*This is a small warning: there are crass jokes in this chapter.
Luke
The feeling of someone watching him while he slept crept into Luke's dreams; tossing and turning fitfully, he finally managed to jar his hurt arm against something hard, Luke gasping as he shot straight up in pain.
Panting, Luke simply clutched his arm against his chest and caught his breath for several agonizing minutes. When the pain was finally under control, Luke glanced to his side to see Tason hovering beside him nervously, unsure what to do.
"Tason…?" Luke asked.
"Young lord? Do you need the doctor?"
Unable to stop himself, Luke nodded. Desperately, Luke held back his tears as Tason went to fetch someone to look at him. The doctor that had treated him before came rushing back with Tason.
"Ah, you are finally awake. Your father will be relieved."
Checking his arm, the doctor gave him another dose of painkillers, the pain finally becoming something manageable. The doctor frowned when he saw that Luke had ripped his sling in his sleep. "Let me just go get another sling, alright? Hold tight."
Wondering where the doctor thought he would go in this state, Luke turned back towards Tason, hoping to get some answers.
"Where is my father?" Luke asked. "What happened?"
Tason tilted his head. "He's interrogating the surviving rebels."
"Surviving rebels?" Luke blinked, confused. The only one he remembered dying was Ozzel.
"Before they could kill you, you shoved everyone away with the Force. You even knocked me out – but the rebel about to shoot you took the brunt of the blow. He died instantly-" Tason cut off when the doctor returned, looking furious.
The doctor murmured to Tason furiously before pointing out to the hallway, Tason sheepishly stepping back into the hallway.
"Don't worry about it, Luke. Just worry about feeling better, okay? Let me just switch this sling for you…" Helping Luke into the new sling, the doctor gave him another comforting grin. "There. All better."
But the damage was done. Having been staring down into his lap, Luke glanced back up at the doctor with red rimmed eyes. "He died?"
Squeezing his eyes shut, the doctor finally gave a curt nod. "Yes. It was self defense, Luke. He was going to kill you."
"I didn't mean to." Luke flinched away when the doctor reached out to grab his hand. Grabbing it anyway, the doctor squeezed gently.
"Luke, no one is blaming you for anything, alright? You did what you needed to."
"But I didn't mean to kill anyone!" Feeling like he was caught out in a sandstorm, Luke squeezed his eyes shut and felt like he was raking in mouthfuls of sand, unable to breathe.
The doctor's hand went rigid for a second when he realized what was happening. "Nurse!"
Luke didn't hear anything else after the doctor shouted, the nurse coming and giving him a shot of something. No longer feeling like his mouth was turning into a dune of sand, Luke slumped back into his pillows, not really asleep but not truly awake.
A tall man dressed in black entered his room, Luke turning towards them lazily. "Who are you?"
The man did not even try to answer him; rather he turned towards the doctor. "What happened?"
Unable to follow the conversation, Luke hummed quietly to himself. The man in black came to his side, brushing a hand through his hair. "Is my Aunt coming?"
"Your Aunt?"
"Yeah! She always comes when I'm sick. I'm sort of sick, aren't I?"
"I'm afraid she isn't able to this time, child. You will have to settle for me."
"You? You remind me of someone."
"Hmm? Who?"
"My father! He's very tall and likes wearing black – just like you! But he's very busy."
"Busy?"
"Yes, you'll never believe me – no one ever believes me."
"Believe what?"
"My father – he's-" Luke paused, glancing around the room warily before deciding it was safe. Still, he leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "Darth Vader."
"Really? The Darth Vader?"
"See? I told you no one believes me."
"And how do you feel about having him as a father?"
Luke's head slowly tilted. "How do I...feel?"
"Yes."
"I...don't know. Nobody ever asked me how I felt about it, they just told me it was a bad thing."
"And you agree?"
Glancing around the room, Luke glanced back, as if remembering he was being asked something. "Everyone here is afraid of him."
"How can you tell?"
"The Force tells me." It was said like it was the most obvious thing in the world and the man in black was foolish for not just realizing himself.
"You are far more attuned than I initially realized."
That seemed as much as Luke's drug addled man could handle, Luke starting the conversation over again.
"Did my Aunt say she was coming?"
"I'm afraid not."
"My father's very busy, you know."
"I've been told."
The man sat down beside him, as if accepting he was going to be in this for the long haul. Luke continued to babble, though the conversations were mostly impossible to follow. The man simply answered as best he could anyway, listening intently to the child as that was all he could do.
Hal was with him when he shook off the haze of the drugs he was given. Feeling much calmer, Luke now simply felt numb. Even though it was far from the first time Luke had killed, it was the first time in this life, nor did he ever imagine that it would happen when he was twelve. Kriff, he went through all of this so he could avoid having to kill and to try and save lives, and now for some reason the rebels were after him with a vengeance.
But not only had he almost been killed, he had used the Force to kill in his own defense. He'd latched onto the hope of living and the Force had responded, and now he couldn't remember if he'd used the light or the dark side of the Force to accomplish it.
How had the rebels even discovered him, anyway? His Aunt and Uncle thought his father was dead, Obi-wan was gone – who else connected to the rebels knew the truth?
Then the truth dawned on him: Leia was too young to be apart of the rebels, but her parents were close friends with Obi-wan. Luke had no memory of them being a part of the rebellion, but that was probably because they both died with Alderaan right before Luke joined the Alliance himself. Bail and Breha Organa knew the truth, but would they send assassins after a twelve year old boy?
"What would you like for lunch today? The doctor said you could have anything you wanted." Hal offered.
Rolling away from him, Luke mumbled a quiet, "I'm not hungry."
"Come on, kiddo. You need to eat something – you didn't want breakfast either." Hal pressed. "What about a grilled cheese sandwich? Or some cheesy noodles?"
Sighing, Luke didn't answer.
"I'm going to order you both, alright? You can eat whichever you want." Leaving to order the food, Luke heard Hal murmuring with one of his doctors just outside the door. Even though he couldn't make out what they were saying, he could hear the disappointment in the tone.
When Hal didn't return right away, Luke shifted so he was flat on his back, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
A shadow slid into the room, quietly approaching Luke's bed. "I'm sorry."
"Tason...why do they want me dead?"
Flinching, Tason shook his head. "I don't know."
Sitting up, Luke frowned. "Yes, you do. It's just no one wants to tell me."
Glancing over his shoulder as if to make sure no one had noticed him, Luke realized that Tason was perhaps not supposed to be here right now after what happened. Licking his lips, Tason nodded. "As long as you promise not to get too upset."
Nodding quickly, Luke clenched the sheets in his good hand.
"They want to hurt you so that your father gets upset and messes up because you are important to him. It's not personal – it wouldn't matter who his son was, the rebels would want to hurt them."
Sighing, that was not the answer Luke wanted. It's not that what Tason said wasn't true, but Luke already knew all that. What no one would be able to answer for him is why the rebels – the men he fought beside for years, the ones he looked up to when he was lost, the people that had his back and believed in no man left behind – would do something so horrendous as to murder an innocent child. If they had known who he truly was when he was with them before, would the answer have been the same? Would they still have tried to kill him to hurt his father, even if his father didn't know he was alive?
But the rebels he knew met him when he was an adult – would the rebels he thought he knew be willing to murder a child just because of who his father was?
"I'd like to be alone."
Hesitating, Tason finally bowed and left, leaving Luke to his intrusive thoughts.
"Obi-wan...are you there?" Glancing around the room hopefully, Luke was trying to force his mind to see the sparkling blue Force ghost appear, but nothing happened. Even Obi-wan had abandoned him now.
Hal returned with a droid pushing a tray, bringing in Luke's lunch. Setting it before him, Luke looked distastefully at the food, pushing it mindlessly with his fork.
"Hal, is my father mad at me?"
Shaking his head quickly, Hal looked worried. "No! Absolutely not – he's been here almost the entire time you were unconscious. He just needed to go take care of the arrangements for arriving at Coruscant."
"Hal…"
"Yes?" Hal perked up.
"What if I don't want to be his son anymore?" Luke poked at his lunch some more, unable to meet Hal's eye.
Wincing, Hal nodded. "Luke, I know it's hard. But Coruscant will be very different – it's almost impossible for the rebels to break into the city."
No, it isn't. Luke recalled several of his own impossible missions breaking into Coruscant, though to be fair, everyone else called him crazy for doing so.
Plus, what would Luke do now, anyway? If the rebels found him, they would apparently just kill him, and even if they didn't, his father would never stop hunting him.
"I don't want to kill anymore people." Luke felt like he was being crushed under the weight of a million responsibilities.
"Luke, no one is asking you to. Your father is doing everything possible to make sure something like this never happens again."
"Can I go on a walk?"
"Sure, why don't we go to the bridge? Admiral Piett has been asking about you."
"Admiral?" Luke had to think about it for a moment, but it made sense. Since Ozzel was gone, the Vice Admiral naturally would step up. "Okay."
Setting aside his uneaten lunch, Hal helped Luke to his feet. Tason was no where in sight, but Luke could feel his presence following them through the ship, as well as the four additional guards that Vader had assigned him.
Luke was certain he was a sorry sight with his arm in a sling and having been bedridden for almost a day, but Hal simply glared down anyone that looked a second too long until they reached the bridge. Piett was standing in the center of the room, turning as they came in.
"Luke! How are you?" Piett came over immediately.
"Hello, Admiral." Luke tried to smile, but he wasn't sure he was very convincing.
Looking over at Hal, Piett winked. "Luke, I was just about to go have lunch. Would you like to join me?"
"I…" Luke trailed off.
"He'd love to. It would give me the opportunity to go check in with Lord Vader." Hal spoke for him, patting Luke gently on his good shoulder.
Finally nodding, Luke agreed. "Sure. Why not?"
"Great." Piett gave a couple of quick orders to an aide before leaving with Luke, heading down the hall to a very fancy dining room. "Only the higher ups have an opportunity to eat here."
Sitting down, Luke was not asked what he wanted, the droids simply started to bring trays out and set them on the table. Eyes widening, Luke looked at the feast they were presented. "Is this all for you normally?"
Laughing, Piett shook his head. "No, I had it arranged for you. It's a special day – I figured we could celebrate your arrival at Coruscant. We should be there in just a couple of hours now."
The droids filled Luke's plate, setting it before him as well as a large glass of dark liquid. Glancing at it curiously, Luke picked it up and took a sip. It was sweet and tangy, Luke finding himself downing almost the whole glass after the first sip. The droid came and refilled it for him immediately.
"Do you like that? I thought you would – it's Jogan fruit juice. It's very common on Coruscant." Piett commented.
Nodding, Luke eyed some of the other food on his plate. Piett was happy to explain what he was nibbling on to try, Luke managing to put away almost half a plate before his stomach couldn't handle anymore.
"Are you excited to see Coruscant?" Piett asked after the food had been taken away.
Shrugging, Luke didn't know what to say. No, I've seen it before? No, because I'm afraid of the Emperor? No, because everyone is out to get me now?
"It will be a bit overwhelming for you at first, but I'm sure you'll find it's much better than Tatooine." Piett continued on, not letting Luke's silence bog them down.
"Can't I go back to Tatooine, with my Aunt and Uncle?" Luke asked, truly meaning it.
"Do you miss them?" Piett seemed uncomfortable with the subject, and Luke knew why: Vader probably ordered them not to let Luke think about the family he left behind on Tatooine.
"Yeah. Sometimes. I think it's been so chaotic lately that I haven't had time to miss them."
Smiling, Piett nodded. "It is hard at first, but it will be alright. You must know that learning he had a child means the galaxy to Lord Vader."
Tilting his head, Luke shrugged again.
Smiling awkwardly, Piett tapped the table a couple of times before getting up. "Why don't we go see your father? I'm sure he'd be glad to see you out and about."
"I thought I was supposed to be confined to my room."
"Well, you aren't in your room now, are you?"
Shrugging again, Luke followed after the Admiral. "Aren't you busy as well?"
Laughing, Piett nodded. "Yes, but you'll find there are going to be very few people in the entire galaxy that are too busy for you, Luke."
"Meaning my father and the Emperor?"
"If they are wise, yes." Piett lead on, Luke feeling Tason following from a distance.
Taking Luke to another side of the ship, Luke could feel the presence of his father through a door. Piett entered first, announcing their presence. Gesturing for Luke to come in after they had been announced, Luke stepped in front of Piett. Vader was in a room full of men, Luke shrinking back against Piett, who steadied him by placing both hands on his shoulders, mindful of his hurt arm.
"Luke, how are you feeling?" Vader ignored the men in the room who were all openly looking at Luke with unveiled curiosity.
"Um…" Luke fell silent, unable to find his tongue in front of all the unfamiliar men.
Holding out his hand towards Luke, Vader gestured for him to come closer. Slowly, Luke made his way to his father's side, Vader placing a hand on his shoulder. "Luke, there is no reason to feel afraid. These men work for me."
"So did Ozzel." Luke couldn't stop himself, feeling his father's hand tighten.
"Trust and fear are two different subjects, child. In any case, we were just finishing up."
Saying nothing, Luke watched as Vader dismissed the men, leaving only him and his father. Piett was the last to leave, winking at Luke before disappearing out the door.
"I have found a suitable school for you on Coruscant. Are you excited to go back to school?" Vader seemed uncomfortable speaking with him, like he did not know what to say to a twelve year old.
Luke, not feeling like the twenty-two year old he still believe he died as, felt like being a twelve year old child. "Will the rebels follow me to Coruscant?"
Pausing, Vader finally gestured for Luke to sit in a chair beside him. "Child, Coruscant is one of the most heavily guarded planets in the galaxy. You won't go anywhere without guards. I will ensure that a situation like Ozzel does not happen again."
"Why?"
"Why what?" Genuinely confused, Vader tilted his helmet slowly.
"Why protect me? What do you gain from having me as a son?"
Standing, Vader slowly walked over to the view port in the room, staring out at the stars slowly passing by. They were no longer traveling in hyperspace; instead they were slowly crawling their way to the Capital.
"Must I gain something from you? Isn't us being family enough? You bear my blood; that is enough reason for me to protect you."
"I don't share blood with Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen, but they protected me." Luke never thought he'd miss the blowing sands of Tatooine, or the blazing heat from the suns, but at that very moment, Luke wished he was curled up beside his Aunt in their den, hiding from the heat.
"And for that, I shall be forever in their debt. I offered to bring them with us to Coruscant, but they preferred to remain on Tatooine."
That did make a certain amount of sense – his Aunt and Uncle would only struggle if they left Tatooine. For both of them, that little world was all they had ever known...and apparently, all they ever would.
"I can go visit them?"
The Force tingled for a moment. "We could...arrange something."
It was obvious Vader was trying very hard to not lie, knowing that Luke was attune enough in the Force to tell the difference.
"Do I have to meet the Emperor?"
"You sound like you already dislike him." Vader snorted.
"Well, I suppose I don't have a reason to like or dislike him yet." Luke didn't want to admit that all he remembered from the Emperor were his final moments.
"I think you will find Coruscant a very pleasant place to be, Luke."
Not believing him at all based on just the short journey it had taken to get here, Luke still offered a smile, hoping to a man that had spent literally zero time around children that it would be believable.
"Come. We are now only a half an hour away, but we need to take a shuttle from orbit."
Following his father to the shuttle hangar, Luke found the Major and Tason waiting beside Admiral Piett.
"Goodbye, Admiral. Thank you for having lunch with me." Luke, following the instincts of a child, darted up to him and gave him a quick hug with his good arm before anyone could protest.
Chuckling, Piett ruffled his hair. "It was nice to meet you, Luke. When I get some leave, or have a meeting on Coruscant, I'll take you out for lunch again, alright?"
"Okay!"
Passed back to Vader, Luke was lead onto the shuttle, sat right beside his father. Hal and Tason sat across from them.
"Major, what are you going to do on Coruscant?" Luke asked, genuinely curious. Tason he assumed would remain his guard, but he did not know why the Major was coming along.
"Mostly to mind you because your a troublemaker, didn't you know?" Hal teased, Luke somewhat surprised he was so comfortable around Vader.
"The Major is now one of my aides. Once he is comfortable around the palace, he will be someone you can go to if you need help."
"Palace?"
Nodding towards the window, Luke looked out and saw the Imperial palace. "I have a whole wing of the palace to myself. That is where I stay when I am on Coruscant, and now where you will be. It is one of the safest, most heavily guarded places in the galaxy."
"Have rebels ever gotten into the palace before?" Luke found himself asking before he thoroughly considered the question.
Hal gave Luke a pitying look, while Tason flinched and looked down at the ground. Vader watched Luke for several long moments, trying to process the question. "Young one, you can feel the Force, can you not?"
"You told me I wasn't supposed to train." Luke pouted.
"Yes, but that does not mean you cannot already feel the natural pull and flow of the Force. What did your heart tell you when Ozzel came to get you?"
"Not to go." Luke admitted.
"There. In the future, if your gut tells you not to do something, do not. If you trust in the Force, it will guide you, my son."
Nodding, Luke felt the corners of his lips twitch up for real for the first time since he had started this insane adventure.
They landed in the docking bay of the private section of the Imperial palace, though there still seemed a plenitude of men to great them. Following Vader closely off the ship, Luke hesitantly glanced around from behind his father's cape. The capital was much more intimidating this time around, Luke stepping basically in his father's footsteps as they came off the shuttle.
"My lord, the Emperor wishes to see you at once, and he told me to relay that he wants you to 'bring the boy' as well." An aide came up to Vader immediately, clearly too exhausted to feel any terror or curiosity. The man in particular spared Luke no glances, as if he thought Luke garnered nothing worth any attention.
Freezing, Vader finally nodded. "Very well. Luke, the Emperor wishes to see you, most likely because you are my son. There is no time to train you on appropriate etiquette at this time, so behave yourself and do as I do."
Terror ate at Luke suddenly. Not expecting to face the Emperor so quickly, Luke glanced around quickly only to see Hal and Tason being lead in the opposite direction. A soothing presence weighed down Luke's fears, gently coaxing him closer to his father's side.
"I will protect you, child. There is nothing to fear."
Oh yes, there is. Luke could still feel the lick of electricity crackling over his skin as it slowly fried him from the outside in, hearing the Emperor's eerie cackle the entire time.
The memories were on replay as Luke followed after his father, the only other ones to accompany them six storm troopers. His emotions must have been spilling through their bond in the Force because Vader closed it off, clearly trying to compose himself before meeting the Emperor.
In the past, the Emperor had tried to turn Luke to the dark side and make him his new apprentice by turning him against his father. It was unlikely that the Emperor would still try it this time considering Luke was only twelve and had no training like before. But they had just stepped off the ship and the Emperor was already demanding they greet him right away, so Luke knew the man still had a sickening interest in him.
Never having had the opportunity to see the palace before, Luke glanced around the farther in as they briskly made their way through. Most of the palace had been remodeled after Palpatine had taken over the Jedi temple, but Luke wondered if there were parts left untouched from before. It was hard to enjoy the views when he felt like he was being lead to his own execution.
As they arrived at the doors to the throne room, however, Luke was jerked back to reality. Waiting until they were announced, Vader lead them inside, Luke trying not to appear like he was openly hiding behind his father.
Palpatine was facing away from them, Luke suddenly feeling enveloped by his father's Force presence. Vader was blocking his mind from Palpatine.
Unwilling to admit he was grateful, Luke followed his father's lead and knelt, the Emperor finally turning around.
"Well, well, well...what do we have here?" Piercing yellow eyes stared out from a wrinkled face, Luke feeling a shudder run down his spine and goosebumps start along his arms.
"Master, I present my son, Luke Skywalker."
Glancing towards Vader, Luke did not know if he was supposed to approach or remain kneeling. His worries were for nothing, however, when Palpatine simply ignored him.
"What happened to his arm?"
Vader glanced over at Luke before replying. "There was an...incident. It has been taken care of, Master. It need not concern you."
"Hmm. Why are you shielding him, Lord Vader? Are his thoughts so repulsive for an old man like me?"
"No, my master. He is young and I feared he may unintentionally break protocol. I have only just found him."
"I see, I see...very good. Well, what are we to do with you, young Skywalker?"
"Master, he is still but a child. He must be educated. For now, I would like him to simply be a child."
Realizing his father was being rather pushy with the Emperor, Luke saw the entertainment light up on the Emperor's face.
"A child? A mere child? Lord Vader, you are speaking about the Imperial Prince, and you want him to play the part of a child?"
Imperial Prince?
"You wish to name him the Imperial Prince?" Even Vader had been caught off guard by this information.
"Of course. If you are my heir, Lord Vader, then young Luke here naturally would follow suit."
A cold tingle ran around Luke. Shivering, Luke instinctively leaned closer to his father, unsure how to block the feeling.
"Hmm. You are right, though. He is young. We will name him the Prince, but he is much to young to complete the Prince's duties. It will have to wait."
It was a game of give and take – the Emperor had laid claim over Luke by naming him Prince, but he wanted it to appear that he was giving in to Vader's wishes. Of course, Luke mostly saw what the Emperor was trying to do – Luke was too young to be of any use to the Emperor yet, but it would be a simple matter in a few years to get rid of his father and replace him.
"Thank you, my Master. I will ensure he is educated well."
"See that you do...he will still need to attend all events as the Prince. Make sure to guard him well, Lord Vader."
Without having said a single word directly to Luke, the Emperor dismissed them, Luke finally able to relax as they stepped out of the room.
"...The prince…" Vader was muttering to himself as he briskly set off down the hall, Luke scrambling to keep up.
"Um...what just happened?" Luke asked, having to practically jog to keep up with Vader's steps.
Stopping so suddenly that Luke actually ran into him, Luke blushed and took a step back. His arm and shoulder smarted slightly from being jarred, but nothing he couldn't manage.
"Trooper, escort my son to his quarters." Vader started to walk away again, but Luke managed to get in front of him.
"Don't you remember? I don't have quarters." Luke protested.
"Of course you have quarters, you just don't know where they are. This trooper will escort you. Remain there with the Major."
"But where are you going?" Luke pressed.
"I must go...do adult things. Listen to me, child, and go to your room."
Stepping out of the way, Luke watched his father walk alone down the long hallway with his cape flapping at the brisk pace, watching after him until the trooper assigned to escort him gently pressed him to come along.
"How big is this palace?" Luke groaned at the guard. They had been walking for what felt like hours after getting off the shuttle, Luke's feet starting to ache. Just the walk from the hangar bay to the Emperor's throne room had seemed to take ages.
Through the Force, Luke could tell the guard was grinning down at him. "I believe if you wanted to explore the entire palace it would take at least a week if you walked."
"What?" Luke muttered. Though he had known the palace was extremely expansive, he had never imagined that one structure could be so large.
"That's why it's important you don't go anywhere by yourself, kid. If you get lost, it would take forever to rescue you."
Rescue him? Didn't he mean find him? Before Luke could ask, the Guard suddenly stopped, Luke jolting to a stop before running into him. "Here we are!"
"Where?" Luke glanced around in confusion. They were in a hallway identical to most of the others they had been wandering through. Was he supposed to live in a hallway?
"This is your father's wing of the palace. All of these rooms are his to use as he pleases – according to the map, he uses the one at the end as his personal quarters."
As Luke was wandering slowly down the hall, he heard footsteps. Glancing up, he found Hal and Tason coming towards him.
"Hal! Tason!" Luke rushed up to them.
"Luke. I'm sorry, I've been summoned by your father – Tason will take you to the room we selected. I'll see you a little later, alright?" Hal ordered. The trooper that had brought Luke here left with Hal to guide him to the office area.
Nodding, Luke felt an ache start in the center of his heart, watching as Hal rushed off as well. Tason lead him deeper until they arrived at yet another identical door, Luke doubting he would ever learn to navigate this place.
"Your father ordered this room be decorated for your arrival." Tason stepped inside, Luke walking in and feeling his jaw hit the floor. Everything was still decorated in dark colors, but there was a holovid right across from the largest bed Luke had ever seen. A closet filled to the brim with clothes was against the one wall, and he had his own refresher attached to the room.
"If you need anything, you can make orders for food or a cleaning droid here." Tason pointed out a panel.
Flopping over on the bed, Luke stared up at the ceiling for approximately two minutes before glancing back over at Tason.
"Hey, do you know the palace layout?"
Tason tilted his head. "Somewhat. It's a large palace."
"I'm hungry. Can we go to a dining hall? I want to start trying to learn the hallways." Luke put on what he hoped was a pitiful face.
But Tason apparently had no orders to keep him confined. "Of course. I can take you there."
Forgetting his former exhaustion, Luke leapt to his feet and headed for the door, Tason leading the way back out of the hallway. Trying to find any markers around to identify where he was, Luke found matching hallways with nothing different. Frowning, this was going to be much harder than he thought.
"How long have you been at the palace?"
"A few years."
Great, by the time Luke was an adult he might finally know his way around this place.
Tason brought him him a mess hall for officers, many of the men giving them odd looks. Even the droid cook had to look twice.
"What are you doing here, child? You have no identification number." The droid asked, glancing back up at Tason in confusion.
Shaking his head, Tason gestured that the cook should simply let them move along, the droid confused but allowing them by. He must have recognized Tason as one of Vader's men. Taking Luke's tray for him because of Luke's arm, he lead them to an empty table, Tason sitting so he could watch the room. Luke dug into his food, not even caring what it was, just knowing that he was starving after all his walking.
Tason suddenly tensed, Luke about to ask when he felt a large presence sit down beside him.
"Well, what do we have here?"
Glancing over, Luke's gaze then went up to take in the monster that had sat down beside him. A very tall man had simply sat down beside him, ignoring Tason's bristling appearance entirely.
"Who are you?" Luke asked curiously.
"What does it matter, squirt? The real question is: who are you?"
Looking back at Tason, Luke wondered if he was allowed to tell people, but Tason gave Luke a short shake of his head.
"Captain Rieneld, I wouldn't if I were you." Tason warned.
Ah. So Tason knew who this was, and they were trying to bother Tason, not Luke.
An icy cold came over the room, everyone turning to watch openly. Luke didn't expect everyone to simply ignore him, but he did not consider the fact that absolutely no one had any idea who he was. To them, he was just a child with a shadow, and everyone wanted to know what that meant.
"Come on, Shadow, who is this? Your younger brother? A cousin? Or maybe...is he one of Lord Vader's new toys? Though usually he likes them much older...how old are you anyway?"
New toys? Luke was not stupid – he understood the connotation of a "toy", but what did the man mean by a new one? Did his father regularly take in young men? When his father ran off earlier talking about doing "adult things", was this what he was referring to?
"Come on, kid, I asked you a question – how old are you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm not supposed to talk about it." Luke settled on that explanation, but the Captain wasn't appeased.
"Oho, of course. It's impolite to talk of such things at the dinner table, isn't it?"
Paling, Luke felt ill, setting his fork aside. Tason tsked, clearly displeased.
"Lord Vader is a respectable leader, Captain. I would watch your words – this will be reported." Tason was like a dog with hackles raised, waiting for the right moment to bite.
"Oh please, stop with your little snitch routine. It's why no one likes you. Come on, kid, I'll show you how to have fun around here-" The man – Captain Rieneld – bumped into Luke on purpose shoulder to shoulder just to tease him. Though the man must have thought it to have been gentle, it forced Luke to hit his broken arm against the table, stars dancing in his vision from the pain. Startled by his sudden cry of pain, the man did not realize that Luke's arm had been in a cast.
Tason leapt to his feet as the six guards came rushing into the room. Surprised, Luke had not realized they were being followed.
Two of the guards sequestered Luke to the side while two more grabbed Rieneld. Completely shocked, the man did not seem to understand what was going on.
Stepping into Rieneld's space, Tason shook his head sadly. "I warned you."
"Who is that kid? How important is he?" Rieneld demanded while being cuffed, eyes wide in shock. The entire room had fallen silent, no one moving a muscle as they watched the Captain get arrested.
Everyone else had a clear thought on their mind: What a fool. Obviously this was not the first time the Captain had been out of line – especially with how quickly he had raised Tason's hackles.
The pain in his arm had brought tears to Luke's eyes; whatever medicine they had given him earlier clearly having worn off. Unable to try and diffuse the situation, Luke let Tason deal with it even though he didn't like the idea of the man being arrested over a little bit of teasing. The smart aleck comments about his father though had stung quite a bit more than Luke wanted to admit.
"Let's get you to the medic." One of his guards gently escorted him out of the room, shielding him from the sight of the Captain being dragged off in the opposite direction.
"You're the guard who escorted me earlier." Luke panted slightly. The pain was strong enough that it felt like he might have fractured the arm again.
"Yes, you're a smart kid, aren't you."
"What's your name?" Luke asked as the guard brought him out of the dining hall.
"I am JG-957, but everyone calls me Mac."
"Mac?"
"Yeah, like a truck. In the war, I used to plow through the ranks like a rampaging nerf, so my teammates started calling me Mac after the old supply ships."
"Oh. Okay. Is my father still...doing adult things?" Luke wrinkled his nose, wondering if his father had more secrets than he realized. Even if the Captain today had just been trying to tease Luke or annoy Tason, this was the first time Luke realized that there were sides to his father that he had no idea about. In the past, Luke hadn't spent much time with his father except when Vader was trying to capture him – it wasn't like they had ever spent any leisurely time together.
The entire basis of Luke's plan hinged on one moment of sacrifice.
"What?"
Tason, who had caught up, whispered something quickly to Mac. Startled, Mac shook his head frantically. "No, no, kid! That Captain was way out of line – your father doesn't do things like that. I've worked with him since the Clone Wars, and he would never do something like that."
"Can we go to the medics now? My arm hurts." Luke changed the subject. Now that the initial pain was over, his arm had settled to a dull throb, but it was a convenient excuse to think about something else. Even though nothing in his vision lined up with what Rieneld was accusing his father, somehow even everyone's comforting words could not settle Luke. Most rumors came from a semblance of truth, didn't they? So what was his father doing that made people come up with such vile ideas?
It wasn't like he could rely on information from his past either – he had never heard such rumors before, but they could have easily been quelled before reaching the Alliance.
"Of course. Let's go."
The Imperial palace had it's own medical bay for everyone that worked there, but it was yet another long walk from the dining hall. Luke didn't think he'd ever get used to these long excursions just to get from one side to the other.
By the time he got settled on a bed, he felt absolutely exhausted from having been wandering around on his feet all day.
"Oh dear, what's happened here?" A medical droid came in, examining Luke's arm immediately.
Not feeling like answering, Luke laid back on the bed, just holding up his arm in the sling for the droid to look at. Scanning it, the droid made a whirring noise. "Oh dear. Well, it does appear that the fracture is still set and won't require further treatment. I'll give you something for the pain and inflammation, and then you will be able to leave."
Hal appeared in the doorway, his uniform out of place and his hair a bit wild. "Luke! What happened?"
Tason, who had been lurking out in the hallway, also came in after Hal.
"It's nothing. My arm just hurt." Luke lied, forcing himself to sit back up. The droid gently gave him a shot of medicine and placed a bandage over.
"There, all finished! Please return in the morning for another dose."
"If I can find my way back." Luke muttered to himself, sighing. Jumping down from the table, he swayed dangerously, both Hal and Tason grabbing him.
"What did you give him?!" Hal demanded, the droid unable to act surprised.
Scanning him again, the droid shook his head. "It is not what I gave him – he is merely exhausted. I would suggest rest for the time being."
"Of course. Luke, let's get back to your room. It's been a long day for everyone."
Everyone froze at the sound of a respirator. A dark figure filled the doorway, everyone turning to see Darth Vader enter the room.
"Why is it that I discovered by a delayed report that my son was involved with an incident that involved arresting a Captain that ended with his return to the medics?"
"Father...it just happened. I didn't mean to cause any trouble." Luke sighed.
"I am not blaming you, Luke. I must speak with my son – I will escort him back to his room. Everyone is dismissed."
"But I-" Luke stopped when everyone's attention turned to him. "Never mind."
"What is it, son?" Vader pressed.
"I want Hal to walk me back." Luke felt the darkening in the Force. Flinching, he took a step back.
"I must speak with Luke alone." It may have been the first time Vader had to give an order twice without someone dying, everyone filing out of the room without question.
"Luke, is this about what that man said?"
Looking at the ground, Luke shook his head but it was obvious to Vader it was a lie. Sighing deeply, Vader knelt down.
"Luke, I would never even dream of doing something like that. That man is going to be punished severely for speaking out of line."
"But that's the problem – even though what he said was wrong, I don't want him to die because of it."
In the Force, Luke felt the darkness swirl dangerously before settling, Luke uncertain as to what his father was feeling.
"Who told you that the man would die?"
Pausing, Luke realized in a sense he had slipped up. He was supposed to be an innocent twelve year old child that knew nothing of life and death. "No one."
"Luke, that man went beyond a little light teasing. I understand that our relationship is not stable enough for you to withstand such rumors without scars, and he must be reprimanded for not only doing so but slandering a commanding officer. But he will not die because of it."
Lie.
"He's already dead, isn't he?"
"Who told you so? I want a name."
"So you can kill them too?" Luke looked up into the mask of his father, refusing to back down.
"No, but I must know who is trying to sabotage our relationship. I will not allow such vulgar rumors to be spread." Irritation was leaking into Vader's tone.
"No one! Okay, no one said anything, I just...when I was a kid, I heard things about the Empire from the other kids on Tatooine. We were all bored and had nothing better to do than spread scary stories, okay? But after a while...you just believe them. Everything's been happening so fast, and I feel like I've walked a million miles today, and now all these people I don't know are saying nasty things about you-" As Luke's rant turned into a full on ramble, he realized tears were beginning to spring up in his eyes.
Placing his hands on Luke's shoulders, Vader's irritation dissipated away. "Calm yourself, child. I believe this is our cue that you need to rest. Come."
Turning his back to Luke, Luke was confused. "What?"
"Climb on. I will take you back to your room. It will be more efficient this way." Vader suggested.
The Dark lord of the Sith – the one that murdered people on a whim for saying nasty things, was offering to give Luke a piggy back ride to his room.
Too exhausted to argue, Luke got on, the rhythm of his father's large strides lulling him to sleep before they even arrived at his room.
Darth Vader
The child was so light against his back, Vader did not know if he needed weight or if Vader had truly not considered the weight of another person in so long. The child truly must have been exhausted considering he was out like a light in less than a minute.
The Major and the shadow were still waiting for them in the hall, the Major clearly nervous that he was disobeying orders, and the shadow concealing his feelings well. Glancing towards Luke on his back, if they were surprised, they both said nothing.
"Major, where is the man that upset my son?"
"He is in the detention center, my Lord."
"Demote him. Find the place you would like to be posted the least, and send him there."
Now the Major was surprised. "A-at once, my Lord."
Everyone thought the man was as good as dead, and here Vader was wondering what he was doing as well. But somehow, even though he felt he could lie to every other person in the entire galaxy, he could not lie to his son.
"Is my reputation truly so low that my son would believe such filth?" Vader was asking himself the question, but the Major did not take it as rhetorical.
"No, my lord! I've never heard such garbage before – not even on Tatooine."
"The Captain doesn't like me."
Both Vader and the Major paused, turning back towards the Shadow. "What?"
"Master, the Captain has never liked any of the shadows. He saw I was with Luke, and must have thought Luke was another recruitment."
That made sense. Vader often brought his prospective recruitment's to the palace where he had a training center set up for them. But rarely would he have been seen personally with any of them – he checked in on their training when he could, but otherwise relayed orders for missions through his aides more often than not. Very few shadows or inquisitors got the honor of his personal attention for any reason, unless they got on his bad side.
"How aggravating. How long has this been going on?"
The Shadow shrugged. "Since...forever."
Vader's stride hesitated once more. While he cared little for the power struggle that went on between the lower ranks, it annoyed him that the Captain believed himself to be so much better than his inquisitors and shadows.
"The other shadows don't stay at the palace as often as I do, so they don't have to deal with it."
Ah. The pieces began to click into place. This shadow in particular cared little for defending himself, one of the reasons Vader felt his strengths were as an information asset rather than accomplishing missions on his own. The Captain found an easy target, and was trying to see if he had found another.
"Luke is no longer allowed around the personnel. Everyone that comes within a hundred feet of him must be vetted thoroughly. I will not have my son exposed to such degenerates again."
"I apologize, my lord. It's my fault that I did not explain clearly to Luke that he should have his meals in his room. I thought he would be tired enough to stay in his room."
Vader paused, feeling Luke shift on his back. When Luke continued to slumber, Vader continued. "I believe this is partially my fault. I should not have referred to leaving for meetings and office work that would have bored him as "adult things". I did not realize he was old enough to understand such crude concepts."
"I see, my Lord."
"This child...he changed everything. The Emperor has ordered that he is to be Prince. I could not change his mind."
"Prince? As in, an Imperial Prince?"
"Not "an", Major – the. The Imperial Prince. The Emperor wants to see how strong this child will become...and how far I will go to protect him."
Walking in silence, they returned Luke to his room and tucked him into bed, Vader longingly running a finger through Luke's blonde locks. What would it have been like to touch his hair with his own hand? Would it be soft, like his mothers?
Just the thought of everything that woman took from him made him clench his fists in anger. Worried he would disturb his son, Vader left the room with the Major.
"Post a guard on his door. Sargent Kreel gave me a list of trusted men to take from the Executor. For now, he must rest in his room until it is announced that he is Prince. I do not want today repeating itself."
"Of course, my Lord."
"Did the school reach out with the schedule yet? We must decide a time for him to start."
Hal hesitated. "They are half way through their first semester, my Lord. They suggested that he start right away to get evaluated and caught up with the other students..."
"But?"
"That was before he was the Imperial Prince. Do you think it will be safe with the rebels after him?"
The thought had plagued Vader even before the Emperor decided to make Luke the Prince. The rebels were beyond a mere nuisance considering they had already tried to murder his son in cold blood.
"I do not want to lock him inside the walls of the palace, no matter how large those walls are...I want to give him the world. We shall try school, and if it becomes a problem, we will address it." Vader did not want to admit out loud how badly he wished the walls of the palace could be enough. Luke was not raised on such a busy world – everything to him right now was overwhelming.
"Yes, my lord. When would you like to Luke to start? They said they would take him at once when we were ready."
"Speak with his doctor – when his arm is healed to a point he finds acceptable, that should be enough time for him to settle in and get ready for school."
There was also something Luke was obviously not telling him. It was obvious that neither Hal nor Tason were foolish enough to tell Luke about the punishments Lord Vader was rumored to dole out. Nor did Vader believe that the survival ridden children of Tatooine had that much time to spread stories among each other.
Someone else had specifically told Luke things he shouldn't be mature enough to understand. It made no sense that Luke was able to draw the conclusions he did today – most twelve year old's did not comprehend "toys" beyond their own. Unless his Aunt and Uncle had been lying the entire time and exposing the child to horrendous ideas, then Luke had somehow been forced to mature for other reasons.
Reasons that he as of now did not trust Vader with. In time, he would learn to trust and rely on Vader, but how much time would that take?
Heading towards his office, Vader gritted his teeth, processing yet another long day.
The Imperial Prince?
How dare the Emperor name Luke the Prince without asking him. Though he should have been grateful that the Emperor didn't demand he throw Luke immediately into training, Vader did not want his child wrapped up in this mess.
If the Emperor made Luke the prince, every citizen in the galaxy would learn who he was. Once everyone knew, he would become an instant target against both Vader himself and the Empire. The Emperor not only had done this in an attempt to replace Vader himself at some point, but the Emperor's sickening curiosity was wondering if Luke could survive such a harsh galaxy.
There had to be some way to delay announcing Luke for at least a short while until Vader had a better idea how to protect him. The rebels were already after him with a vengeance simply for being the son of a Sith lord – when they learned he was a prince, they would be insatiable.
"My lord!" One of his aides on duty sprung to his feet at his entrance, standing at attention.
Pausing outside the door to his office, Vader glanced towards an aide and truly looked for perhaps the first time since become Vader. The aide was clearly younger, perhaps around twenty or twenty-one years of age, clearly someone's son.
What was he thinking? Someone's son? Everyone was someone's son or daughter. It was biologically impossible not to be.
"I do not wish to be disturbed unless there is an emergency."
"Yes, my lord."
Entering his office, Vader went to stand before the window, watching the heavy traffic of Coruscant. How he loathed this planet – it was why he made every excuse to leave. But now, with Luke here…
Now he dreaded the thought of having to leave his son undefended from his Master's whims. There had to be something he could do, short of taking his son with him constantly.