[fic] Feet on the Ground (Star Wars, PG-13, prologue)
I'm finally posting this fic; I'm so excited! :D I've worked on it for months, and now I'm finally beginning to get it back from my betas, so I can start posting! Anyway, here we go.
Title: Feet on the Ground
Author: Rynne
Fandom: Star Wars
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. Luke Skywalker has grown up his father's apprentice, and can't imagine anything but serving the Emperor. But after one mission, Luke's illusions begin to shatter, and Luke and his father begin to plan for the future--their future. Primarily a Luke-Vader story, with eventual Luke/Mara.
Author's notes: This is the first sequel to my fic Walking the Sky. I highly suggest you read that before reading this, though the basics are that Vader found Luke on Tatooine when Luke was nine, killing Obi-Wan and another Jedi, and leaving Owen and Beru alive.
This fic is written in its entirety, and is eight chapters long, plus this prologue. The only delay in posting chapters is when I get them back from my betas and make corrections, so I should be updating fairly frequently.
There are characters and concepts from the Star Wars Extended Universe in here, but very few. The biggest one is Mara Jade, who plays a large role, and who will be an important part of the plot, and not just as a love interest. I hope that I've provided enough background on Mara so that those of you who have seen Star Wars but not read any of the EU books would still be able to follow the story, if you want to read it--just think of her as an original character (which she is, though created by Timothy Zahn and not me).
Enormous thanks must go to krabapple and kayladie for betaing. You both made this fic much better than it would have been on its own. Thank you!
Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight
--
Prologue
One of the things Emperor Palpatine hated most in the galaxy was a plan of his not working out properly.
"You found your son?" he asked, carefully keeping all incredulity out of his voice. It would not do for this man of all people to believe him capable of being surprised.
"Yes, my master. I learned of him on Tatooine and performed the necessary blood tests on my flagship. He is my son," the kneeling black figure replied. His head was bowed in respect, but Palpatine knew that he was steeling himself for defiance, if it was necessary. Anakin Skywalker had been good at defiance, though Palpatine had thought he'd eradicated it in Darth Vader. Apparently not.
"And you brought him with you. Here." Palpatine let a hint of displeasure color his voice. Vader was not supposed to be acting independently on things like this, on situations about the Jedi other than their deaths. He was supposed to look to Palpatine for guidance.
"Yes, my master," Vader said again, nothing in his voice or bearing showing that his master's displeasure affected him. "He is my son and I am keeping him with me."
Palpatine narrowed his eyes. Without so much as a by-your-leave--what had happened to his pliant servant?
The boy, of course. Vader's son, this Luke Skywalker, a child raised by farmers on Tatooine. Palpatine would have thought the situation ridiculous if it had not been happening right in front of him. He'd thought Senator Amidala and her...distasteful...effects on Vader safely taken care of--it was almost a pity that he hadn't had the satisfaction of killing her himself, but at least it meant he couldn't be implicated in her death--though considering she'd left an unpleasant surprise behind, he'd been wrong.
Palpatine hated being wrong.
"You did not think to consult with me on this issue?" he asked, almost sharply.
"I did not think you would object," Vader said calmly. "After all, did you not promise me that you would help me save my wife?"
Palpatine's eyes narrowed further until they were just slits in his face. He knew that had just been a manipulation to get the Jedi's powerful Chosen One on his side, and he suspected that Vader knew that, too. But that knowledge had remained unspoken between them because he did not want to confirm it, and Vader did not want it confirmed. It was the foundation upon which Vader's initial loyalty to him had been based, and the last thing Palpatine needed was for that foundation to be shaken by an irrevocable verification of the lie.
Vader was, after all, still the Chosen One of the Jedi, and in possession of most of the power for which Palpatine had sought him as an apprentice.
"Are you sure the boy would not have been happier left with his aunt and uncle?" Palpatine asked kindly, changing approaches. He let his eyes soften, pulled his face into a mask of concern. "After all, Lord Vader, you are hardly the ideal model of a father. What with your duties to the galaxy, he shall hardly ever see you."
"He himself chose to come with me," Vader replied, still with that damnable calm. "And he shall see enough of me--he will be my apprentice, after all."
Palpatine almost forgot himself at that and nearly gaped openly like a fool, but he caught himself in time, and made sure to school his expressions.
"Are you proposing to overturn the Rule of Two, my apprentice?" Palpatine asked sharply. "With the addition of your son, there will be three of us."
He carefully did not mention the other option, that Vader kill him and take his place as the Sith Master with his son as the apprentice. But he knew, from the slight rise of his head and the almost disrespectful slouch in his posture, that the idea had occurred to Vader.
Palpatine did not think that Vader actually would be able to kill him, not he who had survived the Jedi and who was ancient in treachery...but Vader could weaken him enough that one of his more powerful underlings, such as the ambitious Moff Tarkin, could conceivably take control of his Empire and possibly even dispose of him.
But apparently Vader was content with merely hinting at the possibility. "My master, we do not have to hide ourselves from the Jedi anymore. We are the ones who control the galaxy, not they. Perhaps it is time we reviewed outdated rules."
Which was, Palpatine thought caustically, only skirting the core of the reason behind that rule: the fighting within the Sith Order itself that had whittled them down enough that the Jedi could nearly destroy them.
"Perhaps not so outdated," he replied. "You are aware, Lord Vader, of the true reason behind the Rule of Two." It was not a question.
Vader gave the impression of shrugging without actually doing it. "There will only be three of us, my master. And my son is very impressionable--I influenced him very easily myself. It would be no difficult task to bring him up as a Sith with complete loyalty to you."
Put that way, it was hard for Palpatine to find a reason to refuse the boy without damaging himself in the eyes of his apprentice. He could not show possible weaknesses, and implying that he didn't think himself strong enough to survive a third Sith Lord was a weakness, and one he could not afford.
Within the depths of his sleeves, Palpatine momentarily clenched a hand. Outmaneuvered, and by a man who disdained politics! He, who had schemed his way to the position of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and then declared himself Emperor! If there was a way to refuse to allow the boy to be trained without compromising his powerful servant's necessary loyalty, he couldn't think of it, and that galled him more than anything else in this entire Force-forsaken conversation.
He forced a pleasant expression onto his face, and flapped a hand as if it didn't matter. "Very well, Lord Vader. You shall have your son and apprentice. Do be sure to keep me informed of his progress. I would like to meet him, in two days' time, at 1300. Now if you'll excuse me, I do have other business to attend to..."
Vader rose, bowed, and turned, triumph in every step he took.
--
Vader was smiling as the doors to the throne room closed behind him, and didn't even care that the movement stretched the scars that lined his face almost painfully. It had been a long time since he'd smiled, but this was surely an occasion that warranted it. He'd managed, for once, to get the better of his master, and he was inwardly reveling in it.
Though Vader knew he wouldn't have been able to do it if Palpatine hadn't genuinely been surprised at the existence of his son, and thus off-balance.
His son--there was another reason to smile. The boy was young enough to absorb all that Vader had to teach him and more, and so strong in the Force...he would become a powerful Sith. Vader would see to that.
Luke was waiting for him in his own palace, not far from Coruscant's main military base, and when he reached it, the first thing he did was seek out his son.
"You're back!" Luke yelled, jumping up off the bed in the room he'd claimed as his, where he'd apparently been reading a datapad on the Empire that Vader had given him. He sat back down on the bed when Vader waved a hand at him, and Vader took a seat in the room's only chair.
"How'd it go?" Luke asked, once again seated, the datapad thrown off to one side.
Vader felt a smile twitch at his lips again. "It went well," he said. "Very well. The Emperor gave me permission to raise you--and to train you as my apprentice."
Luke's eyes gleamed with excitement. "So I'm going to learn how to lift stuff with my mind?" he asked, enthusiastically.
"Among other things, yes," Vader replied, amused and pleased at his son's anticipation. He'd been just as thrilled with the idea of really learning how to use the powers he'd always known he had--even if it had taken him another dozen years to learn how to use his potential properly, under Sidious's expert tutelage.
Luke, at least, wouldn't have to go through the tedium and waste of Jedi apprenticeship. Using the Dark Side, he'd reach his potential much more quickly than Vader himself had, and the galaxy would have another Sith Lord.
Then Luke frowned, and looked hesitantly at Vader. "But, um, I don't..." He trailed off.
Vader waited, with much more patience than he ordinarily had, for Luke to finish expressing his concern. The boy was bound to have concerns, and Vader just hoped it would be something harmless like wondering how long his training would take--
"I don't want to kill people!" Luke blurted out, and then immediately looked down at his hands, folded in his lap. "It's just, I know you do, ‘cause you did, you killed Obi-Wan and Ray, but I don't want to do that, I don't like the idea of killing people..." He stopped and his face turned red, as if he was aware that he'd been babbling and was embarrassed about it.
Vader wondered how to reassure his son. 'Get used to it' seemed to be callous and counterproductive. 'You won't have to kill anyone' would be a lie, and Vader didn't want to begin his relationship with his son and apprentice with a lie.
"You won't have to make that decision for years," he said, finally. And, knowing that his son still admired Jedi--which he would have to be broken of, and sooner rather than later, though this shouldn't hurt--Vader added, "Even Jedi had to kill people sometimes."
"Oh." Luke still didn't look reassured, but the red on his face was fading, and Vader knew that he'd accepted things, for now. Later, once Luke had begun his training in the Dark Side, he'd lose those scruples. But, since he did still have such scruples...
"That reminds me, my son," Vader said, and Luke sat up straighter. "The Emperor would like to meet you. I am supposed to bring you before him in two days."
Luke looked alarmed. "The Emperor? He wants to meet me?"
Vader supposed his reaction was normal for a child just brought in from the Outer Rim being told he was going to meet the ruler of the galaxy, so he said, "You are my son, and a Sith apprentice, and are therefore important. Why wouldn't he want to meet you?"
"Oh. Right." Luke still looked alarmed, and now Vader sensed that it was because of the thought that he, Luke, was someone important. It was a lot to take in, he knew, going from anonymous farmboy to the son of the second-most powerful person in the galaxy. But he was sure that Luke would handle his newfound status admirably.
"And because you are going to meet the Emperor," Vader continued, now that Luke had absorbed that, "there are things you will immediately need to know."
"Like what?" Luke asked, warily.
"Like how to shield your thoughts," Vader replied firmly. "This is very important. I know you are not quite used to the change in your position yet, and you must not anger the Emperor by thinking about anything other than your loyalty to him."
Luke pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. He looked vulnerable, and Vader resisted the urge to shout at him to never show vulnerabilities. The boy was only nine years old, and he had plenty of time to learn how important even perceived strength was. "What would he do to me if he didn't like what I'm thinking?" Luke asked, in a small voice.
Vader considered. "Not much, I don't think." Especially considering how Vader had subtly threatened him in order to have Luke as it was. Vader knew that Palpatine would stop caring about the threat soon enough and start reasserting his power, but it was likely to protect his son for at least this first meeting. "But he will try to scare you, and he is quite adept at it, I assure you. He would most likely punish me later for not preparing you properly." And that was a small price to pay for the time to teach Luke to protect himself properly, so that Vader wouldn't have to do it and Luke could take care of himself.
"He'd punish you for something I did?" Luke asked, shocked, sitting straight up again. "That's not fair!"
"I am your father, and in charge of your upbringing," Vader pointed out. "What you do reflects on me, even if we haven't been together for very long. And something that I think you will learn very quickly is that life is not fair."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I figured that out a long time ago. Farming's lots of hard work, and whenever I complained, Uncle Owen would tell me that life wasn't fair and we had to make the best of it."
Vader stood up. "Which we will. We begin by teaching you how to shield your thoughts and build mental walls."
Luke nodded, and listened attentively as Vader began to explain the rudiments of mental shielding.
Title: Feet on the Ground
Author: Rynne
Fandom: Star Wars
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. Luke Skywalker has grown up his father's apprentice, and can't imagine anything but serving the Emperor. But after one mission, Luke's illusions begin to shatter, and Luke and his father begin to plan for the future--their future. Primarily a Luke-Vader story, with eventual Luke/Mara.
Author's notes: This is the first sequel to my fic Walking the Sky. I highly suggest you read that before reading this, though the basics are that Vader found Luke on Tatooine when Luke was nine, killing Obi-Wan and another Jedi, and leaving Owen and Beru alive.
This fic is written in its entirety, and is eight chapters long, plus this prologue. The only delay in posting chapters is when I get them back from my betas and make corrections, so I should be updating fairly frequently.
There are characters and concepts from the Star Wars Extended Universe in here, but very few. The biggest one is Mara Jade, who plays a large role, and who will be an important part of the plot, and not just as a love interest. I hope that I've provided enough background on Mara so that those of you who have seen Star Wars but not read any of the EU books would still be able to follow the story, if you want to read it--just think of her as an original character (which she is, though created by Timothy Zahn and not me).
Enormous thanks must go to krabapple and kayladie for betaing. You both made this fic much better than it would have been on its own. Thank you!
Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight
--
Prologue
One of the things Emperor Palpatine hated most in the galaxy was a plan of his not working out properly.
"You found your son?" he asked, carefully keeping all incredulity out of his voice. It would not do for this man of all people to believe him capable of being surprised.
"Yes, my master. I learned of him on Tatooine and performed the necessary blood tests on my flagship. He is my son," the kneeling black figure replied. His head was bowed in respect, but Palpatine knew that he was steeling himself for defiance, if it was necessary. Anakin Skywalker had been good at defiance, though Palpatine had thought he'd eradicated it in Darth Vader. Apparently not.
"And you brought him with you. Here." Palpatine let a hint of displeasure color his voice. Vader was not supposed to be acting independently on things like this, on situations about the Jedi other than their deaths. He was supposed to look to Palpatine for guidance.
"Yes, my master," Vader said again, nothing in his voice or bearing showing that his master's displeasure affected him. "He is my son and I am keeping him with me."
Palpatine narrowed his eyes. Without so much as a by-your-leave--what had happened to his pliant servant?
The boy, of course. Vader's son, this Luke Skywalker, a child raised by farmers on Tatooine. Palpatine would have thought the situation ridiculous if it had not been happening right in front of him. He'd thought Senator Amidala and her...distasteful...effects on Vader safely taken care of--it was almost a pity that he hadn't had the satisfaction of killing her himself, but at least it meant he couldn't be implicated in her death--though considering she'd left an unpleasant surprise behind, he'd been wrong.
Palpatine hated being wrong.
"You did not think to consult with me on this issue?" he asked, almost sharply.
"I did not think you would object," Vader said calmly. "After all, did you not promise me that you would help me save my wife?"
Palpatine's eyes narrowed further until they were just slits in his face. He knew that had just been a manipulation to get the Jedi's powerful Chosen One on his side, and he suspected that Vader knew that, too. But that knowledge had remained unspoken between them because he did not want to confirm it, and Vader did not want it confirmed. It was the foundation upon which Vader's initial loyalty to him had been based, and the last thing Palpatine needed was for that foundation to be shaken by an irrevocable verification of the lie.
Vader was, after all, still the Chosen One of the Jedi, and in possession of most of the power for which Palpatine had sought him as an apprentice.
"Are you sure the boy would not have been happier left with his aunt and uncle?" Palpatine asked kindly, changing approaches. He let his eyes soften, pulled his face into a mask of concern. "After all, Lord Vader, you are hardly the ideal model of a father. What with your duties to the galaxy, he shall hardly ever see you."
"He himself chose to come with me," Vader replied, still with that damnable calm. "And he shall see enough of me--he will be my apprentice, after all."
Palpatine almost forgot himself at that and nearly gaped openly like a fool, but he caught himself in time, and made sure to school his expressions.
"Are you proposing to overturn the Rule of Two, my apprentice?" Palpatine asked sharply. "With the addition of your son, there will be three of us."
He carefully did not mention the other option, that Vader kill him and take his place as the Sith Master with his son as the apprentice. But he knew, from the slight rise of his head and the almost disrespectful slouch in his posture, that the idea had occurred to Vader.
Palpatine did not think that Vader actually would be able to kill him, not he who had survived the Jedi and who was ancient in treachery...but Vader could weaken him enough that one of his more powerful underlings, such as the ambitious Moff Tarkin, could conceivably take control of his Empire and possibly even dispose of him.
But apparently Vader was content with merely hinting at the possibility. "My master, we do not have to hide ourselves from the Jedi anymore. We are the ones who control the galaxy, not they. Perhaps it is time we reviewed outdated rules."
Which was, Palpatine thought caustically, only skirting the core of the reason behind that rule: the fighting within the Sith Order itself that had whittled them down enough that the Jedi could nearly destroy them.
"Perhaps not so outdated," he replied. "You are aware, Lord Vader, of the true reason behind the Rule of Two." It was not a question.
Vader gave the impression of shrugging without actually doing it. "There will only be three of us, my master. And my son is very impressionable--I influenced him very easily myself. It would be no difficult task to bring him up as a Sith with complete loyalty to you."
Put that way, it was hard for Palpatine to find a reason to refuse the boy without damaging himself in the eyes of his apprentice. He could not show possible weaknesses, and implying that he didn't think himself strong enough to survive a third Sith Lord was a weakness, and one he could not afford.
Within the depths of his sleeves, Palpatine momentarily clenched a hand. Outmaneuvered, and by a man who disdained politics! He, who had schemed his way to the position of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and then declared himself Emperor! If there was a way to refuse to allow the boy to be trained without compromising his powerful servant's necessary loyalty, he couldn't think of it, and that galled him more than anything else in this entire Force-forsaken conversation.
He forced a pleasant expression onto his face, and flapped a hand as if it didn't matter. "Very well, Lord Vader. You shall have your son and apprentice. Do be sure to keep me informed of his progress. I would like to meet him, in two days' time, at 1300. Now if you'll excuse me, I do have other business to attend to..."
Vader rose, bowed, and turned, triumph in every step he took.
--
Vader was smiling as the doors to the throne room closed behind him, and didn't even care that the movement stretched the scars that lined his face almost painfully. It had been a long time since he'd smiled, but this was surely an occasion that warranted it. He'd managed, for once, to get the better of his master, and he was inwardly reveling in it.
Though Vader knew he wouldn't have been able to do it if Palpatine hadn't genuinely been surprised at the existence of his son, and thus off-balance.
His son--there was another reason to smile. The boy was young enough to absorb all that Vader had to teach him and more, and so strong in the Force...he would become a powerful Sith. Vader would see to that.
Luke was waiting for him in his own palace, not far from Coruscant's main military base, and when he reached it, the first thing he did was seek out his son.
"You're back!" Luke yelled, jumping up off the bed in the room he'd claimed as his, where he'd apparently been reading a datapad on the Empire that Vader had given him. He sat back down on the bed when Vader waved a hand at him, and Vader took a seat in the room's only chair.
"How'd it go?" Luke asked, once again seated, the datapad thrown off to one side.
Vader felt a smile twitch at his lips again. "It went well," he said. "Very well. The Emperor gave me permission to raise you--and to train you as my apprentice."
Luke's eyes gleamed with excitement. "So I'm going to learn how to lift stuff with my mind?" he asked, enthusiastically.
"Among other things, yes," Vader replied, amused and pleased at his son's anticipation. He'd been just as thrilled with the idea of really learning how to use the powers he'd always known he had--even if it had taken him another dozen years to learn how to use his potential properly, under Sidious's expert tutelage.
Luke, at least, wouldn't have to go through the tedium and waste of Jedi apprenticeship. Using the Dark Side, he'd reach his potential much more quickly than Vader himself had, and the galaxy would have another Sith Lord.
Then Luke frowned, and looked hesitantly at Vader. "But, um, I don't..." He trailed off.
Vader waited, with much more patience than he ordinarily had, for Luke to finish expressing his concern. The boy was bound to have concerns, and Vader just hoped it would be something harmless like wondering how long his training would take--
"I don't want to kill people!" Luke blurted out, and then immediately looked down at his hands, folded in his lap. "It's just, I know you do, ‘cause you did, you killed Obi-Wan and Ray, but I don't want to do that, I don't like the idea of killing people..." He stopped and his face turned red, as if he was aware that he'd been babbling and was embarrassed about it.
Vader wondered how to reassure his son. 'Get used to it' seemed to be callous and counterproductive. 'You won't have to kill anyone' would be a lie, and Vader didn't want to begin his relationship with his son and apprentice with a lie.
"You won't have to make that decision for years," he said, finally. And, knowing that his son still admired Jedi--which he would have to be broken of, and sooner rather than later, though this shouldn't hurt--Vader added, "Even Jedi had to kill people sometimes."
"Oh." Luke still didn't look reassured, but the red on his face was fading, and Vader knew that he'd accepted things, for now. Later, once Luke had begun his training in the Dark Side, he'd lose those scruples. But, since he did still have such scruples...
"That reminds me, my son," Vader said, and Luke sat up straighter. "The Emperor would like to meet you. I am supposed to bring you before him in two days."
Luke looked alarmed. "The Emperor? He wants to meet me?"
Vader supposed his reaction was normal for a child just brought in from the Outer Rim being told he was going to meet the ruler of the galaxy, so he said, "You are my son, and a Sith apprentice, and are therefore important. Why wouldn't he want to meet you?"
"Oh. Right." Luke still looked alarmed, and now Vader sensed that it was because of the thought that he, Luke, was someone important. It was a lot to take in, he knew, going from anonymous farmboy to the son of the second-most powerful person in the galaxy. But he was sure that Luke would handle his newfound status admirably.
"And because you are going to meet the Emperor," Vader continued, now that Luke had absorbed that, "there are things you will immediately need to know."
"Like what?" Luke asked, warily.
"Like how to shield your thoughts," Vader replied firmly. "This is very important. I know you are not quite used to the change in your position yet, and you must not anger the Emperor by thinking about anything other than your loyalty to him."
Luke pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. He looked vulnerable, and Vader resisted the urge to shout at him to never show vulnerabilities. The boy was only nine years old, and he had plenty of time to learn how important even perceived strength was. "What would he do to me if he didn't like what I'm thinking?" Luke asked, in a small voice.
Vader considered. "Not much, I don't think." Especially considering how Vader had subtly threatened him in order to have Luke as it was. Vader knew that Palpatine would stop caring about the threat soon enough and start reasserting his power, but it was likely to protect his son for at least this first meeting. "But he will try to scare you, and he is quite adept at it, I assure you. He would most likely punish me later for not preparing you properly." And that was a small price to pay for the time to teach Luke to protect himself properly, so that Vader wouldn't have to do it and Luke could take care of himself.
"He'd punish you for something I did?" Luke asked, shocked, sitting straight up again. "That's not fair!"
"I am your father, and in charge of your upbringing," Vader pointed out. "What you do reflects on me, even if we haven't been together for very long. And something that I think you will learn very quickly is that life is not fair."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I figured that out a long time ago. Farming's lots of hard work, and whenever I complained, Uncle Owen would tell me that life wasn't fair and we had to make the best of it."
Vader stood up. "Which we will. We begin by teaching you how to shield your thoughts and build mental walls."
Luke nodded, and listened attentively as Vader began to explain the rudiments of mental shielding.