Divided Loyalties

XIII

Luke's heart leapt in his throat as he hurried to Darth Vader's motionless frame he had mistaken for a piece of garbage - he had even tossed it aside as if it was a common wreck.

"No, no, no, no, no!" the boy yelled as he managed to throw far away his father's cape, which was starting to be devoured by the flames. He had to help his father... if he was still alive: his Force signature was totally absent.

Once the dangerous cloth was far enough from the man's body, Luke fell on his knees beside the lifeless form and tried to find a pulse, only to realise that the cyborg had no real wrists. Thinking furiously, he laboriously rolled over the heavy body until Vader faced the sky.

When he heard the signature breath it felt like a blessing, although the faint whistle which could be heard surely wasn't a good sign. At least, however, the Sith Lord was alive, and Luke felt as if a gigantic stone had been lifted from his heart.

"Father? Father, are you awake?" he asked loudly, trying to see if he was responsive. But the Sith didn't answer: he probably had sustained a blow to the head or another kind of injury. Wanting to discover what his father's problem was, Luke removed another cloak that had been under the burned one... and had to hold back a scream.

A large piece of dirty metal sticked from the chest plate of the armor, which was caked in sand, while another one had left a nasty cut on one thigh. The left prosthetic leg had been almost ripped off, while the left hand had been neatly separated from the arm by a thin but dangerous metal sheet which was now half buried by sand. Although the man was still alive, he probably wasn't to last: it was clear that he had taken much of the harm on himself.

And the breathing abruptly stopped.

Luke didn't know what to do with such a huge damage: he was definitely too weak to bring Vader in a safe place (if there were any). He couldn't hold back a sob as he let himself fall beside his father, tears of despair and guilt streaming down his cheeks.

Why did his fater have to die? Wasn't Leia enough?

"S-son? Is... is that you?".

A feeble, weak voice shook the youth, who noticed that the words came from his father. The older man had moved, even if it had happened so subtly.

"You-you're all right!" Luke exclaimed as a bright smile lit up his wet face.

Vader smiled behind the mask as well, but he also noticed that speaking had deprived him of much needed air.

"I cannot breathe!" he screamed through his and his son's mental bond, terror growing inside him at an alarming rate.

Luke fell back into his initial state of panic, but he forced himself to be calm: his father's life now depended on him.

Thanks to Vader, who was pointing his own belt, the boy found a pocket with some useful tools inside: screwdrivers, spanners, bolts. He could use them to fix the breathing machine and save, hopefully, his father's life.

Luckily Vader knew perfectly how his cyborg armour worked, so he managed to guide Luke through the Force thanks to their unique bond. With the young Jedi's great relief, no mistakes were made and the Sith Lord was momentarely safe.

As soon as the situation came under control, Luke decided to take care of his father's injuries since he might still be in critical conditions.

"I'm afraid I'll have to remove that... thing you have, well, inside" he stammered as he pointed at the piece of metal that was deeply embedded in his father's chest plate. He was no medic, so he was terrified by the mere thought of doing anything wrong, but his father needed at least something to remove the sand from the wound, otherwise it would get infected.

Luke gathered his courage and extracted the metal from the injury, trying to ignore the fact that the Sith Lord was probably going to kill him because of the pain he was inflicting.

Vader let out a guttural groan as the object was ripped off, and grabbed on to the ground with his only hand as if he could dim his agony by doing so. He gasped at the sight of bubbling blood, and suggested to Luke to look for a medkit in what remained of the ship: emergency kits were usually sealed in cotainers that literally nothing could break.

Eventually, Luke went and came back with what he needed in a few seconds: he looked much more relaxed and he was holding a box that had probably been white before being covered in dust. To Vader's delight he drew from it some bacta gel and long bandages: enough to keep the Sith Lord alive until they found a proper medical center.

The young Jedi managed to wrap his father's armoured torso in fresh dressings; he quickly stitched up the cut in his thigh and he quitted treating the missing limbs: he had no power on them.

"Thank you" Vader said sincerely at the end of the treatment, much more relaxed now that he was pretty sure to be safe.

"Think nothing of it" Luke replied with a small smile. He was sincerely relieved now that his father's situation was better, even though he would have been happier if the medkit had contained something for him as well: he had a bleeding cut on his leg and a similar one on his chest, while one of his elbows looked painfully swollen. Vader, however, was the one who could not wait.

Not a single word was spoken as father and son took a few minutes to rest, or, perhaps, to thank the Force for being alive. This until Vader decided to express himself with that rusty, feeble voice.

"I believe" he said "that the bomb was placed by the Emperor".

Luke looked at his father with terrified eyes. "Does he know we're here?" he asked.

"I do not know, but he surely knows we would leave after the disappearance of your sister" Vader replied.

"Leia... how will we help her now?" Luke asked more to himself than to his father. He didn't even know if his beloved sister was alive: maybe she had been captured, or worse, she could be enduring Imperial interrogation!

"I ignore this, my son" Vader said tiredly. "Firstly we have to find some first aid - do not try to deceive me, I know you will need it too. Then, we will need a ship... though this planet is deserted. Not even the Empire has any outposts here".

Luke sported an half smile.

"Where there is no Empire, you can always find the Alliance".

Hello there!!!!!!!!

After long months of silence, I'm back with this story. I hope there's still someone who's reading XD

I hope y'all liked this chapter! Make sure to point out any mistakes - I'm sure I made some since I wanted to publish ANYTHING as soon as possible