Lord Vader stood on the bridge of the Executor. He knew he was close. The Emperor was getting impatient with his fruitless search. There was something… he didn't know what, but something elusive going on. Somehow, the Rebellion was always one step ahead of him. How is that possible? How can they always escape? he thought to himself.

Turning suddenly, he moved across the bridge to overlook the work his men were doing. Reaching out with the Force, Vader revelled in the fear the Imperials emitted in his presence. But something was disturbing his peace of mind. He couldn't get his mind off the boy who had become a hero of the Rebellion.

Skywalker.

He had found out who the boy was, but the boy's significance had not been made clear to him. Lord Vader was certain that he should know who the boy was. Skywalker… the name repeated itself over and over in his mind. Who was he? Why was he important?

Frustrated, Vader made his way to his apartments. He needed the time to think, to ponder on the facts laid before him. Skywalker… He needed time to consider what he could do to turn the boy to the Dark Side. And he knew that the boy would be a great asset to their cause. The boy was unusually strong in the Force.

Entering his quarters, Vader sat. Reaching out again with the Force, Vader sought answers to his many hidden questions. He was certain that he had rid the galaxy of the last Jedi three years before, when he had killed his former master. Thinking of Obi-Wan, Vader became enraged. Obi-Wan had taken everything from him. Padmé had been taken from him against his will. His mother had died before he had time to save her. And it was all Obi-Wan's fault.

Who was Obi-Wan to stop him from marrying the one he loved? Obi-Wan always overreacted when he had done things without the will of the Council. Obi-Wan was always restricting him. He hated the memories and cursed them.

Why now? Why am I thinking of him now? He's dead…

How much training had Obi-Wan give the boy? Is there a chance that there are other Jedi still alive? Vader cursed again. He was so sure that he had rid the galaxy of all of them. Obi-Wan was the last.

But that didn't hide the fact that Obi-Wan had hidden from him all those years. Others might have also.

Damn them! Damn them all!

Vader stood and paced. He was angry. He was furious! It was all Obi-Wan's fault! Obi-Wan disagreed with the union that he had had with Padmé. Obi-Wan had kept him from Tatooine and his mother when she needed him the most.

Mother… How he had missed her during his training to become a Jedi. But now, he couldn't think of her without hate in his heart. Obi-Wan should have let me go.

Vader stopped his pacing. Something struck him and called out to him through the Force. He knew it wasn't aboard the Executor. It was down upon the planet. On Hoth.

Skywalker…

Someone, one of the officers, Vader realised, was coming to pay him a visit. His doors automatically opened to let the officer in. "My Lord, the Millennium Falcon has just lifted off. Orders?"

Vader was sure Skywalker was aboard that ship. "Capture them."

"Yes milord." The officer stood there for a bit longer. Vader turned on him angrily.

"What?!" he demanded.

"The Emperor wishes for you to make contact with him, Lord Vader."

"Very well."

c d

Bethia Hughting was aboard the Falcon without the knowledge of the captain or his co-pilot. She knew she was of little help to either of them with her slightly swollen ankle and crushed forearm. Paying little heed to the pain shooting up her leg each time she put weight on the injured ankle, Bethia moved to one of the guns. Knowing that Solo and Chewbacca needed all the help she could give them, she powered up the lower gun. She received a startled response from Solo and Chewie over the com as power went through the gun.

"What the…?"

"I'm here to help, Captain Solo. Give me a target, and lets blow these guys from the stars."

Han Solo flashed his cocky, half-smile. Unable to give his thanks to his new gunner, Han flew his bucket of bolts into the Imperial blockade. Bethia scored some direct hits on Tie Fighters and had damaged one of the Star Destroyers on their flyby.

"Watch this!" Han was telling his passengers. He pulled the hyperdrive switch to enable the ship to go to light speed.

"Watch what?"

Han tried again. "We're in trouble!"

Bethia didn't know what was wrong, but the way Han had said that, she knew something was bad. "Someone stay to fly the ship!" she heard herself say. "That way, I can kill more of our pursuers."

"I'll see what's wrong," Han said gruffly. "And I'll try to fix it." He didn't get far until an asteroid rocked the ship.

c d

Luke Skywalker looked over to his droid, Artoo-Deetoo. They had yet to find the Jedi Master that Ben Kenobi had sent Luke here to see. Dagobah wasn't exactly the place where Luke imagined to find a Jedi Master who stayed there willingly. It was no planet that he wished to be on, either, no matter what period of time he was staying there for.

"Why did we come here, Artoo?" he asked, downhearted. Artoo whistled forlornly back at him. "Well, if we don't find him soon, we'll leave. But… I feel like…"

"Feel like what?"

Luke whizzed around with his blaster in his hand. "Like we're being watched."

"Don't shoot." The small green thing covered its face with its hands. "I was wondering… why are you here?"

"I'm looking for someone."

"Found someone, you have. I'm you're friend…"

c d

"You're not planning on going into the asteroid field?" Leia almost screeched.

"They'd be crazy enough to follow us," Han returned. "Now buckle up, sweetheart, we're in for a rough ride."

Leia shook her head. "You're crazy," she muttered.

Chewbacca, in the co-pilot's chair, turned to Han. He growled low in his throat. Han glared at him. "We're gonna be okay. I know what I'm doing."

"I certainly hope so," Leia commented.

Bethia, still in the lower gun, shook her head. Han, in her mind, did not believe in odds, or he did not understand them. She was worried. Was he aware that he was endangering all their lives?

Shuddering, as if she was cold, Bethia felt a cold presence touch her. Vader. Making sure her mental barriers were up, she successfully hid her presence.

c d

Vader was standing on the bridge once again. He had something to think about. Skywalker. The son of Skywalker. His son.

Watching the Millennium Falcon disappear into the asteroid field, he reached out to see if his son was with the escaping group. Luke wasn't, Vader found, but they were close friends of his. The one in the turret of the Falcon troubled Vader. Where had he sensed that presence before? Vader was sure he was familiar with it.

Who was that person? Were they someone from his past?

Reaching out again, Vader could no longer feel the strange presence. Frowning within his mask, he realised that the presence he had felt shine in the Force one minute and disappear the next was trained to do that. He cursed. That person was a Jedi!

Turning to Admiral Piett, Vader snapped, "Follow that ship!"

"Yes milord."

c d

Han had rid himself of their pursuers and had found a large enough asteroid to hide the Millennium Falcon in while they fixed the problem. Bethia got herself out of the turret with some difficulty and made her way, painfully, to the common room.

"What can I do to help?" she asked as Leia brushed passed.

Leia turned and noticed her for the first time. "Who are you?"

"Bethia Hughting. I was the one in the turret," she replied, cradling her broken arm to her.

"You can't do anything with a broken arm," Leia told her quietly.

"You'll be surprised what I can do. I can do a lot even with a broken arm and a sprained ankle."

"How?"

Beth sighed. "And I thought Padmé would have told you. I'm a Jedi."

"How do you know Padmé?" Leia asked, shock showing on her face.

"She married my brother. I would have been eight when she died," Beth said with a sad smile. "I knew her a little bit before the fall of the Order. Before Vader."

"You were on Coruscant with my mother?"

"A long time ago. I was in the crèche most of the time while I was on Coruscant. I lived at the Jedi Temple. Anakin introduced Padmé to me when I was three. Nearly eighteen months later, I was taken from the crèche and from Coruscant by Master Windu."

"Anakin Skywalker? Luke's father?"

"Yes," Beth whispered. "It was painful to lose him. I felt him… die."

"I'm sorry. How did he die?"

"Vader. Vader destroyed most of the Jedi Order. Now, tell me, what can I do to help?"

"Find a way to heal that arm. Han's a bit grouchy at the moment."

Beth smiled and made her way to one of the make shift bunks. She had to be extra careful to make sure Vader didn't sense her. She winched a few times. Her master had made pain clear to her a few years earlier before he had also been hunted down and destroyed. Pain was a common factor of all life during the war.

Beth sighed. She wanted to go back to the temple. Even though she had only spent three and a half years there, she remembered the times she had spent with the other Jedi before being alone on a desolate planed with her master. The man who she called Father.

Her mind went to her brother. "Why?" she asked herself. "Why did you do it?"

c d

Leia was pondering on what Beth had said. Not knowing why Luke's father had introduced her mother to the Jedi Knight, she wondered what the reasoning was behind it. She also pondered on a connection she had made through Beth's well-spoken works. Luke was her brother. Well, stepbrother at least, she thought to herself.

Struggling with what she was working with, Han came into the small electrical room behind her. He attempted to help her for a second before she pushed him away.

"Hey, I was only trying to help," he said, raising his hands in a defeatist posture.

"Well, I sure don't need your help," Leia retorted.

Han gathered Leia's hands into his own. He was looking deep into her eyes. "Okay then."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"That," Leia said, glancing at their hands, fingers entwined. "My hands are dirty."

"My hands are dirty too. What are you afraid of?"

"Afraid? I'm not afraid."

Han began to slowly lean into her. "You're trembling."

Leia tried to look away, but she couldn't. "Scoundrel."

"Scoundrel? I like the sound of that. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life."

"I happen to like nice men."

"I'm a nice man," Han whispered, his face inches from hers. She tried to form a reply but he didn't give her the chance and he captured her lips with his own.

Leia's eyes closed and she was drawn up into the movements of his mouth. Han's kiss was soft and gentle, however before the kiss could last more than a few moments, they were interrupted.

"And what do you think you're doing?" the voice was low and challenging. "How far will you dare to go?"

Han released Leia and turned. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What are you doing on my ship?"

Beth couldn't hide the glare in her eyes. Han looked down at the woman beside him and then back at Beth. He didn't understand what the glare was for.

"Beth, I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

"Padmé wouldn't have wanted you to grow up too fast," Beth said, her voice still low.

"My family died with Vader watching on. He destroyed my planet."

"I'm sorry about that, but I don't want to see you hurt!"

"Hey!" Han complained. "Who's in charge here?"

"Captain Solo, you may be older than me, but I simply don't trust you. Especially with my niece."

Han opened and shut his mouth several times, clearly stunned by the revelation in Beth's words.

"You better watch out or something might fly into that mouth of yours," Beth said quietly. "I'll be watching." She turned and left, while Threepio came in.

c d

Leia found Beth sitting in the cockpit some time later. Han had gone back to work on the Falcon to try and fix the hyperdrive. She was trying to figure out exactly how everything fitted in, but she didn't know how to start.

Beth knew she was there without her saying anything and somehow knew of her confusion.

"I wasn't supposed to find out about you and Luke when I did, but I did," Beth said, turning in the chair. "Padmé was hiding when she had you."

"Hiding? From who?"

"Palpatine, mostly. Vader was looking for her too. Master Kenobi was with her, protecting her from the Sith."

"Why?"

"Because of her children. You and Luke. Your father was a very powerful Jedi. Palpatine was afraid of him."

"Is that why we were separated?"

Beth thought for a moment before nodding slowly. "He was my half-brother."

Leia sat down in the seat beside Beth. "Does Vader know about you?"

"Yes, he does, but I'm sure he's forgotten about me."

"Why do you say that?"

Beth wiped her eyes. "A few years ago, he killed my master. The man who I called my father. He never found me. There's only been one time when I've sensed him and he's sensed me and that was escaping from Hoth just now. I've hidden from him for so long now."

Leia told her, "So have we." Looking away, she sighed. "Why don't you like Han?"

"I married four years ago, before I found out that the man I married was working on Vader's ship. It broke my heart because I knew I couldn't stay with him, or we would both be killed. I haven't told him of my true last name."

"Why? What is it?"

"Vader would know. He would kill my husband, my child and me if Firmus knew. I haven't gone by the name of Lars for years now. Not since Palpatine declared himself emperor. Not since Luke went to live with Owen and Beru."

"Luke's aunt and uncle?"

"Yeah. The only reason why I found out about them was because I found out about Luke. I was curious about them so Master Windu told me everything." Beth thought back over the years to remember when she had asked the question about Luke when something caught her attention outside.

Leia caught sight of the ting too. "What is it?"

Beth waited for another to come, ignoring Leia's question. If it was what she thought it was, they were in something other than the normal asteroid cave. One of the things landed on the view port and Leia shrieked.

"Mynocks," Beth hissed, jumping up. She ran to find Han with Leia on her heels. "Mynocks," she told Han before going to the ramp.

c d

"I want them found!" Vader's rumbling voice demanded of his crew. "Asteroids will not stop me from finding that ship."

"Yes, Lord Vader." Admiral Piett snapped his heels together and turned to order the men under his command. There was one thing that he didn't want to do and that was to displease Vader.