Chapter I: The Rescue
Princess Leia Organa lay on the slab of metal that served as a bed in the Imperial detention centers, trying to summon back her strength.
Darth Vader's interrogations, thorough and fierce, and left her body aching and her spirit broken. She was too exhausted to get up, but she dared not sleep for fear of waking up dead. She did not even have the strength to cry for Alderaan, for all of the futures and lives lost in the blink of an eye.
In less than an hour, she would be nothing more than a memory, yet another causality to the Rebel cause, as so many have already been.
She was not looking forward to dying, but maybe it was all for the best. She had failed all of those who had trusted her the most - her father, when she had failed to reach General Kenobi; her home world, when she assumed that Tarkin would show some mercy and logic when she supplied them with the location of the Rebel base.
Nobody would ever know how she died. She would probably be shot. She would become an icon at the Alliance. The leaders would say that Leia Organa was a victim of the Emperor's injustice.
Perhaps it was better that they would not know the truth,
There were shouts and the sound of blasters being fired outside and her clouded and foggy mind vaguely registered that something was wrong. Maybe her execution would be postponed.
Over it all, she could hear the clanging of boots, signaling that someone was coming.
The door hissed open and she forced herself to open her eyes. Framed in the doorway was a stormtropper. She summoned her strength and pushed herself up onto one elbow.
The stormtropper stood, awkwardly and silent, just inside the door, unsure as to what he should be doing.
Leia arched an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?"
"Huh?"
She stared in interest. This was definitely not protocol.
"Oh, the uniform."
He reached up and pulled off his helmet. The first thing she noticed were his eyes. His ice-blue piercing eyes. They seemed somewhat familiar.
"I'm Luke Skywalker," he said. "I'm here to rescue you!"
* * *
"We can't keep running forever."
Luke looked over his shoulder and grinned at the princess trying desperately to keep up.
"We can try!"
"Then consider this," she said breathing heavily. I know my way to the detention block and the officers' observation gallery. You know the way from the hanger to the level above it and the detention block. Given the massive size of this ting, we have a very good chance of getting lost!"
Luke muttered under his breath and slid to a halt. "You have a point there."
Princess Leia slumped against the corridor wall and shut her eyes, breathing deeply. "Another good point is that the Imperials will be most likely suspicious of two civilians running a marathon on a space station that the Senate doesn't even know about."
Luke nodded and wiped sweat off his eyebrow. "And we smell as though we did laps in the garbage system."
Leia nodded and shook slightly as she remembered the memory. "Either way, we don't fit the physique of anyone who should be on the station. I suggest we maintain a low profile and make our way back to the main hanger. Your friends should be able to meet us there."
Luke grabbed her arm and forced her to face him. What he saw horrified him.
Her brown eyes were bloodshot from some sort of interrogation drug. There were bruises around her neck and arms and half-healed cuts.
"What did they do to you?"
She look away, clearly ashamed. "I'd rather not talk about it. Let's just say that the destruction of Alderaan was the last in a long line of brutal tactics to make me tell them where the Rebel base was." She pulled up her sleeve and showed her many small punctures and bruises. "Most of them were from interrogation, but the last one was a drug they gave me in preparation from my execution. They gave me enough to keep me sedated until I was back in my cell.
She glanced up and smiled. "That was before I realized that I'd have to lead a bunch of clumsy commandos on my own escape. I also didn't count on reality. When you barged in, I barely had they strength to sit up."
"I'm sorry."
Impulsively, he drew her into a gentle embrace. She rested her forehead against his collar bone and returned the gesture.
After a long moment she pulled away and extended her hand. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Leia Organa."
"Luke Skywalker."
She pressed her lips together and gave a faint smile. "Quite a name. Well, Luke, I think we need to get back to the ship."
* * *
The faint hum of acceleration indicated that the Millennium Falcon had made the jump to hyperspace. Leia sighed in relief and sank onto the gambling table's bench and let her head drop onto the surface.
There was quiet laughter from the left and Luke draped a blanket over her shoulders. "I know exactly how you feel," he said wryly.
"No you don't," she said quietly. "Not unless you've been through some of Darth Vader's interrogation sessions, had your home world destroyed, and failed in the most crucial mission in Alliance history."
Like slid onto the bench across from her and smiled warmly. "I can't say that I have had those particular trials, but how can you say that you failed? You retrieved the plans for the death star and are delivering them to the Rebel High Command. What detours you took on the way don't really matter."
"I failed the men who died protecting me on the Tantive IV. I failed the people of Alderaan. I failed. my father."
Luke reached across the table had lifted her gaze to his. "None of that was your fault and I won't have you thinking otherwise."
She blinked back tears and smiled. "I've only known you for three hours and already I feel like you know me too well."
"I know the feeling," said Luke. "Of course maybe that's because I've been hero-worshiping you since I ran across your message to Ben.
She sighed. "So that's why you came to my rescue. An over-inflated sense of heroism. Typical male."
"I felt connected to you somehow, as if I was meant to cross paths with you."
"Lucky you," she teased.
"In my experience, there is no such thing as luck," he countered.
"What time did you barge into my cell?"
"About 1355," Luke replied. "Why?"
"At 1400 I was to be executed. Standard Imperial procedure means that I would have been taken out of my cell at 1356. I though you were the guard who was going to take me to my death. "I'd say that counts as luck."
He shuddered. "Not luck, just the will of the Force."
She reached across the table and took his hand. "I don't know exactly how to thank you," she said quietly.
Luke smiled. "I'm sure you'll think of something."
"You're a hot hand on a weaponry system," she remarked. "Were you at the Academy?"
Luke snorted. "Not even close. I'm noting more than a Force-strong bush pilot off of a backwater world who happened to buy the only pair of droids in history to be toting along with the plans for a superweapon." Leia's eyes crinkled in amusement. "That'll be a story to tell the grandchildren," she sighed. "We can always use snob-jockeys. I think with your skills and my recommendation, we could land you a place in the squadron that goes against that thing."
Luke's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious!"
She rolled her eyes. "It's not much, but it's a start at repaying the debt."
He grinned. "Let's just call it even."
Princess Leia Organa lay on the slab of metal that served as a bed in the Imperial detention centers, trying to summon back her strength.
Darth Vader's interrogations, thorough and fierce, and left her body aching and her spirit broken. She was too exhausted to get up, but she dared not sleep for fear of waking up dead. She did not even have the strength to cry for Alderaan, for all of the futures and lives lost in the blink of an eye.
In less than an hour, she would be nothing more than a memory, yet another causality to the Rebel cause, as so many have already been.
She was not looking forward to dying, but maybe it was all for the best. She had failed all of those who had trusted her the most - her father, when she had failed to reach General Kenobi; her home world, when she assumed that Tarkin would show some mercy and logic when she supplied them with the location of the Rebel base.
Nobody would ever know how she died. She would probably be shot. She would become an icon at the Alliance. The leaders would say that Leia Organa was a victim of the Emperor's injustice.
Perhaps it was better that they would not know the truth,
There were shouts and the sound of blasters being fired outside and her clouded and foggy mind vaguely registered that something was wrong. Maybe her execution would be postponed.
Over it all, she could hear the clanging of boots, signaling that someone was coming.
The door hissed open and she forced herself to open her eyes. Framed in the doorway was a stormtropper. She summoned her strength and pushed herself up onto one elbow.
The stormtropper stood, awkwardly and silent, just inside the door, unsure as to what he should be doing.
Leia arched an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?"
"Huh?"
She stared in interest. This was definitely not protocol.
"Oh, the uniform."
He reached up and pulled off his helmet. The first thing she noticed were his eyes. His ice-blue piercing eyes. They seemed somewhat familiar.
"I'm Luke Skywalker," he said. "I'm here to rescue you!"
* * *
"We can't keep running forever."
Luke looked over his shoulder and grinned at the princess trying desperately to keep up.
"We can try!"
"Then consider this," she said breathing heavily. I know my way to the detention block and the officers' observation gallery. You know the way from the hanger to the level above it and the detention block. Given the massive size of this ting, we have a very good chance of getting lost!"
Luke muttered under his breath and slid to a halt. "You have a point there."
Princess Leia slumped against the corridor wall and shut her eyes, breathing deeply. "Another good point is that the Imperials will be most likely suspicious of two civilians running a marathon on a space station that the Senate doesn't even know about."
Luke nodded and wiped sweat off his eyebrow. "And we smell as though we did laps in the garbage system."
Leia nodded and shook slightly as she remembered the memory. "Either way, we don't fit the physique of anyone who should be on the station. I suggest we maintain a low profile and make our way back to the main hanger. Your friends should be able to meet us there."
Luke grabbed her arm and forced her to face him. What he saw horrified him.
Her brown eyes were bloodshot from some sort of interrogation drug. There were bruises around her neck and arms and half-healed cuts.
"What did they do to you?"
She look away, clearly ashamed. "I'd rather not talk about it. Let's just say that the destruction of Alderaan was the last in a long line of brutal tactics to make me tell them where the Rebel base was." She pulled up her sleeve and showed her many small punctures and bruises. "Most of them were from interrogation, but the last one was a drug they gave me in preparation from my execution. They gave me enough to keep me sedated until I was back in my cell.
She glanced up and smiled. "That was before I realized that I'd have to lead a bunch of clumsy commandos on my own escape. I also didn't count on reality. When you barged in, I barely had they strength to sit up."
"I'm sorry."
Impulsively, he drew her into a gentle embrace. She rested her forehead against his collar bone and returned the gesture.
After a long moment she pulled away and extended her hand. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Leia Organa."
"Luke Skywalker."
She pressed her lips together and gave a faint smile. "Quite a name. Well, Luke, I think we need to get back to the ship."
* * *
The faint hum of acceleration indicated that the Millennium Falcon had made the jump to hyperspace. Leia sighed in relief and sank onto the gambling table's bench and let her head drop onto the surface.
There was quiet laughter from the left and Luke draped a blanket over her shoulders. "I know exactly how you feel," he said wryly.
"No you don't," she said quietly. "Not unless you've been through some of Darth Vader's interrogation sessions, had your home world destroyed, and failed in the most crucial mission in Alliance history."
Like slid onto the bench across from her and smiled warmly. "I can't say that I have had those particular trials, but how can you say that you failed? You retrieved the plans for the death star and are delivering them to the Rebel High Command. What detours you took on the way don't really matter."
"I failed the men who died protecting me on the Tantive IV. I failed the people of Alderaan. I failed. my father."
Luke reached across the table had lifted her gaze to his. "None of that was your fault and I won't have you thinking otherwise."
She blinked back tears and smiled. "I've only known you for three hours and already I feel like you know me too well."
"I know the feeling," said Luke. "Of course maybe that's because I've been hero-worshiping you since I ran across your message to Ben.
She sighed. "So that's why you came to my rescue. An over-inflated sense of heroism. Typical male."
"I felt connected to you somehow, as if I was meant to cross paths with you."
"Lucky you," she teased.
"In my experience, there is no such thing as luck," he countered.
"What time did you barge into my cell?"
"About 1355," Luke replied. "Why?"
"At 1400 I was to be executed. Standard Imperial procedure means that I would have been taken out of my cell at 1356. I though you were the guard who was going to take me to my death. "I'd say that counts as luck."
He shuddered. "Not luck, just the will of the Force."
She reached across the table and took his hand. "I don't know exactly how to thank you," she said quietly.
Luke smiled. "I'm sure you'll think of something."
"You're a hot hand on a weaponry system," she remarked. "Were you at the Academy?"
Luke snorted. "Not even close. I'm noting more than a Force-strong bush pilot off of a backwater world who happened to buy the only pair of droids in history to be toting along with the plans for a superweapon." Leia's eyes crinkled in amusement. "That'll be a story to tell the grandchildren," she sighed. "We can always use snob-jockeys. I think with your skills and my recommendation, we could land you a place in the squadron that goes against that thing."
Luke's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious!"
She rolled her eyes. "It's not much, but it's a start at repaying the debt."
He grinned. "Let's just call it even."