"Those are big questions," Nathan said gravely, but Luke's eyes steady on him made him consider. "Theoretically - medically - it would carry only the genetic makeup of the human parent. Only their DNA could be present so only their DNA would be available for use. So you're effectively talking about a type of clone."
"But would the Force itself - the midichlorians which induced the cell-split - become the second donor? If it did, that child would hold an unprecedented midichlorian count... a connection at a more basic level than any before. But if that were so, then would the aspect of the Force used to create it, be the aspect of the Force which to which it would be inescapably attuned?"
Realization slowly dawned on Nathan that this was a more personal discussion than it seemed. "Are you... talking about yourself?"
Luke shook his head just slightly, "No... no, I'm talking about my father - and Palpatine.."
Nathan fell to a shocked, considered silence as the far-reaching implications slowly dawned.
It went to Luke then, to ask the next logical question, one that he clearly didn't want to believe possible but he felt he had to consider; "Could the genetic footprint of the instigator be passed on through the Force? Would they be, to all intents and purposes, a biological donor?
"I don't think so- individual genetic make-up is incredibly complex."
"So is the Force. It has the ability to influence a sentient mind, to affect individual perceptions and memories, to communicate without words even over extended distances. Human DNA is at its most basic a construct- it has mathematical, reproducible margins. Could that pattern of DNA be reproduced by the Force- and if so, would that constitute a biological link? "
Nathan was silent for long moments. "That's... that's way out of my experience or field of knowledge. Anything I said would at best be conjecture. Without proof, it's all little more than speculation and supposition anyway."
Luke nodded thoughtfully and fell to silence for a few seconds. When he looked up again his voice was very sure, as if voicing his agreement with Nathan. "I need a sample of Palpatine's blood."
The words left Nath near-speechless.
"Anything else?" He managed at last, voice high with shock.
"Yes- Vader's."
"Of course! Whilst I'm at it, why don't I get you a sample of....." Nathan struggled to finish the sentence; "I'd say something even more outrageous but I think you've actually topped off the scale there."
"I realise it will be difficult,"
"Difficult?!"
"But this is important, Nath." Luke said, voice steel. "To me- to everything I'm trying to do."
"Is it though? What would really change if it were true, aside from your self-perception?"
Luke shook his head, "I won't be the next Palpatine."
Nathan glanced down, uneasy, "You're not Palpatine."
"I'm getting a little more like him every day. I can see it Nath, so I don't believe you can't."
"You're learning to deal with him- to operate within that world, to use it to your advantage, that's all."
"The logical conclusion of that statement is that in order to nullify Palpatine, I would have to become him." Luke argued quietly. "He once... he once said to me - when I asked him why he didn't kill me when he first saw me - he said, 'Darkness recognises its own'."
Nathan paused, choosing his words with care, "You know that this is what Palpatine does- that he'll use any means to..."
"No. that's an excuse; a validation. I can't afford to be ignorant. When..." Luke glanced down, frowning. "When I was in the cell six days ago Palpatine said that the only thing stopping me from leaving was my own weakness- my own conscience. He said that if I opened the door, the price would be paid in lives. The lives of those around me."
"That isn't a weakness Luke- I think you know that."
Luke lifted his head, stared at Nathan in silence for long seconds. "I nearly did it. I seriously thought about opening the door - just gong ahead and opening it anyway - I can't tell you how close I came."
Nathan knew that he had been watching the weight of that knowledge settle on Luke's shoulders for the past few days as his friend finally voiced his greatest fear;
"What if that's all I am- all I can be? If Vader was created by Darkness, then how can I be anything more? Palpatine fell by choice, but what about my father? There is still good in him, I can feel that- some part of him that wasn't consumed. Perhaps he still thinks he's simply playing the game when he stands beside Palpatine, just as I do. I have to know, Nath- I have to know that when I play Palpatine's games, I can still step back. I have to know that I won't get lost in that game."
"You won't get lost," Nathan assured, "You haven't yet."
Luke shook his head, "Is that what my father thought? What if he did the wrong thing for the right reasons... because he simply didn't have that ability within him to recognise the difference- to step back. And if he couldn't do that because of what he is... how can I?"
.
.
.
Eight days in to its maiden voyage and having left the Peerless and the Dauntless behind in its last brief emergence from hyperspace in dead space at the edge of Sullust, the Patriot was reaching the end of her journey, somewhere in the Moddell or Ablajeck Sectors as far as Luke could calculate based on time and some vague, indistinct sense of direction, though it could just as easily be the Spar or Vivenda Sectors.
The journey had gone surprisingly smoothly this far in terms of undisclosed secrets, almost too much so, given the situation. It wasn't that Luke was looking for trouble - in fact it seemed that the more secrets he himself held, the less Luke was prepared to rock the boat - but in his experience, life seldom went the way one hoped, and if it did, then it was generally the lull before the storm.
Now, Luke walked beside his Master on the vast bridge, Palpatine yet again discussing the events which had marked the new Destroyer's launch, Luke lost in his thoughts, remembering how easy it had been to turn on the Rebels; to validate their removal as somehow being in their own greater interests.
"What is relevant is that this signifies a substantial change in tactics for them." Palpatine turned slightly as they made their slow way from the rear to the front of the bridge along its outer pathway, voice quiet but still quite audible in the hushed bridge, though to all who heard, this was little more than a discussion of tactics between the Emperor and his Heir.
The subtler game which was hidden beneath the words was theirs alone- and Palpatine was pushing for a reaction. "They're becoming bolder, taking more risks... why do you think that is?"
"Honestly?" Luke said, "I think that without Mothma to hold him in check, Madine is beginning to make his presence felt amongst the leadership there."
He had expected the name of one of Palpatine's officers, long since defected to the Rebellion, to have a greater effect but in fact Palpatine remained silent for several seconds as they walked before asking casually, "Is that what your spy thinks?"
Luke didn't turn round but kept walking as he stated evenly, "Yes. And yours?"
He had no proof that his Master had managed to place another spy among the Rebels, but for the safety of Argot, he needed to find out, so the game played on. Palpatine paused to gaze out of the long, wide viewscreen, clearly not wishing to be drawn. But the lack of answer was an answer in itself, Luke knew.
Still, he was aware of his Master's subtle curiosity as Palpatine tried a different thread, seeking to clarify his own unspoken suspicions. "Perhaps it is Leia Organa. She is after all the new leader of the Rebellion."
Luke didn't hesitate or make any move to defend her. "Perhaps. She has a more military perspective than Mothma ever did, and she'll doubtless feel the need to establish herself."
Brief flash-images of Leia's face seared through his thoughts - of the moment when he'd turned on her group with a vengeance, of the fear in her eyes when the choking smoke had cleared and she had turned to him, horrified.