Luke marched along the corridor, his black boots squeaking harshly on the polished floor. He entered Hanger 3, home to most of the Death Stars TIE fighters and aerial weaponry. He grabbed a helmet off a random pilot's head as he walked by and the pilot turned sharply, but upon seeing who it was that had taken his helmet, quickly sat down again.
Luke approached a random TIE from the walkway above it. For the Empire's most commonly used ship, they weren't half difficult to get into. Luke grabbed the hatch swiftly and pulled it open, however, a boot clad foot stopped him. He yanked again, trying to dislodge the foot but its owner refused to remove it. He stood straight and glared at Arden, who smiled.
"Get out of my way." Hissed Luke through gritted teeth. Arden feigned surprise.
"Since when did you become so much like Vader?" She asked, her teeth glittering in the artificial light, making them look like fangs.
"Since I joined your side." Luke ground out, still glaring. He was itching to just use the Force and propel the irritating assassin backwards but he knew that would only end in a battle. Though he wouldn't admit it, he knew that a battle with Arden wouldn't be swiftly won.
Arden nodded and dexterously stepped on top of the TIE, balancing on one foot, now completely blocking the entrance.
"So where are you going?" She asked.
"Plyfia." Luke crossed his arms.
"Really? They chose hide there?"
"How would you know that the prisoners even escaped?" Asked Luke suspiciously, his chase with the Millennium Falcon momentarily forgotten.
Arden silently cursed herself for mentioning the prisoners.
"Stormtroopers." She said, simply. "They'll tell you anything with a little… persuasion." She swept her hand to one side, making the hand sign of a Jedi mind trick.
Luke narrowed his eyes.
"I thought only Jedi could do that." He said.
"They can. Did I not tell you that I'm not Sith. I use a mixture of Jedi and Sith techniques," She gracefully flipped upwards to balance precariously on one of the wings of the TIE. "So actually, when I first spoke with you, I was lying. The light and dark side can be bought together and utilized." She watched Luke's reaction carefully.
"But you still work for the Empire." Said Luke, his older personality flashing through just for a second.
Arden allowed her legs to drop from under her, the crook of her knees catching the wing so that she now hung upside down, her face inches away from Luke's.
"So do you."
In an instant, old Luke was gone.
"Get off my ship." He said, darkly. With that, he strode forwards, pulled open the hatch and dropped in the craft. A moment later, the engines rumbled. Arden stood on the walkway and watched Luke take off. She swallowed. She was now regretting aggravating Luke as she had done. Previously, she had been sure that Luke wouldn't dare harm his former companions, now, she wasn't sure. She thought of the disk she had slipped into the smuggler's pocket. Had he destroyed it? Lost it? If he had then his party was dead. Vader's anger would outweigh his curiosity if the disk was gone. However, if Solo still had it, Vader would want to know how he stole it and more importantly, who let them escape. If Solo still had the disk, then Vader would command Luke to take them alive.
Arden slunk into the shadows, her nerves getting the better of her. She hurried down the empty hallways of the Death Star, undetected and slipping into her quarters, she collapsed on the floor, half mediating, half sleeping. She was possibly the most highly trained assassin and mercenary in the galaxy, she had been on one hundred missions for the Emperor and never showed fear or fatigue, yet somehow, this mission had both exhausted and terrified her beyond anything she had ever felt before. For so long she had tried to get the Emperor to give her what she was promised and now, because of Luke that was all about to fall away. The constant anxiety about it was debilitating.
"Stupid Skywalker." She hissed under her breath, her brain only now functioning on the most basic level. Her last thoughts, before she gave into her exhaustion, knowing for now there was nothing she could do, were of her love, Xander.
Luke opened the throttle wide on the TIE as he sped towards Plyfia. In hindsight, he probably should had taken a speeder instead of a TIE, possibly one of the least aerodynamic ships he had ever flown. It sure would have been faster. He quickly plotted a course for the planet. What will I do when I get there? He asked himself. Kill them?
Luke blinked, the internal conflict between the light and the dark that had never really stopped, resurfacing with a vengeance. If Luke just acted, then there wasn't a problem; the dark side was in control. However, if he thought about it just for a moment, then the voices inside his head would become audible; a constant battle for control. Luke wasn't even sure which side was him anymore. Before, he was determined to stay a Jedi, to remain in the light, but now he wasn't so sure. Did he want to be light or dark, Jedi or Sith? Thinking about it made a sharp, stabbing pain appear in his head, so he stopped. He just functioned. The dark side took over once more; and Luke didn't stop it. He didn't even notice. He touched his lightsaber at his side, checking it was there. He imagined its distinctive hum in his head. He imagined it slicing through his companions. He imagined then lying, unmoving, unbreathing. He didn't even notice, instead he kept his eyes fixed ahead as dark thoughts flew in and out of his head, unchecked and unimpeded. Very slowly, unknown to Luke, the part of him that was still good, still Jedi, was getting contaminated by darkness as it grew more powerful, creeping into his soul. Though he didn't know it, he was running out of time.