakin Skywalker shifted that exalted status to Obi-Wan. Later, the honor would slowly inure to wily Sheev Palpatine as well. Together, the two men were the competing forces in his life, the guiding influences from the Light and the Dark. Obi-Wan was the consummate Knight who quoted the Order's dogma chapter and verse while Sheev urged him to look beyond the limitations of the Jedi. One nagged at him while the other goaded him. One criticized while the other encouraged. To be the protégé of either man would be a mark of distinction. But to merit both their close attention? Well, it went to his head. Feeding the ego of the insecure kid who was desperate to believe his golden boy Chosen One status to replace the ugly truth of his bastard slave origins.
In time, he would rebel and assert himself, for every boy one day must become a man and shake off the mantle of his father's aegis. But here's the thing no one tells you—it's a bittersweet conflict, mingled with equal parts fear, loathing, and love. For confronting your authority figure is not an easy thing to do. But it is inevitable, for at the heart of the relationship lies an undercurrent of competition. The boy needs to achieve and to supersede, and the father wants that too. But not too soon. And not without due respect to his mentor. Part of the role of the boy is to wait his turn. And to chafe at waiting his turn.
But his younger self had been impatient and arrogant. Certain that he was the equal of the most accomplished Jedi Masters and confident that his role as Sith Apprentice would be merely temporary. Looking back, his hubris was cringeworthy. Dooku has been right—twice the pride, double the fall. Sure enough, young Darth Vader's day of reckoning came. It was an especially hard lesson. One father left him for dead on a lava riverbank. Another father enslaved him in guilt and hate. He's been stuck there ever since. Feeling the fool for ever having believed he was the Chosen One.
"Imperial troops have entered the base." The lead communications officer continues to narrate the battle's progress. "Walkers are targeting the main generator now."
Still, Vader makes no comment. All is going as planned. There's nothing down below on the surface that matters much anyway. So Vader resumes dwelling on the more pressing conflict underlying this budding civil war—the future of the Force, the role of the Chosen One, and the offer of Darth Plagueis. His hyper-focused, technocrat generals wouldn't understand any of this, he knows. They think his sad devotion to the ancient religion to be an eccentricity. They analyze strategy in terms of political capital and military might, completely missing the ebb and flow of the invisible hand of the Force. As smart as many in the Imperial hierarchy are, they are small minded in their outlook. They don't know the power of the Dark Side, and they would never believe the powers attributed to Darth Plagueis the Wise. But Vader does. It worries him.
I am your father.
The statement shouldn't matter, but it does. Because fathers matter. It's not always a popular sentiment to voice, but it's a truth the fatherless know keenly. But it's no disrespect to his mother's efforts. Shmi Skywalker was an amazing woman who did all she could for her son. But a father isn't something a mother can be. It's a very different dynamic.
A mother dries your tears, but a father tells you to shake it off. A mother cuddles and kisses while a father slaps your back and gives high fives. A mother says I'm sorry you lost and a father says practice more and perhaps you will win. It's encouragement either way, but with a contrasting spin. And those kids lucky enough to have both a mother and a father get both versions of parenting. The soft nurturing and the practical good advice.
I am your father.
One thing's for damn sure, Vader isn't going to break the news to Luke Skywalker so bluntly. It's a delicate matter that demands tact. You don't just put it out there for someone to react to. And you certainly don't supplement the tale with noise about how the whole thing had been an accident that had occurred when you were goofing around with the Dark Force and went too far. That part had been extremely galling. And it's not like Luke Skywalker wasn't an accident, too. He and Padme weren't looking to have children until the war was over and he was out of the Jedi Order. But he's not going to tell his kid that. Geez . . . 'you were an accident' was every bit as annoying as the 'search your feelings' lecture Plagueis gave him. Vader vows never to use those crappy lines on Luke Skywalker.
What will he say when he meets his grown son for the first time? Vader isn't sure. He knows he needs to impress upon the kid just how dangerous Sheev is to him. But for that advice to sink in, Luke will need to trust him. And, well, if Luke's reaction to him is anything like his own reaction to Plagueis, that will be a tall order. The parallels between the two situations have not escaped Vader. He's choosing to view that interview in the Naboo Temple as a master class in how not to handle his initial meeting with Luke Skywalker.
"Shield generator destroyed," the officer continues to update the battle status.
Vader is largely unconcerned. General Veers has things under control on the ground. By all accounts, the Rebels are overrun. With the might of the Imperial war machine focused on this small, poorly defended encampment, it's only a matter of time.
This mission will be a certain success. And then, Vader plans to pin a medal on everyone and hand out promotions to underscore what an important victory it is. And in a way, this is a key victory from a morale standpoint. At long last, a year into the fight, the Empire will take out a Rebel military target.
He needs this victory, Vader knows. Probably more than the Empire needs this victory. Things are in flux now, and Vader wants to be better positioned to handle whatever is coming next. For that disturbance in the Force had been unsettling. In its aftermath, Darth Vader is subdued. He's given up trying to tease out its meaning. There are too many possibilities, few of them good. But all of the most likely scenarios involve Luke Skywalker.
Force sensitivity has always held this sort of dread. It's often too much knowledge. Vader would rather have woken one day to the news of his mother's passing than to have the apprehension of waiting for it to occur while being powerless to prevent it. And now, yet again, he has knowledge of something important occurring. Something important enough that that the Force recoiled from it. Like it had with the destruction of Alderaan. Or maybe the Force had resounded with it. Like praise from hundreds of thousands of unseen mythical angels. Good news? Bad news? It's anyone's guess. But it was big news, and that's what worries him.
Luke Skywalker, where are you? And what are you up to that the Force reacts so strongly? Time is running out to find him, Vader fears. For one thing is clear: there's no way his Master didn't sense that disturbance. It adds yet another wrinkle of danger to the situation. Sheev's curiosity will be piqued.
An officer now approaches Vader to report. "My Lord, our sentry ships report that several Rebel crafts are fleeing the surface."
"Launch the fighters," Lord Vader responds.
"Shall we ready your ship?"
"No." Vader isn't about to jump in his TIE if Luke Skywalker isn't around to chase. He'll let the regular squadron earn their pay today.
'Take prisoners' had been Vader's only edit to Veers' battle plan. The order was not a gesture to accede to Astral's wishes. It was pure expediency—Vader wants live enemy combatants to interrogate. Those Rebels are going to wish he'd ordered no quarter by the time he's through with them. But there's no other way to get the information he seeks. Vader is determined to discover the location of the main Rebel base. There he will find Luke Skywalker, he's sure of it.
Thinking back once more to the offer in the Temple that has dogged him and tempted him, Vader doubles down on his strategy. He doesn't need Darth Plagueis' help. He will find and reclaim Luke Skywalker on his own like he planned all along.
Astral disagrees with his decision. It was more serious discussion than a true argument, but she made her feelings known. Is Darth Plagueis his father? And if so, can they trust him? Astral is inclined to answer 'yes' to both questions. He leans towards 'no.' 'No' as in 'Hell no.'
It had evolved into a discussion of fatherhood. Of what it means to need a father and what it means to be a father. And of the lasting impact of growing up a fatherless child. It's Astral's story, his own story, and now Luke Skywalker's story too, Vader realizes glumly. Perhaps that's why he cannot get the topic off his mind.
Astral had spoken of her own father, who was a distant and occasional figure in her life following her parents' divorce when she was very young. Her mother wasn't bitter, Astral explained, but she never remarried. Her life after the divorce was confined to music and raising her daughter. Men were an afterthought. Something optional but not necessary for a fulfilling life.
Seeing this growing up, Astral had drawn a different conclusion for herself. She wanted what she didn't have: a traditional nuclear family with a mom, a dad, and kids. It's part of why her own divorce had been so devastating. She felt like a failure, Astral admitted. And as the years went by and there was no second marriage, her parents' example kept Astral from opting for single motherhood. I didn't want to start out doing it wrong, she told him. It's one thing to end up widowed or divorced, but it's another thing to intentionally start out that way. Astral was emphatic that she didn't want to choose to raise a child without a father. Even a bad father is better than no father, she had claimed.
It was a very revealing conversation. For Vader realized just how unreliable the men in Astral's life have been. Perhaps that's why she's so skittish about commitment. Because as far as he can tell, the men who committed to Astral didn't follow through. Maybe she just can't bear to risk being let down again.
But if Astral was once angry about her parents' split, she has moved past it. It took me a very long time to understand my parents as adults and not just my parents, she explained. They were young once with hopes and dreams. They made mistakes and endured disappointments, just like we do. But growing up, I couldn't see that. I only saw that they were apart and I wanted to fix that. If not for them, then for myself for my own life. I guess I was determined not to make their same mistakes. But instead, Astral sighed, I made different ones. And in the end, I am alone just like my mother.
She had looked bleak when she said this. So, Vader told her firmly, "You're not alone. Not anymore."
"Neither are you," she had responded solemnly. Only afterwards did Vader realize that is the closest Astral has come to a real commitment.
But as a practical matter, they are both alone a lot. Living apart is pretty much a prerequisite for their relationship. And that's frustrating. Vader swore he would never do the long-distance thing again and yet here he is repeating that mistake. It's times like these when he especially wishes that he and Astral could live together. Because conversations about the past and what it means for the present and for the future are conversations he can only have with Astral. She is the sounding board he wants. This is the companionship he needs. But circumstances require it to be meted out in small doses.
In fact, Astral had left the ship later that same day. She had to get back to work. One day of calling in sick was all she could afford to take. Vader is trying to be patient with that attitude. He knows how much Astral values her work. But he wants more of Astral. Their stolen moments are not enough. I will be on Coruscant next week, he promised before they parted. They will have that to look forward to.
But it never happens. Because a week later, Vader finds himself dropping out of hyperspace into the Hoth system. The raid on the Rebel outpost was publicly explained as having evolved out of the roundup of dissidents on several systems. That was a lie, of course, but it was a good justification for the prior executions that had yielded some public backlash. The raid on the outpost, however, does yield actual useful information. Equipment analyzed from the defeated Rebel cell shows repeated transmissions into a remote sector of the Outer Rim. Putting that fact together with a fragment from a probe droid report, Vader discovers the location of the hidden base: the sixth planet of the Hoth system. It's an ice planet supposed to be devoid of human life forms. And that makes it a very good place to hide.
"That's it," Vader decides, studying a grainy photograph of a power generator half buried in snow as he ignores the dissenting static coming from that pompous fool Admiral Ozzel. "That's it. The Rebels are there." And he's sure Luke Skywalker is with them. "Set your course for the Hoth system. General Veers," he commands, "prepare your men."
This will be another ground assault like with the outpost. Same battle plan. The fleet will emerge into the system to block all means of escape. Walkers and ground troops will destroy the shield generator and power facilities on the ground and overrun the base. Vader gives orders to take prisoners, but to ensure that no one escapes. He refuses to let Luke Skywalker slip through his fingers.
To make certain, Vader himself will be leading the ground troops. It will be like old times back in the Clone Wars when he strode into battle with a lightsaber in his hand and the 501st Legion at his back. He wants to meet his Jedi son as a warrior on the field of battle. So Luke will know what it means to be the son of the erstwhile Republic General Anakin Skywalker, the now Imperial Sith warlord Darth Vader. For no matter his son's lefty politics, Vader wants his respect.
Truthfully, he is so excited that can barely contain his anticipation. His son . . . he's going to finally meet his son. Somewhere in the Force, Vader is sure Padme is cheering him on.
This will begin to make things right. To reunite his family torn apart by the conniving Jedi. To undo the damage caused by his violence with Padme. To subvert Sheev who may have killed his pregnant wife but not his unborn children. There is enough wrong to go around. The Jedi, the Sith, himself—all are to blame for the fate of the Skywalkers. But now, after all these years, it is time to move forward.
For the first time in a long, long time, Darth Vader feels hopeful. Truly hopeful.
Luke represents a second chance, Vader firmly believes. A fresh start to make better decisions with the wisdom gleaned from his mistakes. At long last, Vader has atoned for the Hell of his own making and the Force now judges him deserving. Protecting and training Luke Skywalker will give purpose to his years of suffering and offer him a way past his failures.
But Vader has no misconceptions that Luke will be happy to meet him. His kid probably hates him. Darth Vader is the most hated man in the galaxy with good reason. But he owns who he is, and he resolves to be patient. He will let his son rage and accuse. Giving vent to Dark emotions is necessary, lest they bottle up over time and explode. The Jedi were wrong to counsel Force users to suppress their emotions. But after that initial reaction, Vader thinks that his boy will begin to listen. He has a hunch that giving Luke Skywalker an enemy with a familiar name and a secret past will intrigue him to want to know more.
But no matter what, Vader vows to keep his cool. He's no young hothead Darth hopped up on Dark power and desperation. There won't be any replay of his bitter argument with Padme that ended in violence. In maturity, Vader is measured and cautious. He no longer lets his emotions get the best of him.
But, oh, the anticipation. Vader can hardly wait. He has so much to tell young Luke. Whatever tale Owen Lars and Obi-Wan told his son about his origins, Vader is certain that their version omitted a lot. But his teaching will just begin with their private family history. Vader plans to share his truths of the Force. So his son will understand that the Jedi were never as pure in heart or in deed as they claimed. And for Luke to know that the Dark Side has its place. Dark power should be learned, not feared. For to resist Darkness is to deny half of the Force. Half of human nature, too. Balance should be the goal, not a single-minded pursuit of either knowledge or power. To achieve that balance, his son will need to learn the ways of the Jedi and the ways of the Sith. Vader is uniquely positioned to teach him.
'Pass on what you have learned' is a maxim as old as the Jedi Order. It is also the custom of the Sith. The Master tutors the Apprentice until he is strong enough to rise up. As the Master dies, the Sith are reborn in the new Master. A Sith is dead. Long live the Lords of the Sith. For the knowledge of each and every Sith resides in the current Sith Master.
It's not unlike how the teaching of the Jedi Order resides in himself and the scant handful of exiled Purge survivors. Vader smirks now at the ultimate irony that by teaching Luke he may well earn as a Sith the rank of Jedi Master the Council long ago denied him. To think that a fallen Jedi has what remains of the Jedi archives and the cherished holochron vault stashed away in his castle on Mustafar.
But unfortunately, today the Force is not with him. At Hoth, everything goes wrong from the outset. That fool Ozzel comes out of lightspeed too soon and alerts the Rebels to the incoming Imperial threat. The Rebels start to flee immediately. Many transports and fighters make it away to safety, jumping to lightspeed immediately in all directions. Somewhere in that mix of ships and people is Luke Skywalker, Vader will later learn. But in the meantime, he strides through the deserted ice corridors of the Rebel base in a fruitless search. He captures none of the Rebel command structure, only low-level personnel who chose to remain behind so their leaders could escape.
He had been close, so close to meeting his son. But after months of hunting him, Luke Skywalker eludes capture. His high hopes dashed, inwardly Vader is devastated. The disappointment twists his gut and gnaws at his heart. His frustration cannot be underestimated. How can the Force do this to him? It's outrageous and unfair.
The only lead Vader has left to chase is the spice smuggler's freighter that gets off Hoth but for whatever reason cannot make the jump to lightspeed. Recalling the pictures of his jubilant son with the smuggler and the snippy Alderaan princess, Vader gives orders to capture the freighter. He will use his son's friends as bait to lure him. It's a classic Sith tactic to use your attachments against you.
But the freighter—the somewhat grandiosely named the Millennium Falcon—proves far harder to capture than anticipated. Whoever the daredevil pilot is who's manning the controls, he's good. Really good. Vader is impressed. It has him wondering if his son is flying. Well, more like hoping that his son is flying. For whoever that freighter pilot is, they have equal part nerves of steel and skill. When the fleeing Rebel ship careens wildly straight into an asteroid field, Vader secretly approves. It just the sort of tactic he would use were the roles reversed.
Chasing the Millennium Falcon becomes a prolonged game of cat and mouse. Even with the basically unlimited amount of TIE fighters he can throw at the problem, the asteroid field evens the odds nicely. It also puts the larger Imperial capital ships at a distinct disadvantage. Their weaponry is useless in this setting. So while Vader can appreciate the Rebels' tactic, the novelty wears off fast. He wants that ship, not excuses.
But the chase drags on. And so, when yet again Vader finds himself watching an underling report his lack of progress via hologram, he is impatient. The man rather predictably concludes that his own failure must signal the Rebels' failure, telling him " . . . and that, Lord Vader, was the last time they appeared in any of our scopes. Considering the amount of damage we've sustained, they must have been destroyed."
He disagrees. "No, Captain, they're alive." Alive and probably laughing at his fleet making fools of themselves in this chase. The amount of resources he has expended on one small freighter seems like overkill. At last count, they have lost twenty-seven TIEs. But the strategic importance of finding Luke Skywalker or at least his Rebel friends cannot be underestimated. It prompts Vader to repeat his earlier order, "I want every ship available to sweep the asteroid field until they are found."
Turning away in disgust, he is met by an especially anxious looking officer who salutes stiffly. "Lord Vader? The Emperor commands you to make contact with him."
The boss is calling. Well, good. Vader was sure to have plenty of camera bots collecting footage at the rout of the Rebel outpost and at the main base at Hoth. Coming in quick succession, those two victories will look like true momentum. His preliminary survey of the media coverage has been resoundingly positive. Vader looks like he's doing his job well. That it's all thanks to the mysterious maybe Darth Plagueis is irksome, but only he and Astral know.
Time to take his victory lap with Sheev. Hopefully, this will put to rest any concerns that Astral has been a distraction. This communication certainly can't be bad news. Sheev likes to deliver bad news in person. Vader always knows it's bad news when he gets summoned back to the Coruscant palace.
He commands, "Move the ship out of the asteroid field so we can send a clear transmission."
"Yes, my Lord."
Then he stalks off to clear his mind and prepare for the imminent interview with his Master.
He takes the com in his chambers on one knee. Interviews with his Sith Master are always conducted with these theatrics. Like it's an official audience at the palace before witnesses. Moreover, the hologram of his Master is projected ridiculously large. It's overcompensating, Vader sniffs, for a man of small stature to insist on appearing so big. It oddly reminds him of Master Yoda's wisdom that 'size matters not.' For power in this context has nothing to do with your physical presence.
"What is thy bidding, my Master?" Vader says his opening line slowly with grave reverence, like he's prostrate before his god. It never hurts to stroke Sheev's ego.
Vader is ready for his 'you have done well, Lord Vader' atta-boy commendation, when Sheev goes a completely different direction. "There is a great disturbance in the Force."
Vader gulps. He suspected this conversation was coming, even if he was hoping to avoid it. "I have felt it," he answers, playing it cool.
And now, Sheev drops a bombshell. "We have a new enemy. Luke Skywalker."
Luke Skywalker. Not 'the Rebel who destroyed the Death Star,' but Luke Skywalker. Luke fucking Skywalker. Vader cringes behind his mask. He knows-Sheev knows!
Vader forces down his knee jerk panic. His mind racing, he focuses on two things: Sheev knows his kid's name and he considers him to be an enemy. That basically means he knows everything, including that his son has the Force.
Still playing it cool, Vader gulps, "Yes, my Master." There's no point in issuing a denial to pretend like he himself didn't know. That will only piss Sheev off further. Vader braces himself for what's coming next.
But Sheev is in a mood to fret, not to punish. "He could destroy us," his Master croaks out with awful intensity.
This admission is unprecedented. Sheev Palpatine has never lacked for confidence. If he has doubts, he does not disclose them. And so, this moment speaks to the depths of his fear. Darth Sidious has foreseen something, Vader realizes immediately. He's foreseen something he believes and he fears. And that gives Vader hope. Maybe this development isn't the complete disaster he has assumed.
Knowing his Master well, Vader now cheerleads by dismissing the concern. "He's just a boy. Obi-Wan can no longer help him." With Kenobi dead, the kid's on his own unless he somehow manages to find where Yoda hides. Or maybe Ahsoka.
Darth Sidious is not reassured. But he is resolute. "The Force is strong with him. The son of Anakin Skywalker must not become a Jedi."
On this point, they agree completely. Vader now deploys the strategy he has decided on for just this contingency. He boldly suggests, "If he could be turned, he would become a powerful ally."
"Yes," Sheev considers. That fact alone is astonishing. "Yes. He would be a great asset. Can it be done?" he asks. The very question tells Vader that his Master knows he knows far more than he's letting on.
A show of loyalty is in order now. Vader growls and brandishes a clenched fist. "He will join us or die, my Master." And was that convincing? Did he hesitate too long before answering? Sheev doesn't indicate either way. The hologram quickly fuzzes out. Leaving Vader to brood and stew on a whole new set of issues.
Because that's it? That's it? No threats? No accusations? No bragging? No warning? Sheev took that entirely too well. He must be holding his fire, Vader decides. It's atypical and unsettling. More like the sly, subtle Sheev Palpatine of old than his recent despotic, paranoid self.
Vader's mind keeps churning. As far as he knows, only a handful of people know about the existence of Luke Skywalker, Rebel ace pilot. There's Astral, who is loyal. Then, there's Darth Plagueis, who might be stirring up trouble since Vader walked out on his offer in the Temple. There's also the Mandalorian armored bounty hunter who could have sold the information. But guys like that come back to you to get you to top the third party offer usually. They only care about the money. Lastly, there's Captain Groat who was present when Vader discovered the pilot's identity. He also compiled the dossier on his son from Tatooine.
Making an educated guess, Vader summons Captain Groat, his heretofore reliable mole within the Intel unit. Groat confesses straightaway. Apparently, Sheev has known of the existence of his Rebel son practically since Vader himself found out.
It puts his Master's frustration with his lack of progress pursuing the Rebels in a whole new light. Does Sheev actually want him to find his son? And if so, why did he admit to knowledge of the boy now? The only explanation Vader has is that unexplained disturbance in the Force.
Groat dies for his treachery. Since he's not dying for professional failure but for disloyalty on a highly personal matter, he doesn't get choked. Instead, Groat loses his head. But just to make sure he suffers some, Vader carves him up a little first. It makes an unsavory mess. Vader is not normally so gratuitous, but this is a special case. He's feeling very Dark.
And just as he summons a minion to deal with the mess, Vader senses yet another disturbance in the Force. This one is just as strong as the prior one, maybe even stronger. What the Hell is his kid up to, Vader wonders. It's just two days since the attack on Hoth and his kid is making waves again in the fabric of the universe. Yes, Vader thinks with a mix of pride and trepidation, the Force is strong with Luke Skywalker. His Master is right to fear him.