Chapter 14: Luke Skywalker

Luke walked through the frozen tunnels of Hoth base towards the room he had been assigned. He still couldn't understand his recent weird behavior with Han. How he had acted and felt was just crazy. It was like his father had some invisible grip on him through the computer and was causing him to do insanely stupid things. Like sending that photograph to an Imperial. What in the world had been going through his mind?

/Maybe Han really is right. I'm getting obsessed with my penpal and that can't be good./

He found the door with his number on it and keyed it open. He shivered as he hurried inside and dumped his belongings on the small cot within. He rubbed his arms briskly in a lame attempt to generate some heat but it was useless. Even his breath was condensing in the air: not a good sign. Why did it have to be so cold?

/It this cold keeps up I'm moving in with Han and Chewie!/

He stored his belongings where he wanted them, then glanced around. He wasn't too sure what he should do next. Should he go talk to Han? Maybe he should. Leaving the room, Luke made his way back towards the Millennium Falcon. Besides, he had left his computer there, Han insisting it was far safer within his ship than unattended in his quarters. Reaching the freighter, Luke hurried inside and closed the door. He allowed the delicious heat to sink into his body for a moment, then went in search of his friend.

"That you, Kid?" Han asked as he poked his head out of the cockpit. The smuggler's eyes were bloodshot and there were big dark circles under his eyes. His hair was standing at weird angles, as if he kept running his fingers through it. His white shirt was un-tucked from his black pants and the ends hung messily. Worst of all was the alcoholic stink that wafted from his breath. Yet oddly enough Han didn't act drunk.

"Yeah." Luke replied as he stood in the doorway that led into the cockpit. His eyes widened at Han's current state. "Han! What's wrong?"

"You know, Kid, there's something I got to tell you and well, I'm not sure how to say this…" the smuggler nervously shifted his weight from one foot to another and looked anywhere but at Luke.

"What is it?" Luke asked, his stomach getting a bit jittery. Han's unusual behavior was making him nervous. The guy was usually so cool and it seemed nothing fazed him much, so to see him acting this way was nerve wracking. Luke's blue eyes grew wide as a thought entered his head. "Tell me you didn't tell anyone about those letters!"

"No, It's not that." Han assured, taking a quick glance at him. He grabbed Luke by his shoulders and turned him around. Pushing gently on his back, he urged him to walk towards the little game table. "I think you better sit down for this."

Luke settled himself onto the bench behind the game table and looked up expectantly at Han. "What?"

"Luke, I know you're not going to like it and I'm really sorry, OK? Just promise me you'll hear me out until the end." Han ran a hand through his brown hair. "I thought about this all night, believe me and I kept changing my mind about it. One moment I decided I should tell you and then I thought I shouldn't. The thing is, both are bad and well, I don't know which is worst. Maybe I should just bud out of the whole thing and let you deal with it on your own, but if I did that and then something happened to you I'd feel guilty. I don't know if I could live with that."

"Is this about the Imperial I'm writing to?" Luke asked, sure that it was. What else could it be? "Han, I'm sure he is my Father. It's just this feeling I have and I can't explain it. I know it sounds crazy, but I don't think he means me any harm."

"And that's why I have to tell you." Han paced the floor and then stopped in front of the little table where Luke sat. "I know how much he means to you, Luke. I found that out yesterday. But I think there's more to his story and well, he's not telling you all of it."

"What do you mean?" Luke leaned forward. "Did you find out something about Anakin?"

"Not in the way you mean, no." Han scuffed the toe of one boot on the other, staring down at the floor. "It's just that well, I pieced things together. You know?"

"Pieced things together?" Luke stared at Han with a confused expression on his face. "Pieced what together?"

"I … maybe I shouldn't tell you. It would just break your heart." Han's shoulders slumped and he turned his back on Luke. "If I tell you, you'll just get angry. Maybe you'll even hate me."

"Hate you?" Luke jumped out of the seat and went around so he could look his friend in the face. "I could never hate you, Han. You saved my life! And you're my best friend! I appreciate you taking me under your wing and helping me out. I know I was a pain yesterday and well, I admit maybe I am too stressed about Anakin, but it's not everyday you find out your father is alive. It's hard for me to deal with the fact that he's an Imperial, too. Is that what's bothering you? Because whatever it is you can tell me."

"You're not going to like it." Han warned as he stared into Luke's blue eyes.

"Do you want me to sit down again?" Luke asked, a smile on his lips. "Han, nothing can be all that bad! I mean, we already know he's an Imperial on Executor! What could be possibly worst than that?"

"It's not pretty." Han informed as he rubbed a hand over his tired face. He reached onto a shelf and pulled a brown bottle down. Uncorking it, he took a long drink. He sent an apologetic glance Luke's way. "I need to get ready for this."

"Han, I wish you'd stop being so mysterious about this and just tell me!" Luke settled himself behind the game table again and waited, his hands resting together on top of the smooth surface.

"OK, Here goes…" Han took a deep breath and let it out. "I think your father is…"

"Is who?" Luke cried, wanting to know now more than ever.

"Darth Vader!" Han gasped.

Luke stared at Han for a long moment, shock on his face. Then he burst out laughing.

Han's mouth drooped open and he stared at Luke in utter confusion. "What are you laughing at? That's serious!"

"Han, that's just so funny!" Luke wailed with laughter, tears trailing down his face. He pounded his fist on the tabletop several times for emphasis. "Are you saying my penpal is Darth Vader?"

Han nodded.

The young Jedi laughed even harder. His stomach started to hurt and his nose dripped. He wiped at his wet face with a hand and glanced at his friend through blurred vision. After several long minutes, the laughter died down and Luke caught his breath. "Han, that's impossible!"

"Why?"

"Because … Darth Vader!" Luke rolled his blue eyes. He could imagine the Sith Lord so clearly in his mind: the black mask, helmet and clothing, the long flowing cape and the red lightsaber. He had that freaky dark aurora of power around him, that thing that sent chills down your back. How could he explain it to Han? "It's just that he's a Sith Lord! Come on, Han. Darth Vader would never write to anyone! He wouldn't want a penpal! He'd probably find the whole thing annoying or something."

"Look, I didn't want to believe it either at first. Trust me on that. But those things you said yesterday they just rolled around in my head and I put one and one together and that's what I ended up with!" Han gulped in a big breath of air and let it out.

"You're really serious?" Luke asked, seeing his friend's distress. "I'm sorry if I laughed; it's just so unreal. Why do you think he's Darth Vader?"

"You said he was badly injured, right?" Han started pacing the floor again, his hands tucked behind his back.

"Yes. He said that he was pushed into a lava hole. It left his badly scarred and injured." Luke explained. "That's why he's uncomfortable about meeting my friends or anyone. He's concerned at how they'd react to his appearance."

"Kid, people usually don't survive that sort of thing."

"I know that. But he was a Jedi!" Luke pointed out. Yet his mind was now traveling down the same path that Han's had. A cold sinking feeling filled his stomach. It wasn't pleasant.

"Yeah, he was a Jedi. And Vader has the powers of a Jedi." Han walked up to the table and leaned on it with both hands. He moved his head closer to Luke's, the alcohol blasting him in the face. "You know why Vader wears that mask? Because he needs it to breathe, that's why. At one time he was supposedly injured severely and almost died. No one knows how. Vader has no history. He just appeared one day and started bossing people around. And with those freaky powers, you bet people obeyed. Well, Kid. I think you just hit the jackpot. You actually know who Vader is and his whole background."

Luke was stunned. "That can't be true, Han. It's just crazy!"

"But the info fits. You have to admit that." Han insisted. He patted his friend on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Kid. You're taking it a lot better than I had hoped. I was worried you'd have some fit or something. You know, go crazy on me."

/It just can't be true…/

"But Han that would mean that Darth Vader is my father!" Luke blurted out, his eyes widening in shock.

"Now, Luke. He may not be your father at all." Han reminded his friend. "We didn't even start researching his story, remember? We need to do that."

Luke rested a hand over his heart. "No, Han. He is my father. I can feel it in here."

/It just can't be! My penpal can't be Darth Vader!/

"Look, Han, I'll prove it to you that you're wrong!" Luke reached for his computer and flipped it on. It had sat in the same place all night aboard the Falcon. "When I sent my photo to Anakin, I asked him for one. You'll see he's not Darth Vader at all!"

"WHAT?!" Han cried, shocked. "Kid, tell me you didn't do that!"

Luke shrugged his shoulders, looking embarrassed. "Ummm, I kind of did. I know it was really stupid! OK? But I wasn't myself yesterday. But Anakin trusts me with all this stuff and I want to show him he can trust me, too. Besides, he is my father."

"That was a very, very stupid thing to do!" Han slammed his fist on the table and whirled away from Luke. He stood with his back ramrod stiff, anger bubbling in him. How could he help Luke if the boy kept doing these stupid things? It was unbelievable! "Don't be surprised if that photo ends up on a Wanted poster. Now that they know what you look like…"

"Han, be reasonable. My own father isn't going to put my face on a Wanted poster!"

"You're writing to Darth Vader!" Han howled in rage, his face turning red.

"No I'm not!" Luke insisted, his voice also rising. "I'm writing to Anakin Skywalker, my father!"

"Yeah, well, maybe Anakin Skywalker IS Darth Vader!" Han shouted, waving a fist in the air. He breathed in deeply several times, letting the air rush out of his mouth. He forced himself to calm down. Yelling at Luke wouldn't do any good. "Look, Kid. I'm sorry for loosing my temper but I'm really worried about you! You're doing incredibly stupid stuff. You're not only writing to an Imperial but you sent him your photo! And who knows what you're telling him in those letters. You didn't tell him we're on Hoth now, did you?"

"I'm not that stupid!" Luke signed into his account and found a new letter from his father waiting. He grinned in triumph when he saw the little symbol next to the email saying that a photo was attached. He opened the letter but didn't read it; he wanted to see the photo first. Nervousness surged through his system as the picture downloaded into his computer. What would his father look like? Although Luke's words in his last letter had assured Anakin that his appearance truly didn't matter, Luke couldn't help but worry? Would he look really gross? Surely it couldn't be all that bad if he served on Executor as a Commander. He was sure that the Empire had some rules about that. Finally the picture formed on his screen and to Luke's surprise he saw not one man but two.

/Which one is my father?/

The longer Luke stared, one of them looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't figure out why. Had he seen him somewhere?

/That's unlikely. I spent most of my years on Tatooine./

"Well, you got a photo of him or not?" Han asked as he stood waiting, hands in his pockets.

"Yeah. Come and look."

Han walked over to the computer and stared at the photo with interest. "So, which one of them is him?"

"I don't know. Oh, wait!" Luke suddenly remembered his father had light hair like he did. He pointed to the younger man with the long braid trailing onto his shoulder. "This would be him! See? Look at his eyes. They're just like mine!"

Han stared at the photo and leaned closer to get a better look. Then he straightened and crossed his arms across his chest. "Look, that picture must be twenty years old! You have any idea who the other guy is?"

"No, not really…" Luke admitted as he continued to gaze at the photo, memorizing every detail. He had never seen a photo of his father before and now seeing him for the first time… "He does look familiar though…"

"Well, I do." Han stated.

Luke turned his head in surprise. "Who?"

"He's that crazy old man! The one that hired me to take you to Alderaan."

"Ben?"

"Yep." Han nodded, recognizing the name. "Admit it kid, your father killed Ben."

To be continued…