I fixed it! Sorry about that. I must have selected the wrong file.
Author's notes: Hello again. Wow, if you're reading this you've gotten pretty far. Thank you for having the patience to read all this.
Since whenever I upload something to Fanfiction.net, the text I italicized is no longer italicized, I am now marking telekinesis with these two slashes. I.e. //Hello!//
Well, this chapter practically wrote itself, once I got over an initial case of writers block. It's written entirely from Luke and Leia's points of view, which just made it more fun to write. Alright, maybe fun isn't quite the right word...
Never the less, I present to you, the longest chapter yet (though not by much),
Broken Wings Chapter Five
Luke tried to shake off the strange feeling that he had just lost something important because of his own actions. The sudden pain he had felt was fast receding to an unpleasant dull ache. What had it been, and why did it feel so... familiar? He heard the bridge doors slide open and straightened as his father entered. The officers were clearly pretending not to have seen his little episode, but Vader would make no such pretenses.
Something troubles you, my son? Vader asked as he walked towards Luke. He walked to main view screen to observe the last of the rebel X-Wings being pulled into the docking bay. "Report," he said to the new captain.
I... it was nothing, an odd feeling through the force. A premonition perhaps, it is gone now. Luke replied as Turres began his report.
"...have received a report from the stormtrooper team sent to pacify the rebel prisoners. They have met minimal resistance, and are certain that they will have the prisoners under control momentarily. What would you have done with them?" the captain asked, having concluded his report.
"My apprentice will deal with with the prisoners," Vader replied as he walked to the front of the bridge. "Is there any sign of the transport?" he asked one of the bridge personnel.
"Not yet, Lord Vader."
Luke looked back at the captain's questioning expression. Clearly his father had decided he would have more important prisoners to interrogate once the aforementioned transport arrived. Which meant Luke would have to deal with the captured pilots. He really hated interrogations.
"Have them thrown into a detention cell. I'll deal with them when I have time," he told the captain irritably.
He walked to stand at his father's side in front of the main view screen. The personnel had certainly become subdued since his father's entrance, as if they did not want to draw attention to themselves. His father's mechanical breathing was the loudest sound in the room.
Vader had never truly explained exactly what had lead to him receiving the injuries that forced him into the armored suit he wore, and Luke was certain that it was because of injuries. He had seen brief glimpses of his father without the helmet, and it was not a pleasant sight. The most Luke had learned was that it somehow involved a Jedi named Obi-Wan.
Luke knew that his father had helped rid the galaxy of the Jedi order, a group diametrically opposed to the Sith. He knew little else of the Jedi, but he loathed them for what had been done to his father.
He waited next to his father, trying to hide his impatience. Perhaps the transport had somehow been informed of the attack on the X-Wing squadron and was not going to show. It was not likely, they hadn't allowed any of the ships to escape, the only one that had manged to activate its hyperdrives had been destroyed on his orders.
In fact, many of the ships had been destroyed, but he wrote it off as unavoidable. After all, they had manged to capture a good number of the pilots, including their leader.
The dust colored planet just barely visible on the view screen looked weirdly familiar. Tatooine? No, that was impossible.
"Sir, we have detected a ship exiting hyperspace directly in front of us," one of the helmsmen announced.
The captain stepped forward to look at the view screen. "It looks like a rebel Blockade Runner."
"According to our records the ship belongs to Senator Leia Organa of Alderaan," the helmsman said looking towards Darth Vader.
"Intercept the ship immediately. The Death Star plans are there." Vader intoned. "Captain, have a boarding party prepared." He turned to Luke. "Come with me."
Luke followed his father out into the Devastator's hallways, remaining a step behind. He tried to keep pace with Darth Vader's quick strides. Bits and pieces of his father's emotions flickered just out of perception behind his metal walls. Never the less, it was clear his father was eager to begin the assault.
"Father," Luke said as they neared the main docking bay. "Who is this senator they say this ship belongs to?"
"She is the Princess of Alderaan. She has long been suspected of being in league with the rebels. Now I am certain."
"You were expecting this, her in particular, why?" Luke said.
"Her ship passed directly through a restricted system. It was likely that they intercepted the rebel transmissions."
"What will be done with her?" Luke asked, mildly curious. They had never taken someone as important as an imperial senator captive.
"She will be interrogated and then executed for her involvement in the theft of the Death Star plans." Vader's voice held all the certainty of final judgment.
"It may cause some stir in the senate if you simply execute her." It amused him that his father would treat someone as powerful as a senator exactly as he would treat any other captured rebel. Unfortunately the members of the senate were not likely to share that view.
"Soon the senate will not longer be of any concern," Vader said as they entered the docking bay.
What did that mean? Luke decided not to concern himself about it, his father would tell him if he ever needed. Besides, he reflected as he looked up at the massive blockade runner, he had more important things to worry about.
A group of stormtroopers were placing what looked like explosives near the sealed airlock. They quickly backed away. The blast was small and isolated, but it tore a hole in the side of the ship. Stormtroopers swarmed inside though the newly formed entrance. Soon after, blaster shots rang out. It was clear these rebels were not going to go down easily.
Luke began to step forward. His hands itched for his lightsaber. He wanted to step into the fight and cut a swath through these rebel weaklings, but his father's hand on his shoulder restrained him.
//Do not risk your life needlessly, my son.//
He wanted to join the fight! To tear the rebel weaklings apart.
//It would not be a risk! They are nothing, they know nothing of the force...//
//I have another task for you.//
He tried to calm himself. A hesitation and then... //Yes, father.//
When Darth Vader entered the rebel ship, Luke moved like a shadow at his side. His form cloaked in the power of the force, he slipped off into one of the sub corridors unnoticed by rebel or imperial.
*^*^*^*^*
Princess Leia Organa, Senator of Alderaan, braced herself against the wall as the ship was rocked by a massive blast. Sounds of blaster fire reached her and she knew she didn't have much time. She looked down at the little R2 unit in front of her she had just finished hiding the Death Star plans inside, and programming the droid. Now all she had to do was record her message, and hope that the Jedi master her father had told her of was still alive.
She finished recording her message, and turned to the look around, to make certain she hadn't been seen. Her eyes slid across white walls and to the left there was... Nothing, there was no one here. She finished adjusting the settings on the droid's face. As soon as she was finished the R2 unit turned to join an approaching protocol droid. She watched for a moment, before turning into one of the corridors. It seemed so strange to place so much hope in such a little thing.
She slipped through the hallways. She could hear the sounds of distant fighting; screams and blaster fire. As she crossed a small passage way, she noticed a group of stormtroopers approaching. She quickly ducked into an alcove as they sighted her.
"There she is! Set for stun!" she heard one of the stormtroopers call out. She stepped out and quickly fired a shot, felling a trooper, as she raced for the opposite side of the hallway.
She wasn't fast enough. She felt a painful shock as the stunbolt hit her, just before she fell unconscious.
*^*^*^*^*
She wasn't certain how long she had been out, but it couldn't have been very long. As she awoke, the stormtroopers were just pulling her to her feet. She pulled away from them, feeling only slightly dizzy from having been knocked unconscious by a burst of energy. They must have had their weapons at a fairly low energy setting.
The stormtroopers stood, apparently impassive, with their rifles trained on her.
"Just come with us, Senator," one of them said with that weirdly artificial voice of his.
She straightened her back and looked him in the eyes of his skull like white mask. She had no more time to run. She decided it was best to face capture with all of the regal dignity she had been taught from childhood.
She inclined her head. "Then lead on," she said with all the courage she could muster.
The stormtroopers seemed to relax with that. One of them stepped forward with a pair of binders. She gave him a look so imperious that he actually stepped back for a second, looking towards the one that had spoken to her earlier. When that one nodded, the one carrying the binders stepped behind her and bound her wrists together.
She was hustled though the ship in quick order. They came to a hallway filled with the bodies of dead shipmen and she couldn't help but feel grief. These people had lost their lives for the rebellion, and for her. Next to the wall lay the motionless body of Captain Antilles, her friend and aid and before him...
The dark, towering figure of Darth Vader seemed to take up more room then should have been physically possible. She put on an expression of anger and defiance just a felt the first real feeling of fear creep up on her.
She looked up at Vader angrily. " Lord Vader," she said, injecting her voice with every bit of regal displeasure she possessed. "I should have known. Only you could be so bold. The Imperial Senate will not sit for this, when they hear you've attacked a diplomatic..."
That voice had halted politicians in full spat, it had less than no effect on Darth Vader.
"Don't play games with me, Your Highness. You weren't on any mercy mission this time." His voice injected the words "mercy mission" with more scorn than she would have thought possible.
"You passed directly through a restricted system," he continued. "Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan..."
"I have them.," a voice called from the corridor at her side. "She attempted to hide them in an astromech droid programmed to escape in a life pod."
Leia turned to look at the speaker, shock etched all over her features. A black cloak covered the figure as he held out a black gloved hand towards Vader. Clutched in his fingers was a small datacard.
Vader took the card, holding it in his own gloved and and examining it for a moment. "You were saying, your highness?" he asked turning back towards Leia. Vader seemed pleased, very pleased.
For the first time in many years, Princess Leia was caught speechless.
Vader turned to the black cloaked man. Seeing them standing, facing each other, Leia thought they looked like strangely formed mirror images of each other; Vader and Vader in miniature. And there, at the smaller man's belt hung a silvery metal cylinder.
She had heard rumors at the senate and imperial court that Vader had taken some sort of student, and she had passed them on to the rebellion as just that, rumors, not really believing them herself.
"Escort the princess to the detention facility," Vader ordered the cloaked man.
The man inclined his head towards Vader before turning to her. "If you will come with me, Princess." His voice was youthful, but he walked with a grace and confidence she had seen only in the most skilled of athletes.
She feel into step next to him, too shocked to protest. She tried to draw what was left of her regal dignity around her. He lead her towards the back of the hallway, past the bodies of her friends and comrades, and out the hole that the imperial stormtroopers had blasted in the side of the ship. They had all died for nothing. Their mission was a failure. She had failed the rebellion, and billions would suffer for it.
The cloaked man lead her through the hangar into the Star Destroyer's hallways. Leia noticed that the imperials she saw seemed inclined to move to the opposite end of the corridors, or to simply cast fearful glances before returning to their tasks as they approached. Her companion seemed unfazed.
She studied him out of the corner of her eye as they walked. He was small, not much taller then she was, but his build was compact. He was dressed entirely in black; simple pants, black elbow gloves and knee boots, a hight-necked, fitted shirt, and of course the hooded cloak that hid everything but his chin and mouth from view. What she could see of his skin was very pale.
She suddenly realized that she couldn't hear the sounds of the stormtroopers' armor. She turned her head around and noticed that they were alone. There was no escort. The hallway they were walking through was completely deserted for the moment. Why had Vader only sent only one man to escort her, and what were her chances of overpowering him?
"Princess," he said, his voice startling her from her thoughts. "If you are seriously considering attacking me because I am 'only one man', then you should know that I would advise against it." He turned his head towards her. "Besides, your hands are bound and I am armed."
She openly stared at him. Had he... No, he had guessed, nothing more.
His hood had fallen back slightly and she could see his face. His hair was pale. He was young, he couldn't have been much older than she was. And he was handsome, a part of her added. But his eyes... They were the same vivid blue as an arctic sea... and just as compassionate, she realized, suppressing a shudder. Those eyes also held pain unlike she had ever imagined. They almost made him look old, but no less handsome.
She turned away from him, realizing that she was staring. She caught his expression out of the corner of her eye; he was amused, and pleased. They continued to walk in silence. Now he was inspecting her. She felt as if tiny needles were prickling her spine. There was something so familiar about him, like a half forgotten memory. Yet at the same time he was alien to her; he made her feel as if something, somewhere, had gone horribly wrong.
She turned back towards him. He smiled, only slightly, and it didn't even begin to touch his eyes.
"Yes, Princess?" he asked, calmly.
"Who are you?" she blurted out, confused, as they stepped into a lift.
"What do you mean?" he asked, clearly not expecting the question.
Leia felt a small spark of unfocused anger inside of her. Whether it was at Vader, herself, or this confusing man-boy she saw before her, she didn't know.
"Well," she said sharply. "Lets start with your name."
"My name?" he repeated, as if he had never been asked the question before. Shock and confusion filled his eyes. For a moment his features softened, the coldness gone from his eyes, and Leia saw only a frightened youth, someone in pain. For a second she wanted to protect him.
She forced the feeling away. This was one of the Emperor's lackeys, he didn't deserve her compassion.
"You do have one, right?" she asked him, coldly.
"My name," he began. He seemed to draw strength from somewhere as he continued. "My name is Luke." he finished. The words sounded strange on his lips, as if he had never spoken them before.
Luke, she thought to herself, his name means light, how ironic. She glanced back up at his face, unsure of what she would see, but the moment was passed, and his eyes looked back, as cold as before.
They stepped out of the lift. He continued to lead her through the Star Destroyer's corridors, his eyes now locked firmly ahead.
"Vader," she began, unsure of what she wanted to ask. "Is Vader your teacher?"
He didn't turn towards her. "Lord Vader," he said, emphasizing 'lord', "Is training me."
"For what?" His answer shocked her, but she wasn't certain why. He still didn't turn to look at her, keeping his gaze locked always ahead.
"To become a Sith."
A Sith? That almost terrified her. What else could it have been, she asked herself, you saw the lightsaber at his belt. He certainly isn't a Jedi.
"Why..." she began, but he cut her off by raising his hand. They had come to the door to the detention area.
He lead her through the passageway. Inside two officers stood at a small computer terminal. One of them looked up, about to ask some kind of question. He almost began speaking, but cut off whatever he was going to say as soon as he glanced at Luke. His eyes shifted to Leia for a second, and then he nodded to Luke with a shaky, "My lord".
Luke led her past the guards to the cell block. He stopped at a cell door and punched something into the terminal. The door slid open and he stood waiting, clearly expecting her to enter, but she didn't, not immediately.
"Why would you want to become a Sith? Why would Vader..." she asked in a rush, before he cut her off.
"Because he is my father." It wasn't clear which question he was answering, possibly both.
"Your father!" she said, startled. That had not been the answer she was expecting. She didn't really know what answer she had been expecting, but that had been as far from it as she could imagine.
"Don't sound so surprised, Princess," he said as he grasped her by the shoulder and pushed her into the cell, almost, but not quite, gently. "It's rude." His voice was harsh now.
She whirled back around to face him as he raised his hand to the door controls. "I'd simply assumed that the son of Darth Vader would be taller." She saw a look of annoyance cross his face an instant before the door closed.
It was a hollow victory.
Vader had a son? It was unbelievable. That blond haired, blue eyed boy was Vader's offspring.
She dropped onto a bench. It couldn't be. She had never even been truly certain that Vader was human, but it was possible.
She looked to the door, wondering, no, hoping she would see this boy again.
*^*^*^*^*
Luke frowned at the closed door, desperately trying to control his emotions. He hadn't felt this confused in years.
The princess was... confusing was the first word that came to mind, and irritating. With only a few words she had thrown him completely off balance.
She was also beautiful.
That thought confused him even more. For years he had repressed any physical or emotional need, such things simply hadn't effected him. So why did he feel so drawn to this child senator?
She certainly hadn't been what he had expected. He had seen many senators, most of them old, irritating politicians, out for nothing more than credits to line their pockets.
She was nothing like that. She lived for something, fought for something. Her thoughts had echoed with that conviction. She had a fire in her, a strength and fierceness that seemed almost alien to him.
Her mind had been so easy to touch, almost incredibly easy. Her thoughts had reached him as if she was speaking them. He had never felt anything like that before.
And she thought he was handsome.
He drove that thought away as quickly as it occurred to him. She was going to die. For her crimes against the Empire, she was going to be executed. He couldn't even begin to fathom why that though bothered him so much.
He briefly considered using his ability to hear her thoughts to get the location of the rebel base from her, but for some reason that didn't feel right. No, it felt horribly, horribly wrong.
He turned away from her cell. Since he was here, might as well begin interrogating the rebel pilots. The sooner he began, the sooner he would be finished. He strode though the corridors of the brig. He could go and ask which cell they were being held in, but he didn't want to deal with the guards. Instead he opened himself to the force.
He could feel them near by, three humans, and a Wookiee, alternately terrified, or angry, but his awareness of them was dim. The princess seemed to drown them out, an almost blazing light at the edge of his perception. He felt a fresh sting of pain as he though of her again.
The lives of others mean nothing. Death is everywhere.
He tried to take comfort in that thought, what the Emperor has taught him so many years ago. It didn't help. All it did was bring his mind back to the feeling he had experienced while watching the battle. Death, and pain, it felt like someone he had known, but that made no sense. He didn't really know anyone, he didn't have any friends. Who then?
For second his hand brushed a datacard in his pocket.
No! Don't think about that! It's dangerous to think about it!
With discipline learned from years of keeping his father and the Emperor from hearing his thoughts, Luke buried all of his emotions and doubts. He banished them from his mind and turned to the task at hand.
He came upon the cell where the rebels were being held. A guard stood outside the door, keeping watch. Luke walked towards him and stationed himself in front of the entrance to the cell. He turned to the guard.
"Open this door, I'm here to interrogate the prisoners."
"Yes, my lord," the man said as he keyed in the commands. "We've done some preliminary questioning. They claim not to have been told the location of the base," he told Luke as the door slid open.
"I'll determine that for myself," Luke told the man, and than turned to step into the cell.
"Yes, my lord," the guard said again as the door slid shut behind Luke.
Luke looked around the cell. It was larger than the one that the princess had been confined to. The occupants were all seated on benches. Their arms were chained securely to the wall behind them. He looked at the rebels themselves, and into three surrealy familiar faces; faces he had seen only in dreams and distant memories. One of them looked up at him, wide eyes under dark hair.
"Luke?"
Poor Luke and Leia, they're so confused. Really sucks to be them.
Ah well, what did you think? Good, bad , so-so, boring, what? Give me some feedback. It only takes you a moment to write a review. It took me considerably longer to write this story, which you've apparently enjoyed enough to read all eighteen thousand or so words of.
Author's notes: Hello again. Wow, if you're reading this you've gotten pretty far. Thank you for having the patience to read all this.
Since whenever I upload something to Fanfiction.net, the text I italicized is no longer italicized, I am now marking telekinesis with these two slashes. I.e. //Hello!//
Well, this chapter practically wrote itself, once I got over an initial case of writers block. It's written entirely from Luke and Leia's points of view, which just made it more fun to write. Alright, maybe fun isn't quite the right word...
Never the less, I present to you, the longest chapter yet (though not by much),
Broken Wings Chapter Five
Luke tried to shake off the strange feeling that he had just lost something important because of his own actions. The sudden pain he had felt was fast receding to an unpleasant dull ache. What had it been, and why did it feel so... familiar? He heard the bridge doors slide open and straightened as his father entered. The officers were clearly pretending not to have seen his little episode, but Vader would make no such pretenses.
Something troubles you, my son? Vader asked as he walked towards Luke. He walked to main view screen to observe the last of the rebel X-Wings being pulled into the docking bay. "Report," he said to the new captain.
I... it was nothing, an odd feeling through the force. A premonition perhaps, it is gone now. Luke replied as Turres began his report.
"...have received a report from the stormtrooper team sent to pacify the rebel prisoners. They have met minimal resistance, and are certain that they will have the prisoners under control momentarily. What would you have done with them?" the captain asked, having concluded his report.
"My apprentice will deal with with the prisoners," Vader replied as he walked to the front of the bridge. "Is there any sign of the transport?" he asked one of the bridge personnel.
"Not yet, Lord Vader."
Luke looked back at the captain's questioning expression. Clearly his father had decided he would have more important prisoners to interrogate once the aforementioned transport arrived. Which meant Luke would have to deal with the captured pilots. He really hated interrogations.
"Have them thrown into a detention cell. I'll deal with them when I have time," he told the captain irritably.
He walked to stand at his father's side in front of the main view screen. The personnel had certainly become subdued since his father's entrance, as if they did not want to draw attention to themselves. His father's mechanical breathing was the loudest sound in the room.
Vader had never truly explained exactly what had lead to him receiving the injuries that forced him into the armored suit he wore, and Luke was certain that it was because of injuries. He had seen brief glimpses of his father without the helmet, and it was not a pleasant sight. The most Luke had learned was that it somehow involved a Jedi named Obi-Wan.
Luke knew that his father had helped rid the galaxy of the Jedi order, a group diametrically opposed to the Sith. He knew little else of the Jedi, but he loathed them for what had been done to his father.
He waited next to his father, trying to hide his impatience. Perhaps the transport had somehow been informed of the attack on the X-Wing squadron and was not going to show. It was not likely, they hadn't allowed any of the ships to escape, the only one that had manged to activate its hyperdrives had been destroyed on his orders.
In fact, many of the ships had been destroyed, but he wrote it off as unavoidable. After all, they had manged to capture a good number of the pilots, including their leader.
The dust colored planet just barely visible on the view screen looked weirdly familiar. Tatooine? No, that was impossible.
"Sir, we have detected a ship exiting hyperspace directly in front of us," one of the helmsmen announced.
The captain stepped forward to look at the view screen. "It looks like a rebel Blockade Runner."
"According to our records the ship belongs to Senator Leia Organa of Alderaan," the helmsman said looking towards Darth Vader.
"Intercept the ship immediately. The Death Star plans are there." Vader intoned. "Captain, have a boarding party prepared." He turned to Luke. "Come with me."
Luke followed his father out into the Devastator's hallways, remaining a step behind. He tried to keep pace with Darth Vader's quick strides. Bits and pieces of his father's emotions flickered just out of perception behind his metal walls. Never the less, it was clear his father was eager to begin the assault.
"Father," Luke said as they neared the main docking bay. "Who is this senator they say this ship belongs to?"
"She is the Princess of Alderaan. She has long been suspected of being in league with the rebels. Now I am certain."
"You were expecting this, her in particular, why?" Luke said.
"Her ship passed directly through a restricted system. It was likely that they intercepted the rebel transmissions."
"What will be done with her?" Luke asked, mildly curious. They had never taken someone as important as an imperial senator captive.
"She will be interrogated and then executed for her involvement in the theft of the Death Star plans." Vader's voice held all the certainty of final judgment.
"It may cause some stir in the senate if you simply execute her." It amused him that his father would treat someone as powerful as a senator exactly as he would treat any other captured rebel. Unfortunately the members of the senate were not likely to share that view.
"Soon the senate will not longer be of any concern," Vader said as they entered the docking bay.
What did that mean? Luke decided not to concern himself about it, his father would tell him if he ever needed. Besides, he reflected as he looked up at the massive blockade runner, he had more important things to worry about.
A group of stormtroopers were placing what looked like explosives near the sealed airlock. They quickly backed away. The blast was small and isolated, but it tore a hole in the side of the ship. Stormtroopers swarmed inside though the newly formed entrance. Soon after, blaster shots rang out. It was clear these rebels were not going to go down easily.
Luke began to step forward. His hands itched for his lightsaber. He wanted to step into the fight and cut a swath through these rebel weaklings, but his father's hand on his shoulder restrained him.
//Do not risk your life needlessly, my son.//
He wanted to join the fight! To tear the rebel weaklings apart.
//It would not be a risk! They are nothing, they know nothing of the force...//
//I have another task for you.//
He tried to calm himself. A hesitation and then... //Yes, father.//
When Darth Vader entered the rebel ship, Luke moved like a shadow at his side. His form cloaked in the power of the force, he slipped off into one of the sub corridors unnoticed by rebel or imperial.
*^*^*^*^*
Princess Leia Organa, Senator of Alderaan, braced herself against the wall as the ship was rocked by a massive blast. Sounds of blaster fire reached her and she knew she didn't have much time. She looked down at the little R2 unit in front of her she had just finished hiding the Death Star plans inside, and programming the droid. Now all she had to do was record her message, and hope that the Jedi master her father had told her of was still alive.
She finished recording her message, and turned to the look around, to make certain she hadn't been seen. Her eyes slid across white walls and to the left there was... Nothing, there was no one here. She finished adjusting the settings on the droid's face. As soon as she was finished the R2 unit turned to join an approaching protocol droid. She watched for a moment, before turning into one of the corridors. It seemed so strange to place so much hope in such a little thing.
She slipped through the hallways. She could hear the sounds of distant fighting; screams and blaster fire. As she crossed a small passage way, she noticed a group of stormtroopers approaching. She quickly ducked into an alcove as they sighted her.
"There she is! Set for stun!" she heard one of the stormtroopers call out. She stepped out and quickly fired a shot, felling a trooper, as she raced for the opposite side of the hallway.
She wasn't fast enough. She felt a painful shock as the stunbolt hit her, just before she fell unconscious.
*^*^*^*^*
She wasn't certain how long she had been out, but it couldn't have been very long. As she awoke, the stormtroopers were just pulling her to her feet. She pulled away from them, feeling only slightly dizzy from having been knocked unconscious by a burst of energy. They must have had their weapons at a fairly low energy setting.
The stormtroopers stood, apparently impassive, with their rifles trained on her.
"Just come with us, Senator," one of them said with that weirdly artificial voice of his.
She straightened her back and looked him in the eyes of his skull like white mask. She had no more time to run. She decided it was best to face capture with all of the regal dignity she had been taught from childhood.
She inclined her head. "Then lead on," she said with all the courage she could muster.
The stormtroopers seemed to relax with that. One of them stepped forward with a pair of binders. She gave him a look so imperious that he actually stepped back for a second, looking towards the one that had spoken to her earlier. When that one nodded, the one carrying the binders stepped behind her and bound her wrists together.
She was hustled though the ship in quick order. They came to a hallway filled with the bodies of dead shipmen and she couldn't help but feel grief. These people had lost their lives for the rebellion, and for her. Next to the wall lay the motionless body of Captain Antilles, her friend and aid and before him...
The dark, towering figure of Darth Vader seemed to take up more room then should have been physically possible. She put on an expression of anger and defiance just a felt the first real feeling of fear creep up on her.
She looked up at Vader angrily. " Lord Vader," she said, injecting her voice with every bit of regal displeasure she possessed. "I should have known. Only you could be so bold. The Imperial Senate will not sit for this, when they hear you've attacked a diplomatic..."
That voice had halted politicians in full spat, it had less than no effect on Darth Vader.
"Don't play games with me, Your Highness. You weren't on any mercy mission this time." His voice injected the words "mercy mission" with more scorn than she would have thought possible.
"You passed directly through a restricted system," he continued. "Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan..."
"I have them.," a voice called from the corridor at her side. "She attempted to hide them in an astromech droid programmed to escape in a life pod."
Leia turned to look at the speaker, shock etched all over her features. A black cloak covered the figure as he held out a black gloved hand towards Vader. Clutched in his fingers was a small datacard.
Vader took the card, holding it in his own gloved and and examining it for a moment. "You were saying, your highness?" he asked turning back towards Leia. Vader seemed pleased, very pleased.
For the first time in many years, Princess Leia was caught speechless.
Vader turned to the black cloaked man. Seeing them standing, facing each other, Leia thought they looked like strangely formed mirror images of each other; Vader and Vader in miniature. And there, at the smaller man's belt hung a silvery metal cylinder.
She had heard rumors at the senate and imperial court that Vader had taken some sort of student, and she had passed them on to the rebellion as just that, rumors, not really believing them herself.
"Escort the princess to the detention facility," Vader ordered the cloaked man.
The man inclined his head towards Vader before turning to her. "If you will come with me, Princess." His voice was youthful, but he walked with a grace and confidence she had seen only in the most skilled of athletes.
She feel into step next to him, too shocked to protest. She tried to draw what was left of her regal dignity around her. He lead her towards the back of the hallway, past the bodies of her friends and comrades, and out the hole that the imperial stormtroopers had blasted in the side of the ship. They had all died for nothing. Their mission was a failure. She had failed the rebellion, and billions would suffer for it.
The cloaked man lead her through the hangar into the Star Destroyer's hallways. Leia noticed that the imperials she saw seemed inclined to move to the opposite end of the corridors, or to simply cast fearful glances before returning to their tasks as they approached. Her companion seemed unfazed.
She studied him out of the corner of her eye as they walked. He was small, not much taller then she was, but his build was compact. He was dressed entirely in black; simple pants, black elbow gloves and knee boots, a hight-necked, fitted shirt, and of course the hooded cloak that hid everything but his chin and mouth from view. What she could see of his skin was very pale.
She suddenly realized that she couldn't hear the sounds of the stormtroopers' armor. She turned her head around and noticed that they were alone. There was no escort. The hallway they were walking through was completely deserted for the moment. Why had Vader only sent only one man to escort her, and what were her chances of overpowering him?
"Princess," he said, his voice startling her from her thoughts. "If you are seriously considering attacking me because I am 'only one man', then you should know that I would advise against it." He turned his head towards her. "Besides, your hands are bound and I am armed."
She openly stared at him. Had he... No, he had guessed, nothing more.
His hood had fallen back slightly and she could see his face. His hair was pale. He was young, he couldn't have been much older than she was. And he was handsome, a part of her added. But his eyes... They were the same vivid blue as an arctic sea... and just as compassionate, she realized, suppressing a shudder. Those eyes also held pain unlike she had ever imagined. They almost made him look old, but no less handsome.
She turned away from him, realizing that she was staring. She caught his expression out of the corner of her eye; he was amused, and pleased. They continued to walk in silence. Now he was inspecting her. She felt as if tiny needles were prickling her spine. There was something so familiar about him, like a half forgotten memory. Yet at the same time he was alien to her; he made her feel as if something, somewhere, had gone horribly wrong.
She turned back towards him. He smiled, only slightly, and it didn't even begin to touch his eyes.
"Yes, Princess?" he asked, calmly.
"Who are you?" she blurted out, confused, as they stepped into a lift.
"What do you mean?" he asked, clearly not expecting the question.
Leia felt a small spark of unfocused anger inside of her. Whether it was at Vader, herself, or this confusing man-boy she saw before her, she didn't know.
"Well," she said sharply. "Lets start with your name."
"My name?" he repeated, as if he had never been asked the question before. Shock and confusion filled his eyes. For a moment his features softened, the coldness gone from his eyes, and Leia saw only a frightened youth, someone in pain. For a second she wanted to protect him.
She forced the feeling away. This was one of the Emperor's lackeys, he didn't deserve her compassion.
"You do have one, right?" she asked him, coldly.
"My name," he began. He seemed to draw strength from somewhere as he continued. "My name is Luke." he finished. The words sounded strange on his lips, as if he had never spoken them before.
Luke, she thought to herself, his name means light, how ironic. She glanced back up at his face, unsure of what she would see, but the moment was passed, and his eyes looked back, as cold as before.
They stepped out of the lift. He continued to lead her through the Star Destroyer's corridors, his eyes now locked firmly ahead.
"Vader," she began, unsure of what she wanted to ask. "Is Vader your teacher?"
He didn't turn towards her. "Lord Vader," he said, emphasizing 'lord', "Is training me."
"For what?" His answer shocked her, but she wasn't certain why. He still didn't turn to look at her, keeping his gaze locked always ahead.
"To become a Sith."
A Sith? That almost terrified her. What else could it have been, she asked herself, you saw the lightsaber at his belt. He certainly isn't a Jedi.
"Why..." she began, but he cut her off by raising his hand. They had come to the door to the detention area.
He lead her through the passageway. Inside two officers stood at a small computer terminal. One of them looked up, about to ask some kind of question. He almost began speaking, but cut off whatever he was going to say as soon as he glanced at Luke. His eyes shifted to Leia for a second, and then he nodded to Luke with a shaky, "My lord".
Luke led her past the guards to the cell block. He stopped at a cell door and punched something into the terminal. The door slid open and he stood waiting, clearly expecting her to enter, but she didn't, not immediately.
"Why would you want to become a Sith? Why would Vader..." she asked in a rush, before he cut her off.
"Because he is my father." It wasn't clear which question he was answering, possibly both.
"Your father!" she said, startled. That had not been the answer she was expecting. She didn't really know what answer she had been expecting, but that had been as far from it as she could imagine.
"Don't sound so surprised, Princess," he said as he grasped her by the shoulder and pushed her into the cell, almost, but not quite, gently. "It's rude." His voice was harsh now.
She whirled back around to face him as he raised his hand to the door controls. "I'd simply assumed that the son of Darth Vader would be taller." She saw a look of annoyance cross his face an instant before the door closed.
It was a hollow victory.
Vader had a son? It was unbelievable. That blond haired, blue eyed boy was Vader's offspring.
She dropped onto a bench. It couldn't be. She had never even been truly certain that Vader was human, but it was possible.
She looked to the door, wondering, no, hoping she would see this boy again.
*^*^*^*^*
Luke frowned at the closed door, desperately trying to control his emotions. He hadn't felt this confused in years.
The princess was... confusing was the first word that came to mind, and irritating. With only a few words she had thrown him completely off balance.
She was also beautiful.
That thought confused him even more. For years he had repressed any physical or emotional need, such things simply hadn't effected him. So why did he feel so drawn to this child senator?
She certainly hadn't been what he had expected. He had seen many senators, most of them old, irritating politicians, out for nothing more than credits to line their pockets.
She was nothing like that. She lived for something, fought for something. Her thoughts had echoed with that conviction. She had a fire in her, a strength and fierceness that seemed almost alien to him.
Her mind had been so easy to touch, almost incredibly easy. Her thoughts had reached him as if she was speaking them. He had never felt anything like that before.
And she thought he was handsome.
He drove that thought away as quickly as it occurred to him. She was going to die. For her crimes against the Empire, she was going to be executed. He couldn't even begin to fathom why that though bothered him so much.
He briefly considered using his ability to hear her thoughts to get the location of the rebel base from her, but for some reason that didn't feel right. No, it felt horribly, horribly wrong.
He turned away from her cell. Since he was here, might as well begin interrogating the rebel pilots. The sooner he began, the sooner he would be finished. He strode though the corridors of the brig. He could go and ask which cell they were being held in, but he didn't want to deal with the guards. Instead he opened himself to the force.
He could feel them near by, three humans, and a Wookiee, alternately terrified, or angry, but his awareness of them was dim. The princess seemed to drown them out, an almost blazing light at the edge of his perception. He felt a fresh sting of pain as he though of her again.
The lives of others mean nothing. Death is everywhere.
He tried to take comfort in that thought, what the Emperor has taught him so many years ago. It didn't help. All it did was bring his mind back to the feeling he had experienced while watching the battle. Death, and pain, it felt like someone he had known, but that made no sense. He didn't really know anyone, he didn't have any friends. Who then?
For second his hand brushed a datacard in his pocket.
No! Don't think about that! It's dangerous to think about it!
With discipline learned from years of keeping his father and the Emperor from hearing his thoughts, Luke buried all of his emotions and doubts. He banished them from his mind and turned to the task at hand.
He came upon the cell where the rebels were being held. A guard stood outside the door, keeping watch. Luke walked towards him and stationed himself in front of the entrance to the cell. He turned to the guard.
"Open this door, I'm here to interrogate the prisoners."
"Yes, my lord," the man said as he keyed in the commands. "We've done some preliminary questioning. They claim not to have been told the location of the base," he told Luke as the door slid open.
"I'll determine that for myself," Luke told the man, and than turned to step into the cell.
"Yes, my lord," the guard said again as the door slid shut behind Luke.
Luke looked around the cell. It was larger than the one that the princess had been confined to. The occupants were all seated on benches. Their arms were chained securely to the wall behind them. He looked at the rebels themselves, and into three surrealy familiar faces; faces he had seen only in dreams and distant memories. One of them looked up at him, wide eyes under dark hair.
"Luke?"
Poor Luke and Leia, they're so confused. Really sucks to be them.
Ah well, what did you think? Good, bad , so-so, boring, what? Give me some feedback. It only takes you a moment to write a review. It took me considerably longer to write this story, which you've apparently enjoyed enough to read all eighteen thousand or so words of.