Dynasty

by Valerie Vancollie and Rebecca Thomson

(valeriev84 at hotmail dot com) & (zekkers at juno dot com)


Disclaimer: Rebecca and I do not own Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader or any other of the "Star Wars" characters, items or situations. Rebecca and I only lay claim to the original aspects of the fic.

Note: One of the readers of Dynasty has created a gorgeous piece of concept art for the last chunk. Res designed Anjaleen's maroon and purple court dress as well as her hairstyle. If you want to see the illustration, visit my site and check out the Art Gallery.


Chunk Twelve

Luke stood in the garden at the Imperial Palace, the setting sun coloring the sky a vivid red. The crowds were thinning noticeably as the dinner hour approached, but a few of the younger generation that didn't have dining engagements were still talking to each other. He glanced over at Ra'chealla on his right, she was speaking to the others.

"And then she tried to tell me that her father sees the Emperor more than my father, so she should sit to the right of the hostess, and not me. Elizabeth thinks too highly of herself, don't you think so Anjaleen?"

"Sometimes we all think too highly of ourselves." Anjaleen Winiterure replied, "but you can't blame her for trying."

Ra'chealla smirked, and simpered at the fourth member of their impromptu group, "So, don't you agree as well, Mr. Raphael Jerklin?"

"Well, Elizabeth is a fine young women with a lot of social standing." Ra'chealla started to pout to Jerklin's reply, "But I wouldn't say she's higher than you."

Ra'chealla giggled. "And you, Luke?"

Luke gave her a good impression of an honest smile. He found Ra'chealla's constant concern for her social status tedious. Sometimes he couldn't understand how she could bear to be seen with him, since his position in the court was a mystery. "I think it was the hostess's decision on who should sit next to her, not Elizabeth's."

Raphael exaggerated a sigh and said, "Oh come now, that's no answer."

Luke picked up a glass of chilled wine off a passing servant's tray. "You're just upset because your intelligence agency doesn't have anything on me."

The two women giggled while Jerklin frowned. "I believe," he replied, "that is because Lord Vader had your records removed."

"Of course." Skywalker smiled to himself. Actually, there hadn't been any records to remove. The Lars had made sure of that, which effectively wiped out his past.

"Ohhh..." Ra'chealla giggled again, "How mysterious. Someday you will have to come clean, Mr. Skywalker, and tell us everything."

"Someday I will." He said, watching the three exchange glances. Jerklin appeared the most satisfied with that answer. He fancied himself well informed about court because of his Intel position. Luke wanted to laugh, the man had nothing on the combined spy network of both Vader and Palpatine. Luke knew that nothing happened in the Palace without his grandfather's knowledge.

They lapsed into silence. Then Ra'chealla let out a little squeak and glanced at her jeweled chronometer. "Oh, the time! I have an engagement tonight, I have to be going!" She pushed one of the jewels on the device, signaling her staff that she wanted to depart.

"Oh, it's a shame to see you go," Anjaleen said, "I was hoping for more help on prying information out of Mr. Skywalker." She smiled at Ra'chealla.

Ra'chealla's face fell, thinking she might be left out. Then she brightened again, "I'm sure we'll have another chance, but I have to get to my craft."

Luke remembered his manners, so he gave Jerklin's mind a nudge with the Force.

"I have to go as well," Raphael added, "I should escort you to your vehicle."

"Oh, thank you. You're such a gentleman."

Luke could feel her disappointment that he hadn't offered first as he politely wished her farewell.

Anjaleen stood there with him, watching them go. "Thank goodness," Anjaleen sighed, "I was hoping he'd get his fill for the last two hours. I was running out of things to say."

Luke smiled at her, "Oh really?"

"Yes. Father must have given him hints to court me." She sighed again, "Not that he isn't a perfectly nice man. Quite the gentleman, very polite. I just don't know what to talk about with him."

"I'm surprised you would tell me that." Skywalker said, glancing at the profile of her face with the last of the setting sun behind it.

"Mr. Skywalker, it's not like you tell anyone anything. You've got more secrets than our beloved Emperor."

Luke laughed. "Not hardly!"

Anjaleen giggled back, "maybe not quite that many, but close. And I know that you must have secrets with him, and Lord Vader. I know that you talk with his majesty quite often."

"Dear, you make me seem like some sort of conspiring politician." Luke pouted, enjoying the game.

"Aren't we all?" Anjaleen said.

"No, we're not." Luke said thinking. "Some of us are just beautiful people in fancy clothes." He spied a familiar uniform coming towards him. "Ah, Major Ravenell."

Anjaleen turned to see the uniformed man come up to Luke. "Sir," he began, giving Luke a little bow.

"Yes?"

"The Star Destroyer Judgment is ready, and your shuttle awaits."

"Thank you. I'll be with you shortly." Luke turned back to Anjaleen as Garret stepped back. "I'm afraid I must go, my Lady."

"Duty calls." She smiled. "Good luck on your first solo mission."

Luke's eyebrow rose. "Oh," Anjaleen continued, "I heard that Lord Vader is going to that party on Tangior VI and you weren't. Now I know why." She smiled at him, showing off a little.

"Ah, you are clever."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Farewell." He bowed to her, and then walked off in the direction Garret was waiting. He watched her mind as he left. Sudden despair hit him, despair at having no control over her own life. He grimaced, thinking about being married off with no control over who you'd be spending the rest of your life with.

"She's not that ugly, Sir." Major Ravenell whispered, teasing.

"Huh? Oh, no, I was thinking about the fact that her father is basically planning on marrying her off to the highest bidder."

"It happens. She'll live with it. My sister did, she's happy enough." Garret replied. Luke completely hid his reaction.

He had forgotten that Ravenell's family, while it wasn't high enough to attend court, did have some status. He supposed that was just how things were done in the upper echelons of society. It wasn't an encouraging thought.


General Hors stood at attention as Luke Skywalker walked down the line of receiving officers on the bridge of the Judgment. The young man was wearing a dark blue and green outfit that shone with blue, green, and black jewels. The general was furious, but hiding it well.

'That boy has been given command of four Star Destroyers? An entire task force?' Hors raved inside his head as he watched Skywalker greet the Captains of the other ships. 'What did he ever do to deserve this? What did I do to deserve this? I've given my whole life to the Army, only to be handed off to this man?'

The general swore to himself as he saw Skywalker move further down the line. Ever since the mission on that lousy desert planet, he had privately begun to hate the Dark Lord and his sway in upper command. He still believed his story that Skywalker was the Dark Lord's pet. He may have picked up a nasty trick or two from his benefactor, but the Rimworlder was still a nobody from nowhere as far as he was concerned.

General Hors glanced down the line again, watching Skywalker come to the guest. The Judgment was passing through the T'Zessa system on its way out of the Core and they were carrying a passenger back to her homeworld. Nastalia Bel-Zessa, the daughter of that system's Grand Moff. Her name came from her homeworld's tradition of re-naming the ruling family after the system.

The general thought she was beautiful. Her thick black hair was done up in piles on her head, held in place with strings of pink pearls. She was wearing a pale red dress with more pearls, and she had the face of a porcelain doll. She reminded him of his wife, before they had both gotten old, back when their love was young. She may come from a powerful family and he was married, but he could dream a little. Maybe he would be able to talk to her a little on the trip.

He strained his ears to catch what she was saying.

"Mr. Skywalker, I am so pleased to see you here."

"Nastalia, it is good to see you again." That annoying little twerp replied. "I hope we can provide you with a pleasant trip." The general blinked. They knew each other?

"I'm sure you can. I want to thank you for allowing me to travel on this wondrous ship without my father, but he had to attend the party on Tangior VI and I wanted to go home."

"It's no trouble at all." The little punk smiled.

'As if he had anything to do with her being on board,' the general growled in his mind. 'We have taken high ranked families home before,' he mussed to himself, 'they're just not usually this pretty. Usually overweight aging wives.'

The young lady gently laughed. "Oh Mr. Skywalker, I will admit to being a little nervous about traveling alone, but I'm sure it will be all right with you here."

General Hors felt the head of security next to him shift on his feet. The man had complained bitterly to Hors about the small army of servants the young women had brought with her. Apparently, they were all 'necessary.'

"Why thank you. If you wish, we could have dinner together before you depart."

"I'd love to."

The general nearly growled as the young man bowed and swept from the bridge. Why would the lady want to eat with the little punk anyway? The Admiral dismissed them, and the general followed the security chief back to their offices.

"Well, Hors, he's grown up quite a bit, hasn't he?"

"I suppose."


Luke stood before the viewport on the bridge of the Star Destroyer as he watched the last probe jump into hyperspace. The lead they had gotten had been that there was a lot of Rebel activity in the Burbone Sector and hints that a minor base was located somewhere in the vicinity. Knowing that their presence nearby would frighten the Rebels off, Luke had decided to launch the new probe droids that the Empire had gotten. The droids had special shields that hid them from normal radars, but not from high tech ones, which wasn't a problem considering the fact that the Alliance couldn't afford anything better than Standard equipment.

By launching the droids now they could gather information as they made the slight detour necessary to drop Nastalia off. Then, when they did go in, they'd know what to expect and perhaps even the location of the base, if there was one.

Skywalker scanned the bridge as he turned around. At first the officers had been more than a little nervous to have him in charge, but they hadn't said a word. He had seen that despicable rumor in the minds of some of them as he had scanned them, but generally it was quickly beginning to fade in light of his command. A 'pet' normally didn't gain this much power as the Emperor would have intervened. Luke was pleased when he had seen that the rumor was shifting more towards him being some special project Vader was working on. He still didn't like it, but it was a definite improvement over the last rumor.

Luke glanced down at his chrono, before he moved forward. They had been underway for a few days already and he had asked Nastalia to dine with him later today.

"Sir," the Admiral said as he walked up to him. "There is a message from Lord Vader. He demands to speak with you."

"Relay it to my quarters," Luke ordered as he swept from the bridge and made his way to his quarters. Entering his rooms, he headed straight for the console with the holo link. "Father?"

"Son," Vader said as he came on. "How are things proceeding?"

"Fine," Luke replied. "I have just sent several probe droids ahead to scout the area so we know what to expect. We should be arriving at the T'Zessa system soon and then we can head over to the Burbone system."

"Ah yes," Vader stated. "I heard of your guest. Her father made mention of it earlier today when he heard that you were in charge of the Judgment. Seems that she has mentioned you before."

"I have spoken with her at court on several occasions," Luke explained. "She is one of the... smarter women."

"So I've heard," Vader remarked dryly. "Otherwise there are no problems?"

"No," Luke responded. "Some of the crew were hesitant at first, but no one has mentioned anything."

"Good," Vader replied. "It seems the party will take longer than I expected so I should be here for the next few days if you need anything."

"Very well," Luke stated before the connection was cut.

Luke got to his feet and looked at his chrono once more before he moved to his bedroom to get changed.


Nastalia sighed in frustration as she looked around the small room she had been given. Everything had seemed to go wrong from the moment she had set foot on board the ship. First the security officer had complained about her staff, saying that she didn't need them all, but what would he know about that? Then they had all been crammed into several small rooms. Indeed, she was the only one who got her own room.

She pushed those thoughts aside and tried to think of the good things. After all, she could have been stuck on Tangior VI. And then there was the fact that Skywalker was on the Star Destroyer, so at least there was someone she knew and could talk to. Which reminded her of what she had been doing before she had gotten sidetracked. Dinner, she was looking for a fitting dress to wear to dinner with Skywalker. She was so glad that he had asked for, other than the few times she had seen him, she hadn't really talked with anyone. Although some of the officers had approached her to talk for a bit, most of them had stayed away. Fearful of what her father would think, no doubt.

Upon seeing her dark purple, layered dress, Nastalia pulled it out of the closet. It was perfect. It was just too elegant to be worn everyday, and yet not fancy enough to be worn to court. The dress was decorated with blue and green gems for which she had a matching necklace, earrings, and jeweled hair combs. Quickly, Nastalia changed into the dress and got her jewelry on.

"Enrouina," Nastalia called out as she seated herself before a mirror, the combs lying before her.

"Yes, my Lady?" Enrouina asked as she entered the room.

"My hair," Nastalia replied as she indicated the combs.

"At once," Enrouina said as she moved forward and picked up a hairbrush. "How do you want it?"

"I'm not sure. Nothing too fancy," Nastalia explained. "Its only dinner."

"I know just the thing," Enrouina stated as she set to work.


"I really don't believe this Charles," General Hors grumbled as he shifted through the datacards that littered his desk. "How did that punk end up in command of an entire task force?"

"I don't know, Sir," Charles replied as he waited for what he had come for. "However it isn't like he's made any mistakes yet."

"YET," Hors growled. "That's the key word. But then again, we haven't seen any fighting yet either. I just wish I could be on a different ship then the one he commands when things get rough."

"But, Sir," Charles said. "You lead the ground troops. Odds are that you'll be off the ship when there's any fighting."

"Thank the stars for that!" Hors mumbled as he found what he needed. Scanning the data on his pad he quickly scribbled his signature on it before handing it to his aid. "There."

"Thank you, Sir," Charles replied before he left the room.

Hors sighed as he watched him go. He was definitely not looking forward to the next few days. Even if he wasn't on board the Judgment when they attacked, he'd still be working under a plan put together by that little punk. The whole scenario would probably end up like the Tatooine thing. Only this time they would be engaging an enemy that would be able to fight back.

The general snorted as he looked at his work before him before getting to his feet. There was no way he was going to spend all night in his office sorting through this stuff. Seeing the time, he smiled as an idea came to him. He had noticed that that girl, Nastalia, was generally about at this time, whether in the officers' lounge to see the view or elsewhere. He'd been meaning to talk to her ever since she'd first come aboard. Why not now?

Straightening his uniform, General Hors left his quarters and made his way towards the officers' lounge. Entering the lounge he looked around and was disappointed to see only the usual crowd. Exiting the lounge before anyone saw him, Hors decided to walk around for a bit. He was just considering giving up when he rounded a corner and stopped short. Coming up one of the other corridors was Nastalia. However, dressed up as she was, she was even more beautiful than before. It didn't take Hors long to figure out where she was going. Wouldn't Skywalker just love it if his dinner date was late or didn't show up at all?

Hors approached her as a plan formed in his mind. "Good evening Lady Bel-Zessa."

"General," Nastalia replied as she slowed.

"I hope you're enjoying your stay here with us," Hors continued as she stopped before him. "I know it isn't everything, but it is one of his Majesty's warships."

"I know," Nastalia stated a little shortly as she glanced at her silver chrono. If she didn't hurry she'd be late and this older man before her gave her the creeps. She had caught him looking at her when she had first arrived, then again upon Skywalker's arrival, and a few times after that and she didn't like it.

"I've seen that you like to come into the officers' lounge for the view from time to time," Hors said as he reached out and took her arm. "But the bridge has an even better view. Come, let me show you."

"Eh... not right now," Nastalia replied as she gently slipped her arm free from his grasp. "I'm supposed to have dinner with Mr. Skywalker right now."

"He's not really upper crust, my Lady, you should have seen where he came from," Hors stated, getting annoyed. What was it about this brat that would want to make her be with him instead of himself? Was it just because Skywalker supposedly had more power then he did?

"Excuse me?" Nastalia responded in a mixture of disgust and curiosity. She was disgusted that a mere general would dare speak about someone like Skywalker like that, and yet she couldn't help but wonder what this man knew about Skywalker's past.

"Until he met Lord Vader, Skywalker was living on Tatooine," Hors explained with delight. "You know, one of those backwater, Rim World planets. He was also lucky if he had more than two credits at once."

Nastalia stood frozen in shock at Hors' words. Could it be true? It would definitely explain why Skywalker was so quiet about his past. But if it was true, then why would Vader have decided to take him in and given him all the training he must have had? Unless, of course, the rumors where true and Vader was grooming Skywalker to be some sort of special agent. Whatever the reason, he must have been deemed important or else neither Vader nor Palpatine would be this interested in him.

"Yes, the Dark Lord does dress him well," Hors continued as he saw the expression on her face. "You wouldn't say that he can from nothing."

Nastalia looked at the man before her for a moment more before glancing at her watch. "Its been... educational talking to you," she said, drawing upon all that she had been taught. "But now I really must go. After all, I'm sure you don't want me being late."

"No, of course not," Hors was forced to reply, clearly hearing the words 'or else your superior would get angry' hanging in the air. "It been a pleasure."

Nastalia forced a smile and nodded her head before continuing on her way. Entering a turbolift, she sighed. She was already late and could only hope that Skywalker wouldn't mention it. Quickly she made the rest of the way to Skywalker's chambers and was just approaching the door when it opened.

"Mr. Skywalker," Nastalia said as she saw him standing over a console.

"Please call me Luke," Luke stated as he turned around to face her.

"As you wish... Luke," Nastalia replied, feeling slightly uneasy with the use of his first name.

"You look beautiful tonight, as always," Luke continued as he motioned her towards a door.

"Thank you," Nastalia replied as she followed him.

As she stepped into the next room, she instantly realized that they were in the private dining room of the highest ranking officer on board the Judgment. As he approached the table, Luke pulled back one of the chairs and motioned for her to take as seat. As soon as she sat, he pushed it back in. Making his way to his own seat, Luke motioned for the man standing near the door to bring out the first dish.

"I hope you're enjoying your trip," began Skywalker.

"Why yes." Nastalia replied, thinking about her cramped quarters.

"It's not as fancy as a pleasure craft, or as private. I hope you don't mind having dinner here, but the officer's mess has absolutely no privacy. I doubt we'd have to share a table with anyone else, but..."

Nastalia blinked. "Share a table?"

He smiled at her. "Yes. The ship is very large, but most of the room is taken up by the engines, weapons, and equipment storage. We're all rather cramped in here."

"How do you ever stand it?" Nastalia thought about getting dressed without her servants. She couldn't imagine it. 'Who would do my hair?' She thought.

"We do what we have to do in order to protect the Empire, my dear." Skywalker replied, as the man who was serving set the first course before them.

Nastalia munched on the salad, weighing her next words. She knew that Skywalker must be tired of people trying to pry information out of him, but she wanted to know if what that creepy General Hors said was true. "But it must be hard, living without the space and luxuries you've grown accustomed to."

He gave her a strange look, then smiled. "It's worth it." He paused, then changed the topic. "So, why didn't you want to go to the party on Tangior VI?"

"Oh, it's mostly for the older generation. And very few of my friends would be there. Why aren't you there?" She asked.

"I got assigned to this mission."


Skywalker walked back into the room and sat at the empty table, staring at the door by which Nastalia had just left, brooding. The last of the plates were being cleaned away, and he was deep in thought. He sighed, sensing Ravenell behind him. "Yes?" He asked.

"Sir, I just wanted to see if you had anything before I retire tonight?"

Luke waited until the servant left the room. "Yes Garret, I do. It seems General Hors is spreading rumors about where I come from and how poor I used to be. I'm debating about what I should do."

Garret stood at the door, turning over the possibilities. "Lord Vader would probably find something else that he had done wrong, and then kill him."

"I have been ordered not to reveal my special talents yet. I may have to find more ordinary ways to punish him." Luke sighed. How did his grandfather stand all those years of hiding his abilities?


"Sir, we've analyzed the data brought back by the probe droids. We have a few visuals on some activity in the Burbone Sector. Intel has isolated the location of the base down to one of two planets- either Mod Evine, here," the Admiral pointed at a location on the holo-projection map, "or Calruk, here." He pointed at the other location, close to the first.

"Unfortunately," the Admiral continued, "if we investigate the wrong location first, the Rebels will be alerted to our presence and evacuate." He stopped, immensely glad that he wasn't having to make this choice. At first he had envied the young man, especially when he had the privilege of mixing with such company as that Nastalia who had left the ship two days ago, but now he was happy not to have the responsibility of complete command.

"May I see the visuals?" Skywalker asked.

The Admiral was impressed, Skywalker didn't seem concerned that he had been backed into a corner. It would be too easy to pick the wrong system and screw up, leaving him to Lord Vader's mercies. The Admiral nodded to the tech, who changed the projection to reveal several shots of ships coming in and out of hyperspace. Two shots were of the planets themselves. Both of those droids' transmissions had ended with the self-destruct of the probe, to avoid enemy capture. Of course, enemy capture included smuggler bases, which meant either one of the planets could be a dead end.

Skywalker seemed deep in thought. "Mod Evine. But I want to speak with the tech team in charge of the probe droid maintenance. I may want to send one more droid to the surface of the planet."

"Sir, that will alert the Rebels to our presence in this sector." The Admiral explained.

"I plan on it." He gave the holo-projection a small smile.


"What I want, Tech Wilson, is for you to strip down this probe droid of all non-essential systems. It just has to get to the planet, land, and act like a probe. It doesn't have to take pictures or readings. I also want you to rig the self-destruct mechanism to fail, leaving the droid intact."

"But Sir, the Rebels will be able to take it apart then, and get a good look at its insides." The tech fretted.

"No, they won't. I want you to take all the space left over from removing the extra systems and pack it full of X7-T5, rigged to explode when they open it up."

The tech suddenly grinned. "Yes, Sir!"

"How much X7-T5 can you get into it?"

The tech thought. "Five kilos, max."

"Make it four, with extra fail-safes."

"Yes, Sir!"

Skywalker turned to the Admiral. "They'll send out a team to investigate. They'll shoot at it, and the droid will promptly disable itself. Then they'll take it back to the base to take it apart, and the whole thing will explode in their maintenance bay. Which is normally next to the landing bays, and away from the command center. With luck, we'll take out quite a few of their fighter and cargo craft." X7-T5 was one of the most powerful explosives the Empire had. Four kilos would make a very large explosion.

The Admiral nodded approval. It was daring, and would probably work. As long as Mod Evine was the right planet.


Mod Evine was a planet that consisted primarily of water-logged grasslands dotted with large rock outcroppings. The four star destroyers hung in space over the lush green planet, watching the fireball bloom over one such outcropping.

"Sir," one of the bridge technicians said, "their shield just dropped down to ten percent."

"Fire at will." Skywalker commanded, and the planetary bombardment with the turbolasers began. The Rebel's shields began to weaken.

"X-wing fighters from the surface are approaching." Another bridge technician announced.

Skywalker could feel the relief sweep the bridge that he had picked the correct planet as he gave the next order. "Admiral, release the TIE bombers and TIE Interceptors." Skywalker looked out the viewport, hands behind his back.

"Yes, Sir." The Admiral turned, "release the TIE bombers and TIE Interceptors." The communications officer hurried to obey.

"Their shields have failed." The bridge technician at that station announced.

"Continue bombardment." Skywalker replied. No reason to risk the bombers and fighters when he could destroy Rebels from afar.

The Force rippled, and Luke's eyes narrowed. Fear, from the planet, washed out over the Force. It came from the Rebel base, and it was eerily familiar. 'Leia?' He sent to the planet. A wordless reply answered from the untrained mind. Luke almost swore. He didn't really want to deal with her, but he knew that his father and grandfather would want him to take some effort to capture her.

"Stop the bombardment." Skywalker commanded. "Commence bombing runs. Order the ground troops to attack. Once the ground troops get to the base, call off the bombers. Prepare my shuttle, I need to get down there."

Luke turned to leave.

"Sir?" Asked the Admiral.

Luke's eyes narrowed. No one would have questioned his father. But he understood the man's reluctance, he was unproven. So he gave the man an explanation. "They're too organized, Admiral. Someone must be still giving them orders. I want whomever is in command down there alive."

"Yes, Sir."


General Hors growled when he got his orders. They were to commence attack after the TIE bombers had made their next pass. There wasn't anything wrong with that. The fact that Skywalker would be joining his attack team was what made him red in the face. What did that punk think he was doing? Playing a game? Hors knew that he'd probably have to end up sticking out his neck to make sure the Dark Lord's pet wasn't harmed. The thought of just letting him die had entered his mind, however he doubted that he'd survive Vader's wrath if he did so.

"Get ready," Hors ordered his men just before rustling could be heard in the brush behind them.

Several of the stormtroopers with him instantly turned around only to find a few other troopers and Skywalker standing there. Mentally Hors cursed. That would have just what he needed, a stormtrooper with an itchy trigger finger to shoot Skywalker thinking he was a Rebel. Actually, now that he thought about it, Hors liked the idea. It would have been impossible for the Dark Lord to kill anyone other than the trooper. Too bad it hadn't happened.

"Ready General?" Luke demanded as he turned to face the man, having clearly heard his thoughts.

"Yes, Sir," Hors replied.

Luke moved closer to the man, eyes narrowing slightly. The moment the bombers made their last pass, Hors indicated for the troopers to move in. As he followed them, Luke scanned the General's mind. He didn't like what he found. It seemed this was the man who had started the rumors he despised so much. Finding the reason for the rumors, Luke's anger grew. There was no doubt left in his mind that this man had to die. He just needed to find an appropriate way to do it. But that was for later. Right now he had to get his twin sister one way or another.

The sound of blaster fire up ahead and the smell of burnt flesh pulled him out of his thoughts. Instantly, Luke scanned the area with the Force and saw that the Rebels were only ahead of them, more or less trapped in their base. The fear and frustration radiating from his twin's defenseless mind proved as much.

"Down," Luke called out as he saw an X-wing approach. Hearing his warning, everyone nearby dropped instantly. The red laser fire sizzled the air above them, but did no other harm. "Admiral," Luke said into his com as he got to his feet and brushed off his clothes. "I want those X-wings taken care of now!"

"But, Sir," the Admiral replied as an explosion ripped through the air up ahead of Luke. "The TIEs will hit our troops as well."

"Then tell them to lead the X-wings away," Luke snapped. "I just want them taken care of. That's an order."

With this Luke turned off the com and gripped his blaster before heading forward. Reaching a clearing he wrinkled his nose as he moved over dead bodies of Rebels and stormtroopers. He quickly reached the edge of the swamp and the beginning of the rock that the Rebels had used as a landing pad. Looking up, Luke saw that this area had been covered from aerial view by a rock outcropping that soared over it.

"The troopers are already inside," Hors stated as he came up next to Skywalker, indicating an entrance that was carved into the rock face.

Luke nodded his head in response and scanned the area before getting up and walking across the former landing pad. As he did so, Luke could feel the General's astonishment at the fact that he so boldly stepped out into the open. Turning around he indicated the others to follow him. The remaining stormtroopers, trained to obey, instantly did as they were told. Hors, on the other hand, briefly hesitated before complying.

'Stupid idiot,' Hors raged silently as he rushed after his men. 'I swear he's going to get us all killed!' Looking up at Skywalker, Hors could have sworn that he saw the boy eyeing him in anger just as if he knew what he was thinking, but then Skywalker turned away. Shaking his head, Hors entered the enemy base. 'I'm getting paranoid.'

It didn't take them long to catch up with the stormtroopers that had gone ahead. Hearing the sizzle of blaster fire in the air, Luke and the others slowed as they rounded a corner and tried to make out what was happening through the smoke that filled the room. Looking around, Luke saw that they were in the inside maintenance bay where the bomb gone off. The raging fires it had started still blazed, filling the air with choking fumes. Seeing a Rebel, Luke aimed and fired before he took cover behind what had once been an X-wing but was now nothing more than a disfigured piece of useless metal.

Hors clenched his fist as he got down behind his cover once more. Normally he'd stay back during raids and give orders without actually getting into the line of fire. Now, however, that was impossible considering that Skywalker had decided he wanted to be as far forward as he could be. If only something would happen to the young man then everything would be perfect. Seeing some of his troopers manage to blast open a side door he waited for an opening before following them. Perhaps the fighting would be less intense this way. Besides, he wanted to be able to take Skywalker's victory away from him by getting the Rebels' leader first.

Luke followed the General as he saw him go. The moment he entered the room, he smiled. Although there were a few stormtrooper bodies on the floor, the dead Rebels outnumbered them by far. It was clear that the Imperial troops had taken those of the Rebellion by surprise. Looking around, Luke saw that it was empty except for Hors who was standing near the door that led out of the room. Luke could clearly hear the sounds of battle echoing further down the hall the door opened up into, and yet the General was making no move to go fight. He was just waiting and watching.

"What's wrong, General?" Luke asked as his lip curled in anger at the man's cowardice. "Not planning on helping your men?"

"Skywalker," Hors snarled as he turned around, annoyed at being caught. "I was just assessing the situation."

Luke simply looked at the man for a moment with cold eyes. "And what is your assessment?"

"That we are winning," Hors replied as he looked for a way out. There was no way that he was going to let this brat harm his career.

"So you didn't feel the need to risk your own life," Luke said and then whirled around as the a warning rippled through the Force.

Even as he moved, Luke pulled his hidden lightsaber from under his robe and activated it. Letting the Dark Side guide his hands, Luke brought the saber up and neatly deflected the shot back to the Rebel who had fired it. The beam of energy caught the man square in the head, killing him instantly. Pleased, Luke turned off his ruby-red blade and replaced it where it couldn't be seen before he turned back to face the astounded General.

"Th... that's... Lord Vader's weapon," Hors stammered as his brain tried to comprehend what he had just seen. Although he had never seen it done before, he had heard of the Dark Lord deflecting blaster shots with his weapon. He hadn't believed it until now.

"No, this is my lightsaber," Luke stated, knowing that the General had to die now after what he had witnessed. "All Sith have their own."

"S... Si... Sith!" Hors repeated in astonishment even as his brain registered what that meant.

It meant that he had been wrong about Skywalker being Vader's pet. He was actually an apprentice. Even as that dawned on him Hors realized something else; if nobody knew of this then there was no way he'd be allowed to live to tell of it. Looking up at Skywalker's face he realized that this last was true. Briefly he wondered if the boy could also read his mind as Vader was rumored to do.

"I can," Luke stated simply. "You do realize that you have brought this upon yourself. If you hadn't made mention of my past to Nastalia then I wouldn't have joined up with your part of the attack team and you'd probably have survived the battle. As it is, you have made a stupid mistake and it has gotten you killed."

Quickly, Skywalker raised his blaster and fired before the man had time to reply. He nodded his head in satisfaction as the General's Force presence flickered and faded. Walking over Hors' lifeless body, Luke picked up the General's blaster before scanning the hall with the Force. Sensing no immediate danger, Luke exited the room and made his way down the hall to where the battle had been. Reaching the area all he found were scorch marks and more bodies. Taking out his com, Luke hurried down the hall.

"Admiral," Luke said. "How are things going?"

"Fine, Sir," the Admiral replied. "However I have just received a report that we can no longer contact General Hors."

"He's dead," Luke declared.

"Yes, Sir," the Admiral replied just as Luke cursed and flung himself into a side passage as he sensed a Rebel preparing to fire. "Sir? All you all right?" the Admiral questioned as he heard blaster fire.

"Fine," Luke replied sarcastically before he cut the connection.

With the aid of the Force to help his aim, Luke fired through the smoke filling the hall and hit the Rebel. Just as he was about to enter the hall once more, he felt a ripple of relief coming from his sister's mind. Snarling in anger, Luke continued on his way. There was no way he was going to let Organa slip through his fingers again. He'd bring her back to Coruscant this time, dead or alive.

Luke picked up his pace, running down the hallway. She wasn't going to get away. He reached out with the Force, trying to get a more accurate sense of her location.

The Force twitched, and Luke turned and ran straight ahead in the smoke filled corridor. Suddenly, he found himself running up stairs. The smoke was getting thicker as he went up, and the blaster fire in the distance faded away as he found himself turning down another corridor and taking off at top speed. He closed his eyes to protect them from the burning smoke.

The fumes were really thick now, and it was hard not to cough. Suddenly he stopped, and reached out and tapped the control panel for a door.

It swished open, and fresher air rushed in. He stepped through, and closed the door behind him. The air was stifling hot, and hazy with smoke. He looked down, and saw that he was on a catwalk that ran across the hangar he had just been through below. Sweat began to trickle down his face as he reached for Leia's mind again.

Forward. He ran across the catwalk, his booted feet clanging on the grating. He reached out with the Force and opened the next door for him to pass through. The door swished open, and billowing white smoke poured out. He took a quick breath and plunged ahead. Down the corridor, and turn, and open another door.

He stopped on the other side, the same hot, hazy air and catwalk. He looked down. It was a smaller hanger, untouched by the explosion. Empty, except for a shuttle.

And a group of Rebels barring the door with every piece of equipment they could find. Luke narrowed his eyes and reached down with the Force to hear what they were saying.

"Jake, how are the repairs coming?"

"I'll get this thing in the air in fifteen minutes!" One dirty man called from underneath an access hatch.

"Hurry!" Cried a female voice. Luke looked over at the Rebels piling stuff in front of the door. There, in a tan jumpsuit, was the Princess. Luke almost laughed. She wasn't a Princess, not unless she chose to stand at his father's side. Her title was phony, a meaningless label given by the Jedi's trickery to snub his father. It would be more accurate to call him a Prince.

Luke growled at the thought, he should be called a Prince. The idea that she had been raised royalty and him on a farm still made him angry.

He looked around the rocky cavern, trying to figure out a way to get down. He only needed to capture her alive, the rest could die. "Damn!" he whispered. It was so hot up here! And he couldn't see a way down. He cast out with the Force, seeing if he could sense a route in the corridors behind him. He came up with nothing, only a growing feeling that the hallways behind him were now filled with toxic smoke.

There were only three ways in and out of this room. The catwalk, the rough-hewn shielded exit for the ship, and the barricaded door. He sighed, judging the distance down.

He could make it, it would take all of his concentration, but he could slow his fall enough to make the jump. Now, he only had to distract the Rebels, so they didn't see him landing.

He clicked his com on. "Admiral."

"Yes, Sir?" Luke could tell that the Admiral wanted more information, but was beginning to fear questioning his superior too much.

"Tell the stormtroopers to break open the door to the Southeast hanger."

"Southeast hanger? Yes, Sir. As soon as we locate it."

"I'm in the Southeast hanger, Admiral. Just triangulate my location."

"Yes, Sir."

Luke carefully walked around on the catwalk to the side farthest from the door, patiently waiting to sense when the stormtroopers would start trying to break down the barricade. They were getting ready, now-

He jumped, as the first muffled explosion rumbled through the door. The Rebels instinctively, as one, turned to face the barricaded door. At the second explosion, they rushed to pile more spare equipment on.

Luke hit the pavement hard. He knees brushed his chest as he landed, his breath whooshing out of him. He staggered, stumbling behind a crate taller than him that must have been too big for the Rebels to move. He stood there, gasping. "I am," he wheezed, "spending too much effort on one stupid Rebel."

Luke gathered himself, and then used the Force to hear what the Rebels were saying again. Handy trick grandfather had taught him. Even if his Majesty had originally used it to spy on his enemies in the Senate halls.

"Jake, they're coming!"

"Almost!"

"Come on, pile more stuff on this, we have to hold them off!" The Princess yelled. "Damn," she muttered, "if only we could have gotten to the outpost with the others. At least the ships hidden there work." The hangar shook with another explosion.

'Interesting,' Luke thought. 'But, let's make this a little easier for me.' He reached out with the Force, brushing against Leia's mind. 'Look for more equipment behind the crates.' He whispered.

Leia stepped back from the pile, eyeing it dubiously as it shook from the explosions behind it. "We need more equipment." She turned to another Rebel, "is there anything else?"

The man grunted, "Not unless you want to add the photon torpedoes in those crates."

"I better check-"

Luke blinked, and checked the writing on the side of the crate he was hiding behind. Photon torpedoes- he was hiding behind a crate full of photon torpedoes. He looked around. If the Rebels noticed him and started shooting, they would all be dead. He needed better cover.

Another explosion, and the door shuddered from the stormtroopers assault. Luke hurriedly clicked his com.

"Admiral," he hissed, "order the stormtroopers outside the door to set their riffles to stun. And not to shoot any of the crates lining the walls in here- they're full of torpedoes." The floor shook again, the noise was deafening.

"Yes, Sir."

The Force flickered a warning, and Luke instinctively turned around, coming face to face with the Princess as she came around the corner of the crate.

She gasped, "Skywalker!" as Luke instinctively reached out and grabbed her, dragging her behind the crate.

"Admiral!" Luke said as the door rumbled with another explosion, "I want that door open, now!" Leia was struggling, and screaming, only the nearby multiple explosions covering the noise. Luke held her, trying to figure out a way to get his blaster out to stun her without letting go. He didn't trust himself to knock her out with the Force, he might damage her.

A huge roar of noise pressed against them, and the loud clang of the door falling to the floor followed. Silence, as the air filled with smoke.

Leia screamed, "Skywalker! Run!"

The air filled with blaster fire between the Rebels near the shuttle and the stormtroopers at the door. Luke sneaked a peek around the crate, barely holding onto Leia. The mechanic had dropped, stunned. Other Rebels began to drop, one by one. Suddenly, one of the Rebels turned towards the crates of torpedoes and began firing away. He didn't want to be taken alive.

Luke barely had time to feel his sense of danger alert him before he had flung Leia away from him and pulled his blaster, shooting the Rebel with the suicide wish. He shot a few more, before he turned back to Leia, who had her blaster pointed straight at him.

"Leia," he said, smiling. "Don't try and hurt me, you'll regret it later." She raised the blaster higher.

He reached out a hand, and her blaster leapt from her hand to his. Her eyes widened as he nodded at her, and then shot her with a stun blast. He turned back to the shuttle and watched the last Rebel fall to the deck.


The stormtroopers in the small hangar watched as the Princess was dragged away, Skywalker following. One of the escorting troopers turned to the remaining troopers, "Clean this up!" He ordered as he turned to follow.

"Yes, Sir!"

As they began to pile the Rebel bodies onto a cart, one said to his partner, "did you hear that? One of them was screaming about Skywalker, they're scared of him!"

The other one looked at his partner before he answered. "Yes, I did hear. I just love the sound of terrified Rebels." He stopped and looked around, then asked, "Sergeant?"

"Yes, trooper?"

"How did Skywalker get in here?" The stormtrooper squad looked around the empty room with one door and one shielded ship entrance. Smoke hid the ceiling and catwalks.

The Sergeant looked at the trooper. "I don't know, I don't ask."

"Yes, Sir."


Please let Rebecca and I know what you think of this chunk! Leave a review or send us an e-mail. Thanks.