Chapter 2 – Reality

Chapter Summary: Aeden and Jereco make their way towards the prison cells to rescue Luke and Leia whilst Obi-wan heads off to find the Tractor beam controls. Between this though, Tarkin plans on humiliating Vader anyway that he can.

Disclaimer: I am not making any money off of this fic. I apologize for the misuse, or use of the A New Hope script. It is the property of George Lucas and LucasArts.

Point of Notice: Within this Fic, Vader will be a lot stronger and deadlier thatn in the movies. And he is almost impossible to kill. In a way you could say that he is invulnerable and immortal, or even impenetrable to harm. He is stronger and far more powerful than in the movies, or most fics.

The pure white stormtrooper uniforms gleamed through the light as the two troopers walked down the ramp of the Millennium Falcon, the ship that had just entered the hangar. Even as they had done their scan of the area, they didn't sense, or see anything out of the ordinary, meaning that the ship was clear as the crew had evacuated right after take off, or that they were hiding somewhere in the ship. But, nevertheless, they didn't find a living soul. Even Darth Vader, with all of his necromancy and Sith magic hadn't been able to find anything out of the ordinary, though he did sense something.

And jut to think, that when he had left, and all of the scans were clear, he went back to Tarkin to report his findings. But, the stormtroopers knew that that there was something that was bothering the Dark Lord, and it wasn't just Tarkin, but something else entirely. And in the end though, these two stormtroopers knew what the problem was.

The stormtrooper on the right smiled in his suit as he made his way towards the rear of the hangar to there the doors were. They had to make their report to the commander as well, but they thought that they might wait for a little while, as they were not actually stormtroopers. He was nearly laughing at the thought of this, a rebel, near trained Jedi in the hands of the Empire, and in a Imperial Uniform.

Then, to top it all off, he was with Jereco as well. The man who was an expert in explosive devices. He had lived nearby the Outlanders ever since he had been born, and had been a close friend of both the Lars and Aeden's family. Now he was here helping to find the princess of Alderaan, and with a true Jedi Knight no less.

He tried to flush out all of his thoughts as he went through the blast door of the hangar, and followed his counterpart to the elevators, which he believe were down the hall. It was one thing that Aeden was doing this, but, in truth, he found it to be extremely insane, and then, even more stupid than he could have ever though it would be.

While both Aeden and Jereco were making their way towards the elevators, Han, Chewie and the old man, with the droids as well had made their way into the guard room near the hangar. It was lucky that it was deserted besides one guard, which had been killed almost immediately by Chewie and his amazing grip. A broken neck did nothing to ease the man's pain, even though it killed him in the end.

Han had made his way to the chair and sat down, Chewie, next to him had made his way to lean on the control console. They waited patiently for the droid to make their move, and also for the other two to link back up with them. Han nodded his head in silence as he saw the droids make their way over to the console and plug into it. He sighed loudly.

C-3PO made his way over and stood behind Artoo as he hacked into the computer mainframe. 3PO turned and faced the old man. "We have found the computer outlet, sir."

"Good," Obi wan reviled and watched as they hacked through the map of the Death Star. He was widely amused by the sheer size of the space station. He motioned to Artoo. "He should be able to interpret the entire Imperial computer network. Hopefully we can find where the tractor beam emitter station is. And even a way out of this – monstrosity."

Han looked up skeptically. "I hope that you do find that thing or else we are going to be here for a long time." He smiled widely. "And I am sure that you don't want to be here forever."

"Either do you, I suppose," Obi-wan replied in an even and lightened tone. "With all of those Imperials around I am sure that you don't want to be recaptured, do you, lieutenant Solo."

Han straightened. "That was long time ago," he paused for a moment and made his way towards the adjacent room, punching in the code and opening the blast door. "Besides, I would rather fight them, than to all of this sneaking around. I prefer a straight fight."

"And indeed you shall have one," the Jedi pronounced carefully, earning a queer glance from the smuggler. "But not now. Other matters need to be attended to."

The older Jedi made his way over to the computer screen and watched as the schematics of the station appeared on the screen before him. He nodded silently while next to him, 3PO became excited.

"He says he's found the main computer to power the tractor beam that's holding the ship here. He'll try to make the precise location appear on the monitor." There was a moment between his speech and the schematics of the tractor beams coming up onto the screen. Obi-wan nodded silently and waited. "The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven
locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave."

He nodded once more and proceeded to the door. Han, seeing this merely stalled for a moment before opening his mouth. "Where the hell do you thing ya goin old man," he called out, making Obi-wan turn and face with a clam and even stare. "In case you haven't noticed, we are on the middle of a battlestation, with no way off."

"I am going to help you, captain Solo," Obi-wan replied with a curt evenness. He had no patience with this man. "and to do so, I must go alone as I don't think you boys can help."

Han nodded his head, inclining it to the direction of Obi-wan. "Whatever you say. I've done more that I bargained for on this trip already."

"Indeed you have," Obi-wan replied in his casual way. He made his way to the door, and then proceeded to open it. Making his way out he paused for a moment, before turning to look back. "Unless you feel the need to leave, I suggest that you lock the door."

Han made a pointed look of confusion at the Jedi. Normally he would say such a thing like that. As he was about to reply the old man disappeared. He shook his head a moment later an peered at the Wookie next to him, shaking his had again in the process.

Whiluf Tarkin sat in his chair in the main conference room, waiting silently as the meeting he had requested to begin. His sullen skin and skeletal frame emerged from within his body, emanating him to a position that many would have though improbable. It made him look superior and enlightened his status among all those others present.

All of the other people that he had invited to this meeting were few, but they all shared a common adversary in Lord Vader. Glancing around the table he scanned the faces of those four people who would be helping him in his struggle. Firstly there was Admiral Motti who, above all of his charm and astute arrogance was actually intelligent and playful. He deemed things necessary and unnecessary by a simple glance. He had hated Lord Vader because of his astute power in the Force. Indeed, he had ridiculed it only hours before when Vader had first arrived. He did note that the Force was useless and incompetent as it did not provide the details of where the Rebel Base was, nor where the stolen data tapes were that the Death Star plans were on. And in the end he had almost been killed because of his own incompetence.

Beside him was Ozzel, who was above all, a competent commander. From head to tail he was a strict Imperial, and actually had ambitions which he hoped to follow, and eventually receive, like his appointment to Admiral, which he had not received yet. He was ever hopeful, and thought that this might be his chance. Besides this though he was extremely pompous, and many thought that he was a fool, and at best, had rebel sympathies. Why he had even remained alive was beyond reason to many imperials.

Commander Spears, a short man with dark hair and narrowed eyes. He was always loyal to Tarkin, and had been since he had been given command under him, and besides this though he had nothing but a clean record. Apparently he had spies higher up in the military, and contacts within the aristocracy who were friends of his. His career was mainly given to him. Nothing else.

The last person though was Grand Admiral Grant. He was one of the original twelve Grand Admirals that had been appointed before the Death Star had been complete. And like most of the admirals, he hated Darth Vader, and to that point, he hated non-humans as well. He actually thought that Vader was an alien, a non-human from since he had met him. Besides this though, he was a noble by birth, and was absolutely contemptuous of those who despised nobles, and used their status to get a military rank. Above all of his beliefs were that he was astutely sure that he had been born to rule the Empire, and wanted to be rid of the Emperor and Vader, and many others who would stand in his way.

Tarkin finished going over the information in his mind, and sighed to himself, smiling in a sickening way. He was sure that he would be rid of Vader now, he had no choice. Besides Spears, the most loyal to him was Motti, who had been a loyal follower ever since the beginning of the Death Star project, and especially here within the Death Star itself.

Nodding to himself, Tarkin began slowly, wanting everyone to know the facts first. "My friends," he stated in a calm and belligerent way. "I have called you all here as we have a common enemy aboard this station, and we all know who he is." He scanned their faces and understood that they knew who he was talking about, he smiled cunningly before continuing. "So I am going to ask you, what are we going to do about it."

"He is a threat," Grant voiced in his quiet, but staunch way. "Therefore we should just take him out."

"It is not going to be that simple," another man cut in suddenly. "He is going to be surrounded by guards, and all of that Force power that he has, that magic. It scares me alone."

Motti smiled. "Ozzel," he began in a contemptuous way. "Vader is a race of a dying breed of ancient people. He is the last. His time is over. He will have to be replaced ere the end, and I think that he should be done so by those soldiers who are loyal to their commanders. Both the Emperor and Vader should be killed; they are merely thorns in our sides. The leaders of the Empire should be strictly military officers."

"I agree," Grant voiced. "They should be nobles."

"Just military officers," Motti cut in, cutting off the Grand Admiral quickly. He didn't like nobles either, "regardless of their status in the aristocracy, or the empire at large. They should be strategic and competent. And they must know how to lead men in a battle. They must know how to command."

"I will agree with that," Ozzel cut in. "We must select our own commanders as leaders of the empire."

They all seemed to nod at that remark. All of them didn't want to serve under those Sith mages for the rest of their lives. It was too much for them to handle. It wasn't correct. It wasn't proper. Motti though turned to fact Tarkin.

"We have all wished for something more in our lives," he stated calm fully. "More power, loyalty, command. To be rich and wealthy. To be a leader. Like you for instance." Tarkin stared at Motti for a moment, and then back to the other faces of the men who were all looking at him. "Truth be told Tarkin, you have been disfavored by the Emperor over an over again. Your efficiency of your doctrine though was well done, and should be applied. Although you and Darth Vader have vied for the Emperors favour since the beginning, he has won over you."

Tarkin knew that well. Vader and Tarkin used each others positions to further themselves in court, and in favour. But Vader had practically placed the Emperor on the throne, and Tarkin had become placed aside in favour of the Dark Lord. And to top it all off, although he had been applauded in the early years as the Ghormen Massacre commander, he had never until some years later been attacked by it.

Vader had used it against him, and somehow he had been reversed in his position and sent own into the lower deeps of his home world, where he was degraded and imprisoned, and where his brother kept a secret watch on him. Although him and his brother Gideon were close, their relationship faltered, and eventually ended in death, and then the eventual extermination of the Tarkin family. Only their cousin survived, and he had a hated of Darth Vader as much as Tarkin himself did. He had always suspected that Vader had something to do with his families' utter extermination.

But, in the end, Tarkin did make his way back up, and even posted his own doctrine, called the Tarkin Doctrine, which many of the Imperial Governors and Moffs used to their advantage, but it was not in the end, used by the Emperor, as he didn't enforce it. It was an insult to his character in the end. He began to harbour secret hatred against the Emperor and Vader, and conspiracies began to divulge themselves around him, mainly with him as the supposed leader. But yet, when he had been promoted to command the Death Star project, he had been stoked, and thought that the Emperor would once again use him. however, he never thought that he would have to use this battle station to his advantage.

He delved out of his thoughts as Motti continued in his extravagant speech. "The Emperor chose well when he selected you to oversee construction of the Death Star, Governor Tarkin. Other men might have harbored some foolish thought of betrayal. Ambition has been the downfall of many. Yet you have not shown any sign of treason until now."

Tarkin was, in truth, not too sure of himself. Though, with the battle station under his command, he would surely destroy the Rebellion and even the Emperor if he had to, including Darth Vader. He smiled at that thought of the Superweapon destroying Vader and the Emperor, and even the rebellion. He could place himself up on top.

"A major part of this station's value is as a deterrent. Like the Tarkin Doctrine says, we have to 'Rule through the fear of force rather than the Force itself, or even by Force.' We have the power to do such a thing, and eliminate all of those who stand in our way. We have the most powerful and ultimate weapon in the universe, and I suggest that we use it." he paused for a moment before continuing. "We must prove to the galaxy that we are prepared to use it at the slightest provocation."

"What you are proposing may not be all possible, against the Rebels, yes it is possible. But against the Emperor, I can see it happening, but I think it impossible that it would happen." Tarkin gestured. "You are close to treason, Motti."

Motti smiled, intriguing everyone else in the room to look athim. He was up to something. "Is it treason to point out that you could demand a position of authority second only to that of the Emperor?"

"I would not care if the Emperor was my enemy," Tarkin stated gently. "Only now I have the power to get at him. And why have a position that is only second to the Emperor, why not first."

"I object to that." Grand stood up and sputtered loudly. He would never stand to have Tarkin rule him. He was a noble, he deserved to rule. It was his destiny.

"You would." Tarkin fired back at him, well knowing that he wanted to rule more than anyone else. But since he had no supporters, it was doubtful. That he would survive very long on the Imperial throne. "You would not last long anyway, Grant. You are nothing but a useless male. How you became Grand Admiral is beyond me."

Grant was about to fire back at him, but Tarkin continued. "The stability of the Empire is at stake, and we have no time for petty squabbles between us. We are the future gentlemen, and I suggest that we remember it. We should advance upon it as well, and aim to fight for what we believe in. Darth Vader is nothing more than an arrogant fool, and he will be dealt with in time, and when the situation demands it."

"And when will that be?" Spears asked this time, obviously interested into what his commander had to say. He could tell that Tarkin had something planned.

"Soon, my friend," Tarkin pronounced as he stared at the captain. He turned swiftly and stared back at the other commanders with him. He was almost laughing. "Very soon."

The lift took them up through the bowels of the space station. Not many people seemed to notice two stormtroopers entering the lifts, and making their way to the prison facility, and most of the commanding officers assumed that it was some assignment that didn't concern them. They were mainly left to themselves, as they were inconsequential to everyone else. And besides, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

They stopped with a jolt though, and exited the doorway with relative ease and silence, only to be faced with a number of armed guards. Scanning the area, Aeden noticed that all of the guards were wearing pointed looks on their faces, and seemed to merely scowl at the stormtroopers that had just entered. Holding on his own, Aeden managed to stare directly at the commander who peered around in concern as the two troopers entered the room.

Peering at them with utter contempt, he surveyed them. He seemed to be sizing them up for some reason. Narrowing his eyes he approached them carefully. "What exactly are you doing here?"

Both Aeden and Jereco looked at each other. The younger man nodded at Jereco and then turned to the commander while the older man did something with his weapon. Sighing carefully he walked forward a few steps. He declared carefully in a calm and clear voice. "Prisoner transfer," it sounded ridiculous, he knew, but it was the best thing that he could come up with. "Lord Vader asked us to retrieve the boy that he bought in earlier."

He received a queer look from the other stormtrooper, who quickly returned to what he was doing. The commander screwed up his face into a questioning glance. "I wasn't notified," he stated in a curious way, as if he didn't believe them. Even if it was Lord Vader who had sent them here, he at lease had the decency to call ahead. He positioned his arm in the air and called forward two guards. "I'll have to clear it."

Placing his hand back onto the console, and as the two guards came forward, Jereco came across to Aeden and carefully pronounced into his ear. "We don't have time for this."

"What?" the commander asked as he lifted his head up after hearing what was said.

Both Aeded and Jereco stared at him for a moment, and then, without notice they aimed carefully at the two guards coming at them and fired. Within seconds the guards had been killed, falling to the ground, and the other guards had followed them, firing at the stormtroopers.

Aeden quickly ducked for cover, still firing as he went along, while he waited as Jereco armed something in his hands. Aeden had busied himself with shooting at the cameras and the other guards in the room. One by one they fell where they stood, and the cameras exploded, shattering into a thousand pieces. The commander was the last to go down, and this time Jereco fired at him, making him fall back and hit the ground hard.

The younger man stood up and stared at Jereco, who had just stood there, unharmed and naturally, just fixing his gun. Aeden shook his head in disgust. "What are you doing?"

Jereco merely stared at him for a moment. "You'll see." He swallowed hard as he stared at the youth. Taking off of his helmet he placed it on the console and tried to find the cells that the Princess was in. Ignoring the beeping alarm, he scanned through the cells log in seconds. "Here it is...cell twenty-one-eight-seven. You go get her. I'll hold them here."

"With what?"

Jereco lifted his head and noticed that Aeden was staring at the modified weapon that was seated on the edge of the console. Patting it carefully, he stared at the boy, smiling.

"When they come in here there will be a great surprise for them," Aeden was still not convinced, but Jereco let it pass. "Go. I'll catch up in a minute."

Aeden merely nodded as he made his way up the stairs and down the cell corridor. Jereco stared after him and wondered what it was like to be an enthusiastic youth again. Shaking his head he answered the beeping comlink, at the same time fixing his weapon. He spoke carefully as to not let anyone else know that anything was wrong.

The younger man though ran down the halls, checking the cell numbers atop the cells themselves. He knew that he was searching for something, but what it was though eluded him. He did know that he was meant to find the princess, but he also knew that he had to find another prisoner. Following the numbers atop of the cells he finally stopped before one of them, and presses the control console next to it , revealing the inside of the door. Stepping in gently he saw something that he wouldn't have believed that he would see in his lifetime.

It was the Princess, the actual princess of Alderaan. He knew that he had to rescue her, but she was just there, harmless and beautiful. He had never been this close to her. All the while he stared at her, watching her elegant body and shape as it moved gently. He didn't even notice her lift her head and stare at the stormtrooper with an uncomprehending look on her face. She was almost amused. Aeden is stunned by her beauty and stood there, staring at her with his mouth hanging open, but still with the helmet on his head.

As the moment passed the Princess smiled. "Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper?" she chided him.

Snapping back to attention he focused in on her face, and replied in an even tone. "What?" He had to shake his head first though until he understood what she meant. "Oh...the uniform."

He shook his head again and revealed himself. She seemed to recognize him though with his dark hair, and rounded face. "I'm Aeden…" he started but was cut off.

"Outlander?" she asked in a curious tone, having heard the name before. She saw him nod in recognition but with a curious look on his face. "I know your parents. They must be worried sick if they knew that you were here now."

"They do," Aeden corrected quickly, coming forward to grab her hands. "I'm here to rescue you. I'm here with Ben Kenobi."

She quickly stood up and stared at him in the face, her excitement growing. "Ben Kenobi?" she started in a hyperactive and surprised manner. "Where is he?"

"Come on!" Aeden declared carefully as they left the cell and ran down the hallway.

Yet Leia stopped for a moment and opened the cell next to hers. Aeden went over in his mind what he was supposed to do, and suddenly remembered that he was supposed to rescue more prisoners. Running back to her he stood next to the princess as she opened the door. To his surprise though it wasn't one of the rebel commandos that he had been expecting, but rather a young boy in white clothing. He stared at him for a moment, and as they stared at each other, there was some recognition.

"Luke," Leia finally said to break the silence.

"Luke?" Aeden repeated as they both embraced. He had only ever know one Luke, and as he stared at them he finally understood what Kenobi wanted him to do. Get both Luke and Leia. A possible Jedi, and a popular Rebel sympathizer. He smiled as recognition came over him. "Luke Skywalker?" he stated once more.

Luke stared back for a moment. It took him a while longer to remember who it was that was standing before him. Twelve years could do a lot to you. "Aeden?" he suddenly questioned. "Aeden is that you?"

"You two know each other?" Leia questioned.

"Yeah," Aeden nodded in a calm, but excited way as he came forward to embrace his long lost friend. "Luke and I were best friends back before he was taken by the Empire. But how did you get here?"

Luke shook his head, getting all emotional. "I have no idea," he said in a almost crying way. "I just woke up here."

"You have no idea how you got here?"

Leia cut him off quickly. "The Empire apparently conducted some experiments on him, and as a result he lost much of his memory."

Aeden would have almost gasped out had he not heard Jereco in the corridor. "A little help here." He said making the three face the doorway. He was in the middle of a fire fight and all of the laser fire was billowing around him. he ducked quickly into the doorway, just missing the fire.

"He is here," Vader said to himself in the corridor as he made his way down towards the prison facility. He had heard the alarm some time ago, and knew that it had to be Obi-wan Kenobi. There was no doubt in his mind who it was. He had felt his presence sometime ago, and it was stationed all around the ship that had just entered the hangar bay of the Death Star. "I know that he is here, I can sense him." he said clearly once more, confident in his assertion.

Nodding to himself he made his way towards the end of the hallway, and turning sharply he entered the small little walkway between the different sections of the space station. He was annoyed that he hadn't been able to get to the older man earlier. As it was, in the Clone Wars, he had only been a master, or partner to him for a short time compared to the other Jedi. It was a pity that Vader had been captured by the Sith earlier, or else he would have made a great Jedi, and also would have most likely learned from Obi-wan, as Qui-gon had suggested, or to that effect, ordered him to do so.

He made his way through the door quickly. He had to make it to the nearest elevator so that he could get to the prison facility and to Obi-wan. He was the last of the Jedi, and he would go down fighting. Vader smiled to himself as the thought of Obi-wan kneeling before him flashed through his mind. There was no doubt in his mind that something like that would happen, but then again, he was being a little too overconfident in his assertions.

And anyway, he had always been overconfident.

Once more he turned sharply and without looking where he was going he bumped into something and jolted suddenly. Staring down he noticed a small imperial captain looking at him. Vader scanned his mind quickly, as to assess why he had bumped into him, and if necessary, to kill him. But what Vader found though was the opposite. Indeed, it was intriguing him in the least.

"Lord Vader." The commander said assuredly. He was fearful that he had made a great mistake.

Vader peered at him, and pretended to be disappointed in him bumping into him. "What?" he said in a sharp manner.

The officer before him gulped, and began in a nervous way. "I have news for you," he cautioned his voice incase he made a mistake. "And it concerns your welfare, and that of the crew of the Death Star."

"In what way?" Vader asked in a knowing attitude.

"I have news pertaining to Tarkin," he suggested in a cooperative and certain way. He was almost smirking as he said it. "And some of the other Imperial officers aboard the Death Star who wish to be rid of you and the Emperor."

Vader inclined his head. Although he had other matters to attend to, and they had to be urgently taken care of, he was more worried about his life. Well, not really as he couldn't be killed that easily. He always knew that Tarkin was out to get him, and the Emperor, ever since he had been practically demoted and his family almost wiped out. Besides this though, even as he had shown him when he had strangled Motti, there was definitely something going on against him.

He glanced at the captain once more. There was spirit and hope within the man. "Tell me more, young captain."

The laser fire darted down the prison corridor, disintegrating on impact against the wall, puffing into a thin whispy layer of smoke that dissipated upon impact. It clouded the hallway and moved well within the cell. Jereco though was busy firing down the hallway against the fire, attacking the stormtroopers as they made their way up the narrow walkway. He was taking careful aim of each and every one of them, and taking them down one by one. But even as he killed one stormtrooper, another two grew in his place. And he was getting aggravated about it.

Inside the cell though it was a different. it seemed, to Jereco's dislike, that Luke, Leia and Aeden were having a nice little catch up chat seeming as they had all missed the past ten or so years together. And it was making Jereco even more aggravated about it. Yet, as he fired down the hall, he could catch glimpses of the conversation that he didn't actually want to hear. He actually preferred that they should help him.

Aeden could barely believe what was happening. He and Luke had finally met p after all of these years. He was almost emotional at best, and was almost crying. He embraced Luke once more, and stared at his friend. "How long has it been Luke, eh? Almost ten years. It is good to finally see you again. We all thought that we had lost you when the Empire had taken you. it was a sad loss to the us, and the Rebellion."

"The Rebellion?" Luke questioned. He questioned his friend for a moment. "You joined in with the Rebellion?" it was partly a statement, but was more of a question.

Aeden regarded him for a moment before answering. "Yes," he replied in an even tone. "In fact, we all did. My family, Biggs' family, and even your aunt and uncle."

Luke almost stiffened when he had heard that. His aunt and uncle had joined the Rebellion, and they had done it because the Empire had taken him, and used him for something. He shook his head to think that all of them had done this for him, for his memory, and for some hope that he was alive.

Sighing to himself, he came almost to tears, and then he remembered something. It was a strange time to remember something but it came as he remembered the farm on Mos Eisley, but he had to quickly dispel what he had seen, as now was not the time to remember the casual beatings of a youthful boy. Stiffening again, he became more reserved. Aeden and Leia seemed to notice this.

"Luke," Leia casually, but concernedly asked. "What's wrong?"

Luke met her gaze, and shook his head. "Nothing," he couldn't tell her. It was too hard to bare. It was too hard to tell them what was happening, what he had seen.

"It didn't look like nothing." Aeden stated, becoming as concerned as the princess. "What did the Empire do to you Luke?"

"Nothing." Luke answered sharply, silencing, and surprising both Leia and Aeden. They were taken back a little by his harshness and anger, but it soon passed. Aeden nodded though, as Leia had explained earlier, the Empire had done some experiments upon him, but he couldn't remember due to memory loss. Breathing in, he sighed, and let things pass. Behind him though he heard another yell, this one though was of urgency.

"Can I get some help here?" Jereco yelled, making the three other people face them.

Leia sighed. "Looks like you've lost our only escape route." She had to point that out.

Jereco merely started at her, but kept on firing down the hall. "Then perhaps we should let you remain here while we leave peacefully," he returned in an even stance. He was angered by her compassion for pointing out the obvious. "This cell is as safest place as any."

She was about to fire back when Aeden gave her a cautioned stare. She shut her mouth but groaned silently. She was annoyed by his charm, and to say the least, his arrogance. But then again, she had never gotten along that well with Jereco. Aeden turned suddenly and faced the older man, and stared with a compassionate glance. He nodded silently, and then turned again and handed Luke a weapon.

"Have you ever used one of these?" he pointed as he gave Luke the small pistol. Luke nodded briefly. He had vague memories of weapons training, but not enough to be sure. Aeden saw this and nodded.

"Okay then," he said in a calm tone. "Just point and spray at anyone who shoots at you." he then turned around and then recognized that he fell into anyone, as did Jereco. He swiftly turned his head and stared at Luke. "But not us."

Luke saw him motion to the three people in the room, and nodded silently. It was reassuring as he went off to the doorway, and then proceeded to fire out of the doorway and into the corridor. They had to get a way out, and had to get out. But there was nowhere for them to go, except to where the stormtroopers were.

Aeden nodded to Jereco, and then laid out some heavy cover fire, positioning the trigger to double shot. Leaning out of the cell door, he proceeded to lay down a thick cover as Jereco rolled across the ground to rest opposite the cell. Standing up he proceeded to fire out of the bend in the wall.

Luke came to the doorway, and proceeded to aim carefully. He had only a small pistol, while the other two had small rifles. How was he ever going to use this thing carefully? He shook his head and wondered, and then proceeded to aim, leaning his arm in a straight fashion, and pointing it down the hall. He wanted to press the trigger, but he couldn't, not until he knew the truth. But then again the Empire had done this to him, and they deserved to be punished.

Beside him he could feel Leia's worried glance and her stare as she did so with pain in her eyes. She was fearful of what had happened to Luke, and how much time it would take for him to adjust. But Luke couldn't care about that now; all he could do was fire in large quantities. He began to breathe in carefully. It became harsher and heavier within seconds. Then it came.

"Noooooooooo." He yelled loudly, earning a look from both Leai and Aeden. He stood up in a proud sense and dove into the walkway, firing in anger. The Empire had done this to him, and they would pay for it. Each sot counted, and he glared, firing and yelling in pain at the same time. He hit the floor hard, but proceeded to fire, and through the smoky haze he could see as he hit three stormtroopers as they made their ascent up the few stairs that began the corridor.

Aeden merely looked at him in wonder. But then it became a look of fear, as he could feel all of the anger bottling up inside of him. He shook his head and thought of what could have happened to him, and how he could have ended up this way. But he quickly dispelled those thoughts, and proceeded to fire once more. After a small moment he made eye contact with Jereco, and with a slight nod he got the message, and proceeded, with Luke, to lay down a quick barrage of fire while Jereco fiddled around with his free weapon.

Picking up his modified rifle which he had picked up before hand, he proceeded to tie a number of small devices to it. Princess Leia stared at him for a moment, and then gasped as she saw the man get out a thermal detonator. As he tied it to the power source of the weapon, he armed it carefully, placing the timer on quickly. Nodding to himself, and smiling with what he had done, he stared casually at her, and then Aeden. The younger man made eye contact with him and then understood what he was doing.

He grabbed hold of Luke, and dragged him back into the cell. He didn't even notice that Luke was hurt as he cried out in pain. He fired a couple more volleys down the hallway into the opening and watched at Jereco readied himself.

"Fire in the hole." The older man yelled as he threw the altered weapon down the hallway, and hearing it clatter down the opening. He fired a couple more shots, and the ducked down into the small opening of the garbage chute, though holding on carefully. Aeden saw this and then ducked back into the cell.

The explosion was only small, but it was large enough to rock the foundations on this level, and to kill everyone within sight of the weapon. There was a tremendous bang, followed by several yells and falling bodies and a clattering of weapons. Aeden him in the cell, waiting a moment before resurfacing. Leaving the cell carefully, he went over to Jereco and help him get out of the chute, and then proceeded to walk down the hallway.

Entering the opening they saw the damage that had been inflicted on the surrounding areas and on all of the white clad stormtroopers, most of who were now coloured black. Nodding to themselves they both met in their glances. They were almost laughing when Luke and Leia came down the walkway. As they turned they saw that Leia had a scowl on her face.

She shook her head wildly. She was angered beyond control. "With that little stunt of yours its lucky that the whole station doesn't know that we are here. What was with that anyway?"

"The whole station does now that we are here, honey," Jereco called to her. He always called her that. "so I suggest that you deal with it."

"How dare you say that to me," Leia replied evenly, though firm. She was enraged by his attitude. "It was probably only luck that they sent a small platoon after us, now they will probably send all of the troops that they have."

"Not once I am done," Jereco said, heading over to the elevators. Opening them all up one by one he proceeded to throw a small thermal detonator device down into them. "They can't get to us if they don't know where to find us."

"We need those to get out of here," she stated in a concerned and excited way. "You do know that?"

The man stared at the Princess. "I do," he nodded. "But I will not be destroying all of them, until we leave them that is. I will be leaving one for us, but once we leave it. boom. It will kill everyone in a small radius of the blast." He smiled in a sickening way.

"You're sick," Leia replied coldly. "You delight in noting but death. You don't deserve to live, or to fight in the rebellion."

He stared at her evenly. But he ignored her, and as he pressed the button on the side of the elevator he waited for it to come to him. Within a moment the elevator had opened up, and he proceeded to get in. Aeden followed him, as did Luke and Leia. Carefully the doors shut, and there was silence and enmity written within the small room.

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