To many pieces were lining up. Too many pieces were clicking into place for this to be a coincidence.

Vader volunteers to sacrifice himself. Skywalker just happens to be in the room. Who said your father was dead? Anakin and Palpatine were great friends. A worthy apprentice.

Vader had always been a capable commander. He'd been predictable in his own way. Then the Death Star had blown up and Skywalker had shown up and he'd begun to behave… differently.

Piett knew his commander as much as anyone really could know Vader.

And the pieces kept lining up.

Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader. Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker. And Luke Skywalker was his son.

Piett tried to keep his hysterical laugher inside. He really did.

…-…

Luke wasn't sure how to react when one of the Imperials started laughing hysterically.

"Captain?" One of the other Imperials asked, looking concerned. "You alright?"

"It's so obvious!" the man gasped. "I'm so dead." The laughter continued.

"You're one of the few competent officers in the Imperial Navy," Vader interrupted, "I'm not going to kill you for figuring out the truth."

Was Vader seriously comforting someone? What was going on in this world?

"The truth about what?" One of the Imperials asked.

"Anakin Skywalker." Vader said before Piett could respond.

Some Imperial had figured out the truth about his father and he hadn't? That was just… stupid. Luke had the urge to growl.

"How'd you figure it out? And what do you mean by the truth about Anakin Skywalker?" Luke wiggled a little, trying to relieve the pressure the ropes were putting on his hands for a moment. It didn't really work.

No one really seemed to be having an easy time getting out of the ropes. Even Vader was still tied up.

"I told you Anakin Skywalker is alive. Captain Piett figured out where he is. And no, he will not tell you."

That was definitely a threat. Luke fought the urge to pout.

…-…

It was only a couple minutes later when another Imperial's eyes suddenly widened, mouth gaping open. "No way." He said, glancing between Piett and Vader. "There is just no…"

Piett's mouth quirked into something like a smile. "That's what I thought."

Luke glared harder.

…-…

It seemed that after those two figured it out a flood broke loose. Imperial after Imperial seemed to have whatever revelation the first two had.

Following their revelation came either vehement denial or hysterical laughter.

About half of them didn't figure it out.

The other half seemed to be spending more time than usual staring at Vader.

Luke really, really didn't get it.

…-…

Vader indulged himself in a private smile as the Force finally flowed through him. He threaded it carefully through the ropes binding him and tugged them open before standing.

He quickly checked on the bonds of the rebels. The annoying one who kept asking questions- the smuggler- was actually pretty close to getting free. Vader tightened his ropes, retying the portion he'd managed to loosen.

The man squawked indignantly. "You- You- " he seemed to be at a loss for words.

Vader smiled again, though the man couldn't see him, and began to untie his own people. Piett first, then Veers. Then the rest of them.

It'd seemed that every person who'd realized the truth had made it easier for the next one to guess right. Vader was uncomfortable with the fact that they'd figured it out, but there were several people who knew. They could be discrete about their knowledge.

If they weren't, he could always kill them. It'd be a shame though, what with these being so capable. Which was why they'd been on this mission in the first place.

"Come on Luke," the smuggler said, "Can't you do some Jedi thing and get us all out?"

Luke glared at him. "I had three hours of training Han. Before someone killed Obi-Wan." He glared at Vader.

Vader glared at the air. "If someone hadn't chopped of three of my limbs and left me burning by a river of lava, I wouldn't have had to. If someone had of just killed me, I have a feeling Obi-Wan would still be alive right now."

I'm talking to you, he thought at the annoying Obi-Wan ghost that kept popping up at the most annoying places. He always had that I'm-so-disappointed-in-you face on.

It was annoying.

Luke looked sickened.

The princess looked confused. "Why do you have a castle on a lava planet then?"

"It was a gift." He said.

What was taking his ships so long anyways? He had a stupid tracker in his stupid suit for a reason.

At this rate the rebels would find them first.

…-…

It wasn't ten minutes later that R2-D2 and C3PO found their way to the clearing the Itari had dropped them off in.

If Artoo was here- well. It was entirely possible the rebels would find them first after all.

...-...

Stay with the ship! Stay with the ship you say! And then you never come back! Artoo beeped at him.

Vader actually had a good excuse for that. "It isn't my fault Obi-Wan cut off three of my limbs and left me burning by a river of lava."

Nothing you did could have prevented it?

Well… that was just rude. He'd had to do… that… to save Padme.

And then she'd died anyways.

Vader sighed, and resisted sighing again. This vocoder really needed a better sighing function. "There were other choices that would have made the Obi-Wan… thing… not happen. I'd likely be dead by now if I'd chosen any of those."

And this is better?

Curse the droid. Vader huffed, then barely resisted a very painful coughing fit. Huffing and his lungs did not mix well at this point. "Too late to change now." Vader said.

It's never to late for a reboot. You can still join the rebellion.

"Join the rebellion! After all the work I've put into the Empire!"

I still have your wedding holo. And one of your children's birth too.

"As if they wouldn't kill me before I got to see either video." Vader scoffed, and then his brain caught up with the second part of that statement.

"What do you mean- children?" he asked.

I might tell you. If you join the rebellion.

"And I might turn you into scrap metal if you don't tell me!" Vader roared.

Artoo was not impressed. I know the truth. Do you know anyone else who knows? Who could tell you?

"I could get Threepio to tell me." Vader said, pointing at the golden droid who proceeded to panic spectacularly.

He had his memory wiped. He doesn't remember.

"I built him." Vader said, feeling a sense of smug satisfaction at that. "Everything he has- everything he's ever known- is backed up past where any type of memory wipe not performed by me could get it. And I can access it."

I'm still the only one with the holos.

"So you're back to blackmailing me with footage of my dead wife?"

You said you'd come back. You always came back before. And then you didn't. You're supposed to come back.

Vader stared at the droid for several long moments. That shouldn't hurt nearly as much as it did.

But even if, or maybe because, the droid's comment had hurt, Vader needed to know. Artoo had said children. Plural. As in more than just Luke.

Vader finally turned to the golden plated and still panicking droid. The phrase was easy to remember. It was in Huttese too, which was nice. Less of the people here would recognize what he was saying.

Luke would know of course, but Luke was always supposed to figure out eventually.

Really, the fact that he hadn't yet was almost insulting.

"Master Code- I hate Watto but Mom says Gardulla is worse." Vader said.

Threepio immediately stopped panicking, instead turning fully towards Vader and saying in a voice that sounded far too happy- "Master Ani! Congratulations on the twins!"

Vader cursed himself for a fool. Now that the droid knew who he was he would be even more annoying.

Which was saying something.

Vader wondered why he'd never managed to get around to fixing Threepio's personality.

…-…

Luke stared at Artoo as he got into a fierce beeping conversation with Vader.

Vader, who was talking to him as if they were old friends. As if they knew each other.

If Artoo knew Vader why hadn't he said anything about this before now?

And if Artoo actually had blackmail material that would work on Vader why had he waited until now to use it?

Vader hadn't said he wouldn't join the rebellion- which had made more than a few of the Imperials uncomfortable- he'd said that he didn't trust the rebellion not to kill him before he'd watched whatever footage Artoo had.

Luke could kind-of-sometimes understand binary. But he did not have to same easy fluency Vader seemed to have, and some of Artoo's side of the conversation went over his head. But Vader's side… well. Luke knew Huttese pretty good. It was obvious several other of the rebels and Imperials did too, though not the vast majority of them.

And then Vader had apparently built Threepio and he spat out a very, very odd master code and- "Master Ani! Congratulations on the twins!"

Luke felt himself freeze.

The previous conversations suddenly made so much more sense.

Vader wanted to die. He hated himself. He hated Anakin Skywalker. He loved Padme- thought of her as a hero. Thought of Anakin as a villain. He knew exactly what Palpatine had done to lure him to the Dark Side. He hated Obi-Wan because he'd trusted the man- loved him- and then betrayed him. And Obi-Wan had hurt him back.

Vader knew everything about his father- because Vader hadn't killed his father. Vader was his father.

Luke felt abruptly lightheaded. That couldn't- that couldn't be true- Obi-Wan wouldn't lie to him like that- his father wouldn't have joined the Dark Side…

Vader's next comment didn't help. "What are their names?" he asked.

"Why- I heard you and Padme talking about it! Don't you remember?" Threepio was altogether too jovial to be talking to Vader.

"What are their names?" Vader said- and though the vocoder didn't allow for much inflection Luke could tell he'd almost growled the words.

"Well there's no need to be snippy." Threepio said, sniffing.

"Threepio-" Vader stepped forward and stabbed a finger at the droid, but before he could finish his probably-pretty-gruesome-threat Threepio sighed.

"Why it's Luke and Leia of course," and Luke managed to choke on his own spit.

...-...

Everyone was silent for a long moment. Han figured the moment was long enough.

"So," he said. He would have moved his hands, but they were still tied behind his back. He glared at Vader. Bastard.

Han nodded to Leia and Luke. "You two are twins."

They glanced at each other. "Seems like," Luke said.

Leia looked ready to spit fire. She was glaring at Vader though, not Luke. So… "And you," Han nodded to Vader, "Are their father."

That one kind of threw him for a loop. Everyone who'd been alive during the Clone Wars had heard of The Team.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

And then… Skywalker had apparently joined a Sith Lord, they'd gotten into some sort of a fight which meant Skywalker had to walk around in a life support suit… and, nineteen years later, Kenobi was dead at Skywalker's hand.

There was probably a metaphor in their somewhere.

Or a deep life lesson.

Kill your enemies instead of letting them choke on their own ashes?

Always shoot first?

It was something.

Vader was still standing frozen, face turned towards Threepio, though with the mask Han couldn't really tell what he was looking at.

A moment later, he turned.

Vader looked at Luke, then Leia, then back again as though their faces held the secrets of the universe.

"So," Vader said, and… he was talking to Artoo. That was mildly insulting. "You said something about joining the rebellion?"