Reece hesitated, mind clearly racing to supply enough facts that Luke understood his message without it causing suspicion, "I received the ordnance and personnel authorisations you sent- they're being dealt with now. Fortunately Lord Vader is now at the Palace, so I may present the personnel reassignments to him in person if you wish, which will mean they may well be in effect by tomorrow. I... wished to keep you abreast of the schedule change this will incur."
Luke hesitated; his father had returned to the Palace- why? Reece had also covertly offered to go and see Vader to chase down the change in plans...
No; his father had a secure, coded channel frequency to speak with Luke, and Karrde's protégé slicer Ghent was already here at Mosiin Barracks, waiting to install a new cipher onto Luke's automemo; Ghent could easily arrange for a little scrambling of standard surveillance here, guaranteeing Luke a clean room for a conversation with his father to find out what had happened.
"I'll be free in an hour- I'll comm you then on my automemo channel so I can go over the details."
As he spoke, Luke reached out into the Force, seeking reassurance...
.
And the comlink fell Reece his hand, Reece's reply unheeded-
.
Luke turned and ran, taking the stairs within the base four at a time, powering up the three flights to the landing field, startled officers staring after him in surprise.
He reached the ships at a dead-run. All of the 701st I-TIE's were routinely kept on standby ready for liftoff, and he jumped from six paces away, landing in the open cockpit of the nearest, locking down the canopy without helmet or flightsuit as he brought the engines to full.
The call from Flight Control crackled into the cockpit speakers, pilots and ground crew coming out from the ready-rooms to see what the commotion was about, "Echo zero-three, you're attempting an unauthorised takeoff. Power down you engines and identify yourself and your clearance details..."
"Release the ship!" Luke yelled into the pickup, the heavy docking clamp holding the I-TIE down as it bobbed unevenly against the pull, engines screaming.
"Echo Zero-three, I repeat, you are..."
Luke batted the comm closed and reached out with the Force at the same instant, and the heavy bulk of the organic steel docking clamp dragged back, splitting across it's width with a rending shriek, unfurling from the I-TIE's landing gear like a living thing, a wide, blinding splash of sparks thrown about it, ground crew backing up, hands out before them.
In the same second, the engines powered up to full, the fighter righting itself for a split second before batting forward, careening wildly side to side as it burst skyward, a speck in the distance before anybody had even thought to react.
.
Chapter 32
Vader strode evenly through the Palace to the Council Chambers, summoned there by his Master.
Here in the Palace the sense of portent in the Force was more defined; more potent. He'd sensed it immediately upon arrival, so hadn't been surprised by the summons, knowing that Palpatine would wish to discus the disturbance. Did he know its locus was here, in the Palace? Surely so. Perhaps he had greater insight as to its cause, for Vader saw nothing save the vague sense of a juncture- a convergence... a defining moment.
He knew now why Luke had urged him to stay away... could sense the power which crackled down the shadowed halls like a charge in the air, like the heavy, static stillness before a storm. Yet he'd returned anyway, the moment his Master had summoned him- had made no attempt to circumvent the command despite Luke's warning.
He gave his son too little credit, even when he knew in truth. The boy hid it well, particularly in the presence of their Master, but Vader had a closer connection than Palpatine could ever achieve. He knew the truth, the extent of his son's power - even if he didn't understand why the boy held it in check- what stayed his hand before the Emperor's patent manipulations, Luke alternating without reason between impassive, accepting indifference and stubborn, confrontational antagonism when the mood took him.
Because something did hold him in check. If the power had been Vader's he would have turned it on Palpatine long ago, whatever the perceived collateral damage.
No hesitation, no doubts.
But then the power had been his... once. For all the good it had done him- or Padmé.
He'd searched for the knowledge to save her, had surrendered everything for the opportunity to gain it-
No; somehow being here, today, in the midst of this potent power... this was the moment for absolute truth, even to himself. He had hidden behind easy justifications for too long.
Because even this, at its most basic level, was a lie.
He'd learnt the harshest lesson of all - and he'd learned it to Padmé's cost. Ultimately, she'd paid the price for his ambitions and his impatience.
He'd wanted power- to save Padmé yes, but for its own sake too. Power to rise above his peers; easy, quick power, because he thought he deserved it. So he'd taken what Palpatine had offered, knowing full well what he was doing.
That fateful moment on Coruscant- the decision made in haste to save Palpatine at the cost of Master Windu's life- yes, it had been in the heat of the moment, with so many forces in play... but he could have backed down so many times in the following days. Could have admitted the truth, aided his fellow Jedi; acknowledged his momentary fall and faced the consequences. It was not, after all, he who had killed Master Windu.
Or he could have confessed to Padmé- could have renounced the Jedi Order and hidden away among the nameless masses on some anonymous Rim planet. A quiet, humble life with his wife and son.
He could have refused to lead the clones into the Jedi Temple... could have warned those he'd trained beside and fought beside, no matter however covertly.
Could have listened to Obi-Wan on Mustafar.
But he'd wanted power... and he'd gained it; incredible, enervating, immense power. And foolishly, he'd thought the power was real, that it would give him the strength he craved, the connection and the capability he needed to bring destiny beneath his heel- Padmé's and his own.
But every increment it gave in those dark days, it had taken something in return...
And he'd been too wrapped up to see it; to realise the truth about this empty power. How it twisted and tainted all that it touched. If he'd had the strength- the integrity- to look beyond the obvious, perhaps she would still...
Because he hadn't understood- hadn't understood that power and strength were two very different things. True power- true strength- would have been the strength to step back.
And in that moment, it had failed him... he had failed himself.
Not Obi-Wan, or Padmé or the Jedi Council. He had failed. Had damned himself by his own actions.
The fault was his...
And now - now his son gave him the chance of redemption, if only in some small part, for all that he had done... Vader frowned beneath his mask; but was he throwing that away too, just as he had done with Padmé? He wasn't blind to the fact that he was using his own son- using Luke to accomplish what he could not; the deposing of Palpatine.
Had he learned nothing... was he once again prepared to exchange everything for the opportunity to excel. Wasn't he still prepared to pay any price to gain power?
But the power was no longer for himself, so surely this was different...
Or was it at all? The boy didn't want this; he had made that abundantly clear. Yet still Vader pushed onwards, fulfilling his own desires and ambitions at the cost of those he valued most.
And every time he was rebuffed or refused he still let loose that explosive, uncontrollable temper- the same temper that made him turn on the Tuskens so long ago; the same blind rage that made him turn on Padmé. The same temper that now made him turn on his son at the slightest provocation, argument after argument, unable to back down despite everything he claimed to comprehend.