Chapter Text
“I,” Leia said hesitantly, like she was scared of coming off as insensitive. “Luke, you know your dad is...dead right?”
“I-” Luke deflated, glaring slightly at Leia. “Well yes,”
“Well then how is your dead dad talking to you from under the grave and giving you life advice?” she asked. “And how do I do that too? Cause I would really love to have that superpower,”
“It's not a superpower, Leia,” Luke said, fiddling with his thumbs absently. “I think it might be something to do with the ‘Force’”
“The what?”
“The force , I told you this already,” Luke explained.
“Mhm.”
“Leia!” he groaned miserably, shoving her in the shoulder. “Shush.”
“Okay fine, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt,” Leia said. “Let's say your dead dad really did talk to you and told you to use the mystical space powers of the Jedi to score a shot in a game of destroy the death star. What are you going to do?”
“Probably go to Dagobah,” Luke admitted, lowering his head. “I need to learn more about the force, and that Jedi could finally give me answers.”
Answers to what, Luke didn't know. Maybe he should write down a bunch of questions he wanted to ask, about his father, Kaelhm, the Jedi.
Leia sucked in a large breath, turning to narrow her eyes at Luke. “What if it's a trap?” she finally said.
“I don’t think it is,” Luke shook his head. “I don't know, I just have this-”
“Force feeling?” Leia finished for him, and Luke nodded miserably, smiling grimly.
“Why go to Dagobah? Why not just call your maybe-dad with your space magic comlink have him give you all the answers you need?” she sighed, rubbing her forehead.
“I can't,” Luke admitted in distress, eyes creasing. “I've only heard him in life-threatening situations, or when he decides he wants to show up. I have no way of contacting him myself,”
“God, Luke,” Leia rubbed at her temples. “Are you aware of how sketchy that sounds?”
“I know!” Luke cried out, collapsing even further into the couch. “But you have to trust me, Leia,” he didn't even trust himself at this point, but Leia didn’t need to know that. “I have to place my trust into the force.”
“That's great and all, Luke,” Leia said gently like she was preparing to give him the worst news of his life. “
“What?” he blinked, eyes creasing.
“You know…” she trailed off, crossing her arms. “The evil sith lord who's currently chasing you down?”
“Wha- oh, yeah . Him .” Luke winced, shrugging awkwardly. “In the euphoria of thinking I was communicating with my father I guess I forgot about that rather large issue,” he chuckled miserably.
“I cannot believe you sometimes, Luke Skywalker,” Leia berated, before frowning in concern. “What if he knows you’re heading to Dagobah? What if he hurts you?”
Luke narrowed his eyes, sitting back down. “I have to try,”
“You can try and not have it be a suicide wish, Luke,” Leia broke, dipping her head. “Please, Luke. I just need you to be safe.”
Luke immediately winced, reaching to wrap his friend up in a hug. “Oh God Leia, I'm sorry, gosh I didn't even realize…”
“No, Luke,” she shook her head in his shoulder “if you need to go then I won't stop you, but we’re going to do this right,” she said into his neck. “You aren’t going to have survived this long just to get murdered out of nowhere on some swamp planet looking for answers to questions that you might not even get, okay?”
“Thank you,” Luke whispered into the crown of her head, smiling at the amount of care he could feel practically radiating off of her, and she hummed noncommittally. They sat there, simply basking in each other's company.
They could do this, Luke was certain of it.
I can do it I promise I know I can please there was a reason I did it I have a reason, please-
“What’s that?” The Emperor scoffed, staring down at him with sadistic glee. “You can’t remember what he looked like?”
No no no I can just give me a second I know I know I know-
“It’s alright, my apprentice,” The Emperor said, gripping his hand in his withered one.
He leads him towards A̶̩͍͇̞͖͍̬͆͒͋͂̋̔̉͝ņ̵̧͎̹̹͉͎͇͎͊a̴̧̺̳̤̯̭̘̖̱͖̦͊́̒̿͊́̊̋͊̿̎̇̈̚k̵̡̢̛͇͉̱̠̖̼͊̂̇͛͑͂͋͠i̶̧̡̧̧̛̯̪͚̰̠͇͍̺͆̐̿͋̔̑̎̄̓͌̔̚͝ṉ̴̨̬̖̮͍̣̭͔̖̮̜̼͔̌̑̑͗͗͠. “You can do it,”
Blue eyes- no, brown? That couldn’t be it…
Brown hair, blond? He couldn’t remember.
Obi-Wan wrenched his hand out of Sidious’, backing away from the soulless eyes of…who again?
There was laughing, they were laughing at him, it was going through one ear and coming out the other and he was still staring at him with those black black eyes and what was his name again?
Please please please I had a reason-
Kaelhm woke up with a gasp, heaving and choking as he desperately gulped down air.
He sat there for a moment, simply placing his head in his head and shaking his head, hunching his back, before he was able to bring himself up, calming down. Those emotions wouldn’t help him currently.
An hour later the dream was forgotten (never forgotten really it would always be there), and soon enough Kaelhm was stalking onward, being assigned another sector of rebels to defeat, and soon enough he found himself standing with his back facing away from the window.
Kaelhm clasped one of his hands on top of the other, clenching them together as he stared out towards where the Death Star once resided. The leftover debris had all but been cleared up by now, leaving nothing but the empty expanse of space.
“So uncivilized,” he whispered under his breath, old habits hitting him hard as he scoffed. He had never liked the Death Star, he considered it an unneeded attempt. They already ruled with fear. However, this was an unaffordable setback that has pushed them back far too much. He waited for a moment, already knowing who was coming towards him, hearing the door his open behind him.
“Cody,” Kaelhm greeted his
second in command, smiling scarcely. “Any news?”
Cody shuffled, eyes darting to look anywhere but at Kaelhm’s back. Letting out a small sigh, he made his way forward, stopping to stand next to him and look out the window.
“You were right sir, the grave of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala was desecrated.”
Kaelhm felt his teeth clench, the force growing cold and thick around them as his smile was whipped off his face, engulfing and suffocating them.
“And you believe it was the droid, then?” Kaelhm questioned, not bothering to look away from the window, eyes narrowing.
“Yes, sir,” Cody answered immediately, and Kaelhm nodded, stiff with displeasure. Not only had that insufferable droid stolen their Death Star plans, but he had also stolen the lightsaber.
The R2 mech was far, far too much like his master. The thought sobered him, just barely.
“You’re dismissed, commander” Kaelhm stated, and Cody nodded, backing out of the room and letting the door hiss shut behind him, the stench of unease disappearing with him.
He let his eyes close, taking a deep breath and letting his mind rest for a moment, something he hadn't been able to do much. The non-stop wars he had been in had never allowed for much breathing room. He felt his thoughts drift back to where they always seemed to end up, always.
He had spoken to the boy once, and he could already see, could practically feel how much the boy took after his father. Stubborn to a fault. An incredible star pilot-
Nobody should’ve been able to make that shot.
Except for one person, and that person was currently six feet under buried in the gardens of Naboo.
It shouldn’t have been possible. Kaelhm tensed, gripping his hands even tighter together. That boy shouldn’t be possible. The room got intensely colder like somebody had opened a hatch and let the empty expanse of space inside.
But he was. The bounty hunter Fett had confirmed it, and the Force did not lie. That boy, Luke, was most definitely a Skywalker.
He wouldn't have even needed those confirmations, Luke’s actions practically gave him away completely.
Oh God, that's Anakin’s boy
Kaelhm almost, almost wished it was just some random child. Some random rebel who had decided they wanted to play Jedi. He wouldn’t have been so conflicted. It would’ve been easy.
He’d killed kids before. That wasn't the difficult part.
(He feels like throwing up)
He had met the boy twice, the second where he had cut off his hand. He had failed so miserably both times he wanted to curse himself out.
He had overestimated the boy. He had been holding him to his father's standards. Anakin would’ve been able to deflect that hit with ease but Luke wasn’t Anakin, was he? The child didn’t even know how to properly hold a saber. It’s your fault he never got to learn, isn’t it.
And before Kaelhm could begin to utter a word, an apology, an explanation, perhaps even a swear if he had been feeling particularly upset, the boy had cursed his name like a pirate and had then jumped off the mantle like a suicidal maniac.
It was such a Skywalker thing to do, Kaelhm thought, a hint of venom slipping from his thoughts as he turned around, the alarms in his head ringing insistently. He was being summoned. The Emperor wanted to speak to him. He sighed, half tempted to simply ignore him, but that wasn’t an option. It was never an option.
Slipping through the door, he gave one last nod to his purge trooper, white cape fluttering behind him as the doors slammed shut.
He entered the room and immediately sank to his knees, positioning his head like he was praying, worshipping. The hologram of The Emperor flickered into view, and Kaelhm’s eye fell shut. “My Master,” he greeted amicably.
“Lord Kaelhm,” The Emperor rasped, breathing harsh and grating. “Do you know why I've summoned you here today?”
“I'm certain you're going to tell me, Master,” Kaelhm started.
“Enough of your games, my apprentice,” Sidious declared, the dark side of the force seemingly excluding from his voice alone and lapping at Kaelhm’s ankles. He sucked in a gasp, stilling because no, that couldn't be, how did he know-
“ The son of Anakin Skywalker lives, ” Palpatine hissed, eyes cold as he stared down at his apprentice.
Kaelhm felt his eyes fall shut, clenching his fists and shaking barely perceptibly. He took a calming breath, releasing his feelings into the force. He didn’t need the power right now, and he didn't need a reprimand from The Emperor, he was better than that.
“However, I trust that you will,” Palpatine hummed, “take care him, Darth Kaelhm”
“Of course, Master,” Kaelhm tilted his head back up, nodding. “I won’t fail you.”
I won’t fail you
I have failed you Anakin
The words echo through Kaelhm’s mind as the hologram of Sidious flickers, before disappearing entirely.
He stays there for a few more moments, back hunched. He felt like he was going to throw up, his chest tightening physically as he cut off his force bond with The Emperor. The sith lord couldn't know how much this was affecting him.
He wanted to immediately find Luke, and then…
Do what? Luke despised him.
Sure, he hasn't said as much, but the boy couldn't shield himself. He hadn't tried to hide his intense hatred at all.
He couldn't do anything. He was stuck. If he went to go find Luke, he would immediately be denied. He wouldn't be able to get close unless he bombed and murdered every rebel in that base, and he didn't want to do that. He doesn’t think that would put him in Luke’s good books.
The alternative was not doing anything, getting the Emperor mad at him, the Emperor deploying somebody else to bring Luke to him, and Luke either dying or being forced to become Sidious’ sith apprentice, which wasn't the epitome of a perfect ending either.
Shuddering, he ran a hand over his face. He was completely and utterly fucked.