Note: If any of you have ever read The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan at all, you already know what a "Wilder" is supposed to be. For the rest of you, you'll find out in this chapter what it means, and why I borrowed this concept. Now, on with the story...
Over the years, Han Solo had run plenty of scams. One could call him a rather accomplished con artist, even. And they always say that one should never try to con a con. So what was Vader up to? "Become a Sith? You mean, become a Darth, like you are?"
"That's exactly what I mean, Solo," Vader answered, nodding his helmet enthusiastically.
Han's face clearly showed his lack of faith. "Darth Han?" he snorted.
"Of course not! Do I go around calling myself Darth Anakin?" Vader scoffed. "Only Palpatine continues to use his real name, but he doesn't put his title before it."
"Hmm...that should make you wonder, shouldn't it? Why isn't he making everyone call him, what was his name again? Darth Sidious?" Han stopped speaking because as he kept repeating the name, something inside his soul made him shiver. These Sith were the ones controlling the galaxy! And now, Vader's advising him to become one?
"It is not that Palpatine is ashamed of his true identity, it is that it obviously wouldn't be politically expedient to make everyone who used to call him Chancellor Palpatine start calling him Darth Sidious, now would it?" Vader's metallic breath sounded more and more ominous as each second passed.
"Does anyone in the Rebel Alliance know?" Han wondered aloud.
"Probably not, but even if they knew he sometimes called himself Darth, they wouldn't understand it any more than you do. Unless they were Jedi, or former Jedi..." Vader answered.
"Does Luke know?" Han asked.
"I have no doubts that Obi-Wan has told him. Obi-Wan knows that Palpatine is a Sith. He knows I am a Sith. And he knows that I'm looking for an apprentice!" As Vader said that, Han felt that shiver again. "Actually, I am surprised that Obi-Wan is allowing himself to be so distracted with my daughter when I always thought his primary goal in life is to keep me from continuing the legacy of the Sith."
"Well, bringing him back from the dead was certainly not going to help your cause! Of course Kenobi's gonna try and keep Luke from joining you! I don't get it. Don't you want Luke to be your apprentice?" Han asked.
To Han's great surprise, Vader answered, "No, not anymore. I've been slowlyrealizing that I had it wrong all along. As did Obi-Wan. As did the Emperor. I admit, it's not easy to accept it. I'm very angry about it. Luke is my son! One of these days, he's going to have a very rude awakening, courtesy of me! He thinks he's going to restore the Jedi Order! Not without me having something to say about it! And then there's Leia, one of the highest ranking Rebel Alliance leaders, also my child! Yes, I am going to start evening the score with them both. But right now, I must concentrate on eliminating my master, and I cannot depend on either of them to help me! Well, if you don't think I'm right, then tell me, do you think Luke would make a good Sith lord?"
"No, I think he'd make a terrible Sith lord," Han answered with perhaps more candor than he would have liked. "He's too hung up on being a Jedi to even consider it. And, he's got a good soul."
"Unlike others we know, hmmm? Unlike perhaps...yourself?" Vader said cuttingly.
Han rolled his eyes. How did he get himself into these things? "Vader, I can't be a Sith lord. First of all, Luke would kill me. Hell, even Leia would kill me. And just to remind you of another thing: I gather you need to be Force-sensitive to be a Sith, right? Well, guess what, Vader?"
Vader answered slowly with a question of his own. "Guess what, Solo?" Even through the rebreather, the voice sounded so certain, so final.
Han began to shiver even more than before. "No!"
"Yes!" Vader did not need to elaborate on what he meant.
"I am not Force-sensitive," Han corrected him shakily.
"Yes, you are. Though I can understand why you'd deny it. After all, to your way of thinking, there's no proof. You've never done anything that makes you look Force-sensitive. Or so you think. You shake your head, but inside, you must know that I might just be right about this!"
"Prove it!" Han snorted. Imagine, Darth Vader, one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, was a complete wacko! If only I'd been able to keep my hands on that bloody lightsaber!
"We could conduct a midiclorian test, of course, and that would prove it beyond a doubt. But I have found that science never tells the whole story, does it? In this case, it just tells you that there are things in your cells that make you more receptive to something that science has never been able to explain." Vader shrugged. "I believe my observations are far more reliable than even a blood test. You say you want proof, Captain Solo? Very well, let's talk about what I'veobserved about people like you, shall we?
"All your life, you've known you were somehow more capable of getting difficult things done than the others around you. When you were a child, you probably had someone take advantage of this trait. I had my owner, Watto, who made me race pods so he could make even more money gambling than he already did. I'm certainthat you had someone like Watto in your life, too."
Han's mind immediately screamed Garris Shrike, and he shuddered even as he reminded himself that the creep who had taught him how to run scams, pick pockets, and beg on the streets as a child, was dead. And let's not forget the Hutts Han reminded himself unpleasantly. Once Vader was certain that his point had been made, he continued. "Now, no doubt you found yourself rebelling against those who would use you, and you kept wondering why they reacted so badly to losing you. A Force-sensitive pickpocket? Truly a jewel in the crown of any leader of a band of vagabond boys, no? And let's not forget your piloting skills! I'm certain that Jabba's not the only one who has hired bounty hunters to retrieve you."
This prodded Han to speak. "Hey! Just because I can fly a ship well doesn't prove a thing. Lots of people are good pilots and don't levitate things, alright!" he argued. But already, he didn't like how close to home Vader's guesses were becoming. Or were they guesses? How could Han possibly trust anything Darth Vader had to say to him?
"But Captain, don't you want to levitate things?" Vader asked innocently.
"No! What good does levitating things do anybody?" But Hangasped as his feet left the ground. When he tried to move, he found he was back in the full body bind, and he was most definitely rising. "Hey, what the hell's this? Put me down!"
"Make me," Vader said simply.
As Han was turned upside down, he growled, "You know, you're just lucky I'm not Force-sensitive! You know what I wanted to do to you before, Vader?" Han asked.
"No, what did you want to do to me before?" Vader asked.
"I wanted to shoot you with lightning from my fingers. Fry your black-armored ass right where you stood!" Han spat. Somehow, he didn't think his threat made all that much impact on Vader, since he was now completely inverted, staring at Vader's shielded eyes.
"Really? Why didn't you?" Vader asked, almost sounding disappointed that Han didn't at least try. "You know, the Emperor can do that. Shoot Force lightning from his fingers. In fact, Sith lords are known for it. I can do it too, but I don't. I find it leaves these annoying burn marks in my gloves every time I do it..." Vader began to turn Han rightside up again. "But, I could teach you how to do it."
"Oh, isn't that nice?" Han snickered as his feet touched the duricrete floor once again. "You've got to be kidding! Take lessons from you on using the Force? You know, once upon a time, I was a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy. How come they didn't do a midiclorian test on me?"
"Who says they didn't do one? My question is, why didn't anyone inform me of a midiclorian count as high as yours obviously is?" Vader answered with a question of his own.
"Because it's obviously not!" Han countered.
"Apparently, there are a few of my people who need a talking to, when I get around to it. In the meantime, on to far more important things. Since we have determined that you would make a suitable, no, make that a perfect candidate for a Sith, we need to start discussing your training in the ways of the Force..."
"What are you talking about? I haven't come to any conclusions except that you're a madman and I feel more sorry than ever for Luke! Not that you're telling the truth about that either!"
Vader sighed. "We're back to that again. Very well. I shall give you more clues, and perhaps it will get through to you. When I first boarded the Millenium Falcon nearly four years ago, I felt the presence of the Force in great abundance. Considering that both Luke and Obi-Wan were on that ship, it was no surprise. But later,while you and your passengers escaped the shipto rescue Princess Leia, I went back to the Falcon, and I found something fascinating. The residues of the Force remained even after there were no life forms left aboard! Such a thing is so rare that letting the ship out to follow you to Yavin was difficult for me to do without regret. What did I care about the Death Star? The Millenium Falcon was far more interesting to me..."
Han couldn't help but smirk. "Well, Vader, at least we know you've got your priorities straight."
"That ship is a top priority for you, is it not? Especially since you've put so much of yourself into it!" Vader countered.
"Yeah, a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into keeping that ship spaceworthy, Vader, and if you've gone and messed with it..." Han threatened.
"Blood, sweat, tears, and the Force..." Vader corrected him.
Han shot him a dirty look. "I didn't make the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs by using the Force..." he scoffed. Did I?
"Another clue is your close relationship with the Wookiee," Vader continued unperturbed. "In the days of the Old Republic, the Jedi and the Wookiees had very good relations. Not eveyone understands Wookiee talk, you know. The truth is, it takes a great deal of practice, to be able to hear the subtle inflections of their speech, doesn't it? Unless the listener was using the Force."
"Before you get any big ideas, Chewie owes me a life debt. On account of me saving him from some of your cronies, by the way. I grew up with a Wookiee around, too. Naturally I can't speak Wookiee, but I understand it. Comes from being close to 'em all my life," Han defended himself.
"You could be right about that, Solo. But what about your friendship with Luke and Leia? In spite of your pressing need to get back to Jabba the Hutt, you found you just didn't want to leave them. Yes, I can see from your expression that you never noticed it before. It took me pointing it out. You didn't want to leave them behind unless things became too desperate for you. It brings that old expression to mind: Like attracts like!"
Han grunted. "Luke's a good kid, he would've done the same for me. I guess I was worried about him, wanted to make sure he'd be alright. Alright, maybe I wanted to hang around in case Leia started getting interested... They both seemed lost after the Death Star business. Luke's good in a fight, but I saw him getting swallowed up into the Rebellion... I know, it makes no sense when I say it like that." Han threw his hands in the air dismissively.
Vader laughed. "You, protect a Force-sensitive? Such a notion would make no sense, unless of course you are one yourself. Then, it would make perfect sense. Many times, use of the Force occurs on a subconscious basis, sometimes even unconscious basis. Which brings me to the most compelling evidence I have: your carbon freezing experience."
Han felt ice suddenly forming in his gut. "There's aftereffects from it, isn't there? Yeah, I bet I'm gonna go blind again! Or worse!" The panicked anger bubbled up again, and Vader sensed it.
"Lando Calrissian had warned me of the danger of carbon freezing a human being, especially in his facility. He was right, of course; it was nowhere near as elaborate and complete as the one that was deep in the bowels of the old Jedi Temple..."
Han nearly choked. "What?"
"Back in the day, the Jedi routinely used carbon freezing to imprison rogue Jedi Knights. The practice was abandoned perhaps even before Yoda was born, but the machinery was still there. I happened upon it once, when I was still a child Padawan. The thought of imprisoning a Jedi like that stuck in my mind. Later, when I looked it up in the Jedi Archives, I found out exactly what would happen to someone who survived the process. No lasting ill effects had been reported. However, the longer someone remained in hibernation, the worse the immediate aftereffects would be. And, there was one inescapable conclusion from the research conducted by the Jedi Order on carbon freezing."
Vader's tone made the ice return double in Han's stomach. "And what was that?"
"That only a Force-sensitive survives the process at all. That you not only survived the initial process, but also recovered this quickly after being frozen for so long, is very telling indeed." Han shook his head involuntarily, and Vader continued. "You are what the Jedi liked to call on the sly a Wilder. Don't feel too badly; I am one too."
"Hmph, what's that?" Han asked.
"Someone who learned to used the Force somehow without the supervision and blessings of the Jedi Council," Vader answered spitefully. "The Jedi used to take small children, sometimes even babies, if it was found that their midiclorian counts were high enough. If they didn't find children in time to train them, many of them began to develop their own little methods of dealing with their powers. The Jedi considered these older children, or even adults, unacceptable to train formally."
Han gave Vader an even look. "Well, that settles it then. Even if everything you've said is the absolute truth, it doesn't do me any good. Too much time has passed."
"I don't believe that. Look at Luke, how much progress he has made in a few short years, three of them spent fumbling around! Turns all of the Jedi's theories on their ears, I think!" Vader insisted stubbornly.
"You have a point, but Luke is in his twenties. I'm in my thirties," Han informed him.
"All the more reason to get a move on, Solo. Now, there are limited choices as to who can train you. Right now, there's only two, maybe three. There is Master Yoda, whom I have not seen in many years and for all I know is close to death. He's far too much of a purist to ever train you. He'd sense you were lousy Jedi material just as quickly as I did. Another choice would be Obi-Wan Kenobi..." Vader said.
"Him? Train me? Not a chance!" Han declared.
"Well," Vader said brightly, "that leaves me, does it not? I will teach you the ways of the Force, you will become my Sith apprentice, and we will both get what we want!"
"No way, Vader! I ain't lettin' someone like you screw me up even more than I already am!" Han protested.
Calmly, Vader responded, "I cannot make you do as I say. To become a Sith, one must fully embrace the Dark Side, not be forced into it. I've waited this long. I can wait a little longer. I know this, however; you may leave me now. But you will return, once you see things more clearly. Once you see just how much you truly need to learn to control your powers. Once you realize that you would do anything necessary to keep what is most important to you..."
Without a response, Han turned on his heel and took his leave. Vader watched him go, making no sound save the constant, ominous breathing...
It was only once he managed to get back into the landspeeder he'd "commmandeered" for just this trip that Han allowed the shakes that had threatened to grip his body to finally work their way out of his system. Darth Vader was trying to get him, Han Solo, to become his Sith apprentice! In all his life, he'd never had so bizarre an experience! What was he going to do now? Especially since he was already starting to wonder whether leaving wasn't just the biggest mistake he'd ever made?