No. 25—Silence is Golden
Lost Voice | Duct Tape | "You'd better start talking."
Luke stared at the Trandoshan bounty hunter doing his best to ignore him. The stun cuffs wouldn't respond to the Force, and he'd struggled one too many times and stunned himself with the cuffs. He still had one more way he might be able to use to escape before the group of bounty hunters took him to Vader.
"You will let me go." Luke shifted. He'd been sitting in the metal hold for too long. His hands were cuffed above him to a chain.
"No, I won't," the Trandoshan said.
Luke brought the Force to bear on the Trandoshan and on the humans that lingered nearby. "You will let me go."
The Trandoshan spun and glared at him. "Are you trying to change my mind with the Force?"
One of the humans, Bartrus, stood up, his arms crossed. "Where are the paralyzers?"
The Trandoshan pointed to a crate on the far side of the hold.
Bartrus walked over to the crate and pulled out a syringe.
Luke's breath quickened. "You will let me go." He was losing his grip on the Force with the fog in his mind and his panic. If he got paralyzed, he wouldn't be able to escape.
Bartrus knelt in front of him and slid the needle into Luke's neck. "Say goodbye to your voice, Jedi."
Cold spread through Luke's neck, then numbness. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but nothing came out.
Bartrus laughed and strolled away.
Luke glared at him. Paralyzing his voice wasn't as bad as paralyzing his entire body, but it was still a dirty move.
He closed his eyes and focused on the cuffs. Smooth, sleek, connected to the Force. Willing to pop open for him.
The cuffs shuddered, loosening. A wave of stun energy rocketed through him. He slumped in his bonds, darkness descending on him.
"You were right." Gloved metal hands dragged Luke to his feet. "You will receive your reward."
"Thank you," the Trandoshan said.
Luke forced himself awake just as Vader dragged him into an Imperial shuttle. He automatically tried to protest, but nothing came out.
Vader strapped Luke into the co-pilot's seat, chaining his arms to the armrests with stun cuffs. "Do not try to escape. I will be ready."
Luke glared at Vader, resisting the urge to tug at the cuffs.
Vader settled into the pilot's seat and pulled the shuttle away from a small red moon. Once they had jumped into hyperspace, he turned to Luke. "Did they hurt you?"
Luke crossed his arms and glared. Didn't they tell him about the voice paralysis? Until the drug wore off, he was silent.
"Did they hurt you? They did, didn't they?" Vader stood up. "Where? What did they do? Should I get the 2-1B in the back? Do you need bacta patches? Do you need more than bacta patches? Just hold on, I can find the nearest medical facility and get you into a bacta tank as fast as this ship can go."
Luke frowned. Of all things, he'd never expected to see the Sith Lord flustered or panicked. He reminded him, of all people, of Leia whenever he got hurt. She always tried to stay calm, but sometimes she couldn't contain her franticness. And of Aunt Beru. She always assumed his cuts were gaping wounds about to fester and kill him if he didn't get immediate medical attention and every drop of blood was a stream ready to bleed him out if it wasn't stopped. He rolled his eyes. At least this proved something of the father Luke had dreamed of lingered in Vader.
"I should have killed those bounty hunters when I had the chance! What did they do to you? How can I stop it?" Vader pressed his prosthetic gloved right hand to Luke's forehead as if he'd be able to check for a fever, then began patting him down. "What is the matter? Where does it hurt?"
Luke gathered the Force and smacked his hands away. Uncle Owen had patted him down the same way whenever he came back reporting a crash. Usually while muttering something about "reckless Skywalkers" and "not everything is a podrace" and asking him what hurt and was anything blurry and had he blacked out or thrown up at all. He wasn't a child anymore.
But Vader just reached forward again and felt his ribs, pressing on each one. "Talk to me, son! What is wrong?"
Luke sighed. He didn't really know any sign languages, and even if he did, there was no guarantee Father would know any of them. But before the Boonta Eve had shut down, Uncle Owen had grumblingly taken Luke to see the race. He hadn't been willing to talk about Anakin Skywalker, though a couple older visitors had heard his name and mentioned his father's previous victory at the track, but he'd let him hang out with the racers beforehand. Probably because Luke had cried when Owen said it was too dangerous and Aunt Beru had had a whispered argument with him, but anyway. The racers had taught him a few hand signals they had with the pit crews, necessary because their pods were too loud for comms—"Everything's okay," "I need to come in," "I'm about to blow up," "Say goodbye to my family," and "That cheating Dug sabotaged my pod." They were generally used on longer races than the Boonta Eve, but there was a possibility Vader still knew them.
He popped his stun cuffs—which was surprisingly easy now that his brain didn't hurt—and made the "Everything's okay" sign.
Vader froze. "You are okay? Why did you not just say so?"
Luke pointed to his throat.
"Yes, the throat is where the voice is," Vader said. "Why did you not use yours?"
Luke slumped. What sign might say what he needed? He pointed to his throat and signed again.
Vader cocked his head. "Sebulba sabotaged your pod?"
Luke slapped a hand to his forehead.
"I was not aware you were a podracer, nor that you had met Sebulba," Vader said. "Where did you two encounter each other? How did your first podrace go?"
Luke sighed again, forcing his breaths to remain steady. He pointed to his throat, flapped his hand as if miming talking, then slashed his hand across his throat.
"Oh!" Vader straightened. "You are unable to speak!" He cocked his head again. "What does that have to do with Sebulba?"
Luke collapsed against his chair, groaning without sound. Why was Vader so dense?
"I'll go get the 2-1B droid," Vader said. "Do not move."
He returned a few minutes later with a 2-1B droid. The droid scanned him and declared he had temporary vocal paralysis which should wear off in the next hour. He also had a few bumps, bruises, and abrasions, but nothing serious.
Vader pushed a pad into Luke's hands, then shooed away the 2-1B droid and rested a first aid kit on his lap. "It is good to hear that you are relatively uninjured." He plastered a sticky bandage onto Luke's forehead with careful fingers.
Luke's chest choked, but he typed out his words anyway. You're acting like my aunt and uncle.He showed the pad to his father.
"I am simply concerned for you," Vader said. "Hold still." He pulled out peroxide and wet gauze.
Luke pulled back until his head hit the back of the chair. Vader grabbed his chin and held his head steady as he scrubbed his nose.
All this and yet you're still going to take me to the emperor.
Vader scanned the pad and snorted. "It is what is best for you. He will reach you no matter what. Best we confront him head on. Once you turn to the Dark Side, we will defeat him together and everything will be fine."
I will not turn and you will be forced to kill me. Given that you're acting like my aunt and uncle or like Leia when I get hurt, somehow I doubt you'll be willing to let that happen. Face it, you love me.
Vader turned to the pad, then scrubbed Luke's nose harder. "Of course I love you. You are my son. I would die if anything happened to you."
I knew it. You love me. You would do anything for me. I won't turn to the Dark Side, and the emperor will kill me. You clearly care too much for me to let that happen, so why don't we cut to the chase and aweopriu
Luke's fingers smashed against the keyboard as Father spread a sticky bandage on his nose.
Vader took the pad, then dropped it on Luke's lap and shook his head. "It is not that easy."
Sure it is. Luke dove for the console and typed a new destination into the navicomputer. They were off to the Rebel fleet. The shuttle shuddered as it plotted a new course from the hyperlane they were already in to the new coordinates.
"What…" Vader pulled him away. "Where are we going?"
Luke snatched the pad and typed. We're going to the Rebel fleet. You really shouldn't have come alone. You thought you were kidnapping me, but I kidnapped you. So we can go to the Rebel fleet and I'll sponsor you as a defector, you can be my prisoner, or we can go to the emperor and you can tell him you're ready to kill me because I won't turn.
Vader snatched the pad, then crossed his hands. "You're too much like your mother."
Luke snatched the pad. Is that a yes?
"I'm going to regret this," Vader said. "But you win."
Luke laughed, the sound actually coming out of his mouth. "Good. I'm glad you've seen reason."