"You may fire when ready," Tarkin spoke to his subordinate with cold unconcern.

"No!" Leia gasped, lurching forward in Darth Vader's grip.

"Abort that order," Darth Vader said coldly, and all the officers on the bridge looked at him in surprise, the Princess herself gasping in amazement at support from this unlikely source.

"Lord Vader?" Tarkin questioned angrily.

"We shall take the Princess to the planet's surface and use her as bait in a trap - when the droids arrive on that freighter, we shall be ready and waiting for them," the Sith Lord outlined his dark scheme. "Then when we have retrieved the plans, we will execute the Princess and the passengers aboard that ship publicly."

"A good plan," Tarkin acknowledged reluctantly. "However, if we do not use the Death Star soon, the public will begin to doubt its abilities."

"Leave that to me," Vader replied slyly.


Princess Leia stood tensely between two stormtroopers in the public square in front of Alderaan's Royal Palace, her father and mother not far away, also in custody. A Corellian YT-1300 freighter was setting down in a large open space, the people massed around the perimeter strangely silent.

But his old master was not the first to emerge from the ship, a scruffy pirate walking out onto the shining duracrete and stopping short. "We have a problem, old man," he called behind him. Ben Kenobi appeared, surveying the square before his eyes rested on the Sith, waiting inexorably. 'Anakin,' he thought sadly to himself, his hand drifting to his lightsaber.

"Where are the droids, Obi-Wan?" Darth Vader demanded. And then another figure appeared behind that of the old Jedi, like a glimpse of the past - blue eyes, tow-headed, wondering at the galaxy around him, and a Force signature so distinctive it was like a punch to Vader's chest.

"Oh dear, oh dear," came faintly from within the ship, snapping the Sith Lord back to the present - until a familiar gold-plated protocol droid came halfway down the ramp, an equally familiar R2 unit whistling along behind.

"Impossible," Anakin whispered. It was like seeing himself all over again, shadowed by his faithful droids, striding alongside his Master. All that was missing was Padmé...his eyes cut sideways to the Princess, standing short and straight and proud, and felt the galaxy Force-kick him again. Perhaps Padmé was not altogether absent...

Well. This was unfortunate. He had not expected to be so confronted by the past today, and doubtless, Obi-Wan would happily employ his old tricks of doing his best to embarrass his former Padawan.

He recovered himself relatively quickly, holding out a hand. "The droids, Obi-Wan."

"You do not want the droids, you want what I am carrying," Obi-Wan replied easily. "I wiped Artoo's memory banks as soon as I memorized the data." Princess Leia gasped a little in horror, the Rebels had needed those plans! A tiny, reassuring wink in her direction calmed her slightly, though tension still sang along her nerves.

Darth Vader scowled, moving forward and igniting his lightsaber simultaneously. "You were unwise to come here, Obi-Wan. The circle is now complete - when I left you, I was but the learner. Now, I am the Master."

The blood pounded in Luke's ears, so that he did not hear old Ben's reply - a full-scale firefight had broken out between the Imperial stormtroopers, and Alderaanian military - with Han and Chewbacca getting in shots where they could, the Princess herself, handy with a stolen blaster, holding her own. Luke ignited his lightsaber, closing his eyes and using the Force to direct bolts away from himself. For only a second, Obi-Wan glanced at him in pride - Darth Vader followed his look, gasping a little in shock at seeing his son wielding his lightsaber, a rush of astonishment and fatherly pride filling him-

He did not heed Obi-Wan's warning, striking down his old Master, but he held up his hand to halt his troops as they surged forward to overcome the mercenary and the Tatooine farmboy. "Let them go," he ordered, watching the Princess escape with the men and droids back into the battered old freighter. "The tracking beacon attached to the ship will lead us to the Rebel base." He watched the rustbucket blast off, his chest hurting with the knowledge of his children's existence. "May the Force be with you," he whispered as they vanished into the blue sky.

Turning, he returned to Imperial matters, indicating the rulers of Alderaan with a wave of his hand. "Execute them, and place the planet under martial law," he ordered one of his black-attired officers. Reaching out, he called Obi-Wan's lightsaber to his hand, weighing it a long moment. "Good-bye, Master," he murmured, before striding for his ship - he had research to do.

"Goodbye for now, Anakin," Ben murmured, watching his former apprentice leave, cape billowing behind him. "Good-bye...for now."