Thanks to Spirit White for the beta on this…
Chapter 4
"Captain, slow down!" Luke called, panting and straining desperately to force his legs to carry him in step with the fast-moving Panaka. The Captain had led him along passage after passage in VIP lounges, and now they were scrambling across a large balcony that ran along the eastern edge of the stadium.
"We must leave as quickly as possible without detection, Luke," Panaka answered him without slowing down, or even turning around to face his charge.
Luke let out another puff of breath, wishing he had the same robust figure as the Captain to carry him through the difficult exercise. "I don't…understand…what's going on!"
"There will be time after – hold." Panaka ordered, his voice dropping to a whisper as he pronounced the last word. He pushed himself and Luke flat against the wall and into the shadows in one smooth move, leaning forward only to peer slowly over the edge.
Luke strained his ears to pick up some trace of the noise that had alerted Panaka, but at first, he heard nothing. Panaka dropped his hand which had been pressing Luke against the wall, and Luke slowly wriggled away so he could look over the balcony rail. What he saw nearly made him gasp.
There was Old Ben, in the same dirty ancient robes as ever. Yet now, a long fierce blade of light extended from his hand, as he stood before the figure of the Emperor. The latter had also undergone a change, with a dark robe thrown loosely over his shoulders and covering his head. Somehow, it made him look even more terrifying.
"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I met you I was but the learner. Now, I am the master," the Emperor announced, his voice full of triumph. His intentions were clearly demonstrated by the metal cylinder in his hand, and the combat stance he'd already assumed. Ben was in serious trouble.
'What have I done? Ben, why didn't I listen?'
Ben did not respond to the goad, but remained as calm and serene as ever. His eyes shifted ever so slightly to the balcony where Luke was hidden, and he smiled slightly. The Emperor's back was turned to Luke, and he failed to notice the glance in the intensity of his anger, directed towards the old hermit. Ben drew in a long breath, "Only a master of evil, Darth."
Bringing and end to the verbal exchange, the Emperor snapped on his blade with a hiss, and brought it crashing down upon Ben. The attack was blocked, but the two were locked in combat as they feigned and parried, dodged and dived.
"Your powers are weak, old man," the Emperor declared with a laugh, as if to make all the more pronounced the fact that his breath came easily, and not a drop of sweat marked his brow. He remained light on his feet with a glowing complexion, while Ben staggered under every blow, clearly showing signs of fatigue.
"You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine," Ben retorted. Though panting, he showed no sign of fear.
"I am more powerful than you can imagine, old fool!" the Emperor snarled in returned, and with that, he flipped into the air with more grace than any acrobat. Ben saw him coming – saw the blow that was aimed at his head as the Emperor spun – and closed his eyes.
"NOOOO!" Luke screamed, as Ben crumbled to the ground in a heap. His horror was intensified to see not a dead body, but empty robes, fall to the ground. Emperor Skywalker spun around upon hearing his cry, and fixed his glowing eyes straight upon Luke. All at once, Luke knew those eyes that screamed blue were piercing through him, delving into his very soul.
As soon as he heard Luke's cry, Panaka grabbed the farm boy and pulled him away from the edge of the balcony, without wasting time on a single word. He darted away from the threatening form of the Emperor, dragging a stunned Luke behind him.
/Run Luke, Run/ a voice rang through Luke's head.
'Ben?'
Instead of questioning the voice, he obeyed it, and followed Panaka as quickly as his legs would carry him, leaping over balconies until they arrived at an Emergency exit. They raced down the stairs, until they caught the clatter of storm trooper boots nearing the door that led to the ground floor. Panaka quickly grabbed Luke's arm, and pulled him through the second story exit of the stairwell.
"We'll never get off this floor," Luke declared, panting heavily, as they raced down the hallway.
"Oh yes we will," Panaka answered him, halting before a panel in the wall. A split second later, he had drawn his blaster and fired at the indicated panel. Luke jumped back in surprise.
"Stars! What are you doing?"
Panaka pointed to the rather large and charred hole he just blown through the wall, "Into the garbage chute."
"Uhhhh," Luke groaned, just imagining the smell. He had no desire at all to get up close and personal with the pit that lay beneath him. On the verge of refusing, he changed his mind as more footsteps sounded behind them.
The descent was quick, but the landing was hard. Luke fell with a thud on his back, atop a pile of metal shafts. The air was completely knocked out of lungs at first, and he gasped for breath. As it slowly returned, he glared at Panaka, "What an incredible smell you've discovered! Let's get out of here!"
"I'm open to suggestions," the Captain responded dryly, already eying the room for any possible escapes. Not a corner of the chamber was excused from his inspection. He pounded fiercely against the door, but it wouldn't budge.
Luke grumbled and sat up, frowning. "Can't you blast it?" he demanded.
"It's magnetically sealed," was the only reply. After a few more unsuccessful moments, Panaka turned to view his despondent charge. "Cheer up. It could've been worse," he offered consolingly.
At that moment the entire compartment began to rumble, and the walls slowly began to slide inward. Panaka cocked his head to one side, "It's worse," he informed Luke matter-of-factly.
Panic began to rise in Luke, and he struggled to control it. He tried to keep the fear from his voice, as he said with a nervous laugh, "I don't know about you, but I've been meaning to go on a diet. Looks like I get my wish"
In one smooth movement, Panaka flipped out a comlink, "Artoo," he ordered, "shut down all the garbage compactors in the stadium." Luke eyed the walls nervously, wondering just who Artoo was, and whether he'd be able to help them in time. After painfully long moments and the continued agonizing groan of metal scraping metal, Luke nearly fell over in the shock when all at once it stopped. "Artoo will have that door open in a second," Panaka assured him, once again withdrawing his comlink.
Clarity suddenly seized Luke in its firm grip, and he whipped out an object from his tunic, "This might help."
Panaka viewed the item in Luke's hand with surprise written all over his face – a reaction Luke thoroughly enjoyed. Panaka could not be blamed either, for the weapon Luke held in his hand was his father's lightsaber. If this and what it stood for had gotten him into trouble, it could get him out. Searching the handle, Luke noticed a red button – the only one at all on the handle. Carefully, delicately, he pressed it, and all at once a blade hummed to life in front of him, vivaciously clawing at the air in a wild hiss. It was longer than he had anticipated, and it extended into a pile of rods in front of him, instantly melting them into slag.
'Cool.'
The door was no harder, and after driving the weapon effortlessly into it, Luke twirled the blade in an arc that swept around a full 360 degrees, until a large hole had been created. He pushed on the mangled metal, and it fell away easily, leaving him free to step through his own personal door. A grin spread across Luke's face, as he thought about Panaka trudging along behind him. 'I'm not completely naïve or useless.'
Panaka's silence lasted no longer than a few seconds, and then the security officer strode forward resolutely to steal the precious lead from Luke. "We must get to the ship quickly," Panaka informed him, without a word of recognition.
Luke nodded silently, relinquishing the momentary euphoria he had experienced as the gravity of his situation met him once more. He had just escaped with his life from a garbage chute after fleeing a squad of stormtroopers, and now he was following an intimidating know-it-all towards who-knew-where in a mad dash to get off planet before a crazy I-am-more-powerful-than-you emperor, who had just killed an old man, decided he was next. And if matters were to improve, he needed to know where he was going. Provided there was enough air in his lungs to ask that question.
"Panaka!" Luke gasped, finding it, and looking hard to his guide, who was even then leading him through corridors and hallways, "Where…are…we…going!"
"Later, Lars." Panaka told him firmly, his voice beginning to shake a little as well with the strain of their difficult gait.
"I need…to know," Luke returned, fierce distrust tugging at his mind, setting off interior alarms.
Panaka ignored him, and continued walking. Luke grumbled, but still followed, waiting for a good chance to restart his insistent pleas. Within a few minutes, Panaka stopped at a low window, apparently facing an ally, and began pulling crates towards it. Once enough were piled together, he clambered atop them, and smashed the window with the butt of his blaster. Seconds later, he had crawled through, and called for Luke to do the same.
Standing firmly where he was, Luke crossed his arms, and shook his head. "First, you tell me where we're going," he demanded, giving Panaka a cold glare.
The sounds the proceeded to flow from Panaka's mouth were unfamiliar to Luke but they sounded horribly unpleasant.
"Don't make me climb back down there!" Panaka snapped irritably. "There's no time for this."
"You take a step towards me, and I'll run right out of this room!" Luke shouted, glaring.
Panaka dropped his head with a sigh, "The Senator has some rather…disreputable friends, who come in handy during times like these. I'm taking you to a small ship, run by two smugglers." He looked up again, banishing any hope Luke has of further revelation, as he glared laser bolts at the young man. "Now if you don't get up here in thirty seconds I'm dragging you up!"
"Yes sir!" Luke replied quickly, snapping a mock salute with a lopsided smile, aimed at the increasingly irritated Captain. He scrambled up, and found himself running after Panaka within seconds, towards a waiting speeder.
They came across no stormtroopers on their trip, as Panaka guided the craft through streets that had not seen the light of day for years past, no doubt. When he finally stopped, they were at the back entrance to the local spaceport. "This way," Panaka whispered quietly, pacing towards the entrance.
Luke wrinkled up his noise, immediately disliking the smells of the vicinity. He eyes his surroundings nervously. It was quiet…too quiet. It felt almost like his skin was crawling, and every nerve was screaming out a warning. He shivered.
The ship that Panaka guided him towards was a beat up Corellian yacht. Outside of the ship, evidently working on repairs, a scruffy looking man in dirty clothes was anxiously explaining something to a massive fur-covered creature. "Who are these people?" Luke asked, too surprised for his scorn to yet kick in.
The human must have overheard Luke's comment, for he turned around to face them, quickly wiping his grease stained hands on equally dirty pants. "Han Solo," he called, his voice every inch as cocky as his body language, "I'm captain of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie here tells me you're lookin' for passage to the Alderaan system?"
"That's correct," Panaka answered, not appearing to care or notice the filthy state of the duo. "You'll be paid well, as always. We need to avoid any…imperial entanglements."
"You better pay good." Solo retorted, eyeing his hairy friend, "Fire 'er up, Chewie!"
"So," he asked, conversationally, turning to Luke, "You like her?"
"Your ship?" Luke asked cynically, raising his eyebrow.
"Yup," Solo returned, with a lopsided smile.
"What a piece of junk!" Luke replied scornfully. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Panaka glaring fiercely at him. On second thought, insulting the man who was supposed to save him wasn't a smart idea.
"Hey, she'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made a lot of special modifications myself." Han snapped irritably, casting a possessive gaze upon his ship once again. He grumbled, "May as well get on board, kiddo. Don't touch anything."
"Halt!"
All eyes immediately turned in the direction of the sound, and Luke was horrified at what he saw. The Emperor was striding into the hanger, with a squad of stormtroopers at his back. Every means of escape had been cut off, while he had stood there bantering about a ship!Han and Chewie had leapt into action as soon as they heard the command, doing what any sane person in their position would – immediately disobeying it. The blaster was out of Solo's holster, and he fired away at the troopers before them, hitting on dead in the chest at his first shot. Chewie brought out a large bowcaster weapon, and fired quickly while retreating into the ship.
The Emperor raised his hand, and the blaster flew out of Han Solo's hand to land at the feet of the monarch with a clatter. The eyebrows on Han Solo's face rose so high, it would have been comical in any lesser situation. He scrambled backwards in surprise, tripping over his own feet as he dove for the ship's ramp.
Panaka had reacted quickly as well, by grabbing Luke and pulling him behind a stake of crates that protected both of them from on coming fire. He fired accurately, dodging in and out of the stormtroopers' line of sight.
The roar of engines was heard as the courageous smugglers turned tail and took flight. The stormtroopers began firing on the vessel as it roared overhead, but Skywalker waved them off, "Leave them. I want the boy – unharmed."
Surprise hit Luke as he heard those words. "Unharmed?" He turned to Panaka questioningly, but the latter stalwartly avoided his glance. There was, however, little time for thought, as the Emperor bore down upon them. He walked forward, unafraid of the blaster that rested in Panaka's hand, while his squad remained silently behind.
"Why if it isn't Panaka," he called in a musical tone, laughing ever so slightly, "There's a certain amount of irony in this situation, don't you think, Captain?"
"Leave the child alone. I won't let you harm him" Panaka snarled, his voice sounded hollow and weak compared to tone that had preceded it. An air had overpowered him, as he realized there was nothing he could do to protect the boy in his charge.
And all at once, there were no longer crates in front of them, as they flew into the air to land on the other side of the hanger. The Emperor stepped into view, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, as he looked down from his powerful height to the duo before him. "It's you who harm Luke, with your delusional ideas. Don't make a scene Panaka, you're better than that."
Luke's eyes were fixated on the face of the man before him. Yes….how was he to know Panaka was right… Everything was so…dreamy…
"Come here, Luke," Skywalker ordered, his voice like silk, as he held out a beckoning hand. Luke rose slowly, nearly dazed, and took a step towards the Emperor.
"No!" Panaka snapped, reaching out to grab him. With one crackling snap, a red blade of light whirled around and sliced straight through the Captain.
All at once, the spell that had captured Luke's mind vanished, and he fell to his knees with a cry, desperately reaching out to the limp form of Panaka on the ground. The man who had unselfishly protected him was lying there dead because of him. He wildly brought his hand forward to feel for a pulse, but it was intercepted by a firm grip, as the Emperor grasped his hand and twisted it upwards. Before he knew what had happened, Luke had been brought to his feet.
"Let me go!" he protested desperately, eyes still glued upon Panaka's limp form. The hand around his wrist wrapped itself around him, and he was pulled further into the arms of the intimidating Emperor. He shuddered immediately, feeling all at once the great power of his captor.
"Now that's enough, young man." Skywalker told him firmly, in a patronizing tone. "Look at me, not your Captain," he ordered. Seeing Luke's eyes still fixed on Panaka, Skywalker grabbed his chin and turned it so Luke was forced to stare into his own face. He squirmed uncomfortably under that intense gaze.
"You're going to trust me." Skywalker said, in a soothing voice. The same dreamy state that had captured Luke before began to sink once again into place. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it, fighting tooth and nail to avoid the invading presence he was sure assaulted his mind.
"Don't use your force stuff on me!" Luke cried, wriggling to escape the grasp that held him. All at once, he was released, and fell crashing to the ground. The presence he had felt before disappeared. He tried immediately to crawl away, and put as much distance between Skywalker and himself, but he found with surprise that he couldn't move.
"Bring the boy along," Skywalker snapped to the stormtroopers behind them, irritability creeping into his voice for the first time. Without the ability to move, Luke was unable to resist as he was lifted into the air by several stormtroopers, and carried away.
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A/N
Darth Scythe024, thanks for pointing out the inconsistency of how Ben came into possession of Anakin's lightsaber. I didn't think of that one! As for Leia, I always felt her character was rather a lack of character. In my universe, she's grown up a very different life, removed from the political sphere. Neither she nor Luke know they are related yet, but circumstance has brought them together.
Thanks everyone else for your comments.
