Executor
Anoat System
"Lord Vader, I wish to take personal responsibility for the loss of the Millennium Falcon, and I assure you …"
Darth Vader, enraged Dark Lord of the Sith, watched with satisfaction as Captain Needa's hand went for his throat and he began gasping for air.
It was a very minor source of pleasure to strangle the life out of his inept captain, but he would take what he could get. It was incredible and insane and ridiculous that the entire Death Squadron could not find one battered freighter. One. It was absurd and somewhat embarrassing.
There was a sudden lurch in the Force and a moment later, Darth Vader's death grip on Captain Needa was broken and the man collapsed to the ground, drawing in long draughts of much needed oxygen.
"You are seriously such a jerk!" a voice proclaimed from Vader's right.
The Sith turned in anger, which morphed into incredulous astonishment, as a slim, black clad form took a bold step forward from an alcove, revealing the familiar face of …
"Skywalker!" Vader sputtered out.
The troopers and officers in earshot all jerked at his words, and a moment later, eleven blasters were pointing at the young Rebel.
"Hold your fire," Vader ordered urgently. It would be truly horrific if the boy was injured by his trigger happy troops.
Luke Skywalker lifted his hands in the universal expression of surrender even as he continued his rant, "I mean, really now! Solo has been slipping past pirates and Imperials alike since I was a child. Is it really so astonishing that your people are not able to capture the Falcon? She made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs!"
Darth Vader gestured slightly to the nearest troopers even as he struggled to remember what to do next. In his former life as a Jedi, he had worked to take prisoners without excessive harm. As a Sith, he usually just chopped off a random limb or choked opponents to a place of submission, but he didn't want to do either to his precious son.
Keep the boy talking. That was the rule.
"I expect my troops to show more competence than pirates or bounty hunters, young Skywalker," he rumbled.
"The Millennium Falcon blew you off my tail in the Death Star trench," Luke snapped back irascibly. "You don't exactly hold the high ground on competence where Solo is concerned."
The binders clicked home and Vader relaxed slightly as a trooper handed his son's lightsaber over to him. He spared a very quick glance at the hilt; it was unfamiliar, which meant that Luke had built it himself. That was extraordinary since the youth had not been trained well. But that was a question for a later time.
"How did you get on board this ship?" the Sith demanded, glancing around as if he expected a horde of random rebels to suddenly burst on the scene.
"Well," Luke replied, taking a bold step forward, "that's a simple question with a complex answer. See, I'm not really your son."
There was a collective intake of breath from the assembled audience, and Skywalker turned to glance at the officers and troopers, "Yes, officers, troopers, Darth Vader has a son! That's what this is really all about. It isn't that Luke Skywalker is that dangerous, though I am — it's that Darth Vader lost his kid 23 years ago and is hunting him down now with frenzied obsession."
Vader blinked stupidly at his young prisoner. How did Luke know? Why would he tell everyone? And what did he mean by …?
No matter. Further discussion should wait until a more private setting. The Sith snatched a blaster from a nearby trooper and set it for stun, then shot Skywalker, who collapsed to the floor with a vaguely exasperated expression on his face.
/
Darth Vader had waited for this moment for three years. His son's cell was extremely secure and while not exactly luxurious, at least reasonably pleasant. There was a comfortable bed in it covered in a black (of course) synthsilk coverlet. There was a refresher with a real water shower. (Luke, hailing from Tatooine, should appreciate such a gesture). There was a large transparisteel window through which the whorls of hyperspace danced their stately waltz.
Luke would probably wake up shortly, so Vader took this moment to gaze raptly at his young son. He was young though he looked older than expected. And what was that?!
Luke stirred awake and sat up with a startled yelp. Darth Vader stood all too close and the great cyborg hand was on his right wrist, which was manacled to his left flesh hand.
"What happened to your hand?" Vader boomed, his voice enraged.
Luke groaned aloud and pulled away from his father with a little help from the Force, "I forgot how much I hate being stunned."
"How did you lose your hand?" Vader demanded again.
Luke glanced around in surprise and his eyes widened, "Wow, this is nice! Um …"
He scooted over to the side of the bed and rolled to his feet, calling on the Force to rid himself of the vestiges of the stun shot.
"You cut it off," he explained matter of factly.
The cyborg Sith jerked in astonishment and outrage emanated from the dark form.
"I mean, not you," Luke continued hastily, lifting his bound hands in a placating manner. "Your alter, from my timeline. Like I said earlier, I am not really your son. I'm from the future and from an alternate future. The Force keeps sending me to different places to improve the situation, and today I guess it wants me here. So is this my room on the Executor? It is really nice!"
Darth Vader stared at the youth incredulously and shook his head, "Time travel is impossible."
Luke shrugged even as he looked at his manacles and concentrated. A moment later, they dropped to the floor with a clatter.
"I hope you don't mind that I took those off," Luke said sunnily. "They are rather uncomfortable. I've spent the last couple of years working with my wife and a friend to open locks with the Force."
Vader jerked again, "Wife?"
"Yeah, wife," Luke said agreeably. "Again, my counterpart isn't married in this timeline. But I'm almost 27 so yeah, I'm married. I even have a son! He turned one recently and is getting so mobile. We have to be so careful these days! Just yesterday he climbed on a box and reached for a knife, though of course my wife was right there …"
He gazed at the Sith, who was gazing back in disbelief, "Anyway, yes I know time travel seems impossible, but it isn't. I have made numerous trips into the past. I've helped kill Palpatine and rescued Grandma Shmi from the Tuskens. In one crazy alternate galaxy, my twin sister was a Sith Lady and ..."
"Twin sister?" Vader squawked.
Yes, that was definitely a squawk, but he was too stunned to feel embarrassed.
"Oh yes, I forgot, of course you don't know that yet. Yes, Padme bore you twins."
"Who is she?" Vader demanded when he was able to speak again.
Luke grimaced thoughtfully and shook his head, "I usually make a point of being very open about the complex family situation, but in this time I think not. The poor girl has no idea about you right now and it isn't fair to tell you and not her. I suggest you think about the fact that any time you attack any females, anywhere, you might be wiping out Padme's daughter. Is that helpful?"
/
Millennium Falcon
En route to Bespin
"Well, Chewie has the backup hyperdrive functioning now but it will still take several weeks to reach Bespin," Han said, exiting the cockpit and striding into the main crew area.
"Do we have enough supplies?" Leia asked worriedly.
"Sure, Leia, no problem. We may be eating three year old ration bars eventually, but we won't starve …"
He trailed off in shock even as his hand grabbed and drew his blaster without conscious thought.
"Who are you?" he snarled at the red headed woman who was calmly rooting through his cupboards in the small galley.
"Hi Han, Leia," the woman replied cheerfully, pulling out a packet of tea. "I guess we haven't met yet?"
"What?" Leia sputtered. "I ... how ... who …"
"I'm Mara Jade, er, Skywalker."
Han and Leia exchanged wide eyed glances, though Han kept the blaster trained directly on the woman.
"Skywalker?" Leia asked faintly.
"Luke's wife," Mara explained happily, pouring a cup of hot water and dropping the tea bag in, "but not yet, of course. We probably haven't met yet. I'm from the future and the Force periodically sends me and Luke into the past to fix things."
"That is completely ridiculous!" Han stuttered through shocked lips.
"Yes, but what other explanation is there?" Mara asked practically.
"You must have stowed away," Leia said coldly, "though I don't recognize you. Wait, you must be an Imperial spy who crept on board on Hoth!"
Mara sighed and slowly lifted her hands to her neck, where a data cylinder hung around her neck. She carefully removed it and floated it over to Leia, who accepted it with wide eyes.
"Look at that please."
Leia did, and a moment later, she and Han were watching a video in which an older Luke Skywalker and the intruder chortled happily at a little boy who was toddling back and forth between them.
"That's our son, Biggs," Mara explained in a besotted voice. "He's just learning to walk. He is so cute! Of course, he's also mobile which means we have to watch him like a hawk-bat …"
"Ok, fine," Leia interrupted firmly, "I admit this seems pretty compelling but if you are really from the future and you know Luke that well, you should be able to fill in our current situation. Where are we and what are we doing?"
Mara glanced around and sighed, "Do I get a hint? I mean, the inside of the Falcon is the cozy, dilapidated place it is in my time but beyond that …"
"We just fled a planet on rather short order after the Empire came calling," Leia stated carefully.
Mara stared at the woman whose alter was her sister-in-law and her eyes widened, "You're wearing warm clothing. Oh no, is this post-Hoth? Are you on your way to Bespin?"
Leia gasped even as Han spoke up, "You might have been eavesdropping on us when we decided on our course."
Mara sighed and took a long sip of tea, "Ok, fine. Your main hyperdrive is broken. You are on your way to visit Lando Calrissian, the administrator of the Cloud City of Bespin. You hope he can repair your ship. You and Lando are old frenemies and you once won the Falcon in a sabacc game from him. He's dark skinned and wears elaborate capes, and is remarkably handsome."
Han blinked and shot a look at Leia, "She's right on all counts. All right, I'm convinced, you are from the future."
"Yes I am," Mara said in relief. "Thank you! So about Bespin, it doesn't work out well at all. The Empire gets there ahead of you and Lando sells you out to Vader."
Another gasp, this one of horror, and Leia put a hand to her chest, "Do we ... we must survive, I guess, though that seems surprising."
"Vader puts Han into carbon freeze and hands him over to Boba Fett, whom we think is the one that tracked you to Bespin. Later on, you and Luke and Chewie and Lando rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt."
"Lando?" Han demanded, nearly foaming at the mouth, "why would that traitor help us?"
"Guilt, I think," Mara said gravely. "I mean, saying 'no' to Vader is pretty tough, especially if you like breathing, and Vader also initially lied to Lando about his intentions about you. Vader said that you all would not be harmed and then of course he did harm you. Of course. That's how Leia and Chewie escape; Lando breaks them out. R2D2 fixes the Falcon's hyperdrive, which the Empire had deactivated, and you get away at the very last second."
"R2?" Leia demanded in bewilderment, "He's with Luke as far as we know."
"Yeah," Mara murmured, and gestured towards the chairs. "Look, I have some difficult information for you and probably it would be best to sit down."
Leia and Han exchanged worried glances and sat down just as Chewie came lumbering into the room.
"Hey, Chewie!" Mara cried out, stepping forward to hug the hairy behemoth, "I'm Mara Jade Skywalker, Luke's wife from a future timeline. I just borrowed some of your tea. I hope you don't mind."
Chewbacca rumbled in bewilderment even as Han waved him to a nearby seat.
"So," Mara said slowly, "Luke always says that it is best to honest and open during these jaunts back in time but I have to admit I wish I wasn't the one having to tell you all this."
"Tell us what?" Leia demanded.
"Well, first of all, Darth Vader is obsessed about capturing Luke. This whole huge effort to capture the Falcon is about Luke, who is currently not with the Rebel Fleet but instead is being trained by a Jedi Master on an obscure swamp planet."
Leia's brows raised, "Really? I thought they were all dead?"
"No, Master Yoda is very much alive right now."
"Ok, so Luke is training and Vader wants to capture him. I guess that makes sense. Luke is strong with the Force so probably the Emperor and Vader are worried about that?"
"Palpatine almost certainly is," Mara agreed slowly, "but Vader's motivation is quite different. He's, uh …"
"Yeah?" Han demanded.
"I hate this. Ok, I'm just going to spit it out. Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, and he is Luke's father."
Thirty seconds passed in total silence before the room erupted. Amid cries of "Impossible!" and "That's insane!" and lots of roaring from Chewbacca, Mara leaned back and drank her tea.
When the threesome had calmed, Mara leaned forward to fix Leia with her most determined stare, "So yes, that's the story. He's Luke's father. He was married to a woman you have heard of, anyway, a friend of Bail Organa's named Padme Naberrie Amidala."
Leia choked in disbelief, "Padme Amidala! Of course I know of her. She was a champion of freedom. No way would she marry …"
"She did," Mara interposed firmly. "She did. Luke and my Leia, I mean the Leia from my timeline, went back in time to unmask Palpatine at the time of the Clone Wars. In that timeline, Anakin killed Palpatine and Luke and Leia got to meet with Padme. She was a lovely person, apparently, both in her appearance and her character."
"Your Leia went back?" Leia demanded in confusion. "I was sort of assuming that this whole traveling through time ability was a Force Sensitive thing."
Mara let out a long, slow breath and nodded, "Yes, because you are a very strong Force Sensitive, Leia Organa. You are also Luke's twin sister and the daughter of Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader ... I'm sorry."