Day 9: Ghosts
Summary: As long as Luke can remember, he's always seen the tall dark shadowy ghost. As he ages, the ghost becomes more defined and starts to communicate with him.
The ghost had always been there for as long as Luke could remember. Apparently, as a baby, he used to stare where no one was and just start crying. And as he grew and recognized the ghost, it still scared him. He would run and hide under his covers at night as an odd cold would settle over him. He had stolen more covers in hope of keeping the chill away, but it was still there. It felt like a hand resting on his head, shoulder, or against his back.
As he grew older he learned the hard way to ignore the ghost and not to mention it. Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen always grew concerned when he mentioned it, but told him it was nothing more than a bad dream. If that was true, why was the ghost always there? When he had mentioned it to other kids, they all made fun of him. So he stopped talking about it, but that didn't make the ghost go away.
At first, the ghost was nothing more than a tall large dark shadow, but as Luke grew the shadow became more defined. First came the face with large black eyes and a triangular mouth. Then the cape and arms. It almost looked like a droid, but why would a ghost look like a droid?
Sometimes the ghost hovered close to him. Usually when he was working in the garage putting together his skyhopper, fixing vaporators, or working on droids. Maybe the ghost was a droid as it seemed quite interested in fixing things. It would even point at tools or a part Luke was looking for.
Other times the ghost would linger in a corner, silently watching. It especially kept its distance when Luke's aunt or uncle was around. Only at night, when Luke pretended to sleep did the ghost get close enough to touch him and most nights it did. However, what used to cause Luke to shiver and cower under the blankets, he eventually found the touch soothing.
Despite all of this, Luke still knew the ghost was dangerous. Not to him, but to others. The first time the ghost acted was when Luke was still quite little. He was with his aunt while she shopped at the market in Anchorhead. He hadn't been looking where he was going and bumped into the leg of a large scary man. The man bent over and growled at him saying Luke would make a nice meal. Luke whelped and ran back to his aunt and clutched her skirt, but the ghost . . .
The ghost raised an arm and suddenly the scary man started to choke. People started to notice as he fell to his knees. Someone rushed over and started pounding on his back, but it didn't help. Soon the man fell to the sand and didn't move again. Aunt Beru grabbed Luke's hand and they immediately returned to their speeder and left.
"Did that man die?" Luke asked quietly.
"Of course not," Aunt Beru lied.
But Luke knew; he knew the ghost had killed that man.
The next incident was when Luke was playing with his friends. They were racing around some rocks on the outskirts of town, but one of the boys pushed Luke down and laughed. Suddenly, the boy flew and his body hit a large rock. He was still and quiet and Luke ran for help.
He learned then that the ghost would hurt people who hurt or threatened him, so he tried to stay out of trouble.
By the time he was fifteen, the ghost had a very clear appearance of a humanoid man dressed in all black with a black mask and helmet.
"Are you a droid?" Luke asked one day bored while he did his chores around the farm.
The ghost shook its head. Luke paused.
"Wait . . . you can . . . understand me?"
A nod. Yes.
"Are you a ghost?"
He had to ask. He had to know.
A nod. Yes. Yes, it was a ghost.
"Oh. Then . . . then why me? Why not go haunt someone else?"
The ghost raised its hand and pointed at Luke. Actually, it pointed at his heart. Then it pointed at its own heart.
"What does that mean?" Luke grumbled.
The ghost only walked over and placed a hand on his head, but the only thing Luke felt was coldness where the ghost touched.
After that, the ghost seemed to be a bit more involved. Seemed to linger closer and more often. It appeared to be trying to help Luke whether with chores or his hobbies or with homework. And for some unexplained reason, he started talking to it. Only when he was sure he was alone where no one could hear him.
"I want to go up there one day," Luke said as he sat outside the homestead looking up at the stars. The ghost sat next to him silent and cold as always. "See the stars. All of them."
He looked over at the ghost who was watching him. The ghost slowly nodded his head; Luke smiled.
"You agree? Want to come with me? Well, I guess you don't have a choice in the matter."
When Luke was seventeen, his best friend Biggs left to join the Imperial Navy.
"Did you move this datapad here?" Luke asked the ghost.
Sometimes, though rare, the ghost was able to move things. A datapad sat on Luke's bed and he was sure he hadn't placed it there. Not where his aunt or uncle could see it. The ghost nodded.
"Why?" Luke huffed picking up the datapad and turning it on. The Imperial Cog symbol flashed on the screen and soon the words 'Imperial Navy Academy Application" popped up. "Don't tell me you want me to apply."
Another nod.
Luke threw the datapad back down on the bed. "No way my uncle will ever allow that," he muttered. "Plus . . . I don't know . . . I don't know if I should join the Empire's navy, but . . . how else am I ever going to get off this rock?" He threw himself down onto his bed. "Not like you can help."
"Go."
Luke sat up and twisted around so fast his spine cracked.
He looked around the room. It was empty save for him and the ghost.
"Was . . . was that you? Did you just speak?"
A nod.
"Did you tell me to go?"
Another nod.
"Easy for you to say."
The ghost walked over to the edge of the bed.
"Luke. Go."
The voice was deep but also wispy and strained. It didn't seem like talking was easy for the ghost.
"Alright," Luke said. "I'll talk to my aunt and uncle."
Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were completely against the idea of Luke joining the navy. They said he was needed on the farm at least for another season plus he was too young.
"I knew that was going to happen," Luke said as he made his rounds of the vaporators. The ghost silently trailed behind him.
He sat down against one of the vaporators allowing himself to rest in the scant shade before he had to walk to the next one. He took a long sip of water.
"Maybe they're right. I'm just some farmboy. I should just stay on the farm."
"No."
"No what?"
"Luke. You. Are. More."
A shy smile spread across his lips. "Thanks for the support, but it's not quite the same coming from a ghost."
"I. Am. More."
Luke looked up at it. "What does that mean?"
"I. Am. Father."
Despite the heat, a chill ran through him.
"What?" he asked breathlessly.
But the ghost only lowered its head. It pointed at Luke's heart and then back at his.
Luke jumped up to his feet. "Is that what you meant all that time ago? You're my father? You're really my father? All this time?"
A nod.
A million thoughts ran through him. He had always dreamed of his father coming back and taking him to the stars, but . . . he was here. He had always been here. He had been dead this entire time. He blinked back a few tears and turned away so the ghost, his father!, couldn't see.
That night Luke sat on his bed with the academy application in his hand. "So you think I should go?"
The ghost nodded.
"Do. Not. Wait. Go."
"And how am I supposed to do that? Runaway?"
The ghost nodded.
"Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen . . . I don't know if I can do that . . ."
"Go. Luke."
It wasn't for another year that he finally got the courage to do it. He had hoped that eventually his uncle and aunt would give him not only permission but also their blessing, but they never did and his father's ghost kept insisting. If Luke was honest with himself . . . he wanted to go too. He wanted to get off this planet and see the stars. He not only wanted to be like his father but also make him proud.
So one day he told his family he would be spending the night at Fixer's garage doing work on his skyhopper and racing with his friends. Instead, he went to the Imperial Garrison and told the trooper at the desk he wanted to enlist. He handed the datapad application over.
"Luke Skywalker?" the trooper asked. His voice was dull and unimpressed.
Luke nodded with a smile on his face.
"Welcome to the Empire."
Luke sent a message to his family before he boarded a speeder for Mos Espa so he could take the next Imperial transport out. His father's ghost put a hand on Luke's shoulder.
"I. Am. Proud. Luke."
Luke smiled, but it quickly vanished. He was glad his father was proud but knew his aunt and uncle would be worried sick. But he had to do this. He had to follow his heart. He just couldn't be a farmer.
The academy was hard, but Luke was determined. Plus his father was there to help. Perhaps he paid attention better in class, but he knew a lot of the answers the instructors asked. With his father's help and Luke's skill as a pilot, he graduated at the top of his class.
"I got my first deployment," Luke said.
He had waited until his roommate left before he opened the message. He wanted to share this moment with his father, who loomed behind Luke's shoulder.
"Let's see . . . wait . . . the Devastator? That can't be right!" He looked up at his father. "This is a mistake. That's Lord Vader's ship. No way would they let a rookie fresh out of the academy join their ranks!"
"Luke. No. Mistake."
"Father . . . I don't know if I can do this," he said as he sat down on the edge of his bunk.
"You. Can."
Luke looked up at him.
"Do. Not. Worry. I. Will. Be. There."
Luke took solace in that. At least his father would be there with him, but as they boarded the shuttle he noticed something was off with the ghost. He was no longer as clear.
"Father?" Luke whispered.
The ghost said nothing. By the time the shuttle landed in the hangar of the star destroyer, the ghost was nothing more than a black shadow. Luke wanted nothing more than to get his room assignment and lock the door. He needed to talk with his father. Why was this happening?
He barely paid attention to the officer who gave the newbies their orientation. He just kept glancing at his father who seemed to be fading and slowly losing his details.
Why? Why!
He had said he would be there with him. Luke couldn't lose him now. He had always been there. His whole life. He didn't know if he could do this without him.
"Skywalker. Skywalker?"
"Huh. Yes?"
"Your room assignment," the orientation officer said in an annoyed voice.
"Thank you, sir," Luke said. "Which deck should I report to?"
"You are requested at Lord Vader's office," the officer said.
Luke's face paled. "What? Why?" He didn't have time for this! He looked over and his father was nothing more than a dark undefined shadow.
"You are being assigned to the Black Squadron. Lord Vader is the commander."
He was being assigned to the Black Squadron? Lord Vader's personal squad? There were tons of rumors about Lord Vader at the academy. That he had mystical powers. That he had eyes in the back of his head. That he was really a droid. But also he was a really good pilot and his squadron, the Black Squadron, was the best of the best. Sure, Luke had graduated at the top of his class, but he was still a rookie. People spent years working up towards the elite squads.
"You are to report right now, Skywalker," the officer said. "You do not want to keep your new commander waiting. Your bag will be taken to your room. Now go. Your escort is here."
Luke wanted to protest. He wanted to ask to go to the refresher. He just needed to talk to his father. Too many things were happening. He couldn't even whisper to his father's ghost with the escort. Luke was trembling as he walked down the hall, but his thoughts were far away from meeting the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy. His thoughts were completely on his father, who was now nothing more than a wisp of smoke.
What could he say to get away? But nothing came to mind and soon the trooper paused in front of a door. It slid open and the trooper gestured inside. Luke stepped inside and looked around for his father. He wasn't there. He wasn't there!
Tears started to burn in his eyes. What had happened? He had always been there! Always! He said he would be there!
"Luke Skywalker."
"Father!" Luke blurted out as he snapped his head up.
He blanked. Once. Twice.
A man stood in front of him . . . tall and wearing all black with a helmet and mask on with a long black cape on. He looked just like . . . the ghost . . . his father's ghost. But . . . he wasn't a ghost. This wasn't a ghost!
The figure stepped forward.
"So you know the truth?" the man said. His voice was deep and rumbling and real. It was far from the ghost's voice.
"The truth? Forgive me, sir. I spoke out of turn. I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to meet with Lord Vader."
The man said nothing for several long moments. Only the sound of his breathing through a respirator was heard.
"I am Lord Vader," he finally said. "Why did you call me father?"
This . . . THIS was Lord Vader? And Luke had called him father? His cheeks turned bright red.
"I am so sorry, my lord. Please forgive me. I . . . I . . ."
What was he going to say? Sorry I mistook you for the ghost of my father?
"Come," Vader said as he turned around and walked over to his desk. He took a seat behind it and he waved Luke to the seat in front of it. Luke sat down, and as he did so his eyes scanned the room. No sign of the ghost. "Luke Skywalker from Tatooine? Correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"It says on application to the academy your father was Anakin Skywalker. Is that correct?"
The ghost had told him to write that.
"Ye- yes," Luke said. Where was his father? He was always there. Always. Even when Luke hadn't wanted the ghost there. It was there.
"A sample of your blood was collected while you were at the academy and compared against your fathers," Vader continued. "It appears you are telling the truth."
What? Why did they take his blood? And how did they have his father's blood? He had been dead almost twenty years now! What was going on?
"We have much to talk about, young one," Vader said.
"We do?" Luke whispered.
"What do you know about your father?"
"My f- father, sir?"
"Yes."
"My father is dead, sir."
The room suddenly became cold.
"Your father is not dead," Vader growled.
Luke opened his mouth to protest. Yes, he was. His ghost had been by his side all of his life but moments ago! Since he came to this ship!
"I am your father," Vader said.
But- wait- that- how-
"That's not true!" Luke said. "That's impossible! You can't be my father! You're alive!"
"Search your feelings, Luke. You know this to be true."
It couldn't be true. It . . . Yes, Vader looked just like his father's ghost. But that didn't mean anything! It just couldn't be!
Luke.
His father! He looked around the office. He couldn't see the ghost anywhere.
It's. True.
"But how?" he asked softly and unintentionally aloud.
Vader stood up and walked around his desk. He placed a hand on Luke's shoulder. The gesture was so painfully familiar.
"Do not worry, my son," Vader said as he looked at Luke. "I am here."