Hylas and the Nymphs

smile, he shook his head at Luke, explaining away the unsightly beast his son saw."Luminous beings are we, Luke—not this crude matter." Luke shook his head, too—to tell his father it was all right, to dismiss the oldman's shame, to tell him nothing mattered now. And everything—but he couldn'ttalk. Vader spoke again, even weaker—almost inaudible. "Go, my son. Leaveme." At that, Luke found his voice. "No. You're coming with me. I'll not leaveyou here. I've got to save you." "You already have, Luke," he whispered. He wished, briefly, he'd met Yoda, tothank the old Jedi for the training he'd given Luke…but perhaps he'd be with Yodasoon, now, in the ethereal oneness of the Force. And with Obi-wan. "Father, I won't leave you," Luke protested. Explosions jarred the docking bayin earnest, crumbling one entire wall, splitting the ceiling. A jet of blue flame shotfrom a gas nozzle nearby. Just beneath it the floor began to melt.