all aboard the ss royalty

[actsmagnificent]

Who: Crew of the SS Bishop & friends, visitors, interlopers!
Broadcast: Nope
Action: Aboard the Bishop
When: This week

[ Bishopites! How is station life treating you? Can you fit all the stuff you bought with your casino winnings into your bunk, or did you lose your last boring jumpsuit when Lady Luck abandoned you? Has anyone touched the gumball crates yet? Have at each other here and mingle away! ]

Comments

LEIAAAA

[t65]

[Luke just kind of drifts toward Leia's quarters. He doesn't really know which ship she's on, or where she is inside of it, but he finds her nonetheless. He misses her, and he has news, and Leia is one of the only two people in the Fleet he completely trusts. He knocks on the door to her quarters.]

Leia?

[imahologram]

[She feels him coming--if there's one thing Leia is decent at, as regards the Force, it's finding her twin within it--and is waiting behind the door when he knocks. It opens, and she pulls him into a hug before she says a word.

She's really missed you, bro. Thanks for coming by.]

They let you off the Marsiva.

[t65]

[He hugs back. Everyone in their family gives really good hugs, it's great.]

They did! You've been well? [He pulls back to look at her with a smile.]

[imahologram]

[And there are always especially good hugs for twins. She kisses his cheek before she draws away.]

Well enough. [It's a long story, okay.] What about you? It's good to see you.

[t65]

I'm fine. Better, even, now that I'm off that ship. [He thinks how strange it is, that if they've any hope of returning home, he'll have to fight to board it.]

[That's a subject for another time. Luke goes to sit on a chair or her bed or whatever.] You know, they made me captain of a ship?

[imahologram]

I didn't--congratulations.

[Inasmuch as becoming a captain here has any real meaning, anyway. Leia lets the door shut, following him over to her bed and sitting down next to him. The room is tiny, but at least it has a real bed--she doesn't miss the cot she was assigned to on the Windrose.]

Which ship did they put you on?

[t65]

The Blameless. What kind of name is that? [He shakes his head.]

[imahologram]

Oh--the new one. [She smiles.] Maybe it's a message from the Atroma.

[t65]

[Dryly,] I don't think the Atroma are blameless in anything.

[He shakes his head.] But that's not what I came here to discuss. I talked with... Anakin.

[imahologram]

The Atroma aren't on the ship.

[But her good humor dries up the moment Luke brings up their father, and the change is palpable. She sits up a little straighter, her mouth settling into a line.]

Did you?

[I have a bad feeling about this.]

[t65]

I had to, Leia. [Like he's asking permission. He slumps a little.] He's so different like this. I-...

[It occurs to him that he never told her what happened. At least, from his time...] Did I ever tell you how he died?

[imahologram]

No. [Well. Not really, not in detail. He'd been so quiet when he first returned from the second Death Star--she'd assumed he'd let her know when he was ready to talk about what happened.] Tell me.

[She reaches over for his hand, a little bit of affection she can share.]

[t65]

He saved me, Leia. [It falls from him with no pretense. He's never been good at subtlety, anyway.] He saved me from the Emperor... and it killed him.

[imahologram]

He... [It flies in the face of everything she's ever known about Darth Vader, the thought that he'd sacrifice himself for anyone--Luke included. Leia regards him with an uncertain frown.] Why didn't you say so before?

special delivery: wall of text.

[t65]

There wasn't time before now; I'm sorry. [He hangs his head, a little, and recounts the story:] The Emperor... he tried to anger me into falling to the Dark Side, and when I wouldn't budge, he ordered F-... Darth Vader to attack me.

I defended myself, but he's such a better swordsman than I'll ever be, Leia, even with his condition. [Does she know about that? He can't recall. He continues, unable to stop now that the story's begun:] He tricked me into thinking of you, and read my thoughts through the Force. When he threatened you, I... I attacked him. I almost had him beat, but... I couldn't. He's my father.

[Our father. He doesn't say it. He can't, not before she's ready to accept that, if she ever is. If she never is, he wouldn't blame her.] When I wouldn't kill him, the Emperor... he attacked me with some kind of Force technique I'd never even heard of. I was... dying.

And then Father reached out and killed him. [He looks up at her again.]

special delivery: wall of feelings.

[imahologram]

[She can't decide what to feel. Anger at Darth Vader and worse, Emperor Palpatine--and, mixed with shame, at Luke, for doing this by himself and nearly getting himself killed and leaving so much of the story out upon talking to her. A strange sense of uncertainty at the knowledge that her presence in his life is a weak spot for him, even as it might be a strength as well.

And, more reasonably, the knowledge that they didn't have time after Endor, especially not when Luke needed space. Perhaps he wasn't ready to discuss it, last time they saw each other. Can she really fault him for that? Beneath all of it, there's even a small swell of pride that Luke remained so true to his own conscience.]

He saved you. [She can acknowledge that much, much as she'd like to believe Luke would have found a way to survive regardless.] But--

[But I can't let go of everything that happened before. She squeezes his hand gently.]

[t65]

Yes. [But there's one more part to all of this. He looks at Leia gently, and hopes she'll understand.] I was with him, after. When he was dying. His last words were... 'tell your sister you were right about me.'

[And then he waits. He doesn't know how Leia will react, but he wants to be there for it.]

[imahologram]

[That's awfully convenient is her first thought, but Luke wouldn't lie to her. Not to her, not about this. Which means--

Which means that Darth Vader's--Anakin's--last words were of her. Maybe his last thoughts entirely.

Her chest feels like it's collapsing in on itself, her free hand balling into a fist unconsciously. Did he regret it? Did he want Luke to pass that on to her--some kind of mealy-mouthed apology for everything he'd done? Was he looking for some kind of forgiveness for the ways he helped subjugate billions of people, or just the ways his actions touched his daughter's life?]

Why are you telling me this? [Leia wills the words to come out steely, but there's too much genuine curiosity and pain inside them. And if she's entirely honest with herself, she doesn't really want to have to hide her feelings in front of her brother. Of all people, Luke understands, even if they don't agree.] Just because he had a--a deathbed change of heart doesn't make up for twenty years of destroying people's lives. It doesn't change what he did to the galaxy.

[It doesn't change what he did to me.]

[t65]

Of course it doesn't. [His tone is genuine. He reaches over to put his free hand on her shoulder.] I'm telling you because he asked me to. What you do with it is up to you. [And, unspoken, the promise that whatever she does, he'll support her.]

[imahologram]

[She closes her eyes, taking a few moments to gather herself. As angry as she is--and it's roiling inside her, the idea that Anakin presumed to know anything about her, let alone that she might want a message from him--she doesn't want to be angry at Luke. Blasting the messenger won't help anything, especially when the messenger in question is her brother.]

There's nothing to do with it. [Shortly. She opens her eyes, looking over into Luke's.] He's dead.

[All that's left is to do everything possible to ensure no one ever rises to take his place.]

[t65]

[Luke sighs softly. It's not the answer he wanted-- there's no point in hiding that, she'd know, and more importantly, it's not right of him to hide it-- but it's her answer, and it's better than nothing.]

If that's what you think is right, Leia... I'll do my best to stand by you. [Always.]

[imahologram]

Luke...

[She knows he's disappointed, but his attitude towards their father is as mystifying to her as she supposes hers is to him. How do you forgive a man who stood by and watched as an entire planet's worth of people died in an instant? How do you do anything except hate him and everything he represents, and do everything in your power to free the galaxy from his influence?

Sometimes, she thinks Luke is a better person than she is.

Leia sighs in answer, shaking her head.]

You didn't come here just to talk about what happened at home, did you?

[t65]

[He squeezes her hand, a silent promise.]

No, I... spoke to him recently. He wanted to know why he hurt you. [He considers, for a moment, how to explain the rest.] Leia, I swear, I'm not trying to change your mind about anything, just tell you what I think you deserve to know.

He was horrified that he'd hurt you.

[imahologram]

[Horrified seems too strong. Anakin was upset in the turbolift, but anyone would be. The fact that it's apparently stuck with him this long, that it's eaten at him enough that he asked Luke about it--she didn't expect that.

She doesn't really know Anakin Skywalker at all, though. Only Darth Vader. It was clear in the lift that they weren't the same, but she doesn't know the extent of it.]

What did you tell him?

[t65]

That he didn't know you were his daughter. I expected that to be enough for him, but he seemed upset that he would do that to anyone... [That had surprised him as well. He had expected many things of the man who would become Vader, but none of them were compassion for strangers and bystanders.] I hope that wasn't too much.