"And don't speak unless you're spoken to."

"We won't."

"All right," mom smoothed down the sides of her dark blue dress that had been dropped off. It was clear she didn't like it, but her stomach was so big and it appeared to help her move about. Luke wished she wasn't so worried; he was sure nothing bad would happen on the tour of the ship. Secretly, he was excited to get out of the apartment, though he wasn't about to tell her that. Letting out a long breath she straightened up. "Let's go."

Darth Vader had been waiting outside the apartment and soon they were walking behind him in deathly silence, not knowing where they were being taken. All they'd been told was that he was taking them on a tour of the ship, and that it was compulsory.

It was strange, following him with nobody speaking, but he certainly wasn't going to disobey his mom so soon after she'd told them to stay close, keep quiet and behave. He felt shy and reserved watching the tall caped man before him but simultaneously he didn't feel afraid. He knew he should be though, judging by his mom's emotional state. Maybe he should try to remember all the terrible things he'd done, but he found it hard to imagine evil. It was so beyond his nature; he couldn't really fathom such behaviour. He thought again about Anakin. How could it be that he was once a good man that mom loved, and now he was this? Luke ran a hand through his floppy blonde hair, wondering whether he would ever be able to understand.

Walking down endless grey corridors that all looked the same, it didn't take long before he started to feel bored. Several times he saw an unusual looking room or a locked door which he wanted to investigate, but he couldn't go and explore. He was almost beginning to think there was nothing on the tour worth seeing.

That was until they reached the hangar bay.

Rounding a corner and walking through a large sliding door, Luke stared wide-eyed and open mouthed around the huge cavernous room, drinking in the sight.

Rows of white lights stretched from the floor up to the ceiling down the length of the bay. They threw beams of light down onto numerous starships and fighters, making their metal plating and dark windows glisten. The ships were huge and he'd never wanted to explore something so badly in his whole life. He was instantly jealous of the pilots and mechanics who stood by the gleaming vessels, working on repairs and logging reports.

Over the low hum of all the machinery, the room echoed with the sound of beeping droids, conversation between the men, muffled comlink audio and the sound of boots walking over the hard floor. Droids he'd never seen before except in classroom textbooks rolled across the glossy black deck, helping the stormtroopers and men in dark grey uniforms who stood about, speaking into comm devices and holding data pads. There were also men higher up in the rooms that looked down over the bay, monitoring various flashing panels with functions Luke could only guess at.

At the far end of the hangar, framed in a rectangular border of white light, the twinkling stars of space could be seen. The ships could fly in and out so easily whenever they wanted. He was star struck by the potential to have such freedom in a spaceship. To go wherever he wanted in the galaxy…what could possibly be better than that?

His feet seemed to move of their own accord carrying him forward and he was about to run when he remembered what mom had told him and he resisted the urge, though it tested his self-restraint to the limit to do so. He could see Leia almost hopping from foot to foot, equally desperate to run about. Instead, they had to walk behind Vader across the bay at an achingly slow pace.

Vader spoke for the first time since picking them up from the apartment. He gestured to the busy scene before him, speaking with his deep rumbling voice to the three of them.

"This is the largest hangar bay on the ship. It can hold TIE fighters, boarding craft, land assault units, hyperspace probes, or it can be used to hold captured craft."

Luke was sure his eagerness to explore was radiating out through the Force as well as being written all over his face because Vader looked directly at him and then at his mom, who had been silent the entire walk so far, her arms crossed stiffly across her chest. He had seen her in this mood before a few times with father back at home when they quarrelled. However, it didn't usually stay for very long and he hoped today would be the same. Gently he tugged on the edge of her dress to try his luck but she didn't look at him.

"If Luke and Leia wish to look around, they have my permission," he spoke to her, his thumbs in his belt. "They are in no danger here."

Glancing at Vader wearily, whom she had been avoiding looking at until now, she placed a hand on each of their shoulders, giving them a squeeze. Then she nodded. "Just be careful," she said softly.

Off like a bolt, he and Leia raced across the huge shiny floor like springs that had been compressed and released. Stretching their limbs they sprinted freely, flying towards the furthest ship from them - a stationery TIE fighter. The stormtroopers let them run, seemingly indifferent to their presence and the uniformed men watched them pass, their expressions curious.

Luke's bruises had all but disappeared thanks to the bacta, but the troopers still made him nervous. He and Leia gave them a wide berth, winding between crates and droids until they reached the fighter, touching it and marvelling at how small they were compared to its great vertical wings. Gasping for breath they looked back the way they had come and then they were off again, racing each other back for the fun of it.

Grinning, he almost bowled over his mom as he wrapped his arms around her, signalling to Leia that he'd made it back first. It felt great to win the race and beat his sister who rarely lost at anything. They ran around some more, going to the other side of the bay and up the stairs then back down, all the while his mother and Vader stood in tense silence, but he was too excited to really notice. A few surprised officers nearly dropped their cups of caf as the two of them raced past underfoot like womp rats.

Once they'd scoped out the entire floor and found the most impressive looking ship, they raced back to the adults, their breath beginning to burn in their chests.

"Can we go inside that ship?" Leia panted, pointing to the one they had found.

She directed the question at their mom but they knew the one she had to ask was Vader, and that was something that they were too afraid to ask directly.

"May they look inside the ship?" she repeated coldly to their tour guide.

"Of course," Vader agreed.

He marched to where Leia had pointed, his black cape fluttering with his strides, and pressed some commands on a panel to lower the ramp. It was a striking vessel with three large wings pointing upwards and a heavy frontal head that appeared to be where the pilots sat.

"This is a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle, also known as an imperial shuttle," Vader told them some information and Luke drank it up, eager to know everything about the ship. "It has two forward-facing double laser cannons, two wing-mounted double cannons and a rear-facing double laser cannon. It is also equipped with a hyperdrive for deep space travel."

He longed to run inside and see these controls as the ship finished its opening cycle but he held back, waiting for permission from his mom and from Vader. He was scared in case he did something wrong.

"You may look inside," Vader said as if sensing his thoughts, his helmet rotating to look at the ship and then back to him and Leia.

Once mom had nodded to them again, they were off, running up the ramp like they'd never seen anything so exciting, and they hadn't. Everything inside was fascinating: the lights, the buttons, the seats, the compartments and carpeted floor, everything!

"Let's pretend we're Mandalorians and this is our ship," Leia urged him from the co-pilot's seat as she settled down, pretending to put on a helmet and preparing an imaginary blaster.

From the view in the front, they could only see the walls and ceiling of the bay. Luke remembered that mom was alone with Vader and reluctantly he told Leia he should probably check everything's alright before they got into their game. She agreed to wait for him and so he headed back outside. Plodding down the ramp he saw them standing in silence, totally ignoring each other as droids and troopers went about their work behind them. Mom's arms were still crossed over her stomach and she was radiating a nervous energy that made Luke feel guilty for wanting to play, but it wouldn't be for long.

"Is it alright if we play inside the ship for a while?" he asked anxiously, fiddling with the hem of his jacket.

"For a bit, but don't touch anything inside," she said, glancing at the man beside her, her voice stern.

"But Leia's already…pressed some stuff," he said, glancing between her and Vader's expressionless mask. Suddenly he was afraid that he would be angry with them both.

"What did she press?" Vader asked and Luke felt deeply uncomfortable under his gaze, but was relieved there was no annoyance through the Force.

"I…I'm not sure. Some buttons I think."

"Let me check everything is in order," he said, walking up the ramp alarmingly close to him. Luke moved aside as his cape brushed over his boots, then followed Vader's tall figure into the ship whilst his mom waited outside, her worried expression only deepening.

Leia was moving the controls about, unaware of who was there with them. "Luke we've got to get out of here and jump to hyperspace, the troopers are trying to steal our bounty!"

She turned and froze when she saw Vader, immediately going silent and looking down at her lap, her pale cheeks reddening. The ship's confined interior and low lighting made the man seem even bigger and scarier than usual. He easily filled the space between the floor and the ceiling, looming like a demon from a storybook. Glancing over the controls he gave a nod, ignoring the remark about the troopers and Leia's shoulders visibly sagged a little with relief.

"Everything appears in order. Be careful not to activate any of the start-up controls here," he rumbled, pointing with a gloved finger to a small section of the many buttons and switches that swept across the cockpit's dashboard. "And do not touch these either," he pointed to a few more.

Luke spied a big red button and was dying to press it. He knew Vader was about to leave and took a chance, though his heart raced and his voice sounded shakier than he would've liked.

"What does this button do?" he pointed at it.

It was the first time he had spoken to Vader directly and without prompt. In the small space of the cockpit, having the man there was intimidating and he felt like a nuna before a krayt dragon, but Luke wanted to know, and this man, evil as mother said he was, must know how the ship worked at least. Surely, he wouldn't lose his life just for asking one question?

Vader hesitated for a moment, perhaps surprised that he had asked. "That turns on the primary engines."

"Oh," he let out a relieved breath. Vader didn't seem annoyed at all. He took another look at the panel of temptingly pressable buttons. Should he ask about them? He really wanted to.

"What about this one?"

"That button activates the air conditioning."

Oh, not as interesting. Luke looked again and asked about more buttons until he was sure the man would get annoyed, but he didn't. Instead, he answered with a strange kind of patience, one that reminded him of his dad when he would ask him a million and one questions.

He wished he was here now to see the ship. Dad would love to see all this, he thought. Then he remembered that his father was a Jedi, and had probably seen everything already. Well, he would still like to fly with him one day. That was one of his dreams.

Beside him Leia was looking less nervous than before in the co-pilot's seat, but he could see she was hesitant to speak and was looking fixedly at the controls instead of at Vader.

"Have you driven this ship?" he asked, feeling at ease enough to venture off the topic of ship controls, though he was still nervous. He knew that if his mom was in here now, he'd be in a heap of trouble for being so talkative.

"No, not this one."

Luke turned to look out the windows on his tip toes as he couldn't see any of the ships he knew were down there. "What about the other ones in the bay?"

"Yes, I have flown some of them."

Luke's eyes widened with excitement. "Which ones?"

They talked for a while about the different ships he'd flown and Luke listened, wishing he could also do the same. Leia joined the conversation a little later, not having the same interest in the ships themselves but rather the destinations you could get to with them. She was shy initially but as was typical with Leia, it didn't take long to come out of her shell and alarmingly, they forgot who they were talking with as the excitement of the conversation had them reeling.

"Have you seen lots of planets?" she asked, playing with her fingers and appearing to look innocent. Luke wondered if it was because she had been so rude to him when he had come to their apartment before.

"Yes. I travel frequently."

"Have you been to Coruscant?" Luke asked.

His respirator sound repeated a few times and he nodded slowly. "Yes. Many times."

"Our mom said she used to work there, as a senator," Leia said proudly.

"I want to go there!" Luke exclaimed, imagining it in his head.

Vader hesitated again before answering. "I am sure as you grow older you will travel to all the places your heart's desire."

"Did you go to the imperial academy when you were younger?" Luke asked, wondering about the school that they would soon be forced to go to. Remembering the separation from his mom that would follow, his heart hardened. He remembered who he was talking to. Perhaps he shouldn't have asked about the ship controls, but his curiosity seemed to be getting the better of him.

"No."

"Where did you train?" Leia asked.

"I…trained somewhere else."

"Where?" she pushed.

"Enough questions. Your mother is waiting," he began to turn away, finished with their interrogation though he was not detectably angry. "I want to show you the bridge."

Trailing after him immediately, the twins were silent once again as they regrouped with their mom and began another long walk, leaving the hangar bay and travelling down more grey corridors and then speeding upwards in a turbolift. Luke wasn't a big fan of elevators and he clutched his mom's hand. When he and Leia had been in one with Vader before, he'd been too shellshocked from meeting the Emperor to notice the way his stomach lurched. She squeezed his hand in reassurance, drawing him closer to her as they ascended.

When they slowed down, he let out a grateful exhale of breath and they exited into a wide corridor. On either side there were meeting rooms and other important-looking function spaces. Mom was still on edge, becoming increasingly tense the more they travelled onwards and the uniformed staff around them became numerous. All of them were regarding them with a mixture of surprise, confusion and curiosity as they passed, though they tried to be discreet about it. Luke squeezed her hand to reassure her this time and she squeezed it back.

They arrived in a large dimly lit room with a central catwalk leading forward to a panoramic view of space, and on either side of the walkway, men worked in crewpits, pushing hundreds of multi-coloured lights and buttons and sending messages with an efficient air. He wondered what all the buttons they were pushing did, and wanted to ask Vader, but he checked himself. Remember why mother is wary. He's a monster. Keep your mouth shut.

So, with great determination Luke kept silent as they ambled across the bridge, but Leia left the group and went ahead boldly, eager to see the panoramic view. She waved him over and with a wary glance up at Vader's expressionless helmet he went to join her, sensing that it was alright to do so. He wasn't sure how he knew; he just did. Again, that strange sense of certainty settled on him.

Leaning over the panels on their tiptoes so they could see out the window, they peered down at the colossal stretch of ship before them, meeting at a pointed tip that pressed forward into the blackness of space. It was exciting to see, and Leia pointed down at the moving radar panels, deflector shields and cannons, excited as he was at being in such an amazingly different place to any they'd seen before. If only their friends at school could see them now!

"This is the bridge," Vader said from behind them and they turned around. Luke buried his questions and his curiosity, though it was hard.

"It is the central hub of this star destroyer's activity. Everything on this ship is controlled here. Observe. Admiral Piett!" he turned to the side and addressed a man in dark grey uniform with short brown hair who was standing nearby with his hands behind his back. "Direct the ship forward for a demonstration."

"Yes, my Lord," he straightened up immediately and made a quick hand motion to another man in the crewpit who pressed several buttons in quick succession. Almost instantly beneath Luke's booted feet, he felt the power of the engines whirring. Wide-eyed, he turned back to the vista and could barely contain his excitement as thousands of tons of machinery obeyed Vader's direction. It was moving! Incredible!

After a while of watching the ship powering about in different directions under Vader's orders, his mom had to use the fresher as her pregnancy made her need it more often. Shooting them a warning look that translated as: don't try anything, she was escorted down the hallway by two stormtroopers. He and Leia had wanted to accompany her but Vader reassured them that she was safe. Somehow, Luke knew again that he was telling the truth.

Once their mom was out of the room Darth Vader moved away from the two of them and spoke in low tones to another member of his seemingly endless supply of uniformed men. Luke went and sat in a nearby chair, spinning it round as fast as he could until the tour resumed. Leia was beside him, looking at another panel of curious controls. As he entertained himself in the chair, he wondered about something that had been in the back of his mind for a while now.

With his real father back home, they'd done plenty of training exercises using the Force to create mental shields and communicate in a simple way, much to the confusion of their mom when they had secret exchanges of information. But it went deeper than that. Through the Force, their dad had been a constant presence nearby, a beacon of safety and love that was always there if they needed it. When they'd been taken from Bakura, they'd been ripped away from that warmth, and the mental pathway to the presence of their dad was empty now. Through the bond was not broken, it was in shadow. He was too far away for them to sense.

However, when Luke closed his eyes now, he could feel the presence of Darth Vader nearby on a new pathway. It was dark, cold and entirely uninviting, but he wondered what would happen if he reached out to Vader mentally. He did this so frequently with his own dad, whether it was for reassurance, to get his attention or to convey a secret message without the girls in the house knowing. What would happen if he tried it?

He was thinking these crazy thoughts because he could've sworn that he felt Vader brush up against his own shields when they first met and they'd been taken prisoner, but he hadn't attempted to do so again. Was he consciously keeping his distance from them in the Force? Perhaps to keep him and Leia from being alarmed? Or was it because he didn't care enough to investigate?

Luke wasn't sure. Perhaps he had imagined that faint brush against his mind anyway. But regardless, something was drawing him in and it was hard to resist the pull of curiosity. If he reached out with his mind, seeking him, what would he find? It was a terrifying thought, but one he had to know. Mom said he had been Anakin once. Was Anakin inside his mind still? Would he hear him? Would he recognise his son? Was he going to get the telling off of his life if this went wrong? Would Vader throw him in anger like he had done to Watto? He didn't think that he would.

"I know what's going on in your head Luke," Leia whispered, spinning the chair to face her. Familiar brown eyes and a serious expression came immediately into view. "Don't reach out to him, he will hurt you if he feels you wandering around in his mind."

He scoffed. "Like I'd even get that far. He probably has the most impressive shields ever. Anyway, we're not that strong in the Force yet," he reasoned, trying to spin the chair away from her but his sister's arms were too strong. "Dad said we still have so much to learn. He might not even be able to sense me if I did try it."

"I still think it's a bad idea. Mom said not to cause trouble."

"You're telling me not to cause trouble?" he asked incredulously.

She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Luke. You're forgetting who we are with. He's dangerous, even if he has shown us around and been nice. If mom knew what we're talking about right now, she'd take the Holo away for weeks. It's not worth it."

He knew she was right, as always. If it went wrong, the punishment could be severe. But still, something was telling him to do it. "You can feel it too, can't you?"

"Feel what?"

"That he's not going to hurt us," he peered backwards over the top of the chair, watching as Vader stood with his cloaked back to them, talking quietly with one of his men. When he turned back to Leia, he knew she'd felt it too. The indignant expression was gone, replaced with a look of cautious acceptance. She let go of the chair.

"Yes. I felt it when he came to our apartment. Something felt…different. But I didn't want to say anything."

"That's what I mean. I think I should do it."

"Alright…" she conceded. "But be super careful and quiet. Don't stomp around like you do when we meditate at home."

"That's you who does that, not me."

"That's not what dad said."

Luke shushed her then closed his eyes, becoming still. Mom would be back from the fresher any minute and they didn't have time to squabble.

Tentatively, he reached out with his mind to the tall dark man behind him, something he had not yet attempted. The dark path lay before him, murky and completely unexplored. The path to Leia in comparison was bright and golden, a well-trodden and trusted route. Turning his attention back to Vader's path, he crept forward, sensing and seeking as stealthily as he could with his current level of training. Almost immediately the dark fog enveloped his mind and he shivered internally. He brushed up against something hard and impenetrable - the edge of Vader's shields. The iron fortress he had constructed around himself made Luke's shields seem like a rickety wooden fence in comparison.

With infinite tenderness, he searched the edge of the fortress, but of course there was no way through. Delicately, he pressed forward a little onto the wall to see what would happen. He doubted Vader would even be able to notice his weak attempt at reaching him.

But then, the hushed tones behind him suddenly stopped. Ice shot down his back and he went still. He had been detected.

Instead of the usual rush of warmth, love and amusement that poured forth when he knocked curiously on his dad's shields, all he felt was a desolate sense of coldness. Vader's mind was so well protected that no emotion was escaping at all. Was the dark lord angry at him? Was he surprised or glad that he had reached out? Luke couldn't tell at all.

Leia nudged him urgently and Luke opened his eyes, his mind retreating instantly from Vader and back to himself. Peeking nervously over the back of the chair, he saw the dark lord himself staring at the two of them silently with a confused officer behind him.

"I…I'm sorry," he stammered, his eyes going wide as he realised what he had done. What was he thinking, tapping on the right hand of the Emperor's mind shields?

"Sorry for what?" a feminine voice interrupted and the twins turned to see that their mom had returned from the fresher along with the two troopers. Luke's stomach dropped in pure dread. Now he was going to get the biggest scolding of his life in front of all the officers and soldiers, and that was if he lived. Steeling himself, he prepared for the for the inevitable wrath of his mother or the quick death of being vaporised on the spot by Vader. He didn't know which one was worse.

"Luke pushed a control he shouldn't have. It is nothing," Vader said, giving them another unreadable look before turning back to finish his conversation.

He slumped in the chair and Leia pinched his arm painfully before mom could see. "You were lucky there," she whispered fiercely.