Fic Prompts: Star Wars Wednesday
(Part 1: In which, instead of dueling Luke at Cloud City, Vader actually uses his head for two seconds and decides to talk instead.)
Padme, something wonderful has happened.
Darth Vader stood frozen at the top of the stairs, transfixed by the sight of the small figure making his way into the carbon freeze chamber. Against all his doubts, all his fears, the boy had found him. His son. Their son.
The orange glow of the chamber’s inner workings blended annoyingly with the lenses of his mask, obscuring much of the boy’s expression. But oh, he could feel it, even from his place on the high ground. The boy -- Luke, his Luke! -- was afraid. But more than he was afraid, he was angry. His aggressive intentions hovered above him, hissing into the air with sharp notes. And the Force responded eagerly to the measure, ready to move in harmony as soon as Luke gave the word.
“The Force is with you, young Skywalker,” Vader said by way of greeting. Look how you’ve grown was not appropriate for the moment, nor was At last, I have found you. But how he had grown! This was a far cry from the desperate teenager who had attacked him on Cymoon-1. Someone -- someone -- had taught him new skills. But even with this new training-
“But you are not a Jedi yet.”
Do not begin a fight you cannot hope to win, my son.
Do not risk yourself needlessly.
Luke hid his fear admirably. He stifled it. Shunted it away to his survival instincts and continued his approach. The closer he got to the stairs, the more clearly Vader could see him. Surely it was not his imagination? No, Luke had grown since the last time they had been face to face. He had lost some of the softness in his face, and his shoulders were certainly broader than they had been on Cymoon. And now here he stood, caught between boyhood and manhood -- and caught between two Orders that had been fighting for his family’s loyalty for longer than he’d been alive.
When the boy ignited his lightsaber -- My old lightsaber -- and raised it into a basic stance, Vader was sorely tempted to respond in kind. It was so different from their first encounter! Luke knew more of the blade now. He could see it in his eyes. How he longed to test his son’s skill! No matter of life and death, no stakes, merely a spar for the simple pleasure of sparring with his son.
“Put it away, son.” Darth Vader folded his hands behind his back and took one step to the side. “It is not worth the possibility of injuring you.”
Anger flared, jagged and staccato from the boy. “Don’t,” he hissed between his teeth, “Call me son.”
Ah, my son, my betrayed, innocent son. You have been far too trusting.
“Very well. Luke, then.” Vader shifted to stand one step below, putting him closer to Luke’s level. “Put away your weapon. I mean you no harm.”
A harsh sound escaped Luke. Scoff and snarl and nearly a sob all at once. “No harm?” he repeated incredulously, “Do you really think I’m going to fall for that? After what you did to my friends?”
Ah, so very like his father. And his mother. His loyalty to those who had earned his trust eclipsed even common sense at times. But then, he had counted on that. Vader had the presence of mind to be grateful that he had not allowed the Princess to be harmed. That might have threatened his chances. If the girl was truly as protective of Luke as she seemed, then having her aboard the Executor alongside Luke would ensure their cooperation.
“The methods I resorted to were...unpleasant,” he said with a conciliatory tilt of his head. “But I could find no other way to draw you to me.”
Unintended, a note of humor colored his words. “You have become quite the accomplished escape artist, young one!”
Luke’s hands shook, almost unnoticeable. He was unsettled by this strangely peaceful Lord of the Sith. There was a soft haze of confusion just beginning to overshadow his conviction, and the anger was dulling to wariness. Perfect.
“You...you hurt them!” Luke spat. His eyes widened a moment later. Horror swirled in them, chased by disgust. “You hurt them because of me?!”
Vader took another step down. “I have no specific grievance against those you keep company with.”
“But you do with me,” the boy finished for him. He gritted his teeth. “So they were what, collateral damage?” He raised his blade again. “Someday, you’re not going to be able to treat people like things anymore, Vader. Someday, somebody’s going to put an end to you.”
Ah, look at him. Look at him, Padme. He sounds just like you.
“Hm. And I assume that you mean today to be that day?” Vader turned. “If that is so, then why have you not attacked me yet?”
Luke swiveled quickly to keep up, and nearly lost his footing. “I’m not stupid. You’re trying to distract me.”
“The jakreb learns to listen before it runs,” Vader quoted, amused.
Startled to hear Huttese coming from someone like Darth Vader, Luke jolted noticeably. “The dragon who moves too soon is a dragon who starves,” he countered. “I know what you’re doing.”
“I highly doubt that you do.”
Rat-a-tat-tat Luke’s rising temper shook the cables and rattled against the ceiling like a drumbeat.
“You want me to drop my guard, so you can kill me. Just like you did to Ben!” he accused.
He turned his blade to a more horizontal guard and stepped up to the high ground.
A wise move, if an unnecessary one.
“Luke.” Vader shook his head and continued to descend the staircase. “Obi-wan allowed himself to be killed. What his motives could have been, I do not know. He told himself and everyone around him such pretty lies that I am no longer certain that even he knew what his motivations were. But I assure you that whatever he did, he did so deliberately.”
It only took a few seconds for Luke to follow him. “To give us time to escape. So we could destroy your Death Star! Worked out pretty well, Vader.”
Keep following, little one. Don’t stop.
“Indeed?” Vader turned his helmet as if glancing over his shoulder at Luke, and stepped off the edge of the platform. He landed with a heavy thud, and waited until Luke had scrambled to the edge to look for him before stepping into one of the maintenance tunnels.
“That is a topic for speculation, I believe. But for all the times your “Ben” betrayed me, it is fitting that in his final moments he unwittingly revealed you to me. Returning what he stole all those years ago.”
Vader smiled beneath his mask and continued down the maintenance tunnel. He did not wait for Luke. The boy would come of his own accord, or not at all. This was too important for him to ignore.
He reached out, taking greater care than he ever had before, and brushed against his son’s mind. Can you hear me, little one? I am calling you, as I have been calling for you for so long…
He stopped, frozen mid-step. A tiny light, soft as birdsong, had touched his thoughts for just an instant. Instinctive. Unconscious. The reflexive curl of an infant’s fingers around an adult’s.
Perhaps he didn’t know that he knew yet, but the truth was there, buried in his heart.
It was the same clumsy touch, feather-light and unrestrained, that he used to sense as he lay beside Padme each night, projecting love and peace and calm to their unborn baby.
Padme, something wonderful has happened.
