Luke Vader
Part 5: Vader or Skywalker?
By SJ  21-11-00/12-12-00

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As Leia reluctantly followed her 'brother', she noticed the new intonations of 
his voice, the new vocabulary ; Luke Vader had indeed fooled her, heck even the 
whole Rebellion, quite expertly into thinking that he was a naive farmboy.
"Yes I have" he agreed with her, obviously reading her thoughts.  "I've been 
thinking to start an acting career once this was over." he told her as if they 
were still best friends.
She moved to trip him in answer, but he was faster ; he avoided her leg and 
tripped her instead.  
If not for his strong hold on her, she would've fallen face first on the steel 
floor.  
She thus realized that the muscles she had seen on a few occasions had not been 
an illusion ; the darksider was strong, very strong in fact.  
She refocused on the present and became aware that they were walking inside 
private quarters.  
She tried to resist, to no avail.  The young man pushed her inside, then the 
doors closed behind them.
Lord Vader left the two of them alone.  
She glared at the young man she had called her friend up to now.  
How could this be possible?  He had blown up the Death Star... had fought 
valiantly against the Empire... could something have happened to him during the 
time he had spent in Vader's claws?
"Luke," she began,  "what has he done to you to twist you like that?  I... I 
won't believe that you were always like that." she said earnestly, hoping 
against hope to hit his sensitive chord.
"And why not?" he asked with some amusement in his voice.
"You... you've blown up the Death Star... why would you have done that if you 
were an imperial?" she challenged him doubtfully now.
"To save your butt, Leia." he told her seriously, almost angrily, she noted.  
"If you had left the planet like any other sensible being, I wouldn't have had 
to do it, and I wouldn't have angered the Emperor." he explained with animosity.
She threw him an incredulous, bemused look.
He had willingly angered the Emperor?  He had really been playing her since the 
beginning??
"Why do you think I've been tortured for real?" he asked her in a definitely 
more dangerous voice than the intonations she had heard up to now.  
Everything was clear now, she realized.  He had been punished when in fact she 
had thought that he had been a captive.  
She threw him an askance look even though he was still standing behind her.
"It served you right, you little brat." she spat.  
"No more bratty than you are, Leia." Vader cut in as he returned with a syringe.  
"You were quite a pest yourself aboard the Death Star." he commented as he 
walked closer.
She remembered the last time the dark lord had injected her ; she remembered it 
quite vividly in fact.  She tried to cringe away, but she ran into the strong 
body of the younger man.  He held her still against himself, much like his 
father had done aboard the Death Star in fact, except for one detail: his arms 
were around her hips and arms, effectively immobilizing her.  
She tried to fight against him anyway.  
"Let me go!" she snapped.  "I won't tell you anything anymore, you bastards!!-
ah!" she yelped.
"Be still or you'll hurt yourself." Luke advised her, his voice taking in the 
ranges she was used to.  
Worse, she really felt his desire for her to avoid injuries, so she did calm 
down.  
By the time she had finished puzzling over that weird fact, the dark lord had 
stepped away from her with a sample of her blood.  
"Don't you cover the prick with something?" she asked him sarcastically.
"It won't be necessary." he answered her coolly.  "Luke?"
She expected him to hurt her, but to her astonishment, he brushed his left hand 
over her slightly bleeding skin--- and it healed by itself.  
What the?.. she mentally gasped in disbelief.
"You're welcome." The young man told her before slightly pushing her forward, 
indicating that she should resume her walk.
They past by Vader who was checking something on his computer, but she couldn't 
see what it was, then they stood near the back of the strange bubble that was in 
the middle of the room.  
Okay, now she was lost, she admitted.  First, the dark lord hadn't hurt her, 
just taken a sample of her blood, then they weren't questioning her, and other 
than crowing slightly about his success, Luke wasn't torturing her psyche 
either.
What in Hell was going on?, she wondered in frustration.
"You'll know soon enough." Luke said in her ear.  
She gasped as she realized that he had yet again read her thoughts.  
Before she could vehemently tell him off, the dark lord came out of the bubble, 
freezing her ardor; he exchanged a nod with his son, then walked until he could 
kneel on some kind of circular device.  
A huge holo of the Emperor appeared almost instantly in front of them.  Leia 
would have run away in fright if not for young Vader's presence behind her.  
Strangely enough, the young man's steady breath seemed to calm her down.  
"Ah, Lord Vader, Young Vader, congratulations on your success, both of you." the 
galactic monster greeted in contentment.
"Thank you, Master." Both Vaders said.
"And I see you have the girl.  Is she yours, Vader?" he queried, much to Leia's 
horror as she realized that they were talking about her.
Vader's daughter??  
"Yes, Master," Vader nodded before she could ask a single question. "former 
princess Leia Organa of Alderaan is my daughter." he declared.
Leia's breath was knocked out of her chest upon hearing those most unwelcome 
news.  
Never!, she mentally spat at the darksiders.
"Then I bid you welcome in the Empire, girl." the Emperor told her.
"You can shove your welcome where I think." she snarled.  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." the Emperor scolded.
Luke surprised her by leaning closer until he could whisper in her ear.  "Leia, 
for your sake don't do anything foolish... Don't defy---"
He frustratingly drew away when she tried again to head butt him.  
"I understand that you haven't told her yet, Lord Vader." the Emperor commented, 
turning his attention back to his kneeling servant.
"No, Master.  I wanted to wait and inform you first." Vader said in deference.
As if news of this importance, Leia raged inwardly, were more important to the 
Emperor than the concerned person.  
"Like you've done for your son, of course." the tyrant reflected out loud.  
"Speaking of whom," he added, "I understand that you've revealed his full 
identity now."
"Yes, Master." Vader said with a touch of pride in his voice.
"Good," the Emperor approved.  "I want the galaxy to know who they have to fear 
now.  Young Vader?"
"Yes, Master?" Luke said, straightening his stance even more while keeping his 
grip on her.
"Think of how you'd like to be rewarded for your achievement.  When you will 
return, it shall be as my new dark lord." he told him solemnly.
"Junior." Leia added with a mocking sneer, ruining her 'brother's elation.
He threw her a dark glare but didn't answer her barb.
"Thank you, Master." he said instead, bowing his head in respect.  
Unable to resist his vulnerable position, Leia tried to hit him in the knees 
with her heel, but he blocked her and easily forced her to her knees.  
The scene seemed to amuse the dark Emperor.  
"Lord Vader," he finally said, "might I suggest that you teach your daughter a 
thing or two before you bring her in my court?" he commented maliciously.
"Of course, Master." Vader assured him.
Leia wanted to retort another defiant thing, but Luke's hand was now over her 
lips, effectively keeping her silent.  
Once the holo dissolved, she tried to bite him ; he was darn too fast, she 
reflected as he pulled his hand away from her.  
The dark lord walked closer, looking quite threatening from her lower position.  
For a moment, she felt as if she were back in her cell aboard the Death Star.
"You are lucky that he is in a merry mood, Leia.  Otherwise, he might have been 
upset by your behavior." He commented seriously yet, curiously enough, not 
threateningly.
"Yeah right, like he hasn't minded your lie." she spat.

Luke shook his head and crouched beside his sister.  
He didn't exactly like to do what he had done to her, but he didn't have a 
choice either.  
"Leia, we're not making this up.  Do you remember what you've told me about your 
feeling my intense experiences?" he asked her gently.
"I was tired and weak, Vader.  There is nothing between us." she defied.
His father called a pad to his hand ; Leia saw his action and her eyes bulged so 
much that they looked as if they were going to fall from their orbits.
Luke realized that she didn't know much about the Force.
"Not according to this, Leia." their father told her as he himself helped her 
back to her feet.  
Vader showed her the data the analysis had revealed.  
She really was his twin sister.  
Not that she accepted it of course, he noted as she scowled at the pad.
"You've forged this, it's not true."  she tried to argue.
Luke exchanged a look with his father ; his father motioned toward the far bank 
of computers.  
"Come on, we have to show you something." Luke told her, gently guiding her 
toward the computers.  
She shrugged him off.  
"I can walk on my own, Vader, thank you very much."
Luke backed away, letting her walk by herself.
Meanwhile, his father had activated the data he had gathered for this crucial 
moment.  Luke had known that Leia wouldn't accept the truth, but if they could 
at least show her the truth, he had reasoned that her defiance would be less 
dangerous.  His father had agreed with him and had gathered the information he 
had about himself and his wife.  
"First of all, princess, do you recognize this woman?" the dark lord asked her 
as she walked closer.
She stopped in her tracks as an holo of their mother appeared on the monitor.  
She was dressed in a rich wedding gown.
His sister's gasp told them that she did recognize the woman.  
"This is your mother," his father identified, "Amidala Padme Naberrie... my 
wife."
Since he was monitoring his sister, Luke knew that they now had her full 
attention.  Nobody was supposed to know the secret name of her mother... but his 
father did.  No matter what he would say next, she couldn't deny anymore her 
belonging to the family.
He pressed slightly closer to her, hoping to offer her comfort like he used to 
do during their rebel episode.
She seemed to accept it since she didn't flash him one of her steel-bending 
glares.
The next picture that came on screen showed the image of a tall, dark-blond 
haired man who was walking happily beside his new wife.
Leia quickly turned around to throw a look at him, then the dark lord, then she 
refocused on the screen.
"And this is myself, before I became Darth Vader." his father said seriously.
"His name was Anakin Skywalker." Luke told his now stricken sister.
"Sky---" she gaped, then tried to recover her hard edge.  
Luke knew that she had just put yet another piece of the puzzle in its place.  
That was why his false name had somehow rung a bell with her, a sensitive one...
Their father continued.  "That was before I was betrayed by the Jedis and 
escaped their assassination attempt." he informed them seriously.
"Why should I---" Leia began.
Vader walked closer, careful not to terrify his now fragile daughter.  
Both Vaders knew that they could either win her or loose her within the next 
minutes.  Luke was careful to remain close enough for support, but not for 
anything else that could be interpreted as detention.
"You have grown without your family, Leia," his father said gently, "because the 
Jedis have hidden you from me, just like they had hidden your brother, but fate 
wanted me to recover him in time." he finished, relief obvious in his voice.
A feeling Luke could easily relate to ; he too was glad that he was done with 
the Jedi's lies.  Otherwise, who knew if his father would ever have been able to 
free him from their hold?..
He refocused on his sister.  
Leia gazed from one Vader to another, then to the screen where the holos were 
adding up to create a more complete picture of the past...
"No... the Jedis wouldn't---" she tried to argue.
"They did, Leia." Luke told her, walking around her to see her eyes.  "Look at 
us.  I've been raised as a Skywalker by adults who had no link whatsoever with 
my real family, raised like a poor farm boy without any amenities of any kind... 
while you yourself have been raised as a princess on a planet that was already a 
supporter of the 'rebellion'." He paused to let her see the picture of their 
disruptive family.  "Yes, the Jedis have been as cruel as they seem to be in 
father's story.  They wanted us to grow as orphans, to be as far apart from one 
another as possible, then they hoped that we would fight against our father and 
kill him... They didn't want to let Mother and us live with him... they've lied 
to her about Father, then when she began to see the truth..."
"Stop!" Leia snapped, obviously feeling more confused and distraught than ever.
"How do you think Mother's died?" Luke asked her.
"He's killed her." she said, some of her anger creeping back into her voice.
"No, they've killed her." Lord Vader corrected. "I tried to save her, but I was 
too late..."
"Leia..." Luke continued, resting his hand on her shoulder.  "I know the truth 
is shocking, but you have finally found your true family.  Can you please give 
us a try?" he asked her earnestly.

Leia's mind was spinning too wildly to think straight.  
First, she was related to the dark lord of the Sith who had destroyed her foster 
family, then her up-to-now unbeknown brother had betrayed her cause, and now... 
they were trying to convince her to join them?!
"No." she told them adamantly, shrugging off Luke's hand while taking a step 
away from them.  "I am not a Vader, never will be." she stated with finality.
Luke sighed, as did his father.  
"Well, then, we have no choice but to restrain you until you change your mind." 
Vader stated.
"I will die before it happens." she snarled dangerously.
"You might be surprised." Luke told her cryptically before he took hold of her 
arm once more.
He turned her away from the dark lord ; her 'audience' seemed to be over, she 
noted mentally.
Thanks the gods for that.
The young man led her toward a secret door that was inset in a wall, then down a 
corridor and toward a small closet that was at the end of the corridor.
He silently opened the door.  
"I'm sorry, Sister." he told her before giving her a light push to make her 
enter her cell.
"For what?" she sneered as she resisted his prodding.  "Darksider that you are, 
you'll probably enjoy this." she snarled, trying to kick him yet again.
It didn't work ; instead, she only made it easier for him to step inside the 
cubicle with her.
"You're wrong." he told her as he stepped away from her.  "And I'm sorry that I 
haven't found you earlier... That way, I wouldn't have hurt you as much as I 
have... but it was my duty, I had to do it." he tried to apologized.
"It's too late for regrets, 'brother'." she snarled.  
"In my experience, it is never too late for anything.  I will see you later." he 
told her kindly, releasing her from her cuffs before stepping outside.
"Don't bother." she muttered as her cell's door closed between them.

Luke stood in front of his former slave quarters and quickly meditated in the 
Force.
Leia had to change her mind... she couldn't refuse the heritage that was hers...
And indeed she wouldn't, but it would take time and dedication, he saw.  He 
resolved to set to work on her as soon as he was back to normal.
He returned in the anteroom where his father was gazing at the holos of the 
past.
"You miss her, don't you?" Luke asked him softly.
"Every day..." his father nodded slightly before turning off the screen that was 
displaying heart-poking holos of the past.  "Has she calmed down?" he asked him.
"Not really..." Luke shrugged. "She's taken another shot at me." 
His father shook his head as he chuckled slightly.  "I've heard that siblings 
bickered between them, but this is getting slightly ridiculous."
"Yes," Luke agreed, "but you have to consider the more than particular 
situation... If you remember, I wasn't that happy to be with you at the 
beginning." he reminded him.
"Yes, I remember... but you've learnt to accept it." he also reminded him as he 
stepped closer to him.
"Yes, by discovering the real you... so will she, Father... but give her time." 
he told him wisely.
"I will, but I cannot guarantee how much time the Emperor will give her." Vader 
pointed out seriously.
He was right of course, Luke knew, but... their crisis was over now.  The danger 
that was the Rebellion was over and done with which meant...
"I think he will, Father." he said in his voice that always made him wiser than 
his years.  "He won't feel threatened by her as long as she isn't able to use 
the Force, and with his latest victory, he's going to give us a free hand with 
her."
"I suppose so... for a while at least."  He set his large hand on the still 
white-clothed shoulder of his son.  "It's good to have you back, Luke.  I've 
missed you."
Luke set his hand on his father's hand.  "It's good to be back, Father.  I've 
missed you too."
"I'm so proud of you..." his father told him, pride gushing out of his voice as 
he spoke.  "No other servant would have been able to do what you have achieved, 
Luke." he said, tightening his hold on his son's shoulder.
For the briefest of moments, Luke wanted to hug his father like he had done when 
he had been younger, but he hadn't done so for years now... ever since his 
graduation in fact... 
"I know, Father, I know... I won't do it again for a while though." he said more 
lightly.  "I feel like being myself for a while."
"Of course." his father chuckled.  "I don't think your taking a vacation will be 
a problem anyway, at least from your agent career." he finished more seriously.  
"Why do you say that?" Luke asked him.
"With your new identity, I doubt that you'll spy like that anymore." he pointed 
out.
"Well, you never know..." Luke mused out loud.  "With a good hair cut, a dye and 
a few other changes, nobody would recognize me."
"Perhaps, but do you really want to do that again.  I'd think you've had enough 
already." he said in a suddenly grimmer tone.
Luke knew what had just crossed his mind: his torture.
"Father," he began gently.  "it wasn't your fault, nor was it your doing, I know 
that now." he told him warmly.  "Just like I've been the master's tool, so were 
you... I was not well prepared---"
"Luke, there was no getting prepared for what you've suffered at my hands." his 
father interrupted him.  "If I had truly cared about you, I wouldn't have caused 
you as much physical torment as I have... I would have found another way to do 
it."
"And the rebels wouldn't have been fooled by our act." Luke pointed out.  "You 
did care, Father." he then reassured him.  "you've put an end to it before the 
master's dead line... and you did stop them from breaking all of my bones... I 
shouldn't have called you names..." he said, lowering his head in shame as he 
remembered the insults he had screamed at his father.  
His father delicately lifted his chin with his fingers.  Even though his mask 
was unexpressive, Luke could feel his sadness, his desire to make it up to 
him... his compassion.
"I have forgiven you weeks ago, Son... will you someday forgive me for what I've 
done to you?" he asked gently.
Luke wanted to say yes, but his throat was suddenly choked up by his intense 
feelings of remorse, forgiveness and happiness.  
He was so emotionally unbalanced that he didn't resist when his father drew him 
in him embrace, as if he were a little boy once again.
"I understand, Son." he crooned reassuringly as he held him close.  
Luke remained silent, feeling totally safe in his father's hold.  That was 
something he hadn't felt since his bad experience... as if afraid that it would 
never be the same between them.
When his hated tears of relief streamed down his cheeks, he was finally able to 
speak. 
"I forgive you, Father." he sobbed.  "I'm sorry and I forgive you." he repeated, 
feeling the need to say it again.
His father didn't comment on his emotional display ; he simply held him while 
mentally reassuring him that he was still his favorite son.
Luke finally drew away from his father's hold, quickly brushing his shameful 
tears from his eyes.  
As if to lighten the mood, his father said: "If you ever have another mission 
like this, Luke, I'm not letting you destroy anything that belongs to the 
master."
Luke understood his attempt and flew with it.
"Don't worry, Father, I've learnt my lesson." he assured him.  "I won't even 
have any urge to ask for a new mission for a long while." he told him seriously.  
"Which is understandable," his father nodded, glad to be help him change the 
subject.  "You probably have had your fill of rebellions." he pointed out.  
"That I have." he nodded, himself recovering his composure. 
"I can only imagine how disgusting it was." His father commented seriously.
"Barely less than the garbage compactor we were stuck in," he commented wryly.  
"except that it lasted for far longer."  
He then sighed and brushed his hair with his hands.  All the things he had been 
through... they were completely behind him now.
"You know what?" he asked in the silence.  "I'm really glad that this mission is 
over." he smiled in satisfaction.  "And not just because I was very eager to get 
out of their pitiful world."
"I know." Vader nodded in understanding.  "I've brought you some change of 
clothes ; they are in your room."
Luke's eyes lit up at the idea to really be back to his old self without delay.  
He didn't want to deal with anything that would remind him of his rebel 
experience, at least for a while.  
He would eventually have to face his sister, but she was another matter. 
"Thanks, I think I'll do that right now." he informed him.  
"I'll be on the bridge to supervise the destruction of the last ships." his 
father told him.  
Luke had almost reached the secret door when his father talked again.
"Once again, congratulations, Son, and welcome back."
"Thanks, Father." he smiled proudly, then disappeared inside the secret 
quarters.

******

His shirt was off of his person before he had finished to cross the frame of his 
door.  He bunched it up and threw it in a corner.  
It might be useful again someday, he reflected, so he wouldn't destroy it, but 
he didn't want to see it again for a while.
He stripped of his boots and trousers, equally threw them in a corner, then 
opened his closet.  
His lover managed to surprise him and tackle him to the floor, thus knocking his 
breath out of his lungs.  
She caught it with a deep, hungry kiss.
*Welcome back, Luke.* she sent him.
*Hmm, are you sure this is not an assassination attempt?* he joked half-
seriously.  
He 'was' feeling dizzy from lack of oxygen.
They reluctantly put an end to their kiss.
"Positive." she smiled down, her loose hair framing the right side of her 
beautiful face.
"Good, then let's resume it." he smiled, pulling her back to his lips.  
*I've heard that the princess is still here.* she said, slight jealousy creeping 
through their bond.
Luke interrupted their kiss to gaze at her.
"You know?  I've finally found out why I've always been intrigued by her." he 
told her earnestly.
"And?" she prompted him.
"She's my sister." he smiled gently.
"You---your what?" she stuttered.  
"My sister." he repeated.  "We've were separated at birth, but she has the 
genetics to prove her link.  She's also strong in the Force."
"So what's the plan now?" his girlfriend asked, barely able to hide her 
disappointment to have the princess nearby.
"Father and I will try to mellow her enough to add her to our family.  
Considering her years of opposition against the master, it might take some 
doing, but we have all the time in the galaxy to do it."
Or so he hoped anyway.
"Your sister, huh?" she asked with some amusement as she realized that the 
situation wasn't as it used to be anymore.  "I always knew she wouldn't be any 
competition for me." she smiled lustfully before capturing his lips with her 
own.
*Say, I was going to take a shower.* he told her through the Force.  *Care to 
join me?*
His hands began to pull her jacket open ; she helped him by peeling it off of 
her body with the Force, then did the same with her shirt.  
*As long as you let me wash you, hero of the day.* she told him lustfully.
*Like in the old Greem society, huh?* he teased her.  *Well, if you want to 
serve me, how can I refuse?* 
*You can't.* she assured him.
Grabbing his shoulder, she pulled him back to a sitting position, then they got 
up on their feet and slowly kissed and shuffled their way into his 'fresher, 
leaving their remaining clothes in their wake. 
Finally, he was home.

******

Leia sat in the completely dark cell.
More like a closet, she reflected sarcastically.  A closet that wasn't giving 
her any clue as to how long she had been there.
It was furnished with a simple cot, a blanket, and four, close by walls.  She 
could lay on her back on the cot, but she had to be careful about not hitting 
her head or her feet on the nearby walls.  When she stretched her arms to the 
sides, her hands almost brushed the two other walls.
Right now, she was sitting against the wall, considering yet again the events of 
the day.
This had to be the most unhappy day of her life, she thought glumly for the 
hundredth time since her brother had locked her up.  
First, she had lost her cause, then she had lost her friend, and finally, she 
had lost her innocence.  
She was Vader's daughter... The vile, dark monster who had tortured her and who 
had stood behind her as they had destroyed her home planet... was her father.
As if it wasn't enough knowledge to deal with, the young man she had always 
considered as her savior had in fact been a traitor... and her brother...
His being an imperial explained many things though: their escape from the Death 
Star, his destroying the same Death Star, their numerous, ensuing narrow 
escapes, all the bases that had fallen after those incidents... they had been 
'his' doing...
And she, most foolish rebel leader that had ever lived, had never seen past his 
naive front. 
She should have though, she berated herself.  
She should have.
But of course, she had felt so close to him that she had been blinded... The 
young man had always been there to comfort her when she had needed it, and, 
curse her heart, she had always felt good in his presence.
Because he had been her long-lost brother... 
Would she have betrayed him if she had known the truth during the Rebellion, she 
suddenly wondered.
She would have tried to reform him, she realized.
Just like... he was probably hoping to do with her... Well, he could try 
anything he wanted, she resolved, she would never join the Empire.  
They had killed her family... or were they the traitor and she had been too 
brain-washed to see the truth for what it was?--- she wondered in horror as the 
new possibility came to her mind all of a sudden.
No.  The Organa had loved her as if she had been their own, and her mother, her 
mother... she had been so sad all the time, so... empty... 
And now she knew why... She now knew the horrible secret she had had to keep 
from everybody, even her own child... 
The loss of her other child and husband.
But, had she truly known things about her father that were angering the Jedis?.. 
Had the Jedis really isolated her from her husband because he had been a danger 
to her and the children... or to them?..
She would never know, she supposed, since the Jedis were extinct now.  
One thing was sure though ; she could now relate to her mother's sadness.  
Life was unfair.

Later, although Leia didn't know how many hours later, her door swished open, 
startling her out of her reverie.
She squinted against the light that was coming from outside.  
What?.. she wondered.  Nobody seemed to be standing in the entrance.  Could she 
try to escape, she thought in renewed hope.  
"Are you going to spend the rest of your day in there?" Luke's voice asked her.  
"Come on, we have to talk." he prompted her almost eagerly.  
As if they were still friends, she noticed.
"Do we?" she sneered.
"Yes."  he told her, still not stepping into view.  "We can do it here if you 
prefer, but I thought it would be more comfortable to sit in the living room." 
he diligently explained to her.
"And what makes you think that I will talk with you?" she challenged.  "How can 
you be sure that I don't want to escape?"
Luke's voice became more serious, more... dangerous, she decided, exactly like 
when he had mentioned his torture, she remembered. 
"I assure you that any attempt to escape would be completely useless, Sister." 
he began warningly. 
She was probably better not to push his limits, she realized.  
He then stepped closer in the entrance, allowing her to see him ; she gasped 
despite herself.
No wonder he hadn't shown himself to her just yet, she conceded in slight fear.
Whereas he had always worn whites or tan fatigues, he was now wearing a 
completely black, leather dress uniform that left no doubt as to his true 
identity.  The only thing on him that wasn't black was his lightsaber which was 
dangling at his hip, a silent, deactivated threat.
Luke Vader, servant of the galactic Emperor, was speaking to her now. 
"You wouldn't go as far as a step away before you were stopped." he warned her.    
"Better cooperate, don't you think?"
Unable to stand the sight of the traitor, she forgot her fear and lunged at him.
He swiveled his torso, making her shoot past him, then easily tripped her and 
pinned her under himself in one, swift move.
He didn't seem upset by her attack, she noticed as she tried to free herself 
from him, as if he had expected her to do so, she realized.
"That was childish and too easy, even for you." he commented coolly.
She continued her attempts to free herself from his weight, to no avail of 
course.
It quickly dawned on her that she had no real choice but to accept his 
invitation ; she obviously wasn't going anywhere anyway.  Besides, she would be 
punishing herself is she didn't cooperate in this case.  
After all, the cold deck was far from comfortable.
"All right", she growled, putting an end to her straining against him.  "Let's 
take this family chit-chat to the living room, 'brother'." she sneered 
sarcastically.
Luke flashed her a smile, then he pulled her back to her feet in one strong yet 
delicate move.  Next, he invited her to walk at his side.  She noticed that he 
was between her and the door that led in the anteroom, which denoted one more 
thing about her stranger of a brother.
He was a professional at whatever he did besides destroying rebellions.
A door opened upon their approach ; she stepped through it, her brother right on 
her heels.  
She stopped on her tracks when she saw the rich decoration of the room.  The 
walls were covered with carved, dark wood, the floor was covered by a soft-
looking carpet and the furniture was, well...
"Worthy of a comfortable household, isn't it?" Luke asked her from her side.
She turned toward him, startled to hear him complete her thought, then glared at 
him.
Was he in her head now?, she wondered angrily.
"Please have a seat." he told her in a most gentleman-like manner before she had 
time to seethe at him for reading her thoughts.
Instead, she refocused on his new revelation.
If she didn't know who he was, she might have thought that he was a rich 
aristocrat in search of a conquest, she reflected in sudden bemusement.
She sat in the chair that was closest to the door.  Luke sat on the couch that 
was in front of her ; she noticed that he slightly slouched in it as well as 
seemed to appreciate the moment, as if he had really missed his environment.
If he had, that made him materialistic, she evaluated.
"It's good to be back home." he told her with a slight small, as if aware of her 
scrutinizing study.
Materialistic indeed, she noted on her mental pad.  She continued to evaluate 
him.
"You have tons of questions to ask." he told her matter-of-factly.  
"Really?" she sneered.  "Is reading my mind interesting?" she glared.
His voice gentled.  "I don't need to read your mind to read your heart." he told 
her.  "You look exactly like I did when I first met Father." he told her.  
Number two, she noted, clever.  Number three, sensitive, for a darksider.
"All right then, answer me this: how have you ended up with him?" she asked as 
she defiantly crossed her arms in front of her chest.
If he was as clever as he seemed, he would understand that she was playing 
along, but only to know him better.  He wasn't winning her over.
"He's bought me." her brother told her seriously, his eyes glazing slightly as 
he went back in time in his mind.
"Bought?" she gaped despite herself.  "As in slavery?"
Luke sat slightly straighter, his eyes gazing at the floor as he nodded.
"He wasn't responsible for it though.  I had been kidnapped and enslaved... he 
just showed up at the bidding..." Luke told her in a distant voice.  "Being 
bought by him has been my most terrifying experience to this day." he admitted.
"How old were you?" she asked, forgetting her wariness.
Now, she wanted to know him.
"Six and a half." he informed her.  
A mere child, she realized... 
Four, he had had a tough past.
"What happened next?" she asked him.  "Did he tell you right away?"
"No.  To protect me from the Emperor's wrath, he took his time to raise me and 
teach me what I had to know to survive my first encounter with the Emperor." he 
explained with genuine gratitude in his voice.
"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.  
How could a first encounter be lethal for a child?.., she wondered uneasily
"I was rebellious, Leia." he told her, meeting her eyes.  "I was head strong, 
defiant, disrespectful... and I was strong in the Force.  If Father hadn't 
taught me how to control myself and my powers, the Emperor would've killed me." 
he told her unflinchingly.  
Leia was flabbergasted.  Killed?  
"Had he freed you to teach you those things?" she asked in genuine interest.
"No." He shook his head.
"Then how has he---" she began incredulously.
"Through my servitude,"  Luke explained.  "While I was serving him, I learnt how 
to use the Force, how to defer, how to fight, and a few other basic skills."  
Leia had slowly began to scowl during his accounting. 
The thought that a mere child would go through all this and worse at his 
father's hand... Oh yes, she now knew that her companion had been beaten like a 
slave, probably during what he considered his father's teachings, she admitted 
in horror. 
His father's...
"He freed me on the day of my ninth anniversary," her brother continued as if he 
were retelling a most normal story.  "after I proved my worth as a future 
imperial servant." 
Luke then smiled wistfully at her, horrifying her even more than she was upon 
realization that the said 'child' was even proud and grateful for what his 
father had done to him.
Vader had treated him as a slave, for Force's sake!, she wanted to yell at him.
Then she noticed that Luke's smile softened slightly, as if sensing her mental, 
distraught state.
"Don't worry," he tried to reassure her, "by then, he had shown me a lot of 
consideration.  I myself was even thinking of him as my guardian, not as my 
master, and certainly not a slaver or a tyrant."
Five, he was a comedian, she decided angrily as she understood where he was 
going with this.
He was just trying to seduce her once more.
"Oh, you'll make me cry." she sneered "Vader doesn't feel any feelings ; he 
doesn't have any heart." she pointed out coldly.
"For the others, yes, I agree, and so am I," he informed her, "but inside the 
family, it is completely different.  I can still remember the number of evenings 
that we've spent star gazing, or chatting about this or that, all the hugs he 
gave me when I was a child, then the number of times he's ruffled my hair in 
affection.  He does have feelings." he assured her adamantly.  
"If he cares this much, 'brother'," she snickered, "how do you explain the marks 
that you have on your back." she demanded.  "I know that you've lied to me about 
them."
She was glad to see him falter slightly... but not too much either.  
"That was at the beginning," he explained seriously, "then during my imperial 
training, but not at his hands.  He wasn't there when it happened the other 
times."
"Except for the last time of course." she meanly reminded him.
Luke's warm gaze suddenly cooled down a few degrees, giving Leia a glimpse to 
what her brother was capable of as far as feelings were concerned.
He could care, but he could hate as well.
"That wasn't his doing," he informed her slowly, very seriously.  "He and I were 
the Emperor's tools in this operation.  It was our duty to masquerade that 
thing."
"Yet you were hurt for real---" she began to argue.
"Because I deserved it.  I had no right to destroy the master's Death Star, even 
to save you." he glared at her.  
Leia glared back, using that silent moment to study that new data.  
Her brother was obviously holding some kind of grudge against the Emperor for 
hurting him through Vader, but at the same time, he wouldn't turn against him, 
not even to complain about his treatment.
Six, he was loyal to the Emperor.
Leia decided to drop the subject ; instead, she came back on the caring topic
"I still won't believe that you are able to care after what you've done to the 
rest of the galaxy and the rebellion." she told him defiantly.
He shrugged.  "Still, you now know that it is part of our private lives..."
"I don't---" she began to argue.
"How else do you explain that you are in my former slave quarters instead of the 
regular holding pens where the prisoners are constantly tormented?" he demanded 
seriously, having recovered his cool attitude.
Seven, he was cold but diplomat.
"So that you can twist my heart more easily." she spat, although she wasn't that 
convinced anymore.
She could somehow feel that her brother cared about her ; he wanted to save her 
from pain and death.
At least that much was clear through their strange bond.

Luke sighed in resignation.  In time, he reminded himself.  
"All right, then let's do this another way.  Ask me your questions." he offered 
her.  "No matter what they are, I will answer them."
"No matter what they are?" she asked him dubiously.
"Yes." he nodded resolutely.
He watched her furrow her delicate brows as she considered his proposal, then 
she pinned him once more with her nutty gaze.
"Tell me who you really are." she asked seriously. 
"Who I am?" he tilted his head in confusion.
"Ever since I've met you, I keep running into different Lukes." she explained 
quickly.
He laughed at her figure of speech.  
"Well, I've been trained to be a man with many faces... I am, or rather was," he 
corrected himself as he remembered his upcoming new status.  "a secret agent for 
the Emperor.  With my partner, I spied, I destroyed, I killed, I did whatever 
the master wanted us to do.  I will still do it if it is his wish." he told her 
seriously.
He had noticed the slight widening of her eyes while he had enumerated his 
typical mission, but at the same time, she had seemed to expect this.  
She already had a good control over her emotions, he noted in satisfaction.
"You forgot to say that you're a dark Jedi." she added sarcastically.
"Yes, I am, and I'm proud of it." he smiled, then added: "I finished the 
training when I was nine years old." he crowed proudly.
"Nine?!  I've never---" she gaped.  
Luke noticed that she seemed to know about the Jedi.
"Where have you learnt about the Jedis, Leia?" he inquired in interest.
"My father told me." she said shortly.  
He saw the sudden tears that brimmed into her eyes, showing how fresh the scar 
of that loss still was.
"I'm sorry..." he apologized.  "I didn't mean to bring that up again.  What else 
do you want to know?" he offered.
He noticed the slight gape of her lips that betrayed her genuine surprise at his 
kindness, but she quickly recovered her cool defiance.  
"What do you plan to do with me.  I'm sure 'Dad' has told you about his plans." 
she snarled.  
"Except keeping you with us, nothing." he admitted.
"Nothing?!" she asked, incredulous.
"Nothing." he repeated.  "In time, we'll be able to trust you and let you free.  
When this will happen, you'll be free to choose what you want to do with your 
new life, but until then, we have to protect you."
"Protect me from what?!  Influences from the regular world?!" she snickered 
sarcastically.
"From the Emperor." he corrected.  "Every new Jedi potential represents a threat 
to him.  Most of the time, he destroys that threat." he said, making sure that 
she understood what he was trying to tell her.
She obviously did since she remained mute in horror.  
"Since I was already loyal to him, he hasn't destroyed me." he continued "But in 
your case, you won't be..."
"So he's just going to kill me." she finished seriously, resignedly, ready to 
accept her fate.
"No." he shook his head in denial, both for her and himself.  "Your being with 
us will ensure his feeling of security, hence, your safety." he explained 
earnestly.
"But I won't be free." she reminded him with a glare.  "I think I prefer to 
die." she stated dejectedly.
"Do you really want to escape from us, Leia?" he asked her seriously.
"You bet I---"
"Do you remember how you felt three days ago when you slept on me?" he asked 
her, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, changing his tactic.  
If reasoning wasn't working, he was going to demonstrate the strength of their 
bond.
"That wasn't---"
"significant?" Luke suggested
"It was---"
"My doing?" he suggested again.
Her eyes threw laser bolts in his direction as she realized what he had just 
done. He had known a little push had been necessary, but he had never thought 
that she would catch on it this fast.
"Why you inconsiderate darksider!" she exploded. "Get out of my head, now!" she 
ordered.
"Calm down." he calmly soothed her.  "I apologize for this, but I wanted to 
demonstrate how far our link goes.  I am not in your head, Leia... not anymore 
than you are in mine."
"What do you mean in yours?" she queried in animosity.
"You've felt my pains, remember?" he reminded her.
"Yeah, but---" she began.
"And you've instinctively known that we were close to one another, that you 
could trust me." he added.
"I---" his sister tried to argue, but she was speechless.
"You came to me after the medal ceremony, remember?   And you came to me all the 
other times afterward.  You became friend with me in no time." he continued 
somewhat relentlessly.
"Because of your simulated personality." she tried to argue.
"Because of our family bond, Leia..." he corrected gently.  "I was too naive to 
really be your friend and you know it... it was something else."
A moment of silence followed this analysis, which Leia broke a few seconds 
later.
"Our twin relationship..." she whispered as if afraid to admit the truth.
"Yes." he nodded in heartfelt agreement.    
Would she understand and accept it? he wondered earnestly.  
He tried to give her one more reason to believe it.
"Do you want to know what has been one of my hobbies ever since I've been 
twelve?" he asked her
"What?" she shrugged. 
"Collecting holos and data about you." he admitted, blushing slightly in 
foolishness.
Now she was gazing at him in disbelief.  
"What?!"
He sensed that she couldn't imagine a young dark Jedi collecting holos about a 
princess.  Well, neither could his girlfriend, he thought with some amusement.
"Yes, I did." he told her.  "I've never been able to explain it, until now... 
Once we're back home, I'll show it to you if you want..."
"And how will I know that it isn't something you've done to prepare for your 
mission?" she asked him, still slightly defiant.
"Do you feel any lie in my words?" he inquired seriously.
His sister sighed heavily in frustration.
He had made his point.
"No." she admitted.  "but I can't say that they're very reassuring either." she 
muttered unhappily.
Luke stood up and walked closer to her.  He rested his hand on her shoulder, 
hoping to reassure her.  
"You still see us as monsters, Leia, and I understand.  Nobody but Father, 
myself, the Emperor and Mara know that we aren't heartless." he explained.
She frowned. 
"Mara?"
"My partner." he explained, then sighed.  "I guess what I'm trying to ask is: 
can you please give us time to prove to you that we are more than we look?" he 
asked her earnestly.  "You don't have to decide today about the future... For 
the moment, you can just watch us as a family and make your judgement from what 
you see and feel, not what you know." he offered her, hoping to convince her to 
at least cooperate with them to save her life.
He knew that it would be a first step toward becoming a servant for their master 
as well as a full member of their family.

Leia was speechless in front of such a wise offer... The most infuriating thing 
of course was that he was right... She 'could' study them and confirm her 
judgment that way... but she was afraid that her brother's words would come 
true... She was afraid to break and join her 'family'.  
"Leia..." he said again, slightly tightening his hold on her shoulder.  
She looked up and met with the kindest eyes she had ever seen in her whole life.  
"Trust your heart, please..." he gently told her.
And her heart, he probably knew, was telling her that she could trust her true 
'family'.  Well, perhaps not her father, but her brother... she could feel that 
she could trust him... 
She had known that ever since he had barged in her detention block, and that 
despite the fact that he had been a spy who was going to use her to infiltrate 
the Rebellion... She had always felt that deep trust whenever she had been close 
to him, when she had cuddled against him in search of comfort... and even after 
he had revealed his true self, she had been tempted to lean against his close-by 
body and just trust him.
Her assaults on him, she realized, hadn't been caused by a lack of trust, but by 
her dark anger...
She didn't know yet about her father, but despite what her brother had done to 
her cause and herself, she was ready to give him a chance.  
If a slight one.
"All right, Luke... I will give you one chance to show yourself worthy of our 
bond." she told him haughtily.  "And I will trust 'my' feelings."
She expected him to be irked by her arrogance, but instead, he smiled in 
happiness. 
"You will not regret it, Leia.  I promise you won't regret it."
He offered her his hand to help her up from the armchair.  
"Do you give me your word that you won't try to escape?" he asked her as she got 
up.
"As I understand, it would be useless, right?" she asked him seriously.
"Right.  Come, I'll show you the room you can have if you want to."

Still holding her hand, he shifted his hold, then led her to the extra room in 
his father's quarters, namely his own.  
He opened the door.  
"It will be more comfortable than the closet." he told her as he entered.  
"Hey, Flyboy---" Mara began, then stopped short as she spotted the petite 
brunette that was following him.  
Leia also stopped in her tracks in surprise.  She obviously hadn't expected to 
find a beautiful woman in her brother's room.
Luke introduced the two young women to one another.
"Mara, this is my sister, Leia.  Leia, this is my partner, Mara Jade."
He chuckled inwardly as the two young women sized each other up for a few more 
seconds.  
"Pleased to meet you, Mara." Leia finally said coolly.
"The same, I'm sure." Mara retorted, walking closer to the twins.  "Can I speak 
with you for a moment, flyboy?" she then asked her boyfriend.  
"Sure."  he turned toward his sister.  "Excuse us a moment." he told her before 
following his girlfriend in the corridor. 
*What do you think you're doing?* Mara asked him through the Force while she 
glared at him.
*I'm trying to show her around.  What's wrong with this?* he asked her.
*You've told her about us!* she exclaimed in disbelief.
*Yes.* he shrugged as if it her identity wouldn't matter much to his sister. *If 
we want to gain her trust, we have to trust her first.  Besides, with my cover 
blown up, she knows that I'm a spy.*
*You still didn't have to tell her about me.* Mara said, frustrated.  
Luke took her hand in his own.  *MJ, come on, it's not this bad... She won't 
tell your secret to anybody else anyway.*
He was relieved to hear her sight in acceptance of his logic.
*Will you spend all your time with her now?* she then asked, a slight animosity 
creeping back into her voice.
Luke's lips twitched into a smirk.
*Am I mistaken or are you jealous of my sister?* he asked, pulling her closer to 
himself.  *I thought that she wasn't any competition for you.* he teased her.
*Well, what do you think, flyboy?  You've been fascinated by her for years and 
you now have her with you, and---*
Luke interrupted her tirade with a deep kiss.  *I love you, MJ, and only you.  I 
don't want to kiss her ; I want to kiss you.* he sent with all his passion and 
love. *I don't want to spend all my life with her ; I want to spend it with 
you.* 
His lover twined her arms around his neck and deepened their kiss.  

Leia watched them silently, startled to witness such a display of love in the 
heart of the Empire.  
She could feel the deep love that was radiating from her brother and his lover, 
leaving no doubt that it was true love, not just a physical thing.
If her brother was able to love another woman like that, then he was probably 
able to love on a simpler level too... and if 'he' could do that, then... Vader 
might also be able to... although she would believe this part when she'd see it.
She pretended to have inspected the room when her brother returned alone.  

******

After showing her her new room, he showed her the rest of the quarters, then 
they spoke some more as they gazed at the stars that were visible through the 
bay window of the training room.  
The more she talked with him, the more she realized that on the outside, he was 
like a well-oiled and calibrated machine, but inside, he was alive.  
He sometimes reminded her of his Skywalker persona, in a more mature version... 
She couldn't say that she minded that aspect of his personality.  
She also didn't really mind his Jedi identity, only his dark side influence.  
But, he wasn't totally consumed by it, she knew ; he was simply using the Force 
any way he saw fit.
Just like he used and did everything else in his life as long as it pleased his 
master.
She couldn't blame him for that... he had been forged and molded to be what he 
was today... just like she herself had been overworked to become a dignified 
princess... but just like he hadn't lost his heart, thus being a perfect mold, 
she hadn't been one either ; they both hadn't completely fit in the mold that 
had been chosen for them...
They were more alike than she had previously thought...

******

About two hours later, Luke excused himself and left her alone.  At first, she 
remained in the training room, then she decided to take a look around.  
Somehow, she felt drawn toward the anteroom.  She hesitantly stepped through the 
door, unsure that she wouldn't trigger an alarm or something.  
Luke had told her about the trap doors that were used to dissuade some people to 
go in this part or that part of imperial installations.
She had no intention to receive a high-voltaged shock---
"There's no such risk for the moment, Leia." Vader's deep voice rumbled in the 
distance.  "Come in." 
She hesitatingly entered the dark anteroom.  When she looked around, she could 
almost see her brother as he polished the decking until it shone like a mirror, 
could almost see him as he silently served the dark lord... Yes, it was no 
wonder that he had joined their father so wholeheartedly.  
He had never had anything in his whole life until he had found their father... 
and even then... she knew that he had claimed his true identity only recently.  
He had had many things, but at the same time, he had kept up the comedy of being 
Vader's slave for years.   
As she walked around the bubble, she finally saw what the dark lord was doing ; 
she gasped in surprise.  
He was standing in front of the same screen he had used to show her holos of the 
past.  The screen was displaying news vids of her mother.
"Today, Queen Amidala of the Naboo has signed a new treaty with Oxion who was 
threatening the economy of her planet.  The Governor of Oxion says that without 
the Queen's admirable understanding, they would be preparing a war." the 
commentator was saying.
Images of the white-painted, elaborately braided queen flashed on the screen.
"That was the last time that I've seen her." Vader commented.  "I should never 
have left her afterward." he said regretfully.
"Why?" Leia asked despite herself.
"Because I would never have fallen in a lava pit..." he sighed heavily, "and she 
would never have hidden herself from me..." he finished in a lower voice than 
usual.
"A lava pit??..." Leia asked, horrified.
"Yes..."  Vader continued to watch images of his lost wife while he spoke.  "The 
Jedi have tried to assassinate me because of my different believes.  Obi-Wan 
Kenobi, my teacher, nearly succeeded... but by the time I had recovered from the 
accident and was mobile again, thanks to this armor... He had taken her away 
from me.  Later on, I found out that he had told her that I wouldn't hesitate to 
kill her if I had to... that I would destroy every one she loved..."
"Weren't they right?" she asked him diplomatically.
"No." he stated with some animosity in his voice, turning toward her to probably 
glare at her. 
He took a few breaths before turning back toward the vid screen and continuing 
his tale.   "I would never have hurt her..." he told her wistfully.  "Her 
disappearance drove me into a frenzy; nothing could stop me from finding her..." 
he said slowly, as if remembering each event of the past.  "That's how the Jedi 
purges came to be..." he admitted sadly.
"What??" Leia whispered.
Vader had loved her mother so much that it had drove him mad???
"What happened next?" she found herself asking.
"I never found her... until too late." he said glumly.  "She had apparently 
understood that I wouldn't hurt her and was trying to return to me, but the 
Jedis wouldn't allow it.  They killed her instead of risking their future plan."
"What future plan?" Leia queried curiously.
"Your brother and yourself." Vader stated.  "They were too coward to destroy me 
by themselves, so instead, they hid you where you'd learn to hate me until you 
were ready to take on me..." he said as he shook his head, as if in disgust.
Vader, Leia thought, not the Empire, not the Emperor, but him... alone... 
It had been about a vendetta, she realized.  
The Rebellion had been trying to save the galaxy from the Empire, but the 
Jedis... had only wanted to destroy her father.
"Why?" she finally asked him.
"Because they've never wanted me in their ranks." he admitted in resignation.  
"They didn't want to train me, then I was trained the wrong way and I decided to 
do it by myself.  Palpatine has simply guided me toward the sources of knowledge 
and I took what I wanted, leaving the rest behind."
"You mean you haven't learnt everything?" she asked him with a snicker.  
"No, I haven't." he informed her seriously.  "I have embraced the power of the 
Sith, but not of the Dark Side... I cannot shoot lighting bolts with my fingers 
like the Emperor does." he told her seriously.
"Lighting bolts?" she frowned.
"An ability that any darksider can have if they want.  Your brother and I have 
not embraced the dark side tightly enough to have this ability, and we don't 
want it either." he explained in a serious yet somewhat kind voice.
Leia was tempted to accept it as being good, then she remembered what her 
brother had told her about his past and her walls rose once again.  
"What about the Sith?  Or your dark side?" she inquired almost angrily.  "You 
were dark enough to hurt your son and treat him like a slave for two years." she 
pointed out.
"To save him."  he corrected.  "The Sith gives me a philosophy to use my powers, 
to perceive the rest of the galaxy as more than tools." he explained.  "It 
completes the Emperor's vision, and it protects me from the purely dark side 
side-effects."
"Glad to hear that," she muttered unhappily.  "So you're the good dark jedis in 
the Emperor's court?" she sneered in disbelief.
Vader slightly tilted his huge head.  "Something like that." he agreed.  
Leia's temper snapped.  "Do I look stupid to you, Vader?  Do you really think 
that I'll swallow that pill without spitting it out?" she raged.  "You are 
exactly like the Emperor." she spat, then turned on her heels to return to her 
room.
"You are free to think what you want, daughter," the dark lord told her from his 
spot, "but sooner or later, you will see it for yourself." he informed her 
gently.  
Leia slapped her hands over her ears, tried to shut her inner voice that was 
telling her that Vader wasn't lying, then ran as fast as she could toward the 
sole refuge she had aboard that ship: her assigned room.
No, she would never give in.

******

Luke and Mara stepped inside the anteroom just in time to see the princess run 
away as if scared by something.
The both of them turned toward his father.
"I haven't done anything." he explained to them.  "She's still fighting against 
the truth."
"She will probably do so for weeks, if not months." Luke pointed out as he 
walked closer to his father.  "She's very feisty as well as dedicated to what 
she believes is right."
"Namely the Rebellion." Mara commented.
"That, and everything non-imperial." Luke nodded.  
"You realize of course that the master won't like her mental disposition at 
all." his lover pointed out.  
"Yes, we already know that," Vader said, crossing his arms thoughtfully, "but 
considering the fact that she is of no danger to him, he should at least give us 
a month or two to help her adapt to her new life."
"I'll take care of it." Luke stated.  "Since I'm freshly back from a mission, I 
can ask for a small vacation, but you two probably won't get much respite now 
that the galaxy is reeling from the loss of their 'heroes'." He reflected 
wisely.
"You're probably right, Son.  Will you be able to tame her though?" his father 
queried reasonably.
"Father," the young Jedi said, "I've lived with her for almost six months ; I 
know her more than she thinks.  I know that even though the ultimate goal is to 
make her being accepted by the Emperor," he informed them, "namely being a dark 
Jedi and an imperial servant, she won't detect any deceit since we're doing this 
for her protection." he finished seriously.
"But you do care for her." Mara pointed out, reminding him that this wasn't a 
normal mission either.
"Yes, I do.  I won't let any unnecessary harm come to her and I will seduce her 
as painlessly as possible." he said earnestly..
"Well," Vader spoke up.  "Now all we have to do is go back home and present her 
to the Emperor.  He will make it look as if he is granting you a wish, Son." he 
informed him.
"Okay, I'll play the part."
"It's going to be interesting to see how long it will take you, flyboy." Mara 
commented wryly.
"Well, I'll take it one day at a time ; she's most unpredictable and stubborn." 
he reflected out loud.
"Hmm, reminds me of someone." Mara ribbed him while she threw a look at his 
father.
"They are twins." the dark lord simply shrugged.  
As Luke meant to point out that she also had some of her father's attributes, 
his hand brushed against his 'rebel' lightsaber which he had retrieved from the 
awed troops that had been making an inventory of their captured weapons.
He pulled it off his belt.  
"Say, Father, do you recognize this?" he asked his father as he tossed him the 
weapon.
The dark lord caught it in his hand, then quickly studied it.
Both Luke and Mara felt his surprise.  
"Where did you find this?" he asked him.
"That old rag Kenobi had it in his trunk on Tatooine.  He said that it was 
yours, but I wasn't sure if he was saying the truth or not." he explained 
seriously.
Vader turned the blue blade on, then whirled it around in a couple of swift, 
sharp cuts.  
"Talk about quality." Jade commented upon hearing the thrumming of the blade as 
it cut through the air.
"Yes," Luke agreed.  "So, I take it that it was yours." he asked his father.  
"Yes, before I became Darth Vader... That fiend probably retrieved it while he 
was leaving me to burn to death." he spat vehemently.  
"Then it's a good thing that I've retrieved it ; it's back in its rightful 
owner's hand." Luke smiled darkly.  
"Thank you, Son.  Since you've found it, I want you to keep it." his father told 
him, handing him back the now deactivated lightsaber.  
"Me?" Luke gaped in surprise.  "But it's yours, Father," he began to argue.  "It 
belongs in your hand, not mine."
"My hand,... or my child's." Vader corrected.
Luke reluctantly took it back, then an idea occurred to him.  "I'll keep it for 
Leia." he promised his father.
The dark lord nodded in agreement.
A most fitting decision.

******

Throughout the rest of her trip to Coruscant, Leia continued to observe her 
'family' and note things that she hadn't ever suspected, but she never showed 
any real closeness to them.
She still wasn't convinced that they weren't fomenting a darker plan concerning 
her, nor had she forgiven them at all for what they had done to her, but she was 
slowly softening toward some aspects of their personalities.  
She was careful not to do it too much though.
One way to show her distrust was to not wear the fresh clothes her father gave 
her.  Instead, she washed and continued to wear her rebel fatigues.
She also spoke with her brother and his quiet girlfriend, but she let him do the 
conversation.  
She was extra careful with her brother since she knew that he could play her for 
a fool without her being aware of it... but no, now that she knew about that, 
she could detect his game.
At least, she hoped so.

******

They arrived on Coruscant a week after the Empire's final victory over the 
rebels.  
Since Leia had proven that she was slightly trustworthy, they didn't lock her in 
binders for her presentation to the Emperor.  
She walked beside her brother, in front of their father, ignoring the amused 
glares she got as they made their way toward the throne room.  
When the double doors opened, she flinched and slowed down, but her brother took 
hold of her hand and kept her walking.
As always, his touch reassured her and kept her going.  
"Aaah..." a satisfied if grating voice came from above them.  "Young Vader, Lord 
Vader." the Emperor greeted from his throne.  
Once at the top of the stairs, Luke and Vader respectfully knelt in front of the 
Emperor ; Leia remained behind them and simply bowed her head in formal 
greeting.
Her eyes met the Emperor's ; he didn't say anything.  
Instead, he refocused on the two men and told them to rise.
"Young Vader," he said joyfully.  "it is time to celebrate our victory.  
Tonight, you will be introduced in front of my court as well as the rest of the 
galaxy as my new dark Lord."
"Thank you, Master." Luke smiled proudly.
She knew that he was making his childhood dream come true today.
"Have you thought about how I can properly reward you, besides the usual of 
course." the Emperor queried lightly.
The usual being a fortune, Leia thought in disgust, a castle, a personal ship, 
and a few other tidbits such as privileges, special permissions and any other 
thing that might cross his mind, no matter how much it cost to the citizens of 
the galaxy.
"Yes, Master." her brother said.  "Instead of having my own castle, I would 
prefer to stay with Father... and live with Mara Jade."
"In your Father's castle?" the despot queried.
"Yes, Master.  It is big enough to allow us plenty of privacy without any need 
to build another one."
The Emperor slightly mused about that.  "Very well," he nodded.  "Mara Jade may 
live with you, wherever you wish it.  Anything else?"
"Yes, Master, I'd like to have a special permission." Luke nodded.
"Which one?"
"I would like to be granted some time off, on planet, to spend it with my 
sister." he asked, much to her surprise.  "I would also like her to be allowed 
to stay with us, in Father's castle."
The Emperor took less than five seconds to make up his mind.  
"Granted.  You will have three months off." he stated, then stood up from his 
throne.
"Thank you, Master." Luke bowed.
"Meanwhile, the fleet shipyards will complete the construction of your flagship 
and I will open an account for you.  As of today, young Vader, you are your 
father's son," he declared solemnly as he walked closer. "not his servant 
anymore." 
"Thank you, Master." Luke bowed once more, in deep deference this time.
As if, she noted, he didn't realize that he should've been granted that 
permission years ago.  
Then she refocused on the actual situation when the Emperor turned toward her.
"And you, girl?  Do you want to claim this identity as well?" he offered her.
"No." she told him defiantly. 
"You know of course that it is your right to have all this." he said suavely, 
obviously trying to seduce her.
"I understand that I am part of a powerful family, but I don't accept the links 
to it." she said defiantly.
The Emperor barely nodded his head, then turned his amused glance at the two 
men.  
"You have three months to convince me that she's worth keeping around." he 
warned them.  "After that, I will not let you waste anymore of your time on a 
lost cause."
Leia felt that Luke reluctantly accepted his master's decision, then he vowed 
that he would save his sister's life.  
"Yes, Master." he nodded.
"Good.  I will speak with young Vader." the Emperor stated, "Dismissed."

Luke remained with his master while his father and sister exited the throne 
room.
The Emperor beckoned him closer ; Luke stood less than twenty centimeters from 
his master.  
"Your reward is settled now, young man." he told him seriously.  "but we still 
have a few things to work out between ourselves." he reminded him.  
Luke cringed despite himself as he remembered what his master's last punishment 
had been.  
"Destroyer or not, there are limits to what I can tolerate as the price of 
victory." the ruler stated dangerously.
"I understand, Master." Luke said, swallowing hard in fear.  
"By letting you destroy my Death Star, I've made a painful sacrifice, so shall 
you now, young man." he informed him darkly.
"What do you want me to do, master?" he asked, dreading the answer.  
"You will be mine." he told him simply.
Luke's eyebrows shot up in confusion at that.
"Aren't I already, master?" Luke asked, puzzled.
"From now on, you will bear my mark, not the Sith identity." he explained.
Now Luke understood.  
"Report to the med center." he ordered him.  "They will take care of your tattoo 
and slave mark, then wait for me in your assigned room."
"As you wish, Master." he bowed, then turned on his heel.  

After telling his father that he wasn't finished in the palace, he reported to 
the med center.  

The medics made him lay bare chest on a bunk, then began to work on his arm.
They didn't give him any local sedative nor any pain killers.  
It really hurt, Luke muttered mentally while he did his best to restrain his 
shrieks of pain, especially when they began to remove the skin that had been 
marked by the laser cut so many years ago.  
If he hadn't been a trained agent, a dark Jedi and a loyal servant to his 
Master, he would have given in and passed out before the end.
But he didn't.  
He also bore the bacta bath as much as he could, trying not to pull his arm out 
of the painful substance.
His only consolation, he thought glumly, was that he wasn't completely immersed 
in the bacta.

******

Later, much later, his master entered his room.  
Luke noticed that he had transferred himself in a younger body, probably to have 
more pleasure during the upcoming celebrations, he reflected tiredly.  
He sat up on the bunk and bowed his head in greetings.
"Tell me, young Vader, will you be proud to bear my symbol?" the young Emperor 
inquired maliciously.
"Yes, Master." Luke nodded humbly.
"Then brace yourself." he warned him darkly as he grabbed hold of his biceps.
Luke bit down hard on yet another shriek of pain as his master's powers bit into 
his newly regenerated flesh.
He wouldn't scream in his master's ears, he resolved.
When the Emperor finally released him, he had bit his tongue hard enough to draw 
blood.   Where his master's hand had been, he saw the dark blue, personal crest 
of his master.
It also looked as if it had always been part of his skin, he thought dimly, his 
mind on the edge of unconsciousness.
"I will see you tonight, Lord Vader." his master said, drawing him back to a 
more aware status.  "Be in a celebrating mood." he ordered him sharply.
"Yes, Master." Luke bowed.  
Once he was alone, he collapsed on his bunk and rested until he felt sturdy 
enough to walk again.

******

The evening came.  Even though he was happy, something was bothering him, but he 
didn't know what it was.  His friend and lover seemed to notice it.
"Is there something wrong?" she asked him.
"No." he shook his head, careful to retain his serious, satisfied expression.  
"I think I'm just tired."
"Well who wouldn't after bearing up with Rebel insanity for months?" she asked 
him.
"I guess so." he smiled slightly.
She turned his head toward herself and leaned closer.  
"Let's see if I can give you back some of your energies then." she whispered, 
then pressed her lips to his.
It had an almost magical effect on him, he reflected.  If they had been alone, 
he would've pulled her closer, but since they were in their master's court, he 
restrained himself.  He was already lucky to be allowed this much.
The dignitaries around them politely turned away from their private moment, then 
they returned to congratulate him for his success, nomination, in short to 
welcome him to the court.
Most of them knew him already, at least by face, but they had never spoken to 
him.  
Mara was still playing the role of a courtesan ; she had been the lucky one who 
had been chosen by the new dark lord.  
A few meters away from them, he knew that their master was watching them from 
the corner of his eye, satisfied that his long years of patience and training 
with them had gotten him where he wanted to be.
At the top of undisputed power.
Luke nodded to him in respect ; the Emperor imperceptibly approved, then 
returned his attention to the three or four beautiful women who had been allowed 
near his throne.
Luke dimly wondered which one his master would choose to celebrate his absolute 
victory.
He himself had already chosen, he reflected with a smile as he turned back 
toward his gorgeous, wonderful companion.  
If only Leia had accepted her destiny, he thought with a note of sadness, she'd 
be here too tonight.

******

Hours later, back in 'the' Vader's castle, Luke and Mara retreated to their new, 
common bed room, or so Mara had invited him to do.
She hadn't wasted time while he had been in the medcenter ; she had selected a 
room for them, one that would be worthy of her lover's new status, at least, 
until they could truly claim a place as their owns.  
She was now guiding him toward their temporary room.
"Close your eyes," she whispered to him.  
"Aren't we too old for games like this, Jade?" he asked her even though he 
obeyed her wish.  
"Not for the kind of games I have in mind, flyboy." she smiled, or so he felt 
through their bonds.
As they stepped through what felt like a doorway, he felt his heavy cloak drop 
from his shoulders, then his belt followed suit.  
Two could play that game, he reflected ; he reached out and undid her dress' 
closure, allowing it to pool around her feet.  
Or so he thought anyway.  
"Well, can I open them now?" he asked her.
He felt her warm, firm body press up against his back even as her chin rested 
against his shoulder.
"Okay now." she told him lustfully.
Luke opened his eyes--- and saw what his lover had managed to do during the 
afternoon.  
"Wow!" he exclaimed despite himself.  
The room was like he had thought he would manage to find: a black-sheeted, 
comfortable looking bed, a lightly-colored, deep carpet, a real-wood desk, a 
large bay window that was giving onto an even larger balcony.  The room 
naturally came with its own 'fresher.  But what was fascinating was how she had 
managed to decorate it exactly the way he liked it: light yet elegant.
"So what's your verdict?" she asked him as she began to undo his shirt. 
"I think..." he began, gently taking hold of her hands while he pulled her back 
in front of him, "that I want to sleep here tonight, with the woman I love." he 
smiled gently, then pecked her lips.
"Sleep?  Really?" she ribbed him while she resumed taking off his clothes.  
"Well, let's try that bed first." he answered in kind, pulling her back against 
himself to kiss her with all his passion and love.
While her hands expertly took off his remaining clothes, his removed what little 
was still covering her.
*Come here, Lord Vader.* she sent him lustfully while she lowered herself on the 
bed.  
*Don't worry, Lady Vader, you're not going too far either tonight.* he reassured 
her before settling himself above her ; he glued his mouth to hers in a 
delightful kiss.
Since he was still more or less on four, Mara wrapped her legs around his hips 
to feel him as close to herself as she could.  
She didn't have too long to wait.  As soon as her head was resting on pillows, 
he lowered them both to the mattress.
He and Mara remained like one for the whole night, taking forced breaks before 
starting again where they left off.

******

After that night, Luke began his 'vacation'.  He alternated his first days  
between his sister's room and his selected part of the castle, slowly furbishing 
it the way he wanted it with comfortable, rich furniture, different shades of 
colors and crafted crystal trinkets.  He had also created his own reading 
corner, which of course couldn't compete with his father's library, but it was 
filled with his favorite books, whether they were informative or entertaining.  
He hadn't bothered about adding more technical rooms to his quarters since his 
father's were already more than well furnished and accessible to him.  
The only such room he had mimicked for himself was his own office.  
He had moved Mara's gift from their bedroom to that room where he had a stunning 
view of Coruscant's landscape.
He found the sight wonderfully insightful during his meditation.
All in all, it took him a good five days to feel at home on the floor he and 
Mara had selected as their own.
His girlfriend helped him as much as she could of course, but as he had 
foreseen, the Emperor had new missions for her.  Hence, they enjoyed every 
minute they had together in the most intimate way, not caring too much about 
their surrounding.  
His father too was kept away by new pacifying missions, but he kept in touch 
with him, regularly checking on Leia's progress.  
They weren't very encouraging ; his sister was stubborn to the end, wary for a 
trap, and, as if it weren't enough, opposed to anything that had to do with the 
Jedi heritage. 

******

Twenty-two days after the beginning of his new mission, Luke prepared himself 
for another confrontation with his sister, hoping that she would be slightly 
more cooperative today.
Even though he had never dressed in full 'dark lord' garb, even though he had 
never threatened her in any way, he could feel her animosity toward him.  It 
hadn't been there before, but lately, it seemed to be growing by itself.  
He unlocked her door, stepped inside, then before he could realize what he had 
done, caught her as she lunged at him, spun with her momentum and slammed her 
against the wall that was behind them.
She sharply expelled her breath, letting out a slight moan of agony as her ribs 
cracked under the impact, then she went limp in his hold.
Luke gasped in horror at what he had done.  Pinning her down and tripping her 
was one thing, but actually causing her pain was something else altogether.  
He hurriedly set her down on the floor, then rested his hand against her ribs 
while his other one touched her temple.  
He instantly entered a healing trance, focusing on her fresh injuries.  Perhaps 
he could lessen them before they completed themselves.
Why had she tried that? he wondered in annoyance and mild anger.

When Leia recovered her senses, the first thing that came back to her mind was a 
sharp pain that had taken her out.
It didn't feel like it was still there, she noted dimly while she drifted in 
half-consciousness.
Then, she slowly became aware that something warm was pressed against her 
forehead and left side... and it seemed to be present somewhere else but she 
couldn't say where.
She painstakingly slit her eyes to see what was going on.  
What she saw was the last thing she had expected to see ; her brother was 
kneeling beside her, his eyes closed in concentration.
He was healing her, she realized.
Now why would he---
OW!!, she gasped as she tried to sit up.
"Don't move," he cautioned her as he recovered his full senses.  "your bones 
aren't up to it yet." he told her.  "What do you think you were doing?" he then 
asked her irritably.
"What are 'you' doing?" she asked him in a weak whisper.
"Correcting the incident that should never have happened." he explained to her.  
"I don't know what is going on in your mind," he lied, "but I would never have 
hurt you if you hadn't jumped me like you did." he informed her.
She glared daggers at him.
"You keep telling me that you want my welfare, but you won't let me free, nor 
will you let me be." she rasped weakly, but not painfully.
"Because I don't want to loose you, Leia." he said earnestly.
She didn't answer him, instead letting her weakened status pull her into 
slumber.
She dimly felt her brother's arm pick her up, then carry her on her plush bed 
where he sat beside her.
As she fell unconscious once more, she reflected that she now knew why he was 
described as the Emperor's best by his girlfriend.
He was indeed.

******

More than a month had gone by now.  Luke was still trying to convince his sister 
to cooperate, but to no avail.  At first, he had tried the constant tactic, 
then, after her attack, had changed to give her her space and visited only once 
every few days.  Now that the second month was beginning, bringing them closer 
to their master's final 'decision', he decided to try and truly reason with her.  
It didn't matter how many arguments or how many days it would take him, he 
'would' convince her to stop rebelling.

That morning, he awoke before his girlfriend ; he took a moment to drink in the 
sight of her sleeping beauty, the black, silken sheets and pillows under her 
bringing out the fire of her hair, then, after kissing her bare, slim shoulder, 
slipped out of his bed and put on sleeping pants and a thick, black bathrobe.  
He exited his room, then knocked on the door next to his.  He knew that his 
sister was already awake.
He entered.  
She was sitting by the window, gazing out at the beautiful sight that was 
Coruscant in the morning.  
"How are you today?" he asked her as he found a seat on her bed.  
"As fine as someone who is a prisoner in a golden cage." she retorted coldly.
He stood up again, quickly making up his mind.
"Well then, let's take a look outside of it." he told her.  
She gaped at him, unable to understand what he meant.  Luke walked closer to the 
transparisteel door, unlocked it and slid it aside.  He then turned toward his 
bemused sister and offered her his hand.  
"Come on." he smiled at her.  "Nothing like some fresh air to start your day."
She didn't accept his hand but she preceded him outside on her large balcony.  
Luke silently watched her as she walked toward the high wall that was 
surrounding the platform.  
He wondered if this simple action would help her soften toward him.  Only one 
way to find out, he reflected.  

Leia slowly rested her hand on the railing, taken by the fresh, stimulating air 
that was suddenly surrounding her, the sound of the bustling city... the feeling 
of freedom.  
"I wished you had been allowed to the palace yesterday afternoon." her brother 
told her as he walked closer.  
"I didn't." she answered without turning around.
"Leia," he sighed, "why do you keep fighting like this?" he asked her. 
"Why??" she whirled toward him.  "Why???  Because he has destroyed my planet, my 
family, my cause, my life.  I'm not---"
"He's offering you a new life in return." Luke objected.  "Don't you see?  If 
you would simply pledge obedience to him, you would recover your freedom, you'd 
have a family again, you'd get everything you deserve." he told her earnestly.
"I 'had' everything I wanted, 'brother', and no thanks to you, Vader, and your 
master, I've lost everything." she reminded him.
She expected him to give her another pointless argument, but instead, he 
softened.
"I know the feeling." he commented as he sat down on a chair that was behind 
him.  
That wasn't what she was expecting him to answer.  She frowned at him.  
"What do you mean?"  
Luke sighed.  "I mean that a slave doesn't have anything in his life, except 
himself, and even then, it doesn't belong to him anymore... If I had refused 
what my master was giving to me then, I would have hurt myself in the process... 
just like you are."
"No," she countered defiantly.  "'he' is hurting me.  Don't you get it, Luke?  I 
do not owe him anything, and I will not take anything he wants me to take so 
that I do not belong to him."
"Then what?  You'll just let him kill you?" he challenged her, recovering his 
harder edge.  
"I've gotten a delay, but in the end, nothing else but that is going to happen 
to me." she told him adamantly.  "Not that anybody will miss me now that you've 
killed all my friends." she finished with a glare.
"I will miss you... and so will Father." he answered in a small voice, accepting 
defeat yet again in his daily goal to make her change her mind.
"Ah!" she snickered.  "Don't make me cry, brother.  Vader might have cared for 
you once he broke you, but he certainly doesn't care about what happens to his 
daughter.  After all, he's got his son." she pointed out sarcastically
"No, that's not true.  You don't know him." Luke defended.  
For a long moment, their eyes met, silently trying to make the other step down.  
She noticed, not for the first time, that when he wasn't dressed as a dark lord, 
her brother did look like an okay guy.  Perhaps that was what his girlfriend had 
seen in him, she reflected distantly.  
Even though he didn't look dangerous, she wouldn't try to fight her way past him 
though ; she had tried that only once, and she had understood why he was the 
Emperor's best, even when he was unarmed.  
He suddenly grabbed hold of her hand, drawing her out of her reminiscing.  
"I will show you what I've tried to tell you for the past month, okay?" he 
suggested.  
She noted that he at least offered her before doing anything.  
"How would you do that?" she frowned.  
"With the Force.  I can show you my memories, my feelings, everything you want 
to know, everything you should know... if not for that cursed Kenobi..." he 
finished with an angry mutter.
"You mean you're going to play in my mind?" she asked indignantly, drawing her 
hand out of his.  
"No, 'you' will play in mine." he corrected.  
"But I'm not---" she began.
"Once I establish the contact, you won't have to know any techniques to look in 
my mind, not if I open it to you." he reassured her.
"And you will?" she queried uncertainly.
"Yes."
If she did let him in her mind, without her barriers, she knew that she was 
making a first step toward trusting him... On the other hand, she had been 
trusting him for almost two months now... in non-imperial matters at least.  
Besides, she knew that he was trying to save her life... he wanted to help 
her... much like he had seemed eager to help her when they had been 'rebels'... 
"Okay." she accepted.  
He smiled at her, a smile that couldn't possibly belong to a dark lord-assassin-
dark Jedi-- it belonged to a farmboy.
He offered her his hands, palms up.  She gingerly rested her smaller hands in 
his deadly ones.  
Deadly, yet able of tenderness too if she remembered some of the things she had 
seen him do while in his lover's presence.  
*When you're ready.* he sent her through the Force.
It startled her, but not too much.  She just wasn't used to this kind of 
communication.
She closed her eyes.  
At first, she didn't feel anything, then she felt a presence draw closer to her 
own until it seemed attached to it somehow.  
She slightly panicked, meant to pronounce her brother's name, but instead, she 
found herself entering his mind.  
Once there, as he had said, she didn't need any knowledge to sift through his 
memories.  
She watched his whole life unfold before her eyes, saw his poor existence on 
harsh Tatooine, his experience of slavery, then the unusual care his 'master' 
showed him once he began to behave, his lonely life until he was reunited with 
his father, all the moments of kinship he shared with him, filled with love and 
care, his demanding training that no child had any right to succeed, yet he 
did... his numerous missions, his strange attraction to a certain princess, his 
growing attraction to his best friend, his own care that made him help some 
citizens while during missions, the Emperor's omnipresent oppression and 
control... yet he was free, and he had everything he wanted in life.  Finally, 
she saw how both her brother and father had planned to keep her alive to free 
her from her former life and let her claim what was rightfully hers.  
She belonged with them, she realized as she pulled away from her brother's mind.  
Just like her brother had never been in his place with his guardians, she hadn't 
been in her place on Alderaan.  They hadn't understood her devotion, her 
passion,... her uncanny feelings... but her true family could and would 
understand her, she knew.  
Especially her brother.  
If only there wasn't the Emperor... 
"Haven't you ever thought about fleeing away from all this?" she asked him as 
she recovered her full senses.  
"You mean--- desert?" he gaped at her, recovering his full awareness in shock.
"Yes.  No more assassination, no more darkness, just to be with your family." 
she explained.
"No." he said seriously.  "It would be pointless anyway.  Where would I go?  
What would I do?  Here, I have a purpose since someone needs my abilities."  He 
suddenly stood up from his chair.  "I don't even want to think about what would 
happen if the master ever kicked me out." he admitted, burying his hands deep in 
his pockets, obviously distraught by her suggestion.  
Leia's eyes were so wide in disbelief that they would probably have fallen from 
her orbits had her brother not turned back toward her.  
"You have seen what I was talking about, right?" he asked her, skillfully 
eluding her new topic.
"Yes." she nodded.  'That and more.' she thought to herself.  "I... I need time 
to consider, Luke.  I've never been dominated before." she told him, wondering 
how he would react to her choice of words.
"Think of it as service to someone who provides for you." he answered wistfully.  
'Even when it comes to sexual services.' she wanted to ask, but didn't mention 
it.  She hadn't been supposed to see this ; she didn't want to call the 
Emperor's wrath down on her brother.  
Instead, she slightly tilted her head in answer.
"If you want to talk to me, just call me, okay?"
"Okay." she whispered, turning away from him.  
Her brother left her alone to her thoughts.  
How could her brother worry about the Emperor not keeping him?  He had hurt him 
when he had displeased him, but he had obviously never meant to 'fire' him since 
he had always kept him under his 'payroll'.  
Why would---
It slowly dawned on her that since her brother had almost never known what 
freedom was, he couldn't imagine not having a master. 
For him, it was probably the most natural thing in the galaxy.
It was probably the same situation with her father, she reflected.  
Which left her only one option if she wanted to be with her true family: she had 
to pledge obedience to the Emperor because her father and brother weren't 
leaving his yoke anytime soon.
Frustrated, she picked a small pebble and flicked it over the railing.  Less 
than a second later, she heard a zinging sound.  
Worried, she stood up and leaned over the railing.  
Less than a meter under her balcony, there was a protection shield to keep a 
bystander from falling down to the ground which was kilometers away.
Leia couldn't help but smile thinly as she saw the security installation.
Her father certainly didn't want anything unfortunate to happen to the guests 
who occupied her room.  
She wondered if there were some rooms without that installation.
Probably. Quite convenient for an assassination...

******

Three more weeks passed during which Leia preferred to spend her time alone than 
with her brother.
Mara didn't complain about this arrangement.  Since she was also off-duty, that 
meant more time with her boyfriend.  
He had been summoned to their master's throne room and was now returning. 
She waited for him near the door, intent on surprising him.
She just loved to startle him.
The moment he took his first step through the door, she pushed herself off the 
wall, grabbed hold of his cloak and refined clothes, then pulled him around and 
against herself.  
He wasn't surprised to find her there ; drat, she had missed her shot.
He did answer her kisses though.  
Even as her own hands began to undo the closure of his clothes, his own hands 
bunched up the long skirt from her nightgown.
*When did you get back?* he asked her as he pressed even closer to her.  
*Less than twenty minutes ago.  It was a short errand.* she sent him as she 
freed him from his trousers and boxers.  
*So I see.* he answered, pulling her up so that she could wrap her legs around 
his hips.  
She crossed her legs in his back and under his cloak, shivering as its rich, 
soft fabric brushed her flesh.
She kissed him once again, then began to initiate their deeper bonding.
Luke followed suite without too much prompting.

"Hmm," she whispered minutes later.  "don't go too far, my love.  I've got 
another surprise for you." she told him as she rose her head from his shoulder.
"Another?" he asked her.  
"Sure." she winked, then slowly slipped down from his hold.  "If you'll first 
get out of your clothes." 
He kissed her again, then he helped her take off his undone clothing.  
When it was done, she guided him toward the bed where they laid down.
"Turn on your stomach." she told him lustfully.
He obeyed without complain, but did wonder what she had in mind.
He laid his head on the pillows.  His girlfriend straddled his back, picked 
something from the bed table that was out of his field of vision, then she set 
her hands on his shoulders and began to massage him.  
"Hmm,"  he moaned in delight.  "If sending you on errands always give you ideas 
like this, MJ, I'm going to find errands for you." he teased her.  
"'That' was my errand, flyboy." she told him lustfully.  "I don't need excuses 
to imagine how to surprise you."
"Sorry." he told her, afraid to have vexed her.  
"I forgive you." she ribbed him.
Her hands slowly began their way down his back.  
"What did the master want?" she asked him.  
"An update on my sister.  He can feel her still strong opposition.  He doesn't 
like it."
"Neither do you." she pointed out.  
"No, you're right.  I don't want her to be hurt." he said seriously.  "It isn't 
her fault if she's been raised to believe in anything but what her life should 
be.  If only we could return in time and undo what Kenobi has done to her..." he 
reflected out loud.
"But you can't." Mara answered.  "What does your father say about all this?" she 
asked him, her hands now rubbing his lower back.
"He says that I will figure something to make her change her mind." he sighed.  
"If he were here, he would help me, but I'm not sure if he would be more 
successful than I am."  He closed his eyes in slight defeat.  "She's been too 
brainswashed to see the truth..."
Mara slowly brought her hands back to his shoulder blades then his shoulders.  
She leaned closer to his ear, an idea having just occurred to her.  
"Why don't you go back in time with her then?" she suggested him.
Luke opened his eyes to look at her.  "How?" he asked her.
"Remember our first mission with your father?  On Alderaan?  She was there too."
And she had been drawn to him, drawn to the dark lord... If not for her foster 
parents---
"You're right!" Luke exclaimed, feeling a load of concern lift off his 
shoulders.  "Thanks, MJ." he whispered before kissing her.  
Mara returned it while Luke slowly shifted his position until he could pull her 
against himself before flipping their position.
Neither of them complained about the change of situation, both seeking to become 
one with the other once again once Mara had completely removed her nightgown.

******

That evening, Luke brought Leia to his father's library.  He wanted to take her 
out of her room for a change.
"I think I've found something that will help you make the right decision for 
yourself, Sister." he told her after a while.  
"You mean to stay with you and Father." she pointed out sarcastically, turning 
away from the array of shelves.  
Luke shrugged his satiny-clad shoulders.  "That's another way to say it." he 
commented.
"Let me guess," she sneered, "the Emperor has jerked your chain, reminding you 
that my death sentence is coming soon."
Luke was surprised by her intuition ; she was powerfully gifted, he realized.  
"He's asked for news about your progress, yes." he admitted.  
His sister shrugged in turn and returned her attention to the books and room 
that were around her.  
"Tell me," Luke asked softly.  "do you remember me as Father's slave?" he 
queried.  
She refocused on him, scowling.  "What do you mean, remember?"
"We've seen each other a couple of times before we met on the Death Star ; do 
you remember any of those times?" he asked her again.
Leia scratched her head as she tried to remember the past.  
"Are you sure?" she finally inquired. 
"Yes." he answered her, stepping closer.  "If you will allow me, I will guide 
you toward those memories."
"Why can't I find them by myself?" she asked warily.
"Because they are behind a wall.  Father has set them up for my safety... just 
before I met you."
"What?!" she gasped, drawing away from him.  "You mean to tell me that my mind 
has been manipulated?" she asked, incensed.
"I will undo it, if you will let me." he answered seriously, trying to calm her 
down.  

Leia paced all over the carpeted floor.  
Her mind had been manipulated, her privacy had been violated... Her father had 
dared do this to her, well, he hadn't known at the time, but still... he had 
altered her memories.  
What else had he done?, she suddenly worried.  
Then a suddenly horrible thought invaded her mind.
Who else had done so?
She refocused on her quiet, understanding brother.  
"If I let you inside again, Luke, you will undo every wall, and I mean 
everything that has been done to me, whether by Father... or someone else." she 
finally managed.
Her request seemed to surprise him, but he didn't question her.  
"Okay.  Do you prefer to sit down before we start?" he offered her.
She plopped down on one of the comfortable chairs ; her brother took the chair 
opposite hers and offered her his hands like he had done the last time.
"Take a deep breath." he instructed her, "Relax as much as you can."
"Why?" she asked, suddenly worried anew.  
"It'll make the walls less resistant." Luke explained in a strangely distant 
voice.  
Unlike the last time, her brother's presence didn't simply hover near hers ; he 
entered her mind, but with only a part of his.  
He didn't completely invade her, she noted in relief.  
Although she couldn't see him, she felt him poke around, testing this or that, 
undoing barriers when he was running into them, making sure that he wasn't 
forgetting any walls when he wasn't blocked away.
As he undid her walls, new memories popped free in her mind.  She saw her 
younger self during a stuffy reception, heard her thoughts concerning a certain 
dark lord and his slave, then she saw the boy in question.  
She saw herself, at an older stage, watch the same boy from the corner of her 
eye as she tried to survive her first experience in the Emperor's court... then 
later on, at her nomination as senator.  
She had indeed always felt attracted to the silent, ghost-like youth, had 
somehow managed to refrain from speaking with him, but it had been hard---
Then she saw memories she had never, ever seen before.  She was in her mother's 
arms, nothing more than a baby probably... Her mother was speaking with 
somebody.  
'It is the only way, Amidala.  They must never know the past.'
'But Anakin wouldn't---' her mother began in a sad voice.
'He isn't Anakin anymore, my Queen ; his name is Darth Vader now... He's 
sacrificed his own humanity to serve the dark side...' the man stated darkly.  
'He will sacrifice his children and wife if he has to.  He won't hesitate to 
destroy every one you love.' the Jedi finished seriously yet sadly.
*Kenobi.* her brother's hatred-filled voice told her.  
'He wouldn't have killed us, would he have?' she asked her brother.  
'No, nor mother, but the Jedi fooled her with his lies... I'm done here.' he 
told her before withdrawing from her mind.
"Did you remember this?" she asked him, still shocked by the truth of her 
memory.  
"No.  It was the first time that I saw this." he answered, some of his anger 
still inhabiting his voice.  "You were right about another block." he then 
nodded.
"I wish I hadn't though... Gods, Luke, if his plans had come to be---" she told 
him in horror, forgetting her wariness with her brother.
"we would have killed our own father, or else he would have killed his own 
children.  And they called him darksider." he sneered sarcastically as he stood 
up from his seat.  
"Now I see why you are so upset with the Jedis." she admitted.  
"I wanted to help Father hunt them down, Leia." Luke told her, also forgetting 
his mission or his status.  He just needed to talk.  "I wanted to avenge my lost 
family.  Unfortunately, I was too young."
"I've been raised to protect them as the light in the Universe you know," she 
said in disappointment, "as the last hope for true peace."
"Have you ever studied the history of the Old Republic?" he asked her.  
She nodded.  
"It's chaotic." he pointed out in dismay.  "The Jedis didn't accomplish anything 
except confuse everybody." he finished in disgust.
"The Empire has destroyed and enslaved." she reminded him.  
"The destruction has mostly occurred because of the rebellion." he pointed out.    
Leia meant to argue, but Luke cut her off.
"I've been responsible of much destruction, Leia, but I can tell you this, my 
targets had always done things to deserve their treatment." he explained 
seriously.  "Otherwise, we stole them, we incapacitated their surroundings, but 
we didn't kill them.  The mass-killings that have taken place have been brought 
about by the Rebellion because it fueled such feelings into previously 
unconcerned population."  He paused, then continued: "Now that the Rebellion is 
not there anymore, peace has returned to the galaxy."
Leia hated to even think the words, but her brother was right.  
The news had changed since the defeat of the Rebellion.  So had the Fleet's 
orders, she knew from her rare discussions with her father.
And the Jedis--- the Jedis had sought her destruction ; they hadn't cared about 
her, her brother, or even her father... only about their vendetta.
But her father and brother cared ; they cared about her, her mother, each other, 
Luke's lover, the galaxy...
Only the Emperor didn't have any feelings for anybody but himself.
But what if she didn't take him into account in the portrait?, she hesitantly 
wondered.  
"Could you show me around?" she asked her brother, finally making up her mind, 
at least as far as cooperation was concerned.
He stopped his pacing to look at her questioningly.
"I've been in this castle of two months now and I still don't know what it looks 
like inside." she smiled at him.  
"Sure, come with me." he smiled back.  

******

That night, Leia didn't sleep.  Instead, she laid on her bed and gazed at the 
ceiling.  
What would her life have been if she had been found by her father like her 
brother had been?, she wondered.  
Would she have been like her brother, like herself, or somebody completely 
different.
Even as she thought about the possibilities, an image came to her mind.  
'She was with her mother, reading a story, while her brother was playing nearby 
with small tie Fighters and other model ships, lifting them up with his Force 
powers.  
Their mother quietly scolded him not to do that without his father around to 
coach him.  
Then the door opened behind Luke and in stepped her father, their father... 
Darth Vader.
"Daddy!" she squealed in delight, trying to beat her brother in his run toward 
their father.  
They both threw themselves in his open arms, then he stood up as easily as if he 
weren't carrying them ; he took a moment to look at his wife.
That wasn't at all like the Jedis had told her it would be, she heard her 
think.'
Then the image disappeared and Leia was back in her room.
She felt tears in her eyes, tears of sadness that they had all been deprived of 
such a life.
But she was still alive, and so were her brother and father.  
She could still live with them and have the family life she had been deprived 
of, she resolved.  
Tomorrow, she'd ask her brother to get her an interview with the Emperor.

******

The despot was surprised to see her this soon, this was sure, but, she 
reflected, if she wanted to make her decision clear, she needed time to argue on 
her terms.  
She dressed in the fine clothes her brother had provided for her which was not a 
dark-side reminding uniform, she noticed.  
Instead, he had found her a beautiful sky-blue/dark blue suit and cloak.
As she walked beside him, she noticed the looks the courtesans and other 
dignitaries were giving her, or was it to her brother, the dark lord? 
She had to admit that he looked very impressive in his cloak and black uniform.
She knew thought that this was just window dressing.  Under the appearances, he 
was one of the nicest guy the universe had known.  
He just had a nasty job.

They climbed up the long stairs, then both of them knelt in front of the 
Emperor.  
Leia noticed that her father was already in the room, beside his master's 
throne.  
"Rise." the ruler told them.  "You wished to speak with me, girl?  Do so." he 
said curtly.
"I have made my decision, your Highness." she told him as respectfully as she 
could.
"Which is?" he prompted impatiently.
"I will stay with my family, but I will not be your servant." she declared 
adamantly.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed her brother's wince.
The Emperor was even-tempered, she had to give him that.  
He tapped his claws on his arm rest.  "Oh?  And how do you think this can be 
acceptable?" he queried dangerously.
"I will do your bidding as far as your trust in me is concerned, your Highness, 
I will not get involved in any organization of any kind, and I might sometimes 
help my brother and father, if I have your permission of course, but I will not 
serve you on a duty basis like they do."
"Hmm," he commented, obviously unhappy with the outcome.  "What do you think of 
this, Lord Vader?" he asked his servant.
"If she behaves, Master, then I don't foresee any problems." the older Vader 
said seriously.
"Neither do I, Master." Luke spoke from her side.  "You can always assign an 
escort to her when we aren't planet-side." he suggested.  
The despot refocused on her.  
"Will you accept whatever restriction I will establish for you?" he demanded.
"Yes." she nodded.
"And you will behave like the princess you are, not a rebel refugee." he 
inquired warningly.
"Yes, I will." she nodded again.
The Emperor sighed in resignation.
"Then you may stay with your family, Lady Vader."
"Skywalker." Leia corrected.  
"What?" he croaked.
"My father's true name is Skywalker, so my name will now be Leia Skywalker."  
The Emperor pursed his lips, obviously unhappy with her slight defiance, but in 
the end, he couldn't really complain either.  
"Very well then, Lady Skywalker," he sneered contemptuously.  "I will assign you 
bodyguards for when you will be alone on the planet.  You are free to go where 
you please, as long as they are with you... but don't ever try to loose them." 
he warned her most seriously.
"I understand."
"Will she be allowed to leave with us, Master?" Luke inquired respectfully.
"It will depend on the nature of your missions, Lord Vader.  Sometimes, you will 
be granted the permission to bring her along." he nodded regally.
"Thank you, Master." Luke said as he bowed his head.
"Was there anything else you wished to discuss, my Lady?" the Emperor asked in a 
voice that warned her that she had better not have anything else.
"No, thank you for your time, Emperor." she told him regally.
He barely motioned her away with his hand.  

Luke remained where he was, not having been told to follow her outside.  
The Emperor stood from his throne and looked from father to son.
"Those were not the results I was expecting." he grated unhappily.  
"It is a good start, Master." the older Vader explained.  
"My feeling is that she will eventually take part to some of our operations, 
Master." Luke told him.  "She just needs time to adapt to her new life."
"She has had almost three months." he pointed out.  
"To accept it, but not to embrace it, Master." Luke said soothingly.
"Luke is right, Master." his father agreed.  "She has been raised to fight 
against us ; even though she knows the truth now, she will need more time to 
become a true Vader."
"Very well, I will wait then.  In the meantime, try to convince her to develop 
her Force abilities.  Now that she is trustworthy, don't delay this anymore."
"Yes, Master." both Vaders said, bowing in acceptance.  
The Emperor dismissed them.  
*Do you think we have a deadline this time?* Luke asked his father through the 
Force as they walked down the stairs.
*No, but we had better try to get her involved in some things pretty quick to at 
least show some progress.*
*I don't like to do that to her.* Luke admitted as they approached the double 
doors.
*Me either, but as long as we don't hurt her in the process, it'll be okay.  
Just respect her limits.*
*I know... and don't look too pushy.* he reminded his father.  
The two of them exited the double doors ; Leia was quietly waiting for them less 
than a meter away.
"I take it that he's not pleased." she told them before they had uttered a 
single word.
*Perspective.* his father commented through the Force.
*You have no idea.* Luke sent him back.  "Not really, but it will do for the 
moment." he answered his sister.

"For the moment?" Leia asked with a slight frown.
"When he will once again bring up the subject, we will have worked another 
alternative that will satisfy him." her father explained as he barely brushed 
her arm with his glove.  "You are beautiful in those clothes, daughter, perhaps 
even more than your mother was." he told her wistfully. 
Leia gaped at him as she followed the two dark lords toward a nearby turbolift.  
"Those were Mother's?" she asked.
"No, but she used to wear those colors when she wasn't the Queen."
"Oh."  
They all entered the lift ; the doors closed in front of her, leaving her alone 
with two of the deadliest individuals in the galaxy... her brother and her 
father... 
But she felt safe in their company ; she knew that she could trust them, that 
she could rely on them.
They were her family, and she had finally come home.

To be continued in part 6: A new Life

Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@oricom.ca) 
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even be read.)