Luke

The Emperor's helper was back. Luke could feel their familiar, somewhat slimy presence through the Force before the door was even opened. Tason tensed as well, also obviously recognizing their visitor.

Hal, not knowing who it was but noticing the tension in the air, went and opened it. "Hello?"

"Greetings, Major. I come with a request for the Prince." The man's grin made Luke want to shudder; his eyes seemed to gleam with greed.

"A request?" Hal asked uncertainly.

"The Emperor wishes to have lunch with his highness."

Hal and Tason exchanged a glance, but neither seemed to come up with any brilliant ideas to prevent it. There was no way to deny the request of the Emperor, even against Vader's orders. "Of course. We will escort him, then."

"Brilliant. I really relay the good news to the Emperor." The man bowed before leaving, but Luke felt no respect in the action.

As if the Emperor expected a "no" in response. Luke snorted to himself.

Hal remained at the door a moment too long, as if considering either his options, or more likely, his life choices that lead him to this exact moment. Finally, he turned. "Let's find you something suitable to wear. Tason, contact Sargent Kreel and have him meet us where they are having lunch. Have him bring a full team."

Nodding, Tason seemed to melt through the wall even though Luke visibly saw him walk out the door. It was incredible how difficult Tason was to feel when he was out of sight.

"Come on." Hal went over to the closet, digging through before putting together the most regal outfit he could find from the clothes Luke currently had.

As they were heading out the door, Hal suddenly stopped him. "Oh, hang on!" Fixing his collar, Hal paid special attention to the back, making sure it was turned down correctly.

As soon as he was dressed appropriately to Hal's standards, he was ushered out into the hall, Hal walking crisply ahead of him through the winding palace.

This was going to be difficult – his father wasn't here to protect him from the Emperor, and the Emperor knew it. This was a test or perhaps a game, and Luke wasn't sure whether he was a pawn being played or a king being crowned.

At the doors, Luke and Hal met back up with Tason and Sargent Kreel.

"We won't be allowed to enter with you, Luke, but we'll be right here waiting, alright? You'll be fine, just mind your manners. Just make sure to come back through these doors – there will be multiple exits in this room." Hal knocked, a red guard opening the door.

"Your highness." The guard only acknowledged Luke, Luke taking a deep breath before entering.

The room was dimly lit, a table filled to the brim with a variety of food from various planets set under a sparkling chandelier. As Hal said, there were four exits to the room, one on each wall leading to the various wings of the palace. If Luke's memory was correct, this room was almost dead center of the palace.

"Hello, young Prince." The voice slithered it's way across the room and around Luke, the raspy tone making Luke's feet freeze on their own.

Watching with wide eyes for a moment, Luke completely forgot his manners. "G-greetings, your Majesty."

"Now, now, we are practically family. Relax, come and sit." Palpatine gestured to a chair across from him, Luke slowly making his way over.

A droid helped with his chair, pushing it in for him after he'd sat down.

"My, we haven't had a chance to truly speak before, have we?" The Emperor was grinning from under his hood like a madman, Luke hoping his shields were strong enough to hold at least his innermost thoughts in. He vaguely remembered how to do it, but having the strength in this young body was much more difficult, especially considering he hadn't had time as of late to practice.

"No, we have not, your Majesty."

The droids moved without orders, serving the food and filling the glasses quickly and efficiently like ghosts that weren't even there.

"How are you enjoying Coruscant? It must be terribly different from that of Tatooine."

"It's much colder here, your Majesty."

"Yes, it would be without the twin suns. You know, your father also came from Tatooine. His mother was a slave there...Shmi. Shmi Skywalker."

Luke dared not touch his fork, wondering if the Emperor had done something to the food. The Emperor was not eating, and Luke could not follow his train of thought.

"Um...yes, he told me he came from Tatooine. But he's never mentioned my grandmother." Though Luke had found her grave out on the farm. Owen had spoken of her at times and her tragic end at the hands of the raiders.

Luke felt a pang, reminded of his Aunt and Uncle, wondering if they had suffered a similar end.

"It must be so difficult for you to adjust here, child. The rumors must be running rampant, and your dear father is too nervous to let you train. You must find it frustrating."

Oh.

That is what this was – he wanted to turn the young against the old; it would be so easy to pit "young, naive" Luke against his father.

"Not terribly. My father will know when it's time for me to start training."

The Emperor frowned. "You have much faith in him."

"Should I not?"

The grin returned. "Well, that all depends. That poor, young Captain – what was it, Reinolds? He was only trying to protect you, and look what it cost him."

"The Captain?"

"Yes, he was worried considering all the young men your father seem so...attracted, to. I must admit, it was a worry for me as well, though I am relieved you don't seem wary of your father."

"Those rumors are baseless. My father isn't like that."

"Oh? It's not as if I'm judging him – that was part of our arrangement, you know, to let Vader so as he pleases. Vader is like a wild card – excellent to have on your side because you never know what he'll throw."

A prickle of unease ran through Luke. He'd already confirmed those rumors baseless – the Emperor was simply trying to get him riled.

"My father has excellent judgment…"

Cackling, the Emperor raised a glass of wine, taking a long gulp of it. "Ahhh. I do so love the wine here at the palace. I suppose you are too young to try any. A pity, really."

Luke was unsure what to say, unclear if the Emperor was drunk or simply calculating a move.

The Emperor glanced towards his arm, sighing deeply. "I see your poor arm still hasn't healed."

"It's almost better – the doctor said the cast could come off soon."

"It's such a shame about that Admiral...Ozzel was it? Who would have thought he'd be a traitor, working so closely with your father."

Now Luke was completely confused. Was the Emperor trying to accuse him of being a traitor, or trying to make Luke think all of Vader's officer's were like Ozzel? "I'm not sure – I only knew him for a short time…" The gaze of his dead eyes staring him down suddenly filled his mind, along with the face of the rebel Luke accidentally killed glaring at him in accusation.

"Of course, of course. How fortunate that it ended with such a minor injury for you. It would have been so tragic should you have died after just being reunited with your father."

"...Yes…"

The Emperor gestured towards the food. "Are you not hungry? I made sure they brought a variety to suit your tastes."

"Um...I'm alright."

The Emperor cackled, gesturing towards a droid. "Please, help yourself."

A droid came forward, serving several samples onto Luke's plate. Gulping, Luke picked up his fork, feeling like his mouth was so dry he wouldn't be able to swallow anything. There was a slim chance that the Emperor was messing with him, or a chance the Emperor simply wanted to be done with this and end him now. But more than likely, the Emperor wanted to use him to replace his father in the future.

Taking a bite of something that looked soft and easy to swallow, Luke was surprised. It truly was one of the most delicious things he had ever tried.

"See? Coruscant has many things to offer. I hope I have the opportunity to show you several of them."

"Thank you…" Luke managed a few more bites before feeling sick to his stomach, finally setting his fork down.

"Young Luke...do you want to know a secret?" The Emperor asked, pointing a clawed finger towards Luke.

Gulping, Luke said nothing, knowing it would make no difference.

"I never imagined that Lord Vader would want to become a father. He's never liked children, you know."

"What do you mean?" Luke frowned.

All that could be seen was the Emperor's ghastly grin. "Did you know before the time of the Empire, this Palace was the Jedi Temple?"

Nodding, Luke crossed his arms anxiously over his chest.

"The Jedi used to take prospective students at a very young age. Children your age would already be close to fully fledged Jedi – your father by this age was running around the galaxy doing the Jedi's bidding."

"Okay…?" Luke was very confused now.

"You are quite impatient, just like your father. Since you want a point, have this one: what do you think happened to the children that were at the Jedi Temple that fateful day?"

"I don't know, they ran away?"

Pushing out with the Force, the Emperor laughed. The Emperor laughed for so long, Luke felt uncomfortable, wondering if the man was having a mental breakdown. "No, child. They were not given the opportunity to escape. Your father saw to that – personally. I didn't even ask him to; he did it all on his own."

Paling, Luke fell back as the Emperor began to laugh again.

"N-no...you're lying!"

"Are you truly so naive, boy? Your father is a Sith Lord! What did you expect of him?"

Feeling sick, Luke searched through his memories, but he could not recall anything about Vader murdering the Jedi children in his past. "I...I don't…"

"You don't what? Want to believe me? Why do you think you were separated from your father, boy? Your mother learned what happened and stole you away, hid you with your Aunt and Uncle on that dustball of a planet."

"My Aunt and Uncle knew…?"

"Of course they did! Why do you think your father had them killed? But I think it was more to do with he didn't want you to have anywhere else to run."

Luke's stomach dropped. "What? They died from Tuscan Raiders! My father...he wouldn't do something like that!"

"Your father wanted me to keep it a secret, child, but I believed you deserved to know the truth. It isn't right that he keeps you so in the dark all the time – you'll have to grow up eventually."

Head spinning, all Luke knew was the room was closing in on him. All he could hear was the Emperor's laughter as he bolted from the room, taking the first door he came too. Completely panicked, he simply started down one hallway and ran, ignoring everyone's startled cries as they were either bowled over or forced to leap out of his way.

Finding an exit to the palace, a storm trooper reached down to stop him, Luke running face first into his hand. Gasping, Luke winced as he reached up and found blood smeared on his hand.

The trooper tried to apologize, clearly horrified when he realized who Luke was, but Luke didn't stop, he simply bolted straight past him.

He wasn't sure how long he ran or how far by the time he found a quiet, secluded place to collapse, Luke curling into himself as his anxiety spiraled out of control.

It was several hours before Luke felt the desire to come out of his hiding spot. The blood had dried now, Luke feeling it caked along the side of his head. The storm troopers glove must have cut him, maybe even caused a slight concussion. There was throb in front of his right ear, though it was manageable.

The Force was screaming at him that the Emperor was and wasn't lying, but Luke wasn't skilled enough or composed enough yet to pick apart which parts were true and which were lies. He thought he'd put aside the worst of the rumors about his father, but perhaps the Emperor had revealed the secret Luke had been searching for. If his mother ran because Anakin murdered those children, no wonder she truly believed that he and Leia would be safer far, far away from him.

But if Vader wanted him dead, why go through all this effort? Luke could have been dead ten times over already – Vader never needed to take him off Alderaan.

Glancing around, Luke knew he had managed to escape the confines of the palace, but he had no idea where he currently was. Stepping out of the dark corner he'd been curled up in, he tried to brush off his uniform with his good hand to look somewhat presentable.

It was hard to say how quickly men would come after him – he doubted the Emperor would care, and his Father was probably hard to contact while he was off world. Hal would know better than to sit around and wonder where Luke went – it would be his head if he had to report to Vader that Luke had disappeared. Luke wasn't sure what exit he had taken, though – it was possible Hal had no idea he wasn't still with the Emperor.

But Luke also didn't want to simply go back.

Artoo had the Death Star plans. The Emperor was a psychopath, and his father...perhaps his father was too far gone to truly change. Maybe that moment from the past was simply a last act of kindness, simply the last piece of good left in his father.

How did Luke accept or come to terms with his father murdering all the children in the Jedi Temple?

Turning away from the direction of the palace, Luke started to walk, pondering his problems. No ship on planet would take him anywhere when he didn't have a credit on him, and there was no way to get credits without drawing too much attention. Attention was the last thing he wanted, but boys covered in dried blood weren't exactly inconspicuous.

Obi-wan was dead.

The only way to get in touch with the Organa's would be to return to the senate, and therefore the palace.

Even if he knew where the nearest rebel base was, it would be almost impossible to get off world to get there, and then even if he got there, they'd probably hold him hostage or just kill him.

No one in their right mind would take a child to Dagobah.

As he was walking, pondering is prediction, a familiar whirring sound met his ears, every time Luke stopped the noise stopping as well. Turning, Luke's jaw dropped.

"Artoo? What are you doing here?"

Artoo beeped, bumping into him gently.

"Why aren't you with the rebellion? Did you already get them the plans?"

Artoo beeped negatively, but Luke had nothing for him to connect to in order to read what he was saying.

"Did you find Bail?"

Artoo let out a shriek, spinning in another circle.

"You couldn't or wouldn't? Oh, never mind. If you haven't returned, I doubt Bail's already left. We need to go find him."

Artoo let out some positive chirps, heading off in a direction.

"I sure hope you know where you're going." Luke muttered, following after him as they made their way through the city.

By the time they reached where Artoo was supposedly leading him, Luke had noticed a stark increase of storm troopers through the city, though it was hard to tell considering he rarely went out. But it definitely felt like there were more than before, Luke and Artoo having to stop several times as troopers went past them.

"How much farther, Artoo?" Luke was starting to feel nervous – sooner or later, they were going to catch him.

Artoo beeped once before turning down an alleyway, bringing them to a ship parked illegally. It was a large cargo ship, though it looked ready to fall to pieces.

"What are we doing here, Artoo?" Luke asked, not seeing anyone else around.

Wrong.

Luke gasped, going to duck as someone scooped him off the ground by the back of his uniform.

"Put me down!" Luke struggled, but it hardly mattered; as he turned to see who had picked him up, he saw a Wookie almost twice his size looking down at him curiously.

"Chewie, what are you doing? We need to get this hyperdrive in order-" The voice trailed off as whoever was speaking noticed Luke. "Well, what do we have here?"

Luke could hardly believe it – Han and Chewbacca, here in the flesh. And a very young Han at that – Han couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen years old, and somehow he already had the Falcon? Luke's meddling must have messed with Han's timeline as well.

"Let go of me!" Luke growled, still flailing. Artoo was shrieking now, driving circles around Chewbacca as if to try and help.

A figure came off the ship, this one very familiar.

"King Bail! Will you tell them to put me down?" Luke could not believe how relieved he felt upon seeing Bail. But why would the King be here with this lot?

"Goodness, what are you doing here, Luke? Is that...blood?" Bail came over, Chewbacca gently setting Luke back on the ground.

Rushing up to the King, Luke hid behind him, peeking out from behind to glare at Chewbacca in case he should try and pick him up again.

"Luke, what happened? Why are you here? Do you have a black eye? What happened?"

Sullenly, Luke shook his head. "You were right. I can't change things here. I need to get to Dagobah."

"Dagobah?! There is nothing there, child. It's uninhabitable!"

"Not for everyone." Luke offered cryptically.

"Well, isn't this a sweet reunion, but we need to get moving here, your great and mighty Majesty." Han came over, gesturing towards the city.

"That won't be necessary, Captain, we can simply depart. The droid we need is right there." Bail gestured towards Artoo.

Han glanced towards Chewbacca. "Well, that was easy…"

"The Force works in mysterious ways, I've found. The child will also be coming with us – we need to convene with my friends on Manaan."

"Who is he?" Han asked pointedly.

"You don't want to know, but he won't cause problems. Right, Luke?" Bail smiled down at him, but Luke could feel the warning behind it.

"Of course."

"Good. Let's go – it's dangerous here." Bail returned to the ship, pushing Luke in front of him. Artoo and Threepio followed, and after them came Han and Chewbacca.

Pushing Luke down into a seat, Bail sat down beside him after retrieving a medical kit from Chewbacca. Cleaning up the cut and putting a bandage on it, Bail set the kit aside.

"Right...right. The kid is going to cost extra." Han pointed out before starting the pre-flight warm up.

"That won't be an issue, Captain."

"Chewie, finish working on that hyperdrive – I'll get us back into space. It'd be best if we could wait until after hours, but I don't want the Imps knocking on my door."

The Captain headed off to the cockpit, and Chewbacca headed off to repair the ship, leaving Luke and Bail alone except the droids.

"So, young Luke, do you want to tell me what happened?"

Looking down at his feet, Luke shook his head. "Where is Queen Breha?"

"My, she's made quite the impression on you. One of us has to be on Alderaan – I requested she return because I didn't want her handling this information."

"You don't believe she could do it?" Luke glanced up. How had Leia ended up with the plans before then?

"Far from it – she's probably more qualified than me. But when you love someone, you don't want to see them in danger. She and Leia returned to Alderaan a couple of days ago, and I came to collect you and Artoo."

Glancing around, Luke realized it was odd that Bail and requested Han and Chewbacca's help. "How did you find Han and Chewbacca?"

Bail raised an eyebrow, but it was like Luke no longer surprised him. "I didn't want any Alderaanian ships being seen returning to Coruscant, so I reached out to some of my contacts to find a recommendation. These two came highly recommended – for being foolishly brave in the name of an obscene amount of credits."

Snorting, Luke held back a laugh – that definitely sounded like Han, and of course Chewbacca would go along with him.

"So, do you have something to tell me?"

Nodding, Luke picked at the nail on his thumb, refusing to meet Bail's eye. "The Emperor requested I dine with him as soon as my father left the planet. He told me the truth."

"The truth?"

"He told me those rumors about my father were true, that my father regularly took in young men! But I thought I figured out that wasn't true...but then the Emperor told me that he...that he…"

"Go on, it's alright."

"That he murdered all the children in the Jedi Temple during Order 66."

"And you believe the Emperor was telling the truth?"

Luke paused, looking to Bail in disbelief. "Of course I do!"

"Luke, you must sit back and think about the Emperor's goals. What does he want most?"

Thinking deeply, Luke nodded slowly. "Right. He wants to drive my father and I apart."

"Exactly. Of course he would say vicious things about your father."

"But how do I know my father didn't do it? How do I know he wouldn't? We have the plans, I just...I don't want to spend the rest of my life playing these games."

Bail laughed. "Luke, no matter where you run, that can't change who you are."

Luke slumped further into his chair. "My Aunt and Uncle are dead."

That came as a surprise to Bail. "What?"

"Tuscan Raiders. When I left and Obi-wan followed me, he wasn't there to redirect them on the migration. They went through the farms and killed a lot of people. That's what my father told me."

"I'm sorry, young one. That must be very difficult."

"The Emperor told me my father lied and that my father ordered men to kill them so I'd have no where to go back to."

"Goodness. And you believe him?"

"I don't know. I wasn't calm enough in the moment to ask the Force what was true and what wasn't, and I'm not skilled enough to do it now."

"Is that so? You seemed plenty skilled to me before – is it because you can't, or because you don't want to know?"

Luke turned away from Bail, not answering. "It's my fault everyone's dying. It doesn't matter who ordered what. If I hadn't acted, Obi-wan and my Aunt and Uncle would still be alive."

"Life is not always so predictable, Luke."

The ship suddenly jolted, Luke hearing Han cursing all the way from the cockpit. Coming back out, he bee lined to where Chewbacca had gone.

"Chewie! We've got problems – why isn't that hyperdrive working?!"

"What is going on, Captain?" Bail asked, following after them. Luke went as well.

"We made it into space, but the hyperdrive won't kick in, and the Imps are doing ship checks. Right now, it looks like we are hanging waiting for a check. Then again, they might not think anything of it even if they come on board."

Luke paled. "They can't come on board!"

Han turned towards him, frowning. "And why is that, exactly?"

Bail groaned. "I was hoping to avoid this, but Captain, this is Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker."

Han laughed, loudly. "Yeah, right, and I'm Darth Vader."

"He isn't joking – I'm Darth Vader's son."

Han's smile fell right off his face. "So the reason they are suddenly doing ship checks-"

"Yes, Luke escaped the palace and came to me for help."

Cursing, Han glared at them both. "This is why I don't normally do this kind of work – no one ever gives me the full story. The Prince?! I can't believe this."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't have a choice – you don't know what it's like having Darth Vader for a father!"

Han's expression softened just slightly. "I suppose I don't. Well, there's no way without the hyperdrive that we can just blow this joint. I don't suppose you have any ideas?"

"If we blow out of here, they'll know we have something to hide." Luke pointed out, all three of the adults in the room glancing towards one another as if just realizing the same.

"Then what do we do?"

"Is there anywhere I can hide with Artoo? My father and the Emperor are the only ones that could find me through the Force, but it still has to trick a storm trooper."

Han grinned. "This is the Millennium Falcon, kid. Hiding is her specialty."

Tucked away in a compartment that looked like a wall, Luke could hear but not see anyone else. Artoo was with him, sitting silently for once.

Luke flinched when he heard the compression on the airlock, the sound of footsteps timed with the thumping of his heart.

"As you can see, we don't have anything to hide. We just left a load, and are on our way to pick up the next one." Han was talking like the charming smuggler he was.

"I see. And you are certain you didn't see a young boy with blond hair, last seen dressed in black? He has an arm in a cast."

"Nope. Did you Chewie?"

Chewbacca let out a rumbling roar, the men searching the ship no doubt flinching at it. Luke grinned to himself.

"He says he didn't see a kid either."

"And you, sir, what is your purpose here on this ship?"

Luke didn't recognize the voice of the man that was searching for him, though there were probably a lot of officers looking for him currently that he wouldn't know.

"Me? I'm just bumming a ride to wherever they are headed. I'm a traveler, you see."

"A traveler? Your dressed impeccably for a mere traveler."

"Just because I travel doesn't mean I'm not well off." Bail replied curtly.

Luke flinched when a loud bang sounded near him, flinching again when it continued to happen.

Finally, after several long minutes, it stopped.

"Nothing to report, sir."

"Good. Your papers appear to be in order. You will receive permission to depart as soon as we are clear."

"Excellent."

"If you come across a young boy matching the previous description in your travels, please alert the nearest Imperial center."

"Will do."

Finally, the search ended, the men departing for their own ship.

Luke wondered if his father was already aware that Luke had disappeared, or if he still didn't know. A pang of sadness struck him right in the chest as he considered the fact he might never see his father again, Luke feeling incredibly indecisive.

The door opened, Han peeking in. "Good, you are still here."

"Where else would I be?" Luke snorted, crawling out. Artoo followed him out, chirping happily.

"I'm surprised that actually worked." Han scratched at his chin, shaking his head in disbelief.

Luke turned to Bail, "What are we going to do on Manaan?"

Bail grimaced. "Well, I was going to meet with a contact of mine, but I'm not sure I should now with you along."

"I'll be fine." Luke grumbled.

Chuckling, Bail patted his head. "Yes, of course. In any case, that's where we are headed for now. Might as well get comfortable, kiddo."

Chewbacca rumbled gently at him, gesturing with his head for Luke to follow. Taking him to the bunks, Chewbacca patted one, Luke flopping on it with a sigh.

"Thanks, Chewie."

Rumbling again, Chewbacca left, heading back to continue working on the hyperdrive.

There were many emotions running through Luke. Thoughts of what Hal and Tason were thinking of his escape, and what his father would think when he found him gone. The Emperor would be furious to lose such a wonderful replacement for Vader, Luke was sure.

Curling up into a ball, Luke felt tears slip down his cheeks, though he held in any sobs.