It lives! This story still lives! And I swear it WILL be finished one day...I'm no longer going to attempt to guess when, but it will happen. Thanks to JadeAlmasy, Sithspawned, Pandora-Moo, SHAWN PROVONCHA, Urazz, Jediryu, AgiVega, and Darkmoon90 for your kind reviews. Special thanks to Urazz for pointing out my error on the ship name! Argh, I can't believe I let that slip past me, and it's too much damn trouble to change it here, so...um, y'all just ignore that, 'k:)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Darth Vader stood on the bridge of the Executor, hands clasped behind his back as he gazed out upon the Death Star, hanging like a dark jewel in Endor's space. Vader had mixed feelings about the Emperor's second attempt at the ultimate weapon of destruction. On the one hand, he himself used fear to keep subordinates in line, and certainly the Death Star would inspire fear in the galaxy. On the other hand, he despised Palpatine's apparent dependence on technology to employ that fear. To Vader's mind, the Force was enough to keep any wayward systems from overstepping their bounds.

Something brushed against his mind at that moment, a presence that he'd become accustomed to over the last three years, but which had been sorely absent in the last several months. He froze; almost thankful for once at the respirator which regulated his breathing, for surely he would have ceased to breathe at the shock of suddenly feeling his son's presence. And he was so close! Luke hadn't been this close since he'd seen the boy falling away from him at Bespin.

Becoming aware of the conversation going on at the controller's desk, Vader turned and strode quickly over to them. Admiral Piett straightened at his approach and Vader was pleased to see that he managed to control his fear. He'd had more respect for Piett since the man had been 'promoted' than any of his other officers.

The controller had just asked for the shuttle's code clearance and it was being transmitted as Vader stopped just behind Piett. The controller ran the code through his database, checking to see if it was valid.

"Where is that shuttle going?" Vader asked.

Piett leaned over to speak into the comm. "Shuttle Tydirium, what is your cargo and destination?"

There was a long pause before the muffled voice of the shuttle's pilot came back. "Parts and technical crew for the forest moon."

"Do they have a code clearance?" Vader asked. But they did, he knew they did. His son would not risk coming here unless they had some mission, and of course, they would have all the proper codes.

"It's an older code, my Lord, but it checks out. I was about to clear them," Piett admitted.

Vader's gaze swung to the shuttle, visible on the controller's screen. What are you up to, Luke? Vader sensed that his son was well aware of his presence as well. This was about more than some rebel mission, he realized. Another confrontation was looming, he was certain of it. And this time, the outcome will be quite different, son. You will turn to the Dark Side, my Master will see to that. Having failed to reach his son's darkness at Bespin, Vader had decided to change his plans somewhat. The Emperor could help him turn the boy, and then Luke would help him strike down Palpatine.

Father and son, ruling the galaxy together…

He smiled grimly under his mask, thinking of the plans he had, steadfastly ignoring Anakin Skywalker's voice in his ear.

"Shall I hold them?" Piett asked, breaking into Vader's musings.

"No," Vader replied. "No, I will deal with them myself."

"Very well, my Lord," Piett said and nodded to the controller, who gave the Tydirium permission to proceed.

Vader could sense Luke's confusion at this action, but didn't attempt to reach out to him. All in good time, he told himself.

"Keeping secrets, Lord Vader?" a soft voice murmured from behind him.

He stiffened slightly, and then cursed himself silently. Although no one had probably noticed it but her, Vader despised showing any weakness, especially to this young upstart. Admiral Piett wisely refrained from commenting on the young woman's boldness and turned back to the controller, effectively removing himself from any line of fire. Vader reflected that he had indeed chosen a competent man to replace the useless Admiral Ozzel. He turned to face his frequent adversary.

"No more than you, Lady Duvessa. Or perhaps you would care to share where you have been for the last two months?" Vader replied, just a touch of acid in his voice.

Now it was her turn to become rigid with anger, but she conquered it quickly, lightly shrugging one shoulder as she turned to walk slowly towards the large viewscreen that was his favorite spot. Vader naturally fell into step beside her, sparing a brief moment to wonder at her newly calm demeanor. Prior to Leia's mission to retrieve Skywalker, and then her disappearing act, such a comment would have sent her into a near-rage.

"Doesn't everyone deserve a little vacation now and then?" she said in a carefully calm voice.

"Not when your Master hasn't given you permission to take one," Vader retorted.

Palpatine had been annoyed at Leia's defection, but hardly concerned. After all, it wasn't as though he hadn't known where his favorite assassin was all along. The Dark Lord almost felt a bit of pity for the young woman. He himself had acknowledged long ago that there was no escaping their Master. Apparently, Leia had now learned that lesson as well, and the hard way.

"My Master," she began in a scornful tone, and then paused, seeming to remember whom she was talking to. She cleared her throat quietly. "My Master is remarkably understanding about such things."

They were now standing in front of the viewscreen which gave them an unobstructed view of the green moon of Endor. Vader could sense the shuttle that carried his son pulling further away from the Executor as it headed down to the moon's surface. Reluctantly, Vader turned his attention away from Luke to the young woman standing beside him. He pondered how much she knew of his secret schemes and plans.

For some odd reason, he no longer worried about her revealing anything to their Master. Something had changed within Leia since she had returned from her disastrous mission to capture his son, a mission that had highly incensed Lord Vader when he'd discovered it. He still didn't quite dare challenge Palpatine yet. No, when he had Luke - that would be the time.

"He won't help you, you know," she said quietly.

"What?" Vader asked, anger surging upwards in him at her audacity, and he turned to glare at her. He didn't pretend to misunderstand what she was talking about. "Luke will fulfill his destiny, or he will die."

She turned to look at him then and he was taken aback at the sadness and resignation in her eyes. No, this was definitely not the Leia Duvessa that he had been clashing with for most of her life.

"You've met him once, in battle. You don't know him, much less understand him. He's ridiculously flooded with the Light side and I don't think anything you do will change that. I hope you're prepared to kill him, because that's what you're going to have to do."

"You understand nothing, little girl! There is darkness in Luke as there is darkness in us all. He will embrace it or he will die," Vader repeated, furiously ignoring the pang of regret that shot through him at the thought of his son's death.

Leia gave him a sad, knowing little smile and said, "Of course, you are undoubtedly correct, my Lord."

Before he could reply to that mystifying comment, Leia turned and walked away from him, her head held high, pride evident in the set of her shoulders. Vader simply turned his gaze back to the stars, attempting to ignore the disquiet in his senses.

"…so we finally manage to convince Lando to let us land and things were lookin' up there for just a minute. Unfortunately, at lunch the next day, they dropped right back to the bottom again. We walk into this dining room, and who's standing there but the old asthmatic himself, Vader. Well, naturally, we were all kinda peeved with Lando-"

At this point in Han's narrative, Chewbacca let out a loud roar, almost deafening in the tiny confines of the Ewok hut.

"Okay, okay, so we were way beyond peeved, but stop interrupting me. Who's telling this story anyways?" Han said with an annoyed glare at his co-pilot.

Maybe I should be since you seem to keep forgetting parts of it.

"Hey, pal-"

Oh, just continue, you scruffy Corellian.

Han glared for a moment longer before turning back to his captive audience.

"As I was saying…" he began dramatically.

Mara had reached over and taken Luke's hand at Han's mention of his father and he smiled at her to let her know he was all right. Part of that smile was due to Han and Chewie's arguing. Ever since the Ewoks had asked them to tell the story of how they'd come to be on their planet, Chewbacca had been breaking into Solo's account to correct him. The Wookiee seemed to consider it his duty to make sure Han told the story 'right'.

Most of his smile was for her and how grateful he was to have her love and comfort in his life. When they had lost track of her upon their arrival on the forest moon and the escapade with the speeder bikes, Luke had nearly panicked. Unable to reach her over their bond, he'd had to force himself to calm down. He knew she wasn't dead, there was no way he wouldn't be able to sense that, but she had been unconscious for a while. Once she had awakened, Mara had immediately reached out for him, apparently understanding that he would be worried.

Their arrival at the Ewok village had been a little tense at first, with the small aliens being very wary of the three strangers who'd suddenly appeared in their midst. Amazingly, a couple of them understood some Basic - Luke supposed from having spied on the Imperial garrison here - and they were able to communicate with a smattering of Basic and hand signs and gestures. Even now, Luke wasn't sure how much of Han's storytelling they really understood, but they seemed to be enjoying it nonetheless.

Once they'd realized that the newcomers didn't mean them any harm, they'd treated them like honored guests and had led them to the hut where Mara was. She and Luke had greeted one another with a passionate kiss until Han had groaned and told them to save it for a more private moment. Han also took great delight in teasing Mara about the outfit the Ewoks had provided for her to wear. That prompted a quick intense argument, until Luke groaned and told them to grow up. The death glares sent his way by the two of them caused him to cough nervously and add 'Please?'.

It was as Han was wrapping up his epic tale that Luke felt it: a cold chill that washed over his senses, sending a shiver down his spine. Father… He stopped himself short of reaching out towards Vader, knowing that he needed to prepare a little more before the meeting that would determine his destiny. As best he could, he concealed his inner turmoil from Mara, not wanting to worry her any more than she already was. Gently disengaging his hand from hers, Luke let her know quietly that he needed a breath of fresh air. Mara frowned at him slightly, but let him go without protest.

He knew she wouldn't be too far behind him, though, so as he stood on one of the many walkways high above the forest floor, Luke calmed himself, focusing inwards to find the well of peace that had expanded since he'd discovered and grown within the Force. Sometimes it was hard to find, especially when he began to think too much on the task he had set for himself, but tonight he sank into it gratefully.

"Luke?" Mara asked as she walked up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

He turned away from the dark of the forest to face her, rejoicing inwardly at the beauty of her face and form. At the same time, he had to fight back a twinge of fear. This might be the last time he ever saw her. Acutely aware that negative thinking of that nature did him no good at all, Luke let go of his fear and focused on his love for Mara…and for his father.

For the first time, he let himself admit that he loved Anakin Skywalker. Perhaps it was just the keen desire of a young man to have a father of some kind, any kind, but Luke knew that loving Anakin would be the only way to save him from the Darkness.

"What is it, Luke?" Mara was asking.

Luke came back to the present moment from the little daze he had drifted into and smiled at her softly.

"It's time, Mara. I have to face him."

Her lips thinned into a worrying, disapproving line. "No," she stated firmly, shaking her head. "No, you don't have to face him. You can be a Jedi Knight without having to face this. Tomorrow we'll take out the shield generator, then Lando and the rest of the fleet will take out the Death Star. And they'll take Vader and the Emperor with it and you'll never have to face him ever again," she said, her words beginning to come out jumbled in her desperation.

"Yes, I do have to face him. Mara, there is still good in him. I've felt it, and I can bring him back. Back to the Light side," he said, quietly insistent. Mara's face blanched, the paleness of it illuminated in the moonlight.

"I don't believe that," she whispered.

"It's true, Mara. I've felt it. I know it," he said, trying to make her see, trying to make her believe as he did. Luke took her hands in his and sent all the feelings and emotions he'd sensed from his father to her over their bond. Mara flinched slightly at the strength of his conviction, but allowed him to show her what he wanted to do. Luke could feel her struggling to reconcile his vision of Darth Vader with her own memories of the Dark Lord.

Luke watched quietly as acceptance settled over Mara's face. Reluctant, yes, but it was acceptance and for that he was thankful. She sighed as she looked down at their joined hands.

"You will at least be careful, won't you?"

"Hey, you know me," he said with a smile.

"Yes, I do, and that's why I said it," she replied, looking back up into his eyes. They laughed softly together, knowing the parting moment was creeping ever closer, but wishing they could deny it for just a little longer.

"Mara, if I don't come back-"

"Don't even say that, Luke!"

"We both know that it's a possibility. I've felt the good in him, but he's conflicted. The Dark side has held him for twenty years. It's not going to let him go easily. And I won't be turned. If it comes to that, I will die."

Mara shook her head fiercely, a little whimper coming from her throat. Luke pulled his hands from hers and reached up to frame her face, gently pushing her hair back. Leaning forward, he kissed her tenderly. It wasn't a passion-filled kiss, but one of utmost love and devotion. They didn't need to say words of love - it was flooding over both of them through their bond. With a shaky breath, Luke broke the kiss, but leaned his forehead against hers. He knew that he had to go, but he was unwilling to give up the physical contact before he absolutely had to.

"This is my destiny, Mara. Yoda and Obi-Wan trained me to be a weapon, to kill him, but I'm meant to save him. I feel it so powerfully it's as though it's whispering in my ear," he said urgently, wanting her to understand. "But if I'm wrong…if I fail, then it's you who's going to have to bring the Jedi back."

"No, I can't, not without you."

"Yes. Yes, you can. You're so strong, Mara. You've always been strong."

Mara's hands came up to grasp his as they held her face. Opening their eyes, they held each other's glance for a long moment. Luke could see the tears she was trying not to shed shining in her eyes.

Come back to me. It was half demand, half plea.

If the Force grants it, you know I will.

Compelling himself to move, Luke turned away. One of his hands stayed clasped in Mara's, a link between the two of them being pulled taut as he took those first difficult steps. Finally, his fingers slipped from hers and he was walking away. He didn't look back, afraid that if he did, he would never be able to leave her.

Mara watched Luke's retreating form for just a moment before she had to look away. She couldn't bear to see him disappear from her view. Standing at the edge of the walkway, she clenched her fists in frustrated anger as the knowledge that he may not return hammered into her consciousness. Force, please don't take him from me now. It's too soon, too soon!

Of course, Mara realized there was every possibility that she herself might not make it through this mission, but somehow, Luke's danger seemed infinitely more potent than her own. To face Darth Vader alone…it seemed either the height of courage or the height of foolishness. Mara let out a rueful little laugh, remembering how often she'd categorized Luke's actions as one or the other of those.

What if he did fail? Vader wanted Luke for the power he possessed. No, it was the Emperor himself who truly wanted Luke. If he was unable to convince the Dark Lord to return to the Light, would Vader turn him over to Palpatine? Almost certainly. Mara shuddered as she contemplated that prospect. It was dangerous enough that Luke was risking his life with one enemy, how was he supposed to deal with two?

To add to her worries, she couldn't even maintain contact with Luke over their bond, as he'd closed it off almost completely. She could still vaguely sense his presence, but it was nowhere near as strong as it had been for the last two months. Of course, Mara understood that he needed all his concentration and focus to be on his meeting with Vader, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

Closing her eyes, Mara tried let the Force calm her, but she was finding it difficult to do so at the moment. She hadn't realized - and probably, neither had Luke - just how much she had come to depend on her lover's presence there with her when she was accessing the vast energy field. Master Yoda would not be pleased, she thought with a wry grin.

"Red?"

Mara turned to see Han walking up behind her. "Yes, what is it, Han?"

"What're you doin' out here by yourself? Where's Luke?"

She sighed as she tried to figure out a way to tell Han that Luke was no longer with the mission. Perhaps they should have talked to him about this, since he was their commanding officer and not just their friend. Then again, this way, if things went really badly - which they were not going to, Mara firmly told herself - Han would be able to disavow all prior knowledge of Luke's actions, hopefully keeping his head from the Alliance chopping block.

"He left."

Han raised one eyebrow in disbelief. "What do you mean, he left? Where, exactly, did he go?" he asked in a calm tone. Mara had the feeling that wouldn't last much longer.

"He went to face Darth Vader," she said in a rush and waited for the explosion. It didn't come. Instead, Han grew deadly still and quiet.

"What did you say?" he asked, his voice a taut whisper.

"Han, it was necessary for him to-"

"Necessary! Necessary!" Han shouted.

Ah, there was the Han she knew. "Because he's a Jedi-"

"Jedi! Why did I just know it would have something to do with all that nonsense!"

"It's not nonsense! How dare you?" Mara said hotly.

"What good is being a Jedi gonna do him when he goes and gets himself killed by Vader, huh? Tell me that, Mara!"

Mara's face went stark white and her eyes suddenly seemed huge in her face. "Don't say that," she whispered harshly.

Han instantly looked remorseful and reached out to tug her into a hard embrace. "Aw, I'm sorry, Red. I didn't mean that, really I didn't."

Mara was mortified to find that she was crying and buried her face in the front of Han's shirt.

"Just hold me, Han. Please," she said tremulously.

"No problem there, sweetheart."