Author's Note: Did this take too long, people? I hope not. Sorry if it did; school, since winter break, has been so damn hectic I wasabout ready to rip my hair out. But now that finals are over, I'm looking foward to a whole weekend with homework only from Euro AP. :) - dances -

By the way, has anyone here read the Han Solo Trilogy by A. C. Crispin? I read it over Christmas and thought it was amazing. Thoughts?

Also, an interesting bit of trivia: in Dutch, Vader means father. So, if you were Dutch and you were smart (likely, if history is anything to go by), you may have figured out the whole Vader/Luke relationship back in the days of A New Hope.

One more thing: I'll be replying to any signed reviews by the new PM system, seeing as we're not allowed to do it here anymore... -grumbles-

Presenting chapter ten, everybody. :)


CHAPTER TEN: INTUITION

Leia tore out of her room, then skidded across the smooth metal floor as she tucked her blaster haphazardly into her belt behind her back. For extra protection, of course; but she had to find her father. She didn't know why, but she knew that she did. It was another one of her instincts that Darth Vader had drilled into her head, as a girl, to not ignore. Last time, it had saved her life.

After making sure the sleek weapon wasn't going to fall out or shoot her in the butt or something supid like that, she started to run down the corridor again. No pleasantries or courtesies were made by the various officers or Storm Troopers jogging down the halls; everyone was too preoccupied with the Red Alert to pay any attention to the Imperial Princess going in the opposite direction.

She reached the corner, practically pivoted on a credit, and let out a shriek as something hard and tall practically collided into her. She swerved and turned to avoid him, almost falling over herself; her wrist was caught and both did an about-face until they faced eachother in the opposite directions each had intended to head.

She caught the face of the man.

"Zach!"

"Leia?"

Both, needless to say, were dumbfounded.

Pulling her into a light kiss that she didn't respond to due to numbness, shock, and adrenaline, he held her at arm's length.

"What're you doing here? When did you get back? I - "

"I just got back," she explained, almost at a shout. "D'you - "

"Are you okay?"

"Excuse me?"

"You seem pale."

Leia nodded quickly; she didn't feel like going over the whole Alderaan thing, she figured the only one who could understand her on that aspect was her father. Besides, she couldn't waste time on conversation. "I'm fine," she said quickly. "D'you know where my father is?"

"No - but, listen, Leia - " He pulled her close, looking her directly in the eye sternly. "I want you to go back to your room and stay ther until this thing is over, alright? These people that escaped have to be dangerous - they escaped the scanning crew. Do you promise me to go back to your room and stay there?"

"But - "

"Do you promise me?"

"... Yeah. Sure," she said, dully.

He nodded. "Good. I have to go." Turning, he started to leave, but just before he was out of sight he shouted back to her to go straight to the room.

Unable to help herself, Leia made a face at his back, then turned and, quick but deliberate, walked down the hall in the direction oppposite of where Zach had told her to go.


"Attention. Intruders near Cell Bay B. Please focus all personell there."

Oh, now isn't this wonderful, she thought sourly, as she looked at the big character 'B' nearly right above her. She didn't want to capture whatever idiots thought it was cool to force their way into the space station. Her mind was bent on finding her father, and that was the only thing she knew. Not why, just do it.

Biting her lip hard in thought and stress, she tried to debate on whether to go straight or right. She thought that her father was near, but these two halls led to completely different parts of the station. Of course, she could make turns to right her course, but she just felt like not needing to take any detours.

And she had to decide quickly, before a whole legion of storm troopers arrived and made it quite impossible to get anywhere.

Chewing on her bottom lip, she threw a lock of brown hair over her shoulder. While in her room, she had been in the process of absently taking it down. On either side of her head was a halfway braided bun, with almost a foot of hair spilling out of the bottom in loose brown curls. She was sure it looked ridiculous, but was also sure that it probably was going to become a style sooner or later. Galactical teen sentients and their styles... it was no wonder these people needed strong leadership.

Leia looked foward. Straight, she mused, turning the word over in her head. Straight. ... Straight. Or... Her head turned to the right, down an identical hall. Right.

Straight or right. Right or straight. Continue or curve. Fork or knife. Turn or -

She let out an unPrincessy squeak and dove to the right as a red blaster bolt whizzed past her left ear.

Well, then. Right it is.

On her knees, she crawled back to see what had shot at her, and then scoffed when she looked upon a small squadron of storm troopers who were... aiming for, she thought the correct terminology was, the door to the cell block.

No wonder we need so many. If we can at least train the clones to be able to shoot then the Rebel Alliance won't be in existance any more.

Scoffing, she picked herself up then, stumbling, started to make her way down the corrider just as the sound of marching marching feet could be heard. Just in time.

Leia had no idea how long she had been running down the halls, turning or going straight or backtracking. It couldn't have been more than ten or fifteen minutes, because she wasn't getting tired. (Maybe it was just the adrenaline.)

All she knew was that, in some point in time, she reached a docking bay with three storm troopers standing at attention, and knew that that was where she needed to be.

Idly, she stood, as the storm troopers ignored her after an initial salute. She didn't mind. As long as they weren't in battle within a hundred yards of her, she was fine.

Oddly enough she felt like she was on guard. Loosely, in her right hand, she held the light blaster. She felt cool, decisive, and confident, with her chin high and her brown eyes expressionless. It made her wonder if this was how soldiers or generals felt before going into battle. She had to admit, she liked the feeling; it was a feeling of being in charge, of knowing exactly what she had to do and not being afraid of the consequences. Even though she she had no idea what in the worlds she was doing and was harboring a feeling of terror in her stomach.

Her eyebrows frowned. She ducked her head, suspiciously, turning it at the lightest angle to the right. Leia felt like she was being watched, but she caught nothing out of the corner of her eye, except the corner of a -

And she wheeled around, her eyes widening.

Oh, no, she thought. No no no nononono...

That ship? Those armed intruders? The - the accursed man and his big walking furry carpet thing! How in all hells did they get in here!

Her eyes were narrowed and dark with anger, lips pursed tightly as she surveyed the ship. Yes. Definitely the same ship. With the same man and his same monster. She resisted the urge to raise her blaster and just start shooting the crap out of it, lest she be detained for suspected mental instabilities.

Leia crinkled her nose at the ship, thinking, I hope they get shot. Then she turned, in case she did start having a psychochotic fit. Better be safe than sorry.

She waited for a few minutes. But what was she waiting for, exactly? A battle? Her father's arrival? And why? She asked herself these questions, searching her mind for the answers and coming up fruitless. This follow-your-intuition thing was helpful, but a bit too vague for her own liking.

The hairs on the back ofher neck prickled again, and she jerked her head around. No. No one behind her. Was she going insane already? She hoped not. Must be bad, to go insane at age eighteen. Oh, well. She'll blame it on the stress.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice a blaster shot whizzing by her so closely that it singed the white sleeve on her right elbow. She jerked, almost falling to her left in her surprise. She let out a loud curse, and fell the the floor and drew her own weapon.

Oh, wonderful. That could mean one thing: that arrogant man and his furry bodyguard were here.

Blaster fire rained all around her, and she rolled to the side of battle to avoid getting hit by either the enemies or the clumsy armor-clad stormtroopers behind her. When she couldn't hold it any longer, she scarmbled to her feet and ran in a half-duck to the sidelines.

A misaimed bolt from the pour of fire coming from the opposite side of the room struck the machinery next to her, and she screamed in both fear and rage and aimed her own to retaliate, when a sound caught her ear. Incredulously, she turned back to the machinery, which was beeping loudly.

A quick overview of the data that appeared on the screen made a feeling of dread grow from the pit of her stomach, seeping with her blood along the individual capillaries and permeating up to her heart.

Oh, crap.

"Pressure dropping... oxygen dropping... shields down..." came the mechanical human female voice in Basic. Groaning in frusteration, she wheeled around, bringing the sleek blaster up to eye level and aiming for four people now running to the beat-up freighter.

One paused, looking off somewhere to Leia's right.

Squinting and glaring, she increased pressure on the trigger and -

Fzshm.

Fzshm, came the first one's answer.

She swung around, blaster whipping through the air - the sight before her made her hand drop to her side in disbelief.

Two activated lightsabers - one belonging to an old man in brown robes, and the other -

"FATHER!" she screamed, advancing foward - and she faltered, stopped dead, and a shudder ran down her body.

Emanating from her father was a jumble of emotions, strong emotions; anger, hate - yes, there was much hate - and -- fear...?

Her father was afraid. Deathly afraid. And that scared the living hell out of Leia.

She watched the dance, the touchings of lightsaber to lightsaber, the buzzes and hisses and slashes and smell of charred cloth as each Force-user, half man or old man, apprentice or master, barely missed eachother's fatal blows.

A name came to her head: Obi-Wan Kenobi. A name that disfigured and dismembered Darth Vader. A name that Leia instantly hated.

She bared her teeth, then brought her blaster up. She wanted nothing more that to do harm against this man. Nothing more! She hated him, hated him for what he did to her father, her mother, he turned my Padmé against me! I hate you I hate you I have to kill you you killed me!

Shoot! SHOOT! her mind screamed.

She put pressure on the trigger and shot, at the same time a voice behind her shouted, "BEN!"

A blue lightsaber whipped around and deflected the bolt easily, but that left his torso open. A red lightsaber found the old man's heart.

"BEN!"

Leia dropped to her knees, full of the aftermath of adrenaline and of the dying, fufilled hatred and she couldn't breathe and her temples hurt like mad...

"Oxygen dropping... shields down... pressure dropping... oxygen dropping..."

Oxygen. Oxygen. Yes, yes, that's what she needed. And food, and a bed, and a headache reliever.

"Pressure dropping..."

She watched the turn, making his way past the heap of brown robes, toward Leia, to help her to save her...

"... Oxygen dropping..."

The blast doors closed, sealing off the faulty area. Leia leaned foward onto her chest, watching her father get trapped behind the heavy durasteel. Was it just her, or were the doors glowing orange all of the sudden?

"Shields down... pressure dropping..."

Leia closed her eyes. Just a little rest. Then she'd get up. She felt kind of woozy, anyways.

Her last thought before unconciousness took her was a woman, beautiful but crying crying and her face filled with despair.


Blah blah blah... review, tell me what you thought of that last bit of scene. :) Oh, you know you want to. Lest I be forced to start using Silindro's ever-compelling line for reviews... (you all know what it is.)