Chapter IV
Obi-wan Kenobi walked through the waiting area of the medical center and approached the Chiss doctor, who was just finishing up a call on her comm unit.
"Can I help you, sir?" she asked, hanging up.
"I am here to see Luke Skywalker," he replied.
"I'm sorry, but only family members are allowed…" she began.
He smiled slightly and raised his hand as if in a placatory gesture. "I can visit with Luke."
"You can visit with Luke," she repeated vaguely, and she motioned for him to follow her.
Actually, it wasn't Luke Obi-wan wanted to talk to just yet. Yes, he would have to visit with the boy eventually, but first he wanted a word with his father.
His smile vanished as he recalled that horrific day on Mustafar, when he and Anakin had parted ways… the anguished moment when he had dealt the blow that had crippled his apprentice and friend… the look of agony and absolute hatred Anakin had given him, an expression that sliced into Kenobi's heart to this day…
…you were the Chosen One, Anakin! You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them…
No, they had not parted on good terms at all. For the past few days Obi-wan had debated with himself, wondering if he should confront Vader at all. At last, he decided it was now or never. If Vader was willing to let the past go for the sake of his son and the Order, good and well. If he chose to cling to his anger and hatred… he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
When he entered the room, he was amused to see three boys sitting before the holoprojector, directing the Mandalorian characters on the holo through a beast-infested jungle. So Vader had softened his guard enough to indulge Luke and his friend in a video game. That was a promising sight.
"Aw no!" Luke threw his controller down. "I died again!"
"I keep telling you your hand blasters are no use against gundarks," Vader replied. "You need to switch to your flame thrower or use a grenade."
"But the grenades are the only thing that can break through walls," Biggs protested. "If he uses them all on gundarks, he can't get to the secret areas."
"Then if he wishes to access those areas, he should stock up on health units."
"That takes too long," complained Luke.
"You must learn patience, young Luke," advised Obi-wan.
All three of them turned, startled, to face him.
"Hi, Ben," greeted Luke.
Vader stared at Obi-wan for a long, tense moment, simmering with hot emotion. At last he found words. "Why are you here?"
"It is time we had a discussion, my young apprentice," was Obi-wan's simple reply.
Luke gave him a strange look. "What did he mean by that?"
"Never mind." Vader handed his controller to Luke and got to his feet. "You can take my place. I will be back shortly."
Luke's worried gaze followed them all the way as they retired to a small sitting room, where visitors and patients could talk in private. Obi-wan gave the boy a reassuring nod as he shut the door. The attachment that had already formed between father and son was remarkable indeed. That could be an asset to the Order or a liability, depending on how things turned out…
Vader folded his arms across his chestplate in an immediately defensive stance. "I should have known that you would have insinuated yourself in my son's life somehow."
"It was for his own protection," Obi-wan replied calmly, taking a seat in one of the two chairs in the visiting room. "If the Emperor had discovered you had a son, would he not have ordered his immediate death?"
Vader said nothing, but that silence spoke volumes. Obi-wan didn't need further confirmation – the Emperor HAD instructed Vader to kill the boy. Of course, if Vader had had any intention of carrying out that order, they would not now be standing here…
"How did Padme die?"
That question should not have surprised Obi-wan, but he hadn't been expecting it so soon. Nonetheless, he knew only the truth would satisfy Vader. "She died shortly after giving birth. An autopsy revealed nothing wrong physically, however."
His stance didn't change, but there was a measure of relief in Vader's voice when he spoke again. "The Emperor told me I had killed her in my anger."
Again, Obi-wan saw no recourse other than the truth, however painful it might be. "In a way, Anakin, you did. It is my belief that she died of a broken heart."
A deep-throated snarl rumbled from Vader's chest, and the other chair in the room began to vibrate ominously. "Do not say that."
"To say otherwise would be a lie."
"I did not kill Padme!" Vader hissed, shaking an accusatory fist at Obi-wan. "You did! If you had not stowed away aboard her ship, she never would have died!"
"Anakin…"
"DO NOT CALL ME ANAKIN!" The empty chair collapsed, crushed by the Force. Obi-wan didn't even blink, unimpressed by the spectacle.
"Very well," he relented. "Vader, not a day goes by when I do not regret the pain I caused you. Believe me, I would rather have cut off my own arm than strike you down. But at the time, I had no choice."
"You had a choice," Vader replied angrily. "The Jedi Order had a choice. And they chose not to help me save Padme. I went before Yoda seeking help, and he rejected me. Only Palpatine offered his aid. Had the Jedi relented in their archaic, all-important Code long enough to help me keep Padme from dying, I would not have joined the Sith."
Obi-wan shook his head. "You still elect not to take responsibility for your actions?"
Vader was trembling in anger and grief now. "What do you want of me, Obi-wan? You have already ruined my life! What more do you want? Why do you torment me further?"
"I only want to discuss the future of your son, Vader."
Vader stared, his anger beginning to ebb. "Luke?"
"You cannot deny that your son is strong in the Force, Vader. He has great potential, and he could easily become a great Jedi if given the proper training…"
"No." Vader's reply was immediate. "He will not be trained."
"The galaxy needs the Jedi, Vader," Obi-wan pressed. "Our numbers are few. In fact, as far as I know, Master Yoda and I are the last. If we cannot take on a protégé, a Padawan learner, we cannot hope to aid the galaxy in this, its time of great need."
Vader was silent a long moment, brooding. "So that's it, then," he said at last. "That is the reason you are here. You want me to give you my son."
"I want you to consent to let me – or Yoda – train him," Obi-wan replied evenly. "He is our last hope."
Vader shook his head. "No. I refuse. Luke will not suffer what I have – being ripped from his family and all he holds dear to serve an emotionless Order of so-called 'peace keepers' who will hail him as a Chosen One and expect him to fight their battles. I will not let you or Yoda or anyone else train him… except me."
Obi-wan sat up straight, startled. "You cannot hope to train him, Vader. You have spent too much time in the throes of the dark side…"
"And once down the dark path you start, forever will it dominate your destiny," Vader cut in, using Yoda's familiar quote. "So there is no hope for me, is there? No redemption? I will not be allowed to teach my own son? I am too broken and scarred, useless to the Jedi?"
"You are too quick to assume," Obi-wan replied. "If you were to let go of your hate, you would be allowed to rejoin the Order. Forgiveness would be extended. And you could provide your son with the guidance he needs. But the actual training would be left up to us."
Vader turned and stared at the corner, hands clutching his mask. "If I had known this would happen, if I had known then what I know now about the Order, I would never have allowed Qui-gon to take me away from home."
"You cannot change the past, Vader. You can only alter the course of things now, in the present. Please, for the good of your son and for the good of the galaxy, reconsider…"
"For the good of the galaxy, or the good of the Jedi Order?" Vader whirled. "It seems the Order cares about little other than its own needs and wants. At least when I joined the Sith, I acted to save another. The Order would not even do that."
"The Order could not help you save Padme because you had violated the Codes. Attachment and marriage are forbidden. And you knew that… and flouted the Code anyhow."
Vader did not reply, only glowered at him.
"There are reasons for the Codes, you know. And your attachment to Padme was a prime example of this. The Emperor could manipulate you through that attachment. He used Padme to gain you as a servant, to chain you to his side. And he could use the pain of losing her to fuel your anger, your connection to the dark side. Had you resisted the temptation, you would not be where you are now. And had she not cooperated in your disobedience…"
Something suddenly clamped around his neck. Stunned, he reached for his throat, straining to get a breath, but the iron grip only tightened.
"How dare you…" snarled Vader, his right fist clenched in the focusing gesture that now kept Obi-wan from breathing. "How dare you drag HER into this… how dare you accuse her…"
Fists pounded on the door, and Luke's anxious voice drifted into the room. The dark energies at work here had touched his awareness, and being as strong as he was, he had recognized at once that something was very wrong. Vader turned instinctively to the door, and for a heartbeat his grip on Obi-wan's neck loosened.
That was all the diversion he needed. He drew on the Force, gathered it within him, and thrust it at Vader. The Dark Lord staggered back and hit the opposite wall, then sank to the floor, and the constriction around Obi-wan's throat released instantly. He quickly assumed a defensive stance, wary lest Vader attack again…
"NOOOOOO!"
A small body flung itself over Vader's prone form, shielding his body with his own. Fierce blue eyes stared back at him, determined to fight to the end if it took that to protect his father.
Obi-wan felt his jaw drop.
"Let me up, Luke," Vader ordered. "He cannot hurt me anymore."
Luke stepped back and allowed his father to stand, but he kept between Obi-wan and Vader, as if expecting the Jedi to draw his saber and attack at any moment. So the bond between Vader and Luke was stronger than Obi-wan had expected. He had no idea if this bond was common among the children of Jedi (which had almost never happened in the history of the Order) or if it was the result of Vader being the Chosen One.
"Luke is my son," Vader said with a tone of finality, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "I will train him in the ways of the Force. As father and son, we will serve the galaxy as it was meant to be served… with compassion, something the Jedi Order seems to lack."
Hurried footsteps, and the doctor sprinted into the room. She gasped when she saw the broken chair and the intense standoff between the Jedi and the Skywalkers.
"How did you get in here?" she demanded of Obi-wan, as if she'd never seen him before. "What happened in here? Oh, never mind that." She glared at him sternly. "Sir, I have to ask you to leave, or I'll call security."
Obi-wan gave her a polite nod. Then he turned to Vader. "You must do what you feel is right, of course. But for the good of your son, if for no one else, please reconsider." He turned and followed the doctor out.
/He is still as arrogant and headstrong as ever/ Obi-wan lamented as he left the medical center. /I had thought that, in destroying the Emperor and saving his son, he had joined us. I can see I was mistaken. He is still Darth Vader, and he will drag Luke into the same black pit he now inhabits if nothing is done./
He stared into the bright blue sky. Yoda would know of this very soon, he suspected. And doubtless the diminutive Jedi was on his way here to salvage the situation. Obi-wan was grateful for that – he had failed to change Vader's mind, and it would take the expertise of an older, wiser Jedi to reach the Dark Lord… or, failing that, to convince Luke to accompany them and accept the title of Jedi Padawan.
Break…
The gleaming space yacht settled near the Lars homestead, kicking up a fog of dust as it did so. Beru, who was filling Rocky and Sandy's feed bins at the moment, gave a hearty wave and ran for the house to alert her husband. Minutes later, two well-dressed figures disembarked and strode toward the farm, where Beru and Owen emerged.
Bail Organa had never met the Lars before, but he hoped their shared role as the caretakers of the Skywalker children might establish a connection.
"Good afternoon," he greeted, extending a hand. "Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan."
"Owen Lars," Owen returned, clasping the offered hand. Bail could feel a pattern of rough calluses against his skin as the moisture farmer gave his hand a welcoming shake. "This is my wife, Beru. Our nephew, Luke, is in the hospital at the moment, but we were just about to go pick him up and take him home."
"I see." Bail reached over and placed a hand on his adoptive daughter's shoulder. "This is my daughter, Leia."
"Hello, Mr. Lars," she greeted, holding out her own hand. Leia was a beautiful young girl, dressed in royal white with long trailing sleeves and a silver necklace and hair fillet set with brilliant red star garnets. Her hair was braided in two elaborate coifs on either side of her head, and for a girl of nine years old she carried herself with a surprising amount of dignity. Bail couldn't help beaming in pride. He was quite proud of Leia and could see her accomplishing great things someday.
Beru brightened upon seeing the girl. "Hello, Leia," she said warmly, crouching and shaking her hand as well. "Don't you look pretty."
"Thank you," she replied. Her gaze moved to Sandy and Rocky. "Nice animals. What do you call them?"
"The male is Rocky, and the female is Sandy," Owen replied. Then he shook his head and chuckled slightly. "Sorry, you meant what kind are they… they're dewbacks."
"Are they friendly?"
"Of course."
Leia grinned and held her hand flat, letting the great reptile smell her thoroughly before patting its muzzle.
"Leia, Owen and Beru are your uncle and aunt," Bail explained. "We're going to be visiting them for a few days."
She stared, surprised, at Owen and Beru – not shocked at the meanness of her relatives' lifestyle, but surprised that she had such relatives at all. She knew she was adopted, of course, but she had not been told that members of her biological family still lived.
Which, in Bail's opinion, was for the best regarding certain members of her family.
"Would you like to come inside, Leia?" invited Beru. "I've just baked tava cookies."
"Oh yes!" she gushed. "Those are my favorite back home. Can I help frost them?"
"Of course!" The two girls disappeared into the house, leaving the men free to talk.
"What's the news regarding Luke?" asked Bail.
"Physically, he's fully recovered," Owen replied. "But he's fixated with his father. He's convinced he can do no wrong."
Bail had suspected as much. "This isn't good at all. What does Obi-wan say of all this?"
Owen snorted. "Not much. Doesn't talk to me at all."
"And Vader? Have you spoken with him yet?"
Owen gave him a look that plainly said, "What do you think?"
"Well, Owen, all I can say is be careful," Bail replied. "I know from personal experience that Lord Vader is not one to be trifled with."
"I don't want him in my house," Owen said sternly. "Beru wants to take him in, but I don't like it at all. My gut tells me it's just asking for trouble."
"I'm inclined to agree," Bail replied. "But then again, he IS Luke's father… and Leia's. That counts for something."
Owen didn't speak for a long time. Finally, he turned to the senator.
"When are you planning on telling Leia who her father is?"
"Excuse me?"
"Come on, Bail, you can't hide it forever. She'll find out sooner or later anyhow, and then where will you be? The terrible parent for not telling her before." He spoke with a resentment that told Bail that he had learned that the hard way.
"Perhaps I should let her get used to the idea of an aunt and uncle first," Bail replied.
A speeder pulled up to the homestead, and Obi-wan exited the vehicle, a look of intense frustration on his face.
"What happened?" Owen demanded immediately.
"Yoda is on his way," Obi-wan replied. "There are many matters to be discussed."
"Such as?" prompted Bail.
"Luke and Vader have forged a remarkably strong bond," Obi-wan answered. "Strong enough that they instinctively seek to protect the other, regardless of the situation. I have never come across so strong a link."
"Why are you telling us this?" asked Owen. "Are you saying they need to be separated?"
"If it comes to that, we will separate them. For now, I would much rather try to get them to cooperate. At the moment, Vader absolutely refuses to let anyone other than himself train Luke."
Bail sucked in a breath. "That would be disastrous."
"What are you going to do?" demanded Owen.
"For the moment, nothing. Until Master Yoda arrives, we can only keep the peace… and make sure the children do not get caught in the crossfire."
Break…
The body of the Emperor had been baked to a crisp in the dry riverbed, a ghastly mummy that, truthfully, did not look much uglier than the living man had looked. The double suns had faded his black robes to a slate gray, and desert scavengers had stripped the corpse of anything even remotely usable – boots, belt, comm unit, even the lightsaber. In the center of his chest, where a heart would have been had he ever had one, something had punched out a neat hole the diameter of a credit chit.
Boba Fett stood, brushed his hands off on his pant legs as if wiping off the taint of the dead Sith, and spoke into his helmet comm.
"Located the Emperor's body in Beggar's Canyon, eight kilometers south of Anchorhead," he reported. "Cause of death appears to be a lightsaber wound. Not pretty."
"Is there anything else of interest in the vicinity?" inquired Lodestar.
"Affirmative. A second corpse is at the scene, lying in a rock pile. Too far gone to get an ID, but from the robes, it looks like a Jedi. No ID or other identifying objects – the Jawas got to him first."
"Stang," Lodestar replied. "Try to get a DNA sample."
Fett drew a vibroblade from a leg sheath and approached the corpse. A few wisps of hair still clung to the Jedi's desiccated scalp, and he deftly sheared a clump off and slid it into a canister.
"Is there anything else of interest?"
"Not here…" began Fett.
A resounding crack filled the canyon, and he hit the dirt as a blaster bolt whined over his head. Yanking his blaster from its holster, he returned fire, and the satisfying sound of a body striking the earth answered his shot.
From behind a jut of a rock formation emerged two stormtroopers, their armor painted with the black lightning bolts that signified members of the Imperial Death Squads. Fett wondered why they should be present, as they were normally only dispatched to eliminate Jedi. But his consideration was cut short as the troops opened fire upon him, and he ignited his jet pack and blasted upward to escape their fire.
From his vantage point he could see five Death Squad troopers – the two on the ground, the third one he had already shot, and two snipers crouched on ledges on either side of the canyon. They trained their weapons upward, prepared to shoot.
Fett pulled two detonators from his belt, keyed them on, and tossed one at each sniper. The troopers, trapped on their ledges, could make no move to escape as the bombs shattered the canyon walls and filled the air with dust and shards of rock.
When Fett touched down again, the entire canyon floor was covered with rocks. The explosion had killed the Death Squad… but it had also buried his evidence. Stang it all.
"Fett, what's going on over there?" demanded Lodestar. "What happened?"
"Death Squad," he barked. "Got them all. But the Jedi and Emperor are under three meters of stone now."
"Never mind that, we can have someone dig them up if we need to. I have a contact at the medical center at Anchorhead; take the Jedi DNA sample to her. Maybe she can identify that Jedi and give us some clue as to what's going on there."
Fett tucked the canister into his belt pouch and set off down the canyon to his waiting ship.