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Forbidden - Part 6

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: CONCEPTION

Luke's POV

Half an hour earlier …

Luke smiled as he watched his father and Qui-Gon walk down the hallway together to their quarters. The two handsome men had their heads tilted towards one another as they spoke companionably. The fact that they were going to view the Archive made Luke's chest seize a bit, but he shoved the anxious feeling away with a deep, calming breath. Father had shut their bond down tight so he wouldn't experience any of the Archive over it. But even if he did, Luke would endure it as the Archive was their hope to learn more about their powers and perhaps their purpose.

But with the bond closed down and Vader's physical presence receding, Luke ached for his father. Part of him though was glad that Vader was spending time with the Jedi Master. It didn't take a Force-sensitive to know that Vader still had many unresolved issues with his past and with the Jedi in particular. Luke sensed that Qui-Gon might heal those. With that comforting thought, Luke turned and began to make his way to the third level cantina where Joran, his mother and the rest of the freed slaves were being housed temporarily.

Luke slowed as he saw a cluster of droids being stowed in one of the side passages. Two male techs in tan overalls were sliding the droids into storage compartments that lined the side hall. They were undoubtedly following Vader's orders to shut down all the unessential droids.

Luke gripped his saber when one of the droid's metal claspers fell across a tech's tan-clad back as he lifted it into a high storage unit. He only released the saber once he saw that the clasper remained motionless, its arm having just fallen due to gravity and not of the droid's own volition. He skirted around the droids carefully, so focussed on them that he didn't see or sense the trooper whose chest suddenly blocked his path. Luke hopped back a few steps, an apology leaving his lips.

"No need to apologize, Luke," Damon's familiar voice came from under the black and white helmet. The young man then slipped the helmet off and tucked it under one arm. His grey eyes sparked with happiness then widened in concern as he took in the state of Luke's slashed and burnt clothing. "By the stars, what happened to you?"

The boy grimaced. He carefully zipped up his jacket to hide most of the damage. "Droid battle."

"What? Oh, so that's the reason for the order …"

"I didn't think to change. Do I look that bad?" Luke asked.

Damon's eyes took on an amused glint. He looked Luke up and down. "No, Luke, you don't look bad, at all."

Before Luke could figure out an appropriate reply, a familiar trill sounded behind the trooper. Artoo peeked out at Luke from behind Damon's legs.

"Artoo! Where have you been? Getting into trouble, I'm sure," Luke said as he walked around Damon to the little unit, stroking the dome gently.

"He was working on your X-Wing. They were going to deactivate him pursuant to Lord Vader's order that all nonessential droids be turned off."

"No!" Luke cried. His hands gripped the droid close to him.

"That's what I thought. So I was bringing him to you to spare the little guy that fate."

Luke couldn't help the wide smile that crept over his face. "Thank you, Damon. There are some … dangers with the droids, but … I think Artoo is okay. I'll just have to watch him carefully."

Luke felt nothing of the malevolence and corruption that had oozed from the battle droids coming off the small R2 unit. His shoulders slumped in relief as he realized that so far at least Artoo had not been touched by Palpatine. He squatted down before the droid who hooted at him happily.

"Artoo, you mustn't plug into any of the Executor's systems even to recharge."

The droid beeped, asking for an explanation why.

"Droids are being infiltrated and used to harm people. I don't want that to happen with you. So conserve power as much as you can."

Artoo gave a little wail. Luke patted him comfortingly.

"As long as you aren't connected to the Executor's systems you should be all right. Think of it like a … virus."

"So where are you off to?" Damon asked as Luke straightened up.

"You remember that little boy, Joran, we helped on the slavers' ship?"

"Oh, yes, of course."

"I promised to visit him. So that's where I'm headed."

"Mind if I tag along?"

Luke smoothed down the front of his jacket to buy some time for his answer. "Aren't you on duty?"

"No, I'm off now. I'd really like to see Joran again and … spend some time with you."

Damon looked at Luke through his lashes, as his head dipped, and shoulders lowered in what would have been an endearing way if Luke had felt anything other than friendship for the other man. `This is my chance to let him know that we can be nothing more than friends. Letting his crush just die out on its own really isn't an option as Father is not amused by it.'

Luke shivered a little as he thought of another man that had not amused his father: Captain Terellian. The crunching sound of his throat being pulverized and then his body hitting the floor with a solid thunk still rang in Luke's ears. The idea of that happening to Damon for merely liking Luke too much was horrific and spurred him to act.

Luke smiled. "Sure. I know Joran would enjoy seeing you again."

They began to walk down the hallway together. Artoo followed after them hooting and beeping to himself. Luke unconsciously mimicked his father's pose as he linked his hands behind his back. He felt Damon's sideways glances at him, but pretended not to notice. He doubted that this show of disinterest would stop Damon from pursuing him. The trooper had a deep well of self-confidence. He wondered about the man's background to give him such a feeling of self-worth. Part of Luke envied him that.

"Your uncle is Admiral Piett?" Luke asked.

"Yes, he is my mother's older brother," Damon answered and as if anticipating Luke's next question, said, "Almost my whole family is in the military. My father is head of the Tantalus Legion." There was a slight note of pride in that.

Luke had heard of the Tantalus Legion. They were a group of highly skilled warriors that were sent on covert operations. The Rebellion had feared the Legion would be sent after them. But so far, Vader had satisfied himself using more traditional troops to fight them.

"With my family being so … well-connected militarily," Damon shifted uncomfortably, "you probably are wondering why I decided to become a … mere trooper."

Luke shook his head. "I don't think there's anything `mere' about being a trooper, Damon. But I imagine you had the opportunity to … be somewhat higher in the ranks if you wanted to."

"You're right about that, but … I desired to make my own way. Rely on my own skill. Not my family's influence. So I chose to start from the bottom and work my way up."

Damon twisted around to look at Luke fully and Luke turned his own head to meet his gaze. The man's grey eyes were filled with determination.

"At first I didn't even want to be on the Executor because Uncle was in command, but he hardly has any contact with any of us troopers. And besides … it's the best ship. Every trooper who's on it is hand-picked by Lord Vader. Only those who are the top of their class are allowed to even apply for a berth here."

Luke couldn't help the burst of the pride he felt for his father. Despite Damon's other reservations about Vader, the man clearly respected him as a military leader. And his father's opinion in choosing Damon had just as clearly meant something to the young trooper.

"I think it's quite admirable what you're doing," Luke said warmly.

"Thanks. Yet all of it would have been … over … before it had hardly begun if not for you," Damon said, his voice lowering slightly.

Luke felt the press of an armored hand on his shoulder. One of Damon's thumbs brushed along his collar bone. Luke stiffened under the touch. He reached up and gently, but firmly removed the man's hand, but Damon turned the action into a handclasp. They had slowed their pace as they spoke and now were at a dead stop.

"I wish I didn't have this goddamn armor on every time we meet. It would be nice to be able to feel you," Damon said softly as he tightened his grip.

"Please, let go, Damon." Luke attempted to draw his hand back.

"But … why?"

Damon moved closer until there was only an inch of space between them. Even through the armor, Luke could feel the heat of the other man's body like a furnace. The scent of armor polish and clean male sweat coursed through Luke's nostrils.

"Don't you feel it, Luke?" Damon's voice was almost a whisper.

"Feel what?"

Luke tried to step away from him but Damon moved forward again. The man wasn't quite as tall as Vader, but he was still a good couple inches above Luke. He crowded into Luke's personal space, almost loomed over him. Damon eye's slid to half-mast.

"The connection between us. It's like a strand of gold. I can feel wherever you are. On Black Heart, how do you think we found so quickly? I could … sense … you."

Luke's eyes widened. He sent a Force probe out to the other man and it confirmed what Damon's words were telling him.

"You're … Force sensitive, Damon," Luke said softly.

"Force-sensitive? You mean like a … Jedi?" The trooper looked down at him with confused eyes. "But this feeling only happens with you."

Luke nodded. "That's only because you haven't been trained yet and … and I healed you before when you were … ill."

"Brought me back from the dead you mean," Damon said, but when he saw the look of anxiety that crossed Luke's expressive feature, he added, "I won't tell anyone. I know that this kind of power you wield … well, if that knowledge got into the wrong hands … But it never will from me."

The trooper was gazing at him with open adoration and awe. He reached up and stroked Luke's cheek. His gloved fingers felt cool against Luke's skin. Damon slid that hand around to the back of Luke's neck, tilted his own head to the side and leaned down. He managed to press their lips together for a moment, before Luke gasped in shock and pulled away. The trooper gave a low groan and moved forward again.

"You're so sweet. Just like I imagined," Damon breathed. "Please … don't deny what's between us."

His hand was an insistent pressure on Luke's neck. But Luke kept their lips apart. He could easily break Damon's hold, but he might hurt the man in the process. He could use a Force suggestion, but it felt wrong to manipulate Damon that way if he didn't have to. He would use plain words first.

"This isn't what you think it is, Damon. Release me."

The trooper brought Luke's captured hand up to chest and held it over his heart. "You're wrong. This is exactly what I think it is. I've never felt like this for anyone."

When the man leaned in for yet another kiss, Luke knew enough was enough. He wrenched his hand away and broke Damon's hold on his neck while taking took two steps back. His voice was cold and clear as he said, "I'm sorry, Damon, but I have no interest in anything other than a friendship with you."

"What … but …"

Damon tried to move close again. Luke raised a hand and stopped him where he stood.

"Enough, Damon. I don't want this or … you."

Damon stared at him a long time then his eyes flickered away from whatever he saw. A pained smile crossed his face and he turned his head to the side so Luke was not in his direct line of sight. He swallowed deeply.

"Is it because of Lord Vader? Does he not approve my pursuing you because I am not an officer yet?"

"No, he cares nothing about that," Luke answered.

"Then if it is not his disapproval of me … I don't understand why you don't … is there someone else?"

Luke closed his eyes. This was a question he was going to have to find an answer to. It would depend if his father and he were open about their relationship, but they hadn't talked about it yet. Though Vader had indicated on Black Heart that he didn't want their relationship to be a secret. `But can we really be open? Incest is a crime in most cultures. And currently it's a crime in the Empire.'

"There is someone, isn't there?" Damon's voice sounded almost petulant.

"It doesn't matter, Damon. I don't feel that way for you."

"But you could … if you weren't with someone else," Damon intuited.

Luke's expression tightened. "I don't think so. I don't think I would like to be with a person who disregards my wishes. It was clear I wanted you to let me go and you ignored me."

Luke knew what he had just said wasn't altogether true. Hadn't his father touched him against his will the first time? Ignored his pleas and taken what he wanted? But what had been so thrilling and incredibly arousing to have Vader do, did not seem to translate towards anyone else.

Damon had the grace to drop his eyes. "I'm sorry … you're right, I shouldn't have done that."

A fully body shudder went through the man. When he looked up at Luke, there was such bleakness in his eyes.

"I just … this feeling has been building in me ever since I first saw you. All I can think about is you. All I want to think about is you! You say it isn't because we're meant to be together, but it's just like my mother described it when … when she met my father. I know this feeling is true!"

Luke felt the young man's bewilderment and pain. He took in a deep breath and felt the low-level anger he held dissipate.

"I can imagine how confusing this must be, Damon. When I first experienced the Force … it was overwhelming."

Damon shook slightly in response, but didn't say anything.

Luke continued gently, "I want to help you with what you're going through. I believe Master Jinn would also be able to assist you in this new awareness. It might … show you that these feelings you think you have for me … have little to do with me at all and everything to do with—"

"I know what I feel, Luke, and it has nothing to do with the Force!" Damon's words became softer as he added, "But I see that … for now … you do not return my feelings."

Luke clasped his hands tightly in front of him. Hurt was rolling off of Damon in waves and his natural inclination was to comfort, but that would only exacerbate things. He wasn't so naive that he didn't hear the `for now' in Damon's statement. Damon wasn't through with chasing him and trying to convince him they were meant.

Perhaps it was because he had brought the man back from death or because Damon was a Force sensitive, but Luke felt … responsible for him still. `If he can just accept that what he feels is from those connections and not … not romantic love things will be so much better for him.'

"May I still … still accompany you to see Joran? I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to see him, although it obviously wasn't my main goal," Damon said quietly, his head still lowered and his body rigid with tension. "I promise I will behave as I should. As a gentleman and your friend."

Luke signed internally. The man would be devastated if he sent him away like this. `If I really wish a friendship with him then I should act like a friend. Besides I am in no real danger from him. And if he tries anything, I can walk away with a clear conscience that he has exceeded the bounds of friendship.'

"Of course, Damon. I would like your company," Luke answered.

The rest of the walk was done in silence. Damon chewed his lower lip a few times, but his eyes remained steadfastly on the floor ahead of him. The tension felt so thick that Luke wondered if this had been such a good idea after all. He pressed the button to open the doors for the cantina.

"Luke, why don't you use your powers to do that?" Damon asked suddenly.

Luke answered thoughtfully, "Because I don't have to in order to make the door open. The Force … it isn't a parlor trick and it should only be used in a respectful manner and not overused if one can help it. Does that make any sense?"

Damon nodded. "I think so. You said I was Force-sensitive … does that mean I could do some of the things that you do?"

"Yes, probably. With training. Master Jinn will be able to tell you more. If you'll allow it, I'd like you two to meet."

"I think … I would like that."

Luke wondered how his father would feel about it though. He had never really understood Vader's stance on Force-users fully and they had not discussed how or if it was going to change now. Luke wanted to reestablish something of the old Order. `The good parts … though I hardly know what those were. Master Jinn and Father will know. But no matter what there must be a place where people can come and train.'

Luke felt sure that Damon was but the first Force-sensitive that would seek him out. He sensed that there would be far more that would come and not only to him, but to his father as well. Luke stumbled to a halt as, for a moment, the blank white and black walls of the cantina, the many cots, and the crowds of former slaves surrounding them vanished from before his eyes.

In their place, Luke saw twin towers standing tall amidst a gleaming sea of buildings.

One tower was made of burnished durasteel, glinting in the sun like the blade of a sword. Beside it stood a tower of equal height and grandeur, but this one looked to be carved out of black stone. It seemed to absorb the sunlight and glowed instead with its own internal fire. Luke's gaze was pulled downwards towards a tree-lined courtyard. There were hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of people streaming inside the towers' joined base.

Luke was snatched out of this vision by Joran's happy cry and a warm boy bundle suddenly wrapped around his legs.

"Luke!" Joran squealed. "Light sword! Light sword! Light sword!"

"I can see my lightsaber is very welcome here," Luke teased as he shook off the effects of the vision. "I'm just glad I get to tag along with it."

Damon gave him a concerned look and grasped his shoulder gently.

"Luke, are you alright? Your eyes went all unfocused there for a moment."

"I'm fine."

Damon didn't look convinced but backed off as Joran's mother joined them.

"Joran, mind your manners," she scolded gently. She extended her hand to Luke. "So good to see you again, Lord Skywalker. I realize last time I didn't introduce myself. I am Salara Desertrider.

"Nice to see you again as well. And please … it's just Luke."

Luke eagerly clasped her work-callused hand. Her face was still worn, but her eyes were alight with happiness and ease. Luke turned to introduce Damon.

"This is Trooper Damon Trans. He helped rescued Joran as well."

Damon shook Salara's hand. She gave him a brilliant smile. Artoo made an indignant wail at not being introduced, too.

"Sorry, Artoo. This is R2-D2. Artoo, this is Salara and Joran."

The droid popped up his periscope and surveyed both people. He then gave a pleased hoot at both of them, before settling down to merely observe. Luke felt Joran's unwavering gaze on the lightsaber. He worried the little boy might burst if he didn't see it ignited soon. He remembered his own awe the first time he had seen his father's old glowing blade. `Although, even then, the fact that father had made it and had touched it was what made the saber so special.'

"The blade's a different color now, Joran," Luke said and unhooked the saber from his belt.

Joran's blue eyes widened even more and he swallowed hard. As the hiss and thrum of the lightsaber echoed throughout the room, Luke realized that he had a bigger audience than this one family. He heard the murmurs of the crowd. Awe and shock and a little fear as one word met his ears from many mouths: "Jedi."

Joran clapped his hands together eagerly. "Momma, isn't it pretty! Pretty! But hot … very hot!"

"That's right, Joran," Luke said.

Luke kept his Force senses alert to any danger from the other former slaves who pressed forward. Damon also noticed the crowd's interest and shifted his footing to a more defensive stance. The man was Force sensitive all right. Luke could feel him trying to reach out and sense the people's emotions. Luke sent out a wave of calm to all of them and felt the tension ease slightly. They began to back away.

"Can I hold it?" Joran asked suddenly, pointing to the saber.

Luke glanced up at Salara. She nodded after a few moments.

"It's okay with me, so long as you think its safe," she said.

Luke turned the saber onto its lowest power setting. He knelt down slightly beside and behind the boy. He clasped one of the child's hands and slowly led it to the hilt. He covered the little hand with his own and made sure to guide the lightsaber away from hitting anyone or anything as he allowed Joran to slice the air with it. He could feel the boy's tiny heart beating in excitement. He smoothed Joran's gold hair back from his forehead.

That was when he felt it.

Like with Damon, Joran had a spark of the Force in him stronger than most people. Luke experienced a moment's shock. Since he had been trained, other than Leia, he had found no other Force sensitives. Now he had found two in less than half an hour. But in a way Luke should have known there was something different about the boy at least.

Luke had been drawn to Joran when he was on the ship. Perhaps it was the budding Force presence that had gotten his attention. Somehow though he felt badly about that. A non-Force sensitive's life was as important as Joran's, but he might not have picked up their distress as clearly.

Yet he did not recall Joran or Damon having such strong Force presences before. And even if Luke had missed it, he doubted Vader would have. `Could their strengthening in the Force be a result of the Balance somehow? Could more Force sensitives emerge because of it? The vision showed so many. As Father and I become stronger what else will happen?'

Joran gave a big, sad sigh when Luke ended the impromptu lightsaber lesson. The boy brightened though when Luke began levitating his stuffed animal around. Salara was laughing as Luke "hid" the stuffed toy behind Joran's ear and then had it drift around to give him a "kiss" on the cheek. Joran giggled and clapped each time Luke did it.

Damon winked at Luke and teased softly into his ear, "Using the Force in a respectful manner, Luke?"

Luke sent the stuffed animal sailing towards Damon's head … butt first.

Meals began being served. Luke grabbed ones for Salara and Joran, choosing to wait to eat when he was with father later. Damon also begged off saying he would eat at the mess. They settled down at a small table that was set up beside the two cots that Joran and Salara slept on. As the two Desertriders began to eat, the talk turned to their past and future.

"They say that once we get to Coruscant that we'll be given credit vouchers, enough to get us to wherever we wish to go and some funds to sustain us for when we get there until we find work," Salara said as she cut up Joran's meat. "It's such a blessing. I can hardly believe it. And all thanks to your father, Luke."

"He'll be glad to know that you and Joran have a secure future."

"All the holovids I saw of Lord Vader … they didn't prepare me for what he was really like," Salara said suddenly as she coaxed Joran to eat a few bits of a green leafy vegetable.

"How do you mean?" Luke asked, curious as to how someone else viewed his father.

"He always seemed so … forbidding, which as a military commander, I suppose he should be that way. And he was impressive and stern. But in person … he was those things, but also very … gentle and warm."

Damon shifted in the seat beside Luke. He could feel the trooper's disbelief. Gentle and warm were not often the adjectives used to describe the Dark Lord of the Sith, but they were a part of his father.

"Perhaps it is just a fellow parent's perspective, but … when he introduced you, looked at you … well, he softened. I imagine with all the responsibility he has of running the military that … well, he doesn't get a chance to let down his guard. I'm glad he can relax with you," Salara said with a kind smile at Luke. "It was also clear that he is very proud of you."

Luke found himself blushing and clasping his hands together on the table in front of him. "We've just … found one another recently. We both thought the other … dead for all our lives."

Salara made a pained, shocked noise, reached across the table and covered Luke's hands with her own. "I'm so sorry. Losing a parent or child for real is hard enough, but somehow the thought of having that loved one alive all the time, but just not knowing … seems almost worse. But then again, I suppose, there's always a chance you could find them … like what happened with you and your father."

"How did you two find one another, Luke?" Damon asked.

Luke shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He had no desire to speak of the destruction of the Death Star or Bespin, but he saw no way to get out of telling some of it.

"I ... attracted my father's attention in battle. My actions … my use of the Force made him curious about me, about who I was. When he discovered my surname … it was the same as his old one. We met at Cloud City above Bespin. He told me there … that he was my father," Luke stopped speaking and swallowed hard. He could still remember in vivid detail the smell of the carbonite, the hiss and thrum of Vader's blade igniting in the dark, and the greasy feel of the antenna he clung to in his despair after he had acknowledged the truth to himself.

"It was a shock to you," Salara intuited.

Luke gave a wan smile. "I had been told … told by someone I trusted that Lord Vader had murdered my father."

Salara and Damon grew still at his words.

"So yes … it was a shock to know that the man I had blamed for taking my father away from me was, in fact, the parent I had mourned and longed for my whole life."

Salara squeezed Luke's hands gently in sympathy. Artoo gave a mournful wail. And Joran hugged his stuffed animal tighter against his chest. It was unclear if the little boy understood all Luke had said, but Luke wished he had said less just in case.

Shaking himself out of the funk he'd fallen into, he said, "But … enough about that. What about you and Joran? Will you go back to where you came from?" "No, we won't go back to Tatooine. We'd just be enslaved again by the Hutts. Besides … it's a hard world to live on."

"I come from Tatooine myself," Luke said.

"I wondered. Your last name … Skywalker … it sounds very familiar. I wonder if … no, that can't be."

Luke's ears perked up at that statement. Perhaps she had known his father or grandmother there. She was old enough. But before he could formulate a question, Damon was speaking.

"Do you have any family elsewhere?"

"My husband and my son were all the family I've had since I was a teen. And my husband … unfortunately, he passed away."

Her face became shadowed for a moment. She petted her son's head to soothe any hurt the mention caused, but luckily he was too interested in trying to feed Artoo some of his vegetables to notice the conversation going on around him then. Luke doubly wished at that moment he had not mentioned dead or murdered fathers earlier.

"My husband is also part of the reason I don't want to take Joran and I back to Tatooine. Every brick there reminds me of him." A fond smile graced her face. "He was an archeologist. Just like my father. Their joint interest in Tatooine's history was how I originally met him."

"Now you have to tell us the story," Luke said kindly.

"I don't want to bore you with such things."

"Some of my fondest memories are of my mother talking about how she met my father. Please tell us," Damon piped in.

Luke tensed slightly remembering what the trooper had said earlier about his feelings for Luke mirroring those that his parents had for one another. But Damon's eyes never even flickered over to him. Perhaps he was just imagining that Damon was trying to use this conversation with Salara to convince him of the rightness of them being together. Luke shook his head, exasperated with himself. `Not everything is about me.'

Salara laughed. "Well, you're in for it now. Let's see, where to begin? Ah, I know. My father was quite the expert, I guess you could say, on the ancient civilizations of Tatooine."

"You mean the Sand People and Jawas?" Luke asked, his disbelief ringing in his words.

"No, no. My father discovered a far older civilization." Salara's eyes stared off into distance as she related, "They were a space-faring race that was incredibly technologically sophisticated … at least from the few remnants my husband and father unearthed of their machinery. But it was my father who originally found the ruins of their civilization in the mountains west of Mos Eisley. Somehow the sand had not claimed the ruins even though he believed they had been unoccupied for thousands of years."

Her words provoked a vivid sense memory in Luke. The rustle and whisper of the people around him faded away for a second time, and all he could hear instead was the rush of sand in his ears and feel its stinging passage on his cheeks. How many times had he experienced the touch and sound of sand just like this on Tatooine? And always there was a chance that a simple breeze could be a prelude to something much more dangerous: a sandstorm. Luke remembered how the sand could rise in the air and turn clear blue skies to brown and would change breathable air to a choking, deadly mass of sand particles.

Yet many times as a child, he had been compelled to stand still and frozen watching the storms come towards him until Uncle Owen or Aunt Beru had grabbed his arm and dragged him inside the shelter of the farm. A strange thought had always flickered through his mind during those times: that if he but walked into the storm, and survived it, that on the other side of the wall of sand would not be the flat, arid empty planes of his uncle's moisture farm, but instead a shining city would be spread out before him.

He had believed at the time that his desire to see something other than the hardened mud homes people lived in on Tatooine had made him conjure up gleaming spires rising from the sand, but now …

Luke shivered. He suddenly felt so cold.

Salara continued on, oblivious to Luke's reaction to her story, "After my father passed away, I was the only one who knew how to find the ruins. They are … hard to locate. My husband was a brash young archeologist, wanting to make a name for himself. He sought me out, intent on proving his worth to review my father's notes and trace the location to the ruins himself. I always teased him that he only married me so he could ensure that I wouldn't tell anyone else where the ruins were."

Luke could hardly get the perfunctory laugh out. The visions of Tatooine hummed at him even as he listened to Salara's words. Luke absently saw Joran pointing to Damon's blaster, petting the man's armored forearm as if to coax him to see the gun. Surely, Damon wouldn't offer the weapon to the little boy. Showing him would be fine, but … Luke was distracted as Salara suddenly rummaged through a small bag at her waist.

"I managed to hide this from the slavers. My husband brought it back from a very special set of ruins he referred to as the Palace."

She set on the table between them a small, slim metal cylinder.

"May I?" Luke asked, his hands almost trembling with the need to touch it. The humming from the Force had become a full-blown scream in his mind. He knew this cylinder was important, but the how of it was not available to his Force senses.

"Go ahead," she said.

Luke felt Damon's hand gently brush his side as if to calm him. The trooper's eyes were narrowed in concern. Luke picked up the cylinder and grasped the microfiber pull-tab on the side. A wafer-thin screen slid out of the cylinder. Immediately text began to flicker across its surface. While Luke couldn't read the text, the alphabet was disturbingly familiar. He would know that lettering anywhere. He'd seen it on the walls of the temple at Black Heart. He pressed the button on his shirt for his com-link. He had to tell his father about this!

Vader's POV

The present …

Vader burst into the third level cantina with Qui-Gon close on his heels. The cantina went silent as all eyes turned towards them. Disconcertingly, all the freed slaves knew who he was. Fear and awe touched him from a hundred minds. He felt Luke send a wave of calmness to the crowd.

Qui-Gon had tried to slow him down when he had bolted from their quarters after the comlink conversation with Luke, but he had brushed the man's cautions aside. Now he realized that making such an entrance and having this conversation in the cantina was not a good idea. He cursed his own impetuousness. He had thought himself beyond that. He gave Qui-Gon a rueful smile. The man acknowledged it with a small quirked smile of his own.

"Father," Luke said as he jogged over to the Dark Lord. "Perhaps—"

"We should have this conversation elsewhere," Vader finished, a smile growing on his face as he saw his son's beloved face. They had only been a part less than an hour, but it seemed much longer.

Luke nodded with a relieved grin. "They're a little excitable around here."

"There is a quiet observation deck a few doors down."

Vader watched as Luke slipped back to the group of people he had been sitting with to explain that they were moving the meeting. Damon's tall frame blocked out his view of the smaller Salara Desertrider and the tiny boy, Joran.

The trooper had stood and saluted as soon as the Dark Lord had entered. Vader's shoulders tensed at the sight of the man, but eased when he saw the way Damon avoided his eyes and kept a respectful distance from his son. `Ah, Luke has spoken to him. Told him his advances are not welcome and put him in his place.' Vader couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face. Luke was his. The impudent trooper wasn't fit to step on Luke's shadow.

Over their bond, Luke sent, `Father, both Damon and Joran … there's something you need to know.'

Vader's eyes narrowed. Luke seemed almost anxious and yet excited about whatever information he had. `More revelations, child?'

Qui-Gon was the one to answer instead, his mind-voice seemingly shocked, `They are both Force-sensitive.'

`What?'

Vader's eyes narrowed as he examined both Joran and Damon with his Force senses. Sure enough, the trooper and boy glowed with Force presence. He cast his mind back to when he had interviewed Damon to join his crew. The younger man had a spark of Force energy, but this was far more than that. It was as if he had been an ember and was now a roaring fire. The boy, too, was like a crystal bowl filled with warm light. Both would have been chosen by the Jedi Order long ago with the potential they now showed.

`I take it that neither one of them had this much of a Force presence before?' Qui-Gon asked him.

Vader shook his head. `Since the Purging, I have found very few Force sensitives and I could have hardly missed these two under my nose.'

`Could it be something to do with the Balance?' Luke asked suddenly as he guided the family, trooper and Artoo towards them.

`How do you mean?'

`Perhaps we are … awakening or strengthening the Force in certain people somehow? I feel that Joran and Damon are but the beginning, Father. There are going to be far more who will seek us out.'

Luke then sent him a vision he had experienced earlier. The image of the two towers was a potent one and Vader felt a rush of excitement at the power he sensed streaming off the structures. He recognized all too well the still-standing Jedi Temple on Coruscant as the durasteel tower, but the black stone tower was new … and reminded him eerily of the architecture on Korriban, one of the Sith homeworlds.

`Did you notice the joined base?' Qui-Gon asked over their bond.

Vader had not realized he had sent the vision to Qui-Gon. It was unnerving how natural it felt to share things with him this way without thought. Like Qui-Gon was truly his Master and he the Padawan again. Yet unlike how he had felt with Obi-Wan and Palpatine, he was actually almost eager to know Qui-Gon's opinion. He experienced for a moment the twin emotions of happiness and anger at his reactions to the Jedi Master, but it was less heated than it had been since Qui-Gon's admissions to him.

`Yes, quite symbolic, I suppose … Jedi and Sith together. What did you think of the amount of people entering it?'

`A far greater number than the Jedi had at the time of their destruction. I believe Luke is right that one of the effects of the Balance will be an explosion of Force-sensitives like Damon and Joran. It will be quite a task to handle all of them when they seek you out.' Qui-Gon's brow furrowed and he stroked his goatee thoughtfully. `You will need trainers … far more than just the three of us. I wonder …'

Vader wasn't certain how he felt altogether about the idea of the Jedi Temple being occupied again, let alone a Sith Temple being built as well. Not to mention all those Sith Lords and Jedi Knights occupying the structures. He had done much over the years to keep all the power and knowledge to himself and Palpatine. Even if there was an explosion of Force-sensitives like Qui-Gon and Luke clearly anticipated, it didn't mean necessarily that they should be trained, did it?

The echo of pleased Dark Side laughter suddenly ran through his mind. It ached for more to corrupt and taint and devour. It seemed to say: `Bring them to me, my Dark Lord, bring more beneath my sway.' Vader shivered with excitement or disgust, he wasn't sure.

Qui-Gon touched his shoulder gently. `Is anything the matter, Anakin?'

Vader nodded as he forced the Dark Side to retreat. `No, I'm fine.' But he didn't know if either of them really believed that.

`We should check Damon and Joran's midichlorian levels later,' Qui-Gon suggested.

`I leave that to you.'

Qui-Gon nodded his acknowledgement. Once again, Vader felt that sense of ease of relying on the man brought. Luke and Qui-Gon were the first full allies he had in a long time. People he truly felt he could trust.

"Trooper Trans, your presence will not be necessary at this meeting," Vader said coolly to the trooper.

"Yes, sir." Damon then turned to the Desertriders and Luke and added, "A pleasure to speak with all of you."

Tense lines faintly appeared at the corners of Damon's mouth and eyes, but the rest of his body language showed only obedience. He saluted again and left the cantina with only one backwards glance towards Luke.

"Please, if you would follow me, there is somewhere more private we can speak," Vader said to the group then turned on his heel.

As he led them out of the cantina and towards the observation deck, Vader sent over the bond with his son, `Young one, I see you disabused Trans of his romantic notions.'

Luke stepped up to walk beside him, hand clasped behind his back, worrying his lower lip with his teeth. `I tried, Father. But he is confused.'

`Confused? How so?'

`He senses my Force presence and … thinks that means we're meant for one another.'

Vader's hands clenched into fists at his sides. `Meant for one another?! He isn't fit to … how dare he—'

Luke stopped his tirade. `Father, it's only because he's untrained. Perhaps once he's taught something about the Force he'll realize on his own that his … liking of me is due just to his awakening Force senses and nothing more.'

Vader stifled the urge to sigh. Owen Lars had truly destroyed Luke's belief in his own desirability. `You honestly believe that he desires you because he senses your Force presence? That there is no other reason for his being attracted to you?'

Luke looked slightly chagrined. `He did not believe that explanation either.'

`No, he wouldn't. As a rule, I don't bring on incompetent people aboard my ship. Captain Terellian notwithstanding.'

`Damon said you hand-pick everyone who serves on the Executor.'

`I do.'

`He was proud that you picked him.'

One of Vader's eyebrows rose at that. `If you are trying to make friends between Trooper Trans and me, Luke, such a thing will not occur. He has attempted to take what is mine. And no matter his reformed behavior as I've said before … I do not forget nor forgive such trespass.'

Luke nodded with a rueful smile that said he understood if wasn't happy about it. At that moment, Artoo glided up beside them and chirped at Vader happily. Luke gave him a nervous smile as Vader's eyes went from the droid to his son's face.

"Damon stopped him from being deactivated. I hope that's all right. I've already warned Artoo about plugging into the Executor and … I don't sense anything of Palpatine in him." The words rushed from Luke's mouth as if the faster he got them out the less chance Vader would have to consider the decision a poor one.

Vader ran a finger over Artoo's dome. Only the normal blank, neutral presence of the droid was there. To be completely safe he should have the droid shut down until after Palpatine's death, but he saw the pleading expression in his son's eyes.

"Luke, if he shows even a hint of being … possessed … I will shut him down myself."

"Understood."

Luke's arm innocently brushed against his own then. Warmth flowed out from that simple contact and Vader was overcome with need to touch the boy. Love and lust coursed through him. He extended the fingers on his hand closest to Luke and stroked the delicate skin at the boy's wrist. Luke reached to grab hold of Vader's hand and lace their fingers together, but then aborted the movement as he glanced back at Salara and Joran walking a few feet behind them. The Desertriders noticed nothing as they were chatting amiably with Qui-Gon. Once again the Jedi Master was proving his worth.

`Father, I have been thinking … about our relationship … what are we going to do? I mean are we going to hide that we're … lovers as well as father and son?'

Vader grimaced slightly. He knew this conversation was coming. He didn't have a satisfactory answer for his son. He did not want to hide his feelings for Luke like he had for Padme. Nor did he truly think it possible. He would lay out the potential scenarios for his son and see which appealed most to the boy. Perhaps that would guide him to an answer.

`As I see it, Luke, we have several options.'

`They are?'

`The first is that we … pretend only to be lovers. That what we hide is the fact that we are father and son.'

`But what of all the people who already know that we are parent and child?'

`I can wipe their memories. This would be the easiest course. The fact that we look nearly the same age, have different surnames, and the public records report the death of Anakin Skywalker twenty years ago all support … our story. We can even marry and you would be my consort.'

There was a definite appeal in the thought of having Luke as his consort, joined to him in a huge ceremony in one of the gleaming temples on Coruscant. But still … denying Luke's parentage even to the masses was unacceptable to Vader. He was Luke's father. Luke was his son. And he would never wish that to be different. He wanted to shout to the stars how proud he was of his child.

Luke nodded, his expression thoughtful. `What are our other options?'

`That we go forth in the world as father and son … and hide that we are lovers.'

Luke glanced down at their hands, which were now merely an inch apart. `I do not know … know that we could pull that off, Father. Or at least … I fear I would give away how I feel for you.'

Vader smiled gently. `I think that both of us would be hard-pressed to pull it off without many guessing. But one of the perks of being Emperor and Dark Lord of the Sith is that none will ever deign to mention it.'

Luke frowned. `But they will talk about it behind our backs. They will know and many will disapprove … say that it shows we are unfit somehow. And it may … may effect your ability to rule and mine to … to train other Force users.'

`Yes, that is true.'

`Is there any other option?'

`We do not try to hide either aspect of our relationship and let the chips fall as they may. Once again though, we are left with most people's disapproval … and disgust. But that can be said of the Empire's rule now. Many disapprove and are disgusted by myself and Palpatine. So little would change for me on that score except the reason for their dislike. It would be different for you though.'

Vader had rarely cared what others thought of his morals so long as they obeyed him and stayed out of his way, but he knew that Luke felt things very deeply and the sting of rejection from people would hurt him.

`Do you ... have a preference, Father, for which path we take?' Luke was studiously looking at the floor and not his face.

`I just know that … I wish I could touch you, young one, right this minute.' He used the Force to trace a line down Luke's spine.

Luke shivered, his shoulder blades twitching at the Force caress. `I wish it, too.'

`We do not need to make a decision this moment. Just … think on the options, Luke.'

`I know.' After a quiet moment, Luke asked, `Perhaps after this meeting we can spend some time alone together?'

`I'm sure that something can be arranged.' Vader grinned.

In fact, Vader already had planned to make Luke's Rebel Prisoner Fantasy come true later that evening. Even now, he could picture Luke in the detention cell. The boy would be vainly pulling at the restraints that would hold him bound and helpless. Luke's blue eyes would be sparking at him with defiance and pride. It would be a challenge to Vader's dominance, which would only inspire the Dark Lord to greater heights to make those blue eyes glaze over with desire, pleasure and ultimate submission. Vader could not wait to indulge them both in this fantasy.

Although in truth, just holding the boy and speaking to him would be most welcome right now. There was so much he did not know about his son, so many years where he hadn't been present or even aware of Luke's existence. The boy had lived a whole life without him. Vader did not know what his son's first word was or how he looked as took his first toddling steps or what happened when he crashed his first speeder. Those moments could be shared at least in part through conversation. He wanted to know his son as deeply as any devoted father would … and he wanted to know him as intimately as the most constant of lovers.

`I want …'

`Father?' Luke's blue eyes rose to look at his face in confusion as Vader's thought had been left stillborn.

`I want all of you, Luke.'

The boy blushed becomingly. `You have all of me, Father.'

Vader smiled, but it was tinged with sadness. His own actions had ensured that he had lost twenty years of his son's life, ensured that he could never truly have all of Luke because of that.

`I love you, child of my heart.'

`I love you, too, Father.'

Vader gave his son one last longing look, before they entered the observation deck and he smoothed his features into a neutral mask. The room was empty of people. There were comfortable upholstered seats surrounding low tables by the viewport. Right now only a blur of stars was visible outside as the Executor sped through hyperspace. Most people found that view disturbing and he used the Force to close the blast shields.

Vader was almost sorry that his son would not get his first view of Coruscant from the Executor's viewports, but in order to avoid a confrontation on Palpatine's terms they could not arrive on the flagship. The city-planet though was a magnificent thing to see from a Star Destroyer. As one hovered above the planet's completely building-covered surface, the world looked to be ablaze as sunlight reflected off the sparkling surfaces of the durasteel towers, plastiglas domes and slender, gilded walkways. This marvellous sight, and millions of others, he wanted to share with his son. After Palpatine was dealt with, he would work on showing his child the wonders of the universe instead of all the ugliness the boy had seen so far.

He gestured for everyone to sit down and all waited for Salara to be seated first. She helped Joran into the chair beside her. Luke and Qui-Gon sat opposite her, leaving Vader a chair in between them. Immediately, Salara handed Vader the data scroll as he sank down into the chair. Vader pulled out the microfiber tab and watched as the familiar alphabet appeared on the thin screen. Luke was right. It was definitely the language of the builders of the Black Heart Temple.

`What brought them to Tatooine? And is it really a coincidence that Luke and I were raised there?'

"Luke mentioned that your husband was the one to find this in some ruins he called … the Palace."

As he lifted his eyes from the scroll, he found Salara was staring intently at him and Luke. She flushed and brushed one hand across her forehead, a nervous movement.

"Forgive me for … for staring, Lord Vader. I just wondered if … I think that my father's work brought me in contact with a Skywalker, ironically, in connection with the ruins this scroll is from. Although … I'm sure she has nothing to do with the two of you," she explained softly. "But to answer your question, yes, my husband Darol found the data scroll at the Palace ruins."

Luke leant forward in the chair beside him. "My father is originally from Tatooine as well, Salara."

She plucked at her worn skirt as she answered, "Oh, well, still … I'm sure that you two aren't related to her. The Skywalker my father interviewed was a … a, uhm …"

"A slave?" Vader asked quietly.

Salara's head jerked up. "Yes, but how did you know … I assure you, Lord Vader, that I didn't mean to insinuate that—"

"Be at ease. You have not insulted Luke or me. I was born a slave," he said, trying to keep his voice from tightening up and betraying the discomfort he felt speaking about that time. "As was my mother. We were enslaved on Tatooine by a Toydarian named Watto."

Salara's eyes widened in shock. Qui-Gon shifted almost imperceptibly in his seat and the Dark Lord felt a spike of disgust in the older man's mind at the thought of Watto. Qui-Gon had bested the creature in a bet that had freed Vader from slavery, but not his mother. The Dark Lord had often wondered if Qui-Gon had lived whether he would have left her there on Tatooine as a slave or if he would have sought her release later.

For Obi-Wan, the woman had ceased to exist except as a blockage in Vader's training. Seeing him crying over her loss or missing her only got him a lecture on attachment or some kind of sweet as if that would replace her. What would he have felt if he had known she was somewhere free and safe and not at the mercy of Watto? A greater sense of peace, he was sure. As it was, he too, had forgotten her in a way. It took those horrible dreams to push him to seek her out. But too late. Much too late.

"Then perhaps she is related to you," Salara said softly though she continued to study his face almost skeptically as if she could not connect his mother's looks to his own. "My father was an archeologist like my husband. It was for his work that he took me to a meeting with … Shmi, that was her first name … Shmi Skywalker. She had dark hair and a kind face. I was only ten at the time, but I remember this meeting so well, because it was her information that led my father to the ruins he had sought all his life. The same ruins where my husband later found the scroll you're holding."

The slight burr of the Tatooine accent, even the lines by her eyes and the sides of her mouth, reminded Vader very much of his mother. As Salara's voice washed over him, saying Shmi's name, Vader envisioned his mother's face as it was, not the last time he saw her in the Sand People's hut, but glowing in the desert suns as Qui-Gon took him from her.

He could remember the way she bit her lower lip to stop it from quivering and bade him be strong and that she loved him. She wanted him to go, to get away from the degradations of slavery, and the fate that would surely have found him if he had remained there: a pleasure slave, a spice addict, and probably a cruel death after that.

`Father, are you all right?'

One of Luke's hands suddenly covered his and warmth spilled over their bond. Vader only then realized that he had been clutching the chair's arm so hard that his knuckles were white and the wood was creaking. He consciously relaxed his grip and slipped his hand to the side so that he could hold onto Luke's. Damn the consequences, he needed to touch his son.

`I'm fine, Luke.'

`If you're sure …'

`I am, beloved.'

The boy gave him an uncertain smile and squeezed his hand gently. Salara's voice had broken off from her story and Vader could tell his distress had not gone unnoticed by her either. Kind eyes looked at him from that weatherworn face. He had to look away to center himself.

`Anakin, perhaps you would prefer to have Luke or I speak to her alone?' Qui-Gon's mind-voice was gentle over their bond. `We would report to you all she said. Perhaps a false emergency—"

`No, that will not be necessary,' Vader sent, his riled nerves causing him to add coldly, `And if I require your assistance I will ask for it.'

Qui-Gon sent a neutral acknowledgement back over their bond, which somehow stung more than if the man had given him an emotional response. A quick glance to the side showed nothing had changed in Qui-Gon's outward demeanor after Vader's curt dismissal. In fact, as Vader searched Qui-Gon's emotions more, he found only concern for him. There was no anger or frustration. Obi-Wan would have been hissing and spitting at him and then coldly ignoring him after such a display of temper, but Qui-Gon appeared unphased.

`It is because he understands why I snapped at him. That it was not … personal.' It unsettled Vader all the more as he felt a sense of gratefulness flare in his chest at the man's understanding. `But I don't need his understanding. I don't need his precious Jedi calm and gentleness. I don't need his approval or acceptance. I don't … don't …need anything from him at all.'

Vader just wished he believed that.

Centering himself as much as he could, he turned back to Salara and said, "Shmi Skywalker was indeed … a relation of mine. And I truly wish to know anything you can remember about this meeting with her."

Vader successfully kept the anger and pain out of his voice and posture this time. This woman and her child were not the cause of either. The loss of Shmi and his own failure during that time were what scalded him. Salara's hand brushed over the top of Joran's blond head, a gesture that showed she knew, without him having to say, what relation Shmi had been to him. The boy, however, believed a clarification was in order.

"Shmi … your momma?" Joran asked Vader with that frightening directness of children.

"Joran!"

Salara tried to shush him, but the boy stared at Vader awaiting an answer. Luke's grip on Vader's hand tightened as if he feared that the Dark Lord's temper would be unleashed. But Vader had a tight hold on himself. When Vader nodded curtly in response to the boy's question, Joran's rosebud mouth drew into a deep frown. The blue eyes narrowed and Vader felt a spike of Force energy from the boy.

The child suddenly cried out, "Oh! Oh, she … she died! Bad people … hurt her. Sand … sand …"

Tears erupted in the large eyes and streamed down the boy's face. He jumped from the chair and was in Salara's lap in moments, sobbing against her chest. Vader was stunned. If he hadn't sensed the child's Force-sensitivity earlier, he surely did now. Luke's wide blue eyes met his.

`How did he do that without training?' Luke asked over their bond.

`Some are born with the innate ability to see other's pasts. It is an almost empathic gift,' Vader explained. What he didn't add was that those born with such a gift were often traumatized by it as they could be overwhelmed with other's past sorrows just by walking down a crowded street.

"Don't want that to happen to you, Momma!" Joran wailed cutting off Luke and Vader's conversation.

"Joran, oh, child, what have I told you about blurting out such things! Please, forgive him, Lord Vader. He says nonsense like that sometimes …" Salara looked stricken, her eyes flicking from her distressed son to Lord Vader.

"But it isn't really nonsense, is it? The things he says are often true, aren't they?" Qui-Gon asked quietly.

Salara's expression crumpled. She nodded. "Many people are frightened by what he can do. But he means no harm or disrespect by it."

"He may very well be a … Force sensitive," Qui-Gon explained.

"I'm sorry … I don't understand. I thought only Jedi could use the Force. Are you saying that Joran is … could be a Jedi?" She asked with a touch of amazement.

"He may have the potential for becoming a Force user. We will have to do a test to make sure," Qui-Gon answered. "If you would be willing to let me take him now … while you are here talking with Anakin and Luke … I could have the answer for you by the end of the meeting."

"It'll be all right, Salara," Luke added gently. "Joran isn't in trouble. And I don't believe the test hurts at all. Master Jinn will take good care of him."

"Just a blood test," Qui-Gon explained.

"All … all right. Joran, you're going to go with Master Jinn now."

"But, Momma, don't wanna leave you!"

The tear-streaked face pulled away from Salara's chest to gaze up at her. She smoothed down the boy's tangled locks and kissed his forehead gently. Vader had a feeling of deja vu: a mother holding a sobbing blonde child while Qui-Gon stood to the side, waiting patiently to take that child away. As Vader stared at the tableau, he felt the agony of Shmi's loss all over again and the wrench of his own failure. His chest grew tight and his face hot. He gripped Luke's hand harder.

Shmi had loved him just like Salara loved Joran. She had sought only the best for him even if it meant giving him up to the Jedi Temple. But his love for her had turned out to be a rather useless thing. He had wiled away years at the Jedi Temple complaining of his own lack of power, while forgetting the fact that his mother had been the truly powerless one.

First, she had been Watto's slave and then the Lars'. Though Owen's father had freed Shmi and offered to marry her, Vader knew that she would have had little choice but to accept his proposal. After all, she had no money and no place to go. Her son was a Padawan and the Jedi did not allow Padawans' mothers to move into the Temple nor did they offer financial support for their family members. And Shmi would never have asked him to give up his dream of becoming a Knight in order to support her.

For years he had blamed Obi-Wan and the Council for his not coming to get her sooner, but now he acknowledged to himself that they could not have stopped him from going to her if he had truly wanted to. He could have used some of the credits he earned illegal pod-racing on Coruscant to free her and set her up in a small home … not on Tatooine, but somewhere green and lush where she could have had a garden … and never feared Sand People.

He should have done something … anything … to protect her. But he hadn't. He'd been too concerned with earning the title of Jedi Knight, but not concerned enough about the reason he had originally wanted to become one: to save her and all the slaves of Tatooine. Slaves like Joran and Salara. It felt horribly like everything was coming full circle again.

There was a prickle over his bond with Qui-Gon. Vader also felt Luke's warm Force presence suddenly encasing him more fully. His distress was spilling over his carefully constructed walls and their bonds were being flooded with his emotions. Vader suddenly stood and walked briskly over to the viewport, opening the blast shields so he could pretend to be staring at something outside. His hands were shaking. He stilled them by gripping onto the viewport's ledge.

`Anakin … do not allow yourself to despair over the past … it is done. There is only the future to consider,' Qui-Gon sent over their bond.

`I need no lectures, Jedi!'

`Forgive me, I do not mean to lecture, only to give you some comfort.'

Vader's shoulders slumped. `I do not need your comfort.'

`But I offer it nonetheless.'

"Joran, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here when you get back," Salara said as she urged him to go to Qui-Gon.

Vader watched the reflection in the viewport's glass of her helping Joran get down from her lap. The boy stood on unsteady feet, wiping his eyes with balled up fists.

"Perhaps we can find some sweets while we do the test. I, myself, could use some," Qui-Gon offered as he extended one large hand to the boy.

Vader felt, even as Qui-Gon was soothing the child, the solid presence of the Jedi Master over their bond, offering him strength just as Luke did. He didn't take it, but he didn't turn it away this time either.

"Go on, darling, it'll be just fine. I promise," Salara said, pressing two more kisses to his chubby, flushed cheeks.

Joran took Qui-Gon's hand. He cast one last backwards glance back at his mother, but allowed Qui-Gon to lead him from the room. Vader let out a shuddery breath. Luke was suddenly at his side, a tentative hand placed on his lower back. He looked down at his son's concerned face and lightly brushed Luke's hair away from his eyes. The simple act steadied him.

`You were right, Luke.'

`About what, Father?'

`The past. Sometimes … it does have a hold on us. A stranglehold.'

The boy's expression grew more pained for him. `Can I help you in any way with this?'

Vader leaned down and pressed a fatherly kiss to Luke's forehead. `You help every moment you are with me, Luke.'

"Lord Vader … are you all right?" Salara asked softly, her hands clasped tightly on her lap.

Until Luke had entered his life, none would have dared ask him such a question. His forbidding presence would have deterred them. But if someone actually had the nerve to comment on his emotional state, they would have been crushed like an insect beneath his heel. But he had changed. He could not imagine destroying this inoffensive woman for asking about his well-being. Some would say that meant he had softened, which was ironic considering he now was able to wield more Dark Side power than ever before. With a touch of surprise, Vader found he was not sorry for this change. In a way, perhaps it wasn't so much a change as a reawakening of a piece of himself that he had forgotten.

He turned around to face Salara … and this part of his past.

"My mother … Shmi … was captured by Sand People while I was training to become a Jedi Knight. I had visions of her in great pain yet I delayed coming back to Tatooine to determine if she was all right, because … the Jedi Council had forbidden me to and … I was afraid of being censured for disobeying them in this matter."

Vader looked down into his son's eyes. Luke's hand on his lower back pressed tighter against him. Even though it was seemingly to Salara he told this story to, it was really Luke he wanted to hear his confession.

Vader's voice became quieter as he said, "I was more concerned for my position … than my mother's life and well-being. And when I finally did look for her … it was only to find her moments before she died from their torture. I … I was too late to save her. I failed her … the woman who had done everything she could for me."

Salara gave a gasp of distress. Her hands clenched tighter in her lap. "I'm so sorry. So … terribly sorry."

Vader acknowledged her words with a slight nod of his head. "As am I. She deserved so much better."

"Oh, Father," Luke said, "she wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

"No, she wouldn't, but that doesn't mean … that doesn't mean I shouldn't."

"But--"

Vader covered Luke's lips with the first two fingers of his right hand. "No, Luke, I have spent many years hiding from the truth of the things I have done. I do not want to anymore. At least not about this."

Vader stared out the viewport for a few moments. He thought he would feel worse for having revealed this to Luke and to Salara, but it was like a great weight had been lifted from him. He cleared his throat and turned back to face the Desertrider.

"I was only with Shmi for a few years of my life. But … she was my mother and … one of the best people I have ever had the honor to know. Any information about her … would be precious to me."

"Anything I can do to help you, I gladly will," Salara said softly then her eyes went unfocused for a moment as a memory suddenly hit her. "Oh! She spoke of you at the meeting my father had with her."

Vader froze.

"Well, she spoke of a son at the Jedi Academy … that must have been you that she meant."

Vader was anxious to know what his mother had said about him, but he knew it would be better to have Salara start from the beginning so he could hear all the nuances of her tale.

"Please … tell me everything."

"Yes, of course." She rubbed her hands together as if cold. "This all began with the necklace."

"Necklace?" Luke repeated.

"It really isn't a non-sequitor. You see my father had taken to trolling the junk shops for certain types of artifacts. Artifacts he believed proved his hypothesis that an ancient, hitherto unknown civilization had existed on Tatooine thousands of years before. Small traces of their existence showed up in the old bazaars in Mos Eisley and in junk dealer's shops. It was while he was on one of these trolls that he came upon a going out of business sale. I believe the owner … a Toydarian … had to sell everything because of debts ..."

"A Toydarian going out of business? That rather sounds like Watto. He was quite … broke after he lost all his money on the Boonta Eve Race," Vader said.

"Not the same Boonta Eve Race you won?" Luke asked and when Vader nodded, he exclaimed, "But that means he didn't—"

"He bet against me and lost everything," Vader said, satisfaction laced with bitterness in his voice. "Please go on, Salara."

"Well, at this Toydarian's shop, my father found a particular necklace … intricately designed with symbols on it …like those on the scroll, I think … that he recognized as coming from this civilization."

Vader wondered about this necklace. He remembered only ship and droid parts at Watto's shop, but the Toydarian had a back room where he kept "treasures" he would never sell … well, not unless large sums were offered to him. But he kept them locked away because no one of the right means had ever entered his vision or so Watto had claimed. Vader was never allowed in that room and though he had tried to break in, the electronic lock had resisted his young efforts.

"Did your father purchase the necklace?"

Salara leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she explained, "No. Even at the supposed `rock-bottom' price the Toydarian asked for the necklace it was just too much for my father to pay on his small salary."

"Typical Watto behavior," Vader remarked under his breath. "Greedy."

Salara smiled at his comment then continued, "But your mother was there, tidying the shop, and she overheard the conversation. She motioned for my father to meet her outside … out of earshot. She told him to come visit her at her home that evening. She said she could tell him where the Toydarian had gotten the necklace if he was interested in such things as there was more where it came from."

"And that was the meeting you went to?" Luke intuited.

"Yes. She told us that she was the one who actually found the necklace. She discovered it when her master had her scouring the flatlands just by the mountains west of Mos Eisley with a metal detector for old ship and droid parts. A sand storm had sprung up and she had taken shelter in a cave."

"A sand storm?" Luke asked, his voice sounded so strange that Vader looked keenly at his son, but Luke wouldn't meet his eyes.

Salara nodded. "It was a particularly vicious one. While she waited for it to abate, she wandered farther back into the cave and found that it was in fact a passageway through the mountains into a valley."

"There was a city in the valley, wasn't there? With … with spires of metal rising out of the sand?" Luke asked and Vader grew more surprised at his son's statements.

"That's exactly the way she described it! And exactly how it looked when I went and saw it. Have you been there?" Salara asked him.

Luke shook his head, running a shaky hand through his hair. Vader touched Luke's forehead to check for a fever. The boy looked almost grey and sweat had broken out on his upper lip. But his skin was cool. This was a similar reaction to the one Luke had with the Archive.

"Child, are you well?"

"Yes, I'm all right, Father. Please continue, Salara. I'm sorry I interrupted."

Vader gripped his son's shoulder. The boy leaned against him, but the bond was strangely silent and Vader could not find the cause of his son's obvious distress.

Salara frowned and her eyebrows drew together as she told them, "Shmi said she found the necklace in the ruined city. And that there were other objects there, but she had only taken the necklace. It had … called to her. She told us that the rest of the objects should still be there unless others had discovered the ruins since then. But she doubted they had."

"I'm surprised that Watto didn't have her back there post haste, stripping the whole place bare," Vader said with a frown.

A wry smile crossed Salara's face. "She lied to him. Told him that she discovered the necklace randomly in the sand dunes and that there was nothing else there."

Vader gave a sharp laugh. Good for his mother. She had pulled one over on Watto.

"She said the city was a sacred place … a haunted place, too. Not a place she was willing to let her master go and despoil. It needed to be protected and she felt my father would do that," Salara explained, then added with a piercing look at Vader, "And there was another reason, she felt so strongly about the ruined city. A special reason specific to her … and to you."

"Me?" Vader repeated, a strange combination of excitement and foreboding coursing through him.

Salara gave him a sweet, motherly smile. "Shmi said that you were conceived there, Lord Vader."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: BORN TO WIELD THE DARKNESS

Vader's POV

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

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

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

"What exactly did she say about my … conception?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

`A city … like the ruins?'

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

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

`A dangerous pastime, young one.'

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

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

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

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

Luke shrugged. `Perhaps he didn't know or … perhaps he didn't care.'

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luke flinched.

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

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

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

Luke rested his head against his father's shoulder.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vader brushed Luke's hair back from his forehead.

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

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

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

Vader's eyebrow rose in surprise. `You sense that about him?'

`Don't you?'

`Not until … recently. Not until he told me about Xanatos.'

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

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

`What do you think Qui-Gon wants from me, Luke?'

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

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

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

Luke's expression went from musing to tight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

`Father … you're thinking something grim …'

`Ah, yes, the grimmest … Palpatine. How did you know?'

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

Vader snorted and laughed. `It does not.'

Luke grinned. `It does. I swear it.'

`Well, perhaps. The mask perhaps made me careless in watching my facial expressions.'

`It's rather … cute, actually.'

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

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

`What were you thinking about Palpatine?' Luke sent.

Vader sighed. `I was thinking that perhaps he taught me bad habits.'

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

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

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

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

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

`But not enough. Not nearly enough. Gods, I wish …'

Luke tugged on his arm when he said nothing further.

`What do you wish?'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

`I don't know … I've never considered …'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

`Father, I didn't mean to upset you with that question …'

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

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

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

`Yes … yes, I believe he would have.'

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

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

"You speak together without words, don't you?" she asked, awe tinting her voice.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"No!" Luke said suddenly and with some heat.

"Luke?" Vader questioned softly.

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

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

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

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

`What about attachment, Luke?' Vader asked over their bond.

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

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

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

`With that kind of fierce determination I'm sure we will.'

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

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

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

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

Luke's POV

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Midi … midi … what that word, Master Jinn-Jinn?"

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

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

"Shielding. It's called shielding, Joran," Qui-Gon correctly gently.

"Yeah, shielding and midis!" Joran crowed.

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

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

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

"Yes," Master Jinn answered her.

"So he'll be trained? You all will train him?" She clutched Joran's slim shoulders.

"Ow, Momma! Too hard!"

"Sorry, baby, just …" She broke off and searched Master Jinn's face.

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

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

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

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

"Well, Anakin, what say you?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

`Duty comes first, I know.'

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

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

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

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

`I would expect nothing less.'

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

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

Luke nodded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You're going to view the Archive, aren't you?"

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

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

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

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

"Yes, but Luke—"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Qui-Gon gave a sad, knowing smile. "Both."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Why do you ask that?"

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

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

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

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

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

Again that searching stare, but then a smile.

"Because I wasn't being true to who … or what I actually was."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Why do you say that?"

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

"And you think he's not now?"

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

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

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

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

"You don't look like you enjoy that prospect." Qui-Gon chuckled.

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

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

"How do you mean?"

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

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

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

"All right."

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

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

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

"Do you have to be a good person to be detached, calm, focussed, or restrained?"

The frowning eased. "Not … not necessarily."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I believe that is true."

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

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

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

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

"But doesn't the Dark Side itself … corrupt?" Luke asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Artoo! Are you okay?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Jedi Master nodded his acknowledgment.

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

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

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

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

"Luke … oh, of course, but I thought that Lord Vader didn't wish me there."

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

"Midi-what? It isn't a disease or anything is it?"

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

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

"I believe so."

There was silence over the com.

"Damon?"

"Are you going to be there for the test?"

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

"Oh."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"All right. So I'll see you later?" Damon asked.

"Definitely. Take care."

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

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

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

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

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

"Impossible," Luke breathed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Part 7

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