Chapter 3 - Interrogation
Vader arrived outside his office where he could feel the presence of the boy within. Two Stormtroopers were standing guard at the closed door, ensuring the boy didn't escape. He waved them off and both the troopers immediately departed. The dark lord opened the door with a command from the force and went straight in.
When he entered the dimly lit room, he instantly saw that the boy was cuffed to a chair which was in the center of the room. But he was still unconscious so Vader walked closer to the boy and looked down, studying him. Judging by his light and simple attire Vader presumed that he was probably from a desert planet. Just the word "desert" hit him with a swarm of memories he didn't acknowledge as they were of no importance right now.
He stared harder at the boy and though he was either late teens or early twenties he had one of those faces where you could not tell. He was quite thin as well which added to his unknown age. Especially now while he was sleeping, like with all people it made them look younger. And in this young one's case, extremely vulnerable.
Nonetheless of how old the boy was, Vader was still asking himself the same question he had been wondering since he'd first seen the boy down in the hanger bay. Who was he? And why had he been carrying the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker? Vader had been sure that that particular weapon had been either destroyed or lost on Mustafar when he had been defeated by Kenobi in their duel.
He pulled the lightsaber out from within his cloak and stared at it again. A conclusion was beginning to dawn in the Sith Lord's mind. Kenobi must have stolen the saber and handed it over to this boy to use for a weapon. It was the only theory which made sense.
The old fool of a Jedi had the nerve to hand over this lightsaber to a mere boy who looked nothing like a warrior or even a fellow Jedi. But as Vader thought about this, he concealed the weapon back under his cloak and looked at the boy again and a new theory entered the Sith Lord's mind. He used the force and was suddenly taken aback when he saw something. A small yet strong flicker of the force resided within the boy. The boy was force sensitive? Why hadn't he seen it before? It was likely because he had not expected such a thing.
It all made sense now as he pieced the conclusion together. Kenobi had handed this boy the lightsaber and had probably trained him in the ways of the Jedi. He knew he could not defeat Vader alone, so he had taken on this boy as a new padawan to stand by his side to fight him.
The said-boy was beginning to wake up and Vader took two steps back from the chair. Now was the time to find out how much he knew and how truthful the boy would be. He opened his eyes and groaned softly. The familiar crystal blue of them made Vader twitch slightly but pushed it away sharply. The boy froze instantly when he looked up slowly and met Vader's masked gaze. His eyes widened and with a shocked cry he tried to stand but winced as the cuffs binding his wrists to the chair painfully stopped him. He struggled and fought at the restraints but had no success.
"They will not break," Vader said not taking his eyes off the boy.
Luke moaned and fell back against the chair. He was still aching all over from the explosion.
"What is your name?" The dark lord asked. Luke turned his head away with a scowl. "Answer me!" his voice was so much louder this time and so abrupt that the boy jumped, but nonetheless kept his cool.
"You must be crazy to think I'm gonna tell you anything you heartless bucket h-…" His insult was silenced as he felt a strong pressure snake round his neck and block his windpipe. He couldn't breathe.
Eyes widening in fear he saw that Vader's fist was raised in front of him. Choking for air, his hands fought desperately against the binders more fiercely as Vader strangled him. For a few terrifying seconds Luke thought he had taken his last breath when the force which had closed round his throat vanished as instantly as it had appeared. He fell back in the chair coughing and gasping as Vader folded his arms across his chest.
"If you refuse to answer me again, the hold will be longer next time."
Finally, Luke stopped coughing, but was still gasping for air.
"Tell me your name." His deep voice carried clear warning and Luke decided to heed his request only a little. He didn't want to be choked again and fall victim to his father's murderer without a fair fight.
"Luke."
"It appears you were partially responsible for the Princess's escape along with the droids we have been searching for. Isn't that right, Luke?"
Luke felt relieved that they had got away safely with Han. Though he was disappointed at his unfortunate fate, at least both Leia and the plans in Artoo were safe from the Empire now. He couldn't help but give a little smile.
This however didn't slip Vader's notice. "They may have got away, Luke. But you are still here and you're going to answer all my questions." Though Vader's deadly voice made him shudder he wiped away his smug grin. He forced the fear for his own life to leave his mind and put on the most confident face he could.
"Do your worse then, Vader. You may kill me if you want. But the Rebellion will triumph over you in the end, and your wretched Empire will fall."
Vader unfolded his arms and took a step closer holding his hands behind his back. "Such courage is wasteful, young one. However, the force is strong with you. Unlike any I have ever encountered. Yet at your age you would be better fully trained. You bear the sign of a Padawan who has barely began to learn. Kenobi's teaching must have weakened along with his body." Luke clenched his fist at the mention of Ben being weak. But was also confused as Vader's use of words. What was a "Padawan"?
"Untrained or not, your force presence exceeds the power of a random newfound youngling. The only explanation is that you are the descendant of a powerful Jedi Master." Luke felt himself starting to tremble slightly and tried to force his fear to back off.
"What is your surname Luke?"
Luke lowered his eyes to the durasteel floor. "I don't have one," he answered blankly. The last thing he needed now was for Vader to learn he was the son of the Jedi he betrayed and murdered.
The sudden blow to the side of his face almost caused him and the chair to fall to the floor. His head pounded, stars flashed in his eyes and the ringing in his ears blared like an alarm.
"Do not lie to me boy! Deceptions in words will not fool me." He reached forward and clasped the boy's chin and turned him back to face his dark lenses. "Tell me your surname Luke!"
Unable to turn his face away from the black mask's intense gaze, Luke's head ached more now more than ever. "I never knew my parents!" He cried. "I've been an orphan all my life." He closed his eyes and hoped Vader would buy it. It wasn't the full truth but it was not a lie either.
The black gloved hand released his chin and his head lolled. "You may be becoming more truthful Luke. However, I can sense that you're still keeping something from me. And I will find out what it is whether you tell me or not."
He reached forward again the boy's eyes widened and was lifted in his chair with the force of the invisible grip which was snaked round his neck again holding him up like a noose. This time though, he was only being held up and not choked, so he was still able to breathe. "This is your final warning Luke. If you do not tell me what I want to know, then I will be the one to witness the final moments of your wasted life." Luke closed his eyes and decided to welcome death and end his misery. "Farewell, child."
The grip tightened and once again he was now unable to breathe at all. The pain in his neck and the lack of air was worse than anything Luke had ever felt in his life. It was too much, too strong for him, too much bear or resist. In that moment he had decided that he didn't want to die, at least not like this. Not as a helpless victim at the mercy of his murderer. "P...P...Please," he pleaded. "St…Stop."
Vader eased his hold on Luke so that he still held him with the force but the boy was able to breathe again.
With the last of what strength he was mustering, he lifted his head ignoring the soreness in his neck and glared at Vader. If even this coming declaration meant certain death, he would go down looking his enemy in the eye. Clearing his throat as best he could through the pain, he managed to rasp through his sore throat. "I am Luke Skywalker…son of Anakin Skywalker. The Jedi Knight you…betrayed and…murdered."
Author's notes
Hello my readers. I'm sorry for the long wait I gave you with this story. It's just that in the past few months I've had a lot to deal with, including a sad sudden death of one of the young members of my family. Apart from recovering from that upsetting tragedy, I've had three holidays in which I was very busy.
The last was a visit to the London Comic Con Film convention in July where I met a load of Star Wars Actors including:
Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker)
Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine)
Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian)
Corey Dee Williams (Klaatu)
Julian Glover (General Veers)
Guy Henry (Governor Tarkin)
Alan Harris (Bossk)
Michael Carter (Bib Fortuna)
Hugh Quarshie (Captain Panaka)
Erin Kellyman (Enfys Nest)
Paul Blake (Greedo)
Please continue to leave me your reviews as they help encourage me to continue and then I know you're enjoying the story.
Kind Regards to you all.
LouisaJane007
