And here is part 2

Whew, I've finally been able to escape from DRL for an evening, so here's
the next part of my story :)

Characters: Luke, Vader, the Emperor, Mara, and surprises to come ;)
Type: drama, adventure, family, romance

Previously:  After killing Kenobi, Vader discovers that he has a
twelve-year-old son and decides to take him with himself.

Disclaimers: None of those characters belong to me. See my
front page for more details. (http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702)

Note about the story's copyrights: All the rights related to the basic idea
of
Vader finding Luke as a child at his school, protecting him from any bad
things and the Emperor, as well as the Emperor's scheme concerning Luke
belong to
Jessica (MoonArtist7@aol.com). Thanks for your suggestion, my friend ; this
story wouldn't have come to be without it.
Also, special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend,
Adrianne,
for her help with the final editing of my new stories. (Eh, I have no choice
but to mention you, my friend ; your secret is still safe though ;) Thanks
for
giving us some of your precious time, my friend :)

And now on with the story :)  I hope you'll like it too :)

Part 2: home

"You?.." young Luke gaped, confusedly retreating back to his former position
near the computer console. "But you don't---- your name--",
Vader was his father???, he thought, trying to understand what was going on.
How could he be--- why hadn't his guardians--- why had he abandoned---
"Yes, I have a new name." Vader nodded, not moving from his position. "When
I managed to crawl out of the pit, I was thought dead by everybody."
Luke remained silent, slowly trying to process what the black-clad man was
explaining.
"Along with the Emperor," Vader continued, "I decided to use it to my
advantage and I began a new life. I've become Darth Vader, taking on a true
Jedi name." he finished matter-of-factly.
"What about Mother?" the boy reflexively asked, still keeping his distance
from the dark lord.
"At first, she was hidden from me." his 'father' answered simply. "I didn't
know that she was pregnant at the time. Then, about two years later, she
reappeared and came to me. We still loved each other," the man reassured
him, then shook his head, "but it had become an impossible love."
Luke felt his heart sadden at the thought that his parents had been forced
apart because of his father's accident.
"She returned to Naboo to help the actual ruler while I continued to serve
the Emperor." his father then told him.
For a brief moment, Luke felt his hopes surge ; his mother was alive too??,
but then, as if reading his mind again, the dark lord slowly shook his head.
"She died a few years later, during an assassination attempt."
The dark lord's words felt like knives in his young heart, ripping it apart
with more sadness than he could understand... why?, was all he could think
about.
"I couldn't save her..." Vader half-whispered respectfully... regretfully.
"I'm sorry." he apologized sadly.
For a long moment, Luke couldn't think, couldn't speak, could barely breathe
thanks to his shock, and horror, and... His gaze drifted back to the screen.
His mother, and... father.
Darth Vader was his father...
"Son," his father called gently. "I know that you might have heard things
about me, probably very bad things," he said in a voice that was anything
but evil. "But believe me when I tell you that I love you." he then almost
begged with him, which surprised Luke.
He had heard many things about the dark lord, and his asking had not been
one of those, let alone begging for someone's love, he thought in
bemusement.
"I would never, ever hurt you." he assured him again.
Young Luke couldn't help but believe the other, but he wasn't easily swayed
either.
"How can you love me?" he asked in disbelief. "You barely know me." he
pointed out, then seriously added. "Besides, you're evil."
As he saw his father flinch under his words, Luke felt bad about his last
comment.
"I'm not." his father defended. "I am a soldier. I do things that have to be
done."
"Then the Empire is evil." Luke corrected.
"Is it, really?" his father asked him, tilting his huge head to the side and
recovering some of his serious intonation. "It merely works to bring order
to the galaxy. Does it qualify as evil to you?" his father asked, reminding
Luke of an inquisitive teacher did when he or she was searching for a
culprit.
He reluctantly shook his head; no. Evil was like Jabba the Hutt who hurt
people for no other reason than to hurt them.
"As for loving you," Vader continued on a gentler tone. "I've always wanted
a son. Somehow, I've always known that you were alive, but at the same time
I didn't, just like you did about me."
Still not convinced, Luke considered his words, than his own thoughts and
feelings.
Yes, he had somehow known that his father was alive, but... did he want to
be the son of Darth Vader?.. Was Darth Vader the father he wanted?..
The dark lord cut in his mental debate by crouching to his haunches to be at
eye-level with him.
"Will you allow me to be the father you've never known?, please?" the tall
man asked as he offered him his hand.
Luke eyed the leather-clad hand, debating anew whether he should trust the
dark lord or not. Of course, he had felt his care and warmth in the shuttle,
still did in fact. He knew that Vader had told him the truth and wanted to
be the father that he hadn't had the chance to be up to now, but at the same
time, it didn't change the fact that his father had killed millions... That
he was seen as a monster by everybody in the galaxy...
But he was still his father, he reminded himself. Even though he barely knew
him, he showed him more love than his 'uncle' had shown him in twelve years.
For him, who had always dreamed to be reunited with his father, whom he had
always suspected to be in fact hiding..., no, he couldn't turn away from
him, no matter who he was.
Slowly, he raised his hand and walked closer once more until he could rest
his small hand in his father's large one.
He looked at the dark lord, checking his feelings one last time before
speaking. His father remained silent.
Yes, he wanted to be with his true family..., he admitted to himself, and he
wanted to learn about what his father had said he would teach him. Not only
about the Force, but the rest, he realized. Probably piloting and fighting,
he thought with some eagerness. It would be more interesting than moisture
farming, that was sure.
He took a deep breath, forced himself to look strong, and said: "I want to
be with you, Father."
The dark lord's joy leapt from his mind to Luke's, surprising the boy, then
he was gently pulled into his father's embrace. Before he could think, he
wrapped his arms around his father's neck and hugged him.
"Welcome home, Son." his father said, resting his hand on his head while he
returned the hug with his other arm.
Luke couldn't answer, could only let go his tears of happiness.
Home, he was finally home. He finally 'had' a true home.

Even as he felt his son cry against his shoulder, Lord Vader, Dark Lord of
the Sith and responsible of the Jedi purges, also felt similar tears of
happiness break through his normally stoic composure.
He had truly retrieved his son, had been able to break through his brainwash
without relying on any 'bad' methods, so that his bond with his son was true
and genuine.
He loved that boy, even though he knew almost nothing about him. He was his
son, Amidala's son, and as thus, he swore to care for him and protect him
from any possible harm.
He would give his son everything he should have had from his first day in
the galaxy, everything his heart dreamed of.
But most of all, he would protect him to make sure that he wouldn't be taken
away from him the way his mother had been.
Yes, he had done wrong things in his life, but the boy was from back when he
had been a good man, so he would protect him as such. He would redeem
himself through his relationship with his precious boy.
He slightly tightened his hold on him and repeated: "Welcome home, my son.",
then father and son finally parted.
The dark lord lightly wiped the tears away from his son's face.
"I promise I'll make it up to you for the years we've lost, Son." he told
him warmly.
"So will I, Father." the boy smiled shyly.
It made Vader/Anakin smile slightly under his helmet.
"You don't have anything to reproach to yourself, Luke," he gently scolded
him. "you were a baby when those things happened, you didn't even know what
the truth was. I on the other hand have made choices which have led to our
actual situation. 'I' have to make amends, but not you."
As he spoke, he realized that his words could be interpreted as treason by
his master if they ever got to his ears. He would have to meditate on his
new situation before he reported to him.
There were no doubts that two things would happen though: he would be a
loving father to his son,... and he would have no choice but to continue to
serve the Emperor, though it might be slightly more difficult when he was
like this with his boy, he conceded. His son was making him forget that he
was a dark lord of the Sith.
In fact, right now, he felt exactly like how he'd felt when he had been with
his wife... before his accident and betrayal.
He felt like Anakin Skywalker.
His comlink went off at his belt. He reluctantly pulled away from his son
and turned it on.
"Yes."
"My Lord, we're ready to set course for our next destination. Where are we
headed?" his officer asked him.
"Continue with the regular flight plan, Admiral. I will be with you
shortly." he instructed him, falling back in his Vader persona.
"Yes, my Lord."
"Where are we going?" Luke asked him.
"First, on the bridge." he stated, then gentled his voice as he offered his
hand to his son. "Care to join me?"
Luke's eyes shone with eagerness.
"You bet!" he smiled in obvious eagerness.
Well, he reflected, he might not know much about his son, but he knew one
thing for sure: he was a born pilot like himself.
His attraction to anything related to ships and space told him that much.

******

Luke followed his father, watching the activities that went on in the big
ship. So this was what being an Imperial was about when they weren't
fighting, he thought in interest. It was funnier than being a farmer.
He noticed the questioning glances that the uncovered troops gave him, but
he didn't answer them since his father didn't.
He supposed that he would tell them about him when he would be ready.
After all, this was quite a change for his father too, he thought seriously.
He and his father finally stepped on the bridge. Luke stopped in his tracks,
absolutely awed by the sight that was sprawling before him.
It was so much bigger than the shuttle's cockpit... It was even better than
he had thought! Men of every kind were going about their business, carrying
out their duties with a sense of honor that Luke had always dreamed of.
He dimly wondered who was responsible of the helm.
A tall man who was wearing the uniform of an imperial officer came closer to
his father. Luke picked up his feet and walked up beside him.
"We've set course for the Abraon system, my Lord. What are your orders?"
"Make the transition, Admiral." his father ordered the other.
"Yes, Lord." he bowed, then returned toward the men who were under his
charge.
"Who's the pilot?" Luke asked his father as he looked around himself.
"That group over there." Vader indicated the group which was throwing
switches on a vertical board. "And there," he added, indicating the pit on
their left. "You have the techs who monitor incoming and outgoing
communications. You also have the weapon and tractor beams operators, the
shield techs and other less known jobs." he finished, pointing toward the
right side of the pit.
"Wow..." Luke gaped, looking around the bridge once more. "I never thought
that it took that many men to fly one of those." he admitted.

Vader rested his hand on his shoulder, gently inviting him to walk toward
the large bay windows.
"Did you think that it was like a small fighter?" he asked him in amusement.
"Uh... I guess so." his son blushed.
Vader felt his boy berate himself for this lack of knowledge. He squeezed
his shoulder warmly.
"Don't worry, Son. I will teach you everything you need and want to know."
"You can really do that?" his son asked, as if his dreams seemed completely
out of reach.
"You are destined to be much, much more than a simple farmboy." he said with
a touch of pride in his voice. "I will make sure that you have all the tools
you need to fulfill that destiny. You will be readier for it than I have
been." he finished wistfully.
Luke smiled up at him, then he leaned slightly closer to the dark lord,
obviously enjoying the close presence of his father nearby.
"Do you want to know something?" his son asked him in the silence.
"What?"
"Nobody ever really cared about my aspirations and weird feelings before."
he told him thoughtfully, regretfully.
"Weird feelings?" the dark lord inquired softly.
"Like when I know when a sandstorm is coming, or any kind of danger... Uncle
Owen often punished me when I told him about those... He said that I was
lying to him." Luke revealed to him. "I stopped telling him or anybody
else."
Vader felt himself become tensed upon hearing the word 'punishment'. That
brute of Lars had hurt his son because of his Force senses??
He wanted to ask his son what he meant by punishment, but realized that the
bridge wasn't exactly the best of places to have this discussion with his
son, especially since he hadn't explained his presence aboard to his
officers.
He made a mental note to check it up with him when they'd alone.
An officer stood at attention behind him, obediently waiting for his
permission to speak.
He turned toward him, listened to his report, then left his son by the
window bay while he took care of his job.
Behind him, Luke watched the stars as they stretched and became a murky
cloud of blue that indicated their transition into hyperspace.

******

Vader came out of the planning room hours later, and immediately sought his
son with his eyes.
At first, he felt a cold fist of fear take hold of his newly-renewed heart
when he failed to spot him. He immediately searched through the Force, and
sighed in relief when he felt his presence in an adjoining room.
He quickly made his way in the said room, and stopped in his tracks as he
found him asleep in one of the comfortable conference chairs.
The poor child seemed positively exhausted, then something occurred to him
and he checked the chrono on the wall.
Ten hundred.
Way past his bed time, he conceded.
It then occurred to him that he had no bed for his son. He had forgotten to
take care of that.
But not anymore, he told himself. He used the wall unit to order a regular
bed to be delivered to his quarters and installed in its corner.
Then, he delicately picked up his sleeping, twelve-year-old son, let him
adapt his position in his arms, then he headed for his quarters.
Once he was there, he gently laid his still sleeping boy on the officer's
cot that had been brought in, then proceeded to remove his boots and tunic
before tucking him in.
While he did so, he thought in slight amusement that if someone had ever
told him that he would have been involved in such an activity one day, he
would have probably sliced them up with his lightsaber, but he would have
been foolish to do so for there was no shame to take care of his beloved
son.
As he freed his last arm from his tunic, he remembered his discussion with
his son and used his actual situation to see if his foreboding feelings had
been right or wrong.
The moment that the boy turned on his side, he almost regretted checking him
up.
The overhead light was making his scars come out as if in highlight.
Owen Lars had dared touched his son, he first raged. Why he ought to return
there and finish what he had begun with his brother.
Then, his ears caught a sound and his eyes rested on his son's sleeping
features.
What had he said?, he wondered.
As if to answer him, his son spoke again.
"Hmm, too soon, aunt Beru..." he mumbled before he threw his arm over his
eyes to hide them from the overhead light.
A child who had been maltreated by his guardians wouldn't talk that way
about them, he reflected seriously.
He decided to probe him, very lightly, but just so that he could know what
he had lived during his past 12 years.
He rested his gloved fingers against Luke's now hidden temple, then
delicately immersed himself in his memories, not even him mind.
What he saw both reassured and horrified him.
Beru Lars had always treated Luke as if he had been her own son, spoiling
him with love and everything a child could need to survive in the harsh
world of Tatooine, but Owen... he had demanded a lot out of the boy, too
much for a child in fact.
A child should be allowed to play, he wanted to argue with the angry man
whom he could see in his son's memories, he shouldn't have to work for his
food and keeping.
Of course, living on a moisture farm was difficult, but at the same time, it
should have only involved the adults.
Luke hadn't been punished because of those things though, but because he had
had an early tendency to use his innate powers with the Force.
Owen had been scared of that, he realized, and when scolding hadn't been
enough to dissuade the boy to not use his powers again, he had resorted to
the only other mean he knew: his strap.
No wonder that his boy's Force senses had been so diffused, he realized as
he withdrew from his mind. He had been scared away from his true nature,
forcing himself to crush it in fear to be punished if he showed even the
slightest of signs that he had strange powers.
Vader gently stroked his son's bangs, feeling even closer to his son than he
had during the rest of the day.
"It was time that I found you, my boy." he gently told him. "I know only too
well how you feel when you are being denied what your heart screams for with
all its strength. I will give you those things, Luke, I promise." he
finished, feeling an undeniable surge of love in his up-to-now almost
non-existent heart.
This boy was a second chance, he suddenly understood, and he was determined
to not waste it.
No matter what his master said about this.
"Sleep tight, my son. I love you." he whispered before tucking him and
getting back to his feet.
It was time, he decided, to seriously meditate about this new turn of
events.

******

The next morning, young Luke Skywalker gently steered as he slowly drifted
toward a more awake state.
At first, he didn't notice anything different about his situation, not even
the softer, more comfortable quality of his bunk, but when he rolled over
once again and felt his mattress give under his weight instead of resisting
it, he knew that he wasn't in his regular bed.
He slowly turned on his back, opened his eyes, and looked around himself.
The room he was in was black from floor to ceiling.
At first frightened, he sat bolt upright in his bed, frantically looking
around once more to find a clue that would tell him where he was.
Then he noticed the computer bank that was inset in the far wall.
Lord Vader, he remembered. His father...
Only then did he notice that he was clad only in his pants and that he was
in a real bed.
How did he get there, he wondered.
The last thing he remembered was being on the bridge of the ship, watching
the pilots do their tasks, then... he had fallen asleep, he realized.
Did his father carry him, he puzzled, or did his troops bring him back here?
But his troops wouldn't have tucked him in, he reminded himself.
So that only left his father as a possibility.
And where was he now?
Slowly, silently, he stood up to his feet and padded in the room, looking
around to find a door or any other kind of entrance.
Nothing.
Was he alone once again then?, he wondered uneasily.
He continued his exploration---then whirled around in shocked surprise as a
whooshing sound came from behind him.
The round structure had slit open, letting out a quantity of richer air...
and in the middle of the 'ball', there was his father, quietly sitting in
the midst of countless switches and buttons.
"Good morning, Son." he greeted him.
"G---good morning, Father." Luke answered, fighting past his awed
fascination to voice something.
He didn't know why, but seeing him like this made him look even more like a
dark lord than when he was standing.
Even though he was his father, he was kind of frightening him, he admitted
to himself.

Vader felt that his son wasn't as comfortable as yesterday.
He was once again afraid of him, he realized, then resolved that he wouldn't
let this feeling come between him and his son.
Not now that he had decided to defy the Emperor to keep him with himself.
He keyed his meditation chamber's hatch open.
"Don't be shy, come closer." he invited him.
At first, Luke's eyes searched his, as if trying to understand if he were
just shy or truly afraid, then his feet slowly brought him closer to the
specially designed room.
Vader turned his seat toward the opening and offered him his hand in
invitation. His son hesitatingly took it, then he slowly but surely stepped
up into the room.
"Have you slept well?" he asked his son.
"Y-yes, thank you." The boy managed. "Is this where you live?" he then asked
him as he looked around himself.
Vader chuckled in amusement.
"No. This is my meditation chamber, a place where I work when I am not in my
office."
An invisible door in the wall on their right opened. Luke gaped at it, then
at him.
"This gives access to my living quarters. This is where you will live too,
once we will have brought your bed in your new room."
Vader almost instantly got another proof that his son was indeed very
intelligent.
"You mean you've slept here because I did?" he gaped in incredulity.
Vader smiled under his helmet as he caressed his son's cheek.
"I couldn't leave you here all alone. After all, it is a boring room." he
commented.

Luke locked his gaze with his father, feeling foolish for being afraid of
him. He was Vader, but at the same time he wasn't, he thought seriously.
He was not when he was with him.
"That has got to be uncomfortable." he commented seriously.
"What is?" his father asked him.
"Well, sleeping in a chair." he explained, pointing at his father's seat.
His father chuckled once again, then he wrapped his strong arm around his
bare shoulders and pulled him closer.
He didn't resist.
"I didn't sleep last night, Luke, I meditated." his father told him.
"Meditated?" he frowned.
What did that mean?
"I thought about the future, about what I was going to do now that my life
will be different since you are with me."
"It will?" Luke asked, befuddled. Sure he had known that he would make a
change in his father's life, but he had never thought that his father would
change 'his' life because of him.
"Yes." his father nodded. "I will still serve the Emperor, but I will also
be a father, so that means adapting to a couple of things."
"I won't bother you, Father, I promise." Luke said earnestly, suddenly
afraid that his father was going to change his whole life because of him.
Vader gently ruffled his hair.
"I know, Son, but I was not talking about that."
"Then what do you mean?"
His father turned his seat to face him, then took hold of his hand.
"I used to be a workaholic, Son."
"Worka..." he frowned, confused by that word.
"Before yesterday, I was always working." his father began. "I rarely took a
break, even to the point of being extremely tired, but I didn't care. It was
all I had in life."
Luke wasn't sure to understand everything, but he did understand working all
the time.
Like his uncle, he thought.
"But not anymore," his father continued. "I want to spend time with you, to
teach you like I've promised to do, to be the father I've never had the
chance to be before." he finished warmly.
Now, Luke knew that he would never, ever fear his father ever again.
He locked his gaze with his father's.
"And I want to be your son, Father." he told him earnestly.
His father leaned forward in his seat and hugged him to himself, a hug Luke
returned without the slightest of hesitation. He never even flinched when
his bare chest touched his father's cool breastplate, or when he felt the
cool leather against his bare back.
He was with his father ; his dream had come true.
Suddenly afraid that it was a dream, he pinched himself---ouch! Nope, it was
real.
It was real!!!
"I love you, Father." he found himself whispering against his father's
armor.
"And I love you too, my son." lord Vader answered him in a similar voice.
Then he slightly pulled him away.
"I would like to give you a welcome gift, son." he told him gently.
"A gift?"
He hadn't had any gift for a long, long while now.
His father's hand brushed his back, making him shiver slightly at the cool
touch.
"I know that the scars don't hurt anymore, but you should never have gotten
them in the first place. I want to heal them completely, but only if you let
me do it." he told him in compassion.
His marks?, Luke wondered. He could still see them?

Lord Vader studied his son yet again as he considered his offer.
He was not bony like most kids of his age, nor slightly fattened like the
children of rich people.
Instead, he looked healthy, even with the beginning of an athletic shape
given his hard work at the farm.
He also had the sun tan that was proper to all the Tatooine residents.
He looked, he reflected, like a mirror image of himself when he had been his
age.
He even had marks like him, but he knew how the marks were constant
reminders of how he had gotten them, so he wanted to take them away from
him, to help him start a new, happier life.
But he wouldn't do it without the boy's consent. It was his memories, not
his owns.
Luke broke the silence.
"I didn't know that they had left traces." he said in a small voice.
Wordlessly, Vader picked up his hand in his own, then gently brought it
around to help him touch his back.
The boy's eyes bulged in surprise as he felt the rifts on his skin.
"That's why I want to heal them completely, Luke." he told him warmly.
"Aunt... Aunt Beru had told me... that they were fine..." he finished sadly,
lowering his eyes.
Vader brought two gentle fingers under his son's small chin and made him
look up once again.
"She probably did it to protect you, Luke. Since she couldn't heal them, she
didn't want you to think about them anymore."
"Probably..." Luke nodded. "She loved me."
"That she did." his father agreed, then let another silence grow between
them. Luke continued to study his bare back with his fingertips.
He finally spoke up as he lowered his hand.
"Please." he finally whispered.
A smile stretched Vader's lips once again, once of happiness this time.
"You won't regret it, Son." he said as he rested his hand on Luke's
shoulder. "By taking them away, we will take away all your bad memories of
how you got them."
"We?" Luke asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
"Yes, we. While I will heal you, I will teach you how to do it."
"You will teach me how to heal?" Luke gaped in disbelief.
"Yes," he nodded, "I will, I will teach you everything I know."
"Like?" Luke asked eagerly.
"Well," Vader said, as if musing what he had already decided to do today.
"How about flying a fighter?" he finally suggested to his son.
Luke was so elated that he practically jumped excitedly on his spot.
"You mean now?? For real??" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Let's first get you some breakfast, get dressed, then we will go to
the simulators room.
"Thanks!!" Luke exclaimed, hugging him one more time, then he ran out of the
meditation chamber to dress up.

******

Luke downed his breakfast in record time, barely tasting the delicious
fruits and bread that he was being served.
He was way, way too eager to learn how to fly.
He still had trouble to believe that he, a twelve-year-old boy, was going to
learn how to fly.
His father first met with his officers, dispatching his tasks for the day,
introduced him to them, then they went into the coolest room Luke had ever
seen.
It was filled with simulators of all kinds, from beginners to advanced and
even bigger ships.
His father selected a beginner's one, sitting down in the simili-cockpit
with him.
He sat in the co-pilot seat though, leaving him the pilot seat.
Luke gingerly sat in it, almost barely believing that he was doing so.
He put on the head set that was dangling from the stick, then locked his
restraints.
"All right," his father began. "The first thing to know about piloting is
that it isn't related to skills, but to your feelings." he informed him.
That stumped him.
"Feelings? But I need to know what the switches are for." he gaped at him.
"Yes," his father agreed with a slight chuckle, "but at the same time, what
makes the difference between an okay pilot and an ace is how he will know
instinctively what to do to escape this and that maneuver as well as how to
bait his own quarries."
"Oh." Luke nodded contritely. "Sorry."
"No need to apologize," his father reassured him. "It is a misconception
every new pilot has, one some never get rid of." he finished pensively.
Luke remained silent, waiting for him to speak again.
He did.
"Okay, turn on the engines, there." his father instructed, indicating a red
button.
Luke obeyed.
"Good, now check your calibration, there... If the line isn't straight, you
don't fly with the ship."
The line was straight.
"Your shield's reading is right in front of you."
They were turned off. He turned them on.
"Very good." his father praised him, having not told him where the switch
was.
Next, he told him how to check the repulsor lifts, the navigation computer,
and the fuel.
The screen in front of him became that of a hangar, as if he were flying a
real ship.
He gave a look at his father who nodded in agreement.
He slowly pulled the throttle forward, giving more and more speed to his
ship until he was flying out of the hangar and in free 'space'.
At first, his father instructed him how to do some maneuvers. Luke quickly
got the feel of the ship, how fast it reacted to his actions as well as
where it was around him.
Once he felt ready, he signaled to the simulator manager to start the first
level of exercises.
One single ship began to chase him.
He pulled hard on the stick, trying to evade him, then he flew to the side,
then the other side.
"Relax and trust your feelings." his father advised him calmly.
Right, Luke thought and forced his teeth to unclench.
The other continued to come at him.
This time, Luke began a maneuver, then a streak of inspiration hit him and
he flipped themselves upside-down.
He came right up under the other's belly and could have shot him dead, if
the simulation had been about that.
"Very good." his father praised. "You're on the right track. Let's do it
again."
And Luke did it again, and again, and again, slowly feeling more at ease
with trusting his instincts than his slim knowledge of piloting.
He finished the exercise with the enemy firing at him.
He was the one to nail him.
Through the Force, he felt his father's pride ; it made him smile in
happiness.
******

TBC soon :)

Well, liked it?  Please let me know :)

SJ