A.N. I don't own starwars, and yet here I am, twisting the characters so!

Luke stared at the radio sitting in his lap. It had always been his intention to return to the Alliance after his training. The information R2 had gotten from Threepio clearly stated that Han, Leia and Chewie were on Naboo. He was conflicted again. As he flew towards Naboo, he gratefully thought of Threepio. If it hadn't been for him, then Luke might never have known about Han, Leia and Chewie till it was too late. Strange that he hadn't sensed any of it in the Force though. How remarkably resilient of the droid. Threepio – the droid was seriously starting to creep him out. As good as he was with mechanics, and as skilled as he was with the Force, there was no way to read a droid's mind. He had two questions: firstly, how did Threepio survive and get away from Dack? Luke had just barely done it. And secondly, why did Threepio throw the second grenade at Dack? It was possible that the droid had gone wild. Sometimes a droid's programming would go, and then the droid would become a renegade, usually to be shut down. Luke shook his head and turned back to his original problem: how to contact the Alliance. They were already gathering the fleet for an attack on the Second Death Star. Would he get there in time? How much time did he even have? As the ship went into Hyperspace, he thought about his final problem: who was the mysterious "advice giver"? Should he have listened to her advice at all? It was just that voice…so familiar…and yet so distant.

"Very well. You have done the right thing, Jade. Now continue with your assignment."

"Yes, My Master."

The Holo of Mara Jade clicked off. How useful it was to have spies everywhere, spying on those who worked for you. And spies spying on those spies and spies spying on the spy-spies. Power did not come easily. But when it did, it came with a certain satisfaction to it. Mara Jade had informed him of many things, the most significant being that Dack Ralter had survived a duel with Luke Skywalker, and that he was Force strong. However, it was also important that Vader had given Dack one of his old lightsabers. Palpatine had said specifically not to do anything until he said so, and here was Vader, disobeying. It was a small thing, but the small things added up. And with Vader, they never stopped adding up.

Dack ran his hand down the long window. He hated it. He couldn't feel anything. He could see his hand against the window, and he could feel wires. But he couldn't feel the cool transparisteel. Dack Ralter had a bionic hand. He wasn't happy about it.

"Ralter?" It was Darth Vader. There was something different about him. Like the way he said "Ralter?" – a question, not a blunt statement. Something was going to happen.

Don't let him intimidate you. He's just human underneath that mask.

"Who are you?" Dack asked out loud.

"Do EMP grenades affect memory now?" The deep bass voice was like a slap in the face.

"Eh, sorry…My Lord."

"Maybe not for long."

"Excuse me?"

"Luke Skywalker is very talented. He is force-strong, and can fight like anything. Yet you survived a duel with him. Do you know why?"

"He wasn't trying to kill me. He was just trying to get the droid." Dack looked down.

"But he would have killed you, if it came to that."

"I would have done the same."

"Yes, however, you hate him."

"I have no way of knowing that he doesn't hate me." There was a pause for a moment.

"Dack." Vader started. "Suppose I were to tell you to get a data card for me. That your life depended on it, and this data card was behind enemy lines. You would go get it, right?"

"Yes, but what-"

"Now imagine you go through many hard tasks, and finally, it's just you, and the guardian of the card. You would have to fight, most likely to the death."

"Yes."

"What if the guardian was blind, deaf, and short one arm?"

"What?"

"What if the guardian was physically handicapped? Would you still kill him?"

"No, obviously, if he couldn't fight back, I'd just take the card and leave."

"Ah, but I never said he couldn't fight back. Just not as well."

Dack sighed. "What's the point of this?"

"Well, a mental handicap can be just the same. A handicap such as not having the Force."

Dack looked up.

"But that's not the case with you, is it, Ralter?"

Dack paused for a moment, considering. "No."

"I see. Well, the Force is a skill well worth the price. Use it well."

Use it well. That's what the note on the lightsaber had said. Vader was walking out the door. Dack considered Vader. He was one of the strongest, if not the strongest Force sensitives out there.

"Um…sir?"

Vader turned around, interested.

"Yes, Ralter?"
"W..Wi..Will you train me?"

If his helmet had allowed it, Vader would have cocked his head to one side.

"Yes." His answer was simple. It was as he had forseen.

"Then you should call me Dack."

"And you may refer to me as Master."

"Yes, Master."

"And Dack, if I may say, the Emperor will give you some recovery time for that injury."

"What of it?"

"I know a very nice vacationing spot. You should take a look at it."

"Where is it?"

"Naboo." He turned and left. Dack smiled, then picked up the lightsaber and tossed it up in his good hand. The game was on. And this time, this time he would make sure Skywalker paid.

A.N. Wasn't that wonderful? I know, I do a really sucky Vader, but hey, remember the focus of the story, k, it's Dack! Y'know, Dack's Revenge, not Luke's or Vader's or even Threepio's, but Dack's Revenge. Yeah. Maybe I should have called it "Revenge of the Dack". Hehe, just kidding. See ya around.