Chapter 40- Tailing, Destination Planned, and Vision
A fool! Vader was surrounded by fools! How was it that they couldn't capture such a small ship? While Vader doubted his Lena would be flying it, due to her aversion to mechanical things and she probably thought the ship was beneath her, the pilot, Han Solo, wasn't Force-sensitive. Only a Force-sensitive like his daughter had ever evaded him. Vader watched in apathy as Needa died in front of him. The simpleton thought he could beg for Vader's forgiveness for losing Lena again and this idiot had paid the price for his lack of vision.
"Apology accepted, Captain Needa," Vader said ominously as two orderlies came in to collect the man's body to dump out of the airlock. He then walked to a console.
"Lord Vader, our ships have completed their scan of the area and found nothing. If the Millennium Falcon went into lightspeed, it'll be on the other side of the galaxy by now," the admiral at the console said, sharply coming to attention.
"Alert all commands. Calculate every possible destination along their last known trajectory," Vader said.
"Yes, my lord. We'll find them," the admiral said with a little too much confidence for Vader's liking.
"Don't fail me again, Admiral," Vader said, ominously pointing his finger at him. Vader didn't need to say that he would kill anyone who harmed Lena. The whole crew knew that if Vader was searching for Luke and Lena Skywalker, they were not to be touched.
"Alert all commands. Deploy the fleet," Vader heard as he left the room. It is done, Padme. Soon, I will have your children with me as they should have always been, Vader thought with a sense of satisfaction. Vader had never really felt attachment to anyone but Padme. He did not even feel it towards Ahsoka when he was her master and she had left him and the Jedi Order. To him Ahsoka was Snips, an annoying little Togruta girl who gave him the annoying nickname Skyguy. Unlike Ahsoka, Luke and Lena would never leave him. Anakin Skywalker was weak and allowed Ahsoka to leave, but Luke and Lena belonged to him and would never leave him; not even if he had to sedate them and have them contained. To be honest, he hoped it wouldn't come to that. Vader felt a sense of revulsion at drugging his children. He wanted them to come of their own free will.
Lena watched the Stardestroyers from the cockpit's viewports. Hiding on the blind side of the Stardestroyer was really one of the best ideas that Han Solo had ever had. Leia, Lena, and Chewbacca hadn't questioned it. The only one who had was Threepio. "Captain Solo, this time you have gone too far," Threepio said in a perturbed voice. Chewbacca growled. Lena didn't understand Wookie, but she figured he was telling the droid to be quiet. Threepio confirmed her suspicions. "No, I will not be quiet, Chewbacca. Why doesn't anyone listen to me?" Threepio asked in annoyance.
"The fleet's beginning to break up. Go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw," Han ordered Chewbacca.
Chewbacca stood and moved back and Threepio resumed his complaints. "I really don't see how that is going to help. Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances. The Empire may be gracious enough-" Threepio never finished what he was about to say. Lena had casually reached over and turned off his power switch at the back of the head and the droid slumped in his protective harness.
"Thank you," Han said, without looking at her.
"You're welcome. Papa told me my father Anakin Skywalker built Threepio when he was a slave on Tatooine. It really was a good thing that Father thought to add a off switch while building," Lena said.
"What do you have in mind for your next move?" Leia asked as she went to stand behind Han.
"Well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure, they'll dump their garbage before they go to lightspeed and then we just float away," Han said, indicating the floating with his hand.
"With the rest of the garbage," Leia said dryly as she nodded her head.
"Then what?" Lena asked.
"Then we got to find a safe port somewhere around here. Any ideas?" Han asked, as he pulled up his navigation charts.
"Where are we?" Leia asked.
"The Anoat System," Han said.
"The Anoat System. There's not much there," Lena said, stretching out with the Force.
"No. Well, wait. This is interesting. Lando," Han said, a brief smile on his face.
"Lando system?" Lena and Leia both asked.
"Lando's not a system. He's a man. Lando Calrissian. He's a cardplayer, gambler, scoundrel. You and your cousin would like him," Han teased.
"Thanks," Leia said, clearly not amused.
"Bespin. It's pretty far, but I think we can make it," Han said
"A mining colony?" Leia asked.
"Yeah, a tibanna gas mine. Lando conned somebody out of it. We go back a long way Lando and me," Han said, a slight brag in his voice.
"Can you trust him, Han?" Lena asked, feeling an instant prickle of dread from the Force. Something was already not feeling right about this.
"No, but he's got no love for the Empire, I can tell you that. Here we go, Chewie. Stand by. Detach," Han said as the trash compactors emptied and Han released the ship and they floated lazily with the garbage.
"You do have your moments. Not many of them, but you do have them," Leia said, kissing Han on the forehead. Lena made a mental note to ask Leia about the kiss later. Something apparently changed Leia's feelings about Han. The Stardestroyers went into lightspeed and Han and Chewbacca moved the ship out of the garbage, not realizing they were being followed.
Talon watched from beside Artoo as Luke tried again to move rocks and toolkits with the Force. Since the failure with the ship and Cave, Luke had done much better. His abilities with the Force had made large leaps and bounds. He could think of quite a few of the members of the Jedi Order who would have been proud of Luke's progress. "Concentrate," Yoda said.
"Feel the Force flow, Luke. Yes," Talon said as Two toolkits lifted. Talon chuckled as Artoo beeped as he was lifted.
"Good. Calm. Yes. Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future. The past. Old friends long gone," Yoda said. Luke's eyes then popped open and a look of fear was in his eyes.
"Han? Leia! Lena!" Luke exclaimed, before losing his balance and falling with a crash along with everything else he had lifted.
"Luke, what is it?" Talon asked, sharply, going to his nephew.
"Control, control. You must learn control! Yoda reproved.
"I saw...I saw a city in the clouds," Luke said, slightly winded as he sat up.
Hmmm. Friends and sister you have there," Yoda said.
"They were in pain," Luke said as if the words were hard to get out.
"You are seeing the future, Luke," Talon said, squeezing his nephew's shoulder gently.
"Future? Will they die?" Luke asked Yoda as he got to his feet.
"Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future," Yoda said.
"I don't know either. All Jedi have visions and I had them less than most Padawans at the Jedi temple on Coruscant," Talon said apologetically.
"I've got to go to them," Luke said with finality. Yoda and Talon looked at each other in wordless shock.
"Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could but you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered," Yoda said. Luke looked conflicted and then he reluctantly nodded his head. Talon understood how he felt. Lena was his daughter and Yoda was saying that whatever trouble she was in she had to get out of on her own. Her father couldn't help her.