Chapter 17- Opinions and Splitting Up
Lena looked at her Jedi boots. She would have to throw them in a sonic washer when they got to Yavin, but it couldn't be helped that sludge had worked its way into the leather and it made them smell bad. To be honest, all of them smelled bad, Luke worst of all, but a bath and clean clothes had to wait. Lena's father would see to it. With a small smile on his face and his blue eyes lighting up, he would say that part of being a Jedi meant you took a bath when you landed in garbage chutes.
Lena looked over at Luke who ran his fingers through his damp hair and putting on his weapons belt. Lena smiled as she noticed their father's lightsaber hanging from Luke's belt. Obi-Wan was right when he had said that Anakin Skywalker would have wanted Luke to have it. Lena couldn't have taken it as she had her own lightsaber. It was right that Luke should have it. "If we can just avoid any more female advice, we ought to be able to get outta here," Han said, handing Luke a blaster.
"Well, let's get moving," Luke said, with one more run of his fingers through his shaggy blond hair and standing up.
Whatever had grabbed Luke in the chute suddenly made a noise; one that raised Chewbacca's hackles. "Where are you going? Aww!" Han growled and aimed his blaster at the open hatch leading into the garbage chute.
"No, wait! They'll here!" Leia shouted belatedly as Han fired the blaster.
"Come here, you big coward. Chewie, come here," Han ordered sharply as Chewbacca shook his head.
"Listen, I don't know who you are or where you came from, other than the fact that my cousin brought you, but from now on you do as I tell you, okay?" Leia asked, with barely controlled civility.
"Look, Your Worshipfulness, Let's get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person- Me," Han said as Han and Luke followed her and Lena down the corridor. Lena pulled out her lightsaber her finger on the button to turn it on if need be.
"It's a wonder your still alive. Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?" Leia asked, looking at Chewbacca in front of her.
"No reward is worth this," Han said just loud enough for Leia and Lena to hear.
"What?" Leia asked Lena under her breath.
"I kind of promised him a reward if he helped us. I told him if he got you out Papa would give him one when we reached Yavin," Lena said, her voice barely a whisper.
"I just hope Uncle Cail has it and that he wasn't on Alderaan when it was destroyed," Leia said.
"He wasn't there. Mother, the boys, Uncle Bail, and Aunt Breha were, but not Papa and Cora. Papa said he had to go to Yavin and Cora went with him. I can feel them both. I would have felt it if they had become one with the Force," Lena said with a bare smile as they made their way to a window overlooking the docking bay where the Falcon was.
"There she is," Han proclaimed, pointing at the ship.
"C-3PO, do you copy?" Luke asked into the comlink.
"Yes, Sir?" C-3PO asked.
"Are you safe?" Luke asked.
"For the moment. We're in the main hangar across from the ship," Threepio said.
"We're right above you. Stand by," Luke said, shutting down the comlink.
"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought," Leia said, indicating Han's ship.
"Nice! Come on," Han said, clearly not amused at Leia's insulting him and they ran down the corridor.
Vader felt surges in the Force as he walked down the corridors. Obi-Wan was close and was not making an effort to hide in the Force. Lena was also close, but she was on the move. His girl was also not making an effort to disguise herself with the Force. Of course there was someone else, but that someone was ridiculously untrained in the ways of the Force. Like his girl and Obi-Wan, this person wasn't bothering to shield himself or herself. Maybe he could overtake his girl before she got killed trying to leave the battlestation. Vader had prepared a hypospray for Lena. Not even a Jedi could withstand drugs once they were entered into the bloodstream.
Once she was sedated he would move her to a place only he and few others knew to begin her training. It was important that Palpatine never know that Vader had found the human offspring of Anakin Skywalker and his wife and that he and the girl were plotting Palpatine's downfall. It never entered Vader's thinking that his daughter would object to her father's plans to overthrow the emperor.
Han, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and Lena made their way down the corridor and froze at the sight of stormtroopers. "It's them! Blast them!" The leader said and he and his men raised their blasters and before they could fire, Han fired back, dropping the leader.
"Get back to the ship!" Han yelled over his shoulder and went screaming down the hall, Chewbacca following.
"Where are you going? Come back!" Luke yelled after him.
"He certainly has courage," Leia said with a grin.
"What good it will do us if he gets himself killed? Come on," Luke said, shouldering his own blaster.
"Luke, Leia, go to the ship! It'll be better if we split up! I'll meet you there," Lena said, running off in another direction. Lena thumbed her lightsaber on. The danger and the dark side was stronger with each minute. Vader was incredibly close. Maybe she could avoid running into the Sith Lord. The sound of mechanical breathing met her ears before she ever saw him. Lena ducked into a closet and lowered the blast shield, using the Force as a shield to hide herself in. Lena looked down and noticed a ventilation shaft by her feet. Using her lightsaber she got the screen off and started to belly-crawl to the hanger.