In the same universe as Chapters One and Six, Leia captures Senator Organa's ship over Tatooine.
19 AFE
I felt bad about how short that last snippet in this universe was, and how dark. So here is the start of the universe that one was setting up. I hope you enjoy reading this one as much as I did writing it!
(Also, I promise this is the only one of the universes in this fic collection where Vader dies so early on)
Leia had never been to Tatooine.
She'd heard all sorts of awful things about the place, and not just about how the Hutts refused to cede full control of the planet to the Empire. Their reluctance was barely an issue. The Emperor would have her take care of those bloated slugs soon enough. The punishment for obstructing the advancement of a fully united galaxy tended to be death by her hand.
Still… Tatooine. Was it just a strange coincidence that the ship holding the stolen plans had jumped from Scariff directly to here?
It was after all on that barren waste of a planet her long dead father had gotten his ever so pathetic start.
As if to prove to her that this location was no mere coincidence, she recognized one of the prisoners her soldiers found on board the fleeing vessel. Senator Organa, the man who had kidnapped her as a baby. He had schemed to keep her from her rightful place at the Emperor's side. Leia had never understood why her Master had let the fool live, much less why he had barred her from ever encountering him.
Moments ago when he had been brought before her, he had simpered and cried. Babbled apologies over and over, not for his actual crimes but rather for getting caught. For the foiling of her abduction on that long ago day. The kidnapper had repeated her name over and over, as if it was something precious to him. She ached to interrogate and murder him, to in the moments before his death soak in his pain over how miserably his plans to weaken her had failed.
That was the rub of the problem, wasn't it? She had to decide if she wished to remain shipside and personally torture the terrorist Senator, or if she would go down to the planet to retrieve the Death Star plans herself.
Unfortunately she knew exactly where her talents were needed most. All logic directed her to follow the Death Star plans and wait to have her fun with the Senator. She knew that.
She could torture the man later. The pain and fear she'd drink in as the interrogation dragged on would lose a certain quality if others had gotten to him before her, but she would still be able to savor ending his life.
She sulked as she acknowledged that there was no reason to delay in departing for Tatooine. She wanted to stay here and torture Senator Organa. Not to ask him boring questions about the terrorist cell he was part of. No. She wanted to know how she had come into his custody nineteen years earlier. Had he been there when her mother died, could he give her a first hand testimony of what had taken place?
If he could not answer her questions about her mother's death, then he might help her puzzle out what exactly had happened to her father. He had been killed by terrorists, terrorists just like Organa, when Leia was but a year old. The Emperor had been kind enough to claim her as his heir after that, the orphaned child of his right hand and a former Queen he had advised and mentored.
She had taken her mother's name and her father's place by his side, and he had shown her how to use her power, had promised her she could have her revenge. Revenge against the Jedi for her mother, amd revenge against the terrorists for her father. She would have her revenge in full, and in the process she would bring security to the galaxy, rid it forever of the parent murdering scum it contained.
It had all seemed so neat and tidy, up until she had her mother's corpse exhumed a year ago. Something about the death, about the story about the Jedi murdering her mother, had never added up quite right. She'd had the remains studied by some of the finest scientists and medical professionals within the Empire, and then she looked the corpse over herself. As far as she could tell, there was no evidence of any sort of Jedi meddling. She'd scoured every surviving Jedi text and holocron she could, determined to locate some hidden secret technique that might have been used in the killing, yet still… nothing.
There was something she was missing, its absence screamed at her in the Force. There was something she needed to know, something that would change everything forever. Which was why she so desperately needed to interrogate her prisoner. Bail Organa was the only being she could think of who might have been there at the moment of her mother's death. The only one who might have answers.
Staring at the boringly brown and yellow planet they hung over, she sunk into the Force, petulantly hoping that it would give her a clue that would help her make up her mind. Obey her emotions and remain here, or obey reason and go to the planet's surface. She was cheating, she knew that. The Dark Side thrived on passion, of course it would want her to stay and get information out of the traitor.
As she sunk into the Force, something burst into her chest. It was bright and loud and warm and oh it was singing! Singing like her kyber had when she'd first found it, back when it had belonged to a Jedi on the run and glowed with soft light. Before she'd made it bleed red and scream. The presence washed over her, filling her to the brim for just one single standard minute, and then as quickly as it had arrived it vanished.
She cast her sense out to the planet, desperate to for it to come back. For that impossible beautiful instant when it had filled her to the brim and Leia had felt almost… whole. She needed it back.
But it was gone. Nowhere she looked could she locate even the faintest sign of that presence.
Although… wait.
There.
It wasn't anywhere near as bright as what she was looking for. If that presence had been a star going super-nova, this one was a yellow dwarf. Nothing to scoff at, but it paled in comparison to the other.
This new presence was without question a Force-sensitive individual on the planet. From the intensity and texture of what she sensed, they were well trained, possibly even a Jedi Master. Whoever they were, they had gotten sloppy, not bothering to hide themself from her. Perhaps they thought they had nothing to fear? Had foolishly underestimated her based on her her age, her height, her gender, her "pampered" upbringing. She'd heard it all, and always relished breaking those who failed to treat her with the respect she was owed.
Well well well, who knew, Tatooine wasn't just a boring sand pile after all. Waiting for her on the surface was a Jedi she could exterminate. Excellent, it'd been far too long since she'd had a good lightsaber fight. She was beginning to worry the galaxy was running out of people capable of fighting back when she decided to test her blade against them.
Leia marched toward a transport vessel, the boots of her military uniform hitting the ground with a satisfying and familiar rhythm, blending with the faint sound of her cape fluttering behind her.
The prisoner could wait, there was fun to be had.
Bail's tiny blue image flickered, repeating his message again and again.
He had come to beg Obi-Wan to join the war effort, to plead for both him and the boy to join the battle against the Sith.
Obi-Wan had known all of that before the recording had even started to play.
What he had not known was that there was a super-weapon in Palpatine's possession with one of the most melodramatic names Obi-Wan had ever heard a piece of technology bare. Nor had he known that the Rebellion his friend belonged to had finally declared open warfare on the Sith Empire, that they had begun their fight in earnest.
It seemed the Rebels had captured the plans to the previously mentioned melodramatic nightmare machine, and Bail had brought them with him to his meeting with Obi-Wan. Or he would have brought them with him, had he not been captured by the girl. Leia.
Obi-Wan tried to reconcile the look of fear and sorrow on Bail's face with the unconditional love he had seen the first time he'd placed Leia into his arms. She was supposed to have been Bail's daughter. To be raised with love and care and grow to exemplify the very best of all her parents' gifts. His heart ached for all that she should have been, all the love she should have known.
"Lady Amidala? Ben, she's here?" Luke gaped at the message, its words just ambiguous enough to ensure that Luke and Leia's connection would not be discoverable from the holo alone. He would have to be told of course that the Sith who dominated every holofeed with her deadly grace and charm was his twin sister.
Obi-Wan hoped Luke would forgive him for waiting on sharing that news. He didn't want to shatter the boy's innocence, to dampen his carefree smile. He would have the rest of his life from the moment Obi-Wan told him onward to struggle with what their connection meant to him. He only had the time before being told to experience the true bliss of ignorance.
He was letting his attachment to Luke dictate his actions. He knew that, yet he still found it hard to prioritize the greater good over the happiness of the boy. Luke was all Obi-Wan had left.
When Owen had objected all those years ago to Obi-Wan training the boy, had tried to use that terrible bandit attack when Luke was two as an excuse, he had stood firm and refused to back down. Perhaps in another kinder world, one where the girl had lived a better life, he would have accepted the man's boundaries and rules, would have let Luke grow up a farmer in full. Obi-Wan could not say. He only knew the life he had lived, the one where he had pushed and insisted and Luke had spent two days of every week with him, training, and the remaining five at the farm with his aunt and uncle.
The boy was like Anakin returned to him once again. Anakin tempered with Padmé's spirit. His presence soothed Obi-Wan's battered and broken heart, and exposed its wounds all at the same time. He was attached. Dangerously so, just as he had been with Anakin all those years before.
From what Obi-Wan had seen on the news, the girl was, like her brother, a recognizable mixture of her two parents. Yet where the boy had come into the parts of them Obi-Wan had admired most, she had allowed those parts of herself to atrophy. She was certainly charming enough on the news. Padmé had always been a master of the craft of public speaking, swelling to burst with charisma, and her daughter had the same gift. When she spoke, even Obi-Wan could almost see the appeal of the destruction of all difference, of one shared culture spanning the entire galaxy. Of an army set on eliminating the pirates and gangsters who had always preyed upon the most vulnerable. The startling political declarations that fell from her lips were beautiful and impassioned and sickeningly wrong. She believed in the Empire, and that made her far more dangerous than anything else ever could.
He glanced over at Luke, and to his shock the boy was dropping his shields, reaching out with all of his senses fully exposed. His presence was searing, impossibly strong. Even without their connection to focus her on it, there was no way his sister wouldn't notice her twin.
"Luke!" He shouted, panicked, "what are you doing!"
The boy flushed, hiding himself away the way Obi-Wan had always taught him. "Sorry Ben, I just… I've never sensed what a Sith feels like before. I know everything that you've taught me about them, but well… I just wanted to know what she felt like." Luke frowned, "She's so lonely Ben. I don't understand, why would anyone choose to live that way? No power could ever be worth that sort of isolation."
Obi-Wan sensed her, scouring the planet for Luke. Her presence was as staggeringly huge as Luke's, yet as cold as his was warm. She would not stop searching until she found him, that much Obi-Wan was certain of. Not unless she was sufficiently distracted.
He was willing to be that distraction, if it would enable the boy to live another day. He dropped the shields that masked his presence, that made him appear no more Force-touched than any other living being. He knew she was examining him, could practically feel the gears in her brain turning as she contemplated his presence and her next move.
He did not look forward to their meeting, could not imagine a way it might end well.
Obi-Wan had failed to protect her, to rescue her from the evil men who had taken her from a loving home at such a young age. They had twisted her into the monster he sensed now, and he could not help but feel in some way responsible.
He'd told himself, over and over, that he had to keep Luke safe. That he couldn't stray from the plan simply because things had taken the turn they had. This had always been a risk, and his role had always been set as the boy's protector, not the girl's. Still, there had to have been something more he could have done.
Palpatine had destroyed the Republic. Had exterminated the Jedi Order. Murdered Padmé, taken Anakin, and then just one year later cast aside the wreck he had made of Obi-Wan's brother. As if all of that had not been cruel enough, he had warped the girl. He had corrupted her from the very start, twisting her into a creature who committed unspeakable crimes and covered them up with a pretty smile and even prettier words.
It was enough to truly test Obi-Wan's resolve. A Jedi never attacked, only acted in defense. Anything else would only feed the Dark Side, make Palpatine stronger. If he set out for a confrontation, he would be of no use to anyone. Besides, he had proven years before that even if he did engage her in combat, he didn't have it in him to end a life he was so attached to.
Their only real hope was for Luke to reach his twin. It was their connection and Luke's compassion that would save them. Why he had to be trained, to be ready to face her, to reach her. He'd have to be able to survive long enough for her to actually hear him, for her to understand that what he could give her - redemption, forgiveness, acceptance - was preferable to anything the Dark Side had on offer.
Which was why he was going to tell Luke who Leia was to him, of course he was.
After they left the planet.
He wouldn't want the temptation of meeting Leia once Luke learned who she was to slow down their escape. They had the Death Star plans to see safely to Breha back on Alderaan, of course. What a good backdrop for their conversation the palace there would make. The place that should have been Leia's home, where she had been stolen by Vader so many years before. Yes. He would tell Luke as soon as they had handed off the plans, when the immediate danger had passed.
Yes, they needed to leave, and leave right now.
"Luke," Obi-Wan said, "Do you have any money for transport off the planet?"
"What? Not really, no. Why?"
"Well we're going to have to do as the Viceroy has asked of us. Bring the plans to Alderaan, and figure out our next move from there."
"But Ben, I can't just go without saying goodbye to my family! They'd-"
"No Luke, no. Going home after you've made the Sith aware of your presence will only put them in danger." It was vital Luke not delay their departure, they needed to leave as quickly as they could.
Luke bit his lip, tears welling in his eyes. "I'll see them again, right?"
Obi-Wan couldn't answer that, didn't know if his young charge would see his aunt and uncle again or not. All he knew was that the boy's sister was coming, and unless they were gone by the time she arrived Luke would not live long enough to reach her.
The Jedi had wisened up and masked their presence.
That could only bode well for how much of a fight they would be capable of putting up when Leia finally caught them. She hoped they would be as strong and clever as possible, that it wouldn't be over as soon as it began. Ideally she'd have to give chase, like she had with those two on Lothal. They'd evaded her for years before she finally slaughtered them both, it had been exhilarating and wonderful, such a glorious time that had been. She hadn't been bored even once while she was hunting them! Had her Master not directly ordered her to stop playing with them, she would have happily let them escape and continue their little game.
Oh, she did so hope this new Jedi would be smart enough to evade her. For this to be the start of a new period of time lacking in idle time, with something to occupy her other than the cavorness ache she could never fill or understand.
Without any indication of the Jedi's presence, Leia began her hunt at the abandoned escape pod. It was empty, but one of her troops found evidence of droids, and tracks leading away from the crash site.
The tracks led them to local scavengers, traveling together in massive wheeled vehicles and specializing in the repair and sale of droids. They had made the most delightfully amusing noises as Leia ran them through with her lightsaber, until only one of them remained. The absurdly tiny creature had tried to run and hide in a compartment hidden at the vehicles' underside, and when Leia explored the insides further she found the most curious and helpful device. An illegal droid memory reader, that could convert the data within a droid's processors and project it as a holovideo one could easily review.
She had it sent back up to her ship, it would be ever so useful once the droids containing the plans were located, with its aide who knew what sort of terrorist plots she'd be able to foil.
Also found in the strange vessel was a record of which farms they had visited, and how many droids were sold. It wasn't written in basic, rather in some low barbaric native scrawl, but some of the troops who had been stationed on this awful planet were able to puzzle out its meaning.
When they arrived at the third farm listed on the manifest, the Force seemed to swell with promise. There was something about this place, something that called out to Leia dancing at the edge of her senses. Reaching out... the memory of powerful Force presences swirled around her. Some new, others old.
The Jedi. It had to be the Jedi! Oh she had just known that searching for the droids would lead her to them! The droids must have been seeking the Jedi out, how like the terrorists to collaborate with even worse treasonous heretical scum.
Oddly however the Jedi's presence was not the strongest one. She recognized that searing filling warmth from earlier. She had been starting to think she had imagined it, but that impossible presence hung over everything here. Under that, faded and old, she could sense the impression of two other Force-users. One was almost… familiar to her. Where had she… It almost reminded her of what she felt when she focused on her father's old possessions, but…
This was his home planet, wasn't it?
His presence was strongest near a series of headstones set apart from the rest of the property, so while her troops banged on the durasteel entry door she went to investigate them further. The stones were weathered and old, with the names on them almost fully wiped away. Still, one of them caught her attention immediately, the sense of anguish, pain, and suffering called to her, feed the Darkness within her. There was no question who the source of those emotions was. She'd felt this presence whenever she'd focused on the things her father had left behind.
What an interesting coincidence, that the droids and the Jedi would have been in a place where Vader had once been. No. No she knew better than to believe in coincidence. This was the Force in action. It was trying to tell her something, show he something.
She leaned in closer to the grave, to the name on it. "Shmi Skywalker." That meant that this farm…
Well, this mission was just getting more interesting all the time, wasn't it. She'd been hoping for some answers, and as always the Force provided.
The stormtroopers were talking to the farmers, at the farm's entryway. They had no idea how radically different everything was now. This was not just another pathetic anonymous farm. This was where Vader's mother was put to rest. There was a chance those farmers had known her, had known Leia's parents. They would need to be brought aboard the Devestator immediately, so she could question them at length once she had found the Jedi and the Death Star plans.
One of the troopers was making them kneel, probably due to being uncooperative. Why were civilians always so uncooperative when the nice officers came to their homes? Another had a flamethrower out, and was threatening them with it.
Well, she couldn't allow that to continue, could she? Not now that she knew they might have answers related to her past. The danger of them being burnt to death passed as she crushed that soldier's trachea. Oddly the farmers didn't seem grateful that their lives had just been saved. No, they were terrified, trembling as they knelt by the door. The soldiers were doing a better job of masking their fear, but it pulsed through the Force. Good. Their fear fed the Dark Side, making Leia's senses even stronger. Allowing her to sense more of what this place was hiding. She could feel him now, the source of that inexplicable heat. He really was all over this farm, and the Force was loudly insisting that she pay attention to him.
Who was he?
Why was he so important?
Hopefully the farmers would be able to answer those questions. Grinning, Leia issued the orders to have the two of them transported to a cell. Oh how she looked forward to entering the memories of those two. They'd help her track down the Jedi, and the source of this mysterious and intriguing presence.
She was assembling quite the interesting collection of prisoners, between the treasonous politician and now these farmers. This really was shaping up to be one of, if not the, best days of Leia's life.
They had to sell the speeder to pay for the trip, and even then promises had to be made for additional payments delivered upon arrival.
Luke didn't like it, not at all. Not only because the ship was a piece of junk, not only because he knew he was probably just as good of a pilot - if not better - than the spacer was.
No.
He didn't like leaving without saying goodbye to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Didn't like like leaving at all. He was studying to be a Jedi!
Surely running was not the right move here, he should be standing strong and meeting her headlong for battle.
She was drawing closer, almost upon them as they trudged on into the ship. They'd have to go right now or else she'd have them. Kriff, fighting aSith, that would be so much more exciting than the training droids he normally fought. He wished Ben would let him face her, but noooo they had to run away. With this sketch smuggler and his Wookie friend in burner that was falling to pieces around them. Great. Just great.
Luke sunk into one of the seats of the ship, shifting anxiously as it hit him that he was actually leaving Tatooine. For the first time that he could ever remember, he was going off-planet. He scrambled to try and find a safety strap, something, anything, to help him brace for the ship leaving the atmosphere, but found none.
Ben sat down next to him, smiling gently. "It's ok to be nervous, Luke," he said, "I'm nervous, and I've been in space more times than I can count."
"Yeah, well who wouldn't be nervous on a ship like this."
Laughing, Ben held one of Luke's hands. "We'll be at Alderaan before you know it Luke. When we get there, I think it is time that you and I have a bit of a chat."
"About what?"
"About the Sith, Luke. There are things about her you are going to need to know."
"So I can kill her?"
What had he said? Ben looked devastated, Luke had to have done something wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it could be.
Then the ship lurched to the side, and he had his answer. The old Jedi was space-sick, that was all. Luke grinned, and relaxed for the first time since climbing aboard, Ben's discomfort making him feel much better about his own.
He had so much to look forward to. His adventure was finally starting! He was actually leaving Tatooine, and he was going to be a hero. A real Sith-slaying hero! As scared as part of him was, he had a really good feeling about this.
