Twisted Hopes
Artoo-Detoo and See Threepio were two of the oddest friends in the galaxy. Both of them were droids, Threepio a protocol droid and Artoo an astromech droid. They belonged officially to the Royal House of Alderaan and its leaders, Bail Organa and his adopted child.
They were on Coruscant currently, waiting for Bail and the child to get back from the child's introduction to the Imperial Senate as the youngest of all senators. Too young according to Threepio's calculations.
Artoo had reminded him in his droid way that the child was a young adult, but Threepio still disliked the idea of one so young representing an entire population.
"He could give the senate the wrong impression of Alderaan and its populace, including the droids!" He had fretted to Artoo earlier.
The small droid had beeped and tootled in response, then he had shut down for a recharge period. Threepio had been left with his own worries, and he had fretted for about an hour before glumly shutting down.
Now they were activated again and waiting courteously for Bail and the child, newly proclaimed Senator of Alderaan, to come back.
The senior leader of Alderaan, Viceroy Bail Organa, was a gentle man with a persuasive nature. He was pleasant toward all others, even species that the Empire considered not worthy of their glorious reign. This had all rubbed off on the 'young adult' as Artoo had called him.
Bail Organa walked into his senate chambers, glad that the ceremonial induction of a new Senator was over. He didn't like being that close to any of the senior senators that had become corrupt.
"Luke." He said softly.
Bail's adopted child walked forward. He was a handsome young man, with pale blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He moved with a delicate calmness that seemed ready to shatter the moment he was placed into battle.
The pure white of his clothing was a balm to anyone, as was his comforting and commanding presence. So much like his father was before the fall, Bail thought wistfully.
He shook that thought away quickly. He didn't like to be reminded of Lord Vader, who was Luke's true father. Just thinking of that dark Sith Lord's metallic voice and evil mind was enough to make him shudder and wonder how somebody so sadistic could father somebody so sensitive.
Luke walked forward to stand in front of his adopted father's desk. He loved Bail as dearly as if he were his real father. "Yes, Father?"
"The Rebel Alliance headquarters has informed me that Operation Skyhook has succeeded."
Luke's eyes widened in surprise. Operation Skyhook had been acquiring the plans for the Death Star. They were vital to finding a weakness that could destroy it. That they had succeeded in their part was astonishing.
"You are to take the plans to Alderaan, where I will meet you and make sure that the plans are taken to the leaders on Yavin 4."
"All right. I'll take my consular ship Tantive IV. I won't fail, I promise." His eyes glittered as he finished this.
Bail nodded. "Go." He said.
Luke turned and said, "Come on Artoo, Threepio. I'll need your help."
The three of them turned around and walked out of the Senate building and toward the large docking bays for the Senators ships.
p
Tantive IV was a large Rebel blockade-runner, or Corellian Corvette. It was eight times smaller than an Imperial Star Destroyer, but twice as fast in sublight and lightspeed.
Luke turned at the sound of metal dropping onto the floor, and saw one of the other senators remove his hand from the side of Lord Vader's personal shuttle.
"Hey! What are you doing there?" Luke shouted loudly.
The senator lifted his head in fright and bolted out of sight, but Luke heard a scuffle and knew that he'd been apprehended.
He walked over to the shuttle and ran his hand over the spot that he had seen the senator fiddling with, and noticed a small device attached to the hull of the ship. He was looking at it when he heard the mechanical respirator and realized that it was none other than Lord Vader who had caught the senator.
He lifted his head and saw the Dark Lord watching him carefully. The loud hiss of the respirator was the only noise in the hangar, and finally Vader said, "What was that senator doing?" his voice was ominous and deadly.
"He attached a tracking device to your shuttle. It also had a Class-A miniature thermal detonator on it."
Lord Vader was silent as he considered this, then he nodded and said, "Thank you. I need to inform Malastare that they need to find another senator, one that won't try to kill anybody."
Luke gave a sharp half-bow and left, noting with wide eyes the senator, who had lightsaber marks on his neck and legs and looked like he'd been choked to death.
Lord Vader watched the young senator leave, wondering why he was so familiar. He knew that Bail had adopted the youngster from Tatooine, and that he had been proclaimed the heir to the position of Viceroy of Alderaan.
Nevertheless, there was something else, something elusive about the young man. Vader knew it; he just couldn't quite put a finger on it.
Maybe it was just his appearance, which reminded Vader of his own before the Empire's beginning. On the other hand, maybe it was the young man's resemblance to his son, whom Obi-Wan had taken from him at the age of fourteen.
He shook the young man from his mind and strode up the ramp of his shuttle, heading to the Star Destroyer Devastator.
p
Luke strode up the ramp onto the Tantive IV, telling Captain Nhyes to get them up and in hyperspace to Toprawa, where the Death Star plans would be beamed up to his ship.
Later it seemed to Luke that he'd just sat down on his seat in the Tantive IV when Captain Nhyes informed him that they'd reached Toprawa. He had been very busy talking to some of the other members of this crew.
The transmissions were beamed up with no problems or complications, and they set off through hyperspace, hoping for a safe journey to Alderaan.
A silver Threepio unit stood next to a com bay, where one could send safe transmissions, and Luke ordered it to send a transmission to Aldera informing the Rebel heads there of the success.
U-3PO also sent a transmission to a nearby Star Destroyer, telling them that Tantive IV was carrying the Death Star plans and was coming out of hyperspace above Tatooine for a necessary breakout.
When they broke out of hyperspace above Tatooine, they instantly had to flee in order to evade the fire coming from the Devastator.
"They knocked out our lightspeed engines Your Highness! One more direct hit on that area would destroy our sublight engines!" Nhyes shouted to Luke.
"Keep going Captain. When invasion on this ship is imminent, inform me immediately."
C-3PO and R2-D2 followed the young prince into the back of his ship. He recorded a transmission for General Obi-Wan Kenobi on the little droid's memory, and had him take the tapes and keep them in a secret compartment.
"Go you two. Please don't fail. If you fail, everybody will."
The two droids gave their equivalent of a nod and walked into an escape pod, sitting down in it or crouching inside.
Luke watched them, not very reassured, especially when he heard Threepio say, "Are you sure that you know how to fly this thing Artoo?"
Artoo whistled and chirped, and Threepio said, "All right Your Highness. We won't fail you."
"Go." Luke whispered. The escape pod whined for two seconds and then there was a loud clang that released it.
Deep in his own thoughts, Prince Luke Organa of Alderaan barely heard Nhyes say; "We are in their tractor beam now Your Highness."
p
Down on the surface of Tatooine, a young woman paused and looked up at the sky. There were flashes of light coming from two ships way up there, and Leia Rose Skywalker wished that she was up there instead of stuck here on the planet.
It was unfair of Uncle Owen to keep her here. She just knew it! Even her lover Biggs Darklighter was up there, serving in the Imperial Academy.
She leaned against the vaporator and immediately pulled away.
The black metal was practically hot enough to burn skin at a touch. Leia sighed and took off her sunbonnet for a few minutes while she redid her Frenois braids. Her brown eyes were far off as she finished it.
She picked up the useful and plain bonnet and retied it over her hair, being sure to not mess up the braids. She tied it in the right spot for maximum coverage and then reapplied her Burn Baby Sunscreen.
She was a little obsessed with keeping her skin at just the right tan shade, and had admitted to Camie that she used fake tanning products to keep her tan that way.
Camie had laughed and said that she'd rather be white than use fake tanning products, and Leia had gotten huffy and walked over to join the guys in their pool game.
Biggs had won thanks to her talents at aiming the stick, and the other guys had laughed and playfully teased Biggs about his girlfriend being the better shot.
Camie was irritated, and she had remarked that women shouldn't play pool or be the ones giving men orders, cause it wasn't ladylike.
"And I suppose talking like that is?" Leia had said, sparking off more laughter among the guys.
Leia had spark and a personality, and the guys had treated her like a friend since she was around thirteen, after her first date with Biggs.
Leia smiled at the memory, her last before Biggs had left for the Academy.
She walked over to her speeder, which she had fixed herself with special modifications, legal ones.
Leia sat down in the pilot's seat and started the engine, taking off with a whine of the repulsors.
She had more important things to do than repair vaporators.
p
Luke Organa waited hidden in the shadows of a back corridor of the Tantive IV, waiting for the stormtroopers to show. He was nervous, and shivered slightly at the cold air.
Stormtroopers were produced in huge numbers and weren't very bright, one of the many things about the Empire that was faulty.
He watched his fellow Rebels run to a distant commotion, and dearly hoped that the person who was heading this wasn't the one he was thinking of.
In the main corridor, rebel troops were shouting or groaning in pain as they were brought down by stormtroopers. It was a tight space, with room for two soldiers to walk side by side.
The crisscross of fire was creating a thick blanket of smoke, and from this smoke a sound was reaching the rebels that struck instant terror in their hearts.
Hiss-shush, hisss, hiss-shush. The sound of a mechanical respirator. Which meant only one thing......
"Lord Vader." Captain Nhyes whispered.
"Run! It's Lord Vader. Get to the escape pods!" He watched his men run, and continued to fire at the troopers until one of them brought him down with a stun beam.
p
Lord Vader watched his troopers with disinterest. He was only interested in finding the holder of those data tapes, the tapes that held the Death Star plans.
He knew that this was an Alderaanian diplomatic vessel, and wondered what member of the royal family was on board. He ordered several troops to look for the members of the royal family, and decided to interrogate one of the officials of this ship.
He whirled to one of his troopers and ordered, "Once we get the member of the royal family I want you to rip this ship apart component by component and piece by piece until we find those tapes. You can get ready for that now."
"Quickly!" He hissed when they didn't move.
The troopers left at a fast walk, trying to not run in fear from that malevolent presence.
Vader darkly turned his attention back to the rebel troops in front of him, and he reached out and placed one gauntlet protected hand around Nhyes's neck and lifted him up off the floor. Nhyes's eyes bulged, but he remained quiet. Vader remained quiet for a few seconds, allowing the psychological effect to take hold.
"Where are those tapes you intercepted?" Vader rumbled loudly.
"We intercepted no tapes, Lord Vader. This is a diplomatic mission to..."
"To the rebel base. This spaceship carries the code of the Royal House of Alderaan. Are any of the royal family on board?" Vader growled.
Nhyes shook his head and Vader hissed. "Liar. I can tell when you lie. I am a Dark Lord of the Sith. We can detect when you lie through the smallest movement of your lips."
He tightened his grip until Nhyes was gasping, and asked angrily, "Now once more, where are those tapes?"
"I told you," Nhyes said, dredging up a snap of outrage, "we were heading to Cardia on a diplomacy mission. We were sent by Admiral Drayson of the Avenger."
Vader choked off the last word by tightening his fist until the man was obviously dead. He continued, tightening it until he heard the ghastly snap, like a wet branch breaking, which announced the man's neck was broken.
In disgust he tossed the grisly missile away from him, causing two troopers to duck.
In another area of the ship, Luke was hiding in a back area. He saw the troopers an instant before they saw him, and shivered in the cold bay.
The lead trooper laughed mentally and said, "Here he is. He matches Lord Vader's most wanted list. Set weapons for stun and report to me after my promotion."
The trooper never got his wanted promotion, because the shivering vanished in an instant. Luke brought his weapon down and killed two of the stormtroopers before a stun beam brought him down.
A young trooper came forward and checked the captive's pulse. "He'll be all right. Inform Lord Vader of the capture and bind his hands behind his back."
The other troopers bound his hands and brought him upright, getting into formation. Only then did they administer the antidote for the stun blast.
Luke woke up and saw all the white armor around him and realized that he was now a captive. He looked around for some sign as to who commanded these troopers, and couldn't find one. He found one as he walked.
Two troopers were dragging Nhyes's body down a corridor, his bruised throat telling Luke who was responsible for his death.
Luke saw Lord Vader standing and listening to one of his human generals, and dearly hoped that Lord Vader wasn't in too bad of a mood.
"Lord Vader. I should have known. Only you'd be so stupid as to attack a diplomatic vessel. When the Senate hears about this, they won't stand for it." Luke snapped.
"Prince Luke Organa." Vader rumbled, delighted. "What a surprise. I just saw you on Coruscant. What a shame that the Rebellion is trying to get representation." Vader said sarcastically.
"I am a...." Luke started to say.
"You are a traitor and a rebel. The senate won't care. Even the fact that you are the Royal Prince of Alderaan won't help you this time. Take him away."
"If he gets sympathy in the Senate we are going to have trouble, Lord Vader." General Amers said worriedly.
"He won't. Send a general broadband distress signal that indicates that there were no survivors due to a loss of all carbon dioxide and half of the oxygen. Indicate also that we destroyed the ship to prevent an epidemic from reaching ships that come through this area."
"Finally, destroy the ship with all of the rebels on it. Don't take prisoners." Vader finished, his ways as merciless as usual.
"Yes sir." Amers said sharply.
p
Artoo-Detoo shambled along down the mesas, intent on finding General Obi-Wan Kenobi. That had been what the Prince had told him to do, and he was going to do it.
Threepio babbled nervously, making comments like, "We're doomed. We droids are just meant to suffer."
Artoo whistled at him, agreeing with his comments.
"You're not even paying attention! Where are we going anyway?"
"Bere Dweee-oop."
"The Jundland Wastes! Why would a Jedi Master live in the Jundland Wastes?"
"Tweerre."
"To hide from Lord Vader? Well, that makes sense." Threepio said.
Artoo twirred at him and headed sharply in another direction, and Threepio had to halt and turn to follow him.
"Hey! Wait for me." Threepio shouted nervously, shuffling forward on his stiff legs.
Artoo stopped and whistled back at Threepio. Then he patiently waited for him to catch up. Threepio walked up to his side, and saw what he was whistling about.
"General Obi-Wan Kenobi lives in the strangest places. Remember his home on Darlyn Boda? It was in the middle of a swamp! I was corroded for weeks after that! I'll have sand in my joints for months now!" Threepio whined at the end of this sentence.
Artoo rolled up and stopped at the door of the General's home, waiting for Threepio to come to the door.
Threepio said, "I'd better knock." He gave a couple of sharp raps on the door.
The door swished open and General Obi-Wan stood in the doorway, looking quite as old as usual.
"What are you two doing here on Tatooine?"
"Prince Luke Organa of Alderaan sent us to you. He wants you to take the Death Star plans hidden in my counterpart to Aldera, where his father will extract them. He is unable to come himself because he was taken prisoner by Lord Vader."
"He [I] what [/I] ?" Obi-Wan shrieked, not his usual calm self.
"He was taken prisoner by Lord Vader." Threepio repeated.
"All right. I'll take the plans to stinking Alderaan. Stay out of my home while I get some equipment. Don't want two nosy droids getting into my stuff." Obi-Wan grumbled.
"We have to pick someone up first though." Obi-Wan muttered, walking back out in his Jedi robes with his saber attached to the belt.
"Whom does the other saber belong to?"
"It's going to belong to the person we're picking up in Anchorhead." Obi-Wan grumbled.
He glared at C-3PO and thought, [I] Anakin hated the droid and so he left him with me. No fair. And I thought I wasn't going to have to do anything with these damn twins of his. [/I]
p
Leia stopped her speeder by Toshe Station, which was owned and managed by Fixer.
She got out and walked into the cool poolroom, which was only lit by dim lights. It was a casual room with all kinds of comfortable chairs seated around a small table and a pool table sitting under the main light.
"Hey Leia. How are ya?" That was Deak and Windy, two of Biggs's friends.
"Fine. And how are you two doing?"
"Wonderful besides the fact that we're roasting."
Leia laughed and fell silent abruptly, taking in the figure standing apart from the others.
"Biggs!" she managed, before she practically burst from her standing position and hugged him.
His smell was wonderful, sharp, like the outfit. Biggs was holding her as tightly as she was holding him, and she looked up into his brown eyes, framed as always by his black-brown hair. He always stuck out in a crowd, but he stuck out even more in the traditional black uniform of an Imperial officer.
"Commander?" She asked in disbelief.
He grinned at her. "Commander Biggs Darklighter at your service." He added mockingly at the others, done, as usual, with his silly charm.
She laughed and they walked out, talking and moving toward the top observation deck of the station. Biggs leaned his forearms on the guide to their surroundings, and looked at her, grinning mischievously.
He gave one of his genuine smiles, and said to her, "Leia, there are two reasons why I wanted to talk to you. First off, will you marry me?"
She stood stock still, shocked at his proposal. "Yes." Leia murmured breathlessly.
"Second, there are things going on among the Empire that I don't want to happen, and I've decided to join the rebellion. They fight for a cause that's actually worth it, and my friend has a contact that will take us there."
"What did your father say?" Leia knew that Huff Darklighter wouldn't be pleased with the idea of his heir taking off and becoming a rebel.
"He didn't agree at first, but he came over when I told him what the Empire was doing to prisoners and innocents."
"They're harming innocent people?" She said in dismay.
"Yes! And I don't want that to happen any more than you do. That's why I'm going to become a rebel pilot."
"Owen still won't let me leave." Leia said sullenly, knowing that she sounded like a petulant child, but not caring.
Biggs sighed and took her in his arms. "Your uncle is doing what he believes is best for you. Leia, I will promise you one thing, and that is that [I] I will never leave you [/I] ." He said it so fiercely that she knew he meant it.
She smiled at him and said, "When do you leave?"
"Tonight. I'm leaving the Empire tomorrow morning, before anybody can stop me."
"Good luck."
"Thanks." His quirky smile returning, he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Leia's mouth. Then he disappeared into the night, a shadow returning to the darkness.
p
Luke Organa rested against the wall of his cell, pensive as he thought about his fate.
The cell door slid open, and Lord Vader walked in, followed by a small hovering droid that made his breath catch in his throat.
He had heard about the interrogation droids of the Empire, but he had hoped that the accounts were false. They obviously weren't.
The black droid was ominous looking, and was equipped with enough devices of pain to make a prisoner wish he were dead in the first session. A long hypodermic needle filled with the truth serum Bavo Six came closer to him.
Luke leaned back, wishing dearly that he wasn't the one in this position, but there was no hope in that. He shut his mouth and fell back into a place of quiet reserve, even as the needle came closer to his arm and pierced it with a sting.
Luke's breath caught in his throat in a muffled scream at the pain of the droid's cripplers and peelers went to work.
Over that he heard Lord Vader say, "Now Your Highness, we will discuss the location of your rebel base."
The dark lord moved forward, the black bulk of his armor drowning out the light, and the hum of the droid covered the sound of his respirator. He reached out and placed three of his metal fingers on the prince's temple.
Luke was trembling despite all efforts to stop himself, but he was successfully holding off the dark lord's mental probe, slamming down shields and glaring right at Vader.
He was hoping that he'd pass out, and Lord Vader growled and knocked him back awake.
Outside the cell, a guard leaned back against the door, and then jumped away as if stung. He regarded the door silently, and then scurried off to join his companions by the docking bay.
p
Obi-Wan Kenobi ran toward a hidden speeder and stopped three feet before he got to it. There were Sand people out, and he didn't want to tangle with them.
"We will rest in the speeder for the night." He barked back at the droids.
Artoo gurgled something at Threepio, and the taller droid nodded. Kenobi certainly was being odd. [i] Kind of like he doesn't want us here. [/i]
Leia got home just in time to be yelled at before dinner, and she winced. Those vaporators were going to be her job tomorrow, and then she had to weed the garden. Owen had also seen to locking her speeder in the garage.
Leia walked off to bed with an angry glare at the just returning Owen, and after the young woman had left Beru asked him, "Why do you keep her penned up here? She has too much of her mother and father in her for that to do any good."
"That's what I'm afraid of. Anyway, it will go as soon as she marries Biggs and there is no chance of her getting off-planet. And until that time, we must hope that the Empire continues to pass over Tatooine." Owen shot a worried glance at his disappearing niece, and sighed nervously.
Leia was fuming mad the next day, and walked on foot to repair the vaporator after arguing with Owen about taking the speeder out to it. She was a pilot, not a darn foot soldier! Look at her last name, Skywalker. There was nothing about Groundwalker in there!
They heard an angry hum later that afternoon as they were having lunch, and a squad of stormtroopers walked up to them. "Have you heard anything about a group of droids coming this way? A protocol droid and an astromech droid. Blue and white, the other one's gold."
"No we haven't heard anything about your Hutt-cursed droids you idiots! And if I had, they would have been shipped off this planet! So get off of my property!"
He turned away, and the stormtroopers exchanged a glance and then fired, hitting Owen in the side of his chest and killing Beru instantly.
Leia snarled and whipped up a blaster from her belt and snapped off three shots, each killing a trooper with deadly efficiency.
Finally, it was just her and the leader, and she said, "Report. Go ahead. I want the Empire to realize that ordinary people will resist too." She watched as the leader reported, and then pulled the trigger that was resting against the stormtroopers' head, killing him and searing the hot armor.
She dropped the weapon and scrambled toward Uncle Owen, who groaned in pain. "Uncle, I'm going to get you out of here. Stay with me, please."
"Your...aunt?" He asked weakly.
"Dead." Leia said with a sob.
"Then I will die too. Leia, the key ring for the lock is on my belt, take it. Take your identification papers and burn them. Say that you lost them if they are needed. Don't cry, I've missed my father too much in the past years. Now I will go to him...Go." His open eyes stared past her, and she sobbed while holding his body in a tight embrace. He was gone, gone with a smile on his face.
Leia fiercely brushed away the tears from her red and puffy face, and pulled Owen and then Beru into the house, taking their money and the identification papers and putting the money into her pouch.
Leia put the identification papers on Owen's chest and grabbed the key ring. She got the speeder out of the garage and then poured the remaining fuel all around the house, making sure to soak the papers thoroughly. Then she lit a branch on fire and torched her only home, staying only to make sure that everything lit up.
Then she headed for Mos Eisley.
Lord Vader got the news about the farmer girl who had killed a small squad of stormtroopers as he headed to the bridge of the Death Star, where Tarkin was waiting to tell him something.
He stored it away and continued to think about the feisty Prince, who had resisted all methods of interrogation so far.
He reached the bridge just in time for the technician to say, "The Death Star is fully operational, sir."
Tarkin said to Vader, "Since he has resisted your methods Lord Vader, let us try mine. The prince was raised for a time on Tatooine, so have the technicians set this battle station on course for that planet."
The technicians did so, and Lord Vader knew that it was only for his reminder that Tarkin had asked. Lord Vader served the Grand Moff right now, and he had to be accepting of that, for the time being.
"He won't break, and you'll have to convince your cowardly heart to actually destroy the planet." Lord Vader said smugly before leaving.
Tarkin glared after the dark lord, then turned away, and watched as the Death Star hit hyperspace.
Leia strode up a sand dune and turned back. She could still see her speeder from where she had left it. It had broken down and lost all fuel, so she had left it for the Jawas.
She was near Anchorhead now, and thought that she could see something heading toward her from the Jundland Wastes.
The thing was real, and the driver was none other than Ben Kenobi.
"Kenobi! Am I glad to see you! I was heading toward Mos Eisley when my speeder broke down."
"Are you heading off planet?" Kenobi snapped, obviously grumpy.
Leia hesitated. "Yes."
"Then you can come with me to Alderaan."
"Alderaan?" Leia gasped.
"Yes. I have to see the Viceroy there."
"Okay. I'll go with you. Meet you there?" She added, hoping that she wouldn't have to ride with a grouchy Kenobi.
"No. Get in. Put your seatbelt on. Hang on." He barked the series of instructions, and as she got in, she noticed the gold and blue droids.
"The Empire is looking for those! They killed Owen and Beru when they said that they had never heard of them!" She cried.
"Shut up and sit down. The people on Coruscant could hear you with your crater of a mouth." Leia sat down and sulked.
When they reached Mos Eisley, Kenobi parked in front of a cantina, getting out and waiting for her, very impatient, to judge by his tapping foot. He put the bubble top on, as to hide the droids from any curious faces of stormtroopers.
They walked into the cantina and Leia wrinkled her nose.
Garish music was playing loudly, made by four Bith aliens. The bartender was a hefty elderly human with an attitude, and most of the patrons were trading things or making illegal deals with smugglers and slavers.
Leia accidentally walked into something, and looked up into the face of a towering anthropoid with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Large, furry, and made totally of muscle, the Wookiee was not one to notice someone as small as Leia bumping into it.
This Wook was larger than most, with long russet brown and black fur and a bandolier strung from shoulder to opposite hip. He had small beady blue eyes, and was around two meters tall.
Leia looked around and saw Kenobi over in one of the small booths. She walked over to him and was immediately drawn to the man he was talking to.
Tall and cocky, with big brown eyes and dark brown hair, he was decorated with a Corellian bloodstripe and a mid-calf holster.
This individual was Han Solo, business merchant and captain of the spice cruiser Millennium Falcon. He had a cool, relaxed temper and Leia realized why when she saw the Wookiee that she had bumped into sit next to him.
"This is my partner and friend Chewbacca. He's an old friend. Now, you're heading to Alderaan. Well, you're in luck. Chewie and I are heading there for a spice delivery, and we'll be generous and let you on board for ten thousand, paid now."
"Ten thousand!" Leia screeched. "I could pilot for that with our own ship!"
"Oh really? You look kind of pampered to know how to pilot anything for yourself." Han shot back.
Kenobi calmed her down with a glance, and said to Solo, "That's pretty expensive. Two thousand now, and seventeen more when we reach Alderaan. You'll get it from Viceroy Bail Organa himself. Take it or leave it."
Han gaped at the old man, who suddenly didn't seem so old. "You've got your transport. Docking bay 15. Follow me."
Solo led them towards the docking bay, and Leia glared after his back, furious at being called 'pampered.' She was anything but pampered, and she'd prove it to the stuck-up businessman that they followed.
He'd learn to respect Leia Skywalker before they were done.
Solo allowed the farm girl to accompany them, vowing to ignore her the entire way. He already had a girlfriend, a young woman on Alderaan named Mirada. She was his lover, a beautiful young girl of twenty years.
Solo glared at the irritating girl as she strode past him, and darkly caught her arm and motioned for her to move back. She shot him an angry glare, and stopped right in his path.
Lord Vader watched pensively as Tatooine came into view. What a desolate place, home to gangsters and thugs of all kinds.
He had no attachment to Tatooine, the place of so many trials for himself. He wondered if the prince did, and gave a sudden snort at the idea of anyone liking the place.
The prince was escorted into the room by a full squad of stormtroopers, and Vader watched his expression when he saw Tarkin. He had been quiet, but now he said with a disdainful smirk, "Tarkin. How amusing. A hatchet faced coward facing down a politician and prince. I hope you aren't shaking by the end of this encounter."
Vader gave an amused baritone laugh, and gave Luke Organa full credit for an amusing statement.
Tarkin was not amused, and glared at Vader before saying to Organa, "Prince Luke Organa. You have some talent for making Lord Vader laugh."
"Thank you. I consider this a compliment. Let me see, Lord Vader couldn't break me and so you are going to try by destroying a planet. You are too predictable, Grand Moff."
Vader stepped up behind Organa, and placed one gloved hand on his shoulder in restraint.
"Yes I am predictable." Tarkin smirked. "We chose for this your original homeworld of Tatooine."
"WHAT?? Tarkin, Tatooine has no defenses of any kind! Not even shields. Its of no military honor to destroy it."
"Military honor!" Tarkin barked with a laugh. Right then, a beep informed them that they were in range, and Luke dropped his head.
"The Rebel base is on Dantooine's main star." He said meekly, causing Tarkin to say in glee to Vader,
"You see? Rebels are all the same. Destroy Tatooine anyway, Jerjerrod."
Luke heard this, and watched as the gunners targeted and drew power to the laser. He knew that it took the super laser ten minutes to equalize if the gunners let go of their levers because of a distraction, and he waited for the exact moment.
All of a sudden, Luke snapped his head back up, cracking Vader in the face and cracking the faceplate over his nose.
Every one of the gunners jumped and let go of their controls at the inhuman scream that Vader released at the sudden pain and surprise that Luke had given him.
Tarkin hissed in fury when he realized that the Rebel had prevented the death of Tatooine for ten minutes, and snapped, "The minute that the super laser has recharged I want you to destroy both Tatooine and Alderaan! "
Prince Luke Organa regally drew himself straight. He could not grieve in front of these men, so he tightened his spine and walked out ahead of his escort of stormtroopers.
Vader realized that the men were staring at him, and he glared at them menacingly and walked out before Tarkin could do anything. He stepped into a turbolift and probed the mask with his fingers. He could feel the spot where it had broken open above his nose and he stepped into his hydraulic chambers so that he could remove it.
He sat down and removed the helmet, looking into the dark eyes so unlike his own, rubbing the spot where Organa had cracked his head into, and set it aside for cleaning.
He tenderly touched the spot on his nose where Organa had broken it, and healed it with a force-touch. He looked up, and caught sight of himself in the mirror.
Haunted blue eyes stared back at him out of a face that was the color of dough, wound around his head were massive burn scars that would never fully heal, and crossing his cheek were five dark scars, given during lightsaber training with Palpatine's minions.
Vader shut his eyes, and in his mind he could imagine the face that he always remembered, not his own, but that of a woman with brown hair and large dark eyes filled with emotion. Amidala's face, his mind whispered to him.
She's gone. Accept it. He hissed at himself.
Not gone, his mental voice said with a laugh, dead. Dead at the hands of the man you call master. Dead, her blood staining his hands. Dead because of Palpatine and his quest for unrestricted power.
Vader's only answer was an anguished mental cry.
One of the Emperor's concubines slid along a wall. She had black hair and sparkling green eyes, and was shorter than Palpatine was. She had heard of the scene on the Death Star bridge, and she had to see if the rumor was true, that Lord Vader, the Emperor's Dark Lord, was here on this battle station.
She knew of the Dark Lord's defenses in his chamber. In fact, she knew the whole design and the history behind him. She knew it quite well.
The concubine slid a datacard from her skirt and slid it down the slot between the door and the wall. A satisfying click sounded, and she walked into the room, hoping that the Dark Lord wasn't here.
No such luck was with her today.
"There is no luck, only the Force." The dark lord's monotone sounded behind her, and she whirled around to face the dark monstrosity.
He sat in the hydraulic chamber, glaring at her through a mask of obsidian.
"I'm so sorry milord. I didn't know that this was your quarters." She lied, hoping that he'd take it.
"Liar." He said with a snap. "What is your name?"
"Shiara."
"Liar again."
"Fine. You want my real name?" She spat something in a foreign language, at the same time removing the colored lenses and the fake hair net.
"What does that mean?" He asked idly while she removed the hair net.
"It means that my name is Padme Amidala." Padme said defiantly.
She glared at him and noticed that he'd gone completely stiff, and was looking at the gown she wore.
"Palpatine caught me when I was in one of my disguises, and decided that my dancing skills would be of use."
Before he could say one word, she placed something on his desk and bolted out the door.
Vader stood up. It was a letter and a small white square, elaborately carved. He recognized the square as the japor snippet that he'd carved for her as a child, and shut his eyes. She wouldn't give this back to him unless something bad was going to happen.
Five days later, Vader heard that Palpatine's concubine Shiara had been electrocuted to death by the Emperor for treason.
Vader remained in his chamber for three days and just thought about her.
Leia and her companions had just gotten off of Tatooine when the huge super laser destroyed the planet.
Leia collapsed, sobbing in fury and pain, and Kenobi just stood still and watched the huge battle station. "Solo," he said quietly, "get us away from that battle station. It's called the Death Star, and you just saw why."
"Sure old man. I don't want to go there anyway." Solo said, flicking several controls on the spice freighter's navigation board.
They came too close to it, and Solo's face became unreadable as they were dragged toward a docking bay.
"Why are we moving toward that, Solo? I thought you were a good pilot." Leia snapped in fury, glaring at Solo.
"Leia Rose Skywalker," Ben said sharply, "You shall not speak in that tone around me again. We are caught in a tractor beam, and there was nothing that Solo could do. Keep your mouth shut or apologize." His voice had hardened a great deal, and Obi-Wan thought, she's as bad as her father. Maybe I should tell her why she's coming along.
"Leia. You are to become a Jedi like your father. He was a Jedi Knight and General during the Clone Wars, as was I, under the name Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was killed by Darth Vader, a Sith Lord. Anger is the path to the dark side of the force, and you are a lightsider. You are to never intentionally feel anger or pain."
That little lecture shut Leia's mouth, as she had never heard anything about her father, and now she had just learned that his teacher was this old lunatic who happened to be a General from the Clone Wars!
Solo snickered. Leia fought the urge to glare at him, and won with supreme effort. He really was insufferable. As soon as she got away from Kenobi, Solo would get what he deserved.
Leia and Han were finally alone, after Kenobi took off to turn the tractor beam away from their ship.
Leia glared hatefully at him, and the minute Kenobi stepped out, she walked over to him and gave him a hard crack on the jaw with her fist.
"Mistress Leia!" Threepio said, astonished.
Beeps and tootles from Artoo got the protocol droid's attention, and Leia asked, "What did he find?"
"The location of one Prince Luke Organa of Alderaan."
"Alderaan?" Solo said. "What is His Royal Highness doing here?"
"He's scheduled for termination at 0600 hours today."
Leia gasped, and whirled to stare at Solo. "We have to rescue him. He's the prince of the world we're going to."
"I know that. My girlfriend explained Aldera politics to me." Solo snapped.
"Oh. Anyway, I have an idea. Since he's on a detention level and we're dressed in the uniform of stormtroopers, why don't we act like Chewbacca is our prisoner and lead him to the level? Then Chewie can act like he breaks loose and we can shoot the guards and the cameras."
Han and Chewbacca stared at her, amazed at her sharp wits.
Leia glared at them huffily and said, "What are you staring at? Let's go."
Artoo whistled again, and Threepio translated. "The Death Star just leapt into hyperspace. We are heading somewhere near the Middle Rim."
Han plucked a pair of plastisteel cuffs off of his stormtrooper armor, and expertly fastened them around Chewbacca's wrists.
The huge Wookiee gave a worried woof, and Han said to his pal, "You'll be fine. I'm not going to fasten these anyway."
Leia donned her stormtrooper helmet, and Han did the same. They exited the control room and walked forward with a stormtrooper strut, and nobody opposed them or questioned what they were doing with a huge Wookiee.
Everything went according to plan until after they had destroyed the room. Then Han heard the comlink squawking, and fired a bolt into it.
Leia found the code to the prince's cell, and took off down the hall. Han joined her a minute later with Chewbacca, and he found the prince's cell and fired a single bolt into the keypad.
The door shot open, and the startled prince stared at them. Leia yanked off the helmet and, ignoring how handsome the prince was, said to him, "My name is Leia Skywalker, and this is Han Solo. We came with Obi-Wan Kenobi and your droids to rescue you. Kenobi is dismantling the tractor beam so we can leave."
The minute she took off the helmet, the prince asked her, "Do you have a spare blaster?"
She removed it and watched, surprised, as the prince expertly shifted the gun's dial from stun to kill and removed the safety guard.
Then he noticed the blaster fire coming towards them and said in disgust, "It looks like you blocked our only exit quite well. There must be..." Organa saw what he was looking for and fired at it.
As the grate exploded, Leia took one look at it and realized what he was planning. "Ohh no, you're not getting me to jump into a garbage chute. No way."
The prince glared at her and leaped headfirst into the chute, and Han stared after him. "Now that is a prince who isn't opposed to getting a little dirty." The approval in his voice disgusted her, and Leia jumped next, right before Chewbacca was forced into the grate by Han.
It seemed that Han was the reluctant one. Leia smiled in satisfaction.
Obi-Wan Kenobi carefully crept down a long hall, trying to get to the tractor controls. They were set on an attached side to a main walkway on the same level as the docking bay. He inched his way along the wall, then darted like a shadow to the controls, lowering three of the controls to lowest power, and crept past the stormtroopers hanging out by the door.
He headed toward the ship and then stopped. Damn.
Leia wasn't sure weather to laugh or be outraged at the events that followed next. She was nearly swallowed by a garbage monster, the walls started to compact, and Han took off after a squad of stormtroopers.
Finally the foursome reached the docking bay, and Luke Organa waited for something before leading them for Han's ship.
What he was waiting for was the two droids, who were bickering so loudly that Threepio didn't hear the comlink until Luke shouted into it.
Then the droids moved forward, and at the same time the stormtroopers were distracted by something that was going on to their left.
Leia looked and saw Kenobi battling a monstrous figure armored entirely in black, with a death mask for the mask on his face.
She stared and realized that the figure could be only one person. Darth Vader, murderer of her father and enemy of the Jedi. She watched Kenobi, and willed him with all of her feelings to strike him down.
Kenobi felt it, and he said to Vader, "You are a monster. I will always be better than you. Enjoy your victory over me, because I will not fight darkness as evil as you."
Vader struck him down with a vicious sweep of his blood-red saber, and whirled at the scream of fury that somebody released.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Leia screamed, outraged at this figure. She started to wildly fire in his direction, ignoring Han until he bodily picked her up and tossed her onto the ship.
Then she whirled on him in fury, brown eyes smoldering. "You listen to me, Solo. If you ever touch me like that again, I will personally remove you of all fingers on your hands."
Solo shrugged and said to her, "Get into the gunner turret. We have TIE's on our tail, and I need you to man one of the turrets. Chewbacca and Organa are flying, so I'll take the other one." Then he scuttled up to the top turret and sat down in it.
Leia chose the bottom turret, and sat down. She recognized the guns, and smirked. She'd be able to prove her worth to Solo easily enough. She sat down and waited for the TIE's to show up.
They sped past her window two seconds later, and Leia frowned. They were coming in faster than usual, but Biggs had taught her a clever way to get them to slow down.
She fired just past them, and the second one braked to avoid it. Leia fired and knocked the wing, just enough to send it spiraling into one of the other five.
Han picked off two in a row, and Leia matched him, knocking out the last two with well-timed shots.
Organa said to Han when they got to the cockpit, "They let us go. That's the only reason why we got away so soon. Your copilot has set us on a course for Yavin 4."
"Why not Alderaan?" Leia and Han asked at the same time.
"Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star. The only other main Rebel base is on Yavin. We will have time to grieve for Alderaan and Tatooine later. Now we must be strong."
The prince walked toward the back of the ship, and Leia smiled after him. He was exactly what she thought a prince was, elegant, sophisticated, strong and kind.
She liked him for that.
Lord Vader watched as the rebels escaped into hyperspace, and Tarkin glowered at him.
"Are you sure that the homing beacon is secure aboard their ship? I'm taking a risk in letting them go."
"It's secure. This day has seen the end of the Jedi, and it will see the end of the Rebellion also."
Tarkin stared at the window, and said to Vader with a warning tone, "I hope so, for your sake. You are a valuable member of the Empire, Lord Vader."
Lord Vader watched him and smirked. You are not, Tarkin. Oh well, no need to tell him that he was going to die just yet.
Organa was greeted at the base by General Jan Dodonna, the strategist for the Rebellion. The seasoned general nearly swept the prince up in a bear hug from the speeder they were in, and at the last minute retained some dignity.
"We thought you were lost with the rest of Alderaan, Your Highness."
"I obviously wasn't, Jan. These people are Leia Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca. They rescued me from the Death Star and got the plans here."
"Plans?" Leia asked.
"The plans to the Death Star. We need them in order to destroy the station by an aerial attack." Dodonna said sharply.
"May I join the attack?" Leia asked.
"Why would you want to?"
"The Empire destroyed my homeworld of Tatooine. I want to get them back for it."
"Of course. You need to be briefed with the rest of the pilots in a couple of hours, but then you can."
In exactly two hours, Leia sat with the rest of the pilots and listened in surprised amusement as the target's size was explained.
"Two meters square? That's no bigger than a womp rat." She said to Wedge Antilles, a Corellian pilot that sat next to her.
"Tell me, was the womp rat firing at you as you targeted it?"
"No, but the size is the same, and I was perfect at that."
Wedge snorted and walked to his ship. Leia smiled at the sight of her own. It was lethal, and she liked that. Artoo was sitting in the back, and she said professionally, "Fire up the converters, Artoo."
"Leia? Is that you?"
"Biggs! I knew that you'd be here. Did you hear about Tatooine?"
"Yes. Dad always said that he'd die on Tatooine's baked surface."
"See you when we get back."
Leia jumped into the starfighter and buckled her harness. Turning on the engines, she lifted it up and headed after Wedge.
They were dragged past the shield, and Wedge and Biggs followed her. They were the only ones, since this was a volunteer mission.
Wedge took a hit from a TIE, and pulled out. Biggs stayed to her right, and three TIEs dropped behind her. The lead one was gaining fast, and she aimed and fired two of her four torpedoes. They exploded harmlessly on the outside, and she hid her disappointment. They pulled out, and split up, reforming above the trench for the final run.
Leia turned off her targeting computer, and Biggs said in a worried tone, "Leia, do you know what you're doing?"
"Yes." She had heard Kenobi say trust the force, and decided to take the old man's advice.
Biggs screamed in pain, and she snapped her head around to see his ship explode in a fireball.
Furious, she sent her torpedoes off, and they zipped inside the hole. She took off straight up, and stayed right behind the leader, snarling, "You're going to pay for that."
Her ship stopped, and she glared at a familiar spice cruiser as the Millennium Falcon attached a tractor beam. The cruiser hauled them away from there, and the Death Star exploded in a fiery death, but the dark one didn't.
Leia was furious at Solo, but she hid it behind a joyful smile at the fact that the Rebellion was saved.
Organa gave her a peck on the cheek in front of everybody, and she suddenly blushed.
Leia stood in a white dress at the end of a long corridor lined with Rebels on either side, and she nervously straightened the dress.
When Leia and her companions reached the end of the hall, Luke Organa placed three golden medals around their necks, and gave the hall allowance to vent their excitement.
Yells and shouts filled the hall, but Leia simply brushed away a tear from her eyes and said silently, This is yours, Biggs. I will kill Darth Vader if it is the last thing I do.
The Force seemed to tense right there, but finally everything settled down, and Leia smiled, joyful tears in her eyes.
Watch out Empire. You've made an enemy of Leia Rose Skywalker, and I'll get my revenge.
27