Revealed Identities
Chapter 13: Meeting Places
Anakin let out a frustrated sigh as he felt his son's Force presence go into the un-mistakable tremor of unconsciousness. The only bright side that Anakin could see to this whole mess was while Luke was in that state, he would be easier to find. He let a shiver run over him. He had forgotten how cold space was. Anakin drew the old Jedi robes he had scavenged from his ship around him tightly.
He'd been surprised that he still had them, though he had been upset to find that he did not have his favorite lightsaber any longer. Then he recalled seeing Luke with it. He had learned in his youth the necessity of always having a lightsaber. Anakin had put plenty of extras in the storage department, so he had a good supply of them. He had two clipped to his utility belt, and upon taking a closer examination of them, he realized that one was his old Jedi Master's. He had forgotten that he had taken it from the heap of clothes Obi-Wan had left behind after his death. It was the only thing that he had of his former master's.
He blew out a deep breath. Obi-Wan had been the closest thing he had ever had to a father. Anakin reflected on the days that he had spent with the Emperor and felt incredibly foolish for not seeing the so called "fatherly affection" as nothing more than lies and deceit. It would have killed him inside at one point if anything had happened to Obi-Wan, but if anything bad had happened to the Emperor...Anakin let out a short laugh. Who would have cared? Not him. Such was the way of the Sith master and apprentice relationship. If a master or apprentice died, it was a loss only in time to find a new apprentice if he died. If the master died, the apprentice reaped the benefits.
The Emperor needed to die. There was no way around it. His abilities in the Force made him dangerous, and the only thing that can be done about a dark Jedi, is death. Though doubts were starting to cloud Vader's mind. He had never dreamed that he would ever venture back from the darkside and perhaps the Emperor could be turned from the darkside. Anakin shook his head. There had never been any light in the Emperor though. He had never been a Jedi, as Anakin had been. Yes, the only resolution was to destroy Palpatine. Anakin groaned. That was the easy part...getting his son, and possibly even his daughter to forgive him would be the hard part.
Luke sat up groggily. Leia was the first to see him start to stir, but Jallishka reached him first.
"Steady," the alien warned, "You do not wish to reopen that wound of yours before the bacta has healed you." Luke put his hand up to feel the familiar form of a bacta patch. Why was his head always getting banged around? At this rate, he would be brain dead before he reached the age of 25.
"What happened?" Luke wondered.
"A personal assassin of the Emperor's. He must know that you are not dead. We left Rempinto last night in case he had any more spies around." Jallishka explained.
"Artoo is doing a thorough scan of the Falcon as we speak for any tracking devices, and, for some reason, he did not wish for me to help." Threepio added.
"We still didn't find out more about Nekem." Luke put in.
"Right now, I'm more worried about the Empire finding you." Han said. Luke held back a smile. He wasn't sure of it yet, but he had a feeling that Han cared about his friends a lot more than he was willing to let on.
"What happened to the assassin?" Luke asked.
"She's dead. I heard someone aboard the ship, and by the time I convinced Chewie to let us come to you, she was already here." Chewie growled something indignantly.
"Yeah," Han muttered, "how did you get those knives? We searched you." Han looked pointedly at Jallishka.
"I am here of my own free will. If necessary, I am sure I could find a way to escape. The only reason I stay is to make sure nothing happens to Skywalker. Lord Vader ordered me to do so, and last night I did. The woman had already knocked you out when I began throwing knives at her. One hit her directly through her temple." Jallishka explained. The group of friends shared a shudder at the thought of such an experienced assassin within their midst. Leia decided to change the subject.
"I should make contact with base." Leia suggested. "Luke better come with me. We need to let the commanders know that he's not really dead." Leia got up and headed to the cockpit. Luke followed.
Luke and Leia stood before the transmitter, feeling slightly awkward and out of place.
"How much do we tell them?" Luke commented nervously.
"We need to tell them that you're not dead." Leia answered wryly. Luke rolled his eyes.
"I meant, that were siblings, or that our father is-"
"Don't say it." Leia cut him off. "This is all too strange. How can he be my father? He killed MY father. My father lived on Alderaan and was a great man. Bail raised me, and taught me so much. Vader tortured me. He made you the most wanted man in the galaxy. It's all just too much." Luke embraced her in a brotherly hug.
"There's something different in him now. I don't know how to explain it. Perhaps it's the Force trying to guide me, but I've been hearing these...voices, or something, and they've been telling me to do things. They tried to warn me about that assassin last night, and they warned me about Jallishka before. They keep telling me that Vader is okay. It's all so bizarre." When Leia didn't respond, Luke changed the subject to business. "Well, let's just let the rest of the Alliance know that I'm okay, and we're on our way to finding out what happened to Nekem. I mean, we're off planet now, so we can check the advice of those Toydarians." Luke smiled.
"Alright." Leia sighed. "We should have it coded just in case someone is tracking us: short and sweet. Harder for them to break the code that way."
The Emperor was rarely ever truly happy, but today he was the furthest from it that he had been in a long time. To say that he was mad would have been an understatement. Not only was Skywalker not dead, but Vader was not either. He was starting to doubt his foresight abilities, and that was something that he did not like.
He knew that Jade was dead, and that was a pity. The Emperor had begun to actually start to like her. However, Palpatine also knew that she could be replaced. No big deal there. But Vader, on the other hand, would be much harder. Where was he to find an apprentice now? The Emperor gazed out over the grand city of Coruscant. The twilight colors danced magnificently over the planet.
Of course! Skywalker could be his next apprentice. He had planned on turning the boy by killing Vader, but now, he would just have to think of something else.
"Milord." One of his guards interrupted his thoughts.
"What is it?" Palpatine hissed. The guard handed him several data cards.
"This is the information that Nekem was able to give us. There is a significant amount about Skywalker in it." Palpatine smiled.
"Ah, yes. This will be put to good use. Go back to your business." Palpatine dismissed his guard as he greedily looked at the data card. Yes, he knew it was only a matter of time before Skywalker was his. The Emperor's foul mood had turned into one of deranged pleasure. If he were patient, he would have his newest puppet soon enough.
Anakin swore softly underneath his breath as he felt his son's Force presence fade further and further away from Rempinto. He had wanted to contact his son before Luke returned to the Rebellion.
He decided to contact him through the Force.
'Luke' Anakin sent.
Luke stiffened. It was that voice again. The one that claimed to be Anakin Skywalker.
"Leia," Luke turned to his sister, "I think Vader is trying to contact me through the Force." Luke explained. Leia straightened her shoulders back.
"Do you think he was in range to receive the message that we sent?" Leia asked, her voice full of concern.
"No." Luke answered honestly. "But I don't know what to say to him. I believe Jallishka. I really believe what I told you before hand. It seems that he really wants to change. Perhaps...perhaps we should talk to him."
"I don't want to see him." Leia inhaled sharply.
"Well, I do. I need to see if I can do something. I will always regret it if I do nothing." Leia nodded her head.
"Do what you can. We can drop you off at a nearby planet, and Jallishka can come with you. It sure does seem that he will go to great lengths to protect you. Talk to Vader, or, whatever it is you do within your mind. There is no way I want him to follow us." Leia wrapped her arms around herself. Luke could see that she was utterly repulsed by the idea that Vader was her sire. She seemed to take it that with him as her father, it made her responsible for everything that he did. However, he also saw how much she wanted him to want redemption. That was saying to her that her father was not as bad as he made out to be. Still, the idea of Vader being good was not something anyone was going to take lightly. Luke would give her as much time as she needed to battle out her demons.
'Father?' Luke sent through the Force.
'Yes?' The quiet voice sent back hopefully.
'Let's designate a meeting place. Jallishka will come with me.' Luke hoped that he was making the right decision.
'Is your sister coming?' Luke inhaled a deep breath.
'You knew about her?' He asked accusingly.
'When I brushed your mind not to long ago, I felt her presence. It was like yours, only...different. Just like normal twins, and you just confirmed it for me.' Luke winced as he realized that he could have just given away vital information.
'She does not wish to come.' There was a long pause before Vader answered.
'She hates me.' Anakin sent through the Force. He knew that she did, but to be rejected to even be talked to hurt like hell. Anakin cursed himself a thousand times over for ruining his own life. He could have been happy, if only he had done what Obi-Wan had told him to.
'We can meet at Gefoga.' Luke suggested. Anakin checked to see how far away it was. It was less than two parsecs, so that would work out well.
'I will find you there.' Anakin assured him.
'Fine then.' Luke cut the conversation off there.
"I will do my best to be worthy to be called your father."
Next part...Face to Face
(Just as an fyi, when I first wrote this fic, I actually asked people in the author's notes if they wanted to see Mara end up as an important character or not, and the reviewers who responded said no. I do actually really love Mara!)