A stray piece of broken masonry flew through the space where Obi-wan stood, missing Luke by only 10 cm. Luke flinched, but held his ground.
"Two children," Vader roared at the ghost (the ghost?) of his former master, "You hid two of them from me. How could you, Kenobi?"
Kenobi's image dissipated for a few seconds, then reappeared, seated comfortable on a rather dilapidated chair in the corner.
"I'm sorry, Anakin," he said soothingly.
"Sorry?" Vader snarled, hurling another piece of rock at Kenobi's ghost, "Sorry?"
The rock passed through Obi-wan's ephemeral form, smashing the chair and breaking it into pieces.
Luke broke in to his father's tantrum, "Father, please! Please calm down."
Vader looked at his son, and felt an additional knife thrust of shame for his lack of self-control . A glance around showed that the hut was looking worse for wear after his Force frenzy, and he was thankful to see that Luke had not been injured.
He forced himself to rein in both his self-loathing and his anger at Kenobi. At the moment, he felt too much outrage to even question why Kenobi was here. He'd never heard of such a thing as coming back in non-corporeal form. But obviously his thoroughly infuriating former master had managed it.
He turned to the ghost, speaking with gritty calm, "It was bad enough you left my son to grow up on this pathetic, sandblasted, Force forsaken rock. But my daughter? How could you have allowed her to be involved in the Rebel Alliance? You must have known what could happen…"
He felt himself choking up. He was responsible for his own daughter's torture, and he knew it. He wanted to condemn Obi-wan, desperately wanted to convince himself that Kenobi was at fault, but he was to blame for his blindness. How had he missed Leia's Force presence? How could he have overlooked how much his daughter resembled Padme?
Kenobi's form stood up and walked closer. The visage was that of the old man, the one who had died on the Death Star, but through the lens of age were the familiar eyes and air of the man who had once been his closest friend.
"Anakin, Vader," he said gently, "I realize all of this is a tremendous shock. I also acknowledge that we put Leia in more danger than we realized by placing her with the Organas. I truly did not expect Bail to allow her to take such a public role in the Senate. It was, in my view, unwise, but I was not able to interfere."
"My father couldn't have stopped me if he'd wanted to," a new voice announced.
All turned to look at Princess Leia, who stepped out of the kitchen area with her Corellian following closely. Apparently the two of them had retreated to the kitchen for safety, but had not elected to flee the building.
She gave a cool, firm look at Vader, then looked at Obi-wan, "My father Bail did protest, but I was determined to do something with my life beyond dressing up for fancy parties and having my hair done. Did you really expect anything less from the daughter of Padme Amidala?"
Obi-wan approached her and looked straight into her eyes, "I should have expected no less, certainly. You are indeed your mother's daughter."
"Well, I'm glad to hear I take more after her than him," she said with a venomous glance at her biological father.
"Um, excuse me," Solo suddenly said, "But who are you talking to, Leia?"
His bewildered comment made Luke smile slightly, and Leia look contrite.
"I'm sorry, Han," she said with a fond look at the former pirate," Obi-wan Kenobi's Force ghost is here. I guess you can't see him?"
Solo looked at Luke, as if for confirmation, who nodded.
"As if you Force sensitives weren't weird enough," Solo grumbled, "Now we have to cope with ghosts?"
"I trust we won't have to cope with this particular ghost for long," Vader said angrily, "Get out of here, Kenobi. I have no desire to hear your excuses or platitudes for destroying my family."
Kenobi sighed and shook his ethereal head, "I'm afraid it isn't time for me to leave, Anakin. I've been trying to manifest since you arrived here, but only with the presence of both your children do I have the power to do so. And we do need to talk. Either now, or later, but I will not leave until you listen to me."
Vader's eyes widened. There were few things worse than the prospect of a determined Force ghost wandering around plaguing him until he agreed to talk.
He glanced at Luke, who was looking at Obi-wan affectionately. He could tell that his son certainly wanted to talk with the man who had been master to both of them.
He heaved a sigh, "Very well, Kenobi. Say what you will. I do not promise to stand around listening to it all."
Solo spoke up, "If this is going to be a long soliloquy by a guy I can't hear, I'd like a drink. Any chance I could break into your ship and find something alcoholic, Lord Vader?"
Luke chuckled, and Princess Leia tilted her head up to give Solo a quick kiss on the lips.
A sudden, horrible reality assaulted Vader - his daughter was in love with this vexatious pirate. He had of course observed their intimacy at Bespin, but it had been a moment of crisis. Rather like Geonosis…
Luke gestured towards the trap door into the underground cellar.
"There should be Corellian ale in there, Han. We stowed some down there in case we had to bring you back here after rescuing you from Jabba."
Solo disappeared through the hole, Kenobi moved to one side of the room, faced the assembled Skywalker clan, and began speaking.
"When you twins were born," he began, "Master Yoda and I were startled by how different your Force presences were, even as newborns. Luke, you were like a shining beacon in the Force, a star ready to go nova. Leia, while we didn't know the extent of your Force abilities, you naturally shielded right away. I suspect that Luke's Force sense covered you in the womb, which is why no one was aware your mother was carrying twins.
"That was the primary reason why we hid you here on Tatooine, Luke. We thought your father would almost certainly not return to the planet of his youth. I stayed here nearby, shielding you so that Palpatine would not sense the fluctuation you were causing in the Force, even then. It was merely a ripple when you were a child, but he might well have picked up on it.
"Leia," he turned to the princess, "One of the Force sensitives who evaded Order 66 was able to travel surreptitiously to Alderaan and spent a few critical days training you. You likely don't remember it. You were all of 3 years old."
Leia's brow furrowed, "I do have some vague memory, actually. She…it was a she, correct? A Togruta? We worked together while under one of the great trees at my mother's country estate. Though it felt more like play than work."
Vader froze. A Togruta? Possibly Ahsoka Tano?
Kenobi apparently picked up on his thoughts, because he gave his former padawan a warning look and said, "We can talk about her at a later time. But yes, she trained you, and I heard later that even at that young age, you were truly remarkable at shielding, better than anyone she had ever met. Apparently, you…"
He trailed away, apparently at a loss for words.
Luke chimed in, "..took to it like a dianoga to a garbage compactor."
Leia shot an irritated look at her twin, and said, "What a lovely simile for my truly remarkable ability, brother mine. "
Luke grinned at her, "Hey, just keeping those royal feet on the ground."
"We do take our varied responsibilities to you very seriously," Solo chimed in, who had climbed out of the cellar with a bottle of something pale blue in his hand.
Vader felt a sudden ache in his chest. He didn't know much about fatherhood, about being a parent, but how he wished he could have laughed with his children, teased them, been a part of their lives.
More brusquely than intended, he said, "Perhaps Kenobi can continue his monologue? I don't have all day."
Luke shot him a thoughtful look, then looked at Obi-wan.
Kenobi picked up his tale, now looking at Vader, "Anakin, Vader, whatever you choose to call yourself – based on your reaction to learning about Luke, I am willing to concede we may have erred. I truly thought you were completely lost, and Master Yoda did as well. And yet, from the moment you discovered that your son was alive, your presence in the Force began to shift, though it was so slight that we were inclined to discount it. Your wife, dear Padme, on her deathbed, said there was still good in you. It is obvious that she was right."
Vader wondered how many more emotional upheavals he could handle before he broke down sobbing. To hear about Padme was almost too much.
The rest of the hut, and its occupants, seemed to fade away.
"Obi-w…," he started to say, but his voice cracked such that vocoder spat out strange static.
He waited through 2 more breathing cycles, and tried again.
"Obi-wan, how did Padme die?"
He waited with near terror. He had 'known' for 20 years, then had cause to doubt the story he'd been told. But what had really happened to his precious wife?
Kenobi moved closer to him, with compassion in his eyes, "We don't really know, Anakin. The events of Mustafar were traumatic, both physically and emotionally. The birth was difficult. She had lost much of what she had to live for. Nevertheless, we don't know. The med-droids said there was no physical reason for her decline, but she died anyway, within minutes of Leia's birth. She lived long enough to name the babies and express her love and confidence in you."
Vader felt his prosthetic fingers dig into his hands. The feedback loops allowed for a facsimile of pain, and he was thankful as it kept him grounded. His precious Padme.
He had not killed her. His master had said his rage and anger had killed his angel. It had all been a lie, to keep him tethered to Sidious as his only focal point in a dreary and empty galaxy.
His vision opened up to include his children and Solo, and he noticed the twins staring at each other with questions in their eyes. He did not think he could talk about Mustafar with them. Not yet.
Changing the subject, he challenged, "You should never have let the twins step onto the galactic stage without the necessary facts of their heritage at their disposal."
Leia spoke up, "Much as it pains me to do so, I agree with Vader on this one, Obi-wan Kenobi. You should never have let Luke face Vader at Bespin without telling him. You should never have allowed the two of us to join the Alliance and work together without telling us! Fortunately, I had too much sense to fall in love with my own brother, but most women would agree that he is a great guy. Would you have interfered if our relationship had moved forward in an unhealthy way?"
Obi-wan had the grace to look severely abashed, "I will confess that aspect of the situation did not occur to us at all, Princess. During one of my last moments in my physical body, while I was fighting your father, I watched the two of you run for Solo's ship. I cannot express the joy I felt that you both escaped the Death Star alive. Beyond the reality that the Skywalker twins were safe, I was sadly shortsighted about possible negative developments in your relationship."
"Han was thankfully around to firmly cut me out," Luke said, again lightening the mood slightly.
His son then looked at him and said, "Father, I'm sure you and Ben could exchange barbs for some time, but I want to talk about the Force vision and Palpatine. We need to determine whether Leia's identity has been compromised."
Vader looked at his (newfound) daughter with concern. Luke was correct. This was of essential importance.
Kenobi spoke up, "Tell me about this Force vision, Luke."
Vader focused as his son described what had happened as they slept the previous night. His son's description of what had happened filled in the many gaps in his own memory. He wondered why he didn't have perfect recall of what had obviously been an important interaction with Luke. He would have to ponder that more later.
Kenobi interrupted his cogitations, "Leia, what was your experience during the vision?"
Leia looked thoughtful, "I didn't experience a vision at all. Han and I were on a speeder bike, headed in this direction, and I just focused on Luke's location like I did at Bespin. I suddenly felt a strange surge, a linking between us, and a peculiar swell in our bond. And then I felt Luke's joy when he realized I was nearby. I also sensed something heavy, something dark. An oppressive presence. After a few moments, it dissipated and Luke's Force presence changed in my mind. I guess that is when he woke up. That's all."
Solo spoke up, "Ah, that must have been when you started squeezing me around the waist like a Corellian Chanx Snake."
The princess smiled at him, "I guess I did. Thanks for not crashing."
Vader looked at Solo thoughtfully. He had to admit it was impressive that Solo was following this conversation without being able to hear Kenobi.
"So in your vision, your sister's face was not revealed until after the dragon disappeared?" Kenobi pressed.
Luke shook his head, "She was completely covered head to toe. Even her hands were covered with gloves, and she doesn't usually wear gloves."
Vader and Kenobi looked at one another in relief.
"She is safe then," Kenobi said firmly.
Vader clarified, "That is to say that Palpatine doesn't know her identity, Luke. No doubt your natural tendency to shield your sister helped keep her hidden. He will know of another Force sensitive who helped you, but he won't have any idea of her identity."
"Isn't that bad enough?" Solo asked.
Vader considered, then said, "It isn't ideal, but Palpatine will assume it is some other less powerful Force sensitive in a very large galaxy. He will continue to focus on my son."
Luke looked relieved, while his daughter looked perturbed.
Before she could comment, Solo spoke up.
"Listen, Vader, all this is interesting, but I want to know what you are doing here. If you are going into exile, then I suppose we might leave you alone. But if you are plotting a takeover of the Empire, than that is something that the Alliance High Command needs to know."
Vader stared at the pirate incredulously. Did Solo really believe he could demand to know a Sith Lord's plans for the galaxy? (Though he wasn't sure he was really a Sith Lord now. He knew he was shifting towards the light. He certainly wasn't a Jedi, but was he still a Sith Lord? More to ponder.)
The princess spoke up, "I agree with Han. I know that you and Luke have talked at length, but keep in mind we are completely in the dark about this. What are you doing here?"
Vader tilted his helmet toward his daughter. She lifted her chin in that characteristic gesture, and took a short step closer to him.
He reminded himself that she was his daughter. Their relationship was one of hostility and hatred because of his actions. For all that he wanted to preserve his own counsel, it would be in his own best interests to share his plans. He certainly would not harm Leia, nor could he keep Leia and Solo safely imprisoned without imprisoning Luke as well. Which was out of the question, not to mention impossible.
Reluctantly, he spoke, "I have been working with Luke to improve my suit for a confrontation with Palpatine. When I am ready, I will face him, and I will kill him."
Leia and Solo looked startled.
"You're really going to try to kill the Emperor?" Leia inquired, "After serving as his right hand man for more than twenty years?"
"Yes," he snarled suddenly, and began pacing up and down the narrow confines of the hut, "Yes, I served him loyally for more than twenty years. He lured me in, he deceived me by pretending to be my friend, he used my fears about your mother's well being…" he paused in pain, then resumed "…to draw me to the Dark Side. He told me that she had died with my child unborn. He has kept me in slavery for 24 years. It is time for it to end."
He turned towards his daughter, "And now that I know about you, I have twice the reason to destroy Palpatine. Neither you nor your brother are safe with Palpatine still alive. He lusts for power, and you both carry the Force power of the ages within you."
Leia looked amazed, then thoughtful, "Well, I can't argue with wanting to kill Palpatine. I assume you plan to use the Dark Side of the Force to defeat him?"
"Of course," he said dismissively, "A Sith Master such as Palpatine can only be destroyed with the power of the Dark Side."
"I disagree with that, Father," Luke spoke up, "I do not believe that the Dark is stronger than the Light."
"Luke is right," Kenobi said steadily, "And keep in mind that both Darth Maul and Count Dooku were destroyed by Jedi."
"I was the Jedi who killed Dooku," Vader responded, "And while you were unconscious at the time, I chose to kill him instead of imprison him while tapping into the Dark Side. So I believe the Dark Side assisted me."
"Let's talk about you, Father," his son said gently, "If you go to Coruscant, and challenge the Emperor, and kill him in the throes of anger and hatred, what happens then? Will you take his place? Will you rule as he did? Will you be able to step away from your desire to bring order to the galaxy through Dark Side means? If you follow that path, you will have no hope of developing any relationship with Leia, and our relationship will shatter. Is that what you want?"
Vader froze in shock. His son was right. The Dark Side was not something he could pick up and put down at will. To willfully dive into the dark, compulsive abyss of hatred and anger would pull his soul firmly towards the Dark again. He looked at his son. He had known that Luke was his child on Bespin, and yet he had battered him brutally and then hacked off his hand. His own son! At this moment, he shuddered with guilt over his cruelty. And yet, at the time, he had been so firmly entrenched in the lust for power and control that was part of the Dark Side that he maimed his son without significant regret .
If he destroyed Palpatine in that way, he would likely take up the mantle of Emperor and continue on a path that his children could not accept.
He sighed, and lowered his head, "You are right, my son. You are right. But I truly do not believe I can kill Palpatine using the Light."
Luke shook his head in fond exasperation, "You don't have to do it alone, Father! I will help, you know that."
"We have talked about this before," he responded sternly, "I will not permit you near Palpatine. The fight will be hard and difficult. It may be impossible. Not only is Palpatine strong, but Coruscant is his power base. He has many guards and the Imperial Palace, where he spends the vast majority of his time, is designed to protect him."
Solo looked incredulous, "And you plan to attack him there? That seems doomed to failure."
Vader lifted a hairless eyebrow, though of course the Corellian couldn't see it.
"It would be advantageous if he were elsewhere," he said patiently, "But Palpatine rarely leaves Coruscant and will be less inclined to do so knowing that I am now opposed to him."
There was a long pause, while his twins (his twins!) exchanged glances and Solo put a thoughtful arm around his daughter.
"Then we lure him out," Leia said suddenly.
"I do not understand," he responded. He didn't.
His daughter looked at him intently, "Palpatine knows you, Lord Vader. He will anticipate a certain course of action for you. But he doesn't know me or Luke well, and Han even less. I'm sure that if we work together we can come up with a plan that he won't expect, one that will provide a far higher chance of success. We might all even live through it."
He opened his mouth to protest, then closed it. He looked at Kenobi.
His old master seemed to sense his thoughts, because his mouth twisted into a slight grin, "Now you know what I felt like when you were my padawan, Anakin. Skywalkers aren't compliant, especially when someone they care about is involved."
Vader looked at his daughter in surprise. Did she care about him? A brief brush of the Force across her soul showed nothing. As usual, she was shielded. But…at the very least she didn't seem to strongly desire his death, though perhaps that was more on her brother's behalf than on his. Given his treatment of her and the men she loved, that was incredible enough.
"Very well," he said resignedly, "We will work together."