Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter 10

When Lord Vader appeared, his unconscious son in his arms the 501st instantly closed ranks around them, sending word to the ship and their own medics to be ready. They said nothing to their Lord, not needing to be Force sensitive to sense his mood. Luke made a small, pained noise and they all tensed but the child didn't wake. "Set course for Ilum immediately." Vader ordered as they docked and Appo stepped aside to relay the order as the others escorted Vader and his precious cargo to the medbay. Three medics were waiting, a bed and bacta tank prepped in case it was needed. Unable to look at his injured son any longer Vader left the room, going to his training room where he could unleash his rage without harming any of the crew.

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Luke blinked up at the white ceiling and then groaned as he remembered the training droids.

"Are you in pain my Prince?" a familiar voice asked and Luke turned his head to see a clone medic beside him.

"Little achy. Father?"

"Lord Vader is currently on the bridge Sir."

Luke closed his eyes and reached for his Father's presence, feeling it instantly wrap protectively around him even as he sensed deep rage at something, not him though. Luke felt the press against his skin and then the aches faded away as the medication did its job.

"Sir?" The medic called and Luke opened his eyes. "I'm going to release you on strict orders to rest, no training for two days, understood?"

"Thanks." Luke sat up and accepted the clean clothes, moving to the Fresher to change. He emerged dressed in his usual blue and black and stretched, feeling the pull of freshly healed muscles and various bruises. He must have passed out on the way back to the ship since he didn't remember boarding, where were they headed now. "Do you know our destination?"

"No sir. Remember, rest."

"I will, thank you." Luke left the medbay and returned to his quarters, able to sense the relief of his escort…Boomer and Hawk again. He'd gotten a lot better at telling the clone troopers apart since when he'd first come aboard. "I'm okay." He assured them before going inside to obey the medics orders.

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Luke stepped out of the shuttle onto the frozen surface of Ilum. He hugged himself for extra warmth, able to feel the biting cold even through the winter gear. It was strange, being totally alone for once, he hadn't been since leaving Tatooine. The only other living soul on the planet was the pilot of the shuttle and he wouldn't leave the craft unless Luke was really in distress. This was something he had to face himself, like all other Force users before him. He triple checked his supplies as he walked, needing something to occupy himself other than his nerves. Ben had always made Jedi calm look so easy but it wasn't as easy as it had seemed. And it was dangerous for him to try and attain that, the Emperor wouldn't like it at all. It was hard, finding a middle path between Jedi and Sith that would keep him alive but not corrupt him, and the crystal that chose him now would say a lot about which path he was on. He reached the entrance to the crystal caves, surrounded by the rubble of an ancient Jedi Temple, and took one last deep breath before stepping inside.

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"Lord Vader!"

"What is it Captain?" he tore his gaze from the planet below to look at the man, so far Piett was proving to be one of the more competent men in his command. Why had the Emperor not simply given Luke a crystal as he had for him when he turned? This had to be another test, he only hoped his son passed.

"A small ship has landed on the planet M 'Lord. They seem to have arrived before we did, with the storms sensors have only just detected it." He answered firmly, waiting to feel the choking sensation that ended so many lives who brought bad news. He would not cower, if he was to die then so be it. But to his relief nothing happened as Vader stalked to a sensor station to look over the readings himself.

"Contact the shuttle."

"The pilot reports that the Prince is already inside the caves and he has not been able to raise him on the comm."

Vader wanted to go after his son, the only reason for someone to have risked such a trip was because they needed a new crystal. Luke was doing well but not well enough to defend himself from a Jedi and yet…. the Force gave no hint of danger. Was it someone the boy was safe from, like Kenobi?

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"Just a quick trip, nothing will go wrong." He muttered, repeating her words even as he stared at the screen showing the Star Destroyer in orbit. He called that something going very wrong! They should have known better than to come here, but the usual Star Destroyers had been gone and it was a one in a million chance for her to find two new gems since she'd managed to lose her lightsabers. Ahsoka preferred natural crystals to synthetic which made that more problematic these days. And of course he hadn't been able to raise her since she went in. He grabbed his cold weather gear and then his weapons, he was pretty sure he'd picked up another ship on the. Surface before the wind had kicked up again and he wasn't going to get caught out.

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Ahsoka rounded a corner and froze, staring in shock. Standing in front of her was a human boy, wrapped up in white cold weather gear. For a second she was sure he was nothing but a vision of the past and then he backed away, blue eyes wide in alarm before he frowned, tilting his head slightly in curiosity.

"Ahsoka Tano." He whispered in surprise and…. awe?

This was Luke Skywalker, Skyguy's son. He looked so much like her old Master, though the height, or lack thereof, was all the Senator's. But what was he doing here? "Are you real or a vision?" She asked and he smiled shyly.

"Real. Then again maybe you're my vision." He shrugged, keeping to a safe distance.

"Then I'm sorry." She whispered and he frowned.

"For what?"

"For not being there when he needed me, for not knowing about you to keep you safe."

"None of it'd your fault. Is…is Rex with you? The last sighting was of him saving you from the other troops. Or can you get a message to him?"

"Maybe."

"Tell him Appo is sorry he never got to give him command back but he's glad he wasn't at the Temple." Appo had told him that, one night when they'd sat in a quiet hallway watching the stars go by because Luke hadn't been able to sleep.

"Appo's alive?"

"The 501st is basically all clone, Father's made sure of it. There are others still out there but he's done his best to keep them together and safe. A lot of them now have scars." He touched his own Temple, where the chips had been located. "You better go; they've probably detected your ship by now."

"Not going to stop me?"

"We're both unarmed and you know a lot more about the Force than I do."

"Then come with us Luke, before it's too late for you."

"He would tear the Galaxy apart to find me, you know that. Go and good luck." He ducked around the corner and sprinted off. Ahsoka had a choice, try and find him or leave and saver herself and Rex, she hesitated before leaving the caves. She had what she'd come for and who knew, maybe the boy hadn't really been there. He wasn't at all what she'd expected so maybe he really had been a vision of what could have been. She ran for the ship only to be greeted by a worried Rex but then they were taking off and she felt it, the whisper of a once familiar presence, now darkened and twisted.

Luke made his way deeper into the caves, shocked by their meeting but he was there for a reason. He opened himself fully to the Force, trusting it to lead him where he had to go. He saw nothing but softly glowing crystals in various hues as he walked and he was less sure now that he had really met Ahsoka, maybe she had been nothing more than a vision, he'd caught many just out of the corner of his eyes but none had come fully into view. Finally, he wriggled into a side cavern and his hand closed around a warm crystal, eyes fluttering shut as it sang to him. It came free into his hand and he began the trek back to the surface.

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"What happened down there?" Rex asked as Ahsoka finally ignited her new blades.

"I don't know. Maybe it was a vision, maybe he was really there…"

"Vader?" He asked in alarm but she shook her head, clipping the hilts to her belt.

"Luke Skywalker." She whispered and Rex sat down in shock.

"Are you alright?"

"We didn't fight; he was there for a crystal too. He…. he was so calm, old for his age, I think." She hadn't spent any real time among human children and clones had accelerated ageing so neither of them was good with children and ages. "He looks so much like Skyguy but a lot shorter."

"The Senator?" Rex asked as he wrapped an arm around her and she nodded.

"I think so. He would have been too loyal to her and she looked pregnant in the holo's of the funeral." They had always seemed close, too close, but nothing had been said with the war raging around them. "Appo's alive according to him, leading the 501st still. He said Vader took as many of the clones into it as he could."

"Sith lie." He repeated something she had told him many times.

"I know but… I don't think he is. A Sith that is. They use synthetic crystals so why send him to Ilum? And he didn't react in anger or fear, he was wary of me, even admitted that I would beat him in a fight. But he was also awed when he recognised me, guess the boys have told him some stories. I asked him to come with us and I think he would have but he was right, Vader will never let him go." She cuddled closer to Rex and he tightened his hold, offering comfort. What they had didn't need a label but they were all the other had in this crazy galaxy. He loved her and she loved him, that was all that mattered. She had saved him too, when they'd realised he was ageing too quickly she'd done something, poured the Force through him unlike anything he had ever felt the few times one of the Jedi had used the Force to heal his wounds. Whatever she'd done had worked though and that was all that mattered. Not like he could have gone to Kamino like those still in service had to stop the accelerated ageing.

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Vader watched as his sons' lightsaber came together, floating in the air before the boy. He was doing very well for his first time, much better than he had. They both wanted to see the colour of the blade, to know how much to work with they would have when the Emperor demanded to see the weapon. The last pieces shifted into place and Luke wrapped his hand around the hilt, taking a deep breath before thumbing the switch. The blade sprung to life instantly, thrumming softly and they both stared at the colour. "Have you seen this colour before Father?"

"No my son, let us hope it is more acceptable than blue or green." It was after all close too red, far closer than any Jedi lightsaber he had seen. The burnt orange blade hummed as Luke ran through a few short moves, flickers of gold appearing now and then, obviously veins of colour in the crystal. "You have done very well; I could not have done better at your age." The praise got a small smile and then Luke deactivated the weapon and attached it to his belt in front of the blaster he usually wore. It felt good to have a lightsaber again.

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'Ever seen a burnt orange lightsaber before?'

Ben blinked at the message, it wasn't the first that had appeared in the time since he had spoken to Luke and he was glad the boy was trying to keep in contact even as he worried over his safety for doing so. And now it seemed the hold had built his own lightsaber but that was not a colour he was familiar with. 'Synthetic?'

"No.'

The reply was quick so he wasn't on the other side of the galaxy. A natural crystal that colour and why had he been allowed that? The Sith used synthetic after all. It was rather puzzling. 'Unknown, will meditate on it.' He sent back after some thought and he could almost hear Luke's laughter at his answer.

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Appo stared into the bacta tank where the teenager floated, still unconscious. Kix had personally treated him and had admitted quietly that some of the wounds on his back would scar, they had simply been too severe for even bacta to deal with. None of the crew knew what had happened but anyone who had seen the Prince could tell he had been whipped badly. He knew Lord Vader was punished by the Emperor when he failed or was covering for a failure his men had made but he was an adult, able to cope with such things. He did not doubt for a second the Emperor was behind this punishment. Without the chip it was easier to think ill of the man for his actions. Luke treated them all as individuals and was always eager to listen to their stories or learn from them. Rex would never have stood for this and it stung that there was nothing he and the men could do to protect the boy. Not even his Father could and Vader's anger at that had been scary even to them who had been with him from the start. The doors opened and he heard the familiar sound of mechanically aided breathing, snapping to attention immediately. Vader didn't speak, just stared at the tank. "Kix said he should wake later today and will be taken out then." He spoke softly and saw the black helmet tip slightly in acknowledgment before the man left and Appo relaxed. I seemed some of his rage had cooled since they had left orbit which was good.

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Luke stood resolutely before the door to his Father's quarters. He had finally been released from the medbay and was glad to be up and about, even if he was feeling sore still. He was just glad they'd left orbit while he was out even if he didn't know their current course. He touched the saber on his belt, the reason he had ended up needing time in the bacta tank. The door before him was locked, even to his personal code and it looked like he'd need the weapon to cut through it. He let that intention seep out into the Force and eventually the door slid open to admit him. He stepped into near pitch darkness and stopped to let his eyes adjust as the door slid shut behind him. The only light came from the view of hyperspace, a familiar and loved view but that wasn't why he was there. He removed his lightsaber and set it down before moving further into the room, towards the corner where he could just pick out the deeper black of armour. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Vader started at the soft words. Sorry? "What do you have to be sorry for?" He would not turn and look at him, fearing what he would see now.

"I don't know but I woke up and you weren't there and I couldn't feel you." Luke mumbled, feeling uncertain.

"Surely you did not wish my presence, not after…"

"NO!" Luke fisted trembling hands. "It wasn't your fault! He made you do it."

"I could have refused."

"And that would have made it worse." If Vader had refused the whip, then who knew how much more damage would have been inflicted. "He's the monster for doing this, not you. Please." Luke reached for his Father through the Force and with his hand and the man finally turned to look at his son. There was no fear or disgust in his son's eyes or through the Force and a black gloved hand lifted to meet the much smaller one. Luke stepped in, tucking himself against the hard armour and Vader's arm wrapped around his shoulders. "So where are we going?" He asked, completely changing the subject and Vader let him.

"We will arrive at the Imperial Academy on Arkanisby ships morning. The Emperor has decided your military education is lacking and you would benefit from time spent amongst other young officer hopefuls."

"And if I get killed along the way….." Luke swallowed nervously, he was good with a blaster and his lightsaber skills weren't exactly shabby but alone amongst thousands of others? He did not like his odds.

"Two members of the 501st shall accompany you for security."

Luke nodded, hoping they would be enough.

TBC…