Day 3: Memory Loss

Summary: Luke managed to save his father on the second Death Star. It was a miracle medics were able to save him, but it was at the cost of all the memories of the man once known as both Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker.

"Here," Luke said as he handed his father a cup of caf.

Metal hands grabbed the cup and brought it up to a pale and scarred face. Anakin took a long sip before lowering his cup and nodded his thanks to his son.

"You're breathing sounds much better," Luke said trying to fill the silence.

"Yes," Anakin said. His voice no longer a deep booming bass from the vocoder, but no longer as weak and wheezy as it first was when they freed him from the suit.

Luke glanced down as once again silence fell between them. Why was it so hard to hold a conversation with his father? Perhaps it was because the man in front of him had no memories. Luke had saved his father from the destruction of the second Death Star. Had pleaded with the Alliance to save his life. They had agreed under the condition that Vader would be put on trial. But after months of being in a coma, the man who woke up was far from the feared Supreme Commander of the Empire's Navy. He was a broken man with no memory.

No memory of his life as Darth Vader and the Empire. No memory of his life before as Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. And no memory of Luke.

Luke had tried to make the best of things. Perhaps this was a fresh start for not only his father but their relationship as well . . . but . . . all that was left was . . . a shell of a man. Confused. Lost. Barely making sense of this world while dealing with multiple surgeries Luke insisted on and dealing with a barrage of questions and accusations from the Alliance. They thought it was too convenient Vader had suddenly lost his memory the moment he was in their hands.

But Luke knew. The Force confirmed it. Darth Vader . . . Anakin Skywalker . . . their memories were gone.

"Perhaps," Anakin suddenly said. "We could go on a walk together?"

Luke gave a small smile and a nod. Anytime Anakin left his quarters, he was always accompanied by two guards. His movements were always reported. Originally there had been a whole squad of guards, but Luke had successfully argued that Anakin couldn't do any harm due to recovering from his injuries. And over the months Anakin showed no signs of Vader's famous violence, and the number of guards decreased. Plus, he was only allowed on such walks if Luke was with him.

Once upon a time, Luke had pestered Anakin to no end in hopes that something would jolt his memory. Yet nothing seemed to work. So now they mostly walked in silence with the two guards trailing behind them at a respectable distance. They were walking along the edge of a large lake that the Alliance base stood by. They were on the planet of Ord Mirit in the Colonies region. It was close to Imperial Center, and the Alliance was using it as their main base as they prepared for an assault on the Empire's capital.

Luke was both excited and dreaded the idea of finally capturing the city planet. Once the Allaince did claim the planet, they planned to formally announce the New Republic. But one of their first acts would be to put Darth Vader on trial.

"Luke."

Luke snapped his head up. He had been lost in thought.

"Yes, Father?"

Anakin smiled. It was shy and timid, but it was there. He was bald and covered in scars, but it wasn't as bad as when he first got out of the suit. The medical team doubted the scars would fade unless they grafted new skin, and they doubted how successful it would be.

"I like coming out here," Anakin said as he looked out along the lake. "It . . . it makes me feel calm. Peaceful. Like . . . there is something good here. Though, I am afraid I cannot recall why that is."

Luke's heart sped up. This was the first time his father had ever mentioned anything being familiar.

"Well if you recall anything, let me know," he said.

Anakin nodded. "Of course."

He slowly walked over to a large rock and sat down, and Luke sat beside him.

"When will your mission start?" Anakin asked.

"They're almost done outfitting the capital ships," Luke said. "And the reinforcements should be arriving next week. Hopefully, we can launch the attack after that."

"Two more weeks?" Anakin whispered.

He knew. Like Luke, he knew what would be coming.

"Yes," Luke whispered back. He reached over and grabbed his father's hand.

"Do you think they'll put me to death after the trial?"

There was a large lump in Luke's throat. It made it hard to swallow, hard to talk. "I . . . I don't know. But I'll fight it."

Anakin squeezed Luke's hand. "Thank you, Luke."

Luke didn't know what he could do if it came down to defending his father in front of the courts, especially all alone, but he wouldn't abandon him. He hoped for life in prison. It wouldn't be a perfect life, not that Vader truly deserved freedom, but at least Luke would still have his father.

Ten days later, the base alarm woke Luke up. He grabbed his lightsaber off his nightstand and turned on his comm. The words 'Alert: Attack' blinked in red letters.

"Kriff," he cursed as he rolled out of bed and pulled on his clothes and boots.

When he entered the hallway a klaxon horn was blaring and red lights were flashing. Despite all the noise, he still heard his commlink beep.

"Skywalker," he called out.

"Luke."

"Leia! What's going on?"

"Imperial attack. A whole fleet of star destroyers just jumped out of hyperspace."

"Kriff. How did they manage to pull together so many ships?"

The Empire was scattered after the death of the Emperor. Internal fighting had broken out as the remaining figureheads clawed for control, and the Empire shattered into pieces each ruled by a different moff or general or admiral. There were some who still had a concerning amount of ships, but they were far from the core, except for the First Fleet still defending Imperial Center.

Had they given up their defensive position and abandoned the capital? Was this a preemptive strike? They would have had more warning than this if that was the case. The Alliance had so many eyes on the planet right now. The moment the First Fleet did anything, they would have known. No way they would have been able to surprise them even if it was a very quick jump away.

"Is it the First Fleet?" Luke asked. He had to know.

"No," Leia replied. Her voice grim.

"Who are they? Where are they from?"

"Haven't figured that out. We need you, Luke. Get to your fighter."

He paused.

"I have to get to Father," he said.

Leia moaned. He knew she would be rolling her eyes. She hated thinking of Anakin as her father. "No, you don't," she replied. "Leave him."

"What if this is a rescue attempt?"

"I'm almost tempted to let them take him if that's what they're after," Leia replied bitterly.

"I'm going to check in on him. Then I'll get to my fighter. Have my ship prepared."

"Copy that," Leia said. He could feel the heaviness in her voice. She wanted to say more, and probably would once this was all over. She didn't like that he was prioritizing their father at this moment, but . . . he felt compelled to.

What would he be thinking? Would he be scared?

It wasn't surprising to find more guards than usual, but they let him through. The door slid open and Anakin was pacing his small room with his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped the moment the door opened.

"Luke," he said walking over. His blue eyes ran up and down him. "What is going on? Is everything alright?"

Luke ran his hand through his hair. "It's an attack," he muttered. "They may move you to a more secure location, but don't worry. Everything is going to be fine."

If Anakin had brows, they would have creased. He placed a prosthetic hand on Luke's shoulder. "Luke . . ."

Luke put his own prosthetic hand on top of his father's; Anakin smiled. Luke nodded and tried to step away, but Anakin's grip tightened.

"Father?"

Everything moved in a blur. One minute he was facing his father, the next he was turned around and bent over. His hands were pulled behind his back and heard the distinct clink of cuffs being snapped together. Luke craned his neck over his shoulder to try and see what was going on.

"Father? What is happening?"

"I am sorry, Luke."

A shiver ran down Luke's spin. That . . . that didn't sound like Anakin. Not the Anakin he had gotten to know over these last few months. That voice. The way those words came out . . . it made him think of Vader. Luke stumbled forward, straightened up, and turned around. Anakin stood straight and tall with Luke's lightsaber in his hand.

"What is going on?" he demanded.

Blue eyes stared at him, but they were off. They weren't as blue as they usually were.

Anakin walked over and grabbed Luke's arm. "We're leaving," he said.

"Leaving? Wait . . . this attack . . . it is a rescue attempt. You . . . you have your memories back! When did you get them back?"

Vader ignored the question. "A rescue attempt would mean I was in need of rescuing. This is an extraction."

"This won't work," Luke said softly. "You can't just walk out of here dragging me along. Someone will notice."

Vader pulled Luke to the door. He said nothing as it opened and the guards all snapped to attention, but none of them raised their blaster.

"Lord Vader," one of the guards said with a sharp nod of his head.

A heavy sinking feeling settled in Luke's stomach. Where all these guards . . . Imperials? When? How?

One them stepped forward and handed Vader a uniform jacket and a helmet. He quickly slipped into both. Someone slammed a uniform helmet down on Luke's head.

"How long?" Luke hissed. "How long have you been pretending?"

Luke had only opened himself up to the Force the first few weeks after Anakin- Vader woke up from his coma. He had stopped doing so once he was sure that Vader had really lost his memories. They must have come back after that.

Vader said nothing; he only looked ahead as he grabbed his son's arm and pulled him down the hall.

Luke was surprised that no one way stopped them. Sure a few people glanced at them, but Luke was hidden in the middle of the group. If anyone saw the cuffs on his hands, no one did anything to stop them. The base was in chaos as people ran around to their battle stations. No one had time to question a group of guards. Most likely people assumed they were on their way to help defend the base.

No one stopped them as they entered the hangar. It was filled with mechanics, pilots, droids, and pit crews. A few Luke knew by name. He opened his mouth ready to shout at them, but Vader tightened his grip.

"Don't," he hissed. "Or my men will open fire."

The words died in Luke's throat. They made it to a shuttle completely unharassed.

"Everything is ready, sir," a man waiting in the cabin said.

Vader wasn't looking at him. Instead, his head had turned to look at the row of seats against the wall. Luke looked and everything stopped as his heart sank and his blood ran cold. Leia sat slumped over in a chair with the crash webbinga already buckled around her.

"No," Luke whispered. He hadn't meant to say it out loud.

Vader tugged on his arm and pushed him into the seat next to Leia.

"Secure him," Vader barked. "And take off."

"Yes, your majesty," someone said.

"Majesty?" Luke asked.

Vader looked down at Luke. His eyes were completely gold.

"It is time the Emperor returns to his Empire," Vader said slowly. He quickly glanced at Leia and then back at Luke. "With his heirs in tow."