"If you will not be turned," said Sidious. "You will be destroyed."

Blue lightning shot out of my master's hands, and fell on Luke's body. The young man fell onto a power supplies barrel when the bolts of lightning hit him.

Struggling, I got to my feet, shocked that my master would go to such extreme measures. There were other ways to turn Luke to the Dark Side.

"Young fool," said my master, "only now, at the end do you understand." Once again, more lightning rushed from his hands and engulfed my son. My master walked slowly down the stairs and crept towards Luke like the hooded grim reaper. Luke struggled to maintain his grip on the barrel and stay upright.

Slowly, my mind comprehended what was going on. Luke was committed to staying a Jedi, and was therefore a threat to my master and I. So, like any threat, he was going to be eliminated. My chest began to hurt, and I realized that my heart had stopped.

My master crept closer, and said, "Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side."

Shaking myself, I decided to walk towards my master, submitting myself once again to his lead deeper into the Dark Side. The loss of a son would be devastating, but the Force would carry my grief. I told myself that the Dark Side would use my grief to give me power like it did when Padmé died.

"You will pay the price for your lack of vision," my master said, and another bolt of electricity went from my master to Luke.

Sadly, I agreed with him. Luke was a Jedi and the Jedi must fall. I understood that for I had killed many Jedi, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, myself. But something in my mind told me this was different, that this was wrong.

More lightning engulfed the Jedi.

"Father, please… help me," Luke cried in agony.

There was an inner battle raging inside of me that had been going on all my life. It was the call of the dark versus the call of the light. As a Jedi, I was fighting my desire to give into the darkness, but I had never felt an urge to give into the light. The light wanted me to do something to save this Jedi.

"Now Young Skywalker, you will die," said my master. I looked from my master to the young man curled in a fetal position a few feet from us. Horrified, I stood there frozen as more lightning sprang from Palpatine's fingertips and destroyed Luke's body.

I turned to my master, only to see the glee in his eyes that killing Luke gave him. I looked down again at young Luke , my son, my only link to Padme.

Realizing that, my mind shut off and my body went through the motions. I did not think about anything but Padme as I slowly crept toward Palpatine, now clearly the enemy. Padme's scream to help her thudded in my ears, as I got behind Palpatine. Padme's smile rushed to my mind as I grabbed my master and hoisted above my head. Padme's touch frazzled my nerves as the lightning engulfed me. Padme's kiss sustained me as I hurled my master toward the abyss.

Once my master fell towards the center of the Death Star, blue radiation sprang up and washed over me. The vision of Padme faded.

Silently, Luke pulled my hand over his shoulder, and helped me get to my feet. Slowly, I felt him drag me as I stumbled to the elevator. Once inside, I leaned against the nearest wall. My chest hurt, and my breathing was ragged and uneven. I knew that I was going to die soon.

The doors parted, and we began stumbling in the direction an unoccupied shuttle. Through the eye sockets in my helmet, I could see the people running to different ships trying to escape the Death Star.

When we reached the shuttle, the loading ramp lowered, and I began to fall forward. At first Luke tried to carry me up to the ship, but then he stopped and lowered me to the ramp gently.

"Luke," I said. "Help me get this mask off."

"But you'll die," he said to me.

I closed my eyes and smiled, comforted that my son was fighting to save the life of me, the monster. I realized how much of Padme's spirit he must have for him to be like that.

"Nothing can stop that now," I said. "Just for once… let me look at you with my own eyes."

Luke nodded and slowly began to remove my helmet. Once the cursed thing was off, I could see my son clearly for the first time. He had my sandy brown hair and my blue eyes, but had Padme's face. I grinned at the proof of Padme's and my love, and wondered how much Leia looked like her mother. I remembered from seeing her through the mask she had Padme's thick curly hair, but that was all I could really see.

Now that I had seen my son, I could die in peace.

"Now," I said to him in my natural voice. "Go my son. Leave me."

Luke started shaking his head and said, "No, you are coming with me. I can't leave you here. I have to save you."

I wanted to groan at the words. My son had the same need to save those beyond hope that I had. I prayed to any god that would listen to me that he would never turn to the dark side for the power to save. I was comforted by how strong he was at resisting the emperor in the throne room, and prayed that strength remained with him his whole life.

"You already have, Luke," I said to him trying to comfort him. It was the truth, he really had saved me. "Tell your sister," I stopped to gasp for breath. "You were right about me…"

"Father," he said. "I won't leave you."

Part of me wanted to yell, "You fool! Get off the exploding ship!" But the other part of me was comforted that I was finally dying in the arms of a true loved one.

Just then I thought back over my life, how much pain and suffering I had endured. I realized that it was the will of the Force that I loved and lost so much. Now it was time for Luke to lose me, I hoped he surrendered to the Force where I rebelled.

And with that prayer, I surrendered to the Force.