True North - Vol 1

Chapter 2 - Ray of Light

★・・・・・★

Nine months later

She let out a guttural scream as the medic droid hovered over her, feeling a deep burning pain, and then a sudden popping relief that flooded her body. She peeked over her previously swollen belly and looked at her child that she had grown and nurtured inside her body for these past few months.

The medic droid wrapped the baby and handed the bundle to her, "A boy." the metallic voice sang.

She cradled him against the crescent shaped scar above her breast. "My child, my love," she gently murmured. She peered into his eyes; they swirled with color, a battle of blue and yellow. A smile spread across her face, "Such a divine gift from my Lord Vader," she whispered.

***

Five years had passed since she left Coruscant with her newborn son, the planet had become unstable under the new Galactic Empire's reign and she desperately wanted to keep her son safe from the ravages of war and violence. Indifferent to her life before, she now had a reason to fight through the ravenous oppression that clouded and controlled every moment of her inconsequential life.

She fled to Naboo, one of the last democratic planets among the outer rim. There she quickly found employment at a Bakery, its owner sympathetic to her situation, giving her food, and lodging upstairs, while allowing her son to stay with her as she worked. It was tedious, and laborious, but she didn't mind as it meant she could be with him always; he was the ray of light that broke through the thunderous clouds that tormented her very existence.

She looked down at the sandy haired boy, playing quietly with his wooden toys under her skirts, he smiled back at her, his round face and deep dimples sending flickers of life that coursed through her bleak heart. She tried to imagine her life before, but it was as she never existed prior to his birth, just an empty husk, waiting for him to spring forth from her body, like a demi-god, giving her life, along with his own.

As the evening drew, she heard distant roaring as the ground trembled. She let out an audible gasp, quickly moving to the windows where she saw a massive craft embarking upon the terrain in the distance. A nervous energy filled her, she looked at her son, his face was deeply focused at the pile of toys in front him. She called out his name, a displeasing tone causing his head to snap up, the toys scattered, as if held together by some invisible energy.

She shook her head at him, and said sternly, "Go upstairs and get ready for bed please."

The small boy gathered up his toys and shuffled his feet up the stairs noisily, slamming the door above her head. She let out a deep sigh, she knew what his future would entail but she didn't want to let go of him just yet, willing to fold in on herself in an attempt to shield him from the world. She locked the doors of the bakery and went upstairs, her eyes catching sight of a shadowy figure through the windows, as a familiar ripple of energy stroked her senses briefly, but it had gone as quickly as it had appeared.

She struggled to sleep that night, her stomach twisted in on itself, she knew what was coming, and she knew she would be forfeiting her life when it arrived. She focused on her son's beautiful face in the dim candlelight, the way his eyelids fluttered as he slept, watching the way his chest rose and fell with each shallow breath. At some point she must have fallen asleep; she awoke to the sound of raspy mechanic breathing filling the room. Her eyes flung open, the dark looming figure, clad from head to toe in shiny black armor, stood at the foot of her bed, she could tell he was staring at her son, their son, her Lord Vader had returned.

She could feel the raw power that enveloped him, his ferocity, ruthlessness, and anger causing his natural aura to pulsate all around him. Every moment that hung in the air, stabbed at her, she struggled to breathe, not knowing what to say to the man that poured life into her, while simultaneously ripping it away only years later.

"You both must leave this place," he spoke collectedly; the mechanically altered voice caused a shiver to ricochet up her spine. "I can sense he is very powerful with the force, and the inquisitors will be coming for him."

A confused look settled on her features, she knit her eyebrows in response. "You're not taking him away?" her heart wrenching at the words as they left her mouth. He stood unnaturally still, his eyesight still fixed on his son, only his mechanical breathing filling the air. "I don't understand..." she muttered quietly.

His helmet clad head shifted to her, its unnatural movement, causing her to jump back slightly in bed. She could still feel him, the real him, inside his biomechanical suit, but through all the hatred and seething anger that skimmed the surface, she also felt his perpetual torment and waves of sadness and guilt that rippled through his very core.

"My future is undetermined Patricia," she gasped quietly when he spoke her name, "my visions lead into darkness, my demise is imminent. I won't be able to protect the boy."

Her heart fell at his wounding words. She began to panic; everything she had in the world was restricted to the small room that she and her son shared together.

Her voice cracking, "But we have no place to go, no place we could hide." He stepped forward, and held out his hand to her. She cautiously climbed out of bed, and carefully took his hand into hers; there was no warmth to it, just hard metal fingers underneath the cold leather glove.

"Go to the planet Tatooine, find a man named Obi-Wan Kenobi, he will help you hide the boy, tell him... Anakin sent you."

Her mind went hazy when she heard his former name; memories of that night came to the forefront of her mind, the pain, the pleasure, it tore through her. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, she looked up at him, his dark helmet obscuring any emotion, but she could feel the meaning behind the words, he was saying goodbye. Her heart clutched at that very moment and she pulled herself into his rigid body, embracing him, as much as the hard armor and his stiff posture would allow. A soft sob left her lips, "I understand, my Lord."

She released him, desperately wanting to caress his face, but knew it was an impossible notion; there was nothing left of the man that had gifted her, the very embodiment of the infinite bright sky. She felt Lord Vader shift towards the doorway, stopping suddenly before he passed through the threshold.

"What's his name?" his raspy voice asked inquisitively.

"Kyle, my Lord, after my father." He nodded and quickly dissipated into the shadows forevermore. 

★・・・・・★