69Born from an article that KaelinaLovesLomaris shared on tumblr with the title: I Can't Protect My Son From Everything, But If I Lock Him In The Svalbard Global Seed Vault I've Narrowed The Threat Down To Just Seeds. If that's not like Vader, I don't know what is. So here is the short story inspired by this headline.
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Luke punched what felt like the hundredth door release. He walked in, hoping to find something else, but this room too was the same as each other Luke had so far examined.
For hours he had roamed the place after waking up in unfamiliar surroundings, searching the long halls lined with identical rooms. No natural light penetrated the corridors, whose grey walls were all lit with the same dull glow panels set into the ceiling at regular intervals. Luke had no recollection how he had ended up here, but he was determined to leave as soon as possible.
So far he had found the place only occupied by myriads of droids, neither of which was equipped with human interface abilities, nor showed the slightest interest in Luke, even when he deliberated stood in their way. They were too focused on their task rolling busily between the rows upon rows of cooling shelves housing jars and boxes behind protective glass.
Luke had yet to find a clue what the purpose of this installation was. But what he needed no more clues for was who ran this facility, as was evidenced by the Imperial cog plastered onto doors, on the droids and on every single jar Luke had examined.
Each jar he had looked at had contained nothing more than a few grains or a little dust. Each was labelled with meticulous details. 'Alderaanian mountain Lilies, Alderaan collected 14-1-0' read one of them, some dry, faintly purple seeds on the bottom of the jar. He had kept that jar, even though it was uncomfortably cold in his hands after he had taken it from the cooling shelf. He intended to give it to Leia, when or if ever he made it out of this maze. The Imperials had no right to anything from Alderaan.
Luke stepped closer to the first shelf and fished out with his free hand another one of the identical jars. This one was labelled with 'Hwotha Berry tree, Dathomir, collected 10-5-7'. Luke eyed the shriveled up dark plums with a mixture of disgust and interest.
"I hope you planned on putting these back," the man replied, eying the two jars in Luke's hand with hawk-like eyes.
Luke glared at the man. He was wearing an Imperial uniform, yet unlike most Imperials Luke had encountered so far, he seemed little concerned when it came to regulations. The double breasted tunic was only half buttoned up, he had dispensed with the cap altogether and he looked like he hadn't shaved in days. His salt-and-peppered hair stood off as if he had just clambered from his bunk.
"Where am I," Luke demanded, his tone probably a few shades too ungracious considering his relief at finding another human in these vast halls and corridors even if it was an Imperial. He had to admit to himself that he had dreaded already that he would find this place devoid of any humans after all.
The man didn't answer him, but he came closer, his eyes fixed on the jars in Luke's hands.
"Is that-" he said slowly, before he pounced and ripped the jar with the Alderaanian lilies from Luke's hands, almost causing Luke to drop the second jar in his haste to jump back. "Are you crazy, young man? Do you have any idea how valuable these are? If this glass is destroyed or they unfreeze then we might never again have a clean uncontaminated sample of these precious plants. The last evidence of these beautiful flowers, irretrievably lost."
"I… I'm sorry," Luke said, to stop the man's tirade.
It seemed to pacify the man. He turned on the spot leaving the room at a brisk pace.
Luke shoved the jar with the dried plums into the shelf and threw the door shut to keep the cold in. Then he hastened after him. "Hey, where are you going?"
"I'll take these back where you snatched them away from," the man grumbled.
Luke fell back a few steps, but he kept following.
The man opened another room halfway down the corridor and determinately made his way to the place where Luke had taken the jar from. Luke was secretly impressed how the man could navigate these identical and confusing halls and rooms with such certainty.
He wiped the glass with his sleeve and placed it almost reverently on the shelf where Luke had taken it from.
"Don't touch any of the containers ever again," he snapped, his raised finger almost poking Luke in the nose.
"What are all these anyway?" Luke asked, annoyed by his tone. "And where am I?"
The man's glare disappeared. "This is the Imperial Galactic Seed Vault. They are samples from every plant, flower or tree in this galaxy."
"Oh," Luke said, nothing more intelligible coming to his mind. "Why does the Empire keep these?"
"Plants get destroyed and go extinct caused by environmental or natural disasters or mere carelessness."
"Or entire planets get destroyed by the Empire." Luke glowered at the man, who missed the jab completely.
"Exactly, such a shame. So many plants destroyed and lost forever if it weren't for the seeds here. With these samples Alderaan could one day be replicated," he replied, his eyes glowing with a manic happiness.
Luke rather didn't point out that this was hardly true for the lives lost.
"I didn't know you woke up already, or I'd have gotten you some food," the man continued. "You are probably hungry."
"I'd rather leave now."
The Imperial rubbed his neck with his hand. "Um, well, you can't leave."
"Watch me," Luke said, turning and marching back out in the corridor.
"Wait, kid. It doesn't work like this."
Luke ignored him and marched on. Seeds or no seeds, he needed to leave.
"You don't even know where you are going," the Imperial called after him.
Luke turned around a corner, speeding up. But after a good thirty minutes of prowling the corridors with renewed urgency, he had to admit that he was no closer to find an exit than he had been in all those hours before.
"Here you are." The Imperial caught up with him.
"Where is the exit," Luke demanded.
"It's two floors up to the south end," the man supplied. "But you can't leave."
"Of course I can," Luke said, determined.
"No, you can't, I can't either."
"What do you mean?" Luke asked suspiciously.
"Well, it's a vault," the man shrugged. "It only opens from the outside. And with the right codes, of course," he added.
"What?" Luke stared at him dumbfounded. "How do you go out?"
"It's a rotation, I've been here for two years. Still got two more to go."
Luke eyed him with round eyes.
"It's not that bad. There are good rations, you can watch the holo most of the time and it's really well paid. I'll retire after my shift is completed. I volunteered for the job."
"So you never go outside?"
"It's impossible," the Imperial said. "But there isn't much to see up there anyway. It's an ice planet. No habitation of any sentient life. And you'd freeze to death within minutes, if you were to stroll outside. By the way, I haven't introduced myself," he said. "I'm Atlas, Atlas Ornil." He held out his hand.
Luke blinked. Surely the man had lost it over the past years he was locked in here turned on his heel again, leaving the man standing with his hand still stretched out. Luke found the staircase that he had used before. Two floors up he made his way into the direction Atlas had pointed. Sure enough. At the end of a very long corridor, Luke found a platform, marked with yellow warning signs and right above him on the ceiling identical markings.
It had to be the exit.
But there was no control panel, button or lever. There was nothing but bare walls. Luke searched and swept the walls, in search for some hidden control panel. But there was absolutely nothing.
"Told you, you can't open it from the inside," the Imperial had caught up with him in time for Luke to sink down the wall in despair. He patted Luke awkwardly on the shoulder. "Hey, consider this, it could be worse. At least I talked him out of putting you into cryostasis."
Luke looked up in horror. "Who wanted to freeze me?"
The man looked at him in surprise. "Lord Vader, of course. Boy, I tell you I was not prepared for him to stroll in here, delivering you. I had just ten minutes to prepare. No time to shave. Then he wanted to stuff you in our freezing unit, but I told him it's not meant for larger organisms so he dropped the idea again."
Luke barely listened. Vader. His memory returned, with just the mention of the name. Vader had caught him and then put him under with the Force before Luke had the chance to give it to Vader straight.
".. tell, you, usually the door never opens in between shifts. But I don't think I'll mind the company," Atlas was still going unperturbed. "It's sure a nice break from routine."
"I am not a seed and I didn't volunteer either. I'm not staying," Luke said angrily.
"Well, the door won't open for another two years, kid."
"I need to speak to him," Luke said.
"What? To Lord Vader?"
"Yes," Luke said, determined. He pulled himself up from the floor. "You do have a comlink, don't you?"
"I do, but do you really think that is a good idea?"
Luke wasn't listening. He was already half down the hall.
"Wait, the long range transmitter is in here," the Imperial called after him, making him stop.
Luke stepped into the small office next to the exit, that Atlas had called from. It was a mess of holopads, candy wrappers and lightpens. On the wall hung a mural of a collection of pictures of Imperial officers, all staring stiffly into the holocam.
"My predecessors," he said, proudly. "In two years, there will be a picture of me too!"
"Anyone ever went mad in here?" Luke asked with mild interest.
"The bottom right one only made it a months before he started disassembling the droids. And the second on the top had to be relieved too, he weighed almost nothing when he was let out." Atlas shook his head. "Refused to eat… well, not everyone can cope with it."
A signal from the transmitter made them both turn away from the mural.
The distinct form of Lord Vader showed in the typical blueish tint. Before Vader or the Imperial could said anything, Luke jumped into the reception field.
"Father, you will come back immediately and get me out of here. This is taking things too far."
ooo