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: This chunk has been loosely illustrated by Zawiah. To see the illo, go to my site (the link for which is in my profile).
Chunk Fourteen
Lord Vader sat at his table eating a light breakfast and reading over the reports of his son's first mission. The official report was dry, reporting only the bare facts of the engagement. The other reports, given by his personal spies aboard the Judgment, reported rumors that General Hors died under mysterious circumstances and that Skywalker could walk through walls, appearing in the middle of his enemies.
Vader nibbled his toast and growled. Luke was obviously taking far too many risks. He flipped through the reports again before turning off the datareader to finish his meal.
He felt Luke's shuttle land atop his castle. Luke sent him a quick wordless greeting as he disembarked, obviously pleased with himself. He had just gotten back, and was still a little heady from officially reporting his success to the Emperor.
Luke entered the room in a few minutes, after having walked the long corridors from the roof. "Good morning, Father."
"What were you thinking?" Vader growled.
"Sir?" Luke asked.
"The report on your first mission. You were obviously running around without an escort in enemy territory. It says here that there were rumors that you 'walked through walls' to capture her." He didn't say her name, he was still rather angry about his meeting with her two days ago.
"I was following the Force. I knew that you and the Emperor wanted Leia alive. I never would have found her otherwise."
"'Walk through walls'? What is that about?" Vader snapped.
"Oh, the stormtroopers didn't see the catwalks above. I had entered the room from there, and jumped down. I checked with the Force, it didn't scream a warning."
"You are Sith, not an immortal. Don't take those risks. Besides, it's not proper for you to be running around like that."
"Not proper? But how am I supposed to use these powers if I don't-"
'SILENCE.' Said the Emperor's voice in both their minds. 'I won't have you bickering. We will discuss this tonight.'
'Yes your Majesty/my Emperor' their two mental voices blended as one.
Luke glanced at his father, suddenly abashed. Luke hung his head a little.
"Tonight." Vader said, sighing. "I'm done here, I'll be in my office." He got up and left, wondering at himself. Luke had done well, and there was no real way he could not have taken those risks and captured her- so why was he upset? It confused him a little.
Luke knocked on the armored door, knowing that Leia could hear him inside her rooms. No one answered, so he knocked again. He was determined to act as if everything was normal, and he was a gentleman stopping by for a visit.
"Come in!" The female voice called over the speaker, sounding frustrated.
Luke nodded at the guard, who opened the door for him to step in. He did so, scanning carefully with the Force to see where Leia was. He didn't need her getting creative and managing to hurt him with some home-made weapon.
She was standing on the far side of the room, inspecting the window's shield. Frustration furrowed her brow. Her white dress with its green gem work set off her hair, which was loose around her shoulders. He hadn't realized it was so long- it went down to her waist.
"Hello. I see you've gotten comfortable." The chairs were lying on the floor along with the few cushions she had been given.
She glared at him as she smacked the wall with one balled fist.
Luke reached out, and a chair picked itself up and jumped into his hand. (Zawiah's illustration goes here) He set it on one side of the low table and then did the same for the second chair. He held the chair back a little. "Care to sit and have some afternoon tea?"
She nervously looked at the chair and then stiffly walked over to sit down. Luke pushed the chair in a little, and then took his own seat as he clicked his com for the tea. He sat in the silence for awhile before he spoke. "I came to see if you had any questions."
Leia glanced up at him, wetting her lips. "You believe him?"
"That he's our father? Yes, I-"
"No. Your father. We don't look anything alike, how can he be our father?" Luke could tell that she really meant 'How can he be my father?'
Luke smiled. "You take after mother, and I take after him. I've seen the holos."
The door opened, and a green and black liveried servant came in with the tea and cake on a platter. The cups and teakettle were made of a white material and the flatware was obviously blunted. The servant put them down and left again. Luke calmly waited, seeing if Leia would serve like a lady was supposed to do. She glared at him, and he reached forward and poured.
He took his cup, and sipping, asked: "Would you like to see them? I can arrange it."
"No. You'll just show me fakes."
"Not even curious what he looks like? Before..." Luke didn't continue. Father had told him that he didn't want Leia to know the extent of his injuries, or lack thereof. At least not yet.
"No."
"You're lying."
"Do your Sith powers tell you that?" She glared at him, angry, and deeply afraid. He had to be Sith, he had moved the chairs without touching them.
"Yes." Luke motioned to the tea. "Are you sure you don't want any?"
"No." Leia paused. "How can you be happy about that? Satisfied? You're Sith! People all over the galaxy fear and loath your father-"
"Our father." Luke cut her short. It was getting harder to curb his temper, but he was determined to wait until she realized that she was being the unreasonable one here.
"-Loath Darth Vader. And you want to be like him!"
"Lord Vader, please. Yes, I do. He's the Emperor's right-hand man. He's very respected in Imperial circles."
"And feared! Like a monster!"
"Only by those who would fail him."
"Fail him? Did Biggs Darklighter fail you?"
"Yes."
"How did it feel to kill him?" She accused.
"It was a duty. I regret that he made it necessary."
"Regret?"
"He apologized in the end. Said he was sorry for letting me down, for leaving his post and deserting. I let him know the truth before the end, and he regretted his decisions."
"You're lying."
"Did you see him kneel to me on the platform?" It was only the barest of exaggerations, Skywalker knew. In fact, if they had given Biggs half so much effort as they were going to give his sister, Biggs would have stood on the platform and openly refuted his Rebellion. "He knew who I was, and he kneeled to me."
Horror filled her eyes. She had watched the execution more than once, forced herself to see it. Rebel intelligence had seen Darklighter's actions as his personal refusal to loose dignity, not as surrender to Imperial thought and ideals. The look in Darklighter's eyes as Skywalker had brought the blade down had been regret and forgiveness, not the hurt of betrayal.
"No." Leia whispered.
"Yes." Luke stood, tapping his com. "Truth has a way of making people realize where their loyalties should lie, Leia. You should think about it. I'll leave you now." The servant swept back in, taking the tea.
Luke turned at the door. "Do you want me to bring by the holos?"
Leia hesitated, then answered, "Yes please." It wouldn't hurt to look. And the woman in the holos was bound to be her real birth mother. She would like to see what the woman had looked like.
"I'll bring them tomorrow." Skywalker stepped through the door, and it swished shut.
The room was darkened, and several furred Bothans sat around the table in the center. They were all older and well-dressed. The individual at the head of the table was speaking.
"Fl'ann's report is clear, the Princess Leia is currently located in Lord Vader's Castle. The question is what do we plan on doing about it?" The speaker's graying fur rippled, showing his indecision. He continued, "The information is worthless to us, it does not affect our clan. But-"
"It would be worth much to others." Another answered from the far end of the table. He was younger, his hair wasn't quite so gray, his clothes not quite so richly adorned.
"Yes, but if we sell this information, Fl'ann's usefulness will be over. His cover will be gone. He could even be captured." Replied the Bothan at the head of the table.
"Dearest clan elder," the second speaker said, "Fl'ann has given many years of service. But his time of usefulness is all but over anyway. The Emperor's edicts against non-humans continue to be issued. His employer could concede to political pressures any day now, and Fl'ann will be fired. I say, use his knowledge now, and bring him home before he can be discovered."
Several heads around the darkened table nodded.
"I do not want to risk one of our own for someone else's war." Piped up a third speaker, directly opposite from the second.
"We would insist on being fairly compensated." Said the second.
"I am not worried about money." The disdain in the voice was unmistakable. "I'm more worried that the wrong people learn of our involvement."
"With the new edicts, it is becoming harder and harder not to become involved." Said a forth at the table, fur rippling in agitation.
"I'm not arguing against selling the information to the Rebellion. I just don't want the information traced back to us." Replied the third.
"Of course not. We are always careful." Said the second, trying to keep in the conversation.
"And the Empire's methods of information retrieval are brutal. Our agent would not be able to resist, and the Empire would come knocking on our door in less than a week."
"Silence." Said the Bothan at the head of the table. "We will sell the information to the Rebellion, but we will offer two prices. One will be ridiculously high, and will come with no strings attached. The second price will be much lower, and will come with the condition that our agent will leave Coruscant within 24 hours after they receive the information from him. He will be allowed to escape, effectively hiding our tracks. This is business, not our war."
Several heads around the table nodded, and no one argued the plan. But it took most of the night to agree on the price, and how the Rebellion would be approached.
'Luke,' Vader sent.
'Coming,' Luke replied as one of the servants helped him put on his black cape.
He had decided to wear his black suit with the blue water-stones. He had noticed before that, because of the color of his father's armor and cape, most of the high Imperials associated black with military. He had seen on several occasions that when the high ranking military officers weren't wearing their uniform when they attended court, that they wore something black. Considering this and the fact that his recent victory would be talked about at tonight's session of the court, Luke had decided to wear this particular outfit.
The moment his cape was on, Luke dismissed the servant, swept out of the room and made his way to the entrance hall where Vader was waiting beside the hidden doorway. As he approached his father, Luke felt himself stiffen, the morning's argument still fresh in his mind. He had just been pleased with himself as he had not only destroyed the Rebel base he had been sent to seek out, but he had also managed to capture his sister; alive. Instead of giving him a word of approval as he sought, Vader had instantly criticized his actions. Feeling his jaw tighten, Luke nodded at his father as he moved past him and down the flight of stairs to the turbolift.
Vader closed the hidden door and probed his son's mind as much as he could without being detected, a thing which was becoming harder and harder to do. That his son was mad at him was easy to tell, but Vader was surprised to find hurt present as well. He wanted to see exactly what caused it, but knew that there was a good possibility of Luke detecting him and that was the last thing he needed at the moment.
He had spent part of the afternoon meditating on the morning's argument and it hadn't taken him long to realize that it wasn't the risks Luke had taken that could have led to the discovery of his abilities that he was so angry about. But rather the risks to his own life. Luke had run around alone on enemy territory, probably devoting most of his attention to tracking his sister instead of to the immediate dangers around him. Although Luke's lightsaber skills and general Force skills had improved tremendously, there was always the possibility of something going wrong. There was only so much Luke could do. The same fear of the risk Luke had taken when jumping off the catwalk had attributed to his anger.
The moment the turbolift stopped, Luke got up and made his way up the stairs. Reaching the top he scanned the hallway before opening the door. Watching as he did so, Vader smiled. So much had changed since he had first brought Luke down this passage months ago. He had changed and learned a lot and Vader was pleased. As he stopped to think about it, he found that he was also very proud of his son, unlike his daughter. Instantly, Vader pushed the thought aside. As soon as the current issue with Luke was solved he could turn his attention back to Leia, not before.
Luke strode down the corridor until he reached the second entrance to the throne room. Stopping, he waited for his father before they entered together. Approaching the throne, Luke noticed that there were no guards in the room. Reaching the top of the flight of stairs, Luke was hit by a sense of déjà-vu as he saw the brilliant sun set through the window behind the throne. The light shone in, reflecting off the gems set into his clothes, making each gem look like a small sunset of its own. Slowly the throne turned to face them and Palpatine looked at them both.
"Now, about this morning," Palpatine began and saw the emotion flicker across Luke's face. "What exactly were you two bickering about?"
"The reports indicate that one general died mysteriously and that there were rumors circulating about Luke walking through walls and appearing in the middle of the Rebels," Vader began as he watched Luke. "They also said Luke went in alone."
"I was only tracking down Leia," Luke explained after he was sure that his father was finished. "I had sensed that she had found a way to escape so I wanted to make sure that I got to her before she got away. Again."
"And what exactly did you do in order to do this?" Palpatine questioned.
"I followed her Force presence," Luke replied. "I was alone at the time, so I managed to move faster and keep away from the fighting. She was in a small docking bay with several other Rebels and a shuttle. The only ways into the room was the regular entrance, which they had blocked, the door for the shuttle to leave through, and the catwalk. I entered through the latter and jumped down when I was sure the Rebels weren't looking."
"A catwalk so high that the stormtroopers didn't see it," Vader interjected.
Palpatine looked at his son and started to understand just exactly what was bothering the Dark Lord.
"That's because by the time they were in the room the catwalk was hidden from view by the smoke," Luke explained. "The bomb set off several fires which were filling the whole base with smoke. I checked the distance with the Force before I jumped and it screamed no warning at me. It was the only way to get Leia."
The Emperor settled back upon seeing that neither Vader nor Luke had anything else to say. Although not often, such disputes were only to be expected between father and son considering the short amount of time they had spent together. If Luke had been raised here on Coruscant, Palpatine had no doubt the Vader would have been able to handle the situation on his own. However, due to circumstances, it was as new an experience for Vader as it was for Luke.
"What of the general?" Palpatine questioned his grandson.
"I killed him," Luke stated. "For several reasons. I did it when I did, however, because he had seen me use the Force. I had been forced to use my lightsaber to deflect a blaster shot, and he had seen it. However, he was also the one who started the rumors." With this, Luke looked at his father and saw him stiffen. "And he was spreading rumors about my past. Nastalia alerted me to this fact by a remark she made. I was going to kill him anyway, I just hadn't decided on how yet."
"I don't think that is an issue then," Palpatine said, seeing that Vader agreed with that much. "However I want you to be a little more careful in the future about where you use the Force. Until the time is right you are not to alert people to the fact that you are a Sith, understood?"
"Yes, your Majesty," Luke replied as he lowered his eyes.
"However," Palpatine continued as he turned back to Vader. "I do believe you did an excellent job, especially for your first one." Seeing Luke look up, Palpatine saw that he had been correct about Luke's feelings. "I believe your father is being overprotective again. This whole thing is as new to him as it is to you. He doesn't want you to risk yourself as much."
Briefly Luke looked at Palpatine before he turned to face Vader. As he did so, Vader nodded his head in agreement, and Luke smiled.
"Your Grandfather is correct," Vader stated, pleased that the situation had been resolved so easily. Due to the fact that he hadn't truly been able to converse with anyone other than Palpatine, who had always been able to sense his moods, for the last few years, he had never learned how to express his feelings. "Now, about your birthday. Have you made a decision?"
Luke nodded his head, seeing Palpatine turn to listen as well. "Yes," he replied. "I'd like to do a party."
"Do you have anything specific in mind?" Vader inquired.
"Ah... no," Luke said as he shifted uncomfortably. "I... I don't know... I-"
"We can discuss the details later," Vader said as he squeezed his son's shoulder. "But now we must make our appearances at court."
"Indeed," Palpatine agreed. "If you'll make your entrance with me, my grandson."
"Yes, your Majesty," Luke replied, smiling as he knew what kind of reaction that would get from the courtiers.
"Luke," Ra'chealla purred as she approached him. "I heard about your mission and how you destroyed the Rebel base. That was impressive."
"All for the Empire," Luke responded modestly even as he looked around for a way to escape.
"And you captured Organa," Ra'chealla continued as she moved closer to him.
"Indeed," Luke replied, probing her mind. Although she didn't know his status, she was starting to fall for him more and more. His recent command and the resulting victory were convincing her that he had a high status, especially considering that the Emperor paid so much attention to him.
"What was her reaction?" Ra'chealla asked. "Organa was always so snobby, thinking she was higher than the rest of us. And yet it was she who was playing senator. Her father never taught her how to be a proper woman. This Rebellion thing proves it. I never liked her anyway."
"You judge people well," Luke said, knowing that if he didn't respond it would look funny, and yet he didn't want to talk about his sister.
"Thank you," Ra'chealla responded as she blushed slightly. "Does that mean I'm right about you?"
"What do you think of me?" Luke questioned as he looked around the room once more. As he did do he locked eyes with his father. 'Help,' he sent.
'There aren't a lot of young men around,' Vader replied. 'Especially none who get as much attention from the Emperor. You've just moved out of the area of being a unknown nobody, to being an unknown somebody.'
'Joy,' Luke complained dryly.
Vader's soft mental laughter was the only response.
"You're extremely important, but hiding it for some reason. You're also smart and loyal," Ra'chealla flirted as she moved closer to Luke. "But I still don't have a clue as to what exactly you do."
"You know I'm not allowed to talk about it," Luke stated as he looked around for a way out. Seeing Buchanan, he got an idea. "I'd tell you if I could though." Reaching out with the Force, Luke made sure that Buchanan looked in his direction and gave the man's brain a nudge so that he realized that his daughter liked him.
"Really?"
"Naturally," Luke lied and smiled as Ra'chealla blushed, believing his every word. It was amazing how gullible and stupid she was.
"Ra'chealla!" Buchanan said as she approached them. "Ra'chealla, I want to talk with you right away."
"Okay," Ra'chealla said sweetly, although Luke could sense her disappointment at having to leave him. "I'll see you later Luke."
"Ra'chealla," Luke replied as he bowed.
Skywalker sighed with relief as he watched her go before he sensed the presence behind him.
"Having fun, Mr. Skywalker?" Anjaleen inquired as she took a drink off of a passing waiter's tray. The amber liquid matched her dress perfectly. The dress brought out the red highlights of her hair and the green gems on the dress the vivid color of her eyes.
"Well..." Luke began with a gesture of his arm, seeing that Anjaleen got the meaning.
"She can be a little overbearing at times," Anjaleen agreed as she looked to where Ra'chealla and Buchanan were talking.
"Overbearing?" Luke repeated as he raised an eyebrow. "And please call me Luke."
"Are you sure?" Anjaleen questioned with a surprised look on her face.
"Yes," Luke stated. "Besides all the other young ladies call me Luke, why not you?"
"Okay," Anjaleen said. "But then I insist that you call me Anjaleen."
"Very well, Anjaleen."
"I heard of the success of your mission," Anjaleen said. "Congratulations. I'm sure Lord Vader was pleased that your first mission went so well."
"Thank you," Luke responded as he relaxed a little. He wasn't even aware that he was doing it until his defenses were down more than they usual were in this room. There was just something about the young woman before him that put him at ease. "And he was. How is everything with you and your parents?"
"Fine," Anjaleen stated as an amused smile appeared on her face. "Mother just got herself a pet and she's nuts about it. It's small enough to sit on her lap and it constantly jumps up on her when she sits down."
"What kind of animal is it?"
"A chiwani," Anjaleen said. "She's named it Fifi. I suggest you stay away from her for a bit, unless you want to hear all the cute things he's done. She is spoiling that little thing silly."
Luke started to laugh softly at the image.
Leia felt her heart constrict as she watched the holos in the air above her. The image of the young woman before her looked so much like her and was yet so different. Studying the image she could vaguely remember brief flashes of her mother caring for her on Alderaan. When she had finally committed the face to memory, she brought up the next holo. Seeing it, she gasped. Vader, it had to be, the height and built were a dead giveaway. But that wasn't what shocked her most, it was the fact that he was clearly Luke's father that struck her. The two had identical blue eyes and blond hair.
As she looked at the image, Leia couldn't help but shudder at what accident had confined Vader to his armor and breathing mask. It must have been a horrific one indeed as with technology and bacta a lot could be cured. However, no matter what it was, Leia couldn't make herself feel any sympathy; Vader had deserved all that he had gotten. The moment the thought crossed her mind, Leia cursed silently as she saw Luke's back stiffen.
"He's your father," Luke growled, his anger rising, as he turned away from the window and walked over to where Leia was sitting. "How can you not feel anything when you know what kind of pain he suffered?"
"Its quite simple really," Leia retorted. "All I have to do is think of all the pain and suffering he's brought upon others."
"They brought it upon themselves," Luke stated as he started pacing the room as he tried to bring his anger under control.
Leia bit back a remark as she called up the next holo and froze as she saw that it was one with her mother leaning against Vader, her long, chestnut hair spilling onto his chest. Unable to look at the holo, Leia called up the next one before she stiffened. This was it. The final proof that what Vader and Luke said was true. The holo showed her mother and Vader dressed up and sitting on either side of a wedding altar.
"Now you do you believe it?"
"Just because I know it to be true doesn't mean that I have to like it," Leia stated softly after a moment of silence. "And it doesn't mean that I have to do as you or Vader want."
"He's your father," Luke replied. "You obey your parents."
"He's a monster."
At this, Luke gave up trying to control his anger, stepped forward, took hold of his sister, pulled her out of her chair, and slammed her into the wall. It took Leia a moment to realize what had happened but when she did, she began to struggle, trying to free herself from her brother's grip. Several minutes later she finally gave up, seeing that his grip hadn't loosened at all. Looking into Luke's eyes, she shuddered. The hatred she saw there was terrifying.
Suddenly the door opened and Vader entered the room, his mask hissing softly as he took in the scene before him. "Luke," he said softly, but the tone of his voice clearly indicated that he was not in the best mood. "Release her."
Luke looked his father, before glaring at Leia one more time as he stepped back. Rubbing her arms, Leia looked from one to the other, she finally turned her attention to Vader as he walked over to the table and turned off the holo player.
"Now do you believe the truth?" Vader demanded as he looked at Leia. Although she didn't reply verbally, he could sense that she did. "Good. Perhaps now you will now start behaving accordingly."
"I will," Leia declared. "I will behave the way my mother would have wanted me to. She is, after all, the one who hid me on Alderaan."
"Says who?" Luke questioned.
"I remember seeing her there," Leia explained. "The holos brought back memories. You may be like Vader, but I'm like Mother."
"So you're a monster," Vader stated, throwing her own words back at her, and continued when Leia turned to him, confusion and anger evident on her face. "Your mother tried to help people who slaughtered hundreds of innocents get away. She also left your brother on Tatooine where he was beaten with a whip on a regular basis."
Leia was about to reply, saying that Vader was probably just saying stuff to turn her to his side when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her twin stiffen and set his jaw. It was clear that the beating part was true. But her mother wouldn't have left him there if she had known that would happen, would she? Seeing that Leia was starting to doubt her mother's goodness, Vader motioned for Luke to follow him as he left the room.
"Perhaps you may go outside tomorrow if you don't try to destroy your room again," Vader said as just before the door closed behind him. By giving her rewards when she behaved, it was more likely that she'd start acting a little more as she should.
Luke sat on the patio overlooking the garden at his father's castle, debating with himself on what sort of party he wanted for his birthday. Dinner, dancing, the possibilities were confusing.
He looked up, sensing Leia nearby. She had been granted the privilege of walking the gardens just last week, after grudgingly admitting that the Alliance had caused some unneeded hardships in some of the Imperial-held sectors. Leia walked up the stairs and onto the patio, the sun reflecting off her white dress. The dress had large red gemstones set around the collar that played with the light of the sun.
"Hello Leia. Did you enjoy the gardens?" Luke asked pleasantly. It was hard to remain polite to her, and he only managed because she couldn't help that they brainwashed her as a child.
"Yes, it's nice to get out once in a while."
"Of course." Luke had an inspiration that maybe Leia could assist him. "I was wondering if you could help me?"
"I don't think I could help you. I'm not a traitor to my cause." Leia sniffed.
Luke rolled his eyes and sighed as he looked at the datapads surrounding him on the table. "I'm planning my birthday party. I need some advice on the entertainment. I severely doubt that this qualifies as any sort of betrayal."
"I'm surprised that you didn't insist that it was our birthday." Leia dryly said.
Luke's eyes snapped up, but he saw that she had a ghost of a smile around her lips. "Well, I doubt that you would be able to mingle with the guests." Luke said.
"Good." Leia walked forward and took the chair opposite Luke. "They were all colossal bores anyway. I'd love to help you get stuck socializing with them for an evening."
Luke smiled, Leia sure was stubborn.
Mon Mothma worriedly looked across the table at the other Alliance leaders. She wanted to tear at her short brown hair in frustration, but didn't dare. It wouldn't give the appearance of the cool collected leader that she wanted to portray.
General Xa'sstresh was speaking, the light shinning on his scales, "The lone pilot's testimony has to be taken at face value. Princess Leia did not survive the battle, no one besides the pilot got off the planet. It is unreasonable to assume that she managed to hide in the surrounding swamp with the extensive patrols the Imperials did following the attack on the main base."
"Especially for the last two weeks," snapped General Ragorsh, "we should have sent a rescue party."
"Mon Evine's climate is quite friendly compared to several of our base's locations. I don't think that waiting one week or four would make much difference. The Princess is a survivor, and much of the native wildlife is edible. Our biggest concern is that she is actually dead. She knows too much." Admiral Dl'os cut in, fur rippling. "I am deeply worried about the reports from our Imperial spies that claim that she was taken prisoner."
"That report is nothing but the current stormtrooper rumors. I don't believe a word of it." Scoffed General Xa'sstresh, "It makes other outrageous claims that show how unreliable the rumor mill really is. Humpf. Walking through walls."
"Are we going to send a rescue party now?" General Ragorsh butted in. "If nothing else, another group of our people may be hiding on the surface. They could give us more information."
"I don't think that a rescue party would bear any fruit, but we should, just in case."
General Rieekan sighed as he rustled his notes. "Imperial news reports claim that there were no survivors. Nor does it mention prisoners. Not that we believe them. But the news reports do bring another problem to the surface. It seems that Skywalker has been given the credit for commanding the attack on Mon Evine, while Darth Vader was busy attending a party on Tangior VI. Skywalker's never acted alone before, we've thought of him as no more than a tag-along before this."
"So the Imperials have another Commanding Officer." General Xa'sstresh shrugged.
"But he's not. He's not military, but he's been given command of military warships. And it concerns me deeply that he was known to be traveling in the company of the Jedi Kenobi before he was taken by Darth Vader." The General Rieekan sighed.
"What are you saying, General?" Mon Mothma's voice was cool as it carried across the table.
"I'm not sure. We know so little about the Sith Lord. But his interest in this young man worries me. Especially considering how fast Skywalker has been moved into a position of authority. The concept of Darth Vader having a military protégé running around concerns me."
"There is not much we can do about it, or the Princess until we have more information. I ask that we adjourn the meeting till we get another report." Mon Mothma said, hoping to put off this futile debate. They didn't have enough information to make a decision yet.
Leia looked over the datacards spread about her table. She couldn't believe the guest list, Luke was inviting everybody from the Emperor, to the highest military officers, to the highest courtiers. With their families, almost five hundred people were expected. And to plan the whole thing in just a few months! Why, to get the reservations for the band usually meant you had to make plans half a year in advance, at least.
But neither Luke nor Darth Vader was worried. Leia sniffed, the arrogance of those two. However, they did have a point- the second the orchestra they had selected was asked, more like informed that they were performing at Vader's Castle, they had dropped their previous engagement and agreed.
Leia was sure that everything would happen like that, no one would risk the Sith Lord's wrath. She sighed, and picked up the datacard detailing the flowers ordered for the event. She knew that every decision she made for the party was checked by someone else, but planning the event was something to do. She wryly smiled, she had hated planning state parties before, it was boring. But with nothing else to occupy her time, she was welcome for the work.
She looked at the chronometer, thinking of Luke and Vader hanging around court right now. Those two were probably happy that she was doing such a womanly task such as planning this party. As if there was anything else she could do, locked in this room. She'd sabotage the party if she could, but it was better to build some trust. Maybe she could escape then.
Please let Rebecca and I know what you think of this chunk! Leave a review or send us an e-mail. Thanks.