Ha! Ha! I'm not dead!! I've just been to the Realm of Pirates and back. Ah, smell the sweet air of SW.
There were a couple guards hovering outside Luke's door. They shifted their blasters as footsteps approached.
"It's me," said Leia as she came into sight, "Mon Mothma has given me authorization to see him."
Leia waved a holocard before the guards' faces. They relaxed and allowed Leia to pass. Amazing the power a random holocard from her wallet could have. The doors swished open to reveal Luke, decked out in black, sitting on the floor crossed-legged in mediation (but of course). His eyes fluttered open when his sister walked in.
"Leia," he said calmly. The door closed and locked behind her.
Luke then rose and offered her a seat.
"I'm surprised they let you see me," Luke began, rather cheerfully for one in trouble with the most powerful individuals in the galaxy.
Leia shook her head, "They didn't. I bluffed authorization."
Luke smiled quietly.
Leia didn't take the seat offered to her, but instead sat on the floor next to her twin. She locked her brown eyes with his blue ones.
"Han's gone, Luke."
He nodded sadly, "I know. I felt it. But he's alive, Leia. And this is going to sound crazy to you but I know that he's safe. Safer than he would be here at any rate."
Leia grabbed his hand, "'Sound crazy?' Luke, don't you know what's happening? Don't you know what they can do to you? For all your Jedi talent why don't you have a shred of common sense, why?! You're being charged with high treason. High. Treason. And we all know what that's punishable by."
Leia stood up and paced about the room, "I've been fighting for you, Luke. Trying to get you out of this mess you've fallen into. But I can't figure out whose side you're on."
Luke stood up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Leia, please listen-"
She whirled on him, "No, I'm not done yet, Skywalker! It took me eighteen years to find my brother, and I don't want to lose him!"
Her face grew very weary.
"And now, for the second time, Vader's taken Han away from me."
She faced him bitterly, angrily. Luke's eyes flickered around before they met hers.
He sent a soothing tendril of the Force, "Leia, I'm sorry to have hurt you."
Exhausted, Leia crumbled onto the sofa and felt the tears fall down her cheeks. Luke took a seat next to her.
"I wish that you and Han could've stayed out of this mess. But I'm not sorry for helping Anakin escape. No, he's not Darth Vader, Leia. If you could've talked to him…he's just a kid."
Leia sighed, "How did I know you'd say that."
They were silent for a time.
You had better go, we're being bugged. Luke said in Leia's head.
?????????? She answered
Mothma
Mon's trying to help you out, Luke.
No, I don't think so. I sense a thread in her that I haven't sensed before.
"Luke, I don't like where this is going," Leia said, up starting.
"I don't like it either, to be honest."
Leia smiled; something she hadn't done in a while.
"Luke, when are you not honest?"
Her brother gave a bashful half-grin.
Anakin sat in the main compartment of the ship, staring out into space and wondering where he was, when he was, and why he couldn't feel the Force. Suddenly exhausted, he cupped his chin in his hand and gently, quietly, began to close his eyes-
-when a blaster clicked behind him.
Anakin whirled to face the black little hole of the muzzle. He saw that man holding it. Hey, he'd saved that guy's life! And what thanks does he get?
"I see you're feeling better," Anakin growled.
Han scolded, then groaned and winced, "Better than ever. Ok, kid, start plugging numbers into the navicomputer. We're going back."
Anakin folded his arms across his chest, "Look, I'm not going anywhere. Except back to my ship."
Han clutched his chest, "I'm not out here for a little joyride, okay? So we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
Anakin growled, "I'm not gonna fight you, Han. After trying so hard to heal you, I'm not gonna fight you."
The man peered at the anachronistic Jedi, "Luke told you my name, huh?"
"Luke Lars mentioned it, so I put two-and-two together."
Han stilled watched warily, but he began to lower his blaster.
"Now that you brought that up, what else did Luke tell you?"
Anakin grasped his blonde hair and explained with a great deal of pride and dignity, "He told me that I'm in the future. And my ship is being held in storage on the other side of Coruscant. I need your help. I need to get to my ship."
Han laughed, "You're ship's a big pile a metal right now. Heck, it was a big pile of metal when those tourists found you."
Anakin sprang to his feet, "But I saved your-"
"Life? Well, see, you nearly got me killed, too. So we're even. Except you still hafta take me back to Coruscant."
Anakin growled at Han, "I'm not-"
"Now listen, kid," Han held up his hands complacently.
Anakin took a few breaths and tried to relax. Arguing wasn't going to help.
"Now listen,' Han repeated, "Your ship is scrap. But the stuff inside your ship was removed and taken back to the Imperial Palace, for examination."
Anakin furrowed his brow, "The Imperial Palace is where we just came from."
"Exactly."
"So we hafta go back to Coruscant anyways."
"Yup."
"So I can get to my belongings and possibly get back to my time."
Han beamed, "Took the words right outta my mouth."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
Han shrugged, "Beats me. You're the Jedi."
Ah yes. I'm the Jedi. A Jedi who cannot muster the Force.
"I'll take you back, if you help me get to my ship's cargo," Anakin bargained.
"Hey, I thought you wanted to get back to Coruscant anyway. Back to your precious scrap-I mean ship," Han winced again and clutched his shoulder, "and, this must be the fifth time, there's no way in Hell I'm gonna help you."
Anakin sighed loudly. He turned away from the man to stare out the front portal as he tried to sort out his thoughts. Ok, so, he couldn't draw on the Force; so he couldn't use the Force to persuade Han. Anakin moaned internally. It was so frustrating to be so helpless. Losing the Force was like losing a hand…or both hands…
Han gestured to the cockpit, "Fine then. Been a pleasure talking to you but I think I'll just pilot this myself, all right? I have a job and a girlfriend I need to get back to."
Something in the tone of Han's voice drove what little patience Anakin possessed to the edge. He heaved himself to his feet and yelled after Han, "I want you to know that I have a very sick wife I need to get back to. A sick, pregnant wife I need to get back to so if you're not gonna help me get back to my ship you can go to hell for all I care."
There would have been some appliances flying around the room if Anakin could touch the Force.
Han blinked and started stupidly at Anakin and tried to process this new information.
"Wife?" The blaster lowered.
"Yeah," Anakin relaxed.
"Pregnant?" The muzzle pointed towards the deck.
"Yes," Anakin said calmly enough and blew out his temper.
Han, for one rare moment of his life, was dumbstruck.
"Its like this," Anakin sat down, both ashamed and defensive, "my ship, what's inside it, is the key to sending me back to my time and to saving my wife and…our child, I guess."
Han took a few steps over to the kid. Really, Anakin was just a scared kid, albeit an arrogant Jedi and future Darth Vader.
"How's that?" Han asked gruff but gentle.
Anakin locked eyes with Han. "I took the Laris from the Temple—you can call a Laris a Force-enhancer. I could use it to increase my strength and to heal her. In the ship, on the way to her, I kept the Laris on my lap and all I thought as I flew was 'faster, faster, faster.'"
He stood up and grinned sardonically.
"I guess I went too much too fast. There was a brilliant flash and then I woke up in the future."
Han blew out a puff of air, "Anakin…"
He couldn't settle on what to say.
There wasn't much you could.
A rapid, violent jolt shook the ship and shattered the silence.
Like stone carvings sprung to life, Han and Anakin dashed to the cockpit and dove at the pilot's seat. They fought over the controls.
"I can fly this crate with my eyes closed, Skywal--"
Anakin shoved him away, "That burned shoulder won't take it."
Another blast rocked the ship.
"Turn us around, they're behind us!" Han barked.
Anakin harnessed the controls, and the ship whipped into an about face and twisted out of another bolt's range. It grazed the top of the ship. Han grasped the seat restraints and gaped at their attackers. His mouth dropped open in dismay.
"Who are they?" Anakin demanded and took the ship into a barrel roll.
Han sighed. How had they found them? How'd they get here so soon?
"It's the Empire."
Anakin fought through a drive of beastly, swarming TIE-fighters.
"Who the Sith," Anakin gritted through his teeth, "is the Empire?"
Han ignored this irony when a worse one loomed before them.
"This ship has no gun turrents, does it?"
A stronger blast, straight from the Star Destroyer, sent the feeble little craft whirling.
Do blasters "click?" I dunno. Anyway, I would like give a big hug and a lot of gratitude to those who've been reading this for over a year now. You people make fanfiction.net shine.
And don't worry, people, we are nearing the final stretch.