Chapter 15
Polis Massa Outpost-Medical Facility
Darth Vader had become accustomed to pain, for it had been his constant companion since Mustafar. So the possibility that the injuries he had suffered and endured half his life could be repaired astonished him. More than that, it served to augment the growing animosity he felt towards the emperor.
Palpatine had overseen Vader's transformation on that day, had ensured that the mutilated wreckage that had been left to die on Mustafar was transformed into a fearsome cyborg, more machine than man. Vader had taken his master at his word when he had told him that his injuries were beyond repair. Now it appeared that this too was a lie.
The chief surgeon at the Polis Massa medical facility had conducted an extensive examination of Vader as well as a battery of tests. Vader was exhausted when it was all over, but was anxious to learn what conclusions the physician had come to. Was it possible to repair the massive injuries he had lived with for half his life? He was reluctant to get his hopes up, reluctant to think of the possibility that the medical technology required to repair these injuries had existed for many years, and had been denied him by his master. The thought that he had endured a painful, semi-human existence for twenty years unnecessarily was horrifying to him. He almost didn't want to know, for he knew that this knowledge would be almost too much to bear. The description of the way Padmé had suffered both physically and emotionally had devastated him, and he wasn't sure how much more he could take at this point.
"Anakin, pacing about will not make the time pass any faster," Obi-Wan remarked as he watched the Dark Lord pacing within the small waiting room. "They will come and speak to us as soon as possible, I'm sure."
Vader turned and looked at Obi-Wan, stopping for a moment. "I am not holding out any hope that they will have good news," he admitted. "It's been twenty years, it's too late now."
"Perhaps not," Obi-Wan said. "Surely you realize that anything Palpatine told you was a lie," he added. "And that if he told you your injuries were beyond repair, that he had a reason for doing so, whether it was true or not."
Vader made no reply, for Obi-Wan was not telling him anything he hadn't already considered. "No doubt," he said at last. "He does nothing without a reason, usually a purely selfish and self-serving one."
"Of course," Obi-Wan replied. "That is the way of the Dark Side."
Vader glared at the old Jedi. "It was not the Dark Side that left me mutilated and burning on the shores of a river of fire, Kenobi," he retorted coldly.
Obi-Wan nodded, acknowledging his part in Vader's horrific fate. "Perhaps not directly," he replied. "But indirectly, it was. The Dark Side drove you to go to Mustafar, to slaughter the Separatists, and to attack your wife."
"I do not need you to remind me of what I did," Vader replied, turning away from him. "I have spent a lifetime living with the consequences of the decisions I made."
Obi-Wan was surprised by Vader's words. "You sound as though you have regrets, Anakin."
"Stop calling me that," Vader snapped. "I am not Anakin Skywalker; I have not been Anakin Skywalker for twenty years. He no longer exists."
Obi-Wan smiled. "Yes, so you keep telling me," he quipped. "So why aren't I convinced?"
"Because you are a delusional old fool," Vader growled in response. "That is why."
Obi-Wan simply continued to smile."You may not be willing to admit it, or even fully realize it yet, but Anakin Skywalker has begun to awaken within you," he told Vader, not caring if he angered him. "The moment you decided to save your child heralded his reawakening; the fact that you love your children proves irrevocably that he exists deep within you." He paused, waiting for Vader's denial. When it did not come, he continued. "Can you honestly tell me that your reasons for wanting to help Luke and Leia escape the Death Star were rooted in Darkness? That the reason you desperately want to find Padmé is because of the Dark Side? No, the reasons for both are rooted in love, and the Dark Side is the antithesis of love."
"Spare me your philosophical lectures, Obi-Wan," Vader replied tiredly. "I've heard enough. Is it possible for you just to be silent? Even for a few moments?"
Obi-Wan was about to respond, when the physician who had examined Vader earlier entered the room.
"Lord Vader, please sit down," the chief surgeon, Juris Drii, said as he reentered the small waiting area.
Reluctantly Vader sat down, his impatience threatening to make him lose his temper at any moment. "What is your prognosis?" he asked, his great gloved hands forming fists on the table top. "Is there anything you can do?"
Drii nodded. "Yes," he said. "There is."
Rebel Base-Yavin IV
Leia watched the woman as she walked slowly through the rose garden. She stopped every so often to smell one of the fragrant blossoms, but they brought her no joy. Her face, though certainly beautiful, was devoid of any trace of joy, any hint of happiness. It seemed as though she were moving around in a trance, her movements slow and deliberate. Leia stared hard at the woman's face, somehow feeling as though she knew her from somewhere. There was something about her eyes that struck Leia as being familiar, and she felt almost as though she were watching herself at a later stage of her life. But who was she? And what burden did she carry to make her so melancholy? The woman started down the path that led away from the garden, and Leia felt compelled to follow her. She walked quickly to catch up to her, afraid to startle her. Leia followed at a distance as the woman lead her out of the garden and into a courtyard, surrounded by a high stone wall. Trees reached their limbs over the wall, casting patterns of dappled light upon the cobblestone under foot. In the distance, Leia was certain that she heard the sound of water rushing, as though a great water fall were close by. It distracted her for a moment, and when she turned back to where the woman had been mere seconds before, she saw nothing but the empty courtyard. The woman had vanished.
Leia woke up with a start, the startling images from her dream shattering her sleep. She sat up in her bed, the emotions that her vision had stirred up within her confusing her. Was this a vision? Or merely a dream? Luke had told her about the Force, how it ran in their family. She decided that he was the only one who could give her the answers she needed. She got out of bed, and, after wrapping a robe around herself, left her small room to find her brother.
Knocking lightly on the door, so as to not awaken anyone else, Leia waited for her brother to appear. He did so almost immediately, almost as though he knew she was coming.
"What is it?" he asked, squinting in the harsh light of the corridor. "What's wrong?"
"I had a dream," Leia told him as she entered his small cabin. "A dream about a woman in a garden."
Luke was silent, his sister's words shocking him. "Was there a courtyard in the dream? And a waterfall?"
Leia turned around and looked at him, startled. "Yes!" she said. "Don't tell me …you dreamed of her too?"
Luke nodded. "Yes," he said. "She was sad, very sad, and very beautiful."
"Yes, yes that's it exactly!" Leia exclaimed. "What does it mean, Luke? And why did we have the very same dream?"
"It was a vision, Leia," he said, wishing he'd learned more under his short apprenticeship with Obi-Wan. "I think the Force can give us the ability to see things that have yet to happen."
Leia nodded. "I thought that might have been it," she said. "But knowing that you had the same dream, I know that must be it."
"I think so too," Luke concurred. "Do you know who she is?"
"I don't know for sure," Leia replied. "But I think she's our mother."
"Yes, that must be who she is," Luke replied. "Or else why would we both dream of her?"
Leia nodded. "Perhaps this will help Father find her, Luke," she said. "Perhaps he will know the place we both saw."
"Maybe he had the same dream," Luke said. "Who knows?"
"Maybe so," Leia replied. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I'm sorry I woke you up," she said, suddenly realizing how late it was. "I just had to talk to you about this."
"You didn't wake me," Luke replied. "I woke up right after the dream ended, right when she…"
"Disappeared?" Leia finished with a smile.
Luke smiled back. "Yeah, that's right."
"Wow," Leia said quietly, amazed by the strong psychic link she shared with her brother. "We'd better try to get back to sleep," she said. "More packing tomorrow."
"Great," Luke said with a yawn. "Sounds like a lot of fun."
Leia smiled, and kissed her brother on the cheek. "Night Luke."
"Night Leia. Sleep well."
Polis Massa Outpost-Medical Facility
Vader sat perfectly still as he listened to Dr. Drii describe the three step process that he proposed to repair Vader's massive injuries. He was afraid that at some point he would awaken and find himself back on the Death Star, that the incredible events of the past several days had only been a dream.
According to Dr. Drii, the restoration of Vader's body would be a massive undertaking, not without considerable risk. Risks did not concern Vader, however; he had no choice but to undergo the surgery. He had no choice but to alter his appearance so radically that the bounty hunters he knew were combing the galaxy for him at that very moment would not have a chance of recognizing him. The only thing that concerned him at this point was the fact that the surgeon wished to conduct the operation in three stages, with a recovery time of several days between each stage. He was anxious to get started on his search for Padmé, and the thought of having to wait for what may end up being weeks was very frustrating.
"Is it possible to combine all three stages into one?" Vader asked.
Dr. Drii looked at Vader. "It would certainly not be my first choice," he admitted. "Each procedure is quite invasive and carries with it a certain amount of risk. To do all three at once would be increasing that risk tremendously."
"I am willing to do so," Vader replied. "Can you do it?"
Dr. Drii glanced at Obi-Wan, and then looked back at Vader. "Yes, we can. Of course you realize that you will be required to convalesce for a significant period before…"
"I am not concerned about that right now," Vader replied, reflecting that he had no intention of spending any more time than absolutely necessary at the outpost. "How soon can you commence?"
"We can have you prepped and ready for surgery within two hours," Dr. Drii replied. "If you are certain that you wish to proceed."
Vader nodded. "I wish it," he replied. "Make it so."