Chapter 10: Something Right?
I do not own Star Wars, George Lucas does and I am thankful to him for creating such a wonderful story. This fanfiction is written for fun, not for monetary gain.
Previously: The two had been told by Mon Mothma that Luke would infiltrate the Death Star that day, and when they told her that they had been unable to gain admittance to the ship, she had ordered them to at least get as close to the battle station as possible in case Luke should need a get away ship.
" We'll be out of here soon", Leia told Han. " I'm sure they'll be done fast-"
She cut herself off as a terrible feeling came over here, a terrifying premonition of imminent danger. And, wrestling with this strange sentiment, Leia turned to Han-
In time to see a blaster bolt rip viciously into his flesh.
" Han!" screamed Leia. She looked up to see the blank white masks of stormtroopers looking down at her, one of their blasters smoking. The officer who had first spoken to them had a nasty sneer upon his face.
" Fool", he snapped. " Did you really think that we would not recognize a member of the Rebel Alliance, Princess Leia Organa? Surrender now and we will not be forced to harm you. The same cannot be said for your companion however, he is worthless scum and of little use to us".
Leia felt hot, angry tears welling up in her eyes. Han was hurt, possibly dead, and it was her fault! She should have worn some kind of disguise, she should have seen this coming, she should have planned for it!
" Stand up, and put your hands where we can see them", commanded the officer.
Leia began to stand, but her progress was hampered by Han, who had fallen into her lap.
" Please", she said quietly. " Please tend to my companion. He is innocent, he did not know that I am a Rebel. He is an honest man, I swear it to you!" And despite Han's many shortcomings, Leia truly believed her declarations about his character, therefore it was a surprise when the men laughed loudly.
" Innocent? Him! Look at the man! A drunken, misguided fool by the looks of him. He'll never amount to anything, and he's never been honest! Forget about him Princess! Just be glad that we aren't shooting you as well", sneered the officer.
Leia looked down at the handsome man in her arms. His hair was overgrown, his chin was unshaven, his clothes were unwashed. And yet he carried with him an unmistakable air of good. How could they not see it?
Leia looked at the steadily growing bloodstain on Han's front, marring the white of his shirt. He was injured, the man she loved was injured, and he might quite possibly die.
Leia looked up slowly, and her eyes flashed with malice.
/
Vader stared numbly at the empty space before him where Luke had been. His son's words rang in his head over and over.
" Father, please… please, this once, be here for me!"
" Fine. Fine. I'm going".
" I couldn't abandon my men Luke", Vader whispered. " Damn it!" he shouted suddenly, ramming his mechanical hand into the wall. Strengthened by the dark side, his fist left a deep indent.
" Damn it! Why is it that the first time I try to do something right this happens?"
Vader stopped, taken aback by his own words.
He had protected his men. Officers who feared him, many of whom no doubt wished him dead. They were far from model citizens; many were corrupt, power hungry, drunken brutes.
But then there were men like Piett. Honest, loyal, brave…
Since when did he care about his men?
A flashing light caught his attention, and Vader cursed. Caught up in his thoughts as he was, he had neglected to disarm the bomb. Quickly the sith lord used the force to pop open the smooth cylinder, and with a slash of his lightsaber rendered the device useless.
" It's been a long time since you've been so selfless Anakin", said a calm voice, and Vader whirled around to come face to face with a shimmering blue apparition.
" O-Obi-Wan?" he gasped, astounded. " This is impossible! How…?"
" There is no death, only the force", responded his former mentor, smiling sadly.
Vader began to recover from his shock, and rage returned. " Why have you returned? Have you come to taunt me, to turn my son against me as you did my wife?" he snarled.
" I've come to help you", Obi-Wan answered, and his calm demeanor enraged Vader further.
" Help me? You've come to help me! This is rich indeed, coming from the man who gave me the injuries that forced me to wear a life support suit for twenty years!"
" And who do you suppose it is that healed those injuries?" asked Obi-Wan sharply. " Do you think there are any other jedi who would show you leniency for your crimes?"
Vader stared at his former mentor, hating the hope that flickered within himself. " I don't believe it", he replied.
" Well then, why don't you look inside of my mind?" asked the jedi quietly. " I won't hide anything".
Vader stared into his former mentor's eyes challengingly, then nodded. Obi-Wan spread his arms as an invitation, and the sith lord dove into the other's memories.
Vader saw himself through Obi-Wan's eyes, tumbling to the burning ground of Mustafar, his limbs severed. He felt the older jedi's pain, betrayal and loss as he shouted " You were my brother Anakin! And I loved you!" He felt the truth behind the words.
Vader saw long, miserable stretches of brown desert. He saw Obi-Wan sitting within a hut, turning over the lightsaber that had once belonged to Anakin Skywalker, his face tight with pain.
He saw the old jedi watching Luke playing from a distance, the image of another young boy with blue eyes and blond hair beside him, and then the two images blurred with tears.
He saw his own figure, through Obi-Wan's eyes, grey durasteel walls around them. The two began to fight and Vader could feel the jedi's pain. There came a cry from the side, and Vader saw Luke, and felt Obi-Wan's affection for the boy, then the jedi's burst of surprise as suppressed memories of Naboo came rushing back. He saw his younger self, once more fighting side by side with Obi-Wan to recover the antidote for Padme… The Obi-Wan upon the Death Star turned back to Vader's dark form and smiled, just before his head was severed.
Vader saw Obi-Wan arguing vehemently with other jedi as Vader gave the order for the imperials to retreat, sparing Luke and the other Rebels. Finally Obi-Wan, disregarding the wishes of the others, stretched out with the force and sent light, healing energy towards Vader. He saw himself ripping off a glove and staring at his whole hand in disbelief, saw Obi-Wan smiling painfully.
Vader felt his former mentor's love, as strong if not stronger than it had been before Mustafar.
" You were my brother Anakin! And I loved you!"
Stunned, Vader pulled back from Obi-Wan's mind.
" I don't understand", he whispered hoarsely, and to his horror he realized that his face was wet with tears. Obi-Wan smiled at him quietly, but the smile was filled with regret.
" What don't you understand Anakin? How I could have left you, if I truly cared about you?"
Vader nodded, unable to speak.
" You betrayed the jedi order Anakin. You killed younglings, you threatened the wellbeing of the galaxy. I knew that you must be stopped, and so I defeated you. And yet… I couldn't deliver the final blow. It would have been far more kind, yet I selfishly couldn't deliver you from your pain. Even after you had killed so many, even after you had turned to the dark side and tried to kill me as well, I couldn't rid myself of those feelings.
I failed you Anakin. If you'd felt that you could confide in me, instead of relying upon Palpatine, then this never would have happened".
Vader found himself shaking his head. " My mistakes were mine alone", he said quietly. " You are not to blame".
" You admit then… that you should not have turned?" Obi-Wan's eyes were wide with hope.
Vader turned away. " I cannot say what you wish me to", he responded. " I don't know what is right anymore. I don't know who to trust".
Obi-Wan nodded quietly, although he looked pained. " I understand", the jedi replied. " But even if you can't trust me, isn't there someone who you still have a duty to protect?"
Vader understood right away. " Luke hates me", he snapped. " And with reason. I have failed him, every time he has most needed me I have failed him".
" Did you fail him today?" Obi-Wan asked. " Luke has always needed Anakin Skywalker. Today you protected your men, despite it hurting Luke. But had Luke understood your motives, don't you think he would have been glad that you acted as you did? The last time you protected so many people was when you were a jedi. Sith are never as selfless as you were today".
Vader hesitated. " No matter whether I did the right thing or not, Luke still hates me".
" Well then, why don't you go after him? The danger to your men is gone".
" How…"
" The Rebels know you as a jedi hero, don't they? What is to stop you from returning to them?"
Luke's pained face flashed before Vader's eyes.
" Alright", the sith lord whispered, then his voice gained resolve. " Alright", Vader said again, more firmly, and he sprinted from the room.
Obi-Wan watched him go, regret and hope battling within him. Like it or not, he was lying to Vader once more. Obi-Wan was sending his former apprentice into danger, for there was one Rebel who knew exactly who Anakin Skywalker truly was…
/
Luke maneuvered Mara Jade's limp body into a stolen shuttle. He set her down on the copilot's chair and shackled her arm onto the chair, strengthening the binders with the force. He flicked on the ship's transmitter.
" I've submitted clearance. You're going to let me out of the hangar", he told the officer at the other side of the connection, infusing his voice with the power of the force.
" You've submitted clearance. I'm going to let you out of the hangar", the man replied, and a moment later Luke was free in space.
The jedi breathed a sigh of relief, and tried to calm himself. However, the effort was impossible. Two betrayals in one day was simply too much for him to take. His father… well, he should have known to expect nothing from his father. But Vanessa- Mara Jade… he had thought he'd truly found love.
Luke cursed the force. What had his powers brought him but heartbreak?
Forcing himself to stay focused upon the task at hand, Luke contacted Leia and Han.
" Leia, where are you?" he asked the moment the connection came through.
" We're on Shisperia, Luke", the princess replied. " I'm sorry, I couldn't wait, Han was hurt".
" It's alright, I've gotten away fine", the jedi told her. " Is Han going to be alright?"
" Oh yes, the doctors say he'll make a full recovery, although it may take a while", Leia answered. Luke frowned, hearing a strained note in her voice.
" Leia… is everything alright?" he asked.
" Yes, everything's fine! I've just been worried about Han, that's all", she told him. Luke sensed the lie through the force, however for the moment he decided not to ask any questions.
" Okay, I'll return to Shisperia and we'll plan our next move together", he told her. " My cover has been blown here".
" Alright, see you later", Leia told him, breaking the connection. Luke stared at the crackling transmitter, worry gnawing at him. The princess hadn't inquired into how he had been found out, and she clearly was hiding something from him.
Something was terribly wrong.
A.N.: Hi everyone, it's been a while… I'm so sorry! I've been very busy, but I still should have updated earlier! Good news though, I have now gotten through a lot of stuff (including the performance of a short play I wrote) and have more free time to write!
As I was writing this chapter I realized that I haven't been too clear about when this story fits into the original timeline. " Vision of the Past" happens after " The Empire Strikes Back", however in my story Han escaped from Bespin with Luke and Leia.
Thank you for reading, if you liked it please leave a review! Once again, I'm sorry it took so long! But please don't worry about me not finishing " Stained Black", I've put lots of time into this story and I definitely intend to finish it!