Luke stared out the window into the coldness of space leaning heavily on his right arm. It was how he felt inside. Cold and empty. His world had been shattered. Shattered by betrayal. Vader's face refused to leave his vision. It was the very face that he saw in the mirror everyday. The only difference were the eyes. They weren't blue as Luke's were, they were yellow. Yellow with red veins, trimmed in red. They were full of hatred. The eyes of a mass murderer. Suddenly he wondered if his parents were really as in love with each other as his mother had claimed. He felt a shiver and knew that it had come from Leia. He could feel his mother's pain from her run in with Vader. He could feel Ben's eyes boring into his back.
"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked. His voice sounded as hollow as he felt. He heard Leia's whimper.
"Luke," Obi-Wan began. "Vader isn't your father," he told him.
"Stop lying to us. We've seen what Anakin Skywalker looked like. He and Vader are the same," Luke told him.
"No!"
This time it was his mother.
"That wasn't Ani!" She said.
Luke turned around to see her cover her eyes with her left hand while her right arm rested against her chest. He knew that she was in pain and he cursed his father to oblivion. He looked away from his mother over to Leia who sat with her knees hugged to her chest and her forehead resting on her knees. He couldn't see them like this. His mother and sister were the strongest women he knew. His father did this to them. His father put them all through this. His father was a homicidal maniac. His father wasn't a hero as he had believed.
"I understand what you're going through," Ben told him. "Anakin was my brother. A great jedi. He was the chosen one. I don't know why he turned to the dark side. I blame myself for not seeing what was happening to him," he said.
Luke heard his mother gasp and choke back a sob. "He thought that I would die in childbirth. He turned to the dark side because of me. It's my fault," she said.
"He chose his fate. He did this. He destroyed everything! Because of him we can't even have a normal life!"
This time it came from Leia.
"I hate him!" Leia cried.
"Don't say that Leia. Please don't give into hate and anger, or you'll let it destroy you like it did your father," Obi-Wan told her.
Luke saw his sister stand up suddenly. "I'm nothing like that monster!" she shouted.
His mother sobbed some more. Luke hated this. He hated what his father had done. Suddenly he felt sick. The jedi in the temple. His father did that. The younglings, the babies, his father killed them. How could he have done it? There was a lot more than his mother and Ben were telling them. Which unspeakable act did his father do to make his mother afraid of him? Out of the corner of his eye he noticed his mother rub her neck and he knew. His father tried to kill her. He was a monster.
"You are more like your father than you'll ever know Leia," Ben said.
"No!" Leia cried. "You're lying!"
Luke heard his mother sob again. He couldn't take it anymore. They had lied to them. They let them believe that their father was a hero. They will continue to lie to them. "Leave us alone," he said. "We can't hear anymore lies right now," he said.
His mother sobbed again. "Anakin wasn't always like this!" she cried.
"Just leave us alone," Leia said coldly.
"We'll give you some time then. I know that this is a lot for you to take in," Obi-Wan said putting an arm around Padme and ushered her out of the room.
When they were gone, Luke sat down heavily in a vacant chair as Leia paced. He looked up at her. "Will you please stop that! You're making my head spin," he snapped.
Leia stopped her pacing and sat down in the chair opposite of him and crossed her arms insecurely. "What are we going to do?" she asked.
"I don't know," Luke said and looked out into space.
"He's a sith," Leia said.
"He's our father," Luke told her.
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Vader didn't have the patience for medical droids as they stitched him up. His eyes flashed in anger over what she had dared to do. At what she had done. Did she really think that they could continue to hide? He would have found them eventually. She had to have known that. Children as powerful in the force as they, he would have had no trouble in finding. It was Kenobi's fault. He took them away from him. In the heat of his anger several tubes and vials exploded. He will find them. And they will pay.
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Han looked up when he saw Luke enter the cockpit and sit down. "Something is troubling you isn't there Kid?" he asked seeing the warn face that Luke made.
Luke looked at him briefly. "What would you do if you found out that someone you care about betrayed you?" he asked.
This got Han's attention. "Well I don't know. I guess it all depends on who the person is and what they did," he said.
Luke continued to watch the stars race past through hyperspace. "What if it were a family member?" he asked.
"Look Kid. For me, my family did betray me. They left me out on the streets to fend for myself. I have no ounce of compassion for someone who would abandon their kid," Han told him.
Luke nodded at that unable to say anything.
Han could tell that whatever was bothering Luke was something big. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "You um wanna talk about it?" he asked stiffly. He didn't know why Luke always seemed to come to him when he was troubled. What could he offer the kid? Some tips for making wise cracks? How to aim a blaster to kill someone?
"My father is alive," Luke said darkly.
Han leaned forward at that. "This is big," he said. "What happened?" he asked. He didn't need to be a jedi to sense the tension in the kid. "He abandoned you didn't he?" he asked knowingly.
"Sort of," Luke told him. "He turned to the dark side," he finished.
Han shifted in his seat again. "Now I don't know anything about that. You know that I don't understand that religion of yours. It's not like I doubt it, your sister had pretty much proven that it existed for me," he said.
"Han," Luke began.
Han could tell that Luke wanted to say more, but was afraid. "Look Kid. What ever your dad did, it doesn't reflect on you. Look at my parents, they weren't all that great as people went, but I'm an all right guy, right?" he said.
Luke looked at him then. "I guess you're right," he said.
"Look, I can tell that you need to get this off your chest, so just say it. I won't look at you differently for it, you've got my word," Han told him.
"Darth Vader is my father," Luke told him.
Han wasn't expecting to hear this. He shifted in his seat again uncomfortably. "Well. I can see why you're troubled," he said. He frowned. "Luke, don't go comparing yourself to him. Trust me it's not worth it. You're a great kid. You're not going to turn out like he did," he told him.
Luke only nodded unable to say anything else.
"How is Leia dealing with this? I can't picture her handling this as okay as you are," Han asked.
"She's upset. Not that I can blame her. Ben always tells her how much she is like...he was," Luke told him.
Han sucked in a breath at that. "That's not good," he said. "Look maybe you should go talk to her. She could use her big brother right now," he told him.
Luke nodded. "I guess you're right," he said. He got up from his seat and left the cockpit leaving Han alone.
"How could those two kids come from Vader?" Han asked himself.
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When the Millennium Falcon arrived at the Rebel Alliance base on Yavin Four, the base had become a flutter of activity. The Falcon docked in the main hanger. Generals Dodonna and Rikeen waited for the occupants of the Falcon to emerge. Biggs was the first to emerge from the ship handing the datachips over to the generals.
"Slicing through the Academy's computers was a piece of cake! Not to mention the fact that those imperials are idiots, all of their computers are networked! We have everything you'll need for the next five months," Biggs told them.
"Good work Darklighter, were are the Skywalker kids?" Dodonna asked.
Biggs looked over to where Mrs. Skywalker stood with General Kenobi. "Luke and Leia had a little run in with Vader that has them shaken up," he told them.
"Vader was on Coruscant?" Rikeen asked alarmed.
"Don't worry, Mrs. S. shot him dead in the chest. I never knew that she could act so fast cause he didn't do anything to stop her. Last I checked he was still crumpled on the roof of the jedi temple," Biggs told them.
"Are they okay?" Dodonna asked glancing over at Padme. He was one of the few that knew that Darth Vader used to be Anakin Skywalker. It was just him, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, General Kenobi and Padme herself. He couldn't begin to imagine how hard it must be for Padme to have had to shoot her own husband.
Biggs shrugged, "They'll be okay, you know the Skywalkers, they always bounce back," he said.
"We expect a full report Darklighter," Rikeen told the young pilot.
"And you'll get one, once I've finished with my snack," Biggs told them giving them a salute before marching away.
"Think we made the right decision sending those kids to Coruscant?" Dodonna asked.
"They're jedi, Dodonna, it's their job. I just hope Vader didn't hurt them too much. They're lucky he didn't kill them," Rikeen said.
"I'm not so sure about that. Vader might have plans of his own now that he knows Anakin Skywalker's kids are alive as well as their mother," Dodonna said gravely.
"What do you mean?" Rikeen asked.
"You don't know how special the Skywalker genes are. Remember Anakin Skywalker died protecting his family which means that there is something the emperor wants with them," Dodonna told him.
"I don't think he's dead. No one has found evidence to prove that. No. I believe Skywalker is out there," Rikeen said.
"If he hasn't shown his face yet, that means he's dead General. That's it. The hero without fear doesn't just disappear and leave the fighting to someone else. You would do good to remember that," Dodonna said flatly.
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Luke gave his sister's hand a squeeze as they stood ready to leave the Falcon. "You okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Leia told him.
"We don't have to face them," Luke said.
"We have to. Besides no one knows except for us. As long as we don't tell anybody, we're safe," Leia told him and then noticed the twitch in his jaw. "Unless you already have," she said stepping away from him.
"Hey, you two better get down there. These guys'll be bound to get suspicious," Han said leaning against the interior of the Falcon.
Leia looked at her brother sharply. "You told him!" she snapped.
"Leia," Luke began.
"No!" Leia snapped. "This is our secret Luke! No one can know! If word gets out..." she yelled.
"Hey I aint gonna tell no one about anything Princess. I don't care who your dad is. You're not the only one with a dark family secret ya know," Han said getting defensive.
"He understands Leia," Luke told her.
"I can't believe you Luke," Leia said crossing her arms defensively.
"Look, if I tell you something about my family would that make you feel any better?" Han suggested.
"Nothing could be any darker than ours," Leia told him.
"Oh? Well let me tell you this Princess. My family dumped me on the streets when I was ten! You know why? Because I found out that they were selling information about the jedi's every move to the separatists during the clone wars! I didn't hold to their ideals about supporting Palpatine and being under cohorts with him, so they dropped me on the streets of Corellia!" Han told her. "You're not the only one who is related to the enemy ya know."
Leia looked at him then feeling bad for her outburst. "I didn't know. I'm sorry," she said.
"Look, I don't judge you for who your dad is. Just because he turned out evil, doesn't mean you are, I mean look at me, look at my family and what they did and I'm an alright guy," Han told her.
Leia rubbed her arms. "I didn't think about that," she said.
"Look I wont tell if you wont tell. Anything you need, you know where to find me. So get on down there and put on a bright cheery face for them. Things'll work out, trust me," Han said.
"Thanks Han," Luke said grabbing Leia's arm.
Han watched as both twins left the ship knowing that something was gonna happen to change their lives, whether it was good or bad, he couldn't tell. Either way someone is going to make a move and it'll be soon.
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Vader walked along the bridge of the Executor in front of the line of bounty hunters. Each one vile as the next. "I want the Millennium Falcon found. None of it's passenger shall be harmed. I will deal with them myself. Is that clear?" he demanded stopping in front of Boba Fett.
"It will be done," Fett said.
"Don't cross me Fett, you will not like what I do when you do," Vader warned ominously. "You are dismissed," he said.
Soon he will capture them. Soon they will take their rightful place at his side as it should have been. And Kenobi will be dead. Vader left the bridge walking to his quarters. Perhaps he could find out some more information. Making a decision, he decided on making contact with the Rebel alliance, perhaps as Anakin Skywalker he could gain their trust there forth finding them himself. Vader smirked to himself at his genius and began making contact.
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"General, we've received a transmission," a look out called from his post.
General Dodonna stopped his conversation with Padme Skywalker to check out the transmission. "Play it," he ordered.
The transmission was a bit fuzzy but you could make out a man looking worse for the wear standing there clutching his side. Padme recognized him at once and she gripped Dodonna's arm tightly.
"If anyone can reach this message I'm hoping that it gets to my wife. This is Anakin Skywalker. Padme, we don't have much time. I don't know how much longer I can hold them off. I need to know if you're okay. Send me your coordinates fast. They're onto us, I need to get to you before the emperor does..." from there the transmission fazed out.
"General should I try to raise him again?" the look out asked.
"No," Padme told him sharply. "It's a trap. That's not Anakin," she told him.
"Are you sure Milady?" the look out asked.
"I know my husband. Anakin wouldn't pull something like this. He would never put us in this kind of danger," Padme told him sharply.
"If that transmission reached us, it's a good chance that the empire will find us," Dodonna said.
Padme nodded. "Lets start the evacuation," she commanded.
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"Do you think he put a tractor on us?" Leia asked frantically and she and Luke packed.
"No. Vader didn't get a chance to do that," Obi-Wan told them as he assisted the twins.
"Then how did he find us?" Luke asked.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Anakin had always been extremely smart. He's resourceful and he doesn't give up that easily. He was always a dangerous opponent, unfortunately when he became a sith, the tables turned. I think our best bet is to go somewhere he will not expect us to go," he told them.
"Home?" Leia asked.
"No, Leia. He'll think of that first. With our luck he'll have Naboo closely watched," Obi-Wan told her.
"What about Dagobah?" Luke suggested.
"I can't see your mother lasting that long there," Obi-Wan told him. "The last place Vader will look is Tatooine. It's where his worst memories are. He'll never step foot on that planet again," he said.
"Ben, have you ever seen something like this?" Luke asked showing him a golden object. "We found it in the temple, it kinda just called to us," he said handing it over to his mentor.
Obi-Wan fiddled with it. "It's a holocron. But this isn't just any holocron. I've heard about it, but it's existence had never been proven. It's a part of the old jedi legion. Legion has it that the only jedi to have ever returned from the dark side lived long before the Republic was formed. It is said that those who had helped him return to the light stored the instructions on how to do it in a holocron and only a direct decedent of that jedi could activate the holocron," he told them.
"What do you do to open it?" Leia asked.
"Well you just press these two buttons here. But I wouldn't try to open it, it wont work..." Obi-Wan said trailing off when both twins touched the buttons and the holocron opened. "Of course I have been proven wrong on occasion, by a Skywalker no doubt," he finished.
"Leia, do you know what this means?" Luke asked as he gazed at the glowing words emitting from the holocron.
"It can't be done Luke. It just can't," Leia told him.
Obi-Wan looked at either twin. "I believe that you have stumbled onto something here, I suggest that you follow your instincts on this one," he told them.