Chapter 10: Discovery

Vader tapped his fingers against the table, trying to concentrate on reading an intelligence report, but failing miserably. The trash compactor incident, as it was now known among the palace staff, was still weighing on his mind. Perhaps he should have threatened the Grand Moff to be sure of his silence. It was highly unlikely that he would dare to tell anyone, even if he discovered Luke was his son. But there was a slight nagging in the back of his mind, that maybe he should have done just a bit more ...

The doors slid open and an assistant entered the room, looking nervous. More nervous than usual, even. He was holding a hardcopy printout of a HoloNet newsfeed.

"What is it?" Vader asked.

The lieutenant wordlessly held up the paper so he could see the half-page headlines.

Exclusive: Lord Vader's Secret Son!

Vader rose to his feet quickly. "Wake Luke and tell him he is not to leave the premises."

"I went to his bedroom first, sir, but he was not there and his school bag has been taken. He must have left early."

"Then take a speeder and retrieve him. And have this story removed from the network immediately."

"We've already started making arrangements, but the story has been picked up by several other underground sources, and is—"

Vader waved a hand to cut him off. "Go and find Luke."

"At once, sir."

The library was mostly deserted before class, so it was a good time to make copies of the holos without being disturbed by nosy students. The only other occupants were a couple of seniors bent over their homework, and a few librarian droids.

After he'd made his fifth copy, a droid rolled into the copy room, and Luke quickly tried to gather everything up.

"I hope this is for a school project," she said. "Use of the copy machine for personal reasons is not allowed."

"Of course!" Luke said. Unfortunately, one of the copies slipped out of his grasp and activated as it hit the ground.

"Ah, Senator Amidala," the droid observed, retrieving the holo in one of her many appendages. "You must be studying the Old Republic."

"You ... you know her?" Luke said, trying not to sound as surprised as he felt.

"There is a record concerning her in my databanks. She is a person of historical note."

"Sorry, who did you say she was? A senator?"

"She represented the Chommell sector in the Galactic senate during the last five years of the Old Republic. This hologram you have here is one I've never seen in any of the standard texts. Where did you find it?"

"Listen, do you know if she was ever married?" Luke asked, urgently.

"There is no record of any marriage in my databanks. She died young."

"How did she die?"

"She was killed by the Jedi during their attempt to overthrow the government."

Luke stared blankly, trying to digest this news. His mother had been murdered. No wonder his father could not even bring himself to mention her name. He must have taken it hard. Perhaps the Jedi who murdered her was the same one who told his aunt and uncle that his father was dead.

The signal for the start of classes sounded in the distance, and the droid passed the holo back.

"You must go to class. I can help you with more research if you come back in the break."

"Thank you," Luke said. "You've been a lot of help already."

He walked towards the exit, struggling to get his copies into his bag. In his distraction, he bumped into someone coming in.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking up to see Sethi, a student in his geography class.

"Luke! Shouldn't you be with the principal?"

"Why would I?" Luke asked, confused.

Her eyes were wide. "Is it true ... what they're all saying?"

"Probably. Listen, I'm late for roll call."

He ran on, shaking his head. High school was a crazy place. Halfway to his home room, he remembered he needed to get his mathematics homework out of his locker. It was his first class after roll call, and there was nothing the teacher hated more than students who ran out to visit their lockers.

There were a few students still in the locker hall, and they pointed and started whispering when Luke entered the room. One girl actually shifted away as he walked past her. It was very confusing, but Luke didn't have time to try and figure out what was wrong with him this morning. Maybe he'd forgotten to comb his hair, or there was a sign stuck to his back. Maybe he'd usurped Ben as the person to pick on of the moment. Anything was possible.

He kept his head down and ignored all the whispering. Once he found his homework, he left the hall quickly, conscious of the elapsing time since he'd first heard the signal. Luckily, he didn't encounter any more gossiping groups of students until he entered the classroom. It appeared the teacher hadn't arrived yet because everyone was still out of their seats and talking.

"Hi, Ben," he said, walking up beside his friend. "I'm so sorry about yesterday. I hope you didn't get in too much trouble."

Ben whirled around, looking like he'd just seen a krayt dragon.

"Luke!"

His shout attracted other students and some of them began pointing. "Hey, Luke's here! Luke, is it true?!"

"Uh ..." Luke stared around, wondering what in space was going on. Ophelia suddenly appeared next to him.

"Luke," she said. "It's great to see you."

Luke knew something was seriously wrong now. Ophelia never even looked at him, much less spoke to him.

"Uh ... thanks," he said.

"I'd like to apologize for anything ignorant I might have said in the past. I didn't know."

Luke felt his skin prickle. It was like something out of that holovid show he watched, The Galaxy's Scariest True Stories.

"Is this some kind of joke?" he asked. "Because it's not funny."

"Listen," Ben said. "They know. Everyone knows."

"Knows what?"

"About ... your father."

Everything suddenly made horrible sense.

"No!"

"Personally, I can't understand why you didn't tell us earlier," Ophelia said. "And why you've been hanging around with Charity Case there either."

Luke felt his temper rise. "How did you find out?" he asked, angrily. He turned to Ben. "Did you tell them?"

"Don't look at me," Ben said, hurt.

He turned back to Ophelia, who simply shrugged. "I heard it from my father. I don't know where he heard it from."

"I heard it from Jonas," another student added.

"I read it on the wall in the girl's refresher," came another voice.

"So is it true?"

"What's he like?"

"Is he as scary as he looks?"

"Can you choke people like he can?"

The noise cut off, and Luke saw the teacher walking through the crowd and telling everyone to sit down. He stopped in front of Luke.

"Luke, you need to go and see the principal. Take your things."

Luke nodded and didn't spare anyone a glance as he left. He could feel every eye following him.

At the principal's office, Luke was surprised to find Lev waiting for him.

"Lev!" he said, stopping just inside the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Thank the stars you're safe ... I was beginning to get quite worried."

"What's going on?" Luke asked, folding his arms.

Miss Silva, the principal, stood up from behind her desk and came around to speak to him.

"Luke, for your own safety, you will have to stay home from school until this incident blows over."

"Stay home? You mean I can't attend school because of who my father is?" Luke said, annoyed. "I can't help that! Unfair!"

Lev and the principal shared one of those annoying adults-know-best glances.

"Besides, I have gymnastics training tomorrow afternoon, and I'm on the team! We have a competition coming up!" Luke added.

Eventually, Miss Silva replied, "I know, Luke, but the students are going to take a day or so to accept this news. We don't want you being hassled with endless questions and curious glances while you're trying to attend classes. I want a chance to speak to your class before you come back."

"Can't you talk to them tomorrow morning, and then I can come back in the afternoon?"

"Well, I suppose you could come in to attend your training session. That shouldn't cause any problem. If your father entrusts us with your safety."

"Safety? From who?"

"The media," Lev explained. "You are in danger of being stalked until the word gets out that you are off limits."

"The media? You mean ... they know about this?"

Lev shared another glance with the principal. "Maybe I better explain in the speeder," he said.

Lev had tried to stop him, but Luke had finally managed to wrestle the printout of the Coruscant Enquirer away from him. It was made a lot easier by the fact that Lev was trying to pilot the speeder. Once it was in his hands, he skipped past the screaming headline and began to read.

'The blond blue-eyed boy, pictured here in our artist's interpretation, looks like he just came in from dusting the crops on some Outer Rim farm. But our investigative journalists have uncovered a shocking tale of secrecy and surprise that will amaze you unlike any story we've covered this year. The boy's name? Darth Vader junior.'

"Darth Vader junior?" Luke said, in disbelief.

"I told you not to read it!"

Luke skipped down to a later paragraph which started with:

'His mother's identity is still a mystery. A former courtesan, whose clients included many of the men who later formed the upper echelons of the Imperial hierarchy, gave us the names of several likely candidates, including one who is now rumored to be working as a palace concubine.'

"What's a concubine?" Luke asked.

"Look, a twin-engine open cockpit speeder!" Lev said, pointing out the window. Luke turned, and Lev snatched the flimsi away. Luke held tight, though, and managed to tear off a triangle which contained the final paragraph.

'A source close to Lord Vader informed us the boy is given anything he wants, and describes him as ill-mannered, rude and of little intelligence. Could this boy really be expected to become a future leader of the Empire? This reporter certainly hopes not.'

"Who is this person who thinks I've got bad manners?!" Luke asked.

"There is no such person, Luke. None of the people quoted are real. There are no palace concubines. Tabloid journalists make these things up to sell subscriptions." He sighed. "There were once hundreds of these tabloid publications on Coruscant. The Empire has tried to crack down on them but some still survive. I'm hoping this stunt will mean the end of the Enquirer."

"How would they like it if someone published a load of banthaspit about them!?"

"Luke, I know you're angry, and you have a right to be ... but try and look on the bright side."

"What bright side?"

"We knew this was going to happen, sooner or later. Now that it has, you can move on and leave it behind you."

Luke sighed, nodding. Lev did have a point. He'd been getting by on borrowed time at school. It had been only a matter of weeks before it was leaked. Maybe it was better this way.

"So how did my father take this?" Luke asked.

"That is better left unsaid."

"Ack ... L-lord ... V-vader, please!"

The stormtroopers began to shift away, as if fearful that whatever invisible power was choking the man could catch them too.

"P-please! I ... b-beg ack! B-beg y-our ... forgive … n-ness! Aggh!"

Vader lifted his hand and squeezed his fingers tight. The body fell to the ground and lay in an unmoving heap.

"Take the body back to the esteemed offices of the Coruscant Enquirer," Vader said, letting his hand fall back by his side. "And give them my regards. You can tell them that I have a suggestion for their next headline, when they find a replacement editor. 'Lord Vader rids the galaxy of a public menace'."

"Yes, sir!"

The stormtroopers hurried to comply, and Vader turned to find an assistant waiting to speak to him. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off the body, however.

"What is it?!" Vader demanded, impatiently.

"Sir, uh ... my lord, his highness wishes to speak with you."

It was a shame he had already disposed of the editor, because those words made him feel like choking someone. This day was getting worse by the minute.

As if sensing his darkening mood, the assistant bowed and hurried away.

A short time later, Vader found himself pacing in the Emperor's main office, up in the spires. His master was reading the offending article, chuckling to himself at the odd interval. Finally, he tossed it aside.

"It could have been a lot worse, my friend."

Vader stopped his pacing, but didn't reply.

"No pictures of him. No mention of the name Skywalker. There has already been far too much discussion about his origins among the hierarchy. Outright fabrications can only serve in your best interests. And all this will assist in the new Senate bill to further tighten regulations on the press."

"Yes, Master," Vader said, knowing it was true. It still didn't calm his anger. "But I need to make examples to ensure Luke's safety. Governor Halifax—"

"Is useful to me. Leave him. Besides, if he had been the leak, the details would have been far more accurate."

He had a point. He didn't have to like it, but there was no mention of Luke's adventure in the trash compactor. But still, the timing was too coincidental.

The Emperor leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "I think it is time I met this boy of yours, Lord Vader."

Vader had been dreading this. If Luke should displease the Emperor, their first meeting could be their last. The boy often spoke too freely. Unfortunately, refusal wasn't a possibility.

"What time would suit your convenience, Master?"

"Bring him tomorrow afternoon. And make sure he hasn't been swimming in the trash compactor beforehand, if you don't mind."

Luke was already feeling bored, and Lev had only just landed and parked the speeder in the ship hangar near his office.

"Stupid tabloids," Luke mumbled, darkly. "Stupid media. Stupid planet."

"You know, when I was a lad, we used to hate school," Lev said. "I'd have been happy to get a few days off."

"You don't understand," Luke said, slamming the speeder door. "It's not the classes or the homework I care about. I need to do some research on something really, really important. And I need to go to gymnastics training, and I need to talk to people besides officers, royal guards, and the Dark Lord of Permanent Bad Temper."

"Surely we're not that bad," Lev said, grinning.

"I didn't mean—"

"I know. You're saying that you need to be with people your own age. I agree. And don't worry, you'll be back at school before you know it."

Another assistant approached them then and exchanged salutes with Lev.

"Where is Lord Vader?" Lev enquired.

"He was summoned to an audience with the Emperor about half an hour ago. You were fortunate not to be here earlier." The woman made a gesture like she was reaching for her throat with a hand. "The editor of the Enquirer was dragged in by a couple of stormtroopers, and he—"

Lev hastily cut her off. "I understand. I must go and see young Luke to his quarters."

"I can find my own way," Luke protested, as he was guided onwards with a hand on his back. "I've been here a while now."

"I know."

"What happened to the editor? You interrupted her before she told—"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Lev said, tightly.

Luke didn't agree, but there was little point arguing. They took the stairs up to the ground floor, and then walked along the corridors towards the elevator bay in silence, as Luke had reverted to brooding over the situation. Who knows what he might have found out from the librarian if only he was at school right now. Perhaps he could try doing some research on the HoloNet, now that he had a name. Senator Amidala. There was also the possibility of asking his father.

As the pair of them approached the elevator bays, Lev suddenly came to attention, and Luke looked up to find the man himself was exiting one newly arrived on the floor.

"Lord Vader, I retrieved Luke from school, as per your orders."

Vader stared at Luke for a moment and then turned back to the elevators.

"Come with me, Luke. We have something to discuss."

Luke tried to say goodbye to Lev but felt himself being pulled into the elevator by an invisible force. Once the doors were closed, his father turned to him.

"I hope you have learned a lesson from all this."

"It wasn't my fault!" Luke protested, wondering how in the galaxy Vader could blame him.

"You think not? Let me make this easier for you. Yesterday, you chose to stumble out of a trash compactor in front of one Grand Moff Halifax—a man enjoying favor with the Emperor. Curious as to your identity, he made some enquiries with the right people, and learned that you were my son. He spread this information to all who would listen, and they in turn spread it further. One person in the chain passed the information on to the media, and this morning we see the results."

"But I didn't know any of that would happen!"

"Luke, they may have found your naivety endearing on Tatooine, but I am in no mood for it this morning."

Luke fell silent and stared at the floor.

"Now the Emperor wishes to meet you."

Luke raised his head in surprise. "The Emperor? Why?"

"The Emperor is not to be questioned, but obeyed," Vader said, pointing at him.

The elevator doors slid open, and Luke wandered out feeling like he was in a dream. The Emperor? He was actually going to meet him?

"When?" Luke asked. "Now?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"I can't," Luke said, quickly. "I have a gymnastics training session."

Vader stopped walking, and Luke looked up, curious.

"Do you honestly expect the Emperor of the galaxy to reschedule a meeting because you want to amuse yourself doing cartwheels?"

"I ... I guess not," Luke said, quietly.

"This is not a matter to be taken lightly. You must prove to the Emperor that he made the right decision to allow you to live under my guardianship."

"How do I do that?"

"By acting respectfully in his presence. You must not speak to him unless he asks you a direct question, and when he does, you must answer him articulately and with intelligence. I don't want to hear any of this stuttering and mumbling I often hear from you."

Luke was starting to feel more than a little nervous. "O-okay."

"And you must address him as 'your highness'. Always keep your tone reverent."

Luke nodded, trying to take it all in. "What's he like? Is he nice?"

Vader sounded slightly amused when he replied. "Only when it suits his purposes. You do not need to be afraid—I will be with you."

"I'm not afraid," Luke said, folding his arms.

"Good. Make sure you are ready to depart at thirteen-hundred tomorrow afternoon."

Despite his brave words, Luke was anything but happy at the idea of the meeting to come. He tried to keep his mind off it by scouring the HoloNet for information about Senator Amidala. All he could find was footnotes and appendices in history texts, but it was better than nothing. Here and there were little snippets of information that he could piece together. She had been a vocal senator and strongly supported using diplomacy over war and violence. There was nothing about her ever having children, though.

He fell asleep with a copy he'd made of the holo glowing on the pillow beside him. In a superstitious way, he'd half hoped the holo of her might keep some of the nightmares away. Instead, they returned in yet another form.

Luke looked around, knowing he was in the courtyard, back on the farm. There was screaming in the distance, and he tried to move towards it, but his path was blocked by thousands of falling hardcopy news flimsiplasts. The headlines took up half the page and read 'Lord Vader's Cowardly Son!'. He picked one up off the ground and saw a picture of a dead body. The caption read 'dead—because Luke Skywalker was hiding.'

Everyone in the galaxy would know about this now. They would know on Coruscant, and they would know at school. Even his father would find out. Tears were running down his cheeks, but he had nothing to wipe them away. The flimsis were stuck to his hands. Someone called his name beside him, and he looked up to see a glowing figure moving towards him.

"You should have killed me!" Luke yelled, angrily. "I was the one you wanted! He said so!"

"Luke, I wasn't the one who murdered your aunt and uncle. You remember me. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Go away!" Luke said, not caring who this man was. He didn't want anyone to see that he was crying.

"I can help you, Luke."

The screaming in the distance had stopped now, and the newspapers were fading away. Now there was only the desert, and the older man. He was wearing a brown robe, and the hood was drawn up around his face. There was something familiar about him.

"You should tell your father about these nightmares."

"Ha!" Luke said. "You've gotta be kidding. He doesn't want to know."

"He just doesn't remember how to respond to another person's needs. But your father knows a thing or two about nightmares."

"He has nightmares? What about?"

The desert was fading away, though, and the man with it. Luke opened his eyes, and found himself staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. He fumbled for the light controls and threw off the bedclothes. He could never get back to sleep after a nightmare, so there was little point even trying.

As he stood up, a flat object fell to the floor beside him, and he looked down to see the holo of Senator Amidala. Maybe he should trust the man in his dream, and go and seek some real answers.

Vader was in the conference room overlooking the ship hangar, browsing a fleet activities report. The computer beside him was switched to the HoloNet news channel, but he'd turned the volume down slightly after they'd started talking about happenings in the Senate.

When the doors slid open, he didn't bother to glance up. The Force always announced Luke's glowing presence.

"You are still having nightmares?" Vader enquired. He sensed the mental disturbances from Luke on most nights, but there was nothing he could do to help the boy. He was probably the cause of some of these nightmares himself.

Luke took a seat at the table. "Yes."

"I told you that you do not need to be afraid of meeting the Emperor."

"It wasn't about that. They are always about my aunt and uncle."

Vader glanced at Luke. "Perhaps you should see your doctor. He could prescribe some sleep medication that might cure your problem."

Luke's eyes suddenly grew wide, and Vader followed his gaze to the computer monitor. The news had changed to some item about the sudden fatal heart attack experienced by the former editor of the Coruscant Enquirer. He quickly switched it off.

"Did you kill him?" Luke asked, suddenly.

"Who I kill or don't kill is of no relevance to you," Vader said, wondering how in the galaxy Luke had managed to reach that conclusion so quickly. He wasn't as innocent as he thought. This could be a problem.

"Killing people is wrong," Luke said, sounding shocked.

"You have led a very sheltered existence. One day, when you are older, you will understand how the galaxy works. Until then, I suggest you work on a need to know basis when it comes to how I operate."

Luke stared at the floor, looking dejected. When he looked up again, there was a determined stubbornness in his eyes.

"Well I need to know more."

Something snapped in Vader, and he pointed from Luke to the door. "If you are going to be insolent, then I suggest you leave before I lose my patience."

Luke stood up, but he didn't back down. "You can't hide everything from me!"

Vader stared at the boy in surprise. A few months ago, he'd been scared to speak to him ... nervously stuttering his way through the most simple conversations. Now he was talking back to him?

"Go back to bed!"

"This is important!" Luke said, stepping closer. "Please! I just want to know if she's my mother!"

He suddenly produced a hologram, and placed it on the table between them. Vader flinched at the sight of it. In a second, he'd snatched the projector and crushed it between his hands. The metal and circuits rained down noisily on the floor. He stood up and turned away, feeling the air begin to shake. This was getting dangerous.

"I gave you an order."

"But—"

"Leave!"

He pushed Luke away with the Force, harder than he'd meant to. The boy stumbled slightly, tripping against a chair, and then ran.

Vader stared after him and then glanced down at the remains of the projector. Why did the boy push him like that? Didn't he understand? He had spent a decade trying to erase every last memory of his former life! He dreamed of a day when he would hear the name Anakin and not be aware that it had any particular significance. It was possible, with time and meditation. His master had promised him it was possible.

He released a weary breath, knowing he desperately needed to return to Mustafar. He could leave tonight if it wasn't for this meeting between Luke and the Emperor. In moments like this, he couldn't help but wish the boy had never come into his life at all.