Tumblr Quote Prompts

Summary: Six unconnected ficlets that I wrote based on prompts people gave me over on my tumblr from a list of quotes.

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"She's hiding behind the sofa."AN: This is set the universe of my multi-chapter fic Runaway. You do not have to have read it to understand this fic. But some background information: suitless Vader rules the galaxy as Emperor and raises his son Luke.

"Luke," came his father's deep voice. It bordered on the Emperor voice. Which meant Emperor Darth Vader's patience was running out.

"Yeah, dad?" Luke called from his room. His door open. The fourteen year old hurried around his room pulling on the formal outfit that had been laid out for him for the dinner tonight.

"We will be late," Vader said as he stepped into the room. He glanced around at the mess. The bed sheets had been thrown to the side. Most of them were falling off the bed. The pillows were on the floor. Drawers had been opened with their contents flung out. Much of the carpet couldn't be seen. "What happened here?" Vader growled. "Is this why you are running behind?"

Luke didn't bother pausing. He rushed into his bedroom's refresher. He grabbed a comb and started to attempt to tame his hair.

"I uh . . . was looking for something," Luke said.

"And did you find it?" Vader said.

"No," Luke said.

"What is it that you have lost?"

Luke put the comb down on the sink and stepped back into the bedroom. Vader had his arms folded across his chest as he glared at the messy room.

"Uh just a thing," Luke said. He stepped over some clothing as headed towards the door, but he was stopped by his father. Vader grabbed Luke's shoulder. His grip was tight.

"What thing?" Vader demanded. Silence. Luke looked down on the floor. "Luke," Vader growled.

Luke's hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He meekly looked up. His father's eyes were still blue.

"Uh . . . It's just . . . a baby . . ."

Vader took in a sharp breath. "A baby what?"

"I found her at the Garden Palace! She's just a baby! She fell out of her tree. The other kids were poking her with sticks! So I uh . . . pick her up and stuffed her in pocket."

Vader just stared at his son for a moment. Then he closed his eyes. Luke could sense his father opening himself up to the Force.

"A baby mirromette," Vader said slowly. "She's hiding behind the sofa in the sitting room."

Luke ran out of the room, down the hall, and into the sitting room. He slowed down as he approached the sofa. He got down on his knees and lowered his head to the floor. And indeed there was a small fuzzy little creature with a big fluffy tail huddling under the couch.

Suddenly, it let out a terrified squeak. It started to slide forward, and Luke could feel his father's cold presence in the Force wrapped around the poor creature. It slid out from under the couch and floated into the air into Vader's opened gloved hand. Luke quickly go to his feet. The little mirromette was trembling in Vader's grasp.

"Don't hurt her," Luke said softly. He looked up at his father.

Vader looked down at his son. His son with his big blue eyes that pleaded mercy for a small helpless animal. Vader wanted to simply snap his fist closed and be done with this nonsense, but Luke . . . Luke would not take that well. So Vader marched out of the royal quarters. He turned to the first royal guard and handed them the creature.

"Have that taken to a rehabilitation facility," Vader grumbled.

Father and son watched the confused guard walk down the hall. Vader turned to look back at his son, who was smiling back up at him. Yes, not killing that animal was the better choice.

"No more animals," Vader said as he led Luke down the hall to the dinner. Though the Emperor wondered how well his son would listen to that direction. This incident marked the sixteenth time Luke had brought an animal into his quarters.

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"That's starting to get annoying."

Luke pressed the switch. Nothing. He moaned and let the lightsaber hilt clatter down onto the small wooden table. He propped his elbows on the table and buried his head into his hands. One flesh hand and one gloved hand.

This was hard. Even though he had Ben's instructions, he still felt like there was something missing. That there was more to building a lightsaber that Luke wasn't grasping. It didn't help when he heard a small laugh come from behind him.

"Can you stop that?" Luke grumbled as he turned around. "That's starting to get annoying."

Hunched over in the corner of Ben's basement was the huge lurking figure of Darth Vader. He sat on the floor. His black cape spread out around him. His legs stretched out. His hands were in front of him bound in a pair of thick metal binders. Force suppressant binders.

"Young one," Vader said. His voice loud in the small confined space. "You merely have to ask, and I will instruct you on how to build a lightsaber."

"No," Luke said at once as he turned back around and looked at Ben's journal. "I don't need your help."

"This marks your what? Fifth failed attempt? Aren't you tired of trying?"

"Do or do not. There is no try," Luke barked.

"Hmmm. So Yoda is still alive. He has been the one progressing your training. Where has that little goblin been hiding?"

"He's dead," Luke said bitterly.

"Did you kill him?"

"What?" Luke spun around. "No!"

"Shame," Vader said casually.

Luke glared at Vader then spun back around and looked pointedly at the journal. His thoughts were definitely not on his cyborg murder machine of a father. He started to take apart the lightsaber until all its parts were laid out on the table. He picked up the green crystal, the kyber crystal as Ben's journal called it. Supposedly the color of the crystal also marked the color of the blade. If Vader's lightsaber was red, was his crystal as well?

He resisted the urge to turn around and look at Vader. When Luke had landed at Ben's hut in his X-Wing, he had been surprised to find Vader waiting for him in the hut. His lightsaber was on the ground in front of him. His hands bound in the binders.

"What kind of trick is this?" Luke had demanded once he had assessed the situation.

"It is no trick, my son," Vader said calmly. "I am now your prisoner."

Luke huffed. He knew no binders could hold Vader.

"These are Force suppressant binders. I cannot access the Force while these are on me."

"You expect me to believe that?" Luke asked.

"Use the Force," Vader said. "What do you sense?"

Luke stood there for a moment before he finally closed his eyes and opened himself up to the Force. He reached out for Vader. He expected to find the harsh cold supernova that usually marked Vader's presence but there was . . . nothing. Luke gasped as he opened his eyes.

"As you can see, I am powerless," Vader said.

Luke unclipped Vader's lightsaber from his belt. He twisted it this way and that. He found it similar to his old one. The one that had been his father's . . . Anakin Skywalker . . . who was . . . Darth Vader. Had that man built both of the sabers? Luke placed it on the table. Maybe he could figure out how to build his own by taking apart Vader's. It was how he had learned to build other machines as a child.

But he quickly realized there weren't any tool marks. No screws. Nothing. He threw the saber onto to the table with a frustrated sigh. He paused as he waited for the next quip from Vader. Nothing. He turned around. Vader sat there unmoving. The only thing to mark he was alive was the sound of his breathing and the blinking lights on his chest plate.

Luke picked up Vader's saber and walked over. He sat down on the floor in front of him. He held out the saber in his gloved hand. He realized this was the weapon that had sliced off that very hand.

"Why?" Luke asked softly.

A mechanical breath. Silence. Another breath.

"Why?" Vader asked.

Luke looked up into the dark lenses. "Why did you fight me? Why did you . . ." He trailed off not wanting to finish that thought.

"Hurt you?" Vader finished.

"You knew," Luke said bitterly. "You knew I was your son and you still did it. How could you?"

"Because you are my son," Vader said. "My son who had been lied to. Who thought I was responsible for Anakin Skywalker's death. You weren't ready for the truth, which became clear when you let yourself drop into that reactor shaft. I wanted to end the duel. You were leaving me with little choices."

"Tch," Luke muttered sharply as he stared at the saber.

Suddenly, it rose out of his hand. Then it started to twist. Slowly, it came apart. It floated there in a neat line with all its parts spread out and the red crystal in the middle.

"What . . . how?" Luke asked as he looked beyond the saber to Vader. The binders were on the floor.

"You never did ask for the key," Vader said.

The lightsaber snapped back together. It floated back down into Luke's hand. Mechanical breathing filled the silence. Luke wasn't sure how long this silence had lasted when he finally looked up. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"Can you show me . . . how you did that?" Luke asked. His voice soft. He had barely heard his own words over the pounding in his ears.

There was a slight tilt in Vader's helmet. "Of course . . . my son," Vader said.

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"Welcome to fatherhood."

Darth Vader's hands were clasped tightly behind his back. He stood in front of large floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the cityscape of Coruscant. His large chair he usually meditated in was cold and unused. But it was his meditations that provided him his current unease. What he had discovered in the depths of the Force-

There was movement in the feed he projected in small screen in his helmet. He paused. He stilled, though his automated breathing continued. His hands tightened. He clenched his teeth. Had it been nothing? His eyes watched the screen intently. The seconds ticked by. A full minute. Nothing. He started to relax. It was nothing.

Then the feed picked up a sound. He instantly tensed up again. With a flick of the Force he turned off his respirator. Silence. His lungs started to burn and ache. He kept the respirator off. He tried to breathe on his own, but it was hard. He wasn't getting enough air. He was about to turn the switch, but then he heard it. A whimper.

He flicked the switch on. He didn't even pause to relish the forced oxygen. He had turned sharply on his heel and marched out of the room. His long steps quickly brought him down the hallway. He paused before he entered his destination. The door slid open and by then the whimper was now crying.

He wasted no time in walking over to the crib. He looked down to see a crying baby. The little hands were curled into fists. The limbs waved about. Vader leaned over and quickly scooped the baby out. He had yet to stop marveling at how small his son was. He could rest the whole baby in the crook of one arm. He walked over to the changing table and gently placed his son down.

He undid the snaps of the onsie and took off the soiled diaper. While he cleaned the little bottom, he still couldn't help but marvel at this child. This absolute miracle. One he had only known existed for a mere week. It was in his meditations that he had discovered this child had lived. His rage as he tore from Coruscant could not be sated until he had slaughtered and burned all who had held his child and had kept his baby away from him.

Sidious had understood the rage, had forgiven it, but wanted Vader to hand over the child. Vader couldn't care for a baby. He had far more important things to do. He was needed for the Empire. He was needed to hunt down the remaining Jedi. Vader agreed, but he would not compromise. Not on this. Sidious had reluctantly agreed. For now.

A stream of urine splashed against his mask and along his eye lenses. He looked down. The baby grabbed his foot and stuck his toes in his mouth. Vader slipped the baby out of the rest of his now ruined onesie. He put a fresh diaper and onesie on. He wiped down his mask. Then he picked the baby up and tucked him into the crook of his arm.

"Luke," he said. "What you have done . . . I have killed men, little one . . ."

The baby yawned and blinked his eyes a few times. Vader rocked the baby. This was what he was supposed to do, right? What she would have done, right? Luke's eyes soon fought to stay open. Vader slowly walked back to the crib and lowered the baby into it. His son was asleep the moment his head touched the mattress. Vader watched him for a moment. He looked at the fluffy blonde hair. The round chubby cheeks. The chest rising and falling.

He should go. He had reports of the Inquisitors to look over. Files to look over regarding where he thought fugitive Jedi might be hiding. Things he had been ignoring and were starting to pile up. He started to turn, but then he heard a whimper. He looked back at his son. Sound asleep. So he took a step over and looked down into the second crib. The second little baby's brown eyes were open. Her face was all twisted.

Vader didn't even wait for the crying to start. He scooped his daughter up and brought her to the changing table.

"At least you waited until I was done with your brother," Vader said softly. He started to change her. "And at least you won't urinate all over me."

He finished changing her, and like her brother, he tucked her into his arm and started to rock her. But she squirmed and whimpered. He repositioned her so she was upright against his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder. He gently patted her back. She let out a few burps. She must have been gassy. She burped again. This time she threw up all over his shoulder armor and cape. He would have sighed if he could.

He placed her back on the changing table and got out a new onesie on her. By then the baby was nodding off. He placed her in her crib. He watched her as he had her brother until finally he turned away from the cribs and the babies they held. He made his way back to his own personal rooms. It was cold and sterile. More of a mechanic shop mixed with a hospital. He undid his cloak and handed it to one of the droids that attended to him. He took off his armor and handed to another droid.

"Sir," said the droid. "We have not finished cleaning the other cape and armor yet."

Vader eyed a set of droids cleaning off more baby puke from the cape he had been wearing earlier today.

"Then get another droid," Vader growled. "Work faster."

"Yes, sir," the droid said.

He walked to his hyperbolic chamber and sat in it. The machine closed and his mask and helmet were removed. He became aware of the smell. The smell of babies. Of milk and powder. Of puke and urine and poop.

"Welcome to fatherhood," he muttered to himself in a raspy voice. His cracked lips slowly curved into a smile.

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"I feel like I can't breathe."

"Are you sure about this Skywalker?" asked Antilles over the com.

"I have to do something," the other responded.

"This is a trap," Antiless responded.

Skywalker gripped the steering yoke of his X-Wing tighter. "I know," he said. "But I can't let the Empire have its way with Han and Leia."

Especially Leia, but he didn't voice that. Their connection was a secret.

"No one else is near Bespin," Antilles said slowly.

Skywalker knew that. Especially after the disaster at Hoth. The Alliance fleet had scattered and put as much distance between them and the Empire. And that meant no one was close enough for backup. Alliance command had suggested he wait. But the visions he had on Dagobah . . . of Han and Leia in pain . . . He couldn't wait.

He had no trouble landing at Cloud City. R2, ever faithful, was there by his side. He stripped off his flight suit and walked into the city wearing his Alliance grey jumpsuit. His lightsaber was clipped to his belt, but he held a blaster at the ready.

Skywalker could sense him. Darth Vader. He was here. Skywalker gripped his blaster tighter. He knew he was walking into a trap, but it was one he was all too willing to walk in to. It was finally time to rid the galaxy of this Sith, this Vader. Oh, he had tried to kill Vader before. On Cymoon 1 and Vrogas Vas. But so far he had been unsuccessful.

But not this time, Skywalker said to himself as he followed the troopers that had taken Leia. Even she had warned him it was a trap.

He smiled when he was face to face with Vader. As the Sith walked down the stairs and ignited his red saber. Finally, the two fought. Skywalker was impressed with Vader's skill. Yet, the Sith didn't seem quite as grand as before. The way Imperial propaganda projected him, the way the Alliance whispered about him, even the few run-in's Skywalker had with him, he always seemed so much bigger. Larger than life.

But he was just a man, Skywalker realized. Not some monster. He was in fact smaller than Skywalker had thought he was. Vader was just a normal man. Just another Sith.

A man who could fight. Kriff. Perhaps Skywalker should have practiced his lightsaber with Yoda on Dagobah. The fight continued. He was flung out the window into the reactor shaft. The duel continued along the gantry, and Skywalker made a mistake which Vader took full advantage of. He stared in horror at his right arm which now ended in a stump.

Vader stood over him. His lightsaber pointed down at the Jedi.

"There is no escape," Vader said in his deep rumbling voice. "Don't make me destroy you." He deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. "Join me and with our combined strength can end this destructive conflict and bring peace to the galaxy."

"I'll never join you!" Skywalker said as he pressed his back against the broken railing.

"If only you knew the power of the Dark Side," Vader rumbled.

"Heh. I know enough," Skywalker said in a low voice.

Vader paused. There was a slight tilt in his helmet. Then his black gloved hands came up to the helmet. He slowly took it off and placed it on the ground. What game was this Sith playing at?

"Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your son," Vader said as his hands grabbed the mask and slowly it took it off.

"He told me enough," Skywalker hissed. "Sidious killed him."

Vader looked straight at Skywalker, who was surprised at how young he was. He was nothing more than a boy.

"No," came a wheezy voice. "I am your son."

Skywalker's mouth fell open. He stared at the pale face covered with faint scars. The short shorn dark blonde hair. The dark grey skin around the yellow eyes that were the same shape . . . And the mark on the cheek.

"No," Skywalker whispered. "No." It came out louder this time. "No! It can't be! That's impossible!"

His son . . . His little Luke had died . . . Oh Force . . . Everything spun and twisted and turned.

"Search your feelings," Vader said. Vader? Was he Vader? Or was he . . . "You know it to be true."

"No! No!" Anakin said as he leaned over. The wind snapped all around him. It was sucking the air right out of him. "I feel like . . . I can't breathe," he said to himself.

"Anakin. You can destroy the Emperor. You are the Chosen One," Vader- no Luke! said. "He has foreseen this. It is your destiny to bring balance to the Force. Join me. Together we can rule this galaxy as father and son!"

Anakin looked up at the boy. His boy. The one he thought had been buried with Padme.

"Join me," Luke said in a soft voice. A pleading voice. "It is the only way."

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"Don't give me that look."AN: This is set in my dragon AU.

Vader, the Sith dragon, looked down at his small golden scaled son.

"Bbbbbrrrreeeeeppppp," Luke squeaked out.

Vader sighed. Luke was five years old and still very small, especially in his dragon form. In another five years, Luke would hit his first big growth spurt. It was then that a dragon's internal flame was strong enough to start providing enough heat for themselves. Vader remember hitting his. By that time he had already joined the Jedi Order. He wasn't sure how his poor mother would have handled his ravenous hunger the growth spurt caused.

Luke squeaked again in an attempt to get his father's attention. The little dragon was laying on his back, though a bit off to the side as his back spines didn't allow for him to lay flat. Why Luke liked laying on his back so much, Vader did not know. But Luke's little tummy was up in the air. His tummy scales were a pale yellow compared to the vibrant gold of the rest of his scales. Luke was pawing gently at the air. The black of his eyes were big and round.

Do not give me that look, Vader said through the Force.

"Bereep!" Luke squeaked back.

The child hadn't taken to using human words very well though he did understand them. Why should he use hard human words when he could communicate telepathically through the Force? It was so much more intrinsic and easier. Instead of words, dragons communicated with mental images and colors. Along their shared bond, Luke was sending warm pinks and yellows along with an image of Vader himself. A large black dragon with golden eyes.

Luke was asking for attention. He wanted some loving. But if that was what he really wanted, Vader would have been happy to give it. But Luke wasn't as sneaky as he thought himself to be. In between the loving pinks and yellows were flashes of yellow-green with images of claws and teeth. What Luke really wanted was to play. He was trying to lure his father in under false pretenses and then attack.

Where had this little one learned to be so sneaky? It was not something Vader had ever taught him.

Luke squeaked again. He rocked over to his other side. His little feet still pawing at the air in front of him. He was putting on quite a good show of being cute. And Vader couldn't resist his cute son for too long. Luke was indeed quite devious for a five-year old.

He lowered head, and as he did so, he noticed Luke's eyes flash into slits. But then they rounded back out as Vader brought up one of his large feet and gently rub against Luke's belly with one of his knuckles. Luke closed his eyes contendely and let out a soft squeak. Pinks exploded along their bond as Luke enjoyed the attention.

But then the pinks faded away into yellow then into yellow-green. Luke opened his eyes. The blacks were slits. His little claws were out and all four of his feet grabbed on to Vader's foot and leg. At once Luke started chomping on Vader's toes and claws. Luckily he wasn't biting too hard. He was just playing. But it was uncomfortable. Dragon scales were very hard. Very few human weapons could penetrate the scales. Kyber crystal weapons were one of the few that could and so could dragon teeth and claws.

Vader wiggled his toes and tried to pull his foot free. Luke let out a loud squeak and clung on tightly to his father's leg. Vader brought his head down and gently pushed against Luke's head. Luke continued to chomp on one of Vader's toes. Vader started to lick his son's face. Luke stopped chewing on the toe and started to nip at Vader. His yellow-green emotions were peppered with red-oranges.

Luke did not want kisses or a bath right now. He wanted to play. And he went back to clawing and chewing on his father's foot. Vader used his snout to pin Luke down while he pulled his foot free. Luke's little feet tried to cling on, but couldn't. He pawed after the foot. Vader lifted his snout. At once Luke rolled over and jumped to his feet. He crouched as he looked at his father's leg.

Vader supposed his leg made a much easier target. It was something more Luke's size. Luke squeaked, lunged forward, and jumped on Vader's leg. Perhaps it was time to start teaching Luke to hunt. Vader had learned to hunt by himself while running around the Tatooine deserts and canyons. But there wasn't anything living in Mustafar. The fumes from the lava kept such things away. But it was perfect for dragons who were not affected by such things. The lava that heated tunnels and caverns made a perfect place to keep a little baby dragon warm and safe.

Sadly, it didn't do much in entertainment. Which meant Luke's only form of entertainment and play was his father. And thus the attack on Vader's leg. Vader let himself connect to the Force, the life magic of the earth, and pulled on Luke's little stubby tail. At once Luke let out a startled squeak. He jumped and spun around as if there was something else in this canvern to pull on his tail. He looked around and then up at his father. He stomped his little feet and let out an angry squeak while he sent dark oranges up at his father.

Vader pulled on the tail again.

Luke squeaked, jumped, and spun around. Then he glared up at Vader. The dark-oranges were now reds. Luke let out a few dissafied squeaks. He sent a few mental images of a golden tail. He didn't like his tail being pulled. But Vader pulled it again while he sent pale yellow-green emotions to Luke communicating to his child he was playing.

Luke growled. He curled up and caught his tail in his mouth. Then he looked back up at his father. Luke had grabbed his tail in an effort to keep it from being pulled. A deep rumbling laugh came out of Vader. Luke let out a long squeak as he was not pleased with being laughed at. That meant he let go of his tail, so Vader used the Force to pull on it again.

Bright reds were blasted at Vader. Luke huffed and growled at his father. Then he turned and jumped at Vader's tail. The little dragon tried to grab the tail with his small claws and legs and mouth, but Vader's tail was bigger than Luke. Despite that Luke managed to get ahold of one of the spine spikes that ran down Vader's spine and onto the tail. Luke was tugging on it, trying to get the entire tail to tug.

Vader smiled to himself. Perhaps he should start teaching Luke to use the Force soon now that he could understand human words. Vader still didn't know how dragons of old used to teach their young without human language. Perhaps the dragons had a language beyond colors and pictures.

Vader wrapped the Force around his own tail and pulled. He let out a large deep yelp. Luke jumped. His little wings flapped. He let go of Vader's tail. He looked up at his father. His eyes big and round. The illusion had paid off. Luke thought he had pulled his father's tail. He also thought he had hurt his father.

Luke bounded up to Vader's head. He rubbed against Vader's neck and then licked Vader's face. He sent dark blue-greens to him. He was sorry for hurting his father. Vader licked Luke back. Eventually the little dragon sat down and let himself be cleaned and loved on. His blue-greens eased into blues and then into content sleepy purples. Luke yawned and curled up against his father. Soon the little dragon was asleep while his father sent him dark pinks of love down to him.

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"Oh god, you're just like your dad."

Blaster bolts were being fired across the spaceport. Luke Skywalker jumped down from the upper walkway. He landed with a solid thud. His lightsaber was out as he deflected the blaster bolts. A stormtrooper ran at him. Luke ducked under the red bolts and slashed through the trooper with ease. He backed up and ducked behind a pile of metal crates.

"Come on," Leia said. "We've got the back exit secured."

Luke nodded and then ran to the back door, out the back of the spaceport, and on to the waiting Falcon. Once in hyperspace, Luke relaxed on the gravity couch in the hold. Leia sat on the other end.

"You know," she said, "when I saw you pull off that stunt I thought, 'Oh Force, he's just like his dad.'"

Luke sat up a little straighter.

"What . . . How . . . What does that mean?" Luke asked.

"I researched your father a bit," Leia said. "There isn't much. The Empire tried to erase everything about the Jedi. But there are a few things in the Alliance's records. Old recordings people kept in their personal collections. There's not much about your father. Mostly just the mention of the name Anakin Skywalker. But I did find one holonet broadcast. And showed Anakin Skywalker-"

"It showed him?" Luke asked as jumped to the edge of his seat. "You saw him?"

He couldn't help the pounding in his chest. There was a recording out there of his father? A million questions ran through his mind, but the one Luke kept coming back to was 'What did he look like?" Leia described the recording once then twice then a third time. The moment they were back on Home One, Leia pulled up the file from the archives.

"We have an update from the war," a human woman newscaster said.

The holograph shifted to a scene of a city that was clearly under attack. Large scorch marks littered the area. Droids marched by the camera. White troopers, they must be clone troopers, rushed by. Then a man jumped down into the middle street. He was dressed in dark tunic with armor shoulder. He held a lightsaber with a blue beam.

Luke leaned forward. He watched as the Jedi deflected bolts from the droids. He was tall and had long dark blonde hair. But Luke couldn't see his face too well. He was too far away from the camera. Plus the blue blade kept blocking the face. But it was him.

It was him!

It was his father! This was Anakin Skywalker!

After a few seconds of deflecting bolts, Anakin rushed off screen.

"As you can see," the newscaster said. "General and Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker, known as the Hero with No Fear, came to the aid with his troops in the city of . . ."

Luke leaned back and smiled. He rewound the recording and watched it again. And again. Leia eventually gave him a copy, and he brought it back to his bunk. He would pause and try to examine everything he could about the man in the recording. Was that really the same lightsaber Luke had now? That grey blur mostly hidden by Anakin's glove could be it.

He couldn't help but wish for a better picture. For a closer shot. For a snippet of his voice. This was his father. The man Luke had always wanted to know. Had dreamed and fantasized about and . . . and he was real. He knew his father was real. He had heard stories from other people about his father. But this . . . this was proof.

It was more than he had ever hoped for. Yet, it also left him hungering for more.

He watched the recording a lot. He had each second memorized. And beside his lightsaber, it was probably one of the best gifts he had ever been given.

But the galaxy was still at war. Luke couldn't spend all of his time watching the same thirty second clip over and over. He was sent on a mission out to the Wyl Sector at the end of the Hydian Way hyperspace lane. The Alliance was there to raid a few Imperial warehouses. Everything was going smoothly until Darth Vader arrived.

The dark lord plowed through the rebels. His red blade slashing through bolts and bodies. Nothing seemed to stop him. And he seemed to be coming straight towards Luke. The commanding Alliance officer called the retreat the moment Vader had stepped on the field. Luke was protecting the retreating rebel's flank as they ran through the warehouses and back to their ships.

Luke found an exterior door that opened up to a second floor balcony. He ran down a set of stairs that took him to the ground level. Luke rushed across the grass towards the ships. However, Vader burst through the door. His black cloak snapping in the wind. Luke could feel eyes on him. He stopped and turned around. Vader jumped over the balcony railing and landed on the ground without a flinch. The Rebels behind Luke had opened fire. Vader easily deflected them, and-

Luke's heart jumped to his throat.

The two memories overlapped each other. Anakin Skywalker jumping down from the building. Darth Vader jumping down from the balcony. Anakin's blue lightsaber deflecting the bolts. Vader deflecting the bolts.

"Oh Force," Luke whispered to himself. "He's just like my dad."