Chapter 9

by Saber Girl Leia

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Note: hasn't been accepting uploads from my Microsoft Word for the past month or so. I sent this chapter to my friend to upload it. I don't know if she's home now, so if this does not get up for some time, that's why. Sorry. (Today is August 6th)

Celebrian Helayanwe: Glad you like it! I haven't entirely decided about Vader yet... (though something may well happen within this chapter; I am writing much of it as I go along).

Relyan: Your comp is worse than mine! Good luck fixing it.

Arica, Princess of Rivendell: Here it is. :)

FireElf: Thanks! Here's chapter 9.

GMUXMenSoaps: Thanks :D

AMAPADME: Thanks! That means a lot to me. Part of the whole point of this story was to show Leia in that light, as some of the EU authors do not. Glad you liked that part, too. I really like it, but I was afraid people would think it was sappy or out of character or something. Again, I think it is an important relationship.

So thanks again for the great review!

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It feels like a long time later when Luke sits up and begins to help our father. I struggle up also, to aid him.

"Hurry, Leia," he says, "I'm surprised this thing has lasted this long. I hope everything's all right on Endor." He must either sense my sudden dread, or experience it himself, because he shuts up. Oh, Han.

We pull Vader to his feet. Luke puts an arm around him, supporting him. "Are you all right, Dad?" he asks, "Can you walk?" Hearing my brother call him 'Dad' brings sudden wetness to my eyes, which I brush away with the back of one callous hand. There is no time for that now. Emotion can come later, if we make it for that long.

I offer my arm for Vader to lean on, temporarily forgetting my own injuries. But Luke has a different plan. "Leia," he orders, gesturing, "get her."

The redhead. She is still unconscious where I stunned her. I look from her to my brother. "Are you crazy? She's evil! She would have killed me if she had the chance."

But Luke's face, like his emotion, is set. "She's Force-strong. We need as many as we can get if we're to rebuild the Jedi Order. Father came back. Perhaps she can be saved, too."

I look to Vader, sure he will have something to contribute, but he is struggling just to stay upright, and wheezing through a breathing mechanism that I fear is severely damaged. He stumbles, and Luke throws out an arm to catch him.

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Interlude Eight

Artoo took far too long. If and when he finally did get the door open, someone would need to act quickly.

Han had an idea, and threw himself to the ground behind the fighting Ewoks. His injured arm throbbed.

Acting as quickly as he could, Han pulled out a pack of charges and detonators. Some of them were standard rebel issue... others were a part of Han's private collection. He selected a few, and began to set countdowns on them. All the bombs would need to start the countdown would be a quick flick of the switch on each.

Ripping off his jacket, Han bundled the weapons inside. "Cover me!" he yelled to the nearest few Ewoks, hoping to heaven, hell, and everything in between that they understood.

And then he ran towards the shield bunker. No one shot at him at first, afraid of hitting their own comrades, but the rebel did get hit by a multitude of flying elbows and a few well-aimed kicks.

The door finally slid open when Han was about halfway there. He skidded to a stop a few meters from it and fumbled to get the bombs out of his jacket.

"Run!" he yelled until he was hoarse, as he flicked the little switches and hurled them into the bunker. He waited a few precious seconds, motioning wildly until the other rebels and Ewoks had begun to move.

He ran.

Han did not stop running until a full minute later, when a magnificent noise filled the air until it seemed his ears would burst. He tried to look over his shoulder but had to shield his eyes.

Satisfied, the tired man collapsed into the bushes. Thought came back to him.

Leia promised she would be out of that thing long before we would manage to blow it up. Leia promised. She promised. She'll come back. There is no other conceivable outcome. Leia will be here, with me.

They would both come back. Han had not realized until now how much he had come to need both Leia and Luke. They would come back. They had to.

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Suddenly, the Death Star shakes. Something has hit it. "The shield is down!"

Luke looks up at the ceiling, as if expecting it to cave in on us. "We have to hurry. Grab her if you can, but most importantly just get yourself out of here." He looks at me, and I cannot look away. I feel foolish, wasting time like this, but I cannot do anything else. "I love you, sister," he whispers. "If I don't make it out, remember that, always. You will be a great Jedi some day."

"No, Luke!" He is making me cry. I don't have time for that. He can't die! "We're all going to live, Luke! I love you!"

He touches my sense in the Force in a sort of hug, then starts to hurry out of the throne room, hunched under Vader's added weight.

I run, grab the woman, and half-dragging her, follow.

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The ship shakes again, and I am thrown to the floor. Luke, ahead of me, manages to stay upright, but is clearly struggling to support our father. Mara (was that her name? so much has happened so quickly, my memory is overflowing) is jerked awake, a little.

She blinks groggily, and looks around, then at me. I answer the question in her eyes before she has time to ask it.

"We're getting out of here. The place is going to blow."

"Master?" she asks weakly.

"Dead," I answer.

"You killed him!" she snarls in a sudden burst of energy.

"No," I say reflexively, knowing she will attack whoever did. "I think... I think he brought it on himself." Which he did, in a way.

The woman looks shocked. "Can you walk?" I ask twice before she answers by standing and gripping my hand tightly.

"Hurry!" Luke calls back to us.

We run. The four of us crowd into a shuttle and clear the station just before it dies in a rush of flame.

It is hell, but we are out of it at last.

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I'm thinking just one more chapter. Review please!