Night came to the desert planet of Tatooine. But sleep was not on Luke's agenda. Concealed once again by his familiar dark hood, he slipped in and out of the shadows of the base. There were only a few guards, most of them too tired to do their jobs, so they dozed, making it easy for Luke to slip by them.
Luke glanced at the numbers on top of the corridors. 263…264…here it is!
Luke ducked into hall 264. Now to find Han…
It was so quiet, one could have heard a pin drop. Luke felt the Force pulsing through him as he searched for Han's life-force…here he is!
Luke's hand snaked out to open the door…
…when footsteps began to echo down the corridor. Luke ducked back out of the hallway, and ducked down behind the control panel on the bridge. He peered over, however, to find Wedge Antilles, in full military uniform, leaving the base. I wonder where he's going…
Damn! I'm stuck! He realized. It was midnight, and the guards were changing. These guards weren't tired. There was no way he was going to be able to get to Han this night. Oh, well. Sleep well, dear Han. There will be another time.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Wedge Antilles felt only the smallest shred of guilt as he snuck out of the base that night. But then, he'd had to give up feeling his emotions when he joined the rebellion. And anyways, I'm only trying to preserve what we've fought for for years. And if that means…then so be it.
He crept slowly down the long halls, passing Mon Mothma's quarters and where the Skywalkers were sleeping. Wedge clutched the small transmission disk that had been delivered to him that afternoon.
"What the hell is this?" Wedge muttered as the droid came beeping up to him. "Where did you come from?"
The R4 beeped at him. "Sorry, I don't speak droid." Wedge muttered. "Let's see if we can figure out where you come from."
The droid beeped. It knew what to do. Wedge sat down as a small man wearing a dark cloak appeared. "This is a message to the rebellion." The man said. Wedge gasped as he realized who it was. Emperor Palpatine!
"I know that you have been contacted, or have taken in several persons who are very dangerous: the Skywalker family. I don't know what you've heard or what they've said to you, but it is all a lie.
"I'm
as tired of this war as you are. I want nothing more but peace in
this galaxy. If you turn over these people to me, I will call a
truce, and allot ten systems for the rebels to live on. I have
already landed on Tatooine, and I will be in the town of Mos Eisley,
if any of you wish to contact or turn any of the Skywalkers over to
me. If not, however, I will send my troops in and be forced to
destroy you all."
The hologram faded out, and Wedge sat there in stunned silence.
All he was doing was preserving the rebellion. Wouldn't Dodonna or Rieekan do the same thing? He hadn't told them about the message, because they would surely not allow him to go alone. A horrible grimness had set over Wedge as he disappeared into the night.
He arrived at Mos Eisley near the middle of the night. The entire town was asleep, or so it appeared. He looked down a winding alley, only to find a blaster suddenly digging into his back. "Don't move, rebel." A voice hissed. "Are you the one with information about the Skywalkers?"
"I am."
"Then put this on," A dirty rag was thrust into his hands. "And follow me."
Wedge tied the rag over his eyes without question, the blaster digging into him provided the answer to any questions he might have. He felt the armor of a Storm Trooper scrape against his arms as he was brutally led away at blaster point.
Wedge lost all track of time. They walked for a long time; the only thing he could hear was the heavy breathing of the officer behind him. He was able to determine that there were indeed two of them, a trooper and an officer, but that was it.
Finally, they stopped, and the same creepy, deadly voice that had been on the hologram filled Wedge's ears. "Wedge Antilles. You've given us quite a chase, you know. How many of my TIE fighters did you destroy at the battle of Yavin? Nine, or was it ten?" Palpatine laughed maliciously. "I don't think a single human has ever done us so much damage...but I presume you're here to talk of more serious matters?"
"I want to know what will happen to the rebellion if I hand you the Skywalkers." Wedge said coolly. "Isn't one of them your apprentice?"
"Vader always did have a rebellious streak in him. And now it's led him to rebel against me. But it isn't he who concerns me, or even Luke. It's Leia that I want more than anything?"
"Leia? Why?" Wedge was taken aback. From what he'd seen, Leia was the most humane and compassionate one.
"She alone has the power to destroy the Empire. Deliver Leia Skywalker to me, and I will allow the rebellion to withdraw to the Outer Rim, and stay their in peace, and the war will be over."
"How do I know you'll do this?" Wedge wasn't stupid. "How do I know this isn't just an empty promise?"
"Well, you really don't have a choice, do you?" The Emperor said. "If you don't agree, you die now, and your pathetic rebels die too. If you agree, then you live to see another day."
"Where do I…take her?"
"Do you know the house out on the Dune Sea? It's abandoned. A Jedi used to live there, but nobody goes there anymore. Leave her there. And Wedge…don't think of backing out of this deal."
Without further warning, Wedge was hit on the back of the head, and knocked out cold.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The next day
Vader stood out in the corridor. His children had been taken to various posts to learn the basic tasks they were going to need if they were going to work for the rebellion. Nobody wanted anything to do with Vader, however, so he'd just been left to do whatever he wanted. Wedge had stopped by once, demanding once again to know what Vader was up to. But there was something different about Wedge, Vader noticed. He seemed nervous about something, but determined. Vader didn't press it, though. If he even asked Wedge for the standard time, he'd probably find himself thrown out of an airlock.
A single patroller guarded him. He stood at alert, never moving, barely even blinking. He'd been there for over a standard hour, and finally, Vader walked over to him. "What's your name?"
"Biggs." The guard still didn't move. "So, you're the bad guy?"
"I am?" Vader smiled. "Is that what Dodonna and the rest are saying?"
"Aren't you Darth Vader, though?"
"I guess that I used to be…not that anyone is giving me a chance to be anything else."
Biggs didn't say anything for a while, and then, "I knew your son. I grew up on this planet too. It was always me and him, and Deak, Windy…but that was before you came."
Vader didn't say anything. He remembered all too well the night he'd come for his son. The fire and smoke. If only he could take it back…
Vader sat down in a chair. "General Antilles doesn't think too highly of you." Biggs said.
"General, is he? Speaking of him, I haven't seen him in a few hours."
"He takes his job too seriously. I mean…I want this war to be over too, but the stress is gonna kill him, you know?"
"I know only too well."
Luke ran into the room, his eyes flashing. "Leia is missing. And Wedge is gone too."
