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Forbidden - Part 4

CHAPTER ELEVEN: SKYWALKERS AND FIRE

Vader's POV

Vader knew he was going to be too late to save Luke from being burnt to a cinder.

Even as he let go of his Force line and plummeted down to the cavern below, he believed he would find only the corpse of his beloved son. The disturbance from the crystals was making isolating and killing the Krayt Dragon with his new powers impossible from where he was. Until he reached the cavern itself, he could do nothing.

He only half-saw the dirt sides of the tunnel whip past him as his sight flickered between his son's view and his own. Through Luke's eyes, Vader saw the Krayt Dragon's scaly head rear back, its jaws stretch wide, and razor sharp fangs come into view. Boiling fire appeared in the back of its throat. As the flames poured from the beast's mouth and flew through the air to engulf the boy, Vader caught Luke's last thought, `Father, I love you. Forgive me for leaving you.'

Then there was a brilliant white flash just as the fire reached his child and Vader could no longer see through his son's eyes.

The Dark Lord heard horrible screaming. It took him a second to realize it was from his own throat. `Not my son! Not my son burned! I cannot lose him. I cannot fail him like this … he cannot be gone … Nononononononononono NO!' All thought left him as he exited the tunnel and dropped through the open air into the cavern.

He couldn't see Luke. He was blinded by the roiling orange, red and yellow radiance of fire everywhere. It was too much like Mustafar. Hate, rage and loss flared up in him like a river. His new powers clicked back online as the influence of the crystals faded abruptly. He directed all the blackness within him towards the beast, his emotions becoming a spear of pure Dark Side Force energy. `Destroy you! Destroy you! DESTROY YOU!' The Krayt Dragon roared then made another sound, almost a shriek, as the spear of energy thrust into its heart. The organ exploded in its huge chest. The large body shuddered and collapsed into a heap of steaming flesh on the ground.

Vader landed softly on the cavern floor as he used the Force to slow his descent. His head whipped towards where he expected to find his son's ruined body. The darkness of the cavern once lit in fiery reds and oranges was now illuminated only by a soft white glow. Luke was on the ground, unburned, his leg still broken, but he was otherwise unhurt. One hand was outstretched before him as if to block out the sight of the dead beast. Between Luke and the dragon's body was the source of the white light. Vader watched as the light slowly began to break apart.

"Luke!" Vader yelled as he rushed across the cavern's floor.

"Father!" Luke cried as Vader fell to his knees beside the boy.

They embraced. Vader held onto Luke so tightly that he feared he bruised his son's tender skin. But the Dark Lord couldn't let go. He had thought Luke gone. He had thought never to put his hands upon his son alive again. He ran his fingers through Luke's silky hair. The boy's panicked expression faded and his gaze became unfocused as Vader's caresses soothed him and he relaxed more fully into the Dark Lord's arms.

Vader felt most of the tension leave him as well. He could only now breathe again with Luke safe beside him. He pressed his lips against his son's and the boy's mouth opened beneath his in a tiny gasp of pleasure. Luke yielded to him so beautifully, so effortlessly, Vader ached with the need to connect their bodies and forge an even closer physical and spiritual bond. But here was not the place. He had to get them back to the Executor. He wouldn't feel secure until Luke was safely aboard the flagship. Then he would waste no more time in making Luke his in every way. He had almost lost what was most precious to him. He would not risk losing Luke again.

"How did you survive? Luke … how …"

"He saved me." Luke pointed to the light. "He stood between me and the flames."

Vader turned his head to look at the light only to realize it was a Force spirit, but it was not Obi-Wan. Vader felt something in his chest tighten.

It was Qui-Gon Jinn.

The Jedi Master's eyes crinkled as he caught Vader's gaze. His deep baritone voice rolled over them.

"Anakin … it is good to see you again," Qui-Gon Jinn said.

Vader flinched at the use of his old name, but he didn't sense any chiding behind it.

"And you, Master Jinn. Very good considering the fact that you saved my son from … from … the flames." Vader couldn't help the shudder that ran through him. His son had almost been consumed by fire like he had been.

The wry smile Vader remembered so well spread across the spirit's face. "Skywalkers and fire have never mixed very well. Though somehow they seem to attract each other."

Vader watched as more of the light that made up Qui-Gon's form drifted away. His brow furrowed. Something was wrong with the Force spirit.

"I did not know the dead could act as you have," Vader said.

Another rueful smile. "You are right. I'm afraid …" The spirit seemed to convulse as its light drained away.

"Father, what is happening to him?" Luke's sweet voice was raised in alarm.

Vader contemplated Qui-Gon's fading form, then said softly, "In saving Luke, you … you used up all the energy that binds you together, didn't you, Master Jinn?"

"I'm afraid so. But … it was worth it. Luke is … is meant to be and so are you, Anakin. His light must not be extinguished out of fear."

Qui-Gon looked even more translucent, the cave falling into almost complete darkness as his light waned.

"What will happen to him once all his energy is gone, Father?"

Vader bit his lower lip, but Qui-Gon saved him from answering. "I will rejoin the Force fully."

"By that you mean you will cease to exist, don't you?" The Dark Lord asked and Qui-Gon's minimal hesitation before answering him told him volumes.

With a small sigh, Qui-Gon said, "You always cut to the heart of the matter, don't you, Anakin? I … no matter what happens to me, Luke had to be protected from … from Obi-Wan and those he has enlisted." Pain flickered across the Jedi Master's face. "I always knew he feared change, but not enough to try and … do something like this."

Qui-Gon's statement confirmed Vader's suspicion that the way the stone had broken beneath Luke's feet was unnatural. `But no spirit could booby trap a stone like that. Not to mention the cave-in. Whatever living agency Obi-Wan has enlisted will rue the day they chose his side.' There were so many questions Vader had, but he feared that the Jedi Master would be gone before he could ever ask them.

Luke cried out, "This isn't right! You can't lose your existence for me."

"It is the natural progression of things, Luke, to rejoin the Force fully in the end," Qui-Gon said gently.

"No!" Luke's eyes became unfocused and a glimmer of light appeared in them. "It … it doesn't have to be."

"Luke, what are you saying?" Vader asked him, slightly uneasy by the unnatural light in his son's eyes.

Qui-Gon Jinn's form flickered for a moment and looked to be gone entirely, but then he came back, a faint spectral glow.

"I know what to do. I know how this can be made right," Luke's voice was both triumphant and tinged with a certainty that Vader recognized as coming only from the very essence of the Force itself. "Master Jinn, will you let me help you?"

"How?" Qui-Gon's voice was so soft, a mere whisper.

"I could … bring you back. Let me?"

"Back? You mean back to life?"

"Yes!"

The strange light blazed brighter in Luke's eyes, making the boy look more otherworldly than ever. Could his son do this thing? Conjure a man out of thin air? `He was able to form his hand out of nothingness but still.' Something niggled at the back of Vader's mind as if this act was terribly familiar, but the sensation was soon gone.

"Please, Master Jinn, imagine the good you could do if you were back in this world! You could set right those things you were unable to in your life. Please!" Luke extended one hand towards the spirit.

The spirit was silent for a long time, so long Vader believed that he had lost the power of speech. But with a sudden laugh, Qui-Gon said, "I think I might fancy living again. So much left undone. And I could make up for … so much as well."

The spirit's eyes slid to Vader and the Dark Lord felt a lance of pain from the Jedi Master. `Does he blame himself somehow for me turning to the Darkness? Foolishness. But then again … this could be useful in keeping him loyal to Luke and me.'

Luke shut his eyes and Vader felt a pulling on every part of his body, like pins were being drawn out of his flesh then the sensation was abruptly gone. He turned towards Qui-Gon. Behind the spectral figure, he saw the slumped body of the dead Krayt Dragon.

It began to disintegrate.

Scales lifted off its corpse like glitter and swam in the air towards Luke. They became translucent as they passed through Luke's body. When they emerged again, they appeared to be pure flecks of light, no form to them at all. They swirled over to Qui-Gon. The flecks fed Qui-Gon's fading illumination, making him grow brighter, more substantial. Soon the light that made up the Jedi Master was so blinding that Vader had to look away. He could see the blaze of light as a warm red glow behind his eyelids. Finally the glow began to fade.

"It's done," Luke's voice sounded exhausted, but happy.

Vader himself felt slightly weakened like he did when he had been using his Force powers continually for a long time and needed to recharge. The cavern was in complete darkness. Even with their night vision, it would be difficult to see. Vader grabbed some glow sticks from a pouch at his waist and ignited him. The green light revealed a bewildered Qui-Gon Jinn standing completely naked on the same spot he had as a spirit. Awe streaked through Vader. `Luke has done it! What power! Force, what we will be able to accomplish together. Ruling the Empire is only the start!'

Vader's hands shook suddenly as the siren song of the Dark Side sang even louder to him than it ever had before. It showed him tantalizing glimpses of his and Luke's future: a flash of a battlefield where their soldiers rose from the dead as fast as they were shot down; waves of fire and ice forming before their armies destroying everything in their path … leaving only a desert. `Almost like Tatooine …' Vader snapped out of the vision as the Jedi Master spoke.

"I'm … alive. I don't know that I believed you could actually do it. Even though …" Qui-Gon whispered and held out one flesh arm in front of him, staring at the limb as if he weren't sure it was his own.

Vader unclipped his cape and held it out to Qui-Gon. The Jedi Master gave a start and looked down at his naked form. Qui-Gon's appearance was just as Vader remembered it, except he looked about twenty years younger. He was lean and muscled, his chest covered in a moderate dusting of bronze hairs that grew heavier as it led to his quiescent sex. The hair on his head was long and hung down past his shoulders. Luke had even given him back his goatee.

"Thank you, Anakin. It is a little chilly in here."

Qui-Gon took the cape from Vader's outstretched hand and wrapped it snugly around him waist, tucking in the ends to keep it in place around his slim hips. Vader turned back to his son. Luke was smiling up at him, but he looked wan, and his leg was still broken.

"Child, why do you not heal your leg?"

"I … I can't. I'm so tired myself and … it's like … there's not enough Force energy here right now."

Vader stretched out with his Force senses and sure enough the cave felt … empty, scrapped clean of energy. Where the Krayt Dragon had been was just the rocky floor of the cavern. No sign that the great beast had been there at all. He wondered a bit at his own sense of exhaustion. Had Luke used his own, Vader's and the Krayt Dragon's energy to resurrect Qui-Gon?

Luke worried his lower lip for a moment. "If the Krayt Dragon had not been so large and so infused with Force energy itself, I would not have been able to resurrect Master Jinn without … without draining … us … maybe even to death."

"You would not have done that. You would have stopped before then," Vader said and petted Luke's head. He felt his son's unease at the prospect that he could have drained another being's life force accidentally and wanted to assuage it. `He uses the Force energy around him with his new powers along with his internal Force energy … that explains much.' They would have to test his son's powers in more controlled settings before … `Before that dream/vision of the battlefield could come true. Nothing can stop us once Luke has full control of his powers.' Vader shivered both in dread and desire.

Qui-Gon hunkered down by Luke's wounded leg. "Luke, let me have your jacket."

Vader helped his son shrug the jacket off.

"I hope you are not too fond of this," Qui-Gon said as he began ripping it into long strips and bracing Luke's broken leg as well as he could with the torn material.

"I don't seem able to keep on the jackets you got for me, Father," Luke said with a small, rueful smile.

Vader squeezed Luke's shoulder gently in response. He then turned to watch the Jedi Master tenderly minister to his son. Vader searched his feelings about Qui-Gon. What were Qui-Gon's alliances? What did he know about Luke's and his place in the Universe? What could the dead see that the living could not? While Obi-Wan had confirmed to him that the dead's vision was not all powerful and all knowing, Vader still believed they could see more than the living. And there also was the question of whether Qui-Gon would try and interfere in Luke's and his relationship. `I will find out all he knows and all he intends. If he becomes a liability … I will send him back to the Force.'

"We mustn't tarry here too long," Qui-Gon said as he finished up the makeshift binding on the boy's leg. "Obi-Wan has enlisted the Rebellion in his cause. There are only a small number on the planet, but enough to cause us trouble. I believe there is only the one exit from this cavern so they are probably stationed near there to make sure the dragon or the cave-in did their work. We will have to fight our way out of here."

"Black Heart is causing more of a disturbance with the Executor's sensors than I realized if Rebel forces were able to land on the planet's surface without our knowledge."

"And our Force powers were more affected, too. I would have sensed Leia otherwise far before now," Luke said. "She is here, isn't she, Master Jinn?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Obi-Wan … made contact with her and is guiding her actions." The Jedi Master shifted his stance as if mentioning Leia was uncomfortable for him.

"Does she h-hate me?" Luke asked.

Vader's heart clenched to hear the boy's uncertainty and hurt. The snip of a Princess should not be able to affect his son so, but Luke always felt things very deeply.

Qui-Gon's lips pressed together in a thin line. "No, but I think it will only make it worse in the end."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, one small hand suddenly clutching Vader's forearm. The Dark Lord wished he could take Luke's pain away as the boy looked so forlornly at Qui-Gon for an answer he knew would hurt him.

Qui-Gon's hawk-like face turned towards Luke. It was heavily laced with shadow and even with his night-vision, Vader had a hard time discerning the emotion it held.

"It is harder to defend yourself against someone who loves you, Luke," Qui-Gon answered softly. "But defend yourself you must. And so will I."

Luke shivered and drew closer to Vader. The Dark Lord had to stop the anger that surged at the thought of the Princess and the Rebellion. Both had betrayed their hero without so much as hearing his side.

"Why the elaborate traps?" Vader asked. "Why not just attack us outright?"

"They weren't sure how large a group you would bring down with you. And the extent of your new Force powers concerned Obi-Wan. The thought was to get you in the cave system where the crystals would hamper your Force powers. They believed that the cave-in would trap you or kill you, but … the remote for the explosives didn't work properly and you were well past the area when they exploded."

"The other side to the coin of Black Heart's interference with electronic equipment. Helping us instead of harming us this time," Vader said.

"They booby-trapped all the passageways out of the caves through the temple underground as a backup."

"I see. I'm surprised the Viateen did not try and stop them or at least warn us," Vader said.

The Dark Lord clenched his hands into fists. He was going to find out exactly why the Viateen had failed him, and skin their scaly hides for not at least warning them of the Rebel presence while they walked, blithely unaware of the threat, to the crystal cave. Perhaps he would just blast the temple out of existence with the Executor's ion cannons as their just reward.

"I believe the Rebels lost many people in their skirmishes with the creatures."

Vader felt a flash of pain over his bond with Luke as the boy considered dead friends. He cupped Luke's chin. He said softly, "They tried to hurt you. Hurt us. Do not mourn them."

"I know … it's just … they were my friends. People I risked my life for and now … now they risk their lives to take mine."

"With your help, Luke, we can end these destructive conflicts more quickly, with less loss of life. Think on that," Vader said softly as he stroked the boy's silken hair.

Luke nodded slowly then pressed his forehead against Vader's shoulder. The Dark Lord looked over at Luke's destroyed saber and then down at the boy's broken leg. His son could not move on his own, let alone fight. Perhaps there would be enough energy for Luke to heal himself closer to the exit. He would not leave his child in this horrible place while they scouted ahead. The shock of nearly losing him to the Krayt Dragon was still too fresh. Besides they might only have one chance to get out. He tried his comlink, but only static greeted him. He picked up Luke's broken saber and attached it to his belt. He then unhooked his own lightsaber and extended it towards Qui-Gon hesitantly. `He protected Luke at the cost of his own existence. I doubt he will now turn around and try to kill us.'

"You are the stronger swordsman, Anakin, you should keep it," Qui- Gon protested.

"No, I will need both my hands free to carry Luke out of here. And besides, I have … other powers now that are more effective than my blade. Once we are out of the cavern I shouldn't have any problem using them even my hands full."

Qui-Gon's gaze skittered over to where the dragon had been. Vader could see that he was contemplating the cause of the dragon's death. It had been so easy to explode the beast's heart. He wondered what other powers would surface. Qui-Gon nodded, showing he understood and agreed with Vader's position.

Vader thought to himself, `Do you fear me, Qui-Gon?'

`No, Anakin, I fear FOR you.'

Vader drew back as if struck. He had not sent Qui-Gon the thought. He hadn't blocked the Jedi Master, but still Qui-Gon shouldn't have been able to hear him. Other than Luke, Vader had never experienced any direct communication like this unless it was intended by both parties.

`You can hear me, Qui-Gon?'

`Yes.’

`How?'

`We were to have been Master and Apprentice. Do you not feel the training bond between us?'

`No, I …'

But then Vader felt it; a thin silver thread between him and Qui-Gon. A weak, paltry thing compared to the bond he and Luke shared, but it was there and it was far more than he had ever had with either Obi-Wan or Palpatine. With them, there had been only the barest awareness, but there wasn't this sense of … closeness, connectedness that he had with Qui-Gon. Vader had almost come to believe that stronger training bonds were myth, but here was proof. Vader scowled.

`I am my own Master now. I need no training bond with you or anyone.'

He consciously shut the other man out of his mind. Qui-Gon bowed his head, his expression neutral, but Vader wondered if he had wounded the Jedi, struck a nerve of regret in him, by reminding him that his chance to train Anakin Skywalker had been lost by losing a fight against another of Palpatine's apprentices.

Vader started slightly when Qui-Gon gently took the saber from his still-extended hand. The Jedi Master ignited the blood red blade. It was strange for Vader to see the blade in another's hand, but feel unafraid it would be used against him. And he realized what little else he might know of Qui-Gon's motives, he was sure they did not include killing either him or Luke.

"This is a very fine blade," Qui-Gon said as he made two quick slashes with it.

"Thank you. We now have new Force crystals, which will make even finer ones."

"Oh!" Luke said suddenly and dug into his pocket. He took out the extra crystal he had rescued from the cave. It was glowing softly. "I wonder if the Force already knew that I would resurrect you. I think … this may be yours."

Qui-Gon carefully took the crystal from Luke's hand. It was a bright yellow. "I believe you're right, Luke. I do feel a strong connection to this crystal. Hmmm, interesting."

"Extinguish the blade and open the side compartment. You will be able to substitute the crystals easily," Vader explained.

"Excellent design. Far easier than my old blade to exchange crystals. You always were good at creating mechanical marvels as I recall."

Vader smiled uncertainly as his mind raced back to his meeting with Qui-Gon on Tatooine so long ago. "Oh, you mean the pod-racer and …Threepio. Although, I don't know that Threepio could be considered a … mechanical marvel."

Luke snickered. "He does have his moments, Father. I'll have to tell you about his saving … Han, Leia and I from the garbage disposal on the Death Star."

"Now that sounds like quite a story," Qui-Gon said.

Vader felt a spike of relief that Luke's grim mood had lessened even though there was a slight hesitation in saying his former friends' names.

"Especially when you hear what was living in the garbage disposal."

One of Vader's eyebrows lifted. "Living? Why do I think I don't want to know?"

"It had tentacles. Lots and lots of tentacles." Luke shuddered as he said it.

"The better to grab its prey with?"

"Yeah, but it thought I was its prey."

"You have an unfortunate habit of being attacked by beasts intent on eating you, Luke. A tentacled monster in the garbage disposal and the Yeti you told me about earlier." Vader chuckled.

"Oh, and I haven't even told you about the Rancor yet! I've sort of wondered why they were all so interested in eating me." Luke's brow furrowed.

Over their bond, Vader said softly, `Because you're so … sweet, soft, succulent. I want to devour you myself.'

`Father!' Luke went scarlet and dropped his head to cover the happy, embarrassed grin.

Qui-Gon was smiling as well, sensing both men's lighter moods. He doused the blade and opened the compartment door on the hilt. He extracted the red crystal and handed it over to Vader then slid the new yellow crystal inside. He closed the compartment door and ignited the saber. A warm, sunny blade emerged. The Jedi Master practiced a few easy forms then graduated to more difficult ones. Luke and Vader watched the older man move like liquid steel around the cavern.

"You still have the grace I remember," Vader commented. He had used many of Qui-Gon's moves in his own later modified forms. It was strange to once again watch another Jedi fight. Qui-Gon was not as strong as either Vader or Luke, but he would be a very tough opponent nonetheless.

"I think I have been … improved. Luke, I feel quite a bit stronger than I remember, more limber," Qui-Gon said, smiling largely.

"Everyone I've brought back has had improved physical and mental acuity."

Shock was evidence on Qui-Gon's face. "Everyone you've brought back? I knew you were capable of great healing," he gestured towards Vader, "but I thought I was the first you had tried to resurrect."

"Only the first one that didn't have a body already," Luke explained then frowned, "Perhaps that was why I was able to resurrect the troopers without draining another being … they were newly dead and their bodies needed little energy to be healed and … restarted, for lack of a better word, and there was enough Force energy present in the room."

"Speaking of healing … Luke as soon as you sense any energy start to mend your leg. We'll need you functional as soon as possible," Vader said, and started to arrange Luke to lift him up into his arms.

"Understood."

Vader felt a pull on their bond.

`Father, are you all right? I sensed earlier that you were disturbed by something more than the close call with the dragon.'

He brushed back Luke's golden hair from his forehead. `It is nothing really. Just seeing Qui-Gon again …'

`He's the one that saved you from slavery, isn't he?

`Yes.'

`You know that YOU are the reason he saved me despite what he said about us being meant.'

Vader straightened Luke's rumpled shirt as he contemplated the boy's words. `I can't imagine why. We hardly knew one another all those years ago. And I'm certain that he is aware of my part in the destruction of the Jedi.'

`That doesn't mean …' Luke looked down at his hands in his lap, twinning them together as he did when he was nervous or depressed.

`What?' Vader tilted Luke's chin up.

Luke's too blue eyes searched his face. `Even if he knows everything you've done … it doesn't mean he'd stop caring for you. And he does care and … love you.'

Vader just stopped his mouth from dropping open. `Luke, there was and is nothing between Qui-Gon and I. We met when I was six!'

Luke smiled, showing he did not believe Qui-Gon a rival. `Not that kind of love, but a … connection. Tell me you didn't wonder what it would have been like if he had been your Master instead of Obi-Wan.'

Vader studied his son's face. `Perhaps. But I have learned not to dwell on the past. It cannot be changed. The future is enough to contemplate.'

`You're right, but the past … sometimes it has such a hold on us.'

Vader pressed a tender kiss against his son's furrowed forehead. Luke relaxed into the touch. The Dark Lord felt Qui-Gon specifically looking elsewhere to give them privacy. At least it answered one question that Vader had, namely, that the Jedi Master was not outright disapproving of what was between him and Luke.

"Let us be on our way," Vader said as he stood up with Luke in his arms with ease as if the boy weighed nothing. As they began to walk, he asked Qui-Gon, "How exactly did Obi-Wan enlist the Rebellion in his cause? There aren't any major Force sensitives in their ranks for him to appear to."

"There is one."

"Leia," Luke said softly.

"Luke, I know you mentioned her as the contact Obi-Wan would seek out. But I have met the Princess and though she may have rudimentary skills, it would be unlikely Obi-Wan could appear to her as he did to us." Vader cradled Luke tighter against his chest as he felt they boy snuffle closer to his neck. But his enjoyment was short-lived as the Force told him he was missing something, something basic about the princess.

Qui-Gon's eyes slid past Vader's as he motioned for the other men to follow him towards a large opening in the far wall. Vader could smell a trace of fresh air over the pungent scent of the Krayt Dragon's feces.

"Normally, you would be right that one untrained such as her would not be able to see Obi-Wan, but … her family is unusually strong with the Force." Qui-Gon did not look at him as he added, "It might be better if we had this discussion elsewhere. It might come as a shock—"

"I wish you to inform me now, Qui-Gon, before we face them in battle," Vader interrupted him curtly.

The Jedi Master nodded. "Leia Organa is … your daughter, Anakin."

"What?" Vader stopped moving. "That's impossible! Since Padme I have exclusively sought out the company of men. I could have no other children!"

"She is Luke's twin."

Luke stiffened in Vader's arms. The boy's eyes were huge and troubled. Vader felt a mix of hope, despair and even jealousy as if Vader would suddenly choose Leia over him, flow over their bond from the boy.

Vader sent over their bond, `Luke, you are the only one for me. Believe that.'

The boy hung his head, `I … I want you to love her. She's your … daughter … my sister. Forgive me for being so foolish. This news … it's a shock. I always wanted a sibling, but … Obi-Wan has turned her against us. He has turned my hope to ashes.'

Vader had no answer for him. He wasn't sure what his own reaction was to the news. He had admired the Princess' pluck to a certain extent, but had been more exasperated with her than anything else. `Much like I felt with Padme, which is now not a surprising thought.' Leia and Padme had always spoken of ideals to him of a Republic that had never existed except in books, but they had ignored the practical realities of running a cohesive group. Leia had been a thorn in his side ever since she joined the Senate and ever after as Rebellion leader. `And now she takes Obi-Wan's side in this battle. Why am I not surprised?' Leia reminded him too much of his traitorous wife. He realized that he felt no connection to her at all. Only Luke had a place in his heart.

"Do you think the fact that she is my … offspring … will change anything, Qui-Gon?" Vader asked.

The Jedi Master's expression was solemn, "It might. It could."

"It won't. She was my enemy before and she is my enemy still."

"Father," Luke's voice was pained.

Vader tightened his grip on Luke's slender body in his arms. "She betrayed us, young one. The stone you fell through was purposefully weakened. She sent you to … to be burned. There will be no mercy for her."

Luke's POV

Luke knew the discussion was over. His father's expression was closed. He had made his mind up and would not be swayed. Vader began striding confidently ahead, his Force senses stretched out to catch any trace of the Rebels. Qui-Gon gave Vader a gentle look of sadness and understanding before his expression slipped into the same neutral mask as Vader's as he began to scan ahead.

Luke wished he could compartmentalize what he had learned so easily. The boy's own emotions were mixed and uncertain. `She was my friend … is my sister … and now she is supposed to be my enemy.'

Luke snuggled tighter against his father's strong chest as if Vader's physical presence could banish his fears. In order to stave off thoughts of Leia, Han and Chewie, he threw his own Force senses out to find energy to repair his leg. The last thing he wanted was to be wounded physically when facing his old friends. He had a feeling that just seeing them again would hurt him enough.

The soft creak of his father's leather armor and the swish of the cloak around Qui-Gon's legs were the only sounds the trio made. Vader occasionally checked his comlink, but he was unable to reach the troopers on the surface or the Executor. The Dark Lord suddenly frowned and his pace slowed.

"There is a … bubble of blankness up ahead," he said suddenly. "I cannot … sense anything in it or past it."

Qui-Gon nodded. "I'm experiencing it too. It as if my Force senses are being pushed back."

"Perhaps more of the crystals?" Luke offered.

"It doesn't feel quite the same. This is undoubtedly a trap," Vader said.

"I agree," Qui-Gon said. "I will scout ahead and see what there is to see while you guard Luke here."

Without waiting for acquiescence to his plan, Qui-Gon fluidly crept forward and was soon out of sight. Luke couldn't help but notice Vader's deep frown at Qui-Gon's taking the lead.

"He is as used to giving orders as you are, Father," Luke teased lightly.

"Jedi Masters always think they are in charge."

"Yes, they are almost as bad as Dark Lords of the Sith," Luke said with an impish grin.

Vader's tight expression loosened and he grinned back. "Almost."

His father set him down on the ground gently then shaded the light sticks he carried so their location would not easily be discovered. While they waited, Luke gathered all the Force energy he could to himself and began to knit together the broken bone. He was halfway done when Vader stiffened. The Dark Lord was moving to pick him up before Luke sensed what was disturbing him. It then became all too apparent what the cause was. A young Rebel with dark hair feathered back from a sharp face was approaching carrying what looked to be a nutrient frame that housed a small, furry salamander-type creature about 40 centimeters long. The bubble of blankness his father had remarked on was advancing at the same rate the Rebel was. Twenty Rebel soldiers were lined up behind him, their blaster rifles drawn. Luke felt Vader send out a bolt of Dark Force energy at the one holding the cage, but it dissipated before reaching the Rebel.

The Rebels spotted the burst of dark energy and traced back its source to catch sight of Vader. There were shouts and the Rebels began to run towards them. Laser bolts flew through the air.

`The creature is stopping our powers from reaching them!' Luke intuited as another laser bolt passed close enough to singe his father's cheek. He sent the thought over their bond.

`Indeed. What I wouldn't give for a blaster right now!' Vader growled over their bond as he raced with Luke back down the cavern.

Luke realized they were going to be trapped. The cavern was a dead end and the bubble of Force protection the creature caused would probably fill even that large space.

`Did they catch Qui-Gon?'

`I don't think so. But I can't reach him over … our training bond,' Vader answered as he dodged two more laser blasts.

Luke wasn't surprised that there was a training bond between Vader and Qui-Gon. He had sensed something like that earlier. But his thoughts were soon snatched away as they reached the cavern. There was no where to hide. No boulders to crouch behind even. And the hole they had fallen through too high for them to reach with a Force jump. They were trapped.

"Hold right there or we'll shoot!" One of the Rebels shouted behind them.

Slowly Vader set Luke down and turned to face the Rebel troops. He used his own body as a shield for his son. Luke didn't want to hide behind his father, but his injured leg and his father's stern expression kept him in place. There was slightly more energy in the cave as the Force replenished itself, but not enough to do any serious healing. So he peered between his father's legs at the Rebel soldiers who were set to attack them. He didn't see any faces he recognized and didn't know whether he was happy or not about that. He noted that the Force bubble did not extend quite the length or width of the cavern. Most of the troops were within the protective bubble, but Luke sensed a few were beyond it. Vader and Luke were just outside of the bubble's influence. The unprotected Rebels' thoughts were broadcast to him.

One blonde Rebel, his rifle gripped too tight, was thinking, `That's Lord Vader all right. But where's his mask? Even without it … he's scarier now than before. Those eyes …'

The slight Crimorian beside the blonde, was focused more on Luke than Vader, `Did Skywalker betray us? What of the Death Star? Would the Empire really sacrifice millions of lives to prove his allegiance to us when we were in their grasp? That makes no sense! But here Vader is protecting him like a Dagnar defends its young. This is a dark, dark day that we should lose our Jedi, our hope.'

Luke pulled back from their thoughts, shaken.

Vader's absolute stillness should have clued in Luke that he was going to act, but it was still a shock when Vader actually attacked. Like a striking serpent, the Dark Lord sent out a Force lines towards the blonde and Crimorian Rebels. The men gasped and clawed at their necks. Vader used his Force powers to drag them across the rocky floor so that their bodies were between them and the Rebel troops. It happened so quickly, that not one shot was fired by the Rebels before the men were taken. Their reaction was to scrunch closer around the man with the creature, terrified that they would be snatched up by Vader as well.

"If you shoot … I will snap their necks," Vader intoned.

Luke saw the rifles lower slightly. There was stirring in the back of their ranks as a slight figure in tan camouflage entered the chamber.

"Leia," Luke breathed softly.

Luke could see the resemblance between them now and knew if that creature was not present that he would be able to identify his twin's Force signature. He could also see the similarities between Leia and Vader. They had the same coloring, the same high cheekbones and deep eyes. Vader's nostrils flared when he caught sight of her. She walked quickly to the side of the man with the creature that produced the Force bubble. She gazed at Vader for long silent moments. Luke wondered what she thought of Vader's appearance. Did she know that he was responsible for healing Vader? What all had Obi-Wan told her?

Leia's own appearance was ragged. She had dark circles under her eyes and there were deep lines around her mouth as she frowned at them. She looked like she had not slept or smiled in weeks even though just over two days had passed since he last saw her.

Her voice, when it came, rang out across the chamber, "There is no way out of here for you. Surrender peacefully and you shall have a fair trial."

Vader let out a bark of laughter. "Fair trial? What are we on trial for? You are the Rebels! You are traitors to the Empire."

Leia's mouth became a thin line. "Then surrender because you have no other choice."

"You would sacrifice these men's lives?" Vader asked softly as lifted the two men off the floor with his Force powers and shook them. They looked like rag dolls.

"If it is a choice between their lives and setting both of you free … then yes, I will sacrifice them."

Luke gasped. "Leia! You wouldn't!"

He scooted out from behind his father, drawing his injured leg painfully behind him.

`Luke, get back!' Vader ordered over their bond, his eyes flashing gold.

`I won't hide behind you, father!'

`Luke …'

The image of the dragon and fire and loss flashed across their bond then another image of hundreds of laser bolts hitting Luke's body, making it jerk about on the ground like a marionette with cut strings. Luke met his father's eyes and sent love and devotion back.

`Do you think it would be any easier for me to watch you die?'

`I can't lose you!'

`I feel the same. I don't think she'll kill us.'

`Not now, but she intends to Luke.'

Vader reluctantly allowed Luke to get a clear view of the Princess. Leia's eyes alighted upon him and he saw pain and love in their depths, but then her expression became shuttered. She turned back to Vader, not able to speak the words to her brother.

"You will either leave this chamber as our prisoners or … not at all."

Vader glowered at her. Luke caught just a glimpse of his father's thoughts, `We need time. Qui-Gon is still out there … hopefully. Even those blasted troopers are somewhere. The more time we have, the better our chance for our survival.'

"And how do I know the moment I release these two," he shook the two gasping, purple-faced Rebels, "you will not turn your blasters on us?"

"I give you my word," Leia said simply.

"Your word? Hmmm, a Skywalker's word has meaning, but does yours?"

Luke was shocked at his father acknowledging his parentage of her and his prior identity. Leia grew very still.

"I give my word … as a Skywalker."

Luke slumped. His hope was dashed that Obi-Wan had not told her of her heritage. Clearly the Jedi had learned something in his failures with Luke. But it also meant that Luke could not use the knowledge of their shared parentage, of Vader being their father, to convince her not to hurt them.

Vader's expression was grim. The blonde and Crimorian Rebels suddenly fell to the ground in crumpled heaps. Both gasped and groaned as they drew in lungfuls of air. The cage with the creature was brought closer to Luke and Vader and like a light being extinguished, they were suddenly cutoff from the Force. Vader staggered, his eyes went wide and unfocused. Luke gave out a groan of pain. It was as if the world was drained of color, shape, texture. Without the Force, Luke could not access their bond. He almost went unconscious with the loss of both the Force and his father, but somehow he managed to remain awake and aware.

Several Rebels surrounded then. Luke's gaze met his father's as both had their hands cuffed behind their backs. The Rebels also stripped Vader of his comlink. It was at that moment that Luke heard a familiar voice. `Han!' The smuggler shouldered his way through the throng of Rebels over to Leia's side.

"Luke!" Han yelled.

"Han!" Luke cried back weakly. His heart lifted. Han didn't seem to think badly of him. Han would help them.

Leia grabbed hold of Han's arm as he began to run towards Luke.

"Sithspawn, Leia! Why are you having Luke tied up with … is that Vader?" Han froze

"Yes, its just as General Kenobi told me, Han. See what Luke has done? See what he's capable of? And that's nothing compared to the destructive powers that have awakened in Vader."

Han shook his head. "Vader's always been bad news, Leia, but the kid … c'mon, you know he's good."

Leia's expression crumpled for a moment. "It … it doesn't matter. He's devoted to … to Vader. And that makes him too dangerous to … it must be done."

"I don't believe that. I can't believe that!" Han moved again, but Leia increased her hold on his arm.

"Han … you know who Vader is to Luke and … me. And you know how Luke feels about …" Leia looked so tired suddenly and she leaned against the smuggler's chest. "Luke's a traitor, Han."

Luke wanted to desperately plead his case, but he didn't know the words. And even as he watched Han defend him, he saw the smuggler melt slightly against Leia. `He loves her. And if it's a choice between her and me … I'll lose.' Luke hung his head.

"Princess … I want to hear Luke's side."

"You will. But not right now."

Leia tugged on Han's arm, trying to lead him out of the cavern. The smuggler gave Luke a pained look.

"Listen, kid," he called over, "this will all get straightened out."

Luke nodded tiredly, staying the urge to shout for Han not to leave them. Luke turned to look at Leia, but she had turned her back, as if she could not stand the sight of them. Han hustled out after her.

"His leg is broken. He cannot walk," Vader growled at the Rebels that tried to haul Luke to his feet.

Two of the Rebels holstered their rifles and grasped Luke by the shoulders and calves. Luke let out a sharp cry as they lifted him, not careful of his still injured limb.

"Shut up, Imp!" One of the Rebels that was holding up his torso hissed in his ear, it was a red-haired youth that looked strangely familiar to Luke, but he couldn't place him. The man's breath smelled medicinal and Luke flinched away from it. "You're lucky we don't drag you on the ground behind us."

Vader gritted his teeth and shot looks of pure hate at the two Rebels, but then his expression closed off and Luke became more disturbed by that. They were dragged out of the cavern and through the cave system. Luke had to shut his eyes as they finally exited into the forest. Even though the massive trees blocked out most of the sunlight and the sky was rapidly fading to dusk, the dim light was still too bright after so long in the caves. They were brought to what looked like a small base camp, hidden amongst the golden barked trees.

He caught sight of Leia entering a canvas tent. He thought he heard Chewie's voice, but as the tent flap closed behind her the sound was cut off. No sign of Han or Threepio. He ached to see them, try to convince them that whatever Obi-Wan was afraid of, he needn't be, but at the same time Luke was loathe to see the disgust or hate in their eyes. He was an enemy now. Not welcome amongst these people. `So much has changed in two days. But I cannot regret being with my father. Maybe Leia is right. I am a traitor.'

Luke gritted his teeth as the Rebels none-too-gently dropped him on the ground by the base of the largest tree, just on the outskirts of the circle of tents. The trunk alone was twenty feet wide. Tears sprang up in his eyes as the pain sliced through him. His father was shoved down beside him. Luke felt the press of Vader's shoulder against his own.

"Are you all right?" Vader asked quietly.

"I'll be fine." And it wasn't a complete lie as the pain had died down to more manageable levels. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"No talking!" The familiar red-haired Rebel growled.

The Rebel thrust the butt of his rifle viciously against Vader's shoulder. The Dark Lord rocked back only slightly, his strong muscular shoulder absorbing the blow. Vader just gave the Rebel a carefully blank look that Luke knew promised ill for the man later. `If there is a later for us. I must have faith. Master Jinn is still out there and Artoo and the troopers.'

Luke pressed closer to his father. Just the warmth and weight of Vader's body against his helped ease his fears of what would become of them. He noted that the Rebels were careful never to let him or Vader get out of the influence of the salamander-type creature. The cage was placed just five feet away. The red-haired Rebel and the dark wing-haired one that had carried the creature in the cavern, took defensive positions around them and the cage. The other soldiers spread out into the camp, giving them veiled hostile looks as they passed by. Luke looked away from them and ended up staring at the creature's beady black eyes. Its tongue slid out of its mouth, wagged in the air and slid back in. Luke hated the little thing. The ache in his leg was nothing compared to the feeling of utter emptiness of being cut off from his bond with his father. This creature was the cause.

"Just look at him, Soel, the great Luke Skywalker. Not so high and mighty now, is he?" The red-haired Rebel said as he stared down at Luke. He tapped Luke's bad leg with his foot and Luke grimaced.

"Leave him alone, Nattan," Soel said and shifted his rifle uneasily as Nattan knelt down in front of Luke.

"You don't even know who I am, do you Skywalker scum?"

Luke stared at his face and willed himself to remember. Nattan had a pug-nose, too wide lips and a smattering of freckles across both cheeks and forehead. His shock of red-hair was greased down. He looked about twenty. While the face was familiar, Luke couldn't place it. Not even the name rang a bell.

"Too important to know who the lowly mechanic was who serviced your ship, right?" Nattan drawled. There was an ugly light in his brown eyes.

Luke said as mildly as he could, "I'm sorry I don't remember you. It's not because—"

Nattan interrupted as if Luke hadn't spoken. "Hotshot hero, Jedi Knight, had every Rebel commander singing your Sithspawn praises when all the time you were a no good traitor."

"That's not true!" The words were out of Luke's lips before he had a chance to draw them back in. `But isn't it true now? Aren't I a traitor to them?'

Nattan spit on the ground by Luke's side. Luke felt his father shift slightly and wondered what the Dark Lord was up to. Nattan leaned into his personal space.

"I used to think you were so … perfect, you know? Someone to aspire to be, but … you're nothing." Nattan reached forward and touched Luke's cheek. Luke flinched back, but Nattan gripped the back of his neck and held him in place. "I used to think you were so … beautiful."

"Get your hands off of him!" Vader snarled.

Nattan drew back from Luke only to strike Vader across the face with his rifle butt.

"Don't!" Luke cried out.

A bruise began to bloom immediately on Vader's cheek, but his amber eyes showed no pain, just rage. Only Nattan didn't see the warning expression. He was focussed back on Luke. He touched Luke's face again, running a calloused thumb across Luke's lower lip. Luke trembled in disgust. The man's hands were greasy against his skin. When the thumb circled the orbit of one of his eyes, the trembling increased. `This is wrong. Wrong. Oh, Force, what does he want?'

"I didn't know sexual assault was part of the Rebellion's arsenal," Vader said coldly.

Soel grimaced and shifted from foot to foot. "Nattan, don't …"

"What? You're going to listen to Darth Vader? These two are scheduled to die anyway, so why can't I take what I want from him? He's so pretty and I always took such good care of his ship. I should be rewarded."

Luke gasped. `We're to be executed? But Leia said there would be a trial and …' His gaze met his father's and he saw that Vader wasn't surprised by the revelation. But his internal thoughts were short-circuited as Nattan shouldered his rifle and grabbed Luke's bound hands. He began to drag Luke over behind the tree.

"Nattan, what are you doing?" Soel asked.

"Just want a little privacy. Don't worry, I'll keep him within the radius of the ysalamiri."

"No! Stop this!" Luke cried out, struggling futilely as he was dragged along the ground, his eyes wild, pain and fear racing through him. But no one from the camp heard him or cared to respond. "Please! NO!"

Vader used his free legs to trip Nattan. The Rebel shouted and landed down face first. When he stumbled back up to his feet, blood was running out of his nose. He lunged at Vader who head butted him in the mid-section. He gasped and fell back. Soel moved and pressed the muzzle of his laser rifle against Vader's temple. Luke let out a cry of fear for his father. Vader froze, his amber eyes still glowing with rage.

"Move and I swear I'll pull this trigger," Soel said, his voice trembling slightly.

"Are you going to let him rape Luke?" Vader's eyes were fixed on the Rebel's face. His switch from violence to charisma was lightening fast.

"I …" The Rebel broke off, he bit his lower lip.

"Is letting a helpless young man be raped, a man that saved your life and the lives of all your compatriots, something you want to be a part of? What you stand for?" Vader asked, his voice calm, but beseeching at the same time.

Nattan got back up to his feet. He was holding a hand up to his nose. Blood was gushing out and staining the front of his uniform.

"Don't listen to him, Soel! He's a fucking sorcerer, too."

"But … the ysalamiri should block his powers!" Soel said, his gun shook just slightly in his hands.

"Still … he's got a golden tongue, Soel. I heard he convinced people on Naria to kill themselves, walk off the tops of buildings, just by talking to them." Nattan struggled over to the other soldier.

"I don't want any part of rape, Nattan."

"You won't. You're just guarding him." Nattan grabbed Luke's arm and began moving him around the tree. "I'm the one doing what I'm doing."

Vader's eyes darted to Luke then back to the Rebel. "Soel, you are a part of this. While you stand here, he is hurting my … Luke. He is going to—"

"Shut up! I'm just doing my job! Skywalker … he shouldn't have betrayed us! He … whatever happens to him … it's deserved!" Soel shouted and pressed the gun harder into Vader's flesh.

"He didn't betray you!" Vader hissed. "Do you honestly think the destruction of the Death Star was a cover? The death of a million Imperials just a way to make you believe he's on your side? He saved your lives!"

Confusion raced across Soel's features, but then they hardened again as he sought something to hold onto against Darth Vader's argument. "It doesn't matter what he did before! He's a traitor now! I saw how you were with him in the caves! You protected him! You were willing to risk your life for his! He must be on your side, must be vital to the Empire for you to do that!"

Vader's eyes bored into the young Rebel. "He's … he is important to me … to everyone. Leia wishes him dead because of that importance. This is bigger than the Empire and the Rebellion. This—"

"That's not … that's not what she told us. Anyway, you can't say he isn't helping you! And you're … you're the Emperor's Monster … the Black Hand of the Empire! So long as Luke protects and serves you … he's our enemy!"

"This is a mistake. A mistake you pay for with your life, Soel. I promise you." Vader's expression made the Rebel's gun tremble.

Nattan wasn't going to stay to see who won the argument. Luke lost sight of his father as Nattan tugged him around the side of the tree. Nattan had managed to staunch the blood coming from his nose and wiped most of it off his face when he crouched over Luke's prostrate form. Luke tried to push him off, roll to the side, anything. But with his hands tied and his one leg practically useless, he was unable to stop Nattan's attack.

"Don't matter what Soel decides. I'm having you. You fight me or cry out, pretty boy, and I swear I'll hurt your precious commander, Darth Vader," Nattan hissed as he nipped and licked the side of Luke's neck.

Luke froze at that. He wouldn't risk his father's life. He would submit in order to avoid that. Luke shut his eyes, but Nattan shook him.

"I want those pretty blue eyes open for all of it. I want to stare into them, while I fuck you," Nattan said as he reached and undid the button of Luke's pants.

Luke shivered with disgust as Nattan gripped his flaccid organ and gave it a few quick jerks.

"Not too big down here are you. Guess you're made for taking it, receiving dick, and not giving. I promise, you'll get hard and cum with my cock inside of you. Maybe I'll even let you suck me. Last meal for the condemned man and all."

"Please don't do this!"

"It only makes it better when you beg."

Luke clamped his lips together, determined not to give this man any more pleasure. Nattan laughed and yanked down Luke's pants to his knees. `There is evil everywhere. Empire and Rebellion,' Luke thought hopelessly. Luke's pale skin was revealed as his clothes were wrenched from him. The injured leg was mottled with bruises at the break. He felt himself go weak with pain as it was jostled. Nattan leaned down and gave him a hard kiss, their teeth clacked together, and Luke's upper lip began to bleed.

"You are so sweet!"

Nattan's pupils had expanded, his rubbery lips were slick with saliva and a trace of blood, and there was a huge bulge in the front of his trousers. He fumbled with the opening to his own pants, zipped down the zipper and took out his large, blood-engorged cock. Luke shuddered at the thought of that inside of him. Only his father had ever touched him sexually. He only wanted Vader's touch. No one else's. And Luke knew that Vader would blame himself for not being able to protect his son. If they got out of this, Vader's hatred and pain would grow, the Darkness in him would multiply.

"I'm going pound into your ass so hard, you'll feel it for weeks … well, you would feel it if you were going to live that long."

Nattan grasped his legs and pushed them up over his shoulders. Luke bit back a shriek, but it was enough to get Nattan's attention.

"Oh, your leg hurts that bad, huh? Hmmm, maybe I'll be … merciful. Screams would ruin the moment. Guess I can fuck you another way," Nattan mused and then flipped Luke over, leaving his bare bottom exposed.

Luke felt sausage-shaped fingers pressing against his anus. Fingernails scrapped at his fair skin and he fought back a cry of pain and disgust.

"You're so tight. So fucking tight. Wonder what you're gonna feel like wrapped around my dick? I'm going to make you bleed, Skywalker. I'm gonna—"

Suddenly, Nattan's voice and touch were gone. The stillness was broken by what sounded like a branch snapping. Luke held his breath.

Vader's POV

Vader watched out of the corner of his eye as Luke was dragged from his sight. He swung all his attention back to the Rebel whose rifle was pressed against his temple. Rage and fear ate at his reason. He had to get to Luke!

Just as he was about to try a desperate manoeuver to disarm Soel, he saw two things: first, a familiar golden protocol droid walking stiffly out of the tent the Princess had disappeared into and second, Qui-Gon Jinn in the branches of the tree above the Rebel's head. Both Threepio and Master Jinn looked right at him.

"Master Anakin?" The droid asked and trundled over to where he was being held prisoner.

Soel frowned in confusion as the protocol droid called out to Vader again, using his former name.

"You shouldn't be here!" Soel yelled at the droid.

Threepio was unimpressed with the Rebel's authority, drawing back slightly to give what the droid imagined to be a stern look, but was more haughty and stiff than anything else. Then he turned back to Vader. "Master Anakin, can it be you? My, my, it is you!"

"You malfunctioning bucket of bolts! Get away from the prisoners!" Soel barked.

"I only see one prisoner. What have you done with the other one?" Threepio asked.

Soel went pale. "None of your goddamn business, droid! Now get out of here!" He shoved Threepio back.

"Well! There is no call to be rude. All I asked was a simple question—"

At that moment when the Rebel was distracted, Qui-Gon dropped from the tree and landed on top of him. The gun flew from the man's hands as he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Threepio looked from one man to the other in disbelief while Qui-Gon sliced through Vader's bonds.

"Master Jinn and Master Anakin? How is this possible? Artoo and I were told you were both dead!"

"Good to see you two, Threepio," Qui-Gon said.

Vader's eyes alone expressed his thankfulness for Master Jinn's appearance, but he didn't stop to speak to either man or droid. He was already moving to where his son had been taken. What he saw when he rounded the side of the tree made his stomach churn and rage cascade through him. Luke was on his stomach, pants pulled down to his thighs, his bare bottom being caressed by Nattan, who was also cooing obscenities into Luke's ear. Neither had any idea he was present. Vader wasn't conscious of moving to Nattan's back, grasping the man's neck, and with a savage twist, breaking his spine.

It sounded like a branch snapping in two.

For one long moment, Vader held the body, shaking with such anger that even ending the brute's life had not assuaged it. He shut his eyes tight. It was only when he heard a suppressed fearful moan from Luke that he came back to himself. He shoved the anger down and tossed the body of the dead Rebel to the side like the trash that he was. He crouched down by his son's side and brushed his fingers against Luke's cheek.

"Child?"

Luke choked back a sob and turned his head towards the sound. "Father? Is it really you?"

"It's me. Did he … did he injure you?"

Luke shook his head. "No, you … you stopped him."

Vader gave a silent prayer to the Force for this reprieve. "Hold on one moment. I must get the saber from Qui-Gon to release your bonds."

Luke nodded. Vader did not have to go far to find Qui-Gon. The Jedi Master was quietly talking to Threepio, catching him up on what had happened, while scanning the surrounding area for any Rebels. The soldiers seemed thankfully adverse to coming anywhere near the tree where Vader and Luke had been kept, superstition and fear working in the Force users' favor.

"Saber," Vader said and Qui-Gon tossed it over. The concern in Qui-Gon's grey eyes was so great that Vader felt the need to reassure him. "He … he wasn't …raped."

Qui-Gon's shoulders slumped in relief. Vader knew he had one more task before he returned to Luke. He stood over the semi-conscious Soel. The man looked up at him through bleary eyes that quickly focussed with fear. Vader ignited the saber.

"Please, no!" Soel cried.

"Anakin, what are you doing?" Qui-Gon asked.

Vader plunged the saber through Soel's heart. The man died with a quiet gasp. The scent of burnt flesh rose up to the Dark Lord's nostrils. The Rebel's death had been too easy in Vader's view. He had deserved to suffer for allowing Luke to be hurt, but there was no time for true justice.

"Oh, my!" Threepio dithered as he looked at the dead Rebel.

"Anakin, why?" Qui-Gon asked.

Vader looked up at the distraught Jedi Master. The Dark Lord's voice when he spoke was like an icy river, "I told him he would pay with his life for letting Luke come to harm. I was just keeping my promise. He deserved to die. He deserved worse than he got. They all deserve death." He gestured with the blade towards the oblivious Rebel encampment. "And I will bring it to them."

"You mustn't listen to the Voice in your mind that tells you to destroy and kill, Anakin."

"Voice?"

Vader stilled. How did Qui-Gon know about the Dark Side speaking to him? The Dark Lord mentally shook himself. Whatever Qui-Gon thought he knew, he was wrong this time. With the ysalamiri blocking the Force, he could not hear what the Darkness was saying. It was his choice to kill Nattan and Soel. Wasn't it? But could it be that the Dark Side's presence so saturated him that a trace of its desires remained inside of him even cut off from it like he was?

"All the Darkness wants is death, annihilation, obliteration of all life. It would make the entire Universe a desert if it could," Qui-Gon pleaded, his expression tight with concern.

Vader felt something within him resonate with Qui-Gon's words. This resonation came from a place so deep inside of him that the ysalamiri's powers could not reach it. From this place, he received a vision generated by the Force. A brief glimpse of blowing sand and endless night skies.

"A desert … yes … a desert," Vader's voice sounded dreamy and disconnected to his own ears. "Luke would be … safe in such a place."

Qui-Gon gripped his shoulders and shook him. "Anakin! You must fight against the Dark Side's will! You must control it! Don't let it control you! Use your love for Luke as a balance!"

Vader jerked away from Qui-Gon, but just that conscious act made him come back to himself. His head ached and the siren song of the Dark Side was more like a breathy whistle than the full-blown orchestra it had been for the past few moments. The ysalamiri's powers reasserted itself and Vader felt empty of any connection to the Force, Dark or Light Side. `Could he be right? Am I being … controlled yet again?'

"You know nothing about the Dark Side, Qui-Gon."

With a weary smile, Qui-Gon said, "I do know something about the Darkness, Anakin. Trust me … or at least give me a chance to earn your trust. I am speaking the truth to you."

Vader gripped the saber, taking a defensive position with it. "But why should you want to earn my trust? I destroyed the Jedi. I killed Obi-Wan, your precious student, the one you died for. And I was glad he was gone. You know that I embrace the Dark Side and have no intention of leaving it. Why do you want to help me?"

"Because you need my help and that means the Universe needs my help."

"You make no sense!"

"I will explain it once we are away from here. For now … please fight the Voice."

Vader felt a prickle of unease at seeing Qui-Gon's obvious belief in what he was saying. But he could not contemplate it any longer. He needed to free his son and get them out of this place. He jogged back to Luke. The boy had managed to turn himself onto his side. Forest debris clung to his naked thighs and sweet sex. Vader saw also the bruises from the earlier break and fall. He swallowed hard, wishing he could extinguish his son's pain.

`I will find a way to keep him safe and happy forever. Make this Universe a place where his innocence is protected. Even if it becomes a desert in the process.'

Luke gave him a wan smile as Vader ignited the now sun-colored blade and slashed through his bonds. With a sigh of relief, Luke rubbed his numb wrists then went to tug up his pants. Vader reached to help him. At first, Luke became so still that the Dark Lord stopped moving himself.

"May I help you, Luke?"

The boy nodded. "Please … I want you to."

The Dark Lord tenderly brushed off the dirt, leaves and twigs from his son's silken flesh and quiescent sex. Vader's fingers longed to linger on Luke's skin. He wanted to let his hand slide around his son's soft cock, stroke it into hardness and watch as Luke spilled his seed against the black, rich earth.

Luke said softly, "All I could think about when he was … pawing at me was that … I only wanted you to touch me. That I was yours and no one else's."

Vader swallowed hard as Luke said those words. `Mine. He really is mine. Death was too good for the terrorist scum that harmed him.'

Luke gave a breathy moan when Vader's fingers slid over his son's cock to clean it. A small smile graced Vader's lips. The experience with Nattan had not dulled his son's sensitivity to his touch. But he stilled the desire to do more. The middle of a Rebel camp was not the place to pursue this. But Luke thrust into his hand, desperate for more contact. Vader had to use all of his willpower to pull up the boy's pants and tuck Luke's hardening sex inside.

"Sorry," Luke whispered as a light blush stained his cheeks.

"Never be sorry for enjoying my touch, child of my heart. Believe me … if we were almost anywhere else … I would have given you the release you wanted and deserve."

Vader leaned down and kissed him, the boy's lips parting, and liquid warmth was all that was between them. He longed to touch every part of his son that Nattan had; wipe out the experience of pain with pleasure. Without need for further words, Vader lifted Luke up and brought him around to where Qui-Gon and Threepio were.

"Luke," Qui-Gon's rich voice was tinged with gratefulness to see the boy relatively unharmed by his experience.

"Master Jinn … thank you for not abandoning us," Luke said softly.

"I never will. I swear it."

Vader felt an unaccustomed tightness in his chest at the look of utter conviction on Qui-Gon's face as he uttered that oath. Fear had always made people do as the Dark Lord commanded, made them obey, made them protect him. Loyalty … love … he had forgotten how strong those emotions could bond people. `But will they be strong enough? Obi-Wan, Padme and Leia prove that such bonds can break.'

Qui-Gon whispered, "I'm sorry I could not have stopped them from taking you in the first place. I got caught in the Force bubble and was knocked unconscious by it while hiding behind some boulders on the path. Luckily, I was out of sight when the soldiers passed. When I awoke, I found the cave empty and traced you back here."

"It would have been suicide to attempt to rescue us before," Luke said.

Vader nodded his agreement. Qui-Gon still looked disturbed that he had failed them somehow.

The protocol droid's voice radiated happiness as it said, "Master Luke, it is so good to see you, sir! Oh, there has been such talk about—"

"Threepio," Vader interrupted, not knowing what the sometimes tactless droid might say.

"Yes, Master Anakin?"

"Override code 3-25-74."

The droid froze for a moment then came back to itself. "Master, what do you wish of me?"

The override code would ensure that Threepio would obey only him Any loyalty the Rebels had over the droid was overwritten and could not be established again. Vader pointed to the ysalamiri cage. He had thought to kill the beast, but there looked to be some kind of sensor and he worried it the beast's death might trigger an alarm.

"Take that thing and walk as far away with it as you can as quickly as you can. After that, I wish you to rejoin the Rebels. You will, in secret, communicate with me all you learn about their plans, bases, numbers … anything and everything you discover. You will tell no one of meeting us here or serving me. Understood?"

"Absolutely, Master Anakin, as you know my programming—"

"Yes, I do know, Threepio, I was the one to program you. Now get going, our luck cannot hold much longer," Vader said and gave Threepio the secret code to contact him with the reports. As the droid grasped the cage and began to wander off with it into the trees, Vader added under his breath, "Why did I program him to talk so much? You'd think he ran on air rather than fuel cells."

Luke and Qui-Gon both grinned at his last muttered comment.

"The safest way out of here is around the back side of the camp," Qui-Gon explained softly to them both as he grabbed Soel's blaster rifle.

Vader watched Luke's expression as the boy realized the other Rebel was dead. Luke's brows drew together and his lush mouth turned down at the corners. Finally, he turned his gaze away all together and pressed his face into his father's neck.

Vader kissed Luke's temple and said softly, "I … had to, my child."

"You don't have to say anything. I … know."

"Do not blame yourself for—"

"It's not that. I … I'm glad that they are both dead and I shouldn't be!" Luke gripped his father's neck tighter. "Don't worry about me. Just … let's get out of here."

Vader nodded at Qui-Gon and indicated for the older man to lead the way.

"You came down in a ship, yes?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Yes, a shuttle. We landed near the front of the temple."

"This way should lead us there," Qui-Gon whispered as they began to strafe the very outside of the camp, using as much of the large tree trunks for cover as they could.

"I take it the Rebels did not find the ship earlier?" Vader asked as he ducked under some low hanging branches, eyes trained on the back of the tents, for any soldiers.

"Not by the time I had left them."

"The troopers might have evacuated in it after the cave-in," Luke offered, his voice still slightly muffled as he spoke into Vader's shoulder.

"I no longer have a comlink, but I activated the emergency sensor in my boot as soon as we were captured. Admiral Piett should be sending troops down at any moment if he has not all ready. The area by the temple is the only nearby clearing for the ships to land so we're going in the right general direction for rescue even if the shuttle is gone."

The Force-resistant bubble the ysalamiri cast suddenly ended. The Force came crashing back in and all three men were staggered by having their connections to it restored so suddenly.

"I guess we're far enough away from Threepio," Luke remarked. He gave a little gasp of pleasure and Vader felt more than saw Luke's leg completely heal. "You can set me down now, Father."

Vader found himself loathe to let go of his son. He wanted Luke close, safe in his arms, but he knew it would be more prudent to let Luke down so the boy could fight with them if it came down to it. Luke sensed his struggle and Vader felt a pulse of love over the bond. He set Luke down gently on the ground and handed the lightsaber over to him. Luke offered it to Qui-Gon, but the older Jedi shook his head and patted the blaster he carried. Luke exchanged the crystals like he had seen Qui-Gon do and watched for the first time as his new blade ignited. It was a beautiful blue-white color, so pure and cold, like ice.

The shrill sound of an alarm sounding from the Rebel camp broke the stillness of the air.

"Looks like they noticed we're gone," Vader said and all three men began to run low to the ground towards the clearing around the temple.

They did not get far before the laser bolts began flying. Luke used his new blade to deflect many of them back on their targets. Qui-Gon let loose a series of deadly accurate blasts from the rifle. Vader felt a smile coming across his lips as the power of the Dark Side rose in him like a phoenix. He felt new abilities circulating inside of him, knew instinctively that there were so many ways he could bring death and destruction upon his enemies.

He started by sending a blast of Force energy towards the line of Rebels that had taken cover behind some trees. The ground erupted and trees upended, their roots suddenly pointing skyward. There were shrill screams of men and women being crushed beneath the weight of the ancient timber. Both Luke and Qui-Gon were standing, almost slack-jawed, as they stared at what he had done.

"Both of you … RUN!" Vader commanded.

Qui-Gon was the first to recover. He grasped Luke's arm and began dragging him away.

"Father!" Luke cried out over his shoulder, reaching to grab Vader and take him with them.

At that moment, Vader caught sight of Leia. She had a bead on Luke with her rifle and as he watched … she squeezed the trigger. It took only a millisecond for this act, but it seemed so much longer. Luke merely deflected the laser blast she sent at him with a flick of his new blade, not even realizing who had sent it his way. `She tried to kill Luke … her own brother … her twin … such betrayal cannot … WILL NOT … be tolerated!'

He was filled with such heat, molten heat, as rage fuelled the Darkness in him. He pushed that heat outwards towards her. The air in front of him suddenly became a wall of moving fire. Laughter bubbled out of his throat. `Skywalkers and fire! Now the fire will serve us!'

He thrust the fire away towards the line of Rebel huts and the last location he had seen Leia at. Wherever the wave of fire touched, it seemed to adhere like a sticky web and burned with a wild frenzy. Trees were suddenly towers of flame, the grass was burnt down to cinders and the dirt beneath it burned as well, stone began to superheat and melt, and when the firewall met flesh … the people were incinerated so quickly that they had no chance to scream.

As the flames spread outwards, they devoured everything in their path and created a wasteland. The Song of the Dark Side played in Vader's mind, telling him to destroy and destroy and destroy and never stop until there was nothing left. Vader collapsed on the ground as power just exploded from him in wave after wave of terrible flame. Unconsciousness nibbled at the edges of his mind. `What have I done … Luke … Luke could be trapped by these flames … no! NO! NO!' He could not find the link to his son. The Dark Side screamed at him, drowning out all else.

Vader fell unconscious.

Luke's POV

A literal wall of flames swallowed Luke's last view of his father. He knew Vader had created it, had somehow been able to set the very air on fire. As Luke's powers in healing and life-bringing were increasing greatly, he wasn't surprised that his father's in destruction and death had grown exponentially as well. But still … the actual sight of that destruction took his breath away.

"We must get to him!" Luke shouted at Qui-Gon.

The Jedi Master's dark eyes reflected the flames, his mouth pinched into a tight line. "How can we ever hope to control this?" he asked more of himself than Luke.

"I'm going back for him!" Luke shrugged off Qui-Gon's grip.

"NO! Luke, you can't make it through those flames."

"Then what about over them?" Damon Tran's voice asked.

Both Jedi whipped around to stare at the young trooper. Luke grinned as he caught sight of the three other resurrected troopers behind him and just beyond them, at the edge of the clearing, the shuttle with Artoo beeping ecstatically from the gangway.

"Damon!" Luke shouted.

Damon grabbed Luke's shoulders and embraced him. The young Jedi froze in the embrace.

"I thought … I thought we lost you, Luke," Damon whispered in his ear. "I don't know if I … I could have survived that."

"Yes … well … ah … I see. That's … I really can't talk about that now. I need to get into the shuttle and save my father," Luke said as he extricated himself from the strong embrace.

"Of course. I'm just relieved your safe!"

Damon's grey eyes were shining down at Luke. The look of overwhelming love for him was there for all to see. Luke caught Qui- Gon's elegantly raised eyebrow at the young trooper's actions. Luke sprinted past all the troopers, giving them glad greetings and headed for the shuttle. Everyone clambered in eagerly after him. He was at the controls and lifting the shuttle off the ground within moments. Artoo hooted at him impatiently as he brushed by the little droid.

"Keep the door open and rig two harnesses," Luke ordered the troopers.

Qui-Gon was suddenly at his side, scanning the ground through the smoke and the flames for Vader's distinctively black-clad figure. Luke continued to try and contact his father over their bond, but he kept being met by a dark wall. He shoved the panic and fear down that his father had been killed. `Even if he has can I not bring him back as I did Qui-Gon?' But something told him that it might not be so easy, that circumstances that had allowed Qui-Gon's rebirth might not play out again. This situation somehow felt all too familiar to Luke and he gripped the shuttle controls tightly.

"There!" Qui-Gon shouted and pointed to Vader's unconscious form.

"Please let him be okay, please!" Luke whispered harshly under his breath. "Qui-Gon, take the shuttle controls. Hover as close to the ground as you can!"

They could not land as the fire raged too fiercely, so Luke knew there was only one other way to reach his father. Luke moved to the open doorway and strapped one harness around his torso, while he shrugged the other over his shoulder.

"Luke, what are you doing?" Damon asked, worry furrowing his brow.

"Getting my father."

Luke turned from him and jumped gracefully through the shuttle's open door, using the Force like a parachute to slow and control his fall. He coughed and wheezed as he passed through black smoke. Vader lay unconscious on top of a large stone slab. The air was so hot it felt like breathing in knives. Most of the forest was completely ablaze, even the large stones that had dotted the landscape were burning, melting, having become lava-like. Luke controlled his breathing to spare himself from too much smoke-inhalation.

Vader's beautiful face was flushed and pale at the same time. His breath came in short quick gasps. Luke touched his cheek. He noted that most of Vader's armor had burned away, but the flesh underneath was intact, unharmed, and terribly beautiful.

"Father? Can you hear me?"

Vader's amber eyes flickered open, but there was no understanding in them.

"It's going to be okay, father. I'm getting you out of here. I promise."

Luke kissed Vader's face lightly then quickly began belting his father into the harness. He struggled to lift the much larger body up in order to slide the harness around his back and to thread Vader's other arm into one of the straps. After he had secured it tightly, he motioned for the troopers to begin lifting them up. Vader's upper torso began to rise, but suddenly the upward motion stopped with a jerk. Vader's metal prosthetic legs had fused to the stone he lay upon. Luke spared a thought that if the metal legs had melted then surely Vader's flesh should be gone or at least marked, but the fire had not touched the Dark Lord's skin and hair this time unlike Mustafar.

Luke ignited his saber and said, "Father, forgive me, but you won't need these anymore anyways. I'm going to make you whole again."

Then he cut off the useless metal prostheses from Vader's body. With a jerk on the rope, he indicated that the troopers should begin hauling them up again. Both men began to ascend into the sky. When they reached the shuttle, and the door was closed behind them, Luke tenderly placed a folded blanket from the first aide kit under Vader's head and grabbed another to cover his mostly nude body. The only place for Vader to lie down was on the center of the shuttle's floor. The troopers stood back at the edges of the shuttle to give as much room as possible. Davel joined Qui-Gon at the controls to give him the access codes for docking on the Executor.

The Dark Lord's head rolled from side to side as he cried out Luke's name softly.

"I'm here, Father. I'm with you." Luke petted his father's hair and face, trying to comfort the delirious man.

"Can't lose … can't lose my son … no … please no!"

Vader began to thrash about on the floor of the shuttle. Luke gently covered Vader's body with his own, pillowing his head on Vader's chest and drawing Vader's arms around him. Immediately, the thrashing stopped and the Dark Lord's breathing evened out. His father tightened his hold on Luke.

Luke tilted his head up so he could see how close they were to the Executor through the front plastiglas shield. He watched as the blue of Black Heart's sky became the rich black of space as the shuttle breached the atmosphere. As he stared out the plastiglas, something in the far right corner of the shield caught his eye. He almost thought it was an illusion, but as it continued to move at a steady pace, Luke realized it was indeed another ship. A ship none other than the Millenium Falcon. He continued to watch it until it disappeared into hyperspace.

`I wonder if Han, Leia, Chewie and Threepio are all right? Or if some of them … didn't make it.'

Luke laid his head back down on Vader's muscular chest. His father's strong heartbeat soothed him like nothing else could. Below he knew that Black Heart burned and above them the Executor waited like a blade in the sky. Luke suddenly felt a pull on the Force and he knew who had made it. Vader moaned softly.

`The Emperor. He is trying to call my father back to him.'

Luke gripped his father's chest harder as if Palaptine had tried to physically snatch Vader away. His eyes narrowed and his mouth set into a hard line. Memories flickered like ghosts in his mind of another place, another time, when someone had tried to take his father from him before. Strength, and a streak of icy determination he didn't know he possessed, travelled through him.

`I won't let you have him back, Palaptine. I won't lose him ever again.'

He would make his father whole again and then … then they would be ready to confront their enemies.

CHAPTER TWELVE: SACRED

Vader's POV

Even with his eyes closed and his mind drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, Vader was aware of his son's sleep-warmed scent of vanilla and cinnamon surrounding him. He took in deep breaths of that smell, luxuriating in it.

Luke's warm weight was pressed against his side. The boy's silken hair tickled his bare chest where Luke's head was pillowed. Vader twinned his Force presence with his son's. He loved the way Luke yielded to him, yet was still so strong.

Luke was deeply asleep. His Force signature was drained as if he had fought a grave battle. Vader frowned. Something gnawed on the edges of his mind, something about … `fire and burning and a laser rifle pointed at Luke and …' but all thoughts seemed to scatter from him when he tried to grab a hold of them.

Vader realized they were both lying down, cradled on a mattress … `on the Executor. We're on the Executor in the quarters I had made up for Luke.' Though the engines on the Executor ran almost silent, Vader could always pick up the slight vibration they made, like a cat purring contentedly in the sun. He would know those vibrations anywhere. From them he could tell whether the flagship was in fine working order or was about to malfunction. The techs had become used to him telling them about problems with the ship before they actually occurred. And Vader could tell at this moment that the ship was working perfectly and that it was still in orbit … `around Black Heart.'

Vader shifted uneasily at the thought of the planet though he was still uncertain why. The sensation of silk sliding over the tops of his bare thighs, knees and calves stilled his restless movements. The silk was cool and liquid against his skin. But more important than the fact he could feel the minute sensations of slickness and temperature of the silk far better than his sensors ever had before was the fact that his legs felt … `lighter and … shorter and … they are flesh!'

His shock at his restored limbs caused Vader's eyes to fly open. Qui-Gon rose from a chair at his bedside. He was dressed in Jedi robes. They were Vader's old robes; the only set he had kept. He had worn them the day Padme told him that she was pregnant. He was surprised he felt no anger at the presumption of the man for donning his old robes. But of course the robes would have been the only thing to fit Qui-Gon's tall, broad frame in either his or Luke's closet. He had not expected the man to remain clothed only in his cape. And in truth, the cream and dark brown robes looked right on Qui-Gon in a way that they had never looked right on him.

The Jedi Master saw where his eyes were fixated and Vader sensed he was about to apologize for wearing what was not his, but the Dark Lord stopped him with a brief wave of his arm. Instead of speaking, Qui-Gon placed a gentle hand on Vader's forehead as if checking for a fever. Vader tolerated the touch for a moment then turned his head away. Qui-Gon showed no hurt at his distaste for a longer touch, merely felt … `relieved that I am conscious.'

Vader tested their training bond and confirmed that emotion. There were also deeper feelings for him there. The best way he could describe them were as paternal though that wasn't quite accurate. A great sense of responsibility, affection, and sorrow for him. He closed down their bond, not wanting to know more at that moment when he was not optimal and would probably reveal too much of his own conflicted state towards the man.

The Jedi Master settled back into the chair he had pulled over from Luke's desk and had obviously been using as a place to watch over them for some time. "It is good to see you awake, Anakin."

"What … what time is it?" His voice sounded rusty.

Qui-Gon pressed a drinking straw to his lips. He took several long sips of cool water. His parched mouth and throat eased. The straw was taken away and Vader relaxed more into the pillows. Luke was so exhausted, his only reaction to their voices and Vader's movements was a slight shifting to get back as close as possible to his side. The Dark Lord ran one hand protectively and possessively down Luke's back. The boy was dressed in a pair of thin sleep pants and shirt. Vader himself was only wearing a pair of form fitting shorts. The Dark Lord thought idly of what it would be like to have Luke's nude body pressed against his, to sleep and to love skin against skin again. A shiver of desire ran through him. He smoothed the covers around both of them, fighting the urge to touch his son's body more with Qui-Gon as an audience. That was when he noticed his right hand. Pale flesh against the black silk of the comforter.

He was whole again.

It was the first time since he was 18 years old and had his hand taken in the battle with Darth Tyrannus that he had all his limbs. He could feel the midichlorians coursing through his blood, multiplying in the new tissue. It was almost as if he had travelled back in time before all the bad decisions had been made. Was it a second chance? Not to reject the Darkness but to reject it ruling him and rule it instead? Again though that sense that something had happened … `lost control … was controlled …' buzzed in his head. He was almost relieved when Qui-Gon spoke again and distracted him.

"It is about 1400 hours, but … I think you will be more interested in what day it is."

Vader shut his eyes. His sense that something significant and probably terrible had happened was correct.

"How many days have I been unconscious?"

"Two."

Vader gripped the comforter. He had been unconscious for two days. How? Why? What had happened while he was gone? What had exhausted Luke so deeply when he wasn't there to help his son?

"Luke … why is he so tired?"

"He used only his own energy to regenerate your limbs. He refused to drain others. Even though many were willing to help," Qui-Gon explained.

"You mean that you were willing to help?"

Vader knew instinctively that the Jedi Master would have offered to help without thought due to his giving nature, but Vader was having a hard time imagining anyone else offering their energy to Luke for him. His crew feared and respected him, but he believed they might fear the "sorcery" of the Force more and what Luke was capable of would look to non-Force sensitives to be magic pure and simple. Although there were always those willing to do anything, even debase themselves utterly, to gain his favor.

"The troopers who helped to rescue us on the planet also offered. They were very willing to contribute their energy."

`Ah, so that explains it. They worship my son so they would do anything he asked. Fear or no.' He was glad it wasn't some sycophant like Captain Terellian who had offered up his energy to Luke as he had offered up his body for use in other ways to Vader many a time. The man polluted the very air with his cow-towing and slick smile. If his father hadn't been a favorite of Palpatine's the man's throat would have been crushed long ago.

"My crew … what do they know of … my condition?"

"I believe Damon Trans … I think that is the young man's name … has explained in detail to Admiral Piett what he witnessed on the planet."

Vader tensed at Trans' name. `I'm sure he did with great relish. And was he sniffing around Luke while I was unconscious?'

"I have also been keeping the Admiral apprised of your condition." Qui-Gon smoothed the front of his robes. "He wished to return to Coruscant, to get you to better medical facilities, but I convinced him not to, that it was a Force matter and should be handled by Luke and myself."

"Palpatine is on Coruscant."

A grimace passed over Qui-Gon's features at Palpatine's name. "He was my main reason for convincing the Admiral not to go there."

"I'm sure he knows now of my changed condition. He will be more than a little curious about what is happening and he will … take steps."

Vader had hoped to keep everything from Palpatine for a little while longer, but too much had happened and too much time had passed for the spy not to have found out and reported all that had occurred. The Dark Lord wondered why Palpatine hadn't ordered Admiral Piett to return him and Luke to Coruscant immediately. Had Qui-Gon used Force persuasion on him?

Qui-Gon said suddenly, "Will Palpatine turn on you once he discovers you are whole again and … that you have new abilities?"

"Undoubtedly. He has been overtly souring on me for some time now. I'm more a threat to him at this moment than I ever have been."

Vader frowned. He had come to realize that Palpatine had been planning his downfall probably from the time he was six years old. Vader had come to believe that Palpatine had made him into his apprentice not to help him gain power, but to ensure he never reached his true potential. It was a bitter pill to realize the man he had thought of like a father had been the one orchestrating his failures for a long time or at least prodding him towards them. The only good that had come out of their relationship was Vader's embrace of the Dark Side of the Force, but that was precious little compared to all he had lost. Such as Luke's childhood.

Vader continued, "Like Obi-Wan, he has tried to pitting Luke and I against one another. He also has begun training another apprentice as a backup in case that fails. A young woman named Mara Jade."

"Do you have any plans regarding him?" Qui-Gon asked.

Vader smiled. "Oh, yes. I most definitely do."

Vader thought to himself, `Watching him burn and scream for a very, very long time. Perhaps putting him into a suit like he had for me. Helpless, crippled, fighting for every breath and then … crushing the life out of him.' Such would be a fitting end to the Emperor.

When it became clear that Vader was not going to say what those plans were at that time there was a moment of companionable silence. Vader concentrated on the feel of Luke's legs tangled with his own. He slid his thigh against Luke's and the boy made a contented murmur. It was so strange to be able to do this: to feel the softness of Luke's sleep pants against his inner thighs and calves, to feel the slight pull of the hair on his legs as it hooked the material, to know that he wasn't crushing Luke's tender limbs with his own. `How much easier will it be to run or fight or … make love in this bed with him? So long since I was this free.'

"Anakin … do you remember anything about what happened on the planet?" Qui-Gon's voice was hesitant and too gentle for Vader's liking.

"Being captured by the Rebels. Escaping and then …" Vader shrugged his shoulders. The loose gesture belied the anxiety that was rising in the Dark Lord. "What happened?"

"You used your new powers to … set the Rebels aflame and … apparently you were overwhelmed somehow," Qui-Gon answered carefully.

Vader remembered: the wall of fire and the Song of the Dark Side that had risen up in him like some terrible wave, how it had stripped him of his will and used him to destroy. `It could have killed everyone. Luke could have been caught in the blaze. But he wasn't. He's safe here beside me.' Vader gripped the boy tighter to him. His Force senses suddenly warned him that Qui-Gon was holding things back from him. Perhaps it was to shield him or perhaps there was a darker purpose. Either way, Vader was having none of it.

"Qui-Gon, tell me what is on your mind."

"I have told all I know."

When Vader's amber eyes raked over him, Qui-Gon gave a sigh and a rueful smile.

"I just left out what I fear. That is all. I know almost nothing. I suspect much. Do you want my suppositions of what occurred?"

"I want to know what the dead know or at least suppose."

"The dead," Qui-Gon said, "know little more than the living and suppose just as much."

"Why are the dead so limited? We were always told that after one died that endless power and knowledge would be available."

"I … I don't know. Many of the dead believe that so long as the Universe is out of balance that the spirits have no way to reach a higher plane of existence or be reborn here to learn more. But no one knows for sure."

"The spirits must have a greater view than us mere mortals?"

"It is like the man who is midway up a mountain may see more than a man at the bottom, but not everything, and understanding is not necessarily enhanced by the fact that one may see more."

"But it is still more. So tell me what you saw from your higher vantage point," Vader said, fighting down his irritation with the typical Jedi opacity. "I assume it has something to do with the Voice you spoke to me about before."

And there it was, like a scratching at the back of his mind: the Dark Side singing a deadly lullaby to him again. Vader blocked it out.

"I believe the Dark Side is seeking to directly control you."

"And you think this is different from how the Force normally acts?" Vader felt a stirring of unease. He knew what Qui-Gon was hinting at, but he wanted the man to express it. He wanted no misunderstandings.

"While the Force normally suggests things to us … with you and these new powers it is more like a command, an overrunning of your own will."

Vader's shoulders tensed. "Are you suggesting that it is able to do this because I am weaker than others in some way?"

"No! Why by the Force you should still question your strength after everything …" Qui-Gon rose from the chair and began to pace, his movements still graceful even though the pacing indicated anxiety. "On the contrary, it is because of your strength of will, of mind, that it knows suggestions will not work as well with you. Especially after what happened … on Mustafar, it is unlikely that you would … follow its suggestions so blindly again."

Vader scowled. `Of course, Qui-Gon would know of all my missteps, just like Obi-Wan did.'

"I miscalculated. Lost my temper. The Dark Side … " Vader broke off when Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow up at him.

"You think it had no role in that? It takes great joy in destroying those that seek to use its power."

"And you know this how?"

Sadness flickered over the Jedi Master's face. He brushed a loose hair off his shoulder. "I just know."

Vader was silent for a moment then said, "And what do you believe it wants of me now?"

"It wants what it always wants, I imagine. Death. Destruction. To make the Universe a desert. That is its essence. And with your amazing abilities to channel Dark Side energy … it can cause more havoc, more directly, than ever before."

"You said something like that on the planet." Vader remembered the vision he'd had of endless sands and night skies even with the ysalamiri's interference.

"I have come to understand … or to believe is perhaps a better word … that the Force is in a constant battle between creating life and destroying it. It is the Balance between those two states that the Universe seeks and needs. It has not had that Balance in a long time."

"You believe that Luke and I will bring this Balance?"

"Yes. You are the Chosen One, Anakin, or one of the Chosen Ones is perhaps more accurate. I … I always knew you were."

"But Obi-Wan fears … what? The Balance? Luke and my roles in creating it? What is he so terrified of? Or is it just his hatred of me that clouds his judgment?"

Qui-Gon studied the floor for long moments. "Simply put: Balance does not indicate an ascendancy of the Light."

Vader thought on this, smoothing the silk sheets again. "I suppose you're right. Balance would indicate equal power between the Light and the Dark. Both Jedis and Sith … living in some sort of harmony." Vader almost snorted at the idea until he realized that his working with Luke and Qui-Gon was exactly that.

"It has been the Jedi's mission for over two-thousand years to stamp out Dark Side use, to actively stop Force sensitives from choosing the Dark Side, but if the Balance means what we have just said it does, then the true mission of the Jedi … and the Sith … would be to have equal numbers or at least equal power bases for both types of Force users."

"Not just one Sith Master and Sith Apprentice, but as many as there are Jedi? Hmmm, no wonder Obi-Wan is worried." Vader couldn't fully suppress the smirk that graced his lips. "I, myself, wouldn't want any more Palapatine's running around."

"True. Yet, I believe that amazing things will happen once the Force is balanced. Things that would benefit the Sith and the Jedi equally. And such Balance is needed not just for the living but for the dead to go on as well."

"So the benefits would outweigh the dangers, so to speak?"

"Yes."

"Yet Obi-Wan does not think so," Vader intuited.

"It is this aspect of not knowing, of something completely new happening that terrifies Obi-Wan. He has always wanted things to remain the same. It was a constant battle when he was my Padawan to introduce change." Qui-Gon threw his arms up as if he was imagining a former fight with his erstwhile Padawan.

Vader made a soft noise of agreement. "Anytime he wished to make a point about why he was having me do a thing, he would lecture me on how it had been done for thousands of years. For him, it seemed that the amount of time something had been around meant it had value."

"Such statements do not surprise me in many ways."

"But things naturally change. In order to improve … to progress … they must. That was why it was so easy to …" Vader stopped himself from completing this sentence. The stasis the Jedi had willingly put themselves in had made it easy for them to be destroyed. He sensed that Qui-Gon already knew that to be true.

The Jedi Master ran a hand through his long hair, tightening a cord he used to keep it off his face as he said, "Obi-Wan desired to see things go back to the way they were … before the Purging. So he tried to orchestrate the future to make of it a utopian past of his choosing. But then you and Luke met and it was … explosive, but not in any way he ever saw or intended."

Luke made a small little noise of distress at that moment, perhaps due to a bad dream or sensing the anxiety in the room. Vader petted his hair and spoke some nonsense love words into his ears. The boy settled back down with a sleepy sigh, his breathing evening out again.

Vader did not look at Qui-Gon as he asked, "I assume you know … what is between Luke and I?"

"That you are lovers as well as father and son? Yes … yes, I know. Obi-Wan was quite adamant that this was further proof that both of you were unfit to play such pivotal roles in restoring Balance to the Force." Qui-Gon's face was too neutral as he added, "He said it showed how corrupt you were that you would take your own blood to bed and it showed Luke's overwhelming weakness to you."

Vader narrowed his eyes. "But you don't feel that way. Why?"

"I think the opposite."

Vader snorted that time. "That is quite … open-minded of you. Why don't I believe—"

"You think I say this to win you over? To assuage your fears that I am an enemy trying to get close to you?"

"I admit … I find it hard to believe that you would condone … or perhaps that is too strong a word for what you are doing. I find it hard to believe that you would or could understand what is between my son and me."

Vader looked down at the top of Luke's golden head, felt his boy's breath and warmth, and knew that what they had was right no matter what anyone else thought.

"I wouldn't approve if it was abusive. I wouldn't approve if it was hurting either of you. But in this case … I think it might work in favor of creating the Balance."

If Vader expected Qui-Gon to say anything, it certainly wasn't this. "Why do you suppose that?"

"Because it binds you two together in every possible way. He is your son, your blood, and he is your lover, your heart. You have two reasons for keeping him safe and happy. It gives you strength to fight the Voice. It gives you something to hang onto when things are blackest," Qui-Gon said softly, pausing by the side of the bed to stare down at Luke. "A reason not to destroy all life … if, for no other reason, than to give him joy."

Vader felt Luke's steady heartbeat against his side. He loved this boy beyond reason, beyond anything. He had not lost himself to the Voice entirely on the planet, because of his fear that Luke would be harmed. But the Voice had still overwhelmed him and he had lost consciousness. Those facts disturbed him greatly. He would have to work hard to achieve mastery over these new abilities and to inure himself to the Song.

"You surprise me again, Qui-Gon. As a Jedi, should you be advocating such attachment? Shouldn't you be telling me to meditate to gain strength?" The bitter smile came out and Vader felt tired suddenly.

"I was never a very good Jedi," Qui-Gon said with a rye smile. "Surely you understood, if not at the time I lived, but after, that I was a pariah in many ways?"

"People rarely speak ill of the dead and they certainly did not speak ill of you to me … or to Obi-Wan, of course."

He felt a spike of happiness from Qui-Gon over their bond. It took a moment for him to realize why. He had all but admitted caring for the Jedi Master in the past. It was true that no one would speak ill of Qui-Gon to him if they didn't want a pummeling. It was one of the reasons he had always distrusted the Council, because they had been so disparaging in some ways of Master Jinn. But that was long ago. It had nothing to do with the present. But still he couldn't shake the warm feeling that Qui-Gon's pleasure at his past loyalty brought him.

Vader's eyes began to shut. Sleep beckoned and he didn't want to resist even though he knew he should and contact Admiral Piett, deal with the traitor, interrogate the slavers, and find out more of Qui-Gon's thoughts. Perhaps he should delegate at least one of these tasks, begin to work with a Jedi. He smiled internally at the thought of his new ally, a Jedi Knight and Obi-Wan's beloved teacher. The irony ran deep. `He should have been my master … not Obi-Wan's martyr.' This thought also surprised him. He believed himself beyond such regrets, but apparently not. Well, he would take advantage of having the clever, powerful Jedi Master working for him now.

"Could you do something for me, Qui-Gon?"

The Jedi Master stood straighter and drew closer to him. "What is it?"

"There is a traitor aboard this ship. Someone working for Palpatine. I have tried and … failed to find him."

"You wish me to look for him?"

"Yes. And when you find him … just watch. Unless he does something truly dangerous towards us or the crew." Vader could no longer keep his eyes open.

"I will do as you ask." A light as air brush of a hand across Vader's forehead as Qui-Gon's mellow voice whispered, "Rest now, I will take care of this matter."

Vader tried to push away the sense of contentment and peace he felt as he heard those words, his tired mind unable to fight the relief that flowed through him that Qui-Gon was willing to take some of the burden from his and Luke's shoulders and protect them. The Dark Lord slipped into the blackness of sleep as he felt the Jedi Master leave the room to begin his task.

Luke's POV

Luke awoke before his father did. He spent the quiet time exploring the uncovered bits of his father's body. He traced the line of Vader's jaw, enjoying even the roughness of stubble that had begun to form. His father's lush mouth pursed as the touch tickled him slightly. Luke let his fingers glide down Vader's neck, feeling the Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. Luke only stopped his downward caress when his fingers reached the hollow at the base of Vader's throat. His father's skin was so soft there, so fragile. `Yet it and the rest of him survived fire hot enough to melt stone.'

Vader suddenly turned on his side and his arms slid around Luke's body. Sleepy eyes looked down at Luke with warmth and affection. "Good morning, young one. At least I think it is morning … somewhere."

Luke knew his smile was bright enough to light the room. His father was completely back with him and nothing had ever felt so right.

"How do you feel, Father?"

Vader grinned lazily and then hooked one of his new legs around Luke's and pulled the boy's lower body tight against him. "I feel … whole."

Vader's mouth was suddenly covering Luke's. His father's agile tongue stroked and teased his own. He sucked on Luke's lower lip before releasing Luke's mouth. Luke hummed softly in enjoyment, his eyes sliding to half-mast as Vader gently placed kisses and licks along his jaw.

"I have missed kissing you, my child, and … tasting you," Vader said and licked his own lips as he stared hungrily down at Luke's face.

Luke flushed and burrowed his head against Vader's bare chest. The sensation of all that smooth muscled skin to press against made Luke feel weak inside. They were alone, practically nude and … in a bed. After everything that had happened to them, Leia's betrayal, the near rape, Luke wondered at his own sexual hunger. But somehow coming so close to having his virginity taken by another, ripped from him as if it were nothing, made him more determined to give it to the one person he loved above all others. He wanted the experience to wipe away Nattan's touch and Leia's cold eyes. Did his father remember his promise from the cave to give him a lesson in lovemaking? `He may not be fully recovered yet. And much needs to be done. I should not be so needy.'

Vader's sleepy grin magnified and Luke knew he had heard his thoughts.

"I do indeed remember my promise, Luke. And I feel quite up to fulfilling it. As for our duties … they can wait. Nothing is more important than being here with you right now. The only question that remains is if you feel up to being an obedient student?"

Luke couldn't help but grin at his father's allusion to his teasing in the cave. Vader's hands slid to Luke's hips. His thumbs rubbed gentle circles underneath the boy's sleep shirt on the bare skin. The touch sent shivers up Luke's spine. When his father's hands glided underneath the waistband of Luke's pants, the boy began to tremble. His father skimmed Luke's sleep pants down to mid-thigh. The brush of the material as it skated over his erect sex made Luke moan.

"Will you obey me in the bedroom, my child?" Vader whispered the question against Luke's lips, his tongue darted out as he tasted his son's mouth.

"Yes … no … I … I don't know," Luke murmured as Vader began to massage the tender skin of his thighs. "Oh … Father … please …"

"You seem undecided. Let me demonstrate what some of the rewards will be … if you submit," Vader hissed softly, his lush lips curving into a smile.

He flipped Luke onto his back and crawled up the slender body. Vader's braced his forearms on either side of Luke's head while his lower body straddled the boy's hips. He ground his pelvis down onto Luke's. The boy cried out as he felt his father's cock like an iron bar rub against the soft tender skin of his belly and hard sex.

"Will you be my good boy, Luke?"

Luke's breathing hitched and his eyes widened. `That shouldn't excite me so much but it does.' Wetness from his father's leaking cock that had soaked through his sleep shorts brushed a trail of coolness across Luke's skin. The boy's own hands that had been scrabbling at the sheets, suddenly rose of their own accord and grabbed the waistband of his father's shorts.

"I want to see what I'll get if I'm your … your good boy."

Luke didn't even recognize his own voice, there was so much hunger and need in it. He'd never been so aroused in his life and Owen's words about how wrong he was for what he felt for his father were only a whispery breeze in his mind, nothing more.

Vader's cock twitched at Luke's words. He nodded. "Go ahead … look at what's yours," Vader said.

Luke tugged the sleep shorts down. He had seen his father's cock before, but seeing it now and knowing that it would be inside of him soon, made him look at it with far more appreciation.

"It's so big!" The statement burst out of him before he could stop it and he blushed furiously.

Vader chuckled. His father's cock was long, perhaps nine inches in length, flushed a dusky rose color. Heavy balls nestled at the base. His father's pubic hair was dark, but it seemed to have golden aspects to it rather than pure black. Vader's cock curved wantonly up towards his muscled, firm stomach. Luke slid the shorts down more and saw Vader's powerful thighs. Luke imagined what it would feel like if his father used all that strength to thrust into his tight virgin opening with his huge cock.

"Are you sure … sure it'll fit?" Luke asked, his voice breaking slightly. He knew how much of an innocent and a virgin he sounded, but his father didn't seem to mind.

Vader leaned down and devoured Luke's mouth before answering. "Yes, child of my heart, it will fit inside of you. It will fill you though as you've never been filled before."

The Dark Lord brushed his lips along Luke's jaw and down on to his neck. Luke tilted his head back to give him more access. Vader's sinful mouth began to nip, lick and kiss the tender flesh on this throat. He grabbed Luke's right hand and guided the boy to grasp his sex. A tremor ran through his father as Luke's hand gripped the base of Vader's cock.

"Luke," Vader breathed into his ear. "This cock gave you life … and now … its going to give you pleasure. I'm going to spill the seed that created you deep, deep inside your body."

Luke shook at his father's words. They offered him almost everything he'd ever wanted. To have his father's essence inside of him, to be connected so fully with the man he'd longed for all his life. Vader licked the shell of his ear.

"Please … Father … I want that … want … oh, please! I'm your good boy, I am!"

Luke felt so wanton, so naughty, saying those words, but … `there's no reason to be ashamed. He loves me. I'm completely safe with him. I can do, say or want anything and it's all right.' Luke felt muscles he didn't know were tense relax as he realized this.

Vader's warm smile, his eyes so full of emotion, told Luke before his words that his father had heard his realization. "You are safe with me, my beloved son. I swear it. Love you so."

"Love you, too." Another smile broke like the dawn across Luke's face.

Vader sat up and Luke groaned at the loss of his father's body heat. "Lift your arms above your head, Luke."

Luke did and realized what his father wanted to do as Vader stripped him of his sleep shirt. Vader slipped out of his own sleep shorts before he moved to the bottom of the bed. He then grasped Luke's already half-off sleep pants and pulled them down and tossed them to the floor.

For the first time, they were completely naked together.

"So beautiful, my child. Your golden skin against black silk … laid out for me like a feast," Vader said, his deep voice rolling over Luke like honey, his eyes burning amber. "And I am … starving."

Vader then began to devour him. His father kissed and nibbled at his ankles, licking the fragile skin over the delicate bones in each. He caressed Luke's calves with almost delicate swipes of his fingertips as he moved up to suck on the soft flesh of Luke's inner thighs. The boy moaned and thrashed as Vader got closer and closer, but still maddeningly far away, from his rigid, weeping cock and his tender pucker.

"Father … Father … please … gonna cum … can't stop … need to!"

One of Vader's hands wrapped around Luke's cock and stroked it, running his thumb over the swollen sensitive head with each upward sweep.

"Then come for me, Luke."

At those words, Luke arched his hips off the bed as he began to orgasm. Even through the bliss of release he was still slightly shocked by Vader kneeling over him and moving into the spray of cum, letting it hit his chest, neck and chin. The look on his father's face as the pearly white streams showered his flesh nearly undid Luke. Vader's golden eyes were heavy-lidded, his lush mouth was slightly open, and the flush of arousal stained his sculpted cheekbones a light pink. As the last spurt left Luke boneless on the bed, Vader dipped one finger into the cum that dribbled down his chest. He reached over and coated Luke's lips with it. The boy moaned as he unconsciously licked his lips and his own flavor burst upon his tongue.

"Clean me, my beautiful boy," Vader commanded.

So much of Vader's alabaster skin was before him, dripping with his own essence, that Luke didn't know where to begin. His father helped him decide by cradling the back of Luke's head and lifting it up until Luke's mouth was level with one of the brown buds of his father's nipples. A drop of cum was poised at the end of that nub, just ready to fall. Luke opened his mouth and caught the drop. He whimpered and then like a child wanting to nurse, his mouth surged up and fastened onto his father's nipple. Vader hissed in appreciation.

Luke began to lave the silky skin with his tongue, dragging it across Vader's flesh in quick licks to consume every bit of semen. Underneath the musky, salty taste of his cum was Vader's flavor: a hint of leather and honey and dark spice. The Dark Lord was panting and gripping his own thighs with white-knuckled hands by the time Luke had sucked off the last drops of cum on Vader's chin. The Dark Lord's huge, erect organ brushed against Luke's belly as he had devoured his seed. The act of cleaning his father and being near that beautiful cock made Luke achingly hard again. He tried to rub his sex against his father's thighs, but suddenly he felt a Force tendril curl around the base of his cock and tighten.

"Father?"

"Mustn't exhaust yourself before the main event. You'll orgasm again only with my cock inside of you, Luke." Vader's dark smile and words made Luke whimper. "Do you need me to restrain you," there was a slight tightening of the Force tendril just above his balls, "or can you control yourself?"

"R-restrain me, please." Luke knew there was no chance he could stop himself from cumming while Vader touched him since the man's voice alone was throwing him over the edge.

"Whatever you need, Luke."

Luke felt the Force tendril coil protectively and snugly around his cock, stopping his ability to release. Vader used the Force to draw over a plastiglas vial over from the bedside table. The vial was a dusky red. Vader placed it down at his side.

"Turn over on your belly, my son."

Trembling, limbs feeling weak as water, Luke did as his father requested. Vader slid a thick pillow underneath his hips. Luke groaned as the cool cotton brushed against his sensitive flesh. He found himself humping the pillow a few times and Vader chuckled.

"You definitely need to be restrained my wanton boy."

"Sorry." Luke blushed though he wasn't sure how since all his blood seemed to be in his cock at this moment.

"Don't be. It makes me so … aroused … Luke, knowing how much you need it," Vader breathed in his ear, tugging on the lobe with his teeth.

"Need … need you, Father. Like this for you."

His father ran his hands lightly up and down Luke's trembling flanks. When the boy felt the slide of his father's heavy organ between his cheeks, he shook even more. Vader swept the head of his cock over Luke's quivering anus as if familiarizing his sex with its destination.

"So small, pink, sweet," Vader said and Luke was gratified to hear a slight shakiness to his father's voice.

"Are you … are you restrained, too, Father?"

"Yes, otherwise … well, I wish to wait to have my release only when I'm balls deep inside of you, your tight passage clenched around my cock, your beautiful mouth screaming out for me."

Luke realized he loved when his father spoke so coarsely to him; those rich, liquid syllables saying wonderful, dirty things. Vader opened Luke's cheeks and pressed a kiss right on the pucker.

"Oh, Father!"

He felt his father's breath flood over his opening as he chuckled and Luke keened. What was Vader planning? His body felt tense as a bow, waiting for the next touch that would set off fireworks underneath his skin.

"Do you remember what else I promised you in the cave, Luke? That I wanted the most intimate taste of you?"

"Y-yes. Are you going to …"

Luke gasped as his father's tongue probed his opening. Vader's thumbs framed the tiny pucker and pulled slightly to give his tongue more access. His father's tongue felt huge inside of Luke as it loosened the muscle that protected his inner passage. Vader gripped Luke's hips to keep him from thrusting into the pillow as that agile tongue flicked in and out of him mimicking what Vader's cock was going to do. Luke was thrashing his head from side to side as the pleasure mounted almost into pain. His cock was throbbing with the need for release. His opening was hungry for more than just Vader's tongue. But when his father's mouth was gone from him, he cried out in dismay. Vader rubbed comforting circles on his lower back, pressing a few kisses along his spine.

"I need to stretch you more, my beautiful boy, and I can't do that with my mouth."

Luke turned his head when he heard the stopper from the plastiglas vial being pulled. The scent of almonds and sessin berries wafted out. Vader tipped the vial over and let some of its contents run along the space between Luke's butt cheeks. As the thick liquid covered Luke's opening, Vader massaged it gently into the silky flesh. It began to warm as it was worked into Luke's skin. When one of Vader's fingers pushed forward into Luke's pucker, the boy surprised himself by pushing back.

"So eager. So beautiful. So … mine," Vader whispered and pushed further in.

Luke screamed into the sheets when his father's finger passed over something inside of him that made electric shocks shoot up his spine and into his cock.

"W-what did you do?"

"Found your pleasure spot, my love. Your prostate. Imagine my cock hitting that with every thrust."

"Oh, please … yes, that! Want that!"

When a second finger joined the first, Luke grunted softly, but didn't want the sensation of being filled, of having something of his father inside of him, to stop. Suddenly, Vader was using his free hand to lift Luke up so that he was straddling his father's thighs, with his back pressed to his father's front. His father's fingers slid deeper inside of him and at this angle they hit that wonderful spot inside of him more.

"Reach back and hold onto my neck, Luke, I'm going to need both hands now to stretch you," Vader said into Luke's ear.

The boy did as he said. He twisted his head to the side and Vader gave him a searing kiss. He could feel his father's turgid organ sandwiched between them and he pushed back against it causing Vader to moan. He watched Vader pour more of the sweet smelling gel onto his hands from the plastiglas vial. Then slick fingers from both his father's hands, four in all, snaked their way inside of him. Luke cried out and tightened his grip around his father's neck. The stretch caused by four digits made the ring of muscle ache badly.

"I know it hurts a little, Luke, but it'll become pleasure soon … I promise. You're just so tight and … I need to be able to get inside of you without tearing you," Vader whispered harshly against his lips.

"It's okay even if it hurts. Just want you inside. Love you, Father," Luke whimpered.

"My brave boy. Love you, too."

Then Luke's pleasure spot was scraped again. Luke's cock jumped each time that spot was touched. If he had thought he needed release before it was nothing compared to now. His balls felt so full and heavy with his seed. His dick was bobbing up and down, swollen and red, as he began to skewer his ass down onto his father's fingers, so hungry for them to touch that place inside of him again. Any pain or discomfort was drowned out by the intense pleasure.

"Oh, Father! Oh, please … need … need you in me … please … be part of me!"

"Yes … it's time."

Vader's fingers slipped out of his passage and he unwound Luke's arms from his neck, positioning the boy on all fours. Luke looked at Vader over his shoulder.

"Father … want to see you …"

"Yes, but this is easier …"

Luke turned himself over on his back. "I know we can be joined this way, too, can't we?"

"Yes, my beautiful boy, but …"

Luke saw the war in his father's eyes. The desire to take Luke facing each other versus causing him additional discomfort. When Luke extended one hand to him, the war was won. Vader again positioned a pillow under Luke's hips then he gently pushed the boy's legs against his chest and made Luke hold them there. Luke could feel the cool air of their quarters against his stretched pucker. He was so open, so vulnerable, but he was not afraid. He watched as Vader slicked up his cock with more of the gel from the bottle. His father's eyes bored into him. Luke opened his mind and his Force presence as wide as he could for his father.

"Luke … what are you—"

"I want you with me … completely … when we do this," Luke explained.

Vader shut his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them, all Luke could see was soul-devouring love in that burning gaze. `To feel so much … we both do … love him so … love him so …'

Then his father opened his Force presence and mind wide to Luke.

The boy knew his father withheld from him only those dark places that he feared would disgust Luke to see or be hurt by or turn away from him because of them. He would convince his father later that this wasn't necessary. He loved him without restraint. But even with certain parts of his father shrouded, so much of the Dark Lord was exposed. Trust, love, devotion, obsession, possession … forever … flowed into him like a torrent over their bond. Luke sent all of what he felt and was back towards Vader. Their essences twisted and twirled around each other and Luke forgot about his aching cock, forgot about the sex altogether, because this was so perfect. Then Vader cupped his cheek, ran one thumb over Luke's lips, and began to push his cock slowly inside Luke's body.

Luke was snapped back to the moment and realized physical bliss was coming. He looked down at where they were beginning to physically connect, amazed as he saw the large, beautiful organ begin to disappear inside of him. The burn of the stretch made his muscles tense. He felt Vader try to take Luke's pain into himself, shield him from it.

`No, Father. I want it all. The pleasure … the pain … your seed gushing inside of me … please.'

`Whatever you want, Luke. Whatever you need …'

His father paused every few millimeters in his inward thrust to allow Luke's back passage to adjust. Vader's handsome face was a mask of concentration. Beads of sweat trickled down his temples. Luke reached up and brushed them away then brought his fingers down to his mouth and sucked the salty water off. Vader's eyes grew wide at that.

`My little wanton, you're so tight … so hot. Perfect fit.'

Then the head of Vader's cock brushed up against Luke's prostrate and the boy practically jumped with the blinding pleasure that skittered across all his nerves. He lifted his hips up further to try and draw more of his father's cock into himself. Forget the pain, he could only imagine what it would feel like to have that cock rubbing up against that spot again and again as his was pinioned to the bed by it.

"In me, Father, in me!"

"Yeeeessssss…" Vader hissed and thrust fully inside.

Luke bit his lower lip to stop the shriek that wanted to burst from him. He could feel his father's balls and the fronts of his thighs pressed against his buttocks. Vader held himself still on shaky arms above him. Luke was stretched beyond anything he imagined he could be. He could feel his father's heartbeat through his cock and Luke's seemed to pick up the rhythm. Suddenly, there was no pain, just the feeling of them physically a part of one another.

"I … I need to move … Luke. Can you … you bear me to …"

"Yes, please … need you"

Vader pulled out just a few inches then rocked back in, but that was enough to make Luke see stars of pleasure.

"More … more, Father!"

"Definitely," Vader grunted and with a quirked smile began to thrust inside Luke in earnest.

The boy raised his hips to meet the inward thrusts. The slap of skin against skin and their cries of passion were the only sounds in the room. Vader pulled back almost until he was outside of the boy then slammed back deep inside. Luke's cock was weeping copious amounts of semen even with the Force tendril around it.

Pleasure was scorching Luke's body, his nerves were on fire, his skin felt like flames were running all along it. Suddenly, he felt his father release the Force tendril from around his straining sex. He gasped and arched up. Vader angled his thrusts to hit Luke's prostate fully and the boy orgasmed without his cock being touched. The semen sprayed both their bellies.

"FATHER!"

With hardly a stop, Vader pulled all the way out of his boy and bodily turned Luke so that he was on all fours before sliding back in. If Luke thought he had been thoroughly breached before he realized his error as Vader's powerful body sent his dick farther and faster into Luke's spasming interior.

His father continued to hit his prostate even after his second orgasm had drained every last bit of semen from him. Luke was keening and thrusting back. Finally, Vader rocketed his hips forward, driving his cock deep inside Luke and orgasmed. Luke could feel his father's hot seed pouring into him. Vader yelled his name as he came.

Trembling, black spots dancing before his eyes, Luke collapsed forward. Somehow Vader managed to keep his cock inside as he followed Luke down onto the bed. The Dark Lord gathered Luke against him, so that they were spooned back to front. Luke felt his father's chest rising and falling quickly. The Dark Lord's body was shaking slightly with the exertion of their joining. Luke linked their fingers together, drawing Vader's arms tighter around him.

The musky scent of their lovemaking surrounded them. Their sweat and cum stained the black silk sheets, but neither had the strength nor desire to move. Luke brought one of his father's hands to his mouth and began to gently kiss every finger, the palm and delicate wrist. Vader tightened his hold on Luke. The boy could still feel his father's Force presence protectively surrounding his own.

"That was … sacred," Vader said softly into Luke's damp hair.

Luke couldn't help the smile that flitted across his lips. "Yes … I feel that way, too."

Whatever Luke had imagined sex to be, nothing came close to what they had experienced. `Owen was so wrong. There's nothing bad about this. This is perfect. So good, so warm, so much light. This can't be evil.' Vader placed loving kisses on the back of Luke's shoulders and neck. The boy made murmured happy sounds. His eyelids were starting to droop shut.

"Sleep for awhile, my child."

"You'll still be here when I wake?" Luke asked, his voice suddenly sounding so young and fearful.

"Of course. I'll be with you forever, Luke."

Vader kissed his temple, and the strange worry that his father could suddenly disappear from him like smoke, went away. Luke drifted into warm dreams, safe in his father's embrace.

Vader's POV

Vader listened to the happy sounds Luke was making in the bathroom as he prepared a bath for the two of them. When they'd woken from their post-coital nap, they had exchanged hungry kisses, but both felt the more pressing need to get less sticky and sweaty before they continued their lovemaking. Vader looked forward to introducing his son to sex in the bath. His cock twitched eagerly.

He adjusted his silk robe to hide his arousal. Though he knew the protocol droid wouldn't be offended by him sporting an erection as it zipped around him taking his new measurements for clothes, he felt very protective of his and Luke's new intimacy. He had only reluctantly chosen to be measured before joining the boy in the bath, so that the droids could immediately begin making him clothing so he might have something to wear as soon as possible.

Over their bond, Luke said, `Oh, I don't know, Father, I've grown rather fond of you without clothes.'

"My little wanton,' Vader sent back with a smile and heard Luke laugh at his new pet name.

Vader had worried that after the glow of their lovemaking had faded that Luke would allow Owen's censure to dampen his enthusiasm and close up like he had in the elevator. Or even that the thoughts of Nattan's hands on him would affect his beloved child. But the boy's happiness seemed secure and was infectious. Vader couldn't remember being this happy or feeling this complete before. And he'd never experienced anything like their joining. His body still sparked with the pleasure. Vader distracted himself by glancing at the rich materials for his new clothes that were laid out on the daybed.

`Father, have a coat made of the red material.'

The bond between them was so open now that Luke could see through his eyes unless Vader restricted him from doing so and he saw no reason to pull back quite yet. It felt so warm having Luke fully connected to him like this. Vader's eyes roved over to the blood red Stansare velvet. It was beautiful and as a long coat, perhaps down to his knees with a fitted top, it would look quite stunning. Vader laughed at his own vanity. He had worn one suit and style of armor for so long that he was surprised he had any opinion on clothes, but he found he was greatly enjoying the process nonetheless.

`Anything else you want me to have made specifically, Luke?'

`No, everything else you've chosen looks great. What about Qui-Gon though?'

`I've already taken care of him.'

Vader had pulled out some nice sandstone, tan and other earth-colored cloth he believed would be appropriate to be used for Jedi Master robes. Qui-Gon would be fitted later after he came back with a report on the spy.

"All the measurements are done, Lord Vader," C-704 said and began to gather up the material to have cut and sewn. "Your garments should be ready in an hour."

Vader nodded and for one moment felt a vague regret that he had left Threepio behind with the Rebels. He believed the droid had made it off planet in the Millenium Falcon. Luke had told him of seeing the ship … `more like a hunk of flying junk' … vanish into hyperspace as they had made their way to the Executor. He hoped to have a communication from the golden droid soon. When C-704 had cleared the daybed, Vader saw that the remains of the armor he had worn on Black Heart. The ruined armor had been hidden underneath the loose cloth. He picked the armor up with a vague sense of distaste. Never again would he have to wear it even if it had been in any condition to put on. There was a hard bulk in one of the pouches that ringed the garment's waist. He snagged whatever it was and pulled it out. It was the recorder that he had downloaded the Archive into.

"The Archive," Vader breathed softly. `How did I forget about this?'

`What, Father?'

`Nothing, child, get that bath ready for us. I'm very … sticky. And I ache for you.'

Luke hummed his agreement. Vader brought the recorder over to the holonet station in the corner and plugged it into one of the ports to download its contents. The machine began to flash and beep softly as it extracted the data. Vader was distracted for a moment as he felt a pulse of pleasure over their bond. He saw through Luke's eyes as the boy pinched his own pert, pink nipples and stroked his silken cock while sitting on the edge of the sunken tub. Vader shivered at the sight.

`Are you touching what's mine, little boy?'

He felt Luke's mischievous grin. `Maybe.'

Another pinch to the sensitive nubs and a muffled groan. Luke's sweet sex began to harden. The child felt like he was doing something so naughty when he was only doing what was natural. Vader understood what it was like to just discover one's sexuality, though in truth, with Luke he felt he was discovering it all over again. All he could think of was sliding back into Luke's tight passage and drinking from his son's body again. He could almost taste the boy's sweet essence on his tongue. A steady moan was reaching his ears over the rushing water of the bath.

`Must I come in there and punish you, child, for continuing to touch my property?'

He felt Luke's breathing quicken at the thought of gentle punishment, meant to give pleasure not pain. A smile graced Vader's lips. Oh, Luke was truly made for him. He was about to go and join his son in the bathroom when the holonet made a strange sound. He turned to look and saw that the hologram of Black Heart was playing.

The Empire's technology was not as advanced as the unknown civilization that had created the Archive, so the image was fuzzy, choppy and blue-tinged. He stroked one of the symbols by the side of the spinning world almost without thought. A grainy image appeared. It showed a vast expanse of sand at sunset.

Then the image began to move.

He got the impression that he was speeding over the ground towards a figure on the horizon. The golden sand abruptly changed. It was covered with a dark liquid. Vader frowned. Due to the inability of the holonet to show colors accurately, the liquid looked black, but he feared it was a far different color. He felt a further trickle of unease as the image continued to advance over this eerily empty landscape until the figure of a man in form fitting armor with a light saber ignited at his side was the dominant image. He could only see the outline of the figure, none of his features, as the dying suns were behind his back. The figure was standing in the midst of this viscous liquid. It apparently was only a few inches deep, but that did not mean there was only a small amount of it. Sand is highly porous, which meant it must have been thoroughly soaked with the liquid to have any of it pooling on top.

The figure spoke one word that Vader didn't catch. He couldn't tell if it was the same voice he had heard on the hologram earlier. He leaned forwards, towards the image, hoping to hear it better that way. There was a slight exhale of breath and Vader knew the figure would speak again …

`Father? What … what is that?' The distress in Luke's voice was unmistakable. He had seen and heard the hologram over their bond.

Vader remembered his son's violent reaction to the Archive before and uncharacteristically fumbled about before he was able to shut it down. He breathed a sigh of relief when the image of the figure winked out. He wiped his suddenly clammy brow with the back of one hand. There was the sound of soft footsteps behind him and he looked over his shoulder at Luke, standing with a towel around his slim hips, his blue eyes too wide, and his open mouth slightly trembling, in the doorway of the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Luke. I was downloading the Archive and it … just turned on and I … touched one of the symbols," Vader explained.

"It's okay." The boy hugged himself. "You need … we need to know what's on it."

"But not now and … I can study it when you aren't … so near," Vader said apologetically.

He crossed the room swiftly and gathered the precious child in his arms. Luke burrowed against him, his arms tightening around Vader's middle, as the Dark Lord stroked the boy's bare back. When the tension had left his child's shoulders, Vader began to nudge him towards the steamy bathroom. He could think of no better way to make Luke forget about the Archive then bring him to a screaming orgasm again. Just then the com switched on and Vader felt a flare of anger and annoyance at being disturbed.

"What is it Admiral?" he barked out.

"Lord Vader … forgive this intrusion but—"

The Admiral was suddenly cut off and Palpatine's unmistakable voice filled the room.

"Lord Vader."

Both Luke and Vader tensed.

"Palpatine."

"I see you are finally answering my summonses."

"I was ill … incapacitated after a fight with some Rebels," Vader answered semi-honestly.

"Yes, I have heard of your … battle," the old man ground out. "And I have also heard of the unique way you dealt with them … setting the very air on fire? Just exactly when did you develop such a power?"

"It … it is a recent acquisition."

"You are not the only one to acquire new abilities, are you, my apprentice? I have heard quite a few tales of the dead being brought back to life and your own grievously wounded body being healed, limbs and all, by your son. Is that true?"

Vader weighed whether lying would be useful or prudent at that moment and realized he lost nothing by confirming what the Emperor already knew.

"You have heard the truth, Palaptine."

There was silence over the line.

"You will return to Coruscant, Lord Vader, and you will bring young Skywalker with you. Immediately."

Luke twisted in Vader's arms to look up at him. The boy's concern was written in the furrowed brow and deep frown. Vader smoothed out the wrinkles in his son's flesh with gentle caresses.

Palpatine snarled, "If you do not return, my apprentice, I will have the entire Fleet looking for you—"

With his eyes still fixed on Luke's face, Vader answered, "There is no need to threaten, Palaptine. I have every intention of making Coruscant my next stop."

"We have much to discuss, Vader. The hiding of your new powers is only the beginning."

Vader's eyes were drawn to the viewport where Black Heart spun in the darkness of space. He could see the scar on the planet's surface where the Temple and forest had been. The fire he had begun against the Rebels still burned and was likely to destroy everything unless a large body of water cut it off.

With the sight of the destructive power he was now capable of, Vader smiled, a frigid twitch of his lips, as he replied to his former master, "I look forward to our discussion."

Part 5

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