Hanger Bay #5
Home One
In orbit around Sullust
Three Weeks Later
"Marriage," Admiral Ackbar said. "Marriage is what brings us together today."
Hanger Bay #5 was the largest of the bays on Home One, and it was currently empty of spacecraft and full of people and droids. It was not every day that the Rebellion's beloved princess was married, after all.
"Marriage, that blessed arrangement, that dream within a dream," Ackbar continued, looking down fondly on Leia Organa, who was dressed in white, her hair piled high on her head. It reminded him of the giddy days after the destruction of the Death Star, and especially of the ceremony honoring Luke Skywalker and Han Solo for their courage in taking down the Empire's planet-destroying machine. Now Han Solo was marrying the princess, and Luke Skywalker was working with Darth Vader, his father of all things, to shift from the Empire to a New Republic. It was crazy stuff, but all good.
Leia was gazing at him with a slight frown, and he realized he had lapsed into silence. He was a bit absent minded these days, thanks to joy and relief more than anything. Palpatine dead, and Vader maybe working with the Rebellion, not that anyone could trust the Sith, but...
Now Solo was glaring at him and he quickly intoned the rest of the marriage service, followed by the exchanging of the rings, and finally he had the pleasure of declaring, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."
The couple turned and kissed passionately, and the Rebels yelled their joy and the very ceiling shook with applause and excitement.
Ackbar smiled at the scene, and his eyes, which were always wet, grew even wetter. It was a glorious day, not just because of the marriage of two such fine young people, but because for the first time in many years, there was genuine hope for the galaxy.
/
Luke Skywalker's Suite
Executor
"They look so happy, don't they?" Luke said, his eyes slightly shiny with tears.
His father, Emperor Vader, glowered at the giant screen which showed, up close and personal, his daughter, Padme's daughter, currently locking lips with her new husband, the Corellian Han Solo. On the one hand, he was glad that the Alliance had been kind enough to send a transmission of the wedding ceremony for his son's sake. On the other…
"I do not approve of this marriage," he said yet again.
"Leia will be glad to hear that for the eighth time," his son said cheekily, and waved a finger at the screen, which turned off. Luke then threw himself on his bed, which was large, lavish, and full of pillows, and stretched like a loth cat.
"Father," he said more seriously, "Leia loves Han, and Han loves Leia. He is a great guy, and they are very compatible. That is really what matters."
Vader stalked up and down the polished black floor, deep in thought. He did not like Han Solo at all. The man was a rogue, and a ruffian, and scruffy looking. He looked more like a nerfherder than suitable marriage material. However, it was true that the man was very loyal to the twins; he had done what he could to protect Leia at Bespin, and had also saved Luke's life over the Death Star.
When he looked up, he was startled and amused to discover that Luke had used the Force to pull all of his plushies from their drawers and was now curled up in a heap of stuffed toys, his eyes closed.
"I need a nap," the boy stated, though he did not open his eyes.
"We need to practice with lightsabers, Son," Vader said, his throat clogging oddly at the sight of his little boy, curled up with his plushies. He might be on terrible terms with his daughter – no surprise given that he had tortured her twice and stood by while he ordered her planet destroyed – but at least he had Luke. The youth was stubborn and often disrespectful, but he genuinely cared for his cyborg sire, and indeed followed him around much of the time. Vader, who had been alone for so long, could hardly believe how lucky he was to have such a son.
Luke opened one blue eye and said, "Don't you have a meeting?"
Vader checked his schedule and grimaced. He did have a meeting with some of the high muckity mucks of the Empire. How tiresome. In fact, so tiresome that…
"Practicing your lightsaber is more important," he said sternly.
Luke opened the other eye and grinned at him. "But I don't need you to practice with a seeker. Go on, Father; you are de facto Emperor now and need to lead."
"Meetings are boring," he said gruffly.
"So so so so so so boring," Luke agreed, sitting up with his hair now mussed from the plushies. "I would come with you, but I think I freak out your people. Not sure why."
Vader knew exactly why. The boy was young, handsome, not particularly tall, and rather cute. But he and Vader had had some really noisy arguments in front of Imperial officers, stormtroopers, and even a few of the bureaucrats who had survived Vader's cull of the Imperial Ruling Council. Sometimes the arguments had resulted in father and son throwing things at one another with the Force, and Luke, who was improving his abilities with the Force with shocking speed, was giving nearly as good as he got. These arguments were, Vader knew, incredibly intimidating to everyone around him. For the last 23 years, he had only allowed Palpatine to scold him, and to have this young man, half a meter shorter than himself, argue vociferously was beyond what they could fathom. Then, to add on the boy's obvious Force ability … well, it was no surprise that only Piett could look Luke in the eye.
Oh well, they would get used to it in time, assuming that the arguments continued, and they probably would. For all of Luke's charm, the boy was no wilting uneti blossom, and would not give in to Vader's well thought out reasoning regarding the efficacy of good dictatorships.
"Very well," he said with a sigh. "I will see you later, Son."
"M'kay," Luke said, and flopped back down on the mattress, only to sit up instantly like a jack in the box.
"Father?"
"Yes, Son?"
"What color is your lightsaber?"
This was said with bright eyes and a devilish grin, and Vader sighed and lit his lightsaber which was now definitely green, with just a tinge of red.
"I like that color," Luke remarked with a chuckle.
Vader knew, of course, that the crystal in his lightsaber was shifting away from red because he himself was shifting from Dark to Light. Even two months ago, he would have snarled at the very thought that he could go Light, but with his little boy at his side, it was impossible to resist love and acceptance and kindness and all that jazz.
He patted his son on the head with the Force, left the suite, and began marching toward the conference room.
His life was not what he could ever have believed, but one thing he knew – life was better for everyone with Palpatine dead and Luke sort of running things.
Yes, the Empire would fall, and a New Republic would rise, and he would fade into the background and his children would run things with far more sense and kindness than he had ever been capable of.
Because they were Padme's children.
And he loved them both very much.
/
Original Timeline
Coruscanti Zoo
"Look at the bugs, Papa!" five year old Viola said, gazing at the buzzing bees inside the chamber with awe.
Luke Skywalker knelt down next to his adopted daughter who had been snatched from another timeline and said, "Yes, those are bees, honey."
"Bees?"
"Yes, some of them make honey, and some of them don't. The ones that don't are actually quite useful too, though. There was this one time when the former Emperor…"
"Luke, do not tell our young child that bees sometimes kill people!" Mara's voice said in his head.
Luke winced and went quiet, which provoked Viola to turn wide brown eyes on him. "What, Papa?"
"Bees are useful for pollinating flowers, darling," he said. "Like stalistis, and roses, and…"
"I love flowers!" Viola replied, spinning around and doing a few dance steps. "Where are Biggs and Shmi and B'ru?"
This was an excellent question, of course, and the Skywalkers sent out hasty, frantic tendrils towards their older offspring, who had drifted off in another direction in the Coruscanti zoo, only a few kilometers from their apartment near the new Jedi Temple.
"Rancor pen," Mara said worriedly, and took off toward the northwest. Luke hoisted Viola on his shoulders, causing the girl to giggle madly, and set out after his wife.
The three elder Skywalker children were indeed standing near the rancor pen, but there was a tall, thick transparent wall between his offspring and the giant creature, and thus they were presumably safe enough. Well, that was questionable, as the children, being Skywalkers, were more or less nuts, and entirely capable of trying to climb over the twenty foot wall. For the moment, though, the kids were merely staring through the transparisteel with enthusiasm.
"Look, Dad!" Biggs exclaimed. "Babies!"
Luke, whose initial gaze had been on the tall, hideous creature with huge claws and sharp pointy teeth, lowered his eyes to observe three tiny rancors, apparently newly hatched, running around their mother's legs, making adorable squeaking noises.
"Babies!" Beru chorused. "Oh, Daddy, aren't they so cute! Can I have one as a pet!"
Luke shuddered noticeably and Mara ran a hand along her daughter's red curls and said, "I am sorry, darling, but rancors are too big to be good pets."
"Not that Jabba thought that," her husband muttered.
"Who?" Shmi demanded, tilting her head and pointing her green eyes, so much like her mother's, at her sire.
"Um, rancors belong in the wild, or zoos, honey," Luke said, and gestured to the next pen over. "Like etobis! Shall we go look at them and maybe feed them some leaves?"
"I want to feed the tobis!" Viola yelled, and began running toward the adjacent enclosure, with her older siblings in hot pursuit. The Skywalkers, while keeping a close Force eye on the children, walked at a slower pace, arm in arm, relishing the pleasure of one another's company on a sunny day.
"Nice save, Farmboy," Mara hissed.
"Why did they have to make a beeline to the rancor pen?" Luke responded with a grimace. "I'm not afraid of much, but rancors make me nervous."
"Given that one of them nearly had you for afternoon tea, that isn't surprising," his wife said fondly.
The children had, by now, arrived at the stairwell which led to a deck overseeing the eopies, and Luke flung out an invisible barrier which prevented them from climbing the stairway. The children, well used to being restrained by the Force, obediently plopped onto the ground and waited patiently for their slower parents, though all four of the children were vibrating with excitement in the Force.
Luke, with his beloved Mara at his side, and his children near him, was suddenly aware of a great well of astonished happiness. How could it be that he, son of a Sith Lord, farmboy from a desert planet, found himself surrounded by loved ones, part of an amazing family?
He was incredibly blessed.
Author Note:
I know this is Chapter 100, which means this story is LONG. I am not intending to be done with this story but this is the end of this arc. Thanks for all your kind words and encouragement!