I had fun with this one, a short scene that goes with The Truth Chapter 51 after Luke has driven the Command staff slightly crazy and they struggle to understand what's happening.

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"I just don't know what to do about him. Or with him."

"I hope you don't need to be reassigned because you're becoming fond of him, Commander." General Dodonna's tone was disturbed.

Narra sighed—then remembered he wanted to break the habit that Oz had pointed out. "Maybe I am. He's...a break in the boring routine and...I can't help but like him. He has a way of…" He wasn't sure how to finish his thought.

"Being open about his lies? That's disarming, but ultimately still dishonest. He's very manipulative." Willard leaned back in his chair. "So, the ship. The old Sigma-class. We're outfitting it for the Princess as part of her diplomatic cover."

"He'll find a way to go whether we give it to him or not." Narra fidgeted with his stylus, flipping it over and over, tapping it on the desk.

"It's difficult to say no to the son of Darth Vader."

"Especially since he doesn't stop talking. Do you think he talks to Vader the way he talks to us?" He couldn't help himself—he sighed. "I never thought I'd feel sorry for Darth Vader, but…."

Willard hesitated. "He obviously cares about Vader and openly defends him... and boasts about him. I don't know how that's possible. There's so much we don't understand about their relationship that could be useful to us. But the kid isn't about to tell us."

"He's not a kid," Dodonna said crossly. "He's an adult and we should treat—"

"He's sixteen." Narra shrugged. "He told us eighteen when he arrived, but Commander Dreis says he's sixteen."

"And we're allowing our tolerance of his youth guide our reactions." Willard frowned. "Lie upon lie. Who knows the truth? And now he wants to be trained as a Jedi...if he really even knows a Master."

"A Jedi would be a great help to the Alliance, both with skills and prestige….But I don't believe he will fight for our cause, not when he comes up against his father." Dodonna shook his head.

"On the other hand," Narra said quietly, "Vader won't fight against his son. Look what happened with the Death Star. He allowed the Empire's ultimate weapon to be destroyed."

"That still puzzles me. Stop that tapping!" Willard snatched the stylus from his hand and placed it flat. "Granted, he saved his son from those TIEs, but why did he let Oz go up against them in the first place? Why send him here when we would inevitably battle? And why pay us to shelter him? Keeping him away from Palpatine is the obvious reason, but—"

"Remember Vader tried to get him and Jovay off planet. It was Oz who refused to leave and—"

"And Vader let him destroy a weapon that would have annihilated half the Alliance!" Willard interrupted.

"And Oz brought us the technical readouts that enabled us to find its weakness," Narra said slowly. "It wasn't only about Vader protecting his son… was he deliberately not protecting the Death Star?"

The idea seemed too wild to speculate upon, but then Willard said: "Maybe Captain Jovay wasn't talking only about his beliefs. The earlier Death Star. Ten years ago. That had to have been sabotage."

None of them dared voice what they were thinking. Could Darth Vader be the Third Side? Had he been for all these years? A Jedi turned Sith...a murderous Sith who destroyed the Jedi, who wiped out entire populations, who was known for being merciless, pitiless, the ultimate evil? Could it be…?

Impossible.

Yet he had a son who obviously loved him.

"No." Dodonna shook his head. "Vader intended for us to be destroyed. Only his inability to get his son to safety stopped him."

"Makes sense," Narra agreed reluctantly.

"Of course, Oz could have been sent here to soften our stance, so we let down our guard," Dodonna continued. "Look at how we're talking about Vader. This conversation would have been unthinkable a few months ago."

"True." Narra frowned. "If we let Oz leave...we'll have to move base again. We won't be protected from Vader if he's gone."

"No. We make our stand here. We are forewarned now."

"And what was that about General Kenobi?" Willard asked. "That came out of nowhere."

Narra opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "'And by the way, a legendary Jedi Master and Republic General was my next door neighbor in the middle of a desert on a nearly barren planet.' Do you see why sometimes I think I'm hallucinating?"

"This isn't funny," Willard said, but laughed anyway. "Still...I vote we give him the shuttle," he said, and Narra nodded his agreement.

"I concur. However, finalize with Commander Dreis in the morning to be certain he has no objections," Dodonna said. "At worst, we'll lose a ship and a troublemaker. At best, we'll get him out of our hair for awhile and maybe gain a Jedi."

"At worst, we'll lose a Jedi," Narra corrected softly.

Dodonna looked at him and Narra held the stare without blinking.

Willard broke the awkward moment. "Do you think when Oz occasionally makes those profound statements, like the one about promises and honor...he's quoting Vader?"

The general gazed at the ceiling. "Don't make me think about it. Just don't."

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