I'm really looking forward to the next chapter, so I'll try to get that one up tonight as well!

I don't own Star Wars, this is just my own corner of George's sandbox.

Chapter 23: Aboard the Death Star

Governor Tarkin sat in his conference room, as he listened to a report from one of his officers.

"Her resistance to the mind probe is considerable. We have not yet been able to extract the information," the Officer reported. Tarkin was silent for a moment, deep in thought.

"We will try an alternative form of persuasion. Set course for Alderaan," he ordered.

"Yes sir," the officer replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rex sat down on the bench seat across from Obi-Wan in the cabin, noticing Luke's absence.

"Where's Luke?" he asked. Obi-Wan smirked.

"Taking an unsupervised tour of the ship, of course. He is his Father's son and couldn't wait for Captain Solo to give him the tour. I remember some of Anakin's first voyages in space and he was the same way. Traveling among the stars is in Luke's blood. I see the same child-like wonder on Luke's face now that I did on Anakin's first space voyage all those years ago," Obi-Wan said wistfully.

"Hey, no need for sadness. I'm about to get my best friend back and you're getting your brother back. And a very deserving couple of kids are about to meet their real parents," Rex mentioned. Obi-Wan nodded.

"Yes, I know, but I think we should wait until after we rescue Leia so we can tell them both everything together," Obi-Wan said.

"Yeah, like they're twins, among other things," Rex replied, as Luke returned to the cabin. Their conversation quieted and Obi-Wan began a new one with Luke, as he explained the Force, something Rex had never sure actually existed, until he had seen the Jedi use it so amazingly. And Rex knew that Luke would follow in his Father's footsteps to become a great Jedi one day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We have entered the Alderaan system," the Officer reporter to Tarkin, who now stood on the main bridge area of the Death Star with Lord Vader at his side. Leia was brought in by several Storm Troopers.

"Governor Tarkin. I should have known it was you holding Vader's leash. I could recognize your foul stench when I was brought on board," Leia said haughtily. Tarkin chuckled.

"Charming," Tarkin mused, before continuing.

"Princess Leia, in light of your uncooperative attitude, we have decided to demonstrate the power of this station," Tarkin said.

"The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers," Leia replied.

"Once the power of this weapon is demonstrated, no one will oppose the Emperor. We have decided to demonstrate the power of this station on your home planet of Alderaan," Tarkin said. Leia saw Alderaan looming outside the view window and panic began to strike at her heart.

"No, Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons...you can't!" Leia said, but was cut off by Tarkin.

"Then name the system! I grow tired of asking. Where is the Rebel base?" Tarkin asked dangerously. Leia lowered her head in defeat.

"Dantooine...on Dantooine," she repeated.

"There, you see Lord Vader, she can be reasonable. You may fire when ready," Tarkin ordered.

"WHAT?" Leia screamed.

"Dantooine is far too remote to make an effective demonstration. But don't worry, we'll deal with your rebel friends soon enough," Tarkin said.

"Commence primary ignition," one of the officers said, as the main weapon was powered up. The Death Star fired on Alderaan and the planet exploded in a brilliant display of fire. Alderaan was gone and Leia lowered her head in sadness, as she was dragged back to her cell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After explaining a few things about the Force to Luke, he began instructing him to use his lightsaber, the one that had belonged to Anakin, starting him with the basics. Right now, he was practicing with a practice remote and learning to parry the remote's tiny blasts.

Suddenly, an overwhelming explosion of terror assaulted his senses through the Force and Obi-Wan had to steady himself to keep from collapsing from the myriad of intense feelings.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"There's been a great disturbance in the Force. It was as if suddenly millions of people cried out in terror, before being silenced," Obi-Wan said in a morbid tone. "I fear something terrible has happened."

"Continue with your exercises, Luke," he told the boy as he sat down and exchanged glances with Rex, who looked as confused as Luke. At that moment, Han came back into the cabin.

"Okay, I got us into hyperspace. We should be arriving in the Alderaan system soon," he announced, but no one acknowledged him.

"Don't everyone thank me at once," he said, as he sat down next to Chewie, watching Luke curiously, while Chewie played a holo game with Artoo.

Artoo made a move and Chewie growled, as he began losing.

"He made a fair move. Screaming about it won't help you," Threepio scolded.

"It isn't wise to upset a Wookie," Han replied.

"But sir, no one thinks twice about upsetting a droid," Threepio argued.

"That's because droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookies are known to do that," Han replied. Threepio looked at Chewie.

"I see your point, sir. I suggest a knew strategy, Artoo; let the Wookie win," he told Artoo, as Han turned his attention back to the kid.

"Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him," Obi-Wan instructed Luke.

"You mean it controls your actions?" Luke questioned.

"Partially, but it also obeys your commands," Obi-Wan instructed. Suddenly, the remote got Luke and stung him, causing Han to chuckle.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster," he said.

"You don't believe in the Force, do you?" Luke asked.

"Kid, I've been from one end of this galaxy to the other, seen a lot of strange stuff. But I ain't seen anything that will make me believe that one all powerful Force is binding us all together. It's just a bunch of simple tricks and nonsense," Han replied, with a firm amount of disdain in his voice. Obi-Wan simply smiled quietly. A beeping interrupted the silence and Han got up.

"Looks like we're coming up on Alderaan," Han said, as he went to the cockpit with Chewie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It is confirmed, Governor. We found a rebel base on Dantooine, but it has been determined that it has been abandoned for some time," the officer reported.

"She lied to us!" Tarkin said angrily.

"I told you that she would not willingly betray the Rebellion," Vader replied.

"Terminate her, immediately!" Tarkin ordered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Han brought them out of hyperspace and the ship lurched.

"We've come out in a meteor shower or something," he said.

"Well, where's Alderaan?" Luke asked.

"That's what I'm trying to tell ya kid, it ain't there. It's been blown away," Han replied.

"Destroyed by the Empire," Obi-Wan said gravely.

"No way, an Imperial Star Destroyer doesn't have enough power to destroy a whole planet," Han argued. Suddenly, a small TIE fighter zoomed past them.

"Where'd he come from?" Luke asked.

"I don't know, there's no bases out here," Han replied.

"It must be headed for that small moon," Luke pointed. Obi-Wan and Rex glanced at each other, worry etching their features.

"That's no moon. It's a space station," Obi-Wan said.

"It's too big to be a space station," Han argued, but as they got closer, he retracted that statement.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Luke said.

"Chewie gets us out of here," Han ordered.

"Why are we still moving toward it?" Luke yelled.

"It's not me. We're caught in the tractor beam!" Han yelled back.

"It's too late, but this is a freighter, right?" Rex asked.

"Yeah, why?" Han asked.

"Where are your floor panels?" Rex asked.

"How do you know about those?" Han questioned.

"I've been a pilot for a long time and I've been on all kinds of ships. Now, our only chance is to hide in those panels or be captured," Rex said.

"This way," Han said, as he and Chewie led the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Millennium Falcon was slowly pulled into the docking bay. Once it was docked, Storm Troopers began checking it for passengers, but found none.

"There appears to be no one on board. Perhaps they escaped, as all the escape pods have been jettisoned," an officer reported to Vader.

"Did you find any droids?" Vader asked.

"No sir. If there were any on board, they may also have jettisoned," the officer replied.

"I want a full scan of this ship. If you find anything, let me know immediately," Vader ordered, as he stopped for a moment, looking around.

"I sense something. A presence I have not felt since..." he trailed off, before storming out of the docking bay.

Han and Chewie lifted the floor panels and hopped out of the secret compartments.

"It's lucky you had these," Luke said, as he watched Rex and Obi-Wan quickly overpower three Storm Troopers.

"I use them for smuggling. I never thought I'd be smuggling myself," Han replied.

"Is everything okay up there?" one of the other officers called.

"Everything's fine," Rex called back in a voice that sounded identical to the other Storm Trooper's.

"Okay you two, suit up. I've got an idea," Rex said. Obi-Wan smirked.

"As crazy as this idea is, it just might work," Obi-Wan replied.

"Of course it will work. We just need to find out where we need to go to disable the tractor beam," Rex said. With careful stealth, they managed to slip into a nearby control room.

"You should be able to log into the Imperial network from here," Obi-Wan told Artoo. The little droid logged in and brought up the map of the base.

"He says that the main controls are coupled to the main reactor in seven locations," Threepio replied.

"We'll never make it past that tractor beam," Han said.

"Leave that to me," Obi-Wan said.

"Damn fool, I knew you were going to say that," Han grumbled.

"Who's more foolish? The fool or the fools who follow him?" Obi-Wan joked. "Stay here and wait for me." With that, he left.

"Where did you dig up that old fossil?" Han asked.

"Ben is a great man," Luke defended.

"Besides, I don't see you making any suggestions," Luke replied.

"I already got more than I bargained for on this trip in the first place. But anything's better than hanging here," Han replied. Artoo whirled.

"What's he saying?" Luke asked.

"He says that he's found her," Threepio said.

"Who?" Rex asked.

"Princess Leia," Threepio replied.

"The Princess? She's here?" Luke exclaimed.

"Princess?" Han questioned, confused.

"If Leia is here, we need to find her and fast," Rex said.

"Hey, the old man told us to stay here," Han replied.

"Where is she Threepio?" Luke asked.

"Level 5, detention block AA23. I'm afraid she's scheduled to be terminated," Threepio reported.

"Oh no," Luke said.

"Don't worry kid, we'll get her out before they do," Rex assured him.

"I'm not going anywhere," Han replied.

"C'mon!" Luke argued. "First you were complaining about hanging around here, now all you wanna do is stay?"

"Marching into the detention area is not what I had in mind!" Han countered.

"But they're gonna kill her!" Luke exclaimed.

"Better her than me!" Han retorted. Luke turned away and thought for a moment, before turning back.

"She's rich," he said. Rex smirked.

"Rich?" Han asked. Luke nodded.

"Rich and powerful. Rescue her and your reward will be..." he trailed off.

"What?" Han asked.

"Well, more than you can imagine!" Luke exclaimed.

"I don't know, I can imagine quite a bit," Han replied. Luke picked up a pair of binders.

"I have an idea," Luke said, as he tried to put them on Chewie. Chewie growled.

"Okay, you put those on," he said, as he handed them to Han.

"Don't worry Chewie, I think I know what he has in mind," Han replied, as he put the binders on the Wookie. Rex ordered the droids to stay put and wait for orders. He, Han, and Luke put their helmets back on and marched their "prisoner" to the detention block. When they arrived, the Officer there looked at them with disdain.

"Where are you taking this...thing?" he asked.

"Prisoner transfer from cell block 1138," Rex replied.

"I wasn't notified. I'll have to clear it," the officer said, picking up the comm. Two of the Death Star troopers approached them, but Chewie rawled angrily and knocked them away.

"Look out! He's loose!" Luke called. Blaster fire rang through the corridor, as Han and Luke blasted the attendants.

"Go find your Princess," Han said, as he attended to the comm call. "Everything's under control, situation normal."

"What happened?" the voice asked.

"Slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly alright now...we're all fine...here, now, thank you...how are you?" Han winced, knowing that wasn't what to say.

"What's your operating number? I'm sending a squad up," the voice said. Han grimaced and blasted the comm.

"The conversation was boring anyway. LUKE WE'RE GONNA HAVE COMPANY!" Han called. Luke and Rex hurried and eventually found the correct cell.

They opened it and stepped inside. Leia woke up and looked at Luke through bleary eyes.

"Aren't you a little short for a Storm Trooper?" she asked sarcastically.

"Huh? Oh, the uniform," Luke said, as he removed his helmet. "I'm Luke Skywalker and this is Rex. We're here to rescue you."

"You're who?" she asked.

"We're here to rescue you and we've got Ben Kenobi with us," Luke replied. Leia jumped up.

"Ben Kenobi, where is he?" she asked.

"Come on," Luke replied, as he helped her out of the cell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Obi-Wan Kenobi? Surely he is dead by now," Tarkin said doubtfully.

"Don't underestimate the power of the Force. He is here and I must face him alone," Vader replied.

"There's been a breach on level AA23," an officer reported.

"The Princess?" Tarkin asked.

"Kenobi is here," Vader said.

"Set the entire base on alert. They must not be allowed to escape," Tarkin ordered. With a sway of his cape, Vader left the conference room to find the Jedi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Han, Leia, Luke, and Rex dodged blaster bolts, as they wove through the corridors.

"Nice escape route," Leia complained.

"Maybe you'd like it better back in your cell, Your Highness," Han retorted. Rex threw his helmet off, deciding there was no hiding his allegiance now. They kept running and Rex knew they had to throw them off quickly. He blasted a hole in the siding of the corridor and shoved them toward it.

"In you go," Rex said, as the five of them dumped themselves down the garbage chutes.

"Ugh...what an incredible smell you've discovered," Han complained.

"It's better than being in the detention block, but I suppose you'll find anything to complain about," Leia retorted.

"All right, let's concentrate on getting out of this mess. I didn't choose the trash compactor by mistake," Rex said.

"Then why exactly did you choose it?" Han asked.

"All the trash comes here, which means there are several chutes. Give me a minute and I'll be able to find the opening that can lead us to the closest one to the docking bay," Rex replied.

"Wow...you know a lot about Imperial ships and bases," Luke mentioned.

"Well, before they were Imperial ships and bases, they were Republic ships and bases. Not too much has changed in the way they design things, at least not in the basics," Rex said, as he waded through the filth.

"It's that one!" he pointed to the one above him. As he said that, Luke suddenly was pulled under by something.

"Luke!" Leia cried.

"Luke!" Rex called, as they looked around the filthy water. He surfaced suddenly and there was a tentacle wrapped around his neck. Rex aimed his blaster with expert precision and shot the creature's appendage, releasing his nephew. Luke coughed violently, as Han and Leia helped him up.

"Thanks Uncle," he said, as he recovered.

"Let's get out of here, before that thing decides to try and eat one of us again," Rex said, as he opened the shaft.

"You want us to climb through that?" Leia asked, looking at him incredulously.

"Sorry Princess, but it's the only way. This ventilation shaft will take us nearly all the way to the docking bay. Ben has probably deactivated the tractor beam by now and it won't be long before they discover what he's done and reactivate it," Rex replied, as he helped Luke in first to lead the way and Leia after him.

"Up you two go," Rex said, fortunate that the shaft was large enough for Chewie to get through.

"I'm getting way more than I bargained for on this trip. That old fossil and the Princess better pay up if we get out of this," Han grumbled. Rex smirked.

"Don't worry Captain, you'll get your money," he assured him, as he followed Chewie into the shaft.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan hopped down from the terminal.

"That should do it. We should be able to take off now," he said quietly to himself, as he began heading back to the docking bay. Suddenly, a dark presence stopped him in his tracks.

"Vader," Obi-Wan said, as he rounded the corner and found Vader waiting for him in the docking bay. Vader ignited his blood red saber. Obi-Wan stepped back and ignited his own sapphire blade.

"So, we meet again, Obi-Wan Kenobi," Vader said. "Last time I faced you, I was still a learner. Now I am the Master."

"You're evil didn't win before, Vader, and it won't win this time either," Obi-Wan replied.

"We shall see," Vader retorted, as the duel began.

He swung at Obi-Wan, who moved to the left to dodge it and blocked the strike. He parried each of Vader's attacks before their blades met in a deadlock.

"You've gotten slower, old man," Vader taunted, before Obi-Wan spun out of the deadlock and attempted two strikes, which Vader parried.

"So have you, seems your artificial limbs aren't state of the art," Obi-Wan retorted.

"But my strength in the Force has only grown," Vader countered as he used the Force to telekinetically throw a crate at Obi-Wan, which he cut in half.

Vader then threw a gas tank at him, which Obi-Wan cut, making a small explosion. Vader charged threw the fire and attacked, but Obi-Wan knocked his saber into the ceiling. But the Sith kept up his assault. The Jedi began to see that Vader had learned Makashi in the last 18 years. Thankfully, Obi-Wan's mastery of Soresu still kept the Sith at bay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Han, Leia, Chewie, Luke, and Rex finally reached the docking bay through the vent, where the Millennium Falcon sat nearby.

"Get on board," Han ordered.

Luke stopped to see Obi-Wan fighting with whom he assumed was Vader. Obi-Wan knew that he could easily sacrifice himself to make sure everyone else escaped, but if that happened, he would leave his wife and daughter behind and he wasn't about to let that happen.

With a surge of adrenaline that Vader was not expecting and he didn't even know he still had in him; Obi-Wan kicked his feet into the device box on Vader's chest, sending him flailing back. Obi-Wan took the momentary opportunity to follow Rex up the ramp of the Falcon, just as Han was taking off.

"I hope you got that shield down old man, or this is going to be a real short trip," Han said.

"I assure you that everything is in order, Captain. Once you get us clear, set a course for Polis Massa," Obi-Wan replied.

"Look old man, I ain't goin' on anymore of your wild Gondark chases!" Han retorted.

"Set the course for Polis Massa, Captain. It is imperative that we get both Luke and Leia there. The fate of the galaxy may depend on what's there," Obi-Wan said sternly.

"Fine, whatever, strap in already!" Han replied angrily. He flew the Falcon out of the Death Star docking bay and made it away from the tractor beam's pull. Setting the correct coordinates, he carefully calculated the jump to hyperspace. Once safely there, Han undid his harness and stormed back into the cabin.

"Look old man, what's with this Polis Massa bullshit? Why would you want to go to a watery dump like that? There ain't nothin' there but just that...water," he said angrily.

"Polis Massa? Ben, I really must return to Yavin IV as soon as possible with the plans for the Death Star," Leia said.

"I know Leia, but what is on Polis Massa is very important for both you and Luke," Obi-Wan replied.

"He's right. Think of this as just a minor detour, before we return you to the Rebel base. There is something of great importance to both of you on Polis Massa," Rex confirmed.

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked.

"There is much...very much we need to tell you both. Sit down and we'll begin," Obi-Wan said.

"Is this about my parents?" Luke blurted.

"Yes Luke, it is and it involves Leia as well, in a way neither of you imagine. It is a long story, a story that we've wanted to tell you for years. And now, the time has finally come," Obi-Wan began.

"See, your parents aren't exactly as dead as everyone thinks..." Rex added.

Way to drop the ball Rex!

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