A/N: I redid this chapter because I felt that some people weren't satisfied with it. The only changes come down when Leia and Han stumble onto Vader.
"Leia? Are you okay?"
"Will you please stop asking me that?" She gritted her teeth.
"Sorry."
It was the next day, and Leia hadn't spoken a word all day. She'd done all of her morning chores in absolute silence, and it was worrying Han. This wasn't like her. Why should she get mad if he wanted to help?
Leia was brooding over what Luke had said last night. The Emperor was mad, she could agree with him on that, but killing their father? She knew Luke had it in him to do that, but did she?
Not wanting to discuss it with Han, she went to the kitchen, where Aunt Beru was, yet again, cooking something. Leia sat down at the table, and buried her face in her hands. "Leia dear, what's wrong?" Beru asked gently.
"Nothing."
"Leia, something's wrong. You can tell me."
Leia sighed. Slowly, she said. "Luke was here last night."
Beru abruptly dropped the spoon she'd been stirring with. "Sorry…he was here?"
Leia nodded. "But why?" Beru asked.
"He wants…he says he wants to join the rebellion and…kill our father." Leia said slowly. "But I can't let him!"
Beru was silent for a long time. Then, she sat the spoon down and sat down at the table opposite of Leia. "I think it'd be good to join the Rebellion, but not if it means killing my father!" She continued.
"Leia, I can't tell you what to do, I wish that I could. All I can say is: you've got a young man here who loves you very much. If you want to go, then go. He'll understand."
Understand? Han? Yeah, right. Leia thought wryly. She could just hear the Corellian now…
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"You want to what?" Han shouted at her. "Have you gone mad?"
"Sit down and listen to me!" Leia shouted back at him. Chewbacca, who'd been sitting quietly watching the two argue, suddenly roared. "Chewie! Be quiet!" Han ordered. The Wookiee reluctantly settled back down. Han looked at Leia helplessly. "Why do you want to do this?"
"Because Luke's my brother, and I can't let him kill Vader." Leia said. "And don't try to change my mind, because it's made up. I'm leaving tonight."
"I wasn't going to object. I was wondering if the rebellion could use three new soldiers instead of one."
Leia stared at him. "Three?"
"C'mon, Princess. You don't really think I'm going to let you leave me? If you're going on this suicide mission, you'll need all the help you can get." Chewbacca woofed his Wookiee agreement.
Leia's heart soared. She knew there was a reason she loved him. He could be cocky and annoying as Threepio when he wanted to be. But then there was that side of him that was sensitive and loving. She leaned down towards him for a kiss. "Thank you."
That night, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca left the Lars homestead. Leia insisted on being quiet, in case Luke was still skulking about somewhere, and from what she'd told Han of their meeting the night before, Han was only too happy to agree. They'd been walking for about an hour, when they found a small hut, out on the Dune Sea. "I wonder what that is?" Leia wondered aloud.
Dawn was fast approaching, so Han said, "Let's go see."
The house was old, Leia saw, and it had been unoccupied for many years. She opened the door cautiously, for fear it might collapse. It was a simple home, with only a few modern technologies. Most of the technology she saw was of an older model, like something from the time before the Empire. She opened a chest, and pulled out a small, metal tube. "I don't believe it." She gasped.
"What?"
Leia ignited the lightsaber. It glowed a faint bluish green. "It's a lightsaber. My brother and father have ones like this! Han…this was a Jedi's house!"
Han rolled his eyes. He knew the stories of the Jedi. "Followers of that hokey religion?" He scoffed. "I thought we might have discovered something valuable."
Leia stared at him. "Han! The Jedi were the guardians of the Old Republic. They were wise and powerful, and…" She broke off then, suddenly silent.
"What?"
"They were all murdered by my father in the Jedi Purge." She finished softly.
"That's right." A familiar voice sneered.
Leia, Han, and Chewie whirled around. Lord Vader stepped out of the shadows. Han instantly went for his blaster, and pointed it at the Dark Lord. "Han, no!" Leia shouted.
Vader and Han stared at each other, until finally, the Corellian lowered his weapon. "Father, what are you doing here?"
"I could be asking you the same thing."
"Why did you come back?"
"Come back to what?"
Frustrated, Leia threw her arms out. "This! This place, me! I can't figure you out, father."
"I can't figure myself out, daughter. But you can tell me what you're doing here!"
"You left me on this desert!" Leia shouted. "And don't try to sugar coat it because Luke already tried. You abandoned me! And I want to know why!"
"I've never struck you, but you're pushing it!" Vader yelled back just as loud. "So shut your ungrateful mouth and listen to me! I'm not the man I used to be!"
"I don't believe you!"
"I could have killed you as soon as I saw you come in here." Vader pointed out. "But I didn't. I don't want to see you die, Leia. You're my only daughter."
Silence fell as father and daughter stared at each other. Finally, Leia asked quietly. "Why did you do it?"
Vader didn't answer right away. It wasn't because he didn't want to. He was struggling for the right words to say. "I did it to save your life. The Emperor would have had you killed if you'd stayed on the Death Star. I thought that if we put you on Tatooine, you'd stay out of trouble." He laughed a little bit. "But you don't know the meaning of 'stay out of trouble'. You get that from your mother."
It was the first time Leia had ever heard her father mention her mother. It was this more than anything that convinced her that her father wasn't going to harm her. "Father?"
"Yes?"
Without a word, Leia threw her arms around her father, and he returned the embrace, for the first time in her life. It was a special moment. "I'm not the man I used to be." He whispered. "I'll be the father I should have always been."
Han, however, wasn't swayed. "Leia, I don't trust him."
Vader looked over, seeming to notice Han for the first time. "Who is this?"
"This is Han." Leia said, breaking away from her father, and linking arms with him. "He's…"
"I'm her fiancé." Han interrupted.
Leia looked at Han in a mixture of shock and joy. "Do you mean it?"
"I mean it, Princess."
She embraced him tightly, and would have stayed there for a while, if her father hadn't been in the room. "It looks like I'm going to have to prepare for a wedding." Vader said, with mixed emotions. "But we have more serious matters. Palpatine is mad. He has to be dealt with."
"Luke came to see me." Leia said, shuddering. "He's trying to find the rebels so he can join them. He said he's going to kill the Emperor…and you. I mean I love my brother, but I'm frightened of him."
"He doesn't know that I've rejected the Emperor. He ran away before I did. All I want to do is find him, and fix any wrong feelings between us. I want my family whole again."
"So what are we going to do, Vader?" Han asked. "Find these rebels?"
"I presume that is our only option…I don't know why I came here. This house used to be my Master's. Obi-Wan Kenobi watched over Luke, before I came and I…" He didn't finish. Both Han and Leia could finish the sentence. Before I killed him.
"But what we need is to be able to get close to the Emperor so we can…get rid of him." Vader continued.
"Vader? How do we know you're really going to help us?" Han said. "Because I still don't believe you. Call it a smuggler's instincts or something."
Vader looked directly at Han. "Call me Anakin, son."
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
It was nightfall when Palpatine landed on Tatooine with ten thousand storm troopers. "Fan out." He ordered. "If you see my apprentice or any of his offspring, don't kill them. Set your weapons to stun, and bring them to me alive."
"Yes, sir." Each commander responded. And the storm troopers fanned out across the deserts.
As Palpatine looked out into the endless desert, he felt quite invincible.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"General." Wedge Antilles called. "Imperial ships have landed on the southern side of the planet."
"How many?"
"Some thousands."
"Prepare for ground assault, and prepare the transports to evacuate the planet. We may not have to, but I'd rather be prepared."
"Sir? What if Luke Skywalker is with them?"
"Then we have no choice but to flee."
General Rieekan stared out at the darkened desert. A dark feeling was creeping into his heart.
