Day 18: Condemned and Things Left Unsaid

Summary: Darth Vader survived the destruction of the second Death Star. He was arrested and has been provided the Alliance with intel on the Empire. Despite his corporation, he is still a criminal in the eyes of the Alliance and the New Republic.

The door, after what felt like an eternity but was only a few seconds, finally slid open. Luke took a deep breath and managed to swallow despite the large lump in his throat. He stepped into the large cell and the door immediately closed behind him. He looked at the floor as his hands curled slowly into fists. He couldn't look up. He couldn't . . .

The cell was made of white plastoid and pale metal with bright lights. It almost hurt his eyes to be in here, but it wasn't just his eyes that hurt. It felt like each breath was a fight to push out, and his heart raced in his chest. His mouth was dry yet he couldn't stop swallowing. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he was breaking out with a cold sweat. A cold sinking feeling was getting worse and worse inside of him. He blinked back the tears forming in his eyes, took a deep but unsteady breath and looked up.

Across the room, his father waited in his chair.

Anakin Skywalker reclined in a large chair wearing a white medical gown. Various medical machines were all around him beeping and blinking. Tubes and wires of various sizes went from machine to man and back to machine. He had no limbs, only the smooth durasteel connectors where limbs could attach to. His skin was pale and horribly scarred that both sagged and stretched tight. A clear breathing mask covered his lower face and there was a faint sound of air being forced in and out.

"Luke," Anakin said. His voice barely more than a wheeze.

"F- father."

Luke moved across the room and sat down on the small stool that was waiting for him next to the large chair. Anakin wasn't looking at Luke, instead, his eyes focused on the far wall. Luke turned around and noticed the lights next to the security holocamera were off. He turned around, and Vader had closed his eyes and his body relaxed.

The Alliance had kept their promise. The cameras would be turned off. No one was watching.

There was no point in any more recordings anyway. Everything Anakin was going to tell the Alliance had been said. High Command still felt like there were still things he knew but hadn't shared despite the massive amounts of information about the dead Emperor and the Empire Anakin had already shared.

None of this had been done out of the kindness of Anakin's heart. He had done it for Luke and Leia. Luke wondered if Leia herself had come here and asked for the remaining secrets, would Anakin have finally handed them over? Was it some bargaining chip to see his daughter? Regardless, Leia refused. Anakin never got his reunion with his daughter . . . and never would . . .

Whatever was left unsaid would go with Anakin when he died in a few short hours. The first major thing the new Galactic Senate had done upon its creation was to hold a large and long public court case against Darth Vader. It went through Vader's twenty-three-year long career as the right-hand man of Emperor Palpatine and Supreme Commander. There was no defense on Anakin's part. He said nothing until the very end when they asked if he was guilty of these crimes and he agreed. Luke wondered if all of it was true. Surely some of it had to be embellished or false, but Anakin never argued. Never flinched, not even when he heard his punishment.

Death.

Luke wasn't surprised; he knew that was going to happen. Yet, he still wasn't prepared when the sentencing finally came down. And now the day of Darth Vader's execution was here. Luke had pleaded the case for it to be private, though there were some who wanted it broadcasted across the galaxy. Surprisingly, Leia agreed. She gave a passionate but short speech to the Senate about how Darth Vader's legacy should die here and now, and no more fame and attention should be wasted on the Empire. Let it go quietly, without fanfare. Anakin had watched the speech from here in his cell. His eyes never left Leia. The vote had been close, but it had been decided that Vader's execution would be small and private.

As a last request, Anakin had requested he talk with his children. Alone. No recordings.

Leia still refused to speak to her biological father, even though it would be her last chance. So Luke found himself here alone. He knew this would be the last time he would speak to his father alive.

Despite a million words burning inside of him, his tongue was heavy, and he didn't know where to start.

They had already talked so much. Luke was in here as much as he could. It wasn't just getting information about the Empire, but about the Force and the Jedi. Anakin was reluctant to talk about the Jedi Order, which considering his role in its destruction wasn't that surprising.

"Make it better, Luke," Anakin would say. "Do it right this time."

There was still so much Luke wanted to know. He was still making sense of the Force and figuring out the history of the Jedi and how the Order worked and . . . and . . .

"Luke."

Luke realized he had been staring at his lap. He looked up and his vision blurred over with tears.

"My son," Anakin said with a warm smile.

Luke smiled back, but couldn't stop the tears rolling down his face.

"There is . . . so much . . . that has been left unsaid. I wish I could say it all to you, but I doubt I have time to."

Luke could only nod. He tried to swallow, but the lump in his throat was too big.

"I don't want to talk about the Force or Jedi or the Empire," Anakin continued.

Luke's brows furrowed as a sob bubbled up out of him. Oh Force, how was he going to make it through this?

"I want to talk about your mother . . ."

Luke's brows shot up. His mother? Despite all the long talks, Anakin had never talked about Luke's mother. Luke had been brave enough to ask once or twice with Leia's insistence. Each time, Anakin got a distant look in his blue eyes and shook his head. Luke had learned that Anakin didn't like talking about himself, so despite the hours upon hours the two had talked, he still knew very little about his father.

But now . . .

Now . . . here at the end . . .

"Her name," Anakin said, "was Padme Amidala."

There was a long pause that was filled with the sounds of the various medical machines that kept Anakin alive whirring and beeping.

"She was an angel," Anakin whispered.

He closed his eyes and Luke watched a few tears slide down the white scarred cheeks. Luke's own tears continued to fall.

"I loved her," Anakin continued. "And . . . she . . . loved me . . . and . . . you."

Anakin opened his eyes and smiled.

"She loved you, Luke. You and your sister. When she told me she was pregnant, it was the happiest day of my life."

Luke couldn't fight back the sobs anymore. His entire body shook and thick hot tears rolled down his face. Luke scooted his stool closer and placed his hand, his flesh hand, on his father's upper arm.

"We met when I was nine years old, and the moment I saw her I knew she was an angel . . ."