**************************
Chapter Nine: Lamentations and Revelations
*
The mood on the Millennium Falcon was grim, at least among the Skywalker family. They all sat down in the rear lounge: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, Luke, Leia, mourning the loss of a dear friend. R2D2 had been Padme's droid for nearly thirty years, and had been a loyal companion to the Skywalker family for over half that time. Though most people tended not to have much personal affection for a droid, the Skywalkers certainly had strong feelings for R2.
Anakin held Padme as she quietly sobbed, the latter struck by yet another loss so soon after loosing her homeworld, parents, and sister. Luke sat quietly across from them, trying so hard not to show his grief and hold up to some self-imposed vision of being a man. Leia sat next to him, her head resting on her twin brother's shoulder. Obi-Wan stood by helplessly as he saw his friends grief, and feeling partly responsible for the loss of their beloved droid.
Anakin turned his attention away from Padme for a moment. "Has anyone seen 3PO?" he asked quietly.
"He said he wanted to be alone," said Leia. "You want me to go and check on him, make sure he is okay?"
"You don't have to," said Anakin. "I will soon."
"No, Father," said Leia, getting up. "Stay with Mom. I'll go."
"Thank you, Princess," said Anakin.
Leia left the others behind in the lounge and walked down the main corridor of the Falcon in search of R2D2's counterpart. As she did so, Han Solo came bounding down the hallway from the direction of the cockpit.
"Well, we should be at Yavin before you know it," he said cheerfully. "I can't believe our luck in getting out of that star destroyer unscathed."
Leia looked at Han with eyes full of fury. "UNSCATHED!" she yelled. "You dense bastard! You call loosing R2 getting out of there UNSCATHED!"
"Whoa!" said Han. "Take it easy! It was just a droid! You people act like you lost a relative or something!"
"R2D2 was a member of our family," said Leia. "My Mother had R2 for thirty years. That little droid saved her life more than once! Of course, you probably wouldn't understand. I guess caring about anything, or anybody, but your money and your ship is a foreign concept to you!"
Leia stormed past Han, leaving the space pilot standing speechless. After a few moments, Han just shook off his shock and continued down the corridor.
Meanwhile, Leia found C3PO sitting in a the Millennium Falcon's cargo hold. The droid was not moving at all, and seemed to stare at the wall aimlessly. Leia came over, and 3PO stood up.
"Mistress Leia," he said. "Is there anything you needed?"
"I came to see how you are," said Leia. "Are you okay?"
"I am functioning normally," said C3PO.
"That's not what I mean and you know it," said Leia. She put her hand on 3PO's golden colored shoulder. "Loosing R2D2 must have hit you hard, it did so to all of us."
C3PO was quiet, not quite sure how to respond, or how to express his thoughts. Finally, he said. "I should have gone with him."
"What?" asked Leia.
"I should not have let him go alone," said C3PO. "I stayed in the ship, too frightened to go. R2 never seemed to be frightened. He...just went when Master Anakin called for him. And now...he's gone."
"3PO," said Leia, "you couldn't have helped him. More likely, you would also have been destroyed. You don't move very fast. Those storm troopers would have simply destroyed you and R2. And there was no way for you to help R2 in the task he had to perform."
C3PO turned and looked away back at the wall he had been staring at. "I can't believe...he's gone."
Leia put her arms around 3PO, as if in some way a droid needed comforting. "I know," she said. "Me too."
**
Darth Hister entered into a private communications room on the Imperial star destroyer. He knelt down in front of a holo-projector, and activated a control panel. In a few moments, the large, holographic image of Emperor Palpatine appeared before him.
"You have news to report," said Palpatine.
"Yes, Master," said Hister. "The ship carrying the Rebel agent escaped our capture."
"Did you plant the tracking device on the ship?" asked Palpatine.
"Just as they left," said Hister. "Per your instructions. Also, we destroyed one of their droids, and found among the wreckage the remains of an information disk containing the Death Star plans. They are now securely back in our hands."
"Excellent," said Palpatine. "Everything in proceeding according to my desire."
"Master, our fears about the Rebel agents are confirmed," said Hister. "They were Jedi. Two of them. I met and battled them, but they escaped."
"Jedi," said Palpatine. "Two you say. Who were they?"
"One never revealed his identity," said Hister. "The other was Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Palpatine was silent for a few moments before speaking. "Kenobi," said Palpatine. "So, he did survive the purge. And the other...describe him."
"He was very tall," said Hister, "around 40 years old, with blonde hair. And that is not all I have to report. There was another Jedi with them in the hanger, a younger one, not older than twenty. He fought alongside two women. The older of the two women wore what one of our officers described as a Naboo aristocrat's battle uniform and bands of political office. The other..."
"Wait!" said Palpatine. "A Naboo battle uniform and bands....with a Jedi. That could only be Padme Amidala. And the Jedi...Anakin Skywalker!"
"Amidala and Skywalker," said Hister with surprise. "So...they have come back."
"Yes," said Palpatine. "And the younger Jedi must be their son. So, Skywalker has trained his progeny in the Jedi arts. Interesting. This changes things. We must alter the planned assault on the Rebel base. We will not use the Death Star after all."
"But Master," said Hister, "there is now absolutely no danger to the station."
"It is not out of concern for the station that I will not use it," said Palpatine. "I want Skywalker, and his wife, and his son, taken alive. I will personally force Anakin to turn to the dark side and then destroy him, or simply destroy him. Either way will suit me. His son I will leave to you to deal with."
"Thank you Master," said Hister. "But, if I may, why do you want Amidala?"
Palpatine smiled. "She is an old...acquaintance. I have been giving consideration to the fact that even I will not live forever. I want an heir, someone to take over my Empire when I am gone, and one who will be master of the dark side of the force. Padme Amidala would be a prime choice for me to breed with. She has produced offspring capable of being trained in the Jedi arts, and it would be the ultimate revenge against Skywalker, a payment for his defiance of my will." He began to chuckle evilly. "Excellent. Everything will fall together as I wish it. Have Tarkin prepare his forces on the Death Star for a ground assault on the Rebel base once we determine its location, with the Death Star standing by if the assault were somehow to fail."
"It shall be done, my Master," said Hister.
Chapter Nine: Lamentations and Revelations
*
The mood on the Millennium Falcon was grim, at least among the Skywalker family. They all sat down in the rear lounge: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, Luke, Leia, mourning the loss of a dear friend. R2D2 had been Padme's droid for nearly thirty years, and had been a loyal companion to the Skywalker family for over half that time. Though most people tended not to have much personal affection for a droid, the Skywalkers certainly had strong feelings for R2.
Anakin held Padme as she quietly sobbed, the latter struck by yet another loss so soon after loosing her homeworld, parents, and sister. Luke sat quietly across from them, trying so hard not to show his grief and hold up to some self-imposed vision of being a man. Leia sat next to him, her head resting on her twin brother's shoulder. Obi-Wan stood by helplessly as he saw his friends grief, and feeling partly responsible for the loss of their beloved droid.
Anakin turned his attention away from Padme for a moment. "Has anyone seen 3PO?" he asked quietly.
"He said he wanted to be alone," said Leia. "You want me to go and check on him, make sure he is okay?"
"You don't have to," said Anakin. "I will soon."
"No, Father," said Leia, getting up. "Stay with Mom. I'll go."
"Thank you, Princess," said Anakin.
Leia left the others behind in the lounge and walked down the main corridor of the Falcon in search of R2D2's counterpart. As she did so, Han Solo came bounding down the hallway from the direction of the cockpit.
"Well, we should be at Yavin before you know it," he said cheerfully. "I can't believe our luck in getting out of that star destroyer unscathed."
Leia looked at Han with eyes full of fury. "UNSCATHED!" she yelled. "You dense bastard! You call loosing R2 getting out of there UNSCATHED!"
"Whoa!" said Han. "Take it easy! It was just a droid! You people act like you lost a relative or something!"
"R2D2 was a member of our family," said Leia. "My Mother had R2 for thirty years. That little droid saved her life more than once! Of course, you probably wouldn't understand. I guess caring about anything, or anybody, but your money and your ship is a foreign concept to you!"
Leia stormed past Han, leaving the space pilot standing speechless. After a few moments, Han just shook off his shock and continued down the corridor.
Meanwhile, Leia found C3PO sitting in a the Millennium Falcon's cargo hold. The droid was not moving at all, and seemed to stare at the wall aimlessly. Leia came over, and 3PO stood up.
"Mistress Leia," he said. "Is there anything you needed?"
"I came to see how you are," said Leia. "Are you okay?"
"I am functioning normally," said C3PO.
"That's not what I mean and you know it," said Leia. She put her hand on 3PO's golden colored shoulder. "Loosing R2D2 must have hit you hard, it did so to all of us."
C3PO was quiet, not quite sure how to respond, or how to express his thoughts. Finally, he said. "I should have gone with him."
"What?" asked Leia.
"I should not have let him go alone," said C3PO. "I stayed in the ship, too frightened to go. R2 never seemed to be frightened. He...just went when Master Anakin called for him. And now...he's gone."
"3PO," said Leia, "you couldn't have helped him. More likely, you would also have been destroyed. You don't move very fast. Those storm troopers would have simply destroyed you and R2. And there was no way for you to help R2 in the task he had to perform."
C3PO turned and looked away back at the wall he had been staring at. "I can't believe...he's gone."
Leia put her arms around 3PO, as if in some way a droid needed comforting. "I know," she said. "Me too."
**
Darth Hister entered into a private communications room on the Imperial star destroyer. He knelt down in front of a holo-projector, and activated a control panel. In a few moments, the large, holographic image of Emperor Palpatine appeared before him.
"You have news to report," said Palpatine.
"Yes, Master," said Hister. "The ship carrying the Rebel agent escaped our capture."
"Did you plant the tracking device on the ship?" asked Palpatine.
"Just as they left," said Hister. "Per your instructions. Also, we destroyed one of their droids, and found among the wreckage the remains of an information disk containing the Death Star plans. They are now securely back in our hands."
"Excellent," said Palpatine. "Everything in proceeding according to my desire."
"Master, our fears about the Rebel agents are confirmed," said Hister. "They were Jedi. Two of them. I met and battled them, but they escaped."
"Jedi," said Palpatine. "Two you say. Who were they?"
"One never revealed his identity," said Hister. "The other was Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Palpatine was silent for a few moments before speaking. "Kenobi," said Palpatine. "So, he did survive the purge. And the other...describe him."
"He was very tall," said Hister, "around 40 years old, with blonde hair. And that is not all I have to report. There was another Jedi with them in the hanger, a younger one, not older than twenty. He fought alongside two women. The older of the two women wore what one of our officers described as a Naboo aristocrat's battle uniform and bands of political office. The other..."
"Wait!" said Palpatine. "A Naboo battle uniform and bands....with a Jedi. That could only be Padme Amidala. And the Jedi...Anakin Skywalker!"
"Amidala and Skywalker," said Hister with surprise. "So...they have come back."
"Yes," said Palpatine. "And the younger Jedi must be their son. So, Skywalker has trained his progeny in the Jedi arts. Interesting. This changes things. We must alter the planned assault on the Rebel base. We will not use the Death Star after all."
"But Master," said Hister, "there is now absolutely no danger to the station."
"It is not out of concern for the station that I will not use it," said Palpatine. "I want Skywalker, and his wife, and his son, taken alive. I will personally force Anakin to turn to the dark side and then destroy him, or simply destroy him. Either way will suit me. His son I will leave to you to deal with."
"Thank you Master," said Hister. "But, if I may, why do you want Amidala?"
Palpatine smiled. "She is an old...acquaintance. I have been giving consideration to the fact that even I will not live forever. I want an heir, someone to take over my Empire when I am gone, and one who will be master of the dark side of the force. Padme Amidala would be a prime choice for me to breed with. She has produced offspring capable of being trained in the Jedi arts, and it would be the ultimate revenge against Skywalker, a payment for his defiance of my will." He began to chuckle evilly. "Excellent. Everything will fall together as I wish it. Have Tarkin prepare his forces on the Death Star for a ground assault on the Rebel base once we determine its location, with the Death Star standing by if the assault were somehow to fail."
"It shall be done, my Master," said Hister.