Chapter 10

"Where to next, sire?" The pilot asked Anakin kindly. He had his hands on many levers and buttons, ready to punch in whatever his master said.

There was no reluctance. "Curoscant."

The pilot looked over his shoulder, and cast Anakin a disapproving stare. "The emperor's on Curoscant, Lord Vader," he turned back around, obviously making no move to return to the planet – he noted that Anakin didn't call the planet by it's new 'empire' name, either – Imperial City. "I don't think—"

"That's precisely why I want to go there," Anakin seemed content with his decision.

The pilot sighed. He pressed a few buttons, and the city planet appeared in holo. "If you wish, sire."

Luke felt the low thump of the engines starting up, and the gravity skewed until they were free from the atmosphere. He looked out the vast window in his room, seeing his desert planet disappear…

Had he made the best choice? How could he be sure that his father wouldn't tell the emperor about him? It seemed like a work for fools now—why did he come up with a plan that included trusting father?

Anakin seemed like a good man. He had taken him in his arms when they boarded the ship, hugged him—he made Luke feel like his son, finally. He had dropped Luke off into his quarters, telling the boy to "remain there until I return." Luke didn't know how long that would be, but he hoped it would be soon…

As almost a sign, his door slid open, disappearing into the side. "Hey, kid," Anakin said, sitting on the foot of Luke's bed. He was finally saying the fatherly saying—'hey kid' and 'what's up, son?' Even though he had said those, he wasn't sure if Luke was accepting them…

Luke had this look in his eyes, and the feeling in the force, that he didn't trust his father wholly.

"Everything alright?" Anakin asked. He smiled, obviously concerned, but trying to hide his feelings.

Luke paused, seemingly to think about his answer, and nodded slowly. He stifled a smile. "Yeah," he told his father, "I'm good."

"Good. I'm glad," he said happily. He got up from Luke's bed, and motioned for the boy to follow him.

Luke did as Anakin wanted, and he following at the hip. He looked up at his father—there was a sparkle in his eyes, something Luke had never seen before. "Hey, father, can I ask you something?" He asked.

Anakin was reluctant at first, slow to answer—he didn't know why this would entail, said 'question'. "Anything," he answered wryly.

The boy paused, trying to find the best way to put this. "Were you happy to see me? I mean, we you first met me?" He looked up again, seeing his father's eyes go shadowy.

Anakin swallowed hard. What? "Er—Luke, um," he didn't know what to say to this, "Of course I was happy to see you."

"No, I mean, were you happy to find me," he asked. "Or were you just happy because you thought I was with mom?"

His precious Padmé—he couldn't deny that he wasn't hoping that she was alive, with him. That maybe, just maybe, Padmé had faked her death, and was living with Luke on the Outer Rim, far from the reaches of the empire. It also struck Anakin as odd that Luke had referred to Padmé as 'mom'. It wasn't an odd title, she fit it well, but it was as if the boy knew his mother. Maybe he would've liked to, Anakin thought.

"I guess it's an odd mixture of both," he answered, truthfully. "I can't deny that I wasn't hoping for your mother." He scratched his head, the side of his face—he was nervous all of a sudden. "But I'm happy I found you. I mean—even though your mother didn't… survive, you did."

Luke flashed Anakin a sly smile, and Anakin thought for a moment—that smile was somewhat familiar to him…

"You know what?" Luke said excitingly, taking Anakin out of his self-pity. "It's my birthday next week." He seemed pleased that he broadcasted him information—he cast Anakin a squinty-eyed smile, different from the last, and expected him to say something.

Anakin just forced a smile. He had known this was coming—it was also the day Padmé had died, and until recently, he thought the child perished within, as well. Obviously not, he told himself wryly, because he has a birthday…

"We'll just celebrate it, then," he said to his son, hoping that would make the pertinent excitement go away. "We'll be on Curoscant."

"Curoscant?" Luke said, detesting this idea. He hoped it didn't lead to—"Because of the emperor? But you said—"

"I know what I've said," Anakin snapped. "And this isn't about you—it's about me. I need to… speak to the emperor." He didn't flinch, but he could feel Luke's utter fear after said those words. "You'll wait in my office—in the Senate."

"W—what are you doing… on Curoscant?" Luke stuttered. He didn't know what to say. Had his father not told him that they weren't going to tell the emperor about him?

Anakin didn't know how to put this to a ten-year old. "Ah, Luke—this is something I've been wanting to do since you arrived," he told his son, taking his shoulders in his hands and shaking his son, to show effort. "I need to do this." I need to kill Palpatine.

"D—do… what?"

He swallowed hard, for what seemed like the fifth time that day. "The emperor is a burden to the galaxy," he told his son, hoping that he'd finally get the message, "Something… needs to be done."

Luke swallowed, the dry lump slowly moving down his throat. He couldn't believe it—he was happy to be hearing these words. He smiled widely, hoping that this would work, that his father wouldn't die again. He couldn't afford to lose his father again…

"That's great, father," he said.

Anakin smiled, taking his hands off Luke's shoulders. "I'm glad you agree. I was a hard decision to make, under these circumstances."

Luke knew that 'circumstances' meant 'having Luke here'.

"After your mother died, I thought about it frequently. But I had no place to go, to run—and Palpatine was far too strong then."

As opposed to now—what makes now different?

"But now—I'm different. I think, no, I know I can kill him now."

He seems to have studied this. He seems to have played this out—

"Luke, if I—"

Luke had to stop him. "No, don't say it." Anakin nodded, accepting this. He couldn't hear another word…

"I won't," Anakin promised. "I'm—sorry I told you this. I should've." He resented himself for telling Luke this. After all, he was still a child, whether or not he acted like one. His son was an incredibly smart kid, he decided. Must've inquired his intelligence from his mother, he thought, laughing to himself. But the wit—that's all me!

"I'm glad you told me," Luke said. "But do I fit into any of this? At all?" He kind of hoped he did, but not exactly. He didn't want to be a part of overthrowing Palpatine—if things didn't end up like he wanted them to…

"Like I said before, you'll wait in my office in the Senate building."

"But—I want to…"

Anakin shook his head. "No, Luke. You can't. I don't want you to—at all. If you were to—I would never be able to forgive myself. I still can't. For the things I've done."

What he's done?

He pressed his palms to his forehead. "Luke, you're my son," he said. He was never wise, but he supposed the week he had with Luke had proved his parentage, fatherhood—fathers were wise, right? He wouldn't know… "I never had a father," before Luke could inquire what this meant, Anakin spoke again, "And I don't think I'm going to be a very good one. I kind of doubted it when your mother was pregnant," he smiled, remembering the times.

He never had a father? Similar to me, I guess…

"The closest thing I had to a father was Obi-Wan Kenobi," Anakin decided against grunting the teeth, for he was a traitor… No, he isn't. And he was never…he just…

"Ben Kenobi?"

Anakin blinked. "Ben?" He chuckled. "He's still alive?" He was under the impression that Kenobi was killed during the Purges—or died of old age. He was graying a bit on the sides the last time we spoke.

Luke laughed. "Yeah, he's still alive," he told his father. He had mixed feelings about this. "He lives on Tatooine. He's kind of an old' hermit, now."

Anakin could believe this. "Old hermit, huh?" He found humor in talking about his old master—it was something of a change, for talking about Kenobi had always triggered somewhat of anger…

"Yeah," he said. "He used to watch over me, I think. He used to just… wait when Beru and I used to go to the markets."

Anakin was happy, and a bit jealous, that Obi-Wan had always been there for Luke, as well, for it was the same when he was Luke's age. Jealously struck him when he thought about seeing Luke as a baby, a young child—it hurt. He never got to experience that.

"Did he drop by often?"

"Not really," Luke said, shaking his head, frowning a bit. "I don't think Uncle Owen liked him 'snooping' around."

Anakin nodded. He understood that, somehow—he wouldn't like someone watching over his life, either. Come to think of it, he had almost an identical situation during the Clone Wars, when he would come home to Padmé. "Makes sense," he said.

Luke nodded.

"Do you know where he is now?"

"Last time I check, he's still there. Since you called him Obi-Wan, I bet he changed his name," he said, adding a second note, "For security reasons."

Of course, this meant 'because of Darth Vader'.

Anakin nodded again. "He never joined the Rebellion?" He knew little about the small form of Rebels that hated the empire; from what he heard, Padmé would've been a part of it, had she been alive. She signed the delegation—Anakin was there during this.

"Not that I know."

It was clear to Anakin that Obi-Wan was banished from the homestead, for Owen obviously didn't like him—as Luke said. If the boy didn't know much about Obi-Wan, he never really got to know the man, then. He's probably mediating, he smiled, remembering the countless jokes he made about the Jedi habit.

A/N: As I previously stated, I'm moving on Wednesday, so I really don't know if I'll get in some extra time to update. If I don't I apologize, but I'll try to get the next update in as soon as possible! Thanks for the feedback, too -- it really means everything to me that people are enjoying this story! Keep it up!