I know I haven't updated in a long time, so here's an extra-long chapter to make up for it.
***********
"Let's see," Biggs worked out in his head as the ship was pulled in. "If two stormtroopers come in to search the ship, we stun them both and swipe their uniforms. If one comes, one of us pretends to be the stormtrooper and the other is the prisoner."
"What if there's more than two?" Luke asked.
"Well, then we're pretty much screwed, aren't we?" Biggs snapped back. "There's really not much we can do, we're just sitting ducks here."
Luke looked confused. "What's a duck?"
"Never mind. My point is, we have a very slim chance of getting out of here alive, even if we get out of the ship."
"Maybe I could do something."
"What? This is an Imperial Death Star. I don't know who you are, but I do know that you couldn't possibly know more than I do about the Death Star. The plans--" He stopped short in sudden realization. "The plans! I've got to destroy them!"
He pulled out the datachip that held the plans to the Death Star. "Well, it's all up to you, Leia, and Artoo," he whispered. "I hope you make it off Tatooine." Then he blasted the datachip, melting it beyond all recognition.
"Maybe I can get us out," Luke insisted. "There must be some way to turn this tractor beam off."
Biggs started to ask how, and why Luke couldn't have brought that up *before* he blasted the plans, but at that moment the ship's door was opened. Biggs had his blaster out ready to fire, but he still wasn't prepared for what happened next.
***************
"What is a lightsaber?" Leia asked Yoda, curiously feeling the cold metal cylinder.
"The weapon of a Jedi, this is. Take good care of it you must."
"You said it belonged to my father. Then my father was a Jedi?"
"Yes, a powerful Jedi your father was. Very powerful."
"Yoda...how did my parents die?" Leia asked, forgetting for a moment her previous important question of what exactly a Jedi was.
"Hmm...tell you now, I will not. Not ready are you."
"What do you mean, I'm not ready? They're my parents, and I deserve to know what happened to them!"
"Tell you I will. But patience you must have."
"You just tell me why I should listen to a short, ugly little...troll!" Leia sputtered angrily.
"Ugly! Hmm! When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not!"
Since Yoda didn't seem to take offense, Leia felt horrible immediately. "I'm sorry. It's just that...my uncle never told me about my parents."
"Trying to protect you, Owen was."
"Protect me? From what?"
"Find out, you will. But not today. Begin your training, we will."
"But I still don't understand. What is a Jedi?"
"One who uses the Force, a Jedi is. An energy field, the Force is, made by all living things. Guardians of the peace, we are...or were. Kill many Jedi, Darth Vader did."
"So there aren't very many Jedi left?"
"Three there are. I, Obi-Wan, and Luke Organa. And then you, there is."
"But won't Darth Vader, whoever he is, try to kill us, too?"
"Why ask this you do? Afraid you are?"
"No, I'm not afraid," Leia quickly lied. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Fear the path to the Dark Side is. And go to the Dark Side you must not."
"When will you teach me, Yoda?"
"When ready to learn you are."
"I'm ready now."
"Then begin we will."
**************
Biggs heard the eerie sound of loud breathing before he saw the tall, dark figure that had entered the ship. He pulled out his blaster and fired one, two, three shots, which were all deflected back before the blaster was yanked from his hand by some strong invisible force.
"So, Prince Luke Organa," Darth Vader said, disregarding Biggs for the moment, "I have looked foreward to finally meeting you." He turned to his stormtroopers. "Take the rebel away for questioning."
As they put the stun cuffs on him, Biggs stared at Luke in disbelief. "You knew this would happen all along, didn't you, you lying little--"
As Biggs called him every derogatory term Luke had ever heard (and some he hadn't), Luke tried to say, "Bug I didn't--"
He hadn't finished is statement when they took Biggs away. Now he was all alone with the man who had killed his parents.
"What do you wnt from me?" he demanded, summoning the Force to keep his voice steady.
"You have not yet drawn your weapon. You are doing well in controlling your anger. Yoda has taught you well."
"I don't know anyone named Yoda."
"Your thoughts deceive you. Yoda is still alive. And together we will destroy him, along with all the Jedi that remain in the galaxy."
"I'll never join you!"
"Vader slowly pulled out his lightsaber and extended the glowing red blade. "Then you will die."
Luke whipped out his own green lightsaber and blocked Vader's swing; and so the duel began.
***********
"Can I use the Force to see again?" Leia asked Yoda hopefully as they ate.
"Not need to see do you. Sense everything around him a Jedi can."
"But how can I do that?"
"Reach out with the Force you must. Be aware of your surroundings."
Artoo beeped a question, reflecting Leia's own confusion.
Yoda sighed. "Show you, I will. Outside, we must go."
Leia followed Yoda and Artoo outside. Yoda took out a training probe and gave her the lightsaber. He showed her how to turn it on, and she heard the hum as the blue blade extended. "What do I do?"
"Block lasers with a lightsaber you can. Sense the training probe you must."
"But I can't--"
"You do not know if you can or can't until you do."
Leia sighed and closed her eyes (*As if it makes a difference,* she thought) and pictured herself reaching out with her mind. "Ow!" she cried out as a blast from the training probe hit her in the arm.
"Not concentrating are you!"
"Sorry."
"Reach out with the Force you must."
"I'm trying!"
"No! Do or do not. There is no try."
Leia took a deep breath and reached out with her mind once more. A blast came towards her again, but this time she was ready, and easily moved the lightsaber to block it. Then came another, and another, but she was there first. "Hey, this isn't too hard!" she exclaimed happily. Then she sensed something else, and turned around. "Han?"
She wasn't ready for the next blast. "Ow!" she exclaimed, rubbing her backside.
"Concentrate you must!" Yoda scolded her.
"Very interesting," Han commented. "But it would be nice if I could get my ship out of that muck so I could leave."
"And what am I supposed to do about it?" Leia snapped back. "You 'landed,' if it even deserves to be called that."
"Hey, it's not my fault!"
"You can't leave yet anyway, without me!"
"Look, I've got a price on my head, and the longer I stay here the worse it is for me. I just want to go get my money."
"How am I supposed to get off-planet without a ship?"
"That's your problem, sister, not mine."
"Stay you must," Yoda interjected, "unless get your ship out you can."
"You stay out of this," Han snapped.
Chewie roared in agreement with Yoda.
"Since when did you become such a pessimist?"
"You think Ben's gonna give you the money when he finds out you abandoned me here?" Leia asked Han.
Han thought for a moment. He really needed that money, and he couldn't risk a chance of him not getting it. "Three days."
"Han--"
"Three days, and that's my final offer."
"Fine," Leia agreed. "If you can get your ship out in three days."
Han was about to reply when he realized she was probably right. Especially considering the fact that he had not come prepared for having to pull the Millennium Falcon out of a swamp.
***********
"Where is your rebel base?"
"I'm not telling you anything!"
The Imperial probe droid hovered closer, the needle's sharp point coming too close for comfort. Biggs inhaled sharply.
"What's the matter? Don't like needles?"
"Is it common for victims of interrogation to like needles?"
There was no answer given; which, Biggs reflected, was probably a good thing.
"I'll give you one last chance to tell me the location of the rebel base, and then you get the needle."
"Screw you."
"I don't believe I've heard of that planetary system."
Great. Just what he needed. An interrogator with a sense of humor.
He felt the cold needle pierce through the skin of his forehead, and smiled. For he knew something that they didn't: the drug that he'd been taking for the past six months would interact with the injection and kill him. They'd never know where the base was.
It's all up to you, Leia, he whispered mentally. I love you. Goodbye.
****************
***********
"Let's see," Biggs worked out in his head as the ship was pulled in. "If two stormtroopers come in to search the ship, we stun them both and swipe their uniforms. If one comes, one of us pretends to be the stormtrooper and the other is the prisoner."
"What if there's more than two?" Luke asked.
"Well, then we're pretty much screwed, aren't we?" Biggs snapped back. "There's really not much we can do, we're just sitting ducks here."
Luke looked confused. "What's a duck?"
"Never mind. My point is, we have a very slim chance of getting out of here alive, even if we get out of the ship."
"Maybe I could do something."
"What? This is an Imperial Death Star. I don't know who you are, but I do know that you couldn't possibly know more than I do about the Death Star. The plans--" He stopped short in sudden realization. "The plans! I've got to destroy them!"
He pulled out the datachip that held the plans to the Death Star. "Well, it's all up to you, Leia, and Artoo," he whispered. "I hope you make it off Tatooine." Then he blasted the datachip, melting it beyond all recognition.
"Maybe I can get us out," Luke insisted. "There must be some way to turn this tractor beam off."
Biggs started to ask how, and why Luke couldn't have brought that up *before* he blasted the plans, but at that moment the ship's door was opened. Biggs had his blaster out ready to fire, but he still wasn't prepared for what happened next.
***************
"What is a lightsaber?" Leia asked Yoda, curiously feeling the cold metal cylinder.
"The weapon of a Jedi, this is. Take good care of it you must."
"You said it belonged to my father. Then my father was a Jedi?"
"Yes, a powerful Jedi your father was. Very powerful."
"Yoda...how did my parents die?" Leia asked, forgetting for a moment her previous important question of what exactly a Jedi was.
"Hmm...tell you now, I will not. Not ready are you."
"What do you mean, I'm not ready? They're my parents, and I deserve to know what happened to them!"
"Tell you I will. But patience you must have."
"You just tell me why I should listen to a short, ugly little...troll!" Leia sputtered angrily.
"Ugly! Hmm! When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not!"
Since Yoda didn't seem to take offense, Leia felt horrible immediately. "I'm sorry. It's just that...my uncle never told me about my parents."
"Trying to protect you, Owen was."
"Protect me? From what?"
"Find out, you will. But not today. Begin your training, we will."
"But I still don't understand. What is a Jedi?"
"One who uses the Force, a Jedi is. An energy field, the Force is, made by all living things. Guardians of the peace, we are...or were. Kill many Jedi, Darth Vader did."
"So there aren't very many Jedi left?"
"Three there are. I, Obi-Wan, and Luke Organa. And then you, there is."
"But won't Darth Vader, whoever he is, try to kill us, too?"
"Why ask this you do? Afraid you are?"
"No, I'm not afraid," Leia quickly lied. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Fear the path to the Dark Side is. And go to the Dark Side you must not."
"When will you teach me, Yoda?"
"When ready to learn you are."
"I'm ready now."
"Then begin we will."
**************
Biggs heard the eerie sound of loud breathing before he saw the tall, dark figure that had entered the ship. He pulled out his blaster and fired one, two, three shots, which were all deflected back before the blaster was yanked from his hand by some strong invisible force.
"So, Prince Luke Organa," Darth Vader said, disregarding Biggs for the moment, "I have looked foreward to finally meeting you." He turned to his stormtroopers. "Take the rebel away for questioning."
As they put the stun cuffs on him, Biggs stared at Luke in disbelief. "You knew this would happen all along, didn't you, you lying little--"
As Biggs called him every derogatory term Luke had ever heard (and some he hadn't), Luke tried to say, "Bug I didn't--"
He hadn't finished is statement when they took Biggs away. Now he was all alone with the man who had killed his parents.
"What do you wnt from me?" he demanded, summoning the Force to keep his voice steady.
"You have not yet drawn your weapon. You are doing well in controlling your anger. Yoda has taught you well."
"I don't know anyone named Yoda."
"Your thoughts deceive you. Yoda is still alive. And together we will destroy him, along with all the Jedi that remain in the galaxy."
"I'll never join you!"
"Vader slowly pulled out his lightsaber and extended the glowing red blade. "Then you will die."
Luke whipped out his own green lightsaber and blocked Vader's swing; and so the duel began.
***********
"Can I use the Force to see again?" Leia asked Yoda hopefully as they ate.
"Not need to see do you. Sense everything around him a Jedi can."
"But how can I do that?"
"Reach out with the Force you must. Be aware of your surroundings."
Artoo beeped a question, reflecting Leia's own confusion.
Yoda sighed. "Show you, I will. Outside, we must go."
Leia followed Yoda and Artoo outside. Yoda took out a training probe and gave her the lightsaber. He showed her how to turn it on, and she heard the hum as the blue blade extended. "What do I do?"
"Block lasers with a lightsaber you can. Sense the training probe you must."
"But I can't--"
"You do not know if you can or can't until you do."
Leia sighed and closed her eyes (*As if it makes a difference,* she thought) and pictured herself reaching out with her mind. "Ow!" she cried out as a blast from the training probe hit her in the arm.
"Not concentrating are you!"
"Sorry."
"Reach out with the Force you must."
"I'm trying!"
"No! Do or do not. There is no try."
Leia took a deep breath and reached out with her mind once more. A blast came towards her again, but this time she was ready, and easily moved the lightsaber to block it. Then came another, and another, but she was there first. "Hey, this isn't too hard!" she exclaimed happily. Then she sensed something else, and turned around. "Han?"
She wasn't ready for the next blast. "Ow!" she exclaimed, rubbing her backside.
"Concentrate you must!" Yoda scolded her.
"Very interesting," Han commented. "But it would be nice if I could get my ship out of that muck so I could leave."
"And what am I supposed to do about it?" Leia snapped back. "You 'landed,' if it even deserves to be called that."
"Hey, it's not my fault!"
"You can't leave yet anyway, without me!"
"Look, I've got a price on my head, and the longer I stay here the worse it is for me. I just want to go get my money."
"How am I supposed to get off-planet without a ship?"
"That's your problem, sister, not mine."
"Stay you must," Yoda interjected, "unless get your ship out you can."
"You stay out of this," Han snapped.
Chewie roared in agreement with Yoda.
"Since when did you become such a pessimist?"
"You think Ben's gonna give you the money when he finds out you abandoned me here?" Leia asked Han.
Han thought for a moment. He really needed that money, and he couldn't risk a chance of him not getting it. "Three days."
"Han--"
"Three days, and that's my final offer."
"Fine," Leia agreed. "If you can get your ship out in three days."
Han was about to reply when he realized she was probably right. Especially considering the fact that he had not come prepared for having to pull the Millennium Falcon out of a swamp.
***********
"Where is your rebel base?"
"I'm not telling you anything!"
The Imperial probe droid hovered closer, the needle's sharp point coming too close for comfort. Biggs inhaled sharply.
"What's the matter? Don't like needles?"
"Is it common for victims of interrogation to like needles?"
There was no answer given; which, Biggs reflected, was probably a good thing.
"I'll give you one last chance to tell me the location of the rebel base, and then you get the needle."
"Screw you."
"I don't believe I've heard of that planetary system."
Great. Just what he needed. An interrogator with a sense of humor.
He felt the cold needle pierce through the skin of his forehead, and smiled. For he knew something that they didn't: the drug that he'd been taking for the past six months would interact with the injection and kill him. They'd never know where the base was.
It's all up to you, Leia, he whispered mentally. I love you. Goodbye.
****************