Chapter Twenty Six:
Luke and Vader stood staring at each other for an undetermined amount of time, the tension clear. However, Vader didn't lay a finger on Luke in view of everyone else.
No, Luke mused sadly, his father would wait until they were alone... with no witnesses... that way the Royal family would not appear broken and frayed like it truly was. Stormtroopers— who were not aware of the true situation— stood at attention as they usually would for the Royal family, but Luke ignored them.
Eventually Vader spoke up, his voice carefully controlled. "It is good to have you back where you belong, Son."
Luke met his father's gaze. "Is it?"
Vader gestured and Luke fell into step with his father as they made their way along the ship's corridors. Luke knew where Vader was taking him, and he shivered. There was a special cell that only a select few personnel knew existed on this ship: one in the same hallway as the Royal family's suite of rooms on board the Executor.
It was a cell designed to hold specialized prisoners... like Jedi, or other Force users... or anyone who wasn't supposed to be a known prisoner. The room was a shoe box, with only a metal 'bed' and a toilet within. There were no windows, and absolutely no way to escape, and it was designed to be uncomfortable for the occupant.
A small sprinkling of the 501st followed the Emperor and Prince, but they were largely unobserved as Vader spoke again to his son. "I hope you enjoyed your time away from home."
Luke nodded once. "I... I did enjoy it. It was nice to see things from a different point of view."
Vader looked sharply at his son. "A different point of view?"
Luke glanced at his father, but then trained his gaze straight ahead, his hands clasped behind his back. "Yes, Father. It's healthy to go out into the galaxy and get a feel for the people we rule, don't you think?"
Vader narrowed his eyes. "Indeed. And what did you learn?"
"Many things," Luke said softly, realizing he was treading thin ice, but seeking to be brave as he'd determined to be on the Falcon. He chose to go with a rather neutral topic. "Father, we could be doing so much more to help our people..."
But his father saw through the charade, and the Sith Lord was swift to take control. "Is that what you think?" Vader cut him off. "Or are you trying to hide the fact that your loyalties have changed?"
Luke stopped so abruptly that Vader had to take a step back to be in the same place as his son. "I have given you my loyalty for years now, Father."
That wasn't a denial, Vader mused with interest.
"Indeed, except recently I am not so certain if you have," Vader said coldly. They were alone now, having reached the hallways that required certain clearances above most personnel's pay grades. And the 501st Vader trusted to keep their mouths shut and their attention where it belonged. They knew their lives were forfeit if they didn't.
Luke narrowed his eyes now. "That is not fair, Father! What have I done to..."
Vader's hand lashed out so swiftly that no one knew what had happened until after the slap had sounded loudly down the hallway and Luke was left with a red mark on his face. Luke's eyes widened in shock, and the young man back-stepped when Vader closed the distance between them in order to be nose-to-nose with his child.
"You ran off!" Vader snapped furiously. "And I had to traverse half the kriffing galaxy to get you back!"
Luke instinctively cringed when Vader lifted his hand again to strike his son, but instead of beating him, Vader grabbed the young man's throat in his fingers.
"You have always been weak... ever since you were a little boy. You and your misguided delusions that I could ever be like the filthy Jedi!" Vader growled as Luke gaped fruitlessly for air, but Vader saw the hurt there clear as day as those words struck home. "You have been a disappointment to me from the moment you told me you wanted to be a Jedi! You even faltered in your training! You constantly second guess me, and I am done!"
Vader lifted his son by the neck, and with a wave of his hand opened the door to the secret room. He brought Luke close, choosing to ignore the tears shimmering in Luke's eyes. "You will bow to my will, or I will break you to it. And then turn you into who I want you to be."
Before the young man could hide it, sheer terror flickered across his darkening face, and then Luke looked away. Vader snorted in disgust, throwing the youth into the room with no regard for his safety. Luke barely missed hitting the bed with his forehead, and he gasped in air at a heavy rate, his pallor returning.
But instead of pleading for himself, Luke surprised Vader by asking another question. "Where is Leia?"
Vader paused, looking down at his son, but not replying. That only seemed to increase his son's despair, for Luke climbed to his knees.
"Father... please!" Luke pled. "Is Leia alright?"
"You have no right to call me father any longer," Vader stated in a voice that would have frozen Mustafar. "You will call me Master from here on out."
Luke's face fell, and he shook his head. "Fath..."
With a fierce snarl, Vader's hand flew up and Luke screamed as purple lightning struck him in the chest. "You will not call me father!"
Luke dropped like a stone when Vader released him and Luke frantically crawled for the door as Vader closed it. "Please! Where is Leia?!"
Vader closed the door on Luke's cries, and ignored the emotions pouring from his son within the cell as he walked away.
00000
Leia sighed heavily as she finally took the pilot's seat in her small craft. She had at long last received clearance from the medic overseeing her health and could now return to Coruscant. Even if it was no longer her home.
Home for Leia was wherever Luke was, and that was all she cared about in that respect. Yes Leia lived on Coruscant, but she didn't enjoy it anymore. She hadn't for a long time, if she was honest with herself. There were too many stuck up people who only cared about power and themselves.
And there were of course her parents... the cause of most of the galaxy's issues since before she could remember.
Leia glanced out her viewport to see Mon Mothma standing at a safe distance, having seen her off.
You know you can come to me with anything, Leia," Mon said as she and Leia paused by the entry ramp to the shuttle.
"I know, but we will need to use caution, especially on Coruscant. My mother will no doubt be keeping a much closer eye on me after this."
Mon nodded. "Yes. But we discussed information you can safely share with her, and with your father."
Leia inclined her head. "I won't let you all down. I am going to do whatever it takes to beat them."
Mon placed a gentle hand to Leia's shoulder. "And you have the support of Alliance High Command... and mine. Also, I hear that the Rogues have taken a liking to you as well, so I'd say that you're in good hands there."
Leia couldn't help but smile warmly at the mention of the group of odd, but utterly loyal pilots who had adopted her into their eclectic family. "They're wonderful people."
Leia's smile faded, and Mon tilted her head. "What is it?"
"I just... I wish Luke could be here too. He would love the Rogues: he'd fit right in with them." Leia closed her eyes. "I'm so afraid for him, Mon!"
Mon Mothma looked down for a moment. "I am too, honestly. Your parents have changed so much from the good people they used to be."
Leia met Mon's gaze at that, openly curious. "What happened to them?"
Mon hesitated. "I'm not entirely certain, but I do know it had something to do with the Jedi, and your parent's relationship being revealed. But I don't have details, so you'll have to ask them, I'm afraid."
Leia thinned her lips. "Somehow I don't think that information with be very forthcoming," she remarked bitterly.
Leia blinked from her reverie when Artoo bleeped softly that the ship was ready to go. Leia offered her mechanical friend and guardian a smile.
"Alright, Artoo, are you in this with me?"
Of course I am! Artoo squawked almost indignantly. I am not about to let you do this alone! You are a Skywalker after all... That last part was wry and humorous, and Leia tiled her head as a slightly confused smile touched her lips.
"Skywalker?" she asked softly.
Your true surname, Artoo replied with veneration. You are no Vader, Mistress Leia. You are a Skywalker to the core; as is Master Luke.
Leia observed her droid for a long moment and then turned silently back to the controls, though the name kept making loops in her mind, though it eventually moved onto her tongue.
"Skywalker..." Leia murmured seconds before a warm feeling blossomed in her heart, followed by the image of a dark-haired older woman who was definitely not Padmé. Leia gasped softly and watched the woman smile lovingly at her and bend forward as if to kiss Leia's forehead. Despite the vision being in the Force, Leia clearly felt something caress her forehead and tears sprang to Leia's eyes.
She instantly knew who this woman was, and Leia's fingers lifted to reverently touch the place she'd been kissed.
"Grandmother..." Leia whispered on a closed throat, and the vision slowly faded away, leaving Leia staring at the black void of open space.
Artoo twittered meekly, and Leia didn't immediately glance his way, so caught up was she in the aftereffects of the moment. She'd just seen her grandmother: the matriarch of their entire family.
Something rose within the brunette, and she straightened. Leia had never felt so strongly about her identity, her heritage... nor had she felt so keen to own it.
"Skywalker," Leia said louder, this time with a growing smile. "It's a good name."
Artoo beeped his agreement and Leia nodded decisively. "Skywalker it is then, no longer Vader... except to Mother and Father."
Artoo shared in her enthusiasm and then took them into hyperspace to pick up Leia's ship and leave this current one in its secure dock for the next time they would use it.
00000
Damielle knelt before the Empress, who looked upon her with open disappointment.
"You have been around my daughter for how long now, and you still have yet to uncover anything truly useful." Padmé sneered. "What good are you to me if I can't count on you to bring me what I need from my daughter?"
Damielle winced, hearing the unspoken threat: what good were her family's lives to the Empress if Damielle continued to fail?
Damielle gathered her courage and decided to lay on the penitence, hoping to get another chance. "Please, Milady. I have tried to keep up with Princess Leia, but she's too smart! She... it's like she knows I'm a spy! I do my best to bring you information, but she doesn't leave anything lying around for me to find."
Padmé narrowed her eyes, and Damielle looked down. "The few times I've tried following her, I can't keep up with her, it's... I don't know what I'm doing wrong, Milady! Please, tell me how to improve!"
Padmé didn't say anything for a long while: so long in fact that Damielle risked looking up. But the Empress seemed to be in deep thought, so the redhead waited.
Finally the Empress leaned forward. "This instance isn't your fault. I should have thought this through more clearly..."
Damielle blinked. Of all the things she'd expected to hear, that wasn't it. "I beg your pardon Milady?"
Padmé focused on Damielle further, and the handmaiden had to force herself not to squirm under the intensity of the Empress's stare. "My children have received... specialized training: schooling far beyond your capabilities. You could not hope to outsmart either of them."
Damielle took the clear insult with silence, though inwardly she was fuming at the woman's audacity. It was one thing to have pride in one's offspring, but this was too far!
Padmé continued as if there was no problem. "I have a new assignment for you. Instead of openly trying to gather intelligence on my daughter, I want you to try a new tactic. You are to become Leia's friend. Get her to lower her guard, and earn Leia's trust. Whatever it takes for you to do this I accept, but you will do it."
Damielle swallowed, uneasy with this new mission. Padmé narrowed her eyes. "You don't like my task? Perhaps your sister would be a good motivation for you? I hear she has become rather sick. A few days of no food will only increase her chances of becoming... terminally ill."
Damielle blanched. Her sister had indeed fallen ill and had lost weight among other things, but though she was somewhat better, if she was denied food her sister's health would rapidly decline.
"I will do as you ask, Majesty." Damielle bowed low, her eyes moist.
Spying on the Princess she had been able to handle... but to use the young woman like this... it was wrong! And how could Damielle befriend the person whose mentor she'd murdered?
"You are dismissed." Padmé waved her hand, and Damielle left gladly, trying hard not to think of anything.
