"Can we pull out of hyperspace now?" Leia asked, looking annoyed.
"Patience, Leia," Obi-Wan said gently.
"Give her another minute, then I'll do it," the smuggler said, leaning back.
Leia could tell he was just wanting to annoy her, so she tried hard to hide the fact that he was succeeding.
Artoo beeped in amusement, and Threepio looked down at him. "I think he's quite rude, Artoo."
Before long, they were out of hyperspace.
"Well, hurry up, Your Highness. Give us the coordinates to get these plans to the Liberty." Han looked at Leia expectantly.
"Watch out, flyboy," Leia hissed, her eyes narrowing.
When they finally entered hyperspace, everyone was quiet. When they finally exited hyperspace, Han took one look at the monitors and then cursed. "Looks like the Immortal knew where we were going. Someone must have talked, and the Liberty must have gone into hiding."
Leia bit her lip, looking out the viewport as Han began maneuvers to evade the Immortal.
"Please be careful, Captain Solo," pleaded the golden protocol droid.
His short domed friend blatted at him.
"It's back into hyperspace for us," Han muttered, ignoring the two droids.
Finally, they managed to escape the Imperial-class Star Destroyer once again by jumping to lightspeed. Artoo bleeped something rude-sounding to Threepio, receiving a golden fist to the head in return. Chewie barked softly.
"What now, sweetheart?" the smuggler queried.
Leia hesitated. She wanted to ask Obi-Wan for advice, but she knew this was her own decision. Her first impulse was to go to the new Rebel base on Yavin IV, but she needed to consider the matter more fully. Concentrating, she closed her eyes and reached out to the Force, letting it envelop her.
After about a minute, she opened her eyes. "I'm not sure why, but we need to go to Alderaan."
Han frowned. "Isn't that a little too conspicuous?"
Chewie roared his agreement.
"We need to do it," Leia insisted. "Don't ask me why."
"Whatever you say, Your Worship. I'm just paid to pilot."
****
Sometimes, Darth Vader had to exercise all his strength in the effort not to kill everyone around him. This was one of those times.
His men certainly knew it. The smell of death was practically in the air, and he hadn't actually killed anyone yet. It was more of an anticipatory feeling that pervaded the bridge than it was an acknowledgment of reality.
If it were possible to hold one's breath indefinitely, he was certain his crew would be doing it right now. As it was, some of them were breathing rather oddly.
It wasn't just the fact that he was angry that had everyone walking on pins and needles. No, the Emperor of the galaxy had also decided to pay a visit to the Death Star.
Vader wanted to be out pursuing Sun, but Palpatine had insisted that Vader join him on the planet-destroyer. Palpatine planned to turn the thievery of the Death Star plans into a trap for the Rebellion. His master had even claimed that Sun would come to the Death Star, but Vader highly doubted that. The boy would not be trying to come near Vader any time soon. He was certain of that.
Still, his master was rarely wrong...But it wasn't like Vader had much of a choice in the matter. He had to remain on board the Death Star, and that was that.
****
Luke was proud that the Falcon hadn't broken down on their many hyperspace jumps. The ship was so temperamental that sometimes an insect poking around in the wrong place could cause half its systems to shut down. Of course, Luke was slowly turning the metal hulk into a more reliable ship...Not that it was easy, particularly with all the cross-wiring Han and Chewie had done.
He had heard a weird buzz near the back of the ship which he wanted to check out, and he decided to go find the source. As he was walking, he heard a whir behind him, so he stopped and turned around. The little astromech droid—Artoo-Detoo—was following him.
He looked at the droid, which beeped back at him. Suddenly, he felt a strange kinship with this droid. Neither of them could truly communicate with most of the people they met. They could understand but not be truly understood. Certainly that golden droid who could translate Artoo-Detoo's beeps was unable to understand what the little droid truly intended.
He reached over and patted the little droid's dome. The droid beeped, and its mechanical arm reached out and pointed to Luke's right hand.
Luke mimed a lightsaber slashing off his arm, and the droid beeped sadly. He gestured toward the back of the ship and began walking. The droid, humming happily to itself, followed.
****
When Alderaan loomed before them, so did a strange small moon that Leia had never seen before.
"That's an odd place for a moon," Han commented.
"That's because it's not a moon," Obi-Wan said quietly. "It's the Death Star."
The smuggler's eyes widened. "That's the Death Star? It's huge!"
"It has enough power to destroy an entire planet," Leia said, her frustration evident in her voice. "...And it's hovering above Alderaan."
The communications unit crackled to life. "Freighter, identify yourself and state your business, or you will be regarded as hostile and appropriate measures will be taken." A pair of TIE Fighters came up beside the Falcon. "Break from your escort, and you will also be considered hostile."
"Well, this is just great," Han muttered. Into the unit, he stated, "This is the YT-1300 Corellian freighter Millennium Falcon. She's got no cargo, only passengers."
"Please wait while your identification is examined."
Han turned to look at his passengers. "By the sound of things, we'll probably be boarded. We can alter the log and hide in the smuggling compartments, or we can try to escape. It's your choice."
The comm unit came back to life. "There is a look-out for all suspicious Corellian freighters. Keep your guns powered down, and prepare for boarding."
"Looks like we need to try to escape," Han muttered.
"Wait—" Obi-Wan protested, but the smuggler was already pulling the Falcon into a barrel roll.
For a few seconds, Leia thought they would escape. That was before they got caught in the Death Star's tractor beam.
"No!" Leia exclaimed as the ship shuddered. "Do something!"
"I'm trying, sweetheart," the smuggler growled.
"It's no use," Obi-Wan said softly. He looked down at the ground. "We have to face him."
"Face who, old man?" Han queried as he tried to get his ship to respond to his touch. The tractor beam, however, seemed to be too much for the freighter, so he ceased his efforts.
"Darth Vader," the Jedi said absently.
"Oh, dear!" Threepio exclaimed, but he was drowned out by Chewie's roar.
Han held up his hands pleadingly. "All right, let's calm down. Now—"
"I have a plan," Obi-Wan stated. "Where are those compartments of yours?"
****
After the first search party left the ship, the ship's remaining occupants finally exited the compartments.
"If there were a few more of us, we probably wouldn't have all fit," Leia commented.
"Yeah, well, they ain't made for comfort," grumbled the smuggler. "What's the rest of your plan, old man?"
Obi-Wan gave him a small smile. "We're going to find out where the tractor beam is located. Then I'll take care of it."
"Of course you will," Han snorted.
They ambushed the scanning crew, though Han and Chewie went about it a little too loudly for Leia's tastes. After that, Han, Luke, and Leia began putting on Stormtrooper armor inside the ship.
Han raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you two are a little short for Stormtroopers."
"Very funny," Leia snapped. Her helmet didn't fit right, and she could barely see.
They left the Falcon, knocking out some Imperial officers in a nearby room.
"Plenty of computers around here," Han noted.
Artoo, not one to waste time, quickly plugged in to the nearest computer.
"He's found it, sir," Threepio said before long, his head tilted toward Obi-Wan. "On the screen are seven terminals, a power loss at any one of which will take the tractor beam out of commission."
The Jedi studied the information for a minute before taking in a deep breath. "I can do this alone; you should all stay here, where it's safe. Artoo, monitor the terminals. When the power loss comes, head to the ship as quickly as possible."
"Obi-Wan," Leia protested, "let us come with you."
Obi-Wan smiled. "You must be patient, Leia. Watch over the droids—the information Artoo carries is vital to the Rebellion. You know that." He turned to look at Luke, who was giving him a hard stare. "What is it, young one?"
Luke flashed an image of Vader into the minds of both Leia and Obi-Wan.
The Jedi gave the two siblings a sad look. "Yes, Vader is aboard this ship. That is why you two must remain here." He began to leave, but then he turned, sorrow written across his face, as if he expected never to see them again. "May the Force be with you...always."
Leia watched her mentor go. She wanted to run after him, demand that he not go, and hug and plead with him...But she knew she had to be strong. They were fighting different battles.
She turned to her brother, who was staring after the Jedi. He seemed to be deep in thought. After a few minutes of silence had passed, he turned his head to gaze at her. He smiled at her, touched her shoulder, and then he, too, left.
She started to speak and request that he stay, but Han put his arm on her. He gave her a knowing look. "You can't tell the kid what to do. You just gotta hope that he stays out of trouble."
Chewie growled in agreement, and Artoo hummed sadly.
"You're right, Captain Solo," Leia said softly. "I can't tell him what to do...But I can go help him."
She took in a deep breath and then walked forward. She was a Jedi apprentice, and the Jedi knew no fear. She had to go forward.