Part III: The Death Star
Chapter One - Meetings
They were barely halfway across the docking
bay, when Leia realized that her decision had been made for her. She could
already feel Vader's searching probes, brushing by her senses. Even with her
best shields up, she wouldn't be able to hide from him for long. There were
only two options left: to make her presence known now, so that Vader could find
her and her companions, or to leave the others, continuing to shield herself
for as long as possible, contacting Vader alone.
To her own surprise—not to mention concern—Leia never weighed the options,
never consciously made a choice. But she kept her shields up, and when the Jedi
led them around a corner into a long hallway just off of the bay, she found
herself turning off into the opposite direction. With a single last look at
Luke's retreating form, she moved as quickly and as soundlessly as possible
away.
It had been foolish of her to think that she could escape Vader's notice, she
realized, even with the old Jedi's help. She had never been quite sure whether
it was Vader's formidable force strength alone that allowed him to sense her so
easily and from such distances, or whether her master had bonded them in some
way without her knowledge. Either way, Vader would recognize her presence
easily enough soon.
She hadn't actually seen the plans of the battle station, but glancing around
the nearly empty corridors, she recognized the familiar Imperial design. Betting
that the layout of the station would be as predictable as it was on any other
Imperial vessel she headed toward where the main lift bay would be.
The corridors became more crowded as she neared the lifts and—finally loosening
her tightly held inner shields—she worked on blending in with the other
personnel. She walked briskly, purposefully, projecting the image of someone
taller, with a larger build. And male, of course. Anyone who stopped to really
look at her would immediately see through the distortion, but her acting
skills, along with the small force trick, succeeded in making her seem utterly
ordinary to passersby.
Still, she was thankful to get into the lift alone. As soon as the doors shut,
she leaned back against the wall and let all of her shields drop completely.
Vader's dark presence immediately filled her senses, and she could tell that he
was not at all surprised to find her here. She wondered if she had ever really
been hidden from him. Of course, it hardly mattered now. She took another
moment to locate him in relation to the station and punch in a number on the
lift console, before mentally moving away from him. He must have sensed this,
because his presence suddenly all but disappeared from her awareness.
For the first time in her life she was relieved to feel him go.
Usually, she welcomed his presence. Even knowing who Lord Vader was and what he
was capable of, she had long ago found that his presence calmed her. She
supposed it was because she associated it with the healing that came along
after a dangerous mission. But at the moment there were too many thoughts
swirling around at the edge of her consciousness—about Luke, about Chewbacca
and the pilot—for her to feel comfortable with anyone in her mind.
As the lift came to a stop, she found that she could sense Lord Vader again,
just enough to locate him on that level. Keeping her shields down, she resumed
her force-projection, striding her way purposefully down the sterile gray
corridors.
After a few twists and turns, she suddenly came out of a passageway only a few
paces behind the swirling black robe of Lord Vader. She felt a slight flutter
in her stomach at seeing him. She had known he was close, but hadn't realized
just how close.
Vader didn't turn to acknowledge her—not that she had been expecting him to.
But she immediately felt something unseen cloak her and, instead of seeing her
but not paying her any heed, the personnel they passed didn't seem to see her
at all. She dropped her own mediocre attempts and instead concentrated on
increasing her speed to catch up with him. Her legs were so much shorter than
his that she had to practically jog just to draw even with him, but once she
did, he modulated his own strides—without saying a word—so that she didn't have
to run alongside him.
They walked like that for a few moments, not speaking. Leia found herself
unsure of whether she was supposed to start the conversation—explaining why she
was there—or let him take the helm. So she said nothing, until the silence
became unbearable.
"The droids are on the station," she stated, finally.
For a moment she didn't think he would reply. Then he nodded slightly in
acknowledgement and said, "You did well to bring them here."
She felt a small swell of pride, even knowing that she hadn't had much to do
with getting them here, and tried to ignore how much Lord Vader had sounded
like her master when he said those words.
"I have orders to bring them, intact, to the master."
Vader stopped and turned suddenly, the edge of his robe billowing out behind
him in a wave and then coming to rest against his legs.
"Intact?" he asked, looking at her for the first time.
Leia nodded. "The master was quite definite about that."
Vader looked down at her for a few moments more and—since she couldn't sense
any mind probe—she almost felt as if he was trying to read the truth of her
words in her face.
Then he turned away and began walking again. Leia hurried to join him, but
didn't have any trouble hearing his next words.
"What could be so important about these droids?"
Lord Vader hardly mumbled, but it was clear to Leia that he was thinking out
loud more than actually expecting her to know. Still, had she had any idea of
an answer, she might have responded. As it was...
"There were others with you."
It was a statement, not a question, but Leia answered anyway. "Yes. Though I
don't think most of them were involved."
Vader didn't react outwardly, but she could sense his displeasure. "They became
involved as soon as they allowed a Rebel sympathizer to join them." He paused,
then added, "Remember your loyalties, Emperor's Hand."
Leia bristled, as much at the use of her title as at the implication of his
statement. When Vader referred to her it was generally as 'Lady Darkstar,' or
simply, 'my Lady.' He was the only one who addressed her in that way and she
found that it bothered her to have him use her actual title, instead. 'Lady,'
at the very least, denoted some level of independence.
"I am always aware of who our master is, Darth Vader," she answered, coldly,
purposely avoiding the word 'Lord,' as if to remind him that he owed nearly the
same level of servitude to the Emperor as she did.
They became silent again as they made their way through the corridor. Leia
could sense the anger boiling beneath Lord Vader's calm exterior, but, as
usual, she found herself unafraid that he might direct that anger against her.
She was never sure what made her so confident of this, but she had not yet been
given reason to distrust the feeling.
She looked up as they turned a corner and saw immediately that they were headed
toward a conference room.
"Obi-wan Kenobi was on board."
The statement took Leia so much by surprise, that for a moment she said
nothing. But she knew, almost instinctively, who he was referring to. "The
Jedi."
Vader nodded.
"He called himself Ben..."
"Obi-wan Kenobi. I have felt his presence."
They were almost at the room when Leia added, in a low voice, "He seemed to
know me somehow."
Vader stopped by the entrance to the room, but didn't seem nearly as surprised
at this as she thought he should have been. "Did he know your name or
position?"
Leia shrugged. "If he did he didn't let on."
Vader turned back to the room brushing off her uncertainty. "You may have
reminded him of someone he once knew."
This only served to spark Leia's curiosity further. She reminded the Jedi of
someone? And if Vader knew, that meant that she reminded him of someone
as well. For some reason it was suddenly extremely important for her to find
out who, and she nearly grabbed his arm to stop him from moving. "Who would I
remind him of?"
Vader stood still, not looking at her, and for a moment she didn't think he
would answer at all. When he did, though, it wasn't much help. "Someone who
died a long time ago."
And, as if to forestall any more questions, he swept away from her, into the
room.
Leia had never met the Grand Moff Tarkin,
but she knew who he was immediately. And she knew immediately that she didn't
like him.
Of course, she hadn't much liked him before—based on what she knew of his
political and military strategies and beliefs—but this was a much more personal
dislike. She could feel his eyes on her, could feel them tracing every line and
curve, and—instead of feeling somewhat flattered, as she had when the pilot had
done nearly the same thing—she felt violated. But it lasted barely a moment and
then the governor's eyes were back on Lord Vader, a small smirk evident on his
face.
"Why, Lord Vader," the governor practically sang, "I had no idea you were
interested in some companionship. I could have had arrangements made, you know.
Although I'm not sure I could have procured anything as lovely as this."
The governor's eyes flickered back to her appreciatively. Leia tried not to
give into the sudden urge to hide behind Lord Vader. It was probably best to allow
the governor to think what he wanted, and a woman used to providing
"companionship" would certainly not be so shy.
"But I'm disappointed, Lord Vader." The governor moved to her and took one of
her hands with his bony fingers, bringing it up to his lips. "There are so few
diversions on this vessel, you could have shared yours with the rest of..."
One of the chairs around the conference table suddenly uprooted itself from the
deck and flew into one of the walls. The governor dropped Leia's hand and took
a step back, staring in shock at the mangled plastic and metal.
Leia was just as shocked but her eyes flew instead to Lord Vader. She had been
so preoccupied with her disgust for the governor, that she had missed
completely the rage that had been building in Vader from the moment they had
walked through the door. She was forced to take a few steps back as his dark
form moved menacingly between herself and the governor.
"Lord Vader!" the governor shouted, his face white with rage. "What is the
meaning of this? Explain yourself."
Leia suddenly found her own temper rising. Who did the man think he was to
treat Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, as an underling? She could almost feel
Vader holding himself back from making any personal attack on his superior. Why
would her master order Lord Vader to be accountable to anyone else?
"The Lady Darkstar," Vader rumbled, crisply and clearly pronouncing each word.
"The Lady Darkstar is a personal agent of mine: nothing more, nothing less. I
expect her to receive the same respect as any officer on this vessel. I will
regard anything less as a personal affront. Is that understood, Governor
Tarkin?"
The governor's eyes went impossibly wide, but he managed to salvage a modicum
of dignity as he cleared his throat and nodded with an assumed air of
confidence. "Of course, Lord Vader. I apologize for the misunderstanding. There
was certainly no offense intended."
"Certainly not," Vader agreed, relaxing his pose somewhat, but staying in front
of Leia.
The governor succeeded in keeping any apprehension from his face, but Leia
could easily sense the fear in him, kept just below the surface. The
confrontation had shaken the man badly, but she knew that he wouldn't show it.
"Now then, Lord Vader, what was it that you had to inform me of in person,
hmm?"
"Obi-wan Kenobi is here."
"Obi-wan Kenobi!" the governor repeated in half concealed amusement. Leia found
herself amazed at what was either the man's supreme over-confidence or his
utter stupidity. How could he so easily slip back into his role as master, when
he had just witnessed Vader's obvious superiority?
"Surely he must be dead by now," the governor continued. "How can you be so
sure?"
"Obi-wan Kenobi is here," Vader insisted. "I have felt him through the force
and the Lady Darkstar has just confirmed it. He is here with the droids."
"The droids?" The governor's eyebrows went up and he moved toward the table,
tapping his chin in thought. "He must have been on his way to Alderaan. Are
there others with him?"
Vader nodded. "They have somehow managed to elude us up until now, but if they
don't know that the Senator is onboard, they soon will. I am confident that
they will attempt an escape. Your troops can deal with the others, I will deal
with Kenobi myself."
Vader made a motion to leave, but the governor raised a thin hand to stop him.
"You're right of course, Lord Vader. Kenobi cannot be allowed to escape. But as
for the others..."
Leia glanced around Vader's form to look at the governor. What could he be planning?
"If they managed to free the senator, they would surely head straight for the
Rebel base with the droids, wouldn't they?" The governor smiled confidently.
"Yes, Lord Vader, I think we may have just found a solution to our problem."
"But we cannot allow them to leave with the droids!" Leia spoke up for the
first time.
The governor, wisely, didn't look at her when he answered. "Why not? Do you
really think they hold any threat to the power of this station?"
Leia opened her mouth the argue, but Vader responded for her. "The Lady
Darkstar is correct, Governor Tarkin. We would do well not to be
overconfident."
"Nonsense." The governor shook his head dismissively. "They may not return to
the base without the droids."
"Very well, governor." Leia thought that Vader was giving in much to easily,
but said nothing. "If you will excuse us; I have a meeting with my old master
that is long overdue."
Leia followed Vader out, practically on his heels, brimming with curiosity over
his last statement—the old Jedi had once trained Vader?—but knowing that she
would never get up the courage to ask him about it.
Instead her thoughts became more practical. "I must stay with the droids at all
costs, my Lord. They must not be allowed to leave."
"We have no choice at the moment in that. Perhaps you could hide aboard the
ship..."
Leia laughed. "I'm afraid that didn't work very well the first time." She was
surprised at how easily she admitted her earlier failure to Vader, but he
didn't seem to react.
"There may be another way, however," she continued, an idea quickly forming.
"But it would require some assistance."
She glanced up questioningly at Vader. He nodded in response. "You serve the
master, my Lady. My influence is, of course, at your disposal."
Leia was barely settled in the cell when the
sudden flurry of blaster shots began echoing through the walls. They had come.
A part of her hadn't expected the governor's plan to actually work, and she
hesitated a moment before reacting. Then she rushed up against the door and
began pounding.
"Luke!" she called out; somehow she knew it would be Luke. "Luke, I'm in here!
Luke!"
Unsure of whether he could hear her through the thick cell walls, she reached
out tentatively for him through the force. To her surprise, she touched him
immediately, and a moment later she heard scuffling at the lock of the door.
Leia took a step back at the sight of the stormtrooper when the door slid back.
"Luke?" she questioned, a moment before she remembered his disguise.
"Arica?" he responded, as he pulled the trooper's helmet off and let it drop
with a clang to the deck. "Are you alright? How'd you get here?"
His obvious concern caught her off guard—she might have expected it from
Chewbacca, or even the pilot, but Luke hadn't exactly been pleased with her the
last time she'd seen him.
"I'm fine," she insisted, a bit more harshly than she'd intended. "How 'bout I
tell you the story a different time?"
She pushed past him, avoiding his gaze, and moved down toward the security
area. He didn't follow her.
"Luke, where are you going?" she called back to him, even though she already
knew the answer.
"To free Senator Organa!"
Leia made an impatient face, but Luke's back was to her. It would be much more
difficult getting out alive if they had to lug some senator around with them.
"Well, hurry up. We're running out of time!"
Luke paused long enough to turn back and give her an annoyed look, then
continued down the block. She turned back to the security area just as the lift
doors opened and what seemed like a squadron of troopers tried to pour out at
once. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't get through more than one or two at
a time—easy pickings for the pilot and Chewbacca, who were crouched down behind
the main console.
Leia ducked down to avoid the blaster fire and moved as far down the walkway as
she could, using one of the supporting struts as cover. She concentrated for a
moment and one of the abandoned rifles flew down the walkway to her hand.
Seeing the rifle go flying past, Chewbacca turned and roared an enthusiastic
greeting to her as she began to fire. She didn't see the pilot turn around, but
she could hear his surprised gasp and then a chuckle.
"Were you starting to miss us already, honey?"
Leia ignored the inappropriate humor and concentrated on her firing.
"Well, don't act all..."
Whatever remark the pilot was going to make was suddenly cut off by the sound
of two loud explosions as the troopers finally got wise and blasted a larger
hole in the wall. The pilot and Chewbacca immediately realized that their
position was no longer secure and made a hasty retreat to the walkway, while
Leia tried to cover them. They slid to a crashing stop across from her, behind
the opposite strut.
"This was supposed to be a private party!" the pilot yelled out, pointlessly,
as he fired away.
To her utter horror, Leia lost her focus for a moment. "This is not the time
for jokes!" she cried, her voice touched with real anger. What had gotten into
her? She never lost her concentration. Never.
"Well, maybe you'd prefer the company back in your cell, sweetie."
"Maybe," she agreed, and then immediately cursed this second lapse. She needed
to get focused back on the mission. Needed to focus on...
Damn. "That was the only way out, wasn't it?" To her relief her voice
had taken on its usual professional tone.
"Unless they've started making detention cells with multiple exits."
His sarcastic tone didn't bother her nearly as much this time. She found she
was able to shunt it aside and concentrate on the problem at hand. Her mind
flew trying to remember the basic layout of an Imperial detention cell. There
would only be one exit for people, but...
"Padmé."
The word—name?—was spoken so softly behind her that she almost missed it
completely. She spun around to face the speaker—not questioning how she knew
that it had been addressed to her—and found the senator staring down at her.
She had seen holos of Bail Organa before, glimpses really, but she was still
unprepared for the man himself. In the holos he had just been another old
senator, continuing, stubbornly, the empty machinations of the Imperial Senate,
even as the real power shifted slowly but surely into the hands of the
governors and the moffs. The man standing before her now was certainly
old—looking a good ten years older than he had in any of the holos she'd seen,
in fact—but he seemed far from powerless. His face, lined and wrinkled, was
still strikingly handsome, and she wondered if he was one of those people who
actually became better looking as they aged. The dignity and confidence he
exuded was unquestionable. He was clearly one of those people who demanded, and
received, respect, even from his enemies.
But when Leia looked up into his eyes, she saw only disbelief and confusion.
"Padmé?" he whispered again. Then his vision seemed to clear, and instead of
confusion, Leia saw amazement and...recognition.
"Leia."
In the moment when he said her name—her real name—Leia was sure that
everything going on around her had ceased. There was no blaster fire, no
troopers, no growls from Chewbacca, and no sarcastic remarks from the pilot.
There was only the sound of her name echoing down the walkway.
"Leia," the old man breathed. He knew who she was. But instead of anger,
betrayal, or fear, Leia saw only joy in his face. A part of her whispered
insistently that she should deny it, that by remaining silent she was only
confirming his...accusation. But, to her shock, she realized that it wasn't an
accusation at all, only an open, unprejudiced recognition. How did this man
know her?
"We thought you were dead. We thought you had died with your mother," he said,
as though it explained everything, when in truth, it explained nothing. "Oh,
child." The senator's eyes filled with moisture, and for a moment she was sure
he would cry, but the tears never spilled over.
Suddenly the man glanced back at Luke, as though he was in some inextricably
connected to all of this. Luke only eyed them curiously as he continued to
fire. When he turned back to Leia there was something strangely unreadable in
his eyes. "It was Obi-wan. Obi-wan found you."
Leia had an inexplicable desire to answer the man, to tell him that it had
been the old Jedi who had discovered her there under the floorboards.
"Are you saying, you've never met her before?"
"Nothing of the sort, although I doubt she would remember our last encounter."
She wanted to tell him about the knowing glances the Jedi had given her, how he
had known somehow that she was strong in the force.
"You may have reminded him of someone he once knew...someone who died a long
time ago."
"Luke, now would be a good time for that brilliant escape plan of yours!"
The pilot's voice suddenly pulled Leia back to reality, as three laser bolts
sparked the metal wall of the walkway above them. Leia pushed all thoughts of
senators and Jedi as far to the back of her mind as she could and turned back
to the firefight. The troopers were still getting hit, but they were advancing
inexorably just the same.
Behind her she heard Luke yelling frantically into his comlink at the droids,
before announcing solemnly that there really was no other way out. The
words were barely out of Luke's mouth when another possibility dawned on Leia.
She ducked past the senator and Luke, until she reached the grating for the
garbage chute. One well-aimed shot and she had it open wide enough for even
Chewbacca to get through.
"Luke!" she called, grabbing his shoulder firmly, practically causing him to
lose his balance. "Get in there."
For a moment she thought Luke might protest, but instead he nodded once and
slid down feet first.
"Chewbacca? I need you to go next."
When the wookiee growled in protest, the pilot nudged him forward with an
elbow. "Yeah, but she needs you to catch the senator when he comes down."
Leia looked over gratefully at the pilot, as Chewbacca managed uncomfortably to
fit his massive frame into the chute, surprised that he had picked up on her
reasoning so easily. But the pilot was already crossing the walkway toward them
and didn't see her expression.
"Alright, your honor," he said as he slipped one of the senator's arms over his
shoulders. Leia supported the old man from the other side. "Let's get you out
of here."
Together they lowered him as far down the chute as they could, before letting
him go.
"You couldn't have found a heating vent?" The pilot put a hand on her arm to
help her into the chute.
"Heating ducts are never built large enough for humans," she answered seriously
as she moved out of his grasp. "No, you go first. I'll cover you."
"I'm not even going to ask how you know that," he said with a grin that
she didn't return. He shrugged. "Alright, don't be too long; Chewie might start
to miss you again."
She didn't respond, and he was already sliding down when she remembered to call
after him, before diving down herself, "Just don't shoot anything!"
A/N: Don't worry, the rest of the DS escape won't be exactly like the movie!
