Darth Vader Goes to Therapy

An Unwilling Patient

Or, he could have. But for some reason, he found himself saying yes, and...well. Here he was.

The shuttle landed in a massive hangar, and Luke gathered his things, made sure his uniform (a plain officer's uniform) was immaculate, and headed out.

There, he found none other than the Admiral of the ship waiting for him.

He paused mid-stride down the ramp, wondering why an Admiral was bothering to greet a lowly therapist. Surely the man had other things to do. They were still in the middle of a civil war, after all. Certain there must be a mistake, Luke glanced behind him to see if there was anyone else of note that could be on board.

No. Just him and the pilots.

Maybe one of the pilots was related to the Admiral...?

"Luke Lars?"

Luke turned back to the Admiral, and resigning himself to the odd greeting party, completed walking down the ramp.

And found himself staring at a middle aged human male with so many bags under his eyes, Luke immediately began to grow concerned.

Did this man ever sleep?

"Uh, hi." He greeted, and winced. That wasn't a very professional greeting. His inner Tatooine farm boy was showing.

But the Admiral didn't look offended. "Whatever you do, do not greet Lord Vader like that."

He didn't say it unkindly, but Luke flushed anyway. "Sorry."

The Admiral shrugged. "We are getting the mistakes out now, I suppose." He held out a hand. "I am Admiral Firmus Piett."

Luke took his hand. The Admiral's grip was like iron, and he wondered if there was more energy in this man than he initially thought. "Luke Lars, though you can call me--"

Admiral Piett held up a hand. "Please. I do not do nicknames, Mr. Lars." He frowned, looking him over. "How...old are you, exactly?"

Luke straightened to his full height. He no longer was embarrassed by his small stature, but he still had the habit of trying to make himself look taller anyway. "I'm twenty three, sir."

"That's...young." The Admiral frowned. "Too young."

Luke's brows knitted together in confusion.

What was that supposed to mean?

But before he could ask, the older man shook his head. "Well. Best be getting you to your quarters and your new office."

Again, Luke couldn't help but feel the thrill of excitement flow through him as he followed the Admiral. Sure, being a therapist hadn't been his first choice, but...well, it was the safe choice, and the only way his Uncle Owen would let him leave Tatooine. But now he had his own office, on board the greatest vessel in the entire galaxy! That was still pretty exciting.

But he didn't get to admire the ship for long. As they began walking through corridors that all looked the same, the Admiral began to speak.

"I must confess, I personally wanted to speak with you before you meet Lord Vader."

Luke frowned, his excitement draining. Not five minutes, and he was already on the job. "I'm afraid I can't discuss other patients--"

"No, I'm not asking you to talk to me about Lord Vader." The Admiral interrupted. "I'm here to tell you how you can survive him."

Luke stumbled, then hurried to catch up.

"I'm sorry," he asked, staring at the Admiral incredulously. "How I can what?"