FicWad

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Star Wars or anything related to it; George Lucas does.

SUMMARY: This takes place after the Battle of Yavin. Darth Vader searches for the identity of that Force-strong pilot who blew up the Death Star, and gets one of the biggest surprises of his life...



/"They Call Him Skywalker,"/

By Quillian



A small dedication to /EirienFlower/, whose short fic "They Call Him Vader" influenced me into writing this, especially its title.



As the Super Star Destroyer Executor smoothly flew through the vastness of space, its most respected and feared passenger sat in his chamber, thinking as he meditated.

He was Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith and right-hand man to the Emperor Palpatine.

It had been quite some time now since the Death Star, the crown jewel of the Imperial Navy, had been blown up by a single Rebel pilot, and the Emperor was far from pleased over the destruction of the super weapon which had been built over the last couple of decades. Vader, on the other hand, never liked that "technological terror" to begin with... but was displeased that he failed to kill that pilot who was strong with the Force.

He sent out all his informants to garner what they could about all the Rebel pilots who had participated in the Battle of Yavin, in the hopes of finding out who that Force-strong pilot was. Whether he was a Jedi who had somehow escaped the Purges or a young person who just happened to be Force-sensitive, either way, it couldn't be allowed.

A chime sounded; he had a visitor.

Putting that wretched helmet back on, his chamber opened like two sets of jaws of some maw opening wide, and he turned to face his newcomer.

"Hey, Uncle D!" the young man said cheerfully.

Vader had long since given up trying to instruct Wrenga Jixton ("Jix") on the proper way to greet his boss. The fact that Jix was so skilled and useful in so many things was really the only reason why Vader didn't just dump him off back on Kessel.

"You have something for me, Jix?" Vader intoned.

Jix nodded, a smirk on his face. "I've compiled together a complete list of all the Rebel pilots who participated in that battle, dead and alive - most of them dead," he then added as an afterthought.

Pulling out a plastex envelope, he shuffled through the names and bios of those aforementioned Rebel pilots. "That Correllian freighter, the Millenium/ Falcon/ - piloted by a smuggler named Han Solo, whose partner is a Wookiee named Chewbacca..."

"Yes, I have heard of him," Vader said, cutting off Jix. "However, I am more concerned about the pilot who destroyed the Death Star."

"Right," Jix said, shuffling to that. Pulling out a synthepaper report, he looked at it. "Believe it or not, it's some farm boy from Tatooine... they call him Skywalker..."

Suddenly, and without warning, Vader made a bizarre sound that made Jix jump. Jix wasn't sure if he was choking, if he coughed something up, or if he even sneezed on the inside of his mask.

"Uncle?" Jix asked apprehensively.

Regaining his composure, Vader settled back down and addressed Jix. "Show me this... Skywalker's bio."

Jix then dutifully handed it over, and Vader saw it for himself... and his heart almost froze.

No. It couldn't be.

That boyish face, that light blond hair... looked so much like his father...

It was impossible... Or was it?

Vader thought his unborn son had died along with his pregnant mother... but apparently he had lived.

So if he had lived... then what had happened to him after that?

Vader had his suspicions, and they immediately turned to one man, one whom he once trusted...

Obi-wan Kenobi.

Yes, he must have had something to do with this... Vader felt his rage start to bubble like lava in a volcano... all these years, Vader thought his son had died, leaving him bereft of his child... but he had been deceived.

For the first time, Vader then looked at his son's name.

Luke Skywalker.

As if in a past life, he had chosen that name for his child, if he were to be a boy.

But Darth Vader was no longer Anakin Skywalker... so Luke Skywalker could not be his son...

No, that could not be true... he became Darth Vader so he could make sure his wife and then-unborn son had survived.

Part of Vader wanted to track down his son and take him in, out of the company of those filthy Rebels... but at the same time, part of him feared that the Emperor would perceive Luke as a threat to his rule.

While Jedi forbade families and offspring, that didn't mean that the Sith encouraged them. Everything could be twisted, used and manipulated by the Sith, and family members were no exception.

So what could he do?

"Uncle Dee?" Jix's voice broke through like a blinding light in absolute darkness. "You've zoned out again..."

Collecting himself, Darth Vader told his best agent, "Go and put up a bounty for this Luke Skywalker - /alive/." (Jix noted that he said this as though emphasizing that this Rebel's death would be considered unacceptable.) "While you're at it, contact the droid factories on Mechis III and put in an order for thousands of probe droids."

Jix raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't comment on the orders of his boss. "Whatever you say, Uncle Dee." With a small bow, Jix got all the info he had back together again and left.

Vader closed off his chamber once again, and went into a deep meditative state, and continued thinking...

Soon, we will be reunited, my son...



A/N: So, how was that one?

Note about Wrenga "Jix" Jixton: He is indeed a canon character, who can be found in the Shadows of the Empire comics.

Note about Mechis III: This place is also in canon, and can be found in the bounty hunter IG-88's tale, "Therefore I Am," by Kevin J. Anderson (which is in the anthology edited by Anderson, /Tales of the Bounty Hunters/).

Thanks for reading this, and please don't forget to check out my other fanfiction works, Star Wars or otherwise! -Quillian