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English
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Part 17 of Kingdoms Rise and Kingdoms Fall - Angstober 2023
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Angstober 2023
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Published:
2023-10-19
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1,021
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1/1
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17
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136
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Fire When Ready

Summary:

Luke barely survives an ambush by an ex-rebel guerrilla faction and Vader wants revenge.

Angstober, Day 19
Prompt: Look Away

Work Text:

It took two months for Luke to truly begin recovering from the mysterious attack that nearly killed him.

His X-wing was barricaded by a guerilla faction of former rebels as he tried to leave an outer rim planet where he had just completed a reconnaissance mission. It was a coordinated, well-planned assault and with death staring him in the face, Luke yanked hard on his Force bond with Darth Vader, pleading for his help. His father was understandably furious as he sensed his son’s terror, and could only look on helplessly through their bond as the insurgents fired on Luke and caused his starfighter to plummet into the rocky terrain below.

Luke was fortunate in some ways. Although his memory of the incident was spotty at best, he knew Vader had come for him. His body was carefully lifted out of whatever remained of the X-wing’s cockpit and taken aboard the Executor for medical treatment. His split-second decision to call on his father meant that he was confined to his flagship – specifically, their joint sleeping quarters – and now, Vader refused to let him leave and physically restrained him when he tried.

Another issue was that the assailants remained unidentified. Luke was on the mend, but the steady improvements in his health didn’t prevent Darth Vader from committing every bit of his considerable resources to seeking justice on his behalf.

So far, three rebellion bases had been destroyed – obliterated into dust, in fact. Usually, Death Squadron would at least arrest the survivors and put on a show of jailing and publicly executing them to inhibit further cells from forming. But Vader wasn’t even bothering with the pretense this time.

They argued about it loudly and constantly – the Alliance wasn’t responsible for this, it was an offshoot of disgruntled ex-rebels, Luke would entreat, trying to appeal to the rational side of Vader’s mind. They hurt you, Vader would growl back. They deserve nothing less than a violent death.

Luke was discovering just how single-minded his father really was.

It was after one of their regular quarrels when Luke noticed the Executor exiting hyperspace. He was sitting alone on the plush leather couch in their communal living area, trying to meditate away his pounding headache by taking deep breaths, in and out. The ship jerked slightly but Luke didn’t pay it any mind until he glanced out of the broad viewport and recognized the sight of the rebel base on Naboo's moon of Rori, near the city of Restuss.

No, Luke thought, panic rising like smoke in his lungs. Not here. Please.

Vader hadn’t locked the door to their chambers, so Luke bounded out in his imperial-issued uniform and searched the Force blindly for his father’s stormy presence. Once he located him, he practically ran across the ship, ignoring the strange and inquiring looks he was getting from the stationed personnel.

He finally found Vader, who was striding swiftly towards what looked like a central command area with an elevated bridge and an expansive, panoramic viewport looking out into the galaxy. A swarm of officers were huddled in the area, the sounds of tense chatter charging the air around them. Luke felt a deep sense of foreboding and resisted the shiver that rolled off his goose-bumped flesh.

His father turned around as Luke rushed over to his side. He felt Vader’s firm hand on his shoulder as he bent in half and gasped for breath. Luke's injuries were screaming at him, his muscles sore and aching. Disregarding the pain, he looked up at Vader and met his steely eyes behind the mask.

“Please, father,” he begged, uncaring for the way the admiral standing next to them raised an eyebrow in outright interest. “My friends are on that base. You can’t do this to them, or to me.”

Vader regarded him for a moment, then urged him to stand straighter. “Our enemies will be wiped from the galaxy,” he explained calmly and conversationally, as if they were discussing something mundane like the weather. “My spies inform me that the insurgents are not so far removed from rebellion high command. You will receive your justice, my son.”

The admiral coughed discreetly into his palm and peered at them out of the corner of his eye. Vader did nothing, and Luke was beyond caring if their familial relationship was out in the open. If Leia and Wedge and Mon and the Rogues disowned him and ended their friendship, Luke would be saddened and distraught beyond measure, but he’d understand. If that was the price to pay for their survival, then so be it.

“Your spies must be wrong. I’m absolutely sure my friends had nothing to do with what happened to me.”

“Are you, young one? I would think they do not care for your life at all.”

Luke’s jaw dropped open in shock. “What? Why would you say that? Of course they care about me, they’re like my family.”

He knew that was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left his mouth. Through the Force, he felt his father’s churning energy grow turbulent. He abruptly dropped his hand from Luke’s shoulder and turned to face the viewport. The Executor descended beneath the clouds until it had fully swallowed the daylight from the sky, and its angular, arrow-like shape created a deadly shadow over the rebel base.

Luke tugged on his father’s arm to get his attention.

“Father, don’t do this, please!”

Vader tilted his helmet slightly as gloved fingers reached up to brush Luke’s hair away from his sticky forehead. “Look away,” he warned, before he turned to the admiral who was still staring at them intently.

“Piett. Fire when ready.”

“No!” Luke screamed in devastation, feeling utterly powerless as his limbs grew slack. Black spots spotted his vision and he fought to stay conscious as the roar of his heart hammering in his ears blocked out every other sound.

“My friends are good people! They wouldn’t hurt me, please spare their lives!” Luke stammered in vain, wrestling back a sickening wave of nausea, but it was too late.

The Executor fired.