Cloud City

Shortly after the battle of Hoth

"Would you join me for a little refreshment?" Lando Calrissian asked smoothly. "Everyone's invited, of course!"

"Bad idea," a feminine voice said from the doorway.

Leia Organa turned in surprise, which morphed into total shock. Facing her was ...

"I know, this is totally weird. I'm you from a few years in the future."

Han Solo gaped incredulously. The woman standing protectively in front of the exit door was in fact a nearly perfect copy of his Leia Organa, but time travel? Time travel?

"That's impossible," Younger Leia said.

"You'd think so," Older Leia said with a smile. "But we managed it. Or maybe it is more accurate to say we were stupid enough to open up a Jedi Temple and mess with some holocrons, and now the Force apparently thinks it's a cute idea to periodically send us to random places and times to intervene. Do you remember that rancor plushie that you dropped into a vat of pudding in the Palace kitchen? Mama threw it away because it was such a mess and I cried myself to sleep. She bought me another one but I never liked it as much as the first one that was lost."

Younger Leia paled, "You really are me. No one else would know that."

"I really am you, or you in a few years, from a different timeline. Anyway, we need to leave now. Lando sold you out to Vader, who is waiting in the dining room."

Solo jerked in surprise and drew his blaster in approximately 0.5 seconds, "Why you lousy ...!"

"Hey, it's Ok," Older Leia said quickly. "Lando's a very good friend now, and he was, to his credit, thinking of the populace of Cloud City. It is very hard to say no to Darth Vader. Not that it will do you any good, Calrissian. Vader will take over the city regardless of what you do. But the Falcon is ready to go and we need to go intercept Luke, who will be coming out of lightspeed shortly."

"Luke's coming here?" Han demanded incredulously.

"Yes," Older Leia explained, grabbing the box with C-3PO's parts and handing it to Younger Leia. "Take this. Yes, this is all an elaborate plan to capture Luke. It fails, but a lot of people get hurt in the process, so let's go. Oh, the hyperdrive is deactivated, Han, but it's an easy fix if you know where to look. The Imperials disabled the reverse power control in the secondary safety circuit."

"Right," Han replied, shaking his head in an attempt to grasp the enormity of the situation.

"Can I come, please?" Lando asked piteously.

There was a hesitant pause and then younger Leia sighed, "Sure."

Chewbacca roared and Han twitched nervously, "What about Vader? Won't he come after us when we don't show up in the dining room?"

"The Luke from my timeline is here too and he'll try to keep him busy but we do need to hurry."

"Can he kill him?" Younger Leia demanded angrily.

Older Leia stared compassionately at her younger self, "For reasons that we don't need to go into right now, that would be a bad idea. Come on, let's go."

/-

Dining Room

Cloud City

Darth Vader sat in his reassuringly large chair and stared toward the doors at the end of the room.

Even now, Calrissian was guiding Solo and Organa and the Wookiee to him. Of course, he could have just had the Rebels stunned when they exited the Falcon, but there had been arrangements to be made (for torture) and the shock of betrayal would, he hoped, reverberate in the Force and draw his son to him soon.

Soon.

Soon he would look upon the face of the child who had been stolen from him.

"They aren't coming, actually," a voice said from behind him.

The chair flew backwards, smashing into a wall, and Vader was on his feet, his red lightsaber buzzing, in about 0.5 seconds.

Luke Skywalker lifted his hands in a placating way, "Calm down, Lord Vader. Calm down. No need for me to lose another limb."

Darth Vader's heart was incapable of speeding up. It, along with almost everything else, was machine controlled. But he felt briefly faint and his vision even wobbled slightly.

His son stood a meter away from him, dressed in black, an unfamiliar lightsaber hanging at his waist. He looked older than expected. And how could he be here already? His friends hadn't even been captured and brutalized yet!

Luke took a few cautious steps down the table. He carefully reached a hand out for a piece of Ksharra bread and took a bite, "You don't mind if I eat a little something, do you? I'm hungry."

"How did you get here?" Vader hissed. He had no doubt he could take the boy down but he wanted him alive and unharmed. What was that about losing another limb?

"I'm not really your Luke," the youth explained gravely, "I mean, I am, but I'm from a few years in the future. I messed around with a Jedi Temple and some holocrons and now I periodically get pitched through time and space to intervene somewhere. It's very odd. Though this time I'm kind of excited. We didn't get a chance to talk much in my timeline and maybe we could have a little weird father son bonding time?"

Darth Vader felt a peculiar pang in his chest even as he slowly shut off his lightsaber.

"So you know the truth. I was not certain you did."

"Well, I know. The Luke from your timeline doesn't. I mean, naturally no one would want to tell me that my father was not in fact a dead, noble Jedi, but a deranged Sith. Naturally."

"The Jedi were weak fools!" Vader snarled angrily, taking a step closer.

Again, Luke lifted a careful hand, "I know you loathe them, and they did indeed have major issues. I acknowledge that. But you have to admit the Sith have issues too. Here's a question that's been bugging me. What was your plan? I mean, carbon freeze makes sense. Try to take me without injury. But then what? Were you really going to haul me off to the Emperor? Because if so, I presume he's the one that would have tried to turn me, and train me, and what about the Rule of Two? How did you know he wouldn't have me kill you and take your place?"

Darth Vader blinked his hairless eyes several times. This boy, this young man, was incredibly well informed. And he was here too early. And he was highly trained, far more than was possible. It seemed, incredible as it was, that this young man truly was his son from the future.

"I presume," he murmured carefully, "that I did not succeed in trapping you in carbon freeze?"

"No, I evaded that," Luke responded gravely, "and we fought for a while, and you beat me into pulp by throwing large objects at me, and cut off my hand, and then did the grand reveal that you're my father. Again, why? I mean, I get that you are a rather dramatic person but if you'd just told me earlier I might have ... I don't know what I would have done. But the way you did it just encouraged me to jump to my death. Well, I survived, but I was basically committing suicide. It was not a beautiful way to mark our first interaction."

Vader's heart clenched. His son had tried to kill himself rather than join him? Why?

"The Dark Side is power," the Sith intoned.

"No, please," Luke said with a sigh. "You've said it all before. In my timeline, we met twice and both times you were all about how the Dark Side was awesome and I rejected it both times. And really, it isn't awesome. You tortured my friends and cut off my hand! And realistically, I'm guessing you broke our mother's heart by turning to the Dark Side."

The table trembled slightly and the bass voice, when it emerged, was dark with rage, "Do not speak of her!"

"I'm going to speak of her," Luke said, unfazed. "We traveled back in time 25 years just two months ago. Well, that sounds weird. In our timeline, which is a few years from now, about 2 months ago we went back in time 25 years. We showed up in the Jedi Council chamber and told everyone, including Anakin Skywalker, that Palpatine was a Sith Lord. There was a fight and you killed him off, and then we went off to meet Mother. She's just amazing, Father. Really! I'm pretty sure in that timeline she gave birth without problems and Anakin stayed in the Light because without Palpatine mucking things up, he would. And we felt a shift toward Light when we got back, so it looks like there are multiple timelines spiraling this way and that, and we hope every time we go somewhere, we help shift things more toward the Light. Hopefully."

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, breathed through four cycles while he stared at his (older) son's earnest young face. His brain was whirling. Traveling through time? Luke, in his time, was supposed to coming soon. But ... but ...

He glanced toward the door behind him. Where was Fett? Maybe with the help of the bounty hunter, he could take this Luke. With two Lukes to work with, er, maybe...

"Fett is dead, by the way," Luke Skywalker said unnervingly. "I broke his neck. I don't usually do that kind of thing but the guy is really a nasty individual."

More heavy breathing from Vader, and then the great shoulders relaxed wearily. "You said we met again? And what happened?"

"You took me to the Emperor on the second Death Star over Endor. He tried to turn me to the Dark Side. I did lose my temper and attacked him, and you intervened. We fought for a while. You finally really honked me off and we fought more, and I actually beat you, which was incredible, and cut off your hand. So the Emperor, being the stellar character that he is, told me to fulfill my destiny by killing you and take your place at his side. His words. I said no, he bombarded me with Force Lightning, you rescued me by throwing him into a pit, and then died of your injuries. So that was great. I mean, I was so grateful. But it was sad too, because we actually were on good terms for like 20 minutes and then you keeled over dead. I've always wanted to know my father, so yeah ..."

There was way too much for Darth Vader to unpack here. The Emperor had tried to betray him and take his son as his apprentice? No surprise there. But Luke said no? Why would the boy care? He had, he admitted, been a rather challenging father. Well, he had been an absentee father who intended to torture and murder his son's friends and then coerce him to the Dark Side.

"Why do you care?" the deep voice asked tentatively.

Luke smiled, a little sadly, "You're my father. I love you. It's as simple as that. Other Luke does too, though he hates you too. It's hard, for sure. I grew up idolizing my dead father who was, my Uncle Owen told me, a navigator on a freighter. Then Old Ben told me my father was a dead Jedi Knight. Then in my timeline, I found out after you removed a limb that you're my father. So it's been an emotional whirlwind. But in the end, I love you. I always will."

The great head bowed. Love. Love always failed, did it not?

"Mother wouldn't want you to be like this," Luke said softly. "We read up on her. She was a champion of the common people, a strong proponent of democracy. She would hate the Empire."

"I know."

Luke sighed and looked at his feet, "So my toes are tingling, which means I'm about to disappear. For some reason, that's the main symptom before the Force grabs me and tosses me somewhere. Think about it, Father. Please. The Emperor is a lousy master and the Empire is a lousy government. And yes, the Republic had major issues too, but at least it never blew up a planet."

Vader did not respond verbally, but he did raise his head to gaze at his son.

"I love you, Father," Luke said softly. And disappeared.

/-

The Millennium Falcon

In space, 4 lightyears from Bespin

About the same time

Luke Skywalker threw his helmet against the wall and his arms around Leia Organa in relief. His brain was buzzing with a mixture of incredulity and joy. He'd come out of hyperspace near Bespin, only to be hailed by the Falcon, which had his friends on board. He'd quickly attached his X-wing to the undercarriage of the Falcon and had space walked into the airlock. As soon as he was on board with R2D2 in tow, the Falcon had gone into lightspeed.

"I am so thankful to see you," he gasped. "I was so worried!"

"You were right to be worried," Leia answered gravely. "Vader was waiting for us but we managed to sneak out without being intercepted."

"I was having horrible nightmares," the youth continued as he walked into the main cabin area, "of you and ..."

He trailed away and looked at Leia at his side and then at Leia, across the cabin sitting on the couch.

"Wha ... t?" he sputtered.

"Luke," the Other Leia said. She was dressed in a practical green pantsuit, whereas the Leia beside him was dressed in an elaborate red dress with an off white cloak.

"I am human replicant droid Leia. It is nice to meet you," she said in her best droid voice, then grinned, "Sorry ... I'm just teasing you. I'm actually a Leia from the future. That's your Leia. Thankfully, the Force sent me and my Luke to Bespin to get you out before Vader could sink his claws into you."

Looking very confused, Luke said, "So ... you're an replicant droid?"

"No. Keep up. I'm a real Leia from another timeline."

Luke Skywalker was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them and he tried again. "So ... so in your timeline, my visions came true?"

Other Leia nodded gravely, "Yes, we were captured, and tortured. You came and were defeated by Vader."

Current Leia took in a shallow breath even as Han and Chewie entered the room.

"Lando's in the cockpit keeping an eye on the Falcon," Solo explained. "Thank you again, uh, Future Leia?"

"Yeah, it's awkward when there are two Leia's in the same place," Other Leia said with a chuckle, though she quickly grew grave. "Listen, you know that I treasure diplomacy but I don't know how much time I have so I need to be quick about this. There is information you need to know, right now, about Darth Vader. Sit down, all of you."

Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca exchanged worried glances and obediently arranged themselves on the various comfy, if battered, furniture in the room.

"What's there to say about Darth Vader?" Luke demanded once he was seated. "He's a murderous, cruel, vicious psychopath."

"He's all those things," Other Leia responded steadily, "but he's also your father."

A few seconds went by before the words penetrated Luke's brain.

"No," he murmured, his eyes flared wide in horror. "No, that's impossible!"

"Just be thankful you're hearing it from me, not Vader himself," Other Leia said sympathetically. "My Luke lost his hand and his saber to Vader, who then proceeded to tell him that Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, and he's been hunting you across the galaxy because you are his son."

"He was lying," Leia snapped desperately, her eyes fixed on Skywalker. "He had to be."

"Leia, he wasn't lying," Other Leia stated sternly. "Like I said, I wish I could take my time but I don't have time. Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark Side when the Empire was born. And in my timeline, Vader actually finally turned back to the Light Side and saved my Luke's life, about a year from now. But Luke went through hell. We all did. And the Force threw us here to Bespin so we intervened."

"My father," Luke muttered in a broken tone. "My father ..."

"And Leia, you are Luke's twin sister," Other Leia continued flatly. "Another huge shock. We're still shaky on details, but our mother, Padme Amidala Naberrie, was married to Anakin Skywalker and apparently died in childbirth after delivering us. Fears for our mother apparently pushed Anakin to the Dark Side, because he'd been having visions of her death in childbirth. Probably his actions as a Sith Lord precipitated her death because you know, that's the way Vader's life seems to roll."

"No," Leia whispered. "I mean, I'd love to have Luke as a brother, but ..."

"But having Vader as a father totally stinks," Other Leia agreed. "Yes, the whole situation is vile. I mean, I hate Vader's guts. You know I do. In my timeline, and in this current timeline, he doesn't know that you are his daughter so he treats you horribly whenever he crosses paths with you. And he treats Luke horribly because he's obsessive."

The woman suddenly looked down at her feet and frowned, "My toes are tingling so that means I'm about to disappear. Listen, Luke and Leia, Vader is a huge mess. He is mean and evil and is still enslaved to Palpatine but he's also complicated and tormented and as much as I hate to admit it, there really is a little bit of good in him."

She disappeared.

/

Author Note: I'm going to have another chapter dealing with this timeline...