Forbidden

FORBIDDEN

By Raythe

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. No money made.

PAIRING: Luke x Vader

WARNINGS: Slash/Incest/AU

RATING: NC-17

HINTS AND STUFF: This chapter was a challenge. I had various ideas for what it would contain and I ended up writing them all out. Ah, the amount of angst in that!

However, after talking to some very kind fans who gave me honest feedback (Darth/Luke, MistressMollusk and LadyNaye – Thank you so much, guys!) I tossed all my ideas (and the carefully written pages) out.

I feel pretty solid on the final product now, which I’m very happy for (and so is my hair as I was pulling it out). I hope you all enjoy it.

What to expect: (1) The Droid Battle – woo hoo, let’s watch them kick some butt; (2) The Spy’s Identity; (3) A Classic Vader Throat-Crushing Moment Tossed In With Some Jealous!Luke; (4) A Conversation b/t Vader and Qui-Gon - regarding the Jedi Master’s motivations in coming back to life and Vader’s conflicted feelings about the man; and (5) A Mystery Deepens – Luke’s powers take on a new twist and … you’ll have to read to find out!

There’s just a smidge of smut in this chapter, but next chapter … get ready! I think it may time for the Luke’s Rebel Prisoner Fantasy to be played out.

As an aside: I have altered what little I know about Master Jinn’s former Padawan Xanatos to suit this story.

You guys have always surprised and amazed me with your open-mindedness with this story so I hope you will once again suspend disbelief, relegate what you know to the backs of your minds, and just enjoy this story such as it is though it may be far different than the world and characters Lucas created and the many, many talented fanfic writers in this genre out there.

Thank you again for all your support. Please let me know what you think.

Hugs and kisses,
Raythe:)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: MASTER AND SPY

Luke’s POV

When the droids began to move, Luke laughed, believing his father was setting up some kind of sparring match. But then a hundred pairs of red glowing eyes swung towards them and a terrible electronic howl burst from the droids’ mouths and he knew Vader had nothing to do with this. Droids had never given off any type of Force aura before that he’d noticed, but these … things … did. They dripped malice and corruption.

Vader hit a button on the far wall with a Force push, but nothing happened. The droids continued to advance. He scowled. “It’s as I feared, the failsafe to deactivate them isn’t working.”

As the battle droids leapt from their slots on the walls to the floor below on the far side of the hanger, their metal feet causing a cacophony of clanks, both Force users raised their sabers into defensive positions. Luke felt doubly protected to have Vader there by his side and to be holding the saber his father had made for him.

‘I feel the same way, young one,’ Vader sent over their bond as he tightened his grip on the saber Luke had made for him. ‘The droids’ power supplies are on their backs identified by a green light. Hit those to take them down quickly.’

Luke nodded. The hiss and thrum of hundreds of light sabers igniting made his mouth go dry. These droids were not armed with blasters or even durasteel survival swords. Instead each of them had a light saber. Some wielded more than one. Luke had never faced this many foes, let alone this many armed with sabers, before. And he feared the droids would be good at wielding them. Vader would have programmed them to be challenging.

‘Who is controlling them, Father?’

‘It feels like … Palpatine.’ Vader reached over and gripped Luke’s shoulder. ‘I know I hardly need say this … but be careful, Luke. They are not meant to be easy opponents.’

Luke gave him a rueful smile. ‘I feared that was so. I’ll be fine.’

Vader gave him a brilliant grin in return. ‘I know. Your skills are remarkable. Together there is no doubt that we will defeat them.’

Luke glowed slightly at his father’s praise, but this was no time to be distracted. He took a deep breath as he centered himself within the Force. He felt his father do the same beside him.

Then they sprang into battle.

Vader sent out a wave of power that sent droids tumbling backwards, some impacting the walls or the ground so hard their inner casings shattered and the glow of their power supplies winked out. Even though the wave Vader sent was potent, Luke realized his father wasn’t using his new powers. ‘It would be good to have that strength, but if what happened on Black Heart happened here …’ He pushed the thought aside. It was too terrible to contemplate.

Luke used Force levitate to gather dozens small durasteel boxes that lined one corner of the room and sent them spinning through the air, crushing some droids’ power supplies and decapitating others. Those without heads still continued to advance as if they used the eyes of their companions to see. ‘Like a hive mind.’

Then the battle became a blur for Luke of slashing, ducking and throwing droids against the walls or floor to smash them into pieces. In order to avoid a blow that would have cut him in half, he Force jumped up to one of the catwalks above only to have droids follow after him, swarming up the walls like ants. His Force jump had separated him from his father and left him open to attack on all sides. Having no time to curse his own lack of foresight, Luke continued to jump upwards to higher catwalks to keep away from the horde of droids that hardly seemed to have lessened from the beginning of the battle.

He was backed into the far corner of the highest catwalk as dozens of droids advanced upon him. He sent wave after wave of Force pushes out. Even as droids fell off the catwalk in droves and plummeted to the floor, more clambered up to attack him in a seemingly unending stream. Panic began to eat at the edges of Luke’s mind, especially when he met the eyes of the biggest droid he had seen so far.

The droid’s jaw jutted forward and its eyes glowed like sulfurous pits. The thing was so large it spanned the entire width of the catwalk and it wielded not one or two light sabers, but eight. When it let out a metallic shriek of challenge, Luke was almost deafened.

He tried to Force push it away, but the droid did not budge, seemingly immune to the attack. A black wave of energy rushed out of it like pus. Luke’s whole being wanted to cringe back from it, but he held firm. He took up a defensive stance as two of its eight blades raced across the short distance between them. The strength behind the blows was stunning. They forced Luke down to his knees, his own blade pressed back until it was inches from his eyes.

The smell of ozone from the sparking sabers filled Luke’s nostrils. He was holding off the two blades, but the droid had six more that were flying towards him. Luke used a burst of Force energy to supplement his strength and shoved the two blades away then did a back flip to gain some distance from the thing. He retreated until he was flush with the wall. Luke glanced down to either side of the catwalk. More droids were scaling the walls and would surround him in moments. He was trapped.

Suddenly, a black clad figure was between him and the foul thing. It was his father.

“Stay back, Luke!” Vader said, sending a wave of protectiveness over their bond. “This one is mine.”

“It’s immune to Force manipulation!”

Vader gave him a grim smile. “Then my saber will have to do.”

Vader advanced towards the droid, his saber held deceptively loosely in his right hand, his legs slightly bent. The droid let out what sounded like a cackle and its eyes glowed like witchfire in its sockets.

“You find the thought of battling me amusing, do you?” Vader challenged the droid, a cold smile crossing his full lips. “Well … it will be entertaining for me certainly … as I take you apart.”

The droid stretched out all eight arms to its sides. The light sabers it held were all blood red in color. They cast a crimson glow over the droid’s body. It made the droid appear to be made of molten metal. Luke’s awe of the droid was nothing compared to his awe of his father as Vader suddenly moved. The Dark Lord darted in to attack so fast he was more almost a blur. Sparks flew as his father’s and the droid’s two main sabers clashed and sprang apart. Vader ruthlessly parried a blow from another of the arms. The acrid smell of ozone again filled the air. The amber in Vader’s blade flared brighter with each strike.

‘It’s too strong for one person … even father! I have to help him.’

But just as Luke went to follow after Vader, the boy himself was locked in battle with half a dozen droids that foamed over the side of the catwalk and blocked his path. His only consolation at that moment was that at least he could keep these others off his father’s back while he handled the large droid.

Luke heard the hum and clash of another light saber: Qui-Gon had joined the fight. The Jedi Master’s robes billowed around him as he spun and slashed and parried against twenty droids who attacked him near the door.

Through snatched glances over at Vader, as Luke ruthlessly parried, slashed and ducked his own opponents, Luke saw his father slice off two of the droid’s arms. The thing actually hissed at the Dark Lord, its red eyes flaring brightly. Luke’s attention was snatched away again as he was attacked by five more droids that clambered up onto the catwalk on either side of him.

Luke used his saber to send the droids flying to the ground like metallic rain, their bodies shattering and parts skittering across the slick floor. He kept trying to break away to help his father, but try as he might, he couldn’t get near him. More and more droids boiled up from below to surround him and pin him in the corner.

The huge droid Vader fought slashed at an overhanging light, sending it crashing down towards Vader’s head. Then it immediately sliced through the sides of the catwalk in front of it with two of its sabers, cutting through the support ties. Even as Vader dealt with the falling light by using the Force to shove it away, the section of catwalk beneath his feet was suddenly tilting downwards.

Luke watched in horror as Vader was suddenly tumbling forwards towards the droid’s four remaining spinning blades. It looked as if the Dark Lord wouldn’t be able to avoid them. His father would be pierced through the chest, maybe even through the heart. Luke parried blows from three remaining droids even as he tried to grab his father with the Force, but Vader’s body seemed to just slip through his grasp.

Luke screamed, “NO!”

Without thought, he reached with the Force towards the large droid instead and light gushed out of it. All the power that animated the huge droid, even that which generated the light sabers it wielded bled out of it into the air in a storm of light. The droid’s body sagged, completely inert.

The remaining droids also stuttered and then stopped as if their power supplies were abruptly cut all at once as the storm of light from the larger droid passed over them and grew brighter and bigger. Then the light rushed towards Luke. It impacted his chest like a river of energy pouring. His body jerked and flailed under the strain. Finally, the onslaught stopped. Luke stumbled and fell to his knees. Vader was suddenly at Luke’s side. His face was flushed and his eyes were bright with battle and awe.

“Are you injured?” Vader’s hands skimmed over his back, but found no wounds other than a few saber burns that were already healing. Vader gripped him by the shoulders and forced Luke to look up at him. His amber eyes glowed with worry. “Child, please answer me!”

“I’m … not injured. I’m all right, Father.”

Vader’s shoulders sagged in relief then he looked at Luke’s face closely. “How did you do that, my son? Stop the droids without … touching them.”

Luke shook his head. He knew, but the words wouldn’t come. It had been the same way he had brought back Qui-Gon and disintegrated the dragon’s body. He had taken the droids’ power into himself. And if the droids had been living things, he would have taken their lives inside instead. The same ability that let him bring back the dead and heal limbs … was a terrible weapon as well.

Luke wanted to curl in on himself as he realized the exhaustion he should feel after this battle was not there, because the droids’ energy had fed him and then some. He felt swollen with power, suffused with it. Vader’s arms were comfortingly around his shoulders. He petted Luke’s hair. Luke shook under his father’s hands.

“It’s all right, Luke, it’s all right.”

Luke pressed his face into his father’s shoulder, inhaling Vader’s scent of leather and spice and clean sweat. His father was alive and that was all that mattered. The way he had saved him was immaterial. It had to be. Luke couldn’t … wouldn’t imagine his life again without his father by his side.

“I’m sorry, Father.”

He didn’t know what he was sorry for: jumping when he shouldn’t have, putting his father in danger, taking the energy from other beings, even if they were droids? Or all of the above? He gripped Vader tightly against him almost as if he believed a giant hand could appear and snatch his father from his grasp.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. Whatever this new ability is … we’ll deal with it together.”

Luke pulled his head back, his face felt tight and hot. “No, not that or … not just that. It’s my fault you almost got killed!”

“Luke?” Vader’s brows were knit together, his lips opened slightly, showing concern and confusion.

“That droid … you had to fight him alone on the catwalk … its blades would have thrust into your heart and … you could have … you would have died, because I made a mistake … jumped when I shouldn’t have! And then I wasn’t strong enough to get to you and … what if there wasn’t enough energy to bring you back—”

Vader pressed two fingers against Luke’s lips, stilling the boy’s self-flagellation.
“No, Luke. Stop right there.” Vader’s eyes bored into his as if to burn his words on Luke’s mind. “In a battle, things … happen. You had to make a split-second decision and jumping was the correct one. Plus if you hadn’t kept the other droids away from me … well, it would have been a very different battle.”

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but Vader waved him silent.

“My child, trust me. I have been in more battles than I care to remember. And I know certain things … this is one of them. You made the right choices.”

Luke thought to himself, ‘Next time … I should use the power at the beginning to just drain our enemies away into nothingness so Father will not be at risk.’ He internally shrunk from that idea … and the disturbing sense of familiarity he felt about the sentiment.

Luke reached up and threaded his fingers through Vader’s thick hair at the base of his skull and, using that leverage, he pulled his father down for an almost frenzied kiss. He knew Qui-Gon was there but he didn’t care. He had to do this, had to physically connect with his father. Vader groaned into his mouth. His father’s powerful hands slid around Luke’s back, cupping his buttocks and pulling him close.

The kiss wasn’t about desire for Luke, but it quickly rose in him like a wave. He eagerly rode one of his father’s thighs, his sex filling at the contact. The hardness of that leg underneath him, the heat of Vader’s body as it cooled from battle, the hint of moisture from sweat at the back of his neck was all evidence to Luke that his father lived. ‘I cannot be without him. Oh, Force … when he dies, if it is not possible to bring him back, let me die, too.’

“I can’t lose you … not again …” Luke murmured.

“Child? Lose me … again?” Vader’s eyes were huge with worry.

Luke shook his head. He wasn’t sure what he meant. “I … I just can’t … can’t be without you.”

“Luke … I’m right here. I’m never going to leave you,” Vader breathed the words into his ear.

Vader captured his mouth again. This time it was a long, slow kiss. Vader’s tongue tangled with his own until all he could taste was their combined flavor of citrus and spice. Luke’s arousal burned hotter. His father’s sweet breath against his lips as they broke apart inflamed him more. He wanted that breath against every part of his skin, delving inside of him again. He wanted Vader to hold him down and enter him. Wanted to feel the hot splash of his father’s cum inside him, marking him, claiming him, making them one again.

Now that Luke knew what lovemaking was between them, he wanted to forget all their responsibilities. ‘Just locate that beach and … hide there forever. Let Palpatine and Obi-Wan never find us …’ But Luke knew that was a selfish thing to wish for and nothing either he or his father would want forever. Both had responsibilities and ambitions, which couldn’t be satisfied in hiding. Luke fanned his hands on either side of Vader’s face, his gaze memorizing every inch of that beloved visage.

Vader’s eyes were heavy-lidded with pleasure and a slow, sensual smile spread across his face, “Much as I am enjoying this … and would like to pursue it …”

“We have to figure out how the droids are being controlled,” Luke finished the thought. For the first time since the battle, he smiled genuinely and his heart eased. Luke winced then. “Poor Qui-Gon. I’m sure this … didn’t make him exactly comfortable.” Luke gestured down at their entwined limbs.

Vader laughed softly. “He’s probably thinking that it’s a good thing as it enhances the Balance in some way.”

“Actually, I was thinking you look quite beautiful together, which is offering me quite a lovely view,” Qui-Gon’s rich voice rang out from below with evident amusement.

Luke went scarlet and even a hint of pink appeared on Vader’s cheekbones. Then Luke couldn’t help his laughter. Vader smirked and brushed his lips against Luke’s temple. Without further discussion, father and son broke apart. Vader helped Luke jump down to the floor of the sparring chamber. Qui-Gon joined them.

Luke could tell that his father and the Jedi Master were talking over their training bond, though he could not hear their words. When the Jedi Master’s eyes turned towards him with a kindly yet concerned expression Luke was sure they had been discussing what had happened with the droids. His body tensed again.

“The power … the power I used to stop the droids. It’s the same as the one I used to bring you back,” Luke explained quickly as though getting the words out faster would lessen their impact.

Vader frowned. “You drew in their energy …”

“Yes. And I … convert it somehow in order to heal. In this case … I’ve just kept it inside me.” That gave Luke an idea. “Let me show you. I can … share it.”

He concentrated on the excess pulsing energy flowing through him. He sent that energy towards his father and Qui-Gon. Both men sighed as the energy surged into their bodies. Vader’s eyes slipped half-shut as if the power exchange had given him pleasure. A soft smile appeared on Qui-Gon’s lips. Any wounds on the men vanished and all their energy was replaced so that they were as fresh as when they began the battle. Luke felt relieved to be rid of the excess power. He only wished the guilt could be sent away so easily.

“I wonder why your enhanced powers have appeared now? Was it coming so close to death that triggered them or something about Black Heart itself?” Qui-Gon mused as his gaze cleared of the pleasure from the power exchange and became serious and hawk-like again. Luke sensed the Jedi Master missed little with those insightful eyes.

“There is an … Archive that we have discovered,” Vader said. “On Black Heart itself. We made a copy of it. I have downloaded it onto the holonet in our quarters. The Dark Side … informs me that the material in this Archive is crucial in understanding our roles.”

Qui-Gon’s eyes blazed with interest. “Truly? And you have not examined it yet? Or …”

Luke shuffled his feet. “That’s my fault.”

“Luke …” Vader started but Luke waved him silent.

“I … have a strange reaction to the Archive. I feel … terribly ill and … uncomfortable when it’s played. So Father has held off on investigating it. But he shouldn’t anymore. Obviously, we need to know whatever’s on there and my … minor discomfort must not stand in the way.”

“It is more than minor discomfort, Luke,” Vader said softly.

“You and Qui-Gon should view it. I might not be able to stay in the room while you do. But we need to know that information. Who knows what new abilities will come up. We shouldn’t be in the dark about this,” Luke said earnestly.

“I am agreeable to that … if you are, Anakin.”

The Dark Lord looked on at Luke with undisguised concern. But the boy refused to show just how afraid of the Archive he was. He smiled confidently. He wished to give the impression that he was completely at ease with the prospect of them viewing the Archive while inside he really wanted was to smash the thing.

“I am … agreeable,” Vader said after long minutes of considering his son.

“Perhaps when I go see Joran and his mother later … you can view the Archive then,” Luke suggested.

Vader nodded and Luke relaxed slightly. If he was with Joran at the third level cantina, perhaps it would be far enough away for him to escape the Archive’s effects.

They were all silent a moment. Luke found he didn’t want to think of the Archive or his new powers anymore. The powers themselves felt so alien to him, like another person rising up in his body. He shook himself and studied the wreckage of the droids around them instead. The ground could hardly be seen underneath the glittering metal parts. Would these be the only droids they had to fear? Could others on the Executor suddenly turn on them? ‘Could Artoo?’ The last thought was terrible to Luke. Artoo had been his closest friend before his father. To have the little droid suddenly attack him would be horrific.

Vader suddenly started laughing, breaking Luke’s morbid thoughts. When Qui-Gon lifted one expressive eyebrow up at him, the Dark Lord explained, “I was worried that it would be difficult for me to fight at first with my new limbs. Luckily, I was wrong.”

Qui-Gon smiled and even Luke found the corners of his lips twitching. His father had been amazing to watch, so lithe and light, yet strong. There had been no hesitation in his movements, only liquid grace. His beautiful new shirt and pants though were rather scorched in places, showing a lot more skin than they had before. Luke had the desire to run his fingers along those cuts to trace the bare flesh. ‘My mind is jumping all over the place. First guilt then dread then desire. I must focus on the present.’

With that thought in the forefront, Luke turned to the older Jedi and asked, “How did you get here so fast, Master Jinn?”

Qui-Gon explained, “I was following the spy’s Force presence and it led me here.”

“That’s not possible. No one has entered this room besides us,” Vader said. “I have sensors in place and would have felt it. And even if they had somehow eluded my traps … there is no where to hide.” He gestured at the completely open space. There was not even a closet in which a person could secret themselves.

“You’re right, Anakin, no physical Force user has.”

“You mean a Force spirit?” Luke asked.

“Not exactly. I have to check something to be sure.”

Qui-Gon walked over to an electronics access panel on the wall by the door. He pried open the panel and placed his right palm against the grid of wiring. His eyes shut for a moment. Then he opened them and nodded.

“The Force is being sent through the wiring like an electronic pulse. It explains why it seemed to flare to life then faded as it passed by me in the hallways.”

Vader joined Qui-Gon by the panel and touched the same place. His amber eyes narrowed after a moment.

“It is Palpatine. Him alone. I sense no other presence. But how is he sending that much of his Force power over thousands of light years? He is not strong enough to do it. Not without help. Not without …” Vader bit his lower lip, which Luke found rather endearing as his father worked on the question.

Luke went over to the panel himself and brushed his fingers across a different section of the exposed glassine wiring, nearer the door, where the wire looked blackened. A vision sparked in his mind … he saw a cluster of dark crystals wound with the same type of glassine wiring, suspended in a shaft. Knowledge of how they worked seemed to spiral out of the panel to him.

“I know how he’s doing it,” Luke said softly, though with a certainty only the Force gave him echoing in his words. “Well … I know what he’s using to do it.”

Two sets of eyes turned towards him.

“He’s installed something … some kind of large cluster of black Force crystals in the ship … and connected them to the Executor’s internal wiring. Whenever the droids are hooked into the power supply of the ship he can … move into them.”

“Describe where you see this cluster, Luke.”

“A high shaft. There are blue lines of power running up the sides,” Luke answered.

“There is only one place where that can be,” Vader said grimly. “The main power shaft in Engineering under Captain Terellian’s command.”

“I take it that is our next destination?” Qui-Gon asked.

Luke felt something dark and angry roll through his father at the thought of this Captain Terellian. The way his amber eyes narrowed and flared gold boded very ill for the man.

Vader nodded. “Oh, yes, we most certainly have to pay the good captain a visit.”

Vader’s POV

They walked briskly down the hallways towards Engineering with Vader in front and Qui-Gon and Luke slightly behind him. The Jedi Master was making light small talk to bring the boy out of his deep thoughts. Vader was grateful for that as he could feel Luke’s emotions roiling over their bond. Guilt, because of the boy’s ill-gotten belief he was responsible for Vader almost being skewered by the droid, and, disgust for the power he wielded.

‘Not to mention his disquiet about the Archive. The boy has been stretched to his limit too many times in the past few days, but there is just no time to let him recover and face all the new challenges fresh. I wish I could do something to help him.’ Vader settled for sending a wave of love over their bond, which Luke returned eagerly. He wanted to do more, but yet another crisis beyond their control had erupted: they had to deal with the crystal cluster.

As soon as Luke had described the cluster’s location, Vader had known not only where it was, but he was also certain Captain Terellian, the head of Engineering, had a hand in it getting there. His desire to crush the overly obsequious blonde-haired officer’s neck, coupled with the knowledge that he could not due to his family’s standing with Palpatine, caused Vader to avoid Engineering. He spoke to the techs under Terellian’s command often, but avoided the captain at all costs. The man seemed to lurk around the engine rooms when he wasn’t lurking at the doors to Vader’s quarters. Palpatine had obviously taken advantage of this avoidance on his part.

‘The old Sith has managed to operate under my nose! While I searched for phantom human spies, he flitted in and out of the bodies of droids.’

Palpatine’s ability to enter even Vader’s personal battle and protocol droids, bypass all his fail-safes and codes meant that every droid on the ship was suspect and a danger to them. Earlier, Vader had supposed that his protocol droid’s exposure to a Force sensitive’s commands had enabled it to inadvertently catch his thoughts about the coat he wanted made. But now he feared that Palpatine had actually been in the droid at the time and read his mind.

Had Palpatine then made the coat for him … almost like a taunt or worse … had the old man wanted to see him dressed in it? Like Vader was his doll? After all he had chosen the armor and mask that Vader had to wear for twenty years. At that moment, they passed by a cleaning droid and Vader swore that the thing looked at him funny. He squared his shoulders and managed not to veer away from the metal body.

“I noticed that we’ve gone into hyperspace,” Qui-Gon remarked. “What is our destination?”

“Coruscant,” Luke answered.

“Already you wish to face him?” Qui-Gon asked Vader quietly.

“It is best to … eliminate Palpatine now rather than allow him to spin more webs of deceit.”

“Not to mention he threatened to send the entire Fleet after us if we didn’t,” Luke added.

Vader smoothed down his son’s hair. “That is actually not a concern, my son. The Fleet is loyal to me.”

“He will hardly be unprepared for our arrival. He knows of your powers, I take it?” Qui-Gon asked.

“He does. However, I believe we may surprise him in at least one thing. He will be expecting is for us to arrive on Coruscant on the Executor.”

“And we aren’t?” Luke asked, his blue eyes widening.

Vader smiled. “No, we aren’t.”

“You aren’t going to tell us yet how this is going to happen, are you?” Luke guessed.

“Quite correct, young one. I must keep some mystery about me. Besides … someone else might be listening.”

They passed yet another droid, this one carrying supplies. Its head turned to watch them as it clanked by. Luke crept closer to his side. Vader’s arm went protectively around his son’s shoulders.

Vader also sensed some unease from Qui-Gon though not about the droid. The Dark Lord reached for the training bond without conscious thought, almost as if he wanted to soothe whatever had disturbed the Jedi Master. He cursed himself for it, but the connection was made and Qui-Gon’s thoughts quickly connected to his.

‘Something is troubling you, Qui-Gon, what is it?’

‘I am not certain. Did you have any difficulties when you were fighting the Droids with the Dark Side?’

‘It did not try to overwhelm me if that’s what you’re asking.’

‘I’m afraid that I’m not sure what I am asking. Was there anything out of the ordinary during the battle?’

There had been a second while facing the large droid in the sparring chambers when Palpatine’s image had flowed over it and Vader had … hesitated. It was as if he could not strike down his former master. But that made no sense to him. He wanted Palpatine dead and gone. Their bond was severed. He had seen to that when he entered into the Darkness, but … but somehow he still felt connected to the other Sith. These inconsistencies worried him.

He was tempted to say nothing to Qui-Gon, but then he realized how foolish that was. Perhaps the man had some insight into what was happening. Old habits of not trusting anyone were hard to break.

‘There was something,’ Vader began and sent the information to Qui-Gon about his hesitation.

‘That explains what I’m feeling. There is still a connection between you two. But it is strange. Has he ever used Force manipulation on you?’

Vader’s shoulders tensed. ‘No.’

‘Are you certain, Anakin?’

Vader scowled. He felt the probing eyes of the Jedi Master against his back and almost hunched his shoulders. It was like being caught by Master Yoda pod-racing when he was a teenager.

‘He might have … once in the beginning of my apprenticeship with him. After I … discovered that … after I thought that Padme and Luke were … dead.’

There was almost a tenderness, definitely a gentleness, in Qui-Gon’s mind-voice as he asked, ‘What happened?’

Vader was grateful he was not physically looking at the Jedi Master at this moment. He tightened his hold on Luke. Talking of this was painful enough without watching pity fill another’s eyes. ‘I was … suicidal. He stopped me from … ending myself.’

‘I … I see.’

Qui-Gon did not offer platitudes to him for which Vader was grateful. After all, what could the man say? He was the cause of Padme’s death at least.

Qui-Gon’s mind-voice said, ‘What I am sensing is almost like … an undercurrent. Not an overt bond, but more a diffuse sense of Palpatine in your mind. It would have allowed him to anticipate your emotional state and control it to some degree.’

Vader felt a prickling of unease. How much could Palpatine pick up over this bond? Vader couldn’t even sense it. Could it be used to damage him in some way while they fought? ‘Is there any way to sever this connection or block him?’

‘I don’t know. I will work on it.’

Vader shut down the link. His distress though grew, but the lift to Engineering was in front of them and his focus had to be on their present difficulties. He walked into the lift’s interior and was grateful for the warm presence of his son suddenly at his side. He brushed one hand through the boy’s silken hair. Blue eyes filled with love and trust looked up at him. He pressed a quick kiss to Luke’s forehead. The boy let out a small happy sound. Vader resisted the urge to lick the cusp of his son’s ear and trail small kisses down to where his skin and collar met.

His hunger for Luke seemed unquenchable even when they had an audience. ‘It would be better if Luke and I had the time to go on a … honeymoon of sorts. Perhaps that beach Luke dreamt of and just make love until neither of us can move anymore then repeat it again and again until we can go two minutes without reaching for each other.’ But even as he thought it, Vader doubted there would ever be a time he would not want to put his hands on his son and love him. He snuck one more kiss on the cheek.

He removed his hands from Luke as the lift opened on the Engineering level. Thoughts of making love to his son had to wait. The blonde head of Captain Jacho Terellian turned with a wide, plastic smile on his face to greet them. All three men in the lift smoothed their faces into expressionless masks.

“Lord Vader, how good of you to come visit us and to bring such other … distinguished personages with you.”

‘Father, he knew we were coming!’ Luke sent over their bond.

‘Yes, he most certainly did,’ Vader answered as he scanned the room and saw a dozen droids at various work stations. Did one of them turn and leer at him? He shook the thought away. Any one or all of them could have contained Palpatine’s presence and whispered to the captain of Vader’s progress to Engineering.

‘I don’t sense Palpatine in any of the droids,’ Luke said.

‘Not now, but … he could enter them at any moment.’

Qui-Gon nodded an acknowledgment to the officer, but then managed to blend into the background and walk past the man deeper into Engineering. Vader knew he was scanning the droids himself and looking for the cluster while Luke and Vader confronted Terellian directly. He felt a surprising burst of pride at how well the three of them worked together without conscious thought. It was so refreshing compared to the incompetence he was faced with on a day-to-day basis. ‘And the incompetents who don’t have the sense to avoid my notice.’ Vader frowned as he turned his attention to Terellian.

“Captain, I’m sure you know why we are here,” Vader said smoothly as he advanced upon the man.

He was certain that Palpatine guessed that Vader would find the crystal cluster sooner or later and had warned Terellian of a visit. The captain’s rather tight smile at his words, and the slight worry that passed through his eyes, told Vader he was right.

Terellian was only a few inches shorter than Vader, but far slighter. He had a handsome face, with angular features and a sharp chin. His eyes were a weak brown framed by pale lashes and eyebrows. It had not been his looks that had disgusted Vader from taking the man up on his overt offer of sexual favors, but Terellian’s false obsequiousness to those of better position. ‘Anything to get ahead no matter his skills or competence for the job.’

Vader valued a person’s worth by their abilities, not name or social standing. Terellian had used the latter to move up the ranks and his father’s connections with Palpatine to get on Vader’s ship. If it had been anything less than a direct order from Palpatine to do so, Terellian would never have set foot on the Executor.

Terellian’s eyes widened as he fully caught sight of Vader’s changed form and wrecked clothing. He had undoubtedly heard of Vader’s face being healed through ship-board gossip, but not the rest. Vader watched with some surprise as the man looked him up and down, lingering on the places where his outfit was slashed open to reveal skin. Luke stiffened at his side as he realized it, too.

‘Father, he’s … checking you out!’ Luke’s outrage was evidence in the tense lines of the young man’s body as well as the echo of his voice over their bond.

‘So it seems, young one.’

Vader would have been darkly amused by Luke’s statement and the captain’s actions under different circumstances. After all, lustful glances had been sent his way before, even when he wore his armor, but never had anyone stared so openly and without due respect. Using the Force he clutched Terellian’s throat and gave it a squeeze. The man gasped and choked, wide brown eyes tipped up so that they focused only on Vader’s.

“I hope you had your fill of staring at my body, Captain, because if you ever look anywhere but at my face again … I will be seeking your replacement,” Vader said softly and gave the captain a final shake before releasing his throat.

The man coughed and sputtered, his hands rubbing at his bruised throat. When he had sufficiently recovered, he gasped out, “Forgive me, Lord Vader. I meant no disrespect. I meant quite the contrary. I have always … admired you greatly as a leader of men, but now I see that you have many … estimable qualities.”

Luke gave out a sharp exhale of breath of shock and disgust. He stood straighter and actually moved in front of Vader so that the captain could not get another eyeful. Vader, himself, couldn’t believe the man’s gall or stupidity. Terellian was only so bold because he believed himself immune from Vader’s temper. He would soon be disabused of that notion.

Luke’s jealousy and protective instincts were satisfying to Vader, but it also increased the urge to snap the captain’s neck and be done with it. He didn’t want Luke upset any more than he had been that day. But handling the cluster might be easier if they dealt with the man whose business it was to maintain this part of the ship. Vader tamped down the desire to kill Terellian with difficulty.

“Do not remind me of your insubordination, Captain, by plying me with useless, unwanted flattery. Now I am certain that the same … person … that informed you of my visit to Engineering also told you why I was coming.”

An oily smile managed to slide its way across the captain’s face. “Yes, Lord Vader, you are quite correct. The Emperor himself told me you were coming and that you sought a crystal cluster he had me install in the Executor’s engines.”

Vader’s hands clenched into fists. His voice took on a dangerous lilt. “You installed something on the Executor without my knowledge or permission, Captain?”

The man took a half step back although the supercilious smile was still in place. “Per the Emperor’s orders, Lord Vader. His orders override any others. Even ones your most illustrious self can give me. If I did not do as he asked, it would have been treason … and my life.”

Vader gave a low chuckle. Luke turned around, concern etched on his beautiful face. He sensed the Darkness in Vader rising as the perfidy of his former master became clearer to him. Palpatine had suborned Vader’s crew, installed a dangerous device on his ship, spied on him, and thwarted all of Vader’s important plans up to that point, but no longer. Captain Terellian would be the first of Palpatine’s lackeys to feel his wrath.

“Your life, Captain, is in more immediate peril from me than Palpatine.” Vader shoved his way into Terellian’s mind. The man’s body flailed about as Vader bore into his thoughts. “Now, tell me how to remove the crystal cluster.”

Terellian’s eyes were wide and glassy with pain as he husked out, “Cut it from the connections physically …”

“But? There is a but in there, isn’t there, Captain?” Vader raked the man’s mind viciously, causing him to shriek. Luke turned his head away from the tortured sound.

“But … but it can’t be done while the Executor is flying … the whole system has to be shut down and that can only be done in dry dock. So it can’t be removed until the Executor is back on Coruscant.”

Vader shut his eyes. He sensed the truth in Terellian’s words. When he opened them, Terellian was trembling. The man’s seemingly tattooed smirk was gone. Sweat dotted his upper lip and his eyes darted from Vader to the door to Vader again. His belief that an order from the Emperor would keep him immune from Vader’s wrath was clearly being eroded to almost nothing. At that moment, Qui-Gon hurried over, his brow furrowed, and a frown forming on his face.

“I have found the cluster, but it looks … very much connected to everything. I would fear that removing it while the Executor is operational would cause great damage to the ship,” Qui-Gon explained.

“Thank you, Master Jinn. That confirms what the good captain has told me and also my own feeling that … for once … he is telling the truth.” Vader directed his attention to Terellian solely. “You do know what that means, Captain?”

The man’s head jerked up and he wet his lips. “Sir?”

“Your punishment can now be carried out,” Vader explained. “As you are of no further use in this matter.

The man’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. Finally, words poured from him, “Punishment … but why? I was only doing what the Emperor ordered! I had no choice!”

“There is always a choice, Captain.”

“He would have killed me if I had disobeyed!”

“Yes, most probably. But in the end, your actions only prolonged that fate. For now … I will kill you.”

The man didn’t have a chance to scream before his neck was crushed. The body fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Luke turned pale and gasped. Qui-Gon closed his eyes tightly.

“Was that truly necessary, Anakin?” Qui-Gon asked softly.

“Oh, yes … most necessary,” Vader answered. “Now show me this cluster.”

Vader placed a hand on the small of Luke’s back to guide him past the dead officer. Luke’s eyes flickered away from the body. Vader could also see Qui-Gon’s unhappiness with his actions in the tense set of his shoulders. Vader had no qualms about what he had done, but he understood the discomfort most felt about such acts. The man was a traitor who had not only endangered them, but the whole crew of the Executor. A trial would have come to the same conclusion and punishment. He had merely cut to the chase, and saved the Empire funds and time, by executing the man forthwith.

As they passed the last droid, Vader turned to it and said, “Have Captain Terellian’s body removed and disposed of.”

The droid made an affirmative noise. Vader smiled at the thought that perhaps Palpatine would inhabit the droid that had to dispose of his co-conspirator. It was the last smile he had though as Qui-Gon led them through a door at the back of the room. It opened up to a small platform that jutted out into the main shaft.

Sure enough about twenty feet above their heads, the crystal cluster was suspended, like a spider’s egg sack. It pulsed with Dark energy and Vader wondered how he had not sensed it before. The amount of glassine wiring that was connected to the cluster could have wrapped around the ship twice. It truly wasn’t going anywhere until they got into dry dock. He quelled his anger.

Vader pressed the button on the wall for the Com for the Bridge. “Admiral Piett.”

“Yes, Lord Vader?”

“It appears that the late Captain Terellian was a … saboteur.”

There was a muffled sound of indignation. “By the stars! What has the man done?”

“He has installed a device allowing an outside, unfriendly party to control our droids. Until we reach dry dock and our able to remove this device, all but essential droids are to be deactivated. If any essential droids are found outside of their assigned areas, they are to be detained immediately. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir, it will be done.”

Vader switched off the Com and looked over at Luke. “I know that you wished to see Joran and his mother—”

“I won’t hide in our quarters, Father. I refuse to run from Palpatine in the flesh or … in droid form.” Luke’s chin was thrust out rather defiantly, the boy having evidently recovered from their recent excitement.

Vader sighed and rubbed his face to cover the smile his son’s reaction caused. He had come to enjoy the boy’s fiery moments, especially the way his blue eyes sparked. It made him want to grab Luke and make him submit all over again. “All right, but you will be very, very careful and you will contact me every half hour. Understood?”

Luke nodded. “Will you view the Archive now then?”

Vader saw his son’s distress even though the boy tried to hide it. Why the Archive had that effect on Luke worried Vader. He, himself, could still see the figure on the sand. That image was burned into him and the voice that was and wasn’t like his son’s. Vader wondered where the people who had inhabited Black Heart had gone. If any of the Viateen had survived the fire he began on the planet’s surface they might be able to tell him. Perhaps there were other temples, other clues of their culture. Their knowledge of the Force was even greater than that of the Jedi and the Sith. Who were they? And what connection did they have to Luke and him?

“I believe viewing the Archive now would be wise. Then I must contact certain individuals to … make sure there is a smooth transition between the Emperor’s reign and my own.”

A shiver of excitement made its way down Vader’s spine. He had had this plan in place for so long, only half-believing it could ever be put into action. But now, within three days, Palpatine would be dead and he would be Emperor. Finally.

Luke shuffled his feet for a moment then abruptly reached up to give him a chaste kiss goodbye on his cheek. Vader moved his head so the kiss landed on his mouth. The blush and flustered movements Luke made afterward had Vader grinning even wider than the thought of being Emperor had.

“Father!” Luke said softly, his head down, his flush growing ever brighter as Vader caressed the back of his neck.

The boy was so amusing about expressing their affection in public: both wanting it and fearing it. Vader chuckled. After Qui-Gon’s amused comments in the sparring chamber, he had no fears of being openly affectionate with his son in the other man’s presence.

“I know, Luke. I’m terrible. Now let’s get on. Joran is probably chomping at the bit to see the pretty light sword again,” Vader teased.

They exited Engineering together with Luke going down one hallway while Vader and Qui-Gon headed down another back to their quarters. Vader sent one last longing glance after his son. He hated having the boy out of his sight let alone out of reach. And with the added danger of the droids … ‘Luke is strong and capable. I cannot chain him to my side … tempting as that might be.’

“He will be all right, Anakin,” Qui-Gon said and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Vader glanced down at where the other man’s hand had been. Qui-Gon was always careful about touching him, as if he thought Vader might snap the offending limb off, yet he seemed inclined to still keep doing it. ‘Like he is taming a wild animal. Slowly getting it used to being petted.’

His own emotions towards the Jedi Master were still so uncertain. Vader chided himself, ‘Is that such a surprise? I used to wish he was my Master; even daydreamed about what that would have been like. Especially when things were terrible with Obi-Wan and the Council and I’d rather have driven my pod-racer head-on into a wall then bear it anymore.’

But that was over twenty years ago. Vader was no longer the youngling that fantasized about Qui-Gon’s warm, strong arms holding him tight, or how the rough goatee would have felt against his cheek, or the way the older man’s scent of Carron wood would have surrounded him as he envisioned the Jedi Master whispering words of comfort in that low, deep voice. So unlike the pettish, waspish tones Obi-Wan used to lecture him on his failures, real or imagined, as if acting like a fishwife would make Vader see the error of his ways and improve. If anything it had spurred Vader in his teenaged contrariness to act all the worse.

Vader drew in a deep lungful of air and frowned as he discovered that Qui-Gon indeed did smell of the subtle spicy wood … just as he had imagined so long ago. He found himself taking in another surreptitious breath. It was a scent that still reminded him of comfort and safety. He chastised himself internally for the action. He had long ago gotten over any need he had for Qui-Gon. He was the Dark Lord of the Sith. Not the uncertain child who longed for someone to understand him and show him the way. He fought the urge to walk faster as if he could outrun his conflicted feelings. Qui-Gon kept a steady slow pace beside him.

Qui-Gon broke the silence and, at first, Vader was glad to leave his thoughts behind.

“Did you know that I had another apprentice before Obi-Wan? In fact, I almost did not take on Obi-Wan, because of Xanatos.”

Vader clasped his hands behind his back as they continued their steady progression. He wondered what had brought this topic to Qui-Gon’s mind. But the other man’s shields were up and the bond revealed nothing.

Vader said casually, “I don’t recall. I used to ignore Obi-Wan most the time when he spoke of you.”

Vader saw one of Qui-Gon’s eyebrows lift slightly and a flare of amusement crossed their bond from him.

Realizing how his answer had inadvertently come out, Vader expanded it quickly, “It was … not any dislike of you. On the contrary, it was difficult to hear how wonderful a Master you had been while at the same time knowing that I …”

Vader stopped speaking and frowned. He had said too much. Suddenly this conversation seemed full of more pitfalls than his private thoughts had been. ‘Then again showing some … apparent weakness before him might be beneficial. Pity and mercy led many a Jedi to let down their guard. It might cause him to reveal what he truly thinks about me so I can understand his motivation in being here. And whether he can truly be trusted.’ Vader accentuated his momentary fluster.

“Knowing that you what?” Qui-Gon prompted gently.

Vader gripped his hands tighter and looked down at the gleaming floor. His tense actions were not entirely calculated. Even though his plan was to illicit sympathy from the Jedi, it was still … uncomfortable, because what he was telling him wasn’t a lie.

“Knowing that I would never get to experience that type of … mentoring from you.”

Vader flushed when Qui-Gon said nothing. The man’s expression was purposefully blank. ‘And what do I expect him to say? That he wished he were my Master, too? The idea is almost laughable.’ Qui-Gon undoubtedly loathed him for killing the Jedi, how could he not? Vader had slaughtered younglings! True, he did it as swiftly and humanely as he could. But death was death in the end. Where at first they had run screaming to him they were soon running screaming away. Then silence.

Perhaps he had miscalculated that such a confession would encourage Qui-Gon to open up to him. Maybe he had just humiliated himself. Vader felt anger course through him at his own foolishness.

“Xanatos … went to the Dark Side,” Qui-Gon said suddenly and Vader’s steps faltered a moment.

A bitter smile crossed his lips. “Ah, I see.”

“What do you see, Anakin?”

“I see that the apprentice you should be glad you escaped having was me and not Obi-Wan. I am sure that whatever this Xanatos did … it pales in comparison to my own actions. I am sure you are aware of at least some of my … well, misdeeds would be the more appropriate term.”

“I have watched you almost every moment of every day since I died.”

Vader’s breathing stilled. He chanced a quick glance over at Qui-Gon. Quicksilver grey eyes were staring at him intently. He remembered the half-heard scream of ‘NO!’ in Qui-Gon’s impressive baritone when he began the slaughter of the Sand People in retribution for his mother’s death. So Qui-Gon had seen that and all else. Why did his heart sink at that knowledge?

Vader let a bitter chuckle leave his throat. “Then there is nothing I have done, no matter how foul, that you do not know. Yet … you are here trying to help me. Or rather … not me … but the Balance.”

“The Balance is important. But … not the main reason I am here.”

Vader’s eyes slid back to Qui-Gon then away when he saw the man was still looking at him in that intent and open manner. Their steps began to slow as Vader said, “Luke seems to think that the reason you came back is because you have some … feelings for me that have not been … burned away by all I’ve done.”

“Your son is very perceptive.”

Vader realized that they had stopped walking and were standing there staring at one another. He saw Qui-Gon’s hands curl into fists and release at his sides as if aching to reach out and touch again.

“So am I to understand that you came back because you … care for me?” Vader had intended the question to come out half-mocking, even self-depreciating, but instead it sounded more hesitant and hopeful. He gritted his teeth.

“Yes.” One word that seemed to shatter the air around them. “For me … you will always be … my Padawan. How could I not come back to help you?”

Vader stood there silently for a moment. He contemplated the two emotions that swirled within him as Qui-Gon said that word, ‘Padawan:’ joyful satisfaction and roiling anger. His satisfaction came from the fact that Qui-Gon had come back for him. Not an ideal, but him! But then there was the acid anger that blazed up at the demeaning idea and arrogant assumption of the Jedi that he still needed a Master. He was one half of the Balance of the Force. He had more power than thousands of Jedi put together! How dare Qui-Gon suggest he was still a Padawan-learner!

“Always a Padawan … never a Master. Not in the eyes of the Jedi anyways,” Vader said, bitterness lacing his words, as anger won out.

“I did not mean it like that, Anakin.”

Qui-Gon extended one hand towards him again but Vader abruptly turned away. He began walking briskly. The Jedi Master matched his pace.

“Anakin, I only meant that every Master sees his former students, no matter what level they are, as their Padawans. Even my own Master, Count Dooku … saw me as such after I had been a Master for twenty years.”

Vader acknowledged the apology with a curt nod of his head. He knew that he had overreacted as his emotions had cooled. Qui-Gon awoke too many dangerous things in him. Things he had hoped were buried.

He asked, “Count Dooku … you mean Darth Tyranus? He was your Master? I forgot that.”

Although Vader could hardly forget the man himself. He had taken Darth Tyranus’ head at Palpatine’s urging. He had known it was a Dark Side act the moment he’d accomplished it, repeating to himself over and over again afterwards that he shouldn’t have done it. Yet that was nothing compared to the acts he would commit later. Vader pulled him mind back to the present to listen to Qui-Gon’s response.

“Count Dooku was my Master. It was he who taught me to feel, not to think; to use my instincts with the Force.”

“Feelings … Obi-Wan had little use for those. That philosophy must have driven him insane while you trained him. Much too messy, not clinical enough,” Vader teased mildly, trying to restore a more open discussion between them that he had almost closed off with his quick anger.

Qui-Gon smiled. “Yes, I had to remind him often to be aware of the Living Force.”

Silence fell between them again. Vader wished his calm exterior matched his interior. Now that the anger had left him about the Padawan presumption he wanted ask Qui-Gon why do you care for me? What do you want? But instead he asked, “You were saying …earlier … about this Xanatos … what was he like?”

The Jedi Master smoothly transitioned back into their former conversation. He said, “Xanatos was very strong-willed and powerful both in personality and in the Force. He inspired great love and loyalty. A bright light.”

“Sounds like quite a student … a worthy addition to the Jedi.”

“Most definitely.”

“So what went wrong?”

Qui-Gon’s head lowered, his eyes were dark and shadowed, as he answered, “Master Yoda had … doubts about him. Wanted us to accomplish one more mission before Xanatos was allowed to take the Trials. The mission involved Xanatos’ father, Crion. He was a corrupt overload on Telos. We were to stop him. If Xanatos was … successful in facing his father … he would be made a Master.”

A sour chuckle left Vader’s throat. “What is it with the Jedi insisting children strike down their parents to attain Master-hood?” If nothing else, Qui-Gon’s expression became more somber at Vader’s point, but no words left his mouth. “So what happened to your bright light?”

“Crion … seduced his son to the Dark Side. He promised Xanatos power enough for them both … and offered a father’s love as well … if Xanatos would join him. Both love and power were the things that Xanatos had craved all his life.” Qui-Gon smoothed down the front of his robes.

Vader felt a great resonation in him at those two things. They were what he craved most, too. “And he chose what Crion had to offer?”

“Yes, but … I didn’t … couldn’t abandon the mission. Crion was terribly corrupt and hurting many, many people. With Xanatos’ help … Crion’s ability to harm others would multiply exponentially.”

Qui-Gon folded his hands together in front of him, and allowed the sleeves of his outer robes to slip over them. Vader knew if he could see those hands, the knuckles would be white from gripping one another. The Jedi Master was obviously haunted by what he had felt forced to do.

“Did you fight Xanatos … strike him down?

Qui-Gon swallowed deeply and answered, “No, in a way what I did was far worse to him than death. I killed Crion. And Xanatos … watched me do it.”

Qui-Gon seemed to wilt while he waited for Vader’s response. The Dark Lord knew what he was about to say would shock the Jedi Master, who was obviously expecting contempt for his actions or worse.

Vader shook his head in disgust. “You and Xanatos were put into an impossible situation.”

“Crion had to be stopped,” Qui-Gon said, without much heart, and his expression shaded with uncertainty as to where Vader was going with this.

“But did Xanatos have to be the one to do it?”

Qui-Gon shook his head slowly. “He would not have been my choice to face this mission. But his presence gave us close access to the man.”

“At what cost? Anyone would be hard pressed to go up against their own family. It is the most unnatural of acts to be asked to kill one’s own parent!” Vader warmed to the subject as he thought of Obi-Wan telling Luke to kill him. It appeared his old Master was just following a pattern the Jedi had already set out. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides. “Yet even knowing that natural abhorrence, Master Yoda sends you both into the fire. Not just Xanatos was outrageously tested and put in danger on that mission. You were, too.”

“How do you mean?” Qui-Gon asked.

“If Xanatos failed not only do you have to kill your Padawan’s flesh and blood, most likely you would have to kill him as well. And the likelihood that he would fail was astronomical!”

Qui-Gon’s head lowered even further as if Vader’s words crushed him more.

Vader continued, outrage staining his words, “Never let it be said that the Jedi were not incredible optimists about people’s devotion to them! Or perhaps they just hoped Xanatos would fail. And maybe you as well.”

Qui-Gon’s posture straightened as his head snapped up at that comment. “I … what are you suggesting?”

“My recollection is that you were often espousing views the Council wholeheartedly despised. So perhaps they sought to get rid of you both in this mission. There was no way it was going to turn out well.”

“I can’t believe they acted with that much malice. More arrogance than anything else. A lack of understanding, but not … malevolence.”

“Does it matter if that was the end result?”

“Intent … is sometimes all we have,” Qui-Gon answered softly.

They had arrived at the doors to their quarters. Vader’s hand hovered over the access panel. He thought of the pattern of Jedis asking students to kill parents. Even he had been asked to do that in a way. He could still see Mace Windu raising his purple saber to kill Palpatine. Back then he had loved the old Sith, thought of him like a father. The Jedi had first asked him to betray Palpatine then had expected him to sit back and watch as they slaughtered him. His loyalty had been split in two. He had been ripped apart by it.

Then, at that last moment, when Mace had held his saber high over his head … leaving a hole in his defenses a speeder could have driven through, the Jedi had seemed touched by the Dark Side himself. And there was Palpatine screaming, playing the helpless old man, begging for Vader’s help. It had taken but a fraction of a second for Vader to take that mile-wide opening in Mace’s defenses and kill him.

Vader punched in the code to the door viciously. The Jedi had manipulated their way to their doom when they sought to control him. But Obi-Wan had ensured them some measure of revenge by stealing Luke from him all these years. ‘Even Leia. They poisoned my daughter’s mind against me, too, and created that damned Rebellion in the process.’

He strode purposefully through into the main room to the terminal where he had downloaded the Archive. Qui-Gon wandered over to the viewport and stood there, staring at the smear of stars as the Executor hurled itself through hyperspace.

“What happened to Xanatos in the end?” Vader asked as he began the process of loading up the Archive.

Qui-Gon continued to stare out the viewport as he explained his former Padawan’s fate, “After Crion’s death, Xanatos took his father’s ring … it was still hot, having been cut from his hand during battle … and burned his own cheek with it. A constant reminder … to both of us … of why he hated me, the Jedi and … most of all, himself, because he had not been able to save his father. He pursued various schemes to undermine the Temple, which were unsuccessful. In the end … he threw himself into a toxic pool rather than be captured by me.”

Vader watched the Jedi Master’s forlorn figure by the Viewport. He seemed so alone. But he wasn’t. Vader was there.

“Why have you told me about Xanatos, Qui-Gon?”

The figure stirred, head turning towards him, Qui-Gon’s face shrouded in shadows.

Qui-Gon’s voice was low at first, but the words seemed to flare with more power as he continued to speak, “I swore after Xanatos that if I ever had another Padawan like him … brilliant and passionate … I would not make the same mistakes. I would protect him from … those that would seduce him and … the Council itself, if I had to. Nothing and no one would get past me. I would change. I would be different. I would be … and do … whatever it took to keep him safe.”

Vader felt alternately a chill and a trill of warmth run through him. The stars behind Qui-Gon seemed to brighten a moment, leaving only the black silhouette of the imposing man. Qui-Gon looked like a pillar of strength and determination. An unstoppable, primal force.

Vader opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He thought to say: it’s too late, I’ve already been seduced and destroyed by Palpatine and the Council. But Vader was not completely destroyed. He had risen from the ashes with Luke’s help. There was a chance to have a different future, a different fate than Palpatine and the Jedi had set for him. Qui-Gon was offering to protect him on this journey. Awe and shock swung through his system at lightening speed.

The low hum of the Archive playing broke the moment. Vader turned to look at the spinning image of Black Heart and when he turned back, Qui-Gon was just a Jedi Master again, not the colossus he had appeared to be for a moment. The Jedi walked slowly over to join him at the terminal. Vader took a deep breath and began to speak of the Archive instead of what had just occurred. He needed time to process it all.

“The Archive is interactive. Just touch these symbols and vid scenes begin to play. I am sure there is a main section where data is kept in addition to the vids. I have not had the chance to locate it yet.”

“Fascinating. It reminds me a little of the technology that was used to create the Jedi Archive,” Qui-Gon noted as he moved closer to the hologram. His face was slightly pale and drawn, but there was no other evidence of his former fervor.

Vader nodded. “The Empire’s technology is not as good as the Jedi’s nor anywhere near as advanced as the people’s of Black Heart. When we glimpsed a portion of the Archive on Black Heart’s system, it was fully colored and perfectly three-dimensional. It appeared that you were actually looking at the planet itself, not a hologram.”

The Jedi Master was nodding and suddenly Vader couldn’t bear this anymore. He steeled his nerves and extended one hand towards Qui-Gon. It landed lightly on the older man’s shoulder. Other than Luke, Vader rarely touched anyone … at least not with gentleness and friendship. Qui-Gon stared at the hand, a small tentative smile gracing his lips.

“I … I am sorry about … Xanatos. I am … sorry for … you, as well. And I would … would welcome … if you are offering … if you are … I would welcome any help you would be willing to give us,” Vader cursed himself as stumbled over the simple words and was about to draw his hand back from Qui-Gon’s shoulder when the Jedi Master covered it with one of his own.

“Thank you, Anakin. Any help I can offer … it is yours.”

Qui-Gon’s face was suffused with genuine happiness. Their bond thrummed with it. Vader flushed slightly and found himself dropping his eyes to the floor.

“Well, that’s … excellent. We should … should get back to business,” Vader said hastily and was relieved when the man released his hand after only one gentle squeeze.

Vader reached forward and brushed the symbol on the hologram that had shown him the racing desert vid before. He alternately looked at the vid and the Jedi Master’s face to catch his reaction to it. Would it be the same as his? Qui-Gon’s brow furrowed as he saw the liquid pooling on top of the sand.

Qui-Gon pointed to the screen as he said, “That appears to be …”

“Blood,” Vader finished for him. “I know. At least that’s what it looks like to me, too.”

The Jedi Master nodded, his troubled eyes staring intently at the vid.

Then the figure appeared in the far distance: the warrior with the light saber. Vader closed his eyes and listened with all his senses for the word he had heard spoken before when the Archive had played by itself.

“Aethro.”

The word was like a clear bell. Vader felt a tremor run through the Force with it. The word was said with such … longing, sorrow … it almost hurt to hear. Qui-Gon took in a deep, almost pained breath as he heard it as well. Vader was going to start a translation program on this language as soon as possible.

“Such … agony. What has caused this man to feel so?” The Jedi Master whispered, as if he wouldn’t speak louder for fear of disturbing the moment. “Look! There are other symbols here, very faint. I wonder if they lead to other vids or parts of the Archive.”

Qui-Gon was gesturing to faint markings along the edge of the hologram of the warrior figure. They kept flashing in and out as the Empire’s technology was unable to process the massive amount of data required to show the hologram. Vader tried to access one symbol, but while the symbol glowed, nothing else was revealed.

“This system cannot handle the dataload from the Archive. We’re probably blocked from accessing most of it,” Vader said, frowning.

The Executor’s holonets were the best in the Fleet and were better than much of what one would find on Coruscant. Would they be stymied from accessing the material forever? Was Black Heart itself the only place the material could be viewed? Vader felt ill. He doubted the temple was anything more than a pile of slag on the planet’s surface now after the firestorm he caused.

“The Jedi Temple’s holonet system would probably give us the best chance of viewing the Archive,” Qui-Gon suggested. “Plus we could cross-reference what we find on it to the Jedi’s own Archive.”

“True … if the Temple system was working we could do those things,” Vader answered, bitterness coloring his words. He ran his hands through his hair with a disgusted sigh.

Qui-Gon straightened up from studying the holonet, a quizzical look on his face. “It isn’t working? Was it destroyed?”

“Not by us. After the … Purging, I attempted to access the system, but … no matter what I tried, no matter what the best splicers in the business tried, the system and all information contained therein was completely locked down. Unusable. I suppose the Jedi must have … disabled it permanently somehow.”

Qui-Gon gave a short laugh. “I doubt that.”

Vader bridled slightly, his nostrils flaring, and amber eyes narrowing. “I’ve tried for twenty years to break into the system! If it was doable, it would have been done!”

Qui-Gon squeezed his shoulder to soothe Vader’s ruffled feathers. “The Jedi did not use just codes and firewalls to keep people out of their computer system. After all, if they had done just that a skilled hacker or … curious Padawan … would undoubtedly have been able to break through such barriers given time.”

Vader’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh, so what did they use?”

“A form of biometrics. Every Master had to undergo a full Force and body scan. That information was implanted into the system. In order to access the system, a Master must be present.”

Vader felt his excitement rising. “And would your scan still be in the system?”

“Undoubtedly, they never purged them once they were entered. I should be able to get us in.”

Vader was grinning. “That’s perfect. It will have to wait until Palpatine is dealt with, but that will have to be soon enough. I am sure there is more on the Archive that we can view now even with the Executor’s less powerful system.”

Vader was about to get them back to the main menu of the Archive when the Com beeped. He touched the receiver on his shirt. Luke’s sweet, excited voice filled the room.

“Father!”

Vader felt his face lighting with a huge smile. “Luke, I’m so glad to hear from you. Nothing’s wrong, is it? Or has it been a half-hour already?” Vader asked, suddenly checking his chron.

“Nothing’s wrong. And it has almost been a half hour, but I was calling for another reason,” Luke said, his voice rushed and animated. Vader heard him say to someone else on his end, “Damon! Don’t give Joran your blaster! I don’t care if the safety’s on. Just let him look at it while you hold it.”

Vader felt his lips twist. ‘Trans would be there! Damn that trooper!’ Qui-Gon gave him a sympathetic look. Obviously, the Jedi Master knew something of Trans’ interest in his son.

“Sorry about that, Father, but Damon was about to let Joran tear up the cantina with his weapon!”

“I heard,” Vader said dryly. “So what exciting bit of news do you have for me?”

“Oh, yes! Well, I know that you and Master Jinn are looking at the Archive, but … you’re not going to believe this! I was talking to Joran’s mother, her name is Salara by the way, Salara Desertrider.”

When Vader heard the name, something in his memory tugged at him. “She’s … she’s from Tatooine?” Vader guessed from the surname.

“Yes! Her husband was an amateur archeologist there … well, before he died. But … he would go out and investigate ruins in the mountains west of Mos Eisley.”

“Ruins? I didn’t think Tatooine had any prior civilizations capable of creating them,” Vader murmured as he began to pace the room.

“Yeah, I didn’t know either, but I guess there were. Well, Salara’s husband brought back a lot of stuff from them. The last time he was out at a very special set of ruins, he called it the Palace, he brought back a small data scroll. She was able to conceal it from the slavers and kept it with her all this time.”

“Were you able to access the scroll? What was on it?” Vader sounded as excited as Luke. He could almost feel the Force pulsing with anticipation for Luke to reveal what he’d discovered.

“I was able to access it, but I don’t know what it says. That’s not the important part though … I mean it’s important, but that’s not what caught my eye. The writing … do you remember the room where I fell down to the dragon? The walls of that room were covered in writing, a very distinctive-looking alphabet. I was studying it just before the stone broke beneath my feet.”

“Yes, I can hardly forget,” Vader said faintly.

“The writing on the scroll is the same as that on the walls in the room. Father, I think the people who created the temple on Black Heart also created the buildings whose ruins Salara’s husband found on Tatooine!”

Vader stood still in the center of the main room. He could hardly breath.

“Father, can you believe it? Of all places for the people of Black Heart to have been … they were on Tatooine … just like us.”