Lady Obscura: Vader's Shadow [Star Wars | Luke Skywalker]

Chapter 28

"You cannot hide forever, Luke," Vader intoned even as he searched for his son amid the darkness beneath the platform upon which the Emperor's throne sat.

"I will not fight you," Luke's disembodied voice drifted out from below the Emperor's platform, sounding deceptively calm. Just as she could feel Vader's conflict, she could now feel her Farmboy's. It was as she had feared; her sudden appearance had unsettled him. Seeing her at the mercy of the Emperor's power had shaken his control and he was now fighting to get it back.

"Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way you can save Athara," Vader's voice was soft and distressingly genuine. Athara felt her chest tighten at what he was trying to do, how he believed what he was saying in that moment. He had convinced himself that, if Luke would only submit, the Emperor might show mercy. "I know you love her, Luke." She felt Luke's shock and distress at the blunt way Vader spoke. Her own dismay that he had chosen to use their feelings against his son crushed all remaining breath from her. Anger began welling in her again, and she was of half a mind to let it. If it hadn't been for the delighted satisfaction she could feel pouring off Palpatine in waves, she just might have given in. But he wanted that, and she refused let him have it. That didn't halt the alarm growing within her at the way Luke was beginning to waver, his fear and anger beginning to get the best of him.

"No, please..." the plea was past her lips before she could stop it. She didn't know who it was aimed at, Luke or her Master. She wasn't even sure at first if either of them had heard her, her voice had been so weak. Yet they did. She could see Vader had turned, his fathomless gaze on her as a flash of pain went through him. But he quickly shunted it aside. Luke, on the other hand, seemed to take strength from it, his resolve bolstering as he redoubled his efforts to regain control over his emotions. Vader, though, pressed on, sensing that his words had been having the effect he was after. Struggling to push aside the pain still washing through her from slamming into the wall, Athara pulled herself up until she was almost sitting, though her attention didn't waver from her Master.

"You think either of you can hide it from me? I raised her from a child; she can hold no secrets from me. Nor can you. Your feelings for her are too strong to deny. Only if you join us can you hope to save her...and your friends." Vader paused amid the supports and consoles that littered the underbelly of the Emperor's platform, turning slowly as though something had caught his attention. Athara grimaced; she could feel Luke's control unraveling as Vader prodded at his son's thoughts. "Yes, your feelings for them are strong. Especially for...sister!" The shock that went through Athara had all the potency of a lightning bolt. Though he gave no outward sign of his own shock, she could feel that her Master was almost overwhelmed at the revelation. But the part of him that marvelled that he had another child was almost completely subsumed by the Dark Side. The Darkness in Vader surged forward, latching onto Luke's anguish at betraying this last secret.

"So, you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her too. Obi-wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete." Vader's paced slowed to a stop as he turned, one last cruel taunt slipping free. "If you will not turn to the Dark Side, then perhaps she will."

"Never!!" Rage exploded within Luke and before Athara even grasped what had happened, he had attacked Vader, his green-bladed lightsaber flashing as he slashed at his father, driving him back.

"Luke!" she screamed, but he paid her no attention. The pervasive Dark haze that was the Emperor's presence had pressed in around her Farmboy, driving him on and inflaming his rage further. In an instant she was on her feet, forcibly ignoring the way her head was spinning. But she could only watch in horror as Luke's frenzied attack pushed Vader back toward the turbolift shaft and gantry, the sheer force of his rage too much for Vader to rally against. She bit back a cry when her Master fell to his knees under the strength of her Farmboy's assault and nearly screamed when Luke's emerald blade sliced through her Master's wrist, choking instead on her anguish. With a cry of his own, her Master collapsed to the ground, his remaining hand raised in entreaty as he audibly gasped for air, his respirator straining. Luke's lightsaber was leveled at his throat.