0 ABY - Temple courtyard, Vrogas Vas, Outer Rim
This really was a pretty ship, Han thought, as they headed back down the entry ramp. And a tough nut to crack - after taking so long hacking past the encryption just to get on board he hadn't relished trying to get into her computer systems as well. In the end it had been easier just to go with physical sabotage. It was a pity they'd had to do such terrible things to her engines, her hyperdrive, and her nav console. Particularly given how souped-up she was under the hood - it was actually a little scary. He knew less about yachts than he did about freighters, cruisers, and the other kind of vessels that smugglers usually used, but he knew enough to peg this one as a Nubian J-type, pre Clone Wars, which meant it must have been a nightmare getting all those brand new off-market mods to sync up with her systems. Whoever had modded this baby really knew their stuff. Concealed weapons, upgraded sub-lights, layered shields, one beast of a hyperdrive...
And Vader, of all people, was flying around in this!
Han had been an Imp for just long enough to have picked up on at least some of the gossip about Darth Vader, including the story that said he did all his own maintenance on his TIE and just what had happened to the unlucky pit crew who hadn't been clued in to that fact. He hadn't believed it before, but now… it made a man wonder. Still, why choose a Nubian yacht as a pet project, unless it was for the sheer fact that no-one would be expecting it? It made no kriffing sense!
But there wasn't any time to worry about it any longer, not when Luke was still out there somewhere. Vader was nowhere to be found, and the only place he could be was that giant building in front of them - the one that Luke was bound to be in too. Sith-spit! Han would even pray to that hokey Force religion if it helped Luke stay alive.
"We need to do the same to this other ship too," the Princess told him, nodding towards the heavy freighter which was parked not far away. It wasn't a vessel Han recognised, but he didn't quite like the look of it. He felt that he ought to know it, and that somehow its presence spelled bad news. But he couldn't think of any reason to give Leia aside from his gut instinct, which he was well aware wouldn't be good enough for her.
And then his bad feeling got a lot worse.
"Leia! Han!" a familiar voice shouted. Han turned to see Luke standing on the steps of the temple with Darth kriffing Vader's hand clasped tightly on his shoulder. Artoo was next to him, beeping frantically. There were another couple of beings with them as well; a woman dressed in fine smuggler fashion - had to be the owner of the second ship - and a young man in black with Imperial cogs on his shoulders. So that was the Inquisitor the Imps had been talking about. But they paled into insignificance next to the considerably bigger problem that was Vader. Kriff it! Just who they had been hoping not to run into.
At least Luke was still alive. He looked drained, his eyes ringed in red, but he was alive and that was all that was important.
Vader let go of Luke and stalked forwards, unhooking his lightsaber from his belt. "Princess," he growled. "What a pleasure to see you here." Han bristled. That was a threat if ever he'd heard one, and no-one got to threaten Leia Organa when he was around! He had his blaster out and up in one swift movement, and was aware out of the corner of his eye of Leia doing the same. He hadn't intended to start shooting just yet, but Leia wasn't one to wait, and so of course he had to join in.
Vader's red blade deflected the shots, and then his other hand came up and Han felt his blaster jerk right out of his hands, skidding across the courtyard well out of reach. Leia's landed right beside it. He swore. The smart thing to do would be to make a run for it back to the Falcon, but they hadn't had a chance to disable the freighter yet. Vader would still have the chance to get away, and there was no way the Princess would retreat with that in mind. Behind Vader, Luke jerked forwards trying to make a run for it, but the smuggler grabbed him before he could get far, whispering something in his ear that seemed to drain some of the fight out of him - and that was just wrong.
There was a snap-hiss from beside him. Han nearly leapt out of his skin. Leia was holding a green lightsaber with a determined expression.
"You kept that?" he asked.
"I thought it might come in useful," Leia replied.
"You have no right to that weapon," Vader said, menacing. "Nor have you been trained in its use. Do not meddle in what you do not understand."
"I understand enough," Leia said.
I have had enough of foolish children for one day," Vader said, stalking towards them, his little entourage following on a safe distance behind. "Get out of my way."
"And let you escape? No. Never."
"Do you care nothing for your young pilot's safety?"
"Luke can look after himself," Leia replied, with icy calm. "He knows what's at stake here. The Rebel Alliance would have to pay a very high price in lives indeed for it to no longer be worth seeing you dead."
"Such hate," Vader said. Han wasn't sure if it was meant to be mocking, or if Vader actually admired that. He wasn't sure which was worse. "But the weapon of Alderaan's vengeance would better be pointed at one other than me."
"You were there. You watched."
Han thought he should try and take advantage of the distraction of Leia and Vader's showdown. There was still a ship to disable here, after all, and if he could just get up the ramp he could lock it from the inside. That would give him enough time…
"As did you," Vader said, still making no move. He didn't know that everyone here was on a deadline then. Otherwise he wouldn't be willing to try and… and do what, exactly? Win a war of words?
"I was forced to watch!" Leia shouted. "You forced me to watch! Don't pretend to me that you cared about Alderaan's fate. You're a monster - you stood by and let it happen."
"It was a waste," Vader replied. "and it was unwise. Alderaan's death has only given strength to the Rebellion."
Han was nearly at the ramp. The smuggler and the Inquisitor were too far away to stop him… but they weren't trying. Han looked at them across the courtyard. The smuggler was actually smiling. What did she know that he didn't? Did she have some sort of trap set up in her ship? Hell, there was no way this was going to be as easy as he'd hoped. But what other options did he have?
He continued slowly backing up. Metal walls closed around him. It was dark in here. The vessel had been left idling on low power, with only the red-lights in the floor illuminating the room he was in. There were boxes stacked everywhere, blank crates that could have contained anything. It felt like all the hairs down his neck and spine were trying to leave his body. This did not feel like a good place to be.
In front of him, two new lights flicked on. The small round lights of a protocol droid's eyes. Han relaxed a little. Sure, protocol droids could be annoying, but one of them wouldn't be enough to stop him from sabotaging this ship.
"Now where's the kriffing hyperdrive control on this ship?" he asked himself under his breath.
"Oh, BT-1, we have a guest!" the droid said. It had the same irritating voice as Threepio. Maybe it was here to bother him to death? In the darkness, something whirred and clicked. What was that? Another droid?
"Oh no need for that Beetee," the protocol droid said. "There's only one of him, and it has been so long since Mistress Aphra gave us any toys to play with. You can have him after I'm done."
Han felt his stomach drop through his boots. Aphra - he knew that kriffing name. Smuggler and activator of archeotech for the Droid Gotra, weird fascination with weapons and particularly droids that were also weapons. Which meant that wasn't a protocol droid.
"My name is Triple-Zero," the droid said as it advanced on him. "And I shall be your torturer for today."
He ran.
He simply did not have time for this foolishness. Vader had no particular ill will for Princess Leia Organa - no more at least than he had for every member of the Rebellion - but her hatred for him was becoming troublesome. His first thought upon seeing her had been pleasure that at last he would get to kill something on this blasted planet, but good sense had quickly prevailed. If Luke had not been present, he would have been free to get rid of her and her companion, but unfortunately his son knew these people. He had been working with them on Cymoon I, and if his son grew squeamish at the thought of killing an Inquisitor he had known for less than a day then he certainly would not stand idly by at the death of his friends.
Vader knew all too well how stubborn a Skywalker could be - although that had been another life. Another person. He was wiser now, but his son clearly was not. No matter. Luke had destroyed the Death Star - he was capable of ending lives. They would merely have to work on his ability to do so whilst looking said lifeforms in the face.
He needed to get his son off this planet before the Starfall thought to ask any more questions, such as what had happened to its Inquisitor - although if they had allowed a rebel ship to slip past them then perhaps they were not as observant as a ship of the Imperial Navy ought to be. He needed space, and time. He needed to have a proper conversation with Luke. It was clear that Kenobi had done a great deal of damage with his lies. His son had not taken the truth well.
Had he really had any reason to expect otherwise? For all of his life thus far, Luke had believed his father to be dead at Vader's hand. Kenobi had built him up as a target in the boy's mind, nurtured his hatred so that he would have the strength to kill him when the time came. How hypocritical of his old master! It seemed that in extremis, evenKenobi had found a use for hatred, despite the Jedi Code. Once again, Vader felt a small stab of satisfaction at killing him. The old man had not put up much of a fight, and his claim to greater power in death seemed to have come to nothing.
Once confronted with the reality of the situation, Luke had come to accept it, at least in part. He was still being stubborn on the subject of the Dark Side, but that would pass when he understood what it really meant. Then he would come to realise that there was only one path to follow into the future they both wanted.
But none of that was going to happen unless this child got out of his way!
He had reached an impasse with Organa. He had hoped to goad her into an attack, get her close enough to safely disarm and subdue her, but her anger was cold and controlled. Admirable, but inconvenient. She was too clever to be caught out in that way. She might not know how to use that stolen lightsaber, but an untrained wielder was as much a danger to herself as to others. If he made the first move there was no guarantee of her safety.
As he gathered the Force to him in preparation for ripping the saber from her hands - an awkward prospect when she had so tight a grip on it - a scream tore through the tense silence. The smuggler - Solo - slid down the open ramp of the Ark Angel, spasms rippling through his body and smoke rising from a patch of his jacket where the synth-leather had been burned through. Triple-Zero ambled down after him, his palms raised to display the shock pads built into them.
"No!" Luke cried. "Han!"
Vader spared a flicker of attention to reach out for Solo's presence in the Force - still alive. Merely stunned. Good, that left only the Princess… His son darted past him before he or any of the others could stop him. Damn the boy! Triple-Zero had no orders regarding him - he would not be safe from the droid!
"Shit," Aphra murmured behind him.
"Go!" Vader ordered. She did as she was told, Artoo following her. Good; it would be the safest place for the astromech. Princess Organa took a step backwards, clearly thinking of heading towards Solo as well, even though her eyes remained fixed on him. She had looked away at Solo's cry, and he had felt the flicker of her worry in the Force, but she did not allow her attachments to over-rule her head. Had she been Force-sensitive, she would have made a good Jedi - or a better Sith, given the strength of her anger. With a single wrench Vader ripped up the massive flagstones for several meters all around her, tipping them on their ends and trapping her inside a wall of stone. It would not take her long to work out how to use the saber to cut her way out, but it would give him time.
"Triple-Zero!" he heard Aphra shout. "Stand down! Override voiceprint 'Aphra': add new master designation Luke Skywalker!"
"Confirmed Mistress Aphra," Triple-Zero replied. Vader relaxed slightly. He circled the flagstones, heading for the Ark Angel. "I do still have permission to drain this other meatbag of his blood though, don't I?"
[Don't you karking dare, slagging piece of scrap!] Artoo beeped furiously. The little droid - his little droid - was guarding Solo's body furiously, shock probe extended and crackling. It appeared Kenobi had passed on more than his old lightsaber to the boy.
"Denied," Vader growled to the assassin droid, stopping next to his son and grasping the boy's shoulder once again. It seemed he would need to keep a literal hold on Luke to prevent him running off. "Board the ship. Aphra, take the Inquisitor with you. Luke and I will meet you at a location I shall transmit to you once we are away."
"What about Han?" Luke said, trying and failing to shake out of his grip. "He needs medical attention!"
"Sadly, he will survive without it," Triple-Zero replied. "Master Vader, I suspect he was boarding the Ark Angel to carry out some form of sabotage. I did not activate until his intrusion - I cannot comment on if he has done the same to your own vessel."
"Lord Vader!" It was the Twelfth Brother. He held up his comm-link. "The Starfall - it's under attack! An entire Rebel battle-group! They're holding as best they can, but they won't be able to last long against that kind of firepower!"
As it always seemed to on such occasions, time slowed down. Their tactical situation spread out before him like an array of disparate parts as his mind picked through them, turning them this way and that, analysing, working out how to fit them together into the best configuration, the way to win. He made his decision.
"Aphra, board the Ark Angel with the Inquisitor. Circle around to the other side of the planet and head into orbit from there. Take the Artoo unit with you." As much as he would have like to bring Artoo with him and find out where the droid had been all these years, Artoo simply would not be able to keep up over this terrain even with his rockets. He reached out with the Force and levitated the unconscious body of Solo into the air, draping him over his shoulder so he would be easier to carry. "We will make our own escape on Solo's ship."
And if Solo had so much as touched his (Padmé's) yacht then even Luke's attachment to him would not save him.
I will come back for her Padmé. I promise you.
A segment of stone crashed to the ground. Organa had succeeded in her escape.
"If you wish to preserve the life of your friends Luke, you will follow me," he said. He had scouted the area from the air before landing - that much was habit when entering unfamiliar territory. There was only one clearing nearby large enough for a YT-1300.
He would deal with the Princess at a later date.
Luke's head was spinning. Everything seemed to be happening so fast, and his mind was so packed full of thoughts that he could barely even focus on any one in particular. His father was alive, his father was Vader, everything he had been told of his past was a lie - all of it except what the temple had showed him… And now here he was, running at his father's side, one of his friends being held as a hostage, the other left behind - but safe. Alive. Because of him. Because Vader seemed to care enough about what he thought to show a mercy that was utterly alien to his reputation.
It hurt, having to leave Leia behind, but she would be okay. And better there than with them. He didn't know what his father had planned for Han, but he was dreading the possibilities.
When he had seen the two of them outside the temple, Luke had barely been able to control his fear. He'd thought that he would have to watch his friends being killed in front of him. When it hadn't happened, when Vader had held back, he'd been able to relax enough to wonder what on earth they were doing here. He had told them he'd be coming to Vrogas Vas, of course, but what could have made them come to get him? Unless it wasn't him they were here for…
There hadn't been any sign of the Falcon around either, but there had been a new ship sitting in the courtyard - a Nubian ship. Not the same as the one he had seen in his vision, which had been a little smaller in the body with wide-swept wings like a sand-ray. This was an earlier model in the same J-type line, a sleek silver dart large enough for a retinue - not just a personal yacht. It didn't look anything like a Rebel ship. It was far too flashy. So that really only left one person it could belong to. His father. And Aphra's droid Triple-Zero had confirmed that too.
Luke was going to have a number of questions about that ship, once he got half a chance.
Then things had started to go wrong. Leia had kept one of the lightsabers they'd stolen from Grakkus and she had challenged Vader with it. Han had tried to get inside Aphra's ship, and run into Triple-Zero, who was some kind of horrible Imperial torture droid. And now Han was unconscious and their captive, and there was apparently a whole Alliance battle-group in orbit waiting for his father.
Which was why they were now running for the Falcon. It wasn't easy keeping up with Vader. Luke wouldn't have thought he could move so quickly, as big as he was, and as heavy as the armour must make him. When he had encountered him before, his father had never rushed anywhere - he hadn't been slow, but neither had he made any movement more than the minimum necessary to achieve his aims. Now though the Dark Side was burning all around him, flowing through him, and Luke felt sure he wasn't pushing himself half as hard as he could have if Luke wasn't there.
The forest flashed past. They were leaping over uneven ground, fallen trees and branches, whipping past undergrowth that threatened to tangle. Luke half-slid down a muddy bank that Vader had simply jumped, leaving a crater in the ground where he'd landed, and felt an invisible hand in the Force reach out to steady him. Vader didn't say anything about it, just kept going, Han still held tight and unmoving over his shoulder as easily as though his body was stuffed with feathers. Luke panted for breath. At least the weariness threatening to flood him had quieted his mind. All he could think about was his sore muscles, the need to keep himself upright, to move. And yet, the further they went, the easier it seemed to become. As though something outside him was giving him strength.
He jumped over a dip in the ground that could easily have twisted his ankle without even noticing that it was there. He could almost feel the world around them, as though his awareness of himself had jumped the bounds of his body and was stretching out… to the trees, to the plants, to sparks of life that glowed in a sense that wasn't quite sight but was almost...
He was reaching out to the Force, Luke realised. He hadn't thought about it, hadn't meant to, but in the effort and the need to keep up with Vader he had done it instinctively. But in realising what he was doing, he felt the awareness and the strength draining away as though examining it too closely had disrupted the delicate connection.
Stop it, he told himself. Don't think about it then!
But he didn't need to hold it much longer. They burst into a clearing the next moment and Luke saw the familiar and welcome sight of the Millennium Falcon in front of them. Vader gestured, and the landing ramp hissed downwards. Luke followed his father up and into the ship, smiling at the familiar corridor sweeping round to the cabin, the clank of his boots on the metal plating underfoot with that hollow ring from the holds concealed beneath. Vader did not waste any time. The Force seemed to be telling him where to go. He dropped Han on the bunk in the main cabin and swept back through the corridor, down the side passage into the cockpit, booting up the engines and the nav systems. Luke hung back in the cabin, throwing glances towards Han, who still showed no signs of moving.
Had the droid hit him with something like a stun-bolt? Those could take a few hours to wear off. But what if it was something different? What if it had done some real damage?
He wasn't doing any good here. He followed the path Vader had taken and joined him in the cockpit.
"Your fretting is needless," his father said from the pilot's chair, as though reading his mind. "He will wake shortly."
"And then?" Luke asked.
"That is up to you," Vader replied.
"I already gave my word I was going to come with you, didn't I?" Luke said. He would really rather not have Han held as a hostage to his good behaviour.
Vader's silence spoke more powerfully than words as to what he thought of that promise. Admittedly, in his place Luke wouldn't exactly trust himself either. Luke sighed, and went to strap himself into the co-pilot's seat, at least until they had left the planet's gravity well and could let the Falcon's own internal grav generators take over. He wanted to be able to see what was going on in the meantime.
And it wasn't unpleasant exactly to have his father's presence next to him. It should have been; Vader was a burning sun of cold, dark fire. The Dark Side had always made him faintly uneasy before - it was clinging, clammy, intrusive and icy - but here and now it seemed to be keeping its distance. It was all around him, but not touching him.
The Falcon lifted off smoothly, arcing upwards towards the deep blue sky and space beyond.
0 ABY - Temple courtyard, Vrogas Vas, Outer Rim
Leia deactivated the lightsaber and shoved it back in her jacket pocket, trying to control her anger. They had been so close. She hadn't been expecting that trick of Vader's, and she hadn't been expecting him to have allies other than the Inquisitor on the planet's surface. Now he had two hostages, and he would reach the Falcon before long. Even if the fleet hailed them on their way out of the system, she had no doubt that with Han's life at stake Vader would be able to persuade Luke to give them the all clear.
They had lost him. They had lost their chance. And Luke and Han… Vader had them.
Kriff it! Leia knew very well what happened to rebels when Vader was involved. Just thinking about it… the sharp tang of antiseptic hit her nostrils, she heard the heavy rasp of Vader's breathing bouncing of the walls of the small cell, felt the prick of the needle in her arm… She shook her head, trying to force the memory out of her mind. It was easy to let it take over her - it always felt so real. She came back to herself with a cold sweat sticking her clothes to her.
What would Vader do with his great prize? Imp rumours said that he had been out of favour with Palpatine since the destruction of the Death Star, so no doubt he would be hoping to capitalise on capturing the pilot who had been the cause of that. Drag him back to Imperial Center for a grand, public execution. Prove to the Empire that appropriate revenge had been meted out. Even if she hadn't been burning with the desire to rescue Luke and Han - although she really shouldn't care about that scruffy nerf-herder as much as she did - it was only good tactical sense to do so. The Rebel Alliance couldn't afford to give the Empire this kind of propaganda victory.
Her own personal comms wouldn't be strong enough to reach the fleet in orbit. That 'Aphra' person's ship had already been gone by the time she cut her way out of that prison of Vader's. Which only left the yacht they had already finished sabotaging - including its comm system.
Swearing under her breath, Leia headed towards the ship to start undoing some of the damage she and Han had done.
0 ABY - YT-1300 Millenium Falcon, in hyperspace
He hurt everywhere. Han opened his eyes, blinking blearily, trying to force the blurry world around him into focus. He was… lying down. On the bunk in the Falcon's cabin, in fact. He would recognise that lumpy mattress anywhere. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was droid eyes in the dark, and a sharp stab of pain that had rippled through his body turning all his muscles into tight arcs of agony. Then… nothing.
Han tried to get up and ended up rolling out of the bunk, landing on the floor with a heavy thud. Someone swore in Huttese, and a hand landed on his shoulder, another helping him up. He found himself being sat down on the edge of the bed. His head was spinning and he felt weak as a pooka-kitten.
"Are you okay?" the same person asked. Han managed to look up without losing his balance.
"Luke?" he said. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"
The kid smiled. He still looked terrible, but right now Han wasn't one to talk. He probably didn't look much better.
"What in the Sith hells happened?" Han asked. "How did we escape from Vader?"
"About that…" Luke said, sounding awkward. "He's actually the one flying the Falcon right now."
"What?" Han yelled, and immediately regretted it. He hadn't though it was possible for his head to hurt any more than it had, but it looked like he was exploring new vistas of pain today. He continued at a much lower volume. "How could you let a monster like that touch my baby?"
Luke sighed. "There's so much that I need to explain," he said. Poor kid sounded like the whole world was weighing on his shoulders. Not that anyone would be in the best of moods after being captured by Vader.
"How about you start with what went down after I got knocked out?"
"Yeah… that was Triple-Zero. Apparently he's one of Aphra's droids."
"A menace is what he is. I never liked assassin droids. Go around pretending to be bounty hunters - what do they even spend the credits on, I ask you?" That got a little smile out of Luke. Not as much of one as he'd have liked, mind.
"He got you with some kind of electrical shock charge," Luke explained. "Stunned you pretty good. I ran over to see if you were okay, and Aphra called Triple-Zee off. Vader trapped Leia by using the Force to lift up all the flagstones - I've never seen anything like it! Then Ezra told us the Starfall was being attacked by the Alliance…"
"Wait," Han interrupted him. "Who's Ezra?"
"Oh, the Inquisitor," Luke explained.
"The Inquisitor? One of those weird ISB special agents? You're on first name basis with an Inquisitor now are you?"
"He's not so bad." Luke shrugged. "He means well. But he's been brainwashed, for years, to think the only way to do the right thing is to play along with the Empire."
"Yeah, and how do you know that? He tell you the whole sob story did he?" What was going on here? Luke had a big heart, that was obvious about the kid, but going around feeling sorry for an Imp?
"I saw it Han! The Temple… it showed us these visions…"
"Now I know you've gotta be kidding me." Han rolled his eyes - or did as much as his pounding head would let him. "More of this hokey religious stuff?"
Luke sighed. "Never mind. I guess it doesn't matter right now. Anyway, he told us about the Alliance's attack - which I guess explains why you and Leia were there - and Vader decided we would take you and the Falcon to get past the blockade."
"There's a bit too much 'we' going around for my liking," Han said under his breath. Luke didn't reply. In fact, he wouldn't meet Han's eyes. Well, he really didn't want to put too much thought into analysing that right now. "So they're all here? Aphra and that Inquisitor too?"
"No, they took Aphra's ship and made a run for it from the other hemisphere," Luke replied. "I guess they thought a smuggler's freighter would get less attention - and it seems to have worked."
"So we're in hyperspace. Great. Any idea of the destination?"
Luke shook his head. "I didn't get a look at the navigation computers. Sorry Han. I have no idea where he's taking us."
It had been a bit much to hope for. "What now kid?" he asked. "I sure hope you've got some bright idea to get us out of this, because right now my head feels like a Hutt is sitting on it."
Luke laughed, but it was short and kind of miserable. "Yeah, that's… I sort of promised I'd go with Vader."
"What?" Han tried to stand up automatically, and regretted it. "Why would you do a damn fool thing like that? You've gotta stop surprising me like that kid. Every time I move too quick the whole room starts spinning."
"I knew we should be getting you some real medical attention," Luke said, sounding worried.
"Nah, it's okay." He hadn't meant to cause the kid any concern. Sure, he didn't exactly feel great, but it was nothing a bit of rest wouldn't cure. "Skull thick as the Falcon's hull, that's me."
Luke sighed. "I just… don't know what he's going to do to you," he said quietly.
"Don't worry so much about me," Han told him. "Spare some thought for your own hide, alright. Hell, when we turned up and saw Vader'd already gone inside the temple, I thought for sure we were going to find you dead!"
"He's not going to hurt me," Luke replied, sounding strangely confident about that fact. "Not now…"
"Not now what?" Han asked suspiciously. Luke was avoiding his gaze again. Just what had happened inside that temple? Luke simply wasn't acting like himself. That Sith bastard had killed his father, after all. By now he should have been doing something foolhardy like challenging Vader to a duel. Not that Han wanted to encourage that sort of thing, but the fact that he wasn't having to sit on an angry Skywalker to stop him charging off was just unnatural.
"You're not going to like this Han," Luke said, dragging a hand through his hair. "I'm still not sure how to feel about it myself."
"See, now you've got to tell me."
"Just… try not to over-react, okay?"
"This is sounding worse and worse."
"Vader didn't kill my father."
Han frowned. "Hey, that sounds like good news. So the old man's still out there somewhere?"
Luke fidgeted. "Um. Try, the next room over."
"Luke…"
"Vader's my father," Luke said very quickly.
Han laughed. He couldn't help it - it was just too ridiculous an idea. "Luke, kid, there's just no way that's true. I don't know what kriffing reason Vader might have for telling you that, but it's obviously a lie."
Luke shook his head. "Some part of me wishes it was. That would make everything so much simpler. But it's the truth."
Han stared at him. Damn, but the kid really believed it. "What makes you so sure about it?" he asked.
"The Force," Luke said, with a stubborn set to his jaw that said he knew very well what Han was going to think about that answer.
"Really?" Han said, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yes, really!" Luke said, scowling. "And the way he's acted since telling me… I think he must have only found out I even existed recently, because he didn't know who I was back on Cymoon I."
"Oh, you mean the time he tried to kill you," Han pointed out. "I think all this Jedi stuff has knocked a screw loose up in there, because this makes as much sense as a dancing gundark."
"Han, just… stop," Luke said. "Just. Trust me. Believe that I know what I'm talking about, even if it doesn't make sense to you."
"Luke… I'm sorry." Now Han felt like a real jerk. The kid had enough on his shoulders, and Han wasn't about to change his mind about something he felt so strongly was true, not like this. "All I'm saying is that this is the kind of situation where you should demand a DNA test before you get too caught up in the whole mess."
Luke seemed to decided it would be better to change the subject. "How did you and Leia even know that Vader was coming to Vrogas Vas anyway?" he asked.
"That is something I would also like to know," a too-familiar, deep voice said from the entrance to the cabin. Han glared. Vader. It was just wrong seeing him in the Falcon.
"Have you been listening to that whole conversation?" Luke asked angrily.
"You have never been taught to shield your mind," Vader said. Luke flushed. Was Vader really trying to suggest that he was able to read minds? Yeah, right.
"Well?" Vader said menacingly to Han, when no answer was forthcoming. Sithspit! Although… given the particular nature of their source it probably wouldn't hurt the Alliance in any way for him to tell the truth. And Han liked his throat in an open, non-suffocating condition.
"Some slimeball of an Imperial by the name of Karbin," he said. "Not a great friend of yours, I take it."
Vader didn't appear to react in any way that Han could see, but in some ways that was actually more frightening. He wouldn't want to be in that Imp's shoes when Vader came calling.
"We shall leave hyperspace in four hours," Vader said eventually. "Luke." He strode past them, clearly expecting Luke to follow him. Luke shot Han an apologetic look, and followed the man he believed to be his father. If they were going off to have a little private talk, then Han hoped that the kid would at least have the sense to ask some slightly more discerning questions.
Sighing, he made himself comfortable on the bunk. Four hours was plenty of time to get a little more sleep.
0 ABY - Ark Angel, in hyperspace
Artoo was not happy with this ship, its humans, or the other droids on board. He had been separated from his People, not that anyone had asked his Force-damned opinion about it, and now they weren't even permitting him to do anything useful. He was a karking astromech, for the Force's sake. More of an astromech than the Sithspawn murder-bot rolling around pretending to be one. That glitching, slag-bound piece of scrap code wouldn't know a navcomp if it was jacked right into its kriffing central processor. He should have been with Luke-designation Skywalker 2.0 but…
But Anakin had told him no.
Artoo hadn't recognised His-Anakin at first, not with the new bodywork upgrades, not until the creature he had previously been designating kriffing big-droid/?not-droid had revealed its relationship to Luke. Afterwards Luke and all the other humans had seemed to accept this as accurate, so Artoo had come to believe himself that it must be true. His-Anakin hadn't acknowledged him either, but Artoo was sure there was a good damned reason for this. Perhaps His-Anakin was in trouble? It might explain why His-Anakin hadn't retrieved him or Threepio in all the years they had been loaned to Not-Master Bail-Organa. So he had just followed on behind the two extra meatbags and waited to see what would happen.
Bad Things, seemed to be the answer to that kriffing question. It appeared that Artoo's work with the Alliance to Restore the Republic was at an end, since neither Luke or His-Anakin were on that group's side anymore. That didn't seem right. Artoo had enjoyed the Alliance, and Bail-Organa hadn't been too bad; there had always been plenty for him to do. But he trusted His-Anakin. The thought of going against him in any way felt foreign to his processor.
That meant when Smuggler-Aphra had been told to bring him aboard, Artoo hadn't made a fuss. He'd followed her and the Sithling onto the freighter only to discover a pair of very kriffing disagreeable droids. It wasn't that he didn't understand the occasional urge to murder the occasional offensive organic, but unlike those two, Artoo had been programmed with a proper sense of Force-damned right and wrong. Beetee and Triple-Zero were only barely restrained from outright chaos.
And they were karking rude.
Artoo found a convenient corner to lurk in and sulked. It was possible to take some comfort from the knowledge that it wouldn't be forever. This ship designation-Ark Angel would rejoin his People, and then he would be with His-Anakin again. Things would be better then.
Things had better be better then.
0 ABY - Millennium Falcon, in hyperspace
Han seemed to be okay, at least for the moment. That was one weight off Luke's mind, but there was still so many questions, so much uncertainty, all mixed with a good dose of fear. Fear for himself, fear for Han… Vader hadn't hurt either of them yet, but surely it could only be a matter of time? Vader might be his father, but that didn't change who he was. What he was capable of. The Dark Side was fear and pain and anger, and Vader wanted him to become part of that. Seemed to think he would need to become a part of that.
If his father thought it was necessary to keep Luke alive, what might he be prepared to do to him or his friends?
Given that Han was remaining in the main cabin, the only place to go for some privacy was the cargo bay. Luke followed Vader into the empty hold with a certain amount of trepidation. He had so many questions, but where to begin? And would he even like the answers? He knew so little about his past and everything he had thought he knew had turned out to be only lies. All his ideas about his father… had Vader ever been anything like the man he had built up in his head?
"What precisely did Kenobi tell you about Anakin Skywalker?" Vader asked him, taking up a position in the center of the cargo bay with his arms held behind his back like a general inspecting troops. Luke was sure it wasn't meant to intimidate him, but it certainly wasn't helping his nervousness, or the sick feeling in his stomach. Was he prepared for the truth?
"He didn't tell me very much," Luke replied. "He told me that he had fought with my father during the Clone Wars, that they were both Jedi Knights - which was more than Uncle Owen told me! He said that my father was a navigator on a spice freighter."
Luke wasn't sure, but it seemed to him that Vader was becoming easier for him to read as time went on. Looking purposefully through the Force still got him nothing more than the roar of desert winds, but… he didn't know how to explain it. He did sense amusement - not a pleasant kind of amusement, but spiteful. "It seems my old master had grown humble in his dotage. Kenobi was a Jedi Master, and a member of the Jedi Council."
"I don't really understand what that means," Luke admitted.
"He was complicit in all of the Council's lies," his father told him. Around them the Dark Side seemed to grow thicker, leaching the heat from the room. Luke suppressed a shiver. "In their betrayal."
"In what betrayal? What lies?"
"You have already heard this from the Twelfth Brother. Perhaps you will now believe it when it comes from one who was there."
"You mean all of that about the Jedi stealing children and plotting to overthrow the government and… something about attachment?" Luke frowned. "It just… it all seems very hard to believe. I mean Ben - that is, Obi-Wan - he was a good man! He wouldn't have been part of something like that."
"I suspect the council had not yet told of him the depths of their treachery against the Emperor," Vader said. "As to the rest…" The pause was punctuated only by ever-present noise of the respirator. "When Kenobi and his master came to Tatooine I was nine. Kenobi believed I should not be taught the ways of the Force because I was too old."
Luke couldn't conceal his surprise. First that nine was considered too old for the Jedi - but hadn't Ben promised to teach him, when he wasn't too far off twenty? - and secondly to get that confirmation that his father really had been from Tatooine. He had been starting to think even that might have been a lie, along with everything his aunt and uncle had told him about his family, about his grandmother. This only gave him more questions to ask!
But stay on track. "So what changed his mind?" he asked.
"The death of his master, Qui-Gon Jinn," Vader said. "A promise made to a dying man."
"You mean he trained you because he felt he had to?" That was an uncomfortable thought.
"In the face of his new-found stubbornness, the Jedi Council were also forced to relent, if only partly. They never felt I belonged there, but they were eager enough to take advantage of my strength in the Force."
"So this council, whoever they were, thought you were too old as well?" Luke might have doubted it, but the Force was telling him that nothing his father had said so far had been untrue - or at least, not untrue as his father perceived it. He felt frustrated, at himself and at the Jedi, and he was starting to doubt. If Jedi had to be taken for teaching so young… that couldn't be an easy choice for their parents. What if they refused? What if the Jedi wouldn't accept that? What if Ezra really had been telling the truth, about this at least? What if the Jedi hadn't been as good as he'd thought? "What would they have done instead of training you? Just left you on Tatooine?"
"Irrelevant," his father said, after a pause which went on just slightly too long. "What else did Kenobi tell you?"
"You're avoiding the question," Luke said, suddenly suspicious. He could sense… hesitation? Pain?
"I do not wish to discuss my childhood." The temperature dropped another few degrees. Luke half expected to see his breath coming out as mist. It was understandable though, wasn't it? Aunt Beru had told him stories when he was young about Owen's father Cliegg; how he had fallen in love with Luke's grandmother and freed her so they could marry. She had told him about Shmi's life before that. She and Shmi had been close, before she died. Beru had even mentioned Anakin Skywalker, despite the fact that Owen and Beru refused to talk about him most of the time (and had they known the truth, was that why?). Luke had always known his father had been a slave, before he'd managed to win the money for his freedom in the Boonta Eve Classic podrace.
Luke thought he had maybe been half-hoping that it wasn't true, that his father hadn't been a slave - not because he was ashamed of it, not when so many people on Tatooine had slave ancestry - but because he was well aware how slaves were treated on Tatooine. People said that the Empire had actually improved things a little, if only because they disapproved of slavery when the slaves were human - but the Empire's reach in the Outer Rim was limited. There were still thousands of of people all over the planet who belonged to someone.
"Your thoughts betray you," his father said. "Owen and Beru Lars told you."
"Some," Luke admitted. "Mostly they told me about my grandmother. We don't have to talk about it."
"Kenobi was bold to leave you with them," Vader said. "It is strange that he did not keep you himself, to be raised as a Jedi."
"I've wondered that myself," Luke replied. "But I never got a chance to ask him. What else did he even tell me - hardly anything! He told me about the Force, about the Jedi and the Sith. He gave me your old lightsaber, and he told me that lie."
"He wished for you to kill me," his father said. Another pulse of dark anger, another swirl of biting cold.
Luke didn't know if that was true, but it was nothing he hadn't thought for himself. The possibility was painful, sitting in his stomach like a lead ball. "I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe."
"He has failed," Vader said, his rage dissipating slightly. Luke felt a sense of triumph replace it, although… strangely passionless. There didn't seem to be much joy in it. "I sense you no longer have it in your heart to destroy me."
"No. I could never kill you, father."
There was joy that time, a fierce burst of it that set the dark clouds in the Force gently spinning, lightening. The room warmed a little. "You have your own doubts about me, my son," Vader said. "Know this; I will never allow you to come to harm, by my hand or any others'." That too was truth. Truth as Vader saw it, at least.
"You don't think trying to turn me to the Dark Side will hurt me?" Luke asked, challenging. His father took some time to think about that. Good! Maybe he would see somehow that what he was doing was wrong.
"You are already angry," Vader said eventually. "Against the Empire and Sidious. You need only to learn how to use your anger, to channel it. You can draw your strength through pain that already exists. There is no need to create more."
"Does that mean you'll let Han go? You won't hurt him to make me do what you want?"
His father's vocoder crackled - an approximation of a sigh. "He will serve me better as a bargaining chip against the Princess."
"What do you mean?" Luke asked, suddenly suspicious.
"The Rebel Alliance has my ship." More anger. Was his father ever not angry? "Organa cares about this smuggler, and he is likely to have some knowledge of the Rebellion which could prove useful. It would be a fair trade."
Luke relaxed very slightly. That would probably be the best outcome all round. But after Han was gone… he'd be all alone again. It seemed likely that he would never see Han, Leia, Chewie or anyone ever again. Even if he did, would they be safe from him?
"When we drop out of hyperspace, you will instruct Solo to establish the connection," Vader said. "If all goes well, the exchange will be made and we will be free to travel onwards to our final destination."
"Which is where, exactly?"
"Vjun."
The name meant nothing to Luke, but it tickled something in the Force. He had no idea what, though.
"I still have so many questions," he said. "But I need some time to think first." He wanted to ask about the Nubian ship, he wanted to ask about his mother, he wanted to ask just what had happened to make his father turn against the Jedi and join the Sith… but the answers to all those questions were likely to contain yet more revelations that would be hard to process.
"Rejoin your friend then," his father told him. "I will meditate."
Meditation would certainly be necessary, for talking with his son had reminded him of his past and the person he had once been. A few short months ago he would have said nothing remained of Anakin Skywalker within him. Every tie to that existence had been lost. Only the Sith remained - and that had been what he wanted. Then he had found out about Luke and that had changed everything. But with his son came old memories he had not cared to look at in years. Were he a better Sith - as his Master had often told him - he would have used the pain and anger of those memories to his advantage, as fuel for his power. Yet although he was stronger than he had been as a Jedi, he was still weaker than he should be. Than he needed to be.
In the emptiness after Padmé's death, Sidious had been the only thing left and it had been irrelevant how he felt about his Master's orders. Sidious had never lied to him, and Vader had never been one for politics. Often he did not see how the campaigns, the battles, the deaths benefited their Empire, but he trusted his Master. He had trusted his Master. Until he found out about Luke and his entire world had rearranged itself around this new center. The small things that had troubled him about Sidious were now all the excuse he needed. With his son at his side, the Emperor would die, and they could remake the Empire as it had always been intended. Strength. Order. A perfect jewel he had once - in a wild moment of triumph and emotion - intended to give to Padmé.
Now he would give it to Luke.
Much work would have to be done to get to that point however. Sidious held power in a thousand ways, his webs strung across the galaxy like the hyperspace lanes. Vader might have had a hand in the final training of each operative of the Inquisitorius, but the Overseer of the facility on Mustafar was his Master's, and who could tell where an Inquisitor's loyalty might fall when the question was asked. In the way of the Sith, they would likely support whomever seemed the strongest. If the struggle were to become protracted, as he suspected it might, then there was the question of the Imperial Navy. Vader had commanded many Admirals, Captains, battle-groups and task-forces personally over the years, but he had no official position respective to them.
Ideally a single strike to kill his Master would be best, but Luke would not be ready for some time and Sidious had a way of discovering inconvenient truths. The war of Master and Apprentice might become a civil war, and in that case, he would need to be prepared. The ground-work would need to be laid.
Long term planning had never been his strong suit. That had always been Kenobi's role during the Clone Wars. Vader excelled in decisions of the moment, battlefield tactics. Grand strategy was not his game. Nor could his best efforts hope to combat Sidious' plans. Yet he had the advantage of knowledge - he was sure his Master did not expect treachery from him. Not that this was treachery - he was a Sith, and this was the rightful way of the Dark Side. But Sidious had noted his previous lack of ambition and was always quick to express his scorn over it. No, he would not suspect, not if Vader gave him no reason to.
Rousing himself from his thoughts long enough to check a chrono showed him that it would be less than two hours until they were due to leave hyperspace at Botajef to calculate their next jump. Sufficient time for a brief meditation. Perhaps the Force might deliver him some inspiration.
0 ABY - Alliance battlegroup over Vrogas Vas, Outer Rim
The wreckage of the Starfall was still jetting flames from time to time, as pockets of atmosphere were breached and vented to the cold unforgiving expanse of space. Leia watched a piece of charred hull tumble slowly planet-wards. The cruiser hadn't broken orbit fully before its destruction, and the next few days and hours would see what remained of it gradually streaking through the atmosphere and impacting on the planet below. The Imps had jettisoned their pods prior to the ship's complete destruction, and Captain Viss of the Mon Calamari light cruiser Serene Justice would be remaining in the system to organise the necessary clean up operation. The rest of the battlegroup would be heading back to join the main fleet, and take what rest and repairs they could before their next assignments.
There had been very little loss of life on the Alliance's side. But neither had they managed to achieve their objective. Aside from the destruction of one ISB light cruiser, which didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, they hadn't achieved anything at all. That grated, as any loss grated. Vader had escaped, and he had taken two hostages with him.
They needed to get Luke and Han back! Leia resisted the urge to pace up and down on the bridge of the Advocate - the battle-group's Alderaanian flagship. She hadn't been able to get much out of that Nubian yacht of Vader's; its systems were heavily protected and although she had always been good at tinkering with mechanical devices, hacking wasn't really part of her skillset. The most she had been able to find out was the ship's designation and a little of its flight history. The yacht was the Padmé Amidala, an old J-type 327 built a good thirty years ago or more. Leia had done some research once she had come aboard Advocate; this line of ships had been purpose built for the royal house of Naboo, presented to each new Queen on the day of her coronation and named after her as well. Some further digging had confirmed that Padmé Amidala had indeed been Queen of Naboo for a period of eight years, prior to becoming Senator for Chommell sector until her death just before the founding of the Empire.
Why did Vader have this ship? The question kept circling back into the forefront of her mind. The only connection she could see was the Emperor himself; Amidala seemed to have been a supporter of his in the Senate, although that was only natural considering their shared birth-planet. Had the ship been a gift from Palpatine? Had it been meant as mockery, to give something so elegant to that brute? Leia couldn't imagine the Emperor doing anything that didn't have more than one layer of meaning to it.
It didn't matter. The yacht hadn't given them any clues as to what Vader planned to do next, or to where he might be going. If Vader planned on taking Luke straight to Imperial Center there were too many possible hyperspace routes he could take for the Alliance to send a ship to cover every potential stop along the way. She didn't want to contemplate the fact that it simply might be too late, that there really was nothing that could be done, but there didn't seem to be much choice.
"Queen Organa," a voice said from behind her.
"That title isn't mine," she replied, turning from the viewpoint to look at Captain Rillan. It didn't feel comfortable, the way the survivors of her people looked at her. She didn't deserve reverence. She hadn't done anything to earn it.
"The throne of Alderaan might not exist anymore, but you are still our Queen," Rillan replied.
"What is it?" Leia was in no mood to argue about it. She felt an ache inside of her, vast and empty, and pushed it away quickly before it could sink its hungry teeth into her.
"A long-range comm for you, your majesty. The ident claims it's the Millennium Falcon."
Could her heart sink further? Apparently so. "Is there somewhere private I can take the call?"
Rillan nodded. "There's a briefing room off the bridge. Is there anyone you want there?"
"No. If I need someone, I'll make sure you know."
The background hum and chatter of the bridge disappeared the moment the door slid shut. Leia closed her eyes for a moment, steeling herself. She had faced Vader plenty of times now. She took refuge in her anger, let it chase away any hint of fear. She was stronger than what he had done to her.
The holo lit up, flickering. It was configured to show the whole of the Falcon's cockpit, which right now meant Luke, Han… and Vader looming behind them like some kind of malevolent statue. "Greetings Princess Organa," Vader said.
"That's Commander Organa to you," Leia snapped. It she hadn't already been feeling testy about the matter, she might not have said that. She didn't care what Vader called her.
"As you wish," Vader replied. "Commander." Somehow, the way he said it grated even more.
"What do you want?" Leia said, wanting this over with as quickly as possible.
"I am offering a fair and equitable exchange." In front of him, Han was rolling his eyes, although he kept his mouth shut. The idea that the Imperials had been able to put a leash on that smart talk of his was upsetting in a way she didn't want to analyse. At least he and Luke both looked unharmed - although looks could be deceiving.
"I'm listening," Leia said.
"Solo is your operative. His head is full of valuable information." Leia tensed. She remembered… remembered all too well… with the drugs clouding her mind, Vader's will had been like the sharp point of a drill against her skull, trying to burrow in, down to the deep and shadowed places where she kept her secrets, everything she knew. She had been able to resist - just. And she had been trained to resist interrogation. Her father hadn't wanted her to become involved in the Alliance for years to come but he had been realistic, and she was thankful for it. But Han hadn't had any of that training. "Give me what I want, and that information shall remain where it is."
This was far too kriffing suspicious. "What do you want?" she asked.
"My ship," Vader said, in a voice as cold and malevolent as anything she'd heard from him.
"Worried your Master won't be pleased you've lost his present?" It was a stab in the dark, but some part of it must have hit because it actually got a reaction - only a small one, one she wouldn't have noticed had she not been looking for it, but that was more than she had ever seen anyone get out of Vader. Internally, she smiled.
"Do you agree to the terms of this deal?" Vader asked, ignoring her question.
"I'm considering it," she replied. Whether it was as simple as avoiding the Emperor's anger or whether there was some other reason that it was so important that Vader retrieve this yacht didn't really matter. What mattered was the chance to get close to Vader again, to strike at him and make an attempt at retrieving his hostages. "I might be more willing if you'd sweeten the pot. I want Luke back as well."
"Skywalker is not a part of these negotiations."
Leia hadn't expected him to agree, but the vehemence behind Vader's words was surprising. She knew how cold and impersonal he could be from experience, and his reputation was only more of the same. Just as it wasn't in character to be willing to give up a Rebel for this ship, it wasn't like him to be quite so fierce about one man, even if that person was the pilot who had destroyed the Death Star. Something about all of this felt off to her in a way she couldn't put into words.
"Han for your ship then," she said, letting the issue lie for now. "Where do you want this exchange to take place?"
"The Bandomeer system," Vader replied. "The third planet from the sun." Leia quickly reviewed her memories of galactic geography; Bandomeer was an Imperial mining world, which meant a standing guard of warships to protect the Empire's investment - although they would be orbiting Bandomeer itself, the second planet. It was also on the Hydian Way leading straight towards the Core, and the fastest way towards Imperial Center from here. A logical place for Vader to want to meet.
"You realise your ship's systems won't allow any unauthorised pilots to fly it," Leia said. "We would have to tractor it onto one of our carriers."
"You may bring one capital ship of your choosing," Vader said with a dismissive gesture. Clearly he had already counted that into his plans. Leia had no illusions; he would be trying to lure her into a trap just as much as she would him. Not that she expected to emerge from hyperspace right into the firing line of Bandomeer's fleet; they wouldn't be able to batter their shields down quickly enough to prevent escape, and she sincerely doubted Vader could get his hands on an Interdictor on such short notice. No, nothing would happen until after the exchange had taken place.
"Very well," she said. "Make sure you are ready and waiting for our arrival."
Vader terminated the connection without another word. Leia spun round, stalking back out to the bridge.
"Captain Rillan," she called. "We have some things we need to discuss!"