Chapter II

Vader's reaction didn't help ease Luke's confusion or his fear. Vader seemed to visibly deflate after hearing the name of Luke's father, implying that there was indeed at least some connection between the two as Ben had said.

"Sir… what are you going to do to me?"

"I have no idea." came Vader's shaky response. Luke watched as the tall man ran his fingers under his hood, panic evident in his demeanor.

Luke knew he'd been sheltered, but he'd also heard enough about the fearsome Lord Darth Vader to know that he should've been dead by now. He should be on the floor next to Ben.

Looking back down at Ben's lifeless body, Luke was again filled with dread and terror. If Ben couldn't protect himself, then what hope did he have?

Suddenly, two sets of footsteps filled the corridor.

Vader stood back upright as the two Inquisitors walked back in after completing their sweeps of the ship.

"Well?" Vader asked expectantly.

The eyes of both Inquisitors fell to the very much so still alive Luke, still cowering away from Vader. "We found nothing in the way of traps, Lord Vader" came the reply of the bulky humanoid, "what of this boy, sir?"

"I believe he may be strong in the Force, so he'll be coming back to Mustafar with us for testing and training."

It was seemed to Luke that this must not happen very often, judging off of the excitement of the two men standing opposite him and Vader.

With each passing moment, Luke grew more and more confused, but was wise enough to not ask just yet. Vader was going to let him live? What happens to him if he isn't "strong in the Force" like Vader said?

Vader reached out and grabbed his arm, hauling him through the dark corridor of the ship. Luke tried to fight back but quickly saw the futility in that action. Resigning himself to his fate, he took one last tearful look behind him at Ben, and walked onto Vader's ship.

*

With Luke strapped down in the hold and the Inquisitors resting in their quarters, Vader finally had time to himself to think about what had just transpired.

There was no way that what Obi-Wan had said was true. He knew for a fact that Padmé had died on Mustafar. He felt her die then, and he could still feel the pain lingering in the Force there. He knew she had died there.

And yet, he kept coming back to the question that Obi-Wan had asked him.

"But did you feel the baby die too?"

No, he knew he hadn't. There was a chance that the small boy in the hold really was his… son.

At the thought of that word, intense protectiveness over Luke bloomed in his chest. The kind of protectiveness he'd only felt for Ahsoka, the kind he had for the innocents entrusted into his care.

He no longer had any doubts about the boy's family tree and vowed to himself that he would never let Luke suffer the same fate he had at the hands of the Emperor.

*

Vader's mercy wasn't doing anything to ease Luke's mind. He was alone in the hold and finally had time to process the events that had just transpired.

Vader was his dad? No way. His dad was Anakin Skywalker.

Right?

And there was no way that Vader was Anakin Skywalker, right?

Of course not. Anakin Skywalker died at the end of the Clone Wars with the rest of the Jedi. Ben had told him that. But Ben had also been the one who said that Vader was his father.

Part of him wanted to go find Vader and ask if he knew what Ben meant, but he doubted that Vader's mercy was going to last through that line of questioning.

Finally, after what seemed like and eternity, the ship landed. At first, Luke was excited to see a new planet. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that this wasn't going to be some exciting adventure.

Fear struck him again as he began to imagine all sorts of horrible things that Vader and the inquisitors might do to him. What kind of testing did Vader have in mind?

Before Luke was able to wonder about that question anymore, Vader walked into the hold and over to where Luke was still sitting.

He looked up at the imposing figure before him, expecting some rough grab or intimidating words. Instead, Vader calmly sat down next to him and slid off his hood.

"I'm not going to hurt you Luke."

"Why not?"

"Yeah I'm asking myself that question too kid. But rest assured that as long as I'm around, no harm will come to you." Vader's harsh yellow eyes seemed to soften as he said this.

"Thank you. I think. Um, I was wondering though," he paused for a second to gather his thoughts, "what kind of test did you mean?"

"It's a blood test. As far as my Inquisitors know, it's to test your midichlorian count, or to see how strong with the Force you are. But it'll also double as a DNA test."

"A DNA test, sir?" Vader's candor and patience served to confuse Luke even more, though he was incredibly grateful for it.

"Yes. To see if Obi-Wan was telling the truth or not."

"Obi-Wan? Is that the name Ben used to go by?"

A small smile played on Vader's lips. "Ben, huh? An interesting choice of alias. But yes, that was his name."

Luke was stared at the floor silently for a moment, then looked back up at Vader with tears in his eyes and quietly asked, "Why did you kill him?"

Vader didn't seem surprised by the question.

"For multiple reasons, but mainly because he was an enemy of the Empire. All remaining Jedi are."

"Then what are you? I guess you're not a Jedi."

"No, I'm not a Jedi. I'm a Sith Lord. The Jedi used the light side of the Force, and the Sith use the dark."

"And you don't see any issue with that? Evil is practically in the name." came Luke's quick quip.

"It's not that simple, Luke. The Jedi were corrupt. They caused more suffering than they ended and they didn't care about non-Jedi unless it was a powerful governmental figure. If the light side of the Force can have that much evil come of it, then the dark side must be required to have some good come from it."

"But that doesn't make any sense. I get that the Jedi were messed up, but how are the Sith not? You're a Sith, and all you cause is death and destruction. If that isn't evil, then I don't know what is."

Apparently, being called evil to his face wasn't something Vader had been expecting.

"I didn't say it was all good. Yes, the Sith operate in evil. But from that evil comes the power to promote good. With the power that the evil brings comes the position to command those who would make life Hell for others."

"But you're making life Hell for others."

Vader closed his eyes and sighed. After a moment he gently said, "I know you don't understand right now Luke, but I promise that you'll have plenty of time to figure it out. I'll make sure that no harm comes to you."

Luke was shocked speechless by the extent of Vader's mercy. I more experienced child might have thought that Vader was just trying to win him over for information or the like, but Luke, having been brought up in a good and loving home knew nothing of such actions.

With an awestruck voice, Luke managed "Why? You don't even know me. Why would you protect me?"

A soft look crossed Vader's face.

"Because I have very little doubt in my mind about you being my son," Vader placed a hand on Luke's shoulder, "And I would die before you suffer the same fate as me."

Author's note:

I still haven't had a chance to watch last week's episode of Kenobi. Big sad.

Anyway.

Top Gun: Maverick was amazing and I want to go see it again.

As always, constructive criticism is more than welcome!!