Chapter 5
Vader entered the cell block, ignoring the curious looks of the guards and officers who were beginning to wonder why the Dark Lord had seemingly taken such an interest in the prisoner.
Leia looked up to see her dark guardian entering her cell.
"Something has happened," he told her. "Obi-Wan Kenobi is here."
Leia's eyes widened. "Obi-Wan Kenobi!" she exclaimed. "Where is he?"
"I don't know," Vader replied. "But I have sensed his presence. A ship was brought into the station, a ship bound for Alderaan. No one was on board, but I know they are here. I believe they have come to attempt a rescue. I will do everything I can to see that they are successful, but it will not be easy. Tarkin already knows they are on board the station, and will stop at nothing until they are found."
"If he already knows, then will you prevent him from succeeding?" she asked.
"I will do whatever I must," he told her, turning to go.
"Wait," she said. "Why? The fact that you knew my mother isn't nearly enough reason to explain why you are risking your life this way, for I know Tarkin enough to know that is exactly what you are doing. Tell me why…who was she to you that you would do this?"
Vader turned back to his daughter, the set of her jaw reminding so much of Padmé it caused his breath to falter. "She was my wife," he said at last, expecting the horrified denial to follow soon after.
Leia simply stared at him, her mind trying to process what she had just heard. "Your…your wife?" she stammered. "That means you're …you're…"
Vader nodded. "Yes," he said. "I am your father. The blood test confirmed it. I'm sorry you had to find out this way," he began, but his words were interrupted by the door sliding open. A clone rushed in and peered at Leia as though he were not able to see very well through the visor.
"Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?" she remarked.
The clone took his helmet off to reveal a young man, roughly the same age as Leia. "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm…" he stopped when he finally noticed the other presence in the cell. His blue eyes widened in shock and he brought up his blaster to fire at the dark lord.
Vader was unable to move at this point. Skywalker!! he realized at once who this boy was, who he had to be. Even before the boy had said his name, the eyes gave him away…my eyes, Vader thought …my son…Leia's twin…
"Don't!" Leia said, pushing his arm down. "He's on our side," she said, looking up at Vader.
Luke looked back at her incredulously, and then back at Vader.
"If you are here to affect a rescue, boy, I suggest you get on with it," Vader told the young man, mildly amused at his son's zeal.
Luke nodded. "Yeah, come on," he told Leia. "I have your Artoo unit; I'm here with Ben Kenobi."
"Where is he?" Leia asked.
"Come on," Luke said, leading her out of the cell. He stopped when Vader stepped over to the door. "I suppose I'll have to trust you," he said. "Even though I have no reason to."
"Fair enough," Vader remarked, stepping out into the corridor, where all hell was breaking loose.
From the far end of the corridor a steady torrent of blaster fire was keeping the other members of the rescue team at bay.
Quite an impressive rescue operation, Vader reflected dourly.
"Looks like you've managed to cut off our only escape route," Leia commented tersely.
At this point the other human member of the team, a Corellian smuggler by the name of Han Solo turned to her. "Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, your…" he stopped when he saw Vader. "Holy shit!" he bellowed.
"Easy hot shot," Leia said. "He's here to help."
Han gave Leia a look like she was insane before returning his attention to the situation at had. "So what do you suggest, Vader?" he asked over the din of the laser blasts.
"Stand aside," he said, taking out his lightsaber and deflecting the blasts.
"Well, that buys us some time, but it doesn't help us get the hell outta here," Han grumbled.
Leia shook her head at his negative attitude and grabbed the blaster from Luke's hands. She shot a hole into the grating that ran along the floor.
"What the hell are you doing?" Han yelled.
"Into the garbage chute, flyboy," she said, tossing the blaster back to Luke.
"Get in there!" Vader heard Han ordering his Wookiee companion as he edged his way down the corridor. Soon they had all escaped into the garbage chute, leaving Vader alone to combat the clones. That didn't concern him as much as explaining why he had assisted the rebels to escape. Clones' minds can be manipulated…my children are safe, that's all that matters... He was still in shock over the discovery of his second child, or perhaps his first, for he did not know their birth order.
"Hold your fire!" he shouted. The clones, recognizing his voice, complied at once. Many of them were dead, others were injured. Still others were alive and looking at the Dark Lord with surprise.
"Lord Vader!" the commander of the squadron said, approaching him. "What are you doing here? Where are the rebels?"
"You don't need to know what I am doing here," he said, bending the clone's mind easily. "You didn't see me. The rebels are gone. Search elsewhere for them."
The clones looked at one another in confusion, and then started to file out of the exit that they had come through. Satisfied with their compliance, Vader stepped over to the turbolift and left the detention block, determined to find Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Once inside the turbolift, Vader allowed himself the brief luxury of pondering the incredible turn of events that his life had just taken. Yes, he would no doubt be reported by Tarkin for insubordination, possibly even sabotage, and certainly treason; but those things didn't concern him. He had found his children. Children! I have a son and a daughter, he thought, a feeling growing inside of him that he had not felt in a life time: joy. My son looks like me…he reflected, remembering how he had once looked as a young man…and my daughter looks like her mother…my angel…the thought of his wife created a different rush of emotions within him, most of them dark, angry ones when he thought of how his master had lied to him, how he had told him that Padmé had died at his own hand. Did she survive the birth of our children? He wondered furtively. Is she out there somewhere, hiding from me? Hiding from the monster I call my master? It would make sense for her to do so, if indeed she were alive. Kenobi will know, he decided as the turbolift stopped. Kenobi will give me the answers I need.
The irony of the situation did not occur to Vader as he used the Force to track down his old master. Where once the thought of meeting up with Kenobi again would have only enraged him, and lead him to thoughts of killing his former friend; now all he wanted was answers.
He could feel the familiar Force presence of the old Jedi master clearly, and he knew that Kenobi was close by. Very close. He stopped, realizing that Kenobi must sense his presence just as clearly, and waited for the old Jedi to come to him. Within a few moments, he did just that.
"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan," Vader said as Kenobi stood watching his former apprentice warily; hand on the hilt of his lightsaber.
"We meet again at last."
Kenobi was confused by the reaction of the Dark Lord. The last time they had met had been at Mustafar, on that terrible, dark day so long ago. They had not parted on good terms, to put it mildly.
"Vader," Kenobi said, his hand not leaving his lightsaber. "Have you come here to kill me?"
Vader wasn't certain how to respond. "At one time, there was nothing more I wanted to do," he admitted. "But right now, all I want is answers."
Kenobi frowned, utterly confused. "Answers?"
"Yes," Vader replied. "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, Obi-Wan," he added. "You brought the boy right here to me, surely you realized I would sense who he is."
Kenobi nodded as he realized what Vader was talking about. "Luke," he said simply.
"Yes, Luke," Vader said, uttering his son's name for the first time. "And his twin sister, Leia," he continued. "You have come here to rescue her, haven't you?"
Kenobi nodded. "Yes, that was my plan," he admitted. "But obviously you will see to it that i fail in my attempt."
Vader shook his head. "Quite the contrary, old man," he said. "I intend to see that you succeed."