Chapter 14: Realization

Vader stared at the chronometer in the ship hangar, almost unable to believe it was only midnight.

There were very few nights in his life that had seemed as long as this one. He had flown all over the entire region for six hours straight and sensed nothing. The street patrols had found nothing. It didn't help that he had no recent picture of Luke to give them as a reference. The best he could do was a low-resolution headshot from his IFS file.

There were millions of beings in Imperial City alone. Millions more in the surrounding areas. Only the Force could provide any hope of distinguishing his son from that seething mass of lifeforms. But it had failed him.

Or perhaps Luke wasn't on Coruscant at all ...

The thought was too horrifying to face. How could his young son hope to survive out there? He wasn't mature enough to eat his vegetables without being told! He hadn't even taken a comlink with him, or extra clothing. Who was going to protect him?

With sudden realization, it occurred to Vader that a short while ago, he'd been considering shipping Luke off somewhere himself. Was this a cruel irony exacted by the Force in revenge? He'd treated Luke badly right from the very start. He'd ignored him, lectured him, yelled at him ... argued with him ... he didn't deserve to be the boy's father. No wonder he had left.

An assistant approached from behind and came to attention, putting an end to Vader's moment of despair.

"Sir, I just got back from visiting Ben and his father."

"And?" Vader said, impatiently. Couldn't people get to the point faster?

"Luke isn't there. They haven't seen him since I picked him up from the guard office. Ben could not think of anywhere else Luke would likely have gone."

Vader turned around. "What about this place in the lower levels? Have you heard back from the search team?"

"They have sent in several reports of witnesses who may or may not have seen him, but nothing concrete. They will contact us as soon as they have something they can go with."

"Luke could be in trouble by then," Vader said, pacing. "He could be in danger right now!"

"Sir, the head of the local security force told me that most runaways come back within a day or so."

"Most? And what of the ones who don't?"

The man didn't reply. He didn't need to. Vader knew what happened to children who never came home. In desperation, he stretched out with the Force one more time, hoping for any sign, any clue, that Luke was out there, somewhere.

But there was nothing.

"Hello, Luke."

Luke focused on the fuzzy shape, feeling like he was trying to see through a dust-storm.

"Oh," he said, as the image came into focus. "It's you."

"Listen to me, Luke—there isn't much time."

Luke glanced around. "Where am I?"

"You are only dreaming," Obi-Wan explained. "But in reality, you are in danger. You have been abducted by people who have no regard for your safety."

"Abducted? I was with Crix and Val and ..."

"Your friends are in a similar position, I'm afraid."

"What can I do?" Luke said, nervously. "Can you help me?"

"I can only give you knowledge that will allow you to help yourself. You should know that the Emperor did not tell you the entire truth about your father."

"He didn't?"

"It is a long and complicated tale, Luke, and one I cannot share with you now. But you should know that your father was once a good person and very capable of feeling love. I, too, believed he could feel it no longer. But seeing you together has changed my mind."

"He doesn't love me," Luke said, sadly. "He said I destroyed his life."

"Don't believe everything he says in the heat of anger."

Luke looked aside for a moment.

"But ... but he's a killer!" He looked back at Obi-Wan. "He killed my mother!"

"Not in the way you think, Luke. Your mother lost the will to live. The Emperor destroyed the democracy she had spent her life fighting to preserve ... and then he twisted her husband into a shadow of his former self. She loved your father to the point where losing him was a wound too deep to survive."

"Wait ... but ... I thought she supported the Emperor? And what do you mean by twisted? Are you saying the Emperor changed my father?"

"Yes, Luke. He lured your father down a path your mother could not follow."

"I don't understand."

"One day, you will. Until then, try and accept that nothing is as simple as it appears. It is your decision whether to return, Luke, and yours alone. But make your decision based on truth, not lies."

"I've already decided," Luke said. "That's why I ran away. I don't want to see him again!"

He found himself yelling the last part at thin air. Obi-Wan had gone.

But his voice echoed in Luke's ears. "Remember this, Luke. It will help you understand. Hatred can turn someone into the object of their hate."

The last of his dream then faded away, and he was now staring at the mass of cracked plating and loose wiring that made up the interior of the ship. Artoo was resting in front of him, chirping softly.

He sat up quickly, and looked over to see if Val and Crix were still asleep. His back immediately stiffened at his swift movement, and he found his limbs felt numb and heavy. Whatever they had used to knock them out, it appeared it still hadn't worn off.

Artoo whistled a question, and Luke reached out to put his hand on his dome. "Did you plug into the ship's computer?"

The droid made a positive noise, and then whistled the question again.

"I'm all right." He unbuckled himself from the seat and slumped forward onto the deck. He could hear arguing beyond the door, and he wanted to get close enough to hear it. It could shed some light on what was going on.

After sliding himself across to the door, he pressed his ear against the gap and listened. The ship must have had very little sound-proofing, because he could make out every word.

"Our priority is to get that child off the ship as soon as possible. If Darth Vader gets one whiff of the fact that we have his son, he'll have us fed to a rancor."

It was a female voice, so Luke assumed it was the captain. The next person to speak had a voice Luke recognized as Harl's.

"This mining colony is only offering a quarter of what we could get from the Lan Sector armed resistance. And look at all these other interested parties! If we could play them off against each other, we could double, even quadruple our profits! We haven't even asked the Rebel cells what they would offer."

"What good's money if we're dead?"

"You always were a coward, Toydarian."

"Quiet, you two! I've made my decision. We give him to the miner, unless you can have another interested party intercept us before we reach Felcius."

"And what if they come with armed ships?" the Toydarian said. "They could steal the boy and we could be left with nothing!"

The captain groaned. "Harl, why don't you go check on them. They are probably due for another dose of the gas."

Luke heard footsteps, and he hastily shuffled backwards. The doors slid open, and Harl entered, still frowning at the thought of lost profits. His expression turned to surprise when he saw Luke, however.

Before Luke could attempt to move, a stun blaster was pointed at his chest.

Dawn had come and gone, and after another thorough search of the area, there was still no sign of Luke. Vader had never felt so powerless. All he could do was wait. It wasn't in his nature to wait for anything, but he didn't have a choice. There was a whole stack of reports waiting for him to read, and a list of uncompleted tasks a meter long. But he could not focus on anything to do with the Empire right now. For the first time in well over a decade, the Empire seemed insignificant.

Why was the universe so unfair? If anyone should be in danger, it should be him, not Luke. He was a lost cause, and a long, long way past the point of no return. Luke was so very innocent. He was the best thing he had ever had a hand in creating. Yet, like everything good that came his way, he had lost him through his own weakness.

"Sir?"

Vader turned around, surprised. He hadn't heard anyone enter the conference room.

"You have news?"

The assistant glanced behind him. Standing half in and half out of the doorway was Ben. At least, Vader was fairly certain that was Ben. It was a little hard to recognize him, seeing as he wasn't covered in trash water this time.

"It's all right, Ben. You can come in." The lieutenant beckoned to him in a friendly manner, but Ben shook his head and shuffled slightly further away.

"You'll have to excuse him, sir. He's a little ... shy. But I think he might have some information that could provide some clues as to Luke's location."

"Where is he?!" Vader demanded.

"I-I ... don't k-know, I s-swear," the boy said, shrinking back even further. He had now disappeared out the door, and it sounded as if he'd hit the opposite wall of the corridor.

He was shaking so much, Vader suspected he might faint if he spoke to him again. Perfect. Of all the people his son had to befriend, it had to be the most pathetic example in the 'galaxy's most cowardly' hall of fame.

"I can see you will make more progress with him alone," Vader said. He was tempted to add that the lieutenant was welcome to borrow some of his interrogation droids if needed.

"I've tried, sir, but—" The lieutenant paused, and then spoke quietly. "I don't think he's entirely convinced, in his own mind, that he's doing the right thing by telling us anything. He told me that Luke did mention he was planning to leave, but he denies knowing anything else ... but I have a strong suspicion he might know more. The two have been inseparable since they met. It seems unlikely Luke wouldn't have told him at least something. Perhaps if you could reassure him that Luke is wanted and missed."

The meaning was all too clear to Vader. Luke must have told his friend that he was unhappy here. The reason why would have been more than obvious to the boy.

"Very well," Vader said, resigning himself to the inevitable. "Bring him back in. And wait outside."

"Yes, sir."

It took a good minute for Ben to be gently coaxed back into the room. Vader would have dragged him in by his collar, had it been up to him, but the lieutenant clearly thought that would be self-defeating. He was probably right.

Once the boy was over the threshold, the doors slid closed and the two of them were alone. Vader sat down at the table, deciding that might help reduce his intimidation factor a little. Judging by the boy's wide-eyed expression, it didn't help at all.

"So," Vader said, doing his best to sound neutral. "You are Luke's friend."

The boy nodded once. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added a mumbled, "Yes, sir."

Vader had to resist the urge to sigh. Sith Lords and children simply did not mix. But he had to get through this, for Luke's sake.

"I suppose he has told you that I am the worst father in the galaxy."

Ben shrugged, looking at the carpet. "N-not exactly, s-sir."

"I will not lie to you. Everything he has said is probably right. I am a bad father—if I wasn't, Luke would be here right now."

Vader paused for a moment, wondering whether the honest approach was really the best idea. Pity it was too late to go back now.

"I can sense that he is in danger," Vader said, distantly. "But I cannot sense where. I must go to him. If you help me, I will do everything in my power to find him and bring him back safely."

"He thought that you didn't care about him," Ben said, finally sounding a little less petrified. "He told me you wouldn't even notice if he left."

"Then it is time I showed him how wrong he is," Vader said. "Agreed?"

Ben nodded, even managing a small smile. "I ... I don't know if this will help, sir. But yesterday ...I met some of his friends. Friends he met when he was at Family Services. Crix ... he's a Zabrak. Val, she's a Twi'lek. They're older than Luke ... anyhow, the three of them were planning to join the crew of a freighter."

"A freighter?" Vader said. "What kind of freighter?"

"I don't know, sir, I'm sorry," Ben said. "But the captain couldn't leave Coruscant until he'd paid off a debt to a local crime lord. That's what Val told me, anyway. I don't know if they went through with this, or ... but Crix and Val seemed like they knew a lot of people in the local community. Someone might know where they've gone."

Vader was already walking towards the door.

Luke woke up to find himself still lying in the position where he must have been hit with the stun beam. But now he'd been dragged into a much smaller storage room. Artoo was beside him, with his data interface plugged into a hidden computer port.

"Artoo?" Luke rubbed his eyes and struggled to sit up. "What's going on?"

The droid chirped and beeped, and to Luke's surprise, he saw the translation appearing on a small monitor beside the port.

I've sabotaged the ship's fuel lines. They'll be dropping out of hyperspace soon and will travel to the nearest refueling station. I have sliced in and programmed the computer to send a message to Threepio as soon as possible. He'll tell your father where we are.

"My father," Luke said, leaning back against the wall and rubbing his face. "As if he will care."

Artoo began whistling again and Luke opened his eyes to see what he was saying now.

You don't know him.

"I do know him," Luke said, frowning in confusion. "Who do you think I was arguing with when you interrupted?"

Artoo's reply made him raise his eyebrows.

Lord Vader. But you don't know Anakin Skywalker. He'll come after us.

"You knew Anakin Skywalker?" Luke said.

Yes. I was his droid. Before that, your mother's. Threepio as well, but he doesn't remember.

"Lord Vader and Anakin Skywalker are the same person," Luke said. "He just changed his name."

Chancellor Palpatine reprogrammed him and gave him a new name. But he didn't fully delete Anakin. He'll come and rescue us.

"You're not making a lot of sense, Artoo," Luke said.

Before Artoo could reply, the walls began to shake, and the droid disconnected from the computer socket.

"We're coming out of hyperspace," Luke said. "What now?"

A few moments later, the door slid open and Harl came in, followed closely by the Toydarian. He was carrying binders. Artoo rushed at them, charging fork extended, and Luke bolted for the door, shoving blindly at his captors. He made it all the way to the corridor, before finding himself facing down the captain and the barrel end of a blaster.

Artoo rushed to defend him, and the captain fired blindly, hitting the droid with a stun blast that caused blue electricity to crackle all over his dome. His screeches abruptly fell silent.

"No!" Luke said, putting up his hands. "Leave him alone!"

Harl came out of the cell and kicked the droid aside, causing Luke to cry out in protest again. But he could do nothing to resist as they pushed him face-up against a window and started tying his hands. Now he could see another ship had pulled up alongside them and was extending a docking bridge. This new ship wasn't a freighter, but a sleek fighting craft built for speed.

When the docking was complete, Harl pushed him down the hall where he was reunited with his groggy friends, who didn't seem aware of the danger they were in.

But when the docking bay doors opened, Luke forgot all about his friends and his droid. The sight of the person who had come to collect him made him wonder if he was still dreaming.

After narrowing down the search to a Zabrak and a Twi'lek, things proceeded rapidly. Before an hour had passed, ISB had made some enquiries, and he was provided with a security tape from a low-budget spaceport in the lower levels. The footage was low-resolution and without color, but there was no mistaking his son. He had boarded a ship of the name Reckless Wanderer in a tragic twist of irony.

While his assistants got to work alerting all naval commands to watch for the ship, Vader sent messages to the bounty hunter's guild and his other underworld contacts. A very large reward would be offered to anyone who could provide information leading to the capture of the Reckless Wanderer. But in the end, the location of the ship came from an unexpected source.

"Lord Vader!" Threepio said, bursting into the conference room where Vader stood studying a map of the potential destinations for the ship. He had been hoping the Force would provide some insight, but he was struggling to concentrate. "Artoo has sent a message!"

Threepio placed the comlink on the table, and it lit up with a series of characters. Vader recognized an old code he used during the Clone Wars.

"Coordinates," he said, as soon as the message finished. "Good work, Threepio. Go and update Lieutenant Dorany. I will contact the closest ship so they can move to intercept."

Threepio turned around, and then had to stand aside as the lieutenant entered the conference room.

"Sir, the Star Destroyer Nexu is waiting in orbit, as per your orders," the lieutenant said, coming to attention.

"Good. We now have the last known coordinates of the freighter. We need to locate the closest ship so they can move to intercept."

"There's one other thing, sir," the man said, becoming slightly nervous. "The Emperor wants to see you."

"So," the Emperor said, leaning back in his chair. "The boy has run off and managed to get himself abducted by a pack of criminals, and now you want to waste Imperial resources tracking him down?"

"My master, I already know of the boy's whereabouts. I can retrieve him quickly."

"Why bother?" the Emperor said, waving a hand in dismissal. "He has made his decision. I'm sure he'll make a very nice slave."

Vader refused to let the Emperor's goading affect him—this was too important, and time was of the essence.

"There are still remnants of Jedi out there. If one should find him, they could train him. He has the potential to be a very powerful Jedi. It is dangerous to leave him where our enemies could get their hands on him."

The Emperor's expression shifted slightly.

"It will not take long," Vader said, knowing he had to push further. "And I will punish the boy severely for the inconvenience he has caused."

He had no intention of doing anything of the kind, of course, but the Emperor didn't sense his deception. He was too busy feeling amused at the idea. Vader knew it was wrong to manipulate his master like that, considering all he had done for him, but what could he say? He learned by example.

"Very well, my friend. Go and hunt down your offspring."

"Thank you, Master," Vader said, bowing in gratitude.

Val and Crix had been dragged away immediately and locked in the brig on the new ship. Luke didn't have time to protest—he couldn't take his eyes off the figure in front of him, even as credits were exchanged with the captain

"You ... you should be dead!" he said, after the docking link had been released. "He said you were dead!"

The spindly figure stepped forward to grasp his arm and his robes fell open slightly as he did so. There were flashing lights on his chest, filling what looked like a lightsaber wound—prosthetics, Luke realized.

"He lied. He's a Sith Lord—that's what they do."

When the grasping claw clamped around his arm, Luke reared back in disgust.

"Don't touch me!"

His protest was ignored. Instead, he was half-dragged to the front of the ship, and his arms were pulled behind him and then bound to the co-pilot's seat. Luke kicked at the controls in frustration, but he was too short to reach.

"There's no reason to be frightened," the Jedi said, walking around to the pilot's seat. "Cooperate and you and your friends won't be harmed."

Luke felt tears well in his eyes, realizing Artoo had been left on the freighter. That droid had risked his life and been put in one dangerous situation after another, all because of him. Now he might never see him again.

"Where are we going? What will happen to my friends?"

The Jedi didn't reply immediately, as he was busy entering hyperspace coordinates. Then, he said, "Felcius. There's a mining operation there and the owner is always looking for new workers. Your friends will fit the bill nicely."

"What are you talking about?!" Luke said. "Slavery? Please, let them go! If you want to kill me, then here I am. You don't need them."

"I'm only using you as bait for your father. Once he is dead, you can decide if you'd rather be a slave or perhaps something else entirely."

"Why does everyone think my father would come and rescue me?!" Luke said. "He thinks I ruined his life."

"I can already sense he is on his way."

Luke was stunned into momentary silence at the words. His father was coming for him? Did that mean he really did care? Even just a little?

Of course he cares, Luke thought, coming to a sudden realization. He cared enough to take me to the medcentre before he even knew I was his son. He cared enough to let me go to the school I wanted ... and to give me an allowance. And to give me the best droids in the galaxy ...

Luke glanced up at the Jedi, seeing nothing but hate in his eyes. Stars, he thought, what have I done? This man had already killed his aunt and uncle. Now he wanted to add his father.

"Why are you doing this?" Luke said. "What did I ever do to you? You've murdered my aunt and uncle and now you want to kill the only family I have left."

The Jedi turned to him, and he sounded a little rattled. "Your aunt and uncle were tainted by their association with your father. And they would have died sooner or later anyway. If not by my hand, then by the Empire's. Besides, it got you off Tatooine, didn't it? Did you really want to waste your youth on that dustball planet?"

"You're a monster," Luke spat.

"Just like your father? You'll feel right at home with me, then. You poor deluded child. If you knew only a fraction of the crimes your father has committed, you would help me kill him yourself."

"I know he's killed people," Luke mumbled.

"Killed people? He's killed helpless children."

Luke was silent.

"He killed all the friends I'd ever had. He killed my master, who was like a father to me. Tell me ... if someone killed everyone who was dear to you, wouldn't you seek revenge? You may be only a boy, but even you should see the logic in that."

"You did kill my family, remember," Luke said.

This time, there was no reply.

"You killed people I loved," Luke repeated. "You hate him so much ... yet you do exactly the things you hate him for! Obi-Wan was right ... hatred has turned you into what you hate! There's no point in it ... can't you see that?"

"So you feel no disgust at what he's done?"

"Of course," Luke said, staring back at the unblinking, compound eyes. "I hate ... killing. I don't hate him—I hate the evil. There's more to him than evil ... I know. I didn't believe it before, but now I do! There's good in him!"

"Where was that good while the Jedi children were murdered?"

"I don't know," Luke said, burying his face in his hands. "There's a lot I don't understand. But I know it's there. Maybe I'm evil for saying it, but ..."

"There's no maybe about it. Like father, like son."

Vader was pacing impatiently on the deck of the Star Destroyer Nexu as it dragged the Reckless Wanderer into its docking bay. They had proceeded immediately to the coordinates sent by Artoo Detoo, and found the rundown freighter had been disabled by another Imperial ship, while it limped to the nearest refueling station on its sublight engines. Scans showed lifeforms aboard, but the Force revealed no sign of the one lifeform Vader was desperate to find. It made him want to rip the ship apart and immediately reduce its occupants to gasping, writhing insects.

It took an inhuman level of self-control to stand back and allow the stormtroopers to enter first with their weapons set to stun. These vermin were his only hope of finding his son now.

The first one dragged down the ramp was a Toydarian, followed by a Nautolan and a human woman. The stormtrooper captain came forward to report.

"Sir, scans show there were other recent occupants of this vessel. I found this." He produced a child's backpack. A faint trace of Luke's Force signature hung about it, driving Vader's anger to near breaking point. He pushed the stormtrooper aside and grabbed the Toydarian by the throat.

"Where is my son?!"

He squeezed too hard when an immediate answer wasn't forthcoming, and felt bones break under his fingers. He tossed the body aside, anger further stoked by his own frustration with his lack of control. He turned on the other two, who were both shaking and sweating.

"Which one of you is the captain?!"

They both pointed at each other, and it was all Vader could do not to ignite his lightsaber and reduce them to a kebab. He was a second away from attempting to choke the Nautolan, when a flurry of beeps and whistles sounded from the ship, followed by the sight of a droid so welcome, Vader didn't even care that he was calling out the name Anakin.

"Where is he?" Vader asked, not caring how desperate he sounded.

Felcius, Artoo beeped. Hurry, he's in danger!

Vader turned on the stormtrooper captain. "Contact the bridge and tell them to set course for Felcius immediately!"

The trooper hurried to comply. Vader was about to walk on, when he noticed the two kidnappers were attempting to edge their way behind the stormtroopers.

"And throw our guests out the airlock," Vader said, gesturing to the nearest hatch.