Luke Vader 16

Part 16: the End
By SJ 03-03-00/12-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)

________________

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

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 :)

__________________

At one of the remaining rebel base, Luke underwent a week of bacta treatment
after which it took him another four weeks to completely recover his normal
status.

It would have taken him less time if he had used his full abilities, but he
knew that he couldn't risk blowing up his 'untrained' cover, hence he bore up
with the slow recovery. However, the slow healing served him well. While he
healed his body, his mind slowly recovered its previous edge and coolness.

That night, after freeing himself from the over-protective princess and the
overbearing Solo crew, he went for a walk in the jungle. Unlike them, he didn't
fear being attacked; any attacker, he thought in reborn self-confidence, would
pick on the wrong target if it did pick on him.

On his way out of the now suffocating base, he admitted that he was grateful to
finally feel completely back on his feet, both physically and mentally. After
the difficult month, he finally felt like himself again, and he was once again
content to be at the service of his Emperor.

He shortly interrupted his thoughts to salute two of the remaining grunt rebel
pilots, then resumed his quiet meditation.

Yes, he thought seriously, his master had hurt both him and his father more than
they had deserved, but at the same time, he now conceded, they had had to keep
up the appearances.

It had merely been their duties, granted more taxing than any other they had
ever performed, but the had done what had to be done...

It was pointless to hold a grudge against his master, he then reminded himself
coolly; the only resent he could feel was against himself for holding such grief
in the first place.

When he had left for this mission, he had remembered throughout the past weeks,
he had known that it would be the toughest of his career, filled with bad
surprises and adjustments due to the nature of his 'allies' and secrecy.

Being an imperial prisoner, he conceded, had been one of those, but it had been
worth the ploy since the rebels had decided to cover his identity, erasing it
from their remaining computers, and they had decided to trust him.

Ever since he had recovered the ability to walk on his own, they now included
him in their meetings and had nominated him 'commander' of a squadron of ace
pilots; as such, he was entrusted with some secrets.

He smiled grimly at that. They didn't have to fear, he reflected in dry humor,
he would make very good use of those secrets indeed. Now the only thing he had
to do was---

His danger sense flared even as he barely heard a swooshing sound.
He swiftly stepped aside his previous position, then felt more than saw the
figure that landed right beside him in a crouch; he jumped, avoiding her
sweeping leg, then landed back on the ground, caught her highest wrist and
pulled her up to her feet and against himself.

He then drew the shroud that was hiding the woman's features--- and kissed her
with all his pent-up passion.

*Hello, flyboy,* Mara sent, twining her free arm around his neck while deepening
their embrace.

*What are you doing here?* he asked her even as he freed her wrist to caress her
body through her camouflage clothes.

*Paying you a visit. Is that how you receive all your guests, flyboy?* she
inquired lustfully.

*Only those whom I recognize the fighting style,* he sent, slowly backing her
toward a tree. *Does the Master know you're here?* he asked her, taking a
breath before continuing their impassioned kisses.

*He sent me to retrieve your information and check on you,* she answered with a
mental gasp as his strong arms pulled her even closer to him than she already
was. *How about letting me check you up?* she suggested, slowly pulling his tan
jacket off of him.

Both feeling about to pass out from lack of oxygen, they reluctantly pulled away
to recover their breaths.

"Only if I have my share of the check up as well, Jade," he whispered lustfully
while he began to open her shirt.

Soon, they were both busy lovingly exploring each other's body with their hands
and lips while opening each other's shirts.

Luke felt her wince as she detected the new scars that now adorned his skin,
then it was his turn to note the presence of new marks on her back.

"What happened?" he asked her worriedly.

"Shrapnel," she whispered shortly. "I was delayed inside the base so I was a
tad too close when it went up."

"You should have been more careful," he began, then ribbed her. "After all, I'm
not there to cover your back."

She physically ribbed him back. "I can protect my back quite well, flyboy; I
don't need you." she pointed out mock-seriously.

"Really?" Luke asked her. "Then I guess I should return to the bas----"

She drew his head back to hers and kissed him breathless yet again.

*You're not going anywhere,* she told him, resuming their wild kisses while
resuming their sharing of endless love through their strengthened bond.

*Do you need me, Jade?* he asked her playfully. *Are you taking back your
words?*

*They never were about that, flyboy, and you know it. Now, do we wait until I
have to go back, or do we make the best out of our time together?* she inquired
in kind

*I think making the best out of this is wiser,* he sent her jokingly before
deepening their embraces.

About an hour later, Luke held her to himself one last time. Soon, he promised
himself, he would be reunited with her and his normal life. He then admitted
that he couldn't wait for it to happen.

"Mara?" he whispered in her hair.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know that you are the only woman I ever wanted to love?" he asked her as
he raised his head to look at her. "The princess is intriguing, but she doesn't
even reach your ankle," he told her truthfully, aware that she had been
wondering since the destruction of the Death Star about the depth of his
relationship with the rebel leader.

Mara raised her head from his shoulder and looked at him in the eye.

"Even now?" she asked pointedly.

"Especially now that I know her better," Luke nodded. "I will not have any
regrets when I will be done with her," he reassured her earnestly before kissing
her lightly.

She shifted in his arms.

"Then let's get this over with," she smiled seriously, echoing his trademark
sentence.

"Right," he returned. "The rebel bases are on Calamari, Kyyr, Salg and Paiya."
he told her seriously. "There are also two divisions of the fleets hidden in
the Cauldron and FirePit nebulas."

"And how many will be left afterward?" she asked him.

"The base here, and two or three others that I will figure out soon enough, but
all of those are backed by the remnants of the fleet."

Mara pondered his revelation for a few seconds; Luke drank in her beautiful
sight. How he had missed her, he thought warmly.

"Can you make it look as if we've captured one of your computers?" she inquired,
cutting in his lustful thoughts.

"What do you think I was about to suggest?" he sneered in answer. "Of course I
can forge an alibi in their computers. In fact, that's what I was going to do
after my little 'walk'," he assured her, almost miffed that she'd think him
unable to do it. "You know," he added, just for good measure. "I live with the
Rebels, but I haven't become as foolish nor incompetent as they are," he
reminded her.

"Good," she smiled, then kissed him once again, smiling as she pressed her lips
against his owns. *I can't wait either to have you back, my love,* she sent
with all her love.

*You cheat,* he teased her. *That was supposed to be my line.*

Mara answered him by deepening their kiss.

Eventually, it was time to say goodbye.

"Be careful. We're almost through it," she reminded him, then smirked slightly;
"Don't destroy any other Death Star till then."

Luke slightly glare at her for the useless reminder, then laughed humorlessly.
"Ah, ah, very funny. Don't worry," he reassured her, "I will not let my guard
down until I'm 'recovered' by Father."

"I'll try to be there too, flyboy," she promised, pecked his lips one last time,
then left him.

"I'll be sure to be at our reunion, my love." he told her already receding form.

Through their bond, he felt her slight smile of amusement even though he
couldn't see it, then he reluctantly closed their link like he had since the
beginning of his mission.

Right, he told himself as he put his shirt back on. Back to Luke Skywalker,
galactic idiot.

******

Early in the morning but after a secret detour by the message board to forge the
report of a stolen computer, he made his way back to his quarters.

He had barely stepped into the now almost deserted area of the base when he felt
the familiar presence near his door; he refrained himself from frowning at her
worry. However, he conceded that he was very surprised to find her there.

"Luke, where have you been?" she asked as she walked up to him. "I was so
worried about you," she explained worriedly as she reached him.

"Sorry, I was just out in the jungle, thinking..." he explained, then frowned as
something occurred to him. "Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked her, noting how
early it was.

"I couldn't close my eyes... Do you care for some tea." she offered, easily
changing the topic of their conversation.

Not really, he thought to himself, but he could feel that he had better stick
around her, for whatever reason he would probably soon discover.

"Sure," he shrugged.

She guided him back into her quarters; Luke followed her. As he stepped inside
the small area, he dimly reflected that it was the first time that he was
allowed in her private quarters. They were sparsely furnished, he observed,
then admitted that it was quite unexpected, even from the strange princess of
late-Alderaan.

"You know, Luke..." she began from her small kitchenette area, serving two cups
of the tea that she had made for herself. "If I hadn't felt that you weren't in
danger, I would've gone after you," she admitted truthfully.

Her choice of words threw Luke into a spin. Felt??

"What do you mean?" he carefully queried as he sat down on her couch.

"I don't know exactly..." she began as she came back in her sitting area and
offered him one of her cups. He thanked her. "but somehow, deep inside myself,
I knew that you were not in danger, just like I knew that you were undergoing
astounding pain while you were in Vader's hands..." she added glumly. "I... I
can't explain it, but I know those things to be fact when they come to me," she
commented in a thoughtful voice.

Luke had completely forgotten his tea, his eyes riveted on the petite chocolate-
haired woman.

"Does it happen for other persons?" he asked her, trying hard to maintain his
innocent front.

The more she had spoken, and the more the guidance of the Force had grown strong
in him. There was something there, it seemed to tell him, something he had
always known but had never seen for what it had been...

"No," she answered, shaking her head tiredly. "Only you... it's as if... as
if..." she hesitated.

"We were linked somehow," Luke completed, feeling as lost as she was.

"Yes," she breathed, locking her confused eyes on his owns.

"But we're not," he told her seriously. "I don't have any other family."

"Nor do I," she agreed, somewhat sadly he noted when she avoided his eyes---
then gazed straight at him once again. "Could it be a deep friendship? Could
it do this?" she asked him, looking for an answer in his eyes.

No, he wanted to shake his head. It was the Force, he now understood.
Somehow, the princess could tap into it...

"Perhaps," he told her in his best act of bemusement.

He finished his tea and set his cup on the small kaff table.

"You should get some sleep, Leia, before the others call on you," he advised her
gently, surprising himself with his suddenly true care toward the rebel leader.

"Would you mind staying with me?" she asked him, the ghosts of Alderaan rising
once more before her eyes.

Now familiar with this routine around the end of each month of the sad
anniversary, Luke didn't comment. He simply offered her his hand. She took it,
rose from her seat and sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Luke..." she apologized shamefully. "I know it looks foolish... but
you're the only one---"

"I know, Leia... I'm the only one who makes them go away... Sleep now," he
instructed her, putting a tiny bit of Force incentive in his words.

The young woman fell asleep in his arms, cuddling closer to his embrace.

If he didn't know better, Luke finally thought in dark amusement, he would say
that they were sibl---

A flash of knowledge suddenly hit his Force senses, telling him that he had put
his finger on the mystery.

Leia Organa was his sister... Impossible, he shook his head in denial, yet, his
less naive self argued, even as he thought about it, he knew that it was true.

As she herself had said, he smiled thinly, he could feel it.

Following this hunch, he brought back to mind the images that his father had
shown him of his mother, then compared them with the princess' looks.

Same hair, same eyes, same delicate features... same spirit if one judged the
actions of both women... How come he had never seen it before?, he wondered
suddenly--- then his thoughts came to a halt as he remembered what was about to
happen.

By the Force this changed a lot of things, he reflected seriously. He wouldn't
let anyone kill her now, but she herself would react less than positively to the
discovery that her brother had played with her for this long...

However, he thought more lightly, he'd finally be able to explain to his
girlfriend his weird fascination for the woman.

Making up his mind, although somewhat reluctantly, he closed his eyes, focused
and reached out for his father, something he hadn't done since... their last
meeting.

Thankfully, the older man was wide awake and in the middle of his day.

*Father,* he began seriously, urgently. *I have some serious news for you,* he
quickly informed the Dark Lord, then unobtrusively, humbly waited for him to
answer him.

He felt his father dismiss his counselors before he retreated to his place of
choice near the large window bays of his flagship.

*What news? Not bad ones I hope,* he told him seriously, almost warningly, he
noted.

*No,* Luke reassured him coolly to hide his slight cringe as his father's
presence focused on him. *But there is still a major change of plan, again,* he
sighed in renewed acceptance.

*Well?* his father sent, steeling himself for whatever he had to tell him.

Not too far from a rebel base, Lord Vader braced himself for what he could feel
as truly disturbing news coming his way.

His son equally gathered his composure, he felt, then sent him: *I'm not the
only Skywalker alive.*

It the sudden call from his up-to-now silent son had startled him, this
information truly unsettled him. Not the only Skywalker alive? Well, in a way,
no since he himself was also still alive while not wearing that cursed name
anymore, and so was his son, he dimly reminded himself before admitting defeat
in his reasoning.

*What do you mean, not the only one?* he queried, genuinely confused.

Thanks to his link with his son, he felt him gaze at whoever was beside him,
then he refocused his attention on him.

*I think I just found my twin sister,* the youth told him softly.

Had his breath not been regulated by a machine, Vader conceded that he might
have stopped breathing upon hearing this. A daughter??? Not only a son, but a
daughter as well?? And who----

*You met her before, Father,* the boy told him even as his own mind began to
remind him of how he had felt while around a certain prisoner who was now very
close to his son...

Even as his son understood that his sister had also been hidden and kept apart
from their parents, Vader put two and two together.

*Princess Leia Organa?!* his father gaped in an uncharacteristically
confused voice.

The princess from late Alderaan would be his daughter?? But how could it be----
yet even as he pondered that possibility, he 'knew' that it was the truth. She
was an exact copy of her mother, just like his son was a copy of himself...

*She's strong in the Force, Father,* his son commented in the silence. *At
least from what I can feel, but the most peculiar thing is that she told me that
she knows how if I'm in danger... or pain, or well,* he informed him.

*Astounding..." his father mentally gaped, then he recovered a cooler composure
as he made his decision about this pleasant discovery.

*I will contact the Emperor to inform him of this new development. Until we can
run the appropriate tests on her, make sure that she remains alive, Son.*

Luke mentally chuckled. *It shouldn't be a problem, Father. She's literally
clinging onto me right now,* then his son showed him the young woman who was
asleep on him. *She s sleeping on me now; her ghosts are back and she needs her
brother's comfort,* he sneered slightly.

*Does she know about your true identity?* his father inquired worriedly.

*No,* Luke reassured him. *but she's aware that there is something between us.
She also knows that only I make her ghosts go away.*

*Hmm, probably because of your family bond with her,* his father mused. *It
probably erases the pain of the loss of her foster family.*

*Probably,* Luke agreed, then they both fell silent yet remained in contact.

However, it was an eerie silence, one that wasn't filled with as many feelings
as usual, as if his son still kept himself slightly closed-up.

Unable to stand the uncomfortable silence anymore, the dark lord inquired: *Am I
mistaken or are you feeling better than four weeks ago?*

For a moment, he felt as if he had opened that topic too fast and that his son
wouldn't answer him.

*I do,* he finally nodded in reassurance. *I'm sorry for what I did and
thought, Father... I didn't mean it,* the child apologized earnestly.

*Neither did I, Luke,* his father reminded him warmly while attempting to
mentally caress his mind.

At first, he didn't feel as if his son had allowed him in, then he felt an
opening in the boy's walls and sighed in relief.

*I know,* the youth equally sighed tiredly. *I made my peace with what had to
be done, and I'm ready to move on now,* he answered him coolly.

Since he was still in deeper contact with the boy's mind, Vader felt that while
he had mostly recovered his previous edge, a tiny part of him might never
recover and trust him again. After all, he conceded glumly while he tried to
mentally reassure that corner of his son's soul, thanks to the Emperor's orders,
he himself had been proven as yet another tool that could be turned against him
if he cared too much.

When the fragile 'child' unconsciously recoiled from his attempt to touch him,
Vader admitted defeat and completely re-entered his own body. However, it
greatly saddened him that something in his son would always see him as a cold
monster who blindly obeyed his master.

It was more complex than this, and he himself would do anything to never repeat
the incident ever again.

*I am also ready to finish it,* he informed his son after a few seconds.

A short, slightly uncomfortable silence stretched once again between them,
testimony of the physical and emotional distance that was still keeping them
apart.

*When you will be back, Son, I want to take some time to talk about what
happened with you,* his father told him seriously. *I don't want it to ruin
what we had.*

*I'd like that very much, Father,* Luke nodded in agreement. *I'm truly sorry
for what I screamed back then,* he repeated glumly.

*And I'm sorry for what I put you through, Son,* his father told him yet
again, accompanying his words with a new, reflexive mental caress. Luke
accepted it this time.

*Just hang into your role for a few more days. I've already begun our final
attacks. I should get to you between seven to ten days,* he told him half-
seriously, half-earnestly.

*I can't wait for that day to arrive, Father,* the youth answered earnestly.

*I know. Be careful.*

*You too.*

They reluctantly severed their closer link and refocused on their respective
duties.

Luke wrapped his arms more securely around his sister's shoulders and settled in
to get some sleep himself. It was a shame that his sister had been corrupted by
the Rebellion, he thought seriously. This would make her return into her
rightful family much more complicated than it would have been otherwise.

But she would return, he resolved; in time, she too would reclaim the legacy
That those cursed Jedi traitors had stolen from her... then nobody would ever
separate their family again.

On that contenting though, he slipped into a restful trance.

******

Thousands of parsecs away, after having supervised the simultaneous destruction
of three secondary rebel bases, Vader reported to his master.

"Have we succeeded, my friend?" the evil ruler queried with undeniable dark
excitement in his voice.

With those less important bases out of the way, even the supreme ruler knew that
all they had left were the ones that Jade had reported to him.

"Yes, Master," he reassured the ruler. "The Second Fleet has been informed to
take care of the last planet-based nests; the Red and Blue fleets will take care
of the hidden ships."

"Excellent," the other smiled in dubious delight. "And you yourself?" he asked
pointedly, having noticed the absence of his presence amongst the troops he had
enumerated.

"I will recover my son... and daughter, Master," he said with some dark
mischief.

Vader had meant to shock his master, but he truly pursed his lips in
satisfaction when he judged the extent of his success.

The Emperor was glowering.

"Daughter?" he finally asked in little more than a dangerous whisper.

"Yes," he nodded seriously. "Luke has pierced her cover a few hours ago, thanks
to a guidance in the Force. Naturally, we haven't confirmed her genetic claim
to that title yet, but Luke knows that it is the truth, and so do I, Master," he
added for good measure.

"And who," the Emperor inquired with a scowl, obviously miffed by this new bit
of information, "is this daughter we have never heard of before?"

Vader couldn't help but smirk as he identified the girl: "Princess Leia of
Alderaan, Master."

The Emperor literally gaped at his servant, but unlike anybody else, this
expression didn't make him look foolish; instead, it added to his ominous
appearance.

Vader conceded that he was relieved to be far away from his master at the
moment.

"Leia Organa?? Are you sure your son isn't trying to play us to keep her
alive?" he inquired slowly, surly.

"Yes, my Master." Vader reassured him. "The princess is strong in
the Force," he explained, "she felt Luke's pain while they were apart, and...
she looks like an exact copy of my wife."

The Emperor's eyes flashed under his cowl at the mention of the long-defunct
senator Padme Amidala from Naboo, then he mused over that last argument.

"You may keep her alive," he finally granted him, proving him once more that he
knew exactly what was in his heart without his saying anything. "but I want
proof of her link to you the moment she is brought onboard. I will not spare
her if your son was wrong," he warned very seriously.

"I understand, Master, and I will ascertain her identity as soon as possible,"
Vader promised him.

"Good. I will await your final report, as well as your son's," the Emperor
informed him, his voice recovering its previous coldness. "I heard that he was
more than back on his feet," he then commented meanly with a satisfied smile.

"He is, Master," Vader nodded, not exactly elated to admit that his master had
been right about his son's punishment being inconsequential. It wasn't, not for
them at least.

"Bring us victory then, Lord Vader." he instructed him.

"Yes, Master."

"Oh and, my friend," he added just before dismissing him. "make sure you don't
have any more offspring scattered in the galaxy," he ordered him coldly.

"As you wish, Master." Vader bowed, fighting his smirk of amusement at his
master's last comment.

He did like to distraught his master, and he had obviously succeeded with these
latest news. He promised himself to retell this report to his son when he would
get him back.

******

At the rebel base on Ktaali, Luke awoke to the feeling of a young woman's body
pressed against his own, especially his side. He eagerly looked down, expecting
a mop of red-gold hair, but instead, he saw the dull brown of the rebel
princess.

His sister, he then reminded himself. Of course, he admitted to himself, as
long as she would be a rebel, he wouldn't show her any of the consideration she
deserved with this new status, but at the same time, he 'would' spend even more
time around her until his father 'captured' them.

Now, he really had to protect her, he decided. He wouldn't let any unnecessary
harm come to her.

A sudden knock on the princess's door jerked her awake.

"Princess, the bases are under attack!" a stupid rebel trooper shouted through
the door. "General Rieekan wants to see you now!"

"What?!" Leia exclaimed, her adrenaline level reaching peaks in a matter of
seconds.

Luke reflected that he had never seen anybody wake up faster than his sister
Just did. Her eyes had widened in shock, then she had jumped to her feet and
practically crashed through her door before he himself had gotten to his feet,
ignoring the fact that she was still dress in her bathrobe and sleep gown.

Five minutes later, the rebellion's remaining leaders, all dressed in sleeping
attires, were gathered in the control room as they monitored what was going on
at the other bases.

They were loosing, plain and simple, Luke thought in dark satisfaction as he
squeezed his sister's hand in mock reassurance. They then found his forged
message and gasped.

Mon Mothma read it carefully, exchanged a grim glance with the princess, then
Himself, Solo and Rieekan.

"Evacuate the base immediately," she ordered them seriously. "We still have a
few hours before they show up in our space," she reminded them.

As he left with Solo to relay his orders, Luke smirked inwardly. He knew that
on Mon's screen, it had been written that all their planet-based refuges had
been in the 'stolen' computer and three of them had already fallen. Then, as he
had planned, she saw their remaining ships as their last chance; it was
going to be their undoing, he mentally smiled darkly.

At last.

******

As Luke tinkered on his x-wing, for lack of anything else to do, he reflected on
the past seventy-two hours.

They had evacuated their last base faster than he had ever though possible, kind
of like Leia's awakening three days ago, he chuckled to himself. Nobody had
ever suspected the presence of a spy in their midst, convinced that their
computers had fallen in Imperial hands, thus giving them access to classified
information.

At the moment, the rest of the head figures were in the meeting room of the
Liberator, trying to plan a way to rise from this vicious, relentless beating.

They could try all they wanted, he thought in self-satisfaction, but they would
fail.

"Hey, Kid," Solo's voice broke his reminiscing.

It took Luke all his will-power not to assail the pilot with his most powerful
punch. Soon, he reminded himself, very soon... And one thing he'd make sure of
is to teach Solo that he wasn't a 'kid'.

"Hi Han... any news from the others?" he asked as if discouraged.

Except for his squadron and another pilot, some fifty ground troops and the
three ships that were composing their 'fleet', they hadn't heard from any other
unity.

"Afraid not... I think that's all they have left," Solo commented seriously.

Luke agreed, as if glum, then noted that the pilot was still with the doomed
group instead of turning his tail to them like he had done at Yavin.

"Can I ask you why you're still here?" he asked him as naively as he could.

Solo sighed, then shrugged.

"If I could tell you, Kid, I would," he answered simply.

The Wookiee growled something unintelligible. Luke wondered how long it would
take for the alien to understand that nobody was listening to it and just shut
up.

"Leia?" Luke suggested wryly.

Solo shrugged. "Perhaps. And you? Why are you still here?"

He was tempted to answer: 'To guide Father here and be done with you all.'
However, he assumed his lame, idiotic character.

"I'm not going to abandon them; I'll fight against the Empire until the end," he
told him as earnestly as he could managed.

"Are you ready for it, Kid?" Solo asked, leaning his shoulder against the x-
wing's strut.

Luke was surprised by the suddenly interested attitude of the pilot. Solo, he
reflected warily, was becoming even more of a wild card than he had been before.
He made a note to himself to keep a very close eye on him.

"I will be ready for it when faced with it," the youth answered the other.

The smuggler looked at him; Luke met his gaze... and noticed that the other
seemed to reconsider his evaluation of him.

Very, very unpredictable element, he noted to himself.

"Well, it might just give you an edge in the end, Luke," Solo commented
seriously.

No tease, no sneer, Luke noticed, just plain respect. Unbeknown to him, Solo
had just saved himself from a painful death, he conceded.

******

It took his father four extra days to bring his Black fleet down onto the
pitiful remnants of the Rebellion.

Using his son as a clock, he stroke during the night shift, thus catching his
prey completely unprepared. He pounced so hard and fast on the three rebel
ships that they were left without any chance to defend themselves.

Inside the wounded Liberator, Luke, who had hastily pulled on his trousers and a
shirt, did his best to look clumsy in the zero-gs environment as he tried to
reach the princess's side.

"Leia! Are you all right?" he asked her as he floated past her and into the
closest wall of the corridor.

"Yes, I just bumped too hard against my floor. You?" she asked, rubbing her
forehead.

"I'm okay," He took hold of her hand and tried to steer her toward the end of
the corridor. "Come on, we have to find Han and Chewie," he told her with as
much desperation and determination as he could muster at the moment.

However, what he really wanted to do was to pin her there and wait for his
father to capture her... but now wasn't the time for his final exit, he reminded
himself.

"Perhaps then we'll be able to---" he began to add.

The zero-gs suddenly turned to more than forty gs, shoving them all on the deck
and trapping them there. Luke sharply expelled upon landing, his breath knocked
out from his lungs.

"Oooof! What's wrong?? What's going on??" he asked mock-worriedly.

"We're done for," Leia told him in defeat. "They've got us in a modified
interdictor field."

"What can we do?" he inquired nervously, giving off a perfect impression of
despair while he tried to move his hand toward his belt; he barely managed to
move his hands a few centimeters away from its previous location before giving
up.

"Nothing... except wait for a last chance to kill ourselves," she told him
seriously.

Luke lapsed into silence, pretending to prepare himself for the worst.

*It worked, Father. We're all flatter than flimsies,* he sent him.

*Have you had time to reach Leia?* his father queried.
*Yes,* he nodded. *She's going to look for a chance to commit suicide,* he
warned him.

*Keep her from doing it,* he instructed him, his senses growing closer and
closer as his father's ship slowly sucked the wounded ship inside its
hold.
*No problem.* he assured him.

Around him, the noises of the almost deserted corridor changed and became
punctuated by clanging noises.

"They've got us," Leia commented in the silence, her voice devoid of any hope.

Knowing that he had to retain his role until the last minute, Luke slowly
strained again against the heavy gravity... and touched her hand with his own,
as if in reassurance.

He did so until space troopers showed up in the corridor and stunned them.
Luke fought against the stun blast, relying on his acting talents to look the
part of a stunned rebel.

Thus, he was aware of their being sucked out of the captured ship and into his
father's flagship. He roughly landed on the hard deck there, was stripped of
his weapon belt and rudely checked for other hidden weapons, then he was shoved
inside a security cordon.

He waited for some of his companions to wake up before 'he' did so. As if per
design, he was lost in the middle of the assembled group, not at its edges.

It would make his father's plan that much more dramatic to the rebels, he
smirked to himself. Beside him, the princess steered. While he waited for her
to recover, he looked around himself for Solo and the Wookiee. They weren't
anywhere to be seen.

They had probably turned tails in the end, he reflected. It proved that they
were intelligent after all.

"Luke?.." Leia asked weakly from his side.

"Sshhh," he whispered in a conspirator-like fashion. "We're aboard their ship.
I think that if we can remain inconspicuous, we have at least a chance to be
killed with the regular troops. They've already singled out the other leaders,"
he informed her as he looked around themselves.

He was glad that his sister had followed his advice and dressed like a regular
Soldier for the past days. That made her that much more easy to conceal.

"Where's Han?" she asked as she slowly sat up.

"Not here. He probably managed to make a last stand," he told her in his best
Skywalker-crazy impersonation, suggesting a heroic death for the smuggler
and scoundrel.

Leia seemed stricken by his words; she bowed her head in grief, then she lifted
it just as Luke did when his father came up in his sensing range. Yes, he
conceded lightly, Leia was his sister indeed, he observed. She too could feel
their father's closing presence.

"Get up, Rebel scums," the commander ordered.

When the troopers began to hit the far line until they were up on their feet,
the others reluctantly obeyed. Playing his role, Luke tried to hide behind his
companions. Meanwhile, his father walked past the rebel leaders without so much
as a glance, focusing on the regular troops instead.

"Do you think he suspects?" Leia asked him, leaning closer to him.

"I hope not," he lied.

His father proved 'Skywalker' wrong. He walked inside the cordon, down the line
of rebel men and women who were standing in front of his son, knocking aside the
sole man who dared jump at him, then continued down the line until he was right
in front of him. Behind Vader, troopers had taken position to create a secure
corridor amongst the Rebels while other troopers had closed in the group to
stand behind the now singled-out 'rebel'.

Luke pretended to look for a way out, but the troopers behind him seized his
arms while others aimed at the princess. Before Luke could 'try' to escape or
something, his father's hand grabbed hold of his shirt, then his lightsaber's
deactivated tip found its way in the hinge of his jaw where it pushed hard
against his flesh. Luke couldn't help but cringe inwardly at the once again
ominously close sight and presence of his father.

"I told you that there was no escaping me, boy," he told him victoriously.

Around them, Luke felt the cold terror of the Rebels; they were perfectly
convinced that the dark lord had only been hunting the young Jedi, not the
Rebellion.

Before Luke could calm himself and answer, or even play his part of a fight-or-
die rebel, two troopers clasped binders around his wrists, expertly securing
them behind his back.

"Put the princess with the other leaders," Vader ordered the troops as he
shifted his grip and grabbed hold of the young man's biceps. He kept his
lightsaber handy but no longer pressed against his jugular.

"I'll never let you win, Vader, never," Luke 'snarled', pulling against his
father's inescapable grip while growing aware that he was half-heartedly truly
trying to step away from his father. It puzzled him, but now was not the time
to worry about it, he reminded himself.

"You already have, boy," he told him coldly as he pushed him in motion.

"Don't listen to him, Luke," Leia told him earnestly, fighting against her own
guards. "You know it's not true."

While he, his father, his sister and guards walked and struggled, he noticed
that some troops around them seemed to debate whether to try anything while
others were trying to understand just what was going on at the moment.

Luke played his role of defiant pest for as long as he could, which meant a
little under two seconds long. His father's grip tightened so much on his arm
that he felt like it was going to break with a little more pressure.

When they reached the edge of the assembled troops, his father slightly let it
up as he addressed the officer in charge of their troopers, then forced him
forward once again.

While the troopers gathered the rebel troops to transfer them where they would
meet their fate, Luke wanted to crow at and tell them that they had been foolish
to choose the rebel camp, but instead, he continued to play his role and resumed
his fight against his father.

Lord Vader knocked him half-conscious with the Force, allowing him just enough
consciousness to docilely follow him. Meanwhile, Leia was shoved with the other
leaders.

*Luke, I don't want to hurt you for the final step,* Vader sent his recovering
son while his troopers eradicated the last of the rebels.

As his son awoke further, seemed to wince slightly at something, then he asked
him what he had mind.

*I'm going to pretend tormenting you via the Force. Can you act the part?* his
father queried solicitously.

*Yes,* the boy nodded glumly despite himself.

Oh yes, Vader conceded, his son would sure know how to pretend being in great
torment... he unfortunately had a lot of experience in that matter now... But
never again, thanks to today's victory, he reminded himself.

Luke pretended to be less aware than he actually was. He felt his father's
large hand take hold of his head, his gloved fingers splaying themselves in his
dark blond locks. For a brief, very brief moment, he almost panicked as his
mind identified the touch as potential danger, then his more rational mind woke
up and reminded him that it was only part of the plan. It was a tool to help
him simulate better.

"Now," Vader began darkly. "you have no troops left, no hope of any kind. Tell
me everything I want to know," he warned the rebel leaders.

"We will not---" Mon Mothma began haughtily

Luke interrupted her with a fake shriek of absolute pain. His father minutely
untightened his hold on his bent head, wordlessly telling him that he could cut
it out.

"You yourself don't have anything to lose, Mothma, but your young Jedi hero has
much to lose thanks to you. Do you really want me to torment him for eternity?"
his father asked sarcastically.

"No..." Luke and Leia whispered, one in fake horror, the other in real one.

"You need him for something; you wouldn't---" Leia began to argue.

A slight, new tightening told him to simulate another wave of agony, then he
lapsed into silence, moaning in false pain.

"So I do, Rebel, but I can hurt him as much and as long as I want with this."

Another simulation of pain.

"Stop." Leia pleaded. "What do you want?"

The other leaders gasped in shock before turning toward her. She pointedly
ignored them.

"Are there any other bases left? Any other ships?" Vader demanded.

When she hesitated to answer, Luke screamed for all his worth, writhing in his
father's grasp as if in great pain.

"No..." Leia barely admitted.

"Princess, you can't---" Rieekan began and was stunned by a nearby trooper.

"You were saying?" his father asked suavely to the young woman.

"Leia, don't---" Mothma began----

Seeing no way out of this except through disgusting cooperation, the other
remaining officer threw himself at his trooper, who also stunned him.

Luke, aware that Leia might be tempted to do the same thing, discreetly
convinced her to cooperate, and thus keep his acting to as short a delay as
possible.

"Leia... please..." he begged, making himself sound as if he were on the brink
of tears.

"I... I---"

Luke simulated one last, powerful attack.

"Stop! Please leave him alone," Leia begged in heartfelt despair.

Luke pretended to have been released from his torment, slumping in his father's
hold.

"Well, princess?" Vader rumbled.

"There aren't any other group left. Luke and I are the last leaders..." she
answered shamefully.

With her admission, Luke knew that it was over. He could finally stop acting,
at last.

*And you may claim your true name, young dark Jedi,* his father sent him warmly,
proudly.

"You mean, you are the last one," Luke answered his sister's last answer,
raising his head to look at her in dark satisfaction.

She gasped as she saw his far from panicked eyes, then took a step backward when
his father let him go. Luke's binders instantly fell on the deck with a noisy
clang.

"L... L... Luke?? How... What??" she stuttered as she took a step backward.

She tripped over her feet and landed hard on her butt; the troopers weapons were
not aimed at her anymore.

"Get her back to her feet," his father told him, turning toward the troops to
give them new orders regarding the unconscious leaders.

Luke walked closer to his distraught sister, almost loomed over her, then took
hold of her arm like his father had done with him and pulled her back to her
feet.

"I don't think I need to spell it out to you, Leia," he commented seriously.
"You've even already understood the basics."

He felt his sister's intent to hit him a fraction of a second before her head
moved swiftly closer. He easily avoided her.

"Traitor! I trusted you!" she spat, trying to hurt him again, this time with her
legs.

Luke easily blocked her attack, then he pushed her slightly forward of himself
to avoid anymore attacks.

"I know, but that was the plan, Leia," he informed her coolly, feeling a slight
pang of regret for having lied to his sister, but she had been a rebel... she
should have chosen her allies better.

She glared at him over her shoulder, refusing the budge for her spot. "Why?"
she finally managed to ask him.

"Why?" he repeated in amusement. "Because I serve the Emperor, like Father
does," he explained seriously.

He noticed the way her eyes widened at the mention of an imperial father.
Could she suspect?.., he wondered. His father decided to break their secret
without anymore delay.

"And you serve him in a most excellent manner, Son," his father said proudly,
giving him back his real lightsaber as he came back beside the two young people.

"F---f-father?!?" Leia whispered in horror while Luke single-handedly shoved his
weapon in his dirty trousers.

Around them, the troopers, who had been getting on with their new chores, took a
look at their little group. Even without reaching out, Luke could feel that
they were flabbergasted by the revelation that Lord Vader had a son.

He himself though felt a warm, tingly feeling of dark pride to finally be
able to claim his last name. At last, after all his sacrifices to please the
Emperor, he was finally stepping out of the shadows.

"Yes, Princess Leia," his father continued, "meet my son, Luke Vader. You have
already met him," he then commented coolly, "but at the same time you haven't.
However you will have plenty of time to get better acquainted with him."

"Vornsks will fly before I fraternize with your bastard, Vader," Leia spat
viciously.

Luke blocked her new attempt to attack him, then the two young people sized each
other up with a glance/glare; obviously displeased by what she saw, Leia resumed
her fighting against his hold.

"Bring her," his father ordered him. "The master is waiting for our report."
*And try to calm her down if you can.*

*I'll do what I can, Father... but I don't think our bond will be much help for
a while,* he told him seriously.

*As long as she doesn't attack any of us again,* his father explained. *She
isn't saved yet.*

*Okay.*

Vader turned away from the two young people; Luke followed him, forcing his
struggling 'sister' to follow him.

"Leia," he told her kindly yet seriously once they were in the corridors, trying
to appeal to what could remain of her trust in him. "it's useless to resist; I
give you my word that we won't hurt you," he promised.

"Your word as a traitor, right... You will regret keeping me alive, Vader," she
snarled at him while she pulled yet again against his grip.

Just to make sure that she wouldn't try anything, Luke minutely tightened his
hold on her bare arm, then as she remained silent beside him, he opened his link
with the young woman to study her thoughts.

She was confused, angry, horrified, dejected, filled with hatred, and
determinate to be defiant to the end.

The one man she had never suspected of any wrongs, he read in her angry mind,
had in fact been a viper. He wondered how she would react to the other big news
that were coming her way.

"I hate you," she muttered angrily, cutting in his thoughts.

"That you might," he answered her, matter-of-factly. "but you might also soon
revise your whole opinion about this, Leia."

To be continued in part 17: Luke Vader

Well, liked it?
Hope so

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