Forbidden

FORBIDDEN

By Raythe

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. No money made.

PAIRING: Luke x Vader

WARNINGS: Slash/Incest/AU

RATING: NC-17

HINTS AND STUFF: In this chapter: (1) Vader does some heavy thinking about father-figures and comes to a startling realization; (2) Qui-Gon proposes a theory that some are born to wield the Dark Side; and (3) Luke faces the Archive … alone.

The Rebel Prisoner Scene: Will hopefully be in Chapter 17. There’s just so much story going on here that there wasn’t enough room to add it without gypping everyone. (Dodging rotten vegetables). Please believe me that it is coming! But I really hope that you enjoy this chapter nonetheless. It’s got revelations and scary bits and funny bits (well, I think so anyways!) and angsty bits and even some cuddling between our fav Force users.

Once again I am putting my own spin on the Force here and everything else. But you all have surprised me with your openness for my “breaks” with canon and I hope that continues on here.

I’ve been so honored by all the response to this piece and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Even so, I am hungry for more. Please let me know what you think!

Hugs!
Raythe:)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: BORN TO WIELD THE DARKNESS

Vader’s POV

“She told you that I was … conceived … in the ruins? With a … man?”

Vader heard the words come out of his mouth and realized how ridiculous they sounded to anyone who did not know his history. His mother had told him that he had no father, that she had become pregnant with him spontaneously. His life had been spent half-believing that to be nonsense and half-believing it to be true. The “virgin” birth was one of the reasons the Jedi had believed him to be the Chosen One. They thought it showed that he was born from the will of the Force itself, but perhaps that wasn’t the case at all.

Vader had never run any sort of DNA test on his blood to see if anything unusual about his parentage showed up. He didn’t know if he failed to do this simple test because he feared he would prove his mother wrong or right. In a way, Shmi had been very innocent, but she knew quite well how babies were made. Though from the looks on Salara and Luke’s faces, they were wondering if he did.

“What exactly did she say about my … conception?”

Salara blinked a few times then said, “She didn’t mention … mention anyone with her. I mean I just assumed there had to be, but … she didn’t elaborate more than what I’ve told you.”

Luke twisted around to look at him full on as he asked over their bond, ‘You don’t know who your father was?’

‘Shmi said there was none. I know it sounds mad. But that’s what she said,’ Vader explained.

Vader realized that perhaps it was time to confront the mysteries surrounding his parentage. It couldn’t be just a coincidence that the very people who created an Archive that held answers to his and Luke’s role as the Balance also built the place where he was conceived.

Questions about this unknown race streamed through his mind. Why had they left Black Heart? Were they annihilated in a war? Or by disease? Or had they, like the people of that one planet he’d discovered long ago, just taken off in ships never to return for reasons that were too alien for anyone else to understand? Did any Black Hearters still survive? And why had they have come and built a huge city on Tatooine in the first place?

Tatooine was a desert planet. Everything had to be imported from off-world including most of the food and water, which make it unlikely to be a location where people would willingly choose to settle. There wasn’t even anything to mine from below its surface to offset the costs of trying to live there. Just sand. Endless waves of sand. Although he’d heard a legend that Tatooine had once been lush with life, covered with thick green jungles and inhabited by monstrous beasts; Krayt Dragons being the smallest of the predators the world supposedly hosted. But that was just an old wive’s tale. There was no proof to it.

Vader sensed that the only way to learn the answers to some of these questions was to return to Tatooine. He grimaced. He never wanted to go back there. And Luke’s memories of the planet were hardly pleasant. The thought of exposing his son to the place where he had been brutally attacked by Owen Lars was not welcome in the least. Hopefully, they would not have to set foot near the Lars’ old farm in their search for answers.

Vader turned to his son. The boy’s brow was furrowed as he apparently puzzled out Vader’s statement about his parentage. The Dark Lord was relieved to see though that his son’s color had gotten better and whatever ill reaction he had to Salara’s revelation about the ruined city in the sands apparently was over.

‘Luke, why did you react so strongly when Salara spoke of the ruins? And how did you know so much about them?’

Luke drew slightly closer to Vader’s side without answering. The boy’s eyes became shadowed and his gaze slid to the floor. Luke’s vulnerability radiated out to Vader and the Dark Lord couldn’t resist giving him comfort. He slid one arm surreptitiously around his son’s slim waist and squeezed the boy’s hip gently.

Vader didn’t push for answers to his questions just then, sensing that Luke would tell him more in due time. He now knew not to drive so hard for answers from the boy unlike when they met again after Black Heart and he had rummaged in Luke’s mind without permission. He frowned slightly at that remembrance. Not that he didn’t still believe as he had then that as Luke’s father he should know all his son’s thoughts, but perhaps he shouldn’t have acted so … tyrannically … to get to that knowledge. At least that had been one of Luke’s favorite adjectives for him during that time. Hard to believe it was but a few days ago. It felt like years.

Vader’s patience was rewarded when Luke sent over the bond, ‘When I was little on Tatooine and the sandstorms would come … I would imagine that if I walked through them I would find a fabulous city on the other side.’

‘A city … like the ruins?’

‘Yes. In my mind, there were gleaming towers and archways so delicate that they looked as if a strong wind could bring them down. I would stand out in the fields when the sandstorms began to build and Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru would have to drag me away.’

Vader’s eyes narrowed at the thought of his little boy out in the open when a Tatooine sandstorm hit. Some were so powerful they could scour the flesh from a man’s body.

‘A dangerous pastime, young one.’

‘I know, but I felt compelled to stay. There were times when I actually began to walk towards the storm. It frightened Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen. It frightened me.’

Luke rubbed his hands together, staring blindly out the viewport as if the desert sands of Tatooine were out there rather than the blur of hyperspace.

‘Aunt Beru was so concerned about it she wanted me to see a doctor. But Uncle Owen believed it was just one more strange thing about me.’

Vader growled, ‘He was a fool! That he would allow you to risk your life because of his damned … where was Obi-Wan in all this? Did he not realize how ignorant these people were? That your life was in danger?’

Luke shrugged. ‘Perhaps he didn’t know or … perhaps he didn’t care.’

Vader wished he could take back his words about Obi-Wan the moment he heard Luke’s soft response. How could he have forgotten the Jedi Master’s cold statements that Luke was a sacrifice the Jedi were willing to make to secure Vader’s end? As if Luke was nothing more than a weapon to be used and discarded. Vader’s lips thinned. How could Obi-Wan … how could anyone … believe Luke to be anything other than precious, sacred, special?

But surely if Obi-Wan had planned to use Luke from the beginning to kill Vader, shouldn’t he have protected the boy, if not out of common decency, then to save his future assassin? But then again Obi-Wan knew about Leia and might have believed she would be more easily swayed to his cause. Perhaps the male Skywalkers were simply too dangerous and unpredictable to count on and Obi-Wan was unwilling to act to affirmatively protect Luke because of that. If the boy lived to fight Vader, he lived, but if not … Vader ground his teeth at the thought.

Even through his hate of Obi-Wan, Vader couldn’t believe him capable of leaving a child in harm’s way at least not knowingly. But all the facts showed he had been either monumentally blind about Luke’s circumstances or … indifferent. Considering how he had never guessed that Vader was married and going to be a father for all those years showed that the monumentally blind option was definitely possible.

Luke’s mind-voice had sounded almost disinterested in Obi-Wan’s motives, but Vader knew better. He cupped his son’s face, stroking his cheekbones with his thumbs. Luke’s blue eyes reflected the glow of stars outside the viewport, looking more luminescent than usual. He searched their bond and his heart ached with what he found.

He felt his son’s deep fear and anguish that Obi-Wan had sensed something in him that was wanting and that was why the Jedi Master had not come to his aid when he was hurt and abused as a child. That’s Owen Lars’ words about Luke’s unnaturalness had been more than just rantings, but a reflection of a deep truth about his son’s character.

Vader sent, ‘You still think that something is … wrong … with you, don’t you? And that this wrongness excuses other’s cruelty … other’s …’ Vader swallowed deeply, his anger rising up for his son’s mistreatment. ‘You believe that they are right in treating you as lesser.’

Luke flinched.

The boy’s mind-voice sounded terribly small as he answered, ‘They knew me for sixteen years … you’ve known me for a much shorter time. Maybe Obi-Wan and Uncle Owen saw back then what you will see … later. That I’m … not right.’

Vader shook his head as Luke spoke. He couldn’t bear the pain behind his son’s words. He gripped Luke’s shoulders.

‘These things you think … they are not true, my child. Not true. You are precious, sacred, beyond worth. And I do not just say that as your father. I know men’s characters and I know yours. Luke … you are the furthest thing from wrong.’

Luke rested his head against his father’s shoulder.

Luke’s mind-voice was not far above a whisper, ‘You see me so differently than I see myself. You see value in me … where I see very little.’

‘One day you will see what I do. I swear it.’ Vader took a deep breath. He didn’t think Qui-Gon would mind him speaking of Xanatos to Luke especially in this situation, so he sent, ‘I know you think that somehow something intrinsic about you made Obi-Wan believe it was acceptable to hurt and betray you the way he did. But that isn’t the case.’

Vader felt the familiar anger that ate at him when he thought of his former Master. Obi-Wan had a habit of betraying Skywalkers. But his own issues with the Jedi Master were not important here. Though he was loathe to acknowledge it, Obi-Wan had reason to abandon him burning and dying on Mustaphar. He’d slaughtered younglings and most of the Order. But his former Master had no such reason for treating Luke the way he had. At least nothing personal or specific to Luke.

Centering himself again, Vader sent, ‘Luke, you are not the first brilliant young person that the Jedi have used to forward their agenda. There was another bright light in the Jedi Order who was similarly used. His name was Xanatos and he was one of Qui-Gon Jinn’s Padawans.’

Luke’s eyes grew huge as Vader told him the whole of the story.

‘Why would they do that to Xanatos? Didn’t they realize how unfair that was? It wasn’t a true test!’ Luke shook his head.

Vader brushed Luke’s hair back from his forehead.

‘So you see, Luke, this pattern is repeated again and again by the Jedi. Even I have experienced something of it when the Council made me chose between Palpatine, a father-figure to me at that time, and the Order. It is not something you were singled out for. It is their way.’

Luke nodded and Vader felt some tension leave him. Then the boy’s expression changed to sorrow again, but not for himself.

‘Poor Qui-Gon. No wonder he is haunted by the fact that he was not there to protect you from a similar fate.’

Vader’s eyebrow rose in surprise. ‘You sense that about him?’

‘Don’t you?’

‘Not until … recently. Not until he told me about Xanatos.’

Luke gave Vader a gentle smile and brushed his father’s cheek with the back of one hand. ‘Then it is not just me who doesn’t see their own worth clearly. Or at least the value others see.’

Vader smiled ruefully. He had the bond to Qui-Gon yet Luke was quicker off the mark to intuit at least some of the Jedi Master’s motives in coming back. He wanted to know more of his son’s thoughts on the Jedi Master. They might be just as illuminating.

‘What do you think Qui-Gon wants from me, Luke?’

Luke tilted his head to the side as he thought. ‘To protect you. To guide you. To be there for you now in the way he couldn’t be after he died.’

Vader nodded. He was certain that was true, though he didn’t understand why the man cared for him so much. What, after all, were a few days with a six-year-old boy truly to mean to a man like Qui-Gon? Was it just the memory of the lost Xanatos that moved him so deeply to want to help Vader? The frustration of watching another Padawan be seduced by an unscrupulous Sith while the Jedi had remained ignorant that ate at the older Jedi? Somehow those reasons seemed inadequate to explain the depth of feeling Vader sensed the man had towards him. Qui-Gon was hiding something. He must be. But what?

Realizing, he would make no headway on Qui-Gon’s motivations without talking to the man about them himself, Vader moved the conversation back to the original topic. ‘Luke, you had a similar reaction to the ruins as you have to the Archive.’

Luke’s expression went from musing to tight.

‘You’re right. I didn’t realize …’ Luke’s mouth thinned and tension seemed to fill his body again. ‘It’s like the answer to why I feel this way is there … floating just out of reach. Yet I do and … don’t … want to know what it is.’

‘You will face it when you are ready to. Don’t force yourself before then.’

Luke thumped his hands against his thighs. Frustration was written in every wrinkle on his son’s face.

‘But Father, I feel like something … something terrible will happen or … has happened … to do with the Archive, the ruins, Black Heart and … us. Only I’m hiding like a child from it. We need to know what happened or what will happen … I must get past this!’

Vader smoothed his son’s hair back. The soft touch made the frown lines that marred the boy’s forehead to disappear.

‘You will. Trust in the Force to guide you to the answers we need at the right time. Believe me I have tried to … anticipate the Force, but it never works out that way. Just let it go for now.’

Luke nodded and snuggled close to him again. Vader tightened his hold on the child. He hoped this looked paternal to Salara, but Luke needed him so in the end it didn’t matter what she thought. He could always alter her perceptions and memories later if necessary.

Besides learning his son’s need to gather his thoughts before speaking, Vader had also discovered that Luke wanted his touch always, but he needed it the most when he was upset or stressed. From what he knew of Luke’s past, Vader guessed that this was because the boy had known little physical expression of love before. He doubted that Luke had ever received the normal touches a child usually does, and most everyone else takes for granted, like being held or tickled or carried on an adult’s shoulders or kissed goodnight after being tucked into bed. In some ways, Vader was thankful his son had been left untouched. After all, the thought of another’s hands on his son or, Force forbid, Owen’s paws on the boy’s body, made Vader’s stomach clench.

Owen would have pretended any touches he gave Luke were “fatherly” but inside he would have been lusting after the boy as he had when he beat him near to death. Vader batted away the voice that questioned whether he was any better than Lars in some ways. After all, though Luke was an adult now and made his own decision to be with Vader, the Dark Lord knew he was still capitalizing on the boy’s love and need for a father. In a way, his chances of having Luke as a lover had increased because he was Luke’s father. ‘Luke is as vulnerable to me now at twenty years old as he ever was to Owen. Probably more so.’

Even as Vader squelched that line of thought another, just as unwelcome, took its place. It hissed that the only reason Luke hadn’t been loved and touched before, not to mention the only reason that Luke had been exposed to Lars in the first place, was because Vader had not been there. He had let his emotions control him, his temper to unfurl and snap at Padme and through her to their son. Obi-Wan may have kept Luke’s continued existence from him, but the Jedi Master only had that opportunity because Vader had lost control of himself in the first place.

How could he ever make up for not being there for Luke in the past? For exposing him to Owen? For having him grow up without another’s touch and love? Was it even possible? And how could he ensure that his temper did not hurt Luke again?

Vader shifted uncomfortably. It was the first time in a long while that he had ever really worried about the consequences of his volatile nature. Palpatine had always made his short temper, his anger, and his hatred seem like such assets. Palpatine had said again and again that Vader’s raw emotions being so close to the surface made him a powerful Dark Jedi. And all that his Sith Master had said, suggested, or insinuated, Vader had soaked up like a sponge. Palpatine had been the only role-model he’d had as a youth. He wished it had been otherwise now.

‘Father … you’re thinking something grim …’

‘Ah, yes, the grimmest … Palpatine. How did you know?’

‘Your face scrunches up in this way …’ Luke traced some deep frown lines on his father’s forehead.

Vader snorted and laughed. ‘It does not.’

Luke grinned. ‘It does. I swear it.’

‘Well, perhaps. The mask perhaps made me careless in watching my facial expressions.’

‘It’s rather … cute, actually.’

‘Cute? Hmm, I really shall have to watch myself. If the Dark Lord of the Sith can be called cute things are more out of control than I thought.’

Luke laughed softly and rested his head over Vader’s heart.

‘What were you thinking about Palpatine?’ Luke sent.

Vader sighed. ‘I was thinking that perhaps he taught me bad habits.’

He sensed Luke’s confusion at this statement. This prodded Vader to explain further.

‘My temper. Controlling my emotions in general. He didn’t advocate that. And I haven’t exactly … practiced it on my own. I worry that I …’ Vader cast a quick glance down at blue eyes that regarded him thoughtfully. ‘I worry that I might lose control and hurt you … with the new powers. I would rather die than have that happen.’

Luke tightened his hold on Vader. He looked so certain as he sent, ‘You won’t hurt me. You were able to stop yourself down on Black Heart.’

‘Hardly. I didn’t just create a little brush fire, Luke. The damage I did to that planet can be seen from space. And I … lost control to the Dark Side entirely at the end.’

‘But you did hold it back, Father. It could have been far worse if you hadn’t pulled it back.’

‘But not enough. Not nearly enough. Gods, I wish …’

Luke tugged on his arm when he said nothing further.

‘What do you wish?’

‘That when I … determined that Obi-Wan was not … the one for me that I had admired or … emulated someone other than Palpatine when I was younger. Maybe then I would have the control I need now.’

Luke’s expression became gentle. ‘I don’t know if Obi-Wan was different in his training of me than he was with you … but I can’t see his style as meshing with yours at all.’

‘No, you are right, we had very different personalities and views of the Force. Before I chose Palpatine or … I should say, before I accepted his choice of me as his apprentice … I tried to find someone else within the Order to … relate to, but there was no one. I was an outsider.’

Vader frowned as he remembered back to his training and his time at the Temple. The Jedi Masters Vader had known well, such as Master Windu, Master Yoda and Master Gallia, were the same in temperament as Obi-Wan, which meant like oil to Vader’s water. Or worse, in the case of Master Windu, they were openly suspicious and hostile towards him. They seemed so different from himself that he couldn’t imagine following in their footsteps back then even if they had been willing to take him under their wing. It had made him despair of ever truly being a part of the Order.

When Vader felt the sting of rejection and his alien-ness in the Order too much to bear, he had sought out the one man who seemed to care for him and who offered his pathetically fragile teenage ego some stroking: Palpatine. And Palpatine had been a father-figure rather than a carping older brother like Obi-Wan or arrogant, pseudo-impartial judges of his moral worth like the Council.

As he looked down at the blonde-head of his son nestled against his shoulder, Vader realized that they shared something else deeply in common: a longing for a father. Perhaps that was why he had not delved too deeply into his mother’s statements about his birth, afraid of what he might find. Afraid that he would discover he was created the “old-fashioned way” by a real man who chose to abandon him and his mother after a night of pleasure. Left them in the clutches of slavers and never looked back.

Perhaps this mystery man was a Jedi Knight or a wandering Sith Lord or even a remnant of the Black Heart race. Vader’s midichlorian count would indicate a father strong indeed in the Force. Better to believe, or at least never to explode the myth of his “virgin” conception, then face that possibility of being an unwanted child.

So when the powerful, influential and persuasive Palpatine took an interest in him and made him feel special, it had soothed Vader’s fear that he was unworthy of a father’s love no matter how important or great that unknown man might be. Vader shuddered now to see how foolish he had been back then. How he had failed to see through the thin venire of warmth that Palpatine had projected, because he was so desperate for what the man represented: a father-figure.

Luke sent hesitantly, ‘Do you think … things would have been different for you … for everyone … if Qui-Gon had been your Master? Or … would you still have chosen Palpatine in the end?’

Vader went still. It was a simple question; a question about the past, yet it resounded in the Force as if his answer held import for the future.

‘I don’t know … I’ve never considered …’

Vader frowned as he considered his son’s questions. He had yearned for Qui-Gon to be his Master as a youngling mostly in reaction to something Obi-Wan had done or not done, but never in regards to Palpatine. And yet, Vader realized suddenly that the type of man he had thought Palpatine to be so long ago was, in fact, the type of man Qui-Gon actually was.

Both men wore the paternal mantle of authority and power with easy grace. Both were incredibly strong-willed and were unafraid to hold different, and sometimes, antagonistic views from all others. Both were very intelligent and perceptive. And both had offered to guide and protect him. Palpatine’s offer had been lies. But was Qui-Gon’s? At least so far, the Jedi Master had done everything he said he would and there was not even an inkling of betrayal in any of his actions or words. And there was so much more to Qui-Gon that appealed to Vader.

He absently stroked Luke’s hair as he thought of Qui-Gon’s character.

The Jedi Master was a clear, calm, steadying presence, but not a judgmental one. For example, his reaction to Luke and Vader’s relationship had been logical even practical rather than a knee-jerk response of disgust and rejection. Vader grudgingly admitted that all these qualities in Qui-Gon balanced out his own more reactive personality and yet at the same time didn’t discourage him from being open about his actions and motives, because he knew the Jedi Master would not reject him for them out of hand.

With Obi-Wan, Vader had had to hide what he really thought just so he wouldn’t hear a shocked gasp or watch as the other man’s skin turned an ugly puce color with frustration as he clearly believed his Padawan didn’t understand anything or had such unnatural and un-Jedi-like ideas. Palpatine’s reactions to Vader were similarly dissatisfactory, if for different reasons. He seemed to care little about what Vader thought or felt so long as it didn’t distract his apprentice from doing what he was ordered to do.

But there was more to Qui-Gon than just his calmness and acceptance that separated the older Jedi from Vader’s other Masters and drew the Dark Lord to him like a moth to a flame. Qui-Gon was passionately loyal to individuals, in this case to Vader, rather than a cause like Obi-Wan or his own needs like Palpatine. Even now, Vader could remember how Qui-Gon had seemed larger than life, just how Vader had envisioned a Jedi to be before he knew any, when the man had promised to stand between Vader and anyone to keep him safe. Such talk of allegiance and protection had been … intoxicating … to hear.

Vader guessed that he would have been enamored of Qui-Gon as an impressionable Padawan, because of all of these traits in the older man. The Dark Lord could almost see himself back then following after the Jedi Master with puppy-like enthusiasm. He winced at that description of his younger self, but it was accurate. He would have been completely devoted to the man. Palpatine would have seemed like the empty shell he truly was compared to Qui-Gon.

Ironically, and unlike most things in life, Vader’s boyish fantasies of Qui-Gon’s character were nothing compared to the actual thing. Perhaps this was why he was so conflicted about the Jedi Master now. Vader realized that this man was exactly what he had been looking for all his life in terms of a mentor and that he could still easily see giving this man his allegiance, trusting him, and relying upon him. But what if he was wrong about the older Jedi? What if Qui-Gon, like Palpatine, wasn’t what he portrayed himself to be and he betrayed Vader?

‘But that is just my fear speaking. If it was true, could I have such a strong bond to Qui-Gon?’ It had taken only a few days for them to turn a slim training bond into one almost as strong as the bond he had with Luke. The Force clearly approved and wanted closeness between them. It must, because after all, Vader had only ever heard of bonds approaching the strength his did with Qui-Gon when they were made with immediate family members. No training bond was thought to be so deep. Vader knew that Qui-Gon was not related to him. They were too far apart in age to be siblings and, if indeed Shmi had gotten pregnant by the Jedi Master, Qui-Gon was not the type to abandon her or their child or deny who he was to Vader.

Luke drew back from Vader’s chest to look up at his face, sensing the current of his emotions.

‘Father, I didn’t mean to upset you with that question …’

Vader shook his head, realizing how perhaps willfully blind he’d been, a weary smile on his face. ‘It’s all right. I’m actually glad you did ask me. After thinking on it, I believe that if Qui-Gon had been my Master … I would not have fallen for Palpatine’s ploys and joined him.’

Luke contemplated that, his brow furrowing. Vader could almost see the boy’s thoughts flickering through those crystalline-colored eyes.

Luke sent tentatively, ‘Somehow I doubt that Qui-Gon would have allowed Palpatine to ever have gotten close to you. He would have been far too … astute to let someone like Palpatine near. And somehow, Qui-Gon does seem … suited to you. Like he would have filled-up the places inside you that Palpatine appeared to, but didn’t really.’

‘Yes … yes, I believe he would have.’

Vader knew that his son had echoed his own conclusions about the Jedi Master and he wondered what that meant. If the answer he had come to about Qui-Gon would affect the future somehow. The Force seemed … pleased. It flowed around him like a swift river and the discordance he normally felt within himself about Qui-Gon’s presence was gone.

Vader eyes suddenly alighted upon Salara who was still sitting quietly on one of the chairs, watching them with wide eyes. He had utterly forgotten she was there.

“You speak together without words, don’t you?” she asked, awe tinting her voice.

“Yes, we have a bond that allows us to communicate this way.”

“That must be marvelous,” Salara said. “Will Joran be able to do something like that if he is Force-sensitive?”

“To a certain degree, yes. But it is mostly because of our blood relationship that our bond is so strong and we are able to hear each other so clearly.”

Her expression became rueful, her eyes glistened slightly, as she said, “I wish … I was Force-sensitive so that I could share that kind of closeness with Joran that you do with your son.”

Vader winced slightly at that, knowing she had no idea how close he and his son actually were. He doubted she would view their actual relationship so well. It was another reason not to reveal to the world the fullness of what they were. Vader was certain his son would be wounded by a kind-hearted person like Salara turning away from him in dismay and disgust.

Salara’s expression became sadder as she said, “I feel that if Joran is found to be Force-sensitive that he will be taking a journey upon which I cannot follow or offer him any guidance on.”

“You are his mother … he will always need you and your support. Even if you do not have the exact answers he needs … you will give him the tools to find them,” Vader answered her, feeling a slight tightening in his chest as he thought to himself, ‘Until he understands the power to be wielded and chooses that over the morals you’ve instilled in him.’

“Joran’s gift has … grown stronger since we’ve been on the ship and … it seems so big sometimes, such a heavy burden for such a little boy.” She wrung her hands on her lap, her gaze swinging from Vader to Luke.

Luke’s expression softened. Vader kept his face blank. If Joran was Force-sensitive with the empathic gift as he suspected, the little boy’s life would only get more difficult. Her eyes slipped from them and fixed on the floor in front of her.

“And I had also heard that once someone is chosen to become a Jedi … they are taken from their parents and those ties are broken,” she said softly.

“No!” Luke said suddenly and with some heat.

“Luke?” Vader questioned softly.

Luke was speaking to Salara, but his eyes were fixed on Vader.

“That may have been the way it was in the past, but … that’s not how it’s going to be now. We’re not ripping apart families. The children will have to come and be trained centrally, but parents will be welcome there. And if they are unable to accompany their children during the training, it will be like any child who goes away for school … there will be no breaking of the parent-child bond.”

Salara’s head shot up and a wondrous smile on her face. “Oh, I’m so glad! I mean … I would give Joran up if it meant he could be trained to use his gift for good, but … no parent wants to do that. He’s my joy.”

“You don’t have to make that decision. You can be with him every step of the way if you wish,” Luke said with such certainty Vader knew that his son was foretelling again.

‘What about attachment, Luke?’ Vader asked over their bond.

‘Attachment can be a very good thing. It can ground you. It can remind you why you want to be a Force-user in the first place,’ Luke said. ‘Could you really break apart parents and children after what happened to you and Shmi?’

Vader looked down into the boy’s determined face. Luke had unconsciously echoed his own earlier thoughts about Shmi and how he had lost his way. If she had been there to see his progress rather than the dispassionate eyes of the Jedi or the greed-filled eyes of Palpatine, he wondered if he would not have behaved better in general. Although, he would have been seeking her approval more than his Master’s and would that have affected his training? Or worse, would she have merely fallen under his blade as the Dark Side rose in him? He recoiled from the thought.

‘I know we can make this work, Father.’ Luke’s blue eyes glinted with that durasteel will he only showed Vader occasionally.

‘With that kind of fierce determination I’m sure we will.’

Luke gave him a lopsided grin. ‘Besides, with the amount of Force-sensitives I saw in the vision … we’re going to need all the help we can get taking care of them!’

Vader snorted in amusement, but then he realized that Luke was right. How were they going to handle that many Force users seeking them out? There were just three of them! It would be impossible for three to train thousands. Not to mention that Vader still was uncertain at the thought of thousands of trained Force users existing again.

He thought to himself, ‘But this time I … no, we … get to chose how they are led. There is no Jedi Council to get in the way and soon there won’t be any Palpatine either. An army of Force users at our command … who could stand before us?’

Vader couldn’t help but smile at that thought. Perhaps training new Force users had its appeal after all.

_________________________________________________

Luke’s POV

Luke and Vader had just taken their seats opposite Salara again when the doors to the Observation Deck whooshed opened and Joran came running in, a smear of something sweet and sticky on his chin, and a wide smile on his lips. Luke found himself grinning as soon as he saw the tiny child.

“Momma!” Joran cried and flew to her, laughing. “Master Jinn-Jinn nice! Had twirlberry treats and lono ice!”

“Well, I can see that since you have most of it on you face, baby,” Salara said.

Joran was practically vibrating in front of her, high on sweets and his new friend. Vader hid an amused smile behind one hand, while he raised an eyebrow at the Jedi Master. All the earlier distrust and unhappiness in the boy was gone.

Vader opened both bonds so all three men could hear each other. ‘I believe Joran has enough energy to power the ship. Exactly how many sweets did you give him, Qui-Gon?’

‘Perhaps a tad too much but he’s hard to resist,’ Qui-Gon said with a soft chuckle. ‘And he’s had little spoiling in his life while quite a bit of hurt and loss. This small amount of indulgence won’t hurt him.’

‘You’re just a soft touch,’ Vader said. A rather wistful smile flickered across his face.

‘Sometimes children with good hearts, but difficult experiences … flourish with small kindnesses rather than too much strictness and restraint,’ Qui-Gon added gently.

Vader grew still beside Luke, but made no response to Qui-Gon’s statement. Luke didn’t need to read either man’s thoughts to realize that Qui-Gon was not just speaking of Joran, but of Vader and perhaps how he had been trained. Luke couldn’t help but remember their earlier conversation about Qui-Gon at that moment.

Did the older Jedi understand what role he could have played in Vader’s life? That he could have stopped Vader from choosing Palpatine if he had lived to be Vader’s Master? Luke thought so. Perhaps it wasn’t too late for the Jedi Master to have an effect on Vader now. Maybe he truly could undo some of the “bad habits” that Vader had said Palpatine had encouraged in him and help him control his new powers. It seemed to Luke that his father was more at peace already having come to the conclusion that he would have chosen Qui-Gon over Palpatine.

Luke’s attention was drawn back to the Desertriders as saw that Salara was trying to clean Joran’s face with her sleeve. He handed her a handkerchief to help. She moistened an edge of it with her tongue and began to scrub Joran’s chin even as he continued to chatter excitedly to her.

“Midi … midi … what that word, Master Jinn-Jinn?”

“Midichlorians,” Qui-Gon said patiently as he leant against the wall near the door.

“Midi …” Joran’s face puckered, still unable to form the complex word, then with a happy snort said instead, “Master Jinn-Jinn said I got lots of those, Momma! And he promised to show me how to stop the pictures in my head.”

“Shielding. It’s called shielding, Joran,” Qui-Gon correctly gently.

“Yeah, shielding and midis!” Joran crowed.

Qui-Gon brought over a blood analyzer to Luke and Vader. It was a slim neutral-colored data card that was mostly screen and a tiny disc-shaped depression for blood to be taken. Luke saw that Joran had 15,000 midichlorians, but that meant nothing to him. Luke knew that the more midichlorians one had in their blood, the more likely the person would be Force-sensitive and the greater their sensitivity would be, but whether 15,000 was high or not was unclear to Luke. Vader nodded as if he were not surprised. His words showed as much.

“I knew he had to have quite a bit to have the empathic gift,” Vader said softly.

“Well, is he … Force-sensitive?” Salara asked; there was hope and dread in her voice.

“Yes,” Master Jinn answered her.

“So he’ll be trained? You all will train him?” She clutched Joran’s slim shoulders.

“Ow, Momma! Too hard!”

“Sorry, baby, just …” She broke off and searched Master Jinn’s face.

“It is my opinion that he should be trained. If for nothing else than to help him control the visions he has of other’s pasts. It would become … very difficult for him to endure the constant bombardment of other’s thoughts and feelings otherwise,” Qui-Gon said slowly and his gaze left her and slid over to Vader and Luke.

“I’ve already told Father that I want people to be trained, Joran among them, but with some changes from the old Jedi Order,” Luke said.

Qui-Gon nodded. “There were many good things about the Order, but I am first to admit that many things were wrong with it as well. I am curious to know your thoughts on it, Luke. As well as yours, Anakin.”

All eyes turned to Vader. He was sitting quietly, almost expressionless.

“Well, Anakin, what say you?”

Vader suddenly smiled. There was something in his eyes that reminded Luke that for as much as Vader had a softer side, his father was still the Dark Lord of the Sith.

“I completely agree with both of you. He should be trained. And not just him. Whoever is found to be capable of accessing the Force should be. But the training must be different … it will need to be different … than the old Jedi way. After all, potential Sith as well as potential Jedi will be seeking us out,” Vader answered.

Something about the idea of training Force users now seemed to appeal to Vader. Luke was glad of that, but wondered what had changed his father’s earlier reluctance.

After the agreement on Joran’s training was reached, the meeting turned back to Tatooine again. For all that Vader had dismissed the power of the past before, he now seemed to embrace it. Luke sensed that their connection to Black Heart was greater than they had earlier believed. His father’s mysterious conception at one of their ruins had certainly cinched that in Luke’s mind. They had to learn more about the vanished race. Vader seemed to think along those same lines as well.

The Dark Lord questioned Salara extensively about the ruins, using holomaps to pin down exactly where they were located. She had no more information about Vader’s conception and though her husband and father had extensively mapped the ruins, they had made little headway into understanding the mysterious civilization that had created them.

Over two standard hours had flown by before the meeting concluded. And to Luke’s dismay, at the end of it, Vader said he had to leave Luke for a time, explaining that he needed to make arrangements with others in the Fleet and on the ground on Coruscant for the change of power. Luke wondered if whatever Vader had to tell those loyal men and women involved less than savory orders that he didn’t want to expose Luke to.

Luke, however, was almost glad not to hear the details of the change of power. After all just the thought of it, Palpatine gone and Vader in his place, made Luke’s stomach flip and his hands shake. So many changes were to come. He only hoped it led to a time of enlightenment in the galaxy and not darkness and decay as the universe seemed on the brink of now.

‘I promise, young one, that we will get a chance to spend time alone together very soon.’

‘Duty comes first, I know.’

With a quirked smile, Vader added, ‘And perhaps, if you are very good while I am gone, one of your fantasies will come true sooner than you think.’

‘Fantasies?’ Luke asked then realized what his father meant and blushed a radioactive red. ‘Oh, you mean … rebel prisoner …’ He felt a spike of desire and shyness run through him at the same time.

‘Be prepared to submit for me later, Luke. I will accept nothing less than your utter and complete submission.’

Luke shivered, but managed to arch one eyebrow up haughtily as he sent, ‘Only if you earn such submission, Father. I shall not make it easy for you.’

‘I would expect nothing less.’

Vader pressed a quick kiss to his forehead and swiftly exited as if he could not stand to prolong the goodbye. It left the Desertriders, Master Jinn, and Luke on the Observation Deck. Suddenly Artoo beeped and Luke realized he had completely forgotten the droid was with them. Artoo had been unusually quiet. But Luke’s attention was distracted from the droid when Qui-Gon walked over to him while mother and son continued to talk quietly together.

“Luke, your young friend, Trooper Trans, is it?” Qui-Gon asked.

Luke nodded.

“I think he should come here as well to get his blood tested.”

“Of course. I’ll call him on the com-link and have him come to you. Are you planning on doing some training now as well?” Luke tilted his head towards Joran.

“Yes, and for the trooper as well if the tests confirm enough Midichlorians in his blood. Would you like to stay and help me?”

“I … I would, but I need to do something else right now,” Luke said, his gaze skittering away from the Jedi Master’s.

His nervousness stemmed from the fact that he had come to a decision. He was going to do something proactive about his distress from the Archive though he had led his father to believe he would let it alone for the moment.

One of Qui-Gon’s strong hands was suddenly grasping Luke’s chin gently and tilting his head up so that the boy had to look at him. The Jedi Master’s brow was furrowed. Those piercing eyes lanced through him and Luke knew his plans were visible to the sharp-minded Jedi.

“You’re going to view the Archive, aren’t you?”

Luke sighed, but then straightened his spine as he said, “I have to. I have to know what’s on it.”

“Most of it is inaccessible until we reach Coruscant and can use the Jedi holonet. The Executor’s computers are not powerful enough to process the majority of the data it contains.”

Luke felt a ripple of relief then frustration at the thought of not being able to view the whole Archive.

“But there’s still something to see on there. I saw some of what Father did when he was copying it.”

“Yes, but Luke—”

“I’ll be careful. If it becomes too much … I’ll turn it off or just the leave the room. It’s just a computer program. That’s all. Nothing … nothing to be afraid of.”

“You are feeling this dread for the Archive for a reason, Luke,” Qui-Gon said gently.

“I won’t cower in the corner while potential information that may help us is within reach! I won’t risk you or Father because of this … fear.”

Luke’s blue eyes snapped with determination. He wouldn’t be put off from this course.

“I see so much of your father in you, Luke.”

That statement made Luke stop cold for a moment. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

Qui-Gon gave a sad, knowing smile. “Both.”

“Well, we won’t know what the result will be from my actions in this case until I’ve taken them. And to be honest … I wonder if the knowing will be worse than the fear of that knowledge.”

Qui-Gon’s grip on him tightened and those keen eyes narrowed.

“Promise me … promise me that whatever you discover you will tell either your father or myself. Don’t hide it from us. Your reactions to whatever is on the Archive may be as important as the information it holds. You are half the Balance of the Force, Luke, and though the Light Side does not speak to you as plainly as the Darkness does to Vader … whatever it has to say is as critical.”

Luke contemplated the Jedi Master’s words as Qui-Gon released his chin from his hold.

“Does the Force speak to you, Master Jinn, as clearly as it does to Father?”

The Jedi Master stilled and looked at Luke for long moments.

“Why do you ask that?”

Luke cast one glance at the Desertriders before he spoke again. They were talking between themselves and paying no attention to the Jedis’ conversation. Luke felt instinctively that this discussion was … private … although logically that made little sense to him. Why would it be a big secret whether or not the Force spoke as directly to Qui-Gon as it did to Vader? Indeed, as Qui-Gon was a Jedi, would it not be the Light Side of the Force that communicated to the older man? And what harm could come from that?

Luke explained slowly, “I don’t know. I just … wondered. You seem to understand what Father is going through so I thought that … maybe you had experienced the same clear contact.”

The Jedi Master said nothing for so long that Luke worried he had overstepped somehow. But when Luke glanced at the other man’s face, his expression wasn’t offended in any way, but instead was probing, almost searching. Luke shifted uneasily under that stare, but then Master Jinn’s deep baritone voice washed over him and the uneasiness faded away as if it had never been.

“I did … long ago. Then it stopped until … I was a spirit.”

“Why did it stop?” Luke asked, the words jumping from his lips before he had a chance to draw them back.

Again that searching stare, but then a smile.

“Because I wasn’t being true to who … or what I actually was.”

He gestured for Luke to join him by the viewport, which was further away from the Desertriders. Luke began to think of this small five foot by five foot spot as the place where confidences were revealed. It had certainly gotten used enough in the few hours they had occupied the room.

Qui-Gon traced one of the black patches that separated the smear of stars. He suddenly asked, “Do you believe that some of us are destined to be Sith and others Jedi?”

Thrown a little by the change in topic, Luke stuttered out, “I … I don’t know. I thought it was something that you chose, because Obi-Wan and Yoda said so and … when I’ve been angry or afraid … I’ve felt its pull on me and that I could fall.”

“The Jedi Order believed it was a question of choice whether one remained in the Light or fell to the Dark.” He touched a streak of starlight and then a bit of blackness to emphasis his point. “But then conversely they talked about the will of the Force as acting on all of us. It seems an illogical stance in some ways. After all, if the Force wills something …”

“There’s no choice in it,” Luke finished the thought. “And you think the Force wills people to be a Light or Dark Sider?”

“I’ve come to believe that we are born with a natural inclination to reach for one side or the other of the Force.”

Luke’s brows scrunched together. “I guess that would make sense. In order for there to be Balance there must be Dark and Light Side users so … that couldn’t just be left to chance. The Force would have to act to ensure there were both. But if you’re right … are all who have this … inclination … doomed to fall to the Darkness? To loose themselves to evil?”

The Jedi Master smoothed down the front of his robes, while his eyes became shadowed.

“Not all. I know that some who had the inclination to reach for the Dark became Jedi, and they were never known as anything other than Light Side users and good men and women. But … inside … something was missing. Off. Only they could not understand what it was,” Qui-Gon said softly. “Their powers were never as strong as they should have been. And with each one of them failing to use their inherent connection to the Dark Side … the universe slid more and more out of Balance.”

Luke shivered. He could almost see students vainly trying to stop their desire to reach for the Dark Side, punishing themselves for failing, and perhaps losing themselves to silent despair. They would be unable to tell others of their instinctual reach for the Darkness for fear of what would happen if they were labeled as Sith. The constant strain and drain on them to do something that was unnatural must have been awful. But then Luke thought of Palpatine and the terrible wounds he had inflicted upon the universe.

“Perhaps it is better that they … they never touched the Dark Side,” Luke said softly.

“Why do you say that?”

“Palpatine.” Luke played with the zipper of his jacket. “And … Father. Obi-Wan said that Father was a good man before he fell.”

“And you think he’s not now?”

“He is and yet … I know he’s done terrible things. And he’ll do more in the future. I just fear as he becomes whatever it is that he’s meant to become that … he’ll be like Palpatine. Maybe even worse. That the Dark Side will make him long only for … evil things. To do only evil things. If he’s the representation of the Dark Side then … isn’t that inevitable?”

Luke yanked viciously on the fastening to his jacket as his heart felt heavy. He had purposefully not considered what would happen in the future with his father’s character as Vader’s power in the Dark Side grew. Luke worried about his own character, too. Sometimes the Light Side seemed so … detached, so distant, almost icy in its aloofness. Would there come a time when he no longer felt anything for anyone at all? He couldn’t believe that of himself. He seemed to feel too much most of the time.

“What do you think the Balance requires of you and Anakin?” Qui-Gon asked.

“That Vader has to represent the ultimate evil Dark Sider, and, me the do-gooder Light Sider, I guess.” Luke’s expression was sour as he said it.

“You don’t look like you enjoy that prospect.” Qui-Gon chuckled.

Luke gave a wry smile as he said, “Honestly, I can’t ever imagine being all that good!” Then his expression sobered as he added softly, “And I don’t believe that Father is that … bad. And I don’t want him to be. I love him. I don’t want to … to see all that is good in him destroyed.”

“Perhaps we are looking at this through issue the wrong lens,” Qui-Gon offered, drawing his robes down over his hands, as his expression became thoughtful.

“How do you mean?”

“Your basic premise is that in order to access the Force through the Light Side one must be good and, conversely, that in order to access the Force through the Dark Side one must be evil or will, at least, become evil.”

“Well … isn’t that generally the case? I mean even good people who access the Dark go bad in the end.”

Qui-Gon’s voice was mild as he said, “I know it seems that way. But let’s begin with something more basic, Luke. Something you’re very familiar with.”

“All right.”

Luke couldn’t help but be intrigued by where this conversation was going. Neither Obi-Wan nor Yoda had ever taught him much about the morality of the Force or even its history other than Light Side is good and Dark Side is bad and fear strong emotions because they can lead to the Dark Side. There hadn’t been time to really discuss much more, he supposed, but he had a feeling as he stared at Qui-Gon’s leonine profile that there was far more to the Force that he should have been taught. Luke sensed that in Qui-Gon Jinn he might learn some of it or at least be pointed in the right direction.

With a quick grin and clear relish for teaching again, Qui-Gon asked him, “Does accessing the power of the Force through the Light Side either mean you are a good person or does it make you into a good person? What does the Light Side demand of its user?”

Luke frowned, his brows puckering as he thought. “Well, it demands … detachment … calm … focus … the restraint of emotions.”

“Do you have to be a good person to be detached, calm, focused, or restrained?”

The frowning eased. “Not … not necessarily.”

“Do you think it makes you a good person to be any of those things?”

“It can make you think more before you act. Perhaps act dispassionately, not in the heat of the moment, but … no, that doesn’t make one a good person,” Luke said.

“Is it is possible to do an evil act while using the Light Side of the Force?”

Luke immediately thought of the Deathstar and the loss of over a million souls. With help from the Light Side of the Force, he had been able to destroy more people in a fraction of a second than he could even truly contemplate. And the reverberations of what he had done that day, that moment, rippled out so far and so wide that Luke felt he could never get away from the consequences of it. Some would call what he had done an evil act and others would call it justified.

Luke knew that everyone on the Deathstar, probably the vast majority, were not evil. They were just normal people, defending their government, and doing their jobs. Yet even so the Light Side had not blocked him from shooting the torpedoes that ended their lives. For a time, he had thought that this meant his action was right, that he shouldn’t feel guilt or horror. But that belief had not lasted long and now complete doubt assaulted him.

What if instead of the Deathstar and its military personnel, he had been taking aim at a ship full of orphans? If he had been calm and detached, could he have reached for the Light Side and blasted them into fiery debris? Luke’s eyes widened in shock and sick dismay as he realized something very basic: the Light Side helped him do what he wished to do, but it had not and did not restrain him to doing the right thing, the good thing. It was his choice what he did with the power it gave him. But with that last grim realization, came a much better one, ‘Just like the Light Side does not stop me from committing evil acts, the Dark Side does not stop Father from using his powers for good.’

Qui-Gon’s eyes were kind as Luke finally drew out of his thoughts to answer his question. The Jedi Master clearly understood the conclusion Luke had come to far before he did.

“Yes,” Luke said softly, “I could perform an evil act with the power of the Light Side of the Force. The act means nothing to the Light Side. All that it requires of me is to be in a certain emotional state.”

“What flows from that bit of logic?” Qui-Gon asked patiently.

“That just because a person accesses the Force via the Light Side that doesn’t make them good, therefore, if a person accesses the Force via the Dark Side …”

“It doesn’t mean they would necessarily have to be evil or even become so,” Qui-Gon finished.

“So Father wouldn’t have to become like Palpatine? He could be a good man and still represent and use the Dark Side of the Force?”

“I believe that is true.”

“But how does that explain why Father changed after he started accessing the Dark Side? He did change, didn’t he? Even though Obi-Wan clearly altered much of the truth about Father, I don’t believe he lied about that.”

Qui-Gon squeezed Luke’s shoulder gently to ease his distress.

“I think you father indulged in a part of his personality … more … after he started accessing the Dark Side. He was encouraged to and there were no … overt consequences for doing so. In fact, there seemed to be rewards. Remember, that all Anakin has ever had as a role-model and a teacher for his Dark Side training has been Palpatine. Anakin followed … to an extent … in Palpatine’s footsteps. He had no one to show him another way of being a Sith.”

Luke thought of his father’s similar conclusions about himself. Vader had said that Palpatine hadn’t advocated restraint of emotions and had probably encouraged his father in acts of cruelty as well. So perhaps even though Vader had the capacity for evil acts in him that didn’t mean that capacity had to dominate him.

“But doesn’t the Dark Side itself … corrupt?” Luke asked.

“The Dark Side requires its users to access it through extremes of emotion. Strong emotions are often negative ones, but not always. The negative ones are just easier to latch onto. Those emotions can corrupt someone. They become so much more powerful, so much more a part of a person’s world-view, that it is hard to see or value anything else.”

“But I have seen in father’s mind how the Emperor looks now. He is … decayed and diseased! Didn’t the Dark Side do that to him? Doesn’t it physically alter its users?”

“You are right that the Dark Side yearns to destroy its users and everything else. It is like riding a rancor by its tail when one wields it. And it can have hideous physical and mental effects.”

Qui-Gon’s face shone with determination as he spoke. There was almost fervor to the cadence of his speech that normally was covered up by his wry humor. Luke was amazed at the depth of emotion the man felt. Just underneath the venire of calmness, Qui-Gon was a roiling ocean of feelings.

Qui-Gon’s voice rose as he said rapidly, “But I believe what happened to Palpatine physically … and what happens to many Dark Side users … is based on how they access the Dark Side. I think that there is another way … one that would protect the user’s mind and body from the ill effects of the Dark Side. I believe that …,” Qui-Gon stopped suddenly, a rather rueful smile on his face. “As you can tell this is rather an obsession of mine … well, let’s just say, I have a theory and I hope I can put it to the test.”

“You want to help Father, don’t you? To train him … in this different way of accessing the Dark Side?”

“That is my hope. That is … what I am here for. To give him a viewpoint different from what he has received from Palpatine about what it is to be a Sith, to reach the Dark Side without it destroying him and all those he cares about.”

Luke frowned as he asked, “But how can you teach him this? Forgive me, but how can a Jedi, a Light Side user, one as you’ve said is born to wield the Light ever be able to truly teach someone like Father who was born to wield the Dark?”

Qui-Gon stood there silently, not responding, and Luke suddenly had a feeling that the place where this conversation had started was critical in understanding where it had ended up.

“Qui-Gon … when you said that the Force stopped speaking to you as clearly because you weren’t being true to what you were … what did you mean?”

Artoo suddenly gave an angry squeal. The little droid was smoking.

“Artoo! Are you okay?”

Luke was at his droid’s side immediately. Artoo was backing away from one of the informational hookups in the room. The droid made a series of hoots and beeps to explain what had happened.

“What is he saying, Luke?” Qui-Gon asked.

“He says that there was an electrical pulse from the hookup. That it scorched him even though he wasn’t trying to access it.”

Luke kneeled down and examined the blackened area on Artoo’s outer casing. There appeared to be no other damage. He checked out the hookup in the wall. It was completely fried. The acrid scent of burnt electronics filled his nostrils.

“Palpatine?” Qui-Gon’s expression tightened and Luke felt clearly his disgust at the thought of the Sith Lord.

“I … I don’t sense anything of him, but I suppose it could be. Artoo, I want to run a full diagnostic. Come with me back to our quarters.” Luke stood up and added, “I’ll call Damon on the way and tell him to come here to get his midichlorian levels tested.”

The Jedi Master nodded his acknowledgment.

“Be careful with the Archive, Luke,” the Jedi Master warned as he walked over to the Desertriders. “And do come back and help with the training if you are able.”

Luke nodded to both requests, turned and with Artoo following on his heels left the Observation Deck. It wasn’t until he was half-way down the hall that he realized he hadn’t gotten an answer to his last question. ‘Was Qui-Gon trying to tell me that he was born to access the Dark Side? Could that be possible?’ Luke determined to find out at the next opportunity.

Luke used his com-link to reach the barracks where Damon was currently staying. Soon enough the young trooper’s voice was coming over the link.

“Damon, I’m so glad I found you. Are you able to make your way to the third level Observation Deck?”

“Luke … oh, of course, but I thought that Lord Vader didn’t wish me there.”

“That meeting is over. This is for you to have your blood tested for midichlorians.”

“Midi-what? It isn’t a disease or anything is it?”

Luke smiled. “No. Midichlorians are … well, they are symbiotic organisms … I realize that doesn’t sound very good, does it? They are something in everyone’s blood. The amount in your blood determines the level of your Force-sensitivity.”

“Sort of like the more you have the more powerful in the Force you are?”

“I believe so.”

There was silence over the com.

“Damon?”

“Are you going to be there for the test?”

“No, I have some things I have to do. But Master Jinn and the Desertriders will be.”

“Oh.”

Luke nibbled at his lower lip when Damon seemed so upset and downhearted that Luke wouldn’t be there. He found himself rushing into speech to fill the silence, “You’ll like Master Jinn. He has a wry sense of humor and he’s very knowledgeable about the Force.”

“I’m sure.” A tense silence then Damon said, “I just … want to apologize for how I behaved earlier. I have been thinking on it … and I was completely out of line. I’m shocked that I conducted myself that way. Especially when you said to back off and I didn’t. I acted like a complete darga beast!”

“You weren’t that bad, Damon. You were just …” Luke stopped himself from ending that sentence. He was going to say that the trooper was confused, but as his father pointed out that probably wasn’t true. “You were just … forceful.”

“That’s a politic way of putting it, Luke. I am sorry and I … I really hope that you don’t feel you have to avoid me.”

“I don’t feel that way. I really have things to do, but I probably will be joining you later for some training. If your blood does show enough of the midichlorians, I believe Master Jinn wants to begin teaching you and Joran immediately.”

Luke wondered about the need to begin so soon, but then again with the thought of all those Force-users coming to see them, it was best they started to give as many people the very basics as they could. Besides, it would help Joran from being overwhelmed by his gift. And perhaps clarify Damon’s emotions for him.

“All right. So I’ll see you later?” Damon asked.

“Definitely. Take care.”

Luke switched off the com. He let out a loud sigh and glanced down at Artoo. The droid gave him a questioning hoot.

“Relationships are a heavier burden than I thought they would be, Artoo. Somehow it was easier when no one noticed me like that.”

Artoo gave a wise beep of agreement. The rest of the way to their quarters was spent in silence. Once inside, Luke attached Artoo to a handheld analyzer, not one connected to the ship, to determine if the droid had any damage from the hookup malfunction. That done, his attention strayed to the holonet where the Black Heart Archive was downloaded.

Luke found himself creeping across the room as if to catch the Archive unawares. Realizing how ridiculous he was being, he strode to the holonet briskly and immediately pushed the power button to bring it up before he could think better of it. There was a fleeting moment where he thought that Vader should be told about what he was doing, but Luke was already committed to this course and didn’t want to deal with his father’s objections. He had to do this and that was that.

The hologram of Black Heart appeared, spinning slowly. Luke gave a slight gasp when he saw a black spot on the planet that had not been there before. It was right where the Temple was located.

“Impossible,” Luke breathed.

The hologram reflected the damage that Vader had caused to the planet’s surface with the fire storm. Luke touched the fire damaged area on the hologram and the view of that section of the planet magnified. It showed the clearing around the Temple except that there was no longer a tree line anywhere in sight.

His view of the Temple and the surrounding grounds appeared to emanate from near where his X-Wing originally touched down, but then Luke realized that this was not just a static image he was seeing when he noticed a cloud move in the sky and a slight breeze disturb some dirt. Was there some sort of droid or other machine whose sensors he was seeing through? This was clearly a live image it was showing him. But how was that possible? How was the Archive, supposedly just a collection of data, showing him Black Heart, which was thousands of light years away? Was there some kind of hidden programming in the Archive that was allowing it to use the Executor’s long range sensors to tap into technology on Black Heart and show him the planet’s surface?

The picture was suddenly racing forward, towards the Temple. It swiftly flowed over where the yellowed grass of the clearing had been burnt away leaving only smoking earth. Most of the huge, gnarled trees surrounding the Temple were also gone. But the Temple itself appeared intact. It stopped just outside the front doors of the Temple. Luke’s breathing hitched as one of the Viateen slithered out of the Temple’s entrance and stood there, blinking up at the sky.

Its black-slitted eyes stopped looking upwards and began to scan the area near the left of where the Archive’s “camera” or whatever it was that allowed Luke to view the planet was located. Like a magnet being draw to true north, the things gaze swung right to Luke’s “position.” Luke’s breathing stilled as the thing’s eyes narrowed as if it sensed it was being looked at it. Perhaps the droid or machine that Luke was “seeing” through was cloaked in some way? But somehow that didn’t sound right. The Viateen slid out a few more feet, sniffed the air, and hissed low in the back of its throat. It suddenly lunged out and began to slither almost too fast to see towards Luke.

Luke wildly reached for the hologram to shut it off. His hand glanced across a symbol at the top right-hand corner of the screen that flickered in just at that exact moment. The live image of the Viateen and Temple were gone. The screen showed only blackness and Luke breathed a sigh of relief. But then he saw a yellow-gold glow haloing the right edge of the black hologram, and Luke’s heartbeat began to trip hammer again. He backed several steps away. But when nothing further happened, he crept closer again. As he stared intently at the screen, he realized that the screen wasn’t a solid black at all. He peered closer.

It was showing him the darkness of space. Faint starlight broke up the black pallet and the golden glow was a nearer sun. The “camera” shifted again. Luke gasped.

For cutting through that swath of stars and emptiness was the hugest ship he had ever seen and even at his far vantage point from it, Luke sensed the menace it radiated.