#Head Engineer Luke Lars

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Summary: When Luke Skywalker—operating under the name of Luke Lars—accepts a job offer from none other than Darth Vader to become the next Head Engineer aboard his flagship, The Executor, a.k.a. The Lady, he hardly expected his life to take as much of a turn as it did. Learning how to navigate his way through the microcosm of culture that is the Lady, Luke finds that life is far from quiet in his new home. Friendships and rivalries are made, inventions and politics throw everything into disarray, and throughout it all, Luke and Vader slowly find themselves drawn closer to each other, much to the relief and awe of many of the Lady's crewmembers. Follow our favorite engineer from the twin suns as he goes from strangers, to friends, to adoptive family with his mysterious new mentor, and changes the face of the galaxy forever in the process. There are mysteries about the past to be unraveled, inventions to be made, wars to be fought, and family bonds to be forged in the fires of revolution and rebellion. They say that Darth Vader has no heart, that the Empire and its Emperor are eternal, that the Jedi are dead and gone, and that nothing will ever change. "They" have obviously never met Luke Skywalker before.

Author: @jackdaw-kraai

Note from submitter: Has very fun worldbuilding and is just a great read

[czytling]

A small idea of fic that came to me when reading @jackdaw-kraai 's fantastic #Guides, in particular the newest instalment. Thank you, Jack, for all the marvelous fun you provide us on weekly basis. (And tears, and angst, and feels). You are amazing.

The fic is set in series, running more or less parallel to first chapters of installment 3, up until to and including the 5th chapter of the "How to design your own prosthesis and turn the project into a bonding experience". Honestly, most ideas are either @jackdaw-kraai 's or from some of the asks on their tumbrl profile, I just played with them a bit.

I hope this does not offend you @jackdaw-kraai , or anyone else who created the headcanons, if you want me to put the post down or add acknowledgements, or anything, PM me and I will.

How not to assasinate Head Engineer Luke Lars (for neither fun, nor profit)

1. Do not, under no circumstamces, accept the bounty on his head. You will fail.

2. If you absolutely must accept the job of assasinating Luke Lars, for example if your head is on the line, flee the known galaxy instead. Believe me, you will be safer this way.

3. If fleeing is not a choice, do not set yourself unobtainable deadlines. Like, for example, three days since his return from Imperial centre.

4. Do not underestimate the safety of the Executor. You will find no way to sneak into Head Engineer's quarters while he sleeps.

5. Do not underestimate the staff of the Executor. They will do everything they can to stop any and all individuals from harming their Engineer. They will kill the offenders with all prejudice. For some reason, they consider him as important as their lives, as if they had a huge chance of dying if he were injured. Who would have thought?

6. Do not underestimate Head Engineer Luke Lars. He will not behave as expected. He will not follow his own schedule. Your perfectly set trap will not catch him, because this once he will use a completely different door than he did for all his stay on the Lady.

7. Do not expect to ‘accidentaly' shoot Lars in the hallways. He moves like ghost. He just appears out of thin air whenever he is needed.

8. Do not try to stop the air ventilation to his quarters, so that he is smothered in sleep. He will go into vents and repair it before it even starts making problems. And then overhaul the whole system, just in case.

9. Do not try to make Lord Vader angry with Lars. He will not kill him, but your neck WILL be on the line.

10. Do not add the Black Pepper, one of the most deadly poisons to his food. Oh, he will eat it, no doubt. But, for some reason, it will not kill him. And he will complement the seasoning and ask for more. (Sic.)

11. Do not try to sabotage the only way down from the three floors high construction site Lars is working at the top of. Instead of going down (and having a deadly accident like a normal person) he will just JUMP three stores down when he thinks no-one is looking. And he will be perfectly fine afterwards.

12. Do not mess with the heating system to make his room boiling hot. He will thank you, and everyone he meets, and coo over to everyone he meets about „How finally his quarters are decently warm”.

13. Do not suggest humanely impossible stunts to Luke and do not try to convince them to try them. He will succeed. He will break the plane of possible things to do by humanoids. He will do it in such a way it seems simple and easily doable by anyone. You will not be able to say anything to anyone for fear of them either considering you insane or realising you were trying to hurt Lars (bad idea, refer to point 5)

14. Do not expect Lars to have realised there were assassination attempts on his person. Apparently everything you can think of is normal, nearly daily occurrence where he comes from. Or alternatively, he will consider them favours done for him. Honestly.

15. Do put some holes into container of 3D painter dust. Make it inconspicuous. Maybe he will not realise in time and get caught in the blast. Even if there is no way to do this in such a way you will stay anonymous (or alive for that matter, not for long). When you took the job, your life was forfeit anyways. At least you will take your target with you.

[loubatas-art]

Can we have more of your Star Wars AU? The one where Obi-Wan drinks Hutt Booze because all three Skywalkers are together in the same room.

Hi, sure! So first, it's not actually my AU. Or rather, it's my AU of someone else's AU ? Idk, I'm not very knowledgable in fandom terminology. It's based on a fanfic series named The Guides Verse, written by my friend @jackdaw-kraai, and which you can read on his AO3

In summary, in this AU Luke & Biggs run a Holonet channel named Scrap Hunting, in which they repair & enhance whatever faulty tech ends up in their hands with whatever scrap they manage to find in Tatooine's scrapyards. Luke's exploits on a TIE fighter end up catching the eye of the leading expert in TIE crashing in the Galaxy, who also happens to be the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces, Darth Vader. Vader then recruits this little tech genius as his new Head Engineer on his flagship And because Luke uses his uncle's name Lars for personal, religious & plot reasons, neither of them know they're related

This specific comic was based on Presentation, the second fic in the series, in which Luke has to do a presentation to the Senate and end up meeting a certain Alderaanian princess, and her father who seems... a bit unwell ? I liked to imagine that Bail, after realising who is Luke, sent some incendiary texts to an already drunk Obi Wan because what the fuck is he doing with Darth Vader you were supposed to keep the kid away from him ??

I highly encourage you to read the fics for the rest of Luke's adventures, it's totally worth it. It's still ongoing, and currently on hiatus, but Jack is still working on it. And if you're interested in the lore you can always join us on the Guides discord server for snippets, more theories, art, and shitposts

[inthuu]

Head Engineer Luke Lars in his rooms aboard the Executor. I think this may be set somewhere in the beginning of the first book when he's redesigning and developing some armor stuff. He really can't catch a break, can he?

@jackdaw-kraai I hope you like this one too!

[fictionescapism]

Fanfic Rec #136 Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)

Back From the Future: Episode VI The Clone Wars by Ariel_Sojourner In which Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader travel back in time together to the Clone Wars era, have amazing adventures, and save the galaxy.

The Rod is Mightier Than the Lightsaber by Anonymous In which Luke sacrifices himself on Cymoon-1 to make sure everyone else gets away, and Vader takes things too far before figuring out that this insolent young Rebel is his son.

Compromising by samvelg 5 + 1 Five times Admiral Piett misunderstands the nature of Luke and Vader's relationship, and the one time he doesn't.

Black Squadron by Azalea_Scroggs Where Luke goes to the Imperial Academy with Biggs, but is loyal to the Empire and ends up as a pilot in Vader's TIE fighter squadron...

Civil Wars, Whistleblower Tactics, Schematic Drafting, And The Finer Points Of Sith Adoption: The Essential How-To Guide For The Engineering Jedi by Jackdaw_Kraai When Luke Skywalker—operating under the name of Luke Lars—accepts a job offer from none other than Darth Vader to become the next Head Engineer aboard his flagship, The Executor, a.k.a. The Lady, he hardly expected his life to take as much of a turn as it did. Learning how to navigate his way through the microcosm of culture that is the Lady, Luke finds that life is far from quiet in his new home. Friendships and rivalries are made, inventions and politics throw everything into disarray, and throughout it all, Luke and Vader slowly find themselves drawn closer to each other, much to the relief and awe of many of the Lady's crewmembers. Follow our favorite engineer from the twin suns as he goes from strangers, to friends, to adoptive family with his mysterious new mentor, and changes the face of the galaxy forever in the process. There are mysteries about the past to be unraveled, inventions to be made, wars to be fought, and family bonds to be forged in the fires of revolution and rebellion. They say that Darth Vader has no heart, that the Empire and its Emperor are eternal, that the Jedi are dead and gone, and that nothing will ever change. "They" have obviously never met Luke Skywalker before.

Tuning up your TIE-Fighter to prove you’re better than the bastard currently running the TIE-Fighter Program for fun and profit by loosingletters As a rule, Vader didn't really do anything with his social media account, but then the rant of some kid from Tatooine about the inefficiency of TIE Fighters began trending, the pilots and engineers on the Devastator started fixing their ships and Vader got invested.  “Welcome to another episode of Scrap Hunting,” the teenager in the video said. He took a sip of water from the metallic canteen he was holding, drinking slow and carefully the way only a desert dweller did. “A couple weeks ago some sleemo commented that I’d never be able to improve any Imperial ships since I’m just Outer Rim trash. And I suppose you did have a point that the things I fix won’t ever reach the level of an Imperial TIE because I wouldn’t build such trash in the first place.”

[sonofdorn-vii]

Fatherhood

The barfly had been going on for hours to anyone that would listen. A couple of years back, he said, labouring on a moisture farm for the season out in the Jundland Wastes, he met this boy.Young, maybe 8 or 9. Working every day through the baking Tattooine heat, you start to be invisible to the stuck up farmer and his hick family, unnoticed. But, he added conspiratorially, HE would see things.

Like a young boy, remarkably good with engines and fixing piece of shit droids nobody else wanted. The same boy playing with a BB Blaster behind the house, hitting the rusting cans he was aiming at every single time. No kid is that good, the barfly would declare to nobody in particular. The kid was too young to pilot a T16 Skyhopper, but he did. Take off and landings utterly textbook, even had a little flare like a Veteran pilot showing off. It's odd, he'd continue, though everyone had long since gone back to their drinks.

Wanted posters had been springing up all over Mos Eisely, all a bit vague and non committal as to what they actually wanted. Allusions to people too lucky, too fortunate, too... odd. Talk of a cash reward for any information about unusual behaviour, the Imperials just wanted to keep the peace, or so they claimed. But the barfly was in deep with the Hutts, owed them big. He was gonna talk to the 'perials, he'd slur, get his reward. Nobody cared, nobody was even looking at him anymore, the barfly was well known as a braggart and a liar. He was saying nothing worth listening to, never did.

As he staggered from his stool at the bar, counting his few remaining credits back into the pocket of his worn dustjacket, only one patron in the bar even noticed him leave. This patron was in a booth across the room, half in shadow. The hood of his brown robe up over his head, just the bottom of his face visible in the dim light. Greying hair stubbled his chin, his hidden eyes following the barfly as he tripped up the steps and out the door. Leaving a few credits on the tabletop, the man in the hooded brown robe left the bar silently, just as unnoticed.

The first moon had just risen as the drunk man made his way down the street, stumbling occasionally, still chattering on to himself about the strange boy. Ducking into an alleyway, he began to relieve himself against the wall, not quite able to stand straight.

The man in the brown hood had followed, and silently approached the barfly from behind. Left hand clamped over his mouth, the hooded man stabbed a rusty blade into the barfly's back, aiming for the kidney. Again and again the blade stabbed, the barfly struggled but the calloused hand over his mouth held firm muffling his screams. The barfly stopped struggling quickly, his blood running down his stained trouser legs and soaking into the parched sand of the alley floor. He slumped to the ground, wheezing his last breath, never having seen his attacker, never comprehending what had happened.

The hooded man looked quickly left and right, then sped out of the alley and into the street as fast as he dared, but desperate to escape unnoticed.

The brown robed man was three streets away when he found himself in another alley between two buildings. Breathing hard, he ducked out of sight, the bloody, rusty knife in the deep pocket of his robe. He was shaking badly, his heart hammering in his chest. The barfly knew about Luke. He was going to tell someone who'd listen eventually and they would come for the boy.

Pulling back the hood of his robe, Owen Lars let out a ragged breath, trying to calm himself. They can't take him, he thought, wiping the blood from his hands on his dark robe, they can't take my boy.

[savrenim]

what fic op

okay so it's technically a series called Civil Wars, Whistleblower Tactics, Schematic Drafting, And The Finer Points Of Sith Adoption: The Essential How-To Guide For The Engineering Jedi that is an AU of the (much shorter) fic Tuning up your TIE-Fighter to prove you’re better than the bastard currently running the TIE-Fighter Program for fun and profit

Tuning up your TIE-Fighter is a great fic in and of itself, which is hilarious to describe as "Luke Skywalker YouTuber AU", except it is Great and not Horrific the way that that sounds because it is otherwise set exactly in the Star Wars universe, it just goes "Luke is a genius mechanic right, what if Luke had a holonet channel that is just him messing around with fixing up scrap droids and other things that accidentally goes viral enough to catch Darth Vader's attention, shenanigans ensue"

Civil Wars is an AU of that in that it goes "what if the consequences of this channel are Darth Vader offers Luke 'Lars', who he still has no idea is related to him whatsoever, the position of Head Engineer on his star destroyer and Luke accepts" and then it jumps off from there, including:

the 501st is still there and kicking and characters, and also clones-fully-having-adopted-Mando-culture, which I'll admit I have no idea if it's fanon or canon but I'm really happy that fandom decided it's fanon bc it's super fun

Darth Vader going 'oh gods I'm adopting this child aren't I'

all of the stormtroopers going 'oh gods we're adopting this child, aren't we'

a lot of super interesting Tatooine culture / slave culture / Desert lore

simultaneous Adorable Ray Of Sunshine Luke but also Secret BAMF Luke but it sneaks up on you in a 'yeah this makes total sense with the amount of Desert lore and general Tatooine life we've learned about'

actively solid pro queer, like, it's a gen fic but there is casual acceptance of all sexualities and genders

I'm just in love with what they do with all the characters okay but esp the reveal of Luke's layers

I don't know what else to say esp trying to avoid spoilers other than, like, Tuning up your TIE-Fighter is worth the initial read and then This Fic Is Worth The Read Then Reread Then Please May It Update I Want More

anyways I usually don't recommend stuff that is Long because Every Word Needs To Be Worth It but boy is every single word of this fic worth it and I am Suffering that the series is not complete and that there isn't more

[jasontoddiefor]

When most people think of the Outer Rim, they imagine a trash heap – and they aren’t exactly wrong. Corruption and crime determine the socio-ecological landscapes of the planets caught in those regions. Those who make it out often fail to adapt to the demanding expectations of the rest of the galaxy and return to their homeworlds.

But this is not the case with Luke Lars, Head Engineer of the Super-Star Destroyer The Executor. The Tatooine native first gained attention in the wider galaxy with his holonet channel Scraphunting. Handpicked by Lord Vader himself, the young man has exceeded all expectations. Right now, Lars is the talk of the Coruscanti elite as he establishes himself as not only a smart and talented engineer, but quite the charmer as well.

For @jackdaw-kraai

[darthstitch]

How to Deal When Your Spooky Homicidal Nuclear Trashfire Disaster of a Supreme Commander Sith Lord Adopts A Child

(Inspired by @jackdaw-kraai 's Excellent Engineer Luke Skywalker 'verse)

1.  There's about a dozen of the vod'e who have been fans of Scrap Hunting from the very beginning.  Look, the kid was funny, poked fun at the same things they laughed at, albeit on the downlow, as it were, and the half of them that weren't really mechanically-inclined still found Luke Lars entertaining.  Actually, Force help them, they did end up learning SOMETHING.

2.  The 501st are also responsible for bestowing nicknames on Engineer Luke's veritable army of mouse droids.  The little guys are now fondly considered as "pets" and apparently have distinct personalities all their own.  The most infamous mouse droid is the one nicknamed "Stabby" who apparently has made it its mission to follow Darth Vader around.  Surprisingly, His Lordship doesn't mind the company and has been heard to ask the droid to relay messages to its young maker.

3.  The pilots on Lord Vader's shuttle knew what was up the moment their Lord had come back with the wide-eyed farmboy from that backwater sandpit.  Mental images of a giant black asthmatic Corellian duck fussing over their one duckling were NOT healthy things to think about in the presence of a spooky armored mind-reading space wizard so the pilots carefully thought about other things.   Like tooka kits.  Yes.  Tooka kits with sandy fur and big blue eyes.  Totally safe things to think about!

4.  Look, Trooper MTV-15387 a.k.a. Molotov wasn't sure why his Special Brand of Corellian Moonshine Hooch was suddenly the hottest commodity on board.  One of his brothers finally told him it had something to do with that engineer kid from the Outer Rim and Lord Vader.  Molotov doesn't get it, really.  But hey, business is booming and if General Veers himself actually ordered a case of his Specials, then it was all good, right?

Molotov was a bit surprised to get a "thank you" note from Alderaani Senator Bail Organa himself, congratulating him on the "excellence of your vintage."  Apparently, General Veers was generous with the treats.  

5.  Death Squadron would like it known that THEY were the first to officially adopt Head Engineer Luke Lars because of the amazing work he'd put into making sure their ships were less flying coffins and more of the badass war machines of the glorious Empire that they were supposed to be.

6.  The 501st would like to object to that.  The Goran was theirs and they were definitely keeping him, especially after the wild success of the SUTA project.  

7.  Captain Piett does not want to get into the midst of this argument.  He's fairly sure that Lord Vader has officially adopted young Luke Lars.  Piett already has all the necessary Navy forms ready for filing whenever His Lordship gives the word.   He's also gotten the same forms ready for Veers, once young Zevulon gets on board ship.

8.  Captain Piett carefully does not think about overprotective Correllian ducks and their ducklings in the presence of his mind-reading Supreme Commander either.  Even if young Luke does an incredibly good impression of a happy sunshiny duckling.  

9. Piett is just happy that Lord Vader is now mostly calm and contented enough that the ongoing betting pool of "Who's Going To Get Choked to Death Next" has quieted down.   Mostly.  Okay, so the odds are definitely on Admiral Ozzel for the whole choking business and there were a few good-natured grumbles after news of That Incident at the Imperial Ball spread through the ranks.  "Why'd the kid have to stop His Lordship then?!"  

Piett carefully pretends he hasn't heard that.  

10.  Perhaps the happiest amongst them all was The Lady Herself.  All right, so Star Destroyer A.I.'s weren't supposed to develop such distinctive personalities of their own, but then again, mechanics tended to behave and react strangely around people who happen to be Skywalkers, even if one of them pretends he's forgotten all about it and the other is carefully keeping the name secret.  The Lady had been pleased with this little one's clever hands and quick mind, the way that he had carefully sorted through all that needed to be fixed and repaired, the marks and traces left behind by careless hands and the battles the Lady had fought.  The Lady was very pleased that Her Shadow had finally found the little one.  Her Shadow had existed in pain and grief for far too long.  

She had always known that there was still good in him.

- end -

A/N:  Yes, I really went there.  I regret nothing, I tell you.  NOTHING.  The Lady Ex has Opinions, okay?

Stabby the amazing Space Roomba is a Tumblr Legend. I had to pay my own tribute to him.

This is the result of me trying to tide myself over until the next installment in the Guides 'verse! :P

Read it all here:

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902145

[thewriterowl]

Hi owl, some headcannon about an AU where Luke is actually a slave on Tatooine?

I'm sorry but your dinluke headcannon are incredible

Hello!! Sure! I am so happy you enjoy these fun head-cannons!

So, we'll give Luke more angst in his life, shall we?

So, everything happens as normal up until Luke is around 10. Tatooine is horribly rough and pretty corrupt. So the Lars are in a very rough patch and can't make payments. So here come the collectors. Well, if the Lars can't pay them back they'll just take the blonde kid as compensation. They refuse, of course. Luke is free. He can't just be snatched up like that...only...Luke doesn't have anything to prove that. He has a slave's last name, he has no papers or chain code, there is nothing to say that he is the Lars' actual child (it's known he isn't but there is nothing to prove he's anything of there's) and it's a disaster. The Lars still fight back and they pay with their lives, Luke witnessing it all.

He is brought into town, traumatized, and auctioned off. Well, at this time Luke is just this small, lanky kid who does not look like he'll be worth much of anything so he is not going for much. Peli, who knew the Lars and this kid, finds she can't just let this happen and buys him for her shop. She's pretty jaded and rough, she yells a lot, and demands hard work...but Luke realizes pretty fast that she is a very good person (and it's likely she's not yelling on purpose, she probably has poor hearing from her work...or she has always just been a very, very loud individual) when he realizes he gets extra food from her plate (she complaining he's too small to be useful) and he has a bed with extra blankets for the cold nights, and she actually teaches him everything about engineering, ships, mechanics, and droids. Luke also has good friends with all of her droids so he's not too lonely and he picks up the work really fast and easy.

Issues start when he is about seventeen. People start to notice him. Yeah, he's still small but he has built up a good bulk of muscle and a lean form from his thirteen hour days of hard, mechanic labor. he is still dealing with what he witnessed and went through when he is a child but he has an honest, happy smile and clear eyes and a very friendly, warm personality. All those who have called him ugly and useless and wormie over the past years are starting to eat their words.

Peli is approached a few times a year over the next three years about purchasing him. The price is always astronomical, possibly 10xs more than what she paid for Luke originally. She always turns them down with a nasty tone of, "I've put nearly ten years into this kid! You want me to just take credits for 'im?! Come back to me when you have 20xs the money and a replacement who has 20-years of experience in doing this shitty work or the answer is no!" It always works.

And it keeps Luke safe.

it is around seventeen a new visitor begins to show up regularly. A bounty-hunter with worn armor but a pristine, silver mask. Luke is infatuated instantly. He has never had to see the man, nor the man see him, as he hides whenever he is around. But he always gets to work on his ship as he is out of the shop because he always says no droids. He learns a lot by keeping his head down and practically remaining invisible when the mysterious man is around. Luke learns he is a bounty-hunter who always gets his target (and, given this is Tatooine, a lot of targets come here), a man from a culture called Mandalorians, he is clearly terrifyingly strong (given how he'll sometimes drag his quarry into his ship on his shoulders or them trying to fight--he never seems to flinch), very built (luke can't help but notice it!), a dreamy voice, and is actually a decent man who pays Peli in full (sometimes extra) and rarely argues back unless he appears in to be a decent (or grouchy? it was hard to tell) mood and Peli was extra ornery. He clearly went on adventures and was well-versed in the galaxy and was intelligent and had wit and...Luke was just head over heels with a massive puppy-crush.

It's when Luke turns twenty that he realizes, oh yikes...is this a crush or am I actually in love with a guy who doesn't know I exist and i have never talked to? It is also the year where Jabba the Hutt becomes interested in Luke as well.

So, it finally happens. Luke is dragged out of Peli's shop by some of the Hutt's men, Peli unable to do anything but screech at them. They just toss over credits that are about 40xs what Luke was bought for, despite Peli saying this isn't going to work and that's her apprentice, etc. They still just take Luke away.

Now, I don't see Jabba has being necessarily sexually attracted to Luke (or maybe anyone for that matter) but he loves beautiful things and he loves the power beautiful things bring him. Having a slave as lovely as Luke at his side is something that would just give him that vibe he enjoys. So Luke is safe in that regards for now. But Luke is clearly wanted by the patrons of the palace and if Jabba has a bounty that he knows is impossible, he'll say they can have Luke if it is accomplished in a certain way (it never is). Luke is basically in the Leia garb (see @gabsketch for her version of Luke's slave outfit) and is stuck by this horrible beasts side, being gawked at and touched, and yanked around all the time.

A few months later the Mandalorian is back for a quarry and a repair for his ship when Peli practically tackles him, saying she'll pay 20,000 credits and repair his ship for free for five years if he can rescue her apprentice who was taken by the Hutt's without an agreement. Well, hello pay-day. Din knows it's not great to cross the Hutt, but if he indeed did not follow an agreement with Peli over this mysterious guy then she is in her right to demand him back. So off he goes to the palace.

He gets there and has a reputation so he is allowed in, ready to look all around for this poor kid with gold hair and sky-blue eyes who was probably cleaning up slop or hidden in the back with stolen droids to fix. He was really not expecting to see the man as a trophy for Jabba. Nor expected him to be this gorgeous. How had Peli hidden him all these years? Din never saw this man once. If he had, well, he for sure would be coming back to Tatooine a bit more often and leaving it with some very adult-level fantasies.

Luke is stunned to see the mysterious man there, really unsure what is going on but finds himself hopeful when he demands Luke to be returned. Jabba is all, "nah fam. I run this place. but tell you what...do this impossible task for me and you can have him. Go kill a Kryate dragon and bring me its pearls."

Din is all, "Yeah sure." And just goes and...does it.

He comes back with four pearls and meat and scales and other items to show it was dead and Jabba is all, "oh shit." He really does not want to let this pretty slave go...but if he followed his deal and Din returns, Jabba could for sure get bounties taken care of with him on his side. So, he hands Luke over saying, "welp, he's yours now, lucky SOB". And Din takes Luke.

Well...now Din doesn't really want to hand Luke back over. How was he supposed to? Still, he is honorable and brings him back to Peli but then makes a claim, "I'll be back for him. I own him now but you can borrow him." surprising them both. Well, he goes off and Luke stays on Tatooine until a man named Kenobi (maybe he was off world or couldn't interfere before Luke was sold but saw Peli was taking care of him and saw it was fine) finds him and yanks him off on an adventure where he saves the galaxy and Din finds a gremlin child and then they meet again. and Din is all, "Hey...you're still mine from all that happened a few years back soooooo...you're teaching my kid as you travel with me." and Luke, with a shrug is all, "Welp. There are worse fates than hanging out with the love of my life, so yeah, let's go for it."

It for sure can be darker, lol knowing me, but it playing with the original trilogy is fun too. So Luke lives happily with Din who still, technically, owns him from his deal with Jabba but they're both very, very in love space dads.

[cant-think-of-anything-creative]

I'd like to start off by saying, oops?

Hey @jackdaw-kraai , as you know I've been hyperfixating on the Guides verse and keep having ideas that bounce around in my skull like pinballs. The only reliable way to appease said thoughts is to write them down, so I did!! And then... kept writing. It's a hypothetical scene that I don't think will ever come true, so I wanted to get it down before Sunday's chapter comes out. Sorry for piggybacking on your story but I'm pretty sure you gave permission to go ham so I kinda... went ham? A little ham? Enjoy your holiday ham, everyone is horribly ooc but I wanted it to be Soft 🙏

If you haven't read Jack's works, do yourself a favor and check 'em out!! They're absolutely riveting, chock full of amazing Skywalker family moments, and have a fun supporting cast like General Veers, confused but he's got the spirit; Captain Piett, master of subtle snark; and Admiral Ozzel, who we all love to hate. Jack has developed such a detailed and engaging world that you just can't help but get invested in 😁

--------------------

Vader did not think it was unreasonable to ensure Head Engineer Lars' safety after the recent sabotage (assassination) attempt. Directly after he was secure in a bacta tank and not in immediate risk, Vader had recalled Luke's guard and set them on shifts within medical while he investigated the workshop. When evidence of foul play had been uncovered, Vader joined them.

Thirty-five hours later, Luke was removed from the bacta pod and put into a medical suite. At that time, Kix informed Vader that his presence was interfering with the workflow of his medbay, that only the most stalwart of medics would approach anywhere near him when he was "in this state" and therefore, because he would not leave Luke's side, aid in the engineer's recovery.

Vader had informed him that that was precisely what he endeavored to achieve.

Vader had been summarily banned from medbay for twenty-four hours.

He did, however, manage to obtain the medic's word that only Kix himself would address Luke's injuries -- in truth, the only reason he had complied at all.

Now, without access to Luke and further investigation being handled by Piett, Vader had run out of things to do. Of course, there were the trivialities of running an Imperial warship, but he soon found himself unable and unwilling to concentrate on such matters.

He was sitting in his chambers in attempted meditation when his datapad beeped with an incoming message. He scooped it up, anxious for any news, and was disappointed to see it was not from Kix, but Piett -- but perhaps Piett had discovered more information? The message had a file attachment; the identity of the saboteur? Interest captured once more, Vader read the subject line.

Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Tooka kit on nip

...A mistake, then. This was hardly the typical topic of conversation between them. Most likely a personal message that had accidently been sent to him. Vader idly wondered at it -- Piett was incredibly particular in his correspondence, just as he was about everything else, and it seemed unlikely that a slip of the hand had not been caught and rectified before it was sent.

Curiosity mounting, he opened the message.

It was entirely blank, only a video file attached, similarly named "tooka kit." The preview of the video, however, had Luke's face.

Vader played it immediately.

Luke sat in a partially inclined bed, medical equipment surrounding him, beeping and humming softly in the background. The image was obviously taken from a datapad, though where Luke had obtained one was anyone's guess. He had dark circles under his eyes, his skin slightly sallow. There were bacta patches of various sizes scattered across his face, neck, and the visible parts of his arms. Luke shifted in place, the image jerking as he made himself comfortable, careful with the IV disappearing into his shirt. Vader could tell from his sluggish movements that he was, at least, partially sedated. Finally, he settled, cleared his throat, and looked into the lens.

"Hello, all," Luke said. He was a bit difficult to understand, between the slurring and the oxygen mask muffling his voice. "Welcome to another episode of Scrap Hunting. This time we won't have to go far, as I am the scrap." He brought his arm into frame, waving the heavily bandaged stump around, and devolved into raspy giggles that soon had him harshly coughing. They wracked his small frame in spasms, sounded just like those of people sick from the Desert's storms. The view changed angles as Luke brought his hand up and clumsily pressed the mask further against his face, taking deep drags with his eyes closed in concentration. When he could breathe on his own again, he propped up the data pad once more.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna make a new one," he assured. His voice was even, now, careful and measured. "Gonna make a whole series about it. But it could take a while, 'cause my printer tried to blow me up." Luke's expression grew sad, his lower lip jutting out just slightly. "I don't know why, I tried to be good to it, made the files pretty, never ran out of powder. Ran the diagnostics but it was angry. 'M sorry, printer."

In the video, a knock interrupted him, followed by a muffled, "You awake, sir? Medic for you." One of the guards stationed outside his door, no doubt.

Luke's eyes widened in alarm, and he pulled the tablet close with a sharp "Shh!" before the view flipped around. Vader's reasonably sure he saw the underside of the mattress before the screen went dark.

Luke said something the tablet didn't pick up, microphone sandwiched between the bed's layers as it was. Vader raised the volume until he could just barely make out what was being said.

"--heard you cough," came a clone's voice.

"Only a little," Luke protested. The screen was black, but Vader could see exactly the type of wide-eyed, innocent pout he was making. "Barely anything."

"Right. Open your mouth for me, sir."

He listened as the medic led Luke through an exam, checking his throat and lungs along with his heart and nervous responses.

"You're recovering well, sir," they proclaimed. Vader felt something ease inside him, something that had grown tense and restless since Luke began coughing. "Best thing for now is to rest. Anything else before I leave?"

"More water, please?"

"Of course, here you are. Remember, press the button for assistance or ask Boomer at the door."

"Mm-hm. Thank you."

"Hang in there, sir. I'll return in an hour to check in."

"'Kay."

Soft footsteps, a door opening and closing. A pause. And then, the rustling of fabric as Luke retrieved the tablet from where it was stashed.

"Sorry I had to hide you," he murmured, spinning the image right-side-up. "This isn't my datapad. Found it on the table. I think it's Kix's? It won't tell me anything, but the camera wasn't blocked. Mine... mine's probably gone," he said, forlorn. "I'm gonna have to replace so much -- I was starting on the heat muffler for the ATR-6's but now I can't. And I hate the name but if I wanted to change it I'd have to go back into every data file..."

Luke started into an explanation of the intricacies of the ATR-6's heat shields and their equally intricate relationship with the heat sinks, going into far greater detail than Vader thought possible for a teenager on a hefty morphine drip. It eventually caught up to him, though; his words ran together more and more, his eyelids drooping. A few times, he'd let a sentence trail off and his chin would slump down to his chest, lower and lower before it snapped back up and he blinked around in confusion, picking up an entirely different tangent than the one he'd previously been saying. Then, his head drifted to the side instead of down, and he was out. There was a couple moments of this before the datapad fell back, Luke no longer propping it up, and Vader could only see the medbay's ceiling.

He could hear, though, the steady blip of the heart rate monitor, and Luke's sleep-laden breaths. And it calmed him, to know his -- to know Luke was... "unharmed" was categorically incorrect.

Safe, perhaps. And that he felt safe enough to let the drugs do their work. (Though "safe" itself was not the appropriate word either, Vader thought, recalling the scattered remains of the printer.)

Ten minutes in, Luke shifted in his slumber and the datapad followed, landing on its side, revealing a skewed image of Luke at rest, drooling slightly onto his pillows and curled in on himself, on his injuries. Every so often his eyebrows would furrow just slightly, like he was working on a challenging problem in his dreams, and then smooth back out.

Twenty minutes later, the microphone picked up a soft knock and a voice calling, "Sir?"

When no reply came, Vader heard the door latch release and footsteps approach the bed. Part of a trooper came into view -- Kix, Vader recognized. Good. He set something down on the bedside table and turned back, reaching out his hand. Vader was annoyed that he was going to wake Luke, Force knew the boy deserved his rest, but the medic only set his hand on the pillows by his head, barely denting them at all. Vader saw the tips of his fingers pull through a stray bit of Luke's hair, splayed out around his head like a golden halo. After a moment, Kix sighed and took back his hand, turned to leave -- and paused. He reached towards the tablet with an inquisitive sound. The image shifted from Luke's sleeping form to Kix's confused face, and abruptly ended.

Vader sat in his quarters... contemplating.

Why had Piett sent him this? How had the captain obtained such a file in the first place? The subject of the message -- Piett himself had received it from another source, and so on. Furthermore, he had not deemed it necessary to add his own words to the message, trusting that it would speak for itself.

Vader restarted the video.

[jackdaw-kraai]

How did Luke's first day on the Lady go? Did Vader actually explain anything to him and/or others or did he just step off the shuttle like "this kid is head engineer now ok byeeeeeee" I'm just very curious about everybody's first and second impressions of this Lars kid 🤣🤣🤣

We’ll hear a bit more of Luke’s first days in the future, but I can tell you now that Vader was Hovering from basically Day One, insisting on Luke getting the best crash course education and being permitted basically free reign, up to and including access to his private quarters at every hour of the day or night. 

Needless to say, rumors spread quickly, and at first pretty much no one knew what the hell to make of this kid that just. Randomly got brought on board and was immediately placed In Charge of a whole ass Corps while having Vader’s ear at all times. Everyone was pretty wary of him too, uncertain of what someone like Luke, favored by Darth Vader, would be like.

Until he started to Do His Thing and someone went “Holy SHIT, that’s the guy from Scrap Hunting!” The whole crew of the Lady basically went on a binge session afterwards to find out Who The Heck that is, and from there on out the confusion only got worse. Then Luke overhauled the whole TIE Fighter complement of the Lady and calmed Vader down for the first time and everyone promptly decided that nothing else mattered, as long as the Weird Sunshine kept doing his sunshiny thing.

And now they would kill and die for him.

[softsabrinareads]

Civil Wars, Whistleblower Tactics, Schematic Drafting, And The Finer Points Of Sith Adoption: The Essential How-To Guide For The Engineering Jedi by Jackdaw_Kraai (Series, Ongoing, 99K, Teen)

Summary: When Luke Skywalker—operating under the name of Luke Lars—accepts a job offer from none other than Darth Vader to become the next Head Engineer aboard his flagship, The Executor, a.k.a. The Lady, he hardly expected his life to take as much of a turn as it did. 

Learning how to navigate his way through the microcosm of culture that is the Lady, Luke finds that life is far from quiet in his new home. Friendships and rivalries are made, inventions and politics throw everything into disarray, and throughout it all, Luke and Vader slowly find themselves drawn closer to each other, much to the relief and awe of many of the Lady's crewmembers. 

Follow our favorite engineer from the twin suns as he goes from strangers, to friends, to adoptive family with his mysterious new mentor, and changes the face of the galaxy forever in the process. There are mysteries about the past to be unraveled, inventions to be made, wars to be fought, and family bonds to be forged in the fires of revolution and rebellion. 

They say that Darth Vader has no heart, that the Empire and its Emperor are eternal, that the Jedi are dead and gone, and that nothing will ever change. "They" have obviously never met Luke Skywalker before.

My bookmark here.

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Sixteen

Padmé took a long, deep breath. It had been years. Long, heart-wrenching, war-torn years. A long time ago, she had been a senator and a diplomat. Negotiation and diplomacy had been her weapons of choice. Now, somehow, she was a general, coordinating attacks and deploying troops, waging war against the most hated man in the galaxy—a man that she had once considered a mentor and a dear friend.

Padmé had only begun to realize that she shouldn’t be so surprised by where she had ended up. Her entire life had been war. Even as a newly-elected queen, war had found its way to the peaceful world of Naboo. She had hardly been a teenager then. She often wondered then if she was really ready for such responsibility. She still wondered.

But it didn’t matter now. The past was the past. The only thing she had the power to change now was the present. And now it was time for action. It was time for her son to come home.

Home. She wasn’t sure where that was, anymore. It had been Naboo. But now that was only a world tainted with sad memories. She hadn’t been back since the Clone War ended. After a while, Padmé just sort of accepted that she was now someone without a home. Like a Purrgil, drifting amid the stars.

But Luke had a home. At least, Padmé hoped Luke would still treat it like his home. For all its faults, Tatooine had kept her son safe for years. Hopefully it would again.

Until they all jumped right back into the danger.

The battered old Corellian YT-model freighter thundered down from the sky, kicking up a miniature sandstorm as it came to rest on the sand.

“It’s a wonder that thing still flies!” coughed Owen Lars.

Padmé’s reunion with the Lars family had been a much sweeter one than she had anticipated. In spite of the way that she had left things, running off in the middle of the night with their nephew and that “crazy old wizard.” They hadn’t spoken in years. For all they knew, Padmé and Luke were both dead, or left rotting in some Imperial prison.

But, as always, Owen and Beru brought Padmé back into their home with open hearts and tearful eyes. And Padmé forgot why she could have ever expected anything different.

When the dust had cleared and the roar of the freighter’s engines died off, Padmé’s heart leaped when the first pair of feet came strolling down the boarding ramp.

She hardly recognized him. She remembered leaving behind a little boy, blonde-haired and starry-eyed. Scared, but ready for adventure. He had returned now a young man, with a strong body and an even stronger resolve shining in his blue eyes.

He was dressed in Jedi robes, the long brown cloak flowing in the wind, his blonde hair shining in the light of the suns—his father’s lightsaber hanging at his waist.

Padmé broke down into tears. Because he looked just like Anakin.

Luke held his mother, and she let herself melt into his arms. The two wept together for a while, happy to just be together again.

“Oh, Luke,” Padmé sobbed. “I can’t believe I ever let you go.”

“It’s alright,” Luke said. “It’s okay. It was supposed to happen. It… well, this was my destiny.”

Padmé had never really understood the Force, at least not in the way that a Jedi did. But she had often heard them speak of destiny and the will of the Force. Now she prayed—to the Force, if it would listen—that destiny wasn’t going to lead them into disaster.

After a few minutes, Obi-Wan Kenobi exited the freighter, followed closely by the diminutive figure of Master Yoda.

Padmé finally pulled herself away and dried her tears, freeing Luke to greet his aunt and uncle. 

“Obi-Wan,” said Padmé. “It’s good to see you again.”

“And you as well,” he said, bowing slightly. “I was hoping that at least a few tears would be shed on my behalf, but—”

Padmé laughed. “I’m glad the swamp didn’t do much to weaken your sense of humor.”

 “That remains to be seen,” Obi-Wan replied. “But I am glad, at the very least, for a dry pair of boots.”

Padmé smiled down at Yoda, leaning on his gnarled wooden cane.

“Master Yoda,” she said.

“Your Highness,” he replied.

I am a queen no longer, she thought to reply. But she knew better than to argue with one as wise as Yoda. After all, she hadn’t lived for nine hundred years. So, she was just glad to let the warmth of his smile soften her war-hardened heart for a short, happy moment.

“Not too poorly, the war has treated you, I hope?” Yoda asked.

“As good as any war can treat someone, I suppose,” Padmé sighed. “There are worse days, and there are less worse days.”

Padmé laughed softly, but it was a sad laugh.

“But I don’t need to tell you that,” she said.

“Mmm,” Yoda grunted in reply, shaking his head. “A terrible thing, this war is. Much death have I sensed. Yes, and pain. Much pain still to come, I fear.”

“Well, if your plan really does work, Padmé, hopefully we stop this war before it really gets started,” said Obi-Wan.

“We’re going to need all the help we can get,” Padmé said. “Even three Jedi may not be enough. Which reminds me… Luke?”

He spun around, turning away from his embrace with his Aunt Beru.

“There’s … someone you need to meet,” Padmé said.

She walked up to her son, placing her hands on his shoulders, which were already almost too tall for her to reach.

“This may be hard for you to hear, and… I know you’re probably tired of so many secrets. But it was so important that this was kept a secret, even from you. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, I promise you. But it was the only way to keep the two of you safe.”

“I don’t understand—” Luke started to say.

“There is…” Padmé said. “There is another Skywalker.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed in confusion. Or was it surprise?

“What?” he gasped. 

Padmé looked toward the entrance of the old Lars homestead—the one that had been their home for more than a decade. She motioned for someone to come.

A young woman stepped out from the shade. She was dressed in a simple white robe, her hair done up in two elaborate buns on either side of her head. A white hood was draped gently over her head to shield her porcelain skin from the garish sunlight.

“Luke,” Padmé said. “This is your twin sister: Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan.”

*****

“You know,” Luke said. “It’s funny.”

“How’s that?” Leia replied.

“How you got picked to be Princess of… what is it? Alderaan. And I got shipped off to Tatooine of all places, living on a moisture farm. You know, there’s not a kid in Mos Eisley that wouldn’t kill for a chance to set foot in a palace, let alone live in one.”

“Living in a palace isn’t really as glamorous as you think it is,” Leia said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure it’s really hard waking up to the butler bringing you breakfast in bed every day. I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be to step out of bed and wonder ‘which balcony shall I sit on to sip my tea today?’.”

Luke tried (rather poorly) to mimic the snooty sort of accent that he had heard many of the core-worlders and Imperial-types use.

Leia socked Luke in the arm. They both laughed.

The long-lost siblings sat alone together in one of the small cabins of the ship that was speedily carrying them back towards the fourth moon of Yavin. It was quiet, except for the dull vibration of the hyperdrive echoing through the cold, metal walls.

Leia sighed and shook her head.

“All this time,” she muttered. “I never knew I had a real family. I mean… my parents—”

“You mean Her Royal Highness, Queen of Alderaan?” Luke tried the accent again.

Leia shot him a look.

“My mom and dad,” she corrected. “Are my real family, of course. But I always thought my birth parents were dead. Then, a few years ago, I met Padm—er… my real mom. Our mom. But I had no idea who she was. Still, I always had this weird… feeling when I was around her. I don’t know... I don’t know how to describe it.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” said Luke.

“And then… I started getting involved with the Rebellion,” Leia continued. “My dad didn’t like it, but… it was where I belonged. I’ve been lucky enough to see behind the Imperial curtain, so to speak. I know what really goes on in the Empire. And I decided a long time ago that I can’t sit around and wait for someone else to stop it. Anyway… I saw mom around the Rebel base on Yavin a lot, at least whenever I was allowed to be there, which wasn’t often. I knew she was someone important. She hardly ever showed her face to anyone outside of High Command. Only a few people knew her name. It was only a couple weeks ago that I found out why. My dad just sat me down with her one day and explained the whole thing. That Padmé was my birth mother. That she was Padmé Amidala, Queen of Naboo. That I have a brother. That my father is—”

Leia choked on the words.

“Anakin Skwalker,” Luke finished for her. “Jedi Knight. That’s who our father was. Darth Vader is… something else.”

Leia sighed. “I cried and cried for days after that. I don’t know if it was happy or sad, or sometimes both. I was so excited to have this new family, but just so sad that I missed out on it all before. Eventually, I ran out of tears to cry. And now… now I just don’t know how to feel.”

Luke placed his hand on hers.

“Afraid,” he said. “That’s how I feel, anyway.”

“I thought Jedi weren’t supposed to be afraid,” Leia said.

Luke looked down at his feet, sheepishly. “Fear begets anger, anger begets hate, and hate begets suffering. It is natural to feel fear. It’s what you do with it that matters. Do you turn inward or do you turn outward? At least… that’s what Obi-Wan always says.”

“I’ve heard lots of stories from my dad about Master Kenobi. It’s kind of crazy that the hero from my old bedtime stories is sitting in the next cabin over.”

“And I never even knew he was a Jedi. All my life, he was just the old hermit that lived on the edge of the Dune Sea. Then, all of a sudden, he is a Jedi Master, and I am supposed to just leave everything behind and become a Jedi, too.”

“I’m sorry,” said Leia. “I really can’t imagine what that must have been like. Being so alone for so long…”

“Don’t be sorry. I guess I was scared for a while. And then I was angry for a while after that. But I wasn’t alone, not really. Obi-Wan and Yoda helped me. They made me into who I’m supposed to be.”

“You think it’ll be enough?” Leia asked.

“Enough for what?”

“Enough to win.”

“I… don’t know.”

The Skywalker siblings were quiet for a while.  The silence made it easy for the weight of everything that was about to happen start to sink in.

“Do you… do you think we’re going to make it through this?” Leia asked, clearly forcing back tears.

Luke didn’t say anything for a long time.

“I’ve been taught that I shouldn’t fear death,” he said at last. “That I should… how does Yoda put it? ‘Rejoice for those that transform into the Force.’ But… somehow… I know that we’re going to see dad again. And that’s all that matters.”

“How can you know?”

“A feeling.”

[tootiredtocares-blog]

When Luke Skywalker—operating under the name of Luke Lars—accepts a job offer from none other than Darth Vader to become the next Head Engineer aboard his flagship, The Executor, a.k.a. The Lady, he hardly expected his life to take as much of a turn as it did.

Learning how to navigate his way through the microcosm of culture that is the Lady, Luke finds that life is far from quiet in his new home. Friendships and rivalries are made, inventions and politics throw everything into disarray, and throughout it all, Luke and Vader slowly find themselves drawn closer to each other, much to the relief and awe of many of the Lady's crewmembers.

Follow our favorite engineer from the twin suns as he goes from strangers, to friends, to adoptive family with his mysterious new mentor, and changes the face of the galaxy forever in the process. There are mysteries about the past to be unraveled, inventions to be made, wars to be fought, and family bonds to be forged in the fires of revolution and rebellion.

They say that Darth Vader has no heart, that the Empire and its Emperor are eternal, that the Jedi are dead and gone, and that nothing will ever change.

"They" have obviously never met Luke Skywalker before.

Fic recommendation for anyone who's into star wars

[letslipthehounds]

AU Smuggler- or whatever, just not a part of the Rebels- Luke Skywalker has no idea why the second in command of the Empire, Darth Vader, is so intent on chasing him down.

Luke Skywalkergrumbled to himself as he tinkered with the spare heating unit.  He didn’t understand it.  He was a mostly legal trader, with his ownship.  He paid taxes (on his legal cargo), and never worked for the Hutts. He didn’t do anything that was much against the law.  And definitely nothing for the rebels, so itcouldn’t be because of that.

Luke had been atrader since he was sixteen, when Bubos had swept through Tatooine.  His aunt and uncle had died, and then oldBen, who had helped him tend them, had taken ill.  He’d lingered for a few days before tellingLuke that everything in his old hut belonged to Luke, and then passed.  He’d talked of Luke’s father, and how theyhad once been good friends, and how Luke’s father would have wanted Luke to have“it”, but he hadn’t been very coherent after the first day.

And that had leftLuke with a farm and an old hut, and no family.

Luke had tried,for over a month, but one man couldn’t keep a farm like his going, so he’d soldit, and bought a ship.

He’d packed uppersonal belongings, and old Ben’s stuff, before heading out.  And then he’d taken it to a core world andstored it safely.

Ever since, he’dsurvived, and worked hard.

And now…

He looked down atthe datapad, where his own face stared up at it, with the accompanying “aliveand unharmed” three million credit bounty.

He was to bebrought to Darth Vader, and only Vader. If he had anything more than bruises, his bounty went down to 1 credit.

It didn’t make anysense.  What would Darth Vader, Commanderof the Imperial Fleet and Heir to the throne want with him?  A farmboy turned pilot?  He wasn’t anyone important.

He sighed andclosed his eyes.  It wasn’t going to belong before he was captured, so he had a choice to make.

He got up and putthe heating unit down.  It was time tomake a change of course.  Let’s see, lasthe’d heard, he should head for Dantooine….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke was in thecockpit as he reached Dantooine and brought his ship out of hyperspace.

Right in front ofa massive formation of Star Destroyers, led by a monster of a ship.

His comm crackledwith the demand for identification.

Luke took a deepbreath and flipped on his transponder. “This is the Lar’s Hope, and Iam Luke Skywalker,” he announced.

The comm wassilent for a long, long moment.

After a moment,his ship bucked as it was caught in a tractor beam.  Quickly, Luke shut down the engines, and theride smoothed out.

“Skywalker, Idon’t know if you’re brave or foolish,” the man on the other end of the commsaid.

“Probably both,”Luke replied.  “But I’m just a trader, soI’d have been caught within hours of my next landing, so I figured it wasbetter to just come myself.”

He was silent ashe was drawn into the main hanger bay of that huge ship.  He finished the shutdown of his own shipbefore taking a deep breath and heading out to the main hatch.  There, he took another deep breath and walkedout.

Vader was, ofcourse, waiting for him, along with a small honor guard of stormtroopers.

Luke hid his fearas well as he could and stopped just in front of Vader, tilting his head up tolook at the other man’s mask.

“Lord Vader,” Lukesaid, before he ran out of words.  He didn’tknow what to say, or do.

“CaptainSkywalker,” Vader said.  “Come with me.”

Thankfully, Lukewas able to keep up as Vader led him through the ship, still with the honorguard, and into a small office.  There,Vader dismissed the guards, and turned his full attention on Luke.

Luke stiffened hisspine and kept his eyes on the Dark Lord.

“Tell me what youknow of your family,” Vader said abruptly.

Lukeswallowed.  “I was raised by my aunt anduncle, Beru and Owen Lars.  They diedalmost four years ago.”

“And yourparents?”

Luke frowned.  “My… I don’t know who my mother was, but myfather was a navigator.  I was told myfather died before I was born, and my mother when I was born.”

“A… navigator.”Vader said.  “Is that what Kenobi toldyou?”

“Who?” Lukeasked.  Then, he remembered…  “Do you mean Old Ben?  The hermit who lived out beyond the DuneSea?  He never told me what my fatherdid.  My uncle told me he was anavigator.  I mean, Ben said he knew my father, but he was rambling a lot the last couple of days.  Kept apologizing to my father, to someone named Padmé.  He thought I was my father sometimes.”  He clamped his mouthshut.  He was starting to babble.

Vader just watchedhim for a moment.  “Your father’s namewas Anakin Skywalker,” he finally said.

Luke jumped andstared at the other man.  “How… how didyou know?”

Vader sighed.  “Because, Luke, that was my name before Itook on the name Darth Vader.  I am yourfather.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Oh Luke.  You brave, foolhardy kid.  This is not going to end well for the galaxy,is it?  And yes, I killed Beru and Owen and Ben.  Sorry.