Chapter 17

Rebel Base- Yavin IV

Luke woke early on the morning that the Rebel Alliance was due to leave Yavin IV forever. While Luke felt a certain kinship with the people of the Alliance, his heart was elsewhere this morning.

The prospect of possibly seeing his father as he truly was at once time, of seeing the face of Anakin Skywalker, both excited and unnerved Luke. It was only a few days ago that he had learned that he even had a father, that his father had not been murdered as Obi-Wan Kenobi had told him. Finding out that Darth Vader was that father was shocking, even horrifying; but learning that he had a twin sister had made that shock a little easier to bear. Hearing about his father's fall, the tragic circumstances that had driven him to the Dark Side, had given Luke an entirely new perspective on the man he now thought of as his father.

Darth Vader, or Anakin Skywalker, was a complex man, a multi-faceted man; Luke was starting to see this. There was good in him, Luke himself had felt it. He had felt his father's brilliant, reassuring presence as he flew through the Death Star trench. That was Anakin Skywalker; that was the man Luke desperately wanted to know. Perhaps now I'll get my chance, he thought as he climbed out of his cot. Perhaps today I will meet my father face to face.

Luke had just finished getting dressed when he heard a knock at his cabin door. It's Leia, he thought with a smile as he moved to let her in.

"Morning Leia," he said. "All set?"

Leia nodded. "I'm kind of nervous, to tell you the truth," she said as Luke joined her in the corridor.

"The Falcon isn't that bad, Leia," Luke teased.

Leia laughed. "You know what I mean," she said.

"Why are you nervous?" Luke asked. "You've already accepted our father, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have," Leia replied. "It's not that…I suppose I'm just afraid that they weren't able to help him, and that he will be forced to live with that mask for the rest of his life."

"I hadn't thought of that," Luke replied quietly. "Do you know what happened to him? Why he was forced to depend on artificial means to live?"

"No, I don't," she asked. "I was reluctant to ask," she admitted.

"Yeah, I can understand that," Luke replied as they walked towards the hangar bay together. "Maybe Obi-Wan can tell us," he said. "He and Father were good friends at one time."

"Yes, maybe so," Leia said. She took a deep breath as they entered the hangar bay. "I just hope Han has this bucket of bolts ready to go," she muttered.

"I heard that," Han said, poking his head in the hangar. "I told you she'd be ready, and she is. So, if you'll just get on board, we'll get this insanity underway."

Luke and Leia exchanged a smile and then proceeded to the Falcon, their hopes high.

Polis Massa Outpost- Medical Facility

Obi-Wan still could not believe his eyes. The physician had given him a full report on Vader's recovery, but until he saw him with his own eyes, he had difficulty believing that he truly was as he once was. But now as he stood in the recovery room, he did see him with his own eyes. And it was an astonishing sight.

Where once his hair had been long and wavy, it was now very short, not much more than stubble; but it was his face that Obi-Wan was amazed by. It was as it had been; aged somewhat of course, but the ruggedly handsome features were the same.

Obi-Wan wasn't prepared for the rush of emotion he felt seeing the face of his one time best friend. Looking at him reminded him of all the good times they shared, the many times that they had fought side by side, the laughs they had shared, as well as the tears.

You were my brother! I loved you!

I hate you!

Obi-Wan shut his eyes as the memories of that horrible moment from Mustafar flashed through his mind. He pushed the painful memories away and looked up at the medidroid who was taking Vader's vitals.

"How much longer will he be unconscious?" he asked.

"Not long," the droid replied. "We will be reviving him soon."

Kenobi nodded his understanding. "And will he be able to leave soon after that?"

"You will need to ask Dr. Drii that, Sir," the droid replied. "That will be his decision."

"I see," Obi-Wan replied. He knew how anxious Vader was to start his search for Padmé; he would not take kindly to being delayed, even if it was for his own good. He's never been a patient man, he reflected. Even as a young boy he always wanted to do things right away, never had the patience to wait for anything...

"General Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan turned around to see the administrator of the medical facility standing in the doorway.

"Yes?" he asked.

"There are some people here who claim to be Lord Vader's children," he replied. "I was hoping you could verify their identity."

Obi-Wan frowned. "His children? What the devil are they doing here?" he muttered. "Where are they?"

"This way," Vullen replied, turning and walking into the corridor.

Obi-Wan walked with the administrator through the winding corridors back through the blast doors into the administrative wing. As they approached Vullen's office, he was surprised to see Luke and Leia, along with Han Solo and his copilot, Chewbacca.

"Obi-Wan!" Leia said when she spotted the old Jedi. "What is going on? Where is our father?"

"It's alright, Administrator," Obi-Wan reassured Vullen. "I can vouch for them. They are indeed Anakin's children."

"Very well then," Vullen said, looking askance at Chewbacca. "I suppose it would be alright to allow them in, then. But only the children of the patient are permitted to see him. That is our policy."

"We understand," Leia said. She looked at Obi-Wan. "Tell us what's happening, Obi-Wan."

"I will, as soon as you tell me why you are here," he replied. "Aren't you supposed to be helping the Alliance relocate?"

"Both Luke and I felt that this was more important," Leia replied. "We needed to know what is going on with our father."

"And we have something we need to tell him," Luke put in as the small group made their way back down the corridor. "Something that we hope will help him to find our mother."

Obi-Wan lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "Indeed?" he said. "And what would that be?"

"A dream that Leia and I both had," Luke explained. "About a woman in a rose garden, a beautiful, sad woman. We dreamed the very same thing, Ben. Don't you think that's significant?"

Obi-Wan nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I do," he replied. "You believe this woman is your mother?"

"Who else could she be?" Leia said. "Have you any leads as to her whereabouts? Do you know what became of her?"

"We have very little information, I'm afraid," he told them. "But now that your father's surgery has been successful, he will be able to start looking for her."

"You mean Father's injuries have been repaired?" Luke asked in amazement. "He no longer has to wear the mask?"

"That's exactly what I mean," Obi-Wan replied. "Would you like to see him?" he asked as he stopped outside of the recovery room where Vader was sleeping.

Luke and Leia looked at one another. "Yes," they replied, almost in unison.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Then go on in," he told them. "He's right in there. He's still asleep, but they tell me he'll be revived later on today."

Luke and Leia did not hesitate for a moment longer. Luke activated the door, and the two of them stepped inside.

Tentatively they approached the bed where their father lay asleep.

"Look at him, Luke," Leia whispered in amazement. "He's…he's so young!"

Luke nodded, his eyes taking in every detail of his father's face. He looks like me…or I guess I look like him, he reflected. "I can't believe it," Luke said. "He's whole again…he's fully human again."

Leia reached out a hand and lightly touched her father's face. To think that this beautiful face was hidden by a mask for twenty years, she thought.

"You look like him, Luke," Leia said at last, looking up at her brother. "I'll just bet his eyes are blue like yours."

Luke smiled. "I think so too," he said.

"You must be Lord Vader's children," Dr. Drii stated as he entered the room.

Luke and Leia turned around to face him. "Yes we are," Leia replied. "Are you the person we need to thank for restoring our father's health?"

Dr. Drii smiled. "Well, I was the chief surgeon, if that's what you're asking," he replied. "Your father is an extraordinary man."

"Yes, he is," Leia replied, looking back down at his face. "How long will he need to remain unconscious?"

"I was just going to order the medidroid to revive him," Drii replied. "Looks like you timed your visit well."

"Yes it sure does," Luke agreed.

He and Leia stepped out of Dr. Drii's way as he moved over to beside Vader's bedside. "Revive the patient," he ordered the medidroid.

The droid administered a dose of medication into Vader's shoulder. Luke and Leia watched with tremendous anticipation, waiting for their father to awaken.

As the drug entered his bloodstream, Vader felt as though he were awakening from a very deep, very long sleep. He was aware of the presence of others in the room, and struggled to regain consciousness. His eyelids felt as heavy as lead, though, as he fought against the lethargy to open them. His struggle was rewarded, however, for the first sight that met his eyes were the faces of his two children. They smiled at him, and he did his best to smile back.

"Hi," Leia said, coming to her father's side once again. "You look wonderful!"

Vader focused his eyes on her face, grateful that he was finally able to see it with his own eyes. "Thanks," he said, his voice sounding strange to his ears after so long. He turned and looked at Luke next, amazed by how much his son resembled him.

"I had no idea you were so young," Luke remarked. "Or how much I look like you," he added with a smile.

Vader smiled. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"We wanted to see how you were," Leia replied, taking her father's hand in hers. "The fleet is space borne now, so we decided to take a little detour here."

"I see," Vader replied.

"We also wanted to tell you about a dream we had," Luke put in. "We think it was a vision, telling us where Mother is."

Vader was startled by his son's words. "Tell me," he said.

Luke glanced at his sister before proceeding. "Well, we both had the dream," he began. "At the same time, no less."

Vader nodded. "A vision," he stated. "Go on."

"I, well, we both saw a woman in a rose garden," Leia began. "She looked very sad, and almost….lost. She was beautiful, with big brown eyes and dark hair. She wandered through this garden, and I followed her. Eventually she left, and went into a courtyard. It was surrounded by a high wall made of stone, with tall trees outside the wall."

As Vader listened to the description of his children's dream, he was struck with a tremendous sense of familiarity. "There was a waterfall nearby, wasn't there?" he asked.

Leia's eyes widened, and she merely nodded.

"You had this dream too?" Luke asked his father.

Vader turned his eyes to Luke and nodded. "Yes," he said. "It was your mother in that garden. And since we all had the same vision, there must be some truth to it."

"That's what we thought," Luke said. "Do you recognize the place?"

"Not the garden," Vader replied. "But the waterfall made me think it was Naboo. That would make sense; it's your mother's home planet."

"Do you think she's there?" he asked.

Vader rubbed his eyes, the lethargy still too great to fight for long. "I don't know, Luke," he replied. "But it's possible."

"We should let you rest," Leia said, realizing how weak her father was still. "We can talk more about this later."

Vader did not object, for he was finding it difficult to keep his eyes open by this point. "Very well," he said through a yawn.

Leia smiled, and then bent and kissed her father on the cheek. "Rest," she said to him.

Vader simply nodded, and then allowed sleep to take him once again.

"Come on," Luke said. "Let's go find Ben. I have a lot of questions for him."