Chapter 47- The Horrible Truth and Rescue

Luke felt the cold air through his clothes. Being this high up, the air was cold and the fact that he had been sweating made it ten times worse. Luke entered a control room, always on the lookout for Vader. Hopefully he could leave now before the Sith lord found him and continued his relentless battle. Luke was worn out physically and if he faced Vader again he didn't know if he had the strength to fight again. All he wanted now was a bed.

Luke ignited his lightsaber as Vader's blade came at him and he ducked. Well, sleep was now too much to hope for. Sparks flew as Vader's blade hit machinery and he forced Luke out onto the gantry.

Vader was impressed. Even with the exhaustion Luke had to be facing, the boy was holding his own against him. Vader forced Luke to the ground and held his blade to the boy's face. "You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did," Vader said ominously. With a spurt of energy, Luke batted the blade away and got to his feet. Well, Vader really should relieve his boy of the lightsaber. It was time for Luke to let it go. Vader let out a grunt as Luke struck him in the shoulder. Now, Vader was angry.

Luke got behind a weather vane and Vader severed it. Vader aimed for the blade Luke was holding with one hand and neatly sliced through the boy's wrist. Luke's scream of pain jolted Vader back to where he was. Vader remembered well what it felt like to lose a limb to a lightsaber. Vader looked at his son who was glaring at him defiantly as he tucked his injured arm in his armpit as he crawled away from him.

"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. Luke, you and your sister do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy," Vader said, as the boy crawled to a weather vane and held on with his other hand as he stared Vader down.

"I'll never join you!" Luke all but screamed out. Anakin, you're breaking my heart! You're going down a path I can't follow! Padme's voice echoed the boy's. The boy may have looked like him, but Vader could see plenty of Padme's spirit in the boy.

"If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never told you and your sister what happened to your father," Vader said, realizing that now was the best time to tell his son who he was. Lena had left. Vader had felt that all through the battle, but if he could get Luke, they could try to bring Lena back.

"He told us enough. He told us you killed him," Luke said, his voice raw with painful, angry emotion.

"No. I am your father," Vader said in a low voice. The absolute shock that crossed the boy's face was enough to break Vader's heart. Vader hadn't felt this kind of pain since Padme had died and he had thought it was his fault.

The boy shook his head in denial. "No. No. That's not true. That's impossible!" Luke screamed in shock.

"Like I told Lena, search your feelings. You know it to be true," Vader said.

"No! No!" Luke screamed, still in denial.

"Luke. You and Lena can destroy the emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son," Vader said, holding his hand out to his son. Of course Vader had used the same words on the boy's mother, but hopefully Luke in the end had always wanted a father, so even a bad father was better than no father at all and he would take Vader's offer. "Come with me. It is the only way," Vader said. Luke gave him a brief grin and let go of the weather vane, to Vader's numb shock. Okay, he hadn't seen that coming. Granted as Anakin Skywalker he used to jump off things all the time to the annoyance of Obi-Wan, but he never thought his son would do that. Maybe he should have, but it was too late now and all Vader could do was go back to his ship and wait for Lena to pick Luke up.

Just when Luke thought he would fall forever, he found himself inside a chute. He stopped briefly and looked around, his spirit as sore as the stump his hand used to be attached to. It was a blow Vader to say that he was Luke's father. It had to be a lie, but it now made Luke wonder if it was true, Did Lena even know? Vader knew that Lena was Luke's sister. So she had to have either known all these years or Vader had told her while he tortured her, Han, and Leia. Before Luke could think any further on it, the chute opened under him. Luke fell through and landed on a weather vane, hard.

Luke lifted himself up and reached out his remaining hand to the door. Maybe he wouldn't fall all the way to Bespin's core if he could get back inside the chute. Luke touched the hatch just as it moved. It slid out of his weakened grasp. "Ben, Uncle Talon, please," Luke pleaded as he reached up the reactor he was clinging to, only to be knocked back upside down.

"Ben. Leia, Lena. Hear me. Leia, Lena," Luke suddenly had the flash to call for his sister and his friend through the Force. Leia was as Force-sensitive as Lena. She would hear him just as well as Lena.

Onboard the Millennium Falcon Leia and Lena both looked at each other. "Did you hear that?" Leia asked.

"Yes. Luke. Papa, Lando, we've got to go back," Lena said sharply to her father and Lando.

"What?" Lando asked.

"We know where Luke is," Leia said.

"What about those fighters?" Lando asked as Chewbacca growled.

"Chewie, just do it," Leia said, with barely strained patience.

"But what about Vader?" Lando argued to which Chewbacca growled sharply. "All right. All right," Lando said, raising his hands in surrender as Talon and Chewbacca turned the ship back.

Vader made the way down the corridor, the numbness wearing off from what he had just witnessed as his men joined him. "Alert my Stardestroyer to prepare for my arrival," Vader said, not even looking back as he issued the order. He stalked across the platform to his ship and they made their way back to the Devastator.

They came back to Cloud City as the sun was setting and went under the city where the weather vanes were. "Look, someone's up there," Lando said as they all looked at a shape that was upside down and barely clinging to one of the vanes.

"It's Luke. Chewie, slow down. Slow down and we'll get under him," Talon ordered sharply, fixing his blue eyes on the spot.

"Lando, open the top hatch," Leia said.

Chewbacca growled as he and Talon went under the weather. vane. "O.K. Easy, Chewie," Talon said. Chewbacca and Talon came to a stop. Lena bit her lips as Luke then let go of the weather vane.

"Lando?" Leia asked

"O.K. Let's go," Lando said sharply and Lena felt a sense of relief flood her at her brother's presence in the Force.