Heart of a Sith

[therealthing]

Chapter 1

“You haven’t been taking your medication, have you?”

“No,” the patient replied. “I don’t need it.”

The doctor shook her head. “Lord Vader, I know you hate taking meds, but in this case I must insist.”

Vader stood up. “If you had been doing your job all this time, I would not need them,” he retorted angrily.

The physician swallowed hard, his anger more than a little frightening. “Lord Vader, when you were assigned to me fourteen years ago, I dedicated myself fully to your care. Considering the shambles your health has been in all this time, I hardly think it’s fair that…”

“What you think, Doctor, is hardly important,” he snapped. He clenched his fists in frustration, knowing cognitively that she was not the one to blame; yet she was here, she was convenient, and he needed someone to direct his anger at.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” she continued. “But believe it or not, I do care about your well being. I swore an oath to attend to my patients and to go to any length to give them the best possible care. But I can’t force you to do anything, can I?”

Vader looked at her, knowing her well enough after all this time to know that she was being honest with him. And yet, the unspoken truth that had hovered somewhere in the back ground still persisted, the same hidden truth that every physician and medidroid had withheld from him for fourteen years. Any attempt to uncover this truth had resulted in punishment from his master.

“No, you cannot,” he replied. “Therefore you are not to blame, Doctor. I take responsibility for my actions and inactions. You needn’t burden yourself.”

I beg to differ, she reflected. The emperor had invested a great deal of time and money into the care of his right hand; should anything happen to him under her care, she would be very much responsible.

“Please reconsider the injections at least,” she said at last as he walked to the door.

He stopped. “And how often would I have to submit to that?”

“At least every two months, milord,” the doctor replied.

Vader nodded. “I understand,” he replied. “I will reconsider, and I will see you in six months time, then,” he added, standing up to tower over the medic. “Barring any complications I suppose.”

She looked up at him, accustomed to his acerbic sense of humor. “Yes, barring any complications.”

Vader turned to leave when she spoke again.

“Oh, and Lord Vader?”

Vader turned to look back at the doctor.

“Happy birthday,” the woman replied with a smile.

Vader left the doctor’s office without another word, leaving her as perplexed as ever. She knew him perhaps better than most, and yet he still remained an enigma to her. Charming and dignified one moment, angry and taciturn the next: Lord Darth Vader was a volatile, dangerous man, but he was also a man who needed her help. Vader hated medical droids, hated medical intervention of any sort; so the fact that he trusted her enough to submit to her ministrations every six months for the past fourteen years was truly remarkable.

Happy birthday? What sort of an idiot wishes me a happy birthday? Vader thought angrily as he strode down the corridor. When was the last time I actually had a happy birthday?

Fourteen years had passed since the blackest day of his life, the day that would define his existence henceforth. His thirty-sixth birthday was hardly one he was in the mood to celebrate, just as the previous thirteen had been. Celebrating inferred happiness and happiness was an alien concept to Vader. It had been a long time since he had felt anything resembling happiness; fourteen years in fact. It hardly seemed possible that at one time he had known utter happiness, that his life had been so full of promise and joy. But you threw all that away when you killed her, when you killed them…

Memories of his dear wife, his beloved Padmé, haunted him still, even fourteen years after her death. The loss of her and their child had left an indelible mark upon his soul, rendering him incomplete and irreparable. Somehow the fact that his body was in the same shape seemed fitting to him, and a just punishment for what he had done to her on that day.

“Report!” Vader demanded as he entered the bridge.

“The Rebel ship has been brought on board sir,” Vader’s second in command replied. “The survivors are being held in the detention block.”

Vader nodded. “I will interrogate them one at a time,” he decided. “You have the bridge, Ozzel.”

Ozzel nodded, watching his commander leave again. Everyone one the bridge knew what awaited the rebels. Darth Vader’s interrogation methods were brutal and effective. He would get the information, leaving the informant little more than a vegetable when he had found what he needed. Ozzel couldn’t hold back a shudder at the thought of it, and turned back to the computer terminal he was working at, confident that Vader would have a location for them in short order.

As Vader made his way to the detention block, he felt a great surge of pain through his chest. He was forced to stop and brace one hand against the bulkhead, his breath faltering for a moment. The pain was not like anything he had ever felt, except for the occasions when his master would punish him with Sith Lightning. It made him wonder if it had been projected onto him somehow. Is the emperor angry with me again? He thought as he fought to master the pain. Is he doing this? Finally, after what seemed like hours, the pain started to subside, leaving Vader shaken. He headed straight for his quarters, momentarily forgetting about the prisoners. Once inside his sanctuary, he made his way to his hyperbaric chamber. Sitting down inside of it, Vader tried to decide what to do next as the pain finally began to subside. If the emperor was angry with him, then surely he would make contact, wouldn’t he? Or was this just another one of his mind games that he was so fond of playing? The psychological torture Sidious inflicted upon his servant was every bit as painful as the physical punishment. Memories of Mustafar, of Padmé…

Checking his personal messages, Vader was surprised to see no message from the emperor; however, there was one from Viceroy Organa. Vader frowned, wondering what the traitorous Organa wanted now. He activated the message, and soon the image of Bail Organa appeared on the screen.

Lord Vader, your presence is urgently requested on Alderaan as soon as possible.

That was it, that was the message. Why does Organa want me on Alderaan? Vader wondered. He knew that Organa was a member of the Alliance, even if he couldn’t prove it yet. So why would he invite the enemy to his home world? Unless it was some sort of trap…you’ll have to do better than that, Organa, Vader mused as he made contact with the royal palace on Alderaan. He wasn’t kept waiting long before he was face to face with the Viceroy.

“Lord Vader, thank you for responding to my message,” Organa began.

“If you are trying to negotiate for the release of the rebels I have in my custody, you can forget it,” Vader snapped. “They will be interrogated, and then they….”

“This isn’t about any prisoners,” Organa interrupted. “But I can promise you, Lord Vader, it is a matter of tremendous import, particularly to you.”

Vader frowned. “What do you mean?” he demanded.

Organa hesitated, and Vader could sense that the man was holding back a great deal. “Just come to Alderaan,” he replied. “If you ever loved Padmé, then come to Alderaan as soon as possible.”

The mention of his wife’s name both enraged and stunned Vader. “What does she have to do with this?” he demanded. “How dare you use her name to manipulate me!”

Organa said nothing, and Vader knew that he was desperate. Why, he could not even guess; but despite himself, Vader found that he was curious.

“Will you come?” Organa asked at last.

Vader nodded. “I will be there in twelve hours. And I warn you, Viceroy, this had better be worth my while.”

Relief spilled out of Organa. “I promise you that it is,” he said. “I will see you then.”

Vader ended the transmission, his mind working feverishly for a way to justify a trip to Alderaan.

[therealthing]

2

None of the prisoners proved useful, as Vader learned after many hours of grueling interrogation. Obviously only those in the upper echelons of the Alliance were privy to the information he needed; and, unfortunately, the captain of the Rebel vessel had been inconsiderate enough to perish in the attack. A waste of time, he thought darkly as he left the detention block, having ordered the execution of the remaining prisoners. Rebels were like parasites, in Vader’s opinion; they needed to be exterminated at every opportunity. The trouble was, there were always more to replace them. Vader had spent much of the last fourteen years trying to crush the rebellion; but it had proven to be far more difficult than he had anticipated. It seemed the Rebels had allies in every quadrant, suppliers in every system, and they never stayed in once place long enough for the Empire to track them down. It was frustrating; particularly since Sidious blamed Vader for their growth. Vader did not question his master, he simply continued to hunt down the rebels and follow every lead he had in order to do so.

“Sir, we have entered the Alderaan system,” a junior officer informed Vader as he entered the bridge.

“Prepare a shuttle,” Vader commanded. “I will be meeting with the Viceroy once we arrive at Alderaan.”

“Shall I have a guard standing by, sir?” Ozzel asked.

Vader nodded. “Yes,” he replied. “I do not trust Organa. This could be a trap.”

“The Viceroy would be foolish to attempt such a thing, my lord,” Ozzel replied.

“Yes, but since he is involved in the Rebel Alliance, anything is possible,” Vader replied. “You have the bridge, Ozzel,” he added as he left the bridge again with a flourish of his great black cloak.


It had gone against every ounce of good judgment that Bail Organa possessed to contact Vader, but he knew that he had no choice at this point. He was their last hope, their only hope perhaps, and Organa knew it. He also knew, however, that involving Vader was very risky, threatening to undo all that so many had sacrificed so much for. Yet, it could not be helped.

Organa himself met Vader on the landing platform outside the palace, not surprised by the presence of clone troopers who had accompanied the dark lord.

“What is this all about, Organa?” Vader asked without preamble. “I warn you, this had better not be a waste of my time. I have much to do, and the emperor does not…”

“Come with me,” Organa said. “Leave your troops behind; they will only be in the way.”

Frowning under his mask at this, Vader turned and signaled for the clones to stand down, and proceeded alone with Organa. For some reason, he felt certain that the man could be trusted in this instance, and that whatever it was that he had summoned Vader for was indeed worth his time.

The two men boarded a transport which immediately lifted off. They left the quiet, mountainous area and headed for the capital. Vader watched through the window as they approached a medical facility, his curiosity growing with each meter they flew. Finally the transport began its descent onto one of the many landing platforms outside the hospital.

“Well here we are,” Organa said as he stood up.

“Yes, so we are,” Vader replied as he joined the viceroy. “I have to admit, Organa, I am curious.”

Organa nodded. “Come,” he said. “Follow me.”

Vader followed the Viceroy into the facility, ignoring the shocked and terrified looks he received. He felt a strange sensation growing within him, part anticipation, part trepidation, that grew stronger the closer they came to their final destination.

The lift doors opened and Vader realized that they were in the intensive care unit of the hospital. The feelings grew stronger, intense even, as they walked toward the sliding doors that lead into the ICU. As the doors slid open, Vader stopped in his tracks, his brain refusing to believe what his eyes were telling him.

“Padmé?” he said, his voice betraying his utter shock. “Padmé??”

Padmé Amidala nodded, unable to hide the sadness in her eyes.

“How can this be?” he cried. “You…you died!”

“Padmé’s death was faked in order to protect her from the Emperor,” Organa explained as Vader simply stared at his wife. “It was in her best interest, as well as that of the twins.”

“Twins??” Vader said, turning to Organa briefly. “We have twins??” he asked his wife.

Padmé nodded again. “A son and a daughter,” she told him, the sound of her voice again after so long making his breath falter for a moment. “Luke is the reason I asked the Viceroy to contact you. He is very ill,” she explained, her voice faltering slightly. “He…he needs a kidney transplant or he will die. Neither Leia or I are compatible, and I’m hoping, I’m praying that you are.”

Vader was too stunned to reply. He could not take his eyes from his wife, scarcely able to believe that she was truly alive.

“There is no doubt a test to ascertain that,” he replied at last. “Let’s get to it at once.”

Padmé smiled, relieved that he had agreed to it so easily. “Thank you,” she said softly, her eyes warming ever so slightly.

“The boy is my son, Padmé,” Vader replied.

Padmé nodded. “Come with me,” she said. “I’ll take you to the lab right away.”

“Wait,” he said. She turned to him.

“I want to see him,” Vader said. “Luke, I want to see my boy.”

Padmé was surprised by him, and simply nodded. “Of course,” she said. “Come this way.”

Vader followed his wife down the corridor and into a private room. There was a bed in the middle of the room and on it a sleeping boy. Vader approached the bed slowly, his eyes riveted on his son’s face. My son, he thought, as emotions he had not felt in so many years began to churn within him. Drinking in every detail of his face, Vader stood transfixed beside Luke’s bed, confused by the way looking at his son made him feel. He looks like me when I was fourteen, Vader realized the image of his own face as it had once been jumping to mind. Something else that he was struck by was the boy’s strong Force presence. Even in his sleeping state, it was remarkably strong and vibrant. A powerful Sith he would make, Vader reflected with pride. But the boy was ill, very ill, and it angered Vader that this had happened.

“How did this happen?” he asked at last. “Why is he so ill?”

Padmé sighed, looking down at Luke’s sleeping face. “Several months ago he contracted a virus,” she explained. “At first it was just the flu, but after it persisted for more than a week I began to grow concerned. It turned out to be more than just the flu. It attacked his renal system, and, despite efforts to stop it, his whole renal system, including his kidneys became compromised. They are functioning at forty percent,” she told him, tears springing to her eyes. “And if he cannot have a transplant…”

She was unable to finish her sentence, but she need not have. Vader knew what the result would be.

“He will have a transplant, Padmé,” he told her, “If you are not his blood type, then logically I must be.”

Padmé looked up at him, a glimmer of hope awakening within her. She nodded. “Thank you for coming,” she said as a tear ran down her face.

Vader felt the emotions welling up within him again, but he crushed them before they had a chance to surface, and merely nodded in response. “Let’s go to the lab,” he said. “So this boy can have his surgery.”

Padmé nodded. “Yes, let’s go.”

[therealthing]

3

Vader sat down as the phlebotomist prepared to withdraw a sample of his blood. The man’s hands shook as he prepared his the syringe, the sight of Darth Vader up close and personal more terrifying than he could have imagined.

“Well now,” the technician said, trying to sound calm. “Er…uh….your suit, Lord Vader,” he began, unsure how to proceed, “will this syringe penetrate it?”

Vader shook his head. “No, it won’t,” he replied, removing the shoulder armor. “There is an opening on the right shoulder,” he informed the nervous man. “My medical officer takes blood from there on a regular basis.”

“Very good,” the technician said, watching in morbid fascination as the Dark Lord removed his shoulder armor. He stepped closer, noting in amazement that Vader’s shoulders were just as broad without the armor, and noticed the small slit at the top of the suit. “Shall I proceed?” he asked nervously.

“That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?” Vader replied acerbically.

The technician swallowed hard as he pulled back the fabric of the suit, shocked to see the state of the skin beneath. It was clear to him that Vader had sustained severe burns, third degree burns; why he had not been treated for them was beyond his comprehension. Still, he would not dream of asking the Dark Lord such a personal question; people had been killed for far less where Darth Vader was concerned. Instead, he went about his task, injecting the syringe into the muscle of the Dark Lord’s shoulder. He withdrew one vial of blood, more than enough to determine if Vader would be a suitable candidate as a donor.

“There we are,” the man said, relieved to have the task finished. “I’ll have this analyzed as quickly as possible, my lord. I should have an answer for you within the next few minutes.”

“Good,” Vader replied as the man handed him his shoulder armor. “The sooner the better; my son’s life is hanging in the balance.”

“Of course, my lord,” the man groveled, rushing away with the sample.

Vader replaced his armor and stood up, surprised to see his wife standing in the doorway.

“I didn’t realize you were there,” he said. “They should have the results very soon.”

Padmé nodded. Vader could see that she had so much to say, so many questions; indeed, so did he.

“My appearance shocks you,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“I’ve seen you on the holonet,” she told him. “I knew what to expect.”

Vader nodded. “Of course,” he said. He wanted to say so much, but hardly knew where to start. The fact that she was actually alive after all this time was still a shock to him. “I can’t believe you’re really here,” he said at last. “I’ve believed you to be dead all this time.”

“Everyone has,” Padmé replied. “I had no choice, you…Palpatine gave me no choice,” she explained. “If I were to keep Luke and Leia safe from him, I needed everyone to think I was dead.”

“Not quite everyone,” Vader reminded her. “Viceroy Organa knew all this time, didn’t he?”

Padmé nodded, ignoring the hint of accusation in his voice. “Yes, I needed his help,” she replied. “Obi-Wan knows too.”

The name of his former master sent a ripple of anger through him. “Of course,” he replied, the anger clear in his tone. “No doubt he has spent the past fourteen years turning my children against me.”

Padmé was torn between lashing out at him and breaking down into tears over what had become of the man she had loved with all her heart. “No, he hasn’t,” she said tiredly, turning away from him, not wanting him to see how vulnerable she was. “What do you want me to say, Anakin?” she asked without turning around. “That I’m sorry I hid from you? That I’m sorry I did everything possible to protect Luke and Leia from that monster you call your master? Well I’m not sorry,” she said. “I did what I needed to do, I had no choice.”

Vader said nothing, which only frustrated her more. The air was heavy between them, pregnant with unasked and unanswered questions. Padmé spoke up; hating the silence, needing to say what was on her mind and in her heart, even if he wasn’t willing to.

“I don’t want to fight,” she said, looking back at him. “I haven’t slept in three days. I’m tired and I’m worried about Luke. I haven’t got the energy to get into this right now,” she added, turning away from him.

“You still don’t understand that I did what I did for you, do you?” Vader replied. “I did it to save you, and in the end…”

“In the end you lost us all,” she said, cutting him off before he could begin another sentence. “Was it worth it?”

Before Vader had a chance to respond, the technician returned to the examination room.

“Good news, my lord,” he announced. “Your blood type is the same as your son’s,” he said.

“Good,” Vader replied. “Then the transplant can take place immediately.”

“The physicians will want to perform a thorough physical on you first,” the man replied.

Vader was angered by this news. “I had a complete physical not three days ago,” he told the technician tersely. “This is a waste of time!”

The man did not wish to contest the Dark Lord’s statement, so he merely nodded in response. “I will let the physicians know at once, my lord,” he said, and then left once again.

Vader turned back to Padmé. “I told you he would get his transplant,” he said, and then left the room.


“Lord Vader I’m afraid we will have to sedate you for this examination,” the lead physician, Dr. Marcswell, informed him.

“Why?” Vader asked suspiciously. “As I informed one of your technicians, I had a full physical not one week ago. My son needs this surgery, and yet you are…”

“Sir,” interjected the doctor, quite to the surprise of Vader. “It would be against my ethics to perform surgery on you of this magnitude without first performing a full examination myself. Your physical situation is quite unique, you must admit; I don’t want any surprises when I’m performing surgery on you.”

The surgeon’s words halted any further objections; the man was simply doing his job. “Very well,” Vader replied. “Do what you must. Only know that if my son’s condition worsens because of this ridiculous waste of time, I will hold you responsible, Doctor.”

The doctor tried not to show how intimidated he was, and merely nodded in response. He signaled for two medical droids to assist him as he prepared himself for the unenviable task of examining the Dark Lord.


“How are you feeling?” Padmé asked her son as she sat at his bedside.

“I’ve been better,” Luke replied. He looked around the room. “Where are we, Mom?”

“We’re on Alderaan,” Padmé replied. “We’re here to get you a new kidney.”

Luke’s eyes widened. “You mean you found a donor? A compatible donor?”

“Yes we have,” Padme replied. “And hopefully you’ll be having your suregery within the next twenty-four hours.”

“Great,” Luke sighed. “Who is it? Who did you find willing to give me a kidney?”

Padmé hesitated before replying. She had told the twins that their father, Anakin Skywalker, had died just around the time they were born. To tell them that Darth Vader was their father seemed too much for them to be burdened with at such a young age; in time she planned to tell them the truth. It seemed that the time was suddenly upon her.

“Your father, Luke,” she said at last. “That’s who is donating a kidney. Your father.”

Luke stared at her, a mixture of confusion and disbelief in his eyes, eyes that still reminded Padmé of Anakin.

“But…he’s dead,” Luke said simply. “Right? You told Leia and me he was dead.”

Padmé sighed, a profound look of sadness filling her eyes.

“Mom?” Luke said gently.

“Luke, your father, Anakin Skywalker, was a good man,” she began. “But something terrible happened to him. He…he was used, tricked into trusting someone who ended up being the source of his destruction. Your father turned to the Dark Side, Luke. He didn’t die, but he ceased to live as Anakin Skywalker long ago, on the same day you and Leia were born.”

Luke frowned, his mother’s words stirring up fear and anxiety within him. Obi-Wan had taught he and Leia about the Dark Side, how dangerous and destructive it was. How could his father had succumbed to its power?

“Who is he, Mom?” Luke asked, suddenly sounding like more that his fourteen years. “Who is my father?”

Padmé looked at her son, her heart breaking with the expression in his eyes. This is so unfair, she thought, he’s too young to be burdened this way!

“Tell me,” Luke insisted. “I need to know.”

“Darth Vader is your father, Luke,” Padmé said at last. “Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, until he turned to the Dark Side. He is giving you one of his kidneys.”

Luke did not know how to feel at this point. Half of him was elated by the knowledge that his father was still alive. He had wanted a father all these years; and although Obi-Wan was a kind man, a good teacher and friend, he was not Luke’s father. The man that Luke’s mother had described to him and Leia was the sort of man that Luke idolized: a Jedi Knight, a great hero, a brave warrior and skilled pilot. How was it possible that such a man could have become Darth Vader?

“How?” Luke asked at last, unable to voice his question any better. “Why?? How could the man you told Leia and me about be Darth Vader? It doesn’t make any sense!”

Padmé sighed, and to Luke, she seemed to look sadder than she had ever looked. And there were many times when she was sad; many times when she thought neither Luke nor Leia were watching, when she would cry, when it seemed as though her heart was breaking in two.

“It’s not easy to explain, Luke,” she said. “Your father was a great Jedi, as I told you; but…”

“So why did he turn to the Dark Side?”

Padmé turned to see her daughter Leia standing in the doorway. Judging by the look on her face, she had heard everything. It’s just as well, Padmé reflected; she needs to know too.

“Your father was ….plagued with dreams,” Padmé began. “Dreams that foretold the future. He foresaw the death of his own mother, and was powerless to stop it because of the constraints of the Jedi Order. When I learned that I was pregnant, your father was overjoyed. But that happiness soon turned into terror when he began dreaming of me dying in childbirth. He became so obsessed with finding a way to save me, that he placed his trust in the very person who had set out to seduce him to the Dark Side all along, Palpatine.”

“You mean the emperor?” Luke asked.

Padmé nodded. “Yes, but back in those days he was the Chancellor. The Empire didn’t come until later.”

“After the Purges,” Leia put in. Obi-Wan had made sure the Skywalker twins knew the real story, not the Imperial propaganda that they would have learned in school, had they attended a public educational facility.

“Yes,” Padmé replied. “Your father was confronted by Obi-Wan on the planet Mustafar,” she continued, omitting the part about Vader trying to kill her. “They fought, and your father was seriously injured. You two were born shortly after this happened.”

“So why has he ignored us all our lives?” Leia demanded.

“He…he hasn’t, not really,” Padmé replied “You see, after you were born, Obi-Wan and Senator Organa staged my funeral,” she explained. “Made it look like I had died. It was the only way we could keep ourselves safe from the Emperor; for had he learned of your existence, he would have destroyed you as surely as he had destroyed your father.”

Luke and Leia were silent as they digested this, neither of them quite knowing how to feel.

“So, he thought you were dead too, then? Vader?” Luke asked.

Padmé nodded. “Yes, it was necessary, Luke.”

“So he thought we died too then,” Leia stated.

“Yes,” Padmé replied. “He only learned of your existence the other day. When we learned that Luke’s condition was so serious, we had to weigh the options of telling him versus taking the chance that Luke’s condition would improve before finding a donor. It hasn’t,” she said, looking back at Luke. “Your life is more important than anything, Luke,” she told him, taking his hand. “So I took the chance, and let Senator Organa contact Vader.”

“And he agreed to do it?” Leia asked.

“Yes, he is very concerned about Luke,” Padmé replied. “He is being examined right now.”

“So he must care about me,” Luke said, thinking aloud. “If he didn’t, he wouldn’t do this, he wouldn’t give up a kidney for me, would he Mom?”

Padmé hadn’t allowed herself to think about what the implications of Vader’s actions might be; she had not let herself think about him much at all since they had met again after so long. It was just too painful to relive the past, too painful to think of all that had been lost.

“I suppose so,” she replied at last. “I just hope he cares enough not to betray us all to the emperor,” she added. “That is my biggest fear.”

“Milady, the surgeons would like a word with you.”

Padmé turned to see a medical droid standing in the doorway.

“Very well,” she replied. She turned back to Luke and kissed him on the cheek. “Rest,” she told him. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Mom,” Luke said as she started to walk away.

Padmé turned back to him.

“I want to meet him,” Luke said. “I want to meet my father. I think we both do,” he added, looking over at his twin.

Padmé sighed, knowing that this was an inevitable request given that the twins had just learned that their father was alive after all these years.

“Very well,” she said. “I will talk to him and arrange it. Now rest,” she told Luke again. “Stay here,” she told Leia, seeing the wheels turning in her daughter’s head.

“Okay,” Leia replied, annoyed by her mother’s uncanny ability to read her mind.

[therealthing]

Padmé headed for the examination room where she had left Vader earlier. She was met there by the chief surgeon.

“Milady Skywalker,” he began. “I am Dr. Marcswell,” he said, “I am the chief medical surgeon of this facility. I have just finished performing an examination of Lord Vader.”

“Yes, and?” Padmé asked. “His kidneys are healthy? Please tell me his kidneys are healthy.”

Marscwell nodded. “Yes, remarkably enough they are,” he replied.

“Thank the Force,” Padmé sighed. “So you can perform the transplant?”

The physician frowned, although wrestling with some issue within his own mind. “Yes, we can, but I feel ethically compelled to tell you what the examination revealed.”

Padmé frowned. “What? What is it?” she asked.

“His body has sustained tremendous damage,” Marcswell continued. “Damage that had gone unattended for years. The burns alone ought to have been attended to when he incurred them, and I’m at a loss to understand why they weren’t.”

Padmé frowned. “You mean this suit he wears isn’t necessary? He needn’t have worn it all this time?”

“No, it is absolutely critical,” the doctor replied. “In the current state of his health, he would die without it. What I’m saying is there are medical interventions that could have prevented the necessity of it.”

Padmé was silent, the truth of what she had just learned too tragic for words. “Does he know?” she asked at last.

“No, he doesn’t,” Marcswell replied. “He is still sedated. But there are more pressing matters we have to discuss.”

“What else?” Padmé asked, almost afraid to know.

“It’s his heart,” the physician replied. “The extent of the thoracic damage and his dependence on the artificial respirator for so long has caused a tremendous strain on his heart resulting in cardiomyopathy.”

Padmé frowned. “What does that mean? How serious is it?”

“Quite serious, I’m afraid,” Marcswell replied. “Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged, and cannot pump blood efficiently.”

“Is this a treatable condition?” she asked.

“It is,” he replied. “Although some patients remain in a stable condition for long periods, some continue to get gradually sicker, and others quickly get worse. Cardiomyopathy can only be corrected if the underlying disease can be cured. In Lord Vader’s case, because of the massive damage to his respiratory system, I estimate that if nothing is done to repair his injuries, particularly those to his lungs and heart, he won’t live to see the age of forty.”

Although it had been fourteen years since Padmé had mourned the loss of her husband, the dire prognosis of the doctor made her blood run cold. “Can you do anything for him?” she asked at last.

“Not right away, no,” the physician replied. “If his injuries are to be repaired properly, it will require extensive replication of organ tissue, of bone and skin; it is a huge undertaking, milady, and not one I have the skill to perform.”

“I think he needs to be told,” Padmé replied.

“I agree,” he replied. “He needs to know the risks involved in donating a kidney in light of what I have just learned.”

Padmé nodded, realizing that, more than likely, she was the best candidate to tell him. “How long before he wakes up?”

“Another hour or so,” Marcswell replied.

“I see,” Padmé replied. “Will you send someone to let me know when he does?”

“Of course, milady,” the physician replied. “I will send a droid as soon as he wakes up.”

Padmé left the physician then, and went looking for Obi-Wan to seek his advice.


Leia wasn’t a rebellious child, but she did have a lot of her father in her. And her father was who she couldn’t get out of her mind. She knew her mother would probably scold her soundly for sneaking off to catch a glimpse of the mysterious man who turned out to be her father; but Leia would deal with that later. Right now there was a burning need in her to see her father with her own two eyes.

Using the Force to cloak her from the eyes of the many security and medical personnel, Leia found her way into the recovery wing where she figured her father probably would be resting after his examination. Leia closed her eyes, and used the Force to seek him out. She felt a strong presence close by, but the signature was unlike any she had ever known. Neither Master Yoda’s nor Master Kenobi’s signatures were as strong as this, and it knocked Leia back on her mental heels for a moment. There was something else she noticed besides the power of the signature, and that was the layers of darkness that shrouded her father’s aura. Darkness, anger, and, most prominent of all, pain is what she sensed. There was clearly more to the man who had sired her and Luke than Leia knew.

Using his force presence as a homing beacon, Leia walked towards the room where her father was recuperating. Upon reaching it, she stepped inside, the door sliding behind her. She was pleased that she had not been detected, and a smile spread over her face. It soon faded when she turned around and saw her father.

Vader was lying on a hospital bed, his body hooked up to an artificial respirator. He was without his suit, his mask and his helmet; and the sight of his face both fascinated and shocked Leia. She drew closer to the bed, horrified at the state his body was in. The few parts of his body that were visible under the hospital blanket and gown were either artificial or badly scarred. Leia felt tears spring to her eyes as she looked at her father’s face. Bald and pale, his face bore only one scar, over his right eye; and yet it seemed to Leia that it bore the invisible scars of much pain, of deep sorrow. How did this happen to you? Leia asked silently, brushing away the tears that were falling down her face. Suddenly she saw movement under his eyelids, and she took a step backwards, afraid to be found here. She turned to leave the room when she heard a weak voice.

“Don’t go.”

Leia turned back to see her father’s eyes watching her. She stood transfixed for a moment, his eyes the same startlingly blue shade as Luke’s. Aren’t Siths supposed to have yellow eyes? She wondered as he riveted her with his stare.

Vader wasn’t sure if he were dreaming as he stared at the young girl before him. She was the image of Padmé on the day they met, her long dark hair pulled back in the same manner, the dark brown eyes that held his own the very same. But this was not Padmé; this girl radiated a Force presence that nearly matched his own in its strength. This is my daughter, he realized, this is Leia.

“Don’t go,” he said again. “Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid,” she replied at once.

Vader nodded, seeing that she was not afraid, proud of her that she wasn’t. “Come here,” he asked, his voice weak and broken without the aide of the vocabulator.

Leia approached him, wanting to ask him so much, but too nervous to do so. “I…I shouldn’t be here,” she said at last. “My mother will be angry if she finds out I am.”

“Do you often disobey your mother?” he asked.

Leia was surprised by the question, for it held no hint of disapproval, it was merely a question.

“No, well, sometimes,” Leia admitted honestly. “I guess I get into trouble sometimes.”

Vader couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled, but he couldn’t help himself at this point. Force, she reminded him of himself at that age! Luke may look like me, but Leia has my personality, no question, he reflected. Perhaps she will be the One to join me.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked at last. “Why are you helping Luke?”

The whisper of a smile faded from Vader’s face. “Why do you think?” he asked, starting to grow fatigued. “He is my son.”

“Do you love him?” Leia persisted doggedly. “Do you love any of us?”

“Miss Skywalker, you are not permitted in here.”

Leia turned to see a medidroid standing at the doorway.

“She did no harm,” Vader informed the droid, to Leia’s surprise.

“I’d better go,” she said. “It was…good meeting you…” she stopped, not quite sure what to call him. Father? Dad? Lord Vader? None quite seemed right at this point, so she called him nothing and turned to leave.

Vader was watching her as she made her way to the door when Leia turned back to him. “You won’t tell my mother, will you?” she asked.

Vader merely shook his head. Leia nodded with a smile, and then left.

Vader closed his eyes, the effort of speaking more draining than he wanted to admit to his child.

“Lord Vader, we need to get you back into your suit now that you are awake,” the droid said.

Vader nodded. “Yes,” he whispered. “Good idea.”



“I’m not sure he will believe you, Padmé,” Obi-Wan replied after hearing all that Padmé had learned from the physician. “His belief in his master is steadfast; what makes you think he will take the word of a doctor over that of his master?”

Padmé didn’t know how to respond, and yet something told her that Vader had begun to realize how Palpatine had used him, even if he would not admit to it yet. Somewhere deep inside of him there was still a shred of the man he had once been, the man she loved. Obi-Wan watched her, sensing her thoughts. They worried him.

Obi-Wan nodded, stroking his beard thoughtfully. “I’m concerned about you, Padmé,” he said at last. “Concerned that your love for Anakin is blinding you to what he has become.”

Padmé frowned. “I know exactly what he has become, Obi-Wan,” she replied tersely. “The man is the father of my children; can you blame me for having compassion for him?”

“Anakin Skywalker was the father of your children,” Obi-Wan reminded her. “Not Vader. Don’t think for a moment that you can trust him, Padmé; he is a Sith, and Sith have no conscience, no sense of decency.”

“He is donating an organ to save his son’s life,” Padmé reminded him.

“Saving his son’s life does not mean he cares about the boy,” Kenobi insisted. “No doubt he sees the tremendous potential in Luke and wants to lure him to the Dark Side.”

Padmé shook her head. “I know you were against this from the start, Obi-Wan,” she said. “But now that we are in the midst of this situation, you could be a little more supportive rather than merely pointing out all the potential for disaster.” She turned to leave him, and then she stopped and turned back. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re wrong. I think he does care about Luke and Leia. But you believe what you will about him, I’m not about to change your mind.”


With that she left, leaving Obi-Wan more than a little concerned about her frame of mind.

[therealthing]

Vader sat across the table from Padmé as the doctor began his briefing. He glanced at her every so often, wondering if she had learned of their daughter’s sojourn. He couldn’t help but admire the girl’s daring; it reminded him so much of his own. Perhaps she was the one, not the boy; perhaps she would help him destroy the emperor... Realizing that the doctor was addressing him, he refocused his attention on him at once.

“Lord Vader, I am happy to report that your kidneys are in good condition, more than healthy enough to donate one to your son,” Marcswell began.

“That is good news,” Vader replied, turning back to Padmé briefly. “So when will you proceed?”

“Not so fast,” the physician replied. “There is something else I think you must know before we proceed. You have a serious heart condition, Lord Vader; one that has been worsening over time I suspect. Has your personal physician not told you about it?”

“She has,” Vader replied. “And has prescribed medication for it. I suppose I have been somewhat ….remiss about taking it.”

Padmé shook her head, realizing that despite everything, he was just as stubborn as he had ever been.

“Well I’m sorry to say that your reluctance has taken a heavy toll, Lord Vader,” Marcswell continued. “I estimate that without surgery, your heart will not last to your fortieth year.”

Vader was silent for a moment, the situation more dire than he had wanted to believe. “My situation is not one that I chose,” he said at last. “Believe me; but it is what it is. What can be done to change it?”

“Plenty,” Padmé spoke up, much to the surprise of both men. “Did Palpatine tell you that your injuries were irreparable?” she asked pointedly.

Vader turned to her, the memories of that horrific day all too vivid even after fourteen years. “Yes,” he said simply. He turned back to the doctor. “What are you saying? That he was wrong?”

Marcswell nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid that’s exactly what I’m saying,” he replied carefully. “I suppose even the Emperor makes mistakes once in a while.”

“It was no mistake,” Padmé spoke up, again shocking both men. “He didn’t want your injuries to be repaired,” she replied. “He wanted you to remain in this suit for the rest of your life.”

Marcswell felt markedly uneasy sitting between the two of them. Despite the fact that they had been estranged for fourteen years, they were acting very much like a quarrelling, married couple.

“This is irrelevant,” Vader said at last, doing his best to keep control of his anger. What Padmé said struck a little too close to home; Palpatine had lied to him in the most heinous manner possible when he’d told him that Padmé had died at his own hand. If he was capable of that level of depravity, then lying about Vader’s injuries was highly likely. But now was not the time to think about that; Luke needed surgery. That was most paramount. “Can you perform the transplant with this…condition of mine?”

Marcswell nodded, relieved that the tension had not exploded into a full out fight. “Yes,” he replied, “but you must know that there are risks to you. Surgery of any sort places a strain on the body; when the body is already in a state of reduced efficiency, the strain is greater.”

“Risks do not concern me, doctor,” Vader replied tersely. “My son’s life is in question here, and enough time has already been wasted. He needs a kidney, and I have one to give him. I suggest you get us both ready for surgery, Doctor.”

“Very well,” the physician replied, standing up. “I will prepare my team.”

He left the two of them alone, something neither of them wished at this point.

“So where is Kenobi?” Vader asked her, the lurking presence of his former master irritating him almost constantly. “I know he’s here, I can feel his presence. Too afraid to face me after what he did to me on Mustafar?” he commented tersely.

Padmé sighed. “I don’t know,” she asked. “You’d have to ask him that. Not that I imagine you would speak to him without resorting to violence again.”

Vader felt a surge of anger and jealousy ripple through him. “I see the two of you have become quite close,” he commented. “I’m amazed he permitted you to contact me at all.”

“No one permits me to do anything,” she retorted, getting annoyed with his veiled accusations. “He has been a teacher to the twins, and a good friend to me through all of this. Force knows I’ve needed one.”

“Yes, a good friend,” Vader replied. “I thought that of him too, until he convinced my wife to take his side and betray me.”

Too many sleepless nights spent worrying about Luke had taken their toll on her, and at this comment Padmé’s patience snapped.

“I know you thought I betrayed you,” she told him, “you think it still. You thought I brought Obi-Wan to Mustafar to kill you.”

“What was I to think?” he retorted. “Why else would you have…”

“I didn’t bring him to Mustafar,” she interjected. “I had no idea he was on board my ship when I left Coruscant.” She stood up, the tenuous control she had over her emotions starting to waver. “If you’d given me a chance, I would have explained that,” she said.

Vader was unable to respond to this. “I didn’t realize that,” he admitted lamely.

“I thought you knew me better than that,” she said, her back to him. “I would never have betrayed you, Anakin. Never.” She walked out the door before he had a chance to reply.

“Lord Vader, we are ready for you,” a medical droid announced. Vader turned to the droid.

“Good,” he said. “Let’s get this done.”


Vader followed the droid into an operating theatre, where Luke had already been brought. To Vader’s surprise, the boy was still awake, with his mother and sister at his side. Luke turned to see his father as he entered the room. Leia smiled when she saw him, the sight of the mask not doing anything to diminish the bond she’d already felt developing between she and her father.

“You must be Leia,” Vader said, making sure he kept the promise he made to his daughter.

Leia nodded. “Hi,” she said, grateful for her father’s willingness not to rat her out to her mother.

Vader looked down at his son next. “And this is Luke,” he said, his hands resting on the chrome bar of the operating table.

Luke nodded, looking up at him. “Hi,” Luke said, more than a little intimidated by the ominous appearance of his father. But more than that, but the tremendous strength that he exuded, the darkness Luke sensed emanating from his father was staggering, and more than a little menacing.

“Luke wanted to meet you before the surgery,” Padmé explained, standing by Luke’s bedside. Vader looked up at her briefly before returning his attention to his son.

“I’ve wanted to meet you as well, Luke,” Vader replied. “This is a big day for you.”

Luke nodded. “Yeah, it is,” he replied, starting to relax, sensing the protectiveness his father felt for him. “Thank you,” he added. “What you’re doing is really amazing.”

Vader held up one large gloved hand. “You do not need to thank me, Luke,” he replied. “You are my son, after all.”

“Everything will be just fine, Luke,” Padmé said, smoothing Luke’s longish blond hair over his forehead, trying to put the unpleasant conversation she’d had with Vader earlier from her mind. “In a few hours you’ll feel as good as new.”

Luke nodded, sensing the tremendous tension between his parents. “I can’t wait,” he said with a smile.

“Well let’s get started, shall we?” Dr. Marcswell said as he entered the room in his surgical garb. “Time to say goodbye to Mom for now, Luke.”

Padmé knew that this moment was coming, but it didn’t prevent her from growing emotional. She bent down and embraced Luke tightly. “I love you,” she said softly, kissing his cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”

Luke nodded, willing himself not to let the fear he felt gnawing at him get to him. Leia hugged him tight, communicating with him in the way they had that everything would be alright, and that she loved him.

“Come on Leia,” Padmé said, putting an arm around her daughter’s shoulder. “Time to go.”

Leia nodded and looked up at her father. “Thanks for doing this for Luke,” she said.

Vader was surprised by her words. “You’re welcome,” he said simply. Padmé looked down at Leia, getting the impression that she was missing something. She then escorted Leia out of the room and let the physicians get to work.

[therealthing]

6

Padmé paced nervously in the small waiting area, the fear and worry making it impossible for her to sit down.

Leia watched her mother, sensing how frightened she was. “He’s going to be fine, Mom,” she said, knowing exactly how well the surgery was going. “Luke will be just fine.”

Padmé looked over at her daughter, knowing that she was right. Luke was in excellent health aside from his renal condition; there was no reason to expect that he would not make a full recovery. So what has me so scared? She could feel Leia’s eyes on her, knowing that she was reading her mind; she did so on a regular basis, as did Luke. Padmé had never quite got used to the ease with which her children could do that. Just like their father…

“You’re afraid of him, aren’t you?” Leia asked her mother at last.

Leia’s question took Padmé by surprise. “Of whom?”

“My father,” Leia replied. “Lord Vader. You’re very tense when he’s around.”

“I won’t deny that,” Padmé replied. “But that doesn’t mean I’m afraid of him.”

“What is it then?” Leia persisted, reminding Padmé of Anakin in her tenacity.


“Leia, the situation is very complicated,” she replied.

“I know,” Leia replied. “I want to help, Mom. I want to understand what happened between you and my father, why we’ve been apart all this time.”

“Leia, you know why,” Padmé replied. “Because of the danger the emperor poses, because…”

“My father isn’t the Emperor,” Leia pointed out.

“No, he isn’t,” Padmé conceded. “But he is the emperor’s right hand. He is his apprentice, his henchman. I was afraid that if your father knew about you and Luke, then he would tell the emperor about you and that the emperor would try to turn you and Luke to the Dark Side as he did your father.”

Leia was silent as she considered this. “But, if you were afraid that he would do that, why would you contact him now? What’s to prevent him from telling the emperor about us now?”

“Nothing,” Padmé replied, looking at Leia. “Now you know why I’m afraid, Leia.”

Leia felt a shiver go up her spine as she remembered the strength of the power that she had sensed emanating from her father. If he wanted to turn her and Luke into Siths, he could do it; for despite their own abilities, neither Luke nor Leia had the experience or the strength to match his, even combined. No wonder she’s so scared, Leia reflected, starting to share her mother’s fear.

“He’s our father. He wouldn’t do that to us, would he?” trying to convince herself as much as her mother.

“I honestly don’t know, Sweetheart,” Padmé replied, wishing that she could assure her daughter. “I don’t know him anymore. He isn’t the same man I knew, the man I married.”

“Do you still love him?” Leia asked pointedly.

Padmé sighed. “I don’t know how I feel about him, Leia,” she replied. “Part of me hates him for leaving us the way he did.”

“But he thought we were all dead,” Leia pointed out. “He didn’t leave us; we left him.”

Did we? “You know why we had to hide, Leia,” Padmé explained, trying to remain patient. “We had no choice. He left us no choice when he joined the Dark Side, when he chose Palpatine over me, over us.”

Leia watched her mother closely, sensing the tremendous pain she felt. “You do love him,” Leia decided. “Otherwise what happened wouldn’t hurt you as much as it does.”

Padmé was a strong woman. She’d always been strong; but her daughter’s words cut right to the heart of her. Despite her best efforts, the tears she had managed to hold at bay sprung forth. Leia was right after all; she’d always been able to read her mother’s emotions.

“You’re right,” Padmé said softly. “I know he has caused me so much pain, but I do love him, Leia. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but I can’t help how I feel.”

Leia hugged her mother tightly; too young to know what she could possibly say to assuage her mother’s heartache. “I’ll be okay, Mom,” she said finally. “He’s in there somewhere, I know it. I saw it in his eyes.”

Padmé pulled back and looked at Leia. “You…you’ve seen his eyes?”

Leia nodded. “I know you didn’t want me to, but I went to see him on my own after the doctors examined him.”

“Leia,” Padmé began.

“Mom, he didn’t have his mask on,” Leia continued, ignoring her mother’s disapproving tone. “I saw his face, Mom, I saw his eyes. They’re just like Luke’s.”

At least that much of him is the same, Padmé reflected.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Padmé said, wiping the tears from her face.

“I know,” Leia replied. “But the curiosity was killing me,” she admitted with a small smile.

Padmé shook her head. “You are so much like him,” she said.

Leia smiled more. “He thinks so too,” she told her mother proudly. “Even though he thinks I look just like you did when you were my age.”

“He told you that?”

Leia shook her head. “No, but he was thinking it.”

“I see,” Padmé replied.

“Mrs. Skywalker, we’ve completed the surgery,” Dr. Marcswell announced entering the waiting room.

“How is he?” Padmé asked anxiously. “How is my son?”

“He is in fine shape,” the surgeon replied. “He came through the procedure with flying colors.”

“And what about my father?” Leia asked. “How is Lord Vader?”

“He is fine,” Marcswell replied. “The procedure does not seem to have exacerbated his condition.”

“What condition?” Leia asked in alarm. She turned to her mother. “What’s wrong?”

“Your father has a serious heart condition,” Padmé explained.

Leia frowned. “Is he going to die?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“Not if he gets the medical attention he needs,” Marcswell assure her.

Leia nodded her understanding; however his words did little to allay her fears.

“May we see them?” Padmé asked.

Marcswell nodded. “They are recovering in the same room,” he replied. “Follow me.”

Padmé and Leia followed the surgeon out of the waiting room and through the set of blast doors that lead into the surgical wing The recovery room was at the far end of the corridor.

Walking into the room, Padmé’s eyes sought out her son, smiling when she saw him sleeping peacefully. She walked over to his bed and picked up one of his hands. She kissed it gently, saying a silent prayer to the Maker that Luke and made it through the surgery so well.

“Mom, look,” Leia said.

Padmé looked up to see Leia and nearly gasped aloud when she saw Vader lying in the bed beside her. Oh, Ani, she thought sadly when she saw his face. Anakin Skywalker had been an uncommonly handsome man; a head of long blond curls, rugged features and amazingly blue eyes. The face she saw before her now bore little resemblance to that face save the scar over his right eye. I remember when he got that…it was during the Clone Wars…

“Mom?”

Padmé looked down at once to see Luke looking up at her. She smiled at once. “Hi,” she said, kissing his cheek. “It’s all over,” she told him. “You did great,” she added.

Luke nodded, still rather groggy from the anesthetic. “How’s Father?”

Padmé was shocked at her son’s use of the familiar term Father.

“He’s still unconscious,” Padmé replied, looking back at Vader. “But I’m sure he’ll be awake soon.”

“Let’s get you moved to a room of your own,” Dr. Marcswell said as medidroids activated the side bars on Luke’s bed. “Lord Vader will need to be monitored in here a little longer.”

“Why?” Leia asked at once. “I thought you said he was alright?” she added, turning to Marcswell.

“I want to keep him on a heart monitor for a few more hours,” the physician replied. “With his condition, it’s a precaution I’d like to take.”

Leia nodded, looking down at her father’s sleeping face once again. She could not shake a feeling of unease. “Can I stay with him?” she asked, quite to the surprise of Padmé.

“If you wish,” the surgeon replied, “but I suppose that is your mother’s decision.”

Padmé looked at Leia, troubled by the attachment her daughter was forming for her father. “I don’t know,” Leia,” she said doubtfully. “You need to get to bed; it’s close to midnight.”

Leia frowned, disappointed by her mother’s decision.

“We’re ready to move the patient now, Doctor,” the medidroid informed them.

Marcswell turned to it. “Very well,” he replied. “Proceed at once.”

“Come along, Leia,” Padmé said as she followed the droids who were directing Luke’s bed towards the door.

Leia looked up and nodded, and before joining them, gave her father one last look. As soon as Padmé was out the door, Leia bent and gave Vader a quick kiss on the cheek, and then she ran out of the room to join her mother.

[therealthing]

7

Vader woke up in pain. But it wasn’t the newly sealed incision that was causing him pain. There was a dull ache in his chest, very much like ont that he had experiences on board his star destroyer days earlier. It took mere seconds before the heart monitor began to sound. Medidroids appeared at once, moving quickly and efficiently to attend to him. Dr. Marcswell appeared as well, his hair disheveled from sleep, a look of concern on his face.

“BP is 200 over 100,” one droid reported. “Heart rate 140.”

“20 CCs of dobutamine,” Marcswell ordered as Vader began to grow agitated. One of the droid prepared the syringe at once, but was prevented from administering it. In his agitation, Vader had begun to tear the room apart telekinetically.

“Inject the patient!” Marcswell shouted as instruments and furniture began flying around the room. Glass shattered and flew about as the second medidroid hastened to administer the inotrope to Vader. It managed to inject the syringe into the shoulder of the Dark Lord. Within seconds he became still again, and his heart rate began to stabilize.

“What the devil was that?” Marcswell muttered in astonishment as Vader drifted off to sleep again. All around them were the ruins of the recovery room equipment.

“It seems Lord Vader possesses remarkable telekinetic abilities,” one of the droids remarked.

No kidding, Marcswell reflected.

“What happened? What have you done to him?”

Marcswell turned to see Leia standing in the room. She was in her pajamas and bath robe.

“Miss Skywalker, I must insist that you leave at once,” he said tersely.

Leia walked over to the bed, carefully avoiding the wreckage everywhere.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what happened,” Leia replied in an authoritative tone that took the surgeon by surprise.

“Lord Vader….er, I mean your father had a mild cardiac episode,”

Marcswell told her as the droids set about cleaning up the mess.

“Cardiac episode?” Leia echoed in alarm. “What does that mean exactly?”

“It means he experienced heart failure,” the physician replied. “It’s quite a common event in cases when the patient has an enlarged heart. I suspected that such a thing might happen,” he explained, checking Vader’s vitals. “But rest assured Miss, he is out of danger at present.”

“And all this?” Leia asked, indicating the wreckage everywhere.

“Your father did that,” Marcswell told her, “with his mind.”

Leia had no trouble believing this; but it shocked her nonetheless. The Dark Side…

“Miss Skywalker I must insist that you return to your quarters,” the physician said again. “Your father is sleeping, and is being watched closely.”

Leia nodded, feeling tired despite herself. “I’ll be back in the morning,” she said, turning to leave. “Take good care of him.”

Marcswell nodded, astonished by how much like her father young Leia Skywalker was.

As Leia was returning to the room she shared with her mother, she was met in the doorway by Padmé.

“You’ve been to see you father, haven’t you?” she asked.

Leia merely nodded.

“Leia why? Why did you deliberately defy me again?” she asked, arms folded over her chest.

“I was worried about him, Mom,” Leia replied. “I couldn’t sleep. I felt that he was in trouble, and I was right. He had a….cardiac episode.”

Padmé did her best not to appear alarmed. “Is he alright?”

Leia nodded. “I think so,” she replied. “Are the doctors here going to fix his heart?”

“There’s so much more to it than that, Leia,” Padmé replied as a wave of fatigue washed over her. “Can we talk about this in the morning?” she asked, running a hand over her tousled hair. “I’m exhausted.”

Leia nodded, feeling guilty all of a sudden for giving her mother yet another reason to worry. “I’m sorry, Mom,” she said, hugging Padmé tightly.

Padmé hugged her back. “It’s okay,” she replied, kissing her cheek. “Just promise me you’ll stay in your room this time, okay?”

“I promise,” Leia replied.

“Good,” Padmé said, taking her daughter’s face in her hands. “I love you, Leia,” she told her. “Very much.”

Leia smiled. “I love you too, Mom. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight love. Sleep well.”

Darth Vader awoke to find his personal physician looking down at him. Athlena Thek’s face held an expression of concern as she watched her patient wake up.

“What are you doing here?” he asked weakly.

Dr. Thek had never quite got accustomed to the startling shade of blue of Lord Vader’s eyes, and realized that she was one of the few individuals privileged to see them.

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” she replied with a hint of a smile.

“I think that’s pretty obvious,” he grumbled, his voice contorted behind the ventilator.

“The surgeon contacted me about the procedure you just underwent,” she told him. “Why didn’t you tell me you were planning on doing this?”

“I wasn’t planning on doing this,” he replied. “Not until I got here and found out that my son needed a kidney.”

Athlena’s eyes widened in surprise. “Your son?” she asked in shock. “You have a son, Lord Vader?”

“I have a daughter too, they are twins,” he replied, amused by the shock on the woman’s face.

“I had no idea that you’d ever been…I mean that you were once…” she stammered.

“That I was once a man?” he offered, his amusement growing by the redness that had begun developing in her cheeks.

“Well I know you’re a man,” she began, “I just didn’t, know that…well, that you’d …”

“Had sexual relations with a woman? Fathered children?”

“Lord Vader, I hardly think this is …appropriate,” she said at last.

“You brought the issue up, not I,” he said, closing his eyes again.

Thek shook her head, the Dark Lord managing yet again to astonish her.

“Who are you?”

Thek turned to see a young girl staring at her, an undisguised look of distrust and suspicion in her large brown eyes.

“I am Dr. Athlena Thek,” the doctor replied, folding her arms over her chest. “Who are you?”

“I am Leia Skywalker,” Leia replied walking over to the woman, nonplussed by the doctor’s attempts to stare her down. “Lord Vader’s daughter.”

“Oh,” Thek, standing down at once. “Well, it is nice to meet you, Miss…” she stopped; did she say Skywalker?

“Skywalker,” Leia said, looking down at her father who was watching the scene with amusement. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Alright I suppose,” he replied. “Some pain in the incision.”

“That is to be expected, Lord Vader,” the doctor put in, anxious to appear efficient all of a sudden.

“Are you my father’s personal physician?” Leia asked.

“Yes I am,” Thek replied. “I have been for fourteen years.”

“So why haven’t you done anything about his heart condition?” Leia asked pointedly, reminding the physician more and more of her father.

“I have prescribed meds for your father many times,” she replied. “But he has refused time and time again to take them.”

Leia frowned not sure she believed her. “Why would he do that?”

“You’d have to ask him that, not me,” Thek replied, starting to get defensive with the young girl’s directness.

Leia looked down at her father to see that he had drifted off to sleep again. “I will ask him later,” she decided. “Why are you here? There are doctors looking after him.”

Thek frowned. “Is there some reason you dislike me, Leia?” she asked.

“I don’t dislike you,” Leia replied, not altogether truthfully. “I suppose I find it hard to believe you are competent given the fact that my father has such a serious condition that you have left untreated for fourteen years. That’s all. I’ll be back later when he wakes up. I’m sure my mother would like to make sure he’s okay. Maybe you’d like to meet her too?” Leia said with a smile, and then left the room.

Thek stood in astonishment of the impertinence of the young daughter of Lord Vader. Then again, she mused, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

“How are you feeling this morning, sweetheart?” Padmé asked as she sat down on the edge of Luke’s bed.

“I feel fantastic,” he replied as he wolfed down his
breakfast. “Better than I’ve felt in…I don’t know how long.”

Padmé smiled. “Then I suppose your new kidney is doing its job,” she said.

Luke nodded. “I can’t believe it’s made this much difference so soon,” he said. “I’m so grateful that my father did this for me.”

“We all are, Luke,” Padmé replied. “It was very generous of him.”

“Look at him eat, he must be better,” Leia quipped as she walked into Luke’s room.

Luke grinned. “Lots of time to make up for you know,” he replied. “Sleeping late again sis?”

“No,” Leia replied, smoothing the end of the blanket on Luke’s bed. “I went to see how our father was.”

Padmé, while not surprised, was nonetheless disturbed by this. “How is he?” she asked.

Leia looked up at her mother, sensing the unspoken disapproval behind her words. “He’s okay,” she replied. “His physician from the star destroyer was with him. I don’t like her.”

“Her?” Luke said. “Our father’s doctor is a woman?”

Leia nodded. “Yep,” she said. “And I kind of had the impression she has a thing for him too,” she added.

“Oh Leia, stop it,” Padmé admonished. “You’re being ridiculous.”

Leia and Luke looked at one another, both very intrigued by their mother’s reaction.

“I could sense it Mom,” Leia insisted. “I think you need to meet her.”

Padmé frowned. “Why?”

“So she knows Father is already married,” Leia replied, using the logic only a fourteen year old girl could use.

“Don’t be stupid, Leia,” Luke said between mouthfuls, seeing how uncomfortable Leia’s comment had made their mother.

Leia frowned. “I am not being stupid,” she retorted. “Stupid.”

“That’s enough, both of you,” Padmé said sharply. “Enough of this silly bickering. I am going to talk to Dr. Marcswell,” she continued. “You,” she said, pointing to Leia, “are going to stay here and be nice to your brother.”

Leia looked down at her brother, who opened his mouth to show her his half eaten mouthful of food.

“Luke!” she whined. “Mom, Luke is being gross!”

Padmé smiled as she walked away. “Then I guess he’s feeling just fine,” she replied.


Padmé found Dr. Marcswell in his office. With him sat another physician, one who wore the uniform of the Imperial medical corps. Padmé realized who this must be, and was annoyed by the jolt of insecurity she felt when the woman turned out to be rather pretty.

“Ah, Milady,” Marcswell said, standing to greet her. “How are you this morning? I trust you had a restful night.”

“The first one in a very long time,” Padmé replied. “Thanks to you,” she added with a smile. “Luke is feeling so much better this morning. When I left him he was eating like a wookiee.”

“Excellent,” Marcswell replied. “Milady this is Doctor Athlena Thek,” he said, indicating the other doctor. “She is Lord Vader’s personal physician.”

Padmé looked at the woman with a smile. “How do you do?” she said, offering her a hand, using her best senatorial face.

“Nice to meet you,” Thek replied, taking note of the remarkably beautiful woman who had once been the lover of Darth Vader, the mother of his children. “I met your daughter earlier,” she added. “She is quite the precocious young lady.”

Padmé lifted an eyebrow. “Yes, she can be at times,” she agreed. “She is a lot like her father,” she added.

“I’ve noticed that myself,” Marcswell remarked.

“How soon will Luke be released?” Padmé asked, cutting to the chase. “How long will he need to be here?”

“Another three days at least,” Marcswell replied. “We have to ensure that his body doesn’t reject the kidney, do some follow-up blood work, a number of tests. Are you in a hurry, milady?”

“No, I just wanted to know what to expect,” Padmé replied. “Thank you.” She turned to leave, and then stopped and turned back. “Is Vader conscious right now?”

“He was dozing when I was in there with him,” Thek replied. “But not in a heavy sleep.”

Padme nodded. “Thank you,” she replied, deciding that the conversation she needed to have with him had been put off long enough.

[therealthing]

8

Padmé felt the apprehension building within her as she headed for recovery room where Vader was resting. The door was open when she arrived, and so she entered the room. Seeing the bed empty, she looked around and then saw him entering on the far side of the room watching her. He was in his breath suit and mask again, the room was filled with the sound of his mechanical breathing apparatus.

“I didn’t expect to see you out of bed so soon,” she said, not knowing what else to say.

“There is no need for me to remain there any longer,” he replied. “My physician has assured me of that.”

Padmé nodded. “Luke is feeling marvelous,” she told him, smiling at the thought of her son eating his breakfast with such gusto. “I wanted to thank you again for what you did for him. You’ve changed his life.”

Vader merely nodded, studying her closely. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said at last. “But why don’t you say what is really on your mind, Padmé. I know you came here for a reason.”

“Yes, so I did,” she replied, not surprised by his ability to read her thoughts. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“I wanted to know what your intentions are,” Padmé asked. “Now that you know about the twins, are you going to tell your master about them?”

Vader was somewhat startled by the frankness of her question. No doubt it had been tremendously difficult for her to contact him knowing that this was a possibility. But with her son’s life on the line, she’d had no choice.

“I don’t know yet,” Vader told her. “Although I have made plans for you and the twins.”

Padmé frowned, the apprehension within her morphing into anxiety. “Plans?” she asked, trying not to sound alarmed. “What plans? What are you talking about?”

“You will come to live with me on my star destroyer,” he told her matter-of-factly. “I have already ordered quarters for the three of you. You will be very comfortable, I assure you.”

Padmé’s frown deepened. “Comfortable?” she cried angrily. “Since when is a prison comfortable?”

“It is hardly a prison,” Vader replied calmly. “I have spared no expense to furnish your new home with every amenity, every luxury you could possibly want or need.”

“That’s hardly the point,” she insisted. “I am not one of your crew who you can issue orders to,” she said, standing up to him, hands on her hips. “You don’t have the right to command me!”

Vader lifted an eyebrow. “Perhaps not,” he replied. “But the children are mine, Padmé. I have a right to them. You have deprived me of the first fourteen years of their lives; you owe me this much.”

Padmé lost it. “I owe you??” she cried. “I owe you nothing! You dare to stand there and try to make me feel guilty for protecting my children from you and that devil you serve?”

“I am not saying anything that isn’t true, and you know it,” he replied. “If you feel guilty, that is your own problem, not mine. I offer you safety and security on board my ship. You must realize that now that you have made you and the twins known to me it is only a matter of time before the emperor learns of your existence as well.”

And then it began to dawn on her. “I see,” she said at last. “This isn’t an invitation, it’s an ultimatum, isn’t it? If I don’t agree to this, then you will tell you master about the twins.”

Vader did not reply, neither denying nor affirming her statement.

“Obi-Wan was right,” she said, not caring if she angered him. “You have no conscience.”

The mention of the name of his former master infuriated Vader. “This coming from a man who stole my family from me,” he retorted angrily. “And lied to my children!”

“Your master stole your family from you, Anakin,” she returned. “Not Obi-Wan.”

“Do not use that name any more,” he told her. “Anakin Skywalker is dead.”

Padmé nodded. “Yes, I know that now,” she replied softly. “I was foolish to think otherwise.”

“So you and the twins will come to the ship?” he asked.

“I think it’s a rather moot point, isn’t it?” she replied tiredly. “You’ve given me no choice in the matter, just as you did fourteen years ago.”

Vader did not reply, and merely watched as she left the room. Once she was outside the room, and out of his earshot, she leaned her back against the wall and put her face in her hands and wept.

[therealthing]

9

“Well young Luke, you’re looking well,” Obi-Wan said as he walked over to Luke’s bedside.

Luke looked up from the hologame he was playing and smiled. “Thank Master Obi-Wan,” he said. “I feel great. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I’m sure,” he replied. “Patience, young one. Remember? A Jedi must be patient.”

“I know,” Luke replied. “I will remember that.”

“Where have you been, Master?” Leia asked him.

“I have been…around,” he replied. “I have been doing a great deal of meditating since we arrived here; your presence must be kept from the emperor, and with his apprentice now knowing about you, it is more important than ever that I shield you from him.”

“Obi-Wan, do you think our father will tell the emperor about us?” Leia asked.

Kenobi sighed, running a hand over his beard thoughtfully. “It is difficult to predict,” he said at last. “But we cannot assume anything, young ones. Your father is a Sith now, and they are driven by considerations foreign to us.”

Leia frowned. “I don’t think he would betray us, Obi-Wan,” she said. “He cares about us, I can sense it.”

Luke nodded. “He gave me a kidney,” he agreed. “He must care.”

Obi-Wan hated to crush the twins’ idealistic notions about their father; they had wanted to have a father all their lives, after all. And yet, Obi-Wan knew he would be remiss if he were to nurture their childish notions about a man who was capable of heinous, unspeakable actions. He knew what the Sith were capable of, and knew that it was very possible that any interest Vader showed in his children could simply be for his own purpose. It was a certainty that Vader had sensed the tremendous Force strength of his children; would he try to turn them to the Dark Side? Was that the reason that he seemed to care about them? Kenobi had no doubt of it; but how could he tell Luke and Leia that without breaking their hearts?

“Perhaps he does,” Kenobi remarked at last. “But he may also have his own agenda for helping you, Luke.”

“Obi-Wan is right,” said Padmé as she joined them. “He has had one all along.”

All three of the force sensitives in the room could see how terribly upset Padmé had been; her eyes also showed signs that she had been crying.

“What’s wrong?” Obi-Wan asked at once. “What have you learned?”

Padmé shook her head. “You were right about him, Obi-Wan,” she said quietly. “He has no conscience. He has told me that the children and I are to come on board his ship to live.”

Luke and Leia looked at one another, surprised and even a little excited by the prospect.

“What’s wrong with that?” Leia asked. “We’ll be together, all four of us. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Padmé shook her head. “Leia, you’re so young, so innocent,” she said sadly. “He has given us no choice; if we don’t agree to this arrangement, he will tell the emperor about you and Luke.”

Kenobi frowned, feeling an uncharacteristic flash of anger. “He told you that?” he demanded. “He threatened you?”

“Not in so many words, no,” Padmé admitted. “But the implication was pretty clear. He has already had his men on board the ship setting up our quarters; he is not going to back down from this.”

Luke and Leia could see how terribly upset their mother was; but more than that, how afraid she was. Was their father truly as ruthless as she seemed to think he was? Would he actually betray his own flesh and blood?

“I will talk to him,” Obi-Wan said at last. “This is not going to happen, Padmé; I will not let it happen,” he averred as he walked out of the room purposefully.

“Obi-Wan no!” Padmé replied running after him. She found him in the corridor and took him by the arm to face her. “What good will that do?” she asked him. “Look what happened the last time the two of you met? Do you honestly think he will listen to you now? He’ll kill you, I know he will. He hates you and resents you more than ever.”

“I will not let this happen,” Obi-Wan repeated. “I will not allow him to turn those two beautiful children in there into Siths, I swear to you, even if I have to kill him to prevent it.”

Padmé was not listening however, for behind Obi-Wan she saw none other than Vader standing there listening.

“You missed your opportunity to do that a long time ago, Kenobi,” Vader said ominously. “When you left me burning alive after mutilating me. You will not be so fortunate this time,” he said, taking out his lightsaber.

“I will do what I must to prevent you from Luke and Leia,” Obi-Wan countered, producing his own weapon. “If I must give my life to do so, I will do so happily.”

“Always the martyr,” Vader retorted derisively. “Do you not know that your kind are extinct now old man? You are obsolete, a relic; the Sith rules the galaxy now, old man. The Jedi will never rise again.” He punctuated his declaration with a vicious thrust, which Obi-Wan met with his own blade.

“Stop!” Padmé cried, “please stop!!”

“Stay out of this, Padmé,” Vader told her, advancing upon his older opponent. “This is between Kenobi and me.”

“No it isn’t!” she retorted, having to shout to be heard above the clash of their sabers. “I will not be treated as the prize in one of your archaic pugilistic contests, do you hear me?”

“You have done an excellent job of turning my wife against me, Kenobi,” Vader growled, the anger growing within him at every step.

“You did that yourself when you tried to kill her,” Kenobi retorted, repelling the Dark Lord’s blade.

“What is going on here?” Dr. Marcswell said as he and two security guards appeared on the scene. “Cease this at once or I’ll have you both thrown in the detention block!”

“Mind your own business, Doctor,” Vader warned as he advanced upon Kenobi. “This is a duel of honor, of which you have no part.”

“Honor has nothing to do with this,” Padmé retorted. “You want revenge, plain and simple.”

Vader did not reply, but soon had Kenobi where he wanted him, the security detail far too terrified to take any action.

“Revenge is sweet indeed,” Vader said, holding the tip of his blade to Kenobi’s throat. “I shall relish this, Kenobi.”

“If you kill me, your children will hate you for the rest of their lives,” Obi-Wan replied calmly. “If that is what you want, then by all means, kill me right now.”

His words stopped Vader, for he knew that the old man was right. He looked up briefly to the door of his son’s room to see Leia standing in the doorway, a look of shock and fear on her face. Don’t do it…please…

It angered Vader that the thought of his children hating him was so troublesome; but it was. It was more than that, it was horrifying. The look in his daughter’s eyes as she watched him prepare to kill the old Jedi said more than enough about how she would feel should he go through with it. Sith do not care about the feelings of others, he told himself, looking back at his victim; there is no compassion in the Darkness, only revenge…

“Father, please spare him.”

Vader’s head snapped up again to see his son standing with his sister.

Kenobi could sense the Dark Lord’s hesitation, his vacillation; it was clear that his children’s feelings did matter to him. This shocked Obi-Wan, as well as Padmé who watched with breath held what happened next.

Vader stepped back, to the astonishment of all. “Get away from my family,” he said. “Or next time I will not be so merciful.”

Luke and Leia looked at one another, both of them shocked by what had just transpired.

“Doctor, I want you to discharge my son at once,” Vader commanded.

“But Lord Vader,” the surgeon protested, “Luke still needs a great deal of rest, not to mention the…”

“We have first class medical facilities on board my ship,” Vader explained. “He will be well cared for.”

Marcswell did not know what to say. His ethical sense told him not to allow it; the boy had only had surgery the previous morning. And yet, this was Darth Vader he was dealing with; one didn’t refuse the Dark Lord of the Sith without taking one’s life into one’s hands. He looked at Padmé, the expression of resignation on her face telling it all.

“Milady? Do you agree with this?” he asked.

Padmé turned to him, aware that Vader was watching her closely. “Yes,” she said, “I do. Please arrange for him to be released at once.”

“You mean we’re going now?” Leia asked, quite surprised by the quickness with which all this was happening.

“Yes,” Padmé replied. “We will need to go back to our quarters and pack up our things.” She turned to Vader. “I imagine that your father wants to leave as soon as possible.”

Vader nodded. “Yes, I do,” he said, looking back at Kenobi. “The sooner the better,” he added, realizing that the sooner he got his family far from his enemy the better.

Marcswell nodded. “I will make the arrangements at once,” he said with one last look at Padmé. I hope you know what you’re doing, Milady, he thought grimly as he walked away.

“I will return to my ship now to ensure that all the arrangements are ready,” Vader told Padmé. “I shall return in two hours.” He turned to Leia, realizing that he needed some insurance that Kenobi would not take off with his wife and son. “Would you like to come with me?” he asked her.

“Yes,” Leia replied immediately, much to the consternation of her mother. “I would.”

“Excellent,” Vader replied. He looked back at Padmé. “We shall return in two hours to collect you and Luke. Is that enough time?”

Padmé nodded, the fear she felt for her daughter swelling within her.

“Don’t worry, Mom,” Leia said. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Okay,” Padmé replied, reaching out to hug her daughter tightly. “Please be careful,” she said quietly.

Leia nodded, knowing that her mother was frightened, but realizing that there was no reason to be. She sensed no duplicity in her father, and was eager to see where she would be living.

“Padmé, I wish there was something I could do,” Obi-Wan said lamely as Vader walked down the corridor with his daughter in tow.

“There’s nothing anyone can do, Obi-Wan,” Padmé replied, watching her daughter disappear from sight, trying hard not to become hysterical. “Our fate is out of our hands now.”

[therealthing]

10

Leia almost had to run to keep up with her father as they made their way to the landing platform where an Imperial shuttle was waiting for them.

“You will find living on a star destroyer has much to offer, Leia,” Vader told her as they took their seats in the passenger section of the shuttle.

Leia nodded. “I’m sure,” she said. “I’ve never been on a star destroyer.”

Of course not, he reflected as they shuttle lifted off. “The crew knows of you and your brother’s imminent arrival,” he told her. “They have all been sworn to secrecy not to reveal your identity to anyone who isn’t a member of the crew.”

“Did you do that to keep the emperor from knowing about us?” she asked.

Vader turned and looked at her. “Yes,” he replied, knowing that she was strong enough to know if he were lying. “I am not ready to explain you and Luke’s presence to him. Not yet.”

“What about Mom?” she asked.

“What about her?”

Leia frowned. “What is it with you and her?” Leia asked in frustration.

“Explain yourself,” he asked.

Leia sighed. “I mean, you both care about the other, and yet you pretend that you don’t. What is the point of that?”

Vader looked away, not wanting to get into this particular discussion with his fourteen year old daughter. “Look,” he said, pointing out the window. “There it is.”

Leia leaned forward to look out the window and was astonished at the size of the ship looming ahead of them. “Wow,” she said softly. “It’s huge.”

“The flagship of the fleet,” he told her. “I have been consulting with some of the Empire’s designers on an even larger model, what we are calling a Super star destroyer. It will be at least ten times the size of this one.”

“Why is that necessary?” she asked. “That ship is already huge.”

Vader had begun to realize that his daughter was very much like him in her frankness. “The Rebellion makes it necessary, Leia,” he told her. “They threaten the peace of the galaxy.”

Leia frowned, remembering everything Obi-Wan had taught her about the empire and the rebellion, and what she knew certainly did not jive with what her father was telling her. “If the Empire is so just, why is there a Rebellion at all?” she asked as they drew closer to the enormous ship.

“So many questions,” Vader replied. “You will learn a great deal once you begin your new life here, Leia; a lot of what you have learned is erroneous. I will teach you the truth.”

Leia nodded, part of her excited at the prospect of getting to know her father better; yet part of her still feared him, still feared the Darkness she felt surging through him.

“Here we are,” he said, standing up. “Welcome to your new home, young one,” he said, holding out his hand to her. Leia stood up, placing her hand in his.


Padmé tried not to let her thought wander to the huge star destroyer that loomed ominously over Alderaan as she packed her and her children’s belongings. Leia is already so attached to him, she thought anxiously; how can I keep her from getting her heart broken?

“Mom? You okay?”

Padmé looked up to see Luke standing in the room. Even now she could see the improvement in his color, the returned vitality to his brilliant blue eyes. “You shouldn’t be up and about just yet,” she told him, returning to her packing.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Luke persisted.

Leia looked up at him. “What do you think, Luke?” she asked. “Your father has high jacked us all, how do you think that makes me feel?”

Luke nodded, averting his eyes from his mother’s.

“I’m sorry,” she said, walking over to him. “I don’t mean to snap like that, but I’m scared Luke. That’s the truth of it, I’m scared to death.”

Luke took his mother’s hands. “I know you are,” he said, looking down at her hands. “But maybe this is a good thing, Mom. Maybe we can bring him back to the good side by being close to him. Doesn’t that make it okay?”

“Luke if I thought that was true I would already be on board that ship,” she told him earnestly. “But your father is too immersed in the Dark Side now, it’s been too long since he has been Anakin Skywalker, Luke. He is gone now forever.”

Luke frowned. “No, I won’t believe that,” Luke replied, surprising his mother with his zeal. “I have felt the good in him, Mom; I know he’s in there somewhere, and so does Leia. He just needs us to show him the way back.”

Padmé took her son’s face in her hands. “I hope you’re right, Luke,” she said softly. “But I don’t want you to pin your hopes on it. I would hate to see you and Leia broken hearted when your father never returns to the light, because that is what I’m afraid will happen, Luke. In my heart of hearts, I believe it.”

Luke smiled. “Well we’ll see who is right,” he replied with confidence.

I already know who will be right, Luke, she thought as she returned to her packing, and it won’t be you I’m afraid.

“This is amazing!” Leia exclaimed as Vader showed her the quarters he had arranged for her, Luke and Padmé. “I can’t believe how big this is!”

“I have had a third of the level converted to accommodate you,” he told her. “Not only living space, but recreational facilities as well. I trust you and your brother have been taught how to use a light saber.”

Leia nodded, growing more intrigued by the second.

“Then you will appreciate this,” he said as they entered an enormous room with a vaulted ceiling. “This is where you can practice your skills,” he told her, activating the computer program. At once a remote appeared and hovered in mid air, waiting for further instructions. “Stand back,” he told her as he keyed in a program. He then removed his lightsaber as the program commenced.

Leia stood back and watched in awe as her father’s lightsaber flashed with incredible speed, dispatching the energy bolts emitted from the remote with deadly accuracy. Obi-Wan has never handled a lightsaber like that, she reflected, growing more impressed by the minute by her father’s skill.

“Wow,” Leia said as the program ended and her father returned to her.

“That was amazing!”

Vader smiled under his mask, pleased that he had the child’s admiration. “Time to return to Alderaan,” he said. “Your mother and brother are waiting for us.”

Leia nodded, and followed Vader out of the room, the prospect of living with this remarkable and still mysterious man who was her father.


“Padmé, I wish there was something I could do, anything, to change this situation,” Obi-Wan said as he said his goodbyes to Luke and Padmé.

“There isn’t,” She said. “We knew that this was a risk when we contacted Vader; we just have to live with the consequences now.”

Obi-Wan nodded, a frown creasing his brow. “I will go to Dagobah,” he told her. “Master Yoda must be told of this.”

“He won’t be able to do any more than you, Obi-Wan,” Padmé said. “What’s done is done.”

Obi-Wan felt utterly helpless as he was forced to agree with Padmé. What could they do? Vader had claimed his family, and there was nothing they or anyone else could do about it.

“You’d best not be here when he gets back,” Padmé told him. “I don’t want another ugly scene.”

“Yes, you’re probably right,” he said. He turned to Luke, who was trying hard not to cry at the prospect of having to say goodbye to his master and good friend. “Good bye Luke,” Obi Wan said, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Remember your teachings, and they will serve you well. And may the Force be with you.”

“I will Master,” Luke replied softly. “May the Force be with you as well.”

Obi-Wan felt a lump in his own throat as he gave Luke a hug goodbye. “I will miss you, young one,” he said.

Luke merely nodded, the constriction in his throat preventing him from speaking; but Obi-Wan knew how the boy felt, there was no need for words between them.

“Goodbye Obi-Wan,” Padmé said as he turned to her next. “Words cannot express our gratitude for your friendship and loyalty all these years.”

Obi-Wan smiled sadly. “It has been my honor to serve you, milady,” he said with a bow. Padmé felt tears in her eyes, and embraced him warmly. “I will miss you,” she told him. “Take care of yourself.”

Obi-Wan was moved by her words and embraced her back. “You too, Padmé,” he replied. “I will be watching out for you as best I can. I hope you are able to find the Anakin you once loved.”

Padmé felt her throat constrict at this, for she had already abandoned any hope of finding him. “I hope so too,” she said nonetheless.

Leia felt her father’s entire body tense as he saw Obi-Wan embracing her mother. Great waves of anger and jealousy emanated from him, shocking Leia in their intensity.

“Father, relax,” she said, taking his hand. “It’s not him that she loves.”

Vader turned and looked down at her, the words she spoke surprising him. He said nothing, but merely continued down the corridor, watching as Kenobi left his wife and son, no doubt sensing the approach of the Dark Lord.

“Ready to go?” Vader asked as he and Leia reached Padmé and Luke.

“Yes we are,” Padmé replied. She was immensely relieved to see Leia, and could see at once that she was extremely excited. Whatever had happened on board the star destroyer, it had done nothing to dampen Leia’s admiration for her father. Padmé was beginning to see think that nothing would do that.

“Wait until you see this place,” Leia told Luke. “It has everything,” she said with great excitement.

Luke smiled, growing excited too. “Cool,” he said, the fatigue starting to get to him.

“Let’s be off,” Vader said. “This boy needs his rest,” he added, seeing how tired Luke was.

“Yes he does,” Padmé agreed. “He shouldn’t be out of the hospital at all,” she couldn’t resist throwing in.

Vader ignored her comment and signaled to the storm trooper who had accompanied them to pick up the bags.

“You will be able to rest very soon, Luke,” Padmé told him, putting an arm around his waist.

“I’m okay, Mom,” he assured her. “Just a little tired is all.”

“I have programmed a medidroid to look after you for the next few days, Luke,” Vader informed him as they walked through the corridors. “And my own personal physician will attend to you as well.”

Leia couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the mention of her father’s physician. Luke noticed and grinned.

[therealthing]

11

Padmé, I can’t believe you are allowing this!

What do you suggest, Bail? What can I do? He will surely tell the emperor about Luke and Leia if I don’t cooperate.

This is all my fault…I never should have contacted Vader, I never….

Bail, Luke would surely have died without that transplant. Besides, you only contacted him at my behest. Don’t blame yourself for this. It is a situation that was unavoidable.

I know…it’s just that…I feel like I’ve let you down, Padmé. I feel like I’ve let Luke and Leia down. I promised to help protect them, and now I’ve virtually handed them over to the emperor.

You have done nothing of the sort, Bail. Perhaps things will work out, who knows? I suppose anything is possible.

I sincerely hope so, Padmé. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you; you know how to contact me.

I do, and I appreciate it. Thank you, Bail. For everything.

Padmé watched out the window as the shuttle drew closer to the enormous ship. Viceroy Organa had been a tremendous help to her over the last fourteen years, helping her in any way he could, including providing her with transportation all over the Outer Rim as she sought refuge from the Empire. Since the death of his wife, Breha, Padmé had sensed that Bail was developing feelings that were more than friendship for her, and had even hinted more than once that she ought to divorce Vader. Despite the history between she and her estranged husband, the thought of divorce was repugnant to Padmé. She simply could not do it.

“Look Mom,” Leia said as they approached the enormous ship. “Just wait until you see the inside, it’s amazing!”

Padmé smiled, trying her best to share her daughter’s enthusiasm, but not quite managing to do so. She turned to Luke to see if he shared his twin’s excitement. Luke, however, was fast asleep, his head tipped back against the headrest of his seat. She smiled, and brushed a stubborn lock of hair from his brow. “Looks like Luke was more tired than he let on,” she said, gently running her fingers through his blond locks.

Vader watched her, the bond she had with their children was indeed a powerful one. Feelings of envy started blooming within him, despite every effort he was making to remain detached. His children were remarkable, both of them; who wouldn’t want to be close to them? A Sith, which is what you are, don’t ever forget that.

“Lord Vader, we are starting our approach,” a storm trooper informed Vader.

Vader nodded. “Very good,” he said. He looked over to his wife. “We have arrived,” he told her.

“I hate to wake him up,” she said as the shuttle entered the enormous hangar bay.

“That won’t be necessary,” Vader replied, standing up. He walked over to where Luke was sleeping and picked him up in his arms. “Let’s go,” he said.

Padmé stood up and followed, along with Leia, both of them surprised by Vader’s act of tenderness. Leia looked at her mother, a smile on her face. Padmé didn’t have to read minds to know what the expression on her daughter’s face meant: I told you so!

Storm troopers were lined up standing at attention when Vader, Padmé and their twins emerged from the shuttle. The sight of the troopers startled Padmé, for over the past fourteen years of running and hiding, she had come to fear the sight of them. It seemed strange that they were now under her command.

“This way,” Vader said as they walked past the rows of clones and out of the hangar.

“Lord Vader, welcome back,” Dr. Thek greeted him as they made their way down one of the ship’s large corridors. “Is everything alright?” she asked, looking at the sleeping boy in Vader’s arms.

“He’s fine,” he said. “He fell asleep on the trip from the planet.”

“I see,” she said, walking along with him. “I’ve arranged for a medidroid to be on constant duty for Luke over the next week,” she informed him. “And I myself will be checking on his progress daily, as well as your own.”

“That will not be necessary,” Vader replied. “I am fine.”

“That’s not what Dr. Marcswell said,” Padme put in, growing a little annoyed with the doctor’s familiarity.

Thek glanced back at Padmé. “Oh? And what is the problem?”

“You’re his doctor,” Leia spoke up. “You ought to know.”

Thek had to bite her tongue from chastising the impertinent young girl, and merely smiled in response. “Yes, I am,” she said. “I know your father quite well, Miss Skywalker, well enough to know that he hates taking meds and that he is very stubborn.”

“There is more to this than him simply not taking his meds,” Padmé retorted. “His health has been neglected for years. This heart condition never would have developed if he’d been given the surgery he needs years ago.”

Vader was quite surprised by his wife’s remarks, and turned to her.

“What makes you think there was anything that could have been done about Lord Vader’s injuries?” Thek retorted, not appreciating the woman’s attitude. “Besides, I hardly think you’d be concerned, considering you have kept Lord Vader’s children from him all this time.”

Padmé’s eyes widened in shock at the woman’s rudeness. And then it hit her: she has feelings for him. Despite herself, Padme found that this bothered her tremendously, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the feelings were reciprocated. Fourteen years was, after all, a long time.

“The relationship between my wife and myself is not up for discussion,” Vader put in at this point, the tone of his voice telling Thek that she had crossed the line. “Mind your place, doctor.”

“She’s…you are his wife?” Thek asked Padmé.

Padmé nodded, enjoying the woman’s shocked expression. She was not alone; Leia relished the exchange, every word of it.

“Who else would she be?” Leia asked with a smile.

“I…I just assumed…I mean…” Thek stammered, digging herself into a deeper hole.

Vader stopped at a door which lead to the apartment suite he had arranged for his family. “You were presumptuous to assume anything at all,” he said, turning to her. “If you’ll excuse us, Doctor,” he said, walking into the room followed by Leia and Padmé. The door closed behind them, leaving a rather perplexed and humiliated physician standing in the corridor.

Padmé was astonished by the luxuriousness of the suite. As Vader took Luke to his room, Leia took her mother by the hand and showed her each and every room, of which there were many, as well as all the amenities. Padmé was more than a little impressed by the lengths Vader had gone to in order to make their new living quarters comfortable.

“I trust everything is to your liking,” Vader said when he rejoined his wife and daughter in the large common area in the middle of the apartment.

“It’s remarkable,” Padmé replied, unable to hide how impressed she was. “I had no idea you had gone to such lengths. Thank you.”

Vader was taken aback by her graciousness, and merely nodded in response, once again retreating behind his mask, both figuratively and literally. “Luke is still asleep,” he told her. “I imagine he will be for some time.”

“Yes, no doubt,” Padmé replied. “I don’t suppose there can be anything done about the things we left behind on Hannas VI,” she said. “We left there in somewhat of a hurry.”

“I have already sent a man there to retrieve your belongings,” Vader informed her. “He should return within the next few days.”

Padmé nodded. He’s thought of everything, she reflected, realizing that he must have had this planned virtually from the moment he had realized that she and the twins were alive. “Thank you again,” she said.

“I must go to the bridge,” Vader said, making for the exit. He was becoming uncomfortable in his wife’s presence, and it frustrated him to feel that way. “I will return when I can to see if you need anything.”

“Can I come with you?” Leia asked.

“Leia, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Padmé said.

“Perhaps another time would be better, young one,” Vader told her. “You have much to show your mother in the meantime,” he added.

Leia nodded, disappointed but understanding all the same. “Okay,” she said. “See you later, Father.”

Vader had not quite got used to being called Father; it still startled to hear it. However he could not deny that it pleased him on some level that he did not even wish to acknowledge. He did not make any reply and left the room, leaving Padmé and Leia alone.

“This is pretty amazing; you have to admit, Mom,” Leia said as they sat down in the common area.

Padmé nodded. “It is,” she said. “For a cage.”

Leia frowned. “Mom, please try to look at this as an opportunity,” she pleaded.

“An opportunity for what?” Padmé asked.

“For us to become a real family,” Leia replied. “I know you don’t think Father is capable of changing, but I think he is. What’s more, I think he’s already begun to. Having us close to him is bound to have an impact on the person he has become, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Padmé replied. “I honestly don’t. I just don’t want you and Luke to get your hopes up. I hate the thought of you having your hearts broken. Believe me, I know how that feels, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, least of all you and Luke.”

Leia nodded, knowing the reason behind her mother’s guardedness. However, she also knew that her mother loved her father, and that he loved her, despite the tension between them.

“Come on,” Leia said to her mother. “There are a few other things I want to show you,” she added, taking Padmé’s hand and virtually dragging her towards the door. “Just wait ‘til you see the gymnasium!”

“Leia, we can’t just ….leave,” Padmé protested.

Leia stopped and turned to her. “Why not?” She asked. “Father told me we could visit other parts of the ship whenever we wanted.”

Padmé lifted an eyebrow, highly doubtful that Leia had her facts straight. “Oh he did, did he?” she asked.

Leia nodded. “Yes, he did,” she replied. “In fact, he told me that he is working on one of the rooms just for you,” she added. “He didn’t show it to me, it’s not close to being finished yet.”

“I think you’ve misunderstood, Leia,” Padmé replied. “I highly doubt that…”

“Mom, will you just come with me?” Leia asked in exasperation.

Padmé sighed, realizing that she was not going to win this one. Her daughter’s tenacity was almost as remarkable as her father’s.

“Very well,” she said at last. “But we can’t be gone long,” she added. “I don’t like the idea of leaving Luke alone.

“We’re not going far,” Leia said as they headed for the door. “It’s just down the corridor. Father said he converted a third of the level for us.”

“Yes I know,” Padmé said as they exited the apartment. The passers by in the hallway looked at she and Leia with curiosity and respect; no doubt already knowing who they were. They hadn’t gone far when Leia stopped at an access panel in the wall beside a set of doors.

“This is the gymnasium,” Leia told her as they walked into the huge room, which was illuminated as soon as the internal sensors monitored their presence.

Padmé looked around at the impressive complex which featured all the most modern technologies and equipment. “Impressive,” she said.

“It’s amazing!” Leia replied enthusiastically. “Father showed me how to use the remote program,” she added.

Padmé nodded, knowing how eager Leia was to impress her mother. “That’s wonderful,” she said with a smile. “You and Luke will be able to keep up your saber practice.”

“Father told me he would train us,” Leia said as she walked towards the door on the far end of the room. Padmé felt a cold feeling of dread filling her at this; train them at what? At becoming a Sith??

“Okay, let’s get back,” Padmé said. “I want to check on Luke.”

“He’s still sleeping,” Leia replied confidently. “But I am a little hungry.”

Padmé smiled. “Then let’s go see about some lunch, shall we?”

[therealthing]

12

Vader entered the bridge, refocusing his thoughts on his command. He had come up with a plausible reason for his lengthy visit to Alderaan; at least he hoped that it would be plausible. The emperor was not an easy person to fool, even for Vader. He would have to be very careful when speaking with him from now on. Vader had not decided what he was going to tell him about the twins and Padmé; and this troubled him. He had never had any problem confiding in his master, and had never held anything back from him before. But now he was faced with a difficult dilemma; do I tell him now? Or do I train the twins and over throw him one day with them at my side?

“Lord Vader, we are ready to make the jump into light speed,” Ozzel informed him.

“Do so at once,” Vader replied.

“My lord, the emperor has sent several messages requesting you contact him,” Ozzel told him.

Vader turned to him. “Why wasn’t I informed of this sooner?” he demanded.

“My lord, you left instructions with me that you were not to be disturbed while on Alderaan,” Ozzel replied nervously. “I was not sure if I ought to disregard your orders sir,” he added.

Vader had to fight the impulse not to throw the hapless captain across the bridge for his incompetence. “The emperor’s orders supersede all others, Captain Ozzel,” he reminded him hotly. “I would think any competent officer on board this ship would know that.”

“I…apologize, my lord,” Ozzel groveled, expecting to feel the air choked out of him at any moment. Lord Vader, however, was too preoccupied with the emperor’s messages to bother killing him, and left the bridge without another word. Ozzel watched him go, breathing a sigh of relief as the enormous vessel jumped into hyperspace.

Vader made his way to the audience chamber, a great feeling of trepidation filling him. He knew that he needed to proceed very cautiously where Palpatine was concerned, and prepared himself mentally as he strode through the corridors. Slamming his mental shields firmly in place, he entered the audience chamber and walked over to communications panel, signaling the imperial palace on Coruscant. He then knelt on the large pad embedded in the floor and waited for his master’s image to appear. He did not have to wait long.

“Well, Lord Vader, how kind of you to finally respond to my messages,” the emperor began sourly.

“My apologies, my master,” Vader replied, bowing low before the Sith. “I was detained on Alderaan; it could not be helped.”

“I see,” Palpatine replied. “And tell me, Lord Vader, what pressing matters did you have to attend to that would excuse ignoring my commands?”

“I was investigating allegations that came to my attention,” Vader replied calmly, “as you know, I have been trying to pin charges on the Viceroy for many years now and…”

“And you judged that your personal crusade was more important than my orders?” Palpatine challenged.

“No, my master,” Vader replied. “Of course not. I simply meant that…”

“Silence!” Palpatine screamed, punctuating his shriek of fury with a blast of Sith lightning.

Vader felt the energy bolt as clearly as though he were actually standing in the emperor’s presence, a skill that Palpatine had perfected over the past fourteen years. It took all of his strength not to collapse to the floor.

“I…I apologize, my master,” Vader gasped. “I was wrong not to…”

“Wrong? WRONG?” Palpatine shrieked, blasting his servant again. “You were defiant, disrespectful and disobedient!” he hissed. “How many times must we go through this, Lord Vader, before you learn your place?”

Vader felt another blast, this one sending him to his hands and knees. He said nothing, knowing that no matter what he said at this point would only result in more punishment. When the emperor was in a foul mood, all Vader could do was weather the storm and hope he survived it.

“I want you to go to Kamino,” Palpatine said at last as Vader struggled to regain his dignity. “Check on the progress of the new clones I have requisitioned.”

“Yes my master,” Vader said dutifully. “I will proceed there at once.”

Palpatine watched his servant, smiling to himself that he had managed to humiliate him yet again. “See that you do, Lord Vader,” he snapped, and then ended the transmission.

Vader drew himself slowly to his feet, the pain still throbbing in virtually every part of his body that was still organic. He took a moment to pause before leaving, bracing his hand against the bulkhead to gather his strength. He could not allow anyone to see him in his weakened state. He suspected that the men knew the emperor inflicted corporal punishment upon him; but them knowing and them seeing evidence of it were two different things. He was their commander; he could not appear anything less than invincible in their eyes. The words of his wife jumped to his mind unheeded as he fought to regain his strength: He didn’t want your injuries to be repaired…he wanted you to remain in this suit for the rest of your life…

At the time he had dismissed her comment, for there were more pressing matters at hand. But now, in light of the blatant lie Palpatine had told him, in light of the obvious enjoyment he took in Vader’s pain, it seemed more than likely that she was right. There was one person who would know, and that person had been hiding something from him for fourteen years: Dr. Thek. I will have to have a chat with the doctor very soon, Vader thought as he made this way through the corridors of the ship, fighting against the pain that still throbbed in his veins. Reaching the turbo lift, he stepped inside, grateful to be alone for the moment.

The lift stopped, and Vader stepped off, heading for the quarters where his family was now residing. The corridor seemed longer than it ever had as he made his way to his family’s residence, the residual effects of the Sith lighting still lingering in his body, making the still new incision in his side throb more with every step. He reached the door and activated it, stepping inside.

Leia and Luke were sitting in the common room when he entered, and they both looked up to see him. Both could sense that there was something terribly wrong with their father, but neither were close enough to prevent it when he collapsed to the floor.

Padmé was in the kitchen preparing lunch for her children when she heard Leia call out for help. Padmé dropped what she was doing at once and ran out into the common area, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw the twins kneeling beside the unconscious bulk of their father.

“What happened?” she cried as she ran to join them.

“We don’t know,” Luke replied. “He just walked in and collapsed.”

“Leia, get the medidroid,” Padmé ordered, knowing that there was no way the three of them alone could possibly move him. Leia rushed off to Luke’s room to activate the resting droid and soon appeared with it hot on her heels.

“How may I be of service?” the droid asked.

“Lord Vader has collapsed,” Padmé said, standing up to give the droid room to work. “We don’t know what has caused it.”

The droid attempted to lift Vader, but was unable to.

“Need some help?” Leia asked.

“Yes,” the droid replied. Padmé and Leia each took one of Vader’s feet, Luke assisted the droid at Vader’s shoulders, and between the four of them they managed to get him onto one of the large sofas that were strewn about in the common area.

“Maybe we ought to contact Dr. Thek,” Luke suggested.

Leia and Padmé exchanged a look, neither of them liking the woman but knowing that she was more than likely the best possible person to help at this point. “Yes Luke,” Padmé said. “Do so at once.”

Luke hurried to the comm. and, after studying the device for a moment or two, contacted the ship’s medical bay.

“Is it his heart?” Padmé asked the droid.

“I would estimate so,” the droid replied. “His heartbeat is quite weak.”

Leia looked up at her mother, sensing that she was every bit as worried as Leia herself was.

“She’s on her way,” Luke reported when he rejoined his mother and sister. “Has he come around?”

“No,” Padmé told him. “It’s his heart,” she added.

Luke looked up at his mother. “His heart?” he asked.

Leia and Padmé looked at one another, realizing that Luke knew nothing of Vader’s heart condition.

“What’s wrong? What aren’t you telling me?” Luke asked, looking from his mother to his sister.

“Luke, your father has a very serious heart condition,” Padmé told him.

“How serious?” Luke asked.

“Serious enough that if he doesn’t have it repaired he won’t live another five years,” Padmé replied.

Luke’s eyes widened, the realization of just how great the sacrifice his father had made for him hitting home. “Did…does he know? Did he know when he agreed to donate a kidney to me?”

“Yes he did,” Padme replied, looking down at the still unconscious Vader. “He knew the risks, and insisted on the surgery anyway.”

Luke looked down at his father, the gratitude filling him. “I can’t believe he did that for me,” he said softly.

Just then the door chime sounded, and Leia ran to answer it. It was Dr. Thek.

“What happened?” she asked as she hurried over to the sofa where Vader lay.

“He just walked in the door and collapsed,” Leia told her, as she and Luke stood back to let the physician get closer.

“The patient’s heart rate has been quite sluggish,” the droid put in, handing her the datapad with the reading of Vader’s vitals on it. Thek studied it briefly, and then turned to her assistant.

“What is it?” Padmé asked. “What has happened?”

“Judging by Lord Vader’s vitals, it looks to me like he’s had a syncopal episode,” she replied as the assistant prepared a shot.

“What is that?” Leia asked.

“Put simply, it’s a sudden loss of consciousness because of a lack of sufficient blood and oxygen in the brain,” Thek explained.

“What would cause such a thing?” Padmé asked

“A severe shock to his system, more than likely,” Thek replied as she found the opening in the Dark Lord’s leather suit and injected the contents of the syringe into his shoulder. “Has he been in contact with the emperor?”

“Why do you ask that?” Luke demanded.

Thek sighed as she watched her patient for signs of him coming around. “Perhaps he ought to explain that to you, Luke,” she said. “He’s coming around now.”

Vader opened his eyes slowly, disoriented for a moment. He was startled to see not only his doctor, but also his wife and children staring down at him.

“What…what’s going on?” he asked as he sat up, assisted by the medidroid.

“You walked in here and collapsed,” Luke told him. “Your doctor said you had a ... syncopal episode.”

Vader turned to the doctor. “A what?”

“Have you been in contact with the emperor?” Thek asked him, knowing the occasional result of such communications.

“Yes,” Vader replied. “He was…not pleased with me.”

Padmé frowned. “What does that mean?” she demanded.

“It means he punished him,” Thek replied. “I’m right, aren’t I?” she asked Vader.

Vader merely nodded.

“How? What did he do to you?” Leia demanded angrily.

“Sith lightning,” Vader told her. “A rather large dose of it. He was very angry with me for not returning his messages for the past few days.”

“Does he do this often?” Luke asked, sharing his sister’s anger.

“Often enough,” Vader replied as he stood up slowly.

Padmé looked up at him, the thought of Palpatine inflicting pain on him angering her tremendously. She had so much she wanted to say, but with the doctor present, she felt as though she could not speak freely. “Thank you doctor,” she said at last. “I get the impression that you have dealt with this sort of thing before.”

Thek stood up. “The emperor does have a sadistic side,” she said, looking at Vader. “You were lucky he didn’t kill you this time, Lord Vader. With your bad heart, it’s a distinct possibility, as I’ve told you time and time again.”

“Yes, I know, doctor,” Vader replied, standing up rather slowly. He walked across the room, feeling uneasy with all the attention and fussing over him. “The doctors on Alderaan seem to think that the injuries I suffered on Mustafar should have been repaired years ago,” he said with his back to the doctor. “Is that true?” he asked. “And know that I can tell when you are lying, Doctor.”

Thek looked uneasily at the family of Vader, both his children watching her intently. “Yes,” she said at last. “It’s true.”

Both Luke and Leia could feel the surge of anger growing in their father. He turned back to the physician. “And yet all this time you never thought it important enough to tell me?” he demanded angrily.

“I had to swear never to tell you,” Thek replied nervously. “Upon punishment of death, my lord.”

“The emperor made you swear to never tell him, didn’t he?” Padmé demanded.

Thek nodded, her eyes cast downward. “Yes, many years ago,” she replied. “When Lord Vader was first assigned to my care, I was ordered never to tell him the truth about the nature of his injuries. One does not disobey the orders of the Emperor, Milady; not without dire consequences.”

“Yes, so I see,” Padmé said, looking back at Vader.

“But you will help him now, right?” Leia asked. “You have to help him now!”

Thek did not know what to say. It had always bothered her that she was withholding this significant information from her patient; and yet the fear she had for the emperor was tremendous. She had seen first hand what he did with those who disobeyed him.

“Dr. Thek obviously places her own needs above those of the oath she swore as a physician,” Vader remarked sardonically. He turned around to look at her. “An oath she takes great delight in flaunting whenever the occasion merits.”

Thek’s face colored in humiliation and shame and she averted her eyes from him. “I have no excuse to offer for my …cowardice,” she said quietly. “Know, however, that I truly take my oath seriously. That is why I have urged you…”

“Enough!” Vader roared, cutting her off. “I don’t want to hear it! Nothing can excuse you from what you have done! Prescribing pills and injections when you should have been doing everything you could to repair the very injuries you pretended to care for! You are a hypocrite, Doctor Thek, a charlatan!”

“Lord Vader, please,” the pathetic woman groveled. “I do care, my lord! If I didn’t care I would not have spent the past fourteen years doing everything that I could to make your existence tolerable!”

“Not quite everything,” Vader replied. “Now get out,” he said, turning away from her again. “The sight of you sickens me now.”

Thek looked from Vader to Padmé, as though pleading with the Dark Lord’s wife silently for help.

“Please leave, Doctor,” Padmé said calmly. “This isn’t the best time to discuss things in a rational manner.”

Thek nodded, brushing an errant tear from her face. She turned and left the room, leaving a tension filled silence in her wake.

“Children, please go into the kitchen and have lunch,” Padmé said, watching Vader as he seethed in silence.

Luke and Leia realized that their mother meant business, and left at once, Leia casting a backwards glance in her father’s direction before disappearing into the kitchen.

Padmé sat down on the sofa, waiting for the storm to pass before speaking to Vader.

“Seems you were right,” Vader said at last, his back still to his wife. “It seems my master has lied to me once again.”

Padmé looked down at her hands folded in her lap. Being right had been a playful competition between them at one point; there was nothing playful about it now. “I’m sorry,” she said, not knowing what else to say.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said. “It was not you who told me my injuries were beyond repair. It was not you who told me that I killed my own wife.”

Padmé’s head snapped up at this. “What did you say?” she asked.

Vader said nothing for a moment, as he struggled to master the fury within him. “He told me that I had killed you,” he said finally. “Until the other day I believed him, I believed that I had killed you and our unborn child.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Padmé admitted quietly. “I had no idea he had done that. But knowing what a monster he is, it doesn’t surprise me. You see that now, don’t you? What a monster he is?”

Vader made no reply, her words only serving to add to his fury and frustration for the simple fact that she was right.

“You have to have this surgery,” she said at last. “The doctors on Alderaan said you won’t live to see forty if you don’t. Now that we know it’s possible, then there is nothing to stop you.”

Vader turned to her at last.

“No, I cannot,” he replied. “Not now. Fourteen years ago, even one year ago perhaps, but now – it’s simply too risky.”

Padmé stood up to face him, a frown on her face. “The risk of not doing it is even greater,” she replied. “Do you really think it’s fair to Luke and Leia if you don’t do it?”

“Don’t you see?” he asked walking towards her. “If I suddenly have my injuries repaired, it will raise too many questions. The emperor is not a fool, Padmé; he will know that something is going on.”

“You mean he will know about Luke and Leia,” she said.

Vader nodded.

Padmé tried hard not to take hope from this, tried not to read more into it than there was; but she had to ask.

“Does that mean you are not going to tell him about the twins?” she asked.

Vader remained silent; a habit Padmé had decided was most annoying. She used to be able to read his thoughts and feelings through his eyes; but with the mask she could not discern a thing.

“I have not made any decisions,” he told her at last.

“I don’t see how there’s a decision to be made,” she retorted. “Are you really considering handing those two precious children to that fiend? After everything he has done to you? To us??”

Vader did not reply again, the conflict within him growing with every word she said. “I am needed elsewhere,” he said, walking past her towards the door.

Padmé turned and watched him as he strode to the door. “You can only hide from the truth for so long, Anakin,” she called after him.

Vader stopped in his tracks. “I have told you not to call me that,” he said without looking at her. “I would appreciate it if you remembered that next time.” And with that he left.

Padmé sat down heavily on the sofa, her face in her hands. Are you in there at all, Anakin? Or am I only fooling myself?

[therealthing]

13

Dr. Thek returned to the medical wing of the star destroyer. She had managed to keep it together until she arrived in her office. Once inside it, she sat down at her desk, her entire body trembling with emotion. I should have told him years ago, she admonished herself; I should have been honest with him from the start.

Thek was one of the few people in the galaxy who knew that there was more to Darth Vader than simply a faceless menace; she knew that he was an enigmatic man, a multi-faceted man who had a tragic past and harbored deep scars, both physical and emotional. She had heard rumors that Vader had once been the Jedi knight known as Anakin Skywalker; and now that she had met the children of Vader, she knew that this rumor was true, for both Luke and Leia used their father’s name. Thek remembered Anakin Skywalker; she remembered what a hero he had been during the Clone Wars, how every woman in the galaxy was captivated with the dashing young warrior with the brilliant blue eyes and rugged good looks. And now to find out that this man was the same dark and solitary figure known as Darth Vader, the same man she had tried her best to reach over the past fourteen years. It had taken a long time to get past the layers of anger and pain to get to know the man beneath them, but Athlena Thek was a determined woman. Over the course of the fourteen years, she had managed to gain the trust of Vader, and believed that she had even earned the man’s respect. But now, now that the truth was out, she had lost everything. He will never trust me again, she thought bitterly as she recalled the angry words Vader had hurled at her earlier. I can’t blame him for being angry- who wouldn’t be? But surely he can see that I had no choice; he more than any one knows what the emperor is capable of.

“Doctor, the bridge has signaled that we are en route to Kamino,” Thek’s assistant told her as he entered the office. “Perhaps we will have the opportunity to access their database while we are there.”

Thek nodded. The clones’ physiology had presented her with a number of challenges, and she was hoping for an opportunity to speak to the cloners about several issues. Now that they were going to Kamino she would be able to access the information she needed.

“Yes, good,” she said at last.

The young man looked at her quizzically. “Is everything alright, doctor?” it asked.

“No, unfortunately Lord Vader’s heart condition seems to be worsening,” Thek replied as she stood up. “Something will have to be done soon,” she decided, wincing at the words. Something should have been done a long time ago or his heart would never have become so compromised, she reflected uneasily.

“Perhaps the database on Kamino will furnish us with a way to help Lord Vader,” the assistant suggested.

“Yes, I’m sure they have the technology needed to repair his injuries,” Thek replied. “They’ve had it for years.”

The assistant frowned. “I don’t understand,” he said. “If the technology to repair Lord Vader’s injuries has existed that long, then why does he still remain in the breather suit? Why haven’t those injuries been repaired?”

Thek did not reply immediately, for the answer to the young man’s question seemed simply too shallow now in light of what had developed recently. “The emperor wanted it that way,” she said simply. “That’s why.”

“Oh,” the assistant replied with a frown, trying in his own mind to determine why the emperor would want such a thing. “I’m …afraid I don’t understand, Doctor,” he admitted at last. “Why would the emperor want Lord Vader to exist in such a deplorable state if it wasn’t necessary?”

Thek did not have an answer for this question, and yet she had abided by the emperor’s edict on this subject all these years. And why? Because she placed her own well being over the oath that she had sworn when she had become a physician. Lord Vader is right; she thought. I am a hypocrite. But no more…

“A good question, Andrew,” she said at last. “But the situation has changed. Lord Vader won’t live much longer if those injuries aren’t repaired, and so we are going to take steps to do just that. I want you to assemble all the DNA samples we have on Lord Vader,” she said. “Have them ready for when we arrive at Kamino.”

The young man nodded. “I’ll get started right away.”

“And Andrew,” Thek called to him before he left. The young man turned back to her.

“Tell no one what you do,” she warned him.

“I understand,” he replied, excited at the prospect of a bit of intrigue in his normally humdrum life.


“You are recovering very nicely, Master Luke,” the medidroid informed him the next morning.

“Thanks,” Luke replied as he buttoned up his tunic. “Does that mean I can check out the gymnasium my sister’s been telling me about?”

The droid considered this question, determined what it was the human was asking and then replied; “only in moderation, Master Luke.”

Luke frowned. “Moderation? What does that mean?”

“It means no lightsaber duels, no other vigorous activity,” Luke’s mother told him.

“Mom, I’m bored!” Luke whined. “I’m going crazy just sitting here!”

Padmé sighed. Since Luke’s surgery his vitality had returned in a matter of days, and with it, his restlessness. “Perhaps something less strenuous,” she suggested to the droid. “Like swimming?”

“An excellent suggestion, milady,” the droid replied.

“There’s a pool somewhere on board, isn’t there?” she asked.

“Father had one put in just for us,” Leia piped up. “It’s beside the gymnasium.”

Padmé nodded. “Perfect,” she said. “Why don’t we all go? I could use some exercise too after being cooped up for so long.”

Luke smiled. “Great idea, Mom,” he said. “Thanks.”


Lord Vader had spent his morning in communication with the prime minister of Kamino, alerting him to their impending arrival. There were several matters of great importance that needed to be addressed while Vader was on the planet. He estimated that their stay there would be at least a week, perhaps more. Feeling it important to inform his wife of his extended absence, he made his way to her residence.

Vader entered the apartment only to find it empty. He walked from room to room, but no one was about except the medidroid.

“Where is my family?” Vader demanded of the droid.

“Lady Vader has taken the twins swimming,” the droid replied. “Young Master Luke was feeling rather restless,” he added.

Vader did not reply, and simply turned and left the apartment without another word. He headed down the corridor, stopping at the gymnasium. He walked across the empty room to the adjoining room, where artisans and droids were still busily working.

“Lord Vader, we are on schedule,” the foreman of the crew told him.

Vader nodded as he looked around the enormous room. “Excellent,” he said. “I will expect it to be completed in one week then.”

“You can count on it, sir.”

Vader then left and returned to the gymnasium, heading for the other side where the swimming pool was situated.

The sounds of splashing and laughter could be heard echoing through the huge room. Vader stood and watched at a safe distance, the scene before him amusing him despite himself. His children were taking turns jumping off the diving board while their mother encouraged them from below. Clearly the twins had inherited their mother’s skills as a swimmer, for, as Vader recalled, he had always struggled with the concept. Luke and Leia sensed their father’s presence, and looked up at him, waving to him where he stood. Vader simply nodded in response.

Padmé looked up at him as well, judging that he must have a reason for coming. “I’ll be right back,” she told the twins. She swam over to the edge of the pool and pulled herself out easily. She picked up a towel and dried herself off, squeezing out the long braid before she headed over to see what Vader wanted.

Vader had watched her from the moment she emerged from the water, the sight of her in her two piece bikini more enticing than he wanted to admit. There had always been a tremendous physical chemistry between him and his wife; but fourteen long years had passed since they’d had such a relationship. And now, even were the limitations of his present physical condition not an issue, Vader knew that she would never be remotely interested in resuming a physical relationship with him. Not after all this time, not after Mustafar….

“I see you and the twins have discovered the swimming pool,” he remarked, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say.

Padmé nodded. “Yes, it’s great therapy for Luke,’’ she said. “And you might remember how much I love the water.”

Vader nodded. “I remember,” he replied. A tension filled silence ensued, and Padmé began to wonder why he was acting so strangely.

“Did you need to talk to me?” she asked at last.

“Yes,” he replied, forcing himself to avert his eyes from the sensual curves of her body. “I wanted to let you know that the ship is en route to Kamino,” he told her, “and that I will be on the planet for most of the week once we arrive there. I will only return to sleep.”

Padmé nodded. “I suppose you need special …equipment for that,” she commented.

“Yes, and it is here on the ship,” he replied. “I will provide you with a comlink should you require something of me while I am on the planet.”

“Thank you,” she said.

Vader said nothing, and then turned away.

“Are you going to say goodbye to Luke and Leia?” she called after him.

Vader stopped, and turned back to the pool where his children were playing lob ball in the pool. “I hardly think that is necessary,” he replied. “You can tell them where I am.”

“I can,” she agreed. “But it might mean more coming from you.”

Vader considered her words for a moment, the conflict between the Sith Lord and the father rearing up again. “I have to return to the bridge,” he finally said, walking away. “I will see you in a few days.”

Padmé watched him as he strode away, wondering if she would ever understand the man she was married to again.

Vader left the recreation complex, forcing the image of Padmé’s bare midriff from his mind, when he heard someone approaching quickly from behind. He turned, knowing who it was before he even saw her.

“Leia, you should not be in the corridors in your swimming attire,” he told his daughter sternly.

Leia pulled the ties of her robe tighter and stood her ground. “Are you just leaving without even saying goodbye to me or Luke?” she demanded.

Vader had been commander of the Imperial fleet and a Sith lord for fourteen years; before that a general and a Jedi knight. Yet none of the experience he had served him as he stood facing his teenage daughter as she stood looking at him with her long dark braids dripping, and her large dark eyes flashing indignantly.

“Yes,” he said at last, reasoning it was pointless to lie.

Leia’s eyes widened even more at her father’s reply. “Don’t you think that’s wrong? I mean, you’re our father aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am,” he replied, starting to take amusement from his daughter’s indignation.

“So why would you just leave without saying goodbye to us?” Leia asked, unable to hide the hurt in her eyes.

Vader sighed, his amusement ending. “I am not going to be gone long,” he told her. “It didn’t seem necessary.”

Leia frowned. “Well it is necessary,” she replied.

Vader saw that he was not going to win this particular battle, and so he relented. “I apologize,” he said, bowing to her. “Goodbye, Leia.”

Leia smiled, enjoying the fact that she had bested her father. “Goodbye, Dad.”

Dad? He thought, surprised by her use of the less formal appellation. So be it. “Try to stay out of trouble while I’m gone,” he added as he left her.

Leia’s smile grew as she watched her father walk away, feeling more than ever that there was more of Anakin Skywalker in him than he was willing to admit.

[therealthing]

14

“Welcome to Kamino, Lord Vader,” Taun We said in greeting. “We are honored by your presence. It has been far too long.”

Vader nodded, the serene, impeccably well mannered alien one of the few bureaucrats he dealt with that he found tolerable. “It has been a while,” he concurred. “The emperor has asked me to come and check on the progress of the new shock troops he commissioned,” Vader added.

Taun We nodded. “We are on schedule, my lord,” she informed him. “They will be ready in five days, just as we promised.”

“Excellent,” Vader replied. He turned as the doors slid open once again, and Dr. Thek and her team of assistants entered the complex. Thek looked up at him, not needing to see his face to know the anger he still harbored where she was concerned. She had managed to steer clear of him on the voyage over in the shuttle, for which both were quite grateful. The tension did not go unnoticed by Taun We, who did not dare to ask questions.

“Right this way, Lord Vader,” she said as she extended a long, graceful arm towards the far end of the corridor. “Our prime minister is anxious to meet with you.” She turned back to Dr. Thek. “Our chief physician is awaiting you, Doctor,” she said. “Do you know the way?”

Thek nodded. “Yes, I remember,” she replied. “Thank you.”

Taun We turned back and joined Vader as the two of them walked down the corridor towards the prime minister’s office. Thek watched them for a moment, and then turned to her team.

“Come on,” she said to the small group of humans and droids. “We have work to do.”


“Aren’t the clones made on Kamino?” Leia asked as he sat with his mother and sister eating dinner.

“Yes,” Padmé replied. “It’s a massive facility, the biggest in the galaxy.”

“I bet it’s amazing to see,” Luke commented.

“I’ve never been to Kamino,” Padmé replied. “But I’m sure it’s very impressive.”

“It’s hard to believe that the clones were once on the side of the Jedi,” Luke said.

“It’s true,” Padmé replied. “There were those of us in the senate who opposed the creation of a Republican army,” she added. “I was one of them. I was nearly killed more than once for my views.”

“By whom?” Leia asked.

“By the emperor’s operatives,” she replied. “Your father was assigned to protect me as a matter of fact. That was how we fell in love,” she told them with a smile.

Luke and Leia had heard the story before, but they loved to hear about the happy times their parents had shared before the Dark Times.

“I wish I’d know him,” Luke said wistfully. “Sounds like an amazing person.”

Padmé nodded. “He was,” she replied quietly. Then, without another word, she stood up and started clearing the dishes. She walked into the kitchen where the protocol droid Vader had provided them with took them from her hands. I miss Artoo and Threepio, she thought wistfully, wondering if the officers Vader had sent to Hannas VI would bring the droids with them as well.

“You okay, Mom?” Luke asked as he brought a pile of plates into the kitchen.

Padmé smiled and ruffled his hair softly. “Yes,” she said. “I just get a little sentimental sometimes, that’s all.”

Luke nodded. “Is Father going to have his injuries repaired now that his heart condition has become so serious? Is there some way to do that?”

“Yes, there is,” she replied. “And to answer your question, I don’t know, Luke. I get the impression that he is reluctant to do so because it could arouse the suspicions of the emperor.”

“You mean about us?” Luke asked. “Father doesn’t want the emperor to know about us?”

“I didn’t say that, Luke,” Padmé replied. “And I don’t want you reading more into this than there is.”

Luke nodded, knowing that his mother was being overly cautious because of her history with their father. Not that he could blame her; she’d been heart broken when Anakin skywalker became Darth Vader. From what she had told the twins, the love between their parents had been tremendous, just as the sacrifices they had made to be together had been.

“What is he doing on Kamino, anyway?” Leia asked as she entered the kitchen as well.

“I don’t know,” Padmé replied. “And I didn’t ask. He isn’t exactly forthcoming with information.”

“Maybe he’s here to find out about getting his injuries repaired,” Leia suggested hopefully. “Wouldn’t that be fantastic?”

“It would be,” Padmé agreed as they adjourned to the common area. “But I doubt it. I’m sure it’s official whatever the reason.”

Luke and Leia both had many of their own ideas about what could or should or might happen on Kamino; but they kept them to themselves. They had learned in short order that their mother was very sensitive when it came to the issue of their father.

“Is it okay if Leia and I go over to the gym?” Luke asked.

“I think you’ve had enough physical activity for today, Luke,” Padme replied.

“I’m not going to do anything,” he said, “just watch.”

“Watch what?”

“Me,” Leia replied. “Dad programmed this amazing lightsaber remote,” she added with a smile. “I thought I’d get some practice in.”

Padmé considered this, and then nodded. “Go ahead,” she said. “Just don’t let your brother do anything foolish,” she added, looking at Luke.

Luke grinned. “Who me?” he asked, his smile reminding Padmé so much of Anakin it made her throat constrict for a moment.

“Yes you,” Padmé replied, forcing herself to smile. “Go on, but don’t be late.”

“We won’t,” Leia said, kissing her mom on one cheek.

“You’re the best,” Luke added, kissing the other. And in a matter of moments, they were gone.

“Is there anything I might get for you, Lady Vader?” the protocol droid asked her.

Padmé hated being called that, but knew it was pointless to tell the droid that; no doubt it had been programmed to do so by Vader himself.

“A cup of tea would be lovely,” she replied.

“At once, milady.”


Darth Vader returned to the Exactor feeling frustrated and tired. Trying to communicate to the Kaminoan people could be extremely difficult; their penchant for taking so long to say anything was enough to try the patience of anyone. Vader knew, however, that diplomacy was required with these people; they were the best at what they did, and the Empire needed them. And if you screw up again you may just end up dead, he reminded himself.

As he walked down the corridor, he passed the gymnasium he had built for his children. He stopped, sensing their presence within, and considered going inside to see them. Deciding against it, he continued on his way, deciding that sleep appealed to him even more than a visit with the twins.

“That is wicked,” Luke said, wishing fervently that he could try the program for himself. “I’ve never seen a program like that!”

“I know!” Leia replied. “Me neither! Just think of how much our fighting skills will improve working with this, Luke!”

Luke nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I just hope I’m not stuck on the sidelines for too long,” he added. “I’d hate to see you pass me,” he couldn’t help but throw in with a smile.

Leia’s dark eyebrows shot up. “Pass you?” she snorted. “I did that a long time ago, brother dear,” she said with a twirl of her saber. “You know I saw Dad using this,” she told him. “It was a much higher setting of course,” she added. “He is incredibly fast, Luke. Like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“I’m sure,” Luke said, looking at his wrist chrono. “We’d better get back,” he said, standing up. “We told Mom we wouldn’t be late.”

“Okay okay,” Leia said. “I just want to try one more thing. I’ll meet you back there in a few minutes.”

“Whatever you say,” Luke replied, knowing better than to try to talk her out of it. Leia had a mind of her own, and Luke knew her well enough to know when not to push an issue. She was so enthralled with the remote program that Luke was worried she may end up spending the night in the gymnasium. Too bad Threepio isn’t here, he reflected as he returned to their living quarters with a yawn; he’d make sure she toed the line.

Darth Vader could not remember a time when he slept easily or well. Aside from the complications of sleeping in a semi-upright position inside of a hyperbaric chamber, he also had to contend with nightmares that plagued him almost every night. Activating the mechanical claw above his head, he waited for the device to remove his helmet and the upper portion of his mask. It felt good to be free of the heavy, cumbersome gear, even for a few hours. Vader rubbed his eyes tiredly, and got himself as comfortable as possible as he settled in for sleep.

“Where is Leia?” Padmé asked as Luke entered the apartment.

“She wanted to practice a little longer,” Luke replied. “I’m beat.”

Padmé nodded. “Time for bed,” told him.

“No problem there, Mom,” he replied with a smile. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Luke. Sweet dreams.”


Vader had just started to drift off to sleep when a strong surge of terror rippled through the Force. His eyes snapped open as he turned his mind inward to determine the source of the disturbance. It took moments for him to pinpoint it.

Opening the chamber, Vader bolted from the seat where he’d been sleeping, not even taking the time to replace his mask before leaving his quarters.

Vader was not the only one who had sensed the disturbance, and he too knew from whence it had come. He got out of bed and walked over to Leia’s room. The door was open, and Luke did not sense her presence within. His alarm growing, Luke ran out to the common room, where his mother was still up.

“Luke, what is it? What’s wrong?” Padmé asked in alarm.

“It’s Leia,” he replied as he made for the exit. “She’s in trouble.”

Padmé knew better than to question her son’s insight, and simply jumped to her feet and followed him out the door.


Vader burst through the gymnasium doors, his lightsaber already in his hands. Leia was fighting desperately to deflect the laser bolts being emitted by the remote, but she was not fast enough, and had already been hit more than once with the searing laser fire. Vader used the Force to push the remote across the room, sending it crashing against the bulkhead.

Leia collapsed to the floor, half in exhaustion, half in relief that her father had arrived. He turned to her, already starting to feel the effects of his depleted oxygen supply.

“Are you alright?” he asked as he knelt beside her.

Leia nodded, willing herself not to cry, not wanting to look juvenile in front of her father.

“You had it on the highest setting, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice quavering. She could not help the tears from coming, for the burns she had received on her arms and legs stung considerably.

“Why would you do something so foolish?” he chided her.

“I just thought that….” she stopped and sniffed, unable to hold back the tears any longer. Vader was at a loss to know what to do as his fourteen year old daughter was reduced to a mass of near hysterical tears in a matter of moments.

“You were not harmed seriously, that is the main thing,” he said, awkwardly patting her shoulder. Leia nodded, realizing that he was right. A few minutes longer and one of the laser bolts may have hit her in a more critical part of her body.

“Leia!!”

Both Vader and Leia turned to see Padmé and Luke rush into the room. Vader stood up and moved back as Padmé rushed over to comfort their daughter. Luke stood at his father’s side, startled to see his face unmasked.

“You felt it too, didn’t you?” Luke asked.

Vader nodded. “Yes,” he said, his voice strained from the struggle to get enough oxygen.

“You need to get your mask back on,” Luke said, realizing the distress his father was in. “Come on, I’ll help you.”

Padmé looked up to see her son helping Vader out of the room, and realized that both her children’s lives had been saved now by their father.

“Where are your quarters?” Luke asked his father.

“Just…down the corridor,” Vader replied as he started to feel lightheaded. Luke wrapped an arm around his father’s waist and helped him back to his quarters. Once there, Vader indicated the hyperbaric chamber, which stood open, and Luke helped him get to it.

Luke watched, his emotions a jumble inside of him, as the chamber closed before him, swallowing his father from his sight. He hated the thought that this was the only way his father could exist. There has to be a way to help him, Luke thought resolutely; there simply has to be a way!

After a few moments Luke heard the chamber reopen, and within it sat his father, now masked and breathing with the aide of his apparatus.

“You alright?” Luke asked.

Vader stood up. “Yes,” he replied as he stepped out of the chamber. “Thank you for your assistance.”

Luke nodded. “No problem,” he replied. “You’re my father.”

“So I am,” Vader replied. “Let us go and determine if your sister is alright.”

Vader started towards the exit to his chamber.

“Why won’t you let the cloners help you?” Luke asked.

Vader stopped in his tracks and turned to his son. “What makes you think they can?”

“I know enough about cloning to know that they could,” Luke replied, walking towards his father. Having seen his father’s eyes, so very much like his own, had set a new determination in the boy; a determination to save his father’s life as Vader had saved his. “Mom seems to think so too,” he added.

Vader said nothing in response, once again finding himself unsure how to proceed. How was it in battle he never once had a moment of indecision; when forced to make a difficult command decision, it never gave him a moment’s angst. And yet, two fourteen year olds were causing him to second guess himself at every turn.

“There is more to the situation than you know, Luke,” he said at last. “But now is not the time to discuss it,” he added, turning around and striding towards the exit once more. Luke had no choice but to follow, sensing the growing conflict within his father as he did so.

“How is she?” Vader asked his wife when he and Luke
entered the apartment moments later.

A medi-droid was attending to Leia’s burns, while Padmé stood behind the sofa watching, her arms folded tightly over her chest. Vader recognized the body language; she was angry, very angry.

“She has received minor burns,” the droid related. “But is otherwise unharmed.”

“But she could have been,” Padmé said. “She could have been killed,” she added, looking up at Vader.

“She had it set on the highest level,” he explained. “A foolish thing for a padawan to do,” he added, looking at Leia.

“Perhaps having such a high level on a practice droid isn’t a good idea,” Padmé suggested, an edge of anger in her voice. “They are only fourteen!”

Vader was astonished that her anger was being directed at him. “I had already been in several skirmishes by the age of …”

“They are not you!” she retorted hotly. “It was negligent and irresponsible to allow them access to such a dangerous device! She could have been killed!”

Vader nodded. “Indeed, she could have,” he agreed. “Had I not arrived when I had.” He looked down at his daughter. “I apologize Leia, for your injuries.” He turned next to his son. Luke looked up at him, wanting to say so much, but not even knowing where to start. “Good night, son,” Vader said simply, and then left the room.

Padmé looked down at Leia, who seemed to be calming down under the medidroid’s care. “I’ll be right back,” she said, walking briskly over to the door. She left before either Luke or Leia could say another word.

“Anakin, Anakin wait!” she called to him as he strode away down the corridor.

Vader heard her, but ignored her, having had enough of her ire for one evening. He had reached the door to his quarters when he felt Padmé take him by the arm. He turned quickly to her, pulling his arm from her. “I have asked you not to use that name,” he said in a voice of barely restrained anger.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t bring myself to use that name.”

“But it is who I am, Padmé,” he told her. “Anakin Skywalker is no more; this is who and what I am now.”

Padmé nodded. “I know that,” she replied quietly. “I’m not here to debate.”

“Are you here to accuse me further of risking our daughter’s life?” he asked as the doors closed behind her.

Padmé frowned, disconcerted to be alone with him in the dark. “No, I came to apologize,” she said, growing tired of fighting.

There was no response, and the only sound to be heard was Vader’s mechanical breathing. He stood looking at her, sensing her uneasiness. He took a step closer to her, so that there were mere centimeters between them. “Apology accepted,” he said at last.

Padmé had to crane her neck to face him, the lights of his chest armor blinking in the darkness. “If you hadn’t come when you did, Leia might have died,” she said. “You saved her life. I…it was wrong of me to take out my frustrations on you.”

Vader did not reply again, and simply watched her, enjoying her proximity.

“Leia tends to be rather….single minded,” Padmé said, unable to stand the tension filled silence between them. “As you may have noticed.”

“I have,” he said. “She reminds me of you.”

Padmé lifted an eyebrow. “Me?”

Vader nodded.

“No, no no, I’m not the stubborn one,” she replied.

Vader almost smiled under his mask at her. “I beg to differ,” he said.

Padmé actually laughed at this, much to her own surprise, as well as his. It was almost as though….no it is not, for he is not.

“I’d better get back to the children,” she said at last, taking a step to one side to put some distance between them.

“Of course,” he replied. “Goodnight, Padmé.”

“Goodnight,” she replied, not calling him Anakin, but not able to bring herself to call him Vader.

She turned and left him, her hands trembling from the strange encounter, and returned to her quarters.

[therealthing]

15

It took Vader a long time to fall asleep that night. The incident with his daughter had left him more shaken than he wanted to admit. What was more; it revealed to him a very obvious fact: he knew very little, if anything, about being a parent. Granted, it was not his fault; he had been estranged from his children for the first fourteen years of their lives. He remembered what it was like to be fourteen; in the throes of puberty, his body rife with changes that his master was unwilling or unable to explain adequately. How could he have ever understood how his padawan felt about Queen Amidala? What started off as a simple boyhood crush slowly simmered into infatuation and then into full fledged love, ardent and deep. No, Kenobi would never have understood, never would have tried to.

Vader fell asleep finally, thoughts of his wife lingering around the periphery of his subconscious mind.

Vader woke up several hours later, his eyes snapping open. He sat up in the pod, and pressed the heels of his gloved hands to his eyes. He had dreamed of his wife, a dream that was totally unexpected and totally unwanted. He would be a fool to deny that he still desired his wife; he was a man, after all. Yet, acknowledging those feelings would be to acknowledge the man he had once been, the man he had forsaken fourteen years earlier. Conflict raged through him, as surely as the desire that he was still trying to deny. He made a decision; one that he was certain would put an end to these foolish, futile longings.

Vader activated the mechanism that lowered his mask and helmet onto his head, and then opened the pod. It was very early, early enough, he hoped, to be able to avoid her. That seemed to be the only way he could put her out of his mind, and he was determined to do just that. He didn’t consider the futility of his actions, or the irony of him insisting on keeping her here while afraid to be near her. He was not afraid, he was not conflicted, he was not confused, and that was that. He was a Sith, after all; and the Sith did not give in to the weak emotions that lesser beings did.

Determined that he had refocused his priorities, he left his quarters, and headed for the shuttle bay.


“That was really stupid what you did last night, Leia,” Luke told his sister as he sat down beside her at breakfast the next morning. “What were you thinking?”

Leia glared up over her juice glass at her brother, the fact that their mother was not present at the moment not escaping her notice. “Shut up, Luke,” she snapped back. “No harm came of it.”

Luke snorted. “Yeah, right,” he muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she countered.

“You heard how ticked off Mom was with our father,” he replied. “She blames him for this, not you.”

Leia frowned, for this had bothered her too. If it weren’t for Vader’s timely arrival….she didn’t want to think about what might have happened.

“I know,” she said at last, her anger giving way to shame. “I wanted to talk to her about it last night, but she didn’t want to get into it.” She stopped as she realized something. “Have you noticed how neither of them wants to talk about the other? How they always change the subject when we mention the other?”

Luke nodded. “Yeah, I have,” he replied. “I know how conflicted they both are. I’m sure you’ve felt it too.”

“I have,” Leia replied. “What can we do, though?”

“About what?” Padmé said as she joined her children. Luke and Leia looked at one another and then down at their breakfast.

Padmé frowned. “What were the two of you just talking about?”

“Nothing,” Luke said a little too quickly. Padmé looked from one to the other, knowing full well, despite not being a Force sensitive that they were talking about her.

“Don’t tell me nothing,” Padmé said, pouring herself some juice. “I know the two of you, and I know you were talking about a- me, b- your father, or c- me and your father. Which one was it?”

Luke and Leia looked at one anther, realizing that the jig was up.

“I was just telling Luke that I feel badly about what happened last night,” Leia finally said.

“Don’t we all,” Padmé muttered.

“But I don’t think you should blame Dad for what I did wrong,” Leia added. “It wasn’t his fault, it was mine. If it weren’t for him…”

“I know, I know,” Padmé said, putting a hand up to stop Leia from going any further. “I realized that I was wrong to blame him, and I apologized to him.”

Luke and Leia’s eyes widened in an almost identical manner. “He must have appreciated that,” Luke commented.

Padmé shrugged. “It’s hard to say with him,” she replied, refusing to think back to the strange encounter she’d had with Vader the previous night. “I don’t know what he’s feeling anymore.”

“We do,” Leia piped up, earning her a dirty look from her twin.

“Do you now?” Padmé replied with a smile. “Are you going to enlighten me?”

“Do you want to know?” Leia asked.

“Is there some reason I wouldn’t?”

“No, it’s just that, well, you …seem kinda….” Leia said, grasping for the right words.

“You seem uneasy talking about Father,” Luke said, helping her out.

“Do I?”

“Yes, just as he is uneasy talking about you,” Luke replied.

“I think that’s you imagination,” Padmé replied. “Or perhaps wishful thinking.”

Luke and Leia looked at one another in exasperation. It was hard to say which parent they had inherited their stubbornness from, for they both abounded in it.

“Milady, I have just been contacted by the hangar bay,” the protocol droid reported. “Your belongings from Hannas VI have arrived and are being brought here at once.”

“Splendid,” replied Padmé with a smile, happy for the change of subject. “Looks like we’ll have some unpacking to do today, kids.”



It was evening by the time Vader returned to the Exactor. Although things were proceeding as planned on Kamino, he found himself anxious to get back to his ship. He was tired, and could not seem to stop worrying about Leia. That bothered him. He was not one to worry about the welfare of anyone; so why did he care now? Because your children will help you destroy the Emperor and rule the galaxy, that’s why. Yes, that was it, he assured himself. His reasons for caring about Luke and Leia were purely selfish and self-serving.

Having been to the bridge to check in with his second in command, Vader made for his quarters. As he passed the gymnasium, he stopped, idly wondering if the twins were within. The room was empty, however, so he went inside. He walked over to the remote that now sat in a pile of broken parts on the far side of the room. He lifted it using the Force to examine the damage. Luke and Leia need a means by which to practice, he reasoned, carrying the remote to a table on the far side of the room. Perhaps with a few adjustments….

“Mistress Padmé, is there anything else I might to do help?”

“Thank you Threepio,” Padmé replied. “You’ve been great. I think we’re about done.”

“Does that mean we can go for a swim?” Leia asked hopefully. She and Luke had helped their mother unpack their belongings and had spent the better part of the day in the apartment.

“Yes, go ahead,” Padmé replied. “I know you two hate being cooped up for too long.”

Luke grinned. “Thanks Mom,” he said. “You coming?”

Padmé shook her head. “No,” she replied “I’m a little tired Luke. Thanks anyway.”

“If you change your mind, you’ll know where we are,” Leia said as she and Luke made for the exit with their swimsuits in their hands.

“I know,” Padme said. “Now don’t be too long, okay? And take Threepio with you just to be safe.”

Luke and Leia were about to make a comment, but thought better of it and simply allowed Threepio to trundle along with them. Padmé wasn’t worried about the twins; they were both excellent swimmers. She just wanted some peace and quiet for a couple of hours, and getting rid of Threepio was the perfect way to ensure that happened.

“I am not programmed to swim, Master Luke,” Threepio informed the twins. “I’m not quite sure what it is your mother wants me to do.”

Luke and Leia exchanged a smile. “Don’t worry, Threepio,” Luke replied as they entered the gymnasium. “I don’t think she expects you to.”

Vader looked up as his twins entered the room with the protocol droid he had built in his youth. They were surprised to see him.

“Hi,” Luke said with a smile. “What have you got there?”

Vader looked down at the half assembled droid he had set out on a table. “I’m rebuilding the practice droid,” he replied.

“Don’t you have droids to do that?” Leia asked.

“Yes, but I prefer to do it myself,” he told her. “I built him, after all,” he added, indicating the protocol droid with them.

Luke and Leia looked around. “You…you built Threepio?” Luke asked in amazement.

Vader nodded as he returned to his work.

“Excuse me, sir, but that is not true,” Threepio piped up, quite put out at being spoken of as though he weren’t present. “My maker was Master Anakin Skywalker.”

Vader did not reply, much to the annoyance of the droid he had once called his friend.

“Threepio, this is our father,” Luke explained. “He is Anakin Skywalker.”

“I was, Luke,” Vader corrected him. “At one time. But I haven’t been him for a long time.”

Neither Luke nor Leia wanted to debate their father on the issue, so they remained silent. “We’re going for a swim,” Leia said at last.

“You must be feeling better, then,” Vader replied. “I’m glad to see it.

Leia nodded. “Thank you again for what you did for me,” she said. “You saved my life.”

“You are my child, Leia,” he replied as he made some final adjustments to the remote. “I would never let any harm befall you.” He activated the remote and it rose up from the table. “I think that does it. I have made some adjustments to avoid any further…incidents.”

“Oh?” Luke replied, looking up at the remote as it hovered over the table. “What did you do?”

“You must enter a codeword in order to access the highest levels,” Vader replied.

“And what if we guess it?” Leia said with a smile.

Vader was not amused. “You won’t,” he said simply as he turned the remote off.

“I think I know,” Luke said, looking at his sister. “It’s Tatooine, isn’t it?”

Vader looked at his son in surprise. “Damn,” he muttered and then reactivated the droid. Luke and Leia couldn’t help but laugh.

Vader thought for a moment, and then entered a new code, one that he was sure they wouldn’t guess: Angel.

“Now, that should do it,” he said. “You will not guess it this time.”

“Give us time, and we’ll figure it out,” Luke replied with a grin. “Come on, Leia; let’s go swimming before Threepio decides it’s time to leave already.”

“Maybe Threepio can help you, Dad,” Leia suggested with a smile.

Vader looked at her quickly. “No they will not be necessary,” he replied at once.

“He’s great at fixing things, aren’t you Threepio?” Luke added.

“Oh yes, Master Luke,” Threepio replied happily. “I’d be most happy to assist Master Anakin in any way I can!”

Vader looked at his children, and even though he wore a mask, they knew what the expression on his face was. They couldn’t help but giggle as they walked away, leaving Threepio in their father’s capable hands.

“What can I do to assist you, Master Ani?”

Vader turned back to the droid, somewhat annoyed by his children’s plot to ditch the droid with him. “You will not call me that again,” he began. “You will call me Lord Vader.”

Threepio did not understand, but felt it prudent not to ask for clarification. “What can I do to assist you, Lord Vader?”

“You may take this work table and tools back to the machine shop,” he said. “And then you may return to the apartment.”

“But Mistress Padmé told me to…”

“I am telling you to go,” Vader snapped testily. “Now do as I say!”

Threepio was startled by Vader’s sudden flash of anger, and simply did as he was told. Vader shook his head, wondering what had happened to Threepio to make him so annoying. Surely he wasn’t like this when I programmed, him, he reflected as he left the droid to its task.

Luke and Leia were already in the water when Vader walked onto the pool deck. They noticed that Threepio was not with him and wondered if the droid had done something to really annoy their father.

“Where’s Threepio?” Luke called to his father.

“He has been reassigned,” Vader replied, folding his arms over his chest as he watched his children swim. “That was most kind of you to offer his services.”

Luke and Leia laughed. “No problem, any time,” Luke called back as he jumped into the pool.

Vader leaned back against the wall, the simple pleasure of watching his children at play greater than he ever could have imagined. Having them in his life was changing him, even if he himself was unwilling to admit it; he was beginning to feel connected to them in a most unSithlike manner.
That was not part of his plan when he arranged to have his family brought on board; and it presented Vader with an entirely new set of challenges.

“Okay which one of you sent Threepio back?”

Vader turned to see his wife walking out onto the pool deck.

“I did,” he said.

She turned quickly, not having noticed him there. “Oh,” she said.

“I take it he did not figure into your plans for the evening,” Vader remarked.

Padmé laughed as she removed her wrap. “You might say that,” she replied.

Images from his dream jumped to mind as he looked at Padmé in her bathing suit. He pushed them away before they got out of hand.

“You don’t have to stay if you have something else to do,” she told him. “I know you must be busy.”

“There is no where I need to be right now,” he replied. “Unless you wish me to leave.”

“No, I mean, that’s not necessary,” she replied. “The children enjoy your company.”

Vader turned to look at the twins. “And I theirs,” he replied. “They are remarkable, both of them.”

Padmé nodded, and turned back to watch Luke and Leia. “Yes, they are,” she agreed. “Well I’m going to join them,” she added, not wishing to get into another intense situation with Vader.

Vader nodded as she walked over to the edge of the pool and dived in. It was at this moment that his comlink signaled. Vader walked out of the pool area and into the quiet gymnasium before responding to it.

“What is it?” he asked.

“My Lord, the emperor has asked you to make contact,” Lieutenant Piett informed him. “At once, milord.”

“Very well,” Vader replied. He deactivated the device and left the gymnasium, left his family once again to go do the bidding of his master.

“Where did Dad go?” Leia said as she noticed that he was no longer watching them.

“He must have been called away,” Padmé reasoned.

Luke and Leia exchanged a look, both thinking the same thing: he’s avoiding her.

“I guess so,” Luke replied, knowing better than to say any more to his mother on the subject.


“The shock troops you ordered will be ready on schedule,” Vader reported to his master.

“Excellent,” Palpatine replied affably. “You have done well, my friend.”

“Thank you, my master,” Vader replied with a slight bow.

“I wish for you to arrange transport for this new squadron,” Palpatine continued. “They are to be assigned to the destroyers in the Chommell Sector. I would, however, like to inspect them personally, to ensure that the new features I discussed with the Prime Minister have not been overlooked.”

“Of course, my master,” Vader replied. “Will you go to Kamino?”

Palpatine nodded. “Yes, I am leaving within the next twenty-four hours.”

“I shall meet you on the planet, then,” Vader replied, doing his best to keep his anxiety at bay as the image faded out. He’s coming here…he’s coming to Kamino…that was a little too close for him, a little too close to his family. He will not learn of their presence, he vowed, not until the time is just right.