Description: When a mission goes wrong, Luke Skywalker crashes on an uninhabited planet. While waiting for rescue, he makes an unexpected discovery.

A/N #1: I do not own Star Wars, but I do so enjoy playing in the Galaxy.

A/N #2: Thank you so much to my beta reader. Her help is immeasurable.

A/N #3: Thanks to everyone for all the many reviews and encouragement. To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement. Writing this story has been a great diversion from the 50 to 60 hour work weeks I have been dealing with for the last several months. Sleep is overrated anyway. I hope that you will find the next chapter as entertaining as the
last.

Chapter 2

Luke felt the first droplets of rain strike his sweat-soaked hair as they reached the mouth of what appeared to be a small cave. It was the destination to which Artoo had been guiding them. He had to give the little droid credit for coming up with such a suitable shelter. The cave opening was just a few meters above them on the side of a gently ascending ridge. The only problem was the row of unaligned jagged boulders that in effect made a defensive wall in front of it. The boulders themselves were not the issue; getting past them with his hulking cargo was.

The wind swirled around him as Luke gently set down the end of the stretcher that he had been dragging. He had crafted it from fallen tree limbs tied together with heavy vines. It worked, but it had taken a lot of energy to both build it as well as to drag it here. Luke moved back to check his unconscious prisoner that lay on the stretcher. There had been no change in Vader's condition, other than the fact that he had been divested of his lightsaber and his hands were now bound with the same heavy vine that Luke had used to construct the stretcher.

An angry growl of thunder rumbled across the sky. As if on cue, the rain began to fall harder. Dead leaves and twigs whipped up by the growing intensity of the wind began to buffet them. He could delay no longer.

Luke reached down and grabbed the Dark Lord by one of his massive upper arms. He used all of his remaining strength to pull the inert cumbersome form of the man up in an attempt to heft him over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Vader's baritone voice came groggily from his enunciator.

The shock of hearing the Sith caused Luke to let go and jump back as if the man had combusted into flame. Vader dropped heavily back down to the ground. A groan followed by an indistinct garbled hiss came from the Dark Lord when he landed. Luke could only assume the hiss had been a string of curses, he thought it sounded like Huttese. It took several moments of both men staring at each other in stunned silence before the rebel found his voice.

"S-Sorry," Luke stammered. "I was trying to get you up to the shelter." Still wary to take his eyes off his adversary, Luke nodded in the direction of the cave.

With some effort, the Dark Lord shifted to turn his helmet in the direction that Luke had indicated. After what appeared to be his comprehension, he slowly turned back to the blond haired youth.

"Are you in pain?" Luke questioned tentatively.

"Constantly," Vader growled.

"Are you injured?" Luke asked again.

"That is none of your concern." The Sith rumbled dangerously.

Luke brushed away the mix of rain and sweat that was now dripping down into his eyes and tried a different approach. "Can you walk?"

Vader dropped his helmet ever so slightly. He appeared to be conducting an assessment of his condition. He finally moved his head to capture the young man's face in his gaze.

"No."

Luke leaned heavily against the closest boulder in frustration. He crossed his arms as his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Then I'm not sure how I can get you up there." He muttered quietly.

There was a heavy lapse into silence between both men. The only sound above the pattering rain was Vader's forced even breathing. Even Artoo sat quietly next to the boulders. His domed head swiveling side to side as his photo receptor turned between them.

"Why did you not employ the Force to help you?" Vader's question broke the stillness.

"You can do that?" The awe in the young man's voice was apparent. It seemed to bewilder the Dark Lord.

"Of course," Vader answered. There was a hint of annoyance detectable in his response despite his mechanical tone. Again, Vader shifted. In doing so, it appeared that he finally discovered his bound hands. He dropped his head sharply to get a better view of his bindings through the tinted lenses of his mask.

Luke could feel a thickening of the air around him. A weighty darkness seemed to be gathering around the man lying on the ground. Luke stepped back in concern and unconsciously reached his hand toward his blaster. At his young master's apparent apprehension, R2D2 immediately sprang to life. He quickly rolled forward to place himself defiantly between the two men. The little droid spouted a long string of agitated beeps and whistles in the direction of the Vader, his actions apparently catching the Dark Lord's attention.

The Sith's helmet cocked slightly to one side as if listening to the astromech's tirade. Luke was a taken aback. He didn't believe it possible for anyone to comprehend the droid's binary language, other than another droid of course. But somehow, he got the distinct impression that Vader understood every click and beep.

Whatever Artoo had told Vader, it appeared to have calm the Sith down. The Dark Lord looked again between his bound hands, the little droid, and the young blond haired man. Luke then heard a strange discharge from the Vader's enunciator. He interpreted it as a poor replication of an exasperated sigh. The three remained stationary as rain continued to rise in intensity.

"It appears, young one, that you have caught yourself a Sith Lord," Vader finally intoned softly. There seemed to be a hint of amusement present in his deep mechanical baritone. "It would be wise to get both yourself as well as your trophy to a dryer location."

Vader dropped his gaze back down to the astromech. He nodded slightly as if in deference to the little droid. Whatever communication passed between the two, Artoo seemed to have been appeased by the Dark Lord's change in manner. He gave a few additional sharp beeps and then backed himself to his prior position next to the boulders.

"I don't think I can carry you." Luke confessed.

"That will not be necessary," Vader assured. "But I will require your assistance."

Luke took a few steps forward and then hesitated. The thought of the Dark Lord's thickly muscled biceps came to mind. Whatever condition Vader was in, it wouldn't take much effort for him to easily overpower the slighter man. Just by his sheer size alone.

Vader seemed to recognize Luke's concern immediately. "I will not attempt to escape you," He calmed the young man. "You have my word."

The rebel was unsure how much he should trust the word of a Sith Lord. But again, something was telling him that a promise from Darth Vader would be kept. He continued forward and bent down to the injured man. Slipping his head under Vader's arm, Luke strained his protesting muscles to the limit to help hulking man to his feet.

Despite Vader's attempt to conceal his condition, it was obvious to Luke that he had been injured in the crash, and injured badly. He wasn't sure how they managed it, but Luke finally got the giant of a man into the cave. He was sure that Vader had been employing some aspect of the Force to help maneuver their way. The Dark Lord had certainly seemed considerably lighter than he had been while unconscious, but with Luke's limited understanding, he couldn't fathom how Vader had done it.

Even through the armor and heavy padding, Luke could feel Vader begin to tremble with either pain or exhaustion as he guided him to the back corner of the cave. He eased the man down as gently as he could manage. Luke was unsure of whether the Sith was unwilling to offer his thanks to a rebel or if he was just too overwhelmed with his own pain to speak, but it seemed that all he was capable of doing at the moment was to again offer a slight bow of his masked helm. Luke left him propped up against the rough stone walls as he exited the cave to retrieve the makeshift stretcher as well as his survival pack.

When he re-entered the cave, Vader's head had dropped down to his chest. Luke thought he might have lost consciousness again. He gave no recognition to the younger man's approach. Luke turned back to the cave opening as a series of beeps and whistles sprang from the blue and white droid that still sat next to the boulders in the rain.

"I'm sorry, Artoo," Luke called down to his little friend. "I don't see how I can get you up here."

"He should be able to do so himself," Vader interjected. His head still bent down heavily.

Luke turned to appraise the Dark Lord. He wondered momentarily at his statement. "Oh, you mean his booster rockets," Luke replied. "I never have been able to get those to work."

At the young man's comment, Vader slowly raised his head and leaned back. His helmet came to rest against the cold stone behind him. There were no more words between them. The tension of the moment was broken by a series of high pitched electronic shrieks from the little droid. Luke whirled around to see Artoo slowly rise from the ground and effortlessly float up to the cave. As he landed, the little droid gave a few sharp tweets and a shudder as if dispelling the rainwater from his cylindrical casing. He then tottered off to the side of the cave where he quickly deactivated himself. Apparently, Luke thought, in some type of huff.

Not knowing what else to do, Luke turned to the Dark Lord who remained motionless against the cave wall. "Thanks," was all Luke could muster. There was no reply.