Chapter 42- Being Captured
Lena woke up and stepped into the refresher. After a long, hot shower, Lena felt much better. Of course a shower couldn't wash the feelings coming at her through the Force. Something still felt wrong and out of place here. Lena stepped into what amounted to a sitting room. Leia stood in front of a window, looking like a nervous tauntaun with her pacing.
"The ship's almost finished, Two or more things and we're in great shape," Han said, walking into the sitting room.
"The sooner the better. Something is wrong here. Nobody has seen or knows anything about Threepio. He's been gone too long to have gotten lost," Leia said, walking up to Han, who gave her a kiss on her forehead.
"Relax. I'll talk to Lando and see what I can find out," Han said softly. Leia and Lena both looked at each other in surprise.
"Han, we don't trust Lando," Lena said.
"Does the Force tell you anything, Cousin?" Leia asked, sitting next to Lena.
"No. I can't feel the dark side, but that doesn't mean it's not there. Something just doesn't feel right. I just don't trust him. And Papa always did tell me to be mindful when I had the Force warning me. I just don't trust him," Lena repeated.
"Well, I don't trust him either, kid. But he is my friend. Besides, we'll soon be gone," Han said, sitting across from Leia and taking her hands in his.
"Then you're as good as gone, aren't you?" Leia asked and the two of them looked at each other with love in their eyes. Lena was going to ask later what that was about, but she would wait when Han had vacated the room.
Lena looked up in consternation as Chewbacca came in with a growl and a large box in his hairy paws. "What happened?" Leia asked as Chewbacca put the box on the table. Lena saw Threepio's golden head on the top of it. Chewbacca growled.
"Where? Found him in a junk pile?" Han asked, translating what the Wookie's growls were.
"Oh, what a mess. Chewie, do you think you can repair him?" Lena asked, looking at the droid's remains and wishing Talon was there as he knew how to repair droids.
Chewbacca growled an affirmative. "Lando's got people that can fix him," Han said. Lena and Leia both turned to glare at him.
"No, thanks," Leia said as Lando walked in.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting anything?" Lando asked, the voice of calm coolness.
"Not really," Leia said shortly.
Lando gave a grin that was really too charming for Lena's liking at her cousin. Th man apparently didn't know when to stop the flirting. "You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us among the clouds," Lando said, his voice dripping with flattery. Lena rolled her eyes and looked at Han.
"You're friend?" Lena mouthed at him and Han gave her a slight shrug.
"Thank you," Leia said, with not much thankfulness in her voice.
"Would you join me for a little refreshment? Everyone's invited, of course," Lando said, adding the last part almost as an afterthought and taking Leia's hand as Han took Leia's other arm. "Having trouble with your droid?" Lando asked, looking at Threepio.
"No, no problem. Why?," Han asked, apparently deciding not to ask Lando to repair Threepio and they left the quarters Lando gave them. Lando then decided to give them a talk about what he was doing on Bespin.
"You see, since we're a small operation we don't fall into the jurisdiction of the Empire," Lando said, finishing up his talk as they walked down the corridor.
"So, you're part of the Mining Guild then?" Lena asked, keeping her hand firmly on the hilt of her lightsaber, which was hidden at her side by her cloak. At a moment's notice she could take the cloak off to reveal her Jedi clothes and lightsaber attached to her belt.
"No, not actually. Our operation is small enough not to be noticed. Which is advantageous for everybody since our customers are anxious to avoid attracting attention to themselves," Lando said.
"Aren't you afraid the Empire's going to find out about this little operation, shut you down?" Han asked.
"It's always been a danger that looms like a shadow over everything we've built here. But things have developed that'll ensure security. I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever," Lando said, stopping at a closed door and pressing a button.
Vader stood as the door opened and Solo, the princess, the Wookie, and his daughter turned to face him. A look of shock mirrored all their faces with the exception of Lena. Lena's face was stoic Jedi calm. With her use of the Force she had to have known something hadn't felt right. The girl truly was a Skywalker. Vader couldn't linger on that as Solo pulled out a blaster and fired it at Vader. "Han, don't!" Vader heard his girl scream belatedly as Vader held up his hand and deflected the bolts with the Force and jerked the blaster out of Solo's hand.
"We would be honored if you would join us," Vader said, looking at Lena. Boba Fett came to attention behind Vader, holding his blaster. Vader hoped Fett remembered that Lena wasn't to be harmed. Fett hated all of the Jedi on account of what happened to Jango Fett. Boba Fett would kill Lena just because she was Jedi. they then all looked as stormtroopers entered the corridor, holding blasters on them. Lena then looked at Calrissian.
"I had no choice, Your Highness. They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry," Calrissian said, with a slight resignation in his voice as he used Lena's royal title.
"I'm sorry too, but you did have a choice, Lando. We all have one," Lena said quietly as Solo escorted her and the princess inside the banquet room.
It didn't take long for Vader to separate Lena from Han, Leia, and Chewbacca. Lena looked at him in shock as Vader gripped her face in a vicelike grip and turned it as if he were examining it. Of course that wasn't as alarming as Vader reading her mind like a book. All Forceusers could read minds, but Lena had chosen not to as she saw it as a violation of privacy. Vader felt no qualms as he went through the Force shields as if they were nothing.
"Easy, young one. I will not harm you," Vader said, releasing her face and his hand going to her hair.
"What do you want from me?" Lena asked, her eyes going to Vader's hand as it caressed her hair as if he owned her hair
"So much like her you don't even know it," Vader said, apparently not yet willing to remove his hand from her hair.
"Her? Who?" Lena asked. It took a few cycles of Vader's respirator before he answered.
"Your mother," Vader said, digging his fingers deeper into her hair. Before Lena could stop him, he crushed her to his chest. Before Lena could even think, she felt something cold at the back of her neck and she lost all consciousness, collapsing into Vader's tight embrace.