Ficlet Collection 1
Summary: This is a collection of ficlets I originally posted on my tumblr I've been collecting over the last few months. Some of these are short. Some of them are a bit longer. There are all sorts of little fics in here. Serious ones. Crack ones. Almost all of these came from people providing me the first line or two as a prompt and then I would write the rest of it.
1.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Luke felt the color drain from his face as he was introduced to the other Jedi.
"Luke," Leia began. "This is Galen Marek."
There were . . . There were others?
"This is Ezra Bridger," Leia said as she casually waved at the second young man.
Pressure was building up behind his eyes. He blinked a few times to chase the tears away. He wouldn't get emotional.
"Then this is Kal Kestis and Cere Junda," Leia continued. This time she waved at the older man with the red hair and scars on his face and a small droid hanging on his back. A dark skin woman stood next to him.
"Of course you know Ahsoka," Leia said.
"Not officially a Jedi," Ahsoka said.
"You're not fooling anyone by saying that," Galen muttered.
"I . . . uh . . ." Luke said. "I don't . . ."
It was Ezra who walked up to him and placed a hand on Luke's shoulder. "You don't have to say anything," he said softly. "We understand. It's going to be fine. You're not alone."
Luke swallowed, smiled, and nodded. "Can you excuse me? For a moment?"
Ezra smiled and nodded and Luke quietly ducked out of the room. He dashed down the hall and into a quiet closet.
Father, Luke said as he reached out into the Force far more cautiously than he had ever before. Father?
Yes, Luke? came his father's response. Slowly the blue ghost of Anakin Skywalker appeared.
I met the Jedi. There are five of them.
Good. They will guide and train you well. More so than I can. With them, you can finally kill the Emperor.
2.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Luke grit his teeth. "Rumor has it," he said, "you killed my mother too."
"That is an interesting rumor," Darth Vader said. His voice was deep and penetrating. He clasped his hand behind his back and turned towards the large circular window that stood behind the throne. "Especially since it was never a rumor to begin with."
"What are you even talking about?" Luke snapped. He rubbed his hands where the binders had bitten into his skin. He briefly glanced down at them still laying open on the floor at his feet.
Vader had been quiet as he looked out the window. It was night outside and Luke could make out the twinkling lights of the skyscrapers of Imperial Center over Vader's shoulder.
"The number of people who actually know who your mother was is very limited," Vader said. "I don't even think your guardians on Tatooine knew who she was. And I was sure all who knew that secret," Vader turned around and faced Luke. His blue eyes piercing into him like shards of ice, "were dead. I am interested to know where you heard it from."
Luke swallowed and tried to get rid of the lump in his throat. Another long thick silence stretched across the throne room. Vader slowly walked down the steps and stopped directly in front of Luke. He towered over Luke and made him feel small and exposed.
"And you know the most interesting part?" Vader said. His voice was lower. Closer to a whisper. "Is that rumor is completely wrong." Luke glared up at Vader. "Isn't that right, my love?" Vader asked as he looked over his shoulder to look at his wife, Empress Amidala, who sat quiet and still on the throne.
3.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Finally, Darth Vader, Emperor of the Galaxy, walked into his home.
(This ficlet is set in my Runaway ficverse. Just know that Vader is the suitless Emperor and he is raising Luke.)
He was finally back home after his mission to Giltamor. Despite arriving at Coruscant hours ago, Vader had several pressing matters to attend to before he finally made it to his palace. To his son. Now it was well into the night. Vader's little toddler had long since been put to bed.
However, he still entered the nursery next to his bedroom. He looked down into the crib to see his baby fast asleep. He sighed. A smile tugged on his lips. He was tempted to scoop the baby into his arms but knew dealing with a cranky toddler was not for the best. So he left the nursery empty-handed and went into his own room. He showered and dressed for bed.
He had just started to doze off when he became aware of something off. There was a pressure. As he became more awake, he realized it was something in the Force. Like something tapping against a window. Then he heard the sounds. Soft sounds. Vader rolled over and could just see the blond hair poking out over the edge of the bed and small hands trying to grab at the bedsheets.
"Luke?" Vader called as he sat up.
"Dada! Dada!"
Vader leaned over. Indeed, his son was standing next to the bed trying to climb up. But he was too little to do so. His face was pulled into a pout as he kept trying to climb the bed.
"Dada! Dada up! Up! Dada!" Luke cried.
Vader raised his hand, and with it summoned the Force. He wrapped it gently around his son and raised the baby into the air. Luke wiggled. The moment he touched the bed, he crawled right over to his father. He wrapped his small arms around Vader's neck and buried his face into his shoulder. Vader couldn't help but smile as he wrapped his arms around his son. He kissed Luke's forehead. Luke quickly settled down and it wasn't long before the little boy was fast asleep.
Vader gently stroked the soft downy hair. A small smile was on his lips as he started to drift back to sleep. But then he suddenly snapped awake as a thought came to him. How did Luke get into my room? Vader thought. Luke had been in the nursery in his crib. A nanny droid stood active in the corner in case anything was needed during the night. He would have to ask the droid in the morning. For now, he let himself drift to sleep.
He awoke in the morning to a pool of drool on his bare chest. He regretted not sleeping in a nightshirt last night, but hadn't planned on Luke sleeping with him. There was also the smell. He had not missed that smell. Luke stirred. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Good morning, Luke," Vader said gently brushing the baby's hair from his face.
Luke blinked as he woke up.
"Smells like I have a poopy baby," Vader said as he sat up and got out of bed. Luke stood up and waddled to the side of the bed. His hands up in the familiar gesture of wanting to be held. Vader picked him up.
"No poopy," Luke said as Vader started to walk across the room to the door.
"Mmm, yes poopy. You are a poopy baby. I can smell it," Vader said.
"No poopy baby," Luke said. "Dada poopy."
"Dada knows how to use the potty. He is not poopy. Luke is poopy."
"No poopy!" Luke said as Vader entered the nursery.
He placed the toddler on the changing table. He opened up the diaper.
"Look at that," Vader said. "Poop! You are a poopy baby!"
Luke laughed. Vader finished changing him. Then he scooped his baby into his arms. He lightly tossed Luke into the air. Luke squealed in delight. Vader held Luke up so his tummy was against his mouth. He blew raspberries into Luke's stomach. The baby shrieked with laughter.
"Again! Again!" Luke cried.
Vader tossed him a few more times before bringing his son close to him and kissing him on the cheek.
"Ahh. There is my clean baby," he said. "No more poopy baby."
"All clean!" Luke said.
Vader held his son in his arms.
"Is it greedy of me to say I never want you to leave my arms?" he whispered.
He felt so whole holding his son. He felt . . . human. He had to take matters on Giltamor into his own hands. He brought his finest troops to the surface. Then he had proceeded to hunt down the rebels defying his Empire. There was something satisfying in the darkness that had consumed him as he devoured the death and fear. As he personally slayed an entire base of rebels. He had ordered his men to stay back. His frustrations of the incompetence of the Gilatmore government and being kept away from his son had only angered the beast.
But now that dark beast was completely tamed. Tamed by a small blue-eyed child who squirmed in his father's grasp. He was getting hungry and was tired of cuddling. Vader enjoyed the morning with his son. Every moment he wore a smile. He loved watching Luke. He loved Luke.
But eventually, he could no longer ignore the rest of the galaxy. There were pressing matters to attend to. There were those who had tried to use the Emperor's absence from Coruscant as a way to try and speak out against the Empire. Speak out against Vader. They needed to be dealt with. Vader got dressed. By then the human nanny had arrived. She smiled as she approached to come to take Luke, but Luke was having none of it.
His eyes went wide. He looked up at his father, and at once started to cry and scream. He waddled up to Vader and tightly clung to his leg.
"Dada! Dada! Dada! No! Dada!" Luke cried. "No go! Dada stay! Stay! Stay Dada! No! No! No!"
Vader sighed as he picked Luke up. Luke tightly clung to him.
"It's ok, Luke," Vader said softly. "I'll only be gone for a little bit this time."
That didn't soothe Luke at all. He still continued to cry and scream. Vader had to pry him off of him and pass the baby to the nanny. Luke wiggled in her grasp, trying to lean towards his father, his hands reached out for Vader and still begged his father to stay. It was with an aching heart Vader had to leave his son. He could feel Luke's unhappiness in the Force.
Of course, the day grew long. The more time Vader had to deal with the Senate, the more irritable he got. It was of no surprise that he had strangled two senators to death by the end of it. Once again he returned home well into the night. He found himself standing in the dark nursery staring down at the crib and his sleeping son. He was about to go back to his room when he recalled the incident from the night before.
He walked over to the nanny droid. He made sure it was in working order. He even checked the crib. Everything was sound. Vader made his way to his room, undressed, and climbed into bed. He hadn't been asleep for long when he heard the soft pleas.
"Dada! Dada up! Up! Up!"
Vader moaned as he sat up. Luke again was at the edge of his bed trying to climb up. Vader rolled out of bed and picked his son up. Luke happily cuddled against his father.
"Now how did you get here?" Vader muttered as he walked back to the nursery. "Droid," he barked.
"Yes, your majesty?" the nanny droid said in a feminine voice.
"Where is the baby?" Vader asked.
"The baby is in your arms, sir."
Vader sighed. "Where was the baby a minute ago?"
"The baby was with you," the droid said.
"And how did it get with me?" Vader growled. "How did Luke get out of his crib into my room?"
The droid said nothing. Only stared ahead unmoving. Vader growled. He ordered the droid off. In the morning he would have it sent to be looked at. Perhaps the thing had malfunctioned. He carried Luke back to his bed. The two settled down and Luke happily fell asleep on his father's chest again. However, sleep did not come as easily to Vader. His mind was turning over and over.
How did Luke get out? There was no way he could have climbed out. Surely the droid would have stopped him. Was it . . . was it the Force? Had Luke used the Force somehow?
A cold fear washed through him. If it was the Force . . . If Luke was using the Force . . . All the gods in the galaxy help him. How in the Force was he going to manage his son if that was true?
4.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
"So, are you guys, like, literal telepathic twins?"
The girl, Leia, laughed. A full hearty laugh where she threw her head back and her body shook. "Something like that," she said when the laughter died down. Her gold eyes sparkled. "You going to play?"
Han looked down at his cards. They were facing down, but he knew what he held. He glanced over at Leia and then at her twin brother, a kid named Luke. These two kids with their fresh faces were playing him. They were playing him good. Han had tried to look for their tells. Tried to see how they were communicating with each other, because it was obvious they knew when to fold or push their bet. Because Han was losing, and losing hard. And after his last losing hand, he knew these two were somehow talking to each other.
"Going to fold, Solo?" Luke asked. His gold eyes flicked down to Han's cards. Could the kid . . . know what Han's cards were? If he could read his sister's thoughts, could he read Han's?
"No," Han grumbled. He avoided the smile on the kid's face after that last thought as if it was confirming Han's own fears. Han flipped over his cards showing his good play, but it still wasn't good enough to beat these two demon siblings. Leia flipped hers over revealing a winning hand.
"I believe that makes me the winner, Solo," she said. "Now then will you please go set our course?"
Han slammed his hands down on the table and pushed himself up. "Fine!" he grumbled. "We're going to die. I hope you two know that. That planet is way too close to that black hole. It's unstable." The twins only smiled up at him as he stomped off to the cockpit.
As the quiet settled around them, Leia grabbed her brother's hand. "Don't worry," she said. "We'll find him. Wherever Sidious imprisoned our father, we'll find him."
"And then we finally kill Sidious," Luke said squeezing his sister's hand. "All of us. Together."
5.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Luke had never imagined he would be purposely trying to get caught by Darth Vader.
But here he was on Toprawa trying to get the attention of the Imperials. Toprawa had a heavy presence of Imperial military, which hopefully meant word would quickly reach Vader of a young man wielding a blue lightsaber freeing Toprawan citizens from labor camps. For once, Luke hoped Vader would quickly arrive as he oftentimes did of late the moment he knew of Luke's location.
For now, Luke was huddled in a thick grove of trees. A light rain had come through the area earlier. Heavy drops fell to the ground and splashed against Luke. He huddled in his rain poncho. Through the leaves, he could see the city. It stretched along a large river. Large landing pads were built over the water. He watched as an Imperial shuttle came through the grey clouds and landed on one such landing pad.
Finally, Luke thought to himself.
He could feel Vader. A cold supernova in the Force. Icy tendrils lashed out from the center searching for Luke. Luke sighed as he stood up. His body was a bit stiff from being crouched for so long. He stretched. His heart was tight in his chest. He could feel it beating. There was a lump in his throat. A sinking feeling in his gut. Then for just a brief moment, he let his shields slip.
The darkness flared. At once it's attention was on Luke, who slammed his shields up tight. Luke moved out of the trees and along the outskirts of the city. He made his way to a building he had found the first day he was on Toprawa. It was an old abandoned store. The windows were shut with metal sheets, and the inside was mostly barren. A perfect place to lure Vader.
It didn't take long for Vader to sniff him out. The metal screeched as Vader used the Force to pry open a metal sheet. The glass of the window had long since been shattered. Vader stepped through; his heavy boots crunched against the glass that littered the floor. He was thankfully alone. Or at the very least, had entered the store alone. Luke wondered how many stormtroopers were circling the building with their blasters up, ready and set to stun.
Vader walked halfway across the empty store before stopping. Luke sat on a counter on the far wall. A silence fell between that was filled with the even breathing from Vader's respirator.
"What is the meaning of this, young one?" Vader asked.
Luke tried to swallow, but the lump in his throat made it painful.
"Mean- meaning?" Luke said. His words coming out uneven.
Vader took a step forward. "You are not attempting to run away," he pointed out. "In fact, it appears as if you are purposely luring me here."
Luke smiled. "Heh, good guess," he said.
There was a slight tilt in Vader's helmet. "So you have accepted the truth," he said slowly in his deep voice.
"That you're my father?" Luke asked quickly. "That you're Anakin Skywalker?"
"That name no longer has any meaning to me," Vader said pointing a finger at Luke.
"Yes it does," Luke said. "Or else Luke Skywalker wouldn't mean anything to you."
Vader took another two steps forward. The gap between them was gradually closing. The hairs on the back of Luke's neck stood on end. Everything in him was telling him to run, but he stayed.
"It's the name of your true self," Luke continued. "You've only forgotten. I know there is good in you. The Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully. That is why you couldn't destroy me."
Vader took another two steps closer to Luke. "Is this why you have revealed yourself?" he asked.
"I . . . I wanted to talk to you," Luke said. "I want you to come with me."
Luke held his hand out. Vader looked at it.
"You do not know the power of the Dark Side, Luke. I must obey my master," Vader said.
"I will not turn," Luke said defiantly as he lowered his hand. "And you'll be forced to kill me."
"If that is your destiny."
"Search your feelings, Father. You can't do this. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate," Luke pleaded.
"It is too late for me, son," Vader said. "The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force."
"Ugh, yeah I know," Luke muttered.
Vader stilled. His helmet ever so slightly tilted. It was not the response he had been expecting.
Luke took a deep breath. "You're going to take me the Emperor," Luke said slowly and as calmly as he could. "And then . . . he's going to kill you . . ."
Silence. Stillness. Even Vader's breathing seemed to have stopped. Had he heard him?
"You're . . . you're going to die," Luke said.
Vader suddenly straightened up. He stepped forward and closed the gap between them. He now stood only an arm's length away. He was close enough to grab Luke.
"What makes you say that?" Vader said. His voice was loud. Luke flinched at the sound.
"I saw it," Luke said in a soft voice. "In a dream . . ."
"A dream?"
"Listen, I swear I'm not crazy! But I keep having this same dream over and over again. We're in this dark throne room and I stand next to the Emperor as he shoots lightning out of his hand and kills you. He said it's because you're not needed any more since he has me . . ."
Again there was the silence. Luke looked down. This was stupid. Foolish. Why had he done this? Vader was . . . Vader. Any moment now he was going to reach out and grab Luke and drag him back to his shuttle and take him to the Emperor and the dream was going to play out in real life.
"A dream?" Vader said. "A dream you keep having over and over?"
"You don't believe me," Luke said avoiding looking at his father.
A large leather-gloved hand grabbed his chin. It was firm. It moved Luke's head so Luke had to look into the black mask of Vader.
"It is not just a dream, my son," Vader said.
"You . . . you believe me?"
"Yes. I do."
The large hand slowly fell from Luke's face. Luke just stared at the dark lenses, but he knew he was making eye contact with his father. The way Vader had spoken those last words . . . They were heavy. There was something in them. A weight Luke didn't know of. A past experience? The Force?
"Now what?" Luke whispered as he hoped they were going to avoid the events of that dream.
6.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Luke woke up to another day of fixing vaporators, oh joy.
Not like there was anything else to do on this blasted planet anyway. Plus they needed the water to, you know, survive. At least, he did. Luke walked through the sandy homestead. Most of it was underground to escape the heat of the horrible two suns that were already starting to bake the desert above. He stomped into the garage not hiding his discontent or annoyance.
He quickly spotted his father. The large black and armor-clad cyborg sat on the ground leaning against the sandstone wall. The only indication he was alive was the steady hiss of the respirator and the blinking lights on the control panel on his life support suit. Luke wasn't even sure if he had moved since he had last seen him some hours ago.
"Father," Luke said as he marched over and stopped right next to the black leather boots. "Father."
Luke kicked the boot. It was hard and heavy and barely moved. But it did cause Luke's father to ever so slightly tilt his helmet up so the black lenses in his mask were pointed at Luke.
"When will you be done sulking?"
Kish-kosh. Kish-kosh.
"Ugh!" Luke shouted. He was about to turn around and march out into the desert and take out his anger on a vaporator. Preferably with a lightsaber instead of hydrospanner.
"I am not sulking," came the deep rumble of his father's voice. It caused Luke to freeze. After the shock of hearing his father's voice receded, Luke slowly turned to face him. The helmet was titled up a bit higher. He was clearly looking at Luke.
"If you're not sulking," Luke said slowly, "then get up and we can return to Imperial Center."
Kish-kosh. Kish-kosh. Kish-kosh.
"Father!" Luke said. "I didn't kill Sidious for you to hide out on some backwater Force forsaken planet! You have to claim the throne before the opposition does!'
"I am aware. That was the plan all along."
"Wait," Luke said. "You want a Republic Loyalist to get the throne?"
"I want your mother or sister to get it," Vader said.
Luke's entire body went slack. His bulged out and his mouth fell open. "Wh- what?! My . . . my mother? My sister? When were you going to tell me this?"
"I suppose now would be a good time."
7.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Anakin Skywalker, bloodied and sprawled on the floor, watched the black-clad Sith take his children back through the strange portal while he screamed his throat raw at the creature to give them back.
The screams didn't phase Darth Vader. What had this Anakin Skywalker done to deserve this life? Even if Padme was dead in this alternate universe, Skywalker still had his health and his children. He hadn't fallen to the Dark Side. He still had so much, and it angered Vader. Vader had given everything, every part of him away and he got nothing.
No more.
He would get what was rightfully his even if he had to bend time and space to steal it from those less deserving.
The two small children in his arms were thrashing and screaming for their daddy. Vader only tightened his hold on them. They were soon back in the basement of Vader's castle on Mustafar. The children grew quiet as the portal closed. Vader only lingered a small moment to make sure it was fully gone before he walked down the long hallway to the turbolift. By now the children were still and quietly sobbing.
He brought them to the room he had prepared for them and placed them down on a small sofa. It was the girl, with some much fire in her, fire just like his, who jumped right back up.
"Take us back!" she demanded. "Take us back to our daddy!"
"I am your father," Vader said.
"No you're not!" the girl said placing her hands on her hips. Leia. Her name was Leia.
"In time you will come to accept the truth, young one," Vader said as he turned sharply on his heels leaving the children alone.
As soon as the door closed he heard banging and shouting behind it. He returned several hours later and found the twins curled up in the same small bed tightly hugging each other. Tears stained their puffy cheeks. They were still young. They would learn. Learn their place in this time. Learn to accept him as their father. (Learn to possibly love him.) Despite the lava boiling outside, Vader placed an extra blanket over them.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Five years later Vader stood over the cooling corpse of Emperor Palpatine. The fool hadn't seen the attack coming. He didn't think the children were powerful enough to bring him down. He was wrong. The twins were strong. Stronger than Vader when they worked together. They stood side by side at the dead Sith's feet. Their gold eyes watching their father intently.
"You two have done well," Vader said.
But then their eyes were drawn away from him. Vader turned and watched as something seemed to tear through time and space. Slowly a glowing circle appeared. It was a portal. A doorway to another dimension. A man stepped out with long hair tied back in a loose ponytail. His gold eyes flicked to Luke and Leia and then settled on Vader. He pulled out an all-too-familiar lightsaber hilt and ignited it. Instead of a blue blade, a red blade hissed out.
"I'm here for my children," Anakin Skywalker said as he pointed his lightsaber at Darth Vader.
8.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
He thought the Death Star plans were the only thing the droid was hiding. He was wrong.
Vader looked at the blue and white astrodroid very carefully. He knew this droid. He knew this droid very well. He was surprised it was still functioning and hadn't been melted down for scrap over the years. How had this droid found its way into the hands of Princess Leia and the Rebellion? And then ended up being the one to have the Death Star plans? R2-D2 certainly knew how to get himself into trouble.
And the trouble went deeper than that. R2 wasn't the only droid still functioning. Vader watched the holographic memories and saw a gold protocol droid. C-3PO. He had given C-3PO to her just as she had given R2 to him. He had them on . . . Mustafar. Thinking of that specific place at that specific time only brought up a wave of hot rage and grief. Why wasn't he surprised? Obi-Wan had stolen everything from him that day. Why not his droids?
Vader watched as that very man showed up in the memory holograms. Obi-Wan had just saved the foolish farm boy who had bought the droids. They had just made it back to some dirty hovel.
"You fought in the Clone Wars?" the boy Luke asked.
"Yes, I was once a Jedi Knight the same as your father," old Obi-Wan replied.
That was interesting. This boy was the son of a Jedi Knight? Which one? Jedi knights weren't supposed to have children. Was it one that had escaped like Obi-Wan and had tried to make a new life?
"I wish I'd known him," the boy said wistfully.
Obi-Wan continued to ramble on and produced a lightsaber hilt from a trunk. Vader leaned closer towards the hologram. Was that . . . It couldn't be . . . Was that his lightsaber? The one Obi-Wan had taken on the black rocky shores of the lava river while he watched Vader burn? And he had given it to this child? Black and fierce rage was thrashing inside of him and it sang to the Dark Side. The Dark Side was calling back to it. It wanted that rage. Rage that would make it stronger. Rage and power that Vader wanted to release, but he held it in as he watched the memory continue.
"What is it?" the boy asked.
"Your father's lightsaber. This is the weapon . . ."
The words rang in Vader's mind over and over and over again.
Your father's lightsaber. Your father's lightsaber. Your father. Father. Father. Father.
The Force swirled around him. It hummed and danced around that word. That one singular word. Father.
If that was the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker, who was the father of that boy . . . He paused the holographic memory and took a close look at this Luke. At his small form (hers), the shape of his chin (his), his round eyes (hers), the shade of blue (his), the small marks on the cheek (hers) and the golden hair (his). Vader leaned back and looked down at the droid. It appeared it held a secret much more valuable than the Death Star, and Vader was going to find every single byte of information this droid had about it.
9.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Ahsoka and Vader looked between each other, separated only by the thick glass of the bacta tank.
Vader clasped his hands behind his back as he started a slow circle around the tank. He could feel her eyes watching him as well as her anger. He smiled behind his mask.
"You are cut off from the Force," he explained.
Not that she could have done much with her body in that state. He had made it back to the front of the tank. He stood directly in front of her again. Why had he spared her? He should have cut her down, but he had hesitated. Her eyes had lost their anger. Instead, they seemed softer as if she was pleading . . . Pleading what? He was not weak. He would not fall for whatever trick she was trying to pull.
"We have a lot to discuss," Vader said slowly. "Where are the remaining Jedi hiding? Where is Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
She flinched at the mention of that name. Perhaps she did know where that old coward was. But even that wasn't the information Vader really wanted to know. He stepped closer so his face hovered right above the glass. They were now staring at each other eye to eye.
"I am most interested in hearing about your new padawan," he said slowly. "Tell me, how is my son doing?"
(I think this ficlet would tie in well to my one-shot where Luke is raised by the three clone commanders and then joins the crew of the Ghost.)
10.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Luke looked up with fear etched into his face as the red lightsaber drew closer.
He was still drenched in sweat. His hand . . . his only hand gripped the edge of the bunk tight. His body was tired and sore from the duel. He was trembling not just in fear but in exhaustion. He wasn't winning this fight and there was no way out this time.
Luke looked beyond the tip of the saber to the man who held the blade steady. Darth Vader stood in the Falcon's crew quarters. The sound of his respirator filled up the small space. The red beam suddenly disappeared with the sound of a hiss. Vader clipped his saber to his belt then took two steps forward. He now stood next to the bunk and towered above Luke.
"You have nowhere else to go . . . my son," Vader said.
A short silence passed between them but it was heavy with tension. It felt longer than it actually was.
"It is your destiny," Vader continued.
"And this was your destiny?" Luke barked back. He wasn't sure when the bitterness and courage had risen in him. "To live in that suit? To destroy the Republic? The Jedi? To-"
Vader cut him off. "My destiny was to bring balance to the Force," he snapped. His voice was loud and harsh.
"And have you?"
Luke could show how much of his father he had in him. He was equally stubborn. Silence stretched between them again. This time it was thicker and filled an uncomfortable cold tension as if at any moment the sound of thunder would be heard and lightning would spark. Vader's hand rose up and he pointed a finger at his son.
"With you at my side, I finally can," he declared.
Vader's hand lashed out and grabbed Luke's arm. Luke yelped in pain.
"The galaxy can be made right," Vader said as he pulled Luke off the bed and started to drag him through the ship towards the loading ramp.
Luke's thoughts were tumbling one over another. Was there a way out of this? A way to make things right? Luke looked up at his . . . his father . . . Was it possible? To bring balance to the Force? To make the galaxy right? What if that was Anakin Skywalker's purpose? And he had just lost his way?
What had Vader just said? It was Luke's destiny to be by Vader's side? To right the galaxy? Could he do that?
11.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
"They're not your kids!" the deep voice bellowed. "Back off!"
The crowd started to part as a large black . . . droid? Man? Stormed towards the two crying children. Six stormtroopers were trailing behind him at a brisk pace as if trying to keep up with the man. The man finally reached the children. He stood right next to them. Towering over them. Their faces were red and covered in tears and snot.
"Da- daddy!" the little blond hair boy cried.
Whispers started to circle around the group of onlookers and the name Vader was repeated. One or two, perhaps the smartest out of the bunch, had instantly turned their backs and scurried away from the scene. But the majority still watched, even if they took a few steps back.
Slowly, Darth Vader lowered himself down to one knee. What was he going to do to these poor children?
"Luke," Vader said. His voice deep and distinctive. Though it wasn't as loud as earlier, it still carried across the crowd. Perhaps because everyone had gone still and quiet. "Leia."
The little girl crawled over to Vader. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. The little boy soon joined the girl and hugged . . . hugged Vader. Darth Vader. Who surprisingly wrapped his large arms around both children.
"What happened?" Vader asked. His voice soft. If such a thing was possible.
The children pulled away. The little boy wiped his snotty face with his sleeve. The little girl's hand snapped out and pointed. Everyone's head in the crowd, including the troopers and Vader, all followed the hand.
"They said we were too little to race!" the girl said. Her hand pointed at a group of youths several yards down the road, who were completely absorbed in themselves to notice the scene with the children. "When I said we would beat them, they pushed me!"
"Then I pushed them!" the boy said. "But they pushed back . . . I've got an owie, Daddy. It hurts."
Vader stood up. His hands balled into fists. The leather of his gloves creaked.
"I see," he said. His voice no longer soft, but sharp and steely. Without another word or glance at the children, he marched towards the youths.
12.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Luke stared with wide eyes at the rising smoke coming from the crash near Beggar's Canyon.
He steered his speeder towards it. He had seen the small ship streak across the sky. No doubt any sand people in the area had also seen it. Luke hoped he got there first. Luckily, he knew this canyon. He knew each curve and branch. Even as he turned down a branch of tunnels and rocky walls he had never been down, he still seemed to know it. As if he had flown through here a hundred times. He knew when to slow down as a sharp curve approached. He knew when to speed up.
The canyon grew wide and Luke saw the crashed ship. Black smoke billowed from it. Before the speeder was off, Luke was jumping out and running across the cold sand to the crash.
"Hello?" he shouted.
There was the sound of frantic beeping. A droid? Luke cautiously approached the crash. A sheet of metal was suddenly knocked over and a black and orange droid with two arm-like extensions coming out of its top rolled out of the wreckage. It either ignored Luke or hadn't seen him. The droid was too focused on the ship. It was trying to get a door open.
"Let me help," Luke said as he ran over and grabbed the hot metal. He bit back a yelp of pain as he grabbed and yanked.
The door slid open with a loud screech. A person stumbled out coughing and hacking. Luke grabbed and dragged them away from the smoke with the droid beeping angrily behind them.
"I'm alright, Chop," the person said.
Luke let them go and finally got a good look at who he had saved. It was a human kid about his age. He had tan skin and short dark blue hair. He had two scars on his cheek that looked like slash or claw marks.
"We shouldn't linger here," Luke said looking up at the canyon walls. "Your crash probably caught a lot of attention. And not the good type."
"Heh, probably," the kid said.
Luke offered him his hand, the kid took it, and Luke yanked him up. Once all three were loaded up into the speeder, Luke asked, "What happened?"
"Ran into some trouble," the kid mumbled. The droid angrily beeped. "I had it under control, Chopper," The droid let out some angry warbles. "I did until we crashed!" The kid sighed. "I'm Ezra. Thanks for saving me."
"I'm Luke. Is there anywhere I can take you? It's getting dark soon. Perhaps you could spend the night at my uncle's farm."
"I'm actually here to look for someone by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ever heard of him?"
"Obi-Wan? No. But I do know of an old man Ben Kenobi. He doesn't live far from here actually."
"Think we could go visit him? Maybe he's a relative of Obi-Wan."
Luke nodded and steered his speeder towards the Jungland Wastes.
13.
~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~-o-~
Vader watched as the young Skywalker was crouched near Kenobi's body. Kenobi's life force was fading from the fatal blow struck to him. The small boy was sobbing and begging for his father to not leave him just yet.
"This is most pathetic," Vader grumbled.
And infuriating. When had Kenobi forsaken the Code and sired a child? Why did he have a child when Vader's child was dead? Why did Kenobi have what Vader should have had? Especially when it was Kenobi's fault that Vader had lost his wife, lost his child, and lost his health! It was his fault he had lost everything!
Perhaps if he was fast enough, he could kill this child before Kenobi died. At least in his last moments alive, the foolish Jedi would finally feel a fraction of Vader's grief and anguish. Vader marched forward while he tightened his grip on his saber. He raised it up, ready to swing down at the blubbering child. Vader would relish in the silence the boy's death brought.
But just at the moment that Vader was to swing down his blade, there was a shift in the Force. One he had never felt before. He watched as Kenobi's body . . . faded away. His robes simply sagged to the ground. The body was gone. The boy let out a wail and grabbed at the clothes and hugged them to his chest.
"Fath- father!" he cried out.
What had happened? Where had Kenobi gone? How had he just vanished? There was a slight tilt to Vader's helmet as he considered the child. Did this boy know? Should he keep him alive a little bit longer to get his answers? Or did it matter? Kenobi was dead. Vader could sense that. He should just kill the child and be done with this. Again his muscles tensed as he readied to deliver the killing blow.
Anakin.
Vader growled in frustration. It was Kenobi's voice. He spun sharply. Had he pulled some vanishing and reappearing trick? Like some common street magician?
Anakin.
"Show yourself!" Vader bellowed.
There was nothing. No Kenobi where ever he looked. It was just him and the crying child tightly holding empty robes. Vader spun. He was ready to be done. To return back to his ship. Return to his own grief.
Anakin! Do not kill him! Kenobi's voice pleaded.
"He will die!" Vader growled. "Just like my child did. You did not deserve to be a father."
He is your son!
Vader stilled.
He is not my son! He is yours! He is the child of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala!
"What?" Vader asked. "You . . . My child . . . is alive?"
Vader's arm lowered. His lightsaber pointed at the ground. He took a step toward the child. With a flick of his finger and the use of the Force, the boy's head was forced to look up at Vader. The boy was trembling in tears and sobs. Something sharp tightened around Vader's cold heart. It could not be. It was impossible.
"You . . . stole my child?" Vader asked the ghost not knowing if it was still there. He didn't care if it was. Something new was rushing through his veins. He took the last few steps towards the child. He clipped his lightsaber to his belt then grabbed the child by the arm. The boy let out a small yelp of pain. He tried to pull his arm free, but it was a weak attempt against Vader's durasteel grip.
"Let me go!" the boy, his son!, cried. "You murderer!"
"No," Vader said. "The murderer was Kenobi."
"Liar!"
"I do not lie," Vader said. "Kenobi was the liar. The thief. The murderer. He turned my wife against me, stole my child, and then lied to him. He was not your father, son. I am. I am your father."
The boy stilled as he finally looked up at Vader with his large watery blue eyes.
14.
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The hanger of the Rebel base was ablaze, his aerial bombardment from the Devastator taking out much of the Rebels' makeshift structures.
Luke had his hands clasped behind his back. His face was neutral as he watched the destruction from the bridge. Luke's next exhale was a fraction longer than the one before, and with it, the tension in his shoulder eased a tiny bit. It wasn't noticeable to the crew who kept eyeing the mysterious young man, one of the rumored candidates.
The Emperor was aging. He had no heir to the throne. So he collected a small collection of youths, the candidates as they were called, who were now competing to be the future Emperor or Empress. Luke could sense the apprehension of the crew. It was a mix of awe and disappointment. Some couldn't believe this kid could be their future emperor. Some were clearly not impressed. Others were.
Luke's hands behind his back tightened into fists. He was going to win. He had to win. He wouldn't let anyone else take the Empire. The Empire that his father had helped build. The father that had been looked over to inherit the throne. It was a disgrace! An insult! And Luke would earn it back! He would restore his father's honor!
And he would do whatever he had to do to win.
He would prove to the Emperor he could bring peace and prosperity to the Empire.
He turned sharply on his heels and marched out of the bridge. He returned to his private room. His com was already beeping with an awaiting call. Luke answered and was met with the holographic mask of Darth Vader.
"Father," Luke said. A smile tempted to pull at his lips. "I have successfully destroyed the rebel base here on Colla IV."
"Good," Vader said. There was a small note of pride in his voice. Luke felt his heart swell a bit. But then the silence dragged on too long. Something heavy pulled on Luke's heart. "Your competition has also done well. Jade has rooted out a moff from Velusia who was a rebel sympathizer." Luke's face fell into a frown. "Marek recently discovered two Jedi padawans who were hiding on Zeltros. Thrawn has publicly announced Bridger as the candidate he's going to endorse."
Luke couldn't stop the groan that escaped his lips. Though there was no change in the hologram, Luke knew his father was giving him the look. "Sorry, father," Luke said. "Continue."
"And there is Organa," Vader said. Though they were lightyears away, Luke swore he could feel the air around him chill. Vader was not hiding his distaste towards the candidate who was considered Luke's biggest competition.
"What has she done?" Luke asked.
"She revealed her own parents were leaders of the rebellion."
Luke was quiet for a long moment before he finally said, "Kriff." How was he going to top that?
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