Chapter 17 – Bait and Prey
Leia sat in the cabin of the Imperial shuttle. She bounced her leg, unable to keep still.
They had landed on Yavin 4 several hours prior. It had taken a great deal of persuasion from Cassian to convince the Rebel command to permit their entry into the base, which had only been achieved upon acceding to the condition that they deactivate the shuttle's scant weaponry and dump whatever blasters they had out the rear chute.
"They're going to arrest us, aren't they," Jyn said, despondent.
"No they won't," Cassian insisted.
"We defied High Commmnd."
"So what?" Cassian snapped. "We did what we had to do." He pointed at Galen. "We have him."
"And what happens to us when they get their hands on him?" Jyn said. "We're expendable."
"Do not be afraid, Stardust," Galen said. "I will make it very clear to them that I will not cooperate if anything happens to you."
"I don't trust them," Jyn said.
"You don't have any choice in the matter," Cassian said.
Definitively, that put an end to the conversation. Leia was grateful. The silence allowed her to retreat to her thoughts. But they were too much for her, jumbled, discordant. Too many emotions; fear, remorse, excitement, dread.
She turned to look at the empty bucket seat to her left. Luke should be there. She missed him. He was a comforting presence. He embodied hope, even when there was none to be found. Why had she left him? It was the wrong thing to do. It was the only thing to do.
She had to have faith in Vader. In her father. She shivered. Would she ever come to terms with that? Or was it too profound? She trusted him, to a degree, at least. He had proven himself to her by facilitating their escape. But she had also seen what he had done to Luke on Scarif. He told her he would protect him. Did she really believe that?
Leia could not say.
Just say yes, she thought. It was easier that way.
There was a sound, a sort of clanging against metal. Leia turned toward it.
"They're here," Cassian said. He stood from his seat and pressed a button on the wall. The hatch opened with a hiss. It unfurled, slowly, and Leia held a hand up to her eyes as a wave of bright light flooded the cabin. Suddenly the space was filled with calamitous noise, and Leia, disoriented, leapt to her feet and made a startled sound.
"Get on the ground, now!"
Soldiers filed into the cabin, crouched in battle postures, blasters pointed at the four of them. Leia felt the urge to run to the cockpit, but she tripped, falling to the ground and covering the back of her head with her hands. She felt hands on her shoulders, and she screamed.
"Don't resist," a voice said.
A blindfold was forced over her eyes and a gag stuffed in her mouth. Rough hands pulled her up from the ground, and Leia struggled with all her might against them, to no avail. They dragged her away, out of the cabin, down the ramp, and into the unknown.
Δ Δ Δ
The Imperial Palace. Vader despised the place.
Not for what it was. But for what it once was.
The Jedi Temple.
Ghosts lurked in these halls. Vader preferred to spend as little time as he could here. For that reason precisely, his master relished every opportunity to call him to this mausoleum. He loved watching Vader suffer.
And suffer he did. But for more reasons than those produced by a typical visit to the Palace. All those lurked in his conscience, accompanied by that virulent guilt which had not relented in the slightest. By his side was the young Jedi, Luke. They stood in a turbolift, ascending the tallest of the five spires. When the doors opened, they would be in the Emperor's throne room. And Luke's life as he knew it would forever be changed.
And a strange, sneaking suspicion told Vader that his own life would be changed too. A nagging voice, whispering in his ear. Run, it said. Leave this place. Never come back.
In response, Vader clenched his fist around the lightsaber in his hands, silencing the voice.
"This is expertly crafted," he commented. "Kenobi taught you well."
"Yes," the Jedi said. "He was a great master."
"For you, perhaps," Vader said, to himself more so than the Jedi.
The doors opened.
Run, the voice said again.
Vader stepped forward. The young man followed.
The throne room was dark. Cold lights from the unmanned technical stations–Vader knew them to be blue, but he only saw them in shades of red–provided a stark sense of atmosphere. Ahead were two massive circular windows, one directly above the other, some twenty feet or so. It was nighttime in Imperial Center, but that meant little in a city that never sleeps. Artificial light from the innumerable skyscrapers poured in, tinted by the thick glass, resulting in a sort of sepia.
Beneath the circular windows was the Emperor's throne. It was large, unadorned, and bland. Made of a dull black material. Its occupant was likewise unremarkable in appearance: black robe, a cowl obscuring his features. Yet Vader's attention was not focused on the Emperor, but rather the man standing at his flank.
"What is he doing here?" Vader growled.
It was Director Krennic. He adjusted the collar of his white uniform, noticed Vader's gaze, and nodded, the corners of his lips twitching. He was smug. Krennic was always smug. That was why Vader enjoyed taking him down a level or two. But something about his expression gave Vader pause. What was he doing here?
"Lord Vader." His master's sibilant voice rang loudly in the spacious throne room. "Welcome to Coruscant. I hope your journey was… uneventful."
Vader, with Luke at his side, was walking up the steps. His pace slowed. Uneventful. His journey had been many things. Uneventful was not one of them.
"Is there a reason," Vader began cautiously, "why Director Krennic is accompanying us."
"Why of course," Palpatine said, smiling. Or perhaps he was sneering. There was very little difference. "In good time." Vader could not see his eyes, but he sensed his gaze shift–to Luke. "But first, you must introduce me to your acquaintance."
"He is a Rebel. I captured him on Scarif," Vader said. They reached the top of the steps. Vader glanced at the young man. His face was stoic, jaw clenched firmly, glaring at the Emperor without waver. "He is a Jedi, trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Yes," Palpatine drawled. "A Jedi." Reaching to the side of his throne, his long-nailed fingers grasped his walking stick. Laboriously, he stood, and then, walking stick ticking against the ground, he approached. Vader stiffened, as did Luke.
"He is well trained," Vader said. He extended the lightsaber in his hand to the Emperor who took it swiftly.
"A fine weapon, this," he said. "And a fine Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi once was," Palpatine said. He eyed Luke keenly, analyzing him. Vader recognized that look. He had been on the receiving end of it many times before. "What do you think? Was Kenobi a worthy master?"
"He taught me all I need to know," Luke replied.
"Hardly," Palpatine said. "You are powerful, boy. I can sense it. But you have much to learn." Palptaine looked at Vader disdainfully. "He is no Jedi. Not yet."
"Nor will he ever become one," Vader said.
"Quite right," Palpatine said. "Quite right." He turned to return to his throne. Vader heard Luke exhale with relief. "I wonder," Palpatine said, having resumed his spot at the throne, fingers grasping at the armrests, "why it is that you failed to share with me details of what happened on Scarif."
"Details?" Vader said. "They seemed irrelevant."
"Director Krennic did not think so," Palpatine said, waving his hand to the man at his side. "He thought your behavior was quite unorthodox."
"How so?" Vader said, voice darkening.
"I find it hard to believe," Krennic said, brushing an invisible speck off his left cuff, "that you were able to respond so quickly to the Rebel assault on Scarif without some sort of advance warning."
"I already told you that I had a source," Vader said.
"Would you care to share that source with us?" Krennic requested.
Vader did not speak. His chest felt very tight.
"It was Galen Erso," Krennic said. "Wasn't it?" With Vader's silence as confirmation, the director pressed ahead. "You interrogated him, did you not? You told me he was innocent. I had no reason to doubt you."
"No," Vader said. "You do not."
"And yet there is no footage of your interrogation," Krennic said. "Erso and I have worked together for many years. As you can imagine, I was curious to hear what he had to say about this unfortunate situation with the Rebel pilot Bodhi Rook."
"Naturally," Vader muttered.
"What happened to that footage, Lord Vader?"
"The contents of our conversation dealt with a sensitive subject matter," Vader said crisply. "It was my understanding that anything concerning Project Stardust was to be considered confidential."
"Confidential, certainly. But not off the record entirely."
"What is the purpose of this line of questioning, Director?"
"You see, Lord Vader, I do not believe Galen Erso is innocent. I believe he is the one who conspired with Bodhi Rook, and I think you are fully aware of that."
"If he was guilty, he would be dead."
"Is that so?"
"Are you suggesting I aided and abetted Erso?"
"That would be one way to phrase it, yes."
"That would be treason."
"Yes, my friend." It was Palpatine who interjected. "Treason indeed."
Vader's head swiveled when he heard approaching footsteps. A half dozen Royal Guards, clad in crimson armor and robes, were closing in with staffs.
"What reason would I have to betray you?" Vader said, hand held steady over his lightsaber. "I have always been loyal."
"Yes, you have," Palpatine said. He sounded remarkably blasé. In his hands, he was turning over Luke's lightsaber. "But I know you, Vader. I know you better than you know yourself."
Perhaps it was true.
"I know your weakness," Palpatine said. "The girl."
"What of her?" Vader said.
"She is your daughter."
Vader couldn't breathe. The apparatus strapped to his chest no longer seemed to function.
"How…?"
Palpatine did not answer him. He instead looked to Luke whose mouth was agape. "Did you not know?" he asked in a mocking tone. "Of course you didn't. You know nothing, foolish boy. I know everything."
"You can't know," Vader said.
"Oh, but I do," Palpatine said, gleeful now. "And I know so much more, my friend."
Vader unclipped the lightsaber from his belt. Palaptine seemed unconcerned.
"You disappoint me, Vader. Choosing an untrained girl over me. She is nothing. Meaningless. Did you think you could train her to defeat me?"
"No," Vader said. "I would defeat you myself." He activated the lightsaber. The Royal Guards had formed a perimeter behind him, and they activated their electric staffs in response.
"You don't stand a chance," Palpatine dismissed. "And neither does she. Leia Organa, princess. Leia Appenza, pilot. What chance does she stand against me?"
"You won't hurt her," Vader said, brandishing his lightsaber now. His metal limbs were flexed, ready to strike.
"I have no interest in her!" Palpatine said loudly. Vader winced. "You have been chasing the wrong prize, Vader. All along, the true target has been right there, but you were too foolish to see it!" The Emperor laughed, and it was a truly horrible sound, sharp and shrill, ricocheting in Vader's helmet, causing his head to ache. "This self-proclaimed Jedi," Palpatine said, shaking the hilt of the green lightsaber at its owner. "What do you know about him?"
Vader looked at the Jedi.
"His name, for instance," Palpatine prompted.
"Luke," Vader said. "His name is Luke."
"Yes, indeed," Palpatine said. "Who are your people, Luke? You must not have shared that with my apprentice."
Luke shook his head. Gone was the cool and confident young man, replaced by a scared boy.
"Tell us," Palpatine demanded. "Tell us now." A flicker of frustration passed the Emperor's face when Luke remained silent. "Kenobi told you never to share that information, didn't he? He said it was too dangerous. Did you ever wonder why?"
"I did not question my master," Luke said.
"Good," Palpatine said, eyes flashing. "I hope you will be similarly obedient when you call me master."
"I would never," Luke said.
"Wouldn't you, Luke Skywalker? Wouldn't you?"
Vader's blade, which he had been holding steady above his shoulder, wavered. "What did you say?"
"You see that?" Palpatine said to Luke. "Do you sense it, Skywalker? The fear? The bewilderment?"
Luke looked at Vader. Vader stared back. Skywalker? Was it true? Of course it was. How could he not have seen?
"That man right there. That machine. He killed your master. He killed your mother."
Luke's eyes widened.
"No," Vader protested feebly.
"He is a monster," Palpatine said. His poisonous words wrapped around Luke like webs, ensnaring him in a brutal trap. Vader had been his prey once. Now he was the bait.
"That monster once went by another name. Vader, why don't you share with Luke?"
"I hate you," Vader said.
"As you should," Palpatine replied.
Without thinking, Vader charged forward, lightsaber held high. He did not make it within a dozen feet of the throne, however. Palpatine raised a hand and released a pulse of blue electricity which struck Vader directly in the chest. He collapsed to his knees, lightsaber falling from his grasp. Vader had felt this pain countless times before. The metal of his suit conducted the charge, causing the lighting to affect him a hundred times worse than it would otherwise. It scorched his flesh, boiled his blood. His vision went totally red. Vader tried to scream but he had no oxygen in his lungs.
"Pathetic," Palpatine said. "To think, this is who the Jedi called the Chosen One."
Vader felt his arms forced behind his back. Magnetic binders were clasped to his wrists. For good measure, the head of an electric staff was jammed into his ribs, but Vader scarcely felt it; the lingering effects of the lightning were more than enough to overload his pain receptors.
"You were chosen for nothing but servitude," Palpatine said, his taunting voice ringing loudly in Vader's ears. "But now your usefulness has run up. I have a new apprentice now."
"I am not your apprentice!" Luke protested.
"You will join me," Palpatine said. "I am the one who will protect you, and your sister, from this monster."
Vader's vision began to clear. He saw Palpatine looming over him. In his hands were two lightsabers now, Luke's and his. His completed collection.
"I have no sister," Luke said.
Palpatine leaned down and grabbed the grill of Vader's mask, forcing his head upward. "Your name," he requested. "Tell him."
"No," Vader said.
Again, the staff slammed into his ribs. This time Vader did feel it.
"Tell him. Tell him now."
"I have no name," Vader said. "I have nothing. You took it all from me."
Furious, Palpatine grabbed Vader's helmet more firmly and threw him to the ground. He hit the concrete with a thud, causing his lenses to crack and the grill to dent. There was a soft hiss as air began to leak out of a fissure which had formed in the ceramic.
"Take a good look, my apprentice," Palpatine said to Luke. "This is what became of the Jedi Order's most prized warrior. This is what became of your father, Anakin Skywalker."
Vader struggled to his feet. His vision was kaleidoscopic, partly a result of the fractured lenses, partly because of the concussion he had no doubt just sustained. He saw Luke. His features were swirling, indiscernible. But he could sense the horror and repugnance. And then he saw Palpatine. Evil incarnate, his cloaked figure akin to a black specter.
"You will lose," Vader said, speech slurred.
"How can I?" Palpatine said, "when I have already won everything?" He extended his hands. "Goodbye, my friend."
Lighting took hold of him again, but the pain did not afflict him for long. Vader slipped away. He was numb, unfeeling, free.