Okay, this is the Battle of Yavin people. Pesinoé and Anakin have a little confrontation here and Tarkin dies. I realize I might have taken him a little out of character but like I said, he and Pesinoé have an interesting history and one little meeting can change things, which it did. If I figure out what happened between them, I'll post it in a little mini side story. There are a lot of side stories in this universe in fact. Anyway, on with the chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Read, enjoy, and review!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter Ten

Darth Pesinoé found herself relieved that Palpatine couldn't use force lightning through a hologram projector. He had not been pleased when he found out that the princess had escaped. He said she should have killed the princess when she had the chance.

Pesinoé knew he was right, but her thirst for revenge made her willing to take the risk. She thought back to the object of her disdain for the moment and relished in it. She had been looking for him for almost twenty years, he and his son, so she could kill them both. It had amazed her just how hard it was. It seemed like for someone she had known and spent most of her time with for the better part of three years would be easy for her to find.

It just went to show she hadn't known the man as well as she had thought. He had hidden things from her, and it further showed Pesinoé the magnitude of his betrayal. He was sure his wife had known all about his past. Hell, she had been part of most of it.

She looked out the viewport of the death star as they came upon Yavin 4. Pesinoé sensed that the rebels were in a fury trying to get ready to fight the battle station.

"Orbiting the planet at maximum velocity," the intercom said. "The moon with the rebel base will be in range in thirty minutes."Her L

"Ridiculous fools," Tarkin said from next to her as they watch the oncoming rebel ships. "No one can defeat the power of this space station."

"You better hope so Tarkin. It'll be one less thing for me to deal with. This may very well be a day well remembered. Not only will it be the day that ends the rebellion, but also the day that the jedi will be no more," Pesinoé replied softly a little distracted. She sensed Skywalker on the planet, but there was something else. She couldn't quite put her hands on it.

Pesinoé watched with limited interest as the ships came on to the battle station. She stood calmly while the officer scrambled to get to the weapon's control on the death star. The rebels wouldn't last long, or she had thought. The rebels were approaching in small one man fighters. They were little, but fast and the large weaponry of the Death star wouldn't cut it. It would be like swatting annoying flies all day long.

"Milady," one of her ladies said to her before one of the other crew members could report. "There are thirty rebel ships, but they're so small, their dodging all the lasers."

"I thought as much," Pesinoé said and looked at Tarkin. "You'll have to fight ship to ship. Send out your best pilots to handle the job."

Tarkin glared at her while the officer, who undoubtedly came to report the same thing, looked between them.

"You best learn your place Pesinoé. This ship is under my jurisdiction and I would appreciate it if you kept your suggestions to yourself," he snapped.

Pesinoé felt her patience with the man waning. Instead she smiled. "Now, now Tarkin. You don't want to cost the empire the battle because you find it beneath yourself to take orders from a woman."

"I've been taking orders from you since you stepped foot on the death stepped foot on the death star Pesinoé-."

"That's Lady Pesinoé," the sith lady snapped.

"And quite frankly I've grown tired of taking orders from a primitive life form, especial of the weaker sex," Tarkin snapped. "It'll be over my dead body that you get any say or jurisdiction in what happens about this battle or the running of this battle station, the one the emperor gave me jurisdiction of!"

Pesinoé's eyes turned sith yellow. Not only was the empire male dominated, it was human dominated. She was the reason most other humanoid alien forms weren't persecuted like the governors wanted. She didn't understand it. Humans didn't own the galaxy. If anything, they were the primitive species. Humans just happened to be highly calculating, power hungry and manipulative, not to mention intelligent, not to say she had anything against them at all. But she hated when prejudiced bigots like Tarkin used her alien heritage as a way to belittle her and make them feel better about their own insecurities.

She started to try to kill him right then and there, but then Tarkin said, "I don't think so Pesinoé. I bet the Emperor wasn't too happy about you letting the princess escape when you could have killed her before, was he? All because you wanted a little slave of your own like you are to the Emperor…"

Pesinoé glared. "You bugged the cell," she stated calmly.

"Putting so much faith in you so called force powers. Apparently, it wasn't strong enough to find the rebel base. That's the power of mankind and weaponry. And it's much stronger than any witchcraft you can do," Tarkin shot.

Pesinoé walked away from him. "Tarkin, be very glad the Emperor doesn't want me to kill you. Otherwise, you'd be a dead man right now… if I can call you a man. I'd have more respect for you if you said that to my face without the Emperor's protection of you. Sniveling coward," she said.

"As you know Pesinoé, I've always done that. Remember?"

Pesinoé started to reply, but thought better of it. What Tarkin said was true. He had just never been that bold before. She started into the hallway when something rocked the station.

Alarms went off, and she went back to the viewport.

"What's going on?" Pesinoé asked Tarkin and the officer that still stood there spoke.

"Our shield's just been breached by the rebel fighters," he said.

"What in force's name did they hit?" Pesinoé asked as a warning suddenly went through the force. Something wasn't right.

"Tell all officers to continue manning their post," Tarkin said and headed down the hall.

Pesinoé felt the warning in the force again. It was then she realized that the only possible threat to the battle station was a Skywalker. But there wasn't just one. There were two. Pesinoé cursed. It was his son and the boy had probably inherited his father's piloting skills. The last thing the battle station needed was one Skywalker attacking it, let alone two.

"The death star shield doesn't protect against those things?" Pesinoé asked following the man.

"A one man fighter is hardly a threat Pesinoé," Tarkin said, but Pesinoé could feel he was nervous through the force.

"The death star has a weakness doesn't it?"

"A miniscule fault in the design. Hardly any need for worry," he said.

"Then why are you?" Pesinoé shot and then noticed they were in the hanger. "What are you doing?"

"Is my ship ready?" Tarkin asked one of the crewmen.

"Your ship?" Pesinoé asked scowling, and then her scowl twisted into a smile. "Don't tell me big bad Tarkin is scared the rebels might actually blow this thing to bits."

"Your little attempt at seduction won't work on me Pesinoé. Besides, I'm just being cautious. Better safe than sorry," he said.

"Better safe than sorry?" she asked in a low tone. "How would that make the empire look in the eyes of the galaxy if you just take off at the threat of a possible defeat? It looks better when you go down in defeat than to flee in fear."

"No one cares what their image is when their dead Pesinoé," Tarkin said. "Besides, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to be a safe distance from the death star while I continue to oversee the battle."

The sith lady sighed. "Well if you're going to abandon ship at least tell me you have an evacuation plan for the rest of the people on this station."

"A necessary sacrifice," Tarkin said starting to turn from her.

"A necessary sacrifice!" she bellowed. "So you're really just going to high tail it out of here and leave all these people to die while you live?"

"You're hardly a saint Pesinoé," Tarkin shot.

"You're right. That's why I'm a sith. However, I'm no coward. Sure, the emperor sanctioned the building of this station, but there's not a soul on board who doesn't know this force damned monstrosity is your little pet project. At least have the guts to go down with the ship, especially if everyone else is," Pesinoé said raising her voice.

Tarkin glared at her. "Prepare for takeoff," he told one of his crewmen.

Pesinoé's temper boiled over. She had had enough of Tarkin. The emperor's orders be damned. She'd take her punishment like a man, more of a man than Tarkin was anyway. The pleasure she'd get out of killing Tarkin would be well worth the punishment she knew she'd get later.

"Don't walk away from me," she said slowly and deliberately. As if suddenly unable to control his own action, Tarkin turned around and walked right up to her.

She lightly traced the scar on his face from where Princess Leia had scratched him, and suddenly they opened back up.

"You," she said coming dangerously close to him, "are incredibly lucky I don't have the time to make your death a desirably entertaining event. I would make you suddenly lust after me so much it would make you go insane and you'd hate yourself for it, just because you hate me for being a woman in command anyway."

She pulled back and began to trace her finger over his chest.

"But alas, I don't have the time, so this will have to do," she and settled her hand over Tarkin's chest.

Tarkin let out a gasp and fell to the ground while Pesinoé crushed his bloody heart in the palm of her hands. She dropped it on the man and turned to her ladies who were standing behind her, seemingly unfazed by the gory display.

"Prepare your ships and ready yourselves for battle," she said.

They bowed and went off to obey her. As a high ranking officer went by, the same one that was reporting to Tarkin earlier, she said, "I'm now in jurisdiction of this station. Get the crews to their fighters."

"With all due respect milady, the emperor gave Governor Tarkin jurisdiction of this station, and I recall that he gave strict orders not to follow your order unless it was over his dead body," he said.

"I like you. You're unafraid to disobey an instruction from a superior officer when it contradicts with an earlier instruction," Pesinoé declared and the officer beamed. Then she added, "But as you can see, it's been arranged."

Pesinoé gestured to Tarkin's body with her bloody hand casually. She walked away to get to her fighter leaving a stunned officer in her wake. It appeared she would have to give the order to the crews herself.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Anakin felt Pesinoé's presence in the battle before long before he saw her fighter. He spoke into his com to the rest of the ships.

"Be careful," He said. "Darth Pesinoé is leading those imperial fighters."

"Darth Pesinoé," Biggs said in surprise.

"Yes. Watch her ship. She's nothing to be played with. She fought in the clone wars alongside her old master and he was a great pilot. I'm positive she picked up a few things from him," Anakin said without a doubt in his mind. He knew Pesinoé had learned something about piloting from him.

He heard a series of curses from the various pilots as he saw three rebel fighters go down into the trench and skim the surface to get close enough to fire at the reactor.

"I don't think so," Pesinoé muttered following them.

"Oh no!" Luke said as he saw the fighter. "Alex, look!"

Anakin looked into the trench where he saw Pesinoé tailing the three pilots that were down in the trench. She was flanked by two other imperial pilots. On closer inspection, Anakin saw they weren't just any imperial pilots. They were her ladies in waiting.

"Watch out," Anakin said to the squadron leaders. "Darth Pesinoé's got her ladies flying in the air with her.

"They can pilot too!" Luke asked overhearing.

Anakin was a little surprised himself. Pesinoé had trained her ladies well.

"Got ya'," Pesinoé muttered as she shot one of the rebel fighters down and then another after that.

The last fighter managed to shoot a torpedo towards its target and Pesinoé laughed. His aim was off and therefore it only hit the surface.

"And good-bye rebel," she said firing at it. It exploded on impact.

Luke looked down and then said, "Wedge, Biggs, we're going in full throttle!"

"Luke," Biggs said to him. "At that speed will you be able to pull up?"

"It'll be just like beggar's canyon," Luke assured.

"We'll stay far back enough to cover you," Biggs said.

Anakin was too busy trying to fight imperial ties to notice what Luke was doing. He was using all kinds of crazy maneuvers to avoid them and their well aimed fires. They had already taken out two more rebel fighters. It was then the force screamed a warning at him and he looked down into the trench in time to see a ship pulling out the trench and another exploding.

He realized that the fighter racing ahead belonged to Luke and Darth Pesinoé and her ladies were racing behind him. Anakin cursed. He might not get there in time… He racked his brain for a way to contact his son besides the headset. Apparently Luke was too nervous to hear him.

"Luke," he muttered and then the force suggested something to him, something he had never thought about until now. He had never had the opportunity to do so. Anakin searched the force for the connection he knew was there. It was weak, undeveloped from not ever being used, but it was stable enough for what he needed.

Luke, Anakin projected his thoughts. Let go of everything. Use the force

What? Anakin heard Luke project back unknowingly. Ben? Alex?

Anakin blinked and then smiled when he felt the familiar presence of his old master. Of course Obi-Wan was trying to help Luke…

Trust us Luke, Anakin said.

Pesinoé felt something in the force and concentrated on the pilot more. The force was strong with this one. His presence was familiar… So this was Skywalker's son. She growled and went faster, even more determined to kill the pilot now.

A laser hit the back of Artoo, and it died out. Anakin cursed as he sped up to get to Pesinoé and her ladies. Someone else got there first though.

"What?" he said as one of the ships flanking Pesinoé was destroyed.

Pesinoé herself was distracted by this. No one had ever taken out one of her ladies. She had the same nine ladies for the last fifteen years now, since all of them were maybe ten. Not that she was at all attached to any of them… Maybe she had a soft spot for the two togruta, but only because they were from her people.

"Who did that?" she asked and saw a rebel fighter speeding towards them, but it wasn't in range to have hit her wingman.

Anakin saw the Millennium Falcon flying towards the trench and admitted he was a little surprised. He hadn't expected the pirate to come back. Maybe Han wasn't as bad and selfish as he originally thought. That still didn't mean he liked the man though. Han liked his daughter after all.

"Yahoo!" Han said over the frequency.

"Han!" Luke said.

"We've got you covered Luke," Anakin said. "Take that thing out."

Han sped for a collision course with the ties. When Anakin saw Pesinoé suddenly lift up from the trench in anticipation of it, he sped right into her and damaged one of her wings without taking much damage himself.

Anakin and Pesinoé would never know how it happened-perhaps it was the will of the force- but somehow the radio frequency changed.

"Force damn it!" Anakin heard Pesinoé say.

Anakin scowled as he glared at her fighter when it turned to face his. He could almost see her glaring through her viewport, like their eyes were meeting even from the distance.

"Pesinoé," Anakin said. "It's great to see you again. Been a long time."

"Skywalker," Pesinoé growled. "I can't say the feeling's mutual. I see your son is alive and well. Be thankful for that other ship. He would have been dead had it not distracted me."

"No you should be thankful. I doubt I would have been very forgiving of you if you had hurt my son."

Pesinoé began to fire her lasers at him. Anakin swirled out the way and fired on her.

Leia, who was on Yavin watching the battle saw this and tried to contact her caretaker's husband.

"Alex!" she shouted. "What are you doing?"

Dodonna turned to her and said, "It looks like he and that imperial tie are fighting each other…"

"I can't get him. He must have turned to another frequency!" Leia said as she turned to where the two ship shot past each other in effort to do damage to their opponent's ship.

Padmé, who too was looking on with confusion, then gasped.

"That's Pesinoé's fighter!" she said as it clicked why her husband had gone away from the main battle to fight one fighter.

"Her ship is damaged," Leia noted. "It's probably her sheer will keeping that thing going. But why would Alex go to fight her when there's a bigger battle."

Padmé sighed. "The two of them have a little score to settle with each other."

"While trying to destroy the death star is hardly the time for one of our best pilots and our only jedi to be settling a personal score," Mothma replied.

"Believe me Mon," Padmé replied. "This goes beyond personal. Way beyond it."

Back outside Pesinoé huffed as Anakin dodged her laser again.

"It's apparent we're getting nowhere fighting like this. Why don't we take this down to the surface and get out this pent up aggression there?" Pesinoé asked suggestively.

"Not in this lifetime Pesinoé," Anakin growled.

"Scared I might beat you this time Skywalker?"

Anakin rolled his eyes. "You know exactly what I was talking about," he said referring to the subtle force seduction that was behind her words.

"Can't blame a sith lady for trying," she muttered as she attempted to blow his fighter to bits again.

Back in the trench Han said, "You're all clear kid. Now let's blow this thing and go home!"

Luke nodded and concentrated on what Alex and Ben had told him.

"Let go," he muttered. "Trust in the force."

He fired his torpedo and it went through the port. Luke anxiously pulled out the trench waiting to see what happened. He didn't know why though. He somehow knew the torpedo had made its mark.

Anakin felt the force warning just after Pesinoé managed to clip one of his wings. He looked down to see tiny explosions.

"We'll meet again Skywalker," Pesinoé said probably feeling the same thing she did as she sped off flanked by seven imperial ties, the seven ladies she had left.

Anakin sped behind the other rebel fighters and switched the frequency.

"Luke," he said. "Did you hit it?"

"Yeah. I got it," Luke said just as the death star exploded in a brilliant display of light.

"That shot was one in a million kid!" Han exclaimed over the com and Anakin couldn't help but agree with the man.

Remember, Anakin overheard Obi-Wan telling Luke. The force will always be with you.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Whew! I really had to figure out how to incorporate Anakin into the battle without having him take the spotlight from Luke. Even though this is AU, I wanted some things to be true to cannon and the one thing I really wanted was for Luke to destroy the death star. It was almost like a coming of age thing for him you know? And I've read stories where Anakin was there and kind of took over and overshadowed, but I figured Anakin has had his days of glory and still does, but it was time for Luke to make his own way so he didn't end up shadowed by his father. Anywho, I'll be really nice and put the last chapter up tomorrow if I get the inspiration to do so… Hope you enjoyed. Review Please!