Luke Vader Part 12

Part 12: Rendezvous
By SJ 03-03-00/12-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
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Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.
See my homepage for more details.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702

Naturally, everything coming straight from the movie, words or situations,
belong even more than the rest to George Lucas. It is still only for fun,
nothing else.

Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your
precious time, my friend :)

__________________

While in deep space Darth Vader relentlessly hounded the fleeing corvette of
Princess Leia, on Tatooine, Luke cursed vehemently against a recalcitrant
vaporator that he had to take care of.

While he continued to strain against a completely finished nut, he mentally
cursed that the old farmer, like all the so-called 'farmers', was a crazy man
and a fool for hoping to get anything out of this machine and environment. The
desert simply was far from ideal to harvest anything, but then, the young dark
Jedi reminded himself while fighting his urge to hit the vaporator with his tool
and see if it worked better that way, even his 'uncle' had never understood
that.

What was it with those moisture farmers?, he wondered in growing frustration as
he threw his tool in his nearby metal box. Were they insanely stubborn to not
understand that they were fighting against impossible odds?

He finally calmed down and picked up a new tool. If he didn't want to blow his
cover, he reminded himself, he had to keep this job. However, he conceded
sourly, keeping his mouth shut about what he knew about the planet's impossible
harvest was difficult. Given his intensive training about all the planets of
his master's universe, he 'knew' that no matter how many vaporators one farmer
could keep in working order, they would never turn this desert into a fertile
ground. However, he also knew, from his past life on the dustball, that no
farmer was ready to face the truth and move on another planet.

Hence, he remained silent and did as he was told by his boss. As he did so, he
also forced himself to obey another, completely different order: to not go after
Kenobi to exact revenge for what he had done to his father and himself. Every
day, he had to struggle against himself to not give in this urge, but once
again, he obeyed his order although it came from a very different authority.

Today was no different from the other days, he sighed in rising frustration. If
only---

*Luke,* his father's voice suddenly entered his mind.

He froze and raised his head toward the patch of sky where his father was; he
immediately spotted the ongoing space battle.

*I'm here and ready, Father,* he answered instantly. *How are things
proceeding?*

*As we have foreseen,* was his father's answer. *We're currently drawing her
aboard the ship; she herself is planning to jettison the plans through an
astromech droid,* he added with a note of grim confidence.

*Clever idea, Father, but not too clever that she will doubt her ability to
think about this by herself,* the youth smirked meaningfully.

*Exactly,* the dark lord mentally nodded. *She has already used droids as an
alibi for being in Toprawa, it was simple to nudge her in that direction,* he
commented coolly. *I'll contact you again when I'll know which droid you have
to retrieve.*

*I'll be here, Father,* the youth replied coolly. *Be careful with her, she's
sharp.*

*I know,* his father answered grimly, then was gone to focus on the ongoing
boarding parties.

Luke for his part refocused on his tedious work.

So the Princess would soon fall in his father's hands to await for 'his' rescue,
but before meeting up with her aboard the Death Star, he first had to recover
the plans, and naturally, he then had to find a transport off-planet.

It would be an interesting few days, he smirked grimly to himself.

Aboard the Rebel frigate, Vader patiently waited for troopers to bring their
most important prisoner to him.

According to their early report, the girl had managed to kill one trooper before
they had stunned her, then had put up a brief fight when she had woken up.
While she had been unconscious, he himself had taken advantage of her lack of
awareness to gather the information regarding her actions just before the
troopers had caught her.

Before he could transmit them to his son however, the young senator appeared at
the end of the corridor, surrounded by her wary escort.

"Darth Vader," she spat at him venomously.

While she went about a tirade about how the Senate would not sit still for this,
he himself indulged himself in a study of this new side of her. It wasn't the
first time that he met with her, he conceded, but it was the first time that he
could see the fire that he had always felt as smoldering under the refine veneer
of Alderaan's aristocracy. He chuckled mentally at the thought that it was
downright betraying her up-to-now secret associations with the rebels.

He had always suspected her from being a rebel, had then found proofs of her
being so during the preparation of this plan, and finally, he had seen it in her
mind when he had planted impulses there , but, he conceded, he hadn't 'really'
believed those until now. However, he couldn't have a doubt anymore, he thought
grimly as he glared in her defiant eyes.

While he mechanically answered her, he dimly reflected that she somehow reminded
him of another senator he had once seen as facing down a whole army to save her
planet, but he dismissed the thought as being inopportune and less than
pertinent. He was just getting distracted.

"Take her away!" he ordered the troops at that, then walked down the corridor.

Beside him, his first officer commented that it was unwise to hold her because
of the Senate.

Vader discarded that comment with the back of his hand, perfectly aware that the
Senate had been permanently dissolved by now, something which the Emperor had
kept secret from everyone except himself.

His master had decided that the first day of his son's mission would be as good
a day as any to get rid of this last nuisance in their system. Naturally, Vader
reflected, it also allowed him to keep the girl in one place without anyone
requesting her freedom with demonstrations and public protestations.

And now, he thought seriously, it was up to his son to catch up with them, but
not without a last nugget of help from him.

******

Luke had finished his dinner and was back outside, fine-tuning his newly-bought
but fourth-hand speeder. Even though he was aware that he would sell it to pay
his transport off planet, he didn't have anything else to do, and tinkering once
again allowed him to remain focused on his mission... He was grateful for this
tool to take his mind off the elements that had constantly been pulling at his
mind ever since he had landed.

Somehow, his being back 'home' affected him more than he had first surmised. He
couldn't help but see flashes of his young years with Owen and Beru Lars, who
were on the other side of the Dune Sea. He also kept remembering his
misadventure in the sand dunes... his ensuing slavery---

No, he angrily wrenched his thoughts from this topic he had thought long buried
inside him. He wouldn't venture in this emotional territory, he scolded
himself, he had a mission to accomplish, and he had to succeed if he didn't want
to become a slave again, this time because of a 'true' ineptitude.

He closed his eyes at that, forced himself to regain his focus on what he had to
do, then opened them again. Beyond the furthest dunes, the twin suns were
slowly sliding under the horizon, taking away their oppressing heat to begin
distributing it to the other side of the planet. Luke's eyes locked on the
beautiful sight of oranges, yellows and pinks, and sighed as he pulled away from
the already running engine.

No matter how much he tried to deny it, he admitted to himself as he seated
himself on the back of the speeder, he 'was' worried about the outcome of his
mission. For the past three months, he, his father, his lover, and even the
Emperor had been setting things up and preparing themselves for what he would,
in the end, face alone. Throughout those months, he had never, ever allowed
himself to falter, doubt himself, or even worry about the outcome of the mission
if he were to fail, but now that he was here, all alone and with the events in
motion... he was just on this side of being overwhelmed by the size of what he
had undertaken.

Strangely, he admitted as he continued to gaze at the setting suns, he felt as
if he were a child once again, but no, he shook his head to change his mind from
those defeatist thoughts, he wasn't a child anymore. He had returned here a
seasoned warrior and agent, with all the tools and abilities that he needed at
his disposal to be successful while alone. He wouldn't let his childhood
thoughts and his resulting hatred pull him away from what had to be foremost in
his mind: how to recover the Princess' droid.

The rest, he sighed as he savored his last evening of relative peace before the
mission truly began, was inconsequential or in the future.

*Very well thought,* his father's voice commented coolly in his mind.

*You heard all that?* the youth inquired in slight uneasiness and complete
surprise.

*Not everything,* Darth Vader reassured his worried son while he gazed down at
the slowly darkening side of Tatooine. *Only what was important.*

*I won't fail, Father,* his son answered confidently. *I guess I'm just getting
antsy with anticipation,* the youth then joked slightly.

*Then be ready for action,* he informed him seriously.

Despite the distance that was separating them, he felt his son recover a much
more serious set of mind even as he straightened his physical stance.

*We have just bribed a band of Jawas to hunt down the droids in the desert
wastes, then take them to your location,* he explained. *They should be at the
farm tomorrow afternoon at the latest.*

*I'll be ready,* the youth mentally nodded in answer. *I'll convince my boss to
buy the droid.*

*Actually, there are two of them, Son,* the dark lord amended his previous
communication. *You have to retrieve both a blue and white, silver-domed
astromech and a golden-plated protocol droid. Both must return in our grasp
once this is over.*

For a moment, he felt his son consider this new information, then how he would
convince the not exactly rich farmer to buy two droids, but his pondering was
short.

*It will be done,* Luke finally answered even as he sent to him how he would
proceed to convince the other man: with mind manipulation. *After that, we're
out of here,* he informed him grimly.

*We have new orders about this, Son,* the older man commented in answer, feeling
his own dark delight at the nature of those new instructions. *You must also
retrieve Kenobi and bring him aboard the Death Star.*

*Kenobi??* the youth gaped slightly at this. *I thought we were supposed to
avoid involving him if possible.*

*There is a change of plan,* Vader shook his head. *The Emperor wants me to use
him to make the princess believe your story, and,* he added with a sneer, *he
will be a good mentor for an inexperienced farm boy like who you are supposed to
be... especially since he now want you to be revealed as a potential Jedi.*

Luke was so shocked by his father's last comment that he momentarily interrupted
their contact; take Kenobi as his mentor??????? Him? An already trained dark
Jedi who could probably take on the old wizard without much trouble???

*Why?* was all he could ask in answer.

*Because the Rebellion will welcome a Jedi in their rank without asking any
questions, and especially one who will come with the Republic's well-known
general Kenobi,* his father commented with about as much disgust as he himself
felt.

Himself... with the arch nemesis of both his father and himself, the sole
responsible for their personal hells and his actual secrecy.

The Jedi he had wanted to kill for years...

He would be a willing apprentice of this hated man...

*How far does it have to go?* he asked his father although he already knew the
answer.

*As far as you have to go to be perfect, Luke,* his father answered in kind.
*Remember, he has been searching for you for years now. Once you will retrieve
the droids, use the astromech to get to Kenobi. He carries a message for the
wizard.*

Luke sighed heavily in reluctance. What he wouldn't do to be successful, he
thought in disgust, then forced those thoughts down. It was his duty, he would
do it, and that was it.

*Count on me,* he assured his father, then cut their link.

When he recovered his complete senses, the first sun had completely disappeared
on the horizon and the second one was following suite, as if drawn by a magnet.

Time to go to bed, he thought seriously, closing down his engine compartment.
Tomorrow would be a most peculiar day.

******

As it happened however, the Jawa Sandcrawler didn't reach the farm before late
afternoon, unwillingly stalling the mission for that much longer. All day long,
Luke used his persuasion skills to make his boss think of duties that he could
accomplish around the farm--- then the Jawas finally showed up.

As he had surmised, the older man was less than interested to buy from the
little scavengers, but Luke resorted to a subtle mental push to convince him
that they needed two extra droids, and they were on their way for a bargaining
session with the alien creatures.

While the other haggled for prices, Luke studied the robots--- and singled out
the two droids his father had described to him.

"Those two are fit enough for what we need, Sir," he commented at the other's
glance.

Another nudge of persuasion and the deal was done, with the two droids following
Luke.

As if he had saved them from some horrible fate, the protocal droid began to
prattle about how he thanked him for choosing him; Luke pointedly ignored him,
pretending to be distracted by something else. Noticing this, the tall droid
turned his attention to the shorter machine... who gave him a raspberry about
his pointless comment.

Minutes later, Luke was cleaning the little one up while commenting about his
carbon scoring.

In fact though, he was scanning him to have a sense of his personality. He
hadn't really needed to do so with the taller one though; the simple tremor in
his mechanical voice, as well as the words that he had chosen to describe his
dip in the oil bath, and he had understood that he was prissy, greatly annoying
and easy to scare.

That little one though was quite different, he thought even as he considered his
options as to how to get it to Kenobi. It was reckless, defiant, and had truly
seen a lot of action, he understood from its fearless, almost cocky attitude
toward his new masters.... His running away wouldn't be a surprise to his
companion, he surmised with a mental smirk even as his more conscious mind
continued to lead a naive conversation about space battles with the taller
droid, then refocused on his supposed cleaning.

Then, it was time to set his plan in motion.

"Well, there's something jammed in here real good," he grunted as he pried hard
against a section of the plans.

He mock-tumbled on his behind just as he managed to mentally trigger a part of
the holo from the droid's databank.

"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope," the princess said once, twice,
then again as the holo kept repeating itself.

Jackpot!, Luke thought in satisfaction. Everything was in place now and it was
up to him to move his pieces the right way to reach his goal.

"What's that?" he asked as if in bemusement as he recovered from his voluntary
rough landing.

The little droid fluted something; since it wasn't betraying total surprise,
Luke estimated that his manipulations had worked; the droid was convinced that
the holo was its doing.

"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope," the Alderaanian princess
repeated over and over.

"He says it's nothing, Sir. Merely a malfunction, don't pay any attention to
it," the prissy droid explained dufitully.

"Who is she?" he commented, ignoring the robot's reply while pretending to be
mesmerized by the rebel. "She's beautiful," he continued a little more
earnestly than he had meant to, he then berated himself.

Well, he admitted inwardly, she 'was' captivating, even here, in this context.
Even if the sight of the young Princess had become somewhat familiar to him, he
conceded that there was something different this time... then he understood. He
was seeing the true Leia Organa, not the one edited by the news droids.

She reminded him of the child he had briefly saw and the older teenager he had
'almost' been introduced to--- then he pulled his thoughts away from the past
and focused on 'Threepio's', as he was called, answer.

"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure, Sir," the droid continued precisely. "Our
Captain was---"

"Is there anymore of this recording?" Luke cut him off, as if extremely eager to
know more about the princess.

In fact though, he was not interested to hear the droid's lengthy description of
what he already knew. The droid called Artoo thrilled something else. Luke
looked at the protocol droid for translation.

Even though he spoke fluently more than ten languages and could understand
another five or six, he had never cared to learn astro-mechanics fluting.

"He says his old master was Obi-Wan Kenobi, a resident of these parts I believe,
and that this is a part of a private message for him," Threepio decoded before
going on with personal comments.

Luke pretended to muse about this. "Obi-Wan Kenobi,... I wonder if he means
old Ben Kenobi."

He noticed the way the little droid seemed to suddenly pay attention. He spoke
more clearly, as if reflecting out loud.

"He's an old hermit, lives out in the Dune Sea. He's supposed to be a magician
or something. Everybody avoids him..." he finished thoughtfully, then refocused
on the still playing holographic recording. "She does sound in trouble," he
commented, expertly changing the subject back to the princess.

He moved toward the droid, as if meaning to play back the whole message. Artoo
rolled backward, ,moving away from his reach. Luke pretended to be surprised by
this, but he wasn't; he had been expecting this exact reaction from the little
tin can.

The droids chattered between themselves, dizzying him with their meaningless
bickering.

His trainer had been right, he admitted. Interacting with other entities was
definitely something else than merely going through them or even pretending
while in training.

The droid called Threepio spoke again.

"He says that the restraining bolt is short-circuiting his system. He suggests
that if you remove the bolt, he could replay the whole message."

Luke shrugged mock-naively.

"Sure, why not. You're too small to run away on me anyway."

However, Luke knew better than that. He 'knew' that the astromech would run
away, would seek Kenobi, and he himself would only have to go after him to get
in touch with the cursed Jedi... and convince him that he had found young
Skywalker... at last.

He himself could only hope that his getting involved in the operation meant that
the Emperor would finally allow either him or his father to kill him.

Meanwhile, he removed the bolt; the holo went away... and the short guy played
his 'new' role of would-be runaway to perfection.

So did Luke... and the events unfolded exactly as he had planned when he left
the two droids alone for a short while.

As he stood, scanning the surrounding desert to find the missing droid, its
companion went about describing how normal this was for the short robot.

"Blast it, he's nowhere in sight," Luke commented in mock-worry, purposefully
interrupting the endless chatter of the other robot.

"Couldn't you go out after him, Sir?" Threepio inquired solicitously.

"It's too dangerous with the Sand People," Luke shook his head. "We'll have to
wait till morning. That little droid is gonna cause me a lot of trouble," he
then added seriously, pinning his companion with his gaze.

"Oh, he excels at that, Sir," Threepio nodded in agreement.

He had better not be too good at that, Luke silently glared at the other in
answer. Using the little guy to get to Kenobi was one thing, but getting
trouble in this mission because of the droid was something else altogether. He
made a note to keep an eye on the astromech when he would retrieve it the next
morning.

"Come on," he told the other, now quiet droid. "It's time to shut down the power
for the night."

The taller droid silently shuffled after him and they returned inside for the
night. Tomorrow would be it, Luke thought grimly as he led him back to the
garage.

******

The next morning, the young dark Jedi retrieved the tall droid from the
garage and went after the droid. Unbeknown to him, his father had received new
orders from the Emperor during the night.

The moment he left the farm, troops, who had already taken care of the Jawas,
came down on the farm owners who had sheltered him to cover any traces that Luke
Vader had ever been on a mission on Tatooine.

Oblivious of this last development, Luke flew his speeder in the direction that
the small droid had taken the previous night... On the way there, he pondered
how he could make Kenobi show himself up for a rescue instead of his seeking him
out... then he remembered his comments of the previous night about the Sand
People and smirked inwardly before reaching out to contact the mind of an alien.

Then, he 'located' the already pinpointed astromech while allowing some of his
tight shield to loosen and let part of his presence filter through the Force.
He finally stopped by the droid, in the canyon of a small rocky formation.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" he asked it even as he reached out to
estimate how much stalling he needed to provide until the Sand people would
show--- they were already here, he realized.

At this very moment, Artoo began to rock from one clawfoot to another while
whistling frantically.

"What's wrong with him now?" he asked Threepio, truly confused about such
behavior; was the droid going berserk on him now?

Threepio hurriedly informed him that the little guy had detected the presence of
the Tusken Raiders. While Luke pretended to be caught unaware by these news, he
reluctantly admitted that the astromech had all his wires fused right. He was
quite reliable for something this small and insignificant.

He thus surmised that he didn't have to take it with him to pretend observing
the Sand People.

Two minutes later, and some willingly clumsy rock-climbing with a droid in tow,
he had stationed himself on an outcrop... turning himself into an easy target
for the aliens. While he scanned the landscape with his binoculars, he dimly
reached out to check on Kenobi.

While he naively commented on what he could see through his binocs, he
restrained himself from chuckling in satisfaction as he felt that the other was
already on his way to him, as he had foreseen. He had recognized his presence
the moment he had allowed his essence in the Force filter through his mental
shields---- then a warning came to him and he didn't have time to think anymore.

As if materializing from thin air, a Tusken Raider invaded his field of vision
and threw itself at him. His first instinct upon being attacked was to finish
the other, but he fortunately remembered that he was supposed to be untrained in
combat skills. Hence, he threw up his weapon up to block the descent of the
raider's pike, let him push him hard on the rocky ground where he avoided two
hits before he used a near miss and pretended to have been hit by it.

The other believed his act, turned on the droid, which stumbled backward and
fell down the cliff--- then the other returned beside his 'unconscious' self and
studied him.

Luke forced himself into a semi-trance to not betray his actual state with any
unwelcome, reflexive reaction; hence, he didn't react at all when two pairs of
grimy hands took hold of his biceps and pulled him off the ground before
dragging him down the cliff toward his speeder. There, they dropped him down;
Luke shielded his head with a Force-cushion, then lightly convinced his
attackers that the speeder was more interesting than he was.

While he waited for a certain hated Jedi to show up, he grew aware that the
astromech was not far from him, beeping softly as if to wake him up without
attracting the attention of the raiders. As if, the young dark Jedi thought in
slight incredulity, the thing was worried for him.

Before he could consider this further however, the scream of a Krayt Dragon
invaded the air and rebounded from wall to wall; if not for his trance, Luke
dimly reflected, he would have jumped in surprise at this, even if he knew who
was at the origin of such a sound.

Then, he didn't have time to think anymore as he felt the approaching presence
of the wizard; he pulled himself deeper into his trance while redoubling his
shields.

More than ever, he was now entering the scene as Luke Skywalker, naive farm boy
with a Force sensitivity.

The other lightly probed his vital senses, then his consciousness with the
Force--- but was startled by the nearby astromech before he could probe further.
While Kenobi discusses with the droid, Luke decided that now was a good time to
'recover' his senses.

He slowly groaned and opened his eyes---- and his first instinct upon wakening
at the Jedi's side was to attack him, but once again, he caught himself and
forced down his reflexes.

Instead, he played along, pretending to be a foolish young man named Luke
Skywalker. Kenobi naturally recognized him, calling him by his name even before
he had identified himself. He helped him to his feet and to a nearby rock; Luke
was hard-pressed to not shove him away with his 'good' intentions.

It was way too late to be kind to him, he wanted to snarl at him, but only
inwardly. Outwardly, he began his story about how he had gone after the little
droid who was curiously devoted to his former master... which then led to Kenobi
revealing his identity to him.

Bad move, Luke reflected meanly. The last thing someone in hiding should do
was to reveal his true identity; he himself certainly wouldn't do this, he added
in professional pride. Before he could reflect further on that point though,
sandpeoples entered their field of awareness; he mock-eagerly accepted Kenobi's
invitation to go to his place, but not before retrieving the second droid who
might already be past history, he thought seriously.

******

Threepio hadn't been put out of commission with its accident, merely maimed.
Hence, Luke and Kenobi reactivated him, helped him up, then they boarded the
speeder and headed for the Jedi's place.

After an interminably boring trek back to the Jedi's 'cave', and more annoying
'naive' talk with him, Luke finally was able to find a refuge by working on the
busted droid, who had been stupid enough to climb after him in the mountain.

While he did so, the old rag dug around his things, looking for something, then
he produced a lightsaber. He said that it was his father's.

That stumped Luke. His father's lightsaber?? From when?, he wondered in
confusion, then stood to his feet when the other offered it to him. The old man
didn't have to tell him twice; Luke took hold of the weapon and studied it.

The make seemed indeed familiar, he estimated, somewhat reminiscent of his
father's actual design, if less evolved, he thought, then turned the weapon on.

The temptation to cut the Jedi down instantly became extremely overpowering,
especially since the other was standing close to him, but Luke forced himself
away from the other. To pass his urge to wield the weapon, he tried a couple of
moves to test the quality of the blade, then hurried to shut it off before he
began more complex moves that would betray his already trained status.

It was a good weapon, he reflected as he continued to study it. Perhaps it was
his father's, but he would have to ask him when he would return, he decided.
Something felt absolutely wrong about the weapon, as if another person had made
it while mimicking his father... or something like this.

He himself knew that his father had once been a deluded Jedi Knight, that he had
served the weaker side of the Force before Kenobi had dueled with him and left
him for dead in a lava pit. Could the weapon be from before that time?
Somehow, he admitted, he had always thought that his father's actual weapon had
always been with him, that he hadn't changed it when he had become the powerful,
fearsome Darth Vader.

Suddenly reaching a decision, he decided to test the Jedi's lies; he asked him
how his father had died.

His answer almost made him strangle him on the spot. How dare he suggest that
Darth Vader had killed his father??? It was, he reflected, even worse than
separating him from his father as a child since he had now set a story to
convince him that his father wasn't his father. Had he not known the truth, he
raged inwardly, that cursed Jedi would have just made him want to kill his own
father, he cursed in dark anger.

However, his training had been proficient; none of his feelings surfaced on his
face. Instead of appearing angry, he managed to look naive and almost foolish.
Thank the Force he already knew the truth, he seethed.

A welcome silence ensued that sickening lie; Luke used that time to calm
himself. He would have to be careful as to what he would ask to the Jedi, he
decided. He was just liable to make him reveal himself through his powerful
hatred directed at him.

While Luke cooled down, the inconsiderate Jedi finally watched his message.
Luke forced himself to listen to it so as to know the whole story of the
princess. He thus noticed that, even more than the previous day, this was a
princess he had rarely heard of before. She was much tougher than she led
others to think. She truly was a gifted politician, he conceded; she knew how
to hide her true intentions, those intentions coming from herself... or from
someone else.

However, he reflected as the other pondered her request, he somehow had the
feeling that the girl would have gotten involved in a chase for the Death Star's
plans whether his father would have influenced it or not. He could feel, from
what he had already heard from her, that this was something she couldn't stand
for, that it went against everything she believed.

In a way, he conceded, he could understand her. He too didn't particularly care
about his master's latest toy. He feared what would happen if the superweapon
were ever used against a planet. The Emperor had told them that it was supposed
to be only a deterrent, but considering who was in charge of the project, Luke
wasn't as reassured as usually by his master's words.

Tarkin was a vicious man, a man who acted then asked questions. Not a good
approach, he thought grimly.

"... if you are to come with me to Alderaan," Kenobi commented, his eyes shining
with a strange light as he pulled him out of his inner world.

For a moment, Luke didn't know exactly how to interpret the non-verbal signs of
the man, then he opted for the easiest option: he gaped in disbelief.

"Alderaan?" he gasped even as he shot to his feet then pretended to be flustered
and unsure about this.

However, as his father had told him, the Jedi had been looking for him for a
long while and didn't mean to let him go this easily. Luke thus played along
and let himself be convinced to accompany him... as far as Mos Eisley, he added
meanly, not making it easy for the wizard.

The other fell serious at this, as if considering his options. Since no one was
looking at him, Luke allowed a smirk of satisfaction to cross his lips before it
disappeared again. The old fool never, ever realized that he was being
played by a fully trained dark Jedi who could kill him before he would be aware
of it, he thought in grim satisfaction. He was getting good at this, he patted
himself on the back, then took a deep breath and resumed his perfect act of
naivete.

******

On their way to Mos Eisley, they ran into the expertly destroyed Sandcrawler.
There, Luke pretended to put two and two together while assessing the troopers'
excellent job of poor disguise, then the other informed him that his boss and
his wife were also dead. Doubtful about this element, Luke used the silent
moment to secretly reach out and checked for himself---- and was startled to
find out that the farmers were indeed dead. For a moment, his mind reeled in
shock. They hadn't been supposed to be die, his father had been supposed to
brainwash them instead.

Why?, he asked to the Force, unable to not feel sickened by the death of those
two people who could have been his aunt and uncle... and the answer came to him
from his extensive experience as an agent.

Because it was the most efficient way to convince Kenobi of his choice for a new
life now that his life here 'was' over.

"I will come with you to Alderaan," he said, his voice charged with a sorrow
that he was truly feeling this time.

However, it was short-lived as he refocused on his mission, and all the elements
that were now in place to insure his getting hooked with the Princess, and the
hated Rebellion.

They left the Jawas' graveyard and resumed their way toward the bustling
spaceport.

Unfortunately for Luke, Kenobi deemed it appropriate to 'begin' his Jedi
training by sharing his Jedi 'wisdom' with him. Once again, Luke covered his
hatred well by mimicking confusion and shyness; inwardly, he hoped that he
wouldn't have to put up with this for too long. He also grew aware that the
more he spent time with the old rag, the more he wanted to kill him for his past
crimes.

For the moment however, he smirked grimly inwardly, pretending not to understand
seemed to be rather efficient to shut up the weak Jedi--- until the golden droid
picked up after him and began chattering about nothing and everything.

******

They finally made it to Mos Eisley, and not too soon, he thought in frustration.
Kenobi and the droid were most insufferable when put together. However, both
oft hem shut up when they reached the spaceport; his father's troops were
everywhere.

While he was pleased that the deterrent effect of such a sight was effective
even with cursed Jedi teachers, he estimated that they would help him reinforce
his cover.

Natrually, a control stopped them before they reached the inner part of the
city. At first it was simply a matter of answering questions... then Kenobi got
the idea to persuade the trooper with the Force to let them pass, but he wasn't
really successful.

Grunting unhappily yet inwardly at this, Luke subtly reinforced his manipulation
until the trooper didn't wonder anymore why he was repeating after the old man.
They were let through.

The fool! Luke cursed vehemently. If he didn't know how to use the Force
anymore, than he had better leave it alone, he thought angrily; he had almost
ruined it for them with his fledgling powers.

For a second Luke wished that Mara was beside him instead of the crazy old
man; at least, he reflected seriously, he wouldn't have to worry about her
messing up the mission.

The thought of her brought back home how he missed her--- but as he had done for
the past days, he forced those thoughts down and refocused on his mission.

He had to succeed, he reminded himself. Only his mission was important... his
role.

Five minutes later, he was shutting down the speeder in front of a cantina,
slightly jostling the stick and his passengers to cover his ace-pilot skills; it
was extremely well-known how unstable speeders were, except when piloted by
professional pilots.

They disembarked from the small craft. Kenobi seemed satisfied by his choice of
destination. Luke scowled inwardly. He didn't need Kenobi's help to choose
this destination, he wanted to tell him. As an agent, he knew everything there
was to know about those meeting places; he had spied and invaded enough of them
to even know more than fifty common characteristics about those establishments.

He thus braced himself for what would probably be a hive of scum and villainy.

Meanwhile, he pretended to be awed by what the old man had just 'done' with the
troops. Old fool, he reflected once again in anger as the other took
responsibility for their success. If he himself hadn't been there, they would
be on their way to the nearest Imperial prison, or even already dead.

While the other man was turning his back to him, Luke glared blaster bolts at
the back of his head--- then he recovered his naive dispositions.

Inside the cantina though, Luke scrunched up his face in disgust.

Yuck, this was even worse than he had thought, he conceded. The smell alone
indicated that many patrons had probably delayed many baths or showers between
their runs; the place itself looked less than clean. Heck, he then reflected
ungraciously, even his 'boss' oil pit had been cleaner than this bar.

He looked around, as much to cover his identity as to assess the place for any
threat. He thus noticed that old Kenobi was already deep into conversation with
a Wookiee.

Great, he muttered in disgust, aliens now. First two droids he couldn't shut
down to keep them interfering, then a bothersome would-be Jedi, and now aliens.
This mission truly was full of surprises, he conceded even as he steeled himself
for more surprises.

While he stepped closer to the bar, he called up what he knew about Wookiees.
They were extremely strong creatures, he thus remembered, they made wonderful
slaves once they had been beaten into submission, and they were gifted
mechanics.

Either that particular Wook was a slave to one of the patrons, he estimated,
then reflected that it was quite unlikely, or it was a mechanic at the spaceport
or aboard a ship.

Before he could push his reflection further though, an other alien shoved him
and grunted something vehement at him. Luke whirled toward him; his drink in
his hands allowed him to not attack the Aqualish. He pretended to not
understand him and turned back to his dubious beverage.

Two seconds later, a tap on his shoulder attracted his attention in his back
once again. Luke took a second to focus on his role only, then turned--- and
winced at the ugliness of the man who dutifully translated the threat that the
alien had just thrown at him.

Before he could defend himself, or excuse himself, Kenobi came up behind Luke
and tried to calm down the aliens.

Wrong tactic, Luke estimated--- and was proven right when the other shoved him
aside. He crashed hard into the closest table. Before he could react though,
and ruin his cover, Kenobi had drawn his lightsaber and 'cut' the trouble away.

While he pretended to be as awed as the rest of the nearby patrons, Luke smirked
inwardly. As he had suspected, the Jedi would be no match for him if he were to
challenge him in a duel to the death. However, he didn't have much time to
contemplate the blissful thought before he had to resume his perfect act.

"I'm all right," he commented the moment the Jedi bent down to help him up.

Kenobi seemed to understand his lack of interest over pointless checks and went
straight to the point.

He thus discovered that he been more or less right about the Wookiee:
Chewbacca, as it was called, was a co-pilot for a smuggler...

Han Solo.

Luke promised himself that he would never forget that character. Even though
the man was sitting, the young dark Jedi could see, and feel, that he was full
of swagger; he surmised that he was a daredevil who liked nothing more than
money, and more money.

Luke could also feel that this pilot would test his false identity by ribbing
the naive, simple farmboy that he was supposed to be. He was too easy a reason
to crow to let it pass, he sneered at himself in disgust. Hence, he remained
silent... until the man named his price.

"Ten thousands?" he exclaimed in naive yet outraged disbelief. "We could almost
buy our own ship for that!" he commented in disgust at the outlaw's fare.

Now he understood why he and his partner had been sent after smugglers for a few
years on end; they were a leeching the good citizens of their money.

"Yeah, but who's gonna fly it, Kid? You?" the other sneered in answer.

"You bet I could," he retorted, briefly foregoing his role to be Luke Vader
again and stare the other down. "I'm not such a bad pilot my---"

He was rising from his seat to stare down the arrogant smuggler; Kenobi's hand
appeared on his arm to calm him down... and made him realize what he had just
done. Luke settled back in his seat and his character but allowed himself the
luxury of glowering at the smuggler pilot.

Then Kenobi offered almost the double to the pilot; Luke couldn't help but
gape. Now he knew that the old Jedi was mad, he reflected grimly, then admitted
that it was no wonder that smugglers were still flourishing in the galaxy; they
were being encouraged by the likes of Kenobi.

When he'd return 'home', he promised himself, he would request a special
permission to go after the smuggling business, once and for all.

Meanwhile, the deal was concluded, with two thousand credits now and fifteen
when they reached Alderaan.

Well, he thought sarcastically, it just left the tiny detail of finding the
first two thousand credits, he wanted to sneer at the fool Jedi. Even with the
work he had put on, his speeder would never be worth this much.

His warning senses suddenly tingled; he refrained from turning around to see
what Solo's eyes were already tracking, but he could feel the presence of
troopers all the same.

Normally, he reflected, he would already be up and slinking toward the back
door, but here, in his stupid role of farmboy, he couldn't do so. However, he
exchanged a demanding gaze with the Jedi.

They stood up and moved toward the back door.

******

About an hour later, Luke had sold his beaten up speeder for the meager sum of a
thousand five hundred credits, and had collected all his charges. On the way to
the docking bay, he felt a new warning sensation; beside him, Kenobi didn't
react in any way. Making a decision, Luke covertly probed his surroundings---
and spotted the presence of a spy nearby. He briefly debated whether to let the
alien betray them or not... then decided that imperial interruption would be a
good way to convince everyone of the importance of their 'mission'. However, he
reflected seriously as he reintegrated his own senses, he would also have to
make sure that they wouldn't keep 'him' from completing his mission.

When Luke felt as if Kenobi was about to speak to him, he subtly nudged him to
walk silently and keep his tricks and wisdom for himself.

They reached the docking bay without any mishap. From his missions against
smugglers, Luke knew that a smuggler's ship didn't belong to beauty, but what he
saw was the last straw. Never in his life had he---

"That's a starship? What a piece of junk!" he exclaimed truthfully.

"She'll fly point five past lightspeed, Kid," Solo rebuked him instantly.

Luke wanted to whistle, impressed despite himself, but his naive farmboy wasn't
supposed to know what it meant; he remained silent. Meanwhile, Solo kept
crowing about his ship, then finally remembered that they had paid to
be transported, not for a visit.

They had barely begun to board the ship when the troops made their appearance;
they instantly opened fire on the Falcon.

Luke reluctantly ran inside, assuming his role of young greenhorned. However,
he was aware that he could have deflected the blaster bolts with the lightsaber
that Kenobi had given to him, and he would have enjoyed the exercise, he
conceded seriously.

Inside the ship, he pretended to not know where to head. Kenobi grabbed his arm
and steered him toward the lounge. The droids followed, the golden one
prattling on about how dangerous their current situation was. In front of him,
Luke freed his arm from the sorcerer's hold as soon as he could.

His touch, he reflected sourly, sickened him almost as much as an alien's.

Outside, the fight went on for a few more moments, then he heard Solo's shouts
as he ran in the corridor toward the cockpit. The take off was bouncy, to say
the least, but the imperial blaster fire rebounded against their shields.
When heavy fire began to rock the ship however, Luke undid his belt and ran
toward the cockpit.

He had to see what was going on, he decided seriously, perhaps he needed to even
the odds. As he reached the cockpit, he saw that the troops were indeed quite
efficient for once. They were already being harassed by two Star Destroyers,
not by Ties. Normally not a good point for the commanders, he thought grimly,
but he would forgive them for once. The ships tried hard to keep the smuggler
ship from escaping, their blasts coming a tad too close to his liking. Before
he could really worry though, he discovered that Solo was quite a pilot; he
would pull them through, he understood.

While the pilot and his co-pilot calmly maneuvered them out of Tatooine's
gravity field, Luke pretended to be alarmed, the exact opposite of his feelings.

"Are you kidding, at the rate they're gaining??!" he answered Solo's last
comment about having to wait after the computer's calculations.

Naturally, the other shot him a snide remark about dusting crops--- and missed
the appearance of the ready light on the board. Luke, who wasn't exactly
worried about their safety, also knew better than to wait for his true allies to
think about using their tractor beams on them.

"What's that flash??" he asked worriedly, pointing at the blinking light of the
nav-computer.

Solo slapped his hand away from the board; Luke was hard-pressed to not hit him
back in answer, but Kenobi was already pushing him out of the cockpit and back
into the lounge where they could strap themselves in for the jump to lightspeed.

The ship finally made it through, unscathed.

******

On their way to Alderaan, Kenobi offered him to begin his training. Luke was
tempted to feign the need to sleep, but he knew that it would alarm the
Jedi that something was wrong, especially considering his 'earnest' vow to
become a Jedi like his father before him.

Hence, Luke Vader reluctantly submitted to the would-be Jedi's tedious,
boring lessons about feelings and visualization.

It took him all his control not to move faster while using his feelings and
already trained skills. And to think that Kenobi praised him for what little he
accomplished with him, Luke thought in annoyance. Fool, he mused darkly, if he
only knew...

The exercises followed one after the other, until he tried to convince the Jedi
to fence with him 'for practice'. Wary of such exercises, the Jedi instead used
a remote to make him practice his sensing skills.

Focusing on the said remote, Luke was trying hard to smother what he already
knew and felt---- when a huge rip appeared in the Force, suddenly tearing apart
his senses even as too many voices to count screamed out in terror, then quieted
and disappeared as if they had never been. Even as he reeled under the assault,
he forcefully smothered both his non-verbal and verbal signs of pain; not too
far from him, the Jedi also faltered. The youth looked up just as the other
found a seat on a nearby crate.

For a moment, Luke debated whether to go to him or not, then decided that liked
it or not, that's what Skywalker would do.

"Are you all right?" he asked him in mock-worry while working on his own, secret
recovery from the horrible experience.

Kenobi nodded and explained exactly what he himself had felt, then added: "I
fear something horrible has just happened."

Luke-the-farmboy didn't understand what he meant, but Luke Vader did. The Death
Star had been used, he thought in cold horror even as he returned to his
exercise. Something had happened and Tarkin had decided to use the superweapon,
but had it been with? Or without the Emperor's consent?, Luke wondered
uneasily. What he had just felt had been horrible... unlike anything he had
ever felt, not even when he had destroyed whole ships with hundreds of beings
aboard them.

This had been... a whole planet, he thought in resent at the pompous, arrogant
Tarkin. They hadn't been supposed to use it, he wanted to scold the cruel man
before killing him for what he had just done; their master had only meant to
scare people with it, not destroy whole civilizations with the push of a
button!!!

Before he could venture further down that path of thoughts, Solo returned from
the cockpit and changed the mood.

He made fun of Jedi skills. Considering the mood he was already in, Luke didn't
take his insults lightly. Stupid commoner, the dark Jedi growled inwardly while
the other exposed his way of seeing things; Solo, like the others, was unable to
believe things without seeing them. When Kenobi approached him with another
exercise, Luke decided to 'cooperate' this time and give something to think
about to the pilot.

It didn't exactly work, but at the same time, he felt that he got his mind going
on a path of thought he wasn't used to consider. However, before he could
challenge him about this, the proximity signal went off; they were there.

According to his father's plan, Luke's role was to bring the Death Star
near Alderaan where the Death Star itself would be, an ominous threat... But
when they exited hyperspace, Luke realized that a major change of plan had taken
place; Alderaan wasn't there anymore.

"What's going on?" he asked innocently as he walked in the Falcon's cockpit who
was being bounced around by asteroids; the moment that he saw the rubbles
outside however, he doubly shielded his true self and contacted his now nearby
father. Alderaan had been destroyed!!!

*What happened??* he asked him in a mix of worry, true horror, and cold
readiness to adapt to a change of plans.

*Tarkin couldn't resist the temptation to use the master's toy,* his father
answered, allowing to feel that he was sharing all his feelings about what had
happened. *Since the Emperor has given him a free hand in this matter, I
couldn't convince him otherwise.*

*Not even with the Force?* Luke asked even as the others began to comment on
what had happened outside.

*The Emperor wouldn't have approved, Son,* he reminded him, *However, he
doesn't seem to approve the actual results either,* he commented seriously.
*Alderaan held a strategic position in several fields,* he began.

*Its disappearance won't go unnoticed for long,* Luke finished grimly. *Kreth,
what did Tarkin think about before doing this?* he asked in anger as he foresaw
the consequences of such destruction on his own, already tricky mission.

*He didn't,* his father commented in disgust, then cooled down and informed him
about the next step in their plan.

When Luke re-entered his full senses, Kenobi was grimly finishing to say:
"Destroyed, by the Empire."

The youth fell right back in his role: "What? How???" he gaped as he whirled
toward him.

While Solo strongly objected to this, surprising Luke with the human compassion
that was coming from the other, he also admitted that even though he himself
supported everything his master did, he couldn't help but think that building a
weapon capable of destroying a planet had been a huge mistake.

As he watched the hailing rocks outside, he was once again stricken by the
actual size of the destruction. People, he reminded himself, and vegetation,
used to flourish on the pieces of rocks that were now floating outside----

Suddenly, a TIE fighter came out of nowhere. Right, he thought as he snapped
out of his dangerous rummaging. It was time to get on with the fake rescue and
deliver Kenobi to his father while retrieving the Princess from her cell.

It was easy to focus on the action this time since both Luke Vader and Luke
Skywalker were determined to not lose the TIE from sight, leading the Falcon
toward their pre-ordained destination.

A few minutes later, they entered the field of the tractor beams that were
surrounding the huge space station. Solo was quick all right, Luke conceded
reluctantly. While the other set about turning to full reverse, Luke discreetly
reached out and lowered the strength of the Falcon's engines, thus making sure
that the other wouldn't pull of 'another' escape.

They were finally pulled inside the Death Star.

******

By the time the techs aboard the station had landed them in the hangar bay, the
crew and passengers of the Falcon were all hiding under her deck plates.

Solo complained about the Wookiee's size; Luke could only agree with him, he
conceded. He reflected that he could barely bear up with the beast's smell and
fur, let alone its close presence against him. Darn aliens, he cursed inwardly
while he steeled himself for the still ongoing experience.

The boarding parties finally stepped aboard. While the pilot and alien focused
on the footsteps of the scouts, Luke re-established the contact with his father,
forcing himself to stick to the mission this time.

*The princess is in detention block AA-23, Son,* his father informed him, also
refraining from venturing into what they could both feel as the delicate subject
of late Alderaan. *You have two hours to break her out before Tarkin orders her
termination. Then I will take care of Kenobi,* he finished grimly.

*You can kill him?* he asked in pleasant surprise, and was answered with a
positive feeling.

After this, his father ordered the troopers out of the ship, once again creating
an opportunity for him to move on with his mission.

*It is up to you now, Son, but I will be ready if you need more assistance in
moving troops,* his father sent him, then ordered his officer to send a scanning
crew aboard.

Luke instantly made a plan as to how he would use this to his advantage.

Nearby, the smuggler began to shift around, bringing him back to his actual
whereabouts. Back to naive business, he reminded himself as Solo began to open
their exit route.

He noticed that the smuggler was having trouble to push the plate open. He
added his own strength to his, only too eager to take his distance from the
smelly alien.

"Boy, it's lucky you had these compartments," he commented foolishly.

They were far from being out of it of course, but his naive farmboy wouldn't see
this. Much to Luke's frustration, the smuggler and Ben argued again about
Solo's last comment, then they agreed on a plan.

If they hadn't, Luke told himself as he positioned himself out of the way, he
would have stepped in and told them what to do. As the scanning troops began to
walk up the ramp, he had to keep himself from knocking out the soldiers and
troopers by himself; that way, he thought in frustration, he would at least vent
some anger, but he knew better than to reveal his deadly fighting skills.

He settled for waiting for the others to impress him.

They didn't. Their tactics were as old as easy to guess. If the troops hadn't
been green, thanks to his father's foreseeing, they wouldn't have fallen this
easily.

"Luke, you and Han will go ahead of us in these," old Ben said, indicating the
troopers' armors.

Now he shared the pilot's disbelief.

"What?!" they both exclaimed.
"You won't be recognized in them," the wizard explained. "You will make sure
the path is clear all the way to the control room of the hangar bay."

"Oh for---" Solo argued.

His Wookiee silenced him.

Luke looked at the armor. Lord Vader's son should never have to stoop as low as
wearing soldiers' uniforms, he thought to himself, but he was also an agent and
knew when he had to ignore those beliefs. He had just never groveled this low
before, not even when he had been a slave, he thought in disgust. Back then, he
had had at least the honor to serve his master personally... not at all like
the shock troops who were doing their job for a pay.

He slightly wondered what his lover would say if she were here. Get on with it,
he admitted as he snapped back to his senses.

He pretended to gape for a few seconds before helping the other man strip the
troopers of their armors. He himself naturally knew everything there was to
know about trooper's armor; thus he also knew what was tricky for the green
soldiers.

Hence, he 'tried' three times to hook his belt in place until the Jedi helped
him. Then, he searched for the transmitter, which was hidden in the helmet.
Once he had made enough of a fool of himself, he drew his blaster and waited for
Solo's orders.

Kenobi's plan was crazy, he thought for the tenth time since the other had
revealed it; he decided that he would have to distract the troops to make sure
that they would survive this little excursion of two droids, a Jedi, a Wookiee,
and two troopers.

Did he have it his own way, the droids would stay aboard the ship, and the
Wookiee and Jedi would be prisoners, but Kenobi saw it differently and he
himself wasn't supposed to know anything about tactics.

Well, he relented unhappily, it would still get him where he needed to go; he
went along with the impossible plan. Still, he thought in frustration, it would
be so easy to take the lead and get them straight where he had to go...

******

By the time they reached their secret destination, Luke really felt like putting
a few laser bolts in the Corellian's head. Perhaps that would give him back
some of his senses, he thought in anger.

"Between his howling and your blasting everything in sight, it's a wonder the
whole station doesn't know we're here," he snarled caustically.

"Bring them on. I prefer a fight to all this sneaking around," Solo challenged
confidently.

Luke barely restrained himself from lashing out at the man with the Force, but
Kenobi interrupted his coming tirade as he focused the droids.

The little droid was good, no doubt about that, Luke admitted as he focused on
the machine to take his mind off what he could do to Solo. He thus gaped at the
speed with which it located the tractor beam.

Kenobi naturally decided to leave them and turn it off by himself, well good
riddance, Luke thought in satisfaction. Whether he came with him or not, it
wouldn't save him from his fate, but he himself wouldn't complain about not
seeing him again and having to keep him out of trouble. He then reflected that
the old man should borrow some of the droid's intelligence, and Solo too for
that matter, he added in annoyance.

Once Solo commented that he the tractor beam wasn't part of their deal, Luke
pretended that he wanted to go with him. Fortunately, the other thought
otherwise and left him alone.

And now, the dark Jedi thought seriously, he had to mount his 'rescue' of the
Princess. He secretly juggled connections in 'Artoo' and made him search for
the location of the Princess.

Once they were alone, he used the Corellian's disobliging comment about the Jedi
to start an argument with him.

"Who do you think got us this far----" he retorted hotly to his last remark, but
was interrupted by insistent whistling from the little guy.

Pretending to be puzzled, he walked closer, asking information about who the
droid had found.

At first, he tried to appeal to the aloof Corellian with an offer to counter his
earlier comment about anything being better than staying here, then, when it
didn't work, to the human kindness he could feel in him by reminding him that
the girl was about to be killed, but the older man still didn't answer like he
expected him to; instead, he retorted: "Better her than me."

Frustrated by this answer and his lack of results, Luke considered what else he
knew about the smuggler, about his ship and what appealed to him... then he got
his answer.

"She's rich," he commented suavely, tauntingly, leaning once again closer to
Solo's hear.

That got his attention, and Luke had the perfect alibi for retrieving the
princess, but his way, he reflected seriously as he put his helmet back on, and
without blowing his cover of a green-horned youth.

Behind them, the droids weren't exactly reassured by his "Lock the door.", naive
advice.

TBC in part 13: Luke Skywalker

******

Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean or beside the point stuff won't
even be read.)