"You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did."
Luke snarled and batted Vader's lightsaber away with his own. Somehow, he managed to get back to his feet and continue the fight, even though he knew he was badly overmatched. Then, after Vader took a wild swing that Luke dodged, he saw an opening.
Perhaps, had his blade landed just a hair's breadth higher, it would have been blocked by Vader's metal epaulet. Instead, he struck Vader's upper arm, and severed it. Both of them looked stupidly at it for an instant, stunned by the reversal.
Vader's cybernetic arm did not fall to the catwalk. Instead, the hand still obeyed the last instruction it had received, clutching Vader's lightsaber, suspended from it. Wires and servos dangled from the stump of Vader's upper arm. The Sith lord tried to defend himself, but, with only his left arm, and the dead weight of his severed right arm depending from his lightsaber, he was unable to stop Luke from quickly severing his left arm at the elbow.
Now, both arms crashed to the catwalk at their feet. Vader stumbled backwards, now trying to get away from Luke. Luke held out his left hand, and Vader's lightsaber flew up into it. Now doubly armed, Luke advanced toward his enemy.
"Beaten, am I?" Luke held the two lightsabers crossed in front of him, scissoring around Vader's neck.
"Wait, Luke," pleaded Vader, gasping, "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father."
"He told me enough," Luke answered evenly. "He told me you killed him."
"No. I am your father."
"That's not true," Luke snorted. "That's impossible."
"Search your feelings," Vader pleaded. "You know it to be true."
Luke said nothing.
"Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son!"
"You're right about one thing: I will destroy the Emperor. But I'll never join you. I also can't kill my own father, but my friends need my help, and I also can't have you following me. For what it's worth, this hurts you more than it hurts me." Luke moved his two lightsabers down and severed Vader's legs at the knees. Then Luke ran off back into the tunnels of Cloud City.
For the second time in his life, Vader lay beaten, limbless, helpless, and alone.
Luke had no real idea what route would lead him back to the surface, but he trusted his instincts and the Force to lead him through the bowels of Cloud City, and they seemed to be leading him upwards, at least. Finally, he emerged on the surface just below the ledge of a landing platform.
From the platform above, he heard a gravelly voice saying "Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold." Luke leapt up to the top of the platform, and found himself confronting the man in grey armor who had shot at him before, plus a stormtrooper and two other Imperials carrying Han's carbonite sarcophagus.
The man in grey armor, to his credit, managed to get a shot off with his blaster before Luke took his head off with his lightsaber. The blaster shot Luke deflected into the stormtrooper. The other two Imperials stared in shock.
"Hands up! Get down on the ground and keep your faces flat. No sudden movements." The two Imperials hastened to comply. Just then, the door leading from the platform to the city opened.
"Luke!"
"Leia, Chewie! Are you alright?"
"We're fine, but we've got imperial troops right behind us."
"We'll have to take this ship, then. We don't have time to get back to the Falcon. Get Han and the droids on board. I'll hold the Imperials off. Who's this?"
"That's Lando," Leia answered. "I suppose he's on our side now."
Lando grabbed a microphone from the console near the door. "Attention, this is Lando Calrissian. The Empire has taken control of this city. I advise everyone to leave before more Imperial troops arrive."
Just then, more stormtroopers came into view and opened fire. Luke deflected their shots with his lightsaber; Leia returned fire while Chewie and Lando got Han and Threepio on board. Artoo sprayed out a smokescreen, and they all got on board what had been Fett's ship.
"Hang on," Luke said, taking the controls and initiating takeoff. "If those Imperials haven't already radioed for fighter support, they will soon."
"What about Han?" Leia asked as they cleared the atmosphere.
"We'll defrost him once we've made the jump to hyperspace."
Chewie growled, gesturing toward the ship's radar scope to indicate incoming TIE fighters. "I see them," Luke said. "Angle the deflector shields. We should be able to make the jump to hyperspace before they're in range."
The lights flickered as blaster shots hit the rear deflectors. "Okay, maybe they closed faster than I thought."
"You think?"
"We'll make it, right now…." Luke pulled the hyperdrive throttle, and the star-field turned into streaks of light that then resolved into the mottled blue sky of hyperspace. They all let their breath out.
"Let's go defrost Han," Leia said. They all assembled in the passenger area of the ship, which was much smaller than the Falcon's. Artoo was still repairing Threepio. Leia and Luke examined the carbonite sarcophagus and began the defrost procedure. The carbonite began to glow and then dissolve. Han sat up, panting.
"Han, are you alright?"
"Luke, is that you? My vision's all blurry."
"That's a side-effect of the hibernation," Leia explained. "You weren't out very long, though, so you should be fine soon. We do have some bad news, though."
"What?"
"We had to leave the Falcon behind."
"You had to what? You left my ship behind? How could—Chewie, how could you let them do that?"
Chewie growled indignantly.
"Don't tell me there was no other choice! We have to go back! Now!"
"Han, don't be absurd," Leia insisted. "Cloud City is crawling with Imperials by now. The whole Bespin system will have half the Imperial fleet there. We can't go back."
"Also, uh, Han—"
"Lando! You snake! What is he doing here?"
"He did help us escape from the Imperials, and I suppose he did try to help rescue you."
"Try?" Lando asked indignantly.
"Luke is the one who actually rescued Han. The rest of us just showed up afterwards."
"Luke, you—thanks. But if we left the Falcon, what ship are we on now?"
"We stole Slave I," Lando answered.
Han laughed. "We stole Slave I? Boba Fett is going to be pissed!"
"Boba Fett's not going to be anything. Your friend cut his head off."
"Luke, you killed Boba Fett?"
"The guy in the grey armor? I had to."
"Well good riddance. And Luke, thanks for coming. I owe you one."
"How long until we reach the rendezvous point?" Leia asked.
"We're actually not going to the rendezvous point," Luke said.
"Where are we going?"
"The Dagobah system."
"The Dagobah system?"
"There's nothing in the Dagobah system," Han said. "Why would we want to go there?"
"It's where Yoda is," Luke explained.
"What's a Yoda?" Han asked. Chewie growled thoughtfully.
"Yoda is the Jedi Master I was training with."
"A Jedi Master? Luke, you've got to be kidding me."
"I've been training with him since I left Hoth. I only left because I had a Force-vision of you being tortured in Cloud City. But I promised to come back as soon as you were safe to complete my training."
"Luke—"
"Han," Leia interrupted. "This is obviously important to him, and might be to the whole galaxy."
"There might be worse places to lie low," Lando said. "No one would come looking for us there, that's for sure."
When they dropped out of hyperspace, Luke was able to land more easily this time. He led them out of the ship, and called out "Master Yoda? I have returned, as I promised. These are my friends."
"Chewbacca, already know do I. Hello again, Chewbacca." Chewie growled reverently and bowed his head. "And only Princess Leia Organa can you be; met once before we did, though too young to remember were you."
"And this is Captain Han Solo, and Lando Calrissian."
"And I am See Threepio, human-cyborg relations. And this is my counterpart, Artoo Deetoo."
"Remember you both I do as well. Now come, for dinner it is time. Hungry you must be."
As they ate, Leia said "Master Yoda, we are very grateful for your hospitality, and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we don't want to impose, especially if we are going to be your guests for some time. I hope you will let us all help out with all the chores. Han and I will be happy to help clean up after dinner, and maybe we can all take turns cooking."
Chewie growled his assent.
"I think that's a great idea," said Lando. "There's no reason you should put yourself out on our account. I'd be happy to help out. I could take a turn cooking tomorrow."
"Yeah, that sounds good to me," added Han. "No reason we can't all chip in."
"If like my cooking you do not, plainly say so you could! Jedi Master am I, not gourmet chef! And when nine hundred years old you reach, dulled your taste-buds will be too."
They all looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry, Master Yoda," they all said more or less in unison. Perhaps it was because they were all so relieved to be alive and safe and together again. Or perhaps it was just a reflex. What they knew for certain was that Han broke first. He tried mightily to contain it, but he started to tremble, then to wheeze, and then, suddenly, they were all laughing hysterically, even Yoda.
Later, after they had finished dinner, Luke and Yoda walked out into the swamp to talk alone. "Master Yoda, I've come back to complete the training."
"No more training do you require. Already know you that which you need. Right you were, wrong was I. Afraid you would follow in Vader's path I was. That is why I told you not to go. But face him you did, and prevailed. Turn to the dark side, you did not. A Jedi you are. But confront him again you will, him, and his Emperor."
"Is Darth Vader my father?"
Yoda did not answer.
"Yoda, I must know."
"Your father he is. Told you, did he?"
"Yes."
"Wanted to tell you, Obi-Wan did, but afraid was I, that too much like him you were. Wrong was I about this as well. More there is, that Vader knew did not. More there is. There is another Skywalker, your twin sister. Separated, you were, to hide you from Vader. But now, brought her here with you, you did."
"Leia is my sister?"
"Yes. Approaches she does. Tell her you should. Tomorrow, her training, together we will begin. Together, create a new order of Jedi, you both will." Yoda retreated further back into the trees to give them privacy.
"Luke, what's wrong?"
"Leia, do you remember your mother, your real mother?"
"Just a little bit. She died when I was very young."
"What do you remember?"
"Just images, really. Feelings."
"Tell me."
"She was very beautiful. Kind, but sad. Why are you asking me this?"
"I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her."
"Luke, tell me, what's troubling you?"
"Vader. When we fought, he told me something."
"What?"
"He is my father."
"Your father?"
"There's more. It won't be easy for you to hear it, but you must. I am going to have to face him again. We are going to have to face him again."
"We? You have a power I don't understand, and could never have."
"You're wrong, Leia. You have that power too. Here, with Yoda, you'll learn to use it as I have. The Force is strong in my family. My father has it; I have it; and my sister has it. Yes, it's you, Leia."
"I know. Somehow, I've always known."
They both stood there in silence for a while. Then Luke took out his lightsaber and ignited it, the blue beam illuminating them both. "Obi-Wan gave me this lightsaber. He told me it was my father's. That doesn't mean the same thing to me anymore, but it still reminds me of the man he was." Luke deactivated the blade. Then he took out the other one. "This was also our father's. I took it from him in Cloud City." He ignited it, and now they were bathed in red light. He deactivated that one too, and held them both out to her.
"Keep yours. I know what it means to you, to remember the man he was. I will take this one, to remind me of what we could become, if we are not careful, if we do not avoid his path."
And so, over the next year, Leia began her training as a Jedi. Ostensibly, Luke and Yoda were both training her together, but really Luke was just a more senior student. They both learned together from Yoda. It became clear that Luke would always be the better duelist and warrior. Leia, however, was stronger with other Force abilities, especially those relating to learning and diplomacy. Yoda explained to them that in the old Jedi Order, Jedi has specialized, with some becoming Guardians, the warrior Jedi who specialized in combat and lightsaber technique. Others became Consulars, the scholars and diplomats of the Jedi. Many became Sentinels, who were a bit of both. While Luke was clearly a Guardian, Leia was just as clearly a Consular. While Leia would never be Luke's equal with a lightsaber, her skill at Force Persuasion was as great as any Jedi's had ever been, perhaps greater.
During that same year, Leia and Han's romance blossomed. Even so, there was no escaping that Han, Chewie, and Lando were bored on Dagobah. Luke and Leia spent their days training with Yoda, but the others had little to do but maintain the ship, which they had renamed Freedom I, play Sabacc, and make plans to someday retake Cloud City and the Millennium Falcon, or to get out from Han's debt to Jabba.
After a year on Dagobah, however, it became clear that Yoda was dying. When the end came, it came quickly, and without pain. Yoda gave a final admonition to Luke and Leia not to underestimate the powers of the Emperor, and told them that it would be for them to found a new order of Jedi. Then he was gone. There was no body to bury, so they buried his robes in the swamp. Then they packed their things aboard the ship to return to the Alliance.
After rejoining the Rebel fleet, Han, Chewie, Luke, and Leia all volunteered for the mission to Endor to deactivate the shield generator, while Lando volunteered to fly a Y-wing as commander of the fighter forces in the attack on the Death Star.
The Tyderian was now approaching the Imperial Super Star Destroyer orbiting Endor.
"Vader's on that ship."
"Now don't get jittery, Luke. There're a lot of command ships."
"No, he's right. I feel it too," Leia said.
"Should I turn us around and get us out of here?"
"No, the whole Alliance is counting on us. We'll just have to play this out," Leia decided.
Later, after forming an alliance with the Ewoks, they found themselves overlooking a back door into the shield-bunker.
"Vader's waiting for us," Luke said. "I can feel it."
Chewie growled.
"Chewie's right," Han said. "If Vader is down there, it's a good bet that he's not alone. Which means there must be a lot more Imperial troops than the ones we see."
"You think this is a trap?" Luke asked.
"It's definitely a trap," Leia said, opening her eyes. "I think we should walk right into it."
"What?" Luke and Han asked together.
"Not all of us. Just Luke and I. I have a plan. We'll take half the charges. Han, you keep the rest, and hang back in the woods with the strike team. If things don't go exactly as I hope, Luke and I will be captured. Once Vader takes us away, he'll bring a lot of his troops with us to keep us under guard. The rest he'll send out into the woods to find you. Once they've dispersed, then you attack the bunker."
"Wait, what if things do go as you hope?"
"Then you'll just have to improvise. Come on, Luke."
Moments later, Wicket had led three of the speederbike troopers guarding the back door away on a merry chase, and Luke had disarmed the fourth. Then they were inside.
"Everyone, step away from your stations, put down your weapons, and walk quietly outside with your hands up" Leia said calmly. The Imperial troops quietly obeyed, under Leia's compulsion. They had only begun to plant the charges when they heard it.
Hol-bur. Hol-bur.
Vader walked into the chamber, his lightsaber at the ready. Luke and Leia ignited theirs.
"An apprentice, Luke?"
"Apprentice and sister," Leia answered. "Hello, father."
Vader was taken aback for a moment. "I never sensed it, even when…."
"When you tortured me, twice? I want you to know that I am not angry with you for that, or even for when you tortured Han. Or even for your part in destroying Alderaan."
"So you say," Vader answered before turning back to Luke. "If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will."
"Never," Luke answered grimly.
"Neither of will turn," Leia added, "and you'll be forced to kill us."
"If that is your destiny. You defeated me once, Luke, but you will not be so lucky again."
"Before you kill us, then, grant us a last request," Leia said. "Tell us about our mother."
Vader turned sharply toward her and then did not move, just staring at her.
"It's the least you owe us, father. Luke doesn't remember her at all, and I barely do, just that she was kind but sad. I suppose we can all guess now the cause of her sadness. How do you think she will feel now, watching you kill us? After all, we are all that's left of her. The Organas always told me I looked like her, except for her eyes. Do I have your eyes? Does Luke? We're all that's left of her, but we're your future too, aren't we? You'll be killing yourself. That is the power of the dark side, after all: to destroy yourself. Is that how much you hate yourself? Because we don't hate you, father, even after everything you've done. We love you, despite it all."
Vader stood there, unmoving, not even breathing. Then he did breathe, but it was as though his armor's breathing apparatus was failing: hol-hol-hol-bur, hol-hol-hol-bur. Then they realized what it was: Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, the Emperor's right hand, was weeping. He stumbled backwards against the wall, deactivating his lightsaber and throwing it down. "Place your charges. Do what you must."
"Come on, Luke. The fleet will be here any minute."
"Your fleet is walking into a trap," said Vader. "The Imperial fleet is waiting for them on the far side of this moon, and the Death Star is operational."
"I'll tell Han to warn the fleet, and to get the team back to the shuttle," Luke said as he finished placing the charges. "Now what?"
"Simple: our father takes us out of here as prisoners."
Luke and Leia walked out of the bunker with their hands up, Vader behind them with his lightsaber at the ready. Sure enough, an entire legion of the Imperial Army was waiting for them, including four AT-ST walkers. As they walked out, Imperial troops raced into the bunker to resecure it.
"Get as close to the walkers as you can," Luke whispered. "I'll grab the one on the right."
Just then, the troops that had rushed into the bunker rushed out again, shouting.
"Now!" hissed Vader. The bunker and the shield generator exploded. Many of the Imperials were knocked flat. They were almost all stunned.
Luke Force-jumped onto the top of the AT-ST nearest them on the right and used Force telekinesis to get the hatch open. Leia and Vader leapt onto the one on the left. Just then, Han's commando team opened fire on the Imperial troops, and the Ewoks attacked.
Luke, Leia, and Vader dispatched the crews of their respective AT-ST's quickly. Vader took the controls of the one he and Leia were in; Leia took the copilot's seat. Father and daughter looked at each other for a moment, then both gave a small shrug. Vader, or perhaps Anakin, opened fire on one of the AT-ST's still under Imperial control, blowing it to bits; Luke did the same to the other. Leia took over the comlink and switched it to an Alliance frequency.
"This is Visitor 3 in the clear to the Alliance fleet. The shield is down, but the Death Star is operational and the Imperial fleet is waiting on the far side of the moon. Repeat: this is Visitor 3 in the clear. Shield is down, but Death Star operational and Imperial fleet waiting in ambush." As Leia gave her warning, Anakin and Luke turned their guns on the Imperial infantry.
Aboard the Rebel flagship, Admiral Ackbar processed the warning he had just received. "It's a trap! Move the fleet over the horizon out of range of the Death Star and prepare to meet the Imperial fleet. Fighters, commence attack on the Death Star's main reactor."
"Red Leader," Lando said, "take Red Group and go for the main reactor. All other fighters, provide cover for the fleet. We need to buy Red Group time."
"Copy, Gold Leader," Wedge said, accelerating his X-wing toward the Death Star.
Down on Endor, the battle was quickly moving against the Imperials. Although they had superior weapons to the Ewoks, they were badly outnumbered, and the dense woods largely nullified the superior range of their weapons. Moreover, any time they tried to concentrate to maximize their firepower, the Rebel-controlled AT-ST's would simply blast them to bits. Alone and isolated, however, small groups of Imperials were easily picked off by the Ewoks.
Aboard the Super Star Destroyer Executor, Admiral Piett faced a terrible dilemma. On the one hand, he had direct orders from the Emperor not to attack the Rebel fleet, just to keep it from escaping. On the other hand, he had just been informed that the Death Star had blown up, which was fairly obvious from the giant flash of light from over Endor's horizon. As far as he knew, then, the Emperor was dead, and the Rebel's had no interest in escaping. "All craft," Piett ordered, "prepare to retreat. Recall all fighters and prepare to make the jump to hyperspace." With the battle over almost before it had begun, he decided, it was more important to save the fleet.
And so the Rebel Alliance found itself quickly victorious at the Battle of Endor. "Admiral Ackbar," said one of his sensor operators, "Imperial shuttle approaching from the surface. They're hailing us."
"Home 1, this is Solo, returning to fleet. We, uh, have a high-ranking Imperial defector with us."
Later, aboard Home 1, a special Alliance council was held, chaired by Mon Mothma herself, to determine what to do with the man everyone was calling "the defector".
Mothma began the proceedings. "For the record," she said, "this is not a tribunal. None of our determinations will be legally binding. Nevertheless, this council may decide to recommend the formation of a tribunal to hear a prosecution in this matter, or may recommend delaying that, or, alternatively, we may even recommend an amnesty contingent on good behavior. Now, to begin," she said, addressing the giant, black-suited cyborg, "will you please state your name for the record?"
"Anakin Skywalker, although I have been more commonly known as Darth Vader for the last twenty-four years."
"And during that time, you served the Emperor as his right-hand man and enforcer?"
"Yes."
"To your knowledge, did you participate in crimes during your service to the Empire? That is, do you deny that you have tortured and murdered many people on behalf of the Empire? That you participated in the destruction of the planet Alderaan?"
"Excuse me, I object," Luke said.
"You can't object," said another councilor. "This isn't a trial."
"Yet this man is being called on to incriminate himself," Leia said. "Statements he makes here might well be admissible at a future trial, and he has a right not to answer."
"I understand, but I will answer. I do not deny it. I admit my guilt, and I am prepared to accept the consequences of my actions."
"Let me ask you this," Mothma said. "What do you hope for from this proceeding? What would be a good outcome, in your judgment?"
Anakin paused. For several seconds, there was no sound in the chamber except his robotic breathing. Finally, he said "I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for the wrongs I have done and reconciling with my children. If the rest of my life is only minutes, then I shall endeavor to make the most of those minutes."
"Very well. We shall confer in camera to consider our recommendation."
As they waited in a small lounge for the council's decision, Luke asked "They won't really want to execute him, will they?"
"They may," said Anakin. "If they do, I cannot say it would be unjust. But I am not afraid. I am at peace, for the first time in a long time."
"Well, they won't anyway," said Leia. "At least not while the Imperial fleet is still out there. You're too valuable, both as an intelligence source and a propaganda win.
Leia's political judgment turned out to be correct: the council recommended that Anakin be offered amnesty if he would cooperate fully with the Rebellion. Information he had about Imperial defenses, tactics, and cyphers allowed the Rebellion to make swift progress in liberating worlds from the Empire. Before too long, the Rebellion was shorthanded enough that Anakin was allowed to take a spot as an X-wing pilot, and he and Luke flew alongside each other. With each engagement, there was at least one more Rebel pilot, and usually more than one, who had a story to tell about being saved by "the defector". Eventually, they stopped calling him that, and started just calling him Anakin or Red 7.
When the fortunes of war permitted, the three Skywalkers—Leia had begun to use her birth-name—paid a visit to Tatooine to see Jabba the Hutt.
"Lord Vader," the Hutt said, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
Anakin did not bother to correct him about his name. The reputation of Darth Vader could be useful here. "Jabba, we have come to negotiate the withdrawal of your contract against Han Solo. We are prepared to see his debt paid in full."
"Lord Vader, I have always been happy to help the Empire, and so I would like to help you, but I have heard a scurrilous and unbelievable rumor, that you have turned your cloak and joined the Rebellion. Such an absurd notion, of course, but you can understand why I cannot help you until these rumors have been dispelled."
"If such rumors circulate," Leia said, "it can only be because the tide of the war has shifted decisively in favor of the Alliance. It would be a shame if you missed this opportunity to place yourself in the good graces of the New Republic."
"Ah, well, you see, I would like to do exactly that, but with the situation in such a state of flux, you can understand that I am reluctant to make changes until the larger situation jells."
They could see that they were getting nowhere. Leia quietly clasped hands with her father and brother. "Jabba," she said, "you will accept our offered payment and withdraw your contract on Han Solo."
Jabba the Hutt was a strong-willed being, perhaps as strong-willed as any, but it was quite possible that no one had ever lived as strong at Force Persuasion as Leia Skywalker. Jabba shook his massive head as if to clear it. "What? I will—no, I will—"
"You will accept our offered payment and withdraw your contract on Han Solo."
"I accept your payment, and I will withdraw my contract on Han Solo."
—The End—