Chapter 28 – Duel of the Twins

Leia was marching down the hallway in the medical center toward her father's room. Joffe was a step behind, following her like a shadow. He had made himself immeasurably useful to her, but nevertheless she found him annoying. The lieutenant was the worst kind of sycophant.

As she approached the airlock, Leia glanced back at Joffe when she saw an Imperial officer in a sleek grey uniform speaking with Doctor Vezara. "Who is that?" she asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Admiral Piett, ma'am," Joffe told her. "He is Lord Vader's right hand man."

Piett turned to see her and Joffe approaching. He was a nondescript man – average height and build with a thin, bland face. Despite that, he exhibited an air of confidence and authority. This wasn't a man she could push around like all the others.

"This is her?" he asked Vezara. The doctor nodded, anxiously glancing between her and Piett.

"Is something the matter, Admiral?" Leia asked.

Piett frowned. "I know who you are," he said. "You are the Princess of Alderaan and a known member of the Rebellion. Why are you pretending to be the daughter of Lord Vader?"

Leia flushed with indignation. "I'm not pretending," she insisted.

The admiral scoffed. "You can't honestly believe –"

"She isn't lying," Vezara interjected. Surprised, Piett and Leia both swiveled their heads to her.

"Pardon?" Piett asked.

Vezara gave Leia an apologetic look. "You must forgive me, but I took the liberty of testing a sample of your blood," she said before turning back to Piett. "Lord Vader is this woman's father," she informed him with certitude.

Stunned, Piett gave the doctor a wide-eyed look. "You're sure?" he asked.

"Step aside, Admiral," Leia commanded with a smirk. "I would like to see my father now."

"I'm afraid you can't do that, ma'am," Vezara said. "Lord Vader just returned from his bacta treatment. He needs rest now."

"I won't be long," Leia said. She really needed to talk to him.

"I'm sorry, but I must insist," Vezara said. She held up a hand when Leia opened her mouth to object. "Don't push me," she warned. "You may see your father in a few hours."

"What am I supposed to do until then?" Leia asked. It wasn't as if she had anywhere to go. She could go back to the apartment, but she'd much rather not.

"I was here to see to Lord Vader as well, but perhaps you and I should talk instead," Piett suggested.

Leia gave him a curious look. "What about?" she asked.

Piett glanced at Vezara and the doctor took the hint. Backing away, she opened the door to the airlock and slipped away.

"Let us walk," Piett said, gesturing down the hallway with a gloved hand. "Lieutenant, if you wouldn't mind staying here."

Joffe seemed aggrieved by the order, but neither Leia nor Piett stayed behind long enough to hear him complain. They walked away in silence for several meters until they were out of ear shot.

"I never knew Lord Vader had a daughter," Piett said.

"Neither did he," Leia said vaguely. The less Piett knew, the better.

"I can see that it is not my place to ask questions, so I shall refrain from doing so," the admiral said.

"I appreciate that, Admiral." This gentleman was nothing like the Imperials with whom she was familiar. He was polite, refined, and professional. No wonder her father had chosen him as his second in command.

The pair exited the hallway and took a turn down one of the main corridors of the hospital complex. A pair of Rodian doctors passed them by, and when Piett spoke again, he kept his voice low.

"I am not here solely as a personal courtesy to Lord Vader, although I am of course relieved to hear that he is doing well."

"Then why are you here?" Leia asked.

"I received a transmission from Vice Chair Amedda," he said, expression grim as he looked down at her. "He informed me that Moff Gideon's forces will be descending upon Imperial Center within the day and that I have no choice but to surrender my fleet to them."

"Surrender? You can't do that!"

Piett surreptitiously glanced around the corridor before responding. "I am afraid I have no choice. The Moffs have rallied around Gideon as their leader and he has amassed a massive armada. The few ships I have at my command won't stand a chance."

Leia bit her lower lip as she considered this development. "You can't surrender, Admiral," she said.

"I don't want to, but I also don't want to throw away my men's lives in an unwinnable battle."

"I understand that, but you need to give me a chance."

"You? What could you do?"

"I can get you reinforcements."

"You can? How?"

Leia didn't get a chance to answer because just then she heard someone call out to her.

"Princess!"

Spinning around, she saw Joffe jogging toward them. His typically smug expression was fraught with panic.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" Leia asked irritably.

"It's the Rebels! They're escaping!"

"What!?"

"I received a distress call from the prison complex! Rebel agents have infiltrated the lower levels! And two Jedi were with them!"

"Slow down, Lieutenant," Piett said.

"Two Jedi?" Leia asked. Who could that be? Surely Luke wouldn't have come back, would he?

"That's what I heard from the distress call," Joffe said. "What are your orders, ma'am?"

"I will handle this," she said. Leia then looked up at Piett. "Do not surrender to Gideon's forces," she instructed. "Stall for time if you must."

Piett met her determined gaze with pursed lips and a furrowed brow. "The Empire cannot fall to Gideon," he said. "I will do what I can."

Leia bowed her head to her newfound ally. "Thank you, Admiral. I won't let you down."

She made to leave, but Piett called her back. "Princess, wait!"

Leia gestured for Joffe to continue on ahead before turning back to the admiral. "Yes?"

"I have something which belongs to you." Reaching down to his pant leg, Piett unbuttoned a cargo pocket and produced an all-to-familiar weapon.

"Where did you get that?" Leia gasped when Piett extended her father's lightsaber to her.

"Lord Vader asked me to keep it secure," Piett told her. "I brought it with me in case he wanted it back. I think you might be able to put it to better use, however."

Leia took the lightsaber with both hands and held it to her chest. "Thank you, Admiral," she said. "This means a great deal to me."

The corner of Piett's lips twitched. "I can tell," he said wryly.

Attaching the lightsaber to her belt, Leia gave Piett a salute which he immediately reciprocated. A moment passed and Leia lowered her hand. Spinning around, she hurried after Joffe.

Luke and Ahsoka walked side by side into the octagonal lobby of the detention center. Three Imperials were draped over their stations, dead. All around them, the clones and shock troopers took up positions at the mouths of the hallways.

"Blast the cameras," he heard Cara order.

"Too late, they already know we're here."

Fishing around in one of the Imperial's pockets, Luke produced a metal keycard. He then picked up the dead man by the back of his shirt and pushed him away. Looking up, he saw a contingent of stormtroopers running toward them from the opposite hallway.

"We'll hold them off," Rex yelled before opening fire. "Find which cell they're in and get out of here!"

Luke returned his attention to the control panel. "What am I looking for?" he asked Ahsoka.

"Sort by admission date," she told him, drawing her two white lightsabers. "They should have just arrived."

Luke swiped his keycard and scanned the chart which emerged on the screen in front of him. A blaster bolt went whizzing past him, but he paid it no heed as he sifted through the information. "Here!" he said. "Cell 4283 and 4285. There's four prisoners in each."

"That sounds like it," Ahsoka said. "Fourth floor. Let's go!"

But Luke didn't follow after her. The chart suddenly refreshed and a new entry appeared at the top of the list.

"Wait," he said. "Look at this."

"We don't have time!"

"Cell 2187." That sounded awfully familiar to him.

"Luke!"

"That's on this level! I have to check it out!"

"Why?"

Luke didn't have an answer. "I just do!" Drawing his lightsaber, Luke activated the red blade. Leaping over a guard's body, he took off running down one of the hallways at random. He heard Ahsoka yelling his name, but he ignored her. There was something else calling him down this hallway.

The sound of blaster fire faded as he pounded down the hall. His footsteps clanged loudly against the metal floor as he passed cell after cell. He didn't bother reading the numbers, however. He allowed instinct to guide him instead.

After nearly a full minute of running, Luke came to an abrupt halt. Spinning to his left, he found the cell he had been searching for. Deactivating his lightsaber, he returned it to his belt and replaced it with the keycard he had stolen. He waved the card in front of the sensor on the wall and the cell door opened. Luke wasted no time hurrying down the stairs and into the cell.

He found her curled up on the bench with her knees tucked into her chest. Her back was facing him, but when she heard the door open, she turned to see his silhouette in the doorway. She gave him a glassy-eyed smile.

"Rex," she said in a faint voice. "You're here to save me."

Luke frowned. Rex? He didn't look a thing like the old clone! "No, Mom," he said as he rushed forward. "It's me, Luke."

"Oh, yes," she hummed. "My son, Luke."

He nodded as he kneeled down by her side. "What happened? Why are you here? Did you and Leia get caught?"

Padmé's distant expression turned stormy. "Leia," she repeated.

"Where is she? Is she alright?"

Padmé looked beyond him. "Leia," she said again.

Confused, Luke turned around to see what she was looking at. His eyes widened when he saw her standing at the top of the stairs with an inactive lightsaber in hand.

"What are you doing here, Luke?"

He stood up and took a step toward her. "What's going on? Why is Mom in this cell?"

"She left me," he heard his mother say from behind him. "I begged her not to, but she did it anyway."

A fiery anger coursed through him at this discovery. Reaching to his belt, he unclipped his lightsaber.

"You imprisoned my mother?" he asked Leia, his voice low and ominous.

"She tried to kill my father," she shot back.

Luke activated his lightsaber and the dark cell was illuminated with a red hue. "Step aside," he demanded.

"Luke, you have to listen to me –"

"Step aside!"

Leia considered him for a few seconds before narrowing her eyes. "I can't let you take her," she said.

"Try and stop me."

The twins stared at each other for a tense couple of moments before Leia activated her own lightsaber. Luke's fury compounded further still when he saw the blue blade. That was his lightsaber!

Propelled into action, Luke thrust out his left hand and sent Leia flying into the hallway. "No!" he heard Padmé shriek. She leapt forward to try and grab him, but Luke pushed her away roughly. He stormed up the stairs and out of the cell where he found Leia struggling to her feet.

"Luke –" she tried to say, but he cut her off with a blow from his saber. She parried the strike and began retreating down the hallway.

Luke followed in pursuit. He slashed and swung his red blade with reckless abandon. Leia did her best to keep up, but she hadn't ever been properly trained on how to use the weapon. It was clear to both of them that she wouldn't be able to keep up.

"You're a traitor!" Luke bellowed as he swung down. Leia absorbed the blow and Luke pressed their blades together so that their faces were merely inches apart. "You sided with the Empire!"

"You don't understand!"

Luke roared as he pushed her away with a shove of his saber. She tumbled to the ground and slid away on her rear. Leaping into the air, Luke slashed down at her prone form only to miss when she rolled away. His blade went slashing through the floor and Leia jumped back to her feet.

He continued his offensive as Leia retreated farther and farther away. Slash marks covered the walls and embers sprayed in every which direction when their blades whizzed and whirred in the narrow hallway. The closer they got to the lobby from where Luke had come, the sounds of battle grew louder – blaster bolts, screaming soldiers, and the occasional explosion served as the backdrop for the two humming sabers. The cacophony allowed Luke to drown out his mother's pleas for them to stop.

"Luke! Leia! Stop!"

Leia staggered away when she barely managed to deflect a brutal overhead swing. Her eyes were wide with fear as Luke raised his saber over his head a second time. He swung again, but missed when Leia tripped and fell down a set of stairs. Looking up, he realized that they had made it back to the lobby. The blaster fire had ceased and Luke saw that the small Rebel task force had surrendered their weapons. Every hallway except his own was blocked off by scores of stormtroopers who were pointing their blasters at the defeated Rebels.

"Drop it, Luke," he heard Leia demand from the ground. She was lying on her back at the base of the stairs, her lightsaber having fallen out of her hand and rolled away out of sight. From his elevated vantage point, she looked especially tiny as he loomed over her.

"Never," he snarled.

Just then, Padmé emerged from behind him. She stopped when she saw that they had been surrounded. Looking down, she saw Leia sprawled out on the ground.

Propping herself up on her elbows, Leia met Padmé's gaze momentarily before returning her attention to him. "I'm not your enemy, Luke," she said. "You have to trust me."

"Trust you?" he asked, incredulous. "How can I trust you? You betrayed us!"

Before Leia could answer, Luke looked up when the three stormtroopers stationed in the hallway directly opposite him went soaring into the lobby where they crashed helmet-first into the control station. Startled, Luke jumped a half-step back when he saw a shadowy figure activating a blue blade.

"Another Jedi!" one of the stormtroopers exclaimed. "Blast him!"

The room exploded with blaster fire. The surrendered Rebels all dropped to the ground when the bolts ricocheted back toward them, deflected by the blue-saber-wielding Jedi.

"Get behind me!" Luke yelled to Padmé as he raised his own blade. She ignored him, however, and instead rushed forward into the fray.

"Leia!" she cried.

Padmé leapt down the stairs toward her defenseless daughter. As bolts went whizzing over her head, she jumped atop Leia. At first he thought she was trying to fight her, but then he realized he was mistaken. She was using her body to shield her! Luke was stunned. Why would she do that? Why would she risk her life to defend the person who had betrayed her?

Luke was unable to ponder this further, because his attention was redirected when the battle came to an abrupt end. A massive blast of energy of unknown origins had blown the stormtroopers away down their respective hallways. He and the rest of the Rebels were all somehow unscathed. Luke hesitantly lowered his lightsaber as he peered across the lobby toward the opposite hall. Had Ahsoka been the one to rescue them? Who else could have done that?

His question was answered when the mysterious Jedi stepped forward into the light. Luke gasped, scarcely able to recognize the man before him. His head was shaved and he was much shorter than how Luke remembered him. Nevertheless, his face was unmistakable and the captivating glint in his eyes even more so. Conspicuously absent was his suit and, even more astonishingly, his helmet.

Darth Vader had taken off his mask. Anakin Skywalker had returned.