#split infinity

The estate Vader had selected was on a sparsely populated planet in the Outer Rim, near both Naboo and Tatooine.  It was secluded but a location where he seldom spent much time unless his temper was worse than usual or his health was approaching crisis.

And of necessity, it had a very well-equipped medical center, something he could thank both his former master and his current for.  The center was staffed by top of the line medical droids.  It would be enough for Yoda if anything could be, though the old master protested when Vader pointedly escorted him there.

Vader pointed at the small Jedi.  “You do not get to die while my son still needs you.  Get the medical care you need.  You have the time.  Luke is going to be contacting his friends.  He does not need you hovering over him while he does so.”  Reluctantly, he added, “I will not start training him without telling you.  Let the droids help you.”

Eventually, Yoda agreed, and Vader left the medical wing.  Then he went to find his son, even knowing his presence would probably be even less helpful than Yoda’s.  Luke’s light drew him in a way he hadn’t expected and didn’t quite understand, perhaps wasn’t willing to understand, but he followed it.

Even drawn that way, he kept a distance when he found his son in the communications room, the room he’d shown the boy and given him permission to use.  But Luke wasn’t using any of the communications options.  Instead, he sat before a station with his eyes closed.  A moment after Vader arrived in the doorway, Luke looked up at him.

“Have you already contacted your princess?”

“Not yet.  I wanted to talk to you first.  Is Yoda all right?”

“The medical droids are tending to him.  I do not know the details yet.”  He folded his arms, studied his son.  “What other promises do you want from me?”

Though Luke winced, he lifted his chin.  “Leia’s going to want to see me.  It should probably be somewhere neutral, since your bargain with me doesn’t mean you and she are allies.”

Vader rolled his eyes.  “I have no more desire for your Rebels to descend on my private retreat than you have to see the massacre that would likely result.  Since you wish to rescue your smuggler friend, Tatooine seems the obvious destination.  I will take you.  I do not need to return to my ship for a few more days.  What else do you want, child?”

Luke took a deep breath.  “Your word you won’t track the transmission.”

“You have it.  Your friends’ safety was part of the bargain we made.”

“Thanks.”  His shoulders relaxed.  “How secure is the transmission?  How much is it safe to say?”

“If your princess secures it on her end, it is fairly secure.  Those who can access my transmissions are rare.”

“All right.”  For a moment, Luke didn’t move.  Then he activated the secure comunit.

Without asking Vader to leave the area.  Vader was surprised by the omission, but as long as his son didn’t ask him to go, he had no intention of doing so.  He was far enough away he couldn’t see the codes Luke entered, though he could always access the system later.  That, however, would go against their bargain.  Unless Luke was in danger, he wouldn’t do it.  He did hear the pass phrases Luke and the princess exchanged once they’d connected, but although Luke glanced at him, the boy made no effort to lower his voice.

Perhaps his interactions with Yoda had bought him some trust?  Vader wasn’t sure, but he hoped so.  If this was to work, the boy had to trust him at least a little.  At least enough to keep his word when bound to a pact.

Luke glanced at him while the princess moved to a secure area.  I’m here, Father.  Doesn’t that say something already?

I suppose it does.

Smiling a little, Luke nodded.  Then the princess was back, and the boy turned his attention to negotiating with someone who was almost as stubborn as he was and less than pleased to learn that Luke wanted to change their whole plan for rescuing that irritating smuggler.

Especially when Luke refused to explain why he suddenly wanted to meet on Tatooine beyond that he had a new plan he thought would work.  

At last, she agreed to meet him on Tatooine in three days, with the Wookiee and the droids.  When they disconnected, Luke sagged back in his seat and rubbed his hands over his face.

“Are you all right?”  Vader was feeling an unexpected touch of guilt and wasn’t sure what to do about it.

“Give me a minute.”  His voice was muffled in his hands, and he made no attempt to move.  

Vader took a few cautious steps forward, not wanting to crowd the stubborn child but also genuinely concerned—an emotion he didn’t bother to shield.

Eventually, Luke looked up, met Vader’s eyes through his mask, and offered a small, shaky smile.  “I’m all right, Father.  Just—she isn’t happy now, but she’ll be more unhappy when she finds out the whole story.”

“Which you haven’t told her.”

“No.”  He sighed.

Tentatively, Vader reached out and rested a hand on his boy’s shoulder, alert to any sign the touch was unwelcome.  When Luke only leaned into the support, he relaxed a bit.

“No matter how secure the connection, this didn’t feel like something to say over a com line.”  He sighed again.  “She won’t react well no matter how I tell her, but if she can see that we’re working together, see that I’m not hurt, it might make a difference.  Especially if we’re offering to save Han.”

“Would the peace offering of already having saved him make a difference?  For me, it is as simple as walking into Jabba’s Palace and demanding he give me Solo.”

“Won’t that raise suspicion?  With the Emperor, I mean.”

“No.  Provided your smuggler stays out of sight, I can say that I took him as bait for you.”

Luke winced, and Vader started to withdraw his hand.  Luke reached up and grabbed it, holding it in place.  “I’m not upset with you,” he said.  “Well, not about that.  It’s a good plan, one with far less risk than what we were thinking.”

“If we get there a day ahead of her, it can be already taken care of when she arrives.  It might go some way to showing good intentions.”

Though Luke considered it for a long moment, he shook his head in the end.  “No.  She’d hate being left out of it even more.  It’s a solid plan, and I think I’ll probably be able to convince her to go along with it, but it has to be her decision.”

“Then it will be.  We are less than a day’s flight from Tatooine.  We have two days of training time before we leave.”

“It’ll give us a chance to find out how Yoda’s doing, too.”

Vader’s hand on Luke’s shoulder tightened without meaning to.

“Father?”

“I apologize.”  He forced his prosthetic to loosen its grip.

For a moment, Luke stared up at him with wide eyes.  Then the boy shook his head.  “I’m not leaving, Father.  You’ll be there with me on Tatooine, and I’ll come back here with you afterwards.  Whatever Yoda or Leia says about it.”

Unwilling though he was to admit it, part of Vader relaxed at Luke’s reassurance.

“What now?” the boy asked.

“You need to eat and rest if we’re to get any training accomplished tomorrow.  If you will come with me?”

Sitting at a table with his son and watching the boy eat was a surreal experience, partly for how normal it should have been, had their lives gone differently.  More, Vader could sense that the child wanted to ask him something but wasn’t sure of how he’d take it.  Guessing that the topic was his own health, Vader chose not to invite the question.  There would be another time for that.  Luke was exhausted.  Instead, Vader watched over Luke as he ate and escorted the boy to a suite of rooms across from his own after the meal.

Only when he sensed that the stubborn child had actually gone to sleep did Vader go to his own rooms across the hall.  They contained a hyperbaric chamber that was, at the moment, his best chance for what he needed to do next.

In truth, the hyperbaric chamber in the medical wing would be better suited for this; it was equipped for when his health was more precarious or compromised than usual, as this was the estate he often retreated to at such times.  The hyperbaric chamber in his rooms was a bit less complex, but it had the benefit of being farther from a certain old Jedi Master Vader would prefer to avoid.  Both because sensing Yoda would do nothing for his own temper and because the Dark side that was so much a part of him might actually set back Yoda’s healing.

So Vader went to the hyperbaric chamber in his rooms, which did have the benefit of being closest to Luke.  For what he needed to do, that proximity might. . . help.

Within, the mechanisms helped him remove his mask and helmet and some of his armor, what could be removed without a worse impact on his health.  Going further would require the machines and droids in the medical wing.  This would have to do.

For a moment, he breathed the oxygenated, medicated air, adjusting to breathing with less support.  It was always an adjustment.  Even without his mask, he got assistance just to breathe, but it was less.  Enough less that he could slow his breathing into a meditative pattern.

It took time and working through the constant pain, but he managed to sink into a trance—without focusing on the Dark side or the negative emotions that fueled it.  This was not a Jedi trance, by any means, not the mindset of a Lightsider, but it was as close as he’d gotten for more than twenty years.

For long minutes, he maintained that state of mind, ensuring he could hold it.  The mindset got easier as time passed, and his meditation deepened.

Once again, Vader was in the infirmary he’d designed to deal with his own compromised health to arrange care for someone he disliked.  His distaste for the disreputable smuggler was no where near as intense as for the old Jedi who was also still present, but it was still a factor.  Only his son’s fondness for the man mitigated it slightly.

Not enough he was willing to leave, to let Luke, the princess, and Chewbacca explain while he waited elsewhere.  

That wasn’t going to happen, and Luke had had the sense not to argue when Vader said as much.  The princess had been. . .less understanding, but she was difficult on a good day.  Having her choice in partners present did distract her from the argument eventually.

So for now, he was leaning against the wall near the window, with his respirator pointedly not in its stealth mode.  Luke had rolled his eyes at that omission, but after a moment, he’d muttered something about it being better than it could have been.

“He’s likely to come out of the carbonite blind,” Vader had pointed out.  “Would you prefer my presence here to come as an unfortunate surprise to him?”

“You could just leave,” the princess had snapped.

“All right, Father, I take your point.  You’re still doing it partly because you intend to enjoy his reaction.”

“Granted.”

Luke had radiated exasperation but had left it alone.

Chewbacca was leaning against the wall opposite Vader, watching him.  The Wookiee hadn’t been pleased with Vader’s involvement, but seeing him walk out of Jabba’s Palace with the slab of carbonite seemed to have helped a little.  That Chewbacca had taken the revelation of his relationship with Luke as the only clue necessary to figure out his former identity—and worse, remembered him from the Clone Wars—might have helped or might not have.  Vader couldn’t tell.

Not yet.

The princess was the one to thaw the carbonite.  Vader rolled his eyes at her answer when Solo asked who was there.  Yes, he recognized that it followed from their exchange right before he’d frozen the smuggler.  It was still ridiculous.

Then Solo froze.  “Vader?” he whispered.

“I am here, Captain Solo.  I assisted your friends in retrieving you from Jabba’s Palace.  They are not under duress.”  He didn’t move away from the wall.

“He isn’t lying,” Luke said.  “I made a bargain with him.”

“Help me up,” Solo demanded.

Though the princess wrapped an arm around his back and helped him sit up, she refused to help him out of the bed.  “Stay,” she ordered.  “I don’t completely agree with Luke about the lack of duress, but you and I are free to leave whenever we choose.  It is, hard as it seems to believe, safe here.  Lord Vader seems genuinely disinclined to break his pact with Luke.”

“And what’s happened that that makes any kind of sense?” Solo snapped.  “Last I checked, Vader had a bounty on the kid’s head the size of the Core, and the kid wanted to kill him.”

“Bespin changed things,” Luke said quietly.  He walked over, sat down in a chair beside the bed.  “I found out the truth.  He’s my father, Han.”

“What?  You’re sure?”

“I am.  The Force told me he was telling the truth.”

“The Force, kid?”

His son rolled his eyes.  “Yes, Han.  If that’s too much of a stretch for you, even after knowing me for years, I also got it confirmed from someone who was there when I was born.”

The scoundrel scowled.  “So you have a lousy father.  You’re hardly the only one.  Why does that suddenly mean you’re cooperating with the Emperor’s pet killer?”

“I am still here, Captain Solo.”

“Oh, like you’ve never heard it before, Vader!”

Luke sighed.  “It’s not that simple.  I chose death over surrender, even knowing the truth about Father.  Did you spend enough time on Tatooine to know the local traditions?”

“What local traditions?  Theft, disorder, bounty hunting, murder?”

“No.  It’s tradition among those who actually live there, particularly the slave communities.  Most of the families that lived on Tatooine for more than a generation have slaves in their ancestry somewhere.  There are many versions of the story of the Krayt’s Bargain.”

“Wait.  Krayts are giant lizards.  They can’t bargain with anyone.”

“It’s a legend, Han.  A story.  Do you want to hear this or not?”

“Never thought fairy tales and Darth Vader would be mentioned in the same conversation.  Fine, kid.  Tell me your story.”

“I’ll summarize,” Luke said dryly.  “One that’s very common is the story of how a teenage slave was about to be sold away from his family.  His girlfriend was three months pregnant, and he was desperate not to be sold off planet.  He walked out into the desert one night, praying for anything that would let him get away from his master.  The implant in both he and his girlfriend kept them from just running.”

Solo settled back into his pillows.  Though still functionally blind, he was “looking” in Luke’s general direction.  Chewbacca relaxed against the wall, comfortable enough to listen.  The princess stared at Vader’s son as if she’d never seen him before, as if this was a side of the child she’d never suspected.  Vader almost smiled.  His son was well-versed in Tatooine’s traditions, traditions he hadn’t heard since he was a child.  It was almost pleasant to hear the stories his mother had told him again.  This story was one passed down from Shmi.

“He met a krayt under the moons.  The krayt asked him why he was out under the moons alone, and he was too desperate not to tell.  He expected the krayt to kill him, but the krayt offered him a bargain.  If he stayed with the krayt for four months, the krayt would make sure he could free both himself and his chosen mate.

“Though he expected to die when his implant exploded, he took a chance on putting his faith in what the moons had offered him.  He climbed up on the krayt and let it take him down below the desert cliffs, deep into the earth.  His implant never activated, and he lived those four months in the glowing caverns the krayt called home, tending to its young.  At the end of the four months, the krayt offered him a pearl and told him to take it with the krayt’s blessings on both him and his children to be.

“The slave returned to town with the pearl and sold it to off-worlders, then arranged to have his own contract and his girlfriend’s bought out.  He still had enough credits left to purchase them a small house and start a business as a mechanic, and his children were raised to respect the krayts.

“Of course, the story got around town.  A wealthy young man heard it.  In some versions, he’s the son of the first teen’s former master.  He decides that he can do anything a slave can, so he gathers supplies for four months in the desert and goes.  The krayt finds him, and he asks for aid, just as the slave had.  The krayt offers the same bargain, four months of service in exchange for what he needs for freedom.  The wealthy young man agrees and stays with the krayt for four months, though he refuses to go near the young.  That wasn’t part of the bargain, he says.

“At the end of four months, the krayt takes him back to the surface and fills his hands with sand.  It is what he needs to be free, the krayt tells him.  Free of his greed, of his lies, of his laziness.  Then the krayt leaves him to get back to town on his own, none the richer for his four months.”

It was odd how fitting the story Luke had chosen was for them.  Not that Vader would ever say as much, certainly not to the smuggler.  But it did fit.  It was easy to relax against the wall and listen, especially as he was drawing on the Light side of the Force.

Luke fell silent for a moment and glanced at Vader with a slight smile, one Vader almost wished he could return.  He sent a cautious brush of affection through their bond instead and felt something close to joy when Luke beamed at him.  

Then the impossible child focused back on his friend.  “There are other stories, of course.  Stories of people who break their bargains with a krayt, even kill it.  All those who try meet appropriate ends.  On Tatooine, it is not done to break a bargain with a krayt, nor for the krayt to break a bargain with a Tatooine native who makes it in good faith.  They’re called Krayt’s Bargains, and they are not entered into nor broken lightly.

For all that Bestine was what passed for a capital on Tatooine, the greater official presence was in either Mos Eisley or Mos Espa, depending on where there had been more trouble recently.  Those were the ports that criminals headed through.  While the official outpost was in Bestine, few troops were posted there.  Besides, it was close to Jabba’s Palace, and much as Vader hated it, the Hutts did have an arrangement with the Empire.

Bestine was also the closest thing to a luxury destination the desert planet had.  It had a nice place to stay, at least, and Vader had booked the suite where he and Luke waited.  Rather, he’d sent Veers in civilian clothes to book the room; Vader had no intention of letting the irritating Princess find out he was on the planet until she was already in the room.  Bringing Veers into the secrets surrounding this trip had been a risk but a minimal one; he knew he held the general’s loyalty.

Now, Veers was keeping watch somewhere nearby, waiting for what would come of this meeting.

In the suite, Luke was pacing the sitting room.  Vader was sitting in a shadowed corner, out of easy sight with his respirator set to stealth mode.  Normally, he couldn’t leave it that way for an extended period; it was slightly less effective, and the loss of support got very painful all too quickly and would eventually be dangerous.  Now, however. . .

Much as he disliked admitting it, calling on the Light side of the Force had helped him somehow.  Oh, he wasn’t healed, could no more do without the life support the suit offered than he could have right after Mustafar, but the fight to breathe was a little less painful, a little less of a struggle.  The respirator didn’t have to work quite so hard to force air into his ruined lungs.

The decrease in pain, from even such a small change, was staggering.

He doubted it would ever be enough to free him of dependence on a respirator, but he’d take any improvement he could get after more than twenty years of nothing but bad news where his health was concerned.

Especially now, when he actually had someone to live for.

Though he’d tried, twice, to get Luke to calm down a bit, it hadn’t worked.  In fact, reminding Luke he was there seemed to make the boy’s nerves worse, so he’d stopped trying.  He wasn’t quite willing to offer to leave, much as he disliked seeing the child so upset.

Yoda was back at the estate, much to the old Jedi’s dismay.  He hadn’t wanted to let them leave without his supervision, but the medical droid’s report had dictated that he needed to spend at least a week under care for a late stage illness.  With that care, it was curable.  Without it, the illness would be terminal.  Vader had refused any arguments to come after getting that information, and they’d all known that putting off this meeting too long would only make it more difficult.

Yoda had, eventually, been convinced.  Or at least had conceded that he wasn’t going to win the fight that would be necessary to convince Vader otherwise.  Vader suspected that watching him train his son, in purely Light side techniques and while drawing on the Light himself, had been a big contributing factor to Yoda’s eventual agreement.  He knew it was not something the Order thought a Sith capable of—he’d believed the same, once.  Only his Oath had pushed him to try.

Vader hadn’t said it, but he was relieved Yoda had agreed for more than just keeping the old master alive for his son’s sake.  This meeting was going to be unpleasant enough.

And a knock at the door warned that it was time.  Vader sank further into the shadows in his corner.  Luke had frozen at the sound.  Now, he shot one half-frantic glance over his shoulder at Vader.

Go on, Kraytling.

Luke nodded, started for the door, and froze again.  His expression this time was more incredulous than the near panic it had been a moment ago.  Then he shook his head and walked over to open the door.

Vader felt his mouth curve in a small smirk.

“Leia!” Luke grabbed her and hugged her as soon as he got the door open.  

Contrary to Imperial rumors, Vader sensed no hint of romantic feelings between them.  He wasn’t sure what to make of that revelation.

“Come in,” Luke continued.

“What’s this about a new plan?” the princess demanded once she was inside the room with the door shut behind her.  “Chewie and the droids are on the Falcon, and Lando says everything’s ready at Jabba’s Palace.  Isn’t it a bit late in the planning for you to change everything up?”

“I have a new ally,” the child said slowly.  Vader could feel the boy choosing every word.  “One who will make rescuing Han go far more smoothly than the original plan.”

“You met someone who wants to join the Rebellion on your last mission?”

Vader’s eyes narrowed, but Luke was already shaking his head.

“No,” Luke said.  “He’s allied to me, not the Rebellion.  He is, like me, from Tatooine.  On this planet, there’s a custom of a type of binding pact, one that you don’t break.  The cultural consequences are. . .unpleasant.  I tricked him into such a pact, and he considers it as binding as I do, though I didn’t expect all the consequences.”

The princess’s eyes narrowed.  “Who is this person?  What aren’t you telling me?”

“This isn’t a trap.  I haven’t betrayed you.  I swear it.”

“That isn’t making me feel better.”

Luke flinched.

“I believe you,” Leia said with a sigh.  “You know I trust you.”

When Luke took a deep breath and a step back from her, Vader adjusted his respirator back to its standard configuration.  The controls were not designed for him to use with ease, but the Force compensated.  He watched both his child and the princess stiffen at the sound that carried through the room.

“Vader.”

“Your Highness.”

She straightened with all the imperious, regal bearing she’d carried in the Senate—or at a court gala.  “What is happening here?” she asked, voice icy.

“The boy told you that.  He tricked me into a pact that is culturally binding for both of us, leaving us as tentative allies.”

The princess’s eyes narrowed.  “He also said that both he and his ‘new ally’ are from Tatooine.  Luke, I knew.  You, I find difficult to believe.”

“Hard to believe or not, it is the truth.”

She took a half step back, eyes wide at that simple answer.  “But you’re—I mean, everyone thinks you’re a former Jedi.”

Luke tensed, but Vader merely rolled his eyes behind his mask.  He’d heard that rumor for years.  “Your point?”

“Jedi were raised in the Order.  Are you lying to Luke?”

“He isn’t,” Luke said immediately.  “I’d sense it.”  Though he did glance at Vader with a frown.  I take it that you had a childhood outside the Order wasn’t typical?

Yoda and Obi-Wan have told you nothing, then.  He looked back at the princess.  “I am not lying, as he says.  Your friend is quite sensitive to the Force.  He would know.”

“Then how?  And how would Luke know?  He’s never mentioned it.”

Vader hesitated.  He would not be the one to reveal their shared blood if his son didn’t want her to know of it.

But Luke took a deep breath.  “I found out at Bespin.  He told me, when he told me why he was really chasing me.  But I’d always known he spent his childhood on Tatooine.  I just didn’t connect the knowledge to Vader.  You’re right that he’s a former Jedi, by the way.  Obi-Wan’s old student.  And partner.”  He met the princess’s eyes.  “He’s my father.”

Her eyes widened.  She took a deep breath.  A second one.  “All right.  Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.  Is Darth Vader.”

Though Vader tensed at the sound of his old name, he stifled any response.

“That does explain the shared Tatooine heritage,” she continued after a moment.  “And that you let yourself get tricked into such a pact.”

“My son’s life was at stake,” Vader said quietly.  “I do not consider this pact too great a price to pay.”

“I’m surprised you care.”

Vader stalked forward a step, furious with the arrogant, condescending princess.  “I thought he was dead for twenty years.  When I found out, I pursued him.  But our familial matters are hardly your concern, Your Highness.”

Her chin went up, but she nodded after a moment.  “Fine.  What are the stipulations of this pact?”

“The first one was simple,” Luke said.  “He swore he wouldn’t let me fall.  It was the only way I’d let him pull me up, when I was at risk of literally falling to my death.  But I meant more than just a fall to my death.  I also meant a Fall to the Dark side.  And Father knows it.”

Though Organa flinched at the honorific Luke used, she kept the reaction off her face.  She was very much a politician, and she also latched onto the part of that pact that was causing the current situation.  A situation Vader no longer considered a problem, as such, but was sure would still be considered one at best in the princess’s eyes.

“‘Let,’ you said?” she asked sharply.

“Let,” Vader confirmed.  “I will not break our bargain.  I told Luke as much.”

“He insisted we talk but gave his word he wouldn’t hold me.”

“But you’re still with him?”

“We did talk.  We negotiated, to be precise.  Father is the one who gave his word, but I would not be the one to force him to break that pact without cause.  That is not as culturally prohibited as Father breaking his word would be, but it still. . .isn’t done.”

“I find it hard to believe a cultural imperative from an Outer Rim planet you haven’t lived on in decades is so binding to you, of all people, Lord Vader.”

“I came to the Order late,” Vader said coldly.  “My childhood was on Tatooine.  Cultural imperatives learned in childhood are not so easily set aside.”

“All right, fine.  I may not understand the cultural imperatives or approve of this situation, but I recognize that a shared cultural background seems to have led here.  Luke said you negotiated.  I take it your presence here on Tatooine is a result of that negotiation?”

“My son wanted your scoundrel rescued.  That is one of my concessions, in return for his agreement to let me train him.”  He held up a hand when the princess bristled.  “In the Light side, Your Highness.  Give him more credit than that.  As you have long suspected and now have confirmed, I have Jedi training.  Between that and the Jedi Master Luke trained under after Hoth, we will manage.”

The princess planted her fists on her hips and glared up at Vader.  “What other terms did the two of you agree to, then?”

“I agreed to stay with him.  Well, on his estate when he’s busy; I’m not going to live on his Star Destroyer.  I’m free to come and go as I please, though I agreed to tell him before I leave, and you, Han, Chewie, and the droids will be welcome to come and go as well.  He and Yoda will both train me.”

The princess looked between Luke and Vader for a moment.  Luke wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she accepted the gesture for a moment.  Then she stepped away and glided to the table by the window.  She sat down, and Luke moved to sit beside her.  Vader watched until she turned and looked at him.  “Join us, Lord Vader.  Tell me your plan for Han.”

Anakin—and if his son could think of him that way, he could at least try to do the same—watched as Luke slipped back into a drugged sleep at the Force’s prompting.  Then, reluctantly, he left Luke’s hospital room and retrieved Luke’s things, those that had been confiscated when Luke surrendered.  In particular, he retrieved Luke’s comlink.  He’d made a promise, and he would do his best to keep it, however. . .awkward the doing promised to be.

Piett caught him on his way back to medical and fell into step with him.  Reluctant though he was to delay his return to his son’s side for even a moment, he nonetheless slowed his pace so that his short admiral could keep up.  “Yes?”

“I made contact with the Rebels, Lord Vader.  They were skeptical, but the fact we withdrew from the battle gave me enough credibility to get a ceasefire in place.  They will be watching us closely, but we can remain in the system without being fired upon.  They were still more cautious about any further negotiations but said I could tell my commander that they would consider it when you contacted them.”

“Are they aware of who would be contacting them?”

“They mentioned you by name, my lord.”

So they knew or guessed he had survived the destruction of the Death Star.  The princess’s work?  Perhaps.

“They didn’t mention the commander, and as you had not said anything, I didn’t feel it wise to do so, either.”

“Good.”  It meant he would be the one to tell them, as he doubted he would get the information he wanted otherwise, but it was his right.  “Order Death Squadron to maintain position and keep prepared for the Rebels to change their minds or for someone to go against the ceasefire.  Incorporate any other surviving ships that acknowledge my authority, and keep a record of any who refuse to obey.  Not many ships outside the squadron survived, but make contact with those that have.”

“Yes, my lord.  Three ships have already contacted us for orders, and I passed on the ceasefire command.”  Piett paused as they reached the door to medical.  “With your permission, I will contact the Rebels and arrange to sweep the wreckage for survivors without that action being taken as antagonistic.”

“Granted, but ensure that the squadron retains defensive capabilities and that no ships sweep the wreckage without backup.  The ceasefire is tentative, and we were shooting at each other not that long ago.”

“Of course, my lord.”

Anakin nodded.  “Dismissed, Admiral.”  He strode into medical and through to Luke’s private room.  Having kept a Force awareness of his son, he wasn’t surprised to find the boy was still asleep and undisturbed, but it was still a relief to see his child, even if it was with the red taint of his mask.

Oh, he wished he could see his boy with his own eyes, but that was not possible.  Perhaps that would change in the future, but for the moment, there was nothing he could do to make it possible.

Refusing to dwell on what was currently impossible, Anakin reclaimed his seat at his son’s side and activated Luke’s comlink.  Perhaps he should do this somewhere else, but while this room was as secure as he could make it, he was still loath to leave his son unguarded for any length of time.  Luke was deeply asleep; making the call here should be safe enough.

He let the Force guide the code he accessed, as Luke had secured his link and refrained from naming saved contacts.  The security wasn’t enough to keep Anakin out, and the Force told him which contact he needed.

“Luke?”

“I regret to inform you that I am not Luke, Your Highness,” Anakin said carefully, knowing she would recognize his voice.

“Vader!  What are you doing with Luke’s comlink?  Where is he?  Where is my brother, Vader!  I know he’s alive, but I also know he’s hurt!  If you hurt him, all the ceasefires in the Galaxy won’t protect you!”

So she knew.  Anakin had thought as much, from what he’d sensed in Luke’s mind.  In one way, that made this easier, even if it would also make the princess angrier.  “I have not harmed my son, Your Highness.  He is hurt, yes, but he is recovering.  He is on my ship.  He asked me to find out how his friends are in the wake of the battle.  I have contacted you to learn that information without having to explain to your High Command why I want it, as it is my understanding they do not know of Luke’s heritage.”  Nor hers, but Anakin knew better than to bring that up.  She claimed Luke as her brother, but she would never acknowledge him as her father.

“How dare you claim to be his father!  You mutilated him at Bespin.”

Anakin flinched but made no effort to interrupt.  He could hardly argue the truth of what she said.  

“He surrendered to you on the moon, so whatever injuries he suffered, he suffered in your custody.  That makes his injuries your fault!”

“Leia?”

Anakin winced.  He’d woken his son after all.  Luke’s voice was dazed and groggy, and he hadn’t opened his eyes yet, but he was awake.

“Why’re you shouting?  Father?  Something wrong?”  Luke’s left hand groped over the bed, and Anakin quickly clasped it when Luke started to frown, worry filling the Force.

“Luke!  Are you all right?  What happened!”

“Father?” Luke asked.

Anakin could sense his son fighting for more awareness, could sense the effort it took Luke to open his eyes.  “Nothing is wrong, Luke,” he said, trying for gentle even through the vocoder.  He projected affection and concern in an attempt to counter the sound of his vocoder-supported voice.

“All right.”  Luke’s hazy eyes surveyed Anakin and the comlink in his hand.  “I’ll be all right, Leia.  Father says I’ll be all right.”

“And you will,” Anakin said, but even as he spoke, Luke was fading back into a light sleep.

“Luke?”

“Luke is sleeping again.  He will sleep a great deal as he recovers, but he will recover.  He will do that better if he knows his friends are well.  Are you willing to tell me?”

There was a long moment of silence from the link, only the sound of Anakin’s breathing audible in the room.

Finally, the princess said, “Luke’s friends survived the fight.  I’m sure you’ll understand if I don’t give you more details.  I’ll give him more details when you release him to our custody.  I’ll make arrangements for a medical shuttle.”

“I will not be making arrangements to transfer my son to an Alliance shuttle, Your Highness.  He will recover, but he requires medical care.  The Executor employs the best medics in the Galaxy, and I will not see my son receive inferior care.”

“The Alliance medics are highly capable, Lord Vader.  They have cared for Luke for years.  They cared for him when you maimed him.  He will feel safer with us than on an unfamiliar, Imperial ship.”

Anakin straightened, though the princess could not see it.  He would not let her guilt him into doing what she wanted.  He took a moment before he spoke so he didn’t react with anger; that risked bringing Luke back out of the drowsing state he’d slipped into.  “The medics of your Rebellion may be as capable as you say, but I do not know them.  Therefore, I will not trust my son to their care unless he asks.  He has not.  And it is his choice that is paramount here, Your Highness.  If he asks to return to you the next time he wakes, I will make those arrangements.  Until then, he is remaining aboard the Executor.”  Anakin hesitated for two cycles of his respirator.  “If you wish, you and a small group you select may come aboard to ascertain his well-being and ask him what he wishes to do for yourself.”

“Very well,” the princess stated, at her formal best.  “Expect my arrival aboard the Millennium Falcon in eighteen hours, Lord Vader.”

“You will be expected.  You will be permitted aboard my ship under flag of truce.  None under my command will act against you or any who accompany you provided you hold yourself and your team to the same standards.  That includes removing Luke from the ship without his consent.”

“Provided you agree to release him when he asks, that will not be a problem.”

The comlink disconnected, and Anakin set it aside with a sigh.

“I won’t go.”

“What?”  Anakin looked up, met Luke’s hazy eyes.  He hadn’t sensed his son drift back toward consciousness, and what Luke said made no sense.  Had the boy dreamed?

“I won’t go, even if Leia asks.  Not yet.  You saved me.  You turned back, for me.  I don’t want to leave, not now.”