Sorry its been so long since I've updated. My Muses are quite fond of ignoring me for long periods of time. During that time, there's a lot of insults and curses flung back and forth, and the breakage of fragile objects, but it's all good now. Er...good in a "at least I'm writing words now" kind of way. So here's what you've all been waiting for: Chapter two! Let the reading and the reviewing commence!
By the way, Princess, does Leia's lightsaber seem familiar? ;) I fully intend on making it a dual later on. Fun stuff, eh?
Chapter Two
Darth Vader looked down at the Alderaanian Senator Bail Organa, silently gauging the man's fear. He was terrified, Vader was pleased to find, but still determined to keep his mouth shut. He wasn't going to give away the location of the Rebel base for anything.
"Do you realize what I will do to you if I find you uncooperative?" he asked Bail nonchalantly, turning away to face the stars outside. "I assure you, the Death Star is well equiped in modern methods of persuasion."
"No doubt it is," Bail said dryly, licking his lips and trying to avoid resting his gaze on the dark lord. "But I am telling the truth when I say that I don't know where the Rebel base is. I am a member of the Imperial Senate! You have made a terrible mistake."
Vader laughed, a harsh, grating sound that hurt Bail's ears. "I do not believe I have, Senator. But perhaps you just need a little push in the right direction."
Bail's blood ran cold. Vader could mean...well, anything by that seemingly harmless statement. Anything from civilized negotiations to extreme torture. Images of gleaming metal tools and needles danced through his mind. Vader sifted through those thoughts, satisfied with the reaction he was recieving. It almost made him sad to think that he'd be saving those toys for later. But right now, he had other plans. He turned to one of the Stormtroopers near by.
"Fetch the Lady Vader," he commanded, deliberately using his daughter's 'official' title rather than her name. Because he did not publically acknowledge Leia as his daughter, she lived in the shadows as a menacing ghost-like representative of terror and pain. Women used her name as a warning to children who misbehaved. Some even thought it would be less painful to displease the Emperor himself rather than Lady Vader. Lord Vader was quite pleased with the image she had formed for herself.
Bail, however, was not quite so excited. Lady Vader was something of a fairy tale among the Rebels. There were stories, of course, of her brutal methods of murder. Most believed that she did not actually exist and that the stories had been spread by the Empire to discourage the uprising of the Rebellion and the turning of Imperials. There had been sightings of a mysterious woman, always dressed in black with a black veil over her face, that accompynied Vader to public events. But for the most part, Lady Vader was believed to be the Emperor playing on the fears of the common folk. Apparently, that was not so.
They waited in silence for nearly ten minutes before the Stormtrooper came back. Stepping in behind him came a young woman, tall and shapely. She was dressed entirely in black, with a lightsaber, prevalant among other just as menacing weapons, strapped to her belt. Across her face, attached behind her ears near her thick brown braids, was a black veil that revealed only her big, chocolate brown eyes and the bridge of her nose. She knelt down on one knee, facing Vader and bowed her head respectively.
"Yes, Father?" she asked in a voice surprisingly rich and velvety. Bail's heart plummeted to the bottom of his stomach. His breath caught in his lungs--it couldn't be! Not sweet Padme's daughter! The one he was supposed to adopt! Not Leia, that happy baby he had bounced on his knee in his palace on Alderaan. They had all assumed that when she was a baby and on her voyage to Alderaan her transport had crashed and that she had died. This was...so much worse than that.
"Take your veil off, my daughter," Vader commanded. "Let Senator Organa of Alderaan see your beautiful face."
Obediently, Leia stood. Facing the Senator, who watched despite the bile that risen in his throat, she slowly removed one of the straps behind her ears and let the veil drape down, hanging from the other ear to her shoulder. She really was beautiful, Bail realized. But of course she was. She was Padme Amidala's daughter. Bail had never known a more beautiful woman than she. He had been honored when she asked him to foster Leia, and heartbroken when the child had 'died' mere months before her mother.
"What have you done to her?" he managed to rasp out, not able to rip his eyes away from Leia's cold, heartless stare.
"What is he talking about, Father?" Leia asked, turning her gaze to Vader. She knew of Senator Organa, of course, but she had never met him. Frankly, he didn't impress her very much.
"Nothing you should concern yourself with, my dear," Vader dismissed. "I have a very important mission for you. One that cannot be trusted into anyone's hands but yours. Are you willing?"
"Of course," Leia agreed. Then her tone relaxed a bit and she allowed herself a small smirk. "After that hideous Rydell on Kantra, I'm ready for anything respectable."
Bail choked, his eyes widening. He remembered the uproar Rydell's death had caused--not only because he was an important member of the Rebel Alliance, but also because he had been found in a small room near a bar on Kantra, stiff in a bed he had shared with a woman who was not his wife. Obviously, Leia had been that woman. *But she's only 17!* Bail's mind screamed.
"The good Senator has managed to implant the technical readouts to this very station in a droid that jetisoned to Tatooine before we could capture it," Vader explained. "There are Stormtroopers on the planet's surface looking, naturally, but both the Emperor and I agree that this mission is more suitable for your capable hands."
"I shall leave for Tatooine at once," Leia agreed. "And I'll kill anyone who gets in my way."
"No!" Bail yelled, suddenly unable to bear the sight of Padme's daughter accepting such a mission. "Leia, listen to me! This is not what your mother wanted of you! This is everything she fought to stop! It was she who began the Rebel Alliance, and it was she who--"
Leia's hand whipped out and struck him backhanded across the jaw. Blood from a tooth that fell to the ground spurted forth and dotted several of the Stormtroopers' white uniforms. Leia took Bail by the collar and lifted him off the ground with his back to the wall.
"Shut up, old man," she growled, her mouth twisting into a sneer. "And should you ever see me again, you will not refer to me so informally. I am Lady Vader to you, Rebel scum, and don't you ever forget it."
She dropped the stunned man, letting him hit the floor with a thump. Quickly, she replaced her veil and turned to her father.
"I will leave now," she said, dropping to her knee and then rising gracefully. Darth Vader returned the bow. Without another look to the Senator on the floor, she strode out of the room.
"Miserable old fool," Vader hissed at Bail, watching him stand. "Guards, take him to the detention block and begin interrogation."
*****
*****
"Luke, get up."
Luke Skywalker groaned, fluttering his eyes open. Briefly, he wondered why he was on the ground and who was talking to him. Then he felt a strong hand take his arm and pull him up. He stumbled to his feet, holding his aching head.
"What happened?" he asked. "Who are you?"
"Sand people," the voice said urgently. "We must go before they come back. Come, Luke."
Luke frowned, looking up at the man who was speaking to him. What was he doing out in the desert with Old Ben Kenobi?
"The droids!" he cried suddenly.
"Don't worry about them,'' Ben reassured. "They're both all right, with the exception of the gold one's missing arm."
"No, you don't understand," Luke tried to explain. "That R2 unit there claims to be the property of an Obi Wan Kenobi. Is he a relative of yours?"
The old man was silent for a moment as he regarded the blue-domed droid thoughtfully. Finally, a secretive smile spread across his face as though he recognized the droid.
"Obi Wan Kenobi," he repeated. "Now that is a name I haven't heard in a very long time."
"So you know him then?" Luke asked hopefully.
"Know him? Oh yes, I know him." Old Ben laughed. "I am him! Although I can't say I've ever owned a droid. Especially not this particular droid."
"He's carrying a message for you,'' Luke said. "From a man. It sounds like he might be in trouble."
Obi Wan lifted an eyebrow at the boy, smiling patiently at him. How good it was to be able to talk with Luke. After so many years of watching from a distance, it was a relief to finally be able to exchange words.
"Well, all right," he agreed. "Let's get to safety so I can see this message for myself."
Hearing the calling of distant banthas, Luke agreed whole-heartedly.
*****
*****
"But what would Imperials want with a bunch of Jawas?" Luke asked looking at the wrecked barge ship and the mounds of Jawa bodies. He couldn't understand it.
"They were obviously looking for this R2 unit," Ben replied, avoiding Luke's eye. "What he carries is very important to the Empire."
"Yeah, but if they were looking for our droid, that would have lead them to..." Luke trailed off as realization hit. Not bothering to finish his sentence, he jumped into his speeder. "Come on! We've got to get home!"
"It's too dangerous, Luke," Obi Wan protested. "We had best wait a while."
"But they could be in trouble!" Luke yelled, starting the machine. Realizing that Luke was going with or without him, Obi Wan hurried into the speeder himself, making sure the droids were safely tucked away behind him. Luke sped off, ignoring the wind and sand in his face. All that mattered to him was getting home as fast as possible.
As he neared closer to his home, billows of black smoke could be seen. Panicked, he pushed the speeder faster then stopped harshly and suddenly near the dome shaped entrance. Jumping out, he ran toward it.
"Uncle Owen!" he yelled. "Aunt Beru!"
"Luke."
Luke froze at the sound of the old man's voice. He shook his head, knowing what he would find if he turned around.
"Luke, you must turn around."
Again, Luke shook his head, but he found himself obliging. Bracing himself as best as he could, he turned slowly and looked at the bodies of his aunt and uncle. They were lying face down in the dust, hands outstretched as if reaching for safety. There were no blaster wounds.
"You couldn't have done anything," Obi Wan told him gently. "You would have been killed too."
Luke didn't reply. Instead, he kept his gaze on the blue robe Beru was wearing and not the terrified look in her eyes. Finally, he faced Obi Wan. "I want to go with you. I want to go to Alderaan. I want to help the Rebels."
Obi Wan nodded approvingly. "Then let us bury your family."
Silently, Luke nodded. He began his work immediately, and eventually Artoo and Threepio came to his assistance. Obi Wan, however, stood his ground and reached out with the Force. If he could just find out how they were killed, and by who...
Then it hit him. Like a herd of bantha running downhill, the calling card slammed into his chest and left him without breath. The one who had killed these two was powerful in the Force, and very cocky. She left her mark, her 'scent' almost, there for any with the proper knowledge to find. Lady Vader. The twin of the very boy who buried the bodies she had left behind. Leia Skywalker.
With a heavy heart, Obi Wan began to help prepare the bodies.
*I will save you,* he promised silently. *I will save you from yourself and reunite you with your brother.*
*****
*****
Leia slipped into the seat of a booth at the back of the cantina, quite close to the one the Wookiee's companion was sitting in. She leaned back against the wall and easily picked out her targets: the boy called Luke and the Jedi known as Obi Wan Kenobi.
Leia could not express in words how pleased she was that it was Kenobi who was in possesion of the bothersome droids. The face was not familiar, but the name certainly was. From Leia's earliest memories, her father had always told her it was Obi Wan Kenobi who had killed her mother, a firm supporter of the Empire, in cold blood. She had always known, with an instict that went far beyond the Force, that had she been raised with a mother, things would have been quite different for her. She hated having been denied the simple pleasure of a mother, and she hated the man who had taken that away from her. She also knew that her father harbored a deep hatred for the old Jedi as well, and she would be handsomely rewarded for his capture.
As the Wookiee, Chewbacca, led Obi Wan and Luke over to his companion's table, Leia dipped her head over the bottle she was nursing and tuned in to the conversation.
"Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to Alderaan," the captain, Han Solo, said, disinterested.
"Yes, indeed," Obi Wan agreed. "If its a fast ship."
"Fast ship?" Han demanded, wounded. "You've never heard of the Millineum Falcon?"
*Not many people have, fly boy.* Leia thought, taking another sip of her drink. But she had to admit that the Falcon was a fast ship. She'd heard of Solo before--he and his Wookiee pal were both Imperial deserters. Shaking her head, Leia focused her attention once again to the bargain being made.
"What's the cargo?" Han asked.
"Only passengers," Obi Wan said dismissively. "Myself, the boy, two droids, and no questions asked."
Han snorted. "What is it? Some kind of local trouble?"
"Let's just say...we'd like to avoid any Imperial entaglements."
Han thumped the table triumphantly. "Well, that's the trick, isn't it? And it's gonna cost you something extra. Ten thousand in advance."
"Ten thousand?" Luke whined suddenly, outraged. Leia cringed--the kid's voice really grated her ears. "We could almost buy our own ship for that!"
"Yeah, but who's gonna fly it, kid? You?" Han laughed derisively.
"You bet I could!" Luke defended himself. "I'm not such a bad pilot myself! We don't have to sit here and listen--"
"We haven't that much with us," Obi Wan interrupted the boy before he really got them into trouble. "We'll pay you two thousand now, and fifteen when we reach Alderaan."
"Seventeen, huh?" Han asked, pleased. "Ok. You guys got yourself a ship. We'll leave whenever you're ready. Docking bay ninety-four."
"Ninety-four," Obi Wan repeated. He thanked the smuggler, stood, and led the boy, still complaining, out of the cantina. Leia grinned and got up herself. She gave Han a thoughtful glance, smirking to herself. *No Imperial entaglements, eh? That'll be especially difficult with Lady Vader stowing away on your precious ship.*
"Off to docking bay ninety-four," she murmered, shoving her way through the crowded bar. A green skinned alien stopped her by the door, asking something in a language Leia didn't recognize at first. Applying a little Force pressure, she pulled the meaning out of his head.
"Han Solo?" she grinned, pointing to the back of the cantina. "He's over there."
The bounty hunter thanked her eagerly, then rushed to the smuggler's table. Leia waited by the door for a few moments. When she heard the blaster go off, then Han's voice cockily apologizing for the mess, Leia tipped her head back and laughed all the way to the docking bay.
*****
*****
Vader watched the droid leave the Senator's detention cell.
"Well?" he asked the Stormtrooper that closed the door behind him. "What has he said?"
"Not a thing, Sir," the Trooper said nervously. "He has maintained considerable resistance of the mind probe."
Vader sighed heavily, a sound that made the Trooper cringe. Tentatively, the soldier began a slow walk away from the Senator's cell--and from Darth Vader. Vader paid him no mind; instead, he reached out a tendril of Force power and contacted his daughter.
*Yes, Father?* Leia's voice asked inside his head.
*Have you gotten the droids?*
*Yes, Father,* Leia said. *I am stowed aboard a smuggler's ship, the Millineum Falcon. Father, the droids are in the possesion of Obi Wan Kenobi. We are on course to Alderaan.*
Vader visibly convulsed as Leia mentioned his former master's name. Even now, so many years after the Jedi's betrayal, that name still sent him into a rage. *Good work, my daughter. We have positioned the Death Star just above Alderaan. I have decided to...use alternative methods of persuasion on the Senator.*
*You don't mean...?* Leia trailed off incredulously. *Oh, won't you wait till I get there to watch? We'll be out of hyperspace shortly.*
*As you wish, my dear,* Vader chuckled mentally, breaking contact with the young assassin. Oh, but he was proud of that girl! She was more eager to see the Death Star in action than he himself was.
His mood suddenly lifted, Vader stalked off to suggest a different course of action.
*****
*****
Concealed in one of the Falcon's hidden compartments, Leia Skywalker felt everything that happened on the ship. She felt Obi Wan teaching Luke how to use the Force; she nearly laughed out loud. It was clear the old fool thought Luke was strong...strong enough to defeat Vader and overthrow the Emperor. So much the old man didn't know... Leia had to marvel at his ignorance.
The ship convulsed as they came out of hyperspace. Leia frowned; the ship was a piece of junk, but not even she should have this much trouble coming out of hyperspace. What the hell was going on? Closing her eyes, the assassin reached out with her mind. The Death Star! The tractor was pulling them in.
"Finally," she muttered under her breath, ignoring the disbelieving utterance of "That's no moon, its a space station!" that came from above. Instead, she pushed up on the floor board above her head. She knew that the passengers of the ship would be using these compartments soon. Silently, she replaced the panel and padded down the corridor. Eventually, she settled on a hiding place in the ships main cabid, closest to the exit. Several minutes later, Han and Chewie thundered past, both of them cursing a blue streak, followed closely by Obi Wan, Luke, and those damn troublesome droids. As soon as they were hidden in the compartments, the Falcon landed in the main hangar of the Death Star.
In her mind's eye, Leia saw the line of Stormtroopers marching toward the ship. She heard the conversation between Tarkin and the nameless Trooper. Then her father's mechanical breathing, telling them that the droids should be aboard. Finally, the ramp was lowered, and Leia made her way unnoticed down it. Sighing in relief, she bid a temporary farewell to her unwilling shipmates and went in search of Vader and the Senator.
*****
*****
The main control room of the Death Star was, to say the least, a huge disappointment. Leia had expected it to look a little more...well, dramatic. To her chagrin, it was much like the control rooms of the countless other battle stations she'd lived on in her short life. With a sigh of frustration, she whirled on an unsuspecting Stormtrooper and shoved him against the wall, squeezing his windpipe painfully.
"Where is my Father?" she demanded in a low growl.
"I--I--please--"
"Please what?" Leia rolled her eyes. "It's a very simple question. You could answer it in five words even. I will ask it again, and if I don't get a satisfactory answer, I will break your neck. Do you understand me?"
"Y--Yes," the choking soldier gasped out.
"Where is my Father?"
"B--bringing Sen-Senator Organa...please, Lady...l-l-let me go...."
With a groan of impatience, Leia crushed the man's Adam apple between her fingers and let him drop to the floor. She kicked the body, yelling at the Trooper's suddenly silent companions.
"Get this fool out of my sight before you all suffer his fate!" she screamed agnrily. "And someone tell me where my Father is!"
"I am here, milady."
Leia turned, mildly surprised that he had been able to sneak up on her. He hadn't been able to do that since she was four. Her surprise soon faded into expectant excitement as two Stormtroopers pulled Senator Organa in behind Vader.
"I got impatient," she said innocently, batting her eyelashes. "He wouldn't answer me properly."
"It's all right, my dear," Vader assured her, chuckling. He turned to the Stormtroopers. "Let him see where we are, then leave us. My daughter and I will take over interrogation."
Leia watched with interest as the Troopers led the old man over to the viewing screen and then inched past her to get to the door. She followed their movements, smiling coyly at them as they left. Several seconds later, Governor Tarkin entered, looking somewhat displeased, then downright nervous as he realized he was in the presence of both Vaders.
"I understand you want to test this battle station's capabilities," he said, his voice slightly
condescending. "I didn't realize the Lady would be here as well."
"And why shouldn't I be?" Leia demanded indignantly. "I'm present for all of our battle stations maiden missions. And this one should be exceptionally brilliant. Of course I want to witness it."
"Governor Tarkin," the Senator suddenly spoke up, his voice thick with disgust. "I should have known I'd find you here. But I can assure you, I won't say a word."
"We'll see about that," Tarkin grinned. He turned to Lady Vader. "Milady, would you like to do the honours?"
"Thank you, Governor Tarkin," Leia's voice was loaded with fake sugar. Truth be told, she couldn't stand the wrinkled old man any more than Bail Organa could. She just hid it better. "You see, Senator, we want to know where your wretched Rebel base is...but I'm sure you knew that. You're wasting our valuable time, and frankly, I myself am becoming quite annoyed by your stuborn stupidity. What can I say? I'm not a very patient girl, Senator.
"However, it gives me great pleasure to announce that in mere seconds, this battle station will become fully operational...unless, of course, you cooperate. In a way, you have determined the planet that will be destroyed first."
She waved a hand and the screen before them lit up. Alderaan orbited below them, a peaceful planet made mostly of ocean.
"Since you are so insistant on resisting our methods of persuasion, we've decided to destroy your home planet of Alderaan unless you give us the name of the planet the Rebel base is located on. Have I made myself clear, Senator? Give us the location and your planet will be spared."
Senator Organa cast a weary glance at the girl he was supposed to have called his daughter, then down at his home. Finally, he raised his head and stared defiantly at the girl. She raised a shapely eyebrow at him.
"No?" she asked. "Oh, I cannot tell you how pleased I am you responded that way. Power the weapons!"
"No!" Bail yelled suddenly, lunging forward. "Alderaan is peaceful! We have no weapons!"
"You would prefer another target?" Lord Vader asked. "Then tell us the location of the base! It is either the base or your planet."
Bail remained silent for a second. Impatiently, Leia nodded to the man at the controls. A voice over the intercom link announced the charging of weapons and locked on to Alderaan. Bail lowered his head, ashamed at what he was about to do.
"Dantooine," he said softly. "They're on Dantooine."
Leia smiled sweetly. "See, Governor Tarkin? He can re reasonable."
"Obviously," the man nodded. He turned to the controls. "Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready."
"WHAT?" Bail yelled, whipping his head up in shock and outrage. Leia laughed at him.
"Dantooine is too remote a planet to make a proper demonstration," she told him, her eyes riveted to the screen as the weapons came to full power.
"NO!" The Senator flung himself at the controls, intent on stopping the operation. But Lord Vader grabbed him by the arms and held him steady. Leia reached over the controls.
"May I?" she asked the hooded officer there. He nodded, quickly stepping away from the controls to allow Leia access. She smiled and pulled two of the levers. Three beams of green gathered at one point in the dome scooped out of the side of the station, just below the control room. Leia flipped another lever and the beam shot toward the small blue planet of Alderaan. There was a mightly explosion that rocked the entire station, and Alderaan dissappeared in a cloud of white. Slowly, the cloud settled as best it could in space, and all that was left of the planet were chunks smaller than the Death Star. Leia broke into a wild grin.
"That was magnificent!" she cried. "Absolutely wonderful! Although I think we should position the station a little farther away from the planet next time. How far back are we?"
She turned to the men in charge, losing herself in conversation with them. Vader watched proudly.
"What did you do to her?" Bail whispered brokenly, still staring at his ruined home. "Her mother..."
"Is dead and those who are dead are not concerned with today's happenings," Vader cut him off. He turned to the two Stormtroopers. "Take him to his cell to await his termination."
The Troopers nodded and took the now compliant senator. They drug him out of the room. Finally, satisfied with the conclusions she had drawn with the officers, Leia turned to her father.
"He lied, you know," she told him and Tarkin. "The only Rebel base on Dantooine has been evacuated for several years now."
"He did what?" Tarkin demanded, incredulous. "He was willing to sacrifice his planet?!"
"No," Leia shook her head. "He didn't think the Death Star was capable of such mass destruction. But that doesn't matter. The two droids containing the technical readouts to this station are somewhere aboard, and Obi Wan Kenobi is with them. Senator Organa is useless to us now. He should be terminated immediately. I will go retrieve the droids."
Replacing the veil over her face, Leia turned and left the room, casting one last pleased glance at the remains of Alderaan.
*****
*****
"Look!" Luke whispered suddenly, pointing. "The Senator!"
Han, a head taller than the boy, looked down at him. Through the Stormtrooper's stupid helmet, he could hardly see a damn thing. Already this mission was more than he had bargained for! And where was that damn fool of an old man? Really, he was the only one Han was worried about. After all, that grey haired old man was the one who was going to get him out of debt!
"Let me guess, kid, you want to go rescue him?"
"Yes!" Luke cried. "He's the one who put the plans in Artoo! We can't leave without him!"
"Kid, we can't leave at all unless the old man does his job without getting dead," Han muttered dryly. He grabbed a pulse rifle from the rack next to him. "But if you're gonna do this, I guess someone better watch your back. Can we hurry though? I want to leave soon."
Luke grinned at the smuggler, also taking a rifle. He replaced his helmet, once again acutely aware that he was way too short to be a real Stormtrooper. Hopefully, no one would notice. Han clamped the manacles around Chewies wrists and they followed the same path the other Stormtroopers had taken Senator Organa.
"This better be worth the money," Han said--right before blasting both Troopers and causing a very flustered Senator to fall to his knees.
"Well great," Luke hissed. "Now the entire station knows we're here!"
"So we get the Senator and high tail it for the Falcon!" Han yelled, helping the old man up. "You ok? Think you can run?"
"Of course I can!" the Senator snapped. "I was doing just fine on my own anyway. Didn't need you blasting away."
"Yeah," muttered Han. "You were doing real great. Just come on. Let's hope Old Ben did his job."
The four of them made a mad dash in the general direction of the main hangar.
*****
*****
Obi Wan stopped suddenly, lifting his head as if to taste the air. In fact, what he was doing was not far off from just that--he reached out with a tendril of the Force. Vaders! Both of them , close by. And the boy, with Han, Chewie, and Senator Organa, also close by. If he moved back just seven steps, he would be able to to see them crouching low, hiding. The two droids, once right above the rest of their group, were moving down to regroup with the others. He smiled in satisfaction, drawing his lightsaber.
"I've been waiting for you, old man."
Obi Wan ignited his lightsaber, turning to face his former student and friend. Darth Vader had his own lightsaber out and ignited. They both took up fighting stances.
"It is too bad my daughter is not here for you to see," Vader taunted. "I am quite proud of her. Did you know she destroyed her first planet today? You must have sensed that."
Obi Wan's eyes widened. So that was what had happened. That feeling as though millions of voices had...been silenced all at once. As though a blindfold had been placed over their lives. If Leia had truly done that...*Do not think like that!* he told himself sternly. *She will be saved. There is still time.*
"Youre powers are weak, my master," Vader said, his tone heavy with disdain. Abruptly, he made a pass at the Jedi, who promptly blocked it. "But I see your skills with the lightsaber had not diminished. That is too bad, for mine have greatly improved."
Vader launched into a series of attacks, each one coming right after the last, too fast to see. His saber, a red blur in the air, crackled each time it collided with Obi Wan's. Out of the corner of his eye, the Jedi could see Luke, Han, the Senator, and the Wookiee running for the ship. The droids were not far behind. He blocked another of Vader's blows.
"Ben!" Luke suddenly screamed, noticing for the first time the battle taking place between learner and master. He stopped in his tracks, and that's when Obi Wan saw her.
Leia darted out of her hiding place, her purple lightsaber ignited and ready to swing unhesitatingly down and through Luke's neck. Obi Wan's heart filled with dispair. *If only you had protected her better...* he thought briefly, his choice now clear. It was either him or the boy. If he lived, the boy would die. If the boy lived, Obi Wan would die. Closing his eyes, he concentrated all his power to himself. Lowering his lightsaber and retracting the blade, he let Vader strike him down. Blocking Luke's scream of denial out of his mind, he threw all the power he had left at the girl he had so long ago failed.
"Save her!" he yelled to Luke. Luke ignored the cry, intent on helping his master. But before he could even draw his own lightsaber, Obi Wan Kenobi had vanished right out of his robes and before Vader could reach them, the doors between them closed tightly. He stared, oblivious to the blasters being fired around his head.
"Luke!"
He looked over toward the Falcon. Senator Organa was running toward him--no, past him! Luke followed his movements, watching in awe as he knelt behind a fallen girl, no older than Luke himself. She had a lightsaber clutched in one hand.
"Where did she come from?" he cried, suddenly realizing that he had never seen her before. "Who is she?"
"Never mind that, my boy," Bail dismissed. "Help me get her onto the ship. We'll take her to the base with us."
Obediantly, Luke grabbed the girl's legs while Bail took her arms. As they lifted, the lightsaber stayed grasped in her left hand. Quickly, they carried her up the Falcon's ramp and seconds later, the ship burst out of the hangar. Seconds after that, the ship went into hyperspace.
*****
*****
Darth Vader stared at the doors in quiet dismay. They had taken Leia with them to where ever that blasted Rebel base was. Slowly, he turned and looked at the discarded robes of his former master and father figure. Hatefully, he kicked them.
"You took my wife, Obi Wan," he said softly to the pile of clothes. "You let her die. I will not let you have my daughter quite as easily. I will get her back."
Angrily, Vader stomped away from the clothing, grabbing a Stormtrooper as he went.
"Have someone dispose of everything in that pile," he told him. "And prepare my ship. I am returning to Coruscant."
*****
*****
By the way, Princess, does Leia's lightsaber seem familiar? ;) I fully intend on making it a dual later on. Fun stuff, eh?
Chapter Two
Darth Vader looked down at the Alderaanian Senator Bail Organa, silently gauging the man's fear. He was terrified, Vader was pleased to find, but still determined to keep his mouth shut. He wasn't going to give away the location of the Rebel base for anything.
"Do you realize what I will do to you if I find you uncooperative?" he asked Bail nonchalantly, turning away to face the stars outside. "I assure you, the Death Star is well equiped in modern methods of persuasion."
"No doubt it is," Bail said dryly, licking his lips and trying to avoid resting his gaze on the dark lord. "But I am telling the truth when I say that I don't know where the Rebel base is. I am a member of the Imperial Senate! You have made a terrible mistake."
Vader laughed, a harsh, grating sound that hurt Bail's ears. "I do not believe I have, Senator. But perhaps you just need a little push in the right direction."
Bail's blood ran cold. Vader could mean...well, anything by that seemingly harmless statement. Anything from civilized negotiations to extreme torture. Images of gleaming metal tools and needles danced through his mind. Vader sifted through those thoughts, satisfied with the reaction he was recieving. It almost made him sad to think that he'd be saving those toys for later. But right now, he had other plans. He turned to one of the Stormtroopers near by.
"Fetch the Lady Vader," he commanded, deliberately using his daughter's 'official' title rather than her name. Because he did not publically acknowledge Leia as his daughter, she lived in the shadows as a menacing ghost-like representative of terror and pain. Women used her name as a warning to children who misbehaved. Some even thought it would be less painful to displease the Emperor himself rather than Lady Vader. Lord Vader was quite pleased with the image she had formed for herself.
Bail, however, was not quite so excited. Lady Vader was something of a fairy tale among the Rebels. There were stories, of course, of her brutal methods of murder. Most believed that she did not actually exist and that the stories had been spread by the Empire to discourage the uprising of the Rebellion and the turning of Imperials. There had been sightings of a mysterious woman, always dressed in black with a black veil over her face, that accompynied Vader to public events. But for the most part, Lady Vader was believed to be the Emperor playing on the fears of the common folk. Apparently, that was not so.
They waited in silence for nearly ten minutes before the Stormtrooper came back. Stepping in behind him came a young woman, tall and shapely. She was dressed entirely in black, with a lightsaber, prevalant among other just as menacing weapons, strapped to her belt. Across her face, attached behind her ears near her thick brown braids, was a black veil that revealed only her big, chocolate brown eyes and the bridge of her nose. She knelt down on one knee, facing Vader and bowed her head respectively.
"Yes, Father?" she asked in a voice surprisingly rich and velvety. Bail's heart plummeted to the bottom of his stomach. His breath caught in his lungs--it couldn't be! Not sweet Padme's daughter! The one he was supposed to adopt! Not Leia, that happy baby he had bounced on his knee in his palace on Alderaan. They had all assumed that when she was a baby and on her voyage to Alderaan her transport had crashed and that she had died. This was...so much worse than that.
"Take your veil off, my daughter," Vader commanded. "Let Senator Organa of Alderaan see your beautiful face."
Obediently, Leia stood. Facing the Senator, who watched despite the bile that risen in his throat, she slowly removed one of the straps behind her ears and let the veil drape down, hanging from the other ear to her shoulder. She really was beautiful, Bail realized. But of course she was. She was Padme Amidala's daughter. Bail had never known a more beautiful woman than she. He had been honored when she asked him to foster Leia, and heartbroken when the child had 'died' mere months before her mother.
"What have you done to her?" he managed to rasp out, not able to rip his eyes away from Leia's cold, heartless stare.
"What is he talking about, Father?" Leia asked, turning her gaze to Vader. She knew of Senator Organa, of course, but she had never met him. Frankly, he didn't impress her very much.
"Nothing you should concern yourself with, my dear," Vader dismissed. "I have a very important mission for you. One that cannot be trusted into anyone's hands but yours. Are you willing?"
"Of course," Leia agreed. Then her tone relaxed a bit and she allowed herself a small smirk. "After that hideous Rydell on Kantra, I'm ready for anything respectable."
Bail choked, his eyes widening. He remembered the uproar Rydell's death had caused--not only because he was an important member of the Rebel Alliance, but also because he had been found in a small room near a bar on Kantra, stiff in a bed he had shared with a woman who was not his wife. Obviously, Leia had been that woman. *But she's only 17!* Bail's mind screamed.
"The good Senator has managed to implant the technical readouts to this very station in a droid that jetisoned to Tatooine before we could capture it," Vader explained. "There are Stormtroopers on the planet's surface looking, naturally, but both the Emperor and I agree that this mission is more suitable for your capable hands."
"I shall leave for Tatooine at once," Leia agreed. "And I'll kill anyone who gets in my way."
"No!" Bail yelled, suddenly unable to bear the sight of Padme's daughter accepting such a mission. "Leia, listen to me! This is not what your mother wanted of you! This is everything she fought to stop! It was she who began the Rebel Alliance, and it was she who--"
Leia's hand whipped out and struck him backhanded across the jaw. Blood from a tooth that fell to the ground spurted forth and dotted several of the Stormtroopers' white uniforms. Leia took Bail by the collar and lifted him off the ground with his back to the wall.
"Shut up, old man," she growled, her mouth twisting into a sneer. "And should you ever see me again, you will not refer to me so informally. I am Lady Vader to you, Rebel scum, and don't you ever forget it."
She dropped the stunned man, letting him hit the floor with a thump. Quickly, she replaced her veil and turned to her father.
"I will leave now," she said, dropping to her knee and then rising gracefully. Darth Vader returned the bow. Without another look to the Senator on the floor, she strode out of the room.
"Miserable old fool," Vader hissed at Bail, watching him stand. "Guards, take him to the detention block and begin interrogation."
*****
*****
"Luke, get up."
Luke Skywalker groaned, fluttering his eyes open. Briefly, he wondered why he was on the ground and who was talking to him. Then he felt a strong hand take his arm and pull him up. He stumbled to his feet, holding his aching head.
"What happened?" he asked. "Who are you?"
"Sand people," the voice said urgently. "We must go before they come back. Come, Luke."
Luke frowned, looking up at the man who was speaking to him. What was he doing out in the desert with Old Ben Kenobi?
"The droids!" he cried suddenly.
"Don't worry about them,'' Ben reassured. "They're both all right, with the exception of the gold one's missing arm."
"No, you don't understand," Luke tried to explain. "That R2 unit there claims to be the property of an Obi Wan Kenobi. Is he a relative of yours?"
The old man was silent for a moment as he regarded the blue-domed droid thoughtfully. Finally, a secretive smile spread across his face as though he recognized the droid.
"Obi Wan Kenobi," he repeated. "Now that is a name I haven't heard in a very long time."
"So you know him then?" Luke asked hopefully.
"Know him? Oh yes, I know him." Old Ben laughed. "I am him! Although I can't say I've ever owned a droid. Especially not this particular droid."
"He's carrying a message for you,'' Luke said. "From a man. It sounds like he might be in trouble."
Obi Wan lifted an eyebrow at the boy, smiling patiently at him. How good it was to be able to talk with Luke. After so many years of watching from a distance, it was a relief to finally be able to exchange words.
"Well, all right," he agreed. "Let's get to safety so I can see this message for myself."
Hearing the calling of distant banthas, Luke agreed whole-heartedly.
*****
*****
"But what would Imperials want with a bunch of Jawas?" Luke asked looking at the wrecked barge ship and the mounds of Jawa bodies. He couldn't understand it.
"They were obviously looking for this R2 unit," Ben replied, avoiding Luke's eye. "What he carries is very important to the Empire."
"Yeah, but if they were looking for our droid, that would have lead them to..." Luke trailed off as realization hit. Not bothering to finish his sentence, he jumped into his speeder. "Come on! We've got to get home!"
"It's too dangerous, Luke," Obi Wan protested. "We had best wait a while."
"But they could be in trouble!" Luke yelled, starting the machine. Realizing that Luke was going with or without him, Obi Wan hurried into the speeder himself, making sure the droids were safely tucked away behind him. Luke sped off, ignoring the wind and sand in his face. All that mattered to him was getting home as fast as possible.
As he neared closer to his home, billows of black smoke could be seen. Panicked, he pushed the speeder faster then stopped harshly and suddenly near the dome shaped entrance. Jumping out, he ran toward it.
"Uncle Owen!" he yelled. "Aunt Beru!"
"Luke."
Luke froze at the sound of the old man's voice. He shook his head, knowing what he would find if he turned around.
"Luke, you must turn around."
Again, Luke shook his head, but he found himself obliging. Bracing himself as best as he could, he turned slowly and looked at the bodies of his aunt and uncle. They were lying face down in the dust, hands outstretched as if reaching for safety. There were no blaster wounds.
"You couldn't have done anything," Obi Wan told him gently. "You would have been killed too."
Luke didn't reply. Instead, he kept his gaze on the blue robe Beru was wearing and not the terrified look in her eyes. Finally, he faced Obi Wan. "I want to go with you. I want to go to Alderaan. I want to help the Rebels."
Obi Wan nodded approvingly. "Then let us bury your family."
Silently, Luke nodded. He began his work immediately, and eventually Artoo and Threepio came to his assistance. Obi Wan, however, stood his ground and reached out with the Force. If he could just find out how they were killed, and by who...
Then it hit him. Like a herd of bantha running downhill, the calling card slammed into his chest and left him without breath. The one who had killed these two was powerful in the Force, and very cocky. She left her mark, her 'scent' almost, there for any with the proper knowledge to find. Lady Vader. The twin of the very boy who buried the bodies she had left behind. Leia Skywalker.
With a heavy heart, Obi Wan began to help prepare the bodies.
*I will save you,* he promised silently. *I will save you from yourself and reunite you with your brother.*
*****
*****
Leia slipped into the seat of a booth at the back of the cantina, quite close to the one the Wookiee's companion was sitting in. She leaned back against the wall and easily picked out her targets: the boy called Luke and the Jedi known as Obi Wan Kenobi.
Leia could not express in words how pleased she was that it was Kenobi who was in possesion of the bothersome droids. The face was not familiar, but the name certainly was. From Leia's earliest memories, her father had always told her it was Obi Wan Kenobi who had killed her mother, a firm supporter of the Empire, in cold blood. She had always known, with an instict that went far beyond the Force, that had she been raised with a mother, things would have been quite different for her. She hated having been denied the simple pleasure of a mother, and she hated the man who had taken that away from her. She also knew that her father harbored a deep hatred for the old Jedi as well, and she would be handsomely rewarded for his capture.
As the Wookiee, Chewbacca, led Obi Wan and Luke over to his companion's table, Leia dipped her head over the bottle she was nursing and tuned in to the conversation.
"Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to Alderaan," the captain, Han Solo, said, disinterested.
"Yes, indeed," Obi Wan agreed. "If its a fast ship."
"Fast ship?" Han demanded, wounded. "You've never heard of the Millineum Falcon?"
*Not many people have, fly boy.* Leia thought, taking another sip of her drink. But she had to admit that the Falcon was a fast ship. She'd heard of Solo before--he and his Wookiee pal were both Imperial deserters. Shaking her head, Leia focused her attention once again to the bargain being made.
"What's the cargo?" Han asked.
"Only passengers," Obi Wan said dismissively. "Myself, the boy, two droids, and no questions asked."
Han snorted. "What is it? Some kind of local trouble?"
"Let's just say...we'd like to avoid any Imperial entaglements."
Han thumped the table triumphantly. "Well, that's the trick, isn't it? And it's gonna cost you something extra. Ten thousand in advance."
"Ten thousand?" Luke whined suddenly, outraged. Leia cringed--the kid's voice really grated her ears. "We could almost buy our own ship for that!"
"Yeah, but who's gonna fly it, kid? You?" Han laughed derisively.
"You bet I could!" Luke defended himself. "I'm not such a bad pilot myself! We don't have to sit here and listen--"
"We haven't that much with us," Obi Wan interrupted the boy before he really got them into trouble. "We'll pay you two thousand now, and fifteen when we reach Alderaan."
"Seventeen, huh?" Han asked, pleased. "Ok. You guys got yourself a ship. We'll leave whenever you're ready. Docking bay ninety-four."
"Ninety-four," Obi Wan repeated. He thanked the smuggler, stood, and led the boy, still complaining, out of the cantina. Leia grinned and got up herself. She gave Han a thoughtful glance, smirking to herself. *No Imperial entaglements, eh? That'll be especially difficult with Lady Vader stowing away on your precious ship.*
"Off to docking bay ninety-four," she murmered, shoving her way through the crowded bar. A green skinned alien stopped her by the door, asking something in a language Leia didn't recognize at first. Applying a little Force pressure, she pulled the meaning out of his head.
"Han Solo?" she grinned, pointing to the back of the cantina. "He's over there."
The bounty hunter thanked her eagerly, then rushed to the smuggler's table. Leia waited by the door for a few moments. When she heard the blaster go off, then Han's voice cockily apologizing for the mess, Leia tipped her head back and laughed all the way to the docking bay.
*****
*****
Vader watched the droid leave the Senator's detention cell.
"Well?" he asked the Stormtrooper that closed the door behind him. "What has he said?"
"Not a thing, Sir," the Trooper said nervously. "He has maintained considerable resistance of the mind probe."
Vader sighed heavily, a sound that made the Trooper cringe. Tentatively, the soldier began a slow walk away from the Senator's cell--and from Darth Vader. Vader paid him no mind; instead, he reached out a tendril of Force power and contacted his daughter.
*Yes, Father?* Leia's voice asked inside his head.
*Have you gotten the droids?*
*Yes, Father,* Leia said. *I am stowed aboard a smuggler's ship, the Millineum Falcon. Father, the droids are in the possesion of Obi Wan Kenobi. We are on course to Alderaan.*
Vader visibly convulsed as Leia mentioned his former master's name. Even now, so many years after the Jedi's betrayal, that name still sent him into a rage. *Good work, my daughter. We have positioned the Death Star just above Alderaan. I have decided to...use alternative methods of persuasion on the Senator.*
*You don't mean...?* Leia trailed off incredulously. *Oh, won't you wait till I get there to watch? We'll be out of hyperspace shortly.*
*As you wish, my dear,* Vader chuckled mentally, breaking contact with the young assassin. Oh, but he was proud of that girl! She was more eager to see the Death Star in action than he himself was.
His mood suddenly lifted, Vader stalked off to suggest a different course of action.
*****
*****
Concealed in one of the Falcon's hidden compartments, Leia Skywalker felt everything that happened on the ship. She felt Obi Wan teaching Luke how to use the Force; she nearly laughed out loud. It was clear the old fool thought Luke was strong...strong enough to defeat Vader and overthrow the Emperor. So much the old man didn't know... Leia had to marvel at his ignorance.
The ship convulsed as they came out of hyperspace. Leia frowned; the ship was a piece of junk, but not even she should have this much trouble coming out of hyperspace. What the hell was going on? Closing her eyes, the assassin reached out with her mind. The Death Star! The tractor was pulling them in.
"Finally," she muttered under her breath, ignoring the disbelieving utterance of "That's no moon, its a space station!" that came from above. Instead, she pushed up on the floor board above her head. She knew that the passengers of the ship would be using these compartments soon. Silently, she replaced the panel and padded down the corridor. Eventually, she settled on a hiding place in the ships main cabid, closest to the exit. Several minutes later, Han and Chewie thundered past, both of them cursing a blue streak, followed closely by Obi Wan, Luke, and those damn troublesome droids. As soon as they were hidden in the compartments, the Falcon landed in the main hangar of the Death Star.
In her mind's eye, Leia saw the line of Stormtroopers marching toward the ship. She heard the conversation between Tarkin and the nameless Trooper. Then her father's mechanical breathing, telling them that the droids should be aboard. Finally, the ramp was lowered, and Leia made her way unnoticed down it. Sighing in relief, she bid a temporary farewell to her unwilling shipmates and went in search of Vader and the Senator.
*****
*****
The main control room of the Death Star was, to say the least, a huge disappointment. Leia had expected it to look a little more...well, dramatic. To her chagrin, it was much like the control rooms of the countless other battle stations she'd lived on in her short life. With a sigh of frustration, she whirled on an unsuspecting Stormtrooper and shoved him against the wall, squeezing his windpipe painfully.
"Where is my Father?" she demanded in a low growl.
"I--I--please--"
"Please what?" Leia rolled her eyes. "It's a very simple question. You could answer it in five words even. I will ask it again, and if I don't get a satisfactory answer, I will break your neck. Do you understand me?"
"Y--Yes," the choking soldier gasped out.
"Where is my Father?"
"B--bringing Sen-Senator Organa...please, Lady...l-l-let me go...."
With a groan of impatience, Leia crushed the man's Adam apple between her fingers and let him drop to the floor. She kicked the body, yelling at the Trooper's suddenly silent companions.
"Get this fool out of my sight before you all suffer his fate!" she screamed agnrily. "And someone tell me where my Father is!"
"I am here, milady."
Leia turned, mildly surprised that he had been able to sneak up on her. He hadn't been able to do that since she was four. Her surprise soon faded into expectant excitement as two Stormtroopers pulled Senator Organa in behind Vader.
"I got impatient," she said innocently, batting her eyelashes. "He wouldn't answer me properly."
"It's all right, my dear," Vader assured her, chuckling. He turned to the Stormtroopers. "Let him see where we are, then leave us. My daughter and I will take over interrogation."
Leia watched with interest as the Troopers led the old man over to the viewing screen and then inched past her to get to the door. She followed their movements, smiling coyly at them as they left. Several seconds later, Governor Tarkin entered, looking somewhat displeased, then downright nervous as he realized he was in the presence of both Vaders.
"I understand you want to test this battle station's capabilities," he said, his voice slightly
condescending. "I didn't realize the Lady would be here as well."
"And why shouldn't I be?" Leia demanded indignantly. "I'm present for all of our battle stations maiden missions. And this one should be exceptionally brilliant. Of course I want to witness it."
"Governor Tarkin," the Senator suddenly spoke up, his voice thick with disgust. "I should have known I'd find you here. But I can assure you, I won't say a word."
"We'll see about that," Tarkin grinned. He turned to Lady Vader. "Milady, would you like to do the honours?"
"Thank you, Governor Tarkin," Leia's voice was loaded with fake sugar. Truth be told, she couldn't stand the wrinkled old man any more than Bail Organa could. She just hid it better. "You see, Senator, we want to know where your wretched Rebel base is...but I'm sure you knew that. You're wasting our valuable time, and frankly, I myself am becoming quite annoyed by your stuborn stupidity. What can I say? I'm not a very patient girl, Senator.
"However, it gives me great pleasure to announce that in mere seconds, this battle station will become fully operational...unless, of course, you cooperate. In a way, you have determined the planet that will be destroyed first."
She waved a hand and the screen before them lit up. Alderaan orbited below them, a peaceful planet made mostly of ocean.
"Since you are so insistant on resisting our methods of persuasion, we've decided to destroy your home planet of Alderaan unless you give us the name of the planet the Rebel base is located on. Have I made myself clear, Senator? Give us the location and your planet will be spared."
Senator Organa cast a weary glance at the girl he was supposed to have called his daughter, then down at his home. Finally, he raised his head and stared defiantly at the girl. She raised a shapely eyebrow at him.
"No?" she asked. "Oh, I cannot tell you how pleased I am you responded that way. Power the weapons!"
"No!" Bail yelled suddenly, lunging forward. "Alderaan is peaceful! We have no weapons!"
"You would prefer another target?" Lord Vader asked. "Then tell us the location of the base! It is either the base or your planet."
Bail remained silent for a second. Impatiently, Leia nodded to the man at the controls. A voice over the intercom link announced the charging of weapons and locked on to Alderaan. Bail lowered his head, ashamed at what he was about to do.
"Dantooine," he said softly. "They're on Dantooine."
Leia smiled sweetly. "See, Governor Tarkin? He can re reasonable."
"Obviously," the man nodded. He turned to the controls. "Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready."
"WHAT?" Bail yelled, whipping his head up in shock and outrage. Leia laughed at him.
"Dantooine is too remote a planet to make a proper demonstration," she told him, her eyes riveted to the screen as the weapons came to full power.
"NO!" The Senator flung himself at the controls, intent on stopping the operation. But Lord Vader grabbed him by the arms and held him steady. Leia reached over the controls.
"May I?" she asked the hooded officer there. He nodded, quickly stepping away from the controls to allow Leia access. She smiled and pulled two of the levers. Three beams of green gathered at one point in the dome scooped out of the side of the station, just below the control room. Leia flipped another lever and the beam shot toward the small blue planet of Alderaan. There was a mightly explosion that rocked the entire station, and Alderaan dissappeared in a cloud of white. Slowly, the cloud settled as best it could in space, and all that was left of the planet were chunks smaller than the Death Star. Leia broke into a wild grin.
"That was magnificent!" she cried. "Absolutely wonderful! Although I think we should position the station a little farther away from the planet next time. How far back are we?"
She turned to the men in charge, losing herself in conversation with them. Vader watched proudly.
"What did you do to her?" Bail whispered brokenly, still staring at his ruined home. "Her mother..."
"Is dead and those who are dead are not concerned with today's happenings," Vader cut him off. He turned to the two Stormtroopers. "Take him to his cell to await his termination."
The Troopers nodded and took the now compliant senator. They drug him out of the room. Finally, satisfied with the conclusions she had drawn with the officers, Leia turned to her father.
"He lied, you know," she told him and Tarkin. "The only Rebel base on Dantooine has been evacuated for several years now."
"He did what?" Tarkin demanded, incredulous. "He was willing to sacrifice his planet?!"
"No," Leia shook her head. "He didn't think the Death Star was capable of such mass destruction. But that doesn't matter. The two droids containing the technical readouts to this station are somewhere aboard, and Obi Wan Kenobi is with them. Senator Organa is useless to us now. He should be terminated immediately. I will go retrieve the droids."
Replacing the veil over her face, Leia turned and left the room, casting one last pleased glance at the remains of Alderaan.
*****
*****
"Look!" Luke whispered suddenly, pointing. "The Senator!"
Han, a head taller than the boy, looked down at him. Through the Stormtrooper's stupid helmet, he could hardly see a damn thing. Already this mission was more than he had bargained for! And where was that damn fool of an old man? Really, he was the only one Han was worried about. After all, that grey haired old man was the one who was going to get him out of debt!
"Let me guess, kid, you want to go rescue him?"
"Yes!" Luke cried. "He's the one who put the plans in Artoo! We can't leave without him!"
"Kid, we can't leave at all unless the old man does his job without getting dead," Han muttered dryly. He grabbed a pulse rifle from the rack next to him. "But if you're gonna do this, I guess someone better watch your back. Can we hurry though? I want to leave soon."
Luke grinned at the smuggler, also taking a rifle. He replaced his helmet, once again acutely aware that he was way too short to be a real Stormtrooper. Hopefully, no one would notice. Han clamped the manacles around Chewies wrists and they followed the same path the other Stormtroopers had taken Senator Organa.
"This better be worth the money," Han said--right before blasting both Troopers and causing a very flustered Senator to fall to his knees.
"Well great," Luke hissed. "Now the entire station knows we're here!"
"So we get the Senator and high tail it for the Falcon!" Han yelled, helping the old man up. "You ok? Think you can run?"
"Of course I can!" the Senator snapped. "I was doing just fine on my own anyway. Didn't need you blasting away."
"Yeah," muttered Han. "You were doing real great. Just come on. Let's hope Old Ben did his job."
The four of them made a mad dash in the general direction of the main hangar.
*****
*****
Obi Wan stopped suddenly, lifting his head as if to taste the air. In fact, what he was doing was not far off from just that--he reached out with a tendril of the Force. Vaders! Both of them , close by. And the boy, with Han, Chewie, and Senator Organa, also close by. If he moved back just seven steps, he would be able to to see them crouching low, hiding. The two droids, once right above the rest of their group, were moving down to regroup with the others. He smiled in satisfaction, drawing his lightsaber.
"I've been waiting for you, old man."
Obi Wan ignited his lightsaber, turning to face his former student and friend. Darth Vader had his own lightsaber out and ignited. They both took up fighting stances.
"It is too bad my daughter is not here for you to see," Vader taunted. "I am quite proud of her. Did you know she destroyed her first planet today? You must have sensed that."
Obi Wan's eyes widened. So that was what had happened. That feeling as though millions of voices had...been silenced all at once. As though a blindfold had been placed over their lives. If Leia had truly done that...*Do not think like that!* he told himself sternly. *She will be saved. There is still time.*
"Youre powers are weak, my master," Vader said, his tone heavy with disdain. Abruptly, he made a pass at the Jedi, who promptly blocked it. "But I see your skills with the lightsaber had not diminished. That is too bad, for mine have greatly improved."
Vader launched into a series of attacks, each one coming right after the last, too fast to see. His saber, a red blur in the air, crackled each time it collided with Obi Wan's. Out of the corner of his eye, the Jedi could see Luke, Han, the Senator, and the Wookiee running for the ship. The droids were not far behind. He blocked another of Vader's blows.
"Ben!" Luke suddenly screamed, noticing for the first time the battle taking place between learner and master. He stopped in his tracks, and that's when Obi Wan saw her.
Leia darted out of her hiding place, her purple lightsaber ignited and ready to swing unhesitatingly down and through Luke's neck. Obi Wan's heart filled with dispair. *If only you had protected her better...* he thought briefly, his choice now clear. It was either him or the boy. If he lived, the boy would die. If the boy lived, Obi Wan would die. Closing his eyes, he concentrated all his power to himself. Lowering his lightsaber and retracting the blade, he let Vader strike him down. Blocking Luke's scream of denial out of his mind, he threw all the power he had left at the girl he had so long ago failed.
"Save her!" he yelled to Luke. Luke ignored the cry, intent on helping his master. But before he could even draw his own lightsaber, Obi Wan Kenobi had vanished right out of his robes and before Vader could reach them, the doors between them closed tightly. He stared, oblivious to the blasters being fired around his head.
"Luke!"
He looked over toward the Falcon. Senator Organa was running toward him--no, past him! Luke followed his movements, watching in awe as he knelt behind a fallen girl, no older than Luke himself. She had a lightsaber clutched in one hand.
"Where did she come from?" he cried, suddenly realizing that he had never seen her before. "Who is she?"
"Never mind that, my boy," Bail dismissed. "Help me get her onto the ship. We'll take her to the base with us."
Obediantly, Luke grabbed the girl's legs while Bail took her arms. As they lifted, the lightsaber stayed grasped in her left hand. Quickly, they carried her up the Falcon's ramp and seconds later, the ship burst out of the hangar. Seconds after that, the ship went into hyperspace.
*****
*****
Darth Vader stared at the doors in quiet dismay. They had taken Leia with them to where ever that blasted Rebel base was. Slowly, he turned and looked at the discarded robes of his former master and father figure. Hatefully, he kicked them.
"You took my wife, Obi Wan," he said softly to the pile of clothes. "You let her die. I will not let you have my daughter quite as easily. I will get her back."
Angrily, Vader stomped away from the clothing, grabbing a Stormtrooper as he went.
"Have someone dispose of everything in that pile," he told him. "And prepare my ship. I am returning to Coruscant."
*****
*****