In the Empire's Hands

Author's Note: This takes place shortly after Return of the Jedi. This is my first attempt to write a Luke, Han, and Leia story, so any reviews of how it is going will help! Also, if you read my other story (completely unrelated to this one), it was updated fairly regularly. I'll try to update this weekly, but I may get a bit behind sometimes.

Disclaimer: The Star Wars galaxy belongs to George Lucas...I merely visit every once in a while


He entered the catina cautiously. Glancing over his shoulder, Luke knew something was going to go wrong. To anyone else, the catina's bustling activity and occasional fights would seem ordinary. However, the young man could sense danger lurking here.

The Rebels had just blown up the second Death Star a few months before. Unsurprisingly, their leaders were still on the Empire's most wanted list. As Luke took another step forward, entering the center of the room, his fears were confirmed. He felt a blaster shoved against his back, and watched as stormtroopers surrounded him. It all happened too fast for him to retrieve his lightsaber, which seemed to be stuck in his utility belt.

An Imperial Commander entered the circle, announced," Luke Skywalker, you're under arrest for acts of terrorism against the Empire."

Luke closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He didn't resist as the stormtrooper jerked his arms behind his back and tightened binders around his wrists. Luke was escorted back to the Commander's ship by his entire capture party. The closest trooper never lowered his weapon from its position against Luke's back.


"Shouldn't Luke be back by now?" Leia asked with concern. Her brother was more than a day late to their rendevouz point, and was not responding when she tried to contact him through the comlink.

Han felt the same way as Leia. However, he also felt that he should comfort her," I'm sure he's fine, Leia. The kid is probably chasing some lead and forgot his comlink at the hotel."

Leia's comlink buzzed. Glancing at the ID, she saw it was a call from Luke. She answered," Luke, where have you been!"

"He's been with me," an amused voice replied. Leia's heart sank and she knew from the voice's tone that Luke was in trouble.

"Who is this?" Leia questioned nervously.

"This is Commander Glarin," the cruel voice replied," tell your Rebel leaders that they have three standard days to turn themselves over to the Empire, or your friend Luke Skywalker will be dead."

With that, the communication was ended, and Leia was left staring in horror at the comlink. Han moved in what seemed like slow motion to embrace Leia. His mouth was gaping open with disbelief.

Slowly, Han reached for the comlink, and took it from Leia's hand. He took a few steps back, away from Leia, then called headquarters. Mon Mothma's familiar voice greeted him," Good to hear from you, Captain Solo. Was your mission sucessful?"

Han was confused at first. Then he remembered why they were here in the first place. Luke had gone to meet someone in a catina, hoping to sway the neutral planet toward the Rebellion's side. He closed his eyes and replied," No. The Imperials captured Luke."

He could hear an entire room gasp through the comlink. Mon Mothma's voice was filled with sorrow as she asked," Have they made any demands?"

"Yes..." Han trailed off," they have demanded that all of the Rebel leaders turn themselves over to the Empire in the next three days...If we don't cooperate, they will kill Luke."

Mon Mothma's voice was tense as she replied," Understood. Return to base immediately. Do not, under any circumstances, allow yourselves to be captured by the Empire. We will have to hope that Luke can hold out until we can rescue him."

Han caught Leia's eye. Both held a look of concern and quiet determination. Leia whispered," You know what we have to do, don't you?"

The man nodded, then muttered to himself," I have a bad feeling about this..."


Luke's head swam, and he could taste the blood in his mouth. A throbbing sensation filled his mind as he collided with the back of his small cell. He barely had time to lift his head before a rather sharp boot kicked him in the stomach. A distant voice demanded," Where is the Rebel base?"

He could manage no more than a grunt in response, and was rewarded with the boot connecting with his face. Luke could hear his nose crack, and felt the blood that came pouring out. No longer could he hold on to consciousness. A door swooshed open and footsteps grew distant as the world went black.

Hours later, Luke finally woke up. He opened his eyes slowly. He pushed himself up slowly, grunting in pain. Every part of his body was aching, and his head felt like it was going to explode. Slowly, memories of the events of the past few days returned. He reached his hand up slowly, then touched his nose. He winced in pain. It was completely shattered, and Luke was glad there were no mirrors. He could feel the dried blood clinging to his face.

Pain threatened to overtake him again, and Luke called to his sister through the Force. He only hoped he wasn't leading her into danger.


"Luke..." Leia muttered under her breath. Her statement ended in a gasp as she sensed his pain. She had been dozing off in the cockpit of the Falcon when her brother's painful cry reached her. She could feel Han's eyes on her, and she stated," I sensed Luke. We have to help him...I'm not sure how much longer he will survive."

Han's eyes were filled with concern and he asked," What do you mean?"

"They're killing him," Leia answered tearfully.

"Do you have a plan?" Han asked with a mischevious smile. Leia cocked an eyebrow and stared at him for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. Han's smile widened as he declared," We'll go with my plan, then."

Leia's eyes widened and she let out a mock gasp of horror," And what would that be, Solo?"

"We're gonna go get him," Han smiled broadly," it'll be like old times. Maybe we'll even drop into an Imperial garbage pit!"

"But we have orders to go back to base," Leia replied a bit too innocently. Her expression turned serious and she asked," How are we going to get in? They aren't going to fall for your stormtrooper act again..."

A pained expression passed over Han's face, but it was gone in a moment. He answered," One of us will have to be a stormtrooper. The other will be turned over to the Imperials...I think you should be the stormtrooper, Leia. I can handle them. Besides, you're the expert at getting us out."

Leia laughed quietly remembering Han's last rescue mission. She wasn't particularly happy about turning the man she loved over to the enemy, but they had to get in. Besides, she would have Chewie and the droids for back-up, should anything go wrong. She agreed hesitantly to her plan. If Luke's life were not at stake, she wouldn't agree to such a spontaneous plan.

Leia sighed and agreed with Han. Looking out the viewport, she could see a Star Destroyer coming into view. Needless to say, she was not looking forward to boarding another of the Empire's ship, especially under such dangerous conditions.


Luke's breaths were still shallow and painful. He had managed to climb his way onto the small cot in his room, but the action took most of his energy. At the moment he was on his back, trying to ease the pain caused by breathing, One problem at a time...first, I have to get into a functional state. Then I can worry about getting out of here...

Slowly, Luke sat up. He sensed something was going on aboard the ship, but couldn't tell what it was. Pain was shooting through his body, but his mind stopped registering it. To him, his body had merely gone numb. Drawing on the Force, he swiveled delicately and placed his feet on the ground. With great effort, Luke managed to push himself onto his feet. He stumbled over to the door and used the Force to peel it off the wall.

Sighing in relief, Luke nearly fell when he tried to step over the door. To his surprise, there were no guards that he could see. Luke left the detention block and entered a hallway. He saw a vent in the ceiling, and used the Force to push it away. It wasn't until he was sitting in the vent until he realized how much he had been using the Force. He hadn't even known he could do such things with it. Unfortunately, he also was feeling his previous injuries more clearly.

Luke turned and started climbing toward the shipping bays. He glanced through the vents whenever he was over them. After several minutes of climbing, Luke let out a hoarse shout of surprise," No, Han!"

The vent gave in to his weight, dropping him onto the floor directly in front of Han and the stormtrooper escorting him. The pair paused for a moment, staring at the crumpled, bloody, and bruised young man before them. Han cried," Luke! We were just coming to rescue you!"

Luke didn't respond. Leia tore her helmet of and knelt beside him, turning him onto his back. His wrist was held at an unnatural angle, a result of the unexpected fall. Luke's eyes were closed, and Leia knew he was unconscious. She felt a wave of sympathy as her eyes swept across his body. His nose was smashed, and the dried blood covered his face. This did not, however, cover the many scratches randomly placed on his face, nor the black ring that was developing around his left eye.

"We have to get him out of here," Leia stated softly. She couldn't believe someone could actually injure her brother so horribly and leave him to die. Han's eyes were wide with horror. He was not, however, staring at Luke. Leia followed his gaze and gasped in horror. They were surrounded by stormtroopers. Actually, considering that they were on a ship that belonged to the Empire, the stormtroopers appearance wasn't particularly surprising.

"Don't move," a stormtrooper ordered. The other troopers marched toward the trio, pulling each to their feet. One stormtrooper got stuck carrying Luke, who was still unconscious.

Leia was close enough to Han to hear him grumble," Isn't this just wonderful..."

He recieved a sharp jab in the side for his comment, and proceeded to glare at the offending stormtrooper. The stormtrooper either didn't notice, or didn't find the expression important enough to to react. Han shot an expecting glance at Leia as they neared the detention block, as if he were waiting for her to spring her escape plan into action. She could merely shake her head helplessly before a look of concern once again crossed over her face and she was watching Luke's unconscious form being tossed into a cell.

Han gave her a final desperate look before he was forced into a cell of his own. Leia walked into her cell calmly, knowing that resisting would not do any good. She glared coldly at the stormtroopers as they left her cell and locked the door. All she could do was wait.


Mon Mothma stood before a large assembly of rebels. Struggling to keep the sorrow out of her voice, she announced," Princess Leia and Captain Solo recently informed us that Luke has been captured by the Empire..."

The entire room erupted in gasps of disbelief and shocked comments. Once the silence was restored, Mon Mothma continued," We have now discovered that the Captain and Princess were captured as well, while attempting to free Luke."

The room was once again filled with commotion, and someone yelled," What are we going to do about it?"

Mon Mothma's face was full of sorrow as she replied," There is nothing we can do. They have demanded that all of the rebels turn themselves in, but we cannot do that. It would undermine our companions' mission. We must hope that they can escape. After all, this is Han, Luke, and Leia we're talking about..."

As the meeting was adjorned, the rebels spoke softly," May the Force be with them..."