The former Darth Vader was about the last person Han Solo'd expected to 
have something in common with. Not that he was holding Bespin against 
the guy, he didn't believe in holding grudges. If somebody did him dirty 
he'd do his best to return the favor but if they both survived he'd just 
as soon drop it. he'd seen what nursing a grudge did to the grudger, no thanks.
  
   Now if Vader'd hurt Leia - but he hadn't. Hell, he didn't even put 
her in a cell until she demanded to join her friends. Besides, it was 
real hard to dislike a guy who not only appreciated what a fine piece of 
machinery the Falcon was but all the work Han'd put into her.

   "I see you've cross-connected the hyperdrive with the sub-light drive 
to give it extra power. But how'd you get around the system incompatibility?"

    "That's what these babies are for." Han wriggled past his guest, the 
drive compartment really wasn't large enough for two when one was the 
size of Anakin Skywalker, pointed out two diamond faceted black boxes in 
nests of wiring. 

   "Kreplarian transformers?" Anakin asked puzzled, then his eyes widened 
in comprehension. "Of course! if they can cross connect standard generators with 
organic circuitry adjusting them for hyperdrive/sublight would be a snap." 
He gave Han an admiring look. "Good thinking, General, brilliant in fact. 
The Star Fleet made a big mistake when they let you get away."

    Han found himself blushing. "Actually they threw me out."

    "Damn fools." Anakin shook his head ruefully over the folly of the 
Imperial Fleet, smiled at Han. "I've been wanting to get my hands on 
this ship ever since I first saw her perform."

    "Which makes you the only Skywalker to appreciate her. Luke called her 
a piece of junk and so did Leia."

    "I apologize on behalf of my children, General, obviously nobody'd taught 
them to recognize fine machinery when they saw it."

   "They learned better." Han conceeded. "But it took them a while."

   "And I go lumbering after you with a squadron of Star Destroyers! What 
I needed was light pursuit ships but we didn't have any so I turned to 
the Bounty Hunters."

   "You were number two guy in the Empire, if you wanted pursuit ships why 
didn't you just build them?" Han asked curiously.

   "Because Palpatine was in love with size and brute power!" an irritated snort. 
"Siener and I tried to make him see the advantages of smaller, more flexible 
ships but as far as he was concerned the bigger the better."

   "Like the Death Star."

   "Exactly! We could have built a whole second fleet with the money and 
material that behemoth cost us - and manned it with the troops it took 
to run it!" Anakin shrugged. "I was always against the project - but Tarkin 
was all for it and he carried more weight. Neither he nor Palpatine ever 
understood terror is a two edged weapon, pushed to far it turns on you."

   Han nodded agreement. "You got to use the carrot as well as the stick. 
Reward the guys who go along with you and come down hard on the ones who 
don't. Pretty soon people see where the profit is."

   "If maintaining control is the goal." Anakin corrected. "I thought it 
was. I was wrong."

   "Huh? Then what was?"

   "Destruction." Anakin's eyes were haunted. "That's the nature of the 
Dark Side." he shuddered. "I could never accept that. Maybe that's why 
I wasn't consumed like Palpatine." 
  
    "And that's why Luke could bring you back." Han realized. "Because you were 
still you."

   "And that's why I'm responsible for all the things I did as Vader. Including 
torturing you, General."

   Han met his eye squarely. "I was a smuggler you know, a pirate, a criminal. 
I've done things I hate to think about, not in your class maybe but bad 
enough. Point is you're not the only guy around here with a past to make 
up for."

   Anakin smiled faintly. "So stop feeling sorry for myself and get on 
with it." he finished.

   "Yeah." Han tried to lighten the atmosphere a little. "Come to that 
I bet a lot of fathers would like to do what you did to a guy sniffing around 
their daughter."

   Anakin actually laughed. "There may have been an element of jealously." He 
admitted. "I didn't like the way Leia looked at you one bit."  

   "Hey it wasn't all bad. I finally got an 'I love you' out of her. Who 
knows how long she'd have gone on playing games if it weren't for you."

   "'I've got duties and responsibilities and so do you.'" Anakin quoted. 
"'We're completely different kinds of people. A relationship between us 
would be too complicated.'"

   Han stared. "That's just what she said! How'd you know?"

   "Her mother used the same line on me."

   "How'd you get her to change her mind?"

   "The same way you did, nearly got myself killed."

   There was a moment of meditative silence, then Han said, "There's got 
to be an easier way."

   Anakin snorted. "If you find it let me know."


   "Have fun?" Luke asked as two crumpled, oiled smeared figures entered the 
main hold.

    "Yeah," Han was practically glowing with excitement. "your old man's 
got some ideas about adjusting the drive couplings to give us more speed."

   Luke fought back a grin. Well that was one worry out of the way. Han 
and Father were getting along just fine. 

   "Any word yet?" Anakin asked.

   "No, but I'd be very surprised if we didn't go."

   "It should be safe enough." Father assured him. "Both Palpatine and 
I had a vested interest in seeing there was nobody able and ambitious in 
a position of power on Coruscant."
     
   Han snorted. "No wonder the Empire's such a mess."

   Anakin nodded ruefully. "We didn't dare use capable men, too dangerous. I 
don't think Palpatine ever really trusted anybody except Tarkin - maybe."

   "Not you?" Luke asked curiously.

   "Me least of all." his father shrugged. "And rightly as it turned out."

   
   Leia arrived shortly thereafter, with Ben and Qui-Gon, and confirmed the 
Alliance Council had indeed voted to establish themselves on Coruscant. 

   "It's been the central system of the Galaxy for tens of thousands of 
years," she explained, "trying to change that would be more trouble than 
it's worth. According to our agents the Imperial administration's pretty much 
fallen apart now the Emperor's dead, we'll just step into the vacuum."

   Her brother shrugged. "I always wanted to see Coruscant."

   "You'll hate it." Anakin made a face. "I always did."

   "Yeah," Han areed, "a real anthill."

   "I wasn't very fond of it either." Leia admitted. "No grasslands, no rivers, 
even the sky was crowded."

   "Still I'd like to see it." Luke objected mildly.

   "A good place to visit," Father said, "but not to live." and smiled at 
the two other Jedi.

   Ben smiled back. "True. I never realized how oppressive Coruscant had been 
until I settled on Tatooine." glanced questioningly up at his Master.

   "I felt it too, I think we all did." Qui-Gon shook his head, remembering. "We 
secluded ourselves in the Temple and tried to shut out the confusion. We 
didn't quite succeed."

   "Are you planning to reopen the Temple?" Leia wanted to know.

   "For just four of us? I think not. Besides, as Anakin said, Coruscant isn't 
really a good place for Jedi." the Master turned to Luke. "In ancient times 
we lived scattered in hermitages and commanderies across the Galaxy. I suggest 
we return to that tradition."

    "I guess that would be all right." Luke didn't quite stammer. The Masters 
and his father had an embarrassing habit of defering decisions to him, 
insisting they were just there to advise. It made Luke uncomfortable, they 
all knew so much more than he did.

   "Would it be possible to make a slight detour on our way to Coruscant, General?" 
Anakin asked.

   "Detour where? and stop calling me General will you, we're practically family." 
Han smirked significantly at Leia who blushed a little.

   "To Moloc, my stronghold. There are a few things there I want."

   "Moloc!" Leia made a face. "Wonderful, the volcanoes should be lovely 
this time of year."

   Anakin laughed. Luke looked at his sister curiously. "You've been there?"

   "Once. My ship was damaged by a meteor shower and we had to put into 
Moloc for repairs."  

   "A very convenient meteor shower." Anakin said. Looked down at his 
daughter. "You were spying your Highness."

   She looked back demurely. "That's a very serious charge, Lord Vader, have 
you any proof."

   "And of course I didn't." Anakin explained to the others. "Leia was 
far to clever to give me any. It was intensely frustrating."

   At first it had troubled Luke to hear Leia call their father by his 
Sith name. She didn't do it often and Father didn't seem to mind. Gradually 
he'd come to understand they shared a few memories they didn't mind recalling.

    "You two must have had a very strange relationship." he said.

    "Yes, we did." Leia glanced up at her father. "I used to look forward 
to seeing you at Imperial Receptions."

   "You must have been the only person who did." he answered drily.

   She laughed. "You can say that again! Nobody could kill a party like 
Lord Vader. I always knew when you'd arrived, the conversation would drop 
about eight decibels and people'd start edging away from me."

   "From you?" Han repeated puzzled.

   "Because they knew I'd seek her out." her father explained. To his 
daughter: "I looked forward to seeing you too, at least the Anakin in 
me did. The Vader part would be so disturbed I'd have to spend a couple of 
hours in meditation afterwards to subdue all the memories and feelings you 
brought out." To Luke. "You had the same effect on me."

   He smiled gently. "I know. I sensed the conflict in you, that's how 
I knew I could save you.