Chapter Four
After a stomach twisting drop into the pit, Han landed hard on his left ankle. He could hear roaring and for a few seconds thought it was Chewie... then he saw the creature coming at him. Rolling fast to the right to avoid the huge claws, Han struggled to his feet, sharp pain radiating up his leg. The rancor turned to look at his prey while Han limped backwards, reaching down for a rock to throw at the beast. The round object wasn't a rock - it was a Gamorrean skull, but Han wasn't in any position to be fussy. He threw the heavy orb, striking the rancor in the nose. It served as a brief distraction while Han hurried to move out of its line of vision. The creature drooled, looking around wildly to find its meal.
Han knew if he couldn't find a way out of here very fast, he was going to end up rancor fodder.
Jabba allowed the human female and the Wookiee to look down through the grate at Solo's last minutes. The palace's denizens were interested in the entertainment as well, loosely keeping their weapons trained on the captives. Chewie's roar of outrage competed with the noise of the rancor and the cheering crowd. Leia didn't want to watch Han's death, yet couldn't bear to look away. He couldn't die... not like this. I can't lose him, she thought in utter horror as the scene in the pit unfolded. This is all Vader's fault. My, my birth father's fault! She shuddered at the very idea that was becoming more real, more oppressing as each day passed.
With her heart pounding in fear, she focused her thoughts toward the scruffy smuggler. Han... I love you...
The only one paying attention to anything other than the Corellian's struggle to survive the rancor was Boba Fett. He heard the snap-hiss of lightsabers a second before Darth Vader and a young man he'd never seen before came charging into the throne room. Fett moved to fire on this unexpected threat, but his rifle was cut in two with a blur of red before he could pull the trigger. The hunter ducked away from the red blade, barely avoiding having his head removed from his torso. The next being, a smarmy Twi'lek and the Hutt's right-hand being, wasn't so lucky.
Fett watched as the two Force-users moved swiftly through the crowd, watching in amazement as the young blond human actually used his blue lightsaber to open the grate, somersaulting down into the pit. Vader turned around, shouting, "Luke! Be careful!"
The bounty hunter felt it was past time to leave this party as he ignited his jet pack to escape the mayhem by heading toward the upper balcony of Jabba's palace. Once safely in the upper level, the bounty hunter hurried away. Inside his mask, Fett smiled, thinking of a certain old Imperial Sith that would be very interested in listening to this story.
Vader felt a bit of concern as his son jumped down into the rancor's den to assist Solo. Rancors were not evil beasts, but they were strong and dangerous. Not that he didn't want his son to help Solo - he did. If the Corellian died, his daughter would certainly add the death of Han Solo to the long list of grievances against her father.
How did the Corellian manage to end up in the rancor's pit so fast, anyway? Didn't Solo know how to bargain at all? Wasn't Leia a trained diplomat? Of course, Hutts weren't the easiest beings to bargain with, but the Sith still hadn't anticipated that the situation would erupt into chaos quite this fast.
With the Wookiee and the Princess both firing weapons, the low-life employees of the Hutt were quickly dispatched or fled for their lives. This only left the Hutt, sitting on this throne, and holding up his tiny hands in a gesture of peace. *I have decided that I can bargain with Solo after all. Ten thousand credits and his ship is quite adequate payment to remove the bounty from his head.*
"Too late, Hutt," Vader hissed as he stalked toward Jabba, enjoying the fear in the Hutt's big eyes.
Solo was desperately trying to crawl under a small stone ledge, attempting to escape the lethal claws of the rancor when a flash of blue light came sailing down from the throne room. When the rancor failed to become distracted from his potential dinner, Luke slashed at the creature's back leg, drawing a deep slash from hip to knee. That got the beast's attention.
Swinging its bulk around to face his attacker, the rancor reached down with his front arm. It was a mistake, as the young Jedi brought the saber around, severing the creature's paw. For a heartbeat, it didn't occur to the rancor he no longer had a paw... then the pain registered in his small brain. Throwing his head back, the beast gave a deep roar of agony, then lunged at Luke again with his jaws wide open.
The beast's hulking keeper watched the battle through the bars of the heavy door, and saw the injuries being inflicted on his pet. Screaming in outrage, he hit the 'open' button on the door. He drew his weapon, intent on shooting the Jedi and saving his rancor from death.
Luke heard Leia shout a warning from above, and she nearly fired at the keeper just as Han threw himself at the enraged man. The keeper's blaster fired at the same moment Luke's lightsaber drove through the heart of the rancor.
Jabba the Hutt died by the older Skywalker's lightsaber at the exact same instant that the rancor took his last breath by the saber of the younger Skywalker. The Sith watched in disgust as the blubbery Jabba rolled off his throne, leaving behind a trail of mucus. The female Twi'lek, still chained to the Hutt, stared at Vader, uncertain if he would kill her next. When Vader severed the chain holding her to the Hutt, she nodded in gratitude, then ran away without a word.
Vader spun around just as Leia shouted Solo's name. "What has happened?" Vader questioned, taking long strides and peering down the pit. The rancor lay on the ground, the body still twitching in death throes. The burly keeper lay in a heap near the door on top of Solo, a smoky trail of blaster fire wafting up between them.
The Princess stared down, her mind trying to process what had happened, since everything had happened so fast. It appeared that Han had managed to grab the keeper's arm, forcing the shot to miss Luke, as Leia only had a second to readjust her blaster's aim to avoid hitting Han. When her blaster discharged, she was positive she'd hit the keeper, now she wasn't so certain. "I... I think Han might be..." Leia stopped, unable to bring herself to say the word, 'dead'. If her shot had hit Han instead, then... no, it wasn't possible, she simply couldn't bear to imagine that she had accidentally killed Han.
Luke rushed over to assist as the Corellian groaned and pushed the very dead, much heavier man off his sore body. A smoldering hole was obvious right below the keeper's neck. Leia's shot from above had found its mark, killing the man instantly.
Leia felt her knees go weak with relief as Chewie gave a victory roar in the now eerily quiet palace. Vader placed his hand on Leia's shoulder. "Your Corellian never likes to do things the easy way, does he?"
Frowning, Leia first looked at the gloved hand on her shoulder, then moved her eyes up to the Sith's mask. "No, he doesn't. And he's not 'my Corellian', either," she felt obligated to clarify. Leia stepped away from Vader, not wanting him to touch her, annoyed that he would dare presume that she had those types of feelings for Han. Maybe Vader had 'read' her mind when she was thinking about Han moments before. She certainly wouldn't put it past the Sith to invade her private thoughts.
Addressing the Wookiee, Vader asked, "The Corellian and the Princess seem to be quite blind to what is obvious to everyone else."
Chewie woofed in agreement, watching as Leia flushed with embarrassment.
Han retrieved the credit voucher out of the Hutt's stiff fingers, sliding it back into his pocket. Ten thousand credits was a lot of credits as far as he was concerned, so Han wasn't about to let some scavenger spend his hard-earned money. "If that was your version of negotiating with a Hutt, Anakin, I gotta say I'm less than impressed."
"We are all still alive," Vader pointed out as Solo hobbled over to Leia. "And now you no longer have to worry about bounty hunters, or a debt to some crimelord. A sprained ankle is a small price to pay for eliminating this blight from the universe."
In fact, Han did feel like an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "So now where are we going?"
"I'd like to get back to the Rebellion," Leia said firmly. "Even if Vader is no longer serving the Empire, the fact remains that Palpatine is still a ruthless dictator that needs to be evicted from power."
"That is your choice," Vader rumbled. He turned to Luke. "I would like your assistance in finding Padmé, unless you'd rather return to the Rebellion. I will not press the issue."
Luke felt torn with indecision as he looked at the Princess, then Vader. He wanted to help overthrow Palpatine, and he felt compelled to help his father locate his missing mother. Finally, he made up his mind. "I... I want to help you, Father."
The Princess's body tensed, and she walked away from the group feeling betrayed. Vader prodded the Corellian gently with the Force. "You can convince her to help us. The Rebellion will be unnecessary if the Skywalkers join together. Thousands of lives, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of lives, will be saved."
Solo glared at the Sith. "Quit usin' the Force on me. I'll talk to her, but I'm not doing this for you... I'm doing it for Luke." He limped away, following Leia out of the throne room with Chewie on his heels.
Luke had felt his father drawing from the dark side as he killed the Hutt, felt his enjoyment at seeing the Hutt die, and he had to wonder - was Leia right? Was his father lying to him about rejecting the dark side? When his father professed his desire to reject the dark side, Luke thought he could sense Anakin was telling the truth. It was all very confusing to the young Jedi. "Do you think Han will be able to convince her to help us?"
"Leia has high ideals, but she will see reason. She will join us in our quest."
Luke could only hope that his initial feelings were correct, and they needed to stay together now that they had found each other.
"Your Worship," Han called out, trying to catch up with the fast walking Princess. "Wait up."
Leia stopped, spinning around with her hands on her hips. "I suppose you want to go with Luke and ... and Anakin Skywalker, too."
"Have you ever stopped to think that maybe he's right? Maybe it will take the combined power of Luke and Anakin to beat Palpatine?" Han questioned. "And maybe you, too."
"I'm not a Jedi."
"But you could become a Jedi, right? If you're Force sensitive?"
"I thought you didn't believe in the Force," Leia snapped. "Hokey religion... isn't that what Luke told me you called it?"
Han broke into a huge grin. "It takes a big man to admit when he's wrong, and since I'm a big man, I gotta admit I might've been wrong about this Force business."
"Might have?"
"Okay. I was wrong. The Force is real. Is that better?"
Leia shook her head. "I think Vader switched your tiny brain with some pre-programmed obedient droid brain."
"Ya think so?" Han leered at her, leaning closer. "We should test that theory. How about you ordering me to kiss you, an' see if I'm obedient?"
The Princess looked down, trying to hide her smile. "You can be so annoying."
"You think I could be right. Right?"
"So three people should just march into Coruscant and kill Palpatine all by ourselves, even though he's surrounded by tens of thousands of stormtroopers and guards?" Leia questioned.
"Nah. That'd be just plain dumb," Han commented. "You an' Luke an' Vader will take on Palpatine and all his stormtroopers while me an' Chewie cover your backs. Now, that's a better plan."
"Solo, you are such an egotist."
"You love me anyway, Sweetheart," Han said with a wink.
Leia walked away before he could get her to admit that was the truth.
Luke and Vader made a brief stopover to purchase a liquid nutrient for Vader's needs before returning to the Falcon. Once they were back on the ship, Vader questioned Leia. "Do you intend to return to the Rebellion, or do you wish to search for your mother?"
The Princess chewed her lip, still unable to look directly at the Sith Lord. "I don't trust leaving you alone with Luke. Someone has to prevent him from becoming twisted by you."
Anakin was pleased Leia would be staying with them, since it would give him more time to convince her to join up with him permanently. He also felt a certain sense of satisfaction knowing that he was correct about the Corellian's ability to sway Leia's mind. It was a very good thing he'd taken care of the smuggler's injuries, then treated him well after his capture. The Sith's initial plan had been to torture Solo, hoping his son sensed his friend's pain and would come to his aid. Now he realized such a plan would have backfired, and he was glad he had listened to the Force to guide his decision in releasing the Wookiee with instruction disks - although at the time he had wondered if he was simply getting soft. "Then we will head to our next destination - Naboo."
"Naboo?" Leia asked sharply. "Why? It's highly unlikely our mother has remained on Naboo if she was in hiding."
"I agree," Vader informed her. "Still, all my research has pointed to Naboo being the most likely origin of the messages that your mother has been sending me. Although I have gone there before and come up empty, perhaps you and Luke can give a fresh perspective on the situation." Not to mention, whoever is forwarding these messages will see my children are now with me, and perhaps that is all Padmé needs to be told to come back, Anakin thought.
"I don't have any warrants on my head from the Naboo government," Han said with a smirk. "So Naboo sounds great to me." Chewie nodded happily in agreement.
"Well, that's certainly a good reason to agree to go there," Leia muttered sarcastically.
Luke smiled at his sister. "I'd love to see our mother's home planet."
Giving a heavy sigh, Leia threw her hands up in defeat. "So we go to Naboo. I guess it doesn't sound too bad."
Vader nodded. "I would like to start your training, Leia." Seeing her wary expression he added, "Only if that is your desire."
"If we find our mother, and if it turns out you're telling the truth, I'll consider it," Leia replied evenly.
Under the circumstances, Anakin supposed that was the best he could have hoped for.
Coruscant, two days later
The bounty hunter bowed deeply before the Emperor, awed to be in the man's presence. "Thank you for seeing me, my Lord," Fett gushed to the Sith Lord.
"You said it was important," Palpatine growled out. "If you are wasting my time, you will find you are out of time."
Fett knew the Sith was quite serious. "I have just come from Tatooine, where I was working as an independent contractor - "
The old man let out a snort, interrupting the bounty hunter. "Independent contractor," he mocked, then waved his bony hand. "Continue."
"My last employer, Jabba the Hutt, was sent to the Beyond by none other than Darth Vader, my Lord."
Palpatine leaned back against his throne, looking down thoughtfully at the hunter. He could tell the man wasn't lying. But the question remained - why would Vader care about some petty spice dealer? "Interesting. I have not heard from my apprentice for quite some time. I was becoming concerned about his whereabouts. Would you care to speculate why Vader decided to dispatch this Hutt?"
"I have no idea, except..." Fett hesitated, not wanting to tell the Emperor everything without some promise of reward.
"Except? Please... continue." Palpatine's voice got low and harsh. "I insist."
For a second, the hunter felt his heart flutter in his chest - a warning from the Sith. "He came with a young man he called 'Luke'. Right before Vader and this young man came to attack Jabba, a smuggler by the name of Han Solo and his co-pilot entered Jabba's palace with a young woman. Solo owed Jabba a great deal of money, so he tried to bargain with the Hutt."
The Emperor made a hissing laugh. "Bargain with a Hutt? This Solo must be a fool."
"I would have thought so too, except I now believe Vader was actually with Solo, helping him out of his debt to Jabba."
"Why would Vader care about helping a smuggler?" Palpatine asked, puzzled. Luke...Luke was the name of Vader's son, the pilot that had dared destroy his Death Star.
"I do not know, Emperor," Fett replied. "I had heard that Solo was working for the Rebellion.
Since Luke Skywalker was with the Rebels, the puzzle would fit together. Somehow, Vader had found his son and was not bringing him to Coruscant like Palpatine had ordered. If Vader was defying his Master's command, then he was a traitor, just as the Sith Emperor had suspected for some time already. Palpatine could feel his rage building. "Find this smuggler, and see if my Servant and the Rebel scum are still with him. Do it quickly, and you will be rewarded, Fett. Fail me, and it will be your final failure."
The hunter bowed again, all the time wondering how in the galaxy he would ever locate Solo quickly, since he'd spent the previous six months searching with no success. Perhaps coming to Coruscant hadn't been such a wonderful idea after all.
Naboo
Luke was impressed with the beauty of the Naboo system. Green, sweeping vistas, towering mountains, breathtaking waterfalls. Even the buildings within the cities seemed to blend seamlessly with the landscape. "This planet is so beautiful," he whispered. "I would love to live on a system like this one."
As she listened to her brother, the Princess felt another emotion, one of aching sadness and loss. Everything here reminded her of the grace and splendor of Alderaan. Sitting behind Solo, she could almost pretend that Alderaan still existed, just with a different name.
Sensing his daughter's reaction, Anakin felt another deep pang of guilt. He could have stopped Tarkin from firing on Alderaan, but at the time defying the Emperor's order would have been unthinkable. Now that he had his son fighting by his side, he could easily imagine challenging Palpatine, and succeeding.
"You sure you want us to land out in the middle of nowhere?" Han asked, interrupting Anakin's thoughts.
"Yes," Anakin replied. "There is a village within ten miles, and I do not wish for them to see us land."
Han turned in his seat and shot Anakin an annoyed look. "We're gonna hafta walk ten miles?"
"Slightly less, actually," he responded. "If you're that out of shape, you can wait on the ship."
"Ten miles isn't that far," Luke agreed, grinning at the pilot.
Han turned his glare on Luke. "I ain't outta shape."
"What did you just say?" the Sith hissed out, putting his hand over the hilt of his lightsaber.
"I'm not out of shape!" Han rephrased his sentence quickly and, much to his chagrin, Luke and Chewie both laughed.
Anakin shook his head. Solo was simply incorrigible, but the Sith was impressed with Solo's skill as a pilot. For a non-Force-sensitive, he was one of the best pilots he'd ever observed. He also came to the reluctant conclusion that the Millennium Falcon wasn't a bad ship, although he wouldn't admit that to the Corellian for all the krayt gems in the galaxy. Watching his daughter and the smuggler argue and bicker, Anakin knew it was only a matter of time before their fighting turned an entirely different direction. When he got the opportunity, he would have a heart-to-heart discussion with Solo about the importance of emotional and physical loyalty to Leia Skywalker, daughter of the Chosen One. He suspected the Wookiee would be more than willing to back him up, too.
As the old ship landed in the field where Anakin instructed Solo to set down, he considered his son. Luke was still vaguely disappointed that Leia turned out to be his sister, even if he'd never admit to those feelings. Anakin Skywalker decided he'd need to introduce Luke to some appropriate females, preferably a Force-sensitive one. Padmé would like having grandchildren. Perhaps grandchildren would ease some of the pain and loss she must have experienced giving up her own children. Then the image of a young girl Vader had met several times popped into his mind, surprising the Sith. Why had he thought about her, of all people? Sure, she was Force-sensitive, the right age, and quite beautiful, but she was unsuitable because of her blind loyalty to Palpatine. I was blind for twenty long years...so maybe the Force will find a way.
The day was sunny and beautiful, so the walk into the town wasn't difficult except for Threepio's constant chatter as he happily informed the group everything he knew about Naboo. Unfortunately, he knew a great deal. By the time they reached the edge of town, everyone had received a long lesson about the ancient politics and history of this system.
"I assume we're looking for someone in particular," Leia surmised, looking around at the sleepy little village.
"Yes," Anakin replied. "One of your mother's friends was a woman by the name of Dormé Moorland. She disappeared around the same time Padmé did, but her parents are still alive, and they reside in this village."
"So you think Dormé might still be with mother, and that she's been in contact over the years with her parents." Leia frowned up at the tall Sith. "I hope you don't plan on using your special brand of persuasion with these people, or I swear I'll..."
Anakin held up his hand. "I do not plan on harming these people. When are you going to start trusting me?"
"When you invent a time-machine and stop Alderaan from being destroyed," Leia said grimly.
"Leia, you're not being fair," Luke prodded. "He can't undo the past, but he can make the future better. Why won't you at least give him a chance to prove himself?"
"Fair? He never tortured you," she shot back. "And Tatooine is still there."
"My aunt and uncle aren't," he replied softly.
The Princess opened her mouth, then shut it. If Luke could start to heal by finding forgiveness in his heart, why couldn't she? Leia felt Han put his arm around her shoulder. Without thinking, she leaned against him, seeking comfort in his touch.
"Do you know where these people live?" Han questioned Anakin.
"I have their street address, and since this town is small I can't imagine it will take too long." Vader turned around and walked away, forcing the others to follow behind.
The home of Tamit and Hermé Moorland was a charming stone cottage surrounded by graceful bending trees and a small green lawn. At the edge of the property, Anakin paused and looked at his son. "You and Leia go ahead and knock on the door," he instructed. "It would be unlikely they will answer if I am with you."
"What do we say to them?" Luke asked.
"Tell them the truth. That you are the children of Padmé Amidala, and you are looking for her."
Leia had her doubts about this approach. "If they truly believe Padmé is dead, they won't believe us."
"The last message droid that I was able to trace showed that it belonged to the Moorlands at one time. Although the records indicated it had been sold several times since, I just cannot see that the droid's ownership was a coincidence, no more than Threepio ending up in your possession was a coincidence."
"Master Skywalker is correct, Princess Leia," Threepio put in helpfully. "The odds of a single courier droid bearing a message from Padmé Amidala Skywalker and belonging to the parents of the best friend of Padmé Amidala Skywalker are one hundred thirty-six million, seven hundred ninety-eight thousand to one."
"Did we ask you the odds, Goldenrod?" Han groaned out, tired of listening to the droid's endless stream of statistics.
"Come on," Luke prodded his sister. "It can't do any harm to ask them, can it?"
As they headed toward the house, Han called after them, "While you're at it, ask the Moorlands if they need a protocol droid. We'll sell 'em one real cheap."
*Free, even,* Chewie woofed in agreement.
"Maybe we can pay them to take him," Anakin added, much to Threepio's dismay.
Hermé answered the door after several knocks. A woman in her seventies with gray hair and plump figure, she reminded Luke of what his Aunt Beru might have looked like, if she'd lived to see her golden years.
"May I help you?" she asked pleasantly.
Luke looked to his sister for guidance, so Leia took the lead. "My name is Leia Organa, and this is my brother, Luke. We've come a long way, and would like to ask you some questions. If you don't mind."
"Who's there, Hermé?" a man's voice called from inside the house.
She turned slightly toward her husband. "Some young people."
"Tell them we don't need any," he yelled back, much louder than necessary.
"We're not selling anything," Luke said hurriedly. "We'd like to ask you questions about ... your daughter, Dormé, and Padmé Amidala."
The woman's face grew still. "They're dead. That's all you need to know." Then she slammed the door in their faces.
Brother and sister exchanged looks of surprise. "I wasn't expecting that sort of reaction," Luke remarked, glancing over his shoulder as Anakin and Han hurried up the path.
"What did you say to them?" Han asked as they got closer. "I could've done just as good as that."
"She said her daughter and Padmé are both dead, and didn't give us a chance to say another word," Luke answered, watching as his father stared at the door, clenching his gloved hands.
"Lying. She is lying," Anakin said softly. "They are both alive." Before anyone could react, he pulled his lightsaber from his waist and turned it on, driving the red blade through the handle of the door. Then, using the Force, he pushed the thick wooden door open.
Blaster fire greeted them before the door was fully open, but the Sith easily deflected the bolts with his saber as he stalked into the tidy home. Tamit Moorland stood in front of his frightened wife, holding his weapon in both hands. "Get out...we've called the authorities!" He watched in amazement as the blaster ripped from his hands, and went sailing over to the Sith Lord.
"You are lying about that, as well," Anakin hissed through his mask. "I must insist you both sit. Now."
Stunned, the Moorlands sat down on the sofa, their faces registering utter terror. "If this is a robbery -"
"You know who I am," Anakin interrupted Tamit. "And you know why I am here." He waved back at the others. "The young man is Luke Skywalker, and the girl is Princess Leia Organa. They are the children of Padmé Skywalker."
By this time, the older woman was starting to cry. "They're both dead," she insisted hoarsely. "Padmé and Dormé are both dead."
"Vad -," Han started to say but was cut off as his throat tightened. Not enough to cut off his oxygen, but certainly hard enough to stop his speech. Panicked, he put his hand to his neck, looking at the Princess.
Luke stepped forward, grabbing the Sith's arm. "What are you doing? You said -"
"I will have answers," Vader growled, pushing his son aside then stalking up to the woman. "Answer me, Hermé Moorland. You have aided your daughter, and you have purchased droids for her to use. Padmé and Dormé are still alive, but if you continue to lie, you will not continue to live."
"Stop this!" Leia shouted, pushing Luke aside. "You're the liar... you haven't changed a bit." She turned her focus to her shocked brother. "I told you so."
The Sith ignored Leia's outburst, and stretched out with the Force into the mind of Hermé. He barely heard her as she cried out in pain, putting her hands to her temples as the Sith ripped the information he needed from her memories. The older woman collapsed against her stunned husband, sobbing and in shock, as the Sith spun around to face his children and Solo. "I was correct. The droids have come through her, just as I suspected."
"What have you done?" Luke whispered, unable to tear his gaze away from the terrorized couple.
"The woman will recover," his father replied, unconcerned. "She is fortunate, since I could have destroyed her mind retrieving this information." Then he addressed the Moorlands again. "You will contact your daughter and give her this message - 'Anakin Skywalker and his children are waiting'. Do you understand me?"
The man nodded, unable to speak out of fear.
"Since Padmé can no longer reach me on the Executor, this is the new contact code." The Sith handed the man a small disk containing the encrypted sequence for reaching the Millennium Falcon. "I realize it may take a few days to go through all the various contacts, but if I do not hear from Padmé in five standard days, I will return. Next time I may not be as charitable."
He stalked out of the door, not waiting to see if Solo or his children were following.
Leia turned her face to the older couple. "I'm so sorry.. please, forgive us. This wasn't supposed to happen." She felt Han take her arm and pull her out of the house.
Their father was waiting for them as they turned onto the sidewalk, standing next to Chewie and the droids. Luke spoke first, his voice heavy with disappointment. "Leia was right... you are still Darth Vader."
"Darth Vader would have killed them. They should have just cooperated."
"They were protecting their child!" Leia shouted at the Sith, not paying attention to the odd looks from the passersby. "You had no right to do that!"
"If I would have accepted their story as the truth, I would never be able to find my wife - your mother," he pointed out.
"We could have talked to them," Leia snapped back. "You didn't even give us a chance to simply explain what we wanted."
"I can't believe I talked the Princess into any of this," Han put in, his throat still aching from the Force grip. "You really had me fooled, Vader."
The Sith said nothing for long moments. Then he finally spoke very quietly. "I have disappointed all of you."
"No..." Han muttered sarcastically. "What makes you think that?"
"Have you ever used intimidation, Captain Solo? Bluffed to get what you desired?"
Han shifted, uncomfortable with suddenly being put on the defensive. "That's different."
"How so?"
"I never threatened to kill some innocent old people," he shot back, listening as Chewie howled in agreement.
"That's not how a Jedi behaves," Luke insisted. "Maybe Ben didn't have enough time to teach me everything, at least he taught me that much. Even if he'd never said anything to me about how to behave, I have enough common sense to tell me a Jedi does not act like a Sith. If you want to reject the dark side, I don't think you're trying very hard."
Anakin looked at his son. "Did you think I was truly going to kill those people?"
"I... I didn't know," Luke admitted. "But I could sense their fear, and what you were doing was wrong. Whether it was using the dark side, or just bluffing to scare them, it was wrong either way. And using the Force to tear into her mind was really wrong."
"I told you the dark side was strong," Vader said quietly. "It's much worse than even an addict trying to become free of spice. I have a tendency to react without thinking of the consequences to my behavior - I always have, unfortunately. Believe me when I say that I am trying to pull free, but without your help it won't happen. Forgive me, my son." He turned his helmet to face Leia. "I know this incident has only served to strengthen your distrust, but I need your assistance, Leia. I need all of you to help me turn away from the darkness."
"I understand, Father," Luke told Anakin. He desperately wanted to believe his father, to be willingly to forgive his missteps along the twisting path to the light side. "I'll be there for you, to help you fight free of the dark side."
"And you, my daughter? Will you be there for me, as well?"
"I'm not leaving Luke to do this alone," she stated flatly, then headed for the edge of town.
Coruscant
The Emperor looked down from his throne at the young girl. Such a lovely creature, stolen from her bed as Darth Vader dispatched her parents years ago. Palpatine grinned as she rose from her bow. "Jade. I have an assignment for you, child."
The redhead smiled, pleased that she could serve her Master. "Anything, Emperor."
"My apprentice has turned against me, and I know the reason." He leaned back, waiting to see if she would rush him. When Jade stayed silent, he was pleased at her patience. This one was obedient without question. "In the past few months, I have intercepted secret messages sent to Vader's personal Star Destroyer, messages that were from his wife. I had assumed she was deceased, but apparently I was mistaken. I believe she has convinced Vader to betray me, and now that his son has come out of hiding, Vader sees his opportunity to displace me."
Jade's eyes flashed in anger. "How dare he? Is he a fool?"
"A very powerful fool," the Emperor agreed. "I wish to put an end to his treachery."
"What do you wish for me to do?"
"Find Padmé Amidala Skywalker before Vader and his son find her. Then kill her."
"Yes, Master," she said, frowning. "Do you...?"
"Do I, what?" he wheezed out.
"I was just wondering if I could have access to those messages, in order to formulate a starting point."
"My spies have already provided me with a starting point. It appeared Lady Skywalker was very concerned about her son and pleaded with Vader not to turn him over to me. Apparently, in her haste to contact Vader after the destruction of the Death Star, the messenger droid was entrusted to someone rather incompetent."
"Where should I start looking?"
"On Naboo. Find a Gungan by the name of Jar Jar Binks and you will soon find Skywalker's wife. If you succeed, I will elevate your status to my Hand. The Emperor's Hand is a very highly privileged position, Jade."
"I will succeed, Master," Jade responded.