A/N: Hey y'all, got a few reviews so far about the last 2 Chapt.s; thanks for the love! I'm glad to see so many new ppl 'alerting' this fic! *Wipes away happy tear.* You're all super awesome; school continues to go smoothly and I've got a mini vacay coming up, so y'all know what that means! More fic-writing time! Yay! OK, so a few quick things: the term "Falconopteryx" came from the words 'falcon' and the first bird: Archaeopteryx, because Noc has the tail of one. Use Google Images to see pics of them; they're pretty cool looking actually. Also, I am deliberately making Kenobi more of a tormented soul in this fic because to me the canon of him doesn't make sense. If Anakin was so dear and precious to him, he wouldn't simply deem is fall and mutilation "the will of the Force," and decide Anakin was un-savable as Vader. The "he's more machine now than man," notion doesn't fit the Obi-Wan who loved Anakin dearly as a son in brother in the prequels; to me, Lucas didn't streamline that very well, so I'm giving Ben more depth and conflict because from my view it makes more sense. But, this is just my view, I know not everyone agrees, and that's totally cool; but, I just wanted to FYI y'all on that. Ok? Cool; onward!
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SW Ep. IV: Dark Assassin Ch. 10- Vader
"I see," was all the Jedi could say. He swallowed the dry knot in his throat and rose, when his eyes met Han's, the captain didn't like the shadowy, haunted look that filled them.
"You'll excuse me, captain," the old man murmured, before leaving the lounge, something weighed down in his steps.
Han sighed, and Chewie harned a question to him.
"He just needs time to come to terms, Chewie," Han flatly replied, his eyes still locked on the doorway the Jedi had exited through, "it's not every day you find out your best friend's kid is the most wanted assassin in the galaxy."
Chewie woofed and grumbled something.
"Yeah, he came off to me as the super-virtuous type too; that's why I warned him ahead of time."
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Obi-Wan found a quiet corner with a long, narrow viewport to contemplate his conversation with the captain.
Luke, Anakin's Luke, Padmé's Luke, was the infamous assassin called the Spector.
Even in his isolation, he had all of the horror stories when traveling into town for food and supplies.
The Spector's reputation was well deserved; he had made a blood-drenched name for himself in killing the most well-guarded Imperial Grand Admirals, Senators openly supporting the Emperor for personal gain—even as the expense of their worlds—and had broken into every high-security facility in the galaxy, destroying Imperial projects and experiments; he had liberated the most impossibly incarcerated Rebel leaders, fought and slain many dark Jedi and Sith operatives—all while eluding capture, evading bounties higher than any Rebel general or renegade Senator had tied to them (like Mon Mothma for example), and no bounty hunter dared hunt him—not wanting to be cut up and sent back in festive boxes to Imperial Center.
The stories swirling around the Specter were many and vivid. Ben let the stars blazing in the dark vacuum burn into his gaze; he had to follow the Force's leading on this. He took a centering breath.
Yes; Luke had accumulated quite a grisly reputation for himself…but he was still fighting for the Alliance, he hadn't become a Sith—even though he had no shortage of opportunities it had seemed—and he hadn't sided with the Empire.
But, why hadn't he joined the Alliance? He was helping them, advancing their cause, and from Solo had told him, Luke had taken very little if any credits for it. The vast majority of his fortune was made doing jobs for the Underworld. So…where was the sense in that? What was he doing with all of that wealth?
Solo had described his ship the Revenant, in detail; Ben had also heard it whispered about often in the cantinas when he'd quietly stop for a drink and listen for information and his cutting-edge and frightening suit as well. Luke had often been called the antithesis of the Mandalorians; they designed their suits to showcase their exploits and accomplishments; the coloring, mementos attached and such were all to illustrate their skill and triumphs; Luke though held a nickname among their society: the Mandalorian Shadow. His suit, while even more advanced than the famous Mandalorian armor, bore no insignias, no marking hinting at his adventures and achievements, it was a completely blank canvas…like the man himself.
"The kid's life hasn't been pretty," Solo had pragmatically told him, "but man, has it been exciting."
Adventure, excitement, Yoda had once refuted in Ben's childhood, a Jedi craves not these things!
Did Luke have the potential to become a Jedi? If so, Ben would surely need Yoda's aid in reaching it; if not, what were they going to do? The Sith had exploded in numbers and power since the Republic's fall, who would defeat the Sith Order and restore freedom to the galaxy if not Luke?
"Get all the facts first," Solo had urged him.
Obi-Wan nodded to himself; the fact was the captain was right. He would find Luke, talk to him extensively and follow the leading of the Force. No Jedi truly entered the Order with a completely clean slate; even the younglings eventually had their own experiences with temptation and darkness. And it was evident that Luke did have some light in him, otherwise he would have single-handedly destroyed the Rebellion and been handsomely compensated for it by the Empire.
It was true; if Luke was taking jobs on behalf of the Alliance, he knew the locations of their bases; if so, that was information the Empire would happily pay billions of credits to gain. Luke could have simply sold out the Rebellion, helped the Empire destroy them, and surely in return the Empire would issue a full pardon for his crimes and either offer him an illustrious position in the uppermost echelons, or paid him even more to do the same to the Underworld leaders and rebellious world leaders until everyone was too terrified to defy Imperial control.
Ben swallowed hard at that realization, and then it hit him: the side that had Luke was the side that won. Jedi or not, Luke already was the deciding factor in this war—
And surely it was only a matter of time before the Emperor and Vader figured it out too; especially if they ever discovered Luke was more than just an insanely skilled assassin.
They must never know he's Anakin's Skywalker's long lost son.
"Figured I'd find you in here," a voice announced from behind him.
He turned; Solo was lazily leaning against the doorways' inner frame, arms folded, wearing his trademark cynical look.
He wondered if the captain knew he had a signature expression; somehow he thought Solo did.
The captain was far shrewder than he let on, after all.
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Luke watched as Vader strode with large, imposing steps to the princess's cell and had the guards fetch her out. He said something to her, Luke didn't make out the words—and he couldn't exactly read Vader's lips—but the princess paled and her eyes widened for a second before she forced on a mask of resilient boldness.
And by the stars, wasn't she a beauty, flashing eyes and all….
Luke brushed the thought away and saw Fade lean forward as Vader led the guards with the princess in tow to the main turbo-lift.
"All right," he whispered to Fade, knowing Link, Mouse and Noc could hear too, "this is it; the dark lord's taking the princess; they're going to fire the main cannon at Alderaan."
"What!?" Link and Mouse shouted incredulously; he heard a beverage can tip over the Link cursing.
"There's no other reason he'd take the princess from her cell while being in Alderaan's territory," Luke snapped, "now we don't have time; how do we sabotage the Death Star's main cannon?"
"Hold on," Link said, all business again. "Let me pull up the specs."
"Hurry," Luke pressed, "Noc, find a way to open all the detention cells in every part of the DS1 on my mark, okay?"
On it, the pop-up box read.
"All right," Luke said, exhaling, "we have to time this just right."
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"I hope you're gonna give the kid a chance," Han casually said, ambling up to Kenobi.
Ben nodded, taking another centering breath. "I will; it was just…shocking to learn what became of him." He gave a helpless shrug and turned from Solo back to the viewport. "You see, captain, after his mother died, I was the one who took him to Tatooine; I had sworn to his mother before she was laid to rest that I would take care of Luke for her." He put his head down, trying to push away the resurgence of guilt that dug into his bones. "I failed them, both of his parents. Anakin was the most important thing in the galaxy to me; when I suspected that he had married Luke's mother in secret, I said nothing because I couldn't bear the idea of watching him be expelled from the Jedi Order; it meant so much to him to be a Jedi, to fight for freedom. He had been born into slavery and standing up for freedom and liberty I could tell fed his very soul."
"But then the war," Han wearily put in, looking away.
Ben nodded. "Yes. We did try to save the Republic captain. We Jedi were betrayed by the Chancellor along with the rest of the galaxy. He had our numbers whittled down gradually through the war; and then Order 66 was meant to finish off any surviving members."
"Are any Jedi out there other than you?"
Ben nodded, but kept his answer vague. "Yes; I have felt them on occasion, out there."
Han sighed. "You can't blame yourself for what happened to the kid, pirates raid Outer Rim settlements all the time. It's dangerous territory out there; you know that as well as me. If you weren't there to defend the kid, I'm sure you had a good reason."
Ben nodded, letting his brow rest against the cool transparisteel. "I did. And I was promised another would look after him in my absence." He failed to add it was Qui-Gon's spirit who had made that vow…and that Ben to this day didn't fully comprehend—now more than ever—how that vow had not been broken.
Surely Luke's…transformation had some greater purpose?
Some part of Ben grabbed onto that though and clung to it; he desperately wanted to hope it was so. But, he couldn't be fully confident of it.
However, he could be fully confident in Qui-Gon; that would have to be enough.
"I look forward to meeting young Luke," he said instead. He heard Solo's boots clank against the durasteel flooring as he sauntered up to Ben. The captain slapped his shoulder encouragingly.
"You should be," Solo optimistically agreed, "he's a good kid; tough, skilled…but loyal. He'll fight the entire galaxy to save you if you're in trouble; and he'd spend himself into bankruptcy to help you if you're in need. Yeah, he's blood on his hands…but it's bad blood. He's never killed an innocent person before…and he never will. I'd stake my life on it."
His hand remained on Ben's shoulder; he squeezed slightly, just enough to be heartening.
So much about the captain reminded him of Anakin: the insolent confidence, the witty sarcasm, the sharp perceptiveness—and the steady, unbreakable willpower.
Solo had some makings of the Jedi in him; Ben wondered how that would go over with the captain. It was tempting to find out; would probably be entertaining.
"I need you to do me another favor," Solo suddenly added, his voice now grim.
Ben glanced back at him. "Of course."
Solo's tone was deathly somber. "Don't tell the kid I said those nice things about him; I don't want it going to his head. He's young and impressionable after all."
"And of course you want to be a good example for him?"
Solo didn't miss the veiled cheek. "Hey, don't make me drop you off at the nearest asteroid."
Ben laughed. "You'll never see that fifteen thousand then."
Han deflated. "True," he glumly put in, and perked up. Wrapping one arm around the Jedi, he led Kenobi to the door. "I'll tell you what," his tone was all business again, "I won't drop you off and you pay me and we'll call it even…if you do one other thing."
Ben chuckled. "And that would be?"
"Chewie's been asking about dessert."
They both laughed as they headed back to the lounge.
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When they reached the lounge, Chewbacca was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, Master Chewbacca said that we were almost ready to leave hyperspace," Threepio helpfully supplied, "he told us to tell you he's in the cockpit."
"Time flies when you're having fun," Solo dryly quipped and made for the cockpit. Something told Ben to follow.
"You too stay here," he directed the droids.
"Of course, Master Kenobi."
Artoo beeped compliance.
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When Obi-Wan entered the cockpit, it was just as the bright swirl of hyperspace receded to the glimmering spectrum of dazzling stars.
"We're coming up on Alderaan," Solo said.
Ben felt a chill go through him; no, it couldn't be.
Vader; he sensed Vader nearby.
"Captain, do a full sensor sweep of the area," Kenobi told him.
Solo blinked, but apparently he had some sort of intuition as well, because he did so.
"What the…." He said.
Ben suddenly saw a flash of scarlet light just before the ship shook!
Blaster fire; and Ben caught the tell-tale whine of a TIE fight swooping past them.
"What's an escort ship doing out here?" Han demanded.
Ben peered closer out the circular dome port of the Falcon. There was Alderaan, a brilliant orb or azure and emerald, frosted with silvery clouds…but what was that rising on its far side?
"Look," Han said, pointing, "he's heading for that small moon." He made a frustrated noise. "There are no outposts in this area, where did it come from?"
As Ben took in the 'small moon,' darkness filled his thoughts. "That's no moon," he quietly said, "it's a space station."
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A/N: Okay, so I hope you enjoy; plz leave a review! Sorry that these updates have been slower than usual; aside from life and homework, I've been making some additions and expansions to the story. It just seemed that in some parts of future chapters were not as big scope as I like. I promise super amazing cool stuff is coming! Especially now that Vader's in the picture, WOOT! I'm excited; hope you are too! Till then!