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Vader smiled silently to himself as he adjusted the Star Destroyer positions on the holo in front of him. He and Luke had been preparing the attack plans for a couple of hours already. While Luke didn't remember his time with the Alliance, his knowledge of the Alliance's attack and defense techniques remained, meaning that his son saw holes that he might have missed.
"Is that what you mean?" he asked looking at his son.
"Yes," Luke replied after studying the holo for a minute. "Exactly."
"Very well," Vader said. "However, if we do that then we must move the Executor a little more to the right in order to avoid letting any Rebel transports out."
Luke just nodded as he saw his father's point. Watching his father make the suggested change, he realized how good it felt to be working together. As he thought about it, he realized that a kind of bond had formed between him and his father over the past few weeks, or rather had reformed.
Suddenly he froze as he thought of how close he and his father must have been before his run-in with the horangi. From the bond they now had, after a little over three weeks, he knew that they must have been extremely close. It must have been terrible for his father to sit on his bed that first day of his memory and have to explain who he was to a son who had previously been so close to.
Closing his eyes he tried to image what his father must have felt like, but quickly shook his head at the emotions the thought brought.
"Luke? Are you--" Vader began but stopped as the door opened and a senior officer entered.
Admiral Piett froze as soon as he entered the room, realizing his mistake.
"Lord Vader..." he began, but then his eyes opened wide as they fell on Luke and recognized him from the Imperial warrant for his arrest. "S...Sky...Skywalker?!"
Luke's eyes narrowed as he looked at the admiral. He was about to reply when the admiral's eyes opened even wider and he started to gasp for breath. Confusion briefly filled the admiral's eyes before they rolled back and the admiral dropped to the floor, dead. Luke looked at the body for a moment before he looked up at his father.
"The Force?" he asked.
"Yes," Vader replied, looking at the admiral.
He should have killed him after Bespin, but he hadn't. He'd been too upset about losing Luke when it had just seemed like he'd had his son. He'd been lucky that he'd been on Lavendosp to inspect the new Imperial outpost there just when Luke and his friends had come and had been attacked by the horangi.
Motioning for Luke to move to the far end of the room, he walked to the door the late admiral had just come through and indicated for two passing storm troopers to enter.
"Take it away," he ordered, gesturing to Piett's body.
Immediately the storm troopers stepped forward, picked up the body, and left the room.
"Now, where were we?" Vader asked, turning back to his son and the holo.
***
Three days later,
Luke followed his father to the edge of the landing platform where a shuttle waited to take the Imperial Dark Lord up to his flagship.
"I should be back in a week or so if all goes well," Vader said as he looked at his son.
"Okay," Luke replied. He about to add 'good luck' when he remembered that his father didn't believe in luck.
"What's wrong?" Vader asked, probing his son with the Force.
"I don't know," Luke replied honestly. "I've got a bad feeling about something ever since I woke up this morning, but no matter how hard I try I can't figure it out."
As he said this Luke looked up at his father, hoping that he might know what was wrong. Probing Luke again, Vader frowned unseen behind his mask. Perhaps it was a warning Luke was receiving through the Force, but unless he showed his son how to use the Force he couldn't be sure.
"It might be nothing," he said aloud. "But just in case keep your eyes open and stay out of sight."
"I was planning on going back to the library anyway," Luke replied.
"Very well. Farewell my son," Vader said turning around and heading for the shuttle.
"Goodbye, Father," Luke replied as he watched his father board the shuttle.
Silently, he stood on the landing platform and watched the shuttle until it was no more then a black speck in the morning sky. Just as the shuttle disappeared from sight he felt a wave of unreasoning fear engulf him for a second, it was quickly followed by a sense of loneliness, before the feeling vanished altogether.
Shaking his head in confusion, he turned around with a swirl of his cape and re-entered the Imperial Palace. Using the back halls, he quickly reached the library and immediately headed for the area that contained the holochips he wanted. Walking there he realized that he was almost through the information on the general workings of the Empire and the brief history it included.
He smiled to himself as he thought of how easily Palpatine had become Chancellor of the Old Republic, and how he had then managed to gain total control. He knew that it must have been harder than the history records made it out to be, but still, the Old Republic and the Jedi must really have been weak for them to be swept away and forgotten so quickly.
Reaching the section with the information he needed, he took the holochips and quickly made his way to the room he had used ever since the second day he had been on Coruscant. Locking the door, he sat down and started to study the information before him.
***
Sitting back in his throne, Emperor Palpatine sighed. Although he enjoyed being the ruler of all the eye could see there were times when there was a lot of work. Especially with diplomats who always insisted that they had business that had to be dealt with by none other than the Emperor himself. Useless bureaucrats, all of them.
Turning his throne around so that he overlooked Coruscant, he turned his thoughts towards young Skywalker. The boy had lots of potential which, if manipulated correctly, could turn him into a very valuable asset, just like his father. It was too bad that Vader hadn't known that he had a son earlier, otherwise the boy could have been raised to the Dark Side.
Pushing that thought aside, he thought instead of the training Luke would require before he could become a Sith Lord. Perhaps it was better that the boy wasn't ready for his apprenticeship yet as he didn't have the time to train him at the moment.
Reaching out with the Force he brushed against his future apprentice's mind. The boy was in the library again. Good. Young Skywalker obviously understood the importance of knowledge. The more he learned about the boy the more he saw what a valuable asset he would be.
***
"Lord Vader," Captain Sigly said as Vader came down the ramp of the shuttle on board the Executor. "Admiral Piett has not yet returned and we've been unable to contact him."
"He will no longer be joining us, Admiral Sigly," Vader stated coldly.
"Th...thank you Lord Vader," the newly appointed admiral stammered.
"Set course for Walp," Vader ordered.
"As you wish, my lord," Admiral Sigly replied, silently wondering where in the galaxy Walp was.
"I shall be in my quarters should there be anything," Vader stated, his voice clearly indicating that there had better be no need for him to be disturbed.
Admiral Sigly nodded his head at which the Dark Lord left the docking, heading for his quarters.
***
Six days later,
Calling out in his sleep Luke tossed fitfully in his bed.
"Nooooooooo!" he called out as he awoke and sat up, breathing hard and sweating.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead he quickly looked around for anything out of the ordinary. He found nothing different with the exception of his sheets which were all tangled. Forcing himself to relax, he tried to remember what the dream, the nightmare, had been about. But, try as he might, all he could remember was fear and pain. He wasn't even sure if it was something he had once experienced or if it had been just a random nightmare.
Wishing his father were back so he could talk with him, Luke got out of bed and took a shower, knowing that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again tonight. Letting the cool water wash over him he wondered if the nightmare had anything to do with the Force, a warning perhaps.
Shaking his head he quickly dried himself, got dressed, and re-entered his bedroom. Walking over to the com unit, he requested a connection with the Executor, adding a special code his father had given him. This way the communications officer on board the Executor would know to transfer the signal straight to his father's quarters. A minute later and a life-size image of his father flickered into view before him.
"Father," Luke said.
"Son," Vader acknowledged.
"How did the attack go?" Luke asked, knowing it should have finished a while ago.
"Not good," Vader replied. "The Rebels were warned and had started an evacuation. Our estimates are that we destroyed about twenty-five percent of the Rebel fleet and personnel. However, the leaders were among the first to be evacuated."
Luke nodded his head, disappointed.
"Are you coming back now?"
"No," Vader replied. "We are still following some leads we have, but how are you? I thought that I felt a disturbance in the Force earlier. I was busy at the time and was unable to probe it any further."
"A nightmare," Luke replied shaking his head. "But I can't remember anything except fear and pain."
"A nightmare?" Vader repeated thoughtfully.
"Yes," Luke replied. "Do you know what it might be?"
"It could be one of three things," Vader stated. "It could be that your memory is starting to return, it could be just a random nightmare, or it could be that you unconsciously picked up on the disturbance in the Force caused when we destroyed part of the Rebel fleet."
Luke nodded, all those reasons made sense. Not daring to hope too much he looked back to the projected image of his father.
"Which of those reasons do you think it to be?" he asked quietly.
"I would doubt that it is your memory returning at this point," Vader replied, knowing what his son must be hoping for. "I also doubt that it would be a random nightmare, although you never know. If I'd have to guess, I'd say it was that you picked up the disturbance in the Force."
"Okay," Luke replied, trying not to look disappointed.
"I must go now," Vader said as he briefly looked behind him at something out of Luke's sight. "Goodbye, my son."
"Goodbye, Father," Luke replied before his father's image faded away.
He stood silently in thought. If he had picked up on a disturbance in the Force, it meant that he still had his Force abilities, not that he knew if he could even lose them. Shaking his head, he left his rooms and wandered through the deserted halls of the Imperial Palace.
As he walked, he saw no one with the exception of a couple of storm troopers on guard duty.
***
Vader watched the image of his son flicker and fade before he turned around and walked over to his pod. Sitting down he pondered the conversation. If Luke was picking up on disturbances in the Force, then there was the possibility of him accidentally using the Force and regaining his memory sooner then the poison would normally allow.
Angrily, he pounded his fist against the armrest. Luke had only been with him for a little over four weeks and already he had grown used to having his son around him. So much, in fact, that he didn't want Luke to leave. Blast Obi-Wan for stealing his son from him and poisoning his mind with Jedi ideals.
Pushing the thought from his mind, he turned his attention back to the present. The past was the past and he couldn't change it no matter how hard he wished he could. He would have to remind his son to leave the Force alone until he remembered how to use it. But he knew that would be hard for Luke, especially considering the fact that the boy saw the amount of power he and the Emperor possessed.
Suddenly a smile spread across his face. That was the only good point about Luke's attempts to touch the Force; he did it to try to quench his lust for power. The more he learned about his son, the more he saw himself in the boy. The smile broadened for a moment before it vanished as he got to his feet. He didn't have time to sit around. He had to lead the fleet in their search for the Rebels.
***
Several hours later,
Entering the throne room Luke walked forward and up the stairs. Reaching the top, he knelt before the throne, wondered about why he had been summoned. One of the Emperor's aides had come looking for him and told him that the Emperor demanded his presence right away.
"What is thy bidding, my master?" Luke asked as the throne turned to face him.
"There was a disturbance in the Force coming from your room last night," Palpatine stated angrily. "What were you doing?"
"It was a nightmare, master," Luke explained keeping his head low. "I was unaware that I was using the Force."
Palpatine glared at the form of the kneeling boy before him for a moment, feeling that his future apprentice was speaking the truth, but wanting him to know that he was still displeased.
"You are not to even attempt to use the Force until you have regained your memory," Palpatine ordered. "Is that clear?"
"Yes, my master," Luke replied lowering his head further.
Palpatine eyed him with a smile on his face. The boy would be so angry when he regained his memory and thought of this moment, of how easily he had been used.
"Rise," Palpatine ordered sharply and watched as Luke rose. "We managed to intercept a message sent from a Rebel cell on Jabralkan, however the message is in a code unknown to the Empire. You used to know a great deal about Alliance codes, perhaps you even had some knowledge about this particular code, so I want you to decode the message."
"As you wish, my master," Luke replied as he filed away the information Palpatine had just given him about his past.
So he had known a lot about Rebel codes? The more he learned about his past the more it seemed like he had known a lot about the Rebellion. Perhaps that was of some importance and maybe not. Silently he cursed the horangi, then he looked up at the Emperor, wondering if he had picked up on it.
Smiling silently Palpatine reached over and took a datachip from on the throne arm.
"Here is a copy of the message," he said as he held out his arm towards Luke.
Luke quickly stepped forward and took the datachip from his master's hand before he stepped back.
"Dismissed," Palpatine stated and watched Luke bow before he turned around and left the room.
Luke quickly made his way back to his room and sat down before the computer terminal, inserting the datachip into it as he did so. Calling up the information from the chip he scanned the encrypted message before him. Looking down the length of the message he frowned, the encryption didn't ring a bell, but then neither had anything else he had seen so far.
The frown quickly disappeared however as he realized that this might actually prove to be a challenge, his first real challenge since he had had his little run-in with the horangi. Settling back he called up a blank notepad on his computer and arranged it so that the blank notepad filled half the screen while the encrypted message filled the other half. Quietly he set to work.
Five hours later he got up with a sigh and walked over to the huge window. Looking out he ran a hand through his hair in frustration, he had looked at the message from every possible point of view but had been unable to decode even a single symbol. There seemed to be no consistency in the message, which meant that at certain intervals the code changed, making it almost impossible to decode.
Deciding to stop for the day he walked back over to the computer terminal and ordered it to shut down, but even as he did so he was determined to decode the message, he would not face his master in failure. Even as this thought crossed his mind he suddenly knew that failure would not only mean a loss of pride, but it would also mean a severe, physical, punishment. He briefly wondered if he knew that from experience or just from the Emperor's behavior.
Not wanting to think about it he turned around and entered his bedroom.
***
Several hours later,
Luke tossed in his sleep as images of his past floated just out of his reach. Unconsciously struggling to reach them he heard voices of people he must have known but now no longer recognized. Suddenly a single voice broke through the low, unintelligible, hum of the other voices.
'The key to the code is that it changes every five words,' a soft, but commanding, female voice said.
He awoke with a start and lay still as the meaning of the words sunk in. Then, throwing back the black silk sheets, he got up and put on his black velvet bathrobe. Looking at the chronometer on his bedside table he saw that it was half past two.
Entering the reception room he ordered the computer to restart. He now knew that the code changed every five words, but he still had no idea how many codes were used, but it was a start. Sitting before the computer he ordered it to insert a carriage return after every five words. Looking down the list he began to check to see if the third set of five words matched the first.
Two hours later he yawned as he looked at the chronometer and decided that he might as well get some more sleep as he had barely slept the night before. Besides now that he knew that there were four different codes it wouldn't take too long to decode them.
Getting up he decided that while he slept he might as well let the computer check the four codes against all the codes the Empire had in its computer system. Although he didn't expect to get any results it didn't hurt to check. Ordering the computer to run the check he got up and headed back to his bedroom.
***
Three hours later,
Sitting back in his chair Vader thought of his son. The fleet had just found and destroyed the last Rebel ship they had chased and now they were heading back to Coruscant. As he thought of Luke he hoped that Palpatine hadn't lied too much to his boy.
Shaking his head he decided to get Luke off of Coruscant as fast as possible. Using the Force he reached out and touched his son's mind. He was surprised to find that the boy was still asleep. Pulling back he decided that his son was probably catching up on the sleep he had missed the night before.
***
Luke awoke when the sunlight shone onto his face. Grumbling to himself about forgetting to close the drapes he got up and gapped as he saw the time. Quickly he showered and had breakfast before he re-entered the reception room.
As he sat down in front of the computer he saw that, as expected, the search he had ordered had proven fruitless. Settling back he prepared to start the tedious task of comparing the symbols and trying to decode them.
***
Several hours later,
Looking down at the kneeling form of his future apprentice Palpatine smiled. From young Skywalker's lack of fear he knew that the boy had made progress with his assignment.
"Rise, my young friend, rise," he ordered.
Obediently Luke rose and regarded his master, excited but restraining his emotions. Quietly smiling to himself Palpatine entered Luke's mind and made sure that Luke wasn't regaining his memory. He was pleased to see that Luke had not only not regained any of his memory, but that he also still had enough of the poison in his system to block his memory for some time yet.
"How far are you with decoding the message?" he demanded.
"I've found that the message is encrypted in four different codes," Luke replied as he handed the datapad he had brought with him to the Emperor. "The first code is used for the first five words, the second for the next five words and so forth."
Palpatine nodded his head as he looked at the datapad in his hand.
"And you've already decoded four of the letters of the first code," he said as he saw the aurek, the esk, the nern, and the resk in several places on the datapad.
"Actually I'm only sure of three," Luke replied. "I was still checking to see if what I think is the nern is really the nern when you had me summoned."
"Very well," Palpatine replied as he handed the datapad back to Luke. "Decode the message and then bring it to me."
"As you wish my master."
"Also, decode it before your father returns," Palpatine added knowing Vader wished to take Luke away before he was recognized.
"Master," Luke replied bowing before he left the room.
He had today and three more days to decode the message, he'd have to hurry.
***
Three days later,
"You have decoded the message?" Palpatine demanded as Luke entered the throne room.
"Yes my master," Luke replied as he reached the throne and handed the datapad to the Emperor.
"Good," Palpatine stated as he took the datapad and started reading the message.
Luke stood quietly as his master read the message. Most of it was unimportant but, at the bottom, there was a stolen Imperial code for a project code-named 'Al-kin.' Watching he saw the Emperor's yellow eyes narrow as he reached the part with the code, making him wonder what the project was, but he knew better then to ask.
"The code will be changed immediately," Palpatine finally stated before he was momentarily distracted. "Your father has arrived."
Luke looked up, confused for a moment, but then he dismissed it, knowing that the Emperor must have used the Force.
"Dismissed," Palpatine ordered and watched Luke bow before he left the room.
Luke immediately headed for the north landing platform where his father would arrive. When he reached the platform he stood and waited as he watched his father's shuttle descend and land. Once it had landed he walked forward while the ramp lowered.
Coming down the ramp Vader was pleased to find his son waiting for him. Smiling behind his mask he approached the boy.
"Father," Luke said as he fell in next to his father.
"Son," Vader responded as they entered the Imperial Palace. "Have you had anymore nightmares?"
"No," Luke replied. "But I have heard voices at night."
"Voices?" Vader asked. "What do they say?"
"Normally they're just a low hum, so low that I can hardly hear them, much less make out what they're saying. However, four nights ago a single female voice spoke loud enough for me to hear."
"And what did she say?" Vader inquired, a little fearful that Luke would regain his memory faster then he'd like.
"She basically said that the key to cracking the code was that every five words were encrypted in a different code," Luke replied.
"Code?"
"Yes," Luke stated. "Palpatine wanted me to decode a Rebel message that was intercepted."
"And you did it?" Vader questioned.
"Yes."
"Good," Vader praised. "Tomorrow we shall return home."
***
Three days later,
Luke smiled to himself as he pushed the hyperspace levers forward and brought the shuttle out of hyperspace. It felt good to be home again. They had been delayed on Coruscant for several hours as the Emperor had wanted his father to do a few more things before he left, but they had finally been able to go.
On the two day trip his father had told him exactly what had happened during the attack on the Rebel base and he had told his father what he had done on Coruscant during his absence. He still didn't know why, but just talking with his father about what he had done had made him feel extremely good. He had dismissed the feeling telling himself that he had just missed his father, but there was something more to it. Something that was just out of his reach, teasing him with closeness.
Shaking his head he turned his concentration back to his piloting. He was just entering Melca's atmosphere when his father entered the cockpit. He briefly glanced at Vader as he sat down in the co-pilots chair before he turned his attention back to the controls.
"What are you planning on doing now that we're back?" Vader asked watching his son's hands fly over the controls.
"I don't know," Luke replied. "Perhaps read some more of the books in the library."
"Very well," Vader stated. "I shall have to leave in two weeks time for a week and shortly after that I shall have to leave again."
"All right," Luke replied nodding his head as he set the shuttle down onto the landing pad.
As he looked out the viewport he noticed that there was a second ship sitting on the landing pad to their right. As he studied the ship he saw that it was a civilian ship with no Imperial markings on it.
"What's that ship for?" he asked turning to his father.
"When you regain your memory you will be able to use it and nobody will know who you are," Vader replied.
And it was true, should Luke choose to go back to the Alliance when he regained his memory he would be able to use that shuttle. Nodding his head in reply Luke got up and followed his father off the shuttle.
***
Two days later,
Vader awoke with a start and immediately reached out with the Force to find what had woken him. As soon as he did so he was assaulted by a mixture of emotions radiating from Luke. Instantly remembering the nightmare his son had told him about he got up, quickly put on his armor, mask, and helmet, and headed for his son's room.
As he neared the room he probed the boy and found that Luke was struggling against the poison in his system, unconsciously trying to regain his memory. The door to Luke's room opened automatically as he approached and he could see his son tossing fitfully on his bed. Quickly walking to Luke's side he sat down on the bed and took hold of his son's shoulders and shook him.
"Luke," he said softly but firmly. "Luke, wake up."
"Wha...what?" Luke exclaimed as he awoke with a start, breathing hard.
Looking around Luke saw his father sitting on his bed, hands on his shoulders.
"You had another nightmare," Vader explained, glad to see Luke didn't remember anything he might have seen during his dream.
"Do you think that was just another random nightmare?" Luke asked as he sat up.
"No," Vader responded getting to his feet. "The poison is very slowly starting to wear off and so you are getting brief flashes and feelings of your past, thus causing the nightmares."
"Will it happen often?"
"I don't know," Vader replied honestly. "However, with your Force abilities, I would guess so."
Luke nodded his head in reply as he got out of bed.
"Are you all right now?" Vader asked.
"Yes, thank you."
"Very well," Vader replied before he turned around and left the room.
Luke quickly took a shower before he decided to go to the library, perhaps if he didn't sleep anymore tonight then he'd be tired enough to get a good nights sleep tomorrow night.
***
Ten days later,
Luke followed his father out of their home and onto the landing pad where a third ship was waiting. As soon as they appeared the officer standing at the top of the ramp stiffened and stood still.
"I shall be back in a Standard week," Vader said drawing Luke's attention away from the officer.
"I know," Luke replied.
"Good," Vader stated as he studied Luke.
He wished that he didn't have to leave Luke. His son would be regaining his memory soon and even if he decided to stay straight away, which was highly unlikely, things would not be the same until Luke fully accepted the Dark Side. He had no doubt that Luke would turn to the Dark Side, but the boy might not realize his place right away and so he would go back to the Rebellion until he became unhappy and realized that his place was at his father's side.
He smiled behind his mask as he remembered how good it had made Luke feel to just talk with him. But then the smile turned to a frown as he thought about the increasingly bad nightmares that had been plaguing Luke almost every night for the past few days.
"Try to get some sleep," he ordered softly as he noticed the dark smudges under Luke's eyes.
"You don't have to tell me," Luke replied forcing a smile. "I want to sleep, but not if I get anymore nightmares."
Vader nodded his head, tempted to show Luke how to prevent the nightmares by using the Force, but holding back, not yet wanting his son to regain his memory.
"May the Force be with you," Luke said, his longing to remember how to use the Force returning.
"Thank you," Vader replied placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "And you will remember everything soon enough."
Luke nodded his head and watched his father walk away, ascend the ramp, and disappear inside the shuttle. He quickly backed away and watched as the shuttle lifted off and finally disappeared out of sight. Sighing he looked at the darkening sky, night was once again approaching and he dreaded it. He kept getting nightmares, but he never remembered anything of them, only fear, pain, and recently he also awoke feeling angry and betrayed.
Shaking his head he turned around and headed inside.
***
Three days later,
Luke awoke with a start, sweating and breathing hard. With an angry growl he threw the sheets back and sat up before he froze as a memory flashed across his mind like lightening. A memory that wasn't from the past few weeks, a memory from before his run-in with the horangi!
Relaxing he sat back, closed his eyes, and concentrated on the memory. After a few moments it came back to him. He seemed to be in a huge, Imperial, docking bay and there were storm troopers and ships everywhere. Then, as he turned, he saw his father, blood-red lightsaber activated, fighting another man who was dressed in the robes his father had described as the robes of the Jedi. As he watched the Jedi looked in his direction before lifting his lightsaber and allowing his father to cut him down. There was a loud cry of 'Nooooo!' from somewhere before the scene faded.
Puzzled Luke sat still as he thought about the memory, but, try as he might, he could not figure out why the Jedi had allowed himself to be killed or from where the cry had come from.
***
Four days later,
As soon as he descended the ramp of his shuttle and saw Luke, Vader could sense that something had happened. His son looked even more tired then he had when he had left and the confusion radiating from the boy was so strong that it crowded out all of his other emotions.
"What's wrong?" Vader asked as he neared the boy.
"I had another nightmare," Luke replied as he fell in next to his father.
"And you remembered it," Vader guessed.
"Yes," Luke said the word Vader had hoped not to hear.
"Tell me," Vader requested as they entered the castle.
"I seemed to be in some sort of docking bay and you were fighting an old man dressed in Jedi robes. Suddenly the Jedi looked up and allowed you to cut him down, then somebody called out 'Nooooo!' from somewhere," Luke stated.
"That's all you remember?" Vader asked hopefully.
If Luke hadn't remembered anymore then he would be able to explain things without lying, if not...
"Yes. Who was that you killed and who called out?" Luke asked.
"The Jedi I killed was Obi-Wan Kenobi, my former mentor and friend, he is also the one who pushed me into the lava pit," Vader explained feeling Luke's anger as he once again mentioned his own injuries. "The person that called out was the Jedi student I mentioned earlier."
"If he was there, then why didn't we kill him?" Luke asked.
"I didn't know, he had barely had any training and I was distracted by Obi-Wan's death, as were you," Vader stated remembering how his son had nearly let himself be shot after Obi-Wan's death when he had been trying to shoot every Imperial in sight.
"Where did all this happen?" Luke asked.
"In the main docking bay on board the Imperial Death Star."
"The Death Star?"
"Yes," Vader replied. "The Death Star was a space station the size of a small moon with the capability to destroy an entire planet with a single shot."
"An entire planet?" Luke repeated amazed. "But then why didn't you use it to destroy the planet the Rebel base was on?"
"We tried to do so at Yavin IV, however, the Rebels managed to get a copy of the blueprints of the station and they found a weakness in its design. Then, during our attack, they had the Jedi student exploit the weakness and destroy the Death Star."
"Him again?" Luke asked. "I hope you kill him soon."
Vader just looked at his son but remained silent, if only he knew, if only he knew.
***
Six days later,
Luke released an angry sigh as he turned around and entered his home. His father had just left, again, and just when he was regaining more and more memories every night. Actually they weren't full memories, only fragments and images, but still. Just two nights ago he had remembered a young woman whom his father had identified as former Senator Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan when he had described her to him.
However most of the time his father would tell him that it was best that he remember everything himself instead of hearing it all, but that response had only made him more frustrated. But now his father was gone, so, no matter what he remembered, he'd have no one to ask questions of.
***
Four days later,
Luke tossed fitfully in his sleep as images, voices, and emotions of his past fought to be seen, heard, and felt. One image after another bombarded his mind so fast that he thought that it would never end. One minute he was in what looked like a trash compactor with the former Senator of Alderaan, what was she doing there?, some man he didn't know and a Wookiee, the next minute he seemed to be hanging upside-down in an ice cave, and then he was hanging from a weather vane.
With a loud gasp he awoke, breathing hard and soaked in sweat. This had been the worst night to date! Slowly he sat up and closed his eyes, taking several slow breaths as he did so, forcing his whole body to relax.
Then, once calm, he reached back into his mind to look at the new memories the nightmare had brought back. Suddenly his eyes snapped open as he remembered... everything.
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