Silence By: Oboe-Wan

“The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your new master now,” Darth Vader declared to Luke Skywalker, motioning for the guards to take Luke away. Confidence in the Emperor and the mission to turn Luke to the dark side swelled in his mechanical circuits.

Luke looked up. Vader felt as if Luke’s eyes could see straight through him. “Then my father is truly dead.” The guards led Luke through the door at the end of the corridor. As soon as the sliding door shut behind them, Vader paused to look out at the Endor forest before him. Just beyond the landing platform was a small pond where a duck was being trailed by her ducklings across the glassy surface. Today, he thought, is either the first or the last day of my life. He turned and exited through the same door Luke had been taken.

Beyond the door was the passenger bay of his personal shuttle which would take him and his son to meet the Emperor on the Death Star. The guards were seated on either side of Luke. Vader swept into the shuttle, the door sliding shut behind him. The guards shifted as Vader took his seat at the top of the small room. Luke did not make any indication he had noticed Vader so close to him.

The engines whirred to life and the shuttle lifted off the platform, headed to the Death Star. Luke now turned his head slightly so that he had a better view of Vader. He could feel the vibrations of the shuttle under his feet. But there was something else, something just beneath his ribs; something dark, something alluring. Was Vader tempting him to change his mind? Luke pushed the sensation away, digging deep into the Force to keep himself from probing the dull blackness that was pressing in on him. He knew he must keep himself shut off from the Force if he was to survive this battle.

Vader could feel Luke pushing him away. But he wanted in. He wanted to break through his son’s idealistic notion that the light side of the Force would save him. That there was any chance he could be turned. It was impossible. His path was chosen - by him and for him. But Luke was so strong. He could feel the barrier that Luke had created around himself.

My father is truly dead. The words echoed through Vader’s head as loud as if Luke were continually repeating them even as they sat in the shuttle. For one of the only times in his life he was thankful for the mask that covered his face and hid the expressions that passed over his features.

My father.... Anakin. Darth Vader. Luke’s father. Anakin, Jedi, husband, friend, and now father. Anakin: the young man who thought knowledge of the dark side meant defense, but in the end couldn’t escape its sweet temptations. Darth Vader, machine, Sith, corpse. Vader shuddered. He was a corpse encased in armor and life support machines. He felt anger rising in him. An anger he hadn’t felt since his first years in the suit. Immortality, he scoffed privately. At what price?

Luke felt a surge of darkness press through him again. What was Vader doing to him? When would this shuttle land so he could face his destiny? Patience, a familiar and gentle voice coached. Luke breathed deeply and exhaled slowly through his nose, closing his throat slightly to generate heat in his body that would hopefully push away the cold chill spreading from Vader’s probe.

...is truly dead. Dead. Vader licked his lips and felt the cold chill of his own skin. Dead. He may be dead before the day is over and would that be the worst scenario? Perhaps killing the Emperor and taking his place with Luke at his side was not the best outcome. Perhaps there would be a way to allow Luke to destroy both master and apprentice and end this existence.

The image of a woman entered his thoughts. She had recently begun to materialize in his mind when he thought of Luke. She sacrificed herself so their child would survive. Survive his father. Her sacrifice will have been in vain if Luke dies at his father’s hand, or worse: turns to the darkside.

The engines began to slow as the shuttle approached the Death Star. Voices in the cockpit ran through security checks. Time was approaching. In his mind, Vader's plan was floating, evolving, changing. Facing Palpatine without a solid plan was a dangerous thing.

Luke continued to stare directly at Vader and Vader held his son’s gaze. Both men were about to meet their destiny. Vader was prepared to kill both Luke and Palpatine if it came to it. As the shuttle settled gently onto the landing bay’s polished floor, father and son stood.

May the Force show me the way. Though surprised that it was not his own voice in his own head, Vader secretly agreed with his son. Destiny was upon them. It was time to relinquish control over fate and allow the Force to flow through him as it hadn’t for years uncounted.