Written from a prompt sent to me on tumblr:
Au where Vader has Luke's room at the rebel base bugged. Initially upon receiving them, he is like "at last, I can find out where he and the rebel base is" but ends up more or less using them to find out more about his son
Hope you enjoy!
The bug he had had planted in his son's bunkroom was incredible. Every day, more information streamed in—even if much of it was about Lieutenant Antilles, who unfortunately shared the room and snored loudly enough to activate the recording software—and Vader learned more about his son.
Ultimately, he had found he could not handle the disappointment of only receiving reports about snoring, so he had assigned an ISB agent he trusted to the case. Now he was coming back to him with more than just tiny scraps like knowledge of when Luke slept (not enough). It was a whole conversation.
(Sometimes, Vader thought this setup may be a breach of privacy for his son. But technically, Rebels gave up all rights to privacy when they became Rebels, and it wasn't like the Empire didn't violate said rights on its citizens anyway. If Luke wanted to be left alone, he should come to his senses. Besides, it wasn't like the bug had fallen off the boy's flight suit and latched in the refresher. It was on the floor of the bunkroom—a far less awkward place.)
"You ready to launch tomorrow, Luke?" Antilles asked. The shuffling and static implied they were getting changed.
Luke's voice was muffled, coming from the refresher. "I feel like I was born ready, Wedge—we'll show the Empire what's what."
"Damn, even Yavin didn't break you of that enthusiasm," Antilles muttered under his breath. Out loud, though, he spoke with a smile. "Glad we're still wingmates. If I have to go up against a karking blockade, you're the one I want watching my back."
The agent paused the video, his spectacles quivering on his face as he leaned over to take notes. "As you can see, my lord, they are intending to fly against one out our blockades soon. I have been investigating the sleep patterns of these pilots to try to develop a picture of the circadian rhythms of whatever base they are on, but they are pilots and appear to have no regularity."
"It is good that Skywalker's wingmate appreciates his skills so much," Vader said.
The agent's shock was evident, even through the holocall. "My lord?"
"So that his loss will be more keenly felt by the Rebellion," he tried to justify. It wasn't incorrect. When Luke learned the truth and joined him, Vader wanted them to suffer for keeping his son from him. It would be wonderful to see the boy they had brainwashed destroy them himself…
"I… see, my lord."
He started playing the video again.
"Aw, thanks Wedge. I wouldn't want anyone other than you either. Commander Narra says we make a good team."
"I heard he wants to promote us."
The background noise of whatever Luke was doing in the refresher paused. "Really?" He sounded sceptical.
"You're a shoo-in for commander, Luke. You've already led plenty of missions yourself."
"I'm twenty standard years old."
"You're… fresh-faced."
Luke burst out laughing. "And you? You've led as many missions as me."
"Not with your success! I'm calling it. They're making new squadrons, and you're gonna be Commander Skywalker sometime soon." Antilles seemed to strike a pose. "And I'll be your second, I'm sure."
Luke made to reply, but the agent paused the video. Vader resisted the urge to strangle him. "I found this particularly useful information. The Rebellion were desperate for people before the Battle of Yavin, and they lost many of their pilots there. They could not make new squadrons. But now they are, and yet assign ridiculously young commanders? I hypothesise they have seen a surge of defections and new recruits in the aftermath of Skywalker's mass murder. None of these new recruits are highly skilled, so they are reliant on incredibly young commanders because they are the only ones with any experience or training…"
Vader thought, My son will be a commander!
"Play the video," he ordered.
The agent had still been talking, but he cast Vader a put out look and continued playing it.
Luke laughed. "You might have to bribe me for that," he teased, and Antilles made an offended gasp.
"No matter," he said. "I have hot chocolate."
It was Luke's turn to gasp. "No."
"Yes."
"My one weakness!"
The agent paused. Again.
"This is especially concerning," he said gravely. "As far as reports go, the Rebellion are desperate for resources and supplies; they can barely pay their soldiers. They should not have access to luxuries such as hot chocolate."
Vader was already calculating how much hot chocolate he could import to the Executor without raising his master's suspicion.
"I suspect—"
"That is enough, Agent. Please summarise your thoughts and send them to me in a report. I intend to examine this footage myself." He reached for the terminal and pulled up a separate search page. Oh, hot chocolate was much cheaper nowadays than when he was a padawan…
The agent stared. "Of course, my lord." He swallowed. "We shall track down the Rebels soon enough."
"Indeed we shall." Vader cut the connection. "But I have to be ready first."
From what his spies had been working on, he had a reasonable suspicion of where the base was. An attack would be launched in five days.
That was enough time to get everything he needed on board to prepare for Luke's arrival, right?