Sup guys? I had a crazy writing explosion this weekend! I hope you like this chapter!
We do get some Vader/Luke one on one interaction though!
I would also like to thank everyone that has taken the time to read my story so far! (That includes you silent readers!)
Light Amongst the Shadows has now over 2,700 views! Thanks guys!
Chapter 7
Luke's jaw dropped in shock, "Seriously? Just like that?"
Clancy nodded, sipping from his caf. "I wasn't sure why he took me on as an assistant, much less why he even spoke to me that night instead of scaring me off sooner.
"Weird."
"He's a Sith… What can you expect?"
Luke shrugged, "You have me there."
"I thought so," Clancy stated, opening a door Luke hadn't seen before, "Anyway, since Vader's kicked us out of the maintenance hall, we might as well check in on his other project."
Is he talking about what I think he is?!
"Other project?" Luke choked on his caf, "How many projects does he have?!"
"Just shut up and follow me will ya? I need to gather reports on how things are coming, Vader wanted these even before his little mishap this morning."
"Okay, okay," Luke conceded, falling into step beside the Imperial, "Whatever Vader wants right?"
"Commander!" Clancy shouted across the immense hangar, "Prepare a ship for my companion and I here! We're heading topside!"
"A ship is already waiting!" The figure assured, rushing to meet them, "The shuttle Dunesea is this way."
"Good."
"This is Vader's project?!" Luke's jaw dropped at the sight he and Clancy saw from the viewport of the small ship. Before them was a monstrous dreadnaught, the likes of which had never been seen before.
Sleek, predatory lines filled the space before them. The blazing red of massive exhaust ports contrasting with the inky blue of the durasteel hull.
The Super Star Destroyer… So this is what it is…
"Welcome to the Executor my young friend," Clancy clapped him on the back, "Beautiful isn't she? Now you might want to pick your jaw up from the floor before we land."
"Maybe."
"Good man," the mechanic supplied, turning to head to the exit ramp as the hangar bay enveloped them.
"Welcome aboard milord," a young officer met them at the bottom of the ramp, "Although your presence is a tad unexpected. Where is Lord Vader?"
"Vader has had an unforeseen mishap this morning shall we say…" Clancy replied in a clipped, authority laced voice so unlike his casual manner as a mechanic. "And he has sent me to survey and retrieve progress reports in his stead, Annakin here shall accompany me."
Without another word, the mechanic-turned-officer marched off into the bowels of the ship.
What is it with him? Luke observed, as he watched Clancy's strange new personality. Who was this hard eyed commander? Where he once might have patted someone on the back and had a good laugh, he now stilled with a sharp glance or disapproving tilt of the head.
It was safe to say that the rest of the afternoon Luke spent it in silence at Clancy's side. Watching, and gathering information for the Rebels.
Finally, the extensive examination of the great battleship was finished, and with a large portfolio of reports in hand, Clancy dragged his silent companion back aboard the Dunesea.
"You seem rather sullen today," he observed, swiveling playfully in the pilot's seat.
"Just homesick, that's all…" Luke replied soberly, "Miss my aunt and uncle, my friends too."
What he said was true, to a point. In reality he was mulling over Clancy's strange behavior aboard the Executor.
"If you say so. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to settle in for the sleep cycle." The mechanic turned his attention to the main hangar once again as they came in for a landing.
Where did I go wrong with my life? I already know the answer of course, and I have for a while.
Palpatine. That dirty, thieving snake! Poisoning not just my thoughts, but the entire galaxy with his vile words!
Sapped of my strength, I struggle to the center of my meditation pod and drop unceremoniously into the large chair mounted there. My prosthetics, relieved of their burden, release a quiet hiss as the hydraulics settle.
Flicking on a small holoprojector, I find myself lost in the chocolate depths of my beloved's eyes.
Oh Padme, I am so sorry… For everything. But I have found our child, and by the Force I will do right by him!
Dimly I notice a tear slide down my scarred and pitted excuse for a face.
"I was raised by Beru and Owen Lars… I never knew my parents."
But he has no idea who I am! My own son does not know his father!
Bitterly, this realization cuts me to the core. Of all the crimes and atrocities I have committed, this is by far the worst.
The destruction of my family, the one thing I desired most…
Through my tear filled vision, I make out my barren prosthetics, both arms and legs, their silver forms glistening and shimmering in the sterile light of the chamber.
I deserve this, and much more, just for the suffering of my family by my hands.
At this thought, I can't help but think of all the family members I have hurt.
Obi Wan.
"You were my brother Anakin! I loved you!"
To this day, his parting words on Mustafar still haunt me. Why I ever sought to take his life, I cannot fathom any longer. Once I would've understood, but now it seems alien to hate my master.
Padme.
"You're a good person Anakin, don't do this!"
My Angel, I have hurt you so much! I will never be able to forgive myself for the pain I have caused not only you, but our children as well!
Finally, the one person I cherish the most, the one I tried my best to save:
Mother.
I recall her tender embraces in our small slave hovel after a grueling day of work, her arms shaky from exertion. The smell of sweat and sand enveloping the two of us. We were united against the fierce world of smugglers and slave drivers.
I still can remember the flickering light in her eyes as I cradled her depraved form in the Tusken camp, her last words to me as I wept silently.
"I knew you would come for me."
Indeed Mother, and if I were to do it all over again, I would still come for you. Now and forever… But now, I must come for someone else important.
I must come for my son.
"Annakin Lars?" An inquisitive voice came up the exit ramp.
"Yeah?" Luke replied, poking his head around a corner before hopping down the rest of the way into the hangar and nearly smacking into yet another officer.
"I am here to inform you that Lord Vader requests your presence in his personal quarters immediately."
"Um, okay…" Luke decided it was best that he obeyed orders from the Sith, "Take me to him I guess…"
With a quick nod, the lieutenant spun on his heel, briskly setting the pace for which Luke scrambled to catch up with.
Arriving at the doors to the Dark Lord's infamous 'lair' Luke could feel his pulse quicken, adrenaline giving everything a crisp edge.
This is the inner sanctum of my father's murderer. What could I have done to end up here?
Suddenly, the doors hissed open, like some onyx beast anticipating its newest meal.
Kriff!
Now finding himself shoved into the jaws of the dragon, Luke couldn't keep from shaking as he took in his new surroundings.
Sleek grey walls greeted him, the room barren of anything of personal, only a large egg-like sphere dominated the center of the chamber.
"Hello?"
The silence was stifling all the while he stood there, waiting, for the Sith to make his presence known.
Frightened are we?
"Who's there?!" Luke spun around, searching, for the source of the voice. It was warm and rich, strange, but familiar at the same time.
"Well, considering these are my personal chambers. Naturally, I am to be found here." A sterile bass voice resonated as the jaws of the central chamber hissed open.
"Vader." Luke hissed, the grotesque breath mask of his enemy rekindling a bone deep hatred for the man, no monster that took his father's life.
"Quite moody today I see..." The Dark Lord observed flatly, "You wonder why I have brought you here."
Realizing that wasn't a question, Luke clamped down on his tongue before he could say something to forfeit his life to the Sith.
"Yes."
"Hm..." The Supreme Commander seemed to be deep in thought before replying, "You mentioned earlier that you never knew your father, yes?"
Luke could only bring himself to nod stiffly, he couldn't trust himself to speak at this point.
"You know his name though, don't you?" Vader tipped his head innocently, as if in some macabre parody of a curious child.
"Yeah..." The rebel fidgeted nervously, he didn't like where this was going..
"Then you must know of our relationship."
What relationship could we possibly have?! You killed my father!
Is that what Obi Wan told you?
How... Luke's mind was sent reeling at the contact. It was the warm voice from before, so unlike the mechanical bass of his enemy.
You and I share a connection Luke.
Who are you? How do you know my name?
Should a parent not know the name of their own child?
"Your father was not felled by my hand young Skywalker. Anakin was a great hero and not a day goes by that I don't mourn him."
"Oh sure!" Luke scathingly shot back, "How did he die then? Why should I even believe a monster like you?!"
Is that what he sees me as? A monster?
Wounded by these harsh words, I draw back somewhat, pulling my presence away from the boy.
It is too soon to tell him... I was too impatient! Now I must build trust between us until the time is right.
"I knew your father very well, better than myself in most cases."
"Yeah, before you killed him!"
"How many times must I say it?!" He boomed, feeling his patience waning, "I was not responsible for his demise! It is because he disappeared, that I've become what you see before you now!"
A tense silence followed Vader's echoing declaration.
After a few moments Luke looked up into the soulless sockets of the Sith before him.
"Is that all you wanted me for? To pronounce your innocence in the matter?"
Vader shook his head, "I made a vow to your mother after Anakin vanished... To take care of you, to protect you. And with the Force as my witness, I intend to make good on that promise!"
Vader knew my mother as well?! Luke couldn't believe what he was hearing... Darth Vader, the man he hated most in all the galaxy, was not only innocent involving his father's death and mother's disappearance, but apparently cared deeply for them both!
Why would Ben have lied to me? First he tells me Vader betrayed and murdered my father. Then I'm told he is an inhuman machine incapable of feeling anything besides hate! What's the truth?!
"Search your feelings, you know this to be true." Vader resonated in his deep timbre and stepped out of the pod, his hand outstretched.
Trust him Luke, he means you no harm. If Vader is anything, he is a man of his word, and this is a promise he feared he had broken all those years ago.
Ben?
Yes, the voice replied, it was different from the first, more akin to the old man Luke had known in the desert.You must listen to Vader, for the fate of your father rests on the both of you. The Force has deemed it proper for you to find each other...
Relieved at the Jedi's confirmation, Luke could feel the bitterness and hate from earlier slough off to be replaced with peace in his decision. Tilting his head up, he met the towering Dark Lord's gaze once again.
"Alright, I believe you, but trust you? I don't think so, not fully anyway..."
"That's good enough for me." Vader reached out, as if to take him by the shoulder, before pausing, the silver hand pulling away.
"Tell me about my father will you?" The young Jedi pleaded, hoping that this enigma before him would answer him, "You say he was a great man, and I know next to nothing about him... Please."
I am stunned. Truly my son is the Light, only one so in tune with the Living Force, could've seen the truth in my words so quickly.
If only I could tell you the full nature of our relationship my son! I would bare my soul to you!
"I presume you know of your father's role as a Jedi based on your reaction through the Force upon seeing me," I begin quietly, although the vocabulator amplifies it to my typical commanding voice, "He and I began our life as slaves on none other than Tatooine."
I cannot help but remember the day Padme came into my life.
"Are you an Angel?"
The memory threatens to break my resolve to hold myself back until the time is right. To have him so close but unable to so much as lay a hand on him is already fracturing my shields. The Dark energy that once held me together beginning to dissipate, such as a morning fog does in the heat of the sun.
Managing to compose myself again, I continue my story.
"We lived with your grandmother, Shmi Skywalker, in the slave quarters of Mos Eisley. Together we spent our childhood working in a small junk shop for a Toydarian named Watto. He was a fair master, and only punished us if we ruined a business deal or stole some parts for our own use..."
This talking in third person is seriously twisted... If anyone knew the truth of the story, they'd probably have me institutionalized for acting like this.
"... One day, during the sandstorm season, Anakin and I were cleaning and sorting parts when she came in."
"She who?" Luke was puzzled... The Sith Lord had just sighed that last portion like a love smitten schoolboy!
"Your mother, Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala, came into the shop disguised as a handmaiden. And in the company of Qui Gon Jinn, the mentor to my future master Obi Wan Kenobi as well."
"Don't you mean 'our' future master? I thought you and my father were both taught under old Ben."
Oops...
"Ah yes-"
Suddenly the doors hissed open, only to reveal none other than my trusted mechanic. Sauntering in, he held a single data pad.
"Am I interrupting something important?" He tipped his head in inquiry.
"Does it look like it?!" I snatch the pad from his grip with the Force.
"Yeah, just a little bit maybe..." Clancy shot a glance at the barren prosthetics of his Supreme Commander, nervously eyeing the industrial sized pistons in the Dark Lord's limbs. He may be a skeptic about all this Force stuff, but he was fully aware of the crushing physical power of those particular cybernetics. "Hey Annakin, how's it going?"
"Fine I guess,"Luke replied with the slightest edge in his voice, "We were just having a civil conversation."
"Indeed," I flip on the data pad, skimming the condensed report, "Is there something you need to tell me mechanic?"
"I was just bringing you the report on Executor... Piett says she'll be done within the month!"
"Good." I wave him off, "Now see if you can get Angel back together. I will be along shortly."
"Alrighty boss!" Clancy spun around and trotted out the door, "Hope to see you two in a b-"
The last of his words were cut off suddenly as I slammed the doors behind him.