"Ouch! That was my foot nerf herder!" Leia snapped through gritted teeth.
"Sorry," Luke mumbled from their spot in the shadows. He peered around the corner at the jedi temple which stood as ruins. Luke was sure that it had once been a marvelous sight. Now it had smoke and blaster fire scorched into it. "It looks like the coast is clear," he said.
"Still we should be careful, you know what Ben said about Ilum," Leia reminded her brother.
"A trap for surviving jedi," Luke acknowledged. "Well who would think that we're jedi, the jedi were exterminated right before we were born," he said.
"But our force signature," Leia reminded him.
"Lots of people have one," Luke said shrugging.
"Alright then lets go," Leia said stepping out of the shadows.
"Wait Leia," Luke hissed following his sister up the stone steps of the jedi temple. He skidded to a halt next to his sister not prepared for the sight that fell before them.
Dead bodies of the fallen jedi littered the great halls. Even in the pitch darkness they could see the bodies. Their lightsabers were laying beside them. The twins walked further into the temple picking up a lightsaber and igniting them so that they could see. From the light emitting from the two blades they could see the scorch marks on the walls. Pieces of the walls had begun to crumble as though there had been explosions.
"Vader did this," Luke said ominously.
"Ben never mentioned any of this," Leia whispered.
"You know he and Mom would have our heads if they knew that we've been in here," Luke told her.
"We're going to have raid this place before we leave the planet," Leia told him. "I'm sure there are a lot of things that we can use," she added.
Luke nodded. "I wonder if the room of a thousand fountains is in here," he mused.
"Or the archives," Leia suggested.
They grinned at each other. "Lets check it out," they said together.
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Darth Vader's shuttle landed on his personal landing pad shortly after arriving at Coruscant. Vader marched out of the shuttle and into his so called home. The servant droids all stopped what they were doing and watched him stride past. Fourteen months in space and he was ready for a long shower and a nice rest. He was ready to just walk around in his own home with no hiding his identity. Unfortunately his plans were interrupted when his security beacon for the jedi temple was beeping. There were jedi in the temple. Vader cursed and then grinned. He would move in for the kill. Throwing on his cloak and calling his lightsaber into his hand, he departed for the jedi temple. Outside a legion of storm troopers waited. He would have none of them come with him on this.
"Stay here," Vader ordered the storm troopers and proceeded to the jedi temple.
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"Leia, look, I'm a jedi," Luke said holding up jedi robes for her to see.
"Maybe you should steal some so that you can play jedi all the time," Leia suggested mockingly.
Luke grinned. "Maybe I will," he said.
"Luke, Mom will kill you," Leia told him.
"I think I like black, what do you think?" Luke asked.
"You're insane," Leia told him.
Luke stuck out his tongue at her. "Hey maybe we can check out where Father stayed," he suggested.
"We could get his personal belongings from there to bring back to Mom," Leia said agreeing.
Luke walked over to a computer screen and keyed in the name Anakin Skywalker. "Look his dorm was 1313," he said.
"We may have to come back at another time for his things," Leia told him.
Luke shut off the computer screen then. "Yeah, you're right," he conceded.
"Luke," Leia began but she never finished because the hiss of a lightsaber caught their attention. Both twins turned around slowly. Luke mouthed 'Vader' to his twin before the black cloaked figure of the most feared being in the galaxy came into focus.
"I have you now jedi," Vader said ominously.
"What jedi?" Leia demanded. "I don't see any jedi, do you Luke?"
"All I see is dead jedi," Luke said.
"Don't play dumb with me. I can feel your force signature," Vader told them.
Luke and Leia looked at each other. "Is he serious?" Leia demanded.
"There's no such thing as the force," Luke said.
"Should I demonstrate for you?" Vader suggested darkly.
"We're good thanks," Leia said.
Vader walked closer to them wanting to examine them closer. It was then that he noticed the Imperial Academy uniform that they wore. But it wasn't just that he noticed, it was their faces. They resembled two people that he had once known. The girl resembled a former handmaiden that had been stranded on Tatooine and the boy resembled a former jedi padawan. For a moment he forgot that they could be jedi.
"What are your names," Vader demanded.
Luke and Leia looked at each other with each of their right eyebrows raised then back at Vader. "Luke and Leia Starling," Luke lied.
Vader crossed his arms knowing that they were lying. "You're lying," he told them.
Leia gave him a condescending look and then at her brother before looking back at him. "What makes you think we're lying? We come from a noble family why would we lie about our names?" she said crossing her arms.
"Our uncle is the count of Articular on Alderaan," Luke stated proudly.
"What are you doing in the jedi temple?" Vader demanded.
Luke and Leia shrugged. "We wanted to see it, it's the stuff of legions," Luke said.
"No one is allowed in here, even Imperial cadets," Vader told them.
"The door was open," Leia told him.
"If you value your lives you will leave now and never come back," Vader told them darkly.
"Gladly," Leia told him.
"Who would want to be in this filth is beyond me," Luke said and spat on the floor before he and his sister left the temple and walked back to the academy, each still secretly carrying tokens from the temple and each planning on coming back.
Vader watched them go feeling that there was something significant about those two.
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Padme kept herself busy as she waited to hear from Luke and Leia. The Alliance had decided that the twins could contact their mother for updates. It had been a week since they left for that dreaded academy and each day that she didn't hear from them was torture. She couldn't get rid of this nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong. But the twins were supposed to contact her today, she just didn't know when that would be. She hadn't stopped worrying over her children since they departed for Coruscant. It wasn't just Vader she worried about, it was the emperor. The emperor would destroy them, just as he did Anakin. She couldn't loose her children the way she lost Anakin. She just couldn't.
Suddenly the comm beeped indicating that her awaited comm was coming in. Padme rushed over to the station and activated the comm. She was relieved to see her children's faces. "Luke, Leia, you have no idea how worried I've been," she told them.
"We're fine Mom. In fact we're gathering the information as we speak. Biggs is slicing through the computers now as we speak," Leia told her.
"You wouldn't believe how easy this is!" Luke said out of annoyance and excitement. Much as Anakin would have done.
Padme smiled faintly. "Then you should be returning shortly," Padme said gratefully.
"We're bringing something more back," Luke hinted.
Padme frowned. "What is it?" Padme demanded.
"Luke don't," Leia warned.
"We've been to the temple, we're bringing Father's belongings back with us," Luke told her.
Padme became alarmed by that. "Kids, don't go to the temple, please don't go there. If Vader found out he will destroy you like he destroyed your father. Please, just don't," she told them.
Luke and Leia looked at each other and Padme knew that there was something they weren't telling her. Then it dawned on her. "You've already been to the temple haven't you?" she asked. When neither twin said anything she knew she was right "Answer me!" she demanded.
"Mom, we're going to be extra careful when we get there," Leia told her.
"Biggs hade already figured out how to tamper with the security there, Vader won't know we're in there until it's too late," Luke told her.
Padme became even more alarmed when she heard the name Vader. "Vader is on Coruscant?" she asked fearful. Again neither twin said anything. "Answer me! Have you seen him?" she demanded.
Luke and Leia nodded. "We didn't tell him who were are, we swear! He didn't harm us either," Luke told her.
Leia looked over her shoulder. "We need to go now before this transmission is caught," she said.
"No wait!" Padme cried but it was too late they had disconnected. She stood up then her mind made up. She was going after her children. She began searching through her things and found her old pant suit and a utility belt for her blaster. As she was searching for these things her fingers brushed a black cloak. Anakin's cloak. With trembling fingers she picked it up and hugged it to her. It still smelled like his aftershave. "If you hurt them in any way you will regret it," she said.
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General Han Solo of the Rebel Alliance didn't have many things in life. He grew up on the streets of Corellia, he had short military career for the Galactic Empire until he blatantly disobeyed orders to kill wookiee slaves. He saved a few lives and earned a life debt from one called Chewbacca. He was a great pilot and owned his own ship. The Millennium Falcon, it was the fasted ship in the fleet.
Han was enjoying one of his glorious naps when he was startled away by Rebel Alliance leader Padme Skywalker. Officially to the public records she was Eileen Skywalker, but to the rebel alliance, she was still Padme Amidala Skywalker. Han eyed her suspiciously for a moment before relaxing. "Mrs. Skywalker, what can I do for you?" he asked.
"I need you to take me to Coruscant," Padme told him.
"What for?" Han asked suspiciously.
"My kids are in trouble," Padme told him.
That got Han's attention. Luke Skywalker was one of those great kids. Luke always helped Han with repairs to his ship. The kid had a knack for fixing things. As for his twin sister, Leia and he didn't always see eye to eye, but Han secretly enjoyed her company. Han would do anything for those kids. "Why didn't you say so," he demanded.
"How soon can we expect to get there?" Padme asked.
"Hold on! You're not going anywhere near Vader without me!" Obi-Wan said joining them.
Padme whirled on him. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I was following you, I can sense your distress Padme. I knew what it was about," Obi-Wan told him. "I also know those kids. They're getting themselves into trouble especially since the Executor is hovering over Coruscant."
"Hold on, we're taking on Vader?!" Han asked.
"Yes!" Padme said fingering her blaster. She had it set pretty high. She wouldn't give him the chance.
"Well, it seems as things just got interesting," Han said grinning. "Strap in," he ordered. "Chewie!" he called standing by the cockpit's entrance. "Get in here you big hairy oaf, we're leaving!"
There was some clanging sounds followed by a roar with Chewbacca coming into the cockpit. Every one strapped in while Han worked at the controls. Padme knew that Luke and Leia would be fighting for the controls at this moment if they were here. She set her thoughts aside as she mentally prepared herself for a face off with Vader.
"I'm going to com Luke and Leia and tell then that we're coming for them," Obi-Wan told them making sure that the twins and Biggs knew they were coming.
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Darth Vader poured over the console screen looking for those to cadets. Something was telling him that there was more to them than they let on. He needed to find out what, it was the only thing that stopped him from killing them. So far he found no matches for the name Starling. Nothing at all. Instead he looked for their first names. Luke was too common a name he found out so he searched for the girls name. If that were their real names. They lied about their last name, why not lie about their first names? But Vader could sense that they weren't lying about that. So here he searched for the girls name. He waited while the database searched for the name until it stopped. The computer found one match. The first thing that caught his attention was the last name. Skywalker. Leia Skywalker. One sibling, Luke Skywalker. He dug in deeper into their family history. Their father was listed as dead and there was no picture offered. Their mother's name was Eileen and it said that they were from Alderaan. There was no picture of the mother, but there was a description, blond hair brown eyes, and five feet four inches tall. That was all it offered. Vader frowned. In his mind there was no doubt who these children were, their birth date was the same date as Padme's official death. There was no doubt who their father was. And then his frown turned into a grin. She was foolish to send her children where he could get to them. He stood up then. He was going to pay a visit to the twins. If his sources were correct, they would be in the boy's dorm.
Vader marched out of the Academies office and out down several hallways before climbing the many stairs. The students all parted away standing still and silent as they watched him walk through the academy, his black cloak billowing out behind him, his hood concealed his face all too well. He marched down the sixth hallway of the boys dorms knowing which door was Luke's. There was unusual silence from the male occupants of the halls. As he got close to Luke's door on large cadet stopped him.
"Lord Vader, are you here to punish that weird kid for what he did to us?" the Cadet demanded. There were a murmured agreement on that question.
Vader frowned at their boldness. "And what did this kid do to you?" he demanded.
"He used some sorcerers trick to incapacitate us when this chick came to party with us. She was pretty too and feisty," another cadet spoke up.
Vader frowned at this, they were obviously talking about Luke and Leia Skywalker. "I will deal with them," he told them darkly.
"I think you're too late My Lord. I saw them and their friend leave an hour ago," another spoke up.
Vader frowned even more and marched to where the boy's dorm was. He used the force to push aside the door and stepped in. He was too late, they were gone. The bunks had the linens folded up and the mattresses were rolled up. The Dorm was immaculately cleaned and swept. But one thing was out of place. The console screen was still on. Vader walked over to it and activated what the last thing viewed. His frown turned into a grin at what he saw. Obviously they had looked up Anakin Skywalker several times. His suspicions were correct. His senses told him that it wasn't too late to stop them from leaving the planet and he knew exactly where they would go before leaving.
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"Luke, Leia, and Biggs brought five large crates up to the roof of the jedi temple waiting for the Millennium Falcon to arrive. It was already midnight.
"I wouldn't be surprised if that hunk of junk doesn't get here in time," Leia said crossing her arms.
"Han will be here," Luke told her confidently.
"I wish that I had your confidence," Leia told him. She eyed Luke's new clothes. "Mom is going to kill you," she told him referring to his black jedi robes that he had nicked from their father's collection.
Luke eyed her up and down. "Not as much as she's going to kill you," he said referring to Leia's black leather ensemble.
Leia gave him a cheeky smile. "What are you going to do about it big brother?" she taunted.
"Nothing, but I can imagine how Father would react to seeing his sixteen year old daughter wearing something like that if he were alive," Luke told him.
"Well he's not," Leia told him.
"Guys look!" Biggs said pointing to the sky where the Millennium Falcon emerged. They watched as the Falcon landed next to them on the roof. The hatch opened and Padme ran down and embraced both of her children.
"Thank the force you're alright!" Padme said hugging her children to her.
"Hey Solo! Get down here with that wookiee of yours and help load this stuff into the falcon!" Biggs called up the ramp.
"We can do that," Luke said stepping out of his mother's embrace followed by Leia. The twins then used the force to move the heavily loaded crates into the ship.
"Well, I'll just move them into the rest of the ship then," Biggs said walking up the ramp leaving the three Skywalkers alone.
Padme placed a palm on both of her children's cheeks. "Are you alright, did Vader hurt you?" she asked.
Before either twin could answer another darker voice spoke for them. "And why would I harm my own children?" it said coldly.
Instantly Luke and Leia turned around and ignited their lightsabers taking the defensive stance. They stood vigilant as Vader emerged from the shadows.
"Kids get inside the ship," Padme ordered as her hand rested on her blaster.
"And leave you to Vader, never," Luke said tightening his grip on his lightsaber.
"Do as your mother says padawans!" Obi-Wan called from the ramp of the ship.
Vader looked up at Obi-Wan with pure hatred in his eyes. "I should known you'd keep them hidden from me Kenobi!" he shouted.
"And why shouldn't I have Vader?!" Obi-Wan demanded. "I will always protect Anakin's family!"
"They belong to me!" Vader said igniting his lightsaber. He would kill Kenobi once and for all.
"Mom what's going on?" Leia asked as she tightened her grip on her lightsaber.
Vader smirked. "Obviously you have been lying to them their entire lives Kenobi," he said. He stepped out of the shadows and pulled back his hood knowing the effect it would have on his children.
"No, no, no, no. It's not true! It can't be!" Luke yelled.
"Lier!" Leia shouted.
Vader smirked. He then turned his eyes on Padme who seemed to be frozen. It was obvious that she had taken great pains to disguise herself, cutting her hair short and dying it blond, but she should have known better than to think she could have stayed hidden. "Your betrayal will not be taken lightly my wayward wife," he said stepping closer to her.
"I'm not the one who betrayed his family and the galaxy," Padme told him coldly and before Vader could do anything she pulled out a blaster and shot him in the chest.
Vader seethed in pain and anger as the shot threw him backwards in a heap on the landing pad.
"Lets go!" Padme shouted.
Vader watched as his family disappeared into the ship with Kenobi vowing to find them. As the ship left the landing pad Vader screamed his wives name.