Darth Vader awoke with a start. He had sensed, once again, the familiar presence of his son. Luke! He thought. He had sensed, only about a month before, his son's light suddenly torn away from himself. He had been confused, after all, unless the Alliance wanted to incapacitate one of their best hopes for success, they wouldn't have been stupid enough to affect Luke's Force sensitivity. At the time of the incident, he had frozen in his place at the viewport, closed his eyes, and used every ounce of strength to cling to the boy's fading presence. He had failed.

He's back now, he told himself, he's here, and he's alive. For the first time he could remember, he felt genuinely glad for someone other than himself. He reached out in the Force to feel his son's mind. Luke seemed healthy and happy. Vader took a deep, calming breath. Luke was alive and healthy. That was all that mattered.

But it wasn't. Not really. He had heard Luke's mind cry out in alarm just before the boy had been snatched. There had been a shot of terrible despair which had left Vader stunned out of meditation, but still sitting stalk still, and then, a few minutes later, there had been a strange, confused happiness, which had moved Vader to action, to the bridge, where he'd been when Luke vanished.

Luke? he asked the boy's mind.

He was surprised to feel his son's senses opened to himself, and he heard the boy swear and the child's range of vision narrowed down as he reached up to grasp his head in his hands, as though he had a splitting headache. Then the moment of reality as his son was over, and he was standing back on the bridge.

What was that about? He wondered, reaching out to feel Luke's mind again, without letting him know of his presence. He couldn't sense anything that would cause a headache.

Luke, are you all right? he asked concernedly.

It was as though there was a sudden burst of static over from his helmet's audio receptors, but he could sense it was Luke. Vader felt a knot of worry form in his stomach. Luke had much better control over his abilities than to be suddenly giving out bursts of static!

Luke!

Luke gave him another burst of static, and it's meaning was clear, even if any words had been hidden. Luke needed to be wholly in his own body, not conversing mentally with someone all the way across the galaxy.

Vader resorted to sending his son a prickle of his worry, but Luke didn't answer it.

Vader swept away from the bridge. He needed to think, and he wanted to have his full consciousness available for his son when the boy was ready to speak with him. He was certain that there had been something wrong with Luke's reaction. Had his presence been hurting the boy? Had Luke developed some sort of sensitivity to his Force touch? He didn't think that could be the case, though, because Luke was streaming his emotions to his father freely, and apparently on purpose, and waiting for Vader to return the deed.

Vader let his son into his own emotions, and felt the boy's emotions leap.

It couldn't have been his presence, then. He clung to his son's presence as he continued to think, and allowed all of his son's feelings to slide through himself. What could have been wrong with the scene? Luke had doubled over at Vader's touch, but he had glimpsed the room. He'd seen the boy's princess asking desperately if he was all right, the Artoo unit beeping concern, the smuggler getting ready to catch him if he fell, all perfectly ordinary.

I saw more than that, he thought, but he tried to ignore the thought. He couldn't possibly have seen what he'd thought he saw. Anakin, a man who should still have been locked in the Clone Wars, had also been asking in alarm if Luke was alright.

No, Vader told himself, that's ridiculous. How could he possibly be here?

He carefully loosened his grip on his son's presence and tried to remember what his own presence would have felt like all that time ago. His love for Padme, his frustration with the council, his impatience. Trying to form the presence from memory, he tried to reach out to touch it. And there it was, shifting nervously, skirting even his probe, which he had thought impossible to feel. With reckless abandon, Vader shoved his way into Anakin's mind. As he had expected, feelings for Padme, at the council, and Obi-Wan occupied Anakin's mind, but none as loudly as his concern for Luke.

No! Vader thought, No! You can't have him! Leave my son alone! He violently threw Anakin's consciousness away from himself, clinging all the tighter to Luke. He felt the boy's emotions become of alarm, even fear, but he didn't let go. Luke was all he still had, the only person in the galaxy who had managed to look at Darth Vader, mass murderer, scourge of the galaxy, and feel love.

Luke's concern only seemed to be mounting, and Vader felt a terrible jealousness. That consternation was for Anakin, a man who already had everything Vader wanted.

Luke, leave him. He's an imposter! Vader lied. But, of course, it wasn't really a lie. There was no possible way that Anakin could have been there from another time entirely. There was simply no way. Someone was trying to get into Luke's life to hurt him. It was the only logical answer.

Luke gave such a shot of anger at Vader that he was startled. Luke didn't just feel emotions like that; he had listened to his training well. Could he really have hurt Anakin that much? Reaching out in the Force, he realized that he very well could have.

Luke, he sent, but Luke's answer was just a loud, frustrated static burst.

Just as Vader was about to call out to Luke again, demand his immediate proper response, an officer entered.

"Lord Vader," the man said, "The Emperor requests your immediate contact."

Vader spun to glare at the man. It was not a good time to interrupt him. Despite his best effort to be brave, the man shrank back.

Vader marched past him, towards his communications center. He hastily knelt on the transmitter, and turned on the device.

"You summoned me?" he asked, trying to be polite.

"Indeed, Lord Vader. I have sensed a disturbance in the Force," Palpatine said in his usual, painfully exaggerated rasp.

"I have felt it as well," Vader said, wishing his master would get to the point. It's been trying to yell at me for the last five minutes.

"I believe that we may have more Jedi in the galaxy than we previously suspected," Palpatine warned, just as Luke finally chose to answer Vader in full.

Father, how could you? I think you really hurt him! Obi-Wan said we need to get him a stim shot right away, or else he might fall into a coma!

Shut up, Luke, Vader snapped quickly, I'll deal with you when I'm ready.

"I believe your suspicion is correct," Vader answered.

Father! You can't just ignore me!

"We must tread carefully."

I'm not ignoring you! As I accepted that it was a bad time for you early, do the same for me!

"Yes, Master."

You didn't accept it! You started trying to kill, Luke's words faltered, To kill father!

The words had had their desired effect, and Vader found himself crushing the inner workings of the communications system. He hoped, absently, that his master had said everything he'd needed to say.

Luke Skywalker, Vader told his son reproachfully, I'm your father.

Well he's been doing a better job of it so far! Luke's mind shouted.

Vader grabbed his son's consciousness the way he frequently grabbed men's necks in order to snap them, Luke. You. Are. My. Son. He's nothing but a shadow of my past self. I don't know how you managed to bring him here, but he doesn't belong here. I don't know if it had anything to do with your disappearance for the last month, the course of which I've spent searching for you everywhere. Now you need to let go of your illusion of Anakin's presence and come to me. I'm your father, and it's with me that you belong!

I don't! Luke answered furiously, I belong here, with people who actually care for my wellbeing and that of each other!

I care for you! Do you honestly believe I have no reason to search for you besides wanting to train you? If you come to me willingly, I will allow your closest friends to live, I'll give you everything you've ever wanted!

No! That's a lie! No matter what I do, whether I come willingly or not, you'll always long to kill those I love! Now leave me alone, with my family!

Vader longed to fight against the words, to continue to cling to Luke, but he had felt that those words had not been calculated to harm, they had been Luke's true feelings, spoken without due thought.

I'll find him, Vader vowed to himself, I'll find him if I have to kill every imperial, rebel, and civilian in the galaxy. I'll find him, and bring him home, and protect him from his own delusions.

Sensing that Luke would never forgive him if he tried to contact him again too soon, Vader invited himself into Anakin's stunned mind, which did indeed seem liable to flicker out if Luke didn't manage to get him some stim soon.

Vader ignored and pushed aside Anakin's emotions of worry and fear at Luke's earlier migraine, still unaware of what had happened to himself. Where are you? Vader demanded of the stunned, slowly functioning brain, which answered him before it seemed to be aware of what it was doing.

Geonosis.

Vader smiled darkly and pulled back, away from Anakin. He had a base to visit.