Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the movie/book characters. I'm not getting money from this, nor do I intend to. Thanks again to my readers for their patience. The story's flowing again so I'll try and write as much as I can before finals, though I'm not sure how much that will be. As always, concrit is welcomed.

Ch. 7

Leia stifled a yawn as she and Mara pored through yet another set of files. They had been doing far less actual surveillance of the Kuati senator than they had initially thought. So far it seemed that the most she was guilty of was a good deal of bribes, none of which were particularly worse than those of most politicians. There had initially been a hint that she may have been interfering with some missing shipments from Kuat's Drive Yards, but that turned out to be merely the fault of shoddy paperwork.

"So when's your father going to be back?"

"He's been on-planet for the past six hours. I'll be going back to see him after I'm done with this file." She gave a frustrated sigh. We're trained by the best in the Empire and we serve the Sith lords who defeated the Jedi and regained their rightful place of power. And yet we're sitting here like a pair of common clerks. Leia looked up and saw Mara giving her a guarded look. She offered her friend a tight smile. "I'm sure that Emperor Palpatine, in his wisdom, has his reasons for having us look through these personally."

Mara grunted noncommittally. Leia knew that her friend would never say anything critical of the Emperor. In fact, if Palpatine asked, Mara would inform him of any possibly seditious things that Leia had ever said about him in a heartbeat. However, Leia was frustrated. Palpatine had to have known that she had wanted more than anything to go with her father to recover her brother. She knew that she was being denied this in order to teach her obedience to her true master. She was also sure that he was just doing it out of spite. While Leia tried to keep it from showing, her loyalty was first and foremost to her father.

Leia finished sifting through the file and turned off her datapad with a bit more enthusiasm than was needed. "Now to meet this brother of mine."

Mara nodded. "I'll see you later."

Leia piloted her speeder back to her father's palace, her mind buzzing. What will he be like? He's been twisted by that wretched Jedi, I'll wager… now that he's with us, he'll see the truth of things. She frowned as she parked her vehicle. Won't he?

"Father!" She rushed into his room, relieved to see him back unharmed. He turned away from his window, and she realized that her excitement had blinded her to the anxiety and anger rolling off of him. She faltered. "What is it? You brought him back, didn't you?"

"Yes. He's confined to a cell in the east corridor."

Leia hadn't figured that her brother would be given free rein straightaway, but if he was confined to a cell, things were a bit different than she had hoped. She waited to hear more.

Vader's breathing echoed in the room for a short while. "Kenobi has once again stolen my son from me. I defeated him, but his death twisted the boy against me further. He has been corrupted by the faulty view of the Jedi already, perhaps irreparably."

"We can show him the truth, Father, I know we can! Surely he'll see through those lies."

"The hooks of the Jedi are deeply set in him, Leia."

"If he doesn't turn, Palpatine will kill him."

"You say nothing that I do not already know."

"May I see him?"

Leia listened to her father's breathing as he contemplated. "You may, but you will not be unattended."

"Father, I'm more than qualified to deal with a half-trained Jedi—"
"You are not. You have never faced a Jedi and you do not know their tricks. I will send two of my Noghri to accompany you."

Leia remained silent. She was uncomfortable around her father's new pets. They moved silently and inhumanly, and they had the annoying habit of referring to her as "Lady Vader."

"I do this for your own good, Leia."
"I know, Father. If you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." She bowed and left the room, heading for the east corridor's cells. Somewhere along the way, she was intercepted by the two Noghri, who fell in step behind her like shadows. She took a deep breath to focus herself as she approached the cell block. The biometric security system beeped as she was allowed access. Inside was a hallway of fairly small cells, each one ray-shielded so that whoever was walking by could have an unobstructed view of the inhabitant. The sole occupant of the entire block was at the end of the hallway.

He was sitting on the cell's bed with his back to the wall and his eyes closed. I thought we were supposed to be twins. He looks nothing like me. "You are Luke Skywalker, I presume," she said, trying to keep her voice level and authoritative.

Luke opened his eyes, looked at her, then closed them again. "You must be Leia."

Leia allowed her eyes to narrow slightly. "You would be correct."

"So would you."

"Enough banter."

He opened his eyes again and fixed her with a disdaining look. "My life is gone. My aunt and uncle were murdered for not giving me up. My mentor was murdered in front of me by the thing that I've been hiding from since I found out what he was. I've been stolen from my home and placed in a prison because the Empire fears Jedi. I'm in no mood for joking."

Leia blinked, a little surprised by his outburst. "That thing is your father."

"I had a father. His name was Owen Lars. He was the one who raised me and protected me. Anakin Skywalker was my biological father. He's dead and Darth Vader is using his corpse."

"Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."

He gave a dark laugh. "And you do?"

She opened her mouth, ready to say that yes, she did know, but then shut it again, irritated at herself for letting him start to get the upper hand on her. She decided to change the subject. "You've been manipulated by Kenobi. I'm sure that your guardians wanted the best for you, but you were taken to them after being kidnapped. They were probably as much pawns as you are."

This provoked a reaction in him, shaking him from his damnably calm demeanor. "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know anything about me or my family or what we've been through."

"And I could say the same thing about me."

Luke regained his composure and sat back down. "I guess you could."

Leia motioned to one of the Noghri. He left briefly and returned with a chair. "Well," said Leia, sitting down, "we both seem to suffer from a lack of information about each other. Perhaps we should rectify that. It could clear up a few misconceptions."

Luke nodded reluctantly. "I guess it could."

Leia waited patiently for Luke to ask the first question. It wouldn't do for her to seem to eager to know about her long-lost brother and what had made him believe so many lies. She didn't have to wait long.

"Why are you so loyal to him?"

"To our father, I assume?"

Luke nodded.

"He's my father. He's my only family after the Jedi stole me and killed my—our—mother."

"What?" Luke sounded outraged. "That's what they've been telling you?"

"Yes. Mother was misled by Kenobi into betraying him, and after he left Father to die, he took her and killed her to leave no loose ends." She noted the look of impending anger on his face and gave a sardonic smile. "Which version did they tell you?"

"Vader was responsible for our mother's death. Not Ben."

Leia gave a harsh laugh. "That makes no sense. He loved her. He still loves her."

"Sometimes people do horrible things out of love," he said softly. "She was horrified to hear that her husband had supposedly slaughtered children in the Jedi Temple. Vader was already paranoid, and when he saw Ben, he jumped to conclusions. He Force-choked his pregnant wife and was responsible for her death during our birth."

"That's a filthy lie."

"Ask him. Look him in the eyes and tell him what I've said."

Leia's patience was wearing thin. "I can't look my father in the eyes, because your beloved Kenobi left him mutilated and burned and confined to that kriffing armor," she snapped.

"He regretted that."

"I'm sure he did. Just another loose end defaming the wonderful name of the Jedi."

"It wasn't like that. They were friends once, didn't he tell you that?"
"Of course he did. He trusted his 'friend' and tried to save him from ignorance. And this wonderful friend, the man he trusted and loved like a brother, proved no different from the rest of the Jedi."

Luke looked at her sadly. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"I believe it because it's the truth." She stood and resisted the urge to kick the chair into the back wall. "I'm done here."

"You didn't ask me anything," Luke called as she started walking away.

Leia paused. "How can you be so poisoned against your own blood?"

Before he could answer, she began walking again. As she reached the door, she heard him speak softly. She used the Force to enhance her hearing as she keyed it shut.

"Ben, help me keep my resolve."

Leia sat at her father's desk, looking out the window at another of Coruscant's frequent rainstorms. She felt his presence approach before she heard his footsteps and respirator. She didn't turn.

"Is something wrong, Leia?"

"He's not at all what I was expecting." Vader said nothing, so she continued. "I'm scared for him. I was hoping that he'd listen to reason, and instead he does nothing but spout the lies that he's been told. It was a mistake to let your guard kill his guardians. I'm not sure he'll ever forgive you that."

"If it helps him to see the truth of the Dark Side, I am willing to live with that."

"He's willfully ignorant. He was saying the most absurd things about you."

"Such as?"

Leia debated telling her father, then decided it was better that he hear it from her than from Luke. "He believes some story that Kenobi told him about Mother's death and how you killed her."

Her father was silent, but there was a rather surprising stab of pain and guilt in the Force for a split second. The pain, she could understand, but… guilt? "Are you all right, Father?"

"Yes. I should not have been surprised to hear that."

"I'm going to question him further after some meditation. I'll make him face the truth, even if it kills him."

"I'd rather it did not, Leia."

"It was a figure of speech."

"It would not be if the Emperor decided to put himself in charge of his training."

Leia pondered that. "No, it wouldn't be. I don't suppose pointing that out to him would help us."

"It would not. Death is of no concern to fanatics."

Leia rubbed her temples. "I'm so frustrated, Father. This isn't at all like I'd been hoping."

"I know."

She stood. "I need some sleep. Emperor Palpatine wants Mara and I to return to our filing duties early tomorrow, and I'd like another try at talking to Luke."

Vader nodded. They bid each other a good night, though Leia was sure that both of their sleep would be troubled. As she left, she reached out tentatively in the Force to feel her father's presence again, only to find that same trace of guilt. My father has never shown regret for anything he's done. What is he guilty about? She thought once again of Luke's words about her mother's death and found herself wanting reassurance from her father that it was just a lie.

She cursed the Jedi once more, this time for planting their seeds of deception in her mind.