Chapter 11: Graduation Ball
Despite the worry and stress of the night before, Luke found his history exam to be surprisingly kind. The final question was an essay titled 'describe how the role of the Senate changed in the transition from Republic to Empire'. It was a gift after his practical lessons with Professor Graphas.
At the end of the second day of exams, Lieutenant Hicks left a message to say he had a pass ready for Armith now. He noted it was for the main floors only, and his father would have to approve access to his ship hangar and the floor where he and Luke had their private rooms. Luke found he didn't mind. Just the thought of showing Armith his bedroom was more than a little embarrassing.
After another careful analysis of his father's schedule, he found the ISB meeting was again in his calendar, and finally, he was able to invite Armith over.
"So, we've got about two hours," Luke said, as they walked through the first security checkpoint. "I can show you around the main floors and then maybe we can do some study in the library." It was their final exam tomorrow, and his father was one more late night away from introducing an enforced bedtime, so Luke was being careful not to push it.
"Can I see your bedroom?" she asked, looking up at the Imperial flags as they entered the main hall.
"Your security pass doesn't cover that floor," Luke explained.
"But yours does?" she said, smiling at him.
"I'm pretty sure the security team will be watching our every move," Luke said, stopping by an elevator bay. "They get really bored sometimes. We can go up to the—"
Luke broke off as the elevator doors opened, revealing Artoo and Threepio. Artoo began beeping and whistling, and Threepio spoke over him.
"Master Luke! Your guest has arrived … how wonderful!"
Luke was taken aback for a moment, and then just nodded.
"Artoo, Threepio, this is Armith. Armith, these are my droids."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Armith," Threepio said.
I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. This is my counterpart, Artoo Detoo."
Artoo continued to beep and whistle while Armith looked bemused by the droids.
"I'm just taking Armith for a tour," Luke said. "Where are you two going?"
"A tour! Oh, Master Luke, you must let me accompany you. I've been assisting the palace protocol droids in conducting official tours."
"Ah, Threepio, that's a kind offer but …"
Artoo made an encouraging beep. Luke looked between the two droids, feeling a twinge of guilt when he realised how little time he'd spent with them since returning from Mustafar. They were both overdue for some maintenance work.
"All right," he said. "But can we just try and keep it interesting?"
"Of course, Master Luke! Fascinating insights into the history and aesthetics of the Imperial Palace are my specialty!"
Artoo made a rude noise, and Luke instantly knew this was a mistake. There was nothing he could do about it now, however. They started the tour at the conservatory, as Luke knew Armith liked flowers, but after five minutes of listening to Threepio talk about all the different varieties of leaves on the Ranadorian tiger plant, she was clearly over this. It was made worse by Artoo interrupting constantly, apparently feeding Threepio more facts from his databanks.
When they finally reached the library, Luke knew he had to find a way to get the droids to give them some privacy. They only had an hour left.
"Hey, listen you two," Luke said, crouching down to talk to Artoo. "Armith and I need to study for our exam tomorrow, okay? I need you to go and find my databook on economic regulation. It might be in my room somewhere. Try under the bed, in the closet, and in the refresher. If it's not there, check all the tech rooms in the hangar. I might also have left it in one of the speeders, or one of the ships."
"Of course, Master Luke!" Threepio said. "We'll find it as quickly as possible."
"Take as long as you need, Threepio," Luke said. "You two need a rest."
"Oh, I assure you, we are fully charged and ready to—"
"Just leave already, for star's sake," Armith snapped. "Luke, you're way too nice to your droids."
Artoo launched into a series of angry beeps and whistles.
"Artoo!" Luke said, picking up on a few of the insults. "Armith is my friend. If you're going to be like that, then you should stay in the hangar."
Artoo made another rude noise and then turned and rolled away.
"Wait, you silly," Threepio said, walking after him. "Don't get into one of your moods! Master Luke is only trying to—"
The main doors slid closed after them, and Luke turned to Armith. "Sorry about that. I haven't been spending much time with him, and I think he's a little jealous."
She raised an eyebrow. "Jealous? You should scrap it and get a new model. That protocol droid as well … he never shuts up."
Luke felt a wave of protectiveness at her words and turned away. So many people treated droids with no respect at all, so he shouldn't take it personally. But it was difficult to hear anyone say that about his two friends. She took his left hand in both of hers, and started caressing it. "Doesn't matter now, anyway," she said. "We're alone."
Luke gestured up at one of the cameras. "Don't count on it."
Armith glanced around. "This is a big, old library. There's got to be some secret rooms."
"Well … there is one secret door," Luke said. "I think it used to be a back route out of the library for the Jedi temple guards, back in the day. It's all been closed up now, but part of the passage is still there. Come on, I'll show you."
They climbed up the winding staircase, and Luke wandered between the shelves of databooks until he found the right spot. He turned on the light when he found it.
"It's not that comfortable, but we can study on the floor," Luke said, dropping his school backpack by the entrance.
Armith followed him in, grinning for some reason. Then she turned off the light.
"Kind of hard to study with the light off," Luke remarked. There was still a dim light from the open door, but as Armith came further in, the thin door closed behind her.
"I thought we might take a break from the study for a moment," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Luke backed up against the wall, thanking the Force there were no security cameras in here.
The first hint Vader had that something was wrong was the sight of Artoo racing down the main entrance hall at top speed, with Threepio trying and failing to keep up and loudly complaining about 'temperamental astromech droids'. Artoo whistled loudly when he saw him, and came to a halt, wheels screeching on the polished floor at the abrupt change in motion.
"What is it?" Vader asked.
Luke! He has a girlfriend who doesn't even like droids! She was rude to Threepio! You need to do something!
"Artoo, what are you telling Lord Vader?" Threepio said, finally catching up. "I'm sorry, sir. He's throwing the most childish tantrum. Anyone would think he was fresh off the assembly line."
"Girlfriend?" Vader repeated.
"Yes, he does have a young lady with him," Threepio said. "She was rather rude to me, but I am used to such things. No one worries about upsetting a droid."
"Where are they?"
"They are studying in the library. Master Luke did say they have an exam tomorrow. We are supposed to be looking for his databook on economic regulation, but I'm afraid Artoo is being too contrary for such a task."
"Never mind, Threepio," Vader said. "Return to the hangar. I doubt Luke has any genuine need for a databook."
"Oh. Well, if you think so, sir."
Vader immediately turned for the elevator. Artoo followed close behind, chirping away about Luke's 'poor taste in romantic companions'.
"He must take after his mother in that regard."
It took Artoo a moment, but then he made a chuckling noise and immediately cheered up. He remained behind Vader when they left the elevator and proceeded into the library. There was no sign of any occupants, but he could feel a strong sense of Luke's presence. His son was clearly too distracted to pay attention to their bond, as he didn't respond to his appearance until he arrived outside the secret passage and triggered the door with a wave of the Force.
This was followed by a violent scuffling noise, and Luke scrambled out of the darkness, sending waves of panic and embarrassment across their link. Vader gave Luke a silent visual inspection. His hair was ruffled, he was breathing quickly, and turning a very bright shade of red.
Behind him, a girl tried to slip past, but then stopped and stared up at Vader with a wide-eyed expression of fear and disbelief.
"Um ... Armith, this is my father," Luke said, sounding like he was trying hard to sound casual.
"I suggest you remove yourself from my presence as quickly as possible," Vader said, pointing at the girl.
She was at least intelligent enough to realize his suggestion was in fact a threat, and she took off for the exit at a sprint. Vader reached out to hold Luke back as he made to go after her, and he angrily shoved him off.
"Thanks a lot! Now she'll never come over again!"
"Good."
"Why do you always embarrass me in front of my friends?!"
"I made it clear you were not to be alone with young women without a chaperone." He looked from Luke to the dark space from where they'd emerged. "What were you doing?"
"None of your business!"
"I suspect she was taking advantage of your lack of experience in such matters. This is why you need a chaperone."
Luke closed his eyes for a moment, and the silence caused Vader to become aware of something unusual about his son. The Force was shaking with his frustration. They had argued before, and Luke had thrown far worse tantrums than this, but it had never generated such energy. Interesting.
"I just want to be normal," Luke said, his tone now quiet, in contrast to the Force energy surrounding him. "I want to graduate high school. I want to go to the pilot academy. I want to live somewhere normal where you don't need a security pass. And yes, I want to be able to have a girlfriend and maybe even get married someday. Maybe have a family of my own. And if I have children, I don't want their friends to be too terrified to speak to me because I'm a Sith Lord!"
Vader felt cold at the words. The imagined vision began to play out in his mind. Luke, happily married and living on some mid-rim planet of endless suburbia. Every other year, his son would find the time to visit—only to show him his newest grandchild and ask if he'd mind babysitting.
Gone would be any possibility of training him to fulfill his potential. Gone would be any chance of ruling the galaxy with his son by his side. Nothing would lie ahead but an endless future watching his master lead the galaxy further into self-destruction.
"You would deny your own destiny?!" Vader asked.
But Luke was no longer standing in front of him. He was halfway down the stairs.
"I'm spending the night at Ben's!" he shouted back.
Fortunately, it was Ben who answered the door to his apartment, and not his father, as Captain Jarnet was out with coworkers for the evening. Ben even managed to contain his laughter when he explained the circumstances that had led to him needing a place to take shelter for the night.
"So have you tried calling her?" Ben suggested.
"No, I'm too embarrassed," Luke said, looking down. He was sitting cross-legged on the couch in Ben's lounge. "She probably thinks I lied about him being at a meeting just to get her to come over."
"At least now you can concentrate on studying for the exam tomorrow," Ben said, turning back to his own datapads, spread out on the kitchen island.
Ben did have a point, but what he really wanted to do was download the application forms for the flight school at the Imperial Academy and start the enrollment process. There was no point in waiting for his father's permission. He just had to go ahead and do this, much like his friend had done with medical school.
But after taking a look at the exam score requirements, he concluded he could stand to wait a day and invest his time this evening in preparing for tomorrow's final.
In the morning, Luke woke to the smell of a cooked breakfast. Ben was still snoring when he walked past his bedroom door on his way to investigate, so he wasn't surprised to find Ben's father already up and about. He was pushing something around a hot pan.
"Good morning," he said, cheerily.
Luke slid onto one of the high kitchen stools and rested his arms on the counter top. "Wow. I haven't seen food being cooked the old-fashioned way since I came to Coruscant. What are those?"
"Pancakes. My grandmother's old recipe." He scooped a well-cooked one off the pan and put it on a plate for Luke. "Thought we'd celebrate the last day of high school for you two. Try it. You can really taste the human-cooked difference."
Luke had to admit it was delicious. In a few minutes, both he and Ben's father had eaten a good dozen between them, and Luke was starting to wonder if he should save some for Ben.
"So, what are your plans over the next few months?" Ben's father asked, flipping another pancake.
Luke shrugged. "I'm not sure. My father did mention something about attending some practical lessons at the military headquarters and ISB." Luke poured syrup on another hot pancake and munched it in silence for a couple of minutes.
"I've been meaning to thank you," Luke said, finally. "But I haven't had a chance."
"For what?"
"Taking me to the medical center after ... well, you know what happened."
"You remember that?" He sounded sad.
Luke nodded.
He was facing away from Luke, loading the dirty cooking implements into the cleaning unit. "Luke, do you remember the first time we met? I told you to contact me if you needed help."
"Sure," Luke said, feeling a little unsettled by the serious tone.
"I want you to know that even though a lot has changed since then, it still applies. It will always apply. I know a lot of the palace staff feel exactly the same."
Luke was saved from having to reply by the sound of a door sliding open. A half-asleep Ben wandered out of the refresher.
"Smells good ..." he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"You better hurry up," Luke said, as his friend came to sit beside him.
"Pancakes," Ben said, pushing five onto his plate. "I can't remember when we last had these. Luke, you should come over more often."
Luke had been thinking the same thing. The sound of the sizzling pan was taking him back to farm days. Uncle Owen had a similar attitude to cooking droids, insisting food tasted better when you put the effort in yourself. He didn't like droids in general.
Ben's father dumped the last of the pancakes on the plate, stirring Luke out of his memory. He moved his fork towards them, but Ben got in first.
"That's the last of the ingredients, by the way," Ben's father said. "If you want more, you better go food shopping after your exam."
"Boring," Ben complained.
Ben's father raised an eyebrow and Luke could sense he was about to start a responsibility lecture.
"No problem," Luke said, hastily trying to keep the peace. "I need to go to the mall anyway. I need to find something to wear to Lieutenant Hicks' wedding and the graduation ball." Both events were the same day.
"There's a graduation ball?" Ben's father said, clearly surprised. He looked at Ben. "You never mentioned this."
"Because I'm not going."
"Why not?" Luke asked, surprised.
"I don't have a date."
"Did you bother to ask anyone?" Ben's father asked. "Or were you too busy studying?"
Ben frowned but remained silent.
"You don't need a date," Luke said. "I bet lots of people don't have dates. I didn't have a date until recently and I was still going."
Ben didn't reply. His father only sighed in response and then moved around the apartment, picking up fallen objects and moving furniture out of the way. He and Ben did not speak to each other again until he was walking out the door.
"Remember to lock up when you leave. Don't answer the door without checking the security camera first."
"Sure."
The doors slid closed behind him. Shortly afterwards, Ben finally finished his breakfast and tossed the plate noisily into the automatic washer.
"Come on, let's get the exam over with."
There was no time before the exam to smooth things over with Armith, and Luke found himself distracted a few times in the middle of typing up long answers to multi-part questions. She was sitting over the other side of the room and didn't appear particularly focused either. One of the monitoring droids hovered beside his desk, and he quickly looked back at his own screen.
After it was all over, he made his way through the crowd of celebrating students and found Armith just coming out of the refresher.
"Hi," Luke said, reaching out to hold both her hands. "I'm so sorry about yesterday. He must have come back early … I should have had Threepio on lookout duty."
"It's fine," Armith said. "I'll see you at the ball tomorrow night, okay?"
"You don't want to go somewhere later? To celebrate the end of exams?"
"Ophelia and I are going shopping for ball dresses."
"Okay. Um … what time should I pick you up tomorrow, then?"
"Don't worry, I'll meet you there. Ophelia's chauffeur is picking me up." She reached up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek and then disappeared into the crowd.
Luke stared after her, feeling a little rejected. He'd been planning to pick Armith up in the MX speeder and maybe introduce himself to her parents. They might let go of any negative assumptions once they actually met him. But it wasn't to be.
And why didn't she want to see him until tomorrow night? Had meeting his father really scared her so badly? He frowned, and his anger over the incident rose up once again. This would not be easy to fix.
Greein came up to him then, asking how he'd found the exam, and Luke found it was a struggle to give a sensible answer. He really didn't feel like being around people right now and definitely not like celebrating. He soon found Ben talking with one of the teachers, and his friend came over once he saw his dejected expression.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, fine," Luke said. "You still want to go to the mall? I'm leaving now."
Ben nodded, frowning. He followed him into the elevator and continued to glance at him, until Luke looked away.
"Is Armith mad?" he prompted.
"No, she's … I don't know. She seems fine."
"Seems?"
Luke looked down.
"Does this mean we're now both dateless for the ball?"
"No," Luke snapped. "I thought you weren't coming to the ball?"
Ben raised his hands in a calm down gesture. Luke sighed. "She's coming, she just didn't want me to pick her up for some reason. She said Ophelia is picking her up. I guess that's okay. I shouldn't complain."
"Sounds like she's realized you're not the nice accessory she was looking for," Ben suggested.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means your father is actually a really good litmus test for weeding out insincere people," Ben suggested. "If they can accept him, you know they genuinely like you and aren't just interested in your power."
"I don't have any power," Luke said. "And that's an insanely high bar for anyone to get over. I'm not even talking to my father right now."
Ben actually rolled his eyes. "You know that never works. I've tried it enough to know. It just turns into a contest of who is more stubborn."
"I don't care. Besides, I'm ten times more stubborn than him."
"Don't I know it," Ben mumbled.
"What?!"
"I'm just kidding—"
"No, you're not!" Luke said, feeling his temper rise. "You're jealous of me because I have a date and now you're trying to make me doubt her sincerity."
"Are you feeling okay?" Ben said, frowning. "You're acting crazier than normal."
Luke made a noise of frustration and started walking determinedly across the hangar towards the speeder. "Find your own way to the mall," he said. "I need to be alone."
After flying laps around Imperial City, pushing the limits of the speeder's engine, Luke found himself considering his next move. He wasn't talking to his father, he was angry with his friend, and his girlfriend didn't want to see him until tomorrow. The Bloodfin was at home, along with his father, so visiting the Speedsters wasn't an option.
At times like this, he wished he could take a ship and fly off into the stars.
Finally, he parked the speeder on a public landing pad at the top end of the senate square. There was a lookout point within walking distance that provided a clear view over the statues and fountains down below, across to the huge round dome of the senate chamber.
The viewing space was filled with tourists taking holos, as usual, but Luke secured himself a vacant bench when a family of Gossams departed on a tour airbus. As he sat down, he gazed at the square far below, following random people as they went about their business. Normal people.
"Hello."
Luke jumped and looked up quickly at the figure beside him. He immediately broke into a smile, and not just because his greeter was holding two ice creams.
"Leia!"
"I thought you looked like cheering up," she said, handing him the ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. "Taking a break from study?"
"Study is finished," Luke explained. "My last exam was this morning. I'm just ... thinking about my life, I guess."
"I like to come here for the view," Leia said, taking a bite from her own ice cream as she sat down beside him. "The Senate looks much better from this far away."
Luke grinned. "I agree."
"So what are your plans now? Looking for a job?"
"Well," Luke said, distantly. "I know what I want to do. But I don't think it's really up to me."
"It's always up to you."
Luke was silent, thinking. It was frustrating, not being able to explain further, because he knew Leia would understand what it was like to be destined for public service. She was a princess, after all.
Nearby, a tour guide was spouting random facts about the senate to a group of visiting Mon Calamari students and their teacher. Luke raised an eyebrow when the guide said loudly that the most important decisions in the galaxy were made in the building in front of them.
"Should we correct him?" Leia said, mirroring his own thoughts.
"You can," Luke said. "You could probably get away with it."
"Far from it. I was permanently removed from a refugee planning committee yesterday."
"What happened?"
"I offended chairman General Uesion. It started last week, when I visited the Ritagis refugee camps, in order to make holo-recordings and conduct interviews to support my presentation to the committee. He said it amounted to nothing more than Rebel propaganda. Then, after I gave him a written report that provided irrefutable evidence that the actions of the regional governor were directly responsible for the refugee's situation, he turned bright red and said I was a disgrace to the senate."
She smiled slightly, a look of satisfaction in her dark brown eyes.
"He sounds like a nerfherder," Luke observed.
Leia smiled wider. "I knew someone else would see that. My father thought I was baiting him for the sake of it."
"Parents never understand," Luke said, bitterly. "But I won't get started on my father. He met my girlfriend yesterday, and I don't think she's recovered yet. She doesn't want to see me until our graduation ball tomorrow night."
Leia nodded, knowingly. "Just try dating when you're a princess and a senator. The last ball I attended, the Alderaan royal guard was breathing down my date's neck the entire time."
Luke suddenly had the urge to ask if Leia wanted to come to the ball tomorrow. He stopped himself just before the words left his mouth, as logic reminded him that he couldn't take two girls, unless he had a death wish.
He thought quickly and then had a sudden idea.
"Remember my friend Ben?" Luke said. "He's disappointed that he doesn't have a date for our graduation ball. He's had a crush on a girl in our class for years, but she just laughed at the idea of going with him."
"Laughed? How cruel."
"Yes. Now he's saying he won't go if he doesn't have a date."
"I'll go with him," Leia said. "I'd love to go to a regular ball where the attendees aren't royalty and senators. That is, if you think your friend wouldn't mind."
"I'll let you know if he considers a date with an Alderaanian princess to meet his standards," Luke said, smirking.
Luke was still smiling by the time he arrived back at the palace, much later in the day. It had taken him a good hour to convince Ben that he wasn't playing a cruel joke, and Leia really did want to go with him. It took another hour to convince him that he was worthy to take a princess on a date. They spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall, buying clothes to wear to the ball, flowers for the girls, cologne and bulk ingredients to make enough pancakes to feed an army.
His father wasn't in the hangar or his room, and Luke was relieved he wasn't forced to relive yesterday's argument already, as it had been a long, exhausting day, and tomorrow's schedule was just as busy. Nothing felt better than to belly-flop into bed and forget about his crazy life for a few hours. Thankfully, there had been no further nightmare visions since the incident with the Emperor, something Luke was wholeheartedly grateful for.
He liked to think that his decision to say no to the Emperor's offer had rendered the dream-future non-existent, even if he was currently not on speaking terms with his father. If only he'd just admit when he was behaving unreasonably, they wouldn't have so many arguments.
When he woke in the morning, he noticed a box had been left on the chair, beside where he'd laid out the clothes he was wearing to the wedding and then to the graduation ball. He was fairly certain it hadn't been there last night, but perhaps he'd been too tired to notice. After fumbling with the edges of it for a moment, the lid fell open, and he found it was a model TIE fighter, carefully sculpted with all the fine details. There was also a gold display stand.
Luke sighed as he looked at it, feeling a twinge of guilt. Maybe his father had intended this as a peace offering, but the humiliation was still too fresh.
Artoo and Threepio were waiting near his speeder when he arrived in the hangar bay. The smaller droid had been avoiding him since their argument yesterday, but he appeared to have recovered enough to give him a cheerful beep.
"You look nice, Master Luke," Threepio said. "You must pass on Artoo and I's best wishes to Lieutenant Hicks."
"I will, Threepio," Luke said, patting him on the shoulder. "Tell my father I won't be home until midnight because of my graduation ball, will ya?"
He was pretty sure Lieutenant Hicks still considered both droids to be a dangerous security risk and lamented their lack of restraining bolts, but there was no need to tell Threepio that.
The wedding was held at a fancy venue just outside of Imperial City, full of glass-domed gardens and indoor waterfalls. A large number of the palace staff attended, including many of the royal guards in their black dress uniforms. This made for a strange experience where they all knew who he was, but he had no idea who most of them were, having never actually seen their faces in five years of living at the palace. But Ben's father was there, and he waved him over to sit with him and Commander Julius, who was looking surprisingly emotional.
"Are you okay?" Luke whispered.
She nodded, and then reached up to dab her eyes with a tissue.
"She gets all mushy over weddings," a man beside her said, nudging her in a playful way.
"Cupcake, this is my husband," she said.
"Hello, nice to meet you," the man said, reaching past his wife to shake his hand. "Are you another member of the security team?"
Luke raised an eyebrow, surprised an adult could think he was that old. But now that he thought about it, there were ensigns working at the palace who were only a few years older than he was.
Commander Julius gave her husband a look. "Seriously? You think I'd call a member of my team 'Cupcake'? This is Luke Skywalker. He's Lord Vader's son."
Her husband glanced at him again, this time with the familiar uncomfortable expression of disbelief.
"You know, that actually makes it sound even weirder that you call him Cupcake," Captain Jarnet said.
"I've known this young lad since he was a lot shorter than he is now," she said, putting an arm around Luke. "I taught him how to take down a Gamorrean in hand-to-hand combat in under ten seconds."
"She did," Luke agreed. "I'm sure that will come in useful when I least expect it."
"Yes, who knows who's invited on the other groom's side," Captain Jarnet said.
"The mother of the other groom is my school principal, so I think we're safe," Luke said, smirking.
The ceremony itself was soon underway, and afterwards, there was a long receiving line to congratulate the couple, and then light refreshments while the various wedding party members had holo images made. Luke managed to avoid almost all polite conversations with adults about what he was going to do now that he had finished school by spending an hour listening to stories from Lieutenant Hicks' eccentric uncle, who had mistaken him for one of his great-nephews, and wanted to tell him all about the time he won a sabacc game against a lesser-known Hutt crime lord. It was actually a pretty good story.
After all the speeches were done and dessert had been served, Luke eyed the time, knowing he needed to go soon to pick up Ben and Leia for the graduation ball. Captain Jarnet would be leaving too, as he wanted to take some holos of him and Ben before they left. But Lev appeared by his table and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey," he said. "Mind if we take a walk?"
"Sure," Luke said, standing up. He smiled at Lev, who had worn his dress uniform, as had Lieutenant Hicks. "It's so weird to see you wearing something other than your normal uniform."
"You wouldn't recognise me if you saw me in civvies," he said, returning the smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes though. He seemed sad.
"Don't tell me you get mushy over weddings too," Luke teased, as they walked down a path towards one of the water features.
"It is a little bittersweet," Lev said. "Hicks' and I have been friends since academy days, and now that he's moving out of the apartment, it feels like the end of an era. That's what I wanted to talk about, actually. Life changes."
"Uh, okay," Luke said, raising an eyebrow. He really hoped this wasn't about relationships.
Lev glanced behind them, making sure they were alone, and then said, "I'm sorry I haven't been around since you returned from Mustafar. I was busy with this wedding preparation."
"It's no problem … I've been busy with things myself."
"Yes, I hope all your exams went well."
Luke nodded.
"But we've all been worried about you. After what happened with the Emperor …" Lev looked down, shaking his head.
"It's okay. I mean, it wasn't okay, but I survived," Luke said, attempting to sound casual. "He had all these ideas about my future that I didn't agree with, and he's so used to getting his way all the time, he figured he could just torture me and I'd do whatever he said. I will never understand why my father works for him."
Lev stared at him, looking even more worried, if that were possible.
"My father worked something out with him, and now he wants to train me to use my Force powers. But I'm planning on going to flight school instead. We'll argue about it, but I'm sure he'll give in eventually," Luke said. "He usually does. Besides, I'm not a kid anymore."
Lev was rubbing his temples. "No, you aren't," he agreed. "That's what worries me. Your father has done his best to protect you from the harsh reality of the position you've been born into, and I commend him for that. But clearly the Emperor is taking a keen interest in you now, and it's becoming more difficult."
"I can go to the flight academy in the Outer Rim," Luke suggested. "Spend weekends and semester breaks on Mustafar so I can still see my father. The Emperor will forget I even exist."
Lev was shaking his head. "That isn't how it will go, Luke. Going to the academy will only delay the inevitable. You will find yourself being forced to fight and send other men and women to their deaths over a cause I know you don't truly believe in."
Luke raised his eyebrows. He'd never heard Lev talk like this about the Empire.
"You're a member of the navy," Luke said. "You don't do bad things."
Lev looked down. "I only wish that were true."
"What do you mean?"
"When I served on the Nova, before I came to the Imperial Palace, I was ordered to fire on a conference ship holding many civilians. They were government officials dispatched to negotiate a cease-fire."
"Why?"
"Because it was considered a quick and easy solution to ending a war. Peace negotiations can take months, and they often fail."
"So what did you do?!"
"I told the captain I couldn't open fire on civilians, and he was none too amused. I was taken to the brig, and someone else proceeded to destroy the ship. Disobeying an order is a capital offence in the navy, and I sat in the brig for days, waiting for my execution. However, as it turned out, luck was on my side. They couldn't formally charge me without exposing their plan in that system to the Senate. Instead, I was reassigned to desk work. Hicks found me the job at the Imperial Palace and due to some friends in high places, the incident is no longer on my record."
"Does my father know about this?" Luke asked.
"No, and it isn't the type of information I'd spread around, even among my peers. I only tell you because I feel you need to be prepared." He looked down. "I've been thinking about putting in for a transfer. I miss life in space, and I know they've been looking for navigational officers in the Outer Rim. It will be quiet, and I'd be unlucky to have a bad experience like that again. There's been no reports of Rebel activity out there."
The words made Luke feel cold. Lev leaving? But he'd always been there.
"I hope you'll keep in touch," Lev added. "I know a time may come when that will be inappropriate. Perhaps sooner than I think."
"It will never be inappropriate!" Luke insisted. He paused to steady himself. "I was afraid I would die in the Emperor's office. But there's something I'm even more scared of … losing myself and becoming something I would hate. If I ever looked at any of my friends and thought I was above them, then I would no longer be me."
Lev reached out to embrace him then, enclosing him in both arms.
"Never change, Luke," he said, quietly.
Ben was pacing up and down in the lounge when Luke and Captain Jarnet arrived at the apartment. He turned to face them, eyes wide and rubbing his fingers together in a nervous way.
"I'm-all-ready-let's-go."
"No, wait, I need a holo of you both," Captain Jarnet said, walking over to the cabinet to retrieve the device.
"No holos!" Ben said, covering his face.
"One wouldn't hurt," Luke said, grinning. He dragged Ben around, and Ben's father quickly recorded the image. He then lowered the camera and just stared at them.
"It seems like just last week the two of you were just a couple of kids."
"And you talk about your father being embarrassing," Ben said, pulling Luke towards the door. "Bye, Dad."
Once they were in the corridor, Ben paused to straighten his collar, and then glanced at Luke. "You made it through the wedding?"
"Yeah, it was fine. Lev said some strange things, though."
"Lev? What things?"
Luke thought back on it, and then shook his head. "Never mind. We better not be late—" He broke off, sniffing the air. "What is that smell?"
"Did I put on too much cologne?" Ben said, looking terrified.
"Uh, not really," Luke lied, not wanting to turn Ben to have a nervous meltdown. "Don't worry. Leia is one of the nicest people I've ever met."
"And she's probably been on hundreds of dates with princes," Ben said, as they entered the elevator. "I'll seem like a lower-level trash picker to her."
"Maybe she's tired of princes and wants to spend the evening with normal guys like us," Luke suggested. "Lower level trash pickers could be her type."
Ben smirked. "Sure, normal guys like the potential heir to the Imperial throne."
Luke looked down. Something in his expression must have given his thoughts away, because Ben stopped walking and stared at him in disbelief.
"You haven't told her?! Luke, that's crazy. Anyone could tell her at any moment. You want her to find out in front of everyone at the ball?"
"There's no reason for anyone to mention it," Luke said. "Just keep her ... distracted."
"How am I supposed to do that?" Ben said.
"I don't know. Talk about politics. You can do that better than me."
"Why did I ever agree to this?" Ben said, rubbing his carefully styled hair.
When they parked on the landing pad at the official Alderaan senator's residence, they remained in silence for a minute before Luke realized his friend wasn't getting out of the speeder any time soon.
"Maybe I should sound the horn?" Luke suggested, sarcastically.
"You go in. She knows you better."
"She's your date."
"The guards will probably strip-search me."
Luke sighed. "Okay, how about we both go in?"
Ben nodded.
The first set of guards were at the entrance into the building from the landing pad, and one of them spoke into his wrist comlink as they approached.
"The young men are here for the princess."
The doors slid apart in response, and then a protocol droid ushered them through into an entrance hall, and then a lounge. They were offered snacks and drinks and soon they were admiring the various paintings on the wall.
"Wow, is this Alderaan?" Ben said, gesturing at a large landscape of a lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains. "It's beautiful."
"That's the north view from the palace," a voice behind them said.
Luke turned, and the sight of Leia made him wonder who was supposed to be taking this woman to a ball, because it couldn't possibly be two ordinary boys like him and Ben. She was wearing a flowing white dress, embroidered with a silver motif, and her hair was done up in plaits on top of her head.
He glanced at Ben, and judging by his expression, he felt the same way.
"Uh … well … it has a lot more water than where I grew up, that's for sure," Luke said.
Leia smiled. "Shall we proceed, gentlemen?"
"Uh ... sure ..." Luke said.
Ben gave him a critical look, but Luke ignored it. His friend couldn't blame him for saying stupid things when he was dead silent.
Once they were out of view of the guards and Luke had opened the speeder door, Ben reached in to retrieve the bouquet.
"Um ... these are for you."
"Thank you," she said, accepting them. "Alderaanian mountain lilies! How thoughtful."
"I suggested them," Luke said, going around to the pilot's side.
"Only because I suggested getting Koreli roses for Armith," Ben countered.
Leia laughed, sliding into the front seat. "You two remind me what it's like to actually be a teenager!"
Luke shared a look with Ben over the speeder's roof, and he knew they were both in agreement. They had to be careful to act mature from now on. But when he opened the pilot's door, he looked down to find Leia had slid all the way over to the pilot's seat.
"You have to let me fly this," she said, looking over the controls. "I never get to fly."
"Uh … are you licensed and insured?"
She gave him a look with such disdain, Luke hastily raised his hands. "Okay, fine. Um … Ben, you get in the back."
As soon as he had climbed in and closed the passenger door, Leia took off with the type of impatient acceleration that reminded him of the way his father flew.
"Light touch!" Luke said, hastily buckling his seat restraints. "I've made a lot of modifications."
"I can tell," she said, smiling. She merged into a lane, and then took a turn off for the industrial area, outside of Imperial City, weaving around slower speeders all the while.
"Uh, the ball venue is back that-a-way," Luke said, pointing behind them. He was grinning though, enjoying the ride.
"I know, let's just … stretch our legs for a bit," she suggested, taking advantage of a clear patch of sky to accelerate.
"Ha! She flies like you, Luke," Ben said, holding on as they took a dive down to an abandoned factory.
"Hey, I have an excuse," Luke said. "Crazy flying is in my genes." He glanced at Leia. "Is this what they taught you at princess school?"
"I wish. I had lessons from the Alderaan royal protection squad, and even then I had to push them to teach me something other than a standard beginner course."
She took them for a few more laps of the industrial district, and then sighed as she turned back. "All right. I guess duty calls."
"Hey, we can be fashionably late," Luke said. "If you want the real Coruscant teen experience, we should stop by a fly-thru diner."
"Can we?" Leia said, lighting up. "I've never done that."
An hour later, they were still sitting in a booth at some tacky diner that specialised in food loaded with sugar and salt, looking more than a little out of place in their ball outfits. But no one bothered them, and Luke found he never ran out of things to talk about with Leia. They soon discovered they had the same birthday, the same taste in pizza and the same opinion on whether you should put socks on before pants, or the other way around.
Ben kept an eye out for any roving paparazzi droids while sipping a milkshake, and then finally suggested they should get a move on as Armith might be waiting for Luke.
"Oh, good point," Luke said, checking the time. "Although, you know how Ophelia always likes to make a late, grand entrance and she was coming with her, so … but still."
Leia needed to visit the refresher, and Luke turned to Ben once they were alone.
"Sorry about that. I'm taking up all her attention."
Ben just smirked. "Don't worry about it. You two are like soul mates or something … you should tell her the truth already. Or maybe it will be easier if I tell her."
"No, no," Luke said, quickly. "I'll know when the moment is right."
When Leia returned, he wrestled the speeder keys from her, and soon they were heading for the Majestic Hotel. Their late arrival meant it was a struggle to find a space on the landing pads, which were already covered with luxury speeders and chauffeurs, and they had to catch an elevator up several floors from a lower level. Once inside, they were handed their commemorative yearbook, and Ben was soon smiling over the senior year photos.
"They've awarded Greein most likely to become a Sith Lord," he said to Luke, grinning.
Luke sighed. "Please tell me they didn't do anything that stupid for me."
Ben laughed even louder. "It says 'Most likely to open a rescue farm for broken droids'. Who did this? They've got you down."
Luke pulled it away and saw Ben had been awarded, "Most likely to actually get a university degree" while they'd given Ophelia, "Most likely to become Emperor."
He shook his head, and then decided it was time to try and find Armith. He left Leia at a table with Ben, and wandered through the crowd of his classmates and teachers, some of whom were nearly unrecognisable under the sparkling jewellery and make-up.
There was no sign of his date, but eventually he found Ophelia, who was sitting at a table with a young man whom Luke recognized as the son of another regional governor. His eyes widened in recognition when he saw Luke, and then he mumbled something about getting a drink and disappeared into the crowd.
"Hi," Luke said, sitting down. "I was held up. Is Armith here?"
"She said she'd come later. Something about a hair crisis," Ophelia said.
"Oh. Well, if you see her before I do, tell her I'm sitting there." Luke pointed vaguely towards the tables on the mezzanine level.
"Who's that girl with your friend?" Ophelia asked, sipping her drink.
"Princess Leia Organa. She's the senator for Alderaan," Luke said, casually.
Ophelia looked disgusted, as Luke expected. She was clearly upset that someone had managed to secure royalty as a ball date, when the best she could do was a governor's son.
"Well, my father says she's a Rebel sympathizer," she said, finally.
"Yeah, but she's royalty," Luke said, grinning.
"Since when did you care about that?"
"I don't. But I know you do."
Ophelia sighed. "Okay. You can tell your friend he can have one dance with me. That's it."
"You might not meet with his social standing requirements anymore," Luke said.
"What?!" she said, surprised.
Luke laughed. "I'm just kidding. I'll tell him. By the way, what are you doing next year? I guess I'll still see you at those boring parties I'm forced into attending."
Ophelia nodded. "My father wants me to do some diplomatic training, but I want to take a gap year while I decide. Travelling more would be nice, but I want to stay on Coruscant. How about you?"
"Oh, I'll probably be going back to the farm I grew up on," Luke said, smirking.
Ophelia rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry I said that, but Armith was really annoying me that day." She was silent for a moment, and then added, "You aren't really attached to her, are you?"
"I like her," Luke said. "Why?" He suddenly felt worried. "Is she still upset about what happened with my father? She is, isn't she?"
"No," Ophelia sighed. "Forget it. I'll tell her where you are when she arrives."
"Thanks," Luke said, standing up. "See you."
When he returned to the table where Ben and Leia had been earlier, he found only their glasses remained. A quick check of the dance floor revealed Ben had obviously worked up the courage to ask Leia to dance. Or else Leia had done the asking, which seemed more likely to Luke.
After several different pieces of music, several different drinks, and several conversations with passing students and teachers, Luke finally decided it was time to go and cut in.
When he appeared at Ben's side, his friend gave him a suspicious look.
"Where's Armith?"
"She's not here yet. Mind if I dance with your date?"
"Well ..."
"Ophelia said she'll dance with you," Luke said. "Why don't you go and ask her?"
"Nice joke."
"I would never joke about that."
"She'd be crazy not to," Leia said. "You're a great dancer."
Luke took advantage of Ben's momentary dazed look to take Leia's arms and they moved back into the middle of the floor.
"We were forced to learn to dance at school," Luke explained. "Hours and hours of lessons."
But he had to admit, he was grateful for them now. His father had told him at the time that he'd appreciate it one day, and he'd refused to believe him.
"Dancing lessons aren't so bad," Leia said. "You should see social etiquette lessons. Learning the appropriate form of address for a governor, a viceroy, a duke ... it's never ending."
"I know what you mean," Luke said, turning Leia around.
"You have social lessons at school too?"
"No, uh ..." Luke realized he'd inadvertently hinted at his father's importance once again. "I meant I could imagine what you mean."
He stayed silent for a while, half-listening to the music. Maybe Ben was right and it was time he told Leia the truth. She knew him well enough now that it shouldn't matter that she didn't like his father. Maybe he should start working towards it.
Leia sighed, happily. "Thanks for inviting me tonight, Luke. I'm having a great time. I can't remember the last time I went to a party that didn't have the galaxy's most notorious tyrants in attendance."
Luke looked away, realizing now definitely wasn't the time to mention his father.
"I'm glad you're here," he said.
"You don't know how much I needed to take my mind off my job, if only for a few hours."
"Why," Luke said, looking into her warm brown eyes. It felt so comfortable, like he could stare at her all day without needing to look away. "What's happening?"
"Something. Something that might change everything ... for the worse."
"What is it?"
"Can I trust you, Luke?" Leia asked, as they moved away from another couple. "I mean, really trust you?"
"Completely," Luke said.
"Then try imagining this. A battle station, capable of destroying an entire planet in a single blast."
Luke smirked. "That's impossible."
"Is it?"
"Sure. The energy required to power that kind of blast ... the battle station would have to be as large as a moon."
"Exactly."
"Are you saying this really exists?" Luke asked, disbelieving.
"Yes. The Empire has been building this for years. Palpatine arranged for its construction even before he'd declared himself Emperor."
"Then why haven't I heard about it before?"
"It's top secret. At least, it is now."
"If it's top secret, then how did you get to hear about it?"
"I have contacts," Leia said, vaguely.
"But why would the Emperor want to blow up planets?" Luke asked. "He'd be the Emperor of empty space."
"Fear. He wouldn't even have to actually do it ... just the knowledge that the Empire held that kind of power would keep the populace living in fear. Fear means control. But believe me, he would do it. He'd destroy any planet that resisted his rule."
Luke felt his guts twist with the memories he'd tried hard to forget. Unimaginable pain. The feeling of terror as he stared up at the vile inhuman creature who claimed to own his father. Who wanted to own him too.
"Let's change the subject," he said, tightly.
Immediately, Luke realized this was the wrong thing to say. She let him go and shook her head. "Oh, Luke. I wish I could just change the subject and forget about it. But too many are suffering under the Emperor's rule. Many more will suffer if this battle station becomes operational. If we all just change the subject, what then?"
"But if it is true, then what can people like you and me do about it?" Luke said. "Protest outside the Senate and get arrested? Join the Rebellion and start planting bombs and killing Imperial soldiers? I can't see how that will fix anything."
Leia looked distant then, and Luke kept watching her face, hoping she might actually have a good answer for him. He wished there was one. But then someone appeared beside him, and he felt fingers enclose around his right hand. He turned, already sensing it was Armith.
"Hi," he said. "You look beautiful! Uh … Armith, this is … Princess Leia Organa."
Leia's serious expression vanished, and she greeted Armith warmly. Luke had to admire how easily she could hide her feelings, as there were times when he felt like an open book to the entire universe.
"Will you come for a walk in the gardens with me?" Armith asked, turning back to Luke.
"Sure, um …" he glanced at Leia, who just nodded and smiled at him. "I'll make sure Ben gets to dance with this snobby Grand Moff's daughter."
"Thanks."
As they walked away from the dance floor, Luke felt the need to explain. "She's a friend … she's here with Ben."
"Oh, sure," Armith said, sounding disinterested.
In the domed garden, they passed several couples that made Luke look away in embarrassment. Hopefully that wasn't why Armith wanted to come here, as he really wasn't in the mood, not after the discussion he'd just had with Leia. Finally, they found an unoccupied area at the end of a gravel path, and Armith sat down on a bench.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked, sensing something wasn't quite right. She wasn't looking at him. He sat down on the bench beside her.
"Luke, we can't be a couple anymore."
"What?" Luke blinked in disbelief. "Why?"
She was silent, and Luke suddenly realized the answer to his own question.
"Listen, you don't have to have anything to do with my father if you don't want to ... I'm not my father!"
"I know," she said, "it's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"We had fun, but ... I didn't mean for this to be long term. You're a really nice guy, and I don't want to hurt you."
Luke was silent, staring blankly into the trees. Too late, he thought.
"Look, I'll be honest," she said, almost as if she heard his thought. "Ophelia was always being a pain about my boyfriends, always making out hers were so much better, and mine were not worthy. I wanted to make her jealous, by dating someone who was even more important than she was."
"You were dating me to make Ophelia jealous?!" Luke said, shocked.
"But it didn't work," Armith explained. "She started going on about how I was taking advantage of your innocence, and dating you was the lowest thing I'd ever done, like she's some crusader for truth and justice. Then your father caught us, and ... it was obvious he thought the same thing. Ophelia said he'd probably hunt me down and strangle me if he ever saw me with you again."
Luke was silent, still trying to make sense of all this.
"So it's best that we just leave it here," she said, fingering her bracelet. "But you know ... we can still be friends."
"Sure," Luke said, flatly.
She started to walk away, but Luke looked up.
"Can I just know one thing? Did any of it mean anything to you? Or was it all just ... fun?"
She shrugged. "As I said, you're a nice guy ... the nicest guy I've ever dated. You deserve someone better than me."
She disappeared into the shadows cast by the trees, leaving Luke alone.
Luke couldn't bring himself to face Ben and Leia after what had happened. He withdrew to the MX speeder's pilot seat and turned up the tint on the windows. He felt so ... worthless. His relationship with Armith had meant so much to him. It lifted him out of the despair he could have so easily fallen into after the Emperor's attack. It made his life seem normal all of a sudden. And now, it was over. Just like that.
It was hard to be angry with her. He was the one who had invested so much into this in a short amount of time. He'd never stopped to think that maybe she didn't feel the same way.
When Ben and Leia finally came looking for him, he braced himself to deny everything. He knew he wouldn't be able to explain all this without breaking down into tears. That was too embarrassing to contemplate.
Leia entered the speeder first, followed by Ben.
"Are you okay?" she asked, immediately.
"We're ready to go home when you are," Ben said, simply.
They already knew. As if the entire thing wasn't embarrassing enough, now it was the hottest gossip of the night.
"You can stay if you want to," Luke said.
"I'm getting a little tired," Leia said, "and I've got an early meeting tomorrow."
"Yeah, we should leave before the speeches start," Ben said.
Luke started up the speeder's engine, silently thanking the Force that he could always count on his friends. His bed was where he wanted to be right now, and he didn't know if he was ever going to leave it again.
There was silence in the back seat of the speeder. Luke glanced in the mirror as they joined a traffic lane. They were both looking out the windows. Stars, even they were embarrassed.
"Are you dropping me off first?" Ben asked, eventually.
Luke glanced down at the cityscape, and realized he'd missed the turnoff for Leia's residence.
"Yes," he said, simply.
When they landed at Ben's apartment, Leia climbed out as well. Luke watched them through the window as Leia said goodnight to Ben. She said something to make him laugh, and Luke rolled his eyes, feeling cynical. Finally, his friend left, and Leia returned. She climbed into the passenger seat beside him.
Luke took off immediately. They were halfway to Leia's apartment when she finally said something.
"I'm really sorry about what happened. I wanted to find her and hurt her, but Ben talked me out of it."
"I suppose everyone was talking about it," Luke said, struggling to keep his anger out of his voice.
"No. Ophelia told Ben while she was dancing with him. No one else knew."
"It's my fault," Luke said, finally. "How could I be so stupid?!"
"How was it your fault?"
"I rushed into it. I didn't stop to think about whether she was really serious. I was just so desperate to have a normal life."
"Did she ever give you reason to think that she wasn't?"
"Maybe she did, and I just didn't know," Luke said, sighing. "I don't have a lot of experience with relationships, in case you can't tell."
"I have had several relationships," Leia said. "Some longer than others. But I've never come across the kind of person who breaks up with someone at a ball that they asked them to in the first place. That's really low."
When he brought the speeder to rest on the landing pad, he turned and met Leia's gaze. Once again, he felt the strength of the connection between them. What did it mean? Was Leia Force sensitive?
"I had a great time," she said, finally. "I'm sorry that you didn't."
"You made it a lot better than it would have otherwise been," Luke said.
She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Vader knew he should be spending the evening in quiet meditation in the peace of his oxygen chamber. Instead, he was throwing dueling droids against the wall of the training room, and thinking about his son. He had to start planning how he was going to train this boy. A boy who was still a child in some ways, and acted like it in many more.
Anakin Skywalker had trained Jedi, but those methods would not prepare Luke to survive in a galaxy ruled by the Sith. Darth Vader had trained Inquisitors, but such brutal methods of breaking former Jedi and turning them into obedient servants was not what he desired for his son either. Luke should be trained to rule, not to serve. A more calculated approach was needed.
It was tempting to concentrate mostly on teaching Luke to duel with a lightsaber, as he was certain he would encounter little resistance to the idea. His son did like to be active, as did his father, and mastering the art would enhance his connection to the Force quickly. But he also needed to be sure he didn't neglect to teach the mental discipline required to truly be one with the Force. In other words, all the things that his former self considered boring when he was Luke's age.
But perhaps he was getting too far ahead of himself. Luke had been doing a remarkable job of avoiding him since the whole incident in the library. It was times like this that Vader fully appreciated why parenting was usually a two-person job. It was too painful to even imagine what Padmé might suggest he do to fix the situation, so he did his best to avoid the temptation.
It was well into the evening when he finally switched off his lightsaber and returned upstairs. Threepio had said Luke's graduation ball finished at midnight, so it was a surprise to sense his son's presence in the immediate vicinity. He followed that sense to the balcony, just down the hall from his son's bedroom.
The sight of Luke's deflated posture, half-slumped against the railing, caused him to immediately reach out over their bond, seeking further knowledge Luke started slightly, clearly having been too preoccupied with his thoughts to be aware of his arrival. He immediately attempted to close off their link and shield his feelings.
"You are home early," Vader observed. "What happened?"
"Nothing," Luke said, in a tone like he was barely restraining his temper. "I want to be alone."
Vader turned to leave, but he paused as he began to walk away. His son's emotional pain was hurting him as well, a sure sign that it must be overwhelming Luke. The temptation to put some distance between them was great, but as always, parental duties must come before such desires.
When he turned back, Luke frowned, and turned away. "You're still here."
Perhaps he was wrong about forgoing the brutal training program he'd designed to break new Inquisitors. It might teach his son some respect.
"Yes. I will remain here until you explain your feelings. If you wish to be left alone, I suggest you do so quickly."
Luke sighed. "I'm too tired to argue with you tonight."
"Then don't."
Luke remained stubbornly silent.
"Perhaps I should attempt to guess," Vader said, coming closer. "Your insistence on rejecting your destiny and living a supposed normal life isn't working out for you?"
Luke finally turned and glared at him. "I was just dumped at the graduation ball. Yes, you can throw your victory party now."
Vader felt a rush of anger at the words. Visions of hunting the girl down and making an example filled his mind. How dare anyone even think they could treat his son with such disrespect. He should have put a stop to this as soon as he had seen those flowers.
Luke was already raising his hands, eyes wide. "Calm down. It was partly my fault. And actually mostly your fault, because of exactly this."
"I will no longer allow anyone to pursue you in that manner without thorough vetting and my prior approval," Vader said, causing Luke to roll his eyes.
"Don't worry, no one else will be volunteering anytime soon. Probably ever."
"That is for the best," Vader said. "Relationships are dangerous and lead to pain and suffering."
"So you regret your relationship with my mother?"
Vader was silent, looking out over the city. He had walked right into that one.
"I only regret my weakness," he said quietly.
Luke appeared about to ask further questions, so Vader quickly changed the subject.
"You have more important matters to think about. I had intended for us to leave for Mustafar tomorrow, but a high-ranking Rebel defector has been captured, and I want to be present for the initial interrogation."
Luke slumped again. "Mustafar? Really?"
"Yes. It is an ideal place for your training."
"When did I agree to this? It's the summer break. Can't I have a month off to relax? A lot of my classmates are taking an entire gap year."
"I know all about what you consider relaxing on Coruscant during its non-existent summer."
"Come on! If we have to go, can we at least go somewhere that actually has some trees and grass? Maybe even a beach? The kind of place where Ben and his father go camping."
Vader turned to look at him. "Camping."
"You know. The type of thing a regular father and son might do to celebrate graduating high school and passing all my exams despite losing a week after getting injured by your tyrannical boss."
Vader breathed for a few cycles, reminding himself of some advice Luke's doctor had provided once. Never parent from a place of guilt. Then he said, "You may sleep in tomorrow. That is all the relaxation you require. Then you will meet with Colonel Yularen at 11-hundred. He will give you a tour of the Imperial Security Bureau and talk to you about some of the work they do."
Luke grumbled under his breath, but then he nodded. His son had met Yularen before and the man was always nice to him, so Vader hadn't expected any objection. His son stifled a yawn, and then turned to go back inside. Vader reached out to stop him.
"I appreciate that your life isn't easy."
"Sure," Luke mumbled. He looked down, and then glanced up. "Thanks for remembering about that wedding gift, by the way. Maybe I sometimes forget to appreciate you." He shrugged. "Night."
Vader looked after him, feeling their bond return to a peaceful state. Sometimes, in rare moments of optimism, he felt closer than ever to mastering this elusive art of parenting.