A Time To Act
Using the force I efficiently yank the keys from the young Sith and unlock my shackles. He cries out as he tries to move but fails miserably. I heave myself upwards and pick up my lightsaber from his belt. My body soars away towards the hangar I came from and I stumble as an explosion rocks the massive space station. Picking myself off the ground, I fly past a group of stormtroopers, not giving them enough time to realise who I am. By the time I reach the hangar, only my ship remains. Cal and Friggs escaped then. At least, I hope they did. Since they can't use the force, all I can physically do is hope they escaped and survived. I hop into the cockpit and flick on the small ship. As the engines activate, I switch on my comm.
"Who just signed on?"
"Red Five, standing by. Sorry for the wait, there was a bit of a hold up."
"I'm guessing that all the shields are down then." The squad leader guesses.
"Yessir." I salute mockingly. At this point I hear Luke over our mental link.
You can't do this.
I regret not killing Vader when I had the chance, why should I take that risk with Evin?
You can't do this to me!
Tell the boy you've locked inside you that I say goodbye.
I continue to fly through the trenches of the Death Star.
"Is Ratha on this link?"
"I'm here Leia."
"Thank the force! Your squadmates said you tried to take down Vader alone. Are you okay?"
"By some miracle, I'm still here. Stop getting distracted, kiddo. We've got a battle to win here. Get back to commanding or stick with Friggs if you must."
"I was just checking. Bye Ratha." I hear a click at the end of the line. My personal mission when I get back is to make sure that Leia doesn't get too serious with Friggs. I know better than anyone what happens if these things get too serious at a young age in a person's mind. Shit gets painful when they die. I focus myself on the battle. My ship soars along the trenches and I sense that my target is getting close. As I fly along, my squadmates get struck down by Imperial fighters. These feeble pilots are nothing to me. I weave through the line of fire with ease. This is no problem for me; I've taken down robots designed to shoot me down before. Humans have a fraction of the reflexes, usually. The fighter that pulls behind me at this point looks different to the rest. It's paler in colour and shorter in height. Vader. It has to be him. My eyebrows furrow and I put all my concentration to the test. He's trying to line himself up behind me, I can sense it happening behind me. I spin and raise myself higher in altitude at the same time, messing up his targeting system in one swift motion. A grin appears on my face without me realising so. Some strange part of my brain remembers racing Anakin through space on our way to a mission and the enjoyment almost brings a tear to my eye. My target is close now. I can sense Vader's anger behind me. Such an ugly presence.
Do not ignore me, Skywalker.
Your prowess in space has deteriorated over time, Vader. Maybe you should be looking after your son who's still on board. Or are you ashamed of him due to the lack of evil in his personality?
You have to take him back, Ratha. The generals are getting a little too close and it's having a bad effect on him. You hate me, that is understandable. Do not take it out on Padmé's son.
How many time have you thought about her since Mustafar?
I see her every time I close my eyes.
You killed Tobi. You stood there and butchered him. You killed Padmé and did the same. Why is it that you are incapable of allowing us to find happiness?
You're getting distracted, sister. I can only remain myself for so long. Take Luke. I have instructed him to follow you. Just convince him to join you.
Tell him I'm headed for Dantooine. Why did I just give Vader my location? That, by all definitions is a very, very stupid move. I shake my head and shoot my missiles into the tiny little hole that the rebels claim to be the Death Star's only weakness. I bet a lightsaber to the main control systems would be more efficient. My instincts tell me to get as far away from the space station as possible so I pull away from the Death Star and get a safe distance away before it explodes. Time to head towards Dantooine. I need to decide what I'm going to do to Evin. Am I going to try and get my nephew back or should I just end him before he can become a danger to the life Leia and I have manage to forge together? Halfway to Dantooine I become aware of a weak force presence trying to hide itself from me. So Luke got the message.
Hello Evin.
How did you know I was following you?
I trained you. You should know by now that there's no hiding from me. Come on then, I suppose you want to try and kill me. Follow along.
I land in an all too familiar area. The old senators' house is about a mile away. It's been a long time since I was here. A mild headache emanates towards me from the Sith tomb I barely escaped with my life from last time I was here. A grin crawls across my face patiently as I wait for Luke to arrive. Why is part of me worried? Even if he defeats me in lightsaber combat I can disarm him with the force, can't I? I was the strongest Jedi to exist 20 years ago or so but I haven't aged too well in terms of power. It has faded noticeably. No, surely I must still be strong. I am not that old yet! For Pete's sake I'm 38 years old and I've just assisted in the destruction of the Galaxy's most powerful space station. I should not be worrying about becoming old yet. What I should be worrying about is the small TIE fighter that just landed a short distance away from me. I ignite my lightsaber to make myself more visible and I start to sprint away from the Sith tomb into the wilderness. It takes about ten standard minutes to get to a small oasis-like area with a small pond and a few trees. I turn around to look my nephew dead in the eyes. He has to stop for a moment to catch his breath. It is at this moment that I notice how heavy my own breathing is. It has been a while since I've done any major physical activities other than lightsaber training
"Ratha. It's time to stop you from getting in the way of my father and I. We're too busy to have to worry about you constantly."
"You think about me? How cute. Seriously Luke, you aren't cut out for this whole Sith thing, so why don't you just be a good Sith and come back. Luke, with me you're a Knight, with him you're an apprentice. Think of your sister. She misses you, Luke." Clearly he misses her too. The wince tells me that much.
"I'm not Luke anymore. You can't just ask me to be someone I'm not." Oh for crying out loud he's going through his rebellious phase at the age of 18. Grow up.
"I am asking you to be yourself Luke. He is the one who is changing you. You are a good kid. You have your mother's spirit."
"You hated my mother!" He shouts back at me. I'm left genuinely speechless. Kriff. He's got me.
"I hated her relationship with Anakin. Not her. I saw him turning to the dark side in my visions, I saw her manipulating him. What was I supposed to do? I was young and confused and far too powerful." My voice starts to lose its authority. "That's the thing, Luke. Everyone makes mistakes. What makes the difference is how you alter your destiny afterwards. Are you going to leave me like my brother did? Or are you going to join your sister and choose your rightful destiny?"
"Father... Father told me to kill you." He ignites his lightsaber. The pulsing red beam reminds me of my first battle with Vader as Vader on the Death Star. That was about a day ago yet it feels like its been years. I shake my head, leaving my lightsaber safely tucked into my belt.
"Well you'd better get going then. Wouldn't it be a shame for the Alliance if I were to die? It'd make your life easier. Do it, Evin. If that is, in fact, your name." I challenge him and the authority he believes that he has. The red beam in his hands hums quietly.
Without any further words, he charges.